Shape Up, Or Sin Out!

There is a universal law in our world termed entropy, and I fear it is true of myself as well. Entropy states that there is a "inevitable and steady deterioration of a system," and my life suffers from it, for sure. Just as things tend to degress naturally (i.e., the cleanliness of my room), so does my spiritual life, which is life itself, to be quite true.

Isn't it true that we are most drawn to prayer when we are at our most pathetic? Don't we often look to God when things are going poorly? Why is that? When skies are sunny and temperatures mild, do we think to go to the One who made them that way?

It seems if I were to take a more preventative stance in my guard against sin, I wouldn't lurch from this spiritual seesaw, "being tossed to and fro by every wind of doctrine." I mean, let's be honest, we need no false prophets to succumb to the allures of erroneous doctrine. It takes only a furtive glance, a misplaced word, an unguarded mind.

I am challenged to guard against my entropic tendencies, and not rest on the victories of today. As a sinner, I can quickly err tomorrow. It is, perhaps, what we commit to in the easier times that proves us victorious in the hard ones. So, pray in earnest, and do so often. "Don't think of yourself more highly than you ought to think," and give yourself undue license to indulge.

An athelete proves himself in the offseason; a farmer commits when the ground lies fallow; a soldier enlists before the battle cry ever sounds. A Christian, then, must resolve now that they'll remain ever ready for the Lord's return, lest they be found lacking oil for their lamps (Matthew 25). "The spirit is willing," eh, "but the flesh is indeed weak." Allow the Spirit of God to do vigilant work in your life, then, and avoid the 'slippery skin' you're in.

References: Ephesians 4:14; Romans 12:3; 2 Timothy 2; Matthew 26:41

Christ, Our Judge & Lawgiver

Lord, haste the day when we enjoy the writings of clear, concise thinkers like
R. A. Torrey and John Owens! I have been encouraged yet again by but a few pages of our Puritan brother, John Owens. In his work Sin and Temptation, he deals with the efficacy of the Law to prevail over sin. There is, of course, no such thing, as the Law instead acts to give us knowledge of sin (Romans 7:7; "I had not known sin, but by the law"). The Law even manages to magnify our sin, demonstrating our tremendous need of a Savior.

So, what do we do? We strain and strive to live rightly, casting aside the gross, objectionable sins, while paving the way for the dark insidiousness of "blindness, superstition, self-righteousness, and pride." Per Owens, "what sin loses sensually, it gains spiritually" in these various areas. How often we find ourselves mustering in our own strength and resolve to prevail over sin, ignoring "true gospel grace," as Owens terms it. He makes a powerful analogy: "Locking up wild beasts does not change them, for the inward violence remains. Likewise, it is grace alone that changes the heart of man."

I pray today that you find yourselves not in a humanly straining towards holiness, but in a Godward straining towards the Savior. I am convinced that much of our struggle with sin is in an attempt to conquer it ourselves, rather than leaning on the singular One who proved victorious over it. The spotless, righteous Lamb of God, who was in every way tempted, and yet evidenced no inkling of leaning towards it. Surely He shall prove strong to save, and Victor over sin and its entanglements. Surely we would be wise to place our faith in Him. Though we be His disciples, we are often found to be of such little faith, are we not? Choose this day to lean wholly on Him, and not on your own surmising. As the Law demonstrates your need, go to Him for its satisfaction.

This Month's Memory Verses

James 4:7-11 (HCSB)

James 4:7—To recite Nov. 11th: Therefore, submit to God. But resist the Devil, and he will flee from you.

James 4:8—To recite Nov. 18th: Draw near to God, and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, sinners, and purify your hearts, double-minded people!

James 4:9—To recite Nov. 25th: Be miserable and mourn and weep. Your laughter must change to mourning and your joy to sorrow.

James 4:10—To recite Dec. 2nd: Humble yourselves before the Lord, and He will exalt you.

James 4:11—To recite Dec. 9th: Don't criticize one another, brothers. He who criticizes a brother or judges his brother criticizes the law and judges the law. But if you judge the law, you are not a doer of the law but a judge.

When I Am Weak, Then I Am Strong

2 Corinthians 12:1-10

What are areas in your life in which you struggle to be obedient to God because you have weaknesses there?
 Being a more courageous witness of the gospel
 Committing to study the Bible daily
 Leading a Bible study
 Saying no to sin under pressure from others
 Submitting to an authority you disagree with
 Turning the other cheek when someone wrongs you, leaving justice to God
 Missing worship because you are busy or tired
 Giving money to the church when your finances are tight
 Praying in front of others for fear of sounding silly

Often we hear a multitude of excuses for disobedience:
 Knowing we should be better at evangelism we say, “Well, I’m just not a very good speaker…I’m scared I will be thought of as a fanatic…I don’t know what to say.”
 People tell me they don’t study their Bibles because they are good at reading.
 We lash out at people when we feel we have been wronged, and we say that they had it coming, or they deserved retribution.
 When we wake up Sunday morning feeling like a truck ran over us, we think that its not a big deal if we miss church this one time.

There are always good reasons why we shouldn’t do something. The priest and the Levite who passed by the beaten traveler in the story of the good Samaritan (Luke 10:25-37) probably had great excuses for not helping the man. The question is, are we being obedient to the call of God’s commands, whether we feel equipped or not.

Take a look at some examples of people in the Bible who were afraid to obey.
 Moses – Exodus 3 and 4
o Moses said he couldn’t speak very well
o God said He will give him the strength to lead Israel out of Egypt
 Gideon – Judges 6
o Gideon said he was the weakest in his house, from the weakest clan in Manasseh and couldn’t lead Israel into battle.
o God said He will be with him to defeat the Midianites.
 Esther
o This unknown Jewish girl was made queen and was called by God to save the Jews from annihilation.
 Jeremiah – Jeremiah 1:5-10
o Jeremiah said he was too young to take God’s word to the nations.
o God said He would put His words in Jeremiah’s mouth.
 Jesus’ Disciples – Matthew 26:56, 26:69-75
o The disciples fled in fear when Jesus was arrested and Peter even denied knowing Jesus.
o God gave His Holy Spirit to them and they were bold preachers to their deaths.
 Paul – 1 Corinthians 2:1-5
o Paul was a poor speaker. He looked like a bum. He was weak, fearful, and trembling when he preached the gospel.
o Paul was from the tribe of Benjamin, and a respected Jewish leader. He had seen Christ himself and had seen into heaven. But he refused to try and convince people of his message by using his own accomplishments. He rejoiced in his weaknesses (2 Corinthians 4:7, 11:30, 12:5-9) so that God’s power and glory would be magnified.

We were promised persecution. It is natural to fear it, but we should be overcoming it, fearing God more than man (Matthew 10:28). Allow your fear to drive you to trust more in Him who will strengthen you and accomplish His will through you. You will begin to see amazing things happening when you trust God in your weaknesses instead of using them as excuses. Prayer will become MUCH more important. Studying the Word becomes increasingly vital to ministry. Thoughts are less often focused on what will happen to you and more on seeing God’s will be done. After the fear is gone and the task is accomplished, you will step back and praise God for doing such a mighty work through you. You suddenly realize that most of the fears were sinful exaggerations of the power of other people. God becomes more real to you because you were trusting in His strength to obey in something you otherwise never would have been able to carry out.

Can you recall any time you experienced great fear, but relying on God, stepped forward in faith to obey? Were you still thinking about yourself or thanking God for His greatness? Did you experience the same fears the next time you were called to obey?

“The weaker the human instrument, there more clearly God’s grace shines forth.” – John MacArthur

“I learned that courage was not the absence of fear, but the triumph over it. The brave man is not he who does not feel afraid, but he who conquers that fear.” - Nelson Mandela

How to Pray: The Final Chapter

This is a lengthy portion of the work, as he lists the various hindrances to our prayers. Here goes!

1. (I LOVE this!!) The true purpose in prayer is that God may be glorified in the answer. If we ask any petition merely that we may receive something to use in our pleasures or in our own gratification in one way or another, we "ask amiss" (James 4:3).

Torrey lists a few examples of this, but the most poignant is this: The wife of an unbelieving husband may "pray amiss" that her husband might be saved, for the fear that he "might die and be lost forever." Her true desire should be his salvation because she can't bear the thought that "God the Father should be dishonored by her husband trampling underfoot the Son of God." WOW!! That's radical!

2. Another hindrance to our prayers may be that some sin in the present is cherished, and is very likely not even looked upon as sin. In Torrey's own experience, he remembers confessing, "If this is wrong, I will give it up," when he knew full well that it was wrong. It is no wonder, then, that he received no answer, even though it seemed to him that he must have his request or God would be dishonored. When at last he said, "This is wrong. I have sinned. I will give it up," he found peace, and an assurance of his request having been answered.

For this reason, "anyone who would have power in prayer must be merciless in dealing with his own sins." If there be "any controversy with God," we cannot expect Him to heed our prayers.

3. Perhaps of even more hindrance than this is how idolatrous we so easily become, a point to which Ezekiel 14:3 speaks: "Son of man (speaking to the prophet), these men have taken their idols into their heart, and put the stumbling block of their iniquity before their face: should I be inquired of at all by them?" asks the Lord. We all know that idols are not simply of stone or wood, and there certainly are not remnants of the past; nevertheless, we often overlook our own idolatries in this present age, presuming them justified. Ezekiel 14:3 applies as much today as then.

4. Yet another hindrance to our prayers, so often overlooked, is that of a lack of generosity. I'll allow the Word to speak for itself: Luke 6:38 says "Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you." Certainly God answers our requests with an eye to those we have answered around us. Again, 1 John 3:21-22: "Dear friends, if our hearts do not condemn us, we have confidence before God and receive from him anything we ask, because we obey his commands and do what pleases him. Consider the context, as it is made in "direct connection with generosity toward the needy." Finally, consider that "my God shall fulfill every need of yours according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus" (Philippians 4:19). This, too, was made in direct reference to the generosity of the Philippian church.

5. Per Torrey, "When one thinks of the selfishness of the professing church today (circa 1904), how the orthodox churches of this land do not average one dollar per year per member for foreign missions, it is no wonder that the church has so little power in prayer." Can it be that dissimilar in our present day, if not worse?

6. Torrey further states that "an unforgiving spirit is one of the commonest hindrances to prayer," because, whether we like it or not, we get a certain "miserable gratification in hating somebody."

7. "Many a man who makes great pretensions to piety, and is very active in Christian work, but shows little consideration in his treatment of his wife" is hindering his prayers, according to 1 Peter 3:7. The same applies to "many a woman who is very devoted to the church, and very faithful in attendance upon all services, but treats her husband with the most unpardonable neglect, being cross and peevish toward him, and wounding him by the sharpness of her speech and ungovernable temper." Furthermore, "there is much of sin covered up under the holy name of marriage that is a cause of spiritual deadness."

8. The final hindrance listed is that of unbelief. God demands that we believe His Word absolutely. To question it is to make Him a liar. How many prayers are hindered by our wretched unbelief! (And so I find myself)

9. In Torrey's final chapter, he recounts when to pray, drawing from Christ's example.
a. "in the morning" (Mark 1:35) - More can be accomplished in prayer in the first hours of the day than at any other time during the day, so that the first thing we do each day should be to go alone with God and face the duties, the temptations, and the service of that day, and get strength from God for them all.
b. "in the night hours" (Luke 6:12) - In the night hours the world is hushed in slumber, and we can easily be alone with God and have undisturbed communion with Him.
c. "before great crisis" (Luke 3:21-22; 6:12-13; 9:18, 28-29; 22:39-46; mark 1:35-38). He found Himself in many crises, and prayed consistently over them. "He prepared for every important crisis by a protracted season of prayer."
d. "after great achievements and important crises" (Matthew 14:23; John 6:15) - Many and many a man in answer to prayer has been endued with power and thus has wrought great things in the name of the Lord, and when these great things were accomplished, instead of going alone with God and humbling himself before Him and giving Him all the glory for what was achieved, he has congratulated himself upon what has been accomplished, has become puffed up, and God has been obliged to lay him aside." A lot there, but very true.
e. "when life is busy" (Luke 5;15-16) - the more the work crowded, the more He prayed.
f. "before great temptations" (Matthew 26:36) - in Gethsemane, especially. "many of the temptations of life we can see approaching from the distance, and in such cases the victory should be won before the temptation really reaches us."
g. "without ceasing" (1 Thessalonians 5:17; Ephesians 6:18) - "There should be a constant upward looking of the soul to God."

Prayer: Plain & Simple 2

For those of you who have been waiting anxiously to hear more of what R. A. Torrey has to say regarding prayer, I ask, "Why haven't you bought the book yet?" After finishing the read today, though, I am excited to jot down Torrey's concluding thoughts on the subject.

1. God delights in the holy boldness that will not take no for an answer. We must come with "importunity," meaning literally, with "shamelessness." To do so is an expression of great faith, and nothing pleases God more than faith (hence Christ's constant exhortation to those of 'little faith.'). A contrary example would be that of Matthew 15:28. Check it out.

2. Many people call it submission to the will of God when God does not grant them their requests at the first or second asking, and they say, "Well, perhaps it is not God's will." As a rule, says Torrey, this is not submission but spiritual laziness.

3. To abide in Christ (John 15:7) is to renounce all life independent of Christ and constantly to look to Him for the inflow of His life into us, and the outworking of His life through us.

4. When our prayers fail, it is because they are indeed our prayers. We have conceived the desire and framed the petition of ourselves, instead of looking to Christ to pray through us.

5. There are many who wonder why they are so powerless in prayer, but the very simple explanation of it all is found in their neglect of the words of Christ. It is not by seasons of mystical meditation and rapturous experiences that we learn to abide in Christ; it is by feeding upon His Word (this was especially piercing to me). And, be mindful that "mere intellectual study of the Word of God is not enough; there must be meditation upon it."

6. We should be just as definite in returning thanks as we are in prayer. We come to God with most specific petitions, but when we return thanks to Him, our thanksgiving is indefinite and general. Doubtless our heavenly Father refuses to answer petitions that we send up to Him in order that we may be brought to a sense of our ingratitude and taught to be thankful.

7. Returning thanks for blessings already received increases our faith, and reminds us that "there is nothing too hard for the Lord."

Pride is not good......

I found this clip about pride on a catholic website and thought it was pretty good.....

There is a species of pride in every sin, whatever may be the individual nature of the sin itself. Pride is the most dangerous of sins, because it blinds our understanding, and unless something finally makes us realize the truth, we are liable to go on, day after day, in a spiritual self-delusion, imagining our acts to be good and virtuous when certain habits actually may be vicious. When we are blinded by pride, we do not consider our talents and abilities as God’s gifts to us, but attribute our good qualities to ourselves, with the right to use them as we see fit. Everybody is infected with the virus of pride! But there is a particular kind of pride in each individual; at least a particular kind dominates, though there may be several of its viruses in the same character.

This pride determines our temperament or our type of character, or at least is intimately related to it. Searching into our type of pride is very important for obtaining a true knowledge of ourselves, and for making fruitful efforts to root out sin and vice from our life. If we are of a sanguine temperament, our pride takes the form of self-centeredness. We want to be the “hub of the wheel”; we want others to notice us. We are touchy and easily offended. Our pride goads us to seek fame, praise, admiration. We fall into vainglory. If we have a choleric temperament, our pride is manifested in a strong self-will. We find it hard to submit to others or to yield to their opinions. We are often overbearing, critical, given to arguing, inflated with a sense of superiority, inconsiderate of the rights of others. If we are melancholic, our pride conceals itself under the garb of self-pity and oversensitiveness. Resentment, harboring grudges, suspicion, and unexpressed hostility are included in it. Often this pride is not recognized for what it is because it conceals itself as such, so we do not confess it as pride. If we have a phlegmatic character, our pride inclines us to self-complacency and vanity. We are likely to be shocked by faults in others, but quite satisfied with our own selves. Pride of superiority makes us want to control the lives of others, to impose ourselves on them, to “domineer” over them. It makes our will rigid and unbending when others assert authority. It is a self-will and obstinacy that sets us against the will of God, opposes our neighbor and makes us inflexible in carrying out the dictates of our own self-love.

Anger, indignation, arrogance, the spirit of contradiction and haughtiness are some of its offspring. This pride is usually rooted in a strongly opinionated mind which makes us refuse to see the light of reason or the truth evidenced by principles of revealed Faith. This unwillingness actually fosters ignorance. It is the pride which keeps many from entering the Church, or returning to the practice of the Faith when they have fallen away. Closely connected with this kind of pride—or perhaps we should say another name for it—is the pride of independence. This leads us to disobedience and insubordination, to contempt and arrogant contradiction, to refusal of advice and assistance, to resentment of reproof by lawful authority, to blasphemy against God, bitter cursing, oaths and irreverences in word and act. Delusions in regard to our own defects, self-conceit, attributing to ourselves our good qualities of mind, of person or of fortune—rather than to God, reveal pride of intellect. Sins against Faith arise from this pride.

Ok, now what did You say?

The Bible is replete with countless paradoxes, it seems, and one which the Lord has recently brought to my attention is that of "diligent rest" (Hebrews 4:11). "Diligence," by definition, is marked by "persevering, painstaking effort," which seems diametrically opposed to any definition of "rest" that I can conceive. Nevertheless, in the kingdom of God, this paradox, like many others, breaks down completely, once the power of God is entered into the equation. Luke 18:27 sums up this point well.

Regarding Hebrews 4:11, and the verses following, I can do no better than quote it in its entirety. It says this:

" Let us therefore be diligent to enter that rest, lest anyone fall according to the same example of disobedience. For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart. And there is no creature hidden from His sight, but all things are naked and open to the eyes of Him to whom we must give account.

"Seeing then that we have a great High Priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. For we do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin. Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need."

The "same example of disobedience" to which the writer refers is that of the nation of Israel, as they failed to enter the Promised Land, because of their rebellion. We must strive earnestly, then, to enter the promised rest, which has been prepared for us by the Lord Jesus Himself (John 14:2). But, we don't do this in our own strength, do we? We've no power to accomplish what we must, and our strivings fail miserably. Rather, we weigh ourselves against the Word of God, allowing it to discern our thoughts and intents of the heart. Too often, we try to discern/distill what we would like to take from the Word, picking and parsing until it says nothing more than our own preconceived thoughts. Per Jeremiah 17:9, this is a dastardly plan, and patently flawed.

What shall we do, then? What hope do we have? Verse 13 of Hebrews 4 reminds us that "no creature is hidden from His sight, but all things are naked and open to the eyes of Him to whom we must give account." He sees right through you. Try as you might, you cannot enter that rest by your own workings and yearnings. Lean wholly, then, upon the "great High Priest, Jesus the Son of God," since He lives always to intercede for the saints (Hebrews 7:25). Only then can we "come boldly to the throne of grace," obtaining mercy and finding grace in our time of need. Brothers and sisters, we are needy people. "I Need Thee Every Hour;" you know that song? How true it is!

So, yeah, go ahead and rest. Rest in Him, though, not your own laurels or self-satisfaction. Diligently strive to come before the Word, that your deeds may be exposed, and your faith driven to trust in His intercession, His perfected work, His supplanting of your grave failings. Here is where true rest is found; peaceful, conscience-clean, quiet rest.