Strapped to the Mast

Sometimes I wonder if I'm simply strapped to the mast, and if someone undid the ropes, I would fall headlong into the song of the Sirens.

In The Odyssey by Homer, Odysseus was passing through the place where the Sirens would sing their beautiful songs and draw sailors to their death. He wanted to hear their song, but still maintain his life, so he had his sailors strap him to the mast and bind him with ropes. Then he put wax in their ears so that they would not be drawn to the Siren call. He writes:

"So they sang in lovely tones. From the bottom of my heart I longed to listen, and I ordered the men to set me free, nodding my head and working my brows; but they simply went on pulling with a good swing. Perimedes at once got up, and put more ropes round me and fastened me tighter."

Am I doing the same thing? Are the "ropes" that bind me merely the restraints of my upbringing? Are they the rules of a society that strains to have a semblance of morality? Am I self-bound by my own understanding or even wishful thinking on a life that I see lived out in Scripture? Are they the traditions and expectations of "two thousand years of Church"?? Am I getting deeper into God, or am I simply crying out for "more ropes!" ????

Again, sometimes I worry that if these ropes, self-imposed or church-imposed, were removed that I would run to the world and its desires, thus revealing the true bent of my heart. Honestly, this scares me. I don't want to be bound, I want to be free, so that I can truly serve and reach out to the hurting out of love, not duty. I want to give up things that are hindering me because I desire the Greater Love, not out of fear of losing something.

There is another part to the story that plays into this thought. Later, the Argonauts approached the same situation, but instead of binding themselves up in ropes so that they restrain their natural desires, they have their musician, Orpheus, play a sweeter song than the song of the Sirens. This song draws them in so that the call of the Sirens is not a temptation. It is a lesser call. Ropes are never needed against a lesser call.

I want to hear the better song, the sweeter sound. I don't want more ropes to bind me. I want to be free to follow Jesus, the one true Voice. I want to be so in love with Christ that the world holds no allure for me. I want to "get it."

I would like to lay these thoughts out there to think about:

• You cannot truly serve your fellow man if you are strapped to the mast.
• You cannot truly forgive a brother who hurt you if you are strapped to the mast.
• You cannot truly go the extra mile, seek peace and pursue it, be a spiritual pacifist, if you are strapped to the mast.
• You cannot truly worship the Lord in spirit and in truth if you are strapped to the mast.
• You cannot honestly say, "He must increase, I must decrease" if you are strapped to the mast.
• You cannot have true victory over your hindering sins if you are strapped to the mast.
• And you cannot get rid of all the other competing voices, if you are strapped to the mast.

Isaiah 30:21 " Whether you turn to the right or to the left, your ears will hear A Voice behind you, saying, "This is the way; walk in it."

Ropes can pull you in a direction, but the Voice of God can draw you into it, and there is a huge difference. It's called the HEART.

Set Free - With Our Arms Full

Deuteronomy 15:13 "And when you release him, do not send him away empty-handed. Supply him liberally from your flock, your threshing floor and your winepress."

Every seventh year the Israelites were to release their brothers who had sold themselves into slavery because of some unpayable debt. But not only were they to release them, they were to set them free with their arms full so that they would have the means to start a new life. They were to give them 'liberally' from their own wealth. It was a true liberation, because it entailed victory upon the release.

This is a very powerful statement on the Christian life. When we are set free, our own unpayable debt canceled at the cross and under the blood of Christ, He sends us out into the world with our arms full. We are given everything we need to live a victorious life.

II Peter 1:3,4 "His divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness through our knowledge of Him who called us by His own glory and goodness. Through these He has given us His very great and precious promises, so that through them you may participate in the divine nature and escape the corruption in the world caused by evil desires."

Wow. That's it - there's the victory. We have been set free with our arms full. There is nothing more coming, nothing more needed. Those crying out for the "Second Blessing" are either missing the point or making excuses. We have been sent back into this corrupt world liberally supplied with the riches from His treasures and we have everything we need to set up camp and expand His kingdom. Now, do I want deeper experiences with God? Of course, and if that's what they mean by a second blessing then I'll take seconds, minutes and hours of it. But if they mean some post-salvation empowerment for victory or service, then I don't think they realize that they've already been fully armed upon the initial release.

When the Israelites were set free from Egypt, they walked out with the treasures of Egypt in their camp. They were able to survive the desert! When Christ was born into Joseph and Mary's family, they were given the treasures of the Magi - they were able to survive Herod and life in Egypt on the run.

We have Herods in our lives - things too strong for us that try to kill us. We have deserts - times of dryness and silence. We have Egypts - time in the world that tries to suck the life out of us. But we have the resources - life in Him, participation in His divine nature - to not only survive these times, but have victory.

We have no excuse! If a slave walked out in that seventh year and was in poverty within a month - it was his own fault. Spiritually speaking, we have that same advantage. Quit waiting for that 'something extra' or that second blessing or a 'word'. It's a cop-out. You have everything you need right now.

Grow Into Your Boundaries

You have a greater capacity for spiritual life than you are currently experiencing.

I thought I was at the limit of my love when I was first married. Then, when my daughter Olivia was born, my capacity for love exploded. I had no idea that I was capable of this amount of love in my life. It shocked me. I felt that all my life up until that point was running on 2 cylinders. Then something even stranger happened. My son Luke was born and my capacity for love immediately doubled. I realized that love is not like a balloon, filled to a point and then that's it. It's limitless, as the birth of my next two children revealed even deeper.

That's why we can't settle for the spiritual state that we're in right now. Our capacity is far greater than we can imagine. God is willing and able to blow the doors off our expectations and experiences. Quite simply, there is more.

As Job says in 26:14 "And these are but the outer fringe of His works; how faint the whisper we hear of Him!"

Your capacity for spirituality is much greater than you are accepting in your life right now. Stop what you're doing and lay your life out before Him and open yourself up and let Him expand your boundaries. Or better yet, let Him grow you into the boundaries that He has already established for you. Quit settling for the whisper.

The Big 162

As a teacher, I often struggle with the whole concept of grades. I want everyone to know, master and love the material. I want all "A's" - I'm not one of those teachers who seem to revel in giving bad grades. But I do realize that there has to be some of separation for those who are really trying or are naturally gifted. So I give tests, quizzes, projects etc at an ever-escalating pace to try to find that separation. I do this more for their sake than my own. I want them to know.

Part of me, as a teacher, feels that this is somewhat unnecessary, because really - life will ultimately end up separating the pretenders from the contenders. It always does.

As a pastor, I often struggle with this concept as well. I want everyone to know, master and love the 'material' - and by that I mean the spiritual. But I wonder who's really doing their homework, who is truly interested in excelling. I want everyone to get "A's" but I do realize that there has to be some kind of positive separation for those who are really trying or are supernaturally gifted. Again, more for their sake. It would be a terrible thing to live under a delusion of some surface commitment and faith in Christ, thinking all is not lost, when in fact it is.

But life will sort that out. The threshing floor of life is unrelenting and impartial and it will ultimately end up separating the pretenders from the contenders. It always does.

They say that in baseball, 162 games is the ultimate separator. Any team can have a good or bad stretch, but over 162 games these will even out, and the best team will end up on top. The weak team simply cannot sustain excellence over a long period of time.

Life is like that. It will find out who is serious about moving hard into God and who is in it for the temporary fix. It's not my place to be the judge of that. Those who are truly in Christ will persevere and give thanks. Those who are not of Him will be revealed for who they really are - it's not on us.

Words - My Only Offering

Hosea 14:1 - 4

"Return, O Israel, to the LORD your God.
Your sins have been your downfall!

Take words with you
and return to the LORD.
Say to him:
"Forgive all our sins
and receive us graciously,
that we may offer the fruit of our lips.

Assyria cannot save us;
we will not mount war-horses.
We will never again say 'Our gods'
to what our own hands have made,
for in you the fatherless find compassion."

I will heal their waywardness
and love them freely,
for my anger has turned away from them.

There is a huge problem in America, and it's been created within the past 100 years. The problem is that we have a generation of people who think that they are "okay with God" because at some point in their life they 'prayed the prayer.' It's a difficult situation in the sense that no one really knows the heart, but one gets the sense that people are resting in that prayer.

As a person who was raised in this type of Christianity (not from my parents, thank the Lord!) I get concerned, because I don't see any change, any true repentance or humbly seeking hard after God.

BUT - I don't know what the solution is, or if there is one, because in Hosea we DO find a version of "the prayer." (I think you have to have been in Christian circles for a while to know what I mean by "the prayer.")

In Hosea 14, after years of backsliding, the people of Israel are encouraged to return to the Lord, stripped of everything but their words. We don't bring anything to the table of grace before the Lord except our offering of words - and even then only He knows the true intention of this offering.

It's a wonderful prayer, and I think I will use it when witnessing. The person comes to the Lord without anything in his hands, and simply prays: "Please receive me in your grace. I've tried to do it in the world (Assyria) but found that it cannot save me. I've tried to do it on my own but found that my hands cannot save me. I am Fatherless - and I desire to be Your son. Please have compassion on me."

That version of 'the prayer' is a pretty good one. If you're witnessing to someone, and struggling with how to actually lead them in prayer - this is an excellent starting point. Even the part where all they can bring is words.

I don't like the false security of 'the prayer' but what else can the sinner bring?

Self-Maintenance Man

I always wanted to be a superhero - and the other night, sitting in church listening to a visiting pastor from India, God revealed to me that I was. I'm Self-Maintenance Man.

Self-Maintenance Man is a little different than most superheros in that instead of looking to rescue others, he spends his entire life getting himself out of danger. He's kind of like a reverse superhero in that sense. The typical hero disguises himself and rescues others. Self-Maintenance Man disguises others and rescues himself. He uses all of his powers and energies on keeping his life in order, all the while telling himself that the others "aren't so bad" that they need his help.

In Deuteronomy 15, God commands that every seventh year the Israelites are to cancel all the debts of their fellow brothers. In verse 9 God says, "Be careful not to harbor this wicked thought: 'The seventh year, the year for canceling debts, is near,' so that you do not show ill will toward your needy brother and give him nothing."

God unmasks Self-Maintenance Man with this verse, as He commands him to stop rationalizing away his unwillingness to help the poor. "The 7th year is just around the corner - he can survive until then." "The 7th year (someone else) will take care of him!" "There are programs to help those in need." "I have to get my life in order and then I'll help."

These simply won't cut it. And the other night, as I sat listening to this small, humble preacher from India, an ordinary man who pulls in the children living off of the streets and feeds them and clothes them and loves them in the name of Jesus, I found myself distressingly humiliated. I was ripped open and embarrassed to the very core of my being as the facade of my "Christian Life" was torn off.

My entire life is centered around self-congratulatory self-maintenance. I take care of my ministry, my family, my church, my school and most importantly - myself. I do this under the disguise of spirituality, but when it's unmasked, I realize it's simply me taking care of my kingdom. Everything I do is really about keeping me in the best possible place, occasionally sticking out my hand from under the blankets with a morsel of bread for someone in need.

I need to be like my Savior. He was a sheep-seeking missile, coming into the dirt and muck of this world and pulling out the lost. He didn't simply stand there and say, "I'm here if you need me." That's what we do as churches. We open the doors and yell out, "We're here if you need us!" No - He put on the clothes of the lost and went in and found them and pulled them out of the fire. He wasn't into self-maintenance, He was into us. He got His feet and His hands dirty, yet kept His heart pure. He didn't try to rationalize it away, saying that the Year of Canceling Debts was right around the corner. He personally took on the Debt and canceled it out at the cross for us.

In Deuteronomy 15 it also says that every seventh year a servant could be set free. But if you read Exodus 21 you realize that if these servants were married, they couldn't take their wives out to freedom with them. However, they did have the option of going back to their masters and staying under them, so that they could remain with their wives and family. To do this, they had to place their ear against a door and have a nail pounded through the lobe. Bonded forever.

This is what Christ did for us - He came back for His bride. He didn't leave us in bondage. He was pierced for our transgressions and became one of us. He could have left us - Satan tried like crazy to get Him to come down from that cross - but He became one of us to save us all. Self-Maintenance Man would have never done that.

It's time to wake up.

Church Selection

Not too long ago, a very nice family visited our church and then asked to meet me with. I sat down with them for an hour, as they told me that they were leaving their present church and were in the process of selecting their new one. They took out a checklist and began going down each item (it was three pages long), checking things off as we spoke. It was a very interesting meeting to say the least.

I don't write this to put down this couple. They were very serious and sincere and were simply doing in a systematic way what most people do in their mind when they visit a church and make their decision on attending. What's the music like. What ministries do they have. Do they have pews or seats. Stained glass or clear. Does it feel like a church to me. What are the people like. Is the pastor a good preacher. (I thought I heard them chuckle to themselves over that one.)

Again - I'm not putting this well-intentioned couple down, although they did choose another church. (Though CBC made their top-three!!) What struck me is that we have this capability in America to even go through this process. Think about that: we can choose a church like it's a couch. No wonder pastors constantly feel like their under the pressure of being salesmen for their church instead of shepherds of a flock.

Imagine being in a place where you were just happy that you could get together. Anyone have a Bible? Anyone have a song? I think this would change our concept of "church" pretty quickly.

A Tale of Two Passovers: Passion and the Word

Note: I'm just working through some things with the Revival of Josiah (one of my favorite stories in the OT as it is so applicable to my life) and have some thoughts on his re-institution of the Passover celebration- so bear with this one. It's a work in progress.

In II Kings 23:21 – 23 we read that as part of his reformation, Josiah reestablished the celebration of the Passover. “Celebrate the Passover to the Lord your God, as it is written in this Book of the Covenant.”

“Not since the days of the judges who led Israel, nor throughout the days of the kings of Israel and the kings of Judah, had any such Passover been observed. But in the eighteenth year of King Josiah, this Passover was celebrated to the Lord in Jerusalem.”

This Passover celebration took place in 622 B.C. and it appears that the situation in the Temple was so bad that the priest had to hide the Ark to protect it from being profaned along with all of the other apostasies taking place prior to Josiah's great reform. (II Chronicles 35:3) Josiah had them bring it out as there could be no true Passover without it.

(We need to understand the importance of the Passover – it is the one celebration that clearly foreshadows Jesus Christ. )

Key Thought: The revival of Josiah took worship to a higher level by taking the passion of Hezekiah’s Passover (II Chronicles 30) and celebrating it by aligning it in accordance to the Word of God. Passion in obedience to the Word is ultimately the highest form of worship.

Hezekiah’s Passover was an awesome first step. It had not been celebrated at all, apparently, since the division of the kingdom after Solomon’s death. They were so excited to be doing this that they unanimously added another week to the celebration. What a time that must have been – worship pouring out to such a degree that they didn’t want to leave! “Let’s play two!” I wish that we would have such a fervor for worship that after church was done we'd all say, "Let's do that again!"

But it’s also important to note that in their zeal, they sidestepped a couple of the ‘regulations.’ First of all, they held the celebration a month after they were supposed to because they didn’t have time to get their act together. (II Chronicles 30: 2) Then they allowed men who had not purified themselves to partake of the feast (II Chronicles 30:18). Yet through Hezekiah’s intercession (II Chronicles 30:18, 19) they were given a ‘pass’ so-to-speak from God.

The intent of their heart was to seek Him, which is always more important than the rules and regulations when you are first returning to Him. This is a very important point when we are bringing in the lost to hear about the salvation of Christ. But it is also important to note that it required an special, intercessory prayer by Hezekiah and a ‘healing’ by God to make up for these oversights. You can't simply side-step the "rules of the game" without some divine dispensation. And we certainly can't determine when and where the rules can be set aside. God allowed this for this specific occasion.

However- when Josiah, two generations later, found the Book of the Law and made the decree to celebrate the Passover, he combined the passion of Hezekiah’s feast with total obedience to the Word of God. Note the key phrase: "As it is written." That is the ultimate sign of maturity. Passion checked by complete adherence to God’s expressed will.

Christ brings a freedom borne out of passion, which rises above the rules and regulations, but ultimately leads you back to the perfect ways of God – not just total, unrestricted freedom. It is freedom, but it is a different kind than the world defines. It is freedom to love and serve God – but His way. It’s not legalism, because legalism drains out the heart and passion of a relationship with Christ.

This true celebration of the Passover was done because Josiah had found the Book of the Law. Once you know, you have no excuse anymore. A seeker or a new Christian is given some grace because he doesn’t know. He is coming to Christ as he is, not as he should be. We try to force people to be Christ-like before they even know Him! But the relationship must be established first. The excitement that tumbles over and around the ‘rules’ of Christianity must be allowed for - for a season. Just as the people in Hezekiah’s day were desperate for reestablishing a relationship with God by celebrating the Passover without being in accordance with the exact rules, there are people who need to come to Jesus just as they are.

But, as you mature as a child, as you get to know the Law – then you must become more like Him. The rules ARE adhered to, because they are His rules, and His rules are designed to bring you into greater fellowship and worship with Him, not more restrictive.

If you've been a Christian for awhile, you can't be hiding under the 'experiencing God' excuse for not bringing your life under His direction. We have to be growing, and this means coming more and more into line with His ways. "I just want to love God and be with Him" is a great thought, but it can become a lazy excuse for disobedience - and then you miss what you claim to be desiring, for only through obedience are we drawn deeper into Him. And let's face it: Many of us know better - we just want to hide under the guise of freedom.

The Divine Dispossession

Deuteronomy 11:22 "If you carefully observe all these commands I am giving you to follow - to love the "Lord your God, to walk in all His ways and to hold fast to Him - then the Lord will drive out all these nations before you , and you will dispossess nations larger and stronger than you."

"Dispossess" - I love that word. It's my new favorite Biblical term. I love everything about it - how God calls the nation of Israel to enter into the Land that He has already given them, knowing that the nations are stronger than them, but still telling them to trust Him - He will dispossess these nations from their authority over them.

Make no mistake - the things that bind you ARE stronger than you, or they would not bind you! They can't simply be 'ruled' out of your life. By that I mean, you can't simply get up in the morning and lay out all of these rules that will keep your mind and heart in check, with the hopes of bringing you victory. These strongholds are too powerful for that. (read Colossians 2:23 - a life-changing verse for me.)

The only thing that can bring you victory is when you bring in a greater authority who can dispossess these strongholds of their . . . . . well . . . strong hold on your life.

Let's face it - many of us are losing battles because we are facing a stronger enemy. Think of lust for example - men are dying under it. I've read where over 50% of the pastors in the US are under some kind of pornographic addiction. This is crazy - until you think about it. These men spend hours alone with their computer and Satan is hacking away at them. The power of lust that he uses is stronger than their self-constructed defense system. Rules won't work, so these precious ministers of the Lord are losing the battle of the mind and falling away! Think: for every dollar that we spend developing 'lust-control' filters, the porn sites spend at least ten on counteracting our defense systems. They are too strong and have too many resources for us to defeat on our own. Our strength is not sufficient!!!

God understands that. In Deuteronomy 11 He acknowledges that these nations are larger stronger than the Israelites. So they will need a greater authority, a stronger force, on their side. And that's where God comes in. He will dispossess these enemies of their authority and place in the lives of the Israelites.

It's the same for us - we need a Divine Dispossession of anything that has a foothold in our life. Depression. Covetousness. Anxiety. Lust. Despair. Discontent. Worldliness. Lack of Forgiveness. Lack of self-control. These are stronger than you - so you need an Authority in your life that can dispossess them. Get under His covering and let Him go to work. Raise your hands - right now - in submission to Him and let Him begin the process of unwrapping the tentacles of sin that are wrapped around you, choking the life out of you.

I JOHN 4:4 ( I call this: May the "Fours" be with you.) Repeat this to yourself, over and over.

GREATER IS HE THAT IS IN ME THAN HE THAT IS IN THE WORLD!!

Me and US: A Love-less Relationship

Luke 14:26 "If anyone comes to me and does not hate his father and mother, his wife and children, his brothers and sisters—yes, even his own life—he cannot be my disciple.

Listen - I love America. I really do. I deeply appreciate the fact that I live in this country, and having been to many other countries in the world (Canada, Mexico, Israel, England, France, Switzerland, Germany, Austria, Netherlands, Belgium, Greece, Italy, Yugoslavia -yes, I'm bragging) - I have come to realize that this really is a great place to live. However - it is imperative that this is a love-less relationship that I have with the US. Christ made it very clear that we are to "hate," or love-less, every person, every institution, every nation in comparison to our all-encompassing love for Him.

In Luke 14:26, Jesus is saying that we must be so into Him, that all other relationships must be placed beneath it. "Hate" in this sense means to "love-less" - not despise.

One of my favorite bands from the 80's was the Australian band Midnight Oil. Their song "Dead Heart," about the Aborigines right to the land, can also be aptly applied to the Christian and their relationship to the United States:

We don't serve your country
Don't serve your king
Know your custom don't speak your tongue
White man came took everyone

We don't serve your country
Don't serve your king
White man listen to the songs we sing
White man came took everything

We carry in our hearts the true country
And that cannot be stolen
We follow in the steps of our ancestry
And that cannot be broken

We don't need protection
Don't need your land
Keep your promise on where we stand
We will listen well understand

We carry in our hearts the true country, our citizenship is forever planted in heaven, and our freedom in the US should be used as a means to advance that kingdom. Too many US Christians see that freedom as the end - God's blessing upon them - so that they can live happily ever after. The riches He has given us should be seen as resources, not as rewards.

The American tongue is not the same as the Christian tongue. The American way is not the same as the Christian way. American goals are not the same as the goals of Jesus Christ. And no - the American Kingdom is not the same as the Kingdom of Christ.

We have a unique language of true freedom of the heart. We are not seeking our own or trying to protect our own. We are laying down our lives, but for others to live free in a spiritual way, not on earth.

Too many American Christians have adopted the language of this country instead of the language of God. It's a terrible mistake, fatal in fact. It is an immersion into a culture of the world - for like it or not, America is not a separate nation, it is a nation of the world, lumped together with all of others.

When we fail to recognize this fact, our true faith can be taken from us, as we begin to lean on the things of the world. But as Peter Garrett sings: "We carry in our heart the true country - and that cannot be stolen." From a non-Christian group, that's a pretty good Christian message for the American church.

Like I said, I have a love-less relationship with America. I really do love "her" - just not nearly as much as I love Christ.

Your Best Ewe Now (or The Offal Truth)

Malachi

1:8 "When you bring blind animals for sacrifice, is that not wrong? When you sacrifice crippled or diseased animals, is that not wrong? Try offering them to your governor! Would he be pleased with you? Would he accept you?"

1:10 "Oh that one of you would shut the temple doors, so that you would not light useless fires on My altar! I am not please with you," says the Lord Almighty, and I will accept no offering from your hands."

Your Best Life Now by Joel Osteen is an easy target. I go back and forth on him - sometimes I think it's not too bad, that many people are in such dire straits that the first thing they need to hear is that God loves them and had wonderful plans for them, and then they can start the process of getting it all back together. Other times, his message goes down like sour milk. It's lukewarm, tepid and without any lasting impact or value. The Christian life is not about our best life now, it's about surrendering everything we are and everything we value to the Lord and let Him use us or burn us out. When we make the message about how to enhance our life, then we lose the true message of Christ. He is not a life-enhancer, He obliterates the old life.

In the days of Malachi, the people were suffering from the same problem. They had come back from Babylon with dreams of Their Best Life Now, but it wasn't quite working out that way. So they decided to take matters into their own hands and withhold the best of the flocks, bringing in the sick and the old for the offerings to the Lord. They deserved the best, so they would supply themselves with the best. God got the leftovers and the lame - they withheld their best ewe. These offerings rose as a stench to the Lord and He told them to "shut the Temple doors."

But don't we do the same thing now? We offer up our best time, energy and money to our own personal pursuits, and whatever is left over, we offer to the Lord. The last minutes of the day. The time when we're least alert or effective. The remnants of our salaries after we've made sure the bills (and entertainment essentials) are taken care of.

We do it in our families as well. We give the outside world our best face, our kindest personality. We treat them with respect, and then we enter our own homes and offer up the "offal" parts ourselves. The leftover entrails of the sacrificial offerings that we've already given to ourselves and the world around us. Brothers - this should not be! Like the people in Malachi, we've got it upside-down. You know those tired devotions you're having? You are, in a sense, lighting "useless fires" before Him.

I am making a more concerted effort to give my best ewe now. I've sat down with my wife and reworked the budget so that God is first. I've tried to make sure that He gets my best time, not my I'm-about-to-fall-asleep time. I also want to make sure that my wife and family get the better part of me, not a cranky, short-tempered father sitting on the couch because he's had a tough day. The people of my church need a better me as well. You see, once you give God your best and start to actually trust Him, the dominoes start falling. You become better for those around you, working from the inside-out.

You want your best life now? Offer up your best you now.