The Wicked, Wicked, Condition.

Have you ever had one of those days, where you thought too much, said too much, and did too much?
I’m not talking about good things, I’m talking about bad things. It’s kinda like going on a binge of overeating, when you are left bloated, lazy, and almost completely immobilized.
This morning, as I was praying, the Lord gently showed me several things that I thought, said, and did, in the last few days. Things that are wrong.

Like most of us, I don’t want to do the wrong things that I do, but then, they often feel so right. Saying the wrong thing for instance, when say hurtful or demeaning things about another, can give us that fleeting moment of self-righteousness. For a moment we feel good. But then that moment passes, and we are left empty.
Sinful actions are the same, they leave you feeling empty, alone.

You know, it’s easy to put on a front of righteousness. It’s easy to keep your tongue tamed in public, and to present your “better” self to others. We do it every day. Sometimes, leaders do it the very best, keeping up appearances of self control, as though showing weakness will cause us to lose our grip on power or influence.  Actually, the opposite is true, it is in weakness, that we find real strength, and it is in humility, that we find real influence.

If we are honest, we all have this dark side, we share a common sin nature. The late Stanley Voke, talked about it as the side of the moon that is dark, the side you never show. But you know, the Lord sees it. He knows everything altogether. He knows every thought, word, and deed. And He has judged it. He has pronounced you and I wrong, -as sinners.

Have you come to that place where you are in agreement with Him? Do you truly understand your own frame?
You know, God’s word has declared His judgement of us all. Romans chapter 3 declares it pretty clearly, that we have “all sinned,” and “there is none righteous.” I believe that. My own life has proven it out over and over. And, I have learned that it is important to agree with Him, not just in a philosophical sense, but in my daily attitude.

Today, once again, afresh, I acknowledged my sinfulness to the Lord. I accept the defeat of my own sinful nature, and I say it. I am a wicked man. This is the place of grace,-the foot of the cross. When we avoid it, and put on a pretense, when we play act, as though we have it all together, we cannot receive God’s grace. We can  live on past victories, and our relationship with Christ and others is make-believe.

Have you, dear reader, been honest with the Lord today? Not in a general philosophical sense, but have you stripped down, and gotten naked with Him? Today? I beg you to do that. Revisit the cross, confess your sin to the Lord, and let Him forgive you afresh. He desires transparency with you, and He desires to forgive your wicked, wicked, condition. Be broken with God and man today.

If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say that we have not sinned, we make Him a liar and His word is not in us. -1 John 1:9,10

 

None Other To Save -Psalm 31:1-5

In You, O Lord, I have taken refuge; Let me never be ashamed;
In Your righteousness deliver me.

Incline Your ear to me, rescue me quickly; Be to me a rock of strength,
A stronghold to save me.

For You are my rock and my fortress; For Your name’s sake You will lead me and guide me.

You will pull me out of the net which they have secretly laid for me, For You are my strength.

Into Your hand I commit my spirit; You have ransomed me, O Lord, God of truth.
- Psalm 31:1-5 (NASB)

In David’s prayer, I want to call attention to one thing that might me easy to overlook, and that is his present condition.
• He seeks deliverance, implying present distress.
• He seeks rescue, implying impending danger.
• He seeks leading and guiding, implying a loss of the way forward.
• He seeks immediate rescue from a “net,” implying being “caught.”

In the end, David simply falls at the feet of the Lord and says, okay,.. I commit myself to You. Really, at the end of the day, we can do no more than this. We find ourselves in all kinds of predicaments, whether from inward sins and failures, or from external trials and difficulties. We battle, and we press on, in an effort to succeed and have some form of victory in this present condition. But after all is said and done, we must each find our place at the feet of the Savior and ask for His kind favor and deliverance.
There will be none other to save.

“Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest.” -Matthew 11:28

 

Yes, By All Means, Call Me Right Reverend.

I had the occasion to write out “Jesse Jackson” just a little bit ago, when I was writing, I was compelled to use his title “the Reverend.” It’s how we usually hear his name in the media.
I also was watching a clip, just yesterday… how did I get there? Oh yeah, a tweet from someone I follow sent me to an “Elephant Room” clip. It was interesting, but what caught my attention was, that of the 7 Pastors in the conversation, only T.D. Jakes was referred to as “Bishop.” I recall being introduced to a catholic priest when I was a younger man. And I remember giving pause every time I had to say his name. Should I call him “father?” That is, after all, how he was introduced. All I could think of was Jesus saying: “don’t call anyone your father.” -Matt 23:9 

In the context of matthew 23, Jesus is excoriating the Pharisees because they loved the place of honor and the respectful greetings. (Have you ever had that awkward conversation with someone where they insist that you call them by some funky nick-name?) Yeah, it feels like that!
Over the years I have been called Pastor, Reverend, and even messiah by someone completely ignorant of christianity. I don’t mind being called Pastor, because I believe it’s what God has called me to be, but when the title is thought of as somehow exhalted, or important… I reject that.
David Guzik comments on these verses: “ It is also seen in the expected etiquette for closing a letter to the Pope: “Prostrate at the feet of Your Holiness and imploring the favor of its apostolic benediction, I have the honor to be, Very Holy Father, with the deepest veneration of Your Holiness, the most humble and obedient servant and son/daughter.”
-Yeah,… it goes a little far don’t ya think?

I’m a servant leader, and that, only by the grace of God.
I am certainly not reverend.

“Whoever exalts himself shall be humbled; and whoever humbles himself shall be exalted. -Matt. 23:12

 

Context.

I was looking at a popular verse that I was given to teach on, at a local Christian High School chapel service today. Along with the verse, I was given a theme. The theme and the verse are compatible, and it was a fun task. But the proposition reminded me of a great lesson in bible teaching, something that is very important as we seek to understand truth, whether biblical or otherwise.

It’s about context.

People take verses out of the bible and quote them for all kinds of applications that have nothing to do with the actual meaning of the text. Preachers do it, reporters do it, and politicians do it all the time. They take a line, a quote, or a truth, and misquote it out of context and they use it for their own purposes… sometimes even evil purposes.

For example, I remember teaching through the book of Philippians when I saw a boxer with “I can do all things”-Philippians 4:13 tattooed on him. I remember thinking, “oh yeah, that’s what Paul was talking about -athletic achievement! Christ will strengthen you to knock out your opponent.” No, if you go back and read his letter, he was talking about finances, and his ability to be content whether he had little or much in the way of financial provision. Now it is true that Christ does strengthen us for many more things than just contentment, but if we are going to understand the words of others properly, context matters, and in that case Paul was teaching a much more important and valuable lesson about Christian living.

Or, take the shortest verse in the bible: “Jesus wept.” (John 11:35)
Well, if we didn’t look at the context, we might assume he was a crybaby. Or, maybe He just ate a jalapeno! I’m joking. But seriously, if you look at the context, you will see why He was weeping. And no, I don’t think it was because Lazarus died.
If you look closely at the context you will get the clues, I’m not going to give it away… you look and see. Be a Berean!

I don’t know who said it first, I heard it from an old teaching cassette, and it has served me well as I have sought to understand the scriptures:

“A text without a context is a pretext.”

This is a timeless truth, and understanding it will lead to a better understanding of much of what we read and hear. The definition of pretext is an interesting one:
“a purpose or motive alleged or an appearance assumed in order to cloak the real intention or state of affairs” – Merriam Webster
We see there, that a pretext actually hides or cloaks the truth.

So, when you see those verses, taken out of context, don’t always assume that they are being applied accurately or fairly. Often times, they are not.
Now as for the media and politicians… assume that all quotes are taken out of context.