The word “city” is used over 700 times in the Bible. That’s more than “love”, “faith”, “hope”, “disciple”, “Holy Spirit” and almost as much as “Jesus!”.  When words are repeatedly used, it usually emphasizes a theme of divine intention.  Such an intention is visible in the use of the word “city” in describing the picture of humanity’s dwelling.  The “city” is the place where humanity dwells and is the place that God loves deeply.

Do you think you could begin to look at your city with the same love that God has for it?  It might break your heart and cause you to weep, not because of the lost-ness of it all but because of the great love that God has for your city.  Love is the exclamation point of selfless action.  It is the why behind the what.

For those who live in a rural area, God loves you just as much as the inhabitants of the city. The love of God is no different from Jew to Gentile as it is to Urban to Rural.  Individually, His love is certainly the same for all of creation.  For repeated illustration of the intention of Emmanuel, the city is the word picture that describes the overwhelming desire for God to BE with us.  Perhaps your perspective will be adjusted to match that of God’s towards your city by realizing God’s intentions must also be my own.

Reducing the Stress

A city is like a body, when one part is sick the whole body suffers.  A city that suffers may conceal the illness through the veneer of affluence or power.  That veneer is not enough to muffle the cries of the downtrodden and poor who live in the suffering neighborhoods.  Many times, cities build self-preservation zones or “tracks” to separate the sorrowful from the at-ease.  That is not the intention of God when describing a city that rejoices in Proverbs 11:10.  “When the righteous prosper, the city rejoices….” A rejoicing city is not compartmentalized so that part of the city rejoices.  A city rejoices when the entire city is included.

Your city will not fully rejoice until the stressed areas are met with care and consideration for their well being through compassion and justice.  When the righteous (tsaddiyq) acts with justice and mercy, it will be well with the city.  When the righteous (tsaddiyq) acts with self-preservation in mind, the city dies.  In reality, the righteous (tsaddiyq) cannot be the righteous unless they actually do act with compassion and justice. 

Where can you make the most difference with the Light of the world that is inside of you?  Light shines brightest in abject darkness.  That darkness represents many inner cities; the forgotten and neglected areas.  Do you think that if the entire city focused on rehabilitating and restoring the stressed parts of itself that something good would come out of it?  If a body had a sickness or an injury, wouldn’t the common sense approach be to care for the injury or sickness so that full health could be restored to the body?  If your city is to be truly healthy, those forgotten and neglected areas must be served with attention, compassion and focused transformation.  A city is only as strong as its weakest area.

The Hezekiah Syndrome

 Generations are served or cursed by the ones who precede them.  In a city, those who work for the peace of the city with no guarantee of seeing it happen within their lifetime are those who are worthy of the Hall of Faith as described in Hebrews 11.  People who work for the benefit of future generations are commonly in the minority.  Most people, including proclaiming Christians have the Hezekiah Syndrome that threatens the work of God on this earth.

King Hezekiah was a leader of the nation of Judah and was for all accounts considered one of the better ones that had cycled through the highest office of power.  At the end of his life however, he failed to lead and administer justice properly when he did nothing to further the generation coming behind him.  His attitude was one of “whatever the future holds, bleak or not, as long as I have peace in my days, it matters not.”  How can one expect the purposes of God that work through His people to continue when the chain is so flippantly broken?

His son Manasseh was king after Hezekiah and ruled for fifty-five horrific years in the history of Judah.  The account of 2 Kings says that he did more evil than the nations who were displaced indicates that King Hezekiah may have ushered in tremendous damage upon his death for his nonchalant attitude towards the future during his lifetime.  While there is no specific record of what happened in Hezekiah’s household, we can see that Manasseh’s reign brought about damage that was caused by someone who 1) didn’t know the way of justice or 2) rebelled against the way of justice.  If King Hezekiah would have cared about the condition of generations beyond his day, it is quite possible that Manasseh’s reign would not have been as evil as it was.

Nonetheless, each leader who has a position of influence within a city needs to care about the upcoming generations of that city.  They need to be aware that leadership development for other people begins with their platform of influence.  Leaders who fail to equip the next generation of leaders fail to maximize their own influence potential during their lifetime.  A city thrives when generations of leadership proclaim the love of God through compassion and justice.

Our Future City

 If being in a city wasn’t such a big deal, I suppose God would not have described our future dwelling place in the last chapter of Revelation.  Living in that city is the ultimate display of God’s continuing intention of dwelling with His creation.  The city is so important to God that it actually outlives the temple.  In other words, the city is God’s desire.  The church (temple) is our method of reaching the city.  Efforts to build a church within a city are not entirely aligned to the purposes of God within the earth.  Jesus builds His Church and the gates of hell will not prevail against her.  Hebrews chapter 13 indicates that we have no lasting city here on this earth but we look for a city that will last for eternity.  The city we look for in an eternal sense can be experienced in our focus on the city as a place to exhibit the presence of God through His Church (people).  When the righteous prosper and see the city as God sees it, the whole city truly will rejoice and Jesus’ Church is built.

The Stewardship of our Cities

 Because cities represent the dwelling places of men, a rule of thumb to live by in stewarding the dwellers can be found in Micah:

• Micah 6:8 (The Message) –  “But he’s already made it plain how to live, what to do, what God is looking for in men and women.  It’s quite simple: Do what is fair and just to your neighbor, be compassionate and loyal in your love, and don’t take yourself too seriously— take God seriously.”

Concerning the dwelling places, giving attention to the broken city systems is the call for the disciple to transform.

Broken systems of education, inadequate housing, food shortages, rampant crime and financial illiteracy need to be traced back to the root causes of each unfavorable circumstance.  Are we to care for the city simply by focusing on the dwellers with no regard to the dwelling?  That would be like saying to the person who is hungry to “go in peace and be blessed without providing anything for them to eat.  If we do not address the broken systems of city failure, we will fail to bring about the type of transformation needed for sustained success.  The quickest way to begin addressing city system transformation is to focus intently on the transformation of the individual through acts of service and compassion.  While doing that, attention should be focused on the seed of the problem so that the fruit of a given problem will stop producing.

Everything has a small beginning, even mountainous problems.  Take care to think of the possibilities of where a problem in your city might originate.  Could it be traced back to a lack of nutrition for school aged children?  Perhaps a source of problematic issues could be followed back to a lack of mentors within a community.  Maybe, a “flight of resources” of sorts has taken place within a community leaving many jobless and hopeless.  Solving city problems will not be an overnight solution but carefully considering the sources of these issues will help us begin to focus on the stewardship of our cities.

Remember, as redeemed saints of the most High God, we don’t work for temporary gain or earthly rewards as much as we work through our love for God in anticipation of partnership with His purposes on earth.  His purposes include us being the resemblance of His Kingdom on this earth while we wait for His Kingdom to come.  It’s the life of living between Kingdom now and Kingdom not yet.

They Turned our City Upside Down!

 In Acts chapter 17, the work of the Holy Spirit in the city of Thessalonica demonstrated the potential when human need meets Divine solutions.  Amidst the scenes of chaos and turmoil, a theme of hope and peace was developing within each city that the apostle Paul visited to proclaim the message of Christ.  While Paul was very eager to assist the needs of the poor, he was also desperate to usher transformational movements of the Holy Spirit into each city he traveled to.  Every move of the Holy Spirit that will happen within your city will probably be opposed by the jealous influences of hell.  To turn a city upside down according to the way the Holy Spirit desires, each disciple-leader of a city should be intently focused on the work of the Spirit in their lives.  Freedom from fear of loss, protection of position, and boldness to powerfully proclaim is possible through the filling and empowering of the Holy Spirit.

We don’t aim just to appease the demonic forces that grip our city systems; our aim is to establish the Kingdom rule of Isaiah 61 within each of our metro/regional dwelling places.  Establishing the influence of Jesus’ life on earth will not look like more church (synagogue) services or sideshow circus performances of religion.  Turning a city upside down (or right-side up depending on your perspective) will look more like compassion towards the destitute, increased “followership” of Jesus and an ability for the every-man to be used by God for great Kingdom influence.  This movement will demand force not towards our fellow human brother or sister, it mandates resoluteness of character in the midst of accusers, haters and defiant individuals who are temporary enemies of the Cross.

This movement of having a stake in your city will be the most rewarding yet emptying process you may undergo.  Being able to influence the dwelling places of man for the glory of God is a high honor and a great challenge.  The honor is not for the ones who partner with God though; it is for the Name of God to be raised as the one and only banner within the city.  The challenge is for the people who partner with God to give their lives as a reflection of His glory and not of their abilities or intellectual prowess.  City transformation needs more than human intervention. It needs humans filled with the Spirit of God to transform a dwelling of man into a habitation of God.

Having a stake in your city is worth it.

But our hope is that as your faith increases, our area of influence among you may be greatly enlarged, so that we may preach the gospel in lands beyond you

Spiritual influence is given to those whom God can trust.  The level of trust that God places in us is directly related to the sacrifice we are willing to make.  Paul, writing to the Corinthians in this verse mentioned his desire that his area of influence would grow so that he could preach the gospel in lands beyond them.  This was the same Paul who spent a night in prison with Silas singing praises to God because of their predicament.  Because of their sacrifice and commitment to following the call of God, an earthquake shook the jailhouse, and presented an opportunity for Paul and Silas to tell the warden’s family how they could be saved.  They had great influence because of great sacrifice.

Becoming a FITChurch (healthy in the spiritual sense and the physical sense) expands the area of influence.  Because a sacrifice is being made in the area of exercising, eating, praying, study and service, the expansion of influence for the Kingdom of God will come.  However, as we talked about in yesterday’s theme, the motive behind the Message must always be for the glory of God and not the attention of man.  That concept directly relates to your level of influence as well.

People whose lives have remained on this earth long after their death were those who did extraordinary things in the course of their years on earth.  These people were totally committed to the cause of Christ and willing to lay down their lives as a sacrifice so that other people would have the opportunity to know Him.

• William Booth – Founder, Salvation Army
• Jim Elliot – One of five missionaries who lost their lives in Ecuador
• Charles Spurgeon – pastor of one of the largest churches in London
• Chester Osland – my grandfather who was a pastor, builder, father, grandfather and follower of Christ

These people have come and gone on this earth but their legacy lives on.  What will your legacy speak on your behalf?

Questions to consider:

1. Who has influenced you for the good?  The bad?
2. Have you influenced someone else concerning the cause of Christ?

Challenge for Today:

1. Do a short study on someone you admire or someone you heard of that did a great service for the Kingdom of God.  What are some of the characteristics of their life?

Personal Reflections:

Hey

2 Timothy 2:13 (NIV) – if we are faithless, he will remain faithful…

God’s character can be described in many words but the one word describing God that has stood out to me is faithful.  He’s been faithful to provide life to me every morning, faithful to encourage me in my journey with Him, faithful to respond to my distress and faithful to answer the prayers of my heart for loved ones who need to know Him.

For years, prayers from our family went up for an uncle named Willie.  He lived a good life but specifically chose never to accept lordship of Christ into his life.  Health issues begin to take their toll late in his life and yet, our prayers continued to go up in relation to his eternity.  We never gave up…collectively I mean.  Some of us may have lost hope in our hearts but others were there to infuse faith into the prayers for his soul.

One morning the family rushed to the local hospital as Uncle Willie lay dying.  Actually, he died.  Only temporarily though as the doctors resuscitated him back to a functional heart beat and assisted breathing.  Things still looked grim though, the medical experts said that if he ever woke up; his brain would be dead because of the oxygen lost during his temporary death.

Through it all, God was faithful.  After days of lying in the Intensive Care unit of the hospital, he woke up one day, in clarity but confusion as to where he was.  One of his nieces was present in the room when he awoke.  After the realization that he had almost slipped into eternity without Jesus, Willie opened his life and his heart to Christ and God healed him.  In fact, Willie lived for seven more years after that before going Home.

God’s faithfulness is always constant.

Someone who knows the way through somewhere is an invaluable resource when traveling through unknown terrain.  Of course, there are those among us, driving lost, who fail to look for someone who just might know the way.  “They” say that men are less apt to stop and ask for directions if their journey takes a twist and causes their “compass sense” to get messed up.  Truth be told, lost-ness affects every one of us when we don’t ask for help when being tempted.

A note about evil temptation, it doesn’t originate with God.  God may test people in an effort to strengthen their character and faith but we are promised that we will never be tempted or tested with more than we can handle.  God doesn’t operate with intention to set people up for failure.

No matter what stage of spiritual growth is present in your life currently, be certain that temptation will never cease to exist.  Don’t let that bit of information depress you or discourage you, realize that because Jesus was tempted and tested with ALL manners of evil, and emerged the undisputed champion over sin, we have someone to tell us and show us how to navigate the treacherous roads of temptation.

When being tempted, that is not the time to try to prove something to God about how strong you are.  That sort of conduct usually is a byproduct of pride and we all know where pride leads.  When tempted, the first response should be for us to fix our inward eyes upon Jesus and pray for His help in the time of our temptation.  The second thing and probably most important thing to do is to listen to His response and then obey the directions that are given.  Just like driving, lost-ness can be avoided if directions are followed.

Reflections

Context of scripture verse – Hebrews 2:1-18 

Consider:

• Read the context of the verses

Challenge:

• How many times have you successfully defended yourself against temptation on your own?  If you’ve overcome a life-controlling issue, did someone help you?  Have you ever thought that you “would never succumb to something like that”?

Apply:

•  Resisting temptation is most successful with a heart of humility.  When you pray, ask God to show you the areas of pride where you may be tricked into falling for temptation.  Don’t think that your past spiritual resume will keep you from falling…and don’t think that because of your past spiritual resume that you’re too far gone for redemption.  With God all things are possible.

Note to Self: (reflections, challenges, reminders)

A harmful (but effective) tactic that Satan uses to discourage Christians is intimidation.  In a court of law, a judgment can be passed but until the enforcement of that judgment is activated, the judgment is only a compilation of words.  Satan knows that when we decide (make a judgment) to do something, until we act upon it, it is merely a cloud bubble of wishful thinking.  It’s in the moments between thought and action that he uses his weapon of intimidation to deter us from enforcing our judgment.

Daniel had already decided to pray to the Lord three times a day as part of his ongoing relationship with God.  Because of jealous colleagues, a judgment was decreed that no one could pray to anyone but the king for thirty days.  Daniel had a choice of action to make at that moment.  He could choose to continue his relationship with God, or make “adjustments” in order to negotiate a settlement with intimidation.  Courage never negotiates with intimidation.  Ever.  Guess what Daniel did?

Whoever said that courage doesn’t have consequences probably has never acted courageously.  Intimidation can be used twice by the enemy in the “you better not do this or else!” phase 1and in the “now you’ve done it, you just wait” phase 2.  Daniel had to overcome fear twice; once by kneeling and praying, the other by trusting God to deliver him from the consequences of his actions.  The consequences of being thrown into a den of lions for a night gave Daniel the opportunity to courageously trust God for deliverance.   Because of Daniel’s decision to pray, just as he had done before, God’s deliverance influenced a king and a nation to serve Him.  What could your courage do?

Reflections

Context of scripture verse – Daniel 6:1-28 

Consider:

• Read the context of the verses

Challenge:

• Have you ever “negotiated” with intimidation?  Are there areas in your life right now that you buckle to the threat of intimidation?

Apply:

• In Romans 8:15, we’re told that we have not received a spirit of fear that leads us into bondage.  With that promise and knowledge, if you face something that makes you feel “bound” to act in a certain way, you can be certain that it is not the Spirit of God, but of intimidation and control.  In your prayers today, ask God to give you courage and the Spirit that strengthens you.

Note to Self: (reflections, challenges, reminders)

Hello

Job 23:10 (NIV)

– But he knows the way that I take; when he has tested me, I will come forth as gold.  

At times it takes a deep faith to trust that God really knows what He is doing with our lives.  In reading Job’s story, I get the impression that Job knew something about the character of God that his friends failed to realize.  Even though Job had a grasp on who God is, his life was thrown for a complete loop with the devastation that came upon Job.  Just when he thought he knew something about God, something happened that shook the very foundation of his faith in the Lord.

The response that Job had in this verse was a characterization of his faith in God.  Even though he was in excruciating pain physically, emotionally and mentally, he maintained a perspective that God knew what He was doing…even if Job didn’t have clue.  Deep faith can bring light to the darkest of situations, it can bring clarity to the most confusing of issues.

Job wasn’t the only one in the Bible that had a realization of this type of faith.  Peter, one of Jesus’ disciples said in his writings that our faith was even greater than gold.  Just like gold however, faith needs a refining fire to attach value to it.  Peter saw faith refined in the purest sense when Jesus suffered through a crucifixion that Peter could barely watch.  Peter may have run away and denied Jesus but the value that was attached to his faith after coming through that ordeal was precious indeed.

These stories give hope that no matter where we may be in our walk with God, we can be certain that our Lord is fully capable of taking care of us.  If you’re like Job and have lived a good life or like Peter and feel like you’ve missed the boat in some areas, the wonderful thing about God is that He treats both processes of faith purifying the same.  No matter what our background, our future is secure when placed in the hands of Jesus.

Reflections

Context of scripture verse – the entire book of Job 

Consider:

• Read the context of the verses (take a few days)

Challenge:

• Look back at the challenges you have faced in your life.  How have you responded to difficult situations?  Are there some situations in which you could have had a deeper faith in God?

Apply:

• A deep faith comes by a choice to trust God no matter what happens.  This resolution must come before a catastrophe strikes.  In your notes, write a list of the things that God has done for you and realize that if He can do the small things for you, He can accomplish great things within you.

Note to Self: (reflections, challenges, reminders)

Paul was writing to a group of people who weren’t sure whether or not they had missed something of God.  Maybe they felt like they missed an opportunity, or the Day of the Lord.  The Day of the Lord would be a pretty big thing to miss.  I imagine that these folks in their sincerity wanted to be sure that they were following the Lord’s commands and operating with the fruit of the Spirit growing in their lives.  Why then, would they have fears of missing something from God?  Perhaps the apostle Paul sensed that the people from Thessalonica didn’t have the solid revelation of God’s love in their hearts.

With the exception of being convicted by the Holy Spirit for sin in our lives, if our hearts possess fear, we do not have the fullness of the love of God in us.  Being directed into the love of God will remove all fear of measuring up, meeting the grade, or feeling like we’re missing something that God may be trying to tell us.  Sometimes, (actually many times) our hearts betray us into thinking that we need to continually gain the approval of God which plays into the addiction of gathering approval from people.  Lost is that chaos is the confidence of simply being in the love of God.

Being filled with the love of God will equip us with confidence to enter into His presence, having boldness to go before the throne of grace.  When fear rules our hearts, we don’t enter the throne room because we feel inadequate, we don’t know what to say, we feel like we should be presenting some sacrifice to make our presence acceptable in the Lord’s company.

My friends, the more we allow God’s love to fill our hearts, the less we’re going to strive to gain approval or be worried about measuring up. There is no fear of missing something when made perfect in love.

Reflections

Context of scripture verse – 2Thessaolonians 3: 1-18  

Consider:

• Read the context of the verses

Challenge:

• What areas in your life do you seek unhealthy approval from others?  Do you ever feel like you just don’t deserve the love that God has for you?  Write down some areas (be honest with yourself) that you desire approval from others and find yourself questioning God’s love for you.

Apply:

• Read 1 John 4:18 and write down what love replaces.  Ask God to help you understand the revelation of His love for you.  Verbally (out loud) remind yourself that God loves you unconditionally.  Put sticky notes that remind you of God’s love in your house if needed!

Note to Self: (reflections, challenges, reminders)

2 Kings 19:19 (NIV)

King Hezekiah of Judah was the author of this prayer for deliverance from his enemy.  This was no ordinary enemy; this was the king of Assyria, a nation that was bent on the annihilation of all nations and their belief systems.  After conquest, the king of Assyria would destroy and burn all forms of worship of that country.  Nations fell and were subject to the ruler-ship of this dictator.

Judah’s king, Hezekiah, faced a challenge.  His resources were outmanned, outnumbered and out-financed and the odds were not in his favor. After an exchange of messages with the king of Assyria that accomplished nothing, Hezekiah decided it was time to have a conference with God who could change everything.  Coming to God and believing that He could make a difference was the key to the survival of Judah against the onslaught of evil.   If Hezekiah had come to God with doubt in his mind of God’s ability or willingness to save the people, I think the story may have gone in favor of the Assyrian king.

In our prayers, we need to carefully consider if we believe what we pray for in the same way that King Hezekiah believed for when he prayed.  There was apparently no doubt of God’s ability in the mind of Hezekiah.  Even though he was facing intimidating circumstances, he knew that God was capable and able to change everything and provide a deliverance that was outside of Hezekiah’s power.

Based on Hezekiah’s example, is there any reason for us not to pray in complete, unwavering and undoubting faith?

Reflections

Context of scripture verse – 2 Kings 18-19  

Consider:

• Read the context of the verses

Challenge:

• Are there areas in your life that you have stopped praying for?  When you pray about these areas, do you ever think “why bother”?

Apply:

•  Before you pray about your personal needs, consider each request and ask yourself, “How could God be glorified if He answered this prayer?”  Take a close look at what you are praying for and assess who would benefit from the answer.  Would it benefit you or God? You can be certain that if your prayers benefit God, He will most certainly benefit you.

Note to Self: (reflections, challenges, reminders)

 Cultivating character is impossible without the Holy Spirit providing the power behind the process.  Deep works in character are accomplished by a deep work of God in the life of a believer.

Like soil, the human heart harbors many seeds.  In farming, some seeds have been known to remain dormant for years before sprouting and characterizing their type.  Other seeds sprout soon after hitting the soil and need to either cultivated out or nurtured.  Any farmer will tell you that trying to remove weeds from a field is a process that needs attention, hard work and tenacity.  An entire crop that is intentionally planted by a farmer can be severely affected if weeds are allowed to grow alongside the produce.  If weed-like desires are allowed to grow in the heart of a person, the fruit of the Spirit may not be exhibited in the way that Christ intends for it to be.

To be open to the work of the Holy Spirit, one must be willing to relinquish control of their reactions in exchange for keeping step with the Holy Spirit.  Being in stride with the work of the Holy Spirit is directly related to the level of obedience that a person exhibits towards the work of God.  While willpower can change some bad habits, when it comes to the inner nature that a person is born with, only Christ can make the difference between a life driven by sinful desires and a life that produces the fruit of the Holy Spirit.

Reflections

Context of scripture verse – Galatians 5:1-26 

Consider:

• Read the context of the verses

Challenge:

• Do you have bad habits that continually trip you up?  Have you tried to “stop” doing them but keep losing the battle?

Apply:

• Instead of focusing on the fruit of your actions (the result), begin asking God to help you focus on the root (the source). God will show you areas in your life that you need to submit and turn over to Him.  Allow the Holy Spirit to heal, restore and reconstruct areas that have been ineffective.  Write down the changes in your actions as a testimony of God’s power.

Note to Self: (reflections, challenges, reminders)

What am I going to wear today?  Am I dressed for success or for my own comfort?  Good business etiquette requires that you dress for comfort…of your audience.  A business person understands that in order to communicate a message that will be received, they first must eliminate obstacles put up by their listener.  Since we’ve been trained to judge by appearances and by image, there is a built in difficulty to hear a message if the image doesn’t match our expectations.

The same is true where our spiritual image is concerned.  What we dress for, or put on our lives is the outfit that gives our words credibility.  Being clothed with compassion as the apostle Paul states above is the key for the accessories of kindness, humility, gentleness and patience to be noticed.  What’s more, when clothed with compassion, these accessories shine and accommodate the wearer just as much as the receiver of these traits.

Every day upon waking, these articles of clothing must be fastened with care and deliberation.  Facing the mundane, familiar people or troubled acquaintances require that careful thought be placed into the daily wardrobe.  Going on a benevolence mission usually doesn’t require the daily deliberation of putting on compassion.  A mission is something that you do to help people!  It’s easy to put on compassion for something different or something that doesn’t require a lengthy commitment from you.  Daily compassion though, is much more difficult to “get up for”.

The wonderful thing about putting on compassion is that over time, that article of clothing no longer becomes something that you simply put on, it becomes something that is part of you. 

Reflections

Context of scripture verse – Colossians 3:1-25

Consider:

• Read the context of the verses

Challenge:

• Do you find yourself short of patience with people that you see often?  How is your compassion level rate towards your boss or certain family members?

Apply:

• Begin to wake up each morning and pray for those people that you spend a lot of time with.  Ask God to bless their lives and direct their steps.  For those people that bug you, pray for them too.  Don’t ask God to “change” them, ask God to bless them and you will find a change that happens in you.

Note to Self: (reflections, challenges, reminders)