Relationship

Holy Spirit is Amazing – VOTD.07.03.18

Now we have received not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit of God, so that we might experience the things that are freely lavished upon us by God. 1 Corinthians 2:12

Many years ago a group I was with got caught out in the woods on a moonless night without flashlights. It was pitch dark, so we held hands to try to not run into anything. The problem was, none of us could see where we were going so though we were together we kept stumbling into briars, prickers, trees, and so forth.

That memory comes back to me when I think about much of my early ‘training’ about the Holy Spirit. It’s not that my teaching about all God has for us was out of sync with all the other teachers I knew, it was just that none of us had enough “light” to be of any use to ourselves, much less anyone else. And even today, many Christians are in the same situation. Plenty of company, but collectively no further enlightened than my friends and I when we were walking in the dark.

Let’s start with the basics. The Holy Spirit is with us from the moment we invite Jesus into our lives and become born again. Problem is, a lot of Christians stop right there. Yes they’re headed for heaven someday, but meanwhile, they miss out on all that could be theirs through the deeper experience of the Holy Spirit (“things that are freely lavished upon us”).

Then there are Christians who testify to a second impartance of the Holy Spirit in their lives. Many Christians attest to that experience and stop right there. But again, they miss out on all that could be theirs through the deeper experience of the Holy Spirit. (more…)

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Loving Us Loving Others – VOTD.05.29.18

For God proved his love for (each one of us) that he gave his one and only, unique Son as a gift… John 3:16

For the Christian walking in God’s grace, our posture is always love. Jesus, Himself, never did a thing outside of love. Even when He rebuked the Pharisees, He did not mock them. Nor did He rant. Too many of His followers, however, prefer loud to loving; yelling to relating. It is much easier. And there are plenty of Christian speakers out there who cater to the ‘Christian’ thirst for put-downs and mockery that is so popular in the Kingdom of this world.

The Bible doesn’t leave the Love matter up to personal choice: I’ve never heard a Christian get up and propose that we behave unlovingly—at least not blatantly. I have heard many redefine love so that it includes unkindness, mockery, verbal slamming, and the list goes on. So I’m wondering: Are we who comprise the local churches so blind to the implications of our love theology that we can snooker ourselves into believing that we are loving when we’re really hating?

Our theology says that we each of us has sinned. We embrace the concept of the total fallenness of humanity, but do we conveniently forget that fallenness does not display itself the same way in everyone? Our theology says that all sins are the same; to commit one is to commit them all; and the penalty for any sin is death. 

In Biblical love there is no wiggle room. Love does not allow us to decide who we will let off and who we will judge any more than it allows us to decide who we will love and who we will hate; who we will be in awe of and who we will mock.

If the love of God is not for people we fully disagree with; the person on the cover of all the supermarket tabloids, the politician who’s agenda is godless, the atheist… then it is for no one. The very essence of the Gospel is that no one is good enough to secure God’s love. And “no one” includes you and me and all those people we think we’re better than… why pretend that our hatred is ‘righteous indignation’ and as such, it’s acceptable?  

God’s grace is not a bunch of theological platitudes, but it is God’s hand finding each one of us in the miry pit. The hand that becomes coated with grime to reach down into the sewer of sin and grab us sets us on a solid rock and establishes us in righteous ways.

So, theology aside, why do many (most?) Christians consider some sins worse than others? While many would correctly reason that we can’t expect lost people to act like they are saved, why do we expect them to, anyway? Paul certainly was explicit about this. He required some standards within the group of people who claimed to be Christians, but he calls it futile to expect Christian behavior from non-Christians. (more…)

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Unity vs. Love – VOTD.05.28.18

Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity. Colossians 3:13,14

I’ve watched churches and individuals struggle with the unity thing for most of my adult life. And I’ve watched the grapple to build unity. If I’ve learned one thing from all this observation, it’s that if our goal is unity, we’re doomed. But if our goal is love, unity will grow out of that.

The key to true unity is to make sure that unity isn’t the goal—love is the goal. So, rather than seeking unity, we should seek love, and then we can let love be the key to unity.

Love forgives when we are wronged. Love chooses to ignore differences of opinion. Love overlooks variations in behavior. When we truly love people, differing political opinions and theological persuasions become all part of the diversity of the Living Organism we call the Body of Christ, rather than opportunity for taking offense which leads to division and strife.

This way, even if a unity of beliefs/behavior is not possible, a unity of love is. Unity is not sameness. It is love lifting us above our differences in order to pursue our common goal, the glory of God. This is crucial: God loves us unconditionally, and He calls us to love our siblings in Christ unconditionally. This kind of love never demands the casting aside of convictions or truth. In fact, it leaves that sort of thing in the hands of the Holy Spirit who is the author of unity. (more…)

Continue ReadingUnity vs. Love – VOTD.05.28.18

Our Harmonious Response to God’s Children – VOTD.05.22.18

I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received.  Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love. Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace. Ephesians 4:1-3

We’ve already seen that unity isn’t about identicality, it’s about like-heartedness. So how do we cooperate with God to live in unity and how is it maintained? It depends a lot on our character in Jesus. Paul lists 5 characteristics that Christian unity depends on: humility, gentleness, patience, mutual forbearance, and love.

No big surprise that he begins with humility. Humility is essential to unity. Pride almost always results in discord and discord is almost always the result of pride at some level. Humility is the attitude that Jesus displayed in becoming a human being in the first place (Phil 2:3-8). In fact the word Paul used here is actually “humility of mind”—Humble-minded. That it’s an attitude that recognizes the worth and value of other people and allows for their diverse opinions.

Think about it for a moment. The people we tend to like to be around are people who show us respect even though they may not agree with us in many areas. The ones we don’t like to be with are the ones we sense disrespect or feel smug superiority from. Rather than maneuvering for the respect or esteem of others (which is the nature of pride), if we give them our respect, because we recognize their inherent God-given worth (which is the nature of this humility of mind that Ephesians is talking about), then we’ll be promoting harmony in our relationships; and result will probably be that they’ll respond to us with the same respect they’ve received. (more…)

Continue ReadingOur Harmonious Response to God’s Children – VOTD.05.22.18

Our Harmonious Response to a Fathomless God – VOTD.05.21.18

(Present yourselves) as one united body living in perfect harmony. Form a consistent choreography among yourselves, having a common perspective with shared values.
1 Corinthians 1:10

Last time we were talking about the variety of metaphors God uses in His Word to describe Himself to us:
Potter – Clay (clay is a lump, simply receiving)
Shepherd – Sheep (sheep at least have some ability to respond)
Master – Slave (slaves work, they do their duty)
Father – Children (now we’re talking relationship, but it’s a pitched relationship)
Friend – Friend (we’re on the same playing field)
Lover – Lover (we’re in each other’s arms, entwined)
One heart, one mind (supernatural oneness, where it’s hard to define where one leaves off and the other begins)
Even deeper and deeper (the list never ends)

The diversity of metaphors exist because He is a Big God, beyond our understanding, but He wants to connect with us in ways we can fathom. (more…)

Continue ReadingOur Harmonious Response to a Fathomless God – VOTD.05.21.18

God’s Revelation of Himself – VOTD.05.15.18

I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his master’s business. But now I call you my most intimate friends, for I reveal to you everything that I’ve heard from my Father.  John 15:15

Last time we ended by saying that when we are doubtful about who God wants to be for us and what He wants us to be for Him, then we’re perfectly positioned to discover Him in some new, glorious and breathtaking way.
…If we’ll let ourselves.

I wonder how many of us have lost—or maybe never had—that intimate knowledge of God as our true Father?
Or how many of us have lost—or maybe never had—that intimate knowledge of Jesus as our Bridegroom?
Our how many of us have lost—or maybe never had—that intimate knowledge of the Holy Spirit as our comforter and loving director of our path?

Our God wants to be all that to us and more. But we need to come to grips with the truth that God reveals Himself to each of us in different ways. Even in the Bible, we see God often reveals Himself as a father, sometimes as a mother… in the NT we see Him as a brother, a savior, a door, a flower, bread, water… lots of things. In the same way, God reveals His relationship to each of us in a series of ways: As a Kinsman-Redeemer to a young widow, as a brother to a sibling, as still small voice to a listening ear, as a Master to a slave, as a Friend to a friend, as a Husband to a wife or a Lover to a lover…

And not all of these relationship metaphors are equal. When Jesus said, “I no longer call you slaves, but now I call you friends,” that was a promotion, not a lateral move in their relationship. Yet in their future writings, they don’t introduce themselves as “friend of Jesus”; they introduce themselves as “servants of Jesus.” So becoming friends – experiencing Jesus at that status — didn’t negate the idea that they still identified with the “servant” relationship metaphor.

But why all the metaphors in the first place? All of these and more are needed for us to grasp the Bigness of our God and how He relates to us. But it also points to a reality that God often reveals Himself to each of us in different ways. So, my experience of Him might be a little different than yours. (more…)

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Encouragement and God’s Love – VOTD.05.08.2018

Last time we looked at 1 Corinthians 8:1.” Knowledge [alone] makes [people self-righteously] arrogant, but love [that unselfishly seeks the best for others] builds up and encourages others.” It is a verse directed toward those whose have their facts right but hearts wrong. Here Paul addresses the Bible-brilliant-but-people-passive…the well-taught-but-self-absorbed…the knowledgeable-but-unloving.

We might think hard about the Scriptures, but we miss the point about people if we miss the ‘love, building up and encouraging others’ part. Eagerness to learn more about God is good…Zeal to learn more about God’s Word is good, and it’s often an important stage in a new believer’s development in their love for God. It’s all good. But the problem comes when we cloister with those we agree with and don’t love people…don’t have a passion for the people God has a passion for.

We don’t have to go to the other side of the world to do that; or even the other side of town. Some of us don’t even need to go to the other side of the church we attend or the other side of the house we live in. Paul knew the Scriptures better than any of us…he wrote a lot of them. And his conclusion is that knowledge comes with the danger of enabling a self-righteous spirit within us that manifests itself in arrogance. When that happens it creates an environment of elitism. It creates a pecking order. It creates an ‘us and them’ mentality.

Consider for a moment Jesus’ story about the Pharisee and the tax collector (Luke 18:10-13). One had a life saturated in all the teachings of God. That man knew the Scriptures and could recite astounding quantities of the written Word of God…He was approved of and by those who also knew the Word exceptionally well. He was on the team. He was a celebrity by the values and popularity measurements of his day. But he missed the point. His self-absorption and lack of love was palpable.

When we enable that kind of lifestyle for ourselves we become increasingly secluded. Our only friend increasingly ends up being ourselves. Because self-love is all that is left—and that’s at odds with “God is Love” (1 Jn 4:8). But do we think of Him as love? Do we know Him as Love? (more…)

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What does the Bible Mean? Encourage One Another (pt 3) – VOTD.04.23.18

For you know that we affectionally treated each of you like a loving father cares for his own children: We encouraged you by comforting and challenging you to live lives worthy of God, who calls you into his kingdom and glory. 1 Thessalonians 2:11-12

What did Paul mean when he said, “Encourage one another and build each other up” (1 Thes 5:1)? We’ve been looking at the context of this well-known verse and found three things so far:

1. Encouragement is based, first of all, on Jesus and the good news of knowing Him.
2. Encouragement begins by identifying the work of God in one another’s lives.
3. Encouragement begins by being genuine—looking for how God is working in someone’s life and pointing it out.

So now we come to the next way Paul speaks of encouraging each other.

4. Encouragement begins by encouraging one another to walk in a manner worthy of God. What is a life worthy of God? One of the conversations we need to have with one another is to encourage each another to do what Jesus did in every situation: He did what He saw His Father doing and spoke what He heard His Father saying.

God calls us to make progress… to “grow and increase in God’s grace and intimacy with our Lord” (2 Pet 3;18). If that’s not happening, then we’ll only find thrills, passion and amusement in things outside of Jesus. And our weakness when it comes to sin will continue unabated.

The problem with finding our passions outside of Jesus is that it will be counterfeit; it won’t sustain us when the chips are down. God-given joy sustains, amusement does not. I met a woman the other day whose passion is roller coasters. She travels all over the world visiting amusement parks and riding on their roller coasters. (more…)

Continue ReadingWhat does the Bible Mean? Encourage One Another (pt 3) – VOTD.04.23.18

What does the Bible Mean? Encourage One Another (pt 2) – VOTD.04.17.18

May the God of endurance and encouragement grant you to live in such harmony with one another, in accord with Christ Jesus, that together you may with one voice glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. Romans 15:5-6

When we think of God’s and holiness (His perfection and sinlessness), we can find it hard to believe that God would have anything to say to us but criticism and scolding. But as we saw last time, God is the God of encouragement. When Jesus promised that He would send another comforter, the Holy Spirit, the word he used was someone who comes alongside of us– an encourager.

And the God of encouragement wants to use each of us as His representatives of encouragement to those we come in contact with…to be in each other’s lives, to strengthen one another to keep going, keep believing, keep depending on Jesus, to finish the course God has set before us, to live out His plan for our lives.

So, how do we encourage one another? How do we make encouragement happen? What do we say? There are 3 building blocks about encouraging we can learn from Paul in the context of “Encourage one another and build each other up” (1 Thes 5:1).

1. All our encouragement is built on one unshakable foundation: Jesus rescued us (vv 9-11). Our encouragement can never be separated from Jesus, because if it weren’t for Jesus, our lives would be nothing but a collision course. If death just means ‘The End’ as secularism teaches—if death meant that God’s wrath was what awaits us as religion teaches— then any encouragement would be meaningless platitudes with no real power behind it.

Paul says, “THEREFORE encourage each other” because God has not destined us for ‘The End’ and he hasn’t saved us just to face His future wrath. He saved us to go to the place Jesus has prepared for us, where we’ll be with Him for all eternity (Jn 14:1-4). There is no greater encouragement possible. Encouragement is built on this Good News foundation.  (more…)

Continue ReadingWhat does the Bible Mean? Encourage One Another (pt 2) – VOTD.04.17.18

What does the Bible Mean? Encourage One Another (pt 1) – VOTD.04.16.18

Encourage the hearts of your fellow believers and support one another, just as you have already been doing. 1 Thessalonians 5:11

If we’re going to understand what the Bible means when it tells us to encourage each other, it would be good to do away with a few wrong ideas first. Too often in Christian circles “encouragement” is misused to the point that it isn’t even trusted. So, first of all, it doesn’t mean that we are to flatter one another or speak untruthfully.

Flattery is excessive or insincere praise. Often, flattery is saying nice things to people in order to get something from them. Flattery might look like encouragement but it isn’t. We need to learn to encourage without falling into the trap of praising people in order to win their approval or control their decisions or their lives, or to make them like us, or to manipulate them to do things we want them to do. So encouraging one another doesn’t mean flattering one another.

Likewise encouragement doesn’t mean quoting motivational platitudes to one another. There’s a billion dollar industry producing motivational products. But if a pretty poster with a cute saying is all it took to encourage one another then we’d be pretty shallow people. Biblical encouragement is much deeper and much stronger (and much more honest) than that.

So what is biblical encouragement? There are two Greek words used in today’s verse for encouragement. The first (parakaleo) means to call from alongside. The second (paramutheomai) means to give counsel from alongside. Notice that encouragement has this sense of coming along side of…it means coming close to someone’s life, their struggles, their story. Encouragement isn’t distant, it’s close: it’s the voice that says, I relate, I understand, I care. So encouragement has different voices because what people will need to hear is different in different seasons and different situations. (more…)

Continue ReadingWhat does the Bible Mean? Encourage One Another (pt 1) – VOTD.04.16.18