The Grass is Greener...Right Here!

In the NT church in Corinth there was this crazy, almost American, unsettledness that caused the members to think that the ideal spiritual life was...somewhere else. That is, if they were unmarried, marriage would be the entryway to a spiritual Eden. If they were married, especially to an unbeliever, the single life was the way up and in. If they were slaves...get free or remain a spiritual pygmy. Underneath it all there seemed to be this thought, not at all foreign to ME, that they could not realize the true freedom in Christ which was their lot unless their situation changed.

The Apostle Paul answers that thinking with a clear, settling, God-centered view of WHERE I AM:

"...Let each person lead the life that the Lord has assigned to him, and to which God has called him." 1Corinthians 7:17

Married or unmarried, working for someone else or self-employed, kids at home or empty-nester, senior citizen or teenager, college-degreed or street-smart, physically handicapped or tri-athlete, raised up in a godly home or a child of abuse, in an apartment or my own home, in the perfect church or a Corinthian-like mess, tight finances or picking fruit daily from the money tree...

The ultimate reason we are where we are is...the Lord. He has "assigned" us and "called" us to the place in life we occupy. Note: HE has assigned us and called us to this place. Not fate or chance or stupid choices (though there may have been plenty of them!!) or discrimination or Satanic evil. Why has He assigned us this place? That we may learn to walk with Him HERE, in humility and dependence. "So, brothers, in whatever condition each was called, there let him remain WITH GOD." 1 Corinthians 7:24

If God has assigned me this place then it is a place where GOD IS. It is a place where I can thrive spiritually and walk with Him. It is a place where all the promises of God apply. It is a place where the Holy Spirit of God will fill me with His fruit and gifts and help. It is a place where my cries to God will be heard as well as any other place on earth. It may NOT be EASY, but easy is not the way to spiritual growth.

May the Lord who assigns and calls to THIS PLACE free me to pursue Him NOW and HERE, believing that the grass is not greener on the other side of the fence. May He free me to take my eyes off of whoever or whatever I have charged with my stunted spiritual life and set them resolutely on Him. HE IS THE GREEN GRASS, wherever I am.

Hard-headed ministry

Has the Lord given you someone to minister to who is exceptionally challenging? It may be an unbeliever or a believer. Perhaps a spouse or teenage child or boss or even a fellow church or small group member.

Ever feel like giving up? Ever feel like their hard-headedness or hard-heartedness is going to win out?

Ezekiel had a whole NATION of hard-heads and hard-hearts to prophesy to. God told him on the front end of his ministry:

"But the house of Israel will not be willing to listen to you, for they are not willing to listen to me. Because all the house of Israel have a hard forehead and a stubborn heart." Ezekiel 3:7

Well, so much for the glamor of ministry! Any bubble that Ezekiel had about the masses ooohing and ahhhhing over his prophecies was graciously popped by God before his prophetic ministry began. He knew what he was facing and it would take super-human persistence and endurance to do it well and finish well.

HOW could he serve a granite-headed people for years without throwing in the servant's towel?

God promised to make Ezekiel equal to the task.

"Behold, I have made your face as hard as their faces, and your forehead as hard as their foreheads. Like emery harder than flint have I made your forehead. Fear them not, nor be dismayed at their looks, for they are a rebellious house." Ezekiel 3:8-9

In essence, God said, "I have made you equal to the task. They will be resistant as stone, but I have given you a steel-will to keep speaking my word to them. They will give you looks that could kill, but I have given you flak-jacket heart that will keep looking to me."

God can and will make us as graciously hard-headed as sin can make others hard-headed and stubborn. He will make us hard-headed enough NOT to stop trusting Him for love and courage and compassion and wisdom and plain 'ole hang in there toughness.

Don't give up! Cry out to God for a hard-headed ministry.

Ownership Comes at a Price

I love my pda. I have had my Tungsten T5 for about 2 1/2 years now and it is like a right arm to me. It is filled with study resources and tools and loads of pictures of the family and mission trips and schedule reminders. Between the device itself and the programs I have purchased and loaded it has COST ME PLENTY!! I am VERY careful to keep track of my T5. I have it with me almost all the time either in my fannypack (I am the nerdy local who looks like a tourist) or pocket. You might say I am JEALOUS over it. I am.

In 1Corinthians 6:19-20 we are reminded by the Apostle Paul that a great price has been paid for us by God and as a result we are not our own.

"...Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own, for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body."

Bought with a price. That price was the very life blood of God the Son, poured out in His unparalleled suffering of the cross. And that price was not paid so that I would be CALLED God's child and then live for myself, as though I still own the keys to the front door of my heart. No, the price has been paid so that I am no longer my own. The result? I am to live to glorify God in my body.

God rightfully owns me because He gave His Son for me. Therefore, He is jealous over me. He keeps close tabs on me. In fact, He is so jealous and so diligent to watch over me that He has taken upresidence WITHIN me! My body is a temple of the Holy Spirit.

All of this tells me:

• This temple of God's should be kept HOLY. My mind and body should be free from junk reading and eating. The visual images I load into my mind's pda do not delete. The extra pounds I am carrying on my body at this time do not give me more physical "curb appeal" to God or others. If God himself is in residence in my body, I should keep it more clean than when I have special guests in my home.
• God has the right to the first and last decisions in every area of my life. I am not my own. My time is not my own. My money is not my own. My body is not my own. My talents and gifts are not my own. The direction of my thoughts is not my own. The response to irritating drivers is not my own. Wow, nothing is my own to use as I will but as HE wills. Why? I have been bought with a price.
• What a glorious love God has loved me with! Why would He spend the life of His Son to purchase me? Why? The answer is not in me. The answer is in the infinitely loving heart of God. He is an extravagant Lover. And He is jealous over what He has paid dearly for. Keeping sight of this beyond comprehension love makes personal holiness and bowing to Lordship a whole different matter.

My OWNER is the GREAT LOVER of my soul. Ownership came at a price for Him.

4 Inches of Life

It is a good thing to be reminded just how short my life is. When I am healthy and full of energy and busy with work and family life seems like it will just go on forever. In the busyness I do not often take the time to meditate on the shortness of my days.

In Psalm 39 King David is suffering, possibly from physical illness. He is struggling inwardly with all the questions that suffering raises to the surface. He is trying to be careful to hold his tongue so that he does not say anything that shows disdain for the Lord or that questions His goodness. When he finally speaks, the outpouring of his soul includes questions and statements regarding the brevity and frailty of his life. He says,

"O Lord, make me know my end and what is the measure of my days; let me know how fleeting I am! Behold, you have made my days a few handbreadths, and my lifetime is as nothing before you. Surely all mankind stands as a mere breath!" vv.4-5

God has made our days a "handbreadth." A handbreadth was the distance across the 4 fingers of the hand, about 4 inches. My life...a few inches of time. From where I stand most of the time life looks endless. I am strong and healthy and encouraged (much of the time) and life for this guy looks like kilometers or miles! But against the backdrop of eternity, in comparison to God, I can measure my life with a grade school ruler.

A few implications from this truth:

• I need to live with the END in mind. If I am in Christ, eternity in Heaven is my permanent lot. Life is for loving and serving God in a way that lays up rewards that will be measured in more loving and serving God through the endless ages to come. As Randy Alcorn says, "You can't take it with you, but you can send it on ahead." What are you sending ahead?
• Humility. I tend to think that my life is the BIG PIECE of the puzzle of what God is assembling in this world. Surely the impact of my life is what the church through the ages has been waiting for and the angels in heaven have been longing for. But my life is one small, short piece. A piece to be sure, by God's grace, but one amongst the numberless multitude that Christ will win as a reward for His sufferings and that He will use to bring universal applause to His name when it's all said and done.
• God is my hope. David writes in v.7 of Psalm 39, "And now, O Lord, for what do i wait? My hope is in you." I can forever moan over the brevity and frailty of my life or I can turn my heart's gaze to the ETERNAL ONE, who sovereignly and purposefully controls all things. My confident expectation is that God is FOR ME, the 4-inch life, with plans and rewards that are quatrillion of miles in length...and that's just the warm up phase!

A proper view of a short life is meant to lead us to a LONG look at our eternal God.

Evangelism and Fishing

The first disciples Jesus called were fishermen. As Jesus always seemed to do, he told them what He would make them in terms they well understood.

"Follow me and I will make you become fishers of men." Mark 1:17

Peter, Andrew, James and John did not use monofilament line or fancy colored hooks. They had no underwater fish radars for help in locating the catch. They threw out nets weighted with lead that would hit the water in a circular shape and then sink, trapping the fish below (if there happened to be any below). Then...they'd pull in the net hoping there was something edible or sell-able in it.

They understood fishing for fish. How about fishing for men? They had much to learn, but they already understood key concepts that were very transferable to fishing for men. They were:

• GO. These Galilean fishermen knew you have to go out into the water to catch fish. They did not stand on the shore waiting for the fish to come crawling or flopping up out of the water at their feet. So we have to go to where the "lost" fish of this world are. This is why Jesus' last and great command was, "Go...and make disciples" Matthew 28:19-20. Our homes and haunts can become fortresses from instead of launching pads for evangelism. Are we going?
• THROW. James and John were mending nets when Jesus called them. When they would launch out into the Sea of Galilee they would always take nets. Nets are how you catch fish. It took skill to cast a net, it took strength, and it probably took a certain amount of patience. But without a net, no fish. They're not going to jump into the boat of their own free will or be coaxed by testimonies of how great a fisherman you are or by promises that they are deeply loved by the Maker of Fish. You need a net. Our net is the GOSPEL. The gospel of sinful man under God's wrath, God providing a Savior in Jesus Christ, and a response commanded of repent and believe is the net that God sovereignly uses to fish successfully for men. But the gospel must be THROWN out. It must be shared. People need to hear it clearly, correctly, compellingly, and lovingly. My example may whet their appetite, but only the gospel will save. There is NO salvation apart from hearing the gospel. "How shall they believe in Him of whom they have never heard?" Romans 10:14
• PULL. Once the net settled the big fishermen would PULL it back into the boat to see what was for supper or sale. Remember the time when Peter and friends were fishing all night with no catch? Jesus told them to throw the net on the other side of the boat. I imagine there might have been some unbelieving fisherman eyes rolling in response to that command! But they knew enough about Jesus to obey. And, man oh man, or, fish oh fish! Did they get a haul!! Where did the fish come from? Jesus brought the fish!! Friends, when we obey and throw out the gospel to the lost, Jesus WILL call some into the gospel net. There WILL be a catch. There will be men and women, boys and girls who respond. WHO will respond? Those Jesus brings; those HE calls; those who, like Lydia (Acts 16:14) have their hearts opened to pay attention to the good news. And when folks respond, PULL them in. Share with them what it means to be a follower of Jesus and help them get off to a good start.

What is my responsibility? GO, THROW, PULL. It's the only way to be a fisher of men. It's the Jesus way.

Pride and Urgency

When Mark records the high gear beginning of Jesus' ministry in Mark 1, he includes the nutshell of Jesus' method,

Jesus came into Galilee, proclaiming the gospel of God, and saying'
"The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel." 1:14,15

Method: "Proclaiming"
Proclaiming was to "herald loudly." Jesus was not timid or shy or ashamed of the gospel he proclaimed. He HERALDED it. Are you ashamed of the gospel? Jesus knew this was the glad tidings of God himself, the good news that lost hell-bound rebels against the universal KING have been given a way out from under the judgment they deserve. Paul wrote, "I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes" Romans 1:16.

Method: "Urgency"
"The kingdom of God is at hand." There is good news but you don't have forever to put it off or think about it. Today is the day of salvation. Turn from your sin and trust in the Savior. The offer of free forgiveness is being held out to you, don't delay to grab onto it with your whole heart!! Tomorrow is NOT guaranteed to you. Right now is given to you as a gift. You are hearing the summons of the KING, respond! Don't turn down this infinite offer of love.

Do you share Jesus' urgency with family and friends?

May God make us more like the urgent, heralding Jesus.

Following Jesus is a BROAD path

Jesus' recorded invitation (command?) to Peter and Andrew and James and John in Mark 1 is,

"Follow me, and I will make you become fishers of men" Mark 1:17

It is easy, with minds that can reason through a sinful grid, to see following Jesus as the invitation to the narrowest of all lives. We can think, "It's the end to true freedom. HE calls the shots, and all the shots ring with the sound of 'sacrifice." But think for a moment about how their "immediate" response to that invitation broadened their lives.

These men were Galilean fishermen. All their lives were lived in that relatively small geographical area, primarily concerned with boats and nets and weather and counts. "How many today?" was the question that really mattered at the end of the day. There were doubtless occasional trips to the big city of Jerusalem for required feasts. But all in all, these guys were "locals."

However, once they attached themselves to Jesus, their horizons were expanded.

• It was no longer fishing just for fish, but for MEN, the "catch" mattered for eternity,
• It was no longer just caring about JEWS but for GENTILES, ALL men were now in their sights,
• It was no longer just ISRAEL, but the WORLD, their hearts were expanding, "God-size" me,
• They were no longer just followers, they became some of the most impactful leaders in the history of the world,
• They were no longer TIME BOUND in their interests, but ETERNITY was cemented to their hearts,
• They no longer just knew ABOUT GOD, they came to know Him RELATIONALLY, to the point where they died for Him,
• John became the pastor of pastors in Ephesus,
• Peter eventually went to Rome (he was in prison there shortly before his death),
• Andrew (so strong tradition says) went as far as the border of Russia!

So much for restrictive, narrowing of the arteries of life! May the BROADNESS of FOLLOWING JESUS on the NARROW road expand us all.

An Encouragement to Pray

God has graciously grabbed my heart for a renewed emphasis in prayer. That is, He has shown me once again how desperately I need Him and how my need and His provision are connected through prayer. He has also reminded me of how He is ready at all times to pour out the "riches of His grace" (Ephesians 1:7) on my life, to "lavish" His spiritual blessings already secured for me through Christ.

I have a somewhat wealthy friend. I asked my daughters, "What is my multi-millionaire friend Joe (fake name supplied to protect the innocent wealthy) called tonight at 8pm asking if there was anything I needed? 'Mike, do you need anything? Are your cars running well? Any unpaid bills I can help with? The house in good repair?' I answer, "Everything's in good repair and all the bills are paid, Joe." Tomorrow night the phone rings again at 8pm. It's Joe. "Mike, do your wife or kids need anything? Any hospital bills that need paying? Any mission trips I can help finance?" Again, I answer, "Everything's great, Joe. Thanks for asking!" Next night, 8pm, phone rings. You guessed it, it's Joe. Once again he's asking if he can help in any way.

After a few consecutive nights of calls from my wealthy friend, I am clearly convinced that HE REALLY WANTS TO HELP! HE IS WILLING TO GIVE ANY FINANCIAL HELP I NEED FOR ANY NEED. His persistence in asking has shown his readiness to give.

My friends, have you ever tried to count the number of commands, promises, and models of prayer there are in the Scriptures? "Keep on asking, and you will receive. Keep on seeking and you will find. Keep on knocking, and the door will be opened to you." Matthew 7:7. "Devote yourselves to prayer, keeping alert in it with an attitude of thanksgiving." Colossians 4:2. "Men should always pray and never give up." Luke 18:1. "Pray without ceasing." 1Thessalonians 5:17. "...Praying at all times in the Spirit, with all prayer and supplication. To that end keep alert with all perserverance, making supplication for all the saints." Ephesians 6:18. To quote a very few.

These commands to pray and these promises for prayer are all God's gracious encouragements for us to COME TO HIM AND ASK FOR HELP! It is as if God is calling every night at 8pm asking if He can help. "Mike, any need for love? Any heart for the lost I can supply? Any shepherding skills I can pour out on you? Any wisdom for how to parent your kids that I can lavish on you? Any passion for holiness needed?"

"YES, LORD!! There is. Right now. Always. I am desperately needy for your supply of grace. Thank you for reminding over and over and over that you stand ready to lavish all I need from your infinite supply if I will only ASK in faith."

How Do You See Yourself?

I confess: I want so bad to see myself as somebody. But even more than that, I want OTHERS to view me as somebody. That is, somebody who is the best at something spiritual, the "holy man" who is the fount of wisdom and godly counsel; the believer who stands out, not just in my church, but among ALL the churches. This is what I want IN MY FLESH, that sinful remainder of Adam still so alive within me.

How does the Scripture say I should see myself? How should others view me?

"This is how one should regard us, as servants of Christ and stewards of the mysteries of God." 1 Corinthians 4:1

One of the many problems in Corinth was the personality cult. "I am of Paul, I am of Apollos," etc. But Paul says, we are NOT faces on Apostle or Teacher trading cards, we are not contestants on "Corinthian Idol." We are servants. This word for servant was of one who was under an authority and waited to do his bidding; a subordinate. It was used in classical Greek of the rower on a ship. God wants me to be viewed as the rower below deck, not the CAPTAIN. When the rower wants to be the captain and looks for ways to make it happen, it is called MUTINY! There is much mutiny in my heart.

BUT...as a redeemed man with a new heart indwelt by God the Holy Spirit I can both choose and pursue the image and role of servant. One practical way I have found to do this (though it is not consistently enough true of me) is to INQUIRE HOW OTHERS ARE DOING. Instead of waiting for others to inquire of my welfare, so that I can talk about ME and polish my image as a leader or all around spiritual guy, I can choose out of Spirit-given love, to ask, "How are you today?" "How is it going with you and the Lord?" "How is your wife?" "How have you been fighting the fight of faith this week?" "Is there something I can be praying for you?" (NOTE: not, "Is there some problem-solving wisdom I can impart?") As a servant of Christ I am bound to address His concerns. What are His concerns? His people. The lost. These I am called to serve in the name and power and gospel of Christ.

Note also that Paul writes he is to be viewed as a "steward of the mysteries of God." The "mysteries of God" are basically the gospel. The gospel is a "mystery" in the sense that it was long hidden in the shadows of the OT but has now been revealed through Christ coming, dying, and raising from the dead. A steward is one who handles the property or goods of another, who dispenses the wealth of his master to others as it is due. As the servants of Christ, we are called to steward or dispense the goods of the gospel to others. This gospel is not just "turn from sin and trust Christ," though it IS that. But this gospel we are called to dispense as servants and stewards includes all that God has done for us and is doing in Christ. It is the gospel of hope for the lost. It is the gospel of help for every need for believers. We have it. Are we giving it to others? Am I? Are you?

If I see myself as a servant of Christ I will focus on His interests, not mine. I will look to dispense His gospel goods and not stuff to enhance my reputation.

But glory! I am a servant, an under-rower, a steward/manager of CHRIST! He is King of Kings and Lord of Lords. He is the God/Man Savior. He is the eternal Creator. I have had serveral opportunities to serve some great men in my life - men whom God has used greatly to impact the Christian world - I escorted some to breakfast, gave rides to the airport, did the errands of others. In each case I was filled with a sense of joy and purpose because I was able to serve them. I was not just a servant, but the servant of a men of consequence, men of wide impact.

Here's how we should joyfully, with awe, see ourselves: as SERVANTS OF CHRIST.

Delight and Desires

In the familiar Psalm 37:4 we are commanded,

"Delight yourself in the Lord and He will give you the desires of your heart."

If "delight" is a command, then it has to be something we can do by choice. Of course, not by unaided choice, but by Spirit-aided choice. This means that there is never a morning when my earth-bound heart is unable to delight in the Lord. This means there is never an unpleasant exchange with a family member or work associate when I cannot delight in the Lord. This means that there is never a day that faces me with an overflowing schedule and unending demands that I cannot face with delight in the Lord. If I am commanded to do it, God will enable me to do it.

But what does it mean to "delight" in the Lord? It means to find my joy in Him, to make Him the object of my desire and happiness. It means to believe that in Him is the greatest heart satisfaction possible. It means to believe that obeying Him yields the best that life has to offer. He IS delightful. His WAY is delightful. His COMMANDS are delightful. And His delightfulness is unchanging and never diminshing. If I have a bad taste in my heart from trying to find delight in something or someone else, I can, with the Spirit's help, turn my hungry heart to delight in the Lord. By faith I can say, "Lord, my soul appetite is all messed up. I have a taste for what does not satisfy. I know by faith that You are all-satisfying. Forgive my choices from the world's menu. Give me grace to look to You and see You as you are and to feed on the delight of Your love and mercy and grace."

From this choice to delight in Him flows from Him new DESIRES. "And He will give you the desires of your heart." "Desires" has to do with "requests." When my object of delight has become the Lord himself, my desires begin to change. When I choose to eat good food and drink healthy, pure beverages I lose my desire for junk. I may want a salad instead of nachos. I may desire a cold glass of apple juice instead of diet coke. Choosing to delight in Christ results in new, godly desires. This translates into prayer. I begin to pray for what is pleasing to Him who is my delight. I pray according to the will of God. I want what He wants. My whole "wanting" mechanism is transformed. Note this begins NOT with obedience out of threat of punishment or guilt, but with a choice to DELIGHT. True spiritual life flows from delight in God, the belief that the God who redeems at the price of His sinless Son is ultimately satisfying.

Could this be why my prayer life is so often lacking in passion and perseverance? My desires, that is, my requests to God flow from my delight in God. Is HE my delight? If so, passionate prayer for His desires that have become MY desires will flow.

"Lord, give us an overwhelming appetite for YOU."

Job One

As I look at the Gospel of Mark, chapter 1, I see that the writer, in his brevity, chooses to include just those things that he thinks are crucial to understanding Jesus Christ and His mission. And so, he includes Jesus' baptism and temptation in the wilderness (marking Him out as the unique Son/Messiah) and then he focuses on how Jesus' public ministry began. In 1:14-15 Mark highlights Jesus' message: "The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe the gospel." Then in 1:16-20 Mark records Jesus calling His first disciples, "Follow me, and I will make you become fishers of men" (v.17).

What strikes me here is the focus of Jesus' ministry from get go. Preach the gospel, make disciples. The MESSAGE of Jesus' ministry was the gospel. "Turn from your sin and trust in Me, the Son/Messiah who will give His life as a ransom for many" (Mark 10:45). The METHOD of Jesus' ministry, if we can put it that way, was to make disciples. Jesus' time on earth was only a beginning of His work. He would ascend back to the Father after a short while and leave His work in the hands of a selected few (Mark 3:14). He would empower these disciples with the soon to be sent Spirit, but for 3 years He would pour Himelf into them teaching them to proclaim the gospel and obey all His commands. He discipled them, they discipled others, a third generation, a fourth, and on and on to today and you and me. The Great Commission was for them and it is for us to the "end of the age" Matthew 28:20. Are you proclaiming the gospel, the only saving message from God to men, which centers only and always on Jesus Christ? Are you making disciples? Are you pouring your life into someone, helping them to know Christ and OBEY His Word? Have YOU been discipled?

If not, ask God for someone who will pour themselves into helping you follow Christ. Then, ask God for someone to pour yourself into. This should be done in the greater context of a Christ-honoring local church, where group discipling can take place.

This is Job One the way Jesus did it: proclaim the gospel; make disciples.

Secure!

Will you make it to heaven? This question refers to the perseverance and eternal security of those who have been saved by trusting alone in the sufficient death and victorious resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ. If you are God's child...if you are "saved," will you make it to heaven?

There are many enemies that would destroy you along the road to Heaven. The WORLD is against you. This world system is not powered by Google but by Satan.
"For all that is in the world - the desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes and the pride in possessions - is not from the Father but is from the world." 1John 2:16
The WORLD would lure you from loving the Father with a million "must have" objects from "Stuff Mart" and a never-ending stream of promises that happiness is only a new encounter or a newer image away.
SATAN is against you...not just as the moving force and architect of this world system...but as your personal, vicious, relentless enemy.
"Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour." 1Peter 5:8.
The FLESH is against you. That ever-present power of remaining sin within you and me is at work warring against the Spirit who indwells us. When we want to do good, evil is present with us. Romans 7:21.

With this triad of vitriolic enemies against my soul and my salvation, will I make it to Heaven?

God's Word gives the voice of truth in answer to this question and the answer is a resounding, YES! Strengthen the weak knees and the timid with the infusion of courage that comes from considering Who is FOR MY SOUL! Overcoming the schemes of the unholy triad is the HOLY TRINITY!

GOD is for me perservering to heaven. "My Father, who have given them (believers) to me is greater than all, and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father's hand." John 10:29

JESUS CHRIST the SON is for me. "All that the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never cast out." John 6:37

God the HOLY SPIRIT is for me. We have been "...sealed with the promised Holy Spirit, who is the guarantee of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it..." Ephesians 1:13-14.

Will I make it to Heaven? I have God's Word on it. I will. I hope to see you there!

Our Help in Temptation

We have a glorious truth regarding help in temptation in Hebrews 4:15-16:

"For we do not have a hight priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin. Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need."

When we see Jesus being tempted in Mark 1, Matthew 4, and Luke 4 we see the eternal Son become also man being tempted "in every respect" as we are tempted. That is, the whole range of human temptation confronted Him: the temptation to satisfy my desires my own way, the temptation to promote myself in my way and in my time, and the temptation to pile up "stuff" by giving it my heart instead of worshipping God. That pretty much describes all temptation. But the thing that was different about Jesus' temptation from that of every other man from Adam onward was HE NEVER GAVE IN. He always lived by every word that comes from the mouth of God and never betrayed God for bread.

I have betrayed God for bread...and donuts...and diet coke...and a long list of other pleasures, conveniences, self-promotions, and stuff. Because He has redeemed me I don't want to do this. I want to live by His Word at the point of testing and temptation. I want to stand up to the adversary's smooth salesmanship with "thus says the Lord." I have only one hope for imitating my Victor in temptation.

My hope is in "drawing near" to the throne of grace, the very presence of Almighty God. How can I, a man who would betray the Almighty for that third sausage biscuit, dare to show my face before the Holy One? BECAUSE I have One there for me, interceding my case, who KNOWS what it is like to face temptation, to feel the attempted exploitation of hunger and loneliness and heart worship. Jesus is at the right hand of God ever-living to intercede for me (and you!). He does it with sympathy, He fellow-feels with us. It is His ministry on our behalf before God that assures us the mercy that accepts a sin-prone soul's cry and the dispensing of grace for whatever is needed: forgiveness, clear-thinking, effective praying, recalling the promises, a quick way out, courage to ask a brother for help, and etc. So...

"Let us then with confidence draw near."

A Lesson from Jesus' Temptation

The Gospel of Mark records only 2 verses about Jesus' temptations in the wilderness (versus 11 for Matthew). Mark emphasizes:

How quickly the Holy Spirit "drove" Jesus into the wilderness after His baptism by John at the Jordan. Mark's uses his favorite timing/action word "immediately." It seems there was no time for Jesus to savor the glory of the Spirit descending and filling Him for His mission nor to bask in the glow of the Father's voice, "'You are my beloved Son', with you I am well pleased" (Mk 1:11). Instead the descending Spirit "drove" Jesus into the wilderness, as Matthew adds, "to be tempted by the devil" (Matthew 4:1). Think of it. From the glory of the Triune God being revealed to the badlands. From a spiritual "high" right into testing and temptation. It seems that this is often the case. We experience God's nearness in a heart-ravishing way or see God win a great victory in our life and almost "immediately" we find ourselves thrown into a spiritual wilderness face to face with Satan, our adversary. I find that often I am not ready to transition so quickly from the blessing to the battle, and I am an easy target for the tempter. But such is the nature of life on this side of final redemption (1 John 3:1-2).

Jesus did not fail in the wilderness. He did not fail because His heart was committed to pleasing the Father in every way and not simply basking in the Father's warm affirmation. When the "props" of family and friends in Nazareth (Mark 1:9) and the spiritually lively environment along the Jordan were divinely exchanged for the wilderness the committed heart of Jesus showed itself. It is the same for us. When the props of God's nearness or exhilirating victory are removed and God chooses to allow the tempter access to our hearts, will my commitment to comfort and spiritually warm fuzzies show or will a dogged commitment to love the Lord my God with all my heart and soul and mind and strength be revealed?

Oh, may I have the heart of Jesus that beats from the environment of faithful love for the Father.

It's ALL about Christ!

To a church riddled with the disunity that comes from the personality cult, the Apostle Paul hits at the heart of this man-centered disease with a passion in 1 Corinthians 1 as he turns the spotlight on Jesus Christ. He reminds them (and me!) that...

You are sanctified and called to be saints...in Christ Jesus, v.2
Your whole saving confession is to call upon the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, v.2
The grace of God has been given us in Christ Jesus, v.4
Salvation is being called into fellowship with God's Son, Jesus Christ our Lord, v.9
Christ, in his glorious work on the cross is the core of our unity, v.13
Christ is the saving wisdom and power of God, v.24
Christ has been made by God to be our wisdom, our righteousness, our sanctification, and our redemption, v.30

The practical application of all of this?

"Let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord."

God would have me to boast, glory, exult, and get my extreme heart happiness in Christ and Christ alone. Who I am is because of Christ. My eternity is wrapped up in Christ. All I need from God for today will come from Christ. The gospel is about Christ. Church is about Christ.

I get a kick when Tiger Woods wins another tournament. I love to see ARod putting up more numbers in the HR and RBI columns. I am proud of my daughters when they nail it during their piano or voice recitals. But the whole-soul boast that comes from deepest within is reserved for my Lord Jesus Christ. I have no hope, no blessed eternity, no fellowship with God, and no power and wisdom for today apart from Him.

"Father, may my heart have its constant, desperate, worship-filled gaze today on your Son, whom YOU have made for me, of all people, all things for good for time and eternity. Amen!"

Hope and Fresh Mercy

We cannot live long without hope. Hope is the confident expectation that God is for me in Christ and will cause all things to work together for good. To maintain hope we must always be reminding ourselves of truth. We must "call to mind" what God says and not what I am feeling/thinking. This was the case for Jeremiah as he writes Lamentations. He was experiencing the overflow of Judah's wickedness and reached the low point where he mourns,

"My endurance has perished; so has my hope from the Lord" (Lamentations 3:18).

But God graciously gave Jeremiah the ability to raise his bowed heart, looking up to God through the rubble of his hope to find fresh hope in God,

"But this I call to mind, and therefore I have hope: the steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness" (Lam.3:21-23).

This is where I find hope over and over and over again, whether my own sin has sent me tumbling again into the dust or the sin of someone else against me: God is a God of inexhaustible covenant mercy. He keeps His covenant purchased for me through the blood of Christ. His mercy is new or "fresh" every morning. Morning can mark a new start in hope. May it be for me and you today as we "call to mind" the fresh mercies of the Lord.

You Gotta Love this Kind of Leader

David was the people's kind of leader. 1 Samuel 18:16 says of him,

"But all Israel and Judah loved David, for he went out and came in before them." Even while King Saul was fearing and hating David more and more, David was doing the Lord's work in fighting against Israel's enemies, the Philistines. And David was fabulously successful because "the Lord was with him." Everyone loved David but Saul, whose egomaniacal lust for first place left him to be tortured with soul-consuming suspicions.

All Israel and Judah loved David because he was AMONGST the people, personally leading the soldiers out on guerrilla campaigns against the enemies and returning with the booty. He was the common man's leader, not directing paper campaigns from an office in the palace but wielding his sword along side every other fighting man. His courage, his fighting skill, his humility, and his confidence in God quickly won over the entire nation. And an additional part of this winning formula was that David "went out and came in before them."

People might ADMIRE a leader who leads from a distance, but they LOVE a leader who leads from us close. "He's a great man but he's also one of us."

Thanks, David, for once again showing me what it's all about.

Seeing Jesus, Being Like Jesus

My great desire in studying the Gospel of Mark is to become like Jesus Christ, who is the main character of the story. How can I become like Him? 2 Corinthians 3:17-18 tells me:

Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. [18] And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another. For this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit.

I must "behold" the glory of the Lord to be transformed into his image by the Spirit of God. To "behold" him means to see him, study him, meditate on him as he is revealed in the Word of God. It is not thinking on "what would Jesus do?" and supplying the answers from the reservoir of my own mind. It is diving into the inspired, inerrant account of his life in the Scriptures and asking questions like: "What does this teach me about Jesus?" "What do I learn here about his glorious sacrificial love?" "How did Jesus handle anger here?" "How did Jesus do battle with the devil here?" "How did Jesus respond to his accusers?" and "What can I do to imitate Jesus in this area in my life?"

It means that I look to see the glory of his grace and truth (John 1:14) in all he does and says. I often forget that this is the unique God/man I am reading about. No one was or will be like Him. I am forced over and over to cry, "Oh God, give me your Spirit's help to SEE Jesus as He is. Open my eyes to see His glory and so to be transformed into his likeness. Help me to be an imitator of Jesus."

It is my great encouragement to know that the ONE I am seeking to see and be like is the same one I can cry to for eyes to see and a heart to obey.

Doin' Stuff

As I have begun to study the life of Jesus in the rapid fire portraits given in the Gospel of Mark it is very obvious that Jesus did a lot of stuff. Jesus was busy. No matter how you look at it, Jesus did not live the life of a contemplative, though there was doubtless an inner contemplation of and conversation with the Father going on at all times. As I read the first chapter of Mark I see Jesus involved in a crazy busy day including a morning sermon (v.21), casting out a demon IN CHURCH (v.25), healing Peter's mom with the result that she could prepare lunch (v.31), and then spending the evening until late healing and casting out demons in folks who came from all over the city (33,34). But it is v.35 that seems to give me the secret of how Jesus could be so busy and still always do what pleased the Father, "And rising very early in the morning while it was still dark, he departed and went out to a desolate place, and there he prayed." Busy days apparently did not keep Jesus from His greatest priority: prayer with the Father. Why? He ROSE early in the morning when the others were still asleep. These were apparently the refueling times and the focusing times Jesus needed as "also man" so that He could live busy day after busy day completely in the Father's will. This is seen when Peter and the others go search and rescue on Jesus and His answer as they found Him was, "Let us go on to the next towns, that I may preach there also, for that is why I came out" (v.38). "I've spent time with the Father...let's get on with the mission" (blogger's guess at what Jesus' words in v.38 meant!).

Well, I need to get alone with the Father so that I, too, can "get on with it."