Innermost Being Blog

The Lord is my shepherd

by Innermost Being, posted in Pursuing God

I am studying Dallas Willard’s book, Life Without Lack: Living in the Fullness of Psalm 23. The author recommended memorizing the 23rd Psalm. I now recite it to myself when I wake up at night and want to quiet my mind.

The first chapter is about the Lord our God. With our limited minds and senses, we can’t form a complete, realistic conception of God. Jesus Christ, through his example and his teaching, showed us what God is like in a way we can understand.

Our minds are our portal to God

Willard says that the most important thing about you is your mind, and the most important thing about your mind is what you think about. When you keep your mind focused on God, he will make himself known to you.

Willard says that when we are wounded, it may cause us to become self-obsessed. I think human beings are naturally self-centered, whether or not we’ve been injured. There are many things that keep us from thinking about God – pride and selfish ambition, greed, envy, and self-indulgence. Even the concerns of daily life cause us to focus on ourselves.

God’s invisible qualities

God is invisible. But his invisible attributes are made known to us by creation. Through the things he has made, we can see his power, his glory, his creativity, and his intelligence.

For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that people are without excuse.

Romans 1:20

God is personal. He wants to have a relationship with us. He has personality. He thinks. He creates. He values. He feels.

God is energy

The powerful forces of the natural world – the sun, wind, thunder, and lightening – give us just a glimpse of God’s energy. God is energy in a form that is incomprehensible to us because it is so immense.

Willard noted that when the Israelites wandered in the wilderness, God’s presence was made known by a pillar of clouds by day and a pillar of fire by night (Exodus 13:21). John the Baptist said that Jesus would baptize with the Holy Spirit and fire (Luke 3:16).

When we make contact with God, a flow of energy comes to us.

Dallas Willard

When God speaks, his voice is a form of energy that becomes matter. He spoke our world into existence. Jesus turned energy into matter when he multiplied fish and bread to feed thousands of people (Matthew 14). Power flowed from the body of Jesus when he healed a bleeding woman who touched him (Mark 5:25-30).

God’s names

The meaning of the names used for God in the Old Testament reveal truths about who God is. Yahweh means that God brings into existence or causes to be. Elohim refers to his creative strength, power, and majesty. Adonai means my Lord or master. El Shaddai means Almighty God or the All Sufficient One. When Moses asked God what he should say if the Israelites asked, “What is his name?” (Exodus 3), God said I am who I am. The name Immanuel means God with us (Isaiah 7:14).

The Lord’s prayer says, “Hallowed be thy name.” To know God, we must keep these truths about who he is in our minds at all times.

Adonai is my shepherd. I shall not want. He makes me lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside still waters. He restores my soul.

Immanuel leads me in the paths of righteousness for His name’s sake.

Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil. For El Shaddai is with me. Your rod and your staff, they comfort me.

Jesus prepares a table for me in the presence of my enemies. You annoint my head with oil. My cup overflows!

Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of Yahweh forever.

Watch out for deceivers

by Innermost Being, posted in Man of Lawlessness

Truth is constantly under attack. Deceivers hide it, bury it, distort it, deny it, and deflect attention away from it. They can’t destroy the truth, but they can make people believe their  lies.

False prophets, false teachers, false apostles, false messiahs

Jesus warned about false prophets and false messiahs. They may look like one of you, but inside, they are like ferocious wolves. You will know them by their fruit. A bad tree can not bear good fruit.

Watch out for false prophets. They come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly, they are ferocious wolves.

Matthew 7:15

When the disciples asked Jesus about the end times, he warned that even the elect (God’s chosen) might be deceived by false prophets and false messiahs.

For false messiahs and false prophets will appear and perform great signs and wonders to deceive, if possible, even the elect.

Matthew 24:24

Deceit has eternal consequences.

Jesus knew that not everyone who would claim to be his follower is a true disciple. False Christians may fool other people, but they can’t fool Jesus. The danger in pretending to be righteous is that when your time comes, Jesus will say, “Get away from me. I never knew you.” (Matthew 7:23)

The Apostle Paul also warned that people would masquerade as apostles of Christ.

For such people are false apostles, deceitful workers, masquerading as apostles of Christ.

2 Corinthians 11:13

Peter wrote that deceivers will “introduce destructive heresies,” teachings that go against Christ’s teaching. In our times, these heresies include the “prosperity gospel” and religious nationalism.

But there were also false prophets among the people, just as there will be false teachers among you. They will secretly introduce destructive heresies, even denying the sovereign Lord who bought them—bringing swift destruction on themselves.

2 Peter 2:1

The coming of the lawless one

The Apostle Paul warned that the man of lawlessness will be a deceiver. He will exalt himself above everything and everyone. He will oppose everything that God is for.

Don’t let anyone deceive you in any way, for that day will not come until the rebellion occurs and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the man doomed to destruction. He will oppose and will exalt himself over everything that is called God or is worshiped, so that he sets himself up in God’s temple, proclaiming himself to be God.

2 Thessalonians 2:3-4

The lawless one will have many tricks up his sleeve – “all the ways that wickedness deceives those who are perishing.” Those who will perish under his reign will be under a powerful delusion that causes them to believe the lie. There will be something in their character that allows them to be deceived. They won’t love the truth. They will delight in wickedness.

The coming of the lawless one will be in accordance with how Satan works. He will use all sorts of displays of power through signs and wonders that serve the lie, and all the ways that wickedness deceives those who are perishing. They perish because they refused to love the truth and so be saved. For this reason God sends them a powerful delusion so that they will believe the lie and so that all will be condemned who have not believed the truth but have delighted in wickedness.

2 Thessalonians 2:9-12

No one knows when Jesus will return. That is why Jesus told us to keep watch. Be ready now.

A powerful delusion

The prophecy that makes me especially vigilant right now is the powerful delusion that causes people to turn away from the faith. In the last decade, I have seen Christians unashamedly contort themselves to support words and behavior that are anti-Christ. Why can’t they see deceivers for who they are?

Watch out for words and behavior that do not reflect the heart of God. Test the spirits to see whether they are from God. Seek the kingdom of God, not the kingdoms of man.

Focus on Me

by Innermost Being, posted in Faith and Culture

These are troubling times. If you are not disturbed, you’re not paying attention.

As a follower of Christ, there have been many times that I have wished for God to speak to me in a way that left no doubt that it was him. I have asked to hear his voice audibly, like Samuel did.

If you aren’t going to speak to me outloud, God, could you at least make it really clear that it is your voice in my head and not my own??

I no longer watch mainstream news on TV, but I watch YouTube videos and read content on Substack. People are obsessed with covering everything that DJT says and does, and not without reason. The things he does, the things he gets away with, are disturbing to anyone who still has a working moral compass. We want to shout it from the rooftops, “This is not normal! This is not right!”

And yet….because we pay so much attention to him, DJT sucks up all the oxygen in the room. That’s exactly what he wants. He believes he is the center of the universe and that everyone should exalt him.

Last week, I noticed that there was incessant speculation about DJT’s absence from the public eye. Was he sick? Was he dead? He says he wants to get to heaven! Is he sincere? Wait, he’s fundraising off of it!

In the midst of this, I heard the words, focus on me. Three simple words. Focus on me.

I have been encouraged this year by the 23rd Psalm. I’ve memorized and prayed it in the middle of the night. The Lord is my shepherd. I lack nothing. No matter what happens, I belong to him. He is sufficient.

Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me. No matter how dark things get, even when it seems like evil is winning, I need not fear because God walks with me. His presence comforts me.

You prepare a table for me in the presence of my enemies. My cup overflows. God provides everything I need. Even in the midst of adversity, even when the enemies of truth surround me, I rest in his protection.

Thank you, God, for reminding me that I need to keep my eyes on you and to listen for your voice. You are in control. You restore my soul.

Your Father Knows What You Need

by Innermost Being, posted in Prayer

Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him.

Matthew 6:8

Jesus described God as a father – as your Father. God is neither male nor female. But God is attentive and caring like a parent is (or should be).

When we pray, we often tell God everything that is happening in our world as if he doesn’t know. I am guilty of this. I lay down to sleep and immediately start telling God about all the bad things that are happening. It is as if I am telling him that he should be concerned about the things that concern me. As my pastor put it, God doesn’t need our intelligence briefing. He knows.

God wants us to come to him with our needs, even though he already knows what they are. He doesn’t even mind it when we lay our burdens at his feet.

In teaching us how to pray, Jesus said that our Father knows what we need before we ask, therefore…

  • Praise his holy name
  • Pray for more of him
  • Let go of our ideas about how things should be and ask for his will to be done
  • Ask him to provide our daily needs
  • Ask for forgiveness
  • Pray for deliverance from temptation

God is omniscient, all-knowing. He knows what we need. He knows what our future holds.

Father God, thank you for loving a sinner like me. You are my ever-present help in times of trouble. Help me to let go of my worries about this broken world and to trust your omniscience and omnipotence. I pray for those who are suffering and for the oppressed. Amen

Praying for Justice and Peace

by Innermost Being, posted in Prayer

When asked how people should pray for the United States, David French said to pray for peace and justice; grace and mercy.

Red states versus blue states. Us versus them. Division. Discord. Name-calling. Blaming. This is the state of America today. The country has been torn apart at the seams.

Mr. French described peace as a band-aid and justice as the stiches. Peace without justice is a temporary fix for what ails us. We will never have lasting peace as long as injustice abounds. No justice, no peace.

Pray for justice for the poor, the sick, the homeless, the oppressed, and the marginalized.

Mr. French noted that justice should be holistic. Justice requires balancing the needs of immigrants who are fleeing danger with the needs of legal residents. Justice is impossible without the due process of the law.

Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body, you were called to peace. And be thankful.

Colossians 3:15

The Lord calls me to live in peace with others. His love and peace must rule in my heart. And yet… I am also called to stand up for justice. That’s what Jesus did.

Jesus had compassion for the sick and the marginalized. He defended the woman the crowd wanted to stone for adultery. He spoke out against greed, hypocrisy, and self-indulgence.

I must also speak out against injustice. I can’t ignore the fact that immigrants are being mistreated by our government. I can’t ignore the fact that the nation’s leaders are breaking laws, firing people who stand on principle, and denying due process.

The United States is in great need of spiritual healing. Pray that God will change the hearts of the people and our leaders.