I have heard said that the biggest problem in the church today is that it does know how to differentiate the voice of God and the voice of Satan. I would like to argue that this statement is correct.

We know that Satan is our accuser. He is looking to steal from you, kill your desire, and destroy your life. He hates you. How can the church possible mistake that terrible voice with the loving Father?

Easy, we think they are our voice. Have you ever had thoughts of shame, depression, and unworthiness? Where do they originate? Do you really hate yourself? Does God hate you? No, Satan is the one who hates you. He is the one who wants to see you fail and wants to keep you from walking into all that God has for you.

How do we differentiate between the voice of the enemy and the voice of God? The more we know the character of God; the more we will know His voice. God loves us. God is for us. God believes in us. God will lead us to hope and life. (If you doubt any of this read Romans 8 multiple times.)

This is so important because you will live out of the voice you are listening to. If you believe the lies Satan throws at you that you are worthless, a failure, and that those you love would be better off without you, than you will not live out of the unique calling God placed into your life. Instead you will try to be whoever you can that would cause you the least amount of pain. If you believe that if people knew the real you they would reject you, then you will always live your life behind a mask so nobody would ever know the real you.

So how do you know which voice you are listening to? Look at the fruit. If the thoughts are leading you into life, peace and freedom, it is from the Holy Spirit. If it leads to depression, pain, fear, and immobility, then it is from the enemy.

Even conviction can come in either form. True conviction comes not at the sound of God’s displeasure in us, but at the moment He turns the light on brightly enough for us to see our imperfections. His light does not expose us in anger but in love wanting us to correct the errors keeping us from more of Him. He exposes unhealed issues in our hearts, so we can bring them to Him for healing. Without the conviction of the Holy Spirit, we do not change and grow. Satan is the one that points out sin to shame us and create fear that will lead us away from God and others.

It is important to discern the voice of who is speaking to us. The voice of God, even when exposing sin, offers hope and life. The voice of the enemy comes to steal, kill and destroy. Whenever you recognize the voice of God in your life, embrace it freely. If it is from the enemy, reject it boldly (2 Corinthians 10:5).

The Pursuit of God by A.W. Tozer is probably my favorite book. If you want to experience the joys of Christian living, I highly encourage you to read this book.

I first read the Pursuit of God about 12 years ago. It immediately began to stir things in my devotion to God that few things ever had. It put words to things I had felt were true, but had not been hearing (or probably had not grasped before). Tozer's goal of this book was to aid God's hungry children so to find Him (via preface of book).

Here are some of the things I love about this book.

1. "The impulse to pursue God originates with God, but the outworking of that impulse is our following hard after Him."

Tozer explains the paradox of the importance of pursuing God. Even though as Christians we are going to heaven and we experience God's unchanging love, there are still privileges of continuing to dive into God. "Draw near to Me and I will draw near to you" (James 4:8). God is looking for people He can lavish His blessings on, and those people are the ones who are diving into their relationship with Him. He loves to be loved. He wants to be wanted.

2. "Self is the opaque veil that hides the face of God from us."

Jesus' death on the cross removed the veil that was hinder us from coming to God. Hebrews 4:16 entreaties us to go with confidence to the throne of God. There is nothing on God's end keeping us from experiencing the presence of God. And yet, most of us do not experience God personally or experientially in life. Why is this? We keep ourselves from God. Either from selfish desires of mis-interpretations of who God is. Whatever it is, it needs to be put to death so that we can experience all that God has for us. He loves us immeasurably. Why would we not want to come?

3. "To most people God is an inference, not a reality. He is a deduction from evidence which they consider adequate, but He remains personally unknown to the individual."

If God is real, then He must be relevant to our lives. Jesus says that we are called friends. Friends are experienced. They walk with us through life sharing our joys and struggles. We tend to think that there is a separation between the spiritual and the "real," which pushes the spiritual in our minds to that of unreal. God is always present, but He is only perceived by those who are looking.

4. "It is the nature of God to speak, to communicate his thoughts to others."

God is not silent. He wants to share with His friends those things that we need to fulfill the plans He has given each person. God did not forget how to talk when the Bible was finished. He loves you. He sees where you are hurting and He wants to tell His view of it. He sees that plans He has for your life and wants to lead you into them. He has created you for success, and He wants to help you get there. God is not silent. He is waiting for us to listen.

5. "Jesus taught that His power lay in His continual look at God" (John 5:19-21).

This is still a kind of radical thought for me, but Jesus did nothing on earth out of His Godhead. Everything He did is something we can do through the power of the Holy Spirit. Ephesians says He emptied Himself as a man. He did nothing except what He saw His Father doing. And, we would do greater works than He did. The key is to continually gaze at Jesus. Faith is the gaze of the soul at the lover of our soul.

6. "One of the greatest hindrances to internal peace which the Christian encounters is the common habit of dividing our lives into two areas - the sacred and the secular."

One of the common things that we discussed with students while I was on staff with Crusade is whether they would go into ministry or get a secular job. It is so hard for people to see it all as ministry. Whatever we do we should do it all for the Lord. We need to correct our thinking in that we can only serve God fully in ministry. Having a career for the Lord will look different than the world, but it does not mean it cannot be beside those in the world. "Let us believe that God is in all our simple deeds and learn to find Him there."

I would highly recommend the Pursuit of God to anyone wanting to go deeper with God. I am sure if you read it you will get something different than what I laid out above, but I believe whatever you get would greatly help your relationship with Jesus. 

I would love to hear what you have gotten out of it. Please use the comments below to share your thoughts.

Have you ever been at church when the pastor shows a short video that is a weak connection to the sermon? You know he just liked the video and wanted to share, but even so he tries to make the connection. Well let's put ourselves in his shoes.

Below is a random, but funny, video clip. Watch the video then add your sermon topic in the comments that you think the video would relate to. If you leave your twitter account, we will tweet the winner that we liked best at the end of the week. Granted it is not a real prize, but maybe a little promotion on how clever you are. There will be extra credit if you can tie in a Bible verse.

John Eldredge's newsletter from the other morning reiterated the thought from the previous post regarding what we are afraid to ask God for. I have included the email text below.

Do You Want to Get Well?
2/17/2010

The shriveled figure lay in the sun like a pile of rags dumped there by accident. It hardly appeared to be human. But those who used the gate to go in and out of Jerusalem recognized him. He was disabled, dropped off there every morning by someone in his family, and picked up again at the end of the day. A rumor was going around that sometimes (no one really knew when) an angel would stir the waters, and the first one in would be healed. Sort of a lottery, if you will. And as with every lottery, the desperate gathered round, hoping for a miracle.

It had been so long since anyone had actually spoken to him, he thought the question was meant for someone else. Squinting upward into the sun, he didn’t recognize the figure standing above him. The misshapen man asked the fellow to repeat himself; perhaps he had misheard. Although the voice was kind, the question felt harsh, even cruel.

“Do you want to get well?”

He sat speechless, blinking into the sun. Slowly, the words seeped into his consciousness, like a voice calling him out of a dream. Do I want to get well? Slowly, like a wheel long rusted, his mind began to turn over. What kind of question is that? Why else would I be lying here? Why else would I have spent every day for the past thirty-eight seasons lying here? He is mocking me. But now that his vision had adjusted to the glare, he could see the inquisitor’s face, his eyes. The face was as kind as the voice he heard. Apparently, the man meant what he said, and he was waiting for an answer. “Do you want to get well? What is it that you want?”

It was Jesus who posed the question, so there must be something we’re missing here. He is love incarnate. Why did he ask the paraplegic such an embarrassing question?

(Desire , 33–34)

This is an article I received from a Koinonia House eNews regarding fasting this Lent. I thought it would be helpful information about our attitude toward this season and toward fasting. Whether you consider to fast anything this Lent is up to you, but use whatever season you're in to lead you closer to God and Jesus. For more information on fasting, see our other post on "What I Have Learned from Fasting."

No Fasting God
from the February 16, 2010 eNews issue

"My dad asked me what I was giving up for Lent this year. I told him I was giving up God for Lent so I wouldn't have to feel guilty." - A Catholic teen overheard on a bus.

Ash Wednesday is upon us, a day when Catholics gather to have their foreheads marked with ashes in the shape of a cross as a sign of penitence and dedication to Christ. It marks the beginning of the 40 days leading to Easter. The idea of community repentance and fasting is a good one, one that could bring much spiritual fruit in our churches if practiced with the right heart. The question is, how much of Lent becomes just another gotta-do religious act? If Christians from any denomination choose to take this time to seek God's face in the days leading up to the celebration of our Lord's death and resurrection, that is excellent. Prayer and fasting are still biblical, but they must be done carefully and in truth.

Many instances of fasting are found in the Old Testament; Moses fasted for 40 days when he went up to receive the Law from the LORD (Exo. 34:28); Daniel entered into a three week partial fast which removed all delicacies (pleasant bread, meat and wine) from his diet (Dan 10:3); the people of Nehemiah's time fasted and prayed and repented in sackcloth as the Law of the LORD was read to them (Neh. 9:1); Esther and her maids fasted from both food and water for three days before she went in to speak to the King in order to save the life of her people (Est. 4:16).

Fasting does not only belong in the Old Testament, though. Jesus fasted for 40 days in the desert before choosing his disciples (Luke 4). In Acts 13, the church at Antioch was fasting and praying when the Holy Spirit told them to separate out Barnabas and Saul (Paul) for the work He had for them. Jesus never said, "If you fast…" he said, "When you fast…." (Matt. 6:16) and prayer and fasting can still be a valuable practice for the Church today. In fact, Jesus indicated that certain evil spiritual forces are only driven out by fasting and prayer (Mark 9:29).

Before beginning a time of prayer and fasting, though, it is important to keep some things in mind:

1. Fasting is not an obligation.

   The purpose of fasting is to seek God's face, to examine oneself and get any unconfessed sin out in the open. It's a time to put other things aside and remember that nothing is more important than Jesus – a time to remember our "first Love." It's a time to once again present ourselves as living sacrifices before God, humbling ourselves before Him in love and worship, saying, "Here I am, Father. I'm Yours." There is little value in fasting as merely a religious act, out of guilt, or because everybody else is doing it.

2. Don't be a self-denial hero.

   Fasting is not about the simple act of going without. It is not a battle of self-control or willpower. We should save willpower for dieting. Fasting is about putting God first in our lives, setting aside other things that are just not as important as our relationship with Him.

3. Fasting requires care and prudence.

   While Moses survived 40 days without food and water, his circumstances were especially unique. People have died through imprudent fasting.  Both entering into a fast and getting off a fast should be done slowly and gradually, so as to give they body time to adjust, and it can be wise to get a medical examination before starting a major fast.

   For some people, fasting can be harmful. Certain people should never fast all food, especially people with a history of eating disorders, those with heart conditions, diabetes, hypoglycemia, or pregnant or nursing women.

4. Fasting food is optional.

   There are many ways to fast. A 40-day food-free fast is possible and can be spiritually beneficial, but it can also be life-threatening if not done properly. There are partial fasts, like when Daniel avoided meat and wine for three weeks. There are short food-free fasts like Esther's three days. Some people fast only one day or one meal - or one day each week.   Many people go on juice-only fasts, which can also be cleansing for the body.

   There are many things that can be fasted without starving oneself, however. Some people give up chocolate and sweets, and others give up watching television. Any things that could come between us and God are good candidates for fasting, especially our time wasters, like computer games or endless texting on the phone.

5. Don't let Satan get you down.

   God can use our fasting and prayer times to win powerful spiritual battles, and, because of that, Satan is guaranteed to try to discourage us. We need to be ready for opposition and distraction, determined to keep our commitment to the end, but we also need to remember our artillery against the Enemy is prayer and worship. Any time we get discouraged and aggravated or distracted, we need to quickly take the matter before the Throne of God. As James 4:7 says, "…Resist the devil, and he will flee from you."

6. Focus On God.

   The purpose of fasting is not simply the act of self-denial; it is a time to come before the Lord. If we give up watching our favorite show, it should be because we are putting that time toward the purpose of seeking God. Setting aside our golf clubs for a month is fairly useless if, instead of playing golf, we just go bowling.

   When we fast, we need to set aside specific time to dedicate ourselves to going before God. He is the whole point of the fast, after all. And beyond our special quiet time with our King, we should enjoy worship and prayer throughout the day, taking every opportunity to enter His presence. Bill Bright writes:

   "Read His Word and pray during what were mealtimes. Meditate on Him when you awake in the night. Sing praises to Him whenever you please. Focus on your Heavenly Father and make every act one of praise and worship. God will enable you to experience His command to "pray without ceasing" as you seek His presence."

7. Any time can be good for a fast.

   It may be the season of Lent, a popular time for fasting and prayer. However, fasting is not limited to set times on a calendar. Community fasting and prayer can be a powerful weapon and an excellent way for a church body to get on track with the Spirit of God. However, the most important time to fast is when the Spirit leads us.

May God bless us all as we come before Him and prepare our hearts to serve Him now and every day throughout this year.

image source unknown

I have been stuck thinking about the Where's God? theme for the last couple weeks. Lately this has turned to what have we not asked God because we are afraid to get our hopes up? Let me set this line of thinking with a couple examples.

For the first example, there is a leader I know who had trusted God to bring healing for a dying loved one, yet the loved one still died. After which he continued to talk about God's love and desire to act of a Christians' behalf, but he did not seem to want to take people to that point of trusting God to actually come through. Every personal experience of God from that point on he ever mentioned was past tense. I imagine there are also other things going on, but you can see dilemma.

What are afraid to ask God for? What are afraid to place in God's hands for fear that He will not take care of it? What if God really seems to not come through?

The second example comes from the media. At a young age Ted Turner wanted to become a missionary. Then as a teenager his sister became seriously ill. He spent an hour a day praying to God for her to get well. She eventually died a painful death. Turner thought, "how could God let my sister suffer so much?" This experience seems to have been the impetus for his atheism.

What do we do? Sometimes God doesn't heal. People do eventually die. There is evil in this world. How do I pray with faith and hope not knowing if God is going to come through for me?

We need to allow every encounter of life be an opportunity to draw us closer to Jesus and allow Him to interpret the events for us. So often we assume that the thing we are praying for is best. That may or may not be the case. But if we are too upset with God for what happened or if we are too afraid to know God's answer, we will not move towards Him. We will choose to believe that either the Bible is wrong about God, or that He is not trustworthy of things that matter the most to us.

Joseph had every right to think that God was out to get him. He had been separated from his father he loved and who loved him. His brothers turned on him and sold into slavery. When he was starting to make a living for himself, he was unjustly accused and sent to prison. Then you get to the end of Genesis and you see that he knew somehow through it all God had meant if for good.

If we have gone through pain, how do we trust God again? You need to have God interpret what had happened for you. Truth is whatever God says is true, and that truth will set you free. This is not power of positive thinking, because your mind won't buy it. You need Jesus to speak to you about what He was doing during your painful situation. It will be different for each person. Sometimes He is crying with you. Sometimes He shows you He is with you. Sometimes He gives you a word of hope and encouragement. You may not be at a place to hear God for yourself if the situation is too painful. If so, have someone pray with you to support you. Where two or three are gathered He is in your midst. Whatever you do, don't distance yourself from God. He loves you more than you know. Go to Him. These are the touches we need to get us through. These are the touches we need to get us to believe again that He is good.

If you do not see God is good, you will not ask Him for things you care about. If you are afraid He will not come through, you will not persevere in prayer. If you are making excuses for God, you will believe in a God that wants to give you more than you even ask or imagine. Don't let past unanswered prayers linger in your mind. Go to God and allow Him to interpret them for you.

Tuesday night, December 29th at the Onething09 conference, Allyson Prior brought forth this beautiful song describing the desire and hunger of a Christ-follower to stay true to Jesus. It also describes the motivation and encouragement to keep coming back to Jesus. This song has had a great effect stirring up deeper devotion and love in me personally as I have listened to it repeatly and have given it to many friends. I hope you enjoy it as much as I have.

Love You Rightly

You will not despise I my weak love
You will not deny me
You will not despise my weak love
You will not despise it

Cause You love me / Just as I am
You love me / Just as I am
You created me / in my mother's womb
Just as I am

Even though my love is weak
You will not deny it
For You will not
No, You will not
Turn away a broken and a contrite heart
Cause Jesus, You died for me
And, Jesus, You shed Your blood for me

And I believe that prayer You prayed
"Father, I desire that those You gave Me
My bride will be with Me forever"

I believe it
I believe that prayer
I believe this is Your desire

So I'll keep coming back to You
Even in my weakness
I'll keep coming back to You
Even in my brokenness
Even in my weak frame
I am weak, but my spirit is willing
My spirit is willing to follow You
To follow You
So come awaken love
Within my heart tonight
Come, awaken love in my heart tonight

I need Your strength
I need Your grace
To receive Your love
Give me grace / give me strength
To receive Your love
I keep coming after You, Lord

Give me grace
Give me strength
To love You rightly, God

Cause my broken and contrite heart
You will not deny
And, You do not despise my weak love
You receive my love
Cause even though I'm tired, I'm loving
Jealous for my love

When I'm weak You take me as I am
I am Your delight
My love is valuable to You god
You value my heart
You value my weakness
Even when I feel so weak
Even when I feel so broken
My love is valuable to You

So I'll keep coming back
Oh, Ill keep coming back

Give me grace
Give me strength
To love You rightly, God

Though I've fallen a thousand times
Though I've messed up a billion times
My declaration tonight is
I'll keep coming back through repentance
I'll keep coming back through repentance
Cause You made a way for me
I'll keep coming back

This is my portion
This is my reward
That You love me as I am
That You love me as I am

Even tonight I'm running to You, Jesus
Even tonight I'm coming back to Your heart
And I pour out my affections on You, Jesus
My devotion on You, Jesus

Give You my heart, my soul, my mind, my strength
I give You the reward of Your suffering
I give You what You want
My heart, my soul, my mind, my strength
I'm Yours

I'll keep coming back

Running to You Jesus

Give me grace
Give me strength
To love You rightly, God

Image courtesy of Despair, Inc.

We all have goals for our life even if we cannot fully articulate what they are. Generally these goals are whatever we define for success. They are how we determine whether we are successful. Do you need a lot of money, plenty of friends, a few diplomas on the wall? These goals play out in what we pray. For most people this is happy, comfortable lives.

As Christians our ulitmate goal should be to glorify God and enjoy Him forever. God has created your us for a specific plan in His kingdom, so we need to pray for things that will lead to success in whatever God's role for us is. And following God will not necessarily lead to happy, comfortable lives. Look at Abraham leaving everything he ever knew to wander to a land that will be his inheritance some day. Also look at Abraham taking his only son up the mountain to sacrifice. Look at Paul going from town to town constantly getting beaten, shipwrecked, or imprisoned.

"All these people were still living by faith when they died. They did not receive the things promised; they only saw them and welcomed them from a distance. And they admitted that they were aliens and strangers on earth. People who say such things show that they are looking for a country of their own. If they had been thinking of the country they had left, they would have had opportunity to return. Instead, they were longing for a better country—a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared a city for them."
Hebrews 11:13-16

Goals are important. These people just had different goals than the world. Think through the things you are praying for and ask God if they are what He wants for you. There is nothing wrong with money, a good job, and a healthy family. But, are those your ultimate desire or are they just an means to a greater goal. Only God really knows those answers. Ask Him and allow Him to point you to what specifically He has made you for. The goal He has for you is exponentially better than anything you could ever have dreamed for yourself. And the rewards are such that nothing in this world can ever steal from you.

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Image courtesy of Michael Belk

As a follow-up to the Book Review on Where Is God? by Dr. John Townsend earlier in the week, I was thinking about how John the Baptist dealt with his doubts in Matthew 11.

We are told in Scripture that John the Baptist was in prison, and he sends two of his disciples to Jesus to ask if He was the Christ. Why does John ask this question? He was there at Jesus' baptism. He said Jesus was the lamb of God. He saw the dove descend on Jesus. He heard the voice from heaven saying Jesus was God's Son. Why does John now doubt?

Remember that John the Baptist is currently in prison.

So how does Jesus answer John? "The lame walk, those who have leprosy are cured, the blind see, the deaf hear, the dead are raised..." Miracles John. Miracles are following the Son of Man. This is what you were looking forward to. This is what you prepared the way for. Jesus then ends with this statement, "Blessed is the man who does not take offense at Me" (Matt. 11:6).

Was John the Baptist taking offense at Jesus? John knew the stories coming to him. He heard that the miraculous was happening. Why did John ask Jesus if He was the One? Because John was in prison. Sure Jesus, you are helping all these other people out, but what about me? What about my circumstance?

This past week my wife and I received news that the child we had been approved to adopt was accidentally also approved to some other family. There are obvious questions that immediately arise as this is not typical and quite frankly suspicious of how it could happen. We have caught some inconsistencies in the stories we have heard that gives greater questions to what is really going on. What are we supposed to do?

• We can step back and accept the story as is and just proceed with another referral. This could be God's sovereign plan to leading us to the daughter He picked for us.
• We can demand that the truth come out and hold people accountable to the promised referral we already have.

There may be a number of other options that could be right. What are we supposed to do? And how does this relate to John the Baptist?

Jesus gives John the Baptist two answers that we can use in our current circumstance.

1. Focus on the Good God Has Already Done. - Jesus told John all of the things that Jesus was doing. When we focus on what God has not done, we get offended by Him. It is the same thing we are told in Hebrews. We are not to forgot the good that God has already done and let our hearts be hardened. By focusing on what God has done and His character, we have faith that He will come through for us in our current circumstance.
2. Ask Jesus for Clarification When in Doubt. - Jesus does not condemn John the Baptist for asking if He was the One to come. Jesus just redirected John's focus back on His goodness. Jesus also followed up with a great commendation on John the Baptist saying that no man was greater than John. "You're ok John. I haven't forgotten you. You are still highly regarded in the kingdom."

You may not be in a physical prison, but the doubts that come at us can very well feel like a prison away from God's goodness. Focus on God's goodness and ask for clarification. He may not give you the answer you want, but He will give you the answer to get you through.

Please pray for my wife and I as we navigate our current situation with our adoption.

I have been a fan of the Cloud - Townsend duo for some time, as they are highly respected Christian psychiatrists. As soon as I saw Where Is God? by Dr. John Townsend, I jumped on it. The concept of addressing answers to people's struggle to find out where God is in their struggle fits well with my heart for people, which you can tell from previous posts on How Can We Thank God for Difficult Events and How Can God Make Good Out of This?.

So many people are walking around with baggage about past events that hinders them from seeing that God cares for them personally. This book was written to address these questions and to try and offer hope - hope that God's love for will move Him to act on your behalf. Townsend's ideas are formed by three organizing principles:

1. God is for you
2. Your experience matters
3. The Bible is our source for understanding God's ways in hard times

Overall, I think the book does a good job offering hope, but I particularly feel that chapters 5 & 7 provide the greatest impact. Chapter 5 lists out ways that people view God - ways He is not really like. I prayerfully looked at this chapter to see if there were any misconceptions that I needed to confess myself. Chapter 7 looks at where is God during my pain. This is something that I feel most people asking the "Where is God?" question are struggling. If God is always present, always good, and all powerful, where was He when I needed Him? Chapter 7 addresses this.

Finally, I enjoyed how Townsend stresses being connected to others. We are not meant to go it alone. We need the body of Christ, and when we face hardships, this is no less true. This book will be helpful for those struggling, but probably even more for those coming alongside those who are in hardships.