The Crown of Life

"Consider it all joy, my brethren, when you encounter various trials,
knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance.
And let endurance have its perfect result,
so that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.
James 1:2-4

James says to consider it all joy when we encounter trials knowing that the testing of our faith produces endurance, and when we let endurance come to completion we will not be lacking in anything. No lack! What does that mean--no lack? What will we be lacking if we do not endure through a trial? He tells us when we persevere under trial, and are approved, we will receive the crown of life which the Lord has promised to those who love Him. 

"Blessed is a man who perseveres under trial;

for once he has been approved, he will receive the crown of life

which the Lord has promised to those who love Him."
James 1:12

So you could say, if we do not endure during difficult times we will end up lacking the crown of life. What is the crown of life? We know that it has been promised for those who love the Lord, but what else do we know about it? Revelation 2:10 says:

"Do not fear what you are about to suffer

Behold the devil is about to cast some of you into prison,
so that you will be tested, and you will have tribulation for ten days.
Be faithful until death, and I will give you the crown of life."

He goes on to say that he who overcomes will not be hurt by the second death. So the crown of life is the very salvation of those who love the Lord and are faithful to Him, whether under trouble, persecution or even death. Wow.

With that in mind, let's look again at the trials and testing James talks about. If you're persecuted and take a stand for the Lord until death, that is an obvious way to be faithful, but what about the everyday "normal" life of a Christian? What does endurance look like then? Let's say you encounter a situation which challenges your love and faith for the Lord--your commitment to Him. Are you going to stay true to Him and His ways or are you going to compromise in some way? This is a situation that requires you to make a choice that may be difficult. It's not easy, but this is why James says the testing of our faith produces endurance. It takes resistance to build endurance. it will take some effort--some perseverance--to come through this challenge and stay true to the Lord, but that's what makes your faith so valuable--it's been tried by fire and is more precious than gold, as it brings praise, glory and honor to the Lord. (1 Peter 1:7-9).

There may be some challenges to your faith in which the decision you are to make isn't obvious right away. You need the wisdom of God to show you what to do. James says if you lack wisdom to ask God and He will give it generously. This makes sense because you are on the path to receive the crown of life which He has promised to those who love Him, so this is your time to seek Him and reaffirm your love for Him and willingness to do His will. Instead of doing what you think is right, or what you feel like doing, you submit to the Lord's wisdom. Now here is an important key--James says to ask God for wisdom, but ask in faith. If you have doubt then you are like someone tossed back and forth on the sea, double minded and unstable in every way. Why is that? 

There is a difference between lacking wisdom and lacking faith. When you lack wisdom then you are determined to continue on the path, but you need the Lord to show you how to overcome the trial. When you lack faith, you begin to question whether you want to continue on this path. You may question or doubt God. You may decide the price to pay is too much. The good thing is, this trial will reveal your heart if you allow it. It will show your level of faithfulness to the Lord. If there is anything between you and the Lord, it will come to light. That's why we can count it all joy when we encounter these trials, because we are being perfected and approved so that we may receive the crown of life! This is your opportunity to affirm your love and faithfulness to Lord--above all else!

Having said that, there may be times that you aren't being unfaithful to the Lord, but you doubt whether or not the path you are on is His will for you. In those cases, you do the same thing--ask God for wisdom. If the wall you hit gets you to doubt whether you were on the right path and you turn around and go back, then you could end up going back and forth, stopping each time you hit the same wall. Now you're standing there wondering, doubting, if this is God's will or not. What do you do? Ask God for wisdom, in faith, without doubting. Don't give up, don't turn around and go back, (unless the Lord says to), don't let the obstacle overcome you, just ask the Lord what to do. 

Whatever the trial--and there are a variety of them--remember that they are opportunities for you to affirm your love and commitment to the Lord and His ways. We might say that Jesus Christ is our Lord, but trials are an opportunity for us to prove He really is. Don't get discouraged by challenging circumstances. Rejoice, because the crown of life is waiting for you as you come through these things victoriously!

The Snare

"The fear of man brings a snare,

But he who trusts in the Lord will be exalted."

Proverbs 29:25

When a person is overly concerned with what others think of him, he is caught in the trap of fear of man. That's just what it is too--a trap. It keeps you in bondage, restricting your thoughts to another person's beliefs. What happens is that you are bringing yourself under someone else's judgement. In effect, you are making them your lord and allowing them to dictate your opinions and actions. Yikes!

It's a dangerous thing to "people please" so why do we do it? We may do so because we don't trust the convictions of our own heart, or we are trying to be "politically correct," or the person in front of us seems so much more convincing than the Scripture we read three months ago. Whatever the case, we put other people's opinions above what we believe the Lord has shown us. We fear them more than we fear God and it's a trap. 

If we find ourselves in this situation we might ask ourselves what we are afraid of. Rejection? Ridicule? Confrontation? Physical harm? It could be a lot of different things, but whatever the reason, the solution is to bring ourselves out from under the judgement of people and put ourselves under the judgement of God. We can trust Him because His judgments are just, right and true. David knew this. When the Lord was displeased with David because of the Census he conducted, He gave him the opportunity to pick one of three things as the consequence. David chose the hand of the Lord and said, "please let me fall into the hand of the Lord, for His mercies are very great. But do not let me fall into the hand of man." (1 Chronicles 21:13). David knew that God judges righteously and He is merciful.

Just because someone disagrees with you to your face and their opinion/judgment seems so convincing, (or intimidating) at the time, the judgement/opinion of God is much more real and much more accurate. The fear of the Lord does mean that we tremble at His greatness, in the end it will be the most fearful thing of all, yet if we embrace it now, it brings His goodness. Consider Psalm 33:18-22:

"Behold, the eye of the Lord is on those who fear Him,

On those who hope for His lovingkindness,

To deliver their soul from death and to keep them alive in famine.

Our soul waits for the Lord; He is our help and our shield. 

For our heart rejoices in Him, because we trust in His holy name. 

Let Your lovingkindness, O Lord, be upon us, according as we have hoped in You."

Matthew 10:28-32; Mark 8:38; Psalm 118:6

What's In Your Atmosphere?

"And when He had said this, He breathed on them and said to them,
"Receive the Holy Spirit.""

John 20:22

Every one of us must breathe every day. In fact, we must breathe every moment of every day. We don't get to save up breaths for later on. If you don't like the smell of the atmosphere you are in, you can't decide not to breathe and catch up on your breaths later on. Every moment of every day, no matter where you are and what is around you, you must breathe. Of course I'm not telling you anything you don't already know. However, what we don't always remember is that there is a spiritual atmosphere around us all the time just like there is a physical, oxygen-filled atmosphere. 

What kind of spiritual atmospheres do you go through during the day? When you wake up in the morning is the atmosphere of your home a God-filled one where you are able to breathe in the breath of the Holy Spirit? When you go to work or school or wherever your day takes you, do you spend a good chunk of your day in an atmosphere where others are breathing out complaints and criticisms, or thanksgiving and encouragement? You breathe in the same air as them don't you, but do you breathe out the same air as them? Do you breathe out words of criticism or words of praise? 

It isn't always easy to breathe out words of life when you are breathing in everyone else's grumbling words. But Jesus gave us a clue here in this verse in John. The disciples were in the presence of Jesus after He was resurrected. He was talking to them--breathing out words of life. He said, "Peace be with you; as the Father has sent Me, I also send you." And after He said that He breathed on them and said, Receive the Holy Spirit. Jesus breathed the Holy Spirit--the very breath of God--into them. They had to breathe His breath in first before they could breathe out. You can't breathe out life until you breathe it in! As a believer in Jesus Christ, you can breathe in the very breath of God--His Holy Spirit--and as your spiritual lungs stay filled with His breath, you can breathe out words of life wherever you are! How do we do this?

When we receive His peace and stay in the presence of the Lord wherever we are, breathing in His Words and the breath of the Holy Spirit, then we will stay filled with His breath. As we walk and talk with Him wherever we are so we continually breathe in His Words, rather than the poisoned atmosphere of the complaints of others around us, then we will be able to breathe out His words into the atmosphere around us--filling it with life instead of death. Life overcomes death! Good overcomes evil! Light overcomes darkness!

Jesus gave us another clue when He continued His conversation with the disciples and said, "If you forgive the sins of any, their sins have been forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they have been retained." If we hold on to the hurtful words of others and take offense then we succumb to that atmosphere of death, which is contrary to the Spirit of God who is loving and forgiving. Quit struggling and beating yourself up for giving in to the atmosphere around you and instead breathe in His peace, His breath, His words, and His Spirit. Stay in communion with Him throughout your day, and watch the atmosphere around you change!

"And He Gave Gifts to Men"

Right after midnight, the night of the election in the United States, I woke up with Evangelist Reinhard Bonnke on my mind. I had a very strong longing for him to begin ministering in America. I had heard he was coming to America, however I felt an intense desire for him to begin. I was trying to remember if I had heard he would begin meetings in 2015 or 2016. As these thoughts were going through my mind, the Lord began to show me some things.

First I saw that it's good for us to cry out for the ministry gifts the Lord gives, at that moment I felt the evangelist was especially important. I believe He wants us to understand how valuable these gifts are to the body of Christ--the evangelist, the prophet, the teacher, the apostle and of course the pastor. I saw how important it is for us to value these gifts and to cry out for God to raise up these ministers throughout our land. It's important to have godly politicians, but we must not ignore the value of His ministers, and in some cases they may be one and the same.

Next, I saw as important as it is for us to appreciate ministers of the Lord, it is equally important for us not to become impatient or compromise and settle for false gifts because we grow tired of waiting for the true gifts to be released. Immediately I thought of Aaron and the golden calf. Moses had gone to the mountain to meet with the Lord and the people grew impatient waiting for him to return. They ended up giving all their gold to Aaron who made the golden calf to be their new god and leader. Their impatience in waiting for the man of God to return with the Lord's instructions caused them to turn from the Lord who had miraculously freed them from slavery, bringing them out of Egypt.

After I saw these things, I became hopeful. My feeling was that God was answering the prayers of His people. He will raise up His ministers, but it will be in His timing. In the meantime, we need to continue to pray that He releases these powerful anointed gifts to us. We also need to take time to grow in our understanding of these gifts and realize just how much we need them. In Ephesians 4 we are told that these ministry gifts are given for the equipping, building up, unification and maturing of the body of Christ. However, we must not let impatience get the best of us and cause us to compromise and be deceived by the false.

Jesus said in the last days of this age that there would be many false prophets that would come and deceive many. We need the prophets and ministers of God, however we need the ones truly sent and anointed by Him. Those filled with the Holy Spirit will bear the fruit of the Spirit. This is not to imply that the ministers who are currently ministering are not true, anointed ministers of God, but that there is a greater anointing--a greater depth--to come on these ministry gifts that the body of Christ needs right now. It may be that those who "go to the mountain" to meet with the Lord as Moses did, will be the ones who receive this gift.

Exodus 32, Ephesians 4:11-16, Matthew 24:5, 11, 23-24

Victory After the Battle

The other day I heard these words, "Quit praying for peace, instead pray for victory!" I believe it was the Lord trying to make a very important point. It shows that there is a battle to be fought. Instead of praying for conflict to be avoided and for peace to come without a fight, we need to pray that we win the battle we are faced with. We are faced with unavoidable conflict. We can be victorious in the battle, but not if we ignore that the battle is there. If we stick our head in the sand, that won't make it go away. Peace comes after a victory, but victory comes after a battle! 

"While they are saying, "Peace and safety!

then destruction will come upon them suddenly..."

1 Thessalonians 5:3

Paul is talking about those who walk in darkness and are not aware of the signs of the times regarding the day of the Lord. The Lord doesn't want His people to be ignorant regarding what's going on in the world and how it relates to His Kingdom. He wants us to see what is going on through His eyes and from His perspective. When we do, we have time to prepare for tough times. 

"The horse is prepared for the day of battle, but victory belongs to the Lord."

Proverbs 21:31

We must not think that our own preparations and strength will win the battle for us, however we are still to prepare. The horse is prepared, so go ahead and prepare for the battle, but  it is the Lord who gives the victory. The best way to prepare is to be on His side and as close to Him as possible so you can hear His instructions. Remember that we are not fighting against flesh and blood, our weapons are not of the flesh. We bring our thoughts captive to the obedience of Christ.

"The God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet."
Romans 16:20

God is in control. We don't need to be afraid. Our victory comes from Him, yet we need to recognize that we are in His army. We're told to fight the good fight of faith. We're told to put on the full armor of God so we can stand against the schemes of the devil. We're told to resist the devil who prowls around like a roaring lion seeking someone to devour. These are fighting words, but we're also told that He who is in us is greater than he who is in the world. Put on your armor, pray, and prepare for the battle, but remember that victory is from the Lord and will follow the battle!

1 Peter 5:8-9; 2 Timothy 2:3-7; 1 Timothy 6:12; Ephesians 6:10-17; 1 John 4:4; 2 Corinthians 10:3-5

America's Grief Cycle

Whether we realize it or not, America is suffering loss. We have been losing the American lifestyle slowly and subtly for several years. Our freedom is under attack. When an individual suffers loss there is a grieving process he or she goes through. The same thing is happening in America. We may not be aware of it, but a grieving process has begun.

First there's been denial. Many have been unable or unwilling to admit that anything has been lost. They might see the country today as making many advances--more freedom--when in reality this is not the case. Our economy and our defense has taken a very large hit. We have gotten so distracted in trying to bring fairness to every single situation, that we have not noticed the looming threat building up against everyone. 

It's been very subtle, just as an aging parent or loved one slowly declines into ill health. When you see them every day you don't notice the decline as much as when you compare their quality of life to 30, 40 or 50 years ago. As Americans begin to wake up to the losses she's been suffering--through restrictive laws, violence or threats and fears of violence--some may choose to stay in denial because if they admit the reality of what is going on, it's just too uncertain and fearful for them. Denial feels better, but of course is a dangerous place to be.

Then there's anger. Many are awakening, coming out of denial and getting angry. They see how far our defense has fallen as we begin to experience, not only threats, but actual attacks of violence and greater frequency of less noticeable attacks like fraud and identity theft. This is where many people are right now--some in denial, some in anger. What comes next?

Once a person wakes up out of denial, the anger needs to be dealt with. Some anger is felt towards lawmakers and some towards the violent, the lawless and the intimidating. Some may be directed inwardly, for example if we have not voted or voted without being informed, resulting in lawmakers who do not have the country's best interests at heart. However, when we allow the anger to change into energy for prayer and, if necessary, repentance, then we will gain the humility and wisdom that is necessary to put us on the right path to recovery. Proverbs 11:2 says that with the humble is wisdom. Humility will open our hearts for the wisdom of God to be revealed to us. 

We need wisdom so we don't act impulsively and let our anger take us in the wrong direction. Yes, it may be that the government has gotten the country into a mess, but who is the government?--We the people. We don't want our anger to lead us to do impulsive and foolish things, yet, we are not to cower in fear either. A fearful heart is in panic, is impatient, impulsive and irrational. None of these are from the Spirit of God which He promises to those who believe in the Lord Jesus. We must make our decisions while influenced by the Spirit of God--from a heart of faith, peace, patience and love. This is a trustworthy, stable path. When we truly understand the love that God has for His people, we will be able to trust Him and follow wherever He leads us. We will understand that He is the only one who can truly lead to green pastures and still waters.

Take a look at what is going on in America and in the world today, but don't get overwhelmed and stick your head back in the sand as you begin to see it. Humble yourself before the Lord and pray, seek His wisdom and get going on the path He has for you. Do it confidently knowing that the safest and most productive path to be on is the path of His will for you.

Ecclesiastes 9:14-18: There was a small city with few men in it and a great king came to it, surrounded it and constructed large siegeworks against it. But there was found in it a poor wise man and he delivered the city by his wisdom. Yet no one remembered that poor man. So I said, "Wisdom is better than strength." But the wisdom of the poor man is despised and his words are not heeded. The words of the wise heard in quietness are better than the shouting of a ruler among fools. Wisdom is better than weapons of war, but one sinner destroys much good.

Lift Up Your Heads!

"But when these things being to take place, straighten up and lift up your heads,

because your redemption is drawing near." 

Luke 21:28

Jesus said when things begin to take place that indicate He is coming soon, to lift up your head because your redemption is drawing near. Jesus is physically returning to the earth and we are to prepare for that. We will physically lift up our heads to see Him. This indicates our spiritual condition and frame of mind as well. We will be lifting up our heads spiritually because we see Him and know Him, before we lift up our heads to see Him physically. 

The church is not to be in a position, when Jesus returns, where we are hanging our heads low, walking with a slouch in defeat or shame. No! We are to lift up our heads having the confidence that He is our redemption. We are not defeated in shame or cowering in fear, because the blood of Jesus Christ has purchased our salvation and redemption. Our trust is in Him, not in our own abilities to justify or defend ourselves.

Jesus said we are to be the light of the world. However we don't shine our lights in such a way that we are glorified, but so He is glorified. What we do is not for our own glory or for people to think highly of us. Our purpose is to glorify the Lord in everything. As long as we have learned to walk humbly with our God and our desire is to honor and glorify Him in all we do, then we can walk as Jesus did in the earth revealing the Scripture and the power of God. We walk in His love, which brings confidence in the day of judgment, because as He is, so are we in this world.

What is your spiritual posture? Are you feeling defeated by guilt and shame? There is a posturing of repentance and humility that we all must do. But remember that your redemption comes from Jesus. Remember that He suffered so you could be free from all that. You can never be good enough to free yourself from guilt and shame, you must trust the Lord. We must take the postures of both humility and confidence. We can be confident because our trust is in the Lord, not in ourselves. If we remain only in a posture of repentance, that indicates we don't recognize the power of the blood of Jesus to cleanse our sin. His blood is more powerful than your sin!

Lift up your head! Lift up your hands! Do it now! Imagine the washing and cleansing of the Lord Jesus. Imagine Him washing off all that which would defile and dim your light. Rejoice in that and let your light shine in such a way that He is glorified! Worship Him! He is your hope, your strength, your confidence and your deliverance!

Psalm 24:7-9; Daniel 11:32; Micah 6:8; Matthew 5:14-16; 1 John 4:17; 1 John 3:2-3; Hebrews 2:1-4; Hebrews 9:14