Posted on in Knowing God

Mercy: The Antidote for the Hardened Heart

Do you despise the riches of His goodness, forbearance, and longsuffering, not knowing that the goodness of God leads you to repentance? (Rom. 2:4)

When seen clearly, our hearts are absolutely defenseless against God’s undeserved mercy, and His unreserved kindness. The more we understand the severity of our sinful condition and why we deserve hell, the more the love of Christ can be grasped as something intensely real and personal. It wasn’t when we were at our best that He died for us, but “while we were still sinners” (Rom. 5:8). I’m convinced that the greatest sign and wonder we can ever witness is not the healing of the sick, the raising of the dead or even fire falling from heaven, but the gospel’s power to transform the human heart in love.

Jesus Christ is the only ‘God’ to ever be described as having eyes like a flame of fire (Rev. 1:14, 2:18, 19:12). Why? Because He is the only one that has full knowledge of us, seeing straight through our façade, knowing all our words, deeds and thoughts, and still He burns with holy desire for us. He knows our life from every angle, He has the full scouting report, and He still says, ‘I want them’ (Jn. 17:24). It’s almost like having Superman’s x-ray vision, except God also sees what’s in our heart. He sees every hidden detail about our past, present and future (Rom. 2:16). We can tell a lot about how someone is feeling by looking into their eyes, for they are often referred to as the windows to our soul. The fire in the eyes of the Lord can tell us two primary things about how He feels when He looks at us: (1) He really loves us (2) He really hates everything that gets in the way of His love. When we truly lock eyes with Him, we will find ourselves in a pure encounter with the fear and love of God, both working together to bring us to the place of godly sorrow and concern for our soul.

The on-ramp to true repentance is not merely the fear of being punished nor the belief that God loves us, but it is experiencing His mercy, knowing what we actually deserve. I consider God’s mercy the glue of the gospel that holds the message of His justice and grace together in perfect harmony. While justice is getting what we deserve and grace is getting what we don’t deserve, mercy is not getting what we deserve. It pulls us away from condemnation and pushes us to the place of receiving the Lord’s unmerited favor. This is good news!

Now, there is still more to learn about this beautiful mercy that endures forever. You see, God not only gives mercy, but He DESIRES mercy (Hos. 6:6, Matt. 9:13). He doesn’t give it to us because He has to, but He gives it because He wants to! I’m going to highlight two categories of people (Matt. 9:12):

  1. The people who know they are sick and need a doctor
  2. The people who don’t think they are sick or need a doctor

The people who don’t think they are sick will never seek out a doctor nor appreciate the cure that he offers. They believe they are good enough people because they aren’t bad enough people, and if God sends people like them to hell, they want nothing to do with Him anyway. They are more concerned with how they appear on Facebook instead of how they appear in His book. They are independent yet constantly searching for approval and acceptance, and if there is a God who judges sin, they are relying on their own good deeds and sacrifices to save them.

But the people who know they are sick will do everything they can to find a doctor, and they will deeply appreciate the cure! They know they don’t deserve anything good based on their own merit, and their chief struggle is learning to receive mercy despite knowing the mistakes that are in their wake.

And behold, a woman in the city who was a sinner, when she knew that Jesus sat at the table in the Pharisee’s house, brought an alabaster flask of fragrant oil, and stood at His feet behind Him weeping; and she began to wash His feet with her tears, and wiped them with the hair of her head; and she kissed His feet and anointed them with the fragrant oil. (Luke 7:36-39) 

This woman was well acquainted with her issues, carrying the perfume she most likely used to prepare herself for paying customers, but hearing that there was one who had the power and authority to forgive such sins, she had to see for herself. As she approached the King of mercy, her heart softened and she was undone, giving Him the only appropriate response of humble adoration. By pouring out the fragrant oil that aided her shameful lifestyle, she was repenting and expressing her faith that Christ alone could save her. Her ashes became a beautiful fragrance of love to God! Though there were several there that would scoff, laugh and despise her for her desperate action, she placed her full confidence in the Lord’s mercy, thus, she was forgiven.

Your sins are forgiven…Your faith has saved you. Go in peace. (Luke 7:48, 50)

Our capacity to love God is directly related to the extent we receive His mercy. We need the revelation that God loves to give mercy, and we MUST come and LEARN about it. The more faith we have in God’s mercy, the more power we will have to resist sin, for the struggle is not won by sheer willpower. It’s won by learning to receive His mercy, which will produce an overflow of love, gratitude and a joyful, obedient spirit.

Therefore, I say to you, her sins, which are many, are forgiven, for she loved much. But to whom little is forgiven, the same loves little. (Luke 7:47)

Who is a God like You, pardoning iniquity and passing over the transgression of the remnant of His heritage? He does not retain His anger forever, because He delights in mercy. (Micah 7:18)

Imagine yourself being given Hosea’s assignment, the prophet who was commanded to become the very embodiment of mercy. Go marry that harlot! Says the Lord (Hos. 2:2). After y’all get hitched, she will sleep with anyone she can find, prostitute herself for cheap, and have children by other men, still, I want you to buy her back over and over again. I want to you to do this Hosea, because I want to paint a picture for all to see, a picture of my jealous love and desire to show mercy that ALL might turn back to me! O people of Earth, we are guilty, and we need a Savior!

Before we can see the Cross as something done for us, we have to see it as something done by us. My sins sent Him there and His love took Him there. We are all without excuse. Why would God humiliate Himself and bear such torment and shame by taking up that cursed cross? Our sin is serious, His wrath is real, and His love is relentless.

If You, LORD, should mark iniquities, O Lord, who could stand? But there is forgiveness with You, that You may be feared. (Ps. 130:3-4)

The goodness of God can only be experienced when we understand the wrath of God. It’s the ultimate one, two punch of the gospel that must be proclaimed if we are going to see real and lasting fruit. To appreciate the good news, we must learn about the bad news.

Behind the fearsome lightning, thunder and fire of His infinite power and glory, sits a beautiful King upon the mercy seat, and He rules from a throne that is surrounded by a rainbow in appearance like an emerald, which represents His unending mercy (Rev. 4). However you come to Christ, you must first come through the storm of His majesty before you can truly know the beauty of His mercy.

Therefore consider the goodness and severity of God…(Rom. 11:22)

Please, show me Your glory (Moses)… I will make all my goodness pass before you (The LORD)… And the LORD passed before him and proclaimed, “The LORD, the LORD God, merciful and gracious, longsuffering and abounding in goodness and truth, keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, by no means clearing the guilty. (Ex. 33:18-19, 34:6-7)

*If you feel the Lord moving on your heart, please find someone you know who loves Jesus and ask them to talk with you about what you are feeling. My prayer is that all would come taste and see the riches of His goodness that leads us to repentance. Also, please feel free to share this article.

Posted on in End-Times & Eternity

War in the Womb (Part 2)

Ending Spiritual Abortion

I believe that the reason abortion has boldly flaunted its teeth in our day is because the enemy has this terrible paranoia that our generation will actually recognize the moment and respond appropriately to the call of God in this hour. He knows that if we actually step into the fullness of God’s purposes for our day, we could very well crush the remnants of his kingdom and lead a final mass exodus of souls from his hellish grip. We have all the right tools and weaponry, but the real problem is that the Church is not effectively equipping anyone to use them. You can be sure that Satan hates all the churches of God, but he fears the churches who know their God (Dan. 11:32-33). The Church who knows their God will not only contend for every innocent life, but for every innocent soul that does not yet know Him. While it should be appreciated that Christians are becoming more aware of the terrors of abortion, we have yet to truly expose and fight against Satan’s equally abhorrent plot, which I refer to as spiritual abortion.

More than ever before, we are seeing young believers depart from the faith, aborted right from the womb of the Church. A Barna Group research project in 2011 revealed that three out of every five young Christians (59%) disconnect either permanently or for an extended period of time from church life after age 15. Why? Beneath the surface issues, I feel it is a combination of Satan’s rage, a fallen sinful society and the Church’s unwillingness to take responsibility to contend for the soul of the younger generations. As the world population grows younger, the church population in America grows older because most of our attention naturally turns toward the ones who have more money in their wallets.

Though we don’t presently face the same affliction as the children of Israel and the early church did, the taskmasters of debt, false comfort and worldly success are continually pressing us with high demands on our life resources (time, money & energy). We have been blinded by busyness and are more concerned with retaining numbers to pay the bills than making disciples to build the kingdom. It’s much cheaper to make converts than to make disciples. This is why we need unity in the Body of Christ more than ever. Rather than ministries joining forces for the cause of equipping and raising God’s family, we are seeing more churches divorce on the pathetic grounds of “irreconcilable differences” than ever before. Thus, spiritual abortion has inadvertently become the option for so many local churches.

So you see, the enemy assault is not only on the mother’s womb, but the Church’s. If he can’t keep us from being born, his next move is to do everything in his power to keep us from being born again. Jesus told a parable about four soils to make a clear point about the seeds that fall into the wrong environment (Lk. 8:5-15), and next to our own individual responsibility, I believe it is also the responsibility of the Church to establish and sustain a community that creates the right environment to nurture sound growth. The womb of the Church should be the safest and most fertile place on earth, but the majority of our American churches have failed to make it such.

The Church’s present attempts to resolve this attrition crisis have been dangerously wrong in my opinion because we have yielded to the wiles of the devil, rather than trusting the ways of God to bring deliverance. We have taken a defensive posture in fear rather than an offensive one in faith. The result is that we have mega and mini churches full of people who know how to dress right, but they have no idea how to fight. They are spiritual chameleons with a parrot theology. When society mocks and defies the armies of the living God (The Church), we respond by putting on the familiar armor of Saul (hiding behind man-made methods of warfare; taking a defensive posture). We have fearfully accepted the demands of society that press us to build man’s kingdom rather than God’s kingdom (Ex. 1:11). We’d rather sit comfortably in line with Pharaoh’s orders than follow God through the wilderness.

The Womb of the Church

Looking through the lens of the four soils parable, here are a few ways we have failed to prevent spiritual abortion in my honest opinion:

  • We have created a wayside culture, making it harder for people to have a genuine conversion experience, and leaving them vulnerable to deception.

We are recognizing that we are losing our relevance and influence, so we panic and compromise our message to make Christianity more palatable to the culture around us. We drop a little bit of word or truth on the wayside, but it is not the full truth or the main focus. It is a watered down gospel that has been diluted and has little affect. Out of fear of being unpopular, we try to stay as close as possible to what society accepts as normal rather than what God accepts as normal. We may feel relevant or progressive for a moment, but when moving forward becomes moving away from God, we have lost our way. Though God is still merciful, He is merciful in spite of our failure not because we have done something right. He will save with or without us, nevertheless, we are still responsible. The consequence of this type of church environment is that we only produce artificial Christians who have been robbed of a natural birth into the Kingdom due to experimentation, and though they may live, they inherit many birth defects. They are the most vulnerable to being led astray by every wind of false teaching. Our casual approach to discipleship has produced too many casualties, and we need to return to God’s way.

  • We aren’t willing to pay the price to build community (prepare the soil) and to keep the “moisture” of His presence in our midst; therefore, the seeds can’t take root nor can they grow.

Our churches have become event-based and not community-based, thus our Christianity has become location-based and not life-based. Whereas the early church gathered regularly around the presence and power of God, we gather around a Sunday morning sermon. We know how to hype up a crowd of kids with loud music and comedic skits, but we seldom create opportunities for them to develop a solid root system. Excitement is not encounter, and we can’t stop there if we are going to be used of God to save a generation. As soon as they leave, temptation or persecution will arise, and they will have no foundation to keep them from falling away. Think about the excitement that comes with the birth of a child, and then imagine what would happen if you only interacted with that child once a week. We need to diligently build life on life praying communities where our newborns can be weaned, strengthened and equipped. We must make disciples not decisions.

  • We have allowed the thorns of the humanistic mindset to infiltrate the Church and set the standard for things like happiness, success, beauty and comfort. We are no longer teaching people to obey the commandments of Christ.

This church environment is one where there is no longer a difference or separation of values between sons of the day and sons of the night, thus the consequence is that we have people wanting all the benefits of Christianity without a commitment or change of lifestyle. A gospel that is preached without calling people to sincerely repent will never produce fruit that remains. Leaders who compromise, distort or diminish God’s standard are only planting seeds in fields of thorns that are waiting to choke the life out of everything that tries to grow. We must not only teach, but demonstrate the kingdom of God in our lifestyles, attitudes, words and deeds, exposing the lies that society tries to embed in our minds from birth. We must proclaim the biblical message of grace that gives believers real confidence in God’s love, while motivating them to resist sin and obey Him wholeheartedly.

The soil or environment that we must make every effort to cultivate is one that first loves the truth, and is willing to receive it and sow it fully with love into all who will hear whether it is trending with man or not. We must not only sow seed or cause babies to be conceived, but we must help them to be born again. God will do His part, but He entrusts to us the role of a midwife. We must teach them, feed them and tend to them, providing delicate care and adequate attention just as we would for our own physical babies. Lastly, we must continue to cultivate communities of disciples who value His presence, His Word, His leadership and His family.

This is not a new issue. Samuel failed to raise up his sons; therefore, Israel panicked and asked for a king so they could be like the other nations. David’s desire for short-term gratification caused serious eternal ramifications and turmoil in his family, even the death of his own infant child (2 Sam. 12). So Church, I bring all this before you with sobriety because we must fight back on God’s terms if we are going to win this war in the womb.

*Look out for Part Three of this article series where we will look at some ways we, as the Church, can respond to this crisis and contend for the soul of a generation.

Posted on in Kingdom Life

The Pursuit of Holiness

Pursue peace will all people, and holiness, without which no one will see the Lord. (Heb. 12:14)

If the slogan of our American society has to do with pursuing what makes us happy, then why are so many people still disillusioned with life? Why is it that when we set out to chase what we believe will make us happy, we feel as though we are chasing after the wind? The Bible tells us it’s because we are doing just that: chasing the wind (Ecc. 2:11). I remember how I couldn’t wait to get my license when I turned sixteen. I was so ready to obtain the freedom and legal right to drive a car of my own, believing I would achieve happiness once I received it. I was excited for about a week until that flame flickered out. But isn’t that what we do? We think, well, once I get married, when I have kids, buy my own house, get that great job, or win the lottery, THEN I will find true happiness. The truth is, when we spend our strength pursuing happiness on our terms, we are investing in a lifetime of disappointment.

We were created, fashioned and formed to pursue holiness. I’m not talking about our typical idea of this ball and chain religion where we attempt to stay off the naughty list and do just enough to make those around us believe we are good Christian people. For Christians, holiness is not about maintaining a perfect resume or position, but it is the pursuit of a person. Deep down we are all wired to go after something with our all, to be utterly fascinated and consumed, living with something to die for. I’m simply saying that this something is a someone—Jesus Christ, the Holy One, our Creator (Col. 1:15-16). Pursuing holiness is our personal expression of love for Him that overflows in response to experiencing His holy love for us. It’s less about us and more about Him, and accepting the invitation to walk near to Him and to experience all He is. This requires us to allow Him in the door of our hearts and cooperate with His Holy Spirit as He passionately conforms our lives to His Word and His ways.

…all things were created through Him and for Him. (Col. 1:16)

Holiness is very much a relational word emphasizing the gap between God and man, along with our purpose and need for redemption. In fact, the Hebrew word for “holy” is “qadowsh” or “qadosh” which means brightness or separatedness. It is the fundamental quality of God that emphasizes the uniqueness of His nature and all His attributes – His love, wisdom, power and so forth – these are all holy aspects of God that are incomparable to any other being. He alone is the standard, the sole definition of something such as love.

Our God is holy, completely pure and transcendent, dwelling in unapproachable light, yet He draws near to us. He yearns to dwell with us in all His glory (Jn. 17:24). He has the highest quality of life, and He wants to share it with us forever! The entire Bible is telling the story of how the One holy God relentlessly pursues and progressively reveals Himself to fallen humans, for the sake of love and relationship. That’s why He had a salvation plan. How can the holy God share His holy life with His unholy creation without violating His nature? He justly purchased our righteousness (our legal position) by way of the cross and He offers it to us free of charge. Still, He invites us to pursue holiness that we might experience the reality of this truth in our present living condition. We don’t earn holiness, we choose it. In other words, the finished work of the cross did not excuse us from living holy but rather made a way for the Holy One to be pursued and known; freeing us from the requirement of perfection according to the law and giving us the privilege of pursuit according to love. It no longer means we have to be holy to earn salvation but we get to be holy because of salvation, for the sake of His glory. Our holiness, therefore, is a reflection of His holiness as we draw near to Him.

He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love… (Eph. 1:4)

…but as He who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct…(1 Pet. 1:16)

The pursuit of holiness and complete obedience to God must be fueled by the love and fear of God, both working together like the pedals of a car. The love of God being the gas pedal that presses us forward, and the fear of God being the brake that helps us stop before we drive into compromise. Without His love, we burn out while going nowhere. Without the fear of God, we become reckless putting ourselves and others around us in danger. We need to earnestly ask Him to give us both of these. We were created to reach a destination! Don’t gaze in the rear view mirror for too long (your past), but only use it as a reference point to see where you are at, to learn from your mistakes and to thank God for all He has done. Be careful who you open your doors to, and always drive under the influence of the Holy Spirit (Eph. 5:18).

There is something far more noble and fulfilling than the American Dream, and it is becoming the dream of the Father; a holy people belonging completely to Him. I long for the day when ‘just enough’ Christianity is nowhere to be found. We must wake up from the swaying cradle of western Christianity that tells us to live on the edges of a religious system to see how much we can get away with and still call ourselves Christians. I’m convinced that there is a generation arising who is done with lukewarm, cruise-control Christianity. If I understand the words of Christ correctly, we are either ALL in or we are NOT in (Mark 8:34-37). There is no in between. He didn’t die to make us happy, He died to make us holy, and when we get this, we will find happiness. Happiness is a side-effect of pursuing holiness.

Practical holy living is only legalism if we see it as a means of attaining salvation or a “higher-position” in God’s sight. On the contrary, practical holy living does not earn us anything relating to our salvation or eternal status, for we are “seated with Christ” by grace through faith (Eph. 1-2). Neither does this mean our decisions to continue or not continue in sin don’t matter. Rather, our lifestyle choices begin to reflect our new position, thus as a means of experiencing more of our relationship with Him.

I want to highlight 7 areas we can practically pursue holiness:

  1. Our eyes – what are we looking at?
  2. Our ears – what are we listening to?
  3. Our mouths – what are we talking about?
  4. Our hands – what are we giving our time, energy and money to?
  5. Our feet – what environments are we placing ourselves in?
  6. Our minds  – what are we thinking about?
  7. Our hearts – what are we giving our affection to?

…in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world…(Phil. 2:15)

You are worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honor and power; for You created all things, and by Your will they exist and were created. (Rev. 4:11)

All things were created through Him and for Him. (Col. 1:16)

Therefore you shall be perfect, just as your Father in heaven is perfect. (Matt. 5:48)

Blessed (Happy) are the pure in heart for they shall see God. (Matt. 5:8)