A Needed Shower

The Problem with Passionless Christians

For many years I have heard and read people’s warnings to uninvolved, passionless, heatless believers.  Always the cure prescribed was to get more involved, to get heated and fired-up for Jesus by doing more things for Him.  In other words, “Get busy.  Here’s how . . .”

However, whatever is heatless, whatever is lukewarm, be it water or human, cannot heat itself.  It requires something else for heat.

Works do not provide the heat for the non-Christian of what is lacking; belief in the gospel provides what is missing.  Works do not provide the heat for the Christian of what is lacking; belief in the gospel provides what is missing.

Yes, it’s the same for both.  Faith without works is certainly dead, but works without faith are just as dead. 

A focus upon works requires the skilled judgment of motivation, effectiveness, frequency and number.  Some church gatherings have postured heat through a works focus, and everybody examines everybody.  What fun.  Judgments galore.  But even if the pastor or speaker tells the listener to examine his own works—not the works of anyone else—the works focused person will have put himself into the position of Pharisee to himself.  Nobody does well from there.  Who among us could accurately estimate works sufficient to pass a works or heat test with God?  (Shudder.)  The only test, and the only thing upon which we rest is whether or not we are “in the faith” (see 2 Corinthians 13:5-6).  In other words, do you believe?  That’s it. 

If and when the “fire” or the motivation of passion for a Christian should grow cold, works are not the wood that will heat the hearth of the heart.  Works are the result of the Holy Spirit fanning to flame the heart that takes in the truth of the good news of Jesus Christ. 

Perhaps the worst thing we can do to a presumably passionless or “heatless” believer is to tell him to have heat.  The best he can do is to try for the appearance of heat, which does nothing for the heart.  What he needs, what we need, is the great gospel—over and over again.  The gospel is that because of the cross and resurrection of Jesus, we have no worries with God; we may approach Him as a friend, with confidence and without fear, and have been given all things already in Christ for free.  That is the wood for a genuine, heart-held fire made by the Spirit. 

If you or someone you know, Christian or not, appears to lack heat, add the kindling that is the gospel of the grace of God in Jesus—take time with it and with them—and the Spirit will take care of the heat and the works.  That’s what He does, and He’s pretty good at that.  Right?

(This is a transcript from yesterday’s video, “The Problem with Passionless Christians,” and is for those who might rather read than watch.  To see the video, click https://youtu.be/fAy42Z2qlrM.)

The Problem with Passionless Christians

Got 4 minutes?  If you’ve ever been passionless or bothered by those who are, this video is for you. 

One or the Other

Lifestyles of the Rich & Famous

Got 2.5 minutes?  There is a lie that has been offered and sold to millions of people over centuries of time, fouling their enjoyment of Jesus and frustrating their lives.  Find out the truth. 

In Him, Move On

If God is constantly leading us successfully and perfectly in Christ—no slowing, no detours, no stopping—then maybe it’s important that we see ourselves IN Christ as He does, always together, instead of following Christ, trying to catch up. 

2Corinthians 2:14 But thanks be to God, who always leads us in triumphal procession in Christ and through us spreads everywhere the fragrance of the knowledge of him.

During how much of each day do we try in our mind to get somewhere or to become something when, IN Christ, we have already arrived? And He is always doing something in and through us. Always. Thinking about that might do you some good.

2 Corinthians 2:15 For we are to God the aroma of Christ among those who are being saved and those who are perishing. 16 To the one we are the smell of death; to the other, the fragrance of life.  And who is equal to such a task?

Don't Change

God doesn’t want you getting confused about the change He has made to you when your behavior fails to match up with the change he has made. He doesn’t want you focusing upon your behavior in order to change, but He helps you to believe in the change He has made. That’s how you live by faith. This requires a healthy focus upon the truth so you can discover and grow in the change He has made. Stay the way you are. Stay the way He thinks you are—a born from above, spot-on perfect son or daughter of His. Get comfortable with that change.

Remember

Weaknesses are sickly things in which to offer yourself to Jesus, not strongholds for you to conquer. May I remind you that your days are about knowing Jesus in you, how perfectly capable and wonderful He is where He is happiest to be -- in you?

Love Is Not Dependent Upon Trust

“How can there be love if there is no trust?” a friend asked.

If love is only for trusting relationships, then it is worldly and not godly. I don’t mean to say that this world’s love is altogether bad, but that it is limited. The best chance for me with God’s love is when I see myself not as a representative of God and with a lot to do, but as a vessel for Him, who has a lot to do in and through me. It is then that I look for Him and for what He is like inside of me. That belief and look changes everything and produces a “coming out,” a fruit of the Spirit, or an affect upon those around me. That’s particularly noticeable to the untrustworthy—both to them and to me, actually. That’s God’s love in and through me, His vessel. And it’s not dependent upon trust.

Upcoming Speaking Dates

I will be speaking with several groups in the Charlotte, North Carolina, area over the weekend of September 9-11. The best opportunity to join me will be at Huntersville Presbyterian Church, on Sunday.  For more information, click http://www.hpcpatch.org/.

In October, I will be speaking at GracePointe Church, in Lakewood, Ohio, on Sunday, October 30, at 10:00am.  For more information, go to:  www.gracepointelakewood.com.

Comfort is on the Way

Troubled? Afflicted? Exhausted? Disillusioned? If you’re at all like me, then that can be part of your Christian experience—sometimes all at the same time. God will comfort you. He is moved by your distress—it touches Him deeply (Hebrews 4:15-16)—and He finds no fault. He doesn't comfort you because you do anything right or anything wrong. Comfort is what He has for you because Comfort is who He is. (Please see John 16:7; 2 Corinthians 1:3-7.)

Heavenly Crossing Videos

I’ve got a few friends who’ve gone a little crazy and who need a good repentance. Do you have some friends like that? “Repentance” is a re-thinking that results from a recognition of the truth. Frankly, I have little repentances or “awakenings” pretty regularly. I will become aware of a deception that has affected and hindered me and probably affected people around me. I might say something like, “Aha!” or “Darn it!” and I’m on my way to health.

Evidently, there are some Christians who go fairly crazy concerning what they once believed and share in—the riches of their inheritance in Christ. If they go “crazy”, or are having a “crazy episode” that continues to their passing, their death, I believe they are still secure and rich in Christ. After all, He did the securing and gift-giving to begin with, and, therefore, they cannot lose anything they didn’t earn in the first place; they have been secured by the Security Expert. Sure, they’re crazy as they cross over from this life to the next, and that’s not fun! Not for them, not for anyone around them. But after that they’re not crazy at all crazy. What an awakening that will be.

After I’ve crossed over myself, I’ll want to check out some “heavenly crossing” videos from heaven’s video vault (because you know they’ve got one) of crazy-at-the-end-of-their-days friends and maybe relatives of mine. Wouldn’t that be great? Imagine it: mixed up, confused, earth-trapped skeptic the moment before death, and then instantly enlightened, stunned and radiant, heavenly member the next. “Whoa! So it was true after all! My God!” they might say. And Jesus will be right there with them, smiling and nodding, saying, “Yes, and I have kept you because I am your hope, and I will always be.”

I think I could watch a lot of those videos. How about you?

1 Peter 1:3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His great mercy has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, 4 to obtain an inheritance which is imperishable and undefiled and will not fade away, reserved in heaven for you, 5 who are protected by the power of God through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.

When your reservation is revealed to you, I hope it will be less of a shock—“My God!”—and more of a triumphant blast of a homecoming party hosted by God who began the work in you—imperishable, undefiled, not in any way faded in its perfect majesty. Just as God began, so He will finish on that day. And then maybe others, who follow after you, won’t even bother to check out your crossing over video from the heavenly video vault, because you were already regularly celebrating long before you got there.

That’d be good, wouldn’t it?

(This is a transcript of yesterday’s video, “Heavenly Crossing Videos,” and is for those who might rather read than watch. To go to my video channel and see it, click: https://youtu.be/bSbqgMF4tdU, or simply scroll down this blog page.)

Heavenly Crossing Videos

Got 4 minutes?  I have a few friends who have gone a bit crazy concerning their life with Jesus.  It disturbs me, but what awaits them when they cross over from this life to the next?

Beware Missile Messengers

When you’re close to bursting out and launching a text/twitter/facebook message that reads, “I can no longer remain silent!” or “I simply must comment on this news!” carefully consider what source is motivating your burgeoning burst: the wisdom of this world or the wisdom of God. The pressure to SAY SOMETHING, DARN IT might feel similar in both cases, but the difference is tremendous. The former is screwy to begin with, screwy in solution, and screwy in conclusion, while the latter (the gospel) is eternal to begin with, eternal in solution, and eternal in conclusion. If you care about how we think of you and your missile message, ask yourself, “Is this screwy or eternally based?” and proceed on course with your name on it. To be sure, there is room for both, but being aware of what is influencing you will help your launch control.

Sin Stuck or Sin Freed?

Not long ago I was involved in a Facebook thread in which people were discussing sin. One person became increasingly indignant with me—she was pretty much yelling via text—and insisted that, as a Christian, she would always be an “incurable sinner,” whose best hope was “sin in remission.” “Don’t you know that?!” she demanded.

Well, I answered, only if you think of yourself as the unchanged, old creation, the former creation, and as what you do rather than who you truly are in Christ, a new creation. Then you can you say that you are “a sinner.” You will be wrong, but you can say it. Essentially, you will be in error concerning what Jesus did for you and to you through the cross and resurrection. This error hurts you because, not knowing the cure of Christ, you will misdiagnose yourself and treat yourself as though you are sick. This will become a twisted and sickly caricature of Christianity; while perfectly cured, you will deny your health. You will frustrate yourself by looking for health—freedom from sin—based upon what you do, rather than upon what Jesus did. That won’t work. Never has. What He did is your cure and health, not what you do.

To the error-prone Christians in Rome, the apostle Paul wrote: “knowing this, that our old self was crucified with Him, in order that our body of sin might be done away with, so that we would no longer be slaves to sin; for he who has died is freed from sin (Romans 6:6-7).

So the big question is: “Did God’s cure work for you?” Through Jesus’ crucifixion, was your old self crucified with Him? Was your body of sin “done away with” so that you would no longer be a slave to sin? Since, in God’s thinking, you died with Christ, are you freed from sin? Is what He did your cure, or do you have another diagnosis and prescription? Who is the better Physician—you or God?

If you continue to believe that you are an unchanged, old creation and an old sinner-self, and that salvation “only” rescued you from sins and guaranteed you for heaven, your diagnosis will be wrong, because you will not believe the gospel and enjoy the perfect health benefits of the cross and the resurrection for you. One was for your sins, and the other was for your new life. Those in Christ are no longer “sinners” by nature, since through the crucifixion and being included in that, they’ve had a change of nature in Christ and now share in the Father’s. They are saints by nature, holy sons in fact, and already citizens of heaven—free from sin, as is everyone in heaven.

You cannot have dual citizenship. You are either born of this world and are of it, or you are born of heaven and are of it—alien to this world, and representative of heaven. Which one are you?

I love my citizenship and how I got there through the cross and resurrection with Jesus. I’ve never felt better about sin than after I knew the truth about the cross and resurrection and my being included with Christ. In Christ, I have died already, and sin has no power over me. In Christ, I have been healed and raised, and my nature is righteous—through and through. How about yours?

I hope this helps.

(This is a transcript of yesterday's video, "Sin Stuck or Sin Freed," and is for those who might rather read than watch. To see the video, click https://youtu.be/NSZcqe9hmCE, or scroll down this blog.)