Wednesday Morning Devotional

But without faith it is impossible to please God. – Hebrews 11:6

If there is one prayer that I might have used too much over the years, it is the prayer of protection. I like the words “hedge of protection” in the book of Job. Over the years, these words have made me feel safe and protected from the enemy. At the same time, I believe I have often misinterpreted these words to mean, “keep me comfortable and happy while not making me do anything too difficult.” In that sense, these words have kept me from stepping out in faith.

I think back to the beginning when God wanted me to leave the “popular” lifestyle of partying and hanging out with certain “friends.” I had no idea what was on the other side of all of that. Who would I hang out with? What would I do on the weekends? It was so much easier to just keep on “believing” in God and ask for forgiveness at the end of the day for the junk I did that I know He didn’t approve of.

Stepping out on faith was so costly in the short term. It was lonely. It was incredibly difficult and I thought constantly of quitting. I had no replacement friends for the ones I gave up. But, I did learn in that alone time in the wilderness how to be friends with God. I talked to Him. I read His word. I wrote songs for Him and played them for Him. He was all I felt like I had, so He became my best friend.

Before long, opportunities to publicly declare His word came about. Public speaking was my all time number one fear. My voice would literally and obviously shake if I had to do something as simple as read in front of a group of people. My heart would pound so hard that I wondered if it would come out of my chest. I would just tell Him, “Lord, I can’t do this. Please don’t make me do this.” I had a choice. I could stay protected in my little shell, or I could step out on faith. Fortunately, when I did, God allowed me to crawl before I walked. He allowed me to preach short, simple little devotions to small groups of people and “work my way up” to bigger crowds. Stepping out on faith pleased Him because He sure started to bless me with some wonderful revelations about His Word.

Then came quite a big test: “Will you pastor a church?” I didn’t lack for excuses, “Lord, I only have a handful of sermons. How can I come up with something every week? How will it affect my family? Are you sure you don’t want me to retire from teaching first? Can I answer later?” I had so many reasons to say no. But, this verse resonated with me. All of my questions were about my own abilities. The right question was this: Do I trust You, Lord, who I claim as my God, to supply all that need to do what You have called me to do?

I said, “yes.”

How could I please Him otherwise?

I so want to please Him.

Have you ever stepped out on faith and done something really difficult for Him? I’m talking about something that really takes you out of your comfort zone and everything in you just makes excuses like crazy. If you haven’t, do you really expect Him to say at the end of your life, “Well done, my good and faithful servant”?

Without faith, it is impossible to please God.

Later

Adam

Jesus said to them, “Unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His blood, you have no life in you.”   — John 6:53

I have been attempting to be a preacher now for over 3 years. I have grown so much spiritually in this period of time. As I’ve grown, almost everything I have thought about church has turned upside down. When I was on the outside looking in, I thought a big part of church was having big crowds. I remember certain weeks being reserved for “bring a friend” or “pack a pew.” When I visited the churches with the really big crowds, it was electrifying. I loved it and that seemed to be what everyone should be aspiring to.

Now, before I go on, I do want to say that I don’t believe that there is absolutely anything wrong with any of those things I’ve mentioned.

However, now that I’m on the other side of the pulpit, I’m really questioning the “more people is better” model. Pastors certainly don’t lack for leadership conferences teaching about how to grow your particular church numerically. I even saw one where a famous pastor, for a sizable fee, will personally come and look at how you do things, and then give you steps to “maximize your growth potential.” Doesn’t sound like a bad thing at all . . . except . . .

Jesus was absolutely unconcerned with big crowds following Him. Every single time in the Bible that I read where big crowds started to follow Him, He said something to the tune of the verse I have chosen for this week. Read it again. Thirteen verses later (John 6:66) it says, “From that time, many of His disciples followed Him no more.”

They quit, and it appears that He made no effort to persuade them otherwise.

Why?

Maybe He wasn’t interested in people following Him simply for what He could do for them. Maybe He was more interested in people desiring His presence, not His presents. After all, when He said those words in John 6:53, He had just fed over 15,000 people on very little food. The people liked that trick and wanted Him to perform it again. When He told them that two-letter word nobody likes to hear, “no,” they simply said, “Forget this and forget Him.”

Surely we see that the American version of Christianity isn’t much different. Watch the numbers decrease in the church if an “inferior” pastor replaces the old one. Watch people never come back because you changed the style of music. Watch how many find someplace else if you do something as simple as change service times. If leaders want to keep crowds, they had better not be inconvenient.

Then again, maybe they should. At least then, just like Jesus, they would know who is there for the right reasons.

Later

Adam

Behold, to obey is better than to sacrifice, and to heed than the fat of rams.  – 1 Samuel 15:22 (NKJV)

In the context of this verse, King Saul had an assignment.  He was to utterly destroy the nation of the Amalekites.  He partially obeyed.  Anything or anyone he thought was valuable, he simply kept for himself.  When confronted by Samuel the prophet, he justified his actions by saying he only did it so he could make a big sacrifice to the Lord.  Samuel let him know really quickly something that many Christians need to learn today:  Partial obedience is disobedience.

Saul honestly thought that he could just kill a bunch of animals on the altar and God would approve.  He thought sin was something to arbitrarily be declared as pardoned and then you could just move on.  He didn’t realize there was a real cost involved.  Most American Christians, like Saul, don’t realize it either.

So many people who claim Christianity think the greatest sacrifice is simply going to church.  Others think it is to put money in the offering plate.  Many believe that God actually desires the sacrifice of their time and money.  They actually believe it makes Him “happy” and okay with us.  Therefore, we behave as we wish, then believe our sacrifices cancel out our disobedience.

Samuel’s words teach us otherwise.

Many Israelites lost respect for the sacrificial lambs and forgot their purpose.  The point was that a sinner could transfer his sin onto the lamb and be declared clean.  However, since the innocent lamb was now tainted with its owner’s sin, it had to be destroyed.  The wages of sin is death, and it still is.

Therefore, we don’t simply ask to be forgiven over and over and keep living as we wish.  When we sin we contemplate our actions.  When convicted, and when we repent, we place our sin upon Jesus, our Passover Lamb.  Hear Him cry out, “My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?”  Why is He saying such words?  He had never known sin.  He had never known what it was like to be separated from God the Father.  But He sure knows on the cross at this moment.  Why?  Because He has your sin and my sin placed upon Him.

Makes it a little more serious doesn’t it?  More than that, it makes me not want to sin.  I don’t want to hurt my Savior any more.  Why would I disobey Him knowing that if I want to be made right with Him, I must heap even more sin upon Him who I claim to love?  I pray it never be so.  For I have hurt Him enough with my foolishness and willful disobedience.

As we enter this Holy week, please don’t take it lightly.  God does not delight in church attendance and offerings.  I have learned that these two tools have been used to bless me more than anything else.  Shame on me that I have thought that my misery while “suffering” through a boring church service was His delight.  Shame on me that I have thought that He actually wanted my money. He is so good; He simply didn’t want money to have me.

He is the same yesterday, today, and forever.

He still desires obedience . . . not sacrifice.

I have learned that when I obey, even if it is insanely difficult and it is the last thing I want to do or feel like doing, the person who ends up blessed the most . . . is me.

Happy Easter

Adam

Threefold Salvation: Past, Present, and Future

Then they cried out to the Lord in their trouble, and He saved them. – Psalm 107:13

It seems that the American church is consumed with initial salvation. We love to count the number of hands raised, the number of checks in the “yes” box, or the number of people who come forward to the altar. I think all that is great, but at best, those things represent a seed being received and planted. Jesus Himself says you simply need to watch what happens to the seed. Some will be scorched quickly, weeds will choke others out, and some will actually produce at different levels (Matthew 13). I liken it to the first step of a marathon; Just because you took the first step 20 years ago, does not mean you are anywhere near the finish line.

Jesus Christ, who gave Himself for our sins that He might deliver us from this present age. – Galatians 1:4

Here is the thing: No matter how long you have been saved, you are still presently being saved. I am calling things sin in my life right now that if you had told me was a sin at the starting gate, I might have just said no to it all. I would have thought that salvation is impossible, so why even try? I didn’t know back then that the only step I needed to be conscious of was the one right in front of me.

But he who endures to the end shall be saved. – Matthew 24:13

Jesus says times will get tougher and tougher for the believer. As time goes on, being a Christian is becoming more and more difficult (not that it was ever easy). Many are pointing fingers at us, calling us names, and seeing us as the primary cause of the world’s problems. We are now known to many of the unbelieving world as xenophobes, misogynists, and bigots simply for believing the Bible. These labels have already cost many their livelihood here in the US. Christians in the Middle East and other countries aren’t as fortunate; they are dying brutal deaths for their faith in Jesus Christ. (See http://www.persecution.com)

Thank God when I am weak, He proves Himself strong. I have doubted Him and chickened out on Him so many times over the course of my life. Sometimes I can despair about this, but time and time again He proves that He will never leave me nor forsake me. I’m not going to say I’ve never thought about quitting because I have. But, every time I think about it, Peter’s question comes to mind: “Lord, to whom shall we go?” (John 6:68)

What religion, belief system, or non-belief system would I possibly trade Him for?

He has proven Himself faithful to me over and over for the past 25 years. His presence is the absolute greatest joy in my life. How could I possibly abandon the one person who has never failed me and never wronged me?

Lord, help me stay strong. Help me endure to the end.

Amen

Adam

And the Earth was without form and void . . . – Genesis 1:2

Three years and four months ago, God gave me an Isaiah 6-like experience. I didn’t know it then, but I know now that He was preparing me to preach His Word. I have asked ever since then for understanding of why He would place such a mantle on my life. I think I now know, and I believe the words I am about to write can help all believers who take the time to read this.

When I first started preaching, it was out of a pure heart with pure motives. I didn’t know a tenth of what I know now, but I knew God could convict and change hearts. I would walk through these open doors where people would asked me to preach and basically teach what I’ve heard others preach. I didn’t really know how to let the Bible be the middleman for all of my preaching material, so I used the material of others. I preached a lot of stuff that I would never preach now.

As I learned to study the Bible, God would blow me away with some of the stuff I saw in His word. I would then try to figure out ways to spin it all into a sermon that would blow others away when I preached it. For the most part, I got an excellent response every time that I preached. This sounds like a good thing, right? Well, it was, with one exception. I began to like man’s praise. In fact, it became my measuring stick for how well I did. If I didn’t get patted on the back with a “really good word, Adam, God will make you a great preacher one day,” I thought I had failed.

Anyway, one day, I thought about John the Baptist’s words, “I must decrease, and He must increase.” (John 3:30) John had a mega-church going. People came from miles around to hear his message. Nobody was preaching like the wild man in the wilderness wearing camel’s hair and eating locusts dipped in wild honey. Then, one day, Jesus came, and John turned all the attention over to Him. He still had his ministry, but it greatly diminished.

Before my Isaiah 6-like experience, had God made me a preacher, I would have joined the mega race. I would have done whatever it took to be the biggest, to have the best, and basically make sure everything we did was top notch in the world’s eyes. After my experience, I didn’t care if I was ever put out front again. I just wanted to live my life being as close to the King of King’s and Lord of Lord’s as was humanly possible.

Hence, Genesis 1:2. Twenty-two years after becoming a Christian, I finally got it (I’m kind of slow). Up until that point, I didn’t mind living for the Name of Jesus as long as my name was famous along side of His. I didn’t mind giving Him glory, so long as I got a little taste of it as well. The age-old sin of pride still flowed through my veins. But on that day, I became formless and void. This may sound like a bad place to be, but there is actually no place better.

When you lay down all your pride and all your ambition. When you lay down all your wants and desires. When you come to a place where you want only Jesus, and not Jesus and anything else, at that point you have become formless and void. You finally become a canvas on which God can paint. In the creation story, the Earth was formed, and then the Earth was filled. Would to God that every individual, especially the ones who claim Christianity, would go through the same process.

Lord, the sin and pride that lives within us is always looking to take control. We think we know better than You and admit that You are way too often our last resort. Even then, we only come to You because all of our options are gone and our plans didn’t work. Make us formless and void. Help us to realize the futility of trying to build out of our own effort. Help us to empty ourselves of pride and that need to really be somebody in this world. Show us what abundant life really looks like and remove the American version from our hearts. Create in us a clean heart that can receive as much of You as humanly possible. Renew in us a right spirit that only wants what You want and desires only that which You desire. You see the end from the beginning and there is no one like You.

Amen.

Adam

Let us not neglect meeting together, as some have made a habit, but let us encourage one another, and all the more as we see the Day approaching.  – Hebrews 10:25

I know that the Church is not a building, but it is the place where we American Christians assemble for the most part.  When we think of church, we think of one of the 10 or so places that we drive by on our way to work.  In some countries, church means a secret assembly that might get you killed if you get caught. 

For Americans, there are a plethora of reasons that people (and I mean the ones who say they are Christians) do not attend.  I just read a Facebook post where a person was trashing the church (or maybe it was just a church) because it wasn’t to his or her liking.  Not enough Holy stuff and basically just too much fluff.  Some have told me that Sunday is their day to rest.  Many have just plain told me it was boring and they just didn’t get a lot out of it.  I guess if one really doesn’t want to do something, he or she will find a reason to not do it.

I have been through all of these stages.  I’ve not gone to church to play golf, go to the lake, make money, and sleep in.  I’ve not gone to church because someone hurt my feelings.  I even had this “holier than thou” phase where I criticized everything and everybody.  That actually was kind of miserable. 

I say all that to say this:  This past Sunday, something shifted where I go to church.  I have been preaching that church is not a place to come and feel good, but a place to come and be equipped with Christ growing inside of you.  If you have Him, your appetites change, your desires change, and you want what He wants.  Much like a woman’s cravings change when a child is growing inside of her.

I have been asking the members to do a weekly devotional at home with their family.  There hasn’t been a whole lot of response to doing that . . . until this past week.  I actually didn’t do our family devotion this past week, but at least 5 hands were raised when asked if they did their family devotion this week and prayed for another family in the church.  I asked them whom they prayed for.  As they said the names of the family they prayed for, I saw them just light up.  It was amazing.   We ended the service huddling our families and praying for our own family and one other family.

I have never in all the years I’ve attended church felt more of a sense of family.  I really felt for a moment that we were a group of people who looked after one another and cared for one another. 

I think I got a glimpse of what it is all supposed to be.  

Lord, thank you for molding Lifeline Community Church and many other wonderful churches in our county and country.  I pray that you will be the center of it all.  I pray that we will become real church families who really look after each other in prayer and in providing for needs.  If the unbelieving world saw a true picture of how you really are, they would not be able to resist the assembly of the church.  Help us be more like you and a whole lot less like the world.  Amen.

Later

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Adam

Today’s WMD was written by my friend, Mickey Cox.
“In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.” 1 Thessalonians 5:18

“I am Sam. I am Sam. Sam-I-Am.
That Sam-I-Am! That Sam-I-Am! I do not like that Sam-I-Am!
Do you like green eggs and ham?
I do not like them, Sam-I-Am.
I do not like green eggs and ham.
Would you like them here or there?
I would not like them here or there.
I would not like them anywhere.
I do not like green eggs and ham.
I do not like them, Sam-I-Am…”

Pretty much this excerpt from Dr. Seuss’ book Green Eggs and Ham describes my feelings toward cancer and radiation treatments. It’s been difficult to have an attitude and spirit of thankfulness. How does one be thankful for cancer? It sounds pretty crazy to me! It’s not “normal.” Let’s take a look at Corrie Ten Boom and how she developed an attitude of thankfulness during a very hard time in her life. The following story can be found at:

https://www.khouse.org/enews_article/2009/1544/print/

“In her book The Hiding Place, Corrie Ten Boom tells of a time she discovered that God was working even in the most horrific circumstances.
Corrie and her sister Betsie had been imprisoned by the Nazis for hiding Jews behind the wall of their Holland home, and Nazi prison conditions pretty well unbearable.

Corrie writes:

“Barracks 8 was in the quarantine compound. Next to us–perhaps as a deliberate warning to newcomers–were located the punishment barracks. From there, all day long and often into the night, came the sounds of hell itself. They were not the sounds of anger, or of any human emotion, but of a cruelty altogether detached: blows landing in regular rhythm, screams keeping pace. We would stand in our ten-deep ranks with our hands trembling at our sides, longing to jam them against our ears, to make the sounds stop.

“It grew harder and harder. Even within these four walls there was too much misery, too much seemingly pointless suffering. Every day something else failed to make sense, something else grew too heavy.”

Yet, in the midst of the suffering, the women prisoners around Corrie and Betsie found comfort in the little Bible studies they held in the barracks. Corrie writes they gathered around the Bible “like waifs clustered around a blazing fire…The blacker the night around us grew, the brighter and truer and more beautiful burned the Word of God.”
When they were moved to Barracks 28, Corrie was horrified by the fact that their reeking, straw-bed platforms swarmed with fleas. How could they live in such a place?

It was Betsie who discovered God’s answer:

“‘”Rejoice always, pray constantly, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus.” That’s it, Corrie! That’s His answer. “Give thanks in all circumstances!” That’s what we can do. We can start right now to thank God for every single thing about this new barracks!’

“I stared at her; then around me at the dark, foul-aired room…”

They thanked God for the fact they were together. They thanked God they had a Bible. They even thanked God for the horrible crowds of prisoners, that more people would be able to hear God’s Word. And then, Betsie thanked God for the fleas.
“The fleas! This was too much. ‘Betsie, there’s no way even God can make me grateful for a flea.’

“‘”Give thanks in all circumstances,”‘ she quoted. ‘It doesn’t say, “in pleasant circumstances.” Fleas are part of this place where God has put us.’

“And so we stood between tiers of bunks and gave thanks for fleas. But this time I was sure Betsie was wrong.”

It turned out that Betsie was not wrong; the fleas were a nuisance, but a blessing after all. The women were able to have Bible studies in the barracks with a great deal of freedom, never bothered by supervisors coming in and harassing them. They finally discovered that it was the fleas that kept those supervisors out.

Through those fleas, God protected the women from abuse and harassment. Dozens of desperate women were free to hear the comforting, hope-giving Word of God. Through those fleas, God protected the women from much worse things and made sure they had their deepest, truest needs met.

We all have “fleas” in our lives. We all have those things that we can see no use for, things that are obviously horrible, unpleasant, painful things that we want gone. No life is free of “fleas”, but if Corrie and Betsie can be our examples, God can use even these nasty insects for our protection and blessing. Let’s thank God for His constant care and provision, and for His hidden blessings that come in ways we can easily overlook.”

So…..has Mickey thanked God for cancer and radiation treatments? Yes I have and I know that because God is faithful and His Word and promises are true that ” … all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.” Romans 8:28

I’m eagerly anticipating to see how God will use this for my good and for His Glory!

Developing Thankfulness,

Mickey

Among Thorns

The seed falling among thorns refers to someone who hears the word, but the cares of this life and the deceitfulness of riches choke out the word, making it unfruitful.  – Matthew 13:22

I am now the pastor of a church.  For some reason, after three years, I am still coming to grips with this.  Anyway, I’ve always said that if I ever did become the pastor of a church, I’d want to be the pastor of a real one.   What I mean is a group of people (I don’t care if it is 50 or 5,000) who really do Christianity.  I’m talking about people who are disciples of Jesus Christ.  I’m talking about people who would risk their reputations, their jobs, and even their lives for His Name’s sake. 

Yet, the majority of the people sitting in churches calling themselves Christians refuse to deny themselves sexual pleasure outside of marriage.  The majority of American Christians would choose a million dollar scratch-off ticket over Him any day of the week.  Most Americans who call themselves Christians have zero control over their anger and even less control over the cuss words flying out of our mouths.  (These last two things you are to remove yourself, God doesn’t wave a magic wand and take them away . . . see Colossians 3:8)  Denial of one’s self is absolutely fundamental to following Christ.

The fruits of the spirit are love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. 

So what is choking out the fruit? 

Well, Jesus says it is the cares of this life and the deceitfulness of wealth.  I know for too many years as a Christian, the cares of this life killed my fruit.  I cared about everything more than Him.  Sports, girlfriends, television, video games, movies, and just about every other form of entertainment kept me from God.  For five years after becoming a Christian, I said I didn’t have time to read the Bible.  Yet, I can quote from probably 50 movies that came out during that time period and sing word for word countless secular songs.  

Now, unlike Eddie Money (or Billy Satellite), I don’t wanna go back and do it all over.  I’m glad everything led me to where I am right now at this moment in time.  I love the Lord.  I’ve never felt closer to Him.  But, I see so many caught in the same trap that I was.  Many of you reading this may be in that trap.  My prayer is that this WMD helps you recognize it and it wakes you up.  You do have time to spend with God.  In fact, by NOT spending time with Him, you are choking out the fruit He wants to produce in you.  If you aren’t producing fruit, nobody will want the Jesus you claim to have.

Figure out your weeds and pull them. 

It is purity that produces power to make a real difference in this world.

Later

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Adam