Have you ever had a toxic friend? One minute they are all for you, the next minute they are pulling the rug out from under you. And the main toxicity is that they are undermining who you are. They chip away at the foundation of your confidence and sense of self. What’s going on here is jealousy. ‘Anger is cruel, wrath overwhelming, but before a jealous person who can stand?’ (Proverbs 27:4) The jealousy your toxic friend has towards you is not about you. If not you, it would be towards another. It’s not personal towards you. It is personal towards God. It is between them and God. It is an issue of sin. Let’s take a practical example, and how to deal with it… One day you are excited about hanging out with a group of people – toxic friend included. You arrive, you look cute, you feel good. One of the gang says, ‘You look so great today, wow!’ All eyes on you. Your friend chimes in quick, big smile, ‘Totally! Pity about the color of your sneakers, but hey!’ Little Ms Toxic laughs and others laugh along or it would be awkward. Everyone moves on. Later on LMT says to you in private, like sincerely concerned, ‘Why do you think she was saying you looked great?’ We have a question to you about you. And it is on a steep slope, so to speak. There is only one way the discussion can go if you answer on Toxic’s terms, and that is downhill, self-deprecation. If you say, ‘I don’t know!’ That is to reinforce that the compliment was somehow insincere and the kind words of no value. Before we consider a response, let’s consider what James – the brother of Jesus – says about jealousy. ‘Where there is jealousy there is confusion, and every kind of evil.’ (James 3:16) Ever feel confused around toxic friend? Now look what James says about people with true wisdom and understanding – the kind of friends you need around you. He says: a. They need to show it with good works done in meekness (humility, kindness) that is from true wisdom. (vs.13) b. True wisdom (words from a true friend) are ‘pure, peace-loving, considerate, full of mercy and good fruit.’ (vs.17) Is the spirit of your friend coming towards you in humility, considerateness, pure goodness, building you up? So let’s get back to our example, where friend has just asked you – or insincerely questioned you – about the kind words spoken to you. Let’s pause before we answer, and consider what is behind it. We hit pause and analyze. There is a jealous spirit behind it. It is confusing and undermining. OK, we have discerned the spirit. Now, let us respond accordingly. We might say, ‘Well, I personally really appreciated the kind words. They made me feel great!’ Here we stood against the spirit we discerned to be jealous. We have not given into what the question implied – i.e. that the compliment was insincere. Rather, we have stood at a distance here, and defined the terms of the event. We say they were good words, kind words, and we receive them. We need to be careful not to respond too quickly to something said or done or questioned. Because we risk – simply by responding on that level – being on that level. 'Do not answer a fool according to his folly, lest you become like him.' (Proverbs 26:4-5) It is better to stop, pause, discern the spirit behind the thing, and if a response is even needed, respond by defining the situation in true wisdom. If you do have time some day to consider a masterful interaction on this level, read and ponder Matthew 4:1-11. Look carefully at what the devil said to Jesus, and how Jesus responded. Jesus battled the devil here in redefining the very spirit of the air, of the confrontation. He did not allow the devil to set the terms of what was being said, and what was actually being done. And the devil, frustrated, finally came out and showed his true colors. Check it out some time! ‘Practice discernment.’ (Hebrews 5:14, N88V) Moses was called by God to free four hundred thousand slaves. God told Moses to go to the king, Pharaoh of Egypt, and say, ‘Let my people go!’ That was the plan. No weapons, no threats. (You can read this full story in the book of Exodus in the Bible) Moses was scared. He did not want to. He asked God to send someone else. God got angry at Moses for this. But he did allow for Moses’ brother, Aaron, to join him and be the mouthpiece. Now, in this brief reflection I just want to zero in on one thing that happened. God gave Moses a miraculous sign that he could perform in front of Pharaoh: Moses could throw his wooden staff on the ground, and it would become a snake. This was a sign that Moses could do, could use, to prove to Pharaoh that God had sent Moses to him. So Moses and Aaron go Pharaoh. Pharaoh tells them to prove themselves. Aaron throws the staff to the ground and it becomes a serpent. Now, look what happened after that: ‘Then Pharaoh summoned the wise men and the sorcerers, and they, the magicians of Egypt, also did the same by their secret arts.’ (Exodus 7:11) Here we have a moment. God had given Moses a mission, an anointing, authority in the Spirit. The staff becoming a serpent was a sign of this. But in the battle of this mission, the enemy matched – at least on the surface, just for a few moments – what seemed to be equal power. If we pause here for a moment, we see and feel a very confusing, challenging spiritual experience. All three snakes on the floor. Only one of them is the real deal, holy of God, a true sign of authority. The other two are counterfeits, deception, spiritual opposition. One is real, two are false. One is holy, two are evil. But for this moment, it is not clear which. They look the same. But then: ‘Aaron’s staff swallowed up their staffs.’ (v.12) All came clear. Only one snake remained. Don’t fear the counterfeit. Don’t fear the fake. God and his Spirit will prevail. We’re told that even the devil dresses up to counterfeit holy angels. (2 Cor 11:14) We’re in a battle, and appearances are part of the challenge. But we don’t worry. We don’t strive to prove anything. Because God will prove himself. He will call it. ‘The Lord knows those who are his.’ (2 Timothy 2:19) I was watching the news this morning. Guys in power completely corrupt. I wonder how these guys got to power. Then I wonder if it’s just any guy who gets power. As I watch the news – from money laundering, to rape, violence, robbery and war – I realize how radical, how ‘other’ is the gospel of Jesus. While the systems of this world raged on, up and down a ladder of power and money, God was born into a small village in a small country and battled the spirit powers of darkness. Again, the contrast: On one hill hunger games rage and salacious people prowl, and in a valley God himself walks, talks, touches, heals, and takes all darkness into his own blood and spills it on the ground. Death celebrated in the games and careers of man, death defeated outside the camp by Jesus Christ. And since that day, eternal life wars against eternal death, and eternal life has won and will win – to all those who seek God and find him. (Jer 29:13; John 16:11) ‘This is what we speak… explaining spiritual realities with Spirit-taught words.’ (1 Corinthians 2:13) A verse I love, a sweeping, silencing truth, is this: ‘The glory of the Lord will cover the earth as the waters cover the sea.’ (Habbakuk 2:14) I love to look over a still ocean. The waters are deep and wide beyond measure, and silence is all around. Only the wind on the water is heard and felt. Even this is only a picture, a promise, but it has weight. It looks and feels like the violent history of man is no more, sunk and silenced like a sunken ship. There will come a day when I am woken from my sleep, and told in a whisper, that the glory of the Lord has covered the earth, every corner, every scar. I will rise and an angel will walk me out to see the light of God on every path and back road, glowing and covering the air and the ground. Glory everywhere. Healing and silence. Beauty and peace. No danger, pain, sorrow or death. ‘Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth… God’s dwelling place is now among the people… He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain… Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life, as clear as crystal, flowing from the throne of God down the middle of the street of the city… No longer will there be any curse… There will be no more night… God will give them light. And they will reign for ever and ever.’ (Revelation 21:1-6; 22:1-5) There is a time for everything. Truly, there is. There is a time to rest – and often we miss that time. We long for it, we pray for it, but when it comes, we fret instead. For that famous passage on a ‘time for everything’, read Ecclesiastes 3:1-8. There is also a time to persevere. To endure. To not grow weary, and forge forward. This is true of our faith in Jesus, and of our walk with him. I’ve been recently struck by passage after passage in the Bible regarding perseverance in faith. Look at the language in these few verses: ‘By the Holy Spirit who dwells within us, guard the good deposit entrusted to you.’ (2 Tim 1:14) ‘As for you, continue in what you have learned and have firmly believed…’ (2 Tim 3:14) ‘Fight the good fight of the faith. Take hold of the eternal life to which you were called and about which you made the good confession in the presence of witnesses.’ (1 Tim 6:12) ‘I remind you to fan into flame the gift of God, which is within you…’ (2 Tim 1:6) Now I’ll be honest, these Scriptures about digging in and walking on, encourage me this season. They simply remind me that a walk of truth is not ‘confirmed’ by being an easy walk. I sometimes mistake fatigue or resistance as an indicator that I’m going the wrong way. Jesus said the path of truth – ultimately the path of believing in Jesus and following him – was a ‘narrow path’, not an easy one. (Mt 7:13-14) Have you grown weary in your faith in Christ? Have you grown weary in walking the path you know to be true? We’re called to ‘spur one another on to love and good deeds’, and I do want to encourage you this day. I have struggled with ‘weariness’ in my walk with Jesus, and in my testimony to others. I’m sure you have, too. But my friend, be encouraged. It is natural to fatigue, we are in a battle. It is natural to feel ‘foreign’ here in the world, for our citizenship is in heaven. (Phil 3:20) Hold steady! Lift your head! Christ is the true path, and your reward is real! ‘Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who promised is faithful.’ (Hebrews 10:23) Look closely at the dynamics here:
So God commands Moses to make a ‘bronze snake’, so that the people who are sick from a snake bite (because of their ‘impatience’ and rebellion) can look at the snake and be healed. You can read about this in Numbers 21:4-9. It is short, sweet, and dramatic. Following this ‘revelation’ and intervention and provision of God, the people begin to focus on the bronze snake, and worship it. They begin to burn incense to it, even give it a name: Nehushtan. A good king, Hezekiah, had to destroy this ‘bronze snake’ as it no longer ‘saved’ people, but stood between them and their true Savior as a ‘false god’. (2 Kings 18:4) The irony is stark, but we are all guilty of this same thing in many ways. We take what God has given us, and begin to ‘serve’ it or worship it, rather than the Creator who made it and gave it. We forget God, and make a god of His gift. We make idols. What comes between you and Jesus? That’s your idol. Money? Lust? Popularity? Do you profess God with your words, but deny him with your actions? (Titus 1:16) Interestingly, despite the misuse of the ‘bronze snake’, Jesus won’t be deprived of its original use and meaning. He likens himself to it. He says: ‘Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the wilderness, so the Son of Man must be lifted up, that everyone who believes may have eternal life in him.’ (John 3:14-15) We are bent on trading God’s Spirit for something tangible or material. We crave the power of ‘holding’, of ‘knowing’. (Gen 3:5-6) When Jesus bent down to wash Peter’s feet, Peter first denied him this act of servitude. When Jesus explained that it was necessary spiritually, had meaning, Peter then asks him to not only wash his feet, but his head also. Jesus simply says, ‘If you’ve had a bath, it’s just your feet that need to be washed.’ (John 13:1-10) Almost a comical response, because Jesus washing his feet had nothing to do with whether they had a bath or not, or whether their feet were dirty or not. The point here, however, is that when Peter was told of the spiritual import of this act, he tried to elevate it, add to it, get all sanctimonious about the act itself. Acts are external. Jesus is about the heart and the spirit. We are addicted to making truth visible, measurable, experiential, expandable, and in the process often lose the truth itself. Jesus says: ‘God is spirit, and his worshippers must worship in spirit and in truth.’ (John 4:24) My friends, we came into this world with nothing, and we’ll leave with nothing. (1 Tim 6:7) Don’t work for a legacy here; work for a legacy ‘there’. (Mt 6:20) Let’s truly ask God to help us discern the ‘spirit’, His Spirit, in our life. Let it blow to us and through us, for his glory, not our spiritual resume. (Jn 3:8) You can’t make an idol out of spirit. My kids ask me for stuff. It doesn’t work. I mean, sometimes I do give them what they ask for, sometimes I don’t, but the ‘asking’ is not the key factor in ‘getting’. In fact, sometimes (most times?) I give them what they need without them having to ask. Even give them what they want, without them having to ask.
Jesus told us that our loving Father in heaven knows what we need before we ask, so not to worry. (Mt 6:8) But Jesus also told us to ask the Father for what we need and want – in Jesus’ name – because he cares, and will provide. (John 16:24) Don’t ask? Ask? Yes to both. Because what’s really going on, what really matters, is not in the asking. It’s in the spirit. Jesus told us: ‘God is spirit, and his worshippers must worship in spirit and in truth.’ (John 4:24) God has come to us in person through Jesus Christ, because he loves us. (Mt 1:23) He speaks to us, because he loves us. (John 10:27) He dines with us, because he loves us. (Rev 3:20) When asked what the most important command was, Jesus told us it was to love God with all our heart. (Mt 22:36-40) Life itself, and all relationship within it, is about love, togetherness, and God. When we pray – talking to and listening to God – it is primarily about being with God, and walking with God. In this relationship with God there are things we need, we want, because this life is challenging and dark and competitive. It is OK to ask your Father in heaven for what you need and even want. (John 16:24/Phil 4:6-8) But it is not prayer that is ‘working’ here. Nothing, in fact, is ‘working’ – in the sense of putting something in and getting something out. Rather, in your praying – your sharing and listening – a living and loving relationship with God is ‘at work’. And he hears you. Prayer doesn’t work. Prayer has no power in itself. Relationship with Jesus Christ moves God’s heart, however, in a powerful way. Do you have a relationship with Jesus Christ? ‘And when you pray, do not keep on babbling… for such people think they will be heard because of their many words. Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him.’ (Matthew 6:7-8) For more information on having a personal relationship with Jesus, please visit: https://1peter1three.weebly.com/first-steps.html I’m talking about real structures here – like buildings, businesses, houses, etc. Now, personally I’m a man of faith, and it was a ‘faith reflection’ that got me thinking on this, but bear with me as I share this ‘line of thought’…
So as a Christian, I believe that it is God’s will that a true faith in Jesus is at the heart of every man, woman and child. I believe that outside of this revelation and truth of God – i.e. Jesus Christ – there is no ‘truth’, and nothing that will stand. This is the teaching of the Scriptures, from start to finish. It is undeniable, it is clear. But it is a ‘faith’ reality. It is Spirit. It is unseen. Even Jesus said about his kingdom, ‘It is not seen with the eyes… The kingdom of heaven is within you.’ (Luke 17:20-21) So then I start thinking – even worrying – about how this faith is truly going to sweep the nations. How, if ‘unseen’, if a thing of faith, how are we as people going to actually believe and ‘build’ on this? We are so given to what we can see, touch and experience. We are so given, also, to our appetites for things we even know are not true, not pure, not holy. How, if God’s way and revelation is a non-tangible, how will his Kingdom be brought and established here? Surely buildings and churches and world organizations stand strong on other principles. This world is built and driven by human drive and actions and unspiritual motivations and strengths. But then I thought for a moment. I thought about that high, affluent, towering tower with that powerful CEO at the very top, in the pent-house. I thought about him for a short few seconds… I thought about how this man, sitting high on a steel foundation with platinum, anti-earthquake engineering, thinks. He thinks, he feels, he desires. High on his human structure his heart quietly covets what is not his, that woman that is not his. And quietly, from the overflow of the heart, with the ticking of time, this same physical structure is compromised by robbery, wrongdoing, deceit, malice, envy and murder. This high, human tower of beauty, caves to the human heart of sin. Over time the man decays and dies, as does the tower. My friends, this is not theory. This is what you read in 3 out of every 4 columns of the newspaper. This is reality. I leave you now with only one verse, though there is so, so much on this very issue from start to finish in the Bible. But I leave you with only 1 that came to my mind in the moment of this reflection: ‘No one can lay any foundation other than the one already laid, which is Jesus Christ.’ (1 Corinthians 3:11) For more on ‘First Steps’ with Jesus Christ in your own life, please visit: https://1peter1three.weebly.com/first-steps.html Paul advises Timothy to be ‘sober-minded’, when surrounded by many false teachers telling people what their ‘itching ears want to hear.’ (2 Timothy 4:5) When people want to hear something specific, usually there is something specific that has already ‘intoxicated’ the mind and heart. Now they want someone to ‘teach’ it as though true. This will seal the deal. I think of Dostoyevsky saying, ‘Reason is the slave of passion.’ (Crime and Punishment) In other words, I’ll find a teaching – a reason – to suit and serve my passion. Is there something that you want to believe is true? You will certainly find a scholar, a book, a YouTube channel, a Rabbi or a church that will take your tithe and tell you what you want to hear. Paul tells Timothy he will be surrounded by ‘many’ false teachers, but that he is to be ‘sober-minded’ – or ‘keep his head’ – in all situations. My friends, when it comes to Scripture, the most calibrating, ‘sobering’ thing we can do, is to keep reading. In other words, don’t get stuck on one verse, one insight, one example, one story. Why? Because you might become ‘intoxicated’ – too much of one ingredient, causing you to lose stability, perspective, judgement, accuracy. God gave us 66 books, multiple histories and moments, multiple authors and cultural circumstances, so that we would ‘correctly handle the word of truth.’ (2 Timothy 2:14-15) He also gave us his Spirit, and calls us to know both the ‘power of God’ and a ‘knowledge of the Scriptures.’ (Matthew 22:29) This is challenging, humbling, but his way of working, and where full truth takes effect. We are not called to just know chapter and verse, but to discern the Spirit of Scripture. For example, Paul rebuked Peter because he was acting ‘out of line with the gospel’. (Galatians 2:14) He was not breaking a specific rule (in fact, he was, in a way, keeping an Old Testament rule) but this was ‘out of line’ with the Spirit of God and the whole story, person and life of Jesus Christ and his message. So we know the Scriptures, the written word, but we soak it all in the Living Word, the Spirit of God. Paul again refers to the law – the writings of Scripture - being ‘spiritual’, not a type of word puzzle that carries authority in itself. (Romans 7:14) This is why the Devil could quote Scripture, and yet be not only wrong but evil. (Matthew 4:1-11) Some things come through consistently when the whole Bible is read and understood. Certain values course through the histories and teachings from Genesis to Revelation, holding true in the Old Covenant and the New, from the mouth of Moses to the mouth of Christ and to and through the church thereafter. Other things feature in this or that instance, and give us insight and instruction on the things of God, but they are not patterns, not solid teachings, not core to the fabric, the mission, the example and instruction of Jesus and his apostles. Look at what Paul says to Timothy about Scripture and its place in Timothy’s life, and that of all believers: ‘From infancy you have known the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.’ (2 Timothy 3:15-17) Are you being sober-minded in your spiritual judgments and walk? This is not about zeal or fervor, but about stability and health. Are you looking deeply into not only the teachings here and there in the Bible, but the very ‘pattern of sound teaching’ in the Bible? (1 Timothy 1:13) Are you looking for the Spirit of thing – consistent with the gospel and character of God – or are you just pinning down some verses here and there? Are you spending time not only in the Word, but in the Spirit of God? Are you spending time not only in the Spirit of God, but in the Word? I’m talking about the inevitable. That moment when everything goes quiet, and our contact with this world fades. The moment when our eyes close, for the last time, to the light of this life, and our soul slips away. If things do go dark at this moment, my friends, let me share some things with you about ‘that’ darkness. We’re told that if we go through the ‘door’ of Jesus Christ, we pass into a new reality. (John 10:9) - here and now, and forevermore. Have you gone through that door? This ‘door’ – Jesus Christ - is God’s ‘rope’ to save us, God’s ‘anchor’ to steady us, God’s ‘salvation’. We pass through this door of eternal life through repentance of our sin, and faith in Jesus Christ. After taking the hand and Spirit of Jesus, we are told that we ‘never die’. (John 11:26) Yes, we do ‘die’ in the flesh, but our souls have been ‘banked’ with God and we will never actually ‘perish’, or cease to be. One verse in the Bible puts it this way: ‘Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting?’ (1 Cor 15:55) Followers of Jesus in the bible, when they die here on earth, are said to ‘sleep’. That’s where we get R.I.P. – or, ‘Rest in Peace’. Because in Jesus, to die here is just to ‘rest’ for a while, until he ‘wakes’ us for Heaven. (1 Thes 4:13-18) This is all in the Bible, my friends, this is the promise and power of Jesus Christ! And you know, darkness actually belongs to God. In fact, a beautiful verse puts it this way: ‘Darkness is as light to God.’ (Psalm 139:12) So when the lights go out, my brother, my sister, and you close your eyes to this world, there is a sweet and peaceful passage you can pass through, carried by the Spirit of God. For more on the ‘door’ that is Jesus, and taking his hand today, please visit: https://1peter1three.weebly.com/first-steps.html Knowledge not given by God is not true Knowledge. Sight not lit by God’s light, is not true seeing. Joy not sanctified, released by God, is not true joy. We can access dimensions that we were not made to access. We can run off cliffs that were supposed to be fenced off. We brought the fences down on the cliffs, so now we can’t run free, or we might run too far… When the fences were there, we could run crazy free, joyous, impossible to run too far or run into danger. But we wanted more. We wanted power. We wanted to ‘be like God’ and so we chose sin. (Gen 3:5a) We wanted more knowledge, to see beyond the bounds of goodness and freedom; we wanted to ‘know’ not just ‘goodness’, but ‘evil’ also, so we chose sin. (Gen 3:5b) Here the walls came down. Untrue knowledge, ‘evil’, or what James calls ‘demonic wisdom’ (James 3:15) flooded our field of goodness, our landscape of the pure. The pure waters of Eden were contaminated with dark, bitter waters. We opened our minds to darkness, and darkness and flooded in. What does that mean for us now? Well, it means that we might see, understand, question, reason… with knowledge, with vision, with motives, that are not all pure, not all meaningful, not all good. We are no longer walled into Eden, and can trust all the parameters of reality. No, we have to decipher now. We have to discern. We have to ‘keep with repentance’ (Mt 3:8), we have to ‘strive to rest’ (Heb 4:11), we have to discard learning (Phil 3:8), we have to wade back upstream to childlike states of being. (Mt 18:3) The real key is taking captive thoughts, and making them subject to Christ. (2 Cor 10:5) Truth is a battle now, does not come naturally. It comes through faith, and it stays true by ‘holding’ to Christ. (John 8:31-32) In faith and ‘truth’, it is as if we are walking on the peak of mountain range – high and beautiful, but dangerous and vulnerable. God calls us to have no fear as we walk this peak, but he does call us to ‘balance’ and secure our steps, by keeping our eyes on him, carrying the cross as we walk. (Luke 9:23) |
AuthorPeter Walker. I hope you enjoy these reflections. Please feel free to comment!:) Archives
February 2024
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