Ego

"My Son, patience and humility in adversities are more pleasing to Me than much comfort and devotion in prosperity. Why doth a little thing spoken against thee make thee sad? If it had been more, thou still oughtest not to be moved. But now suffer it to go by; it is not the first, it is not new, and it will not be the last, if thou live long. Thou art brave enough, so long as no adversity meeteth thee. Thou givest good counsel also, and knowest how to strengthen others with thy words; but when tribulation suddenly knocketh at thine own door, thy counsel and strength fail. Consider thy great frailty, which thou dost so often experience in trifling matters nevertheless, for thy soul's health these things are done when they and such like happen unto thee."

Thomas a Kempis, The Imitation of Christ, 3.57.1

These words are offered as from God the Father through the mediation of one of His saints. Take a moment and read them again.

Now consider this:

“If the world hates you, know that it has hated me before it hated you. If you were of the world, the world would love you as its own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you. Remember the word that I said to you: ‘A servant is not greater than his master.’ If they persecuted me, they will also persecute you. If they kept my word, they will also keep yours. But all these things they will do to you on account of my name, l because they do not know him who sent me.

John 15:18-21

Brothers and sisters, as we choose to follow Jesus, we need to be aware of this. The Holy Spirit works to transform our minds, shaping us to look more like Jesus: one could go so far as to say this is the truest form of the Imitation (to use Kempis' terminology). Now for the point: if we are imitating Christ, this will cause friction with the world. It makes people uncomfortable, because while the Gospel is the message of God's love, mercy, and grace, it calls us to life set apart—sanctified— and freed from the bondage to our sin and to our own egos. It calls for a life devoted to Kingdom principles, living out the ideals and commands of the King, which are not the principles or values of the present age.

Remember the call of Christ: "If anyone would come after Me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow Me" (Matthew 16:24, emphasis mine).

Bibliography

Benham, William, trans. The Imitation of Christ. Enhanced Media, 2017. Kindle.

ESV Bible. Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 2001. Kindle.

Details in the Fabric

"He must increase, but I must decrease."

John 3:30

In a society that thrives on celebrity and acclaim, this verse is a stark challenge to our very nature. We want people to know us. Think about social media: we publicize details and events in our lives, waiting eagerly to see who will like, comment, or retweet.

I do not believe that social media is a bad thing when used in moderation. Used correctly, it is an amazing tool for networking and even ministry. That being said, let us not forget that our story is not the story.

The sovereign God of the universe calls us to be a part of His story throughout history. His is the narrative and the glory. He is the main character. The narrative is not about what we can do or accomplish, but about what He has done and is still doing.

God, empower us to be content to be details in Your story. May You receive all the glory through our lives. You must increase, we must decrease. 

Bibliography

ESV Bible. Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 2001. Kindle.

Sweeping

"Remember these things, O Jacob, for you are my servant, O Israel. I have made you, you are my servant; O Israel, I will not forget you. I have swept away your offenses like a cloud, your sins like the morning mist. Return to me, for I have redeemed you."

Isaiah 44.21-22

How sweet that God has removed our sins "like the morning mist." This beautiful imagery comes at the conclusion of a declaration against idols. As I read this chapter, I was challenged to think about the idols in my own life. They are there, even though I attempt to deny them their power.

Think about the morning dew: it is present for just a little while, its impact visible. Then it is gone. The idols and sins that we wrestle now will not last forever; these current foes will become memories as new ones take their place.

It is God alone who is able to clean up the messes within us. True, we will likely get messy again: we may fall into this or that puddle, we will wrestle with our demons. Yet still He calls: "Return to me, for I have redeemed you." My friends, dear brothers and sisters, let us not lose sight of the fact that God is bigger than our mess.

Bibliography

NIV Archaeological Study Bible. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2005. Print.

Returns: One Happy, Many Tragic

It has been too long! To my readers, my friends, I bid each of you a fond hello. The last 15 months have been very exciting. Every day has been a new adventure! It has been for me a time of great growth, but not without often greater struggle. Perhaps it has been the same for you. Conversations for another day, I suppose.

Tonight I return to my writer's desk for just a few brief minutes. As I was reading this morning, I was struck by what may be, in my humble opinion, one of the saddest verses in Scripture. Take a look at Psalm 106:43:

"Many times He delivered them, but they were bent on rebellion and they wasted away in their sin."

This text is a theological reflection on the journey of God's people, beginning its chronology during their time in Egypt. While recounting history, the author hits on a recurring theme: people really don't change that much. As their fathers had, they continued to run to sin.

I dare not speak for anyone else, but I feel as though this is probably true for us today. We all run to our own sins. May God help us to chase after Him instead.

I hope that it will not be another 15 months before we meet again. Times are busy, but it is in these times we most need to encourage each other. All the best to you, friends!

Bibliography

NIV Archaeological Study Bible. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2005. Print.

Words, Thoughts, Actions

In preparing to teach recently at Ouachita River Fellowship in Malvern, I was debating what translation of the Bible to use. In the end I decided upon the New International Version.

Six years ago, I was using this copy of the Bible to preach through the Psalms. It was enjoyable flipping through the pages and seeing some of my notes. Because of my markings, I know exactly where I was at in the Psalms when God called me to pastor elsewhere. More importantly, I can see some of the exact things that I was thinking about and teaching on during that time.

In Psalm 19:12-14, we find these words:

"Who can discern his errors? Forgive my hidden faults. Keep your servant also from willful sins; may they not rule over me. Then will I be blameless, innocent of great transgression. May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be pleasing in Your sight, O Lord, my Rock and my Redeemer."

We all have sin in our lives. This is something that neither individuals nor society as a whole particularly like to acknowledge. But we know that "all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God" (Romans 3:23). For those of us who have come to know the power and grace of Jesus Christ, we know that those sins have been forgiven. That does not mean, however, that we never did them, only that we will not be held accountable for them because of the sacrificial love of Jesus; it also does not mean that we will not struggle with them in the future.

As I look over my notes from teaching on this passage years ago, I want to share a couple of thoughts that I see in the margins. I do not take credit for these; sadly, the margins left little room for citing the original sources. Nevertheless, I feel that the reflection and sharing is necessary:

• secret sins may do deadly mischief; it is well to be in much prayer concerning them
• the final verse addresses both expressed ("words of my mouth") and unspoken ("meditation of my heart") words
• words are a mockery if the heart does not meditate

Sin draws our attention from God. It is relentless in doing so. And it can be fun, though that fun is short-lived. The sins which we think are hidden from men are exposed fully before God. Upon reflection, I think that it is those sins which we believe no one sees that draw us farthest from God; often these are the ones that we willfully choose, which increases their capacity to take hold of us.

That's why David offers the prayer which he does: "May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be pleasing in Your sight, O Lord, my Rock and my Redeemer." If our words and thoughts are God-centered, our actions will be less inclined towards sin. None of us are perfect, but God has offered to make us a new creation through Jesus Christ. Today, let's turn our eyes towards Him and His divine purpose.

Bibliography

NIV Archaeological Study Bible. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2005. Print.

Monkey See...

I am not a parent. My wife and I have no plans to change that in the immediate future. However, I am a son. My parents are amazing: they have always set an excellent example for me. The lessons that I learned from them are innumerable, and I can never thank God enough for them both.

That is the perspective which I bring into today's discussion. Parents, your children learn from you. They learn not only the wisdom that you teach, but they learn behavior from watching you. This is not inherently a bad thing; in fact, God ordained it that way. Take a look at the following passage:

He decreed statues for Jacob and established the law in Israel, which He commanded our forefathers to teach their children, so that the next generation would know them, even the children yet to be born, and they in turn would tell their children. Then they would put their trust in God and would not forget His deeds but would keep His commands. They would not be like their forefathers- a stubborn and rebellious generation, whose hearts were not loyal to God, whose spirits were not faithful to him.

Psalm 78:5-8 (emphasis mine)

If you continue reading through the chapter, you find that the parents

• "did not keep God's covenant, and refused to live by His law" (10)
• "continued to sin against Him" (17)
• "kept on sinning in spit of His wonders" (32)
• "put God to the test and rebelled against the Most High; they did not keep His statutes"(56).

Here's where the point hits home. Immediately following the last reference above, we find these words: "Like their fathers they were disloyal and faithless, as unreliable as a faulty bow" (57, emphasis mine). The story that is recounted in this chapter spans generations; each successive generation follows the example taught to it by its predecessors.

If we want future generations to follow God, we have no choice but to model that lifestyle for them. This is a responsibility not just for parents, but for any of us who have influence on those younger than ourselves. The fact of the matter is simple: we cannot teach them to live as disciples of Jesus Christ if we are not doing it ourselves.

Bibliography

NIV Archaeological Study Bible. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2005. Print.

Abide in Me

Following Jesus puts us in a peculiar situation. Of utmost importance, it means that we have a relationship with Him. This relationship goes deep, reshaping our lives both personally and publicly. It also means that the world will hate us.

"If you belonged to the world, the world would love you as its own. Because you do not belong to the world, but I have chosen you out of the world- therefore the world hates you. Remember the word that I said to you, 'Servants are not greater than their master.' If they persecuted me, they will persecute you; if they kept My word, they will keep yours also."

John 15:19-20

How then are we to bear fruit when the world is hostile to the Gospel? Take a look at Jesus' words in John 15:1-11. It is no coincidence that Jesus gave these words just before the passage quoted above. It is a very hard thing for us to hear that people are against us. So He offers a prescription: to be fruitful, abide in Me.

The word abide comes from the Greek word which is transliterated meno: it is a verb that means "to stay, remain, live, dwell, abide." In addition to this, it has a special annotation: "to be in a state that begins and continues, yet may or may not end or stop." The editors of the concordance referenced went on to note that "'To abide in Christ' is to follow His example of a life obedient to the will of God" (Goodrick, Kohlenberger, and Swanson, 1570).

Here's the deal: if we want to see the world redeemed, we must abide in Jesus. As His people, we need to be intentional about being close to Him and then, at the end of the day, desiring to draw closer still. There is no program or plan that will make the difference. Apart from Jesus, the Church cannot fulfill the Great Commission. Apart from Him, the Christian becomes ineffective.

But we have to count the cost. Throughout His earthly ministry, Jesus often warned His immediate followers of this; one instance was in Luke 14. Even as we look back to the passage quoted at the beginning of this post, we can see that the cost is real and is not limited to the financial realm. In fact, it may cost us everything. We who wish to follow Him today must be prepared to heed the same warning.

Bibliography

Goodrick, Edward W., John R. Kohlenberger, and James A. Swanson. Zondervan NIV Exhaustive Concordance. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Pub. House, 1999. Print.

The Holy Bible: Containing the Old and New Testaments with the Apocryphal/Deuterocanonical Books: New Revised Standard Version. New York: Oxford UP, 1989. Print.