Do you ever feel like there is a disconnect between your head and your heart; between your beliefs and your actions? I know I do, and if you don’t struggle with this please get in touch with me and let me in on your secret!

I was blessed to be raised in a Christian home and sent to a Christian school for several years of my education. I didn’t particularly like it when my Bible teacher assigned long passages of scripture to be memorized but I am so grateful for that now! Because of this strong foundation, I can pretty much give a biblically solid answer for a lot of life’s questions. The problem is the ‘disconnect’ that takes place between knowing the right thing to do or attitude to have and actually doing it!

It makes me feel better that the Apostle Paul struggled with this disconnect too.

I have discovered this principle of life—that when I want to do what is right, I inevitably do what is wrong. I love God’s law with all my heart. But there is another power within me that is at war with my mind. This power makes me a slave to the sin that is still within me. Oh, what a miserable person I am! Who will free me from this life that is dominated by sin and death? Thank God! The answer is in Jesus Christ our Lord. So you see how it is: In my mind I really want to obey God’s law, but because of my sinful nature I am a slave to sin. (Romans 7:21-25 NLT)

How do we win this battle with ourselves? I can tell you that the answer is not in having a lot of scripture memorized because if you read Paul’s letters in the Bible you can see that he knew his Old Testament scriptures and he had direct, divine inspiration for a good portion of the New Testament! The answer is not in church attendance or prayer alone either. I’m not saying that those things are not important, in fact, they are vital. But in and of themselves they are not the answer.

The answer is in those things….Bible study, prayer, fellowship and accountability with other believers AND allowing the Holy Spirit to use those things to change you.

We must remember that the follow-through of changing to be like Jesus is key….it’s not enough to just know the right answer. The apostle James sums this thought up.

Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says. Anyone who listens to the word but does not do what it says is like someone who looks at his face in a mirror and, after looking at himself, goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like. But whoever looks intently into the perfect law that gives freedom, and continues in it—not forgetting what they have heard, but doing it—they will be blessed in what they do. (James 1:22-25 NLT emphasis mine)

I’ll close with the words of David.

Search me, O God, and know my heart;
      test me and know my anxious thoughts.
 Point out anything in me that offends you,
      and lead me along the path of everlasting life. (Psalm 139:23-24 NLT)

Search me, know me, test me….show me where I don’t line up with You and what I need to do to in order to bring You glory! That should be our prayer. 

Okay, so I wasn’t going to blog about this….I really wasn’t, but…. Yesterday I watched, on the internet, an interview that had been recorded earlier on Fox News. It really irritated me but I just tried to shake it off. I was somewhat successful at that until I went on my walk this morning and the sermon that I was listening to spoke about some of the same things that I was already irritated about…..eesh, now what was I supposed to do?

First, let me tell you about the sermon I heard. It was the last message in a series titled “The Road to Darkness” by Tom Nelson of Denton Bible Church. In the series he taught on how modern man has become modern man in the way he thinks and views life. The final message takes a look at who we are as modern “evangelical” Christians. He lists several characteristics that apply. Some of them might hit kind of close to home. Here’s the list, see what you think.

1. He is probably not truly “evangelical” in his beliefs (inerrancy of scripture, deity of Christ, the Trinity, salvation by faith alone, bodily resurrection, etc.) Surveys show only 8% of Christians are truly evangelical in their beliefs or practice.
2. Our churches have turned to more man-centered preaching and music. No longer is expositional (verse-by-verse) preaching in vogue. Sermons are on happiness and eight different ways to do, or have, anything that has to do with my success or my happiness. (It’s not that preaching should not be relevant and that our lives won’t change but it must be tied to true biblical theology.) Also, a lot of today’s music is more about lifting us emotionally, than worshiping a glorious God.
3. Man must be stimulated and entertained. He is consumer minded.
4. Doctrinally shallow. The pastor, rather than being able to focus on theology must be an entertainer, motivator, psychologist, and CEO.
5. Religion and scripture are seen through the lens of “What does it me to me?” and “What can it do for me?”
6. Desire to be unaffiliated. They don’t mind being part of the universal church but avoid commitment to the local church.
7. See the church as a fortress to keep the “world” away rather than an equipping station to prepare us to make a difference for God in the “world.”
8. Ill-equipped to deal with our culture’s lack of foundation in anything having to do with God, origins, meaning, philosophy, etc.

Aren’t you encouraged?!? Nope, me neither. I’m blessed to say that most of these are far from true in the church I go to and I hope that you can say the same.

Getting back to the interview I saw…..it was a popular TV* “pastor” who is promoting his newest book. The quotes from the book that they put on the screen and the stuff he of which he spoke were all about God’s desire for everyone to be happy, and that we can achieve this by starting each day with the right attitude and having the faith to believe that God is going to work everything out for our happiness. –So what happens if I’m not happy? I guess I just don’t have enough positive attitude or faith to believe in something that the Bible does NOT even promise?!?

Hello? Guess what….God is far more concerned with my holiness than my happiness. In fact, it is only as I walk in faith by the Holy Spirit, pursuing a holy life that I find joy, peace, and contentment…. AND I will take joy, peace, and contentment that last throughout the storms of life any day of the week over happiness which comes and goes with rapid and alarming frequency! (The word happiness comes from happenstance, so, by definition is dependent on outside circumstances.)

So what are we to do to combat this cotton candy gospel? First of all, stand fast on God’s Word. That means, read it, study it and live an authentic Christian life. Be engaged with the lost around you and be prepared to show the reason for the hope you have in you. (Ken Boa has some good books on defending your faith.) Remember that all humans hurt and we alone have the true HOPE. A hope based on our God who is in sovereign over ALL!

*One last thing…..I put pastor in quotes up there because I truly believe that the “green pastures” this man is leading people to are actually astro-turf. The sheep may look good standing there but there is no food and they will die.

And now I am off my soap-box. I truly apologize if I have offended anyone in anyway…..but we simply must wake up & stand up!!

“Do you need one?” This is the question that my husband asked me as I held up a jacket on a recent shopping trip. I do not highly regard that question! “Define need,” I responded, “Do you mean need like I need air and water or need like I don’t have one like this and may turn to an icicle when I walk as it gets colder if I don’t buy it?”

In the church there are things we need. We need sound doctrine. It doesn’t matter how nice the building is or if we have wonderful programs…if we are not teaching the truth according to God’s Word we might as well go play tennis on Sunday morning. We also need moral purity. Sound doctrine won’t gain much of an audience if there is gross un-going sin being tolerated in the church. Passionate commitment to God is another necessity. A church will not go far without people who are passionately in love with Jesus and committed to serving Him. But there is one thing, that if it is missing, the church will be dead in the water when it comes to reaching out into the community with the gospel. That one thing is unity. Read the words of Jesus, Paul, Peter, James, John and others in the New Testament. Over and over they call for us to have unity. It’s not that they were naïve about who they were writing to, the Jews and Gentiles, slaves and masters, men and women…group after group that were primed for strife. Yet they knew that the testimony of the church, the very spread of the gospel could be accelerated or stopped dead depending on whether Christians got along with each other.

Look at this quote from the early church father, Justin. “….we who hated and destroyed one another and on account of their different manner of life would not live with men of another tribe, now, since the coming of Christ, live happily with them, and pray for our enemies and endeavor to persuade those who hate us unjustly to live conformably to the good precepts of Christ, so that they may become partakers with us of the same joyful hope of a reward from God”

The apostle John devotes much of his first epistle to the subject of believer’s love for each other.

   We know that we have passed out of death into life, because we love the brethren. (I John 3:14a NASB)
   We know love by this that He laid down His life for us; and we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren. (3:16)
   Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God; and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. (4:7)

In Philippians 2, Paul pleads, “make my joy complete by being of the same mind, maintaining the same love, united in spirit, intent on one purpose. “(2:2 NASB) In verses 3 and 4 he gives them instructions on how to do what he has asked for and then starting in verse 5 he shows them the supreme example. “Have this attitude in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus…”

I will close with a quote from a book called The Adequate Man: Paul in Philippians by Paul Rees.

   “Look at Him—this amazing Jesus! He is helping Joseph make a yoke in that little carpenter’s shop in Nazareth. This is the One who, apart from His self-emptying, could far more easily make a solar system or a galaxy of systems.
    Look at Him again! Dressed like a slave, with towel and basin for His menial equipment, He is bathing the feet of some friends of His who, but for their quarrelsomeness, should have been washing His feet….
    ‘He humbled Himself! Don’t forget this,’ cries Paul to these dear friends of his at Philippi. ‘Don’t forget this when the slightest impulse arises to become self-assertive and self-seeking, and so to break the bond of your fellowship with one another!’”

Dear Lord, help us to find the unity You desire for us as we seek to emulate the humility that you modeled before us!

You might read that title and say, “Huh?”

That’s what I thought when I read “Make me walk in the path of Your commandments, for I delight in it.” (Psalm 119:35 NASB) Why does the psalmist have to ask God to make him do something that brings him delight? I delight in spending time on the beach. (That’s “coast” for my NC friends!) Never in my life has someone had to make me go to the beach….not once.

I think the meaning is more like how I delight in walking in the mornings. Once I am out there walking I love it, and I really delight in the feeling I have when I am done. But when I wake up in the morning, look at the clock and see that it is time to get up and lace up my sneakers….well, I’m not feeling delightful. I usually lay there for a minute or so and think of all the reasons I could stay in bed. But then I force myself to get up and get moving. You know how? By focusing on the delight that will be mine once I begin.

What does the psalmist mean when he says to “walk in the path of Your commandments?” Simply, it means living a life of obedience to the truths of God’s Word. I say ‘simply’ because the concept is simple, but the practice of it can be, oh so, difficult!

God’s Word tells me to be kind. Sometimes I just don’t want to be kind, I want to be mean to someone who was mean to me. We are told to forgive. I rarely delight in the thought of forgiving. We are told to have joy even when times are hard. In our flesh, that’s just crazy to even suggest! Here’s a toughie….we are told to be content in our circumstances. But what if I don’t like the way things are right now. I don’t delight in contentment, and left on my own I will whine, pout, and be miserable.

It seems that the psalmist knew what he was talking about when he asked God to make him walk in obedience. He knew, as we learn when we obey, that there is great delight in living our lives in submission to God’s Word. We need help remembering that. I’m so grateful that not only does God remind me of the delight that He gives, He also gives me the push I need to get out there on the right path.

Dear God…make me the me who brings glory to You!

In the ninety's, when asked by the media about some questionable off-court antics, basketball player Charles Barkley responded, "I'm not a role model." What "Sir Charles" failed to acknowledge is that being a role model is not something that a person, especially a famous person, gets to choose to do or not. 

Truth be told, we are all role models to someone. Its not a job we apply for and, like Mr. Barkley, may not even want, but its a position we fill nonetheless. As a role model, the hours are almost constant, in fact, when you think you are "off-duty" is when you should most be on your guard. As a role model, we should always have that old 80's song (and, of late, Geico ad jingle) in our head....."I always feel like somebody's watching me!" 

Even without 80's music or insurance company commercials, the apostle Paul totally got the "role model" position we all hold. In I Thessalonians 4:1-12 he lists off a lot of things that we, as believers in Jesus, should, and should not, be doing. In verse 12 he tells us why...."so that you may walk properly before outsiders...." In other words, be a good role model, that is, have a good testimony and reputation with unbelievers. 

Philipians 2 is another good example. The first 14 verses tell us to be unified, follow Jesus' example by being humble and putting others first, and not grumble of complain. Why? The answer is in verse 15, "That you may be blameless and innocent, children of God without blemish in the midst of a crooked and twisted generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world."(ESV emphasis mine) 

I once had a lady tell me how much something I had done years earlier had meant to her. I didn't even remember doing the little thing that made a big difference to her. In fact it was one of the deciding factors in her family's decision to join the church where we were serving! Someone was watching me....and I had not realized. That time it had a wonderful outcome. I wonder how many times someone was watching me and my actions produced not so wonderful results? 

I am a pastor's wife, a mom, a teacher, and a writer (among many other roles)! I KNOW people are watching me. But whether you are in any type of leadership position or not....if people know you follow Jesus, they are watching you. They want to know what being a Jesus-follower is all about. They want to know if you are different. Are you? 

You ARE a role model. The only question is, what kind of role model are you? Do you do what you want and deny the reality of your position, like Charles Barkley did? Or can you say with the apostle Paul, "Follow my example, as I follow the example of Christ"? (I Corinthians 11:1 NIV)

"Be holy!"
I think that statement may be one of those things that gets said at church and we would all say amen. But we may struggle if we were asked what being holy looks like on a day-to-day basis? 

Since writing last week's post about God's desire for our holiness over happiness I have been pondering that question.
In the New Testament, the word holiness, as it applies to believers, carries the meaning of being set apart to God. In the Greek it is closely tied to the word that is translated 'sanctification' which is the separation of believers from evil things and ways. 

In some ways, we are made holy and sanctified at the moment of salvation. That is, we are made right with God, our sins are forgiven and we are destined for Heaven immediately when we trust Jesus and His finished work on the cross. Obviously, we do not instantly become perfect when we get saved (wouldn't that be nice!).

However, Jesus is our example of perfect holiness and in the gospels He tells us to follow Him. He even prays for us...that we will do just that! In John 17: 17 Jesus is praying for all believers when He says,
 

"Sanctify them by the truth, Your word is truth." 

We become holy as we read and obey His word. 

Several years ago you could not go into a Christian bookstore without seeing dozens of items with the letters WWJD on them. One man picked up a baseball cap and asked the girl behind the counter what the letters meant. She replied, "It stands for, 'What would Jesus do?'" He looked at the hat then back to her and said, "I'm pretty sure He wouldn't pay $21.95 for a hat!" 

In my opinion, WWJD was over-marketed to the point that it became almost meaningless. However, the question behind the letters is a valid one to ask. Even better is to ask ourselves, "What DID Jesus do?" When we ask those questions and look to the Bible for the answers it helps us along the path of holiness. 

There is something I'd like to point out regarding the 'set apart' quality of holiness and sanctification. The bible is clear that we are to separate ourselves from evil things and ways. In other words, we need to use wisdom in our decisions of where we go and what we do. However, we are not told to separate ourselves from the people of the world. They are the ones we are supposed to be reaching with God's love and the good news of the salvation He offers.


When we read the gospel accounts of Jesus' time here on earth, over and over again we see Him seeking out the lost. He ate with them. He went to their homes. He did not sit in the synagoge (the "church" of that time) and try to be "seeker friendly". He went out to SEEK them. 

Don't get confused on this point. Separate from sin....not sinners!