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Jesus said that the goal of every disciple is to bear much fruit. If we bear none, the vinedresser will remove us (John 15:2). If we bear some, He will prune us. The measure of our success as Jesus’ disciples lies in our fruitfulness. That is why being in a spiritual wilderness is so frustrating. Wildernesses are dry, barren, and bleak. Little grows there. It can seem the antithesis of fruitfulness. Yet it seems that everyone, at some point in their life, finds themselves in a spiritual desert. Some of the greatest leaders in the Bible spent prolonged periods in the wilderness. Elijah was there more than once (1 Kings 17:3; 19:3-4). Abraham yielded the lush plains to his nephew Lot while he dwelt in the desert (Genesis 13:10-13; 18). David, Moses, John the Baptist, and Jesus all spent significant periods of time in the wilderness. It would seem that in some way, the path to their greatness led straight through a wilderness. Elijah provides an interesting case study. The first time we meet him, he is boldly delivering a word from God to the evil king Ahab. No water would fall on Israel. This was devastating news to a king whose land depended on rainfall for its survival. But for the intervention of God, Elijah might never have escaped the royal palace with his life. In fact, God told His faithful servant to escape and hide by the Brook Cherith. Scholars are unsure exactly where that brook was. It may not have been in a desert, but it was in an isolated, barren place. The prophet’s only food was take out, delivered twice daily by ravens. Eventually the water from the brook dried up completely. It became a barren, uninhabitable land. But it was exactly where God told Elijah to be. That’s right. Elijah was perfectly faithful, yet God dispatched him to a wilderness. Sometimes we can be in the center of God’s will and be in a wilderness. Conversely, three years later, Elijah won his greatest victory when he prayed down fire from heaven on Mount Carmel and defeated 850 prophets of Baal and Asherah. But then things went south. Queen Jezebel uttered dire threats to the lone prophet of God and he was uncharacteristically struck by fear. He ran for his life into the wilderness. Elijah dismissed his servant and travelled for 40 days until he ensconced himself in a cave on Mount Sinai. It was there that God found him and asked the penetrating question: “What are you doing here, Elijah?” This time Elijah was in a wilderness of his own choosing. God had not called him to the desert. God’s last instruction was to stand atop a mountain and win a glorious victory. Elijah chose a desert out of a lack of faith in God. Elijah experienced two wilderness experiences in his life, one as a result of obeying God’s will, the other as a result of fleeing God’s will. In each case, God met him there and transformed his life. Elijah never left a wilderness the same way he entered it. A wilderness is a solitary place. It is often quiet there, with few, if any distractions. While it can be lonely, it also allows us to focus, and to pray. It gives us perspective. It can be a place to indulge in a pity party or it can be a venue that solidifies our soul. You may currently be residing in a spiritual wilderness. Perhaps God assigned that place to you, or maybe you are there out of your own failure of faith. Regardless, God is a master at using a wilderness to the greatest effect. It is an awesome thing to be alone with God. Use that time well. Listen for His still, small, voice. No one else may know where you are, but God does. What may seem like your worst moment may in actual fact be a watershed moment in your life when God does something that changes your life forever. Embrace the wilderness of your life. www.blakaby.net . Used by permission.

An episode of ABC’s Modern Family captures the split in American opinions about porn. Claire Dunphy finds a dirty picture on one of their computers and assumes it was her 10-year-old son Luke who looked at it. Claire calls it unacceptable “smut.” Her husband Phil (the one who actually downloaded the picture) tries to chalk it up to sexual curiosity. Claire’s solution is to tell Luke every time he looks at porn God kills a puppy. Phil’s attitude: “It was hardly porn. It was a topless woman on a tractor. Do you know what they call that in Europe? A cereal commercial.”* Is porn all that bad for you? Many don’t think it is, even in the church. Yes, we know lust is wrong (Matthew 5:28), but why would using pornography be especially harmful? Why should we be concerned when our husband, wife, son, or daughter looks at pornography? 5 Ways Porn Warps the Mind There are at least 5 ways using pornography over and over damages our sexual beliefs: Harm #1: Watching Porn Decreases Our Sexual Satisfaction It trains us to desire the variety and “designer sex” of cybersex more than the familiar sexuality of marriage. Studies show the more people expose themselves even to softcore porn, the less satisfied they are with the physical appearance of their significant other. Harm #2: Watching Porn Disconnects Us from Real Relationships It trains us to detach emotional involvement from sexual experience. Studies show the more people turn to cyberspace for sexual satisfaction, the less they turn to committed relationships to experience true intimacy. Harm #3: Watching Porn Lowers Our View of Women It trains us to see women as sexual commodities, not people created in God’s image. The more men (and women) view porn, the more likely they are to buy the glossy lies pornography teaches: that women are only worth their sexual prowess and their ability to conform to the erotic euphoria of porn women. Harm #4:Watching Porn Desensitizes Us to Cruelty It numbs us to the seriousness of verbal and physical aggression. Most modern pornography portrays women as enjoying sexually abusive and degrading language and activity. It is toxic sexual mis-education. Harm #5: Watching Porn Makes Us Want to Watch More Porn It taps into the neuro-circuitry of our brains, making us desire the same rush of sexual energy again and again. Over 90% of therapists believe a person can literally become addicted to using pornography. And like other addictions, the more porn we use, the more we need to use to get the same high. The Way of Escape God promises that God is faithful in the midst of our temptations, and He will not let us be tempted beyond our ability, but with the temptation he will provide the way of escape (1 Corinthians 10:13). Our e-book Your Brain on Porn: 5 Ways Pornography Warps Your Mind and 3 Biblical Ways to Renew It presents scientific research fully detailing these 5 harms. It also gives a solid biblical foundation to understand why porn is so harmful and the way God has provided to break free. * Modern Family, “Not in My House” Premiered on ABC on January 13, 2010

Loops are negative interactions between two people in which each reaction heightens the conflict. For example, if one person is demanding, the other person will often withhold. Or if one expresses an emotion, the other may be overly logical. If one pursues, the other will probably distance. Here’s what the bible says about loops: Don’t have them! Romans 12:17 says, “Do not repay anyone evil for evil.” Don’t respond to them! (in the expected negative way). Proverbs 17:19 says, “He who loves a quarrel loves sin; he who builds a high gate invites destruction.” So don’t build a “high gate!” Remember: You don’t have to accept an invitation to every argument you’re invited to! Proverbs 15:1 says “a soft answer turns away wrath.” Don’t start them! Romans 4:15 says, “The law produces wrath.” Too many rules and regulations produce more bad reactions on the other person’s part. An atmosphere of “grace” (not rules) must prevail in any home. Christ was constantly invited into loops by the teachers of Jewish law. These teachers elevated meaningless rules above relationship with a loving God. They were threatened that Christ showed no regard for their man made rules, as when he healed a man on the Sabbath (which was forbidden by the “law”). Here’s an example of how the Jewish teachers tried to invite Christ into a “loop”: Christ was asked if people should pay taxes to Caesar. This question was designed to start a fight. Jesus asked to see a Roman coin and asked whose image was on the coin. Of course, the image was that of Caesar. Then Jesus said in Luke 20:25, “Render therefore unto Caesar the things which are Caesar’s, and unto God the things which are God’s.” Christ did not accept this invitation to a fight. Here are six good ways to break relationship loops: 1.) Always turn a complaint into a request (don’t demand). 2.) Be curious, not reactive (don’t withhold). 3.) Agree that no mind-reading is allowed in your relationship. 4.) Ask the other person what he/she meant by their statement, or ask what they thought you meant by your statement. The meaning that we attribute to the actions and words of others is usually the reason for conflict. 5.) Ask yourself, “How do I invite the behavior I hate?” Examine your own loop with God. If you are “looping” with someone, there is something amiss with your relationship with God, and He can tell you exactly what that is and how you are resisting Him. 6.) Temporarily disengage from the conversation. Whoever disengages takes responsibility for telling the other person when he/she will reengage, then must initiate the re-engagement. Even just slowing the conversation down may save the day! Here’s the best idea yet: Create POSITIVE loops. Foster good will. “Good will come to him who is generous and lends freely, who conducts his affairs with justice” (Psalm 112:5). “Give, and it will be given to you” (Luke 6:38). “If anyone wants to be first, he must be the very last and the servant of all” (Mark 9:35). There are many more loop busters. Loops are symptomatic of unmet intimacy needs such as affection and approval. This is one of the paradigms I look through in marriage counseling.

Is she a collection of body parts? Is she made of plastic? Or is she a whole person with a soul, full of all the things that make a person human: strengths, weaknesses, quirks, fears, insecurities, anxieties, vulnerabilities, likes, dislikes, hopes, and dreams? The answer is obvious, yet it escapes so many men lost in our sex-and-skin-saturated culture. Whether by conscious choice or by years of overexposure that has conditioned an addiction, many men view women as objects to be consumed. This trap is so easy to fall in to, most men don’t even realize they are doing it. I know for most of my life, I didn’t. If you allowed yourself to be raised on soft-core pornography the way I did, your mind and body define attractiveness as body parts. You give a woman her worth based on her body parts and not much else. This is just as true for woman you see on a page or a screen as it is for women you see in real life. It’s easy to stare at a photo or movie of a nude woman and create the perfect fantasy with her. You know nothing else about her! The reality is, she’d likely have zero interest in you in real life and you likely would be quite turned off by a variety of things about her as well. But it’s not real life. It’s fantasy. But where do you live? You live in real life, not in fantasy. We all live in real life. So what happens when the way we view women is completely formed in fantasy then we get up from the computer to interact with women in real life? Problems ensue, and ensue quickly. The Stakes If you’re married, these ensuing problems are obvious. If there’s one thing marriage does, it shows the full humanity of a woman and the full humanity of a man. There’s a reason our marriage vows say “for better or worse” in them: marriage is guaranteed to bring with it the best sides of a person, as well as the worst. There is no hiding in marriage—which is the exact opposite of pornography and lust. So as a man, you know all of your wife’s flaws, you smell her breath in the morning, and you see her when she’s tired, stressed out, and without makeup. You see none of these things in pornography—or in the attractive woman you think is flirting with you at the receptionist counter. Fantasy then takes over and you assume this woman has none of these human imperfections. As fantasy crashes headfirst into reality, logical thought goes out the window and obsession and longing ensue—a recipe for disaster in a marriage. But the stakes aren’t any less if you’re single. Many single guys feel they have a license to lust since they aren’t married, as it doesn’t seem like they are harming anyone else. The sobering remedy to this line of thought is simple: if you’re conditioned to view women as objects meant for your consumption, how do you view my wife when she walks in the room? How do you view my daughters? What thoughts go through your head? Where do your eyes go? Exactly. If you are single and you feel this gives you the license to lust, please stay far away from me and my family. This mindset makes you an incredibly unsafe person to be around. As Christians, we are called to be in trusting, dignity-giving community with one another. The only way to do this is to be serious about the damage our pattern of objectifying women does to everyone around us. The Solution The solution to a mindset of objectification is to allow God to rewire the way our brains process the women we interact with. We obviously need to completely cut off the pornography as the “professor” who wired us to turn women into pieces of meat like this in the first place. But beyond the elimination of this force, we need to allow God’s healing and corrective touch to rebuild the way we were designed to view women. Every woman you lust over is someone’s daughter. Would you want someone lusting over your daughter the way you lust over women? Obviously not—because you view your daughter as a whole person, not as a collection of body parts. All of us, men and women, are created in God’s image (Genesis 1:27). This is full humanity. God tells us that the very definition of sex is two of these full humans coming together as one flesh (Genesis 2:24). Anything less that the full merger of these two humans falls short of God’s design for sex. “Full” meaning all of someone: the good and the bad, and definitely not just their body parts. The reality is sex is not about body parts. It’s about trust, safety and commitment—things that are completely foreign to lust. God did not create women to be consumed, nor did he create you to consume them. So next time you see a cute girl, don’t dehumanize her by placing her sole value on her physical appearance. And don’t let lust dehumanize you by turning you into this kind of consuming monster. Sex and lust make lousy gods. Ask the only God with any real power to heal you and put you on the path to loving all of his image-bearing children the way he loves you, and the way he loves your daughters. www.covenanteyes.com . Guest author Noah Filipiak.

This article was authored by Ben Driver, a guest contributor to Covenant Eyes. When dealing with porn we need to look at the big picture and the little picture. We need to fight the small battles in order to win the war. Over the years I’ve become convinced that to win to war of lust we need to learn to live out the greatest and most important commandment of Christ: love. When we love God and love others we begin to win the war. Love conquers lust. Porn teaches us a distorted view of love, intimacy, other people, and even God. Love teaches us to value our neighbors; porn teaches us to objectify them. Love teaches us to serve others; porn teaches us that others exist to serve us. Love teaches us that nothing matters more then knowing God; porn teaches us that nothing matters more then immediate temporary pleasure. When we choose to love God and others, we choose to war against lust. But how do we fight in the daily battles? I believe this begins with love as well. Consider the concept of love as an acronym. We must fight with L.O.V.E. L – Leave your sin. If we ever want to see lust defeated in our lives, we must make the choice to leave our sin behind. Jesus often told people “Go, and sin no more.” Jesus calls us to the same. Have you made the choice to leave your sin? We must make the choice to leave our sin every time the temptation strikes. The Bible tells us to flee from sexual immorality. Just like Joseph ran from Potiphar’s wife, we must run from our own temptations. Sometimes this means getting ourselves far from temptation before it even happens. Things like limiting your Internet access and Internet filtering are helpful tools here. Sometimes this means physically leaving when temptation strikes. Go do something else. Ride your bike, cook a meal, call a friend, clean your house, just do something to leave the temptation. Leaving your sin is the first step to winning the battle. O – Open yourself up to others. Accountability is all about being open with others. It’s about following the Biblical commands to confess your sins and your struggles. Do you have someone who you can be honest with? If not, find someone. Just as we need to love our neighbors as ourselves, we need someone to love us enough to hold us accountable. In the moment of temptation, one of the best things you can do is open up to someone else about your struggle. Hebrews 3:12-13 says, “Take care, brothers, lest there be in any of you an evil, unbelieving heart, leading you to fall away from the living God. But exhort one another every day, as long as it is called ‘today,’ that none of you may be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin.” In other words, one of the key ways we fight sin is by hearing the encouragement and exhortation of another. You need someone in your life to love you and to make sure you do not become hardened by the deceitfulness of sin. Sin thrives in the darkness so expose it to the light of love. The battle will never be one alone. V – Value the right things. What do you really value? Porn teaches us to value temporary pleasure. The pleasure of porn only lasts as long as the time spent viewing it. God offers something better and He invites us to value the right things. In Matthew 5:29, Jesus commands us to value our eternity even more then our physical bodies. He says, “If your right eye causes you to sin, tear it out and throw it away. For it is better that you lose one of your members than that your whole body be thrown into hell.” Do you value freedom from this sin? We must make the choice to value the things of God. E – Engage with God. Jesus simply says in Matthew 5:8, “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.” The more we “see God” the more pure we become, and vice versa. The cycle of porn is one of shame and more impurity. The cycle of engaging with God is one of love and purity. Have you been engaging with God lately? To win the battles we must engage with God. Make the choice to love. Win the war by fighting the battles. The amazing truth of God’s word is that God loves us even in spite of our sin. If we strive to love Him and others I’m convinced that the chains of lust will be broken. Let’s defeat lust with love! ---------- Ben Driver, guest author, is the minister for the Bellevue Church of Christ in Bellevue, Ohio. He is passionate about Christians fulfilling the Great Commandment and the Great Commission. He cares deeply about the issue of pornography and wants to help others find freedom through Christ.

Maybe this is your journey. Here’s the scene: You’re in a battle with sickness, oppression or some similar need. However, you seek God and, in some way, the grace of God touches your life. Your victory may have come through God’s Word or prayer or some other encouragement, but you absolutely know the Lord delivered you. Using the five smooth stones of divine grace, you defeated your Goliath. But then, a few weeks or months later (or perhaps, years), suddenly all the old symptoms return with a vengeance. If you were struggling with an illness, it manifests now worse than ever; if your battle was regarding a relationship, it seems like all progress has been lost and you are back to square one. Have you ever been there? These negative experiences can drain the faith from your heart to such a degree that you feel you’ll never recover the anticipation of faith again. A spiritual paralysis immobilizes your soul. You may still attend church, but your faith is unresponsive; when others testify of a healing or deliverance, you secretly wait, measuring the time until they, too, lose their healing. For many, the result is one of severe disillusionment. The scripture says, “Hope deferred makes the heart sick” (Prov 13:12). How can you trust God when it seems like He let you down? You wonder: Did I lose my breakthrough or was I only deceiving myself and never really had it? But it is very possible that what you are experiencing is an entirely new spiritual battle, not a loss of God’s blessing. This new war is a very clever and effective deception that Satan uses to try and worm his way back into the lives of those delivered by God. I had been praying about this very thing, this returning battle, when the Holy Spirit spoke to my heart, “Goliath had a brother.” I was immediately reminded of David’s war against the Philistine giant. We all know that David became a great hero by trusting God and defeating Goliath. However, later in his life other giants showed up to war against the Lord’s servant. Amazingly, all of them were related to Goliath! Three of these giants were Goliath’s actual children; one, was Goliath’s brother (See 1 Chr 20.). So, after defeating a giant once, David suddenly had to face another giant. Get this point: Goliath had a brother that looked like him. We can imagine that the giant talked like Goliath, fought like him, and probably even smelled like him. Other than saying David was weary, the Bible is silent as to what might have been going through the king’s mind. Perhaps he wondered, “I thought I killed you. What are you doing back?” But, Goliath hadn’t come back. It was the giant’s brother and children that returned; it just looked like the same battle! The truth was, Goliath was dead. Likewise, you also have had many successful victories. JUST BECAUSE THE CURRENT GIANT YOU ARE FACING LOOKS LIKE ONE YOU DEFEATED IN THE PAST, DON’T BUY THE LIE THAT YOU NEVER REALLY WON THE FIRST BATTLE! By the strength of God’s grace, you trusted the Almighty and conquered your Goliath. The first giant is dead. Satan is masquerading as your former enemy so he can slip past your faith and regain entrance into your life. Resist him. Stand in faith (Eph 6). Don’t accept the lie that you were never delivered. The victory that overcomes the world is our faith (1 John 5:4). The Living God who helped you conquer Goliath will empower you to overcome his brother as well. Father, I bring to You Your servants. Lord, some have fought battles that seem to have reoccurred. Like David, they have become weary with fighting this enemy. By the power of Your Holy Spirit, I expose the lie that they had not previously conquered this enemy. In Jesus’ name, I rebuke the enemy. I ask You Lord to send angels to strengthen supernaturally Your people, just as angels often strengthened Jesus. In the name of the Lord. Amen! www.frangipane.org

The Holy Spirit has an amazing ministry in the life of the believer. You should know exactly how He blesses your life. 1. He convicts the world of sin, righteousness, and judgment (John 16:8). 2. He guides us into all truth (John 16:13). 3. He regenerates us (John 3:5-8; Titus 3:5). 4. He glorifies and testifies of Christ (John 15:26; 16:14). 5. He reveals Christ to us and in us (John 16:14-15). 6. He leads us (Rom. 8:14; Gal. 5:18; Matt. 4:1; Luke 4:1). 7. He sanctifies us (2 Thess. 2:13; 1 Pet. 1:2; Rom. 5:16). 8. He empowers us (Luke 4:14; 24:49; Rom. 15:19; Acts 1:8). 9. He fills us (Eph. 5:18; Acts 2:4; 4:8, 31; 9:17). 10. He teaches us to pray (Rom. 8:26-27; Jude 1:20). 11. He bears witness in us that we are children of God (Rom. 8:16). 12. He produces in us the fruit or evidence of His work and presence (Gal. 5:22-23). 13. He distributes spiritual gifts and manifestations (the outshining) of His presence to and through the body (1 Cor. 12:4, 8-10; Heb. 2:4). 14. He anoints us for ministry (Luke 4:18; Acts 10:38). 15. He washes and renews us (Titus 3:5). 16. He brings unity and oneness to the body (Eph. 4:3; 2:14-18). Here He plays the same role that He plays in the Godhead. The Spirit is the life that unites Father and Son. He plays the same role in the church. When He is operating in a group of people, He unites them in love. 17. He is our guarantee and deposit of the future resurrection (2 Cor. 1:22; 2 Cor. 5:5). 18. He seals us unto the day of redemption (Eph. 1:13; 4:30). 19. He sets us free from the law of sin and death (Rom. 8:2). 20. He quickens our mortal bodies (Rom. 8:11). 21. He reveals the deep things of God to us (1 Cor. 2:10). 22. He reveals what has been given to us from God (1 Cor. 2:12). 23. He dwells in us (Rom. 8:9; 1 Cor. 3:16; 2 Tim. 1:14; John 14:17). 24. He speaks to, in, and through us (1 Cor. 12:3; 1 Tim. 4:1; Rev. 2:11; Heb 3:7; Matt. 10:20; Acts 2:4; 8:29; 10:19; 11:12, 28; 13:2; 16:6,7; 21:4,11). 25. He is the agent by which we are baptized into the body of Christ (1 Cor. 12:13). 26. He brings liberty (2 Cor. 3:17). 27. He transforms us into the image of Christ (2 Cor. 3:18). 28. He cries in our hearts, “Abba, Father” (Gal. 4:6). 29. He enables us to wait (Gal. 5:5). 30. He supplies us with Christ (Phil. 1:19, KJV). 31. He grants everlasting life (Gal. 6:8). 32. He gives us access to God the Father (Eph. 2:18). 33. He makes us (corporately) God’s habitation (Eph. 2:22). 34. He reveals the mystery of God to us (Eph. 3:5). 35. He strengthens our spirits (Eph. 3:16). 36. He enables us to obey the truth (1 Pet. 1:22). 37. He enables us to know that Jesus abides in us (1 John 3:24; 4:13). 38. He confesses that Jesus came in the flesh (1 John 4:2). 39. He says “Come, Lord Jesus” along with the bride (Rev. 22:17). 40. He dispenses God’s love into our hearts (Rom. 5:5). 41. He bears witness to the truth in our conscience (Rom. 9:1). 42. He teaches us (1 Cor. 2:13; John 14:26). 43. He gives us joy (1 Thess. 1:6). 44. He enables some to preach the gospel (1 Pet. 1:12). 45. He moves us (2 Pet. 1:21). 46. He knows the things of God (1 Cor. 2:11). 47. He casts out demons (Matt. 12:28). 48. He brings things to our remembrance (John 14:26). 49. He comforts us (Acts 9:31). 50. He makes some overseers in the church and sends some out to the work of church planting [through the body] (Acts 20:28; 13:2). Summary: The Holy Spirit unites us to Jesus Christ and to His body. He reveals Christ to us, gives us His life, and makes Christ alive in us. The Spirit takes the experiences of Jesus . . . His incarnation, ministry, crucifixion, resurrection, and ascension . . . and brings them into our own experience. Because of the Holy Spirit, the history of Jesus Christ becomes our story and experience (see Jesus Manifesto for details).

There are times when we the best of our logic fails to understand the worst of other’s behaviors. It’s part of the oddity or maybe complexity of the human psyche that we sometimes make choices that defy any shred of reason or seem void of even the slightest hint of sensibility. More times than we can count we stand in awe of the choices that some people make, standing at some distance shaking our heads in disoriented disbelief and wondering what in the world they were thinking. Sometimes our own choices are perplexingly confusing, defying our own logic and leaving us patently bewildered and entirely befuddled at who we are and what we just did. Clearly, we can be our greatest puzzle and most mysterious mystery. Yet, the most inexplicably confounding situations are those when these rather irrational decisions are made at the expense of others. Sure, we can make wildly poor choices that effect ourselves in ways slight or significant. I suppose it’s within our rights to chart spurious courses that descend to dark places as long as the only person that ends up in those dark places with us is ‘us.’ It would seem that we can “shoot ourselves in the foot” as long as it’s our foot and no one else’s. Yet, far too frequently we shoot a lot of other’s feet other than our own. And so the pressing and rather incendiary question becomes, why would we take someone else down with us? What in the world behooves us to make choices that reach out with arms either long or short, grab someone else in whatever way we do that and drag them down? Why is it that we just can’t leave others alone? To the contrary, we find ourselves incessantly goaded by some potent force that’s sufficiently compelling to override any sense of responsibility and silence any voice of morality to the point that we pull others in and push them down with issues that aren’t even theirs? What compels us to make choices that are certain to seize the course of the life of another and set their path on some dizzying descent? Self-Preservation When life presses us with an unnerving intensity we are reflexively prone to revert to defensive position of self-preservation. Sure, it’s quite easy to be graciously gracious and heroically selfless when the cost of doing so isn’t all that significant. We can look quite the part when we don’t have a lot of skin in the game or when we know that we’re not likely to be skinned while we’re in the game. We live within limits that are long on self and short on others, so it doesn’t take long before we take the shortest route to the closest place of safety. If we ruthlessly strip away all the pleasantries and pretenses that we gaudily wrap ourselves in we will find that self-preservation lays seated underneath it all as the irreparably non-negotiable objective that is so core to the base side of ourselves that we will instinctively sacrifice others to insure it. Therefore, as the cost/benefit analysis swings away from us we’re more likely to gradually or not so gradually swing the cost over onto others. We’re noble, but noble to a point. We’re generous, but only to the degree that what we’re getting sufficiently offsets what we’re giving. We will extend ourselves in ways that appear magnanimous and philanthropic as long as we don’t have to extend ourselves beyond arm’s reach of ourselves. And these points where we pull up and stop are most often based on our tolerance for sacrifice and the degree to which we’re willing to absorb pain. There comes a point where the responsibility of accountability is just a bit too revealing, where the selflessness of putting ourselves aside is pinching our egos a bit too hard, and where the concept of sacrifice and the ‘good of our fellowman’ hasn’t given us all that much in return, if it’s given us anything at all. Our Expectations When the world around us doesn’t reciprocate our simple acts of simply being a ‘good person’ in the manner in which we feel it should, we begin to become toxically jaded and we take a darker turn into ourselves. When the world is perceived by us as intrinsically greedy, when it seems that every action is driven by a darkly covert agenda, and when the rampant selfishness appears wholly unrepentant and entirely irreparable we pull inward and we put up impenetrable walls. And in putting up the walls we would be quite wise to ask if the things that we find so aberrant and awful are indeed the very things we ourselves engage in. It may well be that our own greed is worse than those that we condemn because we too often demand that we dictate what we give to those around us, we demand how the they will respond to what we have given them, all the while condemning the world of the very offenses that we ourselves are equally guilty of. If we are not aware of such caustic distortions, we will make it about us. And in making it about us we’re foolishly led to believe that all of our many cherished expenditures are never expended because they never move outside of us. It’s all about us investing all of ‘us’ back into all of ‘us.’ This self-sabotaging, self-absorbing cycle creates an ever-hardening pattern where the deepening pain that we are inflicting on others and the manner in which we are blithely diminishing their lives begins to go entirely unnoticed. Often we are on the receiving end of such behaviors, and sometimes we’re the ones dishing them out. We’d be keenly wise to recognize it in others so that we can more prudently deal with the behaviors as we cope with the impact of them. But, we’d be ever wiser to recognize such behaviors in ourselves. We Are Too Expensive When we make it about us, someone, somewhere is going to go down simply because the cost of being about ‘us’ is a cost that will always extend itself beyond ‘us.’ We don’t have the life currency to make it about us, so we borrow or steal that ‘currency’ from other places and other people. Despite our frequently supercilious arguments to the contrary, we simply do not have the inherent capacity to generate everything that we need. However astounding we might perceive it to be, our capacity to independently generate resources will perpetually fall short of the resources that we actually need. Therefore, as our accumulated needs swiftly exhaust our scant resources we are forced by our limitations to reach outside of ourselves to obtain those resources. And in either borrowing or stealing those resources from someone else, that ‘someone’ is going down as we attempt to push ourselves up. Need We Dare Remember We’ve regularly failed to realize that being a good person pays exceedingly generous dividends far beyond anything we can borrow or steal. Riches born of sacrifice fill the coffers of heaven. Yet we miss those dividends because they’re not exactly the ones that we’re looking for, or they’ve come at some cost when we’d much prefer to receive them free of charge. Often the riches generated are held until time or attitude would render the delivery of them as far more meaningful for us, yet delayed gratification feels much the same as no gratification. And so, cynicism wins the day, pessimism reigns and we’re going to take others down with us without even recognizing that we’re doing so. It’s quite sad enough that we do things to take ourselves down and shoot ourselves in the foot. Yet, it’s infinitely more tragic that we do that to others. We cannot control the actions of others as they perpetrate such behaviors upon us. Yet, we can control ourselves. So to avoid taking others down we’d be wise to look at the state of our heart, take the temperature of our attitude, and see if our soul is still breathing because we may find that they are all in some state that we’d much prefer them not to be. And once we’ve inventories them alive again, maybe we’ll realize that to sacrifice is to fill the coffers of heaven which will spill over into the vault of our soul. When that happens we have no need to push others down because we, by virtue of our sacrifices, have pushed ourselves up without stepping on anyone in order to do it. © 2015 Craig Lounsbrough, M.Div., Licensed Professional Counselor

There’s been much hand-wringing over ISIS’s success in recruiting young men from the West to join their holy war. Contrary to the stereotype of the poor, disadvantaged youth acting out his rage by joining a jihad, many of ISIS’s male recruits hail from middle class homes in prosperous communities. Why would these men exchange safe, comfortable lives to fight for a bloody death cult? Even more disturbing – some ISIS fighters grew up practicing the Christian faith. Many are African-American, and attended church regularly as boys. Among these men is Douglas McArthur McCain, one of the dozens of native-born American and European men who have joined various jihadi groups. In 2014, McCain became the first U.S. citizen killed fighting for the Islamic State. McCain was an American-born Midwesterner. He was a 33-year-old father, a rapper and a caregiver to special needs patients. McCain was raised in church. His mother attended faithfully. McCain was said to be a practicing Christian prior to his conversion to Islam several years ago. Why did McCain choose the mosque over the church? He’s dead, so we can’t ask him. But I’m guessing his church experience had something to do with it. Assuming McCain grew up in a typical African-American church, here’s what his weekly worship experience would have been like: Up to 75% of adult worshippers are female. The service lasts approximately 3 hours. The sermon lasts approximately 90 minutes (or more). Worship services are highly emotive. Worshippers cry out regularly during the sermon. Décor features quilts, banners and flowers. Lots of flowers. The sanctuary is outfitted like a theater, with a stage, lighting, sound equipment, podium and pews. Worshippers are expected to “dress for church.” The offering plate comes by several times until sufficient money is raised. The Sunday school system emphasizes reading, sitting still and memorizing. His mother is the spiritual leader in the home. Compare this to the mosque. As a Muslim, McCain’s worship experience would have been completely different: 100% of adult worshippers are male (women are not required to attend, and do not worship alongside men). Friday prayers last less than an hour. The sermon is divided into two parts and lasts just a few minutes. Islamic worship is devoid of emotion. Worshippers must remain totally silent during the sermon. Most mosques are sparsely decorated with high ceilings and carpeted floors (to accommodate kneeling) Worship spaces are simple and spacious. There are no chairs. No stage. No band. Little artificial lighting. Worshippers are expected to wear clean clothes. They worship barefoot. There is no offering plate. Alms may be given before or after prayers. Worship is a full-body experience; a quasi-military exercise featuring standing, kneeling, bowing, etc. Men line themselves up in ranks as if preparing for war. Women (with few exceptions) are not allowed to lead men in prayers. Now, which worship experience seems better suited to young men? Which suggests battle preparation — and which suggests a stage presentation? One time I pointed these differences out at an event for African-American men. One man tried to explain to me why black churches worship the way they do: “When we were slaves, Sunday was our only day off. We put on our best clothing and spent all day at church. That’s why we have long services. It’s our culture.” He continued: “We weren’t allowed to be educated, so Sunday school taught us to read. We had no voice in society, so we expressed our emotion and anguish in worship and song. And church was the one place we could meet socially, talk politics and organize for a better life. So we needed a stage and pastors who were gifted orators.” OK, I get this. Given our nation’s appalling history of black oppression, it’s not hard to understand why African-American churches have evolved the way they have. And there’s nothing improper about a three-hour worship service, a 90-minute sermon or a sanctuary filled primarily with ladies in hats and gloves. But when you compare this to Islam, it’s easy to see why significant numbers of young African-American men, desperate for a masculine worship environment, might reject church and find a home in the mosque. And a few find their way into ISIS. How do we put a stop to this? One of the best ways to fight Islamic extremism is to provide a robust competitor. Christianity is the obvious alternative. Significant numbers of Muslims are reportedly coming to Christ in the Middle East – even in countries where it’s illegal to follow “the Nazarene.” Secularists who are waiting for religion to disappear may be waiting a long, long time. Religion is not going to go away. In fact, evidence suggests the world is becoming more religious – not less. Men will always pursue God. The only question: will they seek a God of love and peace — or a God of hatred and violence? I believe a strong, assertive Christianity will be the most effective bulwark against jihadism. Our worship services must reflect the militant aspects of our faith. Men must understand that Christianity is not just a stage show – it’s a dangerous faith that demands our total allegiance. How can we strengthen churches to them more appealing to young men of color? Here are six suggestions: Restore battle imagery to worship. In response to the Vietnam War, many churches stripped their hymnals and liturgy of any metaphor of war or conflict. This was an enormous mistake. Battle imagery does not make men violent – it galvanizes their resolve. Redecorate. If a church looks like a grandma place, then young men will avoid it. Decorate your worship space according to the tastes of young men, not old ladies. Relax dress codes . Men enjoy dressing informally, so let them. Men-only events. Men need opportunities to gather and disciple one another – without women in the room. Shorten worship services. It’s 2015. People have things to do. If a black church advertised a one-hour worship service, you wouldn’t be able to keep men away. Give young men a meaningful role. Older Christians need to hand ministry over – and give young men a meaningful place in the church. I have been working with a black church that has done all these things. In just five years the congregation has nearly tripled in size by focusing on men. And the number of active men has increased fivefold. In my next post I’ll share an interview with the pastor of this church. www.churchformen.com . Used by permission. To read the original article, click here.

“Blessed is the person who is not offended by me.” ~ Matthew 11:6 To be offended means to stumble or trip. The Scripture tells us that Jesus is a rock of offense . . . or a rock of stumbling . . . to the disobedient (1 Peter 2:8). In His earthly days, the Lord Jesus was constantly offending the religious establishment. But in the above text, Jesus has someone else in mind. He’s speaking to His followers: “Blessed are you, my followers, when you are not offended by me.” The context bears this out. John the Baptist was utterly loyal to Jesus. He walked a life of total self-denial. He gave everything up for his God. And now he finds himself in a cold prison. We have no record that the Lord ever visited him there. So John is questioning and doubting. He’s probably thinking, “Was it really worth it? I lived my whole life to pave the way for the Messiah, and now I’m in prison. The kingdom hasn’t yet come.” John is wondering and wavering; he’s tempted to stumble at his Lord. So he sends word to Jesus asking, “Are you really the one who was to come? Or should we expect another?” Again, Jesus doesn’t visit John. He instead sends this answer to him via his disciples: “Go back and report to John what you’re seeing. The deaf hear; the blind see; the lepers are cleansed; the dead are raised; the good news is being preached to the poor . . . and happy is the person who is not offended in me. Peaceful is the man who doesn’t stumble over me. Blessed is the person who doesn’t fall away on account of what I do or not do.” Over the years, I’ve watched Christians take offense with the Lord. Some of them were passionate followers of Jesus in their youth, but later ended up renouncing Him. Why? Because they chose to be offended by Him. “Blessed is the person who is not offended by me.” This is the forgotten beatitude. In this post, I want to share three reasons why Christians become offended by their Lord. In part two of the series, I want to discuss the issue of Christians being offended by others. The two are distinct, but not separate. Reason 1: He demands too much. In John 16:1, Jesus tells His disciples that He’s sharing “all these things” so they won’t be offended by Him. Some of those “things” were stern warnings that they would be hated by the world and persecuted (John 15:18ff.). Jesus made clear that following Him won’t lead to a bed of roses. Suffering and loss are involved. Unfortunately, some present a gospel that leaves these parts out. The result: Christians get offended when they realize what they’ve gotten into. But Jesus lets us know up front what following Him entails. Even in His own day, some of His followers stopped walking with Him because they regarded the cost too high (John 6:53-59). Reason 2: He doesn’t meet our expectations. The Lord often works in ways that we don’t understand. I’ve heard some Christians say, “My life would have been much better today if I didn’t follow Jesus in my youth. Look where it’s gotten me.” In Finding Organic Church, I talk about the Catch-30 crisis. There comes a point in all our lives where we reassess the major commitments we’ve made in early adulthood. And we either dig in deeper or we abandon ship. Isaiah says that God’s ways are higher than ours (Isaiah 55:9). The Lord works on levels that we cannot fathom. Paul says that God works all things for our good (Romans 8:28). “Why hasn’t God answered this prayer? Why didn’t He fulfill this promise? Why did He let this happen to me? Why did He let this happen to him/her? Why is God silent when I need to hear Him most?” These are the questions that plague the mind of the serious believer. If you’ve not yet met the God who refuses to meet all your expectations, you will. And how you react in that day will reveal whether you are worshiping Jesus Christ or Santa Clause (see John 6:26). It will show whether or not you love God more than His promises (or really, your interpretation of those promises). Jeanne Guyon once said, “I will still serve Him, even if it sends me to hell.” Job said, “Shall we receive good from the hand of the Lord and not evil?” Recall the three Hebrew children. They had lived a life loyal to their God. And the pagan king said to them, “Worship my golden image or else you’re going to die in my fiery furnace.” Their answer is telling: “We’re not going to worship this image or serve your gods. The Lord is able to deliver us, and He will deliver us from your fiery furnace. But even if He doesn’t, we’re still not going to bow down to your false gods.” What an attitude. What a posture. What faith. “God will deliver us. But even if He doesn’t, we will still follow Him.” Those words contain thunder and lightning for every child of God. If I can use an illustration, we mortals are living on pages 300-400 of a 2,000 page book. Only God can see the whole book. And He’s only given us the ability to see pages 300-400. We have no capacity to understand what’s in pages 1-299 or pages 401 to 2,000. We can only speculate and assume what’s in them (hence we create all sorts of intricate theological systems to explain mysteries we don’t understand). Here’s a lesson to learn: Life always comes down to trusting in the Lord rather than trying to figure out His ways via our finite, limited understanding. Yet together, we can better discover and understand what’s in pages 300-400, and thereby learn to live more effectively within them. (I hope blog posts like this contribute to that goal.) Reason 3: He doesn’t show up on time. He works too slowly. He reacts too late. His deliverance takes too long. God’s clock is a lot slower than ours. We can text or email our prayer to God, and He doesn’t text or email back when we expect. In fact, sometimes we never hear back from Him at all. The screen is blank. Sometimes we’ll pray for an important matter in our own lives . . . . or we’ll pray for someone else . . . for years. And the dial doesn’t move. Waiting on the Lord can become weary. And it can lead to offense. But God always keeps perfect time. To sum up, here’s how NOT to offended by the Lord: Remember that He demands everything, and He has promised suffering and tribulation along with blessing and eternal life. So don’t sell out for a cheap, easy gospel. Such is not the gospel of Jesus Christ. He told us what we were getting into and exhorted us to count the cost ahead of time (Luke 14:26ff.). Remember that His ways are higher than ours, and He doesn’t always show us what He’s doing or why. We may not always understand what He does or allows, but He can still be trusted. This is the nature of walking by faith rather than by sight. Even when His grace isn’t sufficient, it is always sufficient. Remember that God is always on time, but His clock ticks differently from ours. He’s a Lord who sometimes shows up long after the hour of healing has passed and we are dead for four days. Just ask Lazarus. Being offended by God is a choice. You can choose to take offense at the Lord and stumble over that which you don’t understand. Or you can “trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not unto your own understanding” (Proverbs 3:5). “Oh, the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are His judgments, and His ways past finding out!” (Romans 11:33). www.frankviola.org . Used by permission.

In John 8:44, Jesus speaks of Satan as “a liar and the father of lies.” Deception is his preferred tool as he attempts to rob God of His glory. Like any other vandal, he seeks to mar all that might reflect the glory of God, and make it unattractive to those searching for truth and relationship. However, he is clever enough to package his lies in appealing ways. Just as he did in the garden, he puts just enough “truth” in the lie to make it plausible. Then he repeats the age-old question, “Did God really say … ?” One such lie has birthed a commonly held misconception in our culture, and many others. On the surface, this misconception seems appealing because it appears to promote peace and harmony. Over the past couple of decades, “tolerance” has become a social dogma so firmly ensconced in our culture, that questioning it can lead to mandated “sensitivity training” or worse (if there is worse!). On the surface, tolerance appears virtuous. After all, doesn’t the Bible teach that we should love all people, and accept them where they are? Yes it does, but tolerance doesn’t teach us to love anyone, only to “put up with them.” It says, “ I won’t mess with you, if you don’t mess with me.” In contrast, love compels me to get involved in other’s lives, to leave my comfort zone, even at my own expense. Tolerance falls short of Jesus’ commission “… teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you.” (Matthew 28:20). Tolerance is content to leave someone where they are, no matter how harmful their situation. That’s not love, that’s apathy! In essence, tolerance is a form of selfishness that allows me the comfort of ignoring the spiritual condition of others, as long as I “tolerate” them. Casas Assistant Pastor, Darin Hoffman, puts it this way, “I’ll let you be selfish, if you let me be selfish.” A popular bumper sticker spells out the word “coexist” using various religious and ideological symbols. • C – Islams’s crescent and star; • O – Wicca’s pentagram; • E – (=mc2) for science; • X – Judaism’s star of David; • I – Buddhism’s Karma Wheel dotting the i; • S – Taoism’s Tao symbol; • T – Christianity’s cross. The message ? – “All systems of thought and belief are equally valid. It’s OK for you to believe in one of them, as long as you accept all the others.” This is no different than “moral relativism”, the belief that there is no absolute truth; “I have my truth and you have your truth.” And it does nothing to tear down walls. Rather it allows me to build up strong walls with large signs on them that say, “Don’t preach at me and I won’t preach at you!” The technical term for this is “henotheism” A term coined by Max Müller, to mean devotion to a single “God” while accepting the existence of other gods. Müller stated that henotheism means “monotheism in principle and a polytheism in fact.” (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henotheism) A henotheist may exclusively worship one god, for whatever reasons, while accepting that there are other gods worthy of worship even if he or she chooses not to worship them. From a purely pragmatic point of view, this may appear to be the only path to world peace. It may well be the basis of the false peace the book of Revelation says will be imposed upon the world in the final days. It is only a small step from henotheism to the “truth” of a new god who embodies all of the “truth” from the lesser historical gods. A henotheistic world view requires some difficult re-interpretation of foundational scriptures. What do you do with the following? “You shall have no other gods before (or besides) me. (Exodus 20:3, and Deuteronomy 5:7) Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. (John 14:6, italics added for emphasis) At best, henotheism reduces Christianity to nothing more than a belief system, a way of thinking. But Christianity is more than that. Unlike any system of thought, Christianity is about relationship with the God who created the universe and everything in it. No other religion teaches that God desires a relationship with us, that he created men and women for communion with Him. No other system of thought teaches that God delights himself in us (Zephaniah 3:17). And no other religion teaches that God Himself sacrificed to buy us back, when we had sold ourselves into sin. The uniqueness of Christianity does not allow it to stand alongside any other as an equal. A difficult paradox for henothesim to address is that Christianity, like several others, identifies its God as the creator of the universe. There can only be one creator of the universe, all others must have been created by that creator. The only way they could all be equal would be if they were, themselves, all products of a “Darwinian creation”. Then, none of them would be the creator, because by Darwinian definition, there is no creator. However, if there is a creator-god, all others must be subservient to that god. And if any subservient god demanded man’s worship, that would be robbing the creator-god of the worship due. Who does that sound like? Again, the devil took him (Jesus) to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their splendor. “All this I will give you,” he said, “if you will bow down and worship me.” (Matthew 4:8-9) We should answer as Jesus did! Our defense from such subtle deception is to cultivate an intentionally-biblical world-view. It needs to be intentional, or it will never happen. It needs to be biblical, because it needs to be based upon objective truth. Then we will no longer be infants, tossed back and forth by the waves, and blown here and there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning and craftiness of men in their deceitful scheming. (Ephesians 4:14) And it needs to be a world-view, in that it is all-encompassing, applied to every facet of life. Henotheism only works if I compartmentalize life. Only then can I ignore contradictions between various thought systems, because they belong to different life compartments. How then, if we are not to embrace “tolerance” as the world preaches it, should I respond to others with differing world-views. A Biblical world-view shows that we are placed in the midst of darkness as lights, beacons to guide the lost to the one true God who loves them and sacrificed His Son for them. We are to do this with compassion and understanding, yet with an urgency prompted by our concern for their eternal destiny. We are to do it with gentleness and patience, never tiring of their dullness of hearing, but constantly holding them up in prayer. And like our God, we are to lovingly sacrifice ourselves for them – that they might see a glimpse of the love God has for them. Adapted from an article written for Casas Magazine

Revelation 2:17 “He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To the one who conquers I will give some of the hidden manna, and I will give him a white stone, with a new name written on the stone that no one knows except the one who receives it.” Once again, like the two previous calls, the one who hears is called to obey. Hebrew has no word for obedience. To hear someone means to obey him. He who obeys is described as conqueror and overcomer. To this particular overcomer, Christ is promising something very special – hidden manna and a white stone with a new secret name. First promise is easier to interpret than the second one. Manna is a symbol of God’s sustenance and provision for the people of Israel in the wilderness as they came out of Egypt in obedience to God’s call, risking their own lives to go to a land they would only later be shown. When Jesus spoke with the Samaritan Israelite woman (John 4), his Judean Israelite disciples were returning from a nearby town with food acceptable for consumption by the Judeans (Ioudaioi). The disciples asked among themselves if perhaps someone already had brought Jesus food. He then answered them that he had something that was now, in this passage in Revelation, also being promised to the one who overcomes – the hidden manna. He said: “I have food to eat that you do not know about.” (Jn.4:32) This secret food that “the rest” did not know about is nothing less than divine energy that is able to provide sustenance in the most unimaginable and perilous circumstances. This characterized the-soon-to-be reality for believers in Pergamum. Jesus promised this energy to the one who obeys God’s words. This is why the one who obeys also is the one who overcomes. As to the identity of the white stone things are more complicated. Among the most-likely interpretations that may fit the context is a suggestion that the white stones, with names of the recipients inscribed, were given to contest winners of the Roman sport races. The white stone inscribed with a personal name presumably served as a pass to a prestigious banquet only attended by the winners. This stone would have been received upon completion of the race. While this is not a particularly Jewish cultural reference, we do know of many biblical examples of the use of Greco-Roman cultural references as illustrations for and by the Jews. For example, the Apostle Paul used many Roman sports metaphors to make his points (Phil. 3:12-14; 1 Cor. 9:24-27; 2 Tim. 4:6-8). The writer of the letter to the Hebrews also employed Roman sport imagery of running a race and receiving a winner’s wreath (See also Hebrews 12:1). This kind of imagery was well known in Judea that housed elaborate sports arenas. This kind of analogy much more closely matches the culture of the Roman city of Pergamum. No doubt the persecuted believers, both Jewish and former pagans, were aware of this practice and the elaborate banquets of honor for the overcomers/winners of the race. Most of the believers did not take part in these games by the virtue of the fact that the games included a dedication to the Roman gods. Christ tells them that in all reality they have not missed out on anything. The real race is the race of perseverance dedicated to Israel’s God. Whoever perseveres in this race and overcomes will receive a pass into the heavenly banquet of eternal honor. Another intriguing possibility continues with the theme of priestly attire as was already used in the letter of Revelation. The high priest’s robe had 12 stones with the names of the 12 tribes of Israel. One of the stones was actually white – Yahalom (it was a stone number 6), signifying the 6th son of Leah – Zebulun. What’s important about Zebulun? We read in Is. 9:1-7, quoted in Matt. 4:15 that: “In the past he humbled the land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali, but in the future he will honor Galilee of the nations, by the Way of the Sea, beyond the Jordan. The people walking in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in the land of deep darkness a light has dawned… For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father and Prince of Peace. Of the greatness of his government and peace there will be no end. He will reign on David’s throne and over his kingdom, establishing and upholding it with justice and righteousness from that time on and forever.” According to this interpretation, the sacred white stone is a symbol of Greco-Romans residing in Galilee who would receive light through the birth of Jesus. Could the secret here be the Messiah himself? Could the white stone point to Jesus through the yahalom stone once adorning the breast of the High Priest of Israel? Perhaps. Used by permission of eteacherbiblical.com.