Wednesday Morning Devotional

Give to everyone what you owe them:  If you owe taxes, pay taxes; if revenue, then revenue; if respect, then respect; if honor, then honor.  – Romans 13:7

Here is something that is very difficult for me and I would imagine quite a few church leaders and leaders in general:  receiving honor.  As a preacher, worship leader, or church musician, sometimes you will receive praise, which I consider a form of giving honor.  The truth is, people like acknowledging other people in whom God just revealed Himself by saying, “that really spoke to me,” “great job,” etc.

Now, what I have done because I have seen others do it in the past is give some sort of “humble” answer, “All glory goes to God!”  The only problem I now have with this is how sometimes it comes off as condescending to the person who just wanted to thank you for being obedient.  Sometimes, the person who was just honored by the other is now kind of chastising that person for what they have deemed an incorrect and inappropriate response.  Sometimes, when I hear a preacher, leader or musician give an answer like this, it comes off to me as a false humility.  It makes me wonder if they want even more praise and adulation for now being so humble.  It also makes me wonder if the person who just simply gave a compliment now feels like they were corrected.  It definitely makes me wonder exactly how I should or should not respond.

With that being said, and whether I am right or wrong about this, I am wondering what to do with honor that people give to me.  The verse I used clearly says if honor is due; then give it.  And it doesn’t say “to God,” so it suggests that there will be times when it will be appropriate to give honor to another person who is not God.  In fact, the immediate context of this verse is the government, so be very careful what you say about our governing officials; especially the ones you don’t like, and especially if you call yourself a Christian.

“They lay down their crowns before the throne . . . “ Revelation 4:10

Here is what I’m going to do from now on.  If someone honors me because of a song that was played, a lesson that was taught, a sermon that was preached, or whatever it is they are showing honor for, I’m going to say . . . wait for it . . .

“Thank you.”

Then, when I get alone with God, I’m going to say, “Lord, someone gave me something today that belongs to you.  Without You, I would never have received this.”

Later

Adam

To obey is better than sacrifice. – 1 Samuel 15:22

I just want to document what happened this past Sunday at Lifeline Community Church. There are church services, then there are CHURCH services . . . I’m talking when the presence of God is very thick. I think I am finally at the point where it takes two hands to count the ones that I’ve experienced. Anyway, this last one was just amazing.

I had just completed a 21-day fast. I wasn’t planning on eating regularly again until after the service. The band played wonderfully. When they played the song “Open up the Heavens,” something just shifted. It was like God opened up the Heavens. Our welcome/announcement guy had just spoken from Isaiah 58 about true fasting and our motives for doing it. In the three years I’ve been at Lifeline, he hadn’t done anything like that before. The service continued and it was just an uncommon atmosphere. People were very much in tune with the Holy Spirit.

I preached my sermon on “The Grace to Suffer.” Then I opened up the altar. So many people came. I turned and answered my own altar call. It was there that I heard from God. The first words out of my mouth were, “God, if we can have this, I’ll fast for another 21 days.” His response blew me away, “Adam, you think you are experiencing this because of something YOU did?” Immediately, I knew that I was so capable of doing what so many have done before me . . . trying to manipulate the Presence of God by following some systematic formula. I repented and asked God to simply help me stay in love with Him.

I got up and prayed for as many families as I could before they left the altar. Right before I prayed to dismiss everyone, I prayed in my mind, “Lord, I need some sort of sign that you have released me from fasting.” (As if getting on to me earlier wasn’t enough) Right after church, a lady brought me a homemade loaf of bread. She said at first that she felt bad for bringing it because she knew I was fasting. Then, she was delighted because it just so happened that she was the evidence that God had released me.

Amazing.

Lord, may every person who reads this experience you this year more than any year in the past. You are the Creator. Create in each individual a desire to honor you in absolutely everything we do. Create in our churches an atmosphere of Presence and praise that is absolutely irresistible.

Amen

Adam

If my people who are called by my name will humble themselves, and pray and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sin, and I will heal their land. – 2 Chronicles 7:14

The second step that Christians must take in the process of healing our land is to pray and seek God’s face.  Humble people know how far away they are from God’s Holiness.  Therefore, they enter what I like to call “process.”  I mean the process of actually growing in the faith.  It does not happen magically, which today’s American Christians despise.  I hate the fact that I waited so many years to get serious about praying and seeking God.  I know now that I did not pray and seek Him because I wasn’t humble.  I compared myself to other Christians and figured I wasn’t that bad.  I thought other people were the problem.  Had I looked at my reflection in the light of God’s Word, I would have known.

In general, you can spot a fake Christian by how much time they spend pointing out the faults of others as compared to their own faults.  They are so aware of the specks in other people’s eyes that they don’t really concern themselves with the plank in their own (Matthew 7:3).  I’m not saying we should never point them out, but there is certainly a right and wrong way to do it.

On the other hand, you can spot a real Christian by their humility and their desire to build on that humility.  Do they pray and seek God’s face?  You never have to ask them . . . You just know. 

The solution to healing our land is not legislation, lest we really think that any man or woman in the Oval Office will heal our land.  The solution is for people who call themselves Christians humbling themselves and turning from their wicked ways.  To me, this is the best part:  NOT EVERYONE HAS TO DO IT!  “If my people,” not “if all people.”  We don’t have to spend ANY time bashing non-believers who don’t live like us.  We simply have to go through the process of praying and seeking God’s face.  It is not enough to know about Him, we must know Him.

You know how much time that you spend alone with God and praying to Him.  You know how much effort you put into reading, learning, and memorizing His Word.  You know if you are growing in His likeness.  You know.  And, if it is very little or none at all, it is not that you do not have time, it is that you really don’t think you are the problem.  You think everyone else is the problem. 

Humble yourself.

Pray and seek His face.

Believe it or not, He does not hear the prayers spoken by prideful Americans who say they are Christians, but if brutally honest, make no time for Him or have any real need for Him.  If you don’t believe me, just read the verse.  It is conditional.

“If my people will . . . then I will hear.”

Later

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Adam

If my people who are called by my name will humble themselves, and pray and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sin, and I will heal their land. – 2 Chronicles 7:14

If I had one wish that I could make for all Christians in 2017, it would be that the people who call themselves Christians would really be Christians. In 2008, one poll said that 80% of Americans identified as some form of Christian. By 2015, it went down 5% to 75%. I would love to know the percentage that God Himself would give as the percentage of Americans who truly follows Him. Somehow, I doubt it is 75%.

Now, do not get me wrong. I realize that it takes a while to grow as a Christian. I love the parable of the sower in Matthew 13. When you give your life to Christ, you are simply a seed that goes into the ground. Jesus says that birds eat some of these seeds, some seeds grow a little bit, but then get scorched, and some seeds grow pretty good, but then get choked out by weeds. What has happened in America is that all of these seeds that have never produced, are not producing, and will never produce continue to call themselves Christians.

Only the humble truly give their life to Christ. You cannot and will not come to him unless you have been made aware of the sin that lives in you. Once you are aware, Christ is presented as the only cure. “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.” (John 14:6) The problem is, did 3 out of 4 Americans come to Christ because they were convicted of sin? Or, were they simply convinced that they should? It only takes a growing season or two to know which is which.

I have lived both scenarios. I got saved at 16 because I was convinced I needed to be saved. I grew in knowledge, but also allowed the weeds of this world to grow right along side me and keep me from producing any real love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, etc. (Galatians 5:22). By the time I made it to college, I still called myself a Christian, but I behaved exactly like the world. I would have been in the 80% who said, “Oh yeah, I’m a Christian”, but I was not a true follower of Jesus Christ. I thank God that a guy called me out on it. It hurt my feelings, but it led me to a place of crying out to God because I was actually convicted of my sin. I asked God to help me really live for Him from then on. I prayed that sin would no longer have dominion over me (Romans 6:14).

This year, really examine your life as a Christian. Pay attention to how you treat people, especially people you don’t like (Matthew 5:44). Do you think of yourself more highly than you ought? (Romans 12:3) If you do, then you are not humble. Do you nitpick the specks in other people’s eyes while ignoring the plank in your own? (Matthew 7:5) If you do, then you are a hypocrite. If you are a teacher and call yourself a Christian at the same time, do you follow the golden rule and treat each student like they were your own flesh and blood? Would you enjoy being in your own class? (Matthew 7:12) Do the other teachers who know that you call yourself a Christian see you as different? Or, do you have the same whining, complaining spirit as everyone else? Do you even believe as a Christian teacher, or a Christian worker, or a Christian whatever it is that you do that you should look different than those who are not Christians? Whatever we as Christians do, we are to do “as unto the Lord!” (Colossians 3:23)

I guess I’m asking: Are you different in all the right ways?

If you don’t know, find someone who will shoot you straight and ask them. You need to know if other people see you as the real deal or not. It’s the difference in being in the 75% who say they are Christian and the 5-10% who probably actually are Christians. (I completely made that percentage range up, but it is definitely much lower than 75%)

I believe this is what it looks like for us to humble ourselves. It is the first step to God hearing from Heaven and healing our land that so desperately needs to be healed.

Later

Adam

But He answered and said, “Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.” — Matthew 4:4

If you read Matthew chapter 6, you will find that Jesus expects us as His followers to do three spiritual disciplines: Give, pray, and fast. He does not say, “If you decide to (give/pray/fast)”, He says, “When you (give/pray/fast).”

Over the course of my 25-year walk with Christ, I had no problem immediately beginning to pray. Granted, they were some of the most pitiful prayers ever uttered, but they were prayers. Over the course of these past 25 years, the relationship that I have with God now through prayer is absolutely astounding. I can now honestly say that I love God. More importantly, I can say that He loves me.

When it came to giving, I had no problem putting in a few dollars here and there, but when I learned that true tithing was 10% of our income, that was insane. 10% was out of the question. Probably 8 years after becoming a Christian, I began to give, like for real give.  Over the course of the past 17 years of giving, I am amazed at how much more I have now keeping only 90% of my income and giving away 10%.  I know now that He wanted me to give so that I could actually own money. He knew if I didn’t learn how to give, money would always own me.

This leads me to the last spiritual discipline: fasting. I told my daughter one time that we were going on a fast. Of course, she said, “What’s that?” I said we were going to go a week without eating and drinking only water. Her immediate response was “You’ll DIE!!” I assured her we would not, though around the 2^nd or 3^rd day we’d probably feel like it. I talked to her about how it is a time to dedicate to God and focus and concentrate on His word. I know she thought we were crazy.

Many of you might think we are crazy. Every time, I bring up the subject of fasting, someone asks if it is possible.

It is.

Just like I started out with pitiful prayers and pitiful giving, my first fast was also pitiful. I had set my mind to fast for three days. I lasted about 18 hours. I had the worst migraine about 12 hours later. I ate something and immediately vomited. My body did not like being denied its necessary food. It made me wonder if John 4:4 was true. It made me wonder if Jesus really did fast for 40 days.

The next year, I read books about fasting. I learned that the poorer you eat, the harder a fast will be. No wonder I was doomed after half a day. I read about a Daniel fast, how you could cut meats and sweets and only eat fruits and vegetables while drinking only water. I decided to do this one for 21 days because surely it can’t be that hard. I was wrong. But, I did manage to make it through it. All I know, is at the end of that fast, I was so much more sensitive to God and His Holy Spirit. It was amazing.

Ever since then, I have given the end of December/beginning of January as a time of fasting. Every year, my goal is to make it just a little more difficult than it was last year. Every year, God seems to bless me way more than I deserve.

If you do not fast, or have never fasted, read up on it and start. Do not do like I did and think you are going to do a multi-day water only fast . . . you will probably be disappointed and insanely sick like I was. Maybe for your first fast, you only cut out sugar for a week. Believe me, it’s harder than you think; especially if you eat them as much as I do. You and God both know what would be a worthy sacrifice for your first fast.

If you have fasted before, try to take it to a new level year after year. I think it lets God know that you actually believe John 4:4.

Happy New Year!

Adam

But also for this very reason, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue, to virtue knowledge, to knowledge self-control, to self-control perseverance, to perseverance godliness, to godliness brotherly kindness, and to brotherly kindness love. – 2 Peter 1:5-7

If you love God, like really love God, then you have arrived at the pinnacle of Christianity. The greatest miracle that God accomplishes in a God-hating, sin-loving person’s heart is transform it into a heart that desires Him and His ways. I must confess, in the beginning years of being a Christian, it didn’t seem possible. However, with God, all things are possible. If you continue to pursue Him on the journey from faith to love, He will reveal Himself to you and you will fall in love with Him.

Someone asked me the other day, “Why did God create us just to watch us die?” I said, “Who did God actually create with His own hands and His own breath?” They said, “Adam and Eve.” I said, “You are correct.” We then discussed how there was never an intention for us to die. We discussed how pure love does not exist without the choice to love. Adam and Eve made the choice to try life apart from God. They divorced Him so to speak. What was on the price tag of this choice?

Death.

Yet God, in His infinite Wisdom, and out of His infinite love, made a way for death to be reversed. Jesus Christ came down from Heaven and lived the only sinless life that has ever been lived. Then, He willingly gave Himself as the ultimate sacrifice for sinners. “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him shall not perish but have everlasting life.” (John 3:16)

Oh, if we could only grab a hold of that truth. Entitled Americans look at it as something else that was done for them for absolutely nothing. “I said the sinners prayer and I believe this, therefore I’m going to Heaven when I die.” That person has one more question to answer: “Now that you know He loves you, do you love Him back?” The truth is, God does want something in return, and it isn’t a ton of religious activity that you really don’t enjoy. It is the restored relationship with man that He had at one time in the Garden of Eden. If you really think about it, the fact that this is even possible is absolutely amazing.

You have to be brutally honest in assessing your love for Him. I said that I loved Him for years, but then turned around and played golf, watched television, and played on the Internet probably 100 times more than I actually spent pursuing Him and learning His ways. When I was a teenager, I remember getting saved and then around the same time getting a girlfriend. Church and God took quite the backseat, though I never would have admitted it. The right answer was still to say that I loved God more than anything else. But, He knew, and deep down, I knew.

Years later, I do remember pursuing Him really hard for a season of my life. I was at the adding knowledge to what little virtue I had stage. Out of nowhere, in the middle of a ride to work, He just showed up. His Presence filled my little Ford Ranger. I was simultaneously filled with pure joy and at the same time had this awareness of my sin like I could not believe. My immediate response was to say, “Turn that off, Lord, I can’t take it.” He turned it off.

That moment changed my life. He had made Himself known to me . . . like really known. He revealed to me that as I grew in Him, I would be able to withstand higher and higher degrees of His Presence.

He was right.

I hope in reading about the journey from faith to love that you have found where you are in your walk with Him. More than anything, I hope you are pursuing Him like never before. In pursuing Him, you find Him. In finding Him, you fall in love with Him.

I didn’t realize that I’d end this little series on the Wednesday before Christmas. The truth still remains that He is the greatest gift that this life offers. He is the gift that keeps on giving.

Merry Christmas

Adam

But also for this very reason, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue, to virtue knowledge, to knowledge self-control, to self-control perseverance, to perseverance godliness, to godliness brotherly kindness, and to brotherly kindness love. – 2 Peter 1:5-7

Godliness with contentment is great gain. (1 Timothy 6:6) Godliness is an awareness of His presence with you regardless of where you are, what you are doing, or what you have. Once you have gained Godliness, you have achieved the ultimate Christian goal as far as this life is concerned. Jesus promises to never leave us nor forsake us, and if you make it this far in the journey from faith to love, you are now extremely aware of it.

Here is the thing that I’ve learned about Godliness: Every time I have received a heightened awareness of His presence, I’ve also receive a heightened awareness of how I don’t deserve it. As soon as Isaiah got into the presence of God in chapter 6 of his book, he became extremely aware of his sinfulness, particularly his “unclean lips.” I am amazed that after all the times I’ve failed Him, all the times I’ve ignored Him, and all the times I’ve refused Him that He still loves me, uses me, and manifests His presence to me.

It is because of this very awareness of not deserving Godliness that one is able to move into a brotherly love. Now that your love for God is increasing, it is now time to love people. “Love God, love people” is the slogan of a vast amount of churches in the U.S. I don’t think there is a thing wrong with this, but it sure is easier said than done. Peter is teaching us here that there are a lot of steps involved before you can truly love people.

Why do Christians love people? Love isn’t something you can fake. You either genuinely do or you don’t. I was unable to for years despite the fact I was supposed to. I’ve learned that when you have any degree of God’s presence on your life, you actually begin to see a person for why they are instead of who they are.

I will give you an embarrassing example that I hate to admit. One time, we got a kid at the alternative school that I just didn’t like right off the bat. I can’t really go into the details about this kid, but let’s just say he had plenty of problems. Well, because of a mistake that I made, he missed his bus. I called home and got permission to bring him home because I felt horrible. He was worried they would blame him for missing it, but I assured him that I’d take all the blame, which I did. After one ride with this kid and one conversation, I understood everything about why he was the way he was. I immediately had a brotherly love for this kid. All he needed in his life was some breaks to actually go his way and he would have been just fine. I went from resenting him and avoiding him to really making a focused effort to help him, get to know him, and pour into his life.

I almost hate to admit this because it sounds so bad, but without God being so good to me, I’m not sure I would have ever chosen to be good to him.

If you are a Christian, show kindness today to someone you don’t think deserves it.

But God demonstrates His own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us. – Romans 5:8

Later

Adam

But also for this very reason, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue, to virtue knowledge, to knowledge self-control, to self-control perseverance, to perseverance godliness, to godliness brotherly kindness, and to brotherly kindness love.  – 2 Peter 1:5-7

At this point in the journey from faith to love, everything changes.  After you have persevered with God for a really difficult season, you become extremely attractive to Him.  I know people say “God is all around us, “ and in a sense, He is, but what I’m talking about here is a whole new ballgame.  He may be around us, but very few are truly aware of it.

For the eyes of the Lord run to and fro throughout the whole Earth, to show Himself strong on behalf of those whose heart is loyal to Him.  – 2 Chronicles 16:9

When you persevere, I mean when you have made up your mind that you will trust Him regardless of any and every “what if” situation that could possibly come your way, He actually shows Himself to you.  I remember the moment like it was yesterday.  I was at Free Chapel Worship Center in Gainesville, GA.  After some really difficult times in my life, I had to decide whether I was going to continue to devote myself to Him.  I had to fully make up my mind to persevere, or in other words show my heart loyal to Him.  He more than showed Himself strong on my behalf.  He gave me what I know now as a very small dose of His Presence, which was as much as I could have taken at the time.  This amazing awareness of His presence was the very beginning of Godliness.

My fancy bible software defines Godliness as this:  Reverence for or devotion to God, producing a practical awareness of God in every aspect of life.

When God knows that you can be trusted to choose Him for better or worse, in sickness and in health, and for richer or for poorer.  Yes, when you make the same covenant with Him you would make in marriage, you begin to receive the greatest gift that this life offers:

Him.

Not His presents, but His presence.  The diligent faith, the doing right, the studying, the putting into practice of what you’ve learned, the controlling of yourself, and the sticking with Him no matter what becomes more than worth it.  Once you get a taste of Him, the very best of anything this planet offers pales in comparison.  There is absolutely nobody and no thing like Him.

Later

Adam

But also for this very reason, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue, to virtue knowledge, to knowledge self-control, to self-control perseverance, to perseverance godliness, to godliness brotherly kindness, and to brotherly kindness love.  – 2 Peter 1:5-7

Every person who confesses faith in the Lord Jesus Christ will come to some huge moment in their life where they will have to choose to continue with God, or turn away from Him altogether.  If you choose to continue on with Him, you will have graduated from self-control, to perseverance.

In John 6:66 the Bible says, “from that time many of his disciples went back and followed him no more.”  Thousands were following Jesus because He had just performed the miracle of feeding them all.  Jesus let them know quickly that He was way more interested in them loving Him as opposed to loving what He could do for them.  They didn’t like that very much, so they walked away from Him.  Herein lies the problem with an overwhelming majority of American Christians.

I remember being in my late 20’s and arriving at this point.  I had professed faith at 16 years old, added virtue at 21 while really starting to devour the Bible and gain knowledge.  I had begun to put this knowledge into practice and develop self-control and say no to a lot of old friends and old ways.  Then, it seemed all of a sudden I had the greatest temptation to go back to my old life.  All I could see was the “fun” my old friends were having.  All I could do was wonder if the entire Christian thing I had been doing up until that point had been a rip-off.  I did not have the luxury of hindsight like I do now.  I had no idea that my greatest blessings were just beyond this wall of perseverance that I was now being tested with.

I would be faced with the same question the original twelve disciples was faced with after watching all those thousands of people follow Jesus no more:  “Do you also want to go away?” (John 6:67)  Their answer was my answer, “To who else shall we go?  You have the words of eternal life.”  (John 6:68)

It really was that simple for me.  I could quit and live for the very, very temporary and fleeting pleasures of this life, or I could persevere and live for something eternal.  I chose and still choose Him.  He has blessed me since that day far beyond measure.  I could almost cry at the very thought that I almost left the only one who loves me so purely and completely.

If you haven’t experienced it yet, it is coming.  Some prayer won’t get answered like you think it should.  Some “minister” or other person who claims to be a Christian will say something that offends you greatly or hurts you immensely.  Something will happen and you will be so mad at God because He did not do what you thought He would do.  He will take something of yours that was “off limits” and you will be disappointed with Him.  Up until this moment, you have built on your faith and you have worked so hard in learning about Him and learning to do right and controlling yourself.  But, the next step remains:  Will you keep on keeping on?  Will you persevere?

I read somewhere that the majority of the “Biggest Losers” gain the majority of their weight back.  They made a commitment to lose the weight, they learned about training and nutrition, and then even developed the self-control it took to execute the program properly.  But, real life got really difficult and they eventually quit living and abiding by those principles that they learned and went back to their former state.

Will you do the same in your walk with God?

“Though He slay me, yet will I trust in Him:” – Job 13:15

Later

Adam