"You, dear children, are from God and have overcome them, because the One who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world." (1 John 4:4)
These words follow a warning about false teachers and false spirits who deny that Jesus is God's Son. A warning about those who have been deceived by Satan and teaching things that are wrong.
John is reminding his readers that they don't have to be discouraged or defeated because of false teachers, because they are not greater than the God we serve - than the Holy Spirit living in each of us.
Satan and his demons deny the truth and want to deceive us. They attack us and try to defeat us.
But, we won't be defeated, because we have the Holy Spirit living in us and He is greater.
If this is true, then why are there so many defeated Christians walking around? If the Holy Spirit living in us is greater than anything Satan can throw at us, why do so many of live as though we can't get free of the lies that keep us chained?
If we're living out of the the truth of this verse and so many others in Scripture that talk about Satan already being defeated, then we should be living lives confident in our God and sure of the freedom He has purchased for us. Yet, the reality is so different from what it should be for too many Christians - even Christians who would declare these truths with their words.
I think the reason why so many Christians live a defeated life is because we only believe these words - this truth from Scripture - in our heads. We say we believe it, but it hasn't made its way to our hearts yet. And until it becomes something we believe in our hearts, we'll continue to live bound up and defeated lives. Because when we believe it with our hearts, it means we are willing to act on it.
Learning to believe the Holy Spirit living in us is greater than anything else Satan tries in our lives isn't something that will just happen. It won't just occur by accident.
We have to choose to trust God that it's true and act on it first. As we do, we will being to believe it in our hearts, as well as our heads. But, we have to make the choice first. The more we make the choice, the easier it becomes to live believing that because we've experienced it to be true.
What is one area in your life where you're struggling to believe that Holy Spirit in you is greater than the one who is in the world? Will you choose today to step into the truth and start living like its true in that area?
Saturday, June 20, 2015
Wednesday, June 17, 2015
Redeeming the Label Christian
One of my first posts on this blog was about taking a break from the term Christian. In it, I talk about choosing not to self-identify with the label Christian anymore because of the many negative things associated with that label.
As I reread that post, I began to wonder if there was a different way to approach the negative things so often associated with the label Christian. What if, instead of seeking to avoid the name, we sought to redeem it? What if we decided to live in such a way that people began to associate something positive when they heard the label Christian?
Acts 11:26 tells us that "the disciples were called Christians first at Antioch." The church was already established at this point. The surrounding culture gave them the name knowing the reputation of the early believers for caring for and loving those in need around them.
In the 2,000 years since then, Christians have come to be associated with lots of negative. To be sure, we've deserved some of it as our actions, as a whole and as individuals, has been anything but Christ-like. But that doesn't mean it has to stay that way. We can change it.
We can build on the good that does still happen in the name of Christ. There is much good being done in the name of Christ and we should be building on that rather than simply trying to distance ourselves from being called by a name that has incredible history attached to it.
As Christians, we have a rich heritage. Even with all the times we've failed and messed up in representing Christ, we have a history of doing good in the name of Christ. We should be building on that, not running from it.
When we run from it, we leave behind both the good and the bad. A better choice would be to acknowledge the places where we've done wrong and learn from them, and build on the good that has been done.
We serve a God Who is all about redeeming our lives. He takes our failures, our sins, our wrongs, and He redeems them for His glory. I know God loves to and wants to redeem us individually. He does this all the time.
I believe He also wants to do this for those who claim Him name as a whole. God designed us to go through this life and He uses His church as a body. I believe this means He wants to do His redeeming work in us as a whole.
When we choose to run from everything in our past, God can't redeem it for His glory - not the good and not the bad. What if, instead of running from it, we sought to changes people's associations with the label Christians? It will take time, but it won't ever happen if it doesn't start somewhere.
As I reread that post, I began to wonder if there was a different way to approach the negative things so often associated with the label Christian. What if, instead of seeking to avoid the name, we sought to redeem it? What if we decided to live in such a way that people began to associate something positive when they heard the label Christian?
Acts 11:26 tells us that "the disciples were called Christians first at Antioch." The church was already established at this point. The surrounding culture gave them the name knowing the reputation of the early believers for caring for and loving those in need around them.
In the 2,000 years since then, Christians have come to be associated with lots of negative. To be sure, we've deserved some of it as our actions, as a whole and as individuals, has been anything but Christ-like. But that doesn't mean it has to stay that way. We can change it.
We can build on the good that does still happen in the name of Christ. There is much good being done in the name of Christ and we should be building on that rather than simply trying to distance ourselves from being called by a name that has incredible history attached to it.
As Christians, we have a rich heritage. Even with all the times we've failed and messed up in representing Christ, we have a history of doing good in the name of Christ. We should be building on that, not running from it.
When we run from it, we leave behind both the good and the bad. A better choice would be to acknowledge the places where we've done wrong and learn from them, and build on the good that has been done.
We serve a God Who is all about redeeming our lives. He takes our failures, our sins, our wrongs, and He redeems them for His glory. I know God loves to and wants to redeem us individually. He does this all the time.
I believe He also wants to do this for those who claim Him name as a whole. God designed us to go through this life and He uses His church as a body. I believe this means He wants to do His redeeming work in us as a whole.
When we choose to run from everything in our past, God can't redeem it for His glory - not the good and not the bad. What if, instead of running from it, we sought to changes people's associations with the label Christians? It will take time, but it won't ever happen if it doesn't start somewhere.
Saturday, June 13, 2015
Do You Believe God Heals?
Do you believe that God can heal?
Do you deep down in the depths of your soul believe that the power of the cross is enough to heal?
I know just by asking those questions, I'm heading into an area where opinions and experiences differ and have often been cause for debate and division among Christians. I have no intention of starting a debate on this hear. But, these are the questions I've been wrestling with lately.
When Jesus was on earth, He healed people. The Gospels are filled with accounts of Jesus healing. Acts is also filled with the early church praying for people and them being healed. Matthew 10:1 records Jesus sending out His disciples "to drive out impure spirits and to heal every disease and sickness."
As I read through Scripture, I'm struck with the reality that the early church believed God could heal and they acted on that faith. I don't see anywhere in Scripture where it says God stopped healing people. And there's still stories to be heard around the world about how God has healed people.
I can agree that God has the ability to heal. Even that He does still heal people sometimes. The question becomes if I personally believe it's possible in my life or the lives of those I know. Bringing it from something in my head that I can say, to something that has an impact on how I live.
That's where my wrestling with the questions I opened this post with began. I was in a situation where my answers to those questions mattered - they would change my prayers. Those answers still matter and they still impact my prayers. I think we can all find ourselves in these situations at different times in life.
The truth is Scripture makes it pretty clear God can and does heal people. That being the case, it means I can, and should, believe it myself. And I can pray as if God does heal people today. That's what I'm asked to do as a Christian.
The challenge comes in my personal expectations of what believing God can heal and praying that He would entail. That's where I can become discouraged. And I think that's where much of the division and debate over this comes from. We've gone beyond what Scripture says and put our personal expectations on the same level.
Believing God can heal doesn't mean we ignore prudent medical advice. Believing God can heal doesn't mean we go around recklessly declaring God has healed people just because we prayed for them and we believe it.
Believing God can heal means we humbly come before Him and ask for Him to intervene. It means we allow room for both the miraculous that excites us and the path of following the treatment laid out - because eve in that, the healing at the end is still a work of God; He just chose to use other people to bring about that healing.
Believing God can heal means we allow space for God's plan to be beyond us when He doesn't heal the way we expected and prayed for Him to. It means we trust Him, even when His response doesn't make sense according to our plans and requests.
Ultimately, believing God can heal comes down to a decision to pray boldly and humbly, and then trust God with the outcome.
Do you believe God can heal?
Do you deep down in the depths of your soul believe that the power of the cross is enough to heal?
Do I believe this? As I wrestled with these questions, I've come to conclusion that I do. Now, it comes down to what that looks like moving forward in my life.
The same is true for you. What you believe about this will impact how you live - how you pray.
Do you deep down in the depths of your soul believe that the power of the cross is enough to heal?
I know just by asking those questions, I'm heading into an area where opinions and experiences differ and have often been cause for debate and division among Christians. I have no intention of starting a debate on this hear. But, these are the questions I've been wrestling with lately.
When Jesus was on earth, He healed people. The Gospels are filled with accounts of Jesus healing. Acts is also filled with the early church praying for people and them being healed. Matthew 10:1 records Jesus sending out His disciples "to drive out impure spirits and to heal every disease and sickness."
As I read through Scripture, I'm struck with the reality that the early church believed God could heal and they acted on that faith. I don't see anywhere in Scripture where it says God stopped healing people. And there's still stories to be heard around the world about how God has healed people.
I can agree that God has the ability to heal. Even that He does still heal people sometimes. The question becomes if I personally believe it's possible in my life or the lives of those I know. Bringing it from something in my head that I can say, to something that has an impact on how I live.
That's where my wrestling with the questions I opened this post with began. I was in a situation where my answers to those questions mattered - they would change my prayers. Those answers still matter and they still impact my prayers. I think we can all find ourselves in these situations at different times in life.
The truth is Scripture makes it pretty clear God can and does heal people. That being the case, it means I can, and should, believe it myself. And I can pray as if God does heal people today. That's what I'm asked to do as a Christian.
The challenge comes in my personal expectations of what believing God can heal and praying that He would entail. That's where I can become discouraged. And I think that's where much of the division and debate over this comes from. We've gone beyond what Scripture says and put our personal expectations on the same level.
Believing God can heal doesn't mean we ignore prudent medical advice. Believing God can heal doesn't mean we go around recklessly declaring God has healed people just because we prayed for them and we believe it.
Believing God can heal means we humbly come before Him and ask for Him to intervene. It means we allow room for both the miraculous that excites us and the path of following the treatment laid out - because eve in that, the healing at the end is still a work of God; He just chose to use other people to bring about that healing.
Believing God can heal means we allow space for God's plan to be beyond us when He doesn't heal the way we expected and prayed for Him to. It means we trust Him, even when His response doesn't make sense according to our plans and requests.
Ultimately, believing God can heal comes down to a decision to pray boldly and humbly, and then trust God with the outcome.
Do you believe God can heal?
Do you deep down in the depths of your soul believe that the power of the cross is enough to heal?
Do I believe this? As I wrestled with these questions, I've come to conclusion that I do. Now, it comes down to what that looks like moving forward in my life.
The same is true for you. What you believe about this will impact how you live - how you pray.
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