Personal Discipleship - Guest Blogger Nathan Brown

For this week's blog, I have invited a friend of mine to be a guest blogger.  Nathan Brown is a co-worker of mine and is the Discipleship Coordinator for the Bible Methodist Connection of Churches.  Nathan developed the circles of discipleship graphic that I shared with you in church this past Sunday.  He also has a very good discipleship website: www.disciplingnewconverts.org.   In his article below, Nathan shares his thoughts about what personal discipleship looks like.

What is a Disciple?

A disciple is anyone who desires to learn from and follow after someone else. For Christians, that ‘someone else’ is Jesus Christ. He is our master, and our goal as His disciples is to learn His teachings, model His way of living, adopt His values, embrace His beliefs, and become like Him in our actions, attitudes, and words. The master-disciple relationship may sound a little strange to us today. Perhaps the best modern equivalent we can relate to and understand is the coach-player relationship. When you join a sports team, you become a 'disciple' of your coach. You place yourself under his authority and agree to do whatever he tells you. Your goal is to learn to think about the game like your coach—to model his attitudes and actions, and follow his direction. You are subject to his correction and discipline, and you work hard to earn his praise and respect. Being a member of a professional sports team is not a part-time endeavor. It affects every area of your life. It's the same way with being a disciple of Jesus. It's a life-long commitment that will require you to give 100% in order to be successful.

Personal Discipleship: What does a disciple do?

We sometimes forget that the ones who are going and making disciples are themselves disciples. This means that we must make personal discipleship a part of our daily lives. We must:

·         Take time. When we got saved, we began a relationship with Jesus Christ. As we all know, relationships take time. If we don't schedule time for personal discipleship, it won't happen. Jesus left us an example: He regularly left His disciples, went off by Himself, and spent time alone with God (Luke 5:16). We need to do the same. Find a place where you can be alone, and eliminate as many distractions as possible. Quiet yourself, clear your mind, and push the cares and responsibilities of the day to the side.

·         Listen to God. I use the phrase ‘listen to God’ because I want to emphasize that when we read the Bible, God is speaking directly to us. Most people think of reading as a solitary activity, but when we read Scripture, we have just entered into a conversation with our Heavenly Father!

• How much of what God has said should we be interested in hearing? All of it! We need to have our minds regularly exposed to the entirety of God’s word. Here are several reasons why:
•  Familiarization—getting to know the Bible. God’s people ought to have a basic knowledge of His Word. If we aren’t familiar with the entirety of Scripture, we will inevitably overlook something God wants us to know (e.g., the feast of booths in Nehemiah 8:13–14).
• Veneration—giving God the profound respect He deserves. When we read the entire Bible, we show God that we honor everything He said, not just those parts we feel are particularly relevant or applicable to us. When Ezra read the law to the remnant in Jerusalem (Neh 9:3), they stood up for “a fourth part of the day.” Why? They were showing God how much they respected Him and His Word.
• Manifestation—learning to accept and appreciate the multi-faceted character of God that is manifested in His Word. If we don’t regularly fill our minds with everything God has revealed about Himself, our understanding of Him will inevitably become unbalanced. For example, if we only spend time reading about God’s love, we will be horrified when God tells us how He killed Uzzah for touching the ark (2 Sam 6:1–7). If we only spend time reading about God’s wrath and judgment on sin, we will be astounded when God tells us how He restored Manasseh to the throne after he repented (2 Chr 33).
• Orientation—knowing where things are with respect to other things. Think about geography—if you know the seven continents and where they are on the globe, then you can quickly find the area you are looking for. When we read the Bible all the way through, we gain a bird’s-eye view of Scripture that allows us to quickly locate various sections of interest. For example, we need to know where in our Bible to go to find: (a) what happened after the exile, (b) the history of the early church, (c) the law, etc.
•  Connection—seeing the connections that exist between the various parts of Scripture. Stephen’s speech in Acts 7 is a good example of this—he starts out with Abraham and ends with the people who crucified Jesus, and he has it all connected. The Bible is like a tree—it is a growing revelation that starts with the roots in Genesis and ends with the fullness of the Son’s revelation in the NT.
• In what order should I read the books of the Bible? I suggest that reading the Bible in chronological order is an excellent way to maximize your learning experience:
•  Flow—Reading the Bible in chronological order gives us a better sense of the overall flow of biblical history from beginning to end. When we read chronologically, we are carried along by the unfolding story of redemption, and we gain insight into how God was working through history to bring about the salvation of men and the establishment of the Kingdom of His Son, Jesus Christ.
• Context—Reading the Bible in chronological order helps us put each passage of scripture in its proper historic context. For example, the first sermon in the book of Haggai (Hag 1:1–13) should be read against the backdrop of the construction of the temple as recorded in Ezra 4–5 (construction started in 536 BC but it stopped after opposition by local enemies, and was not restarted until the preaching of Haggai and Zechariah in the late summer and fall of 520 BC). Also, David’s psalm of praise to God (Ps 34) is connected to the story of his escape from the Philistines in Gath where he pretended to be insane (1 Sam 21).
•  How can I read the Bible in chronological order?
•  I've personally tried several different chronological reading plans. I wasn’t satisfied with any of them, so I decided to create my own. You can use it by clicking the Bible menu on the website. The plan is designed to take you through the Bible in a year, and you can read the Bible in several different versions (e.g., NASB, KJV, LEB, and NET). If you enjoy listening to the Bible, you can have it read to you in the English Standard Version, courtesy of esvbible.org. The availability of this plan on the internet facilitates groups of people reading the same passage of Scripture each day.

·         Talk to God. When you're done reading God's Word, remind yourself that God has just spoken directly to you. The only polite thing to do is to respond. If a friend spent ten minutes talking to you, and then you replied on a different topic, completely ignoring what they just said, how would they feel? Yet that is often how we interact with God. We need to process what God just said to us, and then respond to Him in prayer.

·         Be accountable. Find a fellow Christian to whom you can be accountable. Humble yourself and confess your faults to them (Prov 28:13; Jam 5:16). Ask them to enter into a commitment of accountability with you. We are not meant to live the Christian life apart from the help and encouragement of the church. That is why accountability to other believers is so important (cf. Heb 3:12–14; 10:23–25; 1 Thess 5:11; Gal 6:1–2).

I'd like to know your thoughts about what Nathan has to say, so comments are welcome.

Gifts of the Holy Spirit

This past Sunday, part of the sermon on the Body of Christ was about using one’s spiritual gifts to build up the Body of Christ.  It was really beyond the scope of that sermon to address the spiritual gifts themselves, but I thought it might be a good idea to at least touch on them in this week’s Pastor’s Blog.

One of the biggest misconceptions about spiritual gifts – at least in my opinion – is that there are only a specific set of gifts given by the Spirit of God.  This comes from a very finite and limited understanding of how God works, and just to be frank about it, that kind of thinking puts God in a man-made box.  If you tried to Google “gifts of the Holy Spirit” you would find articles such as the “Holy Spirit’s Seven Gifts” or “Nine Gifts of the Spirit” or similar such titles.  Ironically, if you were to limit the gifts of the Holy Spirit to the one’s listed in scripture (Romans 12:3-8 and 1 Corinthians 12:8-10, 27-28), there are actually 18 of them.   However, just because there are a limited set of gifts mentioned in the New Testament, that does not mean those are the only gifts of the Spirit.  When you read the various scriptures talking about the gifts of the Spirit, you see that the whole purpose of the gifts is to give us everything we need to function as the Body of Christ.  Certainly it is possible that God could only provide a limited set of gifts, but I tend to take 2 Peter 1:3 to heart when it says that "His divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness."  In my humble opinion, that means whatever it is we need to function as both individual believers and as a church, the Holy Spirit will provide for that need.  That sounds a bit more open-ended to me and gives me great comfort in the knowledge that God will make a way regardless of the need.

Nevertheless, we tend to think of the spiritual gifts in terms of those mentioned in scripture, and I do believe that God gives every believer at least one of these specifically listed gifts.  Therefore, let’s take a moment to discuss all 18 of them.  As a cautionary note, there is a lot of debate among biblical scholars regarding the true definition and use of these gifts.  The discussion I am providing below may not necessarily represent a universal agreement concerning those gifts, but it is how I personally view them.

Wisdom – the ability to make decisions and give counsel regarding the will of God and to apply scripture in everyday situations.  Wisdom is a very practical gift.  A person with the gift of wisdom very often also has either the gift of knowledge or the gift of either teaching or prophecy so that they may be used together.  However, even when they do not, the person with the gift of wisdom can work in tandem with others to help plot a wise course of action for the Body of Christ.   A person with the gift of wisdom is someone you want to have around when you need to answer the question “What should we do about ______?”

Knowledge – the ability to easily know and understand difficult spiritual, biblical, and theological concepts.  Usually, people with this gift are fairly easy to spot.  People with the gift of knowledge just seem to know and understand the Bible better than the rest of us. But it is not just the Bible.  They also have the ability to know and understand deep theological concepts and spiritual situations.  A person with the gift of knowledge is someone you want to have around when you need to answer the question “What does the Bible say about __________?”

Faith – the ability to trust God (and encourage others to trust God) not only in everyday situations, but even in difficult situations.  A person with the gift of faith doesn’t just know and understand that God is Able and God will Provide – they live and breathe it every day.  When others waiver or begin to question God, the person with the gift of faith remains strong.   A person with the gift of faith is someone you need to help encourage the church to make decisions that you know to be God’s will but which otherwise seem difficult – and to help the church stay true to that course of action once it has been decided – even when it seems like that course of action may fail.

Healing – the ability to pray for and receive supernatural healing on behalf of others.  Many believe this gift has ceased.  Many think this gift – along with the gift of miracles - was only used during the early church as a sign of the power of the gospel.  In its place, God has gifted men with the common grace of modern medicine.  I will be an honest Pastor here and tell you I personally struggle.  I don’t have the wisdom to say for certainty that this gift has ceased because I know with absolute certainty that God is still in the business of miraculous healing.  This is especially true in third world countries where modern medicine is not as readily accessible.  However, even in first world countries, we see people every day that are healed in such a way that even the doctors describe it as miraculous.  I personally have had such an experience (a story for another day).  However, what I have not seen in the modern church is someone who can heal at will.  I have seen those who claim to be able to do so, but they all seem to me to be charlatans.   So I remain agnostic about whether the spiritual gift of healing is active today, while I remain absolute in my believe that God supernaturally heals every single day.

Miracles – the ability to perform supernatural signs and wonders.  This one falls in the same category as healing.  The gift itself most certainly existed in the first century as a sign of the power of the gospel, and I am most certain that God is in the miracle business even today.  If you do not believe this, may I suggest to you that you read C.S. Lewis’ book, Miracles.  However, I am uncertain whether this particular spiritual gift is still in existence today.  If you think you have this gift, would you let me know? 

Prophecy – the ability to proclaim the message and the word of God.  There is much debate about what this gift really means.  Some believe it specifically means the ability to divinely foretell future events.  Certainly that was part of the job of the Old (and New) Testament prophets.  If you believe this is what the gift of prophecy means, then you probably also believe this gift has ceased.  Others, however (and I fall in this camp), believe that foretelling the future was only a sidebar to the real purpose of the prophet, which was to proclaim the message of God.  The prophet has the ability understand the message God has for his people at any particular moment and to proclaim that message – usually calling for repentance – in such a way that is clear and unmistakable to the people.

Discernment (of Spirits) – the ability to discern whether a circumstance, a person, or a message are from God.  Scripture calls us to test every spirit (1 John 4:1) to see if they are from God, and the person with discernment is gifted in this regard.  Very often, a person with this gift will be the one who says something like “I can’t explain why, but I just get the impression that _______” (fill in the blank with whatever the circumstance might be). There are many similarities in the use of the gift of discernment and the use of the gift of wisdom.  They both help the church plot a course of action that is in line with God’s will.   However, the person with the gift of discernment can also be useful in helping the body spot false teachers and false prophets.

Tongues – the ability to speak in an unknown tongue.  I could do a whole sermon or blog series just on this topic.  Do they exist or have they ceased?  Are tongues (as some of our close evangelical brothers and sisters believe) a true mark of having received the Holy Spirit?  Honestly, I cannot say that I believe tongues have ceased (yet).  Like prophecies and knowledge, tongues eventually will pass away (see 1 Corinthians 13:8), but that will not happen until our Lord returns.  Rather, I think there may be certain circumstances where such is needed and so the Holy Spirit gifts as appropriate.  However, despite my great love for our Pentecostal brothers and sisters, I cannot read 1 Corinthians 14 and have even a remote acquiescence to the idea that speaking in tongues is a prerequisite to receiving the Holy Spirit.

Interpretation of Tongues – the ability to interpret someone who has spoken in tongues.  This is a companion gift to the gift of tongues.   Paul makes it clear in 1 Corinthians 14 that any use of the gift of tongues must be accompanied by an interpretation.  He even goes so far as to say in 1 Corinthians 14:28 that if such an interpretation is not available, that the person speaking in tongues should keep quiet.

Service – the ability to see the need for and do whatever it takes to get tasks accomplished.  The Greek word used for “service” is essentially the same word from which we get the word Deacon.  Essentially, it is serving others for the purpose of building up the Body of Christ.  These people are fairly obvious to spot because they are always the ones in the thick of the work whenever things need to get done.

Helps – the ability to see the needs of others and help meet those needs.  There is a great deal of similarity between this gift and the gift of service.  However, the Greek word for “helps” is different than that for service.  Practically, there may be very little difference between them, except that helps tends to be a more personal-oriented in nature whereas service tends to be more task-oriented in nature.  The person with the gift of helps will be the one focusing on meeting the needs of individual whereas the person with the gift of service will be the one focusing on getting work accomplished.

Leadership – the ability to guide the direction of others in the church.  The person with this gift is the one that not only sets the course of action, but inspires others to follow that course of action.  Leadership is very often attributed to the Pastor, but not all Pastors have the gift of leadership.  The person with the gift of leadership is easy to spot, because he/she is the one that everyone is following.   It has been said that the true test of whether someone has the gift of leadership is to see who is following them.  If you think you have the gift of leadership and yet no one is following you, then chances are you really do not have the gift of leadership.

Administration – the ability to guide the work of others in church.  This person with this gift has great organizing skills and can make sure that the work being done stays on course. It is different from the gift of wisdom in that it does not recommend a course of action.  Likewise it is different from the gift of leadership in that it does not inspire and set a course of action to follow.  Rather, it is the gift that is necessary to make sure all the details needed to stay on course are remembered and carried out. 

Teaching – the ability to explain the truths of God in such a way as to make it clear and understandable.  This gift is fairly obvious.  This gift is useful for helping all the believers know and understand the truths of scripture.  However, just because you are a teacher does not mean you have the gift of teaching.   Paul says that all Deacons should be “able to teach” – but not all Deacons have the gift of teaching.  Hopefully, though, all those who do have the gift of teaching have found their way into a classroom.

Exhortation – the ability to encourage others.  We are all commanded to encourage one another, but to some people, this just comes naturally – or rather, supernaturally.  The gift of exhortation (encouragement) has often been attributed to Barnabas and rightly so because his exhortation is what helped get Paul’s ministry going.  These people are just a blessing to be around, because they are always the ones doing the blessing!

Generosity – the ability to provide for the needs of others and the church.  While we are all commanded to give generously, there are those who not only do so with great freedom, but with even greater joy.

Mercy – the ability to empathize with others and so show mercy to them.  This person is often seen as a very emotional person, but that emotion is really a God-given empathy towards the needs and the hurting of others.  It, too, is related to and often confused with the gift of helps, but it is a completely different Greek word and meaning.   Very often, the one with the gift of mercy will continue to help someone when all others have either wearied of help or (for whatever reason) have turned their back on the one in need.

Apostleship – I have saved this one for last because it, too, can be a bit controversial.  Apostle simply means one who is sent.  Scripture does not actually say there is a gift of Apostleship.  Rather, Jesus’ twelve closest disciples were appointed to be Apostles.  Similarly, Paul says in 1 Corinthians 12:28 that “God has appointed in the church first apostles, second prophets, third teachers, then miracles, then gifts of…”  And while prophets, teachers, and miracles are mentioned elsewhere as gifts of the spirit, apostleship is not mentioned anywhere else.  We could easily get into a discussion on whether the “office” of apostle is still valid.  However, I tend to focus more on the definition of the apostle as one who is sent.  In my opinion, the gift of apostleship is essentially the gift of being a missionary.  Some people are just supernaturally gifted with the ability to leave everything and everyone behind and go to the ends of the earth for the sake of the gospel.  This is certainly a gift from God.

As you might imagine, no matter what your gift may be, there are any number of ways in which your gift can be used in the church.  There is no single gift that gets associated with any particular function, although certain gifts are more naturally suited for certain functions.  For example, people with the gifts of mercy and helps are most suited towards benevolence ministry, while men with the gifts of service and helps probably make really good Deacons (not that others do not make good Deacons).   The point is that by finding out what your gifting may be, and then by marrying that with your natural passions and desires, you are most likely to find out your true God-given purpose in life.

Of course, the follow up question has to be “Which gift(s) do I have?”  Well, that could be a whole different blog and this one is already getting long, so I guess we will have to leave that for another day.

The Doctrine of the Church

I’m sitting here in front of my television and struggling to know what to write in my pastor’s blog for this week.  My mind is on my day-job work, but it is also on my sermon for this coming Sunday, on my sermon for the Sunday after that, and if I were honest, on the sermon for the week after that.   

I’m in the middle of a series called We Are The Church.  Truthfully, I am quickly coming to the conclusion that this whole series on the church is one of the most important series I’ve preached in the few short months I’ve been at Pawnee Baptist Church.  Pastors rightfully spend a great deal of time on the personal aspects of the gospel, but very rarely do we speak to the corporate aspects of the gospel – that is, The Doctrine of the Church.  The Doctrine of the Church is every bit as important as any of the other doctrines of the gospel.  In fact, in our current state of the American culture, it may be one of the more important doctrines.

There was a time in American culture not too terribly long ago – especially here in the Deep South - when the question as to whether or not one should go to church was actually not even a question.  It was a given. In fact, someone who did not go to church was generally the exception to the rule, rather than the norm.  Talking about how committed a person should be to the church was a bit academic because, culturally speaking, everyone was already committed to the church – at least physically.

That was both good and bad.  It was good because high attendance meant more people were getting a regular exposure to God’s word and, hopefully, good gospel-oriented preaching.   In many respects, that constant exposure to the gospel had a preserving affect on our culture.   However, it was also bad because the commitment to the church – if you could really call it commitment – was often cultural and not truly from the heart.

Over time, that has changed.   I heard a national church growth specialist say recently that years ago commitment to a church meant attending church at least 3 times a week – Sunday morning, Sunday night, and Wednesday night.  Now, however, being committed to a church apparently means you are there 3 times a month.  In addition, more and more people are finding themselves among those who go to church rarely – or not at all.  And without that constant biblical influence in the lives of the masses, culture has begun to degrade – morally and otherwise.

I’ve thought a good bit about why this shift has taken place – asking myself why people have stopped going to church.  Is it really because less people are saved?  I don’t think so.  Maybe I should have asked why they went in the first place.  I tend to believe that many years ago, people needed the church.  It was the center of community activity.  It was the social hub.  It was where you went to make connections.  In other words, there weren’t more true Christians, there were just more members because being involved in church was advantageous socially and in business.  In return, the moral influence of the church was ever present across a broad spectrum of society. 

Apparently, that need is being met by other sources now.  In my own simple and limited wisdom, I place a good bit of the blame on the ubiquitous nature of information and entertainment.   Between the internet, social media, hundreds of TV channels, and our endless obsession with self-indulgent activities, why should I go to church for these connections – I can get them in so many other places now – without the inconvenience (and perhaps the conviction) of church.   Even within “Christian” circles, more and more people are shunning traditional church “religion” – and in the process are throwing out the baby with the bath water.

With fewer and fewer people going to church, where is the moral influence and compass for society?  Who is being the salt and the light?  Is it the media?  Is it the government?  What is the basis on which culture decides what is right and wrong?  Left to its own devices, society is doomed to plunge into moral relativism – which is exactly what has happened.

I heard a prominent preacher of a large Birmingham church say the other day that as a result of this shift, the church itself is going through a big shift.  According to this pastor, the larger mainline protestant denominations – because of their liberal theology and their apparent lack of focus on the Doctrine of the Church – are essentially destined to go the way of many of the churches in Europe. They will be empty relics of bygone days.  The rest of the evangelical protestant churches will then have two choices – either isolate themselves from culture and so eventually be forced out of existence as well… or engage the culture in a biblical fashion and so truly become light and salt in a lost and dying world.

This is where the Doctrine of the Church becomes so important.  The Doctrine of the Church tells us why we are to remain faithful and committed to the church when everything else in society and culture says doing so is foolish.  The Doctrine of the Church reminds us to whom we are betrothed (we are the Bride of Christ) and what our role should be as part of the Body of Christ.  The Doctrine of the Church tells us how to engage society – and how the church helps us do that. The Doctrine of the Church gives us our mission.

So what exactly are those details?  Well maybe you should come to church this Sunday and find out.  After all, if you are going to be faithful to Christ, you ought also to be faithful to his bride – the church.  We will be there waiting to welcome you back.

And if you can't make it in person, then at least listen to the sermon series.  Here is a link...

http://pawneeaudio.blogspot.com/

Virtual Church? I Don't Think So

It was really nice to see Steve Loggins from the N. Jefferson Baptist Association and his wife, Kelly, at church on Sunday.  After this week's sermon - We Are The a Church - Steve came up to me and mentioned that he was recently approached by a gentleman who wanted to join the association with his "internet church".  As I mentioned in the sermon, these "virtual" churches are really not churches at all. 

Technology is a wonderful thing.   I love using technology to advance the gospel of Jesus Christ. In fact, my involvement with Designs For Hope is all about using technology to help empower pastors and evangelists in third world countries so that they can more effectively spread the gospel.  I even love using technology to broadcast church - whether it is a TV broadcast, an Internet telecast, a podcast, or simply an MP3 download or CD. 

All of these things have their proper uses in the kingdom. God has given us these gifts of common grace to use for his benefit.  When you are ill and cannot otherwise attend church, it gives you a way to keep somewhat connected to the pulse of the church.  If you have a friend who you want to hear the gospel but cannot get them to come to church, you can share it with them.   Some of you have mentioned that you listen to my sermons again - even if you attended church - just to make sure you did not miss anything.  I guess I need to work on talking slower... although if I did, my sermons would probably be an hour long!   You can even use them to supplement your local church teaching and discipleship.  As I mentioned on Sunday, I listen to a number of podcasts of other pastors every week to help in my own personal growth.  This is why I make sure to post a link to my sermons every week.  If someone - even one person - can benefit from them then it is worth the effort.

What these technologies cannot do, however, is replace church.  Similar to the one who approached Steve at the association, I know there are "churches" out there - and I use that term loosely - whose primary focus is on reaching people through the Internet.  While I know that some good can come from this, it cannot biblically be considered church.  Just because you have prayer, perhaps some worship music, and then some teaching - all on the Internet - does not mean you are a church... at least not in the biblical sense.  If you watch church on TV or the Internet, you may get some good from it, but you have not attended church.  If you listen to my sermon audio or any other preacher podcast, you might get some good from it (or at least I hope so in my case), but you cannot consider yourself to have been to church.

As I said, I listen to a number of preacher podcasts.  I also listen to worship music on a regular basis. I can even go as far as to say I have had some incredibly spiritual moments with God in the process. I encourage all of you to use these tools to grow closer to God.  But even when I have had a very special moment with God, I don't consider myself to have been to church.

Church is something very special to Jesus - and obviously I'm not talking about the physical church building, but rather the people.  Jesus is building the church and you and I are the building blocks he is using to build it.  A building cannot be built if the blocks are scattered across the city. They must come together; in fact they must be bonded together, so that they can serve their intended purpose.  It is impossible for those who only watch church on TV or on the Internet to be the body of Christ and so accomplish the purposes of Christ.  

Of course I know someone is going to challenge me on that point, but let's be honest with ourselves.  Excluding, of course, those who physically cannot attend because of long-term illness, why is it that people choose virtual church over real church?  Isn't it, for whatever their motivations, that they just don't want to be with the rest of God's people? When that choice is made, there is no longer any intention of fulfilling their purposes as part of the body of Christ. They only want to feel better about themselves for not attending church.

I realize as I am writing this that I am sounding a bit judgmental.  And as a pastor of a local church, it probably all sounds self-serving.  Maybe there is a little truth in both of those statements, but that honestly is not the intent.  I guess I am just a little passionate about the local church.   I just want you to understand that the church - the real church - is not about the singing or the preaching, but about the people.  Jesus loves the church, and that means you and me, not the building and certainly not a virtual broadcast of "churchy" activities.  

I also want to make sure we don't fall into the post-modern trap of looking at "church" as being old fashioned or irrelevant.  There seems to be a growing trend of people who no longer think they need the church. Nothing could be farther from the truth. 

Personally, I think this is why there are so many "one anothers" in scripture - so that we will be sure not to take each other - and our gathering together - for granted. We are to love one another (John 13:34), serve one another in love (Galatians 515), be at peace with on another (Mark 9:30), live in harmony with one another (Romans 12:16), welcome one another (Romans 15:7), greet one another with a holy kiss (Romans 16:16), comfort one another (2 Corinthians 13:11), bear one another's burdens (Galatians 6:2), forgive one another (Ephesians 5:19), submit to one another (Ephesians 5:21), encourage one another (1 Thessalonians 5:11) - ***BREATHE*** - do good to one another (1 Thessalonians 5:15), exhort one another (Hebrews 3:13), stir up one another to good works (Hebrews 10:24), confess your sins and pray for one another (James 5:16), and show hospitality to one another (1 Peter 4:9)...whew...

Do you get the impression that maybe the church is about doing life with one another? I just don't think that is possible unless the church - that is the assembly of all those who are redeemed by placing their faith in Jesus Christ - are actually gathering together with one another - in person.  Maybe that is why Hebrews 10:25 says "not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some."  Well apparently, the "virtual church" crowd are still in that habit.  

I know I will may get a some negative feedback for this post, but I just don't think I can apologize for standing in defense of the purity of Christ's bride, the church. 

The Freedom of Life in the Spirit

It turns out that as humans we really like rules.  We are far more comfortable with objectivity than we are with subjectivity.  Think about it.  When you need to make a decision, are you not seeking for an objective way to make that decision?  We make lists of criteria for making the decision or we establish Pros and Cons and some of us even go to the extreme of assigning numerical values to the various decision factors.  We feel comfortable when Choice A evaluates out at 12.2 and Choice B evaluates out at 11.9.  We can make a decision then because we have objectively evaluated the options and have determined the right solution.  We want definitive choices.

The other day I was talking to a friend about – of all things – the biblical qualifications for being a Deacon.  If you really read Paul’s instructions to Timothy, none of the qualifications can be objectively determined.  They are all subjective.  The right way to determine whether a potential deacon candidate is qualified is for a spiritually mature set of men to subjectively evaluate that candidate’s life against the qualification.  They should be able to look at the candidate's life and agree - "Yes, he is qualified" or "No, he is not qualified" – except we don’t like to do anything subjectively.  Therefore, we create objective criteria.  When the qualification that says a deacon must be “faithful to his wife” (1 Timothy 3:12) we say he must not have been divorced.  When it says they must be tested (1 Timothy 3:12) we say he must be a tither.  When it says he must “not [indulge] in much wine” (1 Timothy 3:8) we say he must never take a drink at all.  All of these things are good things that all Christians ought to be able to live by, but they are not accurate interpretations of the qualifications of a deacon.  We just are unwilling to make a subjective determination because we are hard-wired to be concrete and definitive.

The same is true of our aspirations to live holy lives before God.  When it really comes down to it, we sometimes have a problem with the freedom we have in Christ.  Exactly how do I live holy?  What do I do?  What do I not do?  We naturally desire to fall back into a set of rules and regulations.  Just tell me what I am supposed to do, right?   Even the WWJD Christian culture phenomenon of the late 90s and early 2000s was all about trying to come up with a set of objective criteria for living out our Christian faith.  Some people go as far as to put a heavy emphasis on the law, stating that even though we don’t live under the law, we ought to still look to the law as our guideline for what we do – and what we don’t do.  Can I say they are wrong?  Not really, but at the same time, I can't say that  it will result in holiness - and it might just lead to frustration and more failure.

The problem with this approach is that it is still all about behavior modification.  The reason that the Mosaic law was considered by Paul to be a curse and a slave master is that any set of religious rituals, rules, or written obligations leads to only one place –frustration and failure.   Christ fulfilled (and therefore put to death) the law because we could not achieve righteousness through it.   The law is just behavior modification.  Any intentional or unintentional replacement of the law that is also based on objective criteria is just a different slave master leading to the same place – frustration and failure. 

Even the very noble effort of following the example of Jesus Christ is futile religion IF the goal of following his example is to develop a code of ethics by which to live.  Thomas Jefferson did this.  He removed all of the supernatural aspects of the gospel and created the "Jefferson Bible - The Life and Morals of Jesus of Nazareth" - which was basically a set of life principles to live by based on the life of Christ.  When you remove the supernatural, however, you also remove the true power of transformation.  The Bible does encourage us to follow the example of Christ, but the goal of following that example is to show us the nature and character of Christ - his DIVINE NATURE and his DIVINE CHARACTER - not to give us objective criteria on how to make moral and ethical decisions.  We study the life of Christ to learn about the character of Christ so that we can be transformed on the inside to be more like Christ, not so that we can know how to enforce proper behavior.

Living a life in the Spirit – that is, a supernatural life under the control of the Holy Spirit – is not about following rules or regulations.  It is not even about behavior modification.  It is about character transformation.   How many times have you been faced with a situation in which you knew the right – that is the Christian – thing to do; except that you really did not DESIRE to do it.  After a few moments of intense internal debate, you make a decision.  Maybe you made the right decision, but maybe you made the wrong decision.   The point is, the decision that you made was nothing more than behavior modification because deep down, you still wanted to do the wrong thing.  Even if you did the right thing (which was a good decision – don’t get me wrong), you really have not experience true spiritual growth.

When we study the life of Christ and realize that his actions in a given situation are not the same as we would normally act in a given situation, the ultimate goal is not for us to change our behaviors.  Granted, the immediate goal is to change our behavior because we definitely should do the right thing.  However, the real goal is for us to transform our desires and wishes so that the next time we are in that situation, we will not have to CHOOSE to behave like Christ, we will DESIRE to behave like Christ.  That is when we know that real transformation has taken place.

In this past Sunday’s sermon (Listen at: http://pawneeaudio.blogspot.com/2015/07/i-am-transformed.html), I explained how we can achieve this kind of real transformation by gazing into the glory of God.  When we see God (or Jesus who is the perfect image of God) in his true form and character (or at least as clearly as we are able this side of eternity), it has a transforming effect on our lives.  However, because we see God so dimly, that transforming effect can be slow.  In fact, it takes a lifetime.  So what do we do in the meantime?  Until we are fully transformed at the resurrection, we will always fail.  We will never fully be holy.  We can try and try and try (again, more behavior modification), but we will never fully get there (because behavior modification ALWAYS fails).

There is hope and encouragement for us in this – the Freedom that comes through life in the Holy Spirit.  – and there is no greater chapter in the bible that speaks to our life in the Spirit than Romans chapter 8.  It begins with one of the greatest promises in scripture: “There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus” (Rom 8:1).  Why is that?  How is it that no matter how often we fail at being holy, we will never experience condemnation if we are in Christ?  “[Because] the law of the Spirit of life has set you free in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and death. For God has done what the law, weakened by the flesh, could not do. By sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and for sin, he condemned sin in the flesh, in order that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not according to the flesh but according to the Spirit” (Rom 8:2-4).

Those who are in the Spirit are immune from the condemnation that comes as a result of failure.  This is because even though “the body is dead because of sin, the Spirit is life because of righteousness” (Rom 8:10).  Yes, we work hard to be holy.  We make the decision to do what Jesus would do – even though we still don’t want to.  We gaze intently into the word of God so that we can better understand the character of God so that we can be truly transformed.  We work out our salvation with fear and trembling (Phil 2:12).  But when we fail, when we choose what we want to do instead of what Christ would do, and when we fall short of the glory of God, we can know that there is more than enough grace to cover over our failures.

How can this be?  It is because in God’s eyes you are already holy.  Yes, I know you are NOT holy and neither am I, but that is not how God sees those of us who have been covered by the blood of Jesus.   As far as God is concerned, we are already sanctified.  Hebrews 10:10 says that “we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.”  In other words, our striving to be holy – our sanctification process – is so that we can become in reality what God has already declared us to be through the blood of Jesus.  If you think about that, you will find in it great freedom.

But wait, there’s more.  Romans chapter 8 tells us more about this.  “Who shall bring any charge against God's elect? It is God who justifies. Who is to condemn? Christ Jesus is the one who died—more than that, who was raised—who is at the right hand of God, who indeed is interceding for us” (Rom 8:33-34).  Did you catch that?  No matter who may bring charges against us for our failures (like Satan – who will be the first to point fingers at us when we fail), the only one who has the authority to condemn us for those failures is Jesus Christ.  But where is Jesus Christ right now?  He is at God the Father’s right hand side.  And what is he doing?  He is arguing in our favor.  The only one who can condemn us for our failures is actually arguing on our behalf!  Now that is freedom!  This is exactly what Jesus meant when he told Nicodemus that “God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him” (John 3:17).

Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword? As it is written,

“For your sake we are being killed all the day long;

we are regarded as sheep to be slaughtered.”

No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Romans 8:35-39

Do you realize what that means?  It means FREEDOM!

Freedom not to be concerned that you might make the wrong choice.

Freedom to fail – not that you want to fail, but that it is OK when you do.

Freedom not to be ashamed when you do fail.

Freedom to seek God and know him more personally, rather than spending all your energies trying not to break the rules.

Freedom simply to live for God.

I Was Born This Way

“I was born this way.”  How often in the last several years have we as Christians heard this phrase used to defend what the Bible has clearly called sin?  More importantly, how sad is it that such a statement has been used to justify an interpretation of the Bible that justifies sin.  After all, if I really was born this way, how could it possibly be wrong?  If God made me this way, then surely he wants me to live this way.  It can be a tough argument to defend against – until you understand the doctrine of being Crucified with Christ.

It may be true that “I was born this way” but it is most definitely not true that God made you (or me) that way.   Both the doctrine of being Crucified with Christ and the doctrine of being “born again” are premised on the fact that humanity has become something that God never intended.  God did not make us this way; sin made us this way.  God knew in his infinite wisdom that granting man the free will of choice would result in his decision to rebel against God.  He also knew in his infinite wisdom that once sin entered the world, the very flesh and blood of his perfect creation would become corrupted – becoming something that he never intended – having within it a sinful nature – and that as a result mankind would become a slave to that sinful nature.  And yet still he created mankind because he loved us and wanted to have a relationship with us.

Fortunately, God loves us enough not to leave us in such a depraved state, which is why he sent his Son, Jesus Christ, to die for us.  This past Sunday our sermon was about being Crucified with Christ (you can download and listen to that sermon at http://pawneeaudio.blogspot.com/2015/07/i-am-crucified-with-christ.html).  The beauty of the doctrine of being Crucified with Christ is that it is God’s answer to problem “I was born this way.”

Being born in sin should never be an excuse to live a lifestyle of sin.  We were all born into sin.  We all have a propensity to be enslaved by sin; and for most of us, there is that one sin that enslaves us more than others.  For some it is drugs.  For others it is alcohol.  It may be your sexual desires or your sexual orientation.  It may be your self-control or it may be your pride.  Whatever it may be for you, we are all essentially born that way. 

Fortunately, when we give our lives in faith to Jesus Christ, we are actually “Born Again.”  As we discussed in the sermon, scripture is clear that our Old Man (our former person or the person we used to be) has died – being crucified with Christ (Romans 6:6).  In its place we have become an entirely new and different person.  1 Corinthians 5:17 says “If any man is in Christ he is a new creation; the old is past away, behold all things have become new.” 

In other words, that person – the one was born “that way” - is gone the moment they receive Christ.   The sin nature that they were born with is dead.  Yes, as long as we are on this earth and until we receive our full inheritance as children of God – that is, our glorified bodies – that sin nature will still be present in our flesh.  However, it was put to death through our faith in Christ and so it no longer has control over us.  It only has life as we choose to give it life.  Therefore, once you are born again as a believer in Jesus Christ, you have the power within you to overcome whatever urges or desires you were born with.   You have been given new desires and new urges.  Sure, for some people it may take time for your new desires and new urges to grow in strength enough so that you overcome the old desires.  For others though, that change is immediate and instantaneous.  Either way, It is shameful and disgraceful when the Christ’s church fails to recognize that our sin nature has been crucified and so begins to justify certain lifestyle sins by saying it must be OK because “they were born that way.”

The problem that the Christian community in America has had over the last several decades when it comes to dealing with lifestyle sins is that we have been trying to judge and force people who are enslaved to a particular lifestyle to restrain their behavior.  You cannot restrain from behaving a particular way when in fact you are enslaved to that behavior.  We have then made it worse by judging them for being enslaved to something that they have no control over.  How wrong is that on our part!  Do we not recall that before we came to Christ we, too, were enslaved to sin?  Perhaps it was not the same sin, but we were no less enslaved and we were no less condemned.  However, as Jesus says in John 3:18, our condemnation was primarily the result of our disbelief – and therein lays the secret to how we really ought to be addressing the issue of lifestyle sins.

Rather than condemning a behavior that lost and sinful people have no control over, we ought to be addressing the issue of unbelief in their life.  It is the gospel that has the power to save and transform lives and so it is the gospel that we should be using as a tool to fight against all forms of sin – not just lifestyle sins.   Regardless of what sin enslaves you, it is the gospel of Jesus Christ that can set you free.  Unfortunately for some people, they are blind to the fact that they are enslaved to sin.  We cannot win these people for Christ by pointing out any one specific sin in their lives.  We can, however, win them (or at least some of them) for Christ by pointing out that “God demonstrated his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8).  We are all sinners and we all need Jesus.  That is the message for all who are lost and dying in their sinfulness.

I have several “friends” who are enslaved by lifestyle sins.  They know exactly what I stand for.  They know how I feel about their lifestyle.  They also know I will never judge them or condemn them and I have full respect for them as people and as professionals.  However, they also know that I want them to have a faith in Jesus Christ.  So far, they have rejected that, but I have not given up hope for them.  I believe in the power of the gospel.  Perhaps one day they will see their need for a savior and when they do place their faith in Jesus Christ, old things will pass away and all things will become new.  They will see things differently then.  At that time, we will be able to deal with their lifestyle sins.  Until then, I will just keep sharing – and demonstrating - to them the gospel and the love of Christ.  And so it should be how we address all who are lost.  I, too, was born that way - well not “that” way, but I was born enslaved to my own besetting sins.  Now, however, I have been born again.  Old things are gone – behold, all things are new.  Unless I choose to give them life, they have no hold on me.  Glory to God, I have been Crucified with Christ and it is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me (Gal 2:20).

Pictures of Redemption in the Old Testament

During this past Sunday’s sermon (Click Here to download the sermon audio), I gave everyone an extra-credit homework assignment to go read the first three chapters of the book of Hosea.  Hopefully, you have done that already.  If not, I encourage you to do so.

Hosea is a beautiful picture of God’s redemption of us in our unfaithfulness.  To show Israel a living word-picture of their unfaithfulness to God, God commanded Hosea to marry a prostitute. He was commanded to remain faithful to her and to continue loving her despite her unfaithfulness.  This was to be a picture of God’s faithfulness to Israel (and really to all of us) despite their unfaithfulness to him.  Hosea was forced to watch as his bride became more and more unfaithful until finally she became bound up in slavery because of her prostitution.  It was then that God told Hosea to go rescue her, redeeming her from her slave owners by paying the ransom due for her bondage.  He was then told to gently woo her, continuing to show her kindness, until finally she returned his affections and lived with him in peace.  This beautiful picture of love and redemption demonstrates how God has loved and redeemed us – wooing us gently while we were in bondage because of our unfaithfulness and redeeming us from the slavery of our sinfulness until we also returned his affections.

This is only one of many living word pictures in the Old Testament that help us understand what it means to be redeemed by the Blood of the Lamb.  In fact, there are provisions specifically in the Mosaic law that are pictures of redemption.  For example, in his infinite wisdom, God had enough foresight to realize that fallen people would wind up in difficult financial situations, sometimes requiring them to either sell themselves into slavery – or to end up in debtor’s prison.  Therefore, the Mosaic law made provisions for a kinsman redeemer – someone from the unfortunate person’s family – who could redeem them from their slavery.  Likewise there were provisions for someone to be ransomed from debtor’s prison.  And if there was no kinsman redeemer – or no one who would pay their ransom, then God still made provisions for their redemption through the concept of the Year of Jubilee.  Once every 50 years, all slaves were to be redeemed by God’s direct command.  They were set free to have a second chance at their lives.  In the Year of Jubilee, all land possessions granted when the people of Israel crossed the Jordan into the Promised Land were returned to their original owners.

Even when it came to punishment for crimes committed, there were certain crimes – otherwise punishable by death – for which the perpetrator could actually redeem his own life by paying the appropriate ransom (See Exodus 21).  Jesus Christ was the ransom paid for our lives.

Sometimes, though, it wasn’t their lives that had to be redeemed, but rather their property.  God made provision for this as well, which is the basis for the story of Ruth.  The book of Ruth is another beautiful picture of our redemption.  Naomi and her daughter-in-law, Ruth, end up in a desperate situation after both of their husbands die.  They lost their homes, their property, and everything else.  They were essentially hopeless, relying on the good will of fellow countrymen.  In essence, they were beggars.  However, Naomi’s kinsman redeemer, Boaz, takes notice of their situation – and of how dedicated Ruth is to her mother-in-law.  He rescues Naomi and Ruth from the poverty caused by their widowed condition and redeems their lost property.  Their property is restored, along with their joy and happiness.  In fact, Ruth ends up marrying Boaz and becomes the great-grandmother to King David.  Jesus Christ is our kinsman redeemer, rescuing us from our hopeless condition and restoring to us that which was lost – our righteousness, our place in God’s family, and our inheritance – eternal life.  We have hope once again because he cleared our debt and purchased our salvation with his own life.

Another interesting picture of redemption in the Old Testament is the temple tax.  This tax was established in Exodus 30:11 and the whole point of the tax was so that each person would “give a ransom for his life to the LORD” so that God’s plagues would not come upon them.  This ½ shekel tax is a picture of the ransom that Christ paid for you and I on the cross.  How strange that the ransom of the temple tax was so small – and yet the true ransom price to be paid – that is, the life of God’s only begotten Son – was so immeasurably large.

Speaking of the ransom price, it actually turns out that a ransom payment was required to redeem every firstborn son in Israel.  In establishing the Mosaic law, God actually demanded that all firstborn be dedicated to God – and not just firstborn of the livestock.  God also demanded all firstborn humans to be dedicated to God (see Exodus 13 and Numbers 18).  These firstborn, therefore, had to be redeemed by either the sacrifice of an animal or the payment of a sum of money in order for them to remain in the homes of their biological parents.   It is a picture of the price that God paid – his only begotten Son – for our redemption.

And of course, we cannot forget how God redeemed the Children of Israel out of slavery in Egypt, sending plague upon plague on the nation of Egypt until finally God demanded the lives of every first-born son in Egypt.  The children of Israel were protected from these plagues and were delivered out of slavery.

Even the story of Job – despite all of the pain and anguish and suffering that he experienced – shows us a picture of redemption.  In the midst of all of his sorrow, Job is faithful and cries out “I know that my Redeemer lives, and in the end he will stand upon the earth.”   Indeed Job was ultimately redeemed, having everything that had previously been lost restored to him two-fold.

Redemption is a critical doctrine of the Christian faith.  If we don’t fully understand redemption, then we fall into the trap of putting too much emphasis on the Love of God and not enough emphasis on the wrath and justice of God.  Salvation is NOT free.  God’s love is NOT sufficient for us to avoid the punishment of Hell.  We must be redeemed – and that redemption comes at a very high cost.  Often, we don’t think about what it really means – or what it really cost - for God to redeem us from all to which we were enslaved and in bondage.  However, to make sure we truly understand it, God filled the Old Testament with pictures of that redemption so that we can see and understand the great vastness of his love and mercy for us – and the price he paid to ensure we don’t have to face his wrath.  We just have to know where to look in order to see it.

One In Christ - Citizens of the City of God

Well I debated for a brief moment whether or not this week's blog should be about our citizenship in the New Jerusalem (in other words, an elaboration on Sunday's sermon - click here to listen to that sermon) or about my trip to Uganda. But after a brief bit of internal debate I decided that the two were really one and the same. My trip to Uganda actually demonstrates the points made in the sermon that all of us who are in Christ are really one people.

The people of Bwera, Uganda could not possibly be more different than you and I - at least from the world's perspective.   We live in modern homes complete with every essential and just about every available amenity.  They live in mud huts not usually larger than 300 square feet in size - many without doors.  We have jobs and 401ks - or if we don't then we have welfare. They are for the most part subsistence farmers barely surviving and the average person on welfare in America would be considered wealthy in their culture. We turn on the kitchen sink and flush the toilet without thought.   They hike roughly a mile one way to the river for their water and we will not even discuss their sanitary situation except to say that the best case scenario is a hole in the ground separated from the rest of the home by a bamboo partition.  Many do not even have that luxury. We drink our water without thought of its cleanliness - and when we do get sick, we have ready access to medical care.  They are a people who suffer from many (preventable) sicknesses.  Most of their sicknesses are related to contaminated water, general unsanitary conditions, and malaria.  Unfortunately, regular affordable medical care is simply unavailable.  And it is not that the care is too expensive.  Very small amounts of money to you and I bring untold medical access... The problem is that they don't even have that small amount of money.

Why is it so bad?  I will get to that in a moment...

But first, let me say that despite these drastic worldly differences, I've never felt so welcome and at home as I did with the believers in Bwera Uganda.  We have everything in common.  Our common love in Christ made for an immediate bonding and affection between us that was just as shocking to them as it was to us.  Bishop Tom Kiiza told me that his people just kept saying how kind and loving and accepting we were - while our team kept saying the same thing about them.   Our oneness in Christ created an immediate bond between us.  There were no civil rights stigmas between us, so there was no white or black, no African or American, no rich or poor - just Christians ministering to one another.  We were one people- the people of God.  We were just as blessed by them as they were by us.  The unity among the diversity was to me an example of what it will be like in the resurrection.  Together we were a foreshadowing of the City of God.

So why are they still in such horrid physical conditions?  Because they are exiles and sojourners in a hostile world.  Enough money has been poured into Africa over the last half century to more than solve world poverty.  The problem is that Africa is part of the world system, full of human failings such as corruption. If America had not been founded on Christian principles, we might be in the same boat as they.  How does the proverb go?  There but the grace of God....

There are lots of good, Godly people in Africa trying to make a difference.  They are being salt and light in their dark world.  They promote spiritual growth, education, sustainability, and the common good - all Christian principles- but they are doing so in world that is by nature hostile to God and the common good in general.

Our team from Designs for Hope (www.designsforhope.org) did what we could do in a small amount of time with a relatively small amount of money. We did a free 3-day health clinic to ease some of their sicknesses.  We provided water filtration to help them avoid some of their future sicknesses.  We visited schools to promote education and share the gospel.  We provided bicycle generators to help their pastors and evangelists further the gospel.  And we held theological training to foster ongoing spiritual discipleship.

As fellow workers in Christ, this is how two drastically different people work as one people to advance the gospel of Christ.  We may be citizens of the US while they are citizens of Uganda.  However, that is secondary to the indisputable truth that we are first and foremost a single race - the children of God - citizens of the City of God. 

Adoption: Nobody's Perfect

In this past Sunday morning’s sermon, we explored the concept of being adopted into God’s Family (you can hear that sermon by clicking here).  Every person who has placed their faith in Jesus Christ has experienced adoption – even if they don’t recognize that it has occurred.   God has adopted us as his children and so we can call him Heavenly Father – indeed, we can call him “Abba, Father” or “Daddy”.   Perhaps this is why human adoption is so important.  Jesus’ brother James says in James 1:28 that

Religion that is pure and undefiled before God, the Father, is this: to visit orphans and widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself unstained from the world.

God looks at the idea of taking care of orphans and widows with such importance because his heart is for the broken, the downtrodden, and the helpless.  

It can be hard for many of us to relate to the concept of adoption because adoption of a human baby is not something that everyone experiences personally.   Sure, some reading this have perhaps adopted children and others may have even been adopted themselves.  But for most of us, adoption is more of an abstract concept than a reality.  Truthfully, though, we are all downtrodden; we are all broken; and we are all helpless.  Our sin has left us orphaned and without hope.  This is why God the Father is willing to adopt us.

This week, I have asked someone who has experienced adoption first hand to share that experience with us.  My nephew, Matthew Michalke, and his wife, Emily recently adopted a beautiful special needs baby girl from China.   Perhaps Matthew and Emily’s testimony will shed some light on this whole idea of adoption into God’s family.

Our Experience Adopting From China

By Matthew Michalke

 The form contained four columns of deformities, syndromes, diseases, and conditions. With a series of check marks we were to give our social worker a clearer picture of the child we were searching for. Months before we had begun the process of a special needs adoption, but with this form came the sobering reality that our child would not be “perfect”.  We all understand that perfection is relative. No one expects to give birth to a child that is flawless. They’ll all have their unique ways of getting into trouble. They’ll all have their times of disobedience. When it comes to physical health and appearance, however perfection is every parent’s expectation.
                My wife and I began the process of adoption knowing that we would adopt a child with a special need, but having no direction as to what that need would be. After months of prayer and several weeks of staring at that ominous form, the Lord led us to select Down Syndrome.  As life changing as this decision was, the Lord had shown both of us that DS was only one trait of the child that we were looking for. It did not define her. It did not determine her future. It was simply one more clue to help us find her.
                After nine months of hoping, wishing, praying, and searching we did finally find her and bring her home.

                 In the eyes of the world Vivian Ruth is imperfect. She has a condition that will affect every aspect of her life for the rest of her life. For many years, children with her condition were hidden away and not given an opportunity to live, learn, or work. I don’t foolishly think that Vivian’s life will look like that of the average girl. First cars, graduations, and weddings may not necessarily be in her future. However, those accomplishments and milestones do not determine her worth or value.
                She amazes us daily with new skills; learning the alphabet, counting to ten, doing a flip on the monkey bars. Vivian has brought an abundance of joy into our lives and we cannot imagine our family without her. To her mother and me, she is not an orphaned child with DS. She’s our daughter; our beautiful, intelligent, funny, compassionate little girl. In our eye’s she’s perfect.
                The truth is we’re all flawed. We’re all damaged goods. Maybe it’s not seen in your physical appearance or your mental aptitude, but depravity has touched us all in ways that we cannot even begin to comprehend. We are all broken and fatherless. We are all imperfect orphans. Don’t agree with that description of yourself? Just read the words of the Apostle Paul:
                In love he predestined us for adoption as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will, to the praise of his glorious grace, with which he has blessed us in the Beloved. In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace (Eph. 1:5-7)
                We are all in need of redeeming. Our trespasses have left a relationship with our creator impossible for us to attain. Like Vivian, we were all at the mercy of our father to come and bring us home. There were no forms or checks required for this adoption; only the blood of a perfect sacrifice. For those of us whom the Lord has brought to salvation, the work of Christ has covered our sin and made it possible for us to be sons and daughters of God. As I look at Vivian, so the Lord looks at us. Because of Christ He does not see our failures and shortcomings; He looks at us, covered with the blood of the atonement, and sees His beautiful children.
He has saved us. He has brought us home. In His eyes we have great worth. 

As I read Matthew and Emily's testimony, I could not help but think that just as they chose to adopt their baby girl in full knowledge of all of her imperfections and with every expectation of challenges and difficulties as a result, God chose to create humanity knowing it would rebel, be imperfect, and cause difficulties.  God was not surprised at our disobedience, and yet God still loved us enough to create us.  Moreover, he loved us enough to make a way for us to be adopted into his family – despite all our imperfections. 

Who Am I?
I Am Adopted

Pray Without Ceasing

When Paul says “pray without ceasing” in 1 Thessalonians 5:17, what picture comes to your mind?

For most of us, when we think about prayer, we know and understand it as a specific event in time.  We stop what we are doing; we bow our heads and close our eyes; and we somehow direct our words and thoughts towards heaven to a God who we believe to be listening.   Sometimes it is private – such as in the privacy of our homes.  Sometimes it is public – as in church or some other public setting.  For many of us, it occurs at a regular, scheduled time that we have specifically set aside for the purpose of communing with God. 

In that context, the thought of incessant prayer just doesn’t seem appropriate.  We could not possibly live out our entire lives with our heads bowed and our eyes closed.  That just seems ridiculous.  So in response, we either do not worry about Paul’s words to pray without ceasing or we transform them into some ethereal concept where somehow we are always in a state of spiritual prayerfuness.  Even in my ESV Study Bible, the study notes for 1 Thessalonians 5:17 says “Pray without ceasing suggests a mental attitude of prayerfulness….” I think that concept can be very discouraging and misleading.  Quite simply, I don’t think it is possible to live that way either.  Personally, I know for me that I cannot continue in a “mental attitude of prayerfulness” all the time.  I’m just not that spiritual and to claim that I am would make me a hypocrite.  More importantly, I’m not really sure I think that is the goal.  Somehow, I just don’t think that what Paul meant when he said pray without ceasing was that we were to somehow go through the day with our head in the clouds.

On the other hand, I don’t think the concept is too far off the mark.  It just – at least in my opinion – needs a bit of tweaking to reflect the reality of our life on earth.  The ESV study notes even recognizes this by continuing its commentary as follows: “Pray without ceasing suggests a mental attitude of prayerfulness, continual personal fellowship with God, and consciousness of being in his presence throughout the day.”  That, I think, is getting closer, but probably still not completely there.  There’s something missing even in that explanation, and in my opinion, it all has to do with our walk with God.

From the very beginning of human history, God wanted to walk with us.  In the Garden of Eden, before the fall, God regularly came down to earth and walked with Adam and Eve.  After the fall, Genesis tells us that Enoch walked with God. His walk was so close that one day he and God were out for a walk and instead of departing ways, God just said “Enoch, why don’t you just come on home with me today” (that is the Joel paraphrase version of Genesis 5:24).  Similarly, Genesis also tells us that Noah “walked with God” (Gen 6:9).  When God made his covenant with Abraham in Genesis 17:1 he said, “I am God Almighty; walk before me, and be blameless.”  Eventually, this idea of walking with God kind of morphed into the idea of walking in God’s ways.  Throughout the Old Testament, the Children of Israel were commanded and exhorted to walk in God’s ways and to keep his statutes; but the idea was still that doing so implied God would be with them and would walk with them in return.  Even in the New Testament, we see Jesus walking (literally) with his disciples and even when he left them, he said “I will be with you always, to the end of the age” (Matt 28:20).  Finally, Paul tells us in both Colossians 1:10 and 1 Thessalonians 2:12 that we should “walk in a manner worthy of the Lord.”

Clearly, there is a biblical concept and expectation that says as we go through our daily lives, we are to be walking with God and that he has promised that he would be with us as we go on that walk.  When I think about this concept, I cannot help but think about how Patty and I sometimes go for walks together.  We put the dog on a leash, put our walking shoes on, and head out into the neighborhood.  However, when we walk together, we don’t just pass silently through the neighborhood without acknowledging one another’s presence, never saying anything to each other.  That would just be creepy.  On the other hand, I don’t stop my wife, turn to her and step to the edge of the road (I don’t want to get run over after all), declare that now is the time for us to have a conversation, and then proceed to talk about things as the cars go by.  That would just be weird and my dog would get impatient.  Instead, we continue our walk and, as things come to mind that need to be discussed, we talk about it.  Conversation is free flowing and without thought of consequences. It is a result of the fact that we have a good relationship and that communication between us comes easily. That doesn’t mean that we are necessarily talking to each other every second of the walk, but rather are in a state of fellowship such that the need to talk is not an event, but rather a natural outpouring of our walk together.

On the other hand, if my relationship with my wife were strained, things would be different.  Conversation would not be as free flowing.  We probably wouldn’t be talking walks together, and thoughts that just come to my mind would not necessarily just be spoken without first considering carefully the consequences.   If there were something important we needed to discuss, it would probably be more like an “event” than a conversation.  The same is true if I needed to have a conversation about something serious with someone that I am not as close to as my wife.  I would probably find a time where I could get their undivided attention, sit down with them, and begin with the dreaded phrase, “There’s something I have been meaning to talk to you about.”

This is how I view Paul’s exhortation to pray without ceasing.  Too often our relationship with God is such that when we need to talk to him, it is as if we are pulling God off into a corner of the room, sitting him down, and saying “God, there’s something I have been meaning to talk to you about.”   Instead, we ought to be walking with God – walking in his ways – in such a way that our relationship with God is more like when Patty and I are on a walk together – only even better than that.   When we walk with God, it ought to be such that when we have something that comes to mind, we just freely express that to God.  We don’t stop what we are doing, bow our heads, close our eyes, and begin with the formal “Dear Heavenly Father….”  Instead, we just simply say (verbally or in our spirit), “God, I was thinking…” and then we tell him what we were thinking.  Sure, even for the best of us (and I don’t claim to be one of the best of us), there are portions (sometimes large portions) of our day where we don’t say anything to God.  But when we do have something to say to God, it just flows naturally out of our relationship with him.

Don’t get me wrong.  I think it is very important to have a regular, scheduled time where you specifically sit down, put away all distractions, and have a deliberate time of prayer with God.  This is part of our Spiritual Disciplines and it actually helps us improve our walk with God.  However, when we really are walking with God, continual, regular “prayer” throughout the day should be a natural consequence.  It might be big things.  It might be small things.  Or it might just be thoughts and commentary.  But when you walk with God, to pray without ceasing just comes naturally as an outpouring of your relationship to him.