Great comfort? Terrible Threat?

Justice is a double-edged sword.  We tend to give ourselves an exception when it comes to justice, don’t we?  Who among us has not said something like this: 

• His anger is so destructive to his family; mine is just what I have to do to get my kids to fall in line. 
• His bitterness is so toxic to relationships; mine is understandable given the awful way that my boss treats me. 
• He is greedy; I’m just trying to make a living.
• He is selfish; I’m just taking care of what belongs to me.
• He’s an idiot; I’m just a ‘work in progress.’

Jesus humorously called this way of thinking ‘plank in the eye’ syndrome.  He tells us that before we go after the speck of sawdust in our fellow Christian’s eye, it would be best to take the plank out of our own!  (Matthew 7:4-5) Maturity of faith and character should bring about an honest estimate of ourselves, a working knowledge of our strengths and our foibles, and a willingness to apply the same measure to our own actions that we so quickly apply to others.    

Robert Burns, the Scottish poet, sat in church behind a lady finely dressed and saw the lice in her hair.  In his oft-quoted poem about her social pretensions, he comes to this closing stanza.

O wad some Pow'r the giftie gie us

To see oursels as others see us

It wad frae monie a blunder free us

An' foolish notion

What airs in dress an' gait wad lea'e us

An' ev'n Devotion

The translation is -
Oh, that God would give us the gift
To be able to see ourselves as others see us
It would save us from many mistakes
and foolish thoughts
We would change the way we go about so proudly

and the things to which we apply our time and attention.

Why is this important? What’s the harm in a little self-deception? 

If we refuse the Truth, we can only slip deeper into sin.  Our desire must be to close the gap between who we really are and the image we project. A ruthless commitment to the Truth allows us to walk in the will of God, to grow out of self-love and into love for others.  As we live authentically in the Spirit, He will keep us from judging others unfairly and make us into people of mercy.

There is a passage that is of great comfort to those who live in Truth and long for justice.  It is a terrible threat to those who turn a blind eye to reality.  It is God’s promise that one day who we are what we have done will be perfectly revealed.  Christian, this is not about some scale that determines our eternal destiny, whether we go to Heaven when we die!  That salvation is secured through Christ, alone. It is about justice.  My prayer is that what we learn in this passage will both keep us faithful in obscure service and move us to deal with secret sin.

Spend some time with the word from the Word.  "The man who plants and the man who waters have one purpose, and each will be rewarded according to his own labor. For we are God’s fellow workers; you are God’s field, God’s building. By the grace God has given me, I laid a foundation as an expert builder, and someone else is building on it. But each one should be careful how he builds. For no one can lay any foundation other than the one already laid, which is Jesus Christ. If any man builds on this foundation using gold, silver, costly stones, wood, hay or straw, his work will be shown for what it is, because the Day will bring it to light. It will be revealed with fire, and the fire will test the quality of each man’s work. If what he has built survives, he will receive his reward. If it is burned up, he will suffer loss; he himself will be saved, but only as one escaping through the flames." (1 Corinthians 3:8-15, NIV)

I am an insider!

I am an insider!

I am part of the Ekklesia – (ek·klay·see·ah ) What in the world is that?  It’s the word used in the first Bible for ‘church.’  Paul called those gatherings of Believers the ‘ekklesia.’  The word was not associated with spirituality. It was actually a political word!  Before there were TV’s, radios, phones, newspapers, texting, or email, the most effective way to share community news was to call the people to the town square. If there was an issue to be decided, only citizens could participate in the debate and the voting. When they were called into a gathering, they were the ‘ekklesia,’ literally – ‘the called out ones.’

God assembles His people and hands them a high purpose- to take His Light and Life into a dark and dying world!  We are His Church. Note the capital ‘C.’ That denotes the universal Body, those who are “called out” to be ‘in Christ.’  It’s not about “my church” or your church. The Church encompasses people of many persuasions concerning styles of worship and particular practices of faith. We diminish the glory of God’s design and hinder God’s work when we make the assumption that ‘our’ group is ‘the’ church. The Church is made up of all those who have heard the Spirit’s call and received Christ Jesus as Lord by faith. Paul urges us to follow his example and to give "thanks to God for you, brothers loved by the Lord, because from the beginning God chose you to be saved through the sanctifying work of the Spirit and through belief in the truth." (2 Thessalonians 2:13, NIV) The Church is God’s assembly, not my club! Neither you nor I get to choose who is ‘in’ and who is ‘out.’ He elects, we accept! Being part of God’s ‘ekklesia’ is a high holy calling!

It is a privilege as a member of God’s own ‘ekklesia!’ This calling brings with it real responsibility.  “We are Christ’s ambassadors,” the Bible says. We represent Him!  So, "live in a way that is worthy of the people God has chosen to be his own. Always be humble and gentle. Patiently put up with each other and love each other. Try your best to let God’s Spirit keep your hearts united. Do this by living at peace." (Ephesians 4:1-3, CEV)

Being part of God’s chosen people does not make us superior, and because it is His calling and His work, we have no reason for pride or arrogance.  Our model is Jesus Himself who "did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.” (Matthew 20:28, NIV)

You can be an insider! Believe the Good News about Jesus Christ. Let the Spirit of God flow into your life. Hear the call to the ‘ekklesia.’ Then, live a worthy life, filled with love for Christ, connected to His Church, and overflowing with compassion for those who are yet to be called into His great assembly.

Take this word from the Word with you today. Meditate on it.
"…when he comes to receive glory and praise from his holy people. ….you will be among those praising him on that day, for you believed what we testified about him. And so we keep on praying for you, that our God will make you worthy of the life to which he called you. And we pray that God, by his power, will fulfill all your good intentions and faithful deeds.Then everyone will give honor to the name of our Lord Jesus because of you, and you will be honored along with him. This is all made possible because of the undeserved favor of our God and Lord, Jesus Christ." (2 Thessalonians 1:10-14, NLT)

_________

Rise up, O Church of God,
Have done with lesser things.
Give heart and mind
And soul and strength
To serve the King of kings!

-          Public domain

Locomotives and Fireworks

Locomotives and Fireworks

The steel deck of the locomotive where I was standing throbbed with power as the engineer asked for more speed. The engines rumbled and then, the whole train shuddered. The car connections clattered as they took the tension, and tons of freight moved forward.  There are not words to adequately describe the sensation of such immense power. One man, simply by activating a switch, moves a mountain, so to speak!  A fireworks display, by contrast, reveals a completely different kind of power.  Shells launched overhead explode sending shockwaves that pound our chest and assault our ears. Our eyes are dazzled by bursts of light; and then, it’s over!

Christians are promised the  ‘power of God’ as they live in the Spirit. The Bible tells us that  "For the kingdom of God is not a matter of talk but of power." (1 Corinthians 4:20, NIV)  To reduce our great faith to an interesting philosophy is to steal the essence of the faith. Jesus is a Teacher, but our transformation from sinner to saint does not come solely by learning ideas.  He broke the grasp of evil by with His death and Resurrection!  My favorite prayer in the Scripture asks the Lord to give Christians that power, so that they will live holy lives. "I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know him better. I pray also that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know … his incomparably great power for us who believe. That power is like the working of his mighty strength, which he exerted in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly realms, far above all rule and authority, power and dominion, and every title that can be given, not only in the present age but also in the one to come." (Ephesians 1:15-23, NIV)

Isn’t that an inspiring passage, packed with promise? So, what does it mean for you and me?  It means that we are not victims, left to whine about our inability to overcome sinful habits,  living in the grip of our selfishness, incapable of becoming new in thought, word, and action.  Yet, many Christians are virtually indistinguishable from those who claim no faith in Christ. Why? Often it is because they have no real understanding of the power of the Spirit.  They have no expectation of hearing His voice, no real desire to submit to His guidance, and no sense of His immediate Presence.  Many claim to want the ‘power of the Spirit.’  However, they’re thinking more about bursts of fireworks than locomotive strength!  Who doesn’t like the dazzling display in the sky, but what of any value is accomplished by all the noise?

If we think that God, the Holy Spirit, only does His work of transforming our lives, of breaking the chains of those enslaved to sinful habits, of making our broken world whole with fireworks of preaching, noisy displays of tongues, or in emotionally charged revival services – we are missing the main point of true spiritual power. He empowers us to live counter-culturally, to serve when our resources are exhausted, to forgive when we want only to hate, to love when no love is returned.  It is a power that surges in response to the load and pulses quietly but persistently through those who forget themselves and learn to live near to the heart of God. The Holy Spirit is not given to entertain us.  His power is not for show.  He equips us to serve!

Jesus was surrounded by crowds who wanted Him to do miracles to impress. The religious leaders asked Him to dazzle them with signs. He refused saying the only sign they would see would be that like Jonah: that is, His death and resurrection  Paul’s critics wanted him to produce some impressive show of strength. He told them "I will give you all the proof you want that Christ speaks through me. Christ is not weak in his dealings with you; he is a mighty power among you. Although he died on the cross in weakness, he now lives by the mighty power of God. We, too, are weak, but we live in him and have God’s power—the power we use in dealing with you." (2 Corinthians 13:3-4, NLT)

There is power in the Spirit!  We cannot begin to do what we are commissioned to do – to ‘go and preach the Gospel, making disciples’ apart from the Spirit.  So let us invite Him to empower us to deal with our sins, to serve without complaint, to remain steadfast in the face of resistance both spiritual and human until the Coming of the Lord.

Here’s the word from the Word.  Lord, challenge us to receive your power for this day. "My message and my preaching were not with wise and persuasive words, but with a demonstration of the Spirit’s power, so that your faith might not rest on men’s wisdom, but on God’s power." (1 Corinthians 2:4-5, NIV)

Philoxenos (fil-ox-ee-nos)

Open House! Businesses advertise them, inviting customers in. Realtors host them to show a residence for sale. Schools announce them welcoming parents into classrooms. Our church is having something like an ‘open house’ this weekend promoting “Back to Church” Sunday.  We are inviting people who have left church or who are alienated from church to come on home!

Do you live in an open house? Is your home welcoming, often hosting others in a way that says to them, “you’re just family around here”?  Do you practice ‘philoxenos,’ welcoming strangers in the name of Christ?

The best life is the shared life! When I was a child, we lived on a farm right across the road from my grandparents’ home. Grandma Scott’s home would never have won any awards for house-keeping. The cuisine that graced the table was in no sense fine dining. The house itself was unadorned, the furniture worn, the décor was ‘early thrift shop!’ Yet, there were always people around the huge table that sat in the middle of the room. Farmers in dirty boots pulled up for a cup of coffee on weekday mornings. People from the church dropped by for a chat on Saturday. Business deals were closed in that room. Preachers and missionaries sat at the simple table for the simple fare served on it and even more for the soul nourishment found there. And Grandma was always ready to welcome me, even though I was probably a nuisance. The home captured the very essence of hospitality - a place of true welcome. People were not ‘intruding,’ they were part of the heartbeat of the home.

The Bible says, "Offer hospitality (NT word - philoxenos) to one another without grumbling. Each one should use whatever gift he has received to serve others, faithfully administering God’s grace in its various forms." (1 Peter 4:9-10, NIV) The Bible is not calling us to our current kind of hospitality, which confuses ‘entertaining guests’ with having an open home. We generally think of hospitality as something we do after getting our house all in order, preparing a lavish meal, and putting on our best face. We can only muster that kind of effort occasionally so ‘hospitality’ becomes an event instead of way of living! “Dropping in” on others is something that is less and less common with the rise in our love of privacy. This creates a tragic loss for us.

God never intended for us to live private lives, isolated from one another, engaged only with the blue flicker of a television screen. We are designed to love and be loved. Sin robs this joy from us, turning us into competitors, making us prideful so that we feel pressured to be ‘somebody’ instead of being ourselves. We struggle mightily to deal with life, because we are largely alone.

Christians must recover the gift of hospitality, living with open homes and open hearts. People who are secure in the love of Christ, who offer themselves authentically to others, have little need to impress with a home straight out of the pages of a decorater’s catalog or with a gourmet meal. They give the best gift - a warm welcome - and discover that a shared life is the best life!

The word from the Word come from Jesus’ own words. It is about hospitality; philoxenos, which literally means ‘love of strangers.’ “Do you think you deserve credit merely for loving those who love you? Even the sinners do that!" (Luke 6:32, NLT) “Then these righteous ones will reply, ‘Lord, when did we ever see you hungry and feed you? Or thirsty and give you something to drink? Or a stranger and show you hospitality? Or naked and give you clothing? When did we ever see you sick or in prison, and visit you?’ And the King will tell them, ‘I assure you, when you did it to one of the least of these my brothers and sisters, you were doing it to me!’" (Matthew 25:37-40, NLT)

Lord, help us to love, and

In loving, to find love. Amen

Download, Update, and Scan

Download, Update, and Scan

Every week or so the security program in my computer notifies me that it is downloading new data, then it goes through an update sequence.  Sometimes the update requires a restart. Finally, it does a scan for malware and viruses on the hard drive.  This is part of keeping the machine functioning as it was designed.  The process slows the computer for a few moments while it completes, creating a minor inconvenience for me.  I could turn it off, but that would not be wise given the multiple threats that exist in the wild world of the Internet!

The Lord designed us for periodic renewals, too.  Under the first covenant, it was the Sabbath. Modeled on the Creation story in which God ‘rested,’ that is, stepped back to reflect on the completion of His work, He called His people to step away from their daily work, too. "For six days, work is to be done, but the seventh day is a Sabbath of rest, holy to the LORD. Whoever does any work on the Sabbath day must be put to death." (Exodus 31:15, NIV)  In the Christian era, having a day of worship continued. The day was no longer ‘holy,’ but the common practice of Christians was and is to gather on the “Lord’s Day,” the first day of the week.  Why that day?  It was a continuance of the Sabbath principle, but it was a celebration of a greater work of God than Creation;  the Resurrection of Christ Jesus, the act that completed the work that saves us from sin.

Sunday is a day of great value even for me as a Pastor when it is the day of maximum effort!  I eagerly look forward to gathering with friends for corporate worship and prayer even though I pray and worship alone every day.  “Going to church” is not just a cultural thing for me. In corporate worship gatherings, the Holy Spirit creates an opportunity for me to hit life’s reset button, to process what has happened throughout the week, to reflect on my choices.  Sometimes that leads to me to repentance, and it always brings a genuine sense of renewal.  

 Many Christians, perhaps even the majority, have discarded observing the Lord’s Day, mistakenly believing that a regular practice is ‘legalistic.’  In years past, rules about Sunday for Christians were often heavy-headed, the result of human effort, not a response to the Spirit’s invitation.  But, now among us, the pendulum has swung far, far in the other direction.  Sunday is barely different from any other day. Church attendance becomes a matter of convenience, “if I can find the time.”  Even among those who profess to be devout, Spirit-filled Christians, many other things – sports, home maintenance, sleeping in, family events -  are allowed to replace coming together for worship and Word.

This casual attitude about being part of the Church steals a part of God’s plan for our spiritual health from us.  If we charge through days, weeks, and months without a real break we rob ourselves of His gift of renewal!  Setting the Lord’s Day aside, making gathering for church a high priority, using the balance of the day to bless others, to read, to rest, allows us to download, update, and scan!  We, pastors, are reluctant about becoming too militant about this failure lest we risk being charged with laying the Law back on shoulders of those who have been set free from it!  Yet, we see the effects – slipping back into unholy ways, letting relationships that keep us strong in faith erode, modeling a casual commitment for our children who often understand the symbolism of being ‘in church’ more than we know.  The effects – positive and negative – of how we observe or fail to keep the Lord’s Day are cumulative, just as with any other spiritual discipline. 

The Word directs all Christians to highly value regular worship.  It’s an invitation to a strong, effective faith.  May you receive the invitation with obedience. "We should keep on encouraging each other to be thoughtful and to do helpful things. Some people have gotten out of the habit of meeting for worship, but we must not do that. We should keep on encouraging each other, especially since you know that the day of the Lord’s coming is getting closer." (Hebrews 10:24-25, CEV)

I urge you to give careful thought to your understanding of the Lord’s Day and without slipping into a religious rule discover the gift God gives when He calls us to ‘take a break.’ “If you watch your step on the Sabbath and don’t use my holy day for personal advantage, If you treat the Sabbath as a day of joy, God’s holy day as a celebration, If you honor it by refusing ‘business as usual,’ making money, running here and there— Then you’ll be free to enjoy God! Oh, I’ll make you ride high and soar above it all. I’ll make you feast on the inheritance of your ancestor Jacob.” Yes! God says so!" (Isaiah 58:13-14, The Message)