The LORD My SHEPHERD; Psalm 23, Part 2

Contrary to popular thinking, to be a shepherd in King David's time was NOT an upwardly mobile position. It was scraping the bottom of the job barrell. It often, like in David's case, fell to the youngest, who had no seniority with which to argue or bump another brother from a better job.

To be a shepherd demanded that you be present 24/7 with the sheep, protecting, providing, and guiding the ornery, dumb, stinky, flock. It was an unending task, day and night, summer and winter, fair weather and foul. One biblical record of this is found in Jacob's complaint about his shepherding life to his father-in-law Laban in Genesis 31:40:

"This was my situation: the heat consumed me in the daytime and the cold at night, and sleep fled from my eyes. It was like this for the 26 years I was in your household."

Without such a faithful, ever-present, ever-watching shepherd, life for a sheep could be torturous or...very, very short. WHO WOULD CHOOSE TO BE A SHEPHERD?

YHWH, the LORD, has!

"He tends his flock like a shepherd; He gathers the lambs in his arms and carries them close to his heart; he gently leads those that have young" Isaiah 40:11.

As astounding as it is to consider, the MOST HIGH has taken on the MOST LOWLY of all jobs: to shepherd you and me...to protect us in our weakness, to provide for us in our inability, to guide us in our lostness.

"You stoop down to make me great" Psalm 18:35 (NIV). What a glorious, merciful Shepherd. YHWH has stooped to make us great in that Great Shepherd of the sheep, the Lord Jesus Christ (Hebrews 13:20). Next we will look at this great, stooping Shepherd in John 10.

But for now...worship the Shepherd, sheep. Worship the Almighty who has stooped to save, to care for...you and me.

Shepherd Confidence: Psalm 23, Part 1

Who doesn't love Psalm 23? Of course, some of our love and appreciation for this Shepherd's Psalm can be lost by our long familiarity with it. Next to John 3:16, perhaps more folks can quote parts of these scriptures than any other. But, oh, what richness begs to be mined from these simple words!

Think about the first verse: "The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want."

"I shall not want..." could sound like words from either a "pie in the sky" victim of religious naivete or a self-confident fool. How can David, now King of Israel and former shepherd of his family's sheep, make such a claim? How can a sane man make a statement like this about a future he neither KNOWS nor CONTROLS? There is only one reason such a claim can be sanely made...

"The LORD is my shepherd." The only confidence that is proper for a sheep is SHEPHERD CONFIDENCE. Since sheep are weak, defenseless, dense, and easily led astray, they of all livestock are most desperately in need of a shepherd. All that is supplied for a sheep's well-being must come from OUTSIDE himself...from ANOTHER...from a SHEPHERD. And for a sheep to say, "I shall not want," i.e. I will always have everything that I need...he must be looking away from his sorry self to a faithful shepherd.

Now we know why David is so confident...the LORD is his shepherd. LORD (all caps) is that great OT name Jehovah or YHWH. This name occurs over 6500 times in the OT Scriptures. One might be tempted to think that with such overwhelming occurrrence the LORD WANTS us to know what that name means. And indeed He does.

YHWH is that name God revealed to Moses at the burning bush so that He could be identified to Israel. "I am that I am." YHWH tells us that God is:

• Unchanging: He is who He was and who He was He will be. There is no change, diminishing, or weakening of His nature. Who He has revealed Himself to be He still is...fully, infinitely.
• Self-Sufficient: the LORD is in need of no one outside of Himself. He needs no love, no service, no help of any kind at any time from anyone. In other words, He is the SOURCE of all, the overflowing fountain of life and love and grace and mercy.
• The Covenant Maker and Keeper: It is YHWH who has made solemn promises to His people for their good and everlasting happiness. He is the One whose "steadfast love endures forever" (Psalm 100:5 and many etcs). He keeps His promises...period.

If THIS LORD is one's shepherd, the confident claim is fitting...even a necessary corollary...that "I shall not want." IF the Lord is my shepherd, I am unbelieving NOT to make such a claim. And such a statement is infinitely SAFE and SURE when a sheep with such a shepherd makes it.

DO YOU, WILL YOU have everything that you need? Who is your Shepherd? Where does your confidence lie sheep?

Jesus Sightings - 2

"In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God."

"In the beginning" is a phrase that points to eternity at the point of creation. It points to the ETERNITY of the Word, the Lord Jesus Christ. He who was and is the eternal revelatory Word never began to exist. He was there in the eternal state BEFORE creation.

Consider the fact that the Lord Jesus Christ, before He became man, was the ETERNAL Word. He had no beginning. In Himself is EXISTENCE. No source outside of Himself caused His being. No source outside of Himself is necessary for His CONTINUED existence. Life, Existence, Being are inherent to WHO He is.

This means that our Lord cannot become weak, cannot change, cannot fail to keep His exceeding great and precious promises, can NEVER become other than He has always been in His divine nature. Who He was is Who He is and Who He will be.

But the Word was not alone..."the Word was with God." Surely this points to the Trinity of God...the Father, Son, and Spirit. Though the universe was uncreated and only existed in the mind of God, there was fellowship and love and communication between the eternal Word and God the Father and Spirit. Who could begin to think about what that Divine Triune interaction was like? No misunderstanding, no needs for clarification, no friction, no discouragement, no anger, no selfishness...it is a glorious thing to realize that our communication in heaven with one another and with Christ and God will resemble that eternal fellowship.

All of this, of course, points to the fact that "...the Word was God." How else could he be eternal and uncreated? How else could He share fellowship with the Father and Spirit? The eternal Word, the Son, who also became our Lord Jesus Christ...IS GOD. And what glory is it to KNOW that Jesus, my Lord, He who indwells me by the Spirit, He who gave Himself up for me...is GOD!

What mind-boggling condescension!

Jesus Sightings - 1

The Bible is about Jesus Christ. He himself said this:

And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he interpreted to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning himself.
(Luke 24:27)

However, I have found over the years that when I go to the Scriptures, I often...most often...nearly ALWAYS...go to the Scriptures NOT to SEEK Jesus, not to SEE Jesus, but for some personal encouragement, some answer to a question or problem, or for MATERIAL for a talk or sermon. Lord of the Scriptures, forgive me.

By the grace of God, I am beginning to go to the written WORD to see the LIVING WORD, Jesus. It is ALL about Him and as a Christian I AM ALL ABOUT HIM. The Scriptures are for "beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord" so that we can be "transformed into the same image, from one degree of glory to another" 2 Corinthians 3:17,18.

How LITTLE of His glory I really know. I want to know HIM more. I want to know His PERSON and His LOVE and His GLORY...MORE! This is what eternal life is about - John 17:3. The ONLY place to see Him clearly and faithfully is in the written Word...so here I go...

For the next while, Lord willing, I will be looking for Jesus in the GOSPEL of JOHN. I pray that these "Jesus Sightings" will be a means of grace in His sovereign hands to show Himself to me...to us.

"In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God." John 1:1

Why is Jesus called the "Word"? Words are communication. Words are the outward expression of what is inside. Words are the audible expression of the TRUE PERSON or BEING. Words are SELF REVELATION. Jesus is God's self-revelation in its ultimate and final form..."He has made Him known" v.18. "In these last days He has spoken to us by His Son..." Hebrews 1:2. That Jesus is the WORD tells us that God WANTS to reveal Himself to us and that a primary purpose of the incarnation of Jesus was to reveal the Father.

It is glorious to know that God wants to be known. He is not hiding from us. He has come in the person of the Lord Jesus Christ so that in terms we can understand...HUMAN LIFE IN THIS WORLD...we might see Him and know Him. Jesus coming as the WORD is the Father's invitation for us all to KNOW Him. He WANTS to be known. He has put REVELATION of Himself on the "bottom shelf," so to speak, in Jesus. He is accessible. John says in his epistle (1:3) that he is making known what he has "seen and heard." God is within reach in the Lord Jesus Christ.

That there are "Jesus Sightings" at all is a glory and grace from God too high to fathom in a million devotional meditations...but there are an abundance of them that all the books in the world could not contain (John 21:25) simply BECAUSE God wants to be known and JESUS is the WORD who reveals Him.

Children and Fathers (Parents) from Ephesians 6 - Part 1

The Apostle Paul continues his teaching on how life IN CHRIST is to be lived with a section in 6:1-4 for children and fathers.

Roman fathers had absolute control by law over their children. They could treat them as slaves, they could sell them, they could have them put to death. At a child's birth a father would decide whether he wanted the child to live or die. A child in Roman society NEVER "came of age" but was under his father's authority until the father died.

In the context of this sometimes tyrannical social structure Paul gives the command that children are to "...Obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right" 6:1.

Note first of all that Paul addresses children DIRECTLY. This tells us:

• There were children PRESENT in the congregation. Entire families worshipped together.
• Children were expected to LISTEN when the Word of God through the Apostle was read.
• Children were expected to UNDERSTAND what was being said. We can underestimate what children are capable of learning. There is no need to dumb down or kiddie-size the Word of God for children to benefit. Remember, the Spirit of God is at work in children, too. He can teach them. The Kingdom belongs to such as these!
• Children were treated as RESPONSIBLE for their hearing and obeying of the Word of God.

The basic command to children here is "OBEY." This means they were to LISTEN to their parents and DO WHAT THEY SAY. It is a SIMPLE command, but not simplistic.

Parents have a God-given authority. God channels His goodness into the lives of children through their parents. Apart from the whole consideration of HOW the parent actually parents, God has commanded children to respond in obedience to His authority through their parents. Children are not to obey ALL ADULTS as their authorities, but their OWN PARENTS.

When a child listens to his parents, he listens to God. When a child obeys his parents, he obeys God. And when a child obeys his parents, he is shaping WHO HE WILL BE as an adult. As a rule a child who learns to listen and obey his parents will have a good relationship with authorities in his life as an adult: bosses, police, government officials, church leaders, etc. But the child who does NOT learn to listen to and obey his parents will most often grow up butting heads with other authorities. Worse yet, the child who rejects his parents' authority will often reject the authority of God, at least IF and UNTIL God in mercy brings them to repentance and saving faith.

Listen to Proverbs:

"Listen to advice and accept instruction, that you may gain wisdom in the future" 19:20.

"Listen to your father who gave you life, and do not despise your mother when she is old. Buy truth, and do not sell it; buy wisdom,, instruction, and understanding. The father of the righteous will greatly rejoice; he who fathers a wise son will be glad in him" 23:22-24.

Husbands and Wives from Ephesians 5 - Part 5

What does it mean for a husband to love his wife "as his own body" Ephesians 5:28?

• It means for the husband to NOURISH his wife, v.29. This word "nourish" is a word that has the idea of nurturing and bringing up gently. It means the husband will not be HARSH with his wife, either in his words or in his actions. It means he will treat her with the utmost care, seeing that she needs special attention and protection. It means he will seek to provide his wife what she needs in body, spirit, mind, and emotions. He will treat her as a young plant, needing food, water, sunlight and protection from adverse elements.
• It means for the husband to CHERISH his wife, v.29. This word has to do with treating warmly, affectionately...holding your wife as DEAR...to treat in a manner to encourage growth. Our wife is NOT a man nor is she another one of "the guys." She is a woman. Peter tells us in 1 Peter 3:7: "...Live with your wives in an understanding way, showing honor to the woman as the weaker vessel, since they are heirs with you of the grace of life..."
• It means to see your relationship with your wife as WE and not ME and YOU. In Christ, husband and wife as a UNIT, a UNITY, the TWO have become ONE flesh, v.31. We are to view ALL of life from the vantage point of US. It now becomes OUR decisions, OUR purchases, OUR children, OUR church, OUR money, OUR commitments. This means the husband will not make a decision for the family and then ramrod it through by announcing, with no input or discussion, what he has decided. Nor will he ask his wife's opinion as an empty courtesy when he has already made up his mind. He will KNOW that God has given to him a helper who has wisdom and insight that COMPLETES what is needed for decisions and guidance.

"He who loves his wife loves himself" v.28. When we are joined together as husband and wife we can NO LONGER live as a single or self-sufficient person. There is something that happens to me and her that makes the two of us a WE. What happens to her affects ME deeply. What happens to me affects HER deeply: body, soul, spirit. Therefore, when I love and cherish and protect and nourish my wife I am indeed loving myself. What benefits her benefits me. If she is joyful, encouraged, and hopeful...I will be.

Husbands and Wives from Ephesians 5 - Part 4

Husbands, we are to love our wives as Christ loved the church. That love was and continues to be SACRIFICIAL.

That love is also SANCTIFYING. The Apostle Paul writes, "...Christ...gave himself up for her (the church) that he might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word, so that he might present the church to himself in splendor, without spot or wrinkle or any such thing, that she might be holy and without blemish" Ephesians 5:25-27.

To SANCTIFY means to SET APART from one thing to another. Christ died that we, the church, would be separated from sin and the world to belong exclusively to HIM. Our love for our wives is to win the hearts of our wives so that they love us EXCLUSIVELY.

Christ sanctifies us to Himself more and more through HIS WORD. As husbands, we are to win the heart of our wives to ourselves through OUR WORDS and HIS WORDS.

Our words have a powerful impact on our marriage relationship. Words of anger and irritation and belittlement have a divisive, separating effect. Our wife will generally feel and act as close to (or as far away from) us as our words allow her to be.

On the other hand, words of encouragement and affirmation and hope and commitment DRAW our wife to us and create oneness and intimacy.

• "I love you...I will always love you."
• "You are becoming more beautiful with each passing day."
• "You are such an excellent manager of our home."
• "I love the way you connect with the children when they are discouraged."

But we are also to love our wives with HIS WORDS. We have responsibility for helping along and nurturing the SPIRITUAL GROWTH of our wife. We are to be before the Lord receiving fresh bread from heaven each morning so that we can pass it on to our wife. Of course, she has her own responsibility for her spiritual relationship with the Lord, but we are to SHEPHERD her towards HIM and HIS truth.

Does she need encouragement? The WORD of God has it.

Does she need correction? The WORD of God has it.

Does she need hope? The WORD of God has it.

Does she need to be taught some area of God's truth? The WORD of God has it.

But we must be in the WORD to fetch it for our wives. WE must be growing and learning from God through His Word first, and then we can be good shepherds of our wives.

Husbands and Wives from Ephesians 5 - Part 3

The basic command for husbands in Ephesians 5 is "Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her..." 5:25.

This tells us that our love for our wives is to be SACRIFICIAL, like Christ's for us.

Giving "himself up for her" refers to Christ's crucifixion. His love was a TOTAL, HOLDING NOTHING BACK kind of love.

James M. Boice writes of a story from the Greek histories:

"...The wife of one of the generals of Cyrus, the ruler of Persia, was accused of treachery and was condemned to die. At first her husband did not know what was taking place. But as soon as he heard about it he rushed to the palace and burst into the throne room. He threw himself on the floor before the king and cried out, 'Oh, my Lord Cyrus, take my life instead of hers. Let me die in her place.'
"Cyrus, who by all historical accounts was a noble and extremely sensitive man, was touched by this offer. He said, 'Love like that must not be spoiled by death.' Then he gave the husband and wife back to each other and let the wife go free."
"As they walked away happily the husband said to his wife, 'Did you notice how kindly the king looked at us when he gave you the pardon?' The wife replied, 'I had no eyes for the king. I saw only the man who was willing to die in my place.'" Ephesians, p.200

This wonderful story illustrates how the SACRIFICIAL LOVE of Christ wins the heart of the church and how that same kind of love will win the hearts of our wives.

Jesus said, "Greater love has no man than this, that he lay down his life for his friend" John 15:13.

Of course, men, we are not called on too often to go to a cross for our wives or to throw ourselves down before the king to offer ourselves in their condemned place. The SACRIFICIAL LOVE we are called on to make is a day by day, moment by moment, situation by situation love that DIES TO OUR OWN PLANS and COMFORT for the good of our wife.

While we steadfastly insist that we are willing to DIE for our wife, she may be wondering if we are willing to LIVE for her. Will we fold the laundry? Will we take up the slack after arriving home from work? Will we listen to her as she shares the details of her day? Will we share with her the details of OUR day? Are we willing to talk for another 15 minutes when our inner alarm says "BEDTIME!"?

How often in the past week have you asked yourself, "What will serve my wife at this moment?"

It is a HIGH and HOLY love that we are called to show our wives. It is a love which follows Jesus to the cross...daily.

But this kind of love will make it a JOY for our wives to SUBMIT to our leadership and will give her eyes ONLY FOR US.

Husbands and Wives from Ephesians 5 - Part 2

Christian marriage means that those who have convenanted together are IN CHRIST. God has chosen them to be in His Son and so to have all the spiritual blessings needed to know and please HIM and one's spouse in marriage.

Being in Christ, according to Paul's letter to the Ephesians, includes the following benefits that flow into the marriage relationship:

• We are made part of the ONE BODY OF CHRIST (Ephesians 2:12ff). We are no longer "lone ranger" sinners. We are members of the church and as members of the church we are to become OTHER-minded and OTHER-centered. Life in the church is to be a life where we learn to live with humility, gentleness, and patience...4:2...towards others. It is a life where we learn to use our gifts and talents for THE GOOD OF OTHERS...4:12-16. All of this other-centeredness is the perfect preparation for the deeper and more intimate relationship of marriage.
• We are indwelt by the HOLY SPIRIT (1:13,14; 3:16; 5:18). The Spirit fills us and we are to be filled with the Spirit, be under His control, so that we can KNOW CHRIST's LOVE, so that we can properly build up one another (5:19), and so that we can SUBMIT to one another in the way that fulfills Christ's will (5:21). We are IN CHRIST and the Holy Spirit is CHRIST IN US.

So, brothers and sisters who are in a Christian marriage, rejoice that you can submit to your own husband and love your own wife IN CHRIST as a part of the OTHER-CENTERED BODY OF CHRIST and INDWELT by the SPIRIT OF CHRIST. You DO NOT NEED more than God in Christ has already supplied for your marriage.

Husbands and Wives from Ephesians 5 - Part 1

The most detailed passage in the Bible on God's design for marriage is found in Ephesians 5:22-33. Three verses address the wife (22-24). Eight verses address the husband (25-32). One summary verse addresses both (33).

ALL of these verses are set in the context of Paul's letter to the Ephesians. This has great consequence. It means that all that is taught BEFORE this passage to husbands and wives has a direct bearing on how the passage is to be understood and how it can be obeyed.

And so, while wives are struggling with SUBMISSION and husbands are struggling with LOVE, they (we!) need to be reminded that the letter doesn't START there! It starts with GOD and CHRIST and what God has done for us IN CHRIST. Of course, Paul reminds us of this throughout this passage as he teaches, "Wives, submit to your own husbands, AS TO THE LORD" (v.22) and, "Husbands, love your wives, AS CHRIST LOVED THE CHURCH" (v.25).

Before we look at any details or talk about practical HOW TOs in regard to submission or love, we need to go back and be reminded WHY it is possible for us to obey these commands. Today we'll briefly consider the fact that we are IN CHRIST.

Ephesians 5 talks about marriage IN CHRIST. It looks at God's will for wives and husbands in CHRISTIAN marriage. The difference between a secular marriage and a Christian marriage is not just that in a Christian marriage Christians are married. In a Christian marriage the husband and wife are IN CHRIST. They have been blessed with every spritiual blessing in the heavenly places IN CHRIST (1:3). When they were dead in trespasses and sins they were made alive by God's mercy and grace IN CHRIST (2:1-5). They are God's creations, created IN CHRIST JESUS for good works (2:10). They have been made members of the same ONE family of God, the body of Christ, the church through the CROSS OF CHRIST (2:11-22). They are God's children, they have God's inheritance, God's hope, God's power, God's Spirit, and know God's love IN CHRIST. And all of this makes them NEW CREATIONS IN CHRIST. Christian husbands and wives DO NOT face marriage day by day and the commands to love and submit with the limited resources of an ordinary sinner. All they will ever need to submit and love has been supplied to them IN CHRIST. They are joined to Christ, they are part of Christ, and therefore all that Christ is and has and has done is made available to them for marriage.

Before you think about WHAT you are to do, remember and believe WHOSE YOU ARE, WHO YOU ARE, and WHAT YOU HAVE...IN CHRIST.

Loving Jesus by Being WITH Jesus

Luke records for us a little "in house" encounter of Jesus in 10:38-42. Jesus was a couple of miles from Jerusalem and visited the home of Martha and Mary (and Lazarus). BOTH of these women loved Jesus and Jesus loved them. The immediate context before this home visit was Jesus' parable of the Good Samaritan, shared with an expert in the law who wanted to "save face" before others by asking Jesus "who then is my neighbor?" Jesus then told this true to life story, making the point that loving our neighbor means to help and serve those with needs around us.

But what does it mean to love GOD with all of our heart? What does it mean to love Jesus? Perhaps Luke includes this story or Martha and Mary to illustrate the first part of the Great Commandment.

Realize that when Jesus showed up at Martha's home, He had at least the 12 inner circle disciples in tow. This means there are at least 26 extra feet to wash and 13 extra plates to set. Martha, being a good and conscientious Jewish hostess, has some WORK to do! She apparently gladly welcomes Jesus into her home...and then gets to it. She knew what a privilege it was to have Jesus present as guest and knew what she wanted to do to show Him how much she valued His presence.

Mary, Martha's sister, shows her love for Jesus in a different way. Breaking the mold for Jewish women with a Rabbi present, she CHOOSES to sit at Jesus' feet and listen to Him, just like one of the 12, just like she is His disciple herself. Jesus breaks the Rabbi and religious leader mold by WELCOMING HER and treating her like she IS a disciple, though she is a woman.

Martha is not happy with this scenario. She is busting her gut to serve Jesus and His disciples and Mary is sitting there enjoying the Lord LIKE THERE IS NOTHING TO DO IN THE KITCHEN! So, like the take charge gal she is, Martha comes to Jesus...but NOT to listen and NOT to sit at His feet. "Lord, do you not care that my sister has left me to serve alone? Tell her then to help me" v.40.

Whoa! "...Do you not care...?"! It is easy to think the Lord doesn't care when you are busting YOUR guts to do good and others are just "enjoying the Lord." "Why is Mary just sitting there like there is nothing to do?!" But...WASN'T Mary doing something?

What Martha was doing WAS important. And it wasn't WHAT she was doing that Jesus highlights in His response... "Martha, Martha, you are anxious and troubled about many things, but one thing is necessary." 41,42. Martha sought to show her love by the EXTENT to which she was making preparations. She wanted to put out the BEST spread possible. No simple one or two course meal at Martha's! She wanted Jesus to KNOW how much she valued His presence in her home. Now...WHY can't Mary see this and seek to show the same kind of love?

Because, as Jesus says, "Mary has chosen the good portion, which will not be taken away from her" v.42. Mary chose to BE WITH JESUS and to LISTEN TO JESUS. Her heart was to be with Him, to be near Him. Her food was to take in the bread of life from the Bread of Life. In the immediate determination of values that Mary made, perhaps without conscious deliberation, as Jesus entered their home, she CHOSE to get as close and stay as close as she could to the Master.

This is not really a tale of the worker versus the contemplative. It is rather a tale of HOW JESUS WANTS TO BE LOVED by us. He wants us to work. He saved us to do good works - Ephesians 2:10. But the works are not to replace or crowd out our BEING WITH HIM and LISTENING TO HIM as a loving disciple. Work CAN be a poor replacement for relationship. Work CAN be a poor replacement for PRESENCE. Work CAN say, "I love you, but I'm afraid to be close to You."

How do YOU love Jesus? There is no magic formula for how much time we are to spend with Jesus or how that time is to be spent. But there are several musts:

• We MUST spend time with Jesus listening to Him through His WORD. That is the ONLY place where His voice comes through loud and clear without error every time.
• We MUST spend time with Jesus talking to Him in prayer. He listens. He wants two-way relationship.
• We MUST spend time with Jesus in CHURCH. That is where we sit at His feet together with other loving, listening disciples. This is where it is confirmed that it is really Jesus we are spending time with and not a Jesus of my own making who is saying things that are not in line with reality.
• Our WORK for Jesus, and there MUST be work in the life of a loving disciple, will be a work of fruitful love when it follows and is empowered by being with Jesus in the Word and Prayer FIRST of all. Work FOR Jesus pleases Him when it flows out of BEING WITH Jesus.

What a privilege to have Jesus Christ, Lord and Maker of the universe, seeking fellowship with the likes of us daily. Let us find, let us MAKE, let us like Mary CHOOSE to sit at His feet and listen as He speaks just as powerfully and personally today through His inerrant Word.

Lessons from Vacation

A few things I learned while on vacation:

• I am NOT in Heaven yet! When you travel nearly 5,000 miles and sleep in 10-12 different places you tend to feel like a displaced alien. I am. Though I THOROUGHLY ENJOYED our VACATION, I really looked forward to getting home, where my office is and my garage is and my sock drawer is and my church family is. This longing for permanence, I realized, was a faint whisper of my soul's longing to be with Jesus in Heaven forever. God has destined us for a PLACE and a PURPOSE and a PERSON that is PERMANENT. Bring it on!
• I am a WRETCH with DIVINE RESOURCES. I left for vacation with the prayer that God would use me to serve and bless those I was with: family, friends, and sovereign encounters. I am not sure I was out of the driveway at home before I was struggling with the selfish flesh. I got perturbed with my wife, my girls, the truck drivers on I-80 (and I-90, I-94, I-39, I-70...), the too-steep hills of western PA, the too-long dipper for ice-cream at Penn Alps restaraunt, and the fact that my family didn't share my love for a loud fan at night. And that's only the "I'm not as bad a you think" list! But a glorious reality burst into my consciouness over and over during those days: "I am NOT who I used to be. I am in Christ Jesus. He is my Lord and Savior and Strength and Provider who lives in me by His Spirit. I can say "No!" to my selfish, irritated, critical spirit and "Yes!" to Christ and the Spirit and love." Wow! It IS true: "If any man be in Christ, he is a new creation" 2 Corinthians 5:17.
• My FATHER in Heaven is LAVISH. I know from the Scriptures that He has lavished grace on us through Christ, Ephesians 1:7-8, and that is AWESOME. But as we travelled from MN to PA to NJ to MD to DC to VA to NC and from mountains to ocean and from stormy to cloudless days, I saw my Father's lavishness over and over and over. Waterfalls. Raging rivers. Berry bushes heavy with fruit. Deer frolicking at dusk. A full moon rising over the mountains. Corn with tassels over my head. Valleys lush and green with crops and trees and grasses. Peacocks guarding the barn door of a remote farm. God could have made this world gray and fruitless and blossomless. But He has made it FULL of color and smells and shapes and sounds and panoramas that fill the mind and heart with wonder...at HIM. What a lavishness...for YOU and ME to enjoy...and to turn to WORSHIP.
• My times are in HIS HANDS. My oldest daughter and I were having a great time bobbing the waves at Va Beach. We had been in the water for about an hour. Suddenly, a wave passed by and we were TWICE as FAR from the beach as we had been a moment earlier! We were caught in a rip tide...my first. I was soon in water too deep to touch the bottom and keep my nose above the surface. We could both swim, but we are both "dead weight" type swimmers and we tire quickly. There was a quick realization that we were in trouble and we struggled to swim towards shore. We only seemed to be moving backwards. We talked to each other. I tried to keep Briana from panicking. What do you do in times like this? "Lord, help!" That was about it. He DID help. After a few moments a couple of waves came in that pushed us JUST far enough for me to touch bottom and have the footing to push my daughter forward until we both were safe. Exhausted we trudged onto the beach, THANKED GOD, and enjoyed the sand for awhile.

These are FOUR lessons I learned or re-learned or futher-learned during this vacation. All of life is God's glorious classroom. And, man, does He teach!

In Christ: Know It, Live It - 60 (How Change Begins and Continues - 3)

"...And to put on the new self, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness." Ephesians 4:24

Our old self, the person we were and the life we lived before Christ, was PUT OFF when we turned from our sin to trust in Christ. But there was not just a putting off, there was also, of necessity, a PUTTING ON - of a NEW SELF - created after GOD'S likeness. This "put on" is also an aorist, "put on once for all." We ARE NOT who we were anymore. We ARE new creations in Christ.

Conversion involves both the intentional putting off of the old and the putting on of the new, the turning away from sin and the turning to Christ. God's transforming power through the gospel and the Spirit makes this possible...and a permanent reality. If conversion is ONLY my choice, then my choice might change. I know how fickle I am...at my BEST moments. But when I understand that MY choice is the result of GOD'S choice of me from eternity past (Ephesians 1:4), I gain the confidence and ASSURANCE of a salvation, a putting off and putting on, that WILL NOT, CANNOT be reversed.

In other words, I am not just a new person because I CHOSE to be a new person. I am a new person PRIMARILY because God has transformed me by sovereign, divine power. I am not new when the toggle switch of my choice is YES towards Christ today, but am back to being the old me when I toggle back over to NO. God has given me a NEW switch in my will. My life as a whole is YES to Christ. Oh, there are certainly struggles with "no's", but not settled, direction-of-my-will-and- life no's. I have put off the old and put on the new.

Is this your mindset in life? Is this the gospel you heard and believed in? Has God really done what He promised in your life through the perfect life, sufficient death, and victorious resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ? If you have turned to trust the mighty Christ as your Lord and Savior, then YOU ARE NOT WHO YOU WERE. YOU ARE A NEW CREATION IN CHRIST! That is the fact of your identity.

Understanding this and standing on this makes all the difference in your WALK. If you are trying to be someone that you don't believe you are...you will flounder and wilt in the face of temptation. But if you KNOW who you are, you are equipped to trust Christ in every circumstance to empower you to be that new creation, created in the image of God.

In Christ: Know It, Live It - 59 (How Change Begins and Continues - 2)

"...Put off your old self, which belongs to your former manner of life and is corrupt through deceitful desires..." Ephesians 4:22

When we become Christians, what is the deal with the old life? The deal is... PUT IT OFF. "Put off" in v.22 above is an aorist..."PUT IT OFF ONCE FOR ALL..." The proper tense for the habits of our life before Christ is PAST! Now, this is NOT the full story, but it IS the indispensable BEGINNING point. If we were taught the biblical gospel of Christ we were taught that we were rebels, dead in trespasses and sins (Ephesians 2:1-2) and alienated from God's life. This condition demanded REPENTANCE towards God and away from sin (Acts 20:21). There is NO teaching of the true gospel that states or intimates that we can continue in our sins and rebellion while seeking to trust Christ. TRUST (faith) cannot exist apart from TURNING (repentance). We are saved FROM sin TO a new life...in CHRIST.

However, if for one moment we think that in ourselves we can TURN from our sin by sheer willpower, we are gravely and miserably mistaken. We MUST repent, we are COMMANDED to repent (Acts 17:30), but this repentance unto life is a GIFT from God (Acts 11:18). God, through the preaching of the gospel and the work of the Spirit grants a deep conviction of sin...MY sin...MY sin that DAMNS...and along with it a passion to confess my sin and turn from my sin...now and and to the end of my life. Along with this desire to turn from our sin God grants a new heart that is BENT towards God and righteousness.

The new life starts with a decisive separation from the old life. Again, this desire to put away the old life and the decision to put away the old life are GIFTS from God, evidenced by our CHOICE to repent and obey.

If we are truly born again, we ARE NOT who we were, by God's divine work and our divinely-enabled choice.

In Christ: Know It, Live It - 58 (How Change Begins and Continues - 1)

"But that is not how you learned Christ - assuming that you have heard about him and were taught in him, as the truth is in Jesus..." Ephesians 4:20,21

Living the new life in Christ not only requires that we NO LONGER live like pagans alienated from God, but it also requires that we REMEMBER the glorious gospel we were taught and what happened to us through that gospel. The health and strength and growth of our Christian life is utterly dependent on how we hold to and stand on our beginnings...our foundation.

In Ephesians 4:20,21 the Apostle Paul makes it crystal clear that our foundation is...CHRIST. Learning the gospel is learning about CHRIST. Being discipled as a Christian is being taught as a disciple of CHRIST. Jesus is the TRUTH and the TRUTH is in JESUS. There is NO escape from the futile, darkened thinking and greedy pursuit of sensuality that WAS our life except through the Savior, CHRIST.

It is a central fact of Christian growth that our growth does NOT come PRIMARILY from focusing on ourselves or focusing on lists of behaviors or learning propositional truths or spiritual "secrets" but through LEARNING ABOUT CHRIST. We must learn and continue to learn WHO Christ is and WHAT Christ has done and WHAT Christ continues to do on the behalf of lost and calloused sinners like ourselves. What a glorious SAVIOR is ours. What a sovereign LORD is our Lord.

ALL of Scripture is about Christ. The OT tells us He is coming and what He will do and then the NT tells us He has come, what He has accomplished, and HOW we are to KNOW HIM and FOLLOW HIM.

Jesus Christ is the supreme and singular object of saving and sanctifying faith (Galatians 2:20). We can easily get stuck taking the spiritual temperature of our faith instead of gazing upon and learning of FAITH'S OBJECT, CHRIST. Only as we look to Him can our faith gain strength and grow.

Regardless of our need or challenge from sin or Satan, CHRIST is the answer. Every problem in the church has one answer...HER HEAD, CHRIST! The future has one ultimate goal and purpose...CHRIST: returning and judging and setting up His eternal Kingdom.

HE is where we start and HE is how we continue and HE is where we will end. Do you KNOW Christ? Did you spend time worshiping Him today? Are you living and breathing dependence on Him as you go through your day?

In Christ: Know It, Live It - 57 (Who I was Before Christ)

"Now this I say and testify in the Lord, that you must no longer walk as the Gentiles do, in the futility of their minds. They are darkened in their understanding, alienated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them, due to their hardness of heart. They have become callous and have given themselves up to sensuality, greedy to practice every kind of impurity." Ephesians 4:17-19

The Word of God is clear: we MUST NO LONGER live our lives as we did BEFORE we came to know Christ. We were not all equally pagan, but we were all pagan. What characterized our lives before Christ?

• FUTILITY of MIND: Futility means useless or worthless. This is how we thought before Christ. We had no ability to reason with a God-centered sanity. We valued what was ultimately worthless: pleasure, stuff, personal glory. We were spiritual investors in Florida swampland.
• Darkened in our Understanding: We were without the light of the glorious gospel in the face of Christ. HE who is the GREAT FACT of life was missing from all of our reasoning. We were living our lives in the dark. We could neither see where we were really headed nor where we SHOULD be heading.
• ALIENATED from the LIFE of God because of the ignorance that was in us: Unless we can SEE God and His Kingdom, we remain outside of His life...dwelling in death (Ephesians 2:1). We can NEVER see the King or the Kingdom unless we are BORN AGAIN (John 3:3). The spiritual ignorance that held us captive also held us in death.
• DUE TO THEIR HARDNESS of HEART: But we were not VICTIMS. We lived in useless, darkened, dead thinking because WE WANTED TO LIVE THERE. We COULD NOT see because we WOULD NOT see. This is the great insanity of those dead in sin: they go on choosing to live in death and darkness. We say "NO!" to God and His light. We reject the light of conscience and creation and Scriptural revelation. We PUSH the truth of God away and what is left is darkness and hardness.
• They have become CALLOUS: a calloused heart is a deadened conscience. A deadened conscience is one that no longer feels what it should. Right and Wrong do not register differently in his mind. A Calloused heart no longer feels the things the heart was created to feel: appreciation for goodness and kindness, abhorrence of evil and injustice, guilt when doing wrong. A calloused heart brings on the doldrums of the soul.
• They have GIVEN themselves up to SENSUALITY, GREEDY to practice every kind of IMPURITY: If the heart can no longer feel what it was created to feel, it looks for feeling elsewhere. Nothing brings rushes of substitute feeling like SEX. So the pagan truth-rejecter turns to physical pleasure...or pain. It is yet one more useless, darkened attempt to fill the emptiness that alienation from God creates.

This is the resume of the lost. It was OUR resume...BEFORE CHRIST. And we are told plainly that we MUST NO LONGER LIVE THIS WAY. Since we have been given life in Christ, we are NOT those whose minds are darkened, who hearts are hard, who push truth out to the periphery of our lives. We no longer make our goals pleasure and stuff and glory. JESUS CHRIST has rescued us from that futile life. We are BORN AGAIN and we can see the King and the Kingdom. As we were GREEDY for sensuality, now let us be PASSIONATE for our Christ.

In Christ: Know It, Live It - 56 (Which Am I: Old or New?)

Andre is a fictional character. He is a 9-year old street kid in Odessa, Ukraine who is living the dream. He was living a nightmare...the nightmare of daily begging for food, of ducking into the shadows when a police officer hit the radar, of wearing the same stinking, dirty clothes 24/7, and of keeping house in and around the underground steam pipes that wound throughout the city.

One day as Andre was doing his street kid survival thing, a long, shiny stretch limo pulled alongside the curb where Andre was begging. A deeply tinted window rolled down and a kindly looking man motioned for the kid to come over. Andre had heard of such invitations. Some friends of friends had disappeared after getting into such cars. But there was something different about this man. His words were not slick and polished. Andre could see he was not alone. Next to him sat a woman and next to her a girl...a clean, happy looking girl.

"My name is Mr. Koshenko. This is my wife, Irene, and this is my daughter, Anastasia. What is your name, son?" "Andre." "Andre, we have been looking for someone just like you. We can see that you are probably on your own, begging and doing whatever you must to stay alive. Are we correct?" "Yes." "Andre, we want you to become part of our family. I want to be your father, Irene wants to be your mother, and Anastasia wants you to be her brother."

At this point Andre takes a step back from the window, half expecting the door of the limo to open and a strong arm to grab him and force him into the back seat. He has been stupid enough to fall for such tricks before. Not this time. No way. But...there IS something different about this man...

"Andre, I know my words may seem like a cruel deception. But we ARE serious. We want you to leave your life on the street and come to live with us in our home...as a family. We will take care of all the paperwork with the authorities. We will provide for all you need. You will have new clothes, plenty of food, you will be safe, you will have our name...Andre Koshenko...and we will love you like you were born into our home."

"Will you come with us?"

The best stories about a new life Andre had ever heard, dreamy stories from his friends around the steam pipes late at night, could not begin to rival the stunning invitation he was hearing as he stood, mouth agape, on the cobblestones of this dingy Odessa street. Could it be true? Was someone preparing to rouse him to consciousness after a long night's sleep by the pipes? WHY would a fine looking family like this choose him...? No...it HAD to be a trap. They would kidnap him and sell him as a slave for the diamond mines! But as Andre reasoned back and forth, looking for mental footing in his swirling mind, he could not escape the dead earnestness of the family's eyes. Were those tears streaming down their cheeks? THEY REALLY MEAN IT! There was no escaping the love and compassion emanating from this kind, wealthy, and strange family.

What kind of power overcame Andre that afternoon to cause him to hazard all he knew and "trusted" in to put himself into the hands of the Koshenkos was to remain a mystery for some time. But one thing was for sure...from the moment he responded to Anatoliy's (Mr. Koshenko) invitation, life was never the same. He DID receive beautiful new clothes. He did eat to his stomach's content...and beyond. He did live in a home (above ground!) with his own room. His name was changed to Andre Koshenko. And best of all, he was a son and a brother...to people who WANTED him in their family. This castaway of a boy was now the new found treasure of the Koshenko family.

Funny thing though...some evenings at supper Andre would sit down to a bountiful meal only to notice that there was enough for everyone to have a full plate, but NOT enough for everyone to have seconds. And so, with the seconds in mind, Andre would eat like an old street buddy was waiting to snatch his food and head for the sea. Dad Anatoliy would then ask, "Andre, why are you eating so fast? It is bad for your digestion!" Embarrassed and not exactly knowing why, Andre would shrug his shoulders between fork-fulls of food. Dad and mom would pursue the issue, however. Eventually Andre would realize that it was his old street kid instincts that caused him to doubt that there would be another plentiful meal past the present one. So...cram it down while you can! At such times, and in the beginning weeks and months there were MANY such times, Andre's parents would assure him once again that he was indeed THEIR son and that all their wealth was now his. They had plenty and therefore HE had plenty. They confirmed their love to him and encouraged him to eat and speak and dress and think more and more like a Koshenko. He was NO LONGER Andre the destitute street kid, he was now - and would always be - Andre Koshenko, son of Anatoliy and Irene, and brother of Anastasia.

Brothers and sisters, this is a brief parable of our life in Christ. Who could believe at first hearing, the astounding invitation from the Father to come in from the streets of the world and the destitute life of sin and rebellion we knew, to become His sons and daughters? Who could believe that all this was offered to us simply because of the LOVE of the Father through the sacrifice of the Son? But by the irresistible grace of God the Spirit used the Father's gospel words of invitation to overcome all our doubts and fears and draw us to a willing YES to His family offer. Who could have imagined the riches that the Father would shower on us in Christ? And who has not STRUGGLED, day by day and week by week and year by year with the old ways of lost rebel sinner thinking and acting and speaking that was us BEFORE Christ. How often we grab for pleasure or stuff or glory because the remnants of the old life still exert their ugly heads. But how wonderful that the Father gently speaks to us through the Word to remind us that we are NOT WHO WE WERE. We ARE new creatures in Christ.

We will, the Lord willing, look at this process of putting off the old and putting on the new in Ephesians 4:17-32 in the days ahead.

For now, revel in the new life that is yours from the Father in the Son. Live up to who you are in Christ!

In Christ: Know It, Live It - 55 (Unity through Diversity - 10)

HOW can our serving one another always be effective for the building up of the church?

"...Speaking the TRUTH in LOVE, we are to grow up in every way into Him who is the Head, into Christ..." Ephesians 4:15

In this little phrase is captured the heart of all godly ministry in the church. Note:

• We DO need to SPEAK to one another. Communication is necessary. Words are our most powerful and precise means of communicating. The great challenge is always WHAT KIND of words will I use? What is the environment of my heart as I say them?
• We are to speak words of TRUTH. Does what I say accurately reflect "the faith" that we stand on, of which Christ is the cornerstone? Even our casual statements are reflections of what we believe. I once had a wise, experienced pastor share with me, after hearing me pray, that he knew what I believed and where I was spiritually after listening to me pray. I wasn't in a good place at that time and he could hear it as I tried to sound spiritual in my petitions. Am I HONEST with my brothers? Do others know I do not dwell in as rarefied a spiritual atmosphere as they think? Do I try to maintain the image, or do I share my needs, believing that I need the body of Christ? Am I willing to admonish my brother or offer correction as well as commend and encourage him? We need to KNOW TRUTH and BE TRUTHFUL in our relationships with one another. TRUTH is reality...God's reality. How desperately we need each other to reflect that reality when we are drifting in the personal fog of emotions or reeling from a disappointment or struggling with anger and bitterness. Sharing TRUTH helps us snap back into God's reality and His life and blessing. It calls us back from unbelief to faith.
• We are to speak the truth always in LOVE. Love makes truth palatable. I am willing to hear hard things from someone who is sharing them for my good. If I know you care, I will care to hear what you know. As well, LOVE will say what needs to be said, even if it crashes the party of self-delusion that is going on in our brother or sister's mind. If all my "loving" communication consists of pats on the back, I am probably guilty of man-pleasing because of fear. There are times that we all need to hear truth that grabs us by the collar and pulls us near, where we can feel the warm breath of our passionate brother, and tells us, in the name of God, to stand up and be a man. "Stop feeling sorry for yourself, throw yourself on God!" Of course, there are times when we are just plain beaten down by life and the struggle with the flesh and we need someone to come alongside us and let us know we are not alone...that Christ is with us and so are they.

Truth in love. This is the way to serve one another so that our brothers and sisters can receive what we are trying to give. We are most often TRUTH heavy or LOVE heavy. Truth without love is hard to take because it comes like words on a stone tablet that is about to come down on my skull. Love without truth has no lifting, strengthening, reinforcing, hope-giving power. But speaking the truth in love is the perfect balance of help that comes in a way that can be embraced.

In Christ: Know It, Live It - 54 (Unity through Diversity - 9)

The GOAL of our gifted mutual ministry to one another is not only MATURITY, but the STABILITY of the church. Of course, they go together. Mature believers are very stable because they are grounded in "the faith" and because they KNOW Christ, the unchanging One, intimately.

"...So that we may no longer be children, tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness in deceitful schemes." Ephesians 4:14

Maturity is marked by increasing stability. Stability is characterized by a freedom from the influence of the shifting waves and winds of popular doctrine. There ARE men and women out there who claim to teach God's Word when it is really their latest effort to gather a crowd or publish another book. There are cunning, crafty, deceitful impostors out there. From those who find guarantees for physical healing and material wealth in every verse of the Bible to those who paint vivid, detailed pictures of the end times and post-rapture scenarios to those who endue their application of Scripture with equal authority TO Scripture, there have always been and will be to the end - teachers who seek followers and who gather the "children" of the church in their wake.

I remember being tossed around quite a bit as a new believer by a group who claimed to have special insights and prophecies from the Lord. They were recording these prophecies in a book so that the Lord's message could go out to His people as the end times unfolded. I did not have enough solid understanding of "the faith" from the Scriptures to take a doctrinal stand. The gentleman who uttered most of these prophecies was to be a great end times leader as the Lord's plan unfolded...but he died before any of it happened. It STILL hasn't happened. Why? It was NOT from the Lord.

Since that time I have learned, BY GOD'S GRACE, and by the ministry of gifted members of the body, that stability is found in, and only in, the Word of God. HIS WORD will not pass away (Matthew 24:35). His Word is truth (John 17:17). His Word is SUFFICIENT for all He calls us to believe and to do (2 Timothy 3:16,17). BUT, that Word must be understood rightly and handled carefully and confirmed by others who respect and handle it so.

ONLY by gaining a progressively broad and deep understanding of the Word of God can we form a GRID for discernment of what is true and false. Only by a strong systematic understanding of all the Bible teaches can we detect nuances of change that can have devastating impact down the road. And ONLY as the members of the body relate to one another is a truthful and truth-based way can we develop this strong grid of "the faith" so that we mature from childhood and gain a firm foothold in the truth.

If your brother is wrong in his understanding of God's truth, help him get it right! Do it in love and gentleness, but don't leave him in the dark or the shadows!

In Christ: Know It, Live It - 53 (Unity through Diversity - 8)

What are the great GOALS of every member ministry in the church? We are told in Ephesians 4:13-14:

"...Until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ, so that we may no longer be children, tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness in deceitful schemes."

The GOALS of every member ministry in the church are MATURITY and STABILITY.

MATURITY:

• "Until we all attain to the unity of the faith..." "The faith" usually speaks of the OBJECTIVE beliefs of Christianity. What we believe is absolutely important to the health and unity of the body of Christ. We must share a belief in WHO our God is: Father, Son, and Spirit. We must share a belief in HOW we are saved: by God's grace, through Christ's perfect life and sufficient death, through faith alone. We must share a belief in what it means to be a Christian and to be a part of the body of Christ. We must share a belief that the Bible is the very Word of God, inspired and inerrant. And our ministry to one another must in part be to take EVERY MEMBER of the body towards understanding and sharing these foundational beliefs of "the faith." We cannot live and serve together unless we all attain unity in "the faith." All teaching from pulpit to coffee shop to foyer on Sundays is an aid to the entire body growing in the unity of the faith...as long as the teaching is biblical and Christ-centered.
• "And of the knowledge of the Son of God..." Our ministry to one another is to help us know Jesus Christ better. "Knowledge" or "knowing" is a word that speaks of deep, personal, intimate knowledge of Christ. It is not enough for ANY member of the church to know Christ second-hand or to know ABOUT Christ or only to relate to Christ on Sundays. It is the goal of every member ministry that EVERY member know Christ more and more deeply and personally. This happens as we share our lives with one another. What is Christ doing in you? What is He teaching you in the Scriptures? What have you learned about HIM recently. As we share these things with one another and inquire about these things in each other's lives, we remind each other that THIS is what it is all about: knowing Jesus Christ. We SPUR one another on in the pursuit of Christ. One passionate brother for Christ can set quite a few fires in the hearts of others.
• "To mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ." This is true maturity: to be like Christ. How much like Christ? To the stature of His FULLNESS! To share His full-orbed character: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, meekness, faithfulness, self-control (Galatians 5:22,23). Our measure for maturity is NOT one another...ultimately. Certainly we can be spurred on to love by seeing a mature measure of it in another brother. But no one is the PERFECT LOVER like Jesus. No one has PERFECT joy like Christ. We choose pastors and elders based on their character (1Tim 3; Tit 1), but ultimately we are NOT trying to mature our church to be like the pastor. Jesus is the standard because He was PERFECT man and because He is the one we will be like forever in heaven. In the church we are aiming at the ULTIMATE goal. And the way towards that goal is the mutual ministry of every member. Live out love and joy and peace, point to Jesus as the source of love and joy and peace, challenge one another to show love and joy and peace, give one another HOPE that growing in love and joy and peace like Jesus is possible by the indwelling Spirit...do all these things as you serve one another...and we will move towards our goal of HIS maturity.

In Christ: Know It, Live It - 52 (Unity through Diversity - 7)

A wonderful OT picture of each member of the church being gifted and equipped for service is in the crafting and construction of the TABERNACLE (Exodus 31, etc.).

The tabernacle was to be the place of God's personal dwelling amongst His people. Over the ark and between the cherubim in the holy of holies was the shekinah glory of God. The tabernacle was to be constructed VERY specifically, according to God's instructions, so that He could be seen as who He is and worshipped in His required way.

Every part of the tabernacle had its divinely designed purpose: the color of the materials, the type of materials, the position of the furniture from outside to innermost, the dimensions of the rooms, what could be seen and what remained hidden, etc.

To craft each part of the tabernacle, God chose and anointed 2 men: Bezalel and Oholiab. Moses records that God "...called by name Bezalel the son of Uri, son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah, and I have filled him with the Spirit of God, with ability and intelligence, with knowledge and all craftsmanship, to devise artistic designs, to work in gold, silver, and bronze, in cutting stones for setting, and in carving wood, to work in every craft" (Exodus 31:2-5).

Bezalel and Oholiab and the other craftsmen they taught were like evangelists and pastor/teachers that equip the saints so that each one will be fitted to fulfill his or her purpose in God's living tabernacle, the church.

When EVERY saint is using his or her grace gifts, equipped by the equipping gifts that God has given the church, to serve God by serving His people...the church GROWS, the church is UNIFIED, and the church becomes the place God visibly dwells through the loving service of His people...with the result that He is WORSHIPED.

What a glorious plan...what a glorious church...what a glorious place each of us has as a living stone (1Peter 2:5) in the NT Tabernacle/Temple of the living God.

In Christ: Know It, Live It - 51 (Unity through Diversity - 6)

WHO is to do the work of ministry in the local church?

"...To equip the SAINTS for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ" Ephesians 4:12.

Evangelists and pastor/teachers are to EQUIP believers to do the ministry. The "Ministry" sounds like an exalted, specialty vocation. And it IS. But "ministry" is the Greek word "diakonia," from which we get "deacon." Its basic and usual meaning is just plain ole exalted SERVICE. It is the picture of Jesus putting on His apron and washing the disciples dirty feet.

When folks have introduced me as their "minister" I know they mean their vocational pastor/teacher/elder. But it is really a wrong designation. I am called and paid to equip, THEY are called to minister...to serve the body with their grace gifts. And this calling to minister to the body of Christ is NO SMALL CALLING. It is the high calling of EVERY SAINT, EVERY BELIEVER.

Like Jesus, we are called to put on the apron and grab the basin and wash feet. When we serve even the least...ESPECIALLY the least, we are yoked to our MASTER and are laboring together with Him.

We are CALLED to serve.
We are GIFTED to serve.
We are to be EQUIPPED to serve.
Our service is NEEDED.
We are NEEDY of the service of others.

Your church is healthy or sickly dependent on how faithfully the saints SERVE with their grace gifts. Are YOU using yours? Are you looking for others to equip in using theirs?

In Christ: Know It, Live It - 50 (Unity through Diversity - 5)

In addition to the EQUIPPING gifts of Apostles and Prophets, the victorious Christ also gave EVANGELISTS and PASTOR/TEACHERS to refit the church for ministry.

EVANGELISTS are gifted with the divine ability to share the gospel and win others to Christ. But that is not all. Evangelists are also gifted to EQUIP others to evangelize. We can see this in the Billy Graham Association's evangelism training institutes, which have been around for a LONG time. Bill Bright and Campus Crusade is another prominent example of gifted evangelists and an entire worldwide training structure. A friend of mine, Ed Lacey, is also a fruitful evangelist in local churches around the world who trains others in biblical evangelism and provides materials for evangelism. We need MORE evangelists to be equipping everyday believers to fulfill this ministry.

Evangelists range in variety from the mass evangelism of a Franklin Graham or a Luis Palau to the one-on-one evangelism of those gifted in your local church. BOTH are needed and have a crucial place in church ministry. Both have gifts that are just as divine in their origin and operation. I would love to see more one-on-one type of evangelists to see their mission as coming along side other believers for training.

PASTOR-TEACHER is one two-sided gift. These are the men who shepherd local churches around the world, feeding believers through their faithful and systematic public and private teaching of the Word. Their shepherding and teaching is not just to feed, however. There is always to be an EQUIPPING flavor to their ministry. Pastor/Teachers are always looking for ways to prepare and fit their people for using their gifts.

In addition to evangelists and pastor/teachers being gifted to equip others for ministry, EVERY gifted believer can have some equipping impact on other believers. Others will have the same or similar gifts as you. You can share with them what you have learned. You can take them with you when you serve. You can give them constructive criticism as you observe them serve. You can give them opportunities to serve. You can encourage them. You can give them a good book that is helpful for training.

Some great venues for EQUIPPING in the local church:

• Sunday morning CORPORATE WORSHIP: it takes place here as the Word is preached, as worship is lead, as prayer is offered, as greeters greet, as ushers ush, etc. WHENEVER we serve other believers, there is an element of example and training that happens. So...whatever service you offer, do it with excellence for Christ and the body.
• Sunday School (we call it Life Training): These classes can be intentionally equipping in such areas as evangelism, teaching, leadership, counseling, etc.
• Home Groups: these more intimate settings are perfect for giving folks opportunities to serve and use their gifts in ways that are not available on Sunday mornings. Give opportunities to teach, to share a devotional, to organize an outing, to lead a training on discipleship, to provide refreshments, to welcome the group as they arrive, etc.
• One-on-one meetings: when men meet or women meet face to face for very specific purposes, IRON DOES SHARPEN IRON (Proverbs 27:17). Who could YOU be meeting with to help them in their growth in the use of their gifts for serving?
• Retreats: these times for men, women, youth, etc. to get away can be great, intensive training times and should be used for this purpose.
• Conferences: we send out folks to teaching, worship, and leadership conferences to further equip them for service. The fruit from these times has been noticeable.
• ETC.: ANY time that we spend together as believers, especially older with younger and more experienced with less can be used to equip others for ministry.

In Christ: Know It, Live It - 49 (Unity through Diversity - 4)

The grace gifts that the Apostle Paul focuses on in Ephesians 4:11,12 are gifts given to the church for its EQUIPPING.

"And He gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors and teachers, to equip the saints for the work of ministry..."

Here we have 4 gifts that are specifically for the equipping of the saints for their work of ministry. EQUIP was used of refitting a ship or setting a broken bone. The idea seems to be that of getting something to a place where it can be useful again...where it can fulfill its intended purpose.

APOSTLES and PROPHETS were the two foundational gifts for the church. In Ephesians 2:20 we are told that the church is, "built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the cornerstone..." The apostles included the 12 and a few others such as Paul and Silas. Men such as Agabus (Acts 11:27), Barnabas and Simeon (Acts 13:1?) are specifically called PROPHETS in the NT. These two groups of men were used to give us the inspired Scriptures of the New Testament (in large part) and to pioneer the birth and early growth and maturity of the church. The foundation they gave to us is centered in every way on Christ.

Are there still APOSTLES, men who pioneer the birth and growth of the church on the rock of Scriptural revelation? NOT like those first apostles! The 12 and the few others named in the NT had a special call and authority from Christ Himself that was indeed foundational (Matthew 16:18,19). Are there gifts today that have a real apostolic function? We think there are, at least in terms of church planting, overseeing groups of churches, and taking the authoritative Word of Christ into pioneering situations.

Are there still PROPHETS today, men who speak the Word of God in an authoritative manner, sometimes a fresh revelation that focuses on God's will for particular churches and situations? NOT like the NT prophets! However, we do believe there are those men gifted to speak the ALREADY GIVEN and final Word of God to the church in a way that gives Christ's message in an authoritative way for particular situations and times. There is much discussion today about the GIFT of prophecy and even the ROLE of a prophet. These discussions seem to hinge on the issue of AUTHORITY. How do words of "prophecy" fit in with Scriptural revelation?

Whatever we believe regarding the continuity or discontinuity of apostles and prophets, we need to note that they WERE given to EQUIP the church for its service. And they were to equip the church with the WORD of CHRIST...HE alone is the cornerstone on which all rests and rises.

Tomorrow...EVANGELISTS and PASTORS and TEACHERS as EQUIPPERS.

In Christ: Know It, Live It - 48 (Unity through Diversity - 3)

Once you have discovered what your grace gifts are for serving in the body of Christ, HOW do you DEVELOP those gifts so that you can use them most effectively and fruitfully? Here are some suggestions:

• Be open to being TRAINED BY OTHERS. There will probably be others in your church gifted with the same gift as you. Ask them to help you learn to use your gift more effectively. Watch them as they serve. Go with them when they serve. Have lunch with them and ask lots of questions. Ask them to work with you on a regular basis.
  
  Who can you think of at present that has the same or a similar gift to yours?
  Do you admire the excellence with which one of these serves? Who?
  Would you ask them to help you learn to use YOUR gift more effectively?

• DIG INTO THE WORD. A few examples:
  i. If you have a gift of teaching, it is the BIBLE that you will be teaching. Learn it! Study it. Read it constantly. Learn how to communicate it to others.
  ii. If you have a gift of encouragement, it is the BIBLE that you will use to encourage others. Do the same as above with the gift of teaching. Be sure to memorize lots of Scriptures that give hope and help for different needs.
  iii. If your gift is leading, you need to know the BIBLE so that it is clear WHERE and HOW God would have you lead your home group or study or church. Study great leaders like Moses, David, Paul, and of course, JESUS!
  iv. If your gift is faith, you will need to know the PROMISES OF GOD IN THE BIBLE to hold onto as you are persisting to trust God for a particular need. Faith finds its strength in the promises of the Word of God.
  
  If you have identified a gift or gifts that God has given you, HOW can you develop them by using the Scriptures?

• GROW in GRACE. As you grow in maturity, loving and trusting and obeying God, your character will develop in holiness and this personal holiness will cause your service using your gift to be even more effective.
  
  Have you noticed a different impact when someone teaches who doesn’t really seem to care for his audience versus when someone teaches and obviously loves the audience?

• TAKE OPPORTUNITIES TO SERVE.
  i. The best way to develop a gift is by using it! Look for opportunities. Don’t just wait to be asked. Keep your eyes open for opportunities.

• EVALUATE YOUR SERVICE.
  ii. Stop to prayerfully evaluate your service after you serve. What could you have done better? How were your motives? What did you learn that will help you next time? What comments were made, whether positive or negative? What can you learn from them?

In Christ: Know It, Live It - 47 (Unity through Diversity - 2)

How strong and unified our churches are when each member knows and uses the gifts for serving that Christ has given them. But HOW do believers DISCOVER what these gifts are?

Here are a few ways to discover one's grace gifts for serving the body of Christ:

• SERVE. These gifts are gifts FOR service. When we serve, our gifts eventually show themselves because certain areas of our service are more noticeably effective and helpful to others. We don't need to know our gifts before we serve. Rather, it is IN serving that they are revealed and confirmed.
• LISTEN. As we serve others they will be blessed and helped by our spiritual grace gifts. As other believers are helped they will be grateful to GOD and to US. When you hear that you have been especially helpful in a certain area of ministry REPEATEDLY, you are very likely hearing confirmation of a grace gift.
• ASK. Ask your pastors and elders if they have observed or heard indications of grace gifts through your service. These men are serving where they are because they have maturity and wisdom and their confirmation is especially important and encouraging.
• PRAY. Ask the Lord to make you aware of your grace gifts through your service in the church. Ask so that you can give more of your time to this area of service and so that you can seek further equipping in this area of service. But don't be afraid to ASK, because "you have not because you don't ask" James 4:2b.
• DESIRE. Normally the grace gifts we have been given will agree with the desires we have for ministry. For example: those with a teaching gift desire to teach and are especially drawn to other teachers' ministry. Those with gifts of mercy or helps DESIRE to be of help and see situations where help is needed (often when others DON'T see the need), and so on. WHAT do you have a real desire to DO in the church? What do you get excited and passionate about doing? This will normally be an indication of a grace gift.
• STUDY. Look into the Scriptures at the grace gifts listed in places like 1 Corinthians 12, Romans 12, Ephesians 4, and 1 Peter 4. Also, take advantage of one of many gift inventories available (you can look on the Internet and find numerous good inventories). These inventories are not "inspired" but they can be helpful in indicating grace gifts.

We WILL be accountable for the stewardship of our grace gifts in serving the body of Christ. KNOWING what those gifts are helps us to know where MORE of our focus should be in serving and in being equipped.

In Christ: Know It, Live It - 46 (Unity through Diversity - 1)

Wow. It's great when churches are experiencing the unity of the Spirit and the glue of harmony is holding things tightly together. Folks are treating one another like Jesus would and are focusing on their oneness in the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. This is NOT to be taken for granted, because it does NOT exist everywhere. Where it DOES exist, there is great glory to God and to the Head of the Church, the Lord Jesus.

In Ephesians 4:7-16, the Apostle Paul teaches us more about the unity of the one family of God. Here he teaches us that the unity of the body is ALSO dependent on our DIVERSITY. Specifically, this diversity has to do with our GIFTEDNESS. There is a rich diversity in the body of Christ in regards to our Christ and Spirit given gifts for serving one another.

WHO is responsible for giving these gifts?

In this passage Paul emphasizes CHRIST as the victorious giver of all the gifts of the body.

"But grace was given to each one of us according to the measure of Christ's gift. Therefore it says, "When he ascended on high he led a host of captives, and he gave gifts to men." (In saying, 'He ascended,' what does it mean but that he had also descended into the lower parts of the earth? he who descended is the one who also ascended far above all the heavens, that he might fill all things.'"

Note that our gifts are gifts of GRACE. Grace is, of course, God's opposite-of-what-is-deserved favor. His rich provision for WHATEVER He calls us to. Grace takes many forms. When we say that our gifts for serving are GRACE GIFTS we are saying:

• They are from God. He is the source of them all.
• They are undeserved. We can never look (sanely) at our gifts or giftedness and think highly of ourselves. HE is the giver and the effect is HIS POWER at work. This gift and its effect is to HIS glory.
• Their effective operation is dependent on our dependence on CHRIST, the GIVER.

Think of the diversity of gifts in YOUR church. There are those with gifts of teaching, of serving, of organizing, of leading, of showing mercy, of encouraging, of evangelizing, and many others. And then take any one of these gifts and ponder how many different ways that gift can be used to serve. For example, take the gift of SERVING or HELPS. One person serves older folks with passion. Another serves with abilities of carpentry. Another loves to serve with the little ones. Yet another loves to help the pastors with secretarial skills. What endless diversity!

Note also that grace gifts are given to EACH ONE OF US. No believer is without these gifts of grace from Christ. NO ONE is without this grace. We are all therefore divinely equipped to serve the church. Christ makes sure of that.

These gifts are also according to Christ's MEASURE. That is, CHRIST is the one who decides not only who gets what gifts but also to what extent that giftedness is given. So one person is an evangelist who wins folks one at a time once in a while. Another evangelist wins groups of people almost weekly. Who's the better or more blessed evangelist? BOTH are equally blessed in that BOTH are given grace gifts of different measures from the same CHRIST for the same purpose of making disciples. It's NOT, "I'm more blessed than the one with a "lesser" gift." But rather, "We have ALL been given what we did not deserve, divine abilities to serve the King in His Church."

Christ had authority to give this diversity of grace gifts because He DESCENDED to earth and was incarnated as MAN (who lived a perfect life for sinners), because He OFFERED Himself on the cross (as the perfect sacrifice for sinners' sin), and because He then was RESURRECTED and ASCENDED back to the Father (as the Victorious Eternal Son and Perfect Man). In that resurrection and ascension Christ overcame all His foes: sin, death, Satan, and therefore had the gifts of a conqueror's spoil to pour out on His church.

What are YOUR grace gifts for serving Christ in His church? Are you joyously using them?

Though they are freely given grace gifts from our Conquering Lord, we are ACCOUNTABLE for their use. We are stewards. Christ has given these gifts NOT for us primarily, but for the church. We will stand before our King in judgment for faithfulness one day. We will. I WANT to hear a good report from my Lord.

Next time, "HOW do we DISCOVER our grace gifts?"

In Christ: Know It, Live It - 45 (Focusing on our Oneness)

We are able to maintain the unity of the church by treating one another with humility, patience, gentleness, etc. JUST LIKE JESUS WOULD. But the Apostle Paul also gives another great means to unity in Ephesians 4 in vv.4-6. In these verses he mentions a 7-fold oneness (a PERFECT oneness!) that we all share as believers:

"There is one body and one Spirit - just as you were called to the one hope that belongs to your call - one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all."

We do indeed have many differences. But what we have in common in Christ is FAR GREATER. What differs about us is primarily TEMPORARY and will end when this age ends. But the foundation of oneness we share is ETERNAL and INFINITE: the Trinity of God; Father, Son, Spirit. WHICH will we focus on as we fellowship and serve together and work through difficulties together? To focus on our different tastes in worship music is to run the danger of destroying unity. To focus on the fact that our worship is to glorify our ONE GOD: Father, Son, and Spirit...that maintains unity.

You and I have the same LORD. He is Lord of all...period. We share ONE FAITH that focuses on HIM and on His truth. We are baptized in the name of the Trinity as followers of this one Lord.

We are indwelt by ONE SPIRIT. He is our life. He is HOLY and fills us to love one another. He has made us all members of this ONE BODY.

Our Father is the ONE TRUE GOD. He has called us to ONE HOPE: sharing all eternity with Him in His house. Man, oh man, oh man, oh man! This ONE FATHER is OVER ALL as Sovereign Lord. He is THROUGH ALL as the One working in all things. He is IN ALL as the sustaining life of all.

How many times have you heard a parent say (or have YOU said) to their children, "Come on, get along, you are in the same family!" Come on, brothers and sisters! We share the same Father, Lord, and life-giving Spirit. The INFINITE GOD lives in us and has chosen us to be part of His glorious forever-family. Let's get along!

This triune God who has called us to walk as fellow members of this family also ENABLES us to live towards one another as Christ would and to live and love based on the great oneness we share in Himself. We CAN walk in a manner worthy of the calling with which we have been called.

Let's focus on our INFINITE foundation of oneness and let this oneness move us through difficulties with one another to maintain the oneness of the body of Christ.