Ask for the Spirit, live as Christ.

In Luke 11:13, Jesus said, "how much more will the heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!” Have you considered that before? Did you know that God associates the Holy Spirit with our behavior? In James 4:4-6, He says,

"You adulteresses, do you not know that friendship with the world is hostility toward God? Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God. Or do you think that the Scripture speaks to no purpose: “He jealously desires the Spirit which He has made to dwell in us?"

We have to desire the Spirit more than the world. We can't have both. What do you pray for?

Becoming Someone Different

BQ: I knew of a Christian who became involved in promiscuity and drinking, and just had a hard time assembling with the saints. He got away from frequenting bars, yet still found himself at a bar as often as at assembly.

"For godly sorrow produces repentance leading to salvation...For observe this very thing, that you sorrowed in a godly manner: What diligence it produced in you, what clearing of yourselves, what indignation, what fear, what vehement desire, what zeal, what vindication!" (II Corinthians 7:10-11)

Sometimes it can be hard to shake the image of sin from us, but to start, we have to make radical changes.  If we used to go the the bar three times a week, and got drunk every day, we can't allow ourselves to "just go to the bar once a week." The change has to be so radical that someone meeting us today would never know that we'd ever been like that at all.  

Maintaining Strong Bonds: How to Stop Satan from Dividing and Conquering

Maintaining Bonds

Philippians 2:1-7

Therefore if there is any encouragement in Christ, if there is any consolation of love, if there is any fellowship of the Spirit, if any affection and compassion, 2 make my joy complete by being of the same mind, maintaining the same love, united in spirit, intent on one purpose. 3 Do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit, but with humility of mind regard one another as more important than yourselves; 4 do not merely look out for your own personal interests, but also for the interests of others. 5 Have this attitude in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus, 6 who, although He existed in the form of God, did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped, 7 but emptied Himself, taking the form of a bond-servant, and being made in the likeness of men.

BQ:  Would you kill your family members off one by one because of small differences? As a Christian family, we must never let the world drive us apart. We cannot let petty differences divide us. We must NEVER become embittered against a brother or sister in Christ, because,  “Every kingdom divided against itself is laid waste, and a divided household falls." (Mt 12:25)

Instead, at all times we must be "eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace." (Eph 4:3)   Jesus said, "By this all men will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another." (John 13:35) Instead of looking for a reason to abandon your family, find a reason to cling to them. 

BQ:  Christians need to maintain relationships, because we're an army and a family.  Phil 2:1-2 says, "Therefore if there is any encouragement in Christ, if there is any consolation of love, if there is any fellowship of the Spirit, if any affection and compassion, 2 make my joy complete by being of the same mind, maintaining the same love, united in spirit, intent on one purpose."  How can you do that? How can you always be of the same mind or someone that perhaps you have little fondness for?

The easiest way is to realize that we all have the same commission from Jesus and the same purpose: to go and baptize people and teach them all that He commanded. That person you don't get along with because his sense of humor is weird? He is your battle buddy, and might save your skin one day. 

Apply this to romantic relationships, too. Realize that you MUST have the same mind and purpose, or you will never have complete joy, unity or spirit, encouragement of Christ, affection, compassion, or consolation of love.

BQ: Do you ever see a sister or brother in Christ and not feel like they're really someone you want to fellowship with? God says in Phil 2,  "if there is any fellowship of the Spirit...Do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit, but with humility of mind regard one another as more important than yourselves."  That person that is a little rough around the edges, maybe, don't regard as not good enough yet, but rather as more important than yourself.  Do everything to serve them and help them grow. 

If you're married or going to be married, realize the same thing. You have to regard your spouse or future spouse as more important, and be willing to go the extra mile, serving them and showing sacrificial love. It's a lot easier when you both have the same focus and goal: serving Christ.  If that's true, you'll never feel conflict in being a servant, but rather joy in being a part of an effective team.

BQ: As Christians, we can't let Satan divide us. We MUST remain united. Often we take offense over the coarse actions of a brother or sister or spouse, but we need to take a step back and realize that stumbling does not mean that we have to fall. Philippians 2 says that if we want to be united in spirit, we must, "not merely look out for [our] own personal interests, but also for the interests of others."  
 

Did your spiritual family member hurt your feelings? Don't be bitter. Instead, talk to them and show them how you can look out for his or her interest. Do something kind. Show your love and grace not through mere words, but with actions. It'll reveal the character of Christ, which can do more than anything else to change a person. 

BQ: Philippians 2 tells us that, in order to remain united in spirit, romantically or not, we must, "have this attitude in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus: who, although He existed in the form of God, did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped,  but emptied Himself, taking the form of a bond-servant.

Stick together with those who have the same goals as you. Empty yourself of selfishness and be willing to take on the attitude of a servant. It's one of the hardest things for us to do, and because of that, being a servant is one of the most memorable things, and the most inspiring to others. Lastly, don't think of servants as just those who clean up counters and do dishes. Soldiers serve their country, and are thus servants.  Be a solider in a great army, and never let anyone divide you to wreck your ability to serve God. 

Christian-esque political activism is doomed to fail.

Christian-esque political activism is doomed to fail.

BQ: Lots of Christians want to change the government of our country to one more...well, it varies. But often you'll see them posting anti-Obama rhetoric, or pro-Paul notes. Is this a good solution? 

No. In fact, trying to change America by political machinations, no matter how zealous, will never succeed. To figure out why, we'll start with Daniel 10. In this section, Daniel had a vision and had been praying and fasting for 3 weeks so that he might have more understanding. Eventually, an angel showed up to help him, and said,

"Do not be afraid, Daniel, for from the first day that you set your heart on understanding this and on humbling yourself before your God, your words were heard, and I have come in response to your words. But the prince of the kingdom of Persia was withstanding me for twenty-one days; then behold, Michael, one of the chief princes, came to help me, for I had been left there with the kings of Persia." (12-13)

What we see here is that the governments of the world are backed up by unseen angelic forces. We'll see more on how we know this tomorrow. 







BQ: In Daniel 10, an angel was withstood by "the prince of Persia." Was this prince a physical one? The answer is no. Humans have never been a threat to angels, and the record is that one angel can take down any human or number of humans. Let's look at a couple of examples of the power of just one angel.
 

2 Kings 19:35 says, "Then it happened that night that the angel of the Lord went out and struck 185,000 in the camp of the Assyrians; and when men rose early in the morning, behold, all of them were dead."

1 Chronicles 21:16 recounts an angel appearing after David sinned:

"Then David lifted up his eyes and saw the angel of the Lord standing between earth and heaven, with his drawn sword in his hand stretched out over Jerusalem. Then David and the elders, covered with sackcloth, fell on their faces."

Clearly, the prince withstanding the angel sent to Daniel was an angelic one, not a human one.







BQ: How else do we know that angels (including fallen ones) can be behind world governments? Well, because Satan is one of those mentioned. In Ezekiel 28:13, the king of Tyre is described as having had, "the seal of perfection, full of wisdom and perfect in beauty. You were in Eden, the garden of God."

This is a description of Satan, and shouldn't surprise us, because Satan indicated his power in this world when he told Jesus in reference to the lands spreading forth, "All these I will give you, if you will fall down and worship me.”  (Mt 4:9)

Do you think that getting votes for Prop 28 would have changed the course of a country over which Satan was ruler?  






BQ: So what else do we know about princes of Persia and angels? Eph 3:10 mentions something important, saying, "...so that the manifold wisdom of God might now be made known through the church to the rulers and the authorities in the heavenly places."

Notice that the authorities and rulers do not exist on earth, but rather "in the heavenly places."  And we know from Colossians 2:14 that when Jesus died on the cross, "He had disarmed the rulers and authorities, He made a public display of them, having triumphed over them through Him."
 

Did Jesus disarm Pilate? The Romans? Nope. The rulers and authorities are very much in the heavenly places. Trying to get lots of signatures on a petition attempts to affect the physical nature of reality, not the spiritual, and is doomed to failure. 





BQ: Often Christians try to organize people to vote for some physical candidate, when the truth is that there are angelic forces behind world governments, and these forces can be so strong that heaven's angels even struggle with them. 

As Christians, we must realize that,  "our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places." (Eph 6:12)

If we try to change our country through physical means, like organizing people to vote, we will fail.  All we are influencing is the physical facade, but the spiritual foundation is what must be changed, and that starts not when we try to get people to hate Barack Obama, but when we, "go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit."  (Mt 28:19) 

Swearing, cussing; cursing.

BQ: If a seemingly healthy Christian is prone to swearing when upset, it reveals a sickness beneath the surface. The words we say when upset are often an indicator of our deeper, truer spiritual health. 

No matter how healthy we seem on the outside,  "the mouth speaks out of that which fills the heart.  The good man brings out of his good treasure what is good; and the evil man brings out of his evil treasure what is evil." (Mt 12:34-35)

The truth is, if "from the same mouth come both blessing and cursing...these things ought not to be this way."  (James 3:10-12)  

As soon as Zion travailed, she brought forth her sons.

With thanks to Rio and Miriam, about something that has been on my mind.

I have personally watched Christian friends slip into the world, committing both spiritual suicide with themselves, and spiritual murder with the things they did with others, and encouraged others to do. And those times have been the most painful of my life, bar none.  And those times have been the most painful of my life, bar none. A lot of that pain comes from the pain of knowing what I've been, and the damage I've caused in the past.

Even if you don't personally like the person that much, the pain is devastating, because there is nothing you can do.  You cannot be the conscience for someone who wants his or her conscience to be seared.  Often, these people will apply a veneer of godliness, so that they can look at their fake reality and call it real, but the poison runs deep and is killing them.

What do you do? Do you delete such a person from your life? Do you utterly abandon them?  

I have often done that. I don't think it's right. It was my selfish way of protecting myself from pain. I once encouraged my mother and sister to abandon someone who caused them great pain and tears. They refused.  Instead of letting the person simply get off easy, they were loving but also truthful.  Their efforts were met seemingly forever with rejection and cruelty.

And yet God says, "Those who sow in tears shall reap with shouts of joy!" (Psalms 126:5)

Who wants to sow a field with such effort that it causes them to cry? Isn't it easier to just abandon that plot and more on to easier territory? 

My sister and mom didn't. They sowed in tears. Eventually, the person they loved changed. Hard times came. Rock bottom was hit. This person was abandoned. And suddenly, the person realized that through everything she had done, despite the evil of it, two people were still compassionate. Compassionate despite the way they'd been treated. And indeed, none of the person's actions had been more than passing pleasure.  And in the end, my mother and sister reaped with joyful shouting.

Compare that with two of my own examples. Both times, I saw someone reverting back to their old friends and old ways, including drinking. Both times, I said, "That hurts me and is repulsive behavior. You're otta' my life."  And both these people, now, are fully surrounded by the world, molded into it as a part of it, horrifically deep.  Attempts by me now to say, "Hey, I care about you," have no weight behind them. Because I gave up. Instead of being loving but correcting, I threw away anything, including hope, no matter how small.

Jeremiah 17:7-8 says, "Blessed is the man who trusts in the LORD, whose trust is the LORD. He is like a tree planted by water, that sends out its roots by the stream, and does not fear when heat comes, for its leaves remain green, and is not anxious in the year of drought, for it does not cease to bear fruit." 

Are you like that? If you persist in love, will you not remain green? Are you afraid of the pain, and willing to wilt away from hope and caring? There is only one way to bear fruit, and it is through persistence. 

Sometimes, however, when you are persistent, people will reject you. It happens. As my friend Rio once told me as a wake-up call, and this is paraphrased "Sometimes nothing you do can reach people, and you'll be consumed."  You have to know when that point is, but you can also make the conscious decision to not simply and utterly reject them.

The truth with the person struggling is that we do not know if they will be overcome, or shall overcome.  We cannot make the call with their struggles, or with their future.  We cannot condemn their hearts, but can see their difficulties. 

And more importantly, sometimes people have to hit utter rock bottom. They have to be at the lowest, where the sun does not shine, before they decide they don't want to be in the pit. 

God tells us that a struggle is present, and that it shall not come without weeping. For our struggles, for our help, and for the struggles of others, it is often true that much pain must be endured before we conquer. 

In Isaiah 66:8, God confirms this and says, "Who has heard such a thing? Who has seen such things? Can a land be born in one day? Can a nation be brought forth all at once? As soon as Zion travailed, she also brought forth her sons."

New birth does not come without pain and persistence, but we have to maintain the hope of beautiful things to come. We must have the attitude that we would, "could wish that I myself were accursed, separated from Christ for the sake of my brethren, my kinsmen according to the flesh." (Romans 9:3)

And if you're sad, hurt, and damaged, remember, "Whoever gives thought to the word will discover good, and blessed is he who trusts in the LORD." (Proverbs 16:20)  When you're feeling darkest and down in the dumps, dwell even stronger in the Word.

"Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be frightened, and do not be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.” (Joshua 1:9)

Bottoms up!

BQ: According to the CDC, "Excessive alcohol use led to approximately 88,000 deaths and 2.5 million years of potential life lost (YPLL) each year. Further, excessive drinking was responsible for 1 in 10 deaths among working-age adults aged 20-64 years. The economic costs of excessive alcohol consumption in 2006 were estimated at $223.5 billion."  

That's a pretty staggering bunch of numbers to see! When I worked in EMS, it was always my lot to get the weekend night shifts, which meant dealing with lots of carnage from alcohol. God long ago noted the same thing, using Is 5:11-13 to describe an ancient party scene:  

"Woe to those who...stay up late in the evening that wine may inflame them! Their banquets are accompanied by lyre and harp, by tambourine and flute, and by wine; But they do not pay attention to the deeds of the Lord, Nor do they consider the work of His hands."  

Often people wait until night to start getting really wasted, and it's no surprise—alcohol degrades our ability to function. More important, though, is that alcohol in excess limits our connection to our Lord. If we want to be like Christ, we have to back away from drunkenness.

BQ: Isaiah mentioned an ancient scene of nighttime drunkenness, and it's pretty revealing that often drunkenness, theft, and other such degradation of the human condition occurs at night. I like how Romans 13:13 hints at this, saying, "Let us behave properly as in the day, not in carousing and drunkenness, not in sexual promiscuity and sensuality, not in strife and jealousy."

Often people are simply more apt to behave horribly at night. Why? Because darkness usually conceals the evil, at least in the minds of men. It's better to behave properly, as we would behave if we had an audience observing us in broad daylight! Always be upright.  

BQ: Rock Springs, WY was a hive of scum and villainy at times, at least for those of us working the late-night 911 shifts. One thing interesting about alcohol abuse is that it's often associated with sexual misconduct, too. This isn't anything new, and God noted in Habakkuk 2:15, 

"Woe to you who make your neighbors drink,

Who mix in your venom even to make them drunk

So as to look on their nakedness!"

Rock Springs featured a lot worse than that, but it was true that evil hasn't really changed. I saw a lot of rapes take place, to both men and women, that could only occur because of immersion in a really wretched culture. It's a good thing to stay away from places that feature the likes of what Habakkuk mentions, and worse. 

BQ: Peer pressure is a nasty, nasty thing, and one that we often convince ourselves that we're not susceptible to. What does God say about it? The most concise thing that I've found is Proverbs 1:10, which says, "if sinners entice you, do not consent."

It's really easy to be enticed to sin, and it's often an insidious, dark road to go down, without signposts to warn you how far you've gone. 2 Pet 1:5-7 has the entire way to counter this. Take a look at this full armor against peer pressure:

"Now for this very reason also, applying all diligence, in your faith supply moral excellence, and in your moral excellence, knowledge,  and in your knowledge, self-control, and in your self-control, perseverance, and in your perseverance, godliness,  and in your godliness, brotherly kindness, and in your brotherly kindness, love." 

Notice the compounding nature of what's being mentioned, and look right in the middle at what's featured: self-control. If we give in to peer pressure, we're letting others control us. To fight against peer pressure, start off with diligence, faith, and moral excellence, and build on that foundation.

BQ: I'm still getting around to posting some older BQs, so these are somewhat linear. :) Alcohol and going to the bars is incredibly prevalent and accepted in American society, but does God want it to be a part of Christian culture? That's rhetorical, but let's consider some reasons why.  

Alcohol, and especially bars, have been called a "meat market" by some. It lowers our inhibitions and puts us in contact with people who are doing the same; it destroys our judgment and can alter our lives forever. In Gen 19, Lot would never have committed incest if he had not been drunk, yet because he was wasted, he did, "and he did not know when she lay down or when she arose." 

While all sin is sin, some sins can carry more permanent physical consequences. Sexual misconduct associated with alcohol and social drinking can wreck a person for a lifetime; when accompanied with driving, it can take innocent lives as well.

BQ: We've seen that alcohol perverts judgment, but Satan's done a lot of work to make it seem like a normal part of life, even to Christians—surely hanging out a bar and drinking a bit doesn't really hurt anyone, right?   One thing that's being missed is what God says that alcohol does to your heart (that is, the core of your very being). 

Proverbs 23:33 says, "Your eyes will see strange things, And your heart will utter perverse things." Sometimes we try to write off drinking as "not that bad," but the fact is, it utterly destroys people from the inside out; it perverts the heart first and destroys from there. I know one man who doesn't drink, but goes to the bars. I asked him why and he said (paraphrased), "Because it's easier to take women that way, and you can take whatever woman you want, especially if you're not toasted and she is." He went on to tell me, "Those type of girls are good for a "cuddle," but aren't made to be wives, alcohol ruins them."  The sad thing is, alcohol can so ruin a person that not even a well-collected scuzzbucket wants anything to do with him or her. As Christians, we need to avoid perversion of the heart, and that means we need to avoid the alcohol scene. 

BQ: We saw that alcohol causes the heart to become perverted, and that's really not uncommon knowledge. People drink and drive, killing people and/or themselves, spend away all their money, and ruin marriages and relationships, all for another drink. When you meet someone who likes alcohol, it can be a horrific struggle for him or her to overcome. Often, they're dependent on it.

God warns us to be "not given to wine," in 1 Tim 3:3, yet for someone who likes their booze, they often wake up to say, "I will seek it again." (Pro 23:35) 

BQ:  Proverbs 23:35 says those who drinking steadily say, "When shall I awake, that I may seek another drink?”  Without alcohol, a core part of their lives are gone. What's wrong, though, with seeking a drink?

The problem is in what they're seeking. A song says, "Savior, in my joy or sorrow, I will ever go to Thee," and this sentiment is reflected in Phil 4:11-13 and several other passages of scripture. Compare that with someone who really enjoys alcohol. When they get off work, they go to the bottle instead of the Bible. In sadness they may seek a bar instead of their Christian family. If they want to be joyful, they may head out to party or bonfire with plenrt of beer instead of going to spiritually build someone up. The entire core of the heart gains a slight perversion as Proverbs 23:33 mentions, like water with oil on top.

BQ: Ultimately, alcohol destroys lives, marriages, and the heart.  God sums up his opinion on recreational drug use (and alcohol is a potent drug) by saying, "Therefore let us not sleep, as others do, but let us watch and be sober." (1 Thess 5:6) We're in an army, and the devil is prowling about. If we're hooked on booze, we're easy prey.

If you have a chance to go out to a bar, think of something which will build Christ's body up instead. If you have a chance to get wasted in your own home, call a brother or sister and do something else. Have a Bible study, go appreciate the world God has created, or do something else productive. No matter what, though, "Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour." 1 Pet 5:8

Slipping back into bad habits.

BQ: What do you do if you're around those still captive to Satan and they're busy engaging in things that are evil? It's often tempting for us to think, "Man, I've got this. I won't stoop to that level," but what advice does God give us?

A: "A prudent man sees evil and hides himself, The naive proceed and pay the penalty. (Pro 27:12) 1 Cor 15:33 says the same, "Do not be deceived: "Bad company corrupts good morals."

When we lead ourselves to believe that we're impervious to spiritual danger, we only expose ourselves as being naive. Instead of choosing bad company, choose to hang around with those who will make you stronger!




BQ:  There's a book by Dr. Seuss called, "Marvin K. Mooney Will You Please Go Now?"  It has lines like, "The time has come, the time is now, Marvin K. Mooney will you please go now?" God has a similar plea to us throughout the Bible. People always want to delay putting off worldliness, yet God always  asks that we do it soon! Why? Because,

"Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go to such and such a city, and spend a year there and engage in business and make a profit.” 14 Yet you do not know what your life will be like tomorrow. You are just a vapor that appears for a little while and then vanishes away." (James 4:13-14)

Putting off changing assumes that we'll always have time to change in the future, but we don't know which moment will be the last future moment for us. Old, dead sinner, will you please go now? 







BQ:  Sometimes people become Christians and then decide that they can indulge in some bad habits, especially if they're not "too bad," as long as they don't go back into sinning "hardcore."  How does God feel about this? 

A: "But now that you have come to know God, or rather to be known by God, how is it that you turn back again to the weak and worthless elemental things, to which you desire to be enslaved all over again?" (Gal 4:9)

When we start that downhill slide, it's showing a desire to be enslaved again by Satan, so it's critical to not even step foot on that slippery slope. 






BQ: As a Christian, it's important to not return to worldliness. God's chosen people, the Israelites, repeatedly did this in the Old Testament, leading God to say such things as, "You too have done evil, even more than your forefathers; for behold, you are each one walking according to the stubbornness of his own evil heart, without listening to Me." (Jer 16:12)

Often when we return to worldliness, it's a sign of our own stubbornness, which is a shame, because we could be stubborn for God as opposed to against Him. God always reminds us to avoid evil, and He explains that going back to the world after finding Him is a chancy thing to do.  "For if, after they have escaped the defilements of the world by the knowledge of the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, they are again entangled in them and are overcome, the last state has become worse for them than the first."  (2 Pet 2:20) When you play with fire, it's easy to get burned. The "oh duh, Lucas," solution is not to play with fire at all!





BQ:  We've looked at slipping back into worldliness, and 2 Tim 3:13 is actually very much related to this sort of topic. It says, "But evil men and impostors will proceed from bad to worse, deceiving and being deceived." 

At first glance, this is only talking about evil men and fakes, right? The thing is, when we claim to be Christian, yet act like the world, what exactly does that make us? Yep! Fakes. Impostors. We end up both deceiving and being deceived, instead of edifying others and being edified. God ends up describing this sort of person as one whose "silver has become dross," whose "drink diluted with water." (Is 1:22)  

We all need to be very careful to avoid being cheap imitations of the real thing! 

A look at alcohol use and social drinking.

BQ: I've been studying drinking alcohol in the Bible and how it's viewed. So right off the bat, does God ever condone drinking alcohol?

The answer is, "yes." 1 Tim 5:23 points out that it was used for medicinal purposes back in the day, saying, "No longer drink only water, but use a little wine for your stomach’s sake and your frequent infirmities."  

Notice that even here, where alcohol was approved, that only a "little wine" was called for. Tomorrow: how about a lot?



BQ: So what if we want to have a LOT of alcohol to liven things up? What does God say about that? (Hint: humanity has a big problem with this, so there're a lot of passages dealing with it, and I won't spend 15 pages on this one topic!)

A: First a brief look at the Old Testament: Isa 5:22; 28:7 "Woe to men mighty at drinking wine, Woe to men valiant for mixing intoxicating drink." "But they also have erred through wine, And through intoxicating drink are out of the way."

"No priest shall drink wine when he enters the inner court." (Eze 44:21; if you're familiar with types and anti-types and who priests are today, this should be noteworthy.)
 

"Who has woe? Who has sorrow? Who has contentions? Who has complaints? Who has wounds without cause? Who has redness of eyes? Those who linger long at the wine, Those who go in search of mixed wine." (Pro 23:29-30)

Meanwhile, in the New Testament, Romans 13:13, Galatians 5:21, and many other places say things like, "drunkenness, revelries, and the like; of which I tell you beforehand, just as I also told you in time past, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God."

Drunkenness, we can see, has never been something of which God has approved, and the practice of it prevents us from being a part of the Kingdom. 




BQ: Today we'll look at how the Bible makes comparisons between being sober and being drunk. 

"Therefore let us not sleep, as others do, but let us watch and be sober.  For those who sleep, sleep at night, and those who get drunk are drunk at night. But let us who are of the day be sober, putting on the breastplate of faith and love, and as a helmet the hope of salvation." (1 Thess 5:6-8)

"Let us walk properly, as in the day, not in revelry and drunkenness, not in lewdness and lust, not in strife and envy." (Rom 13:13)

In the above passages, God makes clear the divide between being drunk and being sober. If we're drunk, we can't even put our spiritual armor on. If we want to be children of light, we can't indulge in drunkenness.




BQ:  Yesterday we saw that God made a comparison between those who are drunk and those who aren't. Why is it important to have the spiritual armor on all the time, and what other comparison does God make? 

A: "Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour." (1 Pet 5:8) God also warns us, "And do not be drunk with wine, in which is dissipation; but be filled with the Spirit." (Eph 5:18)

If you're out getting drunk with your friends, you spiritual armor is off, and Satan is more than capable of seeing the opportunity to lay you low. Not only that, God says that drunkenness is opposed to the Spirit. We can be filled with either alcohol or the Holy Spirit, but not both. Which would you choose? Do you keep your armor on?




BQ: In looking at drinking, we have to look at social drinking, especially, as it's brought up quite a few times in the Bible. As Christians, we've seen that we need to be watchful for ourselves, since Satan is roaring around, and we need to wear our armor, but there's more—we need to avoid drunkenness so that we can help others. 
 

1 Pet 4:3 shows some of the problems associated with alcohol: "For the time that is past suffices for doing what the Gentiles want to do, living in sensuality, passions, drunkenness, orgies, drinking parties, and lawless idolatry." 

For a long time, humans have enjoyed social drinking, and there are almost always piles of problems that go with that. In my own high school we had people dying and getting pregnant from a little "loosening up." While it can be tempting to go out partying every now and then, God warns us to, " nor drink wine nor do anything by which your brother stumbles or is offended or is made weak."  (Rom 14:21)

If social drinking is something you've really enjoyed, realize that it's time to put it in the past and move on to the things of light! 




BQ: Yesterday we saw that drinking is something that we need to keep in the past, that it leads to bad things, and quite importantly, that it reduces a Christian's influence for Christ. Today I've been looking at how shepherds in the assemblies are told to be above reproach so that they can be more effective leaders, and I thought it was very interesting that they and their wives are told:

"Likewise deacons must be reverent, not double-tongued, not near to wine, not greedy for money;  Likewise, their wives must be reverent, not slanderers, temperate, faithful in all things." (1 Tim 3:8;11) 

It is interesting to note that the original Greek uses wording in 1 Tim that includes "nephalion" and "me paroinos." While I'm not using this as a topic for a word study, these words mean "not near [as in associated with] wine," and "abstinent from wine." Being associated with wine could be something like being an evangelist and having pictures of yourself on facebook at a bar with a alcohol in your hand. Even if you didn't get drunk, it inhibits your ability to be above reproach, which decreases your ability to reach people spiritually. 



BQ: Yesterday we saw that spiritual leaders need to avoid being associated with alcohol use, but why exactly, is that?

"Therefore, preparing your minds for action, and being sober-minded, set your hope fully on the grace that will be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ."  (1 Pet 1:13) Here the words "nephontes" and "teleios" are employed, which combined mean to be "completely sober." 

If we choose to be completely sober, we'll  always be ready for action, we'll always be fully equipped with our armor, and we'll be filled with the Spirit, who aids us in battle. If we choose not to be sober, the opposite is true. 




BQ: For a last look at drunkenness, we'll consider that it can be tempting to say that we're going out drinking in order to have an opportunity to evangelize. What does God say about this?

 1 Cor 15:33-34 "Do not be deceived: “Bad company ruins good morals.”Wake up from your drunken stupor, as is right, and do not go on sinning. For some have no knowledge of God. I say this to your shame."

God, knowing how we are, addresses this very situation. Choosing to involve ourselves in drinking to "win" people merely loses ourselves and is a continuation of sin. It's hard to win people when we start fitting the mold of Isaiah 19:14, "As a drunken man staggers in his vomit." 

Instead of being like that, let's aim to "be blameless; sober minded; not near to wine." (1 Tim 3:2) It's better to be out winning souls than winning beer pong! 

Has god changed His mind on homosexuality and sin?

“Missoula’s Holy Spirit Episcopal Church to bless same-sex couples.”

That’s a headline today in a Montanan newspaper (link at bottom). This is following in the steps of “bishop” Marc Andrus of California, who said the following:

“Gay marriage is marriage, and gay parents are parents, for all people are people. This is the truth that this city has long proclaimed, and for which our leaders have risked all, and have paid the price of courage. The light of those martyrs lives shines forth still, and we stand on their luminous mountain of witness…

And here at Grace Cathedral and in the Diocese of California we will be joyfully uniting, again, couples in marriage whose only qualification is love of each other and the desire to be married before God and in the face of our communities of faith.”

In the article, the following relevant passages stood out to me:

“A Missoula Episcopal church is one of the first three in Montana to approve a new blessing for same-sex unions. “The main thing here is that it’s a step forward after years of talking about it,” said the Rev. Terri Ann Grotzinger, priest at Holy Spirit Episcopal Church.

Holy Spirit, located on South Sixth Street East, has been a leader during important transitions before, she added. In the 1980s, it was the first Episcopal church in Missoula to hire a woman in an ordained role.

Under provisions decided by each diocese’s bishop, the Missoula church began the decision process with weekly education sessions, discussions and numerous opportunities for feedback. 

In the end, about 88 percent of congregation members who responded said yes, while 10 percent said no, and 2 percent said it didn’t matter either way, said Bob Wattenberg, senior warden on the vestry. 

After an open vestry meeting in early December, the board voted unanimously to approve the blessing, with one of its 14 voting members absent, Wattenberg said. The vote reflects the congregation’s desire to be inclusive and to respect differences, Grotzinger said.”

We should note a few quick things as a matter of housekeeping. First off, this organization is not at all set up as God set forth in the books of Acts, Timothy, and Titus, to name a few. Secondly, no where does God say to take steps forward and away from His word. And as a last note, we certainly do not change what God says by holding a vote on it. 
  

While I don’t want to devote all of this note to discussing the Greek and Aramaic terms, the following passages from God’s word discuss homosexuality and other aspects of humanity which miss the mark that God has set forth for us. Please consider them, and afterwards I’ll discuss a little bit of the confusion and distortion that takes place, even among Christians.   

• Genesis 19:4-5; 13 "Now before they lay down, the men of the city, the men of Sodom, both old and young, all the people from every quarter, surrounded the house. And they called to Lot and said to him, "Where are the men who came to you tonight? Bring them out to us that we may know them carnally." ... "For we will destroy this place, because the outcry against them has grown great before the face of the LORD, and the LORD has sent us to destroy it." 
   
• Leviticus 18:22 "You shall not lie with a male as with a woman. It is an abomination." 
   
• Leviticus 20:13 "If a man lies with a male as he lies with a woman, both of them have committed an abomination. They shall surely be put to death. Their blood shall be upon them." 
   
• Deuteronomy 23:17-18 "There shall be no ritual harlot of the daughters of Israel, or a perverted one of the sons of Israel. You shall not bring the wages of a harlot or the price of a dog to the house of the LORD your God for any vowed offering, for both of these are an abomination to the LORD your God." 
   
• Deuteronomy 29:23 "The whole land is brimstone, salt, and burning; it is not sown, nor does it bear, nor does any grass grow there, like the overthrow of Sodom and Gomorrah, Admah, and Zeboim, which the LORD overthrew in His anger and His wrath." 
   
• Judges 19:22-24 "As they were enjoying themselves, suddenly certain men of the city, perverted men, surrounded the house and beat on the door. They spoke to the master of the house, the old man, saying, "Bring out the man who came to your house, that we may know him carnally!" But the man, the master of the house, went out to them and said to them, "No, my brethren! I beg you, do not act so wickedly! Seeing this man has come into my house, do not commit this outrage. Look, here is my virgin daughter and the man's concubine; let me bring them out now. Humble them, and do with them as you please; but to this man do not do such a vile thing!" 
   
• 1 Kings 14:24 "And there were also perverted persons in the land. They did according to all the abominations of the nations which the LORD had cast out before the children of Israel." 
   
• 1 Kings 15:12 "And he banished the perverted persons from the land, and removed all the idols that his fathers had made." 
   
• 1 Kings 22:46 "And the rest of the perverted persons, who remained in the days of his father Asa, he banished from the land."  
   
• 2 Kings 23:7 "Then he tore down the ritual booths of the perverted persons that were in the house of the LORD, where the women wove hangings for the wooden image." 
   
• Isaiah 3:9 "The look on their countenance witnesses against them, And they declare their sin as Sodom; They do not hide it. Woe to their soul! For they have brought evil upon themselves." 
   
• Jeremiah 23:14 "Also I have seen a horrible thing in the prophets of Jerusalem: They commit adultery and walk in lies; They also strengthen the hands of evildoers, So that no one turns back from his wickedness. All of them are like Sodom to Me, And her inhabitants like Gomorrah." 
   
• Lamentations 4:6 "The punishment of the iniquity of the daughter of my people Is greater than the punishment of the sin of Sodom, Which was overthrown in a moment, With no hand to help her!" 
   
• Ezekiel 16:46-50 "Your elder sister is Samaria, who dwells with her daughters to the north of you; and your younger sister, who dwells to the south of you, is Sodom and her daughters. You did not walk in their ways nor act according to their abominations; but, as if that were too little, you became more corrupt than they in all your ways. As I live, says the Lord GOD, neither your sister Sodom nor her daughters have done as you and your daughters have done. Look, this was the iniquity of your sister Sodom: She and her daughter had pride, fullness of food, and abundance of idleness; neither did she strengthen the hand of the poor and needy. And they were haughty and committed abomination before Me; therefore I took them away as I saw fit." 
   
• Luke 10:12 "But I say to you that it will be more tolerable in that Day for Sodom than for that city." 
   
• Luke 17:29 "but on the day that Lot went out of Sodom it rained fire and brimstone from heaven and destroyed them all." 
   
• Romans 1:26-27 "For this reason God gave them up to vile passions. For even their women exchanged the natural use for what is against nature. Likewise also the men, leaving the natural use of the woman, burned in their lust for one another, men with men committing what is shameful, and receiving in themselves the penalty of their error which was due." 
   
• 1 Corinthians 6:9-11 "Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived. Neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor homosexuals, nor sodomites, nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners will inherit the kingdom of God. And such were some of you. But you were washed, but you were sanctified, but you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus and by the Spirit of our God." 
   
• 1 Timothy 1:9-11 "knowing this: that the law is not made for a righteous person, but for the lawless and insubordinate, for the ungodly and for sinners, for the unholy and profane, for murderers of fathers and murderers of mothers, for manslayers, for fornicators, for sodomites, for kidnappers, for liars, for perjurers, and if there is any other thing that is contrary to sound doctrine, according to the glorious gospel of the blessed God which was committed to my trust." 
   
• Jude 6-7 "And the angels who did not keep their proper domain, but left their own abode, He has reserved in everlasting chains under darkness for the judgment of the great day; as Sodom and Gomorrah, and the cities around them in a similar manner to these, having given themselves over to sexual immorality and gone after strange flesh, are set forth as an example, suffering the vengeance of eternal fire." 
   

God's Word has not changed.  You can go and look all of that up. Do you wonder if God has maybe shifted his opinions as humans have shifted theirs? He hasn’t, and says that there is no variation nor shifting shadow with Him. (Jms 1:17) The Bible describes homosexuality as a perversion of God's design for human sexuality that has devastating physical, emotional, and spiritual consequences. 

God speaks a lot on the reason for this. In homosexual relationships, one partner fulfills the role of the woman, and the other the man. Look at lesbians. Does the term "butch" ring a bell? Even in perversion, God's intention remains the best, so homosexuality attempts to make a poor copy of it. God made woman as a "suitable helpmate" for man. She should complete the man, and the man her. The man should be the leader, and the woman the support for him. Together this relationship mimics that of Christ and His bride, the church  (Eph 5:22-32). On the other hand, as we saw above, God has always considered homosexuality to be missing the mark He set forth. 

Often people will discuss gay "love," as “bishop” Andrus did, but it is not love in the way God defines it as,  love "does not rejoice in iniquity, but rejoices in the truth" (I Corinthians 13:6).  God defines homosexuality as sin (harmatia, an archery term meaning "to miss the mark). Since homosexuality is sin, any “love” between homosexuals is missing this essential quality, and is only “love” as humans are defining it, not as God defines the term. A person in love wants the best for the object of his/her love. Since sin harms a person and ultimately leads to spiritual death, we cannot truly love a person while encouraging him/her to remain in sin. 

Bishop Andrus said that “marriage is marriage,” regardless of whether or not it was between a man and woman or same-sex couples.  While Andrus may say this, God doesn’t agree with him, and defines marriage only as between a man and his wife, saying in Matthew 19:4-6, “At the beginning the Creator 'made them male and female,’ and said, 'For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh’ …So they are no longer two, but one.  Therefore what God has joined together, let man not separate." 

Concerning those who are "Christians" and condone homosexuality, God says of their attitudes, "Who, knowing the righteous judgment of God, that those who practice such things are deserving of death, not only do the same but also approve of those who practice them" (Romans 1:32). Approving of the practice, God says, leads to eternal death. Why? Read Ezekiel 3 and 33. We need to be rescuing and warning the dying of where their paths are leading them. If we do not, God says that we are watchmen who have willingly failed in our duties and are guilty of their blood.  

God goes on to say, in 1 Cor 5, that true Christians must remove from themselves those who approve of such things. References verses 9-13, which say, "I wrote you in my letter not to associate with immoral people; I did not at all mean with the immoral people of this world, or with the covetous and swindlers, or with idolaters, for then you would have to go out of the world. But actually, I wrote to you not to associate with any so-called brother if he is an immoral person, or covetous, or an idolater, or a reviler, or a drunkard, or a swindler—not even to eat with such a one.  For what have I to do with judging outsiders? Do you not judge those who are within the church? But those who are outside, God judges. Remove the wicked man from among yourselves."  

Some Christians claim that homosexuality is acceptable now, given the cultural shift, and that God would approve these days. They ignore all the Bible says. God condemns such teachings, saying, "Every plant, which my heavenly Father hath not planted, shall be rooted up. Let them alone: they are blind leaders of the blind. And if the blind lead the blind, both shall fall into the ditch" (Matthew 15:13-14). The Psalmist wrote in Psalm 119:89 - "Forever, O Lord, your word is settled in heaven."  These people want to be friends with the world, but remember what James says in 4:4, "Adulterers and adulteresses! Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Whoever therefore wants to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God." 

So, the Bible unequivocally describes homosexuality as sin. It is a sin against God (Jude 7), the home (Genesis 2:18-25), self (I Timothy 1:10) and society (Romans 1:18-32, esp. vss. 26-27). The reality of this truth to every Bible-believing person is too obvious to belabor. Homosexuals, unless they repent, shall not inherit the kingdom of heaven (I Corinthians 6:9-11).  

A couple of last things, however. Notice in the verses that I mentioned that God lumps homosexuality in with those who sleep around, drunks, thieves, etc. They are not to be sought out for hatred; they are not to be reviled when encountered. There is nothing worse than to act violently and unlovingly toward any person held captive by sin.  People who practice sin are the sickest spiritual patients and, if they are to recover, need the most love.  They have the same chance as all to repent. It is our job to lovingly help them, but we cannot pretend that they are not in danger. The first step is to admit that there is a problem, and that problem is primarily sin, which separates man from God. 

Sadly, we can expect more and more Christians to support homosexuality, fornication, drunkenness, etc. I know a ton who do and they call themselves Christians, yet act just as the world acts. God tells us to expect this behavior saying in 2 Tim 4, "For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but wanting to have their ears tickled, they will accumulate for themselves teachers in accordance to their own desires, and will turn away their ears from the truth and will turn aside to myths.  But you, be sober in all things, endure hardship." Consensus does not equal truth. It’s tough, but we are to be lights in the world, which means that we have to look different than those around us. 

In the meantime, here’s what you can do: 

1. Be informed. 
2. Study the Bible about these subjects. 
3. Pray and fast. 
4. Teach the truth to all who will listen. 
5. Never grow weary of doing good. 

http://missoulian.com/news/local/missoula-s-holy-spirit-episcopal-church-to-bless-same-sex/article_0f911a52-937f-11e3-8dde-0019bb2963f4.html

The importance of fellowship.

Importance of Fellowship
BQ: Is fellowship important? This deserves MUCH more, so it'll DEFINITELY be a subject of a note in the future!  Thanks Shannon Ashley Musick! This is awesome.

A: Heb 10:25 “not forsaking our own assembling together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another; and all the more as you see the day drawing near.” Prov 27:17 “Iron sharpens iron, So one man sharpens another.”

For you to look up: Eccles 4:9-12, Eph 4:11-16, Mt 18:20, 1 Cor 10:16-17, Eph 5:19-21, 1 Cor 12:14, Gal 3:28

Attendance problems are often a sign of a deeper problem—a problem where Satan's playplace is more appealing than being held up out of it by our brothers and sisters in Christ. It's usually the first sign that we're moving back into the world.

My brother Jerod Schaefer said, "If you think you can do the things you used to do and get away with it...you are SO wrong. And you are gambling your soul, and if you have kids, you're gambling theirs, too." If we let the world be our home, we lose the kingdom. Fellowship is critical. Absolutely critical.
(PN7)

All in!

BQ: We know that we're to be good examples, yet sometimes we just don't want to really pull through and submit. We want to have our salvation and cling to our transgressions, pretending that we're doin' the best we can, and maybe, if we ignore it and squint a little, it'll be OK.

Here's the question: Can we hang on to the ways of the world and make it?

There's a lot here, because it’s important, but consider the following verses:
James 1:8 & 4:4,
1 Pet 4:1-3,
Col 1:21-23,
Matthew 6:24,
Galatians 2:20 & 5:24

We must be all in or all out.