Every Thought Captive

During a recent discussion with a couple of close friends of mine, the question was raised: Has there ever been a commandment of God that you've heard and then made the conscious decision to disobey it? That's one of the many things I love about hanging out with godly men; men who aren't afraid to bare their souls, drop their pretenses and be real. Talk about soul searching! The question isn't whether I ever have disobeyed, but rather how many different commands and how many times have I disobeyed. Where do I begin?

After spending some time mulling over this question, a Scripture verse (2 Corinthians 10:5) came to mind--We destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive to obey Christ. I believe this verse explains as well as any why we fail to keep God's commands--we don't take our thoughts captive. Our thoughts, as well as our words, come from the wellspring of our hearts--which are deceitful and wicked (Jeremiah 17:9). The battlefield in spiritual warfare is in our minds. Because of our rebellious nature, our thoughts are often going to lead us away from God and our toward own sinful desires. Taking every thought captive means examining every thing we think in light of what God has revealed to us in His Word.

Listen to the proclamation delivered in Psalm 119:11--I have stored up your word in my heart, that I might not sin against you. The psalmist cannot possibly say this without being immersed in Scripture; seeking to know our Lord's will and practically applying it to his life. Taking every thought captive and making it obedient to Christ is not possible any other way. And the best part of doing this is that pride, greed, envy, lust, bitterness, malice and hate lose their place in our lives.

Grace is not Optional

If we are ever going to grow as God's men, grace is a notion we absolutely must wrap our arms around. There have been many definitions of grace (my favorite--God's Riches at Christ's Expense) but in practical terms for us, grace is a gift that is given willingly for which there is nothing expected in return.

God didn't allow Jesus to die on the cross so that we would have to earn our way into heaven. The notion of allowing my child to die to save someone else is beyond what I can grasp, but allowing it if it wasn't absolutely necessary in completely unfathomable. Grace takes performance on our part out of the equation; replacing it with faith and trust in Christ alone. Grace is our Heavenly Father saying to us: "I love you and spending eternity apart from you is the absolute last thing I want to have happen." He made a sacrifice that is truly beyond our capability and understanding.

Scripture reminds us that it is by God's grace that we are saved, not by any of our own works (Ephesians 2:8); removing any notion of self-reliance. God's grace is sufficient for any need we face (2 Corinthians 12:9), it is available to all just by asking (Romans 5:15), it gifts us to accomplish his purpose and plan (Ephesians 3:7) and allows us to meet the needs of others (1 Peter 4:10). What more reason do we need to allow grace to permeate everything we think, say or do?

Inherit the Kingdom

I believe we forfeit much of our ability to live a victorious Christian life when we fail to remember the glorious future that awaits us as God's men. The stresses and trials that we face in the present can certainly make it difficult to look beyond today. Yet Matthew 25:34 spells it out pretty clearly: "Come, you who are blessed by my father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world."

Our Heavenly Father's plan from day one was for us to live with him forever in the presence of his glory. His Kingdom awaits; a place of unmatched beauty and splendor, a place where every desire of our heart will be fulfilled, a place where pain and suffering are non-existent (Revelation 21:1-4). The time we have left on earth, compared to eternity, makes the reality of the Kingdom rather imminent.

It is God's desire to give us the Kingdom (Luke 12:32) as our inheritance because we are his children. Jesus Christ called out to God as "Abba Father" (Mark 14:36) and because he paid our sin debt, we who claim him as Savior have been adopted as sons into God's family (Romans 8:15). As members of the Kingdom, we will shine brightly (Matthew 13:43), we will enjoy complete and unbroken fellowship with Him and we will praise the King of Kings and Lord of Lords forever.

The knowledge of our inheritance gives us the power to live victoriously right here, right now. We can boldly approach God to meet our needs (Hebrews 4:16); knowing he will never leave or forsake us (Hebrews 13:5), knowing that he will strengthen us and help us (Isaiah 41:10) and knowing that we are more than conquerors through him who loves us (Romans 8:37).

The Need to Simplify

It's probably never been harder for God's men to keep things simple. We go to the workplace where we are encouraged to multi-task, to do more with less, to produce, to perform. Our free time is packed with activities, commitments, things to do, places to see. Our few quiet moments become time to plan our next onslaught of items on our never-ending to-do list. Why have we bought into the notion that life has to constantly move at warp-speed? Why have we allowed our lives to become so cluttered and unbalanced?

Chuck Swindoll once said, "Every time I officiate at a funeral, I'm reminded of the things that really matter--things that last. Stuff that seemed so all-fired important yesterday loses steam when you stand on a windswept hill surrounded by weather-beaten grave markers. At that moment, something from within you cries: Simplify!"

As we read the Gospel accounts of Jesus life, we see a man who never hurried through life, never tried to multi-task, never tried to live up to someone else's (beside God's) agenda. He took time to rest, took time to be alone, took time to enjoy the people he loved the most, took time to rejoice with those who rejoiced and mourn with those who mourned. He served his Father without apology and refused to be sidetracked by meaningless pursuits. He chose a small group of men to pour into so they could carry on his ministry. He avoided tempting opportunities that could drain time, energy and resources.

When his earthly life was about to end, Jesus could boldly and confidently say: "It is finished" (John 19:30). His mission was complete and he did it without burning out trying to meet other people's expectations. Maybe it's time for us to simplify as well. Maybe we need to be reminded that God's creation didn't collapse after he took a day of rest. Maybe it's time to realize that winning the rat race only means you get to be the number one rat. Maybe it's time to remember that if we don't balance our lives, somebody less qualified will do it for us.

Just How Great Is It?

Last time, we focused on the reality of hell and the dreadful state of being completely, totally and permanently separated from God for eternity. Scripture talks about hell much more than heaven; but just as we should never diminish the seriousness of hell, we should never forget the incredible blessing that awaits each and every believer in the person of Jesus Christ.

The book of Revelation includes the vision that the apostle John was given of our final eternal destination. God sent an angel to John to bear witness to the things that are to come (1:1-2). The first 20 chapters deal with the future judgment and destination of non-believers. Verse 21 then gives us a glimpse of the glorious future that awaits those who have put their faith and trust in the Lord Jesus Christ. Heaven is described as a place where God will dwell with his people (v.3), where there is no death, pain or sorrow (v.4); a place of beauty and radiance (v.11-22).

Its size (12,000 stadia) is slightly more than the distance between Philadelphia and Dallas. The glory of God will shine so brightly that there will be no nighttime, no darkness (v.23-26). There will be no presence of sin or evil (v.27).

While it is relatively easy to see how awful hell is, I believe it is harder to imagine how great heaven is because it is so far removed from the sin-stained world we live in. Human words cannot completely describe the majesty of a place where the presence of God reigns supreme; a place that our Lord himself is preparing for us to receive us unto him for eternity (John 14:2-3).

Just How Bad Is It?

Hell is a place most people don't want to think about. Many belief systems--even some that claim to fall under the umbrella of Christianity--actually deny the existence of a literal hell. Some non-believers think that hell is going to be one big party with all of their friends. If hell really exists (it does), just how bad is it?

The Book of Revelation describes hell as a real literal place--a place of eternal torment (20:10). It is a lake of fire that burns continuously (19:20), the second death (20:14)--not exactly a cocktail party. It's inhabitants include Satan (20:10), those who haven't put their faith in Jesus Christ (20:15) and unbelieving sinners (21:8). 1 Thessalonians 1:9 calls it a place of eternal destruction and punishment and yet worst of all, it is a place that is completely, totally and permanently separated from the presence of the Lord.

Camp out on that thought for a moment--the idea of total separation from God. To be banished forever from his love, his goodness, his provision, his mercy and his presence. Knowing that part of dying on the cross to pay for our sins would require him to be separated from God for just a few hours made our Lord Jesus Christ literally sweat drops of blood in anguish (Luke 22:44). And after the beatings and whippings that he endured along with the crucifixion, it was the actuality of being separated from the Father that made Jesus cry out "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? (Matthew 27:46).

Knowing just how bad hell really is should prompt a two-fold response from God's men. First, we should praise God for his mercy and grace in allowing Jesus to pay our sin debt and avoid eternal separation from Him. Secondly, knowing that we have friends, family members and others in this world who are lost should prompt us to share the good news of what Christ has done for us and to pray that their eyes would be open to see that hell is even worse than they could ever imagine.

The Flock

Last time, we looked at God as Yahweh Roi--Our Shepherd--and the many blessings we have as members of his flock. Comparing ourselves to a flock of sheep may not be a comforting thought because, let's face it, sheep have a reputation for being dumb, meek and completely helpless creatures. Not exactly the list of qualities that we men aspire to, is it?

Sheep, by nature, are followers. There is a true story about an entire flock of sheep that was lost at sea because a ram jumped overboard and the rest of the sheep foolishly followed and ultimately drowned. Sheep are also natural wanderers, which makes the job of a shepherd a necessity. They are easy prey for many aggressive animals in the wild and they need to be sheared of their heavy wool coats or they will literally topple over; unable to get up.

Whether we like it or not, we too are often very sheep-like. We foolishly play follow the leader; knowing that the we are being led into destructive behavior. We often wander aimlessly through life and become unaware of the danger around us. And without a Shepherd to protect us, we are easy prey for an enemy who seeks to devour us (1 Peter 5:8).

Thankfully, our Heavenly Father knows us and knows what we need. He allowed his only Son to be the sacrificial lamb to take away our sin. We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way; and the LORD has laid on him the iniquity of us all (Isaiah 53:6-7). The Lamb of God is not a helpless follower, but rather the One that leads us from death into life. For the lamb at the center of the throne will be their shepherd; he will lead them to springs of living water (Revelation 7:17).

My Shepherd

Have we heard the words of Psalm 23 so many times that they don't even sink in anymore? Even non-believers know the words from countless funerals or other events where this all-too-familiar passage is recited. Before we allow the words of this treasured Psalm to ring hollow, we need to spend some time reflecting on the many blessings our Shepherd provides to us. The promises and truths of the 23rd Psalm are worth camping out on.

Yahweh Roi (Hebrew for Lord the Shepherd) meets all of the needs of those under his care. He provides rest, refreshment and restoration from the struggles and trials of day-to-day living. He leads and guides us in making wise decisions. He directs us in the path of righteousness. He stands with us during times of fear and uncertainty. He protects us from evil and removes the fear of death. He gives us comfort in his power and might. He shows favor to those He loves and blesses beyond what we can imagine.

In Old Testament times, the shepherd was responsible for the welfare of his flock--a flock that was helpless to take care of itself. Apart from our Shepherd, we too are helpless to take care of ourselves. But praise the Lord our Shepherd for watching over us day and night, protecting us and caring for us and keeping us safe in the path of righteousness. Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I shall dwell in the house of the LORD forever (v.6).

A Wise Man Once Said

King Solomon, whom the Bible tells us was the wisest man who ever lived, penned some very powerful words in Scripture. Proverbs is full of rich spiritual wisdom and a book that God's men should often revisit. Ecclesiastes was written near the end of his life; at a time when Solomon realized that many of things he pursued had no lasting value, meaning or purpose.

Ecclesiastes 5 gives us a great snapshot of things that we traditionally value that ultimately leave us dissatisfied. Verses 1 through 7 emphasize the foolishness of an empty religious profession before a sovereign God. Verses 8 and 9 remind us that while those who rule over us may oppress, ultimately they will be held to a higher standard. Some of the most miserable people in the world are those who try to follow God's holy standards (and fail) without building a personal relationship with Christ. They can commiserate with those who worry and complain about the unfairness of life.

The rest of the chapter deals with the subject of wealth and enjoyment--something Solomon as the wealthiest man who ever lived--was qualified to speak on. He noted that the drive for wealth does not satisfy and can bring on it's own set of troubles, such as attracting dependents (v.11) and causing restlessness (v.12). Verses 13-17 remind us how easily wealth can be lost; making it a very unstable foundation for life.

What a bleak picture Solomon has painted, right? Not so. In verse 18, he unlocks the often elusive key to satisfaction. We are reminded to enjoy the fruits of our labor and to accept our position in life with joy. To cherish the blessings we have instead of coveting what we don't have will help keep us from chasing after the wind. ...to accept his lot and rejoice in his toil--this is the gift of God. (v.19)