St. John Studies

When I ask how she is doing, she says “just fine.”

When I get her to reveal she is in pain, she says “but that is ok.”

When she prays for those who need her prayers, she prays as if the prayers have already been answered.

You see, the woman I speak of knows hardship, but she also knows of the goodness of God. She knows adversity but she also knows she has The Lord to help her fight through it. She has experienced difficult circumstances but she has also seen God over and over deliver her to better circumstances.

How can this be?

She knows to be concerned with God’s desires, plans and kingdom more than her temporary discomforts.

Her faithfulness can be summed up in Habakkuk 3:17 “Though the cherry trees don’t blossom and the strawberries don’t ripen, though the apples are worm-eaten and the wheat fields stunted, though the sheep pens are sheepless and the cattle barns empty, I’m singing joyful praise to God. I’m turning cartwheels of joy to my Savior God. Counting on God’s rule to prevail, I take heart and gain strength. I run like a deer. I feel like I’m king of the mountain!” [the Message].

Ok, I have yet to see her turn cartwheels but I have witnessed her singing joyful praise to God at times when weaker Christians would cower and complain.

John Bevere says that if a believer is seeking to please The Father, then they will have discernment to please God. When a believer fears God, they are motivated to live a Godly life; they want to see the structure in life that will help them in their life decisions, whether the decisions involve career, relationships, finances, social opportunities or any other aspect of life. They are motivated “to cooperate with God’s grace to cleanse themselves from impurity.”

They are able to keep their eye on the main thing…

In my adult Sunday school class, I taught a lesson on Exodus 20, the Ten Commandments. We have all heard that in today’s world the Ten Commandments should be renamed the “ten suggestions.” Too often today we hear believers and even some pastors say that the New Testament idea of grace covers all our sins and we don’t have to worry about those nagging Commandments anymore. I am not sure Bevere would agree. Those commandments are still relevant today, they are a gift from God and if we pay attention to them, we won’t suffer. They are God sharing His wisdom with us to help us live a better life.

Jesus did not come to rid us of the commandments, He came to fulfill them. The Apostle Paul states in Romans 3:31 “Do we, then, nullify the law by this faith? Not at all! Rather, we uphold the law.” Jesus states in Matthew 5:17 “Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them.”
New Testament Christians run the risk of living a life without boundaries if they think that grace covers all their sins and they don’t have to fear God and his Commandments. Romans 13: 8-10 states “Owe no one anything except to love one another; for he who loves his neighbor has fulfilled the law. The commandments ‘You shall not commit adultery, you shall not kill, you shall not steal, you shall not covet’ are summed up in this sentence, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ Love does no wrong to a neighbor; therefore love is the fulfilling of the law.”

Keeping your eye on the main thing, fulfilling the law is to love one another.

Sounds simple, but too often in today’s world it seems so impossible to reach this goal. We get impatient and unkind to our neighbors. We are jealous and boastful. We are arrogant and rude. We avoid a fellow human who is different from us. We spread rumors and close our ears to those who provide evidence to our well-established ideas. We pout and pity ourselves. We issue ultimatums.

We must keep our eyes on the main thing.

Today it takes no grace whatsoever to live in peace with our brothers and sisters if they think and feel the same way we do. It is those times when people think differently from us that our grace is tested. Times when the easy thing to do is hate and the real test is to love.

Those times when it is best to be concerned with God’s desires, plans and kingdom more than our temporary discomforts.

Those times of discernment, when we prove to others that we really know The Lord…

Discernment…

This is a word that is tossed around in Christian circles but can often be misunderstood. What is it? Who has it? What are the signs that you have discernment?

John Bevere titles Chapter 15 of Good or God? “Discernment.” He explains that this is a key factor in being able to determine good from evil. His whole book is about Christians who think they are following Godly lifestyles but really they are following society’s standards [not God’s at all].

He opens his chapter talking about spiritual growth vs physical growth. Physical growth is a process of growing from babies until we are physically grown adults. Time and health are the main factors. If you maintain a healthy body, over time you will reach physical maturity.

Spiritual grow is a very different animal. Sadly, I have known some seventy year old spiritual babies in my life, people who have no idea how to lead a Godly lifestyle. Bevere asks “Have you encountered believers who are only one year old in Christ but are more mature than those who’ve been saved for twenty years?”

I have…

According to Hebrews 5:14, discernment occurs when our inward senses can accurately detect the difference between good and evil. Detecting good and evil is essential. Life is about this all-important choice.

But how can you know you have discernment or those around you have discernment? What are the signs of discernment?

Bevere says a healthy fear of God is one key. Godly fear is our motivation to cooperate with God’s grace in order to cleanse ourselves from impurity. People who are not living a Godly life don’t have discernment; in fact their lack of discernment is a major factor in their very frequent struggles. Remember, Bevere proposes that God’s grace is an empowering factor in the Christian’s life, empowering us to have a closer relationship with our Lord. Christians who lack solid spiritual understanding think of grace as a way to “cover” sin.

Christians with discernment are adept at handling adversity. They understand difficult circumstances and know that all people have them. Just because one professes belief in God does not make one immune from trouble. Bevere says “they are more concerned with God’s desires, plans and kingdom than with their temporary discomfort.” Complaining is not a word that applies to this type of person.

Discerning Christians do not approach worship as a duty. Worship is not something that you must do on a weekly basis and after you have fulfilled your hour, you go home and feel good about yourself. You want to participate in Church, you want to attend Bible study, you want to help your church in projects to serve others. You want to grow and you know that Church can help you do that.

In a related idea, discerning Christians know they don’t know it all. God’s intelligence is not man’s intelligence and when we don’t understand, we must act on faith. Immature Christians get “legalistic,” declaring anything that they don’t understand as evil, mysterious and “of the devil.” I once knew a mature Christian who threw his hands up in my Sunday school class and declared “God’s ways are not man’s ways.” He was mature enough to admit his limitations.

Mature Christians are not easily offended. They know that people have needs that are not just like their own. There are different points of view in this world and to be an effective witness, one must exercise flexibility, empathy and understanding. Conversing with someone who has different views does not mean they are wrong and they must be discredited. Learning another’s view can be educational and at least, helpful in knowing the other person.

Discerning Christians can delay gratification. Here is where abundance or lack of abundance is not a problem. Whatever you have is a blessing from God and is appreciated. Greed is not a factor as the source of abundance is acknowledged. Envy is not a factor if lack of abundance is where you are at the moment. Bevere says it best “resources, riches, wealth and abundance are good. But if those are your target, you’ll lack discernment to recognize if the means to acquire them are evil.”

Last but not least, discerning Christians have the capacity to have intimate relationships. The mature Christian cherishes relationships and is able to have fulfilling, long-term connections with others. Christians who are immature cannot maintain relationship in friendship or even marriage. They have issues of brokenness that must be addressed and they leave behind a trail of botched relationships. I have heard it said that their friendships “barely make it out of the kiddie pool.”

If discernment is a key to Christian maturity, as Christians we should all want it, shouldn’t we?

Just as a mature person wants solid food instead of pureed baby food, we should want to know God more intimately. Then Hebrews 5:14 makes a lot of sense “Solid food belongs to those who are of full age, that is, those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern good and evil.”

shinelight.info

My other blog. Yes, St. John Studies is not the only place where I share my thoughts. I was told that expressing my journey of recovering from trauma is good psychology, so I have done that at shinelight [shameless promotion, sorry].

Really, I bring this up because I did not choose the name shinelight on a whim. I wanted my thoughts to help others trying to recover. I wanted my little light to shine in someone else’s life, someone trying to bounce back from a setback.

Jesus declared as Christians we are to be “the light of the world” [Matthew 5:14]. He did not do this just once; see also John 8:12, Acts 13:46, Romans 13:12, Ephesians 5:8, 14, Colossians 1:12, Philippians 2:15, 1 Thessalonians 5:5 and 1 John 1:7 and 2:9-10.

Many Christians are content to put their light under a basket or so many Christians are willing to let others shine their light for them as they are perfectly happy to sit on the sidelines, just enjoying a comfortable spot as “observer.”

This sideline view is not what God intended for you. Romans 11:36 states “For everything comes from Him; everything exists by His power and is intended for His glory. To Him be glory evermore.”

There you have it. A Christian exists in order to glorify God. That’s your purpose. That is why God created you.

When a Christian is content to do nothing or almost nothing to further God’s Kingdom, he or she has decided not to shine their light, not to fulfill their purpose.

What can little ole me do? I have no great skill. I am no student of the Bible. I have no ministry.

With that attitude we will never break out of the status quo, we will never surpass the norm, we will never influence others for God. John Bevere in his book Good or God? says: “Not only are we to rise above the adverse circumstances of life, but we’re also to outshine those who don’t have a covenant with God. We are to be leaders in the midst of an unenlightened world.”

The power is there.

Why don’t we try to use it?

It is not from us; it is from God.

“When the Holy Spirit has come upon you, you will receive power and will tell people about me everywhere—in Jerusalem, throughout Judea, in Samaria and to the ends of the earth” [Acts 1:8].

Bevere cites Daniel as the Bible character who exemplifies the believer who turns to God for his power. Daniel was taken captive from the tiny nation of Israel and sent to Babylon, one of the most magnificent civilizations of his day. The Babylonians had the best economy, best political system, the best military, best scientists, artists and educators. In the midst of this culture, Daniel and three other Israelites were put to the test. They were asked to perform in the same circumstances as other young men from Babylon. They were given the same food and drink and then compared to exemplary Babylonian youth.

In short, they thrived, they compared favorably, especially Daniel.

What was the secret? Daniel made sure that he was ritually clean even though he was surrounded by a culture that encouraged him to adopt new ways. Daniel turned to the Lord for guidance even though his new culture did not want him to pray. He prayed anyway, even when they made a law banning his daily prayers. In Bevere’s paraphrase of this story he writes: “These [Babylonian] leaders were baffled and probably consulted each other, saying ‘we don’t get it! We were trained by the most knowledgeable, most gifted and wisest teachers, scientists and leaders in the entire world. He’s from this insignificant country, so where is he getting these ideas? How is he so much better than us? It must be the praying’” [217].

Maybe it was that Daniel made himself available. He worked hard to hold to what he knew to be true and he said to God “lead me.” He believed and felt nothing was impossible. He put himself in God’s hands and accomplished the “immeasurable and unlimited.” He allowed his light to shine.

Instead of saying “What can little ole me do?” Daniel says what can I do today, God? I have always felt that the most powerful three word prayer in the world is this—“use me God”.

God will find a way to use you the best that you can be used in your sphere of influence. You will find yourself glorifying God through your life.

Dallas Willard [one of my favorite authors] wrote the following words that challenge all Christians to do better: “Live your life the way Jesus would live your life if He had your life to live.” Shine your light.

Glory be to God.

I just lost a good friend, a Christian brother. Yesterday morning I heard of his passing. I did not expect to be writing about him but his death dovetails so well with what John Bevere is discussing in his book Good or God?

I had known him for about twenty-two years and over the years, his life concerned me. When he first became my friend, he was struggling with a very personal issue, what he considered a grave defeat in the eyes of the Lord. Over the years I have had my share of defeats too, but as another friend told me one day, “Pick yourself up, dust yourself off and move on.”

My friend struggled with the picking up, the dusting off and the moving on.

Forgiveness is one of the hardest things that you sometimes have to do. For some people, forgiving self is the toughest.

Over the years, I knew he also struggled with health issues; a smoker, diabetic and toward the end of his life I think he had lower extremity vascular issues. He was struggling to quit smoking but diet was another matter. Bless him, he loved meat and when I ate with him, he passed any vegetables on to me.

About a year ago, I [along with many others] pestered him to go to the doctor to get checked out. He had a morbid fear of finding out bad medical news, even though he knew he had problems. The news was not great and he was less than satisfied with his medical care.

At his passing yesterday, I just gave into the temptation to look on Facebook and I saw that the day before his death he was at a local mission center distributing food to the poor. There he was, with some other church members. He did this every week no matter how bad he felt.

I should not have been surprised to see how he spent the day before his death. He founded that local mission center, gave it a name and was the director for several years, receiving such a measly salary that he once told me he lost money by the time he paid his taxes. He just shrugged and kept going to the mission center.

He preached at two churches in my area, churches that are difficult to pastor. On any given Sunday, his congregation was often two or three, four with the pastor. Being a speech communication teacher, I know it is hard to get too excited about facing a crowd that small. He prepared his sermons, got up early on Sunday no matter how poorly he felt and preached there anyway.

I got the distinct impression that life was hard. His struggles kept him under the cloud of depression and no matter what I said, it was rare for me to see a smile on his face.
But he kept doing what he could do.

What all this is leading me to is that so many Christians just totally give up in the face of difficulty. When the cost is too high, they just refuse to pay it. When too much time is required, they say “too busy.” When they get older, the words are “Let the younger ones do it; I have done my part.”

That is not the life he led. He never refused to do his part, even though I wondered if maybe he should do less because he felt so bad.

Bevere writes as Christians “We are to break out of the status quo, to surpass the norm. We are called to influence.” What would most people do in light of the challenges my friend faced? They would just quit, sit at home or maybe even just go to bed and stay.

However, my friend knew that the life he led was a sermon unto itself. His perseverance was the strongest message he could preach and he was intent on preaching it.

In Galatians 5: 22-23, it says that if we love Jesus, His character will be revealed in our lives. As we know, we live in a world that is filled with anger, selfishness and hostility. What a message we can send to others if we exhibit love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. The way to become a credible witness for Him is not by declaring some oath of allegiance to Him but rather by loving one another. My friend knew that the quality of his efforts at life preached to people who did not know Jesus.

Yesterday was a difficult day as I came to grips with the sudden death of my friend, my Christian brother. Mark Jones on the “Desiring God” website says Christians can know death more than other groups of people because we have spiritual bonds with our brothers and sisters and it is inevitable: we are all going home to be with Jesus. Brothers die. Today in church I tried to teach my adult Sunday School class but we veered off the topic to talk about going home to be with Jesus and we talked about my brother.

“Your love for one another will prove to the world that you are my disciples” [John 13:35].

This was the life he led.

That was John…

“And all things, whatsoever ye shall ask in prayer, believing, ye shall receive.” Matthew 21:22

“And whatsoever ye shall ask in my name, that will I do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son.” John 14:13

“Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you.” Matthew 7:7

“Hitherto have ye asked nothing in my name: ask, and ye shall receive, that your joy may be full.” John 16:24

Need we go on?

There is so much more God could do through each of us but many of us don’t quite reach our potential. Maybe it is our fault; we set our own constraints. Maybe we think we cannot do as much as we can.

Maybe we can do so much more…

In Ephesians 3:20 it says “My grace in you can go far beyond the border you set up.”
Bevere says “Our boundaries—what we can contain—decide how much we will partake of the unlimited supply” [211].* More importantly, Bevere has written about each of us as holy containers; with this as our basic idea, it begs the question, how much can your holy container hold of God’s blessing? We must keep in mind that this ability to accept God’s blessing is dependent on our ability. We have the ability to accept His blessings but will we? Will we request the power from God that is available?

None of us can say we can accept God’s blessing based on our own merit. We all have that “sin thing” hanging over us. We all fall short of the glory of God. We have to have God’s help, God’s grace, and it is there for the taking. Romans 5:17 states “All who receive God’s abundant grace are freely put right with Him and will rule in life through Christ.” If we accept His grace, we are empowered to overcome any obstacle this world throws at us. Bevere states “Life on this earth is not to get the best of us; we are to rule over it.”

He cites several examples of opportunities to be empowered. In the medical field, [by God’s grace] you have the ability to discover new and innovative ways of treating sickness. As a web designer, your designs could be trend setting as others seek to emulate your work. As a public schoolteacher, your abilities can be expanded as you discover creative ways to impart knowledge. No matter your purpose here on earth, business person, musician, researcher, athlete, scientist, policeman, flight attendant, stay-at-home mom, military member or television personality, there is no reason for us to struggle in life. Through God’s grace, we can thrive.

Where do we get the idea that we have to have just enough to get by? As Christians, why do we subconsciously think we aren’t supposed to have too much?

I have written about it before but God has no problem with abundance. Maybe He figures if we have abundance we can do more to further His kingdom here on earth.
Here is what God has a problem with: abundance that possesses us. When we become obsessed with possessions, finances, and power we are making grievous errors. In Matthew when it says “To those who use well what they are given, they will have an abundance” does not mean that we should forget who we serve, our Lord and Master. If we have abundance it is not entirely for our own lives; it is for others and what we can do in the name of God.

Truly there is nothing wrong with asking and expecting to receive, knocking on the door and expecting it to be opened or even experiencing joy as we receive God’s blessings. As long as we remember this scripture: “And whatsoever ye shall ask in my name, that will I do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son.”**

That says it all. Indeed we can be empowered but we have to ask and when we ask, we can expect that we will receive more than we deserve. As we receive, it is important to remember where our blessings come from, not from our own power, knowledge or skill…

But from God. Let our abundance reflect that.

*John Bevere Good or God?

**John 14:13

I want to take a moment to post a thank you to all of the folks who wished me well on my 66th birthday.

This past year was not in the plan.  When I fell off the 12 foot ladder on October 18, 2016, last year’s birthday was to say the least, altered.

More than one year out, the bones have healed and slowly but surely, the strength is returning.  Every thing that  has happened this year is quite a contrast to last year and I am thankful.   I remember the days when I could not get out of bed without assistance, walk without a walker or shower without a shower stool.

Yeah I remember how unhappy I was on my 65th birthday.

Too often I have taken so much for granted.   I was busy and did not appreciate the little things in life…until the little things were taken away.

No one wishes trauma on themselves and of course I would like to avoid future trauma. But in reflection, my 65th year was a learning experience.  I learned a lot from what happened to me.  The day after surgery at Vanderbilt I had a man who prayed with me and he recommended a book called Upside by Jim Rendon.  On November 29, 2016, I thought Rendon’s book was crazy, that trauma can change lives for the better.

One year out, I am beginning to get his main points: that inner strength can increase, closeness to family and friends can happen and life can be reoriented to more fulfilling goals.  Suffering can push people to change their lives for the better.

In past years, I was blessed by birthday greetings from my facebook friends but this year is different.   I want you to know I truly appreciate all of your sentiments.

Thank you all…

David Carter

Eighteen hours ago, I had a post to put on St. John Studies.   However my internet at my house let me down.  I am sitting at my church writing this apology since my church has a strong internet connection.   I value any reader who comes to my blog and I apologize for this lateness.  I will resolve this issue as soon as possible.   I will post St. John Studies from whatever hotspot is convenient in the meanwhile.  Thank you for looking in.

David Carter,  St. John Studies…