Category Archives: Walking with Jesus

Overflowing rubbish bin

Are You Compromised?

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“If you’re not going to preach the gospel, you don’t have anything to worry about. If you’re not going to talk about sin, you’re not going to have anything to worry about; but if you’re going to proclaim the gospel, they’re going to try to shut you up.” – Evangelist Franklin Graham

I’m tired of being a compromised Christian.

The world of politics believes compromise is good: all parties make concessions so that (reasonable, acceptable, tolerable) agreement can be reached. This works in its imperfect way in our imperfect world.

However, in God’s kingdom there can be no compromise. When I make a concession to the world, to my desires or to the lying suggestions of the devil, I sin. This is compromise.

God is not a compromiser. He is a promiser. He gives grace and mercy, yes – but only on his own terms.

People who want me to shut up, as Franklin Graham suggests, are asking me to compromise. I’m tired of it.

My largest area of compromise is my focus on the events of the day. There truly is nothing new under the sun.1 Much (likely most) of what I read outside the Bible doesn’t inform my Christian walk. I’m deceived if I think there actually is something new out there. And yet I find myself returning to this secular arena again and again. Too many days I check the news before I check in with my Lord and Saviour.

This futile search for ‘something new’ compromises my walk with Jesus. I think it’s sinful for me, and so I repent.

As part of this, I spent several hours this week going through my various inboxes, unsubscribing from junk.

Yes, the seemingly endless flow from the cloaca of culture: attack, criticism, counter-criticism, culture war volleys and parries, cancellation, disparagement, rumor, conspiracy theory, speculation, condemnation, self-righteous proclamation; all of this fills the news today, from the Times to Tumblr to TikTok.

Do I really need to know any of this to be relevant? The great weight in Paul’s letter to the Corinthians has landed upon my shoulders and can no longer be shrugged off: “My speech and my preaching was not with enticing words of man’s wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power.” 2

If I believe what God says in the Bible, I should need nothing else for wisdom and demonstration. Who could say something as well as scripture, unless it too is inspired by the Holy Spirit?

It’s wise to know what’s happening in the world. But I’m becoming convinced the endless drip–drip–drip of cases only puts my eyes where they don’t really belong.

Times are dark. But then, times have always been dark. The Apostle Paul died in prison. Ten of the original 12 disciples were martyred for their faith in Christ, many of them horribly. There was persecution everywhere for the early church, as there has been for outspoken believers throughout the Christian Age.

The only relief from persecution has been in times and places where church leaders and believers compromised themselves: becoming worldly, political or, as we might say today, ‘relevant’.

Worldly relevance is irrelevant to God’s kingdom. Compromise has no value there.

When Peter unleashed his fusillade of a sermon on the day of Pentecost,3 he was not interested in relevance, but repentance.

He preached Christ’s basic gospel: Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.4 ‘Repent and be saved’ was Jesus’ version of the prophet Zechariah’s warning: “Thus says the Lord of Hosts: Return to Me, and I will return to you”. 5

Are you afraid of proclaiming the gospel? It reveals truth and brings life. Relevant messages bring confusion and death. Are you bold like Peter? Or are you compromised?

I’ve been told: ‘keep your faith to yourself’ and ‘shut up with that *** and stop judging me’. I’ve been called names. I’ve been told I have no right to speak in the name of Jesus.

The world is compromised. Are you?

Christian organizations are being de-platformed. Why? Because they refused to compromise like the app stores do.

Christian organizations are being kicked out of financial institutions. Why? Because they refused to compromise like the banks do.

Christians are being arrested in Western nations for preaching the gospel. Why? Because they refused to compromise like local governments do.

Christians are being fired for sticking to their faith in the face of uncompromising work rules. Why? Because they refused to compromise.

There is nothing new under the sun. And yet, too often Christians foster outrage instead of resting in the grace and peace Christ gives us to meet them.

Focusing on outrage brings us into the same compromise we complain about. It tricks us into glorifying what the devil is doing instead of searching out what Christ is doing. Remember, where sin abounds (read the news), grace abounds more (read the Bible). 6

Here’s the bottom line for me today, as it has been for the church for two millennia: “Now Lord, look on their threats and grant that Your servants may speak Your word with great boldness, by stretching out Your hand to heal and that signs and wonders may be performed in the name of Your holy Son Jesus.” When they had prayed the place where they were assembled together was shaken. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke the word of God with boldness.7

Are you speaking the word of God with boldness? Are you fully living the life Jesus called you to live? Or are you a compromised Christian?

By virtue of cleaning out my spiritual rucksack this week, my burden just got a bit lighter, and my path a bit straighter. Praise God.

1. Ecclesiastes 3:8-9 – ‘All matters are wearisome; a man is not able to speak to them. The eye is not satisfied with what it sees, and the ear is not content with what it hears. What has been is the same as what will be, and what has been done is the same as what will be done; there is nothing new under the sun.’
2. 1 Corinthians 2:4
3. Acts 2:38-41 – ‘Peter said to them, “Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of sins, and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. For the promise is to you, and to your children, and to all who are far away, as many as the Lord our God will call.” With many other words he testified and exhorted them, saying “Be saved from this perverse generation.” Then those who gladly received his word were baptized, and that day about three thousand souls were added to them.’
4. Mark 1:15
5. Zechariah 1:3
6. Romans 5:20

Image by Markus Spiske via Pexels

creepy looking person

666

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I once lived on a busy four-lane road with a house number of 662. We had a driveway adjacent to the family next door. The property line ran through a thin strip of gravel between the oil-spotted asphalt strips.

We and the Nabes were both families with young children, our three just enough old enough to disdain playing with their two. We were all friendly enough, and had common superficial interests. We had warm random chats outside when our paths crossed, and the weather permitted. And that was it.

The Nabes were heart-on-the-sleeve Christians. We weren’t Christians at all. In fact by lifestyle and philosophical temperament I would today regard us as anti-Christians. We not only didn’t go in for that Jesus stuff, we actively dissuaded others from doing so. A generic ‘big G’ God might be okay, but that Jesus character, well he was just sketchy.

They were the Flanderses to our Simpsons. We weren’t interested in their Neducation.

As time went by, the Nabes would take their opportunities to evangelize, softly and gently. They invited us to church events and we always made a polite excuse. I know now that, while I wasn’t afraid of them, I lived in fear of what I thought they represented: powerless surrender.

We couldn’t go there; we wouldn’t go there. Self-sufficiency and independence were too precious.

Despite my self-enforced anathema of All Things Christian, I often wondered about what the Bible said: about me, about life, about history, and especially, about death and eternity. About the end times. Like many people of my generation I came of age reading The Late Great Planet Earth and the various speculations about something called The Rapture. And, about 666: the Number of the Beast.

This is how it all played out in my Hollywood mind:

  • Life goes on and the world spins into darkness (as it was even then, 45 years ago)
  • Eventually things get so bad, Jesus returns
  • The faithful Exit, Stage Left and watch the final act from private box seats
  • The unfaithful stay on as the Beast takes center stage
  • I’m doomed

Against this backdrop, I imagined there was an invisible place between our property (662) and the Nabes’ property (668) where 666 took up residence.

‘Here is a call for wisdom: Let him who has understanding calculate the number of the beast. It is the number of a man. His number is six hundred and sixty-six.’ 1

The beast is a divider. The beast is the destroyer. The beast ruins relationship. He is the great seducer and the one who blinds people to God’s goodness.

The beast is attractive to those of us with darkened hearts 2 because his power and influence can be grasped immediately. His works are obvious and there is craven safety in his grasp. He gives us a thrill.

Yet, in long speculation about the dark place that could exist between us and the Nabes, the truth was finally revealed. His number was mine.

Where darkness exists, it’s not between me and others, it’s simply within my own heart. That’s where unforgiveness and bitterness lurk.

The Bible says a darkened heart is confused.2 And yet the darkness and futility of the human heart didn’t dissuade God from having mercy on creatures like me who routinely spat on Him.3 Instead, He sacrificed the love of His own heart, his son, Jesus Christ. The Lord brought light to my heart, but I can still step back into darkness if I wish. It’s still a free-will universe.

If I do, the beast comes on the scene: he brings division, unforgiveness, bitterness, hatred; anything that can separate me from my Nabes. That’s the danger for all of us today.

Many years have passed and I did eventually hear the call of the sacrificed Christ. Now I’m one of the Nabes. The line between you and me is no longer visible from my side. Would you like to come in for a coffee?

1. Revelation 13:18
2. Romans 1:21 (NLT) – ‘Yes, they knew God, but they wouldn’t worship him as God or even give him thanks. And they began to think up foolish ideas of what God was like. As a result, their minds became dark and confused.’
3. Genesis 8:21a – ‘The Lord smelled a soothing aroma; and the Lord said in His heart, “I will never again curse the ground because of man, for the inclination of man’s heart is evil from his youth…”

Light at the end of the tunnel

Into the Light

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(A six-minute read)

Lent is a time of heading into the light. But it’s the light at the end of a tunnel. A 40-day tunnel, of repentance, prayer and fasting. That’s the theory anyway, that the light is there. I can’t see it from here, but I’ll walk the tracks knowing that the light will arrive before the train.

Some years I’ve done this lenten walk better than others. This year I am wholly intent. I need to bring myself low for a while. It’s time to remove some bad spiritual habits to make room for better ones. This is all preparation for greater challenges to come.

Just to be clear: Lent is not a religious obligation. Lent is a man-made thing; it ain’t in the Bible. Nevertheless, it is a useful man-made thing because it allows me to humble myself voluntarily. The Lord is kind to me when I do that. He loves the process.

The other method, where He forces me out of my own stupid mistakes, or hard-headedness or (worse) hard-heartedness, is much more painful. Been there, done that, am wearing the scars.

But at least they are scars from pruning. God nips off the useless bits so I grow better and bear more fruit later.1

I’ll skip the details about this year’s walk because they are less important than acknowledging the process. It’s one I wrote about a couple years ago, and which is worth revisiting here.

When I came out of radiotherapy at the beginning of 2020 I began a 40-day devotional by Harold Myra based on the writings of Brother Lawrence. Brother Lawrence was a 17th century Carmelite monk featured in a now-beloved tract called ‘The Practice of the Presence of God.’ It’s a combination of conversations he had with his friend Father Joseph de Beaufort and letters Brother Lawrence wrote to others.

A seemingly impossible task

The essence of his teaching is how to align myself for an ongoing conversation with God. In those moments when I forget (and they are frequent!) I simply come back round, apologize for turning away, and start over. God’s grace is endless for this, because He greatly desires to be in a relationship with me, with you, with all of us.

In one famous passage it’s written of Brother Lawrence, ‘that he was pleased when he could take up a straw from the ground for the love of God, seeking Him only, and nothing else, not even His gifts.’

How can I come to such a simple and unassuming place in life?

Brother Lawrence taught me how: go forward by going backward. Define the goal and then step backward to where I stand. Then I retrace those steps back to the goal. I have a lifetime to arrive.

When I first approach God I’m in an unregenerate state (that’s a fancy theological word meaning I’m not born again in Christ). I’m stubborn and sinful, and stand obstinately in opposition, refusing to accept His love.

Then, for some reason, perhaps a personal crisis, perhaps an ‘aha’ moment, perhaps the silent inward working of the Holy Spirit, I decide to respond to God’s invitation and pursue Him.

That pursuit can only come after a long sequence of changes in me, as I retrace the steps toward the goal. Here’s how it works.

A process for pursuing God

I can’t pursue God until I desire Him.

However, I can’t desire Him until my desire for other things lessens.2

My desire for other things doesn’t diminish until I recognize who I truly am (in Christ).3

That true identity doesn’t become clear until I understand why I was created.4

An understanding of my purpose in life only appears when I decide my way isn’t working, and I humble myself to receive God’s grace.5

It’s a not-so-vicious circle. It began on my knees, and it actually took me somewhere. The Bible instructs us to do things ‘heartily as for the Lord’ and not for men.6 So even if I’m doing work for someone else, I pursue it as though I’m serving Christ directly. Even if I am merely picking up a piece of straw.

The phrase ‘as for the Lord’ in the Modern English Version is rendered ‘as to the Lord’ in the New King James and ‘as though you were working for the Lord’ in the New Living Translation. The Passion Translation suggests ‘as though you were doing it for the Lord Himself.’ The Message Bible reveals that I should ‘work from the heart for my real Master.’

Through it all, I must remain conscious of my imperfection. God can only use me if I’m aware of how inadequate I am. I stand best when I stand on my knees.

1. John 15:1-22 – ‘I am the true vine and My Father is the vinedresser. Every branch in Me that bears no fruit, He takes away. And every branch that bears fruit, he prunes, that it may bear more fruit.’
2. 1 John 2:15 – ‘Do not love the world of the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him.’
3. Romans 8:5-6 – ‘For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit, the things of the Spirit. To be carnally minded is death, but to be spiritually minded is life and peace.’
4. Proverbs 19:21 – ‘There are many plans in a man’s heart, nevertheless the counsel of the Lord will stand.’
5. Psalm 38:17:18 – ‘For I am ready to stumble, and my pain is continually before me. For I will declare my iniquity; I am anxious because of my sin.’
6. Colossians 3:23-24 – ‘And whatever you do, do it heartily, as for the Lord and not for men, knowing that from the Lord you will receive the reward of the inheritance. For you serve the Lord Christ.’