What a colossal mistake! "The robbers who were crucified with him also heaped insults on him" (Matthew 27:44). A man who was crucified had difficult time breathing. The core of a person is stretched to the limit on a cross. Yet, these two criminals were using their dying breaths to taunt. Mocking while they are dying; that is so sad!
But taunting while dying is not the biggest mistake! The biggest mistake is that they were wrong about Jesus. They didn't really think he could rescue himself and them, but he could have! Finally, one of them changed his mind. I don't know what caused it, but one of them realized he had been mocking the Messiah!
Imagine his predicament. He's dying and he is has just been mocking the one whom he has now concluded is the king who is about to come into his kingdom! (Luke 23:42) Is this a hopeless situation? Not when Jesus is the King. When Jesus is the king there is hope for the hopeless! "Today you will be with me in paradise," Jesus said.
If there is hope for that thief, then there is hope for us. That's Life at Work!
On May 22, Brad and I headed east for South Fulton, TN. My nephew C4 married Casey on Saturday. It was a great occasion. We celebrated with them and their families at a rehersal dinner on Friday night and then on the Saturday that they exchanged their vows.
During our travels and with our family in we were in constant prayer for our friends John and Margaret Dobbs. On the Friday of C4 and Casey's rehersal, John and Margaret buried their son John Robert. It was the day that John Robert was supposed to graduate from Pascagoula High School.
On Satuday after the wedding, Brad and I headed south towards I-40 to make the trip back home. As we approached West Memphis on I-55 we got a call from JeannaLynn. Pauline Hardwick, the mother of our great friend Martha Skelton had passed away in Cleveland, TN. We lived in Cleveland before our move to Yukon. Martha and her husband Dean were our best friends there. Martha's mom was close to our hearts, too. Martha wanted us to come to Cleveland for her funeral.
Brad and I drove back to South Fulton, spent Saturday night and went to the morning assembly at my brother's church. Afterwards, we headed north and east on the Purchase Parkway, drove south on I-24 through God's beautiful Land Between the Lakes, picked up JeannaLynn at the Nashville airport, and then finished out the drive to Cleveland. We comforted and got comfort from our friends at Pauline's funeral on Tuesday, May 27 and then made the trip home, arriving mid-day Wednesday.
On Saturday, JeannaLynn and I drove west out of Yukon to the Berlin Cemetary just west of Sayre, OK. On May 4, 2008 Tim Hartman was flying with a good friend and three other passengers out of Wiley Post airport in Oklahoma City. The small jet flew into some birds over a lake near the runway causing the plane's engines to fail. Tim, our friend and missions deacon, died in the crash of that jet along with the co-pilot, Rick, and the three passengers they were transporting.
Tim's remains were released nearly three months after the crash. We were driving to Berlin Cememtary to bury his remains. Nearly 1000 people came to Tim's memorial service in May. This gathering was a small one - mostly family, and a couple of friends including us.
We talked about how the resurrection of Jesus proves that we don't have to keep looking down once dust has returned to dust. Instead, we look out and we look up. We released some silvery-white balloons. Three of them symbolizing for us the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit; and one with Tim's name written on it. Audra, Tim's wife released that balloon. We all watched as they ascended into the heavens - together. Matt and Mark, Tim and Audra's sons, are great young men.
Audra received an answer to prayer that Saturday. Along with Tim's remains, there was a box of Tim's belongings. This box contained the items found at the crash site that could be identified as Tim's. Audra had been praying that Tim's wedding ring had been found - and it had! She clutched it tight and we all rejoiced with her.
I'm including here a picture of C4 and Casey experiencing a real Cayman Islands sunset, a picture of Pauline, another of Tim, and a picture that Tim's son Mark made in memory of his dad. I'm also including a couple of videos. One that I got from John Dobb's Blog, "Hope Remains" in which Mercy Me is sing "Homesick." The second video is from a song played at Tim's funeral: "Better Hands Now."
One of the things I love best about life is getting heart to heart with family. One of the things I like most about ministry is getting heart to heart with people like Pauline, Dean and Martha (and their sons and families), Tim and Audra and their family, and John and Margaret and their family; even though that closeness leads us often to common places of pain. One of these days, it will all be about celebrating and those of us who have hurt together will laugh together forever "and we will dwell in the house of the Lord...forever".
John and Margaret Dobbs have been long-time friends due to a Magnolia Bible College connection. Many of you know of them because John is a blog king among those of us in Churches of Christ. Additionally, John has played a central role in relief efforts in and around Pascagoula since Katrina came ashore.
Their 18 year old son, John Robert Dobbs, was killed Tuesday night/Wednesday morning on Interstate 10. You can read what John wrote and find links to news reports at his blog. John Robert was scheduled to graduate from Pascagoula High School on Friday night.
I get so angry! And grief-filled. It was just three years ago that other good friends of ours lost a 19 year old son in a car accident. It's just not right.
John and Maggie, we love you. Holy kisses from the Oklahoma Mays are for you! When we all get to heaven, what a day....
He had the speedball that no one could hit. She was the prettiest girl that no one would with whom no one would break up. Those were the high school days. Bruce Springsteen calls them "Glory Days" in the song with that title.
Toward the end of the song he sings about the glory days topic:
And I hope when I get old I don't sit around thinking about it; But I probably will. Yeah, just sitting back trying to recapture A little of the glory of, well time slips away, And leaves you with nothing, mister, but Boring stories of glory days.
Glory days. Well, they'll pass you by; Glory days. In the wink of a young girl's eye Glory days, glory days.
Glory days can become the only days on which we can affectionately reflect if we quit moving into our dreams.
When Jericho fell, the Israelites should have been so pumped up with faith that they moved through the rest of Canaan, claiming the Promised Land that God told them he would deliver into their hands. They eventually got to a point, however, where they were in no hurry whatsoever. There were issues about dividing the land, and still issues about getting the former inhabitants out, but when Joshua approaches them with the problem he simply asks, "How long are you going to slack off?"
It's as though they were making a cross-country trek on route 66, pulled over to roadside park to rest, and stayed there for a couple of years! You can't look back at the progress you've already made and decide that now is the time for you to rest on your laurels for a while. Somehow, when people quit moving they eventually become very satisfied with the rest stop.
If you are graduating from high school this week, you may feel somewhat amazed at how quickly your school years have gone by. If you are like me, you especially feel like your senior year zoomed past – "in the wink of a young girl's eye." All of us hope that your high school experience was fantastic. We hope you will look back on them with thoughts of "glory days."
But none of us, your family in Christ, want you to look toward your future with any thought less than "glory days!" We want you to graduate from high school with your tires rolling, your faith strong, your hope secure, your eyes open, your heart pure, and your dreams big – and getting bigger because you are moving toward them! That's Life at Work!
This morning I am speaking at the OC preacher's luncheon about being married to the preacher's wife. I'm referencing this incredible video. If you haven't seen this video, watch it a dozen or so times, to let the rich meaning sink into your heart. And then, husbands, espcially preachers, watch it again remembering that the love Jesus has for his recreation, the church, is what you are to have for your wife. The protection Jesus offers in this skit is the protection that we must offer for our wives to rescue them from the unmerciful attack of Satan.
"It's a great moment when someone has the character to do the right thing at the right time" (Pam Knox, Western Oregon Softball Coach in interview with ESPN).
Coach Knox was commenting on the actions of Mallory Holtman and Liz Wallace. They play for Washington State and were in a playoff game against Knox's Western Oregon team. Western Oregon's SarahTucholsky, a senior, hit her first homerun as a college player against Washington State. As it turned out, it would be her last at a bat as a player. In her excitement about the homerun, Sarah failed to touch first base. As she turned to go back, her knee didn't pivot, and she tore her ACL so badly that she could only crawl to first. For her run to count, though, as rules were understood by the umpires on the field, she had to touch each base and none of her teammates or coaches could touch her.
Mallory Holtman and Liz Wallace from the opposing team asked the umpires if they could carry Sarah around the bases. As there are no rules against that, Mallory and Liz carefully scooped Sara from the ground at first based and carried her all the way home, setting her left foot on each based as they passed. Sarah got her home run.
Mallory and Liz got the attention of ESPN and a nation full of people who love sports – and long to see character. "Let your light shine," Jesus said, "so the world may see!" That's Life at Work!
You might have brought your baby home from the hospital having delivered her yourself. She has your eyes, your husband's hair (or lack thereof), your sister's dimples, and your dad's feet. One thing is for sure - she has all your love, and you have all of hers. Because a mom's a mom.
You might have watched from behind a window when he was carried by a nurse from the birthing room to the nursery. You might have known that the baby that just went by would be at your home before long. You've been good to the birth mom who just couldn't take care of the child in her womb. You'll always know what she looked like because you'll see her in the baby you've adopted as your own. His features don't look like anybody in your family, but one thing is for sure, he has all your love. You have all of his, too. Because a mom's a mom.
Maybe the kids you care so much about came to your home knowing who their birth mom was and knowing they couldn't live with her anymore. You adopted them after personalities developed, after they had to consider whether they were loved, and after they could be held and rocked comfortably. You've struggle, you've taught, you've hugged, and you've spent yourself on them. One thing is for sure, they have all your love. And you have all of theirs, because a mom's a mom.
You were going to be their grandparent, but your role has changed. There's a huge age difference, and you find it hard to keep up most days. You've stepped up to the challenge, though. You take him to school and pick him up. You go to his soccer games and sit with the soccer moms smiling as he falls all over the field. You weren't planning on this. There were days when you thought you couldn't do it, and wished you didn't have to. But now, one thing is for sure. He has all your love, and you have his. Because a mom's a mom.
She's lived in your house for six months. You have no clue how long she is going to stay. DHS could come tomorrow to take her from you. You've held her as she cried. You've comforted her when she's been scared. You've done all you can to heal her heart. You've modeled a good home. You've hugged her and kissed her. You've told her things she should have been told all her life, but that she's never heard before. You don't know if the phone call will signal the end of your time with her, but one thing is for sure. She's got all your love, and you've got hers. Because a mom's a mom.
As I asked in my informal survey for information about the huge struggles that we have in our various life settings, women told me about hurts and fatigue; and how they create a suction on their energy – including their spiritual energy. Furthermore, though they seek for it, there seems to be no end, no relief, and no rest.
As I looked for more information I came across some writing of Denise George, author of What Women Wish their Pastors Knew. In her own survey, she discovered that women wish that they could receive more help from the church, including the pulpit, in regard to these huge concerns:
1. Women are tired.
2. Women are hurting.
3. Women want to grow spiritually
4. Women want to raise godly children.
5. Women often feel like "second-class citizens" in church.
Being tired and hurt play a critical role in the other three concerns that George lists in this Christianity Today article. Fatigue and pain impact humans in many negative ways.
How can women who feel wiped out emotionally and spiritually reclaim the fire? I'm not talking about doing more! I'm talking about being spiritually revived! We know Jesus is the source. He said, "Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light" (Matt 11:28-30). Peter affirmed the help of God when he wrote, "Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you" (1 Peter 5:7).
What does coming to Jesus look like? How do I cast my anxiety on him? This is Huge!
Do you agree with George? What would you add to the list?
There’s nothing wrong with wanting to fit in. We can put a negative slant on the idea of fitting, but ultimately, fitting in is synonymous with having friends. A teenager has to ask herself some serious questions if she is remaking herself in unChrist-like fashion in order to fit in. But a teen also has to ask himself some serious questions if he doesn’t have any friends. Look in the lists of virtues in scripture. Loneliness is not in any of them. When a young person wants to fit in, he is sensing something from deep inside his DNA. He is sensing that he was created for relationships. She knows that much of who she is involves interaction with other people.
In teenagers, the drive to connect with others is especially strong. Even young people who are shy, still have a powerful force inside them to make friends – and it’s incredible how shy people find each other. The drive is so strong, young people do boneheaded things, things out of character for them, in order to make the connection.
It’s important for us, teens and not-so-teen people, to understand this drive and the impact it has on choices. Many of the poor decisions that young people make are not thoughtless. They are not “unencumbered by the though process.” The consideration of right or wrong and the reflection on potential consequence may have been short; but it was usually there. Teens don’t mess things up because they are idiots; they aren’t. Their drive to connect is just often stronger than their sensibilities.
For guys, Chris Cagle’s song “Chicks Dig It” has a lot of meaning:
Just throw caution to the wind my friend
And then sit back and watch your life begin, cause;
Scars heal... glory fades;
And all we’re left with are the memories made.
Pain hurts, but only for a minute.
Yeah, life is short so go on and live it
Cause the chicks dig it.
Connection is Huge for teenagers! Christian teens have to remember the command from Paul to refuse to conform to the world, experiencing instead a transformation to being like Christ through a renewing of the mind (Romans 12:1-2). Christian teens have to know about the real Jesus so that friendship and connection with him is priority #1! Christian teens also need to make strong connections with other teens of faith, for their own benefit and for the benefit of the other teens.
This is huge for teens, so it is huge for all of us! That’s Life at Work!
This is huge! Pornography is destroying men (mostly), their marriages, and their families. According to the website familysafemedia.com Oklahoma City ranks 10th, 3rd, and 7th in the nation regarding the number of internet searches for “porn,” “xxx,” and “sex” respectively.
According to their numbers, which match other numbers I’ve seen, 90% of kids eight to sixteen years old have been exposed to pornography on the internet. The average age for seeing the first pornographic image is eleven.
But this isn’t an adolescent problem or teenage phase. The largest consumer group of pornography is men between 35 and 49 years old. It’s not just a problem for unbelievers, either. According to Proven Men (www.1wayout.org), 60% of Christian men have sought out some form of pornography. Ninety percent of men raised in Christian homes were introduced to some form of pornography before adulthood. Do you keep your home computer screen where it can always be seen from a hallway or another room? Seventy percent internet porn is viewed during business hours.
The attraction to pornography does not stay small, if it can even begin that way. What a man views today that excites him, will not have the same effect after consistent exposure. The need for more; and the need for more explicit, more hardcore images, grows. Men will waste hours, hours that should have been spent working or with wives or their children, to see naked pixels. Men will sale their souls to see videos of ungodly people dishonoring the sexual union that God designed to be honored, not exploited. Some prison ministries report that 100% of sex offenders frequently viewed pornography. I’ll guarantee you that nearly every man convicted of molestation said at one time at the report of some other sex offender, “I’ll never do that.” I’ll guarantee you, further, that nearly 100% of those who end up as sex offenders were led to the point where they would do that by pornography.
Stop it! Now! Pornography will kill your soul and the innocent victims along the way will be your spouse and your children. What do we need to know and what can we do about pornography, its grip on our culture, its destructive force, and methods to defeat its influence on your life and family?We must! That’s Life at Work!
The five year Bible School plan called for a quarter-long study on the book of Numbers. Even the staff complained: "Numbers? It's thirty-six chapters of self-centered people who whined every time they didn't get their way! I'll hate that! Give us something relevant!" (see Discipleship Journal, Spring 2008, p. 78)
"Pride only breeds quarrels, but wisdom is found in those who take advice" (Prov 13:10).
Pride, the root of selfishness, is the breath behind quarrelsome words. The Israelites did whine about everything, it seems; and so do we. If we don't get what we think we deserve fast enough, we complain. If we experience some discomfort when someone else could have prevented it, we moan. When we are convinced that something should go one way, and someone else thinks it should go another, we quarrel. When our weaknesses are exposed, we argue out of defensiveness.
Self-centeredness (pride) precedes destruction because quarrelling wrecks relationships (Proverbs 16:18). Humility leads to greatness – for yourself and your relationships! That's Life at Work!
This is huge! What is it? It is the sin that gives us the most trouble. It is the temptation with which we constantly struggle. It is the most frequent failure, lost battle, step into the shadows, and missing of the mark. I don't know that the Hebrew writer was thinking specifically or generically, but it is the "sin that easily entangles" (Hebrews 12:1).
The huge temptation is different for me in regard to the different roles I play. As a man, I struggle with keeping my eyes off of the impure images everywhere around me and keeping my mind out of the gutter. As a husband I realize I'll fight with my wife much more quickly that I would anyone else. As a dad, sometimes I veg out having given my energy to everybody else.
So what it is for you? What is it for you in your various roles? Certainly, Christians are forgiven because there is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus (Romans 8:1). We live in a relationship with God in which our sins are not counted against us. Our sins are forgiven. Our transgressions are covered (Romans 4:6-8).
But it is God's forgiveness, his Amazing Grace that compels us to put these sins to death. Since we died to sin, we must keep killing it whenever it resurrects. We have risen to walk a new life. We offer ourselves as living sacrifices because of God's mercy. We don't want to return to sin like a dog returns to his vomit! No way! We want to reduce this huge sin to nothing!
So let's expose it! Let's get it out on the table! Let's examine its power in our lives. Let's admit its presence. Let's agree with God that it is wrong and destructive. Let's agree with each other that we hate it. Let's make ourselves accountable to each other. Let's throw it off like an old coat so that we can run with perseverance the race marked out for us! That's Life at Work!
Help me out! Send an email listing what is huge in your life or what you recognize in huge in the lives of the people you know. I promise, I'll take it as an observation, not a confession. Email what's huge to thisishuge@southyukon.org. When we know the enemy, and identify his schemes, we can resist him so that he runs away!
I'm beginning a series of sermons called "This Is Huge." What are the most significant temptations and struggles for various age groups and life settings. Let me know!
According to Consumer Reports, last year over $900 million on gift cards went unused. It's terribly sad when something of great value goes is unused. You might even say it's looney! Whether it is funds that could be used for God's glory, an ability or talent, a week, an opportunity to forgive, an hour to spend with a child, a word of admiration for a husband, an act of loving service for a wife, or a vote for something good and righteous – use what ought to be used to the glory of God.
"So the temple was once again used for worshipping the Lord" (2 Chronicles 29:35). That was such a wonderful time for the people of God. The doors of the temple had been closed for a while because of the wicked kings of Judah who followed the unbelieving nations into trusting images made of stone and wood instead of the living God! In his first month, though, Hezekiah opened the doors of the temple and ordered that it be cleaned up and purified. He acted quickly and so did the Lord. God helped them get the temple ready in record time; and they used it for its intended purpose!
Be Hezekiah in your own life. Recognize the tragedy of a wasted temple, or whatever is unused in your life, and get busy cleaning it up for good use. God will see what you are doing and he'll speed up the process because he loves to see people using what they have in meaningful ways! That's Life at Work!
In the last two weeks, we've heard the heartrending news of three marriages in families involved in full-time ministry that have ended in divorce. God's heart must be broken! It grieves him to see us go through such pain. The likelihood is that recently you have mourned over wrecked marriages; perhaps the mourning has been for your own marriage. Tragically, often help is sought too late; but the answer to the high divorce rate is not simply better or more timely crisis management. The answer is much more complicated, yet when the solution is in place the impact is incredible and hope abounds!
Churches must develop comprehensive marriage ministries. What does that mean? Churches need to address the significant themes of marriage with adolescents (beginning in Jr. High if not before) and pre-engaged and engaged couples in addition to couples already married. Churches that offer a number of marriage enrichment opportunities including classes, seminars, special studies, retreats, mentoring and coaching, along with easy access to crisis intervention are going to experience greater success in serving families in the church and the community. Comprehensive marriage ministry is critical for growing married Christians to spiritual maturity and reaching out to communities world-over.
JeannaLynn and I are committed to helping our church develop such a program. Because of our own personal struggles, we have a common passion for helping churches help couples; and helping couples move from wherever they are now to a greater marriage. For us, that's Life at Work!
Konrad Adenauer was a German statesman and from 1949-1963 was first chancellor of the Federal Republic. He, as I understand, did much to advance the international prestige of West Germany and presided over its postwar recovery. When Adenauer, lovingly nicknamed, "the old man" was approaching ninety, he caught a bad cold. His physician, unable to be very much help, had to put up with Adenauer's impatience. "I'm not a magician," protested the harassed doctor. "I can't make you young again."
"I haven't asked you to," retorted Konrad. "All I want is to go on getting older."
I suppose it's true that most of us want to "go on getting older." Bless your hearts; there are some of you who are desirous of the end of life right now. Don't take your own life. Talk with someone about your feelings. Let them know how you are feeling. Things can be better, and with some help they will be. Some among us, because the poor shape of their health, are longing for death to come as relief. Paul described himself as one caught in the middle. He knew that to depart to be with Christ would be a wonderful step for him. On the other hand, he knew the importance continuing to preach the gospel and encourage the saints. Most of us though, want to continue to live and enjoy life.
The problem is that we just don't know if that is going to happen. We can do some things to make sure that we stay healthy, and we should. We go to the doctor when we are sick so that he can do some things to make us well, and we should. It is true, however, that heart attacks, strokes, cancers, car wrecks, murders, and accidents can and do happen. James wrote, "What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes." (NIV) Not only that, but Jesus has promised to return and the time of his coming is growing closer every day. Even if we don't die, then, our time on earth could still be over today.
What should I do then? What kind of direction does God give me since my time here is limited and some day I will cease "going on getting old." Peter wrote "So then, dear friends, since you are looking forward to this, make every effort to be found spotless, blameless and at peace with him. Bear in mind that our Lord's patience means salvation." In a similar context, Jesus directed that a blameless life would be characterized by feeding the hungry, visiting the sick and imprisoned, caring for stranger, and giving drink to the thirsty.
Maybe some day I'll be nearly ninety and telling a doctor that I want to go on getting older. I hope that my health will be such that going on is a blessing rather than a pain. What will still need to be true at that time is that I am ready to be with the Lord. Surely the day of death will be closer than it is right now. I'll have to be ready.
Right now I'm forty-two. I hope that I will live longer. I love my wife and my kids and enjoy the life that we are spending together. I delight in working with the South Yukon Church. The truth be told, being prepared for death when I'm ninety is no more important than being prepared for death right now. We have always got to be ready. That's Life at Work!
"When everything else is on the line, you better be there, too." (Deacon Jones)
There are times when you have to be there! Imagine Joshua stepping back instead of sounding the "as for me and my house" charge (Joshua 24:15). Imagine Esther deciding that going before the king was just too risky (Esther 4:6-17). What if David had stayed in back with his brothers (1 Samuel 17)? What if Moses ignored God's report of the cries because his previous attempt to rescue had failed miserably?
Your marriage is at a crucial point, your kids are facing serious difficulties, or the time has arrived to announce the final decision and you know that though it is right, it is not popular. You've been convicted of your sin, and you have the opportunity to make it right with God and the people you love. Those around you are walking in sin and straight for disaster; no one else is going to step up to stop them! These are some of those times when you have to there!
Get on the line! Today is the day of your salvation! Say like Nehemiah, "Should a man (or woman) like me run away? Or should one like me go into the temple to save his life? I will not go!" (Nehemiah 6:11-12). He was right to stay out of hiding!
"Be strong and courageous," were the words for Joshua. Don't ignore the tough times as if nothing is really happening as long as you don't look. Your presence is needed today! That's Life at Work!
Two guys were walking through the woods and came across this big deep, hole. "Wow...that looks deep."
"Sure does... toss a few pebbles in there and see how deep it is."
They picked up a few pebbles and threw them in ... no noise.
"Man! That is REALLY deep... here.. throw one of these great big rocks down there. Those should make a noise."
They picked up a couple football-sized rocks and tossed them into the hole and waited... and waited. Nothing.
They looked at each other in amazement. One got a determined look on his face and said, “Hey, over here in the weeds, there's a railroad tie. Help me carry it over there. When we toss THAT sucker in, it's GOTTA make some noise." The two dragged the heavy tie over to the hole and heaved it in. Not a sound came from the hole.
Suddenly, out of the nearby woods, a goat appeared, running like the wind. It rushed toward the two men, then right past them, running as fast as it's legs would carry it. Suddenly it jumped in the air and into the hole. The two men were astonished with what they had just seen. Then, out of the woods came a farmer who spotted the men and ambled over. "Hey, have you two guys seen my goat out here?"
"You bet we did! Craziest thing I’ve ever seen. It came running like crazy and just jumped into this hole!"
"Nah", says the farmer, "That couldn't have been MY goat. My goat was chained to a railroad tie."
As deep as that hole was, there is something deeper. That something is the love of Christ for us. Paul wrote in Ephesians 3 these words about his prayer for them, “And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge -- that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.”
Could we really have any doubt that Jesus loves us? Doesn’t his death on the cross for us shout “I love you!” louder than any shout you’ve ever heard? His tremendous love motivates us, or it should motivate us, to obey him from the heart! His tremendous love reassures us, or should reassure us, that he’ll do anything for us that will bring salvation to our souls. Love him back and obey him. Trust him in his love to work the circumstances in your life out for your eternal good. That's Life at Work!
You have not come to a mountain that can be touched and that is burning with fire; to darkness, gloom and storm; to a trumpet blast or to such a voice speaking words that those who heard it begged that no further word be spoken to them, because they could not bear what was commanded: "If even an animal touches the mountain, it must be stoned." The sight was so terrifying that Moses said, "I am trembling with fear." But you have come to Mount Zion, to the heavenly Jerusalem, the city of the living God. You have come to thousands upon thousands of angels in joyful assembly… (Hebrews 12:18-22).
Mountains play important roles in our background as people of God. One of those mountains the one described in Exodus 19:10-20. It is the mountains specifically written about in the Hebrews 12 passage. It is Mount Sinai. I don’t know if you’ve ever read that passage, but it is truly majestic. There are strict instructions given to the Israelites about contact with the mountain. You touch it, you die, basically. Then, just as Moses had said, on the third day after the instructions were given, thunder, lightening, and thick clouds came on the mountain and a loud trumpet sound came from it. Everyone was trembling at the sight.
While the mountain at which we assemble is spiritual. The scene of this mountain teaches us an important lesson. We assemble at the Mountain of Reverence. We must always be conscious of the majesty of God. David wrote in, “Exalt the LORD our God and worship at his holy mountain, for the LORD our God is holy” (Psalm 99:9).
In Touch and Live, George Vandeman wrote: "A young stranger to the Alps was making his first climb, accompanied by two stalwart guides. It was a steep, hazardous ascent. But he felt secure with one guide ahead and one following. For hours they climbed. And now, breathless, they reached for those rocks protruding through the snow above them - the summit. The guide ahead wished to let the stranger have the first glorious view of heaven and earth, and moved aside to let him go first. Forgetting the gales that would blow across those summit rocks, the young man leaped to his feet. But the chief guide dragged him down. 'On your knees, sir!' he shouted. 'You are never safe here except on your knees.'”
Come to the living God. Come to the joyful assembly. Come to the spiritual mountain. That’s Life at Work!
You are the strength that keeps me walking. You are the hope that keeps me trusting. You are the light to my soul. You are my purpose...you're everything.
How can I stand here with you and not be moved by you? Would you tell me how could it be any better than this? “Everything” sung by LifeHouse
The assembly of Christians is critical for our exposure to the strength of the God, the truth regarding our hope in God, the light of God, and our purpose in God. When our songs, our Supper, our attention to the Word, our prayers, and our sacrificial offering are designed to direct our hearts, minds, and bodies to God Almighty, how could we not be moved by him?
“Viewing assembly as a means of grace means that God is at work through this event to transform us into his image. Encountering God transforms us. His holy presence sanctifies, encourages, and empowers us” (Hicks, Melton and Valentine in A Gathered People).
The words we say and hear, the memories and visions of the future, the bread and drink that demonstrate our fellowship, the participation in worship and encouragement are not merely sections of a one hour exercise that we leave behind like we are walking away from a gym. Our participation in the assembly of the saints is supposed to transform us. It will only transform us, however, if we participate with the goal of transformation in mind. We are not led into worship, we enter into worship. Our assembly is not a gathering in which we are passive observers who might be dragged into participation if the show is particularly good. From the first reading to the last prayer we engage because we know that our engagement will change our lives and we can then change our world. That’s Life at Work!
I make the case for a cappella music in the assembly like Everett Ferguson makes it. He examines the NT passages, considers the life of the early church, and considers any theological significance to the practice.
The New Testament delivers and reflects apostolic teaching, and playing is not mentioned. For 600 years instruments were not used. Jesus alwasy led us to the heart of the matter and perhaps the theological significance of apostolic teaching reflected in the epistles is the heart involvement in singing.
I make this case. And I believe it. I believe and teach that instrumental music in the worship assembly is outside of God's will.
For many people, the case for a cappella music is strong and convincing. I am among them. Many of these people I have found have a heart for God, a great desire to please him, and their lives reflect their commitment to godliness.
For many people, the case for a cappella music is weak and unconvincing. Many of these people I have found have a heart for God, a great desire to please him, and their lives reflect their commitment to godliness.
Those who contend so vigorously against the case for a cappella music would do well to admit that those of us who believe it are not stupid, we are not all legalists, and we don't come to our conclusions without evidence.
Those who contend so vigorously for the case of a cappella music would do well to admit that simply on the basis of godly people who don't believe the argument, the case is not as cut and dried for some as it is for others. It is not like the works of the flesh that are obvious. Instrumentalists are not stupid, self-centered, nor do they draw their conclusions without evidence.
At the end of the day, many of us are going to believe just as we believed at the beginning. Some of us are going to have been convinced to change our minds in both directions. And we are going to have to deal with the bigger question of what do we do with each other; and the answer is going to refelct what Jesus is going to do with both of us.
Father, please deal mericfully with me. I want to do right, but I'm sure I've got some stuff wrong. Father, please help me deal mercifully with other children of yours who disagree with me.
Some girls have said those words having gone out with the young man they have become convinced is THE MAN for them. I remember saying those words as I looked at the face of my newborn son. The words were slightly changed for obvious reasons as I gazed at my daughter. She’s perfect!
In a much grander way, Jesus is perfect. He is perfect! That’s important to say because not everyone believes it. According to some surveys by George Barna who does a lot of religious surveys, “Most people have traditional views about Jesus Christ: His historicity, virgin birth, humanity and deity, resurrection from the dead, etc. Many adults, however, remain uncertain about the perfect (i.e., sinless) nature of Christ, and have little knowledge regarding the prophecies preceding his life and death” (George Barna in The Index of Leading Spiritual Indicators).
Isaiah told his listeners years before Jesus that when the savior came he would take up our infirmities, carry our sorrows, be pierced for our transgressions and crushed for our iniquities (Isaiah 53:4). Jesus did all that; and he could because he had no transgressions nor iniquities of his own. He was innocent – totally, completely guiltless – and he died for all of us who are totally, completely guilty. Perfect! He is perfect! That’s Life at Work!
Spiritual transformation is the change in a person from the old way of living in sin to the new person living in the ways of the Spirit. Paul wrote about the Christian metamorphosis resulting from the renewed mind, the mind dedication to offering living sacrifice (Romans 12:1). As we are transformed, we no longer conform to the ways of the world.
Can this transformation be measured? In other words, is there a way that I can examine myself so that I can be sure that the transformation that Christ wants for my life is being accomplished? Yes, there is. One way is by considering carefully if these seven elements are present and growing in my walk in the Spirit: (1) Am I worshipping God intimately and passionately? (2) Am I engaging in spiritual friendships with other believers? (3) Am I pursuing faith in the context of family? (4) Am I embracing intentional forms of spiritual growth? (5) Am I serving others? (6) Am I investing time and resources in spiritual pursuits? (7) Am I having faith-based conversations with outsiders?
Those seven biblical points of self-examination are the seven elements on which the Barna Group focuses as they examine the passions that their research indicates that people moving from the old person to the new person in Christ possess (UnChristian by David Kinnaman). I’m going to be asking myself those questions? Will you do that, too? That’s Life at Work!
My heart aches this week as I watch brothers in my own family fight with each other. The worship war spilled out into the street for everyone to see. An issue that few understand was taken to the world. The world watches and they report. What they say is not, “Those people sure know their Bibles.” They sure don’t say, “They must be followers of Jesus. Just look at their love for each other.” What they say is that the Church of Christ is fighting. Not fighting poverty. Not fighting addiction. Not fighting abuse. Not fighting biblical illiteracy. Not fighting Satan. The Church of Christ is fighting itself.
That’s a lose-lose-lose deal. Both sides in the fight lose. And the world that we are trying to influence for good and for God; the world that is supposed to see the light of Christ in us loses, too. The lost see in us the same kind of fight that they see in their homes, their hangouts, their alleys, their workplaces, their parks and their playgrounds. They have fights all around them all the time. Why come to Christ to find another?
Other churches don’t always do what we believe they ought to do in the way we believe they ought to do it. Still other churches who don’t like what other churches have done don’t always respond in the way that we believe they ought to respond. While all that has happened around us is very disheartening and tragic, this is a trustworthy saying: On our watch right here and now, there are orphans and widows who need care, families who need uniting, poor who need fed and warmed, addicts who need a hand, abused children who need protection, and unbelievers who need faith and hope. And we must serve them.
In our own local church family there are probably six hundred different reactions to the polarization occurring in the body of Christ in the metro – one for every person who assembles in our church home. I hope you’ll say with me that we are heartbroken over the fight, but God has a big job for us to do giving care, direction, food and warmth, a helping hand, protection, and hope to our communities – and we’re a bit busy. Definitely too busy to fight with our brothers. That’s Life at Work!
As Paul closed out his letter to Titus, he seemed so concerned that the relationship that Christians had with other Christians and with the general population be healthy. The relationships would be healthy if Christians were subject to authorities, eager to do good, kind with their words, peaceable, considerate, and humble. He said that when we live that way we are accomplishing what is excellent and profitable for everyone. That means it’s good for you and good for me. That’s good!
The motivation Christians have for treating everybody, including unbelievers in a good way, is that we used to be unbelievers. Saved people ought to do what is good for unsaved people because we used to be lost. But God saved us. Even then, that wasn’t because we did something great. He didn’t save us because of who we are. God saved us because of who his is. He is kind, loving, and merciful.
Since we have experienced the baptism of rebirth and since the Holy Spirit has been poured out on us for the sake of our renewal, justification, and sonship; let’s do all we can to open the doors for the same blessings to come to others.
Paul said this is trustworthy information, and he calls Christians to stress it among ourselves so that all of us can do those things that are excellent and profitable for everyone. That's Life at Work!
I still have both of my parents. I've never had to bury one of my children. My wife of 21 years is still right beside me.
I had two childhood friends to die. I grieved when my grandparents passed away. I've presided at the funerals of a lot of my friends and sat quietly in many more memorial services while others led me in grief. I cried uncontrollably when my best friend's wife was killed within the first year of their marriage. My best friends from an earlier hometown called us to come to them when their son, our son's best friend in that town, was killed in a car wreck. I've grieved a lot. You probably have, too.
Unless my loved ones grieve over my passing first, I've still a lot of grieving to do. Thanks, Virgil, for your transparency. Thank you for your ministry. Thank you, God, for the impact that Virgil and Caryl have had on us. Amen.
When God created Adam and Eve, he created them with bodies to move, minds to think, and hearts to feel. Your body, intellect, and emotion make up who you are as a person, and God wants all of you involved in life with him.
Having confirmed that the Colossians were risen with Christ Paul told them, “Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things” (Colossians 3:1-2). This focus of emotion and their intellect on heavenly things would have an impact on the actions of the body. Specifically, sexual immorality, slander, and lying would be put to death.
A little later in that passage, Paul instructed the Colossians that their singing involving the body, should teach and admonish engaging the mind; all the while, expressing gratitude in the heart (Colossians 3:15-16). Paul told the Corinthians who seemed quite happy to engage the spirit as they spoke in languages that no one present understood, that they would do better for themselves and others if they would pray and sing (bodily functions) with both mind and spirit – intellect and emotion (1 Corinthians 14:13-17).
John Ortberg and Pam Howell wrote about Scarecrow Worship (worship without a brain) and Tin Man Worship (worship without a heart) in the article "Can You Engage Both Heart and Mind?" [Leadership (4-1-99)].
If we lean, as a group, toward one of these kinds of worship, it is toward the Tin Man Worship. We do lean. And, it’s important to note that we don’t lean toward a worship disengaged from emotion because we can demonstrate from scripture that it is supposed to be that way. We lean that way because of our church history. Those through whom we trace our spiritual background did what we do; but not all the way back to the first century. God has called us to engage the heart.
Jonathan Edwards wrote in his Religious Affections, “That religion which God requires, and will accept, does not consist in weak, dull, and lifeless wouldlings raising us but a little above a state of indifference.” Wouldlings is a word coined by Edwards to refer to weak drives to do those things which a Christian has said he “would” do. Weak inclinations are to be replaced with a fervent spirit. So he continued, “God, in his Word, greatly insists upon it that we be in good earnest, fervent in spirit, and our hearts vigorously engaged in religion: ‘Be fervent in spirit, serving the Lord’ (Romans 12:11).”
It’s time for us to create a better balance of worship. We have excelled in worship with mind and body. Let’s now excel in worship with mind, body, and spirit. That’s all of who you are! That’s Life at Work!
Sunday morning I'm starting the series "Back to the Heart of Worship." I wrote this article for our bulletin as prep for that series and Sunday's sermon.
I'm coming back to the heart of worship,
And it's all about you;
It's all about you, Jesus.
I'm sorry, Lord for the thing I've made it.
It's all about you;
It's all about your, Jesus
(Michael W. Smith- "Heart of Worship")
It's easy to see the loss of proper focus in the Israelites as they made idols for themselves at the foot of Sinai. The idol was their focus. It's easy to see the loss of focus in the people of Judah as they quit just long enough to offer their sacrifices at the temple. The temple was their focus.
It's pretty easy to see the misplaced focus of the Corinthians, too. Some of them gathered early, without the rest, to eat the Lord's Supper. They ate to their fill, they drank to excess, and they despised the poor. Their focus was on their little group.
Others focused on themselves. Worship was a talent show. It was a contest for bragging rights. It was a time for self-promotion, putting down the others, interruption when necessary, and disruption for the sake of being noticed. Their common Lord was insignificant. Greatest gifts – now that's a topic of interest.
Graven images would be quickly noticed and punted around here.
But for the rest of the misplaced focuses aforementioned, there is call for caution for us. There are a few of us who will steal, murder, commit adultery – or commit our "lesser" sins – throughout the week believing that our time in the building appeases our righteous God. That's not a perfect parallel to Judah's total miss of the heart worship, but it's close enough.
I don't hear anybody among us arguing that their talent for singing is more important than another person's talent for publicly praying; but that doesn't mean that there are none of us who focus on ourselves or on our own little group of friends rather than focusing on the Spirit, the Lord, and God (1 Cor. 12:4-6). Those who give more can think less of those who give less; and vice versa. Those who have been around forever can believe that they are more important because of their tenure. Those with more public roles can believe that their work is more significant.
Let's get back to the heart of worship. God wants his will for worship to become our will for worship. That's Life at Work!
The Pharisees missed Jesus. They were supposed to know the scriptures, and they should have seen how the scriptures pointed to Jesus. Yet, though there are exceptions like the Pharisee Nicodemus, the Pharisees as a whole let Jesus slip through their bloody hands. Paul wrote about taking hold of that for which Jesus took hold of us (Phil 3:12). The Pharisees could have taken hold of Jesus in faith; instead, the signs and scripture that should have convinced them of his identity went right over their heads.
Why? Why would a group of religious leaders be so clueless about Jesus? I think the answer lies in the first encounters that they had with matters regarding Jesus. I say “matters regarding Jesus” because Jesus’ cousin, and more importantly, his forerunner John the Baptist, confronted the Pharisees (he called them poisonous snakes; Matt 3:7) with the need to repent. It would seem they didn’t appreciate the rebuke. And then, John pointed to Jesus as the one to follow. They were not likely to follow anyone recommended by John.
A subsequent encounter between Jesus and the Pharisees was in the vicinity of Matthew’s house. Jesus was there associating with tax collectors and sinners. The Pharisees stood on such high moral ground that they couldn’t believe that Jesus was associating with these people of low moral fiber. “Evil companions…,” they thought.
Maybe there are a lot of us who are a lot like the Pharisees. I don’t deal with rebuke very well. I’m not one who retaliates with cross-rebuke; but some of you do. I have a tendency instead to think that if someone sees something wrong in me, something must be wrong with their eyesight. Others walk out of a room or out of life when they are confronted with wrongdoing. Furthermore, there those of us who have grown up believing that something was right or that something was wrong; and we have seen in the life of Jesus or read in his teaching that he believed just the opposite. Our values actually keep us from the life of greatest value. Jesus really is the Truth.
Don’t miss Jesus due to some Pharisee DNA. If you’ve been rebuked by Jesus, repent and live. If you see something in the life of Jesus that challenges your perception of truth, investigate with an open mind and heart to see the world though his eyes – the eyes of the “one and only who came from the Father full of grace and truth (John 1:14).
It could have been as many as twenty-four months since Jesus had been born by the time the Magi arrived in Jerusalem to enquire about the birth of the King of the Jews. Jesus was likely at least six months old; yet, he was still in Bethlehem. King Herod had to ask “the peoples chief priests and teachers of the law” where the Christ was to be born. “In Bethlehem,” they told him; and they referred to the prophet Micah to prove their point and included in what they reported some of their own expectation regarding the Christ, that he would be a shepherd to the people. The fact that Matthew included their rendition, “a ruler who will be the shepherd of my people Israel,” probably means that he agreed with their perception of the Christ.
As the Magi approached where Jesus was, they overflowed with joy. As they gazed on him, they bowed and worshipped. As they considered who he was, they opened their treasures and gave him gifts.
Much has happened since that night of rejoicing and gift giving. Jesus grew up and he submitted to God’s will that he should die on the cross. He resurrected through the Spirit of Holiness and was declared with power to be the Son of God. He received the glory that he had before his incarnation, and now he sits at the right hand of God waiting until he comes again in glory.
Our gifts are offered to Jesus in his glory. There are many gifts that we offer, but like the Magi, we have treasure that we call money. For the benefit of the kingdom and of people we open our treasures and offer gifts to Jesus knowing that when we’ve done if for people, we have done it for him. Paul wrote to the Corinthians, asking them to be motivated by the generous spirit of others to complete an intent to give that was yet uncompleted.
As we consider giving for the year 2008, some questions from Matthew 2 and 2 Corinthians 8 come to mind. Answer these questions for yourself:
1. Does It Reflect Belonging to the Lord or Fearing for Our Own Little Kingdom? 2. Does It Reflect the Gifts We’ve Received? 3. Does It Reflect the Love We Have? 4. If It Is Not As Much As We Would Like To Give, It Is It Growing Toward Our Desire?
I wonder if the inn keeper ever knew who was in his stable. He was probably too busy to notice the commotion that came with the arrival of the shepherds. Besides that, they were shepherds – whose going to take notice on a busy night of shepherds in a stable?
Many of us don’t even take time to read something like this at a time when we can digest it. You may be reading this during a bible class or during the song service, communion, or sermon. Reading it that way, might cause us to miss something significant – after all great things happen in bible class and during our assemblies. Reading it while other in setting where concentration is low might cause you to miss something significant in this article.
“Nothing important is happening right now.” Oh, really? I wonder if the inn keeper ever had a break in the census rush, and thought “Nothing important is happening right now.” We don’t know about the important things, big and small; but we are entangled with the everyday, mundane events.
The Son of God was in the womb of Mary, and Mary’s husband Joseph was knocking on this inn keeper’s door. Nothing in the stories of the birth of Jesus give any indication that Mary and Joseph told anyone the Holy Spirit story to try to get some room in the inn. Yet, don’t you know, that if the inn keeper had just taken a moment to look up from his ledge, he would have seen what the shepherds saw; and he would have done what the shepherds did.
The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things they had heard and seen… (Luke 2:20).
The Son of God was born in his stable, and we don’t even know his name. I wonder if he ever knew the name of Jesus.
Don’t let the everyday things keep you from seeing or hearing or reading something that is out of the ordinary and out-of-this-world important! That’s Life at Work!
It's time I gave this blog a little life. Enjoy the Elfing that we were introduced to by Jason and Phyllis and Matt and Mel.
Tuesday, October 23, 2007
It’s been a group thing from the beginning (Acts 2:44-47). Since the church began, mutual encouragement at Sunday gatherings have been a staple. Relationships designed for accountability, reciprocal teaching, and shared ministry are all a part of God’s eternal plan for his group of saved people – the church. Surveys since the 1960s, including a recent one co-sponsored by Leadership Journal (Fall 2007), have revealed that only 19% of people who identify themselves as Christians believe that participation with a local church is important to their Christian walk.
The Hebrews were walking out on the assembly, so they were commanded, “Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another-and all the more as you see the Day approaching” (Hebrews 10:25). The reasons for rejecting the communal concept of Christianity are many, but none are good enough. The church in its time of mission, the era in which we now live, will not be perfect – after all, I’m in it. Yet, it is God’s plan – for you and me.
The assembly is not the entirety of your Christian walk, however. There are many who identify themselves as Christians whose Monday walk is quite different from their Sunday confession. Follow Jesus everyday! That’s Life at Work!
I long for a world in which babies are born into homes where they have resources and love for a good life; where peace is in great supply; where justice prevails; where mercy is bountiful; where God’s creation is respected; where violence is abhorred; where war is unnecessary; where the marriage bed is honored; where others come first; where marriages last a lifetime; where virtue abounds; where people are hungry for God’s word; where forgiveness is quick; where hypocrisy is missing; where joy is in every heart; where Jesus reigns in every life; where God is glorified.
It begins with my community. It begins with my church. It begins with my family. It begins with me…and you!
10. He is too demanding (19:16-30). 9. He embarrasses the self-righteous when they are wrong (15:1-12). 8. He’s small town and too familiar (13:53-58). 7. He’s on the demon’s team (12:22-37). 6. He heals people on Saturday (12:1-14). 5. He hangs around all those sick people (9:9-13). 4. He kills pigs and threatens our livelihood (8:28-34). 3. I’ve got other important things to do (8:21-22). 2. I like my comfort (8:18-20). 1. I think he wants my throne (2:1-12).
They followed him across the lake, but would they continue in discomfort and would they make following him their first priority. I don’t necessarily think about a choice regarding following Jesus in Matthew until the challenge to count the cost and prioritize the responsibilities of Matthew 8:18-22. Earlier in the Matthew account, Matthew himself and the magi seem really eager and Herod is completely resistant. No drama in their choices, at least as Matthew tells it. The teacher/disciple and the other disciple in this discipleship story of Matthew are willing to consider the plunge, but they only have one foot in the water. Now there is drama. Jesus sees the reservation in one; the other admits his reservation without recognizing that it is a problem.
We know his teachings. The source of happiness isn’t what we thought. Real followers have a real impact. Jesus interprets and lives the law perfectly. Murder, adultery, divorce, and promises have more to do with the heart than we thought. Turn the other cheek and love your enemies. Act in a way to gratify God, not impress people. Treasures in heaven are better. Worrying is for pagans. Don’t give pearls to pigs; save your best judgments for those who will appreciate you. God is a great giver and we should be great givers, too.
We know his miracles. He cleansed lepers, healed servants from a distance, and touched the feverish so that they could immediately serve.
We also face the same choice as these people in Matthew 8. The choice isn’t simply, “Will you follow Jesus?” The question is “Will you make following him your first priority and will you keep following regardless of the cost?”
Kenneth Grider said that many Christians follow close enough and long enough to make them decent, but not enough to make them dynamic. Will you follow Jesus first and forever? Will you let him impact you for the dynamic – the abundant – life? That’s Life at Work!
Thursday, July 26, 2007
Richard Schwieterman tells a story about doing some remodeling on his house. He was fixing an attic fan. He said that as he lifted himself us from the ladder into the attic, he scratched his head on a crossbeam. As he crawled through the attic, he got several splinters in each hand. He actually cut one of his hands as he replaced a fan belt, then on the way down he slipped over the last two rungs and twisted his ankle. He says that when he limped into the kitchen where his wife was cooking, she took a good look at him and asked, “Are those your good pants?”
David and Teresa Ferguson try to help us get the point about paying attention when they write in Devotions for Couples that a wife might say, “I’ve had a really rough day, especially when I went to the shopping mall;” to which too many husbands will respond with a compassionate, “You went to the mall? Did you get that shirt like I asked you?”
Husbands and wives who respond in thoughtless ways like these are not usually, in my experience, rude; they are, well, just thoughtless. The natural tendency of people is to think about themselves. Because it is the natural tendency to think about your own interests first, it takes thought to consider others first.
The sad thing, in this regard, about the state of the American family is that we use our homes as safehomes in which we let our guards down. What I mean is, we let our guards down to the point that we quit practicing the command of Jesus through the Apostle Paul to consider others better than ourselves and to look to the interests of others in addition to our own interests (Phil 2:3-4). We come home from school, work, or play where we have humbly been courteous and considerate; and become discourteous and inconsiderate to our spouses, our parents and our children. And it isn’t because we are choosing to be rude. It is because we quit choosing what to do and we let the natural tendency take over.
So we have to change our minds. I mean literally change our minds. In order for me to be considerate first in my home and then outside my home, I must have the mind of Christ. That’s right. I need a renewing of my mind, so that I begin to think like Jesus all the time, everywhere.
How can you develop the mind of Christ? First, expose yourself often to Jesus in the gospels? Second, be deliberate as you make every effort to add the ways of Jesus to the faith with which you began your Christian walk. Third, pray for the mind of Christ.
The more you develop the mind of Christ, the less thoughtless you will be to your family and to everyone else. That’s Life at Work!
When Jesus found someone hungry, he gave them food. When he found them sick, he gave them health. When people were cast out by the elite, he gave them security. When people mourned, he gave them comfort. Jesus gave, and gives all these things, but Jesus is not grocery store God, hospital God, security blanket God, or an ease-my-emotional-pain God. God is much bigger than any of those and bigger than all those put together.
When people face issues of life, often they become aware of their need for God. I’ve heard people say, “I’ve got a God-shaped hole in my heart.” The truth usually is that there is a hole in the heart, something is missing, but it is actually the shape of something God can help with; not actually shaped like God. As a church, which is the body of Christ – meaning that we do his work in this world – we face a dilemma when we want to present Christ as someone who cares about your hunger, your health, your security, and your tears. The dilemma is expressed by N. T. Wright in an interview with Tim Stafford for Christianity Today magazine (Jan 2007). “… If you simply address the God-shaped blank that people think they’ve got, the God you end up with is the God shaped by the blank.”
As a church, like Jesus, we are dying to help you! The greatest help we can be, though, is to show you all of who God is, not just what God can do. If you’ll let him in – and he is knocking – you’ll discover that he is much, much bigger than any hole in your heart can hold! That’s Life at Work!
My life is a song that I sing to God. My song includes my words, but it is not the sum of my words. If my words are not a reflection of my life, my song of words is vain. If I sing “Take my life and let it be,” yet my day is all about me and not about God, my song of words is meaningless. If my song of words is “If I have wounded any soul today,” yet I am unapologetic and cold, I song is useless. If I sing with my mouth, “I love thy kingdom, Lord,” while I harshly judge my fellow disciples, my song does not bring a smile to God.
The writer to the Hebrews wrote, “Through Jesus, therefore, let us continually offer to God a sacrifice of praise-the fruit of lips that confess his name. And do not forget to do good and to share with others, for with such sacrifices God is pleased (Heb 13:15-16).
We can bring a smile to the face of God! Does that interest you? We can please him. Is that the desire of your heart? Then sing songs and live a life that proves that what you sing is a true expression of your heart.
I believe it is important as we approach a sermon that we understand that the Word upon which that sermon is based is God’s Word to us. When Jesus spoke, he wasn’t offering commentary like one of the scribes; his message carries the authority of heaven. His words will judge us in the last day (John 12:47).
To stress the origin and significance of a section, Paul would sometimes write, “I received from the Lord what I also passed on to you” (1 Cor 11:23; 15:3). The Corinthians failed to recognize a message of authority when they heard it; we do that too, sometimes. While what I say in commentary on a passage is just commentary, the scripture we read is “God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work” (2 Tim 3:16-17).
I talk to people all the time about scripture and their approach to it. Many in our community and in our church understand the concept of inspiration and believe the Bible is from God; yet a great number of us don’t respond to the Bible as if it is the message to which we are accountable. Lots of people say the Bible is God’s word and then live like it’s not. Plenty of people will walk out of the auditorium, say something about the truth of the message I have preached, and leave without a bit of change. Including me. That’s why I have begun to engage God’s assembly in sermon time with the recitation of “This is God’s Word to Me.”
Recitations are nothing new to God’s people. Worship in the Old and New Testament era has encourage congregational engagement through antiphony (responsive alteration between two groups – often as part of song) and litany (recitations). Psalm 136 has been used for centuries as a leader among God’s people would read the first line of each verse, and the entire congregation would chant “for his love endures forever.” It is an engaging and powerful reminder of how God’s love is evident in creation and his daily care for his people. Do you think that our generation needs some reminders about how the food every creature receives is evidence of God’s enduring love? Seems to me, we take that for granted.
This kind of recitation is not a violation of passages about worship like 1 Corinthians 14:34 or 1 Timothy 2:11-12. Singing is a congregational activity in which everyone, male and female, participates – even when the song is a prayer put to music (i.e. “Father, Hear the Prayer we Offer”). Recitation of a Psalm or a common pledge is in the same category.
Reciting “This Is God’s Word to Me” is certainly not intended to make anyone uncomfortable, unless the discomfort is because of inattention to God’s authoritative word. Certainly, no one is required to participate in the recital. The intent is to raise awareness that the Bible we are studying reveals the authority of Jesus; and our approach to it must involve our love for the hope it makes known and our determination to be transformed! That’s Life at Work!
In the past few months, I have initiated a recitation prior to my Sunday morning sermons regard the role of the Word in our lives. It is a litany that I wrote to move our assembly to good thinking as we approach the Word.
This Is God’s Word to Me It Has the Power to Light My Path To Judge My Heart To Convict Me of My Sin And the Power to Set Me Free
I Will Meditate On God’s Word to Me Day and Night I Will Search for Its Meaning I Will Desire the Knowledge It Provides I Will Receive God’s Word to Me And I Will Do What It Says
I Expect that My Life Will Be Changed That Who I Was Before God’s Word, I Will Never Be Again I Expect to Be Built Up by God’s Word Today And by the Power of God’s Word I Will Receive the Inheritance of the Holy.
Where do we begin? If we are going to do personal work like Jesus, if we are going to start telling people the good news, where do we start. Peter and Jesus offer a good idea. Start at home.
“When Jesus came into Peter's house, he saw Peter's mother-in-law lying in bed with a fever. He touched her hand and the fever left her, and she got up and began to wait on him” (Matt 8:14-15).
You’ve heard me say that our homes are to be evangelistic centers. Let’s call our homes Foundations for Kingdom Explosion! If you and I were to use our homes as the entry points for people to whom we want to give the gift of the gospel, we would have no trouble knowing where to start.
First, as I challenged you a few weeks ago, put your home back in its place as the primary location for discipling your children. Let the church help, certainly, but the church’s role is secondary. Teach your children the good news in your own home.
Next, whoever is in your home on any kind of consistent basis is a great person with whom to begin revealing the gift of Jesus. Teenagers, you’ve got friends who play video games in front of your TV, swim in your pool, jump on your trampoline, crash on your couch, and drink your Dr. Peppers from your refrigerator. Let them open your gift from your hand. You received the gift of eternal life – regift it! Your friends will receive it better in your home!
The people in your home may be your relatives who live close enough to come over regularly. They may be your friends who you invite over for dessert and Bible Study – just the few of you. They may be people you met at church for the first time on a Sunday morning that you invited to your home for a small group study on Sunday night. They may be your golfing buddies or fellow card fanatics. Whoever they are, open your home and open your mouth about Jesus. Make your home your Foundation for Kingdom Explosion.
Jesus healed Peter’s mother-in-law without anyone asking. She immediately got up and served him. People appreciate it when you care about them enough to help them – it can mean more if you’ll offer before they even ask!
“Freedom's just another word for nothing left to lose…” (Janis Joplin in “Me and Bobby McGee”).
“And freedom, oh freedom well, that’s just some people talkin.’ Your prison is walking through this world all alone…” (Eagles in “Desperado”).
“Some say that freedom's the power to do what one pleases; you can live like the devil or hold on to Jesus…” (Kenny Chesney in “Freedom”).
We can appreciate the sentiment behind each of the ideas of freedom expressed in songs like those. I hope we can appreciate the concept of freedom expressed in scripture. Peter wrote, “They promise them freedom, while they themselves are slaves of depravity-for a man is a slave to whatever has mastered him. If they have escaped the corruption of the world by knowing our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ and are again entangled in it and overcome, they are worse off at the end than they were at the beginning” (2 Peter 2:19-21).
You are a slave to whatever overcomes you; and if what overcomes you doesn’t bring life in the end, then you aren’t free. You can live your life nearly any way that you want, but if you end up in everlasting destruction, you haven’t been free. As a country, we can do nearly anything we want, but if our way doesn’t bring us life in the end, we aren’t free. We are slaves to whatever overcomes us and many are moving toward slavery to sin. Move toward Jesus in whom there is life eternal life! That is freedom! That’s Life at Work!
Is there anything better than Jesus? Can any gift better than eternal life be offered by anybody? Maybe when these questions are asked point blank the answers are quickly shouted, "No!" But often the questions are not that pointed: and the answer is one made not with the mouth, but with actions. It seems that for many the answer to both questions is "Yes."
Some of you continue in sexual immorality. You know that your actions are not pleasing to God, yet you won't repent. With your actions you are saying, "This relationship is better than a relationship with Jesus." Some of you are so enamored by money that you'll do nearly anything to have more. You're unethical, if not a thief; you're a gambler; or maybe just plain covetous or stingy. What you say by your actions is, "The blessings of my possessions are greater to me than the gift from God."
There is surely some "cross bearing" for the Christian in this life, but we consider it all joy to suffer here, to do without here, to resist pleasures of the sinful ways here, if it means heaven later. Every day Jesus asks, "Will you pick up your cross?" (Luke 9:23); and everyday we answer "yes" or "no" by the choices we make from the heart. That’s Life at Work!
“Free At Last: Another One Down And 27 Million To Go. How Christians Are Becoming Modern Slavery’s Worst Nightmare.”
“Hope In The Heart Of Darkness: 3.9 Million Dead. 40,000 Raped. Christian Survival In Congo’s Killing Fields.”
“Red Light Rescue: The Business Of Saving Girls From A Life Of Prostitution.”
Those are the front cover stories in some of the most recent Christianity Today magazines. Some readers may initially scoff at the stories because of political influence and abuse, but the problems are real – and so are the people. And they have souls. Our compassion must be equally real!
The dispersed, the persecuted, the hungry, and the enslaved were on the mind of Paul and other disciples as they evangelized the world of their generation. Paul wrote to masters and slaves instructing them about godly treatment, and when he could, strongly encouraged masters to set their servants free (Colossians 3:22-4:1; Philemon 12-16). Slave trading, often involving kidnapping, was specifically condemned by Paul, and Timothy was charged to call his church out of such practice (1 Tim 1:10). When Agabus prophesied about the upcoming famine in the days of Claudius, the disciples were quick to offer their gift of help to their brothers living in Judea.
God is just, and we are to be concerned for those facing injustices, and especially where they cannot help themselves, Christians must step in. We cannot walk by on the other side of road. We cannot stand aside. It looks too much like we are holding coats and giving our approval.
Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up. Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers (Gal 6:9-10).
What can we do? We can support mission efforts that involve helping the dispersed, the persecuted, the hungry, and the enslaved. We can be more involved with the missions we already support, paying special attention to these hurting human beings. We can read to become more aware of the plight of others, and have our eyes open to the doors God will open for us to help! That’s Life at Work!
Frederick Neidner, with some creative feeding from Paul J. Griffiths, wrote about the consumerist reader and religious reader of scripture. Which sounds more like you? The consumerist reading “makes us users, buyers and sellers of texts. Consumerist readers are interested primarily in moving quickly from one text to the next in search of things that will excite, titillate, entertain, empower and give them some advantage over others.”
“Religious readers, on the other hand, assume they have come into the presence of a text with inexhaustible depth. They read with reverence, humility, obedience and the presumption that difficulty in understanding reveals more about their limitations than the excellence or effectiveness of the text. Religious readers incorporate, internalize and memorize texts. They read slowly, hoping not to miss anything.” [“Forming Students Through the Bible,” The Christian Century, (April 18-25, 2001) pp. 16-20].
Since scripture is God’s communication with us, shouldn’t we read it hoping not to miss anything? Scripture has the power to light our paths, soften our hearts, convict our minds, and change our lives in the present and in the future. Don’t pass over it too quickly. Read slowly to incorporate, internalize and memorize. That’s Life at Work!
Lost Boys of Sudan follows the lives of young African refugees who start life fresh in America having been crushed by the civil war in Sudan. These young men, most of whom are under 18 years old, struggled to survive in Africa where they faced lions and local militia—and they continue to struggle in America where they face loneliness and learning an entirely new way of life.
The documentary focuses on a group of boys who are relocated by the U.S. government into an apartment in Houston. After job training, several of the boys head into the workforce, trying to become self-supporting.
In one scene, Peter Kon Dut goes out to lunch with two coworkers from his factory job. Peter talks openly with them about his struggles in America. Over the lunch, Peter unveils deep and piercing insights into American culture—which are all the more fresh since he's only lived in America for one month. Over his first-ever hamburger, Peter says, "I see different things. Everybody is busy. You can't get friends. Time is money—but in Africa, there is no 'time is money.' Everybody is busy here. How am I going to find friends here? I feel like going back and saying, ‘There are no friends here.’” (Edited summary of Bill White, Paramont, CA for Preaching Today)
Notice the similarity of these passages early in Acts:
All the believers were together and had everything in common. Selling their possessions and goods, they gave to anyone as he had need. Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved (Acts 2:44-47).
All the believers were one in heart and mind. No one claimed that any of his possessions was his own, but they shared everything they had. With great power the apostles continued to testify to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and much grace was upon them all. There were no needy persons among them. (Acts 4:32-34).
The church of Jerusalem made a concerted effort to live in unity and with a mutual concern. Though they would experience some problems later when the Hellenistic widows were being neglected, even then the problems were recognized and resolved in a wonderful fashion bringing about incredible results (Acts 6:1-7).
We should follow their example so that no one should ever come crushed by the world and say about their church experience, “I feel like going back and saying, ‘There are no friends here.”
The truth is, it happens. What will we do, what will you do, to ensure that no one will say that when they have been among us. That's Life at Work!
Paul wrote to Timothy, “For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs” (1 Tim 6:10). Those of us in “people helping” roles see those who have “pierced themselves with many griefs” way too often. I have seen husbands who spend more time playing cards online than they do with their wives and children, and their marriages are destroyed. Far too many men and women have secretly gambled all their money away and have wrecked their lives and their faith. The National Council on Problem Giving (www.ncpgambling.org) offers self-diagnostic tools to get you thinking about your gambling habit. Here are a few of the questions:
· Have you often gambled longer than you had originally planned? · Have you often gambled until your last dollar was gone? · Have thoughts of gambling caused you to lose sleep? · Have you used your income or savings to gamble while letting bills go unpaid? · Have you made unsuccessful attempts to stop gambling? · Have you gambled to get money to meet your financial obligations?
Paul warned us by the Holy Spirit that loving money would bring disaster. Ask yourself these questions, consider what you do to gamble, and remember that you can’t serve God and money (Matt 6:24). That’s Life at Work!
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