Just come

Before I was afflicted, I went astray,

but now I obey your word (Psa. 119:67).

When I was afflicted, some years ago, by a failing marriage, I came to the Lord regularly, wondering when he would get tired of my coming to him for me, me, me and problems, problems, problems. But at least I was coming to the right place, and I was contacting him--from the heart--far more often than usual. Gradually, a desire to know him and be consumed by his purposes began to dawn.

This little light of mine

"Arise, shine, for your light has come,
and the glory of the LORD rises upon you.
See, darkness covers the earth
and thick darkness is over the peoples,
but the LORD rises upon you
and his glory appears over you.
Nations will come to your light,
and kings to the brightness of your dawn (Isa. 60:1-3).

In the past, when I have read this passage, I have envisioned a time of especially great grace for the church, an outpouring of the Holy Spirit which will cause believers to be filled with the glory of the Lord. I still believe that. However, the political and economic circumstances have caused me to see this phenomenon in a new light. I am noticing that in the above prophecy, a glorious light rises on God’s people at a time when thick darkness envelopes the (rest of) the earth.

Could it be that one factor in this brightening of believers is that light appears much brighter in darkness? Automobile headlights which barely show up at high noon are practically blinding once night falls. And, in the dark, even a small light is visible from a distance. I am aware of this because of an object lesson I observed a number of years ago. Our pastor instructed the ushers to turn off all of the lights in the sanctuary. Then he lit a match. In the dark, that pinpoint of light flared up brightly—to the farthest row of pews. Even a small amount of light is conspicuous in the dark.

So what is it about a believer that shows up as light? This verse contains a clue:

Do everything without complaining or arguing, so that you may become blameless and pure, children of God without fault in a crooked and depraved generation, in which you shine like stars in the universe (Phil. 2:14-15).

A cheerful, willing attitude in the midst of low morale. Honesty instead of corruption. Peace rather than anxiety. Helpfulness in place of self-centeredness. None of these spring up automatically in those of us who follow Christ. We become more and more like him by seeking and praying, by trusting and obeying.

It may seem that our small daily choices, our trust and our loyalty to the Lord are unseen, private matters. We may forget how different these attitudes are from those of people around us. But to those watching us, the bright contrast is unmistakable.

Then . . . let disaster strike. Let the moral climate spiral to all-time lows. How do simple displays of goodness appear then? They blaze up gloriously. Those who observe this distinctively godly behavior no longer simply say, “How commendable.” In their dark uncertainty and fear, they are irresistibly drawn to the brightness of this light. It stirs up hope. It challenges them to better things. They begin to crave the glory of God in their own lives.

In these unnerving times, following close to the Lord is much more than a matter of survival. It is a prime way for each of us to arise and shine. In the dark, even small amounts of light in us will brilliantly show forth the glory of the Lord. Let's be ready to introduce to the Lord those who come to the brightness of our rising.

Chosen

When Jesus got out of the boat, a man with an evil spirit came from the tombs to meet him. This man lived in the tombs, and no one could bind him any more, not even with a chain. . . . When he saw Jesus from a distance, he ran and fell on his knees in front of him. He shouted at the top of his voice, "What do you want with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? Swear to God that you won't torture me!" For Jesus had said to him, "Come out of this man, you evil spirit!" . . .

When they came to Jesus, they saw the man who had been possessed by the legion of demons, sitting there, dressed and in his right mind; and they were afraid. . . .

As Jesus was getting into the boat, the man who had been demon-possessed begged to go with him. Jesus did not let him, but said, "Go home to your family and tell them how much the Lord has done for you, and how he has had mercy on you." So the man went away and began to tell in the Decapolis how much Jesus had done for him. And all the people were amazed (Mark 5:2-3, 6-8, 15, 18-20).

I have often considered the last part of this story to be no more than an epilogue—a small glimpse into the aftermath of a mighty miracle. But the last time I read this narrative, I was struck by the significance of this exchange between the healed demoniac and Jesus. The newly-delivered man, full of gratitude and love did not want to be separated so soon from Jesus. He wanted to join the group of disciples who traveled with him. Instead, Jesus sent him on an important mission to his home town. My heart sank with empathy at the thought of his disappointment. Then I realized: this is an example of the fact that heaven’s agenda often messes with earth’s. And my heart was awed by the honor of being chosen for heaven’s. The healed demoniac was not being held off at arm’s length by Jesus. He was being invited into the fellowship of doing the will of the Father.

The luck of the Irish

Where did this expression come from, anyway? As I review my limited knowledge of the history of the Irish people, I don’t see a lot of luck—not good luck, that is.

Take the Potato Famine of the mid-1800’s in which 20% to 25% of the population of Ireland either starved or emigrated. Oh . . . but that was back in the old country. Perhaps those who immigrated to America met with better fortune? No, not at all. They were rejected, exploited, and ridiculed. They lived in extreme poverty, endured back-breaking labor, and accepted employment that was only considered suitable for servants and slaves. Some luck!

But they persisted in pursuing a better life. They banded together to protect themselves and teach their tormentors a lesson. They worked hard at becoming Americans. And they succeeded! Next to Washington and Lincoln in the hearts of our people stands the memory of our first Irish American president, John F. Kennedy. Was that the “luck of the Irish”? I think not. It was determination, spunk, and hard work that won the Irish a place in this country.

And not just a place, but an honored place. The St. Patrick’s Day parades that they held to declare—to themselves, if no one else—that they were proud to be Irish, caught on. It illustrates the concept “Respect yourself and others will respect you.”

Are the Irish lucky? I’d call them plucky. On the 17th of this month, how about celebrating the PLUCK OF THE IRISH?

Plucky: having or displaying courage and

spirited resourcefulness in trying circumstances.

Fragrance or Stench?

. . . if my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land (2 Chron. 7:14).

I had never thought about this Scripture in the way that Shirley—a fellow church member—expressed it last night in prayer meeting. She said that when we share the gospel with someone or stand against corruption in our community, but have ungodly attitudes or behavior in ourselves, we hinder our listeners from accepting what we say and what we stand for. Of course! Why would a person take seriously our message that they need to change if there are obvious ways in which we haven’t allowed the Lord to change us?

Shirley further pointed out that this verse lists several things that God requires of us if we want him to heal our land: 1) humbling ourselves, 2) praying, 3) seeking God’s face, and 4) turning from our wicked ways. We tend to concentrate on #2, she said, and ignore the others. No wonder we don’t see more answers to our prayers!

As I have considered these four mandates, it becomes clearer and clearer to me why all four are essential. If we are not seeking God’s face—really getting to know him, learning how he sees things, and letting his attitudes rub off on us—we won’t even pray the right prayers. For example, we might very well be praying for God to destroy “those wicked people” who are perverting our community. But the Lord is not willing that any should perish. He wants us to pray that they will be saved and come to the knowledge of the truth. Or we might pray the right thing out of a wrong motive. For example, have you ever prayed for someone to be saved so that they will not be so hard to get along with? If so, do you really love them in a way that will draw them to the Lord?

Also, when praying about the wickedness of others, what about the humility to recognize that we ourselves are not perfect? Is that not critical? Have you or I ever lied to smooth a situation over instead of solving it? Have we ever looked out for our own interests and ignored those of others? Have we ever struggled with moral issues? Then are we so different from lying politicians, self-serving bosses, and immoral people? If we do not remember that we too are captive to sinfulness without the grace of God—if we are not willing to confess and leave behind every bad habit and wrong motive of our own, we will not give off the sweet aroma of the nature of Jesus. Instead, we will give off the stench of hypocrisy.

Shirley’s final insight was this: If all we see in 2 Chron. 7:14 is that WE SHOULD PRAY for revival in our land, then we are thinking that OUR efforts (our prayers) are the most important factor in bringing change. But this verse says that GOD will heal our land. What is our part in this? Well, we don’t really have a part unless we recognize that we too need to turn from our wicked ways, to be forgiven and healed! When we humbly remember what God has had to redeem us from in the past and admit that we still fall far short of what honors him, then he can forgive us and continue the transformation into his likeness. Then we will know how he wants us to pray, and we will be a help, instead of a hindrance, in changing the world around us. In short, it’s not about our herculean efforts to help God save the world. It’s not even about realizing our own sins and trying to be better. It’s all about looking to his great grace*—to transform us, and then to change the world.
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*The best definition of grace, in this instance, is:

“Grace is the divine influence upon the heart, enabling us to do the will of God.”

As the hymn title “Grace Greater Than Our Sin” implies, God’s influence on our hearts is more powerful than the stranglehold of our sinful habits and attitudes. Let's quit hanging on to them. Let's quit struggling to improve ourselves. Let's put ourselves into his hands, trust and cooperate with him, and let him complete the work he started when we first believed in him.

The best gift

If you then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!" (Luke 11:13).

This is how Jesus concluded his response to his disciples’ request to teach them how to pray. First, he gave them "The Lord’s Prayer." He followed that by an illustration of a man successfully receiving assistance from his neighbor by persistent entreaty. He applied that to prayer by instructing his disciples to be persistent in asking, seeking, and knocking. Then he highlights the willingness of earthly fathers to give their children the good things they ask for, rather than something harmful. Finally, he concludes with the statement that God, who is far better than an earthly parent, will surely give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him.

I must admit that this statement has mystified me. I wonder how much Jesus’ disciples knew about the Holy Spirit and whether they had the remotest intention of praying to receive the Holy Spirit. I’m sure there were many other things for which they were interested in praying.

Through the years, I’ve reasoned that Jesus was pointing out that if one has God, one has everything. That is, if one is rightly related to God, one can “come boldly to the throne of grace, [to] obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need” (Heb. 4:16).

But today, my thoughts on this statement of Jesus’ took me somewhere else entirely. I had been reflecting on the joy-to-be-alive, security, sense of direction and purpose, fulfillment, and love that fill one’s inner landscape when living in communion with the Lord by his Spirit. I realized that this inner landscape is where we really live. Outer circumstances cannot override what is in one’s spirit. The best of circumstances cannot put a smile on the face of an insecure, grasping person; and the worst of circumstances cannot take the song out of the heart of a person whose “mind is stayed on [God]” (Isa. 26:3 NKJV).

The writer of Proverbs had a similar thought when he said

The spirit of a man will sustain him in sickness,/But who can bear a broken spirit? (Prov. 18:14 NKJV).

Truly, the glorious presence of the Holy Spirit within us is gift enough. He is a better answer than we usually ask for.

The Main Event

"Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more important than food, and the body more important than clothes? Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life?

"And why do you worry about clothes? See how the lilies of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? So do not worry, saying, 'What shall we eat?' or 'What shall we drink?' or 'What shall we wear?' For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well (Matt. 6:25-33).

“. . . all these things (food and drink to sustain life and clothes to adorn the body)will be ADDED to you”—in other words, they’re NOT THE MAIN EVENT—they are add-ons. The main event, according to verse 33, is:

· God’s kingdom—cooperating with God’s will coming to pass on earth as it is in heaven.
· God’s righteousness—allowing God to make things right on the inside of us and in the world around us, by letting his good and holy Spirit operate freely in and through us.

Steven Covey, in his book Seven Habits of Highly Effective People, identifies four kinds of tasks that face us every day: tasks that are 1) not urgent and not important (like reading the comics sometime today), 2) urgent but not important (like catching a TV program that is coming on in 5 minutes), 3) not urgent but important (like teaching one’s children safety rules), and 4) urgent and important (like taking an injured child to the emergency room). [All of these examples are mine.] Covey points out that an effective person prioritizes. He puts first things first. He does not do the unimportant first so that there is no time left for the important. He makes the time for important things—even the ones that don’t have to be done yet.

When I read Seven Habits, I was appalled to recognize that I wasted a lot of precious time creating things over again because I did not have a good enough filing system so that I could find my creations the next time I needed them. I found the time to get organized, and was rewarded by a less frantic life, with more leisure to do things creatively and well.

How does this apply to Matt. 6:33? Most of mankind—even Christ-followers—have succumbed to investing almost all of their time and energy into what Jesus categorizes as not urgent and of lesser importance. According to his statement, “earning a living” will happen as an add-on if one puts one’s best time and energies into the Father’s business. This is hard for most of us to believe. It seems to be irresponsibly leaving the matter of providing the necessities of life “up in the air.”

Here’s an example I read years ago of putting first things first, Jesus’ way:

R. G. LeTourneau* was struggling one evening with a design problem. One of the machines that was essential to performing a task the next day, needed to be fitted with a part that would enable it to function differently. What kind of part would it take?

It was almost time for a weekly meeting at church [I believe it was with a group of young people that he was leading], and he was no nearer to a solution than he had been all day. The design was urgent. He had to have an idea to implement by tomorrow. But, finally, he decided to honor his commitment to the Lord and to the church. . . . As he started home, later that night, the needed inspiration burst into his mind. Sitting down to his drawing board, he quickly sketched the perfect design.

Obviously, we each need to ask the Lord exactly what the balance should be in our individual lives between godly priorities and earthly tasks. But one thing is certain, we will never get around to obeying God’s call to be about the Father’s business unless we purpose in our hearts to put that first.
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* Available through Amazon.com: God Runs My Business; The Story of R. G. LeTourneau. by Albert W. Lorimer and 77 (Paperback - 1941).

Being known by him

Bob Sorge, in his life-changing book, Secrets of the Secret Place, arrested my attention with these words:

Someone once asked, “Do you know God?” But there’s a question that is far more important: Does God know you? The issue on the great day of judgment will not be whether you know God but whether God knows you.1

This is the issue in the last three verses of the parable of the ten virgins. Two blogs ago, I investigated this parable in an effort to discover the secret of “THOSE WHO STAY FILLED.” I concluded that their secret is avoiding “second-hand religion” but instead drawing near to God and living by his Word—for themselves. In the next blog, I explored what it means to truly know God and stay alive in him, the way the five wise virgins were able to do. Now we come to the last three verses of the parable, which expose the critical matter of being known by God.

"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 . . .” (Matt. 25:11-13).

These three verses are puzzling to most of us, I venture to say. A great deal of light is shed on them by Bob Sorge’s continued discussion of it:

“But,” someone might counter, “I thought God knows everything about us anyways!”

True, He does. But just because He sees certain dark rooms in our heart doesn’t mean we’ve invited His light into those dark rooms.2

Have we failed to talk to God about our dreams, because we’re afraid he might not agree and might try to talk us out of them? Do we avoid discussing our attitudes with him, because we don’t want to change them—we feel so strongly that “this is part of who I am”? Do we “keep from him” our secret sins or sinful thoughts, because of the shame and condemnation we expect to feel in his presence?

If so, we have completely misunderstood the type of relationship God invites us to. We are operating out of how we have learned to behave in human society. We have learned to reveal only a little about ourselves to other people. And there’s wisdom in that. Who knows what certain people will do with intimate knowledge about us? Who knows whether they will reject us, if they know our weaknesses and our past deeds? Who knows whether they really even want to hear about our dreams and our struggles? But God is different. His love is unconditional. His understanding is complete. Our secrets are safer with him than they are with us. We don’t know what to do with them. He does.

Still, many of us might feel that mentioning ugly things about ourselves to God is as unseemly as wearing stained clothing in public. We may feel that it would be disrespectful to God to “wear our dirty laundry” before his eyes. But the Bible clearly states

He who conceals his sins does not prosper. . . (Prov. 28:13).

If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault . . . (James 1:5)

God is not surprised, shocked, or turned off by our sins and our shortcomings. He is frustrated by our unwillingness to admit the obvious and let him change us by his love and his grace. Being open with God about our sins and our lacks is the way to grow and prosper in our relationship with him. Peter is an example of an honest, transparent follower of Jesus. He blurted out what he was thinking countless times. He undoubtedly was expressing what the rest of the disciples were thinking—but they were too proud and too afraid of Jesus’ rejection to say so. And who prospered the most? Who grew by leaps and bounds in love for Jesus? Who dared to believe that he could do what Jesus did (like walking on water)? Who was admitted into Jesus’ closest circle of disciples? It wasn’t the careful, fearful ones who kept their thoughts to themselves. It was Peter, whose heart was an open book to the Lord.

Consider, for example, an incident after Jesus’ resurrection, when the disciples were at loose ends, wondering what they were to do next. Peter didn’t hang around, trying to figure out the pious response to the situation. He said, “I’m going fishing!” This candor did not put a rift between him and the Lord. It actually set the stage for the Lord to meet him with the miracle of a super-abundant catch—and to commission him to “feed my sheep.”3 The Lord wants to meet us where we are. He can’t meet us when we’re pretending to be somewhere else.

Bob Sorge, in speaking of Zecharias’ vision of the lampstand and the two olive trees,4 says this:

What we really want is wider pipes. The pipes that carry the oil from the bowl to the seven lamps are critical to the degree of light emitted by the lampstand. If the pipes are open and unclogged, oil will flow freely to the flames of our hearts. When this admixture of oil (the word and the Spirit) flows into our hearts and sets us ablaze for Him, the kingdom will advance in and through our lives in staggering proportions. The issue is not, “Work harder!” The issue is, “Get oil!” The secret is: Apply yourself to enlarging your connection to the source of divine oil.5

Opening our innermost beings to the Lord greatly widens our pipes and enlarges our connection to the source of divine oil.

How about it? Will we entrust ourselves to his love and let him know us? Much rides on our decision.
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1Bob Sorge, Secrets of the Secret Place (Lee’s Summit, MO: Oasis House, 2001), p. 175.
2Bob Sorge, Secrets, p. 176.
3John 20
4Zech. 4:1-9
5Bob Sorge, Secrets, p. 207.

Knowing him

Today’s thoughts are a follow-up to the previous blog (“THOSE WHO STAY FILLED”). How did the five wise virgins manage to have a constant supply of oil? First of all, what did the “oil” in the parable represent? Zechariah 4:1-9 gives a clear hint. In a vision, he saw seven lamps which were kept burning by a constant supply of oil piped in from two olive trees. The angel’s explanation of this vision was that it was “not by might nor by power, but by my Spirit” that the temple would be rebuilt. So the oil that supplied the lamps was the Spirit.

How can a Christian have a personal supply of the oil of the Holy Spirit instead of having to depend on others to re-supply them? Actually, it’s not really a matter of not having the oil “on board.” The Holy Spirit indwells every believer. But, somehow, there are believers who are more greatly motivated by the Spirit than others. One way to understand this is by considering the example of buying a new product. Once you buy it, it is always available to you. However, this product does not begin doing you any good until you 1) study it—read the directions, try the controls, etc.—and 2) use it to perform some tasks for you. Every time you use it, you become better acquainted with the product’s capabilities and how best to operate it. Eventually, it will have changed your lifestyle to such a degree that you wonder what you ever did without it. . . . On the other hand, it might sit on your shelf and not benefit you in the least.

This analogy falls down in the respect that we don’t “use” the Holy Spirit. We are his followers, making ourselves available to serve him and partner with him. However, in other respects, the above analogy is helpful because it points out that being indwelt by the Holy Spirit has minimal consequences in an individual’s life, unless that person takes it upon himself to learn all about him and to begin—in a daily, personal way—to apply his Word to his life and live in deliberate reliance on Him. As this believer interacts with the Lord in everyday living, his understand of how the Lord operates grows by leaps and bounds. Not only that, his kinship with the Lord deepens tremendously. The oil does not lie dormant in his heart, it flames up continually.

A trademark of such a person is that her faith doesn’t have to be bolstered by someone else. While others are up one day and down the next, she has a fresh supply each day of the joy of the Lord. She has insights into the Word of God that sometimes run counter to what “everyone else in the church” says about it. She is confident in the knowledge of the Lord’s will for her.

How is that different from other believers? Here are some contrasts:

Keepers of the flame have such a rich personal history of God’s provision and grace that they are not dismayed by misfortune—they expect God to come through, as before, in his perfect way.
Passive carriers of the oil are rocked by misfortune. When someone reminds them of God’s promises to help in time of need, they say, “I hope so,” in a tone that says that they don’t really.

Keepers of the flame read in the Word that liars will be thrown in the lake of fire, and react with the “fear of the Lord.” They begin to avoid little deceptions and evasions and whitewashing of the truth. They become confident and fearless witnesses of the Truth.
Passive carriers of the oil read in the Word that liars will be thrown in the lake of fire, and say, “The Lord must not really mean this. After all, all of my Christian friends do it, and I’m sure we are all going to heaven--we have already accepted him as our Savior.” They become weak, compromised Christians.

Keepers of the flame keep their hearts open to the Lord’s leading and enabling in every aspect of their lives. They recognize opportunities to bring Life into everyday situations, and they perform even mundane tasks with divine inspiration and ability.
Passive carriers of the oil are not aware of the Lord very often. They operate on the level of their own agenda, wisdom, and ability most of the time.

Keepers of the flame believe and depend on the Lord and his Word. They love to be in the presence of other believers and learn much from the preaching and testimonies of others. However, they are like the Bereans;* they do not accept anyone’s word as truth until they find out that it is supported by the Word and by the witness of the Holy Spirit.
Passive carriers of the oil depend heavily on the teachings of their church and the (sometimes unspoken) beliefs of their Christian friends. They are mostly unaware that some of these are not Scriptural. They assume their friends know what the Bible says and that, therefore, it is safe to just follow their friends.

Keepers of the flame study every part of the Bible, meditating on the meaning of each passage and asking the Lord to show them how it applies to their own life.
Passive carriers of the oil review the promises of God and other parts of the Bible that are popular in their church, but do not think too deeply about the rest. If they read something that seems to contradict what their church teaches, they tell themselves that there must be an explanation for this. Surely their church’s beliefs are not wrong.

Keepers of the flame are enchanted by the Lord and fellowship with him regularly.
Passive carriers of the oil enjoy the worship and programs of their church—and sometimes sense the Lord’s presence too (usually during a good worship service).

The list could go on and on. The common thread through all of these contrasts is this:

Keepers of the flame interact eagerly, deliberately, and regularly with the Lord in fellowship and by considering his Word. They exemplify these two Scriptures:

I have set the LORD always before me. Because he is at my right hand, I will not be shaken (Psa. 16:8 NIV).

I have hidden your word in my heart that I might not sin against you (Psa 119:11 NIV).

Passive carriers of the oil trust, depend on, and follow many things more than they do the Lord and his Word. They think they are just not very spiritual. They doubt their ability to understand the Word themselves or to hear, and know and relate to God any better.

Their pessimistic beliefs about their ability to follow God joyfully and fruitfully . . . are simply not true. Here’s what true:

Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. . . . Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double-minded. Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and He will lift you up (James 4:8, 10 NKJV).

Here's my paraphrase for these verses: "make a point of getting to know God better for yourself. He will not hide from you. Purposely clear away the sins and confused thinking that keep you at a distance from him. Be like a child before him, in trust and dependence, and he will make you an amazingly strong and fruitful believer." You will be like the five wise virgins who had a personal—not second-hand—supply of the oil of the Holy Spirit—because you have come to truly KNOW HIM.

And then, besides knowing him better, there’s another side to the wise virgins’ secret. For this, tune in to the next blog where we take a look at the last three verses of this parable.
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*Acts 17:11

THOSE WHO STAY FILLED: How do they do it?

"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. . . .” (Matt. 25:1-10).

Have you wondered why some Christians are so alive in Christ, while others seem lukewarm, at best? I certainly have. I was struck by one of my parents’ fellow missionaries whose face radiated the joy of the Lord—in the middle of a routine day. I remember also an evangelist who preached at family camp whose words and demeanor took me right into the presence of God. At that same family camp was a teenage girl who spoke about the Lord regularly in the most natural way, and who was always in the same mood—a positive, glad, caring, peaceful one. I wondered greatly how they could be that way, because I certainly longed to be that way myself. It also was the description that I saw in the Word for what a Christian was supposed to be like.

Growing up in a conservative, evangelical tradition, I inherited a common perception that those who were “really saved” and “sanctified (Spirit-filled)” would just naturally remain “on fire” for the Lord the rest of their lives. This belief did not give much direction or hope to a person who knew she was not, and was not satisfied with being a lukewarm and fairly ineffective Christian.

This is why I am so interested in the parable of the ten virgins. The wise virgins were able to keep their lamps filled and radiant, while the lamps of the unwise virgins were about to go out. The good news in this parable is that there appears to be a practical reason for the success of the wise virgins, a concrete notion of how to be among those perpetually-burning followers of his.

As I meditated on the words of the parable (including the next three verses, which will be the basis for my next blog) to discover the wise virgins’ secret, here’s what I saw: that they did not have a hand-me-down religion; these young women went straight to the source for themselves. The unwise virgins appear to have passively received a supply of oil from someone, thoughtlessly expecting it to last forever. This can be compared to a Christian who goes to church and leaves uplifted and comforted, but who has no understanding of how to remain close to the Lord the rest of the week.

The wise Christian also goes to church and leaves uplifted and comforted. However, unlike the unwise Christian, this one is aware of the nature of the oil which filled his lamp while he was at church. She knows that it was nothing other than the gracious presence of the Lord himself and the life-giving quality of his Word that caused her spirit to come alive. Such a Christian has a revelation of how precious and desirable this oil is. She is not content to receive a dab of it (so to speak) to perk up her already-determined lifestyle. She is not content with the inferior quality of life that results from burning the fuel of her own limited wisdom, goodness, and ability. She desires the lifestyle motivated and enabled by divine oil. Therefore, this wise Christian personally seeks out her own supply of it and carries it with her everywhere. She does not buy into the common belief that the only way to receive new inspiration is from the oil that is in her pastor and other, “more spiritual” Christians.

Moses and Joshua are two examples of this truth. They witnessed the same miracles as the rest of the Israelite nation. They received the same teaching from the Lord. But there was a basic difference between them and the nation at large. The difference in their attitudes showed up plainly when the people arrived at Mt. Sinai where the Lord had promised to meet with them.

On the morning of the third day there was thunder and lightning, with a thick cloud over the mountain, and a very loud trumpet blast. Everyone in the camp trembled. Then Moses led the people out of the camp to meet with God, and they stood at the foot of the mountain. Mount Sinai was covered with smoke, because the LORD descended on it in fire. The smoke billowed up from it like smoke from a furnace, the whole mountain trembled violently, and the sound of the trumpet grew louder and louder. Then Moses spoke and the voice of God answered him (Ex. 19:16-19). . . .

When the people saw the thunder and lightning and heard the trumpet and saw the mountain in smoke, they trembled with fear. They stayed at a distance and said to Moses, "Speak to us yourself and we will listen. But do not have God speak to us or we will die" (Ex. 20:18-19).

The people at large were content with hand-me-down religion! They didn’t want to know God; they just wanted a few of his benefits—as many as Moses could get for them.

On the contrary, Moses climbed Mt. Sinai several times, staying alone with God for 40 days at a time. Well, perhaps not entirely alone:

The LORD said to Moses, "Come up to me on the mountain and stay here, and I will give you the tablets of stone, with the law and commands I have written for their instruction."

Then Moses set out with Joshua his aide, and Moses went up on the mountain of God. He said to the elders, "Wait here for us until we come back to you. Aaron and Hur are with you, and anyone involved in a dispute can go to them" (Ex. 24:12-14).

So Joshua went with him, at least one time, up the mountain to meet with God.

After leaving Mt. Sinai, Moses pitched a tent outside the camp where anyone could go to meet with God.

Now Moses used to take a tent and pitch it outside the camp some distance away, calling it the "tent of meeting." Anyone inquiring of the LORD would go to the tent of meeting outside the camp. And whenever Moses went out to the tent, all the people rose and stood at the entrances to their tents, watching Moses until he entered the tent. As Moses went into the tent, the pillar of cloud would come down and stay at the entrance, while the LORD spoke with Moses. Whenever the people saw the pillar of cloud standing at the entrance to the tent, they all stood and worshiped, each at the entrance to his tent. The LORD would speak to Moses face to face, as a man speaks with his friend. Then Moses would return to the camp, but his young aide Joshua son of Nun did not leave the tent (Ex. 33:7-11).

Apparently, Moses and Joshua were the principal ones who frequented this tent of meeting. The rest of the nation had great respect for the fact that God spoke to Moses there, but their worship of God was from a distance. Anyone who knows the stories of the years in the wilderness knows how small was the faith, stability, and godliness of the vast majority of the people who were content with this from-a-distance, second-hand religion.

On the other hand, Moses and Joshua were stalwart men of faith and courage. Men who heard from God. Men whose personal lives prospered and who bore fruit that fed an entire nation. It was surely because they welcomed personal rendezvous with God and staked their lives on his Word.

Incidentally, neither of them were just “born that way.” Moses’ relationship with God was hugely boosted by the encounter at the burning bush. But he had to muster up all of his courage—over and over again—to obey God’s orders. As he did that, his relationship with God deepened, and hunger to know God even more intimately overtook him. Joshua did not start out with a burning bush experience. He tagged along with someone who knew how to relate to God personally until the hunger to know God ignited in him as well.

How can I stay filled with the life of God? Not by being passive. Not by staying at a distance from God. Not by letting someone else pray for me or tell me what the Bible says. No, it’s by esteeming the Lord and his Word— and going after them myself.

Does this mean becoming a reclusive mystic? Is it only possible for Bible scholars? Heavens, no! Were Peter and John reclusive? Were they scholars? No. Were the Holy Spirit and the Word mighty in them? Yes! It can be so for us too. Bear with me for further insight—in the next blog—into having a constant supply of oil.

Change . . . It's a good thing!

During a brief meeting with the elders of the young church of Ephesus, knowing that he faced imprisonment in Jerusalem and would never see these young believers again, Paul spoke these encouraging words:

"Now I'm turning you over to God, our marvelous God whose gracious Word can make you into what he wants you to be and give you everything you could possibly need in this community of holy friends.” (Acts 20:32 MSG).

Or as expressed in the Amplified Bible:
“And now [brethren], I commit you to God [I deposit you in His charge, entrusting you to His protection and care]. And I commend you to the Word of His grace [to the commands and counsels and promises of His unmerited favor]. It is able to build you up and to give you [your rightful] inheritance among all God's set-apart ones (those consecrated, purified, and transformed of soul)” (Acts 20:32 AMP).

It is well known that the “Word of His grace” is there to help us cope with the challenges that come our way—to comfort us in times of distress, to guide us in times of perplexity, to encourage us in times of apparent failure, and to build our faith in the face of “impossibility.” What is not considered quite so often is—as the Apostle Paul said above—that the Word was given for the purpose of changing . . . us. To make radical—and lasting—changes in our thinking, our personality, our emotional being, and our lifestyle. To become what the Word says, not just know it. To become what God wants us to be, not just act that way once in a while.

The second part of Paul’s statement—about the “inheritance” we can receive in the fellowship of “holy friends”—seemed to me, at first, to be saying that the Church is a place in which we can receive great care and blessing. It puzzled me to notice that Paul seemed to be saying that it was the Word that made it possible for us to receive this inheritance. “So what, exactly, is he saying," I thought. "How do we receive this blessed inheritance? From the Word? Or from the saints?"

I finally saw that it is this transforming Word which makes it possible to receive the fullness of the benefits of

a) being a Christian and
b) belonging to the Church

That is because the Word, little by little, takes us from being “baby Christians” to being Christians who are “consecrated, purified, and transformed of soul.” As we become more and more like this, we will naturally live in more joy, peace, wisdom, self-control, and faith—instead of struggling under discontentment, anxiety, uncertainty, impulsiveness, and fear.

We will also have a mature, blessed, and profitable relationship with other Christians. We will see them in a favorable light—as God does. We will appreciate the kindness and support they show us, and be able to understand and forgive their lapses. We will gratefully depend on their prayers, counsel, help, and example, but not depend on them so much as to become disillusioned when they fail us.

In a time of wholesale exit from the church, could the key to profiting from Church membership be to allow the Word to change us?

Going all-out

As he looked up, Jesus saw the rich putting their gifts into the temple treasury. He also saw a poor widow put in two very small copper coins. "I tell you the truth," he said, "this poor widow has put in more than all the others. All these people gave their gifts out of their wealth; but she out of her poverty put in all she had to live on" (Luke 21:1-4).

God’s giving is like that of the poverty-stricken widow. He could just give to us, out of his wealth, blessings like the sun and the rain. Instead he gifts us in ways that cost him something. He lavishes on us his personal attention. He grants us access to him as a friend—even though we can be annoying, immature, self-centered people. He gave up his rights and the luxuries of heaven to enter our world and give us a personal demonstration of what to be and how to do. Then he gave up his life to save our lives, even though it was our fault that we had lost them.

Are we reluctant to accept Jesus’ implication that we should give so sacrificially to God as this widow? Here’s the cure: realizing that God, for no reason other than that he loves and delights in us, goes all-out in his giving to us.