Are We "Kicking Against the Pricks?"

Most translations do not say “pricks” but have replaced it with goads…which is the same thing and does not change the meaning of the verse.  Jesus asked Saul (later to be known as Paul) this question in Acts 26:14: ^“And when we had all fallen to the ground, I heard a voice saying to me in the Hebrew dialect, ‘Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting Me? It is hard for you to kick against the goads.’ The King James uses “pricks”.  A prick or goad was a shard stick used to jab an animal to get it to go in the direction the owner wanted it to go.  Some times the animal would rebel causing itself even more pain. In simple language what Jesus was asking Saul is why do you fight against me…..the things I am seeking to accomplish?

Aren’t we often like Paul?  Most of the time we miss what God sends our way or allow in our life because we do not look at things from His perspective. We fight against those things that hurt, that we don’t see the good in, that cause us to struggle.  We cry out ‘why God’?

   

If we are His, (a born-again Believer in God’s family), our life is filled with opportunities to grow into the person the Lord desires for us to be.  He sends The Holy Spirit to help us, along with other Believers and situations that come into our life. God is most concerned with our character.  The right behavior, the correct actions, flow from the right character.  His plan is not hidden from us.  When a person is saved all the seeds of the ‘fruit of the spirit’ are planted in our life in an instant. The rest of our life is filled with opportunities for these seeds to grow…depending upon our response. Everything we encounter, good or bad, brought on by our bad decisions or the decisions of others, celebrations or losses, even situations completely out of our control, should lead us back to Galatians 5:22-23, “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,  gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.” Instead of kicking against the pricks, maybe we should ask ourselves a few questions. Lord what are You trying to reveal to me about me?  Is there something in my character, listed in the fruit of the spirit, You are trying to further develop in my life? What are You trying to teach me about You?  (Thoughts From the Trail)   

Trust Without Understanding

We come across things in our faith walk that go against our worldly programming…one of these is trust without understanding. While there may be a few things we do in our normal lives without knowing the reason, most of the time we want to know “why” before we give our trust. We then make our decision based on if it makes sense to us before proceeding. In faith however, God often times gives us the “what” without the why. He simply wants us to be obedient…to trust Him. We hear a Pastor preach, a teacher teach or read something in scripture and understand what it is the Holy Spirit is calling us to do. One of the big reasons our delay or procrastination comes is because we want God to give us the “why” before we proceed. Delayed obedience is disobedience.

Abraham received an explanation during his obedience. Peter traveled to a Gentile’s house, a Roman Soldier’s home, without fully understanding why. He went because God told him to. Both of these men received understanding later…though there is no guarantee we will so quickly…or even at all. It is impossible to please God without faith and faith is all about trust…..trust when we don’t have the answers…..trust when it may not make sense. We will never reach the place in our relationship with God that He desires until our trust is not limited to understanding. (Thoughts From the Trail)

The Heart is not Always Dependable

The world will tell you to follow your heart…..but scripture tells us something else. Ultimately the Lord wants us to serve Him out of our love for Him but only His love for us is perfect….our love is prone to wander. Responsibility, maturity, good habits are necessary to keep us on the right road and doing the right things even thought we don’t “feel like it”. Now while God is concerned with our motives, we don’t always do the right thing for the right reason. This is ok so long as we recognize this and we continue to grow because doing the right thing for the wrong reason still can benefit others. The more spiritually mature we become, the more times there will be when we are doing the right thing with the right motive.

Our “will” is more important than our heart. Our heart is often tied to emotions and can cause us to have an allegiance to a person over God. I have seen it and you probably have to. I have been part of a church where a pastor personally led many to the Lord. There came a time though when they would not or could not bring themselves to hold him accountable when he fell into some type of sin. I have seen people’s stances on issues change when it involved a close friend or family member.

We are all slaves to something in this world even if we don’t realize it. The Believer however is supposed to be a “bond servant”. Mosaic Law allowed an indentured servant to become a bond servant voluntarily: “If the servant declares, ‘I love my master and do not want to go free,’ then his master must take him before the judges. He shall take him to the door or the doorpost and pierce his ear with an awl. Then he will be his servant for life” (Exodus 21:5-6) The only thing we have to give God is our free will. Love given freely is the best kind….the kind the Lord gave to us. To reach a high level in our spiritual maturity our will must be stronger than our heart…this is often a lonely place. (Thoughts From the Trail)

Spiritual Growth Does Not Involve Magic

In the coming year if you leave your spiritual growth totally up to God, you will not be much more mature at the end of the year than when you started. Now if you think that it is all in your hands, then that is a big mistake as well. God could make everyone accept Jesus and avoid Hell if He so desired…but He does not. He could cause all those who enter into His family by way of salvation to become fully developed, mature Believers…but He chooses not to. God decided that spiritual growth, which is more like spiritual development, would be a partnership between The Holy Spirit and others. He told the Disciples in the great commission to “go and make disciples” not go and I will make disciples.

It appears that for the most part Believers think spiritual growth comes by magic….that it just happens along the way of life. That God is going to cause all things to ultimately work out for my good and His glory without me doing my part…..but there is more to the verse than that. The Holy Spirit provides the inspiration for me to make the changes needed in my life or the prodding to do what needs to be done. He also provides or allows growth opportunities…but I must respond correctly for growth to occur.

While there may be isolated incidents of life change in a person’s life, a consistent pattern rarely develops without the assistance of other Believers investment. The best case scenario is to have someone who is investing in you while at the same time be investing in someone else…..discipleship from both sides….have a mentor and be a mentor. I have found that I grow as much from the relationship of “who I am investing in” than who is investing in me. This occurs because of the accountability and it constantly reminds me of things I know but may have forgotten or are no longer emphasizing but need to be. It helps me to stay on track by knowing someone is watching me model what it is I am teaching. The year 2020 is upon us…will you be intentional about your spiritual development this year?....if not then you will probably be about the same going into 2021. (Thoughts From the Trail)

Where Have all the Leaders Gone?

I know some fine Godly men who are pastors, that preach their heart out week after week, that are great communicators bringing the message in such a way that it really connects with people. I know others that are wonderful shepherds of their people, and many that fit into both categories. I know Teachers that people have really learned a lot from and know God’s Word inside and out. All of this is crucial and a necessary part in helping us grow in our faith and spiritual maturity….but it does not make one a leader.

I know, and I am sure you do as well, pastors and teachers who are loved by their people…but yet they don’t follow them. Receiving information and even inspiration on it’s own rarely changes people….or not very much anyway. There are many different definitions of leadership but from a Biblical standpoint it means helping people to get on God’s agenda and to continue down that path. There is an intentionality to it. It is work, hard and even sacrificial, it is an investment that does not always pay-off from a results-based evaluation. When you look at it from an obedience-based evaluation it does. God always judges on obedience not results.

We can’t just provide opportunities for our people to grow and hope that they do, we must do all we can to insure it. Oh, I have heard it many times, we can’t “make” people do anything. This is true, but I think political correctness has invaded the thinking of those in the church in such a way we are afraid to hold people accountable….to say or do things that might make people uncomfortable in any way. The Holy Spirit’s job is to enlighten us, to use God’s Word to penetrate our heart, to make us realize that there is something wrong with me…that there is something I need to do or change. He also guides our conscience to help prevent us from displeasing the Lord or to repent of a wrong. He is responsible for the what…… and leaders are responsible for the how. I can be convicted or inspired and yet still take no action. The Holy Spirit does not force us to do anything. Good Leaders do not force us either but they show us how and hold us accountable. Now to be a good leader is often a lonely road…and it seems this road is becoming even lonelier as the years go by. (Thoughts From the Trail)

Who Gets Your Undivided Attention?

Who gets your undivided attention…..anyone…no one? We are a more distracted society than we have ever been it seems. Oh, I know many can multitask and think they are so good at it. Yes, it has become a way of life…but should it be like this and do other things suffer because of it? One of the reasons I believe our jobs, churches, and even lives have become so filled with mediocrity is the lost ability to focus our energy and attention to a specific thing. Just because we can do many things at once does not mean it should be done or that a particular thing is getting the attention it deserves.

Cell Phones have emphasized this or taken distraction to an all new level. Some say it is an addiction and it sure appears that way. I have seen Believers who can’t even have 15 minutes of quiet time without checking their phone 5 or 6 times. The Lord deserves our undivided uninterrupted attention. I see people all the time checking their phones when worship is supposed to be taking place, and even when the Pastor is bringing forth God’s Word. Am I the only one who thinks this is a problem? When you are engaging someone in conversation and are constantly checking on messages that are coming in, does this not send the signal to that person that they are not that important to you…it does to me. A dad playing a game with his son or mother showing her daughter how to do something but is constantly going back and forth with two or three others via text takes away the quality in “quality time” spent together. One may say well…this is just our culture now or the way things are. I would say it doesn’t have to be. (Thoughts From the Trail)

What To Expect From a Small Group Leader

I have read articles that seem to say groups are not effective, that serving is better. Really? I guess it depends on how your groups are structured and what is expected from the Leader of that group. Let me start by saying it is not serving or small groups…. but both. If set-up and operated the correct way, more spiritual growth will occur in a small group that any other place. The problem is less and less people out there either don’t know how to do it or are not willing to do it. It is hard, time consuming, but at the same time most rewarding .

Here is how it used to be done and still can be. If I was your small group leader I viewed the list of those in my class as a ministry list. God has sent these folks to me for a time and given me spiritual responsibility for them while they are in my care. My first goal would be to demonstrate that I care about those in the group. This occurs both inside and outside the class. As they begin to realize I sincerely cared about them then trust is built…which is what is necessary for folks to allow you to speak into their lives. I always keep a journal of those under my care with information that helps me to minister to them. Struggles they are going through, prayers, spiritual growth that has occurred. One of the responsibilities of the Leader is to help those in his care discover how God has gifted them and a place to serve in the kingdom. At some point a private conversation occurs with each individual about their salvation experience…are they sure…they can be. If not, this will be something that we pursue until they are. We do ministry together…not just hang out and hope that growth occurs. We may visit someone in a hospital, witness to a lost person, financially help a brother in need. Counseling may occur or help from a professional is sought out. As time goes on the teaching moves from broadly on God’s Word to teaching on specific needs going on in individual lives. There is accountability, having some hard discussions, helping them grow.

Some may read this and say people don’t want these things…which may be true. Typically, people do not want what is best for them, what is difficult, what is hard but then Heaven will not be over crowded. Leaders don’t allow the people to set the standards…God has set those. In scripture the people always wander away from God and not one time have they ever come back on their own. It has always taken a Leader to bring them back. Do we not have any of these Leaders anymore? (Thoughts From the Trail)

Let's Take a Peek Between Heaven and Hell . . . Shall We?

What if God allowed us to take a peek into these two places, what would we see? We might be surprised at who is where. In Hell you will find men and women who gave all for their country, who were good husbands and fathers, wives and spouses. Social justice warriors are in the bunch. There would be those who gave much to charity, who have changed the world, possibly cured diseases, done much good for many and by the world standards of their time…. might very well have been considered good or even great people. Pastors and Priests, Bible Teachers and Worship Leaders…there are a few of them sprinkled around in here as well.

In Heaven you will find murders, thieves, liars……those who have deceived many. Some evil dictators and atheists probably walking among the crowd. Racists….…yep……..bigots…sure……cheaters and even satan worshipers may be found here as well. Really I should have included the word “former” in front of all these groups of people.

Our final destination is not about scales…...weighing out the good verses the bad we have done. It is not about which denomination or religion we are a part of. It really comes down to one decision God gives us the choice to make. We either accept Jesus as Lord and Savior of our life or reject Him. To not accept, is to reject. You either have all of Jesus or none of Him. You can not have Him as Savior and not as Lord. People don’t just come to Jesus whenever they decide to. When the time does come and that decision is before you, it will be clear as The Holy Spirit will make you aware. Some people get many opportunities to accept Jesus, others only one, as this is up to God. Never delay or put off the most important decision you will ever get to make…one that is connected to so many dominoes falling in your life and perhaps many other people as well.