On Display

6.30.2010

Titus 2.5b "...that the word of God may not be reviled." ESV

Every life is a sermon illustration. Every life is a testimony of relating to one another and relating to God. Some rightly relate and some don’t. The bottom line is that all of our lives are impacted by God in some way or another and that shows itself in relationship. How we relate demonstrates our nearness or far-ness in relationship to God. The closer we are to Him, the more obvious it ought to be to others. Paul told this to Titus because he understood human interaction is the crucible for godly interaction and where the proof of the impact ofGod shows up.

What impowers goodness, mercy, grace, love, kindness, gentleness and the like? It doesn’t just happen; it happens because God is present. And the presence of God ought to lend credence to the Scriptures which teach goodness, mercy, love, etc.

If I am rightly related to God, then I spend time in His word and in prayer that the characteristics of God are evident in my life so that His word is shown to be the life-transforming medium that it truly is. Otherwise His word is reviled as faulty, useless, mythical, and a psycological crutch. Sound familiar?

My life is on display everyday that the word of God may not be reviled because of the choices I make, the words I use, and the actions I take. At the store where I’ll work today where all of our merchandise is displayed so will be displayed the reality of my walk with God…

Father in Heaven,

You chose relationship. You chose to relate to Abraham and his descendants and You’ve chosen to relate to us through Your word – both spoken as it was in days past and written as it is today. May my life rightly relate to You that the word of God is not reviled because of how I live. Fill me with the Spirit of Christ today to do as He did and to walk in faithful goodness before You, and my fellow man – in Jesus’ Name I pray, amen.

The Results Of

6.29.2010

Titus 1:13 “Therefore rebuke them sharply, that they may be sound in the faith…” ESV

Yesterday the wife says to me, “If you were to go and start a church, you wouldn’t have many people for very long – they wouldn’t listen to that!” Sometimes wives are so inconveniently spot on! I believe in this verse. I mean it’s not my whole theology but I believe in this verse. I believe in the results of this verse: that they may be sound in the faith. That is a worthy result of sharp rebuking.

But many people do not share my belief in this verse. Many are too offended by someone saying to them, “You shouldn’t do that, you should do this…” Many are the people around us who will, after a sharp rebuke, demand, “Who the (bleep) are you!?” That is usually followed by, “(Bleep) you! I’m not gonna listen to this!” Or, “I’m just not getting fed anymore; I’m gonna find a church where I can get fed.”

Any readings of the prophetical writings of the Old Testament will show that Paul’s words to Titus were nothing new because the Old Testament prophets rebuked the people of God sharply because the people of God repeatedly (and carelessly) wandered off into sin and false religion. Somehow that is lost on us today…

I need sharp rebukes because I do some really idiotic things and need to be driven, at times, back into the grace of God. Without the sharp rebukes I wouldn’t think anything was wrong…

Father in Heaven,

If nothing else Lord, sharply rebuke me that I may know how and when to rebuke sharply that hearts and lives may be changed and that there may be soundness of faith in the lives of those You allow me to instruct. But if no one shows up then so be it – may Your Kingdom come and Your will be done – amen.

Have Loved

6.28.2010

2 Timothy 4.8b “...who have loved his appearing.” ESV

Maybe it’s because I watched The Book of Eli the other night that the books of the Bible seem to have a different tone these last few days. I realize that movies are movies and Hollywood’s best attempts at expressing something of spiritual value fall woefully short of reality. But I see a sense of urgency in Paul’s words to Timothy and there is something in his language in 2 Timothy that makes me stop and think. Note Paul’s words in 2 Timothy 4.8: “...who have loved his appearing.”

“Have loved” means already done or already past or already established. The NIV says, “Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day—and not only to me, but also to all who have longed for his appearing.”

You don’t get the longing without the loving. And those who have loved His appearing are used to His presence by faith today, so that tomorrow when faith is replaced with actuality, the reunion between the Lord and those who have loved Him is glorious and the tears of joy flow like a massive flood of thankfulness and release.

I have loved His appearing in these days and I long for His appearing in the days to come that when that Day arrives I will rejoice at His presence face to face. It’s not hard to talk oneself out of faith when one looks at the monstrous madness of men marching under the monument of mankind and all his machinations, but the reality is that all that stuff will be blown away like fine powder by the appearing of Jesus Christ – that is worth loving, longing, and living for.

Lord Jesus,

You are God and You are coming back. But for now I love Your appearing to me in these days by faith so that on that Day tomorrow I will see You and enjoy You face to face. May I like Paul keep the faith by maintaining my relationship with You by faith; always, always, always, looking, longing, and loving Your appearing to set things back to the way You originally intended. Thy Kingdom come, Thy will be done! Amen.

Lovers Of

6.27.2010

2 Timothy 3:1-4 3 But understand this, that in the last days there will come times of difficulty. 2 For people will be lovers of self, lovers of money, proud, arrogant, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, 3 heartless, unappeasable, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not loving good, 4 treacherous, reckless, swollen with conceit, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God… ESV

Sure sounds like today – perhaps we are in the last days. We are what we love; we are where our affections are found and everyone has affections of one kind or another. The roots of our culture grow deep into our souls and we love what we know and what we’re used to and what feeds the self – mostly.

Today is the day to change affections or at least admit what it is I really love. Today is the day for me, by the Holy Spirit, to admit before God what I love about my culture and to assess how deeply the roots of that love have grown into my being. And today in the light of this passage, it is time to intentionally start weeding; then pleading for the Spirit’s power to overcome these loves.

Reader, have you ever inventoried your deepest affections and questioned those things you possibly take for granted? As you read this passage in 2 Timothy are there strains of this brutal selfishness present in your own life that need dealt with before God?

We are called in God to be brutally honest about our passions and desires and to bring our lives into perfect alignment with His heart, purpose, and mission in our world. I pray that we begin to do so.

Father in Heaven,

Please rid me of the self-focused, inward, self-seeking nature of those listed above. May I find strength and courage in the Holy Spirit to divorce the deeply held loves that I have because I’ve long ignored You in these areas over the years. I pray for my friends that You help them as well and that all of us become true lovers of God – in Christ’s Name, amen.

Crapless

6.26.2010

2 Timothy 2.22 22 So flee youthful passions... ESV

My Bible reading guide for today led me to Jonah and then to 2 Timothy. In both portions of the Scripture I noticed the word flee. Jonah decided to flee from the Lord when God told him to go to Nineveh and preach repentance; and Paul told Timothy to flee youthful passions in order to be more effective as a mature preacher and teacher of God’s word.

Perhaps it was youthful passions that caused Jonah to flee from God’s command. Perhaps Jonah was all hyped up on arrogance, anger, revenge, and prejudice, and the thought of going to the Ninevites to offer them salvation was more than he could bear. Perhaps Timothy had a tendency to get caught up in matters of the heart that would hamper his presentation of God’s word – repeatedly Paul brings up the issue of wrangling over words (1 Timothy 6.4; 2 Timothy 2.14 &c).

Youthfulness tends to be defensive and defensiveness tends to alienate people who are older, knowledgeable, and more experienced in life. Youthfulness is often argumentative, hot-headed, and arrogant. Youthfulness often lacks humility. Youthfulness, by age and stage, has not grown-up; life hasn’t yet had a chance to temper youth’s temper and kick the crap out him. The crap-less are worth listening to because God has enabled them to be a resource to others by the wisdom gleaned from the trials and troubles of their experience. Hopefully they learned and their youthful passions were put to rest…

Father in Heaven,

I am grateful this day for the crap getting kicked out of me by the trials and troubles of my life. I am grateful that You’ve done the kicking; and I’m grateful that I am now finally beginning to learn. I pray that I would be a resource to others and would continue to learn to grow up that I may be more useful as these days go by. May I continue to flee youthful passions, and be a godly man as I serve You and share Your Gospel – in Jesus’ Name, amen.

Unrecognizable

6.25.2010

Joel 2:17 Why should they say among the peoples, ‘Where is their God?’ ESV

The question is rhetorical; but the truth was they had so forsaken the Lord that they were unrecognizable as the people of the Lord; their lives were in such disarray that one would never know that they ever knew the Lord.

Why read the Bible if one isn’t going to adhere to what it teaches? Why go to church and lift up praises to God if there really isn’t an accompanying life-transforming relationship with Him? Why should anyone ever say of believers, ‘Where is their God?’

The battle I face everyday is the battle of standing my ground for Jesus Christ in what seems to be peace and calm. I am not faced with open persecution – at least that I can see – nor torture nor sword nor prison; my life is mostly quiet. But the battle I face is holding onto my faith in the midst of peace; in the midst of affluence; in the midst of calm. I fight the battle of boredom. But even in the midst of that, does my light so shine before men that they see my good works and glorify my Father who is in heaven? (Matt. 5.16) Or am I simply viewed as just another good guy in a sea of good people who live good lives, work their jobs, eat their food, and pay their taxes? Where is their God?

In these days of relative quiet, as our freedoms are slowly and steadily evaporating by a mindset that government is god, the question is, “Where is their God?” What sets the children of God apart from the children of the government? What sets me apart – or am I unrecognizable from everyone else?

Father in Heaven,

You’ve called me to worship You in secret so that Your life in me may be visible in public. Help me God to fight the fight and to hold my ground that I may not become unrecognizable as Your servant in a world that seems to have found a suitable substitute deity to meet their needs. Strengthen me I pray in Jesus’ Name, amen.

The Fight

6.24.2010

1 Timothy 6:12 12 Fight the good fight of the faith. Take hold of the eternal life to which you were called and about which you made the good confession in the presence of many witnesses. ESV

The fight is a defensive fight protecting the integrity of the truth which man is ever trying to distort and pervert to his own use, to justify his own behavior at the urging of satan, and in rebellion to God. The good confession is that the truth is the truth.

The fight is relentlessly and tirelessly doing whatever is necessary to line one’s life up with the truth so that the glory of God shines forth in life in the presence of others. And to fight is to remain true to the truth. As I said, it’s a defensive battle. The only time we’re to go on the offensive is when presenting the truth in the face of error, and only so that others may hear the truth and make the good confession. The fight is only won in defending what will set others free.

So I must have God – and I must have His word; and I must live life in the light of the good confession – that I believe His word is true, and His word has set me free.

Father in Heaven,

You have given me Your word that I may life offensively on the battlefield of defending the truth. Equip me and help me to fight the good fight today and to crucify the flesh in me that would give way to error and somehow tarnish what I have been shown by You to be true.

The Holy Bible : English standard version. 2001 (). Wheaton: Standard Bible Society.