Don't remodel; build new!

This coming Sunday at the Assembly, four people will be baptized. It's a joyful time marking a new beginning. When I conduct baptisms, I always encourage the congregation to participate in this way. "When the person comes up out of the water," I say, "let's cheer, whoop, and clap- celebrating this moment that signifies his new life in Christ." We are right to do this because the Bible says they are emerging to new life. Take a look, "Or don’t you know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life. If we have been united with him like this in his death, we will certainly also be united with him in his resurrection." (Romans 6:3-5, NIV)

Sometimes I forget how differently a Spirit-filled Believer sees life because I am immersed in a world of other Christians. As I was driving from an appointment yesterday, I happened on a radio station where the DJ's were talking about the way they planned to spend their weekend. They were discussing how they would meet their circle of friends in the bar; the way that they planned to brag about their sexual conquests, how the conversations would become more lewd and explicit as they got drunk. Then, they launched into a discussion of who they would like to have sex with so they could brag about it! After about 10 minutes, I tuned away from the station, thinking, "wow, I really do live differently!"

Thank the Lord! I won't have any hangover to contend with on Monday morning. I won't have to worry about a guilty conscience or an STD, for that matter. My weekend will be spent with family and friends, the high point being time in the Presence of God's Spirit, rejoicing and praying. I'm not writing this from a lofty position of superiority. Please don't read it that way. I am writing this in humble recognition of what the Lord has done for me! His grace found me, His love changed me, His death gave me new life.

Christianity isn't about a make-over of the soul. Jesus doesn't give us a spiritual face-lift or teach us to use spiritual cosmetics so we merely 'look better' than we did previously. He makes us new. "Born again" is His phrase. In 2 Corinthians 5:17 Paul exults in the work of God on our behalf writing - "...those who become Christians become new persons. They are not the same anymore, for the old life is gone. A new life has begun!" This newness of life reaches into every part of who we are - new purpose, new hope, new destiny, new perspectives. The Believer transcends this temporal world's limitations even while he lives in it. In Christ, the Believer enters into eternal life - right now! What wonder, what glory, what a reason to celebrate.

Yes, I know that we relapse into sin, from time to time. That is because we are being perfected in the image of Christ, in an ongoing process. I am not who I was, nor I am yet all that I will be. It pains me when flashes of the old life re-appear and I fall into disobedience, selfishness, and sensuality. But the fact that it pains me is evidence of the Christ-life in me! The Spirit-life that is working in me makes me able to feel the disapproval of God.

Have you truly entered into the New Life of Christ or are you just trying your best to be a better person? The latter is a religious response to the universal human need for restoration to God. But, the limit of religion is that it can only re-model our life house, using the methods of guilt and self-discipline. And, in the end, all a religious person has is a superficial change in appearance. There is no lasting joy from really knowing God or knowing the gift of life eternal. The person who is touched by the Spirit is truly NEW.

So if you’re serious about living this new resurrection life with Christ, act like it.
Pursue the things over which Christ presides. Don’t shuffle along, eyes to the ground, absorbed with the things right in front of you. Look up, and be alert to what is going on around Christ—that’s where the action is. See things from his perspective.

Your old life is dead. Your new life, which is your real life—even though invisible to spectators—is with Christ in God. He is your life. When Christ (your real life, remember) shows up again on this earth, you’ll show up, too—the real you, the glorious you.
(Colossians 3:1-4 The Message)

In on the secret

Classified! Top Secret! Many organization and government has secrets that closely held. Some of these are super important, critical to security and safety and some are, well, not all that earth shattering; as in, KFC has the colonel's secret recipe for making chicken taste good. Those with knowledge of the secrets enjoy powerful privilege, don't they?

As Believers, you and I have access to the secrets of the Kingdom of God! What a privilege, what an honor God has given to us in revealing Himself and His ways to us. Jesus said, “The secret of the kingdom of God has been given to you." (Mark 4:11, NIV) What He meant was that those called by the Spirit and made alive in Spirit, grasp the realities of God's rule while those without the Spirit see nothing at all! When Jesus stood before Pontius Pilate, the Roman governor was puzzled by the accusation made against him that he was a king inciting rebellion. He asked, "Where is your kingdom?" Jesus answered him with these words, cryptic to those without faith, "“My kingdom doesn’t consist of what you see around you. If it did, my followers would fight so that I wouldn’t be handed over to the Jews. But I’m not that kind of king, not the world’s kind of king.”" (John 18:36, The Message) So was He delusional? Of course not. Those who follow Him today are not deluded, either, though they are often accused of being 'out of touch' by those who cannot understand the Kingdom of God. We see the unseen and live by a wisdom that transcends the knowledge of this world. God, the Spirit, gives to us the secrets of the Kingdom!

Living in the Kingdom lets us understand the riddles that puzzle unbelievers -

"Die to live."

"Give to gain."

"Serve to rule."

"Turn the other cheek."

"Forgive those who mistreat you." Matthew 5 begins with the Beatitudes which are sheer nonsense to those who are not given the secret of the Kingdom! "Blessed are the poor in spirit... blessed are those who mourn... blessed are the meek." Such words invite ridicule in a world where the rich, the happy, and the powerful are envied and emulated, yet they make sense to those who know the secret Kingdom, who organize their lives by the laws of Heaven.

Paul tell of the secrets of the Kingdom, too. "I do speak with words of wisdom, but not the kind of wisdom that belongs to this world, and not the kind that appeals to the rulers of this world, who are being brought to nothing. No, the wisdom we speak of is the secret wisdom of God, which was hidden in former times, though he made it for our benefit before the world began. But the rulers of this world have not understood it; if they had, they would never have crucified our glorious Lord. That is what the Scriptures mean when they say, “No eye has seen, no ear has heard, and no mind has imagined what God has prepared for those who love him.” But we know these things because God has revealed them to us by his Spirit, and his Spirit searches out everything and shows us even God’s deep secrets." (1 Corinthians 2:6-10, NLT)

Which wisdom, dear friend, shapes your decisions? Are you living by the conventional wisdom that teaches you to go for the gusto as you reach for your potential? Are you living to die, your only hope being what you can enjoy in these fleeting days of your earthly existence? There is a secret Kingdom that you can know. It is seen through eyes of faith, made plain by the Spirit revelation. Jesus told a man of power and prominence - “I assure you, unless you are born again, you can never see the Kingdom of God...The truth is, no one can enter the Kingdom of God without being born of water and the Spirit." (John 3:3, 5 NLT)

Receive Christ today! Let the Spirit cause you to be born anew, a living child of God, in on the secret of eternal life, heavenly life right here and now!

Bearers of God's image?

A friend told me of a couple who aborted their baby. Physicians had told them that their unborn child was likely to have birth defects that would complicate his life and so they ended it. As he related this story, set in juxtaposition to his own story of grief over a lost son, I wanted to be angry, but I could only feel profound sadness. What kind of world has this become where only the 'perfect' are valued? (Who can lay claim to perfection, anyway?) How have we come to be so deceived by beauty that we would think that ending the life of a tiny one, still in the protective womb of his mother, is a choice that we could or should make?

This story stayed with me all day, making me think long and hard about how I treat others. Do I love the unlovely, lift up the broken or do I throw away people whom I have concluded are 'defective?' In a loveless world, am I a person who loves, and in that, do I reflect the great Love that found me in my broken state? It isn't just aborted babies that bear witness to the brutality of our utilitarian society.

The legions of kids with eating disorders who are willing to starve themselves to death in pursuit of a 'perfect' body give witness to our worship of an illusionary perfect self.

The inmates in our burgeoning prison populations, people that are thrown away by society becoming 'non-persons' to the rest of us because they are 'defects,' are witness to our failure to reach for answers that recognize the broken dignity of our brothers. Locking up a drug addict is an easy response, but it is not a real answer to the problem.

The hateful words that spew out of talk radio and the 24/7 TV news channels should alarm us because they polarize people. Labels that are hung on others of differing political or religions persuasions cause us to write off people who see the world differently as 'stupid' and therefore not worthy of a serious dialogue.

$Billions spent to build military machines whose sole mission is to kill people efficiently are evidence that we do not see others in this world as our brothers and sisters. How many wars must humanity wage before we learn that violence is the sire of more and greater violence?


The Bible says, God said, “Let us make man in our image, in our likeness, ... So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them." (Genesis 1:26-27, NIV) The 6.5 billion souls that share this planet with you and me are the creative work of God, bearers of His image, worthy of dignity and respect. Yes, evil has marred that image. There is brokenness of body and spirit that obscure the image of God. The message of Christ Jesus is that the broken image is not a reason to reject, but a reason to love. God did not abort his relationship with humanity because of our rebellion, our pride, and our pursuit of other gods. Instead, "God put his love on the line for us by offering his Son in sacrificial death while we were of no use whatever to him." (Romans 5:8, The Message)

Love is hard! Hate is easy! Love demands involvement, self-sacrifice, identification with those who suffer. Hate allows me to demean another, to depersonalize, to withdraw my concern, even to kill and sanction killing!

You may disagree with some of my conclusions in this TFTD, but would you take this word from God's Word into your thoughts for today?
Invite the Holy Spirit to make God's image, as seen in the face of people with whom you live, more clear. And as you see others as 'children of God' will you love them, as He does? I will, will you?

"Dear friends, let us continue to love one another, for love comes from God. Anyone who loves is born of God and knows God. But anyone who does not love does not know God—for God is love.
God showed how much he loved us by sending his only Son into the world so that we might have eternal life through him. This is real love. It is not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as a sacrifice to take away our sins.
Dear friends, since God loved us that much, we surely ought to love each other." (1 John 4:7-11, NLT)

Throw it away!

Years ago, Mom and Dad took Bev and I to look at a house they were considering for purchase. When we stepped through the front door, our eyes were met by a strange sight. Little trails created a maze that led through piles of old furniture, old newspapers, trinkets, and just plain junk! The stuff was piled 6' high everywhere in the house, tons of it cluttering a home that could have been quite lovely. It was amazing, adding a new definition to the word - save. The lady who lived in the house apparently couldn't discard anything. She loved her stuff. As a result she lived in a garbage dump, literally surrounded by yesterday's trash.

Do you keep a lot of stuff? Mostly I like to clean up, throw away, and keep life lean and clean - except for books! Throwing away a book, even one that I know I'll never read again, is hard for me. Why? Because I really love books. Throwing away yesterday's newspaper brings no angst whatever. Again, primarily that is because I attach no value to it.

In Ephesians Believers are urged to clean up our lives! Paul says - "...everything—and I do mean everything—connected with that old way of life has to go. It’s rotten through and through. Get rid of it!" (4:22, The Message) What's the state of your heart house? Are the rooms in it full of junk and clutter? Is the memory room stuffed with yesterday's regrets and old grudges? Is the treasure room filled floor to ceiling with dusty relics of no real value? Are old sins and habits piled high in the living room? Here's the hard question - why are you hanging onto those things? Honestly, could it be that you still love them, that you are unwilling to part with them because just having those old familiar things around comforts you in some strange way? Get rid of it!

Believer, God offers a thorough house cleaning to us! He won't step in and take away the old stuff unless we invite Him to do it. The Bible says, "there must be a spiritual renewal of your thoughts and attitudes. You must display a new nature because you are a new person, created in God’s likeness—righteous, holy, and true." (Ephesians 4:23-24, NLT) God, the Holy Spirit, will give us a vision for the future, a glimpse of what we can become in Christ that allows us to let go of the stuff that has defined us in the past. Ah, but it takes real faith to let go of what we know so we can take hold of what is promised, doesn't it?

The stuff we hold onto reveals what we love.
If we hold onto old habits that we know offend God, it reveals that we love them.
If we admit that and stop offering up excuses, we can break their hold over us with the help of the Spirit.
If we treasure yesterday's trophies too much, we will not reach for tomorrow's promise, either.

This Springtime, many households will engage in spring cleaning. With the new season, stuff will be sorted through and cleaned out. Let's not just clean up our houses. How about a thorough clean up in our hearts and minds? Invite God, the Spirit, to lead you through the rooms in your heart house. Let Him remove the clutter and junk that keeps Him from moving in. "Now, the Lord is the Spirit, and wherever the Spirit of the Lord is, he gives freedom. ... And as the Spirit of the Lord works within us, we become more and more like him and reflect his glory even more." (2 Corinthians 3:17-18, NLT)

By the way, that old house full of junk that Mom and Dad showed us 30 years ago? They bought it and it became a very nice country home, inviting and comfortable, a place of hospitality that has served the family well! Let God transform your life - cleaning out the junk, creating true beauty.
______________

Are you living in an old man's rubble?
Are you listenin' to the father of lies?
If you are then you're headed for trouble;
If you listen too long, you'll eventually die!

Are you puzzled by the way that you're behavin'?
Do you wonder why you do the things you do?
Are you troubled by your lack of resistance;
do you fell that something's got a hold on you?

Well, deep within' you there's a spiritual battle,
there's a voice of the darkness and a voice of the light.
And just by listening you've made a decision,
'Cause the voice you hear is gonna' win the fight

Are you living in an old man's rubble?
Are you listenin' to the father of lies?
If you are then you're headed for trouble;
If you listen too long, you'll eventually die!

But if you're living as a new creation,
If you're listening to the Father of light:
Then you're living in a mighty fortress
and you're gonna' be clothed in power and might!

Old Man's Rubble - Amy Grant, 1977

Living a lie?

The church which I serve as pastor is currently in the process of finding a Minister to Youth. Since we posted this available position publicly, we have received 40+ resumes. Last week I received a lengthy one. As I started to read, it became obvious, rather quickly, that the applicant was puffing his record. He claimed membership on international ministry boards, asserted that he was the founder of several ministries, etc. His title - the Rev. Dr. - raised a flag of cautious interest, too. Not too many Ph. D.'s are interested in youth ministry positions paying entry level salaries! So, I turned to the page where he listed the institutions where he had earned his educational credentials. They were Internet diploma mills. I filed that one in the garbage can! People who try to be someone they are not are tragic figures!

There are not many things that are more destructive to relationships than dishonesty. People who inflate their accomplishments, who misrepresent themselves - OK, let's just say it, who lie! - lose our trust and faith. Yet, everywhere we go, we find lies, misrepresentations, and image building going on. It happens to such an extent that we are forced to ask, "What's really going on here? What's real; what's 'spin?' " The most tragic figure is that person who has pretended before the world and to himself for so long that he has started to believe his own stories! Truth and fiction are a hopelessly tangled knot that only God can unravel.

Jesus does not tip toe around the issue of honesty. In a rebuke to some who refused his teaching he said - "...the Devil, ... has always hated the truth. There is no truth in him. When he lies, it is consistent with his character; for he is a liar and the father of lies. So when I tell the truth, you just naturally don’t believe me!" (John 8:44-45, NLT) Ouch! When we speak less than truthfully, we become like the Enemy of God whose stock in trade is deception and lies! Evil thrives on lies. When it is exposed to the Light, it cannot survive. Lies, when confronted with Truth, are like inflated balloons that meet sharp needles! Bang! They collapse, deprived of the hot air that gave them the appearance of substance!

Truth is resilient. Jesus even claims Truth as one of His names - "I am the Way, the TRUTH, and the Life!" Yes, it is hard to commit to integrity, to telling the truth, isn't it? It is hard to admit to our sins and failures, first to ourselves, then to God, and then to those we have offended. But it is liberating, too. A person who has committed to living with integrity never has to worry about keeping his stories straight. He never has to be anxious about being exposed by someone 'who knows too much!'

The Bible says, "Don’t lie to one another. You’re done with that old life. It’s like a filthy set of ill-fitting clothes you’ve stripped off and put in the fire." (Colossians 3:9, The Message) Embrace the truth. There are few things as refreshing as a person who is authentic, who knows who he is, who is content in his own skin. As we let God love us, we do not need to impress, pretend, or hide. He knows us as we are; indeed, even better than we know ourselves - and loves us. When we believe that and receive His love, confessing our sins and failures, He forgives and cleans us up.

Got a few skeletons hidden away? Trying to impress others with stories that have a little 'added' content? Open up to Christ! Let Him love you to the truth.

Here's a word from the Word for this day. Take it with you today. Note the end result - underlined in the passage!
As we grow up in Christ, "then we will no longer be like children, forever changing our minds about what we believe because someone has told us something different or because someone has cleverly lied to us and made the lie sound like the truth. Instead, we will hold to the truth in love, becoming more and more in every way like Christ, who is the head of his body, the church. Under his direction, the whole body is fitted together perfectly. As each part does its own special work, it helps the other parts grow, so that the whole body is healthy and growing and full of love." (Ephesians 4:14-16, NLT)