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Train Yourself to be Godly

As Christians in the 21st Century, we have more leisure time than any other people living in any other time period in history.  Technology and inventions have drastically cut down what we need to do just to survive.  But, greater time doesn’t equal better choices.  If we’re honest, we’ve become spiritual couch potatoes–especially if we compare ourselves to the pioneers who worked fifteen hours a day cutting trees and pulling stumps just to plow the ground to grow food to eat.  It was only then by oil lamp that they would study God’s Word to know His will.

I. 1 Timothy 4:6-8.  The process to get into spiritual shape is much like getting into physical shape.  Just as we must choose to deny ourselves unhealthy foods and exercise regularly, so we must deny ourselves, take up our crosses, and follow Jesus (Mark 8:31-35).  Neither happens from the couch!

II.  1 Peter 1:13-16.  To get spiritually in shape we must be holy as God is holy–and this too is part of God’s spiritual training program.  Even though it’s hard, we must choose to be trained by it (Hebrews 12:7-13).  Sexual holiness is a big struggle for us today in this sin-soaked culture (1 Corinthians 6:12-20).

III.  Romans 12:9-13.  Someone who only works out at the gym serves only himself if he doesn’t use those muscles to help a friend move or carry in the groceries … so do those who only have a vertical relationship with God through prayer and study of His Word.  God wants us to serve others (Galatians 5:13).  What personal ministry does your spiritual training propel you to do?

We can either watch the spiritual Olympics from our spiritual couches with the spiritual remotes in our hands or we could participate in them.  Are you in training?

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The Missionary

The Missionary   [I wrote this towards the beginning of my now twenty year mission]

 

Today I removed a stump.

I loved a child who knew not love.

I was her father for she had not one.

She played with my kids and ate dinner not from a box or delivered by a car.

She bowed her head at a table with a family

and heard the man who took her in submit himself to God in prayer.

My wife held her and hugged her and rocked her and told her that she was loved.

The child learned that Jesus was hope and not a vain epithet muttered in angry hopelessness.

She stayed the night because there was not a place for her at home.

 

The roots of the stump ran generations deep.

Did I uproot it in one day?

No, but countless days, chopping and straining against the gnarled behemoth.

And still, shoots from the old wood may spring forth and dominate.

For now there’s a hole.

Not much to show, it seems, for my effort.

But a place to plant a seed.

 

Around me are the holes of many absent stumps

with sprouts from seeds I have planted.

Tomorrow it may be rocks I must remove

lest the roots beshallow and the plant be scorched.

Or maybe tomorrow I will pull the life-choking thorns that spring so readily

from this hard ground now that there are holes in the canopy.

 

The Master Farmer has sent another to share in the toil!

When I have fallen, he has lifted me up.

When the cold gripped the rugged land, we kept each other warm.

When wolves attacked, trampling and tearing at the tender shoots,

we were not overpowered but stood back to back.

Twice, herbicide was sprayed across the rough field.

How we mourned the dead!

How we struggled daily to purify the soil and nurse the sick.

 

We look now at the field and see holes–

empty places where the old growth once shielded seed from the Son,

empty places where boulders once laid unyielding,

empty places where thorns once sucked life.

 

We also see poking through the debris and amongst stumps, rocks, and thorns yet to be pulled–

young plants.

Some have thickened in their trunks, having persevered through countless storms.

Most have blossomed and are nourishing fellow plants.

They are leading and loving, giving and growing.

 

But from the distant watchtower those who squint see only the holes.

“Where are the new and mighty trees? Have you not cast any seed?”

What can I answer?

Today I removed a stump.

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Stand Before Me in the Gap

What better time to talk about leaders than Father’s Day!  The pioneer man facing a snarling wolf in the doorway of a log cabin while shielding his family within is an iconic picture of fatherhood … and just what Jesus did for us.

I. Ezekiel 22:6-31.  God’s people of the Old Testament had sinned greatly over the centuries, and so God was going to sweep them away into captivity.  A statement at the end of this passage tells us that He looked for a man to stand before Him in the gap, but that He found none.  None at that time were without sin and could save His people from the spiritual wolves growling at Jerusalem’s door.

II. John 10:11-15.  Only Jesus could, and He does by His work on the cross.  Only the Lion of the Tribe of Judah who is the Lamb that was slain is worthy (Revelation 5:1-12).  He is the Good Shepherd who lays His life down for His sheep.  It is a serving and sacrificial leadership that He demonstrates.  No wonder that the Son that is given is called “Everlasting Father” Isaiah 9:6-7.

III. Joshua 1:1-18.  Like any good father-leader, God, though He is able, is not going to do it all for us.  Just taking over from Moses, Joshua was told repeatedly to “be strong and courageous” when entering the Promised Land and facing the difficult trials that awaited him.  It was enough that God told him that He would never leave or forsake him.  So it is with us as we face the wolves at the doors of our lives and protect those around us (Matthew 28:18-20).

There are spiritual gaps everywhere: in the people we know, in the church, in our families, in our marriages, in ourselves!  The spiritual wolves are snarling at them, ready to destroy and devour.  God is still looking for those, made perfect in Christ, to stand before Him in the gap with the same servant/sacrificial leadership that Jesus had.  Are you strong and courageous?

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Cats & Minnows, Dogs & Sows

Just before bed, I sanded the second coat of joint compound on some bedrooms now that we’re empty-nesters.  To keep dust from billowing throughout the house, I stapled a plastic sheet between the dining room and the hallway.  It also had a second purpose: to keep our cat out of the dust.

That was not to be.  When we got out of bed the next morning, we found a very distressed pet covered in white powder meowing on the wrong side of the plastic.  Curious, she had nosed her way under the sheet and then found herself unable to exit–much like a minnow would enter a trap.

We were unhappy with her, but because we love her, we got her out and dusted her off.  Within minutes of setting her down, though, we were dismayed to find her once again on the other side of the plastic!

As I often do, I saw this as a spiritual illustration.  God tries to protect us by giving us clear limits for living our lives, but we rail against the translucent sheet, believing that He is keeping us from worldly ‘fun’ we could be having.  Sometimes, we’re just curious.  Often we believe that we can just nose under the plastic a little, but a little turns into more until we’re trapped.  We cry out for help, and God rescues us, dusts us off, and sets us back to safety.  He’s perhaps a bit disappointed that we went past the limits He has set up for us, but He loves us.

But then we do the unimaginable.  We return to the very sin that we’ve been saved from.  We once more go beyond the plastic and find ourselves covered in white powder.  Sometimes we curse ourselves for once more being deceived and think ourselves unloved or incapable of obedience.  Often we turn against God, believing Him incapable of keeping us from our situation.

Eventually, we can find ourselves in the situation of those spoken of in 2 Peter 2:19-22:

“… a man is a slave to whatever has mastered him. If they have escaped the corruption of the world by knowing our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ and are again entangled in it and overcome, they are worse off at the end than they were at the beginning. It would have been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than to have known it and then to turn their backs on the sacred command that was passed on to them. Of them the proverbs are true: “A dog returns to its vomit,” and, “A sow that is washed goes back to her wallowing in the mud.”

We must not be a washed sow wallowing once again in the mud or a dog returning to its vomit.  Rather, we must submit to our good Father’s limits, knowing they are there for our good.  Then we won’t be a minnow caught in a trap — or a dust-covered cat beyond the plastic.

 

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The Wise Man Built

Having grown up doing a lot of work to cut wood and bring in hay as part of a family, I’ve always been partial to rugged, outdoor clothing–even though now my work is more at a desk rather than stacking brush or throwing bales.  I glance at catalogs and shake my head at models dressed in flannels with waterproof boots, completely free of mud and sweat, who look like they’ve never worked physically a day in their lives.

They are a lot like Christians who love to hear the Word of God preached but don’t apply it.

Most have sung “The Wise Man Built His House Upon the Rock” from Matthew 7:24-27 and at a youth event.  There are several principles from this illustration that are important to understand.

I. Both the wise and foolish men were ‘building.’  Both were sincere in picking up the tools and actively engaged in construction.  They did not just read a book about house building and agree with the techniques used.  They both worked hard and ended up with a place to live.  Everything that we say and do–even if we refuse to say and do–we end up with a life, good or bad, that we have built.

II. The distinction between the two men is whether he puts Jesus’ words into practice.  Both hear Jesus’ words, but only the wise man applies them to the building of his life, right from the first choice, perhaps the most essential choice: which foundation to build upon.  The wise man chose the rock while the foolish one, who probably felt justified and had good excuses, chose sand.

III. The reason we must build well is because the storms of life do come.  Notice that nowhere in Jesus’ illustration does he say if the hard rains, the rising streams, and the terrible winds come.  They will, and only the wise will be prepared for them.  Throughout many years of ministry and in my own life, I have weathered and helped others weather life’s storms.  Some houses have fallen with a crash.

So, in your life are you the outdoor catalog model in new clothing, holding an unused axe?  Or, are your sleeves rolled up in readiness, your knees dirtied from prayer, and calluses lay across cracked and toughed hands?  Are you building?  Are you building on the rock?  Will your house withstand the storm?

 

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Run For Your Life!

If your home was on fire and someone shouted, “Run for your life!” you would not stop to ask questions about things that didn’t matter like what was for dinner.  Nor would you refuse to leave until you found that biology notebook from high school or stroll leisurely past the fridge to check if you needed to buy milk while you were out.  No, “Run for your life!” means that you are singularly focused on the goal of getting to safety.  And, unless it is to warn someone else who has not yet heard of the danger, you would not stop for anything.

Spiritually speaking, you must “run for your life!”

I. 1 Corinthians 6:18-20.  The first running we must do is running away from sin, specifically sexual immorality.  Joseph certainly had opportunity to give in to Potiphar’s wife and reason enough to justify sin: his own brothers had faked his death and sold him into slavery in a foreign land.  But, he determined, “How then could I do such a wicked thing and sin against God?” Then, as she caught him by his cloak, he left it with her and ran out of the house (Genesis 39:6-12).  So we must run for our lives!

II. Galatians 5:7-10.  Distractions come often from people or circumstances in our lives.  A runner may start off well and then discover a rock in his shoe or have someone point him the wrong way.  In the Galatian church(es), some were insisting that they needed to observe the old law and become Jews before they could become Christians.  There are many things that may not be sinful but “cut in” on our good race.  Sometimes it is people or ideas that point us away from God.  Remember that we are running for our lives!

III. Hebrews 12:1-3.  To “run with perseverance the race marked out for us,” we must have the goal of heaven ever before us.  We are told to fix our eyes on Jesus, who kept the joy of eternity with the Father in view in order to endure the cross, so that we “do not grow weary and lose heart.”  Peter had the courage to step out of the boat and walk on the water to Jesus, but as soon as he let his focus slip, he sank (Matthew 14:25-33).  With perseverance and eyes fixed, we must run for our lives!

Many struggle with their Christian walk because they do not take the race as seriously as Satan knows it is.  Instead of a lion seeking to devour, perhaps he is a lot like the gators beside the race marked out for us.  The race is deadly serious.  Run for your life!

 

 

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Rethink Your Religion

Recently my wife and I attended a high school musical to support some of her students involved.  We asked a teacher selling tickets how it was, and her answer was “It’s so good, it’ll make you rethink your religion.”  This drastic measure is similar to the southern expression, “It’s so good, it’ll make you slap your Mama.”  Here, the food someone is eating is so delicious that the eater will be forced to strike his mother because her homemade cooking doesn’t compare.  While it was not intended to be a personal slight against our faith, ‘religion,’ in the first expression, is recognized as something intensely meaningful to people.  And so, to describe how good she considered the show, she said the experience would make us reconsider our core values–even the gospel that brings salvation!

I. Colossians 2:6-23.  The postmodern world we live in doesn’t believe in God and so has severed itself from Him and His Word as a standard for our lives.  It desperately seeks meaning and purpose and so grabs onto emotion and experience to futilely try to quench that need.  Sadly, many churches believe they must infuse their worship with the “hollow and deceptive philosophy” of the world as they have missed the deep and sufficient meaning and purpose in the gospel of Christ.

II. Acts 9:1-22.  There is a time to ‘rethink our religion.’  Saul, who became Paul, encountered such a time on the road to Damascus as he was “breathing out murderous threats against the Lord’s disciples.”  When he realized he was persecuting Jesus who not only gives eternal life but a second chance on life, he was baptized and became a powerful preacher in the early church, who was willing to be persecuted for Jesus instead (Philippians 3:10-11).

III. Acts 18:24-28.  Complacency or misdirected zeal is another reason to ‘rethink our religion.’  There was no doubt that Apollos was a bold preacher already, but his knowledge was insufficient.  After Priscilla and Aquilla took him aside and “explained to him the way of God more adequately,” God used him to debate and prove from the Scriptures that Jesus was the Christ.  A similar story happens with those still called “disciples” that Paul encountered that didn’t know about the Holy Spirit (Acts 19:1-7).

Although the acting and musicianship of my wife’s students were superb, we didn’t much care for the worldly message of the musical.  The good and enjoyable experience was not enough for us to ‘rethink our religion,’ and we left sad for the wonderful packaging wrapped around ungodly themes but still holding onto our core values of the gospel of Christ.  What else could compare to it?

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You Will Catch Men

What’s the difference between a chicken and a pig?  Well, in terms of what they each provide for breakfast, the chicken in involved while the pig is committed!  Our pews may be full of involved Christians, some who have attended for years, but, like Simon, God confronts us to be committed to Him.

I. Luke 4:14-37.  After Jesus’ baptism and time of temptation, He began His ministry and was gaining quite a reputation for Himself around Galilee.  After Andrew introduced his brother to Jesus, the Savior said that Simon would be called Peter or ‘Rock’ (John 1:42).  But, that would not become his name that day as Simon just stayed involved with Jesus through the healing of his mother-in-law and the use of his boat for Jesus to teach from while Simon washed his nets after working hard all night (but catching nothing) from his own strength (Luke 4:38 – 5:3).  Like so many of us, he was content to have his ears tickled by this great man’s teaching without recognizing that it was the Creator in his craft.

II. Luke 5:4-11.  Jesus then confronts Simon by asking him to put his nets out into deep water.  Exhausted by his own limitations, Simon does not recognize what is possible for him through Jesus but does what Jesus asks.  It is in verse 8 that this simple but involved fisherman crosses over into being committed.  Never so tall as when he’s on his knees, never so much the solid ‘rock’ as when he is weakest, Simon recognizes his sinfulness in the presence of God in the flesh and is called ‘Peter’ here first.  Verse 11 demonstrates that committment as he and his partners “left everything and followed” Jesus.

III. Romans 4:1-5.  Even though Jesus could have pointed to His power as reason enough for Peter to follow Him, He instead pointed out what Peter could do through Him.  The fisherman could become a fisher of men.  If we were Peters instead of Simons, what could we do for Jesus as Jesus can do all things through us (John 14:12-14)?  To do that, we must be committed to God (Mark 8:34-35).

Are you a chicken or a pig?  Are you involved or committed?  Are you trying to serve God by your own strength or are you serving Him through His?  Are you still Simon or have you become Peter?

 

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Made You Alive with Christ

In David LaChapelle’s painting, “Last Supper,” Jesus is surrounded by the sinners of today, yet Romans 5:6-8 tells us that “while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”  Thus in the cross we see God’s love shown through His benevolence.

I.  Colossians 2:13-14.  We were dead in our sin, but God made us alive with Christ.  Through His work on the cross, we can see His benevolence through His forgiveness and justice.  While it is easy to see love in not counting our sins against us, it is harder to see love in Jesus dying to pay for our sin.

II. Hebrews 4:14-16.  Mercy is not getting what we do deserve, and grace is getting what we don’t deserve.  Because of God’s benevolence in the form of His Son on the cross, we don’t have to be eternally punished for our sin and will spend eternity in heaven with Jesus instead (Romans 3:21-26).

III. Ephesians 2:1-5.  We who have received God’s benevolence must, in turn, show benevolence to others.  This is illustrated well in Jesus’ parable of Matthew 18:21-35 in the story of the debtor, forgiven of his debt, who wouldn’t forgive another of the debt owed to him.

God’s love, as shown through Jesus’ redemptive work on the cross, brings us to another table, one laid out for the wedding supper of the Lamb.  We are spiritual beggars, knowing we are not worthy of a scrap from the King of King’s table, yet we find ourselves in robes washed clean and seated at the table, feasting for all eternity.

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God Sees Our Hearts

Hebrews 4:12-13 (NIV)
“For the word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart. Nothing in all creation is hidden from God’s sight. Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of him to whom we must give account.”

God sees our hearts.  I have heard that phrase uttered to discount deliberate deviation from God’s Word.  But most often it is used as an excuse to not try to do His will.

Some people cannot walk into a house without straightening a picture they see crooked on the wall.  The homeowner doesn’t shrug and say it was the thought that counted or mutter that he had a level but was too lazy to use it.  God sees in what ways our lives are crooked and doesn’t accept our fumbled excuses.  Rather, He tells us to “be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect” Matthew 5:48.

But there’s grace, we cry out!  Sure there is, but we cannot be like the Roman Christians who thought they could keep on sinning so that grace might increase (Romans 6:1).  His grace, freely given and possible through the death of God’s Son on the cross, cannot be our excuse to sin.

True worshipers, Jesus tells us, worship in spirit and in truth (John 4:24).  This means that our Christianity cannot just become a checklist and be pleasing to God.  Neither, though, can it be just whatever feels good and right.  Emotion and experience, in our assemblies or our personal lives, do more to please ourselves than they do God.

In my toolbox I have a plumb line that my dad gave me when I left home.  In a world of transits and laser levels, we’ve forgotten how our grandfathers used to build things square.  God had the prophet Amos tell His people of the Old Testament before the Assyrians swept through that He was going to set a plumb line among them and spare them no longer.  They had the Law to tell them how to live to please Him.  “God sees our hearts” was not good enough.

And so we have the plumb line of the Word of God that judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.  We may deceive ourselves with our motives and excuses, but nothing is hidden from God.  To Him, our heart is laid bare.  He knows if we are true worshipers, worshipping Him in spirit and in truth.

We must correct our lives in accordance with the plumb line of His Word because it is true, what we say—God sees our hearts.

[This article will also appear in the next issue of Christ For Today, David Tarbet editor.]