I WILL (Part IV)

I WILL (Part IV)

Kingdom Principle Number Four: Your will cannot remain aligned with God’s will if you dialogue with the devil.  The Bible describes Satan as “more subtle than any,” and this is a sober warning against entering into communication with him. (Genesis 3:1)  Consider this.  Communication is the first step in communion (intimate fellowship).  A friend of mine often points out the fact that long-term married couples have a tendency to physically resemble one another.  One day he asked me “why?”  I responded with a smile and said, “They eat the same diet, they share the same living environment, they engage in the same conversations which results in an eventual alignment of thought processes and worldviews.  Why wouldn’t they wind up looking like one another?”  There is an important life lesson embedded here.

In the words of my high school health teacher, Mr. Arthur Feldman, “You are what you eat!”  While my teacher was speaking of physical health, the same principle pertains to spiritual health.  Our will is an amalgamation (a potent blend) of every life experience that we “eat,” that is, we internalize and digest.  Therefore, our will (which is the foundation for our choices and decisions) is the primary determiner of emotional and spiritual health.  If we would be transparent enough to reveal what we have been ‘eating’ lately (intellectually, emotionally, spiritually), discerning persons could tell us how we will be ‘thinking’ and ‘deciding’ and ‘acting’ in the future.  Wow!  Our will is in a constant state of flux because it is the product of our personal interactions with life experiences and our unique responses (reactions) to them. 

Kingdom Principle Number Five: Our will can be adjusted when we choose to transcend our circumstances via a close encounter with Jesus Christ.  Since we human beings are creatures of habit, we tend to follow familiar pathways that I term ‘life momentum’ unless some outside force compels or empowers us to do otherwise.  Case in point: the man at the Pool of Bethesda.  It seems unfathomable to us that he had actually been laying there for 38 years!  But such was the case.  Periodically, an angel “troubled the water” and the first person to enter in would receive complete healing. (John 5:4) 

This man’s will had been negatively altered by his associates and by his environment.  According to John, he was surrounded by “a great multitude of impotent folk, of blind, halt, withered” individuals. (John 5:3)  But these powerful impediments only constitute healing opportunities for the Living Lord!

Therefore, “when Jesus saw him…and knew that he had been now a long time in that case, he saith unto him, Wilt thou be made whole?” (John 5:6)  Christ’s question is pivotal to our understanding.  The healing of this man’s long-term handicap would be directly predicated upon his will to seek and embrace wholeness.  But instead of answering Jesus directly, the crippled man offered excuses: “Sir, I have no man, when the water is troubled, to put me into the pool: but while I am coming, another steppeth down before me.” (John 5:7) 

Jesus graciously ignored his excuses and took authority over both his will and his infirmity with these Words:  “Rise, take up thy bed, and walk.” (John 5:8)  Kingdom Principle Number Six: The Word alters the will.  This fact should motivate all believers to be steadfast students in the Word for our daily attitude adjustments.

In the aftermath of his personal deliverance, some took strong exception to the fact that Jesus Christ had healed him on the Sabbath.  They were more concerned with legalism than deliverance.  A word to the wise is sufficient: ‘Never ever allow anyone to define either your will or your personal experience with the transforming power of Jesus Christ.’  I love the fact that Jesus did not argue with the religious naysayers.  His response was simple: “My Father worketh hitherto, and I work.” (John 5:17)

Always maintain openness and allegiance to The Living Word.  He is the One and Only true attitude adjuster.  And that is why “I WILL…bless The Lord at all times: His praise shall continually be in my mouth.” (Psalm 34:1)  Amen!

AN OLD CATHOLIC MISPRINT

AN OLD CATHOLIC MISPRINT

Due to an unanticipated change of plans, I must resume the devotional series, “I Will,” on this coming Monday.  I thought I would end this week with a bit of Christian humor (with preemptive apologies to my Catholic brothers and sisters) who I hope find this story to be somewhat amusing.

In an ancient monastery in a faraway place, a new monk arrived to join his brothers in copying books and scrolls in the monastery’s scriptorium.  He was assigned to be a replicator of books that had already been copied by the other monks.

One day, he asked Father Florian (the rather ancient head of the scriptorium), “Does not the copying by hand of other copies allow for error?  How do we know we are not copying the mistakes of someone else?  Are they ever checked against the original?” Father Florian was somewhat taken off-guard by the very astute observation of this youthful monk.

“You make a very good point, my son.  I will take the latest copy down to the vault and compare it to the original book manuscript.”

Father Florian went down to the vault and began his verification. After a day had passed, the monks began to worry and went down looking for the old priest.  They were sure something terrible must have happened.  As they approached the vault, they heard crying.  When they opened the door, they found Father Florian sobbing profusely, standing near the most recent book copy and the original ancient book, both of which were opened before him on the table.  It was obvious to all that this poor old man had been crying his heart out for a very long time.

“What is the problem, Reverend Father?” asked one of the monks.

“No, no, no, no!” sobbed the priest.  Turning to his colleagues, he said “In the ancient book of the sacred rites of priesthood...the actual word they were using is CELEBRATE!”

Sisters and brothers, have a wonderful week and be continually blessed!

ORIGINS OF ST. VALENTINE'S DAY

ORIGINS OF ST. VALENTINE’S DAY

Tomorrow, we will resume the devotional series, “I Will.”  Since this is Valentine’s Day, it might be appropriate to explore the origins of the day.  It is possible that this popular holiday has both Christian and pagan roots.  Read the following information from the History Channel and decide for yourself.

The Legend of St. Valentine

The history of Valentine's Day – and the story of its patron saint – is shrouded in mystery. We do know that February has long been celebrated as a month of romance, and that St. Valentine's Day, as we know it today, contains vestiges of both Christian and ancient Roman tradition. But who was Saint Valentine, and how did he become associated with this ancient rite?

The Catholic Church recognizes at least three different saints named Valentine or Valentinus, all of whom were martyred. One legend contends that Valentine was a priest who served during the third century in Rome. When Emperor Claudius II decided that single men made better soldiers than those with wives and families, he outlawed marriage for young men. Valentine, realizing the injustice of the decree, defied Claudius and continued to perform marriages for young lovers in secret. When Valentine's actions were discovered, Claudius ordered that he be put to death.

Other stories suggest that Valentine may have been killed for attempting to help Christians escape harsh Roman prisons, where they were often beaten and tortured. According to one legend, an imprisoned Valentine actually sent the first "valentine" greeting himself after he fell in love with a young girl--possibly his jailor's daughter--who visited him during his confinement. Before his death, it is alleged that he wrote her a letter signed "From your Valentine," an expression that is still in use today. Although the truth behind the Valentine legends is murky, the stories all emphasize his appeal as a sympathetic, heroic and--most importantly--romantic figure. By the Middle Ages, perhaps thanks to this reputation, Valentine would become one of the most popular saints in England and France.

Origins of Valentine's Day: A Pagan Festival in February

While some believe that Valentine's Day is celebrated in the middle of February to commemorate the anniversary of Valentine's death or burial – which probably occurred around A.D. 270 – others claim that the Christian church may have decided to place St. Valentine's feast day in the middle of February in an effort to “Christianize” the pagan celebration of Lupercalia. Celebrated at the ides of February, or February 15, Lupercalia was a fertility festival dedicated to Faunus, the Roman god of agriculture, as well as to the Roman founders Romulus and Remus.

To begin the festival, members of the Luperci, an order of Roman priests, would gather at a sacred cave where the infants Romulus and Remus, the founders of Rome, were believed to have been cared for by a she-wolf or lupa. The priests would sacrifice a goat, for fertility, and a dog, for purification. They would then strip the goat’s hide into strips, dip them into the sacrificial blood and take to the streets, gently slapping both women and crop fields with the goat hide. Far from being fearful, Roman women welcomed the touch of the hides because it was believed to make them more fertile in the coming year. Later in the day, according to legend, all the young women in the city would place their names in a big urn. The city's bachelors would each choose a name and become paired for the year with his chosen woman. These matches often ended in marriage.

Valentine's Day: A Day of Romance

At the end of the 5th century, Pope Gelasius declared February 14 St. Valentine's Day and Lupercalia was outlawed because it was deemed “un-Christian.”  It was not until much later that the day became definitively associated with love. During the Middle Ages, it was commonly believed in France and England that February 14 was the beginning of the birds’ mating season, which added to the idea that Valentine’s Day should be a day for romance.

Valentine greetings were popular as far back as the Middle Ages, though written Valentine's Day greetings did not begin to appear until after 1400. The oldest known valentine still in existence today was a poem written in 1415 by Charles, Duke of Orleans, to his wife while he was imprisoned in the Tower of London following his capture at the Battle of Agincourt.

What do you think?  Is Valentine’s Day a Christian celebration or a pagan celebration, or both?  I must confess that I do celebrate the day with cards and dinner with my wife.  Belinda loves it; and if when she is happy, so am I.  Blessings!

I WILL (Part III)

I WILL (Part III)

Let’s recap Kingdom Principle Number Two: Life presents challenging choices; we must navigate wisely through bends and forks in the road.  These key decision points constitute the privileges, pleasures, pressures and problems of life.  So we must first consider carefully and then choose wisely.  How well we navigate through life’s decision points is a product of our will, which is mission critical both to our relationship with God and our personal productivity.  In “Hamlet,” William Shakespeare penned these memorable words: “To be, or not to be, that is the question.”  Permit me a paraphrase: ‘To will, or not to will…that is the question.’  That which we really desire (our will) is the engine that drives us and determines our future.  It’s reminiscent of my old sermon: “Be Careful of What You really want [your will] Because You’ll Surely Get It!”

To fully understand the human will, let’s revisit its origins.  Before creating Adam, “God said, Let us make man in our image, according to our likeness: and let them have dominion…” (Genesis 1:26)  When the Word declares that man was created in the image and likeness of God (with dominion), it implies that God voluntarily chose to abdicate control over His created being via the gift of free will, i.e. man’s ability to choose whether (or not) to live in harmony with the Creator’s perfect will.  Man was designed and created as a will-ing being, not a will-ful being.  There is a distinct difference.  Willful means determined to have one’s own way, while willing suggests openness to divine direction and order.  The former carries curses; the latter brings blessings.  “If ye be willing and obedient, ye shall eat the good of the land.” (Isaiah 1:19)

On the 6^th day, the dust that would be Adam was touched directly by the hands of God.  “And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul.” (Genesis 2:7)  Quite literally, ordinary dirt was infused with Pneuma, the breath of God, and Zoë, the life of God, and Adam stood up in the power and presence of his Creator.  Indeed, it was a miracle! 

Mankind was created with few limitations.  The divine directive, “have dominion,” issues carte blanche authority and autonomy in the earth realm.  Nevertheless, Adam had a heart for God and the will to adhere to divine order.  So Adam lived freely and fully…without fear.  There were no fears or anxieties because the Creator had given him none. (II Timothy 1:7)  He was fearless…until beguiled by satanic deception!

Kingdom Principle Number Three: Whenever we surrender our will to satanic suggestions, we open doors of fear and failure.  GOD does not operate in fear; GOD operates in faith!  The Word declares “without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.” (Hebrews 11:6)  Since God created us, and since God is not the author of confusion, our fear issues must logically emanate elsewhere. (I Corinthians 14:33)  The Apostle Paul provides a clear clue.  “Faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.”  (Romans 10:17)  Put simply, faith comes by hearing the Word of God.  Logically, the opposite of faith (fear) must come by hearing the words of Satan.  Adam and Eve were large and in charge in Eden…until they had a chat-and-chew with Satan!

It was Satan that interjected fear into human history.  Fear is Satan’s greatest tool because fear blocks faith, which ultimately blocks blessings.  Without fear, it is impossible to please Satan.  Because fear distorts the word and penetrates the will.  Please hear this with your spirit.  In actuality, all sin is connected to fear.  Allow me to explain.  When we disobey God’s Word and yield to fleshly temptations, it is based upon the fact that somewhere down deep, we have become fearful that what God is saying is not true.  Think about it.  If we really believe (down deep inside) that we will definitely go to hell because we are liars, it would be virtually impossible to convince us to tell a lie!  Our will becomes infected by doubt (unbelief) whenever we chat-and-chew with Satan and grant him intimate opportunities to distort our faith and fellowship with the Creator.  He is fairly easy to spot because he only has three strategies, “the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life.” (I John 2:16)  See if you can identify all three (below) in Satan’s first encounter with man.  For the record, Jesus Christ overcame all three in the wilderness temptation. (Matthew 4:1-11)

Genesis 3:1-6

¹ Now the serpent was more subtle than any beast of the field which the Lord God had made. And he said unto the woman, Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden?

² And the woman said unto the serpent, We may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden:

³ But of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God hath said, Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die.

⁴ And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die:

⁵ For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil.

⁶ And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat.

Kingdom Principle Number Four: Your will cannot remain aligned with God’s will if you dialogue with the devil.  Stay tuned…more to come tomorrow.