Wednesday Morning Devotional

Why Did He Save Us?

But when the kindness and love of God our Savior appeared, he saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit. Titus 3:4-5

I thought for the longest time that the answer to this question was “so I won’t go to Hell.” If I’m totally honest, the only reason I initially got saved was because unsaved people went to an awful place called Hell. I understood that Jesus paid the penalty for my sin so I wouldn’t have to, but I didn’t understand that He gave me the power to overcome those sins from which I needed saving. I also didn’t understand that sin needed to be removed so He and I could just hang out together. That would come probably 10 years after I got saved. I hope this WMD helps you understand what I wish I had understood when I first got saved.

When you get born again, your primary wants just change. You find that you simply want more of Him. You begin to find that you want more of His presence. You long to know Him more and more. You have this crazy thirst to read His Word. You look forward to spending time with Him. An anointed praise and worship song just sends chills down your arms. You start thinking about Heaven and that glorious day when your faith becomes sight!

This is precisely why He saved us…so that we can begin to KNOW Him! Not JUST so we could go to Heaven. Not JUST so we could avoid Hell. Not JUST so we’ll be better people. He NEVER intended for us to live our lives trying to do the right things so we can earn His favor. He NEVER intended for us to be religious and go to church every week because He is making a list and checking it twice. He saved us because sin separates us from Him. Sin is all over the unsaved individual, and sin STINKS! Nobody wants to be around anybody that stinks…including God. He made a way, through His Son Jesus, for us to not stink. When we receive His forgiveness, our stink gets taken away and we have access to Him. He can draw near to us because the barrier of sin has been removed. He also gave us the power to STOP those sins which enslave us. The more sin He helps you conquer in this life, the more you receive His presence on a consistent basis. On this Earth, there will be a constant purification from sin. Therefore, there will be a constant increase in the amount of His presence and power that you will receive. As hard as I’ve tried, I have never quit a sin because it was “the right thing to do.” I have found that the more I fell in love with Him, and the more I got to know Him, the more I wanted to refrain from sin because of that love. I found that His presence would just come on me and…well, I wanted a LOT more of that, so running from sin became a lot less difficult. As strange as it sounds, I now want to conquer sin in my life for completely selfish reasons…it simply invites more of His presence, and that benefits me!

If you have been saved, when was the last time that it was just you and Him and you just enjoyed time together? If you can’t remember, meet with Him as soon as possible. I can’t wait for the morning hours to roll around. That’s when we hang out together every day. I still can’t believe how He is waiting there for me just as my little man is when I walk into the house after work. I still can’t believe that God takes the time to surround me with His presence and give me just a little taste of what it will be like in Heaven.

If you have been forgiven, you don’t stink to Him anymore. He’s there waiting for alone time with you! He is waiting for you to make your move. He made the first move by demonstrating His love on the cross. This is why Jesus gave His life…so it would be possible for Him to spend time with YOU and have a relationship with YOU…unbelievable!

If you haven’t been forgiven, you stink. Ask Him to save you. He will save you through the washing of rebirth and He will renew you by His Holy Spirit. Then, spend time with Him every day. It’s the best relationship you will ever have in this life!

Later

Adam

A Full Day with God

Hopefully, as I am writing this, I am on the other side of getting over mono. I was pretty much useless the first couple of days. I napped, laid around watching old movies (I watched Gone with the Wind), read my Bible off and on, and prayed a lot of random prayers. However, as soon as I started feeling a little bit better, I purposed that I would spend a full day with Him. I started out listening to a pod cast. I read my Bible. I prayed. I watched some sermons I had on DVD. I just tried to spend the entire day focused on Him. Sometimes I would just cry and weep. Sometimes I was laughing ridiculously hard. As I did this and finished up each thing I was doing, I would look at the red dots on my hands…every hour that went by they seemed to get lighter and lighter. I noticed I could eat…and man, did I eat! I began to gain more and more strength.

I saw a verse in 2^nd Corinthians. One of my favorite verses is 2 Corinthians 5:17 “If any man be in Christ he is a new creation, old things have passed away, all things have become new.” However, just a few verses before, I saw something just as amazing. Check out 2 Corinthians 5:13 “If we are “out of our mind,” as some say, it is for God; if we are in our right mind, it is for you.” I sat there at times while I was crying and laughing, just me and God, and thought how people would look at me praising God and think “he is out of his mind.” This verse tells me they are exactly right. I was out of my mind…for Him! There is no way that a worldly person could ever understand a Christian being “out of their mind” for God. To feel His presence is just the greatest thing ever. A person under the influence of His presence will raise their hands, raise their voices, sing out loud, cry, weep, laugh…who knows? They are out of their minds…and it is for God!

The verse goes on to teach that if I am “in my right mind,” it is for other people. I thought about this. Because other people don’t understand the Gospel of Grace, a Christian can’t just go on being “out of their minds” for God. We still must live in the real world with real lost people and be an example amongst them. Because they don’t know Him, it is my job to live for Him and love Him the absolute best that I can. My life, while I am “in my right mind,” must purposefully point to Him. Then, as soon as I can get by myself, or with other believers who believe like me, I want to go back “out of my mind” for Him. I want to get in His presence and just lose all my consciousness of this world. These moments just fill me up and keep me going for the long days that I must do my job that is in this world.

This season of sickness for me has been awesome. Yes, given the choice, I would have chosen work over being laid up all week. But, I have to admit, this season has given me new perspective and purpose. I have watched my friend Norlynn Hoffman battle cancer for months…she still praises God with everything she’s got. She still wants to be included in God’s plans no matter what they are. I stay in touch with my paralyzed friend, Karen Brown…with every keystroke that gets entered through her voice activation device, it drips with praises to her Creator. My little sickness is nothing compared to the suffering of countless others. But, just like the suffering of Jesus produced salvation for the world, my suffering will produce salvation for others.

There are so many new people just beginning to read WMD. People that I would have NEVER in a million years thought would actually read them. All I want to say, to them, is that there is a real God in a real Heaven that really loves you. You are guaranteed trouble in this world. It doesn’t matter if you are a Christian or not. Trouble will come. But, our trust, faith, and hope can be placed in a real Savior named Jesus who gave His life that we might truly live. That we might really know Him and be able to overcome sin and this world…just like He did!

Later

Adam

Lessons from Mono

In her deep anguish Hannah prayed to the LORD, weeping bitterly. And she made a vow, saying, “LORD Almighty, if you will only look on your servant’s misery and remember me, and not forget your servant but give her a son, then I will give him to the LORD for all the days of his life, and no razor will ever be used on his head.” — 1^st Samuel 1:10-11

I don’t know why the Lord allows things…well, I think I’m learning why He does. I read about Hannah in 1^st Samuel and God closed her womb. He allowed the other wife Peninnah to have lots and lots of babies. Hannah had to sit there every day and have it rubbed in her face that she could not provide her husband with children. She had to watch the Lord bless Peninnah, but not her. So many would say…”why in the would God do that to her?” But, it drove Hannah to her knees. It drove her to say the prayer that is our main text for this WMD. She told God if He’d give her a son, she would give him right back. This is what God wanted from her. That is why He closed her womb…it drove her to a place she would have never gone on her own. Plus…what a miracle!!! We read that story from the book of 1^st Samuel, the very name of the son God gave to her. I don’t even know the names of Peninnah’s children…but I know Samuel all these years later…unbelievable.

As I’ve been laid up with mono, wishing I was at work with all the other teachers, it has driven me to a place I would have never gone if I hadn’t gotten sick. I started asking “Why, God, do you have me all laid up like this?” Then, in my prayer time, I started doing some repenting. I started thinking about bad attitudes I’ve had towards certain people. I started asking for the Lord to forgive me. After all, when I pray the Lord’s Prayer, I am asking for Him to forgive me in the same way that I forgive others. As more and more of my wrong attitudes are being dealt with…I feel more and more strength. The sickness drove me to a place where I would have never gone before.

I think sometimes I start thinking that I’m really important. Things like this put me back in my place…and God back in His. I have used the same little piece of paper as my Bible’s bookmark for years. I wrote on it “Lord, I cancel the Devil’s assignment.” It is simply to remind me to cripple the Devil in my prayers before I start my day. Then, I can walk in confidence that the Lord is directing me exactly where He wants me to go. In my mind, if anything bad happens to me, Satan had to go before God and BEG Him for permission, just like he had to in order to harm Job. If God allows it, then there is a greater purpose on the other side of it that He wants to accomplish…so I gladly endure the trial. I had forgotten why I was praying this every day…I remember now.

I think I might add to my bookmark “include me in YOUR plans.” When I first started feeling sick, I just figured I had strep. Therefore, I took some penicillin because that’s what they used before. Unfortunately, there is a very high likelihood that if you take penicillin with mono…you break out in bumps and sores. Hence, I have bumps and sores all over my body. What if I had just waited to go to the doctor and let them run the proper tests? Instead, I did what I thought was best instead of letting the Doctors do what they do best. Do you see the parallels? I have been preaching, writing WMD’s, and witnessing to people the way I thought was best. I know God has been with me, almost as if I have included Him. Now, what I want is for me to be with Him, I want Him to include me.

I just pray that I will put God in His rightful place in my life. I don’t want to include Him in my plans…I want Him to include me in His. I’m already getting excited, because I know that God wants to bring forth new life from me just as He did Hannah. He wants to birth something special. It could only have happened by bringing me to a place that I would never had gone on my own. I don’t know what it is, but I am waiting…and expecting.

Later

Adam

Listen to Your Heart

Answer this question before you read on…is “listen to your heart” good advice? Or, is it bad advice? I know we have all heard this at some point in our lives. Now that my little chick is 5, I am finding myself watching “Big Time Rush” on Nickelodean. In their theme song, they say, “hey, hey, listen to your heart now.” Therefore, my child has this lyric memorized and will just sing it out of the blue now.

The Bible has a lot to say about the heart. In Jeremiah 17:9 it says “the heart is deceitful above all things, and beyond cure.” Before God decided to flood the Earth, Genesis 6:5 says “that every inclination of the thoughts of the human heart was only evil all the time.” In Matthew 15:8 Jesus says “These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me.” The Bible doesn’t have much good at all to say about our hearts. Yet, people tell people all the time to “follow their hearts.”

Here is what is interesting: The majority of satanists do not really worship satan…most of them will flat out tell you they don’t really believe in an actual satan. satanism at it’s core is humanism. Humanism is simply a way of thinking that regards us humans as REALLY important. Therefore, whatever humans “feel” like doing…that is what they should do. In fact, satanism has this one “verse” that is like the John 3:16 of Christianity. It goes like this: “Do what thou wilt shall be the whole of the law.” Basically, it says “do what you want to do,” “if it feels good and right…do it!” In other words…”listen to your heart.”

Looking back, especially in my teenage years, it is crazy how I wouldn’t listen to the people who really cared about me. I would date a girl who my friends told me was wrong for me, my parents would tell me was wrong for me, but hey, it was MY life and I would do what I wanted to do and date who I wanted to date. My heart screamed this was right…everyone who really cared about me said this was wrong. One big fat broken heart later, I learned the hard way that I should have listened to them. I should have listened to the people who cared about me.

Of all the stories I hear, there is one among my closest Christian friends that is all too common. So many men I know that have been truly transformed by Jesus Christ tell me the same thing; “If I could go back and just do ONE THING different in my life, I would not have had a sexual relationship until I got married.” Personally, I couldn’t forget it even if I tried. I still remember the war between my heart and God’s Word. Unfortunately, I listened to Big Time Rush…I “listened to my heart.” In one single moment, I gave away my purity and would NEVER be able to give that to my wife. Yes, I got forgiven for it, but my chance to be pure on my wedding day…was gone!

Listening to your heart is the easiest, wimpiest, and stupidest way to live. If your heart is deceitful, and satan is the master of deceit, who are you following when you follow your heart?

Follow God! Read His Word and follow His rules. Nine out of ten times, His Word will not match up with your feelings. Nine out of ten times, it will be hard to follow His rules. It will not be popular with your friends…if you don’t believe me teenager…go tell all your friends you are thinking of keeping yourself a virgin until you get married. Go tell them that you have decided that drugs will NEVER enter your body. Go tell them that you aren’t going to cuss anymore because the Bible says our speech should be pure. All of these things are decisions of the heart, and decisions that will make you “un-cool” to people who follow their own hearts and desires.

Every single one of us must choose who we are going to follow. Either you follow your heart…or you follow God! There is a place in Christianity where your mind and heart get renewed. Your heart becomes His heart. You are only going to get to that place by discipline and devotion…two things that our hearts are not interested in.

Later

Adam

Worthless Things

Turn my eyes from worthless things; preserve my life according to your word. — Psalm 119:37

This is an interesting verse that I haven’t been able to take off of my mind. The first thing I notice is that it doesn’t say “evil” things. Why doesn’t it say “turn my eyes from satanic stuff,” or “turn my eyes away from pornographic material,” or something like that? It simply says “worthless things.”

Now, I haven’t reminded you of this in a while, so here it is again. When I write a WMD, it is usually because God has given me a word for ME…not you. I just turn around and write it for you as a result of His working in me. In no way do I ever want you to believe that I have it all together and I am the prime example of a Christian. Jesus Christ is the only example we need. I am simply a dude that tries to give Him everything I’ve got every single day, and it took a lot of years for me to get to that point. Some days I feel like I really honor the Lord…some days I’m doing a lot of repenting. Even though I am flawed and imperfect, I want my devotion to the Lord to be rock solid. The more I honor Him, the more honor I seem to receive from Him even though I don’t deserve it…and that’s just fine with me!

Anyway, I started thinking about the “worthless things” I’ve done over my life. Here is my list…in no way am I saying NEVER do these things, I still do some of them. However, I am saying, I want to pray Psalm 119:37 and ask God to turn my eyes away from these types of things, because obviously, it can only be done with His help. Like the verse says…I want my life preserved according to the Word of God. So…the list:

Nintendo: Back in the day, Nintendo was the thing. Contra, Double Dribble, and Super Spike V-Ball were my favorites. Then, I upgraded to a Sega Genesis…then it was Mortal Kombat for hours on end. Even though I loved those games, I think now of those countless hours of wasted time on such a worthless thing! I had a kid tell me “if you would just play Call of Duty (something) Ops, I promise you’d love it and you’d be hooked!” The problem is…he’s right! I pray that God will turn my eyes from such worthless things! I pray that He will turn my kids’ eyes from them, and they will want the things God has to offer more than the games that Microsoft and Sony have to offer.

Secular Music: Once again, I’m not saying I never listen to the stuff…I am saying I used to listen to it ALL the time. I wasted so much money on buying cassette tapes of my favorite bands: Metallica, AC/DC, Iron Maiden, Motley Crue, Poison (you gotta love that one…actually buying “Poison” to fill my mind with), and I could go on and on and on. Anyway, all I’m saying is that the stuff is a waste of time. Everything those bands produce is worthless…in no way, shape or form has their music preserved my life according to the Word of God. I remember a band called Warrant. Their lead singer died this past week. His name was Jani Lane. He loved music and it served him well. He was a rock star. I am in no way judging the guy, but there is no indication that he accepted Jesus Christ into his heart and life, I honestly hope he did. Nevertheless, He died at 47 years old. He spent his entire life giving us music that was certainly entertaining…but worthless.

TV: This one I’m still working on. I watch “How I met your Mother,” “America’s Got Talent,” “Friday Night Lights,” and “The Big Bang Theory.” As I type this, it is kind of embarrassing…I mean, I actually watch a television show with a title that has been used to directly contradict the first verse in the Bible? Don’t get me wrong, the shows are as entertaining as they can be…but they are worthless.

Books: Now, before any of you get mad at me…I read and was completely entertained by all the Harry Potter books and all the Twilight books (though I didn‘t read the last one)…but those books are worthless. None of them have helped me in any way to preserve my life according to God’s Word. In 200 years, how will those books have helped anybody? Do you think J.K and Stephanie will be proud of their accomplishments?

Phones: Perhaps there is nothing robbing teenagers more than cell phones. Texting is destroying their spiritual walks with the Lord as well as their financial future by making them care nothing about their education. When I take one from a student using it in class, the looks are of pure hatred. You would think I just cut their heart out. Some of the students borrow another phone and get mama or daddy to come get their phone immediately…and some of them actually DO! These things are totally and completely robbing our students of an education and a real deal authentic relationship with the Lord. I asked one girl last year to fast her phone for 21 days and really focus on the Lord…she simply said “there is no way that I can do that.”

If you just take television alone, the average American spends 28 hours per week in front of the tube. There are only 168 hours in a week. This means almost 17% of the average American’s week is spent watching something worthless. If you are not a Christian…watch all the Television you want. But, there is no way that the true power of God could possibly be on a person that spends that much time watching TV. When you combine all of these things I talked about, they simply keep us from reaching our full potential in God. When is the last time a person came to you for spiritual guidance and advice? When is the last time you felt the full on Presence of God? If you can’t remember, evaluate your time and decide if you spend the majority of your time doing worthless things. NOT necessarily evil things…but things that are worthless. Then, make some adjustments. I’m not saying never watch TV, but instead of 28 hours, watch 21 hours and read your Bible and pray for an hour a day. All of these things I mentioned will be proof on judgment day that we DID have time!

Satan, if he had a preference, would probably rather have you and I choose evil things. But a wonderful second place, to him, is to get your mind OFF of God by getting you to devote the majority of your time to things that are worthless. He does not care what you worship, as long as it isn’t the one who created you. His goal is for you to NEVER give 100% of your life to the Lord Jesus Christ!

How is he doing?

Later

Adam

Three Increasingly Useless Words

Now, before I get into this. I do not mean that these words are useless to everyone. I am saying that at one point in time, they used to be packed with meaning by the majority of the population. Unfortunately, in our American society…they have become pretty much useless. I also realize that this could be highly offensive to a lot of people.  However, I think back to a time in my life when this would have highly offended me…that is when I needed to hear this the most.  So, here we go.

Love

In fourteen years of teaching, I have witnessed the decline of this word. I think I was 16 before I ever used it. Even then, I didn’t have a clue what love really was. Today, I will watch a middle school “couple” get “together” and immediately their notebooks are covered with “I love ________.” The signature on their text messages become “I ❤ ______.” They are in “love.” I’m pretty sure that I have seen one person be in “love” with 6 different people within a single school year. The word “love” is used today for “just starting a relationship.” Is it any wonder that telling someone that treats love like this that “God loves you” does not move them whatsoever? Love should be reserved for marriage…at least reserved for the moment that you are going to ask for the lady’s hand in marriage and make that lifelong commitment. The Bible says that love is PATIENT…it should be quite a while in a relationship before it gets thrown out there. An even greater definition of love…For God DEMONSTRATED His love for us in this: while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. — Romans 5:8. He loved us before we even had a clue what love was. Even though I didn’t love Him…He loved me. He didn’t just SAY it…He demonstrated it on the cross! To the best of my human ability, I want to love Him back…and not just say it, but demonstrate it.

Church

We have come to see church as the building that you go to. One has MANY, MANY choices of churches to attend. Jesus said that He would build His church on a statement made by the Apostle Peter…”You are the Christ, the Son of the Living God!” — Matthew 16:16. Jesus said that the church would always stand, and death would never prevail against it. The church is made up of every man and woman of every race and culture that has accepted Jesus Christ into their hearts and lives. It really has nothing to do with a building. A person joins the real church, the body of Christ, by accepting Him as your Lord and Savior. If the word really meant something, we would say “are you a part of the church?” as opposed to “where do you go to church?” I have asked this question, too…I’m not saying it is bad. It just doesn’t mean what it should mean.

Christian

Christians were first called “Christians” at Antioch — Acts 11:26. The Biblical definition of a Christian is one who followed the WAY of Jesus Christ. It is simply a person who has dedicated his or her life to being as Christ-like as they possibly can. I read of a rich man who sold everything he had and gave it to the poor. He was arrested and beheaded, without trial, because he “must have been a Christian,“ others just don’t do things like this. If you are on Facebook, and you are a true follower of Christ, change your “Religious Views” to “In Love with Jesus Christ.” I see the word “Christian” plastered there all the time. Then, I will see direct references in their status lines to partying by getting drunk, using drugs, having sex with boyfriends/girlfriends, cussing, spewing hatred towards others, and the list goes on. Now, I can hear it now…”YOU DON’T GET TO JUDGE ME!!!” Honestly, I think you’re wrong. If you don’t claim to be a Christian, I don’t get to judge you. If you aren’t a Christian and don’t claim to be, then act any way you want. However, if you honestly claim Christianity, you KNOW all the things I just mentioned are SINS. Not “mistakes“, not “accidents,“ not “stuff I‘m struggling with,”…SINS! Repent, and go forward in your relationship with Christ because I guarantee you that it has stalled. Read John 6:66, when things got hard for those who followed Christ, when they realized it would actually cost them something “many of his disciples walked away and followed Him No more!“ This is why I would like for followers who are all the way in to put “In love with Jesus Christ,” because John 14:15 says “If you LOVE ME, you will obey what I command!” Jesus says that people who LOVE Him obey the word…not out of religious obligation…but out of genuine love for the one who gave His life that they might be FREE from sin, and spend eternity with Him! Does it mean they are perfect? By no means! Does it mean they are all the way in? Absolutely!

Later

Adam

Fear of the Lord

Proverbs 1:7 The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and instruction.

This phrase is actually in a lot of places in the Bible. Through several conversations in the past week, I have come to understand what true fear of the Lord actually is, and I am going to attempt to increase your understanding. It is even my prayer that your fear of the Lord will increase. So, here we go…

Do you think that fear means just that…fear? The answer is yes! We should be afraid of the Lord and what He has the power to do to us. He is The Almighty God! If He chose to do so, He could squash us in the same way that we squash an ant. We should absolutely respect God’s capabilities, because if He chose to do so, He could absolutely destroy us…thank God He chooses not to. Check out Matthew 26: 52-53, when Peter was thinking Jesus should fight and kill, Jesus made it very clear that he COULD…but chose not to. Today, He still chooses to love us and not reject us. For years, I totally took that love and USED it to continue in my own sinful and fleshly desires. I had no real fear of the Lord. I see the majority of “Christians” do the same thing today. I’m going to give you just a few examples and you can determine if you fear God, or people. In fact, answer the question before you read on, who do you fear more…God? Or people?

I know a young man that loves God. I know he has been saved. I also know that he is addicted to drugs. He wants to quit, but once the withdrawals kick in, he goes back just to feel “normal.” I do not doubt his salvation. I do however know that He does not have the proper fear of the Lord. He will often use the fact that God has already forgiven him for using the drugs that he is about to take. He is totally taking advantage of God’s love, grace, and mercy. Now, his parents do NOT know the severity of the situation. They think he drinks a little and “boys will be boys” and it’s not so bad. Now, think about that, he will tell GOD exactly what he is doing and ask for forgiveness and even help. However, he will NOT confess EVERYTHING to his parents, and ask them for forgiveness and help. He certainly won’t take those drugs in front of his parents, but will take them in front of God…Why? He trembles at the thought of his parents knowing. He fears man more than he fears God. Plus, he is only hurting himself by ignoring the very people God placed in his life that could actually help him in his current situation.

The most frequent sin that teenagers tell me about is having sex outside of marriage. Almost all of them feel guilty, and know that it directly affects their relationship with God. Many times they tell me that they have asked God to forgive them, but they keep going back. The reason that they keep going back is that they don’t have the proper fear of the Lord. How do I know? Think about it…let’s say a boy is having sex with his girlfriend. 99 times out of 100, neither one of their parents know about their sexual activity. So, instead of “confessing” to God, how about the next time it happens, go immediately to your girlfriend’s parents and tell them everything you did to their daughter, ask their forgiveness, but tell them you are going to do it again. Then, go home and tell YOUR parents everything you told her parents. Every person I tell this to says the same thing…”I can’t do that!” Do you think they fear God?

So, the question is…do you properly fear God? What are the sins in your life? If you really want to stop, make this resolution…the next time you commit that sin, do NOT confess it to God, confess it to the people that your sin hurt the most. Do you steal? The next time you steal, go tell the store manager, or your boss, or whoever you stole from exactly what you did. Don’t tell God, tell them. The next time you look at pornography, don’t ask God to forgive you, tell your wife that pictures on the internet are more exciting than her and then ask for her forgiveness, and make sure you tell her that you are going to look at them again and ask her to forgive you for those times as well. The Bible says “confess your sins one to another” (James 5:16) Now, do you understand why? God forgave you at Calvary when you asked Him to save you…there is only repentance with God, a change of mind and heart along with a change of action…not repeated cycles of sin in which you ask for forgiveness. Confession should first take place with the people that you hurt through your sin.

I remember getting ill with Caroline about a month ago. I was tired and aggravated, and when she did whatever it was that she did (I honestly don’t remember), I went off on her. She took it, but before I went to sleep she asked me if I loved her…I was crushed. My behavior made my little girl doubt my love for her. So what did I do? Ask God to forgive me? NO! I took Caroline and put her right in front of me and knelt down to her level so I could see her eyes. I said, “do you remember when daddy got mad at you“…she said “yes.” I said “Daddy was wrong for that…will you forgive me?” She said “yes,” and gave me a big hug. I prayed and repented of my sin right there with her arms around me and asked God to make me very aware of my actions like that…He has!

I know this is hardcore, but this is the way you have to look at it. Look at our society, we have ZERO fear of the Lord. Las Vegas flat out call itself “sin city.” They say crap like “what happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas!” I’m sorry, but what happens in Vegas, and anywhere else is in full view of the Lord, and you better fear Him…one day, you will stand before Him!

Who shall ascend into the Hill of the Lord?

Who shall stand in His holy place?

He that hath clean hands, and a pure heart;

Who hath not lifted his soul unto vanity, nor sworn deceitfully.

He shall receive blessing from the Lord, and righteousness from the God of his salvation.

This is the generation of them that seek him, that seek thy face. — Psalm 24: 3-6

Later

Adam

Psalm 66:10 For you, O God, tested us; you refined us like silver.

So, I had to put this title in all Caps. Not because I’m yelling at you, it’s just that the song that this lyric comes from is one of those scream-o bands. I don’t suggest that the majority of you listen to the song, or even the group, but if you just can‘t help it, the name of the band is Mortal Treason. The name of the song is Khampa Nomads. Check out these lyrics…

My sin

My shame

Takes it’s toll on my heart

Oh how I long to be pure

Purify me Lord

Take my pain away

Purify me

Last Sunday, our preacher talked about Achan in Joshua chapter 7. He talked about how he sinned by taking what was not to be taken and hiding it in his tent. He applied it to us by telling us that we have sin in our church, and that we could deal with it…or God was going to.

Now, the crazy thing is, I heard this coming off of one of the best, most God-filled weeks of my life. So, to be honest, I kind of sat there all smug and was really glad that the preacher wasn’t talking to me. He was talking to those “sinners” and they needed to get right and take care of their junk because they were keeping God from blessing our church. I’m sure you see where this is heading.

Well, the next day, I decided to test myself. I went to Psalm 139:23. I asked the Lord to search my heart and let me know if there was anything in there that was hidden and needed to be brought to the light. It didn’t take long at all for Him to reveal one to me. The next morning, I prayed about helping me deal with that one, but I asked Him to reveal to me anything else in my heart that didn’t need to be there. Well, He revealed something else. The same thing happened on Wednesday, and quite honestly, I began to doubt my salvation. I was full of pride, jealousy, envy….I just stopped asking Him to reveal stuff to me so I could deal with the issues that He had just revealed.

However, this got me to thinking. 10 years ago, if God had brought these things to my mind…I would have told you, and probably Him, that they weren’t that big of a deal…everybody does this kind of stuff. But, as my heart grows more and more in love with Him, they seem as huge walls keeping me from His best. I want these things that separate me from Him gone. Psalm 66:10 gives a great picture of what is happening to me, and what is hopefully happening to everybody that loves God.

You may look at silver and it may appear shiny and pure. But, if you heat it up and melt it, the impurities in the silver will burn away. When you let it cool back to normal, what you have is silver that is pure and untainted. I read a story that said that when a refiner could see his own image in the silver…the silver was pure. Pretty interesting considering we were made in God’s image.

I have been a piece of God’s silver for 20 years now. As I get more and more pure, I simply want more and more of Him. I want to be as valuable to Him as I possibly can. Whatever the trial He sends my way…I realize now that it is to purify me. I think I know why the guy screams it in the song…because being purified is something you have to want. You have to forsake the flow of this wicked world and go after Him with everything you’ve got. It is something that you have to grit your teeth and say “Lord, thy will be done…whatever it is.“ We tend to exaggerate our value and rationalize our impurities. We have to be willing to let God put us over that refiner’s fire and KNOW that when we come out on the other side, we will be even more pure, and even more valuable to Him and to everybody that we come into contact with.

Lord, purify me…even though the fire hurts…I am willing.

Later

Adam