When Rules Rule Relationships Suffer

My pastor has been teaching/preaching through a series off the book Not a Fan by Kyle Idleman. Yesterday he spoke on the subject “More than Rules.” As Pastor David preached he said something that just stood out to me. He said,

No body falls in love with a rule.

We all are built with an desire to love and be loved. Rules do not give us this relational reality. We want someone who knows us and accepts us for who we are, fallen and flawed. I guess part of the problems is that we have to see ourselves this way first. It can be so easy to fall into the trap of thinking that if we do something long enough and with enough conviction we will see the love come to us that we want. The relationship has to come first. We have to learn to see one another and received one another first. Then, and only then, when the rules come, we will not use them against each other.

The story of the woman caught in the act of adultery in John 8 reveals this. Pastor David used this story as the back drop for teaching. The gist of the story is this. A woman is caught “in the act” by a group of religious leaders. How they managed to do this is not stated, but we can imagine that it was not lucky timing. This mob drags this woman in front of Jesus and then they put the question to Jesus. “This woman was caught in adultery, what should we do? The law (the rules) say that we should stone her.”

Jesus doesn’t play the game. What does he do? He distracts the crowd from the woman, who is ashamed and terrified beyond description and starts writing on the ground. What does he write? We have no idea, and in the end it doesn’t matter. But, after a few moments Jesus makes his own announcement. “Let any one of you who has never sinned throw the first stone to kill this woman.”

We do not know how it happened, but the image, or rather the sound that fills my imagination is the sound of stone upon stone falling to the ground.

Thud.

THUD.

When the crowd is gone there are only two remaining, the sinner, an adulterous woman, and the Judge. Yes, the judge is there. Jesus is the savior, he is the Messiah, he is the greater forgiver of sin. But, what was Jesus question? He said, “Let any one of you who has never sinned throw the first stone to kill this woman.” Jesus was the only one in the crowd who was without sin! He WAS the judge, he had every right to pick up the stone of judgment and strike this sinful woman down for her sin. But, that is not what he did. The judge did not judge because when rules rule, relationships suffer.

This fact in the story is one of the most astounding facts of the event. The one man that could have, did not. If the one man who knew the rules and lived by them did not participate in this execution, what are we supposed to take away from this moment? I think there are three ideas that we can take away from this event in John 8.

When Rules become more important than relationships we have lost our way.
Relationships are hard, but worth the effort.
Just because you could pronounce judgment does not mean you should.

Conversations are great. Let me know what you think or are thinking!

Ten Questions That May Change Your Life, Pt. 2

These are the other five questions from Donald Whitney’s book. We look at the first five questions in a previous post.

6. Do you delight in the Bride of Christ?

This was one of those questions that did not seem to fit in with the rest of the questions. My first reaction was this, “What does this have to do with my ‘personal’ faith journey?” And, fundamentally, that was part of the problem. When I create a scenario where my faith is all about “me” and my faith is not a part of the greater “we,” (i.e., the church), then I have set myself up to no longer need anybody else. In order to avoid this we have to see the faith as something that we come into rather than as something that belongs to me. I just bought shares in the Kingdom of God. That is not how it works.

“So one of the best tests of whether we belong to Christ is whether we delight in His delight, namely, the people who comprise His church.” (Kindle Location, 754)

This is a wonderful reflection of what is missing in many areas of the church. There are places where members of the same congregation have not spoken to each other in years, maybe even decades. This is not a good witness to the world about the love of God in us, for them. If I do not or cannot delight in the company of the other believers, heaven will not be as blissful as many have imagined. This next statement and question helped me to clearly understand what this idea of delighting in the Bride of Christ meant.

“The truth of Scripture is better expressed by a congregation confessing, ‘We are the bride of Christ,’ than by a solitary Christian saying, ‘I am the bride of Christ.’ Therefore, do you delight in the church, that is, in the gathering of believers, their corporate experiences and labor?” (Kindle Location, 772)

7. Are the spiritual disciplines increasingly important to you?

My first reaction was, “No.” I have not participated in spiritual disciplines like I should. The primary reason is that I was unaware that there were a variety that could be practiced. After reading Whitney I have discovered that the spiritual disciplines must move from the category of “could be done” and become “should be done.” There are several statements made by Whitney in this chapter that are worth highlighting.

“Remember also that the spiritual disciplines found in Christian Scripture are sufficient.” (Kindle Location, 876)

“All the Christian spiritual disciplines are important and singularly beneficial. A discipline neglected is a blessing unclaimed.” (Kindle Location, 879)

This final example reveals the goal of the disciples life. To learn and grow and foster a consistent witness and a growing faith. We shouldn’t want to be a flash of fervor followed by nothing.

“Perhaps you are like a Christian woman I know who sometimes wonders if she is still growing spiritually, because the original God-kindled blaze of eternal life that once illuminated the darkness of her life so suddenly, seldom flames up as dramatically as when she was first converted. But what is true for the woodstove is true in this case for the Christian heart as well: just because the beginning of the combustion may briefly be more spectacular than at present doesn’t mean the fire isn’t growing. The initial burst of spiritual flame may be more dazzling, but the heartfire’s greatest effectiveness occurs as it burns into consistency.” (Kindle Location, 861)

8. Do you still grieve over sin?

My first reaction to this was, “I am not even sure people would understand this question.” As I read through the chapter it was just amazing to me how easy it is to become prideful in having received God’s grace. The wonderful words of God’s love are supposed to make us for full of ourselves. We should be moved to become more full of Him. Grieve over my sin changes how I look at everything, or at least it should.

“The closer you get to Christ, the more you will hate sin; for nothing is more unlike Christ than sin. Because Jesus hates sin, the more like Him you grow the more you will grow to hate sin. And the more you hate sin, the more you will grieve whenever you realize that you have embraced that which killed your Savior.” Kindle Location, 956)

Whitney’s clear description of what it means to draw closer to Jesus is important. Sin is darkness. It is everything that God is not and will never be. Therefore, if we are drawing closer to the eternal life of the Son of God the must necessarily be change occurring in our lives. This understanding of drawing close and the quote from Thomas D. Bernard, was also very revealing.

“The closer you come to the light of Christ, the more sins His holy light will expose in you. In the words of nineteenth century Bible scholar Thomas D. Bernard, ‘Our sense of sin is in proportion to our nearness to God.'” (Kindle Location, 971)

Finally, I was struck by the unshakable reality that grieving over sin will actually have the opposite effect than what I anticipated. Whitney says that

“Godly sorrow in the growing Christian makes him a thousand times more aware of his pride than his humility.” (Kindle Location, 1013)

9. Are you a quicker forgiver?

As I mentioned in Part 1, these questions are so simple and direct the longer you look at them the more you realize how important the answers are. This question in particular, has that effect. Let the two following passages sink in for a moment.

“Repenters toward God are forgivers toward others. Those who find themselves unable to forgive reveal that they’ve never experienced the transforming forgiveness of God.” (Kindle Location, 1084)

“The one who announces forgiveness where it hasn’t been sought not only discounts the importance of repentance, he also misunderstands the requirement of Scripture. But the one who is not willing to forgive is contradicting the Scripture, and for the moment at least, is putting the reality of his salvation to the test.” (Kindle Location, 1106)

I do not think that Whitney was off the mark here. Not only is our testimony questionable when we fail to forgive, but we should be concerned about where we stand before. When we are unable or unwilling to extend forgiveness to others after we have experienced it for ourselves, something is terribly wrong.

10. Do you yearn for heaven and to be with Jesus?

We have all heard that there are some people who are “So heavenly minded that they are no earthly good.” Well, the truth may actually be the opposite. What if we are not heavenly minded enough? What if we have failed to truly consider the wonder and joy of heaven? What if, because we do not appreciate what is to come, we have sold ourselves and those around us short of God’s best?

The twist that Whitney provides here is that the yearning for heaven that all Christian’s should have is at its heart a longer for the completion of God’s work of making us totally holy. When the work of Salvation that Jesus ratified on the cross is completed, we will be able to enjoy God’s company forever. But, only a holy people can enjoy that. That is why a yearning for heaven is a desire to holy. This was last statement is just a striking truth.

“Jonathan Edwards put it this way: “But neither a … longing to be in Heaven, nor longing to die, are in any measure so distinguishing marks of true saints, as longing after a more holy heart.”‘” (Kindle Location, 1198)

“Paul wrote like a man who had not only tasted and seen that the Lord is good (Psalm 34:8), but like one who has found the holiness of the Lord eternally and irresistibly addictive.” (Kindle Location, 1229)

The single best sermon I have EVER heard on what heaven will be like was given by Dr. Sam Storms in 2003 at the Desiring God National Conference. It was called “Joy’s Eternal Increase: Edwards on the Beauty of Heaven”. You can listen online or download the video here.

Conclusion

These ten question have the potential to provide a major course correction in your faith journey. But, they could also end up doing nothing to take you deeper into God’s plan and purposes for your life. The choice is yours.

“Faith is…” Series, Pt. 10 | Faith is… Satisfied with the Person of God

¹ Now the serpent was more crafty than any other beast of the field that the Lord God had made. He said to the woman, “Did God actually say,"… ⁸ And they heard the sound of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and the man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God among the trees of the garden. ⁹ But the Lord God called to the man and said to him, “Where are you?” ¹⁰ And he said, “I heard the sound of you in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked, and I hid myself.” ¹¹ He said, “Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten of the tree of which I commanded you not to eat?” (Genesis 3:1a, 8-11, ESV)

What was the first sin? It has been described in different ways: pride, greed, ignorance, being deceived. In the end it doesn’t matter what you call the first sin, there is one undeniable reality that remains. At the root of the first sin was a failure to be satisfied by God and God alone.

As we look at what faith is, we must take the time to consider that faith must be pointed at something. Faith that is not moving, or said another way, faith that does not cause us to move is not faith. Faith is an action word. What makes this word different and unique when we talk about it in a Christian sense is that the object of our faith is not a place or state of being. The object of our faith is actually something that is really unexpected. As followers of Jesus and believers in the Gospel of Jesus, the object of our faith is God. God is the only object in all of the universe that is worthy of worship and devotion.

Now that we have the obvious statement out of the way, we have to take this a step further and realize what we are saying. God is not merely the one that calls us to a better life. God is the better life that we are striving to have. God is not merely offering us joy and peace and grace in this life. God is the joy and peace and grace that are lives need. To get to the point: If God is not enough, then nothing else will be either. What we have to see is that as we are looking for the things that God offers to us because of our relationship with Jesus, we fail to see that what God is offering to us is himself.

Look at this statement that Jesus gave to the disciples in John 15:

²⁸ Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. ²⁹ Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. ³⁰ For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.” (Matthew 11:28-30, ESV)

What is the location that Jesus is inviting us to? It is not someWHERE, but rather to someONE. Come to ME. Jesus is not saying that in being physically close to him we will find peace and rest. Jesus is saying that he is the peace and rest and if we are in relationship with him we will have what we are longing for.

I will admit, this is not an easy subject to think about or consider. But, we have to take the time to understand what this means for us. I don’t remember who said this first or who said it to me, but it has never left me. It goes like this, “We are so busy looking at God’s hands, that we have stopped looking at God’s face.” I don’t know about you, but this is very true of me. I can fall into the “give me” game that I forget that what God is interested is in the “with me” game. God wants us to be with him.

This is the sad scene that we find in Genesis 3. God has created paradise, but that is not enough. God has given freedom, but that is not enough. God has given them responsibility, but that is not enough. God has given them pleasure, and that is not enough. God has given himself, and we see that even this does not satisfy the first couple. Why was it so “easy” to trick and trap Adam and Eve into sin? It was easy because when we are given everything we want, we think that there is more to be had. There was nothing missing in Eden. Everything that they could have ever wanted was there, but in an attempt get more they lost it all. We still haven’t figured that out. We still are trying to exceed the boundaries of God’s love and grace.

There it is. The great sin is not that Adam and Eve disobeyed God. I am not diminishing this. The great sin was that they believed that they needed more than what God has provided for them. As we walk this path of faith, we must recognize that faith is not the ever increasing experience of new things. Faith is the simple delight in the same thing, in this case, God himself. God is the only thing, and he is also everything.

Where are you? Have you allowed the extravagant opportunities of this world distract you from the simple joy of fellowship with God? Has your heart been dulled by the constant barrage of stimuli offered to every sense? What is it that is keeping you distracted from looking forward to those moments spent with God in the “cool of the day”? Until we allow God to satisfy our every need, longing, desire and appetite we will struggle to live the abundant life that Jesus promised.

Faith is… totally and unashamedly satisfied with the Person of God.

9 Things That Would Have To Be True If God Became a Man

I just finished reading John Blanchard’s booklet “Why on Earth Did Jesus Come?” I found it to be refreshing and enlightening. (You can read my quick review here.)

One of the questions that Blanchard asks about God coming to earth in the form of a human being, in Jesus of Nazareth is this: “If God did become a man, what kind of man would he be?” That is a really good question. Blanchard provides nine. There may be others, but the nine that he gives are powerful and thought-provoking. I thought you might enjoy them.

If God became a man…

1. …he would be able to explain the Old Testament.

“²¹ You have heard … ²²But I say to you …” (Matthew 5:21-22)

“⁴⁵Then he opened their minds to understand the Scriptures.” (Luke 24:45)

Continue reading “9 Things That Would Have To Be True If God Became a Man”

“Faith is…” Series, Pt. 5 | Faith is… Crying out to the Heart of God

¹ I mean that the heir, as long as he is a child, is no different from a slave, though he is the owner of everything, ² but he is under guardians and managers until the date set by his father. ³ In the same way we also, when we were children,were enslaved to the elementary principles of the world. ⁴ But when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son, born of woman, born under the law, ⁵ to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons. ⁶ And because you are sons, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying, “Abba! Father!” ⁷ So you are no longer a slave, but a son, and if a son, then an heir through God. (Galatians 4:1-7, ESV)

A Great Gift

Of all of the gifts that Christ has purchased for us through his death, burial and resurrection, adoption may be one of the greatest. I am not trying to categorize the benefits of our fellowship with God. We receive and enjoy them all at once even though our focus may be on one at any given time. What I am trying to demonstrate is that one of the fundamental realities that is true now, that was not true before our faith in Christ is that the very nature of our relationship with God has changed and shifted. We are no longer enemies deserving of wrath and punishment. We are now sons and heirs who are disciplined and restored by a loving father.

A Spiritual Reality

God has chosen to give us all of the rights and privileges that belong to Jesus!

When Paul was teaching the Galatian church about this new relationship with God he used the concept of adoption. This was something that they would have been familiar with, not because of its tender-hearted nature. Adoption had a greater legal implication for Paul’s hearers which we must understand as well.

Most scholars agree that Paul borrowed the concept of adoption from Greek or Roman law. The Jews did not practice adoption, and the word never appears in the Hebrew scriptures. In The Epistle to the Romans, Leon Morris says adoption is “a useful word for Paul, for it signifies being granted the full rights and privileges of [belonging to] a family [in] which one does not belong by nature.” One is not born a Christian; one becomes a Christian. This reminds me of my three-year-old friend Grace, who was not born a Roberts, but became a Roberts when her parents adopted her.

Morris continues, “This is a good illustration of one aspect of Paul’s understanding of what it means to become a Christian. The believer is admitted into the heavenly family,” a family to which the believer has no rights of his or her own. Not only did the concept of adoption help Paul explain how gentiles and Jews could be part of the same family of God, but it also allowed him to emphasize that salvation is not achieved through birthright but through God’s act of grace alone.

An adopted child is received as a gift by her new family, just as the adopting family is a gift to the child. In the same way, the spirit of adoption that Paul commends to the reader is one of gift. It is Paul’s way of describing the gift God gives to us in Christ. [Source]

As Paul considered how to best explain what Jesus had been able to do for the person who trusted in Him, he found this concept of adoption to be one of the clearest. It is important that we do not think of some kind of benevolent activity on the part of God. What God did in bringing us into His family was no small miracle (if there are any small miracles), nor was it something that was provided for us with little effort. The implications of what this means can NOT be exagerated.

By using the word “adoption,” God emphasizes that salvation is permanent for the Christian.

At the heart of this expression of faith is the confidence that God gives to His children. We grow in confidence because we are given access to God himself and not merely some celestial secretary that makes us wait in line.

The Greek word translated “adoption” is huiothesia, and it occurs only five times in the New Testament, all in the Church Epistles (Rom. 8:15, 23; 9:4; Gal. 4:5; Eph. 1:5). According toVine’s Lexicon it means: “the place and condition of a son given to one to whom it does not naturally belong.” Louw and Nida’s Greek Lexicon says: “to formally and legally declare that someone who is not one’s own child is henceforth to be treated and cared for as one’s own child, including complete rights of inheritance.” Huiothesia literally means, “to place as a son.”

… By using the word “adoption,” God emphasizes that salvation is permanent for the Christian, which is why it appears only in the Church Epistles. Some versions translatehuiothesia as “sonship,” but we believe that is not as good as “adoption.” While it is true that someone adopted into the family attains sonship (the status of a son), “adoption” is more accurate to the Greek meaning of the word, and it correctly expresses the fact that the adopted child is permanently placed in the family.

Birth seems so much more desirable than adoption that it is fair to ask why God would even use “adoption.” The answer is that the Romans recognized that when a baby was born, “you got what you got,” whether you liked it or not. This would include the sex of the child, birthmarks, etc. Thus, according to Roman law, a naturally born baby could be disowned from the family. However, people adopting a child knew exactly what they were getting, and no one adopted a child unless that specific child was wanted as a family member, so according to law an adopted child could not be disowned. He or she was permanently added to the family. Many early believers were Roman citizens, and using the word “adoption” was one of God’s ways to let the Church know that He chose the children brought into His family, and they could not be taken from it. The Roman historian William M. Ramsay writes:

“The Roman-Syrian Law-Book…where a formerly prevalent Greek law had persisted under the Roman Empire—well illustrates this passage of the Epistle. It actually lays down the principle that a man can never put away an adopted son, and that he cannot put away a real son without good ground. It is remarkable that the adopted son should have a stronger position than the son by birth, yet it was so.” (W. M. Ramsay, A Historical Commentary on St. Paul’s Epistle to the Galatians, Baker Book House, Grand Rapids, MI, reprinted 1979; p. 353.) [Source]

The Bible clearly teaches us that adoption is the method that God used to bring us into his family. Because of this God has chosen to give us all of the rights and privileges that belong to Jesus! Not only is this incredible, but it should also inspire our faith to cry out our loving father with more earnestness than ever before.

A Personal Story

My dad was raised by his grandmother because he was abandoned by his parents when he was about three years old. I have heard about growing up without a father or a mother and what effect that had on him. When I went to college I majored in Sociology and I began to have a better understanding of the dynamics and results of growing up in families that were not the ideal. You know.. the two parents, two and a half kids, one dog, one cat, and a house with a two car garage kind of family. It was during this time that a greater awareness of what my father could have been emerged.

Is he a perfect man? No, he is not. But, in light of the experiences that shaped and formed my life the one fact I am most thankful for is that my dad had a relationship with Jesus. My dad has said that he has always had a difficult time thinking of God as a father. This is understandable. What helped my dad was that the Bible also talks about relating to God as a friend, and it was this understanding that helped to shape my dad into the man and father that I have had to benefit of knowing and having in my life.

I am so thankful to that Friend of my father’s. Because of Him I never had to wonder or question my dad’s love for me. And because of my earthly father I have never struggled to remember that my heavenly Father’s love is enduring and unchanging.

Faith truly is crying out to the heart of God because God has adopted us into His family and has given us permission to call out to Him.

Word to the Wise | “The Work of the Holy Spirit”

The Apostle Paul tells us through his letter to the Roman church that, “the true children of God are those who let God’s Spirit lead them” (Romans 8:14, NCV). We have no problem talking about God the Father or studying God the Son. But when it comes to the indwelling Holy Spirit we have two basic responses: (1) we are confused on how to listen to Him and follow His direction, or (2) we are frightened because we have been taught to be afraid of addressing Him for fear of committing the unpardonable sin. The horror!

Allow me to simplify this situation. The Holy Spirit helps in three major ways. (1) He leads us inwardly—by making the fruit of the Spirit our lives’ goals (Galatians 5:22). (2) He keeps us focused upwardly—by interceding (praying) for us (Romans 8:26). (3) He keeps us in touch with the world around us—by depositing God’s love into our hearts to love God and our neighbor (Romans 5:5). Jesus sent the Holy Spirit to guide, to encourage, and to counsel. All we need to do is figure out how to listen to Him and follow His lead–it will lead us back to Jesus.

Pastor Luis Scott
Ambassadors of Christ Fellowship
(03/10/09)

“Faith Is…” Series, Pt. 1 | Faith Is… Seeing the Works of God

¹ As he passed by, he saw a man blind from birth. ² And his disciples asked him, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?” ³ Jesus answered, “It was not that this man sinned, or his parents, but that the works of God might be displayed in him. ⁴ We must work the works of him who sent me while it is day; night is coming, when no one can work. ⁵ As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world.” (John 9:1-5)

Too often I find myself wanting to have an explanation for something so that MY life will continue to make sense. I don’t like it when my view of the world doesn’t work out just how I wanted. This may be the problem. God doesn’t owe me an explanation for anything. God tells Job just as much when Job worked up the nerve to tell God what he thought about what had happened to him (Job 38-41).

So many times we can look at the events of our lives and believe that there is a randomness to a vast majority of what happens in our lives. This would be an unfortunate tragedy. While we may not understand why something happened, we are not left to fend for ourselves regarding what God is going to do with what happens.

The events of John 9 are interesting, provocative and even confounding. A man is born blind. We take that for granted in our day, but during Jesus’ time, this was understood as an unmistakable sign that someone had sinned. The commonly held belief was that only someone guilty of some transgression would have the misfortune of being born without sight. What is striking is the assumption that the man was capable of being guilty of sin before he was born! This is seen in the question that the Pharisees ask in verse 2. So, what does Jesus do?

Does he agree with the assumption that sin was the reason for this man’s deformity? No.

Does Jesus change the conversation toward the good that will come from this man’s handicap? No.

Does Jesus attempt to console the man, telling him that things will be better in the New Jerusalem? No.

Jesus takes a completely different approach. Jesus says that the reason the man was born blind was so God’s works would be seen in the man! The blindness was a part of God’s purpose for this man so that others might see God’s work in the world, through the Son, for the world. We have to be careful to not take statements like this and make it “easier” for us to believe that bad things happen because God is somehow missing in action. I am not attributing evil to God. There are just times when I find myself wondering if having a God who knows and controls everything is better than having a God who can’t? You see, if evil is a part of God’s purpose then EVERYTHING becomes a part of God’s purposes because he has taken its presence and effects into account.

The way that Jesus answers the question about the reason for the man’s blindness reveals that sin, while important, is not a blip on God’s radar for why he does what he does. God is more interested in his works being seen than in our sin! Why is that? It is so because God knows that if His works are seen, His glory will be known, and his name will grow in fame among the whole world.

Faith is seeing the works of God and putting your trust and confidence in God–not losing faith in God–because of everything that happens. Faith requires a new “seeing”. We must look for the works of God which are all around us.

If anybody saw the works of God that day, it was the man who had never seen anything at all! And his testimony was one of faith, boldness and assurance.

Excited about I don’t know what…

Have you ever had one of those experiences where you don’t know what is about to happen, and you can’t shake the feeling that it is going to be something, not just good, but indescribable? Right now, right where I am, I know–in that way of knowing that can’t be explained, but you’re confident in–that God is up to something that only he can do. I am not trying to explain it. I am not even trying to describe it. I am just waiting. Waiting for a faithful and good God to do whatever he wants to do. Waiting to see a return to an unshakable, unquenchable faith in a God that can and will do things that simply don’t make sense. I am waiting. Waiting. Waiting for a promise to be fulfilled; a hope to be renewed; a joy to be restored; a faith to be made sight in spite of the dark night of a self-centered heart.

O God, your life is what infuses every other life with meaning. Even that life that has failed to comply to your sovereign grace is brought into proper submission to your purposes. There is nothing that escapes your sight. Nothing that is beyond your insight. Nothing that can be undone due to your foresight. You are majestic, not merely because of some attribution of the human tongue. No, your very being is majesty. It is worthy of all that can be ascribed to it. And when we frail image bearers have reached the end of our ingenuity, it is in your uniqueness that our plain-ness is seen against the relief of your unchanging beauty.

If beauty is in the eye of the beholder, only in you will all eyes agree!

Father, may my soul and faith; joy and life; passion and prayer; sorrows and pains reach the peaceful shores of your kingdom.

Word to the Wise | “God’s Goodness”

How would you feel if God responded to us according to the measurement of our faithfulness? How could He do this? Well, let’s assume that God has a “Human Motives Meter” that was able to measure our faithfulness. For every sincere and heartfelt prayer, you get a half-day’s supply of oxygen. For every two prayers, you will get a day of oxygen. If attended church on Sunday, that’s a week’s supply of oxygen. If you miss Sunday worship, you will get only three days of oxygen and if you wanted to finish the week, you had to pray twice a day for the rest of the week.

Imagine God actually having this “Human Motives Meter” and on Wednesday morning you received an e-mail that says: “You only have 24 hours of oxygen. Unless you make two sincere and heartfelt prayers today, you will be out of luck tomorrow morning at this hour.” This is kind of scary.

We have no idea how good God is. He provides the oxygen regardless of our faithfulness. He is faithful even when we are unfaithful. You see, God’s goodness is not something God does. It is what He is. He is good. I pray that each one of us would learn to recognize, and appreciate, God’s goodness in our lives. We should consider living as if God actually had the “Human Motives Meter” because even though God does use it, He really knows how to measure our faithfulness.

Pastor Luis Scott
Ambassadors of Christ Fellowship
(02/26/09)

Why Not Me?: Rethinking How and Why We Suffer | Part 3

When we don’t know what to do we do what feels right. The danger with this approach to life is that our feelings are never fully informed of all that is happening around us. So, when we rely on such an unreliable source of information we make decisions and entertain thoughts that are not congruent or consistent with God’s word and plan for us. Suffering, not pleasure, strengthens our faith. Suffering forces us to depend upon God to sustain us. Pleasure drives all of our attention and affections inward.

Why are we so surprised when we suffer?

I am not going to be looking at how the Bible, or the Christian faith for that matter, addresses the suffering of others. What I want to look at is what the Bible describes when it comes to the way that a Christian should suffer. Please understand that I understand suffering to be an expected reality as did many of the writers of the scriptures, including Jesus. I think that one of the more difficult thoughts that we have to overcome is that as Christians we can fall for the often told, or implied, lie that as Christians suffering will no longer be a part of our lives. And if it is, it is because of some moral failure, some lesson that we have to learn, or that it is something that just happens and God is somehow going to make things all right. I think that when we frame suffering in this way we are left with a deficient theology of suffering and in many ways we undermine God’s character. Not only that, but all are terrible alternatives to a Christian’s response to or understanding of suffering. I think that they are shallow, hurtful and inconsistent with the what the bible says. What makes matters more amazing is that we have not investigated deeply enough what God, Jesus, and the writers of the Old and New Testament have to teach us about suffering.

I have come to realize that many believer’s have a theology of suffering that is inconsistent with what the bible teaches. What this leads to is a self-centered view of suffering, avoidance of difficult circumstances and an unwillingness to be instruments of God’s glory regardless of what happens to us and in our lives.

Ridiculous Verses

The question becomes this: What does the bible say about how a Christian should suffer? I will not attempt to capture the whole of the scriptures witness on the issue of Christian suffering, but I would like to provide a representative sample so that we can begin to understand how Christian’s are supposed to accept, receive and understand suffering. And then, after entering into suffering how we should respond.

Joseph is standing in a position of power and his brothers, the ones that sold him into a life of misery are now standing before him. There would be no greater opportunity to exact his revenge. But that is not how Joseph sees the situation. Joseph has come to understand that God’s purpose for his life far different from what even his brothers could have known. Joseph looks at them and says, “You intended to harm me, but God intended it all for good. He brought me to this position so I could save the lives of many people” (Genesis 50:20, NLT). How could Joseph had said this? Joseph had come to understand that the circumstances of his life were the necessary steps of God will and glory to be seen in the world. For some, this is a very difficult pill to swallow. I can understand and appreciate that.

¹⁸ “If the world hates you, know that it has hated me before it hated you. ¹⁹ If you were of the world, the world would love you as its own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you. ²⁰ Remember the word that I said to you: ‘A servant is not greater than his master.’ If they persecuted me, they will also persecute you. If they kept my word, they will also keep yours. ²¹ But all these things they will do to you on account of my name, because they do not know him who sent me. (John 15:18-21, ESV)

If there is anyone in the scripture that understood what Jesus meant about the animosity that the world would have toward Christians it was Paul. I want to share a few passages that are just mind-blowing odd, not because of what he describes, but in the way that Paul thinks about the suffering that he is enduring.

³ More than that, we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, ⁴ and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, ⁵ and hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us. (Romans 5:3-5, ESV)

¹⁶ The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, ¹⁷ and if children, then heirs—heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, provided we suffer with him in order that we may also be glorified with him. ¹⁸ For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us. (Romans 8:16-18, ESV)

Who talks like this? Seriously! How can you look at the suffering that you are enduring and not become bitter or hardened by it. Paul had become convinced of EVERY word that Jesus taught. There were no reservations. There was no doubt. There was nothing that could distract this apostle from the task that was laid before him. Peter in his first letter provides us with two helpful passages that put suffering for Christ in their proper context.

¹² Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery trial when it comes upon you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you. ¹³ But rejoice insofar as you share Christ’s sufferings, that you may also rejoice and be glad when his glory is revealed. ¹⁴ If you are insulted for the name of Christ, you are blessed, because the Spirit of glory and of God rests upon you. … ¹⁶ Yet if anyone suffers as a Christian, let him not be ashamed, but let him glorify God in that name. … ¹⁹ Therefore let those who suffer according to God’s will entrust their souls to a faithful Creator while doing good. (1 Peter 4:12-14, 16, 19, ESV)

⁹ Resist him, firm in your faith, knowing that the same kinds of suffering are being experienced by your brotherhood throughout the world. ¹⁰ And after you have suffered a little while, the God of all grace, who has called you to his eternal glory in Christ, will himself restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you. (1 Peter 5:9-10, ESV)

Suffering as a Christian is one of the marks and one of the evidences that we are pressing into the enemy’s territory. When we are satisfied with the way things are; when we are comfortable with the events that are taking place around us, we have not fully grasped the power and intensity of the Gospel. Why do I make such a statement? I say this for one simple reason, a reason that Paul himself offered up for his devotion and single-minded tenacity in spreading the message of Jesus: he believed that Good News was worthy of being spread to as many as would receive it.

³ For I could wish that I myself were accursed and cut off from Christ for the sake of my brothers, my kinsmen according to the flesh. (Romans 9:3, ESV)

We have just hit the twilight zone of bible verses. I had read this verse so often and I had missed the full weight of what Paul was saying here. Paul is saying that when he looked at his countrymen, the Jews, his love for them was so strong that he was willing to forsake the single most precious thing that he had. To say it another way, Paul is saying that he would chose to endure the fires of hell and eternal torment “for the sake of” his countrymen! The longing of his heart; the depth of his love; the tenderness of his ministry was always for one thing, that others might come to know Jesus. If that meant being jailed, beaten, stoned, almost drown or chased out of town. The Gospel was such Good News to Paul’s soul and mind that anything and everything was worth enduring so that Jesus would be proclaimed.

Here are several other passages that continue to put suffering not in the category of a curse, but rather the blessed opportunity of every believer to make Jesus known.

⁷ But whatever gain I had, I counted as loss for the sake of Christ. ⁸ Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ … ¹⁰ that I may know him and the power of his resurrection, and may share his sufferings, becoming like him in his death… (Philippians 3:7-8, 10, ESV)

²⁰ I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. (Galatians 2:20, ESV)

⁸ Therefore do not be ashamed of the testimony about our Lord, nor of me his prisoner, but share in suffering for the gospel by the power of God, … ¹² which is why I suffer as I do. But I am not ashamed, for I know whom I have believed, and I am convinced that he is able to guard until that Day what has been entrusted to me. ( 2 Timothy 1:8, 12, ESV)

¹⁹ For this is a gracious thing, when, mindful of God, one endures sorrows while suffering unjustly. ²⁰ For what credit is it if, when you sin and are beaten for it, you endure? But if when you do good and suffer for it you endure, this is a gracious thing in the sight of God. ²¹ For to this you have been called, because Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example, so that you might follow in his steps. ²² He committed no sin, neither was deceit found in his mouth. ²³ When he was reviled, he did not revile in return; when he suffered, he did not threaten, but continued entrusting himself to him who judges justly. ²⁴ He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. By his wounds you have been healed. (James 2:19-24, ESV)

Opportunities Wasted

One of the thoughts that runs through my mind is wondering how many opportunities have I wasted, where I was faced with a difficult situation, and rather than turning to God to sustain me through it I blamed him for what I was dealing with. When we don’t know what to do we do what feels right. The danger with this approach to life is that our feelings are never fully informed of all that is happening around us. So, when we rely on such an unreliable source of information we make decisions and entertain thoughts that are not congruent or consistent with God’s word and plan for us.

Suffering, not pleasure, strengthens our faith. Suffering forces us to depend upon God to sustain us. Pleasure drives all of our attention and affections inward. When this happens we lose sight of almost everything around us. I guess the question becomes this: Why do we run from suffering so quickly? I am not advocating that we wallow in misery. What I am wondering is why don’t we see, or maybe we just can’t see, how God could use what is happening for his glory. The underlying assumption here is that God would allow this to happen. God will protect us from the world and its influences. I think that John’s words are a fitting end to this discussion. When we are convinced of this simple truth we will be driven to the Gospel, into the arms of our Savior, and we will no longer find our satisfaction in the small and dissipating pleasures this world offers.

¹³ Do not be surprised, brothers, that the world hates you. (1 John 3:13, ESV)

Additional Passages to Consider: 2 Corinthians 1:5-6; Galatians 6:17; Philippians 1:21, 29; Colossians 1:24; Hebrews 5:8; James 1:2-3; 1 Peter 3:14-17.