Posted in Ephesians

Receiving God’s Love

Posted on by Tom Flaherty

“For this reason I pray to the Father… that your roots will go down into God’s love and keep you strong.  And may you have the power to understand… how wide, how long, how high, and how deep His love is.” Ephesians 3:14; 17

A few years ago I had the privilege of doing a youth retreat in another city.  During a session I called a young woman out and asked her name, then gave her this word: “When Samuel went to the house of Jesse to anoint one of his sons as king, Jesse had overlooked his son, David.  David wasn’t even invited to the feast.  But God’s eye was on David; God saw him and God wants you to know that He sees you.”  Later that night, after I preached, I invited any who wanted to drink of the Spirit to come up and receive prayer.  This young woman came up and when I prayed the Holy Spirit touched her in a dramatic way as He was touching many others.

 I didn’t know what God was doing in her until the pastor of that church was driving me back to the airport on Monday morning.  He told me that she had told her mom on the way to church (we were back from the retreat by then) that she had a new peace and felt different.  Her mom shared this with the pastor because to her this was a miracle. She had sent her daughter on this retreat out of desperation.

This girl had grown up in a single parent home and had become wild and agitated all the time.  There was nothing the mom who loved her could do to help.  Others had tried to help, but it didn’t seem to change anything.  Yet God saw her.  God spoke to her.  God touched her and that changed everything.

 Maybe you’ve been overlooked by people and have felt small and rejected.  Please know God’s loving eye is on you.  Why not open up your heart again and ask Him to speak to you and touch you in a new way?

Posted in Hebrews, Mark, Matthew, Revelation

Wake Up!

Posted on by Tom Flaherty

“You have a reputation of being alive but you are dead.  Wake up!… Go back to what you heard and believed at first; hold to it firmly.  Repent and turn to Me again.  If you don’t wake up, I will come to you suddenly, as unexpected as a thief.” Revelation 3:1-3

 The Christian life is a long journey at night.  God has ordained that we would have to choose Him in a world of moral darkness that is opposed to the gospel, so that those who choose Him in the dark will never reject Him in eternity when we see Him in the light.  But we have to stay awake!

 Presumption put the church at Sardis asleep.  They had a reputation of being alive, probably gained by past experiences of life and reflected by a doctrine of life, yet in reality, they had become dead.  Like the foolish virgins (See Matthew 25) they presumed that the oil they received at the beginning would be enough, so they didn’t bother to keep their relationship with God fresh.

 America is one of the most dangerous places in the world spiritually.  I’ve had missionaries tell me that they are glad they don’t live here because life is so easy and busy in America that they find it difficult to stay spiritually awake.  On the mission field they sense their absolute dependence on God’s protection and provision so it’s easy to trust Him day by day, but here they find the urgency to seek Him is lacking.

 The enemy seeks to put the church to sleep by the cares, worries, and pleasures of this life. (Mark 4:19)  Do you have a strategy to stay awake?  When I drive at night I make sure there is a passenger to help keep me from dozing off.  I believe God has given the church to be that spiritual passenger for each of us. (Hebrews 10:24-25).  There’s something about gathering together and hearing the word of God that reminds us of who we are, who God is, and of what’s truly important.  Are you part of a group where someone regularly asks you if you’re still awake?

Posted in Proverbs

Having Godly Sex

Posted on by Tom Flaherty

“Rejoice in the wife of your youth.  She is a loving deer, a graceful doe.  Let her breasts satisfy you always.  May you always be exhilarated by her love.”  Proverbs 5:18

 As a young husband filled with sexual desire I felt like my sexuality was in opposition to my relationship with God.  I often thought that if I was neutered I would be able to serve God better.  Then one day I read Proverbs 5:18 and my thinking began to change.  This passage is about exciting, passionate sex with no reference to having children.  I worshipped Him that day.  God is so good He even wants me to have an exhilarating sex life!

 How do we have godly sex?  First we have to wash our minds of all the ways the enemy has perverted sex and damaged the human race through its abuse.  For many, “godly sex,” is an oxymoron.  “God may allow sex because He wants us to procreate, but He probably looks the other way when we’re engaged in it because it’s beneath Him.”  Wrong!  God created sexuality and sex, just like He created taste buds.  He wanted us to look forward to meals and have our hearts filled with thanksgiving at the pleasure of eating when we are hungry.  He is the Author of pleasure.

 God created sexuality and sex because He wanted there to be regular celebrations of the intimacy we have in marriage.  Intimacy comes by the lifelong commitment of “leaving father and mother” to be joined to one another.  It’s not easy for two broken, sinful people to be committed for a lifetime to love one another, so God placed a hidden pleasure in the union.  Godly sex strengthens the union and makes faithfulness more than our duty; He wants it to be our delight.

Posted in 2Corinthians, Ephesians

The Call to Sexual Purity

Posted on by Tom Flaherty

“For I am jealous for you with the jealousy of God himself. I promised you as a pure bride to one husband—Christ.  But I fear that somehow your pure and undivided devotion to Christ will be corrupted, just as Eve was deceived by the cunning ways of the serpent.” 2Corinthians 11:2-3

 Why has God given us sexual desire and attraction to the opposite sex and then commanded that we control that desire and attraction to save it only for our present or future spouse?  To get to the why of sexual purity we have to go back to why God made sex in the first place.  When we understand what it pictures we will more easily be able to accept and even delight in His call to sexual purity.

 In the text above, Paul says we are called to be the bride of Christ and have only eyes for Him; pure and undivided in our devotion.  In Ephesians 5:31-32 he says: “For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and shall be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh.  This mystery is great; but I am speaking with reference to Christ and the church.”  So marriage was created to speak of this higher relationship with Christ and human beings.

 The two become one not by intercourse but by this “leaving” all others, and this “joining” to only one another.  The two becoming one flesh, sexual intercourse, consummates and celebrates that shared devotion to only one another.  Why did God make sex fun?  Why did he give us desires that are fulfilled in this act of passion?  Because it represents the spiritual pleasure available to us in our union with Christ.  There is fullness of joy in His presence.  But our union to Him is not based on spiritual pleasure, but on His devotion to us and our singular devotion to Him.  Spiritual pleasures make it easier to stay devoted to Him, and it strengthens our resolve.  It makes our relationship more than a duty; He is our delight.

 God created sex within marriage to sweeten our commitment to our spouse, so they wouldn’t be our duty, but our delight. Our singular commitment to them pictures for all the world to see our commitment to Christ who left His Father’s home, took on flesh, died and rose again, just so we could be His forever.

Posted in Proverbs

Assurance of Guidance

Posted on by Tom Flaherty

“Trust in the Lord with all your heart and do not lean on your own understanding.  In all your ways acknowledge Him and He will make your paths straight.” Proverbs 3:5-6

To be assured that God’s leading me I must choose to do one thing and choose not to do something else.  I must trust God with all my heart.  There is no “plan B;” I must be “all in” with God.  The most famous poker game today is called, “Texas Hold ‘em.”  Anyone at any time can go “all in,” which forces everyone else to decide if their present hand is worth risking the entire game on.

To be assured of God’s guidance, we must be “all in” in every circumstance we face.  Our lives are His to guide, so we acknowledge Him in all our ways, not just in our religious ways.  He is central in our work, our fun, our marriages, our families, our friendships, our vacations, and in our service.  Someone said guidance can be broken down this way: The “G” stands for God; the “u and i” stand for you and I, and the “dance” stands for dance.  You and I are to live dancing with God and letting Him lead.

But to walk in assurance we must listen to the warning in the text above: “Do not lean on your own understanding.”  Some have misinterpreted faith by declaring that God doesn’t want us to use our minds, but that’s false.  God gave us minds and wants us to love Him with all our minds.  Faith does not contradict our minds but it will transcend them, because God is bigger than our minds can conceive.  He calls us beyond what makes “sense” to us.  Peter can’t walk on water, but Jesus calls him out of the boat – will he trust God or his own common sense?  David can’t kill Goliath and shouldn’t even face him without Saul’s armor, but God is speaking something else – which voice is true?  

Most people in America, even religious people, are leading their lives by common sense.  Living in the “real world” has come to mean making decisions without the possibility of supernatural help.  Yet to be assured of God’s guidance, we should not be surprised if He calls us to step out beyond what is comfortable for us.

Dance with God.  Don’t tell Him where it’s reasonable and comfortable for you to go  – enjoy His leadership and follow!

Posted in 1John, 2Corinthians, John

Assurance of Forgiveness

Posted on by Tom Flaherty

“If we confess our sins He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” 1John 1:9

 When we come to Jesus in simple faith and trust Him for our salvation we become “righteous,” or right with God.  The gospel isn’t about what I can do for God, but about what God did for me on the cross.  “He who knew no sin (Jesus), became sin, in order that we (I) might become the righteousness of God in Him.” (2Corinthians 5:21)

 Yet as Christians we are still broken in many ways and that leads to unplanned sins.  God’s presence and power are in us and as we walk with Him He is gradually healing us, but it is a process and not an immediate result.  Until we’re completely healed (which actually won’t be until heaven!), we’re going to need many new beginnings.  God knew this, so He promised to forgive us along the way.

 His forgiveness is “just” in His eyes because Jesus already died for those sins.  He doesn’t arbitrarily forgive sins just because He loves us; He forgives us when we’re in Christ because the full punishment for sin has already been paid.  Because of Jesus, the only sin that can’t be forgiven is the one we are unwilling to confess. (See John 9:41)

 Be honest and be humble.  Keep short accounts with God and know that He is gradually healing you on the inside, so you won’t have to confess the same things over and over forever.  As we’re healed in one area, however, He will start shining His light on another.  All we have to do is keep walking in the light (John 1:7) which is another way of saying we simply need to walk with God.

Posted in Acts, John

Assurance of Answered Prayer

Posted on by Tom Flaherty

“Until now you have asked for nothing in My name; ask and you will receive, so that your joy may be made full.” John 16:24

 There is fullness of joy in partnering with God.  To pray in Jesus name is to pray on behalf of His interests, kind of like the ambassador of a country.  An ambassador transacts business for the country they represent with the full backing and authority of the place they were sent from. Jesus has sent us into the world (John 17:18), and He wants us to know that all of heaven is behind us as we seek to honor Him.

 In the text above, Jesus tells us where assurance in prayer will come from: using His name.  When we pray in our own name we base our confidence on how deserving, or undeserving we feel we are, and that’s usually based on how we’re feeling that day, or on how we have performed recently.  This is a recipe for doubt.  If I have to achieve a certain spiritual feeling, or live a life that “deserves” God’s blessing, I will never have full assurance in prayer.

 But if my access has nothing to do with me, but only about how good Jesus is and how complete His sacrifice was for me on the cross, then it becomes easy to believe.  Peter said, “I do not possess silver and gold, but what I have I give to you, in Jesus name rise up and walk.” (Acts 3:6)

 God wants us to possess Jesus’ name and our position in this world as His ambassadors.  He wants every one of us to know the joy of partnering with Him every day.  We’re called to nothing less!

Posted in 1John, John

Assurance of Salvation

Posted on by Tom Flaherty

“The testimony is this, that God has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son.  He who has the Son has the life; he who does not have the Son does not have the life.  These things I have written to you who believe in the name of the Son of God so that you may know that you have eternal life.” 1John 5:11-13

Assurance of salvation begins with the sinner’s prayer and the name of Jesus on our lips, and it grows as the nature of Jesus transforms our lives from the inside out. Salvation isn’t in a prayer, an altar call, or in a baptismal tank; it’s in a Person.  “He who has the Son has the life.”  Jesus said, “I am the way and truth and the life; no one comes to the Father except by Me.” (John 14:6)

God doesn’t want us to live trying to be accepted by Him.  We get to start the Christian life with assurance that salvation is not about our performance, but Jesus’ perfect sacrifice on our behalf.  We begin being accepted, forgiven, loved, and favored as God’s very own children. (1John 3:1-3)  To be in God’s family and to take His name is a great privilege, and God’s will for each of us.

But we must remain in Jesus to be saved.  We can’t reject the ongoing relationship and expect that an event in our past will save us; that’s presumption and produces a false assurance.  Jesus said it this way, “If anyone does not remain in Me they are cut off like a branch that withers and is thrown into the fire.” (John 15:6)

Jesus is the Friend of sinners and He takes all that come to Him just as they are. (John 6:37)  But we must receive Him just as He is, and He is both Savior and Lord.  We can’t take the benefits of forgiveness and reject the call to follow Him.  Here’s another way of saying it:  We can’t just add Jesus to our life and expect to be saved.  Jesus must become our life, and following Him must be our primary identity.

Posted in Luke

Saying “Thanks”

Posted on by Tom Flaherty

“Jesus asked, Didn’t I heal ten men?  Where are the other nine?’” Luke 17:17

Jesus marvels at the ungratefulness of the human race.  Ten cried out in great distress; ten were miraculously healed by the mercy of God; yet only one returned to say, “thank you.”

In 1987 I was a youth pastor in Grand de tour, Illinois, and we were doing a fundraiser in a town 30 miles away from our church.  After we packed up the teens and took off, a seventh grade girl called my wife at our apartment and explained that she had missed the bus, but still wanted to go.  Could Alice pick her up and drive her to the event?

Alice felt compassion for her and agreed to do it even though it would be difficult.  It meant loading up our two little ones, driving 15 minutes in the wrong direction, and then 45 miles to get to the event.  It took most of the morning to do this good deed.

I went to the car after she dropped off the girl, and Alice looked disappointed.  “She didn’t even say, thanks,” was the explanation.  Alice was happy to make the sacrifice and she wasn’t looking for gas money, but couldn’t this girl recognize that someone had gone out of their way just for her? Couldn’t she take two seconds to say, “thanks?”

Alice was disappointed, but I was enraged.  Later that day I was alone in our apartment fuming over the ungratefulness of this seventh grade girl when a stream of thoughts came unbidden into my mind, “Why are you so angry at her?  You do this to Me all the time.”

My heart was cut and all my anger was instantly gone.  I looked around our apartment and it was as if my eyes were opened.  We had almost no money, yet our apartment was fully furnished.  There was a story behind everything we owned.

“God, please forgive me,” I prayed, and then purposed to make up for all of my ingratitude. “Thank You for this coffee table; thank You for our dining room table and chairs, we don’t deserve any of this, yet You have provided them in Your great love.”  Then I went piece by piece and thanked Him for every item in our apartment.  Ever since that time I’ve tried to count my blessings and cultivate an attitude of thanksgiving.  I want to be like the one who came back, don’t you?

Posted in Mark, Psalms

The Gift God is Offering

Posted on by Tom Flaherty

“What must I do to inherit eternal life?… One thing you lack: go and sell what you possess and give it to the poor… and come follow Me.” Mark 10:17; 21

 What if the gift we are asking God for is different than the one He’s offering?  The rich young ruler already had a good life but saw it could be better if he had the promise of eternal life.  He asked Jesus what He had to do to ensure that gift but didn’t like the answer.  “But at these words he was saddened, and he went away grieving, for he was one who owned much property.” (Mark 10:22)

 He was willing to do something, but Jesus asked him to let go of something.  He wanted to improve his life, but Jesus wanted to become his life.  He wanted to add a room to his house, but Jesus wanted to tear down the house he had built and start over with Himself as the foundation of a new building.

 He ended up walking away sad.  The gift he asked for was different than the one God was offering.  I wonder if we have answered Jesus’ call to let go of our control, or if we have redefined what He’s offering to accommodate our own desires?  

Better to be sad than deceived. I wonder if the rich young ruler ever reconsidered and followed Jesus on His terms?  If he did, he would have found that God is not opposed to us having stuff; He just doesn’t want our stuff to have control over us.

A few verses after this young man walked away sad, Peter said: “We have left everything and followed You.”  Here was Jesus’ response to him: “Truly I say to you, there is no one who has left house or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or farms, for My sake and for the gospel’s sake, but that he will receive a hundred times as much now in the present age, houses and brothers and sisters and mothers and children and farms, along with persecutions; and in the age to come, eternal life.” (Mark 10:29-30)

 When we withhold nothing from Him, He will withhold no good thing from us! (See Psalm 84:11)