February 1 Esight, 2010

“You know that He appeared in order to take away sins . . .”—John 3.5Just a short thought this week. John tells us repeatedly that one of the primary purposes for God appearing to us “in the flesh” was to take away our sins. Matthew (1:21) tells us that He came to “save” us “from” them. After all, the wage that “sin pays” is death (Romans 6:23), because when sin is “full grown” it “produces” death (James 1:15). Paul asks the question in his letter to the Romans: “Did that which is good produce death in me?” No, it was “sin producing death in me through what is good” (Romans 7:13). Sin carries death in it intrinsically.

Yet, the good news still remains:

The next day he saw Jesus coming to him, and he said, “Behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!“— John 1.29 (emphasis supplied)

And Paul tells us how he did it:

When you were dead in your transgressions and the uncircumcision of your flesh, He made you alive together with Him, having forgiven us all our transgressions, having canceled out the certificate of debt consisting of decrees against us, which was hostile to us; and He has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross. — Colossians 2:13, 14

He forgave us for all of our sins. He canceled all we owed Him, “took it away” and nailed it to the cross.

There is not the slightest reason why every person on planet Earth should not be saved. Why anyone would choose death is a mystery even for God. If any person is lost at last, it will not be because they didn’t do enough for God to save them — it will be because they held onto the guilt of their sins, which, in God’s eyes, had already been taken away and cast into the depths of the sea.

Do you have something that plagues you today? Something hidden deep within your past but is still troubling you in the present? He loves you, you know? He took away whatever that was long, long ago on a hill far, far away. He bought you with a price, just the way you are. He LOVES you! Won’t you let Him have whatever it is that plagues you and finally stand in peace of His love? Why don’t you take a moment this week to tell Him about it.

I wish you His best this week.

January 20 Esight, 2010

The Pharisees objected, “All we have is your word on this. We need more than this to go on.” Jesus replied, “You’re right that you only have my word. But you can depend on it being true. I know where I’ve come from and where I go next. You don’t know where I’m from or where I’m headed. You decide according to what you can see and touch. I don’t make judgments like that. But even if I did, my judgment would be true because I wouldn’t make it out of the narrowness of my experience but in the largeness of the One who sent me, the Father. That fulfills the conditions set down in God’s Law: that you can count on the testimony of two witnesses. And that is what you have: You have my word and you have the word of the Father who sent me.” They said, “Where is this so-called Father of yours?” Jesus said, “You’re looking right at me and you don’t see me. How do you expect to see the Father? If you knew me, you would at the same time know the Father.”— John 8:13-19, The Message

I have purposely quoted this week’s passage from Eugene Peterson’s The Message, because although I know I will get a few emails from those who don’t like this paraphrase, I happen to like the way he puts these verses particularly well. I believe he hit the nail right on the head here. There are two phrases I’d like to bring to your attention specifically.

First, Jesus says here, “If you knew me, you would at the same time know the Father.” Over and over in John’s gospel this is the theme. Jesus came to show us the Father, to explain Him to us. Jesus came so that we might encounter the truth of God’s character of love, that we would see him for who he really is, and that this truth might set us free.

Jesus said to him, “Have I been so long with you, and yet you have not come to know Me, Philip? He who has seen Me has seen the Father; how can you say, ‘Show us the Father’? Do you not believe that I am in the Father, and the Father is in Me? The words that I say to you I do not speak on My own initiative, but the Father abiding in Me does His works.”—John 14:9-10

Therefore, Jesus answered and was saying to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, the Son can do nothing of Himself, unless it is something He sees the Father doing; for whatever the Father does, these things the Son also does in like manner. For the Father loves the Son, and shows Him all things that He Himself is doing; and the Father will show Him greater works than these, so that you will marvel.”—John 5:19-20

The more familiar we become with the kind of person Jesus was, the more we will truly come to know what the God of this universe is like. For Jesus and his Father are “One” (John 10:30).

Second, Peterson chooses a unique phrase to paraphrase what he feels Jesus is really saying here.

“My judgment would be true because I wouldn’t make it out of the narrowness of my experience but in the largeness of the One who sent me, the Father.”

We must remember, Jesus knew who he was only by Faith. He had no recollection of the Eternity past. All he knew of himself, on his own, was from the time of Egypt on. (I don’t think he even had a personal memory of the famous story of Bethlehem.) Which leads me to my question. (This is more than Jesus simply saying “I have more witnesses than you to who I am.” He is saying basically, “Listen, I’m not saying this about myself; the Father is!”)

When it comes to truth, specifically the truth of God’s love, how many of us rely on the “narrowness of our own experience” when it comes to our understanding him rather than simply taking him for what he describes himself to be. David records God as telling us, “You thought that I was just like you” (Psalms 50:2). But God and His love, I am convinced, are so vastly different than everything we have grown accustomed to and conditioned by in this world. Many times, we tend to transpose our own past, our own interactions with others, onto him. We make him answer for how others have hurt us when truly he is altogether different.

The question remains, will we allow the person we see in Jesus to radically transform our understanding of the Father, or will we continue to see Him through the mist, dimly and largely misunderstood?

Something to ponder.

I wish you God’s best this week.

January 14 Esight, 2010

” Greater love has no one than this, that one lay down his life for his friends” (John 15.13).Years ago, while doing a weekend series in New Jersey, I believe, I was asked whether or not this verse was actually true. After all, it’s one thing to lay down your life for your friends and quite another to do so for your enemies.

At the heart of this question, which we’ll attempt to answer in a moment, is a vital principle of love. First of all, the older I get, the more I am convinced that genuine love, whether for friend or enemy, and self-sacrifice are synonymous. One truly cannot exist without the other, for genuine love “seeketh not her own” (1 Corinthians 13.5). True love is not simply concerned with what it wants, but also on the needs of the other as well. Paul advised the Philippian believers as follows, saying “look not every man on his own things, but every man also on the things of others” (Philippians 2.4). . To the degree that principles of self-preservation are followed rather than those of self-sacrifice, genuine love begins to splinter. This statement does not imply that self-preservation is always evil; sometimes it is a necessity. The point is simply that it is incompatible with genuine love.

I realize that this idea strikes at the very core of all that we have been taught. After all, in our modern Darwinian culture, circumstances often reduce to a survival of the fittest mentality. Self-sacrificing human behaviors still confound many adamant atheists, while altruistic practices, which many have lost faith in entirely, cause the multitudes to stand in awe and scratch their heads in wonder.

“The strongest argument in favor of the gospel is a loving and lovable Christian” (White, The Ministry of Healing, p. 470).

All of this leads us to our answer.

From our perspective, God surely was once our enemy:

“For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life” (Romans 5.10).

But from His perspective, God has no enemies. He loves everyone, giving to all, including the “just and the unjust,” the “kind as well as the unthankful.” Truly, He considers no one His enemy, as the following verse demonstrates:

“And one shall say unto him, ‘What are these wounds in thine hands?’ Then he shall answer, ‘Those with which I was wounded in the house of my friends’” (Zechariah 13.6).

His friends. Wow! Someone once said to me that true love does not entail finding a person who will never hurt you. Instead, true love involves deciding whom you will allow to hurt you and yet choose to love them nonetheless as a result.

Consequently, I am convinced that many of us waste too much time trying to win God’s favor, when the question was never about whether or not He is our friend. On the contrary, the real question is whether or not we are His!

“Here was fulfillment of the words of scripture: ‘Abraham put his faith in God, and that faith was counted to him as righteousness,’ and he was called ‘God’s friend’” (James 2.23).

May all of us be called children of Abraham. In light of the truth regarding His great character of love, may we all embrace God, no longer as enemy, but as our Friend.

I wish you God’s best this week.

January 8 Esight, 2010

Have you ever felt haunted by a deep heart longing for something more fulfilling, more meaningful, or simply more satisfying? Yet, if someone asked you what it was you actually wanted, would you be able to discern what it was that you really desired? I have experienced that longing too, and like many others, it has happened too many times to mention. The story of my life is strewn with my personal attempts to satisfy an ever-present, aching hunger in my heart.

As I look back, one thing becomes painfully clear. The many attempts in my past to satiate my heart’s hunger have always been just that—attempts. Each vain pursuit was short-lived, leaving my soul’s thirst unquenched and in greater want than at the start. My own personal journey has left me with two heart-searching questions. First, “What is this longing that seems to be part of the very fabric of my being?” And the second, “What is it that I am really longing for?”

In my search for answers, I have been surprised to find that my experience is not isolated. In my eternal, never-fully-satisfied longings, I have found that I am not alone . . . Surprisingly, King David shared these sentiments as well. At the height of monarchal success, King David penned the words, “My soul thirsts . . . my flesh yearns . . ., In a dry and weary land where there is no water…” Growing up, I remember hearing countless times that if I could just have three things I would be happy: money, power, and sex. What is surprising is that King David had money, he had power, he even had women in his life, but he realized that his heart was thirsting for what he could not find. And here is the most shocking realization: David has the audacity to claim what he was thirsting for . . . God.

To be honest, when I first realized this, I questioned whether David really meant what he wrote. Was he just trying to be pious? So many times we say what we are supposed to say rather than what we are really feeling. But the more I pondered David’s statement, the greater I became haunted by a nagging sense. Have I missed something? Could this longing in my heart really be a longing for intimacy with God? Why was my heart so averse to this? Is there something unfulfilling about God or is the real problem similar to what I had encountered with my Dad? Maybe I just don’t see Him as He really is. Could I have the wrong picture of this God with whom I am trying to have a relationship?

I found myself in a world of doubt. Nothing I had ever heard about God was appealing, much less deeply satisfying. Then, I stumbled on other statements that caught my attention. “You open Your hand and satisfy the desire of every living thing.” “In Your presence is fullness of joy”; “In Your right hand there are pleasures forever.” At this point, I had to come to a conclusion. Either these verses were just foolish notions, or maybe, in all the time I’d been a Christian, I had never really encountered God as He really is. I chose the second option, and embarked on a journey of discovery—a quest of seeing and believing, a journey of epoch dimensions in my heart and life. I fell to my knees with one prayer, “Dear Lord, help me to understand You, not merely on an intellectual level, but help me to see You with my heart.” I came to the conclusion that I had erred in my heart. I knew a lot of doctrine. I was well versed in the standards and lifestyle of a devout Christian. Yet, as religious as I may have been, on a heart level I had been blind to the “ways” of God. Could this be why my heart felt so empty? I wondered and prayed, “Lord, what am I missing in my religious experience?”

(Taken from the new book Finding the Father by Herb Montgomery, available now in our online store at http://www.renewedheartministries.com.)

I wish you God’s best.

January 1 Esight, 2010

“Just as the Father has loved Me, I have also loved you; abide in My love. If you keep My commandments, you will abide in My love, just as I have kept My Father’s commandments and abide in His love.” —John 15.9, 10What does it mean to keep Jesus’ commandments and therefore abide in His Love? I think this is a worthy question that welcomes our thoughts as this new year is upon us.

There are two statements I read this morning; one of them weighs heavy on my heart each time I run across it.

“There ought to be a term that would designate those who actually follow the teachings of Jesus, since the word ‘Christian’ has been largely divorced from those teachings, and so polluted by fundamentalists that it has come to connote their polar opposite: intolerance, vindictive hatred, and bigotry.”—Philip Stater, Huffington Post

“If it weren’t for Christians, I’d be a Christian.” —Mahatma Gandhi

Jesus said in John 15 that if we truly keep His commandments, we will abide in His Love. This must mean that His commandments and the life of Love are intrinsically connected. Honestly, this is truly a no-brainer. So many times it is repeated in scripture:

Jesus answered, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.” This is the greatest and the most important commandment. The second most important commandment is similar: “Love your neighbor as you love yourself. On these two commandments the whole Law of Moses and the teachings of the prophets are based.” —Matthew 22.37-40

“Love does no wrong to a neighbor; therefore love is the fulfillment of the law.” —Romans 13.10

For the whole Law is fulfilled in one word, in the statement, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” —Galatians 5.14

And yet I can hear some right now asking the important question, “Yes, but what about truth? Does this mean we sacrifice truth in order to be loving?” But this question itself reveals how deeply we have misunderstood the work God came to begin on this tiny planet.

“No eloquence of words, no force of argument, can convert the sinner.” —Acts of the Apostles, p. 239

“Christ came into the world to bring all resistance and authority into subjection to Himself, but He did not claim obedience through the strength of argument or the voice of command; He went about doing good and teaching His followers the things which belonged to their peace.” —Testimonies to the Church, Vol. 4, p. 139

“Do not once forget that you are speaking for God’s truth. Your spirit, if kept gentle under provocation, will speak louder than any force of argument. Do not imperil the truth by an unwise word.” —Letter 9a, 1894, pp. 2, 4

“Love will do that which argument will fail to accomplish. Love is power.” —Review and Herald; April 26, 1887

When we care more about being right than being righteous, when we care more about being correct than being Godly, or God-like, when we are concerned about proving Biblical facts more than the heart of the one we are trying to reach, it is then that we need simply to remain silent until the spirit of Heaven once again can grace our efforts.

Happy New Year from all of us here at Renewed Heart Ministries.

December 23 Esight, 2009

But thou, Beth-lehem Ephrathah, which art little to be among the thousands of Judah, out of thee shall one come forth unto me that is to be ruler in Israel; whose goings forth are from of old, from everlasting.— Micah 5.2Part Two:

Last week we began by looking at the above verse. We began pondering how Love, which has no beginning and has no end, no reason for it’s existence, how it became Incarnate, took on itself a “beginning” that it might also find an “end” through which we might see with our eyes, understand with our hearts and be healed. (Isaiah 6.10, Matthew 13.15)

If we will simply pay attention to what the following passage is telling us, we will begin to see that this verse truly captures the core mission of why God Himself, in human flesh, would come to this lonely planet.

FOR THE HEART OF THIS PEOPLE HAS BECOME DULL, WITH THEIR EARS THEY SCARCELY HEAR, AND THEY HAVE CLOSED THEIR EYES, OTHERWISE THEY WOULD SEE WITH THEIR EYES, HEAR WITH THEIR EARS, AND UNDERSTAND WITH THEIR HEART AND RETURN, AND I WOULD HEAL THEM.’- Matthew 13.15

Since writing to you last week, I have read (over and over again) the first chapter of one of my favorite books to read this time of year. I would like to simply share a selection with you and hope that between now and Christmas, if even only on Christmas day, you might take the time to go back and read the whole chapter with me. It has truly stirred my heart with the deepest resonating emotions. I am filled once again with deep heart gratitude and appreciation, “Awe“, for the type of being who has pursued me all my life, that I might simply see what was in His heart for me. Truly we are the offspring of an incredible God. And truly He is worthy of our deepest love in return.

“By coming to dwell with us, Jesus was to reveal God both to men and to angels. He was the Word of God,–God’s thought made audible. In His prayer for His disciples He says, “I have declared unto them Thy name,”–“merciful and gracious, long-suffering, and abundant in goodness and truth,”–“that the love wherewith Thou hast loved Me may be in them, and I in them.” But not alone for His earthborn children was this revelation given. Our little world is the lesson book of the universe. God’s wonderful purpose of grace, the mystery of redeeming love, is the theme into which “angels desire to look,” and it will be their study throughout endless ages. Both the redeemed and the unfallen beings will find in the cross of Christ their science and their song. It will be seen that the glory shining in the face of Jesus is the glory of self-sacrificing love. In the light from Calvary it will be seen that the law of self-renouncing love is the law of life for earth and heaven; that the love which “seeketh not her own” has its source in the heart of God . . . In heaven itself this law was broken. Sin originated in self-seeking. Lucifer, the covering cherub, desired to be first in heaven. He sought to gain control of heavenly beings, to draw them away from their Creator, and to win their homage to himself. Therefore he misrepresented God, attributing to Him the desire for self-exaltation. With his own evil characteristics he sought to invest the loving Creator. Thus he deceived angels. Thus he deceived men. He led them to doubt the word of God, and to distrust His goodness. Because God is a God of justice and terrible majesty, Satan caused them to look upon Him as severe and unforgiving. Thus he drew men to join him in rebellion against God, and the night of woe settled down upon the world. {DA 21.3} . . . The earth was dark through misapprehension of God. That the gloomy shadows might be lightened, that the world might be brought back to God, Satan’s deceptive power was to be broken. This could not be done by force. The exercise of force is contrary to the principles of God’s government; He desires only the service of love; and love cannot be commanded; it cannot be won by force or authority. Only by love is love awakened. To know God is to love Him; His character must be manifested in contrast to the character of Satan. This work only one Being in all the universe could do. Only He who knew the height and depth of the love of God could make it known. Upon the world’s dark night the Sun of Righteousness must rise, “with healing in His wings.” Mal. 4:2. {DA 22.1} . . . The work of redemption will be complete. In the place where sin abounded, God’s grace much more abounds. The earth itself, the very field that Satan claims as his, is to be not only ransomed but exalted. Our little world, under the curse of sin the one dark blot in His glorious creation, will be honored above all other worlds in the universe of God. Here, where the Son of God tabernacled in humanity; where the King of glory lived and suffered and died,–here, when He shall make all things new, the tabernacle of God shall be with men, “and He will dwell with them, and they shall be His people, and God Himself shall be with them, and be their God.” And through endless ages as the redeemed walk in the light of the Lord, they will praise Him for His unspeakable Gift, —God with us.” (White, The Desire of Ages, Chapter 1)

I wish you the merriest Christmas during this holiday season . . .

For today in the city of David there has been born for you a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. Luke 2.11

December 14 Esight, 2009

But thou, Beth-lehem Ephrathah, which art little to be among the thousands of Judah, out of thee shall one come forth unto me that is to be ruler in Israel; whose goings forth are from of old, from everlasting. —Micah 5.2, ASVFew things in this life are eternal. It is said all good things come to an end, but this is not altogether true. For there is one good thing that always has been and always will be—love.

The above verse from the prophet Micah reminds us of that. He who is love (I John 4:8), and has always been love, has also always been. He is from “everlasting” (see above). His love is eternal, everlasting, and unquenchable (Jeremiah 31:3, Song 8:6,7). We cannot change it (James 1:17), we cannot stop it (Psalms 100:5), and two thousand years ago, that same love became incarnate (John 1:14). That which knew no beginning nor no end “began,” for the very first time in universal history, in a small manger in Bethlehem so that it might also, for the very first time, find and “end” for you and me (Hebrews 2:9). He was the fullness of that love in “bodily form” (Colossians 2:9).

“The earth was dark through misapprehension of God. That the gloomy shadows might be lightened, that the world might be brought back to God, Satan’s deceptive power was to be broken. This could not be done by force. The exercise of force is contrary to the principles of God’s government; He desires only the service of love; and love cannot be commanded; it cannot be won by force or authority. Only by love is love awakened. To know God is to love Him; His character must be manifested in contrast to the character of Satan. This work only one Being in all the universe could do. Only He who knew the height and depth of the love of God could make it known. Upon the world’s dark night the Sun of Righteousness must rise, ‘with healing in His wings’” Mal. 4:2 (White, The Desire of Ages p. 22).

These are thoughts, well worth dwelling on. We will continue next week, but until then, may these thoughts be present on your mind and in your heart, during this time of year especially.

Happy holidays.

December 8 Esight, 2009

If anyone thinks himself to be religious, and yet does not bridle his tongue but deceives his own heart, this man’s religion is worthless. Pure and undefiled religion in the sight of our God and Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their distress, and to keep oneself unstained by the world.—James 1.26,27Recently on Facebook, I posted the above verse on my personal page, and the question was raised, “What does it mean to keep oneself unstained by the world?” It produced a lot of responses, but as I’ve thought about it, I’m convinced that our definition of “worldliness” has too often been far too shallow.

You see, in this world, there are really only two principles striving for the mastery. I don’t want to oversimplify it, but it really is this simple: self-centeredness or other-centeredness. Each is awakened by its own demonstration. Each grows exponentially based on its own expression. They are both contagious and grow very rapidly once set in motion.

Anyone who has followed the messages of Renewed Heart Ministries closely is already familiar with the concept that “by Love is Love awakened” (Desire of Ages, p. 22). I’m reminded of the now-famous story of how a single customer at a Starbucks during a holiday season, early in the morning, paid for the coffee of the person in line behind him, and how that continued all day long until closing, each person paying for the next. Each was “paying it forward,” so to speak. (I know coffee isn’t good for you; don’t miss the point of the story, though!) Love awakens love. This is a small example of the universal principle that John the beloved shared with us in his letter: “We love, because He first loved us.” —1 John 4.19

However the opposite is also true: by selfishness is self-centeredness awakened . Out of self-preservation when we encounter selfishness in others, it is very easy for us then to protect and focus on ourselves.

To live “in the world” but not be “of the world” (John 17:14, 15) is quite possibly the greatest challenge for those who believe in Love. To remain a source of other-centered love in the world, to pass love along in the face of a world almost wholly “self” preoccupied is what it means to keep one’s self stained by the world. It means to refuse to allow self-centeredness to become our focus but to follow the Lamb, to embrace the principle of the Cross, to remain, in a world where iniquity (self) abounds, but to be instead, other-centered. “Because lawlessness is increased, most people’s love will grow cold. But the one who endures to the end [whose love endures to the end], he will be saved.” —Matthew 24.12, 13.

Now that we understand what it means to remain unstained by the world, how do we do it? Well, we really need to understand that we, alone, cannot do it. What we need is something outside of ourselves to accomplish it for us. We need something greater than ourselves. We need a love that so far eclipses this world’s selfishness that it continues to awaken and keep love alive in us. Thus, quite simply, we keep our eyes on the Great Lover of the Universe; we keep believing and focusing on how much He loves us, and His Love does the rest.

Watch what God does, and then you do it, like children who learn proper behavior from their parents. Mostly what God does is love you. Keep company with him and learn a life of love. Observe how Christ loved us. His love was not cautious but extravagant. He didn’t love in order to get something from us but to give everything of himself to us. Love like that. —Ephesians 5.1, 2

I wish you God’s best during this holiday season.

Happy Holidays.

November 29 Esight, 2009

They also said, “Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking into the sky? This Jesus, who has been taken up from you into heaven, will come in just the same way as you have watched Him go into heaven.” —Acts 1.11Right now my son is going through major separation anxieties. Not only is he going through the emotional stage of separating his identity from his mother’s (what many call the “terrible twos”) but his mother is also in Colorado visiting family, and he (along with my two girls) is here with me. I found him today walking around the house calling for Mom.

Have you ever missed someone really badly? So badly that it hurt? You longed to be with them, but your current circumstances did not allow it? Someone you really loved, and who you knew loved you, but time and space were simply not shining on you at the moment?

I wonder what the disciples must have been feeling when the kindest, most giving friend they’d ever had suddenly disappeared into the sky one day. Do you think they missed him? Of course they did, badly. But all of this brings me to one single question: What’s it going to take for us to miss God, whom we’ve never even met, that intensely? So intensely that we would do anything to be with Him?

I want you to first notice the common thread in each of the following verses:

Exodus 25.8

“Let them construct a sanctuary for Me, that I may dwell among them.”

Exodus 29.46

“They shall know that I am the LORD their God who brought them out of the land of Egypt, that I might dwell among them; I am the LORD their God.”

Psalms 68.18

“Thou hast ascended on high, thou hast led captivity captive: thou hast received gifts for men; yea, for the rebellious also, that the LORD God might dwell among them.”

John 1.14

“And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us.”

1Thessalonians 4.17

“Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord.”

Revelation 21.1-3

“And I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away; and there was no more sea. And I John saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God.”

Revelation 7.15

“Therefore are they before the throne of God, and serve him day and night in his temple: and he that sitteth on the throne shall dwell among them.”

Genesis 3.8

“They heard the sound of the LORD God walking in the garden in the cool of the day . . . then the LORD God called to the man, and said to him, ‘Where are you?’”

Could it be this simple? That in order for us to really begin to miss Him, we have to first see how much He misses us?

I wish you God’s best this week.

November 10 Esight, 2009

Jesus said unto him, “If you can believe, all things are possible to him that believes.”—Mark 9.23I have spent countless weekends emphasizing to audiences that what many consider as behavioral problems are truly the fruit of a much deeper issue and that the behaviors we most often criticize “in church” are really only the fruit of feelings, unhealthy thinking, and ultimately, an erroneous picture of whom we believe God Himself to be. (For more on this, please listen to the presentation on our Web site, Who Do You See?)

Someone recently asked me, “How does Faith play into this model of Seeing, Thinking, Feeling, and Behaving?” And though I have answered this many times, this week I thought I’d share it in writing. You see, many believe we are saved by faith and lost through focusing on our behavior instead. But I’d like to invite you to consider it more broadly than that. We are actually both saved or lost by Faith because it is ultimately what we believe about God—about His character, right or wrong—that sets in motion the final outcome. If I have a correct understanding of God’s character, I can be told a lie about Him all day, and it won’t do any damage whatsoever if I don’t choose to believe it. If I am believing lies about God’s character, I can be told the truth all day and it won’t do any lasting good if I don’t choose to believe it. Ultimately, it is what we are choosing to believe about Him that determines how, in our heart, we picture or see Him. Our concept of Him, in turn, affects our thoughts and feelings toward Him, and thus our behavior in relation to Him. Everything then, even your picture of God, how you see Him, is determined right now by what you are choosing to believe.

This week take some time, sit down, and consciously take a look at what you are choosing to allow yourself to believe about God. Does it correspond with what Jesus taught us He is like? Is it shaped by the Scriptures, or is it being shaped instead by our Christian culture, which sometimes is quite self-destructive? I am convinced that what we are choosing to believe about God could quite possibly be the most important question we can address in this time of earth’s history.

Jesus Himself said that all things are possible for the one who believes. Good or bad, everything is made possible; everything is the fruit of our beliefs. It’s never been a question of whether someone is a believer or not. We are all believers! The question is not whether or not we believe. The question is rather What are you believing?

I wish you God’s best this week.