It's Time To Rise Up O Men of God!

Rise up O men of God,
Have done with lesser things.
Give heart and soul and mind and strength,
To serve the King of Kings,
To serve the King of Kings.

Rise up O men of God,
His Kingdom tarries long,
Bring in the day of brotherhood,
And end the night of wrong,
And end the night of wrong.

Rise up O men of God,
The Church for you doth wait.
Send forth to serve the needs of men
In Christ our strength is great,
In Christ our strength is great.

Lift high the Cross of Christ,
Tread where His feet have trod,
As brothers of the Son of Man,
Rise up O men of God,
Rise up O men of God.

Rise up O men of God,
Have done with lesser things.
Give heart and soul and mind and strength,
To serve the King of Kings,
To serve the King of Kings.

Songwriters: Traditional / Phil Keaggy / Bill Batstone / Buddy Owens

Does the Bible say to “Ask Jesus into your heart”?

There are sayings and expressions that people use without even thinking about what they are saying. Expressions such as; “I’m so hungry I could eat a horse”, or “I’m starving!”

If we are being honest, no, we are not starving and if we were, eating a horse is not what we are thinking of doing!

For many years, I have heard the expression that people need to “ask Jesus into their hearts”. The same expression is sometimes phrased, "Ask Jesus into your life", or "Invite Jesus into your heart".  

Personally, I can’t find this in the Bible. Instead, I find that the Bible says, "…Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved, you and your household.” (Acts 16:31)  

Romans 10:8-13 says nothing about 'inviting Jesus into your heart': “But what does it say? “The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart” (that is, the word of faith which we preach): ⁹ that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. ¹⁰ For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. ¹¹ For the Scripture says, “Whoever believes on Him will not be put to shame.”^{[c] 12} For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek, for the same Lord over all is rich to all who call upon Him. ¹³ For “whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.”

So, where did we get the idea that people need to “ask Jesus into their heart”? I think that the idea comes from several religious tradition, that don’t come from the Bible, handed down through well-meaning teachers. Anglo-American Puritans and evangelicals in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries used the phrase “receive Christ into your heart,” or something like it, with some regularity.

Another one of these religious traditions taught that we have a ‘door to our heart’ that has a latch on the inside but not on the outside.  We are taught that Jesus Christ is knocking on the outside but cannot come in unless we unlatch the lock from the inside of the heart.  The Bible teaches no such thing.   

Where else does this idea come from? It also can be seen in stained glass set beautifully in church buildings. I personally think that some of this comes from people seeing either of the two allegorical paintings of Jesus Christ standing at the door knocking painted by William Holman Hunt or the one painted by Warner Sallman.

What about Revelation 3:20?  ”Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and dine with him, and he with Me.

“Doesn’t that refer to the ‘door of our heart’?” I say, “No”. Take time to read the context of Revelation 3:14-22. The door mentioned is the door of the church of Laodicea; not a reference to the door of the heart or the door of your life or about salvation. It means to dine, that is, take the principal (or evening) meal or fellowship with the Lord.  

Religious songs are another source of this wrong teaching; songs we sing simply because we like them. In other words we have theology totally based on the words of the song even if they are not scriptural.  

One of these songs is called; "Come Into My Heart, Lord Jesus" which says; "Into my heart, into my heart; Come into my heart, Lord Jesus." This song is sung as people are given the opportunity to "Invite Jesus into their hearts".  

Some scriptural references are misinterpreted because of tradition. Some people will quote passages like Ephesians 3:16-19 “ that He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with might through His Spirit in the inner man, ¹⁷ that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; that you, being rooted and grounded in love, ¹⁸ may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the width and length and depth and height— ¹⁹ to know the love of Christ which passes knowledge; that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.”

But it doesn't say ‘ask Him into your heart’; rather it is says; “that He would dwell in your heart by faith”.

Some will say; “But what about John 14:23; “Jesus answered and said to him, “If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word; and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our home with him.”

It says, “We” will come and make “our” home with him. I would say this is speaking of the triune nature of God and it is the Holy Spirit who dwells in us when we surrender our lives to Jesus.

Referring to Jesus, Colossians 2:9-10 says “For in Him dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily; ¹⁰ and you are complete in Him, who is the head of all principality and power”

When we surrender our lives to Jesus, we are filled with the Holy Spirit; who is fully God as a member of the Trinity and a representative of the Father and the Son.

Acts 2: “And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.”

Acts 4:31 “And when they had prayed, the place where they were assembled together was shaken; and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit, and they spoke the word of God with boldness”

Acts 13:52 “And the disciples were filled with joy and with the Holy Spirit”

Ephesians 5:18 “And do not be drunk with wine, in which is dissipation; but be filled with the Spirit”

Acts 9:17 “And Ananias went his way and entered the house; and laying his hands on him he said, “Brother Saul, the Lord Jesus, who appeared to you on the road as you came, has sent me that you may receive your sight and be filled with the Holy Spirit.”

Jesus, after He completed His work here on the earth, went to be with the Father.

Romans 8:34 “Who is he who condemns? It is Christ who died, and furthermore is also risen, who is even at the right hand of God, who also makes intercession for us.”

Hebrews 10:11-14 “And every priest stands ministering daily and offering repeatedly the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins. ¹² But this Man, after He had offered one sacrifice for sins forever, sat down at the right hand of God, ¹³ from that time waiting till His enemies are made His footstool. ¹⁴ For by one offering He has perfected forever those who are being sanctified.

John 14:12-17 “Most assuredly, I say to you, he who believes in Me, the works that I do he will do also; and greater works than these he will do, because I go to My Father. ¹³ And whatever you ask in My name, that I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. ¹⁴ If you ask anything in My name, I will do it.¹⁵ “If you love Me, keep My commandments. ¹⁶ And I will pray the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may abide with you forever— ¹⁷ the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him; but you know Him, for He dwells with you and will be in you.

John 14:26  “But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all things that I said to you.”

John 16:7-15 “Nevertheless I tell you the truth. It is to your advantage that I go away; for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you; but if I depart, I will send Him to you. ⁸ And when He has come, He will convict the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment: ⁹ of sin, because they do not believe in Me; ¹⁰ of righteousness, because I go to My Father and you see Me no more; ¹¹ of judgment, because the ruler of this world is judged. ¹² “I still have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now. ¹³ However, when He, the Spirit of truth, has come, He will guide you into all truth; for He will not speak on His own authority, but whatever He hears He will speak; and He will tell you things to come. ¹⁴ He will glorify Me, for He will take of what is Mine and declare it to you. ¹⁵ All things that the Father has are Mine. Therefore I said that He will take of Mine and declare it to you.”

The Bible simply says that we are to believe or trust the gospel message that Jesus paid for our sins by His death on the cross, and that He was buried, and that He was resurrected from the dead.  

“For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes...” (Romans 1:16a). 

"For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.” (John 3:16)

We Receive Christ Through Faith
"By grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result of works, that no one should boast" (Ephesians 2:8,9).

Just to agree intellectually that Jesus Christ is the Son of God and that He died on the cross for our sins is not enough. Nor is it enough to have an emotional experience. We receive Jesus Christ by faith, as an act of the will.

Receiving Christ involves turning our wills and lives to God and trusting Christ to come into our lives to forgive our sins and to make us what He wants us to be. The Bible calls this "repentance". What that means is to "change the way you think"; in other words, go another direction- with our thoughts, words, actions; with how we live our lives.

God will only give eternal life to:

1.   Those who are sorry for their sins.

2.   Those who are willing to turn away from what the Bible calls sin.

3.   Those who put their complete trust (have faith) in Jesus Christ and what He accomplished through His death, burial, and resurrection.

When We Receive Christ, we will experience a “New Birth”

So, how do you do you receive Christ?

1.   Stop trusting in your own efforts to please God and begin to trust in what Jesus Christ has already done.

2.   Ask God to forgive you for your sins.

3.   Ask Jesus to take His rightful place as Lord and Savior of your life.

4.   Turn away from whatever the Bible says is sin. NOTE: This is only possible after you have made Jesus the Lord of your life.

You can do this right now by praying (speaking to God) in your own words like this:

"LORD JESUS. I WANT TO STOP TRUSTING MYSELF AND WHAT I CAN DO AND START TRUSTING IN YOU AND WHAT YOU HAVE ALREADY DONE WHEN YOU DIED ON THE CROSS FOR ME. I KNOW THAT I AM A SINNER AND I AM SORRY FOR MY SINS. I ASK YOU TO FORGIVE ME. AND I INVITE YOU TO COME AND BE THE SAVIOR AND THE LORD OF MY LIFE. BY THAT I MEAN STARTING RIGHT NOW, YOU WILL BE #1 IN MY LIFE. I WANT TO TURN AWAY FROM EVERYTHING THAT YOU AND THE BIBLE CALL SIN. I TOTALLY COMMIT MYSELF TO OBEYING YOU; EVERYDAY OF MY LIFE. THANK YOU LORD JESUS"

This new life will continue to grow by:

·        Spending time each day; throughout the day praying and worshipping God.

·        Spending time reading the Bible which is His Word

·        Spending time with other Christians at church, Bible studies, and fellowships.

·        Spending time sharing with others who yet don’t know how they too can get right with God.

"Scripture taken from the New King James Version. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved

Time For a New String Of Lights

There has been a picture in my head; a scene from a movie lately. What I have been seeing is a very large ball of Christmas lights that are all tangled up and need to be unraveled. 

If you have ever seen the movie “National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation”, then you will know what I am talking about.

Clark Griswold (Chevy Chase) wants to have a perfect family Christmas; including the perfect decorations and lights on the outside of his house. 

The plan is to install the 250 strands of lights (with 100 bulbs on each strand for a total of 25,000 light bulbs, enough to make the power company turn on their auxiliary nuclear generator…)

But, before he can install them, he needs to untangle massive balls of lights from the last time they were installed on the house. Clark enlists his son Rusty (Johnny Galecki) to help him in this endeavor.

Clark tells Rusty; “Come on, unravel these. You have to check every bulb”

“There’s a little knot here…you work on that!” he continues as he hands Rusty the world’s largest ball of Christmas lights.

“I’ll get the other box.” Clark says as he makes his way back into the garage to retrieve another set of lights.

That picture, along with a recent message I heard on ‘forgiveness’, has been on my mind.

Why, I ask myself, does Clark even attempt (or have Rusty attempt) to unravel that massive ball of lights? Why not simply throw out the ball and purchase another set of lights?

And it got me thinking; There are times in life when no matter how hard you try, you simply cannot untangle the mess that was created in the past.

Sometimes the best thing to do is simply throw out the old and admit that it is time for a new string of lights and go from there.

I will admit that I have lost countless hours, days, and weeks of my life trying to resolve things only to get further away from the end goal of reconciliation.

I will admit that I am hardwired to check every jot and tittle to make sure that every area and viewpoint has been looked at so that both sides can really know that everything has been discussed.

I will admit that I have done all this in an attempt toward reconciliation and so that it will never happen again.

I will admit that I had to come to the point of realizing that sometimes in forgiveness and relationships there are times when it is almost impossible to untangle the minutia and one simply needs to start over in the relationship.

That sometimes the best thing to do is simply do is throw out the old and admit that it is time for a new string of lights and go from there.

In first Corinthians chapter thirteen verse 4-7, the Apostle Paul wrote:

“Love suffers long and is kind; love does not envy; love does not parade itself, is not puffed up; does not behave rudely, does not seek its own, is not provoked, thinks no evil; does not rejoice in iniquity, but rejoices in the truth; bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.”

One version of the Bible translates verse five as;

“it keeps no record of wrongs.”

In other words; “Love keeps no record”. That doesn’t mean that we don’t remember, but in order to move on we need to stop trying to go over and over every detail. We need to keep no record.

Jesus expands on the seriousness of not letting go in Matthew chapter six verse 14-15

“For if you forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.”

I will let His words speak for themselves and add:

Sometimes it is time for a new string of lights 

Way Below His Potential

Years ago, I volunteered as site supervisor and consultant for Rebuilding Together Twin Cities. They were partnering with the Honeywell Corporation to do repairs on a house in Minneapolis for a homeowner who was physically unable to do the work himself.

This event was highly supported by the local media who sent field reporters to broadcast live on the local Twin Cities news stations.

To add to the grand effort, Genevieve Gorder was hired to be the spokesperson to the media on behalf of Rebuilding together.

NOTE: Genevieve is an American television host and interior designer. She was one of the original designers of the TLC's hit series Trading Spaces.

A speech was given, safety was explained, donuts were eaten, and all hit the floor to accomplish the tasks before them.

Genevieve and the local Muckety-Mucks from Honeywell Corporation spent most of their time suited up as they took photos with media and all who recognized Genevieve.

The Honeywell executives took the opportunity to stand in the limelight in order to draw attention to their partnership with Rebuilding Together nationally.

My assignment was to look for issues of safety, quality of work, answer technical questions, and keep an eye on what was taking place at the whole jobsite. I decided to take a walk away from the celebrities and meet with the volunteers who were physically doing the work.

As I walked into the backyard, I noticed two men who were up to their elbows in engine parts and other junk piled in a corner of the yard; all of which needed to be tossed into a dumpster.

I asked them if they needed anything and encouraged them to get something to eat or drink.

The two men were covered in sweat and grease and turned down my request for them to take a break. I admired their work ethic.

When I made my way back to the front of the house, the media frenzy drove me to go back into the house away from the limelight.

Inside, the local representative from Honeywell who was my contact person asked me if I had met the bigshots from Honeywell. I said that I saw the men dressed in suits posing with Genevieve, neighbors, and the media.

She informed me that they were the local bigshots; she was referring to the BIGSHOTS from Honeywell National Corporation: The Senior VP’s who flew to Minnesota to join the local workers from Honeywell at the jobsite.

It turns out that they were the two men in the backyard.

These men were working way below their potential so I went to the back to meet them. The men told me that they wanted to remain doing the work that no one wanted to do; away from the media frenzy. And that they wanted no credit for what they were doing. They wanted to remain anonymous.

As a corporation, Honeywell had encouraged employees around the USA to volunteer. These two men had issued the orders on behalf of the BOD of Honeywell, yet had not personally done any physical work.

So, they came to Minnesota to work incognito where no one would recognize them and where they could do work and get no credit. They CHOSE to give of themselves and take no credit. They CHOSE to take on tasks that no one wanted to do.

They knew that they needed to lead by serving way below their potential instead of flaunting their status in the Honeywell Corporation for all to see.

These men reminded me of the words written by the Apostle Paul in his letter to the church in Philippi:

 “Therefore if there is any consolation in Christ, if any comfort of love, if any fellowship of the Spirit, if any affection and mercy, ² fulfill my joy by being like-minded, having the same love, being of one accord, of one mind. ³ Let nothing be done through selfish ambition or conceit, but in lowliness of mind let each esteem others better than himself. ⁴ Let each of you look out not only for his own interests, but also for the interests of others.” (Philippians 2:1-4)

These men reminded me of the One who really lived here on earth way below His potential. His name is Jesus Christ.

He CHOSE to give of Himself for the sins of humans by submitting to the laws and the wages of death.

He CHOSE to submit Himself to torture, beating, and hung naked as He was nailed to a cross to die a cruel and slow death.

He CHOSE to serve way below His potential in order to express the love of the Father who longed for sinful man to turn form their sins and turn to His love and forgiveness.

 

And because of what He did, the Apostle Paul continues in his letter to the church in Philippi:

⁵ Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus, ⁶ who, being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God, ⁷ but made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men. ⁸ And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross. 

⁹ Therefore God also has highly exalted Him and given Him the name which is above every name, ¹⁰ that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the earth, ¹¹ and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.” (Philippians 2:5-11)

The world could use more who CHOSE to live way below their potential.

Rebuilding Together Twin Cities has been preserving and revitalizing homes and communities in the metropolitan area since 1997. Our programs provide opportunities for community involvement. Through sponsors and volunteer efforts, we strive to impact communities and the nonprofit places where neighborhood members gather. http://rebuildingtogether-twincities.org/

All Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Pompous Pacer

The year was nineteen seventy something and I was about to enter my senior year of high school. I had been working a side-job taking care of an elderly man who had multiple sclerosis (MS) and was deteriorating in his physical health. Mentally, he was a sharper than any tack that I had ever seen!

My job started off pretty simple: I would go over to his apartment (which was only a block away) and help him into his wheelchair in the morning; sometimes helping him get his socks on.

As his MS got worse, I would also go over to his apartment in the evening to help him out of his wheelchair and into his bed.

In time, he needed more help as the tremors would sometime make simple tasks very difficult for him, like preparing breakfast or pulling up his pants.

We had looked at several assisted living facilities, but none would meet his or our approval. Again, this was the seventies, and most of the facilities we looked at smelled like urine all the way out to the parking lot.

No way could we let him live there.

He was a very smart man who had a very prestigious career and had made a good income, so money wasn’t really an issue. His wife was deceased, and he had no children.

The solution that he came up with was to hire in-home nursing to give him further assistance. He also purchased a lift to assist getting him in and out of bed and another for the tub.

He also had another idea; he wanted to buy me a car so that I could drive him places.

I want to say that he was really a great guy and I enjoyed spending time with him. He loved reading books in order to stay a step ahead on new technology and the latest trends.

As I said, his mind was sharp as his body was falling apart. He joked with me that his mind would still be working for several days after he was buried in the ground.

Did I mention that he wanted to buy me a new car?

I really had no reason to respond the way I did when he purchased a brand new car and gave it to me. The plan was that it would be mine to use as much as I wanted and it was mine to keep after he died.

The problem? It was an AMC Pacer! No teenager wanted to drive, let alone be seen in a Pacer! Remember, this was sixteen years BEFORE the movie “Wayne’s world” came out and made it ‘popular’.

And, no, it didn’t come with a factory issued licorice dispenser. That was an aftermarket item that you couldn’t get until 1992!

My oldest brother had a Dodge Challenger at the time which further added to my reluctance to drive the car. His was cool, mine was lame!

The man told me that he had done research in Consumer’s Report and said that this was one of the best values in the market today. He also liked that it would be easy to load and unload his wheelchair in the back. And he loved that he could see out the windows.

That last statement didn’t help at all; if he could see out, then others could see in!

I should also mention that my next older brother had a Camaro with a spoiler on the rear. My next youngest brother had a Nova!

There is no way that I would be seen in a AMC Pacer.

So I made excuses not to drive it.

Yes, I turned down his generous gift to me. I NEVER even drove it! And I starting spending less and less time with him in order to NOT drive the car…I wanted the provision; just not in that way.

In a very short time, his body failed to the point where he was placed in a nursing home. He died within the month. I didn’t know what happened to the car; and didn’t really care at the time where it ended up.

I had been an ungrateful and proud teenager who, although I needed a car, choose to let pride stop me from receiving a gift from a generous person who wanted to show his appreciation for me.

I also missed out on my opportunity to spend time with this great man.

I missed it by allowing my pompous pride get in the way.

As I write this I have several thoughts.

First of all, it reminds me of Naaman in the Bible. He was a great and honorable man and the commander of the army of the king of Syria. He was also a mighty man of valor, but he was also a leper. (Read the story in 2 Kings Chapter 5).

Naaman had a chance to get healed of his leprosy, but he didn’t like how it was to be done.

Naaman was told that if he wanted to be healed; “Go and wash in the Jordan seven times, and your flesh shall be restored to you, and you shall be clean.”

 

Naaman said, “NO!” In fact he became furious at the preposterous suggestion. He wanted the provision; just not in that way.

Fortunately, he gave in, did what he was told to do, and received a complete healing.

My other thought is wondering how many times have you and I missed provision simply because we were too pompous to receive? How many times did it come and go and because pride caused us to stumble and fall short?

Finally, what about provision for that hole in your soul; for that sin in your life? Have allowed pride to stop you from simply receiving the free gift of salvation through Jesus Christ?

Naaman almost missed it by allowing his pompous pride get in the way.

Be careful that you don’t make the same mistake.

“Today when you hear His voice, don’t harden your hearts as Israel did when they rebelled.” (Hebrews 3:15)

“But if we are living in the light, as God is in the light, then we have fellowship with each other, and the blood of Jesus, His Son, cleanses us from all sin. If we claim we have no sin, we are only fooling ourselves and not living in the truth. But if we confess our sins to Him, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all wickedness. If we claim we have not sinned, we are calling God a liar and showing that his word has no place in our hearts.” (1 John 1:7-10)

“If you openly declare that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is by believing in your heart that you are made right with God, and it is by openly declaring your faith that you are saved. As the Scriptures tell us, “Anyone who trusts in Him will never be disgraced.” Jew and Gentile are the same in this respect. They have the same Lord, who gives generously to all who call on Him. For “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.” (Romans 10:9-13)

All Scripture is from the New Living Translation (NLT), copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.