Lent #3 2004
One of the ladies in the church dropped me a note several years ago. I'm not sure she remembers, but I still have it in her own handwriting in case she has forgotten. She told me about three boys who were bragging about their dads. One boy's dad owned a big farm. Another boy's dad ran a very large business. The third little boy (whose father was a preacher) said his dad owned Hell. When other boys said they had never heard of anyone owning Hell the boy explained, "My dad does-because I heard my mom tell grandma the deacons came over last night and gave it to him.
Not every church is like ours- full of peace and tranquility. But people can change, even old war horses. In 1963, George C. Wallace, governor of Alabama, literally stood in the door of the University of Alabama, preventing Vivian Malone Jones, a black woman, from enrolling as a student. Thirty-three years later, Wallace awarded Jones for the first Lurleen B Wallace Award of Courage (the award, named in honor of Wallace's wife, recognizes women who have made outstanding contributions to the state of Alabama). Wallace publicly apologized to Jones for the 1963 controversy; Jones, in turn, forgave Wallace. These two former enemies were reconciled at last. People can change!
Regrettably, stories of reconciliation are buried in the avalanche of stories about conflict, strife, and war. Much of our world is driven by bitterness, jealousy, or hostility. The witnesses are legion: wars over cultural and religious issues, terrorist activities motivated by envy and fear, and racial prejudice justifying genocide.
Then there are the more polite forms of hostility. Gossip and backstabbing, passive aggressive revenge, and divorce (you're no longer good enough, I'm going to find a better life- there may not be a more painful form of alienation).
And then there is the root of all strife- a sense of alienation from God. Sin not only separates us from God, it condemns us. And somehow we know it.
Sin describes our attempts to downgrade or demote God. Each of us has told God, with our own unique style, "I'm going to find a way to make my life better without you." Then we find out that living in the world God created, having shoved God away, leaves us a little disoriented.
Good news- God did not leave us alone.
Read II Corinthians 5:17-21.
Paul says three things here about reconciliation. He says: it is God's project, it is very expensive, and it must be consented to.
First: reconciliation is God's doing. The main part of the Good News is to announce, "God has undertaken a great project to bring peace to the world." If we can not say, "God has made peace" we have no good news. Buddhism, Hinduism, Islam, Judaism- none of them claim to have good news: sinners are alienated from God, and can not rectify that problem. But the Good News is that God has done something. Reconciliation is not something we achieve, it is something we receive.
Christianity is utterly and completely unique at this point. All other religions may have major differences from each other that make them unique, but they are alike in this one basic point: salvation depends on human solutions.
Buddhism sees the problem of sin as frustrated desire. The solution is to eliminate desire. In orthodox Buddhism, there is no god to help, but if you try hard enough, you make make it. Hinduism sees the problem of sin as coming from the fact that we are ignorant of our divine inner nature. The solution is to strive for enlightenment. Islam understands sin in a similar way to Judeo/Christianity. Their solution is to work at accumulating more good deeds than bad deeds. Since you can never know until judgement if you have been successful, it pays to be very diligent...extra credit for dying in jihad.
In orthodox Judaism, salvation/sin is not the issue because Jews can presume right standing before God based on their race. Barring some horrible act of apostasy, "they are saved by race."
Christianity says, "If there is going to be reconciliation for the society of the damned- God must do it. We are helpless." And that is what God did in the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus. Back to Isaiah 53:6 it says," We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way; and The Lord has laid on Him the iniquity of us all." Paul explained this concept to the Roman church saying, "when we were God's enemies, we were reconciled to Him through the death of His Son" (5:10).
Read Colossians 1:19-23a.
All the New Testament writers speak with one voice in saying that God has taken the initiative to break the cloud of alienation. In Jesus, God has moved to bring peace to each of you.
The second thing Paul says here is that this "God project" is very expensive. And God paid the whole price. Man has sinned and God has suffered. This, too, separates Christianity from every other faith. The first sentence in Bruce Shelley's large text on Christian history is, "Christianity is the only major religion to have as its central event the humiliation of its God." Can you think of one other religion that would dare to suggest that God suffers for man's sin?
We do get small tastes of the cost of spiritual reconciliation. Whenever, on a human plane, reconciliation is morally real, it is costly. When friends become bitter enemies- for reconciliation to occur someone has to pay the price in humility. In cases of marital infidelity, for reconciliation to occur someone has to pay the price in humility. In cases of marital infidelity for reconciliation, one side must swallow the pain of betrayal and the other side must accept the pain of in-depth emotional confession. Sometimes they may live together without real reconciliation. But to really come together, a pain of one kind must be dissolved inside of one soul and the humiliation of exposure of moral fault made by the other.
The cost of reconciliation of sinners to God is beyond the ability of our limited minds to calculate. The physical and emotional ordeal of crucifixion as immense as it was, was only part of the cost. There was a hidden spiritual side- where Jesus accepted the shame of our sin. That shame, we may never understand.
Reconciliation was costly. Jesus was the sin-offering. Jesus said, "this is my blood of the new covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins." It cost Jesus His life.
And finally Paul tells us- reconciliation must be consented to, submitted to, the rebel who once resented God for not being the servant of his selfish ego- surrenders and exercises faith in the value of Jesus' death. By this act of faith the new believer is changed from an enemy of God, to a member of God's family. This confidence in Jesus allows you to cross the bridge that God has built.
As Paul comes to the climax of this passage the thrust of what he wants to say is: consent to this awesome offer. God has acted in Jesus the Messiah to remove the barriers. Before it can be personally real to the individual, it must be submitted to.
Reconciliation that is one sided is not reconciliation at all. I have known of a number of marriage partners who are/were ready and willing to reconcile to their mate. But their open arms do not make a whole marriage- and that marriage will not be whole until both mates returns body and soul.
The sinner may be able to see the open arms of Jesus, but not until you walk into those arms by repentance and gratitude are you reconciled. God has a warm and welcome place for you in His family. He and all of His offspring are saying this morning, "we implore you on Christ's behalf: be reconciled to God."
Thursday, March 31, 2011
Tuesday, March 22, 2011
Wake Up!
Lent #2 2004
Some wake up calls are loud and over the top, while others are a bit more subtle at first. My eight grade English Lit class had a sign over the clock that read, "Time will pass...will you?"
Paul was trying to wake up one of his troubled and slipping churches when he wrote in II Corinthians 6:2b, "I tell you, now is the time of God's favor, now is the day of salvation." The emphasis is on now, today- not tomorrow!
Jesus, too, was inclined to offer wake up calls. Especially when He sensed over-confidence.
Read Luke 13:22-35
The opening question comes from a person who assumes because of his breeding and upbringing that he is "in." His question amounts to something like, "How many, if any of the lesser breeds are going to be saved?"
Jesus' reply is a wake up call with a jolt. The Christ-life is not the kind of life people are born into. It is a kind of life that is too vigorous to take for granted. Presumption of personal merit or entitlement is a symptom of a deadly drift. Hebrews 2:1 also says, "Pay more careful attention...so that we do not drift away."
This is not a problem specific to one race or ethnic group. Listen to the words of Jesus, as He speaks to a Gentile congregation in Revelations 3:17, "You say, 'I am rich; I have acquired wealth and do not need a thing.' But you do not realize that you are wretched, pitiful, poor, blind, and naked." Their overconfidence blinded them to their 'wretched' spiritual condition.
Jesus' answer to this person's question certainly feels pessimistic. He does not give a clear cut answer in terms of numbers. But He suggests grim possibilities. One question that is raised is, "Does the narrow door limit the number of people who can enter- or the number of opportunities people will have to enter?"
What we know from the general tenor of scripture is that God blesses those who genuinely search for Him. The prophet Jeremiah wrote, " You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart. I will be found by you."
The one time that an all out effort always fails is when it comes too late; after the door is closed. In the life of The Spirit there are seasons-providential moments-when circumstances and sensitivity are ripe, made so by God's Spirit! When those intersections pass, we never know when the next appeal of God's Spirit will be. Ultimately the door will close permanently when we die or Jesus comes again. We know that for sure!
We also know the opportunities given to us are valuable gifts. In the days before modern harbors a ship had to wait for the flood tide before it could enter port. The term for this situation in Latin was ob portu, that is, a ship standing off a port waiting for the moment when it could ride the tide to harbor. The English word opportunity is derived from this Latin phrase. The captain and the crew had to be ready and waiting for that one moment. They knew that if they missed it they would have to wait for another tide to come in. Shakespeare turned this meaning of opportunity into one of his most famous passages. In Julius Caesar, Act IV, Scene 3 Brutus says:
Most of the secular world thinks that forbidding sin is an unfair prohibition of fun. They see it as a life long "initiation." If you join a fraternity or sorority you may have to eat a few worms or perform a few humiliating stunts for the entertainment of those already in. But that is the price you pay to enjoy the advantages of the organization.
The world sees giving up sin as the initiation that lasts and lasts. It is the price you pay for enjoying eternity. Give up fun today for joy later.
For those who have entered into a life long and close relationship with Jesus, we begin to understand that Jesus has rescued us from a life of destruction- from a life in the pig pen. God calls us to a different lifestyle because He loves us. Like a parent who wants their teens home at night before the criminals come out to take over the streets. Our kids think we hate them and want to ruin their lives, even when we explain it to them.
It may take a long pull of strenuous effort to break our attraction to sin and to learn that right living has many happy rewards. Jesus encourages us to make the effort.
He also understands that many folks live their lives under the false hope that salvation is available to the vast majority, just for being a decent person. Eternal lost-ness is only for those few monsters- serial killers, molesters, etc...This false hope lulls many to a dangerous spiritual lethargy. Jesus says, "Wake up!"
But Jesus called us to extra vigilance because He knew there would also be outside obstacles: moral integrity may cause you to lose your job. Your friends may ridicule your new life with Jesus. You may be a target for abuse because you're a Christian.
In light of the attractiveness of sin, problems with false hope, and real kinds of abuse, it is necessary to make every effort to be vigilant.
In many ways, because the warning is so strong, this is a dark passage. There is an undertone of strong compassion, but there is more here on missing the way than there is on the comfortable yoke we wear with Jesus. There is not as much about the joy of salvation as the cost of salvation. Jesus is focusing His teaching like a laser on the problem of misplaced confidence. There is only one entrance to spiritual life, and there are limited opportunities. A lot of people are going to try a different way- rather than surrender to Jesus. Then after the whole world has seen their error, all efforts at the right door will be too late.
But if the narrow door seems difficult for the person who becomes Jesus' apprentice- it is much more difficult for the teacher. For Jesus it is the way of the Cross. In verses 33 and 34 the word Jerusalem is repeated three times with only punctuation breaks. It is an expression of compassion for those who rejected Jesus. And these words describe the weight of the burden Jesus would carry for the world when He arrived there at Jerusalem. Jesus has an incredible desire to rescue those who would be lost for eternity (all of us), but when a person or group rejects the extraordinarily HUGE gift of salvation, all God can do at that point is mourn.
There is something profound- heart rending about the Son of God standing at the edge of Jerusalem, tears streaming down His face and His chest heaving in grief, because they would not accept the only hope He could offer them.
When a nation or person persists in rejecting Jesus, then even God can only mourn and weep for their fate. There is no hint of bitterness or "you rejected me, now you get what's coming to you." There is only the grieving cry of a parent over a child lost forever."
Wake up before it's too late!!
Some wake up calls are loud and over the top, while others are a bit more subtle at first. My eight grade English Lit class had a sign over the clock that read, "Time will pass...will you?"
Paul was trying to wake up one of his troubled and slipping churches when he wrote in II Corinthians 6:2b, "I tell you, now is the time of God's favor, now is the day of salvation." The emphasis is on now, today- not tomorrow!
Jesus, too, was inclined to offer wake up calls. Especially when He sensed over-confidence.
Read Luke 13:22-35
The opening question comes from a person who assumes because of his breeding and upbringing that he is "in." His question amounts to something like, "How many, if any of the lesser breeds are going to be saved?"
Jesus' reply is a wake up call with a jolt. The Christ-life is not the kind of life people are born into. It is a kind of life that is too vigorous to take for granted. Presumption of personal merit or entitlement is a symptom of a deadly drift. Hebrews 2:1 also says, "Pay more careful attention...so that we do not drift away."
This is not a problem specific to one race or ethnic group. Listen to the words of Jesus, as He speaks to a Gentile congregation in Revelations 3:17, "You say, 'I am rich; I have acquired wealth and do not need a thing.' But you do not realize that you are wretched, pitiful, poor, blind, and naked." Their overconfidence blinded them to their 'wretched' spiritual condition.
Jesus' answer to this person's question certainly feels pessimistic. He does not give a clear cut answer in terms of numbers. But He suggests grim possibilities. One question that is raised is, "Does the narrow door limit the number of people who can enter- or the number of opportunities people will have to enter?"
What we know from the general tenor of scripture is that God blesses those who genuinely search for Him. The prophet Jeremiah wrote, " You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart. I will be found by you."
The one time that an all out effort always fails is when it comes too late; after the door is closed. In the life of The Spirit there are seasons-providential moments-when circumstances and sensitivity are ripe, made so by God's Spirit! When those intersections pass, we never know when the next appeal of God's Spirit will be. Ultimately the door will close permanently when we die or Jesus comes again. We know that for sure!
We also know the opportunities given to us are valuable gifts. In the days before modern harbors a ship had to wait for the flood tide before it could enter port. The term for this situation in Latin was ob portu, that is, a ship standing off a port waiting for the moment when it could ride the tide to harbor. The English word opportunity is derived from this Latin phrase. The captain and the crew had to be ready and waiting for that one moment. They knew that if they missed it they would have to wait for another tide to come in. Shakespeare turned this meaning of opportunity into one of his most famous passages. In Julius Caesar, Act IV, Scene 3 Brutus says:
There is a tide in the affairs of men,Why does Jesus endorse the idea of all out effort? For one thing Jesus knows that there will be significant opposition to your surrender to Him. There is that fallen nature we live with when we first come to Him that still thinks sin is a good time.
Which, taken at the flood, leads on to fortune;
Omitted, all the voyage of their life
Is bound in shallows and in miseries.
On such a full sea are we now afloat;
And we must take the current when it serves,
Or lose our ventures."
Most of the secular world thinks that forbidding sin is an unfair prohibition of fun. They see it as a life long "initiation." If you join a fraternity or sorority you may have to eat a few worms or perform a few humiliating stunts for the entertainment of those already in. But that is the price you pay to enjoy the advantages of the organization.
The world sees giving up sin as the initiation that lasts and lasts. It is the price you pay for enjoying eternity. Give up fun today for joy later.
For those who have entered into a life long and close relationship with Jesus, we begin to understand that Jesus has rescued us from a life of destruction- from a life in the pig pen. God calls us to a different lifestyle because He loves us. Like a parent who wants their teens home at night before the criminals come out to take over the streets. Our kids think we hate them and want to ruin their lives, even when we explain it to them.
It may take a long pull of strenuous effort to break our attraction to sin and to learn that right living has many happy rewards. Jesus encourages us to make the effort.
He also understands that many folks live their lives under the false hope that salvation is available to the vast majority, just for being a decent person. Eternal lost-ness is only for those few monsters- serial killers, molesters, etc...This false hope lulls many to a dangerous spiritual lethargy. Jesus says, "Wake up!"
But Jesus called us to extra vigilance because He knew there would also be outside obstacles: moral integrity may cause you to lose your job. Your friends may ridicule your new life with Jesus. You may be a target for abuse because you're a Christian.
In light of the attractiveness of sin, problems with false hope, and real kinds of abuse, it is necessary to make every effort to be vigilant.
In many ways, because the warning is so strong, this is a dark passage. There is an undertone of strong compassion, but there is more here on missing the way than there is on the comfortable yoke we wear with Jesus. There is not as much about the joy of salvation as the cost of salvation. Jesus is focusing His teaching like a laser on the problem of misplaced confidence. There is only one entrance to spiritual life, and there are limited opportunities. A lot of people are going to try a different way- rather than surrender to Jesus. Then after the whole world has seen their error, all efforts at the right door will be too late.
But if the narrow door seems difficult for the person who becomes Jesus' apprentice- it is much more difficult for the teacher. For Jesus it is the way of the Cross. In verses 33 and 34 the word Jerusalem is repeated three times with only punctuation breaks. It is an expression of compassion for those who rejected Jesus. And these words describe the weight of the burden Jesus would carry for the world when He arrived there at Jerusalem. Jesus has an incredible desire to rescue those who would be lost for eternity (all of us), but when a person or group rejects the extraordinarily HUGE gift of salvation, all God can do at that point is mourn.
There is something profound- heart rending about the Son of God standing at the edge of Jerusalem, tears streaming down His face and His chest heaving in grief, because they would not accept the only hope He could offer them.
When a nation or person persists in rejecting Jesus, then even God can only mourn and weep for their fate. There is no hint of bitterness or "you rejected me, now you get what's coming to you." There is only the grieving cry of a parent over a child lost forever."
Wake up before it's too late!!
Thursday, March 17, 2011
The Temptations of Christ
Editor's note: I wanted to include this lent series during the actual lent season, so we will finish the last two fruit of the Spirit messages following the Easter season.
Lent #1 2004
What is your strategy for dealing with bullies? Sometimes all you need to do is call their bluff. And then there are those times when they're not bluffing. They really are bigger, meaner, and nastier than anyone else you've ever met. For example, there's the devil.
What do you believe about the devil? What is your understanding of spiritual battle? When you go to battle what's your preferred way to start? Hitler liked to start with overwhelming force and speed (blitzkrieg). It worked well against a Polish army equipped with horses but bogged down once it became a fair fight. Some generals start by probing the enemy for weak points that they think they might exploit. The devil used this method.
Read Luke 4:1-13.
Luke reports that God, through the Holy Spirit, is the one who arranged for this time of testing. It will be important to remember this was God's idea. It was His plan for Jesus to face up to the challenges of being the world's redeemer. Jesus must decide His strategy- determine how He will work with the Father. Will He win men by power or sacrifice?
Jesus knows that He has been equipped to be the Messiah. The Bible tells us that Jesus laid aside His privileges of divinity. He fought the devil as a man. But God has equipped men with gifts before: Moses, Elijah, Elisha, Joseph, and Daniel all had extraordinary power and wisdom. It would not be unfair for Jesus to be gifted with spiritual gifts for His ministry as Messiah, and still fight the spiritual battle of the ages as a man.
But how would He use those gifts? The devil knew a few things, too. He is not omniscient, but he knew Jesus could turn stones to bread. He has never tempted me to do that.
This narrative is set on a very barren stage. There are only two characters present. The Savior and the devil and a few rocks and wild animals. The devil has an agenda. Do you need three guesses?
His whole strategy focuses on one purpose- to ruin Jesus' capacity to be the world's redeemer. Each temptation is a challenge to Jesus' loyalty to His Father's plan. The only plan that will work.
The first temptation is cunning, devious, and shrewd. After 40 days without food, not to mention exhausted from His spiritual struggles, Jesus is literally starving. Esau sold his soul for a cup of soup, and he wasn't as hungry as Jesus. A committed Russian revolutionary who couldn't stand the pain of nicotine withdrawal after his capture spilled his guts for a cigarette- leading to the death of many of his comrades. We don't take physical cravings lightly!
Jesus begins to struggle with the issue of feeling good or being good. Remember, Luke tells us the Holy Spirit led Jesus to this barren place. In Deuteronomy Moses reminds Israel that God led them to the wilderness so that He could mold them into the family of God (8:2).
First lesson for Israel: When God gives directions, they must be followed, even if obedience causes a shortage of food and water. God's command will contain His provisions for His people. Based on this principle, Moses told them "Man does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord" (8:3).
Jesus used this principle for His own wilderness test. Remember He was led here. Notice He didn't say, "Man does not live on bread period." Food is needed. For an animal without a soul it might be all that is needed, but for people created in the image of God, nourishment for the soul is even more important than food. For people who like to eat and enjoy eating at every given opportunity, this might sound a bit idealistic! But soul concerns must outweigh physical concerns every time and we can only nurish our soul through acts of obedience.
The temptation for Jesus is to act as if His desires are more important than God's will. Desires are king today. It is presumed that if you love a person, you will naturally approve of their desires- so long as they're not illegal. Just think of how many times you've heard someone say, "If you loved me, you would do what I want." On any Biblical (or sane) view, to love someone means to favor what is good for them, and then be prepared to help them toward that good. Even if it means disapproving of their desires.
God knows our good better than we do. Jesus understood that at the right time, the Father would provide for His needs. To prematurely "leave the wilderness" when the Holy Spirit hadn't led Him would be to not trust the Father. It would be to walk away from the nourishment of God.
By contrast to the first temptation, the second is not so subtle. Certainly the devil has something to offer that resonates with Jesus. What it lacks for in cunning it makes up for in its attractive packaging. Satan tries to sell Jesus "the easy way to power." Jesus could set up a world government that would beat the Pax Roma all to smithereens. The devil is offering Jesus, in Tolkein's metaphor, "the ring of power," that source-of-power-that-must-be-destroyed!
Jesus did not agree that the devil could legally lay claim to the kingdoms of the world. Neither did He argue with him. In fact, the Bible does refer to Satan as the god of this age and the prince of this world.
In exchange for allegiance to Satan, Jesus could avoid the agony of Gethsemane, the rejection of His people and the torture of the cross. But the bill would come due. For a few comfortable years we could enjoy a level of prosperity, but then there would be Hell to pay. Of course people make that compromise every day. But Jesus would not make it for us. Instead He would build a bridge over the abyss and invite us all to join Him in an eternal kingdom. It will be your choice.
The third temptation is perhaps the one that resonates the most with us garden variety people. None of us will turn stones to bread. The devil may offer the world to you, but most of us know that as soon as you sign up for it- all you'll get is demonic belly laughs.
But this idea of Jesus doing miracles to prop up our faith sounds pretty good. Satan is suggesting that Jesus use miracles to compel faith. The Israelites tried this with God. They were thinking that God had forgotten about their need for water. They were ready to lynch Moses and head back to Egypt, but first they worked out a deal, "If God will perform a miracle (provide water) we will hang around a little longer" (Exodus 17).
This sounds like bartering faith for a miracle. "I'll give you some faith- if you'll give me a satisfying demonstration of your divinity." It also sounds something like blackmail. In Deuteronomy 6 Moses warned them very sternly to never again test the Lord. He reminded them of the horrible consequences of that kind of behavior. They may have gotten water, but they also had to live with weak faith that turned them away from the Promised Land.
If you are measuring the quality of your spiritual life by the intensity of your spiritual ecstasies, you are using the wrong yard stick. Your faith is worthless without a miracle. It is unbelief masquerading as extraordinary faith.
The power of God is very real. But it is not a computer program that you can turn on to solve your problems or your boredom. The blessing of God comes with a spirit of humble obedience. Faith is something you have before miracles. Most saints go years or a lifetime without an ecstatic presence of God's Spirit. Of course some people would rather have the experience than the Spirit.
At the beginning of His ministry Jesus chose the way of sacrifice. The way of the cross. His choice was our only hope. This encounter at the beginning of His ministry is a significant event on the long road to the passion. These were Jesus temptations. We can learn a few things for ourselves from this account- such as temptation is not irresistible. Jesus can help us overcome the devil, too. We are not doomed every time he shows up. We also see that an important weapon in this battle is the word of God.
But this is a story about Jesus, not us.
This battle with Satan does more to reveal Jesus commitment to our salvation and His love for the Father than the feeding of the 5,000, curing blindness, or raising the dead.
Our response, should be worship- awe. We are viewing the first taste of the passion of the Messiah. For you, and even me, Jesus chose the way of Sarifice because it was the only way to save us from eternal lost-ness.
Lent #1 2004
What is your strategy for dealing with bullies? Sometimes all you need to do is call their bluff. And then there are those times when they're not bluffing. They really are bigger, meaner, and nastier than anyone else you've ever met. For example, there's the devil.
What do you believe about the devil? What is your understanding of spiritual battle? When you go to battle what's your preferred way to start? Hitler liked to start with overwhelming force and speed (blitzkrieg). It worked well against a Polish army equipped with horses but bogged down once it became a fair fight. Some generals start by probing the enemy for weak points that they think they might exploit. The devil used this method.
Read Luke 4:1-13.
Luke reports that God, through the Holy Spirit, is the one who arranged for this time of testing. It will be important to remember this was God's idea. It was His plan for Jesus to face up to the challenges of being the world's redeemer. Jesus must decide His strategy- determine how He will work with the Father. Will He win men by power or sacrifice?
Jesus knows that He has been equipped to be the Messiah. The Bible tells us that Jesus laid aside His privileges of divinity. He fought the devil as a man. But God has equipped men with gifts before: Moses, Elijah, Elisha, Joseph, and Daniel all had extraordinary power and wisdom. It would not be unfair for Jesus to be gifted with spiritual gifts for His ministry as Messiah, and still fight the spiritual battle of the ages as a man.
But how would He use those gifts? The devil knew a few things, too. He is not omniscient, but he knew Jesus could turn stones to bread. He has never tempted me to do that.
This narrative is set on a very barren stage. There are only two characters present. The Savior and the devil and a few rocks and wild animals. The devil has an agenda. Do you need three guesses?
His whole strategy focuses on one purpose- to ruin Jesus' capacity to be the world's redeemer. Each temptation is a challenge to Jesus' loyalty to His Father's plan. The only plan that will work.
The first temptation is cunning, devious, and shrewd. After 40 days without food, not to mention exhausted from His spiritual struggles, Jesus is literally starving. Esau sold his soul for a cup of soup, and he wasn't as hungry as Jesus. A committed Russian revolutionary who couldn't stand the pain of nicotine withdrawal after his capture spilled his guts for a cigarette- leading to the death of many of his comrades. We don't take physical cravings lightly!
Jesus begins to struggle with the issue of feeling good or being good. Remember, Luke tells us the Holy Spirit led Jesus to this barren place. In Deuteronomy Moses reminds Israel that God led them to the wilderness so that He could mold them into the family of God (8:2).
First lesson for Israel: When God gives directions, they must be followed, even if obedience causes a shortage of food and water. God's command will contain His provisions for His people. Based on this principle, Moses told them "Man does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord" (8:3).
Jesus used this principle for His own wilderness test. Remember He was led here. Notice He didn't say, "Man does not live on bread period." Food is needed. For an animal without a soul it might be all that is needed, but for people created in the image of God, nourishment for the soul is even more important than food. For people who like to eat and enjoy eating at every given opportunity, this might sound a bit idealistic! But soul concerns must outweigh physical concerns every time and we can only nurish our soul through acts of obedience.
The temptation for Jesus is to act as if His desires are more important than God's will. Desires are king today. It is presumed that if you love a person, you will naturally approve of their desires- so long as they're not illegal. Just think of how many times you've heard someone say, "If you loved me, you would do what I want." On any Biblical (or sane) view, to love someone means to favor what is good for them, and then be prepared to help them toward that good. Even if it means disapproving of their desires.
God knows our good better than we do. Jesus understood that at the right time, the Father would provide for His needs. To prematurely "leave the wilderness" when the Holy Spirit hadn't led Him would be to not trust the Father. It would be to walk away from the nourishment of God.
By contrast to the first temptation, the second is not so subtle. Certainly the devil has something to offer that resonates with Jesus. What it lacks for in cunning it makes up for in its attractive packaging. Satan tries to sell Jesus "the easy way to power." Jesus could set up a world government that would beat the Pax Roma all to smithereens. The devil is offering Jesus, in Tolkein's metaphor, "the ring of power," that source-of-power-that-must-be-destroyed!
Jesus did not agree that the devil could legally lay claim to the kingdoms of the world. Neither did He argue with him. In fact, the Bible does refer to Satan as the god of this age and the prince of this world.
In exchange for allegiance to Satan, Jesus could avoid the agony of Gethsemane, the rejection of His people and the torture of the cross. But the bill would come due. For a few comfortable years we could enjoy a level of prosperity, but then there would be Hell to pay. Of course people make that compromise every day. But Jesus would not make it for us. Instead He would build a bridge over the abyss and invite us all to join Him in an eternal kingdom. It will be your choice.
The third temptation is perhaps the one that resonates the most with us garden variety people. None of us will turn stones to bread. The devil may offer the world to you, but most of us know that as soon as you sign up for it- all you'll get is demonic belly laughs.
But this idea of Jesus doing miracles to prop up our faith sounds pretty good. Satan is suggesting that Jesus use miracles to compel faith. The Israelites tried this with God. They were thinking that God had forgotten about their need for water. They were ready to lynch Moses and head back to Egypt, but first they worked out a deal, "If God will perform a miracle (provide water) we will hang around a little longer" (Exodus 17).
This sounds like bartering faith for a miracle. "I'll give you some faith- if you'll give me a satisfying demonstration of your divinity." It also sounds something like blackmail. In Deuteronomy 6 Moses warned them very sternly to never again test the Lord. He reminded them of the horrible consequences of that kind of behavior. They may have gotten water, but they also had to live with weak faith that turned them away from the Promised Land.
If you are measuring the quality of your spiritual life by the intensity of your spiritual ecstasies, you are using the wrong yard stick. Your faith is worthless without a miracle. It is unbelief masquerading as extraordinary faith.
The power of God is very real. But it is not a computer program that you can turn on to solve your problems or your boredom. The blessing of God comes with a spirit of humble obedience. Faith is something you have before miracles. Most saints go years or a lifetime without an ecstatic presence of God's Spirit. Of course some people would rather have the experience than the Spirit.
At the beginning of His ministry Jesus chose the way of sacrifice. The way of the cross. His choice was our only hope. This encounter at the beginning of His ministry is a significant event on the long road to the passion. These were Jesus temptations. We can learn a few things for ourselves from this account- such as temptation is not irresistible. Jesus can help us overcome the devil, too. We are not doomed every time he shows up. We also see that an important weapon in this battle is the word of God.
But this is a story about Jesus, not us.
This battle with Satan does more to reveal Jesus commitment to our salvation and His love for the Father than the feeding of the 5,000, curing blindness, or raising the dead.
Our response, should be worship- awe. We are viewing the first taste of the passion of the Messiah. For you, and even me, Jesus chose the way of Sarifice because it was the only way to save us from eternal lost-ness.
Thursday, March 3, 2011
The Fruit of the Spirit: Goodness
August 18, 1996
An ambitious salesman delivered his company's bid to an engineering firm. The project director left for a few minutes. The salesman could not help but notice their chief competitor's bid lying on the top of the desk (with all the figures in plain view except for the total amount, which happened to be covered by a can of Coke. He knew that he should not take unfair advantage by sneaking a look at the total bid. On the other hand, a multi-million-dollar contract was at stake for his company, not to mention several thousand dollars of commission for him. He felt hot and flushed as the battle raged in his heart. Since no one was around, he lifted the Coke can for a peek.
Thousands of tiny ball bearings instantly spilled out of the bottomless can all over the desk and onto the concrete floor.
In the book Profiles of Leadership, America's top business and government leaders were asked what quality they considered the most important to the success of a leader. Their unanimous answer: integrity.
You've got to wonder, however, when Pentagon procurement officers pay a vendor $600 a piece for airplane toilet seats that should've cost $25, or $659.53 for an ashtray, or $400 for a hammer. Where is the integrity?
Remember Abscam? In 1980 FBI agents posed as Arab Sheiks willing to pay big bucks for government influence. The agents filmed several dozen officials happily accepting bribes. Senators and representatives went to prison. Then the congress chastised the FBI for being so sneaky!
The Bible says, "The integrity of the honest keeps them on track; the deviousness of crooks brings them to ruin" (Proverbs 11:3). Most of us would like to add "the sooner the better!" but God's timing in dealing with evil is wiser than our impatience. And who among us hasn't been grateful that God delayed swift justice for us? The fruit of the Spirit is goodness.
What is goodness? It is a word that nearly everyone uses but few will know how to define in detail. A watermelon can be good, a baseball game can be good, a newspaper article can be good, a doctor's report can be good and at Christmas, children are told in song, "be good for goodness sake."
Among ordinary people goodness has to do with some kind of agreeable or likable behavior. It can be very subjective. I can call your behavior good if I happen to like it, even if someone else doesn't. I might holler, "good catch, Dave," while someone on the other team would call it lucky. Goodness doesn't seem to have a concrete pin-downable-definition out in the world.
The Bible is not quite so vague. Goodness in the Bible is defined by a character quality of God, that is a mixture of a blameless, principled character combined with a generous spirit. Generosity is like warm skin on the bones of integrity.
Dan Clark tells about a friend named Paul who found an inner city boy walking around his shiny new car, admiring it. "Is this your car, Mister?" he asked.
"My brother gave it to me for Christmas," Paul replied.
"You mean your brother gave it to you and it didn't cost you nothing? Boy, I wish..." he hesitated. Paul assumed that he wished he had a brother like that. But Paul could hardly believe his ears when he heard the boy reply, "I wish that I could be a brother like that."
Paul looked at the boy with astonishment, then impulsively asked, "Would you like a ride?"
Would he? In an instant he was sitting wide-eyed in the font seat. After awhile he asked, "Mister, would you mind driving to my house? It's just a few blocks from here."
Paul smiled, thinking he knew what the boy wanted; to show off his new friend and his great car to his neighbors. But no. The boy asked him to stop at a dilapidated old house scrunched between tall, shabby apartment buildings. He ran up the steps.
In a little while, Paul saw the broken out screen door push open. He could barely believe his eyes. The boy was carrying his crippled younger brother. He struggled across the porch and sat him down on the top step.
"There she is, buddy, just like I told you upstairs. His brother gave it to him for Christmas, and it didn't cost him a cent. And some day, I'm gonna give you one just like it, so you can see for yourself all the pretty Christmas lights I've been trying to tell you about."
Deeply moved, Paul got out, lifted the crippled boy in his arms, carried him to the car, and slid him into the front seat. The beaming older brother climbed into the back seat, and the three of them began the holiday ride of a lifetime.
That Christmas Eve, Paul experienced the power of the words of Jesus when He said, "It is more blessed to give than to receive." (Acts 20:35). It is good to be generous.
It is thought provoking, that when your typical "person on the street" begins to think about life and death issues, and especially the possibilities of life after death- that they almost always think of getting to heaven in terms of being good enough. And in almost everyone's mind, they are good enough. The question is almost never asked "How good is good enough?" or "How bad is too bad?" and "How do you know?"
This contentment with homemade theology makes it that much more shocking when a person finally does get around to asking God or studying His word with the question in mind: just how good is good enough.
The answer is the same as the answer to the question "How good is God?" Goodness is a character quality of God. Remember in Exodus, when Moses asked for an encounter with the physical presence of God. In 33:19 it reads, "And the Lord said, "I will cause all my goodness to pass in front of you, and I will proclaim my name, the Lord, in your presence.'" The essence of goodness is synonymous with God's glory. When Paul wrote, "All have sinned and come short of the glory of God"- we could say" Come short of the goodness of God." That's the standard you don't want to come short of!
All this means then, is- if we are ever going to be good enough, we will have to allow Jesus to work His nature into the stuff that makes up our character. Computer programmers complain about a common problem. They describe the problem in their own shorthand: garbage in-garbage out. The phrase "fruit of the Spirit" is another kind of short hand: the spirit of Jesus in- the spirit of Jesus out...or Jesus in- goodness out. Fruit is a product of the Spirit.
In Genesis 1:31 Adam and Eve were declared very good. But it didn't last. Why did they lose their good rating? Was it because they did a lot of bad things? Did they begin to fight violently or murder one another or commit adultery with Satan or gossip? Obviously not. What they did- the act itself- wasn't all that bad as far as sin goes. Some of you still smile at your one or two acts of watermelon stealing in your youth.
All of us have done much worse than take a bite from someone else's apple. Even a small sin caused a huge change on the inside that was very significant. They lost their very good rating because a small sin cause a big change in attitude. By rejecting God's supervision or oversight, and taking charge of their own lives, they let evil into their hearts. A small sin-hardly bad enough by appearances was disastrous!
The Bible tells us that God has, ever since, been on a mission to bring people back to what He intended to a standard of goodness. The ultimate working out of God's mission was the coming of Jesus to be a servant, to die on a cross and to defeat death in the resurrection. The goodness of God is especially in focus for us as we see Jesus on the cross. In that sacrifice, Jesus gave God the father the tools again, to make you and me good from the inside out. The surgeons tools are in God's hands. We cannot perform the surgery on ourself.
The Bible clearly says none of us are qualified. Read Romans 3:10-12.
The common folk theology that is made up as we sit around our TV sets, and dinner tables, and sick beds- this homemade theology that says we're all (just about anyway), we're all good enough- this is just plain wrong.
Pride is a real enemy at this point. We look at all the things we think are disgusting: rape, molestation, dishonesty in government- and think we're pretty good. this is street theology. Talking to our pride. The Bible says you and I don't have the luxury of comparing ourselves to the latest celebrity murderer. The standard we'll be set next to is "the Glory of God." That is bad news. Homemade theology is like little children who close their eyes in the presence of danger and think they're safe: almost all of us are good enough, homemade theology says with its eyes closed- the Bible says none of us are. And since God is the final judge, whose standard do you think is going to be used- His or ours?
But the good news is that through the efforts of God on the cross, He can make us good enough. Read Romans 3:20-26.
Goodness is a gift. When you put your confidence in Jesus' efforts to save and sanctify you, or to put it another way- to rescue you from hell and in the process transform your heart to be like His. When you put your confidence in Jesus to do this- then He has permission to transplant His character into your life.
In an ongoing way, this gift continues in the form of available resources. Those resources are there because the Holy Spirit is there and they help you live a life of integrity and generosity.
If the spirit of Jesus is in you, goodness can come out. Is it coming out? Are you taking advantage of the resource of the Holy Spirit to develop a generous and blameless spirit? Jesus in- goodness out! Jesus in- blameless character and generous spirit out!
An ambitious salesman delivered his company's bid to an engineering firm. The project director left for a few minutes. The salesman could not help but notice their chief competitor's bid lying on the top of the desk (with all the figures in plain view except for the total amount, which happened to be covered by a can of Coke. He knew that he should not take unfair advantage by sneaking a look at the total bid. On the other hand, a multi-million-dollar contract was at stake for his company, not to mention several thousand dollars of commission for him. He felt hot and flushed as the battle raged in his heart. Since no one was around, he lifted the Coke can for a peek.
Thousands of tiny ball bearings instantly spilled out of the bottomless can all over the desk and onto the concrete floor.
In the book Profiles of Leadership, America's top business and government leaders were asked what quality they considered the most important to the success of a leader. Their unanimous answer: integrity.
You've got to wonder, however, when Pentagon procurement officers pay a vendor $600 a piece for airplane toilet seats that should've cost $25, or $659.53 for an ashtray, or $400 for a hammer. Where is the integrity?
Remember Abscam? In 1980 FBI agents posed as Arab Sheiks willing to pay big bucks for government influence. The agents filmed several dozen officials happily accepting bribes. Senators and representatives went to prison. Then the congress chastised the FBI for being so sneaky!
The Bible says, "The integrity of the honest keeps them on track; the deviousness of crooks brings them to ruin" (Proverbs 11:3). Most of us would like to add "the sooner the better!" but God's timing in dealing with evil is wiser than our impatience. And who among us hasn't been grateful that God delayed swift justice for us? The fruit of the Spirit is goodness.
What is goodness? It is a word that nearly everyone uses but few will know how to define in detail. A watermelon can be good, a baseball game can be good, a newspaper article can be good, a doctor's report can be good and at Christmas, children are told in song, "be good for goodness sake."
Among ordinary people goodness has to do with some kind of agreeable or likable behavior. It can be very subjective. I can call your behavior good if I happen to like it, even if someone else doesn't. I might holler, "good catch, Dave," while someone on the other team would call it lucky. Goodness doesn't seem to have a concrete pin-downable-definition out in the world.
The Bible is not quite so vague. Goodness in the Bible is defined by a character quality of God, that is a mixture of a blameless, principled character combined with a generous spirit. Generosity is like warm skin on the bones of integrity.
Dan Clark tells about a friend named Paul who found an inner city boy walking around his shiny new car, admiring it. "Is this your car, Mister?" he asked.
"My brother gave it to me for Christmas," Paul replied.
"You mean your brother gave it to you and it didn't cost you nothing? Boy, I wish..." he hesitated. Paul assumed that he wished he had a brother like that. But Paul could hardly believe his ears when he heard the boy reply, "I wish that I could be a brother like that."
Paul looked at the boy with astonishment, then impulsively asked, "Would you like a ride?"
Would he? In an instant he was sitting wide-eyed in the font seat. After awhile he asked, "Mister, would you mind driving to my house? It's just a few blocks from here."
Paul smiled, thinking he knew what the boy wanted; to show off his new friend and his great car to his neighbors. But no. The boy asked him to stop at a dilapidated old house scrunched between tall, shabby apartment buildings. He ran up the steps.
In a little while, Paul saw the broken out screen door push open. He could barely believe his eyes. The boy was carrying his crippled younger brother. He struggled across the porch and sat him down on the top step.
"There she is, buddy, just like I told you upstairs. His brother gave it to him for Christmas, and it didn't cost him a cent. And some day, I'm gonna give you one just like it, so you can see for yourself all the pretty Christmas lights I've been trying to tell you about."
Deeply moved, Paul got out, lifted the crippled boy in his arms, carried him to the car, and slid him into the front seat. The beaming older brother climbed into the back seat, and the three of them began the holiday ride of a lifetime.
That Christmas Eve, Paul experienced the power of the words of Jesus when He said, "It is more blessed to give than to receive." (Acts 20:35). It is good to be generous.
It is thought provoking, that when your typical "person on the street" begins to think about life and death issues, and especially the possibilities of life after death- that they almost always think of getting to heaven in terms of being good enough. And in almost everyone's mind, they are good enough. The question is almost never asked "How good is good enough?" or "How bad is too bad?" and "How do you know?"
This contentment with homemade theology makes it that much more shocking when a person finally does get around to asking God or studying His word with the question in mind: just how good is good enough.
The answer is the same as the answer to the question "How good is God?" Goodness is a character quality of God. Remember in Exodus, when Moses asked for an encounter with the physical presence of God. In 33:19 it reads, "And the Lord said, "I will cause all my goodness to pass in front of you, and I will proclaim my name, the Lord, in your presence.'" The essence of goodness is synonymous with God's glory. When Paul wrote, "All have sinned and come short of the glory of God"- we could say" Come short of the goodness of God." That's the standard you don't want to come short of!
All this means then, is- if we are ever going to be good enough, we will have to allow Jesus to work His nature into the stuff that makes up our character. Computer programmers complain about a common problem. They describe the problem in their own shorthand: garbage in-garbage out. The phrase "fruit of the Spirit" is another kind of short hand: the spirit of Jesus in- the spirit of Jesus out...or Jesus in- goodness out. Fruit is a product of the Spirit.
In Genesis 1:31 Adam and Eve were declared very good. But it didn't last. Why did they lose their good rating? Was it because they did a lot of bad things? Did they begin to fight violently or murder one another or commit adultery with Satan or gossip? Obviously not. What they did- the act itself- wasn't all that bad as far as sin goes. Some of you still smile at your one or two acts of watermelon stealing in your youth.
All of us have done much worse than take a bite from someone else's apple. Even a small sin caused a huge change on the inside that was very significant. They lost their very good rating because a small sin cause a big change in attitude. By rejecting God's supervision or oversight, and taking charge of their own lives, they let evil into their hearts. A small sin-hardly bad enough by appearances was disastrous!
The Bible tells us that God has, ever since, been on a mission to bring people back to what He intended to a standard of goodness. The ultimate working out of God's mission was the coming of Jesus to be a servant, to die on a cross and to defeat death in the resurrection. The goodness of God is especially in focus for us as we see Jesus on the cross. In that sacrifice, Jesus gave God the father the tools again, to make you and me good from the inside out. The surgeons tools are in God's hands. We cannot perform the surgery on ourself.
The Bible clearly says none of us are qualified. Read Romans 3:10-12.
The common folk theology that is made up as we sit around our TV sets, and dinner tables, and sick beds- this homemade theology that says we're all (just about anyway), we're all good enough- this is just plain wrong.
Pride is a real enemy at this point. We look at all the things we think are disgusting: rape, molestation, dishonesty in government- and think we're pretty good. this is street theology. Talking to our pride. The Bible says you and I don't have the luxury of comparing ourselves to the latest celebrity murderer. The standard we'll be set next to is "the Glory of God." That is bad news. Homemade theology is like little children who close their eyes in the presence of danger and think they're safe: almost all of us are good enough, homemade theology says with its eyes closed- the Bible says none of us are. And since God is the final judge, whose standard do you think is going to be used- His or ours?
But the good news is that through the efforts of God on the cross, He can make us good enough. Read Romans 3:20-26.
Goodness is a gift. When you put your confidence in Jesus' efforts to save and sanctify you, or to put it another way- to rescue you from hell and in the process transform your heart to be like His. When you put your confidence in Jesus to do this- then He has permission to transplant His character into your life.
In an ongoing way, this gift continues in the form of available resources. Those resources are there because the Holy Spirit is there and they help you live a life of integrity and generosity.
If the spirit of Jesus is in you, goodness can come out. Is it coming out? Are you taking advantage of the resource of the Holy Spirit to develop a generous and blameless spirit? Jesus in- goodness out! Jesus in- blameless character and generous spirit out!
Thursday, February 24, 2011
Fruit of the Spirit: Kindness
July 21, 1996
When Doug Meland and his wife moved into a village of Brazil's Fulino Indians, he was referred to as "the white man"- not a complimentary term. Other white men had exploited the villagers, burned their homes, and robbed their lands. But after the missionaries learned the language and began to help people with medicine and in other ways, they began to call Doug "the good white man." And when the Melands began adopting the customs of the people, the Fulino spoke of Doug as "the white Indian."
Then one day, as Doug was washing the dirty, blood-caked foot of an injured boy, he heard a bystander say, "who ever heard of a white man washing an Indian's foot? Certainly this man is from God." From that day, whenever Doug entered an Indian home, it would be announced, "Here come the man God sent us." That's one of the secrets of greatness: compassion. That's also one of the characteristics of those who follow Jesus.
The Bible says, "The one who despises his neighbor is a sinner, but blessed is the one who is kind to the needy," Proverbs 14:21.
Kindness is such a garden variety virtue that I rarely think about it. It doesn't have the preaching clout that fidelity and honesty and dedication to a cause have. In fact, on the surface, kindness has a mushy or feminine ring to it.
But to be honest with you, when I dig deeper into the study, I much more enjoy hanging out with "kind" people than harsh, insensitive, nasty folks. The more I think about it, the virtue of kindness is a powerful lubricant to the smooth running of social life. In fact, kindness is a practical working out of love. I Corinthians 13: 4 starts, "Love is patient, love is kind."
The quality of kindness brings love down from the clouds, down to my level on the street. A man who says he loves his wife but acts insensitively instead of kindly is a hypocrite. Kindness is a good test of love. The world needs a whole lot more of this quality.
So now you're asking, "How can I be a kinder, more compassionate person?" I"m glad you asked. Let's start with Galatians 5:22, 23.
Kindness, like love, joy, peace, patience, and the rest is a product of the spirit of God living in you. When the spirit of God gets inside you, this kind of behavior will start coming out of you. Garbage in, garbage out; Jesus in, kindness out. In this passage the phrase "fruit of the Spirit" is a code name for the life qualities of Jesus sprouting up through your life.
So on a kindness/nastiness scale, if the quality of your life ranges more toward the nasty side, well you might justifiably ask yourself: how much of my soul have I opened up to the spirit of God?
But that may not be the best question to ask. If you see more nastiness in yourself than you like, it might be profitable to probe another direction for a few moments: do you usually measure up to your own standards? How often do your accomplishments match your expectations? Who do you blame when you come short? (Who else, you blame yourself, of course!). If you had only worked harder, smarter, stronger... If you hadn't been such a dingbat! Have you ever had a conversation like that with yourself?
IF you have them too often you may not be a compassionate person toward others. Sometimes we must forgive ourselves in order to forgive others. But that is kind of tricky. You can't forgive yourself "just because." If you're waiting for me to forgive you- forget it! I've got my own neurosis to work out!
We can't make up laws of forgiveness as we go along: "I feel guilty for running over that elderly lady on the side walk last night. Oh well, I can't live with this guilt so I forgive myself." Hoepfully you can see how that won't work. But if someone else, a person involved in the whole mess would forgive me, then I could forgive myself and I could become a more forgiving person.
That someone else is Jesus! He is involved in all my messes and offers to forgive me and then be an example of how to forgive and then be the power enabling me to be compassionate.
Let's go back to the woman caught in the act of committing adultery. Lloyd Ogilvie narrates the scene very dramatically. Listen to his description:
Editor's note: The text was unavailable, but the passage was read from The Magnificent Vision, pp 95-100
People with unresolved guilt tend to act like the punishment-loving scribes and pharisees. People who have understood the great miracle of their own forgiveness tend to let the forgiveness they received from Jesus ooze out of their life and become a salve to those around them.
An important lesson Jesus would teach us is: People never escape their guilt by being negative and critical to others. In fact, if a person does receive mercy from Jesus, but doesn't pass it on with compassion and kindness to others- the mercy they did receive becomes like a poison (like the Dead Sea with fresh water coming in but no outlet).
In the end, we do what we do; we behave the way we behave because of who we are on the inside. That is why what we have been studying is called the "fruit of the Spirit." When Jesus is in you, kindness and mercy come out.
Have you heard or felt the impact of the words, "Neither do I condemn you. Go and sin no more?" Can you say to those who need compassion: Neither do I condemn you?" If you're now asking how you can be a kinder person, you need to first be willing to experience Jesus as your forgiver. Then you will know Him as your example and as your power. To be these things you and I must let Him into our lives with the right to control every aspect of who we are.
When Doug Meland and his wife moved into a village of Brazil's Fulino Indians, he was referred to as "the white man"- not a complimentary term. Other white men had exploited the villagers, burned their homes, and robbed their lands. But after the missionaries learned the language and began to help people with medicine and in other ways, they began to call Doug "the good white man." And when the Melands began adopting the customs of the people, the Fulino spoke of Doug as "the white Indian."
Then one day, as Doug was washing the dirty, blood-caked foot of an injured boy, he heard a bystander say, "who ever heard of a white man washing an Indian's foot? Certainly this man is from God." From that day, whenever Doug entered an Indian home, it would be announced, "Here come the man God sent us." That's one of the secrets of greatness: compassion. That's also one of the characteristics of those who follow Jesus.
The Bible says, "The one who despises his neighbor is a sinner, but blessed is the one who is kind to the needy," Proverbs 14:21.
Kindness is such a garden variety virtue that I rarely think about it. It doesn't have the preaching clout that fidelity and honesty and dedication to a cause have. In fact, on the surface, kindness has a mushy or feminine ring to it.
But to be honest with you, when I dig deeper into the study, I much more enjoy hanging out with "kind" people than harsh, insensitive, nasty folks. The more I think about it, the virtue of kindness is a powerful lubricant to the smooth running of social life. In fact, kindness is a practical working out of love. I Corinthians 13: 4 starts, "Love is patient, love is kind."
The quality of kindness brings love down from the clouds, down to my level on the street. A man who says he loves his wife but acts insensitively instead of kindly is a hypocrite. Kindness is a good test of love. The world needs a whole lot more of this quality.
So now you're asking, "How can I be a kinder, more compassionate person?" I"m glad you asked. Let's start with Galatians 5:22, 23.
Kindness, like love, joy, peace, patience, and the rest is a product of the spirit of God living in you. When the spirit of God gets inside you, this kind of behavior will start coming out of you. Garbage in, garbage out; Jesus in, kindness out. In this passage the phrase "fruit of the Spirit" is a code name for the life qualities of Jesus sprouting up through your life.
So on a kindness/nastiness scale, if the quality of your life ranges more toward the nasty side, well you might justifiably ask yourself: how much of my soul have I opened up to the spirit of God?
But that may not be the best question to ask. If you see more nastiness in yourself than you like, it might be profitable to probe another direction for a few moments: do you usually measure up to your own standards? How often do your accomplishments match your expectations? Who do you blame when you come short? (Who else, you blame yourself, of course!). If you had only worked harder, smarter, stronger... If you hadn't been such a dingbat! Have you ever had a conversation like that with yourself?
IF you have them too often you may not be a compassionate person toward others. Sometimes we must forgive ourselves in order to forgive others. But that is kind of tricky. You can't forgive yourself "just because." If you're waiting for me to forgive you- forget it! I've got my own neurosis to work out!
We can't make up laws of forgiveness as we go along: "I feel guilty for running over that elderly lady on the side walk last night. Oh well, I can't live with this guilt so I forgive myself." Hoepfully you can see how that won't work. But if someone else, a person involved in the whole mess would forgive me, then I could forgive myself and I could become a more forgiving person.
That someone else is Jesus! He is involved in all my messes and offers to forgive me and then be an example of how to forgive and then be the power enabling me to be compassionate.
Let's go back to the woman caught in the act of committing adultery. Lloyd Ogilvie narrates the scene very dramatically. Listen to his description:
Editor's note: The text was unavailable, but the passage was read from The Magnificent Vision, pp 95-100
People with unresolved guilt tend to act like the punishment-loving scribes and pharisees. People who have understood the great miracle of their own forgiveness tend to let the forgiveness they received from Jesus ooze out of their life and become a salve to those around them.
An important lesson Jesus would teach us is: People never escape their guilt by being negative and critical to others. In fact, if a person does receive mercy from Jesus, but doesn't pass it on with compassion and kindness to others- the mercy they did receive becomes like a poison (like the Dead Sea with fresh water coming in but no outlet).
In the end, we do what we do; we behave the way we behave because of who we are on the inside. That is why what we have been studying is called the "fruit of the Spirit." When Jesus is in you, kindness and mercy come out.
Have you heard or felt the impact of the words, "Neither do I condemn you. Go and sin no more?" Can you say to those who need compassion: Neither do I condemn you?" If you're now asking how you can be a kinder person, you need to first be willing to experience Jesus as your forgiver. Then you will know Him as your example and as your power. To be these things you and I must let Him into our lives with the right to control every aspect of who we are.
Wednesday, February 16, 2011
Fruit of Patience
July 7, 1996
One of the most marked characteristics of our time is impatience. We're always in a hurry and we want everyone else to hurry. This is dangerous.
Several years ago a Navy jet fighter shot itself down over the Nevada desert while testing a new cannon mounted on its wing. The plane was flying at supersonic speed but the shells were subsonic. The jet actually ran into its own shells which had been fired several seconds earlier. It was traveling too fast for its own good.
In a culture that loves fast food, one-hour-photo processing, one hour dry cleaning, CLIF notes, and cramming for finals, waiting seems like a throwback to evolution. Yet the Bible describes many benefits of patience. It says, "A patient man has great understanding, but a quick tempered man displays folly" (Proverbs 14:29). "Better a patient man than a warrior, a man who controls his temper than one who takes a city" (Proverbs 16:32). "Through patience a ruler can be persuaded, and a gentle tongue can break a bone" (Proverbs 25:15).
I would love to have a great understanding, calm quarrels, be better than a warrior, and be able to persuade rulers. I would like to be a patient man, but I'm so impatient with the process that it takes to acquire patience.
I am not the only Christian who has wants to get patience and spiritual maturity- right now! Rick Warren writes, "With book titles like Four Easy Steps to Maturity and The Key to Instant Sainthood doing well in Christian book stores, it would seem a lot of folks are looking for shortcuts."
Christians get fooled by looking for a spiritual encounter that will be the end instead of a beginning. They look for a seminar or a revival speaker, or a book that will instantly transform them into a mature believer. This kind of search is futile. We may be able to make instant coffee, instant potatoes, liposuction for instant weight loss, but there is no such thing as instant maturity. Some Christians have spent so much time looking for the magic short cut- that ten years after they began their journey with Jesus, they are as immature in faith as the day they started. Spiritual growth takes time, patience, and waiting for Jesus to guide.
The good news is, you can become more patient by understanding and also practicing the Bible's teaching on patience. Start with Galatians 5:22.
This verse reminds us that the indwelling Spirit provides resources to resist and defeat impatience.
Impatience ultimately is a question of confidence in God, and especially His timing. That doesn't mean waiting is supposed to be fun. In Psalm 13:1 David expressed his pain in waiting when he asked, "How long, O Lord? Will you forget me forever? How long will you hide your face from me?" This is during a time where David is running from Saul with a price on his head.
Who likes to wait? Who chooses the long lines at the bank or grocery store? Who says, when you don't get the check you were expecting in the mail, "O good, I get to wait at least one more day?" But really this (lines, letters, phone calls) is minor league stuff. What about the waiting of a childless couple for a baby? Or the waiting of an unemployed person for a job? Or the waiting of a sick person for health? Or the waiting of a single person for marriage?
Waiting is one of the big challenges of life. But pushing down closed doors isn't a lot of fun either. In fact, one of the definitions of patience is, "a willingness to wait rather than try to force circumstances." Impatience is "not putting up with delay." Patience is putting up with irritations whether they come in the form of people or circumstances.
It is easier to joke about patience than to be patient. Frequently Christians advice each other to not pray for patience because if God is going to develop patience in you, He will have to allow frustrating people and circumstances to cross your path. But if that is true, you shouldn't pray for more Christian love, either. You see, Christians love their enemies. You don't impress God when you love an easy to love person. You impress God by loving the hard to love. It is easy to be at peace when things are going good. Real peace is for times of outward chaos.
In fact, God produces more intense levels of the fruit of the Spirit by allowing us to experience the opposite challenges. God is far more concerned with our character than our comfort and prosperity. His plan is to bring us to maturity not please our every whim. God may be so serious about developing patience in you that He will allow some of your wants, and dreams, and perhaps even needs to be delayed.
More often, we create our own school for patience by insisting on short cuts and quick fixes. The farther we get from an agricultural setting (fruit of love, peace, joy, etc), the easier it is to expect short cuts. There are very few short cuts on the farm.
The law of the farm is without mercy. Stephen Covey asks," Can you imagine a farmer forgetting to plant in the spring, taking a long summer vacation, and then hitting it hard in the fall- "ripping the soil up, throwing in the seeds, watering, cultivating- and expecting to get a bountiful harvest overnight?"
Can you imagine planning to run a marathon but not training until the day before? Students violate the law of the farm all the time. They play all semester and then cram during finals week. Some even think they've learned something when they get a passing grade.
Urgency is a challenge to patience. God defines urgency differently than I do. It is amazing that Jesus was never in a hurry. There are no pictures of Jesus frantically scrambling in a chaotic frenzy. He came on the most important mission the world has ever had, yet He never panicked or looked for short cuts or was in a hurry.
Charles Hammel writes, "We live in a constant tension between the urgent and the important. The problem is, the important task rarely must be done today, or even this week. Extra hours of prayer and Bible study, a visit with a non-Christian friend, careful study of an important book: These projects can wait. But the urgent tasks call for instant action - endless demands, pressure every hour and day."
Patience can sort out the unimportant, urgent demands from matters of importance. But the best kind of patience is supernatural patience. You get this through close intimate contact with Jesus. Jesus invites you to Himself- in one place- specifically in order to set you free from "the tyranny of the urgent."
Read Matthew 11:28-30.
In this passage, Jesus addresses several issues that deal directly with the concerns of an impatient person. First, Jesus knows all about your impatience. He knows you are wearied, and burdened, and irritated, and annoyed with the demands of the urgent. You're just the person He is looking for. He wants you with all your frustration, and irritation, and impatience to come to Him.
Second, Jesus wants to give you a new way to live. To do this He proposes an exchange of yokes. A yoke is a kind of harness, normally used to pair up two animals so they can pull a plow. It was also used in the ancient world by conquering armies to subjugate defeated foes and make them slaves. Ancient rabbis also spoke of their schools as yokes. In a symbolic way, when you entered a certain rabbi's school, you took on his yoke.
Now Jesus proposes an exchange of yokes. You have one that is irritating, heavy, and burdensome. He has one that is light and very comfortable. Now your question is- why do I have to wear a yoke at all? In fact, some of you are saying, "I don't wear a yoke!" I say you do, and more importantly the Bible says you do, but if you insist you don't- I'm sure you are a very happy person never touched by grief, emptiness, loneliness, or confusion!
I'm inclined to think that yokes are temporary (70-90 years tops)- just for this life. After we've learned what Jesus wants to teach us in this life, we won't need a yoke in the next life. At any rate, our sin has created a heavy and irritating yoke which we are tied to and Jesus wants to make the exchange.
It is interesting that the Old Testament forbid a mature ox and a young ox to be yoked together on identical terms. In this situation a training yoke was required. The mature animal carried a much heavier side and the way it was arranged, pulled a far bigger share of the load. All the younger ox had to do was walk in step with the mature animal. The young, rambunctious trainee had to give up the right to lead, the right to choose the course, and the pace, but they also did not have the responsibility for carrying the burden.
As we team up with Jesus, He will carry the heavy part of the burden and set the pace and choose the direction that fits us. The impatient disciple/apprentice will want to pull ahead, or go around the difficult terrain or take a short cut to the barn. Jesus is never in a hurry! You and I almost always are. Our impatience wears us out. Sometimes we think Jesus wears us out, but that is not the case. Jesus said He wants to, "Give you rest." Have you ever noticed how the impatient want to skip the rest stops- they are uncomfortable with a day off? If they have to stop for a break, they're pushing others to, "hurry back so we can get going!"
The weekly day of rest is God's idea. Waiting is a spiritual event. David who waited ten years to become king after he had been anointed wrote, "Wait for the Lord" (Psalm 27:14). God does not come to the impatient. He does not show up for those who are not waiting.
The prophet Isaiah said, "Even youth grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall; but those who wait on the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not fall" (Isaiah 41: 30, 31).
Jesus knows your frustration and the source of your impatience, He wants to exchange your heavy and irritating harness for His easy and light one. You need to let Him carry the load, choose the direction, and set the pace. It will involve waiting on occasion, but it is in these times that He is giving you rest.
David reported in Psalm 40:1, "I waited patiently for the Lord; He turned to me and heard my cry."
One of the most marked characteristics of our time is impatience. We're always in a hurry and we want everyone else to hurry. This is dangerous.
Several years ago a Navy jet fighter shot itself down over the Nevada desert while testing a new cannon mounted on its wing. The plane was flying at supersonic speed but the shells were subsonic. The jet actually ran into its own shells which had been fired several seconds earlier. It was traveling too fast for its own good.
In a culture that loves fast food, one-hour-photo processing, one hour dry cleaning, CLIF notes, and cramming for finals, waiting seems like a throwback to evolution. Yet the Bible describes many benefits of patience. It says, "A patient man has great understanding, but a quick tempered man displays folly" (Proverbs 14:29). "Better a patient man than a warrior, a man who controls his temper than one who takes a city" (Proverbs 16:32). "Through patience a ruler can be persuaded, and a gentle tongue can break a bone" (Proverbs 25:15).
I would love to have a great understanding, calm quarrels, be better than a warrior, and be able to persuade rulers. I would like to be a patient man, but I'm so impatient with the process that it takes to acquire patience.
I am not the only Christian who has wants to get patience and spiritual maturity- right now! Rick Warren writes, "With book titles like Four Easy Steps to Maturity and The Key to Instant Sainthood doing well in Christian book stores, it would seem a lot of folks are looking for shortcuts."
Christians get fooled by looking for a spiritual encounter that will be the end instead of a beginning. They look for a seminar or a revival speaker, or a book that will instantly transform them into a mature believer. This kind of search is futile. We may be able to make instant coffee, instant potatoes, liposuction for instant weight loss, but there is no such thing as instant maturity. Some Christians have spent so much time looking for the magic short cut- that ten years after they began their journey with Jesus, they are as immature in faith as the day they started. Spiritual growth takes time, patience, and waiting for Jesus to guide.
The good news is, you can become more patient by understanding and also practicing the Bible's teaching on patience. Start with Galatians 5:22.
This verse reminds us that the indwelling Spirit provides resources to resist and defeat impatience.
Impatience ultimately is a question of confidence in God, and especially His timing. That doesn't mean waiting is supposed to be fun. In Psalm 13:1 David expressed his pain in waiting when he asked, "How long, O Lord? Will you forget me forever? How long will you hide your face from me?" This is during a time where David is running from Saul with a price on his head.
Who likes to wait? Who chooses the long lines at the bank or grocery store? Who says, when you don't get the check you were expecting in the mail, "O good, I get to wait at least one more day?" But really this (lines, letters, phone calls) is minor league stuff. What about the waiting of a childless couple for a baby? Or the waiting of an unemployed person for a job? Or the waiting of a sick person for health? Or the waiting of a single person for marriage?
Waiting is one of the big challenges of life. But pushing down closed doors isn't a lot of fun either. In fact, one of the definitions of patience is, "a willingness to wait rather than try to force circumstances." Impatience is "not putting up with delay." Patience is putting up with irritations whether they come in the form of people or circumstances.
It is easier to joke about patience than to be patient. Frequently Christians advice each other to not pray for patience because if God is going to develop patience in you, He will have to allow frustrating people and circumstances to cross your path. But if that is true, you shouldn't pray for more Christian love, either. You see, Christians love their enemies. You don't impress God when you love an easy to love person. You impress God by loving the hard to love. It is easy to be at peace when things are going good. Real peace is for times of outward chaos.
In fact, God produces more intense levels of the fruit of the Spirit by allowing us to experience the opposite challenges. God is far more concerned with our character than our comfort and prosperity. His plan is to bring us to maturity not please our every whim. God may be so serious about developing patience in you that He will allow some of your wants, and dreams, and perhaps even needs to be delayed.
More often, we create our own school for patience by insisting on short cuts and quick fixes. The farther we get from an agricultural setting (fruit of love, peace, joy, etc), the easier it is to expect short cuts. There are very few short cuts on the farm.
The law of the farm is without mercy. Stephen Covey asks," Can you imagine a farmer forgetting to plant in the spring, taking a long summer vacation, and then hitting it hard in the fall- "ripping the soil up, throwing in the seeds, watering, cultivating- and expecting to get a bountiful harvest overnight?"
Can you imagine planning to run a marathon but not training until the day before? Students violate the law of the farm all the time. They play all semester and then cram during finals week. Some even think they've learned something when they get a passing grade.
Urgency is a challenge to patience. God defines urgency differently than I do. It is amazing that Jesus was never in a hurry. There are no pictures of Jesus frantically scrambling in a chaotic frenzy. He came on the most important mission the world has ever had, yet He never panicked or looked for short cuts or was in a hurry.
Charles Hammel writes, "We live in a constant tension between the urgent and the important. The problem is, the important task rarely must be done today, or even this week. Extra hours of prayer and Bible study, a visit with a non-Christian friend, careful study of an important book: These projects can wait. But the urgent tasks call for instant action - endless demands, pressure every hour and day."
Patience can sort out the unimportant, urgent demands from matters of importance. But the best kind of patience is supernatural patience. You get this through close intimate contact with Jesus. Jesus invites you to Himself- in one place- specifically in order to set you free from "the tyranny of the urgent."
Read Matthew 11:28-30.
In this passage, Jesus addresses several issues that deal directly with the concerns of an impatient person. First, Jesus knows all about your impatience. He knows you are wearied, and burdened, and irritated, and annoyed with the demands of the urgent. You're just the person He is looking for. He wants you with all your frustration, and irritation, and impatience to come to Him.
Second, Jesus wants to give you a new way to live. To do this He proposes an exchange of yokes. A yoke is a kind of harness, normally used to pair up two animals so they can pull a plow. It was also used in the ancient world by conquering armies to subjugate defeated foes and make them slaves. Ancient rabbis also spoke of their schools as yokes. In a symbolic way, when you entered a certain rabbi's school, you took on his yoke.
Now Jesus proposes an exchange of yokes. You have one that is irritating, heavy, and burdensome. He has one that is light and very comfortable. Now your question is- why do I have to wear a yoke at all? In fact, some of you are saying, "I don't wear a yoke!" I say you do, and more importantly the Bible says you do, but if you insist you don't- I'm sure you are a very happy person never touched by grief, emptiness, loneliness, or confusion!
I'm inclined to think that yokes are temporary (70-90 years tops)- just for this life. After we've learned what Jesus wants to teach us in this life, we won't need a yoke in the next life. At any rate, our sin has created a heavy and irritating yoke which we are tied to and Jesus wants to make the exchange.
It is interesting that the Old Testament forbid a mature ox and a young ox to be yoked together on identical terms. In this situation a training yoke was required. The mature animal carried a much heavier side and the way it was arranged, pulled a far bigger share of the load. All the younger ox had to do was walk in step with the mature animal. The young, rambunctious trainee had to give up the right to lead, the right to choose the course, and the pace, but they also did not have the responsibility for carrying the burden.
As we team up with Jesus, He will carry the heavy part of the burden and set the pace and choose the direction that fits us. The impatient disciple/apprentice will want to pull ahead, or go around the difficult terrain or take a short cut to the barn. Jesus is never in a hurry! You and I almost always are. Our impatience wears us out. Sometimes we think Jesus wears us out, but that is not the case. Jesus said He wants to, "Give you rest." Have you ever noticed how the impatient want to skip the rest stops- they are uncomfortable with a day off? If they have to stop for a break, they're pushing others to, "hurry back so we can get going!"
The weekly day of rest is God's idea. Waiting is a spiritual event. David who waited ten years to become king after he had been anointed wrote, "Wait for the Lord" (Psalm 27:14). God does not come to the impatient. He does not show up for those who are not waiting.
The prophet Isaiah said, "Even youth grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall; but those who wait on the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not fall" (Isaiah 41: 30, 31).
Jesus knows your frustration and the source of your impatience, He wants to exchange your heavy and irritating harness for His easy and light one. You need to let Him carry the load, choose the direction, and set the pace. It will involve waiting on occasion, but it is in these times that He is giving you rest.
David reported in Psalm 40:1, "I waited patiently for the Lord; He turned to me and heard my cry."
Wednesday, February 9, 2011
Fruit of Peace
June 30, 1996
How many of you have seen a bulldog ant? They're native to Australia, and since I've never been there, I don't believe I've ever seen one. But I am told, if you cut a bulldog ant in half, the two halves will enter into a savage fight. The head will seize its own hind quarters with its teeth, and the tail will sting the head with a fierceness. The fight might last for hours.
Have some of you ever felt like that on the inside? Like two significant parts of yourself were fighting each other? Do you ever wonder if contentment is an illusion? By the way, who is more contented: the person with a million dollars or the person with ten children? Obviously it is the man with ten children because he doesn't want any more!
The Bible says, "A heart at peace gives life to the body, but envy rots the bones." The same could be said for anxiety, or fretfulness or just about any flavor of discontentment.
Some kinds of anxiety are normal. Most of us feel a little anxiety prior to a dentist appointment, or during a driver's test, or at our own wedding. You and I can understand Job when he says, "I have no peace, no quietness; I have felt no rest, but only turmoil." "Don't worry, be happy!" would be a sick doctor's prescription for Job after what he had been through (loss of all assets, all children, and horrible physical affliction). But even Job was able to work through his affliction and heartache, and find restored peace by relying on God's resources.
Is it an exaggeration to say just about all of you have a strong desire to experience peace? Students, homemakers, career people, unemployed, and the retired - all of you would give a lot to enjoy long lasting peace of mind.
What is it that robs you of peace? Who are the people who have your number? What makes you discontent, anxious, and fearful? Would you like the answer to peace? You can enjoy peace by following the lessons found in the New Testament. Let's start with Galatians 5:16-26.
Peace is one of the ingredients in the fruit of the Spirit. It is a quality that spontaneously produces itself when the believer is under the direction of the Spirit of God - who is also called "the God of Peace."
I used to think of peace as the absence of something: conflict, trouble, guilt... But the Bible doesn't stop there. It makes peace a positive quality. Yes, it is the absence of conflict and all the rest, but it is the positive presence of those things that make for a "wholesome prosperity," such as the ability to work for a living and a supportive family, community, and God.
This kind of peace doesn't come from reading self-help books that teach you how to be more assertive so you can get your way. People who seem to always get their way are as plagued with discontentment as the rest of us.
Tranquility is not a product of mind altering drugs. Certainly there is a temporary escape that, by many testimonies, is highly pleasurable, but the side effects destroy peace rather than create it.
Peace is a product of living under the guidance of the Holy Spirit, but the first step toward peace is described by Paul in Romans 5:1, "Since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God, through our Lord Jesus Christ."
Peace with God makes possible peace within, which makes possible peace with people, which makes possible peace with nations. I'll say it again. We won't have peace in the world until we have peace in our neighborhood and families. We won't have peace in our family until we have peace within ourselves, and we can't have peace within ourselves until we have peace with God.
You and I have peace because we have accepted God's forgiveness, based on Jesus' life work. Peace with God brings peace within. The first requirement for peace, then, is a restored relationship with God. You can take your guilt and badness to Jesus and exchange it for purity and wholeness.
It sounds too good to be true, and Satan will do everything possible to keep you from the exchange. Even after you've made it, he will try to steal your peace. He will trigger memories of past moral failures using a piece of music, or TV ad, or face in a crowd; and you will think, "I can't be forgiven!" But this is the deal Jesus wants to make: your failures for His success.
He made it personal when He said in John 14, "Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give as the world gives. Don't let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid."
Jesus called it His own peace, because He is the one who achieved it for you. The prophet said, "He was wounded and crushed for our moral failures; the punishment that brought us peace was upon Him" (Isaiah 53:5).
The first step toward peace is to accept God's deal: bring all the corruption of your sin out from under the rug you've swept it under, and give it to Jesus. Then receive back from Him total forgiveness and power to live right.
The second step is to offer forgiveness to those who've hurt you. This affects your inner peace as much as it does your social peace. Forgiving is not an easy thing to do. If it was easy it wouldn't be called forgiveness. It would be called oh-that-doesn't-matter-it-wasn't-important-anyway-ness! If someone hurt you accidentally then they need to be excused. They didn't mean it, they were clumsy. Forgiveness is not excusing.
Forgiveness is hard, but so is bitterness, and a vengeful attitude, and festering anger. They ruin your peace and probably don't even annoy the one you're upset with. No wonder Jesus said, "If you forgive men when they sin against you, your Father in heaven will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive men their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins" (Matthew 6:14,15).
In Tramp for the Lord, Corrie ten Boom shares her difficult story of forgiving one of her cruelest guards from the concentration camp. For the excerpt, click here. Her weakness illustrates not only the need to forgive, but the third lesson: the need to make mid-course corrections in our walk with the Holy Spirit.
The quality of this inner peace may be a good barometer, tracking change in your relationship with Jesus. Anytime you feel a tugging dis-ease it might be time to ask, "Who is first in my life?" A lack of tranquility may be a signal that someone or something has taken Jesus' place as master.
Read Matthew 10:34-39.
This is an astounding passage. Frankly it is strange sounding. We've already heard Jesus say, "Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you." Now He says, He didn't come to bring peace but a sword. The crusaders took this passage in a crudely literalistic way.
Some Christians slip back into a dangerous lifestyle of compromise. They want the blessing of God - His peace - and they give up most of their old life that was wrong, but there remains one secret thing they want God to ignore.
Now what do you suggest? Should Jesus allow them to feel contentment? The person who grows content without Jesus, is in the worst of all possible positions - like a person content to camp right next to a raging out of control forest fire saying, "I don't mind a little heat."
Jesus said He came to run a sword through the heart of that kind of contentment. That kind of contentment leads to hell, not abundant life or eternal life.
In the Old Testament, once in a while a prophet would come along and preach nice sounding words to the backslidden nation. They would say, "All is well - all is well; Peace and prosperity." God judged them very harshly for feeding contentment to a people who needed a wake-up call.
Jesus came to destroy false peace, the wrong kind of contentment, so that you can enjoy real peace. Real peace comes through accepting God's forgiveness, offering real forgiveness to those who've hurt us, and making mid-course adjustments when you or I begin to find inner peace outside of Jesus' will.
The Bible says, "the mind of sinful man is death, but the mind controlled by the Spirit (indicating occasional course corrections) is life and peace."
Real peace is found in:
How many of you have seen a bulldog ant? They're native to Australia, and since I've never been there, I don't believe I've ever seen one. But I am told, if you cut a bulldog ant in half, the two halves will enter into a savage fight. The head will seize its own hind quarters with its teeth, and the tail will sting the head with a fierceness. The fight might last for hours.
Have some of you ever felt like that on the inside? Like two significant parts of yourself were fighting each other? Do you ever wonder if contentment is an illusion? By the way, who is more contented: the person with a million dollars or the person with ten children? Obviously it is the man with ten children because he doesn't want any more!
The Bible says, "A heart at peace gives life to the body, but envy rots the bones." The same could be said for anxiety, or fretfulness or just about any flavor of discontentment.
Some kinds of anxiety are normal. Most of us feel a little anxiety prior to a dentist appointment, or during a driver's test, or at our own wedding. You and I can understand Job when he says, "I have no peace, no quietness; I have felt no rest, but only turmoil." "Don't worry, be happy!" would be a sick doctor's prescription for Job after what he had been through (loss of all assets, all children, and horrible physical affliction). But even Job was able to work through his affliction and heartache, and find restored peace by relying on God's resources.
Is it an exaggeration to say just about all of you have a strong desire to experience peace? Students, homemakers, career people, unemployed, and the retired - all of you would give a lot to enjoy long lasting peace of mind.
What is it that robs you of peace? Who are the people who have your number? What makes you discontent, anxious, and fearful? Would you like the answer to peace? You can enjoy peace by following the lessons found in the New Testament. Let's start with Galatians 5:16-26.
Peace is one of the ingredients in the fruit of the Spirit. It is a quality that spontaneously produces itself when the believer is under the direction of the Spirit of God - who is also called "the God of Peace."
I used to think of peace as the absence of something: conflict, trouble, guilt... But the Bible doesn't stop there. It makes peace a positive quality. Yes, it is the absence of conflict and all the rest, but it is the positive presence of those things that make for a "wholesome prosperity," such as the ability to work for a living and a supportive family, community, and God.
This kind of peace doesn't come from reading self-help books that teach you how to be more assertive so you can get your way. People who seem to always get their way are as plagued with discontentment as the rest of us.
Tranquility is not a product of mind altering drugs. Certainly there is a temporary escape that, by many testimonies, is highly pleasurable, but the side effects destroy peace rather than create it.
Peace is a product of living under the guidance of the Holy Spirit, but the first step toward peace is described by Paul in Romans 5:1, "Since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God, through our Lord Jesus Christ."
Peace with God makes possible peace within, which makes possible peace with people, which makes possible peace with nations. I'll say it again. We won't have peace in the world until we have peace in our neighborhood and families. We won't have peace in our family until we have peace within ourselves, and we can't have peace within ourselves until we have peace with God.
You and I have peace because we have accepted God's forgiveness, based on Jesus' life work. Peace with God brings peace within. The first requirement for peace, then, is a restored relationship with God. You can take your guilt and badness to Jesus and exchange it for purity and wholeness.
It sounds too good to be true, and Satan will do everything possible to keep you from the exchange. Even after you've made it, he will try to steal your peace. He will trigger memories of past moral failures using a piece of music, or TV ad, or face in a crowd; and you will think, "I can't be forgiven!" But this is the deal Jesus wants to make: your failures for His success.
He made it personal when He said in John 14, "Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give as the world gives. Don't let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid."
Jesus called it His own peace, because He is the one who achieved it for you. The prophet said, "He was wounded and crushed for our moral failures; the punishment that brought us peace was upon Him" (Isaiah 53:5).
The first step toward peace is to accept God's deal: bring all the corruption of your sin out from under the rug you've swept it under, and give it to Jesus. Then receive back from Him total forgiveness and power to live right.
The second step is to offer forgiveness to those who've hurt you. This affects your inner peace as much as it does your social peace. Forgiving is not an easy thing to do. If it was easy it wouldn't be called forgiveness. It would be called oh-that-doesn't-matter-it-wasn't-important-anyway-ness! If someone hurt you accidentally then they need to be excused. They didn't mean it, they were clumsy. Forgiveness is not excusing.
Forgiveness is hard, but so is bitterness, and a vengeful attitude, and festering anger. They ruin your peace and probably don't even annoy the one you're upset with. No wonder Jesus said, "If you forgive men when they sin against you, your Father in heaven will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive men their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins" (Matthew 6:14,15).
In Tramp for the Lord, Corrie ten Boom shares her difficult story of forgiving one of her cruelest guards from the concentration camp. For the excerpt, click here. Her weakness illustrates not only the need to forgive, but the third lesson: the need to make mid-course corrections in our walk with the Holy Spirit.
The quality of this inner peace may be a good barometer, tracking change in your relationship with Jesus. Anytime you feel a tugging dis-ease it might be time to ask, "Who is first in my life?" A lack of tranquility may be a signal that someone or something has taken Jesus' place as master.
Read Matthew 10:34-39.
This is an astounding passage. Frankly it is strange sounding. We've already heard Jesus say, "Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you." Now He says, He didn't come to bring peace but a sword. The crusaders took this passage in a crudely literalistic way.
Some Christians slip back into a dangerous lifestyle of compromise. They want the blessing of God - His peace - and they give up most of their old life that was wrong, but there remains one secret thing they want God to ignore.
Now what do you suggest? Should Jesus allow them to feel contentment? The person who grows content without Jesus, is in the worst of all possible positions - like a person content to camp right next to a raging out of control forest fire saying, "I don't mind a little heat."
Jesus said He came to run a sword through the heart of that kind of contentment. That kind of contentment leads to hell, not abundant life or eternal life.
In the Old Testament, once in a while a prophet would come along and preach nice sounding words to the backslidden nation. They would say, "All is well - all is well; Peace and prosperity." God judged them very harshly for feeding contentment to a people who needed a wake-up call.
Jesus came to destroy false peace, the wrong kind of contentment, so that you can enjoy real peace. Real peace comes through accepting God's forgiveness, offering real forgiveness to those who've hurt us, and making mid-course adjustments when you or I begin to find inner peace outside of Jesus' will.
The Bible says, "the mind of sinful man is death, but the mind controlled by the Spirit (indicating occasional course corrections) is life and peace."
Real peace is found in:
- the great exchange: my corruption for God's forgiveness
- the heroic work of forgiving (give it!)
- constant willingness to adjust to the spirit's control.
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