The Freeing Power of Truth

“To the Jews who had believed him, Jesus said, ‘If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples.  Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.’” (John 8:31-32 NIV)

I can still remember sitting in the office of one of my seminary professors almost wailing in grief over the break-up with my girlfriend. She was the love of my life and I was having a very hard time coping with the thought of living without her.  As I began to catch my breath, he asked me, “Jim, have you given this over to God?”  I think I muttered a “yes,” but it wasn’t true.  And it was months later before I would acknowledge the truth.  In the meantime, I struggled with school and with depression.  

Then one day, after a very tough morning, I exploded.  I screamed at God with great fury.  Why had he taken away the woman I loved?  Why was my life such a mess?  It was not fair!  And after my fury was spent, I sat, emotionally exhausted.  Then I heard these words in my mind, “Shirley is your idol.”  The truth had been spoken and at that moment, I owned it.  I had been in denial for months and had been in bondage to my idolatry. My girlfriend was more important than the Lord and my relationship with Him suffered as a result. When I was finally willing to tell the truth, I was set free. The depression began to wane, I finished strong in school, and I began to grow again spiritually.

I tell that story because so many of us hide behind lies.  Working with students, I see this frequently.  They want to portray an image of a solid believer, so they hide behind spiritual language.  They seek to sound like they are growing spiritually when nothing much is happening at all. Or they have consistent sin in their lives they’re unwilling to confess, such as pornography or an impure romantic relationship.  Even when directly asked, they will deny anything is wrong with how they are living.  
They think they are keeping up an impressive image, when in reality they are enslaving themselves to the father of lies.  Through their lies, he weakens them spiritually, deprives them of joy and peace, and blinds them to the freeing power of the truth.  

And it is not just college students.  Adults in churches are guilty of the same thing.  So many wear the mask of spirituality on Sundays, but the rest of the week is a different story.  So many pretend life is going well, but behind the façades are aching hearts.  

Why is it so hard to admit to the truth of our lives?  All of us fall short of the glory of God (Romans 3:23), so why are we bent on leading people to believe we are better than we are?  It’s that age-old sin of pride.  It is just too humbling to admit we are not as good as we are pretending to be.  But by refusing to acknowledge the truth, we keep ourselves in perpetual bondage.  

Today, if there is a lie you are hiding behind, know you are in bondage to it.  And the only way to free yourself is to admit the truth.  Confess to God and confess to other believers what is really going on.  Though it may scare you to do so, you will be amazed at how free you will become and the growth that will result.

© Jim Musser 2017

Stop Complaining

“In your struggle against sin, you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding your blood. And have you completely forgotten this word of encouragement that addresses you as a father addresses his son? It says, ‘My son, do not make light of the Lord’s discipline, and do not lose heart when he rebukes you, because the Lord disciplines the one he loves, and he chastens everyone he accepts as his son.’ 

Endure hardship as discipline; God is treating you as his children. For what children are not disciplined by their father?  If you are not disciplined—and everyone undergoes discipline—then you are not legitimate, not true sons and daughters at all. Moreover, we have all had human fathers who disciplined us and we respected them for it. How much more should we submit to the Father of spirits and live! They disciplined us for a little while as they thought best; but God disciplines us for our good, in order that we may share in his holiness. No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it.  Therefore, strengthen your feeble arms and weak knees. ‘Make level paths for your feet,’ so that the lame may not be disabled, but rather healed. (Hebrews 12:4-13 NIV)

If the persecuted Jewish Christians of the 1st Century were looking for sympathy, they didn’t get it from the writer of Hebrews.  Though they were being treated terribly by the Romans, the writer points out that none of their blood had yet been shed.  Instead of complaining about their difficulties, he thinks they should view their hardships as discipline from the Lord, intended to mold them into holy people.  And like a coach gathering together his battered and disheartened team at halftime, he challenges them to get it together, lift up their heads, and get back out on the field.  This is not the time to feel sorry for themselves.  There is still a game to be played, and to win.

The true test of faith is how it holds up in the difficult times, yet it seems we are loath to endure them.  We complain, we mope, and we want our difficulties resolved immediately.  We fail to understand that through hardships God is seeking to shape us and refine us into the people He created us to be.  Just as we needed parental discipline as children in order to grow into healthy, well-functioning adults, we are in need of the Lord’s discipline to help us to become spiritually healthy.  Yet, so often, like the Jewish Christians, we are looking for sympathy and whining about the hard times we are facing.

We complain about how bad our boss is or how rough we have it in school.  We get upset at how the “liberal” media treats our faith, or how we Christians are being increasingly marginalized in our society.  We get frustrated and easily discouraged when things in life don’t go our way, whether it is a relationship, our plans for the future, or just day-to-day life.  

Well, the Hebrew writer would say something like this to us: You may be having difficulties, but they haven’t yet killed you.  God is trying to teach you some things through your hardship, not because is He is mean or gets some sick satisfaction out of it, but because He loves you and wants you to grow into the person He created you to be.  Now, pick yourself up and get back out there living your life for Him!

If you expect an easy life because you follow Jesus, you are badly mistaken.  Life will have many difficulties because that is how God trains us to become who He created us to be.  So if your life is hard and you’ve been complaining about it, get over it.  The Lord is at work through these things.  Accept it and move on, allowing Him to mold you into the man or woman He created you to be.

© Jim Musser 2017

Shrinkers

“So do not throw away your confidence; it will be richly rewarded. You need to persevere so that when you have done the will of God, you will receive what he has promised. For, ‘In just a little while, he who is coming will come and will not delay.’ And, ‘But my righteous one will live by faith. And I take no pleasure in the one who shrinks back.’

But we do not belong to those who shrink back and are destroyed, but to those who have faith and are saved.” (Hebrews 10:35-39 NIV)

I was a shrinker by nature. When I was a child and teen, I was for the most part passive and avoided risk. While in elementary school, I did not try out for Little League baseball, even though my two older brothers played and I was a batboy. I became a bit braver in 7th Grade and tried out for the football team, but after only a couple of practices, I quit and chose to run cross-country, in which I competed for only one season. Later in middle school, one student bullied me for a whole year, but I never stood up to him, nor ever told my parents or school authorities.

As I grew older, I did become bolder, but even after my decision to follow Jesus, the shrinker in me was always an ever-present shadow.  I remember an off and on struggle with reading my Bible in public, even sometimes in my early years as a campus minister. Of course, this was long before Bible apps where you can read the Scriptures while looking like everyone else who is gazing at their phones. I often shrunk back fearing what other people in the coffee shop or restaurant would think. 

I also shrunk back as a single person. Instead of embracing my singleness and the freedom it brought in time and responsibility—freedom that could have easily been used in service to the Lord—I sought to find a relationship. It was a continual search because I feared loneliness, wanted affirmation, and shuddered at the thought of being single for the rest of my life.  

To call oneself a Christian while being a shrinker is evidence of a lack of faith. We shrink back because we can’t fully trust God.  We dive into an ill-advised relationship because we can’t trust Him to eventually bring along the right person. We go along with the crowd because we fear the cost of standing out. We are full of worry and anxiety because we feel the need to control our lives rather than give them over to the Lord. At the root of all of these is a lack of faith.

The Hebrew writer has just listed many of the challenges his readers were facing—severe persecution in many forms. He is exhorting them not to shrink back in fear and distrust, but to keep living in confidence their faith would be rewarded. And as a further motivator, he warns of the dire consequences of being a shrinker. This should serve as a motivator to all of us who are inclined to shrink back when we face adversity.  God can be trusted, so we must walk by faith rather than by sight.

Today, if you are one who tends to shrink back, know the Lord can be trusted in the midst of whatever you fear. In faith, push on; don’t shrink back. Living by faith is the path on which we will find the rewards so long promised us. It is by far not an easy path, but it is the best one.

© Jim Musser 2017

From Guilt to Repentance

“Even if I caused you sorrow by my letter, I do not regret it. Though I did regret it—I see that my letter hurt you, but only for a little while—yet now I am happy, not because you were made sorry, but because your sorrow led you to repentance. For you became sorrowful as God intended and so were not harmed in any way by us. Godly sorrow brings repentance that leads to salvation and leaves no regret, but worldly sorrow brings death.” (II Corinthians 7:8-10 NIV)

The past several weeks have been difficult for me. The Lord has been dealing with me on several issues in my life that I have left unattended. The details are not important or proper for me to share, but I have found confessing those to the Lord and to others and changing my behavior has lifted a heavy burden from my shoulders. The result is, while not a pleasant experience, feeling an underlying joy of having this burden removed and being able to look ahead and not behind.

In today’s parlance, we would probably use “guilt” rather than “sorrow,” and guilt is viewed as negative by our culture.  It is not uncommon for some students to complain they “feel guilty” when I or one of our other staff teach from the Scriptures. They are accustomed to feeling good and prefer it.  Don’t we all? None of us likes to be corrected, but the truth, one that has been increasingly lost in the church, is this is one of the primary purposes of the Scriptures.

In this passage in his second letter to the Corinthian Christians, Paul is referring to a situation he addressed in his first letter to them. He commends them for their response. First, they were hurt by his rebuke; then they felt guilty (or sorrowful); and then they repented. Paul was overjoyed by their response because it was not typical, nor is it in our world today. Instead of merely feeling sorry or guilty and getting stuck there, the Corinthian believers responded by confessing and changing their behavior.  

How often do we really see this today among believers? In my experience, when confronted with sin by the Scriptures, most do feel guilty, but that is where they remain. They feel sad or angry, but do not move on to repentance. Paul refers to this as “worldly sorrow” because it does not lead to a change of attitude or behavior.  And he gives a warning: worldly sorrow leads to spiritual death.  

Repentance is essential to the Christian life, but we can only repent from that which is known to us as sin.  This is why it is so important to know the Scriptures and submit to their authority. But it will not come naturally to us. Rather, our natures will resist strongly repenting from sin. Yet that is what is needed if we are to experience the fullness and abundance of seeking to follow Jesus.  There are no short cuts.  

Today, have the Scriptures, or teachings from them, led you to feel guilty or sorry for something you are doing? If so, then recognize the next step is to repent from whatever it is. The guilt or sorrow is a prompting from the Lord that you need to change your behavior. And repentance lifts the burden of guilt from us, just as the Lord intended. You don’t have to carry it any longer.

© Jim Musser 2017

Thanksgiving

(Author's Note: The University's Thanksgiving Break begins tomorrow, so, as per my custom, I will be taking a break as well. WftW will return on Monday, November 27th.  For those of you in this country, may you have a wonderful and blessed Thanksgiving holiday!  Jim)

“Shout for joy to the Lord, all the earth. Worship the Lord with gladness; come before him with joyful songs. Know that the Lord is God. It is he who made us, and we are his; we are his people, the sheep of his pasture.

Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise; give thanks to him and praise his name. For the Lord is good and his love endures forever; his faithfulness continues through all generations.” (Psalm 100 NIV)

It is the common tradition around many Thanksgiving celebrations to recount those things for which we are thankful. Going around the table or the room, people recount the things for which they are grateful—family members, a good job, freedom, financial security, the dream vacation they were able to take, good health, etc.  I have participated in these Thanksgiving rituals many times and they are a good exercise in recognizing how good our lives are and being grateful, even if they are far from perfect and not without struggles.

However, the flaw in this holiday ritual often is where the focus lies. Is it mostly on what we have been given or is it on the One whom has ultimately provided it for us?  Allow me to illustrate. On Christmas morning, children excitedly open their presents. Upon discovering what they have received, most will turn to their parents and say, “Thanks, Mom and Dad!”  But are they thanking them primarily because they are grateful to their parents for their love and generosity, or because of what they now have in their possession?

Notice in this psalm of David, the exhortation to be thankful flows from first recognizing the Giver for who He is, not for what He has provided. The Israelites had been given plenty, but the focus was first and foremost on the Giver and Him alone.

There is certainly nothing wrong with being thankful for all that we have been given and, in fact, that should be a consistent attitude we have. But if that is our sole focus, what happens when those things are taken away? I am so thankful to God for my wife whom I love so much, but could I remain thankful to God if she were taken away from me?  Could I continue to give thanks to Him if the home I so enjoy living in was suddenly destroyed? And would I remain grateful to Him if my health suddenly took a turn for the worse?

In honestly answering these or similar questions, we can get a truer sense of the focus of our thankfulness. Is it first and foremost on the Giver or on that which has been given?

Today and during this week of celebrating Thanksgiving, consider the reasons you are thankful. It is a wonderful thing, particularly in such a self-centered world, to acknowledge your gratefulness for what you have been given, but at the same time, do not forget the Giver of all things. He is the Source of all that we have been given; thus, He, and not merely His gifts, should be the object of our gratefulness.

© Jim Musser 2017

Please Forgive Me

“Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you.” (Colossians 3:13 NIV)

Recently, in the news there have been numerous sexual harassment and assault charges made against movie producers, directors, actors, and politicians. The responses from the accused have ranged from apologies in one form or another to sheer denial anything untoward occurred.  What no one has said, at least publicly, is, “Please forgive me.” 

This simple request is rarely uttered by Christians or non-Christians today when they have committed an offense against someone else.  The usual response is, “I’m sorry,” and this typically only comes when one is confronted with the fact of a hurtful word or action. 

The problem I have with saying “I’m sorry,” is usually it carries the connotation of the burden of the offense being on the offended. In a way we’re only acknowledging that you think we did something wrong and, thus, we will apologize given that you view it that way.  There is no true admission that I was wrong, only that you think I was.

You may think I am nitpicking, but I have experienced this from both sides—the one who was wronged and the one who wronged someone. My experience with both is that it is much easier to say, “I’m sorry,” than, “Please forgive me.” I recall meeting with a student who was to be one of our leaders for that year who, right before school started, as our student leaders’ retreat was about to start, informed me via a text that she was going to leave our ministry for another one.  No explanation or apology was offered, just that fact.  When we finally met several weeks later, I confronted her on the way she had handled the situation. She immediately became defensive and sought to justify her actions. When I pushed back on her excuses, she exclaimed, “What do you want?  For me to say I’m sorry?  Okay, I’m sorry!”

This is an extreme example where the student was basically unwilling to even apologize, let alone ask for forgiveness.  But I’ve also had students willing to say that they were sorry, but very few to ask for my forgiveness.  To do so is to go against our flesh, which is full of pride. One cannot be prideful and ask forgiveness. It requires humility and that doesn’t come easily or naturally. 

Just recently I had to seek forgiveness from my staff for attitudes this semester that were not glorifying to the Lord and that were discouraging to them. It took me a week to defeat my flesh and do what I knew the Lord was commanding me to do—to say, “Please forgive me” and to acknowledge my sin.

Sadly, it is common in both campus ministries and local churches where people will leave communities or sever relationships—even using the cover of “I feel the Lord leading me”—because they are unwilling to admit they are in the wrong and seek forgiveness, or unwilling to forgive those who have sinned against them. It is our pride that so often stands in the way of true reconciliation.

Today, are you aware you have sinned against someone through what you’ve said or done? If so, are you willing to deny your flesh, your pride, to seek forgiveness? And if you are not aware of any sin you’ve committed against someone, are you willing to seek the Lord to be certain that indeed is the case (Psalm 139:23-24)? The Lord gave us a ministry of reconciliation, to lead others into reconciliation with God, but as Paul implies, that ministry has true power only when we are able to seek forgiveness from others and have a willingness to forgive others who have wronged us. “Please forgive me” needs to be spoken and heard much more often than it is.

© Jim Musser 2017

Praying Together

“Is anyone among you in trouble? Let them pray. Is anyone happy? Let them sing songs of praise.  Is anyone among you sick? Let them call the elders of the church to pray over them and anoint them with oil in the name of the Lord. And the prayer offered in faith will make the sick person well; the Lord will raise them up. If they have sinned, they will be forgiven. Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective.” (James 5:13-16 NIV)

Do you notice any theme in this passage?  When we are in trouble, what should we do? Pray.  When life is so good we just can’t help but smile, what should we do?  Pray prayers of praise and thanksgiving.  If we or someone else is sick, what should we do?  Pray in the name of the Lord for healing.  If we have sinned, what should we do?  Confess to one another so we can pray for one another.

As we are told in other passages (e.g., Acts 2:42; Ephesians 6:18), the community of believers is to be praying.  Yet, this is one of the great struggles within the body of Christ.  We spend little time praying, particularly together.  Why would that be when it is so obvious in Scripture that this is to be a focused priority?  Two words—spiritual warfare.

The enemy knows the power of prayer and the devastating effect it can have on his schemes, so he works hard on persuading us not to pray. It’s too scary or weird. I don’t know how to pray. It takes too much time. I’m not good enough. The list can go on and on of the excuses we have for not praying.  The fact is, whatever the reason, the end result is a lack of prayer in our lives, which fits quite nicely into Satan’s strategy of weakening the Church.  I see this in the ministry that I lead. We have a weekly prayer time to which only a handful of students come. We also have a space during our large group meetings to which students can come for prayer. Rarely, anyone does. 

If this is to change, we need to acknowledge what is going on.  We need to confess our prayerlessness and begin to fight back.  We need to look for the opportunities to pray with one another, fighting through the fear and awkwardness.  Prayer is powerful and effective and we would be wise to put it to better use.

Today, consider how you can begin to cultivate a life of prayer with other believers.  Perhaps you can start with a question: How can I pray for you?  And then follow that up with, here’s how you can pray for me. Then pray.  It may be a little awkward, but the rewards will be great.

© Jim Musser 2017