Which God Will You Choose?

(excerpts from Desperate Dependency by J. Kirk & Melanie D. Lewis)

Those who choose to receive God’s truth and enter into Christ’s redemptive process will move to repentance. Repentance is that place where we turn from our philosophy of self-centeredness to Christ-centeredness. It is opting to live and do life God’s way and giving up our self-sufficiency.

Those who continue in deception may attempt a ritual of repentance. With no true heart change, they may go through the motions commonly deemed consistent with repentance such as crying, revealing sinfulness, asking for forgiveness, going to the altar, making promises to be different, or even a renewed religious fervor. But these actions are merely playing “good” as these individuals attempt to feign something they do not possess. They are not actually seeking to be free from the domination of sin, but merely free from the consequences of their sin.

Deceptive individuals hope to project the virtue of godly change while remaining in their philosophy of self-centeredness. Through an elaborate ruse they attempt to regain power and control so they can once again manipulate trust to exploit others. But as we give up our willfulness to God and relinquish ourselves unreservedly to Christ, submission to God’s authority, obedience to God’s design, and death to our selfish desires will result.

      “Yet they act so pious!
They come to the Temple every day
      and seem delighted to learn all about me.
They act like a righteous nation
      that would never abandon the laws of its God.
They ask me to take action on their behalf,
      pretending they want to be near me.
‘We have fasted before you!’ they say.
      ‘Why aren’t you impressed?
We have been very hard on ourselves,
      and you don’t even notice it!’
“I will tell you why!” I respond.
      “It’s because you are fasting to please yourselves. . . .
You humble yourselves
      by going through the motions of penance,
bowing your heads
      like reeds bending in the wind.
You dress in burlap
      and cover yourselves with ashes.
Is this what you call fasting?
      Do you really think this will please the LORD?” (Isa. 58:2–3, 5 NLT)

Often evil pretends to be good. When our profession of faith is not congruent with our possession of Christ, sin gets normalized through deceptive rationalizations. The expression of evil is then disguised in the charade of goodness. Evil may present itself with a demeanor of goodness to the point we wonder, How could such a good person do this? Then we must look deeper at the possibility that the alleged goodness is merely a facade to disguise evil.

“Make sure that the light you think you have is not actually darkness” (Luke 11:35 NLT).

“And if the light you think you have is actually darkness, how deep that darkness is!” (Matt. 6:23 NLT).

Some may lead others to believe that their basic heart is good with only random aspects of sinfulness so that their unhealthiness is promptly dismissed as soon as convenient and their evil becomes normalized. After all, we are all going to make mistakes, right?

“Don’t scheme against each other. Stop your love of telling lies that you swear are the truth. I hate all these things, says the LORD” (Zech. 8:17 NLT).

The LORD spoke to Jeremiah about the pretense of Israel. God knows the ache we feel when individuals only pretend to be sorry.

During the reign of King Josiah, the LORD said to me, “Have you seen what fickle Israel has done? Like a wife who commits adultery, Israel has worshiped other gods on every hill and under every green tree. I thought, ‘After she has done all this, she will return to me.’ But she did not return, and her faithless sister Judah saw this. She saw that I divorced faithless Israel because of her adultery. But that treacherous sister Judah had no fear, and now she, too, has left me and given herself to prostitution. Israel treated it all so lightly—she thought nothing of committing adultery by worshiping idols made of wood and stone. So now the land has been polluted. But despite all this, her faithless sister Judah has never sincerely returned to me. She has only pretended to be sorry. I, the LORD, have spoken!” (Jer. 3:6-10 NLT)

Do you really want what God wants, or do you just say you want what God wants?

Imprisoned by Strongholds

(excerpts from Desperate Dependency by J. Kirk & Melanie D. Lewis)

We fall into a trap if we believe a person, position, or possession other than Jesus can complete our lives. In our daily struggles we search for ways to stimulate our emotions or sedate our emotions in order to feel good. But that which makes me feel good enslaves me. The end result is bondage. What a cunning ploy Satan has devised! “This is what you need to feel good about yourself,” he asserts as he lays the net to ensnare you.

“There is a way that seems right to a man,
      but in the end it leads to death” (Prov. 14:12; 16:25 NIV).

“An evil man is held captive by his own sins;
      they are ropes that catch and hold him” (Prov. 5:22 NLT).

These strongholds are fortifications that keep us imprisoned.

But if you really want something, who is going to stop you? The natural desire of the heart is self-indulgence: I want what I want! The end of all self-indulgence is bondage. The very thing we want will destroy us.

“Temptation comes from our own desires, which entice us and drag us away. These desires give birth to sinful actions. And when sin is allowed to grow, it gives birth to death” (James 1:14–15 NLT).

Our self-centered choices lead to strongholds that result in relationship problems, emotional difficulties, physical challenges, and even a crisis of faith. And so we sit, looking at life through the portholes of our own strongholds that have imprisoned us.

The Galatians were struggling with similar issues. Paul poses this question to them: “After starting your Christian lives in the Spirit, why are you now trying to become perfect by your own human effort?” (Gal. 3:3 NLT) They had fallen to the deception that by practicing religious rites they could be made right with God. They had arrived at the solution that a relationship with Christ was not enough; they needed more. Paul pleads with them: “So Christ has truly set us free. Now make sure that you stay free, and don’t get tied up again in slavery to the law” (Gal. 5:1 NLT).

In Paul’s writing to Timothy he admonished Timothy to point people to the truth, so “Then they will come to their senses and escape from the devil’s trap. For they have been held captive by him to do whatever he wants” (2 Tim. 2:26 NLT).

The shackles of the sensual amusements of the world, the flesh, and the devil draw us through the lust of our hearts and the vanity of our lives and bind us in strongholds.

Do not love this world nor the things it offers you, for when you love the world, you do not have the love of the Father in you. For the world offers only a craving for physical pleasure, a craving for everything we see, and pride in our achievements and possessions. These are not from the Father, but are from this world. And this world is fading away, along with everything that people crave. But anyone who does what pleases God will live forever. (1 John 2:15–17 NLT)

If we are to be a picture of Christ, a Christian, then we are to live as He lived—desperately dependent on God for divine enablement for personal empowerment. Thus, holiness is true healthiness—to be complete in Christ. How is this possible? We tear down strongholds through obedience to Christ. “We use God’s mighty weapons, not worldly weapons, to knock down the strongholds of human reasoning and to destroy false arguments. We destroy every proud obstacle that keeps people from knowing God. We capture their rebellious thoughts and teach them to obey Christ” (2 Cor. 10:4–5 NLT).

“Long ago I broke the yoke that oppressed you
      and tore away the chains of your slavery,
but still you said,
      ‘I will not serve you.’
On every hill and under every green tree,
      you have prostituted yourselves by bowing down to idols.
But I was the one who planted you,
      choosing a vine of the purest stock—the very best.
      How did you grow into this corrupt wild vine?
No amount of soap or lye can make you clean.
      I still see the stain of your guilt.
      I, the Sovereign LORD, have spoken!

“You say, ‘That’s not true!
      I haven’t worshiped the images of Baal!’
But how can you say that?
      Go and look in any valley in the land!
Face the awful sins you have done.
      You are like a restless female camel
      desperately searching for a mate.
You are like a wild donkey,
      sniffing the wind at mating time.
Who can restrain her lust?
      Those who desire her don’t need to search,
      for she goes running to them!
When will you stop running?
      When will you stop panting after other gods?
But you say, ‘Save your breath.
      I’m in love with these foreign gods,
      and I can’t stop loving them now!’ (Jer. 2:20-25 NLT)

What love are you pursuing?

Looking for Completion

(excerpts from Desperate Dependency by J. Kirk & Melanie D. Lewis)

Every person possesses within his or her heart a completion scenario that delimits what would produce the ultimate fulfillment and satisfaction. This experience would represent the greatest encounter in life. Beyond this, nothing could be better. Our completion scenario is created out of a synthesis of our orientation to God, what we value, and what we think and feel. This completion scenario motivates desire and gives direction to our behavioral pursuits that are reinforced through immediate gratification. It is here within our very own version of our completion scenario that we seek to be validated by our God substitutes.

When the truth is revealed, we may be surprised to find these disturbing realities:

• My agenda is whatever will make me happy.
• I do not want to come to God to complete His agenda.
• I want to come to God so He can empower my agenda.
• Instead of serving God, I want God to serve me.
• I want to be self-centered, and I want God to approve.
• I want God to help me be more independent, more self-sufficient.
• I want God to empower me to not need Him.
• I do not just want to be independent; I want to be happy.
• I want all God’s benefits in addition to all my desires.

The emptiness of our hearts tempts us to continue the vicious cycle of seeking God-substitutes to fill the void. With continued resolve we contrive another plan of employing people, positions, and possessions for our power to live. Eventually the futility of the endeavor becomes evident through social rejection, compromised health, and a lack of personal energy to pursue the pathological dream. Alienated souls now stand stranded beside the road they thought would take them to the place of completion.

“See, they are all foolish, worthless things.
      All your idols are as empty as the wind” (Isa. 41:29 NLT).

In the second chapter of Jeremiah God expressed His feelings about those He offered to complete, but they chose their own completion scenario instead.

The LORD gave me another message. He said, “Go and shout this message to Jerusalem. This is what the LORD says:

“I remember how eager you were to please me
      as a young bride long ago,
how you loved me and followed me
      even through the barren wilderness.
In those days Israel was holy to the LORD,
      the first of his children.
All who harmed his people were declared guilty,
      and disaster fell on them.
      I, the LORD, have spoken!”

Listen to the word of the LORD, people of Jacob—all you families of Israel! This is what the LORD says:

“What did your ancestors find wrong with me
      that led them to stray so far from me?
They worshiped worthless idols,
      only to become worthless themselves.
They did not ask, ‘Where is the LORD
      who brought us safely out of Egypt
and led us through the barren wilderness—
      a land of deserts and pits,
a land of drought and death,
      where no one lives or even travels?’

“And when I brought you into a fruitful land
      to enjoy its bounty and goodness,
you defiled my land and
      corrupted the possession I had promised you.
The priests did not ask,
      ‘Where is the LORD?’
Those who taught my word ignored me,
      the rulers turned against me,
and the prophets spoke in the name of Baal,
      wasting their time on worthless idols.
Therefore, I will bring my case against you,”
      says the LORD.
“I will even bring charges against your children’s children
      in the years to come.

“Go west and look in the land of Cyprus;
      go east and search through the land of Kedar.
Has anyone ever heard of anything
      as strange as this?
Has any nation ever traded its gods for new ones,
      even though they are not gods at all?
Yet my people have exchanged their glorious God
      for worthless idols!
The heavens are shocked at such a thing
      and shrink back in horror and dismay,”
      says the LORD.
“For my people have done two evil things:
They have abandoned me—
      the fountain of living water.
And they have dug for themselves cracked cisterns
      that can hold no water at all!

And you have brought this upon yourselves
      by rebelling against the LORD your God,
      even though he was leading you on the way!

Your wickedness will bring its own punishment.
      Your turning from me will shame you.
You will see what an evil, bitter thing it is
      to abandon the LORD your God and not to fear him.
      I, the Lord, the LORD of Heaven’s Armies, have spoken! (Jer. 2:2-13,17,19 NLT)

To whom or what are you looking to complete your life?

Do You Have Idols?

(excerpts included from Desperate Dependency by J. Kirk & Melanie D. Lewis)

Every temptation that threatens us is a temptation to live independently from God. Believing God cannot be trusted to govern our lives as we see fit, we must complete ourselves—we must be god in our lives. This idolatrous belief perpetrates arrogance and selfish ambition as we follow our own way with a distorted view of God and reality.

Idolatry is not just an Old Testament sin. Idolatry is evident in modern times, even in America, when we assert control and expect others to acknowledge our authority. Usurping God’s authority results in the violation of the first commandment, which states, “You must not have any other god but me” (Deut. 5:7 NLT). We insist on being idolized when we put ourselves in the place of authority as we attempt to control others and ourselves. Even when we demand that someone “owes” us, we are placing ourselves in the position of gods who maintain that justice is our responsibility.

Herschel H. Hobbs challenges us about other current day idols.

                        Do You Have Idols?

In travels about the world I have seen idols ranging from crudely carved pieces of wood worshiped in the open air to elegant images housed in beautiful temples. The material, workmanship, and location is not what matters, but the concept and purpose represented.

You may say you have never made an idol, neither have you worshiped one. Upon reflection is this really the case? Intellect can become an idol as you sit in judgment upon God, His Word, and His purposes in history. Your body may be an idol if you are more concerned about physical appearance and health than you are about your inner spiritual nature. Business or wealth can come before God and so be your idol. Another person may be your idol as you pattern your life after him/her rather than after God and His will.

Achieving your own goals become your god if they are more important than following God’s plan for your life. Popularity is your idol if you are more interested in being accepted by other people than by God. The mores of society become your idol if you care more about fitting in than you do about living by God’s eternal principles of righteousness.

It is folly to bow before these and other idols of this age and ignore the age-abiding will and way of God.

Warren Wiersbe reminds us, “Gods we invent can never protect us.” But still we worship what cannot save. Wiersbe also states, “what we worship and the way we worship are not incidentals in life; they’re essentials that determine the character of life itself.”

What is determining the character of your life?

No Other God

(excerpts from Desperate Dependency by J. Kirk & Melanie D. Lewis)

Within our lives we each possess a sacred “God place”—that place designed by God for God. Only He has the right to occupy this position in our lives. From this God place He rules over our souls and replenishes our hearts with His validating love while establishing our identity. When any other entity occupies this place, we are guilty of idolatry.

The Old Testament is replete with warnings and consequences that result when idols invade the lives of God’s chosen people. Although we may dismiss these passages because they are often connected with the pagan gods of Baal or Asherah, these admonitions also apply to modern life where we continuously allow other entities to fill our God place and dictate our lives.

Any substitution for God we permit to establish our identity, love, significance, or security is an idol. These counterfeits break the heart of God. He aches as He watches our foolish endeavors to find completion in our lives through empty alternatives.

This is what the LORD says—Israel’s King and Redeemer, the LORD of Heaven’s Armies:

“I am the First and the Last;
      there is no other God.
Who is like me?
      Let him step forward and prove to you his power.
Let him do as I have done since ancient times
      when I established a people and explained its future.
Do not tremble; do not be afraid.
      Did I not proclaim my purposes for you long ago?
You are my witnesses—is there any other God?
      No! There is no other Rock—not one!”

How foolish are those who manufacture idols.
      These prized objects are really worthless.
The people who worship idols don’t know this,
      so they are all put to shame.
Who but a fool would make his own god—
      an idol that cannot help him one bit?
All who worship idols will be disgraced
      along with all these craftsmen—mere humans—
      who claim they can make a god.
They may all stand together,
      but they will stand in terror and shame.

The blacksmith stands at his forge to make a sharp tool,
      pounding and shaping it with all his might.
His work makes him hungry and weak.
      It makes him thirsty and faint.
Then the wood-carver measures a block of wood
      and draws a pattern on it.
He works with chisel and plane
      and carves it into a human figure.
He gives it human beauty
      and puts it in a little shrine.
He cuts down cedars;
      he selects the cypress and the oak;
he plants the pine in the forest
      to be nourished by the rain.
Then he uses part of the wood to make a fire.
      With it he warms himself and bakes his bread.
Then—yes, it’s true—he takes the rest of it
      and makes himself a god to worship!
He makes an idol
      and bows down in front of it!
He burns part of the tree to roast his meat
      and to keep himself warm.
      He says, “Ah, that fire feels good.”
Then he takes what’s left
      and makes his god: a carved idol!
He falls down in front of it,
      worshiping and praying to it.
“Rescue me!” he says.
      “You are my god!”

Such stupidity and ignorance!
      Their eyes are closed, and they cannot see.
      Their minds are shut, and they cannot think.
The person who made the idol never stops to reflect,
      “Why, it’s just a block of wood!
I burned half of it for heat
      and used it to bake my bread and roast my meat.
How can the rest of it be a god?
      Should I bow down to worship a piece of wood?”
The poor, deluded fool feeds on ashes.
      He trusts something that can’t help him at all.
Yet he cannot bring himself to ask,
      “Is this idol that I’m holding in my hand a lie?” (Isa. 44:6–20 NLT)

What idol are you holding on to?

Christ Is Relevant to Feelings

“I can’t change my feelings!”

All too often our feelings expose what we would rather keep hidden. When confronted by the exposure, we argue that we can’t change our feelings. And then we deceptively believe that we must be dictated by our feelings. This may include feelings of anger, love, fear, insecurity, and on and on the list could go.

The excuses come in forms such as:
      “You can’t help who you love.”
      “He can’t control his anger.”
      “This is just the way I am.”
      “You know I can’t change how I feel.”

Jesus teaches that behaviors reveal the soul as easily as a tree is known by its fruit.

"Beware of false prophets who come disguised as harmless sheep but are really vicious wolves. You can identify them by their fruit, that is, by the way they act. Can you pick grapes from thornbushes, or figs from thistles? A good tree produces good fruit, and a bad tree produces bad fruit. A good tree can’t produce bad fruit, and a bad tree can’t produce good fruit. So every tree that does not produce good fruit is chopped down and thrown into the fire. Yes, just as you can identify a tree by its fruit, so you can identify people by their actions." (Matt. 7:15–20 NLT)

Behavior is a direct descendent of belief that reveals the condition of the soul. Mark adds to Matthew’s narrative by emphasizing the reason the behavior can reveal the heart—the heart establishes the behavior.

And then he added, “It is what comes from inside that defiles you. For from within, out of a person’s heart, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, greed, wickedness, deceit, lustful desires, envy, slander, pride, and foolishness. All these vile things come from within; they are what defile you.” (Mark 7:20–23 NLT)

Our spiritual condition ultimately is what controls our values, which affects our beliefs and establish our thoughts, feelings, and actions.

Behavior modification may work on dogs, and even on people for a time; but if the heart is not set on God and His ways, then all thoughts, feelings, and behaviors will continue to pursue whatever self desires.

“The human heart is the most deceitful of all things,
      and desperately wicked.
      Who really knows how bad it is?
But I, the LORD, search all hearts
      and examine secret motives.
I give all people their due rewards,
      according to what their actions deserve.” (Jer. 17:9–10 NLT)

God must reveal our condition to us as we draw so close to Him that His light can make all things clear. We must desire to see the truth of who we really are and who God really is. Only when we yield our hearts to God’s will and our wills to God’s heart can we know that our values, beliefs, thoughts, feelings, and actions are in line with His desires for us.

Do you have feelings that need to be changed?

Yes, Christ is capable of changing your feelings!

Christ Is Relevant to Hurt

“You hurt my feelings.”

When we utter these words, what are we really saying?
“Shame on you. It is your job to make me feel good, and you failed in your job.”
“How you make me feel can change my day.”
“I am unstable and need you to not rock my world.”
“Christ is not sufficient for me. You can affect my mood more than He can.”

Ouch!! You want to quit reading, don’t you? All our defense mechanisms rise to counter with, “So you think I shouldn’t have any feelings?” “If Christ is really relevant in my life I’m not suppose to feel anything; I’m just going to be happy all the time?”

The truth of the matter is that our hurt feelings are symptoms of the fact that we getting our validation from someone other than God – some one or some thing is making us feel love, significant, and secure. God designed us to find our love, significance, and security in Him. He is the One who never changes, and therefore can offer us stability as He validates our identity.

God wants us to be complete in the person of Christ, the position of His child, and the possession of His righteousness. His love tells us, “You are valued.” As His children we have significance that states, “You have purpose.” Because of His righteousness we have security that declares, “You are safe.”

By expecting to gain validation from another, we give them access to the God-place of our souls—that place designed by God for God. Only He has the right to occupy this position in our lives. From this God place He rules over our souls and replenishes our hearts with His validating love while establishing our identity.

Inevitably when our chosen God substitute fails to give us the validation we desire, we experience marginalization – the sense that we are not valued. The outcome is a diminished sense of love, significance, and security. With wounded souls, our feelings are hurt. This warning signal should cause us to notice that God is not in His proper place in our lives.

Jesus said, “If you want to be my disciple, you must hate everyone else by comparison—your father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters—yes, even your own life. Otherwise, you cannot be my disciple” (Luke 14:26 NLT).

The God place of our souls is designed for Jesus. Boundaries should be built around this sacred place to assure that none other but Christ resides there. It should be guarded by our fear of God with our appropriate view of God serving as the sentinel. The highest of all that is lofty should be ascribed to Jesus so that He attracts in full our hearts, minds, and souls, capturing our strength with the truth of His glory and virtue. Then Jesus becomes central because He is preeminent. We come to see Him in truth, as He actually is—Lord, Savior, lover of our souls, champion of our hearts.

When we choose to place Christ in His rightful position in our lives, peace and joy begin to pervade as the resident norm. Life now is a continuous process of experiencing Jesus relevantly to our lives—exploring how He is relevant to every new challenge of our souls.

Why then would we seek another?