Fasting

What is the purpose of fasting? Most everyone knows what fasting is (purposefully depriving oneself of something, most commonly food), but what is its purpose? The principle of fasting comes from the Old Testament, when the Jews would fast to humble themselves before God in order that they might approach God in the case of the Levites (the tribe of the Jewish priests), or in order that God would hear their prayers. In both of these cases, the root reason for fasting is to clear the things away from one’s life that might distract one from God and possibly draw one’s praise away from God, in order that the relationship, the avenue of communication between that person and God will become clearer, and their focus can be wholly on God, instead of God and whatever else it is you might be distracted by.

If you’ve ever fasted, you know that it is not the easiest thing to do, and it probably isn’t the most pleasant thing to do either. I don’t think anybody ever said, “I can’t wait to fast again; that was fun!” The reason it’s not very easy or fun is that we are depriving ourselves of something that we are used to, something that makes us comfortable in this world. Being hungry is not a pleasant experience, in fact sometimes it hurts. But when we fast, we stick it out because we know in the end it will benefit us, it will hopefully result in a better relationship with God, or a better idea of what God wants us to do. We also stick it out because we can see the end. We go through our fast, not concentrating on the hunger pangs and the decrease of energy and the discomfort, we look to the end, when we will break the fast, and once again enjoy the comforts that we have temporarily forsaken. Whenever I fast, I think that’s the biggest thing that allows me to keep from giving in to temptation, from giving up and breaking the fast before I intended to. If there wasn’t an end in sight, I wouldn’t have the anchor I need to look to in order to maintain my self control and self discipline.

Bigger than just fasting, the Christian walk is much the same way. We are told to abstain from those things which God abhors and to steer clear from things that will hinder our walk with Christ. We are asked to deny ourselves those thing, often times things considered to be comforts, or ‘life enhancing’, such as drunkenness, or promiscuous sex, or pornography, or any number of things that lead to breaking God’s commands or going directly against the teachings of Jesus. We are told to abstain, but I think that many of us, including me, fail at this in some area fairly consistently. The temptation is always around us, and sometimes it even comes from within us. We are bombarded with temptation after temptation. Much like you notice the smells of food, and notice people eating when you are fasting, when you are abstaining from the other things in the world, you tend to notice the temptation all around you. Like I said earlier, in fasting we can look to the end of the fast to gather strength and maintain self control, but with the Christian walk, the end isn’t as visible to us. In fact, to many, the end is nowhere in sight. The Christian walk is unlike a fast in that it lasts an entire lifetime. In the life that Christ calls us to live on this world, we are required to give up things for our entire life. No end on this world. This is one reason that Jesus says in Matthew 8:20 “Foxes have holes and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay his head.” This means that we have no home on this earth since our home is in heaven, but it also means that foxes and birds, they have comforts in this world, but the Christian has nothing in this world to comfort him. That sounds depressing, but the better part of this little comparison is that when we reach the end of this great fast known as the Christian walk, we will have every comfort we need being in direct communion with Christ. That is the end of the fast that the Christian looks to for strength. Just like in a temporary fast here in this world where we look toward the end, the breaking of the fast for our resolve and self restraint, as Christians, we should look toward the end or our walk when we will have all we ever needed and wanted in God in Heaven for our resolve and self-restraint. When viewing this life as all there is, the Christian walk looks very impractical and extremely miserable because we abstain from things even to death, never experiencing some things. But when viewed as a fast with a great feast at the end, it is a wonderful thing because, though we might not experience some of the comforts in this world, we will have all that we need and want in the next for eternity. So next time you are wavering in the presence of temptation, think about the end, when you will break your fast and be given all that you’re heart and soul will ever need and want in Christ. Though you might deny yourself a comfort now, in the end, the reward will be that much sweeter, just like fasting in this world; when you deny yourself of some comfort, at the end when you break the fast, the comforts that you do experience are much sweeter than they would be if you had given in at the first sign of temptation.

A Personal Note

December 3, 2006

Tonight, the Navigators Student Leadership Team had their last meeting for the semester, and I feel absolutely fantastic. It wasn’t the meeting itself that gave me this feeling of peace about…everything about where I am right, but it was a conversation I had with a good friend afterwards, coupled with the recent completion of a fast in which I learned a lot about self-control and dependence on God.

I’ll start with the time of fasting that I had a week ago. The week before Thanksgiving break a couple of friends and I decided that we would fast the week after the break. So, when I got back, I began, and it was hard. It was hard just to live with my roommate who wasn’t fasting. The temptation to give in was all around me, during meal times and anytime someone even cooked popcorn for a snack. But the biggest temptation came on the second day of the fast when I worked the dinner shift at the Derby Dining Center (the dorm cafeteria). As the week went on, I began to lean on God when temptation grew around me. Every morning I would pray to God for the energy to go through the day, and for the strength to maintain my self-control and not give in to temptation, and he answered everyday. Through the course of the week, I faced temptation so much that it became almost natural to deny my urge to give in. At the end, when it came time to break the fast, I wasn’t as eager as I thought I would be to taste food again. My self-control was immensely bolstered through that experience, and afterward I took that lesson of self denial and applied to an area that I had struggled with and it hasn’t been an issue since. Plus, I feel that God really has shown me what it is to truly walk and live in the Holy Spirit. I felt closer to God in the last week after the fast than I have all semester, possibly closer than I’ve ever felt.

Then, a week later, I had a talk with one of my close friends about a family issue that I was facing and she gave me some excellent council and insight into the situation and how I needed to approach it. Then after talking about some other things that I had on my mind, her answers to some of my questions allowed me to let go of some things that I think were holding me back from following God with all that I am. With those things now put to rest, I really feel that I am closer to God than I have ever been. I can’t explain how absolutely wonderful it feels to know that God is working in my life, that the creator of the Universe, the almighty God of everything is coming close to me and calling me even closer. It’s absolutely exhilarating. I’m now two weeks away from winter (Christmas) break, and I can’t wait to spend some time totally dedicated to thinking about Christ and what he did for me, about the miracle of his coming into the world and the cost of his call.

It is now my prayer that you, whoever you are, whoever is reading this right now, could feel what I feel right now. Whoever is reading this right now, I want you to know that no matter what you’ve done, no matter how good or bad your life is, no matter if you think you are worthy or not, God wants to know you, and He wants you to know Him. Jesus Christ, the son of God, came into this world and died for our sins, not because he had to, not because that was his purpose, but because He loves YOU and wants to bring YOU into a relationship with God. He did it because he loves you. It doesn’t matter who you are, what you do, what you’ve done, where you live, or how old you are; He wants to know YOU. He loves you more than anything you can imagine, and he wants to know you. Just stop reading for minute and think about this for a moment: Christ Jesus, God, the almighty creator and master of the entire universe wants to know YOU.

If you truly want this, all you need to do is pray (say out loud or in your head) “Jesus, God, I want to know you, show me who you are.” He wants to know you, and he wants you to come to him. The ball is in your court now…

The Parable of the Talents Expanded

I came to Panera Bread here in Manhattan to sit and have a quiet time to read a little in the Word of God (Bible) and relax before my day begins. So I get my orange juice and asiago cheese bagel and go into the back room to get away from the hustle and bustle of the rest of the place. When I sit down, I realize that in the opposite corner of this small back room is a mother nursing here infant while keeping an eye on her boy, I’m guessing the boy was about 5 or 6 years old. So I think to myself, great, I’ve come for some quiet time and I choose to sit in the same room as the obnoxious kid. But as I try to ignore the scene and fail, I hear the situation that is playing out across the room. The little boy is crawling all over the mother, the mother tells him repeatedly to stop, and after ignoring her instruction, she tells him, “You know what, I think we’re not going to go to Target.” You might think this is a rather random response, but something important just happened there. I’m going to infer from that comment and the boy’s response that she had told the little boy that they were going to go to Target where he was going to receive something that he wanted. Only first they were going to go to Panera for some breakfast. I don’t know if this is exactly what happened, I’m just guessing based on what I heard. Anyway, the point is he was given an opportunity to have something good, but because of his misbehavior, he lost that opportunity. I can relate to this situation because as a child, my mother doubtless went through many of these episodes.

What all this is reminding me of is a passage in Matthew that says “For to everyone who has will more be given and he will have an abundance. But from the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away.” This passage comes from Jesus’ parable of the talents which deals plainly with possessions, namely money. But we can apply the lesson learned to many areas of life. This little boy at Panera could have had a nice trip to Target for something desirable, but because he had no self-control (good behavior) his trip to Target was taken away. He was given an opportunity, but not respecting it or being mindful of it, his opportunity was taken away. I think this scenario exists between us as Christians and God as well. God, no doubt has all manner of good things prepared to throw our way, but because of our lack of self control to follow his instructions that he repeatedly gives us, we lose some of those things he has prepare for us, or at least postpones their coming. As children of God, Christians have the promise of every good thing, but because of our lack of self-control (good behavior) we are denied these things because we are not ready for the responsibility that these things carry.

Pork Chops, Jolly Ranchers, & Slim Jims

Last night my bible study and I went out to the lake to hang out and chat about God and life, but mostly to play in the campfire. But while we were out there, we had an interesting discussion about following God. It started with a passage the book of John, John 10:3-5, which says,

To him the gatekeeper opens. The sheep hear his voice, and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. When he has brought out all his own, he goes before them, and the sheep follow him, for they know his voice. A stranger they will not follow, but they will flee from him, for they do not know the voice of strangers.

This led to a discussion about whether a particular situation is truly the call of the Good Shepherd, or the voice of a stranger. The line between the two got pretty fuzzy at times, and from that discussion, I have derived a metaphor for such situations.

A pork chop is a very good thing. When cooked correctly, a sliver of pork loin is one of the most delicious meals one can find. It is wholesome (meaning it contains stuff your body needs), it’s natural and un-tampered-with (with the exception of seasoning and cooking), and it is satisfying. After you have eaten a pork chop, you can sit back and say to yourself, “self, I’m glad I ate that pork chop because now I am no longer hungry and my body can use most of what I just ate to grow and move and live. Eating that pork chop was a good decision.” Unless you’ve over-indulged, you can feel good about ingesting a cooked piece of pig.

On the other hand, a Jolly Rancher is not as good in the sense that the pork chop is good. It does taste good, but that’s about it. When you eat a Jolly Rancher, you taste the sugar and other various things that are contained within, but after you’ve finished it, that’s it, your experience with that little piece of candy is finished. It’s not wholesome, it doesn’t contain much if any nutrients or other resources that your body can use, it doesn’t satisfy, it’s most definitely not a naturally occurring object. You’ll never find a Jolly Rancher farm, or a Jolly Rancher orchard. The only thing that the Jolly Rancher has going for it is the fact that it is good while you’re eating it. But after that, it has nothing.

If you haven’t picked up on the analogy yet, I’ll lay it out. If you have, good deal, but I’m going to lay it out anyway. The call of God, or the Good Shepherd, is like the pork chop. It is good, it is good for you, it is what we were meant to follow, and it is satisfying. The call of the stranger is like the Jolly Rancher; it may be good while you’re experiencing it, but it’s not good for you, it’s not what we were made for, and it doesn’t satisfy.

This is all pretty straight forward. But if life were always this straight forward, no one would ever have any trouble at all deciphering what is and isn’t the call of the Good Shepherd, but the fact is, it’s not that simple. People have trouble in some areas determining if what they are ‘hearing’ is the Good Shepherd’s voice or the stranger’s voice because there are more things out there than just pork chops and Jolly Ranchers.

Take for instance Slim Jims. If you don’t know what a Slim Jim is, it’s a ‘stick’ of processed meat product (or byproduct, I'm not sure which), that is meant to taste like barbeque or some other kind of seasoned meat. A Slim Jim is derived from natural products (meat), and it has some nutritional value. But it also was made through artificial means; it has a cocktail of preservatives and other unnatural agents in it. It tastes good, and has the potential to fill a person up (if you ate a large plate full of Slim Jims, you would be filled by those), so it can be satisfying, although not the healthiest thing in the world. But that’s not what it’s meant for, it’s meant for short term pleasure, not lasting. We see here that it has characteristics of both the pork chop and the Jolly Rancher. This is where things get a little fuzzy.

Given these three options (pork chops, Jolly Ranchers, and Slim Jims), if you are hungry, the best choice is obviously the pork chop. But sometimes we don’t have a pork chop where we are at. But Slim Jims are pretty much available everywhere. At almost every store you go into, you would be able to find a Slim Jim. The same could be said about a Jolly Rancher (or some facsimile there of). But the Slim Jim is a better choice for nourishment than the Jolly Rancher. But just because the Slim Jim is better then the Jolly Rancher doesn’t mean that it’s what is best for us. It may be better (and is definately better for us) to wait to satisfy our hunger when we can gain access to a pork chop. Instead of searching out a short term fix to our need, a better solution would be to practice patience and wait until the opportunity to eat a pork chop arises.

If you haven’t followed me this far, I’ll lay it out again; if you have, good deal, but I’m still going to lay it out. We’ve already established that the pork chop is the Good Shepherd, and the Jolly Rancher is the stranger, but what about the Slim Jim? The Slim Jim has redeeming qualities, it is possibly derived from a pork chop, but is not a pork chop. We might taste some of the pork chop in the Slim Jim, but it doesn’t taste or satisfy like a pork chop. So, what is it? The Slim Jim is still the stranger. Shocked? Don’t be. Anything that isn’t the Good Shepherd is a stranger. Even if they have some aspects of the Good Shepherd, they are not the Good Shepherd. Only the pork chop is the Good Shepherd. Some good may come from the Slim Jim stranger, but not nearly as much as the pork chop Good Shepherd.

I think many people get led astray by the Slim Jim. They’ve never tasted the pork chop, just read or heard about it (if that), and when they taste the Slim Jim, they recognize a part of the pork chop in it and say to themselves, “I think I can taste pork chop in this, this is what I need.” But in reality, it’s only the Jolly Rancher masquerading as a pork chop to deceive those who don’t know what it is to truly be satisfied by the pork chop. And it leads many down the wrong path.

If you’ve never tasted the pork chop, or aren’t sure if you have or haven’t, ask God for a taste. Pray, “God, I need to taste the pork chop, I’m tired of Jolly Ranchers and Slim Jims. I need the real deal.” God wants nothing more than for you to be satisfied by the pork chop.

Paul Unpacked

Romans 6:20-23

When you were slaves of sin, you were free in regard to righteousness. But what fruit were you getting at that time from the things of which you are now ashamed? The end of those things is death. But now that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves of God, the fruit you get leads to sanctification and its end, eternal life. For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. –Romans 6:20-23

So in Romans 6, Paul is talking about how we (Christians, believers) have died to sin in our baptism in Christ and have been raised again along with Christ, therefore sin will not be our master any longer. He goes on to explain that whatever or whoever we act in obedience to and obey has become our master and we its slaves. Paul continues by saying since we have been released from sin’s mastery over us, why would we continue to allow it to be our master. He drives this point home with verses 20-23.

Before 20-23, Paul mentions that we are now slaves to righteousness. This helps explain his first statement in verse 20 which says “When you were slaves of sin, you were free in regard to righteousness,” or when you were under sin’s mastery, you were free from the mastery of righteousness. But he then adds to that, “But what fruit were you getting at that time from the things of which you are now ashamed?” or what did that get you? The fruit of those things, Paul says, is death.

I believe for many people this is a very abstract saying that is hard to grasp. How does sin result in death. Some might say “I’ve sinned before, but I’m not dead.” That’s not what Paul is saying here. Paul is saying that a life lived for sin and lived in sin naturally results in death. To understand this, we must contrast this statement with a later statement in verse 22 where he says “you have…become slaves to God, the fruit you get leads to sanctification and its end, eternal life”, or the fruits of obedience to God (not sin) is righteousness and eternal life.

Let’s take a more practical approach to this lesson. Where does a life of sin, chasing after money, women, things of this world, ultimately get you? Taking this life all the way to its conclusion, what will result? Well, when you die, what happens to the money that you’ve chased after? What happens to the women that you’ve pursued? What happens to the car, the house, the family, the things of this world you have lived for when you die? They leave you, right? When you leave this world (die), the things of this world are no longer yours, right? All the things that you’ve worked for are no longer in your possession. Only one thing remains when you die: death itself. Everything is gone, but you’re still dead. If you’ve lived life for things of this world, when you die, all of them are left behind and you are left with only death itself.

You might ask, “How is that any different from a life lived for God?” Christians still leave this world, they still die, this much is true. However, what is it that Christians spend their lives pursuing and trying to possess? Christians do have things of this world. They do have money, they do have a car (at least most American believers), they have a house or shelter of some kind, they might have a spouse and a family. Most of those things are necessary to live in this world, but that’s not what they pursue and strive for. What a Christian strives for and pursues is not of this world. They pursue Christ, a relationship with the living God in and through Christ Jesus. A Christian’s entire life should be spent pursuing Christ. So, when a Christian dies in this world, yes, the things of this world pass away, but those things are not what that person has been living for. He’s been living for Christ. Christ is outside this world, so when we die and leave this world behind, we still have Christ and from Christ comes righteousness and eternal life.

Therefore we see the logic behind Paul’s statement that the fruit of a life lived for sin (the world) is death, but a life lived for God (Christ) produces the fruits of sanctification and eternal life.

Faith

What is faith? Have you ever really thought about that question? I’ll ask it again; what is faith? It’s a very simple question, but one that has confounded people, both scholar and layman alike. Sure, we could go to a dictionary and look it up; the Oxford dictionary defines faith as a “complete trust or confidence”, or “firm belief, esp. without logical proof”, or “spiritual apprehension of divine truth apart from proof”, but these definitions are nothing but empty phrases. Sure, all of these definitions seem to fit the context of what we think faith to be, but they are still so lacking. All three definitions of faith seem to be rather lifeless. Throughout the entire Bible, God places an immense importance on “faith”. Why would God put such an emphasis on something that is so passive, unless faith, the kind of faith that God talks about, isn’t passive at all.

Of all the stories in the Gospel about Jesus and faith, the one that has most recently jumped out at me is the story of the woman that had bled for 12 years who touched Jesus’ robe and was healed. Let’s take a look at that passage. It starts in Mark, chapter 5, verse 24 and goes to verse 34.

And a great crowd followed him and thronged about him. And there was a woman who had had a discharge of blood for twelve years, and who had suffered much under many physicians, and had spent all that she had, and was no better but rather grew worse. She had heard the reports about Jesus and came up behind him in the crowd and touched his garment. For she said, "If I touch even his garments, I will be made well." And immediately the flow of blood dried up, and she felt in her body that she was healed of her disease. And Jesus, perceiving in himself that power had gone out from him, immediately turned about in the crowd and said, "Who touched my garments?" And his disciples said to him, "You see the crowd pressing around you, and yet you say, 'Who touched me?'" And he looked around to see who had done it. But the woman, knowing what had happened to her, came in fear and trembling and fell down before him and told him the whole truth. And he said to her, "Daughter, your faith has made you well; go in peace, and be healed of your disease.” -ESV

In all the recorded accounts of Jesus healing people, this is the only one in which someone was healed by Jesus without Jesus knowledge until after the fact. What makes this woman so special? Does the secret lie in who she is, or is it something she does? Let’s take a closer look at the story. In the story she touches Jesus robe and is made well, so it must have been because she touched Jesus. But wait a minute, at the beginning it says that a great crowd “thronged about him,” and later the disciples were puzzled by his question of “who touched me” because the entire crowd was pressing against Him. So it couldn’t have been just the fact that she touched him, because there were many people touching him. So if it’s not that she touched Him, could it be because of who she was? The story never does give a description of the woman other than she is afflicted with a seemingly chronic illness, so it’s probably not because of who she is that she was healed. If it’s not because she touched him, and it’s not because of who she was, than what makes this woman so special? Let’s go back into the story. At the end of the story, Jesus says, “your faith has made you well”. So here is where the faith of the woman comes in. Could it have been because of her faith that she was healed? I think that it would be very foolish to assume that she was the only one there among all the people gathered around Jesus who had faith, otherwise they wouldn’t have come from their villages to see Him. I’m sure some just came to see the famous man of Jesus, but I’ll bet a majority of the people in the crowd were there because they thought (they had faith) that he could help them in some capacity or another. So the woman is not alone in having faith in Jesus. So what could it be? Let’s imagine for a moment that everyone around Jesus had faith that he could heal them, but they thought they first needed to gain his attention so he could do something to them, or simply tell them they were healed. After all, that’s how he does it in almost every other situation. In fact, this story happens right in the middle of Jesus going to heal a sick little girl in that manner. That’s a good reason for people to be gathering in a throng around Jesus, wouldn’t you say? So everyone around Jesus is competing for Jesus’ attention, except this woman. This woman believed in her heart, she had faith, that if she even touched the garments of Jesus, she would be healed. So at risk of angering the crowd by coming in among them (women with this condition were considered to be unclean), she timidly approached Jesus, from behind, and touched his robe. It’s nothing theatric, nothing amazing or astounding, she just touched his robe, and immediately she was healed. This all happened before Jesus know what was going on. He turned around to see who it was that had tapped into his healing power without his knowledge. And he said to the woman, after she told Him what had happened, “your faith has healed you.”

So we see from this that faith is much more than what the dictionary defines it as. Faith is a belief, coupled with an action. Look back in the Bible to any place where God asks his people to be faithful, or full of faith; he asks them to believe and obey. For more on this, let’s take a jog over to the book of James. In James chapter 2 verses 14-17, James says:

What good is it, my brothers, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can that faith save him? If a brother or sister is poorly clothed and lacking in daily food, and one of you says to them, “Go in peace, be warmed and filled,” without giving them the things needed for the body, what good is that? So also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead. –ESV

James says here that faith, the kind of faith the Oxford dictionary defines, is not the fullness of faith that we need, it’s only part. For faith to have life in it, it needs to be active. As James states, to believe something and not act on it is almost like not believing. The faith that God talks about and wants from us, the kind of faith that the woman in the story had, is a faith from which works, or action, come naturally out of. That’s what made the woman in the story so special; she had faith, real faith. She believed in something so much that for her, to do what she did and for what happened to happen just came naturally. An example of this in daily life would be something like this: Say you are thirsty. You have faith that if you drink some water, you will no longer be thirsty. Do you hesitate or remain content with just that belief? No, you act on it. You drink some water, and sure enough, having drank the water, you are no longer thirsty. This is what real faith is like. Just the belief that the water would satisfy your thirst is nothing, I could believe with all my heart and strength that the water would quench me, but unless I act on it, that belief is completely useless. In the words of James, “faith without works is dead,” or faith without works is not real faith.

I now take this discovery that we’ve made, and I turn it back at myself, and I hope that you can turn it back at yourself as well. Do I have real faith, or do I have dictionary faith? Does what I believe show up in my life, or is what I believe only that, what I believe and nothing more. I urge you to think about that. I’ll leave you with this question, if what you believe doesn’t change how you live, is that really what you believe?

The Parable of the Sower

Matthew 13:1-9

July 1, 2006

That same day Jesus went out of the house and sat by the lake. Such large crowds gathered around him that he got into a boat and sat in it, while all the people stood on the shore. Then he told them many things in parables, saying: "A farmer went out to sow his seed. As he was scattering the seed, some fell along the path, and the birds came and ate it up. Some fell on rocky places, where it did not have much soil. It sprang up quickly, because the soil was shallow. But when the sun came up, the plants were scorched, and they withered because they had no root. Other seed fell among thorns, which grew up and choked the plants. Still other seed fell on good soil, where it produced a crop—a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown. He who has ears, let him hear."

Reading over this parable, and thinking about what it means, I’ve come up with some thoughts that I’d like to share. The first thing that needs to be understood is the interpretation of the parable. The second thing is some application of the interpretation. I will attempt to walk you through each of these as we go along through the parable.

In the story Jesus likens us to farmers scattering seed on his land. He explains that some of the seed falls on various types of bad soil, and some falls on good soil. The first point I’d like to make here is that the farmer in this story doesn’t seek out just the good soil; he scatters seed on ALL of the soil. It seems that sometimes Christians that are trying to spread the good news, seek out those people or those groups that they think would be most receptive to the Gospel, when in fact in spreading the word, we need to spread it everywhere we are, not just when and where think it will be well met. The simple fact is that however good we think we are at judging character, we can never know if someone is ready to receive the word or not, our job is just to put it out there. As Pastor Bob Flak of Grace Baptist Church in Manhattan, Kansas put it, we are called to be scatterers of seed, not judgers of soil.

Jesus goes on to say that some of the seed falls on the path where the birds immediately come and snatch it up. He later likens this to when the word falls upon someone, and Satan right away snatches it up from them, not letting it sit for a moment. Those of us who have been made new in Christ and are possibly established Christians can sit atop our pedestal and look at this part of the parable and say, “that doesn’t apply to me, I’ve accepted the word into my heart already.” While that might be true, not everything that God tells us is met with acceptance, or even understanding. As long as we remain in this fallen world, even an established and mature Christian will have patches of path where it is easy for Satan to snatch the word out from our hearts.

Jesus continues by saying that some of the seed falls on rocky ground, where the seed can sprout and grow up very fast, but once the sun comes out and gives its mid-day heat, the plant of the seed is scorched and withers away under the strain. He compares this to a person who is eager and very willing to accept the word and grows as much and as fast as he can, but doesn’t have the proper foundation so that when persecutions come, he is quick to give in and fall away. While an established and mature Christian will likely be fairly resistant to such a folly, we do need to be careful that we don’t let certain areas of our growth be on rocky ground, but cultivate every piece of ground with which we accept the word. We also need to be caution not to inspire or encourage such reckless and shortsighted growth in other, newer Christians who would be more susceptible to such an episode.

He continues the parable by talking about the seed that sprouts among thorns and grows, but is choked out and rendered useless by the surrounding foliage. He says that this is like the one who hears the word, but because of his environment or some other variable in his life, the word is not allowed to bear fruit because there is something hindering it or stealing what it needs to grow strong. Now while most Christians that take their call seriously will be careful to stay away from situations that obviously will hinder their growth in the word, there are some things that are not so obvious that can produce thorns in our life in small patches. I will be the first to admit that I most definitely have some thorns in my life that are restricting me from being what I am capable of being in Christ Jesus. I’m trying to rid myself of these thorns, but underneath each patch of thorns, is a finer, more deeply imbedded patch of thorn laying in wait. The simple fact is that as fallen creatures, the deeper we dig inside ourselves, the more thorns we will find. It doesn’t get better until we are made anew with Christ in our glorified bodies. My point throughout these three types of bad soil has been that no matter how “good” of a Christian you are or you think you are, each one of us has a little of this bad soil still left in us. Part of the Christian walk is the lifelong struggle against these soils, and only through the power and grace of Christ can we overcome in the end.

Lastly, Jesus talks about the forth type of soil, soil that is deep and rich, and accepts the seed and allows it to grow tall, put down deep roots, and produce lots of fruit. This soil is the soil that the word found in you if you are now fallowing Christ with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength. But even though this soil is good, and the seed can take root and sprout and grow strong and healthy, there are several things that can hinder the growth of the word even when it finds good soil.

The Japanese art of bonsai is the art of training a tree to become a miniature of its full size relatives. To train a tree to grow normally but significantly smaller in size, one has to restrict its growth and prune it in the proper place at the proper time, it’s very tedious. This same thing can happen to the word. If Satan can get into your life and restrict the growth of the word inside you, he will take full advantage. Through things such as anxiety, fear, or failure, the enemy can cut off our branches that we try to put out. If we allow Satan to enter our lives and control us through these things, he will tediously prune us and train us to be only a fraction of the Christian that we are capable of being. Another thing that is needed for the making of a bonsai tree is a small pot in which to grow the tree. If the tree had a great deal of soil to spread its roots down into, it naturally grows big. But if the tree has a very limited amount of soil to sink its roots into, it will grow only as far as its root system will let it. If we are put into a situation in which we are given the freedom to grow however much and as big as we want, we will grow, and we will get stronger. But if we are put into a situation in which our resources for growth, or the space in which we are able to grow in is limited, than we will only grow as far as our pot will let us. This could be the case in a situation where the word finds good soil in a person, but that good soil is in the middle of rocky crags. The word will grow and sink it’s roots down into the good soil, but the rocky ground around it will prevent the word from spreading further into the person‘s life. The person needs to cultivate that rocky ground, and make it more accommodating to the word so that the word can take hold in that part of the person’s life. This process goes on in everyone that receives the word, and if it doesn’t, growth does not happen and the result is a bonsai Christian.

The Call of the Wild
Written by Robert Service

Have you gazed on naked grandeur
where there’s nothing else to gaze on,
Set pieces and drop curtain scenes galore,
Big mountains heaved to heaven, which the blinding sunsets blazon,
Black canyons where the rapids rip and roar?
Have you swept the visioned valley
with the green stream streaking thought it,
Searched the vastness for a something you have lost?
Have you strung your soul to silence?
Then for God’s sake go and do it;
Hear the challenge, learn the lesson, pay the cost.

Have you wandered in the wilderness, the sagebrush desolation,
The bunch-grass levels where the cattle graze?
Have you whistled bits of rag-time at the end of all creation,
And learned to know that deserts little ways?
Have you camped upon the foothills,
have you galloped o’er the ranges,
Have you roamed the arid sun-lands through and through?
Have you chummed up with the mesa?
Do you know its moods and changes?
Then listen to the Wild – it’s calling you.

Have you known the Great White Silence,
not a snow-gemmed twig aquiver?
(Eternal truths that shame our soothing lies)
Have you broken trail on snowshoes? Mushed your huskies up the river,
Dared the unknown, led the way, and clutched the prize?
Have you marked the map’s void spaces, mingled with the mongrel races,
Felt the savage strength of brute in every thew?
And though grim as hell the worst is,
can you round it off with curses?
Then hearken to the Wild – its wanting you.

Have you suffered, starved and triumphed,
groveled down, yet grasped at glory,
Grown bigger in the bigness of the whole?
“Done things” just for the doing, letting babblers tell the story,
Seeing through the nice veneer the naked soul?
Have you seen God in His splendors,
heard the text that nature renders?
(You’ll never hear it in the family pew).
The simple things, the true things, the silent men who do things –
Then listen to the Wild – its calling you.

They have cradled you in custom,
they have primed you with their teaching,
They have soaked you in convention through and through;
They have put you in a showcase; you’re a credit to their teaching –
But can’t you hear the Wild? – it’s calling you.
Let us probe the silent places, let us seek what luck betide us;
Let us journey to a lonely land I know.
There’s a whisper on the night-wind,
there’s a star agleam to guide us,
And the Wild is calling, calling… let us go.

Take the Gift

I heard an interesting, and oddly humorous story the other day. My cousin and his wife have a little girl, maybe 3 or 4 years old, somewhere around there, and she has taken a liking to toy wooden trains. My cousin and his wife took their little daughter to the store because they wanted to buy her a toy train that she could take home and play with when ever she wanted to. They wanted to give her this gift, so they went to the store so she could pick one out for them to buy for her. Like any good toy store, there was one of these wooden toy train sets set up in the middle of the store for the children to play with. Well, as a child naturally does, when she saw the train set all set up and ready to play with, she immediately went over to it and began playing with the train. This is a child being a child, naturally, but the story continues. The reason, of course, that they were at the store was so that she could pick out a train set for her parents to buy so that she could have a train set of her own that she could play with at home. Her parents told her that she needed to pick out the train set that she wanted. She continued to play with the train set that was in the store. They told her once again, “darling, come and pick out a toy train set so that we can go back home.” She continued to play with the set in the store. They told her several more times. They even told her that they were only going to stay for 5 more minutes and then they were going to leave. She continued to play in the middle of the store. When the time came for them to leave, they took her by the hand and said to her, we are going home now. And as expected, she answered with the complaint, “but I haven’t picked out a train yet!” They explained to her that she had ample time to pick out a train set, but she didn’t do so even after repeated instruction.

This story is a true story, it really did happen. This story is also a true story in the sense that it is happening to people all around me, and even inside me everyday. In this story can be found a chilling parallel to what we as children of God are doing with our lives that God has given us. We can draw a parallel between the toy train store and this life that we live. We can draw a parallel between the parents of the little girl and our real Father, God that is, the creator of the universe and everything in it. We can draw a parallel between the toy train in the store and the pleasures of this world and the toy train that the little girl was given a chance to pick out and the joy of knowing and following Jesus Christ. We can draw a parallel between the point at which the parents told the little girl it was time to go and the point at which our Father will tell us that our time in this world, in this life is up.

Let’s start with the parallel of the toy store and this life that you and I are living right now as well as the parallel of the parents of the little girl and God. The little girl was given a specific amount of time to choose one thing that would make her happy after her time at the store. Her parents graciously gave her an opportunity to possess something great (at least in her point of view). In a similar fashion, God, our Father, our real parent, has given us a finite amount of time to choose to possess something that will make us infinitely happy after our time here is over. He graciously (I say graciously because we are very undeserving of this gift) gave us an opportunity to choose Jesus Christ as our Lord, as our savior, and choose to follow Him.

Now, let’s take a closer look at the parallel between the toy train and Jesus Christ. First of all, let’s look at what the little girl did. Instead of picking out what her parents wanted to give her, she sat in the middle of the store and played with the train set that was already set up in the store, neglecting to pick one out to take with her. So, as we look at this as it relates to our situation, we so often concentrate on the pleasures of this world, food, entertainment, money (that’s a big one), sex, even religion, and we forget the gift that has been laid before us. We get so wrapped up in the enjoyment of the here and now that we loose perspective on what is to come. We focus on what can make us happy right now and we loose sight of the state that we will be in when our time is up. We sit and play in the middle of the store, when the perfect train set is all around us on the shelf, waiting for us to pick it up and make it our own. We live in what is set directly before us and ignore what is promised us. I have to say here, that I am guilty of this. I so often get wrapped up in the here and now that I sometimes loose sight of what I’m doing here. It’s very easy to do.

Let’s take a look now at the parallel of the point at which the little girl’s parents tell her it’s time to go and the point at which God tells us that it’s time to go. When the little girl learns that she now must leave without having picked out a toy train of her own, she protests, saying, “But you promised me a train!” The parents respond to this objection with the reply, “We gave you time, instruction, multiple warnings that we were going to leave, and even let you play with the store’s train for a while, but you didn’t pick out yours. You don’t have one now, not because we didn’t give it to you, but because you didn’t take it.” In much the same way, many, many people come to the end of their lives on earth and say, “But you promised me Jesus!” And God, Jesus, will reply with, “I gave you plenty of time, I told you where to find me, I told you that your time was limited, I put signs all around you and told you that you would have to leave this world soon, and I even let you enjoy the things of this world for a while. You now don’t have me, not because I have denied you of me, but because you did not take me. I presented myself to you, and you simply weren’t interested.” We protest, but when the end comes, when our time has run out, it is too late to go back and choose to accept and follow Christ. When our time has run out, we see how our choices during our time in this store we call life have effected our time away from the store. If we have chosen to accept the gift that we have been presented with, we will enjoy the fullness of that gift for eternity, but if we don’t take that gift, we will not only be without that gift for eternity, but what pleasures we did have when we were in this life, we will be without as well (Matthew 25:29, Luke 19:26).

So here is what we are left with: We are presented with a gift, a beautiful and gracious gift; we can either choose to ignore that gift and play with the things that are immediately before us, or we can deny ourselves some of the momentary pleasures that the store, our life in this world, has to offer in order to choose to possess this gift, which is God himself. God is offering us a relationship with himself. All we have to do is take it, to leave our short-sighted pleasure seeking and take the time to make this gift our own to enjoy forevermore. I ask you, I implore you, I beg you, take the gift. Take what has been promised you. Stop playing with the stuff in the store and let your Father give you something that will last beyond the store. Let God give you himself, the only thing that you can take with you when you leave.

Easter

A Letter

Walking around campus this Thursday, the Thursday before Good Friday, I am noticing signs and reminders everywhere that Easter is coming. After a days worth of looking at all these signs and listening to what the radio people have to say, I notice something that I find dispiriting. In all the recognition and anticipation of Easter weekend, there is no mention of its religious significance or of any religious connection at all, other than the various complaints that the Easter church services start too early. “It’s Sunday for Christ’s sake” I even heard someone say (this was said as a curse, not a dedication). The significance and the true meaning of Easter, it seems, has been misplaced among society in general. Now I’m not saying that nobody knows what it’s about, I’m not saying that you don’t know what it’s about, I’m just reacting to the erroneous identity that Easter seems to have taken on. It’s almost as if society (not individuals) has forgotten what Easter even is. For example, at the dining center at KSU, they would not allow a Christmas tree because of its religious significance, but an Easter tree is permissible. That implies that Easter has no religious significance, which is about as far from the truth as one can get.

Friends, Easter is not a time for relaxing, or gathering with family, or seeing old friends, looking for colored eggs (I have no idea where that one came from), or a reason why you have to wake up on Sunday morning to go to church, or eat candy, or spoil grandchildren, or have barbeques. Easter is a time to think about what Jesus Christ, the Lord and savior to all, the son of God, did for us. It is a time to ponder the sacrifice that he made on our behalf. Yes, in doing this, you might gather together with family, you might see old friends, you might have a barbeque, but all these things, every one of them, should have one unifying focus behind them. All these things should be done in honor and in remembrance of the unimaginable sacrifice of Jesus. Jesus Christ, the Son of God, chose to die on a cross so that you and I could experience what it means to know the Almighty Creator of everything, the one true God as He did; as Father. Jesus submitted himself to beatings, severe beatings. His appearance was so disfigured beyond that of any man and his form marred beyond human likeness (Isaiah 52:14). He wore a crown of thorns on his head, he was nailed, nailed to a cross and left to die for the guilt that he did not earn, but that we did. He suffered and died to free us from the condemnation that we heap upon ourselves, so that we could be made pure through Him. And you, who were dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made alive together with him, having forgiven us all our trespasses, by canceling the record of debt that stood against us with its legal demands. This he set aside, nailing it to the cross (Colossians 2:13-14). This is what Easter is: Christ’s death and resurrection. There is no other meaning of the holiday. Take this, think about it as you move through the festivities of the weekend. Think about why you are doing what you are doing. Think about Jesus and what He’s done. I wish you all the very best this Easter. May God bless you and all your loved ones.

In Christ I stand,

Henry

The Ultimate Sacrifice

A Journal Entry April 12, 2006

Sitting in Radina’s coffee house, I’m listening to David Crowder’s Illuminate album while looking through the gospels. I’m trying to find the part where Mary, the sister of Martha, wipes Jesus’ feet with her hair. The song “Only You” starts to play and I start to think about Jesus as a person and what he has done for me. Jesus was a man, a real living man. He built relationships, He offended people, He loved people, He was loved by many people. He slept, He ate, He drank, He laughed, He cried; He was a real man. He felt pain, He felt Happiness, joy, grief, sorrow, anger. This man that was born was a mother’s son, a father’s joy, and a brother to his siblings. He had a family that grew up with him. He had very, very deep ties with numerous people on earth. He drew people in to himself and they loved him like you or I love a close friend. All this, the joy that comes with all that I’ve described, he gave up so that I could come into the presence of God. He gave up his life, not only the biological functions of his body, but the social ties, the relationships that you and I would define our lives by, His LIFE. He gave up his LIFE for me; for you. He left all of it behind so that you and I could know what he knew: God as father. How do we honor such a sacrifice? Some of us go to church every Sunday. Some of us give a portion of our money to the work of God. Some of us even study the Bible. But I ask you, are all those things worthy of such a great sacrifice. Is Jesus’ sacrifice reflected in how we respond to it? I would argue no, it doesn’t. But in all fairness, His sacrifice is so great, so immeasurable that no one can reflect what it means properly. But that doesn’t mean we can’t try. He gave up His life for us, and what he asked in return is that we follow him and do the same. To honor the sacrifice of Jesus Christ, we need to pick up our own cross and give our lives to God so that others might know the joy that we possess: God as father. Jesus gave his life, everything that he was so that we could know his joy. What will we do with it? Will we sit contently and inactive, or will we pass it on?

Prayer

Coming up in a few days, I will have the opportunity to take the rains of the Bible study that I am a part of and teach about prayer. I’ve spent some time looking and digging in the Word of God for some material that I can draw from, and have asked God for wisdom. After a time of doing this, the following is what I am left with: Prayer is a vital part of a Christian’s life, or rather, a vital part of a Christian. It is our soul means by which we communicate with God, our life line in this fallen world we live in. Without prayer, we have no interaction with God, and with no interaction with God, we are left with only the power of our own body and our own will to accomplish that which we are called to: glorifying God. Simple Christian theology says that we (humans, mortals, fallen man) can do nothing apart from God, which includes glorifying Him. So, from that we can conclude that we need to pray, it is the soul means by which we will be able to fulfill the purpose which we were created for. Prayer; we need it, but what is it and how and when do we do it, that’s the question.

First of all, let’s establish what prayer is. The Oxford Dictionary defines prayer as “A solemn request or thanksgiving to God or an object of worship” or “An entreaty to a person.” Some other words for prayer are intercession, petition, supplication, request, plea, and appeal. This definition pretty accurately describes what prayer is. Prayer is a means by which we can ask God for what we need, thank God for what we’ve been given, or intercede with God on another’s behalf. Furthermore, prayer is a very powerful tool that God has given us. James states this in James 5:16, therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working. In Mark chapter 9 verses 14-29, Mark describes an incident of demon possession in which the disciples cannot drive out the demon, and Jesus comes and drive away the evil spirit and says in verse 29 And he said to them, "This kind cannot be driven out by anything but prayer,” so we see here that prayer is sometimes the only thing we can do. Prayer is our line of communication with God, and more than that, it is a very powerful tool that God has given us to battle the forces of evil that are set against us. We know that we need prayer, we know what prayer is, but how do we go about praying?

To answer this question, we need to turn to one of God’s lines of communication with us, His Word. The Bible has a few things to say about how to pray. 1 Timothy Chapter 2:1 says First of all, then, I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings, (all different kinds of prayer) be made for all people. From this we know that we should be praying for not just a select few people, or our favorite people, but all people. In Philippians 4:6 it says do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. From these verses we can extrapolate who we should pray for (ourselves and others), but we are still left with the question of how to pray. In Luke 11:2-4, Jesus tells his disciples how to pray: And he said to them, "When you pray, say: "Father, hallowed be your name. Your kingdom come. Give us each day our daily bread, and forgive us our sins, for we ourselves forgive everyone who is indebted to us. And lead us not into temptation. This is expanded upon in Matthew 6:7-13, where He says, and when you pray, do not heap up empty phrases as the Gentiles do, for they think that they will be heard for their many words. Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him. Pray then like this: Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name. Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. Here, we see clearly that Jesus gave us a cut and dry form for praying. He even says in Mark When you pray, say…. So we now know how to pray. Now to add something on here that I think needs to be said; this form is just that a form. It is good recited by itself, but it can also be a template for more specific prayers. In using this form as a template, follow the form with your prayer about whatever it is that you are praying about. For example, if you have a relative that is sick and needs your prayers, using the form of the Lord’s Prayer, you might pray:

“Heavenly father, in all this may your name be exalted above all and your glory be shown through this trial. Accomplish your will in this situation and give so-and-so wisdom to discern your will in all of this. Please provide or continue to provide for so-and-so what he/she needs. Forgive so-and-so, for we all are sinners and give so-and-so the grace to forgive those that he/she may have grievances with. Keep so-and-so’s heart focused on you and give him/her reprieve from the evil that surrounds him/her. In all this may your name be made known.”

The above prayer uses the Lord’s Prayer for a guide. Using the Lord’s Prayer as a matrix to lay your own prayer into gives a template to form an effective prayer for any situation, even the ones in which we don’t know how to pray, or what to pray for. A prayer, as was mentioned earlier, can also be a plea or a cry, meaning that the form of the Lord’s Prayer is not requisite of a prayer. In Matthew 26, we see Jesus in Gethsemane praying to God: Matthew 26:39 and going a little farther he fell on his face and prayed, saying, “My Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as you will.” This prayer does not follow the form of the Lord’s Prayer, but rather is a cry or a plea straight from the heart of Jesus. We can cry out from our heart, make a plea to God from the depths of our being and it too can be an effective prayer. But in all this, we also have a warning concerning prayer. Matthew 6:5-6 and when you pray, you must not be like the hypocrites. For they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and at the street corners, that they may be seen by others. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward. But when you pray, go into your room and shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you. Do not, this passage says, pray in order to display your righteousness, but rather when you pray, make your prayers between you and God alone. When you stop to think about it, when you pray in order to display your righteousness you are not really asking for what you are praying about, you are asking for others to be impressed by your righteousness. But when you pray just between you and God, there can be only one thing your asking, and that is what you are praying for. Can you pray to God outside of solitude and really mean it? It’s possible, but if you are alone, it’s hard to question a pure motive. Jesus also tells us that to pray in pretence, or to pray in order that you yourself might be glorified by others, will heap upon yourself condemnation (Mark 12:38-40). With all of this, we’ve answer the question of how to pray, how NOT to pray, and even where to pray, but the question of when to pray is still left unanswered.

This question is a very simple question because it has a very simple answer. Let’s start by looking at the apostle Paul. In Paul’s second letter to Timothy, he begins with a reflection of how he himself prays when he says I thank God whom I serve, as did my ancestors, with a clear conscience, as I remember you constantly in my prayers night and day in 2 Timothy 1:3. When does Paul pray? Both day and night. In Paul’s magnum-opus of theological revelation, his letter to the Romans, he talks about in chapter 12 verses 9-13, the marks of a true Christian. In verse 12 he lists Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer. From this verse, we can conclude that a Christian is to pray when: Constantly. Paul brings this up in other letters as well. Ephesians 6:18: praying at all times in the Spirit, with all prayer and supplication. To that end keep alert with all perseverance, making supplication for all the saints. Colossians 4:2: Continue steadfastly in prayer, being watchful in it with thanksgiving. So, the answer to the question of when do we pray is constantly, continuously, without ceasing.

Prayer is the very life-force that should drive a Christian; therefore naturally, a Christian should have an insatiable hunger for prayer. Prayer should be to a Christian what water is to a fish. Prayer is very important, and if you find yourself at a point in which you do not desire prayer, I would urge you to step back and examine what you are trying to draw your life-force from if not from prayer. Prayer is what drives us, it’s what sustains us. It is prayer that lets us do Gods work, and it is prayer, that if left undone, will prevent us from living the life we were created to live.

The Whole Armor of God

Ephesians 6:10-18 – The Whole Armor of God

¹⁰Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might. ¹¹Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil. ¹²For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places. ¹³Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand firm. ¹⁴Stand therefore, having fastened on the belt of truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness, ¹⁵and, as shoes for your feet, having put on the readiness given by the gospel of peace. ¹⁶In all circumstances take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming darts of the evil one; ¹⁷and take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God, ¹⁸praying at all times in the Spirit, with all prayer and supplication. To that end keep alert with all perseverance, making supplication for all the saints,

Let’s take a look at the whole armor of God, piece by piece, shall we. First of the pieces mentioned is the belt of truth. The belt of truth, I believe, refers to the truth that is God and Jesus Christ, apart from whom there is no truth. This might also be said as the belt of the knowledge of truth. It is this truth that gives birth to all the rest of the pieces, therefore is central to the whole armor of God. Next is the breast plate of righteousness. In a suit of armor, the breast plate is a large piece of metal or some other hard material that protects the torso, where most of the body’s vital organs are held. Just as a physical breastplate would protect the vitals of a person’s physique, a breastplate of righteousness protects one’s spirit from harm. For example, a physical breastplate would prevent such injuries as a sword penetrating a lung, because the sword wouldn’t be able even to penetrate the skin, much less get to the lung; similarly, a breastplate of righteousness will protect from such spiritual injuries as falling into a life of sin, for in a state of righteousness, sin is not only undesirable, but for the righteous, by definition, it is impossible. I would now like to note that up until now, all the armor has been passive armor, meaning that in order for it to do its job, one need only to wear it. The rest of the armor, with one exception, is active armor, meaning that simply wearing will do you almost no good. For active armor to work, one must use it. That being said, the next piece of armor is the shoes of readiness, or the “readiness given by the gospel of peace.” They, like any other shoe, will do nothing if by themselves. The person wearing them must put forth effort in order for them to do what they were designed to do. Like physical shoes were meant to protect and aid in propulsion (walking, running, jumping, etc.), the shoes of readiness, or the gospel, will aid in one’s spiritual movement. While we are moving spiritually this way or that, there will be some stumbling blocks in the way put there by the enemy, and in those situations, the gospel, the shoes of readiness, provide protection so that our spirit is not damaged and allows us to traverse over such obstacles. As was previously stated, the shoes of readiness are of no use unless use is made of them. Next in the list of armor is a vital piece of the suit, the shield of faith. The shield of faith is a very powerful piece of armor, for it is able to “extinguish all the flaming darts of the evil one”. If you’ve ever seen a shield that goes with a suit of armor, they’re usually not big enough to protect the whole person at once. There is a good reason for this. If the shield were big enough to protect the entire body at all times, one, it would eliminate the need for the suit of armor, but more importantly two, it would not be easily toted; the user would be relatively immobile, that’s a bad thing for a soldier. Because it is, relative to the user, small in size, it must be correctly used to be effective. For a physical shield to be effectively used, one must put it between themselves and the incoming threat. Similarly, for the shield of faith to be used effectively, one must focus their faith toward incoming threats, or flaming darts, so that in faith, one will be able to stand against whatever opposition he is facing. Like the shoes, for the shield to be effective, it must be used. The next element of the whole armor of God is the helmet of salvation. I mentioned an exception early to the last pieces being active armor, this is it. Like a physical helmet, one need only to sport it to be protected by it. The helmet of salvation protects that which matters most, the soul. A physical helmet protects the head, in which the brain, which controls everything that the body does, resides, likewise, the helmet of salvation protects the soul, which ultimately dictates what the spirit does, or at least is the essence of the spirit. This piece of armor is very important. The next and final piece is the only offensive piece of the entire suit: “the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.” To take a closer look at this piece, we must go to a different passage. In Hebrews 4:12, the author states “For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart.” So from this we can conclude that the sword of the spirit, or the word of God is a very powerful piece of the armor, and in fact, a weapon, but like the shoes and the shield, for any sword to be effective, it must be wielded, and wielded correctly. As a side note, I feel I need to mention that just like a physical sword, the sword of the spirit can be incorrectly wielded, at which point it has the potential to become very dangerous.

We have now detailed the whole armor of God, what do we do with it now? We can put in on, and we can even know how to use it, but, like a physical suit of armor, there is no need for it if one is not engaged in battle. Therefore, Paul goes on to say, “praying at all times in the Spirit, with all prayer and supplication. To that end keep alert with all perseverance, making supplication for all the saints.” This denotes that to pray is to engage in battle, which in turn gives way to the term ‘prayer warrior’. To be a prayer warrior is to pray constantly, or close to it. To pray is the way in which we engage the enemy, we petition God to act. In the face engagement, the enemy responds in kind, fighting back, hence the need for spiritual armor. Are you a warrior for God; are you part of God’s army?

Take a look for a moment the life of Christ Jesus. It is recorded that he prayed more than he did anything else, possibly even sleep. Jesus was most definitely a spiritual warrior. That being said, do you follow Christ? Do you follow the teachings and life of the one and only spiritual Rambo? Isn’t that what a Christian is, a follower of Christ and his teachings? Are you a Christian? Really think about that question. Are you trying to emulate the character that Jesus had? Are you trying to grow closer to God though the disciplines and avenues that Christ presented? Do you have aspirations to be a prayer warrior? When it comes down to it, you are either trying to follow Christ, or you are not, there is not middle ground. I’ll ask the question again: Are you a Christian?

John 6:35-40

A Journal Entry 3/13/06

³⁵Then Jesus declared, "I am the bread of life. He who comes to me will never go hungry, and he who believes in me will never be thirsty. ³⁶But as I told you, you have seen me and still you do not believe. ³⁷All that the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never drive away. ³⁸For I have come down from heaven not to do my will but to do the will of him who sent me. ³⁹And this is the will of him who sent me, that I shall lose none of all that he has given me, but raise them up at the last day. ⁴⁰For my Father's will is that everyone who looks to the Son and believes in him shall have eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day."

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Before this passage, Jesus is telling the people that are following Him that they need to seek bread that lasts for eternal life, not bread that spoils (this is after he has fed the 5,000). He takes them (through what He says to them) to a point of wanting, or feeling a need for this bread of eternal satisfaction, and then starts with John 6:35-40. Here He says He is this bread He speaks of (35), but they can’t have it because they have not believed in Him, even though he’s been there in front of them (36). He goes on to say that all that the Father gives to Him will come to Him (37), meaning He will not go and get people to follow him, but as the term follow implies, all who follow Him will do so on their own, having been called, or nudged by God (the Father). He goes further to say that He has not come to do His will but the Father’s will and the Father’s will is to “lose none of all the Father has given Him, but raise them up at the last day” and they shall have eternal life (38-40).

So, in short, Jesus tells the people they need this bread, which is Him, but they can’t have it, because they do not believe, and the only way they can believe is by the power of God’s calling. But to those who do believe, Jesus will receive them and will never let them go or turn them away, and even more than that, they will have eternal life!

On A Leash

A Journal Entry – March 8, 2006

The other day I was sitting outside Willard Hall, taking a break from some homework, and there was, in the quad sitting by a tree, a young man, a student I’m assuming, with his little floppy-eared dog. It looked like a beagle. This little dog was walking and sniffing around and occasionally scampering about. He was on a leash, so he could only go so far before he was hindered, restricted, or otherwise prevented from going further. The other end of this leash was held by the young man. The dog looked like he wanted to play, but the young man was just sitting there, not interested in playing with his dog. Pretty soon, a family came by, a mother, a father, a small boy about 10 or 11, and a little girl maybe 4 or 5. The dog saw and heard them as they came by. They didn’t stop to pet the dog, or even pay attention to it really, but I could tell the dog was very happy to see little children. It ran toward them like it wanted to play with them, but before it could reach them, the leash ran out of slack, and the dog was prevented from going any further. After the children were out of sight, the little floppy-eared dog ran toward the young man he was attached to and tried to get him to play but to no avail. He settled down and went back to walking and sniffing around, and then some skater guys came by on roller skates and skateboards. They stopped and petted the little dog and gave him some of the attention that he was yearning for. But they were only there for less than a minute and then they went on their way. The little dog ran after them as if he wanted to go with them, but his leash once again thwarted his efforts. After he settled down again, he just sat there in the grass, near the end of his leash but no longer straining against it, seemingly content in where he was and what he was doing.

If we compare ourselves to the floppy-eared dog, the world to the young man the dog was attached to, and the passers by to God, or Jesus, we can draw some similarities to our lives. We are now in the world. We are born attached firmly to the world, it’s what we know, it’s what we see, it’s all we’ve experienced. As we get older, we see things from outside of the world pass by, specifically God. As we see, we yearn to be with Him and to know more about him, and we chase after Him, but inevitably our connection to the world prevents us from truly following Him. He might stop for a time and entertain our desires for a little while, but when He leaves, we again attempt to follow, but our tether to the world keeps us from Him. So we sit where we are with the knowledge that there are better things out there than what we have, pretending to be content. We desire God, but we don’t have a way to free ourselves from the world. Jesus provides a way to cut that leash and free us to pursue God fully and to enjoy the freedom of being un-tethered by the World. Do you have a leash? Jesus can set you free.