The Pursuit

 As we enter July, the United States is preparing to mark its 250^th anniversary as an independent republic.  Despite the divisions among us, we have much to celebrate.  May we come to Him in deep thanksgiving for the blessings He has bestowed upon us….

 

As we celebrate America’s birthday, I think it presents us with a reminder that it is important to go beyond giving thanks to the Lord for His blessings.  It is also crucial to remember that heaven is eternal and the United States is not.  We do not want to be so distracted with temporal reality that we lose focus on the eternal.

 

The Declaration of Independence and our Constitution are excellent political documents.  But they are not the Bible!  A particularly good example of the difference is found in the beginning of the second paragraph of the Declaration: We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by the Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.  The pursuit of happiness may be a fundamental political freedom, but it is not the Lord’s goal for us.

 

In my New American Standard Bible, “happiness” appears a handful to times.  Joy, on the other hand, repeated often in both the Old and New Testaments.  While happiness can be promoted by a positive attitude, it is to a significant degree dependent on our circumstances.  The Lord wants us to know His joy that is independent of circumstances.  As Jesus was speaking with His disciples in the Upper Room just before His crucifixion, He warned them that their circumstances in the world would include hatred, stumbling blocks, and tribulation.  But He also explained that these things I have spoken to you so that My joy may be in you, and that your joy may be made full.  

 

How do we find and experience joy even in the midst of challenging and difficult circumstances?  In His Upper Room Discourse, Jesus also instructed His disciples to abide in Him as the true vine, that we would bear fruit in Him.  He also promised the indwelling Holy Spirit.  And then the Apostle Paul, in his epistle to the Galatians, taught that joy is a fruit of that indwelling Holy Spirit.  And so we know that as we abide in Christ, He enables us to bear the fruit of joy by the work of the indwelling Holy Spirit despite challenging and troubling circumstances.  And this joy, independent of circumstances, represents a tremendous witness to an unbelieving, hurting world.

 

Happiness is nice!  I love being comfortable and having an easy time of things.  But I do not want to pursue happiness as a counterfeit of joy.  And sometimes I need encouragement to resist the temptation to serve myself to generate the comfortable circumstances that promise happiness.  May we, like the disciples who sat and listened to our Lord’s final words, have our hearts and minds fixed on our Lord, that we would abide in Him and bear His fruit of joy as a blessing for all concerned.

 

 

It would seem that Our Lord finds our desires not too strong, but too weak. 

We are halfhearted creatures, fooling about with drink and sex and ambition when infinite joy is offered us, like an ignorant child who wants to go on making mud pies

 in a slum because he cannot imagine what is meant by the offer of a holiday at the 

sea.  We are far too easily pleased.

 

                                                                                                            C.S. Lewis

                                                                                                            The Weight of Glory

 

 

Lights of the World

 The Bible is God’s revelation of Himself to humankind.  Incomprehensibly, God loves us and wants to reveal Himself to us, that everyone might know Him by faith.  This is not a New Testament concept.  When the LORD called Abraham as the progenitor of the nation of Israel, He promised Abraham that in Abraham all families of the earth would be blessed (Genesis 12:3b).  The Promised Land was strategically located on a trade route, bringing non-Israelite travelers through on a regular basis, giving them an opportunity to hear about the one God, Yahweh.  The LORD also provided for sojourners in Israelite territory that they might experience the goodness of God:  The rest of the Sabbath applied to them as well as to the Israelites (Exodus 20:10); the Law applied to Israelites and sojourners alike (Exodus 9:14); and the prophet Ezekiel chastised the people for oppressing sojourners among them (Ezekiel 22:29).  Our God wants all people to know His goodness as well as His greatness….

 

The theme continues and expands in the New Testament.  Jesus proclaims that believers are both salt (Matthew 5:13) and light (Matthew 5:14-16).  We are to join John the Baptist in proclaiming that the kingdom of God is at hand!  And just before the resurrected Christ returns to heaven, He gives His disciples the Great Commission: Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.  (Matthew 28:19-20).

 

We are to be about our Lord’s business, proclaiming the Gospel to unbelievers.  It is our privilege to do so.  But it is not always clear how to fulfill this calling.  Pastor Jame has called us to prayer, for the Lord to identify and lead us to nonbelievers who He is drawing to Himself.   This is an excellent approach!  But it doesn’t have to be our exclusive way to proclaim the Gospel….

 

One of my favorite movie lines, from Ocean’s Eleven, describes a foundational theme of the film:  “There is always someone watching.”  Like it or not, this is a very true statement even outside of Hollywood.  While we may not be intentionally watched, our words and actions, and even our expressions and attitudes, are noticed.  The way we treat others and respond under stress can make a big impression.  Jesus teaches His disciples this principle even before He gives them the Great Commission: Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven.  Matthew 5:16.

 

The lifestyle approach to evangelism, as I have coined it, is not as focused and intentional as the more direct, intentional approach.  But it can be just as demanding if not more so.  We need to consider ourselves in “evangelism mode” whenever and wherever we are out and about.  And if we are to be prepared to manifest the Lord in any place and at any time, we must be prayerfully welcoming and nurturing the Lord’s sanctifying work in us with every breath.  We cannot manifest the Lord without Him!  Trying to fake the fruits of the Spirit will be counterproductive for those with whom we come in contact; and worse, it will tempt us to think that we can become who the Lord has created and called us to be by our own wisdom and strength.  But if we surrender to His ways of working within us, we will become increasingly able both to know and to share His goodness and grace.  As the Light of the world shines within us, we will become beacons of hope in our desperately needy world.

 

The Church Afire!

 Our celebration of Easter has come and gone, and we move on, looking forward to next Easter’s celebration, and before then, Christmas.  But for the apostles, the weeks after Easter were filled with wonder and glory.  For the 40 days after Resurrection Sunday (Acts 1:3), their risen Lord was among them!  Without doubt their faith was strengthened and enriched during this this time.  And after Jesus had instructed them to remain in Jerusalem until the Holy Spirit came and baptized them, equipping them for their mission to be His witnesses, the apostles witnessed their Lord’s return to heaven.  

 

And so the apostles remained together in Jerusalem, waiting….  Ten days later, the day of Pentecost came (Acts 2:1).  The Holy Spirit made His presence known as He filled each of the Apostles, equipping them to witness to visitors by declaring God’s mighty deeds in their own native languages.  The church of Jesus Christ was born as the Lord filled His disciples with His Holy Spirit to enable, equip, and empower them to do His work on earth.

 

Now, millennia later, the church of Jesus Christ remains, guarded, guided, and empowered by the Holy Spirit to proclaim Christ to the world until He returns.  We, as believers, are incredibly blessed to be deemed worthy to carry out this eternally significant work that is both solemn and joyous.

 

As vital as it is to commemorate Easter, to remember Jesus’s astonishing sacrifice on our behalf, it is also crucial to bear in mind that the day of Pentecost—that we commemorate this month, on the 24^th—marked the New Covenant beginning of the ongoing work of the Holy Spirit.  Pentecost is more than a historic holiday.  It is a reminder that the Holy Spirit abides in us and guards, guides, and empowers the church to continue preaching the Gospel and continuing the Kingdom work that Christ initiated with His disciples.

 

We need to be very, very clear that the work of the church is not a solo human endeavor.  We need the Holy Spirit, and we need one another.  In Ephesians, the Apostle Paul casts a vision for the Gentile readers of his letter: God raised Christ above all rule, authority, power, dominion, and name for all eternity and gave Him as head over all things to the church, which is His body, the fullness of Him who fills all in all.  (Ephesians 1:22b-23).  We are the body of Christ, His fulness!  As we use our unique gifts that the Holy Spirit has bestowed upon us in a Holy Spirit-driven and cooperative and coordinated manner, we will manifest the fullness of Christ…!  May we embrace with joy the task of making disciples of all even as we depend upon the Holy Spirit to do so.

 

He Is Risen--INDEED!

 As we welcome April, we are drawn to return to the story of Christ’s passion and resurrection.  Our annual commemoration is an important reminder, but the repetition can blunt the impact of the most pivotal event in human history.  It is essential for us to fix our heart, minds, and spirits on what our Savior has done on our behalf.  But beyond that, Good Friday and Easter give us an opportunity to consider that these events are the most reliable in ancient history.  They really happened!  And since they really happened, the consequences are of eternal consequences.

 

We live in a world where personal, independent power and performance are a high priority and vague spirituality is glorified.  History, especially ancient history is irrelevant.  Life is fast-paced and distracting.  It is easy even for believers to let Good Friday and Easter come and go with limited focus and spiritual impact.  But Scripture calls us to remember, to remember, to remember what the Lord has done for us….

 

I find it helpful to consider how much the reality of Good Friday and Easter highlights the foundational truths found in God’s Word:  Mankind is sinful.  From the fall in the Garden of Eden, the influence of Satan and sin has corrupted the entirety of creation.  Men and women continue the legacy of Adam and Eve with our “do it myself” and the lack of love in our relationships.  We cannot save ourselves from ourselves!  We need a Savior.  

 

And then since God is the God of both righteousness and justice, there must be some accounting for our sin.  Our sin debt is beyond our reckoning, and we have no way to pay that debt.  Only God Himself can pay it, and that is precisely why Christ died on the cross.  The ugliness of our sin is highlighted by the brutality of the crucifixion, but it also stands in sharp contrast to the beauty and depth of our Lord’s love for us.

 

Of course, the cross is only a portion of the story.  The resurrection reminds us that it was God Incarnate who died on the cross, but since Christ was fully God as well as fully man, He is eternal; death itself cannot contain Him.  He was, and is, and is to come…. And the resurrection is the first fruits of the eternal life now offered to us by faith.  

 

Finally, since Jesus’s sacrifice on the cross has covered our sin debt, we now have a restored and abiding relationship with the Triune Godhead.  By faith, we have the Holy Spirt—God Himself!—living within us.  As life on this side of the kingdom confronts us with our shortcomings, weaknesses, and failures, we can depend upon the faithful work of our Lord who has promised to complete the work He has begun in us.  The same power that raised Jesus from the dead is at work in us!

 

Truly, the death and resurrection of Christ is beyond our human comprehension.  It is a more spectacular reality than anything Christ created.  But it is also incredibly personal.  The Godhead wants you and me to know Him more truly and more deeply as time on earth passes.  He calls us to repent of the sins that continue to cause us to stumble and to walk in faith before Him, embracing the resurrection power within us to become who He has created us to be and to fulfill His purposes for us.

 

 

Now if Christ is preached, that He has been raised from the dead, how do some among you say that there is no resurrection of the dead?  But if there is no resurrection of the dead, not even Christ has been raised; and if Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is vary, your faith also is vain….  If we have hoped in Christ in this life only, we are of all men most to be pitied.  But now Christ has been raised from the dead, the first fruits of those who are asleep.

I Corinthians 15:12-14, 19-20

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Spring Forward...By Abiding in the Vine

 With March comes the realistic anticipation of Spring…. Plants spring back to life, and gardeners and farmers are busy preparing the soil and plants big and small to produce the fresh fruit and vegetables that we enjoy.  It is quite a contrast to the bleakness that has surrounded us these past several months.

 

With the limited information of fall and winter, we could easily conclude that most of our plant life has died.  But nothing could be further from the truth.  Plants become dormant, storing energy in their roots, so that they can be ready for spring and the rush of new life and growth.  And as with much of creation, this can be a metaphor for us in our walks of faith.  There are times when the Lord is quiet, when our ministries seem stalled, when we are more tired than excited.  But that does not mean that the indwelling Holy Spirit is done with us!

 

The early chapters of Genesis tells us a lot about our God, the God of creation.  He is the God of teeming life and productivity:

 

The God said, “Let the earth sprout vegetation: plants yielding seed, and fruit trees on the earth bearing fruit after their kind with seed in the, and it was so.  Genesis 1:11.

 

God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them.  God blessed them; and God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth, and subdue it….

 

And here we are, millennia later, serving our Creator, who is the same yesterday, today and tomorrow.  We have been created to bear fruit for His kingdom!  But unlike the plants that the Lord created, we need the Lord’s direct help in order to bear the fruit He is calling us to produce.

 

I am the true vine, and My Father is the vine-dresser.  Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit, He takes away; and every branch that bears fruit, He prunes it so that it may bear more fruit…Abide in Me, and I in you.  As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself unless it abides in the vine, so neither can you unless you abide in Me.

 

We will invariably find ourselves in a season of pruning at times.  But Spring reminds us that our Creator and Redeemer has created us to bear eternal, glorious fruit for His kingdom.  He invites us to nurture an abiding relationship in Him so that we can know the joy of doing so.

 

The Februaries of Our Lives

 We worship and serve a God who wants to be known.  The Lord has revealed Himself to us in His Word, by His Spirit, in the Incarnate Christ, and in His creation.  And while there is no substitute for the Lord’s direct communication by His Word, I very much appreciate the lessons that nature can teach us.  February is an ideal time to think about this.

 

There are few people indeed who would name February as their favorite month.  Plants are dormant, and it is grey, chilly, dreary, damp…. Conversations about the weather generally head toward the future: Spring is coming!  We take encouragement in this knowing that warm, sunny weather is coming even though we can’t see any hints of it. 

 

But this annual phenomenon can encourage us in our walk of faith.  There are times of struggle, trial, suffering; there are times when we are unable to see the proverbial light at the end of the tunnel.  The Lord’s sovereign goodness and redemptive purposes can be beyond our imagination.  But just like the transition between winter and spring, the seasons of our lives can deeply connect us with our Redeemer, with Life Himself!  While there is little or no appearance of life in our flowers, shrubs, and trees, much is happening below the surface, these plants are becoming prepared and ready to burst forth with new life.  And in our times of struggle, there may be few signs of spiritual life, but the Lord can use such times to bring us to confession and repentance if needed, to restore us, to enable us to depend on Him as we are exercising perseverance, and to build our faith as we walk in the conviction of truth that we cannot, at the moment, see.

 

To be sure, struggling through challenges and trials, both large and small, is not fun.  The fall was not the Lord’s intent or desire for us; it is not what He created us for.  But our God is not only our Creator; He is our Redeemer.  He has promised to work all things—even the worst of things—for our good.  And not only that, He will use our suffering and the good He works out of that suffering to enable and equip us to help and encourage others in their faith walk.  No hardship will go unredeemed.  All will gleam in glory…. May we persevere in that truth…!

 

 

 

Adventure!

 In his prequel to his trilogy The Lord of the Rings, J.R.R. Tolkien shares the musings of hobbit Bilbo Baggins as he contemplates the concept of adventure:

 

            It’s a dangerous business… going out your door…. We are plain quiet 

            folk and have no use for adventures.  Nasty disturbing uncomfortable 

            things!   Make you late for dinner!

 

A short while back Bilbo’s words came to mind as I walked out my door and had an adventure.  I set out to jog one of my regular and favorite routes to and through a local park and back.  While I was in the park, I was attacked by a large dog that was let off leash by its owner.  I was bitten six times before the owner could control the dog, and then the owner cursed at me for somehow provoking it.  I was hurt just badly enough to need medical help and found myself in rabies protocol.  And, I was late for dinner…..

 

As I processed this event and pondered the words of Bilbo Baggins, I came to the conclusion that Bilbo’s words were not entirely accurate.  The truth is that we are fallen people in a fallen world.  “Adventure” can find us whether or not we walk out the door.  Lightning can strike our home, thieves can break in, our own pets can wreak havoc, health issues can surface.  A deeply meaningful life is not so much about controlling adventure as it is about applying faith to it.  

 

The Apostle Paul reminds us in his epistle to the Romans that those who walk in a faith relationship with Christ can be assured that our Lord will work all events, situations, and circumstances for our good and His glory.  It is a description of the “Now and Not Yet” aspect of redemption: Even as we wait for our redemption in Him to be complete and sealed in eternity, we have the assurance that the Lord will use every bit of our time on earth for His good purposes for us.

 

It seems to me that an exceptionally wise way to begin a new year is to apply Paul’s words to Bilbo Baggins’ concept of adventure.  Since we are called to do all things as to the Lord, pursuing excellence in all that we do is appropriate.  But a focus on self-improvement so that we can do better, do more, and compete with those around us may be counter-productive as we seek to walk in faith before our Lord and Master.  I would like to suggest that we would do well to consider our Maker and Model:  As Jesus walked the earth as God Incarnate, He used the adventure of every unpredictable encounter to proclaim God’s kingdom, to love, and to serve, knowing without doubt that His Father and the Holy Spirit were at work in Him, to work all things for the Godhead’s good and redemptive purposes.