May 2010

“Therefore seeing we have this ministry, as we have received mercy, we faint not; But have renounced the hidden things of dishonesty, not walking in craftiness, nor handling the word of God deceitfully; but by manifestation of the truth commending ourselves to every man’s conscience in the sight of God.” (II Cor. 4:1,2)

TRUTH ON THE INSIDE

It is a wonderful thing to hear the truth. There’s something about it that rings in the heart if you are looking for such things. Some people are very blunt and like to pride themselves that they speak plainly and honestly, but that isn’t always the same as truth. Truth has with it the desire to reveal something beneficial inside, while honesty often is just a stating of someone’s opinion or of what someone believes to be true. Honesty may often be cold and cruel and used to demean someone or shame them. Truth seeks to edify and often can provoke change in a heart that desires to have it.

Sometimes when I have preached a message I recognize that there are those who do not want to hear what I have to say. In that way truth can be a divider. This is what Jesus meant when he said he came to bring a sword. (Matt. 10:34) What a privilege it is to be able to speak the Word of God and know that it represents the highest form of Truth to be found. Jesus said He is the Word of God and He is the Way the Truth and the Life.

It can be easy to use the Word to control others or to make them believe a specific idea or philosophy if one desires to do so. Most people are busy struggling to make their life work and take care of their family or business; they look to ministers to tell them the truth and sometimes this makes them easy game for deceit or manipulation. I have often heard messages that were geared to get a group of people to support a program or follow a doctrine that will ultimately benefit the speaker more than the hearers. I would not want to be the minister who chose that path.

To receive the Truth is a great privilege. Jesus told Peter this when he correctly ascertained who Jesus really was. “Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God”, replied Peter.  Jesus answered, “Blessed art thou Simon Barjona”. To know the Truth is to have a divine revelation from God.

Do you take this for granted? Do you understand that if you believe the Gospel and understand the truth about who Jesus is you are blessed? Most of the world, indeed, many of those who call themselves Christian, do not know this truth in their inner man. They believe Jesus was a good man, a kind man and some would even say a gifted prophet or healer, yet they are not sure he is truly ‘the only begotten Son of God’. (I John 4:9)

Some think maybe God manifested himself as Buddha to the people of the East or Mohammed to the Arab peoples. Some would ask, “Who am I to say Jesus is the only way?” This shows that “the god of this age has blinded the[ir] minds of unbelievers, so that they cannot see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God”. (II Cor. 4:4)

Many today preach a Gospel that is different from that which Jesus told us to preach and they are handling the word of God deceitfully. I would not want to stand before God on that charge.

Have we lost our courage today to say boldly ‘that is not the Truth!’ Are we afraid to offend someone or alienate ourselves from the flock and be branded as being judgmental? In this area especially we must be clear as to what we believe. True there are some doctrines that are not essential, but the Gospel message is not one of them.

This does not mean that we are to spend our time fruit inspecting everyone who comes into our path. But we do need to be ready as Paul told Timothy: “And the servant of the Lord must not strive; but be gentle unto all men, apt to teach, patient, In meekness instructing those that oppose themselves;” (II Tim. 2:24,25)

I remember when I first began to preach the Gospel and there were many new doctrines arising that were labeled New Age, or New Thought. I heard them and often thought, People won’t believe that; it is too far fetched. I was wrong. These things have now permeated the church and many have become mainstream thought for some.

Beloved I adjure you to hold on to the Truth of the Gospel as delivered unto us by the Holy Apostles and the Lord Jesus himself. If you do this you show yourself to be enlightened and blessed by God. But don’t take it for granted! Realize it is a privilege to see the Light of the truth. Many will go to the grave thinking all is well and will hear the words, Depart from Me. I never knew you.

May the Lord show you His wonderful Light of Truth and keep you close,

Craig Marlatt

“And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to [his] purpose.” Romans 8:28

A friend of mine once asked, “Wouldn’t it be great if we could get to the place spiritually where we didn’t have to fall back upon Romans 8:28 so much?” If I remember correctly my initial response was “absolutely”, but after I thought for a while I realized that was the wrong answer. I will probably always need to depend upon God to rescue me from my lack of faith or my lapses in judgment, understanding or obedience while I’m in this world. In reality, I can’t make it without His help and I am pretty sure you can’t either, to which I say, thank God.

I have met people along the road of my life who go up and down in their walk with God upon every circumstance that comes their way. When they are getting what they want they say, “God is good”. When things are going rough, “Why is God doing this to me?” I have been there myself on occasion and in hindsight, it’s a terrible place to be.

Truth is, if we knew the answers to all the hard questions it probably wouldn’t make much difference. It’s not the answers that we lack, it’s the confidence of knowing that God loves us no matter what is occurring in life or what challenge we are facing. Built into the fallen human experience is the reality of something called doubt and because deep down in our hearts we know that we have failed to meet up to the perfect requirements of a holy God the devil can sometimes get to us and attack us with accusations and fears that make us lose sight of God’s promises.

The good news is that we don’t need to feel unworthy because of our failure to meet God’s requirements. Jesus met them all for us on the cross. (Romans 5:1 and Eph.1: 6) Or in the words of the once popular praise song, “He paid a debt He did not owe; I owe a debt I could not pay”.

Having faith in times of trouble sounds easy on paper but it rarely is in reality when it comes down to it. How can it be easy? We are talking about totally trusting a God that we cannot see. We are called to believe in and put our total confidence in Someone whom we have heard is there based upon writings handed down from the past, stories of others that went before us or maybe a personal spiritual experience or answer to prayer that we or someone else may have had at one time or another. In all honesty most of us have not heard God from the burning bush like Moses did. And if we did some doctor would probably show up and give us a prescription for Xanax and tell us we were bi-polar or some such thing. That’s where faith comes in. I tried living without it before and it’s no fun.

Still, faith itself is not enough. Though many of the modern teachers and preachers have put together systems of mindset and behavior that are supposed to produce faith in us, usually the result of such practices is like a basketball that continuously needs to be pumped up in order to keep bouncing back. And so we are told to watch everything we think or say lest we fall short and shipwreck the whole effort. How fragile is this kind of faith?

What about the praying parents filled with a positive confession and faith whose dying child is lying helpless in the hospital bed bathed in prayer, faith and love, yet still they see their loving child slip away into God’s eternal hands? Or the believing man of God, who faithfully lives to love and serve those around him, yet loses his family in a tragic car accident? Where does one go having devoted the prime years of his or her life to working for a company that went belly up and left them with nothing but an unemployment check for their years of dedication?

What words can comfort someone who has walked with God for many years and loses a son or daughter to suicide or drug addition? How many have spent years in a church or ministry totally confident in the spirituality of the leadership there only to find out that the minister had been having immoral affairs or worse during all the years he had preached such powerful sermons?

No beloved, it is not our ability to have faith alone to which we must turn in troubled times, it is the Object our faith that we must trust. God himself! We must believe that no matter what is happening in our life and the lives of those we love and care for, our God will never fail to do what is best for us and for all those who love and trust in Him. It is often only in the crushing of the fruit that the sweet nectar can be released.

As it was for the Son of God himself, “Except a corn of wheat fall into the ground and die, it abideth alone”. (John 12:24) Sometimes the things most precious to us must be placed in God’s hands by faith not knowing how He will use them or why He requires them.

Today, much of what was once thought of as secure and stable is being shattered into dust. Hard times are upon many if not most of us and it remains to be seen how we will fare through it all. Our status as a great nation is being ridiculed and assaulted by the very men and women who are supposed to defend and build it. Our financial institutions are failing from long abuses of incompetent and questionable practices, and most of our wealth and job-producing infrastructure is being sent overseas to avoid heavy taxation and labor costs. Our confidence in all of these institutions and in the future is on the verge of reaching critical mass; the shining potential of finding security in the things of this world has never been more in need of a change of batteries.

Paul also writes in Hebrews 2:10 , “For it became him, for whom [are] all things, and by whom [are] all things, in bringing many sons unto glory, to make the captain of their salvation perfect through sufferings.” Then we hear the words of Peter saying, “Forasmuch then as Christ hath suffered for us in the flesh, arm yourselves likewise with the same mind: for he that hath suffered in the flesh hath ceased from sin.” (1 Pet. 4:1)

If God is allowing you to go through a time of testing it is to prove the work that has been done in you by the Holy Spirit. As metal in a blast furnace is heated to a high temperature to enable the dross to rise to the surface, so it is for the follower of Christ when it is time to form the metal of the spirit into a weapon of warfare.

How do you feel when you look at what is going on in the world today? Are you fearful? Are you concerned about the future? Are you in agreement with the doomsayers who see nothing but calamity, ruin and despair? Or do you in fact see the greatest opportunity of your lifetime to be effective for Christ. Do you believe that in Christ you possess the answers to the problems of the world around you? Well if you do feel that way . . . you are absolutely right!

To be honest I don’t know when Christ is coming back. There are signs that it could be soon and I believe it is very possible that we are in the final hours, but I’m not putting my chez lounge on the top of a hill to wait for the rapture. I’m rolling up my sleeves and getting to work. The fields are white unto harvest.

Do you recognize these things and have been praying that the Lord will “send forth labourers into his harvest”? (Matt. 9:38) Just remember this: after the Lord told his disciples to pray that prayer, the next morning He sent them. (Matt. 10:1)

You are that city set on a hill. You are the light of the world. You are the lamp that will not be hid under the bed when the darkness comes. Thank God that you have this promise that whatever comes against you can only eventually work for your good through the power of the eternal God whom you serve and the Spirit that works in you.

Have courage and set your eyes on the One who is seated in the heavens high and lifted up, for He has his eyes set upon you and called you His own.

Craig Marlatt

“His foundation is in the holy mountains. The Lord loveth the gates of Zion more than all the dwellings of Jacob. Glorious things are spoken of thee. O city of God! Selah” Ps. 87:1,2

On April 28th I celebrated my 36th anniversary of the day I surrendered my life to Christ in Cross City Correctional Institution. It was a quiet day that actually found me meditating on the week before and the previous four months of writing and getting ready for our first presentation of the play the Lord called me to write. I had focused so intently on preparing for the play that I didn’t even notice that it was my anniversary until the following day.

They say, “time passes quickly when you’re having fun”. I have found that it does so whether you’re having fun or not. Especially after you reach a certain age; for me that was fifty. After that it seemed as though time took on another pace altogether and I was racing toward the finish line at breakneck speed. Maybe the Lord does that so we can focus on the important things and have a good showing when we cross the line.

When I think back about all the changes that have come and gone in my life, in the world and in the Church, I realize how special it is that we serve a God who never changes. “The Lord loveth the Gates of Zion.” Why? Because Zion represents His everlasting covenant with a people: His undying commitment to do that which He set out to do in the beginning: create a family of those who desire to be with Him eternally.

We recently passed another wonderful mark in our family. It was just over a year ago that my wife Jolyn was lying in a hospital bed on total life support for five days. By God’s mercy she suddenly awoke and three days later she left the hospital as though nothing had happened. She spent those days in the presence of God and He sent her back with a message: Tell the people about my unconditional love and tell them to get ready.

It is hard for us as humans to imagine unconditional love. We make stabs at it randomly throughout our time on earth and even find ourselves making fresh commitments occasionally to love others that way but, sad to say, we usually come short of the goal. Yet we keep plodding along hoping to get better at it as we go. “It wouldn’t be so hard if it wasn’t for all those ‘other people’. What’s wrong with them? Why do they make it so hard for me to love them like God loves me?” That’s a good question. They probably feel the same way about you and I.

Phew! That’s what I say when I think about all the different doctrines and methodologies that I have seen and heard along my road to the gates of Zion. After thirty-six years I think I’ve heard them all but nope, I’m sure there are more yet to come before it’s all over. God must have incredible patience. It seems we are always looking for a new way to get God on our side. To get Him to validate that our truth is the right truth. When all else fails it’s great to know that God is still the same as He always has been, and that in spite of our flailing about to get our own way, He still loves us.

I’ve come to understand that it’s not about rules and regulations, it’s about relationship; not about right and wrong, it’s about the incredible love that God has demonstrated in the giving of His son Jesus Christ as an offering for our sin and disobedience. “Who can utter the mighty acts of the Lord? Who can declare all His praise?” (Ps. 106:2 NKJV)

A few months ago I spoke in a service saying that ‘God loves us so much that He has even prepared a place for those who don’t want to be with Him’. Some who were there commented that they thought that was funny but not true. I still believe that what I said was right. Think about it. How many people have you known in your life — and maybe even in the churches you have attended — that seem like they don’t want anything to do with God? They don’t want to worship Him; they don’t want to honor Him; they don’t want Him in their lives. For that person heaven would really be hell, if heaven is truly like the Bible says it is.

The question that comes to mind is this: Is Jesus the Lord of your life or just the Lord of your death? I think that many people want God to be there for them when they die, but to stay in the background while they live; a backup plan so to speak. I used to think like that before I knew Christ through his Word.

In reality God has made it easy for us to do what pleases Him. We only need to believe that Jesus is the Christ, the son of the living God. (John 6:29) If we truly do that the rest will take care of itself. He will do His part because He is a covenant keeper.

Yet as I write these words I realize that life is still tricky. Who can understand why a little child dies of leukemia before even getting a chance to experience life? Why some people get healed when we pray for them and others do not? Why good people seem to go before their time and bad ones seem to live forever? Why some people struggle all their lives and others seem to drift on a cloud of ease and comfort? So many unanswered questions in this life . . . and sometimes God seems to be silent.

And then I see Jesus “. . . who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.” (Heb. 12:2) When I read this I realize that if all other questions go unanswered God has still given me something beyond all I could ask or hope for in my own strength: the privilege of a relationship with Him through the sacrifice of Christ.

I pray for you today that you will know the unconditional love of God in your own life and that whatever you may be going through at this time you will look to Him for the answers. He will not fail you though He may not do things the way you think He should. As I learned last year at the bedside of my wife, God is in control. Our job is to trust and obey.

May the Lord watch over you in these troubled times and forever

Craig