FATHER’S DAY

This link is to a video slide show set to Sparrow recording artist Steven Curtis Chapman’s song “Cinderella“. My daughter put it up on her Facebook page today, and some of you may have already seen it, but I thought with Father’s day right around the corner, this was an appropriate acknowledgement to all of you fathers, soon to be fathers, and someday fathers out there.

It obviously favors dads of daughters, but given my background and experience (raising two daughters) it kind of makes sense to me. I really want to urge each of you men who either have a little “Cinderella” of your own or married someone else’s “Cinderella” to click the link, take the 4-5 minutes to sit down, watch the slides, and let the words of the song penetrate your hearts.

 I wrote on my own Facebook page this afternoon that I’m praying for rest of this week for all the men I know who are fathers. Young or old, ours is an awesome privilege and responsibility. It is my heartfelt prayer that each of us will handle that blessing wisely and for the honor and glory of our Lord!

God has placed into our hands, gentlemen, the most precious of gifts; the lives of our little ones and the privilege to lead them to trust our beloved Savior. Love and cherish them as they grow, and watch in awe as the Lord, by His grace, matures them into godly men and women. Tears are unavoidably shed along the way and challenges will befall both you and your children, but know that our Lord Jesus Christ is walking the path before you.

 For the fathers reading this, after you’ve had a chance to view the video, please take a moment to thank God for your families and, if they’re near, give your kids a hug and kiss, as only a father can!

 God Bless and Grace 2 U,

The Name Game – Part 2

Continuing the discussion about how we go about naming Jesus to a person and culture who do not have the same frame of reference that we do: In any discussion, there are certain presumptions. If I say “Hello,” and you say “Hi,” I may presume you speak English and embark on a conversation. It’s my presumption you are going to understand what I say. Better still, if you’ve ever spoken a feeble, eighth-grade inspired “Buenos Dias,” to someone who fluently speaks Spanish and they then launch into a Spanish monologue, leaving you in the conversational dust, only able to sputter “Que?” you probably understand what I mean.

 

We often engage in conversations about Jesus thinking we’re all speaking the same language. I once wrote a little skit to highlight this disconnection of ideas, where the believer would use terms like “washed in the blood” to the horror of the non-believer. Jesus ran into similar circumstances as He spoke to Nicodemus, a religious scholar of his day.

 

There was a man of the Pharisees named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews. This man came to Jesus by night and said to Him, ‘Rabbi, we know that You are a teacher come from God; for no one can do these signs that You do unless God is with him.’

John 3:1-2

 

Nicodemus was a Pharisee, a member of what constituted the then Jewish Supreme Court. As a political and social party, the Pharisees were zealots for adhering to ritual and took great pride in that they maintained religious purity based on the Mosaic Law and their own strict traditions. Notice that Nicodemus calls Jesus “Rabbi,” a term of honor and recognition for a teacher of God’s truth. He was willing to acknowledge, as would many scholars in today’s world, that Jesus taught important truths about God. Nicodemus was even willing to go as far as to recognize the miraculous things Jesus had done.

 

However, note how very candid Jesus is in His response. He does not, as some modern methodologies would advise, shy away from religious or church words or terms. He immediately addresses Nicodemus’s primary need: rebirth as a true son of God. Jesus knew what He had just said would both resonate and trouble the Pharisee. As a Jew, Nicodemus understood the birth analogy. Aside from the obvious reference to physical birth, Jews also understood this terminology to refer to a conversion experience; persuading one to a new, and obviously, better way of life. But Nicodemus chooses to challenge Jesus over the literal birth meaning.

 

 

Nicodemus repeats the same words Jesus used twice, but without the born “again” qualifier and that is key, because that little word, “again,” also means from above; a specific spiritual reference which Jesus goes on to explain to the man.

 

We are often coached, by those who seek to reach a post-modern, post-Christian society, to avoid “church” words, since they will have little meaning for our hearers and may even offend them. Jesus Himself purposely uses language that would provoke both thought and some confusion, causing the listener to question further. And those questions are a natural invitation for us to share our testimonies about Christ and His ministry in our lives.

 

Rather than fearing my words would offend a listener, I fear misleading or worse still failing to communicate truth to them. In fact, there are times when I would question if my words are not offensive, whether they are accurate and true. The message of the Gospel is at once offensive, to those in sin’s grasp, due to the convicting power of the truth, and on the other hand very appealing to a generation that is looking for something authentic. Our witness needs to express true devotion to our Lord and Savior, Who has something to offer this post-modern generation: the unadulterated truth that Jesus Christ sacrificed His life for their sins and that trusting Christ is their only way to re-establish a relationship with the Holy God of all creation. 

God Bless & Grace 2 U,

 

The Name Game – Part 1

It was an old song, made popular by Shirley Ellis back in the 60s, and went something like this: 

 

“Hannah, Hannah, Bo-Bannah,

“Banana, Fanna, Fo-Fannah,

“Fee, Fi, Mo-Mannah…Hannah!”

 

The nonsensical Name Game song took a name, played with it, changed it, and then finally came out with the original name again in the end. I was reminded of this children’s son while reading an article on my favorite Christian hedonist blog, John Piper’s Desiring God. Written by Trinity Evangelical Divinity School, New Testament Professor, D. A. Carson, the article discussed the theme of naming God in a pluralistic society: or more directly, talking about Jesus in our current world.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

As I’ve been doing some research lately on the whole “Emerging/Emergent Church” issue (I can’t keep them straight yet), Carson’s article caught my imagination. Just how do we, who trust Jesus, name Him to others who do not have the same familiarity with Him? According to Carson’s article, to some Jesus is one of long list of profanities employed; to another, He is an ideal but certainly not a person; to yet another He was a man who obeyed God, but not God, and so on.

 

Often when we engage our modern-day, Godless culture in a discussion about Jesus, there is little to no agreement about the terms we are about to use. I say “Jesus.” You say “Right.” I say “Savior.” You say “Sage.” I say “God.” You say “Good man.” And so it goes. We engage in what we think is dialogue, but in reality it is two conversations, going in separate directions, that just happen to be in the same vicinity: Talking at each other, rather than to each other.

 

Jesus ran into similar circumstances with those He interacted with and addressed: The woman at the well, Nicodemus, the rich young ruler, the list goes on. Each time, there were misconceptions about who they were talking about (on the part of those He engaged, certainly not on the part of Jesus).

 

In John 4:1-30, Jesus meets a Samaritan woman. In their exchange she makes an observation about Jesus that tells us her perspective of who she thinks she is talking both to and about.

 

The woman said to Him, ‘Sir, I perceive that You are a prophet…’

John 4:19

 

A prophet, in mere secular terms was a mystical person who could interpret hidden knowledge. However the woman was a Samaritan, so she had some knowledge of the God of Israel. So we might consider her as a “religious” person (but not a necessarily believer). Her frame of references in addressing Jesus as a prophet was that she was speaking to a man who, by God’s Spirit, could declare truth concerning the kingdom of God and the long sought for Messiah.

 

Many today are in the same camp when it comes to talking about Jesus. They recognize a holiness, or perhaps a wholeness, in which He appears to be an embodiment of a longed for spiritual perfection they seek to encounter. They recognize Him to be authentic, but His representatives here on earth as less than genuine. If we engage these modern seekers but are not aware of this gap in their presuppositions about Jesus and those of us who follow Him, we’re liable to think they accept our line of thought when in fact, they are moving away from us and closer to some mystical, spiritual “Christ-concept” that is antithetical to our purposes.

 

As He addresses the woman, Jesus deals directly and unequivocally with her perceptions. He speaks to her need to understand worship and describes spiritual worship that pleases God. Since she was a Samaritan, Jesus knew she longed to worship God in a genuine and God-pleasing fashion (not unlike what some in the Emerging/Emergent movements seek today). When she takes the discussion to another level of inquiry, acknowledging a genuine faith in the promised Messiah, Jesus presents genuine truth, candidly and straightforwardly declaring Himself to be “Messiah.”

 

As we engage the current culture (the postmodern or, as some refer to it, the post-Christian era), we must bring the truth authentically, genuinely and directly. We are not to conform Christ or Christianity to look more like the culture. Christ is genuine enough for any era. He is inherently essential to every need. All we need do is represent Him as directly as He Himself did to this Samaritan woman. And we are fully equipped to do so as His disciples. Christ is not a commodity to be packaged and marketed to better appeal to a consumer. Christ is the Messiah, the Savior, and all we need do is let His Holy Spirit equip and enable us to proclaim His Gospel to the world.

 

 

God Bless and Grace 2 U

Enthused to be Used

I am not one to use trite phrases (okay, not all the time), but one has become lodged in my thinking recently: the idea of being “enthused to be used by God.” This occurred to me as I was preparing a brief devotional study for a small group on the privileges we have in leading others to become disciples or followers of Jesus Christ (basically discipleship). My preparation led me to the book of Colossians.

 

To them God willed to make known what are the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles: which is Christ in you, the hope of glory. Him we preach, warning every man and teaching every man in all wisdom, that we may present every man perfect in Christ Jesus.

Colossians 1:27-28 (NKJV)

 

I see a broader application of the statement “Him we preach…” in verse 28, that extends to any of us who are in a position to lead others into a closer walk with our Savior. We are privileged to preach Jesus Christ, and by “preach” I mean the simple public, visible, and demonstrable proclamation of the truth of the risen Lord. It must first be a public proclamation in that it does no one any good to attempt to proclaim Christ privately. For some it is a very real risk to publically express our belief in Jesus Christ, but a risk we are all called to take nonetheless.

 

The proclamation of our faith in Jesus Christ is to be visible. The New Testament writer James declares that “…faith without works is dead…” The watching world should see our Christianity, not just hear about it. Francis Schaeffer * hints of this in his work “The Mark of the Christian.” Using passages in John 13, Schaeffer argues, “…We cannot expect the world to believe that the Father sent the Son, that Jesus’ claims are true, and that Christianity is true, unless the world sees some reality of the oneness of true Christians…” Not just hear about it, but see it.

 

The proclamation of our faith is to be demonstrable; illustrating, explaining, and making clear the evidence of our faith in a very real and very personal Savior. You may have noticed I have purposely left any verbal component to these ideas. We tend to think of preaching and proclaiming our faith in terms of what we say, like reciting the correct formula. In this case, I like the old axiom attributed to Saint Francis of Assisi that says, “Preach the Gospel at all times…if necessary use words!”

 

Furthermore, we are privileged to warn every man (woman and child). I see this as more than advising someone of danger, but the delivery of encouraging counsel. When I looked up what it means to warn someone, I found it to mean putting something in the mind of another. To those who put their trust in us, we are to deliver wise counsel and encouragement in all areas of their walk with our Lord Jesus Christ.

 

We are privileged to teach everyone, which is dialogue and discussion with others for the purpose of instructing them. Beyond the dialogue depicted here, I also think of our behavior as teachers, both before and away from those we disciple. As a teacher, I not only have the privilege of sharing what Jesus did (His history) with those I disciple, but also of demonstrating in my daily life how, through the ministry of the Holy Spirit, we are enabled to live a more Christ-like life (living out our theology). We are privileged to teach, not just with words, but with actions.

 

Finally, we have the privilege of seeing those we disciple ultimately “perfect” in Jesus Christ. Not without flaws, for we will never be in that state until we are before our Lord in glory (and yet that too is hinted at here). Perfect in that we are all coming into full maturity, both in integrity and virtue, and becoming more Christ-like in word, thought, and deed.

 

It was here, as I reviewed these two verses, that I my enthusiasm was kindled. I realized as I engage in the discipleship of others for Christ, I should be very enthused by all these privileges. And enthusiasm is a most fitting description. In both verses studied here, Paul uses similar phrases; “in Christ” and “Christ in you…” The root word for enthusiasm comes from a combination of two Greek words: En + Theos, meaning God Within, God inspired. That Christ is in me and that I am being perfected and brought to maturity in Him should result in enthusiasm that overflows about being used by God. I am enthused because of the indwelling of God’s Holy Spirit. I am enthused to be trusted by my Lord to disciple others to follow Him. In short, I am enthused to be used by God.

 

What makes you enthusiastic?

 

What privileges of ministering for Jesus Christ have you been given?

 

Do you approach those opportunities to minister enthusiastically?

 

Does what you say, what you do, and how you do it proclaim the faith of someone who has Christ within them?

 

God Bless & Grace 2 U

 

* Regarding the Francis Schaeffer quote, it is extracted from an appendix of a larger work noted here: Francis Schaeffer, The World At The End Of The 20th Century, (Downers Grove, Illinois: InterVarsity Press) 1970, pgs. 138-139. 

 

Producing Fruit

I am the true vine, and My Father is the vinedresser. Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit He takes away; and every branch that bears fruit He prunes, that it may bear more fruit.

John 15:1-2 

 

AGREE/DISAGREE: The validity of our salvation should be evaluated based upon whether we produce godly fruit in our lives.

 

Producing Fruit

 

Are you bearing any fruit in your life as a Christian? What do we mean by fruit? Is it demonstrated by something like the number of people you’ve won to Jesus recently or is that just “works”? What exactly is the source of this “fruit” we’re encouraged to produce?

 

In the passage above, Jesus says He is the true vine. Furthermore, we’re to understand the branches to be those who grow in Christ. And to consider the metaphor further, a vine, in and of itself, doesn’t produce fruit effectively unless it is properly cultivated and cared for. That’s where God the Father comes into the picture.

 

God is the vinedresser or gardener. Is there a need for a gardener? Evidently there must be because Jesus says that every branch that doesn’t produce fruit is taken away.  By “taken away”, or as some translations read “lifted up”, this can mean God takes away the deadwood, the branches that do not produce fruit. Another way of considering the verse is that God, as the Master-Gardener, must change the location of some of the branches that hang about the true vine, because in their present state, they impede the rest of the living, fruit producing branches from growing and flourishing. It’s worth noticing that it’s the gardener that does this and not the other fruit bearing branches. That may be a little obvious, but in practice, many well-meaning believers think they must rid the vine of all non-productive branches. That’s not a healthy understanding of this passage.

 

The vinedresser removes and repositions those branches that fail to produce fruit because He knows the difference between a branch that is stunted or dormant, but still very much alive, and a dead stick. God sees what goes on inside our hearts. If we take the meaning of God “taking away” these dead branches as the concept of being removed permanently, for the purpose of destruction, then the picture turns very ominous indeed, but would have to apply to judgment.

 

Weeds in the Crop

 

Another parable He put forth to them, saying: “The kingdom of heaven is like a man who sowed good seed in his field; but while men slept, his enemy came and sowed tares among the wheat and went his way. But when the grain had sprouted and produced a crop, then the tares also appeared. So the servants of the owner came and said to him, ‘Sir, did you not sow good seed in your field? How then does it have tares?’ He said to them, ‘An enemy has done this.’ The servants said to him, ‘Do you want us then to go and gather them up?’ But he said, ‘No, lest while you gather up the tares you also uproot the wheat with them. Let both grow together until the harvest, and at the time of harvest I will say to the reapers, “First gather together the tares and bind them in bundles to burn them, but gather the wheat into my barn.” ’ ”

Matthew 13:24-30

 

In the picture Jesus presents in this parable, an enemy has sown weeds among the wheat; unproductive, leaching plants among a crop that is meant to produce fruit.  The weeds can be understood as poisonous grasses that look exactly like wheat, but with smaller, black seeds. In the parable, Jesus indicates that irreparable harm would be done if someone attempts to remove the weeds before harvest. As Jesus proceeds to identify the ultimate end of these weeds, clearly the allusion here is to judgement as it is in Matthew 25:31-33, when the sheep are accepted and the goats are rejected.

 

Back in John 15:2, every branch producing fruit is pruned so it can produce more fruit. God graciously and righteously cuts, purges or cleanses away all things that would hamper our production of first quality fruit. God does this to His precious children because sin and other evil influences drain spiritual life from us as believers, making the life we live for Christ less than what it is designed to be.  

 

 

Producing godly fruit is only possible if we abide in the true vine, Jesus Christ. The best definition I find in Merriam-Webster’s Dictionary for “abide” is to endure without yielding. As for being pruned, it’s never fun, and often hurts tremendously, but God is a skilled vinedresser and the end results are always a significant improvement in the quality of life we live for Jesus.

 

Fruit Inspection

 

Take some time to do some “fruit inspection”.

What areas in your life are you able to see fruit produced? 

Are you able to identify the godly fruit?

Do you ever find yourself zealously trying to uproot the weeds in God’s vineyard?

Are you well connected to and abiding in the true vine of Jesus Christ?

What might you do to better endure without yielding?

What areas do you think God is pruning in your life to increase the production?

How do you respond to that pruning when it comes — complaining or rejoicing?

 

God Bless and Grace 2 U.

If You Prayed For Patience…

I was thinking about that old bumper sticker yesterday — the one that said, “IF YOU PRAYED FOR PATIENCE TODAY, I’M YOUR ANSWER.” I was thinking about the bumper sticker as I sat in a plane at a gate in Sky Harbor Airport in Phoenix, Arizona. Odd, random, little thought as I sat there considering the circumstances I was facing.

I was leaving Arizona (or at least attempting to leave) after spending four days with my daughter, son-in-law, and granddaughter who had just moved to the Phoenix area to assume new and exciting ministry opportunities. In the move, I re-injured my back (age does take its toll). I managed to get through the moving duties, but my gait was appreciably affected. One side of my waist points northward, the other south. And the prospect of air travel didn’t exactly promise a comfortable trip.

After rising early (you don’t totally acclimate to a different time zone in four days), I made it to the airport on time (way early by most standards, but that’s another story). As I waited to board I began some reading I had been putting off, to prepare for a Sunday School class I was to teach on the weekend. I should have read these two chapters earlier, but I was employing justifiable procrastination. The topic of the two chapters: the sin of anger. I wasn’t looking forward to digesting them.

I was on track to finish the first chapter by the time the plane was scheduled to pull away from the gate, and planned to leave the second chapter until I got home later (justifiable procrastination again). Then came the announcement that my destination was fogged in.  We were going to have to wait on the plane, at the gate and hope that the fog lifted.

 

I generally like to be in control of things and a delay like this was frustrating my plans. In all honesty, I have to admit, this would ordinarily make me at least mildly upset and more likely angry. But God had a different plan that started when I sat down in the gate lobby and began reading my two chapters in Jerry Bridges’ Respectable Sins: Confronting the Sins We Tolerate. God was pointing out to me that I was not in control, but I had a choice to make: I could be impatient, frustrated, and angry or I could trust God’s sovereignty in the situation and follow His divine plan as He rolled it out for me. I chose the latter, with surprising results (although knowing God, they should not have surprised me).

First, as I boarded the plane, I picked up a pillow (something I don’t usually do, even when my back aches). So, with what would turn out to be the ample time God provided as I sat there on the plane, I opened the book and continued to read and re-read my two chapters, in preparation for my class. Examples and illustrations began coming to me with great clarity.

I normally put my notes for my classes, including first drafts, directly into my laptop, but the battery power was low (another potential annoyance I chose to ignore), but I did have a pad of paper. So I began roughing out a draft of my notes. I was able to organize my illustrations and had a good first draft to enter into my laptop when I got home later. What a sense of accomplishment and satisfaction; two sensations I had not expected to feel when I first heard about our delay.

With the draft of my notes completed, my attention turned to the passengers around me. The plane was not full. The people immediately around me were reading, visibly agitated at the delay, talking in frustrated tones to associates and loved ones on their cell phones, bemoaning the fact that they were sitting here, “stuck on the ground” like the line in the old Gordon Lightfoot song. I realized God was prompting me to pray for these people. I took the gift of the extra time to pray for them, for my family, recently replanted in Phoenix, and for the class I would be teaching this weekend at church. Another sense of accomplishment came over me. This one felt like I had just faithfully discharged a duty assigned me by a superior (in this case, God).

It seemed that, as the book had suggested, the choice not to get angry made all the difference. The New King James Version of James 1:20 says, “…for the wrath of man does not produce the righteousness of God.” I could have been sitting there, fuming and in pain, with no productive result to show for my time, but instead, by heeding that small, quiet voice of God, I was able to leverage my time in a fashion I don’t always follow, given my penchant for procrastination. I was able to respond to the delay with God’s righteous peace rather than my own pain and frustration. We pulled away from the gate exactly two hours later than scheduled; late by the airline’s standards, but right on time by God’s!

God Bless and Grace 2 U.

God’s Holy Spirit

Our recent course of study in doctrine in my Journey 24/7 group has brought us to the ministry of the Holy Spirit.

READ John 14:16-17
And I will pray the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may abide with you forever—the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him; but you know Him, for He dwells with you and will be in you.

Here’s something to think about.

Agree or Disagree: By its definition as a “spirit,” the Holy Spirit has the spiritual attributes (characteristics) of God but not the personal ones.

We had an interesting discussion around that question the other night. It led me to think about some defining terms regarding the Holy Spirit of God. First, there are many terms describing the Holy Spirit. First and foremost is the term Holy Ghost.

One young man was puzzled by the term ghost used in reference to God. His concept of ghost was either evil or cartoonish (Casper).

And yet when you look at the definitions of the words, one can understand the use of Ghost when referring to the Spirit of God the Father and God the Son (more on that in a bit).

We listed on a board as many of the terms we could think of that refer in Scripture to the Holy Spirit: Comforter, Helper, the Third Person of the Trinity; Teacher, Giver of Gifts. The list went on…

When I looked up the two terms (holy and spirit), independently, I found the following definitions:

Hagios, in the Greek means “most holy thing.” The idea behind holy or holiness is a quality of perfection (a sinlessness and inability to sin that is possessed by God alone). That’s simple enough. But the word spirit was a bit more complicated.

Pnuema, in the Greek means a movement of air (literally “a gentle blast”), wind, or breath of nostrils or mouth. So based on this simple combination of the two words the Holy Spirit is the most holy breath of (in this case) God! That fits when you consider that the Holy Spirit is responsible for guiding (especially the apostles and prophets) into all truth.

READ 2 Peter 1:21
For prophecy never came by the will of man, but holy men of God spoke as they were moved by the Holy Spirit.

But there’s more to the definition. Spirit can also mean the vital principal by which the human body is animated. Obviously, this is a human application that doesn’t necessarily apply to God. But when a human soul has left the body, it is referred to as a spirit. This explains the idea of “ghost” when referring to the Holy Spirit. When Christ died on the cross, it is said He gave up the Spirit. His Spirit (that which animated His physical body), left His material, human body. In the language of the King James Version, based on the original Greek texts, Holy Ghost worked to describe this concept of God and Christ’s Spirit.

Then continuing with the many levels of the definition, there’s the concept of a spirit higher than man but lower than God. This gives us an idea about angels.

The definition begins to get specific for our terms as it deals with the divine nature of Christ, higher than the highest angels and equal to God. Here’s where we get to a definition that deals with God’s power and activity distinguished from His essence and manifest by His influence upon we who make up His body (the church). This is God the Holy Spirit, the third person of the trinity, the giver of all spiritual gifts and fruit, and the source of any power, affection, emotion we employ as believers.

There’s plenty more to consider about the ministry of the Holy Spirit, but that’s for another day. For now, let me leave you with the following challenge:

Have you ever been aware of the Holy Spirit working in your life?

As an evangelical fundamentalist, I do not apply a Charismatic application to that question. However, many in my camp have gone as far as almost eliminating the manifestation of the Holy Spirit in our lives for fear of being labeled “Charismatic.” Speaking in tongues or being slain in the Spirit are not the only manifestations of the Holy Spirit’s power in the lives of a believer. When was the last time you were aware that the Holy Spirit of God was guiding and directing you into truth through your study in God’s Word? The Spirit is responsible for give believers the power to do the work of His ministry. We as believers need to recognize the work of the Holy Spirit in our lives and give God abundant praise. God’s Holy Spirit independently equips His church, perfecting and maturing all His saints. In performing His ministry He neither glorifies Himself nor the gifts He bestows, but glorifies Christ by putting into action His work of redeeming the lost and building up their faith.

GRACE 2 U ALL!

Best Friends

While teaching my Journey 24/7 group the other night, I challenged some of them to describe their best friend. You may want to do this too. However, I wanted a very precise description. These are the questions to be answered:

What is your best friend’s exact height?
What color are your best friend’s eyes (natural color, not contacts)?
How much does your best friend weigh (touchy question for the ladies, but when I asked this of two guys, they were way off)?
What’s your best friend’s least favorite vegetable?
What is the color of your best friend’s hair (again this would be natural color)?
When was the last time your best friend’s hair was cut?
What does your best friend aspire to be someday?
How old was your best friend when they learned to ride a bike?
What’s the best thing about your best friend?

Now all of this is fairly mundane, it’s certainly not profound, but I did it to underscore how much we don’t know about those we count as our best friends. I discovered last year, remarkably, that a man I had counted as my best friend for years, a man I knew to be a devout, committed believer and man of God, had never shared his testimony with me. Here I was, supposedly as close as a brother with the man, and we’d never sat down and shared with each other how we’d come to trust Jesus Christ as our Savior! Maybe it was just that we felt so familiar with one another, that we assumed we instinctively “knew” certain things about each other. I fear it’s that way sometimes with Christ. As we count Jesus as our Savior, I contended many times most Christians know considerably less about Him than they think they do. We assume we know Jesus. That’s all fine, but shouldn’t we be striving for a higher level of intimacy with the One Who loved us enough to sacrifice His life on the cross?

As Paul wrote the Colossian church, they were being threatened by a heresy (false doctrines or teachings that deny a foundational belief of the church). In this case the heresy denied Christ was deity (God). If that’s not a foundational belief for me and my church, I don’t know what is. Paul begins with some very key points about Who Jesus Christ is.

Read Colossians 1:15
He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation.

Paul says Christ is “the image or the invisible God.” The heresy of the time proposed that Christ was like an angel. If accepted, we would have to understand that since angels are created beings (Psalm 148:2-5) they are not equal in any way to God. They are, however, superior to human beings, have power and strength unmatched in mankind and superior intellect. But they are not all-powerful (omnipotent), all-present (omnipresent), nor all-knowing (omniscient). So what does Paul mean by calling Jesus the image of God? How can he be God’s image if He was a created being like all the angels? By image Paul means that Jesus is a copy or likeness of God. However, he further qualifies God by saying that He is unseen or can’t be seen. To know God, who is invisible, unseen to our temporal and material eyes, we must know Christ (which is basically what Jesus said in John 14:6). To know Jesus Christ is to know He is the perfect, exact likeness or image of God the Father. Jesus is fully God in every way (and he was fully man as He walked the earth).

But what does Paul mean by calling Him the “firstborn”? Doesn’t that indicate that Jesus was indeed created like the angels? Firstborn can mean born first in order, the first to be born of all creation, a created being. But that would be an inaccurate reading to the word. Firstborn can also mean top in rank or position. Jesus Christ’s position in God’s kingdom is over creation (firstborn over all creation); He existed before creation and is exalted over any created thing.

The spectacular thing about knowing Jesus is that he was fully God, but also fully man, otherwise we do not have a high priest who can sympathize with our weaknesses (Hebrews 4:15). Jesus was human! He was born, like we are (Luke 2:6-7). What an incredible experience for the prince of glory to be born into human flesh, unable to care for His slightest needs! He grew (Luke 2:52), not just in stature, but in wisdom and favor with men. What must it have been like fro Jesus to deal with the pains of human growth, the insecurities our frail flesh imposes upon us? He got tired (John 4:6)! Jesus, the agent of creation, got weary! He became fatigued from toil. He suffered from thirst (John 19:28). When His body was being deprived of the very blood that pumped through His veins, he experienced the parched torture of unquenched thirst. He Who had never experienced such need when He resided with His Father. Finally, as part of the Godhead, the Trinity, He experienced death (Matthew 15:37), perhaps the ultimate human experience.

You can probably recognize your best friend from across the street. They are almost immediately recognizable to you. Yet there are many things you don’t know about them. Would you recognize Jesus if you saw Him?

If you read a description of your best friend, would you be able to identify who was being written about? Do you really understand what you read about Christ to get a clear picture of Who He really is?

The older I get, the more I realize there is so much more I need to know about Jesus before I can truly say I know Him. By His grace, I will be given that time. We’ve just scratched the surface here. Go get your Bible and dig in. Get about the work of knowing Jesus, better than your best friend!

Grace 2 U All!

Paul’s Last Charge

Recently, I was blessed to speak at a youth camp for a local church. The setting was at Malibu Creek State Park, a beautiful place. I’ve ministered with this camp over the last five-six years. The kids are great; the sponsors are devoted men and women, seeking to see these young people trust Christ.

For the camp, I did a series of messages on the mentoring relationship between Paul and Timothy, as revealed in the book of II Timothy. As I went through the study, I was blessed to think about the various men and women God has placed in my life as mentors (I couldn’t resist the digressions, but can female mentors be called “women-tors”?). Men like Curt Correll made Christ and His teaching real to me, challenged me to live up to God’s standards, and allowed me to discover one of the gifts God gave me to use for His glory: teaching!

Knowledge of God’s Word is necessary if one is going to present It to the world. However, often Christians allow only a passing acquaintance with the Word to suffice for knowledge. Consider it: Who would you want operating on you? Someone who read a medical book 25 years ago, but had been working as a plumber for the past 20 years, or someone who studied medicine for over ten years and has been practicing the procedure about to be performed on you over a thousand times? The same thing is true when you consider the task of sharing Jesus Christ with someone. Who’s likely to do that effectively? Someone who rarely memorizes scriptures and only reads their Bible as if it’s some kind of drudgery or someone who studies and reads God’s word everyday with passion and enthusiasm and knows God personally and intimately?

Paul pulls no punches in the last chapter of II Timothy, as he gives his protégé some last words of encouragement and inspiration.

Read II Timothy 4:1-4
I charge you therefore before God and the Lord Jesus Christ, who will judge the living and the dead at His appearing and His kingdom: Preach the word! Be ready in season and out of season. Convince, rebuke, exhort, with all longsuffering and teaching. For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine, but according to their own desires, because they have itching ears, they will heap up for themselves teachers; and they will turn their ears away from the truth, and be turned aside to fables.

When Paul says “I charge you…” he’s giving Timothy a serious command, something he expects to be followed and carried out. The word is actually a military term. And look Who he gives the charge before: God and the Lord Jesus Christ! That adds to the weighty nature of the command. The charge is to “Preach the Word…” We think we know what it means to preach, but I wonder. What passes today for preaching is little more than rote formula for some. Paul is decidedly addressing a pastor, a shepherd, someone tasked with the responsibility of feeding the flock of God. However the charge has broader implications for the rest of us. I would not recommend everyone “preach.” In fact, I’d discourage many. But another meaning of the word is to proclaim God’s Word. To proclaim, to make known, to state publicly the Word of God, we must first know the Word of God; fully and intimately. This is not only preaching the Word, but leading and demonstrating obedience to it.

When I come before a group of young people or adults, for the purpose of exercising my God-give gift of teaching, I am placing myself open and exposed to my audience. It’s as if I am inviting them to look at my life as an example of what I am teaching. That’s why I’m as open as I can be about my shortcomings. I have not arrived! I am not a perfected saint. By God’s grace, I’ll be one when I stand before His throne, but until then, there are certainly some rough edges that need smoothing out. Nonetheless, my charge is to proclaim God’s truth in both word and deed.

Paul further challenges Timothy and me and you to be ready to proclaim the truth of God. These words, “be ready,” carry with them a force and urgency to be fully prepared; like a soldier about to go into battle, constantly alert for any surprise attack. We who have been given this command to proclaim God’s Word need to be vigilantly looking for the opportunity to share God’s truth at a moment’s notice, ”…in season and out…” The timing for proclaiming God’s Word is not governed by what is convenient. It is governed by God’s sovereign plan. We’re only the messenger, not the message.

You see, Paul foresaw a time when people would no longer tolerate the teaching of Truth. Instead, many who claim to believe will follow their own lusts and wants. This goes on today as people seek churches that offer God’s blessings without having to deal with sin, Christ free gift of salvation, or repentance.

To be watchful means to be sober, calm in spirit, self-controlled, unruffled, and prudent in all things. Mature believers are not emotional spectacles, but reflections of the Solid Rock we’ve trusted. We are to endure affliction. Know that if we accept the call to be a genuine believer, we will suffer trials. I wish I could tell you different, but I can’t. I can tell you that our job is to withstand those trials; to bear down and get through them, by the strength and provision of our Lord. Not everyone can do the work of an evangelist, because not everyone is gifted by God to be an evangelist. But we are all called to share our faith and lead others to trust Jesus Christ and that we can and should do.

 

As I grow older, I am reminded every time I speak (in church, at a camp, to my Monday night Journey 24/7 group) that I’m not guaranteed another audience with these folks. I could be gone from this earth tomorrow. It’s all in God’s timing. Paul sensed his own mortal existence as he wrote these verses to Timothy. Remember, he was sitting in a stinking pit of a cell in the bowels deep within the Mamertine Prison.

 

When he says he’s being “poured out as a drink offering,” Paul is using an illustration from the OT sacrificial system. There were burnt offerings and grain offerings that were totally consumed. The drink offering was the final sacrifice offered, poured out, not a drop withheld.

Paul’s use of sport metaphors always intrigues me. Thousands of years ago, the diversion of sport was as universal as it is today. Paul says he fought the good fight. Paul never fought for his own rights, reputation, or honor, but for God’s glory. Paul sensed his fight was nearing an end. He finished the race. We each have a specific course God’s laid out for us. For some, it won’t be too hard. For others, God has chosen a steep mountain to climb, but will provide all the strength needed, every step of the way. Paul kept the faith. He guarded it from error and attack. He paid close attention to it, in order to teach and demonstrate it to Timothy.

What is God preparing you to do for His glory? Whatever it is, you can be certain Satan is waiting for you to slip up, to give in to temptation, or to give up. But God has chosen you to minister in His name, in your homes, your neighborhoods, your schools, your jobs. Consider praying to God and asking Him to do a work in your heart that will cause you to desire to live a life that draws people to Him. Ask Him to give you a desire to see others trust Christ. Ask Him to make you a blessing to someone (anyone of us can be a perfect pain to someone with very little help from anyone, but to be a blessing, that may take some divine intervention). God is ready to use you as His tool in leading and teaching others about the Gospel if you’ll but yield to His command.

Read 2 Timothy 4:6-8
For I am already being poured out as a drink offering, and the time of my departure is at hand. I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Finally, there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will give to me on that Day, and not to me only but also to all who have loved His appearing.

 

Read II Timothy 4:5
But you be watchful in all things, endure afflictions, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry.

Meeting A Mentor

In today’s world, mentors are very big. You have to have a mentor to succeed in business. Youth programs are built around providing young men & women with a suitable mentoring figure. The word mentor actually comes from Greek mythology and means a trusted counselor, guide, tutor, or coach.

As a young man, I adopted a friend as a mentor. His name was Curt, and he provided me with an excellent role model to follow as I charted my course as a new believer.

The Apostle Paul met Timothy during his second missionary journey. His father was Greek and his mother a Jewish-Christian, and Timothy was already a believer when he met Paul, through the testimony of his mother and grandmother. He likely replaced John Mark as Paul’s most trusted assistant and traveling companion.

 

 

As a young man, Timothy was not that different from young people today, especially not the ones I come in contact with through ministry. They are looking for role models. The world will only too happily oblige in providing their brand of mentors — individuals who do not uphold the values we have if we’ve trusted Christ. This is an area that I think we in the Christian community haven’t pursued all that aggressively, providing mentors to young believers. That started me on a study in II Timothy, a book I find filled with the wisdom of a strong mentor.

Paul is praying for his young “mentee” (that’s not a word, but in keeping with the theme of mentoring, I’m using it instead of disciple, for after all, we are talking about discipleship here). He prays with a valuable asset; a pure conscience. Your conscience helps you tell between what is morally good and morally bad. It prompts you to do what is good and avoid what is bad. Pure carries the meaning of being sincere, genuine, and free from sin and guilt. So here Paul prays for Timothy with the sinless, genuine confidence that he’s doing what God wants him to do. Do you have someone who prays for you? Is there someone in your life who is older, at least older in the faith, who carries your name before the throne of grace regularly? What an uplift that must have been for the young pastor (Timothy was the pastor of a church in Ephesus when Paul wrote to him)! What a source of strength and comfort when the cares of the day (and the cares and pressures of leadership, in the case of Timothy) come crashing down around us, to have someone we know and respect praying for us.

 

 

As I mentioned before, Timothy’s mother and grandmother led him to trust Christ. Paul reminds Timothy of the legacy his mother and grandmother have bestowed upon him: his faith. They were concerned enough for Timothy’s future to take intentional effort to share Christ with him as a child. They were role models of believers in Timothy’s day-to-day life. Paul is acknowledging the faith of Timothy’s relatives as well as the fruit of their faith, as manifest in Timothy. As believers we should be concern over and, if possible, lead our loved ones to trust Jesus Christ. That’s not the easiest thing to do. I tried with both my parents, with no apparent success, but still I was called to try. Who in your life do you pray will trust Christ? Maybe it’s a parent, a child, a brother, sister or even a spouse. God calls us to share the gift that is within us. We’re not responsible for the harvest per se, but we are called to plant the seeds. This farming metaphor comes back up later in Paul’s letter.

Why do teachers give quizzes on things you’ve already learned? To remind you of what you know. Paul reminds Timothy to stir up a gift God has given him. This stirring up means to keep something, like a fire, alive, preventing it from growing cold from disuse. Some believe Paul was referencing Timothy’s gift for preaching, teaching, and evangelizing which he may have allowed to get rusty. God is a gracious and generous giver of many gifts He wants us to use in furthering His kingdom. What has God equipped you to do that you’re letting lie cold and unused? Are you ignoring a special ability God has placed in you because you’re fearful?

Paul reinforces for Timothy what God has not given us: a spirit of fear. By that, Paul is describing a shameful, cowardly, weak and selfish character. Roman persecution, resentment, and false teachers were no doubt overwhelming Timothy. As a young pastor, he probably didn’t have a lot of confidence in his skills when it came to confronting persecution or refuting error. Often that’s how we act when confronted with attacks on Christians or Christianity. We lack the skill of the adversary, and rather than say or do something that will only get us into trouble, we remain silent, leaving attacks unanswered. But God did not design us to fear such things. We are each called to do great things for God and His glory! What is it you fear? What causes you to remain silent when God would have you speak forcefully?

I have often seen young men, coming out of seminary, ready to take on their life’s calling to pastor a flock and then get sent reeling when persecution or confrontation comes their way, from within their own flock. They are faced with the cold hard reality that God’s people are sometimes the pastor’s enemies. Paul wisely knew this, and as any good mentor will do, he is reminding Timothy of the provision, the education, that God has provided him that will help him resolve such issue, to God’s glory. What God did give us was a three-fold, not so secret weapon: Power, Love and a Sound Mind. Power is simply the spiritual energy to endure: “And let us not grow weary while doing good, for in due season we shall reap if we do not lose heart.” (Galatians 6:9). Love focuses on pleasing God and seeking the welfare of others’ before our own: “Let each of you look out not only for his own interests, but also for the interests of others.” (Philippians 2:4). A sound mind is one that is disciplined and possessed of a self-controlled thought-life that orders things according to God’s Will and Word “Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus…” (Philippians 2:5).

As a mentor, one is not perfect or without flaw. Paul certainly wasn’t and neither was my mentor. I am not a perfect example for anyone I disciple. Paul was in jail when he wrote this letter (though through no fault of his own). There were many stories told about why he was there. Timothy’s enemies were only too ready to malign Timothy’s character to gain an advantage over him. If he was such good friends with Paul, and Paul obviously did something wrong to land him self in prison, then what must we think of his young protégé? Whenever a believer is perceived to fall, the world immediately tends to think the worst. Often, we in the church tend to get caught up in that wave as well. Paul didn’t want Timothy to be ashamed of being associated with him or Jesus Christ. Are you ever ashamed of being a Christian? Does that shame put you in a kind of spiritual paralysis? That’s the strategy of the enemy; dilute and weaken the impact of Christ in the life of a believer and half the battle is won. For a marvelously entertaining and enlightening account of this tactic read C. S. Lewis’s “The Screwtape Letters.”

 

 

Being ashamed is the same as having a spirit of fear. We are not made for shame but to give God glory and to lead others to trust Jesus Christ as Savior. We as Christians need to find more mentors for our young believers. In many cases, we need to step up, regardless of our age, and be a mentor to someone Christ has brought into our lives. Who would He have you mentor for His glory?

Read II Timothy 1:8
Therefore do not be ashamed of the testimony of our Lord, nor of me His prisoner, but share with me in the sufferings for the gospel according to the power of God…

 

Read II Timothy 1:3-7
I thank God, whom I serve with a pure conscience, as my forefathers did, as without ceasing I remember you in my prayers night and day, greatly desiring to see you, being mindful of your tears, that I may be filled with joy, when I call to remembrance the genuine faith that is in you, which dwelt first in your grandmother Lois and your mother Eunice, and I am persuaded is in you also. Therefore I remind you to stir up the gift of God which is in you through the laying on of my hands. For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind.

 

Read Acts 16:1–3
Then he came to Derbe and Lystra. And behold, a certain disciple was there, named Timothy, the son of a certain Jewish woman who believed, but his father was Greek. He was well spoken of by the brethren who were at Lystra and Iconium. Paul wanted to have him go on with him. And he took him and circumcised him because of the Jews who were in that region, for they all knew that his father was Greek.