Tag: love

Three Dimensions of Spiritual Growth

2 Thessalonians 1:3-4

We ought always to thank God for you, brothers and sisters, and rightly so, because your faith is growing more and more, and the love all of you have for one another is increasing. Therefore, among God’s churches we boast about your perseverance and faith in all the persecutions and trials you are enduring (NIV).

Fellowship or sharing life with one another in Christ involves many practical and spiritual actions. Two of these are praying for and giving thanks for each other to God our Father. Too often we forget to think of ourselves part of a holy priesthood that serves in the temple of living stones (1 Peter 2:5). Think on this glorious position and privilege. We can lift up holy hands and praise God for his work of saving grace, in which he delivers us from sin and sets us free to live together for his glory. When we think of other believers in Jesus, it is a fitting occasion to thank God for our brothers and sisters. In our text, the apostle models how to do this part of priestly service.

  • We can thank God because your faith is growing more and more. Here is the dimension toward God. As we have seen in a recent post on the Holy Spirit, faith is a gift of God. Our faith is nourished and increases as we remain in Christ’s love and draw fresh supplies of grace from him (cf. John 15 about the Vine and the branches). In the life of faith, we have continual occasions to see more grace, so that our confidence in the Lord rises. Notice carefully that God is the source of this intensification of trust. We cannot somehow make faith surge on our own. This is the reason God is praised for the growth of faith. We should also see that growth ought to be constant. Others ought to notice the progress of our faith.
  • We can thank God because the love all of you have for one another is increasing. Here is the dimension toward each other. As with faith, so with love. God works in us and among us to make us love one another more than we have previously loved. The good news is that growth in love can occur in a gathering of believers even after years of neglect. God can restore the years that the locusts have eaten (see Joel). When we are ready to become serious in the practice of love in our small and big groups, we will see the Holy Spirit at work, changing minds and hearts. The Spirit can open the hearts of one believer for another, as we add brotherly affection to our faith. For this very reason, make every effort to supplement your faith with goodness, goodness with knowledge, knowledge with self-control, self-control with endurance, endurance with godliness, godliness with brotherly affection, and brotherly affection with love (2 Peter 1:5-7 HCSB).
  • We can boast about your perseverance and faith in all the persecutions and trials you are enduring. Here is the dimension of our life together in the world. This boasting has a good quality, because it rejoices in the work of God in the lives of our brothers and sisters in Christ. We can often see other believers slapped around by the problems of life. Sometimes I cry out in prayer, “Lord, why are you making those people who love you experience so many trials? They seem to get out of one hole, only to be pushed into another! And we do pray for them and strive to help them. But there always seems to be another trial in their journey.” We should think of our brothers and sisters in severe persecution in the world. We ought to feel anguish of heart for them. When we hear of those suffering persecution and trials living by faith, it is a reason to give thanks for the grace active in them.

So then, let us act boldly in this spiritual service to God. Look around in your group. Who can you give thanks to God for the grace of God that is evident in them? Praise God for your brothers and sisters.

Grace and peace, David

Fellowship Differently

Philemon 1:7

For I have great joy and encouragement from your love, because the hearts of the saints have been refreshed through you, brother (HCSB).

When we meet together as the Lord’s people, we assemble to worship and to fellowship. This last word is not well understood. It tells us of what we share together in Christ, and what we should share with each other. In short, fellowship is much more than the proverbial ‘coffee and donuts’ and chatting with each other about our children, jobs, houses, and sports teams. Much of this is no different from talking with others at work or with other adults at children’s sports.

Fellowship concerns sharing our lives in Christ with each other. It involves building up, encouraging, comforting, and helping one another, and very much more. True fellowship rests new life in Christ, love flowing out from Christ by the Spirit, and upon shared ideas, values, and attitudes.

To experience fellowship as followers of Christ requires good models, since most of us do not grasp abstract concepts. How to fellowship is more caught than taught. If someone has taught you how to share your life with others by example or as a mentor, thank God for that person right now. But what if you and your local church obviously fall short of true fellowship? How can you fellowship differently?

One way is to study and then seek to imitate the examples written in the Scriptures. In our text, Paul commends Philemon for being such a person. Let’s observe Philemon in these words of the apostle.

  • Philemon gave Paul great joy and encouragement from his love. Philemon’s love, which came from the Spirit (Galatians 5:22), reached out to other followers of Christ. He set his heart on Paul and others to act for their benefit. His love desired that others rejoice. He wanted them to be encouraged! You see, every gathering of God’s family ought to have the aim to produce joy and encouragement. We should enter the meeting determined to spread joy and encouragement, and we should leave, having received large baskets of the same. Notice that word “great” or “much”. Obviously, this happens when love overflows. For example, it does not come from a polite handshake but a warm embrace. We cannot act like we’ve been “emotionally neutered”, if we’re to spread much joy and encouragement. Yes, I know love is more than emotions, but it is also not less.
  • Philemon refreshed the hearts of the saints. The word translated “heart” is a strong term, used for the deep interior of a person along with their emotions. Again, it was more than a polite, “I’ll be praying for you; keep me posted,” kind of action. It is trying to improve the outlook of a person from the depths of their being. It asks itself, “How I can act to refresh this person?” Many times, we cannot change the circumstances of others. But we can seek to lift them up, to speak hope into them, so that they will endure in faith to the glory of God. To refresh someone’s heart requires us to invest time with them.
  • Philemon acted as a brother. His commitment and relationship to his brothers and sisters in Christ fueled his good works for them. We are a spiritual brotherhood, and we dare not forsake others because we feel we have too many needs of our own. Everyone in Christ has new life and the Holy Spirit and gifts from the Spirit. How can we hold ourselves away from our brothers and sisters because “I’m too tired” or “I’m too busy” or “I have so many problems”, etc.?

Let us observe Philemon, and then let us go out to imitate him. Every group we are part of, whether small or large, need refreshed hearts. Will you give yourself to refresh others?

Grace and peace, David

The Doctrine of the Holy Spirit (Part Ten)

John 3:6

That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit (ESV).

Our subject is the work of the Holy Spirit in our regeneration or new birth from above. In this great action, he acts to renew us, so that we have a close relationship or friendship with the Holy God. In regeneration, the Holy Spirit conveys an image or likeness of the Begetter to the begotten (Colossians 3:10). As the first Adam begat a son in his image (Genesis 5:3), so by the Spirit the last Adam begets sons for God that bear his image (1 Corinthians 15:49). This image or likeness to God lies in two things:

  • It is conformity of spirit to God’s, which means a radical break from the rule of sin to the government of holiness or being set apart to God (Romans 6:17-18; cf. 1 Peter 1:15-16). This involves love (Romans 13:9-10; 1 Thessalonians 4:9) at the core. This is what caught the attention of the world as they looked at the early church. They said, “Look how they love one another!” To participate in my college’s athletic program, every team member had to read Schaeffer’s The Mark of the Christian and then sign a statement that they had carefully read it. God’s love ought to permeate our interactions with fellow Christians and reach out to those we seek to see become Christ’s followers.
  • It is having God’s glory set up in our hearts as our ultimate purpose, and as the measure of all our attitudes, affections and actions.

This image or likeness to God is what is meant by Peter’s statement (2 Peter 1:3-4). The regenerated inner person of the heart now has a disposition to seek God and righteousness as the unregenerate person sought sin and darkness. Have you found an attitude in your heart to seek holiness and the glory of God?

How does the Holy Spirit do this? He directly acts on the inner person of the heart. Frankly, the Holy Spirit does not tell us much about exactly how he produces new spiritual life. There is mystery here. All we can say is that he is the efficient cause. He produces spiritual life in the heart of a person dead in sin. “The Spirit gives birth to spirit” (3:6). “So it is with everyone born of the Spirit” (3:8).

The Spirit of God uses the Holy Scriptures to create new life. The word functions like seed in the heart (1 Peter 1:23). The Spirit adds his power to the living word of God and produces life. This is a deliberate action of God. He gives new life through the word of God because he has chosen to so act (James 1:18).

What happens when the Holy Spirit causes us to be born again?

  • He gives a new heart (inner person) and life. Ezekiel 36:26-27; Jeremiah 24:7; Ephesians 2:5-10
  • He gives the gifts of repentance and faith (Acts 16:14). Repentance is a gift of God (Ac 5:31; 11:18; 2 Tim 2:25-26) and so is faith (Acts 13:48; 18:27; Ephesians 2:8-9; Philippians 1:29; 1 Timothy 1:14; 2 Peter 1:1). As Spurgeon said, “No Christian can lay his hand on his heart and say, ‘I believed in Christ without the help of the Holy Spirit.’”
  • He breaks the power of sin (Deuteronomy 30:6; cf. 29:4; Colossians 2:11; Romans 8:9; 6:22; Acts 26:18).
  • He opens our hearts to Christ and his glory (Acts 16:14; 2 Corinthians 4:6; Matthew 16:16-17; Ephesians 4:20-21; cf. Philippians 3:3ff).

The good result is that former rebels against God become his submissive, humble, trusting children. We live in newness of life.

Grace and peace, David

A Reminder to All Disciples

img_0011-22 Timothy 1:13

What you heard from me, keep as the pattern of sound teaching, with faith and love in Christ Jesus (NIV).

Every believer is on a mission, which is to follow the Lord Jesus and learn how to fish for people (Mark 1:17). An immediate question is, “How does this happen?” From my experience in fishing for fish, I observed that you must be where the fish are: beside or on a body of water. I used to practice casting in my backyard, but there was no water, and there were no fish to catch. So then, we must be where people are to catch people. That should be obvious, but it seems many Christians expect to catch fish in a Sunday worship service. But few people care to jump into that pond to be caught.

Since our mission is not to make people religious but followers of Jesus Christ, we need to have the right kind of bait. You see, you cannot catch people to follow Christ, unless you follow him first. This also ought to be obvious, but many settle for trying to get people to sit in a church building, to participate in a church activity, and oh, to put money in the offering plates. After they pick up the lingo, get baptized, and join the church, the religious mission is accomplished. Hurray! But that is not what Christ or the Holy Spirit sets forth in our text. It tells us that we must keep or follow (ESV) or hold on to (HCSB) what we have heard. A follower is an attentive listener to Jesus and to those who teach his words. We must have the character of a Christ follower to catch people to follow Christ. Notice the brief reminder that Paul gave to Timothy and to all who read this letter.

  • We start with what we have been taught in God’s word. This is the pattern of sound teaching. The Bible, whether in its narrative or commentary sections, provides a formative pattern for us. It gives us a perspective on life and how to act as adult sons and daughters of God in life’s situations. For example, as God led the church through times of opposition (Acts 4 & 12), the Spirit made clear that the church responded to the opposition by prayer. Too often modern Christians respond by watching a movie about prayer, saying the movie was tremendous, and then not praying. But I digress…. First Peter was not written to give material for Christians to huddle in a living room and talk about their feelings about what Peter wrote. It was written to tell Christians scattered how to live for God’s glory through Christ. It is a formative pattern for us.
  • We keep the teaching with faith and love. Our Father in heaven does not wish our heads merely to be filled with a collection of facts. He wants them lived out in a specified way. Our life is to be a life of faith, of dependence, of commitment to God’s all-ability and promises. Faith often will not make sense in a self-centered world where people assume they are fixers. Love also is essential. I suppose every follower of Christ hears this early on (1 Corinthians 13:1-3). But we cannot fish for people unless we love people. Love makes us abandon our comfort, and faith our self-reliance. Neither option is palatable unless a person has truly repented and believed. The follower of Christ delights in being formed in faith and love.
  • These graces happen in Christ Jesus. Everything in life for the follower of Christ is focused on or built on the Lord. We believe in Christ and through him. We love because Christ first loved us and then love through his love. Faith and love happen by a dynamic relationship with the Lord. Then, when someone asks, “Why did you help me like you just did?” we have the right and humble response, “I did that because of Jesus Christ.”

Keep the pattern, and go fish for people!

Grace and peace, David

A Testimony About Another Believer

img_4573Third John 1:12

Demetrius has received a good testimony from everyone, and from the truth itself. We also add our testimony, and you know that our testimony is true (ESV).

In our last study in 3 John, we listened to a warning that the apostle gave to Gaius about an evil leader, Diotrephes. We need to receive warnings to protect us. But we cannot live on warnings. Prevention is not the same as nourishment. Fences serve a good purpose around gardens; however, if you spend all your time of fence building and maintenance, you don’t have any to invest in planting and tending to the garden.

Some leaders do not grasp what should be obvious. They are eloquent about warning people about the dangers of worldliness or whatever they feel they must oppose now. They are not nearly so concerned about the spiritual strength and health of the people they are to serve. People need sound teaching (Titus 2:1). Sound teaching instructs in the truth and provides a variety of spiritual food. It presents the glory of the Triune God, and it makes known the love and grace of God for his dearly loved people. It tells them to love one another; it shows how to love one another. It models love, compassion, and goodness.

In many evangelical churches, there is a proper emphasis about having a good testimony for Jesus Christ. We are to live and to speak for the Lord before others in a way that points people to repentance toward God and faith in Christ. However, do we give a good testimony about our brothers and sisters in Christ? Do we tell of their goodness? Can we? Do we know how?

You see, a fence is unnecessary unless there is a garden, a garden of good people producing good fruit in a spiritual climate of rejoicing in the truth (3 John 1:3-4). It matters not if there is a splendid doctrinal statement with a fine constitution along with an attractive morning service with nice music and clever preaching. Advertising a schedule of advent services or children’s ministries is not close to what John teaches here. John wanted them to celebrate Demetrius, because of his goodness. The apostle was happy to point to a brother in Christ that bore good fruit. The Lord wants his people to be fruitful. You did not choose Me, but I chose you. I appointed you that you should go out and produce fruit and that your fruit should remain, so that whatever you ask the Father in My name, He will give you (John 15:16 HCSB). A local church should be known for the Spirit’s fruit. It should be the place where people in Christ are very able and willing to speak well of each other.

Are the people in your local assembly interested in the spiritual well-being of one another? Do you know other people in your local church, not merely their names, but their spiritual struggles and progress? Do you celebrate the work of the Holy Spirit in producing Christ-likeness in each other? Every gathering of Christ’s people is a place to share our new life in him. It is a place, not only to be challenged but also to be celebrated. Listen to Paul’s words about the Corinthian church. I give thanks to my God always for you because of the grace of God that was given you in Christ Jesus, that in every way you were enriched in him in all speech and all knowledge… (1 Corinthians 1:4-5 ESV). He appreciated the spiritual riches that he saw in their “garden”. Yes, he knew their problems, but he could celebrate the grace of God given to them.

Join with other followers of Christ, and rejoice with one another. For Christ’s sake, rejoice in the Lord together.

Grace and peace, David

A Warning to Churches

img_08593 John 1:9-10

I have written something to the church, but Diotrephes, who likes to put himself first, does not acknowledge our authority. So if I come, I will bring up what he is doing, talking wicked nonsense against us. And not content with that, he refuses to welcome the brothers, and also stops those who want to and puts them out of the church (ESV).

A local church is a spiritual family, a gathering of brothers and sisters in Christ, children of the Father in heaven, a temple of the Holy Spirit. These truths set forth what we are because of God’s grace. An assembly of the Lord’s people should joyfully celebrate the blessings of grace and radiate love for one another. It is to be the place where all are welcomed and accepted for Christ’s sake. Therefore welcome one another as Christ has welcomed you, for the glory of God (Romans 15:7 ESV). As the old hymn says, “When we walk with the Lord in the light of his Word, what a glory he sheds on our way!” Being with people who are jointly being transformed from one degree of glory to another should be a foretaste of heaven (cf. 2 Corinthians 3:18).

Sadly, this is not always so. The Apostle John warns us about this sad truth in the above words from his third letter. There are people, who while they profess that a local church is a gathering of believers, think it is a group of people for them to control. They love power and preeminence rather than people. John unmasks these people for what they are – they are lovers of self (cf. 2 Timothy 3:2). In their heart, they have a problem with authority, not theirs of course, but with God’s authority, which John exercised as an apostle of Jesus Christ. They refuse to humble themselves to the authority of the word and then to act with love and respect toward their brothers and sisters in Christ.

Two evils come from such wickedness, which often masquerades as holiness (cf. 2 Corinthians 11:13-15). First, they talk wicked nonsense against other leaders in the church. They tell falsehoods about them, portraying them as out of step, outdated, incompetent, or having an agenda that won’t attract the world. Second, they refuse to welcome the brothers. Obviously, this does not refer to everyone in the church, or they would not have anyone to rule over. It means people in a local church that are not of their class, burdensome, or otherwise less than desirable. They imagine the church as a sophisticated, classy group is filled with beautiful people – in worldly eyes. They need to submit to 1 Corinthians 1:26-31. For this reason, they force out people that don’t measure up to the kind of church members they desire. Those who try to stand up to their wickedness are put out as discontents and troublemakers.

Since this kind of people worm their way into churches, the Apostle John warned Gaius against them. We should not be naïve. It happens too often. It can happen in any kind of church, organic or institutional, because pride works in all hearts. John also told Gaius that he planned to act against the wicked Diotrephes, if he could come. Like Peter and Paul, John had special power as apostles to set matters right. Read Acts 5:1-11 for a fearful example. But John did not know if he could go to help Gaius, so he hints at the action that the church ought to take against the evil man trying to rule over people.

This is an unpleasant subject to consider. At times the friends of godliness finds themselves outnumbered and their local Diotrephes acts against them. Do not be discouraged. The Lord knows those who belong to him. What we all should gain is what the Lord intends for his churches. They are to be gatherings of love, joy, and peace; they are to be partners in spreading the good news of the Lord and Savior everywhere. Pray for your group. Strive to keep it a church where the peace of Christ rules in everyone’s hearts!

Grace and peace, David

Christian Friendship

img_4284Third John

The elder, to my dear friend Gaius, whom I love in the truth. Dear friend, I pray that you may enjoy good health and that all may go well with you, even as your soul is getting along well (3 John 1:1-2 NIV).

Third John is one of the lesser known books of the Bible. While a book like Jeremiah seems daunting because of its length, Third John can seem unimportant, because it is so short. This week we have focused Second John and Third John in our group reading, because we need to become fully aware of the message the Spirit tells us in these letters. We usually think of the Bible as a large book, but given its essential message, it is compact. Every book in the Book of books has a valuable message for people to listen to, to believe, and to live accordingly.

Third John is addressed to Gaius, and other than this letter, we know nothing more about him. (Gaius was a popular name in the Roman world.) From the subject matter of the letter, it seems that he was the leader on a house church probably near the end of the first century. He was also a dear friend of the Apostle John, who calls himself “the elder”. (John was probably the only surviving apostle at the time of the letter.)

John called Gaius his “dear friend”, which is the same word as “loved one”. He refered to Gaius three times in this manner, and he used the word “love” in reference to Gaius once and two other times in the letter. In addition, we see that the word for “friend” (a similar word also meaning love) occurs twice at the end of the letter. Clearly, one theme of the book is love.

  • A friend is someone we love. We set our affections on them to give ourselves sacrificially for their good. The well-being of our friends concerns us. So then, what do we do for our friends? This letter points us to actions that we ought to be doing for them.
  • We pray for our friends (1:2). John was concerned about the physical needs of Gaius, including his health and the general provision for his life. We tend to focus on physical needs when we share prayer requests, don’t we? We ought to pray for spiritual needs; for example, how is a friend interacting with God and others as he or she faces a severe illness. Some overreact and don’t think we should pray for physical needs, but John’s example shows us that we ought to.
  • We express the joy we have in our friends (1:3). John heard from other Christians about Gaius’ faithfulness, and it filled him with great joy. It does give us joy when we learn of the spiritual progress of others. The point here is that we can share the joy with the one who produced the joy. People need to be appreciated, and we need to tell them.
  • We commend our friends for the good they are doing in partnership for the good news (1:5). This is closely related to the preceding. John encouraged Gaius for his spiritual sacrifice (cf. Hebrews 13:16) of helping other brothers and sisters in Christ. We should often think about how we can encourage others in doing good.
  • We share our friends’ problems (1:9-10). John listened to Gaius and thought about what he could do to help him. Yes, the one helping others needed help in another area. John let Gaius know what he would do to help Gaius in his local gathering where someone else caused problems.
  • We admonish our friends (1:11). We give them warning-instruction to help them avoid spiritual problems. We need to talk boldly to each other when we sense our friends might be in spiritual danger.
  • We long to be with our friends (1:13-14). John planned to do more than write. He wanted to visit Gaius and have time with his friend. We need to share life with our friends.

How is your relationship with your friends?

Grace and peace, David

The Wise Estimator (Part Two)

dscn0043Luke 14:25-33

Jesus states the necessary attitude found in all those following him. Whoever would follow Christ must love him above all others. First, we must grasp the meaning of hate in this context. The Lord definitely is not teaching that we must cultivate a malicious spirit toward others (and ourselves!), if we are to follow him. That would be contrary to his teaching in many places (Matthew 5:43-45; 22:37-40; John 13:34-35). In addition, a comparison with Matthew 10:37 shows that hate has the meaning of “love less” here. Think of the example of Jacob and his wives. And he went in also unto Rachel, and he loved also Rachel more than Leah, and served with him yet seven other years. And when the Lord saw that Leah was hated, he opened her womb: but Rachel was barren. (Genesis 29:30-31 KJV). Instead, the Christ is teaching that our love for him must surpass our love for anyone else. If required, we must reject others and even our own lives to follow him.

Our Lord “only meant that those who follow him must love him with a deeper love even than their nearest and dearest connections or their own lives. He did not mean that it is an essential part of Christianity to quarrel with our relatives and friends. But he did mean that if the claims of our relatives and the claims of Christ come into collision, the claims of relatives must give way. We must choose rather to displease those we love most upon earth than to displease him who died for us on the cross.” [Ryle]

It is often the case that fathers do not want their sons to get involved with new ideas in religion and that mothers do not want their daughters to turn away from a liberated, party-filled lifestyle. Jesus was not talking lightly when he said that a man’s enemies would be those of his own household. You must be willing to offend your family rather than offend Christ. On the other hand, the Lord has often used such a committed testimony for the salvation of one’s family.

Whoever would follow Christ must carry the cross. Please read carefully, because I don’t want to unnecessarily offend anyone. For hundreds of years, Christians have basically considered the cross as a symbol: something to be worn as jewelry to make a statement about one’s faith. It is pretty and polite. But Jesus is not talking about any such thing. Whether you wear a cross or not is a matter of Christian liberty. But don’t let a piece of jewelry interfere with your understanding of the cross.

  • Many have wrongly considered that cross equals a person’s personal troubles, such as, “That’s the cross I have to bear,” or “We all have our own cross to carry.” Neither Jesus nor his original hearers would have ever thought of the cross in such a manner.
  • If you were living in first century Palestine and heard Jesus talk about carrying the cross, only one thing would come into mind. The cross was the way that the Romans executed people, especially Jewish people. As the crowds walked with Jesus along the roads, it would not have been unusual for them to see a number of their fellow Jews hanging upon crosses. The cross was the instrument of death. “Come, carry your cross, and be ready to die to self.” The meaning is clearly one of radical self-denial.

Whoever would follow Christ must value Christ above anything. At this point we could enter a lengthy discussion about the Biblical teaching of personal property, work, our enjoyment of material blessings, and the practice of giving to meet the needs of others. To briefly summarize, the Lord is not demanding that we absolutely give up all our possessions. Instead, the real question is not, as many have pointed out, “Do I have such and such?” but “Does anything have me?” Now that could easily sound like I have just left you off the hook. Someone might be saying in his or her heart, “Whew! That was a close call! I just want to live in comfort and to enjoy all my stuff and….” And may I interrupt to dare to suggest that something in this world has hooked you tight!

Have you ever fished? Sometimes when you attempt to set the hook, the fish swallows the hook. You have really caught a fish, and that fish has a serious problem. Sometimes you can use a “dehooker” and the fish will survive and can be set free. But other times it is all over for that fish! You are a little fish that has swallowed a barbed and snelled hook and you can’t get yourself loose! And only the Lord Jesus Christ can take that hook of the love of possessions or other people or your life out of you. If you will not ask Jesus Christ to take that hook out of your soul, at the end of your life it will be ripped out, and you will die… forever.

The point of each of these three statements is that we must realize the surpassing greatness of knowing the Lord Jesus Christ and consider all things rubbish that we might have gain Christ (Philippians 3:7-9). I can’t show you’re the glory of God in the face of Christ, and you can’t show it to yourself. But I know One who can, and I advise you to get down on your knees and to cry out to him, saying, “Lord, have mercy on me! Show me your glory and exceeding goodness that I might trust in you!” Until that happens, you cannot follow him.

Jesus gave a challenge to those thinking of following him. Consider the contractor.

  • Anyone who wants to build, whether developer, architect, contractor or owner, must first sit down and estimate the cost of construction. If you don’t, you will look very foolish when you cannot complete your great construction project.
  • People do not need to build towers; it is an optional matter. But a wise person first sits down and estimates the cost. Jesus is saying, “Sit down and figure out if you can afford to follow me. It might cost you everything you hold dear in this life.”

Consider the king.

  • When leaders of nations are attacked, like the USA was on September 11, 2001, they must decide quickly how they are going to respond. Leaders must seriously ask, “Do we have sufficient soldiers and resources to repel the attacker and then to win the war?” If not, they will begin negotiations quickly.
  • The king who is being invaded must do something. He cannot pretend that the attacking forces will disappear. So Jesus is saying, “Sit down and consider whether or not you can refuse my claims and demands on you.”

Have you estimated the cost?

Grace and peace, David

Waiting

img_33221 Samuel 16:1-13

Life is filled with waiting. We wait for babies to develop in the womb and be born. We wait for many months as they grow from crawling to toddling to walking. We wait for them to talk. When we were little children, we waited for the nights we could stay up later and for days we could go more places outside our homes. (How sad to be a child in this time and never know the joy of exploring the woods with your young friends!) When we were children, we waited to become teenagers. When we were teens, we waited to get our driver’s licenses and to go out with our friends. We had to wait to graduate, so that we could go to college, or start a career, or go into the military. We had to wait to buy our first car, to get married, to have children, or to buy a house.  Then we had to wait for our own children to grow, to grow on a dream vacation, or to accomplish many goals. We wait for half marathon runners to finish their race. Life is filled with waiting.

David, the shepherd and psalmist, had to wait. When he was a teen, God had Samuel the old prophet anoint David as the next king of Israel. But David did not immediately become king. Instead, David had to wait. He had to serve under the man he was to replace as king. This might have been beneficial for David in many ways but it was not pleasant. Though he married Saul’s daughter Michal, he quickly became an outcast, and his father-in-law chased him for years around Israel and finally out of it. This involved much suffering for David and set the stage for a tense, dysfunctional relationship with Michal. When he was thirty, David finally became king – but only over one tribe, not the whole nation. He had to endure seven and a half bitter years of civil unrest while he waited to become king over the whole nation. David had to wait, and it wasn’t pleasant.

The Bible is filled with many stories of people who had to wait, and many of these were strong believers in the true and living God. Abraham and Sarah waited until he was one hundred and she was ninety until Isaac was born. Isaac and Rebekah had no sons until he was sixty. Jacob had to wait seven years to marry Rachel, and many more to escape the domination of his father-in-law. Moses had to wait and tend sheep for forty years until it was God’s time for him to rescue his people, and the rest of his life was filled with waiting forty more years to go into the Promised Land. But he never made it because he lost his patience. Joshua and Caleb had to wait forty years to enter the Promised Land, because of the unbelief of their contemporaries, who perished in the wilderness. Then they had to wait to get their inheritance until the conquest was complete. Many of the people of God had to wait long years to do what the Lord had called them to do. And some of them suffered in many ways in their years of waiting. Life is filled with waiting.

The Holy Spirit counsels us in the word about waiting:

  • He advises us to wait. Wait for the Lord; be strong and courageous. Wait for the Lord (Psalm 27:14 HCSB).
  • He tells us that we will find new strength as we wait on the Lord. But they who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint (Isaiah 40:31 ESV).
  • He informs us that we must all wait for the coming of complete redemption. The waiting is not pleasant. And not only the creation, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies (Romans 8:23 ESV). See also (Galatians 5:5; 1 Thessalonians 1:10; Titus 2:13; Hebrews 9:28; 2 Peter 3:12).
  • The Spirit works patience in us that we might wait. The fruit of the Spirit is… patience (Galatians 5:22 NASV; etc.)

We are not told that waiting is easy or fun or a walk in the park. It is difficult for time-focused beings like ourselves to wait. We want everything fast. Our “instant everything” culture breeds impatience. Let us not be impatient with people… or with God. Love is patient (1 Corinthians 13:4).

Grace, peace, and joy, David and Sharon

Redemption Accomplished

IMG_4130Ruth 4:9-12

The Bible is the story of God’s glory in Christ. Our God has revealed himself through his word, the Bible, and we can listen to it, and be filled with worship, confidence, and joy, because of the greatness of our God. In this story, we are happily surprised that he includes people, including people that seemed ruined and forsaken like Ruth and Naomi, as well as an ordinary guy like Boaz, who trusted the Lord and tried to imitate his kindness. We are part of the great story or purpose that God is working out in life’s history. By the grace of God, we have significance; our lives are important; we are here for his purpose. And in this account of redemption accomplished, we view God move toward the fulfillment another part of his plan of redemption.

In previous articles, we saw that Naomi and Ruth needed to be redeemed, but their closest relative refused to do what was necessary for them. Therefore, he gave the right to redeem them to Boaz. Now we come to the great moment of this story.

Boaz kept his promise and redeemed (4:9-10). He redeemed the property that Naomi wanted to sell—what belonged to her husband Elimelech, and her sons Kilion and Mahlon.  Buying this much land must have been costly for Boaz, but by doing it Naomi had sufficient to live on, and Boaz was able to gain the crops that the land would produce. This transaction benefited both of them in different ways. Naomi got short term cash, and Boaz acquired long term profits. It was a fair deal in many ways.

Jesus Christ redeemed his people by dying on the cross. (To redeem means to set free by the payment of a price.) We were in bondage to sin and Satan and in this bondage had earned the hard wages of eternal death. But by his redeeming blood, Jesus set us free! We are free to live forever, and Jesus receives glory and joy by rescuing us. Here is the great deal. Trust in Jesus and he will set you free.

By buying Naomi’s land, it stayed in the family. They could keep what the Lord gave them as their inheritance. God’s gift and purpose are respected. Do you know what are God’s gifts and purpose for the church, Christ’s new assembly? Do you respect them in your approach to life?

Boaz redeemed Ruth. For the first time we learn that she was the widow of Mahlon, but now she will become the wife of Boaz. In this way, the names of both Elimelech and Mahlon would be maintained in Israel, since the first son born to Ruth and Boaz would inherit their land. This was important in old covenant Israel. The land would stay in the family, not just to the Year of Jubilee, but beyond—to him and his heirs. The end of the story tells who got this land.

Ruth also was redeemed from what had seemed a hopeless future. She became the wife of Boaz, and was provided for through his riches. In all this we should see a picture of our Lord Jesus Christ and how we should live.

Jesus paid the very costly price of our redemption by shedding his blood on the cross. Ruth was desolate; she had neither husband nor children, but Boaz set her free to become his wife and the mother of his children. So also, we were spiritually desolate, but through Christ, we died to the law that we might belong to the resurrected Jesus, and so be able to bear fruit for God (Romans 7:4-6). Ruth was a foreigner, a stranger to the covenants of promise, but when Boaz married her, she had a place in the covenant nation. So in Christ, though we were far away, we are now brought near to God and have a place in God’s household and are fellow citizens with God’s people (Ephesians 2:11-22). The Spirit of God shows us in this story that as Boaz received Ruth the Moabite as his wife, so he receives people from all the people groups of the world.

Jesus wants us to set others free. There are so many people that need to be redeemed and set free! We live in a messed up world. Some are in misery because of addictions; they need people to bring the good news of the Redeemer to them. He alone is strong enough to break their chains. Some are ruined by poverty; they need people to befriend them and help them in their struggles. Some have had their family lives ruined by sexual immorality and abuse; they need someone to love and accept them. When we reach out to them, we can lead them to the Lord Jesus, who can bring about true restoration.

Your local assembly must be known as a place of love and acceptance. First, of course, you must accept one another as Christ as accepted us (Romans 15:7). But then each one needs to provide opportunities where people can experience the acceptance that the grace of Christ gives.

Grace and peace, David