Archives for October 2020

I know many people whose life experience has been seriously impacted by offences. When something offends us it causes a ‘shut down’ inside us.

In my lessons on dealing with Rejection I point out that it is normal for people to cut off things that bring them pain. So when a child is embarrassed about their inabilities or failure to perform, they will cut off their connection with the source of pain. If school frightens them they want to avoid school. If speaking in public embarrassed them they will avoid ever having to do it again. If they are laughed at for some weakness or slip in performance they will quit that arena of endeavour, such as music, sport, academics and so on.

That’s a form of ‘shut down’.

At the same time people can be shut down by having a change of attitude toward something. If we are mocked for some item of clothing we will quickly lose any liking for it. If we are offended by a teacher or group leader we can lose all interest in the subject or interest group.

Of course, the world uses our self-preservation instinct to try to drive us away from such things as faith in God or trust in the Bible. There are many who mock Christians, in the hope they can drive the Christian away from their faith.

So there is a wide range of ways in which offences, ideas and experiences steer our attitudes and responses, and often cause us to ‘shut down’ to things.

I have met people who abandoned church because one individual or one incident offended them. I know people who gave up lessons or interests because something was said that changed their attitude.

Prejudices, antagonisms, pride, jealousies, resentments and similar attitudes can be transferred to us and cause us to shut down something we were already enjoying or happy to explore.

“Don’t have anything to do with him. He’s from a bad family.”

“You should do something far more valuable than that with your time.”

“When I tell you what I know about her you’ll quit her as a friend on the spot!”

“Those people are hypocrites and they’ll only look down on you.”

Obviously there are things that are offensive and to be avoided. Parents are meant to teach their children to accurately perceive dangers and distractions and avoid them. However, in that process, our instructors, from parents to teachers, coaches, pastors and leaders, also transfer to us their set of prejudices and programming.

The media also transmits biassed impressions, half truths, incomplete stories and even fake facts, so that too contributes to public perceptions.

I recently reflected on this Shut Down process due to some fine young people who were offered great input, but rejected it based on bias they picked up. A teaching program was available to them that would really help them but they had negative ideas about the program and took up offence against it. Rather than just decline the opportunity, they took a stand against the program. So there was some kind of offence driving them, not just disinterest.

Most things we do or could do can be faulted. Programs and processes are designed to achieve one thing or another, not all things at once. Teaching programs emphasise certain ideas, leaving out others. Disciplines compete with free will, while suiting ourselves means we avoid good things we don’t realise we need. So if you want to be critical there will be room to find fault.

Maybe the process could be managed better, or the people who support it are not your kind of people, or it originated in some source you don’t respect, or it includes some information you don’t like, and so on.

In life we lean to chew the meat and spit out the bones. Learning to be informed and discerning is far healthier for us than to be reactive.

So my topic here is to Avoid Shut Down. If you are the reactive type, cutting things off and burning bridges, then you are hacking great chunks out of your life. Yes, you need to be wise about what you respect and who you listen to, but you can’t just lop off everything that doesn’t suit you. In the end you’ll be trapped in a very narrow world and very shallow life.

I have greatly appreciated a range of experiences over the decades of my life, where I realised that certain types of people, certain groups and certain topics were not as I had been told. I had picked up prejudices and Shut Down some things before I knew much about them. Happily, in a few cases at least, I was pushed past my prejudices and discovered that my impressions were quite wrong. I could open the door of my mind to people and things I was otherwise Shut Down to.

I am not suggesting you dive into everything you have learned to disregard. I don’t advocate drinking poison or bathing in filthy water. But I do caution that you may well have taken offences and learned prejudices that have created Shut Down. You may well be Shut Down to things that are good for you, such as Christian faith, Bible Truth, the ministry of the Holy Spirit and effective Christian living, as well as many things about your natural life.

Consider things you are Shut Down to and the feelings of offence behind your choices. Invite the Spirit of God to prompt you about things you have reacted to and Shut Down that God wants to open to you.

There is no prize for being a critical, judgment, deluded, offended, limited and miserable person. There is great joy in living in the breadth of life God gives to you. So bring your heart to God and open yourself to Him and all He has for you. And as you move forward be careful to Avoid Shut Down.

We all like to do well for ourselves. We replace things we have with better things.

And we often like to make a good impression, comparing what we have with what others have. Texans are teased about their notion that everything is bigger and better in Texas. The rich look down on the poor. The smart look down on those who fail academically. Those on the ‘right side of town’ look down on others, and so on.

The Bible reveals that people can make choices that bring them the better or the worse outcomes. We are constantly called to make wise, godly choices and to enjoy the Best Blessings.

We are even warned that some things we think are blessings turn out to be bad for us.

The Children of Israel demanded various things but the end result wasn’t good for them.

“God granted their request, but sent leanness into their soul.” Psalm 106:15

The Bible talks of there being ‘good success’, which points to the fact that we can have ‘success’ that does not lead to good outcomes.

“Keep this Book of the Law on your lips, and meditate in it day and night, so you will be careful to do all that is written in it. Then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success.” Joshua 1:8

Many people have won their race, built their business, gained fame and acclaim, only to crash and burn. That type of success is far from good.

The Bible gives us a stark comparison of a good blessing against the best blessing.

When Isaac blessed his two sons, Jacob and Esau, Jacob stole the blessing that belonged to the first born son, Esau. Jacob valued that blessing, which had come down from Abraham and included the blessing of God that through the family line all families in the earth would be blessed.

Esau had previously shown himself not so keen to have that divine blessing, selling his birthright for a bowl of stew.

Jacob pretended to be Esau and received the family blessing of God’s divine grace.

Then Esau arrived to get the blessing but it was already given to Jacob. This greatly distressed Esau and he begged for a blessing from his father.

Isaac could not confer onto Esau the divine call of God, as he had already given that to Jacob. So Isaac gave the best blessing he could.

“Isaac his father said, Behold, you will live with the fatness of the earth, and the dew of heaven from above; And by your sword you will live, and will serve your brother; and it will come to pass when you have the strength, you will break his yoke off your neck.” Genesis 27:39,40

Let’s take a look at this blessing. Esau was given the blessings of the earth and the rain of heaven. That sums up all the things this world offers. He could have crops and herds, gardens and enterprise.

Further, he would live by his sword. So he would be free to use his own resources and strength and even use that to throw off any servitude to his brother. Here Esau was given all the might and power of this natural life. He could be a king or military commander. He could be a captain of enterprise. He could be great on the earth.

Many, many people today live for the best this world offers and the achievements of their own prowess giving them power over others. That blessing is the best this world offers.

Yet Esau hated Jacob for getting the Best Blessing.

“Esau hated Jacob because of the blessing with which his father blessed him” Genesis 27:41

Excuse me? Esau had the very blessing most westerners pursue all their life and yet he wasn’t happy? What is that all about?

If you had the choice of the blessings of the earth and sky and the strength to achieve what you want, wouldn’t you be happy?

However, if you had all of that and missed the blessing of God, how would you feel?

Esau’s descendants became the nation of Edom, which missed God’s blessings and has disappeared off the face of the earth.

Jacob’s descendants became the nation of Israel, which carried and still carries the blessing of God.

The different blessings given to Jacob and Esau reveal something very important. While all the blessings of this earth are wonderful and not to be despised, they are nothing when compared with the blessing of God. The blessing of God is the Best Blessing.

All you can achieve by your enterprise, energy, education, cunning and skill, with your vision, drive, insight, will-power and so on, cannot compare with the blessing enjoyed by the simpletons of this world, who achieve nothing but have Jesus living in their heart.

Millions of people who have chased and achieved significant things in this life will miss for eternity the blessing of God. At the same time, millions of people who could never achieve those same things enjoy much more wonderful blessings, by having the blessing of God through faith in Jesus Christ.

Later in the lives of Jacob and Esau we see that both men were blessed with abundant material goods. Jacob tried to give a gift of animals to Esau and Esau responded that he already had an abundance. Jacob insisted and Esau accepted the gift, but he didn’t need it. He had enjoyed the blessing conferred on him by his father. He had gained the good of the land and the rain and had used the might of his own arm effectively.

Yet there was an unseen dimension in the background of Jacob’s life; relationship with God. The blessing that rested on Abraham and Isaac now rested on Jacob and caused him to be changed to Israel, a ‘Prince with God’. No amount of natural blessing and human energy could create or match that blessing.

So, what about you? Have you chased the best this world offers? Have you realised yet that this world and your own energies and skills can’t give you the Best Blessings?

For all you achieve in your natural life, you are empty and destined to destruction, until and unless you receive the blessing of Almighty God through faith in Christ.

And Christian, all those lures to catch you up in squeezing blessing from this natural life don’t lead you to more of God’s best. They can’t give you the best blessings.

Your faith in Christ and your walk with Him deliver to you the best of the best. So re-jig your life and your lifestyle, around those things that really bring benefit. Be blessed in this life and enjoy your talents and strengths, but always keep them in their place. They are secondary to the source of true blessing in your life. Live humbly before God and, through faith in Him, and, through all your days, enjoy The Best Blessings.

A Christian friend asked me recently how he could be sure he was born again. He knew it was important to be born again, because Jesus said it was a must.

“Jesus answered Nicodumus saying, Most certainly I tell you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.” John 3:3

“Do not marvel at my telling you, You must be born again.” John 3:7

Some people have wonderful experiences of turning to Christ and finding their lives transformed. This is common among people who have lived a good part of their life away from God. The comparison is quite obvious once they experience new life through Christ.

But among those raised in Christian homes, believing in God since their young years, they do not have an “I have been transformed” experience.

My friend was in that situation, raised in a Christian home and feeling a love for God since his youngest years. So he wondered if there was something wrong that he did not feel some elation and wonder at being ‘born again’.

Being ‘born again’ is the experience of being made right with God and having God’s Holy Spirit come into our heart and living there. At that moment our ability to relate to God is turned on, because we are God’s child. Our sensitivity to spiritual things is awakened and we have a new hunger to experience more of God.

Along with that comes the wonderful experience of being forgiven, loved, welcome in God’s house, clean and given a new destiny. We may not be clearly conscious of each thing, but we know something is new and it’s good.

We get that experience by a spark of faith within us. We hear the Good News (Gospel) message of God’s love and of salvation offered through Christ. We learn that Jesus Christ, God’s Son, came to earth to die for our sins and we choose in our heart to trust Jesus.

Our faith in Christ triggers God’s grace released to us and we are saved, born again, forgiven, made God’s child and our Christian life is instantly started.

“By grace you are saved through faith. It is not your doing. It is the gift of God” Ephesians 2:8

Faith comes into your heart by hearing the Gospel message about Christ.

That doesn’t mean you will always embrace that faith. The enemy wants to keep you from putting your faith in Christ and he speaks into your mind a number of things designed to frustrate your step of faith.

There may be doubts, or feelings it is wrong to abandon the beliefs of your family, or that connecting with God will disrupt your life, and so on. These are attempts by the devil to make you step away from faith.

I have met people who had an internal struggle for years, feeling the pull of God’s love and their need to put faith in Christ, while there is another pull of pride, fear, self-will, obligation or other things, keeping them from taking a step of faith.

As a child, going regularly to church, I knew I needed to put my faith in Christ to be forgiven of my sins and be able to enjoy eternity in heaven with God. But to my childhood mind all the Christians seemed terribly stern and unhappy with the life of religious duty. I thought it would be good to enjoy life, then become a Christian not long before I died. I thought I would then have the best of both worlds.

So I understand how we can know the truth, but still hold back from giving in to God.

When we do step over the line, so to speak, accepting that we have faith in Christ and letting God rescue us through the sacrifice of Jesus, we experience being born again.

Note that the wonderful new birth of Christianity isn’t actually done by us. Jesus tells us we are born again by the Spirit of God, not by us creating something new inside us.

“Jesus answered, Assuredly I tell you, no one can enter God’s kingdom unless he is born of water and the Spirit. That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.” John 3:5,6

There are two ways to be born. Each human is born by another human. You were born in a sack of fluid, so born of water. When you become a Christian you are born by the Holy Spirit making your spirit alive within you.

You don’t control either birth. Your parents caused your natural birth. The Holy Spirit creates your spiritual birth.

Those who hear about Jesus and put their faith in Him as children enjoy being born again, but may not recognise the transformation in the same way an older person would. They have much less experience of the emptiness of this world.

So that’s why my friend, raised in a Christian home, could not identify a time of being ‘born again’. He knew he loved God and He was moved at times with the wonder of God’s awesomeness. That came out of his tender childish spirit, born again by the Spirit of God.

For those who have been raised in church, who also might wonder “Am I Born Again?” let me help you.

If you believe in your heart and confess your faith with your mouth you are saved. So that includes being born again and all the others blessings of Christianity.

“If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.” Romans 10:9

You can say right now, “I believe God raised Jesus from the dead, and I confess Jesus as Lord.” God sees your heart toward Him and your desire to be saved and be God’s child. He may already know you as His child, despite you being insecure about that. Or right now He will welcome you into His family. Either way, you are Born Again.

The important thing from you is your choice to put your faith in Jesus. You can do that as a child choosing to love God, or as a sinner praying the ‘Sinner’s Prayer’ at a grand crusade. You can pray a prayer off a piece of paper or just encounter God in a private moment when you give in to Him.

What God sees is your heart. He sees your heart toward Him and your trust in Jesus for your salvation. So whether your actions are formal or messy, public or alone, it is your faith in Christ that opens God’s storehouse of grace and pours salvation onto you.

And, yes, my friend, You Are Born Again!

The Christian way of life is different to the way non-Christians live. And Christianity is not a religion, but a relationship with God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit.

People who become Christians find that their life changes significantly, but often in unseen ways. At the same time, people raised in church can have a lot of religious ideas which are not part of Living Your Faith. Those ideas can get in the way.

So let me share with you some simple, foundational aspects of your life of faith.

Firstly the foundation of your Christian life is Faith in God and trusting Christ for forgiveness of your sins. Belief is at the core of Christianity.

In the early church days an evangelist named Phillip was directed by God to go to a remote place. While there he saw a chariot on the road and God prompted him to speak to the traveller. The man was a high official from Ethiopia who had been in Jerusalem to learn more about the Jewish religion. He was reading the Prophet Isaiah’s writings when Phillip approached him.

The man invited Phillip into the chariot, Phillip explained the good news about Christ dying for us and the official wanted to put his faith in Christ.

They came to a place where there was a pool of water and the official asked to be baptised, to confirm his choice to be a Christian. Phillip then asked the man to confirm his mind, to confess his faith in Christ. What the man ‘believed’ was the key to his salvation.

“Philip said, If you believe with all your heart, you may be baptised. And he answered and said, I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God.” Acts 8:37

Jesus confirmed belief as the core of our new life.

“They asked, What must we do to work the works of God? Jesus told them, This is the work of God, that you believe in Him whom He sent.” John 6:28,29

The Apostle John also spoke to this core matter of believing.

“This is God’s commandment: that we should believe in the name of His Son, Jesus Christ, and we should love one another just as He commanded us.” 1John 3:23

You are a Christian because you believe Jesus is the Son of God who came from heaven to take on a human body, live sinlessly and then die to pay for your sins. You believe that Jesus rose from the dead, as the Bible explains, and has defeated sin, death and the devil for you. When you put your faith in Christ, asking Him to forgive your sins, you are forgiven and adopted into God’s family.

So Secondly, Christianity is Relationship with God and Jesus. Faith is the basis or starting point of your Christian life, and your lifestyle is then your expression of that faith impacting all you do and think.

Your faith in Christ brings you into a powerful connection with God, as God’s child. The original connection God had with Adam at the beginning is restored, and even improved on. So God now relates to you and you can confidently come into God’s presence and enjoy His blessings.

That relationship is a dynamic and living experience, which grows as you spend time with God, read God’s Word, pray, praise God, fellowship with Christians, attend church, experience God prompting you in various ways, enjoy the presence of the Holy Spirit in your life and experience God changing you on the inside.

Some Christians hardly grow at all in their walk with God. Others press in to be as connected to God and as responsive to God as they can.

In Bible times people were recognised to be at different levels of their spiritual journey.

“Everyone who lives on milk is still a baby, inexperienced in the message of righteousness.” Hebrews 5:13

“Then we will no longer be infants” Ephesians 4:14

“I write to you children … I write to you fathers …. I write to you young men” 1John 2:12,13

Your faith and your relationship with God are such huge elements of your Christian life that adding other things might give a wrong impression. If you concentrate only on those things, growing in faith and in your relationship with God, you will be in a wonderful place.

So Thirdly, Christianity is Growing in Grace and becoming more like Christ.

“Grow in grace and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.” 2Peter 3:18

We do this out of our faith in God and our relationship with God. Grace is a matter of divine favour, not of correctly positioning ourselves religiously to some place where we force some divine experience to open up. God’s blessings are those of a loving father to His beloved child. God’s correction and discipline is that of a loving father to His beloved child. God’s wisdom and direction is that of a loving father to His beloved child.

So the best way to grow in grace is to grow in our relationship with God. Obviously understanding what God thinks and wants is part of that. Learning to identify when God is prompting you is also part of that. Being humble, dying to your selfish lusts, learning to live for God and others, loving others, helping to build God’s Kingdom and removing bad things from your life are all elements of your Growing in Grace.

Fourthly, in support of you Growing in Grace, is to Access all God has for you. That means to believe God’s word, read it and treasure it. That means to be filled with the Holy Spirit and receive the many gifts, fruit and benefits of the Holy Spirit in your life. That means learning to stand in faith against the enemy, claiming God’s blessings and overcoming evil. That means aligning with the will of God in the wider arena of your life, so you and God work together for His purposes. That means finding God’s truth and the work of the Holy Spirit to set you free from sin, habits, failure, curses, enemy strategies and the like, so you live in ever increasing freedom and power. That means learning to avoid the traps, temptations, snares, lies and fiery darts of the enemy, keeping yourself from evil things so you are not dirtied by them.

Many Christians might like to add to this list their favourite religious things, duties, practices and so on. My expectation is that if people live out the things I have listed here then God and the Holy Spirit will direct them to live out those other details, such as witness and service of God, appropriate behaviour, effective forms of worship and so on.

Friends, reflect on what I have presented here and make progress at each level. Then keep doing the same, as you learn to let God be your personal Father and the guide of your living relationship with Him. As you do that you will be Living Your Faith.

Praise to God is a natural response from our hearts. God has saved us from our sins and given us an amazing new life as His children. We are forgiven and cleansed, filled with the Holy Spirit, resourced with the Word of God, the Blood of Christ and God’s Love to live amazing new lives for God’s Kingdom.

Yet, like all things in life, we can become cool toward what should be kept in our heart as amazing and wonderful.

The Bible shows that Christians are to be a people of Praise.

“You are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvellous light” 1Peter 2:9

“This people have I formed for myself; they will show forth my praise.” Isaiah 43:21

“Let everything that has breath praise the Lord. Praise the Lord!” Psalm 150:6

I have often noted how blessed Christians seem to be when they start to praise God. Hymns and songs of praise are a valued part of Christian worship, not just because it’s a nice thing to do, but because praise, whether in song or word, releases something from us to God that is a natural part of our Christian life.

If you have not been active in praising God I urge you to realise this is something you are meant to do, constantly.

“Be filled with the Spirit, speaking to yourselves in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord” Ephesians 5:18,19

Note that praise includes music but can be done without any music or song. Praise is what we say to God from our heart. Reciting a psalm or speaking our words of glorifying God is perfectly valid as praise, without us having to break into song.

We are also shown in the Bible that praise and thanksgiving are keys to entering into God’s presence. As God’s children we are instructed to consciously enter God’s presence in order to receive things God has for us.

“Come boldly to the throne of grace, to receive mercy, and find grace to help in time of need.” Hebrews 4:16

“In Christ we have boldness and confident access to God by the faith of him.” Ephesians 3:12

King David was one of the greatest worshippers of God, giving us many of the Psalms used for thousands of years by God’s people. David gives us a key to coming into God’s presence, using thanks and praise.

“Enter his gates with thanksgiving, and into his courts with praise: be thankful to him, and bless his name.” Psalm 100:4

“Let us enter His presence with thanksgiving; let us make a joyful noise to Him in song.” Psalm 95:2

David gives us the picture of going through God’s gates, as in the outer entry point into His presence, by giving Thanks. Then getting even closer to God, into His courts, using Praise.

Those who study worship have suggested that being thankful is a good way to start our time of praise and worship to God. Then praising God brings us right before His throne.

I recently led a group of friends to actively enter God’s presence, starting with Thanks. Those more experienced at worshipping God had no problem thinking of things to thank God for. Others struggled to think of what to thank God for.

King David could thank and praise God readily, and he even praised God for things that happened in historic times, since they displayed God’s glory. The psalms talk of God rescuing Israel from Egypt, opening the Sea, protecting Israel in the wilderness and giving them the Promised Land.

There are unlimited things we can thank and praise God for.

If you have not practiced giving God thanks, I urge you to take time each day to thank God for things, such as your life, family, comfort, provision and the like, and then thank God for things far and wide, such as His hand on your family through the generations. I expect that as you practice thanking God you will unlock your inner desire to praise and worship God, because the Holy Spirit within you wants your spirit to praise God.

Note that the Apostle Paul says thanking God is God’s will for us.

“In everything give thanks, for this is the will of God for you in Christ Jesus.” 1Thessalonians 5:18

It is suggested that a time of glorifying God can involve three progressive steps. The first is Thanks to God, by which we come through His gates. We then give God Praise, which is to glorify God for what He has done, such as His victories and provisions. 

“Praise him for his mighty acts: praise him according to his excellent greatness.” Psalm 150:2

Then, at the closest place with God, we Worship, which is to glorify God for Who He is, not just what He has done.

“You are worthy, O Lord, to receive glory, honour and power; because you created all things, and they were created for your pleasure.” Revelation 4:11

We see this progression in human relationships, starting with appreciation for what someone has done or is to us. We then give honour for how they have been helpful to us. At the closest level, we simply adore them for who they are. Many times in our closest relationships we don’t need to say much, but just enjoy being with them.

So, my friends, let me encourage you to do what you are created to do; Praise the Lord. Practice it as a skill, expanding your experience in giving God Thanks for all the things He has done. Then Praise Him for His mighty acts and all the great victories and provisions He gave you.

As you do that you may well find yourself sensing God’s presence and just wanting to worship and adore Him.

I urge you all to be sweetly expert at coming to God’s throne of grace and Entering With Praise.