An Eli Church

Zealot: One who shows fervor for a person, cause, or object; eager desire or endeavor; enthusiastic diligence; ardor.

I am a part-time Zealot.  I love the idea of being zealous, but I often slip into apathy.  Nevertheless, I am irritated by Christians who have no passion for God. What's the point of even being a Christian if it's just a transparent label?  Not only is apathy irritating, it leads to sin. As I stewed upon the word zeal today, I was reminded of the  passage in 1 Samuel 2, which contrasts Samuel's heart with that of the priest Eli and his sons:

Eli’s sons were wicked men; they had no regard for the Lord...This sin of the [sons] was very great in the Lord’s sight, for they were treating the Lord’s offering with contempt. But Samuel was ministering before the Lord...[he] grew up in the presence of the Lord. Now Eli, who was very old, heard about everything his sons were doing to all Israel and how they slept with the women who served at the entrance to the Tent of Meeting. So he said to them, “Why do you do such things? I hear from all the people about these wicked deeds of yours. No, my sons; it is not a good report that I hear spreading among the Lord’s people. If a man sins against another man, Gode may mediate for him; but if a man sins against the Lord, who will intercede for him?” His sons, however, did not listen to their father’s rebuke, for it was the Lord’s will to put them to death. And the boy Samuel continued to grow in stature and in favor with the Lord and with men (verses 12; 17-18a; 21b-26) .

I fear my generation, the baby boomer Christians, are an Eli church. We tolerate amazing amounts of sin in our lives and in the lives of our children.  We passively preach a good message, but our lives don't reflect it. We are materialistic and consumed with career and recreation.

For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. (Matthew 6:21)

We give lip service to our beliefs, but our lives don't reflect the transforming power of Jesus.

Much like Eli, we don't stop the defiling of the church.  We let the world erode the hard message of truth.

Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. (Matthew 7:13)

Like Eli, we are often passive and self-indulgent.

Now let's see what happens to Eli and his sons:

Now a man of God came to Eli and said to him, “This is what the Lord says:.. ‘Why do you scorn my sacrifice and offering that I prescribed for my dwelling? Why do you honor your sons more than me by fattening yourselves on the choice parts of every offering made by my people Israel?’ “Therefore the Lord, the God of Israel, declares: ‘ Those who honor me I will honor, but those who despise me will be disdained. The time is coming when I will cut short your strength and the strength of your priestly house, so that no one in it will reach old age, and you will see distress in my dwelling. Although good will be done to Israel, no one in your family line will ever reach old age. Every one of you that I do not cut off from serving at my altar I will spare only to destroy your sight and sap your strength, and all your descendants will die in the prime of life.  “‘And what happens to your two sons, Hophni and Phinehas, will be a sign to you—they will both die on the same day. I will raise up for myself a faithful priest, who will do according to what is in my heart and mind. I will firmly establish his priestly house, and they will minister before my anointed one always." (1 Sam. 2:27a; 29; 30b-35)

The Lord took out weak Eli and his corrupt sons:

 The man who brought the news replied, “Israel fled before the Philistines, and the army has suffered heavy losses. Also your two sons, Hophni and Phinehas, are dead, and the ark of God has been captured.” When he mentioned the ark of God, Eli fell backward off his chair by the side of the gate. His neck was broken and he died, for he was an old man, and he was heavy. (1 Sam. 4:17-18)

And replaced him with faithful and passionate Samuel:

 The Lord was with Samuel as he grew up, and he let none of Samuel’s words fall to the ground. (1 Sam. 3:19)

 Then all the people of Israel turned back to the Lord. So Samuel said to all the Israelites, “If you are returning to the Lord with all your hearts, then rid yourselves of the foreign gods and the Ashtoreths and commit yourselves to the Lord and serve him only, and he will deliver you out of the hand of the Philistines.” So the Israelites put away their Baals and Ashtoreths, and served the Lord only. (1 Sam. 7:2b-4)

Lest we shrug off this lesson as old Testament, we have Jesus' example when he cleared the temple: 

When it was almost time for the Jewish Passover, Jesus went up to Jerusalem. In the temple courts he found men selling cattle, sheep and doves, and others sitting at tables exchanging money. So he made a whip out of cords, and drove all from the temple area, both sheep and cattle; he scattered the coins of the money changers and overturned their tables. To those who sold doves he said, “Get these out of here! How dare you turn my Father’s house into a market!” His disciples remembered that it is written: “Zeal for your house will consume me.” (John 2:13-17)

The disciples were full of passion and gave their lives for Christ. One of my favorite examples of biblical passion is Stephen, a second generation disciple:

...the Twelve gathered all the disciples together and said, “It would not be right for us to neglect the ministry of the word of God in order to wait on tables. Brothers and sisters, choose seven men from among you who are known to be full of the Spirit and wisdom. We will turn this responsibility over to them and will give our attention to prayer and the ministry of the word.” This proposal pleased the whole group. They chose Stephen, a man full of faith and of the Holy Spirit...Now Stephen, a man full of God’s grace and power, performed great wonders and signs among the people. they could not stand up against the wisdom the Spirit gave him as he spoke.  Then they secretly persuaded some men to say, “We have heard Stephen speak blasphemous words against Moses and against God.” So they stirred up the people and the elders and the teachers of the law. They seized Stephen and brought him before the Sanhedrin. They produced false witnesses, who testified, “This fellow never stops speaking against this holy place and against the law. For we have heard him say that this Jesus of Nazareth will destroy this place and change the customs Moses handed down to us.” All who were sitting in the Sanhedrin looked intently at Stephen, and they saw that his face was like the face of an angel. (Acts 6:2-5; 8; 10-15)

Zeal. Get some.

Having Enough

This morning I was praying and the beginning of the 23rd Psalm came to me, "The Lord is my shepherd, I shall NOT want."  I began to think about the word "want" in this context, and then looked up this scripture in several versions:

New International Version (©1984): "The LORD is my shepherd, I shall not be in want."

New Living Translation (©2007): "The LORD is my shepherd; I have all that I need."

Aramaic Bible in Plain English (©2010): "Lord Jehovah will shepherd me and I shall lack nothing."

GOD'S WORD® Translation (©1995): "The LORD is my shepherd. I am never in need."

King James 2000 Bible (©2003): "The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not lack."

Douay-Rheims Bible: "The Lord ruleth me: and I shall want nothing."

Young's Literal Translation: "Jehovah is my shepherd, I do not lack..."

So either we have all that we need or God is a liar.   Either the Word is true or it isn't. If it's true then I LACK NOTHING.  God has given me everything I need. What I think I lack is not a necessity for me.

2 Peter 1:3 says, "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."

What it boils down to is that IF I don't have as much as I think I should...I want what God has decided I don't need.

 1 Timothy 6:6-8 says, "But godliness with contentment is great gain. For we brought nothing into the world, and we can take nothing out of it. But if we have food and clothing, we will be content with that."

Am I fed? Am I clothed?  If the answer is "yes," then I am NOT in want.

If the answer is "no," then I have allowed the enemy to rob me of my rightful provision from the Lord. I have allowed the thief to steal from me, and that needs to end, now.

I will pray: "Satan, you have no right to my provision and wealth from the Lord. He has promised to care for, feed, clothe and shelter me, and right now I lay hold of this promise. You will not rob from me again.  In Jesus name, Amen."

What Are You Afraid Of?

End times? Shortages of food, gas, clean water?  Illness? Death?  The wrong people elected to government?  Your kids taking the highway to Hell?

The Lord says, "Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus." (Philippians 4:6-7)

To be blunt, fear is sin. It is.  We are NOT to fear the future!  We are not to worry about storing up supplies and creating an underground shelter in case the worst happens.

Matthew 6: 25-34 says, “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more important than food, and the body more important than clothes? Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life? “And why do you worry about clothes? See how the lilies of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own."

I remember the whole Y2K panic right before the year 2000. It was stupid and pointless,  a complete waste of energy and focus.

Matthew 6:19-21 says, “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also."

Your heart cannot be in survival preparation mode and also going about the Father's true business, clearly stated in Matthew 10:7-10, "As you go, preach this message: ‘The kingdom of heaven is near.’ Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse those who have leprosy, drive out demons. Freely you have received, freely give. Do not take along any gold or silver or copper in your belts; take no bag for the journey, or extra tunic, or sandals or a staff; for the worker is worth his keep."

If the Lord can keep the Israelites alive in the desert for 40 years, feeding them with manna and keeping their clothes intact, He can do the same for you!

The Lord's name is Jehovah jireh, our Provider. That means He PROVIDES, period. I don't care how expensive gas and groceries are. God is bigger than drought, famine, and goverments that restrict and misspend. Satan's tactic is to distract you from your calling and keep you focused on earthly things.   Don't allow yourself to be diverted. PREACH the gospel. HEAL the sick. RAISE the dead. Do NOT allow fear to distract you.  Go be salt and light.

How we know we are loved...

This morning, as I played my guitar worshiping the Lord, I was stunned by this simple revelation: He loves me.  WHAT?  Is that what you came up with Peggy?  Really?  I knew that.  No, listen, HE loves YOU.  The GREAT I AM. The CREATOR of the vast universe.  The ALPHA and OMEGA. The EVERLASTING FATHER.

Then, the words to the song I was playing penetrated my heart:

"You are and You were and You will be forever The Lover I need to save me;
You fashioned the earth and You hold it together, God So hold me now..."
(Bebo Norman's "I Will Lift My Eyes")

LOVE...vast, unmeasurable, infinite love.  I wept as I played and sang.

Here's the deal, however: we are so tainted by imperfect love that we can't even feel HIS perfect love. Love, to us, should have a different face.  It should solve all our problems and give us everything we want.  It should be shallow and quick-fixing, bailing us out of the consequences of our sin.  In short, we look for human love, marred by sin and selfishness, so when we encounter the PERFECT love of Jesus, we don't recognize it for the amazing gift it is.

"God, my God, I cry out:
Your beloved needs You now
God, be near; calm my fear
... And take my doubt
Your kindness is what pulls me up
Your love is all that draws me in"

He. Is. Kind.  Not always the kindness we recognize, however. The kindness we recognize is too much cake when we're sad or buying a new gadget when we're restless or bored. 

We need to sit and soak in Him and learn what true kindness and love is...the quality of which can't be experienced unless we let go of our preconceptions and control and RECEIVE what He has to give us.  Hard for a doer like me; hard for the Marthas of this world, female and male alike.

Go into a room, alone, and sit, kneel, or lie and receive His love.  I dare you.

"I will lift my eyes to the Maker
Of the mountains I can't climb
I will lift my eyes to the Calmer
Of the oceans raging wild
I will lift my eyes to the Healer
Of the hurt I hold inside
I will lift my eyes, lift my eyes to You"

Drinking the Bitter Cup

Luke 22:42 records Jesus praying,"Father, if you are willing, take this cup from me; yet not my will, but yours be done." He knows he's headed for the agony of the cross, and his flesh quails before this reality. Nevertheless, he submits his will to the will of the One with the bigger plan. He accepts the bitter cup.

Most of us have some sort of bitter cup: a difficult marriage, chronic illness, financial hardship, heartrending loss, stressful job situation...just to name a few.  I am convinced that our choice to either drink or refuse this cup has far reaching (though often initially unseen) consequences.  For example, choosing to divorce a difficult spouse rather than fulfilling your vow will affect generations.  Ending  your life because of a dibilitating disease will rob the world of an irreplaceable and uniquely gifted person. Quitting a difficult job may circumvent the refining process in your life or in the lives of coworkers.  

About six years ago I was hell bent on bailing out of an extremely painful situation.   By the grace of God, however, I was able to hold fast, and looking back at what seemed unbearable at the time, I am amazed at the blessings my family and I have reaped...just because I chose to drink the bitter cup.  I shudder to think what would have happened had I gone with the almost overwhelming pressure to escape something that seemed unendurable. 

The bitter cup Jesus drank resulted in the sweet redemption of mankind, and the bitter scroll Ezekiel ate (Ezekiel 3:1-3), became sweet in his stomach, signifying the Word of God, though sometimes bitter, is ultimately sweet, for nothing can be sweeter than living in the will of God.

Every dilemma in our lives has an answer. Our Creator didn't leave us in a lurch; He left us with a COUNSELOR: "But I tell you the truth: It is for your good that I am going away. Unless I go away, the Counselor will not come to you; but if I go, I will send him to you." John 16:7.

Counselor is defined "One (usually a professional) who gives advice, opinion or instruction to direct the judgment or conduct of another."  The Holy Spirit is that One (working in conjunction with scriptural truths). 

 I love the following passages from the Word:

"Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up" (Galatians 6:9).

"Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider him who endured such opposition from sinners, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart. In your struggle against sin, you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding your blood. Endure hardship as discipline; God is treating you as his children. No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it. Therefore, strengthen your feeble arms and weak knees." (Hebrews 12:1-4; 7; 11-12).

"Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance.  Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything. If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you" (James 1:2-5)

The last one is especially good, as it refers us to God for wisdom in all circumstances; not the world, our flesh, or tempting promises from the enemy, but GOD!

Go on, drink from that bitter cup and remain steadfast. Watch what the Lord will work out of your situation as you faithfully partner with Him. Don't hesitate to cry out to Him for wisdom...afterall, He's the smartest being in the universe :)

De Nile

No, I'm not talking about Egypt's Nile river, but DENIAL . . . one of the biggest hindrances to true joy and holiness in a Christian's life.

 The definition of denial in this context:
"Refusal to acknowledge the existence of something: a refusal to believe in something or admit that  something exists."

It's a game of let's pretend: let's pretend I don't have this addiction. Let's pretend my words aren't knives cutting into the hearts of my children. Let's pretend I'm concerned about someone, not actually gossiping. Let's pretend God is more important to me than my reputation or wealth. Let's pretend I don't have a shopping, overeating, or porn problem. Ouch.

The more days I have under my belt walking this earth (over 18,000), the sadder I feel that so many of us use denial to protect ourselves from the knowledge of our sin.

“If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.” 1 John 1:8.

So you sin. So I sin. Admit it. After we clear that hurdle, the next hurdle is generalizing our sin. "Oh, I sin in so many ways." Yes, you do. It's time to look at them and name them. But didn't Jesus die for our sins? Yes, He did, but that doesn't allow us to continue to sin. And to be in denial about any of our sins is to practice deceit, and that my dear reader, is sin.

Romans 6:11-16 reads,

"In the same way, count yourselves dead to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus. Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body so that you obey its evil desires. Do not offer the parts of your body to sin, as instruments of wickedness, but rather offer yourselves to God, as those who have been brought from death to life; and offer the parts of your body to him as instruments of righteousness. For sin shall not be your master, because you are not under law, but under grace."

One area of denial I've been looking in my own life is hatred. I have always been relatively critical: of myself, of others, and rather than grieve over my sin, I have excused it with the lame: I "tells like I sees it." Which is a load of crap. Who died and made me Noticer of all sin? So this sin in my life must be confessed and repented of . . . TURNED away from.

First the confession:

James 5:16 says,

"Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed."

It's pretty hard to confess sin when we hide from it. We may think it's easier to ignore and deny our sin, but this self deception prevents true healing of our souls and propagates a stagnate life.

The confession is not just to God, either. The "one another" means humans, sorry. Here's where pride gets in the way. If say I have to confess sexual or addictive sins, it's pretty hard to tell that to someone else. But it is NECESSARY. Doesn't mean you have to tell everyone, but confession to a trusted friend so she/he may pray for you. This leads to the second step: praying for each other. Such a neglected though vital principle. I submit that we would be freer people if we practiced praying for one another . . . in person!

Psalm 51:3-6 says,

"For I know my transgressions, and my sin is always before me. Against you, you only, have I sinned and done what is evil in your sight, so that you are proved right when you speak and justified when you judge. Surely I was sinful at birth, sinful from the time my mother conceived me. Surely you desire truth in the inner parts; you teach me wisdom in the inmost place."

Truth in the inner parts. Truthful with God, with ourselves, and with one another. We are not saved and forgiven so we can deny and excuse our sins.

I like this prayer from Psalm 139:23-24:

"Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting."

In this prayer is humility, transparency and honesty. A courage to face the music. Jesus was "full of grace and truth" John 1:14. Is anything less required of us?

Jesus told the perfect parable about denial in Luke 18:

To some who were confident of their own righteousness and looked down on everybody else, Jesus told this parable: “Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. The Pharisee stood up and prayed abouta himself: ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other men—robbers, evildoers, adulterers—or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week and give a tenth of all I get.’ “But the tax collector stood at a distance. He would not even look up to heaven, but beat his breast and said, ‘God, have mercy on me, a sinner.’ “I tell you that this man, rather than the other, went home justified before God. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.”

Ephesians 4:17-25 says,

"So I tell you this, and insist on it in the Lord, that you must no longer live as the Gentiles do, in the futility of their thinking. They are darkened in their understanding and separated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them due to the hardening of their hearts. Having lost all sensitivity, they have given themselves over to sensuality so as to indulge in every kind of impurity, and they are full of greed. That, however, is not the way of life you learned when you heard about Christ and were taught in him in accordance with the truth that is in Jesus. You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; to be made new in the attitude of your minds; and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness. Therefore each of you must put off falsehood and speak truthfully to your neighbor, for we are all members of one body."

Poisoning the Waterhole

I love Disney's Toy Story. At my house, it's my granddaughter's current favorite movie, so I've seen it probably 50-60 times, counting the numerous times I watched it with my own children. Some of my favorite lines are:

Woody: "Tuesday night's plastic corrosion awareness meeting, was I think, a big success. We'd like to thank Mr. Spell for putting that on for us."

Mr. Potato Head: "Hey, Hamm. Look, I'm Picasso!"
Hamm: "I don't get it."
Mr. Potato Head: "You uncultured swine!"

Mr. Potato Head: "Hey, a laser! How come YOU don't have a laser, Woody?"
Woody: "It's not a laser! It's a...it's a little light bulb that blinks."
Hamm: "What's with him?"
Mr. Potato Head: "Laser envy."

Woody: "You are a child's PLAY thing!"
Buzz: "You are a sad, strange little man, and you have my pity."

Rex: "What if Andy gets another dinosaur? A mean one? I just don't think I can take that kind of rejection!"

Woody: "Stop it you zealots!"

Woody: "Somebody's poisoned the waterhole!"

This last line, while not necessarily funny, struck me as spiritually significant. One of the ways we can "poison the waterhole" is through our words. Negative predictions, complaining, expressions of self-pity and judgmental observations all poison the life-giving waterhole of verbal blessings, faith, hope and belief in a God who "works all things together for good for those who love Him and are called according to His purpose." (Romans 8:28.) When we ignore that verse and say whatever negative, damaging thing that comes to mind, we undermine and negate the life God wants us to bestow upon the culture we're in.

James 3:3-6, 9-12 says, "...the tongue is a small part of the body, but it makes great boasts. Consider what a great forest is set on fire by a small spark. The tongue also is a fire, a world of evil among the parts of the body. It corrupts the whole person, sets the whole course of his life on fire, and is itself set on fire by hell...With the tongue we praise our Lord and Father, and with it we curse men, who have been made in God’s likeness. Out of the same mouth come praise and cursing. My brothers, this should not be. Can both fresh water and salta water flow from the same spring? My brothers, can a fig tree bear olives, or a grapevine bear figs? Neither can a salt spring produce fresh water."

Have you ever tried to drink salt water? Not only does it go down hard, it also causes nausea, vomiting, and ultimately kidney failure and death. You cannot survive on salt water; it is poison. Much the same way, words can poison, driving out life and blessings.

Tyne Daly once said, "A critic is someone who never actually goes to the battle, yet who afterwards comes out shooting the wounded."  It's easy to sit on the sidelines and criticize...much harder to jump in the trenches and help out a situation.

1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 says, "Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus." It's pretty hard to utter critical and negative thoughts while obeying that scripture.

Negative thinking is another form of poisonous activity. More subtle than words, thoughts have at least as much power. These thoughts, though unseen by others, damage us and our ability to live life to the fullest. These defeating thoughts leach out joy (which is our strength: Nehemiah 8:10b), and they determine our words and ultimately our actions.

The writer Peter McWilliams said, “For many, negative thinking is a habit, which over time, becomes an addiction... A lot of people suffer from this disease because negative thinking is addictive to each of the Big Three -- the mind, the body, and the emotions. If one doesn't get you, the others are waiting in the wings.”

Cultivating life-giving thoughts is a choice and a habit to be pursued.  We must CHOOSE joy over the much easier cynicism.

Ephesians 4:29-32 encompasses both words and thoughts: "Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen. And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, with whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice. Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you."

Let's replenish our waterholes with clean, sweet water (thoughts and words), that refreshes and strengthens and can be poured out to hydrate a dry and thirsty world.