ReEnvisioning Christ's Church (Part Two)

            From last month’s article outlining the general points of discussion from Francis Chan’s work, Letters to the Church, we continue the analysis. 

How then do we “retune”? What are the areas that we need to reconsider if we are to get back to place where God truly wants us as His Church? How are we to “rethink Church” and apply these truths so that they are not merely concepts but are put forth into actions that really make a difference?

            Here then is a synopsis of what I have gleaned from Chan. This is what I believe God would have of us as His people to restore His Church to the place of rightful service and worship:

1.     …We should commit purposefully to approach the worship of God in an attitude of sacredness and holiness and to treat the place of worship as a holy place.

2.     …We should commit ourselves to proactively seek ways to serve and love others.

3. Because God sacrificially gave His only Son to be the means of our salvation (rf. Jn. 3:16), taking away our sin so that we could have entrance into God’s family (rf. Heb. 2:17; I Jn. 4:10), we should commit ourselves to resolutely give with a sacrificial and generous attitude of our time, finances, abilities and spiritual gifts for the benefit of Christ’s Church and His Gospel to reach the world, with the full understanding that the mission work of Jesus begins at the doors of our own church. Since being a part or member of the Body of Christ, His Church, should be understood as the greatest of privileges, we, as recipients of salvation by His grace, should, then, view His Church as a major priority in our lives. As a result, there would be a willingness on our part to do whatever was necessary to make sure the efforts of His kingdom, not only continued, but were successful, even to the point of sacrificing the things that, by comparison to the desires, wants and dreams of our own, seem pitifully miniscule.

4. Because God has revealed Himself to His people through the written Word (rf. II Tim. 3:16-17)as well as the Living Word, Jesus Christ (rf. Heb. 1:2), He desires for His people to seek after Him to know Him better and more deeply in a personal relationship (rf. Is. 1:18; Eph. 1:18-23); therefore, to that end, we should commit ourselves to devotedly be students of God’s Word as individuals and as a fellowship of believers. We should be seeking more opportunities to learn more about God and how to be better equipped to fulfill His will in our time, while finding grace and strength by His Spirit through more numerous expressions of our fellowship together, our time of Holy Communion with Him, and seeking His Face through concerted prayer.

5. Because God has covenanted with His people to be their God and they, His people (rf. Dt. 7:6; I Pet. 2:9) and to provide to them a new covenant with them in Jesus (rf. Jer. 31:33; Lk. 22:19-20), we should likewise desire to covenant with each other and with God to mutually uphold one another in this quest to fulfill our commitments as stated above. We should want our worship of and service to God to be pleasing to Him, our reflection of Christ to our community and world around us to be loving and accurate regarding of the teachings of Jesus in the way we act as His followers, and our love toward one another to always be authentic, open, truthful, peaceful and desiring the best for one another and for the cause of Christ.

If anything, our world needs a truthful depiction of Jesus. It is not getting this in what we are showing them by our corporate portrayal of His Church. We must get back to these basic truths as outlined above if we are going to be effective in the mission to which He has called us and His holy Bride and Body which He has called us to be. It is a high bar to attain, no doubt. However, by His Spirit as our resource, we will without question reach it. It simply remains to discover whether or not we have the will to take up the challenge and do it.

ReEnvisioning Christ's Church (Part One)

            In the latter months of the previous year, I was greatly challenged by reading the latest book by Francis Chan, entitled, Letters to the Church (Colorado Springs, CO: David C. Cook Publishing, 2018). I have been a fan of Chan and his ministry for quite a while, especially when he spoke so passionately to the annual meeting of the Southern Baptist Convention a number of years ago. He “wears his heart” for God and His Church “on his sleeve” so to speak so that it is very apparent to all just how much loves both. So, it is no wonder that this book is convicting in its addressing the greatest issues facing the Church today and how we must fundamentally retune our hearts and minds to God’s voice and heart if we are to recapture His purpose for His people as His instrument of grace to an unbelieving world. 

            How then do we “retune”? What are the areas that we need to reconsider if we are to get back to place where God truly wants us as His Church? How are we to “rethink Church” and apply these truths so that they are not merely concepts but are put forth into actions that really make a difference?

            Here then is a synopsis of what I have gleaned from Chan. This is what I believe God would have of us as His people to restore His Church to the place of rightful service and worship:

            1.Because God is holy (rf. Lev. 11:45) and desires both His worship (rf. Ex. 39; 40:9; I Cor. 3:17; Eph. 2:21;5:27) and His people to be holy (rf. I Pet. 1:16) as well, we should commit purposefully to approach the worship of God in an attitude of sacredness and holiness and to treat the place of worship as a holy place. We do this by preparing our hearts and attitudes beforehand by focusing on what we are about to do in coming (i.e. worshiping the Living God in splendor and majesty), immersing each service in Scriptural praise, God-centered, contemplative music (i.e. psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs—rf. Eph. 5:19), and liturgy that centers us on our place before Almighty God as His servants in Christ. This does not necessarily follow that we have to be stoic in our responses in God’s House; indeed, He desires for us to rejoice, be glad and praise while having a sense of respect, awe, decorum and order, possessing a balance of quiet and adoration in the Presence of our King and Savior.

2. Because God is love (rf. I Jn. 4:16) and Jesus throughout His ministry loved others unconditionally (rf. I Jn. 4:10) and taught His followers that such love would be what distinguished them from the rest of the world (rf. Jn. 13:35), we should commit ourselves to proactively seek ways to serve and love others. We should participate in or host various ministries designed to encourage and strengthen our lives and walk in Christ (i.e. Couples/ Parents classes, Grief support, Divorce recovery, etc.).  We should look into outreach approaches into our community to meet actual physical, emotional and spiritual needs while sharing with them, not only the love of Christ in that process, but, especially, the truth of His Gospel as well (ex: Alpha classes, networking with existing food and cloth banks in the area, helping to provide affordable housing through organizations like Habitat for Humanity).  

(This article will continue in February 2019)

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.