All of us know stories of devastation.  All of us know someone who has suffered greatly, and some of us have stories of our own that would sunder the hardest heart.  In the moments of great despair, there is no greater problem in the world at that moment than the one we face, precisely because of its proximity and nearness to us, because its effects are immediate in our lives, and because for the rest of our lives we will always have an easy path to that moment and relive and feel everything all over again.

Whether we hear of such stories or live through them, the inevitable question comes: “Why?”  In the case of children or innocent victims, we often ask “Why would a loving God allow such bad things to happen to good people?”

It is a tough question, and one worth considering.  There are many who would point to these exact moments in life as though they were proof that God is not real, or that if God is real, then He is a heartless, careless God.  While we as Christians with a firm faith in God do not accept such judgements, even I must admit that I have sometimes in the silence of my soul pondered why such things happen.

In another familiar story mentioned last week that makes a great example is the story of Cain and Abel.  We are all familiar with the actual story, so I will not retell it here, but suffice it to say that we would all agree that God knows everything and therefore knew of Cain’s murderous intent before the crime was committed.  On the other hand we have Abel.  Abel had done nothing wrong, in fact, God was pleased with Abel.  The death of Abel was not a judgement of God regarding sin in his life.  In the end, we also know that God could have easily prevented the murder, but did not.

With such knowledge we must go where the unbeliever goes . . . God knew, God could have prevented it, but God did nothing to stop it.  Why?

One hard fact that we all must understand is that we are not physical beings.  This is crucial, because this understanding opens up a larger picture of what is going on.  With a word, God from the spiritual realm spoke and everything we take in with our senses was created.  The world and universe we know is but a fraction of reality.  Some few men in the Bible were privileged enough to see into this spiritual realm, but suffice it to say that the spiritual reality is far greater than the physical one, and things that happen in the spiritual realm affect the physical world we see.

Another hard fact, is that we are spiritual beings with the shroud of a physical body, and we are called to fight in spiritual warfare (Ephesians 6:12 For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.  II Corinthians 10:4 For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds;)

As in battle, when there is victory, there are results, but also when there is no victory, there are consequences.  The battlefield is in the hearts and minds of men, and there where we wage our war, God has given us free choice, thus God will not interfere.

Cain lost at least one spiritual battle before murdering his brother.  God does not condemn Cain, but tries to encourage him to do better.  Instead, Cain loses the spiritual battle of the heart and mind, and the consequences of that loss result in the murder of his own brother.

You see, when we lose the spiritual battle for our hearts and minds, there are consequences, but they need not all be so dire as murder.  Bad attitudes, back-biting, resentment and anger, and a whole list of consequences can be found in Galatians 5:19-21.  Read the list, and if you see any of these things true for you in your life, then rest assured, you are losing spiritual battles somewhere.  If you are the victim of such things, then others around you have lost spiritual battles, and your proximity to them can mean that you endure some of the consequences of their failure on the battlefield.

Galatians also lists results of victory in spiritual warfare in 5:22-23.  See, we often pray for the fruit of the Spirit as though it is a gift that God simply grants, but that is not how fruit is born.  Fruit is a result of a process.  Win the spiritual battles in your life, and the fruit of the Spirit will be yours, and not just for you.  For as every victor celebrates a victory with others, so your life can become an inspiration for others around you with every spiritual battle you win.

You were given a sword, armor, and a shield for a reason.  Defend yourself, my fellow warrior.  You are called to fight.

Learning to swim was pretty traumatic when I look back on it.  Jumping, or getting thrown, into the water for the first time, and the successive times after that, were horrible events.  I remember lots of movement, desperate movement, trying to keep my God-given breathing apparatus above water . . . and failing that, trying to learn to breathe water.  It never worked.  Coughing and belching what felt like gallons of water was unpleasant to say the least, and not something I really wanted to repeat.

Everything that starts something new flounders.  Baby birds flounder to the ground, a newborn colt braces unsure legs trying to take its first steps, and even babies go through a “toddler” phase before really getting their footing and learning to walk.  Floundering, whether we like it or not, is a part of growth.  Where we go wrong is to mistake floundering for failing, and accepting the label of failure.

I learned to swim.  I learned to dive deep, and jump off of high platforms into deep water.  I swam in pools large and small, creeks, riverbeds, and even the ocean.  Though not as agile as I used to be, I can still swim very well.  Then came the time to teach my daughter to learn how to swim.  She had been in the shallow end of the pool and had really gotten used to and loved the water, until it came time to learn how to swim.  In fact, where she used to ask all the time about going to the pool, she now had a tinge of dread to her voice and asked, “Are you going to take me to the deep end again this time?”

She floundered, she sank, she swallowed and belched up what I am sure must have been gallons of water to her.  I do not doubt she thought for sure she was going to die.  I would ease up at times, and just let her play in the shallow end.  At first our swimming lessons were short, but I kept taking her more often, and for longer periods of time, out of the shallows and into the deeper waters of the pool.  She was never in any real danger, because I was always with her, watching her, ready to assist when she really needed me, not just when she really wanted me.

I let her sink a couple of times.  I pulled her out more than a few times.  I spoke to her as she cried.  I held her up when her strength was gone.  I encouraged her when she wanted to quit.  I kept taking her into the deeper waters.

Today, my daughter can swim.  She plays in the shallow end, but she also plays in the deeper waters as well.  For some people, learning to swim may come more quickly, but I have a feeling it pretty much goes the same way for just about everyone.  To learn to swim, we have to flounder.  However, how we react to floundering is up to us.

I am sure many of you are already seeing the spiritual implications, however, many will not as easily recognize them in their own life.  How often has God, in an effort to take you out of the shallow waters of the Favored Christian life, allowed you to Flounder in the deeper waters?  What has been your reaction to this?  See, I believe God has often brought events into our lives we do not appreciate nor want, and we do not see the reason for them.  How often do we hear people asking God “why” as they struggle mightily to get back to the shallows of the Favored Christian life?

The strange thing is, we enter the Floundering Christian life at one of two points: either we ask for it, or God sees we are ready for it and just gives us a nudge.  Much the way my daughter asked me to teach her to swim, we go to church and ask God to teach us, to use us, to really work in our lives, to make us the Christian men He wants us to be, but then when God does just that and begins to teach us, and we begin to Flounder, we have one of two choices.  Either we turn back and give up, preferring rather to live the Favored Christian life, or we endure.

The Floundering Christian life is not a one-time event, because there are many lessons to be learned, many skills to be developed.  Have you mistaken Floundering for Failure?  Is God nudging you, or have you asked God to use you?  Are you ready to go through the Floundering process?

reposted from MenRising.com

However, whatever I was going to write about probably would not have been as meaningful (to me anyway) as the post I am going to write now.

Last Sunday night, I preached on prayer for the end of the AWANA year service.  It is something God has really been working on me about.  For so long, I have had issues I have been dealing with on a personal level, and never felt like I could really talk with God until I had them resolved.  Funny thing is, I’ve heard this argument from other people before, and my advice to them had always been – you should still pray!

Problem is, I guess I never really understood prayer until very recently.  I became convicted about my prayer life because I had just given up and essentially stopped taking time out of my day to get alone and pray.  I had thoughts along the lines of: “God already knows everything, so what’s the use?  I can ask and ask all I want, but He is never going to give me anything He does not want me to have, and as His child He will always provide for my needs anyway, so why bother?”

Any of this sound familiar to you?

That was my line of thinking up and until about four or five weeks ago.  It was then that I really started to question the process and procedure of prayer, what it really does, if there is any real purpose, and whether or not it was really worth the time out of my day.  Please note, I still prayed every day, but it was more out of some personal Christian obligation.  I really felt hollow and empty before and after, and I didn’t really feel like it made any difference, so my prayers were always “on-the-go”.  If and when I could get my life issues straightened out, maybe then I could really get serious and pray the way I should – but when I thought about it, the question kept coming up, “What is the way anyone should pray?”

I was led to the passages about the apostles asking Christ to teach them to pray, I was reminded by the chants of hundreds of men in useless prayer to idols on the mountaintop temples in China, I was reminded of the passage in Samuel where fire is prayed down from heaven, and I was taken on a tour of the prayer life of Christ in the Gospel of Luke.  In the end, I concluded that prayer was still obviously something every Christian should do, but my perspective had changed.

Prayer is more than folded hands, bowed heads, and closed eyes in which there is a lot of ceremony but no power.  Prayer really happens when a child of God connects with the Almighty power of the God of the universe, and that power is unstoppable.  What’s more, with the understanding that the life of every Christian is to glorify God, it became clear that we are purposed to pray so that when God answers our prayers, we get the help we seek, and God gets the glory.  More than this, prayer is a personal connection to God.  Much like greeting my daughters and talking each morning, prayer is more than just a list of “please give me” this or that.  Prayer is enjoying time in His presence, like my daughters who kiss me good morning and sit on my lap and talk a while.

It has revolutionized my prayer life, and it is growing.  Tonight, we prayed at Vigil for the Relay for Life prayer requests we had collected at the event.  It was a great time of closeness with God with other believers, and for me personally, it was profound.  For so many years now, prayer had been this repetitious and habitual part of my Christian life, but today I can honestly say it has become so much more, and my personal encounters with the Almighty are so much more meaningful to me now than they ever were.

How is your prayer life – really?  Think about it.  Be honest with yourself.  Is something missing?  I cannot post in one article everything I have learned over the past month about prayer, but suffice it to say your journey begins in Scripture, and if you really want to grow that part of your life, God will not hide it from you.  It is never to late to start, and it is always better late than never.

• The movie Precious –  Wow I only made it through about 20 minutes of this movie.  The movie gives a view into the life of a young, overweight African American teenage girl that is truly horrific.  To describe the depth of despair, her mother let her father rape her so that the teenager could keep giving birth to children so that the mother can get more welfare money.  The fact that I was born to 2 white middle class parents who loved me thoroughly has way more to do with my current life than my hard work.  Mark against my pride of status / success in my life.
• A conversation with a good friend – A friend and I went to a movie a couple weeks ago and conversation veered to kids.  His sister came up in the conversation, and I was sad to hear that her firstborn is still experiencing real problems.  It appears that the young child has bi-polar and is still quite violent and down-right threatening sometimes.  Both my friend’s sister and husband are faithful, smart, excellent parents who are struggling day in, day out with their child.  This really shook me up as well as I act as if my children’s relatively good behavior is largely a result of my “good” parenting.  Another heavy mark against my pride of the “job I have done” in parenting my kids.
• The movie The Road – This was another movie that shouldn’t be watched after a hard day.  Basically it consists of a post-apocalyptic world where there is no food / animals left.  The story is about a man who is just trying to keep him and his son alive on the road.  It is incredibly bleak, but it again it just showed me how much I have come to expect out of life.  Safety, regular food production, clean water.  These things are insignificant until we start to think about what we would do if they were yanked away.  Of course, my sinful heart would think, well that couldn’t happen in America, but I see no place in the Bible where I am promised that.  Huge mark against my pride which lead me to expect all of the things of my life to continue uninterrupted.

All of this has caused me to pray more humbly, to thank God deeply for simple things (air, food, family) and to generally distrust my natural state of evil pride.  I still forget regularly about my need to do these things (chief sin of Israelites who forgot God), but I have been clearly shown my sin.  God, please be merciful to me and help me to further confess and turn from my sin.

Philippians 2:5 “Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus:  6 Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God:  7 But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men:  8 And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross.”

Because of a moment of humility in my own life, I came to accept that grace offered to me.  In fact, the very moment of our own salvation is our first act of humility towards God.  Recognizing our own sinfulness, admitting our need for a Savior, we accept, in our degenerate condition, a gift we know we do not deserve.

Beyond salvation, what is a Christian to do about pride?  If we lay down our pride, we are said to “humble ourselves” but if pride is ripped from us we are “humiliated”.  I want to have a heart bent towards the former, and that I would not find humbling myself such a difficult thing, yet I find I struggle with this one aspect of Christian living so much, and so frequently, I have come to the conclusion that it is a moment by moment struggle of the will and mind, one that must subject itself as a Christian to be a Christ-like ambassador in the service of a Holy God.

To that end, the rest of this post is a 5 point checklist of what we can do about pride.  For anyone looking for a quick path, the first point should be enough to stop any one of us in our tracks.

1.  Accept with patience unwarranted criticism: 1Peter 2:20 For what glory is it, if, when ye be buffeted for your faults, ye shall take it patiently? but if, when ye do well, and suffer for it, ye take it patiently, this is acceptable with God.

I find it difficult enough to accept criticism when I am wrong, but here is a whole new standard – take it when you’re right, too, and take it patiently.  Anyone swallowing hard on that one?

2.  Learn to keep silent: Proverbs 21:23 Whoso keepeth his mouth and his tongue keepeth his soul from troubles. Understanding that “Only by pride cometh contention” then it would be logical for us to conclude that when we have a contentious spirit within us, it would be far better to keep silent than to open our mouths and give voice to our contentions.

This is not the same as standing up for what is right, but we must understand how to make a stand for what is right without being overrun by our own pride.  If we are standing for what is right but we are filled with pride, the opposite message will come across, and it will have been better for us to keep silent.

3.  Learn to speak with a sincere heart with the other person’s best interest in mind.  Eph 4:14 That we henceforth be no more children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive; 15 But speaking the truth in love, may grow up into him in all things, which is the head, even Christ:

Become very self-critical when you feel like responding defensively or feel you must lash out to correct someone.  Stop yourself when the beginnings of frustration, anger, or resentment take hold of you.  That contentious spirit is not borne of a Holy purpose, but of a prideful heart that must be broken before it can communicate any form of truth in a genuine spirit of love.

4.  Learn that contentment is only achieved through humility.

Php 4:11 Not that I speak in respect of want: for I have learned, in whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content.

1Ti 6:8 And having food and raiment let us be therewith content.

Heb 13:5 Let your conversation be without covetousness; and be content with such things as ye have: for he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee.

None of this is possible if we feel we deserve more than we already have, and remember that only by pride cometh contention – it applies with a dissatisfied heart, too.

5.  The key to service to Christ, in ANY capacity, is the humble heart of a servant.  Without humility, we cannot serve God even if we tried.  2Cor 9:6 But this I say, He which soweth sparingly shall reap also sparingly; and he which soweth bountifully shall reap also bountifully.  7 Every man according as he purposeth in his heart, so let him give; not grudgingly, or of necessity: for God loveth a cheerful giver. People who want to be recognized for their contributions of time, money, and talents, do not have the correct mindset to serve God in the first place, and ultimately their gifts are wasted on themselves and their reward is given in a moment.

Mt 6:2 Therefore when thou doest thine alms, do not sound a trumpet before thee, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may have glory of men. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward.

See also Mt 6:5  6:15

If we give grudgingly to that which is good, with a knowledge that we should do it, but with an unwilling heart, is there not a bad attitude within us? Is this not contentious?

The first two most important decisions I have ever made in my life is my decision to accept Christ as Savior, and deciding to spend the rest of my life with the lady I call my wife.  Quite possibly, the study of a humble life and the consequences of pride have led me to what I feel would be the third most important decision in anyone’s life – to live a humble life as Christ did.  It has been said that the blood of Christ runs like a thin red line throughout all of Scripture binding it together, and if so, then surely the humility of Christ runs the whole of that line.

So I ask, What little sins do you allow to hold you captive? Even if you see no effects from them in your life, what do you allow yourself that you know you shouldn’t? Two of the main things that come to mind in my life is speeding and downloading things illegally. Now that I have said them maybe you can help me figure out how these sins affect my life.

Ever notice that the Bible also makes some very emphatic and exclusive statements and conclusions about pride?  “Only by pride cometh contention: . . . ” Proverbs 13:10 and “Pride goeth before destruction, . . .” Proverbs 16:18

If God takes the issue of pride so seriously, why don’t I?  The only answer I could come up with: my pride.

As I began to delve into my own research to be able to teach on this topic in Men’s Bible study, a flood of conviction began to overwhelm me.  “Only by pride” do I argue, “Only by pride” do I get offended when someone is critical, “Only by pride” do I criticize others, “Only by pride” do I find fault in others, “Only by pride” do I become dissatisfied with my situation, “Only by pride” do I find myself too busy to read my Bible or pray, and on and on.  I began to see how pride has infiltrated every aspect of my life, every moment of my day, every encounter with another person, every thought that enters my mind, every action or word will be influenced by my pride.  I saw myself unable to function in life without my pride, and I stood totally convicted and judged in my own eyes.  How would God see me?  I shuddered, because I also knew “Pride goeth before destruction.” Proverbs 16:18

Most people inaccurately quote this as pride comes before a fall, but it is a misquote of the words in the entire verse.  God says, quite emphatically, that He hates pride, and we either must lose our pride or face destruction.  I also found destruction comes in so many forms.  Others are killed every day by someone else’s pride.  For example: texting while driving – pride tells us we can do it.  Speeding – we are safer drivers than others aren’t we?  I could write a whole article on just the consequences of pride, but you get the idea.  Relationships are destroyed – by pride.  Churches die and are destroyed – by pride.  Families are torn apart – by pride.  How different would our world be without pride?  Picture that, and maybe you can get a sense of why God hates it so much.

If “Only by pride cometh contention” then the reverse must also be true, so I came up with the corollary that “Only by humility cometh contentment.”  Think of all the things that bother you, then think of how Christ faced them by taking off His God robe long enough to die for you and me.  At the very moment of our own salvation, humility, not pride, ruled our minds and hearts.  On bended knee, vulnerable, we cried out for Him to save us, and He did.

I believe now that no one dies and goes to hell for their sins – for Christ paid for ALL OUR  SINS.  I now believe that a person dies and goes to hell for their PRIDE.  Someone who refuses salvation is someone who has refused to humble them self and acknowledge an Almighty God and His Son Jesus Christ, or maybe they have an issue with recognizing their own sinfulness.  In any case, it is always pride that stands between them and salvation – everything else to effect their salvation is already prepared for them.  Pride tells us we must earn salvation, while humility accepts there is nothing we can do to save ourselves.  God will only judge us for our sin if we hang onto our pride, and I am in the middle of my P-R-I-D-E.  Need a reference for that?

How about the story of Jonah?  The city of Nineveh was condemned for their sins, Jonah goes and warns them then sits on a hill to wait for their impending destruction.  The people humble themselves from the king to the last citizen, and God spares them.  Check it out for yourself how multiple times God backs off His judgment from a person a city or a nation because the person, people, or nation humbled themselves.

The kicker: 2Chronicles 7:14 “If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.”

When I first came across this video, I was a little uneasy. Being Mr. Nonviolence, I was like, “Say what now?” But when I pushed play, I learned that John Piper here is NOT talking about declaring war on others, but on ourselves.

Our addictions.

Our hatred toward others.

Our apathy towards injustice.

Our sinful nature.

“My greatest enemy is not Satan,” Piper says. “My greatest enemy is John Piper.”

Lately I’ve been thinking about this video and what it means. There’s definitely an battle within me, but mostly I don’t fight back. I just surrender and let the darkness take over. Then the darkness tortures me with guilt and shame.

I like to think of myself as a lover, not a fighter. But I think it’s time to get my war on.

How do I do this? I think the first step is actually another form of surrendering . . . but this time it’s surrendering to Jesus. I’m not strong enough to fight my sin on my own. I need to let the Holy Spirit do the fighting for me.

How do you make war?

In this light, the death of the Christian is re-enactment of Christ’s death.  There is sorrow and it is a victory in a way for the devil.  But in this minor victory, the devil has to face the fact that it his last victory that he will ever have in that believer’s life.  They are home and will never suffer under temptation, sorrow or the whisperings of the evil one ever again.

With these two realities in mind, I am going to try to weep for sorrow at the victory of sin in my grandmother’s physical death and weep for joy at the victory of Christ in her eternal life.

I hope this makes sense.  Today’s been a cocktail of emotion.

So as some of you know, lately I have been struggling with understanding the character of God and who He is. The latest piece of character that has come into question in my life is this aspect of him being unchanging. I wasn’t really sure what all aspects this unchanging characteristic covered but I assumed that it went so far his decisions. But I don’t understand 3 instances off the top of my head in the Bible (listed below chronologically).

First there’s Job, Satan comes to God and says let me screw with Job and God’s like ok you can mess with everything in his life but don’t touch him. Ignoring that I don’t get why God would allow Satan to have his way with anything, Satan comes back after laying waste to Job’s family, flocks and all that he owns. And even though Job did just as God said, Satan talks God into letting him afflict Job and then tortures him for a while.

Second there’s Moses. when the Israelites were down at the bottom of the mountain God says that He will just wipe them out. Moses pleads with God and God decides to spare them.

Third there’s Jonah, God sent Jonah to Nineveh to let the people know that God was going to destroy them. The people turn from their wicked ways and God forgives them and spares them.

While I am not saying that I am irritated by the last 2, because I think that anytime people are spared from being punished for their stupidity and easily falling into sin (because I am often part of that group) it’s a good thing, I just don’t understand how someone can change God’s mind. I understand that Moses appealed to God’s character and reputation, the people of Nineveh repented and turned from their wicked ways and God is forgiving, but I still can’t get God having a sit down with Satan and being like sure why not you can torture one of the guys on earth whom I consider my own, even one of my best. Can anyone help me out here?