Gifts Received

In this season of gift giving we remember the greatest gift given, our Savior Jesus Christ. This led me to search the Scriptures for what other gifts we have received because of Jesus. The following is a partial list, but should stir our hearts in praise and thanksgiving this Christmas. 

James 1:17 (ESV)- "Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change."

Ephesians 1:3- "Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places."

Ephesians 2:8- "For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God."

Romans 6:23- "For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord."

John 1:12,16- "But to all who did receive Him, who believed in His name, He gave the right to become children of God... And from His fullness we have all received, grace upon grace."

Mark 9:37- "Whoever receives one such child in My name receives Me, and whoever receives Me, receives not Me but Him who sent Me."

Romans 5:11,17- "More than that, we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation... For if, because of one man's trespass, death reigned through that one man, much more will those who receive the abundance of grace and the free gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man Jesus Christ."

Romans 8:15- "For you did not receive the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received the Spirit of adoption as sons, by whom we cry, 'Abba! Father!'"

1 Corinthians 1:7- "...so that you are not lacking in any spiritual gift, as you wait for the revealing of our Lord Jesus Christ."

1 Corinthians 2:12- "Now we have received not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we might understand the things freely given us by God."

Galatians 4:4-5- "But when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth His Son, born of woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons."

Colossians 2:6-7- "Therefore, as you received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in Him, rooted and built up in Him and established in the faith, just as you were taught, abounding in thanksgiving."

1 Peter 2:10- "Once you were not a people, but now you are God's people; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy."

1 Corinthians 4:7- "...What do you have that you did not receive? If then you received it, why do you boast as if you did not receive it?"

Romans 12:6- "Having gifts that differ according to the grace given to us, let us use them: if prophecy, in proportion to our faith."

Hebrews 4:16- "Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need."

Colossians 3:23-24- "Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men, knowing that from the Lord you will receive the inheritance as your reward. You are serving the Lord Christ."

Hebrews 12:28- "Therefore let us be grateful for receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, and thus let us offer to God acceptable worship, with reverence and awe."

2 Corinthians 9:15- "Thanks be to God for His inexpressible gift!"

Have a blessed Christmas!

The Dark Side of Christmas

The Gospel of Matthew 2:18 quotes the prophecy of Jeremiah 31:15 (ESV), “A voice is heard in Ramah, lamentation and bitter weeping. Rachel is weeping for her children; she refuses to be comforted for her children, because they are no more.” Matthew indicates that this prophecy was fulfilled by Herod killing all the male children in Bethlehem in an effort to kill the infant Jesus.

As I’ve commented here before, the plans of God don’t always make sense to us. In God’s sovereign will, it was important that prophecies be recorded and fulfilled in order to prove who Jesus was. Matthew points out this prophecy from Jeremiah as well as Hosea 11:1, “Out of Egypt I called my son,” (among others) as evidence for Jesus being the Messiah. Herod turned out to be the mechanism by which the prophecies were fulfilled, and because of him many families were left brokenhearted in the death of their sons. Estimates of the number of children killed vary widely, from 6 or 7 to 64,000. No matter how many boys were killed, this was a tragic event in the small town of Bethlehem.

It would be nice to think that all God’s plans would be accomplished without any suffering. But the narrative of the Bible says that is not often the case. Just think of the lives of Moses, Joseph, David, Ruth, Esther, Paul, etc. or read Hebrews 11. They were used by God in the midst of trying circumstances. “And all these, though commended through their faith, did not receive what was promised” (Hebrews 11:29 ESV). They had faith in God and hope for “things not seen,” which allowed them to keep following God no matter what.

Because we live in a fallen world, wrecked by our own sin and the sin of others, God’s path often leads through dark valleys. On the positive side, as we read through Scripture and see the lengths to which God went to fulfill His purposes and promises, we can have greater hope that He will do the same for us. Here are a few of the promises that I need to be reminded of frequently (just a few of the ones I have highlighted in my Bible app):

• “But this I call to mind, and therefore I have hope: The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; His mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is Your faithfulness” (Lamentations 3:21-23).
• “The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? The Lord is the stronghold of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?” (Psalm 27:1).
• “The Lord is near to the brokenhearted and saves the crushed in spirit. Many are the afflictions of the righteous, but the Lord delivers him out of them all” (Psalm 34:18-19).
• “Cast your burden on the Lord, and He will sustain you; He will never permit the righteous to be moved” (Psalm 55:22).
• “I Myself will be the shepherd of My sheep, and I Myself will make them lie down, declares the Lord God. I will seek the lost, and I will bring back the strayed, and I will bind up the injured, and I will strengthen the weak, and the fat and strong I will destroy. I will feed them in justice” (Ezekiel 34:15-16).
• “I will restore to you the years that the swarming locust has eaten… You shall eat in plenty and be satisfied, and praise the name of the Lord your God, who has dealt wondrously with you. And My people shall never again be put to shame” (Joel 2:25-26).
• “Rejoice not over me, O my enemy; when I fall, I shall rise; when I sit in darkness, the Lord will be a light to me” (Micah 7:8).
• “The Lord your God is in your midst, a mighty one who will save; He will rejoice over you with gladness; He will quiet you by His love; He will exult over you with loud singing” (Zephaniah 3:17).
• “So we do not lose heart. Though our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day. For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal” (2 Corinthians 4:16-18).

I think it’s safe to say that we wouldn’t recognize Jesus as the Light of the World if the world weren’t so full of darkness, and that is reflected in the circumstances of His birth. So this Christmas, no matter what else is going on, may we find the light in God’s faithfulness to keep His promises and may we cling to the hope that provides.

“The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; those who dwelt in a land of deep darkness, on them has light shined.” –Isaiah 9:2

Hope Not Yet Fulfilled

As our choir was practicing one of our songs for Christmas, I was thinking about the seemingly conflicting messages we hear. One verse of “Tell the World” says “Tell the hopeless He’s the Promise now fulfilled before their eyes. Tell the restless in His presence ev’ry need is satisfied.”

But historically, the birth of Jesus didn’t exactly fulfill these promises, at least not on its own. The angels proclaimed to the shepherds, “I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people... ‘Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among those with whom He is pleased’” (Luke 2:10,14 ESV). Although the Baby Jesus fulfilled the Old Testament prophecies of a child born of a virgin in Bethlehem, it wasn’t until roughly three decades later that Jesus Himself said, “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because He has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor” (Luke 4:18-19).

While Jesus’ birth was a step closer to the completion of the good news, it would be more than 30 years before He would fulfill the requirements of being a Savior through His death and resurrection. But even that is not the end of the story. We still live in the between times—knowing that salvation has been made possible and sanctification has begun, but still awaiting the perfecting of the world and our bodies. It is good news that Jesus was born, but it’s not the best news. It’s good news that Jesus died on our behalf, but that’s an inadequate message. And it’s good news that Jesus rose from the dead and ascended to the Father. But if the story ended there we would still be without hope in this world. The good news won’t be completed until that day when Jesus returns. “And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to Myself, that where I am you may be also” (John 14:3).

In the meantime we continue to live with brokenness, mourning, poverty, blindness, and captivity. “And not only the creation, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies. For in this hope we were saved” (Romans 8:23-24).

We tend to approach Christmas as if the birth of Jesus is the whole story, the only good news needed in a fallen world. It’s often implied that if you just believe that God was born as a baby in a manger then all your problems will go away and you’ll be filled with peace and joy. It’s little wonder that this can be an overwhelmingly depressing time of year. Not only are there cultural expectations that can be hard to live up to, but the message proclaimed by the church can sometimes add to the burden. If the Baby Jesus is the answer to all our problems, why is there still so much suffering in the world?

We can’t leave Jesus in the manger as a baby, nor can we leave Him on the cross as a Savior. Neither is He still in the grave. He’s in heaven for now, but one day He will return and make everything right. All the suffering will be ended and the world will be made new. Then the good news will be finished. Then we will rejoice wholeheartedly. Till then we hold on and endure by faith, awaiting with hope the Second Coming of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Until then:

“May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope.” -Romans 15:13

© 2014 Dawn Rutan. Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture are ESV and all images are copyright free from pixabay.com. The opinions stated do not necessarily reflect the views of my church or employer.

Seeking the King

There has been much speculation about who the wise men were who came to find the baby Jesus. Where did they come from? How did they read the stars? Were they Zoroastrians? The Bible doesn’t give much detail in Matthew 2 aside from the fact that they were from the East. Plenty of stories have been written imagining how this all came about.

What impresses me is the amount of effort they put in to traveling to Jerusalem and then to Bethlehem to find the newborn King and worship Him. It may have taken them months or perhaps even years to reach their destination. Whatever they discerned in their study of the stars was important enough for them to leave everything else behind and seek the King. Although they referred to Jesus as King of the Jews, it seems that they recognized that He would have an impact far beyond the nation of Israel. They were moved to worship Christ long before most people were aware that He existed. Out of an estimated 170-400 million people on earth at that time, only a few wise men and shepherds got the message and found the baby.

Although the statistics are better today, I’m sure that most of us haven’t exerted that much effort to find Jesus and worship Him. At least in America, a large segment of those who are Christians were raised in Christian homes and may have never wrestled with the hard questions of faith. As a result, Christianity has become a faith of convenience and tradition. When it becomes inconvenient or requires too much effort, people are likely to stop participating, though they often still consider themselves Christian.

While we aren’t saved by our efforts and we can never do enough to earn even the smallest portion of God’s grace, there are some ways in which it is true that “You get out of it what you put into it.” If all you know of Scripture is what you hear on Sunday morning, you’re missing out on many of the benefits of knowing God fully, knowing His will, knowing how He works, and trusting all the promises He has made. If you’ve never had to defend what you believe, you don’t really know if you have something worth defending, something that will hold you up when the storms come. If you’ve never had to discipline yourself to read the Bible or go to church when you don’t feel like it, you’ve missed out on the joy that comes when God shows up in spite of your low expectations.

I imagine what it was like for the wise men to finally see Jesus. All their studying had told them that something amazing was happening, and their travels gave them time to ponder and discuss what this might mean for the world. But finally they were there and “they rejoiced exceedingly with great joy. And going into the house they saw the child with Mary His mother, and they fell down and worshiped Him” (Matthew 2:10-11 ESV). After all they’d gone through, I doubt this was just a brief greeting, presenting their gifts, and departing five minutes later. When their hopes were fulfilled, I don’t think they quickly left to go follow some other star. They probably lingered as long as propriety allowed.

I would challenge us all to be more diligent in seeking the King of kings and Lord of lords at Christmas and through the coming year. Don’t settle for secondhand faith. And when you find Him, don’t be afraid to linger in worship and wonder of the Savior who first sought you.

“For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.” –Luke 19:10

Blessed Belief

I wonder what it was that enabled Mary to say to the angel “Let it be to me according to your word” (Luke 1:38 ESV)? How did she develop such a faith in God that allowed her to accept the news, apparently with a glad and sincere heart? It’s not clear how much time passed before verses 46-55 when she praises God in the “Magnificat,” but her words reflect a deep knowledge of the Scriptures. The angel said Mary had “found favor with God.” It seems likely that her knowledge of Scripture had grown into a familiarity with who God is and how He works, so trusting Him was not a big challenge for her. Elizabeth said of Mary, “Blessed is she who has believed that what the Lord has said to her will be accomplished” (1:45). Mary believed and trusted God.

Would I respond in faith to an angelic messenger like that? I think I’d more likely remain silent while wondering whether I was hallucinating or where the hidden camera was. In many ways our media-crazed culture has made us more skeptical. We don’t believe most of what we can see, much less what we can’t see. An angelic visitation might have a greater impact in a third world country. But at the same time, we have one advantage over Mary. We have two millennia of history beyond what Mary knew. We have the evidence of Jesus’s birth, ministry, death, and resurrection, and the subsequent growth of the church to point to God’s power, love, and faithfulness.

Jesus said, “Because you have seen Me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed” (John 20:29). The author of Hebrews wrote, “Without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to Him must believe that He exists and that He rewards those who earnestly seek Him” (Hebrews 11:6).

I wish I had the kind of faith that said “Whatever You wish, Lord, no matter what.” Some days I do, but other days I’m inclined to tell God what He should be doing differently. Sometimes it’s easier to believe God for the general idea of salvation than it is to believe for the forgiveness of a particular sin. It’s easier to believe in the concept of sanctification than for the daily power over temptation. It’s easier to believe in God’s provision than to entrust an immediate need to His care. We often believe in theory but not in practice.

When Jesus was presented in the temple Simeon prophesied, “Behold, this child is appointed for the fall and rising of many in Israel… and a sword will pierce through your own soul also” (Luke 2:34-35). We aren’t told Mary’s immediate response, but she may have been wondering what she’d gotten herself into. That would certainly stir worry and fear in most of us. But somehow Mary kept believing and treasured up all these unusual events in her heart.

This Christmas as we remember that He is Immanuel, God with us, may we learn to believe Him more fully and trust Him more deeply. 

Mystery Incarnate

In preparation for Christmas I’ve been reading the first few chapters of Luke, and I noticed something I hadn’t seen before. When the angel appears to Zechariah announcing his coming son, Zechariah asks, “How shall I know this?” (I imagine the angel saying “How many angelic messages does it take to convince you?!”) Then after John is born and Zechariah can speak again, part of his prophetic praise includes, “You will go before the Lord to prepare His ways, to give knowledge of salvation to His people in the forgiveness of their sins” (vv. 76-77 ESV). It seems that he learned something about knowing and trusting God during that nine months of silence.

There are plenty of things about God that we’ll never understand in this lifetime, and perhaps not even in eternity. As many have said, if we fully understood God He would not be God. Paul wrote, “Oh, the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are His judgments and how inscrutable His ways!” (Romans 11:33). He often mentioned the mysteries of God. And in Ephesians 3:18-19 he prays that we “may have strength to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.” I take that to mean that we can simply grasp the fact that it’s far beyond our human knowledge and experience, and we accept that by faith.

The mysteries of God are not things that we can logically conclude if we just have enough evidence. It’s not a matter of further research that will reveal the key that unlocks it all. God is so far beyond our realm of understanding that we cannot hope to unravel the mysteries. As C.S. Lewis said, it’s like trying to explain the three dimensions to a two dimensional object. Recently I was imagining how one would try to explain darkness to an atom residing in the center of the sun. (Yes, I have a strange imagination.) While that might be possible, assuming you can find an intelligent atom, God is infinitely further from explanation.

Paul summarizes some of the mystery in 1 Timothy 3:16:

“Great indeed, we confess, is the mystery of godliness: He was manifested in the flesh, vindicated by the Spirit, seen by angels, proclaimed among the nations, believed on in the world, taken up in glory.”

As we celebrate the historical event of Jesus’ birth, we shouldn’t forget that the incarnation is a great mystery. “Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel” (Isaiah 7:14). “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born will be called holy—the Son of God” (Luke 1:35). “The Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen His glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth” (John 1:14).

While a baby in a manger is something we can wrap our minds around, God becoming flesh and then dying for our sins is beyond our full comprehension. Perhaps the most incomprehensible part is that “God so loved the world, that He gave His only Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life” (John 3:16). Why God would love a bunch of sinners enough to send His Son to die for them is beyond me.

Let’s hold onto that mystery this Christmas and throughout the year. May the wonder of it all lead us into true worship!

Daily Revival

I recall a time in college when another Christian college was experiencing a time of revival on their campus. Some of our students organized prayer meetings in hopes that something similar would happen for us. The results were less than stellar and actually created some disturbing scenes due to misguided beliefs and expectations.

Recently I’ve been reading the challenging little book The Calvary Road by Roy Hession. The introduction by Norman Grubb summarizes it well:

“I had regarded revival only from the angle of some longed for, but very rare, sudden outpouring of the Spirit on a company of people… I learned and saw that revival is first personal and immediate. It is the constant experience of any simplest Christian who ‘walks in the light,’ but I saw that walking in the light means an altogether new sensitiveness to sin, a calling things by their proper name of sin, such as pride, hardness, doubt, fear, self-pity, which are often passed over as merely human reaction.”

He also points out that revival is not really the conversion of non-believers, because one must already have the new life before that life can be revived in them. So events that we might be inclined to call revivals are more often crusades. Churches holding “revival” services need to be clear as to what their expectations really are.

In one way, it takes some of the pressure off of an event if we realize that revival is not often a “sudden outpouring” and major change in the lives of a group. But that pressure instead is found in a constant nudging of the Holy Spirit redirecting lives day after day. The weekly routine of preaching, teaching, Bible study, worship, and prayer is most often the method by which the Holy Spirit revives the people of God. Those are the tools through which sin is revealed and confessed. If a person gets to the point of needing a sudden outpouring of the Spirit to cause them to change, they have probably been ignoring the Spirit and allowing sin to build up for quite some time. Thankfully God can still work and change lives in any condition, but how much better would it be to cultivate this daily sensitivity to sin and responsiveness to the Spirit?

Hession makes a couple comments that are particularly convicting:

“Anything that springs from self, however small it may be, is sin. Self-energy or self-complacency in service is sin. Self-pity in trials or difficulties, self-seeking in business or Christian work, self-indulgence in one’s spare time, sensitiveness, touchiness, resentment and self-defence when we are hurt or injured by others, self-consciousness, reserve, worry, fear, all spring from self and all are sin and make our cups unclean.” (13)

“Such a walk in the light cannot but discover sin increasingly in our lives, and we shall see things to be sin which we never through to be such before.” (19)

Most church members probably don’t have a problem with the “big” sins like murder or adultery, but we all have issues with pride and self-seeking. I’ve become increasingly aware of the selfish motivations in my life and how that hinders me from truly loving others as I should. Hession presses the point a little further when he writes:

“That means we are not going to hide our inner selves from those with whom we ought to be in fellowship; we are not going to window dress and put on appearances; nor are we going to whitewash and excuse ourselves. We are going to be honest about ourselves with them. We are willing to give up our spiritual privacy, pocket our pride and risk our reputations for the sake of being open and transparent with our brethren in Christ.” (20)

Fear of vulnerability is probably the greatest hindrance to spiritual growth for a lot of Christians. By keeping ourselves at a safe distance we not only lose fellowship, we also refuse to let anyone speak into our lives with correction or encouragement, and we miss the opportunity to do the same for others. “There is no doubt that we need each other desperately. There are blind spots in all our lives that we shall never see, unless we are prepared for another to be God’s channel to us” (50).

I want to have this experience of daily revival—walking in “newness of life” as Paul said in Romans 6:4, being aware that His mercies are “new every morning” (Lamentation 3:22-23), and having fellowship with one another as with Jesus Christ (1 John 1:7). No one needs to wait for once a year revival services, or even once a week revivifying, because we have daily access to God, His Word, and one another.

“Seek the Lord and His strength; seek His presence continually!” –Psalm 105:4 ESV

Sacrificial Living

“Cheap worship is an oxymoron. It doesn’t exist” (Good to Great in God’s Eyes, by Chip Ingram). This comment, along with his discussion of Romans 12:1, got me thinking about sacrifice. Paul wrote “I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship” (ESV). I have to admit that when I’ve read that verse in the past, I’ve unconsciously read “present your bodies, which is your spiritual worship,” and left out the part about sacrifice.

So I wondered, what have I really sacrificed? I’ve given time, but not sacrificially. I’ve given money, but it’s not a sacrifice when I have plenty. I’ve given up certain forms of entertainment, but it’s no sacrifice. Most of us will never be called to sacrifice our lives in martyrdom, but we are called to sacrifice our priorities for the love of God.

As I considered further, it occurred to me that sacrifice is a matter of perspective. If you’d told me 20 or 30 years ago how I’d be using my time, money, and energy today, I would have thought myself crazy to be giving up so much for the call of God—working for a Christian organization, giving x amount to the church, using time in study and service. But because it has been a gradual shift in my priorities, I’ve never considered it a real sacrifice. God has been kind to lead me one small step at a time. Many others have had to dive right into the deep end of faithful living. I’ve seen more significant changes in the past year, so I wonder if there is some bigger step of faith on the horizon that God is nudging me toward.

Ingram uses the analogy of a blank check, signing our lives over to God to use as He desires. He writes:

“It’s true that the sacrifices involved are very real, but it’s also true that the benefits are worth the costs. Jesus promised great rewards, both in this age and the age to come, for those who surrender everything to him (Mark 10:29-30). God never uses a blank check selfishly. He always takes care of the one who signed it.”

The sacrifices we are called to make are going to look different for each believer. For some it may mean going to an unknown land; for others it means staying home. For some it may mean giving up a job; for others it means staying in the same job. For some it may mean remaining single and celibate; for others it means raising a family. For some it may mean giving money to support a ministry need; for others it may mean giving time and energy. What is a sacrifice for me may not look like a sacrifice to someone else, and vice versa. We are in no position to judge what others should or shouldn’t do to follow God’s call.

I would challenge each of us to think through what we are doing or not doing in response to our love for God and our desire to worship Him with our whole being. Is there some piece we’re holding back out of fear, pride, or selfishness?

• Fear says “I might not have enough.” Faith says “God will provide.” (Philippians 4:19)
• Pride says “My time is too valuable to do that.” Humility says “I delight to do Your will, O Lord.” (Psalm 40:8)
• Selfishness says “I have the right to use my things as I want.” Generosity says “What do I have that didn’t come from God?” (1 Chronicles 29:14)

May God be gracious in leading us in steps of obedience, and merciful when we find it hard to follow!

Think

This Sunday in Sunday school we were talking about learning as a spiritual discipline, then this week I’ve been reading a few books that go along well with that theme: Think: The Life of the Mind and the Love of God, by John Piper; Good to Great in God’s Eyes, by Chip Ingram; and If I Had Lunch with C.S. Lewis, by Alister McGrath. Piper makes the following comment in regard to “anti-intellectual impulses” within the church:

“If we were to succeed in raising a generation of people who give up serious, faithful, coherent thinking, we will have raised a generation incapable of reading the Bible… The problem with those who debunk the gift of thinking as a way of knowing God is that they do not spell out clearly what the alternative is. The reason is that there isn’t one. If we abandon thinking, we abandon the Bible, and if we abandon the Bible we abandon God” (123).

Ingram urges believers to “think great thoughts” and “read great books” that help us to understand Scripture, meditate on it, and apply it to our lives. One author quoted by McGrath wrote of C.S. Lewis, “Rational argument does not create belief, but it maintains a climate in which belief may flourish.”

It seems in many churches that members don’t feel any need for spiritual nourishment outside of an hour or two on Sunday morning. Something I listened to recently (I forget who it was) made the claim that churchgoers are receiving too many messages with no chance to apply them. Maybe that was true when the primary social activities of a community revolved around the church—Sunday morning, Sunday evening, Wednesday night, etc. Barna Research states, “Regular attenders used to be people who went to church three or more weekends each month—or even several times a week. Now people who show up once every four to six weeks consider themselves regular churchgoers.”

So I doubt that these folks are hearing too many messages for them to apply. I believe the real problem is that people don’t want to have to think. They want to be spoon-fed a simple message that does not challenge them to consider how they should respond. They will forget the message as soon as they leave the pew, and won’t think about their faith until the next Sunday morning when they decide whether to go to church or not.

That’s a mindset I can’t really understand. In addition to being raised in the church, I’ve spent about 9 years in formal education at Christian colleges and seminaries, and much of my free time since then has been spent in reading and study of a wide variety of Christian books. The more I read and learn, the more I want to learn and the more I want to truly know God. I shared this quote recently on Facebook:

“A real Christian’s hunger may begin slowly, but it will grow over time, so that by the end of life a real Christian is hungrier than ever for God. By contrast, someone who is not real may have hunger that starts off strong, but it will diminish over time, so that eventually this person is less hungry for God, if at all” (Todd Wilson, Real Christian).

I’m afraid that’s what has happened to a lot of church members. At one time they realized a need for God, but they haven’t fed that need with the solid food of the Word and have gradually lost interest. Apathy has set in and they are satisfied with occasional appearances at church services to maintain the illusion of real faith. I wonder how many will hear those terrifying words, “Depart from Me, I never knew you” (Matthew 7:23). I don’t want that to happen to any of the people I love. I want us all to be confident that He knows us and that we are seeking to know Him as well as we are humanly able.

"And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength." –Matthew 12:30 ESV

Be Yourself

We hear a lot about the two-way battle between flesh and spirit, particularly in the New Testament letters. I’ve been noticing lately, however, that it sometimes seems like a three-way battle. There’s the outer self that everyone knows and sees. Then there’s the inner self with all its secrets, sins, and hidden motives that few people, if any, ever know about. And finally there is the spiritual self that is defined by how God sees us in Christ. Certainly that third “self” is the one we want to live out, though it takes a lifetime of learning how to do so. In the meantime, we have to wrestle with how to integrate the spiritual reality with how we see ourselves and how we present ourselves to the world.

Rick Warren commented, “The upcoming generation places a great value on authenticity. But it’s important to see that you’re not authentic until you can publicly admit how inauthentic you are most of the time” (http://www.desiringgod.org/conference-messages/the-battle-for-your-mind). How closely does our self-perception match the public persona? And how well do those agree with God’s view of us? I’ve long been fascinated by the definition of “integrity” as being unity or wholeness. It’s more than just morality; it’s having a unified personality, free from distortion.

Todd Wilson wrote the following, an excerpt from his book Real Christian as shared on http://www.desiringgod.org/blog/posts/what-does-it-mean-to-be-real:

“Real Christians are new creatures. Physically, they won’t look different than others, at least not in the way they dress or keep their hair. Yet real Christians are radically changed—they’ve experienced a new birth, received a new heart, and enjoy new desires. Which makes them altogether new people who live new lives

“And it shows. If you’re real, it will reveal itself in your life. Real Christians bear the marks of authentic faith in ways that can be seen, heard, and felt. When you know what you’re looking for, you can see the marks of real in their lives—and in your own.”

The challenge, as I see it, is that we don’t even recognize how inauthentic we really are at times. After all, “the heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick; who can understand it?” (Jeremiah 17:9 ESV). Not only do we fail to understand the true motives of our hearts, but pride keeps us from being open and honest before others. Then to top it off, we often forget or don’t know how to live out our true identity in Christ. I wish I had six easy steps to authentic Christian living, but I think we’re all still trying to figure out this life. As many have said, the first step is realizing we have a problem.

A local church had the following on their marquis for some time: “You only become yourself by God's power.” He’s the one who created us in His image, and He’s also the one who has re-created us in Christ. (See 2 Corinthians 5:17, Galatians 2:20, and Romans 6:4.) He’s the one who knows us intimately and loves us intensely. And He’s the only one who can transform us inside and out to reflect His glory.

Todd Wilson comments, “Wholeness is one of the marks of a real Christian, because when you’re real, you’ve received not half of Christ but the whole Christ… Every grace that is his is now ours, the fullness of his life within us. Everything we see in him, we will see ever increasingly in us” (115-116).

I want that to be my experience day by day, having a unified personality that increasingly reflects the mind of Christ in my perspective of God, myself, and others.

“I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me.” –Galatians 2:20

Working or Abiding?

I’ve written before both about abiding in Christ and the Fruit of the Spirit, but I had kind of an “Aha” moment recently as I started reading True Community by Jerry Bridges. Sometimes just a simple rephrasing makes an old truth more clear. He quotes Robert Haldane’s Exposition of the Epistle to the Romans:

“It is impossible that the streams can be dried up when the fountain continues to flow, and it is equally impossible for the members not to share in the same holiness which dwells so abundantly in the Head. As the branch, when united to the living vine, necessarily partakes of its life and fatness, so the sinner, when united to Christ, must receive an abundant supply of sanctifying grace out of His immeasurable fullness.”

Or as John recorded Jesus saying, “I am the Vine, you are the branches. Whoever abides in Me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from Me you can do nothing” (15:5 ESV).

I don’t think I’d considered before the fact that the branches must bear fruit if they are attached to the Vine. It is now part of our new nature, the life blood flowing in us, to bear the fruit that the Vine creates. (However, it is possible for people to only look like they are attached to the Vine and not really be saved and thus not bear fruit.) Those who are attached will be compelled to bear fruit. That may not be their own priority to begin with, but the Vinedresser will keep pruning away all lesser desires.

I really have no choice in whether I will bear fruit or what that fruit will look like. All of that is determined by my Father. I also can’t make it happen any faster or through some easier process. (I’m not sure I can even slow it down if God has His way.) It will grow when and how He desires. It is rather a relief to know He’s got it all in hand. I am confident that I am indeed connected to the life of the Vine because of what He has already done in and through me in recent months and years. And that knowledge leads to further confidence that He will complete His fruit-bearing work in me and gives me greater faith and hope.

Maybe it’s just me, but I think I’ve always tried to make abiding too complicated, too much my own work. The fact is, I am in the Vine and nothing can now change that. Fruit is both the proof of what God has done to graft me in and the ongoing evidence of what He is doing. It has nothing to do with how good I am at being a branch. If it depended on me, I’d be lopping myself off the Vine every day. To quote Dr. Bob Mayer’s message in our office chapel service today, “Think how liberating that can be—God’s work does not depend on you… Nothing happens apart from the sovereign care of God.”

I hope and pray that this lesson won’t soon be forgotten in the busyness of perfectionism!

“You did not choose Me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit and that your fruit should abide…” –John 15:16

A Rocky Start

One of the arguments for the historicity of the Bible is the fact that the writers didn’t sugarcoat the narrative. They portrayed people with all their faults and failures. I was thinking about that particularly in relation to the Apostle Peter. The transformation that takes place in his life between the writing of the four Gospels and when he wrote his epistles has to be attributed to the grace of God. In addition, what he wrote in his letters takes on greater meaning when you remember the experiences behind it. Consider just a few examples:

“In this you rejoice, though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by various trials, so that the tested genuineness of your faith—more precious than gold that perishes though it is tested by fire—may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ” (1 Peter 1:6-7 ESV). This comes from the man who denied Jesus three times when the heat was on. Luke’s gospel tells us that Peter wept bitterly over his denial (22:62). He was indeed grieved about failing the test.

 “Be subject for the Lord’s sake to every human institution… For this is a gracious thing, when, mindful of God, one endures sorrows while suffering unjustly” (1 Peter 2:13, 19). And yet Peter was known for having drawn a sword to fight against Jesus’ arrest in the garden (John 18:10). Jesus rebuked him and then set the example of enduring sorrow while suffering unjustly.

“And after you have suffered a little while, the God of all grace, who has called you to His eternal glory in Christ, will Himself restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you” (1 Peter 5:10). Peter got a taste of this graceful restoration after Jesus’ resurrection when He met them on the beach (John 21:15-17). I’m sure he also remembered Jesus’ words prior to the crucifixion, “I have prayed for you that your faith may not fail. And when you have turned again, strengthen your brothers” (Luke 22:32). Peter continued to do this through his preaching and writing until the end of his life.

“As you come to Him, a living stone rejected by men but in the sight of God chosen and precious, you yourselves like living stones are being built up as a spiritual house, to be a holy priesthood, to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ” (1 Peter 2:4-5). Peter was the one that Jesus told “on this rock I will build my church” (Matthew 16:18), and yet he did not claim any special authority greater than that of any other believers. He said we are all being built together into God’s house.

Peter experienced all the highs and lows of following Jesus, from the transfiguration to the crucifixion, from walking on water to breakfast on the beach. He had a lot to teach from what he had learned along the way, and we can still learn from him. If God can take someone like Peter—brash, speaking before thinking, easily swayed by circumstances—and make him a valuable contributor to the church, how much can He do with each of us? What lessons have we learned that we need to share with others? We tend to think that our lessons are too personal or too painful to be shared, or that we have nothing new to say. But God will work through anyone who is willing to be honest and open about what He has done and is doing in their life. Each of us has a different circle of friends who need to hear the truth. Our lives become the continuous, living testimony to God’s existence and ability to transform people.

Peter could have denied Jesus and then disappeared from history. On the beach he could have told Jesus, “Yes, I love You, but I’m done with this fishing-for-men thing. I’ve had all I can take.” Instead, fifty days later he was boldly proclaiming who Jesus was, and thousands of lives were changed as a result. Perhaps a bit of his boldness can rub off on us as we trust God to use us for His kingdom.

 “But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for His own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light.” -1 Peter 2:9

© 2014 Dawn Rutan. Unless otherwise indicated all images are copyright free from pixabay.com. The opinions stated do not necessarily reflect the views of my church or employer.

Handle With Care

“Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who has no need to be ashamed, rightly handling the word of truth” (2 Timothy 2:15 ESV). This verse came to mind recently, it occurred to me that I’ve noticed a correlation between those who handle Scripture with care and those who can be trusted to treat people with care. It’s not a one to one correlation, and certainly there are caring people who have little or no knowledge of Scripture, but the general principle seems to apply.

As I think about it, there are two main factors—a love for God and a love for His Word—and those two seem to overflow in a love for others. Those who truly love God are likely to carefully study the entirety of the Bible, not picking and choosing the parts they like and discarding the rest. Love of the Word reinforces love for God. And because we have received the love of God as revealed in the Word, we can love one another fully and freely. The Apostle John was pretty adamant in his letters:

“Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God, and whoever loves has been born of God and knows God. Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love… We love because He first loved us” (1 John 4:7-8, 19).

I’ve seen it demonstrated in my pastor and in others I know well that God’s love overflows the most through those who handle the Word with care. I’ve also seen that Christians who take shortcuts with Scripture or are negligent with it tend to be less trustworthy and more careless in their relationships with people. On the extreme end are those who misuse Scripture to justify hateful and derogatory behavior toward those they disagree with, persecuting people in the name of Christ.

Personally, I want to hang around people who are compassionate and trustworthy, who will encourage me (1 Thessalonians 5:11), but who are willing to correct me in accordance with Scripture (2 Timothy 4:2), truly speaking the truth in love (Ephesians 4:15). And that’s the kind of person I want to become as well.

The Apostle Paul pulls all these elements together in Colossians 3:12-17:

“Put on then, as God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience, bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive. And above all these put on love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony. And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one Body. And be thankful. Let the Word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God. And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him.”

Since love is part of the Fruit of the Spirit, it seems likely that love will grow in proportion with God’s work in our lives. And God works most clearly in those who are seeking Him in His Word. So if we want to be known as those who love one another well, we should start by searching the Scriptures in order to better know the God who is Love.

“Seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.” –Matthew 6:33

I Problems

Some time back I wrote about Job’s entitlement mentality. I’m reading through Job again and noticed particularly in chapter 31 how Job repeatedly says “If I have...” The first verse of chapter 32 says, “So these three men ceased to answer Job, because he was righteous in his own eyes.” It appears that the last time Job really had his eyes on God in worship was in 1:21, “The Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord.” Beginning in chapter 3, his eyes are on himself, “After this Job opened his mouth and cursed the day of his birth.”

It’s amazing how easily we can stop focusing on God and starting focusing on ourselves. It doesn’t take Job-like suffering to do that. Such distraction can come from minor suffering, success, and even service. When we’re in pain, we tend to look at the reason for our pain. C.S. Lewis wrote:

“I once read the sentence ‘I lay awake all night with a toothache, thinking about the toothache and about lying awake.’ That’s true to life. Part of every misery is, so to speak, the misery’s shadow or reflection: the fact that you don’t merely suffer but have to keep on thinking about the fact that you suffer. I not only live each endless day in grief, but live each day thinking about living each day in grief.” (A Grief Observed).

And when things are going well and we’ve achieved some success, we are likely to get distracted by our pride. Comfort can quickly lead to apathy in the Christian life.

But even service can take our eyes off of God. We can get so busy doing good things, even church activities, that we lose sight of the purpose behind them. As Pastor Matt wrote in this week’s sermonrecap:

“Many so-called good works are poisoned when we allow the number two command [love people] to eclipse the number one command [love God]. The purpose of our good works is to glorify God. This completes the circuit, closes the loop, fulfills our function. We were created to glorify God, and this is why we do good works. Not to be seen or praised (Matthew 6:1-17), but so that God might be seen and praised.”

In church activities in particular we run into a conundrum: those who serve should be doing so without expectation of praise or recognition, and yet the Body needs to have an appreciation for all that goes on behind the scenes to make things happen. Service itself is a spiritual discipline, knowing that we are ultimately responsible to God for how we use the gifts He has given us. But I believe praise is also be a discipline we need to practice—we need to be praise God for how He has supplied the Body, and we need to express thanksgiving to people for the ways God has been able to work through their service.

Among his many greetings to individuals in his letters, Paul singles out three and says, “I rejoice at the coming of Stephanas and Fortunatus and Achaicus, because they have made up for your absence, for they refreshed my spirit as well as yours. Give recognition to such men” (1 Corinthians 16:17-18). He didn’t stop with saying thanks, but he urged the church to take time to thank them as well.

Unfortunately, our lack of praise is another “I problem.” Some possible reasons for it include:

• We don’t know what is being done that is worthy of praise, perhaps due to inattentiveness.
• We don’t believe it is praiseworthy, perhaps due to jealousy, pride, or judgmental attitudes.
• We don’t care enough to take the time to say thanks.

If we look around us with our eyes focused on God, it shouldn’t be hard to see opportunities to thank others for their acts of service. But in case we don’t get around to it, God never forgets:

“For God is not unjust so as to overlook your work and the love that you have shown for His name in serving the saints, as you still do.” –Hebrews 6:10

Take the Next Step

Recently I searched for the word “walk” in the New Testament, and I was struck by the variety of instructions for how we are to walk:

• Walk in newness of life (Romans 6:4)
• Walk not according to the flesh but according to the Spirit (Romans 8:4)
• Walk properly as in the daytime (Romans 13:13)
• Walk by faith, not by sight (2 Corinthians 5:7)
• Walk by the Spirit (Galatians 5:16 & 25)
• Walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called (Ephesians 4:1)
• Walk in love (Ephesians 5:2)
• Walk as children of the light (Ephesians 5:8)
• Walk not as unwise but as wise (Ephesians 5:15)
• Walk in a manner worthy of the Lord (Colossians 1:10; 1 Thessalonians 2:12)
• Walk in Christ Jesus the Lord (Colossians 2:6)
• Walk in wisdom toward outsiders (Colossians 4:5; 1 Thessalonians 4:12)
• Walk in the light (1 John 1:7)
• Walk as Jesus walked (1 John 2:6)
• Walk according to His commandments (2 John 6)

Altogether, those verses pretty well illustrate what our lives should look like within the Body of Christ. Unfortunately, I’m not sure we do a very good job of living up to those expectations. There seems to be an abundance of unwise choices and walking in darkness. Of course, that’s obvious in the pastors who make the news, but it is at least as frequent among attendees of every church. While some of those church attenders are not actually Christians, they aren’t the only ones taking missteps.

We are all prone to depart from the “narrow way” at times. The main questions are how far off the path are we going to go and how long are we going to stay there? The further we stray into darkness, the harder it is to return to the light and the more likely it is that our sins will become known to others.

As we discussed in Bible study this week, when we try to cope with our sin in isolation, we’re going to have a hard time holding everything together and keeping it from ruling our lives. We desperately need the light of Christ to shine on our lives through close relationships with other believers. We need those people who will ask the hard questions and won’t settle for “Fine” as an answer to any question. We need people who will not just keep our secrets, but won’t let our secrets keep us from growing in holiness. We need people who can help us think through and pray for wise decisions in all areas of life.

How much sin would be avoided if every believer were held accountable by someone else? How much temptation would be diffused if we knew we’d have to tell someone if we gave in to it? There have been many times when I’ve needed that accountability to keep me from doing something I would soon regret, and there have been times when I didn’t have anyone when I needed someone.

Trillia Newbell writes the following on Why Accountability Matters (http://www.desiringgod.org/blog/posts/why-accountability-matters):

“Consistent accountability has been a means of God’s protection in my life. To this day, though I’m further along in my walk than I was a decade ago, I do not believe I’m incapable of grievous sin (1 Corinthians 10:12). I am a new creation, and I have the Spirit’s power, but it’s no longer a surprise that when I want to do good, evil is close at hand (Romans 7:21). Understanding that we are all batting on the same team (all have sinned) means we can freely share with these close, trusted friends. Accountability allows us to confess patterns of temptation and in so doing we are restrained from actual transgression.”

I would challenge individuals and small groups to take the next step toward honesty and vulnerability with those who can be trusted.

“Therefore, having put away falsehood, let each one of you speak the truth with his neighbor, for we are members one of another.” –Ephesians 4:25

I'm Here

As often happens to me, there has been a convergence of themes in books that I am reading. The first was a slightly modernized (in 1976) version of The Practice of the Presence of God, by Brother Lawrence. The second was Real Presence: The Christian Worldview of C.S. Lewis as Incarnational Reality, by Leanne Payne. As you might guess, the general subject of both books is an awareness of God’s presence with us and in us in daily life.

As the Apostle Paul put it: “I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me” (Galatians 2:20 ESV), and “…the riches of the glory of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory” (Colossians 1:27).

God’s presence is one of those subjects that is hard to comprehend. We are taught that He is omnipresent, though Scripture doesn’t use that exact language, and we certainly believe He hears us when we pray. And yet most of the time we don’t consider the fact that God is indeed present with us in every minute of the day, whether we’re working, relaxing, eating, or sleeping. Brother Lawrence wrote:

“The time of business does not with me differ from the time of prayer; and in the noise and clatter of my kitchen, while several persons are at the same time calling for different things, I possess God in as great tranquility as if I were upon my knees before the Blessed Sacrament.”

As I was thinking about it the other night, it occurred to me that sometimes I don’t want to acknowledge God’s presence. I tend to write out my prayers as a way of keeping my mind focused. There is an underlying feeling that if I write something down or say it out loud, it is more real than if I just think it. So if there is something I don’t particularly want God’s opinion on, I imagine I can keep it to myself, as if God doesn’t know my thoughts better than I do. At times I’ve wished for someone to talk to, yet I’m reluctant to talk to the One with all the answers. I’m afraid He might tell me something I don’t want to hear.

How different would our lives and our prayers be if we acknowledged that God is always there? I’ve only skimmed a few pages of Jesus Calling, by Sarah Young, but that seems to be a common theme for her as well. (I realize that book has been criticized by some for putting words in Jesus’ mouth.) Although there might be times that God’s presence is uncomfortable, when we don’t particularly want to obey, I suspect that most of the time it would result in greater peace and tranquility, joy, and love, and less concern with what others might think about us.

Leanne Payne writes:

“The unfallen Adam and Eve could hear God—and they could listen to Him. They had union and communion with the Life-Giver. They were, in other words, God-conscious and not self-conscious… They were channels of love to all creation. There is no doubt they blessed all they touched. Experiencing always the Real Presence of God, love flowed out from them; they were Sons of God who did not know separation from God” (60-61).

In this fallen world, our perception of God is veiled, as is our perception of ourselves and one another. Practicing the presence of God is developing the habit of remembering Who God is, abiding with Him, and watching for those moments when He pulls back the veil to reveal a little bit of His glory.

“There is not in the world a kind of life more sweet and delightful, than that of a continual conversation with God; those only can comprehend it who practice and experience it.” –Brother Lawrence

Daughters and Sons

Something I read recently pointed out some details I hadn’t noticed before in Mark 5:21-43. That’s one of those passages that becomes so familiar that you don’t read it closely. One of the synagogue rulers, Jairus, comes to Jesus desperate for his daughter to be healed. While Jesus is on the way, He is waylaid by a woman touching His robe to be healed of her disease. There are some interesting parallels and contrasts between the two.

• The girl is 12 years old; the woman has been suffering for 12 years.
• Jairus comes boldly on behalf of his daughter; the woman slips up, hoping to be unnoticed.
• Both are desperate cases that only Jesus can cure.
• Both are beloved daughters of the Heavenly Father. 

In both cases, Jesus responds immediately out of compassion. The only thing He could have done more quickly was to have healed Jairus’s daughter from afar (as He did for the centurion in Matthew 8). In the version recorded in Matthew 9, the daughter had already died before Jairus came to Jesus.

We can tend to forget sometimes that God is a God of compassion. Jesus reflected that as He had compassion on individuals as well as crowds and provided for their needs. None of them were an interruption to His ministry, they were His ministry. When He began His ministry, He read from Isaiah, “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because He has anointed me to proclaim the good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor” (Luke 4:18-19 ESV).

Of course, those who encountered Jesus noticed primarily His immediate provision of their felt needs for healing or food. Fewer realized the eternal significance of what He was doing to set them free. We tend to have the same short-sightedness. Our temporal needs usually take more of our attention than our eternal needs, but that’s no surprise to God. He expects us to come to Him with whatever concerns us.

It’s noteworthy that every time Jesus calls someone son or daughter it’s when He has healed them in some way. And it some cases, such as Mark 2:5, Jesus also points out that their sins are forgiven. The New Testament writers repeatedly remind us that in Christ we are children of God (Romans 8:14-15, 2 Corinthians 6:18, Galatians 3:26-4:6, Ephesians 5:1, 1 John 3:1-2, etc.). And isn’t that really the point of evangelism and discipleship—that we would know that we have been adopted and learn to live in the love of God? It’s not just about being saved from the consequences of sin and granted eternal life, but that we will be able to live in relationship with our true Father now and forever.

I’ll admit I often get distracted and frustrated with trying to find meaning and purpose in various situations and activities. Lately God seems to be telling me, “Don’t worry about that. I’ve got that covered. Just remember that you’re my daughter and I love you. Be still and know that I am God.” Sometimes that’s all we need to know.

“Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children. And walk in love, as Christ loved us and gave Himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.” –Ephesians 5:1-2

Comfortable Christians?

In Sunday school we’ve been studying the Spiritual Disciplines, based on Donald Whitney’s book Spiritual Disciplines for the Christian Life. A couple other good books are Richard Foster’s Celebration of Discipline, and his son Nathan Foster’s The Making of an Ordinary Saint, among others. The latter book illustrates one man’s attempts to live in the disciplines, and is perhaps the most encouraging example for those of us who try and fail.

As I finished reading these books, the thing that stood out most to me was that the reason we tend to avoid many of the Spiritual Disciplines is that we don’t want to be uncomfortable. Studying and memorizing Scripture takes time, and we don’t want to give up something else in order to make time. Evangelism can lead to some pretty awkward conversations, and we don’t want to look bad. Stewardship means we have to give up some of our resources, and we don’t want to find ourselves shorthanded. Fasting means going without food for some period of time, and most of us have never really experienced true hunger. Prayer seems a little easier, provided we aren’t asked to pray out loud or for a long time. And most of us are used to attending worship services, though we may not actually worship often. Solitude may seem desirable, especially for parents of busy children, but we may be reluctant to use that time to seek God.

I think “comfortable Christians” should be an oxymoron, but it is all too common, especially in the Western world. We’ll put on the religious act so long as it doesn’t inconvenience us or make us look bad. But if it interferes with our work, entertainment, hobbies, and habits, Christianity gets put on the back burner.

Donald Whitney says this about the role of struggle in the Christian life:

“Referring to the Godliness mentioned in 1 Timothy 4:7-8, the Apostle Paul writes in verse 10, ‘And for this we labor and strive.’ The word labor and strive tell us that becoming like Christ involves a lot more than to ‘let go and let God.’ The Greek word translated ‘labor’ means to work until one is weary. We get our English word agonize from the term rendered here as strive” (242).

Does that sound like the kind of effort that most Christians put into seeking godliness? Whitney lists several other Scriptures:

• Colossians 1:29 (ESV)- “For this I toil, struggling with all His energy that He powerfully works within me.”
• John 15:18-19- “If the world hates you, know that it has hated Me before it hated you. If you were of the world, the world would love you as its own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you.”
• Galatians 5:17- “For the desires of the flesh are against the Spirit, and the desires of the Spirit are against the flesh, for these are opposed to each other, to keep you from doing the things you want to do.”
• Galatians 6:8- “For the one who sows to his own flesh will from the flesh reap corruption, but the one who sows to the Spirit will from the Spirit reap eternal life.”
• 1 Peter 5:8- “Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.”
• Ephesians 6:11- “Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil.”

Those don’t sound like encouragement to “make yourself comfortable” while waiting for Christ’s return. No, they are commands to remind us that the battle is real and that we have an enemy who will do anything to try to pull us away from Christ and prevent us from being effective witnesses for His kingdom.

In 1 Thessalonians 5:5-6 Paul writes, “For you are all children of light, children of the day. We are not of the night or of the darkness. So then let us not sleep, as others do, but let us keep awake and be sober.” In this dark world, it’s easy to get complacent. Even though an abrupt end is coming, we lose vigilance as time goes on with no end in sight. Darkness seems so pervasive that our little lights don’t seem to make a difference. It’s easy to get distracted with the routine of living and forget that this world as it currently exists is not our eternal home.

The Spiritual Disciplines are meant to keep our focus on God and to prepare us for eternity. They remind us that some things are more important and comfort and convenience. They help us to run from sin and run to our Savior. They call us to run the race with perseverance, keeping our eyes on the true goal of life only in Christ.

“Rather train yourself for godliness; for while bodily training is of some value, godliness is of value in every way, as it holds promise for the present life and also for the life to come.” -1 Timothy 4:7-8

Fruitful Works

This week I’ve been working on memorizing Hebrews 13:20-21 (ESV): “Now may the God of peace who brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus, the great Shepherd of the sheep, by the blood of the eternal covenant, equip you with everything good that you may do His will, working in us that which is pleasing in His sight, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen.” At the same time, I’ve been praying my way through Colossians 1:9-12. Verse 10 says “…so as to walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to Him, bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God.”

In reading those two passages together, I felt that perhaps I was not “bearing fruit in every good work” at least in some areas of my life. I was reminded also of Ephesians 2:10, “For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.” So if God has equipped us with everything we need, and He has prepared the good works for us to do, why does it feel like we’re not bearing fruit the way we should? I think there may be a few reasons:

1) We may be expecting the wrong kind of works. I think we’d all like to be known for accomplishing something great for the Kingdom—saving thousands of people at a crusade, writing a worship song that is sung worldwide, raising a million dollars for missions, etc. But God may have an entirely different agenda—taking care of your kids and raising them to know Him, teaching a Sunday school class, counting the offering every week, or praying for those in need. We’re all doing some small thing every day that can have an eternal impact in our own lives and the lives of those we love. That may be the good work set before us.

2) We may be expecting fruit to grow too fast. The fruit of raising children in a godly home may take decades to realize. Not many people will accept Christ as little children and never stray away. The fruit of being faithful in prayer may not be in ways we can immediately see. The fruit of studying Scripture may be a slow pull away from the things of this world. God never said our good works would change the world overnight.

3) Our good works may be hidden or hindered by life in a fallen world. Being a good, upright employee working for an ungodly boss may feel like a waste of time, but that doesn’t necessarily mean we should change jobs or give in to the corporate culture. Even Christian organizations can be hindered by the distractions of pleasing people and funding programs. Being a prayerful, godly parent may be tough if the other parent doesn’t agree. Scripture is full of examples of people who had to remain faithful in the midst of difficult circumstances. They may not have seen the fruit of their labors, but we can still read about them today.

So perhaps we need to adjust our expectations. In writing about the discipline of service, Nathan Foster says:

“Certainly by our standards Jesus was really unproductive. He spent thirty years in a broken-down, working-class town doing what? In his ministry he really only invested in twelve guys, and even they didn’t seem to understand what he was really trying to do. He didn’t write books or leave clear, concise discipleship methods. Jesus even gave the responsibility of furthering his message to Peter, the guy who had just ditched him. According to worldly values, his service work was inefficient. Jesus was relaxed; we are stressed. Jesus was patient; we are obsessed with progress. Jesus was content; we want more. Jesus’s church was small; we insist on mega” (The Making of an Ordinary Saint, pp. 124-125).

God’s idea of success and fruitfulness has a lot more to do with our relationship with Him than with completing some grand task. The Apostle Paul also links fruit with knowledge of God and His will. Besides the Colossians passage mentioned, in Philippians 1:9-11 he prays “that your love may abound more and more, with knowledge and all discernment… filled with the fruit of righteousness…” In Ephesians 5:8-9 he says, “For at one time you were darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of the light, for the fruit of light is found in all that is good and right and true, and try to discern what is pleasing to the Lord.”

May we be found faithful in seeking the Lord and His will so that we will bear fruit in the good works He has appointed to us.

“Well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful over a little; I will set you over much. Enter into the joy of your master.” –Matthew 25:21 

Nearer to Thee

One of the best books I’ve read this year is Following Christ: Experiencing Life the Way It Was Meant to Be, by Joseph Stowell. Although it’s more than a decade old, it seemed particularly relevant to what I’ve been thinking about and experiencing lately. Other books have also addressed the difference between being a Christian leader and being a follower. (More recently published I Am a Follower, by Leonard Sweet, although I found the style of that one hard to read.) Stowell comments:

“Scripture is crystal clear about the profile of a true follower of Jesus Christ… First, a follower was one who had a growing and deepening relationship to the one they were following… Second, a true follower is in the process of a radical reformation because of the influence of the leader on his life. True followers do not remain the same once they start following Christ… For us then, following means to adopt Him as the local rabbi of our lives and surrender; to sit under His wisdom in order to learn from Him; and to serve Him in every way possible. It means to give Him the highest priority as the supreme relationship of life out of which every other relationship and activity is defined and directed” (73,75).

Once you’ve become a Christian and learned the basics, it’s easy to fall into the “religious habit” of doing certain activities but not really following Christ and not growing in faith. You can be active in the spiritual disciplines—reading the Bible, praying, going to church, etc.—but not be changed by any of it. Stowell gives a great word picture of this life:

“Going into orbit around Christ mean stifling any further impulse of movement toward Him… Fully devoted followers are involved in a passionate pursuit of Christ and are never satisfied with stagnancy or a stalemate. Yet becoming an orbital Christian is alluring because it is more comfortable and less challenging, and besides, we can always take satisfaction in the fact that there are others whose orbits are father out than ours” (96).

I’ve been realizing anew that I don’t want to be satisfied with the status quo. I don’t want to be content with going through the motions without being drawn consistently nearer to Christ. I want God to do whatever it takes to keep conforming me to the image of Christ (see Romans 8:29 and 12:2). Stowell asks, “Can you believe that there is no price too high to pay to experience the privilege of walking with Him?” (102). Missionary David Livingstone wrote in his journal, “God, send me anywhere, only go with me. Lay any burden on me, only sustain me. And sever any tie in my heart except the tie that binds my heart to Yours.” That can be a frightening thing to pray, unless you are convinced that God is worth it all and following Him is the supreme adventure in this life.

The old hymn by Charles Tindley urges “Nothing between my soul and my Savior…” It has been my prayer lately that God would not allow anything to remain between us—no sin, no habits, no desires, no goals or priorities—nothing that would interfere with being “rooted and grounded in love” and comprehending “the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge” (Ephesians 3:17-19). I want Him to keep pruning away all that is unfruitful in me.

Even as I write and pray that, I am aware that my choices don’t always line up with my heart’s deepest desire. I know how often I choose distractions instead of seeking God. It’s easy to turn on the TV, flip open a novel, or even go to bed early rather than spending time in the Word and prayer. Although I’m somewhat more disciplined than I was a year or two ago, I know I’ve just settled into a new orbit a little closer to the Son. But I also remember from physics that if you get too close to a large mass, the gravitational force will continue to pull you in unless you are actively working against it. So I trust that God’s pull on me will be ever increasing and He will not allow me to remain at a distance.

“And without faith it is impossible to please Him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that He exists and that He rewards those who seek Him.” –Hebrews 11:6

Cheer One Another On

Just a quick thought for today...

This morning I ran the Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure 5K. I arrived at the course as the first batch of runners took off for the timed race, which started before the recreational run I was in. It was moving to see this crowd of people in pink running and many others cheering them on. A later report I heard said 17,000 people were registered.

As I started my run I noticed that most people were running with at least one other person, though there were a few of us singles. After the first half mile there weren't too many spectators to cheer on the runners until the end, but every time I heard them encouraging us it spurred me to keep running and to pick up the pace. At the finish line, aside from the many people lining the sidewalks and cheering, an announcer was reporting the names of breast cancer survivors as they crossed the line. It was really an amazing display of people united for a cause. It was also pretty exhausting as I set a new personal record.

I was reminded of a few verses from Hebrews:

• 10:24- "And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds" (NIV).
• 12:1-2- "Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God" (ESV).

We need to be cheering one another on in this race of life. We weren't meant to run the race alone, but to come alongside one another with encouragement, challenge, and even rebuke at times. We should all be running toward the same goal, united in Christ to bring others into eternal life with Him. And one day we will hear Him call our name as those who have not only survived, but have "finished the race and kept the faith. Henceforth there is laid up for [us] the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that Day, and not only to me but also to all who have loved His appearing" (2 Timothy 4:7-8).

Let us "press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus" (Philippians 3:14).