Contentment and Assurance

Let your conduct be without covetousness; be content with such things as you have. For He Himself has said, "I will never leave you nor forsake you. (ref. Josh 1:5 and others)" So we may boldly say: "The Lord is my helper; I will not fear. What can man do to me? (ref. Ps 118:6)"

(Heb 13:5-6)

As I was reading through the book of Genesis, I came across the phrase, "I will never leave you nor forsake you" as God is using Abraham's family to fulfill his will and promise on the earth. He gives this assurance multiple times in scripture. In this particular case, Jacob was being chased out of his father Isaac's house because he had stolen a blessing from Esau, his older twin. While it was certainly Jacob's guile that led to his situation, at the same time Esau was an unworthy person on which God could build his people - after all, Esau sold his birthright for a serving of stew, and he would not obey his father and mother when he selected wives who worshipped false gods.

Following the Lord is often harder than following our own heart and its inclinations. When we look at the stories of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, we see that they were often chased out of their settlements either by the call of God, famine, or difficulties in their lives. Jacob later ends up working for his uncle Laban for fourteen years just to secure the woman that he loves. I don't know if there is a person in the USA who would make that kind of sacrifice or undergo that kind of hardship today. I think we would be too worried about our career development and asking, "I wonder how this will look on my resume - worked for fourteen years as a servant to my uncle in order to gain a wife?" No matter what the call of God, we would be too ashamed to accept such a role for fear of worldly perception, lost time, and lowered prospects.

Oh, we certainly like to look at the passages of scripture where God blesses Abraham or Isaac with success and great flocks, but we really don't want to look at the kind of hard times that they had to endure. After all, both Abraham, Isaac, and even Jacob endured famines so severe that they left their property to either go to Egypt or the land of the Philistines. What would my reaction be if the Lord caused us to be starved and broke to the point where we had to beg the grace of a foreign nation like Mexico or Canada in order to survive? Would we praise God as they did, or would we instead just curse Him and go our own ways?

Ultimately, the Lord promises never to leave us nor forsake us. He doesn't promise a perfect life or a super rich life. We aren't slated in scripture to have whatever we desire to the point where everyone will envy us. Rather, we will be tempted by those around us who seem to have plenty of cool toys and gadgets, who take amazing trips to exotic places, who have great jobs, who have fame, and who drive nicer cars than us.

But, our reaction to such things is key to the condition of our souls. If we react in envy, we do not appreciate the Lord's wisdom in the level of what we have. We will lose our hearts to the things of the world without appreciating the salvation that has been given to us. Add to that the sheer fact that we are not alone in this world. We must remember that we have a mighty God who stands with us, and measures the content of our character, and not the size of our wallets.

In addition, we have the blessed assurance that we will be fine. Through recessions, depressions, inflation, deflation, good times and bad, God will be with us and will take care of us. No, it won't always be in the fashion that we desire and things may not come easily to us, but the Lord is still there with us. The Lord is still leading us in His path and things will come in His timing.

Lord Jesus, thank You for Your word today. I know that I must work to grow in faith and contentment in whatever You have brought to us. I cannot measure everything by the level of my salary, but instead I need to trust in You and simply obey. If I follow You, then things will be made clear in due time, and we will always be taken cared of. Thank You Lord. Again and again, you have brought our family through good times and bad, but ultimately You have simply wanted to be near to us. And we are not worthy of such grace. In Jesus' name, AMEN.

In Times of Trouble, Where is My Hope Placed?

"Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord, and whose hope is the Lord. For he shall be like a tree planted by the waters, which spreads out its roots by the river, and will not fear when heat comes; but its leaf will be green, and will not be anxious in the year of drought, nor will cease from yielding fruit." (Jer 17:7-8)

Where is my hope and where is my trust? Those are very pertinent questions for me today as I begin to assess where I am at the moment. My family is facing some potentially large financial commitments, and I don't have a steady job at the moment. I am working as a temp right now, and I am very grateful for the work - truly, it has been provision from the Lord.

However, I don't have the solid financial footing to undertake our potential purchases, and that is a little unsettling. "How in the world are we going to do all this?" is the question that comes to mind very quickly.

I sift through all the calculations that I can come up with, and it doesn't add up. But then, I am reminded when I read this verse - "Bryan, who and what are you placing your trust in?" Am I trusting in my own abilities, the number in my bank account, or on random fortune?

All that ignores the Lord entirely. I am not saying that the Lord is my genie to grant me any wish that I want, but what I am saying is that the Lord provides appropriately and at the right time.

The trial is not the important battle to win, but rather it is my response to the trial that is the true test. When push comes to shove, will I stand on my worldly possessions and skills, or will I instead dive into the arms of the Lord? Is my belief deep enough to keep my leaves green during the time of drought, not sucking life from the world, but subsisting on the word of God alone?

I must remember the Lord and simply pray to Him. Yes, I will do whatever I can with my own two hands, but I will leave the ultimate provision to Him. He will provide for us one way or another - I don't need to wonder or worry. Once it goes to Him, it will get taken cared of in the proper way at the proper time.

Lord Jesus, I know that the decisions that have started to weigh on me are not really mine to make. You know what is best for me and my family, and You have never led us astray. No, You have always been faithful, and even now You provide for us in the midst of a tough job market. I have always had favor from You and I know that this time will not be any different. You have a plan and You have a future laid out for us. Forgive me for my moments of unbelief where I have not put my life squarely into Your hands, but instead have tried to wield it all on my own. In the process, I almost lost all the lessons that You've been teaching me over the past 6 months. Thank You for drawing near to me again and holding us steady although the world howls around us. In Your glorious name, AMEN.

Recalibration

"It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me..." (Gal 2:20)

It has been great to return to work, even on a temporary basis, but it has brought its own challenges as well. No longer am I able to devote some of my best waking hours to contemplating and studying the things of God, but instead I find that even a bit of prayer time is difficult to carve out (especially when my non-work hours are focused on family).

What that meant for my first week or so is that I already feel the ugliness of my flesh rearing its head and invading my thoughts. Anger when I'm driving and stress creeps up and it's hard to control. I know that if I don't allow myself proper time to spend with God, I will revert back to my old self, where I am a Christian with a slipping relationship with the Lord. What that would mean, is that I would have wasted all the time that the Lord has been working on my soul over the past few months.

Again, I have to remind myself. Why do I live? Yes, I care about providing for my family, but my first allegiance is to the Lord. It sounds wrong to the world to put God even before our family, but the story of Abraham's intended sacrifice of Isaac is our guide. Abraham obeyed the command of the Lord without question. And because the Lord knew Abraham's heart was to obey and that nothing in this world could tempt Abraham to lose his faith, God rewarded Abraham and stopped him from sacrificing Isaac.

Nothing in this world can become an idol which precludes my faith in God. Not my family, not my friends, not my job, nor status, or possessions. All that must be laid aside before the throne for the Lord to pick and choose what will come and what will be my life.

So in terms of the future, it's all unimportant. All that is important is today's obedience. How did I do on that score? Have I followed Him faithfully and truly? Over the past week, I have to say - not exactly. If I am not spending time with God, I certainly cannot hear His counsel or be refined by Him. So this week, my faith experienced a bit of atrophy. That isn't good and my commitment has to be toward improvement this week.

Lord Jesus, thank You for Your conviction today for me to seek You first above all else. Please help me to stay true to this course. In Jesus' name, Amen.

Forgetting What Was Behind

"Escape for your life! Do not look behind you nor stay anywhere in the plain." (Gen 19:17)

In Genesis, God saw the sinfulness of Sodom and Gomorrah and planned their destruction. The only thing that He desired to do is to get the righteous Lot and his family out of the path of destruction. In this famous story, we know that Lot's wife looked back as they were fleeing and was turned into a pillar of salt.

I really don't judge Lot's wife harshly because she was leaving all that she had and knew. Lot was a rich and prosperous man and they must have lived a charmed life. However, all of that was nothing compared to the urging of the Lord to go.

We rarely know why God will call us to move from this place or that, and it can all seem very confusing and deflating emotionally. However, based on this example, we need to simply trust God and move according to His direction. And as we move, keep focused ahead on the path in front of us instead of dwelling on everything that is in the past.

It is easy to reminisce and glorify the things that have come in the past. Sometimes it can seem so very charming and easy, especially during times of intense trial and stress in our walk with God. However, the path that we are on is chosen by the Lord for our good, and we must not give Satan a foothold upon which to prey upon us and lead us astray. Once we open the door to discontent, Satan will twist that into a desire to seek after an easy way, a way that ultimately leads to eternal hell.

As I am still in the midst of struggle and trial, this is a key verse for me. Obedience to the Lord hasn't been easy and I know that my career has suffered mightily because of it. But, the words of Paul ring true to me when I am tempted to look back and wish that things had been different: "But what things were gain to me, these I have counted loss for Christ...but I press on, that I may lay hold of that for which Christ Jesus has also laid hold of me...forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus." (Phil 3)

The moment I made a decision for Christ, I laid down my previous life, the world and its aspirations. It is no wonder that as a consequence, I am asked to do something different which would forego worldly gain, status and comfort. But in return, I will move ever closer in my goal to fulfilling the call of Christ on my life - a life that He will ultimately not waste, but will use to further His kingdom.

That is all that I dream. That when I stand before His throne at the end of my days here on earth, I will know that my calling was fulfilled and my duty as a soldier for the Lord was completed in full. All else will simply fade away into obscurity.

Lord Jesus, help me to keep my eyes and thoughts focused ahead on what You have called me to do. Thank You for saving me and my family that we may worship and walk with You always. In Jesus' name, AMEN.

Stay Away From Bad Associates

"I have raised my hand to the Lord, God Most High, the Possessor of heaven and earth, that I will take nothing, from a thread to a sandal strap, and that I will not take anything that is yours, lest you should say, 'I have made Abram rich'..." (Gen. 14:22-23)

The King of Sodom had wanted to gain favor with Abram after Abram had won an important battle over many local Kings during a mission to rescue is nephew Lot. Politically, the move made sense for Abram to broker a deal with the King of Sodom to strengthen his ties in the region.

But, Abram already knew that Sodom was a place of great sin, and that to ally himself with them would be contrary to his worship of the Lord. In fact, Abram was angry at the thought that he should accept any assistance from the King of Sodom because he didn't want to create any kind of obligation or connection with such a city.

In America, we live in a capitalist society, which has many freedoms, and that's generally good. However, when we focus on capitalism instead of liberty, we are entrusting our decisions to strict monetary bases rather than to consider the larger spiritual ramifications of our conduct.

In my personal life, I think about the types of companies that I want to work for. Yes, a job is a job, but there are good companies and bad companies, and to choose to work for a company that has no morality except making money can lead to associating and tying myself spiritually to a place that is committing sinful actions.

The truth is that we cannot do the Lord's will when we compromise on the quality of our associations. If Jesus had only curried favor based on political cunning, he could have been the leader of the whole Jewish nation. That would have been a nice worldly outcome, but it would have been contrary to everything that He was sent to Earth to do.

Instead, He chose the harder path, and rebuked those who were twisting God's Word for their own self-aggrandizement. He butted heads with the religious and political leaders of the time, which led ultimately to dying on the Cross. Yes, Jesus lost His life, but He maintained His integrity and did not sin. The result was His ultimate defeat over death for us all evidenced in his resurrection.

We must remember Christ's example. The road we are called to walk as Christians is the same type of bitter cup that Christ underwent. Because we are asked to walk apart from the world, we will naturally undergo derision at our actions because we do not truly conform. For Christ, that led to the Cross; for us it can lead to many different trials.

In the end however, the Lord is sovereign over all, and our reward is assured and secured. We cannot lose even if we walk through troubling times that are temporarily difficult. More than any worldly gain that could be had through sinful associations, we stand to lose our souls to hell through compromises on God's Word. Is that a fair trade for a life of temporarily greater ease? -- For the devil will surely smooth our life's road if we would only forget the Lord.

Abram knew that God would grant him all that he needed for all of eternity as long as he remained faithful to Him. And that is the example that we need to remember always.

Lord Jesus, there will be many choices to make as I walk through this journey called life. Help me to make wise decisions that honor You, and to stay away from those who offer worldly gain that would cause me to fall away from Your path. Thank You for Your example to us. In Your name, AMEN.

A Personal Message from God

Today I have been awakened at 4am by the most startling metaphoric image of my life, and I believe that the Lord was speaking to my soul.

I was trying to push through a large pile of rubble, but it was as if I had to struggle through it behind a large wall. The wall itself needed to be used to push through the rubble (imagine a bulldozer, but with me as the machine pushing the big bucket in front), but because there was so much of it in front of me the going through was so tough.

Through this exercise, I realized that I felt a fear in the pit of my stomach. People were laughing at me, pointing and mocking. Everyone was, and I felt awful - nervous, unsettled to the point of a cold sweat - all because the world was mocking me.

Then I realized further that the rubble I was pushing through was the mockers of the world, but I couldn't gain any traction while I remained in this fearful state because I was paralyzed against them. And God showed me that more than anything in this world, greater than even the fear of death, I was living in fear of the world's judgment.

I didn't want to be judged, but instead I was living a life where I was afraid to do anything that would incur the mocking of the world - and they (the world) sat eagerly observing me with cynical affections, ready to attack with their judgment which scared me all the more into further paralysis.

I cannot explain the feeling that I felt: panic, desperation, hopelessness beyond hopelessness. In truth I would rather have died than to have to incur any more of this humiliating mocking.

Then God showed me my soul as being made up of various influences and that I was being led by one source who cared deeply about the judgments of the world around me. He is called Pride of Life. Pride of Life counseled continued restraint and complete inaction because he could not bear any negative thoughts from anyone. He wants to continually be favored by the world around him and in order to do that, he'll do anything - even crawl into his own personal shell to avoid engaging anything opposed to the world's opinion.

Having been recognized and outed, I ousted Pride of Life by praying to the Lord, and the Lord took him away from the soul (by grabbing him with a commando team and shoving him into a helicopter - I have been playing "Call of Duty: Modern Warfare"), but my soul still feared.

However, I began to do my duty to the push the wall through the rubble of life, so a smooth path was created behind it (imagine a bulldozer smoothing a rough road) though the effort it took was enormous and the soul still lived in fear of the mockers that it was pushing through.

God reminded my soul to don the armor of God, and after much struggle to remember what that was, I put on the Helmet of Salvation, the Breastplate of Righteousness, the Belt of Truth, the Shoes of Peace, the Shield of Faith, and also the Sword - God's Word. The pains from the mockers lessened considerably with the donning of each item, and my pace in smoothing the rubble in front of me began to increase. It was then that I realized that Jesus Christ pushed with me and I was not alone.

The Lord reminded me that the world is ready to mock and judge me, but in order to walk his path, I must not fall into the trap of the Pride of Life where I seek to avoid offense. Rather, I must be ready to walk through any valley of humiliation as a Christian, for unless I'm ready to do that, no progress will be made because I will be too afraid to do anything for Christ. In fact, the message was even stronger - that I must always be willing to endure any humiliation no matter what that might be - that I must never mind the world's opinion, but instead rely completely on Faith.

For a Christian, Pride is the enemy of Faith because it seeks to kill any movement that isn't completely safe or easy. However, the Christian path isn't an easy one because it is singly reliant on Faith alone despite circumstances. If we let in the Pride of Life to even a small degree, we begin to weak our efforts to follow Christ. At that point, it is an inevitable process where the Pride of Life will increase his influences into our lives, having gained a foothold, and will kill our progress to nil.

So heavy was this burden in my soul that before re-entering sleep, I knew this needed to be recorded so that I will never forget.

Getting Beyond the Tithing Rules

8 "Will a man rob God? Yet you have robbed Me! But you say, In what way have we robbed You? In tithes and offerings. 9 You are cursed with a curse, for you have robbed Me, even this whole nation. 10 Bring all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be food in My house, and try Me now in this, says the Lord of hosts, if I will not open for you the windows of heaven and pour out for you such blessing that there will not be room enough to receive it." (Mal 3:8-10 NKJV)

Tithing is a pretty touchy subject for Christians (these days, what isn't touchy when discussing Christianity?), mainly because it is one that is so difficult for the believer to conform with.

It's easy for me to look around at what I have, or look online at my bank account and think of everything that I have as "mine". Because I have applied myself to build these things up and purchase what I have, I don't want to do anything that will lessen what's "mine".

But, is that attitude really Biblical?

In scripture, we find:

"The silver is Mine, and the gold is Mine, says the Lord of hosts" (Hag 2:8)

"The earth is the Lord's, and all its fullness, the world and those who dwell therein." (Ps. 24:1)

The concept of personal ownership is really temporary and an illusion. God owns everything, and although we work, earn, and are allowed to steward personal property (hence "thou shalt not steal"), He is ultimately the one who provides for us. In addition, when we become Christians, we are laying down our whole lives before His throne to do with as He pleases. That includes all of our "possessions".

So if we don't truly own anything, what does that make the tithe? On the surface, it is essentially giving back 10% of God's money to Him. For myself, the tithe is a constant reminder of the Lordship of God, and a recognition that everything is truly His. Malachi speaks of blessings because of the tithe, and preachers always like to focus on that aspect, but I really don't think that should matter one iota. Everything we receive is from the Lord anyway, so we should focus on the condition of our souls and the level of our faith.

When our souls balk at tithing, I think it's useful to ask ourselves, "If I am willing to entrust my eternity to the Lord in faith that He will save me, why in the world would I care about giving back 10% of what He's given me?" We become so entrapped by our possessions that we have a tough time giving cheerfully to the Lord. ("The Lord loves a cheerful giver" 2 Cor 9:7)

There does seem to be a lot of confusion out there because the New Testament doesn't specifically mention the tithe, and there are those who believe that such commands are no longer scriptural because it wasn't specifically repeated by Jesus. However, the Lord did say:

"Do not think that I came to destroy the Law or the Prophets. I did not come to destroy but to fulfill." (Mt 5:17)

So in this case, I don't think it's useful on either side of the tithing argument to look at hard and fast rules of application. If a person's heart is unable to give cheerfully, I don't believe the Lord will honor the gift. However, if the tithe is given out of spirit of submission and obedience, then it is a gift that the Lord will accept and bless (see Cain and Abel). The importance above all is our heart's condition when we give the tithe, not the want/fear of a blessing or curse, and not for the guilt that we may feel if we don't do it.

"Have I truly laid my life down to the Lord, or am I trying to keep something for myself?" With that question reiterated, the deeper question becomes, "Am I still in bondage to the world?" The answer for the rich young ruler in Luke 18 was, "Yes, I cannot let go of my great wealth to follow Jesus." And again, that seems to be the real test of the tithe -- Knowing that we have submitted everything to God, observing that the tithe was in place throughout the Old Testament, recognizing that there is still a great work to be performed here through the church which naturally should be funded, can we not give back 10% of what God has given to us?

For myself, my desire is to say, "Yes Lord! I will give whatever You ask!" But my flesh recoils at the thought of all that I won't be able to purchase without that money. So I know that there will be struggles with this always, but it all comes down to submission to Christ and knowing that my life is His. Once I gain some perspective, then serving Him through giving becomes a joy once more.

Lord Jesus, help me to check my heart constantly and root out the selfish desires which so easily threatens to overwhelm a state of obedience and submission to You. I know that the tithe is key to bringing ourselves into alignment with You and keeps us from becoming ensnared with the lust for worldly gain. Thank You for Your wisdom in knowing our wicked hearts so well that You have given us these guidelines to follow. In Your amazing name, AMEN.

Walking the Rocky Road of God's Call

"Now the Lord had said to Abram: "Get out of your country, from your family and from your father's house to a land that I will show you." (Gen. 12:1)

God's unusual calling. It can strike in many ways and is rarely conducive to our own convenience. Abram was a man of some means, and the heir of his father's fortune as the oldest son. However, God asked him to trust the calling on His life to leave His father's house, leave his inheritance, and venture out to a new land.

Now, Abram wasn't a poor guy and apparently he had many servants and livestock from his launching point in Haran, but it was still a big risk to go to a new place with no assurances of success other than God's calling.

And that reminds me (as it always does) of my personal obligation to the Lord. Do I trust Him? Am I willing to sacrifice everything that I have built up in this place to go to another at His call?

When my wife and I were praying on whether to move here to California, we were relatively set in Seattle. We had a really good life with the prospects of buying a new home, and a good steady paycheck. Everything we had was growing in a way that promised us a nice, secure future. But we felt a pressing from the Lord to move. We tried to suppress the calling for a time because we didn't have any arrangements in CA and we were fixated on maintaining our material security, but the Lord kept at us, telling us to move and to trust.

And so we moved and doing so was a huge weight off our shoulders, and we were confident that the Lord would provide. However, now that we have settled in here, we are finding that the job market is tough and our provisions are being met by our savings. So where is God?

I am confidently writing today, in the middle of this quandary, and I can say that He is with us still. I don't know how it will all play out, and there times of frustration and heavy prayer, but my wife and I don't feel like we made a mistake at all. We may have had a good secure life in Seattle, but our spiritual life was slowly decaying. What we have found here in our new place is a renewed love of the Lord. Again, not all the pieces of what the Lord will do for us here is known by us (in truth, we know nothing except today), but still our faith and confidence in Him is renewed.

One of the key truths that I have learned during this time is that God's path is straight and narrow, but it isn't without its difficulty with steep inclines and deep valleys. It has become fashionable in today's Christianity to think of God has one who rolls out the red carpet for His servants, but I believe the reality can be the direct opposite, where He increases the level of difficulty in our lives in order to develop our characters.

I think again to the story of Abram, and we see that although he reached the land of Canaan, a famine there pushed him into Egypt where the Pharaoh temporarily took his wife as his. Although God's calling and promises were still intact, they did not flow absolutely perfectly. Things developed over time, and even the fullness of the Lord's promises took generations to fulfill. (Gen 12)

In Gen 14, we also see that in the context of the world at the time, Abram was not a major player. The major political battles were being fought by the Kings of the various cities, and they kidnapped Abram's nephew Lot. I was reminded that God isn't looking to use the world's most powerful men, as they usually have their own selfish agenda on their minds. But, He will use the most humble, faithful and obedient instead.

Sometimes the mission we are on doesn't end with us. And it shouldn't. God isn't planning for just my family, but He is planning for generations of our descendants. So I sit here writing, knowing that I may not do anything of worldly note with my life (actually, I am certain I won't), but as long as I keep my children focused on the Lord, I will be setting my generations up for a large kingdom work. And that is my heart's deepest desire.

Lord Jesus, I know that You have a greater plan that just my life and my generation. Our job isn't to gain worldly power, but instead to simply be obedient to Your word and Your calling as You reveal it to us. My heart's prayer is to remain true to You and to that truth. Help me to focus my eyes on You and be a good parent to my children. In Jesus' name, AMEN.