Give Me Revelation

Galatians 1:15-16a

But when who had set me apart before I was born, and who called me by His grace was pleased to reveal His son to me, in order that I might preach Him among the Gentiles...

I like to consider myself a fairly sensible guy. That's really a cop-out sometimes to protect myself from taking risks, but nonetheless, it's who I have become.

Shortly after my first tenure ever served as Youth Pastor (to be honest, it was really about a year before it was over) I began to question many things about my "experiences" in the body of Christ. We, like many people in the late 1990s were swept into "revival" mode. The Pensacola revivals were in full swing and churches across the country were longing to fall in line. I'm not going to get into all the ins and outs, but there were some weird things happening.

But without that ever taking place, I probably would have reached the same crisis of belief. I grew up seeing weird things, and with what I would easily label strange occurences in the body of Christ, and I would be lying if I didn't say that I thought such weren't driven by who I thought to be weird people. And it was these weird people that I, the sensible human being, distanced myself from. There just seemed to be a major conflict in my heart that everyone had these "words" from God when the Word of God as so often ignored. Even the absence of preaching in any given service was one of the earmarks of a "Spirit-Filled" environment. Yeah, that still rubs me wrong, and always will.

But now, as I often do, and as misguided as I think they often were, I failed to see what God wanted to teach me by them. These people always seem to have a sense of prayerful revelation. As cooky as they were to me at times, none that I remember ever claimed to have extra-biblical revelation (which will always be a spiritual no-no), but rather a strong sense of listening to God through prayer.

I am a Word man. Always will be. But the pitfall in that is to forget that even the WORD still needs a sense of prayerful REVELATION to the reader. The truth, embodied in Jesus Christ still has to be REVEALED to us everyday. Using the Word of God as our guide, "he who set us apart before we were born, and has called us by his grace, [is still] pleased to reveal his son to us" today.

So let me, let us, read with REVELATION. Not just what does the scripture say, buy what is God saying to me through the scriptures. This is not a bad thing at all, to pray when we read His revealed Word that He as the divine author works it into our lives. God bless and may we all find Revelation.

10% Giving = 10% Living

Just yesterday I was exposed to a teaching by a teacher named G. Craig Lewis concerning the tithe. I only listened to the first two minutes of it before I figured I knew where he was going, and my thoughts began to run rampant concerning the notion of giving.

I remember some time ago, my former pastor had come back to preach a service in the church I grew up in. He made a comment that he did not believe tithing to be a heaven and hell issue. Boy did that rock our traditional wooden boat!

Ever since I can remember, the tithe, made famous by Malachi 3, has been preached at least once every six months in the churches I have associated with. As a member of my denomination, I still send 60% of my tithe to my district as part of my "fees" to stay ordained. And the teaching of the tithe summed up is this (let's all sing along):

Before you do anything, cut God his portion; it's up to you whether gross or net

And if you do you will be blessed; a blessing so big you will never forget.

But if you don't take it out of your purse; God's holy wrath will bring a curse.

Releasing the tithe makes you a part; and try to remember it's from the heart.

So you get the idea. I want to make this short and sweet. I think that's wrong, and I think it puts people in bondage. So how do we go beyond giving God our 10%? Aren't we free to do and think better than that? Yes we are.

The only people I have had conversations with about this frustration of the tithing law are from the standpoint of trying to get out of giving at all. Of course, in all fairness, i believe that to be part of what such bogus teaching produces...a dissatisfied obligated giver that never gives from his heart, but rather out of fear of the curse. Nevertheless, freedom FROM giving is not what we are looking for here. The heart of Christ is freedom TO give.

Make no mistake, if the ten percent burdens you, it's a heart problem. The scripture lines out the the purpose of the law in Galatians 3. To paraphrase, the law was a guardian to us that kept us in check. There was a curse for those who did not tithe correctly under the law of Moses, but it can't be translated as such for those of us who are under grace. But the understanding of the law of the tithe tells me this; if I cannot release a meager 10%, how can I ever be a ridiculous giver? How can, as part of the New Covenant body of Christ, my money become community money for the furthering of the Kingdom? So the law has it's role. It can show us the condition of our heart. And what does that heart need to realize about giving?

It needs to realize that New Testament giving is meant to be a generosity from the heart. It's a widow's mite mentality, meaning not about an amount but about motive. Remember, freedom in Christ is freedom to do EVERYTHING how we are created to do it. We are now, under that idea, free to give, and that out of a glad, generous, Christ-compelled heart. In order to be that though, we have to break the shackles of the law. We have to get outside of this fear-driven bondage of cursing, and as much, get out the mentality of generous return as God's "promise" or "obligation" back to us. Not tithing under the law will not wreck my life (remember I am free from the law), but neither does tithing under the law guarantee a return on my investment in the way we understand it. It all has to be heart. A content heart. A kind heart, A heart after God.

Stop giving God your 10%, and start understanding your free to give more. Prayerfully consider your heart when it comes to money. I know mine is under Holy Spirit revision. But above all, find the freedom in Christ in all areas of your life. We may lose self along the way, but in losing self, we are in gain of Christ. Let us indeed, in the words of the apostle Paul, "count all things rubbish in comparison to knowing Christ our Lord." God bless us in our pursuit!

Deliverance

Reading Psalm 6 and the aftermath I experienced this morning in devotional reading has me think on this topic of deliverance. This is a term that I have wanted to forget for sometime now, mainly because of the connotation in which it took growing up in the Pentecostal church. It seemed all that one had to do to recive this deliverance is go to an altar, act like an idiot and have other people push you around a little. Now I have to insert here that I realize this I speak of many people hold dear. And if what I reference has merit to you, I mean no offense. But I think with the crass way of putting it, those who choose to read this understand the experience.

If in that instance, or after it, you felt better about your circumstances that was noted as deliverance. And then you would go home and fall and wait again until next Sunday, praying once again the Lord to take your burden away.

Whether or not this experience has been yours, I am quite sure we all share the experience of pain and anguish. Life has a way of doing this to us. It brings circumstances, relational problems, and many things that send a wrecking ball to what otherwise we call our "norm". It brings severe discomfort and and die-hard desire to exit the current state. It brings the atheist to say, "oh, God" and the agnostic to suddenly be sure there is something higher at work. We have all been in that place, and maybe some of us right now. So, in an attempt to bring solace, seek advice from this song of deliverance.

1) Be honest before God (6:1-3).

Lord, Im tired, in every part of my soul I am tired. God knows how you feel, there is no sense hiding it. Many times we are in this place of "our wit's end". We have deep despair and hurt. There is no antecdote to be said, no mantra to be repeated to bring relief. Even the Psalmist says, in paraphrase, "Lord will you even overlook my own shortcomings just long enough to be my strength? (v.1)" He must have hurt. God knows you are too. Just tell Him.

2) Make sure your motives are pure (6:4-5)

Why do you want "delivered"? Why is it necessary for you to leave your current state. Sometimes God has us in a place so that we may call to Him. We are not good at discomfort. We do not do suffering well. So much in fact that we have convinced ourselves that God would never allow it. But it is a recurring theme in scripture of the lives of those who belong to Him. Make sure your cry for deliverance isnt a cry caused by lack of endurance. Verse 4 says "deliver me for the sake of your steadfast love". The only right reason for God to "bring us out" is that so we may be examples of His great power.

3) Know that God will work (6:8-10)

There seems to be a great confidence in God's hearing and response even though he doesn't see it in this instance. Take notice of the element of despair in your life for a moment. Now ask yourself, "have I lost confidence in God to answer?" I know I have. I mean if you can't get something done right (and by right I mean when and how YOU want it) then do it yourself. I am wholly guilty of acting on God's behalf and giving up on God completely. This, above all is what can keep us in undude despair. I referenced Godly despair that is necessary, but surely there is a despair we bring to ourself when we take matters in our own hands. Any prayer of deliverance must be coupled with confidence that God hears and will act.

You know, perhaps this last part of the Psalm even holds the key to what true deliverance is. Maybe its not the absence of circumstances that bring despair, but rather the surety and confidence of God in the midst of those circumstances. There is no doubt life brings different things, but God never changes. I know you have heard this all before, but just as I, maybe your ears need deliverance to hear it again.