No man appears in safety before the public eye unless he first relishes obscurity. No man is safe in speaking unless he loves to be silent. No man rules safely unless he is willing to be ruled. No man commands safely unless he has learned well how to obey. No man rejoices safely unless he has within him the testimony of a good conscience.
— Thomas á Kempis

Written centuries ago, the sentiment still holds true today. God opposes the proud and exalts those who don’t puff themselves up (see Proverb 3:34 and 1 Peter 5:5)

It’s a bit of a concern that so many of the “big name” preachers are so high profile. Some of them are, admittedly, from very humble beginnings. Others give their testimony and demonstrate that they are not acting as independent ministers outside authority so they testify that they are under the authority of a local pastor.

As á Kempis noted, unless you can sit under authority, you should not be in a position of leadership. We are all accountab;e to each other, and it’s been refreshing to see the actions of the current Pope, Francis, in his humility and a genuine return to accountability and Holiness in the office, losing the pomp and ceremony in favour of humility and acknowledgement of Jesus’s redemptive power in his life.

Compare the attitude with that of prominent polititians. In South Africa, Jacob Zuma’s arrogance is second only to that of his neighbour, Robert Mugabe. British Prime Ministers, American Presidents. Most leaders display these megalomaniacal tendencies and place their own ego above all else. The days of the humility in leadership shown by the likes of Nelson Mandela and even Winston Churchill seem to be a thing of the past, to the detriment of society as a whole.

Jesus came washing His disciples feet when He could have called on a legion of angels to back Him up. He touched lepers, addressed women as equals and didn’t discriminate against anyone. He spoke freely and gently to anyone – including the pharisees like Nicodemus – who would seek Him with their hearts, but even Jesus declared Himself to be accountable to one higher – His Father.

He needs to be the example of a Christian Leader. Yet so many pseudo-charismatic leaders in Christianity pump themselves and their own image up. Self-named ministries abound, almost guaranteeing that if the leader were to die the ministry will cease to exist. Obviously there are exceptions to this, the most obvious being Billy Graham, where the leaders are humbe men who are known for their humility. But too often these leaders use emotion and manipulation to increase their power. People flock to hand over money to them as a “tithe” or an “offering”.

Now don’t get me wrong. I consider myself to be charismatic (to a degree) in my outlook. But I won’t try to play on emotions for profit. I hate when people have tried to label me in the past with a particular gift as a title. These people who call themselves “Pastor Bob” or “Prophet Jim” or “Apostle Harry” or whatever their gift may (or may not) be have their reward already. I’d rather be simply “David”. I don’t want accolades and titles. I see no point in them. If you have to tell people you’re a prophet or whatever your claim is, you probably aren’t. I have moved in prophecy, word of knowledge, healing, and many other gifts, but I detest the idea of someone classifying me as a particular “type” of preacher as I believe there’s more than one facet to my role in the Church. By labelling someone as a “Healing Minister” you run the risk of other messages being missed or rejected by the listeners.

Humility is essential in a leader. We need to be able to say “This is who God says I am: no more and no less”. There’s humility in acknowledging a gift you know that you move in. For years – over 2 decades – I refused to acknowledge that God had placed a prophetic gift in me, playing it down and minimising it until a local minister of a small congregation spoke to me alone one day and told me I was dishonouring God by belittling what He had placed in me. I realised he was right – it resonated in my heart as true. I’d been guilty of pride in the form of false humility, which had meant others had kept puffing me up.

It hurt to recognise it. It was hard to repent of it. I still fall into it.

God opposes the proud. The proud include the ones who make themselves out to be unworthy as well as the ones who make themselves out to be more than they are.

We walk a fine line. Jesus holds us straight on it, but He won’t stop us veering off it. The good news is He’ll wait for us to come back and then help us walk the line again. Just as He did when Peter denied Him. Or when he walked on the sea towards Jesus and took his eyes off Him.

Jesus leads by example. He calls us to do the same. After Pentecost the disciples understood that, finally. They recognised they needed to look for people who were anointed to perform certain tasks within the Body and not to abandon their own call or micro-manage others. Leaders were men and women, as can be seen in Paul’s letters where he addresses the mother and Grandmother of Timothy and the church meeting in various people’s homes in others. When Paul says he won’t allow women to have authority over a man, he was not being sexist. He was acknowledging God putting the husband as the head of the home and making the likeness. He would have known well about Deborah, Rahab, Bathsheba, Esther and the other strong women who led Israel at various times during it’s history. But he would also have been aware that women at the time of writing were often not educated in the Roman Empire. QWhen he writes they should be silent in church, he was more likely referring to the constant asking of questions rather than gossip, which people have suggested. His call for wives to submit to their husbands is tame when taken in the context of a husband’s responsibility to give himself for his wife, to the point of laying down his life for her as Jesus did for His Bride – the Church.

Paul’s own leadership was an example. Although he could have been a first-century equivalent of a televangelist and pulled on emotions to get donations and had a Rolls-Royce donkey or a Cadillac carriage and Armani togas. But instead he chose to make tents. He even begged places to stop giving when they begged to give. That kind of integrity is what the Church and the World needs in a leader. Again, Francis has hit the nail on the head by his lifestyle. In South Africa, Nelson Mandela saw his salary and was horrified at the amount – he believed it to be too much. There would never have been the kind of money-grabbing or power-mongering behaviour from a man of his calibre that we see in other world leaders today. Or Christian leaders.

I don’t think Paul would have recognised a megachurch as a realistic place for intimate Christianity based on relationship to flourish. I’m not attacking megachurches, there’s a place for them as long as within the structure there is a place for an intimate group, platoons of no more than 10 people who live in each other’s lives and are accountable to one another.

I’ve been in churches where the “cell-group” mentality has been used well, and some where I found it exasperating. In some the leaders felt the groups should be shaken up every six months or so – which would be fine except it prevents real depth of knowledge of one another. Others where the groups had been the same people for years and new members to the church couldn’t break into the clique. The balance needs to be maintained. And that balance needs to be kept by the pastor overseeing the church as a whole – who should himself be a member, rather than a leader, of a small home group. If a man cannot follow, he should not lead.

It all comes back to humility. Moses is described at one point as the humblest man in Israel. And Moses wrote the book in which the accolade is recorded. It’s not proud or boastful to declare yourself to be what God says you are. But it is to make out yourself to be more or less than His description of you.

For me – like most – it’s a work in progress. Just ask my wife! I have days where I get it right, and days where she stays out of my way. I tend to not like the latter part of me. Neither does she. It’s a part I have to work on.

Finally, a thought to bear in mind. All of us are leaders. We have people who follow us and who we influence. Leadership is not a title necessarily. A Leader in Christianity is anyone who is emulated and respected as an example of behaviour – irrespective of title or position in the local establishment. I have enjoyed the wisdom of some amazing men of God (and women of God) since I chose to follow Jesus in 1985. Some of them were ordained ministers, but most were lay people who simply had a close relationship with Jesus. One of the wisest was a farmer who lived in the middle of the moors in Devon. He was in his 70s and still working his land, praying and talking to God all day, every day. When he spoke, you could feel the Holy Spirit in him. When he prayed his words were few and filled with almost unbearable power. He spoke little at the meetings I went to, but when he did everyone was silent until he finished because the depth of his relationship gave him a genuine humility and holiness I’ve never met in any other individual. Yet he was, in his own words, just a farmer who loved his Saviour and allowed his Saviour to love him back on His terms, not his human conditions.

Ultimately, that’s the key.

Be humble enough to accept what God says you are and not make more or less of it. Be honest enough to recognise your limitations and your strengths.

And remember: Whether you know it or not, someone is following you. You are a Christian Leader simply by being a Christian.

There’s few things that build Character like problems.

How we deal with an issue that arises defines and shapes our character. If it’s a previously encountered issue then we can refine our responses. If it’s a new experience – good or bad – we define them.

This evening I encountered an issue. I heard screaming in the road outside our home. A woman’s voice screaming for help. Adrenaline wasn’t an issue. I picked up the first heavy, blunt and useable object I could find – a walking stick – and ran out to meet the assailant in battle if necessary.

I was confronted with two large and aggressive dogs tearing apart a smaller dog. No hesitation, I charged at them, screaming and swinging the “club” I was carrying with full intent of killing them. The small dog was still alive, but after the tow assailants had run off I knelt down and looked at the small bleeding bundle they had left. It’s injuries were severe and it was obvious, even to my untrained eye, that this sweet dachshund type dog was not going to survive the injuries. The owner was by this point being comforted by someone else, so I did the only thing left to do. I knelt down and gently stroked his head, whispering to him and felt his pulse. It weakened, got slower and then stopped.

It’s shaken me. It’s not the first dog to die in my arms, and I daresay it won’t be the last since I have 3 of my own. But it’s the first time I have to comfort a dying animal that has been so savagely attacked.

I prayed over it, commanding the pain to ease and peace to fill him. His struggling eased and he calmed as I prayed, and I know my prayer was heard and answered.

There’s a neighbour I’ll call Bob who I’ve not exactly seen eye to eye with. He’s my mum’s peer – late 60s/early 70s – who doesn’t approve of how I keep my dogs. Now it’s true we don’t get to walk them as often as we’d like, but they get our undivided company most of the day and sleep in our bedroom overnight. Nobody can claim we don’t love those animals.

Bob suggested they should be put to sleep a while ago as they make noise barking. Which is news to us. Tonight was the first night I’d met him face to face. He saw first hand how I treated the injured pup and he was singing my praises. Then I introduced myself. His response was immediate.

He apologised to me.

Now up to this point I imagine you thought I was going to write about my own character. Wrong.

Bob, it turns out, is an older chap who just wanted peace and quiet in his retirement. There are a lot of dogs in the area, and they set each other off. Ours were just the last straw the day he spoke to my mum – we’re staying with her for now.

After he saw me with this little injured pup, and watched me comfort it as it slipped from this world, he softened. His real character showed through. His compassion for animals. His respect for animal lovers. We both learned something about each other, and suddenly there is respect in place of antagonism. He saw me rush to help a woman I’ve never met from two attacking dogs I didn’t know to save a dacschund. Even though I wasn’t able to help it live, I was able to give it a dignified end.

It changed the relationship to mutual respect.

Which grew both our characters. For now at least we have put aside our difference of opinion and uited in a display of unity.

Character develops over time. We need to understand the need for this development as it allows us to grasp what God has for us. Our character is designed to reflect His. We need to be passionate and resilient. Forgiving in our pain, and slow to anger. When we do anger it must be from a place of righteousness – covered by the Blood of the Lamb.

We want to have character NOW. It’s the fast-food mentality we are stuck in.

It’s also insane. We can’t build character in a week any more than we can train for a marathon in a week. Character requires perseverance, which requires stamina. Stamina can only come through time. Granted many of us have both good and bad stuff in there, but character allows us to recognise them and act appropriately.

So in the last week or so of Lent, let God start to work more deeply onj your character. Allow His hand to guide you to be more like Jesus in all the areas of your life, and recognise His hand in the situations you come across.

I know I’m going to.

Worship is a touchier subject than you might think. I came from a background where the only time anyone raised their hand in church was if either they needed the bathroom or someone was holding a gun! Other churches I’ve been in since have equated worship with music, and used the terms as synonyms, and others have hinted that it’s not worship unless there’s dancing.

Or if there is dancing.

I loved Tony Campolo’s answer in 1990’s Greenbelt festival when asked if he thought Baptists could dance. He smiled and said “Some can, some can’t”. Nice attitude.

The Heart of Worship is making our cations reflect and point our hearts towards Jesus.

As simple as that.

But what is worship then?

Washing the dog. Tidying your room – without being asked. Cooking dinner. Eating dinner.

Any activity can be an act of worship. It depends on the heart behind it.

Something as simple as cooking for another person can be an act of worship to God, but can also be an act of selfishness. We receive our reward based on our heart.

For example: If I write this blog only to get people to comment and then a comment is left, I have my reward. But if I write it with the attitude of wanting to draw closer to Jesus and to share that closeness with others so they can draw closer too, then that is worship – irrespective of whether I get a comment or not.

To be honest, my track record is probably 50/50 on that one.

I want this to be an act of worship. Sometimes I miss the mark, sometimes quite horribly in fact.

Sometimes I get wrapped up in an issue and the issue becomes an idol. Tearing it down becomes more important to me than putting God first. What may have begun in a holy way becomes selfish and self-righteous.

We all do it. Some of the “mega-churches” with massive congregations have a “rock-star” mentality for their worship leaders. The stages are meticulously lit, lights and even pyrotechnics are employed. A far cry from a Jewish carpenter sharing a meal with 12 buddies. The point can get lost.

Which is fine, unless Jesus is the point.

If my ego is the point, by all means lose it. But if Jesus is the point, it’s essential to not lose the point. We need Jesus more than oxygen. More than water. There’s a formula that suggests a rule of 3.

Three minutes without air. Three days without water. Three months without food – maybe. But we die without God just as surely as we do without air. The difference is we don’t realise sometimes.

We need to keep a heart of worship at the centre of our being. Every action can become a learned act of worship to draw closer to God. For Brother Lawrence it was stirring the food at the monastery. For others it may be sitting in silence or singing that is where we start.

I love the scene in “Chariots of Fire” where Eric Liddel says to his sister that when he runs he knows God made him fast, and when he runs he can “feel His pleasure”. That knowledge of God delighting in us is a key part of worship. We rejoice in God, and God delights in us. Our Worship lifts His heart as well as our own. In drawing close to Him, we allow Him to come closer to us.

So drawing Close to God is the heart of Worship. It sounds obvious. But drawing close is something we miss too often by striving to hit the right note. I remember Mike Yaconelli at Greenbelt in 1991 saying about children coming to Jesus just as they were. They simply loved Him. John Avanzini at a conference I went to in the UK in the late 1990’s – I can’t be sure of the exact year but around 1997/8 said we need to be like kids getting before God and yelling “Hey Daddy – Watch THIS!” like a little kid does.

Accept like a child and enter His presence.

Accept like a child and hit the Heart of Worship – Holiness – as a by-product. We can’t help it. It’s too obvious.

So yes, the topic is the heart of Worship, but like I’ve written over the last few weeks, the centre of Worship comes back to a Holy attitude in our lives. We must set ourselves apart to be with God. We need to set ourselves apart to spend time with Him every day.

I may not publish a post every day, but a significant portion of my day os spent researching and praying about what to write. Either I’m working on this set of essays or on the book research I need to do to complete my work on my book project. Or both. Whatever I do, for that time, my whole being is focussed on Jesus. Everything else dissolves into it’s proper place and perspective as I bring my heart close to His.

Mostly.

But I’ve found the Heart of Worship to be more than singing. More than reading.

True Worship involves stripping away anything that gets between me and God. Sometimes that literally means I need to be naked before Him – physically and Spiritually. It’s been impossible to kid myself about where I am with God when I’m stripped literally and figuratively of everything.

Obviously, this is private worship I’m referring to. Even my wife isn’t involved in that part, but in those moments, figuratively locked in my most private room, my phone turned off and the TV and CD player silent I sit and wait. My silence is my Worship. My Worship is through my silence. I listen for God, and He answers. His answers are that He listens to me.

And for that time I know beyond any doubt that I am His child, and He is my daddy.

And my Heart, refreshed, renewed and whole, is ready, willing and able to Worship with all it’s might.

My heart. Your heart. Beating in time with God’s heart.

That’s the Heart of Worship.

In October 2011 I wrote about Change and the transient nature of opinion.

In the two and a half years since I wrote the piece the “Progressive” movement has risen up, basing itself on claiming to meet people “where they are”.

This isn’t about trying to take on that particular group as I’ve touched on them previously. Rather it’s an examination of some of the changes that have taken place in society over the last few decades.

In the 1950’s it was humiliating to admit you were divorced, and an unmarried mother was something to be ashamed of. Older people were respected and taken care of in their twilight years by their children. The wisdom they had learned in the decades they had lived was valued not for their technological expertise, but for their experience of life.

By 2000 teenage mothers were commonplace, so much so that the church didn’t think twice about it. Behaviours that would have been incomprehensible fifty years before were common. Not only is divorce not something to be ashamed of as a symbol of inability to communicate and compromise, it’s become something planned for before the marriage vows are taken. For business purposes to protect assets in the event of financial collapse an agreement that each partner retains what they have when they enter the marriage as separate is wisdom. Even contracting that any earnings by an individual partner within the marriage could be argued as making sense to protect the family in the longer term. But any contract that begins with the phrase “In the event of separation or divorce” is planning for failure.

How things have changed.

But the more worrying aspect is that the church seems to be looking at changing with it. It seems to be accepting the concept of “acceptable” sins.

What is an “acceptable” sin?

These days anything that rocks the boat is hushed up by too many people claiming Christ as their own. We have groups setting up and proclaiming that parts of the Bible are obsolete because they were written before we “understood” what we know now.

But God’s wisdom is foolishness to men. And Man’s wisdom makes God laugh.

God is a Holy God. He never changes. He is still the same as He was 2000 years ago when Jesus embodied Him. He’s the same as he was when Moses raised his staff over the people and walked into the Red Sea. H hasn’t changed since Abram became Abraham, and He’s the same as He was when He closed the Ark for Noah.

But society has changed. Babel, Jericho, King David, Jabez, Jeremiah, Isaiah and the Apostles all saw different manifestations of humanity. In the last century and a half we’ve moved in Western society from God-fearing to agnosticism and panantheism masquerading as Christianity and being endorsed by bishops and church leaders who should know better.

We need a Martin Luther for our generation. Someone who will stand up to the heresy of these pseudo-Christian beliefs that are so prevalent and unite the Church behind them. We need the wisdom of CS Lewis and Charles Spurgeon mixed with the Wesleys and Wilberforce for social good in a truly Christlike manner.

God didn’t change.

The World did.

And we bought into it. We bought consumerism as a concept to replace “greed” and declared it to be acceptable. But it’s still greed, and greed comes from coveting what you don’t have. We bought “hero-worship” in place of “idolatry”, but an idol is an idol no matter what you rephrase it as.

God is not deceived by these renamings, we should be aware of them.

“Free Love” replaced “sexual immorality” and a genocide of abortions was created along with a higher instance of sexually transmitted illness per capita than at any time in history.

Men and women forfeiting the natural order of God’s creation and renaming it, declaring it to be acceptable and ignoring the stagnant waters they are using for baptising their believers.

Stagnant water breeds death. The water of the World is rank and rotten, yet the church claiming to represent Jesus bathes in it and invites others to do so. They accept the invitation because they don’t need to change. There’s no challenge to their lifestyle. Nothing to give up in order to follow Christ makes it easy. There’s no chance of persecution because they’re moving in the same direction as the enemy – they just don’t realise it.

The best, most believable lie has a percentage of the truth in it. When Satan tested Adam and Eve, his lies were masked in mostly truth and by the time the big lie came they were sunk. He tried the same with Jesus in the wilderness, even quoting scripture in an effort to deceive Him. Of course, Jesus saw straight through it and rejected the temptation. We tend to lean towards believing the lie though. It’s easier. Our life doesn’t have to be complicated with the petty morality stuff of two hundred years ago. We’re wiser now.

Not.

Mankind has bought the lie and is throwing away the future for an easy life now.

The world has changed. It’s harder and colder. But it’s wrapped in a pseudo-soft blanket that makes us forget how it’s actually sucking the life out of us and leaving us hollow shells instead of vessels filled with the Holy Spirit. Many are walking the broad path to death simply because they genuinely believe they are actually on the other road – because nobody’s shown them what Spurgeon pointed out – that if we want to glorify God we “…can count on many trials. No one can truly shine for Christ without enduring many conflicts.” (Morning by Morning)

But the “fuzzy blanket” christianity doesn’t recognise this.

Christianity isn’t a soft option. It’s a daily battle in a vicious war against an enemy who seeks to steal, kill and destroy everything we stand for. And he doesn’t take prisoners.

God never changed. But the world tries to convince us He did.

Beware, Christians. The world will suck us down and kill us if we let it, simply because the nature of the attack changed. Be wise and keep Godly counsel. Remember there’s a difference between “Fellowship” and “church”. The terms are not synonymous. Going to a church won’t make you a Christian any more than sitting in a garage will make you a car. Even small groups can be nothing more than a religious experience. We need true Fellowship – living life Spiritually accountable to other believers, adjusting our behaviours and growing in understanding and wisdom as a result of growing strong together.

Don’t be fooled by the changing nature of the world. Remember the “facts” the world speaks are temporal. God’s Truth is Eternal, unending and unchanging. He laid it down before He created time, and it will be there after time has been forgotten.

I had a converstaion recently which reminded me of the importance of our thoughts and how the way we think affects us.

We think in terms of “I am” statements.

I am poor. I am destitute. I am sick. I am depressed.

These thoughts define us in our own minds. They are a statement of agreement with an accusation of the enemy. We need to cut this behaviour out and recognise the Truth behind the lie.

“Poor” is not the same as “broke”

I have been broke. Often. But I’ve never been “poor”. Poor is a state of mind. It is an acceptance of poverty. Someone who is in a state of poverty is defined by it. He is trapped by the agreement that he is “poor”. And that very agreement then prevents him (or her) from breaking free of the hold the enemy has on their life. If we believe we are poor we develop a “poverty” mindset. That means we look at every cent that comes in. We account for everything to pay the “essentials” and we generally cut out our tithe or gift as an “unnecessary expense”. The thought drops in “I can start giving again when the situation improves”. But if you don’t sow a seed, you can’t reap a harvest.

Don’t misunderstand me here. As opposed to other “prosperity” teachers I’m not saying you must give to me, my ministry or any particular organisation or church. There’s no “donations” page on this blog. I ask for nothing except feedback. I want to see the church blessed financially, and to see God’s People freed from a poverty mindset. The only way that can happen is a paradigm shift that eliminates this poverty agreement.

“I am sick” is just as bad.

Currently I take medication daily for diabetes type 2. This is a “pregressive” illness, meaning it gets worse as you get older.

Mine isn’t. It’s getting better. I’ve not changed anything except how I look at the diagnosis. I used to say every time “My diabetes”. Agreement. Acceptance. Ownership. It was mine.

Then I realised Isaiah and Peter both point out that by the stripes of Jesus we are healed.

Healed. Cured. Fixed. Sickness has no permanent hold on us.

But we can hold onto sickness. That’s happened with me. I spent over ten years declaring the diabetes to be something that defined me. It made me who I was by agreement. The revelation that it wasn’t who I am, but the agreement was a lie is something I’ve been working on for over 5 years now. It takes time to win that fight sometimes, but even if it’s by inches, I’m winning. The same with my eyesight. I wear glasses, but I’ve not needed to change my prescription since I began to understand this principle of not agreeing with the lie. Now I get a new pair of specs a year because my medical insurance pays for it, and I wear them out. No other reason. Or I get contact lenses. Either way, my eyesight is stable, and I expect it to begin to get better. Again, like diabetes, deterioration is “progressive”. It’s a lie.

Moses was 120 years old and his sight hadn’t failed. And he lived under the Old Covenant. How much healthier should we be under the New Covenant?

And then there’s the doozy…

“I’m depressed”.

I’ve battled this one. Victory and loss in almost equal numbers – leaning slightly towards victory now finally.

Depression is a big one. It’s so convincing. The thoughts bombard your mind and it seems reasonable to accept them. What begins with a natural emotion like grief can begin to spiral if we don’t keep our thoughts submitted to God. Grief becomes anger. Unresolved anger becomes depression. Disabling, crippling thought patterns that rob us of the joy of living.

Sound familiar?

The thief comes to steal, kill and destroy the Bible warns us. Depression, like any illness, has a spiritual root, a physical root and an emotional root. Like a difficult tooth it gets in with an infection and we need to have it removed. Psychology tries to crown it. Cut off the tooth, but the root just gets identifief, not removed, then burined under good intentions. Sometimes it’s enough. If we bury the root in Christ as the Crown, then the root will not trouble us again too badly. There may be flare ups now and then right?

Wrong.

If a dental root is diseased a crown won’t fix it. Eventually it spreads and rots the bone. The rot goes into the blood stream. Poison. Deadly poison. An egyptian mummy was given an MRI and it established cause of death was most likely blood poisoning due to a dental abscess. Slow. Painful. Like depression.

Rip the root out competely, however, and it can’t bother you again. treat the site so no worse infection gets in and then no more toothache.

It’s the same with depression. Some of my roots got buried, some got removed by God’s power. The ones buried keep coming back to haunt me until I find the strength to have them pulled.

And it hurts. The pain is made worse because it’s festered and been allowed to rot. My wife is encouraging me to seek grief counselling (Christian counsellor) over the death of my brother to find healing. He died 29 years ago in 1985 at the age of 9 years and 11 months. Recently I’ve had violent mood swings as that root has flared up because of other things I’ve had to deal with. The root needs excising. It will not be pleasant, but I recognise it’s essential for my health and my ministry to not be hampered any longer by this grief.

I’d entered an agreement I didn’t even know about because I didn’t watch my mindset.

Brother Lawrence wrote about “practicing the presence of God”, which I have read only extracts of. The wisdom in what I’ve read is incredible. See stirring a pot of stew as an act of worship, or washing the dishes, or hugging your sibling. Anything we do, do it as for Christ. Make Him the first, last and only focus of our every action and live a life Holy, and wholly devoted to Worship. When I can it changes everything for me. From writing this blog to washing up, helping my mum (who can drive me batty in 0.001 seconds) or even patting the dog, when seen as worshipping God by my actions is a whole new way of thinking for me. The trials in my life suddenly dim as His Brightness overwhelms me. I remember it’s His cross I carry, as a yoke – He takes the weight, and I simply mark His footsteps.

So keep your eyes on Christ. Watch how you set your mind and your heart. David fixed his heart to serve God in all things. As a result of trusting God’s goodness, God forgave his adultery and murder. He submitted himself and his thoughts to God – to Christ, the Messiah – and his Faith was credited as righteousness.

If he could, we can.

Watch your thought life.

I’m trying to watch mine.

Nicky Gumbel tweeted today, 5th April 2014:

‘What’s popular isn’t always right. What’s right isn’t always popular.’

 He’s very right. It’s popular to have a “progressive” view of the Christian faith. It makes it easy to be a Christian if you make the message more “inclusive”. Or “encompassing”.

It’s easy to be a christian if you’re not challenged by it. If you don’t need to change your behaviour or thought patterns, then why not? A ticket to heaven and do what you want here.

But it isn’t what the Bible says.

Following Christ is free – but it’s costly if you really follow Him.

It’s “free” in the sense of it being available to anyone and everyone. We can all choose to follow or not.

It costs us because of what we will have to surrender to Him when we make the choice. Sin can be great pleasure for a season. But when the season is over it brings pain and heartbreak. The Joy from following Christ may involve pain during this season, but the Joy and happiness that comes with true Holiness and living a separated Life in Christ just keeps going.

Many people I’ve known have encountered problems and walked away from Christ as a result. Not that their problems weren’t real. Marriages failed or people in a local church rejected them when they moved home because they did things differently. Work problems, health issues and money worries. All of the reasons could be “rationalised” as a reason to abandon Faith.

But a century ago – maybe 150 years now – none would have been considered reasonable reasons. In the old Revivals they would simply have been understood as being attacks by an enemy seeking to drive us away from God, and the Faithful would have gathered round in support

Now we see it as “reasonable” to walk away – after all, “they’ll be back” seems to be the watch-phrase.

But will they? Probably not today. Modern society drives wedges like no other society has ever managed to between God and His Church. The enemy is surely kicking himself that he didn’t bring this society in years ago. He could have destroyed so many lives so much sooner.

Charles Spurgeon, the 19th Century minister wrote of Luke 23:26

“We see here a picture of the church: She follows Jesus, bearing the cross. Note that Jesus did not suffer to keep you from suffering. He bears the cross not for you to escape it, but for you to endure it. But we can comfort ourselves with this thought: As with Simon, it is not our cross, but Christ’s cross that we carry. When you are mocked for your devotion to Jesus, remember it is his cross.” (Morning by Morning)

 Carrying the cross of Jesus is very different from bearing our own sin. Our sin will crush us. Jesus’s cross is the yoke He speaks of. Easy and light. We walk with Him and bear His cross so He can carry our sin.

But saying it isn’t popular. Speaking out Truth never makes people popular. Jesus was killed for it. Through the last 2000 years the martyrs of the Faith have all been killed for it from Stephen’s stoning onwards to those imprisoned and executed today for daring to question the koran or denouncing Mohammed as the false prophet he is.

What’s Popular when it comes to Christianity is seldom correct. Of course an unpopular theology could be wrong as well, but it’s usually an obvious one. The bigot at the roadside trying to claim God hates inter-racial marriage. The arrogant individual condemning the rape victim for aborting the foetus.

I’m not saying I condone “abortion” per se, but I recognise God’s ability to forgive us any sin. The question of when it’s “abortion” and when it’s “contraception” is also a sore point. I don’t believe a “morning after” pill given to a rape victim is abortion. But termination at 20 weeks is. There’s a difference between preventing a pregnancy and ending one after the fact is established as a means of birth control. Even so, it’s not unforgiveable, but I’m certain God won’t condone it.

It’s not just what we say, but how we say it that’s the real issue.

We need to be able to tell people about the Love of Jesus without them feeling they are condemned for being less than perfect. We were in their shoes once, and someone did that for us. They were Jesus to us, and we responded to His Love through them, not (usually) fear of a wrathful deity, but the care and compassion of a Loving God.

Many years ago I shared some of the Gospel with a friend but lost my nerve before I could invite him to accept Christ. I’ve regretted it ever since. He had been touched by God during our conversation, and even reduced to tears at the understanding that God recognised the mask as a mask, and how deeply sad he was inside under it. It was like watching a train come towards me, and I blinked when the enemy whispered to me “He’ll go from tears to lauging in your face” as I steeled to invite him into the Church. I didn’t ask, and there’s not been many days since that I haven’t prayed that someone with more maturity than I had then has come across his path. It’s over 20 years, and I still think about it every day – not feeling condemned, but being aware of the enemy’s ability to whisper doubt and fear into my mind.

Another time the enemy tried the same trick allowed me to speak words of healing when I stood fast. As James 4:7 says “Therefore, submit to God. Moreover, take a stand against the Adversary, and he will flee from you.” (Complete Jewish Bible)

I submit to God and stand my ground. If I just stand, it may be close – 10000 falling by my right hand close – but it won’t touch me. I stand and hold fast to my confession.

So starting this lent, quit trying to be popular and up-to-date. Rather seek to be Right in God’s eyes. Sometimes you’ll be both. Take our eyes off Jesus and often we are neither.

Christianity is not a popularity contest. It’s not life and death.

It’s more than that.

I’m not splitting hairs here.

There’s a real and massive difference between Receiving a Miracle and Living in a state of Blessing.

At some point in our daily walk with Jesus we will need a miracle. I’ve never met any Christian who hasn’t. Whether it’s healing, finances, free time, rest or work we all need a miracle from time to time.

A few years ago I needed rest, time to reconnect with my wife and get away from the pressures of our life at that time. It was impossible. We couldn’t afford it, our diaries were booked months in advance and we were at breaking point. So I asked God to do the “impossible” and provide us the finances, time and venue to get away from everything for a few days.

His answer was a wonderful place called Jongensgat about 3 hours or so from our home in Cape Town. There is no cellphone reception, no television and no visible man-made light other than the light from the cottage itself after dark. There are 2 log cabins on the beach and the only sounds are the waves on the ocean and nature around us. It was miraculous as we suddenly received finances, time freed up and were able to walk into it within 48 hours of praying and asking for help.

Specific help.

I used to “pray” in terms of what is referred to as an “arrow-prayer” by some people. Just look up and shout “HELP!” Now in all fairness perhaps it’s not crazy, but that kind of praying seems to be like shooting a shotgun into the air and hoping to hit a duck. It’s not impossible, but it’s unlikely to find the mark.

I’m not saying you can’t pray quickly, but every prayer Jesus, the Prophets or the Apostles is recorded as praying is specific. No exceptions – correct me with chapter and verse if I’m wrong in the comments.

Miracles require specifics. Pray for finances. Or Time. Or whatever you specifically need as a miracle. As I wrote in my last post, sow what you need to reap, but in this instance we need to ask for what we specifically need. Don’t ask for bread if you need milk. Don’t ask for time if you need money. God wants to give good things to us, but He says “Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened. Or what man is there among you who, if his son asks for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will he give him a serpent? If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask Him! Therefore, whatever you want men to do to you, do also to them, for this is the Law and the Prophets.” (Matthew 7:7-12)

Incredible. Jesus actually says “And do not seek what you should eat or what you should drink, nor have an anxious mind. For all these things the nations of the world seek after, and your Father knows that you need these things. But seek the kingdom of God, and all these things shall be added to you.“Do not fear, little flock, for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom. Sell what you have and give alms; provide yourselves money bags which do not grow old, a treasure in the heavens that does not fail, where no thief approaches nor moth destroys. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” (Luke 12:29-34) 

Yes, there is conditional structure here. Not asking for ourselves, but trusting for our needs. But ask for more than we have to be a Blessing to others. Set our hearts on Heaven and see what happens. That’s moving into the realm of living in the Blessing yourself and instead of asking for a miracle, asking to be the miracle. Ask to have enough to be able to provide God’s miracle supply to others when He tells you to. But most amazing in this statement and teaching is the concept that it gives God pleasure to give to us. We give God pleasure by letting Him give to us – and through us as well.

It’s a higher realm to live in a state of Blessing than from Miracle to Miracle. It takes more effort to live bouncing between miracles too. Stress is increased, and it’s not God’s best for us. We have the opportunity to fear if we are constantly looking for the next miraculous supply. We have a choice to panic or trust.

Trust is a higher form, and it requires a deeper relationship. It’s what Jesus is talking about in Luke 12. Living in a Blessing, not miracle to miracle. Yes, He will give us miraculous finances, but it’s better to be in such a relationship with Him that our finances are blessed like Abraham’s. Jesus provided “miracle money” to Peter to pay the Temple Tax. But the disciples carried a purse and worked with money for the poor. Paul worked as a tent maker but received offerings from churches to aid him in his ministry. And logic tells us Jesus had money. For 3 years he travelled the country with 12 men. That costs money. It wasn’t thought unusual at the Last Supper when Jesus told Judas Iscariot to go out and do what he had to do. Judas was the keeper of the purse. It infers that Judas leaving (with the money) was not unusual. Jesus gave and instructed His disciples to as well.

In the Old Testament we see men of God with immense wealth. Abraham was thrown out of nations because the lands could not support the flock of the nation and the flock of his household. Solomon was wealthy beyond out imagination. David gave what would be the equivalent of billions of dollars of gold and precious stones for the temple – and still had left afterwards. 

Living in a state of Blessing requires a deep relationship with God. Not that relying on Him for a miracle to pull your skin out of the fire doesn’t, but there’s a deeper relationship for a Blessing. Kind of like the difference between your dad and the banker. Your dad will bail you out any time. The banker, not so much – and it may require much pleading before your miracle comes through. One wrong tick on the form and it gets rejected.

Now obviously it’s an imperfect analogy, but you get the point.

The deeper the relationship, the more inherent the trust we place in God to provide our daily need. Once that is consistent we deepen the relationship and begin to trust more for being a supply of other people’s needs. As the relationship deepens we can trust for bigger and bigger projects – and we can never out-give God!

That, ultimately, is the key. God’s heart is to give. If we can align our heart to His, then we can emulate Him in a spirit of generosity. That generosity comes from relationship, which leads to life in a state of Blessing. We still need miracles as the unexpected happens and the enemy fires his darts at us, but the relationship is the key. Its depth will determine the level of trust we can place in God, and the depth of the Blessing He can give us.

We need to remember that in His hometown, Jesus could do no mighty works because of the people’s lack of faith. If we can find it in ourselves to trust Him, we will reap a mighty harvest and move into a time of Blessing greater than we can imagine.

Continuing the theme of Lent, I found myself praying about God’s method of supply to us.

Through the entire Scripture, God places a high emphasis on seedtime and harvest. Timing is a central theme in Ecclesiastes – arguably a book which could lead to severe depression if read in the wrong perspective. I had a friend who used to say he’d read Lamentations if he felt he was too happy, and Ecclesiastes if he wanted to be suicidal!

I don’t hold to his viewpoint, but it’s easy taking passages out of context to see why he had this view (which I think was an attempt at humour, but I can’t be certain!)

Timing of events is central in much of the Bible, but timing of provision is a different matter. There is not one episode where an individual came to Jesus in faith where He turned them away or refused to help because the timing wasn’t right. In fact, His first miracle – the wine at the wedding in Cana – He actually says to His mother “[<sup class="footnote" value="[a]”>Dear] woman, what is that to you and to Me? [What do we have in common? Leave it to Me.] My time (hour to act) has not yet come.” (John 2:4b Amplified), then proceeds to perform the miracle anyway. This sets a precedent for us in asking God for something. The bridegroom would have been embarrassed – utterly humiliated in fact – if it had become known that there was insufficient wine provided. Jesus apparently cared enough about this man’s reputation – and bear in mind we know nothing about him other than it was his wedding day – that Jesus provides not just a few bottles, but six water jars of between 20 and 30 gallons of the highest quality wine the taster has had. At an average of 25 gallons, that’s 150 gallons of top quality wine. Over 750 standard bottles of wine of today’s size.

Extravagance. Generosity. Selflessness.

Jesus could have announced the miracle. Rowan Atkinson parodied the miracle in one of his sketches by having the servants (who did know what had happened) push him to do another “trick”. Whilst the sketch is amusing, it demonstrates his lack of understanding of why Jesus provided, and more importantly ignores the fact that He then makes no mention of it to the family, the wine taster or anyone else. Presumably John, the Gospel writer, as one of Jesus’s friends, may have been present as a witness, or told about it by Mary. In any event, it makes it clear that the organisers had no clue, but the groom was not humiliated, and Jesus was not self-promoting.

What has this got to do with Harvest?

Jesus teaches about seed. When a seed falls to the ground and dies it produces fruit. A single apple pip can produce tens of thousands of apples if planted in good soil. Grapes, corn, oats, wheat. Any living thing operates on the same principle – including Jesus Himself. Die to self and reap a harvest. Jesus sowed His Life, and reaps ours as His harvest. But the principle is what matters.

If we want an acre of corn, the last thing we should plant is apples. Apple seeds do not produce corn. Neither do barley, pomegranate, oats, pears, oranges or anything else that’s not a corn seed.

What’s the point here?

You get out what you put in.

Our life is the soil Jesus talks about in the parable of the “sower”. Really, it should be referred to as the parable of the Soils, as the seed sown is the same, and the sower doesn’t change, rather it’s the soil that differs. Soft, fertile ground that is free from weeds produces a harvest. Hard ground prevents roots from forming, and the seed is wasted. Shallow soil withers a plant and it (usually) dies or bears no fruit. Soil contaminated with weed seeds will result in the crop being choked.

In each case, the seed is the same. It’s the result that varies. Our lives are no different.

We sow Love, joy, a smile, and we reap what we sowed. The same happens when we sow anger. Anger usually breeds anger.

I have been following a page via Facebook for a while called “Kissing Fish”, which I’ve mentioned before in this blog. It’s a “Progressive” christian page, which I’m not going to address again in this article as I’ve devoted time to it previously. If you want to know my opin ions on the subject look at my posts from earlier this year.

One of the things I find on this page mentioned a lot is sex and sexuality. The majority of the posts and articles seem recently to be focussed on acceptance of “alternative” sexuality, the “LGBT” issues.

I have opinions about sex and sexuality, as any person does. It is something intensely private and was designed by God as a way to bring a deep closeness and unity between a husband and wife. “Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and shall become united and cleave to his wife, and they shall become one flesh.” Genesis 2:24 (Amplified)

Now the more I read and re-read this passage, the more it strikes me that this is a description of conception. The purpose of marriage in God’s plan is for the unity of a man and a woman to result in a literal unity – a baby. One flesh made from two.

Now I acknowledge procreation isn’t the only reason God made Marriage. Marriage itself is a metaphor of His relationship with us, and allows a language to develop of the roles of a husband and wife within the structure. Equally important, but quite different. My wife and I are very much equal, but we are completely different. She is a medical doctor, a driven “A-type” person whose Myers-Briggs scoring showed her to be an ITFJ. I am a “B-type”, ENFP – almost a perfect opposite. In fact, when our results were mapped on a graph they formed a near perfect mirror which when placed together formed a rectangle. My weaknesses are supported by her strengths and vice versa.

Being polar opposites has it’s drawbacks, but it also means we see a massive picture over our lives. Her detail-oriented nature allows her to help me move towards the vision we share for the big picture I see when we look together at our relationship and future.

But I digress a little. Only a little though.

Sex is a part of marriage. It brings intimacy and more to the union, and is designed for pleasure – in the context of the marriage bed.

I find the concept of sexuality and sexual immorality one which is troubling. So many teachers today seem to disregard Paul’s writing in 1 Corinthians 6 about sexual sin as being worse than other sins. The words used are “catamites and sodomites” [6:9] (depending on the translation) to refer to homosexual acts, joining with prostitutes to refer to heterosexual acts. The instruction is clear – “Shun immorality and all sexual looseness [flee from impurity in thought, word, or deed]. Any other sin which a man commits is one outside the body, but he who commits sexual immorality sins against his own body. Do you not know that your body is the temple (the very sanctuary) of the Holy Spirit Who lives within you, Whom you have received [as a Gift] from God? You are not your own, You were bought with a price [purchased with a <sup class="footnote" value="[b]”>preciousness and paid for, made His own]. So then, honor God and bring glory to Him in your body.” 1 Corinthians 6:18-20 (Amplified)

Note Paul’s reasoning – sexual sin is a sin against our own body. All other sins are external, but sex not so. There is a difference. We all have this internal self-destructive behaviour.

A few years ago a young lady I was friends with had a pregnancy scare. She and her boyfriend (du jour) had slept together and then split up, and now she was – she thought – expecting his child. “David, it was an accident. The sex – it just happened” she told me when I asked her about sleeping with the boy.

She actually couldn’t grasp the concept (and later when we spoke to the boy neither could he) that they made a decision. They chose to have sex. I’ve never been sitting watching a movie with my wife and suddenly found us to be having sex without making a decision to do so.

In that respect, sex is like any other sin outside marriage – a choice to make. The result is different. It affects us on a deeper level.

My previous relationships before my marriage haunt my relationship with my wife. I never met a couple this wasn’t true for whether they were Christian or not. Comparisons, expectations and all manner of issues arist because of these acts. Stealing a watch can be overcome more easily. Either it can be paid for or returned. But losing a piece of yourself in sexual immorality is irreversible. It’s why God prompted Paul to say to flee from it.

In a secular society same-gender couples are going to happen, but let’s not kid ourselves that God accepts them.

Now I’m not saying the people are evil. The individuals are loved and cared for by God like all of us are. Sinful nature, inherited through the bloodline of Adam, means we all carry sin in us. Some more prone to some types than others. It says all sexual immorality is equal in God’s sight. Homo or hetero, God sees immorality.

But let’s give up the crusade to try to force everyone to believe sexual sin is irrelevant when the scripture – Old and New Testament – makes it clear it isn’t.

Let’s get back to the centre. Jesus Loves us and calls us to be like Him.

Love.

Accept.

Forgive.

Encourage others and ourselves to move away from sinful behaviour. Quit trying to embrace it.

God won’t. We mustn’t.

Live pure – not just sexually, but particularly sexually.