Can we change God’s mind?

Posted on December 26, 2013 by Mark McMillion

I had just written the post about “Weeping for Saul” and I thought how that some people might not like what I said there. They could think I’m against really holding on for someone in prayer. There are times for that, certainly. If prayer doesn’t work, why pray?

One time, God became so fed up with the rebellious children of Israel in the wilderness that he told Moses, “I have seen this people and it is a stiff-necked people. Now leave Me alone, so that My wrath may become hot against them and so I may consume them. And I will make of you a great nation.” (Exodus 32:9 & 10)

So did Moses say, “OK, God. Whatever.”?

No, he didn’t do that. Here’s what the Bible says that Moses prayed to God: “Why does Your wrath become hot against Your people whom You have brought forth out of the land of Egypt with a mighty hand? Why should the Egyptians say, ‘He brought them out, to kill them in the mountains’? Turn from Your fierce wrath, and be moved to pity. Remember Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, Your servants, to whom You swore, ‘I will multiply your seed as the stars of the heavens, and all this land that I have spoken of will I give to your seed.” (Exodus 32:11-13 )

Moses interceded and pled for mercy for those rebellious legions he’d led out of Egypt. And then it says, “So the Lord changed his mind about the calamity he had said he would bring on his people.” (Exodus 32:14 )

Moses pled for his people and the Lord changed His mind. And at length Moses’ successor, Joshua, led the younger generation of Israelites to conquer the land of Israel.There are certainly times where effectual, fervent prayer has been the catalyst for miraculous change and has moved the hand of God.

So why wasn’t that God’s highest and best when Samuel was calling out to God for the rebellious King Saul? It must be like the verse I John 5:14 which says, “If we ask any thing according to His will, he hears us.” (I John 5:14)

In the situation with Saul, God saw that Saul was never repentant, never really getting his heart right with God and he never did. God sees the hearts more than any of us can and He saw that it just wasn’t in Saul’s heart to get right with Him. And so God told Samuel to move on.

But what about you? Are you holding on in prayer for someone? A loved one, a child a situation? Should you do that? Does it seem like I am saying you shouldn’t do that?

You could ask yourself, has your spiritual life with the Lord come to a halt because of what you’re praying about? Is what you’re praying for causing you to not be able to move on to something else the Lord is saying you should be moving towards?

Jesus Himself even prayed a prayer that didn’t get answered. He said, “Father, if it be Your will, let this cup pass from Me. Nevertheless, not My will, but Your will be done.” (Matthew 26:39)

That’s the secret I suppose. Are we still yielded to God? Have we ceased obeying and following the Lord, doing His highest and best, because something we’ve been praying for has not been answered? That’s what Samuel was tempted with. Would he stubbornly refuse to obey God because the Lord had seen that Saul was no longer going to follow Him?

Has some loved ones’ rebellion towards God caused you to become rebellious as well? We sure have times where the Lord really wants us to hold on in prayer for some people or situations, no doubt about that. But if it causes us to stubbornly refuse to continue to follow the Lord and the live the truth He’s shown us because He didn’t do what we thought He should, then that’s a serious mistake. And sadly a number of people do that.

Like the three Hebrew children in the fiery furnace told Nebuchadnezzar, “Our God can deliver us and He will. But if He doesn’t, we still are not going to bow down to your idol!” (Daniel 3:18) Lord help us for that to be our heart cry. “God, I know you can answer this prayer. But if you don’t, I’m not going to stop believing and obeying you. If you tell me to move on into something else, by your grace I’ll do that.”

We just need to keep our connection with the Lord strong. If He’s leading you to keep praying for some situation or person, like Samuel said, “God forbid that I should sin in ceasing to pray for you.” (I Samuel 12:23) But if God is telling you to move on in some new way, then we need to obey in that and leave those concerns and the burdens of our heart with Him.

“He knows, He loves, He cares,

nothing His truth can dim.

He gives the best to those

who leave the choice with Him.”

Weeping for Saul

Posted on December 18, 2013 by Mark McMillion

Is it ever wrong to pray? The Bible says, “Pray without ceasing” (I Thessalonians 5:17), so it would seem you could just about say that it’s never wrong to pray. But there are examples in the Bible where men of God were praying and the Lord told them that what they were praying for was not really His best at that time.

And this is really important. We need to not only pray, we need to be in tune with the way God is leading, the way He sees things. One of the greatest examples of this is when the prophet Samuel had been informed by God that King Saul had turned away from God and that He was going to replace Saul with another king.

King Saul with Samuel

Saul had started out as a Godly king, specifically chosen by God to be anointed by the high priest Samuel. But eventually it seems it all went to his head. He ceased to obey the commandments and leadings from God which He gave through the prophet and priest, Samuel.

At length God told Samuel, “I regret that I made Saul king, because he has turned away from following me and has not carried out my commands.” (I Samuel 15:11) And what was Samuel’s reaction to this? The rest of that verse goes on to say, “It grieved Samuel and he cried unto the Lord all night.”

OK, we can understand this, can’t we? Samuel cared a lot about Saul, he was rooting for him, he wanted him to make it and to pull out of the dive he was in. Samuel was doing what he felt was right, really desperately crying out to the Lord for Him to work and to change Saul’s heart. It seems to be the right thing to do.

But, even after this, Saul continued to go from bad to worse. At one point it sounds like he nearly got physical with Samuel when Samuel was telling him that his rebellion against God was “as the sin of witchcraft.” (I Samuel 15:23) And still, even after all that, “Samuel mourned for Saul.” (I Samuel 15:23)

But then, this happened. And the Lord said to Samuel, “How long will you mourn for Saul, since I have rejected him from reigning over Israel? Fill your horn with oil and go. I will send you to Jesse of Bethlehem. For I have seen a king for Me among his sons.” (I Samuel 15:23)

Uh-oh. Was that a little reproof from the Lord towards Samuel? Was God moved in this situation by Samuel’s prayers for Saul? Doesn’t sound like it. Basically the Lord was telling Samuel, “Son, it’s time to move on. You need to get up and get over this and go forward with the way I’m leading. The future is moving another direction. I’ve provided a new king among the sons of Jesse.”

Did Samuel stomp his foot and refuse to obey God? No. Thankfully he had enough of the wisdom and grace of God to take this admonition from God and to get moving in the new direction God was leading. And you could say, “But didn’t God respect Samuel’s prayer and his broken heart for Saul? Doesn’t ‘the effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much?’” (James 5:16)

In this case (and probably in a number of other cases) God just sees that to continue to “mourn for Saul” is a dead-end street. Saul had hardened his heart towards God and had really turned away so much from following the Lord that it was a waste of time for Samuel to keep trying to revive and bring to repentance a man who’d just really turned away, as Saul had.

What if Samuel had gotten bitter, angry and felt that what God was doing was wrong and that he wasn’t going to go along with it? Does that ever happen to any of us? Are any of us, “mourning for Saul” instead of “filing our horns with oil and going”? Sadly, I think this is a real temptation for many people. Some never stop “mourning for Saul”, some loved one, some situation, some wonderful time or place in their lives that’s just no longer there. God has called them to move on, to go forward, leaving the sad disappointments behind as they go towards the new thing the Lord is leading them into.

It’s a real heart wrenching experience, as it probably was for Samuel. I’ve been through it a few times and maybe you have too. But if we don’t stop mourning for things that will never be the same again and instead “fill our horn with oil”, that is to be filled with the Holy Spirit, to be filled with the wisdom, freshness and current leading of the Lord, then we’ll be doomed to stay stuck back in the past. We’ll be holding on to our Sauls, to people, places and things that no longer are God’s highest and best.

To me, this verse has always been a sober warning. Things change. People change and not always for the best. If we’re to truly follow God, we may have experiences like Samuel. The Lord may ask us how long we’re going to hold on to something that’s turned to rebellion against God and His will.

It’s a difficult experience. But if Samuel had not obeyed, God could not have used him to move on to anoint King David, Israel’s best loved and most remembered monarch. May God help us all to leave our Sauls behind if that’s what God is calling us to do and to follow Him into the future He knows is best.

“Judge Righteous Judgment”

Posted on December 11, 2013 by Mark McMillion

The first Bible verse I ever memorized was John 7:24, “Judge not according to the appearance, but judge righteous judgment.” Boy, I needed that verse. I had come to believe in God in the previous few months, after very nearly dying and not going to heaven. So I knew from experienced that God was real. And I knew that the Devil was real. But I hadn’t at that time become a Christian as I just didn’t know who Jesus was. But I began to read the Bible vociferously because I knew it was the book that told about the God I’d come to find was real.

I’d been so horribly misjudging so many things at that time. I think that’s the reason that God put that verse into my mind and heart right then because I really needed to look at things differently and judge things differently. But when you think about it, the whole idea of judgment is not a real popular concept nowadays, whether you’re a believer or not.

When they think of judgment, so many Christians immediately remember what Jesus said, “Judge not, that you be not judged”. (Matthew 7:1) And so they get the idea that we’re to just sort of acquiesce and go along with almost anything since, “We aren’t to judge.” Hmm. And then the atheists and agnostics often feel that there’s no right or wrong anyway, no good or bad, no truth. So “judgment” just becomes almost a bad word.

Judge righteous Judgment-flattened Is that really how it should be? Don’t we all make judgments all the time? Every decision you make is in some ways a judgment, based on your values, your information, your ethics and your interests. So actually we’re all making judgments and we have to.

Jesus said plainly in that verse He put into my heart that we’re to “judge righteous judgment”. But what is “righteous”? Here the believer and the unbeliever may go different directions. A believer will know that righteousness is found in God and the unbeliever hardly even believes in any kind of righteousness since “Who are we to judge?”

But the Bible often says that we are to judge, not in a self-righteous way but in a Godly way, on His foundation, with His eyes of mercy and truth. Paul told the Corinthians, “Do you not know that the saints shall judge the world? And if the world will be judged by you, are you unworthy to judge the smallest matters? Don’t you know that we shall judge angels? How much more the things that pertain to this life.” (I Corinthians 6: 2 & 3)

Jesus even said of Himself, “My judgment is just; because I don’t seek My own will, but the will of the Father which has sent Me.” (John 5:30) Maybe that’s a secret or key. If we are not seeking our own will or way but are seeking God’s way and His best, then our views and judgments can be more aligned with God’s love and justice. That way, our judgment on maters big or small will be moving towards the “righteous judgment” He wants us to have.

James, “the Lord’s brother” (Galatians 1:19), had some important things to say about this. “So speak and so do as those who shall be judged by the law of liberty. For He shall have judgment without mercy to those who’ve shown no mercy. And mercy rejoices against judgment,” (James 2: 12 &13). Merciful judgment. It all comes back to a loving God, a loving Savior, a pleading, interceding Holy Spirit, all moving in us to be wise and merciful in our judgments, whether they be tiny daily decisions or our most major “affairs of this life.” (Proverbs 4:23)

Jesus reproved the Pharisees because they were so busy with tiny details like tithing their spices and had “omitted the weightier matters of the law: judgment, mercy and faith,” (Matthew 23:23) We are called on to judge righteous judgment, judgment with mercy, led by God’s wisdom and Word. And like Paul said in that verse above, it’s even going to be a part of our job in the world to come. So Lord help us all to judge righteous judgment, to be basing all we do on His foundation of truth and love and to be learning now in this lifetime to see things through His eyes, so we’ll make the best decisions and to be examples to others of His loving justice and judgment.

Conviction or Condemnation

Posted on December 8, 2013 by Mark McMillion

The difference between conviction and condemnation was something I struggled with a lot as a young Christian. It seems to be something that’s not often touched on or even understood by many Christians. But for me, learning the difference between conviction and condemnation was a battle that I had to win if I was to grow in my Christian life.

Simply put, God convicts us of specific sins or weaknesses, giving us hope that if we bring it to Him, He can and will forgive us and heal us. On the other hand, it’s the Devil that condemns us, saying that we’re just generally bad and hopeless. It’s been understanding the difference between these two that has been an essential part of my being able to get to grips with some of the sins, failures and shortcomings of my life and to also recognize when the voice of Satan is trying to bring hopelessness to me in some matter.

Is what I’m saying here according to God’s Word? In John chapter 8, the Pharisees brought a woman to Jesus who’d been caught in adultery. They called upon Jesus to agree to the writings of the Jewish law that she should be stoned to death. But Jesus said to them, “He that is without sin among you, let him cast the first stone.” And the next verse says, “When they heard it, they went out being convicted by their own conscience”. (John 8:9) Jesus’ words brought conviction.

How about the Devil’s words? In Revelation 12:9 the Devil is called “the accuser of the saints”. The devil is like the prosecuting attorney in a courtroom, constantly bringing our sins before ourselves and God, calling for our condemnation and judgment.

But there’s another kind of condemnation and one that’s perhaps even more subtle. The apostle John wrote, “If our heart condemn us, God is greater than our heart and knows all things.” (I John 3:20) Some people have a lot of trouble with that. Their heart condemns them in several ways. For one, since we are all sinners (Romans 3:23), then without the rebirth through salvation in Jesus, each of our hearts overcomes us through one sin or the other.

Sometimes though, even if you’re saved, your own heart may have the habit or tendency to condemn you. It’s like negative thinking. A verse that helped me on this one time was “He that justifies the wicked and he that condemns the just, both of these are an abomination to the Lord.” (Proverbs 17:15) You can get to thinking, “Oh I’m really humble because I’m always so down on myself”. But it’s not the way the Lord wants us to be in the spirit. For us to condemn ourselves is actually an abomination to God, according to that verse, just as much as if we were justifying the wicked,

Maybe the most famous verse about condemnation is, “There is therefore now no condemnation to them which be in Christ Jesus…” (Romans 8:1) But in some ways, it’s a thin line to walk. On one side, we don’t want to “fall into the condemnation of the devil” (I Timothy 3:6). God forbid. But that sure doesn’t mean in any way that we want to harden our hearts against the gentle chiding voice of the Holy Spirit which “will reprove the world of sin and of righteousness and of judgment”.

It comes down to which voice you are learning to listen to. We don’t want to be in tune with “the accuser of the saints” or our own heart that can condemn us. But we do want to have a clean conscience that can help to be a guidance to us. And even more than that, we want to have a clear channel to the voice of the Lord Who will convict us and lead us in the paths we are to walk in.

Someone said one time that it’s like a chain with a weak link. We’re that chain and we all have weak links, sins, and weakness, areas that we need to change and grow in. The Lord takes a look at the chain, probably sees a number of weak links and He points out the one that He wants to work on. He points to one weak link and says, “That one right there, give that one to me and I’ll fix it.” But then the Devil comes along and says, “Oh my God, that is a bad chain! It’s bad! It needs to be totally thrown away!”

That’s the difference between conviction and condemnation. One is specific, doable and brings hope for change and improvement if there is repentance. The other is general, totally negative and also hopeless. God help us all to know the difference between condemnation and conviction and to learn to recognize the Lord’s voice of conviction that brings change, hope and progress. “For Godly sorrow works repentance to salvation, not to be repented of. But the sorrow of the world works death.” (II Corinthians 7:10)

Soft heart, tough spirit

Posted on November 17, 2013 by Mark McMillion

Life is just full of contradictions. And it seems like, for believers, there are contradictions at times too. Some famous skeptics even wrote books about what they said they saw as contradictions in the Bible. But how about when, on the one hand, we’re told to be soft hearted and humble, and then it turns around and says we are to be like soldiers. How can that work?

It is a question. But of course there are some clear and simple answers to this to be found within the Bible. So if you don’t mind to look at some Bible verses on the subject, let’s try to check this out.

Jesus said of Himself that He was “meek, and lowly in heart.” (Matthew 11:29) If ever there is anything that’s remembered about Jesus, it was His love, His humility, His tenderheartedness, his forgiveness. It was even noted in the writings of the secular Roman authorities how much the early Christians loved each other.

But did Jesus ever get angry? In one place it says of Him, “He looked about with anger, being grieved for the hardness of their hearts.” (Mark 3:5) Jesus was angry at the hardness of heart He often found in the most outwardly religious of His day.

And Paul told the Ephesians, “Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another.” (Ephsians 4:32) The New Testament is just chocked full of admonitions to keep a tender heart, softened by the Lord’s love. And actually the Old Testament has a lot of the same teachings. “Today, if you will hear His voice, harden not your hearts.” (Psalms 95:7&8)

It’s pretty clear that loving kindness is essential and “a meek spirit is in the sight of God of great price.” (I Peter 3:4)

But some would say, “So Mark, does that mean that we are to just sit around being noodles and wimps!?! That’s what we always see of Jesus: sweet, weak limp Jesus. Is that really what you’re saying?! And if Jesus was so meek and humble, then why did He go into the temple of God with a whip and turn over all those tables (John 2: 14-16) where those folks were cashing in on the economic activity of the temple? Huh? Huh?“

Like I said, there are seeming contradictions in the Bible. Because Paul several times compared our lives as disciples to being athletes in training or even soldiers in at war. “Endure hardness as a good soldier of Jesus Christ.” (II Timothy 2:3) Are we supposed to be hard or soft, tough or tender? Is it possible to be both?

It’s like I heard someone say one time, “Keep a soft heart, and a tough spirit.” That’s always stuck with me, maybe because it so clearly defines where we need to be soft and where we need to be tough.

In our hearts, we need to have and keep the loving tenderness that God wants each person to have. It’s just paramount, “the greatest of these is love.” (I Corinthians 13:13) It’s so easy to harden our hearts; it’s so natural, and it seems so justified. But it’s just not God’s solution and never has been.

But, on the other hand, our spirit, that essence of ourselves that is the real “us”, not just our minds and our thoughts but our being that lives within our bodies, has to be strengthen to be able to withstand the turbulent darkness of this world, the sacrifices, the blows that come against us and the tempests that beset us throughout our lives.

That’s why salvation is so essential. In Salvation, that union with Jesus when He comes into our hearts, our spirits are changed through union with Him. We’re not the weak, incomplete, wavering spirits that we were before. That’s why John 1:12 has always been so precious to me. “As many as received Him, to them gave He power to become the sons of God, even to them that believed on His name.”

That is in no way just some obscure Bible verse; that’s exactly what happened to me personally. I received a transforming power when I received Jesus. My spirit was changed. It was strengthened. It was transformed and it continued to be transformed.

So we so utterly need both of these: a soft heart and a tough spirit. Isaiah said, “No weapon that is formed against you shall prosper,” (Isiah 54:17) because our spirits have been changed into the new creature in Christ Jesus that He wants us to be. And He wants us and needs us to be fighters for Him, fighting with spiritual weapons to win the battles here that need to be won for His Kingdom.

But we still have to choose to “keep our hearts with all diligence” (Proverbs 4:23) , to keep a soft, malleable, broken heart for Him and for others; that’s what wants to see in us. “The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit, a broken and a contrite heart, Oh God, you will not despise.” (Psalms 51:17)

Is Not Easily Provoked

Posted on November 6, 2013 by Mark McMillion

A few days ago I wrote a blog post about “clouds”, those little nagging things that come into your mind and sometimes your heart which can block out the sunshine of His Love on your soul and spirit. Or at least they can try to.

I guess when you get right down to it, it’s like Paul the Apostle said about the devil, “we are not ignorant of his devices”. (II Corinthians 2:11) We’re all tempted to doubt, depression, confusion and “the sins which so easily beset us.” (Hebrews 12:1) And it seems like, if the devil can’t trip you up with one device or trick in his bag, then he tends to show up again down the road with some other method for tripping you up.

That happened this morning. This time the mechanism was an old enemy of mine: provocation. And that’s why the thirteenth chapter of Corinthians has always had a special meaning to me. One of the attributes of living in God’s love is that we are “not easily provoked.” (I Corinthians 13:5) But, boy, if you’re not deep in the Lord, it’s such a temptation sometimes to get provoked.

Some people just have a knack for saying and doing things that provoke others. Sometimes it’s unintentional, some little quirk or personal trait they have that rubs people the wrong way. At other times, a person can virtually know exactly what they’re doing and even intentionally provoke someone into saying or doing something that’s wrong.

Some of the worst things that have ever happened to me happened when I got provoked. So the whole lesson of not allowing myself to be provoked has been a very deep one for me. I guess it’s a temptation or weakness which God really doesn’t want me to fall prey to.

Perhaps the most famous incident in the Bible of someone being provoked to anger and then sinning was the story of Moses. Those folks he led out of Egypt and through the desert were a real case. They almost constantly were murmuring, doubting and complaining. Usually Moses just kept calm and stayed submerged within the peace of God.

But on one occasion the people were murmuring about not having water. So God told Moses to smite a nearby rock and that water would be given to them. But Moses didn’t really do it the right way. He was so incensed and provoked by the incessant grumbling and whining of God’s people that he said to them, “Hear now you rebels, shall I fetch water out of the rock!” (Numbers 20:10) And then he hit the rock twice, with violence and wrath.

As they say in Spanish, “No bueno.” You could think, “Well, I don’t blame him, it wasn’t his fault, he was provoked. It was the people’s fault.” It can certainly seem that way. But God seems to have a lot higher standard for His people, especially the leaders of His people. God told Moses, “Because you didn’t sanctify me in the eyes of Israel, you will not lead this people into the promised land.” (Numbers 20:12) Moses was provoked and it caused him to act completely contrary to how God wanted him to act.

And that’s the problem, often the big problem with being provoked. It can seem like it’s not your fault. “Look what they did!”, you can say. And maybe often you’re right: someone really did something that was wrong. But still, those who know and love the Lord are not justified in being provoked to retaliate and answer back in kind for some wrong and evil thing that they are hit with.

That’s a hard saying, isn’t it? It doesn’t seem fair, does it? But then we aren’t supposed to be like everyone else. Jesus wasn’t. Jesus was certainly provoked very many times, over and over; the Bible says so. (Luke 11:53)

Personally, I can tell you that I stay really “on guard” about being provoked, or yielding to a provocation so that I don’t respond in the way God wants me to. It’s a real device of the devil to get you into an argument or to get you out of the peace and Spirit of God.

It’s in those intense moments when we’re so stirred up and insulted, when our first reaction is to quickly blurt out some thoughtless word or unwisely do something we’ll later regret, it’s in those times when we most need to look to the Lord, to not let our “old man” (Ephesians 4:22) and worldly reactions get the best of us and cause us to sin.

Sometime it’s those kinds of sins, provoked by gross injustices or even Satanic diatribes from Godless people, those are the tests and temptations that can really come against us. But God’s grace is there to give us the power to not yield to provocations. Yes, that can be difficult. But the results of being provoked can be a lot worse that holding our peace in the moment of trail and temptation. May we all be aware of this dangerous ploy of the devil that too often many of us fall for. “When the enemy shall come in like a flood (through provocation), the Spirit of the Lord will lift up a standard against him.” (Isaiah 59:19)

“Redeeming the time” Part II

Posted on October 30, 2013 by Mark McMillion

There are just so many truths in the Bible; every square inch is just soaked with wisdom and wise admonitions. Paul told the Ephesians that they should be “redeeming the time because the days are evil.” (Ephesians 5:16) So for me, coming from a non Christian background, at first I really wondered what in the world that word “redeem” even meant.

Saving “green stamps” in a jar

When I was a kid, redeem was what you did with “green stamps”. When you went shopping with your mom, the cashier would give you “green stamps” when you paid your bill.They weren’t like postage stamps that you put on a letter. You were supposed to collect them and put them in little booklets. Then when you got a book or two or three full of them, you could go to the green stamp store and “redeem” them by giving them maybe 2 green stamp books and you could get a basketball. Or ten green stamp books would get you a bicycle. That was my only knowledge of what “redeemed” meant, you redeemed your green stamps.

But when I became a Christian, I found that the Bible said that Jesus was “our redeemer”. He had redeemed us. Paul told Titus, speaking of Jesus that He “gave Himself for us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity.” (Titus 2:14) And back nearly 4000 years ago, Job was recorded as saying, “For I know that my Redeemer lives, and that He shall stand on the earth in the latter days,” (Job 19:25) and incredible prophecy of the coming of Jesus, our Redeemer who would ultimately be here on earth, which He was.

So we are redeemed. He’s made something out of nothing. Jesus took something that was seemingly worthless but He, through His death and resurrection, redeemed us, making us into “new creatures, old things past away and all things new” (II Corinthians 5:17) in Him.

But what about us? Are we redeemers? Is there anything we are to redeem? Well, besides our lives, the most precious thing we have is our time. Time wasted can never be regained. He has redeemed us and we are new creatures, having passed from death to life through salvation. But, now what? Why doesn’t He just take us to heaven? Why does He still keep us here on earth? Because He’s commissioned us to serve Him here in His Great Commission to be His ambassadors and to serve Him in this struggle to retake what is His, the souls on earth that are yet to know Him in this stage of history.

We’re not commissioned to be idle. Jesus gave His disciples so many jobs to do, such as “go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature” (Mark 16:15), “feed my sheep”, (John 21:17)“go out into the highways and hedges and compel them to come in” (Luke 14:23), “go therefore and teach all nations” (Matthew 28:19), “go into your closet and pray to your Father in secret” (Matthew 6:6) and of course simply “love your neighbor as yourself” (Mark 12:31). And there are many more.

Our lives should now be full of activity and accomplishment in the Lord. He’s given us such a vision of all that He wants us to do, all that He needs us to obey in the commissions He left His disciples on earth when He left.

But do we do it? There are just so many distractions, we are so easily dissuaded and delayed from simply obey His Word and the urging of His Spirit upon our hearts each day. One little disobedience leads to another. Soon it’s a habit of disobedience. After a while we no longer hear as clearly the voice of His Spirit. We don’t want to read God’s Word because it might disturb us or convict us of what we are failing to do. “The affairs of this life choke the Word, and it becomes unfruitful” (Mark 13:22), the Lord said. Still, the charge is there: “redeeming the time because the days are evil.” (Ephesians 5:16)

Jesus said, “Every idle word that men shall speak they shall give an account thereof in the day of judgment.” (Matthew 12:36) And I believe that ever wasted use that we make of the precious time He’s given to each of us ever day, every month, ever year, we’ll have to give an account thereof as well. We’ll have to answer both to Him and to our conscious, “What did you do with your life?” “Did you spend it selfishly? Did you respond to the light and the grace that God gave to you?”

Yes, we’re all sinners, yes we all make mistakes, and we’ll all need forgiveness. But we’ll be able to see then how we spent our lives. Did we waste most of all that He gave us, living a visionless, disobedient spiritually fruitless life? Paul said of himself, “I was not disobedient to the heavenly vision.” (Acts 26:19) He was diligent in the calling God had on him. May we all be found faithful in Him, “not slothful in business, fervent in spirit, serving the Lord.” (Romans 12:11)

What’s it to you?

Posted on October 5, 2013 by Mark McMillion

Jesus and Peter-1 flat Have you ever said that to someone, “What’s it to you?” Or maybe someone’s said that to you? It’s usually not considered a real warm, friendly way to talk to someone. But Jesus said that one time to Peter, one of His top disciples. Why would Jesus talk like that to someone? Let’s look at the context and see if we can find out.

This all happened after Jesus’ resurrection. In another blog article, I wrote about “He Said It Three Times” and this is part of the same conversation where Jesus said “What’s it to you?” (John 21:22) to Peter. He’d just told Peter three times to “Feed My sheep” (John 21:16), to teach and minister to the disciples and followers of Jesus.

And the very next thing the Lord said to Peter was, “When you were young, you fastened your belt and went where you wanted. But when you grow old, you’ll stretch forth your hands and another will carry you where you do not wish.” (John 21:18) And the Bible goes on to tell us that the Lord was signifying to Peter that, when he was old, he would “stretch forth his hands”; in other words, Peter would be crucified.

So this was a very important, significant conversation Jesus was having with Peter, all taking place after the Lord’s death on the cross and His resurrection. What was Peter’s reaction? The Bible says that the next thing was that Peter saw John, another of Jesus’ closest disciples, and so he asked Jesus, “What about him?” (John 21:21)

Sometimes you just wonder and marvel at all this. The love and patience of Jesus. The all-too-humanness of some of His disciples, perhaps especially Peter. Peter had just heard some precious, personal words from Jesus for himself. But it doesn’t come across that Peter really relished the moment and its significance. Instead he asked the Lord, “What about John?” In His mercy and longsuffering, the Lord even partially answered Peter’s question but then also added a chiding reproof.

Jesus answered Peter’s question about John this way: “If I will that he remains until I come back, what is that to you? Follow me.” (John 21:22) In that one sentence, Jesus left open the possibility that John the Beloved would remain alive till the return of Jesus at His Second Coming. History tells us that John lived perhaps another 60 years after this time, to extreme old age. And here Jesus was foretelling that John would remain long after the Lord had returned to heaven.

But then Jesus asks Peter directly, “What’s it to you?” “Why should that matter to you, Peter? Just follow Me.” Of course it should be said that there are different ways you can say that. You can say that phrase in a cocky, challenging way or you can say it in a kind but somewhat chiding way. I’m sure the Lord spoke that in a kind way. But why would the Lord talk to Peter like that, even if it was kindly said? Was Jesus finally getting fed up with all the boneheaded things Peter had done and said over the last 3 years? Patience was wearing thin? I think not.

which greatest flat Here are a couple of things that Jesus might have foreseen that He was trying to prevent happening to His disciples as He was about to leave them: comparing and jealousy. Even before His crucifixion, His disciples were coming to Him to ask Him which would be the greatest of them in heaven. (Matthew 18:1)

There’s just an inborn sinful nature of man to “compare ourselves among ourselves and measure ourselves by ourselves” (II Corinthians 10:12), as Paul later warned the Corinthians. Getting our eyes on each other, “which is the greatest?”, “who gets most?”, “do I get enough?”, “will someone get more than me?”, and “is that really fair?” It’s just so ingrained in us but is so contrary to God’s ways.

Basically Jesus was telling Peter to not look too much on how others were doing or what was happening or going to happen in their lives. “Just follow Me”, was Jesus’ bottom line to Peter. And perhaps this reproof hit home for Peter. It seems like Peter and John got along well and were never recorded in the later parts of the Bible as ever having any strife or competitiveness, although I’m certain that Satan would have loved to stir that up.

But what about us? There’s a message there for everyone, not to feel we have to measure everything against our own personal standards of what’s fair and “am I getting what I deserve?” Maybe you’re even in an “unfair” situation right now. Maybe people are treating you unjustly or you’re being taken advantage of. “What is that to you; follow Me.” The Lord said one time, “Vengeance is Mine saith the Lord, I will repay.” (Romans 12:19)

It doesn’t have to be fair right now. The Lord sees it all and we can be utterly sure, “all things work together for good to them that love the Lord.” (Romans 8:28)

To me one of the greatest samples of this in the Bible is Joseph. If ever anyone was mistreated and “it wasn’t fair”, it was Joseph. His brothers actually sold him as a slave! But years later, when he’d been shuffled and reshuffled by God to end up being “second in Egypt” (Genesis 41:43), he met up with his brothers again and they were certain Joseph would now pay them back for the evil they’d done.

But he didn’t. His heart was so right with God that he could say to them about what they’d done, “You meant it for evil. But God meant it for good.” (Genesis 50:20) One of the most amazing examples in the Bible of keeping your eyes on the Lord and not on people and circumstances and conditions. Seems like Joseph had already learned that lesson that Jesus shared with Peter nearly 2000 years later, “What is that to you? Follow me.” Joseph did that. And he ended up saving his family and nation. Lord help us all to keep our eyes on Him and not on anything else.

Peripherals

Posted on September 1, 2013 by Mark McMillion

If you’re like me, you probably have a “to do” list. There are so many good things to do and most of us have more to do than we know what to do with. So, what do you do?

This is one place where being a Christian, having faith in God and a personal relationship with Him and His Son really helps. We can know from the Word what the truth is and that clarifies so much. We can know what His will is, what our priorities should be and even just that should simplify our decision making.

But still, there’s just so much to do. If you are a mommy, there’s all that has to do with taking care of the kids and all they need in their lives. If you are a daddy, probably you have to bring home the pay check and not only be diligent with your job but have time for your family and home. If you’re a missionary or a witnessing Christian, you want to do what you can to lead people to the Lord and/or to “feed His sheep” (John 21:16) through classes or personal counseling.

Most of us know we should “major on the majors”. But even to figure that out takes some wisdom at times. Of course if you know the rent has to be paid in two days or you’re going to get kicked out of your apartment, it’s easy to know what your major is for the day.

Just so many of these things all meld together to where, if you really want to have peace in your heart and to know at the end of the day that you’ve done your best, then you usually need to take some time of prayer or deep consideration to try to prioritize what’s most important to get done.

There’s a phrase in English, “running around like a chicken with your head cut off”. That’s kind of graphic. But the idea is that at times, if you don’t watch out, you’ll just be super busy but with no plan, no goal, no direction. This is where for those of us who know the Lord, it helps so very much to have His directions. We are supposed to be “led of the Spirit” (Galatians 5:18). That’s not just some esoteric, spiritual mumbo-jumbo. We can and should really get our orders from the Lord. It’s not only possibly, it’s virtually essential if you want to have any order or meaningful accomplishment in your life.

So let’s say you have got to that place. You know what your priorities are. You know what your goal is and you believe it’s in line with God’s will for your life. Still, there’s a lot to do, right? How much time and resources should I give to this item? Should I take time to do that? How can I use my time the most effectively? Should I take any time to just kick back and relax?

For me, I find I need to really watch out about what could be called peripherals. Those are the little things on your to-do list that you know you need to do but they don’t seem really essential. They aren’t really the major, big things that will really get me moving forward towards what I know are the major goals the Lord has set for me. So it’s easy to keep overlooking the peripherals.

But Jesus said, “He that is faithful in that which is least is faithful also in much. And he that is unjust in the least is unjust also in much.” (Luke 16:10) In another place He was talking to some people who had been very diligent in some things but utterly unfaithful in other areas. He told them, “These ought you to have done, and not to leave the other undone.” (Matthew 23:23)

It seems impossible. “How could God expect this of us? It’s just too much! I can’t do it! It’s not fair! I’m gonna quit!” But that doesn’t really work either. It’s just the nature of the world as it is that we have to take care of the big things and the little things. Have you heard the story of the king in old times who lost his kingdom because of a nail? The saying goes, “For want of a nail the shoe was lost. For want of the shoe the horse was lost. For want of the horse the king was lost. For want of the king the kingdom was lost.” All because of one little seemingly insignificant horseshoe nail, it set in motion a series of events that lost the kingdom.

How in the world can we be that diligent, that faithful, that wise to know how to take care of everything, even the little things we need to do? Maybe it’s like Jesus said in one place, “With man it is impossible, but not with God. For with God, all things are possible.” (Mark 10:27) If we’re “looking unto Jesus” (Hebrews 12:2) if we’re “seeking first His kingdom” (Matthew 6:33), if “our eyes are upon Him“, (II Chronicles 20:12) then we can really expect Him to do the miraculous and even the supernatural, which can sometimes be nothing more than to help us get through our to-do list and to be like the woman Jesus talked about when He said, “She has done what she could.” (Mark 14:8)

Fascination for Evil

Posted on August 19, 2013 by Mark McMillion

I’ve realized that at times I have a fascination for evil. Not that I want to do evil but it’s like people say nowadays, “What were they thinking?” Like, “How could they think like that? How could someone be like that?”

I guess we all have an innate desire to understand. And for me, some things are just so weird, strange and crazy that it’s like I get tempted to wonder how someone could think like that? And I want to pursue it, I want to get into it and understand it. But I know from experience and also God’s Word that it’s not a great idea to really pursue that line of reasoning.

We want to relate to others, we want to understand the world around us, we don’t want to be judgmental, we really want to help others. But there are times where the best choice is just to step back and walk away, as difficult as that may seem to be. It’s a little like what I wrote about in the post about the old story called “The Tar Baby“. And this is taught a number of times in the Bible in verses that may not be really popular or politically correct.

How about this one. Jesus, in His most famous “Sermon on the Mount” said at one point, “Don’t give that which is holy to the dogs. Neither cast your pearls before swine, or they will trample them under their feet and turn again and rend you.” (Matthew 7:6) And of course He wasn’t talking about pets and farm animals. He was referring to some individuals, saying they were like dogs and pigs. At other times He called some people snakes, foxes, and wolves. This was Jesus, the most loving and kind Man that ever walked the earth. But He wasn’t naive; He called a spade a spade.

“But Jesus, don’t you want us to love everyone?! How could you be so cold and cruel, Jesus!?”

Because there’s evil in the world and there are people who at this time embrace and choose evil and the works of darkness.

“I thought we were supposed to keep turning the other cheek, let people walk all over us and just be little feeble pushovers like everyone says you were, Lord!”

Nope. Here are a few verses that are unpopular or virtually unknown but are really important. Solomon said, “Go from the presence of a foolish man when you don’t perceive in him the lips of knowledge.” (Proverbs 14:7). In other words, don’t hang around wasting your time with folks who just want to take your time and are not hungering for the truth of God you have to offer. Or this one, one of my favorites, “I will set no wicked thing before my eyes; I hate the work of them that turn aside, it shall not cleave unto me.” (Psalms 101:3).

Don’t set wicked things before your eyes, even the eyes of your mind. We need to hate the works of them that turn away from the Lord. Because those evil works will cleave to us if we don’t resist them. “Cleave” is an old word; think of what it’s like to have old ugly chewing gum stick to you or your clothes. That’s what “cleave” means. That’s what the sins and darkness want to do to your life and mind when you allow evil to fascinate you.

“Oh, Mark! Now you are preaching hate!”

King David said, “You who love the Lord, hate evil.” (Psalms 97:10) Paul said to the Ephesians “Have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather reprove them”, (Ephesians 5:11). Same idea again: just don’t “give place to the devil” (James 4:7). Don’t give time for the darkness and the evil to fascinate you and make you wonder what it’s all about. Isn’t that what happened to Eve? She saw the fruit was “good to the taste” and one that “made her wise” (Genesis 3:6); so she went for it. Big, big mistake. But it probably all seemed so “reasonable”.

“How could it be wrong?” “Let me just think about this for a minute; let me make sense of it all and figure it out.”

Nope. Walk away. “There is a way that seems right to a man, but the ends thereof are the ways of death.” (Proverbs 14:12) Like I wrote about Nehemiah, in “Can’t Come Down”, it must have really seemed narrow-minded and extreme that Nehemiah wouldn’t just come down from the wall and have a chat with those interesting folks who’d come to talk to him. But he didn’t. He had the grace of God to recognize that “God had not sent them” (Nehemiah 6:12) and he didn’t even want to hear what they had to say. Don’t get trapped, lured or lulled into a fascination for evil. “When the enemy shall come in like a flood, the Spirit of the Lord will lift up a standard against him.” (Isaiah 59:19)

Mark McMillion

Creeds and Deeds, Facts and Acts

Category Archives: Discipleship and Christianity today