For with the measure you use....

For what measure you use, it will be measured back to you.

Think on it.
-What if you were judged as you judge others, condemned as you condemn others, forgiven as you forgive others, would you find yourself condemned and unforgiven?
-What if people talked about you the way you talk about others? Would you feel comfortable with the words they would be speaking?
-In your time of need, what if you were given only as much as you had given others?  Do you joyfully help and give of your time, finances, and "stuff" or do you grumble as you give as little as you can?
-Do you treat others as you'd want to be treated?  Do you give little out of the much you've been blessed with? 

I fall so short in these areas. It is my desire to live as Christ lived, to give as Christ gives, to love as Christ loves.  Less of me, more of Christ.  I pray that the Lord would help me be selfless and humble. 

I am a "lover of self".  Our society tells us to do whatever makes us happy- to put ourselves first- and urges us to think of "me-me-me".  The bible tells me to put God first- to do whatever would glorify Him- and urges me to serve others through the love of Christ.  Help me to love others more, myself less.

Help me to set aside my excuses. My excuses will fail when I stand before Christ.

I have especially been considering these verses in terms of giving. Help us all to be extremely giving, not greedy.

Here are some great clips from Francis Chan I really enjoyed:

Speak the Truth

My husband and I have been talking a lot about deception.  Many so-called-"Christian" preachers and religions claim to follow the bible, but, as John writes in 2 John 9, have gone beyond it.  They have added something to the gospel or taken something away from the gospel. They have not preached the Truth, and when I say Truth, I mean that they have not preached the pure gospel of Jesus Christ.

For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth.  -Romans 1:18

My brother and I have often discussed how some religious groups are unwilling to be open about what they believe.  Why would "Christians", who claim to be preaching the gospel truth from the bible, not want people outside their group to listen to or read their sermons?  Why would any true believer be unwilling to make or write a public statement of their beliefs?

In his letter to Timothy, the Apostle Paul writes, "Be diligent to present yourself approved to God, a worker who doesn't need to be ashamed, correctly teaching the word of truth." (2 Timothy 2:15)  If we are correctly teaching and living out the word of truth, we don't need to be ashamed. We don't need to hide it, but proclaim it.  After all, if we believe we are preaching Jesus (the way, the truth, and the life), why would we hide such a bold light under a bushel?

Why are these people unwilling to sit down and really discuss the bible and their beliefs?  Why is it, when one asks questions and demands a clear scriptural reference, they are told that they just don't have enough faith?  True faith is trusting in God's Word, leaning on His promises, and being fully persuaded that God will do what He has promised.  True faith will take God's Word over the wisdom of men every time because true faith stands in the power of God.  (1 Corinthians 2:5)  Abraham believed God and it was imputed unto him for righteousness.  (James 2:23).  He believed God's promises and acted upon them.  You can bet there were many in his day telling him he had misunderstood God or that God had not really made such a promise. Yet Abraham trusted and believed God. 

Faith comes by hearing and hearing by the Word of God (Romans 10:17).  If you are truly preaching the Word of God, preach it boldly, loudly, and for anyone to hear.  Will people oppose you? Yes! The gospel is offensive! People do not like to hear they are sinful beings in need of a Savior!  But the gospel provides the best news of all- while we were still sinners, Christ died for us (and rose again!).  Why would anyone want to hide such a message?  If you had the cure for disease and everyone in the world was dying of this disease (including those you love!), would you not feel an urgent desire to share and spread this cure?

Folks, we are all infected with death (sin), and Christians- we know the cure.  Jesus is the cure!  By the grace of God, we are saved through faith.  It is not our own doing- neither our salvation or our faith, really.  Both are a gift of God.

Why would someone want to hide their preaching unless they are not preaching the gospel?  Why are they unwilling to sit down and open their bibles and look into the Truth of the bible with others who question their beliefs?  Should we not be prepared to answer?

You see, whoever does what is true has no problem laying out it all out, but those who hide are afraid that their works will be exposed.  (John 2:19-21)

Why would a church not be willing to share how they spend their finances?  Why would a church tell people not to read material that points out issues in their religion? Why would a church tell their members not to talk to people who question their beliefs or practices?  What do they have to hide?  If your faith and understanding are truly granted by God's power, then what do you have to fear?

I like to think of the Bereans (Acts 17:10-12).  Paul and Silas brought them the gospel, and they enthusiastically received it and searched the Scriptures daily to see if their message was true.

You see, faith is not simply accepting what your pastor, minister, or seemingly godly friend tells you as fact.  True faith seeks out what God says.  True faith seeks truth and will not be content until it has found it. God is compassionate and just and eager to give us the truth and the faith we seek when we honestly ask and pursue it.

During Christ's time on earth, He repeatedly told His followers to ask, to seek, and to knock.  "Ask of Me!" He proclaims! "Ask!"  Yet, instead of asking Christ, we tend to turn to those around us.  Do we not believe that the Holy Spirit will not teach us and fill us with wisdom and understanding if we truly desire it?

"But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, He will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you." John 14:26

In a world where many "Christian" religions are fronts for the devil's works, we must be willing to dig into the Word of God and discern what is truth.  The Holy Spirit will teach us. We must be soaking up the Word of God, searching it daily for truth and understanding, and allowing the Holy Spirit to give us a pure understanding.

I can clearly remember my husband and I sitting on our bed one night and realizing that we had a completely skewed view of the bible.  We began to pray- to beg God- that He would remove the filter which we had so often read the bible through and give us His wisdom and plant within us His truth as we read the people through eyes opened by the Holy Spirit.

Know what? God is good. He did just that.  We were astonished at how we had fallen victim to men who had twisted the Scriptures, who had perverted the hope of Christ.

Why are people unwilling to preach the truth when it is the truth that sets us free? Why would someone want to hide the truth, suppress the truth?  Why would anyone want to allow others to continue in slavery to Satan?

What is the truth?

[Ephesians 2:1-10) The truth is, you were dead in your trespasses and sins.  Dead. DEAD.  The dead cannot do anything.  They cannot do good works.  They cannot muster up faith in God.  They are dead.

You were by your very nature a child of wrath.  Whose wrath? God's wrath.  You were dead and under God's wrath.  You were powerless to remove yourself from this state of being.

But, Oh! Hey! Good news! GREAT NEWS!  God, being rich in mercy, because of His great love, has the power to make you alive together with Christ.  Alive! Do you get that? Dead. Brought to LIFE! BROUGHT TO LIFE by the mercy and love of God! By His grace and His grace alone you have been saved.  Not of any power of your own because you were dead! You had no power to raise yourself to life!  He made you alive in Christ! Why? So that in the ages to come He might show the surpassing riches of His grace in kindness towards you in Christ Jesus.  Again, we are reminded, "For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God, not as a result of works so that no one may boast.

So, you can't say, "Hey, I pulled myself up by my boot straps and lived a holy life!"  No! You couldn't! You were dead! You couldn't earn your salvation! You were dead! You couldn't be good enough! You were dead!

But you are God's workmanship, not your own. We are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works which God prepared beforehand so that we should walk in them.

Wait, see that?  You were made alive (by God), created to walk in the works which God prepared for us.

I'll be honest, when I first read this through my "new eyes" years ago, I thought, "So, let me get this straight God.  You're saying that my works don't earn me heaven. I can never be good enough to earn it.  Salvation- life- is Your gift to me even though I am a wretched sinner?  Even though I'm a lawbreaker? And so, you give me new life, you give me faith, you strengthen me, you seat me in Christ, and then you prepare good works for me to walk in?"

I was absolutely astonished! God does it all!  All I have to do is accept the gift and walk in the works He already prepared for me!  My purpose as a new (wo)man in Christ is to walk in the good works God prepared for me- to glorify God by living out the purpose and plan He designed for me!

If we are unwilling to share the truth, then we must not understand how powerful that truth is.

I know this post has been all over the place, but I hope it makes sense.  Seek truth. Settle for nothing less. Don't stop seeking. Keep seeking.  Keep pursuing God.  You will know when you have found Him.

Pressing into Christ, On His heels

I started listening to a series of sermons by Matt Chandler. He's very easy to listen to but also very convicting and bold.

I wanted to pass along the first part of this series "The Path (part 1)" [MP3]. If you'd prefer, you can read it [PDF] by clicking here.

I know I've talked often about the need to have our works match our profession of faith, but it's so hard to do that without becoming a legalist. I am sure many of you stand with me on this point.  Chandler has a great way of explaining how one becomes more Christlike without becoming legalist.  It is rare to hear a pastor give you a biblical HOW- I'm not sure many of them exactly know how.

Here's an excerpt of this sermon that really stood out to me:

“All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be competent, equipped for every good work.” So by knowing the Scriptures, walking in the Scriptures and meditating on the Scriptures, we become competent and equipped for everything that God might have for us. I want to talk about how this happens. Because it’s very clear that the Bible doesn’t give us a list to choose from on anything that might come across our radar. So how much TV is too much TV? What should I do about this? Should I move here? Should we purchase this car? Should we move to this house? Should I marry this person? You’re not going to find a list for all of those things. There are a couple of reasons why you’re not going to find that list. The first would be that God’s plan of reconciling all things to Himself is a long plan. In fact, it began in Genesis 12.

Our first manuscript of Genesis 12 is 4,200 years old. Genesis 12 is where we first get that, “Here’s what I’m going to do in the world.” So the process of reconciling all things to Himself through Christ on the cross is a long process. And so the Bible becomes a missionary handbook able to enter any culture at any time in God’s planned history. So the Bible worked very well in any culture in 1809, and it works very well in 2009 in any culture. So there’s a lot of freedom in that. Here’s the second reason. If He simply gave us a list, we would all run straight towards legalism and our hearts would never be transformed. All my rule followers are like, “That’s so true.” I mean, if God just said simply, “Here is everything I want you to do, and here is everything I do not want you to do,” some of you would have like a whole flow chart on the wall. So what would happen? Those who couldn’t do the list would be devastated, and those who could would be self-righteous and impossible to be around.

So how then do the Scriptures make us competent and prepared for all that God has for us? Let me answer it this way. The Scriptures are God’s self-revelation to us, so that how we learn about the nature and character of God is the Scriptures. So by an ever growing understanding of the nature and character of God, we see Him as more and more and more majestic and we see our sin as more and more and more repugnant. So once again, a failure to understand what the Scriptures teach leads to what I think is pandemic in Evangelicalism, and that is we believe Jesus loved us at our worst, He saved us when we were sinners and now that He’s married to us, once He’s got us, He regrets it immediately. So He marries us and now He’s just like, “Oh, I just can’t stand to look at you. I’ll tell you what. Go clean yourself up and then come back to Me later.”

And so what most of us do is cease pressing into the Lord, cease learning about His majesty, His glory, His might, His grace, His character, His power, His nature and we go off here and go, “I’ve really got to fix this porn issue. . .I’ve really got to fix this lust issue. . .I’ve really got learn how to fix my mouth. . .I’ve really got figure out how to quit acting like this. . .I’ve really got to learn how to be a better father. . .” And the whole time, God’s going, “Come here. That’s what We’re doing.” And we’re going, “Aw no, I’m just so unattractive to You. Listen, there’s going to be a better version of me that comes down the pike. You’re really going to love that version of me.” And so if you understood your Bible, you’d understand what we said last week. It’s not at your worst that God finds you unattractive. It’s at your best. The Bible says, “all our righteous acts are like filthy rags” to Him. You have no capacity for good before a holy God. So how is this plan of yours going to work?

How many of you grew up in church? Okay, so you’ll know this one. “Turn your eyes upon Jesus. Look full in His wonderful face. And the things of this earth grow strangely dim in the light of His glory and grace.” Yeah, that’s sanctification.

We press into the Lord, we know the Lord and then what happens? He becomes more glorious and sin becomes more and more repugnant.

Chandler then goes to break down all the excuses we have for not getting close to the Lord- for not spending more time in prayer and reading His Word, and then makes this great point:

I think we don’t take it seriously, and we don’t pursue Him for a slew of reasons. I think you don’t think you’re going to die anytime soon. Like if you read those old school guys like Luther and Edwards, do you know why those guys pressed into the Lord as hard as they do? Because people are dying constantly all around them. The world was a dark place. And for some reason we’ve got this veil pulled over our face like all of us are living to 70.

Could I give you a promise? Could I just give you my word? If you’re a covenant member here, I’m doing one of your funerals this year. I don’t know who you are yet. Shoot, somebody might be doing mine. It’s coming, and not all of us get to 70. Because this is so far off our radar, nobody feels like they need to press in and know the Lord. Nobody feels like you’re going to have to give an account today. Nobody feels that way anymore.  [...]

And then I think you live in a day and age where there’s great teaching available all over the place. So you never really learn to feed yourself. You’d rather live vicariously through other people’s studies. Which is kind of sad because you’ll never love the Lord like the people who studied that, found that and wrestled with that will love Him. Like if I started talking about all of the reasons I loved Lauren, it wouldn’t make you love Lauren. It would make you maybe go, “Oh, I wish I had that.” But it wouldn’t make you go, “You know, I love her too. She’s amazing. I love her with my whole heart right now.” That’s not how it works.

In the same way, you hearing me or some other guy talk about the grandeur and might of God is not necessarily going to make you love Him. You need to read and let the Holy Spirit engage you, chisel at you, work you over. May we repent of our laziness.

Ouch, right?

I have definitely found the more often I dig into the bible and the more time I spend thinking on the things of God, the less sin appeals to me.  And sometimes my drift away from God starts very simply- I start listening to the radio, and then I watch a few shows that aren't very godly, and then I read a few books that have no concern for the commandments of the Lord, and then I "suddenly" don't feel like reading the bible very much. So, I put in my time... a few minutes at the end of the day, and then maybe miss a few days here and there, and then one day I wake up and wonder why I'm so miserable and why God is so distant.

But, when I press into Christ, I stay out of trouble.

The other day the kids were literally on my heels all afternoon. It was getting a little irritating, actually, because I would turn around and accidentally wack one of them in the head with my elbow or trip over them and spill something.  My first thought was, "Man, I wish they'd just run off and play and get out of my way," and then I realized that... because they right by my side, they were staying out of trouble. They wanted to be by their mother.. and isn't that what I want? Children who love to be by my side and learn from me? Who want to assist me in whatever I'm doing?

It made me so grateful that our Lord desires us to be "right on His heels". When we're right on His heels, we're staying out of trouble. We're pressing in to Him, learning His ways, and eager to be more like Him.

Sometimes the kids get so busy playing and doing their own thing- wrapped up in their own world- that when I call them, they act like they don't even hear. I'm sure sometimes, even though they are only a couple yards away, they truly don't hear because their ears are not tuned to my voice.  Sometimes they hear and ignore me. They refuse to listen because they are busy doing what they want to do. And, it's at those times I wish they were at my heels, listening and obeying, desiring to do whatever would help our family.

I can be like this as well. I get so wrapped up in things- whether it's reading a blog or a book, scrubbing the kitchen floors, or maybe watching a film- that when the Lord calls me, I ignore Him or put Him off. Like my children, I holler, "Just a second!" And that second turns into minutes and hours... and sometimes even days.

The other day my son was trying to be very helpful. We would ask him to do something, and he would come up with another "helpful" suggestion.  My husband kept having to correct him, "That's nice, but that's not what we asked you to do."  I realize that I also do this. I want to make my own list of things to do and then say, "But I've been obedient!"  Then the Lord tells me, "Well, those are good things, but you haven't done what I asked you to do." 

You know that saying, "The road to hell is paved with good intentions."  I can see how my "good intentions" are actually just a form of choosing "my way" instead of God's way.  I think many legalists are drawn to this path because you can do A + B + C and think that you're a really good person doing God's will.  They may be good, godly things but you're doing it on your own. You're not pressing into Christ, and so these good intentions, these good works, are but filthy rags.

I'm always amazed by how God uses the little moments with my children to teach me such (simple, yet..) profound things about Him and my relationship with Him.

My Big Fat Greek Mindset

I've enjoyed reading through My Big Fat Greek Mindset by Tim Hegg.  This six-page PDF download is a great (free) article on Biblical Worldview- or Bibleview.  My family (husband, brother, sister-in-law, and I) have been on a journey.  Christianity has become so entangled with Paganism, it's become quite a task to unravel it within our own lives, yet we know this is a task one must take seriously.  Maybe some of you are also on this journey and would enjoy reading this piece.  Here are some tidbits I wanted to share with you:

While Platonic thought teaches “it’s the thought that counts,” God tell us “it’s the mitzvah that counts.” Surely proper motivation is important in obeying God, but good intentions are not enough.

The Hebrew worldview, however, never considered the physical world as inferior to the nonphysical realm, nor did it elevate ideas above actions. The physical world was endowed with God’s blessings at creation, and such blessing remains even though because of the entrance of sin, the creation groans for redemption (Romans 8:22). Enjoying what God has created is therefore a spiritual endeavor, and should be done with a heart of blessing and thanksgiving to Him. He gave us all good things to enjoy (1Timothy 6:17) which is why, from a rabbinic perspective, there is a blessing for everything. “In everything give thanks” (1Thessalonians 5:18). Moreover, there is nothing “neutral” in our world, a kind of “secular” part of our lives that is neither sacred nor profane. Rather, everything in our world is either good (and can therefore be sanctified to God) or evil: “Abhor what is evil; cling to what is good” (Romans 12:9). In this way, our work, our recreation, our hobbies, as well as our times of corporate and individual prayer and worship—all aspects of our lives are to be sanctified unto God as the means by which we glorify Him (1Corinthians 10:31). As the Torah teaches us: “Cling to God and obey His commandments” (Deuteronomy 13:4).

Unwrapping ourselves from the Greek mindset which characterizes our western culture is a difficult task but a necessary one if we hope to understand the Scriptures on their own terms.

Click here to download this article

Calling All Churches! Return to the Word!

I just finished reading The Sufficiency of Scripture (by Joseph Stephen). It's a great book, one that allows the scripture to speak for itself, and I am definitely adding it to my list of recommended readings.

If you've been around my husband and I for any amount of time, then you likely know that we're pretty passionate about churches boldly living and proclaiming the Word of God, not conforming their methodology and message in order to bring in more people.  Today's church is fighting the same battles we see in the pages of Scripture, which is why the apostle Paul spends a lot of time exhorting, rebuking, and encouraging the churches of his day.

In his book, Stephen writes, "It is very wrong of us to bring the elements of the world into our worship and remembrance service. When we do so, we rob God of His rightful glory. It is very wrong to change our operation to accommodate unbelievers. After all, we are setting an example to them and not them to us. Our evangelism and explanation of worship and remembrance must be done outside of this time as this time is the Lord's. If one comes into our meeting off the street and sees our manner of worship, that person will know of a truth that God is among us. By accommodating the world in our manner of worship, we are proclaiming that the world's ways and idols are acceptable.  Some of the idols that rob God during this time are entertaining music, rousing speeches to whip up emotion, self-centered songs that talk about 'me', etc.  It is clear from Scripture that Paul never used cunning devices to proclaim truth. He spoke with simplicity and only used God's Word."

So many churches today cater to the lost.  Church has become a place of entertainment, centered around the people rather than focusing on worshiping God.  Many people have stood in disagreement with us when we have said, "Church is not for the lost."  Biblically speaking, the Church is Lord Jesus' bride. We are His people.  When gathering together to worship and praise Him, our Lord should be our focus- this is not a time of evangelism.  This is not to say that the church should not gather for the intent of evangelizing the lost, but one who is lost is not capable of worshiping "in spirit and in truth" as we are commanded to do.  They are not to take part in this "ceremony" nor are they to take part in communion. This is not to say there won't be lost people present from time to time, but that certainly doesn't mean we need to water down our message or sprinkle in entertainment for them so we can keep their attention. No, the lost would benefit from sitting through bold, biblical worship and praise (which includes teaching and preaching).  Hopefully it will stir their heart to conviction, godly grief, and repentance!

Unfortunately, today's churches want to cram all they can into one day.  Therefore, each Sunday they attempt to pack worship, praise, teaching, encouragement, and evangelism into just an hour or two.  Correction and rebuke are often left out because it's just too "offensive".

People today today have gathered themselves teachers and preachers who will coo into their itching ears what they want to hear. [2 Timothy 4:3]  And, these teachers and preachers are happy to do it, because it brings them more members, more money, and more earthly honor.

The church has adopted many of the world's ways and does not even realize it. Instead of digging into the Word of God to see what God desires of and from the church, we look to those around us.  We adopt the ways of other successful pastor and churches, mimicking them instead of Scripture.

It's time to get back into the Word and truly seek out God's direction for ourselves, our families, and our churches- which all should work together and not contradict one another.

Here's a video Paul Washer posted some time ago that goes along with this subject:

Few There Be That Find {Forgiveness}

Luke 13:22-30

²²And he went through the cities and villages, teaching, and journeying toward Jerusalem.  ²³Then said one unto him, Lord, are there few that be saved? And he said unto them,  ²⁴Strive to enter in at the strait gate: for many, I say unto you, will seek to enter in, and shall not be able.  ²⁵When once the master of the house is risen up, and hath shut to the door, and ye begin to stand without, and to knock at the door, saying, Lord, Lord, open unto us; and he shall answer and say unto you, I know you not whence ye are:  ²⁶Then shall ye begin to say, We have eaten and drunk in thy presence, and thou hast taught in our streets. ²⁷But he shall say, I tell you, I know you not whence ye are; depart from me, all ye workers of iniquity. ²⁸There shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth, when ye shall see Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, and all the prophets, in the kingdom of God, and you yourselves thrust out.

Does fear strike your heart when you read this?  It does mine.  Few. There will be few that enter in that straight and narrow gate. 

Read it closely. Christ says to strive to enter in at the strait gait.  Strive, friends!  Search for it. Plead for God to reveal it to you. Do not ever stop striving! Unfortunately, we have a bunch of preachers telling people there is no need to strive.  All we need to do is pray a prayer, walk the aisle, or stand up with the minister asks us if we want to give our lives to God.  Or, maybe all we need to do is live good lives or follow a list of rules.  Or, maybe all we need to do is acknowledge that Jesus existed- that He came.


It is not enough!  Strive! Strive! Strive!

Strive to find Christ. Search for Him. Search for what it means to be His disciple. Beg for Christ to reveal Himself to you! I have listened to pastors preach that discipleship is not required of the saved, but that is a lie! Look for Him and do not stop until you have found Him.  And, once you have found Him, strive to love and serve Him with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength.

Good religion is not the narrow way.  Christ is the way. Christ only!  Hell will be full of people with "good religion", full of people who are crying out, "Lord! Lord! Your name was on my lips! I went to church! I was a good person! I read my bible! I went to bible studies! I taught Sunday School! I told my friends about You!" and yet Jesus will say, "I do not know you!"

And then, this is where my heart begins to ache-

           Many will hear, "Depart from me!" and they will be thrust out!  THRUST OUT!  They will see the beauty of the Kingdom of God, but will not be able to take joy in it! They will be THRUST OUT!

How many believe they are going to heaven, but are not?
How many have put their faith in Christ, but not really?
How many are anticipating heaven, but will never be able to enjoy it?

Will you find yourself on the outside, looking in? Will the door be shut in your face? Will you be thrust out? Are your really Christ's? Do you belong to Him?

Come! You weary! Come! Those filthy with the most disgusting sin, come! Come!

Give this video a watch.  Tim Conway expands on this subject and explains that there will be few that find forgiveness.