TAKE CARE OF YOUR SOUL
TAKE CARE OF YOUR SOUL
“Hear me, O Lord, for Your lovingkindness is good; Turn to me according to the multitude of Your tender mercies. And do not hide Your face from Your servant, For I am in trouble; Hear me speedily. Draw near to my soul, and redeem it. . . .” (Psalm 69:16-18)

We’re thinking about “soul care” each weekend during February. David wrote Psalm 69, crying out to God because His soul needed care. Notice that even one as close to God as David (a man after God’s own heart) experienced times when his soul was overloaded and needed God’s attention. We are no different!

Let me share some things that may indicate the need for soul care in your life or mine. If we are neglecting God’s Word, we need some soul care. When we sense no joy in our walk with the Lord, we need soul care. Ongoing struggles with addictions definitely tell us we need soul care. Soul care is a need in our lives when we’re not growing in grace.
The list of indicators could fill this edition of The Freedom Fighter!

Soul care really needs to happen regularly in our lives. Think of it like taking care of your physical body. Most of us do some “preventive”
things to take care of ourselves. Exercise, vitamins, rest and a healthy diet all fall into the preventive health care category.

Other occasions require more invasive measures. One of us may need a heart cath to take care of a blockage. Another of us may need surgery for a bad gall bladder. Our care is more aggressive because the problem is more dangerous. When life threatening issues attack us, we pull out all the stops. Major surgery, radiation, chemo and whatever else is needed come into play.

Soul care has counterparts to all the levels of medical care. Each of us, no matter how well we’re doing in our walk with Jesus need a maintenance level of soul care. We’re spiritually healthy and want to stay that way. So, we take care of our souls.

Times come when we struggle. Something happens that brings greater pressure or temptation to our lives. We see an issue and know that it’s going to require more than a maintenance level of soul care. So, we get more aggressive about “watching over our hearts/souls” (Proverbs 4:23)

Some of us will experience times that demand major soul care. Times of great grief or temptation create a need for that level of soul care.
Times of failure demand intense soul care. We do whatever it takes to protect and fortify our souls because of great danger.

I hope you’ll this week about the care of your soul. I invite you to join me this month in learning how to take care of our souls.

John Strain is Senior Pastor of First Baptist of Toms River.

Great Quote: Wise leaders should have known that the human heart cannot exist in a vacuum. If Christians are forbidden to enjoy the wine of the Spirit they will turn to the wine of the flesh…Christ died for our hearts and the Holy Spirit wants to come and satisfy them.

A. W. Tozer

WATCH OVER YOUR HEART
“Watch over your heart with all diligence, for from it flow the springs of life.” (Proverbs 4:23)

I had an email from a pastor friend last weekend. He had just returned from a pastor’s retreat focused on “soul care.” He closed the email, after telling me how much he had enjoyed the retreat, by asking me “How is your soul?” I’m not sure anyone had ever asked me that question in just that way.

I thought I’d take the February Freedom Fighters to think about the question and about how we can take better care of our souls. Most men, I think, are too action-oriented, and we really don’t like to do the interior work that “soul care” requires. If that’s true, then most of us who read this need “soul care” more than we know!

The Wisdom Writer of Proverbs gives us a good admonition in Proverbs 4:23. “Watch over your heart,” he says. That’s just another way to say “take care of your soul.” The metaphor speaks to the control center of our lives. It’s that inner most part of us that determines the quality of our lives. All the issues of life flow from that center. The way those “issues of life” play out is the result of how we take care of our souls.

I read recently of an old African proverb that goes like this: “The best time to plant a tree is twenty years ago. The second best time is now.”
None of us can undo the lack of care our souls have received. We can make sure the lack of care doesn’t continue. We can “watch over” our souls from today forward.

So, I ask you the question I was asked last weekend. “How is your soul?” Be honest with yourself. Get past the surface “feel good” stuff and determine your true spiritual health. All of us may need to consider what we’re devoting ourselves to that hinders our soul care.
I’ll finish with one of Jesus’ most famous and probing questions. “For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for h is soul?” (Matthew
16:26)

Pastor John Strain is Senior Pastor of First Baptist Toms River and is our weekend Freedom Fighter contributor.

Great Quote: God has a time for everything, a perfect schedule. He is never too soon, never too late. The when of His will is as important as the what and the how. Richard C. Halverson

Be Still

BROKEN

Psalm 51:17: “The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit, a broken and
contrite heart, O God, you will not despise.”

Consider this saying. You ever thought that storms may come in the form of discipline, and you must go through the discipline to experience the brokenness that God wants you to have in your life to be more deeply rooted in Him.
To be broken, and experience brokenness, is not pleasant at times. Hebrews 12:11: “No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it.” To be broken or contrite is to be broken-hearted for sin, deeply affected with grief and sorrow for sin, or penitent – suffering sorrow of heart on account of sin.

How do you get there? Well, for me, I had to be hit on the head with the Lord’s hammer. An anvil had to fall out of the sky to get to the truth of Who God is in my life – my Lord and my Master. My name is not Felix the Cat, and my bag of tricks does not even compare to what God has in His bag. My bag had self-centeredness, pride, self-righteousness, arrogance, selfish ambition, envy … need I go on?

God’s bag has love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control (Gal. 5:22-23) in it. And that’s just scratching the surface of Who His is. God has reached down and used people in my life with these qualities to discipline me.

Romans 11:22a: “Consider the kindness and sternness of God,” to show me the way to go and get deeper rooted in Him. Sometimes I have needed that instruction, and sometimes I have not. Proverbs 29:19, “A servant cannot be corrected by mere words; though he understands, he will not respond.” That’s where it starts, in responding correctly to the discipline.

Look at the life of Kind David, a man after God’s own heart (1 Samuel 13:14). Then he committed adultery and murder. He did it in secret, but God disciplined him in broad daylight (2 Samuel 12:12).

David’s bag didn’t have enough tricks in it. God’s bag had the prophet Nathan in it, and He used him to show David his sin and bring it in full view. I believe David knew what he did was wrong but needed God and his hammer (Nathan) to show it to him. That brought him to the point of brokenness in his life (Psalm 51) and become more deeply rooted in God. The Lord did renew a steadfast and willing spirit and the joy of his salvation within David. That came only after he experienced a broken and contrite heart.

What about you? What’s in your bag? Will you call on Him, confess and be cleansed? I pray you do. Or do you think your bag is deep enough to get you by? I pray not. I pray that you experience brokenness in your heart for sin before God drops his hammer on you as he did me, with the result of becoming more deeply rooted in the true, living God.

Never forget that your bag is just that, your bag. Always remember that God’s bag is divine and has you in it. – Today’s Freedom Fighter was written by an anonymous author. I will share tomorrow who the writer has been.

Great Quote: Storms make oaks take deeper roots.

Proud or Humble

James 4:6: “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.”

Ever been puffed up … have a head or ego so big you can’t get through a door? I have. A friend of mine once said that a big ego leads to false pride. Price comes from the state of mind of being proud … possessing a high and often unreasonable opinion of one’s own excellence. God opposes that. When someone opposes you, you are in a battle. When that someone is God, you will lose that battle. It’s happened to me too many times, so you’d think I would learn a lesson from that and not go there anymore.

2 Peter 1:3-4 says, “His divine power (divine meaning excellent to the highest degree), has given us everything we need for life and godliness through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness. Through these he has given us his very great and precious promises so that through them you may participate in the divine nature and escape the corruption in the world caused by evil desires.” For me to think that my way was excellent, and to pit that against God and His divinity, is just plain arrogant and stupid. I don’t see my name in the Scripture just mentioned. It’s all about God and His way, His nature. It’s as if I had forgotten that I had been cleansed from my past sin (2 Peter 1:9). His blood was shed, not mine.

Look at King Uzziah (2 Chronicles 26). He did what was right in the eyes of the Lord and God gave him success (vs. 4-5). He went to war against the Philistines, broke down city walls then rebuilt them (v. 6). He built towers in Jerusalem and in barren places, had much lifestock and fertile lands (vs. 9-10). He had a well-trained army with all type of weapons and provided them with protection (vs. 11-15). But after Uzziah became powerful, his pride led to his downfall. He was unfaithful to the Lord (v. 16). He was confronted, got angry, and leprosy broke out on his forehead (v. 19). He had leprosy till the day he died (v. 21). He was even buried in a separate field because of his affliction, away from others (v. 23). He forgot Who gave him success and what was the most excellent way.

I do not want to die with leprosy, or in my pride. Yes, I have experienced the separation and pain that comes from thinking my way is most excellent. Proverbs 14:12 says, “There is a way that seems right to a man, but in the end it leads to death.” I do not want to go there. I wan to be one of the few (Matt. 7:14) who will participate with Him and experience His divine nature.

What about you? What team are you on? To be on God’s team, we must get out of ourselves and lose our life for Him (Matt. 10:39). Never forget God is 100% successful and does not lose. Always remember He wants you on His team. — Annonymous

Great Quote: When God measures a man he puts the tape around his heart, not his head.

SELF-CENTEREDNESS

1 Corinthians 1:26: “Brothers, think of what you were when you were called. Not many of you were wise by human standards; not many were influential; not many were of noble birth.”

He who is full of himself is likely to be quite empty.

Conceit is the quicksand of success.

He who sings his own praises seldom gets the right pitch.

Can you relate to some of these? I know I can. In the quiet of my mind, I think this way – not always, but it happens. This is where self-centeredness starts – in the mind. At work … “they couldn’t do all this if I wasn’t here.” In sports … “if it wasn’t for me we probably wouldn’t win a game. With friends … “boy, are they blessed that I’m here.” Sounds conceited, doesn’t it? That’s because it is. An ill-grounded opinion of one’s own importance. That’s sin – bottom line. We, I, must recognize it as that. When God called us, me, to where He has us/me, it was into fellowship, not one’s own ship (1 Corinthians 1:9).

Consider those who wanted to make a name for themselves in building the Tower of Babel (Genesis 11). They thought by doing this they could impress God and not be scattered over the face of the earth. They used brick instead of stone . . . which is a weaker material. Tar instead of mortar. They were relying on themselves, not God.

For the past few years, God has allowed me to share His Word in many different venues. When I started to rely on myself – a weaker vessel, much weaker – and not the stone or rock of Jesus Christ (1 Peter 2:4-7), I began to come apart or be scattered. Just as those who rejected stone in building the tower of Babel were scattered, when I rejected the Cornerstone of my faith, I came tumbling down (Matthew 7:24-27).

There is no upgrade with Jesus. He is the One. Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith (Hebrews 12:2). I had to learn that lesson the hard way. Never forget that when you know that Jesus is all you need, Jesus is all you will have. And when Jesus is all you have, you will know that Jesus is all you need. – Anonymous

GREAT QUOTE: “True faith cannot exist without love — it works by love.
The views of faith cause the love of God to be shed abroad in the soul, and a sense of his love enkindles ours. “We love him because he first loved us.” God is love. This is the brightest and most amiable aspect of his character; and when that divine excellence is manifested in unparalleled love to us, it cannot but produce a powerful effect in winning the affections, and drawing forth the heart in returns of love to him, ‘who has loved us and given himself for us’ … The cross becomes the great point of attraction to the believer, and the center of his warmest affections. From this point radiate the brightest rays of the divine glory. From the cross go forth the most potent influences to conquer the world, and to draw all men to the Savior. The regenerate man lives by faith upon his crucified Redeemer…The new life inspired in regeneration is a life of dependence — of entire dependence upon Christ. The love of God in Christ is the animating principle of the new creature. But graces rise not alone, they cluster together, and mutually support and adorn each other. Faith works by love; faith and love united generate hope; for the good which is loved and looked for, is not present but future. And when hope rises to assurance it brings forth joy; and a sense of God’s favor, and confidence in his mercy and protection fills the soul with abiding peace; a peace which the world cannot give, but which Christ often breathes into the hearts of his disciples.” Archibald Alexander, The Princeton Theological Review, 1836

THE BEGINNING OF THE JOURNEY

Genesis 1:2 “Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters.”

Isn’t that how we are without Christ – formless and, especially, empty. Yes, God did knit us together in our mother’s womb.
Psalm 139:13: “for you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb. Psalm 103:4: “for he knows how we are formed, he remembers that we are dust.” But we are born into sin, so we are empty or void of the appropriate context to see Him for Who He is and live the life worthy of Him and please Him in every way. Just as God was hovering over the waters, He is there hovering over us. His Spirit is there waiting to say, “let there be light” (Genesis 1:3). In the same way He separated the light from the darkness (Genesis 1:4), He will separate us from the world and the sin that so easily entangles, when we call on His name. 2 Corinthians 6:17: “therefore come out from them and be separate.”

When that happens, our attitudes and mindset must change on how we view sin (all of it) and see it for what it is – a separation or rift in our relationship with Christ. A light will come on inside us (conviction). Ephesians 5:8: “for we were once darkness but now you are light in the Lord. Live as children of light.” Yes, God does forgive and has forgiven as demonstrated at Calvary and on the cross. His grace and mercy are evident. He bore our sorrow and took away our sin.

Romans 6:1 says, “What shall we say then? Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase? By no means.” We died to sin; how can we live in it any longer? To get to that point in our walk with Christ, we must have godly sorrow, which brings repentance that leads to salvation and leaves no regret (2 Corinthians 7:10).

In the next few days, I’ll share some personal experiences that God has used to bring me to that point of seeing the sin in my life for what it is.

Never forget that in Christ we are not formless or empty. Always remember that He will continue to mold us to the image of His Son and fill us with love for Him by His Spirit. – Today’s Freedom Fighter is part of a five-part series written by an anonymous friend.

Great Quote: Christ died for all men not just the ones you know and like. Anonymous

The Discipline of Sacrifice

“Therefore I urge you, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship.” (Romans 12:1 NASB) Sacrifice is an abstinence discipline that helps us break free from our own self-security. It pushes us to find our security in God.

Most Americans, even those with little by American standards, are richer than most of the rest of the world. Our culture pushes us to “take care of ourselves first.” Somehow we come to believe that we’re responsible for our well-being and provision. We start trusting ourselves more than we trust God.

Sacrifice pulls us out of comfort zone and puts us in a place where we must trust God for our needs. (Let me say that this discipline does not allow us to be irresponsible. We still must meet our obligations and pay the debts for which we’ve obligated ourselves.) Most of us, however, have more than we need. As we come before God as living sacrifices, we place everything on the table. Our money, our time, and our skills become things we’re willing to give up as we “. . .
discipline ourselves for the purpose of godliness;” (1 Timothy 4:7)

We recently had a “He Is Worthy!” offering at First Baptist /Toms River.
For five weeks we thought about all the ways God is worthy of all we can offer. The culmination of the celebration centered on a special offering. We asked our people to give the equivalent of a weeks pay to declare the worthiness of God. Our goal was $25,000.00. The First Family (That’s what we call ourselves.) gave more than $45,000.00! Many who gave did so through sacrifice, and several of them have since told me how God met their needs.

Many of us who saw God provide in remarkable ways would not have known His provision had we not chosen to sacrifice for His glory. Dallas Willard offers a powerful image to describe the blessing of sacrifice. “The cautious faith that never saws off the limb on which it is sitting never learns that unattached limbs may find strange, unaccountable ways of not falling.”

Sacrifice isn’t only about money, however. It may include giving up a relationship, time, sleep, shirt, coat, or career-whatever of your own resources that you trust in rather than God. Choosing to live with the discipline of sacrifice helps us identify those things in our lives that we hold onto more than we do God. Choosing sacrifice will teach us how to “cut off the limb on which we sit” and learn how God can in “strange, unaccountable ways” keep it from falling.

Where is your confidence? What are you willing to give up to make sure your confidence is in the Lord? – John Strain is Senior Pastor of First Baptist Toms River and is our weekend Freedom Fighter contributor.

Great Quote: “Prayer will make man cease from sin. Sin will make man cease from prayer.” John Bunyan

You will not want to miss the next five days of Freedom Fighter’s. Invite a friend to join you on the journey.

The Discipline of Service

In “Celebration of Discipline,” Richard Foster writes that “Jesus took a towel and a basin and redefined greatness.” Jesus regularly modeled servanthood as a way of life for those who follow Him. Another writer says that “service is a way of orienting your life.” The discipline of service helps us direct our lives toward that orientation.

Most of us enjoy being served, and we like being in charge. I read this week of the little five-year-old girl who told her babysitter “You’re not the boss of me!” Many of us reflect that attitude; we don’t want anyone telling us what to do. Choosing the discipline of service forces us to change that attitude. It forces us to let others call the shots while we look for ways to serve them.

Consider Jesus’ words: “You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and those who are great exercise authority over them. Yet it shall not be so among you; but whoever desires to become great among you, let him be your servant. And whoever desires to be first among you, let him be your slave-just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve. . . . “(Mt. 20:25-28)

Choosing to serve requires several things from us. First, we need to search our hearts and make sure our motives are pure. We serve to follow Jesus’ example and to fulfill our calling. Any other motive is less than acceptable. We also serve without recognition. It’s better to serve in relative obscurity, especially if we struggle with pride. We don’t need someone “tooting our horn” for us because we’ve served.

Finally, we need to pursue service as a lifestyle. It’s not an every-now-and-then thing. It’s a life choice to live with the same kind of heart Jesus had. It is a discipline of engagement that all of us need to protect us from pride and arrogance. I remind you again of the theme of our January weekend Freedom Fighters: “. . . discipline yourself for the purpose of godliness.” (1 Timothy 4:7)

By God’s grace, let’s choose the discipline of service. (John Strain is Senior Pastor of First Baptist of Toms River and our weekend Freedom Fighter Contributor)

Great Quote: If I am a son of God, nothing but God will satisfy my soul; no amount of comfort, no amount of ease, no amount of pleasure, will give me peace or rest. If I had the full cup of all the world’s joys held up to me, and could drain it to the dregs, I should still remain thirsty if I had not God.

G. Geoffrey Studdert Kennedy