Walking With Jesus

Feelings! Can You Trust Them?

“Dear children, let’s not merely say that we love each other; let us show the truth by our actions. Our actions will show that we belong to the truth, so we will be confident when we stand before God. Even if we feel guilty, God is greater than our feelings, and He knows everything.” (1 John 3:18-20 NLT)

As human beings we operate a lot of our life based on how we feel. Even as believers in Jesus, much of what we do or don’t do is governed by how we feel – physically, mentally, emotionally, even spiritually. How many times have you said or heard someone say some version of: “I don’t feel right about this.” Or “This just feels sooooo right!”

It’s one thing if you’re standing on the side of a swimming pool deciding whether to jump in: it’s a completely different thing if you’re pondering committing a crime or violating another person in some way. Feelings themselves aren’t necessarily wrong. Emotions are a part of our makeup as humans, but like with so many other things, it’s not wrong to have them, but it certainly can be wrong to obey them.

Last night I sat with a friend who recently lost someone dear to him. He’s very angry with God and blames Him for the horrible way he feels. At age 55 he believes that God is responsible for his “mistreatment” from the time he was very young to the present. These feelings have built over the years until now they’re literally controlling his every action.

People who are criminals will often say they have “had these feelings” for “x” amount of time, until the feelings just “overpowered” them and “made” them commit the crime, whether a robbery, rape, or murder. Addicts give in to their feelings to do drugs, look at pornography, drink, smoke, overwork, and many other addictive behaviors, often recognizing that they have no power within themselves to stop.

Similarly, many who are gay say they “finally gave in to their feelings.” They could no longer fight their same-sex attractions that they’d felt since they were children. On the surface it seems so logical, so undeniable, but is it?

Can we use the same logic for people who want to hurt others? They may start with hurting insects or small animals when they’re young, but as they get older, they become obsessed with urges to hurt others, usually those who are easy prey: children, women, those who can’t defend themselves for whatever reason.

Will God ignore their actions, or will He hold them accountable? Most of us have had feelings that led us to do what we knew was wrong. That’s why the Bible calls them “temptations.” If I’d followed my lustful feelings when I was young, I could have been a womanizer or worse. Would God have excused that behavior? According to Jesus I didn’t have to act on my “feelings,” the evil thoughts themselves were enough to condemn me in His sight.

So, what am I saying? We will all one day stand before a holy God to give an account of our sins – OUR sins, no one else’s. I can recognize sin in another person, but it doesn’t give me the right to campaign to get them to “clean up their act.” If they’re breaking the law I can report them, but if they’re living a lifestyle of which I don’t approve I don’t alienate myself from them, I seek with all that is within me to love them to Jesus.

The only way to keep negative, wrong, and ungodly feelings in check is to commit them to the Lord and allow the Holy Spirit to deal with them on our behalf. It’s not wrong to have feelings that don’t align with God’s will for us, but it is wrong to act on them if they lead to behavior that’s unbecoming of a child of God. You can’t always trust your feelings, that’s why it’s so critical to be a student of God’s Word and learn to hear the voice of God’s Spirit.

Food for thought.

Blessings, Ed 😊

What Is the Peace that Passes Understanding?

“Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank Him for all He has done. Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 4:6-7 NLT)

Worry seems to be the “National Anthem” of America for both saved and lost people. Worry is an equal opportunity provider, it doesn’t care who you are, where you live or work, what your income is, or whether or not you profess faith in Christ. John Piper said: “You’ll never know what prayer is for until you know that life is war.”

There is a war going on in your heart, mind, and soul. Satan is battling the Holy Spirit to defeat and hold you captive. He doesn’t care if you attend church or profess faith in Jesus, as long as it doesn’t change your lifestyle or cause you to do anything “stupid,” like give God your time and money. Satan doesn’t even care if you’re “good,” as long as you don’t get fanatical and start talking to people about Jesus.

What is Satan’s most powerful weapon? Probably discouragement, but what do we most often do when we’re discouraged? We worry! We build cases in our minds causing us to believe negative things about virtually everything. “The kids are going to grow up to be axe murderers;” “The house is going to catch fire while we’re asleep;” “My boss is an axe murderer;” “I married an axe murderer.”

None of it needs to make sense, it just needs to occupy our mind. Why? Because to the degree Satan can get us to think about things that will likely never come to pass, to that degree we’re not pondering or meditating on the goodness of God and His plans for our life.

That’s one of the reasons we need to be students of God’s Word, continually thinking about and meditating upon the words of God. When Satan attacks our mind, we have recourse to immediately turn our thoughts to the truth of Scripture. That’s why Paul wrote the words above urging us not to waste time worrying.

The more quickly we can turn from worry to prayer, telling God exactly what’s on our mind and what we need, the sooner His peace will fill our heart and mind, enabling us to bask in the peace of our Savior’s love.

When I was in elementary school, my friend who lived close by found a whole bag of all kinds of fireworks. Being the budding geniuses that we were we decided to set them off. It didn’t take long for one to go off in my hand, injuring not only my hand, but his eyes. The first thing that came to my mind was: “We’ve got to get to my dad, he will know what to do.”

That needs to be our immediate response when our mind begins to wander into worry. The peace “which exceeds anything we can understand” will fill our heart and mind, allowing us the privilege of not worrying. What might that look like? We have an accident, get a frightening diagnosis, lose our job, a loved one dies, our money runs out, we’re calm in the face of tragedy. It doesn’t really matter the news we get or the scenario in which we find ourselves, it only matters what we allow our mind to do with the news.

To immediately entrust it to the care of our Savior results in a peace that is unexplainable and often incomprehensible to those in our presence. The Greek word from which comes our English word “peace” in the verses above is the word “eirene“ (i-ray-nay) that sounds a lot like our word “irony.”

How ironic when in the face of very disturbing circumstances we’re able to be at peace, in control of our emotions, and reliant upon the Spirit of God to work in and through us to His honor and fame. Wow! What a witness to His peace-filled presence in our lives.

Food for thought.

Blessings, Ed 😊

Regrets?

“For the kind of sorrow God wants us to experience leads us away from sin and results in salvation. There’s no regret for that kind of sorrow. But worldly sorrow, which lacks repentance, results in spiritual death.” (2 Corinthians 7:10 NLT)

What’s your greatest regret? For me it seems the older I get the higher my mountain of regrets. And the irony is, my greatest regrets aren’t because of what I did, but because of what I didn’t do. Yes, of course I have regrets for many things I did wrong, but the consequences of those were usually obvious to everyone. What eats at me are the things I didn’t do, that I knew I should have done, but made excuses for myself until it was too late to do anything about them; the things nobody knew about but me…and God!

Consequences of getting caught are often the world’s prompters behind someone seeking forgiveness or for trying to make things right. But even as believers we too often dabble in sin, convincing ourselves: “I’m not hurting anyone, so why not?” The affair that’s discovered; getting caught looking at porn; cheating on taxes; lying to the boss, spouse, kids, etc.

Satan is a liar. Just as God doesn’t have the capacity to lie, Satan doesn’t have the ability to NOT lie! And where does Satan most often propagate his lies? In our heart and mind! What we think about comes about, so if Satan can get us thinking: “You deserve this new car, new house, new job, new spouse, new ___________,” (and you can fill in the blank), we can roll those thoughts over and over in our mind until it makes perfect sense to us.

With little or no thought of consequences, we free ourselves to follow the enemy’s path to destruction. The “I’m not hurting anyone” becomes, “Oh, God, what have I done?” From there regrets begin to pile up and, if we let them, they will destroy us, eating us alive from the inside out, pushing us ever further from the only One who can heal and help us.

That’s not God’s plan and He has a solution that is the path back to wholeness. It’s called repentance. Repentance means to turn away or turn around. It’s a military term that paints the picture of a soldier making an about face. He’s walking in one direction but turns around and begins marching in the opposite direction.

The picture for us is we’re walking away from God, following the dictates of our sinful desires, but the Holy Spirit puts our heart in check, showing us the error of our ways, prompting us to turn from our sin and turn back to God. He enables us to see our sin and bear the negative emotions that are aroused, but He further gives us strength and insight to see that God will forgive and restore us.

I won’t lie to you, I still wrestle with regret for things I can’t change, but every second I allow the devil to tempt me to look back at what I can’t change, it prevents me from looking forward to the things I can. Worldly sorrow that lacks repentance never leads to salvation, thus, “results in spiritual death.” The only path to salvation and new life in Christ; to freedom from the hamster wheel of regret, shame, and anger over what we have no capacity to change, is repentance.

The Lord will never coerce or seek to force you to come to Him. That’s the beauty of salvation in Christ alone by faith alone – He’s the initiator since He laid down His sinless life in our place. But He’s a gentleman and will never make us do anything against our will. He patiently waits for us to come to Him, then when we do, He releases the resources of heaven to cleanse, fill, empower, and enable us to be all He intended for us to be from before the foundation of the world. There’s no regret in His wonderful forgiveness. Come to Him today! Click on this link if you need guidance in knowing how to do that: The Bridge to God.

Blessings, Ed 😊

What’s the Answer?

“Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect.” (Romans 12:2 NLT)

A recent Breakpoint article by John Stonestreet and Glenn Sunshine entitled The Quest for Immortality outlines numbers of ways mankind over the years, up to and including the present, has sought to defeat death and the grave. In some ways it boggles my mind why anyone would want to live forever in a human body, but the fact remains that it is appointed unto man once to die, then the judgment (Hebrews 9:27). The death rate for human beings is still 100%.

It would be interesting to know how God enabled humans to live hundreds of years at one point. The Bible says that Methuselah lived 869 years and didn’t have his first child until he was 187, then had more after that. The irony to me is that Jesus promised eternal life to all who would receive it as a gift from Him. Seeking eternal life apart from Jesus is like looking for light in a cave.

God put eternity in the hearts of mankind, so, of course we want to live forever. And the reality is, we will, just not in an earth-bound body and not someplace that we’ll enjoy, without Jesus. Paul contrasted in Ephesians 4:17-24 the confusion and waywardness we face apart from the Lord, and how coming to Him enables us to “throw off your old sinful nature and your former way of life, which is corrupted by lust and deception.” And to “Put on your new nature, created to be like God – truly righteous and holy.”

The answer to how to have eternal life is found in commitment and devotion to Jesus. Paul wrote in Colossians 3:10-11: “Put on your new nature, and be renewed as you learn to know your Creator and become like Him. In this new life, it doesn’t matter if you are a Jew or a Gentile, circumcised or uncircumcised, barbaric, uncivilized, slave, or free. Christ is all that matters, and He lives in all of us.”

Note that “all of us” in the above verse refers to all those who have placed their faith and trust in Jesus. Paul clearly defines who his audience is in the verses preceding those I used. It’s also affirmed throughout the New Testament that those who repent and believe Christ’s message of salvation by faith, are filled with His Holy Spirit, who becomes our guide and teacher as we learn to walk in ways that are pleasing to the Lord.

The problem is many people want to have their “cake” and eat it too. They want eternal life in heaven without changing their lifestyle. They want to think and act the same carnal, ungodly way, but have a God-honoring result. And that’s a clear definition of insanity! Doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result.

Transformation from lost to found is an immediate, yet life-long process. We are immediately forgiven and given eternal life, but that’s only the beginning of learning what that means and how the Spirit wants to work our new life out in practical ways in our everyday life. How to live, love, serve, and follow Jesus in our home, work, play; in the good times and bad; when we have plenty and when we don’t; when our bodies are filled with energy and when we’re dragging; when our spirits are high and when we have to look up to see the bottom.

Loving and serving Jesus is the easiest, yet the hardest thing I’ve ever done, but I wouldn’t trade my life in Christ for anything this world offers. No Jesus, no life! Know Jesus, know life! He is the only way to the Father, thus the only way to have eternal life (John 14:6).

Food for thought.

Blessings, Ed 😊

How to Experience God’s Goodness

“Worship GOD if you want the best; worship opens doors to all his goodness” (Psalm 34:9 The Message)

Many people I’ve met across the years have been disappointed with God, at least that’s what they’ve said. The reality is, they were seeing Him through the stained and clouded lens of their own experiences. Seeing God on the battlefield of a war-torn nation isn’t the same as seeing Him in the eyes of your beautiful baby girl as she’s handed to you for the first time.

Many conclude God isn’t good because “my spouse/child/parent/best friend/___________ wouldn’t have died/left/lost their job/been injured/______________” (and you can fill in the blanks). Life on earth is hard, but it’s even harder without Jesus.

Satan will do anything and everything he can to turn our hearts and minds away from a saving knowledge of Jesus. It’s an eternal mystery why people automatically, almost like a “knee-jerk” reaction, are happy to blame God for the bad that happens in their lives but chalk it up to karma or luck when something they consider good happens.

On some levels it’s how people respond to my Pug. Some love Pugs and make over her like she’s the best dog who ever lived, but far more dismiss her as the annoying brat that she is. And, yes, I know she’s an annoying brat, not because she’s a bad dog, but because I’ve spoiled her and let her get away with things I shouldn’t have.

The bottom line is, no matter what God does in our lives, at our core, we’re spoiled brats who misbehave, not because He’s a bad Father, but because He loves us so much, He’s going to hold us accountable for our misbehavior. Being the loving Father He is, He’s going to tell us the truth, not only about life and living, but about ourselves. And He’s going to give us the choice to choose Him or to go our own way.

And although it breaks His heart when we walk away, He knows when we do, it’s at our peril. Nothing good comes from walking away from our Father’s outstretched arms into the greedy and lust-filled arms of Satan. Of course, he doesn’t let us see him for who he really is. He’s smiling, dressed nicely, driving a new Lamborghini, assuring us we’ll have nothing but the best, until he drugs our drink, then violates us in unspeakable ways.

And the irony is, we walked into his trap willingly and with our eyes wide open, but when all hell breaks loose, as it always does, and we begin to clearly see our miserable fate, who do we blame? Certainly not ourselves! We were just following our hearts. It’s God who draws the short stick. He’s the One who “caused” all this misery. He’s surely to blame. Why didn’t He do something to stop it?

Our vision gets so distorted it literally takes a miracle to correct it, but by God’s grace and because of His great mercy, when we do finally see the Truth and respond by faith, He receives us in love and because of what Jesus did, He treats us as though we’d never left Him. That’s when His goodness becomes crystal clear.

Pastor Rick Warren writes: “The way you experience God’s goodness is through worship—when you praise God and thank him for who he is and what he has promised you. When you believe and understand the goodness of God, it will revolutionize your life and your perspective on your circumstances. You won’t be the same!”

Hallelujah! What a Savior!

Blessings, Ed 😊

Listener or Doer? (Part 2)

“Two people are better off than one, for they can help each other succeed. If one person falls, the other can reach out and help. But someone who falls alone is in real trouble.” (Ecclesiastes 4:9-10 NLT)

*Please note: If you haven’t read yesterday’s post, please do that before you continue.

Life, even apart from being a Jesus follower, was never meant to be lived alone. God said in Genesis 2:18: “It is not good for the man to be alone.” Adam needed “a helper.” Think about that for a few seconds. Adam was with God, surrounded by perfection: perfect animals, perfect plants, a perfect environment, but it wasn’t enough. He needed another human being.

There is no such thing as a “Lone Ranger Jesus follower.” The whole purpose for us to follow Jesus is to share Him with others, to expand His eternal Kingdom. That’s not a solo task. Yes, of course, we should witness to others when we’re alone, but if we’re going to build the foundation of our life on the solid Rock of Christ, we need others to help us “dig.”

When I was in my 40’s I got a job with an insurance company that had a workout center in their facility. But to be able to use it I had to have a meeting with the director. They wanted to make sure I didn’t do things that would hurt me, so they tested my strength and agility. While I was lying on my back trying to stretch in ways I was being asked to stretch, the guy had the audacity to say to me that I “had the flexibility of a 2 X 4.” Fast forward 30 years and I now have the flexibility of a light pole.

Photo by alexandre saraiva carniato on Pexels.com

So? I realized if anything was going to change in my physical fitness, I couldn’t do it myself. Too many old farts like me chalk it up to old age, and allow themselves to waste away, ultimately sentencing themselves to a wheelchair, a hospital bed, or worse, a heart attack or stroke. So, I decided to ask the smartest person I know to help me, and, gratefully, my wife was thrilled. I now have a list of fourteen simple stretching exercises that – are you ready for this – she started doing with me in the family room. After a few days I started doing them by myself every day! Add fifteen to twenty minutes on my stationary bike and I might live to 100.

What’s my point? Doer’s lay a strong foundation on Christ by partnering with like-minded people who will hold them accountable and keep them moving in the right direction. The Bible calls it “discipleship,” but I call it just good common sense. If you’re a new believer or someone who is not growing in your faith, it’s time to find another person or a small group of people with whom to do life.

Maybe your church doesn’t have a Small Groups’ ministry. Create one. Depending on your age, gender, marital status, etc., find a few other people in similar circumstances and ask them to meet once a week or as often as makes sense for you, for the express purpose of growing in your faith together.

You could meet with a co-worker(s); a neighbor, or someone at church. Don’t make it more complicated than it needs to be, but in order for it to work you’ve got to keep your focus on Jesus. He’s the Builder, you’re the “workers.” Choose a book of the Bible, preferably in the New Testament to start (the Gospel of John is a great choice), read and study individually, then come together and talk about what the Lord is teaching you.

Talk about life – what’s going on in your life at work, at home, your health, etc.. Pray together for each other but include other needs as well. Then, as the opportunity presents itself, invite one or two others to join you. Let the Spirit lead you and, as you grow in your faith, you can study Christian books or do video teachings together. Loving Jesus is the greatest opportunity any human being will ever have and doing it together with others just makes it that much better.

Digging deep faith-foundations is so much easier and better when you have others to help you dig!

Food for thought.

Blessings, Ed 😊

Listener or Doer?

“So why do you keep calling Me ‘Lord, Lord!’ when you don’t do what I say? I will show you what it’s like when someone comes to Me, listens to My teaching, and then follows it.” (Luke 6:46-47 NLT)

The above story continues with Jesus talking about one person who listens and follows His teaching, so they dig deep and build the house of their life on solid rock. When the storms of life come, they stand firm. On the other hand, the one who listens but doesn’t obey, is like a person who builds their life on the sand. When the inevitable storms come, they “collapse into a heap of ruins.”

Which person do you want to be? Not many people set out to let their life end in ruins, so we have to ask ourselves: “Which person am I? Am I a listener or a doer? Am I someone who attends church or listens to podcasts, agrees with all the right things and the right people, but rarely, if ever, read and study my Bible? Do I devote specific time each day to prayer and to interact with God’s Spirit? Am I digging deep in God or settling for the crumbs of another person’s efforts?”

Photo by Rodolfo Quiru00f3s on Pexels.com

These and a thousand other questions surface as we consider the implications of this story. What did Jesus mean when He spoke about digging deep and laying the foundation of our life on the rock? Of course, Jesus IS the Rock, but how do we dig deep to lay the foundation of our life on Him?

How are foundations laid? If they’re done right, it takes time and effort. Obviously, the type of foundation depends on the type of structure you plan to put on it. You don’t lay the same foundation for a skyscraper as you do for a single-family dwelling. You don’t lay the same foundation for a life of crime as you do for a life of service to the Lord.

Implicit in knowing what kind of foundation to lay is knowing what kind of life you want to build. If you’re looking for “fire insurance,” just enough “commitment” to keep you out of hell; your plan is to be religious enough to fool people, but you really don’t want to give up your ties to the world, sorry friend, it ain’t happenin’! That’s not how Jesus rolls.

Ron Hutchcraft wrote: “Unfortunately, too many of us try to build our relationship with Christ on dirt and stones. We’re event Christians, living from one Christian event to the next. Like a drug addict, we live from high to high with long stretches of spiritual wilderness in between. We depend on other believers to be our strength. We govern our Christian life by our feelings and our surroundings rather than by the words God has spoken to us.”

Is that you? The first question to answer in determining what foundation you’re laying with your life is “Am I being honest with myself?” We may be able to fool ourselves and maybe a few others, at least initially, but one person you’ll never fool is Jesus. He knows your heart and your thoughts. If you’re dishonest with yourself, you’re being dishonest with Him. You’re building on sand and gravel. It’s not a question of whether your life will crumble, it’s only a question of when.

You can listen to teachings about Christ or even read your Bible all day long, but unless and until you begin to obey what you’re hearing and reading, you’re on a very slippery path. May I challenge you to stop trying to have one foot in the world and the other in Jesus? Today, right now, get on your face before the Lord and quit running.

With open hands and heart, give Jesus His rightful place as Owner and Operator of your life. Let Him forgive, heal, and restore you. Allow Him to guide you in becoming the child of God He created you to become. Let Him guide you, step by step in laying the solid foundation on Him that is the answer you’re seeking but haven’t found. Stop just listening and start obeying!

Let’s pick this up in tomorrow’s post!

Blessings, Ed 😊

The Basis of Unity (Part 2)

“Make every effort to keep yourselves united in the Spirit, binding yourselves together with peace. For there is one body and one Spirit, just as you have been called to one glorious hope for the future.” (Ephesians 4:3-4 NLT)

In yesterday’s post we looked at the basis of unity from practical aspects based on who we are as a person and the kinds of backgrounds in which we grew up. I believe it’s safe to say that no two people on the planet will agree 100% about everything. I love my wife with all my heart, but there are lots of things about which we disagree.

What does that prove? It proves you don’t have to be in 100% agreement about every detail of life in order to agree on the foundational teachings of Scripture related to salvation and walking in newness of life in Christ. The Bible doesn’t demand unanimity or uniformity in order to “keep yourselves united in the Spirit.”

Jesus is the basis of our unity, not denominational preferences. There are more than 50 language groups represented in my current church family, yet, when we’re worshipping together, we’re all in one accord. I’ve been a believer for a lot of years, so I’ve seen a lot of transitions in worship style and what I’d refer to as “religious fads.” Years ago, fundamental groups taught that men shouldn’t wear neckties and women shouldn’t wear makeup. My pastor, preaching at a Camp meeting in the south in the 60’s, told the women: “If the barn needs paintin’, paint it!”

Speaking in tongues was a big issue that divided a lot of people in the early years of my walk with the Lord. I found it’s easy to be against things if you’ve never had a conversation with someone who can explain what they believe and why they believe it. It’s not unlike racial prejudice or profiling. I didn’t have a black friend until I went to college, but now I don’t see “color,” I only see hearts.

The point is, once I understand what someone believes, I may still not agree with them, but we can agree to disagree and still love each other and support one another in our mission for Christ. There are points of doctrine, especially related to end times, that are unclear to me. I tend to lean toward what Alistair Begg said in a message I heard him preach regarding the millennium. He said: “There are a-millenniusts, pre-millenniuists, post-millenniusts, pro-millenniusts (those are the ones who believe whatever the Lord does, they’re for it). And then I tend to be in the camp of pan-millenniusts who believe it’s all going to pan out in the end.”

Being in the audience I can assure you he wasn’t making light of a very important doctrine, rather, I believe he was trying to help us see that where there is disagreement, we can still laugh together at ourselves because no one knows with certainty what the Lord’s going to do. Dogmatists will disagree, thus pushing people further away as they retreat to their separate camps, but whatever you believe about the millennium or other Biblical doctrines, must not stand between you and your brothers and sisters in Christ.

Christ came to seek and save the lost, so at its core, if the church to which I have pledged my allegiance doesn’t have a heart for the lost, I’m going to keep looking. By God’s grace, the church I currently attend exists to introduce people to Jesus and help them develop a mindset and lifestyle that will lead them to live the life of a Jesus follower, regardless of what they do or don’t believe about what I consider, non-critical to salvation teachings. As a result, I’m all in!

Food for thought.

Blessings, Ed 😊

The Basis of Unity

“This will continue until we all come to such unity in our faith and knowledge of God’s Son that we will be mature in the Lord, measuring up to the full and complete standard of Christ. (Ephesians 6:14 NLT)

What do you believe about God, Jesus, the Holy Spirit, the Bible, the Church, the world, sin, and on and on it goes. Do you realize that with very few exceptions, foundationally, our belief system is rooted in the beliefs held by our families of origin. That’s true about religion, politics, health care, personal habits, cleanliness, and much more.

Do you floss your teeth? Do you have a rug by the door for people to wipe their feet? Do you ask people to take off their shoes when they enter your house? How do you vote? Do you attend church? Where? What brand of car do you drive? Do you drink coffee? These and hundreds of other similar questions can be asked about the person you are today.

From where are the answers to most of these questions derived? Usually from our families of origin. And the irony is, we rarely, if ever, question them unless and until they’re challenged. What do you believe about end times? Eternal security? The Rapture? The Millennium? The Holy Spirit? Speaking in Tongues? Again, the list is long of the things we fight about in the Church.

Most of the foundational principles upon which we build our lives aren’t taught, they’re “caught.” We’re not taught what to believe, we’re indoctrinated into the belief systems of our family and close friends. And the tragedy is, we rarely question them, we simply continue to live in environments that support “our” views.

Even as believers we go to schools and read books that reinforce what we “believe” is right. And that’s all well and good if you’re in a Bible-based, genuinely Christian home structure. But what if you’re not? What if you grow up believing things that aren’t even Biblical, but are actually anti-Biblical? What if you come to Christ late in life and you’re ignorant of what the Bible teaches? What if there isn’t a “brand” of Christian church in the area where you now live?

What’s my point? Unity, regardless of what area of life, living, or belief you’re seeking to unify, must be based on common beliefs, whether it’s unifying teachers in a school, agencies in a government, or people in a church or denomination. And historically, we’d rather fight than unite, or ignore the whole subject.

Cole Brown wrote: “The basis of unity is not similarity. The basis of unity is Christ.” The word translated “unity” in the verse above means “agreement.” And honestly, it’s hard to get agreement even, perhaps especially, about Jesus. So, what’s the answer?

In this season of my life, the most important measure of unity I seek is with Jesus, my wife, and my own heart. To me, it’s vitally important that I know what I believe about Jesus, because thereon is built the life I now live. And where do I get the instructions about Jesus that will unify my heart and life? My blog articles, of course! NO! I’m joking! Careful study of the Bible is the basis of my conclusions about Jesus.

Who He is, what He came to do, what He taught and didn’t teach, how He lived and how He desires me to live? Do I have to believe exactly like everyone in my spiritual family? Not in every detail, but I believe it’s important that we have consensus on the major points of doctrine, leading to the major thrusts of the church of which I’m a part.

Let’s look at this from a little different angle in tomorrow’s post.

Blessings, Ed 😊

Our Quest for Intimate Communion

“Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers: for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? And what communion hath light with darkness?” (2 Corinthians 6:14 KJV)

What’s the first word that comes to mind when you think of intimacy? Washing and waxing the car, right? Yeh, me too! No, seriously! Typically, the “S” word, right? If you’ve been around the church very long, as a rule, the only time you hear about sex in a sermon is when it’s used to tell you what not to do outside of marriage, which, of course, is well and good. But the Bible has a lot more to say about intimacy than don’t have sex outside the boundary of marriage.

Do you realize the word translated “communion” in the verse above is the word “koinonia” (koy-nohn-ee’-ah), which is commonly translated “fellowship.” It’s a multi-dimensional word that can also be translated “intercourse,” which doesn’t have direct reference to sex, but speaks to the value of togetherness, closeness, contributing to one another’s lives in a healthy way.

One interesting aspect of “koinonia” is “a gift jointly contributed, a contribution, as exhibiting an embodiment and proof of fellowship.” Having “fellowship” with one another in the Body of Christ is a critical avenue of intimacy, not only with one another, but with God.

If you’ve walked with the Lord for very long, you have met fellow believers who seem more like family than friends. And the remarkable thing about that, it’s true wherever you travel across the world. There is a bond of togetherness that is implicit within the Church, the Body of Christ, the Family of God.

Before coming to Christ, we typically buy the world’s definition of “intimacy” as sex with as many partners as possible. And, as per usual, the world is wrong – grossly and completely wrong! The best and most intimate sex anyone will ever experience is with their life’s partner, their spouse, the one to whom they’ve pledge their life – for richer, for poorer; in sickness and in health; for as long as we both shall live!

Why is that? Because “koinonia” is based on far more than emotion. Foundationally, true, God-inspired, Biblical intimacy is based on sacrifice, illustrated most vividly in the death of our Savior on the Cross. My English teacher in High School said in the context of a discussion about sex, “Marriage isn’t just one big bedroom scene.” In other words, the value of marriage isn’t simply defined by sex.

In the ideal world, sex between and a man and a woman committed to one another in marriage, gives expression to their commitment to one another and allows for the experience of genuine intimacy. But if that’s the only time we’re “intimate,” what happens to the relationship after sex is no longer an option for one or both? Is that the end of intimacy?

Certainly not! My intimacy with God isn’t dependent upon sex, so why should my intimacy with my wife and other important people in my life be? Intimacy, at least as the Bible speaks of it, is more about spiritual closeness, shared values, shared goals, shared service, shared love for Jesus and His Bride. The times I feel closest to my wife are when we’re worshipping, either together or in a corporate setting.

Intimate communion with God leads to intimacy with others, in your family of origin and your family of God. Communion with God and with others, especially in the Body of Christ, is the answer to loneliness. No one in the family of God should ever be lonely. A lonely believer in Jesus on a lot of levels is an oxymoron.

If you’re lonely, speak to the Lord about what’s going on, delve into His Word, then let Him lead you to a thriving Christian fellowship where you can find like-minded, Scripture-oriented, Christ-loving, and Christ-honoring people who will gladly walk with you into spiritual health and intimacy. If you’re already a part of a fellowship like that, call someone!

Food for thought.

Blessings, Ed 😊