Category: Uncategorized

www.bible.com/1713/gal.1.10.csb

In full disclosure, I’ve been guilty of this, especially as a pastor. When your pastor depends on your church for both job and housing, it forces him to walk a dangerous line. On the one hand, he must preach the truth. On the other hand, he cannot call out sin that might endanger his continued employment. He must make as many friends as possible when his position depends on keeping people satisfied. This does not apply to all churches, but if your church can fire a preacher and his family with a board vote, you might be one of them.

This does not mean that preachers ought to be boors. A Preacher ought to be pleasant to talk to and ought to be able to relate to people. Jesus was pleasant, but also spoke with authority. Jesus loves people, but he also loved them enough to address their sins. Jesus could do this without hypocrisy. We are not so good at it.

Caught between our own struggle with sin, we try to preach the truth to others about theirs. Yes. It is complicated. Jesus once said no one can serve two masters. A Preacher cannot serve the Lord and the Church. Let Him serve the Lord, and he will do what needs done in the church. But let him do so in love, for without it he become a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal, a loud noise with no meaning.

This verse brings up a few things for me today. If you’ve read this far you would be right in assuming these kinds of things happened to me a few times. I’m not perfect. Never have been. I don’t have all the answers. I don’t have to. I know someone who does, and that’s enough. But I’ve seen a few things, been hurt by a few others. It still stings today whenever I’m asked if I pastor anywhere. Despite all I’ve been through, I miss it. I would gladly jump back in if given the opportunity.

But I’m also wiser now than I once was. I know more about people than I did when I was 22. I am not as polarized as I used to be. I know people act out of pain and grief and hurt. Evil doesn’t always wear the mask the devil. Sometimes it’s because that person was hurt years ago and they act out of their pain. Jesus could see that. He saw it in the woman at the well. He saw it in Pontius Pilate.

Well, that’s probably enough for today. Make it a good one.

www.bible.com/1713/1pe.3.13.csb

Are yo though, I mean, are you devoted to doing good? How much good-doing does it take to be considered ”devoted”? I’m thinking quite a bit. For this isn’t the occasional good deed done where others can see. It is also maintaining your integrity especially when others cannot see.

But this verse also offers the promise of protection for those who do good. The Lord sees and knows your heart. He knows your motivations, whether it of love and a desire to do good, or a desire out of pride in order to be seen by men. What kind of person will God protect do you think?

Be good. Shun evil. There is now law in heaven for doing good on earth. May God bless you today.

www.bible.com/1713/nam.1.7.csb

Would you take refuge in the Lord if He offered you the chance? If the Lord offered you protection, would you stay in His stronghold? Many would jump at the opportunity, but few would stay because of the terms and conditions.

First, the Lord is good. He’s not just better than most, but is supremely good. He is good unparalleled. There is no higher good than Him. So if you would take refuge in Him, you must be good in His presence. The Lord tolerates no evil not sin in His presence. If you would be protected by the Lord, then you must remain good in His company.

Second, God’s care is supreme. God not only cares for your physics life, but for your soul. He cares whether you are tempted to do those same things that caused you distress in the first place. Once people get a little peace and rest, any vices you enjoy come back to haunt you, and threaten you again with the distress you just escaped. So being in God’s stronghold will require you to change. Change is hard. But change in the hand of a wise teacher is good. He will counsel and encourage, but He will also direct and discipline.

If the Lord offered you safety and protection today, would you take it? Something to consider on this Thursday.

www.bible.com/1713/isa.54.10.csb

I’ve not seen many earthquakes. In fact, I could count them on one hand. When I was growing up in Indiana my hometown was subject to a minor earth tremor from the Midwest faultline in Missouri. It shook the house, but at the time I thought someone was in the next room jumping up and down. Dad said there was a crack in the foundation after it was over. Since then, I’ve not really worried about earthquakes.

Then I find out last week that California had another earthquake. For them, according to a friend at church who grew up out there, it is an everyday occurrence. It’s kind of a ho-hum moment for them unless it gets up in the 5-7 range. They’re all worried about the really big one. Everyone says its coming, but no one knows when.

So when reading this verse today, it seems that earthquakes were more of a problem for Israelites than they are for me in middle America. But I have had a few events in my life that rocked my world, like the birth of my children, losing a job, getting married, moving into a new house, buying a new car. These kinds of major changes, both good and bad, change everything.

The biggest story around here recently was the West Liberty tornado in 2012. It destroyed whole buildings, flattening the downtown. People were described as moving around like zombies, homes gone, the family dispersed to who knows where. It took a lot of time to get the community back on its feet. We live on a thin veneer of civilization. If you remove one thing, like electricity, the whole world can change in just a few hours. You wouldn’t be reading this without electricity.

But what God promises here is a transcendent peace beyond all circumstances. If the world is shaken, or your world is rocked, the peace of the Lord will remain. Nothing in this world can shake loose the love of God on your soul. God doesn’t care what your finances look like, how well-off you are, or what you can offer Him. You already have everything He wants from you. Were you jobless, homeless, or friendless, God would still want you. God will still love you. God has made a covenant of peace with you, not based on your net worth, but on your faith.

Do you believe in this God of mine? Does He still make you tremble when you realize all He endured to bring you to Himself? I want you to know Him too. I want you in on this little secret. He loves you and has given everything, the most valuable gift He would give, His own Son. He sacrificed everything to make you His. Would you join this covenant of peace?

 

www.bible.com/1713/luk.12.3.csb

Before you think that your thoughts will stay yours, and no one will know what you think about, remember this verse. Thoughts have a funny way of making their way out into the open. Thoughts manifest into behaviors. Behaviors give the lie to your words, especially if you are playing the hypocrite. The only way to prevent this is to act with integrity. Your life accords itself with your thoughts. Whatever a man thinks, so he is.

But I’m only human. I can’t always say what I think. But this too we are prepared for. Take every thought captive to the throne of Christ. Every thought must be measured according to how well it accords with our life in Christ. This too comes with practice.

I want to encourage you so that your walk and your talk both reflect a growing and mature faith in Christ Jesus. God bless you today!

www.bible.com/1713/isa.40.29.csb

It’s not hard to feel powerless, especially in light of last night’s elections. My vote is just one voice. What power do I have?

But my God is bigger. In His hands is all the power necessary to effect His will. I need not fear of being powerless, because my best friend is almighty.

Just a word to encourage you today if you are feeling down.

www.bible.com/1713/1pe.4.16.csb

After all Hallow’s Eve and All Saints Day, here comes a day for the rest of us. Yay!

Seriously, I hope your November is off to a great start. Remember those this weekend who are persecuted, for if one part suffers, we all suffer. God bless!

www.bible.com/1713/mat.12.18.csb

With all the talk about social justice these days, you would think that this verse fits right in. But who do you think the Scripture is talking about here? The original passage is from Isaiah 42:1, and the passage is employed here as a prophecy of Jesus’ ministry. That is to say, Jesus’ ministry included proclaiming justice to the nations. So the natural questions we ask at this point is how Jesus did this? What aspect of His ministry fulfilled this prophecy?

When you dig a little bit, you find that the word translated “justice” is more often translated “judgment.” This puts a little different spin on the text. For the first, justice sounds like social justice, Jesus will right the wrongs of an unfair society. But that is reading much into the text, more than is there. The only wrongs Jesus came to right was the wrong of sin.

On the other hand, if Jesus is proclaiming judgment, that makes more sense, as Jesus often condemned the hypocrisy of the Temple and the practice of the religious elite. He also proclaimed that judgment would fall upon that Temple and those who put their trust in it and not in Him.

Jesus Himself also became the standard by which others are judged, for by His perfect life are we all condemned, but by his atoning death are we all set free.

In a sense, Jesus did proclaim justice, but it was a new definition of what true justice is. Justice is God’s punishment laid upon sinners who reject the perfect Savior.

Well, I guess that means we have some work to do. Happy All Saints Day to all you saints out there!

www.bible.com/1713/rom.1.17.csb

What? I don’t even comprehend what that is supposed to mean. God’s righteousness is revealed from faith to faith. Somehow, this is supported by the OT quotation, ”the righteous will love by faith.” Wow. Ok. Let’s go back and take another look.

The NIV attempts to clarify this by saying ”by faith from first to last”. So what is ”it” in this context? If you go back to vs 16, you find that ”it” is the gospel. God’s righteousness is revealed in the gospel, namely by sending His own Son. Though we were sinners, and could not save ourselves, God doesn’t destroy us as our sins deserve. Because He is righteous, and see us suffering in our sins, He sends he only one who could save us, the incarnation of His Son in human flesh to minister to us and ultimately atone for our sin by His perfect sacrifice. So I get that part. What does ”faith to faith” mean?

For the first faith, we discover that this righteousness is revealed from faith. That is you don’t immediately know why Jesus does what He does, or why He had to suffer. You don’t understand it until you see it with the eyes of faith, seeing past the event itself into God’s work being done just under the surface. To anyone else, it is a tragic loss. To those who have faith, it becomes an act of atonement for all who believe.

So the truth of what’s actually going on is revealed from faith. So what is ”to faith”? This is where the quotation comes in. If the righteous live by faith, then it is to be active, caused by seeing the crucifixion as more than tragedy. This is passive faith, in understanding the facts of the gospel, to an active faith, becoming and living as a Christian. That’s when you claim that righteousness of God for yourself, Christ’s sacrifice for your own. The righteous love by faith, because it is that active faith that appropriates Jesus’ righteousness for yourself, for your salvation from sin. It is faith in the truth of the gospel story to saving faith.

Some folks get to the first and think they are saved. If they just believe in God and believe in Jesus, that’s all they need. They just ask Jesus into their heart or say a sinner’s prayer. But that isn’t active faith, because active faith is faith that acts, first by submitting to baptism, but then by exercising that faith in your daily life, your decisions, in obedience to Christ’s commands, going and fellowshipping with other Christians. It’s a lot. But it’s worth it.

From faith to faith. I knew we could figure it out if we tried. God bless you today.

www.bible.com/1713/rom.12.1.csb

On this beautiful Monday morning, may I remind you of our obligations? Having gone and performed worship in public yesterday, today we engage in our joyous task of private worship, daily, as our acceptable form of service to our King. This is good and pleasing to Him who saved us, redeemed us, and exalts us to be His children.

Nothing more than this today. I wish you a happy Monday.