Now that we have a clear definition of what a spiritual gift is (a God-given ability to serve the body of Christ wherever and however He directs), how are they to be understood? Let’s begin by defining what a spiritual gift is not.
Read more: Uncovering Spiritual Gifts
Yesterday we left off with a question: if we have free will then couldn’t it trump God’s will, making us more powerful than our Creator? Whether admitted to or not, this is the motive behind the lesbian-gay-bisexual-transgender community. It is an attempt to say to God “I am my own man/woman/transgender person and there is nothing you can do about it. My will trumps yours.” It appears that we can indeed thwart God’s will.
Read more: God's Will Versus Ours
Tabloids and even respected news outlets are eager to report the recent decision of Bruce Jenner, a former gold medalist in the 1976 Olympics, movie actor and TV reality personality to announce himself a trans-woman. He admitted to struggling with gender dysphoria since his youth, cross-dressing, and even undergoing hormone replacement therapy for a time in the 1980’s. He has undergone cosmetic surgery as a part of transforming himself into the feminine person he wants to be, though has not (yet) undergone gender reassignment surgery. He is possibly America’s most famous transgender persona. Learning what we did yesterday, the issue of “gender identity” raises a series of serious questions.
Read more: Gender Identity
All exorcists have a common practice before beginning an exorcism; they every one confess their sins. Before going into battle they want to make sure that there is nothing between themselves and their God, no distraction, no thought or action an unclean spirit might use against them. They understand the importance of penitent prayer. Some Christians, however, wonder why we ask for forgiveness when God already forgave us our sins when we came to trust in Him in the first place.
Read more: Confession of Sins
If you have been a believer very long you will have heard of “spiritual gifts” If you are a believer in the Baptist or Evangelical traditions, this may be a topic you’ve only heard of and never explored; if you are a believer in the charismatic or Pentecostal traditions you may have heard of it all too frequently. This week I hope to demystify for some, and correct the thinking of others, about a reality that is imperative for Christian maturity.
Read more: What is a Spiritual Gift?
Over the last month we’ve talked about demon possession and oppression, how badly sin wants to master us, and about what choices God made when he designed us both as humans and as individuals. Whether it be an evil spirit, an evil nature or God’s providence it would seem there is very little in our life that isn’t attempting to exert control over us. Where does the will of man fit into this discussion? Does man have any choice in his eternal destiny? Any decision as to his fate?
Read more: Battle of Wills
In the late 1990’s the band Dishwalla released their only hit song, Counting Blue Cars, in which the lead singer crones, “Tell me all your thoughts on God, cause I'd really like to meet her. And asked her where and who we are.” The song vocalizes a modern struggle to define the nature of God, and in a culture that is distracted by sexuality and gender identity the gender of God has become hotly debated. The ancient paradigm of God as our heavenly Father fell into question and was a philosophy quickly picked up by liberal and feminist theologians alike.
Read more: Does God Have Gender?
Fasting is a practice that the western evangelical church has fallen away from, and it is a perilous fall. Our understanding of fasting is very Old Testament, which is that it is a legal practice rather than an act of faith. This belief is far from the truth. Was it legalism that caused Moses to eat nothing and drink nothing for 40 days while on Mount Sinai (Exodus 34.28)? Was it legalism that caused Jesus to do the same (Luke 4.1-.4)? In both instances the answer is “no”; the truth is that fasting creates a powerful connection with God, if we let it.
Read more: Fasting
The subject of man’s will is fraught with peril because it has and does change throughout the course of our life on this planet. In the beginning, before the fall of man, Adam and Eve were inclined toward righteousness. This means that their will was for those things that drew them into relationship with God. After the fall their will was inclined toward rebellion from God. Unregenerate man inherits this bent of the will toward rebellion and error and is powerless to resist it, unless he submits to Jesus. Regenerate man has a unique position; still inclined to rebellion due to the sin nature, we are empowered by God’s Spirit in us to choose otherwise. The more we choose truth over error, righteousness over sinfulness, love over apathy our will changes from one bent toward rebellion to one inclined toward righteousness. All of this may seem complex but at least it is straightforward. Where it gets uncomfortable is when our will is directly interfered with.
Read more: God's Overpowering Will
Years ago I attended a Promise Keepers event in Boulder, Colorado. Upon leaving the event I saw a man holding a sign asking a question, “Doesn’t God love homosexuals too?” I approached the man and asked him a question of my own, “Do you want an answer to your question, or are you just here to cause trouble? Because there is an answer.” He told me he wasn’t interested in an answer, so I respected his choice and walked away. There was no point in pushing or forcing the conversation, he wasn’t ready to hear it.
Read more: Reaching the LBGT Community
Yesterday we had a heady discussion of sin and holiness, and one of the marks of holiness being a swift dealing with sin. Today I want to emphasize the “swiftness”. We are not to dwell on our failures, instead we are to follow the instruction of Paul to the church in Philippi:
Read more: Think Rightly
Most Christians know they should set aside some time each day to read the Bible, few do. My grandmother’s second husband (she was widowed earlier in life) was one of the few. He brought this daily discipline into his marriage where, each morning before breakfast, he would read aloud a passage so they both could enjoy reading or listening to God’s heroics throughout history. They could talk about the passage over breakfast, and I know his discipline became an important part of her life. To my knowledge they never missed a day.
Read more: Bible Disciplines
