The Real Deal

"Trust in the LORD
with all your heart
and lean not on your own understanding.
In all your ways acknowledge Him,
and He will make your paths straight.
Do not be wise in your own eyes;
fear the LORD and shun evil.
This will bring health to your body
and nourishment to your bones."
(Proverbs 3:5-8)

I wavered before publishing today's post. I prayed. And prayed some more. For my purpose at "Fan into Flame" is to focus on the Lord and to reflect Him through the living waters of His Word.

My worldview is eternal: Bible-based, Jesus-focused, and Holy Spirit-driven. I believe that the common denominator behind all of our societal ills is a failure to live, work, serve, and govern for Him and through Him. (Reference Ephesians 6:7-8). "Blessed is the nation whose God is the LORD ..." (Psalm 33:12) and/but "... the nation or kingdom that will not serve (Him) will perish; it will be utterly ruined." (Isaiah 60:12).

Therefore, although I am aware of all (well, most!) of the issues with the potential to affect and effect our country and our world, I tend not to latch on to individual causes or trends. As I watch the unfolding of the ever-increasing evil in our world, however, I find myself increasingly alarmed at the true state of our nation. I discern our presidential administration to be dangerous, reckless, and, frankly, indifferent to (and ignorant of) the true long-term best interests of Americans.

While I am not an alarmist, I consider the currently proposed health care bill, for example, to be dangerous, in more ways than one, and I believe this address from former president Ronald Reagan, posted by the American Family Association (AFA), to be unfortunately prophetic.

On another level, I am watching the rapid weakening of Christ's Body, the Church. Dismay follows dismay as I witness individual Christians making seemingly benign but truly dangerous choices, such investing in the current secular book and movie sensation, Twilight. Some say it's "just" a love story ... except, of course, for the vampires. Others attempt to justify it by saying that it contains redeemable material and life lessons. Whatever.

I say it is evil and birthed by the father of lies (reference John 8:44), the same liar who craftily preyed upon Eve in the Garden of Eden--not blatantly denying the Lord's instructions to the first of His creation but subtly defying them. "Did God really say 'You must not eat from any tree in the garden.' ?" (reference Genesis 3:1; my highlighted emphasis) satan murmured, thereby omitting facts, creating doubt, and inciting rebellion against the Holy God and Creator.

"Did God really say (fill in the blank)?"

"Did He really?"

"Really?"

The enemy asks: "Did God really say ... that a government shouldn't decide what is best for the people?"

I respond: "God says, " 'I am the LORD your God, Who teaches you what is best for you, Who directs you in the way you should go.' " " (Isaiah 48:17; reference also Isaiah 58:11; Psalm 32:8).

The enemy asks: "Did God really say ... that you couldn't enjoy a little fictional love story?"

I respond: "God says, "... whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable--if anything is excellent or praiseworthy--think about such things." " (Philippians 4:8).

There's not enough time and space here to refute all the lies the enemy plants. But, the ammunition is all contained in God's Word, the Holy Bible. When tempted by the enemy during His 40 days in the wilderness, Jesus' winning weapon was the Word of God (reference Matthew 4:1-11; Luke 4:1-13). Our must be the same.

"Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God." (Ephesians 6:17). "For the word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart. Nothing in all creation is hidden from God's sight. Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of Him to Whom we must give account." (Hebrews 4:12-13).

God doesn't compromise His righteousness. God doesn't weaken His justice. God doesn't play favorites.

To truly honor, glorify, and please Him, we must choose to speak out and stand up. He demands that all things (and all people) devoted to destruction within His Body be identified and removed (reference, among others, Joshua 7:12-13; 1 Corinthians 5).

The enemy's plays may change, but his game remains the same: to undermine the one and only Most High God. Our individual, national, and international defense (and offense!) is also unchanging: to stand firm and straight upon the Word of the Lord.

"... Jesus said, 'If you hold to My teaching, you are really My disciples.' " (John 8:31)

"I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting the One Who called you by the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel--which is really no gospel at all. Evidently some people are throwing you into confusion and are trying to pervert the gospel of Christ." (Galatians 1:6-7)

"For now we really live, since you are standing firm in the Lord." (1 Thessalonians 3:8)

"Dear children, this is the last hour; and as you have heard that the antichrist is coming, even now many antichrists have come. This is how we know it is the last hour. They went out from us, but they did not really belong to us. ..." (1 John 2:18-19)

"... the reality, however, is found in Christ." (Colossians 2:17)

He's the Truth, the whole Truth, and nothing but the Truth (reference John 1:17, 5:19, 14:6, 18:37; Ephesians 4:21; 1 Timothy 4:6; Titus 1:1; 1 John 5:6; 2 John 1:3). He's the real deal. Really.

Precious Father, You are holy, righteous, and blameless. Forgive us for failing to honor You in our every thought, word, and deed. Purify our hearts and our minds, O Lord, and align them with Yours. "Create in [us] a clean heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within [us]." (Psalm 51:10). Let us meditate on Your Word as our unfailing plumbline and our unending delight (reference Psalm 119). Let us view one another in love, seeing all people as You created them to be, but never let us compromise Your standards in the process. I pray, Precious Father, in the name of Your Son, Jesus Christ, "the Author and Perfecter of our faith" (reference Hebrews 12:2). Amen.

"... let the one who has My Word
speak it faithfully."
(Jeremiah 23:28)

For further reflection on this topic, see also ...

• "Calculating Correct Change"
• "Wishing Well: Be Careful What You Wish For"
• "Unmasking & Illuminating Halloween: Trick or Treat?"
• "Rising Waters"
• "Believer or Deceiver?"
• "Fools for Christ"
• "A Battle Rages; Stand Firm!"
• 
  

How can I encourage and pray for you today? Please let me know by clicking on "Sparks Share" at the end of today's reflection, and scroll down to the "Comments" box. You may choose to comment anonymously, if you prefer. Feel free to leave your praises and insights as well!

Fools for Christ

" We are fools for Christ ...
For the message of the cross
is foolishness
to those who are perishing,
but to us
who are being saved
it is the power of God."
(1 Corinthians 4:10; 1:18)
Today is April Fool's Day. I don't know the origin of this day, nor do I know why we are supposed to randomly trick, fool, and prank each other. Quite frankly, I do not really care to know because today, I am finding the state of the world around me to be no laughing matter.

I had not intended to write today, but the Lord gave me an assignment this morning, so I am obediently and expectantly sitting down to my keyboard.

My mind is swimming with knowledge that I wish I didn't possess today ... bits and pieces of others' broken lives are swirling around in my head. Death. Disease. Deception. Dissension. Details of things I wish I didn't know. Desperations that I wish I could relieve. Serious things. Life-and-death things. Heaven-or-hell kind of things.

And, in the midst of the burdens that I carry for these others--some of whom I know and some of whom I have never met--, I am feeling rather impatient with the foolishness of the world ... and many in it. Today, I am not in the mood to gladly suffer fools.

Yesterday morning, the Lord led me to Scriptures about wisdom and discernment, and I ended up in an online dialog with someone--whom I do not know--who did not appreciate my Christian views. After the fact, I received some information that explained her extreme vitriol. During the course of our brief communication, my spirit properly responded in love, but my heart cried out, "Is this the way you repay the LORD, O foolish and unwise people? Is He not your Father, your Creator, Who made you and formed you?" (Deuteronomy 32:6). Probably didn't help that just prior to this dialog, I learned that a friend's infant daughter died in the night of a brain hemorrhage after a valiant battle with a whole host of health issues. The entire few months of her precious life was spent in the hospital. Her family's faith was unshakeable through the unimaginable trial, and their witness for Christ, even in her death, revealed the depth of His love that dwells within them.

And, as I sit this morning, praying for the Lord to guide the writing of this humble servant, I am transfixed between the faith of those who remain firmly fixed in Christ, unflinching in the fire, (reference Daniel 3) and the foolishness of those who ... well, who don't. This morning, the Lord has me meditating on Scriptures about fools and foolishness, and, beloved, I. am. NOT. amused.

We're all foolish from time to time. I think of Samson (reference Judges 16), the strong man whose one weakness cost him greatly, even though he was set apart by the Lord from birth. I think of Moses, the chosen leader whose momentary lapse of wisdom cost him permission to enter the promised land, even though he otherwise faithfully obeyed the Lord all of his life (reference Numbers 20). I think of David, whose indiscretion and subsequent cover-up created heartache and pain for himself and for others, even though he was a divinely anointed man after God's own heart (reference Acts 13:22).

Our repentance restores our relationship with God, and the Lord uses the faithful in spite of our foolishness, but precious ones, my heart is most burdened today for those who are imprudently abandoning Him altogether. "The fool says in his heart, 'There is no God.' " (Psalm 14:1a).

Time is short, my friends. Earthly, temporal pleasures and pursuits are meaningless, even if our intentions are good and our causes are noble (reference Ecclesiastes). Our earthly focus must remain on our eternal future; there is no time for judgment lapses or journey languishes. " 'For the waywardness of the simple will kill them, and the complacency of fools will destroy them; but whoever listens to Me will live in safety and be at ease, without fear of harm.' " (Proverbs 1:32-33).

" 'My people are fools,' says the Lord in Jeremiah 4:22. "They do not know Me. They are senseless children; they have no understanding.' " Jeremiah responds, "O LORD, do not Your eyes look for truth? You struck them, but they felt no pain; You crushed them, but they refused correction. They made their faces harder than stone and refused to repent. I thought, 'These are only the poor; they are foolish, for they do not know the way of the LORD, so I will go to the leaders and speak to them; surely they know the way of the LORD, the requirements of their God.' But with one accord they too had broken off the yoke and torn off the bonds." (5:3-5). See the rest of Jeremiah, as well the other Old Testaments prophets, for the consequences of that uniform--and high-ranking--folly and indifference.

" 'Therefore everyone who hears these words of Mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the Rock. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the Rock. But everyone who hears these words of Mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell with a great crash.' " (Matthew 7:24-27; see also Luke 6:47-49).

" 'At that time the kingdom of heaven will be like ten virgins who took their lamps and went out to meet the Bridegroom. Five of them were foolish and five were wise. The foolish ones took their lamps but did not take any oil with them. The wise, however, took oil in jars along with their lamps. The Bridegroom was a long time in coming, and they all became drowsy and fell asleep. At midnight the cry rang out: 'Here's the Bridegroom! Come out to meet Him!' Then all the virgins woke up and trimmed their lamps. The foolish ones said to the wise, 'Give us some of your oil; our lamps are going out.' 'No,' they replied, 'there may not be enough for both us and you. Instead, go to those who sell oil and buy some for yourselves.' But while they were on their way to buy the oil, the Bridegroom arrived. The virgins who were ready went in with Him to the wedding banquet. And the door was shut. Later the others also came. 'Sir! Sir!' they said. 'Open the door for us!' But He replied, 'I tell you the truth, I don't know you.' Therefore keep watch, because you do not know the day or the hour.' " (Matthew 25:1-13).

"The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of men who suppress the Truth by their wickedness, since what may be known about God is plain to them, because God has made it plain to them. For since the creation of the world God's invisible qualities--His eternal power and divine nature--have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse. For although they knew God, they neither glorified Him as God nor gave thanks to Him, but their thinking became futile and their foolish hearts were darkened. Although they claimed to be wise, they became fools and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images made to look like mortal man ... Therefore God gave them over in the sinful desires of their hearts ... They exchanged the Truth of God for a lie, and worshiped and served created things rather than the Creator--Who is forever praised. Amen. ... Although they know God's righteous decree ... they not only continue to do these very things but also approve of those who practice them." (Romans 1:18-32).

"Has God not made foolish the wisdom of the world? For since in the wisdom of God the world through its wisdom did not know Him, God was pleased through the foolishness of what was preached to save those who believe. ... We preach Christ crucified: a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles, but to those whom God has called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. For the foolishness of God is wiser than man's wisdom, and the weakness of God is stronger than man's strength. ... But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise ... the weak things of the world to shame the strong ... the lowly things of this world and the despised things-- ... so that no one may boast before Him ... so that your faith might not rest on men's wisdom, but on God's power." (1 Corinthians 1:20-2:5).

"We do, however, speak a message of wisdom among the mature, but not the wisdom of this age or of the rulers of this age, who are coming to nothing. No, we speak of God's secret wisdom, a wisdom that has been hidden and that God destined for our glory before time began. None of the rulers of this age understood it, for if they had, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory. However, as it is written: 'No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceived what God has prepared for those who love Him'—but God has revealed it to us by His Spirit. The Spirit searches all things, even the deep things of God. For who among men knows the thoughts of a man except the man's spirit within him? In the same way no one knows the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God. We have not received the spirit of the world but the Spirit who is from God, that we may understand what God has freely given us. This is what we speak, not in words taught us by human wisdom but in words taught by the Spirit, expressing spiritual truths in spiritual words. The man without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him, and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually discerned. The spiritual man makes judgments about all things, but he himself is not subject to any man's judgment: 'For who has known the mind of the Lord that he may instruct him?' But we have the mind of Christ." (1 Corinthians 2:6-16).

Oh, beloved, praise God that we have the mind of Christ! Praise Him that we have the revelations of His Spirit! A royal eternal inheritance awaits us (reference Romans 8:17 and Galatians 3:29), but, for now, the world may see us as court jesters. That's okay with me, because as long as I live on this earth, I have opportunities to be a fool for Christ. I have opportunities--big and small, but all significant--to reach those for whom heaven and hell hang in the balance. And, to me, my beloved, that's no joke.

Precious Father, thank You for Your wisdom! Thank You for the divine inspiration and spiritual perception that you provide for those who are willing to assume it. Keep us discerning, precious God. May we always "be wise in the way [we] act toward outsiders, mak[ing] the most of every opportunity. Let [our] conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that [we] may know how to answer everyone" (reference Colossians 4:5-6). I pray in the name of Your Son, Jesus Christ, the Wisdom and Power of God (reference 1 Corinthians 1:18). Amen.

"Don't you know
that you yourselves
are God's temple
and that God's Spirit lives in you?
... Do not deceive yourselves
If any one of you
thinks he is wise
by the standards of this age,
he should become
a 'fool' so that
he may become wise.
for the wisdom
of this world
is foolishness
in God's sight."
(1 Corinthians 3:16-19a)

"I hope you
will put up with a little
of my foolishness;
but you are already
doing that.
I am jealous for you
with a godly jealousy..."
(2 Corinthians 11:1-2)

For further reflection on this topic, see also ...

• "There's a Whole Lot of Shakin' Going' On!"
• "Ready or Not ..."
  
• "Wishing Well ..."
• "Proclaiming the Proper Prescription"
• "Applying Amos"
• "A Holy Harvest"
• "Cling to the King"
• "Making Scents ..."
• "Time is Short"

How can I encourage and pray for you today? Please let me know by clicking on "Sparks Share" at the end of today's reflection, and scroll down to the "Comments" box. You may choose to comment anonymously, if you prefer. Feel free to leave your praises and insights as well!

Copyright 2009. Kathryn B. Wells. All Rights Reserved.