Adopted Children of God

This morning I am thinking about the following verses from Paul's letter to the Galatians 4:4-7 NIV:

[4] "But when the set time had fully come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under the law, [5] to redeem those under the law, that we might receive adoption to sonship. [6] Because you are his sons, God sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, the Spirit who calls out, “Abba , Father.” [7] So you are no longer a slave, but God's child; and since you are his child, God has made you also an heir."

As someone who never knew what it was like to live under the law, the first verse and a half don't really have as much weight as they would have to a Jew, living during that time.  To the Jew, the Law controlled much of their life, and their identity was interwoven with the Law.  Much of who they were and how they thought about themselves was because of  the Law.  Thus, being redeemed out from under the law would have had a huge impact in their life.

Another thing that we probably don't fully understand is what it means to be redeemed.  The word used by Paul that is translated redeem is the Greek word Exagorazo:

Definition:

1) to redeem
    a) by payment of a price to recover from the power of another, to ransom, buy off
    b) metaph. of Christ freeing the elect from the dominion of the Mosaic Law at the price of his vicarious death
2) to buy up, to buy up for one's self, for one's use
    a) to make wise and sacred use of every opportunity for doing good, so that zeal and well doing are as it were the purchase money by which we make the time our own

The primary definition is related to the practice of attacking villages and or other tribes and taking hostages or slaves.  The rescue of these hostages through either monetary exchange (ransom) or battle is what exagorazo means.  The second definition under this is described as Jesus freeing the elect out from under the dominion of the Law by His death.  His death was the price that He paid.  Think of it as a hostage exchange.  For those who are familiar with the book, "The Lion, the witch and the Wardrobe", C.S.Lewis included a great example of redemption when Aslan the Lion (symbolizing Jesus) offered to be exchanged for Edward, who would have died for His actions.  This is such a great example of redemption, and what Jesus has done for each of us.  I like that the author, who wrote the definition above, described Jesus' death as vicarious.  Webster's Dictionary defines vicarious as follows:

1 a : serving instead of someone or something else
    b : that has been delegated
2 : performed or suffered by one person as a substitute for another or to the benefit or advantage of another :substitutionary

Again relating this to modern literature, in the book and movie "The Hunger Games", Katniss volunteers to take her sister Prim's place in the Reaping, which was a sort of human sacrifice to maintain peace for all or her region.  This is a great example of what vicarious means.  She served the sentence, which was effectively a death sentence, and suffered through the Games rather than allowing her sister to go to her almost certain death.  In the same way, Jesus vicariously died for each of us, taking upon Himself the suffering that we might have experienced, the condemnation for our sins, and allowing His blood and Life to pay the ransom for our life.

One could stop right here, and we would have enough to be extremely grateful to Jesus, redeeming us and setting us free from the Law.  However, God is the God of abounding love, and rather than just redeeming us, He takes another step and adopts us as His own children!  Paul says that we become God's child, and because of this we also become heirs!
I know I have no idea what God means when He says I am His heir, but that is what He calls us.  We can somewhat understand this word through its use in our culture.  A good example would be the children of Sam Walton, the founder of Walmart.  They are all on the list of the most wealthy 100 Americans, and they are on the list because of what they inherited from their father. This is just a microcosmic understanding of what it must mean to be God's heir.  The Lord doesn't just bless us with material wealth, but pours forth spiritual blessings, identity, authority, and the like.  The story of the wayward son found in Luke 15, is a good example of how the Father blesses us.  When His wayward son comes home he immediately calls for his robe, his ring, his sandals and a feast.  These three articles are signs of his restored identity, authority and provision, and the feast is indicative of God's joy in his salvation and redemption.

In summary, I am so grateful for Jesus taking my place, and redeeming me.  I am so grateful for His vicarious death.  I am just beginning to grasp what it means to be His adopted child! Lord, I pray that you would help us all understand this great gift that You have provided to us in adopting us as Your children!

Power to Witness to the Ends of the Earth!

This morning I am considering the beginning of the Acts.  Here are the verses - Acts 1:1-8 NIV:

[1] In my former book, Theophilus, I wrote about all that Jesus began to do and to teach [2] until the day he was taken up to heaven, after giving instructions through the Holy Spirit to the apostles he had chosen. [3] After his suffering, he presented himself to them and gave many convincing proofs that he was alive. He appeared to them over a period of forty days and spoke about the kingdom of God. [4] On one occasion, while he was eating with them, he gave them this command: “Do not leave Jerusalem, but wait for the gift my Father promised, which you have heard me speak about. [5] For John baptized with water, but in a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.”

[6] Then they gathered around him and asked him, “Lord, are you at this time going to restore the kingdom to Israel?”

[7] He said to them: “It is not for you to know the times or dates the Father has set by his own authority. [8] But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”

There are a few things that stick out to me immediately:

1) Jesus spoke to them about the Kingdom of God.  He knew now that His time on earth was very short, so He would have been speaking about the most important things, and his subject was the Kingdom of God.  Thus, we can place the Kingdom of God very high on our list of important topics to understand, pursue and experience.

2) He taught them about the Kingdom and then He told them to wait for the baptism in the Holy Spirit that they would have the power to be His witnesses to the ends of the earth.  If they were called to be His witnesses, that which they were supposed to bear witness to was His teaching, His death, His resurrection, and the Kingdom of God.  If the Apostles and other disciples, those that were personally taught by and lived with Jesus, needed the power of the Holy Spirit to be His witnesses, how much more do we need the power of the Holy Spirit to enable our witness to these very same things.

3) Jesus speaks of a baptism with the Holy Spirit, and then describes it as the Holy Spirit coming upon you, and power being received.  The Greek word used by Luke here, and the meaning conveyed by Jesus, is the word Baptizo.  Here is the definition and a brief explanation of this word:

1: to dip repeatedly, to immerse, to submerge (of vessels sunk)
2: to cleanse by dipping or submerging, to wash, to make clean with water, to wash one's self, bathe
3: to overwhelm

"Not to be confused with the Greek word 'bapto'. The clearest example that shows the meaning of baptizo is a text from the Greek poet and physician Nicander, who lived about 200 B.C. It is a recipe for making pickles and is helpful because it uses both words. Nicander says that in order to make a pickle, the vegetable should first be 'dipped' (bapto) into boiling water and then 'baptised' (baptizo) in the vinegar solution. Both verbs concern the immersing of vegetables in a solution. But the first is temporary. The second, the act of baptising the vegetable, produces a permanent change. When used in the New Testament, this word more often refers to our union and identification with Christ than to our water baptism. e.g. Mark 16:16. 'He that believes and is baptised shall be saved'. Christ is saying that mere intellectual assent is not enough. There must be a union with him, a real change, like the vegetable to the pickle!" Bible Study Magazine, James Montgomery Boice, May 1989.

Thus, Jesus is speaking of more than just a temporary power boost, but an infilling and changing of the internal nature of oneself. I think the pickle is a great example.  You can wash a cucumber in water - which would be a proper use of the word 'Bapto', but the pickling process is representative of a complete change of the character of the cucumber.  Depending on the solution, one can make either sweet pickles or dill pickles using the same cucumbers, and depending on the solution the taste of these same cucumbers becomes quite different.  I believe that this kind of change is what Jesus is referring to in these verses.  The Apostles had operated in the power of the Holy Spirit while performing miracles and healing during their ministry tours, and they had been breathed on by Jesus (John 20:22) to receive the Holy Spirit, but this was different.  This time a permanent change would be experienced.  We see this coming to pass in Acts 2, they are filled with power and courage!

I am conscious of the fact that I need this type of change to my character!  I also know that in many ways I am significantly different than the person I was prior to the infilling of the Holy Spirit, but I don't think I have experienced the complete change of my internal character that Jesus refers to here. My experience so far, although I have been filled with power several times, not a change of nature or character.  I have read several biographies of men and women whose nature and character were radically changed by the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, people like Smith Wigglesworth, Rees Howells, David du Plessis, Kathryn Kuhlman, St. Francis, Heidi Baker, Che Ahn, and John Wimber.

I am also aware of the fact that much of the church would limit the Holy Spirit to being basically Godly wisdom, a sort of wise counselor who helps us figure out what we should do.  There are those who understand and teach about the fuller release of power that accompanies the baptism with the Holy Spirit, and are open to the full release of the Power of the Holy Spirit in our lives.  As I noted above, if the Apostles required this power, how can we think for a moment that we could accomplish God's purposes and plans without also experiencing this infilling, this coming upon by the Holy Spirit?

Lord, I pray that You would once again move upon Your Church, and release onto us the Holy Spirit!  I pray that the Holy Spirit would come upon us and would radically change us, change our character, and our gifts.  As I was praying this - I was just thinking of the difference between a manual hand-drill, the type that was used for hundreds of years, compared to the powerful electric drill.  They are both capable of the same thing at a basic level, drilling holes in wood.  However, when the material is changed to metal or stone, the one using the electric drill will have a distinct advantage, and much quicker success.  In a way, the addition of power provides acceleration, as well as the ability to do more than previously experienced.  Lord, that is my prayer for the Church!

I am reminded of verses from:

2 Corinthians 9:10-11 NIV
[10] "Now he who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will also supply and increase your store of seed and will enlarge the harvest of your righteousness. [11] You will be enriched in every way so that you can be generous on every occasion, and through us your generosity will result in thanksgiving to God."

- and -

1 Thessalonians 3:12 NIV:  "May the Lord make your love increase and overflow for each other and for everyone else, just as ours does for you."

- and finally -

Amos 9:13 NIV:  “The days are coming,” declares the Lord, “when the reaper will be overtaken by the plowman and the planter by the one treading grapes. New wine will drip from the mountains and flow from all the hills,..."

Yes Lord, make our Love increase, provide an increase of seed which will result in an increase of generosity, and finally release the days of acceleration, through the power of the Holy Spirit, that the one planting is followed immediately by the one harvesting and treading the grapes!  We want to see new wine pouring forth, overflowing!

Amen and Amen!  Release to Your Church the power required to be a witness, even to the ends of the earth!

Perseverence Through Trials

This morning I felt lead to read from the Letter of James. It is interesting that he is addressing the 12 tribes that are scattered among the nations.  In other words, he is writing to the Jewish believers, those whose background was the Covenant of the Law.  Like the Letter to the Hebrews, the background of His audience has a very different background than the believers that Paul was generally writing too, those previously considered gentiles.  Sometimes it is good to be mindful of the audience when reading the letter.

The verses I am meditating on this morning are from James 1:2-8, 12 NIV:

[2] "Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, [3] because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. [4] Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything. [5] If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you. [6] But when you ask, you must believe and not doubt, because the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind. [7] That person should not expect to receive anything from the Lord. [8] Such a person is double-minded and unstable in all they do."

[12] "Blessed is the one who perseveres under trial because, having stood the test, that person will receive the crown of life that the Lord has promised to those who love him."

These verses are an interesting mix of encouragement and direction. James starts out by directing people to adopt an attitude and perspective when they are confronted by trials, namely that they rejoice in them, or as he says "consider it pure joy".  This is perhaps one of the hardest things to do when confronted with trials, changing one's perspective.  He is saying that we should take on a Heavenly mindset when confronted with trials.  The heavenly mindset allows us to see things from God's perspective, and everything from Him is Good!  I love the following quote from St. Alphonsus de Ligouri,, he said: "All things in our life are either for God's greater glory or our own greater sanctification."  This is a great example of choosing a heavenly mindset.

If we look at out situation from God's perspective, we will see His provision, His love and His mercy.  When we look to Him, our focus on our trials and problems becomes much less.  God is good all the time, and when we look at our situation from His perspective, we start to see His goodness towards us.  If we embrace trials as things that will cause us to grow in love and faith, which should be our goal in life, than we can welcome them with pure joy.

James continues on with that thought, directing people to take on the attitude that testing produces perseverance, which results in maturity and completeness.  That is such an interesting concept.  If I say it another way, we aren't mature nor complete until we have experienced and overcome trials.  There is something in this, namely perseverance, that we all need to become mature.  A good analogy would be our drivers license, we don't receive our drivers license until we take and succeed at two tests, both a written test and an actual driving test.  Having one's drivers license is in some ways a right of passage to becoming an adult, and trials which require perseverance fulfill the same role in our faith lives.

Another perspective is that as Christians we are called to be like Christ in all things, and perseverance during trials was one of the things that Jesus did, and thus we must do as well.  His perseverance was rooted in His understanding of who His Father was and what He was like.  Jesus understood that everything the Father directed Him to say and do was for our good, and the Father's greater Glory!  He knew the Father intimately, knew His character, knew His enduring Love, His mighty Power and His ability to save. Jesus was fully confident in His Father's love, so He could endure everything.  He persevered on the path set before Him, never losing hope or faith, nor His way.  We are called to a similar maturity.  We are called to Know the Father (and Jesus demonstrated exactly what the Father is like) and to be mature in our walk, believing and knowing the Father will deal with us exactly the same way He dealt with Jesus.

Another thought is that the Father must have great perseverance, as Jesus, during His time on earth, was an exact representation of the Father (Heb 1:3).  Thus, Jesus is really just reflecting the Father in every way, and perseverance is one of the character traits He was reflecting.  The Father demonstrates incredible perseverance in all of our lives.  Graham Cooke says it this way, "whether we do well or badly, the Lord is consistent in His heart towards us."  In other words, He perseveres in His love through all of our ups and downs, our faithfulness and our sin, our victories and our defeats, the Father never changes His heart towards us!

James continues on with another character trait that some might need to become mature, namely wisdom.  He said all we need to do was ask the Father for this, and He would give it to us.  He said we must ask with no doubt, in other words, we need to believe in the Father, in His goodness and character just like Jesus did.  James cautions us against double-mindedness, and what that basically means is thinking two things about God at the same time an example would be - 'that God is Good, and that He hates me and is punishing me'.  He can't do both, for God is eternally consistent.  Being double-minded towards God means that we really haven't matured in our faith and in our understanding of God.  I keep going back to the words of A.W.Tozer - "What comes into our minds when we think about God is the most important thing about us."  We must learn who God is and allow Him to show us His character, so that we can think correctly about God, and not be double-minded.

Finally, James comes back to perseverance, and gives one final encouragement to the reader to persevere, so that they might receive the crown of life, given by the Lord to those that Love Him.  It is interesting that here James basically equates love with perseverance, that one proves the other, that perseverance proves the Love.  If we want an example of that we need only look at marriage.  Marriage is an outworking of our relationship, which is based on love.  However it is only those who persevere in marriage who are able to prove their love.  The traditional marriage vows say that the individuals will be true (persevere) in sickness and in health, whether wealthy or poor, in good times or bad. That is a great example of perseverance.  James says that those of us who do persevere will receive the "Crown of Life".  Some of the commentators that I read talk about the crown signifying a Kingdom, our relation to the King, our eternal inheritance.  I like all of that - but mostly I just want the Lord.

I have heard some people preach about attaining positions in the new millennium, the 1000 year reign described in Revelations.  They have identified all the things needed to become one of the favorites of the Lord, and have plans on being one who gains the right to rule over cities through their faithfulness to God.  Me, I might be wrong, but I figure when I make it to heaven, I will be too engrossed in the Lord to care about ruling over cities!  I just want to know the Lord, to Love Him and be loved by Him, to marvel at His ever-increasing Kingdom and Glory!

So today, I am encouraged to persevere in my love for the Lord, my faith in the Lord and my reliance in the Lord, regardless of the trials I encounter.  I find that in life, if I encounter a trail in my life, as a married man I can either try to tough it out on my own, or I can turn to my sweetheart and walk through the trial together.  If I choose the latter option, I find that my relationship with her deepens and becomes stronger.  That is what we are being encouraged to do in our relationship with God!  Walk through the trials with Him and let Him show you His love and faithfulness!  He isn't punishing us, He is giving us an opportunity to grow in love and intimacy!

Amen!

Hope in Predicaments!

This morning I am reflecting on verses from John 11:1-7 NIV:

[1] "Now a man named Lazarus was sick. He was from Bethany, the village of Mary and her sister Martha. [2] (This Mary, whose brother Lazarus now lay sick, was the same one who poured perfume on the Lord and wiped his feet with her hair.) [3] So the sisters sent word to Jesus, “Lord, the one you love is sick.”

[4] When he heard this, Jesus said, “This sickness will not end in death. No, it is for God's glory so that God's Son may be glorified through it.” [5] Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus. [6] So when he heard that Lazarus was sick, he stayed where he was two more days, [7] and then he said to his disciples, “Let us go back to Judea.”

There verses should bring comfort to anyone who is waiting on God to do something.  If we grab hold of the spiritual principles revealed here, we will find ourselves, and our spirits well guarded against the lies of the enemy.  He would try to convince us that God doesn't care, that God doesn't love us, that He is unaware of our circumstances.  All of these are lies from the pit of hell.

The truth is that the Lord loves each and every one of us deeply.  The truth is that He knows the intimate details of our lives.  The truth is that He is actively interceding for us to his Father.  The truth is that any delay is going to result in greater Glory of God.  The truth is that He is moved by our pain and suffering.  The truth is that He knows exactly how we feel!  The truth is that it is because of His love for us that He waits to fulfill the Father's will.

As I have quoted many times, 'our ways are not God's ways' (Is 55:8) and 'His thoughts are not our thoughts'.  His perspective is completely different than ours, for He views us outside of time and knows every detail of our lives.  He knows how it will work out, how He will bless us, how He will be glorified, etc.  We just need to trust Him, and trust His promises.  He doesn't act like us, and thus we can't figure out exactly what He will do, and our expectations are often wrong.  Regardless of our thoughts, our belief that we know what He will do, we need to trust in the One who loves us!

So let us turn to the Lord in prayer over the situations and struggle, the predicaments and trials we face. Let us remember that even though the situation looks beyond hope, that God is the God of the impossible, and it is right to hope in Him.

Maturity and Gifts in the Body

This morning I am reading from Paul's letter to the Ephesians 4:11-16 NIV:

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

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

Recently I have been reading a book by Alan Hirsch where he talks about the importance and necessity of the five-fold ministry as described by Paul here in Ephesians.  I have always believed that it was important for the Church to learn to encourage these ministries and gifts in the body.  When reading through Paul's writing again, it is clear that these ministries were meant to work together to bring about spiritual maturity in the Body of Christ.  I think it is fair to say that alternatively, if these ministries are not present in the church that the church will not mature to the level it needs to, in Christ.

Immaturity is a very difficult thing to overcome, because the spiritually immature may not know they are experiencing less than the Lord desires for them.  Physically, immaturity is easy to see for the Lord has designed into us key indicators like physical size, certain attributes that are only experienced when maturity is reached, but spiritually maturity is much more difficult to identify. An analogy that might be helpful is that if a person was only ever exposed to baby food, and never saw a regular meal they would think that all food came in a jar and was soft and pureed, and this was true of all food.  They would have no knowledge of real food preparation, or the texture of different types of food, or even the need for forks and knifes.

In the same way, churches who are only exposed to pastoring or teaching, would have no real experience or understanding of true apostolic ministry, discerning strategic and tactical approaches to grow the church and protecting the truths of the Gospel.  They would have minimal understanding of the revelatory gifts of the prophetic ministry, and either fear them or misunderstand the purpose of these gifts.  They would be very limited in their evangelical outreachs and understanding of how to approach diverse people groups.

As Paul writes, all five of these gifts, at least, are required for the body of Christ to grow and mature, for each part must do its work.  In a church that is lead by an individual with a teaching gift, they will learn much, but have no idea how to move forward as a body, and what pitfalls they need to steer away from.  Likewise, churches that are only experiencing teaching do not experience the pastoral care required to deal with the hurts and pains caused by our broken humanity, nor would they likely have any real strategies for reaching the lost.

Finally churches that do not regularly experience all the giftings and ministries, would have no idea how to grow people in each of these disparate areas.  Maturity in ministry is best accomplished through mentoring and the guidance of other more seasoned individuals who have experience operating in these gifts.

If we want to grow to maturity, and not be tossed back and forth by every wind of teaching and cunning craftiness and deceitful scheming, we need to encourage these ministries, align ourselves relationally with others that operate in these gifts and ministries, have regular experience of these ministries, and have these gifts called out  and recognized in the local body.  If these ministries are called out through the Holy Spirit in Paul's writings, we can be sure that they are part of God's plan for the church, and as such that He has made provision for these gifts within the local church, and through relationships with other parts of the Body.  These are not gifts and ministries that were limited to the time of apostles, but are meant for every church throughout all the ages.

So, let us pray for the Church.  Let us pray that all of the gifts and ministries planned by the Lord and encouraged by the Lord find their home in our churches.  Let us pray that Church might mature and reach a place of unity and connectedness.

Amen and Amen!

Sent Into the Harvest

This morning I was reading through Matthew and came across one of my favorite verses, one that inspires me to try to love and accept everyone I interact with in my day to day life.  Here are the verses - Matthew 9:35-38 NIV:

[35] "Jesus went through all the towns and villages, teaching in their synagogues, proclaiming the good news of the kingdom and healing every disease and sickness. [36] When he saw the crowds, he had compassion on them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. [37] Then he said to his disciples, “The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few. [38] Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field.”

I love the fact that Jesus' primary reaction to seeing crowds of people, who were hungry for the touch of God, was compassion!  The Greek word that is translated as compassion is the word Splagchnizomai.  It is defined as follows:

1. to be moved as to one's bowels, hence to be moved with compassion, have compassion (for the bowels were thought to be the seat of love and pity)

The root of that word is Splagchnon and it is defined as follows:

1.  bowels, intestines, (the heart, lungs, liver, etc.)
    a.  bowels
    b.  the bowels were regarded as the seat of the more violent passions, such as anger and love; but by the Hebrews as the seat of the tenderer affections, esp. kindness, benevolence, compassion; hence our heart (tender mercies, affections, etc.)
    c.  a heart in which mercy resides

Matthew writes that Jesus had compassion on the crowds of people when He saw them.  It wasn't when he interacted with them, or healed their diseases or wounds, but rather at his first sighting of them.  I pray that compassion will be my first reaction as well, for at present I am much more inclined to classify people and judge them when I first see them.

Secondly, Matthew writes that Jesus had compassion on them.  The word he used, and the root of that word talk about deep feelings, being moved in one's deepest places, having a heart of mercy towards someone or something.  When I read through the definitions, in my mind this is much more than just kindness or gentleness, but rather something that is visible and moving.  I think that Jesus' emotions were visible to everyone, and that they could see Him being physically moved by the crowds, and see His heart expressed in actions towards all these people.

I love the fact that Jesus was moved deeply by the crowds.  Later in John 5:19 Jesus says that everything He does comes from the Father, so if Jesus is moved with compassion, then the Father is moved with compassion when He sees the crowds of people who are hungry for His visitation!

What an encouraging thought as we prepare to gather with others on a Sunday!  We should go to church with an expectant heart, knowing that the Father, Jesus and the Holy Spirit are all moved with compassion when they see us.  They desire to fill us with their love, to touch us and heal us, to let us know that they care for us deeply!

Finally, Jesus encourages the apostles to ask the Lord of the harvest to send out workers into the fields that are ripe for the harvest. I believe He is looking at the hearts of the people when He says this, and we should recognize that people truly are hungry for God, ready to be harvested (to receive salvation and God's touch).  Specifically Jesus says to ask that workers be sent into the Lord of the harvest's fields.  In other words, He will direct and guide us to His fields, to the ones where the harvest will be plentiful because it is already ripe for the harvest. Notice that Jesus said this to His disciples, the very ones that He would send out to world as His last words on earth, recorded by Matthew as follows - Matthew 28:18-20 NIV:

[18] "Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. [19] Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, [20] and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”

Amen!

A Foundation for Thinking

This morning I am reflecting on verses from James' letter to the Twelve tribes of Israel, chapter three.  I like James' letter because he takes a practical look at the Christian walk, and counters some of the extreme positions that developed over time.  Here are the particular verses I am  reflecting on this morning - James 3:17-18 NIV:

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

In these verses James is providing a counter to the other type of thinking, or wisdom,  that is common in the world, and calls that thinking bitter envy and selfish ambition. He is addressing those that might desire to follow the way and gives them a good list of internal checks to validate when their thoughts are in line with God's.

First off, he says that before all else the thoughts must be pure.  This is the foundational description, and all the others build upon it.  The Greek word used by James is Hagnos and it is defined as:

1. exciting reverence, venerable, sacred
2. pure
     a. pure from carnality, chaste, modest
     b. pure from every fault, immaculate
     c. clean

One gets a sense of what James is encouraging his fellow Christians, and former Jews to pursue, namely thinking like Jesus did.  Elsewhere in scripture it talks about how Jesus was fully human and tempted in every way we are, yet never sinned (Heb 4:15), and this would include His thoughts.  His thoughts were always holy and pure, and in this one characteristic, He set himself apart from all of mankind, for we, by our very nature tend towards selfish thoughts.  If we want to act like Jesus, we first of all need to think like Jesus.

I am reminded of the Seinfeld show where in one episode George decides to act in the exact opposite way than his natural instinct. This is similar to what James is encouraging his audience to do, to live and think in a way they normally do not.  The good news is that after a while, this becomes our default way of thinking, as we build a pattern of thought, modeled after the Lord.

I find this single area one in which the Lord has helped me significantly this past year. For years I struggled daily with my thought life, and at times it was a real battle. My issue was that there were so many thoughts that were clearly vain, selfish and brought forth by evil.  I didn't realize that I had given the enemy an open door to my mind, and was allowing him to have access to my mind where he could harass me and introduce all sorts of vain and selfish thoughts, and thoughts that were clearly sinful.

The Lord, in His great mercy, opened my eyes to this and showed me how to shut that door.  Since that time and through a couple of other personal revelations, I am much much more at peace in my thought life, and more often than not actually able to think pure thoughts.  It is wonderful being at peace internally!  I find that this allows me to more easily pursue being peace-loving, considerate, submissive, merciful, impartial and sincere in my thoughts and actions.

Lord, thank you for helping me to establish a firm foundation for my thought life, patterned after You.