Ministries of Condemnation

<sup>II Corinthians 3

1</sup>Are we beginning to commend ourselves again? Or do we need, like some people, letters of recommendation to you or from you? ²You yourselves are our letter, written on our hearts, known and read by everybody. ³You show that you are a letter from Christ, the result of our ministry, written not with ink but with the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone but on tablets of human hearts.

The Glory of the New Covenant

⁷Now if the ministry that brought death, which was engraved in letters on stone, came with glory, so that the Israelites could not look steadily at the face of Moses because of its glory, fading though it was, ⁸will not the ministry of the Spirit be even more glorious? ⁹If the ministry that condemns men is glorious, how much more glorious is the ministry that brings righteousness! ¹⁰For what was glorious has no glory now in comparison with the surpassing glory. ¹¹And if what was fading away came with glory, how much greater is the glory of that which lasts!

This is just an excellent passage on what real ministry is. Real ministry is one that focuses on the heart and spirit within people, not on the letter of the law. It isn't about building something that people will praise you for. Verse 3 tells us its not about control - "our letter of recommendation" is not the signature of our ministry - it is the quality of the heart produced in people. It is the people themselves - they are the fruit! And the fruit isn't how well they measure up to God's standard - "a city on a shining hill - set apart" mindset!

How do you recognize the real ministry of the new covenant? You recognize it by the fruits it produces! Seems so simple, yet it is profound how blind we are to it. Too many times, Christians think "we're going to produce good people that obey God's commands" more than "we're going to produce people with hearts that reflect the fruits of the spirit" - or - "let's pass laws that enforce God's law".

We sell ourselves so short on the glory God could produce in our areas of influence (ministry) by focusing on the law and standards, and miss out on the overwhelming joy that the covenant of grace produces! Just think - in the old covenant, the people of Israel couldn't look at the face of Moses and he had to cover his face - yet the covenant of grace enables an even brighter and stronger ministry! The law is there to condemn, but grace is more glorious than the reflection of God's face on a man! In fact, that old ministry of condemnation is not even glorious anymore. God doesn't reward it! Verse 6 tells us that it KILLS now that we're under grace!

So if your life and efforts (ministry) have turned to one of control and legal standards, GET RID OF IT! God will not reward it! It will kill those to which you're trying to minister and it is not glorifying to God!

Bad Company and Good Character

Do not be misled: "Bad company corrupts good character." Come back to your senses as you ought, and stop sinning; for there are some who are ignorant of God—I say this to your shame.

I Corinthians 15:33-34

Let me break this down for you in modern, American vernacular.

Hey, dummy! Being around bad company damages your spirit. Wake up! You're picking up their bad habits and attitudes! Some people have no idea how to act the right way - you should know better than to think everyone does!

-----------------------------------------------------

Oftentimes, I think we forget how critical it is to be surrounded by positive influences in our lives. And, I think we forget that we need to protect ourselves from negative influences. This is not an argument for separation from all negative influences, for we certainly must face them at times - we live in a broken world after all.

But it is a reminder to be on your guard. Inspect your heart. Do you find yourself growing negative or cold? That's coming from somewhere - most likely a negative influence in your life. Is it causing more damage to you than you are seeing positive fruit in the others from your involvement? Perhaps it is time to minimize or remove that influence.

And let's not be fooled - these negative influences often come from areas we least expect. Groups of friends, certain family members, church groups, coworkers, clubs, organizations. Don't get sucked into the negativity. Stay above it, or remove it from your life and avoid it if necessary.

And you'll notice that the concepts above are not limited to people that aren't Christians. It includes Christians. Bad company. There are many Christians who do not know God or his ways. We all have our weaknesses. Ask yourself - "Am I one of those in certain circumstances?"

If there truly is a reason you must interact with "bad company", consider that you must prepare yourself for it and do some damage control after interacting with it. If it continually negatively impacts you, you may need to perform some spiritual surgery and remove it from your life so as not to impede your spiritual growth.

Happy Pre-Birthday, Amber!

Well, as you all know, Amber's birthday is fast approaching next week!

Yay!

I thought I'd share a few things about her that I really appreciate!

1. She is an excellent photographer. You've all seen her work - I don't need to tell you this, but I really appreciate it! Our house is filled with visual reminders of the life we're building together!


2. She serves God with me! We've had the opportunity to help several couples get to the mission field, served together in our church in many capacities, and seen much spiritual fruit from it. I'm very excited to see how God will use us in the future together as we step out in faith!
   
   
   
   
   
   
She loves our kids.

She makes our family and home her priority. From the time we were married we intentioned to focus on giving the right things priority. One of Amber's convictions was to make family a priority over a career. This is a far harder thing to do than many realize. At the time we started our family, Amber had an excellent job with tremendous future making great money. There was no economic benefit to her leaving the workforce to manage a growing family. It would have been far more "beneficial" to just pay a nanny to raise the kids and manage our home. But Amber chose otherwise and the fruits of it have shown in our kids. They are wonderful, happy, energetic children that love their parents. We stepped out in faith that this was the right move, and we were rewarded with many benefits from it, financial and otherwise that we never would have seen coming. Thank you, Amber!

She is a candid advisor to me. I appreciate this. I'd rather have someone directly tell me when they're having trouble with my thinking than dodge a difficult conversation. She does this. Sometimes it isn't always a fun discussion, but it is profitable. She helps me see things from a different angle. What a great woman!

Land

So, for those who don't know - we ended up purchasing some land in southern Indiana about a month ago! Yay!

It is surrounded by Hoosier National Forest!

(This is about the edge of our property at the top of the hill, looking across into HNF.)

There is a nice stream that runs through it, and it is in the hills where there is a ton of wildlife. When I first visited it with my dad, we ran into 3 turkeys on the property!

We intend to use it as a weekend getaway property, hunting base camp, outdoors recreation, and investment. We have some farmland which is being leased to a farmer. Also, I may turn it into a classified nature preserve, and plant some high-value timber in some open acreage as an investment.



But the biggest, most exciting thing we're thinking about doing with the property is building a cabin / second home on it! And, being the crazy, project-liking guy that I am, I'm thinking about doing some of the work!

So, I'm going to start cataloging the progress we make to that end. This is a project for a project's sake, so we are not in a big rush to get it all done. I am going to do the work in chunks and not get rushed. I expect it to take several years to get it done.

Here is a shot of the field. On the other side of this field in that treeline is where we've decided to build the cabin.




There is an old pig barn or two by the entrance that will need to be torn down. This isn't hurting anything, but it is just unsightly. There are two working wells in this area that we'll use to supply water to the cabin.





With all the trees, I can't wait to see the view in the fall!

Tribute to Ann

Well, recently a friend of ours passed away - Ann.

Ann was an older woman that the ladies in the church looked up to. She was kind, gracious, loving - and always cheerful. Never had a bad thing to say even in her physical struggles. Yet she was wise and sharp, not to be fooled.

Her funeral was amazing! Probably one of the best I've been to! For those who don't know, Pastor is probably one of - if not the best - pastors I've seen do funerals. He's got a gift there! The music was great, the words were encouraging. I cried when Dave played "How Beautiful" with Brandon on the violin for her. Just so touching.

Over the last many weeks I've had the pleasure to get to know their family. The apple doesn't fall far from the tree, and it was a pleasure talking and just sharing the burden with their three children and their spouses. Hard indeed, but nonetheless what a joy to serve them! I hope I was a blessing to them in some way, because they sure were to me.

I think Susie talked about Ann's hugs. Susie has her mom's hugs that's for sure. I'll miss her mom's hugs!

I'll also miss her holding our children. Ann got to hold Kennedy just a few weeks ago. What a pleasure it is to see those you love love your children! Dave and Ann sent us one of Keegan's first baby presents - well in advance of the shower even. Such grace and generosity!

I'll miss Ann's encouragement. No matter how poorly I felt I did leading worship or playing my trumpet, Ann had something good to say! How many times did that save me from utter discouragement from those who would do the opposite!

I also remember the way she just lit up when someone would sing a classic hymn she loved. Just beamed from ear to ear. Joy of the Lord - right there.

I remember going to her house one time to set up their home entertainment center. I was willing to do it just to spend time with them, but they insisted on paying me. Well, they did - and handsomely - they wouldn't take no for an answer, and told me they were still coming out ahead. I am going to pass that legacy on!

I remember sitting at the table with her and Dave during John and Patti's wedding rehearsal. We discussed salvation, and the way she and Dave discussed the doctrines of grace nudged me down the path of embracing them too. Thank you!

So, thank you, Ann, as you shine in heaven brighter than you did here on earth!

Strongholds

I was recently discussing a matter with a dear friend regarding some problems with an individual. I've been keeping this person in the loop about the ongoing saga so that I can gain additional wisdom into precisely what is transpiring spiritually.

For the upteenth time, I had attempted to go to this individual and address some concerns. I was again met with this tremendously defensive response. There was avoidance, changing of the issue, defensiveness, anger, and of course - no resolution to the problem. After several hours of back and forth, the conversation finally closed out - with my realization that this person would just never be able to give in.

After relaying this same, repeated story to my friend yet again he wisely said "Satan has a stronghold."

Wow.

Stronghold.



That was precisesly what it was. A stronghold. And the entire picture came together for me on what was really going on in that situation. This person had something in their life that was gripping them spiritually that they could not shake, and as soon as anyone threatened that stronghold its defenses kicked in.

This launched me into a study on strongholds and what they are, and how to defeat them.

At its base level, a stronghold is a faulty way of thinking based on lies and deception. The stronghold then takes root starts attacking other areas of our thinking and eventually parts of our lives that are more visible.

You can't "see" the real stronghold - lies and deception. You don't know what the thinking is, but you can sure can see the visible fruit of that stronghold. Whereas the fruits of the Spirit are love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, kindness, patience, virtue, the fruits of a stronghold are anger, lack of joy, fighting, impatience, harshness, and even loss of virtue. With strongholds there is palpable fear manifested in defensiveness, avoidance, anger, and diversion. When you get close, the defensiveness kicks in.

A good example of a stronghold in Scripture is Jericho. Jericho was this wicked city in the midst of God's chosen people, Israel. It had tall walls and huge defenses - large and imposing. It was seemingly impenetrable and a threat to God's people. A base of operations for their enemy. Every day it was there, lingering on the horizon, it jeopardized the destiny to which Israel was being called, and they would never really be free.

So God had them remove the stronghold. They could not do it through their own physical means - they needed God's help - it was spiritual warfare. So, with strong leadership under Joshua and the truth of God's promise to them, God's people destroyed that stronghold in their midst.

Do you too want to be free? Then you need to take out those strongholds in your life!

³¹To the Jews who had believed him, Jesus said, "If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. ³²Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free."

³³They answered him, "We are Abraham's descendants^b]">[b] and have never been slaves of anyone. How can you say that we shall be set free?"

³⁴Jesus replied, "I tell you the truth, everyone who sins is a slave to sin. ³⁵Now a slave has no permanent place in the family, but a son belongs to it forever. ³⁶So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.

In the above verses, God tells us how to be free of strongholds. It isn't what you think. It isn't getting into a better financial situation, having all your "rights" restored to you, somehow muscling through it, getting what you want, or getting out from under oppressive people.

It is being set free by the Son, knowing the truth, and being free from sin.

Strongholds manifest themselves in defensiveness, fear, attacking others, division, hurt relationships, "unbreakable" habits, and other visible sins. Those visible sins are not the core problem, however - the lie you believe in your mind is the core problem. Satan has supplanted truth with lies, and that lie has taken root and born fruit.

How long has this been happening?

Since the fall of man in the garden of Eden. Satan deceptively approached Eve and got her to "rethink" the truth God had revealed to her. Adam went right along with it, unwilling to challenge the stronghold (lie) in its infancy. That lie took root and bore fruit, causing them to want to be like God. Satan has had a stronghold on minds ever since with original sin.

Welcome to spiritual warfare!

This brings us to the next question: How do we defeat strongholds?

³For though we live in the world, we do not wage war as the world does. ⁴The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. ⁵We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ. ⁶And we will be ready to punish every act of disobedience, once your obedience is complete.

We fight strongholds with truth, and we defend against them by putting on the armor of God.



You see, the real problem with the alcoholic isn't that he's addicted to alcohol. The problem is his thinking - the belief that somehow harmfully altering his body's chemistry with alcohol if fun for him in the long run or that it will make troubles go away.

So, you can attack the alcoholic's addiction, but if you don't fix the core spiritual problem - truth, the stronghold will only be torn down paritially, not removed. It will build up again to take control of that person.

What are the strongholds in your life? What sin do you accommodate and allow to build up in your mind? Can you see the core problem? Do you see how it causes you to lash out or get defensive?

We need victory over strongholds! Let's tear down the strongholds in our lives!

Planted By Streams of Water

Psalm 1

¹ Blessed is the man
who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked
or stand in the way of sinners
or sit in the seat of mockers.

² But his delight is in the law of the LORD,
and on his law he meditates day and night.

³ He is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither. Whatever he does prospers.

⁴ Not so the wicked!
They are like chaff
that the wind blows away.

⁵ Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment,
nor sinners in the assembly of the righteous.

⁶ For the LORD watches over the way of the righteous,
but the way of the wicked will perish.

Jeremiah 17

⁷ "But blessed is the man who trusts in the LORD,
whose confidence is in him.

⁸ He will be like a tree planted by the water
that sends out its roots by the stream.
It does not fear when heat comes;
its leaves are always green.
It has no worries in a year of drought
and never fails to bear fruit."

A good friend of mine recently recommended I read through Psalms 1. What a great passage! (I added Jeremiah 17 myself as I studied this topic of planting by streams of water.)

Do you want to be like a tree planted by the water? Do you want to grow, be full of life, bear fruit, and not worry about the hard times?

Then you need to make sure you are planted by streams of water. Living Water. You need to be sure that you have a source of life flowing through and around you. That you are constantly refreshed and filled spiritually.

The cleaner the water, the better. The fresher the better. Water is the source of life, spiritually and physically.

Do you want to be a dying tree? Not dead. Not thriving. Surviving. Barely living. Then plant yourselves further away from the water or in a desert. You'll reap what you've sown.

If you are struggling with spiritual vitality then perhaps you are NOT planted by a stream of living water. Maybe you're getting just enough to survive, but are you growing, thriving, drinking in fresh water daily, and being renewed?

Often times we take our spiritual state for granted. We think it is somehow unrelated to what is going on in the rest of our life. That somehow it is disconnected, and our spiritual state is the result of these physical things that happen to us - the "trials".

Here's how we usually think: Having a rough time being happy and content (spiritually happy)? It is probably because you're not advancing well in your career, your marriage and family isn't where you want it to be, or any other number of other endless "goals" we set for ourselves. So we get dejected and down - our spirit goes bad.

But I say it first starts with the spirit. Guess what? If you are in a spiritually good state - those other things will not matter. Yes, you will have challenges. But they will not overcome you. You will rise above them.

Furthermore, if you are not planted by streams of water - you will eventually wither and die. You can be doing all the right things - trying to make it on your own in a land void of water trying to provide it to yourself or from the occasional, seasonal stream - but you're just not taking root and growing. You have no source of life and energy, and the source of life and energy that you can store within your own trunk, branches, and leaves, will soon be consumed and you will eventually wither and pass away.

This is especially true of leaders. If you are not planted by streams of water - where life flows in and through you from an external source - you will quickly have the life sucked right out of you. Your nutrients will be consumed. Then, the branches and leaves of your life spiritually - family, friends, community - will eventually suffer the consequences as their stream of water begins to dry up.

And it just cascades from there.

So, here's my challenge to you - and thanks to my friend for challenging me in the same fashion - and for the wisdom of their mentors sharing this to them as spiritual leaders.

Plant yourselves by streams of water if you want to thrive and grow (be happy).