PARKS BROWN

Each day brings a new reason to be fearful, full of worry and anxiety. North Korea firing missiles over Japan, raging wild fires in the Midwest, floods, terrorist attacks in London, hurricanes in Texas and Florida, personal data breaches for 143 million Americans…these are the worries of TODAY. You’ve probably forgotten about the troubles 6 months ago and are becoming desensitized to what could happen tomorrow. You have a choice to be fearful or not, but that choice is not predicated on your ability to discern what will impact you. The choice to be fearful depends on where your protection comes from and IF you have protection. The first step is to understand what real fear is and the difference between being scared versus being in awe and respectful of what harm can come to you.

Christians cling to the scriptures and the belief in the authority of Christ. “Then Jesus came to them and said, ‘All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.'” Matthew 28:18. So, if Jesus is in charge and control, should you worry about anything? Maybe it depends on if you have the coverage and protection Christ offers. A healthy fear of God is all you really need. Proverbs 1:7 reminds us, “The fear of God is the beginning of knowledge…” The fear of God is more about awe and reverence that results in humility and obedience. It begs the question, “What is fear and what do you fear? Do you fear God?”

Modern Christians have been flooded with the good news of God’s love, mercy and grace but has it come at the expense of forgetting God’s wrath and anger? Some of us grew up with hell-fire and brimstone, but most people born after the 60’s and 70’s have gotten a heavy dose of ‘God is love’. Yes, God IS love and He IS ‘slow to anger and abounding in love and faithfulness’. But, He is not a one dimensional God to be mocked and taken for granted. Ask Ananias or Sapphira. They tested the Holy Spirit with their lies and were immediately struck dead. No opportunity for repentance and forgiveness, they stood accused and were found guilty. The husband and wife flat out dropped dead immediately. Our God is to be feared.

Read the story in Acts 5:1-11. A young Christian couple who were founding members of the first church experienced God’s judgement and wrath that Christ had come to save us from. Folks, this was something to instill worry and anxiety. Believers and non-believers recognized what had gone down. “Great fear seized the whole church and all who heard about these events.” Acts 5:11. So, what’s up with that? Yes, the gift of God is eternal life in Jesus, but the wages of sin is death (Romans 6:23). If we presume security and impunity in our sins, we treat God as if He were one of us and lie to Him. People tell so many lies these days everyone is becoming desensitized to lying and can’t differentiate between the truth and a lie. It’s similar to being desensitized to the events going on in the world today, but far more dangerous than a bomb or a hurricane.

Satan is the father of lies. Christ reminded us, “But I will show you whom you should fear: Fear him who, after your body has been killed, has authority to throw you into hell. Yes, I tell you, fear him.” Luke 12:5. So, how do YOU lie to God? Ananias and Sapphira did it in their hearts and with their money. Money is an easy place to lie to God. “I put You before my money Lord…I put You first in my finances…I manage and invest my money in ways that will bring you more glory than me or my family.” Make sure you only lie to yourself and not the Holy Spirit.

What are some other lies we tell God? “I seek you and your Kingdom before my job and my family…I submit to Your will for my life, even if it means material changes that I don’t want or suffering and hardships for me and my family.” The list can go on and on. The rich young ruler was so unaware of the lies in his heart when he confronted Christ. He lied about genuinely loving and pursuing God more than his stuff. Maybe some fellowship with believers who had the discerning spirit God gave Peter would have helped. When we follow our own wisdom and understanding and not the leading of the Holy Spirit, the risk runs higher we will need a lie to explain our acts of disobedience.

So where and how do we land this plane? This is not an easy subject and one that requires MUCH more discussion and analysis than a quick blog can do. The world is in overdrive whipping up fear. Our response can be giving into the fear or shutting ourselves out from it. Neither is smart and can lead to turning away from a healthy fear of who and what we should be fearful of. Reverence and humility before a God that rewards obedience is critical. The Holy Spirit leads us into all truth, but the Holy Spirit is a gift “whom God has given to those who obey him.” Acts 5:32. We must learn to listen to the Holy Spirit first and foremost. We must be obedient and not test or lie to the God who gave himself to save us from the only thing we should be fearful of.

“There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love.” 1st John 4:18. The next time you start to be fearful and worry, remember these words. Remember what fear is, what fear does and where your fear should be. Remember what love and hope is, what love and hope does and where your love and hope should be.

“All the days written for me were ordained in your book before one of them came to be.” Psalm 139:16. Life is eternal, death is short. Fear is healthy if it’s the right kind of fear.

Having power is a risky business. You need to have wisdom to know how to use power, when and where to exercise the power and with whom to share it. Yes, true power involves sharing. God set the example when he created us in his image. Jesus confirmed it through the gift of the Holy Spirit (HS). Christ described the power sharing agreement as follows. “But when he, the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all truth. He will not speak on his own; he will speak only what he hears, and he will tell you what is yet to come. He will bring glory to me by taking what is mine and making it known to you. All that belongs to the Father is mine.” John 16:13-15. Power brings glory to whomever has it when it is freely given and shared. How’s that for a foreign concept in 2017?

The first mistake is to believe the biggest risks enter the equation when power is shared. People incorrectly think of power in terms of gaining and losing. Jesus addressed the difference between a heavenly and earthly approach to this when He said, “For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me and the gospel will save it.” Mark 8:35. When power is used for Kingdom purposes it can never be lost. When power is used selfishly, it can never be truly gained. Exercising power dictates discernment, wisdom, benevolence and altruism. Too often, those with power exercise less of these attributes because they wrongly believe their given authority assumes they innately posses such qualities. Instead, it is how power and authority are shared and exercised that reveal character and where power comes from.

ALL power and authority comes from God. Power is given to believers by God through the Holy Spirit. So for Christians, the right use of power can only be exercised by listening to, understanding and knowing God. In the first century church, the exercise of power took the shape of ‘unschooled, ordinary men’ standing up and speaking with courage and boldness. John, Peter and Paul risked their lives by simply repeating the scriptures to the people in power. The nature of power and the battle for it hasn’t changed much. Christians should get back to their roots with exercising power as well.

In 2017, the exercise of power looks more like an attempt by wealthy elitists to control others than submit to the leading of the Holy Spirit. James sounded a warning to this type of power play. “Now listen, you rich people, weep and wail because of the misery that is coming upon you. Your wealth has rotted and moths have eaten your clothes. Your gold and silver are corroded…You have hoarded wealth in the last days. Look! The wages you failed to pay the workmen who mowed your fields are crying out against you…..You have lived on earth in luxury and self indulgence. You have fattened yourselves in the day of slaughter.’ James 5:1-5. I’m afraid this is what earthly power still looks like.

Power plays write the headlines with North Korea, Antifa, Al Qaida and politicians from both sides of the aisle. In the secular world, power plays come in the form of low wages and rewards to keep employees hungry. Power is sought by people who are unwilling to listen to differing viewpoints and judge others based on social standing, skin color or political affiliation. People who are not guided by the HS seek to establish a culture of separation and division to gain power and influence. This is a short term game that WILL end badly for those who play it. Here or in the next life, judgement does come.

When true power is exercised correctly there is always a risk of loss. God created a being so great that when Lucifer rebelled and was cast to Earth, he took a third of the angels with him. Wow! Most folks try to gain more power or exercise it to benefit themselves instead of sharing it or creating a situation that could risk loss. The book of Acts starts and ends with Christians taking huge risks against the leaders of the day because they KNEW where their power came from. Are Christ followers risking the same today by speaking the truth whenever they are led by the HS?

This begs the question of hearing the HS and then obediently following his lead. Believers are suppressing God’s power in the world because they perceive too much personal risk and loss. Everybody wants to get by with the least amount of pain, suffering and risk. God’s power is not being seen and exercised in the world like it could be because His vessels of delivery have succumbed to the risk of losing their lives, their comfort and their influence. As Paul told Timothy, “There will be terrible times in the last days. People will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money….lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God – having a form of godliness but denying it’s power. Have nothing to do with them.” 2 Timothy 3:1-5.

The next time you or someone you know exercises their ability to act or produce an effect, do a gut check on what and where the power comes from and who it benefits. Examine motives and talk to the Holy Spirit. If there is no Holy Spirit power don’t have anything to do with them…and don’t ask them to follow you either.

I enjoy a glass of red wine with Italian food and therefore went out to buy a bottle before Joy fixed baked ziti the other night. Once I made the decision on the variety and the vineyard, the merchant had two vintages to chose from. I didn’t know much about the vineyard where the wine came from but I do know a general rule of thumb is to choose the older wine. I reminded myself that advice was even Biblical. Christ said “And no one after drinking old wine wants the new, for he says, ‘The old is better.'” Luke 5:39. The merchant actually recommended the newer vintage. Too often I’m drawn to the old but it’s like Christ said, no one WANTS the new. When Jesus makes wine, the new is ALWAYS better.

Most believers know that Christ’s first miracle was turning water into wine at a wedding festival. Every move Jesus made was wrought with meaning and intentionality. At the end of the wedding when everyone had consumed all the wine and there was nothing left to drink, Christ took tasteless water and turned it into something new and special. The master of the wedding banquet drank a little of the new wine and immediately went to the bridegroom to give him props for serving such a nice wine. ‘”Everyone brings out the choice wine first and then the cheaper wine after the guests have had too much to drink, but you have saved the best till now.'” John 2:10. The wine Jesus makes is always better than the wine I choose and the best is often served later.

Romans 8:29 reminds us that the Holy Spirit is in the process of changing believers from water into wine. “For those God foreknew, he also predestined to be conformed into the likeness of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers.” Too often Christians get caught up with the words ‘predestined’ and ‘foreknowledge.’ The focus should be that we are being changed and made into something new. The purpose is to make us more like his Son so that the family gets bigger. The master of the wedding ceremony didn’t miss the fact there was new wine. Don’t miss the results or the purpose for the changes going on in your life and heart…or in those around you.

The process of conforming us into the image of Christ can be chaotic in our lives. We must remember and recognize there is a purpose. Pouring something new into something old can cause havoc. “And no one pours new wine into old wineskins. If he does, the new wine will burst the skins, the wine will run out and the wineskins will be ruined. No, new wine must be poured into new wineskins.” Luke 5:37-38. Just like the wine, I tend to choose the old ways and not the new ones. God needs to pour something new into our lives so don’t be surprised if you start to spring a few leaks.

What does new wine look like in your life? For starters, it requires a new skin, not a patch job. “He told them this parable: No one tears a patch from a new garment and sews it on an old one. If he does, he will have torn the new garment, and the patch from the new will not match the old.”Luke 6:36. If God is building a new person or a new company or a new church, He will make the people new and build something new. God will make the components of his creation into the image of his Son which will require turning something common and tasteless into something special. He will take pride and make it humility. He will take the light away from you and turn it to Himself. Look for the new wine in your life and the lives of others. Drink from the new wine and recognize the difference when you taste it.

Too often, I want to skip the process of being made new and just drink from the old stuff. Too often, we focus on what other people were and not what they have been made into. The old saying, ‘fool me once shame on you, fool me twice shame on me’ would have kept the guests at the wedding festival from enjoying what Jesus had done with the water. All believers are being made new. Those that we are closest to, our families and friends, are often the people we never enjoy the new taste of because we focus on what they were and not what they have become. Don’t be too rigid to try the newer vintage.

I’ve lived long enough to know that I am a shadow of the man I used to be. I’m a new vintage and a new wineskin but I physically look like the old one. Outwardly, I AM wasting away, but inwardly I AM being renewed every day. I thank God that He has made me a new wineskin because the old one definitely leaked. I tried to sew on patches, but He had a different plan.

Jesus makes new wine. He only pours it into new wineskins. When you and I are being conformed into the new wineskin it may not be a pretty process, but it is a necessary process. ALL believers are being conformed and turned into new wine. Find another believer and pour a glass from their wineskin. The new stuff tastes great.

It has been said that common sense is the knack of seeing things as they are, and doing things as they ought to be done. George Bernard Shaw said, “Common sense is instinct, enough of it is genius.” This is the perspective of the world. Not much dictates common sense more than the obvious. Although the obvious is not always so obvious, it is also not always the truth. Either way, choosing the obvious is never the way for a believer to proceed in making life decisions.

Proverbs 3:5-7 addresses the habit of relying on common sense, data, logic and reason at the expense of excluding God. “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight. Do not be wise in your own eyes; fear the Lord and shun evil. This will bring health to your body and nourishment to your bones.” At first blush many Christians blow off a Proverb as just sage advice or common sense. If you search the scriptures for stories and parables that reinforce the notion of a decision making process that operates on something other than the obvious, get ready to be blown away. Get ready to change the way you make some decisions.

When David first became King over Israel his intent was to unite the northern and southern kingdoms. The Philistines were Israel’s most powerful enemy and they went up in full force to search for David. I can only begin to imagine the scene David looked down on from his mountain stronghold as he gazed upon an invading army with the intent to stop him. “Now the Philistines had spread out in the Valley of Rephaim, so David inquired of the Lord, ‘Shall I go and attack the Philistines? Will you hand them over to me?'” 2 Samuel 5:18-19. Really, David?

It was obvious to David and the nations that he had God’s favor and was the chosen King to unite Israel. It seems like common sense that David should attack anything that stood in his way, much less an army that had pursued him and camped out in plain sight. So, why did the man who was “after God’s own heart” need to stop and ask what to do at this point? Because your own wisdom and understanding doesn’t acknowledge God and give him the opportunity to make your paths straight. Because using common sense doesn’t show a fear for God but shows pride and arrogance, which shows ignorance in the way God works.

“For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways. As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.” Isiah 56:8-9. In simple terminology, ask me before you do anything. David knew to do this because David had learned this. David asked God to weigh in on the obvious and waited for an answer. Unless we practice the same discipline, we risk growing further away and out of His will each day.

Money is the low hanging fruit for the discipline of asking God as opposed to using common sense. My wife’s car is breaking down. The lawn mower just died on me, the outdoor faucet has been leaking for 6 months and my daughter wants a new car. Oh yeah, I also want to screen in the back porch so the mosquitoes don’t eat me alive. Do any of these sound familiar to you? When you finally get some money saved to do these projects, is spending the cash on these items obvious? Maybe someone else has a greater need and only God can bring it to your mind and into your path. Maybe God just wants a little respect to make sure you don’t have any other master before Him. Either way, stop and ask.

Money can be one of the biggest deterrents to seeking the voice of God. How do I know this? Jesus talked about it all the time. In the book of Luke there was a certain rich fella who’s crops yielded a bumper harvest and he didn’t have room to store them all. He chose the obvious answer, tear down your barns and build bigger ones to store up for retirement. “But God said to him, ‘You fool! This very night your life will be demanded from you. Then who will get what you have prepared for yourself?’ This is how it will be with anyone who stores up things for himself but is not rich towards God.” Luke 12:20-21.

In the example of an abundant harvest or in David’s case with an invading army, there doesn’t appear to be a need to ask God what to do. But listen to how differently God responds when we ask Him about the obvious. When we bring Him to the forefront of making our no brainer, common sensical obvious decisions, there is always blessing and reward. When we make common sense decisions on our own, there can be shame and death. I’ll minimize the risk and choose door number one, thank you. Why? Because as a believer I KNOW this is what He teaches. And because at 56, I’ve learned the hard way. The obvious is not always right.

There is risk when we choose the obvious and don’t ask God what He wants. Every financial decision is a spiritual decision. Ask God even when it’s obvious. Run the risk of being laughed at or called a fool by your friends and not your God. Choose God before you choose the obvious.

In 1776 there was an original Committee of Five authors tasked with writing the Declaration of Independence. John Adams, one of the original five, wrote to his wife regarding the historic event that was unfolding.

“The second day of July, 1776, will be the most memorable epoch in the history of America. I am apt to believe that it will be celebrated by succeeding generations as the great anniversary festival. It ought to be commemorated as the day of deliverance, by solemn acts of devotion to God Almighty. It ought to be solemnized with pomp and parade, with shows, games, sports, guns, bells, bonfires, and illuminations, from one end of this continent to the other, from this time forward forever more.”

In 2017 we can see Adams’s prediction was off by two days. The holiday is celebrated more today than possibly ever. The manner in which Adams believed it should be celebrated has been fulfilled quite well. But, have we forgotten where our freedom comes from and who and what our actions should reflect?

Last week many Americans ate bar-b-q, watched parades and fireworks. Various shows of magnificence, splendor and ceremony were witnessed across the nation (definition of pomp). But for the life of me, I didn’t really connect those solemn acts as acts of devotion to God. Yes, a few bars from God bless America, but was the day, was MY day an act of devotion to God? Maybe I don’t hang with the right crowd and then again, maybe I’M not the right crowd. Maybe Adams was just plain wrong. Or, maybe we need to remember how this country was founded and why it has been blessed the last 240 odd years.

Ronald Reagan gave his farewell address in 1989 where he referenced a phrase from the parable of salt and light in Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount in Matthew 5 (copy and paste this link to hear a two minute clip… https://video.search.yahoo.com/yhs/search?fr=yhs-mozilla-002&hsimp=yhs-002&hspart=mozilla&p=reagan+city+on+a+hill#id=3&vid=c65dbb5ad763f485bb13a20e981f1328&action=view). Reagan was quoting a sermon from 1630 by John Winthrop as he admonished the colonist in Massachusetts in what would become the ‘ideal’ to represent the new America and the new American city. Winthrop declared the Puritan’s community would be a city on a hill, watched by the world to set an example of unity, charity and affection or they would be seen as a failure to keep covenant with God. Hhhhmmmm.

Politicians from JFK to Bush and Obama have flirted with the same analogy of America as a city on a hill and a light to the world. The difference between the use of the analogy is defined by the reflection of our own glory as opposed to America’s light shining for God’s glory. Christ set it straight for his listeners, “You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven.” Matthew 5:14-16.

I’m convicted today that my celebration next year should include more than a hearty prayer of thanks over a pulled pork plate at Williamson Brother’s BBQ. July 4th does commemorate the great anniversary Adams eluded to in 1776. Freedom from a power that was far greater than those who needed rescuing. Freedom for this country that originated with Christ and His death on the cross. Freedom for all who claim His name, His power and His redemption from their sins and shortcomings. Freedom that was born as part of this country as our founders sought the ability to worship the creator and become that city on a hill.

I can’t speak for ‘Merica, but I can encourage all Christ followers to remember WE are saved and called to be a beacon of light so that the world may praise our Father. July 4th should be the most memorable epoch in the history of our country. July 4th should be a time for Christians to step out and shine for America, and for the Kingdom. Every day you and I both shine a light that reflects either ourselves or our God. Let’s make sure this Independence Day reminds us to be a beacon for something other than our own indulgences as a people and a nation.

America is watched by the world. Our people set the tone for what the world can see, not our politicians or our media. Does the world see we are keeping covenant with God? Will we show the world and each other unity, love, charity and mercy for all people? Will you?

Shine your light accordingly. The world is watching. God bless America.