Stuck?

 

Have you heard of the Sargasso Sea? In the mid-Atlantic, it an area of becalmed waters about 700 miles across and 2000 miles long! The area is bounded by strong currents and much of it is covered with seaweed. Even the salinity of the water is higher than the ocean that surrounds it. In the days of sailing ships, this area of the ocean was dreaded, a place where a ship could get stalled, in the Doldrums, windless and making little or no progress. What a metaphor for a life becalmed!  Without the energy to engage, without the wind our sails; we just sit, waiting for tomorrow.

Seasons come when we get stuck, stale, and stalled - feeling like the wind of the Spirit has stopped blowing. Alan Jamieson wrote that in such times, "the old ways of prayer, worship, Bible reading become dry and stale. The church worship and preaching that used to encourage us, teach us, and inspire us becomes barren ground. God seems to extinguish one means of feeding our faith in order to make us hungry, even starving, for new ways. ... Now that the way is void and empty, God comes to us in new ways, if only we can perceive them. When we are becalmed, we learn to wait." -Perfect Storm, Abingdon, 2008

There are many reasons we can feel the spiritual doldrums falling over us. 

-If we are resistant to the will of our Father, persisting in behaviors that we know grieve the Spirit, we should not be surprised when we cannot perceive His Presence. 

-Sometimes when we are weary from a time of high stress or endless demands, our ability to worship takes a hit. The remedy is to rest, not just in diversion or pleasure, but to lean hard on the Promises of God. 

-And, there are times when we just do not perceive His moving in life for reasons unknown to us. These are times when we ‘live by faith’ – trusting a silent God!

There is a great danger that tempt those who have known God’s powerful Presence in the past.  We may try to stir up something of God in our own strength.  Our motive may be to do “God work.” But, human effort or emotion cannot replace the powerful Presence of God. In attempting to do ourselves what only God can do, we risk even greater discouragement, perhaps even burnout. When we feel becalmed, stuck, like nothing is happening, the best counsel is “WAIT on the Lord.” This is not a passive resignation to fate. It is a choice to turn our focus on Him, to discipline our heart to be still, to actively listen for the ‘still, small voice.’

The Psalmist's prayer is one for those who are becalmed. "I wait for the LORD, my soul waits, and in his word I put my hope. My soul waits for the Lord more than watchmen wait for the morning, more than watchmen wait for the morning. O Israel (people of God), put your hope in the LORD, for with the LORD is unfailing love and with him is full redemption." (Psalm 130:5-7, NIV)

Jesus taught us the importance of waiting for the Spirit. He told those first disciples that they must not rush off to just do something. Instead, they were to wait.  He said, "Do not leave Jerusalem, but wait for the gift my Father promised, which you have heard me speak about." (Acts 1:4, NIV) Wait; don't fret, fuss, or fume! And wait they did; prayerfully, expectantly, patiently. In God's time, the Spirit moved on them. "Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting." (Acts 2:2, NIV) "All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them." (Acts 2:4, NIV) Those men and women set sail to change the world!

Feeling stuck? God is moving. Love Him. Wait on Him. Turn your heart towards Heaven.

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Sweet Wind

(a song of the Spirit, listen at this link)

There's a wind a-blowin'

All across the land

A fragrant breeze of heaven

Blowin' once again

Don't know where it comes from

Don't know where it goes

But let it blow over me

Oh sweet wind

Come and blow over me

There's a rain a-pourin'

Showers from above

Mercy drops are comin'

Mercy drops of love

Turn your face to heaven

Let the water pour

Well let it pour over me

Oh sweet rain

Come and pour over me

There's a fire burnin'

Fallin' from the sky

Awesome tongues of fire

Consuming you and I

Can you feel it burnin'

Burn the sacrifice

Well let it burn over me

Oh sweet fire

Come and burn over me

David Ruis

© 1994 Mercy / Vineyard Publishing (Admin. by Vineyard Music USA)

Vineyard Songs Canada (Admin. by Vineyard Music USA)

CCLI License # 810055

SAVED!

I love conversion stories!  I subscribe to Christianity Today. One of my first stops in each issue is the back page, a feature called Testimony. On two pages the story of a person who has experienced the grace of God is told.  Last month a man raised as a racist, a Klansman, told his dramatic story of change. (I Was a Violent Klansman) When God’s Spirit touches the human heart and there is a response of faith, something real and wonderful happens. A whole new way of life becomes possible. The assurance of eternity with God in Heaven is written on the heart of that one who comes to Christ Jesus.

Have you been ‘saved?’  Paul, in his letter to the Romans, writes of the predicament of humanity in chapters 1 to 3. Sin came into the world, bringing alienation from God, death, obscuring the image of God. The famed verse says that "All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God." (Romans 3:23, NIV)  The splendor of being God’s image bearers was lost until Christ Jesus came to save us.

He urges us to faith, presenting our salvation in three analogies that deepen our assurance.

We are justified. (Romans 3:24)  In the court of Heaven we were indicted and bound to be condemned at the Judgment. But, when we believe and receive Christ, God declares us ‘not guilty,’ not because we are deserving, but because Jesus extends grace to us. It’s more than a pardon. We are free of guilt!

We are redeemed. (Romans 3:24)  In the world in which Paul lived slavery was common. Your neighbor could become a slave if he fell into debt. Sold into servitude to satisfy that debt was a terrible thing. However, there could be redemption! If family and/or friends put together enough resources to pay off the debt, the person enslaved was redeemed, set free.  You and I, in our natural state, are slaves of sin, but there is a Redeemer, Jesus, God’s own Son. Jesus tells us of His mission to pay the ransom for our freedom. (Mark 10:45)  “For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”

Our love for Him is such that we become servants of God, living to please Him. As Paul says “You were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body.” (1 Corinthians 6:20)

We are given the gift of righteousness.  "Now a righteousness from God, apart from law, has been made known, … God presented him (Jesus) as a sacrifice of atonement, through faith in his blood.” (Romans 3:25, NIV)  The sacrifice of atonement is an analogy based in the temple sacrifice for sin. Paul has in mind here the mercy seat that was the lid of the ark of covenant.  There, on the Day of Atonement, the high priest carried blood for an offering on behalf of the people that satisfied the holy demands of God.

A system of sacrifices turned away God’s wrath from the sinner. Shocked at that language?  Perhaps that is because our concept of God is so impoverished. He is a loving Father, the glorious Creator, and the Judge of all the earth.  We are, “by nature objects of wrath,’ except that God, mysteriously and wondrously, offered His own Son as the final sacrifice for sin, once for all time.             

That sacrifice of Jesus is viewed from three perspectives, each adding to our faith!

                Substitutionary- He suffered the penalty of sin ‘in our place.’

                Propitiatory - He satisfied the demands of a holy God ‘on our behalf.’

                Expiatory - He annulled the guilt by removing the consequence of sin ‘for us.’                                                     

Yes, those are hard concepts for us but we must go beyond a superficial and emotion-based grasp of the amazing gift of God. When our minds are filled with the wonder of salvation – that we are justified, that we are redeemed, that God has made us right at great cost – there is an unshakeable assurance that fills our mind and heart, compelling us to joy and faithful love.

Have you been ‘saved?’

Here is a word from the Word. Oh, may the promise of God that saves us from the human predicament cause us to sing today.

"And you also were included in Christ when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation. Having believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God’s possession—to the praise of his glory. For this reason, ever since I heard about your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for all the saints, I have not stopped giving thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers. I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know him better." (Ephesians 1:13-17, NIV)  Amen

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This Is Amazing Grace

(sing with Phil Wickman)

Who breaks the power of sin and darkness

Whose love is mighty and so much stronger

The King of Glory the King above all kings

Who shakes the whole earth with holy thunder

And leaves us breathless in awe and wonder

The King of Glory the King above all kings

 (Yeah) (Oh) This is amazing grace

This is unfailing love

That You would take my place

That You would bear my cross

You laid down Your life

That I would be set free

Oh Jesus I sing for all that You've done for me

Who brings our chaos back into order

Who makes the orphan a son and daughter

The King of Glory the King of Glory

Who rules the nations with truth and justice

Shines like the sun in all of its brilliance

The King of Glory the King above all kings

Worthy is the Lamb who was slain

Worthy is the King who conquered the grave

Worthy is the Lamb who was slain

Worthy is the King who conquered the grave

Worthy is the Lamb who was slain

Worthy is the King who conquered the grave

Worthy is the Lamb who was slain

Worthy worthy worthy

Jeremy Riddle | Josh Farro | Phil Wickham

© 2012 Phil Wickham Music (Admin. by BMG Rights Management [c/o Music Services, Inc.])

Seems Like Music (Admin. by BMG Rights Management [c/o Music Services, Inc.])

Sing My Songs (Admin. by BMG Rights Management [c/o Music Services, Inc.])

WC Music Corp. (Admin. by Word Entertainment, LLC)

Bethel Music Publishing

CCLI License # 810055

Angry Christians?

Are you an angry Christian? In our polarized, quickly changing world it is easy to feel besieged, confused, threatened. Some Christians respond with tirades and rants, bitterly lashing out at political leaders, entertainers, preachers with whom they disagree, former friends … anyone that is available to blame for the state of the world ‘as they see it.’  Am I describing any emotions you can relate to?

The wisdom of God, spoken by Pastor James of Jerusalem, says this to us - "My dear brothers, take note of this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry, for man’s anger does not bring about the righteous life that God desires." (James 1:19-20, NIV) Anger cannot be the foundation for God’s work!  Anger, left to smolder, consumes a person from the inside out. It’s like that overheated wire inside of a wall that smolders imperceptibly until it reaches the surface and then, finding oxygen, the embers burst into flame and consume the house.

If you are angry, about the direction of our nation, about the spiritual drift in your church, about … whatever … admit it. Anger often denied. People paste a label over their anger, calling it by many names but it is still anger.  They might make excuses for it, rationalize it, do anything but face it. "I'm not angry, just upset," I have been told by people while they alternate between tears of frustration and rage. Because anger is a frightening emotion, and usually regarded as 'bad,' we often cannot admit to ourselves that we are just ‘mad at the world.’

Anger is a legitimate human emotion. A person who is incapable of anger is a potential victim for everybody that comes along life's road. Anger can help us gather the courage to start to make a change, to seek justice. Anger is a sibling of love.  Think about it. We get angry about situations that involve things or people we care about. Apathy is a compound word- ‘a’ meaning without and ‘pathos’ meaning feelings. To be apathetic means to be uncaring because we are ‘unfeeling.’  But, when our caring gets trampled, ignored, or disappointed – look out. Anger lurks in those shadows. Ungodly anger is a destructive explosion that usually comes after we have been inconvenienced or frustrated.

Deeply godly men and women will become passionately angry when the weak are abused, when others are oppressed or robbed of their dignity. Actions that diminish God's honor or that potentially harm those He loves will cause His people to rise up with anger to take corrective anger-- and rightly so! However, the Bible warns us of the potential for danger that accompanies anger. The Scripture says, ...“don’t sin by letting anger gain control over you.” Don’t let the sun go down while you are still angry.” (Ephesians 4:26, NLT) Two things are emphasized - we must not lose rational control over anger, for then it flows into rage which is always destructive! And anger must have limits. We can't just 'stay mad' for days on end for that kind of unresolved anger eats away at us - body and soul.

Is life a mess for you, making you smolder with anger?

Does the state of the world make you angry?

Are the choices of those you love making you angry?

Don’t just rage, blame, and threaten.  Remember James’ word, “man’s anger does not bring about the righteous life God desires.” 

Admit that you’re angry, then let that emotion take you to the Lord in prayer – where you can pour out all those tumbling emotions. He will hear you and minister to you best - because He knows you inside out! As the stormy emotions find release in His Presence, there will be change in you. As the Lord’s love renews you, you will find a new foundation for your caring. In Him, you will find security so that you can respond with proactive desires to change things instead of destructive reactions.

Here's a word from the Word to think on today: "Slowness to anger makes for deep understanding; a quick-tempered person stockpiles stupidity." (Proverbs 14:29, The Message)  Wow, that speaks to me. How about you?

_________________

Listen to this new song by Zack Williams.
It’s a powerful reminder of our secure hope in Jesus.

Rescue Story

There I was empty handed

Crying out from the pit of my despair

There you were in the shadows

Holding out Your hand You met me there

And now where would I be without You

Where would I be Jesus

You were the voice in the desert

Calling me out in the dead of night

Fighting my battles for me

You are my rescue story

Lifted me up from the ashes

You carried my soul from death to life

Bringing me from glory to glory

You are my rescue story

You are You are

You are my rescue story

You are You are

You were writing the pages

Before I had a name

Before I needed grace oh

Singing songs of redemption

'Cause every time I ran away

You were louder than my shame

You never gave up on me

You never gave up on me

You are my testimony oh

You never give up on me

Oh You never give up on me

Oh this is my testimony oh

You are You are

Oh You never gave up on me

Never gave up on me

You are You are

Yeah You are my rescue story

Andrew Ripp | Ethan Hulse | Jonathan Smith | Zach Williams

© 2019 Anthems of Hope (Admin. by Essential Music Publishing LLC)

Be Essential Songs (Admin. by Essential Music Publishing LLC)

Cashagamble Jet Music (Admin. by Essential Music Publishing LLC)\

CCLI License # 810055

Gnats

Do you ever find yourself running a through a checklist of things you do, to try to quell that sense in your heart that your true desire for God is not quite right?
-Attended church every Sunday this month. Check.
-Gave generous offerings to the church. Check.

-Said some kind words to my neighbor. Check.

-Avoided using curse words when angry. Check. 

And yet the nagging sense that your heart is not full to overflowing with the Spirit, that your true devotion is not set on Christ Jesus, remains.

Jesus spoke to some people who were very religious but who did not actually love God with some harsh words. In part, He said,  “Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You give a tenth of your spices—mint, dill and cummin. But you have neglected the more important matters of the law—justice, mercy and faithfulness. You should have practiced the latter, without neglecting the former. You blind guides! You strain out a gnat but swallow a camel." (Matthew 23:23-24, NIV)

I think when He said that last line, the crowds probably laughed at it. “You strain out a gnat but swallow a camel!”

They were careful not to let a little bug contaminate their beverage, but missed the large beast in it. Absurd? Yes, but meant to drive home the point!

Let’s not take away the wrong message. The Lord was not saying that things like church attendance, generous giving, clean language, or human kindness were unimportant to God. They are, but they cannot replace true devotion, genuine love for Him and others, concern for justice, and faithfulness in our relationships. Religion can be used like an air freshener in a stinking room. Even if the garbage can is full of spoiled food, the kitchen can smell better temporarily when you spray a chemical mask over the odor but the best way to make the stink go away is to get rid of the garbage.

We cannot confuse the choice to look good on the outside with the decision to surrender ourselves to Christ Jesus and be transformed from the inside!

Jesus described this to a religious scholar named Nicodemus as being ‘born again.’ (John 3) A tragedy of our time is the way we abuse that wonderful concept. One is not ‘born again’ because they say a few words at the end of a church service as the preacher leads them, or pray the ‘sinner’s prayer’ with someone.  Yes, those things can be meaningful and often are, but new birth is the work of the Spirit Who comes to live in us, conceiving a completely new way of life in us – one that is God-centered, not self-centered.

Are there parts of your life that remain fully in your possession, where you have posted a ‘keep out’ sign to the Holy Spirit?

Do you refuse His call to come near, to deal with that issue of unforgiveness, impurity, greed, racism – whatever it may be – and try to cover up your guilty conscience?

God loves us and wants our deepest devotion in response. There is wonderful peace to be found in a whole-hearted ‘yes’ to Him. There is joy and assurance in the center of His will. Do you know those things?

Here is a word from the Word. Jesus quoted from Isaiah, challenging us to change. "And so, by your own tradition, you nullify the direct commandment of God. You hypocrites! Isaiah was prophesying about you when he said, ‘These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far away. Their worship is a farce, for they replace God’s commands with their own man-made teachings.’ ” (Matthew 15:6-9, NLT)  "Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Come near to God and he will come near to you. Wash your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded. Grieve, mourn and wail. Change your laughter to mourning and your joy to gloom. Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up." (James 4:7-10, NIV)

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Build My Life

(A great song that points us to real faith in the Builder)

Worthy of ev’ry song we could ever sing

Worthy of all the praise we could ever bring

Worthy of ev’ry breath we could ever breathe

We live for You

Jesus the name above ev’ry other name

Jesus the only one who could ever save

Worthy of ev’ry breath we could ever breathe

We live for You

We live for You

Holy there is no one like You

There is none besides You

Open up my eyes in wonder and show me who You are

And fill me with Your heart

And lead me in Your love to those around me

I will build my life upon Your love

It is a firm foundation

I will put my trust in You alone

And I will not be shaken

Brett Younker | Karl Martin | Kirby Elizabeth Kaple | Matt Redman | Pat Barrett

© 2016 Martin, Karl Andrew (Admin. by Arkyard Music Services Limited)

Kaple Music (Admin. by Bethel Music Publishing)

Bethel Music Publishing

CCLI License # 810055