Responding with Compassion and Mercy

“Now the birth of Jesus Christ was as follows: when His mother Mary had been betrothed to Joseph, before they came together she was found to be with child by the Holy Spirit. And Joseph her husband, being a righteous man and not wanting to disgrace her, planned to send her away secretly…Now when they had gone, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream and said, “Get up! Take the Child and His mother and flee to Egypt and remain there until I tell you; for Herod is going to search for the Child to destroy Him. So Joseph got up and took the Child and His mother while it was still night, and left for Egypt. He remained there until the death of Herod. This was to fulfill what had been spoken by the Lord through the prophet: “Out of EgyptI calledMy Son.”

(rf. Mt. 1:18–19, 2:13–15NASB)

            Let me state, first of all, that I have no intentions of politicizing this piece whatsoever. I do, however, intend on bringing to all of our attention the interesting “coincidence” that has come to light as it applies directly to some of the leading issues of our day. We begin to see things from a different standpoint when we consider a new context, like turning a diamond and having the light shine on its various facets.

            For instance, as we consider the birth of Jesus narrative, have we ever really looked closely at Joseph’s dilemma? Most Christians, in not wanting to think ill of their own Savior’s birth situation. Though in Jewish culture, a betrothal was as binding as the actual marriage covenant, the fact was that Mary and Joseph had not yet taken their marriage vows. Now, according to the narrative stated above, she “was found to be with child”. Mary is officially an unwed mother. In that time and culture, such a sinful infraction was worthy of the death penalty according to the Law of Moses because her pregnancy was proof of the sin of “fornication” or premarital sex as well as legitimate adultery because it violated the terms of the betrothal between her and Joseph. Joseph could have delivered Mary over to the Jewish authorities and she would have been stoned for her sin and dishonor. However, “being a righteous man and not wanting to disgrace her, planned to send her away secretly”, which, as we know, was providentially engineered by the Lord to keep His Son safe since the child inside Mary was conceived, not by human means, but “by the Holy Spirit”. So, in the first place, we have Jesus, our Savior and King, in his first months of life being nurtured in the womb by a mother whose status in her society being somewhat less than acceptable.

            Secondly, after the departure of the Magi from visiting the Child Jesus and His parents in Bethlehem, Joseph is warned in a dream to quickly pack up and take his family to Egypt where they are to stay in safety until he is notified it is prudent for them to return to Israel. So, Joseph immediately obeyed and journeyed into Egypt where they remained for an extended time until King Herod died. While there, we tend to forget that they were not on vacation, enjoying the wonderful benefits of Egyptian life. They were God-fearing Jews in the land of pagan Egypt, full of a people who worshipped idols. Though Joseph was a carpenter by trade, Joseph would not have been easily allowed to ply his expertise per se. Indeed, I believe that this is the very reason God sent the Magi with their gifts to worship at the feet of Jesus—to provide the necessary currency Joseph would have to use to sustain his family while living in Egypt during their sojourn there. In many respects, Joseph, Mary and Jesus were aliens in a foreign land, immigrants to a place where they possibly were not allowed to work because they were not native to the region. It was only because God’s own provision for them that kept them afloat financially and from dying of starvation. No, I do not believe I am necessarily pressing the point, especially when one considers that the Egyptians would not have had a great love for Israelites following the destruction of the Egyptian armies by Israel’s God back in Exodus.

            In viewing these two narratives from the Christmas story in Matthew screams to me one particular response when it comes to those groups who are often found as objects of shame and reproach because of either poor decisions on their part (which we likewise have made, if we are honest) or situations beyond their own control that have affected them personally. In either case or others, our first response ought to be compassion and love, rather than condemnation, especially if we understand that Jesus came into this world through conditions very similar to these. How many times in His own ministry did He interact with folks who had either sinned blatantly or who had been negatively affected by the sins of others, where He could have responded with blame and shame, He rather offered a heart full of compassion and restoration? 

            If the Savior that we claim to follow was willing to do that during His life and ministry, shouldn’t we reflect the same attitude? Isn’t this time of year a good time to start doing it and continuing it throughout the year? I offer this as a challenge to you. Merry Christmas to all!

Being Open to Change in Worship

“For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven..”

(rf. Eccles. 3:1ESV)

            As we enter into this season of the year, it is apparent by our surroundings that autumn has arrived. The leaves on the trees have begun their transformation from the greens of summer to the various hues of red, yellow, orange and brown, providing the eye with a panorama of vivid color. The temperatures have descended from their previous peaks of July and August, now, hopefully, giving us a much-needed respite, settling into a time of comfortable days and cool nights. It truly is a wonderful time of the year to enjoy the beauty of God’s creation.

            It is also a beneficial reminder, especially, to those of us who are older and tend to easily get set in our ways. The turn of the seasons was set in place by God Himself who established them as early as creation (rf. Gen. 1:14; Ps. 104:19). In nature as God has designed it, there is the principle of positive change. It happens each year around us, as certain “as the seasons”… and, though we hardly even notice it, we welcome it with the adaptation of our clothes, shoes, music, yard flags, etc.

            If we are so flexible with the changes that God brings regularly into our lives by means of the rotations of the earth and its angle to the sun, why are we typically so adamantly opposed to allowing fundamental adaptations to the ways that He might want us to worship Him? Notice how carefully I worded that last question. I did not ask, “to the ways that we worship Him? Or to the ways that we desire to worship Him?” I rather put the question in the context of how God desires to be worshipped. Before we can ever look at the subject of our own reticence to change in reference to worship, we must first understand that worship is not about us at all, but solely about God.

            True worship always has God as the audience or the receiver of the actions of our worship. The very definition of “worship” from the inception of the original word means “worth”-ship or “one who is worthy of our veneration”. When viewed through this lens, if we are being honest and humble, we immediately remove ourselves from consideration from true worship. The Lord alone is worthy of our worship and praise (rf. Rev. 4:11). Therefore, our preferences for style and dynamic in reference to worship are, in reality, of little concern. God is the one who really calls the shots.

            When we grasp the above truth in full, then we open ourselves up to a wide variety of ways in which God desires to be worshipped, none of which, I might add will be profane or have a lack of sanctity in their application. Rather, we find ourselves “like clay in the hands of the potter” (rf. Is. 64:8), we become pliable as to how He would have us worship Him and not rigid in how we think we should like to “do our religion”. If we should make ourselves vulnerable to the movement and direction of His Holy Spirit, we would experience a new closeness, richness and depth that comes with being with God as He draws near to us (rf. Eph. 3:14-21).

            Admittedly, this is not an easy transition (or change), especially, if we have always been taught or always thought of worship in only one context. Again, I am not advocating a movement into an entertainment-based motif. That would be going in the direction of the profane, the base, the worldly. I am referring to a shift of our perspective that keeps the honor of God as foremost and, yet, removes our self-imposed barriers of traditions so that the Holy Spirit can begin to expand our views, thinking and experiences with Him. If we trust in the Lord for our salvation, surely, we can have enough faith in Him and in His Spirit to lead us to worship the Lord “in spirit and in truth” (rf. John 4:24), knowing that as we follow His direction, we will be pleasing to Him in our words, style and songs. 

            So, then, it is not a matter of whether our worship is traditional, blended or contemporary, really. It truly is a question of whether our worship is God-centered and God-focused, coming from hearts that want only to please and glorify God in the efforts. 

Lord, help us all to revisit our own motives as we enter into Your Presence each Sunday in worship to see if this is the status of our hearts. If not, open us to the proper change in our perspective and align our hearts to Your direction. If so, reinforce us and deepen our hearts by Your Spirit so that our commitment to You and Your true worship may only grow and mature. Amen.

Being Agents of Grace

August 2018 Newsletter Article

“If a brother or sister is without clothing and in need of daily food, and one of you says to them, ‘Go in peace, be warmed and be filled,’ and yet you do not give them what is necessary for their body, what use is that?”

(rf.Jas. 2:15–16 NASB)

            Jesus told His disciples, “To whom much is given, much is required.” When we hear that statement, we typically think first of those who have been blessed with a great deal of material wealth and how these, in particular, are accountable to God for sharing their resources with those less fortunate than they are. Though there is a sense of this dynamic present within the content of this text, the real application is much more potent.

            We, as believers in Christ, are recipients of abundant grace, varying in types and experiences. We each have been gifted by the Holy Spirit with special spiritual abilities that are uniquely tied to the particular arenas of service to which we have been called within His Church. We are meant to exercise both gifts and grace in our everyday lives as a means of expression of our love and devotion to the Lord and as a clear way to show His love for others. In this way, we effectively portray ourselves as His hands and His feet.

            That being said, as we address the concern of the above text, Jesus touches our hearts to show us how easily we can fall away from God’s template for us. Rather than addressing a present, real need in the life of another, we can simply, but wrongly, dismiss the other out of hand, believing the matter settled and ourselves “off the hook”. On the other hand, Jesus shows us that the Lord is offended by our actions when we do not extend His grace to others and discloses that our hearts are greatly in need of recalibration.

            As His followers, we should delight in being instruments of His grace to those around us, watching Him transform the lives of people before our eyes. Granted, this will not occur with every encounter, but we will experience it all the more if grace becomes our typical response.

            So, let us commit ourselves to see others through the eyes of Christ, willing less to pronounce judgment and more to extend mercy. After all, did not the Lord Himself reserve “vengeance” for Himself and judgment to His own wisdom (rf. Heb. 10:30)? We are mainly called to be fruit inspectors (rf. Mt. 7:20) and then only for the purpose of restoration by grace. Thus, we connect with and meet His grace at every turn. Then let us show this same grace to others whenever possible.

A Reason for Suffering

“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort who comforts us in all of our afflictions so that we will be able to comfort those who are  in any affliction with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God.” 

(rf. II Cor. 1:3-4NASB)

            Have you ever asked the question, “Why does God allow bad things happen to good people?” and never received a sufficient answer to your inquiry? Then, hopefully, this is your day and the following will be a blessing to you. It is not because I am shedding new light on this issue. Not at all. Indeed, I am only bringing to our attention certain truths that have been present in Scripture all along.

            First of all, let us look at the question itself: “Why does God allow bad things happen to good people?” Most of us don’t realize it, but, in asking the question, we are immediately impugning the character of the Holy God, bringing His honor and integrity into question as if we were in the place or position to judge Him. This was the one mistake Job made in defense of himself before his friends and for which he had to make amends to God (rf. Job 16:18-22; 31:1-7;38:1ff). When we take that position and attitude with God, we overstep our place. He is God. He is holy and alone defines what is truly good. It may be an innocent question with no ill intent. Nonetheless, we are out of place as humans to think that we can call God before us to answer for His decisions and actions. This brings us to our second point.

            It would be wise on our part to realize that we are not entitled to the “good” things from God at all times. The “good” things that we receive from Him are by virtue of His grace toward us and are gifts given to us in love (rf. Eph. 2:8-10; Jas. 1:17). He is our Heavenly Father and cares for us far more than we could ever know. For what “good” things we have been given, we should have thankful hearts and see these gifts as blessings. Even the “bad” things are to our benefit if viewed from the correct perspective, from His vantage point since always has our best interests at heart (rf. Rom. 8:28).

            With this in mind, having experienced His grace firsthand, in some form or fashion, the Apostle Paul encourages his readers to pass on the grace that we have from God, especially if you have been afflicted in some way or another. We may not understand why God has allowed the affliction or negative event into our lives, but, as we have experienced His hand of grace in the midst of said experience, He wants us to comfort others going through similar circumstances. If, for no other reason, this alone may be long-sought answer to the question to the haunting question.

            One final thought. Grace is defined as “unmerited favor” or “undeserved blessing”. None of us will ever be “good” enough in God’s sight to be worthy of His favor. If we had been “good” according to God’s standards, there would never had been cause for Jesus to come to earth in the first place, to have died on the cross and to have been resurrected from the dead on our behalf as a sacrifice for our sins. Our “goodness”, however, was never an issue in terms of our salvation, for the Scriptures clearly testify that “there is none righteous, no, not one…there is none who does good…” (rf. Rom. 3:10, 12NASB). Only through Jesus can we ever know and experience what is truly “good”. Only in Christ can we have the comfort to make it through the hard times of life…and then be able to minister to others who likewise suffer after we have endured and persevered through difficulties. This is the meaning of the text for us. This is one of the reasons why the Lord allows suffering and pain, not to hurt us or destroy us, but to make us into vessels of mercy for His use.

Desire Peace

           As I have grown older, I have also grown more and more appreciative of the truth and concept of peace. By “peace”, I mean both the absence of conflict and drama in reference to relationships with others and the overall atmosphere surrounding me as well as the inner connection I have with God that is undisturbed by own sin, mistakes, transgressions and iniquities along with those of others because of Christ. Let me take a few moments to unpack each of these dynamics and show how important peace should be to each of us as believers.

            I am not so foolish as to believe that we can live our lives to completion without having experienced stress, turbulence and conflict. Even if we were stranded on a desert island, these three aspects would be present in some form or another. Remember the movie, Cast Awaywith Tom Hanks back in 2000? The main character experienced enough stress to share with an entire continent of people! 

            Jesus gave us tremendous encouragement in John 16:33:“These things I have spoken to you, so that in Me you may have peace. In the world you have tribulation but take courage; I have overcome the world.” First of all, He tells us, without question or doubt, that life will be full of “tribulation”; that is, we will have stress, turbulence and conflict. We don’t have to invite these. We don’t have to go looking for them. These things will come looking for and find us in due time. However, because we are in Christ, we will “have peace” because He has “overcome the world” and its “tribulation(s)”. What a promise!

            Not only does this truth apply to our outer conflicts and trials, but His peace is even more applicable to us within. If we are diligent to seek Him in the midst of our daily lives, regardless of the circumstances, He will give us “the peace that surpasses all comprehension(which) will guard your hearts and your minds in(Him)” (rf. Philp. 4:7NASB). This is God’s peace which is designed to protect us and to assure us that all is right between us and Him because of all that Jesus has done on our behalf to take away our sin. Not only is He our sacrifice, but He continually intercedes before the Father on our behalf so that we are constantly nurtured and provided for in Christ. We are blessed beyond measure and “the peace of God” is but a token of God’s good pleasure upon us.

            Believers in Christ everywhere would do well to learn and take to heart the Apostle Paul’s maxim, “God is not a God of confusion but of peace” (rf. 1 Cor. 14:33NASB). We tend to get enamored with the exciting, vibrant and chaotic, thinking that God is in the energetic and lively. We forget that God speaks loudest and moves more boldly in the quiet and peaceful when His voice is most clearly heard (ex: Elijah in the cave—rf. I Kings 19:11-12NKJV).

            So, may our desire be for more inner and outward peace in our lives so that we can cultivate a closer walk with Christ, ever listening for His voice and waiting for His direction through His Word and Spirit. And, when we are buffeted by the winds of conflict and trial, may we continue in this peace undeterred and undistracted, having committed ourselves to His truths, secure in His promises and love.

The Power of Christ's Resurrection

“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His great mercy has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to obtain an inheritance which is imperishable and undefiled and will not fade away, reserved in heaven for you, who are protected by the power of God through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.” (rf. 1 Pet. 1:3–5 NASB)

As we celebrate Easter, the resurrection of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, this month, it gives us an opportunity to stop and review exactly why we set aside this day as a special holiday of celebration in the first place. Is it merely a tradition that affords us the chance to purchase new clothes and the venue in which to display them akin to the runway in the fashion world? Or have we, like the society around us, only added it to the list of days for the “kid’s benefit” so that we can have another excuse to load them down with toys, candy, etc.? In other words, what is our real purpose in celebrating Easter beyond the accoutrements of clothes and candy? Have our lives been thoroughly and totally impacted by its message as to compel us to want to join in with fellow believers around the globe in honor and glory and in remembrance of Christ’s work to make this day unique among all others? These are paramount questions we must ask ourselves.

The Apostle Peter reminds us in the passage above that the resurrection of Christ, the event that makes Easter distinct and exceptional, did not just “obtain (for us) an inheritance which is imperishable and undefiled…ready to be revealed in the last time”. No, the resurrection of Christ gave to His followers a “living hope”; that is, the power of His resurrection in the life of the believer is to be fleshed out in this world, lived out in everyday life so that those around him/her will see by our lives the reality of this power flowing through us.

Peter is not just speaking of Christ’s resurrection as being the means of getting us into heaven. Au contraire, mon ami. He is encouraging believers in Christ to live in the hope of His resurrection power so that we literally may be the lights of hope to a world darkened and dead in sin. When we have been transformed by His power and our lives are no longer the same as they were before because of Jesus, then we have great reason to look forward to raising up the Name of Jesus in glory for what He did that Easter morning so long ago. When our lives reflect daily that “living hope” in Christ, Easter is a very special day of celebration, but we also walk in the spirit of Easter every day of the year.

So, please do not misread my intentions, here. New clothes are nice, but not necessary in order to celebrate Easter. Candy is sweet and chocolate is wonderful (how well I know), but is not required for an Easter celebration. Rather, an obligatory prerequisite would be for us to be committed to living out our faith by His resurrection power, moment by moment, so that, when Easter Day arrives, we can praise God for raising Jesus from the dead and, through Him, giving us new life as well. Then, with His power in us, we go forth truly changing our world for Christ, one life, one home, one community at a time.

God's Design for Marriage

“For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and shall be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh. This mystery is great; but I am speaking with reference to Christ and the church.” (rf. Eph. 5:31–32 NASB)

            When my wife and I got married, we were both blessed to have had sets of parents who provided to us examples of what it meant to be committed to one another in marriage. Neither set would have admitted to perfection in their relationships, having struggled and committed many mistakes along the way, learning and growing together through the journey. However, their respective commitments to one another provided for Lori and me a tremendous groundwork upon which we could build our own marriage together. We could, hopefully, learn from their mistakes while understanding that we would make enough of our own, maturing together in our roles as husband and wife as well as parents when the kids came along, enjoying the victories together and rejoicing in this adventure called life and marriage.

            In quoting from the original passage from Genesis, Paul here in this text is not only connecting his teaching about marriage to the initiation of its institution, but is also laying the groundwork for its success. This passage in question has tremendous application, especially in our day when, not only is marriage itself under fire and stress, but is being undermined by a total void in grasping the importance of fulfilling God’s design for marriage itself. In other words, if those who are married would obey the tenets concerning the respective roles within marriage as God has set forth in His Word, then their marriages would work so much better and fewer marriages would end on the trash heap as do in our time.

            First of all, God states originally in Genesis that “a man shall leave his father and mother and shall be joined to his wife”. This truth is made all the more poignant when one considers that in Jewish culture the distance between a new husband and his father was often as far as across the patio since it was the son’s job to build his new home adjoining the father’s house. Therefore, it may not be a physical distancing in view here, but more of the son purposefully moving to the position of being the authority in his own home, rather than being under the authority of his father as he was previously before getting married. As a husband, he now becomes fully accountable for the goings-on in his home and is responsible for the provision and protection of his new bride. This is God’s design for the husband. He must be willing to sacrifice himself for his wife because of his great love for her, even as Christ was willing to give Himself up for His Church (rf. Eph. 5:25). He is now to be “joined to his wife”. They are now in unity with one another. They are now one body, “one flesh”, a family unit unto themselves, separate from his father and mother (and from her father and mother as well, mind you). Their decisions are now their own before God for which they are totally responsible. They are still connected by bloodlines to their respective families and are bound by the commandments to “honor (their) father and mother”, but this husband and wife are a family now unto themselves by God’s design.

            In the same context of Paul’s text, not only is the husband to take up his mantle of authority and responsibility before God to lead his new family, but the wife is to respect his leadership and encourage him in it (rf. Eph. 5:22, 33). Paul encapsulates these concepts within the backdrop of Christ’s love which is a must if these actions are to be correctly applied. The husband is to express his love for his wife in the same way “as Christ loved the Church and gave Himself for her” (rf. Eph. 5:25). Likewise, the wife is to love her husband as she loves Jesus, showing him respect “as to the Lord” (rf. Eph. 5:22). And, if you haven’t caught a parallel yet, the Scriptures clearly affirm what men have long known, that love and respect are two sides of the same coin. Men do not recognize one without the other. It is the way God has wired us. Thus, the admonition to wives is an encouragement that falls hand-in-hand with God’s creative signature.

            One of the reasons that marriages fail so often today is a failure to recognize and apply the truths of God’s design for His institution. Many husbands eschew any efforts to assume responsibility for their own actions, let alone responsibility for their family’s provision and protection. The allure for entertainment and personal pleasure has lead them to pursue other agendas, including means of sin, and left their wives and children, if any, barren of what could have been a loving husband, a strong marriage, and a blessed family life. Wives as well have assumed roles that were never designed to be theirs in the first place, either by choice or by default, resulting in anger, frustration and resentment, leading to bitterness. Respect would be a virtue hard-pressed to be located and, in many cases, deserved or awarded. Marriages suffering from these types of afflictions are, at the outset, in dire straits, very difficult to redeem. Only the grace of God through the power of His transforming Spirit can even hope to bring healing and restoration to such hurting marriage relationships.

            It is incumbent upon all of God’s true children to know what God has designed for His institution of marriage. He has a standard in place already for husbands and wives to strive for in serving each other and how to show His love one to another. If we have failed in the past to do so, His forgiveness is readily available for the asking. His Spirit is always willing to take us forward to a new and better experience in making our marriage more reflective of what it should be—like the relationship between Christ and His Church.