Keeping Up with the Jones'

“Keeping up with the Jones.”  I know that generally this phrase means trying to maintain a certain material lifestyle based on the lifestyle of those around us.  Usually when people do this they accrue massive debt and live way beyond their means, thereby making their end worse than their beginning.  My question is does this phrase also apply, and have the same connotations, when used about our spiritual life?  What if we tried to out “holy” our brothers and sisters?  What if we tried to out pray them?  Out worship them? Out give them?  Does the reason that we are doing right matter?  Does “fake it until you make it” really apply?  So if your brother fasts once a week and you decide, “hey I am going to fast twice a week” - will that fast be honored?  If your sister wears ¾ length sleeves and you decide that you will wear long sleeves – will it count in the end? 

The Bible says it is not wise to compare ourselves amongst ourselves (II Corinthians 10:12-13) but to measure ourselves against the measure of God.  Though we all have the same plan of salvation and there are certain tenets that we all must abide by, the word of God say that we must work out our own salvation with fear and trembling (Philippians 2:12).  “Working out your own salvation” does not give us permission to be lenient or lax in our holiness, prayer life, or assembling of ourselves together.  It is merely finding the path that God wants you to walk.  That could be anything from obeying his voice about what you talk about to obeying him about moving to another state/country?  Does he want you to fast once a week or, because of your physical condition, fast a meal or some activity?  The path we walk with our Lord is a very personal path.  He made us each unique and we are at different places on our journey.  I feel that I have just started my journey.  There are many people that are much further along than I am but I cannot compare myself to them because perhaps I don’t “get” things as quickly as they do or my spiritual sensitivity isn’t as fine-tuned.  We just have to obey God’s word and do what we know to be right.

So my questions to myself are: Do I worship for the right reason?  Do I pray for the right reason?  Do I live a certain way for the right reason?  Do I pray and worship privately as fervently as when others can see me?  Or is my reasoning to be seen of man or to “keep up with the Jones?”  I think it is important that I take inventory of my heart and intentions and do the right things for the right reasons.

Stomping Fear

I have no desire to live in fear but in the power of God.  When I remember that God is taking care of all my tomorrows, I realize that I have no cause to fear.  It truly doesn’t matter what happens today, God will use it for my good tomorrow.  It kind of reminds me of the story about the animal that is in a deep pit and they can’t get it out so they decide to just bury it.  So shovel load of dirt after shovel load of dirt goes in on top of the animal but unbeknownst to the person shoveling – the animal is shaking off the dirt and stomping it down.  Before long the hole is filled and the animal can step out of the former pit.  Sometimes I feel like I am the animal in the pit – it’s dark and damp, I can’t see anything but despair and failure around me.  Then wouldn’t you know it, they try to bury me alive.  If I am not careful and don’t keep moving, I will be entombed in my despair and failure.  BUT if I keep trusting God and stomping down the fear, failures and anxiety I will be able to step out of that pit stronger than ever before.

I Chronicles 28:20 – …Be strong and of good courage, and do it: fear not, nor be dismayed: for the Lord God, even my God, will be with thee; he will not fail thee, nor forsake thee…

Luke 8:50 – When Jesus heard it, he answered him, saying, “Fear not: believe only…”

II Timothy 1:7 – For God hath not given us a spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.

Joshua 1:9 – Have not I commanded thee? Be strong and of good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the Lord thy God is with thee whithersoever thou goest.

Psalms 31:24 – Be of good courage, and he shall strengthen your heart, all ye that hope in the Lord.

With each new experience of letting God be in control, we gain courage and reinforcement for daring to do it again and again. ~Gloria Gaither

There comes a time when we simply have to face the challenges in our lives and stop backing down. ~John Eldredge

When once we are assured that God is good, then there can be nothing left to fear. ~Hannah Whitall Smith

If a person fears God, he or she has no reason to fear anything else. On the other hand, if a person does not fear God, then fear becomes a way of life. ~Beth Moore

Courage is contagious. ~Billy Graham

Blissful Ignorance

Ignorance is Bliss!!  How true that is.  I told an acquaintance yesterday that I wished that I was stupid (or an idiot – can’t remember the adjective that I used).  It seems like an odd thing to wish for but think about all the things that you wouldn’t miss or even be aware of if you didn’t have knowledge or experience.  When I worked in sewing factories down south, I met a lot of women that had never been out of North Carolina, some had not ventured out of a 2 or 3 county area, and they were blissfully happy. They were not aware nor did they miss seeing three foot of snow, or the tulips in Holland, MI or the straits of Mackinaw.  They had never experienced a sunrise at Notre Dame Bay in Newfoundland so they didn’t miss the beauty.  They never experienced the amazing tranquility of Schwerin, Germany or the history of the Porte Negra in Trier, Germany or the grandeur of the Eiffel Tower – so they don’t miss them or long to see/experience them again.  Spiritually speaking – if you have always just played on the beach of the Holy Ghost or dabbled in the shallows – living on your parents/grandparents experience – then you do not miss or long for the depth in order to swim and be free in His spirit.  If you have never experienced the unspeakable Joy of the Holy Ghost then being mildly happy is enough to satisfy you.  If you have not known Divine Peace – then merely being contented is enough for you.  A while back I told someone that I would gladly give up the Joy of the Holy Ghost if it would mean they could experience it – knowing that God would replenish my supply.  Sadly, we can’t force the Joy on anyone.  We can’t force someone to take the divine Peace of God.  We can’t push someone into the deep waters of the Holy Ghost.  They have to want it themselves.  Tragically, many people are content living on the beach of the Holy Ghost – making sand castles and playing around – never venturing past the shallow water into the deep.  Sure, they see other people immersed in the depth of the Holy Ghost and they say they want it too but they don’t want to take the risk of looking foolish or having people talk about them.  They don’t want to risk changing their life choices.  They don’t want to venture out of their comfort zone where they can do what pleases them.  There is a risk in the deep water, the tides are stronger and sometimes you feel like you will drown but the pay-off of venturing out past the buoys is strong faith, divine peace and unspeakable joy.

NOW Faith

Hebrews 11:1

1.       Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen

 Sometimes when we are reading we read over words or certain words are just filler words in our mind.  I have known that scripture a long time but the word “Now” did not strike me until Bro. M read it one night at Bible study.  It is NOW faith, not past faith or future faith but NOW faith.  NOW faith is not a healing faith, it is a miracle faith.  It isn’t about having faith that God will give the doctor the skill to remove a tumor (not that there is anything wrong with that faith) – but NOW faith is about faith that God will remove the tumor instantly.  NOW faith is believing that God will take away diabetes, not believing that God will help the doctors figure out the right medication to control it.  NOW faith is believing for the opening of blinded eyes, unstopping of deaf ears and the lame walking.  I must say, I have experienced the results of NOW faith and it is something that you will never forget.  As a teenager, I was spending the summer with my grandma and I got the flu.  My grandma lived practically right across the street from the pastor and I just knew if I could get him to pray for me, I would be better.  He was gone all day so I had almost resigned myself to being sick for the duration.  After my sister got off of work, she picked me up and we stopped by the store to get some Popsicles and while there we saw an elder’s wife.  She told us to come over and Bro. Chuck would pray for me.  We got there and he prayed and instantly my fever, chills, nausea left and I was completely well.  That happened over 20 years ago but I have never forgotten the feeling of being horribly sick and then instantly well.  That is the result of NOW faith.  NOW faith is also about the Holy Ghost.  “And SUDDENLY there came a sound from heaven… and they were filled with the Holy Ghost”  It wasn’t a gradual thing – they didn’t have the Holy Ghost and SUDDENLY they did – that is NOW faith.  We need the PAST faith and the FUTURE faith but it is the NOW faith that will move mountains. 

Actions Speak Louder than Words

“Actions speak louder than words.  I can tell God that I love him until I am blue in the face but am I showing it.”  A minister said that a few years ago and it really struck me.  Actions speak louder than words.  I have used that phrase many times, usually trying to point out a fault in someone else.  But what really struck me is that I keep saying I want to change, I want to be a new creature in Christ but are they just words that I am saying?  Because my actions are not matching up to my professed desire.  For example, one day God gave me songs, phrases, scriptures and words of encouragement literally all day.  From the moment I woke up God blessed me with his word saying, “trust me.”  I felt so cared for and loved by God and told Him, "I trust you."  It took 3 seconds of overhearing a conversation to forget everything God told me all day.  My immediate response to that conversation was disgust, anger, fear and humiliation but my trust in God was nowhere to be found.  My actions did not match up to my words of, “Lord, I trust you.  I know that you have all my tomorrows in the palm of your hand.”  Of course, this whole thing got me thinking about God’s will and how I profess that my desire is to walk the path that God wants me to walk.  Is it really my desire if I keep questioning God about his will when he wants me to walk a path that I don’t like?  When I become overwrought and plead with God to choose another path because this path is hard and painful, is my desire really to do his will or are they just words I say?  God knows our hearts and our actions.  He knows when what we say with our mouth does not match up to our deeds.  God gave humans the power of choice so therefore when we choose to follow him he doesn’t all of a sudden start controlling our thoughts and actions.  He gives us the desire to purify ourselves and to live a holy life but he does not force us.  It is up to us to make our actions match up to our professed desire of being a new creature in Christ. 

I say I want to be kind, then I should just be kind.  I say that I want to trust God, then I should just trust God.  I say that I want to overcome my habits, then I should just overcome my habits.  God is not going to force me to be kind, to trust him.  He didn’t make me unkind, so why do I think it is his responsibility to make me kind?  God has always been trust worthy so he should have to work to regain my trust.  Living for God isn’t some euphoric spiritual plane where God forces us to live a certain way and our thoughts and actions do not get bogged down by the world but it is a daily choice to have our words and actions be such that they are pleasing to God.  Sometimes we just have to DO IT, God isn’t going to do it for us. 

Exceeding all Expectations

God has a way of providing in an exceeding and abundant way. My mom and I were talking about our Bible reading and she mentioned something that struck her as she was reading the book of Numbers.

Numbers 11:31,32

31. And there went forth a wind from the Lord, and brought quails from the sea, and let them fall by the camp, as it were a day’s journey on this side and as it were a day’s journey on the other side, round about the camp, and as it were two cubits high upon the face of the earth.

32. And the people stood up all that day, and all that night, and all the next day, and they gathered the quails: he that gathered least gathered ten homers: and they spread them all abroad for themselves round about the camp.

God had just told Moses to do a census of the people and there were in excess of 603,550 males of 20 years old or older – obviously this number did not include boys under 20 or females of any age. When you add in the females and the children, I am sure there were in excess of 1,000,000 people that Moses was leading on this journey from Egypt to the Promised Land. The people started whining and complaining to Moses that they wanted meat to eat so Moses went to God. God told Moses that he would provide the meat that people wanted. So it is then that the wind brought in the quail. Now let’s envision the quantity of quail that the Lord provided. A day’s journey in Bible days is generally equated to approximately 20 – 25 miles and a cubit is 18 inches. So the wind brought in enough quail to cover a 40 mile stretch of land 3 foot high. There was not one person who gathered less that 10 homers which equals 50 bushels. With my basic conservative math, even if only one person in each family unit of 4 (2 parents & 2 children), and conservatively assuming 1,000,000 people, that equates to God dumping in excess of 12,500,000 bushels of quail around about the camp – in ONE NIGHT! 12 ½ MILLION bushels!!! God didn’t just provide enough, he exceeded all expectations. Why do we always expect God to merely supply our need when he wants us to live abundantly.

Ephesians 3:20

19. And to know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge, that ye might be filled with all the fullness of God.

20. Now unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us.

Fickle Convictions

Something has been bothering me lately.  Perhaps this blog isn't the place to vent my concern. Perhaps it would be more appropriate to shut my mouth, keep my fingers still and just pray. It bothers me that people do not seem to have any personal convictions.  Whatever the standard is set by the church they presently attend is the standard by which they live... sometimes.  Then one day they change churches, perhaps they change churches for a legitimate reason or perhaps it is because they are seeking a church that is more perfect in their eyes.  Whatever the reason that they change, they seem to start changing the standard by which they have lived for many, many years.  Perhaps it isn't a sin issue but it bothers me that people seem to change their standards by whatever suits them at that particular moment or by what they feel they can get by with and still be utilized in their local assembly.  The problem that I have with this is a bit two-fold. First, is their convictions or standard by which they live based on their relationship with their pastor or is it based on their relationship with God?  Did they choose to live, dress and act a certain way merely because they were told to by a preacher or is it because they have grown in their relationship with God and he has guided them into leading a life that is above reproach?  I believe that our relationship with God is what dictates what kind of life we live, it should not change just because we change churches or because we get a new pastor.  The second concern I have with this wavering of our outward standard is the effect that this plays on our witness to our harvest fieldfu.  Will our harvest field believe that we do have a relationship with God when we waver in our actions, dress and outward manifestations of holiness whenever we change churches or get a new pastor?  Even the most heathen of our harvest field understands that it is God that changes people and not churches.  Even the most sinful of those that watch us can discern whether we are truly serving God or serving our church.  Having recently witnessed this type of behavior I am concerned that we as apostolic pentecostals have gotten into having an "apostolic lifestyle" and not really having an intimate, powerful relationship with our God and Savior. 

Romans 12:1-2
1. I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.
2. And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.