Contention

7/2/2017 

Jude 3 Dear friends, although I was very eager to write to you about the salvation we share, I felt compelled to write and urge you to contend for the faith that was once for all entrusted to God’s holy people. – St. Jude 

Jesus had a half-brother named Jude. His name was probably Judah, or Judas but he was a believer in Christ. He was passionate in his faith and apparently held a non-apostolic position of leadership in the early Church. Jude wrote Jude. 

As was common in those days, the Christian moniker, ‘friends’ was used by the early believers to signify unity among themselves, and their partnership with Jesus (John 15.15 …I call you friends…) So, when Jude wrote, “Dear Friends”, he was writing to people who were friends of Jesus Christ as believers. Friendship with God is an important context for me. God desires to be our True Friend. 

So, Jude wanted to write and encourage his friends about their salvation, but felt compelled to write and urge to them about contend for their faith. Contend here means to struggle, or seek to overcome.  

Now, the struggle (or contention) is not against others but against the pull of the world, to live for the world, and daily living as more important than God, and godly living. I think one of the biggest bashes Christianity takes is the concept of godly living. Godly living is simply living in the presence of God and striving to do what He commands and directs as the right way to live in a wrong world. The world heralds that as hypocrisy. 

And no wonder – if the world sought godly living, then it wouldn’t contend for worldly living – living in a world apart from God. The worldly contend it is possible to live a full and rewarding life in this world apart from God; without the constraints (as they see it) of living for God. The worldly stop short at the threshold of self-accomplishment and self-aggrandizement.  

The Christian, on the other hand, may be tempted to stop short at the threshold of salvation thinking: I signed the card, I made the pledge, I got my name in the book, and I’m just gonna continue to live the best I can. Salvation isn’t just a letter-grade on a ledger; it’s relationship with God that comes no other way than through Jesus Christ and belief in Him – and daily life with Him. Life with Jesus is peace, promise, and presence in the midst of a world hostile to all that would usurp it’s culture of self. 

Contending for the faith, for the child of God, is a very real and serious thing because all else in this life contends to pull us away from our salvation: what we are saved from, and what we are saved to. Contending for the faith means living with purpose, power, and persistence in the things of the faith and the salvation we hold so dear. We do hold salvation dearly, don’t we?  

Living for Jesus a life that is true, [contending] to please Him in all that I do; yielding allegiance, glad-hearted and free, this is the pathway of [salvation] for me. – Thomas O. Chisholm 

Father in Heaven, every day is a day of contention, contending for my faith. Give me the strength, the wisdom, and the vision to keep my eyes on the prize: You! Amen

Knowing Our Desire

7/1/2017 

Isaiah 1.3 "The ox knows its master, the donkey its owner’s manger, but Israel does not know, [My] people do not understand.” – St. Isaiah 

This morning in my devotions I read: “Delight yourself in Me, for I am the deepest Desire of your heart.” (Young, Sarah. Jesus Calling: Enjoying Peace in His Presence (p. 192). Thomas Nelson. Kindle Edition.)

 I thought about that. I thought: how often do I fill my days seeking this or that? I think that way because I have been trained that way, and because of my training, I do as I do, and believe as I believe. What is sad is: I was not created to be my own god; I was not created to live a life apart from God. 

And Isaiah, the great preacher of Israel said, “The ox knows its master, the donkey its owner’s manger, but Israel does not know, [My] people do not understand…” The simple animals get it – and often (very) I don’t.  

This isn’t about training as much as it is about retraining. The ox and the donkey have one small advantage: they’re hard-wired to get the simple concept of ownership and food. Their huge disadvantage is no freewill, and no knowledge of the God who created them. All they know is the simplicity of food, water, and husbandry. 

My devotions today were a paradigm shift in my thinking: we all have a deep desire; we’re hard-wired that way. What we don’t know (or what we ignore, and/or are distracted from) is the deepest desire of all humanness: the desire for God. The secular won’t buy that, nor will the atheist, nor the hedonist, nor the consumer. Only those that are taught and trained to hear and live by the voice of God will give heed to their deepest desire: the presence of God Himself. 

For the most part, we’re dumbed down to desiring the sparkles and glitters of this life. We accept the lie that this life and its limitations, doesn’t get any better than this… We accept short-sightedness believing all we see, is all there is. That’s the context of animals: dumb as oxen, stubborn as donkeys… Funny: we need the oxen and donkeys God has created!

God said: My people do not understand. The dumbest of His people are those who think, they are not His people – ah, but the earth is the Lord’s and the fullness thereof… The dumbest and the poorest on earth are those who deny God. Our purpose in this life is to know God and enjoy (underscore that!) Him forever. That means we’re free from the confines of ownership and food – it means we choose to accept our deepest desire: the innate hunger in all of us for the power, presence, and promise of God. 

Oxen and donkeys know instinctively. We know innately. Knowing our desire is tantamount to knowing God. 

Father, that I know You is of magnitude that defies understanding. That my deepest desire is You, smacks vehemently against everything this world offers in place of You – religion, health, wealth, and happiness. As I go forth in these days, may my knowledge of this desire, and the presence of the Holy Spirit within me, be the filter of defense for all that vies for my attention. All of my fountains are in You – amen.

Prepare To Meet

6/29/2017

 

Amos 4. 12 “Therefore this is what I will do to you, Israel, and because I will do this to you, Israel, prepare to meet your God.” – Amos of Tekoa 

In the movie, The Princess Bride, the character, Inigo Montoya states several times: “Hello. My name is Inigo Montoya. You killed my father. Prepare to die.” I thought of that this morning as I read Amos’ prophetic words to the people of Israel who’d abandoned their God. “Hello. My Name is the Lord Almighty. You have abandoned Me and worshiped other gods. Prepare to meet your Me!” 

America, the land I love, is not Israel – a land I’ve only read about. America was founded on the principles that all men are created equal in the sight of God and have been endowed by God with the inalienable right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. Americans are to be free, live free, and ultimately die free. 

But Americans have bought into a lie that says: we’re better with government rule, than self-rule. We’re better off with the god of law and government, than the God of who gave us the inalienable rights to be free. Somebody somewhere decided that men cannot be trusted with their freedom, and need to be reined in with rules. We speak of freedom here, but in our day, freedom’s a very short leash. And many seem quite content with the short leash. 

What happened in ancient Israel where Amos lived and spoke, was a society remarkably similar to ours today. They had the opportunity for self-rule, but didn’t want self-rule, they wanted a king (a government) to take care of the dirty-work and they sold their freedom in God for slavery to a political, religious, and economic system that taught them, apathy. As long as their perceived gravy-train of leisure kept rolling, they were quite content to live on a very short leash. 

What they certainly didn’t expect (or care about) was push-back from God, and Amos’s words of: the time is short and your life choices are horrible – prepare to meet your God. And they met God, and He looked strangely like the invading Assyrians that captured them, and drug them off into pagan captivity. 

So, Paul, are you implying that we are about to meet our God? (Your God?) Well, let me just ask: if He does show up today, how will you respond? He may not look like what we expect… 

God is actually here. Right now. Today. He’s never gone anywhere. And He’s given us the freedom to make life choices. He’s also given us the freedom to abide by His choices. It’s not an unfair game God plays – it’s the game of reality, life choices, wisdom, and cooperation. God never changes His mind about the gifts He gives or the people He calls. (Romans 11.29) But we men want someone else to do the heavy lifting so we can spend our ‘free’ moments not caring about things like oppression, injustice, poverty, and on and on, and on.  

The further a people drift from the truth, the more they will come to hate those who speak it… - Chesterton 

Father, may I repent of my apathy in my daily encounters with You. My freedom is not leisure cash to selfishly spend frivolously, but opportunity to freely help others come to know You and the Gospel You offer. Amen.

Evidence of Turning Away

6/26/2017 

2 Timothy 2.19 Nevertheless, God’s solid foundation stands firm, sealed with this inscription: “The Lord knows those who are his,” and, “Everyone who confesses the name of the Lord must turn away from wickedness.” – St. Paul 

I meet with a group of guys every Thursday when schedule permits, and we talk. And talk. And talk. Sometimes, it’s just about hunting and fishing (two things I don’t do, so I simply smile and nod); and sometimes it’s just about life. Often, it’s about church, and often, it’s about theology. We spar. 

Now, sparring is not fighting, it’s contending one’s point over the objections of another. Men spar. Women relate.  

One of the biggest topics of our sparring is what God does with sin, and what the Christian’s responsibility is with sin, and daily behavior. Typically (in a group of 5 to 8 guys) sides are formed and the sparring gets heated. For the most part we agree to disagree, and always we part as friends. But the sin issue is something we wrangle over. Not whether to sin or not sin, but what is our responsibility is with sin, before God. 

Sin is not degrees of evil before God; to Him, sin is sin. But we mortals only have St. Paul’s commentary on sin. (Other commentaries are just commentaries on Paul’s commentary.) And in 2 Timothy 2, Paul says the above: “Everyone who confesses the name of the Lord must turn away from wickedness.” (Because of the quotation marks, Paul is obviously quoting someone.) 

Turning away from wickedness (or, sinful self-rule) is not because of rule-keeping, but because of the reality of confessing the Name of the Lord. The Bible is pretty clear about the responsibilities of life when it comes to confessing the Name of the Lord. We should not live in sin while confessing the Lord. But we do and that is precisely where the rub comes in our sparring. One says, we’re only human, and the other says, you cannot have it both ways. They’re both right. 

The emphasis here is: confessing the Name of the Lord. We shouldn’t sin or live in wickedness if we confess Jesus’ Name. But we do and it leads me to think that the upshot of all this is recognizing the reality of sin, and learning through relationship with Jesus, to mitigate its effect on our lives by both learning what not to do, and all that we’re to become, by confessing Jesus’ Name. It’s a lifelong process. 

I think where our issue really stems from is we all want flawless perfection so that we can prove to God how good we are, not realizing the sinfulness of sin, and how we’re to live in faith in Jesus to overcome its influence on us as we live out our lives on this earth. Some seem to be better at this than others, but in Christ we all should be making progress; and verses like this one are pretty emphatic: “Everyone who confesses the name of the Lord must turn away from wickedness.” Evidence that demands a verdict… 

Father in Heaven, it seems to me that in my behavior, if I think I can confess Jesus whilst doing something I know I shouldn’t, there’s either a misunderstanding in me of who Jesus is, or a misunderstanding in me of what sin is. All I want is to grow in my relationship with You so that the things I know I shouldn’t do diminish. May there be evidence of Your presence in me so that others can see You in me, not just my avoidance of wickedness. You are worth far more than that! Amen

Influential

6/18/2017 

1 Kings 22.43 In everything he followed the ways of his father Asa and did not stray from them; he did what was right in the eyes of the Lord. The high places, however, were not removed, and the people continued to offer sacrifices and burn incense there. 

It seems fitting on this Day of Fathers, to point out that Jehoshaphat (whose name means, Yahweh has judged) followed in the ways of his father Asa, and did not stray from them. Sometimes, (more often than not) fathers hold a place of tremendous influence in the life choices of their sons. A chip off the old block, they say… 

Jehoshaphat was influenced by his dad. But Jehoshaphat was also influenced by his heavenly Father, Yahweh. Somehow, some way, Jehoshaphat saw that God’s way was the best way. And he made the choice to follow God’s way.  

Jehoshaphat witnessed the life of his father, Asa, who for the most part, was a wise and conscientious king; but Asa did some weird stuff at the end of his career and died somewhat in ignobility. Asa nearly drove the proverbial leadership bus off the cliff. And Jehoshaphat witnessed it all. At some point Jehoshaphat must have made up his mind that he wasn’t going to do what his dad did. But sometimes, like it or not, the influence of the father is passed onto the kid(s).  

My hope is that my boys, (and my daughter) and my grandson, will witness and follow my ways. But when I say that what comes to mind is all the mistakes I have made as a man and a father. I hope they overlook those things and choose to do as I have done. I know how I got here and my only hope is that their path doesn’t include the pain I’ve suffered and caused. My kids have seen it all...

But I am not God. 

I am glad that Jehoshaphat chose to follow God. I am glad that he decided God’s ways were the best for him, despite what his father was or did. Mercifully, life isn’t about just being a carbon copy of the old man; it’s about the presence and influence of the Ancient of Days in lives of each individual. And God is at work in every person on the planet. 

Dads may be influential, but God is at work.  

And my prayer for my kidos is simply: Lord, the work that You’ve begun, see it through to completion in the lives of my kids and grandkids. And Lord, do whatever it takes to get their attention. God, only that they may see You for who You really are, and follow steadfastly in the way You lead. 

I have had, and still have that place in influence in my kids, but now, for me it’s a matter of daily fervent prayer for them as they lead their own lives and walk their own paths. Yahweh has judged. But I will pray. 

Father, for the millions and billions on this earth, give me that place of influence with as many as You choose. Help me to remember the ones who are close – relationally, or in proximity –to model what it is to walk with You. Give these young and little ones, glimpses of Your glory that though they see me, they would choose You – amen.

Pressing On

6/13/2017

 

Philippians 3.14 I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. – St. Paul 

The goal is the prize found in the upward (god-ward, heaven-ward) call of God in Christ Jesus. The goal is the prize – the prize is Jesus. We are called to the prize; our goal is the prize; and our calling is Jesus Himself. And so, despite all that happens to us in life along the way: our calling is to the goal, which is the prize, which is Jesus Himself. 

Whew! What a mouthful! 

But it’s true. We do have a goal in life. We do have meaning and purpose. There is a point to all the madness swirling around us. Every day we’re alive the goal, is the Goal. And the prize for the goal isn’t six points on a scoreboard, and the potential of a point after touchdown; the goal is the Prize: God Himself in the person of Jesus Christ. 

Why is that so important? It’s important because the amount of time and energy we put into life amounts to very little compared to the goal for the Prize of the upward call of the Lord. Yes, we can have careers. Yes, we can amass wealth and to do. But all of that is meaningless in the face of life’s true pursuit. The vastness of Jesus is far greater than all the wealth of earth, and more meaningful than the beating of each person’s heart on the planet. The Prize is Him!

So, Paul, pressed on. He kept the goal in mind because he understood the vastness of the prize. Think of the complexity of our world. Think of the intricacies and the sophistication of life. Think of the vastness of earth and the universe beyond. And God is above and beyond all, and God calls us to Himself. God is more than creation and God wants to exchange all He has for all we are. We mean that much to Him. 

That’s worth pressing on for. 

Paul said: (With all life is, I only want to be): …found in Him, not having a righteousness of my own derived from the Law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which comes from God on the basis of faith, that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death; in order that I may attain to the resurrection from the dead. (Php. 3.9-11) 

God is vastly more than all we can ask or imagine. Earth is pretty good, but all of earth, and all it is, holds no candle to all He is in us, for us, and through us. Psalm 8.3-4 muses: When I consider your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars, which you have set in place, what is mankind that you are mindful of them, human beings that you care for them? God views mankind as worth dying for that they may know Him forever… and so, God presses on in His relentless pursuit of all mankind… 

Alright Paul, bring it on home! I can’t, I’m too busy pressing on… 

Father in Heaven, thank You for the goal, for the prize of Your upward call in Christ Jesus; You reached down so that we could come up in Him. Help me in pressing on today and for keeping the goal for the Prize first place in all I do and am – it’s the only time ‘participation trophies’ mean anything! - amen

Work Out

6/12/2017 

Philippians 2.12-13 12 So then, my beloved, just as you have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your salvation with fear and trembling; 13 for it is God who is at work in you, both to will and to work for His good pleasure. – St. Paul 

We are not so much to do as to be. We are the children of God in Christ, and that is not a matter of doing, but of being. That said, we are to learn what it means to be God’s children living in His family and participating in His Kingdom.  

Paul said, “…work out your salvation with fear and trembling…” That’s pretty simple: do what it takes to know God better, remembering not so much what we are saved from, but what we are saved to. Because, “…it is God who is at work in you, both to will and to work for His good pleasure.” Salvation has infinitely more to do with God’s good pleasure than it ever does with abstinence of sin. Sin is dramatically defeated and lessened by doing God's will and good pleasure.

I know we labor heavily in the battle against sin, but the reality is doing what God calls us to do; and we can only do that as we believe what God has called us to be: His children. Our focus as believers is to concentrate on God’s good pleasure, not the incessant wrestling with self and sin.  

That’s not to say that self and sin aren’t issues, it’s just that they aren’t the main issues: God’s good pleasure is the main issue, and our salvation becomes focusing on His good pleasure. I think the more we do that, the more sin fades into the paleness of death. Far too many focus on abstinence of sin; far too few focus on God’s work in us to will and to do for His good pleasure. Working out our salvation has to do with keeping the main thing, the main thing.  

In case we forget/forgot: God is the main thing. His will and good pleasure are the main thing. 

Working out our salvation is keeping God the Main thing. And that may seem harder done than said, but it is what we are called to. Therefore, we are to work out our salvation by thinking about Him. We are to work out our salvation by working alongside Him as He works within us. We are to work out our salvation by seeking to know what He desires next in our lives and then doing exactly that! Nothing more, nothing less. We cannot do what we aren’t; and we are God’s children. 

Jesus said, “…he who abides in Me and I in him, he bears much fruit, for apart from Me you can do nothing.” So, working out our salvation amounts to abiding in Him. And accepting His abiding in us. Most of the hard work of salvation is found simply in accepting the reality of the presence of Christ in us by His Holy Spirit. After that, it is just walking with Him and doing what He says to do. 

It takes faith. It takes acceptance. It takes intentionality. It requires work. That which costs me nothing is usually worth nothing.  

Father in Heaven, help me this day, as I work out my salvation with fear and trembling to remember who I am in You, and who You are in me. Amen