Clean Hands and Pure Heart

The following quotes from Lead, by Paul David Tripp, seem all too apropos considering some of the recent news coming from Christian ministries.

“I have seen that when it comes to leaders’ struggle with sin, we tend to make unbiblical assumptions that cause us to be naïve and unprepared for battles that we will face in the life and ministry of leaders in our communities. It is not safe to assume that a seminary graduate is spiritually okay. It’s not safe to conclude that a very gifted leader is where he needs to be in his relationship with Jesus. It’s not necessarily true that a theologically insightful leader is spiritually mature. Ministry effectiveness is not to be confused with cleanness of heart. What you know about the public persona of a leader does not mean you do not need to be concerned about his private life” (181).

“Every leadership community should be clear that giftedness is not the same as spiritual maturity. Biblical literacy is not the same as spiritual maturity. We need to be clear that theological acumen is not the same as spiritual maturity. Ministry success is not the same as spiritual maturity. Popularity is not the same as spiritual maturity. Strategic insight is not the same as spiritual maturity” (196).

Revelations of ongoing, unrepentant sin make you wonder if a celebrity really was a Christian. (God alone knows.) The trust of the church has been betrayed on many occasions by many people.

None of us are completely free from temptation and sin. Jesus was the only person to live a perfect, sinless life. But by the grace of God we should be growing in obedience, humility, and integrity. When Jesus taught His disciples to pray He included, “Forgive us our debts… and lead us not into temptation” (Matt. 6:12-13). Why would He urge such prayers if in fact we are able by our own strength to avoid temptation and live free from sin? We are weak and fallible creatures, constantly in need of God’s power to sanctify us and conform us to the image of His Son.

Martin Luther, in the first sentence of his 95 Theses wrote, “When our Lord and Master Jesus Christ said, ‘Repent,’ (Matthew 4:17), he willed the entire life of believers to be one of repentance.” Yet how many of us live that out day by day? How often are we blissfully unaware of, or hardened to, our sin?

King David, the “man after God’s own heart,” wrote in several of his psalms:

“Keep back Your servant also from presumptuous sins; let them not have dominion over me! Then I shall be blameless, and innocent of great transgression” (Psalm 19:13).

“Oh, guard my soul, and deliver me! Let me not be put to shame, for I take refuge in You” (Psalm 25:20).

“Blessed is the one whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered. Blessed is the man against whom the Lord counts no iniquity, and in whose spirit there is no deceit. For when I kept silent, my bones wasted away through my groaning all day long. For day and night Your hand was heavy upon me” (Psalm 32:1-4a).

“There is no soundness in my flesh because of Your indignation; there is no health in my bones because of my sin. For my iniquities have gone over my head; like a heavy burden, they are too heavy for me” (Psalm 38:3-4).

May God, by His grace, reveal our sins and bring conviction and repentance before those sins bury us too deeply in the mire. May our pride be broken before it becomes presumption. May we be quick to turn to Him for the mercy of forgiveness and the cleansing we need.

“Who shall ascend the hill of the Lord? And who shall stand in His holy place? He who has clean hands and a pure heart, who does not lift up his soul to what is false and does not swear deceitfully. He will receive blessing from the Lord and righteousness from the God of his salvation” (Psalm 24:3-5).

© 2021 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.

My Shelter

“The Lord is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer, my God, my rock, in whom I take refuge, my shield, and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold” (Psalm 18:2).

In this one verse David uses eight different Hebrew words to describe God’s protection over him. The picture is one of being guarded on every side by God’s power. Why then are we so easily overcome by fear and anxiety?

When foes surround us, He is our deliverer.

When enemies attack us, we are safe in God’s fortress.

When the world seems to be falling apart, we stand securely on His rock.

When Satan throws his darts at us, we are shielded by God’s Word.

When guilt and shame threaten us, we are guarded by His salvation.

When we feel powerless, He is our stronghold.

Our security comes not from our own strength or abilities, but from the One who holds us in the palm of His hand. To be dominated by fear is to disbelieve His promises and His power. He is “the blessed and only Sovereign, the King of kings and Lord of lords” (1 Tim. 6:15), so He is able to do whatever He pleases. He is always watching— “Behold, the eye of the Lord is on those who fear Him, on those who hope in His steadfast love” (Psalm 33:18), so nothing catches Him by surprise. He delights to do good— “The Lord bestows favor and honor. No good thing does He withhold from those who walk uprightly” (Psalm 84:11).

There are so many promises in Scripture that we can cling to if we will remember when the storms come. (I’m preaching to myself first and foremost.) We need frequent reminders to “taste and see that the Lord is good! Blessed is the man who takes refuge in Him!” (Psalm 34:8).

Lord, I believe—help my unbelief! “Some trust in chariots and some in horses, but [I will] trust in the name of the Lord our God” (Psalm 20:6).

“In peace I will both lie down and sleep; for You alone, O Lord, make me dwell in safety” (Psalm 4:4).

 © 2021 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. 

A Friend in Need

There was a helpful panel discussion on friendship recently on a podcast from the Institute for Biblical Counseling and Discipleship. Although this was a panel of men, the discussion was not limited to male friendships. A couple comments were made that “marriage is not eternal, but Christian friendship is eternal,” and “friendship is not optional.” If you accept those statements as true (which I suppose some may debate), I think the American church in general is falling far short of the ideal. If we really believed that Christian friendships are eternal and are not optional, wouldn’t we spend far more time and energy cultivating relationships within the Body of Christ?

This is a subject I write about frequently, largely because as a single person I am aware of how much time I spend alone and lonely. I don’t have someone to share dinner with and chat about my day, or consult about decisions to be made, or pray with about life’s difficulties. For me to do those things, I have to call someone and arrange a time and place to meet. Married people tend to take for granted the routine conversations they have with their spouse every day.

The pandemic has highlighted this issue for me. I think in the early weeks of social distancing, people were more aware and intentional in trying to maintain relationships with friends and fellow church members. Over time that seems to have declined. Everyone is tired of Zoom meetings and Facebook chats and trying to figure out ever-changing schedules and quarantine protocols. And as most churches have resumed some form of in-person gathering, it often seems to be assumed that a five-minute conversation in the church parking lot is sufficient interaction from week to week. (Cold weather doesn’t help.)

In times like these, we need to work that much harder to find ways to connect with people and keep building the eternal friendships we all need.

“God has so composed the body… that there may be no division in the body, but that the members may have the same care for one another” (1 Cor. 12:24-25).

“But exhort one another every day, as long as it is called ‘today,’ that none of you may be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin” (Heb. 3:13).

It takes hard work and commitment to care for one another and exhort one another every day. This isn’t a one-hour-a-week obligation, this is day in and day out. “Above all, keep loving one another earnestly” (1 Peter 4:8a). The Greek word translated earnestly also has the meaning of fervently, constantly, without slacking. This kind of constant, loving involvement with our brothers and sisters in Christ is important for several reasons.

1) It helps to guard us against the deceitfulness of sin and the tendency to drift away (Heb. 2:1, 3:13).

2) It comforts and encourages those who are suffering to keep holding on (2 Cor. 1:6-7).

3) It reminds us of the unity we have in Christ (Eph. 4:1-6).

4) It helps us to shine God’s light in the darkness (1 Peter 2:9-12).

“God is present in the company of the righteous” (Psalm 14:5b NIV). God’s power is made increasingly evident by the unity, constancy, and love in the Body of Christ. That’s why Satan wants to fracture relationships and isolate people. If we think we’re alone, we’re less of a threat to him and we’re more vulnerable to his attacks.

So as we continue plodding along this long pandemic road, let us keep looking for safe ways to keep gathering so we can keep encouraging one another for the days ahead.  

“For where two or three are gathered in My name, there am I among them” (Matt. 18:20).

 © 2021 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.

Follow Me

I’ve been thinking a lot lately about the church—both our local church and Church universal—and wondering whether the church is accomplishing what it is supposed to be doing. Even before the pandemic, nationwide church attendance and influence on culture has been on the decline. It’s easy to get discouraged and think perhaps we’ve failed. Or we get so hung up on traditions that we lose sight of our purpose.

If we remember that we are the Church, the question becomes more personal. Are we being the church as God intended? Are we fulfilling the “one anothers” of Scripture? Are we increasingly exhibiting the fruit of the Spirit? Sometimes I find myself thinking, “I wish church members would do ____,” but I’m not doing those things myself. I can’t judge others without passing judgment on myself. 

Dan DeWitt comments on Peter’s conversation with Jesus in John 21 following the resurrection:

“Peter turns toward the guy who is constantly referring to himself as the disciple whom Jesus loved, likely points his finger at him, looks at Jesus with eyebrows raised, and says in a huff, ‘What about that guy?’

“Jesus’ response to Peter is short: ‘What is that to you?’ In other words, that’s none of your business. Then Jesus repeats those two life-changing words: ‘Follow me’” (Sunny Side Up, 77).

“Not only does Jesus prevent us from comparing ourselves with others; he also doesn’t give us a ton of details about where he is going to lead us. That’s hard for all of us because we want to know what’s next. What comes after this first step of obedience? I can do it today, but what about tomorrow? But Jesus gives us a directive (follow me), not directions (this is precisely where I will lead you)” (79).

My path is not going to look exactly like someone else’s path. My gifts and ministry will take a different shape than yours. So the question is, am I doing the specific things that God has called me to do? Are you?

“Following Jesus isn’t easy or cheap. It will look different for all of us. Don’t be mistaken—it will cost us all something. But so will disobedience. Which will you choose?” (80).

“If anyone would come after Me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow Me… For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul?” (Matthew 16:24, 26).

© 2021 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.

We the Church

As often happens, multiple books that I am reading have converged on similar ideas. This time it came from two books I received for Christmas and one I bought for the church library. See if you can spot the theme:

Sunny Side Up: The Breakfast Conversation that Could Change Your Life, by Dan DeWitt:

“[In John 21] Every time that Peter says, ‘I love you,’ Jesus tells him to feed the sheep. His question about Peter’s love is directly tied to his command to care for the sheep. But why can’t Peter just love Jesus and leave the sheep out of it? …Look back at Jesus’ conversation with Peter. Jesus didn’t tell Peter to love the sheep. He told him to feed the sheep: to take care of them. The love should follow. But even if it doesn’t follow right away, the command still remains… We can’t commit to loving God but refuse to love his people. These two great commands are forever wed together. And what God has joined together, let no one separate” (53-55).

Uncomfortable: The Awkward and Essential Challenge of Christian Community, by Brett McCracken:

“Many Christians today have no problem disengaging from local church life and instead opting for a largely ‘me and Jesus’ faith that only occasionally overlaps with the complex requirements of community… One of the ways Western individualism informs how we think about church is that we conceive of ‘fit’ in terms of how a church fits us…What if the biblical approach is actually that we should fit ourselves into the life and mission of the local church, adapting ourselves to the family and filling gaps where needed, even if that means we are the ones who have to change? We shouldn’t look for a church that will change to fit us. We should look for one where we will be changed to better represent Christ” (126-128).

Deep Discipleship: How the Church Can Make Whole Disciples of Jesus, by J. T. English:

“People are leaving the church not because we have asked too much of them but because we have not asked enough of them. We are giving people a shallow and generic spirituality when we need to give them distinctive Christianity. We have tried to treat our discipleship disease by appealing to the lowest common denominator, oversimplifying discipleship, and taking the edges off what it means to follow Christ” (8).

“According to Jesus [in Matthew 16:24-25], discipleship is not about self-actualization or self-preservation: it is about self-denial. You will know yourself the most when you are carrying your cross. All of our self-actualized visions of discipleship and our own little kingdoms need to crumble and be crucified if the kingdom of God is going to reign in our lives” (27).

Anyone who has been around church for very long has seen the national attendance trends and the apparent apathy of many who “love Jesus but not the church.” While we don’t want to embrace a legalism that says you have to attend every church service in order to be saved, the pendulum has swung to the opposite extreme so that many people think that all that is necessary for salvation is a vague assent to the existence of God and perhaps the birth of Jesus Christ.

I won’t go into all the topics covered by these three authors, but I will ask some of the questions they raise: How can we claim to love God if we don’t love His Body, the Church? How can we love one another in the Church if we are only looking for a church to serve us and make us comfortable? How can we make disciples who truly love God with all their heart, soul, mind, and strength and love their neighbors as themselves (Mark 12:30-31)?

“If we have a great philosophy of ministry that does not lead us to the great God, then we are wasting our time” (English, 212).

© 2020 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.

Light in the Darkness

We’re living in dark times. The world is broken by sin, filled with suffering, conflict, and difficulty. Life is exhausting, particularly in a year of constant uncertainties. Everything requires extra mental energy because nothing is routine right now. It feels like we’ve all been going full tilt for about ten months straight.

Darkness is nothing new. It’s been part of the world since Genesis 3. But even in the judgment of the first sin, there was a promise of light to come through the Messiah: “He shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise His heel” (Gen. 3:15). The many Messianic promises of the Old Testament were fulfilled when Jesus was born. The Apostle John wrote of Jesus, “In Him was life, and the life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it… The true light, which gives light to everyone, was coming into the world” (John 1:4-5, 9).

The light continues to shine in the darkness. The darkness will eventually be vanquished, but right now it seems all too prominent. Jesus said, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows Me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life” (John 8:12). Everyone who knows Him has the light. “For God, who said, ‘Let light shine out of darkness,’ has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ” (2 Cor. 4:6).

Now we as the Body of Christ are reflectors of His light to the world. “You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden” (Matt. 5:14). May we all walk in the light each day so that we “may be blameless and innocent, children of God without blemish in the midst of a crooked and twisted generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world” (Phil. 2:15).

“The Lord is God, and He has made His light to shine upon us” (Psalm 118:27a).

© 2020 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.

Pearls of Great Price

Thanksgiving can be a difficult holiday for many people. It’s hard to give thanks when you don’t feel thankful about what’s going on in life. As Ed Welch wrote in his article I Am Not Giving Thanks, “There are plenty of hardships in this world, and they are not good. What is good is that evil cannot stand in the way of God’s essential work of making his people more and more as they were intended to be, which is portrayed most clearly in the Son. This, indeed, is a glorious good, but it could feel as though it falls short of our lesser versions of good.”

We may feel like we’re just going through the motions. Commands such as “Make a joyful noise to the Lord, all the earth! …Come into His presence with singing! …Enter His gates with thanksgiving and His courts with praise!” (Psalm 100), may feel like salt on an open wound. A podcast I was listening to recently made the comment that when the church gathers, maybe I don’t have the heart to sing right now, but I can listen to others sing. Another week I may be the one singing when others can only listen. We tend to forget that many of the commands in Scripture are for the church as a whole, not merely an individual mandate.

Some of the things we are not thankful for now may one day be reasons for praise. The Apostle Peter wrote, “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 Pet. 1:6-7). Even if we can’t give thanks for the hard things in this life, there will come a day when it all becomes worthwhile.

In the novel Silver Birches, by Adrian Plass, one character is a minister who has lost his wife. He tells the others in his group:

“Apparently pearls are formed by oysters as a reaction or defense against a foreign body or irritant… I think something very similar has happened in my own life—and yours. There’ve been troubles and weaknesses and negative influences that haven’t just threatened but come very close to moving in and ruining parts of my life… I’m sure we shouldn’t take any pride or satisfaction in these irritants that enter our lives, but, look, I do think we should greatly value the way in which God’s able to form a pearl of protection around each of them. He hasn’t got rid of most of them because he’s good enough to allow us to go on being the person we are. We wear God’s pearls as symbols of our vulnerability and perhaps as pictures of the way God can make something beautiful out of weakness.”

So, I ask myself and I ask you, what are some of the troubles and trials that God has turned into pearls? What weaknesses and places of pain is He still working to transform? Though I can’t list everything publicly, I will share a few:

• I’m thankful for the depression that causes me to search Scripture for words of comfort.
• I’m thankful for the seasons of loneliness in which my words come out in writing and prayer.
• I’m thankful that struggles I’ve dared to share have been used to comfort and encourage others in similar trials.

I know my pearls are not yet fully formed, but one day they will be laid at Jesus’ feet with gratitude and thanksgiving. 

“And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body. And be thankful” (Col. 3:15).

© 2020 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.