The Chosen

Holiness is beautiful, an expression of love and devotion. It is the way to become a person filled with God-potential! Never thought about it that way? Consider what Peter writes: "You are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God." Bev and I have a 'holy' relationship with each other, meaning that I belong uniquely and exclusively to her and she to me. Because of that we care for each other, defend each other, and look for ways to bring out the best in each other. I hope that our relationship has made her a better person in every way - and I know that she has certainly made me more, much more, than I would have been without her! In much the same way, we belong exclusively to God and our unique relationship allows us to be enriched in order "that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light." (1 Peter 2:9, NIV)

Holiness is sometimes misunderstood as a life of deprivation expressed in many prohibitions. As a teenager that is how I interpreted God's demand that I be holy! Holiness, to me then, meant that - I didn't drink alcohol, didn't smoke cigarettes, didn't attend the movies, didn't play sports on Sunday, didn't use profane language, didn't have sex (or even think about it!).... and now I see those prohibitions had a purpose. Then, I totally failed to grasp why I wasn't supposed to do those things. I thought that 'not doing' was being holy. What I missed was that by saying 'yes' to a special relationship with God, I also said 'no' to certain behaviors so I could be filled with His Holy Spirit! To me, at the time, holiness was about doing 'right' things and staying out of trouble; so I lived under constant fear of failing to keep the rules and being condemned to Hell. I knew next to nothing of the joy of becoming a person who knew the high calling of loving and serving God with a joyful heart. Therefore, I didn't know the privilege of being the best He could make me be!

Now I realize that holiness is a lot like being in a wonderful marriage! It is true that when I said, "I do" to Bev, that both privileges and prohibitions accompanied my pledge. I cannot date other women. I cannot use our money just for my own pleasure. I cannot take time away from her selfishly. But is that all my marriage 'holiness' means? Of course not. In fact, because I love her, I seldom think about the things I cannot do. Instead, I celebrate the joy of being owned by her and owning her love. I can hold her, talk with her, share life with her, and know an intimacy with her that has no equal in this present world.

When Christ came into your life and you responded to His invitation with a pledge of "Yes," you entered into a covenant of holiness. You gave away your life and became His. Moses described our relationship with God in both privilege and prohibition language. -- "You have declared this day that the LORD is your God and that you will walk in his ways, that you will keep his decrees, commands and laws, and that you will obey him. And the LORD has declared this day that you are his people, his treasured possession as he promised, and that you are to keep all his commands. He has declared that he will set you in praise, fame and honor high above all the nations he has made and that you will be a people holy to the LORD your God, as he promised." (Deuteronomy 26:17-19, NIV)

Holiness is a life of privilege expressed in many opportunities. We are the Chosen, filled with the Spirit so that we love and serve Him, displaying a rich and full life before the world. Our chosen status is not one of elitism, one that allows us to show disdain for 'lesser' beings! No way. We are to be a display of something wonderful that God is doing, so that others will desire to know Him and to be holy, too.

"Give to the Lord the glory due His name; Bring an offering, and come before Him. Oh, worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness! " 1 Chronicles 16:29, NKJV
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On Palm Sunday, the Assembly will follow the normal worship schedule which can be found at http://washingtonag.net/service.htm

Plan to attend our special services the following week:
Good Friday - Communion at 7 PM, followed by a showing of "The Passion of the Christ" (the full version) at 8 PM.
Easter Sunday - Sunrise worship at 8 AM at Meadow Breeze Park, followed by a continental breakfast in the Family Fellowship Center.
There will be one worship service at 10:30 AM which will include a celebration of Baptism.

Join us to praise the One who has "called us out of darkness and into His wonderful light."

Pardoned, not acquitted!

Robert Blake, the aging actor accused of shooting his wife, showed his evident relief in the courtroom as the verdict in his murder trial was announced - "Not guilty." He leaned forward on the table, breathing heavily and trembling. Later a member of the jury commented that the evidence 'didn't connect all the dots.' Suspicion about Blake remained, but the suspicion cannot be the reason for a conviction. The evidence must convince 'beyond a reasonable doubt.' 12 people agreed that the existing evidence failed that test and the former star of "Beretta" walks free today, acquitted of all charges. He later claimed that his defense left him broke after he spent nearly $10 million on lawyers and expert witnesses!

We are guilty! The Scripture announces our indictment and conviction by the Righteous Judge of Creation: "For all have sinned; all fall short of God’s glorious standard." (Romans 3:23, NLT) In another even more detailed passage the Word describes our guilt - "You lived just like the rest of the world, full of sin, obeying Satan, the mighty prince of the power of the air. He is the spirit at work in the hearts of those who refuse to obey God. All of us used to live that way, following the passions and desires of our evil nature. We were born with an evil nature, and we were under God’s anger just like everyone else." (Ephesians 2:2-3, NLT) Sinners, in league with the Devil, full of lusts and disobedience -- it's really not a flattering picture, is it?

Worst of all, the Bible says, we were under sentence of death! Not just a physical death, either. Separation from Life and God for eternity is our ultimate end - except that -- "God is so rich in mercy, and he loved us so very much, that even while we were dead because of our sins, he gave us life when he raised Christ from the dead. (It is only by God’s special favor that you have been saved!) ...—all because we are one with Christ Jesus. .... And you can’t take credit for this; it is a gift from God." (Ephesians 2:4-8, NLT) PARDONED! No case could be made for our acquittal. No lawyer could cast the evidence in a way that made it less convincing. The Judge, solely because of His mercy, gave us a full and free pardon.

Because of His intervention, we can live in a way that is holy and that reflects His goodness. Yes, we become participants in the Divine Nature, filled with the goodness of God - not because we did some grand thing to change ourselves, but because God stepped in and gave us the gift of His Spirit. Pardoned, not acquitted! There is no lingering suspicion that we somehow escaped judgment. We are guilty, yet released by Grace. Revel in that today, Believer. Thank God for His mercy. Then, take up the challenge of living for the praise of His Name.

• "Everything that goes into a life of pleasing God has been miraculously given to us by getting to know, personally and intimately, the One who invited us to God. The best invitation we ever received!
  
  We were also given absolutely terrific promises to pass on to you—your tickets to participation in the life of God after you turned your back on a world corrupted by lust.
  
  So don’t lose a minute in building on what you’ve been given, complementing your basic faith with good character, spiritual understanding, alert discipline, passionate patience, reverent wonder, warm friendliness, and generous love, each dimension fitting into and developing the others." (2 Peter 1:3-7, The Message)

Cooked books?

Bernie Ebbers, former milkman and good ole' boy from Mississippi, was convicted in Manhattan yesterday of multiple criminal counts involving financial fraud in the company he had built into one of the world largest communications firms- WorldCom. He was charged with ordering that the company's financial reports be altered to make WorldCom appear profitable so that stock prices would remain high. Eventually the company went broke and cost investors $billions! Fraud- there a lot of that kind of thing in the world I live in. People expend a great deal of energy and money to create an image that is not matched by reality. Plastic surgeons make $millions make some body parts larger and others smaller. People buy things they can't really afford to appear 'successful' in our consumer culture. Frozen smiles hide broken hearts. Blustery boasting covers a man's insecurities.And - yes, some of us try to look more 'spiritual' than we really are. Because we fear what others think, we cook the books of life!

"Tempted that way? Not me!"
"Unsure of God's love? Of course not!"
"Wonder if being a Christian is really worth the effort? Never!"

And so the fraud goes on; our images protected, but our hearts in conflict without relief. And often, we live in fear, even as self-deception deepens!Fraudulent piety earned some of Jesus' strongest words of condemnation! To the Pharisees, who were masters of lookin' good, He said, “You burnish the surface of your cups and bowls so they sparkle in the sun, while the insides are maggoty with your greed and gluttony. Stupid Pharisee! Scour the insides, and then the gleaming surface will mean something. ...You’re like manicured grave plots, grass clipped and the flowers bright, but six feet down it’s all rotting bones and worm-eaten flesh. People look at you and think you’re saints, but beneath the skin you’re total frauds." (Matthew 23:25-28, The Message) Then He called them - "Snakes!"

Venture into the churches of our land this Sunday and in many of them you will find neatly dressed people, doing their best to look like they have life all together. Any pain and emotion they may be experiencing will be neatly tucked away behind polite smiles. Husbands and wives who despise each other will walk in and sit nicely next to each other. Families torn apart by strife Monday through Saturday, will bow their heads in unison when the preacher prays. People with hearts that are screaming in emotional anguish will sing "Victory in Jesus" like they just glimpsed Heaven! And, for the most part, that's how we like it! Being 'real' is messy, disturbing, and raw. When a little child or a senile saint blurts out the truth, we laugh nervously and quickly move to hush them up! Images must be maintained.

Becoming authentic is a tremendous challenge for us who live in a world that is so in love with appearances. Many people will not like the person who won't 'play the games' that they play, who insist on telling the truth about themselves and the world of which they are part. But... there is no intimacy with God until there is a commitment to getting honest - with ourselves, with Him, and with others! Superficiality that serves an image and intimacy are incompatible. Of course, I'm not suggesting that you forget your manners! Discretion is a great gift. You don't have to say everything that comes to mind in order to live authentically. But, we do have to consciously refuse to allow ourselves to project an image that is not matched by the reality of our lives.

We start with the Lord. Baseline to experiencing His forgiveness and love is a confessional living. "If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say that we have not sinned, we make Him a liar, and His word is not in us." (1 John 1:9-10, NKJV)

Authentic Christian living continues in our relationship with other Believers. We must determine that we will not seek to impress or manipulate others with inflated words, pretended vulnerability, or false emotions. We must allow ourselves to rejoice with us and to weep with us - fearing only God's opinion. The moment we begin to 'act' in a way designed to earn the approval of others, we move away from serving God.

Integrity demands that we look at ourselves in the mirror that is held up for us by the Spirit. Don't like what you see? Then, get with God and ask for the courage to change 'from the inside out!' Stop giving yourself excuses by blaming your parents, your spouse, your life situation, or even God Himself. Here's a word from the Word to meditate on today -- It's about letting God's Word be our mirror and making the choice about responding to what see in the reflection.

• "... whoever catches a glimpse of the revealed counsel of God—the free life!—even out of the corner of his eye, and sticks with it, is no distracted scatterbrain but a man or woman of action. That person will find delight and affirmation in the action. Anyone who sets himself up as “religious” by talking a good game is self-deceived. This kind of religion is hot air and only hot air." (James 1:25-26, The Message)

Are you 'cooking the books' pretending to be someone you're not? Let God's love and grace take hold of your heart and mind. He knows who you really are -- and loves you anyway! He loves you enough to want you to become real and, in that reality, to become strong in His purposes. A person who has no hidden sins is fearless!

Today - commit to getting your Walk to match your Talk!

Subtle Deception!

Over this past weekend, I devoured Jim Bakker's book entitled, I Was Wrong, (Nelson Publishing, 1996) which he wrote after spending more than five years in federal prison for a fraud conviction! Bakker, as you may remember, was an Assemblies of God minister, the TV preacher who headed the now defunct PTL Club and Heritage USA during the 1980's in Charlotte, NC. He conversed with Presidents, lived like a king, and touched the lives of millions of people. As I read the book, which is long and detailed, I felt great sadness for the man who came to realize that he had spent 15 years of his life preaching a false gospel and that he had allowed himself to be diverted from working with God to working for an idol of his own making. Here's a direct quote from page 464 -

• "...during my years at PTL. I had gotten so busy trying to do something great for God and His people, I totally missed the point. Although I talked a great deal about Jesus- and in my heart truly loved Him- I allowed myself to be drawn away from my first love. Instead of fostering an intimate relationship with Him, I loved the spectacular, the supernatural, the signs and wonders."

Many Christians tend to sensationalize Bakker's sins by looking at his extravagant lifestyle and/or his alleged sexual misconduct- completing missing his greatest sin - idol worship. I wonder if we do that so we can avoid the sting of the Spirit's conviction we might feel if we looked at those things in Bakker's life that touch our experience? Not many of us ever have to wrestle with accepting a $1 million/year salary. Hopefully we are able to choose to walk away from the seduction to sexual sin fairly easily because of the red flags that surround that kind of choice. But idolatry is so much more subtle and a constant temptation for us all!

Bakker's idol was his ministry! Building the 'box,' as he refers to the retreat center and TV program, became more important to him than the contents of the box, which he originally intended be centered on the things of God and the Presence of Jesus. As his personal intimacy with the Lord waned, discernment faded and the guidance of the Spirit was set aside in favor of management and marketing. He notes that guests for the TV show were chosen more for their ability to sway a crowd with some 'gift manifestation,' sing a beautiful song with emotional intensity, or produce an audience than for their spiritual depth or personal holiness. He chose to 'look away' from wide gaps in the spiritual lives of many performers because he needed them to keep the audience and the money coming in. And in the end, he was in prison looking back on a defunct ministry, without any money, his children broken, a divorce from his wife; and a sad refrain - "I was wrong!" The best part of the book was the powerful conclusion that in his darkest hour, God had not abandoned him. God loved Bakker enough to allow a prison experience so that He could re-capture his heart. What mercy, though it is a severe mercy.

The message of the book shook me to the core of my being! I spent much of yesterday pondering the question: Am I walking in intimacy with Jesus? Are there any areas of my life where the 'business' of ministry taken over my heart and mind, destroying my spiritual vision?

The Decalogue begins with“You shall have no other gods before Me. " (Exodus 20:3, NKJV) That does not only prohibit little wood, stone, or golden statutes or foreign deities! That Word means we must never give our spouse, our job, our kids, our reputation, our financial security, even our personal happiness a higher place in our hierarchy of love than God Himself. Easier said, than done, isn't it?

So how can we avoid become idol worshippers?

1. Get quiet, alone with God, on a regular basis where you invite the brilliant Light of the Spirit to shine into every corner of your heart! 15 minutes won't do the job! This needs to be a half-day, at least, with just a Bible, a journal.

2. Keep friends on board in your life who ask hard questions! James Robinson visited Bakker at PTL a couple of years before the collapse and saw the truth. He told his friend, "You're committing fornication with brick and mortar!" He saw that the ministry had become a mistress who had stolen Bakker from his first love. Yet, he would not listen!

3. Refuse to allow any sin to remain. When the Spirit convicts our hearts, we need to respond quickly and completely. Paul writes to Timothy warning him of those "having their conscience seared with a hot iron," (1 Timothy 4.2 KJV). If we continue in sin after the Spirit's convicts, we burn away our sensitivity to Him, becoming dead! It doesn't take a lot of sin to make us almost totally incapable of responding to God's guidance.

4. Don't try to justify yourself. It isn't what you think or feel that will ultimately be the determination of right and wrong. It will be God's call! So, listen now and walk close to Him now. That way, you will not have to say, I was wrong, in brokenness and sorrow.
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Lord I come to You;Let my heart be changed, renewed;
Flowing from the grace that I've found in You!
Lord I've come to know the weaknesses I see, in me;
Will be stripped away,
By the power of Your love!

Hold me close, let Your love surround me.
Bring me near; draw me to Your side!
And as I wait,
I'll rise up like the eagle.
And I will soar with You,
Your Spirit leads me on,
In the power of Your love!

Lord unveil my eyes, Let me see You face to face;
The knowledge of Your love as You live in me!
Lord renew my mind,
as Your will unfolds in my life,
In living every day by the power of Your love!- Geoff Bullock

The Real Thing

One of the most recognizable brands world-wide is Coca-Cola! Marketing studies showed that Americans responded immediately to the familiar Coke logo and/or unique bottle style favorably indicating that the cola beverage and good times are linked in the sub-conscious of most people. Why is that? Lots of reasons contribute to this but primarily these results come from great marketing and a consistent product. Only once did Coca-Cola falter; in 1985, when the company introduced 'the new' Coke, which was re-formulated to taste more like the rival cola beverage, Pepsi. Coke did so, because in blind taste tests, cola drinkers did prefer the Pepsi taste over the Coke taste. Strangely, in taste tests where the label was visible, the results were reversed! Apparently, consumers had such loyalty to the brand name that they 'ignored' the data that their taste buds were sending to their brains.

In 2005, the word "Christian" does not stir up warm feelings of approval in the minds of many people! Instead when the word, 'Christian' is tested, the results show that others feel some level of hostility and perceive us as intolerant. For those reasons, I don't self-identify as a "Christian" anymore. Instead, if asked my religious faith, I say, 'follower of Jesus.' Too often, Christians are better identified by what they oppose than for what they support.

Jesus said that love was to be our trademark! He said, "They (the world at large) will know that you are my followers because of your love for each other!" In the first generations of the Church, compassion came to be THE image of a Christian. Every where that Christianity spread, works of compassion followed. Christians cared for orphans, stood up for the weak, fed the hungry, and cared for the sick. They had no cathedrals, no celebrity endorsements, and no political clout. Yet they increased in number by the thousands until the mighty Roman Empire took note of them and attempted to eliminate the new 'sect' by persecution. But, even under this pressure, Christianity flourished and the love that erased the lines between social classes, males and females, rich and poor in the Church continued to be the trademarkof those who followed Jesus!

Paul underlined the importance of the unity of love in the Church, writing to the Galatians: "You are all children of God through faith in Christ Jesus. And all who have been united with Christ in baptism have been made like him. There is no longer Jew or Gentile, slave or free, male or female. For you are all Christians—you are one in Christ Jesus." (Galatians 3:26-28, NLT) Of course, there were phonies in those churches, people who joined up without experiencing the transformational love of Christ in their own life. There were those who came to the 'love feasts' of the Church just looking for a free meal. But the pressure that was brought to bear on the followers of Christ Jesus by society and the government was intense enough that most of the fakes didn't last long. Only those whose faith was 'the real thing' stayed on.

Christian, are you 'the real thing?'
Is your life bearing the mark of Jesus in front of people with whom you work and live in a way that is building a strong favorable impression of who He is and what He does in the lives of those who love and serve Him?

Please do not read this TFTD as a call to abandon all standards that are unacceptable to the general public. Jesus also told those who followed Him that just as He was hated, they would be hated. If simply 'being liked' is our goal, we can gradually eliminate all objectionable parts of the Bible's message until we are left with a bland faith that threatens nothing and no one. That's not our aim! We are to be committed to the Truth and ready to die for Christ's cause. However, we are also commanded to 'speak the truth in love.' It is simply incompatible with the spirit of Christ Jesus to launch our verbal grenades at sin IF we are unwilling to become a part of the solution to those sins. Love compels us to give our lives to make a difference. We defeat sin and evil by overcoming it with good! (Romans 12:21)

Make your aim to be known for 'the real thing' - the love of Jesus Christ. Pray that the holiness to which you are called is not twisted into a self-righteousness, which is an ugly parody of true godliness. Let Christ's love permeate your being, that you are so full of His grace, that you are known as being one of the people that love- which will lead others to praise your Lord.

If we are filled with Divine Love, we will still oppose sin but we be known for our ministry to human need that sin brings. For example; let's be known more for helping AIDS patients than hating homosexuality. Let's be known for helping men and women build great marriages more than for hating divorce. Let's be known more for helping those who have lost hope find their way to the Light than for making it clear that 'they have made their own bed and they can now sleep in it!'

May the love we have for Jesus and each other become the trademark once again that causes the world to see us as 'the real thing.'