Fight By Loving

The Old Testament rule was “an eye for an eye.” The New Testament rule is:

You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you, Matthew 5:43-44

This is what sets us apart from other religions and philosophies of the world. The Lord instructs us to love and bless our enemies. Love is a more powerful force to fight with than any strength or natural ability we might have. Love goes against fear and self-preservation. Love changes us, it will change the atmosphere, and it will cause others to change.

Our pursuit in life is not retaliation but reconciliation! We are called to the ministry of reconciliation. When there are problems among people, we need to avoid adding fuel to the fire by becoming divisive, political, or slanderous. That means when there is division, contention, or disagreement, our goal is to be peace makers.

Fight By Persevering

In our day to day life, we have to continually wage war against unbelief, monotony, long tough periods, and the vexation of our spirit.

This charge I commit to you, son Timothy, according to the prophecies previously made concerning you, that by them you may wage the good warfare, having faith and a good conscience, which some having rejected, concerning the faith have suffered shipwreck, of whom are Hymenaeus and Alexander, whom I delivered to Satan that they may learn not to blaspheme. 1Timothy 1:18-20

Paul tells Timothy to wage a good warfare with the prophecies spoken over him. There are times in life that what is visible seems completely opposite of the way things should be. Paul was exhorting Timothy on something that he himself had first-hand experience with.

Paul an apostle of Jesus Christ was imprisoned many times. He could have easily gotten discouraged and thought that maybe the apostolic call wasn’t for him. Perhaps it was just his own zeal that made him so driven. Maybe God had somebody else in mind that could be more effective in reaching people. However, those were not Paul’s thoughts. He was convinced of what God had called him to do and nothing deterred him from doing it. Even when he was confined because of imprisonment, He didn’t allow it to change his identity or his calling.

Life can get hard at times with no relief in sight. The only way we can stand victoriously is by reminding ourselves of God’s promises through His word and through the prophetic words spoken over us. In those times, we wage a warfare by persevering under trials and tribulations.

Our promised land is not a location in time and space as it was for the Israelites, but it is a spiritual reality of true freedom that we can walk in everyday of our lives. That’s what has been promised to us by Jesus. He sets us free from the bondage of sin and our past. He then reveals his plan and destiny for our lives one step at time. Once we enter His kingdom, we enter a battleground for our soul and the soul of others! There is always something worth fighting for! Praise God!

A Christian fighter is called to fight a spiritual battle with spiritual weapons. As I described in the last devotional,  we fight against demonic forces, and our own flesh. We are also called to fight against worldliness.

3. The world

Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world—the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life—is not of the Father but is of the world. And the world is passing away, and the lust of it; but he who does the will of God abides forever. 1 John 2:15-17

Worldliness is a subtle way that a culture tells us how to live and what should be important to us. If we are not careful, we can easily get complacent with voice of the culture and take the comfortable route in our walk with God. We cannot be a complacent Christian for too long before we start compromising or backsliding.

When Jesus addressed the seven churches in Revelation, He spoke against some of the churches for being lukewarm and having lost their first love. This can affect any Christian or any church.

I have met quite a few people over the years who were regular church goers, and they thought as a Christian they were doing pretty well until God moved them out of their church/environment. Looking back, they saw themselves as a lukewarm or backslidden Christian. Too much worldliness had crept in their lives. Since some of the behavior was also acceptable in their church culture, they didn’t see anything wrong with it.

To fight the battle of worldliness, we have to continually examine our lives against the standard of the Bible. Jesus fought Satan’s temptations with the word of God. We need to do the same to fight the worldly temptations. The word of God is the sword of the spirit described in Ephesians 6.

There are no natural pieces to the spiritual armor. We are called the fight the spiritual battle with the helmet of salvation, breastplate of righteousness, belt of truth, shield of faith, sword of the spirit, and our feet shod with the gospel of peace. Isn’t that amazing that when we speak truth & walk in peace we are actually fighting a spiritual battle!?

The giants and the enemies we fight against are not nations or people anymore but are powers, principalities, lusts, attitudes, strongholds, addictions, bondages, and temptations. If these enemies are annihilated or pushed back, there is nothing that can stop us from fulfilling God’s plan and destiny.

Lord, make us effective fighters in your kingdom. Teach us to fight your way using your powerful spiritual weapons. Amen!

What does this mean to be a Christian fighter? Whom are we fighting against and how are we supposed to fight?

As a Christian, our battle is not against people neither is trying to gain a geographical territory anymore.

Just as many requirements in the Old Testament were type and shadows of the reality that God intended to bring at the spiritual level, so the physical fighting was replaced by spiritual fighting in the New Testament. We no longer focus on killing a lamb for atonement of our sins because Jesus paid the price as the last and the perfect Lamb of God. God doesn’t require us to circumcise our boys as a sign of God’s covenant, but he is looking for circumcised hearts. In a similar way, the battles we fight are not physical/natural battles anymore. The Lord is looking for us to fight spiritual battles using spiritual weapons. There is the paradigm shift.

Three main areas we need to fight against are:

1. Demonic forces and strongholds

For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh. For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds, casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ, and being ready to punish all disobedience when your obedience is fulfilled. 2Corinthians 10:3-6

Our natural experiences in life cause us to open ourselves up to demonic spirits instead of trusting God. These demonic spirits oppress the life of the believer and hinder them from obeying God and experiencing freedom.

For example, if one has had an unstable childhood, they may be struggling with the spirit of fear and distrust. Whenever something happens that gives the indication of instability and uncertainty, they can move in fear and distrust, and shut down emotionally. These demonic spirits are not going to be counseled to health; neither would our understanding help us to monitor them. We cannot live life compelled by a spirit that holds us bondage to something that happened 30 years ago. We need to take authority over those demonic spirits and cast them out in the name and authority of Jesus.

2. The flesh

Now the works of the flesh are evident, which are: adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lewdness, idolatry, sorcery, hatred, contentions, jealousies, outbursts of wrath, selfish ambitions, dissensions, heresies, envy, murders, drunkenness, revelries, and the like; of which I tell you beforehand, just as I also told you in time past, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God. Galatains 5:19-21

When those character attributes rise in us, it’s easy to blame someone or a situation, but we cannot fight like we used to. The works of the flesh need to be fought by crucifying the flesh. We cannot give room for those dark character qualities to find a safe haven in us.

For example, if you came from a broken place where you weren’t valued, you may start developing selfish ambition that causes you to look to others to be valued by any means possible. Over time, you can develop envy, competition, or even murder in your heart because someone else is valued. You may even manipulate your way in certain areas of your life in order to get the recognition.  All of the above is works of the flesh.

Some of those characteristics worked for us for so long, that they became our best friend.  We relied on them consistently to get results. Some get so good at it, that they can even put spiritual clothing on the works of their flesh and allow them to stay hidden for a long time. However, as a Christian fighter we cannot allow ourselves to enjoy the works of the flesh any longer. We have to severe relationship with those dark habits. We need to completely move away to make spiritual progress. First the demonic spirits such as fear, inferiority, and un-forgiveness must be dealt with, and then we must crucify the flesh and its bad habits.

I will continue with this subject in the next devotional. In the meantime, pray and ask the Lord to reveal to you any strongholds or works of the flesh that you need to fight against.

When we look at the Old Testament, we see that God directed His people to fight their enemies and to take over lands and territories. He also at times used the enemies to punish and discipline His own children.

Joshua had to fight the giants to ensure that the land they possessed will no longer be dominated by the enemies but that people can settle down and start rebuilding their lives.

One man of you shall chase a thousand, for the Lord your God is He who fights for you, as He promised you. Joshua 23:10

 God was with His people in the battles that He approved of, and they were victorious because the Lord fought for them.

Now go and attack Amalek, and utterly destroy all that they have, and do not spare them. But kill both man and woman, infant and nursing child, ox and sheep, camel and donkey.’” 1Samuel 15:3

The Lord commanded Saul to kill and destroy everything that belonged to Amalekites. He did not want any trace of this enemy left behind. This would prohibit them from becoming stronger over time and fighting Israelites at a future date. The fighting in the Old Testament many times  was sanctioned by God, and it was relentless and furious in dealing with the enemies.

But if any harm follows, then you shall give life for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot, burn for burn, wound for wound, stripe for stripe. Exodus 21:23-25

Retaliation is another area that was permitted in the Old Testament. Not only as a nation, the Israelites were permitted to fight, but also as individuals they were permitted to retaliate for the wrong done to them.

All of the above scriptures portray a natural battle against enemies. As long as Israel walked with God, He defended them, and they were victorious in their battles. At other times, when they weren’t following Him, God would not respond and they would lose a battle.

After Jesus entered the world, everything including our fighting changed. He was not a man who fought physically. He did not hurt or injure anyone physically or verbally. At times, He rebuked people, but it was never to humiliate them or try to overpower them. Some could use his statements made to Peter as a license to be harsh, but when you look at the totality of Jesus’ life, He was gentle, humble, and very sacrificial. 

If you are a fighter by nature, you could easily use the Old Testament examples to support your fighting inclinations. However, we have a paradigm shift in the New Testament when it comes to fighting. This is difficult and costly for a natural fighter, but you cannot fight like you used to. As Jesus said,

And no one puts new wine into old wineskins; or else the new wine will burst the wineskins and be spilled, But new wine must be put into new wineskins, and both are preserved. Mark 5:37-38

So what does this mean when it comes to fighting? Who are we fighting against and how are we supposed to fight? I will share more on this subject in the next devotional.

God used a vision to bring a paradigm shift

There are times in life when we are so set in our ways that we are not open to change. We have no intention to have a renewed mind or a change of heart on a certain topic. We can even use scriptures or personal experiences to back up our stance. In those times, a paradigm shift is required. God uses dreams and visions to bring the shift in our thinking and in our perspective. Praise God for dreams that can open our eyes to Truth when other vehicles or tools may not be sufficient to bring about the transformation.

But Peter explained it to them in order from the beginning, saying: “I was in the city of Joppa praying; and in a trance I saw a vision, an object descending like a great sheet, let down from heaven by four corners; and it came to me. When I observed it intently and considered, I saw four-footed animals of the earth, wild beasts, creeping things, and birds of the air. And I heard a voice saying to me, ‘Rise, Peter; kill and eat.’ But I said, ‘Not so, Lord! For nothing common or unclean has at any time entered my mouth.’ But the voice answered me again from heaven, ‘What God has cleansed you must not call common. Acts 11:4-9

After Christ’s resurrection and ascension, God was bringing a paradigm shift in the mind of Jewish people. For centuries, they were considered the special and chosen ones by God. They were the ones who had a covenant relationship with God. Surely, Christ was only for them and the descendants of Abraham. But God rich in His mercy was opening the door to the Gentiles to be saved and become grafted in the family of God.

The Lord had to communicate the message in a way that could bypass human understanding, tradition, & prejudice. He had to stress the importance of the change to His apostles before they were sent out to all parts of the world. God chose to communicate to Peter by basically saying:

From now on, the Gentiles were not going to be considered unclean based on their family of origin. They along with Jewish people needed to have the opportunity to hear the gospel and receive salvation.

Paul confirmed this later on in various passages including Romans 2:28-29

For he is not a Jew who is one outwardly, nor is circumcision that which is outward in the flesh; but he is a Jew who is one inwardly; and circumcision is that of the heart, in the Spirit, not in the letter; whose praise is not from men but from God.

Peter had the vision, but he had to step out in obedience and walk this vision out. He could no longer consider the Gentiles unclean or try to avoid being in their house or eat their food. He had to have a desire to not only associate with them but to share Christ with them.

Dreams and visions carry on the responsibility of obedience. If the dream is giving us warning, we must heed it. If the dream is giving us instruction and wisdom, we should follow it. If the dream asks us not to be afraid, then we must walk out in faith and trust God. If the dream is about God’s heart and His desire to see a change in us, then we need to be willing to change.

Praise God for Peter’s obedience to the vision. This vision was monumental in opening the door for all of us to have the opportunity to hear the gospel and accept Jesus as our personal Lord and savior! 

We need to pray that God would give dreams to our unsaved family and friends. We especially need to pray for  those who come from religious backgrounds or other religions  because they are more set in their ways.

Many Muslims come to salvation because of the dreams they have about Jesus. Islam describes Jesus as a good teacher but tells people that He is not the Son of God. They are also told that Jesus was not crucified but that God provided a replacement for him. These create huge stumbling blocks in believing Jesus as their Lord and savior. Dreams provide a reality that can overrule tradition and culture.

Lord we ask that you pour out dreams and visions over our cities. Help them to see your glory, power, and love for them. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

What is exciting about dreams is that people of various cultures and religions believe in dreams. They know there is a message in there for them that has a prophetic or futuristic nature.

Here are a couple of more ways that God used dreams in people’s lives:

Dreams give wisdom and strategy

As we continue with the life of Joseph from the last devotional, we see God using him in a powerful way by interpreting Pharoah’s dreams. These dreams were about preparation and wisdom for the forthcoming famine that was going to hit Egypt and the surrounding nations. Through the dreams, God gave Pharaoh a strategy on storing food in the days of plenty and utilizing the stored food in the days of famine. The interpretation of the dreams was critical for Egypt, other nations, and Joseph’s own family.

Through the interpretation of the dreams, Joseph was elevated to the most powerful person after Pharaoh. While for a long time Joseph’s dreams didn’t have any resemblance of reality, they were finally fulfilled. God fulfilled Joseph’s dreams, as Joseph fulfilled Pharaoh’s dreams and became an answer for accomplishing God’s purpose on the earth.

God used a dream to confirm His plan 

But while he thought on these things, behold, the angel of the Lord appeared unto him in a dream, saying, Joseph, thou son of David, fear not to take unto thee Mary thy wife: for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Ghost. Matthew 1:20

In the New Testament, we have another Joseph who had a very important dream. God was doing a miracle on the earth by bringing His only son to the world through a virgin who hadn’t been touched by a man. He needed this man, Joseph to cooperate with the plan and to take care of Mary and protect her while she was pregnant. He was reassured that Mary didn’t do anything wrong, and he should still marry her. Joseph was also to take care of the baby  as his own son and raise Him for God’s purposes.

This is what is beautiful about God’s dreams and plans. We don’t have to convince others of what God has spoken. When the right time comes, God will confirm the dream to others who are supposed to come alongside of us. The Lord will direct them to see the vision and help support the dream ordained by God. Praise God for His provision.

The Lord continues to shape us and keep us on the potter’s wheel through dreams. Dreams encourage us in God’s plan and purpose. They remind us that we didn’t conjure things up, but God has a purpose that He is working it out in our lives.

Let’s continue to pray for God-ordained dreams and accurate interpretation of them.

Dreams & visions are powerful ways of communication that God uses to speak to people. Dreams take us beyond human understanding and transcend us to a different realm. This is a place where we are more open to hearing or seeing things that our natural mind may ignore or override.

Dreams & visions also have prophetic nature about them that God uses to prepare us for the future and what is coming next. God invades people’s lives through dreams when at times they may not be open to the message. We see throughout the Bible that God used dreams in the believers and unbelievers’ lives.

Not all dreams are from the Lord. Since we live in a world that is full of noise, darkness, and chaos, we have to be careful what we are subjecting ourselves to. Dark or horror movies can have an affect on our dream life. If we have been going through some tough situations in life, some of those can get reenacted in our dreams. We want to stay sensitive to what the Spirit is speaking.

In the next couple of devotionals, I’ll share some of the ways that God used dreams in the life of the people:

Dreams can be used as warning

But God came to Abimelech in a dream by night, and said to him, “Indeed you are a dead man because of the woman whom you have taken, for she is a man’s wife.” Genesis 20:3

God used a dream to warn an unbelieving king that the woman he married was somebody else’s wife. The king had no idea what was going on. He didn’t know that Abraham out of fear was willing to sacrifice his covenant with his wife, so he won’t get killed. Who knows, maybe Abraham was praying that the king wouldn’t touch his wife and that God would alert him somehow. The scripture makes no mention of that, but we do know that God wasn’t happy about this arrangement. He gave a stern warning to the king that if he were to touch Sara, he will die.

Sometimes, God gives us warning about certain individuals or situations in a dream to move us in the right direction and protect us from harm. It’s important to heed those warnings and not make excuses for it.

King Abimelech could have dismissed the dream or discounted it by sleeping with Sara a couple of times before he sent her back. However,  the message of the dream was strong enough that he did not delay in responding quickly and removing any form of evil from his house. The Lord calls us to do the same. If you know the interpretation of your dream, take it seriously. If you’re not sure what the dream means, ask your Pastor or elder to direct you to the right person to interpret your dream.

Dreams can encourage one in a difficult process

God gave Joseph two dreams about his future that in the immediate time got him into trouble with his brothers (Genesis 37). He had dreams of ruling over his brothers and even his own parents. His brothers got jealous of him and tried to get rid of him by selling him into slavery.

For a long time Joseph’s life was the opposite of what his dreams meant. Joseph had to go through a process that took over a decade before God positioned him for what he had dreamed. In the long years of slavery, & being falsely accused, Joseph must have kept those dreams in his heart and from time to time thought about them and pondered on them. While his brothers pushed him into slavery, Joseph’s aura wasn’t that of a slave. He lived and worked with excellence stewarding everything that God had given him because he knew who he was. Praise God for dreams that withstood the test of time!

The very thing that had gotten Joseph into trouble years ago, now it became the impetus for him to get out of prison and come into his position. Pharaoh had a dream that no one could interpret. The chief butler who had been blessed by the interpretation of the dream by Joseph recommended him to pharaoh (Genesis 41:9-13). Finally, Joseph’s dreams were on their way to being fulfilled. Praise God!

Think about the dreams God has given you. Do you take them seriously? How has He used them in your life? Write down your dream when you have one and pray for God’s interpretation.

I will continue with this subject in the next devotional.

Jesus is interceding for us

–-by so much more Jesus has become a surety of a better covenant…… Therefore He is also able to save to the uttermost those who come to God through Him, since He always lives to make intercession for them. Hebrews 7:22 & 25

There are times that we don’t even know how to pray. It is important in those times to remind ourselves that Jesus is interceding for us. He knows what we need, He is in tune with our condition, He has suffered just as we have, and He is standing in the gap for us.

In John chapter 17, Jesus is making intercession for all the believers. His desire is for us to know the father and to be one with Him.  When we have a revelation of our oneness with Christ, no longer will we feel alone in life. It is like a marriage covenant that no matter what happens the couple will walk right alongside of each other. How much more the lover of our soul and the one who died for us is willing to walk with us!?

Jesus’ blood gave us the life-long and eternal covenant to walk intimately with our bridegroom. He died for us, to give us life and more abundant life. He is on our side, and certainly He desires for us to have the fullness of the salvation that He came to give us and to enjoy all of its benefits.

The ultimate encouragement

Jesus taught His disciples how to pray. He gave them the Lord’s Prayer. One of the significant part of this prayer is:

“Your kingdom come, Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.” Matthew 6:10

Jesus was focused on the Father’s will above and beyond man’s opinion of Him or his own emotions. In the Garden of Gethsemane, He prayed more intensely:

“He went a little farther and fell on His face, and prayed, saying, “O My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from Me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as You will.” Matthew 26:39

Through this prayer, Jesus took us to the highest level of our calling. When we have done everything we can, we have prayed, fasted, and cried out before the Lord, then the best thing to pray is what Jesus prayed in the Garden of Gethsemane, “Not as I will, but as You will”.

There is great freedom in surrendering everything to the Father’s hands and being willing to go through it. The anguish goes away, the internal fighting disappears, anxiety and fear dissolve, and defending melts away. It all has been laid to rest because our will has been conquered by the will of the Father.

Surrender brings great rest and encouragement to the soul. Now, we are strengthened in the inner man to do whatever is needed to move forward in the purposes of God.

Take one area of your life that you are discouraged about. Present it to the Lord and encourage yourself in Him. How does the Lord see you in this situation? Do you know He is with you in it? Have you surrendered the process and the outcome to the Lord? Speak to your soul. Praise Him for who He is  and allow the  breath of God to flow in that area. In Jesus’ mighty name! Amen.

There are times in life that we have to take an active role in encouraging ourselves.  This could come in a time when no one is around to help us. It could be a season of pruning when one feels bare and lonely. It could be a time when there is a lot of persecution all around. On rare occasions, it could be a moment that one feels betrayed and isolated from others. Encouragement is an important part of our walk with God.  It helps sustain us in times of doubt, difficulty, or pressure.

Speak to your own soul

Why are you cast down, O my soul? And why are you disquieted within me? Hope in God, for I shall yet praise Him? For the help of His countenance. Psalm 42:5 & 11

The poet is in tune with his soul and knows at this moment, his soul is depressed and is in anguish. It is interesting that even a psychologist would tell you that depression is anger turned inward. People who have been in hurtful situations that they couldn’t change them or talk about them, keep the tumult in their heart. This, eventually raises its ugly head in the form of depression.

Depression is a place of losing hope and feeling like things will not change. The Psalmist speaks to his soul and says to it, put your hope in God. He is the one worthy of praise. He is the one who has never failed me nor forsaken me. He is the one who can even change my countenance and renew hope in my heart.

We need to say to ourselves: People or circumstances around me may continue to vex me, but my expectation is in God. I know He is good, and He seeks good for me. I will always hope in Him and look to Him for the help I need.

Call yourself what God calls you

In Song of Solomon, the Shulamite woman encourages herself differently.

I am dark, but lovely, O daughters of Jerusalem, like the tents of Kedar, Like the curtains of Solomon. Song of Solomon 1:5

The Shulamite woman is not in denial of who she is since she calls herself “dark” but she quickly says, “but lovely”.  That loveliness is something we cannot forget. There are times that we may think we are in a dark place. We feel no one loves us or cares about us, but we have to quickly remember that we are still lovely. Jesus died for me because He loves me, so I am lovely.

It is interesting even in the description of her darkness, the Shulamite woman didn’t compare herself to dirt, or a black sheep, but she compared herself to the tents of Kedar and curtains of Solomon. Kedar was a nomadic tribe that historians think came form Neo-Assyrian Empire. Of course, Solomon was a mighty king at the time of this writing. While she was trying to describe her darkness, she was still using royalty analogies. It would be as if trying to describe being dark to a black Rolls Royce or a black Corvette. The Shulamite identity had changed while she may still have had traces of her past hurts or her past failures.

God wants us to see ourselves as the Shulamite woman describes herself in this verse. We are lovely even though we weren’t loved before. We are lovely even though we were mistreated in the hands of others like the Shulamite woman was (see Song of Solomon1:6).  Our identity makes us different now. We are in the chambers of the king, and the more we recognize it and believe it, it gives us a confident humility about who we are. It encourages us to stay the course because we see ourselves like God sees us. There is hope that things will get better, and that we are changing more into our true identity.

If you need encouragement, take time today through His word and His Spirit to actively encourage yourself.

Breakthrough cultural barriers

In Ephesians 2, the scripture tells us that Jesus came to breakdown the middle wall of separation between the Jews and Gentiles. For the Jews, the Gentiles were considered unclean which caused separation between the two groups. We don’t want to be like the Jews of the past and avoid associating with the Gentiles of our time (unbelievers) because of their sin or sinful lifestyle. Part of our success as believers will hinge upon us being willing to breakdown the middle of wall of separation between us and the unbelievers.

We can get so caught up in our Christian relationships, that we either isolate ourselves from unbelievers or don’t have a desire to spend that much time with them. When we have regular relationships with unbelievers, it will allow us to know the issues that they are dealing with. They become a person who has needs rather than just a fish to get caught for Christ! As the saying goes, “People want to know how much you care about them, before they care how much you know.” We want to have a heart to love them and at the right time share Christ with them.

Several months ago, I was at the gym working out on a stationary bike. A gentleman sat on the bike next to me, so I struck up a conversation with him. He was from one of the Eastern European countries. He happened to immigrate to the United States the same year as I did. So we discussed politics, then talked a little bit on the subject of religion. I shared with him that I was a Christian, and gave a synopsis of my testimony. At one point in the conversation I asked him if he was married. He responded by saying, “You wouldn’t approve of my lifestyle!”

I asked him if he was living with someone and he said, “Yes.”

Then the Lord opened my eyes, and I asked him, “Do you live with a man?” He said, “Yes.” I had no idea up to this point.

That led us to a spiritual conversation. He knew the scriptures about homosexuality very well. His problem was that he had developed a family with another man, and they had children together. As a result, he didn’t want to lose his family. That gave me a great burden for this man and his family.

While we continue to preach, teach, and discuss the sin of homosexuality, there are homosexuals who are getting married and are having children. As the government continues to support civil unions and homosexual marriages, we will see more families developed over time. As a church, we need God’s divine wisdom on how to minister to individuals and families who are coming out of that lifestyle. Lord, help us. We desperately need to be in tune with God and in step with what is happening in people’s lives. Simple and quick answers aren’t going to be the solution, and it is just going to alienate people from church.

The voice of majority isn’t necessarily the voice of truth

Just because the voice of majority is louder, it doesn’t mean it’s true. That’s why it’s important for our ears to be more in tune to hearing the Lord than the voices around us regardless of the environment.

Sometimes, it’s not even the issue of whether something is moral or immoral but the amount of time and energy we put into it that should be evaluated. For example, success is an important American value which culturally translates into higher position and making more money. As a result some have careers ambitions, and they desire to move up the career ladder. There isn’t anything necessarily wrong with it, but with a couple of caveats. First, we don’t want to compromise our standards or be man pleasing in order to get promoted. Secondly, we  should be careful in not sacrificing time with God, our spouse, and children, so we can impress the boss by working too many hours.

The scripture tells us:

The blessing of the Lord makes one rich, And He adds no sorrow with it. Proverbs 10:22

If we strain/damage our relationships with people closest to us in the name of work, then we are out of God’s ordained priority in our lives. The same holds true in ministry. God established the church after he established marriage, work, and children. The Bible tells us that our relationship to our spouse is reflective of the relationship of Christ to the church (See Ephesians 5:22-32). By making a good and successful marriage we model that reality.

Jesus never asked us to live at church. He called us to be the church. We are the living stones, each of us doing our part in building and establishing the Kingdom.  He wants us to minister as we go through life touching people’s lives.

Lord, we need your help to create a worldview that goes above and beyond any culture that we are part of. We want to establish our lives around your standard and what is important to you. Help us to see things clearly and be willing to make the necessary adjustments to our cultural values that we’ve held near and dear for so long. We want to be in line with your will!!