In these articles on the subject of lying we have attempted to understand the why and the why not of telling the truth all the time. Making a hard law out of something the scripture does not teach is wrong but many times we try to justify a truth that seems right to us without really investigating the “Whole Truth” of God’s Word. Take, for example, the law of God about committing adultery. The pharisees who wanted to trap Jesus used the law of God against him so they brought a woman caught in the act of adultery to be judged by him. They thought they had him over a barrel where he would have to uphold the law and agree to stone the woman or show mercy and prove he was a law breaker. Jesus turned the tables on them and exposed their hypocrisy! If you haven’t read the first three articles please do so before reading this one or it will not make sense.

We have been looking at the topic of lying and whether as Christians we have become comfortable with others, and ourselves, telling lies.  One thing to consider is how our background shapes a lot of our morals and that is why the apostle Paul instructed the believer not to be conformed to the way the world thinks or its pattern of thinking but to be changed in how we think guided by the word of God. (Romans 12:2) If you haven’t read the first two articles with this title please do so first before proceeding with this article. They are linked together so if you miss one article in this series there will be holes in the reasoning behind my argument. 

We live in an age in which people are clamoring for the newest and latest singer, musician or actor to entertain them. It seems even in sports that for the most part no longer are people able to identify an athlete or sports hero that lives a life that defines good character and values. It seems the teams and athletes are concerned more about if they can beat the next team. Why is this? How have we advanced as a society and culture only to throw our advancements into the proverbial toilet?  Simply put, we sold our principle for gain.

When you study history one thing becomes clear, when a culture no longer cares about others that culture is doomed to extinction. The old saying, “If we don’t learn from the mistakes of the past we are bound to repeat them” may not be as correct as we thought. It may be if we don’t learn from our past successes and failure we won’t be around.

The Founding Fathers of our nation sacrificed everything, including their lives, to secure a nation that would out last themselves if only the future government and people were governed by men and women of principles. These principles were written into the Constitution of the United States and have, for the most part, served  this country well for over 200 years but this also seems to be changing. Let me first define what principles are and then move on with my observation of why we are losing ground fast.  I believe America and Christians are at a crossroad.

PRINCIPLES –

“A fundamental TRUTH or proposition that serves as foundation for a system of belief or behavior or chain of reasoning”

Though we still have the original Constitution on paper its principles are being eroded quickly by unprincipled leaders in America. Now, the stupid part is these rotten leaders are voted in by the general population. So who is to blame? I would suggest both though we need to investigate why. This is like the question, “Which came first the chicken or the egg? To me, its pretty simple. The chicken, of course, and then the chickens started laying eggs.

Principles, as good as they may be, can be lost or ruined. What the Constitution defines can not guarantee future generations success if they do not embrace those principles and understand how to protect them for future generations. From my perspective, if you want to dismantle a group or a nation you have to “Uneducate” the population so that they can’t comprehend what good principles are and then you can strip those principles away.  Once that happens you can build a system that makes little sense but seems to benefit the masses, at least in appearance. This would be branded as “Situational Ethics” which in truth is no ethics at all. Let me illustrate.

The story of the first king of Israel illustrated how situational ethics work and how God hates a false presentation of what godly leadership should look like. God defines in his word that he wants people who stand on the principles of his word that defines what justice and fairness looks like. So, let’s take a look at Saul and what happened to him and Israel when leaders acted like hypocrites and led their people astray.

1 Samuel 9:17                                                                                                                                                                                             When Samuel caught sight of Saul, the LORD said to him, “This is the man I spoke to you about; he will govern my people.”

The first king of Israel was not only a capable leader, he also was defined as a “Mighty Man of Valor”. You would think with that reputation he would have been a good pick to lead Israel. Secondly, he was handsome and taller than any other Israelite. Thirdly, and most importantly, scripture says God changed him from the inside out.  Look at what happened when the prophet Samuel anointed him.

1 Samuel 10:9-10                                                                                                                                                                                            As Saul turned to leave Samuel, God changed Saul’s heart, and all these signs were fulfilled that day. When he and his servant arrived at Gibeah, a procession of prophets met him; the Spirit of God came powerfully upon him, and he joined in their prophesying.

So everything points to a great start in the man and his leadership except it doesn’t work out that way. Within a short period of time, when the pressure was on, Saul compromised first with God and his directions and secondly, with his army which followed him. When a leader compromises on his principles (beliefs) he can be persuaded to do anything if the price is right or if the fear of loss is great. Saul compromised so badly that God took away his right to be king even though God intended to have him and his family be the line that future kings would come from. Samuel the prophet gave a stern warning about losing the principles of following the Lord and his commands. Saul heard this same warning yet failed to follow them himself.

Here is the predicament. If you fear the LORD and serve and obey him and do not rebel against his commands, and if both you and the king who reigns over you follow the LORD your God—good! But if you do not obey the LORD, and if you rebel against his commands, his hand will be against you, as it was against your ancestors.

So, the story goes that Saul and the Israelites get some courage now that they have a king to lead them and they rebel against the Philistines who were a bigger and stronger nation. During this confrontation, Israel became scared and went into hiding so king Saul started to lose his confidence. He abandoned his principles and thus started to offer sacrifice before going to battle, which is something he knew was forbidden. This was all for appearances, not for God’s future blessing in battle. Why did he do this? He did it because his principles were situationally driven, not heart driven, even though God changed his heart at the beginning of his kingship.

1 Samuel 13:7-10                                                                                                                                                                                       Some Hebrews even crossed the Jordan to the land of Gad and Gilead. Saul remained at Gilgal, and all the troops with him were quaking with fear. He waited seven days, the time set by Samuel; but Samuel did not come to Gilgal, and Saul’s men began to scatter. So he said, “Bring me the burnt offering and the fellowship offerings.” And Saul offered up the burnt offering. Just as he finished making the offering, Samuel arrived, and Saul went out to greet him.

Samuel is so mad that he prophesies the end of Saul’s kingship as it was just getting started. Samuel said Saul’s obedience was more important than his sacrifices. Saul chose to violate principles for appearance with his troops.

What have you done?” asked Samuel.

Saul replied, “When I saw that the men were scattering, and that you did not come at the set time, and that the Philistines were assembling at Mikmash, I thought, ‘Now the Philistines will come down against me at Gilgal, and I have not sought the LORD’s favor.’ So I felt compelled to offer the burnt offering.”

“You have done a foolish thing,” Samuel said. “You have not kept the command the LORD your God gave you; if you had, he would have established your kingdom over Israel for all time. But now your kingdom will not endure; the LORD has sought out a man after his own heart and appointed him ruler of his people, because you have not kept the LORD’s command.”

I will continue this topic on the importance of our principles in part two and focus on how there are consequences when we sell these principles for an advantage with people, power or wealth. Saul, even though he was changed, corrupted his changed heart and the same can happen to us.

Questions

1) Do you have principles that you live by? God’s word should be your standard to develop them.

2) Have you compromised the principles you currently have? Confess your failure to stand on your principles and then ask the Holy Spirit to reveal why this happened.

May the Holy Spirit give us a mind to think clearly.

Pastor Dale

I started the first article with this same title and confessed I get offended. I also admitted I don’t have this idea or practice under control and often need to confess my frustration and anger to God. All that being said, I also stated that we all get offended from time to time. If you never get offended I would suggest you aren’t passionate about anything or anyone. To have strong beliefs opens you up to being offended when someone or something seems to violate your values or loyalties. If you haven’t read the first article on this subject please do so before continuing as it will make more sense.

Let’s be honest and not just biblically correct, although I want to also be biblically correct. I find I’m frustrated with so much that is going on in the world that I have to wrestle a lot with my emotions. After all, there is so much to get anyone mad who is awake. From politics, to the economy, to people loosing their business and people loosing their jobs– there is plenty to get me fired up about. The thing that bugs me a lot is feeling like I can’t do anything about it. Do you find yourself in the same boat? Read on.

Today’s gospel seems a far cry from the one that the apostle Paul taught about when he was writing to the church in Rome. He talked about a gospel that, when applied, transformed the human heart so radically that he used a unique word to describe it: “Metamorphosis.” The idea he is trying to convey is that when Christ comes into your heart and soul you are completely changed from what you were to what God intended. Transformation takes time but it starts when your heart yields to the Lordship of Christ.

With all the craziness going on in the world it’s easy to get distracted. From the COVID virus causing such harm and forcing people to be isolated to the economy suffering, we all are looking for distractions to get our minds off our personal situation.  But what if our desire to find freedom from worry and stress is actually compounding our problems?

I’m going to confess that when I get stressed out I like to watch a Si-Fi movie.  The brief two hours of entertainment help me feel a little better. Sometimes a little distraction is good for the soul but if it becomes a pattern of retreat it’s definitely not good. Let me say up front that having distractions in our lives are not necessarily sinful but they can be if the timing is all wrong or the amount is inappropriate.

For example, you might be driving down the highway stressed out about someone who keeps texting you about a major problem. You know you shouldn’t text them while driving so fast but you want to blow off some steam in this person’s direction and give them a piece of your mind. You start texting them back but the car in front you all of a sudden puts on their breaks hard. Your reflexes are good so you grab the steering wheel and jam on the breaks and miss the person in front of you by inches. Now you’re not only stressed about the problem of the person who was texting you but your heart is now pounding from the near fatal car accident and you start yelling at the car in front of you. Our distractions often hinder our intimacy with God and people.

It’s easy to think that relieving your stress with a so called innocent distraction but maybe you are embracing a lesser solution to your problem. Take the story of two sisters that loved Jesus and opened their home to him. They wanted to bless Jesus with a nice place to relax as he was always on the go and had to be exhausted. Their intentions were great yet they approached their ministry to Jesus in very different ways.

Luke 10:38                                                                                                                                                                                                   Now as they were traveling along, He entered a village; and a woman named Martha welcomed Him into her home. She had a sister called Mary, who was seated at the Lord’s feet, listening to His word.

Now keep in mind, both these sisters wanted to bless Jesus. Both wanted to honor Jesus. Both truly loved him deeply yet by all appearances one seemed to be lazy and the other hard working. One was captivated by Jesus and his words and the other was captivated by a desire to serve him with her service. Many of us have read this bible story and we know how it ends but have we considered the deeper point of the story and thus easily discounted Martha’s reaction to her sister? We all know that initial appearances are often wrong when we can’t see the intent of the heart.

Luke 10:40                                                                                                                                                                                                            But Martha was distracted with all her preparations; and she came up to Him and said, “Lord, do You not care that my sister has left me to do all the serving alone? Then tell her to help me.”

Keep in mind that Martha loved Jesus. She wanted nothing more than to honor him and bless him …. and yet she got “Distracted” in the ministry to him. Is it possible we get distracted by good things and that takes us away from the great thing? Is it possible a father and husband goes to work to provide for his family and gets so caught up in the work that he neglects the family that he loves? Is it possible that a wife and mother wanting to serve her family gets so involved in making the home beautiful that no one can relax in the house because it might get dirty? There are many good works that we perform that cause us to neglect the most important ones, starting with doing what God wants first and on down the line of priorities.  Reflection often is the last thing we do or try.

Jesus identified how Maratha got off the right road of ministry to the wrong one. He identified it as worry. Worry got her distracted.  Was she worried about her image?  Was she concerned about what the guest that came with Jesus would think if the house was not perfect or the food was not just right? Was she worried about Jesus not thinking she was as spiritual as her younger sister Mary because things weren’t perfect?

Mary was so enamored with the person of Jesus that she would forget doing the chores around the house. Mary was so captivated with Jesus that maybe Martha had become jealous about her spiritual walk and wanted Mary to be brought down a notch by a rebuke from Jesus. Here is a warning for all of us as we pursue our Christian walk. Are we headed for distraction or are we actually in a distraction right now that is taking us away from what God would have us doing?

Luke 10:41.                                                                                                                                                                                                               But the Lord answered and said to her, “Martha, Martha, you are worried and bothered about so many things; but only one thing is necessary, for Mary has chosen the good part, which shall not be taken away from her.”

“One Thing” – did you get that? If we don’t surrender our will to Jesus we are bound to get distracted.  It is like serving in some ministry area for our feeling and self-esteem instead of being there because that’s the place where the Holy Spirit called us. It’s so easy to lose sight of Jesus while thinking we are serving him. It’s so easy to start doing something for the love of God and then drift into distraction away from him. The only sure way to avoid distraction is to put our daily pursuit of God and his will at the forefront. By focusing truly on him and not just about him we find not only peace but fulfillment as well.

Hebrews 12:1-2                                                                                                                                                                                  Therefore, since we have so great a cloud of witnesses surrounding us, let us also lay aside every encumbrance and the sin which so easily entangles us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us

Fixing Our Eye – on Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith who, for the joy set before Him endured the cross and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.

Finally, consider the warning of not loving the world. For a true believer we can get distracted into allowing the things of this world to hold our attention more the Jesus himself.

1 John 2:15                                                                                                                                                                                                       Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, love for the Father is not in them.

Questions:

1) Are you aware that anyone can get distracted away from the person of Jesus, even the ones that truly love him? Stay close and you won’t drift.

2) Are you now aware that you can be distracted and worried about lesser things?

Matthew 6:31-34                                                                                                                                                                                             So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’  For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them.

But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.  Therefore, do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.

Striving to keep my focus,

Pastor Dale

This is the fourth and final installment about the church being called to be prophetic. My desire is to get people to think seriously as to whether the church is functioning as Jesus intended, or merely being a weak representation of Jesus himself. The church has needed to go through pruning many times since Jesus rose from the dead because, like so many things, we tend to drift from God’s word and from his purpose. Each period in church history when the church has gone off course men and women were raised up to challenge the statius quo, not to hurt the church but to make it healthy. May people say they long for revival. “True Revival” is often painful, but it is necessary. If you haven’t read the first three articles please do so to get the big picture on this most important topic on the prophetic.

This is the third installment in a discussion exploring whether we are building a prophetic church.  Previously, I wrote about coming to Christ in 1969 due, in part, to people walking in the prophetic.  I discovered that Jesus was speaking to me and countless others like me.  I learned that simple, obedient Christians who took the scripture at face value could learn how to hear God’s voice and give away the messages they heard.  Simple, obedient Christians helped others realize that Jesus is still alive and transforming people today.  If you have not already, please read the first two installments of this series to better understand the overall message about being a prophetic church.

We have been exploring the idea of how easy it is to get stuck in “Yesterday” and fail to move forward in today and tomorrow. Our memories are a wonderful thing that God gave us but some memories can be a hindrance toward gaining the inheritance that God’s Word promises us. Those memories can be good or bad.  Sometimes good experiences cause us to reject new ones and cause us to get stuck. Bad experiences are generally used by the enemy to trap us in the past.  If you haven’t read the first part of this series,please read that one first.