Wednesday, November 30, 2011

Comfort for the Suffering; 2 Cor. 1

May the mumbling commence!

We are each other’s comfort in times of trouble.  Our distresses help to prepare us for helping others who are going through similar distressing times.  As Christians, we have an unshakeable hope even in the midst of trials and sufferings.  These are the words of comfort that Paul wrote to the Corinthian church in his third letter to them – the letter that we know as 2 Corinthians.  Read a couple of excerpts from the first chapter:

Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves have received from God.  For just as the sufferings of Christ flow over into our lives, so also through Christ our comfort overflows.  If we are distressed, it is for your comfort and salvation; if we are comforted, it is for your comfort, which produces in you patient endurance of the same sufferings we suffer.  And our hope for you is firm, because we know that just as you share in our sufferings, so also you share in our comfort. (Verses 3-7)

But as surely as God is faithful, our message to you is not "Yes" and "No."  For the Son of God, Jesus Christ, who was preached among you by me and Silas and Timothy, was not "Yes" and "No," but in him it has always been "Yes."  For no matter how many promises God has made, they are "Yes" in Christ. And so through him the "Amen" is spoken by us to the glory of God.  Now it is God who makes both us and you stand firm in Christ. He anointed us, set his seal of ownership on us, and put his Spirit in our hearts as a deposit, guaranteeing what is to come. (Verses 18-22)

I know that growing up in my circumstances has not taught me to be a good at waiting.  So much in the culture surrounding me is geared for instant gratification.  Sometimes the troubles I feel are more attributable to these excesses and extremes.  With these, I know that I will reap what I sow, BUT I am in denial – like much of America.

However, when we extend ourselves to live the lifestyle that Jesus the Christ preached and lived, we have a promise of comfort and security that can be found nowhere else.  We need this promise of comfort and security; because when we live the lives that Christ would have us live, we will find trouble and persecution.  These trials will help us to minister to others who experience the same things.  We will have others who will share not only in our comforts but also in our sufferings.

The spoken “Amen” that the people of Christ utter goes to the glory of God.  And to glorify God is our best and greatest purpose.  God created us for this very purpose – to glorify Him.

As we live our lives in a Christ-like way, we receive the anointing of God and we receive His seal of ownership and we receive the deposit of God’s own Holy Spirit.  That deposit guarantees what is to come.  Though we receive other deposits of guarantee from humanity, the only deposit that can truly be trusted is the deposit of God in the Spirit.  The promised future will happen in God’s time, but at least we know that it will happen!

The promises of God all boil down to God saying: “Yes, you are my special chosen people, and I love you.”

Enough mumbling for now…

Peace Out

Tuesday, November 29, 2011

Much More Than Tongues; 1 Cor. 14

May the mumbling commence!

In 1 Corinthians 14, Paul speaks about the use of tongues in the private and worship life of the church.  I find this passage interesting – especially when I think about those denominations and people who believe strongly in the second baptism of the Spirit which is manifested solely in speaking in tongues.  Read the passage below:

For this reason anyone who speaks in a tongue should pray that he may interpret what he says.  For if I pray in a tongue, my spirit prays, but my mind is unfruitful.  So what shall I do? I will pray with my spirit, but I will also pray with my mind; I will sing with my spirit, but I will also sing with my mind.  If you are praising God with your spirit, how can one who finds himself among those who do not understand say "Amen" to your thanksgiving, since he does not know what you are saying?  You may be giving thanks well enough, but the other man is not edified. 
I thank God that I speak in tongues more than all of you.  But in the church I would rather speak five intelligible words to instruct others than ten thousand words in a tongue.  (Verses 13-19)

When we pray or sing hymns alone, we do not do this without an engaged mind.  So if you or I would speak or sing in tongues and not understand any of what we are speaking or singing, then our minds are on idle.  This idle mind is something that Paul speaks against.  He asked the Corinthians to pray for the ability to interpret, so that their minds would be engaged as well as their spirits.

And what about when we find ourselves in a body of worshipers?  If interpretation is not given, then another person will not understand what you are saying.  The other person will not be built up by your words.  Paul gives thanks for speaking in tongues, but he also says that he would rather speak five intelligible words than then thousand in a tongue.  The Corinthians’ goal when they gathered for worship was to instruct one another and edify one another.  They were to build one another up.

I do not believe that the goal of worship has changed.  We are still to edify one another and instruct one another in the ways of Christ Jesus.  We are still to glorify our Lord.  If these two things do happen, then the goal of worship is fully satisfied…

So the gifts of the Spirit are more than just the gift of tongues.  In this passage, we see also the gift of prophecy.  There are other gifts of the Spirit as well.  And the gift of speaking in tongues is not even the topmost on the list!  So, how can we tell someone, just because the gifts that they received through the baptism of the Spirit are ones other than speaking in tongues, that they do not have the Spirit of the Lord?

Instead, we should diligently search for the gifts of the Spirit as they grow naturally in Christians both young and old.  We should encourage the growth of these gifts.  And we should praise God for how he has gifted the body of Christ – which has many parts but are one body, with Christ at its head.

Enough mumbling for now…

Peace Out

Monday, November 28, 2011

Wait on Another; 1 Cor. 11

May the mumbling commence!

Yesterday afternoon, the people of Community Church of the Brethren came together to kick off the Advent season with a Love Feast.  The Love Feast, during Advent, is a time of reflection and meditation and baptism vow renewal injected with joy.  We celebrated together the birth of Christ Jesus and looked forward to the Second Coming.  In this service, we embrace the life and teachings of Jesus – Jesus’ unique way of life, which is unique in its obedience to God.

During the love feast, we hear familiar Scriptures read and meditated on – like the last supper Jesus had with his disciples before his crucifixion including the foot-washing passage from John 13.  During Advent, we also hear a birth narrative and sing a familiar Christmas carol.  Interspersed with these Scripture lessons and meditations and songs, we eat a simple meal together, wash one another’s feet, and observe Communion. 

The Love Feast is a beautiful and sustaining service – physically, socially, and spiritually.  It encapsulates the life of Jesus the Christ – a life of service.  It was a life that the Corinthian church was struggling to embrace.  This struggle is why Paul wrote to Corinth about the observance of the Lord’s Supper.  Read what he wrote from 1 Corinthians chapter eleven:

When you come together, it is not the Lord's Supper you eat, for as you eat, each of you goes ahead without waiting for anybody else. One remains hungry, another gets drunk.  Don't you have homes to eat and drink in? Or do you despise the church of God and humiliate those who have nothing? What shall I say to you? Shall I praise you for this? Certainly not! 
For I received from the Lord what I also passed on to you: The Lord Jesus, on the night he was betrayed, took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and said, "This is my body, which is for you; do this in remembrance of me."  In the same way, after supper he took the cup, saying, "This cup is the new covenant in my blood; do this, whenever you drink it, in remembrance of me."  For whenever you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord's death until he comes. 
Therefore, whoever eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty of sinning against the body and blood of the Lord.  A man ought to examine himself before he eats of the bread and drinks of the cup.  For anyone who eats and drinks without recognizing the body of the Lord eats and drinks judgment on himself.  That is why many among you are weak and sick, and a number of you have fallen asleep.  But if we judged ourselves, we would not come under judgment.  When we are judged by the Lord, we are being disciplined so that we will not be condemned with the world. 
So then, my brothers, when you come together to eat, wait for each other.  If anyone is hungry, he should eat at home, so that when you meet together it may not result in judgment.  (Verses 20-34a)

Can you imagine showing up early to an observance of the Lord’s Supper not to sit in solitary reflection but to be first in line and to eat and drink to your heart’s desire?  Can you imagine pigging out at the Lord’s Table even though you have plenty at home and know there are some in the congregation who are going hungry and skipping meals?  It seems that the Corinthian congregation was doing just such a thing.  Paul wanted to know if they were intentionally wanting to humiliate the poor in their midst.

Those preparing for the Lord’s Table must spend time in examination, which includes not only self-examination but also the recognition of the body of the Lord.  And who is the body of the Lord, but the congregation?

So, in this season of Advent, when we are waiting on the Lord, let us also consider and wait on each other.  This is a waiting or service that many who have worked in the restaurant business know well.  Let us serve one another.

Enough mumbling for now…

Peace Out

Sunday, November 27, 2011

While We are Waiting Come; 1 Cor. 8

May the mumbling commence!

“While we are waiting, come.”  These are the words of an Advent hymn that were sung in worship this morning at Community Church of the Brethren.  These words may have been sung in many other congregations around the world.  I welcome you to the season of Advent, when we prepare for welcoming the Christ child into our hearts.  We prepare knowing that a newborn babe will change our live dramatically. 

In Advent, we also prepare and wait for the Second Coming of Jesus.  We wait and wait.  Those who wrote some of the Scriptures of the New Testament were sure the Second Coming would be in their lifetimes, but now they are long since dead and gone.  As Christians, we take up the baton of waiting.  I wince every time someone predicts the end of the world and the Second Coming of Christ.  The people from the outside probably think Christians are in denial.  Christ has not come again in over two millennia.  Do we still hold out hope that Christ will return? 

YES!

And how we wait is important.  The waiting is active.  We work and play and live our lives, keeping one eye on the Scriptures and one eye on the daily newspaper.  We interact with one another on difficult issues fraught with danger and causes for division – the greatest weapon of our enemy, Satan.  Read as Paul writes to the Corinthian church in 1 Corinthians chapter 8:

So then, about eating food sacrificed to idols: We know that an idol is nothing at all in the world and that there is no God but one.  For even if there are so-called gods, whether in heaven or on earth (as indeed there are many "gods" and many "lords"), yet for us there is but one God, the Father, from whom all things came and for whom we live; and there is but one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom all things came and through whom we live. 
But not everyone knows this. Some people are still so accustomed to idols that when they eat such food they think of it as having been sacrificed to an idol, and since their conscience is weak, it is defiled.  But food does not bring us near to God; we are no worse if we do not eat, and no better if we do. 
Be careful, however, that the exercise of your freedom does not become a stumbling block to the weak.  For if anyone with a weak conscience sees you who have this knowledge eating in an idol's temple, won't he be emboldened to eat what has been sacrificed to idols?  So this weak brother, for whom Christ died, is destroyed by your knowledge.  When you sin against your brothers in this way and wound their weak conscience, you sin against Christ.  Therefore, if what I eat causes my brother to fall into sin, I will never eat meat again, so that I will not cause him to fall.  (Verses 4-13)  

So, you or I may think we have a controversial topic figured out – and maybe we do.  Even so, we cannot allow our freedom gained from the truth of Christ to become a stumbling block for one who does not understand the truth.  The weaker conscience eats and erodes the other person in Christ.  Over time, that brother or sister in Christ will be destroyed by our knowledge.   And this sin is not against them alone.  This sin is first and foremost against Christ Jesus.

So, when I decide in my heart to be an omnivore, I will not pass judgment on a vegetarian.  I will not offer a vegetarian meat.  If I were a vegetarian or vegan, I also would expect someone else to choose my lifestyle and faith choice.  If I choose to live simply and my Christian brother or sister does not, I will not pass judgment on their Christian walk.  If I choose to welcome with love those who live outside the heterosexual norm of the Bible wishing to follow Jesus, I will not pass judgment on those who choose not to. 

Our underlying attitude must be one of love and servanthood.  This attitude must saturate all our relationships.  Let us not crush one another as we wait for Christ to return. 

Enough mumbling for now…

Peace Out

Saturday, November 26, 2011

God's Property; 1 Cor. 6

May the mumbling commence!

I am a sports fan.  There – I have confessed.  Particularly, I am a football fan.  I originally grew up in Ohio, so I am a Buckeyes fan.  I await today’s game with baited breath.  Much of the season was marred by off the field issues, but today’s game is special to me.  It is the one game of the Buckeyes that I do not miss.  Back in my hometown area, today’s contest between Ohio State and “that team up North” is known simply as “The Game.”

In the realm of sports, there are many ways to announce your allegiance. One of them is the T-shirt.  Have you ever seen the genre of sports T-shirts that announce “I am the property of the Ohio State (fill in your favorite university or college here) Football (fill in your favorite sport here) Department?” 

Now, there’s a question!  Where does my true allegiance lie?  Once, when I was in a Christian bookstore, I saw a Christian T-shirt that was aimed at this sports allegiance phenomenon.  Instead of a university or college, this T-shirt announced that the wearer is the “Property of God.”  Then, below this announcement, it had two verses from 1 Corinthians chapter six quoted:

Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your body. (Verses 19-20)    

I liked the shirt, but I didn’t like the price tag.  I mentioned this to a good friend of mine, Jim Carner.  Later, Jim bought that shirt as a gift to me.  I still have it.  It is quite worn.  It has tiny holes in it.  I remember how those holes got there.  It was when I was helping clean up from the aftermath of the tornado that hit Americus, Georgia on March First, 2007.  I wear those holes today with a measure of pride.

Now look at the broader context of these two verses.  Read the verses that precede these two:

Do you not know that the wicked will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: Neither the sexually immoral nor idolaters nor adulterers nor male prostitutes nor homosexual offenders nor thieves nor the greedy nor drunkards nor slanderers nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God.  And that is what some of you were. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God. 
"Everything is permissible for me" – but not everything is beneficial. "Everything is permissible for me" – but I will not be mastered by anything.  "Food for the stomach and the stomach for food" – but God will destroy them both. The body is not meant for sexual immorality, but for the Lord, and the Lord for the body.  By his power God raised the Lord from the dead, and he will raise us also.  Do you not know that your bodies are members of Christ himself? Shall I then take the members of Christ and unite them with a prostitute? Never!  Do you not know that he who unites himself with a prostitute is one with her in body? For it is said, "The two will become one flesh."  But he who unites himself with the Lord is one with him in spirit. 
Flee from sexual immorality. All other sins a man commits are outside his body, but he who sins sexually sins against his own body. (Verses 9-18)

Before those two verses quoted on the T-shirt, these verses come.  They speak primarily to sexual sin.  Many people will focus primarily on the hot button issue in Christianity – homosexuality – and miss all the other elements on the list.  Some of the other elements maybe hit too close to home.  I see idolatry, a sin often connected to adultery.  I see thievery and greed. 

These sins are just as rampant – or more so – than homosexuality in our time.  I have confessed my college football idolatry – and I have others.  What about you?  As we live in a land of wealth and waste, we thieve from others around the world.  When we hurt others to get that deal in the wee hours of the morning on Black Friday, we show our greed.  Yeah, there are other idols a plenty out there in Americana.

We were bought with a price by Christ Jesus.  Who will we give our ultimate allegiance to?  I am God’s Property.  So are you.  Let’s live like it. 

Enough mumbling for today… 

Peace Out  

Friday, November 25, 2011

Are You Strong? 1 Corinthians 4

May the mumbling commence!

Are the wise?  Are you strong?  Are you rich?  Are you powerful?  The cultures that we live in the United States makes us want to answer these questions with an emphatic, “YES!”  Though the Apostle Paul wrote to a Corinthian church long ago, I believe his words bridge the gulf of time.  The bridge is because the words that Paul gives to the Corinthians are timeless truth.  The bridge is because the human creature has not learned much over the many centuries that have happened in the meantime.  Read this passage from 1 Corinthians 4:

Already you have all you want! Already you have become rich! You have become kings – and that without us! How I wish that you really had become kings so that we might be kings with you!  For it seems to me that God has put us apostles on display at the end of the procession, like men condemned to die in the arena. We have been made a spectacle to the whole universe, to angels as well as to men.  We are fools for Christ, but you are so wise in Christ! We are weak, but you are strong! You are honored, we are dishonored!  To this very hour we go hungry and thirsty, we are in rags, we are brutally treated, we are homeless.  We work hard with our own hands. When we are cursed, we bless; when we are persecuted, we endure it; when we are slandered, we answer kindly. Up to this moment we have become the scum of the earth, the refuse of the world. 
I am not writing this to shame you, but to warn you, as my dear children.  Even though you have ten thousand guardians in Christ, you do not have many fathers, for in Christ Jesus I became your father through the gospel.  Therefore I urge you to imitate me. (Verses 8-16)

I read these words on “Black Friday” morning.  I read these words still feeling a little overstuffed from the traditional Thanksgiving meal with family that is close by.  I write this reflection at about 9:30 am after much of the feeding frenzy of capitalism that happened at 5 am… no 3 am… no midnight… no 9 pm last night. 

I guess that those skilled advertisers have dug our hole deeper than the one that the Corinthians had in Paul’s day.  We do NOT have all we want.  We have used credit to act rich.  As a country, we have acted like the world’s policeman.  We wanted to prove America is still at the top of the heap.  We are king of the world, so we act as king.

If the Apostle Paul was with us today, he would wish that we truly were kings – but not the kind of depots we might hope to be.  The kind of kings Paul desires is those who have become fools for Christ.  This kind of king would show weaknesses to be strong.  Christ is made perfect in our weaknesses.  Paul’s type of king would show honor through being dishonored in this world’s sight for the sake of Christ.

Paul was talking about a king dressed in rags, hungry and thirsty, homeless, and calloused hands from hard work.  This king would receive the bum-rush treatment this world too often hands out – brutally beaten, cursed, persecuted, and slandered. 

I can hear it now, “Clean up and get a job.”  Maybe these kings for Christ would clean up and get a job if there was one available that did not conflict with the life of a Christian.  Instead, this kind of king proudly takes up the mantle of scum of the earth and refuse of the world.  The other choices are even worse.

Let us imitate Paul in this.  And remember: Paul was imitating Christ Jesus.

Am I wise?  Am I strong?  Am I rich?  Am I powerful?  No, I cannot be on my own.  To the extent that I stand with Christ Jesus and the Apostle Paul and many since who have walked in their footsteps, yes I am.

Enough mumbling for now…

Peace Out

Thursday, November 24, 2011

ILL SIDE EFFECTS; Acts 19

May the mumbling commence!

In today’s Scripture passages from Acts, Paul had been ministering in the province of Asia for awhile.  He had been preaching, teaching, and performing miracles.  Paul’s ministry in Asia was having lasting effects – not all of the effects were intended or wanted.  We read about some of these unintended and unwanted effects in Acts chapter nineteen. 

The first unintended effect had to do with Paul’s ability to produce miracles in the name of Jesus.  In fact, some people got a hold of handkerchiefs that Paul had touched and used them to heal those who were sick or possessed by demons.  And these people were healed.  To some, these healing seemed to be magical.  How would it be to use the name of Jesus and Paul as a magical source of healing others?  Read about the experience of the sons of Sceva:

Some Jews who went around driving out evil spirits tried to invoke the name of the Lord Jesus over those who were demon-possessed. They would say, "In the name of Jesus, whom Paul preaches, I command you to come out."  Seven sons of Sceva, a Jewish chief priest, were doing this.  One day the evil spirit answered them, "Jesus I know, and I know about Paul, but who are you?"  Then the man who had the evil spirit jumped on them and overpowered them all. He gave them such a beating that they ran out of the house naked and bleeding. (Verses 13-16)    

When relationship is casted aside and the Name is used outside of its context, the effects (though unintended) can be disastrous.  Ask the seven sons of Sceva!  They were badly beaten – naked and bleeding.  And word got around in the province of Asia.  Some good came from this beat down.  Read about it below:

When this became known to the Jews and Greeks living in Ephesus, they were all seized with fear, and the name of the Lord Jesus was held in high honor.  Many of those who believed now came and openly confessed their evil deeds.  A number who had practiced sorcery brought their scrolls together and burned them publicly. When they calculated the value of the scrolls, the total came to fifty thousand drachmas.  In this way the word of the Lord spread widely and grew in power. (Verses 17-20)

Those who practiced sorcery – magic – burned their scrolls that were worth fifty-thousand day’s worth of wages.  The people feared the Name of Jesus and held it in even higher honor.  Those who believed came public with their belief and confessed their sins.  The word of the Lord spread widely…  If my being beaten badly would cause such rapid spread of the Good News, I would gladly take the beating for the Name of Jesus – just let’s make it for the Name’s sake, not a misuse of the Name.

Well, what about Paul’s teaching ministry?  Yes, it had some unintended effects on the economy and spiritual and religious life of the community.  But, it was the economic effects that were anticipated that drove the people to great demonstrations – even if it was given the mask of religiosity.  Read about Demetrius and his friends below:

A silversmith named Demetrius, who made silver shrines of Artemis, brought in no little business for the craftsmen.  He called them together, along with the workmen in related trades, and said: "Men, you know we receive a good income from this business.  And you see and hear how this fellow Paul has convinced and led astray large numbers of people here in Ephesus and in practically the whole province of Asia. He says that man-made gods are no gods at all.  There is danger not only that our trade will lose its good name, but also that the temple of the great goddess Artemis will be discredited, and the goddess herself, who is worshiped throughout the province of Asia and the world, will be robbed of her divine majesty." (Verses 24-27)  

Demetrius spends nearly two-thirds of his inspiring speech on the adverse effects on the peoples’ pocketbooks, only to put an addendum about the temple and the goddess Artemis herself.  Calling on the name of Artemis would hide the self-centered nature of the bone that they had to pick with Paul’s teaching ministry.  This riot inducing rallying call of “great is Artemis” denied Paul a chance of publicly appearing and defending the Good News of Jesus.

May we stand firmly in relationship with Jesus, no matter the consequences! 

Enough mumbling for now… 

Peace Out    

Wednesday, November 23, 2011

Debts Outstanding; 1 Thess. 4-5, 2 Thess. 1

May the mumbling commence!

There is one debt outstanding.  In a nation obsessed with debt, we need to remember that there is one debt that is always outstanding.  Read about this debt in 1 Thessalonians 4:

Now about brotherly love we do not need to write to you, for you yourselves have been taught by God to love each other.  And in fact, you do love all the brothers throughout Macedonia. Yet we urge you, brothers, to do so more and more.  
Make it your ambition to lead a quiet life, to mind your own business and to work with your hands, just as we told you, so that your daily life may win the respect of outsiders and so that you will not be dependent on anybody. (Verses 9-12)

The Thessalonian church needed no lessons on love.  Indeed, this church could do the teaching.  Still, Paul encouraged them to do so more and more.  Is any amount of love ever enough?  No, the debt of love is never paid in full.  Loving is never done.

So, how is the Thessalonian church and all those adept at loving to do so more and more?  The answer to this question is in the verses that follow that sentence.  The answer does not change over the centuries.  Lead a quiet life.  Mind your own business.  Work with your hands.  Do these things so that the example of your daily life with ooze with love.  This lived out love will win the respect of outsiders.  Do these things so that your dependence will be on nobody.  This is not a pull-you-up-by-your-own-bootstraps mentality.  This is not a self-made man or woman type of attitude – in total disregard attitude. 

Shout it from the rooftops: “I am dependent of the Lord alone!”  Therefore, I am dependent on nothing or no one else.  In the case of everything and everyone else, I am interdependent.  Indeed, learning to love is beyond a life-time’s work.

Still, as First Thessalonians says in chapter five, verses sixteen to eighteen: Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus.”   Yes, in this day before Thanksgiving, we are to give thanks in all circumstances.  So, no matter where you find yourself in this time of thankfulness, give thanks for those you love and what you have.  Thankfulness is God’s will for us in Christ Jesus.  What a joy!  What a need for a call to prayer!

Thankfulness is something easy to forget when things aren’t going our way.   Well, when things don’t seem to be going our way, let’s take up the way of God!  Paul and the Thessalonians knew hardship that most of us have never known.  Read from 2 Thessalonians chapter 1:

We ought always to thank God for you, brothers, and rightly so, because your faith is growing more and more, and the love every one of you has for each other is increasing.  Therefore, among God's churches we boast about your perseverance and faith in all the persecutions and trials you are enduring. 
All this is evidence that God's judgment is right, and as a result you will be counted worthy of the kingdom of God, for which you are suffering.  God is just: He will pay back trouble to those who trouble you and give relief to you who are troubled, and to us as well. (Verses 3-7a)

“We ought always to thank God for you…”  Even Paul sometimes forgot to give thanks from time to time!  When we suffer for the sake of Jesus’ name, we are not only can receive comfort from the fact that God is just and He will pay back but we can also receive comfort knowing that God counts us worthy of the kingdom.  Yes, give thanks, even when you are singing the kingdom blues!

Enough mumbling for now…
Peace Out

Tuesday, November 22, 2011

May the mumbling commence!

Paul was in Athens waiting to be reunited with Silas and Timothy.  But Paul did not allow waiting to be an excuse to do nothing.  Paul noticed a people receptive to faith and religion.  This receptivity showed itself through many idols.  Though these idols distressed him, Paul used this receptivity to his advantage in preaching the gospel message of Christ Jesus.  Eventually, the philosophers in Athens invited Paul to a meeting of the Areopagus.  These great thinkers wanted to know what this new idea that Paul had was all about.  Read Paul’s response:

Paul then stood up in the meeting of the Areopagus and said: "Men of Athens! I see that in every way you are very religious.  For as I walked around and looked carefully at your objects of worship, I even found an altar with this inscription: TO AN UNKNOWN GOD. Now what you worship as something unknown I am going to proclaim to you. 
The God who made the world and everything in it is the Lord of heaven and earth and does not live in temples built by hands.  And he is not served by human hands, as if he needed anything, because he himself gives all men life and breath and everything else.  From one man he made every nation of men, that they should inhabit the whole earth; and he determined the times set for them and the exact places where they should live.  God did this so that men would seek him and perhaps reach out for him and find him, though he is not far from each one of us.  'For in him we live and move and have our being.' As some of your own poets have said, 'We are his offspring.' 
Therefore since we are God's offspring, we should not think that the divine being is like gold or silver or stone – an image made by man's design and skill.  In the past God overlooked such ignorance, but now he commands all people everywhere to repent.  For he has set a day when he will judge the world with justice by the man he has appointed. He has given proof of this to all men by raising him from the dead." 
When they heard about the resurrection of the dead, some of them sneered, but others said, "We want to hear you again on this subject."  At that, Paul left the Council.  A few men became followers of Paul and believed. Among them was Dionysius, a member of the Areopagus, also a woman named Damaris, and a number of others. (Acts 17:22-34)   

Instead of convicting the Athenians of their idolatry, Paul noted that they were a very religious people.  Paul noted and used the fact that they had an altar for and unknown god.  And Paul set out to describe to them the God of all creation, who they did not know.  Not only did Paul use their idols but Paul also used their poetry to encase the gospel.

Only after this reaching out did Paul proceed to tell them about the ignorance of their idol making.  God once used to look on such ignorance with forgiveness, but, now that Christ has come to earth, that forgiveness and patience is gone.  Jesus will be coming to judge the world, and God gave proof of this through the resurrection of Christ Jesus from the dead.

The resurrection received a mixed response.  Some sneered at the resurrection.  Some wanted to hear more.  And it seems that a small handful accepted the Good News and became followers of Christ.  No, not all the stories in the New Testament are of miraculous numbers of people coming to Christ.  This story reminds me of that fact.  This story also reminds me to be constantly aware of the surroundings around me.

If the Apostle Paul were to walk our streets today, what would he see?  I think he would see another culture that is grasping at idols in their thirst for the spiritual, the religious, a reason to believe – a faith.  The idols take many shapes – everything from yoga to New Age Religion to our dependence on drugs.  Many people need drugs to feel good, drugs to make us go to sleep, drugs to wake us up, and drugs to handle the side effects of all the other medications they may be taking.  Paul would also see our idols of fame and fortune.  Would the Apostle Paul point us to what is written on our currency?  IN GOD WE TRUST.  How can you and I be messengers of God to this day and age – regardless of what the immediate outcomes may be?

Enough mumbling for now…

Peace Out

Monday, November 21, 2011

A God of Second Chances; Acts 15

May the mumbling commence!

Our God is a God of second chances – even when those second chances are unpopular, even scandalous.  I have spoken briefly about the rift that occurred between Paul and Barnabas over John Mark.  Today’s Scripture reading includes the passage about their rift.  Read it below from Acts 15:

Some time later Paul said to Barnabas, "Let us go back and visit the brothers in all the towns where we preached the word of the Lord and see how they are doing."  Barnabas wanted to take John, also called Mark, with them, but Paul did not think it wise to take him, because he had deserted them in Pamphylia and had not continued with them in the work.  They had such a sharp disagreement that they parted company. Barnabas took Mark and sailed for Cyprus, but Paul chose Silas and left, commended by the brothers to the grace of the Lord.  He went through Syria and Cilicia, strengthening the churches.  (Verses 36-41)

The reasons for Paul wanting to leave Mark behind are understandable.  For reasons unknown to us, Mark left Paul and Barnabas in Pamphylia.  So, why would Paul or Silas for that matter want to depend upon someone who might leave again?  Paul flatly refused.  Barnabas adamantly insisted.  It caused their parting.

So, how did others views the decisions of Paul and Barnabas?  It seems revealing to me that when Barnabas and Mark left there is no fanfare recorded.  However when Paul and Silas left, they were commended by the brothers – the church body – to the grace of the Lord.

To the grace of the Lord?!?  Isn’t this just a little ironic?  They speak of grace when their actions flatly deny grace to John Mark.  Barnabas understood that our God is a God of second chances.  It wasn’t all that long ago that the words of Barnabas the encourager had pleaded to the apostles for a second chance for who… Saul.  You know, the one breathing murderous threats to the followers of the Way of Christ.  Yes, Barnabas argued for a second chance for Saul who became Paul.  Shouldn’t this experience have stuck with Paul?  Shouldn’t Paul, who had sought the lives of Christians before his conversion, understand the second chance for John Mark?

It is the grace of the Lord that prompted Barnabas to adamantly insist on bringing along John Mark again.  If it meant splitting ways with Paul and traveling with John Mark, then so be it.

Our God is a God of second chances.  Will we sit in condemnation before a brother or sister who falls?  Or will we sit beside a brother or sister who has fallen and encourage them to get back up again and seek to do the work of the Lord?  Will we reflect the attitudes of Paul and seeming the majority of the church body and condemn our fallen brothers or sisters to never answering God’s call again?  Or will we reflect the encouragement of Barnabas?

It’s our choice.  Condemnation seems easier.  How can we reconcile when things have gone so wrong?  But reconciliation and relationship are the ways of our God of second chances (and third and fourth and fifth chances).  Jesus never promised his followers an easier way.

How will I choose today?  How will you choose today?

Enough mumbling for now…

Peace Out   


The Only Thing That Counts; Galatians 5-6

May the mumbling commence!

The only thing that counts is…  How would you finish this sentence?  Would your answer depend upon what circle of your life you found yourself in – you know, your family or your friends or your co-workers or your church family (realizing that some of these circles overlap each other – or at least they should.)?  In his letter to the Galatians, Paul finished this sentence in this way: “faith expressing itself through love.”  Yes, “The only thing that matters is faith expressing itself through love (Galatians 5:6b).”  Now I invite you to look at this sentence in its context:

Mark my words! I, Paul, tell you that if you let yourselves be circumcised, Christ will be of no value to you at all.  Again I declare to every man who lets himself be circumcised that he is obligated to obey the whole law.  You who are trying to be justified by law have been alienated from Christ; you have fallen away from grace.  But by faith we eagerly await through the Spirit the righteousness for which we hope.  For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision has any value. The only thing that counts is faith expressing itself through love.  (Verses 2-6)

We can seek our golden rules from Scripture.  We can stack rule upon rule upon rule.  We can make sure that we are following the Law of the Hebrew Bible (the Old Testament), starting with the circumcision of all our male children.  But, when we do so, we make ourselves obligated to obey the whole Law.  Not that we are to disregard the entire Hebrew Bible!  But we are to see the Hebrew Bible through the prophetic eyes of Jesus.  Christ Jesus is our lenses.

OR we can seek our golden rules from the business world.  Some congregations have.  Some congregations have fully adopted the business model where the bottom line – money – drives anything.  Christians have adopted the business model is disregard to Jesus’ way of life.  Jesus depended upon his heavenly Father to provide through a variety of ways.  This faith was greatly rewarded and allowed Jesus to minister, teach, and heal full-time.  Christians adopt the business model in disregard to Jesus’ statement that it is difficult for a rich person to get into heaven.  In fact, Jesus talks quite frequently about money-related issues.  How come we talk so little about in Christian circles?  Is it a private issue?  It is not.

OR we can seek our golden rules from some else entirely.  It doesn’t matter.  Rules have a way of distorting the only thing that counts – faith expressing itself through acts of love.  Jesus would often ask people “Where is your faith?”  Faith gets choked out by rules.  Sometimes, faith gets choked out regardless of how golden the rules are.

It is time for a new way of life – a way of life that needs to be embraced anew each day.  Paul writes about this new way of life in a very familiar passage from Galatians 5:

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law.  Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the sinful nature with its passions and desires.  Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit.  (Verses 22-25)

If we, as Christians, can have such a harvest of fruits, then what a new creation we will become.  I believe that it is this new creation that Paul speaks about in Galatians 6:15 – “Neither circumcision nor uncircumcision means anything; what counts is a new creation.”

What a wonderful gift to be found under the Christmas tree!

Enough mumbling for now…

Peace Out