Virtual Vitamins

Isaiah 30:20 Although the Lord gives you the bread of adversity and the water of affliction, your teachers will be hidden no more; with your own eyes you will see them.

A major problem with being a disciple of Jesus Christ today is that we can’t see Him. That certainly doesn’t mean He isn’t there, but in our human frailty we have trouble maintaining focus. That’s where the Church, the Body of Christ, comes in. We are visible and audible to one another, and the words we speak and the example we set are to guide and encourage one another in obedience to Christ. I am reminded of the small child who, when frightened, wanted “Jesus with skin on” to comfort them, rather than the abstract idea of His presence. We are to be “Jesus with skin on” to one another in every respect. Of course, there is only one Savior, one Name, one Lord, but we are to be His agents to one another and to the world. Paul expressed that very clearly in Colossians 3:16, in which he also expressed the necessary condition for us to do it right. That is, we must allow God’s Word to “dwell in us richly.” Without a firm foundation on the Word of God, we will be the blind leading the blind, as Jesus put it so colorfully. (Matthew 15:14) In practical terms, we tend to become disciples of those we can see. That’s why it’s so important that both those doing the discipling and those being discipled have a clear, sharp awareness of and submission to Jesus Christ.

This is of course of great importance and urgency to me as a pastor. I am not to draw back from saying with Paul, “Follow me as I follow Christ.” (1 Corinthians 11:1) At the same time, I must make it very clear that I am going to disappoint, but Jesus will never disappoint. I am far from perfect, but I am visible, which makes me a teacher people can see. I am responsible to God for the example I set as well as the things I say, whether in formal teaching situations or otherwise. I have indeed hurt people by my imperfections and mistakes, but that must not make me give up. As Cathy and I were discussing just yesterday, God uses very imperfect vessels for His glory, and I must keep myself available even as I am aware of my imperfection. I have never had a major mentor, so for lack of an example I have been at a loss at times as to how to mentor others. However, I have had many people who have spoken into my life at various times and in various ways, so I need to let the Holy Spirit guide me in which example to call on in each situation, so as to be an effective mentor to those who look to me now.

Father, thank You yet again for Your grace. Thank You for the sharp awareness that I can’t do things right on my own. Thank You that You can and do accomplish what is needed in and through me. Thank You for the times just in the past couple of days that You have allowed me to encourage and affirm others. May we indeed see ourselves and each other as You see us, to be active and joyful in our obedience to You, for Your glory. Thank You. Hallelujah!

Isaiah 28:26 His God instructs him
and teaches him the right way.

The fact of the matter is, God guides and teaches all who are ready to listen and learn. A lot of people don’t seem to understand or believe that. It is very significant that the example Isaiah gives in this passage, both before and after this verse, is what most people would call “practical” knowledge. Many people have no expectation of God giving them practical guidance in anything. In fact, religion in general is seen as very impractical, which is why many men in particular have little interest in it. Nothing could be further from the truth, but to be honest, quite a few things that people have added onto pure religion are extremely impractical. When we understand that God cares about our every day lives and wants them to go smoothly and well, then starting each day by spending time with Him, seeking to listen to Him, immediately becomes one of our highest priorities. So many people see morning devotions as impractical in a busy world, when actually they are the best way to know how to get everything done!

My own devotional habit is firmly established, but as a pastor I have had varying success in getting the believers to follow my example. Of course, my example isn’t perfect. I am all too prone to launch out doing something without asking God about it first. I am to exercise the mind and call on the experience God has given me, but I am to rely on God first and foremost, being willing to do things I’ve never done before, or do things in ways I’ve never done them before. Frankly, that gets harder as I get older. As I was confessing at prayer meeting last night, there are things I want and need to learn to do on a computer that to my natural self seem like too much trouble. I’ve got to submit that to God and buckle down in His classroom, making good use of whatever assistant teachers He provides, but not giving up even if such people aren’t evident. Even more importantly, I need to let Him show me how to guide the believers in trusting Him and actively seeking His guidance. That’s a good part of what discipleship is all about. Since I know He wants us to be good disciples, I should have assurance in asking Him for guidance.

Father, thank You that You do guide and teach us in every area of life. Help me keep growing in recognizing and accepting Your instruction. I do ask for initiative and wisdom in tackling music sequencing, video editing, and more detailed photo editing on the computer, as well as the various skills involved in maintaining the website, so that I may be a good steward of the tools You place in my hands. Even more than that, I ask that You grow me as a pastor, mentor and coach to the believers, so that they too may grow to be the victorious, effective disciples you intend them to be, for Your glory. Thank You. Praise God!

Isaiah 28:12 to whom he said,
“This is the resting place, let the weary rest”;
and, “This is the place of repose”–
but they would not listen.

God is not mean. So many people have such trouble believing that! We are exactly like little children who pout and cry and say their parents don’t love them because they won’t let the children play with sharp knives. If we believe that God both knows and desires what is best for us, then we will listen and obey. The better we know and trust God, the more strongly we will desire to be His disciples. When we stubbornly refuse to listen and obey, as the people of Israel and Judah did, then conditions get harsher and harsher. The people were accusing God of being a petty tyrant, a control freak, when He was trying to keep them from disaster and lead them into restful abundance. Finally He said, in verse 13, “If that’s the way you want it, then that’s exactly how it will be,” with destructive legalism. Many people still fall into that trap. Trusting God enough to believe and act on what He has already said frees us up from legalism.

As a child, a parent, a grandparent, and a pastor, I have experienced this from just about every angle. I have learned that rules which seem arbitrary at the time are often meant to keep us from great danger. I have learned that God indeed loves us, and He truly knows what is best, far better than we do. Even so, I kick and scream over all sorts of things, reacting with disappointment, resentment, and even anger at things God allows in my life. That wastes so much emotional energy and does nobody any good! I need to remember emotionally what I have learned intellectually, that God always has my very best interest in mind, and give Him thanks and praise whatever is going on. As a pastor, parent, and grandparent I know I genuinely desire the best for those in my care, yet they sometimes respond the way I sometimes respond to God. (Surprise – not!) I need to exercise toward them the patience God has shown to me, asking God for wisdom in expressing His love to them, whether they are recognizing and receiving it or not.

Father, I have not been the most obedient of children. At times I have kicked hard against the goads and have hurt myself, like Saul did. (Acts 26:14) Help me trust You enough to rejoice in You whatever is going on around me. I’m reminded of Merlin Carothers, singing “God is working for my good” to the tune of “Mary had a Little Lamb.” Help me believe and trust that simple truth at all times, so that I may walk in the peace, joy, and abundance that You intend for me, for Your glory. Thank You. Hallelujah!

Isaiah 2:3 Many peoples will come and say,
“Come, let us go up to the mountain of the LORD,
to the house of the God of Jacob.
He will teach us his ways,
so that we may walk in his paths.”

This is, of course, a promise of harvest in the kingdom of God, of salvation for many, regardless of ethnicity. As such, it is justly celebrated and put to music. However, it is also significant to notice the commitment of those who are coming into the kingdom. It is a commitment to learn of and from God. Not only that, it is followed up with the intention to be obedient to what they are taught. This is the commitment to discipleship. Of course, this is in perfect agreement with the Great Commission, in which Jesus tells us to make disciples of all nations, teaching them to do what God has taught us. Too often evangelism is seen as getting people to agree to a set of facts, and then perhaps to be baptized and join a church. The Bible is clear that the process isn’t complete without true discipleship. Failure to seek to make disciples for Christ indicates that we aren’t obedient disciples ourselves!

I have been dedicated to this process for many years now, but I still find myself falling short in training disciples. Too many times I have been guilty of “dunking and dumping,” baptizing people with­out genuine repentance and a commitment to discipleship, and I will have to answer to God for that. Thankfully, the cross of Christ is sufficient for such failures as that, as it is for all sin, but I’ve got to walk in the awareness that it is disobedience toward God, and such disobedience is indeed sin. I am not to accept personal guilt for those who decline to move on in discipleship, but I must be faithful in urging them to grow and in providing opportunities for instruction and training. Disciple making can be hard work, but I must not draw back.

Father, I think I honestly desire that all the believers be true disciples, and I know I rejoice when they grow in that direction, yet I feel I don’t do a very good job at training them. I ask for wisdom and anointing, as well as strength and persistence, so that we may all be the disciples You desire and intend us to be, for Your glory. Thank You. Praise God!

Proverbs 23:12 Apply your heart to instruction
and your ears to words of knowledge.

To me the Japanese is stronger than the NIV here, saying “exercise your will,” rather that “apply your heart.” It may be a small difference, but it caught my attention. The point is, we are to be intentional in our discipleship, active in our obedience. I keep coming back to the fact that human free will has got to be one of the most valuable things in the universe, because it was worth the life of the Son of God. Without free will, God could very easily have made us all obedient and there would have been no sin. However, God didn’t want robots, He wanted children, and He obviously decided it was worth the price. When we have such a valuable commodity, it makes sense that we should use it to good purpose, applying it to grow more like Christ. In line with that, we always need to be ready to learn more about God. I have run into numbers of people who already know as much as they want to know about God. With such people, what they think they know is generally wrong! A genuine disciple will have assurance of what they do know, but will always be ready to learn more of God. That’s obviously a lifetime activity, because God is infinite, and in these bodies we can’t take all of that in.

I got quite a head start in the knowledge area, reading through the whole Bible for the first time at the age of 10, but that in no way means that I know all I want to of God. I need to apply my will to receive the training and instruction He provides, keeping my ears tuned to hear all He wants to say to me. By nature I like knowing things, and I absorb immense quantities of facts, but that’s not the same thing, or nearly as important, as knowing God. I need to keep pressing into Him, just as I have said in the past couple of sermons, so that I may be all that He intends me to be, for His glory.

Father, thank You for how You keep opening Your Word to me. Thank You for this fresh insight, courtesy of the Japanese translation. Help me indeed exercise my will in submission and obedience to You, not grudgingly but with great joy, so that Your will may be done in and through me, for Your glory. Thank You. Hallelujah!

Proverbs 22:6 Train a child in the way he should go,
and when he is old he will not turn from it.

Much has been made of this verse by various good teachers, but reading it in two languages just now, what strikes me most is that it is probably not wise to be overly dogmatic about specific meanings in this or many other passages. Not reading or speaking modern Hebrew, much less the Hebrew from the time this was written, I cannot say which shades of meaning are most accurate. However, that’s not to say that we can’t get a lot out of this verse. The big thrust to me is to start early. The English uses “child” and the Japanese uses “young person,” but we aren’t to wait too long. A secular English proverb says, “As the twig is bent, so grows the tree.” The younger a person – or plant – is, the more malleable they are. It is dangerous to let random circumstances be the major influence on a child/young person’s life. The English says “train” and the Japanese says “educate,” but either way it is an intentional process. This is where parents often drop the ball, because they don’t have a clear image of what sort of person they want their child to be, and end up being directionless in their parenting. That’s not to say they should plan their children’s occupations from infancy, but rather to think about what character traits they want to foster, such as honesty, kindness, initiative, and the like. Sometimes we dismiss such things as being “part of their personality,” and so don’t try to engender them. Whereas it is true that motivational gifts influence us greatly, and parents should seek to recognize and foster their children’s gifting, some things apply across the board, and those are the things parents should be most careful about.

My parents weren’t perfect by any means, but I think they got passing scores in this area. The four of us siblings still have strong values in most of the areas that count. (Of course, I’m likely to think the areas in which I am strong are most important!) I have seen this in my own children, who have had their times of deviation but have tended to come back on course, so to speak. The problem is that this principle is being lost from much of society, and I need to be available to the Lord as a corrective influence. The bad elements haven’t forgotten the principle. A pedophile organization had the motto of “Sex before eight or it’s too late,” and homosexuals in the US today are downright rabid in their efforts to get homosexuality taught as acceptable in elementary schools today. I need to be a voice reminding those with better motives that they cannot let their children’s moral and emotional education slide, even when the negative influences aren’t so blatant.

Father, as a physically distant grandparent I would seem to be somewhat out of the loop on this issue, but You know how You want to use me, and I make myself available. I pray that I would be faithful to speak Your truth in love whenever and however You give me the opportunity, so that Your truth may tear down the lies of the enemy and set people free. May Your kingdom come and Your will be done, in Japan, the US, and around the world, for the salvation of multitudes and for Your glory. Thank You. Praise God!

Proverbs 16:21, 24 The wise in heart are called discerning,
and pleasant words promote instruction.
Pleasant words are a honeycomb,
sweet to the soul and healing to the bones.

There’s more than one way to say almost anything. Our choice of words, our turns of phrase, have a huge impact on how our words are received. Some people even seem to have a knack for offensive speech! Words must be received before they will enlighten, so this is a major issue for all who would communicate the truth of God. However, there is a big risk of diluting and sweetening our words to the point that the original truth is lost. I’ll never forget the sermon I heard years ago that could have been condensed to, “Jesus is good, and He wants to be your friend.” That is true, but Jesus must be our Lord before He is our friend, and failing to make that clear isn’t going to lead anyone to repentance and salvation. That said, it is still true that even strong words can be expressed in ways that are either more or less likely to be received. One measure of wisdom is how well we express what we have to say in words that are easy to swallow. When love calls for a scalpel, it must not be contaminated by pride, anger, or any such thing. Medicine is sometimes mixed with honey, and honey itself has curative properties!

This has at times been a major problem for me, and it continues to be a matter of great concern. Just recently I have wounded needlessly by how I have said things, and that benefits no one. I know that God speaks through me, but that does not remove my responsibility to speak carefully. Likewise, I must not think that everything I say is from the mouth of God! I am to expect God to speak through me and be grateful when He does so, but I must never take it for granted, and above all I must not excuse my words as being His. It may be His truth, but the love in which I speak must be mine as well as His. If my words are harsh (as opposed to strong), then the love will be undetectable. That has been my problem more times than I like to think about. I am not to draw back from speaking strong words, but I must do all I can to give them a “honey glaze,” so to speak.

Father, You know this problem in me better than I do. Help be be fully submitted to Your Spirit, because I know that Your choice of words is always perfect. Keep me from mouthing off on my own, because that will always get me into trouble! Help me speak Your truth in Your love, making both mine at the same time, so that Your words may accomplish that for which You send them, for Your glory. Thank You. Praise God!

Proverbs 15:10 Stern discipline awaits him who leaves the path;
he who hates correction will die.

This is the other side of “The Lord disciplines those He loves.” (Proverbs 3:12) Discipline must be received for it to be effective. When we stubbornly refuse the path God has laid out for us, there is no end to the trouble we get ourselves into, all the way to death. God is no sadist, and we are not to be masochistic. God does not enjoy punishing us, but the simple fact of the matter is that actions have consequences, and the consequences of leaving God’s path are neither pretty nor pleasant. This is all wrapped up in the matter of free will. If we were not genuinely free to choose, we would have no responsibility. If our actions did not have consequences, there would be no meaning to obedience. This fundamental truth is something countless legions of people have tried to deny, but their denial hasn’t changed it the least bit. This is why discipleship is the most logical choice, because discipleship means actively seeking God’s way in humble obedience. The Bible is filled with passages that tell us how good things are for those who are fully obedient to God (eg. Romans 6:8) That’s why discipleship is a choice, day by day and step by step.

I have tasted the consequences of disobedience, and they aren’t fun. By God’s amazing grace I have been kept from going completely off the deep end, but I can take no credit for that. This verse actually points directly to the cross of Christ, because Jesus took on Himself the severe punishment, all the way to death, that we deserve. I’ve got to remember that and never forget it for even a moment. My job in doing the work of an evangelist (2 Timothy 4:5) is to help people understand the truth of this verse, and then give them the good news that Jesus took their punishment on Himself. I can’t open people’s eyes by my own wisdom or strength, but I can be available to the Holy Spirit for Him to use me to that end. I cannot communicate the grace of God without remembering that I need it as much as anyone else.

Father, thank You for this reminder. Help me rejoice in Your grace at all times, communicating it in the power of Your Spirit, so that many will see and receive Your light and turn to Your path, for their salvation and Your glory. Thank You. Hallelujah!

Proverbs 13:24 He who spares the rod hates his son,
but he who loves him is careful to discipline him.

It would be hard to find a verse in the Bible that is more ignored or explicitly denied than this one. People can’t understand God’s love because they were never accurately loved by their parents. That’s not to say their parents didn’t love them, it’s to say their parents didn’t know how to do it right. Allowing children to run wild, not to mention letting the children be the final arbiters of what goes on in the family, is not loving them at all. Children do not have the background of experience to guide them in making right choices most of the time. Parents don’t always make the right choices either, but they have much more foundation and framework for doing so. That is a good metaphor for God and mankind, because God always knows what the right choice is, and we very often do not. If children are given no say in their lives, then they will have no practice in making decisions. Likewise, if children aren’t allowed to taste the consequences of their bad decisions, they can be ruined for life. Since some consequences are truly dangerous, parents often need to substitute physical punishment. Small children in particular do not understand rational explanations, but they do understand a spanking. That’s what this verse is talking about.

I touch on this subject every time I do premarital counseling, in an effort to give the couple some foundation in parenting, but it really came home with my grandsons in the house last month. Biblical truths can be hard to express when those needing to hear them are so emotionally close to you! On the other hand, parents without such a close connection can resent anything even being said. I’ve got to be doubly sure that I speak the truth in love, and not in resentment, pride or anger, and I’ve got to cover the whole issue in prayer. It’s interesting that grandparenting has given me further insight into God as our Father, on top of what parenting gave me.

Father, I do pray for my daughters and their husbands as they parent my grandchildren, but this is a much broader issue than that. The devil hates the parent-child relationship just as he hates the husband-wife relationship, because they speak so much of Your relationship to us, and so he does all he can to mess them up. Help me be useful to You in establishing Your right order in families, tearing down the works of the enemy and setting the captives free, for their salvation and Your glory. Thank You. Hallelujah!

Proverbs 9:8 Do not rebuke a mocker or he will hate you;
rebuke a wise man and he will love you.

I had never thought of it in these terms before, but this verse provides a good way to check on your own wisdom level. That is, how do you respond to constructive criticism? If you are someone who appreciates correction and feels good about those who care enough to give it, then you are wise. If you carry a chip on your shoulder and get angry at correction, then you are a mocker and are not wise. Many who fail that test would deny vehemently that they are mockers, but that simply proves the point! Heart attitudes are expressed in various ways, and learning to read those things, in ourselves and in others, is very valuable. We really don’t know our own hearts very well, so analysis of our patterns of behavior can be quite helpful. If we desire to be true disciples of Christ, then we will constantly seek to be more like Him, and that means being honest in recognizing those things in us that are not yet like Him. When we rejoice to make corrections and love those who help us in that direction, then we are wise indeed.

Ouch! Defensiveness has long been a characteristic of mine. I honestly think I’ve gotten better about it, but I can’t say that I love correction. I know that betrays a warped sense of self-worth, because God loves me in my imperfection and wants me to become perfect. I have taken correction of what I have done as attacks on me, personally, and that means I’m not as secure in God’s love as He wants me to be. However, that hasn’t kept me from being critical of others. I’ve not been good at praising progress, or partial results, and I have alienated some people by seeming to demand perfection. I honestly think my desire is to help people do their best, but I don’t necessarily give them the gentleness in correction that I desire for myself. I need to let the Lord continue to grow me on both sides of this issue of giving and receiving correction, and my wife, I think, is one of His prime tools for that. In the past, my defensiveness has made her afraid to say anything to me, but she is generally pretty skillful in her corrections. On the other side of that, I care more about her than anyone else, so I am more careful about how I suggest corrections to her. I don’t need to be anxious about any of this, but rather trust God to keep working in us all to bring us to the likeness of His Son, our Savior and Lord.

Father, thank You for this reminder. Thank You for not giving up on me, but continuing to teach and disciple me. Help me not protest Your discipline, however You choose to apply it, but rather rejoice in Your love and allow it to flow through me to those around me, for their blessing and Your glory. Thank You. Praise God!