Dirty Bible, Clean Heart

  "At this, Job got up and tore his robe and shaved his head. Then he fell to the ground in worship ." -Job 1:20 NIV What is your most painful memory? Think about this. Have you ever found yourself in a desperate place? When you cry out, "W hy, God? Why did you allow this to happen ?" or "Why haven't you changed my circumstances?" Have you been there before? Perhaps for some readers, this is not a distant memory but a present reality! A broken marriage, a financial crisis, or the unexpected death of a loved one are all enough to throw us into our own pit of despair. None of us are exempt from pain. And pain is a topic that the Scriptures do not shy away from discussing. In fact many  (if not all )  of the Biblical "heroes" experienced long dark valleys. Jesus is the foremost example. Of whom the Bible says, " He was despised and rejected by mankind,  a man of suffering, and familiar with pain " (Isaiah 53:3) . Therefore if our Hea...

  "God had one son on earth without sin, but never one without suffering ." -Saint Augustine  "For just as we share abundantly in the sufferings of Christ, so also our comfort abounds through Christ." -2 Cor 1:5 I don't think that any of us particularly enjoy suffering. In fact, we spend most of our time trying to avoid even the least bit of it. I was reminded of this during the beginning of this Covid-19 pandemic when I saw the massive crowds rushing to the grocery store purchasing what seemed like an excessive amount of food and toilet paper. I understand that these shopping patterns were mainly driven by fear, but it made my point nonetheless. As humans we cringe at even the thought of the slightest discomfort. Even natural forces such as wind and water do this. The theory is rightly termed the path of least resistance . And this is the path that we often take, sometimes even unknowingly to us. However following Jesus will at times require us to go through ...

"Then the word of the Lord came to him: 'This man will not be your heir, but a son who is your own flesh and blood will be your heir.'...Abram believed the Lord, and he credited it to him as righteousness." -Gen 15:4&6 "Abraham was a hundred years old when his son Isaac was born to him." -Gen 21:5 We continue our study on waiting by looking at Abraham's life. Let's look at the remaining reasons why God allows us to go through waiting seasons. I think there is much to learn on this topic that will serve as an encouragement in our waiting.  Just keep going, and going... One of the qualities that God works in us during our waiting is perseverance. Some people are naturally inclined to hold on when the road gets tough. There are folks in this world (both followers and non-followers of Jesus) that are incredibly resilient. In spite of  the worst circumstances, these folks, have managed to get through it and become stronger individuals a...

"Then the word of the Lord came to him: 'This man will not be your heir, but a son who is your own flesh and blood will be your heir.'... Abram believed the Lord, and he credited it to him as righteousness."   -Gen 15:4&6 "Abraham was a hundred years old when his son Isaac was born to him." -Gen 21:5 Have you ever had to wait for something you really wanted? A job, house, a child? Anyone who has had to wait for anything earnestly desired will know how difficult and draining the waiting period can be. Whenever I am waiting for anything, time seems to travel at a much slower rate. The hours, weeks, and months drag on and on and it seems the thing will never come. In reality, however, time is traveling at the exact same rate as before. Outside circumstances did not change but my inward reality did. I now have an expectation for something/someone to come and it is that desire that drives my impatience. Ecclesiastes 3:1 tells us that "To every thi...

"If we think of the Holy Spirit only as an impersonal power or influence, then our thought will constantly be, how can I get hold of and use the Holy Spirit; but if we think of Him in the biblical way as a divine Person , infinitely wise, infinitely holy, infinitely tender, then our thought will constantly be, 'How can the Holy Spirit get hold of and use me?" -R.A. Torrey After reading Part I of this series, you should be well aware that the Holy Spirit is not an it but a Person . I repeatedly stress this point because so long as we subconsciously think of the Holy Spirit as an it or gift, we will never treat Him as a Person nor seek a relationship with Him. So long as we consider Him a "lesser god" or an experience, we will use Him instead of being used by Him. But the life that Jesus lived on Earth gives us a very different picture of what our attitude towards and relationship with the Holy Spirit should look like. 1 Peter 2:21 states that Jesus is the exam...

"You might as well try to see without eyes, hear without ears, or breathe without lungs, as to try to live the Christian life without the Holy Spirit". -D.L. Moody Who is the Holy Spirit? The answer to this question has brought much confusion to the church (and even the secular world) in recent decades. Many have limited the Holy Spirit to speaking in tongues and outward manifestations of God's power. The Holy Spirit has become an  it  in some Christian circles while in others He is completely neglected and regarded as unnecessary. It is somewhat shocking how far we have strayed from God's plan for the Holy Spirit in our lives. A quick read of the book of Acts alone shows us the importance of this wonderful Person in our Christian walk. Apart from our salvation, which the Holy Spirit guarantees, there is nothing so important in our lives as knowing, loving, and yielding to the Holy Spirit. Though countless books, teachings, and sermons could be produced on Him...

"God is ready to assume full responsibility for the life wholly yielded to Him."  -Andrew Murray  We have been talking a great deal on prayer. Why? Because prayer is absolutely essential to the Christian life. We pray because God loves us and prayer is simply our response to His love. True prayer is spending time with the Lord. One of my favorite Scriptures in the Bible is Romans 5:8 which says,  "But God commends his love toward us, in that,  while we were yet sinners , Christ died for us."  Many of us know this verse yet still look at prayer as something I  have  to do as opposed to something I  choose to invest  in. However, when the Holy Spirit bring us a true revelation of God's love for us, prayer will cease to be a chore. It will stop being the activity you dread but will become the  lifestyle  you adopt. Prayer is the exchange of two lives fully committed to each other. We know that God is fully committed to us for i...