Monday, June 30, 2008

Wrapping it Up (cont.)

I Cor. 16:13, 14 "Watch, stand fast in the faith, be brave, be strong. Let all that you do be done with love."

Paul is putting the icing on the cake with this last verse: "Let all that you do be done with love." I hope I am not getting too scholarly here (that is a joke...me scholarly?) but that verse is really not how it's written. The Greek reads: "Ginomai pas humon pas ginomai en agape." The thing that is cool is that Paul uses two words twice in reverse. Ginomai pas and pas ginomai. It actually means: "Become everything ... everything become..." Or, "Become all things you all things become in love." What is he saying? Whatever I am and whatever I do, let it all be in love. This is deeper than just what we do, it goes down to the deepest part of who we are.

Don't just engage in loving deeds. Yes, that is huge. All the things that I do, all the words that I say, my entire life should be acts and words of love. This is something that Paul wanted the Corinthian church to hold on to...to remember. (See I Cor. 13) But beyond that: "Become all things...in love." All that I am inside. The things I do and what I say should be a result of what is happening in the inner man and that inner man should be characterized by love.

To say that my life is a life of unconditional love, to say that this is my central character quality, to say that all that I do is motivated by love is tough. This does not even seem realistic. I mean, this really is perfection. This really is Jesus living out His life in me. Bingo. I can't do this. Jesus has to do it. In my flesh this is impossible, but with Him all things are possible.

I am thankful that Paul uses the word "become". This is a process. This is not something that I will see overnight. It is something that I should see gradually develop in my life. As I grow in Christlikenss my attitudes, my words, my actions should all become more loving.

How am I doing? As I get older do I see growth or am I becoming more set in my ways, more selfish, more likely to speak my mind with no regard for the consequences? If this is what I see, God help me. That is completely the opposite of what Paul is talking about here. Grow in love, inside and out. "Become all things you all things become in love."

Friday, June 27, 2008

Wrapping it Up

I Cor. 16:13,14 "Watch, stand fast in the faith, be brave, be strong. Let all that you do be done with love."

Paul is getting ready to wrap up this letter to the Corinthian church. I am not sure if he knew that he was going to write to them again or not, so he had to get in some final thoughts. If he could summarize what he tried to get them to understand throughout his letter, what would it be? This is it. "Watch, stand fast in the faith, be brave, be strong. Let all that you do be done with love."

"Watch" The word here actually means to be aware of the garbage that is around you and can come in to destroy the church. Basically Paul is saying - "Don't get lazy. Don't let your guard down. Instead, pay attention to all that is going on." This is a good word for leaders. Leaders are put in place to protect others. When they see things that come in that may bring about destruction they have to take action. It isn't always pretty, in fact most of the time it is hard (and frankly I dislike it), yet it has to be done. In order to do this leaders have to watch and be aware.

This is not just true of leaders, however. It is true for the entire church. We should all watch. We should all know what can bring us down and guard against it. In our church, in our families and in our individual lives. Watch.

"Stand fast in the faith." This is almost repeating I Cor. 15:58. We have to persevere. We have to know what we believe and stand firm in it. No compromise. The truth is the truth. The truth does not change. How can anyone waffle? But it happens. Paul encourages this church and all churches and all believers to know what you believe and don't give in.

"Be brave." This is a natural follow up to what he just wrote. If we are going to protect and not compromise we will have to be brave. People will call us all kinds of names. Intollerant is the big
buzz word now. When we say that Jesus is the only way to heaven people will look at us like we have two heads. Stand firm. Be brave. We may be threatened, charged, persecuted -watch, stand firm, be brave. Just ask the persecuted church what this means. They have it down. We don't have a clue what may happen in the U.S. We are very blessed now to have the freedom that we do. Right now we are just bigots...it can get worse.

Finally, "Be strong". Don't give up. Not only do we individually have to be strong, but this word actually means "to strengthen...to set stronger" to make others stronger. I need to exercise spiritually and I need to encourage others to exercise spiritually. We all have to build into our lives those spiritual disciplines that will allow us to be strong and get stronger.

"Watch, stand fast in the faith, be brave, be strong." Good words.

Tuesday, June 24, 2008

A Diversion

From time to time I may feel compelled to write something that addresses current news and how it relates to my faith.

Today I ran across an article in the Akron Beacon Journal entitled: "Stairway to Heaven is Easier to Climb" Subtitle: "Study: Most Americans don't feel their faith is only way to eternal life." Frankly, this is no surprise. In our seemingly tolerant, pluralistic society people think that to believe that there is only one way to heaven is narrow minded and bigoted. It is sad that so many people are deceived, but we need to remember that Matt. 7:13 says: "Enter by the narrow gate; for wide [is] the gate and broad [is] the way that leads to destruction, and there are many who go in by it."

The alarming thing to me was that the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life reported that: "57 percent of those who attend evangelical churches said they believe many religions can lead to eternal life...". Whoa! Something is terribly wrong. Either people are not listening, people are not reading, people are not studying, people are not being taught or people just don't get it. I mean how can you get around: "I am the way, the truth and the life. No one comes to Father except through me."? John 14:6. Or, "There is one God and one mediator between God and man, the man Christ Jesus" I Tim. 2:5 This echos what was said in my last blog, Jesus is it...no one else.

Think of it this way. If there is any other way to get to heaven other than Christ and His death on the cross, then Jesus was stupid. I mean, if He knew that I could get to heaven by being good, or by living according to the Koran, or by being baptized and taking communion, or by living the tenents of any other faith, then His death on the cross was unnecessary. If what 70 percent of all Americans believe and 57 percent of what alleged evangelical Christians believe is accurate, then Jesus should have pointed to any other way. He should have avoided His death and said: "Hey, get to heaven by...". But He did not. He knew that the only thing that was going to pave our way to heaven was His death on the cross because "without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness of sins". Heb. 9:22. Jesus is it. There is no other way. Unfortunately, 70 of Americans are deadly wrong.

We need to avoid what D. Michael Lindsay, a Rice University sociologist of religion said: "The survey shows that religion in America is, indeed, 3000 miles wide and only 3 inches deep." We need to dig deeper.

Saturday, June 21, 2008

This Is It

I Cor. 15:3,4 "For I delivered to you first of all that which I also received, that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures, and that He was buried, and that He rose again the third day according to the scriptures."

This is it. This is the central message that we have that needs to be given (delivered). This is the Gospel, the evaggelion, the good news that can and will change everything in a person's life forever. Paul said that he was simply giving to others what had been given to him. The great news is this...that Jesus, not me, not you, not the Pope, not Billy Graham, not Moses, not Mohammed, not Krishna, not Oprah, not the president or any other world leader either now or throughout history, but Jesus Christ is it. He is central to the Gospel. He is the Gospel. What He did is the good news, and this is it: Jesus died for my sins. He took my sin on Himself on the cross. All the garbage, all the guilt, all the punishment, all the nasty habits, all the rotten words, all the lies and distortions, all the evil deeds, everything that I have ever done or will do that violates the character of God...He took it all on Himself on the cross.

After He died He was buried. This verifies His death. I mean you don't bury a living, breathing person. His friends thought that they were putting Him forever in a grave. They had no clue that something else was going to happen. They put Jesus in a grave to stay there. That is not very good news. The cool thing is that it doesn't end there. The amazing news is what Paul is writing about in this chapter. The amazing news is all about hope. The amazing news is all about life. The amazing news is what our faith rests upon. Jesus did not stay dead, He did not stay buried, He rose again. He got out of the grave and walked and talked and ate and showed Himself to a ton of people (v5-8) and is living now.

This is the good news. Jesus died, was buried and rose again for me...for you...for this world...and we need Him. He is our only hope. He is our only way. He is our only life. What He did no one else had ever done and lived to tell about it. (Lazarus came back, but he died again...what a bummer.) Because of Jesus death and life I can be forgiven and free and live forever too. So can anyone who believes! Amazing news. We need to share it.

The other cool thing is this - "according to the scriptures". This phrase is used twice. Why? Because this was no fluke. This was something that had been prophesied hundreds of years earlier by a variety of people. Just look at Is. 53, Ps. 16, Ps. 22, Zech. 11. This is it. Jesus is It. Share it. Share Him.

Thursday, June 19, 2008

Edify

I Cor 14:26 "How is it brethren? Whenever you come together, each of you has a psalm, has a teaching, has a tongue, has a revelation, has an interpretation. Let all things be done for edification"

Paul is writing to a group of people who think that what they all individually have to say is something that everyone should hear. We have the singers who need to sing, the teachers who need to teach, the people who speak in languages that others may not be able to understand yet they still want to be heard, those who can reveal truth who want it to be known and those who take the obscure and make it clear. They all have one thing in common...they are all mouthing words. Why? That is the key question. What is the motivation behind those words? Come to think about it, what is my motivation for creating this blog? Is it so that I can be known? Or is it so that others have to think about what I have to say? Or is it so I can force my ideas upon others? Paul says: "No". We should sing, teach, speak for only one purpose...to edify. To build up. To help others grow in their faith.

God has given me the honor, privilege and awesome responsiblity in leading worship. I really do not understand why or how I got to do this. I do not have the greatest voice. I am not the sharpest tac in the box. I certainly am deficient in all that I should know, yet He has blessed me with about one-half an hour of time with my church on Sunday, singing the songs that I pick out and briefly sharing some truth.

Why do I do it? What is my motivation? I hope threefold. 1. To glorify God. 2. To build up believers. 3. To allow people to see Jesus so that they are drawn to Him. That is what I want. If or when it gets to pushing my own agenda, forget it. Glorify Christ and edify. That is all. That is enough.

Monday, June 16, 2008

How to Dig

I just got done reading and journaling this morning. Man, was it rich. I hope to be able to share some of these thoughts through this blog in the near future. But for now, what would I love to get across? I guess to encourage others to start digging. To start getting into the Word of God for themselves, to make it a spiritual discipline and see it come alive.

So where do you start? Prayer. Ask the Lord to direct your mind to a book in the Bible that He wants you to dig into. It could be a systematic thing where you begin in Genesis and go all the way through. It could be that He leads you to some obscure book that you have never really ever thought about before. (Ever dig into Habakkuk? It's a good one.) It could be something that you think that you have read so many times that there is nothing more for you. Wrong. There is always more.

Once you have the book, set aside a time. Do it every day during the best part of your day. For me, early in the morning is the best. It is when I am alert, thinking and open. For others, it may be late at night. (I have a problem falling asleep then.) Be sure that you get alone with God and start reading...one verse at a time. Ask the Holy Spirit to open your eyes and your mind to what He wants to teach you. As you read, you will hit something. There will be a verse, there will be a phrase, there will be a concept. When that happens, stop. Grab a journal and write it down, word for word. Do a little studying. Go to http://www.blueletterbible.com/ and look up the verse. Find out what the words mean. Dig deeper. You will be amazed at what you see. As you do this, write. Write down your thoughts in your journal. Whatever comes to mind, write it down. It may be a lot, it may be a little...just keep writing. (This is a part of meditation...Josh. 1:8) Finally, apply it. What does this mean to you and how are you going to use it in your life? Stick this in your journal too.

I guarantee, if you do this, you will be amazed at the things God reveals to you and you will grow in your relationship with Him.

Saturday, June 14, 2008

Why Such a Big Deal?

Why in the world would I want to start a blog about the Bible? Why is studying it such a big deal? As I think about this I remember some of the things the Bible says about itself, such as:

"The law of the Lord is perfect, restoring the soul; The testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple. The precepts of the Lord are right, rejoicing the heart; The commandment of the Lord is pure, enlightening the eyes." Ps. 19:7,8 or

"The grass withers and the flowers fall, but the word of our God stands forever." Is. 40:8 or

"All scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work." 2 Tim. 3:16,17

These are some pretty wild claims. This book claims to be perfect and sure and right and pure and eternal and coming from the very mouth of God. These claims are either true or they are a lie. They are either valid and we need to pay attention to them or they are a fairy tale and we can ignore them.

The Bible makes some other crazy claims, like if I do what it says I will be prosperous and successful (Josh. 1:8), in obeying God's word I will have great reward (Ps. 19:11), it will allow me to grow (I Pet. 2:2), it will keep me pure (Ps. 119:9-11), it will give me direction in my life (Ps. 119:105), I will be totally equipped (2 Tim. 3:17) and a whole lot more.

If the Bible is true and these claims are true, then I would be a fool to ignore it. This is a big deal. It is worth taking the time to look into.

Friday, June 13, 2008

Here It Goes

This is crazy. I am not a tech-type guy, but as I read my kid's blogs I got an idea...wouldn't it be cool to be able to share some of the the things that God is teaching me through His Word with other people? That really is a passion of mine, to be able to encourage people to dig a little deeper into the Bible to see what Christ wants to teach them. So here it goes. Some of the stuff I share will be helpful, some of it may be challenging, some of it may be convicting, and some of it may be building. Whatever it is, my prayer is that Jesus would be glorified in it all and others will be drawn into a deeper relationship with Him by getting into His love letter, the Bible.