Armor of God: Clothed with Dignity and Honor

Stand firm to the end. Cling to your hope. Walk by faith. Endure suffering. Live worthy of the calling. Pray continuously. Fight the battle.

We throw out these Christian adages to encourage one another in the midst of our spiritual warfare – and they’re all important. They all have their place. Before we ever step into battle, however, we need to understand our defensive armor and our offensive weapons. Satan’s fiery darts will take us out in no time if we aren’t prepared before we ever step on the battle ground.

Ephesians 6:14-19 details an entire list of garments required before we step into the battle. Many people compare this list to the pieces of armor worn by a Roman soldier. I don’t think this is accurate, however. Instead, the armor listed in Ephesians 6 correlates with the garments worn by the priest in the Old Testament. The Old Testament is always our best tool to help us understand the New Testament – not cultural surroundings, even first century Roman culture.

The primary correlation lies in a comparison of the duties of the priest with the offensive weapons in spiritual warfare. The priests were “to stand before Yahweh to serve Him, and to pronounce blessings in His name” (Deuteronomy 10:8). In other words, they stood before God to minister on behalf of the people as they burned the incense. Incense stood for the prayers of the people (Revelation 5:8, 8:3). Also, they stood to pronounce blessings – or to speak the Word of God – to the people. In the spiritual warfare passage of Ephesians 6, we have two very similar offensive weapons. They are “the sword of the Spirit, which is God’s word” and “Pray at all times in the Spirit with every prayer and request” (Ephesians 6:17-18).

I’ve created two handouts that go into much of the significance and symbolism of the priest’s garments, including what they can teach us about modern day spiritual warfare. I’m including them for you below. Even these, however, barely scratch the surface of all we can learn from the garments and duties of the high priest when engaging in spiritual warfare!

 

 

 

 

Let me give credit where credit is due. I didn’t first make the correlation between the armor and priests’ garments. I’ve based my research on this video by Mark Biltz; he covers it very generally. I built upon that general foundation to find specific, significant connections and relationships between the garments and the armor.

Gay Marriage: How should I respond?

I know; I’m a little late to the game. Every organization under the sun has already responded to the Supreme Court’s recent decision regarding gay marriage. I think some of them must have prepared their response ahead of time since they had their posts and comments up so quickly.

I like to process and analyze information. I’ve found my responses are better if I take time to prayerfully think things through.

So here goes…

Two Different Issues

We have blurred the lines in the current debate but it actually addresses two separate issues. The first one is a gay relationship and the resulting behavior between two individuals; the second issue is what many are calling gay marriage. Two issues require two different responses.

Gay Relationships

These types of relationships are sin. To deny that is a gross distortion of God’s Word. However, before you start yelling that in someone’s face, remember that all sexual relationships outside of a husband and wife are sin. Our society – even our church society – seems to forget that.

They are also no more sinful than lying to your boss, having a prideful and arrogant spirit, failing to trust God can take care of you, or being stingy with your time and resources. We can’t demonize gay relationships when we are so willing to overlook what we like to classify as “lesser” sins. They’re all the same because they all separate as from a personal relationship with God. And we’re all guilty of them. I encourage you to read Romans 3:19-26.

Some people like to say gay relationships aren’t sin because they’re listed in the Old Testament Law and that doesn’t apply today. Yes, we praise God for the life and death of Jesus who provided us with a New Covenant that no longer requires the sacrifice of animals in an ongoing inadequate attempt at being made right with God. However, the Law still defines sin for us (Romans 3:20). All those things listed in its pages are still sin. We now rely on Jesus’ sacrifice as the final and eternal atonement for our sin rather than the blood of animals that could never accomplish the job. I encourage you to read Hebrews 9:1-10:18.

Some people like to say gay relationships aren’t sin because Jesus never addressed them directly. Jesus is the Word made flesh, however. You can’t separate the “words in red” from the whole of Scripture. You can’t decide the words He spoke while on earth are truer than all the rest of the words from Genesis through Revelation. I encourage you to read John 1:1-18.

Gay Marriage

Gay marriage can’t exist. A civil union can but not a marriage. The state can recognize a civil union; both God and the state recognize a marriage. God will never recognize a marriage between two gay individuals. It has nothing to do with whether you think He should or what it means if He does or doesn’t. I base the rejection entirely on the fact that God said a marriage is between one man and one woman. Any variance outside of that is sin which takes us back to my earlier points. I encourage you to read Genesis 2:20-25.

I didn’t make the rules so I can’t change them. In fact, none of us did so none of us can change them. God made the rules and we don’t get to change them just because we don’t like them. We can choose not to follow them (again, sin) but we can’t change them.

So how do I respond to this change in our nation?

It was a sad day for me when the Supreme Court announced this decision. Others rejoiced. My sorrow and their joy have nothing to do with who’s right or what’s right. But we’ve already discussed that.

My initial response – like many who hold to the truth and authority of God’s Word – was the concern of a coming judgment on our nation. After all, our courts have decreed that God is wrong and they know what’s best. God doesn’t take too kindly to that kind of self-exaltation. I encourage you to read Isaiah 14:9-15 to see how that attitude worked out for Satan.

On the other hand, I realized, our courts decided it was ok to abort unborn children over forty years ago. It’s a similar situation where the Supreme Court decided they knew better than God as to the creation of human life. So far, our nation hasn’t seen a fire and brimstone response to that decision. We’re missing approximately 53 million of our citizens who would be my age and younger which is a reason to mourn. I know our nation would mourn them if they had died in a natural disaster or war. Yet, because we slaughtered them in the womb, we don’t mourn their absence. But I’m getting off the point which is that God hasn’t struck down our nation because of that Supreme Court decision.

Then I remembered a Bible verse. “And just as it is appointed for people to die once – and after this, judgment – so also the Messiah, having been offered once to bear the sins of many, will appear a second time, not to bear sin, but to bring salvation to those who are waiting for Him” (Hebrews 9:27-28).

Here’s the connection – God’s Word promises a judgment of death for those who sin. However, that judgment doesn’t come in the moment of our initial sin. For example, God doesn’t strike us dead the first time we lie to our parents as a child. Our sin guarantees the coming judgment but God withholds the judgment until a certain time when we die once because of sin. Ideally, in that intervening time, the offender will recognize their sin, seek God’s forgiveness and readily available grace, and accept Jesus as the source of salvation from the judgment for their sin. If the offender never seeks that forgiveness, then the judgment of death is certain.

I think this applies to our nation – and any nation – that exalts itself above God’s Word and authority. We sinned as a nation in 1973 when we decided it was ok to kill our unborn but judgment wasn’t swift and immediate. We sinned again as a nation last week when we decided homosexuality is ok and is included within the definition of marriage. We’ve probably sinned other times in our history but I’m focusing on these two here. God’s judgment of our nation may not be swift and immediate but it is certain unless, as a nation, we humble ourselves before God and seek His forgiveness. His grace is ready and waiting for our nation as much as it is for the individual. If we choose not to seek it, however, judgment awaits. I encourage you to read Psalm 9.

How should I live as Christian in this nation?

The Supreme Court’s decision didn’t change the answer to this question. We live the same way now as we should have been in the past.

We love our neighbors which has nothing to do with whether or not you agree with their sin of choice. After all, we all sin (Matthew 22:39).

We extend grace to those who sin because God has done the same thing for us (2 Corinthians 1:12).

We should show love and good works, come together in worship, and encourage one another (Hebrews 10:24-25).

We should act justly, love faithfulness, and walk humbly with God (Micah 6:8).

We should love our enemies and pray for those who persecute us (Matthew 5:44).

We should rejoice in persecution as we suffer as did Jesus, our Savior (John 15:20).

I could go on but the list would be extensive. None of it would include a call to hatred or condemnation on our part, however. I encourage you to read the New Testament.

Don't Stand Still: Make the journey and face the enemies

God didn’t deliver us so we could stand still.

That was my take away from a verse I meditated on this week as I posted it on Grow Barefoot social media (Facebook, Twitter, Google+). The verse was Psalm 56:13.

A lot of us are content standing still. Hey, at least we aren’t just sitting in a pew – we’re standing! We serve a little in our churches, we pray occasionally, maybe open a Bible sometimes on a day other than Sunday, and pretty much try to live a good life. Sometimes we go a little crazy and put a Christian calendar on our desk at work or a Christian bumper sticker on the back of our car. They fit in real nice between the chrome fish and the stick figures of our family members.

It’s all good. We did those things five years ago, and if God doesn’t return, we’ll be doing them five years from now. And ten years. And twenty years. We’ll keep doing them and never stop doing them because we’re standing still.

So, in the midst of all our standing around, in comes a verse like Psalm 56:13, “For You delivered me from death, even my feet from stumbling, to walk before God in the light of life.” It invades our comfy little standing-around gathering and reminds us all what God did for us. It even has the nerve to go a step further and point out an appropriate response on our part.

Considering Psalm 56

Psalm 56:13 is the conclusion of a brief Psalm written by David when he was in dire circumstances. We have to consider the whole thing to fully understand David’s conclusive call to action.

Introduce the Problem
David is in the midst of his enemies; the Philistines have taken him captive. He knows his life is in danger. Fear overwhelms him despite God’s promise of a future kingship in Israel. The Philistines gasp and pant for the opportunity to crush him. They can almost taste his destruction as they know his defeat will bring them victory against the Israelite army. In their arrogance, they actually think they can stop God’s plan (Psalm 56:1-2).

The Response to Fear
David’s afraid – very afraid. He didn’t allow fear to paralyze him, however. He didn’t let it control his thoughts, actions, or emotions. As waves of fear came over him, he purposely chose to place his trust in God. That’s not a normal human response; David must have had enough life experience by this point to discipline his response to fear. He knew to trust, not panic or doubt God’s promise. After all, he had the very Word of God – a promise given through the prophet Samuel – that God had a future for David. In response, he could quiet his fears, assess the situation, and proclaim to his captors, “What can man do to me?” (Psalm 56:3-4).

The Six Attacks of the Enemy
The Philistines didn’t come at David in only one way. They attacked him relentlessly from six different angles. They tortured him with words as they twisted and distorted the truth to which he clung. They schemed and connived every sort of evil against him. His enemies gathered together under a common cause of stirring up strife in David’s life. They hid themselves away in the deceptive shadows. They watched him from those shadows. As they schemed together, hidden and watching, they panted for a chance to crush and destroy him (Psalm 56:5-6).

God’s Response to David and his Enemies
The stage has been set, David’s attention has been focused in the right direction, and the enemies are scheming their evil plan. With that, we reach the climax of the Psalm. “Will they escape in spite of such sin?” David’s trust in the surety of the Word of God empowers him to prophesy his enemies’ demise – God will bring them down. Their outcome is certain.

David’s outcome is different, though. The same Word that promises the destruction of the enemies of God’s chosen people promises a future for those He has chosen. For them, God has a record of our walk… our journey… our wanderings. He has our tears preserved in a bottle. Our whole walk, including every tear, every moment of fear, every rejection, and every attack by the enemy, is recorded before God’s throne (Psalm 56:7-8).

The Outcome
David’s enemies imprisoned him; his situation looked bleak. Yet, he knew God’s Word and therefore he knew the outcome that awaited. He didn’t cower in fear. He didn’t stand still. He rose up against his enemies. He called out to them knowing they would retreat because he also knew that God was for him. He didn’t need to know the details. He only said, “This I know: God is for me” and that was enough.

Not just any God either. When David entered his dire situation and fear threatened to envelop him, he relied on the Word of God. He trusted the Word and even reached a point of praise in his prison. By the end, though, he had grown. He found victory from the threats and evil intents of the Philistines. He experienced the comfort and compassion of a God who keeps each of our tears in a bottle. He put God to the test and found Him faithful. The experience of his journey led him to add a new line to his song of praise. He not only sang “In Elohiym, whose word I praise” but now the victory of his test leads him to sing, “In YHWH, whose word I praise.” Yahweh, Jehovah, the one and only true God was the source of David’s victory and assurance for the future. With even more confidence and power, I believe he loudly dared any who might rise against him, “What can man do to me?” (Psalm 9-11).

Our Response
Here we are – almost to the verse that began this whole grand saga. God provides epic defeat of the enemy. He not only freed David from captors who lusted for his death; He delivers us from an even worse torment imprisoned in Satan’s lair. He offers us a walk of victory where our feet won’t even stumble. All that He asks is that we take that walk – make that journey. Rise up against those enemies and boldly declare, “God is for me… What can man do to me?”

We’ll never make that walk if we keep standing still.

What might happen if we start walking? We'll become healthier, stronger, and we'll start moving forward. Click here to read more.

Common Thread: Finding Jesus on every page

I spent last week studying for this week’s section of our current, ongoing study through the book of Hebrews. We’ve been studying Melchizedek, and quite honestly, his place in Scripture is about as difficult as his name.

I worked through a hard passage and ended at the same conclusion where I always end up. It’s happened so often that, if I don’t end there, then I go back and check my progression through the passage because I probably missed something.

Here it is – the conclusion I reach on virtually every Bible lesson I teach – God loves you and wants a relationship with you through His Son, Jesus.

That’s the whole message of God’s Word – from Genesis 1:1 through Revelation 22:21 – from the days of Adam about 6,000 years ago until the days of Messiah’s reign sometime in the future. The whole thing is the story of how He expressed that love and made that relationship possible. I reached that end this time and thought, “That’s the same conclusion I reach every time. Why keep studying? I know the point of the book… God loves me and wants a relationship with me through Jesus.” We can learn this truth reading John 3:16; why spend hours studying?

Let’s use a thread to represent this statement. We’ll call it our John 3:16 thread because you can simply read John 3:16 and know everything you ever need to know, “For God loved the world in this way: He gave His One and Only Son, so that everyone who believes in Him will not perish but have eternal life.” It’s simple and direct; with a few abbreviations we can even make it fit within the 140 character limit of Twitter.

Yes, this one statement has enough power to change the world. But it’s only a thread; it’s only a single strand of power and truth.

When I questioned why Jesus might possibly be troubled, I found it was because He loves us and wants a relationship with us.

When I wondered why Jesus had to go against all conventional wisdom, I learned it was because He loves us and wants a relationship with us.

When I struggled to understand Jesus’ parables, I found buried within them that God loves us and wants a relationship with us.

When I wondered what it meant to soar on wings like eagles, I realized we only can do so because God loves us and wants a relationship with us.

When I freaked out because a great cloud of witnesses surrounds me, I learned they are there because God loves us and wants a relationship with us.

When I was curious why the Bible sometimes calls Jesus the Rock, I discovered it’s because God loves us and wants a relationship with us.

When I wanted to know more about the name Immanuel, I learned it’s His name because He loves us and wants a relationship with us.

When I wondered why Isaiah prophesied that the Messiah had to suffer, I realized it’s because He loves us and wants a relationship with us.

Those are only the topics I’ve blogged about. More are in my books and many more sit on my shelves from old studies I’ve written and taught. Maybe someday I’ll get more of them posted here. Things like finding this message hidden in the garments of the priest in the Old Testament.

Or finding it in the complex person of the priest Melchizedek, which is where I found myself last week.

These topics all contain the common message of our John 3:16 thread. Each one is a powerful message of grace, love, and relationship restored. God wove each of these threads and countless more into an intricate and deep blanket that spans thousands of years and reaches every person of all time. We call that blanket the Bible.

The John 3:16 thread is enough but the whole design is so much more.

The world is a hard, cold place. When I need warmth and comfort, I’d rather wrap up in the whole blanket than try to curl up in a single thread.

The pits of inadequacy, despair, and depression can be deep, dark, foreboding places. I need the whole blanket to pull me up out of the pit. I may lose my grasp if I hold onto only a single thread.

The enemy’s attacks come at me from every direction. A single thread may not block every fiery dart but if the whole blanket covers me completely then the power of the Word can stop every attack.

Weaving it in to your life

The John 3:16 thread is all you need in your life. It’s simple and reveals God’s plan for our relationship. So much more awaits though when you start searching through the rest of Scripture’s pages to find that thread woven throughout the whole story, from beginning to end. I encourage you to open His Word, start studying it, and weaving His threads together into your own life so you’ll have the whole blanket when you need warmth and comfort, a pull out of despair, or defense from the enemy.

Deal Breaker: Crossing the line into false teaching

False teaching. It’s a touchy subject but one that thrust itself into my life this week. It wasn’t loud or obnoxious; it didn’t come from an arrogant televangelist or celebrity Christian. It was small – only a few lines quietly buried in the middle of an otherwise great message.

I’m sure I’ve taught the Word of God incorrectly at times through the years, as much as it pains me to say so. I know God’s Word is absolutely true – every word, every concept, every story. I also know my mind isn’t perfect, my heart is sinful, and sometimes I just mess up.

So this week, I heard something that goes against God’s Word – an errant teaching I’ve encountered before on the internet but not from the mouth of a friend. I’m not going to share what it was as that would be an article in itself. But today I’m wondering a few things…

• What distinguishes a false teacher from a teacher who messed up on a particular point?
• What distinguishes a false teaching from a teaching with which I happen to disagree?
• Where is the line between areas where we “agree to disagree” and areas that are “deal-breakers” under valid Christian teaching?

Many believers think the end times are approaching quickly. If this is so, Scripture warns that false teaching and deception will be prevalent in our world. “False messiahs and false prophets will arise and perform great signs and wonders to lead astray, if possible, even the elect” (Matthew 24:24). And again later, “Now the Spirit explicitly says that in later times some will depart from the faith, paying attention to deceitful spirits and the teachings of demons, through the hypocrisy of liars whose consciences are seared” (1 Timothy 4:1).

So, if false teachings and deceptions will increase, I think it’d be wise of us to answer some of these questions.

A false teacher from a teacher who messed up

No Bible translation is perfect, no denomination is perfect, no pastor or teacher is perfect, no commentator is perfect, and no Christian blogger is perfect. Sometimes I think God allows this on purpose as only He is perfect. No one and nothing will ever match His sinless perfection. Every person who’s ever tried to teach something from the Bible has messed up at some point. So how do we distinguish between a teacher who messed up and a false teacher?

I think a key factor is intent behind the teaching. I can only speak for myself, but I know my intentions in studying the Bible and writing about it is to know Him and make Him known. My books and blog are a natural outcome of my desire to love and serve God. A false teacher’s intention is destruction. “But there were also false prophets among the people, just as there will be false teachers among you. They will secretly bring in destructive heresies…” (2 Peter 2:1). It goes on to describe their work as unrestrained, blasphemous, exploitative, and greedy.

Another key factor is the outcome of their teaching. Good teaching brings others into a relationship with Jesus and then helps them continue to grow in their relationship with Him. This isn't the case with false teachers. “Beware of false prophets who come to you in sheep’s clothing but inwardly are ravaging wolves. You’ll recognize them by their fruit. … Every good tree produces good fruit, but a bad tree produces bad fruit. A good tree can’t produce bad fruit; neither can a bad tree produce good fruit” (Matthew 7:15-18).

A false teaching from a teaching with which I disagree

Or, to say it another way, it might be ok for us to disagree on some teachings. In other areas, lines have to be drawn, truth spoken, and even relationships severed at times. Where is the line between these two areas? After all, I know of no other person with whom I agree on every single detail of Christianity. When is it ok and when is it a deal-breaker?

Sometimes we may disagree but we don’t have to argue about it. I think of a friend who believes the rapture will happen at the end of the tribulation whereas I think it will happen at the beginning. We can’t know for sure and simply agree to disagree.

At the other end of the spectrum, I heard a church deny Jesus rose from the dead after His crucifixion. I don’t have to question or wonder; I know this is a deal breaker. If we deny the resurrection of Jesus, then God’s Word is a lie. The whole plan falls apart.

The problem comes in a wide range of areas in between these two extremes. That is why Paul wrote, “Test all things. Hold on to what is good” (1 Thessalonians 5:21). We have to put this into practice rather than blindly accept every teaching we hear – even if that teaching comes from someone we know and respect.

John gives us a little more help when trying to discern the validity of a teaching. He wrote, “Do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to determine if they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world. This is how you know the Spirit of God: Every spirit who confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God. But every spirit who does not confess Jesus is not from God” (1 John 4:1-3).

Denying Jesus isn’t only denying what the Bible says about Him. To deny Jesus is to deny the whole of the Word of God as John also wrote, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. … The Word became flesh and took up residence among us. We observed His glory, the glory as the One and Only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth” (John 1:1, 14). The Word isn’t merely about Jesus; Jesus is the Word made flesh.

I guess it comes down to one thing when we’re trying to determine if we can agree to disagree or if the issue is a deal-breaker. Does this teaching deny Jesus – His truth, His Word, or His work? If the answer is yes, then it’s more in the deal breaker range. If the answer is no, then maybe we can agree to disagree. We’ll only know into which category it falls if we know the Bible for Jesus Himself – the Word made flesh – said, “You are deceived, because you don’t know the Scriptures or the power of God” (Matthew 22:29).

Intentional: Living as a force for good

It’s that time of year here in the Midwest. It comes every November.

No, not the time of family gatherings, stuffed turkeys, and thankful thoughts. It’s the time of camouflage coverings, early mornings, and deer stand hangouts.

I’m not a deer hunter. I’ve never tried it, have no desire to try it, and probably never will. But I’ve been happily married to a deer hunter for two decades. Over those years, I’ve come to appreciate his hobby, the happiness it brings him, and the food it provides for our family.

However, a group of us deer widows was talking at church the other day. And well, here’s the story…

We came across these verses while studying the actions of evil in Psalm 37, “Be silent before the Lord and wait expectantly for Him; do not be agitated by one who prospers in his way, by the man who carries out evil plans. … The wicked person schemes against the righteous and gnashes his teeth at him.” (Psalm 37:7, 12).

We started discussing the two actions of evil listed in these verses.

• Men carry out evil plans.
• The wicked scheme against the righteous.

They plan and scheme against us who follow Jesus. The forces of evil plan how to bring down the righteous. They actually take the time to think about it and come up with ways to plot evil intent. Evil is highly intentional about causing destruction in our lives (Hebrew: zamam).

My husband is a good man – a true, dedicated, and devoted follower of Christ. But I’m going to compare him to the forces of evil for just a minute. Sorry, honey.

Because here’s the deal that the other deer widows and I started to discuss…

My husband has been planning his deer hunt for weeks. He scouts early in the season for scrapes from the deer antlers. He hangs a motion sensor camera in the woods so he can find when and where the deer are traveling. He applies the deer scent stuff that I think stinks but I guess smells alluring to a buck. He layers on the camo clothing so nothing will see him perched in the tree. He practices making the right noises so he sounds like a deer grunting or antlers rattling. He invests money in a tag, ammunition, gadgetry, and specialized clothing. This year, he even downloaded an app that utilizes Google satellite images of the region where he hunts. On the image, he marked where his tree is, the trees of the men with whom he hunts, any deer markings they found while scouting, and probably more stuff I don’t know about. The app even tells him the direction and speed of the wind.

Alright…you get the point. He’s very INTENTIONAL about his deer hunt. He doesn’t wake up some morning, decide to grab his rifle, and hike off into the woods. He plans, schemes, and invests to make his hunt successful. He covers his body, his scent, and his noise in order to DECEIVE all the senses the deer uses in self-protection.

Based on Psalm 37:7, 12, Satan and the forces of evil are doing the same thing to us. Psalm 83:3-5 says it this way, “They devise clever schemes against Your people; they conspire against Your treasured ones. They say, ‘Come, let us wipe them out as a nation so that Israel’s name will no longer be remembered.’ For they have conspired with one mind; they form an alliance against You.”

Satan is out to get you, friend and fellow follower of Christ. He’s planning and scheming to bring you down. He doesn’t decide on a whim to kind of trip you up a little bit. He is investing in every tool, opportunity, and gadget at his disposal to make his hunt successful.

What are we going to do?

We have to be just as intentional. We can’t wake up one morning and decide, “Oh, I think I’ll do something good today. Maybe I’ll go to church or read a Bible chapter.”

I’m not knocking church attendance or scripture reading, but we’re going to have to be more intentional than that.

Bible reading

The Word of God is the power to transform your life. The Word reveals truth in a world that is so messed up we have Muslims worshiping in a Christian cathedral, schools raising children instead of parents, and babies that aren’t safe in their own mother’s wombs.

Casually perusing a verse or two a day won’t do much for you though – kind of like eating a bite or two of food in a day won’t do much to sustain you. Intentional Bible reading studies it, learns what it says, and applies it to life. Intentional Bible reading figures out the hard parts – not skims over them.

Prayer

You can talk to God – right here, right now. The One who created the universe waits to hear what’s on your mind. The Savior of all mankind wants to know what’s bothering you. Yahweh who knows everything wants to know how your day went.

But He’s not an overpaid psychiatrist or a priest in confessional who can’t really do too much in response to your pleas. He can summon the angels and dispel the demons. He can provide from infinite riches and protect beyond imagination.

Intentional prayer goes beyond meal time thankfulness or casual conversations during mundane tasks. Those are good times to pray but intentional prayer takes it up a notch. It carves out part of the day and declares it as time to prayerfully enter God’s holy presence for a time of praise, thanksgiving, and intercession. Intentional prayer makes that time regular and frequent.

Invest in others

I know you’re hurting right now – so is the person next to you at work, at church, or in the grocery store line. It’s easy to invest in your best friend, spouse, or children but can we invest in those who think differently than us? Or look different? Intentional investment steps outside what’s convenient and easy. Intentional investment extends a word of encouragement, offers some help, or serves another when it’s hard to do so and maybe even dangerous.

That’s all I got – maybe you can think of more ways we can live intentionally as a force for good. If so, please share in the comments.

The forces of evil intentionally fight to bring you down – to destroy your story. We must counterattack with intentional living for Christ as a force for good. Remember, “You are from God, little children, and you have conquered them, because the One who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world” (1 John 4:4).

Ditch the Devotional: 8 steps to energize your time in God's Word

Three different friends have told me lately that they want to spend time in God’s Word on a daily basis but they don’t know what to do.

They’ve used little devotional booklets but they feel like they need more. These little booklets have their place in spiritual growth. They can be a good resource to help us develop the discipline of spending time with God daily. However, the brief “share a story – tie in to biblical teaching – quote a Bible verse” format often leaves us hungry for more of God’s Word.

They’ve tried reading long portions of Scripture but the time investment is high. The frustration level also increases as they try to figure out the overall message of the text, wonder what words mean and who people are, look up cross references, look for answers to questions, and figure out an application for their life.

I don’t know if this will help, but I shared a technique with them that I’ve used in my own life for a few years now. I’d like to also share it with you.

I developed this method as part of the Grow Barefoot focus theme for each month. However, even if I stopped sharing each day on social media, I would still use this method for a morning devotional time.

Here’s what I do

1 – Pray for God to give me a word for the month. He’s been faithful every time to answer that prayer. However, sometimes He doesn’t give me one until the last day before the start of a new month; I have to be patient. The important thing is that He guides you into a theme; you don’t pick something at random. When you pray, listen for the answer. He wants you to read His Word so He’ll work with you on this.

God knows what your coming month is going to hold; when He guides, you’ll be amazed at how valuable that word will be as you face the month. For example, this month my word is “peace.” That word has been very significant as I’ve helped friends with less than peaceful situations and considered the turmoil breaking out in the Middle East.

Sometimes a theme is very broad; an example of this might be the word “love.” In those cases, I narrow my search to a specific section of Scripture – such as the Psalms, the Old Testament, the Gospels, the writings of Paul, or the writings of John.

2 – Search for the word on a website like Blue Letter Bible or Bible Gateway. I make sure to do the search in my favorite translation. If you have more than about 100 results, consider narrowing your search to a specific section of Scripture as I mentioned earlier.

3 – Copy and paste the results into a spreadsheet. This is just me – I like to use Excel more than Word because I can do more with the results. A lot of people don’t like spreadsheets and are more comfortable with word processing software. That’s fine – not a big deal. Just paste your results into some file you can come back to everyday. Don’t forget to save your file.

That’s the monthly prep work – actually doing it will probably take less time than it has taken you to read through this article so far. Here’s the daily part…

4 – Find a time each day to read through the list and pick a verse. I read through the verses until I find one to focus on for the day. This means I read the list through many times – not the whole thing every day but by the time the month is over I’ve read it a lot.

5 – Pull one thought out of your chosen verse and put it into your own words.

6 – At this point you’re going to have to figure out what to do with your verse and thought. Here are some ideas…

• Share it on your favorite social media such as Facebook or Twitter.
• Write them on a post-it note. Stick it to your computer monitor so you’ll see it often throughout the day.
• Text it to your spouse or a good friend.
• Come up with your own, unique method of focusing on the verse and thought throughout the day. If you have one, share it in the comments below to help others!

Whatever you decide, do something with it. This is important as it will help you focus on the verse and thought more throughout the day. Writing or typing it helps your brain retain it plus writing your thought helps you develop it clearly.  

7 – Start noting aspects of the theme that you see repeated. Toward the middle or end of the month you’ll start to see that Scripture repeats itself on some important issues related to your theme. For example, this month is peace. As I read through my list each day, I've repeatedly noticed four key points…

That last one I actually picked up on the last time I focused on peace in April 2013. It led to one of my most highly read blog articles.

8 – Let those key points transform your thinking. Some examples from my peace focus…

• If I hear someone talk about finding peace within themselves or hear of peace talks in the Middle East, I know it’s not true peace because that only comes from a relationship with Christ.
• I start making efforts to live at peace with those around me because peace won’t just spontaneously happen on its own. I have to pursue it.
• Living at peace means I’m also extending grace to others because the two often come in a package deal.
• Peace is possible in my life because God is a God of peace. He who created the universe desires peace within it. That’s why He thought of and instituted a plan to enable peace…a plan that involved the death and resurrection of His Son so we might experience forgiveness and a peaceful relationship with Him.

So there you have it. It may not be perfect; it may not be for everyone. In fact, it isn't. But it might work for you if you give it a try. I encourage you to do so with the start of a new month only a few days away. Be sure to come back and tell me how it went in the comment section!

Forgotten Love Letter

Imagine a situation with me…

A husband fights with an army combat team in eastern Afghanistan. Everyday his life is in danger; everyday he struggles to accomplish the mission to which he is called.

His wife's love for him runs deep. She serves here by maintaining the home the two have together; she does the work, she pays the bills, she tucks the children in each night.

Date nights are temporarily suspended as thousands of miles physically separate the two. Yet, the wife has a regular tradition. Every Saturday, after the kids are in bed, she sits down to write a letter to her husband. She tells him the important information from the week. She thinks of new ways to remind him how much she loves him and supports him. She shares dreams of the future when their family will reunite again.

She hits send.

At the same time, it’s already Sunday morning in eastern Afghanistan. Her husband knows the weekly email sits in his inbox – but he doesn’t bother to read it. Just like he did last week and the week before. Just like he has done every week since circumstances forced them apart.

Eventually, he remembers all of the unread words filling his inbox. He starts to wonder a little about what they might say. But just a little. After all, he doesn’t have time to read all of them as he's so busy with his military responsibilities.

He decides to find someone in his unit who has more time available. He asks his buddy to read through all of the letters and then summarize what they say in just a few words.

When the job is accomplished, the husband knows the overall points his wife tried to share. All is well at home. She loves him. They’ll be back together at some point.

The buddy doesn’t understand their relationship, though. He doesn’t know the priorities of their life together – their past, their goals, their intimacies, and their hopes and dreams together. He fails to communicate the passion and depth of her words.

Interesting scenario, isn’t it?

I can’t imagine a husband serving in the military would actually do this. But many followers of Christ do it all the time.

It’s been many weeks – many centuries – since circumstances forced us apart from our Loved One. He may not write us a new letter every week but He did write us one that’s about half a million words long. In it, He told us what’s going on, revealed the depth of His love and passion for us, and gave us hope for our life together when we reunite.

So often we settle for someone else’s summary of Jesus’ letter so we don’t have to take the time to read it ourselves. Yet, God wants to speak to you personally and intimately through His Word. He wants to pour life, hope, peace, and joy into you through the living power of His Holy Letter.

But I’m SO busy!

Yes, adding one more thing to our full schedules may seem like an impossible task. Modern technology is a great help, though. Apps and podcasts are available that literally read the Bible out loud. Go to iTunes, Google Play Store, App Store, or wherever you download on your mobile device. Search for “Bible” and you’ll find lots of free options – most of which have an option to have the Bible read to you. Then turn it on while you’re at the gym, cooking dinner, commuting to work, or sorting laundry. You won’t hear every word and you won’t be able to stop and study an interesting verse. But your thought patterns will start shifting away from the lies and towards the truth.

For those who haven’t yet entered the world of podcasts, apps, smart phones, and iPads… you can pick up a small, easy to read copy of the Bible at any Christian book store for only a few dollars. You don’t have to lug around a big study Bible. Pick up a small copy that you can carry in your bag or keep in your car. It’s ok to go ahead and read it while you wait at the doctor’s office instead of perusing the latest tabloid lying on the end table. Or, pick it up while you’re waiting in the car line. Or on your lunch hour.

But I don’t understand it!

I don’t believe one translation is absolutely right or absolutely wrong. I do believe, however, that some are a lot easier to read than others. Find the translation that fits you. Try different translations.

For daily reading and studying, I’ve used the New International Version for years. Gradually, though, I’m switching to the Holman Christian Standard Bible. But sometimes I look up the Complete Jewish Bible, the New American Standard Bible, or the English Standard Version just to see what different perspective a word choice might help me understand. Sometimes I even look up the King James Version (gasp!). It’s also interesting to find an easy to read translation such as The Message; you can sit and read through it like you would a novel.

These are all techniques and tools I’ve used over the last several years. Please give one or two a try. Or, come up with your own. If you do come up with another one – I’d love to hear it in the comment section below!

Because of Love, He did It

One of my favorite Christmas stories has nothing to do with Christmas.

July was hot and humid in Tennessee the summer I was sixteen years old. I had traveled there with my youth group for my first short term mission trip. I knew the coordinating organization would assign each of us to a separate group to do light construction and repairs on low-income housing.

The first night I met my group; the next morning we headed out to our assignment. Life was changed.

Our assignment was a single man in his 40’s or 50’s. He lived in a garage haphazardly converted into three rooms. The front room was trashed – no sheetrock, concrete floors, junk everywhere. The junk included a toilet which the man used, despite the lack of plumbing attached underneath. The back half was divided into two rooms. The first one, despite the filth, wasn’t too bad with a couch and console TV in it. The second one, the man’s bedroom, was a pornography pit. I’m not going to describe what was on those walls. I wish the images weren’t in my head and I’m not going to try to create them in your head.

We decided to begin our work in the bedroom. We quickly removed the pictures from the walls, each of us wishing we could destroy them but knowing we couldn’t destroy the man’s property. The room only needed minor repairs so we finished it that first day. Most of our week would be spent sheet rocking the front room (remember – the one with the toilet?). Even though we knew we couldn’t destroy the filth on the walls, we knew we didn’t have to hang it back up again either. So we didn’t.

Each person on our team had a specific job duty; mine was leading the devotional time each day. The coordinating organization had provided resources for me to use. They told us to invite the people at our work site to join us for the devotional time. Our man, however, left every morning as soon as we arrived and didn’t return until after we were done. He didn’t have a job so I’m not sure where he went; I think he just didn’t want to be with us.

Sometime during the middle of the week our devotional message focused on the birth of Jesus Christ. It included a little cardstock nativity scene for us to assemble and give to the people in whose home we were working. I admit it; I was a little embarrassed. This was nothing nice – it reminded me of something I would have made in Sunday school as a young child. Insert tab A into slot A; insert tab B into slot B. This day I was a little relieved our man wasn’t there. I could leave the nativity in his bedroom and not have the embarrassment of giving him our “gift.”

I entered the bedroom cautiously. We hadn’t worked in there for a couple of days so I didn’t know if he had rehung his pictures. Peeked in…all was good. I entered and left the nativity on a shelf by his bed.

A couple more days passed and we wrapped up our last workday. The toilet had been removed, sheet rock had been hung, and walls had been painted. The front room wasn’t too bad of a place now. I gathered my tools and realized I couldn’t find my hammer. Everyone looked through their tools – no hammer to be found. Looked in the van – no hammer. I knew my dad was going to want me to return home with his hammer.

I knew where the hammer was. I knew I had left it in one of the back rooms. I knew I had to go back in to find it. I looked in the first room – no hammer. Two more days had passed – would the pictures be back on the walls? I looked in the second room. Three things now lay on the shelf where I had left the nativity scene. The first was the missing hammer but that’s not what changed my life. The second was a Bible lying right beside the third item – our nativity scene gift. The nativity had been reinforced with tape; someone had obviously taken care to make sure tab A stayed in slot A and tab B didn’t tear out of slot B. More than that, rather than rehang the filth of before, our man had found a Bible to read about that cardstock Baby in that cardstock manger.

Lots of things came together in my mind in that moment as I looked at the reinforced nativity aside the Holy Word of God.

I should never be embarrassed by the simplicity of God’s gift.

I should never assume anyone is too far down for God to pull them out of a pit.

God has the power to use anything to change a heart.

Even at 16 I realized - Serving God may take me into some filthy, disgusting places. It’s worth it.

Now this next part I don’t think I realized then, but I do now. God may call us into some filthy, disgusting places but it’s only because He first descended into a filthy, disgusting place. Think of the glories He beheld in heaven’s eternity past – do you think the manure and stench of the stable compared? Consider the light and sinless perfection in the presence of the Father – do you think the darkness of sin in the presence of mankind was anywhere near as brilliant?

And yet, because of love, He did it.

Read more at:

• From Deity to Death
• So What?
• Cleaning off the Dirt

Life Sucks: What are we going to do about it?

It’s true, it does. Life is hard. People are hurting; healthy people, sick people, poor people, rich people. Followers of Christ, people who don’t follow Christ. We’re all hurting.

A lot of people have contacted me lately to share their situations. For a while, literally three or four people a day called me…texted me…emailed me. They were all going through hard stuff. I’m not talking about the little stuff; I’m talking hard times. Times that change your life and your direction and your focus and make you change what you’re doing and make you step back and think how did this happen. Things that transform you for the rest of your life.

Even more recently, I’m finding out this isn’t unique with me. I’m not the only one receiving the phone calls and texts and email messages. Other friends are experiencing the same thing; they also are receiving those same phone calls and text messages and emails. They also are seeing the pain and the hurt. Why is there so much pain? What can we do about it?

Why is there pain?

We live in a sinful, fallen world; that’s not going to change. Pride. Arrogance. Greed. Lust. Selfishness. For some people, those may only be Bible sin words but reality is they tear us down. They hurt. They hurt the participator but their flames also fan out to burn everyone in their path. “The heart is more deceitful than all else and is desperately sick; who can understand it” (Jeremiah 17:9)?

What can we do about it?

This is the way it is and it’s not going to get any better. It’s going to get worse. But I don’t want to be a pessimist because there is hope. But right here, right now, what can we do? That’s the question… and I don't have all the answers. But I know where to start.

Pray
I just finished a study on prayer. One of the things that came through in that study is that we are so quick to pray for physical problems. And there are some bad physical problems – like cancer. But where are the prayers for the drug addicts and the mentally unstable, the unsaved and those who’ve walked away. Where are the prayers that knock us to our knees in humility as we acknowledge God is in control and without him we’re incompetent? Does our pride keep us from sharing those prayers?

“Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective” (James 5:16). The word “healed” in this verse isn’t referring to physical healing – it’s a healing of the soul that makes us whole, frees us from our sins, and brings us salvation. That’s the kind of healing we all need to alleviate some of the pain.

The Word
We have developed a habit of reading God’s word for comfort, because it’s the right thing to do, or to gain knowledge. These are all good and true reasons but we’ve lost the habit of reading it so it will transform us. We read it…we study it…we wrestle through the hard passages so they can change us. “Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind” (Romans 12:2). We do it so we are no longer the person we used to be as we become more like Christ. I hope that hasn’t become too much of a cliché because it’s the truth. Will we accomplish it on this side of eternity? No, but it’s the goal. It’s the plan. It’s what we’re supposed to be doing. We dig into God’s Word and allow it to transform us.

These two activities – prayer and Bible study – aren’t going to solve all of the world’s problems overnight. But they can make a difference in your own personal set of problems. They can be a source of healing as they pour out to those around you as well. And then, when you get the phone call…or text message…or email with a word of hurt and pain, you’ll know what to do about it. You either head to the Word or you fall to your knees. Either one has the power to get you through.