Sunday, September 30, 2012

Be God-Pleasers; Galatians 1-2

May the mumbling commence!

You can please all of the people some of the time (quite rarely, in fact).  You can please some of the people all the time (I am still looking for these kinds of people).  But you will never please all of the people all of the time. 

Being a leader – whether it’s in the faith or in politics – means making choices that will not be popular with people.  Leadership can be a hard life.  Sometimes, no matter how a leader chooses there will be some who will cry foul.

So, why try to please people?  It is in our DNA.  Many of us build our self-esteem upon pleasing others.  I am one who does.  It is a shaky foundation to build self-esteem.

Why not try to please God?  The standards are astronomically high.  Most of the time (dare I say all of the time) we have an epic failure.  But, there is Good News.  Jesus has paid the price.  Jesus is our safety net as we extend ourselves to please God.

If we do not strive to please God and attempt to please people, we will be like wheat blowing in the wind.  We will be like seaweed dislodged by a wave.  We will be forced to act in the art of deception – the art of Satan.  Read from Galatians chapter two:

Later, however, when Peter came to Antioch I had to oppose him publicly, for he was then plainly in the wrong. It happened like this. Until the arrival of some of James' companions, he, Peter, was in the habit of eating his meals with the Gentiles. After they came, he withdrew and ate separately from the Gentiles – out of sheer fear of what the Jews might think. The other Jewish Christians carried out a similar piece of deception, and the force of their bad example was so great that even Barnabas was affected by it. (Verses 11-13)

Peter was trying to please God by having full fellowship with Gentiles.  He even ate with them.  But, when people from James’ camp came, they reverted to eating separately from Gentiles.  Peter was fearful of what these other Jews might think of their practices with the Gentile people.

This people-pleasing action cuts badly in at least two different ways.

One, what would the Gentiles think about the cessation of table fellowship?  Perhaps they began to doubt their part in the kingdom of God.  That would be at the least bad at the worst devastating.  Whatever trust that had begun to form was broken.  It would be a long road back.

Two, Peter and the others – including other prominent leaders like Barnabas – were deceiving the people from James’ camp.  Lies will not last forever.  A liar has to have a perfect memory.  Sooner or later James’ companions would discover the truth of the matter. 

The division over relations to non-Jews would still come.  Why let it fester?  Why prolong it?  If we do so, it will only make the situation worse.

Truth in action and love in action are important.  Communication is also right up there.  We need to hash out any differences that we might have so that we can discern the will of God together.  It will mean learning the art of compromise.  It will mean no one will be fully happy.  It will also mean that our chances are greater for pleasing God.

To please God, to praise God, to thank God, to worship God is what we are made for.

Let’s try for truth in all our dealings.  And may the glory of the Lord we our rearguard.  May the glory of the Lord light our path one step at a time.

Enough mumbling for now…

Peace Out  

Saturday, September 29, 2012

Accentuate the Negative; 2 Corinthians 10-12

May the mumbling commence!

Accentuate the positive.  Eliminate the negative.  That is the mantra of our airbrushed Photoshop world.  Why would we do anything to make our weaknesses known?  We want to look good.  We want to at least look like a winner.

That is the way of the world.  But, as Christians, we do not operate on the world’s terms.  We do not compete in the beauty contest of this world.  We compete on a completely different level – one that has greater meaning and consequences.  On this level, our weaknesses are key.  Read from Second Corinthians chapter twelve:

So tremendous, however, were the revelations that God gave me that, in order to prevent my becoming absurdly conceited, I was given a physical handicap – one of Satan's angels – to harass me and effectually stop any conceit. Three times I begged the Lord for it to leave me, but his reply has been, "My grace is enough for you: for where there is weakness, my power is shown the more completely."
Therefore, I have cheerfully made up my mind to be proud of my weaknesses, because they mean a deeper experience of the power of Christ. I can even enjoy weaknesses, suffering, privations, persecutions and difficulties for Christ's sake. For my very weakness makes me strong in him. (Verses 7-10)

Conceit is the enemy of any messenger of God.  Conceit transforms the messenger into a god.  And that will not do.  My weaknesses make it clear that I am not a god.  I am not God, and that is a good thing.  Only Christ can make me strong and accomplish anything of worth.  That is grace, and that is enough for me.

You see, the battle that we fight is not of this world.  In the contest that we compete, sometimes we compete against ourselves.  Sometimes, we are our own worst enemy.  Self deception must fall.  Fantasy is no longer viable.  Only the truth of God will do.  Read from Second Corinthians chapter ten:

The truth is that, although of course we lead normal human lives, the battle we are fighting is on the spiritual level. The very weapons we use are not those of human warfare but powerful in God's warfare for the destruction of the enemy's strongholds. Our battle is to bring down every deceptive fantasy and every imposing defense that men erect against the true knowledge of God. We even fight to capture every thought until it acknowledges the authority of Christ. Once we are sure of your obedience we shall not shrink from dealing with those who refuse to obey. (Verses 3-6)

Our enemy’s strongholds are deep within us.  They divide us.  They are deep within our own thoughts and attitudes.  They are deceptive fantasies that erect walls of defense against the true knowledge and nature of ourselves and of God.  Every last thought and attitude must be captured so that the authority of Christ is recognized.

This battle is fierce.  The enemies are hard to detect.  And we rely on our weaknesses and our absolute trust in the strength of God through Jesus Christ.

Accentuate the negative.  Trust in God.  Elevate the Lord.

Enough mumbling for now…

Peace Out

Friday, September 28, 2012

Generosity, A Tangible Fruit; 2 Corinthians 7-9

May the mumbling commence!

Generosity is a most tangible fruit of faith.  Christians who give and give sacrificially show that they know that they can rely upon God.  This kind of giving does not bring praise to the giver but brings praise to God instead.  This kind of giving will work as a magnetic attraction for all who witness it – the grace of God.

And, even in such sacrificial giving, we will not suffer want.  It is a simple fact that we cannot out give God.  Read from Second Corinthians chapter nine:

Let everyone give as his heart tells him, neither grudgingly nor under compulsion, for God loves the man who gives cheerfully. After all, God can give you everything that you need, so that you may always have sufficient both for yourselves and for giving away to other people. As the scripture says: "He has dispersed abroad, he has given to the poor; his righteousness remains forever."
He who gives the seed to the sower and turns that seed into bread to eat, will give you the seed of generosity to sow, and, for harvest, the satisfying bread of good deeds well done. The more you are enriched by God the more scope there will be for generous giving, and your gifts, administered through us, will mean that many will thank God.
For your giving does not end in meeting the wants of your fellow-Christians. It also results in an overflowing tide of thanksgiving to God. Moreover, your very giving proves the reality of your faith, and that means that men thank God that you practice the Gospel that you profess to believe in, as well as for the actual gifts you make to them and to others.
And yet further, men will pray for you and feel drawn to you because you have obviously received a generous measure of the grace of God.
Thank God, then, for his indescribable generosity to you! (Verses 7-15)

Giving through a trust of God for other people is sustainable.  In fact, it will lead to plenty for everyone involved.  It is no wonder that people will thank God and praise God. 

This synergy of giving is a small part of the unknowable depths of God’s grace.  We do not fully understand how it works.  We just learn from experience after experience that it is undeniably so.  It is the practicing of the Gospel, the faith, that we believe in.

And this tangible practice of our faith in God makes the grace of God tangible to those people who witness the giving – not just to those who receive but also to those who witness the exchange.  It will draw people as surely as a light in the darkness attracts moths and insects.

Thank God, indeed!

Enough mumbling for now…

Peace Out

Thursday, September 27, 2012

Open for Business; 2 Corinthians 4-6

May the mumbling commence!

Christ is in the reconciliation business.  He is open 24/7.  And all Christians are called to join him in this immense work.  Read from Second Corinthians chapter five:

All this is God's doing, for he has reconciled us to himself through Jesus Christ; and he has made us agents of the reconciliation. God was in Christ personally reconciling the world to himself – not counting their sins against them – and has commissioned us with the message of reconciliation.
We are now Christ's ambassadors, as though God were appealing direct to you through us. As his personal representatives we say, "Make your peace with God." For God caused Christ, who himself knew nothing of sin, actually to be sin for our sakes, so that in Christ we might be made good with the goodness of God. (Verses 18-21)

How did God reconcile us?  It was not any effort on our part.  The sins were still there.  They still are.  But, through the work of Christ, our sins are not counted against us.

It is an amazing thing, this grace.  Christ’s way of living knew nothing of sin – though he lived among sinful people.  God made Jesus sin and crucified him on the cross.  Jesus humbly accepted the wages of sin – death.

And God raised Jesus from the dead on the third day.  That is God’s emphatic statement that we no longer have to sweat it.  Works will never reconcile us to God.  For relationship to return to its proper place, we must believe in Christ – the way that he lived life on earth, the way he died on the cross, and the way death was utterly defeated in his resurrection.  Each of these pieces is important.

Yes, the way Jesus lived is important for us to learn and to emulate.  That is why we are called to be reconcilers along with Christ.  The work of reconciliation is never done.

How do we do our part?  We act as ambassadors for Christ.  We think, talk, and walk knowing that we represent Christ to all people around us.  We encourage each other and all creation to make peace with God.  And we offer the path for that peace to prevail in our hearts and minds.  We offer that path to peace that will prevail in our very guts.  We offer the Prince of Peace – Christ Jesus.

That is our simple offering.  But the simplicity of God far outstrips any complexities that humanity can throw at it.

Praise God!

Enough mumbling for now…

Peace Out

Wednesday, September 26, 2012

Mission Humanly Impossible; 2 Corinthians 1-3

May the mumbling commence!

Do you sometimes feel like you are at the end of your tether in ministry – in over your head?  That’s good.  Yes, I tell you good.  When we are in over our heads in ministry, we begin to learn that we rely on God – and our brothers and sisters in Christ. 

If we don’t ever feel at the end of our tether, then we are likely not pushing down the road with the Holy Spirit as guide.  Read from Second Corinthians chapter one:

We should like you, our brothers, to know something of what we went through in Asia. At that time we were completely overwhelmed, the burden was more than we could bear, in fact we told ourselves that this was the end.
Yet we believe now that we had this experience of coming to the end of our tether that we might learn to trust, not in ourselves, but in God who can raise the dead. It was God who preserved us from imminent death, and it is he who still preserves us.
Further, we trust him to keep us safe in the future, and here you can join in and help by praying for us, so that the good that is done to us in answer to many prayers will mean eventually that many will thank God for our preservation. (Verses 8-11)

Through Christ, we are free from sin.  We are free to live into our newfound righteousness through the work of Christ.  We are free to extend ourselves greatly in service to God.  Sometimes, our extension will seem like over-extension to us.  If we decide to follow the flow of the Spirit life will become unpredictable and exciting.

Life through the Spirit might even become dangerous!

Don’t be afraid.  We read this numerous times in the Scripture.  Trust in God.

God has helped our ancestors in the past.  God has helped us in the past.  God does not change.  God will help us now.  God will help us in the future.

Talk about a safety net!

With such security, just look at the things that the Lord can accomplish through us.  Pray to God.   Listen to the call of the Holy Spirit.  Many people will thank God for our efforts.

Let’s find the end of our ministry tether and test it.  Let’s swim out into the deep end of ministry.  Let’s trust the buoyancy of our living God.

Enough mumbling for now…

Peace Out

Tuesday, September 25, 2012

Fully Engaging Worship (FEW); 1 Corinthians 14-16

May the mumbling commence!

Sometimes, I think about worship the way it is now.  It can become quite a monologue, with a pastor preaching and the congregation listening.  Sometimes, worship bands give the worship and praise and hymn music that same professional feel. 

Sometimes, the children’s story is the only thing that engages the children.  Sometimes, the children’ story is the only thing that engages adults.  And, if the children’s story fails to engage, then worship seems somewhere out there – inaccessible to me.

That is not the way that worship should feel.  God is close by everyone, and worship (as long as it worships the Lord) can take as many different forms as there are people in the sanctuary.  But that can be uncontrollable and chaotic.  Read what Paul writes about to the Corinthian church in First Corinthians chapter fourteen:

Well then, my brothers, whenever you meet let everyone be ready to contribute a psalm, a piece of teaching, a spiritual truth, or a "tongue" with an interpreter. Everything should be done to make your church strong in the faith.
If the question of speaking with a "tongue" arises, confine the speaking to two or three at the most and have someone to interpret what is said. If you have no interpreter then let the speaker with a "tongue" keep silent in the church and speak only to himself and God.
Don't have more than two or three preachers either, while the others think over what has been said. But should a message of truth come to one who is seated, then the original speaker should stop talking. For in this way you can all have opportunity to give a message, one after the other, and everyone will learn something and everyone will have his faith stimulated. The spirit of a true preacher is under that preacher's control, for God is not a God of disorder but of harmony, as is plain in all the churches. (Verses 26-33)

Let everyone be ready to contribute!  Not a few people, nor many people, but everyone come to worship ready to contribute.  Worship will look more like a sharing time of faith in action of all the members of the congregation.  Each person sharing should have as a goal making the entire church strong in the faith.

Again, that can be chaotic.  And, as Paul writes, God is a God of harmony not disorder.  Note that Paul speaks of harmony.  Harmony does not imply that all people will worship the same way or even speak on the same movement of the Spirit.

How can we establish harmony and meaning out of potential chaos?  Paul tells us to take turns.  Imagine that – take turns.  Maybe everything I need to know I learned in Kindergarten.  That would make worship services quite different.

I remember experiencing a Catholic mass in Guatemala where the priest did not speak in a monologue teaching sort of way.  He would ask his people a question that was not rhetorical.  And the people thought and answered.  It was a sort of call and response, structured by the priest.  We also see some of this dialogue in the context of African-American preaching.

How can this happen in the Caucasian context?  The best way that I saw dialogue happen in the Caucasian context was when a church body held Sunday school after worship.  I remember that fellowship well and fondly – Americus (GA) Mennonite Fellowship.  The adults discussed the sermon and the sermon text.   

It is one way that can open the dialogue up about the preaching and the preaching text.  It helps us to make worship more accessible.  And that is a good thing, because a goal of worship is for everyone to praise God and for everyone to grow in faith.

And this passage also underscores the point that every Christian has at least one sermon in them.  Paul tells us to limit the preachers to two or three a service.  That could lead to a potentially long service!

What do other worshippers do when a preacher is preaching?  They are to think over what has been said.  Apply it to their lives.  They are to open themselves to the moving of the Holy Spirit.  Maybe they will have a word from God for the dialogue to share and build up the faith of the church.

Beware engaging in worship will change you!  Strengthening faith will change your life to align with Jesus. 

Enough mumbling for now… 

Peace Out          

Monday, September 24, 2012

A Thousand Shades of Gray; 1 Corinthians 11-13

May the mumbling commence!

It is high time to grow up and face the uncertainties in life.  Sometimes I yearn for the days of seeing things in black and white.  You know, the days of youth and teenage angst.  But I need to be ready for Christ’s return.  There is no time for a return to the ways of my youth.  Read from First Corinthians chapter thirteen:

For if there are prophecies they will be fulfilled and done with, if there are "tongues" the need for them will disappear, if there is knowledge it will be swallowed up in truth. For our knowledge is always incomplete and our prophecy is always incomplete, and when the complete comes, that is the end of the incomplete.
When I was a little child I talked and felt and thought like a little child. Now that I am a man my childish speech and feeling and thought have no further significance for me.
At present we are men looking at puzzling reflections in a mirror. The time will come when we shall see reality whole and face to face! At present all I know is a little fraction of the truth, but the time will come when I shall know it as fully as God now knows me! (Verses 8b-12)

Prophecies will all be fulfilled.  Tongues will no longer be needed.  The universal language of the love of God will be the way to communicate.  This time is coming… soon!

But, for now, you and I must be careful how much credibility we give to our own knowledge and prophecy.  They are all incomplete at the present time.  They are like a poor, fogged-up funhouse mirror to reality.  We could insist that we see THE truth, but that is a juvenile thought.  We know only a tiny fraction of the truth.  Knowing THE truth must be left behind.

There will be a time coming that we shall see reality face-to-face.  There will be a time when I fully know the only God who fully knows me.  What a gift to wait and hope for!

But, for now, we must be content with a thousand shades of gray.

Enough mumbling for now…

Peace Out

Sunday, September 23, 2012

Standing Tall; 1 Corinthians 8-10

May the mumbling commence!

I remember how excited that I was when I was still a growing child.  Whenever I went to visit my maternal grandparents, they would measure how tall I was.  There was ticker tape for each grandchild displayed on a narrow strip of wall between the kitchen and the living room of their trailer.

I would try to extend myself to my full height.  I would even try to stand on my tiptoes.  But Grandpa would never let me get away with that. 

I wanted my full stature because I wanted to surpass my older brothers.  I never did surpass them, even though I had a head start (I was my mother’s longest baby).  I am the shortest of my brothers at five-foot-eleven.  My brothers are six-one and six-four.

As Christians, how do we stand to our full stature?  It is a question that we can begin to answer from a passage in First Corinthians chapter eight.

Now to deal with the matter of meat which has been sacrificed to idols.
It is not easy to think that we "know" over problems like this, but we should remember that while knowledge may make a man look big, it is only love that can make him grow to his full stature. For whatever a man may know, he still has a lot to learn, but if he loves God, he is opening his whole life to the Spirit of God. (Verses 1-3)

Many things in our lives can cause division in Christian company.  We may say that interpretation of Scripture is the key.  But interpretation is best held in community with all fellow believers and with church tradition.  We may claim to know it all, but each of us still has much to learn.

If we claim to know it all, then we become impossible students to deal with.  Learning is a life-long process.  If we denigrate it to anything less, we stunt our growth and will never attain our full stature in the kingdom of God.

Keep me teachable, O Lord.  How does a teachable spirit persist?  Love is the answer – open unashamed love of the Lord.  God will open my whole life to the Holy Spirit.

Want to stand tall as a Christian?  Love God with everything that you have.  And love others as yourself.  That, of course, means that you must learn to love yourself.

Let us take pause to think of how our words and actions will affect other people.  May we keep the good of everyone in mind when we speak and act.

Then we will stand tall together.  We will achieve our full stature.  Full Christian love is the way.

Enough mumbling for now…

Peace Out

Saturday, September 22, 2012

Filled to Overcome; 1 Corinthians 5-7

May the mumbling commence!

We may do anything.  Look at Christians, and you will see that it is true.  We may do anything.  Sometimes, the things we do count for our betterment.  Sometimes, the things we do we would rather we had not.  We may do anything.  But not everything is good or beneficial. 

And we must remember that what we do reflects on Christ.  We are the only Christ that some people know.  That is a scary thought.  Read from First Corinthians chapter six:

As a Christian I may do anything, but that does not mean that everything is good for me. I may do everything, but I must not be a slave of anything.
Food was meant for the stomach and the stomach for food; but God has no permanent purpose for either. But you cannot say that our physical body was made for sexual promiscuity; it was made for God, and God is the answer to our deepest longings.
The God who raised the Lord from the dead will also raise us mortal men by his power. Have you realized the almost incredible fact that your bodies are integral parts of Christ himself? Am I then to take parts of Christ and join them to a prostitute?
Never! Don't you realize that when a man joins himself to a prostitute he makes with her a physical unity? For God says, 'the two shall be one flesh'. On the other hand the man who joins himself to God is one with him in spirit. (Verses 12-17)

As Christians, we are not the sum total of our natural desires.  When we unite ourselves with God, we become one with God in spirit.  Our deepest longings will still be fulfilled because God is the answer to them.  We can try to fill those longings with food or sex or possessions, but we will find ourselves in a race that we cannot win.

Christians join Jesus in his death.  We also join Jesus in his resurrection.  We are integral parts of Christ’s body in this world.  The world looks at us and forms its opinions about Christ – for better or for worse.

Let us not pledge our allegiance with the things of this world.  Food is not king.  Being obese is not inevitable. 

Sex is not to be exploited for my own appetites.  Being promiscuous is not inevitable. 

Worldly wisdom is not king.  True wisdom and knowledge of God is not to be kept from others.  True godly wisdom is mean to be shared. 

Possessions are not the answer.  Crushing debt is not inevitable.  We do not need the things that corporations and their commercials try to convince us that we do.

Power and influence are not the answer.  Being self-reliant is not possible.  We must embrace our dependence upon God and our interdependence on one another.

Any one of these things can consume us alone.  Each of them and many more clamor for our attention. 

Let us turn our attention to God.  Our Creator knows our deepest longings and needs.  The Lord will fill them to overflowing.  Then, we can feel empowered to share these blessing with anyone who might cross our path.  Sharing with all of those people who cross our path sheds a different light on bearing our cross and following Jesus, doesn’t it?

As we share in a world of fear and the assumption of scarcity, we represent Christ well.  We show ourselves to be fruit-bearing integral parts of the body of Christ.  Let us walk this walk and talk this talk together – hand-in-hand.

Enough mumbling for now…

Peace Out
   

The Powers that HAVE BEEN; 1 Corinthians 2-4

May the mumbling commence!

Our God is dynamite.  Nothing will outlast the Lord.  All things are temporary and fail.  Only God is eternal.  Think about the great civilizations – the Greek Empire, the Roman Empire, the Incan Empire, the Aztec Empire, the British Empire…  All of them had their day.  All of them have fallen.

Yet the Judeo-Christian faith lives on thousands of years after the death and resurrection of Christ on the cross.

I think of these facts as I think about the United States.  The United States has had its day.  And that day seems to be waning.

So, what do we feel and think and say about that?  Where are the wisdom and power and strength to come from?  They will not come from elaborate arguments or intricate plans or worldly wisdom.  All of these are puffs of smoke.  The American dream, as idealized, has never really existed.

It is time, once again, for the simple and powerful facts of the Judeo-Christian faith to rise to the surface.  Paul illuminated them quite well in First Corinthians chapter two.  Read a passage from that chapter below:

In the same way, my brothers, when I came to proclaim to you God's secret purpose, I did not come equipped with any brilliance of speech or intellect. You may as well know now that it was my secret determination to concentrate entirely on Jesus Christ and the fact of his death upon the cross. As a matter of fact, in myself I was feeling far from strong; I was nervous and rather shaky. What I said and preached had none of the attractiveness of the clever mind, but it was a demonstration of the power of the Spirit! Plainly God's purpose was that your faith should not rest upon man's cleverness but upon the power of God.
We do, of course, speak "wisdom" among those who are spiritually mature, but it is not what is called wisdom by this world, nor by the powers-that-be, who soon will be only the powers that have been. The wisdom we speak of is that mysterious secret wisdom of God which he planned before the creation for our glory today. None of the powers of this world have known this wisdom – if they had they would never have crucified the Lord of glory! (Verses 1-8)

The bedrock fact of the Judeo-Christian faith is Jesus’ death upon the cross and his resurrection on the third day.  For those that demand empirical evidence, for those that are married to the scientific method, this fact is on shaky ground.

I can understand why Paul felt weak, nervous, and rather shaky.  When you know that you are ministering for an all powerful God and you are ministering to a vulnerable people, there should be a rather pronounced case of the nerves.  If there isn’t, then we probably do not appreciate or fully understand what is at stake.

In our weakness and nervousness, the power of God is made evident.  Whatever is accomplished by us is not attributable to our own prowess.  Success can only have come from God.  God is the only correct place to put our faith.

This weakness and nervousness and clinging to the facts of faith is wisdom to those who are spiritually mature.  It is pure nonsense to the people of the world.

Then Paul writes the statement that echoes throughout all time.  Wisdom that is discarded by the powers-that-be will endure.  And the powers-that-be will soon become the powers that have been.

I do not put my hope on the power of the Constitution or the political process.  I do not put my hope on any political party or on any individual candidate – regardless of if that candidate is on a local school board or occupies the Oval Office in the White House.

My hope and faith and strength come only from Jesus the Christ.  There is no one or nothing better to place hope and faith on.  Jesus is the source of my wisdom and my strength.

Enough mumbling for now…

Peace Out

Thursday, September 20, 2012

Faith Marathon; Romans 15-16

May the mumbling commence!

The Christian life is a marathon not a sprint.  We need endurance.  We need encouragement.  We need each other. 

I would think that a marathon runner feels awfully alone – until they are near the end.  Sometimes the Christian life can feel lonely as well.  It can seem sometimes like you are running against the grain.  And, sometimes, we near our finish line and find the path unoccupied – no one to cheer us on to the finish.

That is why we need endurance and encouragement.  That is why we need each other – not as cheerleaders but as fellow marathon runners.  It means seeing beyond our own immediate needs so that we can serve those who run next to us.  Read from Romans chapter fifteen:

We who have strong faith ought to shoulder the burden of the doubts and qualms of others and not just to go our own sweet way. Our actions should mean the good of othersshould help them to build up their characters. For even Christ did not choose his own pleasure, but as it is written: "The reproaches of those who reproached you fell on me."
For all those words which were written long ago are meant to teach us today; that when we read in the scriptures of the endurance of men and of all the help that God gave them in those days, we may be encouraged to go on hoping in our own time.
May the God who inspires men to endure, and gives them a Father's care, give you a mind united towards one another because of your common loyalty to Jesus Christ. And then, as one man, you will sing from the heart the praises of God the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. So open your hearts to one another as Christ has opened his heart to you, and God will be glorified. (Verses 1-7)

Unlike in a marathon, the strong do not simply pass by the weak.  The strong Christian slows down to give strength and encouragement to the weak.  A Christian marathon is more about finishing together.  By helping and encouraging one another to endure, all of our characters will be built upon the solid rock foundation of Christ Jesus – who did the same when he walked the earth.

And the Christian marathon – the faith marathon began at the beginning of time and will continue forever.  When we read stories in the Bible – Old and New Testaments – we gain encouragement from those who ran before us.  These records, from Adam to John of Revelation, are living proof of the great cloud of witnesses that the letter to the Hebrews tells us about (12:1ff).

All of these things inspire us to unity in our common loyalty to Jesus Christ.  As we run together, often against the flow of the world, we bond together as followers of the Way.  We open our hearts to one another, and we join in the praise of our Creator.

May God be glorified through this all!

Enough mumbling for now…

Peace Out

Wednesday, September 19, 2012

The Real Deal; Romans 12-14

May the mumbling commence!

No imitation is accepted in Christian circles.  Only real love will do.  So, what is real love?  Read from Romans chapter twelve:

Let us have no imitation Christian love. Let us have a genuine break with evil and a real devotion to good.
Let us have real warm affection for one another as between brothers, and a willingness to let the other man have the credit.
Let us not allow slackness to spoil our work and let us keep the fires of the spirit burning, as we do our work for God.
Base your happiness on your hope in Christ. When trials come endure them patiently, steadfastly maintain the habit of prayer.
Give freely to fellow-Christians in want, never grudging a meal or a bed to those who need them.
And as for those who try to make your life a misery, bless them. Don't curse, bless.
Share the happiness of those who are happy, the sorrow of those who are sad.
Live in harmony with each other. Don't become snobbish but take a real interest in ordinary people. Don't become set in your own opinions.
Don't pay back a bad turn by a bad turn, to anyone. Don't say "it doesn't matter what people think", but see that your public behavior is above criticism.
As far as your responsibility goes, live at peace with everyone.
Never take vengeance into your own hands, my dear friends: stand back and let God punish if he will. For it is written: 'Vengeance is mine. I will repay'.
And these are God's words:
'Therefore if your enemy hungers, feed him;
if he thirsts, give him a drink;
for in so doing you will heap coals of fire on his head'.
Don't allow yourself to be overpowered with evil. Take the offensive – overpower evil by good! (Verses 9-21)

Here is a list of what real Christian love is.  Christian love is defined both by what it is and what it is NOT.  What Christian love is highlighted in green.  And what Christian love is NOT is highlighted in dark red.

Christian love calls us to a genuine break with evil in order that we may become devoted to good.  Christian love creates a warm familial affection for each other.  It means that it matter much less who gets the credit for some good work than that good work gets done.

Christian love ignites the fires of the Holy Spirit that cleanses us so that we may serve God.  Christian love finds both happiness and hope in Christ alone.  When hard times come (and they will), Christian love leads us to endure patiently through habitual prayer.  Prayer that begins in good times is the foundation for prayer in hard times.

Christian love inspires us to give freely to those people in need.  It means sharing happiness with others to increase the joy and sharing sorrow to halve the grief.

Christian love guides us to live in harmony with one another.  Note that the Scripture says harmony and not unison.  It is okay to be different than one another – our differences can become our strengths and beauty with the power of Christian love.  That is why we take an interest in all people from extraordinary to ordinary.

Christian love guides us to live a life above criticism.  Christian love calls us to live in peace with everyone – as far as we are able to control.  Christian love takes initiative to overpower evil with good.

There is no room in Christian love for slackness in attitude.  There is no room in Christian love for grudges or snobbery.  There is no room for being set in our opinions.  (We need to be open to hearing other viewpoints and growing in our opinions.)  Christian love does not return evil for evil.  To return evil for evil is to be overpowered by it.  Christian love does not regard others’ opinions as irrelevant.  There is no room in Christian love for vengeance.  (Christian love trusts God to set things right.)

There is a high cost for real Christian love.  But it is worth every effort and every possession we think we have.  A substitute is not acceptable. 

Enough mumbling for now… 

Peace Out