Sept 30

Philippians 2

 

Most of you know that I have a strong dislike for boats. It is not the boat itself I dislike; it is the impact that boats have on my stomach. Yet, even I have gone sailing a few times up at Camp Spofford. To be a great sailor you need a few things. First, you need a boat, then a sail, a rudder, a lifejacket, some rope and "voila" you are sailing. Wrong, something critical is missing from this list. Can you guess what it is? You need wind. If you get down to your sailboat, put on the lifejacket, hoist the sail and there is no wind, we have a special term for that, "dead in the water." It means no one is moving anywhere.

For sailing to occur we need two actions to take place simultaneously. In our roles as sailors we need to prepare. But equally important is we need the wind to blow. When those two events occur simultaneously amazing things happen.

In Philippians 2 Paul says, "as you have always obeyed, continue to work out your salvation – for it is God who works in you to will and to act according to his good purpose."

This is known as the doctrine of sanctification and it deals with our spiritual growth as Christians. The gospel is not just a ticket to get out of hell. The gospel is the process of growing to become like Jesus in our life right now. There is a problem associated with sanctification. Many people expect that God is going to supernaturally zap them with growth. If they just pray a certain prayer they will automatically change. Other Christians develop a Chuck Norris approach and think they can do all of the work without the Holy Spirit. Both are equally dangerous and will leave you "dead in the water spiritually."

What Jesus wants us to realize is that spiritual growth is the result of us working as if it depended on us and praying like it is totally dependent on the Holy Spirit. When we have these two forces working together in harmony that is when we will experience amazing spiritual growth.

 

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"Multiplying leaders to change the world"

Thursday, September 29

THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 29, 2016

 

 

“So is my word that goes out from my mouth:

       It will not return to me empty,

       but will accomplish what I desire

       and achieve the purpose for which I sent it.” (Isaiah 55:11)

 

 

I recognize that this passage came from Wednesday’s reading, but it struck a chord with me.  God’s Word accomplishes all those purposes that He intended – for His honor and glory.  Two such purposes include bringing repentance and instilling wisdom. 

 

In a passages from 2 Chronicles, we see His Word turning Israel’s hearts back to Himself:  “[Huldah speaking] ‘This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says concerning the words you heard:  Because your heart was responsive and you humbled yourself before God when you heard what he spoke against this place and its people, and because you humbled yourself before me and tore your robes and wept in my presence, I have heard you, declares the Lord.  Now I will gather you to your fathers, and you will be buried in peace.  Your eyes will not see all the disaster I am going to bring on this place and on those who live here.’” (2 Chronicles 34:26-28a)

 

The nation’s change of heart draws out the compassion of God.  He relents in His judgments for a time.  The truth of the Word demands a response, and we honor God by acknowledging our shortcomings and turning back to the Lord when we have strayed from Him.  Also, 1 John 1:9 discusses the effects of personal repentance:  “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.”

 

In addition, God’s Word sets the table for feeding our minds and hearts with nourishment.  We become partners with Him by taking an active role in incorporating wisdom into our lives and shunning the world’s lies.  Sometimes, these lies stare us boldly in the face, stirring our consciences and allowing us to flee like the young man Joseph from Potiphar’s seducing wife.  Other times, however, these lies prove much more insidious, creeping into our minds over time and wearing down our defenses.  We must guard our hearts through active means.  We must cling to the truth of God’s Word and avoid the filth.

 

As you reflect on daily situations, I encourage you to sort through the truth and the lies.  You might consider the following questions:

 

a.       What do the Scriptures have to say about this matter?

b.       What truths must I uphold in this situation?

c.        What lies are trying to take me off course?

d.       How may I remove these lies and avoid their further spread?

e.       What may I do in order to build more truth into my life surrounding this topic?

 

 

 

Lord God, thank You for providing Your Word to bring us to repentance and wholeness in line with Your precepts.  Teach us Your wisdom so that we might fight the pull of the world’s lies.  Give us courage to live our Your Word, even when it costs us.  We worship You today.  In Jesus’s Name, amen.

 

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Sept. 28

Isaiah 54:17 - No weapon formed against you will prevail, and you will refute every tongue that accuses you.  This is the heritage of the servants of the Lord, and this is their vindication from me", declares the Lord.

My parents are getting older and we have had a few serious health scares over the past two years. Last month my Mom decided to show me where the envelope is that contains their will -- as she put it, "Just in case something happens".  So I now know where my earthly inheritance is -- in a sealed envelope in her bottom dresser draw. As I read through this passage I realized that I have another inheritance, far greater than anything that is being kept secret in that envelope.  God does not keep His promises a secret from us.  As a matter of fact He makes them very clear. As long as we read the Bible we know exactly what they are.  There was an everlasting covenant He made with us at Calvary. It ensures no weapon formed against me shall prosper and even though God's thoughts aren't our thoughts, nor His ways our ways, when we seek Him, He has mercy on us and freely pardons us.  I looked up synonyms for the word "vindication" - clearing, whitewash, forgiveness, acquittal, atonement...get the picture?  Since His word will not return void, when we seek Him we will go out in joy and be led forth in peace. His richest blessings are wrapped up in the everlasting kindness and compassion He has on us.  I don't doubt that whatever is in that envelope in the bottom drawer of my Mom's dresser will be passed down in love, but that inheritance is nothing in comparison to what God, The Father, has for me through my trust in His Son Jesus.  I pray God lavishes us with His love today and opens the floodgates of Heaven  for everyone reading this blog. 

Randi

September 23

Ephesians 2

The late Spencer Perkins and Chris Rice wrote the book, "More than Equals." The year was 1994 and it was the first time that an evangelical book dealt with the subject of race in the church!! Needless to say the book struck the conscience of many evangelicals. Spencer and Chris then went on a speaking tour to promote the idea of racial healing growing out of the gospel. They were prepared for sparks for fly during their tour, and they weren't disappointed when they arrived at Middlebury College in Vermont.

Early in the dialogue, an articulate black student admitted his misgivings. "When I heard it was going to be Christian speakers, I thought oh, no. Some religious garbage, I mean, what can Christians say about race with their record on justice?"

His question goes to the core of our credibility. To this future leader, these Christians speaking about racial healing was an oxymoron. When we look back at our history, the church is always showing up several decades late. We argue that the U.S. was founded as a Christian nation yet we tolerated slavery for 87 years as a country and 246 years in North America. Where were the Christians who stood against the Nazi regime when they killed the gypsies, handicap and the Jews? Oh, there were a few, but the vast majority sold out to save their own necks. In the civil rights movement in the 60's where were the white evangelicals? They were safely in their homes watching the conflict on CBS.  Our Christian witness is seriously tarnished under the microscope of historical examination. 50 years ago Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. said Sunday morning at 11:00 a.m. was the most segregated hour of the week. Sadly, it still remains true today.

But at Grace Church we are working on showing the world it doesn't have to remain that way. I am so proud of the continual work so many people do to bring reconciliation to our community. I don't think we can say the work is done, reconciliation is an ongoing process, but when people say the Christians have nothing to say on this topic, I simply invite them to our next worship service.  

2000 years ago the divisions between Jews and Gentiles was huge. The ancient world was a mess when it came to race. But God's strategy was not to try to integrate the groups. His demand was that they reconcile. The strength of His argument was based on the cross.  The cross of Jesus rips down the barriers and walls that divide ethnic groups. Reconciliation with God and each other is the number one item on God's agenda. Let's keep it number one on our agenda too. 

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"Multiplying leaders to change the world"

Thursday, September 22

THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 22, 2016

"For this reason, ever since I heard about your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for all the saints, I have not stopped giving thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers. I keep asking that the God of your Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know him better. I pray also that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, and his incomparably great power for us who believe. That power is like the working of his mighty strength, which he exerted in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly realms, far above all rule and authority, power and dominion, and every title that can be given, not only in the present age but also in the one to come. And God placed all things under his feet and appointed him to be head over everything for the church, which is his body, the fullness of him who fills everything in every way." (Ephesians 1:15–23)

Have you ever struggled with what you might pray for others? If they aren't struggling with an illness or a relational challenge, we might be at a loss on how to lift up family and friends during those "fine" times.

Paul's prayer for the Ephesian believers provides us an awesome example of how to support one another in prayer. I would like to highlight the three main requests that Paul makes:

1. That the Father "may give you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know him better." The Holy Spirit receives mention here as a fount of "wisdom and revelation." We understand from the Lord Jesus Christ that the Holy Spirit will guide us into "all truth." This "wisdom and revelation" goes beyond mere factual knowledge, but instead moves into supernatural perception and guidance. As Pastor Scott has often taught, the physical and spiritual worlds intersect, but, without revelation, we cannot understand the spiritual. Paul describes the wisdom of God as "foolishness" to those who aren't interested in seeking it. (1 Corinthians 1:18)

2. "That the eyes of your heart may be enlightened… "

a. Leading to hope, "the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints." This world doesn't offer the lasting hope discussed here. The "glorious inheritance" has a surety and guarantee behind it that worldly promises could never provide. This hope has its roots in God's character and strength – in His perfect love – and not in human performance or brilliance. Instead of anxiety over whether we have "enough" smarts or strength to impress others, God instead has provided everything we need to bring real confidence. We may rest assured in His great provision for us and, from that place of security and wholeness, love others by sharing this truth and blessing them as God has richly blessed us.

b. Receiving "his incomparably great power for us who believe." Paul then reflects for several verses on God's "incomparably great power," explaining that this same power raised Christ from the dead. As we read, there is indeed power in the Name of Christ and in His blood shed for us. While the most tangible and lasting effect of this power involves our being saved (justification by the blood of Christ), it appears that Paul has in mind a broader power. This power unlocks the spread and advance of His Kingdom and carries us into a channel of full engagement and embrace of God and the life He intended for us. It calls to mind a favorite verse: "But seek first his Kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you as well." (Matthew 6:33). This power allows us to leave behind pettiness and to live and experience true meaning.

Lord God, thank You for providing these three amazing gifts according to Your great plan. May we embrace each one so that we may live completely for you today. Thank You that You have called us and set us aside for Your great purposes. Open our hearts to wisdom and revelation by Your Spirit, and give us a deeper sense of Your hope and a greater experience of Your power – to Your honor and glory. In Jesus's Name, amen.

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Sept. 21

Isaiah 38:17-19

Isaiah had an incredible relationship with God.  He heard Him very clearly and had visions of Him as well.  The main message of Isaiah's writings is to call people back into that special relationship with God that we were created for.  Today's reading stretched my thinking.  Isaiah tells us that in the process of being called back into that relationship, we will go through "stuff", learn how to pray, and through our prayers, because He is faithful, God will deliver us.  Here Hezekiah realizes that having gone through this process, he was not only delivered from death, he was forgiven as well.  We aren't delivered or forgiven because we deserve it, but as Isaiah so eloquently states "For the grave cannot praise you, death cannot sing your praise, those who go down to the pit cannot hope for your faithfulness.  The living praise you".  Today's reading made me think of my own storm which led me and my family to Christ, and brought us to Grace Church.  I feel incredibly blessed now but that was not the tune I was singing at the time my life was a mess.  Isaiah speaks of joy and hope in God.  He also tells us to tell our children about God's faithfulness. I felt a sense of security and renewed closeness to God after reading this passage.  In Psalm 62 David's soul found rest and hope in God alone (v.1,5).  I pray God touches everyone who is reading this in the same way.


Randi

September 19: Of passion

Isaiah 30:12-33:9

Galatians 5:1-12

Psalm 63:1-11

Proverbs 23:22

When I first read today's NT verses - specifically Galatians 5:12 (As for those agitators, I wish they would go the whole way and emasculate themselves!) and realized Paul was suggesting that those creating ceremonial impediments to a relationship with God take a sharp blade and do themselves a mischief, I thought "Whoa!  Paul has a temper!"  Today I read it differently, though was no less taken aback: "Whoa, Paul has a passion!"  

My older son has a passion - a good one.  He swims competitively.  Loves it.  So much so, that on his thirteenth birthday, 5 days after coach told him he could join the high school kids in training, he woke up at 5am (on a Friday - a school day!) so he could hit the pool and train at 5:30.  He swims at 5:30am twice a week these days, and 7 times a week overall.  He enjoys it, yes...but he is driven to do it - he has a passion to swim, and to get better at swimming.  

Paul had a passion too - one I hope my older son, his younger brother, his older sister, their mother and I - and truth be told, everyone - acquires: a passion for relationship with God.  Not a book knowledge of Him, the way one might read a biography of, say McArthur or Patton or Churchill, but a relationship - one built spending time together, as two persons who love each other, who know each other well enough they do not stand on ceremony, they do not take comfort in form and formality.  Paul had a passion for a relationship with Christ based on Christ's unconditional love, not on rites and credentials.  And he wanted that for everyone, and was furious at anyone who got in the way.  

He was like the psalmist in today's reading - "earnestly I seek You, I thirst for You, my whole being longs for You, in a dry and parched land where there is no water."  That isn't just a passion - that's a desperation.  And why not?  This is the God who is "my help...I cling to You; Your right hand upholds me."  This is whom Isaiah will bless Israel with "rain for the seed you sow in the ground, and the food that comes from the land will be rich and plentiful."  Who makes His people to "live in peaceful dwelling places, in secure homes, in undisturbed places of rest."  

It is almost 1:30 in the morning as I write this.  An undisturbed place of rest sure would make me passionate for the One who provides it.  

Father thank You - for Paul and His zeal and His example, and for Your love and providence.  Enkindle in our hearts the same fire that raged in Paul's heart for You; make us desperate for You the way a man, parched and in a dry land thirsts for water.  Amen.