On Bread Alone

Jesus answered, "It is written: 'Man does not live on bread alone, but on every Word that comes from the mouth of God.'"
Matthew 4:4 (NIV)

I get hungry, especially late at night. I can do well nutritionally-speaking from the hours of 6:30am - 6:30pm, and would even go so far as to say I excel in healthy eating and healthy portions early in the morning. But sometime after supper, cravings hit that continue literally right until I go to bed. I once tried a popular "meat only" diet for about 12 hours five years ago. I felt weak and actually even began to feel ill towards the end - right before I wolfed down massive quantities of carbohydrates! In short, I have no problem feeding my physical body on a regular basis; whether it needs it or not!

All this leads me to speculate - how much would our spiritual life prosper if we "fed" it as much as we feed our physical bodies? Matthew 4:4 seems to say that as Christians, we find, maintain, and sustain our spiritual life through the Word of God. What would happen if we chose not to eat or drink until we had spent equal time feasting on the Word of God? A former pastor of mine used to say - "No Bible, no breakfast. No Love Letter, no lunch, No Scripture, no supper." I don't know whether he actually lived by that, but… wow - what if we did?

We make time for food in our daily schedules - if we did not, we would be hungry; get weak; starve; and ultimately die. Therefore, we make physical nutrition a high priority. Why, then, do we not do the same with our spiritual health when the Bible clearly states that there is a corollary that exists between physical food and spiritual food? Isn't it equally true that if we do not "feed" on the Word of God that we get spiritually hungry; we become spiritually weak; and we suffer spiritual starvation? Is it going too far to say that without regularly coming to the "Bread of Life" and the "Living Water", we ultimately die, spiritually-speaking?

I don't think so. In fact, if I understand my Bible correctly, this is exactly the way that people become apostate (fall away from God) and ultimately find themselves living apart from His grace. My experience tells me that for most, this is a gradual "slipping"; a stair-step process that gently erodes away at their soul until they no longer have any real relationship with the Savior. He becomes a distant memory; an echo of a time when they were once "closer to God".

I know this is getting long, but bear with me - we're coming in for the home stretch.

What if instead we got literal in our understanding of Matthew 4:4? I wonder how much more spiritually healthy I would be if I devoted at least the same amount of time in filling up on spiritual food (personal prayer and Bible study) as I do on physical food? I estimate that I spend (on average) around 15 minutes each day "actually" eating (i.e. not preparing, waiting on, or cleaning up afterwards, but actually eating) breakfast and lunch, and around 30 minutes "actually" eating supper. Man. What would happen if just before each meal, I devoted the same amount of time giving my soul spiritual nutrition? How would life be different if I was as hungry for the things of God as I am for the physical appetites?

Would I behave differently? Would I think differently? Would I respond differently? I think that surely I would. In fact, I suspect that I would be healthier spiritually if I took Matthew 4:4 to heart and was just as concerned about filling my soul as I am my body. I suspect that others around me would, too.

"Father God, I want to understand what Matthew 4:4 really means. Cause my spiritual appetites and desires to equal, and even exceed those of my physical ones. Help me to get on a regular diet of healthy spiritual endeavors that fill and satisfy the soul!

In Jesus' Name - AMEN!"

Pastor Howie

Back to the Basics

Sometimes it's good for us to go back to the basics.

I've just recently started going back to the gym to get this flabby body in shape! It would be nice to pick up where I left off several years ago when I was at the peak of being in shape – deadlifting 400lbs, squatting 375, and bench pressing 225 at a body weight of 185. In the early nineties, I had what is called a "14 inch drop" between my chest and my waist – 46" chest and a 32" waist (now I possess a "14 inch drop" as well – just the other way around)!

I would love to be able to pick up where I left off, but if I tried that, I would likely hurt myself pretty badly. In the past fifteen years, I've actually become unacquainted with the gym, and as a result I've lost much ground that I had previously gained.

I suspect that it's the same spiritually with many today.

Unfortunately, for many there was a point in time when they could point back at their life and define that as their "peak moment", spiritually-speaking. Looking at where they are today, it may well be that they are not as strong a Christian as they once were.

That's unfortunate.

Clearly throughout the Bible, we are expected to grow on a regular basis (Paul would say – "DAILY"!). If we have stagnated, or worse – lost ground over time, then the best thing we can do is get back to the basics: know that there IS a God. Know that He CREATED you. Believe that He LOVES you. Find out His PLAN for your life through His Son Jesus Christ. LIVE LIFE TO ITS "FULLEST", and GROW in His Grace every single day.

Maybe you need to get back to the basics and reacquaint yourself with the One Who died for you.

Maybe the time is now.

"Father God,

Help me to remember that it all hinges upon Genesis 1:1 – 'In the beginning...GOD!'
If I can believe that, everything else in the Bible just logically follows.
Lord, I believe.
Help me in my unbelief.

In Jesus' Name – AMEN!"

Pastor Howie

A Spirit of Fear

"For God has not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind!"

- 2 Timothy 1:7 (KJV)

Studies say that the average American is more stressed out than ever. Levels of fear (both rational and irrational) have risen steadily in the average person since the 1950's. As a society, we are generally anxious, fearful, panicky, worried, harried, frazzled, and stressed out to the max!

The most disturbing thing about that is that results of these studies don't change much when you only consider those who claim regular church attendance. In other words, we as Christians don't seem to be much different than the world when it comes to worry and fear.

But God doesn't want us to live that way.

I am a person that struggles with panic attacks. My source is primarily claustrophobia, but it can manifest in other ways as well. My root cause is likely biological and genetic as many in my immediate family also suffer from various forms of anxiety disorders, and I am on medication to help counteract these effects.

Nonetheless, I am responsible for how I perceive, digest, internalize, and act upon the world I am in. I need to be reminded that this "spirit of fear" that I sometimes find myself in the grips of does not come from God. If it does not come from God, it is a reasonable logical conclusion that the converse must be true – I.E. it must come from the devil!

I don't want to live my life according to Satan's terms!

While there's strength enough in the revelation found in the first part of this verse, God graciously continues to tell us that what we do receive from Him includes POWER, LOVE, and a SOUND mind.

Wow.

With all of that to rely upon – what have I to fear? If God is for us, who can be against us? I am MORE than a conqueror in Jesus' Name! Worry won't add a single hair to my quickly balding head – so, I'm going to trust in God with all my heart and leave "life" to Him and His capable hands!

"Father God,
Cause 2 Timothy to become more than just a memory verse – cause it to become my life's testimony in everything I think, say, and do.

In Jesus' Name – AMEN!"


Hope you have a great week – I can't wait to see what He'll do THIS Sunday!

Pastor Howie

You Can Have Resurrection Power!

This is what the Lord God says to the bones:
'I will cause breath to enter you so you will come to life.' "
– Ezekiel 37:5-6 (NCV)

Have you ever felt like a dry bag of bones? Like there is no life left in you? Like there is no hope?

I have a spot in my right shoulder girdle that I have come to call my "dead zone". I feel nothing there but a constant, dull ache. Even when someone is doing hard massage in that area, all I feel is pressure, not real feeling. I am told that I likely separated my rotator cuff years ago playing football, but as I possess full range of motion, surgery would be ill-advised. So, I have come to live with my "dead zone". I am frustrated with the obvious differences between the musculature of my right side of my torso compared to the left. It bothers me that I often fail in certain exercises – not because I'm not strong enough – but because of this "dead zone" that doesn't work properly.

I have to admit that there are other areas of my life that could be properly termed as "dead zones" depending on when and where you find me: times when I feel less than exuberant; less than holy; less than "called out"; less than a child of God...less "spiritually alive" than I think I should feel as a Christian. I sometimes surprise myself at how quickly I can go into modes of self-pity regarding various issues concerning my physical health, and angry questioning seems to come more easily than I'd like.

This seems incompatible with Jesus' ascertation that He came to give me "abundant life" (Jn 10:10).

I have come to realize that this life does not resonate within me in and of its own power or accord. Rather, this power is proffered to me daily and I am given the choice to either partake of it and enjoy life the way God intended for me to live, or to reject it and live life on my own power.

The good news is that we serve a God with resurrection power! That well will never run dry! The same God that raised Christ from the dead, the same God that called Lazarus out of his tomb, the same God that breathed the breath of life into lifeless bones on a dusty field is the same God that is waiting for you to come to Him for your resurrection miracle!

We don't find life within; we find it in Him.

Father God,
Help me to realize my constant dependence upon You for everything in life –
according to Your Word,
I am dependent upon You even for the air that I breathe in and breathe out every second.
Therefore, help me to call upon the resurrection power You offer me every day,
so that I might live the life You've given me to its fullest!
Let there be no SPIRITUAL "dead zones" in my life;
resurrect every fiber of my being in Christ Jesus.
In Jesus' Name – AMEN!

Pastor Howie

You're a Real Piece of Work

"We are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works,
which God prepared in advance for us to do."
– Ephesians 2:10 (NIV)

Have you ever seen a master at work: I mean, someone who is particularly good at what they do – truly a "master" in their field of endeavor? I remember seeing some of the world's greatest craftsmen when the World's Fair came to Knoxville, Tennessee in 1982. I would go from exhibit to exhibit, amazed at the variety and depth of talent. One thing stood out in particular – the Chinese exhibit had artists that could draw entire paintings on a grain of rice! Wow!

The Bible tells us that WE – you and I – are GOD'S workmanship. Stop and re-read that sentence again, slowly. Isn't that incredible? And we know that there is no greater creator of valuable art than the Creator Himself. The Word of God says that He molds us and makes us into His image day by day. Everything created has a function, and we are no different. The Bible tells us that we were "created in advance by Christ Jesus to DO GOOD WORKS", and that God gave us everything that we need to do that task; He equipped us; "prepared us in advance" to accomplish that missive.

Man.

You're a real piece of work, you know that?

God wants to use you in ways that you have probably not yet even fathomed, but you are more than able to do because He made you for that very purpose! How awesome is that?

The next time someone tells you – "You're a real piece of work, you know that?", smile and tell them "You'd better believe it, buddy!"

Father God,
Help me to realize my God-given potential in Christ Jesus.
Cause me to seek out that which You would have me do today
to be that "piece of work" that you made me to be.
In Jesus' Name – AMEN!

Pastor Howie