It’s Never Over…Unless You make it so!

As we close this series on Drifting, we will look at the "worse case" scenario. Before we do that please take time to reflect upon the whole reason for this series. Most children of God do not desire to have broken fellowship with Him, do not willfully rebel and defy Him. Those that fit that description would not be helped by this series. The vast majority of believers desire a close and intimate fellowship with the Lord. There are two main causes why we do not experience a walk like that. One, which would require a different series, is just plain laziness. Our fellowship is based upon the same principles as any relationship. 

The "relationship" is based on an objective reality. Like marriage, which is based on a Vow, and no matter how you "feel"  you made the Vow and that person is your spouse! I realize "better or worse" does not mean much to many today, but that does not change God's view of it. However, "liking" your spouse is based on day to day, subjective realities! This is the same for our walk with God. Our relationship is based on the objective shed blood of Jesus Christ. If you have placed your trust in His sacrifice and asked Him to forgive you and to make you a child of God, that is done! No matter what you say or do can change that reality! 

I will be blunt here - Those that teach that you can do something to lose that relationship are: 1. Denying what God has said! 1 Jn 5:11-13, Eph 4:30, Jn 10:27-28, Rom 8:35-39 - there are so many more - but God is clear - when He makes you His child - that's what you are. 2. Ignorant of the Power of the Shed Blood of Christ! This is beyond the scope of our understanding! When the “Godman” Jesus, sacrificed Himself for all sin, it was complete, total and all encompassing. If you have humbled yourself, realized your works cannot purchase forgiveness of your sins, make you perfect in the Father’s eyes and spend eternity with Him, then from your mind and heart placed your trust on what Jesus did alone to make you a child of God…if you then believe some piddly sin of yours can undo that, you really are ignorant of the Sovereign Power of God. 

And I must say here, I find that belief insulting to our Father and especially to Jesus! To say all He did could be undone by something you do, is like slapping Him in the face while on the cross! His sacrifice is supremely powerful compared to any evil any human could do! If you have the Blood of Christ in you and have been washed in it, He “OWNS” you! 1 Cor. 6:19-20 & 7:22-23

So, if you have used the free choice with that seed of faith God has placed in all men (Ecc 3:11 & Rom 1:20) and trusted Christ, you are in an eternal relationship. However, friendship (fellowship) is another matter. We can grieve, disappoint, anger and ignore God. Just like any relationship, for intimacy to exist, both parties must work at it. God does His part…and since He is perfect, we know if there is a problem we need look no further than the mirror! This is where the first cause I mentioned takes place, we are lazy and think great intimacy will just happen. It reminds me of a quote from two men. Curtis Grant said “Having the world’s best idea will do you no good unless you act on it”…then he added a quote from Elbert Hubbard, “People who want milk shouldn’t sit on a stool in the middle of a field in hopes that a cow will back up to them.” 

Intimacy with God is a “proactive lifestyle, and if you believe touching base with Him once a week…or may I even be bolder, one short moment each day, will fulfill your soul’s need, you will be greatly disappointed. This is why I, as a counselor, deal with so many depressed believers. They want it to just happen, but it will not. A “Living God” requires “living with” which involves our whole day. I connect with my wife often everyday. The marriages I see that are in trouble basically have a “good morning” and “good night” approach! How can any kind of closeness happen that way?

The second cause is the one we are looking at: Drifting. We are proactively seeking to be close to God, but after a while habits…even good ones…become exactly that – HABITS! We do what we do because that is what we have always done! Before you know it, we are not consciously connecting with God, we are doing the rituals, but there is no substance. We have moved from “relationship” living to “religiosity” existence. We have ceased “being” the Church and now “go to” Church, which is not CHRISTianity but churchianity! Self examination is essential to guard us from drifting.

Here are the 9 conditions we have looked at:

•       First Warning #1 Laziness = Lack of Discipline!

▪       §  Test yourself: Do you only do the difficult or inconvenient when forced to, or do you choose to do the difficult, i.e. Memorize Scripture, Read through the Bible, Fast, etc. just to stay in shape?

•       Second Warning #2 Boredom = Lack of Purpose!

▪       §  Test yourself: Are you Proactive in your walk with God? Do you seek from Him on your own to create new ways to grow and serve Christ?

•       Third - Warning  #3 Restlessness = Lack of Contentment!

▪       §  Test yourself: How do you handle solitude? If you are alone for a period of time, can you use it profitably, or do you just become “antsy” and have to find anything to do to distract yourself?

•       Fourth - Strong Current #4 Pride = Lack of REAL Esteem!

▪       §  Test yourself: How many of those around you know that you need Christ and have no joy in your life without Him? Are you embarrassed to talk about your dependence on Christ for everything in your life?

•       Fifth - Strong Current #5 Self Pity = Lack of Control over Circumstances!

▪       §  Test yourself: When someone does not fulfill a promise they made to you, how long does it take for you to get over it? When someone has wronged you, how difficult is it for you to forgive them?

•       Sixth - Strong Current #6 Pigging Out = Lack of Control of Appetites!

▪       §  Test yourself: Which do you hunger for more, that which pleases God or that which pleases you? Do you seek to make other feel good or your self?

•       Seventh – Danger Zone #7 Murmuring = Lack of Joy!

▪       §  Test yourself: Starting with where you are right now and what you have right now, what’s your “beef” with God? How much time to you spend thanking God for here and now versus wishing things were better?

•       Eighth – Danger Zone #8  Hatred of being corrected = Lack of Fear!

▪       §  Test yourself: Are you accountable to anyone in your life? Are you uncomfortable when those in the Body of Christ, that are authority figures appointed by God, try to get close to you?

•       Ninth – Danger Zone #9 Bitterness =   Lack of Compassion!

▪       §  Test yourself: How long does it take for you to decide you will forgive someone? How many people can you remember that have hurt you easily? How many habitual sins are in your life so deep that you couldn't stop them even if you wanted to?

Step #10 Hard Heart

When your life is so far from God that you no longer can hear His voice, you have left the current and have shipwrecked on the rocks! Your faith is deaf and blind, not being able to discern anymore, and it exposes in your life a Lack of Conviction.  This is a terrible situation for any child of God and NEVER has to happen if we remain diligent to examine our lives.

Hebrews 3:12–13 Be careful then, dear brothers and sisters. Make sure that your own hearts are not evil and unbelieving, turning you away from the living God. You must warn each other every day, while it is still “today,” so that none of you will be deceived by sin and hardened against God.

This heart condition leads a person to take life and God’s grace for granted! Their approach to life is presumption and they heed not wise words:

Proverbs 27:1 Do not boast about tomorrow, for you do not know what a day may bring forth.

1 Timothy 1:18–19 This command I entrust to you, Timothy…fight the good fight, keeping faith and a good conscience, which some have rejected and suffered shipwreck in regard to their faith.

Our Lord is grieved and even angered when our hearts become hard:

Mark 3:5 He looked around at them angrily and was deeply saddened by their hard hearts. Then he said to the man, "Hold out your hand." So the man held out his hand, and it was restored 

Mark 16:14  Afterward He appeared to the eleven themselves as they were reclining at the table; and He reproached them for their unbelief and hardness of heart, because they had not believed those who had seen Him after He had risen.

When there is no outward evidence between the life of a “child of God” and a “child of the world” this individual will never respond to God’s voice again! Hebrews 6 addresses this. 

It is “impossible” for them to repent. Why? Because they cannot hear God anymore. Some say this must be an unbeliever, but their bias toward that position exposes their unwillingness to deal with the Scriptures that show believers that have eternal life, but have no investment due to the unfruitful life they lived after entering into Salvation. Paul speaks several places about this, including the young man in 1 Cor. and especially the judgment seat for believers in 1 Cor. 3. No rewards – which translates into no evidence in the life, yet still in heaven – “but he himself will be saved, yet so as through fire.” John called it the “sin unto death” 1 Jn. 5

You ask…Nate…could that be me? If you can ask that…the answer is no! When a believer is in this condition, they think everything is fine. The very fact that you are questioning is a testimony that you are still open to hearing His voice!

What to do?  The most effective way to remain alert to Drifting is to be involved in small group discipleship. Please! Spare me the excuses, everyone is busy, everyone doesn’t know anybody, no has a place to meet, and no one can figure out how to do it! Sorry for my sarcasm, but I grow tired of the reasons. I have heard them all and at times been tempted to say most of them! Getting together 1 time a week with friends and discuss how our life is going does not require a Rocket Scientist! Pray and Do It! You will grow and experience an deeper intimacy with the Lord in a very short time. 
Next week I will launch my webpage, and on it I have included a resource tab, where I will continue to place tools for discipleship that are down loadable, to encourage the Body of Christ to take ownership of their walk with God. When I launch I will put on FB and this Devo site.

Stay close, Don’t DRIFT!

The One Pill You Should Not Take!

One of the most heart wrenching experiences I have ever endured taught me the the danger of “Bitterness” My first Disciple in Makakilo, Hawaii was a tough former Marine. His wife had been coming to the church and seeking counseling about her marriage. She said if he would just become a believer , she knew her marriage would become great! He did, and what a change. George (fake name) was one of the most on fire men of God I have ever encountered. He started bringing his three sons to everything and we began discipling! Suddenly Sally (fake name) became angry at me. She attacked me verbally and said she wanted her husband to be a believer but not a fanatic! The next year was horrible, she quit church, threatened divorce, tried to malign me and made George’s life miserable! Finally she called and asked to meet with he and I. There she pleaded one more time for him to just be like he use to be, no more Bible, no more Church. He gently told her he could never go back because Jesus had changed him. 

It was like watching a volcano go off! Screaming, threatening both of us, then suddenly she became calm, said “fine, we will stay together but live separately, I hate you George and I hope you die!” George remained faithful to the Lord and continued to bring his sons with him, but Sally was never seen and George said that home life became worse and worse as he could see his wife's heart filled with bitterness. Six months after she had said she hoped he died, George was diagnosed with stomach cancer. I remember the day he called me to his house to tell me how bad it was and how short of time he had left. He had complete peace with the Lord, of course concern for his boys, but almost a delightful relief of not having to endure the wrath of his wife anymore. When I received the call that he was near death I went to the hospital. His wife was outside the room...broken. She said the boys were in with George and he wanted me to go in. As I held his hand he became quite lucid, smiled at me. I asked him about Sally, he said she could not sit in with him because of guilt. He had forgiven her, and told her he loved her, but she was filled with shame. I prayed with he and his boys, then the Lord brought him home.

What bitterness did to that woman has never left me. She could not look at me as I informed her George was gone. She did not talk all the way through the day of the funeral. As I walked away from the grave she grabbed my hand and broke down begging forgiveness. I had the joy of sharing that I never disliked her and that the Lord desires to have fellowship with her. The good news, she came back to the Lord, and brought her boys up under the Word of God. 

The bad news is that, although forgiven, I know the scar she carries in her heart. Bitterness drove her to utter words she will always regret, God heals, but scars remain! There is a saying: “This is a “bitter” pill to swallow!” I recommend this is one pill you refuse to take!

As we look at another danger zone let’s review:

·      First Warning #1 Laziness = Lack of Discipline!

§  Test yourself: Do you only do the difficult or inconvenient when forced to, or do you choose to do the difficult, i.e. Memorize Scripture, Read through the Bible, Fast, etc. just to stay in shape?

·      Second Warning #2 Boredom = Lack of Purpose!

§  Test yourself: Are you Proactive in your walk with God? Do you seek from Him on your own to create new ways to grow and serve Christ?

·      Third - Warning  #3 Restlessness = Lack of Contentment!

§  Test yourself: How do you handle solitude? If you are alone for a period of time, can you use it profitably, or do you just become “antsy” and have to find anything to do to distract yourself?

·      Fourth - Strong Current #4 Pride = Lack of REAL Esteem!

§  Test yourself: How many of those around you know that you need Christ and have no joy in your life without Him? Are you embarrassed to talk about your dependence on Christ for everything in your life?

·      Fifth - Strong Current #5 Self Pity = Lack of Control over Circumstances!

§  Test yourself: When someone does not fulfill a promise they made to you, how long does it take for you to get over it? When someone has wronged you, how difficult is it for you to forgive them?

·      Sixth - Strong Current #6 Pigging Out = Lack of Control of Appetites!

§  Test yourself: Which do you hunger for more, that which pleases God or that which pleases you? Do you seek to make other feel good or your self?

·      Seventh – Danger Zone #7 Murmuring = Lack of Joy!

§  Test yourself: Starting with where you are right now and what you have right now, what’s your “beef” with God? How much time to you spend thanking God for here and now versus wishing things were better?

·      Eighth – Danger Zone #8  Hatred of being corrected = Lack of Fear!

§  Test yourself: Are you accountable to anyone in your life? Are you uncomfortable when those in the Body of Christ, that are authority figures appointed by God, try to get close to you?

Ninth – Danger Zone #9 Bitterness

Deuteronomy 29:14–19 “But you are not the only ones with whom I am making this covenant with its curses. I am making this covenant both with you who stand here today in the presence of the Lord our God, and also with the future generations who are not standing here today. “You remember how we lived in the land of Egypt and how we traveled through the lands of enemy nations as we left. You have seen their detestable practices and their idols made of wood, stone, silver, and gold. I am making this covenant with you so that no one among you—no man, woman, clan, or tribe—will turn away from the Lord our God to worship these gods of other nations, and so that no root among you bears bitter and poisonous fruit.  “Those who hear the warnings of this curse should not congratulate themselves, thinking, ‘I am safe, even though I am following the desires of my own stubborn heart.’ This would lead to utter ruin!

There is a character quality every believer need: Have a “short memory!” Not concerning everything, but only concerning “wrongs” they feel have been done against them. Only the Holy Spirit can accomplish this. Throughout my walk with Christ, by His grace, I have experienced this. Most people that know me, comment that I am quite transparent, and I do try to be, because accountability is one of the greatest weapons against the flesh! So I am honest about my weaknesses, rarely do I get to talk about a strength. This is one of mine. God has enabled me to have a “short memory” and forgiveness is not a difficult decision for me. “Decision?”…you think, isn’t forgiveness a “feeling?” I will come back to that…but first we need to understand that when we are in the Danger Zone of Bitterness it exposes a terrible “cancer” in our heart... a Lack of Compassion!  

When you cannot forgive, you show your contempt for how much the Lord forgave you! Jesus made this point with Simon the Pharisee – and His point was that when you understand how much God loves you to forgive all the garbage you do, you will have the love to forgive others. If you don’t understand the Love it took God to forgive you, you will not have that reservoir to go into to forgive others! [1]

Now back to “forgiveness” being a decision. That is exactly what it is! Too many people try to “feel” it first before they give it. That method will lead you directly to “Bitterness!” When you make the “decision” to forgive…because Christ forgave you…God will honor that and in time your emotions will catch up to your decision. I had a person that I thought was a friend and co-laborer lie so much about me, people in the USA were calling me to ask if it were true that Dee and I were getting a divorce! I decided to forgive him. The next day – emotionally I killed him again, but then said “no I have forgiven him!” Each day I “killed” him, then reminded myself I had forgiven him.

Soon I was only killing him once a week, then once a month, then once a year…now I have not done it for years. I have gone to coffee with him, and I pray for his well being! I still do not trust him...there’s a big difference between forgiveness and trust…but that is another Devo! Make the decision…and watch how your emotions change!

Hebrews 12:15 Look after each other so that none of you fails to receive the grace of God. Watch out that no poisonous root of bitterness grows up to trouble you, corrupting many.

Test yourself: How long does it take for you to decide you will forgive someone? How many people can you remember that have hurt you easily? How many habitual sins are in your life so deep that you couldn't stop them even if you wanted to?

Hebrews 12:15–17 Look after each other so that none of you fails to receive the grace of God. Watch out that no poisonous root of bitterness grows up to trouble you, corrupting many. Make sure that no one is immoral or godless like Esau, who traded his birthright as the firstborn son for a single meal. You know that afterward, when he wanted his father’s blessing, he was rejected. It was too late for repentance, even though he begged with bitter tears.

Ephesians 4:26–27 And “don’t sin by letting anger control you.” Don’t let the sun go down while you are still angry, for anger gives a foothold to the devil.

Meditation: Just ONE question: How long of a memory do you have?

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[1]   Luke 7:40–50 Then Jesus answered his thoughts. “Simon,” he said to the Pharisee, “I have something to say to you.” “Go ahead, Teacher,” Simon replied.  Then Jesus told him this story: “A man loaned money to two people— 500 pieces of silver to one and 50 pieces to the other. But neither of them could repay him, so he kindly forgave them both, canceling their debts. Who do you suppose loved him more after that?”  Simon answered, “I suppose the one for whom he canceled the larger debt.” “That’s right,” Jesus said. Then he turned to the woman and said to Simon, “Look at this woman kneeling here. When I entered your home, you didn’t offer me water to wash the dust from my feet, but she has washed them with her tears and wiped them with her hair. You didn’t greet me with a kiss, but from the time I first came in, she has not stopped kissing my feet. You neglected the courtesy of olive oil to anoint my head, but she has anointed my feet with rare perfume. “I tell you, her sins—and they are many—have been forgiven, so she has shown me much love. But a person who is forgiven little shows only little love.” Then Jesus said to the woman, “Your sins are forgiven.”  The men at the table said among themselves, “Who is this man, that he goes around forgiving sins?” And Jesus said to the woman, “Your faith has saved you; go in peace.”