FREEDOM: GLORIOUS, LIBERATING DETACHMENT

Mat 5:44-5  

But I say to you, Love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who despitefully use you, and persecute you;

That you may be the children of your Father in heaven: for he makes his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust. [Jesus]

Jesus not only spoke these wonderful words, He lived the Reality of them: From the Cross, He prayed for the forgiveness of those who betrayed, falsely accused, and tortured Him. For me personally, these have been the most powerfully liberating words that Jesus spoke. I see in this teaching the solution to the relationship problems of the human family. These words of Christ should be on bulletin boards, newspaper headings, included in every book, in every language of the world! Herein lies freedom from some of Satan’s most prevalent and destructive deceptions: The lies that “My behavior is justified or determined by your behavior. My happiness and/or freedom and/or peace are determined by whether or not others do what they are supposed to. I can only love people when they act right, treat me fairly, kindly and respectfully.” We must not dismiss this commandment of our Lord because it is difficult to obey. If we do not learn to live the Reality of these words, we will be victims of other peoples’ behaviors and attitudes. We will be determined by them, rather than by the Holy Spirit of God’s love in us. These words reveal to us that God does not want us to be determined by each other; He wants us to be determined by His love and goodness. This is how we become free. This love of Jesus is the most powerful force in the universe. It is the Power by which the universe came into existence. The Bible says that “God is love” [1Jn 1:9]. We must let this Love be the determining and motivating force of our daily lives. This Love liberates us from being determined by other peoples’ sinful nature manifestations. If we learn to live this teaching of Christ, we get ourselves emotionally and behaviorally detached from all that is not yet sanctified in others. We are not determined by their attitudes, moods, behaviors, failures, meanness, insensitivities, etc. We are only determined by God’s love for them, and for us. God does not want us to take other peoples’ sinful nature manifestations personally—even if they are directed at us! This is the example He has given us in Christ, Who came to set the captives free [Lk 4:18].

Lord Jesus, thank You so much for teaching and living the Truth. And thank You for showing us how to be free, and for empowering us with Your Holy Spirit, that we might love—even our enemies.

Pathology/Addiction

If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves. Sin is pathology, in that it is contrary to the blessings of life--the Life that Christ brought to us and died for us to inherit and assimilate into our daily experience [which is our sanctification process.]  When we receive Jesus, we do not immediately become perfected beings; rather we embark upon the pathway toward perfection. At first, Jesus restrains the pathology in us. His Spirit in us confronts all that is not good in us--everything that is mean, hateful, violent, unforgiving, fearful, uncaring, selfish, despairing, hopeless, guilty, shameful, enslaved, etc. He said, "If you continue in my word, ....you will know the Truth, and the Truth will make you free."  If we continue in His Way, He will deliver us from, not only the acting out of our pathology, but from the inner conflict of it.  One of the crucial aspects of our growth in Christ is our tolerance for the convicting and restraining aspects of His Spirit in us. Putting this in the context of recovery from addiction:  Initially, the addict is confronted with the destructive dynamics of drug use. The addicted parts of his personality do not like this confrontation, and respond in anger, blame and denial. If he is blessed, the healthier parts of his personality begin to rise in power. He recognizes the love that is being manifested toward him in the form of confrontation; and the healthiness of feeling convicted by continued drug use.  But there is a conflict between these parts of his personality. Relapse is common because the addicted aspects are strong. They can overpower the Truth in him.  This conflict emerges in bold relief in the addict's recovery process; but is the same process for all of us. We are all in recovery from sin. We all struggle with the restraints and convictions of righteousness. Jesus has assured us that we will win this battle if we continue in Him.  Outside of Him, there are no such guarantees. We are gloriously blessed as we become increasingly tolerant of the restraining and convicting functions of the Holy Spirit in us. We recognize these functions as Love. We joyfully submit ourselves to this Love.
Sadly, we see the clear reality that some do not win this battle. The dark forces within us are strong.  It is so much easier to give in to them. There is an immediate release--the reward of Satan. The damage is not always immediate or evident. Like cancer, sin can lurk in us for some time before the destructive results become evident.  Meanwhile we have been sinking deeper and deeper into the habitual patterns and emotional reliance upon the sinful, destructive behaviors--the enslaving tentacles becoming more and more powerful and prevalent. We can lose hope. Our devotion to Christ, His Truth and Love, service, our church family, Scripture study--our religious practices that issue from an authentic, personal relationship with Jesus will deliver and protect us from this downward spiral.
Let us make perpetual, renewed devotions to live in His Love, Truth, Joy and Peaceful service to the glory of His Kingdom, so that we can remain "safe and secure from all alarms."

EDUCATION, ECONOMY OR PSYCHO-SPIRITUAL MATURITY?

 

And beside this, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue; and to virtue knowledge;

And to knowledge temperance; and to temperance patience; and to patience godliness;  And to godliness brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness charity. 2Pe 1:5-7

 

 

When you listen to politicians talk about solutions to the problems of our nation, you mostly hear them talk about the economy or about education. They seem to think that if everyone had equal access to wealth and became more intelligent, our problems would be solved. In other words, they act as if wealth and intelligence makes a person good. Historically we know this is not true.  We see extreme manifestations of evil in people who are wealthy and intelligent. And we see smart, rich people who are incredibly selfish, and who diminish, rather than enhance, the common good of the human family.  Some very intelligent, well-educated people get rich “on the backs” of those who are struggling financially. We understand that it is government’s responsibility to work for the economic and educational welfare of its people. And we understand that government cannot dictate religion. But true and sincere devotion to a God Who loves and desires the best for all people—Who commands us to love each other and responsibly bear our own burdens, and holds us accountable for how well we do those things, is the only final solution to the baser nature of the human personality which causes the problems that drag us down. Only within the arena of psycho-spiritual maturity do we use our wealth and intelligence wisely—that is, for the common good—not because anyone forces us to, or because laws dictate it, but of our own free will and choice.  This is why anyone who desires the prosperity of a nation [or any people-group] should encourage all pathways that lead to spiritual growth or wisdom [which is not the same as intelligence].  From the Christian standpoint, we realize how important Christ is in this regard. We see very clearly in the Bible that wealth and intelligence will never be enough to sustain or prosper the human family.  The Bible places knowledge under faith and virtue on the list of traits to acquire [see above verse]. And the knowledge that it encourages is first and foremost the knowledge of what God has revealed to us through the prophets and His son, Jesus.  

{Study to show yourself approved unto God, a workman [in the Kingdom] who need not be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth…2Ti 2:15}

And Jesus warns us sternly about the temptations of wealth—the deceitfulness of or delight in riches. And the Bible elsewhere cautions against the “love of money”, which is depicted as the “root of all kinds of evil”. [Mt.13:22, 1Tim. 6:10].  Without the self-restraint engendered by spiritual growth, the government must continue to pass and enforce laws that force us to be civil and fair. But laws can never do this successfully, and the culture begins to sink down under the weight of its cruelty, entitlement, meanness and selfishness. An external power becomes more and more necessary.  Many years ago I asked a German woman who had lived under the rise of Hitler’s regime how such a man could rise to power. She said “Oh, the people loved him. He made the streets safe to walk again.” Where spiritual maturity is lacking, the baser drives of the human nature dominate, and life becomes increasingly more intolerable. This is fertile ground for authoritarianism; someone with power to set things straight. But how rare has it been in human experience that powerful rulers have also been beneficent? Those who have been wise want to give the power back to the people. But that can only work if the people are wise and compassionate; in other words, spiritually mature. Democracy can only work if people are spiritually mature: not just smart and wealthy. And spiritual maturity must be cultivated over the course of a lifetime. The Bible teaches that wisdom comes only from God, and that He imparts it to those who humbly seek it—never to the arrogant or proud.

 

God, please help us to grow in all the personality traits that make us safe and good for each other, so that we can experience true peace and happiness.

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Terrorism: Only Effective Weapon

A secular philosophy can never prevail in warfare against a religion. The religious warrior is inspired by the passion of his faith and the hope of rewards in heaven. The secularist has only this brief earthly life, and he must protect and try to prolong it. The blood of the martyr inspires a hundred more. The blood of the atheist rots in the soil. The true believer in a god can never capitulate to any philosophy of man; he would sacrifice his soul—infinitely more valuable than his life.  Even the secular passion for “freedom” will not stem the tide of a religion that enslaves.  Only a religion that glorifies freedom as a gift from God can do so.

This is precisely why the only effective weapon against the Koran is the Bible. And the smartest thing for the opponents of the terrorism spawned by the Koran could do is to spread the Bible throughout the earth—even if they are not religious! Those who are propagating the Christian faith—those evangelists and missionaries in nations that persecute, kill or imprison them—they are the true frontline warriors  against terrorism. Every soul won to Christ becomes safe for the human family—even the atheist, homosexual, or most liberal secularist.  The propagation of even the most moderate forms of Islam keeps the Koran in the hands of readers who will interpret it as a command to subjugate by force those who do not believe in its god.  And the "moderates" will not have a voice, as they don’t today, because it is their “holy book” that espouses what the terrorists are enacting; and they are plagued with doubt that perhaps the terrorists are more obedient to their god than themselves.

I want to emphasize my belief that the only effective weapon against a religion is a religion. We will never be able to suppress religion. We must refine it and understand it as a gift from the God Who loves us and cherishes freedom—even the freedom to disobey Him. The God Whose primary characteristic is Love—not dominion or subjugation. The God Who wins by loving His people; not by terrorizing them.
Mark Graham

Gov't Shutdown: Message to my Representative

Steve, Thank you for being a calm and reasonable voice for the common good. I am a conservative, Southern Baptist Republican. I voted for you. I did not vote for Obama. But I don't like the way the Tea Partiers are doing business. It seems to me it's gotten too personal, and they are becoming what they accuse Obama of being: power mongers trying to shove something down the throat of government and the American people. It's alarming. Moreover, though leary at first, I am beginning to see the feasibility of Affordable Care. My son, who has been without insurance and unable to afford it, will now have at least catastrophic coverage. I say lets work with it [Obama Care], and tweak it to make it work for the American people rather than throwing the whole thing out and starting back at ground zero, which was not a good place, as you know. I think there are probably millions who are discovering that Affordable Care isn't the monster it was first thought to be. My message to those who are holding up government to defund Obama Care: "You don't prevent a "train wreck" by causing a worse one." Please do all you can to get our gov't back on track, and into a more collaborative mindset. Respectfully, Mark Graham, Ed.D. LPC

Surrender or Die

And he said, Who are you, Lord? And the Lord said, I am Jesus whom you are persecuting. It is hard for you to kick against the goads. Acts 9:5 [Saul's encounter with the ascended Lord on the road to Damascus]

 

The Greek word translated “goad” is Kentron:  an iron goad, for urging on oxen, horses and other beasts of burden, hence the proverb, "to kick against the goad", i.e. to offer vain and perilous or ruinous resistance.

 

I said, 'Now the Philistines will come down upon me at Gilgal, and I have not entreated the favor of the LORD'; so I forced myself, and offered the burnt offering."  

And Samuel said to Saul, "You have done foolishly; you have not kept the commandment of the LORD your God, which he commanded you; for now the LORD would have established your kingdom over Israel forever.   1Sa 13:12-13 

 

Both Saul, the son of Kish, the first earthly king of Israel, and his namesake Saul of Tarsus had inner conflict. Since the Fall, that has been the human condition. King Saul “forced” himself to make an untimely offering—a very costly mistake. What did he force himself against? Some better inner urging. [The Holy Spirit?] And as the Lord pointed out to Saul of Tarsus, he was kicking “against the goads.” He too, in his work of persecuting the Church, was acting against a better inner urging.  We have a common saying in Christianity: “fighting in the flesh.” It means trying, straining to do something, even something “good”, outside the peaceful, rested power of the Holy Spirit. It is activity based on wrong desire, need, or simply not in God’s timing.  And as Jesus related to Saul, who was about to become the converted Paul, it is a very hard way to live.  King Saul never stopped kicking against the goads, and he lost his battles, his kingship, and eventually took his own life to avoid being captured and killed by his enemies.  Saul of Tarsus did stop kicking against the goads; and God used him to give us a large portion of the New Testament, through which billions of people throughout history have been inspired into eternal life. Saul of Tarsus [now the reborn Paul] surrendered into an amazing victory. He surrendered to the lordship of Jesus of Nazareth, the Messiah. He then became the persecuted one. But in the sufferings of that persecution, he clearly found the only true Life that exists for the human soul. He rejoiced in his sufferings for Christ. His life now had eternal significance.

This surrender is supremely exemplified by Christ Himself Who had previously prayed, in Gethsemane, for deliverance from the “cup” of the Cross; but then, in an earthshaking, history-changing, heaven-celebrated victory, proclaimed “Nevertheless, Thy will be done!”  Praise God forevermore and thank You Jesus, for this unspeakably awesome victory over all that is opposed to goodness and truth and love! Praise God for this victorious, courageous surrender.  

We all must make this victorious surrender. Over and over again, let us say “Thy will be done.”  Jesus has commanded us to Love God and man—even our enemies.  Along this pathway there will be tribulation, as He said, and as He experienced. We must not resist this tribulation. We must not “kick against the goads” of the Holy Spirit. To do so is only to create unnecessary suffering for ourselves. We need not strain in the Holy Spirit: we need only rest in Him. Then, as the saint has said, “all shall be well, and all shall be well, and all manner of things shall be well.”  Even if we are stoned to death as Stephen, we will see Jesus standing at the right hand of God and our face will be as the face of an angel. We will peacefully pray for the forgiveness of those who cast the stones and commit our soul into His eternal, loving arms. [Acts 6-7].

 

“I surrender all.  I surrender all.  All to thee my blessed Savior, I surrender all.” Judson W. Van DeVenter