I felt like reading from the end of Paul's letter to the church in Colossae. As I was reading his closing remarks, a couple things he wrote caused me to take pause. Here are the verses - Colossians 4:2-6 NIV:
[2] "Devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful. [3] And pray for us, too, that God may open a door for our message, so that we may proclaim the mystery of Christ, for which I am in chains. [4] Pray that I may proclaim it clearly, as I should. [5] Be wise in the way you act toward outsiders; make the most of every opportunity. [6] Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone."
First, his encouragement to be watchful and thankful. This doesn't sound too strange, but in our modern day language, I think the more common expression would be to be watchful and careful. It struck me that Paul might be addressing an underlying mindset, of gratitude for all things, even difficult things. I recently was watching a Bill Johnson sermon on difficult seasons ( https://youtu.be/CSLKnRYaPQI) and he was talking about the fact that there are some things you only learn about God when you walk through "the valley of the shadow of death" (Ps 23:4). He wasn't advocating difficult seasons, but was saying that by keeping His heart and mind fixed on the Lord in the midst of this difficult season, he was able to grow in his relationship and faith.
Secondly, another perspective about the watchful and thankful encouragement might be that Paul is urging the people to be constantly on the lookout for those God arranged meetings, those divine encounters. He does finish that paragraph speaking about how we act towards outsiders, making the most of every opportunity, and maybe this directive is pointing at that thought.
My mind immediately goes to an idea that this is related to sharing my faith. I tend to be somewhat fearful of opportunities to share the Lord with those outside of church. It is mostly due to my fear of man, and fear of rejection. How different would my response be if I prayed for a thankful heart and thankful perspective in these instances, that instead of meeting the situation with fear, I meet it with a heart of gratitude that God has entrusted some small influence in the other person's life to me? Maybe my mind would change from a "I have to", to more of a "I get to" share.
Here is another radical thought, maybe I can just focus on loving the person I meet, and make that my goal, rather than being all worried about sharing my faith. Not that I shy away from sharing my faith, but focusing instead on the primary command of the Lord to love one another (John 13:34). It is my experience that if I am empathetic, if I am compassionate and willing to care for, encourage and help someone, they are almost always grateful! I can allow my kindness and personal interest in them speak of their value and worth to me, and to the Lord! I can determine to let my conversation be full of grace, and ready to share my love and my relationship with God, if asked or the opportunity presents itself. If I take my focus off of having to share, and instead look at the opportunity of loving someone who needs to know they are loved and lovely, then I find that I can embrace the opportunity with thankfulness!
Lord, I am encouraged this morning to be prayerful, watchful and thankful for opportunities to love, opportunities to be kind, opportunities to extend mercy and grace. Thank You Lord that You have decided that I am trustworthy of extending Your love and mercy to others.
Amen!
Tuesday, February 27, 2018
Monday, February 26, 2018
Vain Imaginations
Lately, the Lord has been helping me to take more and more control of my thought life. Of late, He has been giving me freedom from what I like to call 'vain imaginations'. So this morning I was doing some additional research into this type of thinking and came across two scriptural references that are related. I looked up "vain imaginations" and it is from Romans 1:21 KJV: "Because that, when they knew God, they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened."
The other verse that includes vain thinking if in Philippians 2:3-4 NIV: "Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, [4] not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others."
As I dug into the original Greek , I found it interesting that words translated vain in these two verses have a couple of different roots. The Greek Word translated vain conceit, is "Kenodoxia" and it means vain glory, groundless, self esteem, empty pride. The focus is on empty or fruitless, as in 'they tried in vain'. The Greek words translated in the KJV as vain imaginations are "Mataioo" meaning empty, vain or foolish and "Dialogismos" meaning the thinking of a man deliberating with himself, internally. I guess they basically mean the same thing, empty internal thoughts or concerns about oneself. The key is that they are fruitless and self focused. For me the only fruit they bear is temptation and sin generally, as they lead me down paths of pride and selfishness, neither of which is blessed by the Lord.
It works this way in my life. I imagine that people are looking at me, talking about me, noticing me for an endless number of reasons, most of which are quite ridiculous. It might be the car I am driving, its either good looking, or dirty and so I think people are thinking about me, as I am driving it. How often do we think about the other people we see driving, and how often is that thought more than a momentary judgment on their driving ability? Other times it is based on my appearance, my clothes, or hair, of carriage, and I think people are noticing me, thinking about me, or talking about me. Again, if I am grocery shopping, how often do I spend time thinking about others? If I do, its related to how I think they are thinking about me, and really for almost no other reason. It is this crazy self-focused perspective that takes me out of connection with the Father, because I am listening to my own empty thoughts, rather than listening to Him. Ultimately it is fruitless (for the Kingdom) thinking that only causes me to have anxiety or pride, and neither is beneficial to me. I could go on and on, as there is seemingly no end to the different imaginations I have about myself.
My desire is to become more like the Lord, and learn to listen to the Father at all times. Jesus demonstrated this in His life as a human, which means its possible for me to do as well. Listening to the Lord, grounds us in His perspective, rather than in our selfish perspective. We can have imaginations, but they are based on His call and invitations to relationship and Kingdom service. He desires that we have dreams and visions for our future, but wants them to line up with His purpose and His relationship in our lives. Sometimes He releases dreams and prophetic words over our lives to help us focus our thinking and imaginations. He wants our thoughts to bear good fruit, not empty conjecture, anxiety or pride.
I can remember, as a child, playing games, like baseball, basketball or other pursuits. Part of my thinking was how great I could be, re-enacting last minute heroics, and such! That was all good for a child, as God wants us to have hopes and dreams. As an adult, the Lord actually has even higher thoughts than those about us, for He sees us from His eternal perspective and sees all that we are capable of doing, in Him, and it is far greater than the momentary glory of a game winning last basket. We have in us the ability to effect eternal change, to walk in His authority and Power, to wage spiritual warfare, to bring healing and deliverance, to release life changing power, and He wants us thinking about those things!
So this morning, I am encouraged to recognize those empty lines of thinking and stop them before I get started. I want to think about things that will bear good fruit! I want to learn to listen to the Lord, and to do that I need to stop my own talking (internally). Lord, I pray that you will open my eyes to how You see me, open my ears to hear what You have to say to me and about me, and learn to rid myself of my vain imaginations!
Amen!
The other verse that includes vain thinking if in Philippians 2:3-4 NIV: "Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, [4] not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others."
As I dug into the original Greek , I found it interesting that words translated vain in these two verses have a couple of different roots. The Greek Word translated vain conceit, is "Kenodoxia" and it means vain glory, groundless, self esteem, empty pride. The focus is on empty or fruitless, as in 'they tried in vain'. The Greek words translated in the KJV as vain imaginations are "Mataioo" meaning empty, vain or foolish and "Dialogismos" meaning the thinking of a man deliberating with himself, internally. I guess they basically mean the same thing, empty internal thoughts or concerns about oneself. The key is that they are fruitless and self focused. For me the only fruit they bear is temptation and sin generally, as they lead me down paths of pride and selfishness, neither of which is blessed by the Lord.
It works this way in my life. I imagine that people are looking at me, talking about me, noticing me for an endless number of reasons, most of which are quite ridiculous. It might be the car I am driving, its either good looking, or dirty and so I think people are thinking about me, as I am driving it. How often do we think about the other people we see driving, and how often is that thought more than a momentary judgment on their driving ability? Other times it is based on my appearance, my clothes, or hair, of carriage, and I think people are noticing me, thinking about me, or talking about me. Again, if I am grocery shopping, how often do I spend time thinking about others? If I do, its related to how I think they are thinking about me, and really for almost no other reason. It is this crazy self-focused perspective that takes me out of connection with the Father, because I am listening to my own empty thoughts, rather than listening to Him. Ultimately it is fruitless (for the Kingdom) thinking that only causes me to have anxiety or pride, and neither is beneficial to me. I could go on and on, as there is seemingly no end to the different imaginations I have about myself.
My desire is to become more like the Lord, and learn to listen to the Father at all times. Jesus demonstrated this in His life as a human, which means its possible for me to do as well. Listening to the Lord, grounds us in His perspective, rather than in our selfish perspective. We can have imaginations, but they are based on His call and invitations to relationship and Kingdom service. He desires that we have dreams and visions for our future, but wants them to line up with His purpose and His relationship in our lives. Sometimes He releases dreams and prophetic words over our lives to help us focus our thinking and imaginations. He wants our thoughts to bear good fruit, not empty conjecture, anxiety or pride.
I can remember, as a child, playing games, like baseball, basketball or other pursuits. Part of my thinking was how great I could be, re-enacting last minute heroics, and such! That was all good for a child, as God wants us to have hopes and dreams. As an adult, the Lord actually has even higher thoughts than those about us, for He sees us from His eternal perspective and sees all that we are capable of doing, in Him, and it is far greater than the momentary glory of a game winning last basket. We have in us the ability to effect eternal change, to walk in His authority and Power, to wage spiritual warfare, to bring healing and deliverance, to release life changing power, and He wants us thinking about those things!
So this morning, I am encouraged to recognize those empty lines of thinking and stop them before I get started. I want to think about things that will bear good fruit! I want to learn to listen to the Lord, and to do that I need to stop my own talking (internally). Lord, I pray that you will open my eyes to how You see me, open my ears to hear what You have to say to me and about me, and learn to rid myself of my vain imaginations!
Amen!
Friday, February 23, 2018
We Need the Apostles!
This morning I am reflecting on God's amazing relational expression of life, namely the Church, or as Paul describes us, the Body of Christ. Within this context there are many unique giftings and callings and functions, but always the same Body. The Church and the Body of Christ really are synonymous. I am meditating on Paul's description of this found in 1 Corinthians 12:4-14,18-20,27 NASB:
[4] "Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit. [5] And there are varieties of ministries, and the same Lord. [6] There are varieties of effects, but the same God who works all things in all persons. [7] But to each one is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good. [8] For to one is given the word of wisdom through the Spirit, and to another the word of knowledge according to the same Spirit; [9] to another faith by the same Spirit, and to another gifts of healing by the one Spirit, [10] and to another the effecting of miracles, and to another prophecy, and to another the distinguishing of spirits, to another various kinds of tongues, and to another the interpretation of tongues. [11] But one and the same Spirit works all these things, distributing to each one individually just as He wills."
[12] "For even as the body is one and yet has many members, and all the members of the body, though they are many, are one body, so also is Christ. [13] For by one Spirit we were all baptized into one body, whether Jews or Greeks, whether slaves or free, and we were all made to drink of one Spirit."
[14] "For the body is not one member, but many."
[18] "But now God has placed the members, each one of them, in the body, just as He desired. [19] If they were all one member, where would the body be? [20] But now there are many members, but one body."
[27] "Now you are Christ's body, and individually members of it."
You will notice that I picked out verses where Paul kept referring to our membership in the Body. I wanted to focus on that particular truth this morning, for we can lose sight of this reality in our selfish worldview. It is easy to become focused on ourselves, focused on our gift, or our ministry, or service and lose sight of the fact that we are connected to the greater Body of Christ. In fact, it is right and true to say that God placed us in the Body (His Body) as HE desired, gave us gifts as He desired and He expects us to work together.
Even back then, Paul saw the propensity for people to become so myopic, concerning their gifts or ministries, that they lose sight of the greater Body of Christ, and he was calling them back to this understanding. Every church in every town and city, every ministry, every service work, every gifting is in place for the greater good, the common good of the entire Body of Christ. We all have the same goal, and competition should never be a part of our focus or drive. My right hand is not in competition with my left hand, they are supposed to work together and compliment one another, sharing the load. They rely on my wrists, arms, bones, muscles and tendons to move or accomplish anything at all. Wouldn't it be great if all similar ministries in a city got together and realized they were all meant to work together and complement one another?!
Paul writes very clearly that all gifts, and all ministries and service (effects) are given for the common good (verses 6 & 7 above), and for the body to work well, it can be no other way. Yet we find in the local body of Christ, competition and expressions of distrust and disagreement, duplication and judgment. Oh that we would see ourselves as truly part of the same body, all working for the common good! Oh, that we would be willing to direct our members to other expressions of service, ministry or points of connection where they fit better.
I see this as where the church really is missing the role of the Apostle, for they are tasked with the overseeing, directing and growing of the overall church. One could almost say they are supposed to be "life coaches" for the life of the local expressions of the Body of Christ (the individual churches in a city or region). Instead or apostolic direction we find very little coordination, different lines of leadership that are denominationally aligned, with very little intra-body and intra-member communication. Instead of operating like a real body, we find limited communication, limited coordination and even limited relationship. Oh Lord, bring forth the Apostles, those who operate in Your authority and power, given for the directing, overseeing and coordination for the Common good of the entire Body of Christ.
Lord, we pray that You would raise up in Your church, those men and women who You have placed as You desired, for our common good, as Your apostles. Lord, we pray that You help us to break down the walls of division, distrust, disagreement and disunity! Help us to come together as Your true Body, embracing one another as members of the same body, working together to expand Your Kingdom! Holy Spirit, help Your Church!
Amen!
[4] "Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit. [5] And there are varieties of ministries, and the same Lord. [6] There are varieties of effects, but the same God who works all things in all persons. [7] But to each one is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good. [8] For to one is given the word of wisdom through the Spirit, and to another the word of knowledge according to the same Spirit; [9] to another faith by the same Spirit, and to another gifts of healing by the one Spirit, [10] and to another the effecting of miracles, and to another prophecy, and to another the distinguishing of spirits, to another various kinds of tongues, and to another the interpretation of tongues. [11] But one and the same Spirit works all these things, distributing to each one individually just as He wills."
[12] "For even as the body is one and yet has many members, and all the members of the body, though they are many, are one body, so also is Christ. [13] For by one Spirit we were all baptized into one body, whether Jews or Greeks, whether slaves or free, and we were all made to drink of one Spirit."
[14] "For the body is not one member, but many."
[18] "But now God has placed the members, each one of them, in the body, just as He desired. [19] If they were all one member, where would the body be? [20] But now there are many members, but one body."
[27] "Now you are Christ's body, and individually members of it."
You will notice that I picked out verses where Paul kept referring to our membership in the Body. I wanted to focus on that particular truth this morning, for we can lose sight of this reality in our selfish worldview. It is easy to become focused on ourselves, focused on our gift, or our ministry, or service and lose sight of the fact that we are connected to the greater Body of Christ. In fact, it is right and true to say that God placed us in the Body (His Body) as HE desired, gave us gifts as He desired and He expects us to work together.
Even back then, Paul saw the propensity for people to become so myopic, concerning their gifts or ministries, that they lose sight of the greater Body of Christ, and he was calling them back to this understanding. Every church in every town and city, every ministry, every service work, every gifting is in place for the greater good, the common good of the entire Body of Christ. We all have the same goal, and competition should never be a part of our focus or drive. My right hand is not in competition with my left hand, they are supposed to work together and compliment one another, sharing the load. They rely on my wrists, arms, bones, muscles and tendons to move or accomplish anything at all. Wouldn't it be great if all similar ministries in a city got together and realized they were all meant to work together and complement one another?!
Paul writes very clearly that all gifts, and all ministries and service (effects) are given for the common good (verses 6 & 7 above), and for the body to work well, it can be no other way. Yet we find in the local body of Christ, competition and expressions of distrust and disagreement, duplication and judgment. Oh that we would see ourselves as truly part of the same body, all working for the common good! Oh, that we would be willing to direct our members to other expressions of service, ministry or points of connection where they fit better.
I see this as where the church really is missing the role of the Apostle, for they are tasked with the overseeing, directing and growing of the overall church. One could almost say they are supposed to be "life coaches" for the life of the local expressions of the Body of Christ (the individual churches in a city or region). Instead or apostolic direction we find very little coordination, different lines of leadership that are denominationally aligned, with very little intra-body and intra-member communication. Instead of operating like a real body, we find limited communication, limited coordination and even limited relationship. Oh Lord, bring forth the Apostles, those who operate in Your authority and power, given for the directing, overseeing and coordination for the Common good of the entire Body of Christ.
Lord, we pray that You would raise up in Your church, those men and women who You have placed as You desired, for our common good, as Your apostles. Lord, we pray that You help us to break down the walls of division, distrust, disagreement and disunity! Help us to come together as Your true Body, embracing one another as members of the same body, working together to expand Your Kingdom! Holy Spirit, help Your Church!
Amen!
Growing in Belief!
Last night I was reflecting on my lack of belief and faith in regards to answered prayer. It is an ugly thing when you are confronted with your own unbelief. I don't know how to move past this point of believing that God can and will move, but still having doubts and low expectations. I know faith comes from hearing (Rom 10:17). I think my response is similar to the man whose son the apostles couldn't heal, "Lord, I believe, help me overcome my unbelief!" (Mark 9:24NIV).
In light of last night's reflections, this morning I am once again drawn back to some of my favorite verses from John's Gospel. I have been reflecting on these words and hoping in these words for most of my adult life. I believe they are true and that we will see an increase in our experience of the truth communicated here by Jesus. Here are the verses - John 14:9-14 NLT:
[9] "Jesus replied, "Have I been with you all this time, Philip, and yet you still don't know who I am? Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father! So why are you asking me to show him to you? [10] Don't you believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in me? The words I speak are not my own, but my Father who lives in me does his work through me. [11] Just believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in me. Or at least believe because of the work you have seen me do."
[12] "I tell you the truth, anyone who believes in me will do the same works I have done, and even greater works, because I am going to be with the Father. [13] You can ask for anything in my name, and I will do it, so that the Son can bring glory to the Father. [14] Yes, ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it!"
- And following these with Jesus' continuation of the theme of indwelling - John 14:20,23 NLT:
[20] "When I am raised to life again, you will know that I am in my Father, and you are in me, and I am in you."
[23] "Jesus replied, "All who love me will do what I say. My Father will love them, and we will come and make our home with each of them."
In the same way that Jesus described the Father living in Him (verse 10 above), He describes Himself and the Father living in us! It is the same level of relationship and intimacy from God's perspective. He lives in us! He LIVES in us! He lives IN us! He live in US!
I don't think we can think on that truth too much! It was the Father living in Jesus who did His work through Jesus (Jn 14:10), and the proof of that was in the works that Jesus did (Jn 14:11)! Oh Lord, that is one of the paths forward to see and believe in the works that You do! Help me to listen and hear, to look and see all that You are about in the world, all that You are doing! Help me to grow in belief through the works that You are doing!
Amen!
In light of last night's reflections, this morning I am once again drawn back to some of my favorite verses from John's Gospel. I have been reflecting on these words and hoping in these words for most of my adult life. I believe they are true and that we will see an increase in our experience of the truth communicated here by Jesus. Here are the verses - John 14:9-14 NLT:
[9] "Jesus replied, "Have I been with you all this time, Philip, and yet you still don't know who I am? Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father! So why are you asking me to show him to you? [10] Don't you believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in me? The words I speak are not my own, but my Father who lives in me does his work through me. [11] Just believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in me. Or at least believe because of the work you have seen me do."
[12] "I tell you the truth, anyone who believes in me will do the same works I have done, and even greater works, because I am going to be with the Father. [13] You can ask for anything in my name, and I will do it, so that the Son can bring glory to the Father. [14] Yes, ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it!"
- And following these with Jesus' continuation of the theme of indwelling - John 14:20,23 NLT:
[20] "When I am raised to life again, you will know that I am in my Father, and you are in me, and I am in you."
[23] "Jesus replied, "All who love me will do what I say. My Father will love them, and we will come and make our home with each of them."
In the same way that Jesus described the Father living in Him (verse 10 above), He describes Himself and the Father living in us! It is the same level of relationship and intimacy from God's perspective. He lives in us! He LIVES in us! He lives IN us! He live in US!
I don't think we can think on that truth too much! It was the Father living in Jesus who did His work through Jesus (Jn 14:10), and the proof of that was in the works that Jesus did (Jn 14:11)! Oh Lord, that is one of the paths forward to see and believe in the works that You do! Help me to listen and hear, to look and see all that You are about in the world, all that You are doing! Help me to grow in belief through the works that You are doing!
Amen!
Tuesday, February 20, 2018
The Prayers of the Righteous Are Powerful & We Are Righteous In Jesus
The verses I am reflecting on this morning come from the last chapter of James' letter - James 5:13-18 NIV:
[13] "Is anyone among you in trouble? Let them pray. Is anyone happy? Let them sing songs of praise. [14] Is anyone among you sick? Let them call the elders of the church to pray over them and anoint them with oil in the name of the Lord. [15] And the prayer offered in faith will make the sick person well; the Lord will raise them up. If they have sinned, they will be forgiven. [16] Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective."
[17] "Elijah was a human being, even as we are. He prayed earnestly that it would not rain, and it did not rain on the land for three and a half years. [18] Again he prayed, and the heavens gave rain, and the earth produced its crops."
My point of reflection is the last sentence quoted above, how Elijah prayed and the heavens gave rain! So often when I read those verses, I am drawn to think of them as focused on the dry season that occurred as a result of Elijah's prayer, but this morning I was drawn to the second, to the praying for rain. I am particularly drawn to the impact the rain had, it watered the earth which produced its crops. The rain was the cause of increase!
Recently I had a word that spoke of rain falling, and while we often look at rain as a sign of blessings, with natural rain it is the after-effect of the rain that produces the increase. The rain itself is welcome as it washes and cleanses, but it is the watering of the soil, that causes the seeds to sprout and the trees to produce fruit. Rain while necessary to quench our thirst, has a much longer impact in producing crops! I guess you could say it is really a triple blessing, it washes and cleanses, it quenches our thirst and it allows the earth to produce its crops. I could definitely use that triple blessing in my life - cleansing, refreshing, quenching of my thirst for God, and abundance from a harvest!
James wrote the following immediately preceding his comments on Elijah - " The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective." As I read that I was thinking that I wish I was more righteous, that my prayers might be more effective. Almost immediately I was reminded of the fact that I am righteous because of what Jesus has done, not because of my works. I can allow His righteousness to affect me and change me, as I become more like Him, but the only righteousness I have in God's presence is Jesus' righteousness! (See Rom 3:10-31 for Paul's introduction to Righteousness by Faith). Thus, although I am certainly not righteous on my own, in Jesus, I am righteous, and my prayers are powerful and effective! Said another way, if I am hidden in Christ (Col 3:3) then when I pray, my prayers are coming out of Jesus, and are ascribed His righteousness, and there is no one more righteous!
This morning I am greatly encouraged that my prayers, offered in faith through Jesus are powerful and effective! I am encouraged that just as Elijah called forth rain, which brought a heavenly directed blessing and abundance, I am also able to release prayers that are every bit as effective! Oh Lord, stir up my faith that I might fully grasp my hiddenness in You, that I might release Your very prayers, even as You release the Father's blessing! You promised us, "In that day you will ask in my name. I am not saying that I will ask the Father on your behalf. [27] No, the Father himself loves you because you have loved me and have believed that I came from God. [28] I came from the Father and entered the world; now I am leaving the world and going back to the Father.” (John 16:26-28 NIV). We are praying to the Father, through You, and He is receiving our prayers in Your name, in the His very throne room!
Wow! Amen!
[13] "Is anyone among you in trouble? Let them pray. Is anyone happy? Let them sing songs of praise. [14] Is anyone among you sick? Let them call the elders of the church to pray over them and anoint them with oil in the name of the Lord. [15] And the prayer offered in faith will make the sick person well; the Lord will raise them up. If they have sinned, they will be forgiven. [16] Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective."
[17] "Elijah was a human being, even as we are. He prayed earnestly that it would not rain, and it did not rain on the land for three and a half years. [18] Again he prayed, and the heavens gave rain, and the earth produced its crops."
My point of reflection is the last sentence quoted above, how Elijah prayed and the heavens gave rain! So often when I read those verses, I am drawn to think of them as focused on the dry season that occurred as a result of Elijah's prayer, but this morning I was drawn to the second, to the praying for rain. I am particularly drawn to the impact the rain had, it watered the earth which produced its crops. The rain was the cause of increase!
Recently I had a word that spoke of rain falling, and while we often look at rain as a sign of blessings, with natural rain it is the after-effect of the rain that produces the increase. The rain itself is welcome as it washes and cleanses, but it is the watering of the soil, that causes the seeds to sprout and the trees to produce fruit. Rain while necessary to quench our thirst, has a much longer impact in producing crops! I guess you could say it is really a triple blessing, it washes and cleanses, it quenches our thirst and it allows the earth to produce its crops. I could definitely use that triple blessing in my life - cleansing, refreshing, quenching of my thirst for God, and abundance from a harvest!
James wrote the following immediately preceding his comments on Elijah - " The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective." As I read that I was thinking that I wish I was more righteous, that my prayers might be more effective. Almost immediately I was reminded of the fact that I am righteous because of what Jesus has done, not because of my works. I can allow His righteousness to affect me and change me, as I become more like Him, but the only righteousness I have in God's presence is Jesus' righteousness! (See Rom 3:10-31 for Paul's introduction to Righteousness by Faith). Thus, although I am certainly not righteous on my own, in Jesus, I am righteous, and my prayers are powerful and effective! Said another way, if I am hidden in Christ (Col 3:3) then when I pray, my prayers are coming out of Jesus, and are ascribed His righteousness, and there is no one more righteous!
This morning I am greatly encouraged that my prayers, offered in faith through Jesus are powerful and effective! I am encouraged that just as Elijah called forth rain, which brought a heavenly directed blessing and abundance, I am also able to release prayers that are every bit as effective! Oh Lord, stir up my faith that I might fully grasp my hiddenness in You, that I might release Your very prayers, even as You release the Father's blessing! You promised us, "In that day you will ask in my name. I am not saying that I will ask the Father on your behalf. [27] No, the Father himself loves you because you have loved me and have believed that I came from God. [28] I came from the Father and entered the world; now I am leaving the world and going back to the Father.” (John 16:26-28 NIV). We are praying to the Father, through You, and He is receiving our prayers in Your name, in the His very throne room!
Wow! Amen!
Monday, February 19, 2018
A Gospel Reminder/Refresher
This morning I felt like I should read from Paul's letter to Titus, who was one of his spiritual sons and helpers. It is an interesting letter, and certainly more of a personal note than theological treatise.
The first thing that caught my eye was how Paul describes himself in his opening greeting. I am grateful I don't have to introduce myself this way, as I would need to take a couple of breaths to say it all! :-)
Titus 1:1-3 NIV:
[1] "Paul, a servant of God and an apostle of Jesus Christ to further the faith of God's elect and their knowledge of the truth that leads to godliness--- [2] in the hope of eternal life, which God, who does not lie, promised before the beginning of time, [3] and which now at his appointed season he has brought to light through the preaching entrusted to me by the command of God our Savior,.."
His introduction makes me breathe hard and makes my brain hurt, trying to keep his description straight. It is almost like he is trying to fit the Gospel into his opening description of his title. Although somewhat humorous, I think the point is simply this, Paul lived the Gospel! It was that which was his complete focus and life goal to eat, sleep and breathe the Gospel. Oh, what a glorious Gospel it is!
The second section that I am reflecting on is his short synopsis of the Gospel found in the second chapter - Titus 2:11-14 NIV:
[11] "For the grace of God has appeared that offers salvation to all people. [12] It teaches us to say “No” to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age, [13] while we wait for the blessed hope---the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ, [14] who gave himself for us to redeem us from all wickedness and to purify for himself a people that are his very own, eager to do what is good."
Paul has the ability to pack so much information into just a few sentences. It is clear that these are the bullet points of the Gospel, as He proclaims it. It is first and foremost about the grace of God that offers salvation to all people, Jew or Gentile, slave or free, man or woman, regardless of race or nation (Col 3:11). It is an offer of salvation that any can respond to, and that comes with real help to change. This help, although not mentioned here by Paul, is clearly the Holy Spirit, the one who teaches and instructs (John 6:13), advocates and informs (John 15:26-27), reminds and reveals God's wisdom. He is the seal of our salvation the guarantee of what is promised (Eph 1:13-14). It is through the Holy Spirit's help that we are enabled to change, for He brings real power and authority, breathes relationship through the spirit of adoption as God's own children (Rom 8:15). Finally, Paul finishes his sentence drawing us back to Jesus' perfect sacrifice, his setting us free, and His promise of eternal life and final glorification upon His return to earth to gather all who believe.
In Paul's mind it seems everything relates back to the Gospel. Although he talks about followers being self-controlled, upright, godly, pure and eager to do what is good people, his teaching is that this is a joyful response to relationship through the Gospel of Grace. He starts by reminding Titus of the Gospel of grace, and ends with people joyfully waiting for Christ's return, and through gratitude leading lives that are changed by this real grace. The Gospel should bring about joyful change, for it is real good news, available to us all!
Thank You Lord for Your salvation, Your grace and Your help! Help me to live a life of gratitude and peace!
Amen!
The first thing that caught my eye was how Paul describes himself in his opening greeting. I am grateful I don't have to introduce myself this way, as I would need to take a couple of breaths to say it all! :-)
Titus 1:1-3 NIV:
[1] "Paul, a servant of God and an apostle of Jesus Christ to further the faith of God's elect and their knowledge of the truth that leads to godliness--- [2] in the hope of eternal life, which God, who does not lie, promised before the beginning of time, [3] and which now at his appointed season he has brought to light through the preaching entrusted to me by the command of God our Savior,.."
His introduction makes me breathe hard and makes my brain hurt, trying to keep his description straight. It is almost like he is trying to fit the Gospel into his opening description of his title. Although somewhat humorous, I think the point is simply this, Paul lived the Gospel! It was that which was his complete focus and life goal to eat, sleep and breathe the Gospel. Oh, what a glorious Gospel it is!
The second section that I am reflecting on is his short synopsis of the Gospel found in the second chapter - Titus 2:11-14 NIV:
[11] "For the grace of God has appeared that offers salvation to all people. [12] It teaches us to say “No” to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age, [13] while we wait for the blessed hope---the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ, [14] who gave himself for us to redeem us from all wickedness and to purify for himself a people that are his very own, eager to do what is good."
Paul has the ability to pack so much information into just a few sentences. It is clear that these are the bullet points of the Gospel, as He proclaims it. It is first and foremost about the grace of God that offers salvation to all people, Jew or Gentile, slave or free, man or woman, regardless of race or nation (Col 3:11). It is an offer of salvation that any can respond to, and that comes with real help to change. This help, although not mentioned here by Paul, is clearly the Holy Spirit, the one who teaches and instructs (John 6:13), advocates and informs (John 15:26-27), reminds and reveals God's wisdom. He is the seal of our salvation the guarantee of what is promised (Eph 1:13-14). It is through the Holy Spirit's help that we are enabled to change, for He brings real power and authority, breathes relationship through the spirit of adoption as God's own children (Rom 8:15). Finally, Paul finishes his sentence drawing us back to Jesus' perfect sacrifice, his setting us free, and His promise of eternal life and final glorification upon His return to earth to gather all who believe.
In Paul's mind it seems everything relates back to the Gospel. Although he talks about followers being self-controlled, upright, godly, pure and eager to do what is good people, his teaching is that this is a joyful response to relationship through the Gospel of Grace. He starts by reminding Titus of the Gospel of grace, and ends with people joyfully waiting for Christ's return, and through gratitude leading lives that are changed by this real grace. The Gospel should bring about joyful change, for it is real good news, available to us all!
Thank You Lord for Your salvation, Your grace and Your help! Help me to live a life of gratitude and peace!
Amen!
Sunday, February 18, 2018
Reflections On Jesus' Glory
This morning I have been reflecting on Paul's letter to the church in Philippi. As I read through the first couple of chapters, I was stopped by the truth of the following verses - Philippians 2:9-11 NIV:
[9] "Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name,
[10] that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth,
[11] and every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father."
I was just thinking that this is one of the most profound promises found in Scripture; the Father's promise to glorify His Son Jesus! We read words like this and think we know what they mean, but I don't think we, in our wildest and grandest imaginations, could even come close to fathoming the truth of this statement.
Let us reflect for a moment on this statement - "God exalted Him to the highest place". That would be in heaven, of which we can't grasp any of the dimensions, since it is eternal and ever increasing, and yet the Father sets Jesus in the highest place! It is an impossible position to describe, the highest place in an ever-increasing Kingdom, but suffice it to say whatever we can imagine, it is higher and more glorious!
If we look in Scripture at the attempts of Isaiah, Ezekiel and John made to describe the visions of heaven, their descriptions are full of language that clearly falls short of their actual experiences. They describe the things they see and hear are "like" things we might understand, and yet it is clear that their descriptions don't capture the fullness and glory effectively. Ezekiel finished his vision with the statement that, "this was the appearance of the likeness of the glory of God", and I believe this statement expresses his inability to accurately convey what He saw and experienced.
Here is a short excerpt from Ezekiel's vision - Ezekiel 1:22-28 NIV:
[22] "Spread out above the heads of the living creatures was what looked something like a vault, sparkling like crystal, and awesome. [23] Under the vault their wings were stretched out one toward the other, and each had two wings covering its body. [24] When the creatures moved, I heard the sound of their wings, like the roar of rushing waters, like the voice of the Almighty, like the tumult of an army. When they stood still, they lowered their wings."
[25] "Then there came a voice from above the vault over their heads as they stood with lowered wings. [26] Above the vault over their heads was what looked like a throne of lapis lazuli, and high above on the throne was a figure like that of a man. [27] I saw that from what appeared to be his waist up he looked like glowing metal, as if full of fire, and that from there down he looked like fire; and brilliant light surrounded him. [28] Like the appearance of a rainbow in the clouds on a rainy day, so was the radiance around him."
"This was the appearance of the likeness of the glory of the Lord. When I saw it, I fell facedown, and I heard the voice of one speaking."
John's description of his revelation is full of imagery and description, similar in many extents to what Ezekiel described. Here are a couple of sections:
Revelation 1:12-18 NIV:
[12] "I turned around to see the voice that was speaking to me. And when I turned I saw seven golden lampstands, [13] and among the lampstands was someone like a son of man, dressed in a robe reaching down to his feet and with a golden sash around his chest. [14] The hair on his head was white like wool, as white as snow, and his eyes were like blazing fire. [15] His feet were like bronze glowing in a furnace, and his voice was like the sound of rushing waters. [16] In his right hand he held seven stars, and coming out of his mouth was a sharp, double-edged sword. His face was like the sun shining in all its brilliance.
[17] When I saw him, I fell at his feet as though dead. Then he placed his right hand on me and said: “Do not be afraid. I am the First and the Last. [18] I am the Living One; I was dead, and now look, I am alive for ever and ever! And I hold the keys of death and Hades.
Revelation 4:2-11 NIV:
[2] "At once I was in the Spirit, and there before me was a throne in heaven with someone sitting on it. [3] And the one who sat there had the appearance of jasper and ruby. A rainbow that shone like an emerald encircled the throne. [4] Surrounding the throne were twenty-four other thrones, and seated on them were twenty-four elders. They were dressed in white and had crowns of gold on their heads. [5] From the throne came flashes of lightning, rumblings and peals of thunder. In front of the throne, seven lamps were blazing. These are the seven spirits of God. [6] Also in front of the throne there was what looked like a sea of glass, clear as crystal."
"In the center, around the throne, were four living creatures, and they were covered with eyes, in front and in back. [7] The first living creature was like a lion, the second was like an ox, the third had a face like a man, the fourth was like a flying eagle. [8] Each of the four living creatures had six wings and was covered with eyes all around, even under its wings. Day and night they never stop saying: “ 'Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty,' who was, and is, and is to come.”
[9] Whenever the living creatures give glory, honor and thanks to him who sits on the throne and who lives for ever and ever, [10] the twenty-four elders fall down before him who sits on the throne and worship him who lives for ever and ever. They lay their crowns before the throne and say:
[11] “You are worthy, our Lord and God,
to receive glory and honor and power,
for you created all things,
and by your will they were created and have their being.”
I just love the grand and glorious attempt that both authors made to describe something that cannot be fully described in our limited language. Higher than this, and more glorious than this is the eternal position of Jesus, for he is seated in the highest place. These visions may be insights into what that place looks like, but is ever increasing in Glory, so clearly lacking the fullness of the reality.
Paul, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit writes that one day we will all be confronted with this and our reaction will be the same as John and Ezekiel, we will bow down! In fact at the full unveiling of the glory of Jesus, EVERY knee in heaven, on earth and even under the earth (Common idea of where Hades is located) will bow down. There will be no challenge to His glory or position, all will bow, for I think we will all be overcome by His glory!
There are those that think they will never bow to Him, certainly the fallen angels and hosts would desire to turn their backs and say He is "not their God", but apparently they will also be overcome by His Glory and they will bow their knees and even proclaim that He is the Lord!
I think is makes sense to close with the opening verses from Paul's letter to the Philippians 2:9-11 NIV:
[9] "Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name,
[10] that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth,
[11] and every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father."
Amen!
[9] "Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name,
[10] that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth,
[11] and every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father."
I was just thinking that this is one of the most profound promises found in Scripture; the Father's promise to glorify His Son Jesus! We read words like this and think we know what they mean, but I don't think we, in our wildest and grandest imaginations, could even come close to fathoming the truth of this statement.
Let us reflect for a moment on this statement - "God exalted Him to the highest place". That would be in heaven, of which we can't grasp any of the dimensions, since it is eternal and ever increasing, and yet the Father sets Jesus in the highest place! It is an impossible position to describe, the highest place in an ever-increasing Kingdom, but suffice it to say whatever we can imagine, it is higher and more glorious!
If we look in Scripture at the attempts of Isaiah, Ezekiel and John made to describe the visions of heaven, their descriptions are full of language that clearly falls short of their actual experiences. They describe the things they see and hear are "like" things we might understand, and yet it is clear that their descriptions don't capture the fullness and glory effectively. Ezekiel finished his vision with the statement that, "this was the appearance of the likeness of the glory of God", and I believe this statement expresses his inability to accurately convey what He saw and experienced.
Here is a short excerpt from Ezekiel's vision - Ezekiel 1:22-28 NIV:
[22] "Spread out above the heads of the living creatures was what looked something like a vault, sparkling like crystal, and awesome. [23] Under the vault their wings were stretched out one toward the other, and each had two wings covering its body. [24] When the creatures moved, I heard the sound of their wings, like the roar of rushing waters, like the voice of the Almighty, like the tumult of an army. When they stood still, they lowered their wings."
[25] "Then there came a voice from above the vault over their heads as they stood with lowered wings. [26] Above the vault over their heads was what looked like a throne of lapis lazuli, and high above on the throne was a figure like that of a man. [27] I saw that from what appeared to be his waist up he looked like glowing metal, as if full of fire, and that from there down he looked like fire; and brilliant light surrounded him. [28] Like the appearance of a rainbow in the clouds on a rainy day, so was the radiance around him."
"This was the appearance of the likeness of the glory of the Lord. When I saw it, I fell facedown, and I heard the voice of one speaking."
John's description of his revelation is full of imagery and description, similar in many extents to what Ezekiel described. Here are a couple of sections:
Revelation 1:12-18 NIV:
[12] "I turned around to see the voice that was speaking to me. And when I turned I saw seven golden lampstands, [13] and among the lampstands was someone like a son of man, dressed in a robe reaching down to his feet and with a golden sash around his chest. [14] The hair on his head was white like wool, as white as snow, and his eyes were like blazing fire. [15] His feet were like bronze glowing in a furnace, and his voice was like the sound of rushing waters. [16] In his right hand he held seven stars, and coming out of his mouth was a sharp, double-edged sword. His face was like the sun shining in all its brilliance.
[17] When I saw him, I fell at his feet as though dead. Then he placed his right hand on me and said: “Do not be afraid. I am the First and the Last. [18] I am the Living One; I was dead, and now look, I am alive for ever and ever! And I hold the keys of death and Hades.
Revelation 4:2-11 NIV:
[2] "At once I was in the Spirit, and there before me was a throne in heaven with someone sitting on it. [3] And the one who sat there had the appearance of jasper and ruby. A rainbow that shone like an emerald encircled the throne. [4] Surrounding the throne were twenty-four other thrones, and seated on them were twenty-four elders. They were dressed in white and had crowns of gold on their heads. [5] From the throne came flashes of lightning, rumblings and peals of thunder. In front of the throne, seven lamps were blazing. These are the seven spirits of God. [6] Also in front of the throne there was what looked like a sea of glass, clear as crystal."
"In the center, around the throne, were four living creatures, and they were covered with eyes, in front and in back. [7] The first living creature was like a lion, the second was like an ox, the third had a face like a man, the fourth was like a flying eagle. [8] Each of the four living creatures had six wings and was covered with eyes all around, even under its wings. Day and night they never stop saying: “ 'Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty,' who was, and is, and is to come.”
[9] Whenever the living creatures give glory, honor and thanks to him who sits on the throne and who lives for ever and ever, [10] the twenty-four elders fall down before him who sits on the throne and worship him who lives for ever and ever. They lay their crowns before the throne and say:
[11] “You are worthy, our Lord and God,
to receive glory and honor and power,
for you created all things,
and by your will they were created and have their being.”
I just love the grand and glorious attempt that both authors made to describe something that cannot be fully described in our limited language. Higher than this, and more glorious than this is the eternal position of Jesus, for he is seated in the highest place. These visions may be insights into what that place looks like, but is ever increasing in Glory, so clearly lacking the fullness of the reality.
Paul, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit writes that one day we will all be confronted with this and our reaction will be the same as John and Ezekiel, we will bow down! In fact at the full unveiling of the glory of Jesus, EVERY knee in heaven, on earth and even under the earth (Common idea of where Hades is located) will bow down. There will be no challenge to His glory or position, all will bow, for I think we will all be overcome by His glory!
There are those that think they will never bow to Him, certainly the fallen angels and hosts would desire to turn their backs and say He is "not their God", but apparently they will also be overcome by His Glory and they will bow their knees and even proclaim that He is the Lord!
I think is makes sense to close with the opening verses from Paul's letter to the Philippians 2:9-11 NIV:
[9] "Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name,
[10] that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth,
[11] and every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father."
Amen!
Tuesday, February 13, 2018
Mercy for Ignorance and Unbelief!
This morning I am reflecting on a couple of verses from Paul's first letter to Timothy, in which he shares an insight into his previous life. Here are the verses - 1 Timothy 1:12-17 NIV:
[12] "I thank Christ Jesus our Lord, who has given me strength, that he considered me trustworthy, appointing me to his service. [13] Even though I was once a blasphemer and a persecutor and a violent man, I was shown mercy because I acted in ignorance and unbelief. [14] The grace of our Lord was poured out on me abundantly, along with the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus."
[15] "Here is a trustworthy saying that deserves full acceptance: Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners---of whom I am the worst. [16] But for that very reason I was shown mercy so that in me, the worst of sinners, Christ Jesus might display his immense patience as an example for those who would believe in him and receive eternal life. [17] Now to the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honor and glory for ever and ever. Amen."
I find Paul's recounting of the reason He was shown mercy very interesting. He said it was because he acted in ignorance and unbelief! One would normally associate His actions of persecuting the early church, hunting down the Christians, doing everything he could to crush the early church, a bit beyond ignorance and unbelief, and yet that is apparently how the Lord addressed them in extending mercy to Paul.
Isn't that amazing, here is the man who was trying to crush the church, who oversaw the stoning of Stephen, who was on his way to Damascus to attack and destroy the church there, and Jesus calls his sins unbelief and ignorance and forgives him of them both. Instead of punishing Paul, Jesus calls Paul into His service, as one of his most trusted evangelists. Wow, that is not the model of mercy we often see or understand, nor how we would likely judge his actions.
Paul continues his next statements fully embracing this truth! Jesus came into the world to save sinners, and although he was one of the worst, the salvation available in Jesus extended even to him! I am so encouraged by Paul's transparency and grasp of this clear truth. Jesus can save anyone, regardless of how dark and deep they have gone in their lives. Jesus extends mercy to those that we would write off, those that we would judge, and those that are ignorant and in unbelief. That is so reassuring!
In the church, sometimes we struggle to embrace the radical mercy that Jesus shows to sinners. We want them to pay for the bad things they have done! We want them to experience the judgment of God, not His mercy. We are sometimes like Jonah, who didn't want to preach to Ninevah because he knew that if they repented God would relent! He wanted to see the Ninevites punished! (See Jonah, Chapter 4 for this insight). Imagine if Jesus extended the same mercy that He extended to Paul, to all the athiests, or to all those who never heard or understood or believed, or even to those who were raised in completely different religious systems? It would be glorious! An yet, there are those who could never accept this type of mercy as being from God, for God hates sin! However, we see Paul clearly speaking of exactly this type of mercy, having learned it personally at the hands of Jesus!
Jesus even addressed this somewhat in the parable of the vineyard workers (See Matt 20:1-16). The workers hired earliest had agreed to work for one denarius a day, but when the vineyard owner paid those that had only worked an hour that same wage, the workers who had worked all day complained that it was unfair. They thought they should receive more! Here is the vineyard owners response, “But he answered one of them, 'I am not being unfair to you, friend. Didn't you agree to work for a denarius? [14] Take your pay and go. I want to give the one who was hired last the same as I gave you. [15] Don't I have the right to do what I want with my own money? Or are you envious because I am generous?' (Matthew 20:13-15 NIV) We should be grateful for the Lord's mercy being extended to us, to our own sins, and be grateful the Lord is equally patient and merciful to all sinners.
I love how Paul's reflection on this truth leads to Him praising God in the very next sentence (verse 17). Paul is moved by the greatness of the mercy that was extended to him! He understood how unbelievable this was, how beyond our human reasoning and thought God's mercy is and just launched into praising His name! We really should be grateful and celebrating the incredible mercy and patience that Jesus demonstrates not just to us, but to all sinners.
Oh, that we would all receive the same abundant grace poured out on us! Oh, that the love and faith that are found in Jesus might fill our lives, our hearts and our minds! He is so much more merciful, patient and forgiving than we can imagine! Let us be the light of this mercy, love and faith in our world today! Let us learn to extend the same mercy to those in unbelief and ignorance! Let us entrust judgment to the righteous one, and let us celebrate His mercy towards us!
Amen!
[12] "I thank Christ Jesus our Lord, who has given me strength, that he considered me trustworthy, appointing me to his service. [13] Even though I was once a blasphemer and a persecutor and a violent man, I was shown mercy because I acted in ignorance and unbelief. [14] The grace of our Lord was poured out on me abundantly, along with the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus."
[15] "Here is a trustworthy saying that deserves full acceptance: Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners---of whom I am the worst. [16] But for that very reason I was shown mercy so that in me, the worst of sinners, Christ Jesus might display his immense patience as an example for those who would believe in him and receive eternal life. [17] Now to the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honor and glory for ever and ever. Amen."
I find Paul's recounting of the reason He was shown mercy very interesting. He said it was because he acted in ignorance and unbelief! One would normally associate His actions of persecuting the early church, hunting down the Christians, doing everything he could to crush the early church, a bit beyond ignorance and unbelief, and yet that is apparently how the Lord addressed them in extending mercy to Paul.
Isn't that amazing, here is the man who was trying to crush the church, who oversaw the stoning of Stephen, who was on his way to Damascus to attack and destroy the church there, and Jesus calls his sins unbelief and ignorance and forgives him of them both. Instead of punishing Paul, Jesus calls Paul into His service, as one of his most trusted evangelists. Wow, that is not the model of mercy we often see or understand, nor how we would likely judge his actions.
Paul continues his next statements fully embracing this truth! Jesus came into the world to save sinners, and although he was one of the worst, the salvation available in Jesus extended even to him! I am so encouraged by Paul's transparency and grasp of this clear truth. Jesus can save anyone, regardless of how dark and deep they have gone in their lives. Jesus extends mercy to those that we would write off, those that we would judge, and those that are ignorant and in unbelief. That is so reassuring!
In the church, sometimes we struggle to embrace the radical mercy that Jesus shows to sinners. We want them to pay for the bad things they have done! We want them to experience the judgment of God, not His mercy. We are sometimes like Jonah, who didn't want to preach to Ninevah because he knew that if they repented God would relent! He wanted to see the Ninevites punished! (See Jonah, Chapter 4 for this insight). Imagine if Jesus extended the same mercy that He extended to Paul, to all the athiests, or to all those who never heard or understood or believed, or even to those who were raised in completely different religious systems? It would be glorious! An yet, there are those who could never accept this type of mercy as being from God, for God hates sin! However, we see Paul clearly speaking of exactly this type of mercy, having learned it personally at the hands of Jesus!
Jesus even addressed this somewhat in the parable of the vineyard workers (See Matt 20:1-16). The workers hired earliest had agreed to work for one denarius a day, but when the vineyard owner paid those that had only worked an hour that same wage, the workers who had worked all day complained that it was unfair. They thought they should receive more! Here is the vineyard owners response, “But he answered one of them, 'I am not being unfair to you, friend. Didn't you agree to work for a denarius? [14] Take your pay and go. I want to give the one who was hired last the same as I gave you. [15] Don't I have the right to do what I want with my own money? Or are you envious because I am generous?' (Matthew 20:13-15 NIV) We should be grateful for the Lord's mercy being extended to us, to our own sins, and be grateful the Lord is equally patient and merciful to all sinners.
I love how Paul's reflection on this truth leads to Him praising God in the very next sentence (verse 17). Paul is moved by the greatness of the mercy that was extended to him! He understood how unbelievable this was, how beyond our human reasoning and thought God's mercy is and just launched into praising His name! We really should be grateful and celebrating the incredible mercy and patience that Jesus demonstrates not just to us, but to all sinners.
Oh, that we would all receive the same abundant grace poured out on us! Oh, that the love and faith that are found in Jesus might fill our lives, our hearts and our minds! He is so much more merciful, patient and forgiving than we can imagine! Let us be the light of this mercy, love and faith in our world today! Let us learn to extend the same mercy to those in unbelief and ignorance! Let us entrust judgment to the righteous one, and let us celebrate His mercy towards us!
Amen!
Sunday, February 11, 2018
Glory and Unity!
This morning my heart is stirred by some passages I have been reading from John's Gospel, specifically the prayer Jesus prays right before His passion and death. Here are the verses:
John 17:4-5,20-26 NIV:
[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.
[20] “My prayer is not for them alone. I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message, [21] that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me. [22] I have given them the glory that you gave me, that they may be one as we are one--- [23] I in them and you in me---so that they may be brought to complete unity. Then the world will know that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me.
[24] “Father, I want those you have given me to be with me where I am, and to see my glory, the glory you have given me because you loved me before the creation of the world."
[25] “Righteous Father, though the world does not know you, I know you, and they know that you have sent me. [26] 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.”
What an incredible prayer! There is so much for us to reflect on here, as Jesus is including us specifically in verse 20, for we are those who have believed through the message (the Gospel) passed down to us by the Apostles and disciples. It is great knowing that Jesus specifically prayed for us!
It seems to me that much of His prayer revolves around giving glory to the Father, through us. Jesus said He brought the Father Glory by finishing the work He had been given to do. He established the Church, passed on an understanding of the Father that was intimate and perfect. This was giving Glory to the Father! The gift of unity is meant to give the Father Glory (verse 22-23). We are called to reveal to the World the Glory of the Father through our unity - one can see clearly why the enemy works so hard to cause division. Lord, we pray for a release of Unity in the Body of Christ like the world has never seen, that we might bring You Glory, the Glory Your deserve!
Jesus also prays that we might see His glory, the glory He had since before the creation of the world. This is where my brain tilts. I can visualize Jesus as a human man walking on the earth, I have a harder time getting my mind around His sitting on the Heavenly Throne, in full glory! We have records of the descriptions o what Isaiah, Ezekiel, and John saw in their heavenly visions, but they struggle to even express what they saw in language we can understand. We are left with a fuzzy image, due to the lack of appropriate language, and thus, my inner image of Jesus on the throne is less clear. I pray for the greater capacity and greater experience of Jesus' glory, for He desires it as well. Isn't that great to know, Jesus wants us to see Him in Glory! He wants us to comprehend who we worship!
Finally there is the promise of Jesus to continue to make the Father known to us! Part of this will result in an infilling of the Father's love for His son, into us! Wow! That is actually worthy of sitting on for a while. The Father's Love for Jesus will fill us too, causing us to know Him, and experience His indwelling in a more full way!
This ties back to the verses I was reflecting on this morning from Ezek. 43, and Isaiah 43 (see below). Yes, Lord show us Your Glory! Yes Lord, bring Your sons and daughters, bring us to Unity in You, The Father and the Holy Spirit!
Amen!
Here is the reflection I had on the verses from Isaiah and Ezekiel!
This morning I woke up at 4:34am, thanks to my cat crying right in my face. I woke up more alert than normal and thought maybe the time related to a scripture, or verse. I have been reading through the different 43:4's and here are a couple that stood out:
Ezekiel 43:2-5 NIV:
[2]..."and I saw the glory of the God of Israel coming from the east. His voice was like the roar of rushing waters, and the land was radiant with his glory. [3] The vision I saw was like the vision I had seen when he came to destroy the city and like the visions I had seen by the Kebar River, and I fell facedown. [4] The glory of the Lord entered the temple through the gate facing east. [5] Then the Spirit lifted me up and brought me into the inner court, and the glory of the Lord filled the temple."
(This reminds me of the transformation videos we were talking about recently, the ones where the Inuit heard the roaring sound during worship - link to the Youtube version here - https://youtu.be/X42oZ1O8hAk )
Isaiah 43:4-13,18-21 NIV:
[4]"Since you are precious and honored in my sight, and because I love you, I will give people in exchange for you, nations in exchange for your life. [5] Do not be afraid, for I am with you; I will bring your children from the east and gather you from the west. [6] I will say to the north, 'Give them up!' and to the south, 'Do not hold them back.' Bring my sons from afar and my daughters from the ends of the earth--- [7] everyone who is called by my name, whom I created for my glory, whom I formed and made. ”
[8] Lead out those who have eyes but are blind, who have ears but are deaf. [9] All the nations gather together and the peoples assemble. Which of their gods foretold this and proclaimed to us the former things? Let them bring in their witnesses to prove they were right, so that others may hear and say, “It is true.” [10] “You are my witnesses, ” declares the Lord, “and my servant whom I have chosen, so that you may know and believe me and understand that I am he. Before me no god was formed, nor will there be one after me. [11] I, even I, am the Lord, and apart from me there is no savior. [12] I have revealed and saved and proclaimed---I, and not some foreign god among you. You are my witnesses, ” declares the Lord, “that I am God. [13] Yes, and from ancient days I am he. No one can deliver out of my hand. When I act, who can reverse it?”
[18] “Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past. [19] See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland. [20] The wild animals honor me, the jackals and the owls, because I provide water in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland, to give drink to my people, my chosen, [21] the people I formed for myself that they may proclaim my praise."
It seems to me there are three promises:
1) He will visit us with His Glory
2) He will gather His sons and daughters to us
3) He will do a New thing!
Oh Lord, we pray these promises over all of Your people, over every church here in KC, in the region and in the World. We are Your children, we are Your Church, We are Your Body! Visit Us! Add to us!
John 17:4-5,20-26 NIV:
[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.
[20] “My prayer is not for them alone. I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message, [21] that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me. [22] I have given them the glory that you gave me, that they may be one as we are one--- [23] I in them and you in me---so that they may be brought to complete unity. Then the world will know that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me.
[24] “Father, I want those you have given me to be with me where I am, and to see my glory, the glory you have given me because you loved me before the creation of the world."
[25] “Righteous Father, though the world does not know you, I know you, and they know that you have sent me. [26] 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.”
What an incredible prayer! There is so much for us to reflect on here, as Jesus is including us specifically in verse 20, for we are those who have believed through the message (the Gospel) passed down to us by the Apostles and disciples. It is great knowing that Jesus specifically prayed for us!
It seems to me that much of His prayer revolves around giving glory to the Father, through us. Jesus said He brought the Father Glory by finishing the work He had been given to do. He established the Church, passed on an understanding of the Father that was intimate and perfect. This was giving Glory to the Father! The gift of unity is meant to give the Father Glory (verse 22-23). We are called to reveal to the World the Glory of the Father through our unity - one can see clearly why the enemy works so hard to cause division. Lord, we pray for a release of Unity in the Body of Christ like the world has never seen, that we might bring You Glory, the Glory Your deserve!
Jesus also prays that we might see His glory, the glory He had since before the creation of the world. This is where my brain tilts. I can visualize Jesus as a human man walking on the earth, I have a harder time getting my mind around His sitting on the Heavenly Throne, in full glory! We have records of the descriptions o what Isaiah, Ezekiel, and John saw in their heavenly visions, but they struggle to even express what they saw in language we can understand. We are left with a fuzzy image, due to the lack of appropriate language, and thus, my inner image of Jesus on the throne is less clear. I pray for the greater capacity and greater experience of Jesus' glory, for He desires it as well. Isn't that great to know, Jesus wants us to see Him in Glory! He wants us to comprehend who we worship!
Finally there is the promise of Jesus to continue to make the Father known to us! Part of this will result in an infilling of the Father's love for His son, into us! Wow! That is actually worthy of sitting on for a while. The Father's Love for Jesus will fill us too, causing us to know Him, and experience His indwelling in a more full way!
This ties back to the verses I was reflecting on this morning from Ezek. 43, and Isaiah 43 (see below). Yes, Lord show us Your Glory! Yes Lord, bring Your sons and daughters, bring us to Unity in You, The Father and the Holy Spirit!
Amen!
Here is the reflection I had on the verses from Isaiah and Ezekiel!
This morning I woke up at 4:34am, thanks to my cat crying right in my face. I woke up more alert than normal and thought maybe the time related to a scripture, or verse. I have been reading through the different 43:4's and here are a couple that stood out:
Ezekiel 43:2-5 NIV:
[2]..."and I saw the glory of the God of Israel coming from the east. His voice was like the roar of rushing waters, and the land was radiant with his glory. [3] The vision I saw was like the vision I had seen when he came to destroy the city and like the visions I had seen by the Kebar River, and I fell facedown. [4] The glory of the Lord entered the temple through the gate facing east. [5] Then the Spirit lifted me up and brought me into the inner court, and the glory of the Lord filled the temple."
(This reminds me of the transformation videos we were talking about recently, the ones where the Inuit heard the roaring sound during worship - link to the Youtube version here - https://youtu.be/X42oZ1O8hAk )
Isaiah 43:4-13,18-21 NIV:
[4]"Since you are precious and honored in my sight, and because I love you, I will give people in exchange for you, nations in exchange for your life. [5] Do not be afraid, for I am with you; I will bring your children from the east and gather you from the west. [6] I will say to the north, 'Give them up!' and to the south, 'Do not hold them back.' Bring my sons from afar and my daughters from the ends of the earth--- [7] everyone who is called by my name, whom I created for my glory, whom I formed and made. ”
[8] Lead out those who have eyes but are blind, who have ears but are deaf. [9] All the nations gather together and the peoples assemble. Which of their gods foretold this and proclaimed to us the former things? Let them bring in their witnesses to prove they were right, so that others may hear and say, “It is true.” [10] “You are my witnesses, ” declares the Lord, “and my servant whom I have chosen, so that you may know and believe me and understand that I am he. Before me no god was formed, nor will there be one after me. [11] I, even I, am the Lord, and apart from me there is no savior. [12] I have revealed and saved and proclaimed---I, and not some foreign god among you. You are my witnesses, ” declares the Lord, “that I am God. [13] Yes, and from ancient days I am he. No one can deliver out of my hand. When I act, who can reverse it?”
[18] “Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past. [19] See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland. [20] The wild animals honor me, the jackals and the owls, because I provide water in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland, to give drink to my people, my chosen, [21] the people I formed for myself that they may proclaim my praise."
It seems to me there are three promises:
1) He will visit us with His Glory
2) He will gather His sons and daughters to us
3) He will do a New thing!
Oh Lord, we pray these promises over all of Your people, over every church here in KC, in the region and in the World. We are Your children, we are Your Church, We are Your Body! Visit Us! Add to us!
Friday, February 9, 2018
Speaking Truth to Our Inner Thoughts
This morning I was led to read from Paul's letter to the Romans 6:8-14 NIV:
[8] "Now if we died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him. [9] For we know that since Christ was raised from the dead, he cannot die again; death no longer has mastery over him. [10] The death he died, he died to sin once for all; but the life he lives, he lives to God."
[11] "In the same way, count yourselves dead to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus. [12] Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body so that you obey its evil desires. [13] Do not offer any part of yourself to sin as an instrument of wickedness, but rather offer yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life; and offer every part of yourself to him as an instrument of righteousness. [14] For sin shall no longer be your master, because you are not under the law, but under grace."
I love Paul's logic here, and his approach to helping us with our mindsets. He is speaking of the spiritual reality to help us apply it to our thinking and thus to our life. It is well known in today's psychology that we listen most to our own thoughts (just Google "Listening to Your inner Thoughts Psychology" for a great example of the many articles and studies that have been done on inner thoughts) and they can greatly affect how we act.
In one article the author wrote the following - "Did you ever realize that everything going on in your mind -- every thought, feeling, sensation, everything you are aware of -- is in fact happening only in your private internal world? Your thoughts appear only to you, and are not being heard by anyone else whatsoever. There is one physical world here on earth, but billions of different internal worlds. We are all in our own separate theaters, witnessing entirely different shows." ( https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/inviting-monkey-tea/201308/why-our-thoughts-are-not-real).
The author's point was that we all are affected by our internal thinking, and it is so important to understand what the truth is, and to actually meditate on it. She makes some very interesting points, and it is worth some reflection. One thing she doesn't take into account is the spiritual realm, and that is what Paul is speaking on here. He is addressing the thought lives of us all, and trying to help us grasp Spiritual truth that we can use to apply within our internal thought life, He clearly understands that this thought life affects us greatly.
For much of my life I didn't realize that some of my thoughts didn't originate with me, but rather were coming from an external source, either God or the enemy. It took time to learn to discern which came from the Lord, and which came from the father of lies, and which were my own. Once I become aware of this spiritual reality, I was able to identify the themes and efforts the enemy was constantly sowing within me. For a great example of a fictional account of this, read C.S. Lewis's book "The Screwtape Letters". Anyway, as I pondered my thoughts, I realized that many of the temptations I faced were in fact the result of thoughts that I embraced and followed, that were not originally from me. Despite the fact that I was a Christian and had been for many years there was a constant flow of negative or tempting thoughts, that I had to constantly deflect. It was a tiring effort, but one I was committed to waging. It was only a few years ago that the Lord helped me to see clearly how to step free of this struggle.
As I understand it, one of the great efforts of the enemy is to make us think our thoughts are all ours. He doesn't want us to realize he exists and is working to derail our lives. If we don't understand this, then we can believe this is just the way we are, and accept this as reality. The enemy also knows that the more we allow these thoughts and temptations to affect us, the deeper into his twisted world we are drawn. It is actually quite the nefarious scheme, and many of us humans are wholly unaware of this situation. The goal of the enemy is to draw us so deeply in, that our lives revolve around our sin, and we feel trapped with no hope for escape. It is a dangerous and deadly downward spiral. James speaks about the effects, or fruit of giving into temptation and allowing sin to take root in the following passages - James 1:13-15 NIV:
[13] "When tempted, no one should say, “God is tempting me.” For God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does he tempt anyone; [14] but each person is tempted when they are dragged away by their own evil desire and enticed. [15] Then, after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death."
There is a downward spiral to sin, and many sins start as temptations, which often come as thoughts sown into our minds. If we allow these thoughts to reside and be planted into our minds and lives, they bear fruit as sin and as we continue to sin more and more and that sin bears fruit, and that fruit ultimately leads to death of some sort; death to relationships, death to hope, death to our true identity.
Paul is providing the spiritual truth to combat these attacks of the enemy, and we would be wise to allow these truths to settle firmly in our minds and embrace them in our active thought life. In Christ, we are "dead to sin and alive to God". The old man (in us) has died and we are now united with Christ Jesus in His glorious resurrection and reign. Satan has no power or authority in the Kingdom of God, or in the throne room of God. He is still the accuser, but that is all he can do. We have the freedom and power and authority, as sons and daughters of God, to tell him to be quiet. Jesus demonstrated this for us and the Gospel writers recorded multiple instances where He was telling the evil spirits or demons to be silent. Realizing we have this authority is half the battle, the other half is knowing we need to do this.
Paul, in light of this truth (We are dead to sin and alive to God) urges us to "not let sin reign in your mortal body". He is speaking about us allowing sin access and giving it power in our lives, when it should have none. This is where our free will comes in, God could eternally still the voice of the enemy, and will do so one day, but for now we must choose. We must choose whose reign we will live under, and it is our choice. The enemy in his multitude of lies tries to deceive and convince us that there is no way free, no way to escape the bonds of our sin, nor any way to escape the penalties, debts and fruit of our sin. He tries to make his path seem full of pleasure, but it is all selfishness and ultimately depravity and enslavement. God offers us freedom, forgiveness and the ability to walk as His true sons and daughters. He offers us life, death to our old man, life in His Glorious Kingdom. In such stark comparisons the choice is easy, but we must choose who to listen too, which is the point Paul is making. He says we can step free of the mastery of sin, there is another path, one of life united with Christ Jesus. We must choose to embrace the truth that we are free, made so by Christ Jesus. Regardless of the circumstances around us and how things look, we are free, because our old man died with Christ.
I am reminded of the effects of the 13th Amendment on the slaves here in the US. There were many that embraced this new freedom and threw off the shackles and life-styles of slavery to embrace their new found freedoms. There were also those that chose to stay on, living in much the same way they did before the amendment, for whatever reason. The choice was, in reality, theirs to make, to live as free men or to live in lifestyles very similar to slavery. This isn't a great analogy, but hopefully the point is clear. Paul is reminding us of the the proclamation of freedom to each of us, freedom from the power of sin, freedom from the lies of the enemy. We are encouraged to allow this truth to set up free! We have Jesus proclaiming freedom in this passage from Luke 4:18-21 NIV:
[18] “The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to set the oppressed free, [19] to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor.”
[20] Then he rolled up the scroll, gave it back to the attendant and sat down. The eyes of everyone in the synagogue were fastened on him. [21] He began by saying to them, “Today this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing.”
We are no longer captives to sin, oppressed by the lies and deception of the enemy. Paul wrote the following in his letter to the Galatians 5:1 NIV: "It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery." Paul was speaking specifically about the Law, but the truth is equally applied to sin. We were set free from the power of sin, and the lies and deception of the enemy by Jesus. We have freedom in Him!
This morning I am encouraged to look closely at my thought life and see where I am embracing the truth, and those areas where I am allowing temptation and sin to reign. I am encouraged to look to my life to see where I have believed the lies and deception of the enemy, guided by the Holy Spirit. I am encouraged to tell the enemy to be silent, as a son of God, standing in unity with Christ Jesus, who has all authority and power. I am encouraged to embrace freedom and the truth. Oh Lord, help me to know deep in my heart and mind this truth, that I am set free from the chains of sin, and I am free to be Your son, free to walk in everything You have for me. The old man is dead and I am alive in You! Help me to remind myself of this daily, that the old man is dead and I am alive to Christ Jesus, the enemy has no power over me! Help me to listen to the truth, to recite the truth, to speak the truth to myself!
Amen!
[8] "Now if we died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him. [9] For we know that since Christ was raised from the dead, he cannot die again; death no longer has mastery over him. [10] The death he died, he died to sin once for all; but the life he lives, he lives to God."
[11] "In the same way, count yourselves dead to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus. [12] Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body so that you obey its evil desires. [13] Do not offer any part of yourself to sin as an instrument of wickedness, but rather offer yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life; and offer every part of yourself to him as an instrument of righteousness. [14] For sin shall no longer be your master, because you are not under the law, but under grace."
I love Paul's logic here, and his approach to helping us with our mindsets. He is speaking of the spiritual reality to help us apply it to our thinking and thus to our life. It is well known in today's psychology that we listen most to our own thoughts (just Google "Listening to Your inner Thoughts Psychology" for a great example of the many articles and studies that have been done on inner thoughts) and they can greatly affect how we act.
In one article the author wrote the following - "Did you ever realize that everything going on in your mind -- every thought, feeling, sensation, everything you are aware of -- is in fact happening only in your private internal world? Your thoughts appear only to you, and are not being heard by anyone else whatsoever. There is one physical world here on earth, but billions of different internal worlds. We are all in our own separate theaters, witnessing entirely different shows." ( https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/inviting-monkey-tea/201308/why-our-thoughts-are-not-real).
The author's point was that we all are affected by our internal thinking, and it is so important to understand what the truth is, and to actually meditate on it. She makes some very interesting points, and it is worth some reflection. One thing she doesn't take into account is the spiritual realm, and that is what Paul is speaking on here. He is addressing the thought lives of us all, and trying to help us grasp Spiritual truth that we can use to apply within our internal thought life, He clearly understands that this thought life affects us greatly.
For much of my life I didn't realize that some of my thoughts didn't originate with me, but rather were coming from an external source, either God or the enemy. It took time to learn to discern which came from the Lord, and which came from the father of lies, and which were my own. Once I become aware of this spiritual reality, I was able to identify the themes and efforts the enemy was constantly sowing within me. For a great example of a fictional account of this, read C.S. Lewis's book "The Screwtape Letters". Anyway, as I pondered my thoughts, I realized that many of the temptations I faced were in fact the result of thoughts that I embraced and followed, that were not originally from me. Despite the fact that I was a Christian and had been for many years there was a constant flow of negative or tempting thoughts, that I had to constantly deflect. It was a tiring effort, but one I was committed to waging. It was only a few years ago that the Lord helped me to see clearly how to step free of this struggle.
As I understand it, one of the great efforts of the enemy is to make us think our thoughts are all ours. He doesn't want us to realize he exists and is working to derail our lives. If we don't understand this, then we can believe this is just the way we are, and accept this as reality. The enemy also knows that the more we allow these thoughts and temptations to affect us, the deeper into his twisted world we are drawn. It is actually quite the nefarious scheme, and many of us humans are wholly unaware of this situation. The goal of the enemy is to draw us so deeply in, that our lives revolve around our sin, and we feel trapped with no hope for escape. It is a dangerous and deadly downward spiral. James speaks about the effects, or fruit of giving into temptation and allowing sin to take root in the following passages - James 1:13-15 NIV:
[13] "When tempted, no one should say, “God is tempting me.” For God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does he tempt anyone; [14] but each person is tempted when they are dragged away by their own evil desire and enticed. [15] Then, after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death."
There is a downward spiral to sin, and many sins start as temptations, which often come as thoughts sown into our minds. If we allow these thoughts to reside and be planted into our minds and lives, they bear fruit as sin and as we continue to sin more and more and that sin bears fruit, and that fruit ultimately leads to death of some sort; death to relationships, death to hope, death to our true identity.
Paul is providing the spiritual truth to combat these attacks of the enemy, and we would be wise to allow these truths to settle firmly in our minds and embrace them in our active thought life. In Christ, we are "dead to sin and alive to God". The old man (in us) has died and we are now united with Christ Jesus in His glorious resurrection and reign. Satan has no power or authority in the Kingdom of God, or in the throne room of God. He is still the accuser, but that is all he can do. We have the freedom and power and authority, as sons and daughters of God, to tell him to be quiet. Jesus demonstrated this for us and the Gospel writers recorded multiple instances where He was telling the evil spirits or demons to be silent. Realizing we have this authority is half the battle, the other half is knowing we need to do this.
Paul, in light of this truth (We are dead to sin and alive to God) urges us to "not let sin reign in your mortal body". He is speaking about us allowing sin access and giving it power in our lives, when it should have none. This is where our free will comes in, God could eternally still the voice of the enemy, and will do so one day, but for now we must choose. We must choose whose reign we will live under, and it is our choice. The enemy in his multitude of lies tries to deceive and convince us that there is no way free, no way to escape the bonds of our sin, nor any way to escape the penalties, debts and fruit of our sin. He tries to make his path seem full of pleasure, but it is all selfishness and ultimately depravity and enslavement. God offers us freedom, forgiveness and the ability to walk as His true sons and daughters. He offers us life, death to our old man, life in His Glorious Kingdom. In such stark comparisons the choice is easy, but we must choose who to listen too, which is the point Paul is making. He says we can step free of the mastery of sin, there is another path, one of life united with Christ Jesus. We must choose to embrace the truth that we are free, made so by Christ Jesus. Regardless of the circumstances around us and how things look, we are free, because our old man died with Christ.
I am reminded of the effects of the 13th Amendment on the slaves here in the US. There were many that embraced this new freedom and threw off the shackles and life-styles of slavery to embrace their new found freedoms. There were also those that chose to stay on, living in much the same way they did before the amendment, for whatever reason. The choice was, in reality, theirs to make, to live as free men or to live in lifestyles very similar to slavery. This isn't a great analogy, but hopefully the point is clear. Paul is reminding us of the the proclamation of freedom to each of us, freedom from the power of sin, freedom from the lies of the enemy. We are encouraged to allow this truth to set up free! We have Jesus proclaiming freedom in this passage from Luke 4:18-21 NIV:
[18] “The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to set the oppressed free, [19] to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor.”
[20] Then he rolled up the scroll, gave it back to the attendant and sat down. The eyes of everyone in the synagogue were fastened on him. [21] He began by saying to them, “Today this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing.”
We are no longer captives to sin, oppressed by the lies and deception of the enemy. Paul wrote the following in his letter to the Galatians 5:1 NIV: "It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery." Paul was speaking specifically about the Law, but the truth is equally applied to sin. We were set free from the power of sin, and the lies and deception of the enemy by Jesus. We have freedom in Him!
This morning I am encouraged to look closely at my thought life and see where I am embracing the truth, and those areas where I am allowing temptation and sin to reign. I am encouraged to look to my life to see where I have believed the lies and deception of the enemy, guided by the Holy Spirit. I am encouraged to tell the enemy to be silent, as a son of God, standing in unity with Christ Jesus, who has all authority and power. I am encouraged to embrace freedom and the truth. Oh Lord, help me to know deep in my heart and mind this truth, that I am set free from the chains of sin, and I am free to be Your son, free to walk in everything You have for me. The old man is dead and I am alive in You! Help me to remind myself of this daily, that the old man is dead and I am alive to Christ Jesus, the enemy has no power over me! Help me to listen to the truth, to recite the truth, to speak the truth to myself!
Amen!
Monday, February 5, 2018
The Many Responses to God's Move!
This morning I am reflecting on some verses from John's Gospel, where he is describing the varied responses to Jesus. Here are the verses - John 12:9-13,17-19,37,42-43 NIV:
[9] "Meanwhile a large crowd of Jews found out that Jesus was there and came, not only because of him but also to see Lazarus, whom he had raised from the dead. [10] So the chief priests made plans to kill Lazarus as well, [11] for on account of him many of the Jews were going over to Jesus and believing in him."
[12] "The next day the great crowd that had come for the festival heard that Jesus was on his way to Jerusalem. [13] They took palm branches and went out to meet him, shouting, “Hosanna! ” “Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!” “Blessed is the king of Israel!”
[17] "Now the crowd that was with him when he called Lazarus from the tomb and raised him from the dead continued to spread the word. [18] Many people, because they had heard that he had performed this sign, went out to meet him. [19] So the Pharisees said to one another, “See, this is getting us nowhere. Look how the whole world has gone after him!”
[37] "Even after Jesus had performed so many signs in their presence, they still would not believe in him."
[42] "Yet at the same time many even among the leaders believed in him. But because of the Pharisees they would not openly acknowledge their faith for fear they would be put out of the synagogue; [43] for they loved human praise more than praise from God."
As I read these verses, I am aware of the many different responses to God, especially when He is moving. Jesus had clearly done awesome miracles in their sight, many were eye-witnesses. There was a growing belief in Him, that He was the Messiah, and yet the Pharisees and and chief priests wanted to kill Him. The very ones that said they worshipped God and served Him wanted to kill Him! They were the ones whose power and authority were being questioned, and challenged. They didn't want to just kill Jesus, they wanted to kill Lazarus too, as he was a visible representation of God's work.
There are those that wanted to worship Jesus, and praise of Him broke out spontaneously! They gathered in the streets, proclaiming His name, and shouting. They were those that had been waiting for the real move of God, and were convinced that Jesus was the Messiah! These were the people who longed for a savior, who longed to see God Move!
There were those that went around sharing about Jesus, because they were so convinced by His miracles that He was the Messiah! They had seen the miracles, and wanted all to know that He was the one they had been waiting to receive!
The Pharisees clearly had set themselves against Jesus, and apparently it didn't matter what He did, they were going to try to stop Him. They must have hated His real power, His ability to win crowds of people, His authoritative messages, His referring to God as if He knew Him! He had everything they wanted, and yet because they couldn't control Him they wanted to kill Him. They were in danger of losing their positions of power and prestige, or so they thought. It is a scary thing when people resist the move of God because of fear for their own position and power - they are clearly not worshipping God above all else.
There are those that remain unconvinced regardless of the signs and wonders performed. They are those whose hearts are hardened, those whose pride will not let them admit they were wrong, those that have stood and proclaimed there is no god! Oh, the sad state of their hearts, to be confronted with the very Word of Life, and choosing instead to close their eyes, ears and hearts to the one who loves them!
Finally there are those that believed, but lived in fear of those in power. They were worried about what the Pharisees thought of them, and worried about their positions as well, but clearly not the decision makers. There are always those that long for the move of God, but then when He starts moving they lose their stomach for Him out of fear.
Lord, I pray that I would not respond out of fear, out of pride, or out of concern for myself or my "position"! I pray that I might welcome you, and welcome news of You moving! I pray that I might be one who shares with all, the wonders I have seen and experienced! I pray that my heart might be moved by You! I pray for the leaders of our churches, that they would welcome Your move wholeheartedly, for You are the one we are waiting for!
Amen!
[9] "Meanwhile a large crowd of Jews found out that Jesus was there and came, not only because of him but also to see Lazarus, whom he had raised from the dead. [10] So the chief priests made plans to kill Lazarus as well, [11] for on account of him many of the Jews were going over to Jesus and believing in him."
[12] "The next day the great crowd that had come for the festival heard that Jesus was on his way to Jerusalem. [13] They took palm branches and went out to meet him, shouting, “Hosanna! ” “Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!” “Blessed is the king of Israel!”
[17] "Now the crowd that was with him when he called Lazarus from the tomb and raised him from the dead continued to spread the word. [18] Many people, because they had heard that he had performed this sign, went out to meet him. [19] So the Pharisees said to one another, “See, this is getting us nowhere. Look how the whole world has gone after him!”
[37] "Even after Jesus had performed so many signs in their presence, they still would not believe in him."
[42] "Yet at the same time many even among the leaders believed in him. But because of the Pharisees they would not openly acknowledge their faith for fear they would be put out of the synagogue; [43] for they loved human praise more than praise from God."
As I read these verses, I am aware of the many different responses to God, especially when He is moving. Jesus had clearly done awesome miracles in their sight, many were eye-witnesses. There was a growing belief in Him, that He was the Messiah, and yet the Pharisees and and chief priests wanted to kill Him. The very ones that said they worshipped God and served Him wanted to kill Him! They were the ones whose power and authority were being questioned, and challenged. They didn't want to just kill Jesus, they wanted to kill Lazarus too, as he was a visible representation of God's work.
There are those that wanted to worship Jesus, and praise of Him broke out spontaneously! They gathered in the streets, proclaiming His name, and shouting. They were those that had been waiting for the real move of God, and were convinced that Jesus was the Messiah! These were the people who longed for a savior, who longed to see God Move!
There were those that went around sharing about Jesus, because they were so convinced by His miracles that He was the Messiah! They had seen the miracles, and wanted all to know that He was the one they had been waiting to receive!
The Pharisees clearly had set themselves against Jesus, and apparently it didn't matter what He did, they were going to try to stop Him. They must have hated His real power, His ability to win crowds of people, His authoritative messages, His referring to God as if He knew Him! He had everything they wanted, and yet because they couldn't control Him they wanted to kill Him. They were in danger of losing their positions of power and prestige, or so they thought. It is a scary thing when people resist the move of God because of fear for their own position and power - they are clearly not worshipping God above all else.
There are those that remain unconvinced regardless of the signs and wonders performed. They are those whose hearts are hardened, those whose pride will not let them admit they were wrong, those that have stood and proclaimed there is no god! Oh, the sad state of their hearts, to be confronted with the very Word of Life, and choosing instead to close their eyes, ears and hearts to the one who loves them!
Finally there are those that believed, but lived in fear of those in power. They were worried about what the Pharisees thought of them, and worried about their positions as well, but clearly not the decision makers. There are always those that long for the move of God, but then when He starts moving they lose their stomach for Him out of fear.
Lord, I pray that I would not respond out of fear, out of pride, or out of concern for myself or my "position"! I pray that I might welcome you, and welcome news of You moving! I pray that I might be one who shares with all, the wonders I have seen and experienced! I pray that my heart might be moved by You! I pray for the leaders of our churches, that they would welcome Your move wholeheartedly, for You are the one we are waiting for!
Amen!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)