1) Too much prosperity often ensnares and ruins the best men and women, largely because our unruly hearts don’t know how to handle it. God often limits our sphere and allows pressure to build in order that we might be refined and able to actually handle the fullness God desires to give.

2) Talking to God about your difficulties is called prayer, talking to yourself about your difficulties is called anxiety.

3) David defaulted to singing and ministering to the Lord early in the morning. In the cave he trained 400 depressed men to become the mighty men of renown, in part, by waking them up before the sun rose with singing to God about His glory and beautiful mercy. It’s called setting your cold heart before the bonfire of God’s affections. David was after God’s heart and nothing less. What’s more: God knew it. 

4) Feeling God’s emotions during prayer is actually a grace. It’s God’s gift. Criticizing those who don’t pray is a quick way to start up the most boring prayer season of your life.

Long may You live, O King hidden from my eyes.
Vanquished are my foes on every side.
Ten Thousand have fallen at my right and my left,
Yet the Lord is my Rock, and I have not fallen.

When the princes in Israel lead,
When the leaders let loose their locks,
When the people willingly offer themselves -
Praise Him saints and stars!

Thou Morning Star that entered the house of Simon,
There did the sinner kiss you,
There did she willingly loose her locks,
There O invisible King wert thou wonderfully visible.

Man-made attempt to meet God

Abraham left Iraq for a reason: He was looking for a city whose builder and maker is God. Babylon, with all of its hanging gardens, towers to heaven and fortified walls, meant nothing to Abraham. Abraham was not waiting for Babylon. He was waiting for the New Jerusalem.

It is not comfortable living in a tent all your life. Abram likely grew up in a luxurious brick home, but he forsook the passing pleasures of Mesopotamia for the superior pleasure knowing God, the Creator of Heaven and Earth. Sometimes when we hear God’s voice, it means giving up our brick home and travelling around in a tent. There’s our father Abraham. A Hebrew. A Pilgrim. A Tent-dweller.

We humans will never reach God by Ziggurats. Such man-made efforts only lead to desolation. But there is a ladder that reaches heaven. God set it up on the earth and its top reaches heaven. At that ladder we can meet God. Nathanael did. The ladder’s name is the Son of Man.

Immediately I thought of Francis Thompson’s poem, The Hound of Heaven. God is so terribly near us, so terribly desirous to be involved in the deep recesses of our hearts, that He will use any holy means possible to win over our stubborn affections. These two lines from the poem in particular stand out to me, though the whole thing is like apples of gold in settings of silver: “yet was I sore adread, lest, having Him, I must have naught beside” and, “fear wist not to evade, as love wist to pursue.“

The glory of it all is that God desires our entire being. That’s the demand of true love, that’s the glory of a true covenant. Because the reality is: God gave us His entire being on the cross. There is nothing more He could have given. If we have said yes to Him, if we have entered into His new covenant, then He has a demand on us, and we have a demand on Him. If we grow fearful and try to evade Him, His love is stronger than our fear, and His love never fails.

Here’s a portion of The Hound of Heaven:

I fled Him, down the nights and down the days;
I fled Him, down the arches of the years;
I fled Him, down the labyrinthine ways
Of my own mind; and in the midst of tears
I hid from Him, and under running laughter.
Up vistaed hopes I sped;
And shot, precipitated,
Adown Titanic glooms of chasmed fears,
From those strong Feet that followed, followed after.
But with unhurrying chase,
And unperturbèd pace,
Deliberate speed, majestic instancy,
They beat—and a Voice beat
More instant than the Feet—
‘All things betray thee, who betrayest Me’.

I pleaded, outlaw-wise,
By many a hearted casement, curtained red,
Trellised with intertwining charities;
(For, though I knew His love Who followed,
Yet was I sore adread
Lest, having Him, I must have naught beside.)
But, if one little casement parted wide,
The gust of His approach would clash it to:
Fear wist not to evade, as Love wist to pursue.

“I just read the prologue of the book; Practicing the Presence of People. The author talks about spending a few minutes before boarding an airplane with his elderly parents. He normally is completely distracted and anxious to end the uncomfortable exchange between the threesome in which “blood is the only thing they have in common.” But something took place that deeply affected him and would haunt him for years to come. For a brief moment he felt as if everything faded away except the glow of his parents. It was as if he was falling in love. Later, as he reflected on this strange and wonderful phenomenon, he knew that it had something to do with his will. He chose for a few minutes to practice the presence of people, in a very similar way of practicing the presence of the Lord. He would, years later, learn of this through Brother Lawrence, and in time the Lord would lead him into the journey of love by practicing the presence of people.

“Today, this moment I choose love. I don’t have yesterday. I don’t have tomorrow. I just have this moment. So, this moment I choose love, and if I choose love this moment, possibly I will choose love the next moment, and moments will turn to hours, and hours to days, and days to a lifetime of choosing love.”

Without Love

1. God – Theism
2. Human – Humanism
3. Male, Masculine – Machoism
4. Female, Feminine – Feminism

For each “-ism” listed above, I believe there is a good and a bad counterpart. Take Humanism for instance. I believe there is such a thing as Christian Humanism, and I am convinced it is Biblical. There is also such a thing as Secular Humanism, and I am convinced it is blasphemous.

This post will primarily deal with the two counterparts of Feminism. I believe there is a Biblical Feminism that all woman should embrace. That being said, I believe some women who call themselves Christians have strayed into the error of Secular Feminism, which is overtly Anti-Biblical, and Anti-Christian.

I. Biblical Feminism

A. According to Scripture, God made woman in His likeness, along with man. Women were distinct from men. Genesis 2 goes into detail how the first woman, Eve, was formed. Nature confirms the difference between men and women. Biblically, a woman should rejoice in being made in God’s image as female. She should embrace God’s glory as being God’s fearful and wonderful creation, made for His glory. She should not wish to be a man or be like a man, for that would be to question God’s wisdom. On an infinitely smaller scale, it would be like questioning Caravaggio why he uses dramatic lighting in his paintings. Caravaggio has the privilege to paint the way he wants to paint, and God has the privilege to create how He wants to create. Thus, neither should a man wish to be a woman or be like a woman. This is Biblical Feminism: women rejoicing in being women, the glorious image bearers of God.

B. The outworking of Biblical Feminism flows out of obedience to the Creator, God. The Creator said women are the ones to conceive and bear children. He also said women’s desires shall go to their husband, and their husband is to rule over them. “Unto the woman he said, I will greatly multiply thy sorrow and thy conception; in sorrow thou shalt bring forth children; and thy desire [shall be] to thy husband, and he shall rule over thee.” Genesis 3:16

II. Secular Feminism

A. Secular Feminism upholds that women are not made in the image of God. It also upholds that women are equal to men in every way. There is much more that could be said about Secular Feminism, but one could easily Wikipedia it. It’s not a very enjoyable read. These two tenets should suffice: 1) women are not made in God’s image, 2) women are equal to men in every way.

B. The outworking of Secular Feminism is primarily seen by women refusing to give God glory. Second is their refusal to obey God. Such women refuse to obey God because they refuse to give their desires to their husbands and position themselves “under” their husbands. Many Secular Feminists believe it is far far better to live their own life; they are repulsed by the idea of living “restrained” under a husband, tied to a house with the real possibility of enduring the slave-like condition of pregnancy.

III. Conclusion

A. This is the lure that causes us to throw off restraint: complete independence, the freedom to be our own person, make our own choices, and live our own life without Christ’s involvement or restraints. That’s the lure, and it’s unbiblical. It defies 1 Corinthians 6:19 “Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and that you are not your own?” Some women think it is better to live life with 100% freedom, exploring themselves without a covering. St. Jerome rebuked the women who grew wanton, even widows who loved their new-found freedom in their husband’s death. These widows supported priests financially, but their hearts were far from pure. If God is truly wise, He knows why the body should submit to the head. If the body does not submit the head, then that body has the freedom to be nothing! Sure, it may be a beautiful body, but without a head, it’s dead.

B. God didn’t mess up His value system of equality when He said a woman should submit to her husband. He knew the love of Christ, the love every husband should have, is a love that dies for the other. Christ’s love is the Wing of God we are to take refuge under. If women refuse to take refuge under His wing, they will lose their glory, and the shame of their nakedness will be revealed.

C. I think the most beautiful picture of Biblical Feminism is found in Luke 2:36-38, where a young widow grew old serving God night and day. Serving night and day looks like restraint, doesn’t it? But when this woman was old, she saw Jesus. From that day on, she told everyone about Him. What glory it was for this woman to hide fervently under the shadow of God’s wings both in marriage and in widowhood. God grant us Your children grace, that we might love Thee as we aught, and serve Thee as Thou art worthy.

I am voting against this alcohol expansion in Hardin County tomorrow because I know God is jealous for my heart and the heart of His church, His beloved. Too many Christians have played at social drinking, and have lost their first love towards God. This alcohol vote will be a litmus test for the church in Hardin County. God is testing the heart of His people, asking, “do you really think My love is better than wine?” I pray the church of Jesus Christ will respond with one voice and forsake the lesser pleasures of this world for the supreme pleasure of knowing Him. After all, isn’t that what eternal life is all about? It’s about knowing God the Father, and Jesus Christ. You can find proof in John 17:3. Let’s strengthen the things that remain and ask God to revive our first love. Amen.

“Contrary to what some believe, the illustration of the bride and Bridegroom in Scripture isn’t borrowed from earthly relationship between husbands and wives. It is the opposite. Earthly marriages exist because Jesus is a Bridegroom and loves His bride. He is the example of love that Ephesians 5 calls husbands and wives to model.” Hundley, p.101

Somewhere along the line, when I was 18 and teaching on Jesus as our Bridegroom, I mistakenly thought marriage between a man and woman was the reality, and Jesus and His bride was a mere picture of that reality. But the opposite is true. Jesus and His bride is the reality, and the marriage of a man and woman is to mirror that reality.

A few conclusions: If a husband does not know Jesus Christ as a Bridegroom, then at some point and in some place his marriage with his wife will begin to suffer because it is reflecting a broken reality. It is impossible for a man to love his wife as Christ loved the church if that man has not experienced the love of Christ towards himself. Broken and hurting marriages, I believe, begin with a separation between God and man.

Newsflash: God hates divorce. Hates. I can’t blot those words out of my Bible, Malachi 2:16. Even if I did, it wouldn’t change God’s interior flame of jealousy, or His hatred of divorce. It may be worthwhile reading the whole book of Malachi (it’s only 4 small chapters). It is almost like watching Jerry Springer… only it’s holy, so it’s nothing like Jerry Springer. It’s an argument mediated by the Holy.

Do you see Jesus overturning tables in the Temple in the picture? It is evident Jesus has a serious controversy, but what is it? Christ made cord of whips, and let a small drop of His zeal fall from the bowl of His wrath. What was He doing? The Temple was His Father’s house, the place where He and His people were to meet. Jesus was removing everything that hinders love between Him and His bride. Behold Him there.

The remedy for broken marriages is Malachi 1:2: God personally selected and set all His affections on you, and His love endures forever. Immerse yourself in Christ’s love. Receive His affections for you, and watch Him make all things new.

I need grace to enter into humility and walk the paths of righteousness. Here’s my story:

Yesterday I took an exam on the central banking monetary policies of the FED and the ECB, with half the exam covering the past two month’s worth of Wall Street Journal articles covering the Euro crisis tied to Greece and the FED’s background leading up to the FOMC’s decision to implement “operation twist.” Yes. That exam was a bear.

This morning, my sister Olivia was doing some 7th grade math. When I was in middleschool (we’re talking the ’90s), I had the opportunity to skip 7th grade math and jump to Pre-Algebra. The result: what I gained in Algebra, I lost in basic math skills. So I decided to brush up on some of my skills this morning next to Olivia. Saxon Math. Question 24 stumped me. I was able to do the first part, but I couldn’t for the life of me do the second! I didn’t have (or couldn’t find) the tools to conquer it. So what did I do? I petitioned Olivia’s teacher for help. And then it hit me: Olivia knows how to solve this problem. Is it pride that keeps me from asking her? So I swallowed my pride (yes, it tasted awful) and Olivia walked me right through it. I was a happy camper after that, but Olivia was the happiest camper.

I thank God for that window. He showed me how weak I really am, even after I’ve tangled with an exam covering the global currency crisis. Keep me humble O LORD, for You are righteous, and You look on and visit the humble and contrite of heart.

Here we have an obviously ‘attractive’ woman searching for young men willing to play promiscuously. She wins those young men by appealing to their hearts, saying: “See, I have been looking for you. I’ve been waiting for you, I’ve prepared myself for you, and I want to look into your eyes and know the depths of you.”

Don’t think, young man (or old man), that your strength will easily turn her away. You may be very strong, but if you lean on your own strength, you will be seduced by her. Samson was a Nazirite, the strongest man in all of Israel. Even he fell for the harlot. Do you actually think you’d be stronger than Samson?

How can the harlot be that effective? How can she win so many strong men? Proverbs 7:26 gives the answer: Wounded. “For she has cast down many wounded, and all who were slain by her were strong men.”

I’ve never met a man on this earth who hasn’t been wounded. I’m certain Samson himself had been wounded often. A Nazirite in Israel never has many friends. That’s why he’s a Nazirite: to provoke people back to the LORD. Almost all Israel was against Samson. I don’t think Samson knew how to deal with such rejection. Instead of giving his wounded heart to the LORD, he gave it to the harlot. The warm embrace of a seductive woman acts like a quick fix for a wounded heart. That embrace turned out to be the death knell for Samson.

So what is the remedy? I don’t think Samson is highlighted in the Bible as the hallmark Nazirite for nothing. His story is the story of thousands. The remedy can only be this: yield to the affections of your Father in heaven. Study His affections for you, and you will grow in affection for Him. Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted. Blessed are you who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for you shall be filled. Remember God, remember His fiery affections, remember why He created you in the first place, and be of good courage: He knows your wounds, He has bottled your every tear, and He will make all things new.