Eph. 5 Part 3

Ephesians 5:15-17 Part 3

15 Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise, 16 making the best use of the time, because the days are evil. 17 Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is. (ESV)  Eph. 5:15-17
"Look carefully then how you walk . . . ."
We have lost the art of self-examination.  We have ignored, except when it is "in our face," the motivation and desire to look deeply and seriously at our lives in the light of the Gospel.  We have neglected one of the most critical disciplines of the Christian walk.
Not much else needs to be said, does it?  When was the last time you called out to God to examine your heart and show you if (if?) there is any wicked way in you?  When was the last time you really sat and challenged your activities, priorities and pastimes in light of God's call to live holy lives?  When was the last time you earnestly sought to mortify (kill) the sin that still abides in each of us?
It is so much easier to look at the "evil" around us and be consumed by it and its growing effect on our world.  It is so much easier to examine outside than it is to examine inside.  It is so much easier to just go with the flow than to fight the current for His sake.  It is easier to just rely upon His cross and not bear our own.
It's plain why this is a problem for us.  If we were to really examine our walk, we would clearly see how we are caught up in the world and the concerns of the world over and above the priorities of heaven.  I know that when this self-examination happens, I feel a compulsion to radically alter my lifestyle and life habits.  And yet, I find that I resist that urge because I don't want to be weird or radical or appear to be nutz.
We want to "fit in" and fitting in demands that we stay just on the fringes of the Biblical mandate to live holy lives.  If we commit - really commit - then we are going to find that we are outside the flock as it exists today.  We are going to find that we are anachronisms and oddities.
We walk, too often, in those sins that seem little.  They are sins of preference.  We would rather watch TV than read the Bible.  We'd rather nap than pray.  We'd rather smile and wink than boldly state and hold to any unpopular biblical position.
They are sins of preference - preference evidenced by our choices.  We spend 40 hours (at least) at work and 2 to three hours at church.  We pour our energy into causes instead of Christ.  We worry more about acquiring and keeping than maturing in Christ.  We are more of the world than we are willing to admit.
So self-examination is something we either avoid or only pursue as long as it's comfortable.  Yet we cannot avoid the Biblical mandate of self-examination.  But not just self-examination.  Self-examination will bring conviction, and conviction must result in repentance, and repentance is by its very nature change.  And change we must for the sake of His honor and glory and the sake of our souls and sanity.
What are your priorities and preferences?  How many of them are God honoring and conducive to your being conformed more to His likeness?  How many of them would you dare seek to justify before God (and not just other people)?  How many of them are wise (God fearing)?
The monistic movement was certainly an attempt to get out of the world and away from its temptations.  But, it was also a means to commit one’s self to Christ, move out of the herd and live among a community that was clear in its purpose and commitment.  No, I am not advocating a return to a cloistered monastic lifestyle living behind high walls of stone avoiding the world.
But I am advocating that we examine ourselves and have the courage to change as the Spirit and the Word direct us to change.  As far as the world goes, we will be odd anachronisms and irritants.  But as far as the Kingdom goes, we will be brightly burning candles providing light, heat and guidance to a dark, cold and lost world.
We are to be "in" the world and not "of" the world.  How much "of" the world is your walk, your lifestyle?  I don't have to look very deeply to see that my walk is far, far too much "of."  Are you willing to look - to examine - to see and to change?

Eph. 5 Part 2

15 Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise, 16 making the best use of the time, because the days are evil. 17 Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is. (ESV)  Eph. 5:15-17

I have not been able to get this passage out of my head lately and I believe there is good reason.  It seems to me that these verses set critical boundaries and expectations that the believer needs to take seriously in these troubled times.
What stands out to me is the admonition to make the best use of our time BECAUSE the days are evil.
Now the days have been evil ever since Paul penned those words (and before he penned them as well). We need to KNOW, UNDERSTAND AND APPRECIATE this critical truth.  The days have been, are and will be evil, THEREFORE, we must make the best use of our time.  So, the questions are,
Are we making the best use of our time?
What wastes our time?
What distracts us from the "main things" of the faith?
What should be filling our time?
What should NOT be filling our time.
These are just a few of the questions that are raised in my mind and laid on my heart when I think on this passage.  I don't mean they are laid on my heart for you as much as they are laid on my heart for me.  It's just tooooooo easy to allow other things to crowd out or overwhelm what we should be about most of the time.
We have to remember that we are called to holiness - individual - depending on the Holy Spirit - holiness.  It's not just a Sunday thing or a "part of the day" thing but a 24/7/365/12 thing.  WE are to be being conformed to the likeness of Christ and we are to be being transformed by the renewing of our minds, in which we are passive.  We are to be actively and diligently involved in those activities and practices that are conducive to the conforming and transforming we are called to see and allow and have in our lives.
If anything is to pre-occupy us, it should be Christ and His claim/call on the entirety of our lives.  There is no weekend in the faith and there are no vacations - no time-outs!  We are to be His all the time, everywhere.
If we are to be obsessed with anything, it should be the faith and our faithfulness.  There is no place in our hearts and lives for anything else - at least there shouldn't be.  Why do we not understand that when Paul talks about "suffering the loss of all things for Christ, he is setting an example for each of us?  Why do we so conveniently fail to follow Paul as he follows Christ?  Though none of us have been called to fulfill the same role that Paul and other apostles were to fulfill, we ARE all called to serve and demonstrate the same faithfulness and diligence that they did.  We are all to consider "junk" anything that distracts us from the MAIN thing, which is a plain thing.
"I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live but Christ lives in me."  Really?  Really?  Are He and His Way the central issues in our lives?  They're not in mine. I have to confess I struggle with all the distractions but I struggle most with this idea/attitude in the church that we are entitled to things other than being conformed to the likeness of His Son.
WE are all caught up in our culture and its permissions and priorities.  We have to pray for a convicted heart and repentance.  We have lost the primacy of being in and not of the world and I fear it will cost us much in the days to come.  I fear it has led many to think they are of the faith who are mere pretenders.  I fear it has led many believers far from the faithfulness they need to have in their lives.  I fear it has caused the Church to be maligned among the Gentiles.  I fear that we have marginalized Christ and His call on our lives - pushing Him into a little neat box where He causes us the least distress and discomfort.
What do you think?

1 Peter 4:12&13

I Peter 4:12&13
Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery ordeal among you, which comes upon you for your testing, as though some strange thing were happening to you; but to the degree that you share in the sufferings of Christ, keep rejoicing so that also at the revelation of His glory you may rejoice with exultation.

Most of us are far from "suffering" any but the most mundane and common ordeals.  We have to admit that we have it pretty good when it comes to suffering for our faith.  I even think we have to admit that  a lot of the "suffering" we do experience is more the result of our pride and fears than it is from any sort of oppression.
But take heart, things are changing.  I believe we are beginning to see a concerted effort on the part of the godless to oppress, harass and persecute those who hold to a sincere and biblical faith.  I don't believe that we will experience the type of persecution our brothers and sisters in China experience but rather we will experience an attempt to shut our faith up within the doors of the church (meeting place) and make it all but impossible for us to make choices contrary to the culture without dire consequences.
It is our religious liberty that is being slowly reduced so that we seem more and more like a small fanatical hateful and ignorant group of people.  "They" (meaning Satan and all his little human helpers) want to silence and bind the church in our country.  They have no problem with us being believers as long as it's between four walls and not in the marketplace or general culture.  They want to isolate and in that way silence us.
Preaching in public will soon subject the preacher to accusations of hate speech and general meanness.  There will be little chance for public witnessing or teaching as we see believers being marginalized to a greater and greater extent.  All "they" have to do is make the claim that they are offended or somehow distressed by an open exercise or expression of our faith and we can and will be subjected to as great a level of persecution as "they" can possibly achieve.
We have no one but ourselves to thank for this situation.  We have been so busy opposing things in the culture that we have failed to preach the Gospel.  We have tried to snuggle up to the culture and be its "friend" which has led us to compromise the message into a meaningless jumble of "feel good," and "don't worry, be happy," commercials.
We have allowed false teachers to thrive while we smugly winked at each other.  We have failed to call the faithful to holiness.  We have even failed to make plain that obedience is the main consequence of belief or that belief can be legitimately called into question.
In short we have tried to accommodate and placate unbelievers into believing.  This is a sin from which we must repent and for which we are now paying the price.  We have offered "cheap grace" to the world and the world has called us on it.  We have tried to "make nice" for so long that we've all but lost the right to call men and women away from the fires of hell and to the Lord's feet.  We have "specialized" in opposing certain select sins until we have lost the right to be heard on the one most critical sin, unbelief.
We can "oppose" all kinds of pet sins in our culture but if we are not nailing the one fundamental sin, unbelief, to the wall then we are doing little - very little for the KIngdom and the glory of God..
In "The Christian in Complete Armor," William Gurnall makes the critical point that men and women will not be sent to hell for the numerous individual sins they have committed.  They will be sent to hell because they do not believe that Jesus is the Christ the Son of God and Lord of all.  It is unbelief that we have failed to address directly and powerfully.  We have failed to present a holy God who has the right, the obligation, to sit in judgment of His creation.  We have been so busy addressing sinful issues we have failed to address the core sin, unbelief.
And so now we are reaping what we have sown, the results of a cheap gospel with cheap grace that only applies to our pet issues.  We have so diluted the message of the cross that men will not have the true message of the cross preached anywhere but the confines of the "church."

Missing the Point?

July 7, 2015
Midland, Texas
It is obvious to all of us that our country, our culture has moved into a sin spiral the likes of which we have never seen before.  Romans 1 stands out as do many other passages as warnings and harbingers of where we are and where we are going.
What concerns me is that there seems to be, among many believers and especially those who are of some note and reputation, a greater concern of the policy and politics than for the individual holiness God calls us to.  It seems that the battle is misplaced, at least to me.  Where many seek to "reclaim" America for Christ they ignore the primary mandate to be holy as God is holy.  We, I fear, are missing the point!
Though people in our country make a claim to Christ, the country itself was never intended to be a "Christian" nation.  Is that not the whole point of the First ammendment.  Are we not prohibited from establishing any religion, even if it is Christan?  But that's not my true concern nor my point.
My point is that admidst all the hoopla and fuss over the recent legal and cultrual changes we have experienced we have lost sight of our prime directive.  We are to be holy as He is holy.  You will find no "cultural mandate" beyond proclaiming the Gospel in all of the New Testment.  We are to proclaim  HIm and His death and resurrection until He comes again.
I am not, by any means, a theological giant.  For me the simplicity of the Good News is critical.  But man likes to take the simplicity of the Gospel and twist it into some geo-political, cultrual cause.
As C.S. Lewis notes in the Screwtape Letters we are little satified to simply be Christians.  We have a tendency to attach some cause or secondary calling to our faith and we make it the litmus test for believers.  Whether it's abortiion, education, gay marriage or gun control somehow we raise these issues to a level they little deserve or meriit.  We make them a criteria by which we measure the health and viability of the faith.  We do this both on an individual and collective level.
I am tired of srmons dealing with "issues" when I should be hearing sermons on the Gospel.  I am tired of this misdirected war against a sinful culture when we should be fighting the sin that lies within us.  I am tired of "causes" being hung on the Gospel like ornaments on a tree.
I am tired of a lack of an expectation of holiness in the individual life and the ife of the church.  I am tired of the fear that is growing about persecution and a denial of our religious liberty - especially our iberty of conscience.
When will we e accept that the world hates us?  When will we accept tht tribulation and persecution and trials are actually the "norm" of the Christian life?  When will we place a greater emphassis on personal holiness than we do on whether or not we fly a Confederate flag?
I know many will take issue and claim that our battle is for the culture - for the country but that is not what we are called to in the Scriptures.  I fear that these diversions and additions are draining the energy and resources that are better aimed at proclaiming the Gospel and facilitating the conforming of believers to Christ-likeness.
Am I wrong?  I fear we have lost our "first love," and have ceased, as the Body of Christ and individuals, to do the first works, the prime works, the works to which we are called.

Too long - too dry

Greetings -

I'm wrting, as many of you knw, in Midland, Texas.  Patti was called to serve a ministry here last August and we we packed it up and mocved out here.  Things are going very well for Pat. She is happy and flourishing in her position and is joyously serving Him in serving them.  I am very proud of her and for her.

I, on the other hand, am working a minimum wage type job far below my abilities and skills.  It seems that God has a diferent plan for me now and it's tough waiting to see how He willwork things out.

However - apart from missing our "family" back in Greensboro very very much we are doing well and being blessed.

I thought of writing about the "trails" involved in our move but time has numbed many of the aches we went through.  What seemed so major at the time has shrunk to a more realistic perspective as time has passed.  But none-the-less, our move has not been without its moments.

We have learned a great deal about ourselves and about others as we have worked to settle into Midland.  WE have learned many of our strengths and a lot of our weaknesses,  /we have earned where we are in need of extra grace and where we have a super-abundance of grace.

WE have also learned how dear our famiy back in Greensboro IS to us and how we never really realized that until now.  We have learned, threough the move, that God's people are incredible sources of means and strength and courage in our lives.  We have also learned how ti "miss" people in a healthy was, celebrating the connection without getting all morose about the distance between us.

This is my second "start" on the blog from Midland and I hope it is a true start.  Last time I startedI found I didn't have anything to say.  Hopefully God has taught me things I can share with you as I begin again.

Greetings of all our frinds and famiy out there and we hope to be a blessing to you and be blessed by you in the coming days.

Michael and Patti