Real Christians Hurt… And Show It

As Paul concluded his second letter to Timothy, he expressed some hurt. Demas had forsaken him. Alexander the coppersmith had caused him much harm. At one point, no one was willing to stand with Paul. Rejection, criticism, and abandonment hurt! The world is watching believers to see how we’re going to handle it all.

WAIT! There is more to read… read on »

Hate Sin or Hate Self

Moments ago, I was spending some time in prayer and I was confessing known sin in my life. As I prayed, I said, “God, I’m sorry for this sin, I ought to hate this sin.” Almost instantly God spoke to my heart and I blurted out what I heard Him say, “Brandon, you’ll either learn to hate your sin, or you’ll wind up hating yourself.”

As we confess sin and seek the Holy Spirit’s power to overcome it, we ought to remember that we have a new identity in Christ. We are not to be subject to a very popular but perhaps erroneous “miserable sinnerism” (coined by J. Sidlow Baxter) but rather we are to see ourselves as forgiven and freed. Sin no longer defines us, Christ does, if we’ve been washed once for all in His blood.

In order to preserve a close intimacy with God and forward spiritual progress, I desperately need to see myself as “in Christ,” to see sin as something to be loathed, and to see cleansing as a continuous need. If we loathe ourselves, we’ll give up. If we exalt ourselves, we’ll blow it because of pride. But if we hate sin and exalt the indwelling Christ in us, we’ll see the victory!

I Want to Climb Higher

In today’s devotional reading from J. Sidlow Baxter’s book Awake My Heart, there is a particularly moving paragraph that not only puts into perspective what the Christian’s worldview ought to be, but also inspires us to remember the ultimate end of that worldview…

Christ’s people were never meant to live at the world’s sea-level. We are meant to have a mountain view, the long view, the wide view, the really understanding view. We are meant to see the happenings of our time in the light of inspired prophecy, through the eyes of the Holy Spirit, from the high view-point of the divine purpose, and with our gaze on the ultimate victory of Christ.

He then closes out the writing with a sample prayer of commitment for the coming year that I want to make my own:

I will give not less than thirty minutes each day to prayer. I will commend my Savior in earnest conversation to at least one person each week. I will read consecutively each day from both Old and New Testaments. I will allow nothing in my life which might in any way compromise the name of Jesus.

The Motivation of Sure Success

“But thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye steadfast, unmoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labour is not in vain in the Lord.” -1 Corinthians 15:57-58

When I was in Junior High, I had a Nintendo game system and a particular baseball game in which you could pre-program the statistics of your team to make them better. You were allowed a certain number of homeruns for the season and you divided them among your lineup as you felt best. I would stack the first seven batters with all of the statistics so that I would end up winning almost every game against the computer. In a 162-game season, I’d end up winning about 150 games! Cheating? You decide.

One thing I know is that the odds are already stacked in our favor. You may feel like Satan’s punching bag today, but God has already insured your success. Satan is defeated, or at least he is as good as defeated. When darkness shrouded Jesus on the cross, Satan had his brief glimmer of limelight, but when the tomb was opened, Satan’s doom was sealed! Now God’s Word says clearly that every believer has sure victory, certain success, absolute assurance of final conquest.

We often wonder at God’s ways. If you want your people to work hard, why guarantee their salary? Why not give them a quota, some incentive to earn their keep. But remember that the very nature of salvation is that it’s a free gift from God. The gospel would not be so glorious if it could be earned by our labor. Instead it is too lofty, too high for us. It is so glorious it is unattainable. God’s eternal riches are reserved for those who, in absolute humility, fall on their faces before His throne in worship and adoration. May His name be praised! We’ve won, now let’s get to work!

True Patriotic Heroism

“Zebulun and Naphtali were a people that jeoparded their lives unto the death in the high places of the field.” -Judges 5:18

There are a lot of great songs in the Bible. The book of Psalms reads like a hymnbook without notes. There is the song of Moses and the song of Miriam. Judges, chapter five, contains the song of Deborah after she and Barak fought with Jabin and Sisera. The fight must have been hard fought and though God gave them victory, much loss must have been incurred.

At the end of the day’s fighting, Deborah composed a song in which she recounted the day’s battle. In the midst of the song, she points out that some of the tribes wanted to approach the situation with diplomacy, in writing. Others remained at home to mind their own business. Still others fought from ships or from stationary bunkers on the beach, but two tribes - Zebulun and Naphtali - put their very lives on the line. They fought in the high places of the fields, hand to hand.

The Hebrew word for “jeoparded” means that they exposed themselves to the elements of battle, risked reproach and even death for the cause of Israel. For the rest of the tribes, the bleakness of their plight was unconcerning. For Zebulun and Naphtali, however, Israel’s safety and future were at stake. Issachar was the third tribe involved directly in the battle. It is apparent that Issachar covered the main front while the other two tribes provided reinforcements.

When it comes to fighting spiritual battles today, many of us are like Benjamin and Ephraim. We’d like to make an agreement with evil that says, “You don’t bother me, and I won’t bother you.” Obviously evil forces don’t honor peace treaties! Others of us are willing to fight, but only from a safe spot such as a ship or a bunker. It’s much easier to look the part of a hero when your uniform doesn’t get messy. But how many of us will be like Zebulun and Naphtali who were willing to engage the enemy and risk everything believing that the Kingdom of God was worth it? The spiritual climate enjoyed by future generations hinges on our decisiveness in putting our lives on the line to prove that God is still on His throne!

What’s the spiritual battle from which you want to retreat today? Stand up and risk all to fight on the open plain, and God will be your greatest Defender! Whether we live or die, God’s name will be honored in the fight!

Why I’m Not Too Concerned

“O Timothy, keep that which is committed to thy trust, avoiding profane and vain babblings, and oppositions of science falsely so called: Which some professing have erred concerning the faith. Grace be with thee. Amen.” -1 Timothy 6:20-21

Have you noticed how often the world throws curveballs at conservative Christianity? In the “search for the historical Jesus,” the late Peter Jennings sought to dig up evidence that Jesus’ personal claims were misunderstood and the beliefs of the disciples were sorely mistaken. More recently, Dan Brown’s bestselling book The Da Vinci Code has ruffled feathers among Christian leaders. Within the last week, The National Geographic Society has released news of its research on a recently discovered ancient text known as “The Gospel of Judas.” But none of these things move me. Why? Because there have been challenges to the Christian faith for nearly two millennia now and not one has toppled the church.

Let me warn you, there will be many more challenges. Though we must be on guard, we must not allow the enemy to stage the battle. Our ultimate battle is not with flesh and blood, be they reporters, authors, or professors. Our grand war is with Satan and the resurrection of Jesus has secured our victory. The church will triumph as Jesus promised! Just as Jesus has risen, so our faith will stand.

Help Is On the Way

”Be ye also patient; stablish your hearts: for the coming of the Lord draweth nigh.” –James 5:8

Imagine yourself a Jew living in Palestine in the days leading up to the birth of Jesus. Like Anna and Simeon, you’ve been expecting Messiah to come any time. You’ve read the prophecy of Daniel which foretold the very day that Jesus would be rejected by Israel (the seventy weeks’ prophecy). Micah had recorded that the place would be Bethelehem. Perhaps you’ve even heard about the miraculous birth of the Messiah’s forerunner to an elderly priestly couple.

Have you noticed that we live and feel differently when there is an expectation and anticipation in our hearts? James says to suffering believers who are scattered throughout the world, “Endure. Stay strong. Jesus is coming.”

Anna and Simeon were an aged priestly couple who held on until they could see the hope and consolation of Israel. When they finally saw Jesus, they could leave the world in peace. Life brings its burdens but James admonished us to hold on for Jesus is coming. His appearance is nigh at hand. He came the first time in a manger and met rejection and crucifixion. He shall come the second time in judgment and victory over the world and over our enemy, Satan. Hold on today, for help is on the way!

Quit You Like Men

“Watch ye, stand fast in the faith, quit you like men, be strong.”—1 Corinthians 16:13

I’ve always enjoyed watching baseball but I do believe the sport lacks a significant element today and that is team loyalty. Some of my favorite players were George Brett, Robin Yount, and Cal Ripken, Jr., all of whom stayed with their respective teams through the high and low years, no matter what. Trades were rare deals and contracts were secondary to being part of a team for life.

I feel that the direction of modern baseball is simply following the spirit of our age, which tells us to jump to the next thing that looks good. Our age says, “The grass is always greener on the other side of the fence, so hop the fence!” Though change is sometimes the will of God, there are certain things we ought to be loyal to no matter what, such as our wife and kids, our faith, our convictions.

Paul’s encouragement to “quit you like men” means “Stand up and be men of courage! We could summarize Paul’s quick word of advice in this way…

“Stand fast in the faith, never give up on your belief in Christ.”
“Stand up with courage, never give in to the world’s pressure.”
“Stand strong, see the trials of life as God’s chisel in our lives.”

Men, stand fast, stand up, and stand strong! Isn’t your God worth it? Isn’t your country worth it? Aren’t your wife and kids worth it? We need another generation of Cal Ripkens – iron men who will endure the slumps of life and enjoy the highlights of our season and who, through both, never want to miss the game. It’s the ninth inning of history and victory is at stake, so stay on the base-path and head for home plate!