The Joshua Challenge

Living a Life of Glory

2012-03-05T08:50:00.001-08:00

Therefore, whether you eat or drink, orwhatever you do, do all to the glory of God.

1 Corinthians 10:31

Paul is saying in this verse that even in the mostmundane, routine, nonspiritual things of life, like ordinary eating anddrinking, God is to be glorified. His glory is to be our life commitment. It isthe purpose of our whole life, which now belongs to the Lord because we havebeen “bought with a price.” A person either lives a life that honors God or helives a life that dishonors Him. God is dishonored when anyone sins, but He isespecially dishonored when His own people sin. That is why we are told,“whatever, you do, do all to the glory of God.”

How far-reaching is this commandment. I wonderwhether we always bear it in mind as we should. I am quite certain that many ofus as Christians would live very different lives if we kept this admonition inmind. He says “whatever you do.” That takes in your entire life. A great manypeople try to live their lives in sealed compartments: There is a compartmentfor the church, there is another for the family, another for business, anotherfor pleasure. And the same man may seem to be an altogether different person ineach one of these. When he comes to church he is the essence of spirituality.You would not think an unholy thought ever passed through his mind. He singsthe songs, prays the prayers, and amens the preacher. But see that same manduring the week when he goes out into the world of business. He’s dishonestwith his customers and ruthless and harsh with his employees. Then he goes homeand shows a miserable bad tempter and makes everyone around him miserable.

There are man people like that, they live one wayat home and altogether different outside it. We are not to live our lives inthese separate compartments, but we are to do everything to the glory of God. Whenwe gather with the people of God in the church services, it is that God may beglorified. When we go to work on Monday morning, it is to bring glory to Hisname.

A god glorifying businessman can have a fargreater testimony for God than any preacher. People expect the preacher toexemplify the word of God, but what a powerful witness it is when a man liveshis life for God’s glory in the workplace!

We ought to so live our lives that we would not doanything that would not have the approval of God. If you have a question abouta place where you might go or a habit or a practice that you might engage in,just ask yourself this: “If I do this, would it bother me in the least if theLord Jesus would suddenly appear, if He would look at me and say, ‘What are youdoing?’”

If you want to be the kind of Christian who growsin the grace and knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ, you must order your lifeaccording to His Word. We have a similar verse to this in Colossians 3:17, “Andwhatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, givingthanks to God the Father through Him.”

The New Commandment

2012-02-26T07:00:00.000-08:00

“A new commandment I give to you, that youlove one another; as I have loved you, that you also love one another.”

John 13:34

The Lord’s charge to His disciples in one sense was not new.The Old Testament prescribed love for God in the schema found in Deuteronomy6:5 – “You shall love the LORD your Godwith all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength.” Butit was a new commandment in the sense that it presented a higher standard of love– one based on the example of the Lord Jesus Christ Himself. Believers face thedaunting challenge of loving one another even as Jesus loved them.

D.A. Carson in his commentary on the Gospel ofJohn writes:

“The new command is simple enough for a toddler tomemorize and appreciate, profound enough that the most mature believers arerepeatedly embarrassed at how poorly they comprehend it and put it intopractice. The more we recognize the depth of our own sin, the more we recognizethe love of the Savior; the more we appreciate the love of the Savior, thehigher His standard appears; the higher His standard appears, the more werecognize in our selfishness, our innate self-centeredness, the depth of ourown sin.”

In Ephesians 5:2 Paul exhorted, “Walk in love,just as Christ also loved you and gave Himself up for us.” If the church everconsistently loved like that, it would have a powerful impact on the world.

God's Recipe for Revival

2012-01-22T07:00:00.000-08:00

“If My people who are called by My name willhumble themselves, and pray and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways,then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land.”

2 Chronicles 7:14

2 Chronicles 7:14 is often used as a basis for formulatingGod’s condition for spiritual renewal, revival, and the blessing thatfollows. In chapter six Solomon hascompleted work on the temple and prays that now God will show up in the placethat has been prepared for Him. “But will God indeed dwell with men on theearth? Behold, heaven and the heaven of heavens cannot contain You. How muchless this temple which I have built!” (6:18)

And the greater prayer was that God would not only dwellamong His people, but forgive their sin and heal their land. In answer to Solomon’s prayer the Lordanswered with His conditions that He demands for spiritual revival.

God’s demand begins with a call for His own people to“humble themselves.” That is, to recognize and confess their need for “muchmore.” The Christian must be on constant vigil to avoid the temptation ofspiritual pride and self-centeredness. True humility involves a broken spiritbefore the Lord.

Secondly, God calls His people to “pray.” Every truerevival in history has been born and cradled in the place of prayer. We read ofthe early church that “when they had prayed, the place where they wereassembled together was shaken; and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit,and the spoke the Word of God with boldness.” (Acts 4:31)

Next, God demands that we “seek His face.” He said toJeremiah, “You will seek Me and find Me, when you search for Me with all yourheart.” (Jer. 29:13) If believers spent as much time seeking “His face” as wedo “seeking His hand” we would be on the way to revival.

God’s demand also entails “turning from our wicked ways.”Sin that is unconfessed and therefore Unforgiven, is the greatest obstacle torevival. As Solomon reminds us, “He who covers his sins will not prosper, butwhoever confesses and forsakes them will have mercy.” (Prov. 28:13) It is notenough to simply be sorry for and to confess our sins; we must also “forsake”them.”

The Resurrection and the Life

2012-01-15T07:30:00.000-08:00

“Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrectionand the life. He who believes in Me,

though he may die, he shall live.”

John 11:25

When Jesus arrived at the home of His friendLazarus, He was told He had come too late. Lazarus was dead and buried; he hadbeen in the grave four days. (11:17) All human hope was gone. Lazarus wasrotting in his grave. No one there at the tomb knew it, but Jesus had delayedHis coming so that he would arrive at the right moment, when all human help andhope was gone. It had been timed that way in heaven.

Into this scene of desolation came wonderful news,“Jesus is coming.” Martha rushed out to meet Him. Mary remained where she wasin the house. Jesus then looked at Martha and said, “Your brother will riseagain.” (11:23) If death is the final answer to the human state, then the devilhas won. God’s answer to sin is death, and His answer to death is resurrection.

Martha accepted His words, understanding them ashaving some distant, future significance, and gave assent to the doctrine ofthe resurrection – as we do, when confronted with the loss of a loved one. Shesaid, “I know that he will rise again in the resurrection at the last day.”(11:24) Martha fully believed in the end time resurrection of believers.

The Lord, however, wanted Martha’s faith expanded.Note how the truth was conveyed. “I am the resurrection and the life [that is,the Lord Jesus has the key to resurrection life, life in the body beyonddeath]; he who believes in Me, though he may die, he shall live [that is, theLord Jesus imparts spiritual life to those who are dead in trespasses andsins]; and whoever lives and believes in Me shall never die [that is, the LordJesus guarantees eternal life, life without end]. Do you believe this?”

No mere man could have made such a claim to havemastery over death. He prefaced that awesome claim with his emphatic I AM. Hewas about to prove to Martha, Mary, and the world that this was not religiousrhetoric but a statement of fact.

Vision Is Vital

2012-01-10T08:22:00.000-08:00

Where there is no prophetic vision thepeople cast off restraint,

but blessed is he who keeps the law.

Proverbs 29:18

The missionary vision comes from “the law” (theBible). When it is obeyed, people find Christ, adjust their lives to the Wordof God, and find the secret of a happy life (Psalm 1).

The modern missionary movement was born on May 31, 1792,when William Carey preached his great sermon at Nottingham. His text was Isaiah54:2-3: “Enlarge the place of your tent,And let them stretch out the curtains of your dwellings; Do not spare; Lengthenyour cords, And strengthen your stakes. For you shall expand to the right andto the left, And your descendants will inherit the nations, And make thedesolate cities inhabited.”

One listener thought the audience would dissolveinto tears as Carey charged the church with criminal neglect. However, they didnot weep; they simply rose up to leave. “Call them back!” Carey cried. “Callthem back!” The result was that a missionary society was formed and Careybecame its missionary.

Although Carey was a humble cobbler by profession,he was an extraordinary man. By the time he was in his teens he had learnedLatin, Greek, Hebrew, French, and Dutch. He could read his Bible in half adozen languages. He avidly followed the activities of David Brainerd among theAmerican Indians. Carey devoured the Voyages of Captain Cook and kept ahomemade leather map of the world on the wall where he worked.

Soon after preaching his revolutionary sermon, “ExpectGreat Things from God; Attempt Great Things for God,” Carey set sail for India.He landed at Calcutta on November 11,1793, the very day that Frenchrevolutionists tore the cross from the Notre Dame cathedral in Paris, smashedit on the pavement, and denied Christianity. After working as thesuperintendent of an indigo factory in Calcutta for five years, Carey purchaseda factory in 1799 and launched his mission. In 1800 he moved to Serampore,located in Danish territory not far from Calcutta, because the East IndiaCompany resented his missionary activities.

Carey baptized his first converts in 1800. In 1831he became professor of oriental languages in the newly founded Fort WilliamCollege in Calcutta and began to translate the Bible. Under his direction thepress at Serampore issued the Bible, or parts of it, in some thirty-sixlanguages, making the Bible accessible to more than three hundred millionpeople.

Tireless, Carey and his colleagues preached;translated; prepared grammars and dictionaries in various languages; openedmission stations in many parts of India, Burma, and the East Indies; andestablished schools. Carey's influence helped end the horrific practice ofburning child widows. As a sideline he greatly advanced horticulture andagriculture in India.

Carey had a single vision, the vision of a worldin peril. He could not rest until he had done what he could and until thechurch was awakened to the plight of lost people. The missionary task remainsincomplete. Untold millions are still untold. Truly, “where there is no vision,the people perish.”

The Word Became Flesh

2011-12-25T07:00:00.000-08:00

“And the Word became flesh and dwelt amongus, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,full of grace and truth.”

John 1:14

The Word became flesh. Jesus came down to where we are so wecould go to where He is! He came to us and took on our flesh. He was not Godand man as He walked the ways of this world. He was the unique God-man. As God,He walked on water, calmed the storm, healed the sick and rose from the dead.As man, He got thirsty and tired. He felt sorrow and pain.

Think about it....He came, not clinging to all thebrightness of His glory, not shunning us for our sinful conditions, buthumbling Himself to become a servant and to clothe Himself in flesh. By doingso, there would not be one emotion, one temptation, one pain with which wedealt that He could not say, “I understand.”

After all, if God were to become a man we would certainlyexpect Him to have an unusual and unique entrance into our existence. He came,not as a full grown man, but He became as helpless as a tiny seed planted inthe womb of a young Jewess virgin. He came, not to be born in a clean andsterile environment on starched white sheets, but, in the dung and filth of aBethlehem stable where sickness, disease, and even death were all likelypossibilities. This is amazing condescension. He took on the garment of humanflesh.

Merry Christmas!

God's Inspired Word

2011-12-19T08:02:00.000-08:00

“All Scripture is givenby inspiration of God, an dis profitable for doctrine, for reproof, forcorrection in righteousness.”

2 Timothy 3:16

This verse beginswith the statement that “all Scripture is inspired of God.” “All Scripture” - Pasa graphe signifies one single whole. Every word, every jotand tittle is inspired. That is what we mean when we speak of the plenary(unlimited or full), verbal inspiration of scripture. It is all verballyinspired, it is all divinely inspired.

The first fivebooks of the Old Testament contain at least 680 claims to divine inspiration. Suchclaims are found 418 times in the historical books, 195 times in the poeticbooks, and 1,307 times in the prophetic books. The New Testament contains morethan 300 direct quotations and at least 1,000 indirect references from the OldTestament, almost all of them declaring or implying that they were God’s ownWord.

The word “inspired”translates the Greek – theoneustos – whichmeans God-breathed or literally: “God-inbreathed.” Just as He breathed thebreath of life into Adam's body, He breathed His own divine life into the verywords of Scripture. And not just some scripture, but all scripture.

Then Paul saysthat this inspired Scripture is “profitable for doctrine, for reproof, forcorrection.” The Word of God is a down-to-earth document. It meets us where weare and tells us what to do. This practical book is designed to help us dealwith the realities of our everyday lives. The word doctrine indicates that thefunction of the Bible is to teach. The word “reproof” indicates that God's Wordhas the power to convict. The Bible is the instrument that the Holy Spirit usesto quicken our consciences. It rebukes us. The word “correction” occurs onlyhere in the New Testament and has to do with the redirection of a person'slife. It means literally “restoration toan upright state.”

Paul's epistlesto the churches illustrate these “profitable” functions of the Word of God. Theletters addressed to the Romans, Ephesians, and Thessalonian churches are keyepistles. All three are concerned with the doctrine.Romans deals with the doctrine of Christ's cross.Ephesians deals with the doctrine of Christ's church, and 1 and 2 Thessalonians deal with the doctrine ofChrist's coming.

Romans isfollowed by 1 and 2 Corinthians which are concerned with reproof. Paul reproved the believers in Corinth because they werenot living up to the practical teaching of the epistle to the Romans. TheCorinthians failed to apply the teaching of the cross to their lives. TheCorinthian letters were followed by the book of Galatians, which is concernedwith correction. Paul corrected thebelievers of Galatia because they were not entering into the doctrinal teachingof the epistle to the Romans. The Galatians were moving away from the simpleteaching of the cross to “another gospel.”

Like Romans,Ephesians is followed by an epistle that is concerned with reproof: the letter to the Philippians. In it, Paul reprovedEuodias and Syntyche, whose squabbling had destroyed, on a practical level, theteaching in Ephesians about the oneness of the body of Christ. Following thispattern, Philippians is followed by Colossians, which is concerned with correction. Paul corrected theColossians because of a doctrinal departure from the teaching of the book ofEphesians. A dangerous cult that attacked the headship and lordship of Christhad sprung up in Colossae.

According to thepattern, the doctrinal letters to the Thessalonians come next, but they are notfollowed by epistles of reproof and correction. Although they were probablywritten first, the Thessalonian letters are the last of the church epistles inthe New Testament. All truth climaxes in them, for no higher truth can betaught than the second coming of Christ. Those who are seen as dead and risenin Christ in the epistle to the Romans, and as seated in the heavenlies inChrist in the epistle to the Ephesians, are seen as caught up with Christ inthe epistles to the Thessalonians.

In Romans, we areseen as justified in Christ; inEphesians, we are seen as sanctifiedin Christ; and in Thessalonians, we are seen as glorified with Christ. Once we are inheaven, there will be no more need for reproof and correction.

The Forgotten Word in our Christian Vocabulary

2011-12-11T07:30:00.000-08:00

“From that time Jesus began to preach and tosay, ‘Repent,

for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.’”

Matthew 4:17

There seems to be a forgotten word in ourChristian vocabulary. The word? Repentance! The call to “repent” is strangelysilent today. Some think it should be relegated to some tent service in the country.And yet, it was the message of all the prophets. It was the message of John theBaptist as he preached in the wilderness (Matthew 3:1-2). It was the messagewith which the Lord Jesus commenced His ministry (Matthew 4:17). It was alsothe message with which He concluded His ministry (Luke 24:46-47). It was themessage of the apostles as they preached and later scattered over the knownworld (Mark 6:12). It was the message which birthed the church at Pentecost(Acts 2:37-38). It was the missionary message of the Apostle Paul (Acts 17:30).And, in the last book of the Bible, it is the message of John the Revelator onPatmos to the churches of Asia (Revelation 2:5). In fact, this call to repentis woven throughout the tapestry of the entire Bible on almost every page.

It is not only one of the most forgotten words ofour time but one of the most misunderstood. What really is repentance? How isit applied to our lives?

Repentance translates a Greek word which literallymeans to “change one’s mind.” It is a change of mind which affects a change ofwill, which, in turn, brings about a change of action. This process isbeautifully illustrated in the old and often repeated story of the Prodigal Sonin Luke 15. After finding himself broke and broken, the company of a bunch ofhogs in a pig pen, he “came to himself” in verse 17.

This change of mind brought about a change ofvolition, a change of will. In the next verse he exclaims, “I will arise and goto my father.” Once he had changed his mind and changed his will, his actionswere sure to follow. Thus, in verse 20 we read, “And he arose and went to hisfather.” Repentance is a change of mind. That is it. And how do we know if wehave truly come to a change of mind? Our volition will be changed as well andour actions will follow.

Understanding Our Salvation

2011-12-06T13:01:00.001-08:00

“Being confident of this very thing, that He whohas begun a good work in you

will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ”

Philippians 1:6

Many personal salvation testimonies go somethinglike this — “I heard the gospel of Jesus Christ... I decided to open my life toHim...I came to Jesus...I gave Him my heart... I received Him... I repented ofmy sins... I decided to follow Jesus.” Note the continual use of theperpendicular pronoun as if it all depended upon me. When we get to heaven, wewill find out how little we actually had to do with it all and how much thereality of our verse today is true—“He who has begun a good work in you.” Salvationis from start to finish, from first to last, the work of God, Himself, in us.He sought us. He found us. He began the good work in us. He keeps us. And, oneday, He will present us faultless before His Fathers throne. After all, it wasthe shepherd himself who went after the sheep until he found it, then carried iton his shoulders safely back to the fold rejoicing all the while (Luke 15:1-7).

Our text makes this statement about the origin of our salvation, “He who has begun a good work inyou.” God is sovereign. This simply means He does what He pleases and is alwayspleased with what He does.

The origin of our salvation lies not within us,but with God Himself. He takes the initiative. He convicts of sin. He convincesof righteousness. He calls us out of darkness into His marvelous light. Heredeems us for His own. Yes, He begins the good work in us.

What is the outcome of this marvelous salvation providedus in Christ? It means we are secure. We are secure in the now life and in thenext life as well. We are secure in the now life. Christ, who beganthe good work, will finish it. He will not let us go. Since we are not saved byperforming good works, we are not kept by performing good works. Paul said, "As you have therefore received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk inHim." (Colossians 2:6). If faith is good enough to save us, it is goodenough to live by, to walk in. If Christ can give us new life, He can keep us.If man takes the initiative in salvation, he must retain the responsibility forthe final outcome. If God takes the initiative in salvation, then it is God whoretains the responsibility for the final outcome. Or, as Paul says, “He will completeit.”

Turning Temptations into Triumphs

2011-11-29T07:21:00.001-08:00

“No temptation has overtaken you except suchas is common to man; but God is faithful, who will not allow you to be temptedbeyond what you are able, but with the temptation will also make the way ofescape, that you may be able to bear it.”

1 Corinthians 10:13

The Joshua Principle is all about memorizing theword of God. One of the benefits Scripture memory is that it plays a vital rolein overcoming temptation. D L. Moody’s worn Bible, from which he preached tomillions in the nineteenth century, had these words written in his own hand inthe fly-leaf, “Sin will keep you from the Bible – or – the Bible will keep youfrom sin.”

It is not a sin to be tempted. Temptation comesour way in all sorts of forms and sizes. Our minds are like a hotel. Themanager cannot keep someone from entering the lobby. However, he can certainlykeep him from getting a room. It is not a sin when a temptation passes throughour mind. The sin comes when it does not do that: when it doesn’t pass throughour mind. The sin comes when we give that thought a room in our mind and let itdwell there.

One should not confuse temptations with trialsthat may come our way. Most often, trials are allowed, or even sent, by God tocause the Christian to stand. Temptations are sent from the devil to cause theChristian to stumble. “Let no one say when his is tempted, ‘I am tempted byGod,’ for God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does He Himself tempt anyone. Buteach one is tempted when he is drawn away by his own desires and enticed.”(James 1:13-14) The devil never made us do anything. He simply dangles the baitin front of us. Then we are “tempted when we are drawn away by our own desiresand enticed” by that which is outside the boundaries laid out for us in God’sWord.

You say, “I am tempted.” The Lord says, “What elseis new? I, too, was tempted in all points as you, yet without sin.” (Hebrews4:15) He taught us how to overcome our temptation. For forty days He wastempted of the devil in the wilderness of Judea. On each occurrence He overcameby quoting Scripture. The Word, hidden in our hearts, will keep us from sinwhen applied by faith to our lives.

We should not be surprised when temptation comesour way. It is, after all, “common to man.” But Christ Himself is our way ofescape. And, one thing can certainly be said of Him – “He is faithful.”

The Family Secret

2011-11-20T07:00:00.000-08:00

“And we know that all things work togetherfor good

to those who love God, to those who are thecalled

according to His purpose.”

Romans 8:28

Did you know that those of us who have been borninto God’s family also have a family secret? There is something that we knowthat those who are not part of God’s forever family do not know. Our familysecret is found in our verse for the week, Romans 8:28. On numerous occasionsacross my own Christian pilgrimage, I have looked to this verse to find refugeand hope in times of confusion or need.

This is a great verse, often quoted in times ofdistress. It needs to be looked at, however, in the light of its context. Likethe cogs in an intricate piece of machinery, all things work together for goodto the called of God for the simple reason that God's purposes cannot bethwarted. Although we may not see it now, everything will one day be seen tofit into God's perfect plan.

The principle is beautifully illustrated in the story ofJacob. He was reaping the harvest of his younger years. Joseph was gone; Reubenwas disgraced; Judah was dishonored; Simeon and Levi had broken his heart;Dinah was defiled; Simeon even now was in prison; beloved Rachel was dead;famine threatened the family. Then came the demand from Egypt that youngBenjamin must appear there before its awesome governor before any furthersupplies would be released. Old Jacob wept: “You have bereaved me: Joseph is nomore, Simeon is no more, and you want to take Benjamin. All these things areagainst me.” (Gen. 42:36). How wrong he was! “These things” and many more weresecretly working to his own good, as the end of the story proved. In that finalscene as Joseph stood before his brothers he assured them, as well as us, thetruth of God’s redemptive plan: “But as for you, you meant evil against me; butGod meant it for good, in order to bring it about as it is this day, to savemany people alive.” (Gen. 50:20) When God says “All things work together forgood,” He means “all things.”

God's Telephone Number

2011-11-13T07:00:00.000-08:00

"Call to Me, and I will answer you, and show you great and

mighty things, which you do not know."

Jeremiah 33:3

In Jeremiah 33:3 we find one of the most amazing promises in the entire Bible. Someone has called this God's telephone number. The line is never busy. It never goes to voice mail. He always answers. And, He answers in a way that far exceeds our most optimistic expectations.

Prayer is one of the awesome privileges of the Christian life. Jesus said, "My house shall be called a house of prayer." (Mark 11:17) Before it is to be called a house of Bible teaching or the house of evangelism or the house of discipleship or the house of social action, His house is to be called the "house of prayer." It is also of interest to note that the disciples asked of him, "Lord, teach us to pray." (Luke 11:1) They never asked Him to teach them to preach or to evangelize or to organize or mobilize. The only thing recorded that these faithful followers requested was that they be taught to pray. They observed Him for three years. They saw the intensity and frequency of His own personal prayer life. They knew that if they could capture the essence of prayer, they would be well on their way to preaching or any of the other ministries needed to be performed.

The Lord is on speed dial and you can call Him any time.

The Fruit of the Spirit

2011-11-07T06:39:00.000-08:00

"But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy peace, long-suffering, kindness,

goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control."

Galatians 5:22-23

The nine "fruits" described here in these verses are a cluster describing the evidence of the life of Christ within us. The fruit is singular here because it is the outcropping of one life within. The fruit represents what we are rather than what we do. Here we are reintroduced to the principle of being before doing. What we do is determined by who, or whose, we really are.

A delightful person to meet is the person in whom the fruit of the Spirit is well developed and in full display. Such a person is loving, full of joy, calm, and peaceful, come what may. Such a person is patiently submissive to God at all times and under all circumstances. He is gentle, good, completely dependable, strong, and quite above reacting to provocation. We have met such people. We have envied their poise. The good news is that by each of us submitting to the Lordship of Christ and by being filled with His Spirit, we can all be that kind of person.

The Filling of the Holy Spirit

2011-10-30T07:30:00.000-07:00

“And do not bedrunk with wine, in which is dissipation,

but be filled with the Spirit.”

Ephesians 5:18

The secret of the Christian life is not that it is achanged life; but, an exchanged life. It is not that we simply take on a fewnew sets of moral standards and attempt to change our attitudes and ouractivities. At the moment of conversion we give God our old life, He puts itaway, and He comes to live in us in the person of the Holy Spirit. His promiseto us is that He will abide there, never to leave us, filling us and empoweringus for service.

Paul makes a contrast here between being “drunk with wine”and being “filled with the Spirit.” The former causes one to be out of control,the other enables one to be in control. One is counterproductive, the other isproductive. One makes one powerless, the other empowers. One often bringssorrow, the other brings joy.

The admonition of our verse is a mandate, a command, “Be filledwith the Spirit.” God does not leave this as an option for the believer. Everyverb has a number, a tense, a voice and a mood. When this command to “be filled”is broken down, it is of interest to note that the number is plural. The tenseis present; that is, continuous action is involved here. The voice is passivewhich means the subject doesn’t act; it is acted upon by some outside force.The mood is imperative. It is a command. Thus properly translated, the Bible issaying, “All of us must always be being filled with the Holy Spirit.”

How can we be filled with the Spirit who lives in usthrough the new birth? Step in is to confess.We must come clean with Him. 1 John 1:9 says, “If we confess our sins, he isfaithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from allunrighteousness.” The next step is to crownJesus the Lord of our life. Romans 14:9 says, “To this end Christ both died androse and lived again, that He might be Lord of both the dead and the living.”Finally, we are to claim all of thisby faith. Mark 11:24 says, “Therefore I say to you, whatever things you askwhen you pray, believe that you receive them, and you will have them.” Confess –Crown – Claim! And, “Be filled with the Spirit.”

Three Levels of Prayer

2011-10-23T07:30:00.000-07:00

“Ask, and it will he given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, andit will he opened to you.”

(Matthew 7:7).

While Scripture memory and meditation is vital to avictorious Christian life, the same can be said for a vibrant and virtuousprayer life. God speaks to us through His Word and we speak to Him through ourprayers of praise, petition and intercession. Without the Bible, prayer has noreal direction. And, without prayer, the Bible has no real dynamic. Like hamand eggs, corn beef and cabbage, steak and potatoes, the Bible and prayer gohand in hand.

In the Sermon on the Mount, the Lord outlines the three levelsof prayer that should characterize the prayer life of each and every believer.In His words, we are to “ask. . . seek. . .knock.” Effective prayer is wrappedup with His will for our lives. If we know His will in a matter we “ask.” If wedo not know His will, we are to “seek.” If we know His will but the answer hasnot come, we are to “knock” until the door opens. Many believers never riseabove the first level of prayer to the level of seeking much less knocking.Effective prayers are those which beseech the Throne of Grace on all threelevels.

God's Remedy for Man's Sin

2011-10-16T07:30:00.000-07:00

“All we like sheep have gone astray; we haveturned, every one, to his own way; and the Lord has laid on Him the iniquity ofus all.”

Isaiah 53:3

The man without the Lord Jesus Christ is like asheep. He is helpless to get to the fold himself. He is on his own against “thewiles of the devil;” ill equipped for fight or flight.

Since we find ourselves “like sheep,” dumb,directionless and defenseless; and since “we have turned, every one, to his ownway,” God has come to our rescue. “And the Lord has laid on Him (Jesus) theiniquity of us all.” There is no clearer explanation for what transpired on thecross of Calvary than in these words of Isaiah 53:6. On the cross the LordJesus took our sin in His own body, bearing the wrath of God’s punishment wedeserved. He suffered the hurt, the humiliation of our sin, the agony and thedeath we deserved to die. He died our death so that we could live His life. Hetook our sin so that we could take His righteousness. Not only was His death onthe cross voluntary, but it was vicarious. He died in my place. What a Savior!

Happy Are The Hungry

2011-10-09T07:30:00.000-07:00

“Blessed are those who hunger and thirst forrighteousness, for they shall be filled.”

Matthew 5:6

The fourth beatitude tells us that we are to aimat being righteous. We are to “hunger and thirst after righteousness.” A personwho is desperately hungry or thirsty can think of nothing else. Hunger andthirst are the most basic and demanding drives of our physical nature. No onecan ignore them for long. Happy is the man who has an equally strong desire tobe like God.

None of the world's religions can satisfy thehuman craving to be good. It is not in man's fallen nature to be righteous, andall religion can do is cultivate his fallen nature. We are made righteouspractically by the Holy Spirit.

According to the Epistle to the Romans,righteousness is first revealed, then required, then received, and only afterthat, reproduced. (The word righteousnessoccurs in thirty-three verses in Romans.) We are constituted righteouspositionally by receiving as ours the righteousness of Christ. Our standingbefore God is thereby made perfect. We are made righteous practically—andrighteousness is the key to practical Christianity—by the work of theindwelling Holy Spirit, who imparts to us the divine nature and enables us toovercome our old Adamic nature. This work deals with our state, which is alltoo often imperfect. Our standing and state will be in perfect harmony when wereceive our resurrection bodies. Then we will be like Him for all eternity.

In the meantime the regenerated individual hungersand thirsts after righteousness in the happy anticipation that this desire isnot going to be left unfulfilled. One of the horrors of Hell is the fact thatGod will ultimately say to the lost, “He that is unjust [unrighteous], let himbe unjust [unrighteous] still” (Revelation 22:11). Lost people will craverighteousness with utter hopelessness. Not one drop of the water of life willbe able to reach them where they are.

A Psalm for the Ages

2011-10-02T07:30:00.000-07:00

"The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want"

Psalm 23:1

David begins Psalm 23 with two simple, yet profoundwords: “THE LORD.” Now, some translations of the Bible capitalize “Lord” toindicate that this is the noun Jehovah, which is the transliteration of thename Yahweh. That single noun combines all three tenses of the Hebrew verb “tobe.” Jeh, is He will be, future tense;Ov, is simply being, in the presenttense; Ah, is past tense. That oneword sums up the fact that God is eternal—He is the God who was, who is, andwho will be.

So when David says “The LORD,” he is essentiallysaying, “This is the God who addresses my past. This is the God who is presentin the here and now. And this is the God who is God of the future and all ofeternity.” That is exactly what the writer of the book of Hebrews tells us,“Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever,” (Hebrews 13:8).

David is telling us that as believers, it isunnecessary for us to worry about the past. God is Lord of the past. It's unnecessaryto worry about the present. He is God of the present. It is unnecessary toworry about the future. He is the God who is already there and holds it all inHis hands.

Right now you may be thinking, “That's easier saidthan done! You don't know all of the problems I'm facing in my life right now.”It's true—so many of us today are worried about things we used to take forgranted. It's funny how times can change us. We used to worry about havingextravagant things, but now we have to focus on the basics. We worry aboutputting food on the table. About keeping a roof over our family's heads.Wondering how we are going to put our children through school. But you can'tjustify or rationalize worrying by pointing to your problems—the effect on yourlife is too devastating.

The word worry comes from an old English word thatmeans to “choke or strangle.”

And that is exactly what worry does. It willsuffocate you, strangle your joy, and choke the life right out of you. Listento what Jesus said in Matthew 6:25: “For this reason I say to you, do not beworried about your life, as to what you will eat or what you will drink; norfor your body, as to what you will put on.” Jesus is speaking directly to allof those basic needs that we can spend so much time worrying about. And to putit simply, Jesus said, “Stop it.” The verb tense He uses here literally meansto stop whatever worrying is already in process and don't start worrying aboutanything else.

Later on in verse 34, Jesus says, “So do not worryabout tomorrow.” That is the future imperative. Jesus is saying that if you arenot worried now, don't start. Don't let it become a habit. Don't let this actof fear become something in your life that grips you day after day. Why?Because He is God. He is in charge. If you call Him Lord, then He will takecare of you.

Amazing Grace

2011-09-25T07:32:00.000-07:00

“For by grace you have been saved throughfaith,

and that not of yourselves;it is the gift of God.”

(Ephesians 2:8)

Many people today contend that we are all going to thesame place, just simply getting there by different paths. However, the Biblereminds us that “there is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is theway of death.” (Proverbs 14:12) Ephesians 2:8 gives us insight into God’swonderful plan of salvation:

Salvation is God’s work. (“Bygrace you have been saved”)

Where does our salvation have its origin? Many todaybelieve it is the work of man; that one can merit good favor by one’s gooddeeds. Yet the Bible clearly teaches here that our salvation is “by grace” andnot in response to any good works which we may, or may not, have done. It isprovided for us wholly due to God’s “grace.” His unmerited and undeservedfavor. The focus of that unmerited favor was the substitutionary death of JesusChrist on the cross when He died for our sins.

Salvation is God’s work in God’sway. (“through faith. . .not of yourselves. . .the gift of God.”)

Scripture says our salvation is by grace through faith;that is, trusting in God alone. There are only two religions in our world: truereligion and false religion. One is the religion of works while the other isfreely obtained “by grace through faith.” No amount of human effort, good deedsor giving of our resources can buy God’s favor.

Salvation is God’s work in God’sway according to God’s will.

The eighth and ninth verses of the second chapter of Paul’sletter to the Ephesians cannot stand alone without finding themselves withinthe context of verse ten. “For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesusfor good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.”(Eph. 2:10) “We are His workmanship.” You are God’s special creation. You areunique to Him and indescribably valuable.

And, all this was “prepared beforehand” by GodHimself “that we should walk” with Him. Not only is this salvation His work andin His way, but it is also according to His will.

The Most Quoted Verse in the Bible

2011-09-21T05:00:00.000-07:00

“For God so loved the world that He gave Hisonly begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but haveeverlasting life.

John 3:16

John 3:16 is the most quoted verse in the Bible.It is often referred to as the gospel in one verse. It reveals to ussalvation’s cause, its cost, its condition, and its consequence.

Salvation’s Cause (“For God so loved the world”)

The motivating factor behind God’s redemptive planfor every man and woman is found in His love for us. “God is love” and this deepemotion is what brings abut the possibility of our redemption. God’s love foryou is the motivating cause of salvation.

Salvation’s Cost (“That Hegave His only begotten Son”)

Our salvation, the free pardoning of our sin andthe promise of abundant and eternal life in Christ, did not come without cost.Jesus not only spoke of His love for us, but, He “demonstrated His own love forus in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” (Romans 5:8) Oursalvation came at a great cost, “He gave His only begotten Son.”

Salvation’s Condition(“That whosoever believes in Him”)

Many think their own good works are the pathway toeternal life. Consequently, they do this or do that or they don’t do this ordon’t do that all in order to earn salvation. But our salvation is “done.” Itis already purchased for us with the blood of Christ on the Cross. Our part isto “believe,” to transfer our trust from ourselves and our own efforts to Hisfinished work on the cross of Calvary.

Salvation’s Consequence (“Shallnot perish but have everlasting life”)

What a consequence! What a promise! Those withoutChrist are “perishing.” But, those in Christ have the eternal promise of “everlastinglife.” This comes not from our own human efforts, morals or good deeds, but thepromise is to those who realize that God’s love reached down to us, was madepossible by a great price, and is received by grace through faith alone;believing on the Lord Jesus Christ.

The Beginning of Everything

2011-09-19T07:10:00.000-07:00

In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.

Genesis 1:1

There it stands, the opening statement of Scripture. Noattempt is made to water it down, to apologize to a skeptical age, even toprove that God is. The Holy Spirit simply deems certain truths to beself-evident, the first and foremost, that God is. In one statement He sweepsaside atheism by asserting Hisexistence, polytheism by declaringHimself to be one, and pantheism byseparating Himself from matter. No statement is made as to when God created theuniverse, apart from the fact that He did so “in the beginning.”

Genesis 1 is a statement of origins, and science knowsnothing of origins. Science is concerned with how things go on and has nothingto say as to how they begin. Science can measure the laws that now govern inthe material universe, but those laws do not explain how the whole process wasstarted. A man can measure the swing of a clock's pendulum and come up with anequation that will state exactly where the pendulum bob will be at any futuremoment. By changing certain factors in his equation he can probe into the past.For a while his answers will make sense, but there will come a point at whichhis equation will give him ridiculous information. If he goes back too far, theequation will tell him that the pendulum was swinging in wider and wider arcsuntil, at last, it was swinging in two directions at the same time! Two conclusionswill emerge. First, the laws that now govern the swing of the pendulum do notexplain how the pendulum first began to swing. Second, something quitedifferent from what is now happening must have taken place in the beginning toget the pendulum started. The observer at that point is driven to mere theorybecause he cannot state positively when and how the pendulum first began toswing. The only way he could state with confidence, “This is how the pendulumbegan to swing,” would be if someone who was there when it happened were totell him. In other words, that kind of information is not to be obtained byreasoning but by revelation. That, of course, is exactly how Moses derived theinformation for the writing of Genesis 1.

The Joshua Principle

2011-09-10T06:33:00.000-07:00

"This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate in it day and night, that you may observe to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success." (Joshua 1:8)

God's will for us, like Joshua, is that we have "good success." The Lord does not define "success" like many in our world system today. Success for the believer, can be defined as the ability to find the will of God for your life and to do it!

That is what the Joshua Principle is all about. This principle involves three important issues:

1. Involves A Constant Practice.

The challenge is to meditate on the Word of God both "day and night." Joshua was the first man who was to learn the Word of God in the same way as us, from the words of a book. He was to keep it in his mouth and in his mind. The emphasis for Joshua, and for us, is upon making it a constant practice.

2. Incites A Completed Purpose.

What is the purpose of keeping the Word in our mind and in our mouth? That "you may observe to do according to all that is written in it." Reading the Bible gives us knowledge about God. Anyone can do that. Knowledge is simply the accumulation of facts. But, obeying the Bible is what enables us to have a knowledge of God. Our completed purpose, in the eyes of God, is to move us beyond simply reading and studying the Bible to an action of obedience as we put it in to practice in our own experience.

3. Invokes a Conditional Promise.

It is when we obey the Word that "then" we will have "good success." And how do we do this? We do it through the constant practice of meditating on the Word and keeping it in our hearts, letting it permeate our very being and so directing the thought processes of our minds that we speak it with our mouths at points of need.

Here is true success in life: To stay in the Word of God until we find the will of God so that we can walk in the ways of God.

Welcome to the Joshua Challenge

2011-08-03T12:32:00.000-07:00

O.S. Hawkins, the president of the Annuity Board of the Southern Baptist Convention wrote a little book called The Joshua Principle: 52 Bible Verses Every Christian Should Know. The book challenges Christians to not only know these verses, but to memorize them. I felt like this was such an important challenge that I am going base my preaching ministry for a year on the verses contained in this book. I am also going to challenge the church I pastor as well as those who read this blog to memorize these verses.

Beginning on September 4th and continuing for the next year I will post a verse and some thoughts about the verse on a weekly basis.