The Father RespondsTo Repentance

This morning I am reading out of Luke, and reading about the Prodigal son, one of Jesus most famous parables. I was thinking about the Father's response to the son , when he said he wanted to pay for his mistakes. The following verses describe the Father's response - Luke 15:20-24 NIV:

[20] "So he got up and went to his father. “But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion for him; he ran to his son, threw his arms around him and kissed him.

[21] “The son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son.’

[22] “But the father said to his servants, ‘Quick! Bring the best robe and put it on him. Put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet. [23] Bring the fattened calf and kill it. Let’s have a feast and celebrate. [24] For this son of mine was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.’ So they began to celebrate."

The son had sinned against his father pretty significantly. He had taken his inheritance, wasted it on women and drinking, and basically told his dad he wished he were dead. When the son decided to go back to his father, he was planning to pay for his mistakes, expecting to be a slave or servant and likely working for the rest of his life to pay back that which he had thrown away.

Our human nature would require that type of repayment. We want to make people pay for their mistakes, and it is only after the repayment that there is any hope for restoration. That is the way man thinks, but that is not the way the Father acts. In this story, which is a clear parable speaking about the Father in Heaven and all who sin, the father runs to him and embraces him, and basically completely ignores the son's attempt to lower himself, and take on the role of a slave or servant. In fact, the father completely restores all that the son had thrown away. This is such a radically different way of responding to a sinner who is repentant, than most of us would expect.

Our church is full of the human type of thinking. Some churches speak of penance following confession of sins, effectively a payment for the sin, to restore ones relationship with the Father. Many churches are quick to mete out punishment to those who sin, or who are caught in sin, regardless of the individuals repentance. The mindset seems to be that the sin must be paid for, because the church cannot be soft on sin, for God is not soft on sin. God demands purity and holiness and anyone who sins is in danger of judgment.

I have friends who grew up with a mindset that if you had one sin stain in your life when you died you were destined for hell. They were taught that their salvation was constantly in jeopardy, because of their sins. This is a great example of teaching focused on man's sinfulness rather than on God's mercy and grace. There are other churches that swing completely the other way, and over emphasize grace to the point of no discussion of sin, repentance or the like.

This story makes a few things clear concerning God's heart toward the repentant sinner. First, he doesn't require repayment. He has already paid for all our sins. He doesn't require a severed or reduced relationship. He has compassion on those that are repentant, and celebrates their turning back towards Him. He does not enact judgment, does not sever the relationship, but instead rushes to restore relationship to the repentant one.

There should be no reason why we wouldn't turn back to the Lord in repentance. There are some that would think their sins are too many, or too great, and yet the Lord is waiting not to punish, but to restore relationship. He has already paid for all our sins, so punishment is not required. He wants us back in full relationship with Him and is just waiting and watching for the moment we turn back towards Him. Whether we have lived our lives like God was dead to us, or wasted or ruined every good thing He has ever given us, His response will be the same, welcoming us, embracing us, restoring us, and celebrating our return.

My prayer is that we, as the Church, would learn to rightly represent the Father's heart. My prayer is that those who are estranged of the Father would return to Him, and those living under the weight of sin would repent and turn towards Him that He might restore them to right relationship.

Preaching Through Love

This morning I am reading from Romans 10:14-15 NIV:

[14] "How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them? [15] And how can anyone preach unless they are sent? As it is written: “How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!”

This is such a simple encouragement to be those that are willing to be sent, and willing to preach. Many will disqualify themselves saying they were not sent to preach. That is true for many of us, as our call is not to full-time ministry, apostleship or teaching or even evangelism. We are however encouraged to, "Live such good lives among the pagans that, though they accuse you of doing wrong, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day he visits us." 1 Peter 2:12. Paul encourages us similarly to, "Do everything without grumbling or arguing, so that you may become blameless and pure, “children of God without fault in a warped and crooked generation.” Then you will shine among them like stars in the sky." Philippians 2:14-15 NIV.

Our lives are meant to be a witness to those around us of our relationship with the Lord. We are all called in this instance to represent to the world the love of Christ, evident in our daily lives. We don't have to preach, teach, or cause all conversations to turn to Christ, but we are all called to, "Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another." John 13:34-35.

So, let us preach with our lives, our faith in the one who loves us first, Jesus, so that those who have never heard, hear and believe.

Amen

In Christ Alone

This morning I am reading from Paul's letter to the Romans 9:30-32 NIV:

[30] "What then shall we say? That the Gentiles, who did not pursue righteousness, have obtained it, a righteousness that is by faith; [31] but the people of Israel, who pursued the law as the way of righteousness, have not attained their goal. [32] Why not? Because they pursued it not by faith but as if it were by works. They stumbled over the stumbling stone."

Paul's thinking here is very clear. As he has said before it is by faith not works, faith not religion, that we attain righteousness. This is only possible when we unite ourselves to Christ and receive His righteousness. There is no amount of sacrifice or good deeds that can ever achieve righteous perfection for us. The only way is through faith, entering into relationship with Jesus and receiving from Him His righteousness.

This is why Jesus is the only path to the Father, the only way to Heaven, the only Savior. He is the only one who has achieved righteousness before the Father. He is the only one who made the perfect sacrifice for all our sins. He is the only one who fulfilled the requirements of the Law. He is the only one who was looked for throughout scripture, perfectly fulfilling the Father's plan.

Our beliefs in these truths are founded on the belief that the Father is the One and only true God. There are not other Gods of similar status, as the Greeks and other religions would believe. He is the one supreme God and He has provided one way in Christ Jesus.

There is no way to heaven through works and good intentions, but only through faith in Jesus. We can have all the best intentions, be good and nice people and yet not attain eternal life. We can go to church and fulfill all the religious works and not attain eternal life. There were people of Israel who pursued perfection, had great intentions and lived relatively blameless lives, racking up tons of good will, good works and having the intention of following God, but they were unable to attain perfection. Our actions alone will never meet the requirements of perfection. It is only through faith in Jesus and relationship with Him that we will succeed.

We recognize this, not so that we can proudly proclaim that our way is the only way, and judge all who don't believe this. Rather our hearts should be torn for those whom don't believe, as Paul said in the earlier verses in this chapter. "I have great sorrow and unceasing anguish in my heart. For I could wish that I myself were cursed and cut off from Christ for the sake of my people, those of my own race, the people of Israel." (Rom 9:2-4a). This should be our heart for all the unsaved world. Their's is a path of futility and frustration if they pursue a place in Heaven apart from relationship with Christ. Our hearts should break for them and our desire should be to help them find Jesus, their only true hope.

There are many who have believed the deception of the enemy, rejecting God, believing Him to be angry and full of judgment, and rejecting all that is fun and fulfilling. I have even heard people say they can't wait for the party in hell because that is where all the fun people are going. What a sad deception they live under. Again our belief is based on the Word of God concerning hell, final judgment and the eternal agonies that will be suffered by those assigned to that place.

Our hearts, again, should never be proud concerning our own salvation, for we did nothing to earn it, other than recognize our own need for a savior. It is in the place of humility that we understand our own sinfulness and inability to attain eternal life on our own, so how could we ever look down on those who haven't recognized this in their own lives. We were once in their same position, and God in His mercy called us out of that and saved us, and applied His own righteousness to our lives. We didn't earn it, Jesus did, and He distributes it freely to all who would receive it.

So, let us be thankful and grateful beyond words for our salvation which comes to us through faith in Christ Jesus. Let us also pray diligently for the same grace to be extended to those we know who have yet to receive the gift of salvation. Let us live our lives in such a way that they see our relationship with God bearing good fruit in our lives and desire the same in their own lives.

Eternity In Our Hearts

This morning I opened my Bible up and it opened to some very thought provoking verses from Ecclesiastes 3:10-14 NIV:

[10] "I have seen the burden God has laid on the human race.
[11] He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the human heart;
yet no one can fathom what God has done from beginning to end.
[12] I know that there is nothing better for people than to be happy and to do good while they live.
[13] That each of them may eat and drink, and find satisfaction in all their toil---this is the gift of God.
[14] I know that everything God does will endure forever; nothing can be added to it and nothing taken from it.
God does it so that people will fear him."

So starting at the bottom - the Hebrew word here translated fear would be more accurately translated to be in awe of, or to instill reverence. God's purpose is not to make us afraid of Him, but to instill in us a sense of how great He is compared to us. He is beyond comprehension, but that doesn't mean we should stop thinking about God.

There is perfection in God, and He has an eternal perspective. He views us and the world from outside of time and thus sees all, and He reigns over all. His Kingdom is over every other Kingdom (PS 103:19).

God's intentions for us all are that we may find joy, we may see beauty, we might find happiness and be satisfied. Part of that satisfaction is connecting to that piece of eternity He has placed in our hearts. That eternity is meant to draw us to Him. There is a sense of something bigger than us in all men. There is a desire to understand our place, our purpose and see how things work together in the greater world. We all have this longing and it is fulfilled through relationship with Him.

I remember when I stepped into relationship with Him, consciously choosing the Lord, how it felt like all of a sudden everything fell into place and made sense. I think it was that piece of eternity in my heart connecting up to the ultimate source of eternity, namely the Lord. It is within this relationship with Him that my perspective is changed and I understand my purpose, my place and how my life matters. It is in this relationship that I see the beauty that really is there in all things. I don't understand all the mystery, all the things of God, and no man can, but I can perceive His ways and see His will in action, discerning the flows of His purpose and plan taking place around me. It is a beautiful thing when I see God working in me, through me and around me.

So my encouragement today is to seek Him more, to open my eyes to His ways, and to enjoy that which He is doing and surrounding me with every day! He has given me great gifts and He enjoys it when I recognize that and am satisfied! He wants me to recognize that piece of eternity in me is meant to connect to Him, who lives in eternity!

His Kingdom Rules Over All

I am reading from Psalm 103 this morning and it is medicine for my soul.

Psalm 103:19-22 NIV:

[19] "The Lord has established his throne in heaven,
and his kingdom rules over all.
[20] Praise the Lord, you his angels,
you mighty ones who do his bidding, who obey his word.
[21] Praise the Lord, all his heavenly hosts,
you his servants who do his will.
[22] Praise the Lord, all his works
everywhere in his dominion.
Praise the Lord, my soul."

It is good to know this morning that His Kingdom rules over all other kingdoms. It is good to know that there are forces in this world that we cannot see, but who are doing the Lord's work and obeying His every command. It is good to know that His dominion is everywhere! There is no place where His will and rule do not penetrate. There is no place we can get to that He is not in control and not in power. Earthly kingdoms can come and go, authority figures change daily, but the Lord is still in power and in control and has dominion over all. It is good to know that He is, and always will be worthy of our praise!

Amen and Praise God!

If A Brother Sins Against You...

This morning I was reading in Luke and came across a passage of Jesus speaking about sin and forgiveness that when viewed in the original language is very interesting. Here are the verses - Luke 17:3-4 NIV:

[3] "So watch yourselves.
“If your brother or sister sins against you, rebuke them; and if they repent, forgive them. [4] Even if they sin against you seven times in a day and seven times come back to you saying ‘I repent,’ you must forgive them.”

What is interesting is the word here translated rebuke. In the original Greek the word is Epitimao:

Definition
1. to show honour to, to honour
2. to raise the price of
3. to adjudge, award, in the sense of merited penalty
4. to tax with fault, rate, chide, rebuke, reprove, censure severely
a. to admonish or charge sharply

Now I am definitely not a Greek scholar, nor have I ever studied Greek at all, but I find it very interesting that the translation they use in this instance is the fourth, and secondary at that. If we replaced rebuke with words more in line with the first two definitions we would have a very different sentence. I actually think that there is some merit in using the first definition, so let me explain.

First, this is your brother or sister, one of your same family or someone you have an existing relationship with, so someone that is important in your life. Second, the Greek word for sin here is Hamartano whose definition is:1. to be without a share in 2. to miss the mark 3. to err, be mistaken 4. to miss or wander from the path of uprightness and honour, to do or go wrong 5. to wander from the law of God, violate God's law, sin. So, we could be talking about a whole range of offenses, from slight to severe, but I think we tend to assume the worst. What if we assumed the best? What if it was an unintentional missing of the mark, in other words they tried to do something right but made a mistake? For example, they bought you a gift that just wasn't right for you. They wanted to bless you but instead of the new phone you wanted they bought you an ironing board, because you needed one. It could be that benign, based on the Greek.

If we then apply the first definition of Epitimao, we would go to that person (our brother or sister who we love) and because we love them and value them and hold them in high honor in our life, we explain how their actions have affected us. We do this because we place great value in this relationship, and going to them actually is a way of showing them that, or even elevating their value. If we didn't care about them, we wouldn't be talking to them. Anyway, if they repent, (here the word in Greek is Metanoeo whose definition is:1. to change one's mind, i.e. to repent 2. to change one's mind for better, heartily to amend with abhorrence of one's past sins) we forgive them. In other words, we explain the situation because we love them, they understand how their actions have affected us and they decide to change how they think or act towards us, maybe even feel deep remorse because they love us in return. Often times they won't even know that they have offended us or missed the mark of their intentions, and because we love them and value them, we have given them insight into our heart and mind and helped them to love us better.

I like that scenario much better than the one that comes to mind when I first read those verses. I think that often times people have used these verses to judge and criticize their brother putting the responsibility on the brother or sister who sinned to repent, rather than seeing the importance and value that should be there. The object of this latter approach is to correct someone, rather than to lift them up and honor and value them. I think it often can become like a score sheet of criticism, where people keep track of all the wrongs, go to that person and tell them everything they did wrong, and require their repentance before they will forgive them. I think that approach misses the entire spirit of the original Greek, and thus probably the intention of the Lord.

Finally, a word about forgiveness. The Greek word here translated forgive is the word Aphiemi, whose definition is: 1. to send away a. to bid going away or depart 1. of a husband divorcing his wife b. to send forth, yield up, to expire c. to let go, let alone, let be 1. to disregard 2. to leave, not to discuss now, (a topic) 1c 2. of teachers, writers and speakers 1. to omit, neglect 1. to let go, give up a debt, forgive, to remit 2. to give up, keep no longer 3. to permit, allow, not to hinder, to give up a thing to a person 4. to leave, go way from one. In other words, there is a permanence, a releasing and not going back to. So often forgiveness is some sort of conditional experience, but that is not the meaning of the word. You can't cancel a debt and then reinstitute it. The word Aphiemi is actually an intense version of the word Eimi that means to go, so it means to really go so that there is significant separation. I believe that is what Jesus meant, that forgiveness is supposed to be permanent, and cause the hurtful action to be brought up no more, for it is no longer present. The Lord provided a beautiful picture of this in Psalm 103:11-12 NIV: "For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is his love for those who fear him; [12] as far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us."

So my encouragement this morning is to love and honor those who sin against me, taking this approach rather than a critical approach when I explain to them how they might have hurt me or offended me. I will choose to really forgive them, to cast their transgression away and never revisit it. I choose to invest in and honor those that I love and value and work to strengthen our relationships, over and over and over.

Rescued From That Which Binds Us!

This morning I am reading out of the Acts of the Apostles, specifically chapter 12. This is the story of how the Lord rescued Peter from prison, and likely from death. I was just thinking how the Lord is capable of setting us free from the most difficult circumstances, or dangerous scenarios. The Lord does have the keys and all power.

Acts 12:1-12 NIV:
[1] "It was about this time that King Herod arrested some who belonged to the church, intending to persecute them. [2] He had James, the brother of John, put to death with the sword. [3] When he saw that this met with approval among the Jews, he proceeded to seize Peter also. This happened during the Festival of Unleavened Bread. [4] After arresting him, he put him in prison, handing him over to be guarded by four squads of four soldiers each. Herod intended to bring him out for public trial after the Passover.

[5] So Peter was kept in prison, but the church was earnestly praying to God for him.

[6] The night before Herod was to bring him to trial, Peter was sleeping between two soldiers, bound with two chains, and sentries stood guard at the entrance. [7] Suddenly an angel of the Lord appeared and a light shone in the cell. He struck Peter on the side and woke him up. “Quick, get up!” he said, and the chains fell off Peter’s wrists.

[8] Then the angel said to him, “Put on your clothes and sandals.” And Peter did so. “Wrap your cloak around you and follow me,” the angel told him. [9] Peter followed him out of the prison, but he had no idea that what the angel was doing was really happening; he thought he was seeing a vision. [10] They passed the first and second guards and came to the iron gate leading to the city. It opened for them by itself, and they went through it. When they had walked the length of one street, suddenly the angel left him.

[11] Then Peter came to himself and said, “Now I know without a doubt that the Lord has sent his angel and rescued me from Herod’s clutches and from everything the Jewish people were hoping would happen.” [12] When this had dawned on him, he went to the house of Mary the mother of John, also called Mark, where many people had gathered and were praying."

A couple of things stand out when I read these verses. First, this was not just a simple prison sentence, but based on verse one, it was clearly Herod's plan to put Peter to death. He had already killed one of the 12, and he was obviously thinking he would kill the leaders, thus he arrested Peter. Peter was Ina very dangerous place.

Secondly the church was praying and had not given up hope, in fact they were having an all night prayer party . This is so critical, to believe the Lord's word over the circumstances that you confronted with!

Third, God moved to rescue Peter. We can find ourselves in tough circumstances through no fault of our own, and although there doesn't look like there is a way out, if we depend on the Lord He can set us free, even to the point of blinding our captors. This was a miraculous escape, yet full within the Lord's ability to act upon.

So let us look to our savior and redeemer, the one who loves us. Let us call out to him and prayer for release from that which binds us keeps us prisoner. He is kind and merciful to all that call upon Him!

Operate In Our Gifts

This morning I am reading through some of Paul's letter to the Romans, which is such an excellent letter. Here were the verses that I am thinking about this morning: Romans 12:1-8 NIV

[1] "Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God---this is your true and proper worship. [2] "Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is---his good, pleasing and perfect will.

[3] For by the grace given me I say to every one of you: Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the faith God has distributed to each of you. [4] For just as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not all have the same function, [5] so in Christ we, though many, form one body, and each member belongs to all the others. [6] We have different gifts, according to the grace given to each of us. If your gift is prophesying, then prophesy in accordance with your faith; [7] if it is serving, then serve; if it is teaching, then teach; [8] if it is to encourage, then give encouragement; if it is giving, then give generously; if it is to lead, do it diligently; if it is to show mercy, do it cheerfully."

So often when I read scripture, I look for the quotes I know, and look past the verses on either side of those verses, and in doing so, can often miss some of what the author was actually saying. These verses are a great example, as we would not usually hear a sermon that combines the first verses with the second set of verses. However, I think that the second set of verses flow out of the context of what Paul was saying in the first paragraph.

The pattern of the world seems to be the focus to me, and Paul's urging us to not he conformed to it, but to be different. We are to be transformed by changing the way we think (renewal of the mind). We are to view ourselves as a part of the Body of Christ, not only as individuals. We are to see our place, understand our gifts, and use them for the betterment of the Body. We all belong to each other.

That statement alone should cause us to stop and think...I belong to everyone in the Body of Christ. The original Greek language says it something like this - we are all members recipricolly of the same body. There is a sense of equality, of sharing in as a part, but no one better than the other, and all needed to be whole.

I love how in these passages Paul is not setting one gift above the others, but encouraging those with gifts (all of us) to use them to better the community. We need each and every one, and we need them all being exercised. We are called to operate to the level of our faith, and in stating this Paul doesn't look down on those with less faith, he just says to operate in accordance with Your faith, but definitely operate the gifts.

Often in our churches we are encouraged to have a certain level of proficiency before stepping out and using our gifts. While this might maintain a professional look and feel, that isn't what Paul calls us to here. He is basically saying that everyone regardless of their level of faith or maturity needs to be operating in their gifts. I recognize that this could get messy, but without exercise how are we to grow stronger, or mature?

So let us be encouraged today to step out into our fittings, into those things the Lord has planted in us, and let us strengthen the body. Let us give each other mercy and grace and recognize we all need each other and all belong to each other. Let us encourage one another is the exercising of our gifts, and rejoice in growth and maturity, but also rejoice in new Christians just learning to walk in and use their gifts! Put another way, we should rejoice over and encourage the one just learning to ride a bike as much as we do over someone who participates in the Tour de France. Let us encourage one another to operate in our gifts!

His Plans Are Better

I spent this morning reading through 2 Chronicles 14-20, which details the lives of two of the kings of Judah, Asa and Jehoshaphat, and how they pursued the Lord. Both did right before the Lord and followed His ways. However, Asa at one point was threatened with war and went and aligned himself with the king of Aram, rather than inquiring of the Lord what he should do (2 Chron 16). His plan was successful, but because he relied on the help of man, rather than God, other countries were not afraid to attack him.

Jehoshaphat on the other hand continually sought the Lord, and at one point was threatened with war, and he directed all leaders and the people of Judah to wait on the Lord and depend on Him for instruction. The Lord honored their prayers and told them exactly what to do and where to fight the enemy. When they followed the Lord's directions they never even had to draw their weapons for the Lord had wiped out the opposing armies (2 Chron 20). They recovered much from the enemies camps, and because God had fought for them, all the surrounding countries decided it wasn't a good idea to fight Judah, and they had peace.

So, I guess the lesson this morning is turn to the Lord and seek His guidance, regardless of whether we think we have a solution, God's ways are better. His ways are meant to bring us peace and prosperity. I know I am often tempted to just make decisions based on my own abilities, and not consult the Lord, but I know that He does have direction and guidance for me that is based on His plan and His perspective, which are perfect. So I can choose to try and figure it out on my own, or go with His plans which will always be better than mine. Put that way it doesn't seem like much of a decision, yet I fail to seek the Lord time and time again. Lord, help us to look to You, to wait on You and to trust that Your plan is better, and worth waiting for.

Faith And Belief

This morning I am reading from Mark 11:19-25 NIV:

[19] "When evening came, Jesus and his disciples went out of the city.
[20] In the morning, as they went along, they saw the fig tree withered from the roots.
[21] Peter remembered and said to Jesus, “Rabbi, look! The fig tree you cursed has withered!”
[22] “Have faith in God,” Jesus answered. [23] “Truly I tell you, if anyone says to this mountain, ‘Go, throw yourself into the sea,’ and does not doubt in their heart but believes that what they say will happen, it will be done for them. [24] Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours. [25] And when you stand praying, if you hold anything against anyone, forgive them, so that your Father in heaven may forgive you your sins.”

These are some very interesting verses, as just prior to these, Jesus had cursed the fig tree because it bore no fruit. The tree had withered, and the disciples were amazed by His authority, here demonstrated over creation. He had previously commanded the wind (Mark 4:39) and had multiplied the bread and fish (Mark 6:30-44) and even had walked on the water (Mark 6:45-52), so they should not have been that surprised. I think this demonstrates the ability of us all to lose faith and to forget that which we have seen.

The second major focus of these verses is the section on faith and prayer. It could be very easy to take these single statements about faith and prayer and create a whole theology around them, as some streams in the Christian faith are doing. They look on these statements by Jesus as a basic prescription to get what we want, yet that is not the point of what Jesus is discussing here. The two key components that Jesus is discussing are faith in God, and relationship with Him in prayer. It is in the place of prayer in conversation with the Lord, that we understand His will, and unite ourselves to Him. We are no longer concerned only with our needs, but now with understanding of His will, heart and mind. It is in this place of knowing Him, of intimacy, that our faith in Him grows, and our confidence in His abilities grows. Nothing is impossible for God (Matt 17:20) and Jesus is demonstrating that here.

Also, we cannot read these verses and overlook everything else that is said in scripture about prayer and asking things of God. The following section comes from the Fourfold Gospel Commentary: Jesus here lays down the broad general rule in the application of which we must be guided by other Scriptures. The rule is, indeed, liberal and gracious, and the limitations are just and reasonable. We must not expect to obtain that which it is unlawful for us to desire (James 4:2,3), or which it is unwise for us to seek (2 Corinthians 12:7-9), nor must we selfishly run counter to the will of God (Luke 22:42; 1 John 5:14,15).

In other words, what we ask of God must lie within the context of His will for us. God will not break His own rules because we believe something with our whole heart. God desires to bless us and is always faithful. We will learn this and understand it deep our being, and we will be able to move the largest of obstacles through the power of God flowing through us. Faith is ultimately a gift from God, and it is based on experience, an impartation from
God to us. It is not something we convince ourselves of by repeating it over and over again.

So, in summary, these verses are not about us bending God to our will, but us melding ourselves to God, and His great future plans.

Love: God, Ourselves, Others

This morning I am reading from the Gospel of Mark, and thinking about our call to love God and each other.

Mark 12:28-33 NIV:
[28] "One of the teachers of the law came and heard them debating. Noticing that Jesus had given them a good answer, he asked him, “Of all the commandments, which is the most important?”

[29] “The most important one,” answered Jesus, “is this: ‘Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. [30] Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’ [31] The second is this: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no commandment greater than these.”

[32] “Well said, teacher,” the man replied. “You are right in saying that God is one and there is no other but him. [33] To love him with all your heart, with all your understanding and with all your strength, and to love your neighbor as yourself is more important than all burnt offerings and sacrifices.”

It is an interesting thing, to be commanded to love God, for that goes against the popular idea that love is a feeling. The idea that we can choose to love, work on love and love with more than our emotions is somewhat foreign to our modern ideas on love. In reading this, one could feel like this type of commanded love is not love at all, but rather coerced feeling, but that is a wrong assumption.

God is calling us to relationship with Him, first and foremost. It is in this place of relationship that we learn how to love Him with our whole being. This loving with our heart, soul, mind and strength includes our emotions, but adds to it our thoughts, our actions, our inner being, everything we are, and everything we do. This is not something we can accomplish with simple following of rules, but something we internalize and we meld into our very core.

The Lord wants our relationship and our love first and foremost, and that is what Jesus is saying here. Our relationship with Him should be first before all others. Our relationship with Him becomes the foundation for all others. It is in relationship with Him that we discover our true identity, learning to love ourselves, and from that place of identity we are able to interact with all others (our neighbors). It is in relationship with Him that we see the value of all others, and understand that they are also God's chosen, the ones He loves, and from that place we learn to love them like we love ourselves.

Finally, the Lords commands, are not suggestions for good lives, although they have that effect. They are the best path forward, the best and only way for our fulfillment and finding our true purpose. They are meant to be the foundation upon which we interact with each other. They are meant to guide us, give us purpose and keep us healthy in our relationships with others, by way of our relationship with God. I think it is safe to say that if we have a healthy, loving relationship with God, we are far more likely to have healthy loving relationships with others.

There is great wisdom in these few verses, and we would be well counseled to dive deep into them and discover how we can more effectively live them out in our lives. We are called to love God and to love others, as Jesus says in John 13:34-35: “A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. [35] By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.” We are called to be examples to the world of Love, love for God, His love for us, and our love for one another. Let us learn to love with our whole heart, soul, mind and strength.

More On Our Inheritance

Yesterday, the theme of my meditation was inheritance, and again today I am stirred in that direction. The whole idea of us having an inheritance from Jesus is firmly established in the New Testament, as evidenced by the multitude of verses speaking of it (35). Many of these verses speak of us inheriting Eternal Life. What I find interesting is that although I always read them as having to do with our life after death, I don't think that is entirely accurate. Clearly in many instances that is the meaning, but the one thing that has caused me to stop and think is that traditionally an inheritance is really only for the living to enjoy, something that is passed to us, the living, upon a loved one's passing to the next life. So there must be some component of our inheritance that we enjoy now, in this life.

In several scriptures, eternal life is equated with knowing the Lord (John 17:3; 1 John 5:11-12). I have always understood it to speak of a quality of life, in addition to meaning living forever. In Paul's first letter to Timothy, he tells Timothy to take hold of the eternal life (1 Tim 6:12), and clearly is talking about his life here on earth, not after he has passed into the life after death. It would be a completely nonsensical statement to tell a living person to take hold of something that can only be grasped after dying. Jesus speaks of creating in us a fountain that wells up to eternal life (John 4:14). Jesus also makes a very clear statement that whoever shares in His body and blood will have eternal life (John 6:54), and He will raise them up on the last day.

I truly believe that we are meant to experience our inheritance in this present life, and in the life to come. Paul in his letters to the Corinthians, Ephesians and Galatians talks about inheriting the Kingdom of God (1 Cor 6:9-10; Eph 5:5; Gal 5:21). Jesus told us to pray for His Kingdom to come on earth, as it is in Heaven (Matt 6:10) and this would make no sense if His Kingdom, His rule and reign, was only meant to be experienced once we pass on to the next life.

Lord, I pray that You will open my eyes and my heart to that which You have for us here and now. Lord, I don't want to miss anything in this present life, that You want me to walk in and experience. I want to embrace the inheritance You have left us, Your Kingdom, and Eternal Life.

Doing The Stuff, Our Inheritance

This morning I felt like I should read from Isaiah 61, which is a section of scripture that I love. The specific verses that I was directed to are the following:

Isaiah 61:7 NIV: "Instead of your shame you will receive a double portion, and instead of disgrace you will rejoice in your inheritance. And so you will inherit a double portion in your land, and everlasting joy will be yours."

When I read this, I felt that it was related tot the topic I was thinking about yesterday morning, that of power and authority in the Kingdom. We often don't think about the fact that our inheritance in the Body of Christ, is exactly what Jesus demonstrated during His ministry. Before Jesus died, he was talking to the disciples and basically telling them what He was leaving as an inheritance. Here are a few verses from John:

John 14:18-21, 26-27 NIV "I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you. [19] Before long, the world will not see me anymore, but you will see me. Because I live, you also will live. [20] On that day you will realize that I am in my Father, and you are in me, and I am in you. [21] Whoever has my commands and keeps them is the one who loves me. The one who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I too will love them and show myself to them.”

[26] But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you. [27] Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid."

Those verses were prefaced with these: John 14:12-14 NIV: "Very truly I tell you, whoever believes in me will do the works I have been doing, and they will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father. [13] And I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son. [14] You may ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it."

The Lord through Isaiah is speaking of inheriting a double portion, a rejoicing in our inheritance, and then in John, He describes some of what that inheritance looks like. He says will will inherit peace, identity, love, The Holy Spirit, authority in His Name. In John 14:14 Jesus says that anything we ask in His Name, He will do. This isn't some sort of code word, but rather a description of relational authority. We are able to do these things because we represent Him, and are exercising our inheritance.

Finally, I was reminded of part of sermon I heard many years ago, by John Wimber, where he talks about doing the stuff. The link to the video is here, hopefully it works: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wTep5jzjhu8&feature=youtube_gdata_player


So, let us step into our inheritance, and start believing that this what we are called to do, namely the very same stuff that Jesus did.

The Kingdom and Power

This morning I am reading from Paul's first letter to the church in Corinth. Apparently they were getting into some areas of pride. Paul is reminding them that he is an Apostle and that he had taught them differently. The following couple of verse caught my attention.

1 Corinthians 4:18-20 NIV:

[18] "Some of you have become arrogant, as if I were not coming to you. [19] But I will come to you very soon, if the Lord is willing, and then I will find out not only how these arrogant people are talking, but what power they have. [20] For the kingdom of God is not a matter of talk but of power."

As I read this, my thought was upon the church, and how if we used this measure to judge a church, the measure of what power they had, it would potentially be a very sad situation, for many churches have lost their sense of what the Kingdom is all about, and how it is demonstrated. While well run programs are good, good teaching and sermons are very helpful, the Kingdom of God is supposed to be demonstrated by power. Jesus called the disciples together, sent them out to proclaim the Kingdom and then demonstrate the reality of the Kingdom with power (Matt 10:7-8). The power to heal, cleanse, cast out demons, and work miracles is the demonstration of the Kingdom.

Ultimately I believe that power and authority comes thorough relationship. The disciples that Jesus sent out walked n the authority and power because of their relationship with Jesus. Jesus ministered in power and authority because of His relationship with the Father. Simply put when we know someone deeply, we can represent them correctly. I have a good friend who says that he wants me to preach at his funeral because his pastor doesn't really know him, certainly not the way that I know him. He wants someone to faithfully represent him.

The Lord is much the same, He is looking for those who can really represent Him effectively. God is full of power, love, compassion, mercy and many more characteristics. He wants us to represent who He is to the world around us, for the Kingdom flows out of who He is. If we are preaching a God of power, but unable to demonstrate that to the world, then why should they believe us? The same is true for love, mercy, compassion, faithfulness, etc. The church must demonstrate these characteristics faithfully or the world will not believe us that God is like that.

Right now the common characterization of Christians in the media is one of judgmental, angry, compassionless people. Part of this is based on the liberal agenda of the media, but part of it is drawn from the actions of Christians. The church must rise up and restore the image of the Lord. We are His representatives, and our actions are associated with His character. So let us throw off arrogance, judgmentalism, angry speech and instead demonstrate to the world the true character of God, as demonstrated by Jesus. Let us restore to the church relationship with Jesus and the demonstration of His power and authority. Let such learn to desire mercy, not sacrifice (Matt 9:13). Let us demonstrate that mercy triumphs over judgement (James 2:13). Let us demonstrate the true power of Love, the power of the Kingdom of God, present in our midst.

Seeds of Change

This morning I was reading a bit through Proverbs. Such good stuff, every two lines you could stop and think for quite a while. Here are some excerpts: Proverbs 12:1, 14, 18, 22, 28 NIV:

[1] "Whoever loves discipline loves knowledge,
but whoever hates correction is stupid.

[14] From the fruit of their lips people are filled with good things,
and the work of their hands brings them reward.

[18] The words of the reckless pierce like swords,
but the tongue of the wise brings healing.

[22] The Lord detests lying lips,
but he delights in people who are trustworthy.

[28] In the way of righteousness there is life;
along that path is immortality."

So much of this chapter has to do with our words, our choices, and actions. Good things to think about for us all.

What I say affects my life, and the lives of the people around me. My words can bring life and healing, or they can tear down and bring destruction. You can tell much about a person by listening to their words, listening to how they talk about others.

What I choose to think on, and how I interpret things around me also greatly affect my life. I can choose to recognize that my life has purpose and pursue the one who knows what that purpose is (God), or just go with the flow, never thinking or pondering the deeper things of life. I can recognize that my thoughts and attitudes affect how I view life and others. I can choose to be grateful or not, I can choose to be kind or not, I can choose to look at the positive opportunities or the get stuck in my past hurts or woundedness. So much of our life experience is the fruit of our thinking and our choices. One of my favorite authors, Graham Cooke says, "if you don't like where your thinking has led you in your life, then have another thought, or think again", but this time change the way you think.

Finally, how we choose to act greatly affects our life. We can think grand thoughts but never act on them. I think the famous saying says 'the road to hell is paved with good intentions'. In other words, people's thoughts didn't line-up with their actions. For example, in my mind I am always thinking about the need to eat better and exercise more, yet rarely do I act on those thoughts. My intentions won't make me healthier, it requires my actions. I might speak wonderfully, but it is the work of my hands that brings me rewards.

I guess I could meditate on these few verses for hours, but at the end of it all I need to apply these verses to my life and act differently. Lord, help me to sow the seeds of change, and begin to act differently.

We Are All Working Deacons

This morning, after reading several different scriptures, I felt led to Ephesians 4:11-16 NIV:

[11] "So Christ himself gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors and teachers, [12] to equip his people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up [13] until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ."

[14] "Then we will no longer be infants, tossed back and forth by the waves, and blown here and there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning and craftiness of people in their deceitful scheming. [15] Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will grow to become in every respect the mature body of him who is the head, that is, Christ. [16] From him the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work."

Verse eleven is a famous verse in the church, for it speaks of the what is known as the five-fold ministry offices. We are probably most familiar with the pastor office, and surely have heard of the other four. My focus this morning is not on these ministries, but on their purposes. Paul is very clear that the whole reason for these ministries is to build up the Body of Christ, or edify it. These gifts are meant to equip us with that which we need to do the works of service to which we are all called.

In my opinion, that is the real point Paul is making, that we all, everyone in the Body of Christ, has works of service to which we are called. In other words we are called to active ministry, through which the Body of Christ reaches maturity. The Greek words here translated works of service (verse 12) are "Ergon Diakonia". We might see some resemblance to words we are familiar with Ergo(nomics) which relates to work, and Deacon. We could have translated these words accordingly "working deacons" and the sentence would read, "to equip the people as working deacons, so that the Body of Christ might be built up". That would likely change all our perspectives on our own call within the Body of Christ. We are not called to be pew-sitting observers, but actively involved in the ministry of the Church, the Body of Christ. This body participation, or body engagement is what brings unity and maturity to the Body of Christ. The church is not meant to have a few full-time ministers, and the rest just faithful members of the congregation, but rather it is meant to be full of deacons, all actively participating in the ministry of the church.

I like to think of this model as the Church of responsible people, for we are all responsible to do our part. It is when we are all doing our part and growing in maturity that we then have the ability within us to resist waves and winds of the lies and deceptions that the enemy will try to sow in our midst. We will all know the truth and be able to recognize that which isn't the truth, and speak the truth to one another in love. In doing so, we grow together and mature into the fullness of the Body of Christ, fitting for our head Jesus. I think this is so important to grasp, we are all called, everyone of us. In this we are all called to grow, to mature, to step into our place, and we must be responsible for ourselves in this regard. The five-fold ministry gifts are meant to equip us, but we must be willing and desiring to grow and mature.

There is a growing understanding of our calling in the church today, some call this missional living, missional lifestyle, etc. The Readers Digest version of the idea is that we are all called to a mission field, namely those who we interact with every day. Saying it another way, we are all called to be shepherds, not sheep. The five-fold ministry is really about converting the sheep into shepherds. We may not all have a large flock, but we all are supposed to have flocks, those that Lord has called us to love and interact with regularly. Thus we must all be equipped and maturing. We must all be more than familiar with the Word of God, His character, His heart, His kindness, His mercy and compassion. We are all called to represent Him to those around us, those we meet, those we live with and work with in our daily lives.

So, let us pray for the greater release of the five-fold ministries, and of the working deacons, into the works that will build up the Body of Christ. We need to grow in unity and maturity. We are all called, so let us step into our place and take responsibility for ourselves.

Kingdom Authority And Rule

This morning I am reading from Matthew 8:5-13 NIV:

[5] "When Jesus had entered Capernaum, a centurion came to him, asking for help. [6] “Lord,” he said, “my servant lies at home paralyzed, suffering terribly.”

[7] Jesus said to him, “Shall I come and heal him?”

[8] The centurion replied, “Lord, I do not deserve to have you come under my roof. But just say the word, and my servant will be healed. [9] For I myself am a man under authority, with soldiers under me. I tell this one, ‘Go,’ and he goes; and that one, ‘Come,’ and he comes. I say to my servant, ‘Do this,’ and he does it.”

[10] When Jesus heard this, he was amazed and said to those following him, “Truly I tell you, I have not found anyone in Israel with such great faith. [11] I say to you that many will come from the east and the west, and will take their places at the feast with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven. [12] But the subjects of the kingdom will be thrown outside, into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.”

[13] Then Jesus said to the centurion, “Go! Let it be done just as you believed it would.” And his servant was healed at that moment."

This is a great story about the authority of Jesus, and faith in Him. The Centurion grasped clearly the idea of Jesus' demonstrations of the Kingdom of God, as examples of His authority over sickness and disease and the demonic powers and even nature itself. He also understood that Jesus' authority flowed from the Father, for his own authority flowed down from the throne of the Caesar. It is interesting how little the idea of authority and the Kingdom seems to be preached and instead the focus of this story often becomes the faith of the Centurion. Since Jesus commented on his great faith that does make sense, however much of that faith was founded on his understanding of how authority worked, and we would be well served to understand the same.

The Centurion was from Capernaum where Jesus had moved after returning from the wilderness, so he had likely seen Jesus active in ministry, and likely even heard Him speaking of the Kingdom. As one under authority, and having authority, he understood what Jesus was talking about when He was preaching the good news of the Kingdom of God being in their midst and then demonstrating that reality by operating in authority and healing people, casting out demons, and such. All were demonstrations of the rule and will of the King.

In a kingdom, the rule and will of the king determines what happens when and to whom. The King sets in place a set of laws that generally guides all those living under his rule, but then also has the authority to intervene personally where he sees fit. It wasn't always a good thing to have a king visit, because if you fell under his wrath, he could exact whatever punishment he willed, because you were one of his subjects, subject to his will and rule. However, you could also receive the blessing of the king, which could include provision, promotion or even just his presence in your house. In a kingdom, all authority flows down from the king, and those closest to the King have the greatest authority, even though they are not the king.

This is what Jesus was demonstrating, the authority of the King (The Father), as one of His representatives (Heb 1:3). Jesus had willingly laid down His divinity becoming fully man (Philippians 2:5-10), and was now operating as a man under authority. The Centurion had likely seen Jesus operate under this authority and had seen people healed and demons cast out. His faith was in the authority, power and rule of the King, for he had seen it demonstrated over and over again. His request of Jesus was to simply say the word, or give the command for the sickness to leave. He knew Jesus had the authority to issue the command and the sickness had to obey.

Often times we hear people praying these same words, in an effort to mirror the faith of the Centurion. Although that is laudable, the problem is that the words don't indicate faith. Rather, the belief of the Centurion in authority and rule, which was evident in his words, is what Jesus heard. The words without the understanding and knowledge of authority do not constitute great faith.

So let us be encouraged that Jesus now sits on the throne, alongside the Father and it is their rule and authority that we operate under. The same things that Jesus demonstrated are available to us, for we are under the exact same authority and rule, that He operated under while on this earth. Let us pray for opportunities for the Lord to teach us about Kingdom authority and rule. For we are called to advance the Kingdom of God, and demonstrate the reality of that Kingdom to all (Matt 24:14 & Matt 28:18) nations.

Amen!

Salvation For The Really Lost

This morning I am reading one of my favorite stories, the story of Zacchaeus. Yesterday I was so tired from a night of minimal sleep, that I ended up sleeping through my prayer time, which is actually just fine. I am convinced the Lord is able to speak to my spirit while I sleep, and has no problem with my falling asleep with Him on my mind.

So here is the story - Luke 19:1-10 NIV:

[1] "Jesus entered Jericho and was passing through. [2] A man was there by the name of Zacchaeus; he was a chief tax collector and was wealthy. [3] He wanted to see who Jesus was, but because he was short he could not see over the crowd. [4] So he ran ahead and climbed a sycamore-fig tree to see him, since Jesus was coming that way.

[5] When Jesus reached the spot, he looked up and said to him, “Zacchaeus, come down immediately. I must stay at your house today.”

[6] So he came down at once and welcomed him gladly. [7] All the people saw this and began to mutter, “He has gone to be the guest of a sinner.”

[8] But Zacchaeus stood up and said to the Lord, “Look, Lord! Here and now I give half of my possessions to the poor, and if I have cheated anybody out of anything, I will pay back four times the amount.”

[9] Jesus said to him, “Today salvation has come to this house, because this man, too, is a son of Abraham. [10] For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.”

One of the things I like about this story is the realness of it all, there is no sense of anything even remotely made up. I can easily imagine the situation as it unfolded. Zacchaeus must have been an interesting man, as he was short, and also considered a traitor, for he worked for the Romans as a collector of taxes. He personally benefitted greatly from that arrangement, but his wealth came from the taxes he collected from the people around him. No wonder there was grumbling when Jesus invited himself to Zacchaeus's house, he was probably one of the most hated men around, for they saw him get rich on what was once their money.

If I ever wondered if there was hope for the salvation of someone because of their character, Zacchaeus is a great example of the Lord's touch being able to completely transform someone in an instant. He was clearly an astute businessman, who knew how to survive and thrive in a negative environment. He was not a friend of the poor, for often the tax burden fell heavily on them, nor was he known for his charity, for he had amassed great wealth on the backs of those around him. He had to be ruthless in the profession of tax collecting, and being charitable would not have helped him in that regard. That he was selfish is a given.

So here is a man, probably hated by all, surrounded by people who only liked him for his money, and considered by all to be a traitor to the Romans. He meets Jesus after climbing down from the tree and before Jesus can even say anything else, he boldly proclaims how his heart has been changed, for he pledges half of his possessions to the poor! Adding to that he opens himself up to make restitution to anyone he cheated. This is huge, for his wealth was all he really had that made him somebody, it was likely where he derived his whole identity. Now he was readily giving it away! This is like the story of the Grinch who stole Christmas, whose heart and whole life was changed. Zacchaeus just had that kind of experience in meeting Jesus.

Jesus for His part confirms the change in Zacchaeus by calling him a true son of Abraham, which established him as a Jew, not a traitor. In addition to that, Jesus says that salvation came to him, and his house! He wasn't just talking about his restoration as a Jew, but the word is also used to mean the salvation that Jesus won on the cross, so likely the Lord is prophetically speaking about his eternal destiny.

Finally, in the Gospel of Luke, Zacchaeus is the second to last person mentioned who received salvation, the other being the criminal who was crucified wth Jesus. So, let us take encouragement that anyone can meet Jesus and be transformed in an instant, even those most lost, no matter how late it might seem. I am convinced that Jesus was specifically sent to Jericho by the Father to save Zacchaeus. He knew his name and where to look (up) to find him. The Lord said He must stay at his house that night, which sounds to me like He was on a mission from the Father. In fact, Jesus in his last sentence said He was sent to SEEK and SAVE the lost. Sounds exactly like Jesus was seeking out Zacchaeus.

This is a great story of salvation, of hearts being changed and of the specific purposes the Lord has for us all. All of us are known to the Lord, and where we are presently. He has a day of eternal destiny planned for each of us, even the most lost. Let us continue to pray for those who we know that are lost, even the most hardened, for at some point the Lord will seek them out and call their name.

Sowing Peace

This morning I am reading from the Letter of James. He is so straightforward in His language and views, generally easy to understand. The verses this morning come from the third chapter - James 3:13-18 NIV:

[13] "Who is wise and understanding among you? Let them show it by their good life, by deeds done in the humility that comes from wisdom. [14] But if you harbor bitter envy and selfish ambition in your hearts, do not boast about it or deny the truth. [15] Such “wisdom” does not come down from heaven but is earthly, unspiritual, demonic. [16] For where you have envy and selfish ambition, there you find disorder and every evil practice.

[17] But the wisdom that comes from heaven is first of all pure; then peace-loving, considerate, submissive, full of mercy and good fruit, impartial and sincere. [18] Peacemakers who sow in peace reap a harvest of righteousness."

I like the terms that James uses - bitter envy and selfish ambition. The original Greek offers a helpful perspective. The root words of the Greek for selfish ambition could be translated to say "boiling, piercing". This is not a casual envious thought, but something that is boiling up since us. I think of issues that cause us to fixate on something we don't have, or some wrong that has been done to us. So the focus is all in self, the same can be said of the original Greek here translated selfish ambition. The focus is on oneself, and this is done without regard for those around you, in fact it often results in or cause factions, division, etc. This kind of focus clearly doesn't fit the gospel according,nor the charge given by Jesus to the church.

In stark contrast, James writes the next few verses. These words should help us to quickly discern the origination of the thoughts and feeling within us. First is purity, in other words no carnality, or fleshly desire, the exact opposite of selfishness. Peace loving and considerate, speaks of focusing on others and putting them first. Submissiveness means we are willing to lay down our own agenda, our own plans. Full of mercy and good fruit - not judgmental and not causing division but showing the fruit of the Spirit (Gal 5:22-23). Impartiality and sincerity means a willingness to actually see both sides, or all sides and then deciding but deciding with a true heart, and clean conscience. Finally, sowing in peace, means we have peace in abundance in our lives, so much that out of the overflow we can provide seed for others.

The fruit borne out of sowing peace is righteousness, which is interesting in that you usually have the same thing you plant. Planting corn leads to a corn harvest. In this case though James is apparently pointing out the cause of much sin, namely selfishness and envy. Also to point out an important fact, ur righteousness does not come from us and our actions, but rather from Jesus. This makes perfect sense in James's logic here, for the word he uses for peace is a word that means among other things, knowledge of salvation, or a settledness in our hearts and soul. So as we sow this, others come to understand that their salvation comes from Christ, and thus entrust themselves to Him, bringing about righteousness in their lives.

So my encouragement today is to look at the origination of my thinking, to see if it boils up from some internal selfish focus, and desires division or if it comes down from Heaven and leads ultimately to Him. The fruit of which source should be evident to all. Lord help me to look to You, rather than to myself. Help me to change my mindset and my focus, and become one who sows peace by my words and actions.

Confirming The Gospel

This morning I am reading from the beginning of Paul's letter to the church in Philippi.

Philippians 1:3-11 NIV:
[3] "I thank my God every time I remember you. [4] In all my prayers for all of you, I always pray with joy [5] because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now, [6] being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.

[7] It is right for me to feel this way about all of you, since I have you in my heart and, whether I am in chains or defending and confirming the gospel, all of you share in God’s grace with me. [8] God can testify how I long for all of you with the affection of Christ Jesus.

[9] And this is my prayer: that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight, [10] so that you may be able to discern what is best and may be pure and blameless for the day of Christ, [11] filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ---to the glory and praise of God."

There are a few things that stand out as I read these verses, besides Paul's love and affection for the church.

First, in verse 5, he talks about their partnership in the Gospel. The Greek word, here translated partnership is the word Koinonia. Its definition follows:
1. fellowship, association, community, communion, joint participation, intercourse
a. the share which one has in anything, participation
b. intercourse, fellowship, intimacy 1. the right hand as a sign and pledge of fellowship (in fulfilling the apostolic office)
c. a gift jointly contributed, a collection, a contribution, as exhibiting an embodiment and proof of fellowship

What Paul is describing is a common effort joined by all the members of the church, the spreading of the good news. The general feel here is not one of rallying behind a leader/pastor, but an active participation of all members. They are the "good work" and they are participating in the "good work". When I read verses like this I reminded of churches that seem alive at all levels, where the whole church is involved and active and where its not a sit back and teach me kind of congregation. I believe this is exactly the kind of church the Lord wants to see in our day, one where everyone is sharing in the life and the effort of representing the Kingdom.

Second, in verse 7 Paul writes of defending and confirming the Gospel. It is the word confirming that caught my eye as I read over these verses, for that is not a usual description of the work of spreading the Gospel. Other translations use the word, confirmation and that is the exact translation of the original Greek. Confirmation in the Websters dictionary means: "proof which shows that something is true or correct." I believe that is exactly what Paul was saying here, that he was at working defending the Gospel and proving that what He said was true, by visible proofs, not just in words, but in deeds.

When I read this I am reminded of Peter and John's interaction with the lame man outside the temple - Acts 3:6 NIV "Then Peter said, “Silver or gold I do not have, but what I do have I give you. In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, walk.” Peter went on, in the reminder of that chapter, to describe this healing as proof that Jesus was the Messiah, and had been raised from the dead (the core of the Gospel). Paul described his ministry as being not in word only but with power and the Holy Spirit (1 Thesis 1:5). I believe this is what Paul meant when he said he was at work confirming the Gospel, that he was busy allowing the Lord to work through him to bring about healings, miracles and other signs. He knew that the effective proclamation of the Gospel was coupled with demonstration, or proof that what he was saying was indeed true.

Every time I read something like this, my heart and spirit are stirred to see this in the church today, more than we are presently seeing. The same thing is true today, words alone are only so effective, especially when we consider the many ideas that are bombarding everyone these days. The best way to grab someone's attention and prove to them that what you are saying is true, is to demonstrate something that is only possible if what you saying IS true. That is what I am after, visible, defendable, obvious proofs that the Kingdom of God is indeed present and in operation. Lord help us to see this happen in our midst!

On Denying Oneself

This morning I am reading from Matthew, chapter 16 and it is one of those sections we would prefer not too have in Scripture. Here are the verses - Matthew 16:24-27 NIV:

[24] "Then Jesus said to his disciples, “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. [25] For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me will find it. [26] What good will it be for someone to gain the whole world, yet forfeit their soul? Or what can anyone give in exchange for their soul? [27] For the Son of Man is going to come in his Father’s glory with his angels, and then he will reward each person according to what they have done."

These verses are probably ones we have heard, but not ones that are our favorites, because they speak of denying oneself. Honestly, I don't like doing that and I am pretty sure I am in good company. We tend to like our lives, like the things that bring us pleasure, and like being in control. These words of Jesus are meant to cause us to look at our lives, and see what or who we are consistently choosing to follow. Discipleship is a choice we make, not something that just happens. Jesus is making it very clear that choosing to follow Him will require some amount of self-denial.

The exchange, that He describes, is giving up our own plans and our own control of our life and finding in Him real life, and ultimately eternal life. To firmly understand this we must have eyes that see beyond the here and now, and recognize that there is more to our lives than this present life. That is the hard part for us who grew up with a western mindset, for we don't think of the afterlife and our souls and they aren't a significant theme, unless you like scary movies.

However, the Lord has made it very clear that there is eternal life, and our actions here on earth determine what that life will be, and our souls (that which is in us which is spirit) will definitely live on after our physical bodies pass away. This is not theory, this is truth given to us by the Father through His Son Jesus. We will all be confronted with this reality, whether we believe it is true or not. God's Word does not depend on our belief.

Now again, we must not only look at these verses, for Jesus spoke of the cost of following Him several times, so it is good to look at other verses to gain a fuller understanding of what He is talking about here. Jesus replies to Peter's statement about that which they had given up in following Him in the following verses.

Matthew 19:27-29 NIV
[27] "Peter answered him, “We have left everything to follow you! What then will there be for us?”

[28] Jesus said to them, “Truly I tell you, at the renewal of all things, when the Son of Man sits on his glorious throne, you who have followed me will also sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel. [29] And everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or wife or children or fields for my sake will receive a hundred times as much and will inherit eternal life."

In Luke's version there is a little more added by Jesus - Luke 18:29-30 NIV:

[29] “Truly I tell you,” Jesus said to them, “no one who has left home or wife or brothers or sisters or parents or children for the sake of the kingdom of God [30] will fail to receive many times as much in this age, and in the age to come eternal life.”

So, although we may be asked to give up things in this life for the sake of the Kingdom of God, for the sake of following Jesus, we will receive that which more than compensates for what was given up. Again this is always our choice, never something that is forced upon us, but a decision we must choose for ourselves. The Lord makes it clear that we will receive much more than we ever give up, and that should cheer our heart, for the Lord is faithful and infinitely generous.

I think our problem is the level of attachment and ownership we have for our stuff. Whether it is our house, our furnishings, our lifestyle, our friends, our electronics, or our money, we mistakenly think that giving them up means losing part of ourselves. We put too much of our identity into our things, and thus feel like we are losing ourselves, but Jesus makes it clear that whatever we lose for His sake, we will gain much more. In other words, speaking just of our identity, we will have more identity if we follow Him. We will have more to offer others, our life will have more meaning, our joy will be more complete, our peace will be deeper, our hope will be stronger, our sense of identity will be clearer. In other words, if we follow Him, we will be more fully us. I know that is totally paradoxical, but that is essentially what Jesus is saying here. It is in following Jesus that we will be released into that which we were called to be, that which we were created to do, into the very purposes of God for our life, both here and eternally.

One final thought, there are those who try to turn these verses into some sort of spiritual cash machine. They look at these verses and then teach that if you give $100 to the Kingdom of God, that you will receive 100 times as much in return ($10,000). That would be an abuse of the Word, and not truly what the Lord said, nor meant. He is after relationship with us, for the invitation was to follow Him in discipleship. He doesn't want to be our cash ,machine, but rather our Lord and savior. The prosperity gospel, as it is sometimes preached, is really not Jesus' message, for Jesus is talking about denying oneself, and the prosperity gospel is full of oneself. Their focus is how to get more stuff for oneself by pretending to be spiritual. They lay down one thing ($100) and immediately have their hand extended for the return ($10,000). The focus is not relationship with Jesus but rather getting more stuff, as a sign that Jesus loves them. Let me say this simply - Jesus doesn't need to buy friends or followers.

So rolling back to the beginning of today's meditation, I am encouraged to look at my life and consider my choices. Am I consistently choosing to follow Jesus? Am I willing to lay down my stuff to follow Him, should He ask me? Is my life and my stuff more important than following Him? Do I have an eternal mindset, or am I only concerned with the here and now? Am I willing to make my relationship with Him my top priority? Is He my treasure, or is my stuff my treasure?