Wednesday Morning Devotional

A Second Touch

They came to Bethsaida, and some people brought a blind man and begged Jesus to touch him. He took the blind man by the hand and led him outside the village. When he had spit on the man’s eyes and put his hands on him, Jesus asked, “Do you see anything?” He looked up and said, “I see people; they look like trees walking around.”  — Mark 8:23-24

So, some people bring a blind guy to Jesus.  Jesus spits on the guy’s eyes (good thing he was blind), and puts his hands on him.  Then, Jesus asks “Do you see anything?”  These questions always mess with me.  When Jesus does this, you know that He is trying to teach us something.  You know and I know that He knows the answer.  It’s kind of like those goofy math teachers that ask if a problem is correct…oh…that would be me.

Well, the guy was NOT like one of the other blind men healed by Jesus that just jump up and down, hoot and holler, and run off telling everyone what Jesus had done for him.  He simply says “I see people; they look like trees walking around.”  What in the world just happened?

Here’s the deal.  The guy knew that something had happened to him.  He was glad to be touched.  However, he was not completely delivered.  He only got half-healed.  His sight was not clear…yet!

I believe this is a picture of where so many Christians are right now.  Sure, you know you’ve been saved, you can even pin-point the moment that Jesus touched your life in an awesome way.  Something definitely happened to you.  However, you just still feel a little bit defeated.  You aren’t like the other people that God touched who seem to be thriving, making a difference, and seem to have this all-the-time joy that you don’t have.  Let me go ahead and tell you, it’s because you need a second touch!

Check out verse 25: Once more Jesus put his hands on the man’s eyes.  Then his eyes were opened, his sight was restored, and he saw everything clearly!

Today, will you dare to tell Jesus that you believe you’ve only been half healed?  Ask Him to give you a second touch from His mighty hand.  Tell Him you are willing to give up whatever it is that you are doing that displeases Him.  Tell Him there is nothing more important in your life than Him and His presence.  Receive His forgiveness for your complacency.

It may be that He opened  your eyes the exact same amount that you were willing to surrender.  For example, if you asked Him to forgive you but you knew there was junk in your life that you were going to hold on to, then you were holding back on Him.  Now, He saved you, I don’t want to make this sound like a light thing.  But, if you only half-committed to Him, your eyes may be only half-opened.  Just maybe you are not experiencing total sight.

To this day, I am being convicted of “little” stuff in my life that I have justified as okay.   Some stuff I can’t find in the Bible as being wrong, so it must be okay, right?  WRONG!  I realized pretty quickly that I have got to stop this “find a verse” mentality.  If I am looking for a verse, or the absence of one, to justify my behavior, well it’s probably just plain wrong.  Here’s the cool part though:  Do you know what happens every single time I choose to lay another sin down at His feet?  He opens my eyes even more.  He fills my heart even more with His Spirit.  He gives me cooler stuff to write and preach.

Listen, all I’m saying to do today is examine how much of your life you have surrendered to Him.  On a scale from 1 to 10, 1 is no surrender, 10 is totally surrendered.  Where are you?  What is the number?

If it’s 1 through 9, consider the fact that you might see men as trees walking around.   What is keeping you from seeing clearly?  You know you’ve been touched, but man, you don’t want to live the rest of your life not completely being able to see.

Today and the rest of your tomorrows, give Him your 10 and see!

Later

Adam

Do not be yoked together with unbelievers. For what do righteousness and wickedness have in common? Or what fellowship can light have with darkness?  — 2 Corinthians 6:14

Spring is finally in the air.  The last nine weeks of school is finally upon us.  Over the years I have discovered a strange thing that happens when Springtime comes…boys and girls start boyfriend/girlfriend relationships like crazy.  Sure, some have been together all along, but many will get these new relationships started in the next month or so.  I remember “back in the day” that I was no different.  Along with Spring seems to come, well, love…or at least what our culture tells us is love.

Over the decades, many have used our main verse for today to teach horrible things.  It has been used as a manipulative tool to promote racism.  Today, I want to suggest a little different take on the words “unequally yoked.”  I don’t really think it has anything to do with the types of animals being yoked, but the pace at which they work.  If one pulls at a faster pace than the other, the plow will simply go in circles.

Now, you know as well as I do that just because someone says they are a Christian does not mean that they are.  Even the Bible says there are wolves in sheep’s clothing.  I don’t mean that to bash anyone in particular, but I see relationships all the time that people think are okay because their partner claims to be a Christian.   In some wrong relationships, parents see that the other person is wrong for them, teachers see it, other family members see it, even friends see it, but the person in the relationship just does not want to see it.  They are blinded by what they believe is love.  Years, months, weeks, and sometimes just days later the blinded person does not even need an “I told you so“ because their crushed heart reminds them constantly.

I am going to tell you how to invest in a rock solid marriage.  Yes, even if you are an unmarried teenager, you are investing in your marriage right now.  Just like a retirement account thrives on good financial decisions up until the point of retirement, a good marriage is based on solid moral decisions up until the day of your marriage.  You can’t live recklessly and expect that it all goes away once you say “I do.”

I believe there are only two things you need to do.  I did not do either during my teenage years, but I hope maybe one or two of you will do what I wish I would have done.  First, you have to learn to be completely content by yourself.  I feel so sorry for the girls and boys I see at school that need someone so desperately.  They constantly fill the void in their hearts with that “feeling” of love.  Unfortunately, it wears off really quickly, and they quickly look for the next guy or girl who will give them their next fix.  You must learn to be completely content without being connected to some boyfriend or girlfriend.  I would suggest taking the “one year challenge.”  If you are single, pick a date and agree to have absolutely no romantic relationships for one year.  You will be amazed at how this clears your mind and heart and frees you to think clearly.  I know…I’ve actually done this one.

During this time, you need to pursue God as hard as you possibly can.  Fill your mind with the Word of God.  This needs to be done through every resource possible:  A church (that you really enjoy), a small group, accountability partners, sermons on tape (if you remember those), sermons on TV, downloaded sermons, reading the Bible, listening to the Bible (You Version), praise and worship music, prayer, fasting…you name it.  Pull out all the stops and hold nothing back.

After one year of this, you will have completely cleared your heart and mind,  You have laid your foundation to truly build your house on the Rock.  Now, you won’t be looking for a partner to fill the void within your heart, God has already filled it.  Now, you will be ready to give to another person and add to the quality of their life as opposed to subtracting what you want from them to get your temporary fix.

If you take these steps, you will be ready for God to bring you the person He has in mind for you.  The process is simple from here.  Simply look around you and find the person who is pursuing God at the same pace.  Refuse to be unequally yoked.

I do understand that almost nobody does it this way.  But, maybe that’s why the Bible calls it “the narrow path.”

Later

Adam

Purification

Therefore, since we have these promises, dear friends, let us purify ourselves from everything that contaminates body and spirit, perfecting holiness out of reverence for God.  — 2 Corinthians 7:1

To me, this verse says very simply “you are clean…now get clean.”  How in the world do we do that?

The first part says “since we have these promises…”  What promises?  Well, the verse right before chapter 7 says “I will be a Father to you, and you will be my sons and daughters.”  That’s pretty cool!  We are His children!  I would say that other promises are eternal life, forgiveness for sins, a clean heart and the indwelling of the Holy Spirit  Basically, He has handed us perfection, He has given us forgiveness, and He has given us extravagant, undeserved mercy.  We did absolutely nothing on our own to purchase, buy, or earn His forgiveness, it was freely given to us simply because we chose to believe in Jesus and receive His forgiveness.  How cool is that?

Now, since we have these promises, what should we do?  Well, finish the verse:  “let us purify ourselves from everything that contaminates body and spirit, perfecting holiness out of reverence for God.”  To me, the first part of the verse involves what only God can do, the second part is a little more tricky.  Basically, because God did what He did, we are now capable of purifying ourselves.  If you truly understand what Christ did for you when you asked Him for mercy, you will not only be able to do this…you will want to do this!

Understand that I have no idea what this looks like for you.  Every person’s story is different.  However, I know what it looks like for me.  In no way am I saying I am done with the purification process.  I just want to let you in on my process of purification up to this point in my life in the hope that it will somehow help you with yours.

The first 5 years I was saved there was absolutely no spiritual growth.  In fact, I did the opposite of this verse.  I did things to contaminate my body as well as things that contaminate my spirit.  You would think that after being saved that I just wouldn’t have gone there.  I did know better.  In fact, I didn’t have to be purified from a whole lot of bad things because I had never done them.  Well, I would spend the first 5 years of being saved making sure I had things from which I needed to be purified.

Now that I look back, I think it all stemmed from one simple, but MAJOR misconception.  I thought that I was only saved from Hell.  I didn’t realize that God wanted to save me from sexual immorality.  It never occurred to me that He didn’t want me to bring a whole bunch of filth into my marriage…NEVER once did I even consider that.  I didn’t realize that the video games and music that I fed my mind with actually built this barrier between me and God.  I honestly didn’t think singing about being on a “Highway to Hell” was a conflict of interest to my spirit.  The more religious people told me I couldn’t listen to it…the more I wanted to, and the more I did.  To this day, I have never seen a religious person’s list of manmade rules change one heart…not one.

None of this turned around for me until I actually started to read my Bible.  Approximately 5 years after being saved, I decided to pick it up and actually read it.  I took me 15 months to read the whole thing.  Honestly, I understood probably 1 percent of it.  But, I could not deny that something had happened inside me.  I had this new connection with God.  I began to fight sexual immorality, stuff I used to listen to started to grieve my spirit, certain words just wouldn’t come out of my mouth…things just changed.  I can honestly say I didn’t willfully on my own change a thing…Jesus changed me.

So, what is the best way to purify ourselves?  Well, you have to identify the contaminants first.  It’s two simple questions.  Does this contaminate my body?  And, does this contaminate my spirit?  My latest body contaminant was food.  I went on a nice eating spree that packed on about 15 pounds in a few short months.  I have since lost it.  But, it did reveal how I was on a serious road to contaminating my body.  My latest spiritual contaminant was movies.  Understand that I am not saying “I’m holier than you so you need to do as I do.”  I am simply saying this:  My wife and I used to be movie buffs.  We watched anything and everything that looked entertaining.  Well, I was reading my Bible, continuing to grow in His Word, and we went to see what ended up being a very vulgar movie. For the first time, every time I heard the Lord’s name taken in vain, and every time they boasted of their sexual immorality, I felt contaminated.  On the way home, Tonya and I talked about how we can’t let that stuff filter through us any more.  Nobody made us, it was just a change of heart.

Please understand this:  I am not saying “don’t watch bad movies” and “don’t listen to AC/DC.”  If I did say that, I would be just like the religious people I couldn’t stand who gave me my long lists of “thou shalt” and “thou shalt not.”  I know their intentions were probably good, it just didn’t help.  Instead of giving me the lists, I wish they had told me this: “Adam, spend as much time with the Lord as possible.”  I wish they had told me something simple like “read 1 chapter of the Bible a day.  If you skip a day or two, or even a week or a month, don‘t worry about it…God’s NOT mad at you, just start back.”  Maybe they could have said “take 3 to 5 minutes of every day and make sure there is total silence…simply focus on God and talk to Him.”  These are totally reasonable and totally doable requests.  I realize now that these things were like pure, clean water running through my spirit.  The more this clean water continues to run through my spirit, the easier it is for me to recognize what is unclean.  Now, I don’t have to have some religious person telling me to “stop this” and “stop that.”  When God reveals my sin, I absolutely want to stop.  Sometimes it takes longer than even I think it should, but with His help…sin always gets defeated, victory is won, and there winds up being more room for His Presence in my heart and life.  What a wonderful trade!

I say all that to say this:  In order to purify yourself, don’t focus on behavior modification…just focus on Him.

Therefore, since we have these promises, dear friends, let us purify ourselves from everything that contaminates body and spirit, perfecting holiness out of reverence for God.

Later

Adam

“God saw all that He made, and it was very good.”  — Genesis 1:31

“The man has now become like one of us, knowing good and evil.” — Genesis 3:22

“When Adam sinned, sin entered the world.  Adam’s sin brought death, so death spread to everyone, for everyone sinned.” — Romans 5:12

“Yes, Adam’s one sin brings condemnation for everyone, but Christ’s one act of righteousness brings a right relationship with God and new life for everyone.”  — Romans 5:18

I like the flow of these four verses.  They are the foundational worldview of true Christians.  Man was made good.  Man chose to disobey God.  Sin entered our DNA.  Christ redeemed us from sin.

This Easter, I want to share my little girl’s testimony with you.  I know she is only six years old and you might be thinking “what in the world could be her testimony?”  Well, I’m glad you asked.

It all started one day after Good News Club which takes place after school on Tuesdays.  She brought home these little cards that showed a black heart, which meant full of sin, and a white heart, which meant clean and forgiven.  She looked at me and asked me “Daddy, what color is my heart?”

Now, I am no different than most people.  I wanted to believe at birth that my baby was perfect.  I wanted to believe that there were no flaws in her.  I’m sure I even called her “beautiful and perfect.”  At that moment, everything in me wanted to tell her “baby, your heart is white because you are mine!”  But, that is not what the Bible teaches.  The Bible teaches that she, along with me and everyone else is sinful at birth.  Just check out Psalm 51:5.  So, I told her the truth.  “Baby, your heart…is black.”

Tears welled up in her eyes and she started crying.  It broke my heart.  “Daddy, what do I have to do to make my heart white?”  I couldn’t help but think of the Philippian jailer in Acts 16:30, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?”  And, of course, I couldn’t help but think of the answer in the next verse, “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and you will be saved.”

So, I just went for it.  I told her she had to ask for forgiveness.  She had to ask Jesus into her heart so He could make it white.  I asked her if she wanted to make it white.  She said yes.  So she prayed to God the words I gave her.

“Jesus, I’m sorry for my sinful heart.  Will you make it white?  Come into my heart.  Help me live for you for the rest of my life.  Amen.”

Caroline looks at me and says “Is my heart white now daddy?”

“Yes, baby!  Why do you think it is white?”

“Because Jesus forgives me?”

“Yes.”

To this day, I remind her over and over of that moment.  The day her heart was made white.  When she does wrong, she sometimes wonders if her heart is still black.  I just remind her that her heart is not white because of what she does, but because of what Jesus did for her.  One of the coolest things that came out of this was her great concern for her little brother.  She begged me to “make Jameson pray the prayer of forgiveness.”  I tried to tell her for weeks that God would convict him of his black heart just like He did her.  That wasn’t good enough, so a few months later, I had Jameson repeat the words of her prayer.

“Does Jameson have a white heart now?”

“Yes, baby, he does.”

“Good.”

Happy Easter

Adam

Rise Up (Part 3)

And he slew an Egyptian, a man of great stature, five cubits high; and in the Egyptian’s hand was a spear like a weaver’s beam; and he went down to him with a staff, and plucked the spear out of the Egyptian’s hand, and slew him with his own spear. — 1 Chronicles 11:23

Benaiah killed a huge Egyptian.  This is listed as his last great exploit for which he had become famous.  It also gives us some insight as to how he did it.  Benaiah purposefully went out to fight him with an inferior weapon, a staff.  NIV says “a club.”  The Egyptian had a mighty spear.  Anybody watching would have realized that Benaiah was smaller and fighting with an inferior weapon.  I could go into why Benaiah did this, but by now you’ve probably figured it out.  Benaiah  was simply continuing to pattern his life after David.  He remembered that David fought Goliath with a sling and a stone…a much inferior weapon (or so everyone thought) to Goliath’s sword, which was probably as big as David.  Anyone betting on the fight would have put their money on Goliath.

Today, the world would look at me and laugh…in fact, I have a few that do.  I have learned in 21 years as a Christian to fight with the Word of God.  Incidentally, the Bible calls the Word of God the “Sword of the Spirit.”  (Ephesians 6:17)  This is my weapon of choice.  The Devil is much bigger than me.  He is more powerful than me.  Before I picked my Sword up, he brutalized me.  He constantly brought up my past.  He used hatred, alcohol, pre-marital sex, pornography, discontent and greed to constantly beat me down.  Anybody watching the fight would have put their money on the devil.

Then, one day, I don’t really when it was, I picked up my Sword with the intent of actually using it.  I think I heard the Devil laugh at me in pretty much the same way that Goliath laughed at David.  I read that “He who is in me is greater than he that is in the world.” (1 John 4:4)  It told me that I was God’s child and I could be one who overcomes this world.    Evil, along with the worldly ways that told me I had to have the best of everything and have it right now slowly but surely began to lose out to God’s word.  I began to follow Jesus.  I began to actually do what the Bible teaches.  The more I read, the more I loved Him.  The more I loved Him, the more I wanted to do what was right.  The more I did what was right, the more the devil ran out of fuel to tell me how much I had failed God and let me know how angry God was at me.

I think that was the best part.  I no longer had to do what was right to keep a judgmental, angry God from being mad at me.  I began to want to serve a God who was quick to show mercy to us extremely vulnerable and frail human beings.  I wanted to serve Him.  I saw Jesus as He really was, not filtered through the words of Satan.

So what does all this mean for me and you today?  It means there are battles to be fought.  It means that there is sin to overcome.  It means there are demonic powers that would love to make us a casualty of war.  Sounds kind of scary doesn’t it?  Fortunately, I still have my weapon of choice.  People may call me “simple minded” and say that I‘m “unable to think for myself,” but so far, the Word of God has stood the test of time.  There is nothing, and I mean absolutely nothing that I have applied to my life that I got from reading the Bible that has not worked!  I see no reason to think it is going to stop working any time soon.

Pick up your sword…read it…live it!

Rise up ye mighty men and women of God!

Later

Adam

Rise up (Part 2)

He also went down into a pit on a snowy day and killed a lion. —  1 Chronicles 11:22

After killing two of Moab’s best men, the Bible records that Benaiah went down into a pit on a snowy day and killed a lion.  Why?  Well, remember that Benaiah was using David’s life as a pattern for his own life.  Even though he had probably witnessed the slaying of Goliath with his own eyes, he also heard the stories.  Someone told Benaiah that they heard as a young shepherd, David killed a lion while protecting his flock.  Well, Benaiah wasn’t a shepherd, so he got this idea:  I will go find me a lion and kill it.  This brings about 3 points that I would like to share with you.

First, it was in a pit.  This is a very inconvenient place.  Not only is it dark, it is the enemy’s territory.  It will absolutely never be convenient for us to serve the Lord.  This world is enemy territory.  The devil is still the prince of the power of the air (Ephesians 2:2) and he utilizes that power against us mightily.  Some say “when I get out of school, I’ll serve him.”  Others say “If I can just get this new job, it will be easier to serve Him.”  Others might even say “If I can just marry this man, I will be able to honor the Lord.”  Some might even say “If I can just divorce this woman, it will be easier to honor God.”  Whatever the excuse…it is never going to be easy to serve God.  Never.

Second, it was on a snowy day.  Visibility was  bad, and it would have been a million times easier to stay inside where it was more comfortable.  Visibility here on Earth is bad.  All we can see is today.  We can reflect on what happened yesterday, but we honestly have no clue what tomorrow, or even the rest of this day is going to bring.  Perhaps this is why James says “Now listen, you who say, ‘Today or tomorrow we will go to this or that city, spend a year there, carry on business and make money.’ Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes. Instead, you ought to say, ‘If it is the Lord’s will, we will live and do this or that.’  As it is, you boast in your arrogant schemes. All such boasting is evil.”  (James 4:13-16)  Today is the day of salvation.  No more excuses.  If you don’t serve the Lord on purpose each and every day, it’s never going to get more convenient than today.

Last, and this is the best part, he hunted and killed the lion.  Nobody goes looking for a lion, especially in that day where high powered rifles were non-existent.  The Bible says “Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.”  (1 Peter 5:8)  What if we turned it around today?  What if instead of living our lives out of control and being completely oblivious to an enemy that is waiting to prey on our weakness, we went on a hunt?  What if we hunted the lion instead of waiting on him to devour us?

I don’t know about you, but I get tired of the devil bringing me down.  I get tired of him pushing me and my family around.  Through Christ…I have the power.  Remember the words?

Lead me not into temptation, but deliver me from the evil one. (Matthew 6:13)

It’s not that I’m that strong, but He who is in me is!  He has overcome this world. (John 16:33)

If you seek to honestly live for Him every day that you exist, I think Benaiah teaches us that it‘s time to go hunting!

Lord, thank you for the cross that gives me access to Your mighty power.  I cancel the devil’s assignment on me, my family, my school, and my friends!  I pray everywhere that I walk today that demonic powers have to dive under my feet as I crush them with every step I take.  Help me stay self-controlled and alert for the rest of my days.  Thank you with all my heart.

Later

Adam

Rise Up You Mighty Man!

Benaiah son of Jehoiada was a valiant fighter from Kabzeel, who performed great exploits. He struck down two of Moab’s best men.  — 1 Chronicles 11:22

Here I come, I’m bout to rise up — Disciple

Benaiah, to me, is the baddest dude (other than Jesus) in the Bible.  The first great exploit that King David gave him credit for was striking down two of Moab’s best men.  Undoubtedly, when Benaiah was younger, he saw a young David rise up and slay Goliath in the name of God.  I can only imagine how this stirred his soul.  If there was a God that would do that kind of thing for people who would truly make a stand in His name, Benaiah was all in.

Benaiah didn’t want to simply go out and slay a mighty warrior as David did.  He wanted more.  When it comes time to fight the Moabites, Benaiah said “Don’t just send one, send two!  In the name of the God of Israel, I will fight your two best men and God will give me the victory!”

This brings about two questions.  Who are the mighty men that you pattern your life after?  Also, what are the giants you need to go after and slay?

One of the first mighty men in my life was a man named Jimmy Boggs.  He was a pastor at Open Door Baptist church.  He had to be the busiest dude on the planet.  Yet, he still took a college student who was all over the place spiritually, sat him down, and taught him how to read and interpret the Word of God.  He taught me that real men love God.  Mighty men do His will.  Mighty men love one woman in marriage as Christ loves the Church.  Real men hunger and thirst for righteousness and forsake the things of this world.  I will forever be grateful for this man of God who is still making disciples today.  I’ll never forget kneeling by my bed and telling God that I’m sorry for being a hypocrite.  I finally put on the armor of God and told Him I was ready to fight for what is right.

Lately, I have been weighed down.  This semester, I have to take 3 graduate level courses and take a Praxis test (the test that you have to pass to be a teacher) even though I’ve been a teacher for 15 years.  I get to do this on top of all of my teaching, coaching, and family responsibilities.  I have to admit, up until today, all of this has defeated me.  It has deflated me spiritually.  I absolutely hate having all 168 hours of the week filled with something to do or somewhere to be.  This is kind of ironic, because up until a few years ago, this was all I knew.  Yes, I have giants in my own life.  But Benaiah teaches me that I can rise up.  I just need to pattern my life after people who have the victory, not losers who bow down to the ways of this world.  I am a mighty man of God!  I can let the world defeat me, or I can overcome the world.  Philippians 4:13 is still in the Word of God…

I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength!

Later

Adam

Perfection

God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.  —  2 Corinthians 5:21

Are you doing what God wants you to do?  I have always been fascinated with the answers I get when I ask others this question, and yes, I have said stuff like this as well.  Here are 3 popular answers:  “Nobody’s perfect!”  “Before I become old and wise, I must be young and stupid.”  “I’m not as bad as some other people.”

What does it mean to be perfect?  The best definition as it pertains to this topic is “without defect or blemish.”  Each of us was born with blemishes and defects simply because we come from the seed of Adam who ate of the forbidden fruit (see Romans 5:12).  If you have ever had kids, those blemishes and defects are really obvious.  I never had to teach one of my kids to hit the other when one did something the other didn’t like.  I didn’t have to teach them to say “MINE!“  I didn’t have to teach them to lie to get out of trouble.  I never had to teach them to talk back to their mother.  When somebody says “nobody’s perfect,” of course they are right.  However, possibly the most pathetic thing in the world is a 37 year old who says they have had Christ in their heart for YEARS, yet they still yell “MINE!”

Now, right dead in the middle of history came a man named Jesus Christ.  He was born of a virgin.  This means He didn’t have Adam’s DNA coursing through his body.  God literally created His second son, Jesus.  He would be just like Adam was at first, without spot or blemish…absolutely perfect.  Yes, the devil would try to get him to sin, just like he did with Adam, but Jesus would have none of it (see Matthew 4:1-11).  What would Jesus choose to do with that perfection?

Read the verse at the top once more.  I don’t know how God does this, but when I asked for forgiveness as a 16 year old teenager, my sins were transferred to Jesus.  ALL of my sin…past, present, and future.  Several years ago, I would have argued with this point because I believed that if I ever sinned again, I wouldn’t be right with God until I “asked for forgiveness.”  That is until the day that I realized that when Jesus died, ALL of my sins were in the future, even the ones in my past.  Either way, Jesus was made to BE sin FOR US.  You want to talk about unfairness?  He lives right, I don’t, and He takes the punishment for MY wrong!  Why would he do that?

Read the verse at the top once more.  He did this so I might become righteous…like Him!  Am I perfect?  No way!  Can I become righteous?  Absolutely!  I can tell you that I am a LOT closer to perfection than I was as a 16 year old teenager.  In fact, every year (well, maybe not a few of those years), I can say that I grew closer to Him and became more like Him.  I was in my 30’s before I stopped saying “mine” and saying “here…you can have it.”  If someone needs to be wronged, I’ll be wronged.   That’s a big difference from when I used to  blame everyone else and say “It’s their fault.”

Jesus was and is perfect.  Therefore, if I am seeking Jesus, I am seeking perfection.  The more of Christ I have in my life, the more perfect I am.  Luke 9:23 says “If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself, take up his cross and follow me.”  Why do you say “nobody’s perfect”?  Is it so you can continue to sin?  That’s why I used to say it.  These words gave me a license to underage drink, cuss, look at trash, and sleep with my girlfriends.  Now, I want to be as perfect as possible, so how do I get there?  I go after Jesus Christ.  How do I go after Him?  It starts with self denial…I have to deny those things that are keeping me from intimacy with Him.  I know what mine are, and you know what yours are.  Next, you pick up a cross that is VERY inconvenient to carry, especially in the United States of America.  While carrying this cross you study and learn absolutely everything you possibly can about Jesus Christ and how He chose to live His life on this Earth.  Last, you follow in His steps.

Nobody is perfect.  But why do you say it?  Is it so you can feel better about continuing in sin?  I did, for about 6 years after I got saved.  Or, is it because you realize how badly you need more and more of Jesus in your life?  I hope this is my answer for the rest of my days.

Later

Adam

The Pharisee’s Chair

Then he turned toward the woman and said to Simon, “Do you see this woman? I came into your house. You did not give me any water for my feet, but she wet my feet with her tears and wiped them with her hair.  You did not give me a kiss, but this woman, from the time I entered, has not stopped kissing my feet. — Luke 7:44-45

I hate how easy it is to become a Pharisee.  To me, a modern day Pharisee is simply someone who uses the things of God to exalt themselves.  It is a person who picks a set of rules that is easy for them to follow, then looks down on others who don’t follow that particular set of rules as well as they do.  Basically, Pharisees are people who say “if you’ll be more like me and do more of what I do you will be blessed…like me”  I can only imagine the stink this produces in God’s nostrils.

I wonder why it is so easy to start putting your faith in what you do as opposed to what God did?  It is amazing how sin shrinks God…and puffs us up.  Can you imagine the Pharisee in this story inviting Jesus to His house and not even giving Jesus any of the common courtesies?  He didn’t provide Jesus any water for His feet.  He didn’t greet Him with a kiss.  Our Lord Jesus Christ was shrunk down to the level of the Pharisee in his mind.  The Pharisee saw himself as equal with Jesus.

Even now, I want to become a Pharisee and chastise this Pharisee.  That is, until I look back and see how many times I’ve marched into God’s House, sat down, propped my feet up and said “feed me…entertain me.”  No, I didn’t say this out loud, but that was my attitude.  I didn’t pray before the service.  I didn’t ask God to examine my heart and see if there was anything in there that needed to be placed at the foot of the cross.  I didn’t prepare my sinful and selfish heart at all.  Jesus and I were equals.  I needed Him, but I thought He needed me too.  How honored Jesus must have been to have me in His house!  Then, one day…Jesus brought my attention to the woman in the story.

I will never forget one Sunday at Open Door Baptist Church in Walhalla, South Carolina.  I knew something powerful was going on, I just wasn’t in on it.  I watched dozens of grown men and women just weep before the Lord.  God’s Presence was just that thick.  Yet, there I was…no tears.   I was just being a “good person.”  I was reading my Bible.  I was staying away from sin better than I ever had before and God was just pleased with His servant Adam Hopkins…yes He knew me by name!  But, what did these “criers” know that I didn’t know?  What was the difference?  Their experience was certainly different than what I was experiencing in my chair across from Jesus.  All I knew to do was pray.  “Lord, next time this happens…I want to cry.  I want to feel what they are feeling.”

It only took a couple of weeks.  I became so aware of how much sin I still brought to the table.  For the first time I wanted to get out of my chair and bow down there at His feet with the sinful woman.  I think for the first time I realized that I was forgiven MUCH.  I soon found myself weeping in church.  It was powerful, it was emotional…it was wonderful!

And to think all I had to do was go from the Pharisee’s chair that placed me equal with Jesus, to the floor, which placed me at His feet, equal with the sinful woman.

Lord, help me never sit in that chair again.

Later

Adam

False Witness

Thou shalt not bear false witness.  — Exodus 20:16

I try to come up with a different roll call question every time I take attendance in my class.  Today, my question was:  If you could be paid $100 per lie that you tell, and could be paid for up to 10 lies per day, would you become a liar for $365,000 a year?  It was about an even split.  Half said “yes,” and half said “no.”

At first, I was gasping inside my heart.  Then I thought about how as a 7^th grader or an 8^th grader, I lied for free, so of course I would lie for $365,000 a year…I wouldn’t even have to change.  Then, I thought about how even as a Christian I’ve done some pretty dishonest things.  When I have to take classes for re-certification every 5 years, it is so tempting to find other people’s work who have already taken the class, and turn it in as my own…bearing false witness.  Though it is tempting, I like to think I’m at a point now in my life where I’d rather be right with God and fail, than take any kind of “easy way” and not be right with Him.  It really does expose the fact that there really is a broad way that leads to destruction, and a narrow way that leads to life (Matthew 7:13-14).

Now, here is what I learned through asking this question.  I can not change one of the hearts of my students about this matter.  I can tell them it is wrong.  Some of the students said they would not choose the life of a liar because it is “in the Bible” and “God says it is wrong.”  Unfortunately, simply knowing this information does not change the heart of any sinner.  I remember Tonya and I being on one of our Anniversary cruises.  There was a comedian on the ship who had people raise their hands if they were married, raise their hands if they were single, and finally to raise their hands if they were “shacking up” with someone they were not married to.  When several people raised their hands for this last one, he said “look children…sinners!”  Everyone laughed.  I couldn’t help but think that everyone laughed because they knew in their hearts it was wrong…just didn’t really care that it was wrong.  Knowing that it is wrong to “shack up” and knowing that it is wrong to lie does not keep us from going ahead and doing it anyway.  Yet, what many Christians and many churches do is point out sin and make judgments about people who sin instead of praying for hearts to change.  This, in turn, drives sinners further and further away from the things of God because the whole “Christian life” seems impossible.

Here is the bottom line:  God must change each person’s heart, or that heart will remain wicked.  Upon asking Him into your life, I am convinced that the worst thing you can do is try really hard to change.  On your own, you can’t stop lying, stop cheating, stop sleeping around, stop…well, sinning.  The truth is, if you don’t really WANT to stop, you are certainly not going to stop because you HAVE to stop or because some preacher is in a pulpit badgering you with ought to’s and ought not‘s.

The person who has asked Jesus to forgive them has had the stink of sin removed from their lives.   I believe this stink removal is His primary purpose for you and for me.  You go from smelling repugnant to smelling like a rose.  He can now spend time with you.  Not only can He spend time with you, He wants to spend time with you.  In fact, He wants to indwell you.   Because of the atoning blood of Jesus, He literally places His Spirit inside of you.  The only thing that you really have control of is the amount of time you spend cultivating your relationship with Him.  Simply be still and know that He is God on a regular basis. You will not have to change yourself because over time He will change you.  This change is the only way that I know for sure that I have truly been saved.  The ways of my sinful nature have decreased, and the fruits of the Spirit have increased.  In no way does this mean that I have “arrived” and can put it on cruise control until I enter Heaven.  I am just now beginning to realize that this kind of heart change truly comes from God.  I want so bad to want His Presence in and on my life more than I want anything else that this world has to offer.  I don’t want to bear false witness and simply say I’m a Christian as I did for many years after my initial conversion.

I want to really be one.

Lord, help me be one!

Later

Adam