transformation – Alaska Bible Teacher

When Pain is All You Can Think About

Sometimes we live in darkness. We suffer and it’s hard. We mentally accept God’s grace and His love for us, but in our heart we remain untouched. Pain saturates everything it seems. We seem to go through the motions, but deep down we’re convinced that we’ll never find the light that so many claim to have.

Since I have a disability I realize I learn things others won’t grasp. I’m learning to embrace the waves that push me to the rock–the Rock of ages. I suppose when I meet Him I’ll understand why it had to be so.

My hope is real. Heaven is home. My pain will be healed.

There is a language of heaven spoken, and those who have suffered speak a dialect of that. Just as someone from Georgia communicates English, their dialect is obvious. The same for those who live in pain. We speak the same, but differently.

Pain sometimes saturates our lives.

We live with something that is persistent, and our hope is a day when it’s all over. Psalm 88 becomes our Psalm. Nothing here is sugar-coated. It is raw and unabridged. It puts our pain under a microscope. That Psalm is entirely yours.

“For my soul is full of troubles, and my life draws near to Sheol. I am counted among those who go down to the pit; I am a man who has no strength,”

Psalm 88:3-4

“I am certain that I never did grow in grace one-half so much anywhere as I have upon the bed of pain.”

Charles Spurgeon

Giving Flowers to Jesus

“And do not bring sorrow to God’s Holy Spirit by the way you live. Remember, he has identified you as his own, guaranteeing that you will be saved on the day of redemption.”

“Get rid of all bitterness, rage, anger, harsh words, and slander, as well as all types of evil behavior. ³²Instead, be kind to each other, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, just as God through Christ has forgiven you.”

Ephesians 4:30-32, NLT

Sometimes we understand God’s gift of joy to us, it seems wonderful and truly remarkable. We realize that our lives would be quite hollow without it. But have we ever stopped to consider that we have the ability to give Him grief or joy? Is that really possible?

I believe we can bring Him a bouquet of flowers by just obeying!

I believe that the combination of obedience and worship absolutely thrills Him. This passage points out that when our faithfulness to His Spirit gets combined with our praise it’s a powerful combination.

This passage focuses on our obedience.

Verse 30 explains what happens when we obey (and when we won’t). The Holy Spirit goes into mourning when we make our wrong decisions. Our choices, our way of living, determine His sadness (!) or His happiness.(!) That fact should inform and direct us.

We’re now clearly marked people, given a written guarantee by all who understand, resulting in a definite salvation.

But we must respond properly. We’re called to renounce these sins that grieve Him. We can’t continue to be morally and spiritually ugly to Him, and to others around us.

At least if we don’t want to see His tears because of us.

What’s now open to us is this–-kindness, a tender heart, and forgiveness. The forgiveness angle is one that has a special depth. It’s forgiveness that plunges us into all that we’ve been given ourselves. He’s poured out all the wrath on Jesus, enabling us to walk away from the terrible punishment of our sins. We’re fully forgiven because He has absorbed our penalty.

We’re called to be gracious and loving. No matter what comes our way.

The idea of “get rid” makes these truths possible. A full pail can never receive another drop, and we can’t be filled unless the old one is dumped out. We can only receive it if we’re ready. But that decision is ours to make. (Choose wisely.)

This passage clearly reveals the outrageous grace of God that is focused on us.

If our disobedience in this results in God’s grief, then our obedience must bring Him joy. It seems we now have the freedom to walk godly. In a way we can bring a delivery of a fresh bouquet of flowers right into His throne room. But it’s our choice and our decision.

“Forgiving one another, just as God through Christ has forgiven you.”

Ephesians 4:32

You Need to Pray Hard

“Praying at all times in the Spirit, with all prayer and supplication. To that end, keep alert with all perseverance, making supplication for all the saints,

and also for me, that words may be given to me in opening my mouth boldly to proclaim the mystery of the gospel, ²⁰for which I am an ambassador in chains, that I may declare it boldly, as I ought to speak.”

Eph. 6:18-20, ESV

I’m convinced that our most challenging work is learning to pray. Whenever we experience revival, whenever we rediscover our true calling and purpose for living, we do so by prayer.

Prayer is the way we become like Jesus.

Satan’s primary focus is to destroy our prayer lives, he works to eliminate our communion with our Father. He detests that, and he and his demons (and the world system) work overtime to tear down our walk. The enemy concentrates everything on our prayer life.

There are four “alls” in verse 18!

All times
All prayer
All perseverance
All the saints

With this in mind we see that Paul stresses the complete effort of prayer and its focus. All the time, every kind, no matter what and for your brother and sisters in Christ. It’s work, spiritual work. It seems that once we put the armor on (verses 10-17) we can stand in God’s own strength.

It’s not enough to wear your armor.

If we’re clothed it’s for the purpose of prayer. Yes we must dress for war and protection, but its ultimate purpose is prayer and intercession. Don’t just wear it but pray out of it. You must strive in prayer, so much is counting on you. You can make a difference.

He’s waiting for you to ask. He wants you to intercede for others.

It will not be easy. The enemy wants to suppress your prayer life. He absolutely hates it. Satan wants to see us passive and dull and you cannot let him do this. You have a very critical part and place in God’s kingdom. Perhaps others are waiting for you, and perhaps you’re the only one who can step up in the gap for them.

You’ve been given a part of God’s field to care for, you have your own sphere of influence. No one else has it, but you.

There many different ways to pray:

On your knees
walking
standing or sitting
vocally, or in your thoughts
with others, a group
using a prayer list
“arrow” prayers (shot up with 1-2 sentences)
using the Psalms or reading the many prayers in the Bible

There’s a “school” of prayer and the Holy Spirit intends to teach you.

Don’t play hooky. You will make mistakes or lose focus. The Spirit will teach you stanima. You might pray for one or two minutes at first, but it’ll grow and you’ll learn endurance. Remember though–you’re most like Jesus when you start to intercede for others.

Maybe your sanctification comes when you pray?

“You need not cry very loud; he is nearer to us than we think.”

-Brother Lawrence

Where is the New Song?

There are approximately 7,170 known living languages spoken in the world today. There are single countries like Papua New Guinea that host over 800 distinct tongues. Also I’m told the musicologists have found no human culture or spoken language that lacks a tradition of song or musical expression. Songs pour out from every tongue.

What does the scripture tell us?

Psalm 98:1, “Sing a new song to the Lord, for he has done wonderful deeds.

Psalm 33:3, “Sing a new song of praise to him; play skillfully on the harp, and sing with joy.”

Psalm 40:3, “He has given me a new song to sing, a hymn of praise to our God. Many will see what he has done and be amazed. They will put their trust in the Lord.”

Psalm 96:1, “Sing a new song to the Lord! Let the whole earth sing to the Lord!”

Psalm 98:1, “Sing a new song to the Lord, for he has done wonderful deeds.”

Psalm 144:9, “I will sing a new song to you, O God! I will sing your praises with a ten-stringed harp.”

Psalm 149:1, “Sing to the Lord a new song. Sing his praises in the assembly of the faithful.”

Isaiah 42:10, “Sing a new song to the Lord”! Sing his praises from the ends of the earth!”

Rev. 5:9, “And they sang a new song with these words: “You are worthy to take the scroll and break its seals and open it.”

Rev. 14:3, “This great choir sang a wonderful new song in front of the throne of God.”

Tell me brother, what is this “new song” that we repeatedly see in scripture? It’s stated in the Word over and over, but what is it, and what does it mean?

Throughout the history of the Church, new songs are sung. About 200 years ago new songs were compiled and given to the saints. One hymnal has 1,130 songs listed. If we were singing 8-10 a week, it would take over 2 years to finish without ever repeating a hymn. Honestly, this “gift of song” is a significant part of the Church.

What is a new song?

His grace is pouring on us all the time. It’s like a spigot of water that is always open, He never turns it off. It’s constant nonstop; ceaseless and hardly understood. His grace on us never stops, even if we never grasp or acknowledge it.

We sing out new things that we’ve experienced firsthand.

When grace is finally understood and received, new songs pour out. Our music is special because it’s present tense, and although the old songs are significant, our active melodies are spontaneous expressions. They are the “now understanding” of what the Father gives.

We must sing out “new songs.”

All that He shows in this present moment is singable. It seems that God’s grace on us demands a song, maybe it’s even a requirement. When we receive this constant grace, we should respond in song; we become vocal witnesses of what He has freely given. It’s an active reaction to His love and mercy.

So where are these new songs?

Could it be that our generation doesn’t fully get it? Do we grasp His intense grace on us? But where are the new songs? Where are the melodies of grace that should be present? When we sing out, awkwardly and out of tune we honor Him, and I’m pretty sure the Father is pleased. He loves our clumsy and spontaneous songs that come from our hearts.

In some sense there are fresh and new songs coming from groups like Hillsong, Vineyard, Hosanna, and Maranatha. The groups add a “new song” dimension of grace mixed with the song. I’m grateful for them. They’ve given us good things.

Perhaps we need more poets and bards more than apostles and prophets? New songs skillfully written that declare a present tense mercy. Lyricists that proclaim God’s grace to the Church. We now sing out of this moment. It seems that it’s a beautiful response to the love God has freely given to us.

“It is in the process of being worshipped that God communicates His presence to men.”

C.S. Lewis

Thinking Out Loud About Dying

A dear Christian friend has built his own coffin. He now uses it as a coffee table in his living room until the day he dies. I’m told that Trappist monks next to their monastery an open grave, a constant reminder of the certainty of death. When they file past it, they understand that everyone must die.

Do you see death-smiling as a type of leer or as an evil grin upon the face of an enemy that is about to bring you pain? Or is the smile a gentle one that offers solace at a time when fear may be raging?

“You sweep people away like dreams that disappear.
They are like grass that springs up in the morning.
⁶In the morning it blooms and flourishes,
but by evening it is dry and withered.”

Psalm 90:4-6

In ancient Israel, Psalm 39 served as a “memento mori”—a reminder of human mortality. “Oh LORD, make me know my end and what is the measure of my days; let me know how fleeting I am!” (v. 4). David understood that life is somewhat insignificant in the light of eternity.

Remember that you must die someday.

“None of us can hold back our spirit from departing. None of us has the power to prevent the day of our death. There is no escaping that obligation, that dark battle.”

Ecclesiastes 8:7-8

Memento mori is a reminder of the inevitability of death. Jesus’s words, “Very truly I tell you, unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed. But if it dies, it produces many seeds” (John 12:24).

As we adopt the reality of dying we must refuse the worldly ideas of death:

Our fear
Our doubts
Our frustration and cynicism
The loneliness
Satanic attack

“Let your hope of heaven master your fear of death.”

William Gurnall

In the New Testament, Jesus exhorts his disciples to pick up their crosses daily and to remember their death as they follow him to the Place of the Skull: “If any want to become my followers, let them deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me” (Lk 9:23).

Remembering one’s death is an absolutely essential aspect of the Christian life, not only because it helps us to live well but also because it helps us to remember what Christ has done for us.

As you integrate memento mori into your life, you will find more fruit in the practice if you are able to connect within the community of the Church who are on the same journey. Talk with family and close friends about your journey.

Knowing you’re going to die and face a certain judgement is a bit unnerving. It’s also a definite way of defeating sinful habits. When we understand this, much evil is now avoided and renounced. Yes, you’re barreling into a real encounter with God. That you can be sure.

Our judgement is very much real. But we have a perfect plea. Jesus has paid the price for us. It’s His blood that delivers us and fully redeems us. Standing (or kneeling) we realize the love and mercy He has for us. When we stand before God, we stand complete.

“Death is no more than passing from one room into another. But there’s a difference for me, you know. Because in that other room I shall be able to see.”

Helen Keller

There should be no fear of dying.

We’re fully and irrevocably forgiven. You can be sure of that. We can smile at death, knowing that it leads us into a perfect connection. Are you afraid? Yes, I understand. But know, if you’ve accepted Jesus as your Savior and Lord, the payment for all your sins, you’re forgiven.

alaskabibleteacher.com

Finding the Feet of Jesus

A terrific study is finding the people who fell at Jesus’ feet. Tucked in the Gospels you’ll find stories of those who despair. You’ll also see them come to Jesus in brokenness and humility, without any other recourse. I call these the “people of the feet.”

They came to Jesus because they had no hope otherwise. They were people who were hopeless and wretched, they had long ago run out of options. They came to Jesus, falling down in front of Him. They were all people of the feet.

They were men and women who were truly desperate.

There are some common characteristics that feet-finders have:

A great need that can’t be met without His touch
To understand one’s true condition–humility, brokenness
To beg for a healing, for self or family
To honor Jesus as the Messiah
To be more receptive to His teaching, to understand Him
To become a witness to others (although it does seem secondary)

“But immediately a woman whose little daughter had an unclean spirit heard of him and came and fell down at his feet.“

Mark 7:25

“Then people went out to see what had happened, and they came to Jesus and found the man from whom the demons had gone, sitting at the feet of Jesus, clothed and in his right mind.”

Luke 8:35

But there are several other instances where people came to sit at Jesus’ feet:

Mark 5:22-23, Jairus, a leader in the local synagogue
Luke 7:37-38, a sorrowing mother for her daughter
Luke 8:41, also Jairus
Luke 10:39, Mary, when Jesus was teaching
John 11:32, Mary, meeting Jesus entering Bethany
John 12:3, Mary, with her perfume
Revelation 1:17, John to express what he was seeing (also 19:10)

In every case we find people consciously coming and kneeling at the feet of the Lord Jesus. It was a deliberate action that came from their hearts. Each had a terrible need, and each was without hope.

It’s the end of religion if you’re a feet-finder. No more facades, no more treadmills. Instead your heart forever changes.

Hardly decent to religious people.

Are you really that desperate yet? Have you seen your need, and do you realize how lost you would be without His healing touch?

I’m convinced only Jesus can make me clean and whole.

But I found my rightful place at His feet. It’s where I belong. I love Him.

I’m not ashamed to be found kneeling.

Ponder the Word

“But his delight is in the law of the Lord, and on his law he meditates day and night.”

Psalm 1:2

In Psalm 1:2 the Hebrew word for meditation is hagah. In this Psalm we have a contrast between the blessed and the “not-so-blessed,” and it commands that as Jesus’ followers that we process the reality of this to become blessed by our Father.

In Psalm 1:1 the word blessed is used, and actually just in the book is Psalms alone blessed is used 51 times. The word has a very simple and concise meaning: “to be happy.” I really don’t think we can minimize how important it is to be happy.

In 1:2 we read hagah or meditate. That Hebrew word is a little bit more complicated and it seems more nuanced than “blessed.”

Hagah, or meditate means:

to chew a cud like a cow
to growl like a lion who is eating an antelope
to moan or groan
to talk to oneself, or mutter or whisper
finally, it can mean to muse or imagine

Yeah, it’s an interesting word and I suppose all of these meanings are to be factored into meditation [hagah]. It seems that these five definitions shape the different meanings that go into our understanding.

Using the above definitions, this is how it might look:

sometimes I regurgitate the word like a cow chewing its cud
at times I attack it like a lion
I moan and groan as I wrestle with it, seeking for a handhold
thinking about the passage I talk to myself about its meaning
I imagine being there, sometimes it’s like I’m a “fly-on-the-wall”

When we come to God’s words, the Bible, we are required to assimilate all that the Holy Spirit graciously gives. When He gives us something from the Word we must apply it to ourselves. You can do this through any of the 5 definitions I’ve given.

The Holy Spirit is the One who ignites His Word into our hearts. He makes us glow for His glory.

“This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success.”

Joshua 1:8, ESV

The Leper Meets Jesus

“When he came down from the mountain, great crowds followed him. ²And behold, a leper came to him and knelt before him, saying, “Lord, if you will, you can make me clean.” ³And Jesus stretched out his hand and touched him, saying, “I will; be clean.” And immediately his leprosy was cleansed.”

Matthew 8:1-4

It was a wild scene, we can’t forget this. But it’s funny, Jesus through all this sees and hears this leper. He doesn’t respond to the crowd but to the diseased man. The text tells us that the leperous man was on his knees and he was “praying.” His pleas were directed at Jesus.

But remember, the end of the previous verses explains exactly what’s happening. Matthew 7:28-29, (MSG) explains their excitement–

“When Jesus concluded his address, the crowd burst into applause. They had never heard teaching like this. It was apparent that he was living everything he was saying—quite a contrast to their religion teachers! This was the best teaching they had ever heard.“

The crowds responded wildly to the marvelous teaching of Jesus, and that was awesome. We really shouldn’t minimize that. However, in the Gospels, the “crowd” is pretty much a bad term, or at least a neutral one.

I suppose that Jesus seems to ignore the multitude’s extremely positive reaction. He knows it won’t last. The fickle crowd will soon cry out and demand His crucifixion.

But I understand, I’m that leper and He sees me.

Scripture tells me that Jesus now sits in heaven and makes intercession for me. He focuses on just me, I’m the center of His care–but I also know that attention is also on you, and others, and yet I’m assured that He sees me and each of His sheep. This should be a comfort. He concentrates and ministers to the person, and never to the multitude.

Jesus loves you, and He loves me too.

“So he told them this parable: ⁴“What man among you, who has a hundred sheep and loses one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the open field and go after the lost one until he finds it? ⁵When he has found it, he joyfully puts it on his shoulders, ⁶and coming home, he calls his friends and neighbors together, saying to them, ‘Rejoice with me, because I have found my lost sheep!’”

Luke 15:3-6

Have You Learned to Rest Yet?

Life can get out of hand sometimes, becoming hectic and frantic. It seems like we’ve got 1000 ‘irons in the fire.’ The anxiety of doing everything creates fear and worry. We cannot possibly keep up. There isn’t enough hours in the day.

We are not at rest with ourselves, or with the Lord.

And oh my, the news, the internet, and our cell phones create awful issues if we can’t manage them with the Holy Spirit’s direction and purposes. Our computers seem like a pipeline for darkness. Unless they’re “given” to God, they can destroy you.

What causes me anxiety? I’m quite sure you can add your own issues. But here’s a partial list:

ambition, self-promotion, pride, jockeying for position
family issues, marriage and children
my job and career, “keeping up with the Joneses”
religious ‘duties’
finances, bills
politics, media
unrepented sin, separation from God, peace is missing

But I assure you, there is rest.

The Old Testament uses a word, נוח or ‘nuach.’ It’s a Hebrew word. Both Moses and Jesus understood the implications. It means calming, to become quiet or still. To rest quietly.

^“And He said, “My Presence will go with you, and I will give you rest.”

(Exodus 33:14)

This promise is given to Moses; frankly, he’s overwhelmed by his burden. In the “tent of the meeting” he battles with God, and it’s in that place Moses insists on the Lord’s active presence on him and on the people. He will not take another step unless God does this.

^“Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.“

(Matthew 11:28)

The Lord Jesus calls each of us to rest in Him. It seems we work hard and we carry awful heavy burdens. Jesus uses the word, “Come” which is typically a command or an imperative. (It can be used with an explanation mark!)

Jesus understands our hearts and our effort and “labor.” He fully grasps that we’re “heavy laden” much of the time. His invitation is to come and find the peace of a resting disciple. It is His gift to us, and only Jesus can give it to us.

“‘Come’; he drives none away; he calls them to himself. His favorite word is ‘Come.’ Not, go to Moses – ‘Come unto me.’ To Jesus himself we must come, by a personal trust. Not to doctrine, ordinance, nor ministry are we to come first; but to the personal Saviour.”

CH Spurgeon

Living as His Brother

⁴⁹And stretching out his hand toward his disciples, he said,

“Here are my mother and my brothers! “

“For whoever does the will of my Father in heaven is my brother and sister and mother.”

Matthew 12:49-50, (context, vv. 46-50)

His family is spiritual. Earthly connections aren’t what really matters, Jesus expresses an important understanding of the Kingdom of God. Things are not evaluated by physical relationships anymore. Life is different now.

I don’t think Jesus has gone out of His way to alienate His earthly or physical connections to His family. I don’t think He is being rude or uncaring. That isn’t part of His thinking. And yet He does seem to point to something that’s more permanent and everlasting.

It isn’t enough to be His brother, or cousin or uncle. These things really don’t matter. What does matter is being part of His spiritual family. To be painfully honest, it seems to me anyway, that the spiritual relationship is what truly counts. Being Jesus’ disciple, and doing the Father’s will for us transforms us and lifts us up to family ‘status.’

They say “blood is thicker than water.’ Jesus’ blood unites us to Himself and then to each other! Doing the Father’s will turns us into His family.

But it doesn’t strictly matter “how” you relate to Jesus so much, but how you do the will of God. That is what impresses Jesus. That’s what He communicates to those who are standing around Him. Do you really understand what is family? Can you grasp the idea that doing the will of God now makes you authentic?

We must reach out and grab this concept–we are family if we do the will of God, believe in His sacrificial work and immerse ourselves into His purposes. We become His family, spiritually anyway, when we start to do what He wants for us. Am I doing what He wants for me at this moment, or the next, or the next?

Are we really part of His family, or is someone else our father?

“The purpose of the Bible is simply to proclaim God’s plan to save His children. It asserts that man is lost and needs to be saved. And it communicates the message that Jesus is the God in the flesh sent to save His children.”

– Max Lucado