The Work of Completed Patience

"But let patience (Gk. hupomone, ability to remain under trail, testing, or pressure without seeking to get out from under it) have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and entire, lacking nothing." James 1:4

It is often the case in the Scriptures that a few sentences are packed with unsuspected treasures of divine wisdom.  For within the pages of the Scriptures wisdom is considered discriminating, directive, and free of distortion.  Accordingly, within the Scriptures spirituality is not a nebulous abstraction, but a practical curative for a vibrant life of faith.

The Apostle James has provided for the careful reader a critical aspect of a powerful spiritual life.  In verse two of this chapter James wrote:

"My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into divers temptations; knowing that the trying of your faith works patience."  

For years I bristled over these words and their sobering content.  I actively resisted their obvious meaning, and wanted to follow the path of least resistance while still following, albeit, superficially the life of faith. However, the power of these words eventually broke down my resolve for a menacingly superficial spiritual life by speaking silently, and yet consistently, to my conscience.

In the original language, James states that one is to "...count it joy when one is surrounded by solicitations of testing," and for a long time this was extremely difficult to comprehend.  Then I remembered the word of the Iesous when he promised never to leave nor forsake.

It was the release of cognitive control over my life that bestirred anxiety and the chronic thought of abandonment in the midst of testing that haunted me.  I had reached what Kierkegaard called "The Halt" and I knew it.  The Halt is a 'faith' void of radical commitment and self-sacrifice.  It is a 'faith' "full of sound and fury signifying nothing."  Alas with the surrender comes the relief that one has become solidly committed to the directive will of God.

It is within the surrender that one discovers the ways of God.  Outside of the surrender obsessive speculations of what might eventuate is its own hell.  One finds that within the surrender the love and mercy of God cultivate trust and a willingly to obey Him deeper.  It is within His will where God operates on the cancer of fear and doubt.  Only within the will of God is there safety in this life.

The patience that James speaks of does not crush, but it does create pressure that doggedly pursues disagreeable spiritual compromise within the heart.  Otherwise, how can one grow spiritually if there is no spiritual incentive?

Patience, or more properly 'hupomone', is the foundation upon which godly character is built.  How we need godly character in this misguided world.  Patience must have its completed work within the soul, and when this fantastic work within the soul is completed the emerging individual is something to behold.

In one of his books, Buckminster Fuller, spoke of the ancient shipyards of Venice where shipbuilding was both art and science.  He spoke about how the ships were outfitted with sails, ropes, and other items that would be replaced as the ship made its way around the world.

The ships would take on the best quality sails, rope and other items, and upon their return to Venice the ships were, gallant, beautiful beyond memory and recognition.  The work of patience is to create glorious character within the soul.  We, too, become those who are beyond memory of the past.  Because God removes our fears, self-defeating doubts that created "The Halt."  "The Halt" bears no protection for us.  Because it is, alas, a lie, or a convenient fiction.

God releases us from our fictions through the Iesous.  Fictions are real in that they keep us imprisoned from real life.  We remain fictional people to the extent that we refuse the counsel of God.  God wants us to come to the Iesous who is his answer for our deepest spiritual need. Will you come to Him today in confession of your need for rescue from the power of sin?  Tell God of your deepest need and He will answer you.

Blessings to you.

For more information about Dr. Rich and his teaching ministry, please follow this blog and visit his website.

Do Not Forsake Wisdom

"For it was so, when Solomon was old, that...his heart turned after other gods; and his heart was not loyal to the LORD his God, as was the heart of his father David."  I Kings 11:4

King Solomon began well in his position as king.  He sought to do the will of God without compromise. It was King Solomon who built the beautiful Temple from the plans thereof that God had given to his father David.  It was King Solomon who also built the lavish mansion of the forest for a special wife.

It was King Solomon who prayed to God to be led by him so that he would lead his people aright.  God answered his powerful and humble prayer by granting his request, and giving to King Solomon more than he had asked.

King Solomon began well in his position as king.  His wisdom was legendary in the ancient near east.  No comparison could be made regarding his God-given perspicacity (to see deeply) and sagacious (keen insight) ability.

When the Queen of Sheba came to visit King Solomon she was taken aback by the beauty, wealth, and organizational magnitude of Solomon's kingdom.  The times of David and Solomon are rightly called the Golden Age of Israel.

This majestic time, however, was to be short-lived.  For behind the wealth and majesty were the seeds of decay.  The seeds of decay would germinate into oppression of the people in order to support the lavish life-style of Solomon.

I am sure that Solomon's initial prayer to the LORD was real and sincere.  But the LORD knew Solomon's heart.  He knew the weakness of the king as he knows the weaknesses of all people.  For a while the fervor of Solomon's heart was toward the LORD.  But it came to pass that his heart slowly departed from the LORD.  And as Solomon's heart departed from the LORD he oppressed his people.

Solomon enlarged the taxable districts of his kingdom so as to collect more tax revenue.  Then because of his injustice he had to deal with terrible inflation.  God was not in all of his thoughts.  Solomon's soul-drifting was set. Upon that injustice he had allowed himself to be seduced by the gods of his wives.  Here was a great man who was now tied up by sinful behavior.  Money and corrupt worship had infiltrated his life.

His soul was polluted.  His famous and enviable wisdom was drowned out by the twin pollutions of money and corrupt worship.  He was a willing participant in the destruction of his own soul.  He finally left God.  He did not do so outwardly but the "leaving of God" happened inwardly.  Solomon became a practical atheist through practical corruption.  He forsook the wisdom of God for the seductive worship of illusions and sex cults.  Solomon practiced evil before the LORD.  His inward corruption manifested itself outwardly by burning incense and sacrificing to foreign gods.

It is not easy to serve the living God.  There are many competing gods today as there were in Solomon's day.  The heart can be easily led astray by the gods who promise to satisfy but alas do not.

Solomon's life is there recorded in the ancient Scriptures so that we may learn to understand the power of seduction.  To be seduce by a "god" does not relieve one of responsibility.  We are not to pass sentence upon Solomon but to learn from his example.  I must ask myself :  "What is my inherent weakness, and who am I willing to lead me astray from my faith-walk with God?"

Solomon lost much by self-betrayal.  He lost his relationship with the LORD, himself, and he lost his kingdom.  Solomon deceived his own mind.  He turned his own mind into a formidable weapon against himself.  His soul was split rendering all of his action self-defeating and ineffective. He wrote a dismal conclusion to a life that began well but ended lacking in every way.

We all have the power to decide our unique destinies.  Do you desire to live a life well-pleasing to God?  Then it will require a radical and singular commitment on your part.  A real spiritual life requires one to follow the Iesous daily.  The desire of the flesh must be crucified daily or you will be defeated in life, and you will be enslaved to shallow and dismal actions.

Come to the Iesou and he will give you the power to live a superabundant life.  A huge part of his work as Savior is to save us from ourselves.  God Bless.

For more information about Dr. Rich and his teaching ministry, please follow this blog and visit his website.

Cleaning Out the Debris in the Temple

"Then Shaphan the scribe showed the king (King Josiah), saying "Hilkiah the priest has given me a book."  and Shaphan read it before the king.  Now it happened, when the king heard the words of the Book of the Law (Torah), he tore his clothes.  II Kings 22:10-11

Josiah was the one of the great reformer kings.  He was eight years old hen he became king of Judah and he reigned for thirty-one years.  He inherited a kingdom that had been ravaged by the idolatrous practices of his  grandfather and father, kings Manasseh and Amon.

His job as king would not be easy.  The kingdom has been torn asunder by the unfortunate fifty-five year reign of Manasseh.  Manasseh's father was a great reformer king who sought to worship and follow Yahweh, but what took hold of Manasseh's heart was not the faith of his father, but the unspeakable malevolence and pathology of erotic Baalism.

He worshipped a sex cult that called for the most debased practices.  It was Manasseh who built altars to Baal and set them up in the house of Yahweh in Jerusalem.  Manasseh's behavior incurred the  understandable anger of Yahweh.  Manasseh polluted the land with false religion, and enforced it with his authority as king.

The Scripture states that he "seduced" the people into disobedience to the Lord.  Think of the horrific damage that he did to the kingdom during his long and terrible reign.  After his death his son Amon continued Manasseh's destructive practices but his reign was short-lived as his servants murdered him in his own house.

Josiah was the next to take the throne.  He was king Amon's son, but he was not like his father and grandfather.  He was a godly man who walked in the ways of the Lord.  Josiah inherited a throne and a kingdom that had a "Sickness Unto Death."  The temple of the Lord had fallen into disrepair because of the former leadership.  In fact, the temple was filled with the debris of years of abusive, heinous, and shameful practices.

Now, during Josiah's reign, money had been raised to "repair the damages to the house."  One day while the repair to the house of the Lord was going on someone found a copy of the Word of God in the midst of the debris.  The Word of God was found in the midst of the debris that was brought to king Josiah and read to him.  The king heard the Word and profound grief swept over his soul.  He was so deeply moved that he tore his clothes.

The convicted king did not merely hear the Word deceiving himself.  He immediately became a doer of the Word.  He sent a group of his servants to Huldah the prophetess, and she told the king's investigative party the reality of the current situation of the state of Judah and Jerusalem.

When the king heard the grave words of Huldah the prophetess he again took immediate action.  He knew that his kingdom was in crisis and there was no time for benign regal passivity.  Something had to be done and done quickly.

Beloved, the debris in the temple is a graphic picture of what can happen in the temple of the heart. We must be alert to the spiritual disrepair that can happen if we neglect appropriate spiritual self-nourishment from the Word of God.  It is easy to accumulate beliefs and practices that hinder appropriate response to God.  "Test everything," the Apostle Paul wrote.

Josiah took action and started one of the greatest revivals that his nation had ever seen.  He undertook sweeping reform.  A nation abused by decades of polluted and debased practices had to undergo substantial change.  Of course there would be those who would resist reform and want things to continue in the same old way. But God was moving through the convicted king and many positive and substantial changes took place.

Are you ready to clean out the debris in the temple of your heart?  If you are, then Yahweh is waiting to cleanse and give you a new life.  Don't be afraid to let the old things pass away, and for all things to become new in your life through the Word of God.

Blessings to you.

For more information about Dr. Rich and his teaching ministry, please follow this blog and visit his website.

The Greatest Therapy Is The Love Of God

"And as they led him away, they laid hold upon one Simon, a Cyrenian, coming out of the country, and on him they laid the cross (stauron,i.e. tree), that he might bear it after Iesou."  Luke. 23:26

The language above reads as a powerful reminder of the sacrifice of love.  The present situation of the leading away of Iesou to be executed by crucifixion is a tragic irony.  However, the state has its protocol and nothing must get in the way.  The Roman government had passed sentenced upon One whose crime had been "doing good" to mankind.

Therefore the Iesou had to be led away and punished for his 'criminal' activity.  He was led out and away from those whom he had come to heal.  He had come to act as a therapon (Gk. therapist) for the chronic ills of humanity.  He had healed their diseases (Gk. Nosology), and taken away their grievous afflictions of mind and body, or whips.  'Whips' is an apt metaphor for torments of mind and body that havoc intrinsic well-being.

The Iesou stepped into the arena of dogged pathologies that haunt humankind and demonstrated to those blessed to see his presence that the Kingdom of God was in their midst.  Some realized the vast implications of his presence and received his gift of love and deliverance.  They would walk in his love and know completed love in their lives.

Completed love is the love of God that brings joy and peace to the wounded heart.  Completed love removes the tragic results of ancient experiences called schemas that have limited and defined one's spiritual/mental construct.  Completed love is God's own love that mediates personal well-being and saturates the heart with unconditional love for others.  It does not ignore the evil that people do to  themselves and others.  Completed love is not naive.  It is however, love that mediates the presence of God. Completed love removes the distortions of the soul.  It allows for self-acceptance which many cannot do because of terrible self-inflicted and other-inflicted wounds.

The greatest therapy is love.  The Iesou brought the love of God to this world.  He showed that without violence and angry rhetoric hearts can be made new.  But this was too much for the powers of the cosmos.  Their victory over him was temporary and allowed by God.  The Light (phos) shined into the Darkness but the darkness did not overtake it.

We need to return to the Iesou and practice his love.  In our day there is this frantic quest to accumulate information on the activity of people.  There is little trust in the world.  Iesou was led away because the cosmos rejected his love.  The people chose estrangement over love.  To lead the Iesou away was the demonstration of radical self-subversion.  The leading away of the Iesou rent the collective psyche of the age.  

He willingly allowed himself to be led away because by this act he would still show his love for all mankind. His love cannot be erased by human evil.  Human evil cannot overthrow God's love.  Where sin abounded Grace super-abounded and then some more.

Beloved God has super-abounding love for you. Super-abounding love is overflowing in inexhaustible excess.  Evil is finite and contains its own destruction.  The one who practices evil is writing his destiny. The one who accepts the love of God is writing his destiny too.

Today, let go of the fictions, the shallow, and the hollow experiences that  never satisfy.  Say good-bye to any type of enslavement and allow the love of God to make you new.

For more information about Dr. Rich and his teaching ministry, please follow this blog and visit his website.

Overcoming The Sting of Mockery

Afterwards, I said to them,"You see what a sad state we are in, how Jerusalem lies in ruins, with its gates burned up.  Come, let's rebuild the wall of Jerusalem  so that we won't continue in disgrace..." They said, "Let's start building at once", and energetically set out to do this good work.  When Sanvalat the Horoni, Toviyah the servant, the Amoni, and Gershem heard about it, they began mocking us and jeering."  Nehemiah 2:17-19

Often times the work of God is carried on in a manner that is not consistent with the existing power structure, and at other times it is.  We are informed by the Scriptures that the powers that exist are ordained by God.

Yes, we may hold very different views about history, and so does God.  God is not only involved in religious history.  He is also involved in world history too.  The Scriptures do not have the artificial division of the Sacred and the Secular with regard to history.

When the fullness of the time had come God called Nehemiah to returned to Jerusalem and rebuild the walls thereof that had been torn down and ravaged by fire in the siege of  596 B.C. by the Babylonians.  Nehemiah was the one chosen by God for this great work.  Nehemiah was a great and able leader who knew how to organize and motivate others to unite for a noble common purpose.

This work of God would need such a man because of the great opposition that the rebuilding of the walls of Jerusalem would attract.

It is important to realize that God knows the opposition that will come against those who are doing his will.  God understands the strategies that will be used to hinder and tear down resolve to do his will.  The initial strategy that was used against the resolve of the builders was mockery.

Mockery is a form of psychological abuse that means to treat with contempt, or imitate.  Furthermore mockery is speech expressing ridicule or scorn. It is also the act of manifesting contempt.  This is a very serious psychological weapon that is designed to weaken resolve for a particular purpose.

If you have even been the object of this type of persecution then you know its potentially devastating power.  More than mental toughness is required to withstand the withering ferocity of mockery.  One must also understand the nature of this type of spiritual attack.

Mockery is a search and destroy tactic that looks for character traits that are vulnerable to its spiteful rhetoric.  If a single individual can be rendered weak to the poison of mockery then its disease can spread accordingly.

Nehemiah, as a wise and able leader, understood the formidable power of mockery. Therefore he countered this attack by the enemy with his well thought out answer.  Nehemiah said, "The God of heaven will enable us to succeed.  Therefore, we, his servants will set about rebuilding.  But you have no share, right or history to commemorate in Jerusalem (v. 20)."

Nehemiah's words recognised the presence of God in the work, and therefore the power of God.  The work that the enemy was attempting to overthrow was not merely the work of man. The enemy was made aware that the mockery that was so generously being heaped upon the builders was also against the God of heaven too.

This word-war was very unwise and would end badly for the mockers.  How would they fight against God?  Nehemiah let the enemy know that the battle is the Lord's.

Beloved, know that if you have been the victim of mockery you are not alone.  God is with you.  You may react defensively to the attack of mockery if you are being bullied.  Bullies often use mockery.  It is a terrible and effective weapon.

Nehemiah knew that if he did not confront the threat of mockery there may have been some peace within the ranks of his people for a short period of time, but in the long run, the threat of mockery would become the ruinous work of mockery.

Passivity is never the way to handle mockery.  If you notice carefully, Nehemiah did not threaten the enemy.  On the contrary, he wisely put them on notice that they were attempting to heap scorn and contempt upon the work of God.

Nehemiah's approach was to confront a negative with a positive.  He built up the people and reinforced their resiliency by handling a potential problem with rich emotional intelligence coupled with uncompromising executive insight.  Nehemiah did not let anyone think down upon him or think around him.  Nehemiah was a master of game theory without treacherous intent.

Beloved, if you have been hurt by mockery you have a way to unburden your heart. My prayer prescription to you is to go before the throne of God and tell him all about it.  God can remove the emotional scarring  that mockery has placed in your life.

Keep on bringing the cruelty of mockery that you have suffered before Him until you know it has been removed from your life.  Actively resist the temptation of inactivity.  Do something about such life-altering and life-controlling pain.  Bring it before God.  Blessings to you.

For more information about Dr. Rich and his teaching ministry, follow this blog and visit his website.

The Summons To Faith-Activity

"Some time later God tested Abraham."  Gen. 22:1

The foundation of Faith is trust in God.  It is not that we claim to always understand the ways of God because we cannot make such an absurd claim. This word 'Faith' is not found in the Old Testament Literature.  It was imposed upon the Old Testament Writings by well meaning translators.  Please don't misunderstand me because the Old Testament does speak of 'Faith' but not in the western tradition of a lexical definition.

In the Old Testament Literature 'Faith' is activity. That is, Faith is demonstrated by what one does, and not by what one says.  Actions are primary in the Old Testament.  Actions reveal character or the essence of who people really are under pressure or otherwise.  The above statement is about a relationship that has a mature foundation.

God has cultivated the faith-activity of Abraham and brought him to this point.  God knew that the faith-activity of Abraham was ready for this crisis.  God was going to break up the foundation of the current relationship with Abraham, or so it would seem to observers.

God was not breaking up the old, he was revealing the new relationship that he possessed with Abraham.  Indeed, the change of his name from Abram to Abraham bespoke of a new relationship with God.  God is always serious about those who fight the good fight of faith.  God tested Abraham.

In this verse God is the grammatical subject and Abraham is the object of the verb 'tested' as we too are tested by God, but not in the way that Abraham was tested.  The verb 'tested' indicates intentional or intensive action.  This event in Abraham's testing was to create a rent within the very fabric of his faith walk.  It was to indicate a new destiny and therefore a decisively new walk with God.

It is interesting that Abraham's test is about love.  In the following verses love is balanced by sacrifice.  Love is always about sacrifice.  Herein is the real definition of love.  What one is willing to place upon the altar of complete surrender.  Love and sacrifice are powerful realities.  Abraham was given the gift of Isaac by God, and now Abraham is required to give back his gift of Isaac to God.

Just as Love and Sacrifice are powerful realities so are Love and Unselfishness.  Abraham did not test God by interrogating Him.  There is no fear between Abraham and his relationship with God.  Again, this is the test of a mature believer.  Abraham had conquered fear in his soul through a lifetime of trust in God.  Abraham had come to know God.  This type of awareness is only derived by constancy and devotion to God.   Abraham is revealing to the world that though he walked in time he was not bound by the constraints of time.

Abraham is free.  Both God and Abraham are free.  The freedom of God is qualitatively unlike the freedom of Abraham.  The freedom of God is related to his essence, and for us it means "who can say what doest thou?"  But the freedom of Abraham is the freedom to positively respond to the divine will.  As we respond to God our freedom increases in God.  We come to know what it means to be in the world but not out of the world as a source.

The most precious is gift is asked of Abraham.  God asks for Isaac.  Abraham is willing to give the gift back to the Giver without question.  Thy will be done is Abraham's desire.  Abraham is taken up into the divine will.  He is spiritually suspended between heaven and earth.  Abraham's knowledge of God is not brokered by a third party.  It is an immediate and direct encounter with the irresistible will of God.

Isaac was given to God by Abraham, and Isaac was given back to Abraham in a new way.  Herein is the power of resurrection.  God's summon to Abraham was to rise out of the ordinary to become extraordinary. Abraham's story for us is a timeless message to repent of the well cultivated road and and take the extraordinary road of trust in God.  Notice, that the way of trust in God leads to the cross of Calvary and God's extraordinary gift of Iesous.

For more information about Dr. Rich and his teaching ministry please follow this blog and visit his website.

Victory Over The Sin of Envy

"But as for me, my feet had almost stumbled; my steps had nearly slipped.  For I was envious of the boastful, when I saw the prosperity of the wicked...Behold, these are the ungodly, who are always at ease; they increase in riches.  Surely I have cleansed my heart in vain, and washed my hands in innocence.  For all day long I have been plagued, and chastened every morning...When I thought how to understand this, it was too painful for me-Until I went into the sanctuary of God; then I  understood their end." Psalm 73:17

The words of the Poet are timeless and timely because they capture a powerful struggle.  Real godliness is never easy.  In this world there are endless distractions and pseudo-roads that seem to offer more satisfaction but alas they lead into treachery and harassment.

The poet had taken one such road and found himself smarting because of self-induced misery.  The Poet would come to intimately know the perilous seduction of envy.  We ourselves may envy the beauty of a woman or man, the wealth of another, the education or advantage of another, or the friends or power of another.

Envy is not jealousy.  Jealousy is the feeble cousin of envy.  Jealousy is merely obsessed with being replaced by its object, but envy wants to possess, replace, and  seek to harm its object.  Envy is insatiable.

The poet had manufactured self-induced misery because he had acquired mental attitude sin.  He stopped abiding in God and his peace that passes all understanding, and became infected by mental attitude that produced the vile sin of envy.

The poet was in for a rough ride upon the seas of discontent.  He had believed that he could understand the 'world' apart from God.  He had come to believe that the cult of the self as practiced by the those embedded within the fragmented constructs if the 'world' offered more than what he possessed in God.

Is this not the desire of the Enemy?  Is this not the work of the Devil (Lit. "One who Divides"), to foment discontent within the breast of the child of God?  How often we find ourselves enslaved by what our eyes perceive and we come to forget the prosperity of our souls in the Iesous.  In the book of Judges in the Old Testament Literature the Samson champion was led astray by what he 'saw.'  The enemy of Samson's soul was within not 'out there.'  His vision of life became fatalistic because of poor seeing as with the Poet in this telling psalm.

He was mired in subjectivism and the lie of envy.  He could not extricate himself of this sin.  Not one of us can extricate himself from sin.  Some, however, may believe that they are immune to such sin, but that is their sin.  It is a self molesting type of deal.  One can become addicted to self molestation.  The poet had become addicted to being his own adversary!

One might think that these are hard words, and I would agree, but look how far the Poet had wondered from God.  He could no longer worship the true God because he is confused by the cult of the selfish eye.  Envy had stained and cut off his ability to worship and find contentment.  He has lost more than he had gained by the poisoned orbs (eyes) within his head that have invited him to drink bitter water.  He does not like the wicked, and nor does he like himself.

What a price is extracted from ourselves when we practice sin.  God did not abandon the Poet, but the Poet abandoned himself.  However, he will learn the heavy price of the pretending as though God was not there.  This is the illusion that one can extract God from the world and yet have a complete perception of the world. The poet believed that the rich had no troubles and that from cradle to grave all was well.  The Poet mused within his skewed and darkened perception concerning the wicked"...they have more than heart could wish (v.7b)."  The Poet's heart is weakened by false perceptions.  He bears deep wounds.

He regrets the practice of godliness."Surely I have cleansed my heart in vain, and washed my hands in innocence (v. 13)."  He is hurt, and wounded.  Yes, there are times when one is tempted to embrace this belief, but God has been in his life, and allowed the Poet to walk through the valley of the shadow of death.  That is, the valley of shaken faith.

Have you been tempted of late to remove yourself from the watchful care of God because of envy of the wicked ones?  Have you been tempted to surrender true faith and exchange it for the watchful mischief of the eye?

Beloved, all of us are tempted at some point.  The Poet found himself floundering until he went back to God. It was only when he went back to God that he discovered a compelling truth.  He discovered that the way of the ungodly will perish.  He learned that he really had 'it all' but it had been obscured by the lie of the selfish eye.

Beloved the Word of God is our 'medicine' and the Word of God has cleansed many eyes with the eye salve of redemption through the Iesous.  He is our Great Physician and Wonderful Counsellor.

For more information about Dr. Rich and his teaching ministry, please follow this blog and visit his website.