You Calling Me A Liar?

“Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life…”

“I know about trusting God and all, but a person’s got to eat.”

This mild-mannered heresy is perhaps the watchphrase of the dying Christian West. It’s a certain type of kindly saccharine faithlessness that saps the life and joy from untold Christian lives, leaving them empty husks of what could be, largely ineffective.

Do we not think that God, who created everything in due time for His own glory, does not care enough about our day-to-day activities to provide for them? Or do we believe the lie that we of the West are blessed because we somehow worked a little harder, were a bit more intelligent, a bit more deserving than the next nation? Do we in essence believe in the lie that somehow we deserve, are merited towards reward? I wonder how many times we pray in the Americas (I include Canada) according to the lines of the Pharisee on the street corner: “Thank you Lord that I am not like that sinner (in Africa, or Arabia, or Europe, or Las Vegas).”

As our faith dies around us, we aught to search our own heart for this sin. I’ve been guilty of it; I lived by it for years…I graduated when I was 15 years old and was promptly self-employed, to a good end. Trust in my own arms was paramount until it was forcibly destroyed (trust in myself, that is) by a God too loving to see me destroy myself.

See, we live according to our world and we can’t deny it. Rare is the man or woman who is sold to Christ in form and function, and when you find them, you know them — their entire life is different and dare I say superior; holy; yet you know that they did nothing to get that way except simply obey.

The next time we are tempted to tag a “but” on the end of a direct commandment, it behooves us to pause and recognize the sin we are about to engage in. As a sidenote, if a man lives according to this “But” philosophy, it is inevitable that their whole life is in the grip of legalism; legalism that refuses to recognize the Eternal Grace that runs all of creation, even the creatures (Psalm 104). I would go so far as to call this the acid test of a legalistic life: “But” philosophy.

I can not emphatically state that there are no “Ifs,” “Ands,” or “Buts” with regards to faith in Christ. His word is his honor, and we tread poorly to call him a Liar. Don’t get me wrong: this is not legalistic dogmatics! There are many areas where Christ leaves us alone under Him (so drink that tasty frothing beer if you’d like). But “what is not of faith is sin” and I didn’t say it, the Bible did.

Search out this great matter for yourself. God will show you, and it doesn’t need some prayer, just “Lord, show me your mind on this matter” and then just wait; in due time He’ll show you. In the meantime, more can be learned in five minutes of obedience then five years of merely thinking about it.

The Crushing Weight Of Unemployment

“Eloi, eloi, lama sabachthani!”

Never did a more gut-wrenching cry ever come from the heart of a man. Yet since, how many times has it been repeated on the hearts and tongues of man?

Never forget that our Christ was also a man. Never forget it.

When you’ve done your work as you’ve known best to do under God, and still in the process of honoring Him your tongue utters these words, don’t duck. Don’t wince. Don’t delay in your honesty. This is not sin. The Lord Himself will convict you and teach you if you are wrong, but He will be gentle. Remember, He’s been there before.

One God and what befell Him common to all man. You’ve been offered the country at your feet. You’ve been tempted to test the Lord by defying His command for your life. You’ve been tempted to take matters into your own hands and create bread from the stones allotted for you. Now, at this point, don’t give up — remember what happened three days later?

“Those who sow in tears shall reap with joyful shouting.”

Take heart.