Encroachment!

Outside of gridiron (American football) the word "encroachment" is seldom used.  It is a common penalty against the defense for moving across the line of scrimmage before the ball is snapped.  And if that made absolutely no sense to you at all, take it from a seasoned armchair quarterback it is a foul regular viewers can easily spot.  While some penalties are judgment calls which could go either way, encroachment is a fairly obvious one.

The house next to ours is vacant and the front yard is neglected.  The yard is completely packed with burr-producing clover called Medicado polymorpha which had begun to subtly encroach upon and choke out the turf in my yard.  Because the green turf and burr medic are both green, I hardly noticed how many clover plants had taken root!  I was thankful the ground was soft enough to pull them out.  As I began to mow, I found additional plants which had escaped my notice and pulled those too.  Sinister things! 

It occurred to me sin has the same insidious, encroaching nature on the heart, mind, and life of Christians living in a world steeped with sin.  It rarely declares its deadly intentions up front or barges in noticeably like a massive linebacker, but it is secret, seductive, and far stronger.  A linebacker can put a fit man in hospital, but sin throws the eternal souls of men into hell.  We cannot rightly blame our upbringing, present circumstances, or the world for the sin which lurks in our flesh.  A little water caused multitudes of those weeds to spout in my yard, and had they remained unchecked they would have spread further.  Even as we cannot neglect our yards without undesirable weeds spreading their seed everywhere, so we must be vigilant to take our thoughts captive to the obedience to Christ, avoid sowing to the flesh, and walk in purity according to God's Word.

Christians have been justified and made righteous through faith in Christ, but we still face spiritual attack from outside and within.  After warning Timothy of the perils of covetousness and the love of money, Paul exhorted him and all who would heed in 1 Timothy 6:11-12, "But you, O man of God, flee these things and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, patience, gentleness. ¹² Fight the good fight of faith, lay hold on eternal life, to which you were also called and have confessed the good confession in the presence of many witnesses."  It is necessary for us to examine our minds and lives and see if worldly affections or desires have crept in, if there is a root of bitterness in our hearts.  We have eternal life provided through Christ's righteousness, and therefore we ought to live righteously and in a godly manner.

If something has encroached into your life where it ought not be, throw the flag!  Blow the whistle!  Let's take all necessary steps to banish all sinful practices and attitudes from our lives so we might be spiritually healthy and fruitful for God's glory.

Baptism With the Holy Spirit

I remember being initially put off by talk of being "baptised with the Holy Spirit" in my youth.  Frankly, I wasn't interested.  I was fine to repent and trust in Jesus to be born again, pray, and meet with other believers.  But I was not ready to submit to being baptised with the Holy Spirit because I saw it as unnecessary, not understanding that such a baptism is necessary to become the Spirit-fueled Christian God desired and intended me to be.  In retrospect I can see clearly I secretly scoffed at various spiritual gifts because I did not have them, and therefore I did not want them.  Ah, that Christ would graciously open the eyes of a blind believer such as myself is beyond me!

God used the scripture to open my eyes to my need - yes need - to be baptised with the Holy Spirit.  John the Baptist said of Christ in Matthew 3:11, "I indeed baptize you with water unto repentance, but He who is coming after me is mightier than I, whose sandals I am not worthy to carry. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire."  I was happy to be baptised with water as a child in identification and obedience to Christ, but why the hesitancy to seek the baptism with the Spirit?  I started asking myself:  if Jesus is the one who does the baptising, why should I remain skeptical and aloof?  I discovered the promise of this "coming upon," this filling to overflowing of the Holy Spirit was for me through Peter's address on the day of Pentecost.  Acts 2:38-39 reads, "Then Peter said to them, "Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. ³⁹ For the promise is to you and to your children, and to all who are afar off, as many as the Lord our God will call."  This is significant because Peter and other disciples had already received the Holy Spirit after Christ's resurrection (John 20:22), so Peter spoke concerning the power of the Spirit coming upon them promised by Jesus in Acts 1:8.

I thought, OK:  Jesus is the one who baptises with the Holy Ghost and fire, and the promise is for me as I am one who was afar off and called to salvation in Jesus.  But how could I know if I had been baptised with the Spirit or not?  Was I to seek a particular experience?  Would there be a feeling?  Thankfully, the scripture again came to my aid.  In his missionary travels, Paul met with believers in Jesus Christ and asked them if they had received the Holy Spirit "since they believed" (Acts 19:2).  They did not even know if there was a Holy Spirit!  Acts 19:4-6 says, "Then Paul said, "John indeed baptized with a baptism of repentance, saying to the people that they should believe on Him who would come after him, that is, on Christ Jesus." ⁵ When they heard this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. ⁶ And when Paul had laid hands on them, the Holy Spirit came upon them, and they spoke with tongues and prophesied." Faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God.  These disciples had repented and believed, but had not yet been filled to overflowing with the Spirit.  Paul believed it necessary for Christians to be filled with the Spirit, and as they humbled themselves before God in obedience, the Holy Spirit came upon them and miraculous power followed.  For any interested, more particulars of being filled with the Spirit can be found in a previous post.

It took some convincing, but ultimately I was positive I had never been baptised with the Holy Spirit, it was God's will I be baptised with the Spirit, and I strongly desired to be baptised with the Holy Spirit (a fervent desire I believe God provided), I asked God, and I was.  It is that simple.  Jesus compared the working of the Holy Spirit to the wind:  we can see the effects of the wind in the trees, but we do not know where the wind came from or where it is going.  The same is true of the Spirit.  We can see His impact, but we can't explain how He does His wonders.  Throughout the Old and New Testament we see people filled with the Holy Spirit and empowered for God's glory.  There is no magic formula, and no explanation I can give will satisfy your intellect.  Even as we trusted in God for salvation, we are called to seek and trust God and the truth of His Word for the baptism with the Holy Spirit.  I cannot convince you of your need to be baptised with the Holy Spirit or that God has spiritual gifts for you to operate in.  But are you willing to believe God's Word?  Has your will been entirely laid down?  If God has additional gifts for you to receive and exercise for His glory and the edification of the church, are you intent on receiving them?  Do you thirst for a closer walk with Jesus?  Are you willing to present yourself as a living sacrifice by faith, obey, and ask for this baptism and subsequent fillings of the Holy Spirit?  We are told to earnestly desire spiritual gifts operated in love (1 Cor. 12:31):  do you?  Luke 11:13 says, "If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him!"

A word of caution:  it is important our seeking of the baptism with the Holy Spirit spring from continually seeking Jesus Christ first and foremost.  If you are looking for power for yourself, testing God for proof of the Holy Spirit within you, desiring outward signs of spirituality to impress others, or a cool party trick, your heart is not right before God.  We are not to look to feelings or experiences to validate our faith, but to seek and obey Jesus according to God's Word.  When we do this, feelings and experiences will surely follow!  Read the book of Acts and see for yourself the indispensable power and influence of the Holy Spirit in the life of the early church.  His power and guidance is just as critical now as ever.  Place your entire being at God's disposal, allowing God to fill and empower your life completely for His purposes.  Once you have been baptised with the Holy Spirit, keep being filled with the Holy Spirit as you deny yourself, take up your cross daily, and follow Jesus.  He is the One who supplies us with Living Water!

Hot Showers and Creaky Knees

How easy it is to take things for granted!  Often it takes lack or denial of what we are accustomed to  before we recognise with gratefulness the gifts God has graciously supplied.

About 10 years ago I went on a trip to Israel and stayed in the Mugraby hostel in Tel Aviv.  It was a clean, affordable option close to the beach.  The only downside was in chilly November our group returned to the hostel late at night.  The toilet and shower facilities were shared between several rooms on a single floor.  By the time I was ready for a shower before bed, all the hot water had been used.  Let me tell you, I was surprised the water flowed from the shower head at that temperature!  Surely it was spitting sharp icicles, not water!  Ever since that experience, I have always been so thankful for hot showers.  I have had some cold showers since, but I thank the LORD the water is not always so cold.

Have you ever thanked God for your knees?  I hadn't - until I fully ruptured my ACL and needed surgery.  I can't recall ever thanking God specifically for my knees until I endured the pain of recovery and physical therapy.  Now that I am walking normally, can kneel when necessary, am able to golf and play baseball, I am not sour over minor swelling, tightness, and pain which will be likely part of my life for the duration.  I am so grateful to God that He has seen fit to heal me and enable me to do things I enjoy.  It took a major injury for me to understand sport and physical activities I have always been able to do are not a permanent fixture.  My knees are a gift God has provided me for this season of my life, and when God moves me into another season where sport is not possible I will still have Him, the Giver of abundant life.

I encourage you to thank God for something today you use all the time without thought but have never specifically thanked Him for.  You will discover quickly there is much more to thank God for than there are seconds in the day.  Every one of your trillion cells in your body cry out with thanksgiving to God.  All of eternity will not be enough time to praise and thank God enough for who He is and all He has done.  1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 says, "Rejoice always, ¹⁷ pray without ceasing, ¹⁸ in everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you."  Thank God for making His will known to us, and let us seek to fulfill it!

Just Business

"Ye shall have just balances, and a just ephah, and a just bath."

Ezekiel 45:10

God's people were to be a reflection of His honest and just character.  Proverbs 11:1 says, "Dishonest scales are an abomination to the LORD, but a just weight is His delight."  He commanded His people, "Be holy, for I am holy."  They were not to be like people who naturally showed partiality, favouritism, or nepotism, but to be honest, trustworthy, just, and conduct their business matters with integrity.  When discovered some people shrug at their own dishonest business practices and say, "That's just business."  If the God of Israel is also your God, the call to just weights and measures remains true regardless of what is socially acceptable.  In a "dog eat dog" world, we are to walk in light of the new nature God has given us through faith in Jesus and live His way.

From an early age people have the knack of always seeking preferential treatment for ourselves.  We eye the biggest slice of dessert, naturally seek the best deal, the most profitable investments, the biggest return for our money.  Both in Monopoly and real life we don't mind the concept of "Bank error in your favour."  Man shows partiality to himself over all, but those who are God's are to consider others more important than themselves.  That is the essence of biblical love displayed by Jesus Christ:  sacrificing self for the good of others.  If our benefit or profit comes at the expense of others through dishonesty, we ought to mourn rather than rejoice and seek to put things right.  The chief tax collector Zacchaeus demonstrated the connection between becoming a disciple of Christ with returning wealth gained dishonestly with interest in Luke 19.

Christians are not perfect, but we ought to strive to live justly in an unjust world.  If we skew the numbers for our own selfish benefit, we have become thieves worthy of just punishment.  To deceitfully enrich ourselves shows a fundamental lack of faith in God to provide for our needs.  Willful dishonesty for gain reveals we are greedy, dissatisfied, and ungrateful with what God has given us.  Our call as believers is not to measure ourselves by the world's distorted view of fairness, but to make decisions in light of God's justice.  Our assurance of forgiveness and salvation hinges upon this immutable characteristic of God as it is written in 1 John 1:9:  "If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness."

We expect God to justly keep His Word, and we bring glory to His name when we trust Him, love others, and deal justly in our business.  In just business God delights!