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And the Lord Added

Any bride beginning a new marriage would have trouble if she only spent 1-3 hours with her husband, spoke to him only when she needed something, made excuses to not study him, and never wanted to spend time with his family.  Yet, that’s often how we treat our relationship with our Bridegroom, Christ (Acts 2:42-47).

I. Ephesians 5:21-24.  Our work in our relationship with Christ is to devote ourselves to Him.  One of the words used to describe how we are to work in 1 Corinthians 15:58 is ‘steadfast,’ which is the way that the KJV translates how early Christians approached their new relationship with their Bridegroom.  Other translations use ‘devoted,’ which Paul and James say is to wholeheartedly submit to our Husband (James 4:7-10).

II. Ephesians 5:25-27.  There’s mutual benefit when both work in a relationship.  Jesus sanctifies His bride, the church, so that it can glorify Him.  He died for us to give us life, so we set our hearts and minds on things above (Colossians 3:1-4).  When someone’s hobby, such as fishing or cars, is his life, it’s obvious.  Christ is our life now, and so this ought to be obvious in what is important to us and how we live.  This was obvious with the early Christians.

III. Ephesians 5:28-30.  Faithfulness and steadfast love being the foundation of God’s character (Psalm 89:14), He never changes in our relationship with Him (2 Timothy 2:11-13).  He equips us out of love with what we need, but our job is to grow in Him (Ephesians 4:15-16).  In the ‘Great Commission of Matthew 28:18-20, we can see the dating phase that with our Bridegroom’s authority, we are to make disciples.  The wedding occurs as they are baptized and the Lord adds them to His bride, the church.

Then, the marriage begins as we work to keep them as disciples with Jesus’ help.  Any relationship takes much work to maintain.  How are you growing in yours?

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Will Be Impossible for Them

Ministry is like herding cats to safety away from the cliff of culture that is crumbling beneath their paws.  In the Tower of Babel story in Genesis 11:1-9, God reveals a spiritual insight in verse 6 that can help the church move forward: “And the LORD said, ‘Behold, they are one people, and they have all one language, and this is only the beginning of what they will do.  And nothing that they propose to do will now be impossible for them.'”

I.  Luke 22:31-32.  Told to fill the earth, mankind stayed all together and wanted to make a name for themselves rather than glorify God’s name.  In this behind-the-scenes heavenly insight similar to Job 2:3-5 or 1 Kings 22:19-23, God tells us that we should not put limitations upon what we can do in His kingdom for His name.  Yet, beaten down by the world, the church keeps the gospel contained within the walls of our buildings.

II.  Ephesians 4:1-16.  It takes unity to do so.  If Christians today were united as one people of God and spoke the one language of His Word, then we could have the unity of the Spirit centered around the seven “ones” of this passage.  If we could “attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God” to “the fullness of Christ,” then what we’ve already done as the church would be the beginning of what we would do.

III.  John 14:12-14.  We believe that “with man it is impossible” (Mark 10:27) rather than “all things are possible for one who believes” (Mark 9:23) and so shrink back (Hebrews 10:39).  We must believe that Jesus can with us and our churches and ask in His name so He can do it.  And then we must live the impossible with others by doing all, in word or deed, in His name (Colossians 3:17) every moment of every day of our lives.

What can we do together to make a name for God and not ourselves?  … if we were united in Christ with one direction, purpose, and goal?  … if we believed that God could do the impossible through us working together?

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For You Alone

It matters not that men don’t see,
Nor ears be never pleased by praise;
I live, O God, for you alone,
To walk beneath your gracious gaze.

Make it so, O Lord! that I
Be a man against the world’s hard sway,
To passions of the flesh immune,
To do your will without delay —

Without delay to oft return
When feet would stray from the narrow path.
Let the heart be won by Jesus’ love,
The mind be warned by your righteous wrath.

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No finer prayer

Lord who cares,

This prayer, no finer made, is mine:
“I believe; help my unbelief.”
So many times, O God, you proved
Your power and will to change our lives,
Forgive our sins, and reconcile.
Without a shadow of a doubt,
I know you live and move and act.
But still — yes, still! — after all these years,
My faith wavers and worry moves in,
Like storm clouds rolling in from the sea.
Ah!, my God, whose glory shines —
Forgive my foolish human sight.
Remove the ifs from my trembling lips,
That thanks may flow before the fact.
Lord, I believe! In you I trust.
When darkness comes, give me faith at last.

In the Man of the Cross, amen.

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The Lord Raised Up

Just as the moral decline of our culture nosedives, the church is struggling with what some have called “the graying of the flock.”  Today, less than half of our population attends some kind of religious service, down from three-quarters just a short time ago.  God’s people have always struggled not to compromise with the world, and when they did in the time of Judges, God would raise up a deliverer to save them–when they cried out to Him (Judges 3:7-11).

I.  Joshua 14:6-15.  When Joshua was dividing the land, Caleb reminds them that the two of them as good spies many years ago were all that was left of the generation that had come out of slavery in Egypt, and so Joshua gave Caleb Hebron.  Later Caleb gave Othniel his daughter in marriage … and springs.  It is this Othniel that God raises up when the people cry out to Him when they realize their worldliness.

II.  Isaiah 43:3-11.  God alone would be the Savior of His people.  Before (Matthew 1:21) and at (Luke 2:10-11) His birth, Jesus–God in the flesh–was hailed as our Deliverer.  The time and circumstances were right for our salvation (Galatians 4:4-5), and our redemption was accomplished on the cross (Ephesians 2:4-6).  But, in fulfillment of prophecy (Joel 2), we too needed to cry out for it (Acts 2:21).

III.  1 Corinthians 12:18.  So, where will our next deliverers come from who will lead us to Christ?  This is the wrong question as it’s not our job.  God reserves those who will serve Him (1 Kings 19:18) and knows who are His (2 Timothy 2:19).  From the very stones He could raise them up (Luke 3:8) if He wanted to.  He’s arranging the parts of the body where He needs them to be.  Is He raising you up?

It could be He’s arranging you in the place where you are to lead many to Christ.  People are crying out for deliverance all around us.  Will you step up to help them?

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Reality far from promises

Read Psalm 89

Reality seems far from your promises, Lord.
The Kingdom’s glory seems trampled in the dust.
How long can your people bear up under suffering?

What happy subjects who have learned to worship you!
They joyfully walk in the light of your presence.
They delight in your righteousness.

The heavens praise all your wonders, O Lord.
Who in the heavens can be compared to you?
Among us you are powerful and fearful.

Do not forget us, O God of all eternity.
Enemies overrun your Kingdom.
Where, O Lord, is your former love?

You act with reason and move with purpose.
We trust in you, consoled by your faithfulness.
May you be praised forever. Amen!

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Cut to the Heart

In Bloom’s taxonomy remembering and understanding are lower levels of critical thinking, yet that’s where most of our sermons, classes … and sadly studies on how to obey the gospel are centered.  It is at the level of applying the knowledge where a person sees how his own sin has eternally separated him from God and only the sacrifice of Jesus can restore the relationship.  Then, when they are “cut to the heart,” they will ask, “What shall I do?”

I. Acts 2:36-47.  The first gospel sermon that was delivered on the day of Pentecost used knowledge to convict the crowd that they were guilty of sin and putting an innocent man to death but that God had resurrected Jesus and made Him both Lord and Christ.  The people were cut to the heart and wanted to apply this knowledge, which required further knowledge about how to obey the gospel.  3000 applied it.

II. Romans 6:3-5.  In an era where many are convinced there’s no such thing as sin, what they’ve done is not that bad, or the preaching they’ve heard deemphasizes it, it’s hard to see the relevance of the gospel.  But even a knowledge-level passage of 1 Corinthians 15:1-4 gives the application in the phrase, “for our sins.”  After they’re cut to the heart, we can explain how obeying the gospel unites us to Christ’s death and resurrection.

III.  Matthew 28:19-20.  We each have a job to do.  For we who are already living faithfully, ours is to use knowledge to convict the lost to action.  Then, when we have made disciples and the cut-to-the-heart are asking what they must do, we baptize–when it’s God’s job to add them to His church–and then teach them to obey everything that He’s commanded.  This is how is was for the gentile jailer in Acts 16.

When we push them to obedience before they’re cut to the heart, we risk making low-level disciples who struggle to see the relevance of church and live faithfully.  Never having been cut to the heart and applied the gospel, they never utilize the higher levels of critical thinking in their Christian walk.

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In so many places

In so many places, O God,
unbeknown to us,
You are working to expand the Kingdom,
to save more souls and gather them
into your family.

Let me hear more how you bring in
and preserve for all eternity
multitudes in so many places.

My heart inclines before You,
I worship you for your power,
your love, you drive to redeem.

And, last of all, O Lord,
work in me and in our number,
for the sake of your holy Name.

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Bible pictures

Read Hebrews 11

God who promises an eternal city,

The ancients walked in faith.
They saw beyond the visible.
They hoped for a better country.

Abraham, Moses, Joseph,
And countless others never saw
What they’d been promised.

And we, today, O God,
Go by what we see,
Rather than what we might hear.

Even Bibles now have pictures.
Verses on the internet
Have to show an image.

We’re deaf and, truly, blind.
Open my ears, O Lord,
That I might hear your Word.

Turn my sight away
From colors that excite,
To simple black and white.

Focus my heart to delight
In words of power from Heaven,
Where you in glory rule.

In Christ, I pray, Amen.

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Of All the Truths

Of all the truths to give me ground
and reason, joy and peace of mind,
it’s this: that God is just and true:
the lives of all he’ll equally weigh.

God Almighty, needy am I,
I’ve nothing good or great to show,
Have mercy on me, a mere worm —
Save me with your upraised arm.