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As I Have Done to You

Our idea of ‘servant’ is probably in the context of ‘public servant,’ someone who should work for us but acts more like a king on an elevated throne.  Jesus the perfect king-servant showed that a servant is one who sacrificially helps others above self.  Indeed, the only way a biblical servant is above another is when he stoops to lift another up.

I.  John 12:12-33.  Jesus raising Lazarus from the dead in full view of the crowds got everyone’s attention, especially those in power who wanted to hold onto their power.  A line was drawn in the sand, and Jesus’ challenge was heard: “if anyone serves me, he must follow me.”  To Peter and others who thought in worldly ways, following Jesus meant glory and honor … and power (John 13:31-38)!

II.  John 13:1-8.  Jesus illustrated that this wasn’t the case when He, through whom all things were made, removed the trappings of one above all others and did the work of the lowliest servant–washing feet.  Confused by this, Peter, who surely remembered Jesus’ transfiguration (Matthew 17:1-5), balked at this redefinition of serving (Philippians 2:5-8) and had to submit to its necessity.  With the later help of the Holy Spirit, he seems to have gotten it (1 Peter 2:21-25).

III.  John 13:12-17.  Before Jesus explained His actions, He “resumed his place” as their Lord and Master.  The disciples must have recalled their earlier conversation about who was greatest among them (Matthew 20:22-28).  That person, Jesus explained, is the wheat willing to fall to the ground to die to produce many seeds or the one who gives his life for a friend (John 15:12-17).  Just as Jesus would be the greatest servant for mankind, He calls us to do for others what He has done for us.

We have been given great freedom to choose how we live our lives.  May we not in selfishness indulge the sinful nature with that freedom but rather serve one another in love (Galatians 5:13), just as Jesus did.

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He Went About Doing Good

When someone says ‘good enough,’ he’s referring to a minimum standard he hopes he has met.  Many around us often express that they hope the good they have done will be ‘good enough’ to get them into heaven–as if God is weighing deeds with some great cosmic scale.

In addition to believing that God has a minimum standard for entrance into heaven, another problem with this view is that it eliminates Jesus and His work on the cross and in the tomb entirely from the solution for sin.

I.  Acts 10:1-48.  If there was such a cosmic scale, Cornelius had tipped it heavily towards the good.  He had good deeds as well as having a good character … but God said that all that was not ‘good enough’ and sent Peter to preach the gospel to him.  It was after Cornelius obeyed the gospel that he had salvation.

II.  Hebrews 5:7-9.  Once God had taken on flesh in the person of Jesus and went about doing good works as Peter described Him to Cornelius (Acts 10:38), wasn’t that ‘good enough’ to get Him into heaven?  After all, Jesus was sinless (2 Corinthians 5:21).  No, He needed to learn obedience from what He suffered and with loud tears cry out to God who was able to save Him.

III.  Ephesians 2:8-9.  Having been saved through Jesus’ obedience, we must not think that we can ever be ‘good enough’ to somehow work our way to heaven.  Rather, we, who are in Christ, do good works out of obedience to the One who saved us through His obedience.  We walk as Jesus did (1 John 2:1-6).

We must examine why we do good things.  Are we doing them to earn our way to heaven (working) or are we doing them as acts of obedience (walking)?  ‘Good enough’ is never ‘good enough’ with God.  He holds us to the maximum standard that His Son has met, so that in Him we can meet it too.  This is why the gospel truly is good news!

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Show Your Power

Revelation 1

Father, in all affliction, show
your glorious presence, show your power
that shines like the sun at noon, with feet
of flowing bronze, moving quickly,
stars in hand, the mouth of judgment,
the First and Last, who died and arose,
who Was and Is and Ever will Be!

To me bring comfort, Vision of love,
O Flow of freedom, Blood of man;
bring courage to meet the arm of sin,
oppressor of soul; bring faith to win
in face of death, your name confess,
O Holder of keys to Hades’ prison —
open to me the gate of Heaven.

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Unable to Trap Him

Satan lays all kinds of traps for us, preying on our weaknesses and sinful natures.  Sometimes, he comes to us in what seems an impossible situation–like David found himself in facing Goliath!  But, the secret is to know who is the real giant!

I. Luke 20:1-19.  Satan talks big (Luke 4:5-7), but because of Jesus’ work on the cross, He’s the true one in authority (Matthew 28:18).  The Goliaths of Jesus’ day roared their challenges to Him, but His stones easily knocked them down.  Jesus knew that those who believed themselves in power were afraid of the people.

II. Luke 20:20-40.  Like a cat pouncing on a red laser dot, those who believed themselves in power tried futilely to trap Jesus.  They did not realize that He was the Word made flesh (John 1:1-14) or that the foolishness of God is wiser than man’s wisdom or weakness of God is stronger than man’s strength (1 Corinthians 1:25).  The result of this mismatched battle was that all fell silent and did not dare to challenge Him further.

III.  1 John 5:3-5.  Those who believed they were in power in Jesus’ day were like Goliath in David’s.  So today, the world, for all of its bluster and threats, is not really the true giant when it comes up against those who are in Christ Jesus and have overcome the world through our faith.  In Jesus, we stand before the intimidating champion of the Philistines armed with God’s wisdom and strength.

… if we could only realize it!

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Bible.02: Living & Active

“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” Hebrews 4:12.  In a popular movie, The Monster Book of Monsters would try to take a bite from a person if not strapped shut.  This is not what is meant when the Word of God is described as ‘living and active,’ but rather it’s the difference between a doll and a baby.  A mother lets a toddler drag the doll by the foot down the stairs, but is adamant that she treat her newborn brother with great care when gently laying him in her arms.  So is the Bible unique and amazing, having only the appearance of a book with its cover and dead pages.  Its inspiration of God is its breath of life.  More than just an instruction manual for the human existence, God’s word is something we can treasure, study, and live out in our hearts and minds.  As a living seed, once planted there, it grows within us and overflows into the life we live out as Christians.  And, not only good for life, it is also accurate about life in every way, and through God’s Spirit guides us into all truth as it is itself ‘truth.’  Do you live out God’s Word?

The Bible is an amazing book.

I. Luke 8:11-15.  Like a seed, the Bible is living and active, but we must be good soil for it to grow within us.  Jesus is the Word (John 1:1-14).  We are baptized into Him (Galatians 3:26-27), but He also dwells in our hearts by faith (Ephesians 3:16-17).

II. 2 Timothy 3:16-17.  The Bible is inspired by God.  Not of human origin to fail (Acts 5:38-39), it has withstood the test of time because men were carried along by the Holy Spirit to write it (2 Peter 1:20-21).

III. John 17:17.  As it is truth, we would expect the Bible to be accurate.  Though it is not primarily a history or science textbook, unlike myths, it is accurate in details pertaining to history or science.  No “once upon a time in a land long ago” type of language in it, real people and places are described in the Bible (Luke 2:1-4).  Long before any scientists could have such knowledge, the Bible describes the earth being round (Isaiah 40:22), the paths of the sea (Psalm 8:8), and dinosaurs (Job 40:15-24)!

Even if the Bible could somehow be discounted, it still leaves us with the greatest moral and ethical code the world has ever known (John 15:12-14).  It truly is an amazing book.

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Our Thanks We Give

Father, thank you for rain to refresh the earth,
And for the Spirit to reaffirm our worth;
We thank you for the moist and nurturing soil,
And for a heavenly purpose behind our toil;
Our thanks we give for sun and moon and stars,
For time to make the blessed gospel ours;
To you we owe all praise for life and health,
For freedom from our sin and carnal filth;
Blest be the God who made the ocean waves,
And brought to man the Son who fully saves.

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The Need to Intercede

A 65 year-old grandmother, who cares for two disabled siblings and houses several adult grandchildren on the bank of the Saranac River, just lost everything in recent ice jams and subsequent flooding.  Although it has been years since she and some members of her family have come to church, I have been connecting her with various agencies with which I have contact and of course with her church family that wants to know how to help.

We all have a need for intercession and in turn need to intercede for others.  I have come across both givers and takers in my twenty years of ministry, and it is certainly the givers who have the hardest time accepting help.

I.  Exodus 32:7-14.  When God wanted to destroy the Israelites He had just saved out of Egypt because they had fallen into idolatry, Moses interceded for them, even offering to take God’s punishment upon himself.  Concerned for God’s Name, Moses even turned down God’s offer to make him into a great nation in place of Israel.  Being an intercessor can often take self-denial and sacrifice.

II.  Hebrews 7:23-25.  No one would know that more than Jesus, who as our High Priest, laid down His own life to intercede for us at the right hand of the Father with His own blood.  Like He did for the Israelites, God did not wait for us to repent first, but rather, before we realized our need, while we were still enemies to Him, Christ died for us (Romans 5:6-8).

III.  1 Timothy 2:1-3.  Because of the intercession that we have received, we in turn intercede for others, regardless of how they have conducted themselves towards us or the church in the past.  This is how God loved us, and so we in turn love others (1 John 3:16-18).  This pleases God who wants all men to be saved, and who knows that your intercession might lead them to a knowledge of the truth?

Will helping this giving grandmother lead her back to God?  Only God knows.  But, already she has acknowledged that the church has always been there for her–even when she was not attending.

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Thanks for the new year

Thank you, Father, for the new year,
For the old that brought us blessing,
For the friends that sharpened us,
For the family that surrounds us,
For work to give meaning,
For walking in your light,
For forgiveness for every sin,
For fellowship with the saints,
For opportunities of tomorrow,
For joy in the present,
For the lessons of the past,
For your plan before time began,
For hope of Jesus’ coming,
For strength in frequent suffering,
For power in the Spirit,
For knowledge to give us confidence,
For love that binds together,
Undying love forever.

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The humility of Jesus humbles me

Psalm 131; Philippians 2

Heavenly Father, the humility of the Lord Jesus humbles me. His condescension to low estate flattens me. He was willing to descend to earth, to take on our nature, to live a common life, to experience all of human thought, emotion, and suffering. All the while, we seek to become someone important. Using education, wealth, associations, position, or talents, we strive to rise in the opinion of others.

Father, I renounce all these attempts. I repent of my self-importance. I seek my worth and value in you. Let me be content to occupy the seat of the least of your family.

Let not my heart be proud. Keep me from the haughty look. Trim back my great aspirations. Let me not concern myself with subjects that are beyond my comprehension. Help me to be content with what you have revealed.

Make me composed and quiet, like a young child carried by its mother. Let my hope and aspiration be centered in the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

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Show me my selfishness

Lord, show me my selfishness,
the ugly face contorted by desire,
passions springing up to control,
self in the center of my world,
hurts in others like an exploding grenade,
destruction of every good thing.

Lord, show me the love of Christ,
the beauty of his holiness,
driven by your blessed will,
your love the spring of life,
peace among men, in brotherhood,
the building of the eternal kingdom.