Protecting Christ's Reputation; 1 Thessalonians 1-3

May the mumbling commence!

Does your reputation precede you?  Is that a good thing or not?  Let us remember two things.

1.     Our deeds in one particular place will help to form our deeds as we move on to another place.

2.     We should neither rest on our laurels nor allow past failures to defeat us again.

Yes, remember: What you do now will help to form who you will become.  It is essential to grasp this fact in our Christian lives.  Read from First Thessalonians chapter one:

You remember how, although accepting the message meant bitter persecution, yet you experienced the joy of the Holy Spirit. You thus became examples to all who believe in Macedonia and Achaia. You have become a sort of sounding-board from which the Word of the Lord has rung out, not only in Macedonia and Achaia but everywhere where the story of your faith in God has become known. We find we don't have to tell people about it. They tell us the story of our coming to you: how you turned from idols to serve the true living God, and how your whole lives now look forward to the coming of his Son from heaven – the Son Jesus, whom God raised from the dead, and who personally delivered us from the judgment which hung over our heads. (Verses 6b-10)

Oh, to be a sounding board for Christ!  What does a sounding board do?  In a piano, it amplifies the sound of the strings.  The distant echoes of the work of Christ become enough to fill a large sanctuary with beautiful music.  Oh, to be a sounding board for Christ!

Let us ask ourselves a question: Does the denomination or district of the church we attend have to tell people in our surrounding communities what good work we accomplish for the name of Christ?  Or do the denomination or district officials have to tell the community about the church body?

To be a sounding board for Christ means that Christ’s message must resonate far beyond the four walls of our sanctuary.  It means turning from idols that plague our society.  It means investing our whole lives in moving forward with Jesus in our lives.

And, all of this happens in the midst of mercy given in place of judgment.  This happens in the midst of grace given in the place of our just desserts.  We do not command an audience in and of ourselves.  It is only for Jesus that we make the journey of the Christian faith.

Yes, our reputation precedes us.  It is up to the Holy Spirit working through us to make that a good thing.

Enough mumbling for now…

Peace Out   

The Golden Chain of Christian Living, Colossians

May the mumbling commence!

What does new life in Christ look like?  What is of most value in this new life?  These are important questions.  Today, we will look at Colossians chapter three for an answer.  Read the passage below:

As, therefore, God's picked representatives of the new humanity, purified and beloved of God himself, be merciful in action, kindly in heart, humble in mind. Accept life, and be most patient and tolerant with one another, always ready to forgive if you have a difference with anyone. Forgive as freely as the Lord has forgiven you. And, above everything else, be truly loving, for love is the golden chain of all the virtues.

Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, remembering that as members of the same body you are called to live in harmony, and never forget to be thankful for what God has done for you.

Let Christ's teaching live in your hearts, making you rich in the true wisdom. Teach and help one another along the right road with your psalms and hymns and Christian songs, singing God's praises with joyful hearts. And whatever you may have to do, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, thanking God the Father through him. (Verses 12-17)

Love is the gold chain of Christian virtues that hangs around our necks.  This gold chain is not only of the highest value.  Love is also the chain that holds the other adornments of the Christian life – like pearls of great worth.  Be merciful, kindly, and humble.  Patience and tolerance rule.  Forgiveness is not optional.  It is integral to the Christian life.

As a part of the Christian body, we are called to live in harmony.  Note that: we live in harmony in one another.  Harmony not unison!  We are forced to be identical.  We are allowed to be ourselves.  But, in being ourselves, we are to strive to be in harmony with the rest of the body – which is being conducted by the head, Christ Jesus.

Teach and help one another.  That means that I do not know everything there is to know.  Neither do you know everything.  We are to help and teach one another so that we both may find that narrow righteous path that Christ trail blazed before us.

What are some of the tools of teaching?  Psalms, hymns and Christian spiritual songs help to define the attitude that we need – that of fellow student in a cooperative project toward Christ-likeness.  Yes, these songs that find room in our hearts and minds help to form our attitudes.

And, if our attitudes reflect Christ Jesus, then our actions will soon follow.  So that, whatever we may do, we will do in the name of the Lord Jesus with thankfulness and gratitude.  We do everything in Jesus’ name.

To do something in someone else’s name means that we are representing that person.  May all that we do honor Christ Jesus.  If Jesus does not receive honor by what we do, we must stop it or reconfigure it so that it does.     

Enough mumbling for now…

Peace Out

Total Ambition Makeover; Philippians 3-4

May the mumbling commence!

Time to change ambitions!  Time to align our ambitions with Christ!  What drives the world can no longer drive me.  Read from Philippians chapter three:

If it were right to have such confidence, I could certainly have it, and if any of these men thinks he has grounds for such confidence I can assure him I have more. I was born a true Jew, I was circumcised on the eighth day, I was a member of the tribe of Benjamin, I was in fact a full-blooded Jew. As far as keeping the Law is concerned I was a Pharisee, and you can judge my enthusiasm for the Jewish faith by my active persecution of the Church. As far as the Law's righteousness is concerned, I don't think anyone could have found fault with me.

Yet every advantage that I had gained I considered lost for Christ's sake. Yes, and I look upon everything as loss compared with the overwhelming gain of knowing Jesus Christ my Lord. For his sake I did in actual fact suffer the loss of everything, but I considered it useless rubbish compared with being able to win Christ. For now my place is in him, and I am not dependent upon any of the self-achieved righteousness of the Law. God has given me that genuine righteousness which comes from faith in Christ. How changed are my ambitions! Now I long to know Christ and the power shown by his resurrection: now I long to share his sufferings, even to die as he died, so that I may perhaps attain as he did, the resurrection from the dead.

Yet, my brothers, I do not consider myself to have "arrived", spiritually, nor do I consider myself already perfect. But I keep going on, grasping ever more firmly that purpose for which Christ grasped me. My brothers, I do not consider myself to have fully grasped it even now. But I do concentrate on this: I leave the past behind and with hands outstretched to whatever lies ahead I go straight for the goal – my reward the honor of being called by God in Christ. (Verses 4-14)

Are you a confidence man or woman?  Do you feel like you need to prove yourself over and over again?  That is just the way that Satan would like it.  Don’t believe the lie that our confidence or self-esteem is based upon our achievements in light of the achievements of those people around us.

That kind of a contest is a lose-lose scenario.  It is designed to divide.  It is designed to make us lonely.  And it works in a cruel heartless way.

Paul could boast along with the best.  He could back it up, too.  Yet, when he came to know Christ, he recognized those things and that path and those ambitions as rubbish.

Time to take out the rubbish of this world and her ambitions!  Jesus, the great rubbish collector, will take it away.  And, once the foulness of this world leaves us, we will be able to see properly, speak properly, and smell fresh air for the first time.

Have you ever wondered how people can live working or living in a smelly environment?  It is actually simple.  Your senses get used to it.  You don’t even recognize it’s there anymore.  I worked for years at an aerosol spray paint factory (Yes, I know, that explains a lot).  I know this dynamic.

Even living near a pizzeria or bakery might seem delightful at first.  But, soon, the smell of pizza or any baked goods makes your stomach turn.  One of my sisters used to live in an apartment in downtown above a pizzeria.  The smell gets to you after a while.

What about people who live near the railroad tracks?  They get used to the noise and rattling dishes.  They hardly notice it anymore.

For these reasons and many more, we need to be extremely careful.  Never believe that you have arrived as a Christian.  Paul never thought that.  There will always be things in our lives that need the healing touch of the Great Rubbish Collector – Christ Jesus.  We may be unaware of these things because they are so engrained in our lives.

The important thing is to keep pushing onward in our call from Christ.  Don’t look back.  Use Lot’s wife as an example and warning.  She was turned to a pillar of salt when she looked back on Sodom.

Let us reach out our hands to what Christ wants to give us.  Let us leave go of the rubbish that Jesus would be delighted to take away from us.  Let us relish the honor of being called and serving Christ Jesus.  There is truly no better thing!

Enough mumbling for now…

Peace Out

Keep Your Head Up; Philippians 1-2

May the mumbling commence!

No matter where you find yourself now, keep your head up.  Watch for opportunities to come.  If you are wondering how your current situation might come to the praise of God, take heart in how Saint Paul handled difficulties.  Read from Philippians chapter one:

Now, concerning myself, I want you to know, my brothers, that what has happened to me has, in effect, turned out to the advantage of the Gospel. For, first of all, my imprisonment means a personal witness for Christ before the palace guards not to mention others who come and go. Then, it means that most of our brothers, somehow taking fresh heart in the Lord from the very fact that I am a prisoner for Christ's sake, have shown far more courage in boldly proclaiming the Word of God. (Verses 12-13)

OK.  Let’s remind ourselves of Paul’s situation.  Paul is imprisoned for proclaiming the Gospel of Christ.  Paul does not know whether or not his human life will be forfeit.

That’s a pretty bleak situation.  But, in this situation, Paul finds opportunities to advance the gospel.  Let’s take a look at his list:

1.     Paul is brought into contact with people he likely would have never met.  Paul preaches to his prison guards.  Paul preaches to the shifting population of prisoners.

2.     Paul’s passion has landed him in prison.  This passion for Christ despite cost is an encouragement for other Christians who are still free to take courage in proclaiming the Word of God.

These are the two reasons for rejoicing that Paul has found in prison.  To them, I would like to add another cause for rejoicing – one that continues to give dividends today.

3.     Paul’s imprisonment caused Paul to write letters to the churches he planted.  We still have these letters today.  These letters still grant us things to ponder and ways for us to enhance our Christian way of life.

Yes, I thank God for Paul’s imprisonment.  For the reasons described above, I give thanks.

But there is a harder lesson to learn here.  Give thanks for all situations that you find yourself in.  Keep your head up.  Look for divine appointments.  Proclaim the Good News of Christ boldly.

That means I must seek to serve Christ even when my own daily needs are not being met.  That means serving Christ when people heckle me and call me a fool.  That means serving Christ even when I run afoul of the law of the land.  That means accepting the punishment that the state doles out for my actions.

Even in the midst of these things and worse yet, I am to keep my head up.  These things do not shake my confidence, my hope, or my faith.  All of these things rest in Christ Jesus alone.

So, wherever my life needs take me today, I will serve Christ.

Let it be so.

Enough mumbling for now…

Peace Out

Marching in God's Band; Ephesians 3-5

May the mumbling commence!

Once every month or so, we can look up into the night sky and see a full moon.  It is beautiful to see.  It makes me think, “What would the fullness of Christ look like in a Christian?”  Read a passage from Ephesians chapter four:

His "gifts to men" were varied. Some he made his messengers, some prophets, some preachers of the Gospel; to some he gave the power to guide and teach his people. His gifts were made that Christians might be properly equipped for their service, that the whole body might be built up until the time comes when, in the unity of the common faith and common knowledge of the Son of God, we arrive at real maturity – that measure of development which is meant by the "fullness of Christ".

We are not meant to remain as children at the mercy of every chance wind of teaching and the jockeying of men who are expert in the craft presentation of lies. But we are meant to hold firmly to the truth in love, and to grow up in every way into Christ, the head. For it is from the head that the whole body, as a harmonious structure knit together by the joints with which it is provided, grows by the proper functioning of individual parts to its full maturity in love. (Verses 11-16)

The fullness of Christ displays itself in varied gifts.  Though the gifts are varied, there is a unifying theme – love.  And these gifts, held together by love, have a purpose – equipping Christians for service so that the entire body of Christ be built up.

What does the fullness of Christ look like in a Christian?  One must draw back a bit further to see the entire Christian community.  On first glance, the community of Christ (the body of Christ) might look chaotic.  From a close up perspective, chaos would be the overwhelming impression.

But Christ is not about chaos.  We must take steps further back yet.  It is kind of like watching a marching band perform on a football field.  It looks like chaos from the field.  But, if you climb the stands to the top and look down, you will find pattern and meaning as the individual band members move in relationship to one another and to the drum majors and to the band director.

It is very much the same as the body of Christ.  We need to shed the perspective on the ground – the worldly perspective.  We need to see all things through the eyes of Christ – a heavenly perspective.  Then we will begin to understand the full beauty of the fullness of Christ in our lives together.

Then, we will move in step with our drum major, who is Christ Jesus.  Then we will move in step with our band director, who is the heavenly Father.  Then no other body in all creation will be able to defeat us on the field of life.

Concentrate on the drum major.  Concentrate on the band director.  And the world will see a beautiful motion married to beautiful harmonies.

May it be so!

Enough mumbling for now…

Peace Out

Freed by Grace; Ephesians 1-2

May the mumbling commence!

As I was reading my daily three chapters of the New Testament, a couple of images came up in my mind.  The first one was from the movie “Lion King”.  I remembered when Simba, a young lion cub, was confronted with a pack of adult hyenas.  Simba let out his loudest roar, only to be laughed at. 

Undaunted, Simba roared again.  This time the hyenas ran in fear.  Simba may have thought he frightened them away, but his father, the king of the jungle, was standing behind him.

The other image that came to mind was from the Christian comedian (I can’t recall his name) who has the video entitled “Super Sheep”.  In the video, a comic strip is shown with a lamb walking in a valley of trouble.  The lamb is holding the shepherd’s hand and telling the dangers around him that, “I’m with him”.  And the lamb points to the shepherd.

I wonder how many times in my life I think of my “great accomplishments” but am totally unaware of the King of my life that made it possible.  Too many to count, I am sure.  If you are honest, you most likely would say the same thing.  All of my successes can be attributed to the grace and mercy of the Lord.  Read from Ephesians chapter two:

To you, who were spiritually dead all the time that you drifted along on the stream of this world's ideas of living, and obeyed its unseen ruler (who is still operating in those who do not respond to the truth of God), to you Christ has given life! We all lived like that in the past, and followed the impulses and imaginations of our evil nature, being in fact under the wrath of God by nature, like everyone else.

But even though we were dead in our sins God, who is rich in mercy, because of the great love he had for us, gave us life together with Christ – it is, remember, by grace and not by achievement that you are saved – and has lifted us right out of the old life to take our place with him in Christ in the Heavens. Thus he shows for all time the tremendous generosity of the grace and kindness he has expressed towards us in Christ Jesus. It was nothing you could or did achieve – it was God's gift to you. No one can pride himself upon earning the love of God. The fact is that what we are we owe to the hand of God upon us. We are born afresh in Christ, and born to do those good deeds which God planned for us to do. (Verses 1-10)

I am not a self-made man.  No one is self-made.  No pride is excusable.  What we are we owe to God and His Son Jesus.

Give thanks to the Lord for mercy and grace.  Give thanks that the Lord leads us.  Give thanks that the Lord holds our hand.  Give thanks that the Lord is our rear guard.  Give thanks that the Lord has prepared good deeds for us to do.

Let us do these works fully aware of our need and acceptance of the grace and mercy of God.  We do not do good works to create God’s love for us.  God’s love is already there.  We do the good works that God prepared for us because of thanksgiving and worship.

So, let’s do what we are made to do – knowing that we have the comfort of the mercy and grace of God to protect us.

Enough mumbling for now…

Peace Out

Strict Teachers; Galatians 3-5

May the mumbling commence!

Paul spends a lot of time speaking about the relationship between the Law and faith in Galatians.  I am drawn today to a passage from Galatians chapter three.  Read from the Phillips translation:

Before the coming of faith we were all imprisoned under the power of the Law, with our only hope of deliverance the faith that was to be shown to us. Or, to change the metaphor, the Law was like a strict governess in charge of us until we went to the school of Christ and learned to be justified by faith in him. Once we had that faith we were completely free from the governess's authority.

For now that you have faith in Christ you are all sons of God. All of you who were baptized "into" Christ have put on the family likeness of Christ. Gone is the distinction between Jew and Greek, slave and free man, male and female – you are all one in Christ Jesus. And if you belong to Christ, you are true descendants of Abraham, you are true heirs of his promise. (Verses 23-29)

The Law was like a strict governess.  Well, I have never been in a situation where I had a governess.  So I think of the Law instead in terms of the teachers that I have had in my school life.

Do you remember any strict teachers that you had?  I do.  I did not like them at the time.  I tended to like the more lenient teachers in my life.  But, in hindsight (which, remember, is often twenty-twenty vision), I learned much more from the strict teachers.

I remember the English portion of my high-school career.  I started out in remedial English classes.  In my sophomore year, a student teacher discovered my skills because she challenged me like no remedial teacher had done in the past.  I moved into the regular track in my junior year, and I did fine.

During my senior year, I chose to take Senior Composition – a class that had a reputation for being difficult and taught by a teacher who had a reputation for being tough.  Ms. Rohrer did not disappoint.  The papers expected of us were college-level papers.  We visited Kent State University’s large library for our final project.

It was a tough class.  But, I found, as I started my college career at Kent State, that I was well prepared for English college-level classes.  Some of the professors were actually less strict than Ms. Rohrer!

I give thanks for tough teachers – for tough teachers who care for their students as a parent would.  That is a dynamic that is missing from this translation of the governess example.  The Law ushers people into the adoptive family of God.  The Law points us to Christ Jesus.  And faith in Christ Jesus makes us children of God.

When we enter the family of God, all other distinctions that we once had mean nothing – Baptist or Catholic, Republican or Democrat, homeowner or renter…

Name your distinction.  It doesn’t matter anymore in the family of God.  We are all one in Christ.

What glorious work the Lord has done through the Law and Christ combined!  What mercy!  What grace!

Give thanks!

Enough mumbling for now…

Peace Out