The Coin of Caesar

Luke 20:15
He said to them, “Then render to Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and to God the things that are God's.”

This is an interesting passage to come up next in my study on the morning after the election of 2012.  The words of Jesus, “render to Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and to God the things that are God's,” ring for today.  In truth, we the church had great hope for a turn in this election away from the control of humanism in the government of the United States and a return to the godly principles upon which our nation was founded.  Our collective disappointment should be a wakeup call to shake us from the notion that this vile world could ever be “a friend to grace to bring us on to God.”

I see in the events of the past two weeks the true and deliberate hand of God.  God’s judgment is surely falling, but it is not yet falling on the world.  God is judging His people.  When our Lord spoke the words recorded in Luke, Tiberius Caesar and Rome ruled the world.  The Jews were looking for a political and economic Deliverer, but they rejected the King of Kings because He came to deliver their souls from sin not their society from oppression and foreign domination. 

It is imperative that the children of God in America, the church of the redeemed, realize how far we have gone into acceptance of and dependence on the world and its systems.  It seems to me that our churches, our programs, our efforts individually and collectively are all focused on the material, the coin of Caesar, and the call of the Spirit of God is absent from our work and silenced in our hearts.

The Storm Is Coming

Luke 13:2-3(ESV)
² And he answered them, “Do you think that these Galileans were worse sinners than all the other Galileans, because they suffered in this way? ³ No, I tell you; but unless you repent, you will all likewise perish.

Coming to this passage in my daily study at the time of the tragedy of the shooting in Aurora, Colorado, is indicative and suggestive.  The debate has resurfaced in America, “How can a just God permit such undeserved disasters?”  These Galileans who were killed in the Temple and the people of Jerusalem who died suddenly, painfully, and dramatically raised the same implied accusation – “God's not fair.  They didn’t deserve to die like this!”

Jesus’ answer was very direct, “Unless you repent, you will all like likewise perish.”  Within the lifetime of many of those people listening to Jesus, Jerusalem was destroyed by the Romans.  I do not predict a similar national disaster, but we should echo Christ’s warning.  In our day, the church and its leaders should with one voice answer with the same message, “Repent!”  Instead, we have churches and church men stammering with some form of apologetics trying to defend Jesus Christ as a loving God.  Jesus is love personified, but at this time and in this context, the message of the church should not be one of defending the faith in an apology, but the message must be, “Repent or you will all perish in the same way.”  Indeed, we all will die, and the only remedy for sin is repentance and faith in Jesus Christ.

Jesus’ answer to disaster and tragedy was not a defense of God’s goodness or fairness, but a stern reminder of God’s righteousness, judgment, and sovereignty.   If this message is branded by the media and society as harsh, it is so branded by those who most need to hear and heed it.  In truth, the message of repentance is the only merciful message to give in times of disaster.

Coram deo

Responsibility of the Servant

"The Stairs of St. Barnabas"

At this place/stage of my life, I find myself able to do only two things well - I teach the Bible to a group of old men and I make paintings.  Of the two, only one, the first one, has any eternal value.  So I hear my Lord say, “Blessed is that servant whom the Master finds so doing (feeding His household) when He comes” (Luke 12:43).

In spite of everything else, my priority and my true responsibility is to be providing the Word to the portion of the Household assigned to me.  That portion may be more broad than I imagine, and my work as an artist may be another means by which I discharge my primary duty.

As Barnabas aided the work of others, may my labors make the work of others easier and more pleasant.

Biblical Illiteracy

 

I am doing something that is new for me - I want to point you to another blog.  This statement encapsulates the problems I see in evangelical churches across America, including my own.

Please follow this link to Leading from the Sandbox.

Thanks for reading.

How to Talk to the Father

Luke 11:2
So He said to them, “When you pray, say:

Our Father in heaven,
Hallowed be Your name.

When I study passages like this, I often fall into the habit of looking and the individual phrases and words, parsing them, and analyzing the elemental truths to be found there, but as Jesus taught His disciples to pray, the words and phrases are so interdependent that the individual and specific meaning of each phrase is incomplete without the others.  I’m saying that to the point that to say “Our Father” is incomplete without also saying “Hallowed by Your name.”  Before we can adequately address God as Father, we must understand His holiness.

Though this is commonly called “the Lord’s Prayer,” Jesus meant for this prayer to be the model for my own prayers.  When I pray, this is how I should pray and basically, what I should pray for.

Prayer is addressed “Father” or “Our Father” or more specifically, “My Father.”  Though as Paul states, by the Spirit we may cry out “Abba, Father,” this is not what Christ used as the address in this prayer.  Perhaps there is more on that for later….

The important point for me today is the second phrase which is translated “Hallowed by Your name.”  The word “hallowed” is  ἁγιάζω hagiazō – which is the verb form of ἅγιος hagios – “holy.”  As a verb, the word means “to sanctify or to make holy.”  The verb is an aorist imperative with the subject, “you,” understood.  The prayer is addressed to God the Father with the first request for Him to make His name holy.  If God is to make His name holy, where and how will that prayer be answered?  Some possibilities…

-          In the world? – not likely
-          In the church? – still a bit of a stretch
-          In my own life and heart? – Absolutely!

Now, that brings me to an issue – what does it mean to be holy?  There are a number of words in the New Testament that describe various aspects of holiness, but the word hagiaz, is special.  I have a working definition drawn from Vine's Expository Dictionary of New Testament Words. 

To be holy is to be:

·         More and higher than just sacred, outwardly associated with God
·         More than just worthy and honorable
·         More than just pure, free from defilement

To be holy is more comprehensive than other terms that describe our character and our relationship and service to God.  Holiness is characteristically godlikeness.

To address God as our Father without a deep, unswerving commitment to personal holiness borders on blasphemy.

Coram deo

The "Greatness" Answer

Luke 9:47-48
⁴⁷ And Jesus, perceiving the thought of their heart, took a little child and set him by Him, ⁴⁸ and said to them, “Whoever receives this little child in My name receives Me; and whoever receives Me receives Him who sent Me. For he who is least among you all will be great.”

The central problem presented in these verses is that the competitive desire for comparative greatness seems to be ingrained in the human psyche and may even be biological.  Competition seems to be an inescapable part of the human experience.  Even in the presence of their Master, the disciples debated among themselves who should be the greatest.  In Jesus’ response, He did not condemn them directly for their desire or debate, but he showed them that true greatness – μέγας; megas – was not in superior assignment, position, or accomplishments, but was having and living in a closer likeness of heart to Jesus Christ, their Lord.

Jesus demonstrated this with a child whom he placed beside Him saying that “whoever shall receive a child in My name will receive Me and thereby receive the My Father.”  Interestingly, the word Jesus used for receive is δέχομαι; dechomai – “to take with the hand, therefore to take into one’s own possession.”  I see this as what we would say in today’s idiom “to open one’s heart” or “to take to one’s heart.”  In other words, to receive a child in Jesus’ name was to take that child who could do nothing for the disciple and in whom no particular credit or esteem might lie – to take this “nothing” to one’s heart because these children are the ones to whom Jesus had opened His heart.

Following that discussion, Luke includes another illustration of greatness, what we might call “group greatness.”  The situation came about because John saw someone casting out demons in Jesus name, but because he was not of the “disciple group,” John took exception to this man’s use of Jesus name and basically told the man to stop.  Herein lies one of the most serious problems in churches today, the attitude of exclusivity of ministry.  What had happened among the disciples was what happens so often in churches.  The disciples believed that they and they alone had the right to work in Jesus name – after all they were the ones who had paid the price to spend so much time with Him and had learned so much, or so they thought.  In the same way our attitudes degenerate to the place where we believe that what our group, church, or denomination does and the way we do it is not only the best way to serve Christ, it is the only way to serve Christ.  Anyone or any community of believers that is not part of our “group” is not only less a servant of Christ, they are actually unworthy of service to Him, and they might even be evil.

Lord, I do not or should not seek for greatness for myself in Thy service; I ask only that I will show Thy heart and open my hands and heart to all whom You would draw to Yourself.  May I also gladly and humbly serve alongside all those who serve Thee.

Coram deo

The Value of Being Lost

Luke 9:24
“For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will save it.”

These verses contain a great wealth of truth and richness, but I feel compelled to focus on only one verse today.  Verse 24 states simply that the economy and reality of the Kingdom of Heaven is completely opposite from human expectations and understanding.  In seeking to save one’s life, one loses it, but losing one’s life for Christ sake saves it.

Central to this statement is the word translated “life.”  It is the Greek word – ψυχή psychē – literally breath; thus one’s life, soul.  The word encompasses that which is the essence of one’s person and being.  This word is used predominately in the Gospels and used by Jesus to describe that part of man which exists beyond physical death, thus one’s soul.

In the economy of the Kingdom, only those things done by the King or for Him will last.  All self-effort and personal works done in one’s own strength or for one’s own sake will fail and vanish.  Why is this so hard to see?  I struggle with this daily looking at what I do , what I can do, and what I ought to do as if the doing on my own has some merit or value, when the truth is that I must cast these “doings” into His hands, let Him direct my will, and in obedience to His will, I must spend myself.  That is losing my soul for His sake, and in that loss, He keeps me.

The difficulty lies not in my understanding of the truth of what Jesus said, but in the residual, nagging belief that in my own effort and intelligence, there lies some goodness that makes my ideas of what is best and right equal if not superior to what Jesus has planned for me.  I know this is the oldest lie of the devil, but it still finds a home in my self-will and sinful nature.  Know this, Paul commanded me to daily make myself the sacrifice and burn up that self-will as an offering to Him who alone is True and Good and Worthy.

Coram deo

Where Is Your Faith?

"Christ in the Storm on the Sea of Galileee" -
Rembrandt van Rijn

Luke 8:25 But He said to them, “Where is your faith?”
And they were afraid, and marveled, saying to one another, “Who can this be? For He commands even the winds and water, and they obey Him!”

This incident of Jesus and His disciples in the storm is simple in its setting and details, but it is filled with importance.  The disciples were with Jesus in a boat crossing the Galilee at His instruction, and Jesus was asleep in the back of the boat.  A wind storm came up and the waves began to fill the boat with water.  The disciples realized that the situation was critical, awakened Jesus and said, “Master, Master, we are perishing!”  Jesus got up, rebuked the waves and the wind, and said, “Where is your faith?”

 I need to keep in mind the people involved in this event.  In the boat were at least four professional fishermen who had lived and made their livelihood on this body of water.  Most of the other disciples were from that region and would be familiar with the lake and its potential dangers.  These were not men to panic in adversity, nor would they be unskilled in handling a boat in rough weather.  When the Scripture states that they said they were in jeopardy, these men knew what they were talking about and had accurately evaluated the situation.  When they awakened Jesus and said, “We are perishing,” they fully expected the boat to sink.  This was not just an emotional response, but they gave a warning based on what seemed like a hopeless situation.

I believe that the sternness of Jesus’ rebuke for the disciples was not based on their expectation of disaster, but it was His response to the fact that when the disciples said, “we are perishing (sinking),” they included Jesus in the “we.”  The disciples might be excused because, this occurred before the feeding of the 5000 and Jesus’ walking on the water.  However, they had seen Jesus turn water to wine (John 2) and raise the dead (Luke 7), but the disciples had not yet come to accept that Jesus was the Christ, God come in flesh, regardless of all that Jesus had said and done.  Still they should have known that Jesus was the Anointed One and had power to manage every situation for the glory of God.

To the disciples warning of impending disaster, Jesus replied simply, “Where is your faith?”  I have to stop here in the narrative, because I see too many parallels to the weak faith of the church and among Christians today.  These disciples assessed their situation from their own efforts and experience and found it hopeless.  The spiritual problem was that they saw Jesus as only another victim of their hopelessness.  Now let’s pull this kind of situation forward in time to the 21^st Century.  We work hard to handle the situations and difficulties of life, we know our limitations and failures, and we may even accept responsibility for the problems we are in.  We do all we can to fix the situation with self-help studies and church programs and meeting and rebranding and deeper relationships and committees and transparency and whatever the current church fad may be.  The trouble is that we see Jesus as just another victim of our circumstances not the Creator of all things and Master of the “unchangeable.”  Too many of us have not internalize the “theology” we claim nor do we trust the Lord we say we serve.  Our 21^st Century church with all its programs contains no more faith than that old, leaky boat on the 1^st Century Galilee.  We do not have enough faith to see God eternal having a direct hand in our situation, and we do not trust Him for the outcome.

Coram deo

Are You Family?

Luke 8:19-21
¹⁹ Then his mother and his brothers came to him, but they could not reach him because of the crowd.
 ²⁰ And he was told, “Your mother and your brothers are standing outside, desiring to see you.” ²¹ But he answered them, “My mother and my brothers are those who hear the word of God and do it.”

On the surface from our smug and secure 21^st Century view this response from Jesus seems a bit odd – even a bit unfeeling.  Jesus’ mother and brothers came to Him were unable to get through the crowd.  When Jesus was told that His family was waiting to see Him, He replied, “My mother and my brothers are those who hear the word of God and do it.”

I must first remind myself of the context in which this incident is placed.  Jesus has told the parable of the soils and followed that with another parable to emphasize and illustrate how important it is to be diligent with the specific and personal revelation that Jesus has given to each of us.  Jesus is showing that familial relationships do not transcend directly from nature into spiritual relationships, and that true spiritual relationships with Jesus Christ are based on obedience to His word.

This note from Dr. John MacArthur’s Study Bible with regard to this passage explains what I mean.

“… true Christian discipleship… involves a spiritual relationship that transcends the physical family and is open to all who are empowered by the Spirit of God to come to Christ in repentance and faith and enabled to live a life of obedience to God’s Word.”

Obedience to God’s Word is the mark of our relationship with Jesus Christ, not the cause.  If I am obedient to His Word, it is not to become what I am not but because of what I am.  Being deliberately Christian is not an effort to become Christian but a desire to live up to what I am and profess to be.

Coram deo

Final note - I added a picture of my dad and me from May 2010.  Acorns don't fall far from the tree.

What Are You Not Seeing?

Luke 8:16-18
¹⁶ “No one, when he has lit a lamp, covers it with a vessel or puts it under a bed, but sets it on a lampstand, that those who enter may see the light. ¹⁷ For nothing is secret that will not be revealed, nor anything hidden that will not be known and come to light. ¹⁸ Therefore take heed how you hear. For whoever has, to him more will be given; and whoever does not have, even what he seems to have will be taken from him.”

When I read these three verses this morning, they were a complete puzzle to me.  I have read them before, of course, but I do not remember ever taking the time to consider their meaning in anything more than a superficial way.  I was planning to skip over them again, but something – (the Spirit of Christ?) – drew me back, and I started digging. 

Basically, Jesus followed up his explanation of the parable of the soils with another parable about putting a lamp on a lampstand instead of under a bed.  That seems rather obvious, but Jesus used that parable to illustrate that His purpose was to illuminate his teaching and to reveal hidden things, but the extension of the parable to giving to the ones who have much and taking from those who have little was contradictory to my way of thinking.   Realizing that, I did some more research and read a couple of commentaries.  Some only confused me more, but one by Bob Definbaugh opened it up for me, and the light came on – no pun intended.

I should have looked at the context first.  These three verses conclude the explanation of the parable of the soils and make two broad statements of principle with regard to parables in general and this parable in particular.

1.       The light will not be hidden, but it will be placed on a lampstand.  Jesus meant for His teachings to be illuminating for “those who enter” – for those who come into the radiance of the light of the Truth.  In my own words, Jesus is saying that the parables cast light on His teaching, and they illuminate truth for those who come seeking Jesus.

2.       Those who have light and come seeking more light will be given a greater and deeper knowledge and understanding of Jesus’ teachings.  On the other hand, those who do not have light or are casual in their interest of Jesus’ word will lose what light they think they have.  With regard to the parable of the soils, those who hear the word with a hard, shallow, or materialistic mind will lost the Word that they hear and the Word will not bear fruit in their hearts and lives.  They will lose what little they have.  By contrast, those whose minds receive the Word which bears fruit will receive more seed of the Word to bear even more fruit.

What more can I say than Jesus said, “Therefore take heed how you hear” (v. 18)?  It is obvious to me that to be a deliberate Christian, I must be consumed by a desire for the light of the Word.  May I never come to think I have enough!

Coram deo

The Essential, Inconsequential Sower

Luke 8:4-15 - the Parable of the Soils

The parable of the soils is repeated in all three of the Synoptic Gospels.  In each, Jesus described two of the three elements of the parable, but not the third.  We know that the seed is the Word of God and that the kinds of soil are the kinds of hearts of men on which the Word falls, but we are not told who the sower is.
I believe that from that deliberate omission, Jesus expected us to place ourselves in the role of sower.  This is my supposition, but I believe that this puts the lie to all those hyper-Calvinists who do not “gospelize” – evangelize the gospel – under the excuse that it’s not necessary and to the Arminians who see themselves as essential to the process of “saving” the lost.  The sower is both essential and inconsequential.  He is only obedient.  All the “work” of salvation takes place because of the power in the word and the kind of soil.  The sower has no power or effect on either.

Perhaps this overstates or oversimplifies the case.  I will give more thought to this and invite comment.

“Our duty is not measured by the character of our hearers, but by the Command of God.”
C. H. Spurgeon

Notes added Friday morning, February 17, 2012

I ask myself, "what is the point of this parable of the soils?"

To answer that, I examined the context.  The most obvious point is that Jesus spoke the parable in public, but He only gave the explanation to His disciples in private.  That indicates that Jesus was speaking about the multitude not to the multitude.

A great crowd followed Jesus because of the miracles, but soon that crowd would fall away.  Jesus knew this, but the disciples did not, and they thought that the crows would only continue to grow.  Jesus knew that the "mega church" would not last because not every seed that sprouts will bear fruit.  He wanted to prepare His disciples for that reality.

In the twenty-first century, the principle has not changed.  Though it sounds harsh, not every one who responds to the gospel will bear fruit - those who leave were not genuine to begin with.

Coram deo

Wisdom's Children

The wise approach to the unforeseen path ahead...

Luke 7:35
“But wisdom is justified by all her children.”

This is one of those verses that most of the commentaries dance around and do not address, so it is a good one to test my own methods to explore.  In its immediate context, this statement concludes Jesus’ remarks about John the Baptist in relationship to the lack of response and repentance of the criticizing Pharisees.  John lived in austerity and simplicity, but Jesus lives among the people eating and drinking with them.  The Pharisees criticized both John and Jesus while rejecting their singular message of the Kingdom.

The word translated “wisdom” is the feminine noun σοφία, sophia – which is the usual word for "wisdom.”   No surprises there.

The word translated “justified” is δικαιόω, dikaioō – “to show, to evidence one’s righteousness, or to declare one to be just.”  This verb is used here in the aorist passive tense and voice.  So then wisdom the subject is not the actor, but the action is carried by “all her [wisdom’s] children.”  Who then are the children of the wisdom of John and Jesus?  The children of wisdom are the repentant ones who have believed the message of the Kingdom.

It is important to understand that Jesus is NOT saying that the end justifies the means.  Following the call of Jesus and John to repent proves the righteousness of the wisdom of the gospel which is foolishness with men.

By way of application, the emphasis on personal gratification and the belief in the importance of self image is not new.  The Pharisees codified these principles in their own interpretation of the law.  When life is seen from that perspective, the necessity of results and appearances trumps the necessity of personal righteousness.  The pragmatic, end-justifies-means world view keeps those who believe and practice it from the wisdom of repentance and entry into the Kingdom of Jesus Christ.

Here is the difference between “wisdom is justified by her children” and “the end justifies the means.”

·         The premise behind “end justifies the means” is that in anticipation of a “beneficial” result any means are justified, even actions that in themselves may be unrighteous.

·         The premise behind “wisdom justified by her children” is that the wisdom of doing right will be proven by the results of that choice even when those results cannot be foreseen or anticipated at the time.

Though I know by faith I am one of wisdom’s children, I still face this choice constantly – to live by faith and obedience to the gospel or to live my own wits expecting somehow it will turn out right.  Part of being deliberate in my Christianity is overcoming the pressure of the immediate ends and making choices based on faith leaving the results to the Lord Jesus Christ.

Coram deo

True Greatness

Luke 7:28
“I tell you, among those born of women none is greater than John. Yet the one who is least in the kingdom of God is greater than he.”

Jesus declared of John the Baptist that no greater prophet had ever lived.  There was not prophet greater than John the Baptist, but the even the least in the Kingdom – the Kingdom that both John and Jesus came preaching – the least in the Kingdom of Heaven is greater than John.  How can this be?  I have known many great Christians, but I have not known any that I believe carried the stature of John the Baptist.

The answer to my question lies in what Jesus used as the measure of greatness.  Obviously Jesus is not speaking of personal dedication or service to the Lord.  According to Dr. John MacArthur, the answer to this comparative measure of greatness is the reality of the Kingdom, specifically the risen Christ, Lord of the Kingdom.  John and the prophets looked ahead to the Messiah, but none of them saw or even fully foresaw the resurrection of Jesus.  John, the greatest of the Old Testament prophets, did see Jesus, but the Kingdom was not complete until Jesus rose from the dead as King of kings and Lord of lords.  The least in the Kingdom would be privileged to see what John would not.

This comes back to the original issue of true measure of greatness.  Jesus measures greatness in this context by the fullness of the revelation of Himself.  The least of the Kingdom have by faith seen and believed in the risen Jesus the Messiah.  We have experienced the completion John’s mission and message.

The tragedy of my experience in today’s church and worship, so called, is the lightness with which we take this great privilege of knowing and serving the risen, eternal, and soon coming King Jesus Christ.

Coram deo

Is Jesus the One?

Luke 7:13a
“And and blessed is he who is not offended because of Me.”

I chose this photo because unlike John, my path and ministry are not yet complete....

The end of one’s life-work is always a difficult time, and John the Baptist was facing that reality in his own life.  Obviously, he has known that his work was to prepare the way for the Messiah, and in this passage, we find John in prison with his public ministry and message of repentance silenced and probably ended.  Information came to John about all that Jesus had done and was doing.  So John, from his silent and solitary place in prison, sent two of his disciples to ask Jesus if He were indeed the One about whom John had preached.

Jesus’ remarkable answer is not just a simple “yes,” but he demonstrated His power as the Anointed Messiah by healing the sick and lepers, restoring sight to the blind and hearing to the deaf, raising the dead, and preaching the gospel to the poor.  The proof of Jesus’ identity as the “Coming One” was in the works that completely fulfilled Scripture (see Isaiah 35:5-6; 61:1).

A person can make any claim, but the proof of one’s reality is in his alignment with God’s Word.  No matter how good a man’s message may sound, it must be completely consistent with and supported by God’s Word.  Anything short of that is false and worthless.

In these events, I also see the mercy of God.  When Jesus came and John’s ministry was complete, God took John home to Glory.  God did not leave John to languish or to labor on in futility for a task that was already complete, but He called John “out of the game.”  I have seen similar examples of this mercy throughout my life that God often removes His servant when their work is finished.

Since I am still here, I must continue in the work He has for me to do.  I pray for His power and wisdom to keep on going.

Coram deo

Jesus' Grace in Every Situation

Luke 7:13a
“And when the Lord saw her, he had compassion on her….”

I have come to a remarkable reinforcement of the purpose of grace as it is shown in this passage.  I must remember that I am not alone either in my personal situations or in Jesus' purpose for my life.

First, let me look at the incident in its contexts.  In comparison to the healing of the centurion’s servant, this account of the raising of the widow’s son at Nain shows some remarkable similarities and contrasts in the conditions Jesus encountered and in His responses.

·         No request was made of Jesus in the widow’s situation.  The widow with her mourners simply encounters Jesus and the His followers almost as if by accident or coincidence.  It is obvious that she is on her way to bury her son and is not seeking Jesus, she makes no request of Him, and she makes expressions of faith.

·         The motivation and actions of Jesus are on full display.  The text states that Jesus had compassion on her.  She did not know Jesus, but Jesus was fully aware of her situation and her sorrow.  In His compassion, Jesus told the woman not to weep.

Note: the word used here of Jesus’ compassion is – σπλαγχνίζομαι – splagchizomai, literally to be moved in one’s bowels.  The verb is in the middle voice with indicates that this compassion was completely internal to Jesus meaning He created this compassion in Himself.  Interestingly, this word is only used in the Gospels and only used in direct reference to Jesus.

·         Jesus touched the open coffin which would render Him ceremonially unclean.  In the same way, He would have been unclean had he entered the house of the centurion.  When Jesus raised the dead man and healed the centurion’s servant, the requirements of the law and custom were rendered moot.

·         Jesus spoke to the dead man, whereas He never met the centurion’s servant.  Here Jesus was directly involved working in the personal presence of the one in need.

Sometimes Jesus responds to our prayers as with the centurion, and at other times He responds to our situation as with the widow when we do not even know to pray and have no hope or expectation of relief.  Though this was a remarkable event for the young man, we must also see that the young man was not raised to meet his own need of life but to meet the needs of his mother.  Often the blessings of God in our lives are there for the ultimate benefit of someone else to whom we must minister.

My prayer is that I will have eyes to see God’s purpose in His blessing that stretch beyond my own satisfaction and relief.  By His grace, I must minister in the lives of those around me. 

God’s grace is NEVER for selfish, personal consumption but for His glory and His service.

Coram deo

Necessity of Authority

Luke 7:6b-8
“Lord, do not trouble Yourself, for I am not worthy that You should enter under my roof. ⁷ Therefore I did not even think myself worthy to come to You. But say the word, and my servant will be healed. ⁸ For I also am a man placed under authority, having soldiers under me. And I say to one, ‘Go,’ and he goes; and to another, ‘Come,’ and he comes; and to my servant, ‘Do this,’ and he does it.”

I addressed this centurion’s faith last week, so I won’t copy or restate what I wrote then, but there is one other observation I must make.  Forgive me for wading into this, but I believe that what I see in the centurion underscores the missing reverence and submission that should be central to our worship and service to Jesus Christ.  Though I may state this badly, I firmly believe that our society is robbing us of our ability to understand what a right relationship to a holy God can and should be.

It is my belief that our democratic, “level” society make it difficult for us to fully appreciate and relate to the majesty and authority of Jesus Christ.  Our egalitarian society is completely unsuited to prepare us for a correct relationship with the complete sovereignty of God.  Though we have been made sons of God in Christ – born again and adopted – that still leaves us far from equal with God in any measure and does not make us independent of His sovereignty.

The centurion was remarkable for his recognition of authority and how authority works in both the physical and the spiritual realities.  In our “classless” American culture, we pride ourselves on being an authority unto ourselves, but the relationship of authority under God still applies in our spiritual lives.  Our culture and education promote our individuality and rights and teach us to be suspicious of authority.  That inability to sufficiently respond to natural authority robs us of the full blessings of submission and obedience to Christ.

The Father has given Jesus Christ all authority so that Jesus’ word is sovereign in both the physical and spiritual worlds.  Our response to Him must be absolute submission and obedience.  No matter how our society has changed and reordered our physical relationships, that relationship of Lord and slave remains.  Thank God it does.

Coram deo

Galations 2:20 - Seeing the Universe by Faith

Galatians 2:20
I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me.

In its immediate context, this verse is part of a series of very sharp contrasts that Paul uses to show the marked difference between law and grace in salvation and in sanctification.  The contrasts include:

·         Law                                        / Grace

·         Crucifixion and death     / Life and living

·         Flesh                                     / Faith

·         Sin                                          / Justification

There is much that needs to be said about this verse, but everything we say begins with an understanding of faith.  To begin, we must understand that Paul is addressing the fact that we all live in two separate universes – the universe of time and matter, the physical universe; and the universe of eternity, the spiritual universe.  This may sound mystical, but it is not.  The Bible is very clear that we have both a physical and a spiritual existence.  We understand and perceive the physical universe through our senses as part of our flesh.  The flesh, being physical, relates and communicates with the physical reality.  All men are created by God and also exist in a spiritual universe – we admit this by saying we are “spiritual beings.”  That spiritual universe and reality, however, is beyond human perception.  We cannot see or know the spiritual universe through physical senses.  We see and know the spiritual only as God reveals that universe to us. 

When we died with Christ by faith, in faith we became alive in the spiritual reality of this new relationship.  Being made alive in Christ by faith, through that faith our spiritual understanding and ability to see suddenly came alive in Him.  For the redeemed, faith is as much a mode of perception into the spiritual reality as sight is our perception of the physical world.  Faith is the mode of spiritual perception.
That being true – that faith is the spiritual mode of perception – the believer by faith can now “see” spiritual reality as well as the physical and can compare the two very real universes in which he exists.  The spiritual universe which is eternal is also the reality in which we died with Christ on the cross and were made alive by His resurrection.  By the death and resurrection of Jesus, we are now alive by faith in both the spiritual universe which is primary and in the physical universe which is immediate.  It is the primacy of our life with Christ that must govern our priorities and decisions in our immediate, day-to-day physical life.
Coram deo

The Path to Revival?

Is this the right path?

I have been forced by Scripture and other books I have read to revisit this question – What is true revival? 

Let me begin with this – the evidence of revival is the outpouring of the Holy Spirit in a church that results in numbers of Christians growing in their faith and service and the church growing by unusual numbers of additions of lost men and women coming to Christ.  Accepting that definition, here are some of my own observations regarding revival:

1.       When revival happens, the fact is not recognized as such by the people involved.

2.       Revival is not a corporate enterprise, but is the evidence of one or more individuals who are filled with the Holy Spirit and sold out to the service of Jesus Christ.

3.       Revival does not come to a church or congregation by being sought as revival.  Praying for revival doesn’t start a revival.

4.       When a church begins to view itself as exceptional because of the work of the Holy Spirit, the work ceases to be blessed by the Holy Spirit and its effectiveness and growth begin to decline – revival over.

From these observations, I conclude that revival is the infectious filling by the Holy Spirit of a believer to do the work of Jesus Christ.  My conviction is that revival is first of all an intensely personal and individual experience and responsibility.  If the Holy Spirit chooses, that individual filling may become infectious spreading to other Christians.  If one accepts that definition and observation, then the key to revival is the individual believer’s being filled by the Holy Spirit.  The problem in churches is not simply the lack of revival.  That is only a symptom of leadership and congregations that operate apart from the power and filling of the Holy Spirit.

Remedy – individual believers, you and I, must be filled with the Holy Spirit.  To be filled with the Holy Spirit, we must come to the place where our lives and wills meet the following:

1.       No unconfessed sin in our lives – no sin for which we have not honestly repented.  This includes both actions and attitudes.

2.       No expectations of outcome – we cannot be filled by the Holy Spirit if we expect the Spirit to accomplish some set of predetermined outcomes such as:

a.       Expectation to remain in or attain to a specific ministry or service either by position or physical location

b.      Expectation to maintain or expand one’s current lifestyle

c.       Expectation to retain relationships – personal, professional, social – one must love Jesus more than anything or anyone

d.      Expectation for specific performance or “blessing” of one’s ministry whatever that ministry may be

3.       An unreserved desire to know Jesus through His word and by obedience to His will

4.       A realization that “all hell will break loose” literally and biblically, but also assured that the believer has the armor to face the enemy

I have come to the place where I know this, but knowing it scares me to death!  But, I am determined to be deliberately Christian knowing the price for saying so.