I don’t know about you; but, I did not get up this morning saying: “I cannot wait to suffer today!” I would suspect it was not on your mind either! For most sane people we do all we can do to avoid suffering! It is considered to be a mental illness when a person tries to intentionally hurt themselves. Suffering is not a subject we desire to discuss in most circles. But, suffering is the foundation of our salvation. Without Christ being willing to suffer and die we could not be saved! Suffering is one of the primary tools God uses to bring us to Him. Suffering is often used by God to bring change in the lives of His children—we are often forced to change because of suffering. Suffering creates a dependence on God. When Adam and Eve disobeyed God and were evicted from the garden by God–they were introduced to suffering. Man you are going to toil to bring forth a harvest. You are going to suffer in your work. Woman you are now going to have labor and delivery. When you have children–birth will be a form of suffering. Your suffering will remind you that sin produces suffering. Also, this suffering is a forerunner telling you that if you reject God’s attempts to save you– you will suffer for all of eternity in a place prepared for the Devil and his angels–hell. The ultimate place of suffering is hell! The terrible thing about hell there is no relief for the suffering. Jesus trying to prepare His disciples, the future leaders of the church, for the reality that he is going to die and leave them and they are going to suffer being His disciples! The disciples never really grasped the reality of what Jesus was teaching them. As Jews they had been raised to look for a Messiah–a deliverer–that would take them out of suffering to rule and reign in His kingdom. When they looked at the gifts given by the wise men they rejoiced about the gold–that said to them that this was the King. They rejoiced about the frankincense that told them Jesus was the anointed of God! But they could not understand the myrrh–the embalming ointment of the Middle East, that was telling everyone that Jesus had come to be the “suffering servant” of God. Jesus was the Passover lamb that was going to suffer and die to redeem all the world from their sins! Sometimes I think we forget that Jesus was a man–the book of Hebrews tells us that in all ways he understood what it was to be a man. In the garden as the hours moved toward the crucifixion Jesus asked God is there a Plan B. Any man in their right mind would not relish or look forward to being nailed to a cross. But, Jesus goes on in His prayer and says Lord I surrender to Plan A. Jesus commits himself anew to the mission of his life to die and suffer on that cross to save people who are alienated from God by sin! Peter tells us in 1 Peter “do not be surprised” when suffering comes. But we are surprised. Suffering sends us reeling. There is not even a close second to the power of suffering to distort our views of God. The disciples looking at a blind man asked our Lord–who messed up in this man that caused him to be blind? Jesus responded nobody messed up–he is blind for this hour that the Son of Man might be glorified! The church in the New Testament turned the World upside down by our they suffered and died. In John 15 one of the few times Jesus prophesies as he tells the church–“marvel not if they hated me they will hate you. If they persecuted me they will persecute you.” But, in today’s church we need to examine and be very concerned about verse 19 that states: “If you belonged to the world, it would love you as its own. As it is, you do not belong to the world, but I have chosen you out of the world. That is why the world hates you.” These are sobering truths and realities. So, in our culture we live today why is the American church not hated and not persecuted? All over the world people are being martyred for the cause of Christ. We must asked another question was Jesus a false prophet? God forbid! Then the only other conclusion is that we belong to the world! The end result is we act like the world and no one can tell the difference between the church and the world. What are some reasons for suffering in our lives and the world we live in? 1. We make foolish decisions that lead to suffering. God tells us not to “love the world and the things in the world.” But, our flesh desires these things and go deep in debt trying to obtain what our flesh wants. The end result is that we and our families suffer because of the decision to go into debt. We suffer when we make deliberate decisions not to take care of our bodies. The end result is get sick and suffer. 2. We suffer because following Christ is a war and battlefields promote suffering. If we are 100% committed to follow Christ the Word tells us that we have an enemy and is going everywhere trying to destroy us where we do not serve Christ! 3. We suffer in order to mature and be pleasing to the Lord. James 1 tells us we are to “count it all joy when trials and tribulations come your way knowing this that these things develop your faith…” The Word tells us “it is impossible to please God without faith.” The faith we need to please God is developed when we suffer through trials and tribulations! So, if we are developing as a child of God we will suffer. Easter reminds all of us that Jesus suffered in order to redeem us from the “curse of the law.” Is your walk today so close to God that you are being persecuted and suffering? Are you suffering today because of bad decisions on your part that began we the decision to disobey God in many areas of your life? Remember our risen Lord today stands at the door of our lives and invites us to know Jesus in the “fellowship of suffering.”  He is alive and soon will return for His Bride!

We all need to realize that the only safe place to build our lives is on God’s Word. In this chaotic and troubled world we live in many people acknowledge the value of the Bible, but affirming its value does not mean they build their lives on it or that they find it reliable. I hear the naysayers screaming….”that’s an assumption you cannot prove.” But, in reality recent surveys have revealed that 80% of those who attended church last Sunday will not read or touch their Bibles until the next Sunday when they pick them up to go to church. People today spend much more time reading and writing in Face book than reading and studying the Word of God. The Bible is for the most part in people’s lives is marginalized and/or ignore totally by the majority of people in our world! Skeptics want to dismiss Christianity, saying it is based on a flawed document. But, if the Bible is flawed, then how can we trust if for matters of eternal significance? But, the reality and truth we have discovered is that the Bible continually shows us its trustworthiness and reliability, and we can trust it in all matters. I minister to men broken by sin and choices and I emphasis every day the key to any relationship is communication. Relationships collapse when we fail to learn how to communicate. Relationships do not grow when the communication is one sided. One person doing all the talking does not promote a healthy relationship. Let me ask a question–is your prayer life a one sided conversation? Is it a monologue and not a dialogue? I think in my own life how I have taken God’s Instruction Manual and go into my prayer closet and proceeded to read it to Him as if He is totally ignorant of what it says. Then I proceed to tell Him what He has to do because this passage says this and I know it means this! We take verses out of context and often attempt to manipulate God to do something for us because we found a verse that sounds good; so, based on that verse God like a trained animal is suppose to obey and pour out a blessing! This is stupidity at its best! One guy in the Bible that you and I would agree deserved some answers and TLC from God was Job. The dude is sitting a manure pile scraping his body that is covered in oozing and bleeding boils. The only thing he has left in his life is a nagging wife who is encouraging him to curse God and die and some self righteous so-called friends telling him he was not right with God. He has lost all he had–his businesses and his children. Job is hurting and he asked God some tough and honest questions. Ironically for the longest time God is silent— God does not respond at all. From the vantage point of our flesh it appears God does not care about Job. God provides no comfort for a man that is describe in the beginning words of this book as “perfect.” When God finally speaks He simply asked Job a question–“Where were you when I created the world?” At a glance it appears that God is insensitive and not caring about Job. God’s question is rhetorical and says– hey your problem is small in comparison to the task of being Creator God! Throughout the Bible when men speak the reference is to words. When God speaks the reference is Word. For many of us we see God at a glance because that is about how much time we spend in the Word. On occasion we glance at it and look at it but we spend little if any time in the Word! Alone and being guided by the Holy Spirit into all truth. We must discipline ourselves to come apart from the busy world where we are bombarded by the words of men that confuse us and challenge the Word. Words cause us to doubt! Words get us to place our faith in the world and the things in the world. The Word tells us to “set our affections on the things that are in Heaven and not the things here on earth. The task of Jesus was to come to earth and pay the terrible price required by Satan to redeem man. He also came with the purpose was to offer man the opportunity to be a part of the family of God and once more communicate with God. It took thirty three years for Jesus to complete that task. He announces He is going home but He is not going to leave His followers alone and will send the Holy Spirit to “lead them into all truth.” The Holy Spirit’s first task was to bring into existence “the Bride of Christ–the church. But this accumulation of Gentile believers needed something tangible to teach them and guide them in the formative years of the Church. Jesus tells us in John 14 he is leaving but he will send the Holy Spirit. The teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness comes through revelation and study of the Word. Whatever God is going to say has already been written in the Word! 2 Timothy 3:16 tells us the key to our life being what God desires: “All Scriptures is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.” Do you see what the Word says it is the Word that changes and equips God’s children? The Truth is plain and easy to understand. Romans 1 verse 19 tells us: “since what may be known about God is plain to them because God has made it plain to them.” Paul goes on in the last part of verse 20–“….being understood from what has been made, so, that people are without excuse.” People go to seminars, counseling, yoga and a whole bunch of activities seeking answers to the mess in their lives. But, they hardly if ever read the Word.  Please today listen to God speak through His Word and do not allow the Words of men drown out the Word. “Man shall not live by bread alone but by every WORD that proceeds out of the mouth of God.” Is this true in your life?

New Year’s is not only a New Year; it is my birthday. As my physical life moves into the winter of my life here serving our Lord I am often reminded of the passage in the Word found in Mark 13 verses 28-37 where we read: “Now learn this lesson from the fig tree: As soon as its twigs get tender and its leaves come out, you know that summer is near. Even so, when you see these things happening, you know that it is near, right at the door. Truly I tell you, this generation will certainly not pass away until all these things have happened. Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away. But about the day or hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father. Be on guard! Be alert! You do not know when that time will come. It’s like a man going away: He leaves his house and puts his servants in charge, each with their assigned tasks, and tells the one at the door to keep watch. Therefore keep watch because you do not know when the owner of the house will come back—whether in the evening or at midnight, or when the rooster crows, or at dawn, If he comes suddenly, do not let him find you sleeping. What I say to you, I say to everyone: ‘Watch!’ ” These Words was the focus and motivation of the Church we read about in Acts and the Epistles of Paul. They were alert and watching and they carried out the ministry of the Holy Spirit in such a manner that they shook and changed the entire World. Their focus was on the cause of Christ and living out their relationship inside a community called the church. Remember until Pentecost there had never been a church. The creation of the church under the leadership of the Holy Spirit was brand new. God calls His creation the Bride of Christ and teaches us that someday Jesus will return for His bride and a wedding. But, until He comes “occupy” and hold fast fighting an enemy “that goes about like a roaring lion seeking those whom he can devour.” That church was told that they were being sent out as “lambs among wolves.” They had nothing but faith and belief the Lord was going to return. As we begin a new year can I suggest that the church particularly in America has its focus and attention on a lot of stuff; but, seldom on the will of God. The end result is that the Body of Christ is not changing the World; but the world has changed the church! The Word commands us to “set our affection (the things we love) on the things above and not on the things of earth.” If we do not do this then where our affection (our love) is directed will become the focus of our lives. Romans 8: 5-8 is very clear when Paul tells us: “Those who live according to the flesh have their minds set on what the flesh desires; but those who live in accordance with the Spirit have their minds set on what the Spirit desires. The mind governed by the flesh is death, but the mind governed by the flesh is death, but the mind governed by the Spirit is life and peace. The mind governed by the flesh is hostile to God: it does not submit to God’s law, nor can it do so. Those who are in the realm of the flesh cannot please God.” We need to understand in this new year if our focus and all our efforts are on getting more stuff and the things of this world we are not being led by the Holy Spirit. If we are not being led by the Holy Spirit that reality validates we have never been saved! So, let’s look at our lives and see where is my focus and attention? I love the song that says–“turn your eyes upon Jesus and look into His wonderful face and the things of this world will grow strangely dim in the light of his glory and grace.”  If you read the Word your heart must be excited about the reality we are living in the last moments of time before our Lord returns. Our focus and attention must be on serving the Lord and discipling the babies born into the Kingdom by the Holy Spirit. The first century church was captivated by this belief Jesus is coming and it may be today! Do you think this way or is your thoughts about His return far away from that reality? If that is true then your focus is on the world and not on serving the Lord. So, perhaps you need to readjust your focus for 2014–you may not have many more opportunities to do so before Jesus returns!

It’s December that all of our thoughts are directed toward Christmas. As I write this I know that when it is read I will be granted the personification of a modern day “Scrooge!” For most people I know– flocked trees, bright lights, holiday scenes at people’s house and getting gifts predominate our thoughts at this time of year. Jesus is still represented by a baby doll! For most people Jesus has never grown up. We fail to remember the manager and all that happen was the beginning of a thirty year journey for our Lord that would end only a few miles from where it began at the garbage dump of the City of Jerusalem. Just like the people in the days He was born we focus on the gold and frankincense–we want to be anointed and be rich while we serve God in our own ways . We do not want to embrace the myrrh. We do not want to think about the reality that in order to be a believer growing in our relationship with God we must “die daily.” “Unless a seed falls in the ground and dies it will not bring forth a harvest.” You and I must “die daily to this world and the things of this world and be made alive to the things that are in heaven.” What happens at Christmas for most people screams that we are in love with the world and the things of the world. We teach our children to go and sit in a fat jolly man’s lap that has become our personification of God to tell him what they want and have every expectation that it will magically appear on December 25! The child has no knowledge or perception of what did it cost and how much had to be sacrificed to get that very expensive toy and/or gift! The whole process is a reversal of the Bible’s teaching “deny yourself take up a cross and follow me.” Also, the focus of the people who had to pay for the items is getting it paid off before next Christmas where we can do it all over again. The resources given us by the Lord to be given back for ministry to reveal Christ in a dark world have already been spent the past Christmas for items that are now broken and discarded like the toys in “Toy Story.” You remember the movie where Woody and his fellow toys, that have been accumulated for a child over the years costing a lot of money, are now being discarded because the child has grown up and does not want those toys anymore. But, if we are honest for the child owner who has supposedly grown up he is discarding these toys because as an adult he now is accumulating more and more expensive “adult toys” such as jet skis, cruises, boats, vacation homes, vacations, bigger cars and other stuff! The cycle started when we were children and continues when we are adults. The terrible issue that God says do not go there is to keep this going we must go into DEBT! I was reading an article this week that said that 80% of all debt accumulated to buy Christmas this year will not be paid off when the next Christmas comes. Then we start the whole process over again and go deeper in debt. The end result is the focus of our life that is supposed to be on our relationship with God and serving Him in a manner that the World sees Jesus; however, we have become slaves to a system that promises us everything and gives us nothing. We get a new car now financed for six years and drive it around the block and it depreciates 6 to 8% just going around the block! But, we have our car and we have a payment each month that steals God’s resources He desires to be used to reveal and lift up Jesus! God tells us to give and we remind Him we are in debt and have nothing to give. Do you think this is wrong? When I write articles like this or speak somewhere I am always confronted with the naysayers telling me “God wants us to be happy and prosper.” Ross, you need to get what you are saying in perspective to the whole picture. In other Words you are wrong and we are choosing to believe it is God’s will to squander His resources on the things of this World and exclude using what He has given us for ministry where Christ is lifted up and revealed in this dark and sinful World! Let’s see if my perspective is out of line as we examine the perspective of Jesus: “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moths and vermin destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves in heaven where moths and vermin do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is there your heart will be also.” Matthew 6:19-21 Mark 10 Jesus is approached by a rich Jewish man that asked Jesus how he can be saved? The man calls Jesus good and the Lord reminds him that only God is good. Jesus in essence tells him to obey the ten commandments and the man replies he has done this since he was a child. Amazingly Jesus does not rebuke him; so, it must have been true the man had kept the commandments. Then Jesus tells him this that I believe will and should resonate in the lives of believers today in verse 21: “Jesus looked at him and loved him. “One thing you lack,” he said. “Go sell everything you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come follow me.” The rich man left “sad because he had great wealth.” The rest of the passage is Jesus teaching how hard it is to get a rich man into Heaven. Most of you will read this article and understand the man is sad. In our lives many of us are depressed and sad because we have accumulated the world’s stuff but forfeited a dependent growing relationship with our Lord! Let’s take our treasures and gold to Jesus and give it away in ministry. When you head out to the mall risking life and limb to buy a toy or something ask the Holy Spirit is this purchase is your will? When we come to Christ it is no “longer I that lives but Christ in me…” We died and have given up the right and privilege of making decisions for ourselves. We are slaves and nothing we do should be our decision. As God’s children we are to do nothing without it be under the direction of the Holy Spirit. Ask the Holy Spirit on your way to the mall to spend His money–is this your will? Do you want me to spend this money like this? If you have not heard anything then with the revealed truth of the Word you have you should not proceed! If you and I do not have a Word that reveals what we are doing is the Will of the Father then we should not proceed. Do soldiers move without orders and directions of the commanding officer?  We need to Celebrate the birth of Jesus and not the accumulation of the things of this World!

In a few days America will gather all over the nation to eat and celebrate Thanksgiving. Most of us will eat to the point we need to repent. But, the issue of real physical hunger has never been experienced by most of us. Controlling our appetites is an ongoing battle for many of us. Most of us eat too much! But, one huge “red flag” for all of us is that if a person stops eating and has no appetite more than likely we will all agree the person is sick. There is something wrong. That person who is not eating needs to see a doctor. A person who does not eat could die if there is not a change. We understand this principle and look for the danger signs if this is happening to a friend or a love one. If a person has a eating disorder we do all we can to get that person help. That makes sense and it is right for us to do something to help. Biologically God put in our bodies indicators called hunger and thirst to tell us we need to replenish these engines where we can live and survive. But, the Word tells us in our spiritual transformation we are blessed when we hunger and thirst after righteousness. These are indicators placed in us that often tell us if we are healthy and doing well. Ironically, in our churches today there is no appetite for the things of God. The latest polls tells us that 89% of the people who attended church last Sunday will not touch the Bible until they pick it up the next Sunday to come to church. In other words they ate a spiritual meal at church last Sunday and have not eaten ANYTHING for a whole week! This is a red flag that our churches have a eating disorder and they are very, very sick. The Church needs spiritual medical attention. Psalm 23 teaches us that God cares about our appetite and hunger for the things He has prepared for us to prepare to live with Him for eternity. In Verse 2 says: “He makes us lie down in green pastures.” The sheep are not asked or negotiated with–the Shepherd “makes” them lie down in green pastures where they can eat. In Verse 5 the Psalmist tells us: “You prepare a table before me in the presence of mine enemies.” In the Beatitudes found in Matthew’s Gospel Chapter 5 verse 6: “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness.” These are the Words of Jesus telling us we are blessed when we are desperate for righteousness. Being hungry and thirsty are desperate conditions. Hungry men–men who are starving do not debate or argue about the menu. Thirsty men who are dying of thirst do not debate about the container that provides the water. It appears like no other time that I can remember the people of God are not hungry or thirsty for the things of God. If someone invited me to have dinner with them and they went to great effort and cost for that dinner–I arrive and ask where the trash is and I discard a empty bag from McDonalds. I try to apologize; but, I tell them on my way over there I stopped at McDonalds and filled up on what we call “junk food.” So, I am full and will not be eating the meal they prepared for me. If you were the person who has prepared the meal–how would you feel? How do you think God feels when we show up to be with Him and He “has prepared a table in the presence of your enemies.” Then we tell Him we are full of the World and all its junk food. You tell Him by your actions that you prefer the World’s cuisine instead of the provisions of Heaven. Look at the Hebrew children in Egypt–the Word tells us that their daily diet was “leeks, onions and bitter herbs.” Four hundred years this had been the food provided by the taskmasters of Egypt. God sets them free and it is a matter of days they are griping about God’s menu. I do not know what Manna was–we know that the word means “what is it?” Whatever it was it was prepared by God so I know it was good! But what do the Israelites tell Moses? All you did was bring us out here in this desert to die. I wish we had the leeks, onions and bitter herbs to eat again. Unbelievable! Four hundred years of bondage and they want to return to slavery because of God’s menu! In essence they are saying we prefer slavery where we can eat onions, leeks and bitter herbs. I have worked in and out of social ministry environments for way over forty years now. If we were to take a tour of the inner city ghettos and the schools located it is not likely we will find a child looking like a “third world” child bloated and badly emaciated from hunger and starvation. Most of the children look happy and appear to have no health issues. But, in this nation we are engaged in a serious war with childhood obesity. The children we observe that look healthy are what experts call “nutritionally malnourished.” They live on the “junk food.” Doritos, Ding dongs, soda pop and we could go on and on. Let’s all take a moment as we look at our churches. They look healthy and well off. Many of them are huge and we have labeled them our “models” of success. But, may I suggest that our church are nutritionally malnourished. In order to attract numbers and have a big church we are serving “junk food” that has no nutritional value. What about their thirst? The Israelite come to a place called Marah–a place of bitterness. They complain and God commands Moses to cut down a tree and throw it in the water. This is a symbolic picture of the cross that someday will be thrown into the bitter waters of this World to bring salvation. But, with hindsight we know today after archeologists have been to the area where we believe the Jews may have been located and looked at the water in the area. The pools are bitter because of mineral content in the water. But, the minerals are very medicinal in nature and would have serve to help in the transition of the Jews bodies harden by years of manual labor that made their bodies hard into bodies that would be conducive for walking and living in a desert. God had placed in that water medicine that would make them ready for the journey that was before them. Manna and all the provisions of God in our lives serve two purposes. First, the provision is meant to sustain us but never satisfy us. I often remind myself and others when we came to Christ we enlisted in the Lord’s army. We are now deployed soldiers fighting the enemy that the Word teaches us “…..is going around seeking those he may devour. He came to steal, rob and destroy.” I have read a lot of history and I have never discovered any battlefield that had the allure and ability to create a desire in the hearts of the troops they want to stay there. They fall in love with hardship and suffering. No, they want to go home! They want to escape the battle! We are deployed soldiers and should long for the call from our Lord that the war is over it is time to come home! The second thing the provision of God does in our lives is give us an appetite for something better. The Israelites sent in spies. The twelve spies came back–ten said no way–they saw giants. Two–Joshua and Caleb saw it was a go–they saw grasshoppers. Caleb was forty-five at the time when the invasion was rebuffed by men who walked by sight and not by faith. On the mission they picked a cluster of grapes in the Valley of Eshkol. The cluster was so large it had to be carried on a pole carried by two men. Forty years later Caleb came to Joshua after the land had been taken–and said “I want my mountain.” I am convinced he was asking for the location of the grapes. We must understand once we eat the provision of Heaven we no longer hunger for the things of the world but long for the things of heaven.  So, as you and your family gather for this Thanksgiving, are you as hungry for the things of God as you are this month for the things of Thanksgiving? May I suggest if you are not maybe something is wrong and needs to be confessed and repented of with God!