September 27, 2007

“I will make a difference between My people and your people” (Ex. 8:23).

            A couple of days ago I was talking with a friend, whose opinion I respect, when she said something that impacted me to the point that I haven’t been able to stop thinking about it. She said, in reference to the plethora of both Christian and secular books on the market today, “But you’re making a difference.”

            I was stunned, though I’m not sure why. Isn’t making a difference (for the better, of course) one of the primary reasons we do the things we do? As Christians, I would hope so. I would like to think that we haven’t become sidetracked with the necessity of making a living (though I certainly admit the need to do so) to the exclusion of fulfilling the ministry to which God has called us.

            And yet, whether our particular ministry involves writing or speaking or teaching, or something else entirely, we will accomplish nothing of any value unless we understand there is only one way we can make a real and lasting difference, and that is to remember that “Christ in us” is our ONLY hope of glory. As God said just before leading the Israelites out of Egypt, “I will make a difference between My people and your people.”

            All human beings who have ever lived were born with the stamp of the Creator upon them. But only those who have been born again and received Jesus as Savior have God living within them. And that, my friends, is the difference. God’s Spirit within us is the ONLY thing separating us from the lost, the ONLY thing that assures us entrance into heaven when we die, the ONLY thing that enables God to look on us with favor, the ONLY thing that keeps us from experiencing the much-deserved wrath of His judgment when we die.

            According to my friend, my life is making a difference. I’m grateful for that—and I’m humbled to be reminded that it’s not because of any great thing I have done. It is because the very Son of God went to the Cross to suffer and die in my place, to receive the judgment for sin that I deserved, and His Spirit now lives within me, making the ONLY difference between me and what the world would consider the worst sinner who ever lived.

            May we keep that in remembrance this day and always, as we seek to proclaim the precious gospel message that has been entrusted to us. Thank You, God, for making the difference!

September 20, 2007

See then that you walk circumspectly, not as fools but as wise,

redeeming the time, because the days are evil.

Therefore do not be unwise, but understand what the will of the Lord is (Eph. 5:15-17).

            Years ago, when I served on staff at a large church, one of my duties was to oversee the ministry of small groups. In addition to training the leaders of those groups, I often had to step in to lead a group when the leader was unable to attend a meeting. One evening, as I filled in for a group leader who was ill, I asked for prayer requests from those in attendance. One woman, who was notorious for showing up late and offering excuses of being “too busy” to complete the week’s assigned reading, asked for prayer for a notorious celebrity who was on trial for a serious offense. The trial was being carried daily on TV, and this lady never missed a minute of it. Though she had to work during the day, she taped the proceedings so she could watch them as soon as she got home.

            Bingo! As I listened to her, I realized why she was always late to the group and never seemed to find the time to prepare by reading or memorizing the assigned scripture verses. It also helped to explain why she seemed to have so many problems in other areas of her life.

            Sadly, though this woman’s case may be extreme, I don’t believe she is without company in her poor choice of prioritizing. We all have the same amount of days in a week and hours in a day, and we all have to choose what to do with the time allotted to us. Yes, we have jobs and other responsibilities that, for the most part, aren’t always negotiable or even flexible. But we also have at least a few hours every week that are. So what do we do with them? Do we wisely redeem the time, or do we waste it on personal pursuits and activities that have no eternal value?

            As one who spends much of my time at my computer, writing and editing and preparing to speak and teach at various functions, it would be easy to justify using what little spare time I have to indulge my personal whims (none of which, by the way, would be consider “bad” or “sinful”). And yet, because I am known as one who writes, speaks, and serves that Name above all names, our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ—the very Son of the living God—it is even more incumbent on me that I wisely redeem that time by daily conversing with the One I claim to serve. How can I purport to express the words of the Most High God to others if I am not in communion with Him? If I don’t have time to pray and to read and study and meditate on His Word, and yet I pass myself off as a communicator of that Word and a representative of Christ, I am the worst kind of hypocrite.

            Ephesians 5:15-17 tells us that to redeem the time God has given us we must not be unwise, like the fool who says in his heart that there is no God. We must instead walk “circumspectly,” in a manner befitting one who has been purchased by the blood of Jesus, and spend time in serious study of His Word so that we may understand the Lord’s will and purpose for us—and then do it.

…they held their peace and answered him not a word;

for the king’s commandment was, “Do not answer him” (Is. 36:21).

            One of the most difficult things for me to do is to keep my mouth shut (and I’m not just referring to overeating, though that may also be true on occasion). I’m a communicator, an exhorter, an encourager and a teacher—and sometimes I just like to hear myself talk.

            This self-absorption with expressing our own thoughts, opinions, and feelings is universal, whether or not you’re a communicator by gifting and calling, and I’ve spent enough time around people to know that I’m not the only one who suffers from “foot-in-mouth” disease. The Apostle Peter was famous for it, and there are countless other examples in the Scriptures that show how people got themselves into trouble by speaking first, thinking later. Mario Murillo describes people like that as those who “gargle with gun powder and then go around, shooting off their mouths.”

            The Bible is full of admonitions to be still, be quiet, listen, hear, hold your tongue and control your speech. Is there anything more difficult? The Book of James is replete with teaching on this very topic, which is why I find myself having to read and reread it so often.

            Years ago I served on a church staff, and one of my primary duties was that of biblical counseling. How naïve I was when I first began to serve in that position! Thankfully I at least had the understanding and humility to seek God before I started, but as I prayed for God to show me what to say to these people who came to me for help, I was stunned to discover that instead of telling me what to say, the Lord told me instead, “Learn to listen.”

            Listening is an art, and it takes time and practice to learn it. We live in a world of noise—some imposed on us by others, but much self-inflicted. It isn’t enough that we have radios and televisions and CD players blasting us at home; we take those same noisemakers with us in our cars, to the beach, to the park, to the mountains. It’s as if we’re afraid to “Be still and know that [God] is God” (Ps. 46:10). We are a people who claim to want peace and wisdom, and yet we refuse to do what is necessary to obtain them: to be still, to be quiet, and to listen.

            God had to teach me to listen—not just to those who came to me for counsel (what they were saying, as well as what they were NOT saying), but also to the Holy Spirit, as He whispered words of wisdom to my heart. Without first listening for God’s wisdom and direction, I would have nothing to offer anyone except my opinions and thoughts, worldly wisdom that profits nothing.

            And then there are the times we want to defend ourselves, to argue our position and prove ourselves right. Even as someone is expressing himself to us, we are forming our answers in our mind, ready to fire back a response the moment the other person takes a breath. The problem with that is that while we’re formulating our brilliant comeback, we can’t hear what God is speaking to us, and we end up wondering why our words only complicated the problem, rather than clarifying and resolving the situation.

            Sometimes God tells us to loudly and boldly proclaim His Word; as writers and communicators, and as believers and followers of Christ, we must do so. At other times He tells us to be still and listen. I personally find those listening times to be much more challenging and difficult to obey. But obey we must. When the King commands, “Do not answer him,” then may we put our hands over our mouths, open our ears and heart…and listen to the One who hung the Universe by His Word. Only then will we have anything worth saying to others.

“…to obey is better than sacrifice” (1 Sam. 15:22).

            I’ve heard a lot of talk over the years about spiritual warfare and persecution of Christians, but most of us, at least in this country, don’t really experience the extreme persecution that believers in other parts of the world endure for their faith. For example, a wife and mother named Li Ying is imprisoned in China, separated from family and friends, for editing a Christian magazine, the type of work that many of us do on a daily basis.

            And yet I don’t want to minimize or trivialize the unjust attacks that some believers experience, even in this land. A friend of mine is currently going through such an attack because she has dared to cross the Hollywood mainstream and make a politically incorrect movie that exposes a “wolf in sheep’s clothing” cult trying to masquerade as a branch of Christianity. But even in the midst of this verbal assault, how should my friend gauge her success in this venture? Does the fact that the movie may not be a box-office bestseller mean she has failed? Should she hang her head in defeat because some of the movie critics haven’t labeled her film a “stellar presentation”?

            Of course not! Whatever God has called us to do in this world, if we allow ourselves to fall into the trap of judging our success by the world’s response, we are in grave danger of falling into hopelessness and despair. After all, if we used the world’s standards to judge the life of our beloved Savior, then Jesus would have to be considered a failure. Jesus was not a failure; He was a success because He completed the work His Father sent Him here to do. He obeyed God…and He won. And that’s exactly what we have to do.

            Spiritual warfare is won or lost at the point of deciding whose purpose we will follow. When we choose to obey God, we win…regardless of the visible results. Li Ying, though suffering in prison and isolated from loved ones, has won because she chose to obey God. We here in America are no different. If we choose to obey God, we have won, though the prize may not be awarded us until we cross over to the other side.

The world’s crowns will all tarnish and fade, but the crown of righteousness, which is even now laid up for those who love His appearing (see 2 Tim. 4:6-8), will never rust or be destroyed because it will be bestowed on us by the Lord Himself, the one and only Righteous Judge, the One who set the example of obedience to the Most High God. Set your mind now to obey His command and fulfill His purpose for your life, and you can rest in the assurance that your time here on earth will be deemed a success.