New Testament

Wisdom: Gift for the One Who Has Everything – VOTD.11.27.17

For although they knew God they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking and their senseless minds were darkened. Claiming to be wise, they became fools.  Romans 1:21,22

God owns everything. That’s a simple theological truth. There is nothing we can give Him that He doesn’t already own. We can’t increase or add to Him. Part of the inescapable truth of the Gospel is that we are entirely and unavoidably recipients. We even “love Him because He first loved us” (1 Jn 4:19). “He is not served by human hands as though he needed anything” (Acts 17:25).

That’s just basic truth. But it raises an obvious question: if God owns all (1 Cor 15:28), how can we (who are nothing and have nothing by comparison) please him?

And that is the wisdom of giving thanks. God is so magnificent and so awesome, we have to respond somehow, but how can we respond in a meaningful way to Someone who’s got it all? We can’t add to his glory, but we can honor it. When you come down to it, there’s only one real answer to the question: What can I do for God? —To live for His praise and glory. (more…)

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Wisdom: The Opposite of Pride: Ingratitude – VOTD.11.21.17

For although they knew God they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking and their senseless minds were darkened.  Romans 1:21

The Israelites grumbled in the wilderness, though God fed, clothed, and led them through it (Ex 16:2; Deut 8:2). We look at them today, and find it hard to believe how their ungrateful hearts took God’s daily miracles for granted, and we often miss the reality that we walk in their footsteps. Ingratitude is epidemic in our day in our society as well as in our churches.

The foundation of ingratitude is self-idolization. When it’s all about me, there’s not much room for gratitude. All that’s left is grumbling, complaining, arguing. That’s why Paul wrote this command: “Do all things without grumbling or disputing, that you may be blameless and pure, children of God without blemish in the midst of a crooked and twisted generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world…” (Phil 2:14-15).

We look at our circumstances in pride, and our hearts tell us we are good, that we should get what we want, and if we don’t, it’s not fair and we’re justified in our complaining and demanding our rights. Because being comfortable and convenienced in every way…it’s our right. And the result is that anger wells up inside of us over our inconveniences and perceived inequities. That is false wisdom (Rom 1:22); it’s “showing contempt for the riches of His kindness” (2:4); it’s ingratitude. (more…)

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Wisdom: The Opposite of Pride: Entitlement – VOTD.11.20.17

In humility value others above yourselves. Philippians 2:3

Most Christians are aware that the law and God’s grace are at odds with each other. The best thing that often comes from attempting to follow the biblical law is that we learn that we can’t do it…leading us to surrender to the grace of God and find His yoke is easy and His burden light.

Entitlement worse in so many ways. It is more at odds with God’s grace than the law, and it doesn’t easily lead us to surrender to God’s grace, either. At its core, the Gospel is that we are not entitled to anything, except just punishment for our sins (Rom 3:23; 6:23). Entitlement rejects that truth.

As today’s verse shows, self-sacrifice stems from a humble heart. Entitlement is rooted in a prideful heart. We deceive ourselves into thinking we deserve better than we have: More love, success, comfort, accolades, more attention from people, and ultimately, we think we deserve God’s grace (which is an oxymoron).

Oh, yes… And we think we don’t deserve suffering, heartbreak, or correction. So when we do experience these things, we grow bitter, frustrated, and disturbed because we believe we’re entitled to a life that is more focused on ourselves and the people we love, and less focused on people we disagree with. We tacitly ignore that we deserve nothing. Apart from Jesus’ grace, we deserve condemnation.

Note: we are often better at covering up our spirit of entitlement in areas of what we deserve better than covering up our spirit of entitlement in areas of what we don’t deserve. Yet the presence of the latter always points to the former. (more…)

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Wisdom: The Opposite of Pride – VOTD.11.14.17

Be clothed with humility, for God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble. Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time, casting all your care upon Him, for He cares for you. 1 Peter 5:5-7

For the most part, pride is the opposite of wisdom. Wisdom and humility are often connected in the Bible and this is no coincidence. The reason: Pride leaves us vulnerable to just about every other root sin. Pride both drives us to sin and leaves us addicted. Pride destroys us. Here’s why:

Pride produces a self-righteousness, hypocritical spirit:
When we’re proud, we elevate our status in our own eyes. This makes us repugnant to the people around us (unless they’re playing along for what they can get out of it). Worse yet, pride has no room for the mercy of God. When we think we’re better (holier, closer to God) than everyone else, we’re incapable of not finding fault with others—while being blind to our own faults and weaknesses. We become slaves to our own pride. It’s a compulsion.

The Pharisees’ pride blinded them to their own sin and far worse, it blinded them to God’s mercy. It drove them to be callous and brutal toward others when they knew that loving their neighbor as themselves was God’s requirement. Jesus said: “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you are like whitewashed tombs, which outwardly appear beautiful, but within are full of dead people’s bones and all uncleanness” (Mat 23:27). The vicious cycle here was that pride left them defenseless to sinful temptations like hate, and then they had to cover their sin to protect their pride. They were trapped—prisoners of their own egos.

Pride naturally leads to rebellion:
Rebellion is the reflex response of pride in our hearts. Rebellion says, “I know better than God,” when we don’t. Often prideful rebellion blinds us to what is in our own self-interest. But even when we can see what would be best for us, a rebellious heart prevents us from doing it. (more…)

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Wisdom: Among Non-believers – VOTD.11.13.17

Live wisely among those who are not believers, and make the most of every opportunity. Let your conversation be gracious and attractive so that you will have the right response for everyone.  Colossians 4:5-6

There seems to be two mistakes Christians make in living out their faith in front of unbelievers. The first is not living it out and the second is living it out in unwise ways—ways that display a spirit of superiority, marginalizing, or even antagonizing the lost.

It’s important to be gracious and attractive—patient and compassionate whenever possible—when we’re dealing with the lost, and that means allowing them to define themselves just as we speak for ourselves. Often, it is in trying to explain themselves that the lost discover the weaknesses/ softness of their own position. But they’ll blow right over it if they are already on the defensive or in conflict with us.

That’s why today’s verse is so important: if we “live wisely among those who are not believers,” and make our “conversation be gracious and attractive”, many of their assumptions and stereotypes about Christians dissolve (at for least Christians like us). And often, it is negative encounters with local churches and church people that has fed their negative stereotypes about Christians—and built up walls against Jesus. (more…)

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Wisdom: The Personal and Individual Will of God – VOTD.11.06.17

[Paul was imprisoned in Philippi for spreading the Gospel. That night…] Suddenly there was a great earthquake, so that the foundations of the prison were shaken; at once, all the doors were opened and everyone’s chains fell off… The jailor pulled out his sword and was about to kill himself. But Paul shouted, “Don’t harm yourself; We are all here!” Acts 16:26

[Peter was imprisoned in Judea for spreading the Gospel. That night…] Suddenly an angel of the Lord stood there… he struck Peter on the side and raised him up, saying, “Arise quickly!” And his chains fell off his hands…So Peter went out and followed the angel… The gate opened for them by itself, and they went out. Acts 12:7-10

Two apostles, two miraculous jail breaks… but God had different plans and outcomes in mind in each situation and was pleased to treat each situation differently. You see, Paul could have run away, just as Peter did, but that wasn’t God’s plan. Peter could have hung around just as Paul did, but that wasn’t God’s plan. (more…)

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Visiting Churches 6 (end) – Don’t take it too seriously – VOTD.10.24.17

I wanted to visit you, so that we might both receive a blessing.  2 Corinthians 1:15
I was a stranger and you invited me in. Matthew 25:35

This is God
My kids told me the little girl had been staring at me through the early part of the service before being shuffled off to the children’s program. But she was back after the service dragging her reluctant mother by she hand. I smiled as they came up and the little girl said, “There he is, Mommy. This is God.” She was pointing at me. The mother, terribly embarrassed at this point, apologized to me, a visitor, and explained to her that I was not God. But the girl was not to be so easily dissuaded. She’d apparently seen illustrations of God in her Sunday school material and I guess I looked close enough. I hurried to agree with her mother that I was not God, said a few more words about how wonderful God is, and her mother dragged her away, still apologizing to me over her shoulder.

My point? You’ve got to have a sense of humor if you’re going to be a good visitor. Things will go wrong. Mistakes will be made. Unexpected opportunities will present themselves, too. Graciousness is a good habit at any time, but especially if you’re visiting a church meeting. This is THEIR meeting after all. And you are the guest.

Sometimes it’s ‘grin-and-bear-it’. As a visitor, I’ve managed to be trapped in a few after-church congregational business meetings—the kind where the leadership won’t let anyone leave the service until a business meeting has occurred. Not a good place to be for a visitor who really doesn’t belong there. I suppose that if they allow a few visitors to slip out, it would embolden some of the cowed church members to sneak out with them. So I became privy to information that no outsider should have heard. I wonder how the congregants feel about being told that no one can leave the sanctuary until the business meeting is over? (more…)

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Visiting Churches 5 – It’s Gotta be Real – VOTD.10.23.17

I try to please everyone in every way. For I am not seeking my own good but the good of many. 1 Corinthians 10:33

While doing research for this topic of visiting churches, I came across 2 web sites back-to-back. One gave a list of 10 things visitor-friendly churches MUST do, and the other was 10 ways to drive introverts AWAY from your church. The two lists were very opposite…almost point for point. And that’s believable. As a visitor not everyone is looking for the same thing. In fact, an extrovert and an introvert might prefer to be treated very differently—just like you would treat anyone you met for the first time… you don’t follow a script, you pick up on their cues and treat them accordingly.

Problem is, churches usually enlist their most gregarious people as official welcomers. And that can bowl many more reserved people over. It might be worth looking for some more empathetic people to do your greeting tasks… people who are good at picking up on signals like voice, body language, etc., and treat people where they are at. (more…)

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Visiting Churches 2 – VOTD.10.10.17

And to godliness, warm friendliness, and generous love. With these qualities actively growing in your life, you won’t be unproductive and fruitless in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. 1 Peter 1:7

In a Twitter poll, first-time visitors were asked why they chose not to return to churches they visited only once. ‘Unfriendly church members’ came in second to the top in reasons visitors never return (Number 1 was ‘Having a stand up and be welcomed in the worship service’—no surprise there!)

Since as I said last time, I’ve been on the road all summer and visited a lot of churches, I wasn’t surprised that ‘Unfriendly church members’ rated so high. But the enlightening thing was the number of respondents who included ‘non-genuine friendliness’ as what really bothered them. In other words, the visitors could tell the ‘friendliness’ of some of the congregants was a sham.

In contrast, at one smallish church on the east coast we visited, two different people getting out of their cars saw us arrive in the parking area and came over to welcome us and offered to help us find where we needed to be, and to answer any questions we had. They weren’t the welcoming committee. You couldn’t pay staff to be that friendly. (So I ask myself if I would be that friendly if our roles were reversed. Would I even notice?) By the way, that church didn’t have greeters at the door… they didn’t need them with all the honestly friendly and helpful people we met.

Another huge church on the west coast, we were still in the parking area when a woman came over and introduced herself. She had seen us at a meeting before and told us how blessed she had been to sit behind us. She loved her church and it was genuine. I don’t think we could have been made to feel more welcome—certainly not by the assigned greeters at the door. (more…)

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