This morning I felt like reading from the letter of James. I am always challenged when reading His letter for he is very practical and has a very specific perspective. I am thinking about the following verses - James 1:2-8 NIV:
[2] "Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, [3] because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. [4] Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything. [5] If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you. [6] But when you ask, you must believe and not doubt, because the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind. [7] That person should not expect to receive anything from the Lord. [8] Such a person is double-minded and unstable in all they do."
First, his opening sentence is one that I just don't like to read. I would like to be instantly mature and complete, and not go through any process of growing, for that is really what James is talking about. The testing and perseverance produce maturity and completeness and that is what happens when we grow, in the natural. The same process is used by the Lord to grow us, and while we generally think of trials as bad, I think we could easily replace trials with experiences and have exactly the same meaning. We can be tested by good things as well as by bad, especially as it relates to our faith and relationship with the Lord.
There is plenty of teaching out there that associates good things with God's approval, and bad things with God's punishment, but here James take a different approach. He says we should embrace trials of many kinds because they bring about our maturation, which is good. The point is that God uses many things to enable us to grow. Ultimately what He wants is for us to gain His perspective, see our lives from His eyes. That is the wisdom that James is speaking about, the understanding of God's thoughts. He encourages us to ask, and says God will give wisdom to us generously. When we face a trial, rather than asking "why me?" maybe we should be asking "what are You wanting me to grow in?" It seems to me that this means trials are actually opportunities, which is a completely different mind-set than I usually have concerning trials.
Finally, the final three verse have to do with our belief God. He speaks of people being double-minded and unstable. It seems to me the area of doubt and questioning is related to what we think God is like. A. W. Tozer says that the most important thing is how we think about God. Our image of Him and thoughts about God color our whole outlook and perspective. If we think God is someone who punishes us for bad behaviour, than anything that we don't enjoy in our life causes us to think that God is not pleased with us. However the author of the Letter to the Hebrews had a completely different take on difficulties. Here are two verses taken from section on discipline - Hebrews 12:7-8 NIV:
[7] "Endure hardship as discipline; God is treating you as his children. For what children are not disciplined by their father? [8] If you are not disciplined---and everyone undergoes discipline---then you are not legitimate, not true sons and daughters at all."
Here we see that difficulties and hardship might actually be because the Father considers us his true sons and daughters. Rather than Him being angry, its the exact opposite. He sees us as His beloved children and is giving us opportunity to grow and mature. He does this because He knows that we are capable of great things and wants us to have the character and strength of relationship to walk into great things and not lose our way. In fact the author of Hebrews continues on with the following statement - "...God disciplines us for our good, in order that we may share in his holiness." (Heb12:10b) He has great plans for us!
So let us not doubt God's love. Let us hold firmly to Him, trusting that all things are for our good and growth. God is good always, and He has good plans for each of us. He is not angry and does not punish us, for all punishment for our sin was already borne by Jesus. God desires us to grow and mature, learning to think like Him. He wants us to embrace life in all its fullness, recognizing that we are His beloved sons and daughters. Let us not be tossed about by fears and doubts, but let us believe our Father loves us.
Amen!
Monday, June 29, 2015
Sunday, June 28, 2015
Finished And Paid!
This morning I felt like reading from John 19:28-30 NIV:
[28] "Later, knowing that everything had now been finished, and so that Scripture would be fulfilled, Jesus said, “I am thirsty.” [29] A jar of wine vinegar was there, so they soaked a sponge in it, put the sponge on a stalk of the hyssop plant, and lifted it to Jesus' lips. [30] When he had received the drink, Jesus said, “It is finished.” With that, he bowed his head and gave up his spirit."
I have heard some great discussions around Jesus' last words, and thought it would be helpful for to remind myself of the finished work of Christ Jesus. Working backwards, the Greek word, here translated finished, is Teleo:
Definition
1) to bring to a close, to finish, to end
A) passed, finished
2) to perform, execute, complete, fulfil, (so that the thing done corresponds to what has been said, the order, command etc.)
A) with special reference to the subject matter, to carry out the contents of a command
B) with reference also to the form, to do just as commanded, and generally involving the notion of time, to perform the last act which completes a process, to accomplish, fulfil
3) to pay
This was not the cry of someone who had lost, but rather the cry of someone who had completed that which He had to do. He knew that everything He had been asked to do by the Father was now completed. What an amazing thought, dying and knowing that everything was accomplished. He had no regrets in that moment, had nothing left to say or do. It was ALL finished.
Secondly, the word can also be translated paid, and there is an absolute truth to that definition as well. Jesus had paid for all of our sins, with His blood, His body and His life. He was the perfect sacrifice, and His actions paid in full the debt we all owed, the debt of every man, woman and child that has ever lived.
This is a quote from David Guzick's commentary on this verse. I like the way he puts it: "It is finished! Jesus' final word (tetelestai in the ancient Greek) is the cry of a winner. Jesus had finished the eternal purpose of the cross. It stands today as a finished work, the foundation of all Christian peace and faith, paying in full the debt we righteously owe to God."
Finally, the statement John makes in verse 28, about scripture being fulfilled, is more likely His comment about why Jesus asked to drink than the ,otivation of Jesus. In Ps 69:21 it speaks of being given vinegar to drink, and this was one verse of prophecy that had not yet been filled by Jesus in His life, as far as John knew. The Greek word for finished in verse 28 is the exact same as in verse 30, and I believe John used it here to make sure that we didn't miss the point!
It is really important that we understand this "finished work of Christ". He accomplished it all Himself. He paid the price Himself. It is complete and paid for in full. In Isaiah 53:6b it says, "...and the Lord has laid on him (messiah) the iniquity of us all." In other words, all our sins, everyone's, were laid upon Him and paid for by Him. If that work has been finished, completed and paid, then we do not have to pay ever again. Jesus paid for this all. Isaiah 53:5 says it this way -
"But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was on him, and by his wounds we are healed." He paid with His suffering and death, that we might be cleansed and healed, and He paid every bit of the debt. There is nothing more that needs to be done, nothing to add, nothing that we can do!
So, let us embrace this truth of the amazing grace and mercy that has been given to us. Let us not believe any teaching that says we need to pay for our sins, or be punished for our wrong-doings. Jesus already paid, already suffered, already was punished. God will not ask us to pay, for there is no debt anymore. It was all accomplished by Jesus. No amount of religious acts, no penance, no self-purging, no holy living will ever gain us anything more than what Jesus already accomplished for us. That is why it is called grace, it is unmerited favor! When the someone tries to make us think that something we have done disqualifies us from God's purposes, plans, or favor, we need to play the "It is finished" card, for the payment was already made, and we are qualified by Jesus' actions, not our own.
Amen!
[28] "Later, knowing that everything had now been finished, and so that Scripture would be fulfilled, Jesus said, “I am thirsty.” [29] A jar of wine vinegar was there, so they soaked a sponge in it, put the sponge on a stalk of the hyssop plant, and lifted it to Jesus' lips. [30] When he had received the drink, Jesus said, “It is finished.” With that, he bowed his head and gave up his spirit."
I have heard some great discussions around Jesus' last words, and thought it would be helpful for to remind myself of the finished work of Christ Jesus. Working backwards, the Greek word, here translated finished, is Teleo:
Definition
1) to bring to a close, to finish, to end
A) passed, finished
2) to perform, execute, complete, fulfil, (so that the thing done corresponds to what has been said, the order, command etc.)
A) with special reference to the subject matter, to carry out the contents of a command
B) with reference also to the form, to do just as commanded, and generally involving the notion of time, to perform the last act which completes a process, to accomplish, fulfil
3) to pay
This was not the cry of someone who had lost, but rather the cry of someone who had completed that which He had to do. He knew that everything He had been asked to do by the Father was now completed. What an amazing thought, dying and knowing that everything was accomplished. He had no regrets in that moment, had nothing left to say or do. It was ALL finished.
Secondly, the word can also be translated paid, and there is an absolute truth to that definition as well. Jesus had paid for all of our sins, with His blood, His body and His life. He was the perfect sacrifice, and His actions paid in full the debt we all owed, the debt of every man, woman and child that has ever lived.
This is a quote from David Guzick's commentary on this verse. I like the way he puts it: "It is finished! Jesus' final word (tetelestai in the ancient Greek) is the cry of a winner. Jesus had finished the eternal purpose of the cross. It stands today as a finished work, the foundation of all Christian peace and faith, paying in full the debt we righteously owe to God."
Finally, the statement John makes in verse 28, about scripture being fulfilled, is more likely His comment about why Jesus asked to drink than the ,otivation of Jesus. In Ps 69:21 it speaks of being given vinegar to drink, and this was one verse of prophecy that had not yet been filled by Jesus in His life, as far as John knew. The Greek word for finished in verse 28 is the exact same as in verse 30, and I believe John used it here to make sure that we didn't miss the point!
It is really important that we understand this "finished work of Christ". He accomplished it all Himself. He paid the price Himself. It is complete and paid for in full. In Isaiah 53:6b it says, "...and the Lord has laid on him (messiah) the iniquity of us all." In other words, all our sins, everyone's, were laid upon Him and paid for by Him. If that work has been finished, completed and paid, then we do not have to pay ever again. Jesus paid for this all. Isaiah 53:5 says it this way -
"But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was on him, and by his wounds we are healed." He paid with His suffering and death, that we might be cleansed and healed, and He paid every bit of the debt. There is nothing more that needs to be done, nothing to add, nothing that we can do!
So, let us embrace this truth of the amazing grace and mercy that has been given to us. Let us not believe any teaching that says we need to pay for our sins, or be punished for our wrong-doings. Jesus already paid, already suffered, already was punished. God will not ask us to pay, for there is no debt anymore. It was all accomplished by Jesus. No amount of religious acts, no penance, no self-purging, no holy living will ever gain us anything more than what Jesus already accomplished for us. That is why it is called grace, it is unmerited favor! When the someone tries to make us think that something we have done disqualifies us from God's purposes, plans, or favor, we need to play the "It is finished" card, for the payment was already made, and we are qualified by Jesus' actions, not our own.
Amen!
Saturday, June 27, 2015
I AM the Light Of The World (John 9:5)
This morning I specifically felt like I should read from John's Gospel, Chapter 9. It is a very familiar chapter to me, and sometimes that makes it hard to discern what specific verses to focus upon. As I read and reread these verses, I was drawn to Jesus' statement in the first 5 verses. Here they are - John 9:1-5 NIV:
[1]"As he went along, he saw a man blind from birth."
[2] "His disciples asked him, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?”
[3] “Neither this man nor his parents sinned,” said Jesus, “but this happened so that the works of God might be displayed in him. [4] As long as it is day, we must do the works of him who sent me. Night is coming, when no one can work. [5] While I am in the world, I am the light of the world.”
I included the first few verses for context, for they help us to understand Jesus' response to the disciples. I could, and have written quite a bit about the issue of sin and the effects of sin in our lives, which is the theme of the initial question. What I want to focus on is Jesus' statement in verses 4 & 5.
I find His inclusion of these couple of sentences interesting, for they barely relate to the previous verses. I find that often Jesus takes a moment when He has the attention of His disciples, and He drops in a significant truth that somewhat relates, or could really stand totally on its own. I think He does this because He doesn't want them (or us for that matter) to miss what He is saying.
In this case Jesus is speaking about His earthly time, in His human form. There were many times where He speaks about His coming suffering and death, and no matter how clearly He said it the disciples just didn't understand. Here he alludes to night that is coming, and all the commentaries that I read indicate that this is clearly referring to His impending death. There is a clear sense that Jesus understood He only had so much time to minister, and had so much to do at the direction of the Father that needed to be accomplished during that brief window of physical ministry. In other words, He knew that He needed to make the most of every opportunity. He had a job to do, and He did it, perfectly!
I wish that I could say the same for me, but I know that the Lord in His mercy provides me ample opportunities to pursue Him and to fulfill His purposes for me. He does not expect me, or any of us, to be perfect, but rather expects us to be constantly growing in our relationship and understanding of His will. I want to be always growing in my ability to discern His will and maturing in my walk so that I can do those things that He asks me to do, without hesitation or fear.
Moving on, His last statement is such a beautiful truth. "While I am in the world, I am the light of the world." (Jn 9:5) The truth here is that He is still in the world, present through us, His very Body on the earth. He IS the light of the world. As His Body, we ARE the light of the world. The two are really interchangeable. Jesus is in us, and thus present in and through us. Jesus says in John 17:26 NIV: "I have made you known to them, and will continue to make you known in order that the love you have for me may be in them and that I myself may be in them.”
So one last point, there are those that teach that the works of the Holy Spirit ended with the death of the last Apostles, a teaching that is commonly referred to as cessationism. These verses, while on the surface might make one think that they support cessationism (night is coming, when no one can work), clearly do not. If Jesus truly is still present in the world through us, than He continues to be the Light of the world. The night of His death, prior to His resurrection, is no longer in effect, for He rose from the dead. Jesus is no longer limited or bound by the limitations of His physical body, for He is present in us (John17:26), through us (2 Cor 13:3) and with us (Matt 18:20). If that is true, He must not be limited in His power, or else He is not truly present. He either is the Son of God or not, He does not show up in some limited form, like the ancient Greek gods. He is Jesus, Son of the Father all the time. All authority in Heaven and on earth has been given to Him (Matt 28:18). If He was capable of healing blindness, through the power of the Holy Spirit, while He walked the earth in His human form, then He certainly has the same power now!
So let us learn to walk as bearers of the Light of this world. Let us believe that Jesus is truly present in us, and through us and with us. He never changes and is capable of doing everything He did while on the earth, through us, His Body present on the earth. Let us press in, knowing that He loves us and encourages us, and does not require perfection, but has grace for maturation and growth in our ability to hear and do what He asks us to do.
Let us press in together to faithfully represent Him.
[1]"As he went along, he saw a man blind from birth."
[2] "His disciples asked him, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?”
[3] “Neither this man nor his parents sinned,” said Jesus, “but this happened so that the works of God might be displayed in him. [4] As long as it is day, we must do the works of him who sent me. Night is coming, when no one can work. [5] While I am in the world, I am the light of the world.”
I included the first few verses for context, for they help us to understand Jesus' response to the disciples. I could, and have written quite a bit about the issue of sin and the effects of sin in our lives, which is the theme of the initial question. What I want to focus on is Jesus' statement in verses 4 & 5.
I find His inclusion of these couple of sentences interesting, for they barely relate to the previous verses. I find that often Jesus takes a moment when He has the attention of His disciples, and He drops in a significant truth that somewhat relates, or could really stand totally on its own. I think He does this because He doesn't want them (or us for that matter) to miss what He is saying.
In this case Jesus is speaking about His earthly time, in His human form. There were many times where He speaks about His coming suffering and death, and no matter how clearly He said it the disciples just didn't understand. Here he alludes to night that is coming, and all the commentaries that I read indicate that this is clearly referring to His impending death. There is a clear sense that Jesus understood He only had so much time to minister, and had so much to do at the direction of the Father that needed to be accomplished during that brief window of physical ministry. In other words, He knew that He needed to make the most of every opportunity. He had a job to do, and He did it, perfectly!
I wish that I could say the same for me, but I know that the Lord in His mercy provides me ample opportunities to pursue Him and to fulfill His purposes for me. He does not expect me, or any of us, to be perfect, but rather expects us to be constantly growing in our relationship and understanding of His will. I want to be always growing in my ability to discern His will and maturing in my walk so that I can do those things that He asks me to do, without hesitation or fear.
Moving on, His last statement is such a beautiful truth. "While I am in the world, I am the light of the world." (Jn 9:5) The truth here is that He is still in the world, present through us, His very Body on the earth. He IS the light of the world. As His Body, we ARE the light of the world. The two are really interchangeable. Jesus is in us, and thus present in and through us. Jesus says in John 17:26 NIV: "I have made you known to them, and will continue to make you known in order that the love you have for me may be in them and that I myself may be in them.”
So one last point, there are those that teach that the works of the Holy Spirit ended with the death of the last Apostles, a teaching that is commonly referred to as cessationism. These verses, while on the surface might make one think that they support cessationism (night is coming, when no one can work), clearly do not. If Jesus truly is still present in the world through us, than He continues to be the Light of the world. The night of His death, prior to His resurrection, is no longer in effect, for He rose from the dead. Jesus is no longer limited or bound by the limitations of His physical body, for He is present in us (John17:26), through us (2 Cor 13:3) and with us (Matt 18:20). If that is true, He must not be limited in His power, or else He is not truly present. He either is the Son of God or not, He does not show up in some limited form, like the ancient Greek gods. He is Jesus, Son of the Father all the time. All authority in Heaven and on earth has been given to Him (Matt 28:18). If He was capable of healing blindness, through the power of the Holy Spirit, while He walked the earth in His human form, then He certainly has the same power now!
So let us learn to walk as bearers of the Light of this world. Let us believe that Jesus is truly present in us, and through us and with us. He never changes and is capable of doing everything He did while on the earth, through us, His Body present on the earth. Let us press in, knowing that He loves us and encourages us, and does not require perfection, but has grace for maturation and growth in our ability to hear and do what He asks us to do.
Let us press in together to faithfully represent Him.
Friday, June 26, 2015
The One Body Of Christ
This morning I felt like I should read from Paul's first letter to the Corinthians, the following verses - 1 Corinthians 12:18-27 NIV:
[18] "But in fact God has placed the parts in the body, every one of them, just as he wanted them to be. [19] If they were all one part, where would the body be? [20] As it is, there are many parts, but one body."
[21] "The eye cannot say to the hand, “I don't need you!” And the head cannot say to the feet, “I don't need you!” [22] On the contrary, those parts of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable, [23] and the parts that we think are less honorable we treat with special honor. And the parts that are unpresentable are treated with special modesty, [24] while our presentable parts need no special treatment. But God has put the body together, giving greater honor to the parts that lacked it, [25] so that there should be no division in the body, but that its parts should have equal concern for each other. [26] If one part suffers, every part suffers with it; if one part is honored, every part rejoices with it."
[27] "Now you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it."
The message here is quite simple, we need each other! I love the analogy of the body, for as one body has many parts, each part is required to make the body whole. This is such a simple truth, yet one that often we do not embrace. In our humanness we divide ourselves and think one division (ours) is better than all the other divisions. Whether this is denominational divisions, or gift based divisions, or congregational the simple truth is that we are all part of the same body of Christ, and no one group is better than any other. We may have different functions within the body and, thus, some labels make functional sense, but the body is not whole without all members.
In verse 25 Paul simply states, "there should be no division in the body". Period. In our minds and hearts we must learn to view all parts of the Body of Christ on earth as one body. We must open our eyes to the fact that the church down the street, or across town, or of another denomination, or in another nation is part of the same Body of Christ. He only has one body, and we are all part of it. Let us learn to embrace those who have different functions or labels for them themselves as members of the body. Let us learn to lift each other up in prayer and concern. Let us have equal concern for each other, not focused only on our little part. Let us open our hearts and our doors to each other. Let us look to our head, Christ Jesus, and endeavor to see His Body the way He sees it.
Amen!
[18] "But in fact God has placed the parts in the body, every one of them, just as he wanted them to be. [19] If they were all one part, where would the body be? [20] As it is, there are many parts, but one body."
[21] "The eye cannot say to the hand, “I don't need you!” And the head cannot say to the feet, “I don't need you!” [22] On the contrary, those parts of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable, [23] and the parts that we think are less honorable we treat with special honor. And the parts that are unpresentable are treated with special modesty, [24] while our presentable parts need no special treatment. But God has put the body together, giving greater honor to the parts that lacked it, [25] so that there should be no division in the body, but that its parts should have equal concern for each other. [26] If one part suffers, every part suffers with it; if one part is honored, every part rejoices with it."
[27] "Now you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it."
The message here is quite simple, we need each other! I love the analogy of the body, for as one body has many parts, each part is required to make the body whole. This is such a simple truth, yet one that often we do not embrace. In our humanness we divide ourselves and think one division (ours) is better than all the other divisions. Whether this is denominational divisions, or gift based divisions, or congregational the simple truth is that we are all part of the same body of Christ, and no one group is better than any other. We may have different functions within the body and, thus, some labels make functional sense, but the body is not whole without all members.
In verse 25 Paul simply states, "there should be no division in the body". Period. In our minds and hearts we must learn to view all parts of the Body of Christ on earth as one body. We must open our eyes to the fact that the church down the street, or across town, or of another denomination, or in another nation is part of the same Body of Christ. He only has one body, and we are all part of it. Let us learn to embrace those who have different functions or labels for them themselves as members of the body. Let us learn to lift each other up in prayer and concern. Let us have equal concern for each other, not focused only on our little part. Let us open our hearts and our doors to each other. Let us look to our head, Christ Jesus, and endeavor to see His Body the way He sees it.
Amen!
Thursday, June 25, 2015
God IS Light!
God is Light!
I was reading through this book this morning, and I really like what Andrew Wilson had to say here, so I thought I would post it. Great stuff!
John 1:4-5 NIV: "In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind. [5] The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it."
1 John 1:5 NIV: "This is the message we have heard from him and declare to you: God is light; in him there is no darkness at all."
"Most opposites are fairly evenly matched. Take any opposite you can think of. White doesn’t overcome black, nor does black overcome white, but the two blend together to make gray. Hollywood films endlessly show us the struggle between good and evil, and although the good usually wins, it’s mostly a pretty fair contest until the end. Wealth hasn’t conquered poverty, and poverty hasn’t destroyed wealth. We could go on: laughter and sorrow, war and peace, disease and medicine. When opposites clash, you cannot be certain which will prevail."
"Light is different. No matter how many experiments you perform, you will never find darkness defeating light. If you flick the light switch in a dark room, the darkness disappears instantly. No amount of darkness, not even in pitch-black underground caves, can drown out the light generated by a small bulb in a head-torch. On a clear night, a candle on a hilltop can be seen forty-three miles away. Darkness prevails on earth when the sun is not shining on it, but as soon as it does, the darkness flees. When John says of Jesus, “The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it,” he is stating the obvious. Of course darkness hasn’t overcome light. It can’t."
"So to say “God is light, and in him is no darkness at all” (1 John 1: 5) is to declare God’s invincibility. In whatever context the light picture is used— and it sometimes means life, sometimes righteousness, and sometimes truth— it speaks of an area where there is no contest. In principle, it is possible for grace to be overcome by legalism, the holy tainted by the common, love spoiled by hate. But it is impossible for the light of God to be drowned out, diluted, or in any way challenged by darkness, any more than shadows can defeat a halogen lamp. God’s light is invincible."
"As light conquers darkness, the resurrection life of Jesus conquers the tomb. Once the life and light of God have broken out in someone, there is nothing Satan himself can do to reinstate the rule and reign of death and darkness."
"Falsehood and truth, death and resurrection life, are not evenly matched, nowhere near. When the light appears, the darkness is sent packing forever. This is why an incredibly unlikely claim made by 120 uneducated Jewish people has spread throughout the world (Acts 1: 15). It is why the gospel thrives most when it is suppressed. It is also why suggestions that the church will fade are so foolish. God is glorious, permanent, and invincible light. And when the light shines in the darkness, the darkness cannot overcome it."
Quotes from Andrew Wilson, "Incomparable, Explorations in the Character of God"
I was reading through this book this morning, and I really like what Andrew Wilson had to say here, so I thought I would post it. Great stuff!
John 1:4-5 NIV: "In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind. [5] The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it."
1 John 1:5 NIV: "This is the message we have heard from him and declare to you: God is light; in him there is no darkness at all."
"Most opposites are fairly evenly matched. Take any opposite you can think of. White doesn’t overcome black, nor does black overcome white, but the two blend together to make gray. Hollywood films endlessly show us the struggle between good and evil, and although the good usually wins, it’s mostly a pretty fair contest until the end. Wealth hasn’t conquered poverty, and poverty hasn’t destroyed wealth. We could go on: laughter and sorrow, war and peace, disease and medicine. When opposites clash, you cannot be certain which will prevail."
"Light is different. No matter how many experiments you perform, you will never find darkness defeating light. If you flick the light switch in a dark room, the darkness disappears instantly. No amount of darkness, not even in pitch-black underground caves, can drown out the light generated by a small bulb in a head-torch. On a clear night, a candle on a hilltop can be seen forty-three miles away. Darkness prevails on earth when the sun is not shining on it, but as soon as it does, the darkness flees. When John says of Jesus, “The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it,” he is stating the obvious. Of course darkness hasn’t overcome light. It can’t."
"So to say “God is light, and in him is no darkness at all” (1 John 1: 5) is to declare God’s invincibility. In whatever context the light picture is used— and it sometimes means life, sometimes righteousness, and sometimes truth— it speaks of an area where there is no contest. In principle, it is possible for grace to be overcome by legalism, the holy tainted by the common, love spoiled by hate. But it is impossible for the light of God to be drowned out, diluted, or in any way challenged by darkness, any more than shadows can defeat a halogen lamp. God’s light is invincible."
"As light conquers darkness, the resurrection life of Jesus conquers the tomb. Once the life and light of God have broken out in someone, there is nothing Satan himself can do to reinstate the rule and reign of death and darkness."
"Falsehood and truth, death and resurrection life, are not evenly matched, nowhere near. When the light appears, the darkness is sent packing forever. This is why an incredibly unlikely claim made by 120 uneducated Jewish people has spread throughout the world (Acts 1: 15). It is why the gospel thrives most when it is suppressed. It is also why suggestions that the church will fade are so foolish. God is glorious, permanent, and invincible light. And when the light shines in the darkness, the darkness cannot overcome it."
Quotes from Andrew Wilson, "Incomparable, Explorations in the Character of God"
Wednesday, June 24, 2015
The Humility Of Christ
Recently the theme I have been thinking about is the humility of Christ, and our call to be like Him. It is actually a relatively complicated matter, for we are also called to give glory to His name (Rev 19:7), to do greater things than He did (John 14:12), and to let our light before men (Matt 5:16). We are also called to love one another (John 13:34), to lay down our lives for one another (John 15:13), and to servant leadership (Mark 10:43-45), which seems a bit contradictory to the previous list, at least to our human minds. One set is very public recognition focused, the other is selfless and not attention seeking.
The key thing for us to realize is that both are possible at the same time, for the first one is really about God's Glory, not ours, and the other list is embracing humility and the significance of others. I starting reading a few familiar verses this morning, and the Lord had me look at the verses in light of His humility. Here are the verses - Matthew 11:27-30 NIV:
[27] “All things have been committed to me by my Father. No one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and those to whom the Son chooses to reveal him."
[28] “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. [29] Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. [30] For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”
As I was reading these verses, I realized that they perfectly demonstrate the Glory and humility of Jesus. He is the only one in all of History that has been sent directly from the Father, who was one with the Father, who could reveal the Father perfectly. He was in a position, and sometimes dangerously close through the desires of others, to use the Glory of the Father for His own advantage. There were several times the people, after seeing the miracles He was doing, which were to give Glory to the Father, wanted to make Him their king. His response was always to walk away, to diffuse the situation rather than ride the swell of public affection into power.
Jesus wanted no Glory for Himself, rather He chose to direct all Glory to the Father. Instead, He served the people and ministered to them. He laid His life down for the poor, the destitute, the sick, the lame, the deaf, the blind, the leper, the demonized, the sinner, the ones who needed Him most. Make no mistake, a ministry of this sort is not a glorious adventure, but rather requires great personal sacrifice of time, energy and one's own desires, wants and needs. Imagine what it would take to touch and heal thousands of people. Imagine the demand on His time, the constant crowd that gathered around Him almost all the time, sometimes making it hard for Him even to walk. Imagine the hundreds of people just trying to touch His robes.
There were no means of mass communication, no news shows, talk shows, magazines, newspapers, internet or anything else. Every person touched by Jesus, was actually touched by Jesus, there was no real alternative. We do know that the news about Him spread all over the countryside, and even into far reaches of the Jewish people, for they came from everywhere to encounter Him and be healed. He had compassion on them, fed them healed them and ministered to them, telling them about the Kingdom, and the Father.
He purposely chose to stay out in the country, spending much of His time in the region of Galilee, which was the Hebrew version of the sticks. He didn't spend much time in Judea, in Jerusalem, in the larger cities, and He purposely did this so that He did not ignite a swell of popular opinion that would cause Him to be anointed King, even though there has never been one more qualified to be King in the history of the earth.
Instead, like in verses 28 & 29, we find Jesus reaching out to the weary and burdened, those too tired to go on. He lifts their loads, sets them free from that which binds them and invites them into relationship and rest. This is such a completely different style of leadership than what we see around us today. Rather than using the acclaim of those He helped to ascend to power, He just continued to minister to those He hadn't met yet. Jesus epitomized the role of servant leader. He was the greatest man to ever grace this earth, and yet He chose to serve the lowest, the rejected and the lost.
He called the people to Himself, not to bring Himself glory, but to give them rest. I have heard a teacher say that the yoke that Jesus speaks of in verse 29 is actually the sign of one who follows a teacher, literally a piece of cloth that would indicate who your teacher was or what school of thought you were aligned with. In higher education, upon graduation, people receive stylized hoods that represent their field of study and school of their degree. This particular teacher said that Jesus was inviting the weary and burdened to come to Him and learn from Him, and in so doing to be set free from the burdens of religion, the Law, and its constant demands. His yoke required one to embrace humbleness, gentleness and His teachings about loving one another. This was a significantly different message than the people were used to hearing.
Regardless of the meaning of the yoke, it is clear that the invitation is to relationship, and in that relationship one would find rest for one's soul. What a great release that is, to find rest for one's soul; no striving, no working, no doubting, no worry, no payment required, no expectations to meet, just rest for one's soul.
I can almost imagine Jesus saying these three verses. Here He is saying that no one knows the Father, except Him, and who He chooses to reveal Him to. He is the one and only true Son of God, and He is interested in the weak and weary, those tired and burdened and wants to minister to them personally. What an awesome lesson in humility and servant leadership.
I am encouraged this day to embrace this same attitude and life-style, choosing to love all, to see the significance in all, and to serve al. Help me to choose to give any glory to Him who is worthy, my Lord. Lord, I pray that You would help us to embrace Your call to servant leadership, and compassion for all.
Amen.
The key thing for us to realize is that both are possible at the same time, for the first one is really about God's Glory, not ours, and the other list is embracing humility and the significance of others. I starting reading a few familiar verses this morning, and the Lord had me look at the verses in light of His humility. Here are the verses - Matthew 11:27-30 NIV:
[27] “All things have been committed to me by my Father. No one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and those to whom the Son chooses to reveal him."
[28] “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. [29] Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. [30] For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”
As I was reading these verses, I realized that they perfectly demonstrate the Glory and humility of Jesus. He is the only one in all of History that has been sent directly from the Father, who was one with the Father, who could reveal the Father perfectly. He was in a position, and sometimes dangerously close through the desires of others, to use the Glory of the Father for His own advantage. There were several times the people, after seeing the miracles He was doing, which were to give Glory to the Father, wanted to make Him their king. His response was always to walk away, to diffuse the situation rather than ride the swell of public affection into power.
Jesus wanted no Glory for Himself, rather He chose to direct all Glory to the Father. Instead, He served the people and ministered to them. He laid His life down for the poor, the destitute, the sick, the lame, the deaf, the blind, the leper, the demonized, the sinner, the ones who needed Him most. Make no mistake, a ministry of this sort is not a glorious adventure, but rather requires great personal sacrifice of time, energy and one's own desires, wants and needs. Imagine what it would take to touch and heal thousands of people. Imagine the demand on His time, the constant crowd that gathered around Him almost all the time, sometimes making it hard for Him even to walk. Imagine the hundreds of people just trying to touch His robes.
There were no means of mass communication, no news shows, talk shows, magazines, newspapers, internet or anything else. Every person touched by Jesus, was actually touched by Jesus, there was no real alternative. We do know that the news about Him spread all over the countryside, and even into far reaches of the Jewish people, for they came from everywhere to encounter Him and be healed. He had compassion on them, fed them healed them and ministered to them, telling them about the Kingdom, and the Father.
He purposely chose to stay out in the country, spending much of His time in the region of Galilee, which was the Hebrew version of the sticks. He didn't spend much time in Judea, in Jerusalem, in the larger cities, and He purposely did this so that He did not ignite a swell of popular opinion that would cause Him to be anointed King, even though there has never been one more qualified to be King in the history of the earth.
Instead, like in verses 28 & 29, we find Jesus reaching out to the weary and burdened, those too tired to go on. He lifts their loads, sets them free from that which binds them and invites them into relationship and rest. This is such a completely different style of leadership than what we see around us today. Rather than using the acclaim of those He helped to ascend to power, He just continued to minister to those He hadn't met yet. Jesus epitomized the role of servant leader. He was the greatest man to ever grace this earth, and yet He chose to serve the lowest, the rejected and the lost.
He called the people to Himself, not to bring Himself glory, but to give them rest. I have heard a teacher say that the yoke that Jesus speaks of in verse 29 is actually the sign of one who follows a teacher, literally a piece of cloth that would indicate who your teacher was or what school of thought you were aligned with. In higher education, upon graduation, people receive stylized hoods that represent their field of study and school of their degree. This particular teacher said that Jesus was inviting the weary and burdened to come to Him and learn from Him, and in so doing to be set free from the burdens of religion, the Law, and its constant demands. His yoke required one to embrace humbleness, gentleness and His teachings about loving one another. This was a significantly different message than the people were used to hearing.
Regardless of the meaning of the yoke, it is clear that the invitation is to relationship, and in that relationship one would find rest for one's soul. What a great release that is, to find rest for one's soul; no striving, no working, no doubting, no worry, no payment required, no expectations to meet, just rest for one's soul.
I can almost imagine Jesus saying these three verses. Here He is saying that no one knows the Father, except Him, and who He chooses to reveal Him to. He is the one and only true Son of God, and He is interested in the weak and weary, those tired and burdened and wants to minister to them personally. What an awesome lesson in humility and servant leadership.
I am encouraged this day to embrace this same attitude and life-style, choosing to love all, to see the significance in all, and to serve al. Help me to choose to give any glory to Him who is worthy, my Lord. Lord, I pray that You would help us to embrace Your call to servant leadership, and compassion for all.
Amen.
Monday, June 22, 2015
Representing The King
This morning I opened my bible to start reading where I left off yesterday, and I came across these three well known verses and started thinking about them in more depth than normal. As I have said before, I can tend to read something so many times that is no longer even resonates with my inner-self, and when I read it I don't spare barely a thought, because of my familiarity with it.
I guess the same could be said for every area of our life, especially with people. We are so familiar with some individuals that we lose sight of their uniqueness, their real character, etc. One of the big issues in many marriages is the loss of appreciation for the other spouse. People become comfortable, believe they understand or know the other individual completely and stop appreciating their unique attributes, and just co-exist in the same house. We no longer really look a the person, seeing them as we did when we were first married, appreciating almost everything about them, and willing to hope in change and experiencing excitement just in being with them. The Lord has so much for us in and through marriage, and through one another, but to experience that we must truly engage with and experience our spouses, and not just co-exist.
OK, so off that bunny-trail and back to the verses I read this morning.
The verses I am thinking about are Matthew 18:18-20 NIV:
[18] “Truly I tell you, whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven. [19] “Again, truly I tell you that if two of you on earth agree about anything they ask for, it will be done for them by my Father in heaven. [20] For where two or three gather in my name, there am I with them.”
The verse that most of us are familiar with is verse 20, and we use that verse to encourage each other that Jesus is present with us when we get together, even though we often don't feel His presence. This is all well and good, but there is a much more significant truth that Jesus intended that what is most commonly believed about that verse.
Looking at verse 18, we see some crazy statements, or at least they seem that way to me, if we believe that Jesus actually meant what He said. He starts by basically saying we have authority on earth and in heaven. The Greek term used here for bind, really means to bind in chains, as in a prisoner. In the same way the Greek word for loose, is basically the exact opposite, setting people free from the chains that bind them. We might believe we have the ability to set people free from things here on earth, but in heaven also? That we have authority in heaven is almost incomprehensible. Yet, since our lives in Christ are eternal, and we are present citizens of heaven (Phil 3:20) why wouldn't our present actions also be effective in heaven? There is a deep spiritual truth here, that more than likely we will only scratch the surface of here on earth. Jesus was not just speaking of salvation, but of forgiveness in the passages immediately preceding these, and thus we must believe that Jesus was still speaking in the same context and we can conclude that forgiveness can have heavenly impact.
The next statement is equally as wild, for He says if two on earth agree on something it will be done for them by the Father. So the first thing I think of is whether "anything" really means anything. The Greek word used here is Pas, which can be translated into all, everything, anything, everyone. It is a very widely used word, and it does indicate that Jesus actually meant what we would believe from the English, that "anything" actually means anything, Most of us don't really believe this, or maybe believe it to some small extent. This verse can be misused by the those who preach the prosperity Gospel, the name-it and claim-it perspective that some people have pushed. I don't think we should be taking it out of the context in which it is referred, that of forgiveness and salvation.
That being said, recently the Lord has been speaking to me about our value to Him and His favor, and I believe there is much more to these verses than we presently understand, and it does include provision, blessing, mercy, compassion, guidance, direction, healing, deliverance, miracles, signs and wonders, etc. All those things that the Lord has promised, and is capable of delivering.
Finally, He says where two or three are gathered in his name, He is there present. Gathering in His name, is not just a simple statement but rather refers to us being His representatives. This carries with it the authority of the one in whose name you come. In history, when an ambassador speaks in the name of their king, or president, they are the legal representative, and capable of signing documents and treaties that are binding to their our county.
Now we are getting to the heart of the matter, for if we read back and look at the two preceding verses, from the context of being a legal representative, we start to see there is more here than we previously thought. If we are His representatives, than we can do the things He would do if He was present. And, what do you know? He is present, as He says in verse 20. So when we gather in His name, as His representatives, operating under His authority, and representing His authority, we speak the very things that He would speak and thus experience the same results, for He is present.
As I wrote that verse I thought of the scenes from different movies where the King of some country is present, but because He speaks a different language, the person who does the speaking is the ambassador, who speaks both languages and is speaking for the King. The King is present, but the ambassador is speaking for him with His authority. I believe that is exactly what these verses mean. Wow! Jesus is present, and we are speaking as His ambassadors, His representatives, and as such we speak with His authority.
A final note, the obvious, at least I would think so, perspective here is that as the King's representative, we are speaking for Him for the good of the Kingdom. We are not speaking for ourselves, or our own benefit. We do benefit from the King's decisions, because He cares deeply for us, but He is not intent on loading us up with the stuff we want, but actually advancing His Kingdom. Thus, in my opinion, the focus of the prosperity gospel preachers is very selfish and shallow when we look at the deeper reality of these verses.
Lord, I pray that You will help us to understand the reality behind these statements and step into this reality in our lives. We pray that You will help us to be Your ambassadors, Your representatives, speaking Your heart with Your authority! You are good and are always advancing Your Kingdom! Let us believe fully these awesome verses, and live our lives accordingly.
Amen!
I guess the same could be said for every area of our life, especially with people. We are so familiar with some individuals that we lose sight of their uniqueness, their real character, etc. One of the big issues in many marriages is the loss of appreciation for the other spouse. People become comfortable, believe they understand or know the other individual completely and stop appreciating their unique attributes, and just co-exist in the same house. We no longer really look a the person, seeing them as we did when we were first married, appreciating almost everything about them, and willing to hope in change and experiencing excitement just in being with them. The Lord has so much for us in and through marriage, and through one another, but to experience that we must truly engage with and experience our spouses, and not just co-exist.
OK, so off that bunny-trail and back to the verses I read this morning.
The verses I am thinking about are Matthew 18:18-20 NIV:
[18] “Truly I tell you, whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven. [19] “Again, truly I tell you that if two of you on earth agree about anything they ask for, it will be done for them by my Father in heaven. [20] For where two or three gather in my name, there am I with them.”
The verse that most of us are familiar with is verse 20, and we use that verse to encourage each other that Jesus is present with us when we get together, even though we often don't feel His presence. This is all well and good, but there is a much more significant truth that Jesus intended that what is most commonly believed about that verse.
Looking at verse 18, we see some crazy statements, or at least they seem that way to me, if we believe that Jesus actually meant what He said. He starts by basically saying we have authority on earth and in heaven. The Greek term used here for bind, really means to bind in chains, as in a prisoner. In the same way the Greek word for loose, is basically the exact opposite, setting people free from the chains that bind them. We might believe we have the ability to set people free from things here on earth, but in heaven also? That we have authority in heaven is almost incomprehensible. Yet, since our lives in Christ are eternal, and we are present citizens of heaven (Phil 3:20) why wouldn't our present actions also be effective in heaven? There is a deep spiritual truth here, that more than likely we will only scratch the surface of here on earth. Jesus was not just speaking of salvation, but of forgiveness in the passages immediately preceding these, and thus we must believe that Jesus was still speaking in the same context and we can conclude that forgiveness can have heavenly impact.
The next statement is equally as wild, for He says if two on earth agree on something it will be done for them by the Father. So the first thing I think of is whether "anything" really means anything. The Greek word used here is Pas, which can be translated into all, everything, anything, everyone. It is a very widely used word, and it does indicate that Jesus actually meant what we would believe from the English, that "anything" actually means anything, Most of us don't really believe this, or maybe believe it to some small extent. This verse can be misused by the those who preach the prosperity Gospel, the name-it and claim-it perspective that some people have pushed. I don't think we should be taking it out of the context in which it is referred, that of forgiveness and salvation.
That being said, recently the Lord has been speaking to me about our value to Him and His favor, and I believe there is much more to these verses than we presently understand, and it does include provision, blessing, mercy, compassion, guidance, direction, healing, deliverance, miracles, signs and wonders, etc. All those things that the Lord has promised, and is capable of delivering.
Finally, He says where two or three are gathered in his name, He is there present. Gathering in His name, is not just a simple statement but rather refers to us being His representatives. This carries with it the authority of the one in whose name you come. In history, when an ambassador speaks in the name of their king, or president, they are the legal representative, and capable of signing documents and treaties that are binding to their our county.
Now we are getting to the heart of the matter, for if we read back and look at the two preceding verses, from the context of being a legal representative, we start to see there is more here than we previously thought. If we are His representatives, than we can do the things He would do if He was present. And, what do you know? He is present, as He says in verse 20. So when we gather in His name, as His representatives, operating under His authority, and representing His authority, we speak the very things that He would speak and thus experience the same results, for He is present.
As I wrote that verse I thought of the scenes from different movies where the King of some country is present, but because He speaks a different language, the person who does the speaking is the ambassador, who speaks both languages and is speaking for the King. The King is present, but the ambassador is speaking for him with His authority. I believe that is exactly what these verses mean. Wow! Jesus is present, and we are speaking as His ambassadors, His representatives, and as such we speak with His authority.
A final note, the obvious, at least I would think so, perspective here is that as the King's representative, we are speaking for Him for the good of the Kingdom. We are not speaking for ourselves, or our own benefit. We do benefit from the King's decisions, because He cares deeply for us, but He is not intent on loading us up with the stuff we want, but actually advancing His Kingdom. Thus, in my opinion, the focus of the prosperity gospel preachers is very selfish and shallow when we look at the deeper reality of these verses.
Lord, I pray that You will help us to understand the reality behind these statements and step into this reality in our lives. We pray that You will help us to be Your ambassadors, Your representatives, speaking Your heart with Your authority! You are good and are always advancing Your Kingdom! Let us believe fully these awesome verses, and live our lives accordingly.
Amen!
Sunday, June 21, 2015
Living A Life Of Significance And Purpose!
Yesterday morning I was thinking about God's call in my life. I know that call comes with a purpose and plan. I know that I need to start thinking that way, start acting that way, making sure that my life matches His call and purpose.
Lord, I don't know how it looks, ultimately, but I do know that Your plans are perfect, and I want to make sure I am maximised in my fruitfulness. You have put so much into me, and through me, and I want to continue to bear more fruit.
As I think about it, that is supposed to be our reality, fulfilling Your purposes to the best of our ability, because they bring about Your greatest glory and our greatest sanctification (likeness to You), and our greatest fulfillment. That is what we were made for, what is the perfect fulfillment of our life.
It really is somewhat paradoxical, to our human thinking. We would normally think that the only way we can experience perfect happiness and a full life, is to take control ourselves, and do the things we want to do, all the time. The problem is that we are limited in our understanding, our perception is selfish, and we tend to undervalue ourselves, and the value of others. Most of us do not see our importance and significance in the world, and thus our quest for happiness and fulfillment is very localized and selfish, specifically to our own little world.
Those of us who have realized there is more to our lives than us, learning to care for and live our lives thinking of others, seem to have a much richer experience. They know the joy that comes from seeing others blessed and lives made better. They seem to understand that they can have a real impact in their community and embrace that lifestyle, knowing they are giving away some of their selfish pursuits, but gaining more in the end. This is a more joyful and richer experience for the most part.
Finally, there are those who live selfless lives, who seem to rise above their own selfishness and embrace their significance, their ability to make a lasting impact on the lives of those around them, and around the world. These people understand that we are all related, our actions affect each other, and they recognize the greatest joy, the greatest fulfillment for they are living for a greater purpose, and with greater purpose comes greater impact and greater reward.
Our call as Christians, is beyond even that last category, into the Body of Christ. In the Body of Christ we are all significant, each and everyone. Paul understood this and wrote about it in his first letter to the Corinthians. We are all part of the greatest purpose, and our lives have eternal impact. Jesus talks about losing our lives for His sake, and thus finding our true lives - here are His exact words, Matthew 10:39 NIV: "Whoever finds their life will lose it, and whoever loses their life for my sake will find it." Viewing these verses from a life calling and purpose perspective gives us different insight. Jesus is talking about sacrifice, but He is talking about sacrificing our selfishness, to find our purpose in Him.
Jesus goes on to say the following, taken from Luke 9:25 NIV: "What good is it for someone to gain the whole world, and yet lose or forfeit their very self?" While He is talking about the sacrifice of our selfishness, for that is what I think taking up our cross daily means, He is really speaking about our significance and value. Look at the valuation in this statement - our soul's value is of greater worth than the whole world. This is the perspective of God! This is how He sees us. I have heard it said that even if it was just for me, Jesus would have hung on the cross and died, and I believe that is true. Not because of anything I have done, but because of His love for me, and the value He puts on my life. Jesus speaks about leaving the 99 sheep to find the one that is lost in Matthew 18:12-13, and the focus of that story is the value of the one. That is how He sees every one of us.
Let's revisit for a moment some of the basic truths we believe about God. He is the creator of all things (John 1:3). He created each of us (Ps 139:13). He is all knowing, and sees everything (1 John 3;20). He lives outside of time and sees and knows everything I will ever do and say and even think (Ps 139: 4,16). He loves us (John 3:16) and has a plan and purpose for us (Jer 29:11). If all this is true, than we can propose that in our creation, in our very inner being God has placed in us a desire and the gifts and talents to fulfill that purpose. We are purposefully and wonderfully made. It is in Him, in our relationship to Him, and His Body, that this purpose is meant to be fulfilled, for that is the way we were created.
Thus, it is in our daily lives of following Him, rather than our own selfish pursuits, that our true purpose and life calling is revealed and fulfilled. We can experience shadows of this in lives without Him, but it is in Christ, united to Him through relationship, connected to His Body that we can find complete fulfillment. It is not just for His sake, but for ours as well, for what person is not happiest when they are doing that which they were created to do! God really is that loving and caring that He would provide the perfect expression, the perfect opportunity to impact our world, and be fulfilled at the same time.
This is the Good News, that we belong, we have significance, we have purpose, we are loved, we are accepted, we are encouraged, we have been given everything necessary to succeed and fulfill our true life's calling and purpose. We have in God one who loves us unconditionally, one who has created us with gifts, talents and abilities, and desire to live out our purpose in fullness. We have one who is always with us, will never forsake us, will always forgive us, will always love us, will always provide for us, will always draw us and accept us. Gos wants relationship with us! God loves us! God really likes us because we are His perfect creation. He has been waiting for us since before the creation of the world.
Lord, I don't know how it looks, ultimately, but I do know that Your plans are perfect, and I want to make sure I am maximised in my fruitfulness. You have put so much into me, and through me, and I want to continue to bear more fruit.
As I think about it, that is supposed to be our reality, fulfilling Your purposes to the best of our ability, because they bring about Your greatest glory and our greatest sanctification (likeness to You), and our greatest fulfillment. That is what we were made for, what is the perfect fulfillment of our life.
It really is somewhat paradoxical, to our human thinking. We would normally think that the only way we can experience perfect happiness and a full life, is to take control ourselves, and do the things we want to do, all the time. The problem is that we are limited in our understanding, our perception is selfish, and we tend to undervalue ourselves, and the value of others. Most of us do not see our importance and significance in the world, and thus our quest for happiness and fulfillment is very localized and selfish, specifically to our own little world.
Those of us who have realized there is more to our lives than us, learning to care for and live our lives thinking of others, seem to have a much richer experience. They know the joy that comes from seeing others blessed and lives made better. They seem to understand that they can have a real impact in their community and embrace that lifestyle, knowing they are giving away some of their selfish pursuits, but gaining more in the end. This is a more joyful and richer experience for the most part.
Finally, there are those who live selfless lives, who seem to rise above their own selfishness and embrace their significance, their ability to make a lasting impact on the lives of those around them, and around the world. These people understand that we are all related, our actions affect each other, and they recognize the greatest joy, the greatest fulfillment for they are living for a greater purpose, and with greater purpose comes greater impact and greater reward.
Our call as Christians, is beyond even that last category, into the Body of Christ. In the Body of Christ we are all significant, each and everyone. Paul understood this and wrote about it in his first letter to the Corinthians. We are all part of the greatest purpose, and our lives have eternal impact. Jesus talks about losing our lives for His sake, and thus finding our true lives - here are His exact words, Matthew 10:39 NIV: "Whoever finds their life will lose it, and whoever loses their life for my sake will find it." Viewing these verses from a life calling and purpose perspective gives us different insight. Jesus is talking about sacrifice, but He is talking about sacrificing our selfishness, to find our purpose in Him.
Jesus goes on to say the following, taken from Luke 9:25 NIV: "What good is it for someone to gain the whole world, and yet lose or forfeit their very self?" While He is talking about the sacrifice of our selfishness, for that is what I think taking up our cross daily means, He is really speaking about our significance and value. Look at the valuation in this statement - our soul's value is of greater worth than the whole world. This is the perspective of God! This is how He sees us. I have heard it said that even if it was just for me, Jesus would have hung on the cross and died, and I believe that is true. Not because of anything I have done, but because of His love for me, and the value He puts on my life. Jesus speaks about leaving the 99 sheep to find the one that is lost in Matthew 18:12-13, and the focus of that story is the value of the one. That is how He sees every one of us.
Let's revisit for a moment some of the basic truths we believe about God. He is the creator of all things (John 1:3). He created each of us (Ps 139:13). He is all knowing, and sees everything (1 John 3;20). He lives outside of time and sees and knows everything I will ever do and say and even think (Ps 139: 4,16). He loves us (John 3:16) and has a plan and purpose for us (Jer 29:11). If all this is true, than we can propose that in our creation, in our very inner being God has placed in us a desire and the gifts and talents to fulfill that purpose. We are purposefully and wonderfully made. It is in Him, in our relationship to Him, and His Body, that this purpose is meant to be fulfilled, for that is the way we were created.
Thus, it is in our daily lives of following Him, rather than our own selfish pursuits, that our true purpose and life calling is revealed and fulfilled. We can experience shadows of this in lives without Him, but it is in Christ, united to Him through relationship, connected to His Body that we can find complete fulfillment. It is not just for His sake, but for ours as well, for what person is not happiest when they are doing that which they were created to do! God really is that loving and caring that He would provide the perfect expression, the perfect opportunity to impact our world, and be fulfilled at the same time.
This is the Good News, that we belong, we have significance, we have purpose, we are loved, we are accepted, we are encouraged, we have been given everything necessary to succeed and fulfill our true life's calling and purpose. We have in God one who loves us unconditionally, one who has created us with gifts, talents and abilities, and desire to live out our purpose in fullness. We have one who is always with us, will never forsake us, will always forgive us, will always love us, will always provide for us, will always draw us and accept us. Gos wants relationship with us! God loves us! God really likes us because we are His perfect creation. He has been waiting for us since before the creation of the world.
Friday, June 19, 2015
God Is In Love, Not Angry!
This morning I felt like I should read from Paul's letter to the Romans. These verses are so significant that one really needs to just soak in them and let the truth of them saturate our heart and soul. This is the heart of God, this is what our God is like. Here are the verses - Romans 5:6-11 NIV:
[6] "You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly.
[7] Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous person, though for a good person someone might possibly dare to die.
[8] But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
[9] Since we have now been justified by his blood, how much more shall we be saved from God's wrath through him!
[10] For if, while we were God's enemies, we were reconciled to him through the death of his Son, how much more, having been reconciled, shall we be saved through his life!
[11] Not only is this so, but we also boast in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation.
I separated the paragraphs, so that each verse is its own line for a reason. When I read, I often just crank through a paragraph and pull the one or two things out that seem important and move on, but each of these sentences deserves our attention.
The Gospel truth is so important for us to get into our lives. While we were powerless and in sin, Christ died for us. He died for all the ungodly, all the sinners, everyone. He did this because of His love for us, no other reason. One could say His love compelled Him. Please get this though, He loved us when we were powerless and sinners, not once we were saved, but while we were still sinners! If He loved us while we were still sinners, why would he become angry with us now, if we have entered into relationship with Him?
God is not like some spouse that prior to marriage is all loving and caring and interested in your happiness, but after marriage turns into a controlling, angry, manipulative, spiteful person. God IS love (1John 4:16). God is not selfish, uncaring or desirous of all control in our lives, in fact, He considers our free-will one of the most precious gifts and one that He will never take away.
In fact, Paul continues this very thought, for if we have been freely justified by Jesus' precious blood, poured out for us while we are still sinners, how much more will we be saved from God's wrath (anger). I believe Paul was focusing primarily on eternal judgment for sin here, but his statement no less applies to sin we commit in our daily lives. If God loved us while we were sinners, and loved us enough to shed His blood, and wasn't willing to release His wrath on us at the point, why would He do so now, now that we are in relationship with Him? God is not angry with us, even when we sin! He doesn't release His wrath on us, when we are sinners, before salvation, why would He do so now, when we are in relationship with Him?
Paul continues that very thought in verse 10, if we were reconciled (restored to relationship) by His death (blood and sacrifice), how much more than that will we also be saved (the Greek word here is SOZO which means saved in body, mind and spirit) through His life at work in us now that we are in relationship. His life gets applied to ours, through relationship! Thus, as Paul says, our lives our hidden in Christ (Col 3:3). When God the Father looks at us, He sees us in His precious Son Jesus. We are now, in Jesus, free from God's wrath and judgment, that is our eternal position.
This really is something to boast about, a God who loves us so completely who treats us so unfairly (unfair in the perspective that He has forgiven us every sin, paid the price for all our sin, and given us live and relationship, and we have not earned any of it) and so mercifully. God is the exact opposite of what much of the world and especially the media likes to portray Him as, an angry and judgmental God. He IS love! He is worth boasting about, better than we can possibly imagine or dream. He is so loving, so willing to restore relationship to us, that He did all this while we were still sinners, before we ever asked, before we ever had a thought about Him, before we turned our eyes and hearts towards Him. Jesus is the exact representation of the Father (Heb 1:3) both in His life and deeds while alive on the earth in human form, and in His sacrifice and death, setting us free from the Law and its penalties and punishments. The Father really is that Loving or Jesus would not be an exact representation.
So let us free ourselves from the worry and doubt, wondering if we have done something to earn God's punishment or chastisement. Let us recognize His incredible love for us. Let us embrace His salvation through relationship! Let us boast of this God whose love knows no bounds! Let us boast of His love and mercy and compassion, for they are unparalleled and unmatched. Let us boast of His greatness and love. God is not angry, He is in love with us!
[6] "You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly.
[7] Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous person, though for a good person someone might possibly dare to die.
[8] But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
[9] Since we have now been justified by his blood, how much more shall we be saved from God's wrath through him!
[10] For if, while we were God's enemies, we were reconciled to him through the death of his Son, how much more, having been reconciled, shall we be saved through his life!
[11] Not only is this so, but we also boast in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation.
I separated the paragraphs, so that each verse is its own line for a reason. When I read, I often just crank through a paragraph and pull the one or two things out that seem important and move on, but each of these sentences deserves our attention.
The Gospel truth is so important for us to get into our lives. While we were powerless and in sin, Christ died for us. He died for all the ungodly, all the sinners, everyone. He did this because of His love for us, no other reason. One could say His love compelled Him. Please get this though, He loved us when we were powerless and sinners, not once we were saved, but while we were still sinners! If He loved us while we were still sinners, why would he become angry with us now, if we have entered into relationship with Him?
God is not like some spouse that prior to marriage is all loving and caring and interested in your happiness, but after marriage turns into a controlling, angry, manipulative, spiteful person. God IS love (1John 4:16). God is not selfish, uncaring or desirous of all control in our lives, in fact, He considers our free-will one of the most precious gifts and one that He will never take away.
In fact, Paul continues this very thought, for if we have been freely justified by Jesus' precious blood, poured out for us while we are still sinners, how much more will we be saved from God's wrath (anger). I believe Paul was focusing primarily on eternal judgment for sin here, but his statement no less applies to sin we commit in our daily lives. If God loved us while we were sinners, and loved us enough to shed His blood, and wasn't willing to release His wrath on us at the point, why would He do so now, now that we are in relationship with Him? God is not angry with us, even when we sin! He doesn't release His wrath on us, when we are sinners, before salvation, why would He do so now, when we are in relationship with Him?
Paul continues that very thought in verse 10, if we were reconciled (restored to relationship) by His death (blood and sacrifice), how much more than that will we also be saved (the Greek word here is SOZO which means saved in body, mind and spirit) through His life at work in us now that we are in relationship. His life gets applied to ours, through relationship! Thus, as Paul says, our lives our hidden in Christ (Col 3:3). When God the Father looks at us, He sees us in His precious Son Jesus. We are now, in Jesus, free from God's wrath and judgment, that is our eternal position.
This really is something to boast about, a God who loves us so completely who treats us so unfairly (unfair in the perspective that He has forgiven us every sin, paid the price for all our sin, and given us live and relationship, and we have not earned any of it) and so mercifully. God is the exact opposite of what much of the world and especially the media likes to portray Him as, an angry and judgmental God. He IS love! He is worth boasting about, better than we can possibly imagine or dream. He is so loving, so willing to restore relationship to us, that He did all this while we were still sinners, before we ever asked, before we ever had a thought about Him, before we turned our eyes and hearts towards Him. Jesus is the exact representation of the Father (Heb 1:3) both in His life and deeds while alive on the earth in human form, and in His sacrifice and death, setting us free from the Law and its penalties and punishments. The Father really is that Loving or Jesus would not be an exact representation.
So let us free ourselves from the worry and doubt, wondering if we have done something to earn God's punishment or chastisement. Let us recognize His incredible love for us. Let us embrace His salvation through relationship! Let us boast of this God whose love knows no bounds! Let us boast of His love and mercy and compassion, for they are unparalleled and unmatched. Let us boast of His greatness and love. God is not angry, He is in love with us!
Thursday, June 18, 2015
No Penalty For Staying Behind
So this morning I had a different Bible in my hands and was asking the Lord where to read, and I felt like I should open to page 232. That happens to be 1 Sam 30, in this particular bible. As I read the story of David recovering all that had been taken from him when the Amalekites attacked and destroyed Ziklag, I realized there was an important principle introduced by David, that is important for me to hear and understand.
The situation is that David and his 600 men were pursuing the Amalekites, and 200 of them were too tired to continue the pursuit, so they stayed as a rear-guard, and protect their supplies. The remaining 400 pursued the Amalekites and won a great battle, recovered everything they had lost, and recovered additional plunder from the Amalekites. That is the context for these next verses - 1 Samuel 30:21-25 NIV:
[21] "Then David came to the two hundred men who had been too exhausted to follow him and who were left behind at the Besor Valley. They came out to meet David and the men with him. As David and his men approached, he asked them how they were. [22] But all the evil men and troublemakers among David's followers said, “Because they did not go out with us, we will not share with them the plunder we recovered. However, each man may take his wife and children and go.”
[23] "David replied, “No, my brothers, you must not do that with what the Lord has given us. He has protected us and delivered into our hands the raiding party that came against us. [24] Who will listen to what you say? The share of the man who stayed with the supplies is to be the same as that of him who went down to the battle. All will share alike. ” [25] David made this a statute and ordinance for Israel from that day to this."
The key here is that David was thinking like the Lord, and the evil men and troublemakers were thinking like man. They were thinking that effort should be rewarded, and were thinking of themselves and the extra booty they would have to share with the 200 who had stayed behind. Mathematically, they would have ended up with 2/3 of what they would have if David didn't share the spoils with those that had stayed behind. They were counting the personal cost to themselves, rather than at the impact on the lives of the 200 and their families. The 600 men had lost everything, and here the 400 were saying that the 200 could have their wives and children back, but nothing else, and would be condemning them to poverty and loss of everything else. That is a veery humanistic approach, selfishness and no compassion.
Davis had a different perspective and realized that even though the 200 that had stayed behind didn't fight this battle, they had fought in the other battles and were all part of the same team. Without their (200) previous efforts the 400 wouldn't have had the energy to fight, as they would have had to work 1/3 again as hard if the 200 were not with them previously. We are so quick to take credit for anything that is immediately in front of us, and tend to forget the work and effort of those that have gone before us, or worked side-by-side with us previously.
David understood this and recognized that the Lord had spared them, and given them a great gift of provision and it would be wrong to hold that back from anyone. In fact later in the chapter he shares some of the bounty with other leaders who had nothing to do with the battle.
Here is the key spiritual principle, when one part of the body sees a victory, the blessings are shared with all, especially within the membership of that group, regardless of whether they were actively engaged, or had been a part of everything previous, or were sitting on the sidelines because of exhaustion. The Lord does not look down on those who are exhausted and have to rest. It is interesting that the valley of Besor, actually means the valley of the cheerful. It could symbolize a need to restore joy and cheerfulness to one's life. I know there have been many times in my exhaustion that I just don't have any joy, and cheer, any hope. The Lord is OK with us taking a break to be restored in this area, and He won't deduct anything from us. If we are the ones who have been on the front lines, we need to embrace this perspective, and freely share that which the Lord has given us, holding nothing back from those that had to sit out.
Secondly, if we were in a place of exhaustion or being worn slick, the Lord is ok with us being restored, and will not reduce our blessing or provision. The enemy would try to convince us that we missed the blessing because we weren't somewhere, or were too tired but that is clearly not true! It is the Lord's heart of mercy and compassion that drives His blessing and release of provision. He does not think like man, and we must realize that is true.
Finally, if we have lost much or everything to an attack of the enemy, the Lord will restore and bless. He is not satisfied with allowing us to suffer loss at the hand of the enemy and He will sustain us and help us.
I would say that this is a good word for today! Lord we thank You for Your blessing, Your gifts, Your provision and Your restoration. You are so good to us.
The situation is that David and his 600 men were pursuing the Amalekites, and 200 of them were too tired to continue the pursuit, so they stayed as a rear-guard, and protect their supplies. The remaining 400 pursued the Amalekites and won a great battle, recovered everything they had lost, and recovered additional plunder from the Amalekites. That is the context for these next verses - 1 Samuel 30:21-25 NIV:
[21] "Then David came to the two hundred men who had been too exhausted to follow him and who were left behind at the Besor Valley. They came out to meet David and the men with him. As David and his men approached, he asked them how they were. [22] But all the evil men and troublemakers among David's followers said, “Because they did not go out with us, we will not share with them the plunder we recovered. However, each man may take his wife and children and go.”
[23] "David replied, “No, my brothers, you must not do that with what the Lord has given us. He has protected us and delivered into our hands the raiding party that came against us. [24] Who will listen to what you say? The share of the man who stayed with the supplies is to be the same as that of him who went down to the battle. All will share alike. ” [25] David made this a statute and ordinance for Israel from that day to this."
The key here is that David was thinking like the Lord, and the evil men and troublemakers were thinking like man. They were thinking that effort should be rewarded, and were thinking of themselves and the extra booty they would have to share with the 200 who had stayed behind. Mathematically, they would have ended up with 2/3 of what they would have if David didn't share the spoils with those that had stayed behind. They were counting the personal cost to themselves, rather than at the impact on the lives of the 200 and their families. The 600 men had lost everything, and here the 400 were saying that the 200 could have their wives and children back, but nothing else, and would be condemning them to poverty and loss of everything else. That is a veery humanistic approach, selfishness and no compassion.
Davis had a different perspective and realized that even though the 200 that had stayed behind didn't fight this battle, they had fought in the other battles and were all part of the same team. Without their (200) previous efforts the 400 wouldn't have had the energy to fight, as they would have had to work 1/3 again as hard if the 200 were not with them previously. We are so quick to take credit for anything that is immediately in front of us, and tend to forget the work and effort of those that have gone before us, or worked side-by-side with us previously.
David understood this and recognized that the Lord had spared them, and given them a great gift of provision and it would be wrong to hold that back from anyone. In fact later in the chapter he shares some of the bounty with other leaders who had nothing to do with the battle.
Here is the key spiritual principle, when one part of the body sees a victory, the blessings are shared with all, especially within the membership of that group, regardless of whether they were actively engaged, or had been a part of everything previous, or were sitting on the sidelines because of exhaustion. The Lord does not look down on those who are exhausted and have to rest. It is interesting that the valley of Besor, actually means the valley of the cheerful. It could symbolize a need to restore joy and cheerfulness to one's life. I know there have been many times in my exhaustion that I just don't have any joy, and cheer, any hope. The Lord is OK with us taking a break to be restored in this area, and He won't deduct anything from us. If we are the ones who have been on the front lines, we need to embrace this perspective, and freely share that which the Lord has given us, holding nothing back from those that had to sit out.
Secondly, if we were in a place of exhaustion or being worn slick, the Lord is ok with us being restored, and will not reduce our blessing or provision. The enemy would try to convince us that we missed the blessing because we weren't somewhere, or were too tired but that is clearly not true! It is the Lord's heart of mercy and compassion that drives His blessing and release of provision. He does not think like man, and we must realize that is true.
Finally, if we have lost much or everything to an attack of the enemy, the Lord will restore and bless. He is not satisfied with allowing us to suffer loss at the hand of the enemy and He will sustain us and help us.
I would say that this is a good word for today! Lord we thank You for Your blessing, Your gifts, Your provision and Your restoration. You are so good to us.
Wednesday, June 17, 2015
Extended Kindness And Love - And The Gospel
This morning I read through Paul's letter to Titus, which being all of three chapters is an easy read. Paul covers quite a bit in those three short chapters, but in chapter 3 he provides a very nice summation of the Gospel. Here are the verses - Titus 3:3-8 NIV:
[3] "At one time we too were foolish, disobedient, deceived and enslaved by all kinds of passions and pleasures. We lived in malice and envy, being hated and hating one another. [4] But when the kindness and love of God our Savior appeared, [5] he saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit, [6] whom he poured out on us generously through Jesus Christ our Savior, [7] so that, having been justified by his grace, we might become heirs having the hope of eternal life. [8] This is a trustworthy saying. And I want you to stress these things, so that those who have trusted in God may be careful to devote themselves to doing what is good. These things are excellent and profitable for everyone."
There is much one could say, but really Paul pretty much nails it. We all have been, or are presently in the state of confusion that Paul describes in verse 3. None of us was ever worthy of salvation or forgiveness, yet because of the kindness, mercy and love of God, shown to us in Jesus, and through His death and sacrifice, forgiveness was extended to us all, everyone.
It is up to us to enter into salvation, through faith. When we do accept the fact that we need Him, and enter into relationship with Him, our lives are changed. We experience a washing and renewal that only can occur through the power of the Holy Spirit released fully into our lives. It is this seal (2 Cor 1:22), which is our promise of our future heavenly inheritance that brings us peace and joy (Rom 15:13). In addition, we get to experience some of that inheritance here on earth, as we are invited to experience the same things that Jesus did here on earth - as Jesus described here in John 14:12 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."
It is because of this great gift available to us all, and accepted by those of us who enter in through faith, that we are encouraged to devote ourselves to expressing gratitude through our lives. We are invited to do good, to love, to show mercy and compassion, to reflect back to the world that which we were shown and experienced in Christ Jesus. These things really are excellent and profitable for us all, everyone of us. As we extend these truths to the world, to those who have yet to understand the grace and mercy available to them in Christ Jesus, they will see we are different and set free from the pursuits of the world, and our lives are full of the fruit of the Holy Spirit (Gal 5:22-25).
Our lives are meant to shine for God's glory (1 Cor 10:31), and that Glory is revealed in His Son Jesus (Heb 1:3), and we are His Body here on earth (1 Cor 12:12-27)! Let us think on these things and allow these truths to change the way we act and respond to the world around us. We were, at one time, in the same state as many in the world and God extended love and kindness to us, so let us do the same.
Amen!
[3] "At one time we too were foolish, disobedient, deceived and enslaved by all kinds of passions and pleasures. We lived in malice and envy, being hated and hating one another. [4] But when the kindness and love of God our Savior appeared, [5] he saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit, [6] whom he poured out on us generously through Jesus Christ our Savior, [7] so that, having been justified by his grace, we might become heirs having the hope of eternal life. [8] This is a trustworthy saying. And I want you to stress these things, so that those who have trusted in God may be careful to devote themselves to doing what is good. These things are excellent and profitable for everyone."
There is much one could say, but really Paul pretty much nails it. We all have been, or are presently in the state of confusion that Paul describes in verse 3. None of us was ever worthy of salvation or forgiveness, yet because of the kindness, mercy and love of God, shown to us in Jesus, and through His death and sacrifice, forgiveness was extended to us all, everyone.
It is up to us to enter into salvation, through faith. When we do accept the fact that we need Him, and enter into relationship with Him, our lives are changed. We experience a washing and renewal that only can occur through the power of the Holy Spirit released fully into our lives. It is this seal (2 Cor 1:22), which is our promise of our future heavenly inheritance that brings us peace and joy (Rom 15:13). In addition, we get to experience some of that inheritance here on earth, as we are invited to experience the same things that Jesus did here on earth - as Jesus described here in John 14:12 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."
It is because of this great gift available to us all, and accepted by those of us who enter in through faith, that we are encouraged to devote ourselves to expressing gratitude through our lives. We are invited to do good, to love, to show mercy and compassion, to reflect back to the world that which we were shown and experienced in Christ Jesus. These things really are excellent and profitable for us all, everyone of us. As we extend these truths to the world, to those who have yet to understand the grace and mercy available to them in Christ Jesus, they will see we are different and set free from the pursuits of the world, and our lives are full of the fruit of the Holy Spirit (Gal 5:22-25).
Our lives are meant to shine for God's glory (1 Cor 10:31), and that Glory is revealed in His Son Jesus (Heb 1:3), and we are His Body here on earth (1 Cor 12:12-27)! Let us think on these things and allow these truths to change the way we act and respond to the world around us. We were, at one time, in the same state as many in the world and God extended love and kindness to us, so let us do the same.
Amen!
Monday, June 15, 2015
Today Is A New Day...There Is Always More!
This morning I am reading from Paul's letter to the Philippians, and it appears to be a direct continuation from yesterday's theme. Here are the verses -
Philippians 3:12-14 NIV:
[12] "Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already arrived at my goal, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. [13] Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, [14] I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus."
Stepping back a bit into the historical context of Paul's writing, His letter to the Philippians is generally believed to have been written after his letters to the Romans, Corinthians, Ephesians and Thessalonians. In other words, later in his ministry, sometime later in his third missionary journey. It is in this context that we should read his comments, for if anyone could say they have fulfilled their calling and purpose it would have been Paul at this point. He had founded numerous churches, had defended the faith by writing the letters that most would consider his greatest works, and had personally evangelized much of the Roman world.
Instead, we see Paul pressing forward, straining with effort to press into the purposes and calling that he had in Christ Jesus. Paul understood that there was always more, always new levels and he did not rest on his previous achievements, nor disqualify himself because of his past mistakes. He forgot what was behind him and pressed forward into Christ, into his purpose, pressing towards the goal. We are all called to new levels in Christ, new opportunities exist every day, and with each day we should start anew in our pursuit of the Lord and the fulfillment of His purposes and callings in our life.
It is not that Jesus forgets what we have done, or accomplished. Rather, it is from a place of humility and loving relationship that we press forward. I have not stopped loving my wife effectively and in action, because I have successfully done so for 29 years, and have achieved that goal. I continue to renew my love for her daily, choosing each day to love her more than the day before. Similarly, our faith is about relationship, and relationships should always be growing, always becoming richer if there is positive daily interaction. The goal is oneness with Christ in Heaven, and anything short of that leaves room for growth and improvement.
We should not get down on ourselves if we have let years slide by with limited activity, or relational growth. Rather we should forget what is in the past and press forward into a new day of new opportunity. Think of it this way, you have an opportunity to reconnect with an old friend that you haven't seen in years, and rather than beating yourself up for the missed years, you embrace the opportunity to pick up where you left off and press forward, experiencing a richer and fuller relationship than you ever did before. That is the invitation found in Christ, for His mercies are new every morning, and His desire is for relationship now, regardless of what you experienced in the past.
So, I am encouraged this morning to look at today as a new day, with new opportunities to press into relationship with Jesus. He has invited me into relationship and it is a wonderful thing to discover the purposes and callings in my life, to see myself how He sees me. We can forget everything in the past and press forward today!
Amen!
Philippians 3:12-14 NIV:
[12] "Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already arrived at my goal, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. [13] Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, [14] I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus."
Stepping back a bit into the historical context of Paul's writing, His letter to the Philippians is generally believed to have been written after his letters to the Romans, Corinthians, Ephesians and Thessalonians. In other words, later in his ministry, sometime later in his third missionary journey. It is in this context that we should read his comments, for if anyone could say they have fulfilled their calling and purpose it would have been Paul at this point. He had founded numerous churches, had defended the faith by writing the letters that most would consider his greatest works, and had personally evangelized much of the Roman world.
Instead, we see Paul pressing forward, straining with effort to press into the purposes and calling that he had in Christ Jesus. Paul understood that there was always more, always new levels and he did not rest on his previous achievements, nor disqualify himself because of his past mistakes. He forgot what was behind him and pressed forward into Christ, into his purpose, pressing towards the goal. We are all called to new levels in Christ, new opportunities exist every day, and with each day we should start anew in our pursuit of the Lord and the fulfillment of His purposes and callings in our life.
It is not that Jesus forgets what we have done, or accomplished. Rather, it is from a place of humility and loving relationship that we press forward. I have not stopped loving my wife effectively and in action, because I have successfully done so for 29 years, and have achieved that goal. I continue to renew my love for her daily, choosing each day to love her more than the day before. Similarly, our faith is about relationship, and relationships should always be growing, always becoming richer if there is positive daily interaction. The goal is oneness with Christ in Heaven, and anything short of that leaves room for growth and improvement.
We should not get down on ourselves if we have let years slide by with limited activity, or relational growth. Rather we should forget what is in the past and press forward into a new day of new opportunity. Think of it this way, you have an opportunity to reconnect with an old friend that you haven't seen in years, and rather than beating yourself up for the missed years, you embrace the opportunity to pick up where you left off and press forward, experiencing a richer and fuller relationship than you ever did before. That is the invitation found in Christ, for His mercies are new every morning, and His desire is for relationship now, regardless of what you experienced in the past.
So, I am encouraged this morning to look at today as a new day, with new opportunities to press into relationship with Jesus. He has invited me into relationship and it is a wonderful thing to discover the purposes and callings in my life, to see myself how He sees me. We can forget everything in the past and press forward today!
Amen!
Sunday, June 14, 2015
Stepping Into God's Love And Favor!
Last night I was talking about the Lord with my good friend Roger and our conversation flowed back to an earlier theme the Lord introduced to me concerning His favor. The more I think on this theme, the more I realize that I know next to nothing about God's favor, for it is so much more than we think. This morning I was reading from Mark's Gospel and came across the following two verses, which while not mentioning favor, are directly related to our experience of God's favor. Here are the verses - Mark 9:23-24 NIV:
[23] “ 'If you can'?” said Jesus. “Everything is possible for one who believes.” [24] Immediately the boy's father exclaimed, “I do believe; help me overcome my unbelief!”
The context was the a boy with a demon that the disciples could not cast out, and the boy's father had asked Jesus to help, if indeed He could help. This was Jesus' response, and like many of His responses, they are contextual, yet much larger in meaning. Jesus had just come down from the Mount of Transfiguration, where His Father had spoken of His Love and pleasure in Him (Mark 9:7, Matt 17:5). The Greek words used in Matthew's version can be translated favorite one, to whom I am favorably inclined, if we used some of the secondary meanings, so you get the picture. God the Father is saying He Loves His Son, and acts that way towards Him.
Jesus comes down and addresses the disciples, for the comment was really addressed to them and the boy's father, "Everything is possible for one who believes." The question we should ask ourselves is "believes in what"? The answer is clear from the earlier context, the one who believes in God's love for them, and who understands God's favor (if I might add that for the two are inseparable). Jesus understood the fullness of what His Father's love and favor meant, and was operating out of the reality of that relationship.
I love the father's response, "I do believe, help me overcome my unbelief!" I believe this gets to the heart of the matter for all of us. We have a hard time believing that God could actually love us the way He says He does. We believe it to some extent, but there are whole levels we don't dare step into, because we don't dare believe they are possible. Jesus says that "EVERYTHING is possible to the one who believes"! So we are either believing that God doesn't love us as much as He says He does, or we believe we aren't worthy of His Love, which disqualifies us from the fullness of His love. Simply put, that is unbelief! We need to be praying exactly like the father here - help me overcome my unbelief!
God wants us to understand and step into the fullness of His love and favor, and to do that we will need His help! We must recognize our self-limiting thoughts and beliefs and confess them and pray for the ability to repent (change the way we think and then change the way we act in regards to the new thoughts)! God wants us to step into the fullness of our inheritance in Christ! It is our beliefs, or lack there of that is the limiting factor, for God is surely able.
The Lord put it to me this way Friday evening - He is calling us to a higher level (a HIGHway). The way to get to the HIGHway is through an on-ramp. This on-ramp is essentially us stepping into and believing His words (of love and favor). We can choose to be conservative (fear and unbelief limited) in our approach, barely stepping on the accelerator, and not really thinking we can actually step into the fullness of His purposes. We tend to yield our position and opportunities to our fear and unbelief. God is calling to us, and encouraging us (just like I used to when my children were learning to drive) STEP ON IT, ACCELERATE NOW! He has given us gifts and callings in our lives and we have choice to step into them or not. We can struggle in unbelief or fear and slowly get there, yielding continually to our doubt so that we miss many of the opportunities to step into the higher level, or we can press into belief and trust in His love and favor. He wants nothing more than to see us living up to the potential He sees in us! He is the one who has put all that potential in us, and is just waiting for the day we realize its there to be used and experienced! He has GREAT plans and purposes for every one of us. He really does Love us that much! He really does think we are worthy of His love, because Jesus made us worthy! He really means everything is possible to Him who believes this, embraces this and steps into it!
So I am greatly encouraged today to step into His purposes for me. Lord help me to overcome my own unbelief and press into Your words to me, Your call to me, Your gifts and purposes! Help me to step on the accelerator and into Your Favor!
[23] “ 'If you can'?” said Jesus. “Everything is possible for one who believes.” [24] Immediately the boy's father exclaimed, “I do believe; help me overcome my unbelief!”
The context was the a boy with a demon that the disciples could not cast out, and the boy's father had asked Jesus to help, if indeed He could help. This was Jesus' response, and like many of His responses, they are contextual, yet much larger in meaning. Jesus had just come down from the Mount of Transfiguration, where His Father had spoken of His Love and pleasure in Him (Mark 9:7, Matt 17:5). The Greek words used in Matthew's version can be translated favorite one, to whom I am favorably inclined, if we used some of the secondary meanings, so you get the picture. God the Father is saying He Loves His Son, and acts that way towards Him.
Jesus comes down and addresses the disciples, for the comment was really addressed to them and the boy's father, "Everything is possible for one who believes." The question we should ask ourselves is "believes in what"? The answer is clear from the earlier context, the one who believes in God's love for them, and who understands God's favor (if I might add that for the two are inseparable). Jesus understood the fullness of what His Father's love and favor meant, and was operating out of the reality of that relationship.
I love the father's response, "I do believe, help me overcome my unbelief!" I believe this gets to the heart of the matter for all of us. We have a hard time believing that God could actually love us the way He says He does. We believe it to some extent, but there are whole levels we don't dare step into, because we don't dare believe they are possible. Jesus says that "EVERYTHING is possible to the one who believes"! So we are either believing that God doesn't love us as much as He says He does, or we believe we aren't worthy of His Love, which disqualifies us from the fullness of His love. Simply put, that is unbelief! We need to be praying exactly like the father here - help me overcome my unbelief!
God wants us to understand and step into the fullness of His love and favor, and to do that we will need His help! We must recognize our self-limiting thoughts and beliefs and confess them and pray for the ability to repent (change the way we think and then change the way we act in regards to the new thoughts)! God wants us to step into the fullness of our inheritance in Christ! It is our beliefs, or lack there of that is the limiting factor, for God is surely able.
The Lord put it to me this way Friday evening - He is calling us to a higher level (a HIGHway). The way to get to the HIGHway is through an on-ramp. This on-ramp is essentially us stepping into and believing His words (of love and favor). We can choose to be conservative (fear and unbelief limited) in our approach, barely stepping on the accelerator, and not really thinking we can actually step into the fullness of His purposes. We tend to yield our position and opportunities to our fear and unbelief. God is calling to us, and encouraging us (just like I used to when my children were learning to drive) STEP ON IT, ACCELERATE NOW! He has given us gifts and callings in our lives and we have choice to step into them or not. We can struggle in unbelief or fear and slowly get there, yielding continually to our doubt so that we miss many of the opportunities to step into the higher level, or we can press into belief and trust in His love and favor. He wants nothing more than to see us living up to the potential He sees in us! He is the one who has put all that potential in us, and is just waiting for the day we realize its there to be used and experienced! He has GREAT plans and purposes for every one of us. He really does Love us that much! He really does think we are worthy of His love, because Jesus made us worthy! He really means everything is possible to Him who believes this, embraces this and steps into it!
So I am greatly encouraged today to step into His purposes for me. Lord help me to overcome my own unbelief and press into Your words to me, Your call to me, Your gifts and purposes! Help me to step on the accelerator and into Your Favor!
Wednesday, June 10, 2015
Obedience Over Popularity
This morning I was reading a bit in John's Gospel, and considering Jesus' attitude towards His ministry. Here are the verses I am thinking about - John 7:2-5 NIV:
[2] "But when the Jewish Festival of Tabernacles was near, [3] Jesus' brothers said to him, “Leave Galilee and go to Judea, so that your disciples there may see the works you do. [4] No one who wants to become a public figure acts in secret. Since you are doing these things, show yourself to the world.” [5] For even his own brothers did not believe in him."
-and-
John 7:8-9 NIV:
[8] "You go to the festival. I am not going up to this festival, because my time has not yet fully come.” [9] After he had said this, he stayed in Galilee."
I find it interesting that Jesus' brothers did not believe in Him. I believe that part of the reason is highlighted in these verses, namely that Jesus didn't act the way they all thought a Messiah would act. He wasn't pursuing public recognition, or trying to increase His crowds. He wasn't trying to be popular, and that just doesn't make sense to our human mind-set.
From a human perspective it would logically flow that Jesus would want to have as many followers as possible, that the Good News could be shared with all. Yet Jesus didn't act that way. Instead He chose to minimize His public image, going to the countryside rather than the bigger cities. He was constantly telling people who He healed to go home and not tell anyone what He had done. Jesus chose obedience to the Father over popularity. He did not pursue man's favor, or seek to ingratiate Himself with the leaders of the day.
I think that we would be wise to follow in His footsteps in this area. Clearly we are called to obedience to the Father over popularity. Our goal should not be to increase the size of our churches so much as to be faithful to the specific ministry and people we are called to pursue. I think at times we can get so focused on the numbers, rationalizing the desire to increase our ministries as a path to seeing more salvations, that we lose site of our original call. Sometimes that pursuit of increase is directly related to the increase of tithe, which can correlate to a better salary.
At the end of the day, I believe the key thing to consider is whose voice are we listening too when we are working to grow the ministry we have been given? Do we follow the voices of the people, trying to win popularity, or do we pursue obedience to God first? Do we judge our success on the number of people who attend the events of the weekend, or do we look to the Lord and see what He says about our ministries ability to represent Him correctly? Are we more interested in our job function, than we are in our personal relationship with Him? Do we have a sense of His timing and purpose and follow that rather than popular church-growth strategies and techniques? Are we OK with His Name being glorified over ours? Do we compromise our calling and His truth, for the sake of growing the ministry and touching more people?
I believe that if we are to continue Jesus' ministry on earth, than it should look very much like His ministry. I am not saying we shouldn't adapt or be creative as He directs, only that our hearts be united to His, and we pursue obedience over popularity. It is my desire to faithfully and accurately represent Jesus to all I meet.
[2] "But when the Jewish Festival of Tabernacles was near, [3] Jesus' brothers said to him, “Leave Galilee and go to Judea, so that your disciples there may see the works you do. [4] No one who wants to become a public figure acts in secret. Since you are doing these things, show yourself to the world.” [5] For even his own brothers did not believe in him."
-and-
John 7:8-9 NIV:
[8] "You go to the festival. I am not going up to this festival, because my time has not yet fully come.” [9] After he had said this, he stayed in Galilee."
I find it interesting that Jesus' brothers did not believe in Him. I believe that part of the reason is highlighted in these verses, namely that Jesus didn't act the way they all thought a Messiah would act. He wasn't pursuing public recognition, or trying to increase His crowds. He wasn't trying to be popular, and that just doesn't make sense to our human mind-set.
From a human perspective it would logically flow that Jesus would want to have as many followers as possible, that the Good News could be shared with all. Yet Jesus didn't act that way. Instead He chose to minimize His public image, going to the countryside rather than the bigger cities. He was constantly telling people who He healed to go home and not tell anyone what He had done. Jesus chose obedience to the Father over popularity. He did not pursue man's favor, or seek to ingratiate Himself with the leaders of the day.
I think that we would be wise to follow in His footsteps in this area. Clearly we are called to obedience to the Father over popularity. Our goal should not be to increase the size of our churches so much as to be faithful to the specific ministry and people we are called to pursue. I think at times we can get so focused on the numbers, rationalizing the desire to increase our ministries as a path to seeing more salvations, that we lose site of our original call. Sometimes that pursuit of increase is directly related to the increase of tithe, which can correlate to a better salary.
At the end of the day, I believe the key thing to consider is whose voice are we listening too when we are working to grow the ministry we have been given? Do we follow the voices of the people, trying to win popularity, or do we pursue obedience to God first? Do we judge our success on the number of people who attend the events of the weekend, or do we look to the Lord and see what He says about our ministries ability to represent Him correctly? Are we more interested in our job function, than we are in our personal relationship with Him? Do we have a sense of His timing and purpose and follow that rather than popular church-growth strategies and techniques? Are we OK with His Name being glorified over ours? Do we compromise our calling and His truth, for the sake of growing the ministry and touching more people?
I believe that if we are to continue Jesus' ministry on earth, than it should look very much like His ministry. I am not saying we shouldn't adapt or be creative as He directs, only that our hearts be united to His, and we pursue obedience over popularity. It is my desire to faithfully and accurately represent Jesus to all I meet.
Tuesday, June 9, 2015
ALL Are Justified Freely...Really Good News!
This morning, I am reading from Romans 3. In this section is one of those verses that many of us have heard, but the verse that immediately follows it is rarely quoted, yet just as important. Here are the verses - Romans 3:21-26 NIV:
[21] "But now apart from the law the righteousness of God has been made known, to which the Law and the Prophets testify. [22] This righteousness is given through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference between Jew and Gentile, [23] for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, [24] and all are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus. [25] God presented Christ as a sacrifice of atonement, through the shedding of his blood---to be received by faith. He did this to demonstrate his righteousness, because in his forbearance he had left the sins committed beforehand unpunished--- [26] he did it to demonstrate his righteousness at the present time, so as to be just and the one who justifies those who have faith in Jesus."
It might just be me, but in my experience most of us have heard verse 23 before, but how often has verse 24 been quoted right along with verse 23? I find it interesting that our focus so often is upon the sinfulness of all, rather than on the salvation that is available to all, freely available in Christ. This gift of redemption, the paying for our sins, is available freely to those who receive it through faith. It is available to all, but not everyone chooses to receive it, for the choice is ours. The gift has been given, but it needs to be received.
The really good news is that this gift is available to ALL, no exceptions. Just like ALL have sinned, the word really means ALL. There is no one who has done anything that disqualifies them from inclusion in the ALL. There are NO exceptions! God could have made exceptions. He could have specified a list of sins too heinous to be included in the ALL who have salvation available to them, but He didn't. Initially the church thought it was just the Jew who could be saved, but God made it clear through Peter's experience in Acts 10, that the gift of salvation was for Jew and Gentile alike. Jesus demonstrated this too through His ministry, for He healed those who were not Jews, touched the lives of several people who were not at all Jewish. Thus, this free gift is not available as part of our heritage, but rather is available to ALL.
The only difference between those that have received this gift of salvation and those that have not yet received the gift of salvation is belief. No examination of their lives, no holy behavior, no works of any kind, just simply belief. Belief is a choice we make, once we have been shown the truth. I had a young girl ask me yesterday why some people believe what God says, and why some don't? That was such an awesome question, because it gets to the heart of the matter, it is our choice to believe God's word, or not. The enemy works hard to give us plenty of reasons to not believe God's word. He tries to convince us that we have disqualified ourselves, or been disqualified by something that has happened to us, or by our lack of purity, or whatever. We can choose not to believe, because the Good News of this free gift is too good to be true. We can choose not to believe because we have had experiences with so-called Christians who are angry and mean and full of judgment. Whatever the case, the fact remains that it all comes down to belief, which is our choice.
So my encouragement this morning is to revel in this Good News that we all, everyone of us, have been given this gift of salvation. It is available to us all, regardless of race, creed, gender, sinfulness, purity, goodness, kindness, experiences, or disappointments. It is all about God, and His mercy and justice. It is too good to be true, but it is!
[21] "But now apart from the law the righteousness of God has been made known, to which the Law and the Prophets testify. [22] This righteousness is given through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference between Jew and Gentile, [23] for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, [24] and all are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus. [25] God presented Christ as a sacrifice of atonement, through the shedding of his blood---to be received by faith. He did this to demonstrate his righteousness, because in his forbearance he had left the sins committed beforehand unpunished--- [26] he did it to demonstrate his righteousness at the present time, so as to be just and the one who justifies those who have faith in Jesus."
It might just be me, but in my experience most of us have heard verse 23 before, but how often has verse 24 been quoted right along with verse 23? I find it interesting that our focus so often is upon the sinfulness of all, rather than on the salvation that is available to all, freely available in Christ. This gift of redemption, the paying for our sins, is available freely to those who receive it through faith. It is available to all, but not everyone chooses to receive it, for the choice is ours. The gift has been given, but it needs to be received.
The really good news is that this gift is available to ALL, no exceptions. Just like ALL have sinned, the word really means ALL. There is no one who has done anything that disqualifies them from inclusion in the ALL. There are NO exceptions! God could have made exceptions. He could have specified a list of sins too heinous to be included in the ALL who have salvation available to them, but He didn't. Initially the church thought it was just the Jew who could be saved, but God made it clear through Peter's experience in Acts 10, that the gift of salvation was for Jew and Gentile alike. Jesus demonstrated this too through His ministry, for He healed those who were not Jews, touched the lives of several people who were not at all Jewish. Thus, this free gift is not available as part of our heritage, but rather is available to ALL.
The only difference between those that have received this gift of salvation and those that have not yet received the gift of salvation is belief. No examination of their lives, no holy behavior, no works of any kind, just simply belief. Belief is a choice we make, once we have been shown the truth. I had a young girl ask me yesterday why some people believe what God says, and why some don't? That was such an awesome question, because it gets to the heart of the matter, it is our choice to believe God's word, or not. The enemy works hard to give us plenty of reasons to not believe God's word. He tries to convince us that we have disqualified ourselves, or been disqualified by something that has happened to us, or by our lack of purity, or whatever. We can choose not to believe, because the Good News of this free gift is too good to be true. We can choose not to believe because we have had experiences with so-called Christians who are angry and mean and full of judgment. Whatever the case, the fact remains that it all comes down to belief, which is our choice.
So my encouragement this morning is to revel in this Good News that we all, everyone of us, have been given this gift of salvation. It is available to us all, regardless of race, creed, gender, sinfulness, purity, goodness, kindness, experiences, or disappointments. It is all about God, and His mercy and justice. It is too good to be true, but it is!
Monday, June 8, 2015
What Is Eternal Life?
I was thinking about these verses from John's Gospel this morning.
John 17:1-5 NIV:
[1] After Jesus said this, he looked toward heaven and prayed:
“Father, the hour has come. Glorify your Son, that your Son may glorify you. [2] For you granted him authority over all people that he might give eternal life to all those you have given him. [3] Now this is eternal life: that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent. [4] I have brought you glory on earth by finishing the work you gave me to do. [5] And now, Father, glorify me in your presence with the glory I had with you before the world began."
I think verse 3 is so essential, for Jesus equates eternal life with knowing Him. In other words it is all about relationship. He is drawing us and leading us into relationship, and it is in that place that we experience eternal life. I think that most of us, if we were asked to describe eternal life, would have some comments about heaven, or living forever, but Jesus defines it as knowing Him. That really should cause us to stop and think...
The good news is that we can experience eternal life here on earth! It is through knowing Him, and entering into relationship with Him that we experience salvation. It is in continuing to pursue Him, to be in relationship with Him that we find our lives hidden in Him. It is in this place that we experience His favor and blessing and begin to taste the eternal life that is our reward, knowing Him, seeing Him move in our lives, experiencing His love and mercy. Our lives are meant to be lived in relationship with Him, every day, all day long. He is the greatest treasure, why would we want to live our lives any other way??
As we unite ourselves to Christ, He is glorified here on earth, for we begin to represent Him, and do the things that He would do if He was physically present. He is present, but within us, and we reflect that through our lives.
So my encouragement is to embrace the gift of eternal life available to me today! Lord, I want to know You more!
Amen
Sunday, June 7, 2015
To Know God More...
This morning I am reading from Exodus, reading about how Moses used to meet with The Presence of the Lord. That is such an amazing thing, and yet Moses was hungry for more of God, and asked to see His Glory. Here are the verses - Exodus 33:8-9, 11, 18-23 NIV:
[8] "And whenever Moses went out to the tent, all the people rose and stood at the entrances to their tents, watching Moses until he entered the tent. [9] As Moses went into the tent, the pillar of cloud would come down and stay at the entrance, while the Lord spoke with Moses.
[11] The Lord would speak to Moses face to face, as one speaks to a friend. Then Moses would return to the camp, but his young aide Joshua son of Nun did not leave the tent.
[18] Then Moses said, “Now show me your glory.”
[19] And the Lord said, “I will cause all my goodness to pass in front of you, and I will proclaim my name, the Lord, in your presence. I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion. [20] But,” he said, “you cannot see my face, for no one may see me and live.”
[21] Then the Lord said, “There is a place near me where you may stand on a rock. [22] When my glory passes by, I will put you in a cleft in the rock and cover you with my hand until I have passed by. [23] Then I will remove my hand and you will see my back; but my face must not be seen.”
I love the fact that Moses was not satisfied in his relationship with God, but wanted to know Him more. He wanted to understand Him, and knew that there was more to experience. This is one of the things that should be true of us all, that we hunger for more of God. His desire is that we know Him, and it pleases God when that is our prayer. We can never know God fully, but we can continue to grow in our experience and knowledge every day.
Like all relationships, revelation comes through interaction. Moses was blessed to interact with the Lord regularly. In the same way, the Lord invites us to meet with Him regularly, as it is in that place where we will grow in our understanding of Him. That is what times of prayer, times of quiet, times where we turn our hearts and minds towards God are designed to do, namely to help us know Him. It is through interactive communication, both speaking and listening that we can grow. God allowed Moses to speak to Him, as one friend speaks to another, and that some invitation is available to us all. Since Jesus has come and fully opened the way to the Father, since the Holy Spirit resides within us, and Jesus us with us, we all have the same ability to speak to God as one speaks to a friend. We don't have to be some great leader or prophet, for we are all equally sons and daughters of Him.
So let us reflect on our relationship with God. Are we longing for and desiring more of God in our life? Are we spending time with Him daily? Are we able to speak with Him as with a friend? Are we satisfied with our relationship? My prayer is that we would all develop a deep unquenchable desire for more of God, and pursue Him every day of our lives!
[8] "And whenever Moses went out to the tent, all the people rose and stood at the entrances to their tents, watching Moses until he entered the tent. [9] As Moses went into the tent, the pillar of cloud would come down and stay at the entrance, while the Lord spoke with Moses.
[11] The Lord would speak to Moses face to face, as one speaks to a friend. Then Moses would return to the camp, but his young aide Joshua son of Nun did not leave the tent.
[18] Then Moses said, “Now show me your glory.”
[19] And the Lord said, “I will cause all my goodness to pass in front of you, and I will proclaim my name, the Lord, in your presence. I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion. [20] But,” he said, “you cannot see my face, for no one may see me and live.”
[21] Then the Lord said, “There is a place near me where you may stand on a rock. [22] When my glory passes by, I will put you in a cleft in the rock and cover you with my hand until I have passed by. [23] Then I will remove my hand and you will see my back; but my face must not be seen.”
I love the fact that Moses was not satisfied in his relationship with God, but wanted to know Him more. He wanted to understand Him, and knew that there was more to experience. This is one of the things that should be true of us all, that we hunger for more of God. His desire is that we know Him, and it pleases God when that is our prayer. We can never know God fully, but we can continue to grow in our experience and knowledge every day.
Like all relationships, revelation comes through interaction. Moses was blessed to interact with the Lord regularly. In the same way, the Lord invites us to meet with Him regularly, as it is in that place where we will grow in our understanding of Him. That is what times of prayer, times of quiet, times where we turn our hearts and minds towards God are designed to do, namely to help us know Him. It is through interactive communication, both speaking and listening that we can grow. God allowed Moses to speak to Him, as one friend speaks to another, and that some invitation is available to us all. Since Jesus has come and fully opened the way to the Father, since the Holy Spirit resides within us, and Jesus us with us, we all have the same ability to speak to God as one speaks to a friend. We don't have to be some great leader or prophet, for we are all equally sons and daughters of Him.
So let us reflect on our relationship with God. Are we longing for and desiring more of God in our life? Are we spending time with Him daily? Are we able to speak with Him as with a friend? Are we satisfied with our relationship? My prayer is that we would all develop a deep unquenchable desire for more of God, and pursue Him every day of our lives!
Saturday, June 6, 2015
Living An Uncommon Life
This morning I was reading through the Gospel of Mark and came across this list of things that the Lord said defiled a person.
Mark 7:20-23 NIV:
[20] "He went on: “What comes out of a person is what defiles them. [21] For it is from within, out of a person's heart, that evil thoughts come---sexual immorality, theft, murder, [22] adultery, greed, malice, deceit, lewdness, envy, slander, arrogance and folly. [23] All these evils come from inside and defile a person.”
The Greek word translated defiles is the word Koinoo, and its definition is as follows: 1) to make common A) to make (Levitically) unclean, render unhallowed, defile, profane B) to declare or count unclean.
It is interesting that the real word used here means literally means common, as in just like everyone else. This is one of the key messages God had for the Jews, they were His people, His nation, called by Him and walking in His favor and Blessing. They were not like any other nation, and His intention was that should be clear to the rest of the world, by their actions. He called them to be different, to be set apart for Him.
In the same way we are called to be Holy, which means set apart for God. The original Hebrew word is Qadash which means: 1) to consecrate, sanctify, prepare, dedicate, be hallowed, be holy, be sanctified, be separate A) to be set apart, be consecrated B) to be hallowed
The idea from God is that His people will act differently from the rest of the people, because of their relationship with Him. So, my question this morning, is whether others can tell I am Christian by the way I act? Does the Church stand out in the world because she acts differently? Can people truly see God's character through us?
That is our call, to be a people set apart, called into relationship with the Lord, affected by that relationship so much that we take on His character(istics). That is what makes us Holy! In God there is no sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, greed, malice, deceit, lewdness, envy, slander, arrogance or folly, and that is why those characteristics and actions shouldn't exist in us!
We are called to embrace and take on God's character. We are called to be Christ-like in our daily lives, representing Him to the world. We are called to be different in the way we treat each other, loving one another as He loved us (John 13:34-35). All of this comes out of us, out of our heart. How we act is directly related to what is in our heart and mind. This is what Jesus is talking about in these passages.
If we are living our life in selfishness, it will be evident to all. If our life and heart is full of these things that Jesus lists here, than we need His help to cleanse our hearts. Left to our own human desires and actions most of us will embrace a selfish lifestyle in some way or other (meaning our eyes are focused on ourselves). The Lord invites us to live with our eyes on Him, instead of on ourselves.
Lord, I pray that I might be found, by my actions and life, a follower of You. I pray that I might rid myself of everything that is common (Koinoo) that I might accurately represent You to the world!
Mark 7:20-23 NIV:
[20] "He went on: “What comes out of a person is what defiles them. [21] For it is from within, out of a person's heart, that evil thoughts come---sexual immorality, theft, murder, [22] adultery, greed, malice, deceit, lewdness, envy, slander, arrogance and folly. [23] All these evils come from inside and defile a person.”
The Greek word translated defiles is the word Koinoo, and its definition is as follows: 1) to make common A) to make (Levitically) unclean, render unhallowed, defile, profane B) to declare or count unclean.
It is interesting that the real word used here means literally means common, as in just like everyone else. This is one of the key messages God had for the Jews, they were His people, His nation, called by Him and walking in His favor and Blessing. They were not like any other nation, and His intention was that should be clear to the rest of the world, by their actions. He called them to be different, to be set apart for Him.
In the same way we are called to be Holy, which means set apart for God. The original Hebrew word is Qadash which means: 1) to consecrate, sanctify, prepare, dedicate, be hallowed, be holy, be sanctified, be separate A) to be set apart, be consecrated B) to be hallowed
The idea from God is that His people will act differently from the rest of the people, because of their relationship with Him. So, my question this morning, is whether others can tell I am Christian by the way I act? Does the Church stand out in the world because she acts differently? Can people truly see God's character through us?
That is our call, to be a people set apart, called into relationship with the Lord, affected by that relationship so much that we take on His character(istics). That is what makes us Holy! In God there is no sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, greed, malice, deceit, lewdness, envy, slander, arrogance or folly, and that is why those characteristics and actions shouldn't exist in us!
We are called to embrace and take on God's character. We are called to be Christ-like in our daily lives, representing Him to the world. We are called to be different in the way we treat each other, loving one another as He loved us (John 13:34-35). All of this comes out of us, out of our heart. How we act is directly related to what is in our heart and mind. This is what Jesus is talking about in these passages.
If we are living our life in selfishness, it will be evident to all. If our life and heart is full of these things that Jesus lists here, than we need His help to cleanse our hearts. Left to our own human desires and actions most of us will embrace a selfish lifestyle in some way or other (meaning our eyes are focused on ourselves). The Lord invites us to live with our eyes on Him, instead of on ourselves.
Lord, I pray that I might be found, by my actions and life, a follower of You. I pray that I might rid myself of everything that is common (Koinoo) that I might accurately represent You to the world!
Wednesday, June 3, 2015
Stepping Into God's Purposes
This morning I am thinking about an interesting passage from Luke's Gospel, where Jesus is talking about John. What really caught my eye was the note that Luke added concerning the Pharisee's and Lawyers. Here is the whole section for context - Luke 7:24-30 NIV:
[24] "After John's messengers left, Jesus began to speak to the crowd about John: “What did you go out into the wilderness to see? A reed swayed by the wind? [25] If not, what did you go out to see? A man dressed in fine clothes? No, those who wear expensive clothes and indulge in luxury are in palaces. [26] But what did you go out to see? A prophet? Yes, I tell you, and more than a prophet.
27] This is the one about whom it is written: “ 'I will send my messenger ahead of you, who will prepare your way before you.'
[28] I tell you, among those born of women there is no one greater than John; yet the one who is least in the kingdom of God is greater than he.”
[29] "(All the people, even the tax collectors, when they heard Jesus' words, acknowledged that God's way was right, because they had been baptized by John. [30] But the Pharisees and the experts in the law rejected God's purpose for themselves, because they had not been baptized by John.)"
I find Luke's comment in verses 29 & 30 insightful into the spirit of pride and religion. We know from Acts 19:4, that John's baptism was a baptism of repentance. In other words, the people who were baptised by John, were admitting to all they were sinners, and were vowing to change their behavior (See Luke 3 for more on John's message). The Pharisees though, believed they were righteous, and thus would not have been in need of repentance.
I like the way Luke says it - they "rejected God's purpose for themselves, because they had not been baptized by John." That is a very weighty statement. If we replace 'baptized by John' with 'repentance', I think we get to the heart of the matter. God's purposes for us requires contrite hearts, humility and the willingness to change the way we think and act (repentance). He wants us to walk in His ways, and to do that we need to recognize that we aren't and we need to be willing to change.
I know in my life there have been many times that the Lord was doing stuff in me, and I had the opportunity to go forward during a church service and I chose not to go forward, because I didn't want to publicly acknowledge my need to change or need for help. The spirit of pride, which is closely aligned with the spirit of religion (not true religion), will keep us in our own sin, rather than enable us to step into freedom. The Pharisees and lawyers were the leaders of the people, and rather than embrace repentance, and step into God's purposes, they turned their backs and refused to even acknowledge that God was at work in their midst.
The good news in this, is that this was not the only time the Pharisees and lawyers had an opportunity to change their minds and hearts, for Jesus interacted with them constantly, and unfortunately they constantly rejected Him. God will never give us just one chance to step into His purposes. That is a lie the enemy tells us, whispering that we missed that one opportunity, and have thus missed the whole thing. I am reminded of the parable of the laborers in the vineyard (Matt 20:1-13). The guys who started work at the end of the day got paid the same amount as those who started work in the morning. We can always step into God's purpose for us, for who are we to thwart the purposes of God?
So, this morning I am encouraged to embrace repentance, allowing God to show me where my thinking and actions need to change. I am encouraged to do this, because I know that He has purposes for me, and that by becoming more like Him (the purpose of repentance) I can more effectively represent Him. My desire is that His presence in my life becomes more and more evident as I continue to pursue Him with a humble heart, welcoming His direction and guidance.
God is good, and He has good things in mind for each of us. If we are willing to walk in His ways, we will find our places and purposes in the Kingdom, which is a great place to be.
Amen!
Tuesday, June 2, 2015
Knowing The Father And Glorifying Him
This morning I have been reading from John's Gospel. I love his writings as there is such a personal perspective. The verses I am reflecting on today come from John 12:44-50 NIV:
[44] "Then Jesus cried out, “Whoever believes in me does not believe in me only, but in the one who sent me. [45] The one who looks at me is seeing the one who sent me."
[46] "I have come into the world as a light, so that no one who believes in me should stay in darkness. [47] “If anyone hears my words but does not keep them, I do not judge that person. For I did not come to judge the world, but to save the world. [48] There is a judge for the one who rejects me and does not accept my words; the very words I have spoken will condemn them at the last day. [49] For I did not speak on my own, but the Father who sent me commanded me to say all that I have spoken. [50] I know that his command leads to eternal life. So whatever I say is just what the Father has told me to say.”
I really think that verses 45, 49 and 50 are such critical verses, ones that we need to fully understand and believe. I have written several times that Jesus is the perfect representation of the Father, and once again Jesus says basically the same exact thing. If we look at Him we are seeing the Father (Verse 45). If we listen to Him, we are hearing the words the Father would speak, for whatever Jesus said is just what the Father told Him to day (verse 49 & 50).
I don't think it can be said any clearer. Everything Jesus did and said was directly from the Father. He is the best revelation of the Father we will ever see this side of heaven. Much of what He said and did isn't recorded in the Scriptures (John 21:25), but what was recorded, by the direction of the Holy Spirit is a direct window into the Father. His words are the Father's, His actions are the Father's, and so we must, if we want to know the Father, understand His heart and hear His words, look to Jesus. That is why I spend so much time in the Gospels, for it is there that I am able to see and understand our God, as witnessed to us by Jesus. If Jesus said something or did something, then we know that the Father would say or do the same thing. Conversely, if I don't see Jesus doing something, than I know the Father wouldn't be doing it either.
For example, looking at verse 48 above, Jesus' statement about the reason He came, would possibly be surprising to many people. He said, "For I did not come to judge the world, but to save the world." (John 12:48b) There are many followers of Christ, many brothers and sisters in the Body of Christ, who are sitting under judgment from their leaders. There are many others who preach judgment to the unsaved, yet here we have Jesus, expressing the heart of the Father, and His heart is not for judgement, but rather for salvation. He didn't come to judge the lost, but to save them. Why then do we tolerate a message of judgment in our churches? Why do we allow our leaders to judge us? Jesus Himself said He wouldn't do that, but rather His words would be the judge. If Jesus didn't hold up His words to the lives of those around Him to judge them, then neither should we.
I guess lately I have been thinking deeply on the message of Jesus, and looking at the message flowing out of many of our churches and seeing a significant disparity, and that troubles my heart. I guess in some ways, my critique of other churches is embracing the very thing we are not to do, namely judging one another, and for that I am sorry and will endeavor to change the way I think and act.
The good news is that there are many places that are not preaching another Gospel, but are faithfully representing the ministry of Jesus, and thus the heart of God the Father, for they are the same thing. My prayer is that all the Church would cease its judgmental ways and instead focus on our key purpose - to save the world. Let us love one another, serve one another and reflect the ministry of Jesus and the Father in our daily walks. We are meant to be a light to the world, and by that light the world will be drawn to our Lord, and the Father's name will be glorified, rather than vilified.
Amen!
[44] "Then Jesus cried out, “Whoever believes in me does not believe in me only, but in the one who sent me. [45] The one who looks at me is seeing the one who sent me."
[46] "I have come into the world as a light, so that no one who believes in me should stay in darkness. [47] “If anyone hears my words but does not keep them, I do not judge that person. For I did not come to judge the world, but to save the world. [48] There is a judge for the one who rejects me and does not accept my words; the very words I have spoken will condemn them at the last day. [49] For I did not speak on my own, but the Father who sent me commanded me to say all that I have spoken. [50] I know that his command leads to eternal life. So whatever I say is just what the Father has told me to say.”
I really think that verses 45, 49 and 50 are such critical verses, ones that we need to fully understand and believe. I have written several times that Jesus is the perfect representation of the Father, and once again Jesus says basically the same exact thing. If we look at Him we are seeing the Father (Verse 45). If we listen to Him, we are hearing the words the Father would speak, for whatever Jesus said is just what the Father told Him to day (verse 49 & 50).
I don't think it can be said any clearer. Everything Jesus did and said was directly from the Father. He is the best revelation of the Father we will ever see this side of heaven. Much of what He said and did isn't recorded in the Scriptures (John 21:25), but what was recorded, by the direction of the Holy Spirit is a direct window into the Father. His words are the Father's, His actions are the Father's, and so we must, if we want to know the Father, understand His heart and hear His words, look to Jesus. That is why I spend so much time in the Gospels, for it is there that I am able to see and understand our God, as witnessed to us by Jesus. If Jesus said something or did something, then we know that the Father would say or do the same thing. Conversely, if I don't see Jesus doing something, than I know the Father wouldn't be doing it either.
For example, looking at verse 48 above, Jesus' statement about the reason He came, would possibly be surprising to many people. He said, "For I did not come to judge the world, but to save the world." (John 12:48b) There are many followers of Christ, many brothers and sisters in the Body of Christ, who are sitting under judgment from their leaders. There are many others who preach judgment to the unsaved, yet here we have Jesus, expressing the heart of the Father, and His heart is not for judgement, but rather for salvation. He didn't come to judge the lost, but to save them. Why then do we tolerate a message of judgment in our churches? Why do we allow our leaders to judge us? Jesus Himself said He wouldn't do that, but rather His words would be the judge. If Jesus didn't hold up His words to the lives of those around Him to judge them, then neither should we.
I guess lately I have been thinking deeply on the message of Jesus, and looking at the message flowing out of many of our churches and seeing a significant disparity, and that troubles my heart. I guess in some ways, my critique of other churches is embracing the very thing we are not to do, namely judging one another, and for that I am sorry and will endeavor to change the way I think and act.
The good news is that there are many places that are not preaching another Gospel, but are faithfully representing the ministry of Jesus, and thus the heart of God the Father, for they are the same thing. My prayer is that all the Church would cease its judgmental ways and instead focus on our key purpose - to save the world. Let us love one another, serve one another and reflect the ministry of Jesus and the Father in our daily walks. We are meant to be a light to the world, and by that light the world will be drawn to our Lord, and the Father's name will be glorified, rather than vilified.
Amen!
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