It’s sadly ironic when we use our presumably superior theology to separate ourselves from those who God wants to reach. By listening to His Father, Jesus often did things that offended the self appointed guardians of sound doctrine. Ultimately, the apostle Paul tells us that unless our faith finds a way to manifest itself as love, it becomes meaningless.
Archive for the ‘Commentaries’ Category
Thought for the Day – Superior Theology
Posted in Commentaries, Opinions, Thought for the Day / Quotes, tagged good theology, sound doctrine, superior theology on October 1, 2018| 1 Comment »
Thought for the Day – All Couples Fight
Posted in Commentaries, Opinions, Thought for the Day / Quotes, tagged couples fight, healthy relationship on October 1, 2018| Leave a Comment »
I’ve heard it said that all couples fight, but I don’t agree. All couples disagree, because no two people see everything exactly the same. And sometimes our emotions get involved and it turns into an argument. But screaming, cursing, name calling, provoking each other, threats, or abuse have no part in a healthy, loving relationship.
Thought for the Day – The Way You Are
Posted in Commentaries, Thought for the Day / Quotes, tagged the way you are on September 24, 2018| 2 Comments »
Even though God loves you just the way you are doesn’t mean that He doesn’t want to change you. (Rom. 8:29)
Thought for the Day – Control
Posted in Commentaries, Thought for the Day / Quotes, tagged control, self control on September 24, 2018| Leave a Comment »
One of the frustrating aspects of human nature is that we so often try to control things that we have no authority over, while neglecting the one thing God does expect us to control (i.e. ourselves).
Thought for the Day – Identity Theft
Posted in Commentaries, Thought for the Day / Quotes, tagged Jesus on September 19, 2018| Leave a Comment »
The blessings of believing that Jesus is who He said He is are largely forfeited when we don’t go on to believe that we are who He says we are.
Thought for the Day – The Storyteller
Posted in Commentaries, Thought for the Day / Quotes, tagged enemy of our soul, even if, if only on September 17, 2018| Leave a Comment »
The enemy of your soul has a story he’d like to share today. It’s a tale of frustration, failure, and pain. It’s a narrative filled with “if only’s” (e.g. if only this would happen, if only that hadn’t happened), which will always leave you one step away from wherever you want to be. The Creator of your soul also has a story He’d like to share today. It’s a plan of provision, strength and hope. It’s a narrative filled with “even if’s” (e.g. even if that happened, even if this never happens), which will free you from the constraints of your circumstance. Ultimately, the reality of your day will boil down to which one of these narratives you find more compelling. (Deut. 30:19)
Thought for the Day – Self Doubt
Posted in Commentaries, Thought for the Day / Quotes, tagged self-doubt on September 11, 2018| Leave a Comment »
We should never mistake self-doubt for humility. You cannot doubt yourself without also doubting the One who promised to faithfully complete the good work that He’s begun in you.
Thought for the Day – The Friends of Job
Posted in Commentaries, Thought for the Day / Quotes, tagged friends of Job, Job on September 5, 2018| Leave a Comment »
In popular Christian culture, being like “a friend of Job” has taken on the connotation of someone who isn’t a true friend (i.e. one who is sincere, loyal, and compassionate). But a review of Job, chapter 2 would seem to indicate otherwise. According to the text, when Job’s three friends heard of his troubles, they immediately stopped what they were doing, and made bringing comfort to their friend a priority. The language within the passage seems to suggest that they may have travelled a significant distance to get to him, and when they got there, they sat, silently grieving with him for seven days. It seems doubtful that many of us could claim to have “friends” who might demonstrate this level of sincerity, loyalty and compassion in our hour of need. In truth, the problems didn’t start until these friends tried to offer explanations for, and give advice about, things they did not understand.
This is significant because we “Christian” folk have become rather famous for offering explanations for things that God hasn’t necessarily made clear. Over and over again the scripture warns that our understanding is limited (e.g. lean not on your own understanding, the wisdom of men is foolishness to God, we know in part and prophecy in part, we see as through a glass dimly…), and yet, even with the best of intentions, we endeavor to go where angels fear to tread. Indeed, “Christian” bookstores are filled with volumes claiming to offer special insight into the mysteries of God, and many a false doctrine has sprouted from the desire to offer a finite word to describe an infinite concept. I sense that the spirit of religion often bewitches us to believe that if we are legitimate sons and daughters of God, we’ll have an answer for every question; but the scripture makes no such promise. We can rationalize that we’re just trying to help people, but that’s all Job’s friends were trying to do for him.
Crippled Lambs
Posted in Commentaries, Opinions, tagged Jonah, self pity on August 27, 2018| 1 Comment »
Self-pity may seem to be a very natural and non-threatening emotion, but the spiritual effects can be dramatic. Indeed, there is perhaps no state of mind more debilitating for a believer. A love for the Lord certainly doesn’t make us immune to this; as a matter of fact it, is probably one of the most effective tools of the enemy against those who count themselves followers of Christ.
The problem with self-pity is that it keeps us focused on ourselves and bound to our circumstance, which countermands the scriptures exhortation to fix our eyes on Jesus (i.e. the author and finisher of our faith) and to focus on things eternal (2Cor. 4:18). As we fixate on our condition, it opens the door for both our flesh and the “accuser of the brethren” to assert themselves. In the spiritual battle that rages for control of our soul, this is no small matter.
Within the scripture we see some examples of how destructive this emotion can be. As the nation of Israel was liberated from Egypt, the people witnessed a spectacular display of Gods sovereignty, as they were not only freed from, but literally plundered their oppressors. Yet, a short time later, we hear them wishing for a return to their chains, all because the food and accommodations didn’t meet their expectations.
On a more personal level we see some of the prophets fall prey to this emotion, as Jonah bemoans his situation after finally delivering the message to Nineveh, and with Elijah as he hides from Jezebel. In both of these cases, they had heard God clearly speak to them, had won great spiritual battles, had witnessed firsthand His miraculous power, and yet their self-pity effectively neutralized their faith, leaving them without hope.
As we focus on our difficulties, the enemy of our souls is quick to exploit those emotions, giving us an exaggerated sense of how bad things are. When the vine that was providing Jonah shade withered, he said that he would be “better off dead”. As the Lord queried him as to his anger at this, Jonah said that he was angry enough to die. As Elijah was hiding from Jezebel, we hear him tell the Lord that he had been rejected and that he was the only one left. Later, we learn that there were seven thousand who hadn’t forsaken the Lord.
This is the effect that self-pity has on us as well. It magnifies our struggles beyond reality, and eclipses our view of God’s provision. The spiritual principle is similar to that of praising the Lord. As we are praising Him, we are acknowledging what He has done in the past, what He’s doing today, what He’s going to do in the future, acknowledging His influence on our lives, bowing to His will, and submitting to His authority. As we know, there is great power in those times, and a tangible connection between the spiritual and the natural realm. Unfortunately, we are doing the exact same thing for our adversary when we indulge in self-pity.
In other portions of scripture we see examples of those who refuse to indulge in self-pity, even when our natural minds tell us that they’d be justified to do so. It was Job, who in the midst of his miserable situation, uttered one of the most hopeful phrases in all of scripture, “I know my Redeemer lives”. There was Paul & Silas, unjustly imprisoned, and in chains, praising the Lord in the middle of the night. And even more powerful is the picture of Jesus; beaten, bloodied, nailed to a cross, and praying that His Father would forgive them, because they didn’t understand what they were doing. We later see Stephen do the same as he is stoned to death.
These men were being treated unjustly, but they wouldn’t allow themselves to focus on that. Instead they focused on the Lord, and accomplishing His will in their lives. We like to justify that we have a right to be offended, sad, angry, bitter…, but the cost of indulging those emotions is ultimately our ability to do the will of the Father.
Bjcorbin's Blog 
Face to Face
Posted in Commentaries, tagged Bride without spot, face to face, living god, unveiled faces on October 10, 2018| Leave a Comment »
I’m not someone who watches much television, but on the rare occasion I have found myself trapped somewhere with little else to do, I have enjoyed watching the History Channel. As I’ve watched various wartime documentaries I’ve noticed that there is a marked difference between the effects of combat on pilots versus ground forces. To be sure, war is difficult and painful from either perspective, but for the ground troop it is more up close and personal.
There is a greater level of reality that comes with looking into the face of the enemy that means to destroy you and/or the comrade that perishes in your arms. Just as it is in war, so it is with love. When we come face to face with someone that we have strong feelings for, there is a powerful and personal dimension added to everything that is said or done.
When God created man it was His intention to have a close personal relationship with him. He created the perfect scenario for this in the Garden of Eden, and the Bible tells us that He would come face to face with Adam and Eve in the cool of the day. Unfortunately, sin entered the picture and a wedge was driven between God and man.
The resulting chasm was so great that the Lord told Moses that if any man looked at His face, they would surely perish; and later when the Lord spoke directly to His people from the mountain, they asked that He stop and only speak directly to Moses. For a God who yearns to be with His children, and for a people created to be in relationship with their God, this was a situation that could not remain unchanged.
When Solomon received the gift of wisdom, he began to have visions of the intimacy God desired with His Bride, and when the Israelite’s clamored for an earthly monarch, God lamented that He wanted to be their King. Indeed, the scripture tells us that His eyes search throughout the earth looking for hearts that are truly His (2Chron. 16:9).
In His sovereignty and His great mercy, He sent His own Son, that He might reestablish the intimate relationship that He so desired. Jesus accomplished many things in His time here on the earth, not the least of which was to give God a face that we could once again look upon. He also gave us His Holy Spirit to dwell within us, and a promise that if we would seek Him, we would find Him.
By His Spirit He means to speak to us (e.g. “My sheep know my voice, they listen and they follow”), to teach us “all things” (1 John 2:27) and to never leave us nor forsake us. In fact, the scripture says that we have been given “everything we need for a godly life” through our knowledge of Him who called us by His own glory and goodness (2 Peter 1:3).
Sadly, even within the church that bears His name there seems to be resistance to the more up-close and personal elements of faith. We seem to be more comfortable with symbolic remembrances of what Jesus did, than with genuine interaction with a “Living God”; more at ease with a systematic understanding than with genuine revelation; more prone to appeal to men through politics/protest than to appeal to the Lord in prayer; more interested in our own prosperity than in genuine transformation into Christ’s likeness; more intent on how to make ourselves attractive to the world than on becoming the “Bride without spot or wrinkle”.
Even those who have been willing to embrace the things of the Spirit often make them more mystical than magnifying. Without Gods personal interaction, symbols are reduced to lifeless idols; evangelism is reduced to church advertising; the “anointing” is reduced to charisma, and the sacraments are reduced to rituals.
When we fail to grasp the personal nature of the relationship that the Lord desires, we unwittingly forfeit the provisions of the “new covenant” that Christ’s perfect sacrifice afforded us. The Apostle Paul chastened the Galatians for this very thing when he said that while they began in the Spirit, they were now reverting back to human effort. Even many of those who embrace the concept that the Lord is restoring the prophetic and apostolic gifts to the church seem to want to do so under some old covenant dispensation.
Jesus said that not everyone who called Him Lord would enter the kingdom of heaven; that to some who had done things in His name, He would say, “I never knew you”. That word “knew” is the same word used in the book of Genesis, when Adam knew Eve, and conceived a son. It speaks of an intimate connection that goes well beyond just knowing about someone.
Paul told the Corinthians that it as we behold the Lord’s glory, with “unveiled faces”, we are transformed into His image (2 Cor. 3:18), which is our ultimate destiny (Rom. 8:29). Hear Him beckoning to you, “Come up here”. Hear the deepest part of His heart calling out to the deepest part of your being. Hear Him knocking at the door, that you might open it and come face to face with the One who is our Savior.
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