the saga of our salvation

It was revealed to them that they were serving not themselves but you, in the things that have now been announced to you through those who preached the good news to you by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven, things into which angels long to look.

1 Peter 1:12

The gospel is the good news. It is the best news! It is the true news that changes everything. And it has come into my life through a chain of messengers that God has ordained to save me and all who believe that Jesus lived, died for our sins, and lives again now as our only Lord and Savior.

Peter makes it clear that the gospel story started before Jesus was born. The gospel’s past is found in the Word of God and in the writings of the prophets. Specifically, these past prophets spoke about “the grace that was to be yours” (1 Peter 1:10). These preachers of the good news to come in Jesus “searched and inquired carefully” as they “predicted the sufferings of Christ and the subsequent glories” (1 Peter 1:10-11). The gospel has a prophetic past. 

Right now the gospel has been announced. It is at work in the world at this very moment, as through its preaching the Holy Spirit is moving, convicting people of sin, regenerating souls that believe the good news of salvation in Christ, and keeping believers safe in the redemption of their souls. That is happening right now, as these words go through our minds! The gospel has a progressive present. By preaching the gospel we advance Christ’s kingdom every moment of every day.

And the good news of Jesus predicted in the past prophets and proclaimed by present preachers will take us into eternity! It is the story of the ages… really the story of the universe. It is so spectacular that even angels long to delve into the glorious story. Angels announced the birth of the Savior. They looked down at the Father’s pleasure at the Son’s obedience. They ministered to Jesus in the garden of Gethsemane as He committed to the cross. They revealed the resurrection to wonder-filled women at an empty tomb. The gospel has a permanent future. Our hope is relentlessly secured in the presence of the throne of God and the angel hosts in heaven! This gospel saga is our story. How wonderful is this?!

Nothing is pure

To the pure, all things are pure, but to the defiled and unbelieving, nothing is pure; but both their minds and their consciences are defiled.

Titus 1:15

Look out there

it’s dirty, broken, and dark

nothing is pure

the world is defiled by sin

Look in here

I’m dirty, broken, and dark

nothing is pure

my heart is defiled by sin

Look up there

He’s holy, whole, and the Light

Jesus is pure

He offers forgiveness for sin

Look down here

He’s moving, healing, enlightening

the Spirit is pure

indwelling those forgiven of sin

Live in here

by faith, in obedience, seeing light

everything is pure

my heart made holy in Christ

Live out there

proclaiming faith, following, and showing

Jesus is pure

conscience convicting of sin

Sing out now

worship the Holy, the Healer, the Light

God is purifying

a people for His own possession

church family

Do not rebuke an older man but encourage him as you would a father, younger men as brothers, older women as mothers, younger women as sisters, in all purity.

1 Timothy 5:1-2

God’s design for the local church is inter-generational. Paul points out four distinct groups within the adult congregation of the church, instructing Timothy to recognize unique opportunities for ministry with each group. And the primary pastoral care admonition is familial. Church members should treat each other like family.

Older men. This is the first category of church member mentioned. And Timothy is instructed to treat older men like fathers. Even if the older guy needs to change, Timothy‘s approach, in fatherly respect, was to encourage that man with respect and not rebuke. He must recognize a stage of life that an older man is experiencing. As an older man myself, I see my role in church, especially as an elder and pastor, as focused on helping the next generations learn, grow, and lead. I feel an inherent respect from most people. It is humbling and a little scary. I pray they will do well when God takes me home.

Younger men. The role of this group is brotherhood. I’ve been through that stage and I want to see guys find that relationship. American men in particular are too isolated. We need comrades and brothers in arms because Satan snipes us when we try to go it solo!

Older women. They are the mothers of the church. I’ve been blessed by this group’s hospitality and instruction. Many have been the ways my family has been refreshed over the years and cared for by the older women of the church. Even today, I feel the prayers and care of this group in my local church the most.

Younger women. Like the men of their generation, younger women need one another. They are sisters. And relational connection is vital for young wives and moms. Churches thrive when these women are recognized, honored, and allowed to use their gifts to build each other up.

The church is a healthy place when it feels like family and operates under these family “rules”. I am blessed to live like this and to have known it the most in my life when I have really needed it, especially in this last year! Praise God for my church family who will always feel like home.

It’s all good.

For everything created by God is good, and nothing is to be rejected if it is received with thanksgiving, for it is made holy by the word of God and prayer.

1 Timothy 4:4-5

Asceticism as a form of Christian teaching rejects God’s creative work, calling “bad” what God declares to be good. It is an insidious doctrine. This was the problem Paul fought repeatedly in the churches of the first century. Either Jewish legalistas would use the Old Testament incorrectly to require extra-gospel abstinence from foods, or pagan influences from incipient gnostics claiming special revelation would declare all sexuality, even that which God made good in marriage, to be fleshly and evil. Such denial of God’s good gifts is wrong. God made us to enjoy what He has declared to be good. Humans steward God’s good gifts as a form of worship and obedience.

This is the way Christians should see the world: Life is good. God is good. God gives us good gifts. I think it plays out like this:

Life is good, God made a universe that functions perfectly. We live on a planet fine-tuned for human existence. We have abundant resources that have made humanity thrive. And naturalism cannot explain WHY we enjoy life. Food tastes good. Travel rewards our sense of adventure. Work is fulfilling. Sex is pleasurable. The spiritual impact of the sheer goodness of what God has made draws us to contemplate the transcendent “other”. It points us to our Creator. I sincerely believe it is a form of worship to be thankful and to enjoy the goodness of our lives with joy.

God is good. The good gifts point to a good Creator. He longs for us not just to enjoy what points to Him, but to enjoy Him together in those gifts. And the pleasures God has made, great as they are, are faint compared to the pleasure of knowing and loving God. John Piper’s “Christian Hedonism” is perfectly true and biblical. We were made to find joy in God through Christ. 

God gives good gifts. With thanksgiving I enjoy my daily bread. And in Christ I have unique pleasures that unbelievers may not know. With awe at the holy pleasures God pours into my life, I am thrilled through the Word of God and prayer to truly enjoy this life and anticipate even greater pleasures in the life to come. Every taste of food is a faint glimmer of feasting with my Lord. Every wild vista landscape is but a dim foggy hope of heaven. Every adrenaline rush a mere tickle of the pleasures of eternity. Every kiss is but a small advance on the love of God in Christ. It’s all good!

The full reach of character

Moreover, he must be well thought of by outsiders, so that he may not fall into disgrace, into a snare of the devil.

1 Timothy 3:7

I’ve always thought this last qualification for elders and pastors to be very interesting. I do think it may often be neglected by evangelical Christians the most. The neglect of this vital requirement is one thing that contributes to a near epidemic of failed church leaders. If we gravitate toward leaders with charisma, charm, rhetoric, and gimmicks, we will only be disappointed because we have ignored character. 

The list of qualifications in 1 Timothy for pastors and elders is all about character combined with one essential skill: the gift of teaching. There isn’t a thing about charisma, or successful career management, or business acumen, or stage persona. It is all about known character, and interestingly enough, the real proof of that character is the testimony of the man outside the church. Is he thought of well in his community?

Real character cannot be faked. It shows in real life – in family, in the marketplace, in the neighborhood, and on the job. That’s where we go to see the fruit of the Spirit and the maturity of the gospel on full display. A church leader who is seen as a jerk by a waitress, who slips into road rage behind the wheel, who is always at odds with a neighbor, who schemes or deceives, who fails to own up to sin with gospel confession, or who screams at the umpire at his kid’s ball game is not going to be “well thought of by outsiders”.

The gospel is always on display in Christians. It is even more scrutinized in church leaders. It is for this reason that what Jesus does on the inside should be known on the outside. This is humbling for me to acknowledge given my 35+ years as a pastor. My ministry outside the church may be more vital to my walk with Christ and my care of the flock than my ministry inside the church. May I not fall into the snare of duplicity. May grace mark all my relationships. May people see Jesus in me… within the church and outside of it.

speculations vs. stewardship

As I urged you when I was going to Macedonia, remain at Ephesus so that you may charge certain persons not to teach any different doctrine, nor to devote themselves to myths and endless genealogies, which promote speculations rather than the stewardship from God that is by faith.

1 Timothy 1:3-4

Paul is concerned that false doctrine taught by improperly motivated teachers (see 1 Timothy 1:5-6) would create a chaotic church veering away from the gospel. The content of their teaching was not solid. It was not scriptural. It was not gospel. It did not steward the grace of the gospel but emphasized personal agendas. So here in this passage we are warned that speculations (personal opinions) are not authoritative. They are not the gospel. We need to be careful not to veer away from the central Christian message: Christ died for our sins, and rose again to bring us eternal life by faith in Him.

I think that sadly Christians can get worked up by vain speculations today. Some examples of vain speculations that steal the gospel’s centrality:

• Cultural issues as the church’s first calling
• Patriotism draped in the Christian Flag
• Political positions (right or left) promoted as the Christian agenda to change the world
• Style of worship music
• Lifestyle sermons (income, parenting, career, etc) preached as the most important messages… often with little to no scriptural basis
• Abandoning expositional preaching because the Bible is “old, hard to understand, and irrelevant”

Instead, we steward the gospel. We preach the Word of God in pulpits and at the café. We commit to learning sound doctrine that always keeps a tight orbit around the gospel. We share the truth as the good news of the gospel that calls sinners to repentance, renewal, and reliance on the Word of God and Holy Spirit for lasting and eternal change. We reject speculations and reflect the glories of Jesus to a world that desperately still needs a Savior that God has provided.

Surpassing Peace

And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

Philippians 4:7

Lord, I rejoice always in You,

overwhelmed by all You do.

I’ve been put through the hardest test,

yet in Your peace I find my rest.

You bring this surpassing peace.

I resonate with a spiritual calm.

Your Word and Spirit are my balm.

Your Spirit with me all the way,

Word comforting the longest, darkest day.

My mind leans back on surpassing peace.

Jesus, You’ve kept me these many years,

comforted and touched my countless tears.

In my Savior’s yoke I find my rest.

No longer weary but forever blessed.

My feelings are stilled by Your surpassing peace.

My anxious heart needed Your rest.

My panting prayers with every breath

were transformed to amazed, wonder-filled praise,

filled with delight at new life You have raised.

I am made new in surpassing peace.

Guarded safe in the gospel I see

Your grace extended forever just for me.

My mind at ease, my heart secure,

future with You, I will endure,

kept in love by Your surpassing peace.

Lord, my life is Yours. Do as You please.

May I live so that others too may see

all You do to save this soul.

In Your power in me, make Yourself known!

Please call others through me to surpassing peace.

I’ve seen You open heaven’s door

for loved ones who’ve gone on before.

Safe in You, when I too see that day

in confidence I’ll walk Your way

eternally living in surpassing peace.

balanced theology

You show steadfast love to thousands, but you repay the guilt of fathers to their children after them, O great and mighty God, whose name is the LORD of hosts, great in counsel and mighty in deed, whose eyes are open to all the ways of the children of man, rewarding each one according to his ways and according to the fruit of his deeds.

Jeremiah 32:18-19

Unbalanced theology creates spiritual chaos. Notice how in Jeremiah’s prayer he embraces a balanced view of God’s Person and actions toward us. It is a theology we should also believe… even if parts of it are heavy and difficult for us to experience. Here is what I see in balance in these two verses:

• God gives steadfast love. That is Grace. I love that this is the first attribute/action Jeremiah offers in praise. Jeremiah, the weeping prophet, whose messages were often about how God’s people rejected God and would suffer in judgment, is hope-filled… fueled by an awareness of God’s faithful, steadfast love that never fails.
• God brings generational consequences. Yeah… that’s a hard one to accept, but it is a counterbalance to the first attribute. Even today, legacies of consequences can follow family lines and OFTEN do. It is sad and would be tragic… if not for the power of grace to transform even generational judgment!
• God is great and mighty. He has all power. He can do as He pleases and is good when He does. He commands angel armies. His words and His actions square up with His holiness.
• God sees it all. Nothing escapes Him. He sees it all and is moved by both our righteousness and evil to act according to His wisdom, grace, and justice.
• God equalizes at all. He rewards every person and judges every deed. At the cross, all sin has been atoned. In Christ, all righteousness is ours. On the day of the Lord all things in this world for all time will be made right again by God. We should keep all this in balance by faith in God. This is our God.

hopes and goals

…that I may know him and the power of his resurrection, and may share his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, that by any means possible I may attain the resurrection from the dead.

Philippians 3:10-11

Paul talks about five hopes in Christ that are the goal of his existence. In surrendering to Jesus, Paul embraced these hopes. They were what the apostle desired to mark his life. They were what he lived for and they force me to evaluate my purpose, motives, and life outcomes.

1. KNOW CHRIST. Paul wanted to know who Jesus is and how Jesus lives. All of Paul’s writings and actions appear to have been driven by the first question Paul asked Jesus: “Who are you, Lord?” (Acts 9:5). The answer: “I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting.” Jesus’ words drove Paul not only to repent and surrender to Christ’s lordship, but also to pursue knowing Jesus better his entire life. Paul was driven by knowing Christ.

2. KNOW RESURRECTION POWER. Again, Paul’s first encounter with Jesus was with the resurrected Lord. He never got over that power. And he always wanted Jesus to be known as his resurrected Lord. Paul knew a MIGHTY Savior.

3. SHARE IN CHRIST’S SUFFERINGS. Once more it is helpful to read of Paul’s conversion to get the grip of his driving motivation. Jesus Himself said this of Paul: “I will show him how much he must suffer for the sake of my name.” (Acts 9:16)

4. BE LIKE CHRIST IN HIS DEATH. Jesus willingly laid his life down. Paul was ready to do the same. And all of Paul’s spiritual life teaching kept emphasizing “putting to death” what is earthly to be “crucified with Christ” (Galatians 2:20). Spiritual life is found in dying to self and our old existence in exchange for something new that only Jesus can give to us.

5. ATTAIN THE RESURRECTION. That is the ultimate prize… the final gold medal… the victory we all will know in Jesus. Death does not win, but is the means to resurrection and eternal life with Jesus, in Jesus, and for Jesus. These thoughts properly motivate us to face this world, manage difficulties, and experience joy in Jesus with true purpose!

multiplying mutual ministry

I am the more eager to send him, therefore, that you may rejoice at seeing him again, and that I may be less anxious.

Philippians 2:28

Paul was a high capacity leader, but he wisely always shared his ministry with other leaders that he picked up on his many journeys. He distributed the burden of ministry. He shared the load. He raised up leaders. He entrusted responsibility. Paul sent others into the same situations he faced with confidence in them and commendation of them. This pattern is seen all across the book of Acts, as well as in Paul’s letters to churches and individuals. Paul made disciples who owned ministry with and alongside him.

In the second chapter of Philippians we see two examples: Timothy and Epaphroditus. Look at their descriptions…

Timothy

• coming sometime after the epistles arrived
• would cheer Paul by returning with news
• genuinely concerned for the welfare of the Philippian church
• proven worth
• like a son to Paul

Epaphroditus

• a fellow worker and fellow soldier
• a messenger and minister sent by the Philippian church to help Paul
• longed to return home to Philippi
• had been seriously ill, but God had healed him
• nearly died to carry on the mission
• would ease Paul’s concerns by returning to Philippi with the letter

Both these men multiplied Paul’s ministry impact. Both owned specific ministries. Both were uniquely gifted. Both wanted to help make disciples at Philippi: Epaphroditus as an insider member of the church returning home and Timothy as a gifted and caring ministry partner of Paul’s. Paul knew these two would do well with their assignments and could do what Paul could not do while he was imprisoned. That is why mutual ministry is so crucial to the spread of the gospel. We serve Christ together.

sojourners and exiles

And you shall be my people,

and I will be your God.

Jeremiah 30:22

This is the heartbeat of God’s covenant-making, covenant-keeping character. It is what God promised to Israel. It is what Jesus promises to His church. It is about a unique protective, providing, loving relationship. The God of the universe chooses to care for a people He tenderly loves and leads. And even when those people may fail, God is still faithful.

These words were spoken by God through Jeremiah, His prophet, to Judah as they mourned in the early days of the Babylonian captivity. Even though the Jewish nation had turned their back on the covenant and were now suffering a seven decade exile from their homeland, God still kept His covenant. He kept it as the curse of the Law corrected his people. He kept it in the assurance that Israel was still His people. He kept it in the promise to return a new generation to their homes.

Jesus calls us to be His people, even as the church sometimes is less than obedient in following our Savior. Christians are a chosen group as well. We are called a priesthood, a holy nation, and God’s own possession (1 Peter 2:9). We are God’s people, recipients of His great mercy in Christ, called to shine His light (1 Peter 2:10). And like the exiles to whom God sent encouragement to hang on and live as His people in an unfamiliar temporary home, God sees Christians as sojourners and exiles, still waiting to be brought back to their true home (1 Peter 2:11-12). We live in a way where we cannot quite be at home in this world. We long for a much better one!

“If we find ourselves with a desire that nothing in this world can satisfy, the most probable explanation is that we were made for another world.”

C.S. Lewis

Can we be Christian community?

…complete my joy by being of the same mind, having the same love, being in full accord and of one mind.

Philippians 2:2

Christians have a unity in community that is beautiful to experience when we are really reflecting Jesus together. It is what makes the church more than just a gathering of diverse people. It is what turns us into the Body of Christ. And Paul tells the Philippian church to examine the experience he commends them to know.

Philippians two opens with a conditional proposition. Paul is asking Christian to examine what should be true of their lives together. “If there is encouragement in Christ…” (Yes… always!) “If there is comfort in the love of Christ…” (of course there is!) “If we participate in the Spirit…” (Absolutely… He indwells every believer.) “If there is affection and sympathy…” (Well… there should be when Jesus is changing us to be like Him!) Those conditional questions are asking us to remember the evidence of change the gospel brings to us, and to live in all those qualities together. This forms the foundation upon which we grow in unity and love in the Church.

Paul then emphasizes this unity with the call to bring him (as the church’s founder) complete joy by being “of the same mind”. This is not a mindless uniformity. It is instead a transformative, joyous unity of purpose and action together as Christ’s unique people. It is both emotional and volitional as Christians choose to love each other well. It is also agreeable and extensive: all Christians in a local church setting fully in agreement and showing in this love, worship, and gospel community, the love of Christ. This is what we live for as Christians… together under Jesus, for the gospel, loving one another.

How do we show this? Well… that’s where Philippians 2:3-11 paints as a more detailed picture. We put away selfishness and pride. We humble ourselves individually. We see other people as more significant than ourselves (OUCH!). We put self-interest at the bottom of our daily to do list. And we hope to think like Jesus. That is how Christian community becomes the greatest society ever set up by God on earth.

Anti-Shepherds

“Woe to the shepherds who destroy and scatter the sheep of my pasture!” declares the LORD.

Jeremiah 23:1

They are bold.

They are loud.

They confidently gather a crowd.

They are evil.

They use shame

to control a people and increase their fame.

Having an appearance

of false godliness

they give off an air of smug worldliness.

They mock.

They deride

anyone else not on their side.

They don’t care.

They aren’t right.

They often live and die for the fight.

Lives are destroyed.

Churches a pig pen

filled with gospel-less legalistic doctrine.

People are scattered.

But podcasts and web posts proliferated

as the love of Christ is obliterated.

Purveyors of hate…

Their end is prophesied.

God will destroy all shepherds apostatized

God has declared.

Jesus will lead.

The sheep will thrive on the gospel they heed.

Woe to false shepherds

who destroy and scatter!

Only the gospel is what will ultimately matter!.

.

advancing in adversity

I want you to know, brothers, that what has happened to me has really served to advance the gospel, so that it has become known throughout the whole imperial guard and to all the rest that my imprisonment is for Christ.

Philippians 1:12-13

Our most difficult circumstances are never a mistake. Look at how Paul found his most limiting situation to be an actual display of God’s liberating truth. Yes, when Paul wrote to the Philippian church he was in prison in Rome. Yet that was hardly a concern in regards to effective ministry. It meant he wrote more, which gave us much of our New Testament. And imprisonment did not stop the gospel. Look at how Paul describes it…

The gospel advanced. The confines of Roman prison did not stop Paul from committing to preaching the gospel. He kept proclaiming the gospel at every opportunity. In his case, a brand new mission field opened up among his fellow prisoners and guards. Paul saw it as a means to advance the gospel. Imagine how our worldview would change if we just saw adversity as a means of advancement!

The gospel was made known. People heard the truth. People responded to Jesus as Lord and Savior. A revival broke out in Rome’s highest security facility! The entirety of the elite Roman imperial guard, the equivalent of special forces and secret service agents today, knew that Paul preached Jesus. There were no limits! A new group of people were familiar with Jesus because of Paul. And Paul was happy to be in those circumstances.

Lord,

Let me face any difficulty with the truth in view. Jesus, I will seek to make You known, no matter what! May the gospel always advance wherever You place me.

Amen

Praise: a gem of hope buried in the dust of lament

Sing to the LORD;

praise the LORD!

For he has delivered the life of the needy

from the hand of evildoers.

Jeremiah 20:13

This psalm of praise, a call to worship God Who delivers His suffering saints, is an anchor of hope in an otherwise dismal bit of lament-filled poetry. These words were written out of a situation of pain. Jeremiah chapter 20 opens with the account of Jeremiah’s persecution by the high priest in Jerusalem. The officials did not like Jeremiah’s preaching that God had decreed irreversible judgment upon Jerusalem. So the high priest publicly shamed the prophet. He locked Jeremiah in stocks at the public gate near the temple… a lesson to all of Jerusalem. In so doing he rejected God‘s message from the hated prophet.

Upon releasing the prophet the next day, the high priest warned him no longer to prophesy. Jeremiah‘s response was to admit that although he would love to shut up the message, he could not. It burst from him like fire from his bones. And then Jeremiah penned a psalm of deep personal lament. You might say he was depressed by all the constant rejection and physical persecution.

Reading this lament is rough. But it is holy scripture nonetheless… look at the raw feelings pouring our from it:

1. Jeremiah feels used up by God (Jeremiah 20:7).
2. Jeremiah feels humiliated by people (Jeremiah 20:7).
3. Jeremiah is confused that God’s Word is reproached and derided (Jeremiah 20:8).
4. Jeremiah tries to withhold prophecy, but cannot do so. He MUST speak (Jeremiah 20:9).
5. People conspire against Jeremiah to his face (Jeremiah 20:10).
6. Jeremiah turns in trust to God. This is a deliberate choice despite feelings and circumstances (Jeremiah 20:11-13).
7. Jeremiah still feels a terrible depression: Cursing the day of his own birth, wishing he’d never been born (Jeremiah 20:14-18).

The lament “sandwich”, hopeful in God in the middle, but opening and closing in deep pain, ends with a downer: “Why did I come out from the womb to see toil and sorrow, and spend my days in shame?” (Jeremiah 20:18). The point: It is OK to throw at God the hard questions that only God can answer! It’s OK to release pent up difficult emotions to the God Who already knows what we feel. We can still praise the God Who leaves us wresting with hard questions. As I approach the year anniversary of my most lament-filled season of life, I too find comfort in the middle part of this lament of Jeremiah’s, knowing God is still the Deliverer, even as my experience is full of questions. I wrestle these questions WITH God, not against Him!

withstand and stand

Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand firm.

Ephesians 6:13

There are two important Christian lifestyle skills that require strong conviction supplied by Christ Himself for us to accomplish. Paul creates a wonderful illustrative image to help us gain these skills: Christians are to don a spiritual armor supplied by God. It is that armor, described at length in Ephesians 6:14-18, that helps us live with these skills at work in our daily experience.

The first skill in Ephesians 6:13 is withstanding evil.  This is why we need the armor. The world is on the attack against the righteousness of God. It always has been. This was Paul’s expectation. Jesus warned His disciples that we would be hated. We should expect the same. It we choose to live like Jesus, for Jesus, to be changed by Jesus to live in Jesus, we will not go unopposed. And Satan loves to bring Christians who are unarmored to defeat. We are always under attack… always. And armor is defensive not offensive. God keeps us spiritually alive and in His service, but we must actively wear what He provides for our protection. We cannot withstand evil without the gospel, faith, salvation, scripture, and prayer… the elements of our armor.

Not only do we withstand evil, but we can have confidence to stand firm. That is the second skill here at the end of Ephesians 6:13. The armor of God is our strength. The gospel is our strength because good news equips the soul! The salvation found in Christ is our strength because it is our only means of being saved from all that imperils us! Faith keeps us strong because we must believe so that our minds are renewed! The Word of God is strong for us because we cannot trust our own words on any subject. Prayer is a strengthening practice because it works the muscle of our souls to trust the power of God. 

We gain power, strength, and resolve in the armor of God. Evil is deflected. Faith is strengthened. Our security is sure in faith in Jesus Christ. In our armor we are undefeated! Thank You, Lord! May Your people, Christians around the globe, withstand evil and stand firm in salvation, in faith, in prayer, for the gospel, believing and proclaiming Your Word, so that the gospel armor can also cover others You are longing to save! 

unconcealed

For my eyes are on all their ways. They are not hidden from me, nor is their iniquity concealed from my eyes.

Jeremiah 16:17

Lord,

What must it be like for You, perfect in Your holiness, to behold all the evil in this world? And You see it, not just in broad terms, such as systematic oppression, war, disease, poverty, or starvation. Those things are certainly difficult enough. Yet You see so much more… so much individual evil. You know the thoughts of billions of people on this planet all at once. You see the darkest secret sins. You witness not just murders, but hatred. You know all there is to know about each one of us. There truly are no secret sins.

What must it be like for You, the Savior I profess to love and trust, to see the sin I still harbor as well? You know my ways. You know my heart. You know my thoughts. You see me when I want to try to do right and I fail. Nothing I think, say, or do is hidden from You… ever. You see me choose sin over salvation time and again and yet You still love me. My iniquity is never concealed in the dark or behind any door. This is why the gospel is my daily need. I still confess this sin, trust my Savior, repent of my deepest dark impulses, and seek for Your transformative grace to guide me. Honestly… I know You know me. And the miracle of grace is that You still love me despite my broken and disgusting sin. You still change me. You still equip me to please You, my God! I am grateful for the grace that You pour over me, despite what I know You see. I am thankful to be clothed in righteousness that is not my own. I am whiter than snow in the righteousness of Christ! Thank You my holy, merciful Lord!

Amen

thankfulness and submission

…giving thanks always and for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, submitting to one another out of reverence for Christ.

Ephesians 5:20-21

The two prevailing attitudes that are talked about, really commanded, in these two verses are part of a broader four-part string of commands that follow from being a part of a Spirit-filled church. The context is corporate worship. Church should be a mutual experience. We “address one another” in the use of psalms and music and we sing and make music in our hearts to the Lord. Those are a given experience any Sunday. That’s why we sing in church. It is what God’s people have always done.

The two other commands are equally important when Christians gather. The next command is to give thanks. The person to whom we express our gratitude is God the father. The way we do it is through prayer in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. Real praise must flow from sincere gratitude. Thankfulness is a big part of our deepest worship. We pray with thanksgiving, joy, gratitude, and humble expression of our dependence upon God Who supplies all we need. Gratitude should flow from worshiping hearts. It helps our hearts submit to God.

But the real shocker of Spirit-filled worship is submission to other believers. Here it is commanded in the text. When we love and submit to God, we love and submit to one another in Christ’s church. Yes, there is submission to leadership, but Paul isn’t just writing to elders. He places this submission in a corporate setting. I should respect every brother and sister in Christ. I should submit myself to serve Jesus by serving my fellow believers. My motivation is not for my own position. My motivation is not because other Christians “deserve it“. Paul says we serve each other submissively out of reverence for Christ. I serve Jesus when I serve others. And a church gathered together doing just that is a beautiful picture of Christ’s transformative work!

In the direction of His light

Walk as children of light (for the fruit of light is found in all that is good and right and true), and try to discern what is pleasing to the Lord.

Ephesians 5:8b-10

There is a sense in which Christians must think very carefully about our choices and actions. We must be discerning. We must be a people who give thought to our own thoughts, who choose wisely in our options, who feel rightly in our responses, and who do righteous acts with our behaviors. This is a deliberately God-honoring holiness that flows from our redemption in Christ, our knowledge of God‘s Word, the direction of the Holy Spirit, and our own choice to believe God and do as He says by following the example of Jesus. 

This is not easy. It is however something every Christian is equipped to do. By the Word of God, prayer, the community of fellow saints, and the gospel transformation Jesus brings we all can “walk as children of light.” We can find “all that is good and right and true.” We can “discern what is pleasing to the Lord.“ We aren’t left to our own individual preference. rather, we are given specific direction depending on our role in life and stage of living. That is in fact what Paul does next in Ephesians five. He starts with the community of the church, focusing on corporate worship (Ephesians 5:15-21). He then helps Christian households find specific direction (Ephesians 5:22-6:9). We can easily discern what pleases God by living by what God shows us.

Lord,

I thank You that life is not directionless. You have revealed my salvation and my direction in Jesus. And with Your church, in my home, with my heart, and in my family I can discern what is pleasing to You. I can have all the best experiences walking as Your child in that clear light!

Amen

None Like You

There is none like you, O LORD;

you are great, and your name is great in might.

Jeremiah 10:6

There is none like You, O Lord!

No idol can stand

the power of Your hand.

The worship I bring

to You as I sing

is Yours alone.

There is none like You, O Lord!

There is none like You, my God!

You rule from Your throne

and my sin You atone.

My Savior and my Lord

I trust in Your Word

surrendering my soul.

There is none like You, my God!

There is none like You, my King!

You control life’s direction

with Your absolute perfection.

The blessings You daily give

help me to truly live

in confidence and peace.

There is none like You, my King!

There is none like You, my Savior!

I was ruined by my sin

yet Your grace still poured in

as the gospel I receive

Your Lordship I believe…

…in You I die to have new life.

There is none like You, my Savior!

There is none like You, Lord Jesus!

You are the only ruling King

Lord over all… our everything!

Bowing our knees we now confess

You alone our righteousness.

We need and want only You, Savior.

There is none like You, Lord Jesus!

confidence through Christ

…in whom we have boldness and access with confidence through our faith in him.

Ephesians 3:12

Jesus provides a unique and very powerful new relationship with God. Through faith in Him, that is, by trusting in Jesus’ death and resurrection for the forgiveness of our sins and deliverance from our deserved eternal punishment, we have a brand new amazing relationship. Yes… heaven is our ultimate home, but Paul emphasizes three important daily truths that give us full lives right now.

We have boldness. This kind of teaching would be unknown in an Old Testament Jewish view of God. The predominant method to approach God that we see in the OT before Jesus came was fear… a deep respect for a holy God. And though we do still respect that holiness, we do so with a new boldness, not because we have that “right” in and of ourselves, but because we come to God through Christ, Who has forgiven our sin, Who intercedes for us, Who has prepared a place for us in His Father’s house, and Whose holiness covers us giving us freedom to be bold in coming to God the Father.

We have access. Jesus is our means to relationship with God. He is the God-Man. He is the go-between. He is the Way. He is the Door by which we enter into fellowship with God by Christ’s work for us. Jesus is the road we walk, the truth we trust, and the passport that gains us full privileges as ambassadors of the kingdom of heaven. It is a privilege… the highest privilege… to be a child of God, loved by the Father, redeemed by the Son, empowered and indwelt by the Holy Spirit, in order to represent Jesus in this world!

We have confidence. We are led by the Spirit of God. We are saved by the Son of God. We are loved by God the Father and He treats us as brothers and sisters of Christ. We are in God’s family and He longs for us to love and know Him! Why should we ever doubt our Father’s love? Why should we fear any experience in this world? We can trust that no matter where we are, what we experience, or what we need, God loves us. God provides for us. God welcomes us. Boldly, with access through Jesus, we live confidently Christian!