Does God Speak Today?

"Go home to your people and report to them what great things the Lord has done for you..." - Mark 5:19


When I was growing up, I was often puzzled by why God seemed so distant in comparison to the events that I read about in the Bible. As far as I was concerned, God seemed a lot like a Howard Hughes: the reclusive CEO of a mega-corporation (modern Christendom) who never dealt with anyone directly but insisted that they consult with His underlings (pastors and deacons). Unfortunately, these underlings were not always the most pleasant people to deal with, and many acted as though the company belonged to them outright. As a result, I grew disillusioned with church and all things religious. Pastors were always preaching that we all needed "a personal relationship with Jesus Christ," but how can you have a personal relationship with someone who never showed Himself, who never talked back when you talked to Him? First Corinthians 13:10 was interpreted to mean that, since the Bible had been completed, God no longer dealt with men directly. Thus, if anyone wanted to hear from God, he or she should "Go read the book" - I heard this sort of thing said often in the churches and Christian schools I attended, and it was terribly discouraging. It simply did not seem to fit with the character of the God I read about in the pages of the scriptures.

Fast-forward to my mid-30s. After years of complacency and lack of interest in anything spiritual, I found myself in the midst of a spiritual renaissance. Whereas prayer and Bible reading had once been something of a drudgery, they became a delight to me, and I spent hours a week before the Lord, seeking Him. My denominational training remained firmly intact, however. I was content to seek the Lord, but never expected to directly encounter Him. I do remember telling Him once that I believed that He was just as capable today of doing anything that He was recorded as having done in times past, but I had no real idea what that might mean to me personally.

Then came a night when everything changed and the religious disillusionment of my youth was powerfully dispelled. 

I was up late one night, praying. Everyone else (meaning my wife and - then - two children) was asleep and things were very quiet. There was nothing remarkable about my prayer that night. I had no expectations of anything different. When at last I finished, I got into bed, rolled over onto my left side as I habitually do when I'm about to fall asleep, and closed my eyes.

I had only just closed my eyes when I felt it: a gentle brush of something against my right shoulder. I had been touched. I had never felt anything like it before; it was non-physical, but it was a touch, nonetheless. My wife was sound asleep on the other side of the bed and could not be responsible for it, I knew, but before I had time to think about it much more, a voice spoke very clearly in my mind.

Very simply, it said: "Stay awhile longer."

I'm a writer, but if I live to be 100, I will never be able to fully describe what came over me at that moment, in the quiet of a dark house, when something happened to me that I was not expecting and had not asked for. I can tell you, though, that I understood at that moment why God told Moses, "You cannot see My face and live." I was filled with the purest joy I had ever known. It was so powerful that it felt like it might kill me. And if a gentle touch and three softly whispered words were enough to do that, what might encountering God face-to-face do to a man? I do not doubt the apostle John whatsoever when he writes that he saw the risen Christ and fell before his feet as though dead.

I got out of bed, fell on my face before the Lord, and poured out thanksgiving to Him. I was overwhelmed. For a moment, the God of the universe, the creator of all things, wanted me to remain in His presence for awhile longer, talking with Him. Here was the personal relationship I had always longed for, the lack of which had always made church seem so dead and dry to me. The words of the Psalmist came to mind: "What is man, that you take thought of him? And the son of man, that you care for him?" (Psalm 8:4).

Since then, I have heard the Spirit's gentle whisper on a number of occasions, and almost never when I expected a reply. Once, I was praying for a couple that was having trouble in their marriage, and while I was still speaking that gentle voice interrupted and clearly said, "I can't help them if they won't yield to me."

I'm fully aware that I risk my reputation as a reliable, level-headed individual by sharing all of this so openly, but I know what happened to me, and I know that there are believers out there who are every bit as disillusioned with what they feel is a dead, dry religion as I once was. To those who feel this way, I say, take heart, dedicate yourself to seeking God fully, and you will find Him. I'm no one special, and God is no respecter of persons. Cast yourself into the Word and prayer, seeking Him especially in the quiet watches of the night, believing that He is just as capable of speaking today as He did in the past.

"You will seek Me and find Me when you search for Me with all of your heart." - Jeremiah 29:13

"He who has My commandments and keeps them is the one who loves Me; and he who loves Me will be loved by My Father, and I will love him and will disclose Myself to him." - John 14:21

"He made from one man every nation of mankind to live on all the face of the earth, having determined that they would seek God, if perhaps they might grope for Him and find Him, though He is not far from each one of us..." - Acts 17:26-27

Broken and Poured Out, but not Wasted

"And being in Bethany at the house of Simon the leper, as He sat at the table, a woman came having an alabaster flask of very costly oil of spikenard. Then she broke the flask and poured it on His head. But there were some who were indignant among themselves, and said, 'Why was this fragrant oil wasted?'" - Mark 14:3

"Then Mary took a pound of very costly oil of spikenard, anointed the feet of Jesus, and wiped His feet with her hair. And the house was filled with the fragrance of the oil.” - John 12:3-4

Do you wonder where your gifts lie? Where it is that God's "anointing" rests upon you? Then I would ask you: "Where have you been broken?" The alabaster flask that Mary brought to the Lord contained something very precious; indeed, a "costly" oil, the scriptures say; and as John tells us, everyone in the house was blessed with the fragrance of that oil. But the blessing did not come until the flask was broken and the oil was poured out. 

Where have you been broken? Where have you been wounded? Where are you being poured out? Some would say that your brokenness represents a waste, a waste of years, a waste of talent, a waste of life, a waste of what might have been used for other things: things more appropriate in the sight of men. It's more than likely that you feel this way yourself, when you look back on the years of your life. Your brokenness has cost you much, more than anyone other than the Lord Himself can understand. But it is in that very brokenness that the oil - that which has cost you so much - is poured forth, and all around you may be blessed by its fragrance. 

How long did Jesus carry the scent of the oil that Mary poured out on Him? The fragrance that filled the air in Simon's house ("Simon the leper," mind you; one who was known for a dreaded disease) must have lingered on Jesus for quite some time afterward. Anyone near Him would have smelled it. He carried with Him something beautiful: a fragrance that would have blessed anyone around Him and drawn their attention to Him.

Whatever has broken you, whatever regrets and shames you may carry, however much they may have cost you, and however the voices around you may accuse you of waste, all of this is a precious oil, which, when poured out from you, anoints the Savior's head and feet, blessing the world as it draws all to Him. It perfumes the air, calling the wounded, the hurting, the dying, to the one who gives rest, and upon whom nothing that is poured out is ever wasted, no matter what men in their pretended wisdom may think.

- picture credit, unknown
- scriptures taken from the New King James Version

You Did It Unto Me

In Matthew 25, Jesus tells us that when He comes again and sets up His kingdom, He will divide people into two camps: "sheep" and "goats." To the sheep, He will say: "Come, you who are blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. For I was hungry, and you gave Me something to eat; I was thirsty, and you gave Me something to drink; I was a stranger, and you invited Me in; naked, and you clothed Me; I was sick, and you visited Me; I was in prison, and you came to Me."

The "sheep" will then ask the Lord when they saw Him in this condition or did these things for Him, to which He will reply: "Truly I say to you, to the extent that you did it to one of these brothers of Mine, even the least of them, you did it to Me."

The "goats," on the other hand, will hear precisely the opposite. Jesus will tell them that they did not aid Him when He was in need. And when they ask Him how this can be, He will reply: "Truly I say to you, to the extent that you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to Me."

This passage is often recited to make the point that we need to care for the elderly, the sick, the poor, etc., and this is certainly true. However, there is another theme here that I want to stress, particularly in light of the debates that Christians often get into with one another and how often I've seen them condemn and slander one another, smug in their own perceived self-righteousness even as they spew venom at their brothers and sisters like spitting cobras.

The theme I want to emphasize is that Jesus makes it clear that He considers what is done to His people the same as if it were done to Him, and Matthew 25 makes it clear that a day of reckoning is coming on these matters. Believers need to let this sink in deeply. Sometimes, a brother or sister will be in the wrong, and depending on the circumstances we may have an obligation to step in and - lovingly - correct that person. But in all honesty I have to say that far too many Christians are too quick to don the black robes and start handing out judgment, and this is true even in situations where judgment is necessary and beneficial. Even if they may be correct in their assessment of the situation, their motives and attitudes are wrong. Notice what Paul said to the Galatians:

"Brethren, even if anyone is caught in any trespass, you who are spiritual, restore such a one in a spirit of gentleness; each one looking to yourself, so that you too will not be tempted." - Galatians 6:1

Who is to do the restoring here? Those who are spiritual, meaning those who are Spirit-led. Those who are not Spirit-led should not be trying to correct anyone else because they're not right themselves. Jesus makes that clear in Matthew 7:

"Why do you look at the speck that is in your brother’s eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye? Or how can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ and behold, the log is in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your brother’s eye." - Matthew 7:3-5

In any debate or discussion amongst other believers, Christians need to be aware of their motives and attitudes and ask what spirit is leading them to do or say whatever they are doing or saying to their brothers and sisters. The Lord loves all of His people. Each has been bought with His own blood and pain. Each is a joint heir with Him. Each is a member of His family, His own brother or sister in the Spirit.

Treat one another as sons and daughters of the King. And beware when you take aim at someone else, lest Christ see you as coming against Him as well.

Move On

"All that the Father giveth me shall come to me; and him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out." - John 6:37 

"As far as the east is from the west, so far hath He removed our transgressions from us. Like as a father pitieth his children, so the Lord pitieth them that fear Him. For He knoweth our frame; He remembereth that we are dust." - Psalm 103:12-14 

Sometimes believers royally mess up their lives through one fault or another, and in shame, confusion, and bewilderment they wonder if God has any mercy left for them. They approach God rather the way that a student might approach a teacher who is difficult and doesn't particularly like them, shying away from the Word and praying without confidence (like slipping a note under that teacher's door and running off rather than risking confrontation). Their walk becomes one of drudgery, overshadowed by a continual sense of condemnation and futility.

The following from 1 Samuel 12 should serve to encourage anyone who is in this condition. Don't let your failures discourage you to the point where you run away from God. He will never despise a heart that seeks Him. He's far more forgiving than we are, and He already knew the worst about you when He invited you to come and follow Him. So take heart, brothers and sisters. If you fall, no matter how much you may despise yourself, pick yourself up, go back to the Lord, take hold of the hem of his garment, and follow in His steps. :

"Samuel said to the people, 'Do not fear. You have committed all this evil, yet do not turn aside from following the Lord, but serve the Lord with all your heart. You must not turn aside, for then you would go after futile things which can not profit or deliver, because they are futile. For the Lord will not abandon His people on account of His great name, because the Lord has been pleased to make you a people for Himself. Moreover, as for me, far be it from me that I should sin against the Lord by ceasing to pray for you; but I will instruct you in the good and right way. Only fear the Lord and serve Him in truth with all your heart; for consider what great things He has done for you...'" - 1 Samuel 12:20-24 

Prepare for Opposition

"Now it came about that when Sanballat heard that we were rebuilding the wall, he became furious and very angry and mocked the Jews. He spoke in the presence of his brothers and the wealthy men of Samaria and said, 'What are these feeble Jews doing? Are they going to restore it for themselves? Can they offer sacrifices? Can they finish in a day? Can they revive the stones from the dusty rubble even the burned ones?' Now Tobiah the Ammonite was near him and he said, 'Even what they are building—if a fox should jump on it, he would break their stone wall down!'” - Nehemiah 4:1-3

As a Christian, whenever you begin to do any kind of work for the Lord - whether it's getting your own life together, engaging in some form of ministry that honors the Great Commission, or teaching people to follow Christ - you will inevitably come under fire. The Bible is clear that "the whole world lies in the power of the wicked one" (1 John 5:19). This world and the influences that saturate it are at war with God. As a believer, you are in occupied territory, wearing the uniform of a detested enemy. And if you take that role at all seriously, you will be attacked, just as any human army would immediately attack and to try either kill or capture the soldiers of an opposing force that had entered their territory. It's not a question of 'if', but 'when'. It will begin with ridicule and then progress to direct opposition. But then most wars of men progress in this way, don't they? The propaganda starts long before the shooting does.

"So we built the wall and the whole wall was joined together to half its height, for the people had a mind to work. Now when Sanballat, Tobiah, the Arabs, the Ammonites and the Ashdodites heard that the repair of the walls of Jerusalem went on, and that the breaches began to be closed, they were very angry. All of them conspired together to come and fight against Jerusalem and to cause a disturbance in it." - Nehemiah 4:6-8

It's important that this be understood. Many who try to live for God often wonder why it seems that everything in their life goes wrong, and why they can't overcome addictions, emotional problems, and other "hang ups." The western church as a whole has been remiss in teaching about the reality of spiritual warfare beyond one's personal struggle against sin, and even this has been reduced to a mere consideration of the flesh. Satan has been largely reduced to a figurehead, an ethereal placeholder for whatever we find disagreeable, more of an idea than an actual person. He is, in fact, intelligent, powerful, and a wonderful organizer. He was created to be one of the chief administrators of creation, and while he has fallen and evil has dimmed his understanding, he is not to be taken lightly. In the words of Martin Luther:

"His craft and power are great, and armed with cruel hate.
"On earth is not his equal."

If you're a disciple of Christ, and serious about following Him, understand that you are in a real war with a real enemy who will attack you in very real ways, drawing on thousands of years of experience in dealing with human beings. Fully 1/3 of Jesus' ministry involved direct confrontation with Satan's kingdom, and are we to believe that he and his hosts have simply gone away since then?

     Study the Bible to understand how your enemy works. Do not be "ignorant of his schemes" (II Corinthians 2:11). Do not think that you "wrestle" only with "flesh and blood" (Ephesians 6:12). And do not think that religious works, counseling, and man-made programs are sufficient to withstand the enemy. The modern approach to spiritual warfare has largely amounted to holding self-help classes in the middle of a battlefield. No wonder we're seeing so many casualties. Again, in the words of Luther:

"Did we in our own strength confide, our striving would be losing..."

Christ must be our never-ending focus. We should have a proper understanding of our enemy, and maintain a healthy respect for what he is capable of, but always in light of his defeated state. As Luther put it, we have the "right man on our side, the man of God's own choosing":

"Dost ask who that may be; Christ Jesus it is He!
"Lord Sabaoth His Name, from age to age the same.
"And He must win the battle."

How, then, are we to respond? How do we engage with this enemy?

"...this is the victory that has overcome the world—our faith." - 1 John 5:4

Hold fast to Christ, no matter what. Do not let the battles you face dim your faith. An army that loses confidence in its commander and begins to fight as each soldier sees fit will be slaughtered in the face of an organized foe. This is why Satan comes against our faith, first and foremost: to separate us from Christ, whom he knows he cannot defeat.

     Further, respond with the Word of God. This is what Jesus did when He was personally confronted by Satan in the wilderness. In response to each temptation, His reply was: "It is written..."

     Get into the Word. Memorize those passages that have to do with victory in Christ, and repeat them often when you face hardship: "If God is for us, who can be against us?" (Romans 8:31); "We are more than conquerors," (Romans 8:37); "Greater is He that is in you than he that is in the world," (1 John 4:4); "Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil..." (Ephesians 6:10-18), etc. Command the enemy to leave you in the name of the Lord Jesus.

Learn how to apply the victory that Christ has already won on our behalf.

"That word above all earthly powers, no thanks to them, abideth;
"The Spirit and the gifts are ours through Him Who with us sideth:
"Let goods and kindred go, this mortal life also;
"The body they may kill: God’s truth abideth still,
"His kingdom is forever."

"And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony." - Revelation 12:11

Further resources: 

- "Basics of Deliverance": http://youtu.be/Ec_NgpvS2os
- "Release from the Curse": https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CkQn30Qt1Cc
- "They Shall Expel Demons": http://www.amazon.com/dp/0800792602/ref=rdr_ext_tmb

- sword image courtesy of Wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Scottish_claymore_replica_(Albion_Chieftain)2.jpg)

It's Time to Make Up Your Mind

"Then Hilkiah the high priest said to Shaphan the scribe, 'I have found the Book of the Law in the house of the Lord.' And Hilkiah gave the book to Shaphan, and he read it...And Shaphan read it before the king [Josiah]...Now it happened, when the king heard the words of the Book of the Law, that he tore his clothes. Then the king commanded...'Go, inquire of the Lord for me, for the people and for all Judah, concerning the words of this book that has been found; for great is the wrath of the Lord that is aroused against us, because our fathers have not obeyed the words of this book, to do according to all that is written concerning us.'

"So Hilkiah the priest, Ahikam, Achbor, Shaphan, and Asaiah went to Huldah the prophetess...And they spoke with her. Then she said to them, 'Thus says the Lord God of Israel, ‘Tell the man who sent you to Me, 'Thus says the Lord: ‘Behold, I will bring calamity on this place and on its inhabitants—all the words of the book which the king of Judah has read—because they have forsaken Me and burned incense to other gods, that they might provoke Me to anger with all the works of their hands. Therefore My wrath shall be aroused against this place and shall not be quenched.’ But as for the king of Judah, who sent you to inquire of the Lord, in this manner you shall speak to him, ‘Thus says the Lord God of Israel: 'Concerning the words which you have heard—because your heart was tender, and you humbled yourself before the Lord when you heard what I spoke against this place and against its inhabitants, that they would become a desolation and a curse, and you tore your clothes and wept before Me, I also have heard you,' says the Lord. 'Surely, therefore, I will gather you to your fathers, and you shall be gathered to your grave in peace; and your eyes shall not see all the calamity which I will bring on this place.' So they brought back word to the king." - II Kings 22:8, 10,11-13, 14-20

There are two great lessons for us in this passage.

First, the sins of an entire land may be so great that God loses patience with it and judgment becomes inevitable. At this point, the people as a whole have no interest in repenting, regardless of what their leaders may do for a time:

"Then the Lord said to me, 'Even if Moses and Samuel stood before Me, My mind would not be favorable toward this people. Cast them out of My sight, and let them go forth.'" -Jeremiah 15:51.

In II Kings 23, we read how king Josiah made war against all of the Canaanite religions that had infected Judah, restoring true worship; and although we also read that the people agreed with him, after his death things quickly reverted to the previous condition. The people as a whole did not want God, so God gave them up to their enemies; and although a remnant later returned to Judah, the kingdom was never the same as before.
     I pray that America has not yet reached this point, but I fear that we have. There are no signs of anything turning around for the better. Just the opposite is true. We have reached a point where we no longer merely tolerate evil in our midst; we celebrate it, and those who speak out against it are hated and vilified. This is a terrifying development. We've not only closed the door against God, as a people we're nailing it shut, signifying to Him in no uncertain terms that we have no intention of letting Him back in. As a nation, we might as well be sealing the door of our own tomb.
     Second, we see some good news: for those whose hearts are touched, and who humble themselves before Him, God is yet full of mercy, just as He was toward Josiah. Sorrow for one's own sins, as well as the for the condition of one's people, is not lost on God. He will deliver those turn to Him, no matter what the culture as a whole does and what fate befalls the nation:

"Then He called out in my hearing with a loud voice, saying, 'Let those who have charge over the city draw near, each with a deadly weapon in his hand.' And suddenly six men came from the direction of the upper gate, which faces north, each with his battle-ax in his hand. One man among them was clothed with linen and had a writer’s inkhorn at his side. They went in and stood beside the bronze altar.
"Now the glory of the God of Israel had gone up from the cherub, where it had been, to the threshold of the temple. And He called to the man clothed with linen, who had the writer’s inkhorn at his side; and the Lord said to him, 'Go through the midst of the city, through the midst of Jerusalem, and put a mark on the foreheads of the men who sigh and cry over all the abominations that are done within it.'
"To the others He said in my hearing, 'Go after him through the city and kill; do not let your eye spare, nor have any pity. Utterly slay old and young men, maidens and little children and women; but do not come near anyone on whom is the mark; and begin at My sanctuary.' So they began with the elders who were before the temple. Then He said to them, 'Defile the temple, and fill the courts with the slain. Go out!' And they went out and killed in the city.
"So it was, that while they were killing them, I was left alone; and I fell on my face and cried out, and said, 'Ah, Lord God! Will You destroy all the remnant of Israel in pouring out Your fury on Jerusalem?'
"Then He said to me, 'The iniquity of the house of Israel and Judah is exceedingly great, and the land is full of bloodshed, and the city full of perversity; for they say, ‘The Lord has forsaken the land, and the Lord does not see!’ And as for Me also, My eye will neither spare, nor will I have pity, but I will recompense their deeds on their own head.'” - Ezekiel 9:1-9

Even in the midst of calamity and judgment, God will set a seal on those who mourn over the sins of the land. The question of the hour for us all then is: what will we do? Will we go the way of the rest of our culture and pay the inevitable price, or we will turn to God in sorrow for our own sins and those of our people?
     We don't like to talk about judgment these days, but justice is just as much a part of God's nature as love is, and we do no one any good by sparing them the truth now only for it to come back and bite them later. Let the truth be told - the whole truth - and let men do as they will. Judgment is coming, and only those who draw near to the Lord will be afforded His protection. Those who reject Him now, He will reject then. 
     Don't play games with God. Don't listen to those who teach prosperity and "everything's gonna be all right," who never warn you to examine yourself before God or to repent and get serious about following Christ. Things are far from all right, and those who refuse to teach the whole Word of God (including the warnings about judgment) are not doing you any favors. Where there is danger, the only correct thing to do is to warn people to see to their safety. Whether they listen or not is up to them, but time is fast running out for all of us to decide whether we will be a Josiah and turn to God while there is time.

"For He says: 'In an acceptable time I have heard you, And in the day of salvation I have helped you.' Behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation." - II Corinthians 6:2



- clock image courtesy of "Sun Ladder" - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:2010-07-20_Black_windup_alarm_clock_face.jpg