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.

In Christ: Know It, Live It - 44 (Treating One Another Like Christ Would-2)

We will certainly maintain the unity of our church fellowship if we relate to one another with "all humility" and with "gentleness." Jesus ALWAYS related to others this way AND this same Jesus is IN US in the person of the Holy Spirit. That means He is present at all times to empower us to be progressively more humble and gentle.

But the Apostle Paul goes further in Ephesians 4:2. He also teaches that we should relate to one another with PATIENCE, with FORBEARANCE, and with LOVE.

• PATIENCE is RESTRAINT in relationship to others. It is HANGING IN THERE with difficult people. Of course ALL OF US are difficult people to someone at sometime! Patient people are not EASILY OFFENDED. Their "offend-o-meter" is not tweaked to extreme sensitivity. Rather, they understand that we are all IN PROCESS, being made like Jesus, but NOT THERE yet. Think of the patience of Jesus in hanging in there with the 12! What a motley crew. The boisterous Peter. The passionate James and John. The pilfering Judas. The show-me-before-I-believe Thomas. Think of Jesus' patience with YOU!
• BEARING with ONE ANOTHER is mutual tolerance, putting up with each other. It is closely related to patience. It is in the name of unity in Christ putting up with differences in convictions about raising kids, music selection, spending free time, sermons, etc.
• LOVE. It all comes down to this. We are humble and gentle and patient and forbearing because we LOVE one another. Love is primarily a CHOICE and not an emotion. It SHOULD affect the emotions, but it should not start there...be birthed from there. Love seeks, even sacrificially, the good of my brother. It WILL NOT give up or give in or take off. It will keep on keeping on with whatever you and the community of Christ needs. It is an umbrella attribute of our Father and it comes to us and grows in us by the Holy Spirit (Romans 5:5; Galatians 5:22). Jesus' loved to the CROSS...and beyond.

Our churches will always be able to maintain the unity of the Spirit with the glue of harmony if we treat one another like Jesus...with "all humility, gentleness, patience, and bearing with one another in love."

In Christ: Know It, Live It - 43 (Treating One Another Like Christ Would)

In Ephesians 4, the Apostle Paul challenges us to walk in a manner worthy of our calling to be God's one, united church. He exhorts us to be EAGER to maintain the unity of the church through pursuing peace in our relationships. How are we to live this way?

"...With all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love..." v.2

These 5 character qualities are the very character of CHRIST. We see them everywhere in the gospels and the rest of the NT as Jesus interacts with His disciples, with His enemies, and with the lost. Surely if we treat one another as Jesus would, with Jesus' character, we'll have no problem maintaining unity and harmony in our church!

• "With all HUMILITY" - To be HUMBLE is to consider ourselves SMALL. It is to have a correct estimation of ourselves. At the same time, humility is to consider OTHERS of GREAT WORTH and VALUE and therefore to SERVE them. This was Jesus' attitude in His INCARNATION. "...Who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the form of a SERVANT..." Philippians 2:6,7. THAT is Jesus-type humility, and earlier the Apostle writes, "Have THIS MIND among yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus" Philippians 2:5. The only way to be truly humble in attitude and actions towards others is to KNOW that God is your Father, that you are His child, and that He is providing all you truly need and causing all things to work together for your good. See this in the life of Jesus in John 13:3ff.
• "and GENTLENESS" - Gentleness and Meekness are synonyms. Gentleness is "power under control." To be gentle is NOT to be weak. Rather, it is to use one's power (physical and other) for the GOOD of others. Is to use one's strength to LIFT UP, not to PUT DOWN. Think of a big, burly dad gently holding his baby daughter or playing with her or wrestling with her. Power under control. Think also of Jesus, being blasphemed, beaten, and crucified but not utterly vaporizing His enemies with one command to thousands of angelic warriors. Rather, Jesus said, "Father, forgive them." Jesus loved His enemies.

We'll continue to look at these Jesus' qualities tomorrow, the Lord willing. But for now, it is a good thing and perhaps a difficult thing to ask ourselves,

• Am I BIG and others SMALL? Do I look for others to serve me without moving toward them to serve first? Do I wear an apron as I look for others' feet to wash or do I scan the horizon for folks who are wearing aprons so I can get in their line?
• Am I truly GENTLE? Am I like James and John, ready to call down fire from heaven on my enemies, those liberal elitists that are taking over...hmmmm. Or, like Jesus, am I ready to ask the Father to forgive those who deserve the opposite, JUST LIKE I DID...AND DO?

In Christ: Know It, Live It - 42 (The Pursuit of Peace)

God has created the church with an inherent, organic unity through the Holy Spirit. We ARE one...by nature. GOD creates this unity and we are to MAINTAIN it. But HOW?

The Apostle Paul writes in Ephesians 4:3 that we are to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the church by PEACE. We are to be "...eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace." PEACE is HARMONY in relationships. To be at peace with one another means we are getting along, being careful not to allow anything to come between us and dealing with anything that does quickly and thoroughly.

This is no small thing! Ideally the church is to filled with folks from many different backgrounds with different interests, different financial status', different cultural upbringings, etc. As we fellowship together with our still sin-influenced hearts, the desire to "have it my way" or the ease which we misunderstand or misjudge one another causes many mild to serious "rubs." RUBS can produce rawness in relationships if they are not covered by love or revealed and reconciled in love. But as we have seen, our calling to live as the one body of Christ is a call to deal with these "rubs" so that harmony can be restored.

Paul calls this peace a BOND. BOND speaks of what "binds together." We might say it is the SUPER GLUE of the body of Christ. Just as the parts of our bodies MUST remain intimately united and connected and interdependent for us to live and operate effectively, so we must pursue the glue of harmony with one another in order that the body of Christ, OUR CHURCHES, will remain united and robust with the Spirit's life.

The GLUE OF PEACE is something Paul says we must be EAGER to maintain. EAGER means to be diligent, earnest, to make every effort for. I remember a professor who paraphrased this word as "bust the gut." We must bust our guts to stay at peace with one another. This convicts and sobers me. When I think of how cavalier I have been about problems in my relationships and how easy it has been in the church to walk away from a brother's friendship when the RUB became too coarse, I shudder. I have...we have...made it too easy to bailout when interpersonal problems raise their ugly heads.

Perhaps there is someone you need...I need...to go back to and by faith bust the gut to purse the glue of peace.

In Christ: Know It, Live It - 41 (A Unity that Already Exists)

In Ephesians we hear God calling us to live up to the calling of being His one family, the body of Christ. In 4:3 we are told, as members of this body, that we should be "...eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace." It is important to note here that the UNITY of the church ALREADY EXISTS. We are not called to CREATE unity, but to MAINTAIN unity. WHO DID create that unity?

Perhaps the most important verse in the NT in this regard is 1 Corinthians 12:13...

"For in one Spirit we were all baptized into one body - Jews or Greeks, slaves or free - and all were made to drink of one Spirit."

When we repented of our sin and trusted in Christ, His Holy Spirit BAPTIZED us (placed us into, made us a part) of the body of Christ. Like the blood that unites all the parts of our body together with life-giving oxygen and food, so the Spirit of God ORGANICALLY unites all believers into ONE BODY. He is our life. Our unity, therefore, is because of something far greater than all human efforts to "visualize" or make peace. Our unity is the result of the sovereign work of the Spirit. Our "badge" of membership is the Holy Spirit.

Unity therefore, is something INHERENT to the church. We are called to understand this and then to live in such a way as to maintain it. I have heard it said in certain divisive situations in churches that "We failed to create any unity." This is a misunderstanding that works against unity. When there is DIS-unity, then we must first teach the unity that ALREADY EXISTS in Christ's true church. Then we must seek to restore this unity to RELATIONSHIPS by reconciliation, and then to give ourselves to what this text teaches will MAINTAIN that unity (we'll look at these things in the coming days).

God is VERY SERIOUS about the unity of the church. When there is disunity, we have not failed to create unity, rather we have DESTROYED unity. And the warnings against destroying the church's unity are sobering. Paul wrote to the Corinthians, who were dividing the church into cliques that followed certain teachers, "Do you not know that you are God's temple and that God's Spirit dwells in you? If anyone destroys God's temple, God will destroy him. For God's temple is holy, and you are that temple" 1 Corinthians 3:16,17.

This is no idle threat. To see this we only need to look at Paul's words to this same church in chapter 11:30: folks were causing a fracturing within the church over how they ate the Lord's Supper. Because of this some were ill and some had died.

The church is precious to God. It was purchased with His own blood (Acts 20:28). In order for it to survive as a body, it must have an organic unity that allows all the parts to operate and support one another AND to remain attached to the HEAD.

"Oh, awesome Lord, grant us a love for our brothers and a desire to maintain the unity You have sovereignly built into your church. Then we will know your pleasure and blessing and share your joy."

In Christ: Know It, Live It - 40 (NT Style Motivation)

How does Christ motivate His people to obedience?

There is a world of difference between angrily exhorting people to be what they are NOT and CALLING folks to be what they ARE.

For example, a pastor could say to the congregation, "God commands us to be His witnesses. We are doing a poor job at sharing the gospel. Why aren't you witnessing more? When will you start being more faithful to evangelize?" On the other hand, he could say, "Jesus said that we ARE salt of the earth and the light of the world. Let's realize that and be who we are! Let's step up to the plate as we interact with folks this week. Let's be the influences that Christ and His Spirit have made us."

Which would motivate you more? I had a wise professor who once said, "You cannot coerce spirituality." You can't badger or berate or verbally or emotionally abuse believers into Spirit-filled obedience to Jesus Christ. Trying to beat folks into obedience ONLY produces legalistic, man-centered and self-dependent religion. There is no joy, no power, no glory to Christ.

However, I would say that New Testament motivation is the second kind. NT motivation is to CALL US TO BE WHAT WE ARE. It calls us to LIVE UP to what God has done for us and in us in Christ. This is the kind of motivation we find in Ephesians. THIS IS WHO YOU ARE IN CHRIST, Chapters 1-3, and then LIVE IT OUT!, Chapters 4-6.

There is DEATH to FAITH and EFFORT when we think we have to become something that we are not and to become so by our own power. There is LIFE and POWER for obedience when we begin to understand WHO WE ARE in our Lord Jesus Christ and what HE PROVIDES for obedience.

Focus today on what your Lord has done and who you are in Him. Believe that you ARE chosen, predestined, redeemed, indwelt by the Spirit, secure, and forever a part of God's glorious inheritance. Believe His unfathomable love for you in Christ. Believe it. Breathe deeply of the fresh and invigorating air of grace. Let the daily and eternal hope of His calling birth in you a fresh faith and a springy obedience...with joy.

In Christ: Know It, Live It - 39 (Learning to Live with Others)

God has called us to a public, corporate life in the Church, the Body of Christ. WE are God's family and there are NO healthy LONERS in that body. When we bow the knee to Christ as Lord and Savior we not only get Jesus, we also get His body. We BECOME part of His body. We CANNOT thrive spiritually without the other parts of the body and they cannot thrive without us. We are linked organically and our life depends utterly on Christ, and secondarily on each other.

But some of us DO NOT come into this new life with a background of knowing how to love and live and communicate with others. All of us have to LEARN to live with each other in an understanding way and with a service mentality, but SOME of us come into the Body of Christ so far back that it is a long, painful process learning to live with and for others.

An example of this came to my attention recently during a lunch conversation with some other area pastors. One pastor was a Vietnam vet and before Christ was a loner with a capital "L." He was SO MUCH of a loner that when he married his wife, for the first two weeks he said "Good morning" to her in the morning and then "Goodnight" at bedtime...nothing else. After two weeks of this "nothing-in-between" life as a newlywed, she asked him if something was wrong. He wondered what she meant. She shared with him that he spoke to her in the morning and at night and nothing else. What was wrong? Believe it or not, he was puzzled as to WHY she thought something was wrong. Why did he not speak to her during the rest of the day? "I didn't have anything to say." Learning to live and communicate with a wife (and others!) has been a long, painful process for this brother. But do you know what? God has brought this brother and his wife many miles of growth from those silent days as newlyweds. Today he communicates very well and is deeply loved by the people of his church. Wow.

Some of us are the same. We came into Christ as loners, our lives and our tongues all tied up within ourselves. But our calling is outward. We DO NOT have to become extroverts or the life of the fellowship. But we DO have to learn to open up to others and to seek out others. We are called to the corporate, other-centered life of the church. And God WILL SEE TO IT that we grow towards this body-life life. He IS currently doing that in all of us. Let us cooperate. Let us CRY to Him to keep doing His good work in us.

And if you seem to have started MILES BEHIND in this corporate life of open communication...don't worry, God is THE expert at freeing us from ourselves to the truly FREE life of loving others.

An old saying, "The world's smallest package is a man tied up within himself."

In Christ: Know It, Live It: 38 (Our Calling)

"...Walk worthy of the calling to which you have been called" Ephesians 4:1

What is this CALLING? To find out, of course, we must consider the preceding context of Ephesians 1-3. What the Apostle Paul has previously written is that by God's grace in Christ He has made us alive and blessed us with every spiritual blessing AS HIS ONE FAMILY and BODY in Christ. The people of God are no longer Jew and Gentile or outsiders and insiders but rather the ONE redeemed people of God (see 1:22,23; 2:11-22; 3:6-10).

THEREFORE, we are to walk or live our lives together AS THIS ONE BODY, this ONE FAMILY. God has called us to a clear and unmistakably CORPORATE life. Our calling is US, not ME or even a smaller nuclear-family WE. God's calling for our lives is about OTHERS. But not just ALL or ANY others, but the OTHERS of the Body of Christ. This does NOT mean, of course, that we have no calling involving those outside of the Body of Christ. The GREAT COMMISSION and GREAT COMMANDMENT make it clear the WORLD is on God's heart and should be on ours. But closest to God's heart is His chosen, redeemed inheritance...you and me, those of us who are IN CHRIST.

It is a great exercise to take some time and THINK about the implications of this calling. We will explore what Paul says in Ephesians 4-6 about walking worthy of this CORPORATE calling. But why not take some time to think what it means that THE CHURCH is at the CENTER of your calling as a child of God.

The IMPORTANCE of living worthy of this calling is emphasized by Paul in a couple of interesting ways:

• He gives his command or exhortation in v.1 prefaced with "I therefore, a PRISONER for the Lord..." He has previously mentioned his prisoner status in 3:1. Why introduce his command to walk worthy with this statement? It would seem that Paul is emphasizing the fact that the gospel of God choosing men and women from Jews and Gentiles to be His ONE inheritance and church IS SO CENTRAL and IMPORTANT that Paul has been willing to risk his life for it. He is SUFFERING for this ONE BODY (3:13). "Listen to me! I have given my life for this. This is at the HEART of God's program. I am suffering imprisonment and facing DEATH for this grand truth. YOU ALSO should live your lives for this body, the CHURCH." I remember in 1976 attending a huge Jesus Rally in N.C. that lasted a long weekend. One of the most well-known speakers that weekend was Corrie Tenboom (now deceased) of The Hiding Place fame. We all knew that Miss Tenboom had suffered tremendously in Nazi internment and risked her life to hide Jews from Hitlers genocide. With such a resume of suffering, we ALL listened to what she had to say with silence and respect and great focus. It seems Paul is appealing here in Ephesians 4:1 to his prisoner for Christ status to emphasize the importance of his words - "Listen to this prisoner..."
• A second thing Paul does here is to use the word "urge." "I therefore...URGE you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling..." This word is translated in some translations as "I BEG of you..." It might have the force of a platoon leader giving final instructions to a private who is being sent out on a dangerous mission. He takes the man by the shoulders and pulls him close and looks him right in the eyes and speaks to him with a passion that has to be listened to with every bit of focus in the private's being. In other words, Paul is saying, THIS IS IMPORTANT. THIS IS CENTRAL. DON'T MISS IT. IT IS YOUR CALLING IN LIFE. LIVE UP TO IT.

Brothers and sisters, we have been called by God to live a Church-conscious, Church-building, Church-loving, for-the-Church-sacrificing life. Let us not take this calling lightly. Paul will tell us more specifically HOW to do this in the verses following.

In Christ: Know It, Live It - 37 (The MOTIVE for the Worthy Walk)

Ephesians 3:20-21 is the immediately preceding context for 4:1, where the Apostle Paul exhorts us to "walk in a manner worthy of the calling with which we have been called." These closing words of Paul's magnificent prayer of 3:14-21 tell us:

• That there is exceedingly abundant POWER for walking the worthy walk that God has called us to. Once again we see here that what God calls us to He equips and empowers us for. Hallelujah. See yesterday's blog for more.
• Secondly, this immediate context from Paul's prayer tells us the MOTIVE we are to have for walking the worthy walk. What is this motive? We are to live our lives so that to HIM will be "...glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations..." 3:21. The ultimate motive for all we do is THE GLORY OF GOD (see 1 Corinthians 10:31). We can think we are living for God's fame and for Christ's fame when it is OUR FAME we are living for. We can think we are living for God's fame and glory when we are just trying to MAKE SURE we have a place in heaven when we die. We can be committed to discipleship so that we LOOK LIKE a disciple to others. There is a high value placed on commitment in the church, and well there should be. But it is easy, with our still sin-marred hearts, to conform to the church's expectations instead of Christ's. WHO AM I LIVING FOR? Does the love and grace of my Father move me to LIFESTYLE LOVE in return? Is my life a continual "THANK YOU, LORD!" and "WHAT A GREAT GOD IS MY GOD!"?

When we are motivated by the desire that God would be seen as great instead of ourselves we are more and more set free to the joyful and bold obedience that DOES indeed lead to Christ receiving glory in the church.

I once heard of a prayer that a former president of my college prayed, "Lord, give me a heart at leisure from itself." I have never forgotten that prayer and have never stopped praying it for myself and others. A heart at leisure from itself: from concern about what others think, from concern about itself, BECAUSE it knows the Father has taken care of my past, present, and future in Christ.

Lord, give us a heart at leisure from itself and passionately taken up with Christ. Sola Deo Gloria.

In Christ: Know It, Live It - 36 (Power and Motivation for the Worthy Walk)

As the Apostle Paul begins to focus on DOING and LIVING OUT the doctrine of "In Christ" in chapters 1-3 of Ephesians, we must not miss the immediate context of "walk in a manner worthy of the calling with which you have been called" in 4:1. When he writes "walk" of course, he is referring to our LIFESTYLE. 2:1 tells us that our lifestyle BEFORE Christ was "trespasses and sins." 2:10 tells us that because of the astounding grace of God in Christ we are His masterpieces created "for good works." What are these good works? What is this new lifestyle in Christ? It is the SAME lifestyle that he refers to as the "worthy walk" in 4:1.

But before we think about this worthy walk, let's think about the 2 verses immediately preceding 4:1. Any particular verse or verses, of course, can and often do have an important bearing on what comes both BEFORE and AFTER them. In this case 3:20-21 is VERY IMPORTANT when considering the worthy walk of 4:1 and following. That is, 3:20-21 tell us both HOW we can walk this worthy walk and WHY we should walk this worthy walk.

• HOW can we walk this worthy walk, this new lifestyle in Christ to which we have been called? Here's how: Through "...Him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think according to the power at work within us..." (20). We have not been blessed with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ only to KNOW that and then TRY to live the Christian life on our own! We have this great standing as God's sons and daughters in Christ, we were made alive when we were spiritually dead in Christ, we are God's new creations in Christ...AND we are to walk worthy of God's calling BY and IN Christ and BY and IN God's power. How much power is available for this worthy walk? Far more abundant than all you can ask or think. I can think of what seem to me to be some BIG prayers for power: overcoming anger, agitation with my kids, being pure in thoughts and with the look of my eyes, loving those very unlike me and who hold different convictions, doing all I do with joy and for the glory of God, being minded in every contact with the lost to speak and act for their eternal good, etc. But God ASSURES me that not only can He do MORE than this, HE can do FAR more. And not only FAR more, but FAR MORE ABUNDANTLY. Well then, I suppose God is going to do a new thing and bring into my life some experience that will raise me up to the penthouse of spiritual power? NO! This far more abundant power is "according to the power at work within us." That is, brothers and sisters, the HOLY SPIRIT who is NOW within us is the power through WHOM God means to do the far more abundantly... And note, He IS at work within us. It is not that He WILL begin that amazing work of power at some future date; He IS NOW doing that work. One of our great problems CAN be that we look for too many lightning flashes in God's work in our lives. However, the TYPICAL way that God works is to do His deep, radical changes in us OVER TIME and GRADUALLY. So, we wake up one morning and find out we are more patient, more loving, having more compassionate reactions to unlikable folks, etc. But this "sudden change" is really the result of a long process over time. All gradual change has periods when that change becomes visible. However, the change did not begin WHEN we noticed, but was happening regularly over a lengthy period. We need to leave off LOOKING so much for the sudden change and instead BELIEVE that God is doing in us FAR MORE ABUNDANTLY through His Spirit that transformation which makes us more and more worthy walkers.

We will continue, the Lord willing, with these thoughts tomorrow.

In Christ: Know It, Live It - 35 (Know, Love, Do - 2)

We are meant to live a balanced life of KNOWING DOCTRINE and DOING DOCTRINE: knowing the truth and obeying the truth, doctrine and devotion. But HOW does doctrine become God-pleasing, joyful doing? How do we experience the life of following Jesus that He said is "...easy...and light" (Matthew 11:30)?

Jonathan Edwards used a picture to explain this process. He used the analogy of wood and a fireplace. If wood is doctrine, what is the spark, the fire, that causes the wood (doctrine) to be set ablaze so that it is useful for giving off warmth, light, and being used for cooking, etc.? That is, what turns doctrine into something active and useful...into passionate obedience? The answer, according to Edwards, is the work of the Holy Spirit igniting the heart with LOVE for the WORD OF GOD, for GOD through the WORD.

The Spirit of God takes the Word of God and makes it exceedingly precious to our hearts. So precious that we cry out like the Psalmist, "Oh, how I love Your law. It is my meditation all the day" Psalm 119:97. When doctrine is set ablaze by the Spirit like this, obedience is the NECESSARY expression of the love for God and His truth that fills our hearts. But how does the Spirit set on fire biblical truth in our hearts? I would mention 2 things:

• Note the words of the Pslamist in the verse above..."...It is MY MEDITATION all the day." It is as we think deeply and often on the Scriptures that the Holy Spirit does this igniting work in our hearts. To meditate is to CHEW MENTALLY on the Scriptures, interacting with God over His Word with questions and praise and thanks and hard mental effort. "Father, what does this mean? Father, thank You for....! Father, help me to follow Paul's train of thought here. Father, how do I put this into practice in MY marriage? Father, HOW could it be that you would love me like this?" and so on.
• This meditation and soul-supping on the Word must be with the intention of OBEYING what our Father says. The way to joyful, soul-blazing love for the Word of God is NOT to wait to OBEY until there is this passion for God and His truth, but to OBEY because it is the right thing and because it is the CHANNEL through which the Spirit brings ignition.

Meditate deeply, interacting with God over His Word throughout the day, and interact with a desire to obey, and ASK the Spirit of God to ignite your heart for the Word and the God of the Word, and HE WILL be faithful to set the wood of doctrine on fire in the hearth of your heart so that your obedience is the expression of genuine joy.

In Christ: Know It, Live It - 34 (Know, LOVE, Do)

At Chapter 4 verse 1 of Ephesians there is a distinct change in emphasis in the Apostle Paul's writing. In the first three chapters he has been focused on DOCTRINE - on KNOWING certain facts about what God has done for believers by grace in the Lord Jesus Christ. At 4:1, however, the emphasis shifts to DOING - on living out the implications of the truth of chapters 1-3.

If it came down to choosing one over the other, would you choose KNOWING or DOING? The same kind of question might be asked of passengers on an airline flight, preparing for take off..."Good morning, folks, this is your captain speaking. Before we take off this morning we'd like to take an informal poll...Would you prefer the LEFT wing or the RIGHT wing to remain on the aircraft for your flight today?" Of course the only sane answer would be BOTH! The same saneness is demanded to a hypothetical question regarding KNOWING or DOING? BOTH!

To change the metaphor slightly, if we only KNOW but do not put that knowing into DOING, we would be like a jet that never leaves the runway...sitting as monument to hypocrisy. On the other hand, if we try to be DOING the Christian life without also KNOWING the WHAT, WHY and WHO of it, we will eventually spiral out of control into a fiery moral crash.

Another picture of this might found in the building of a house. Suppose a work crew showed up at the building site of your new home, supplied with fresh, accurate, beautifully packaged BLUE PRINTS and then promptly sat down for the entire work day only to read and mull over the prints? You'd be incensed. What are the blue prints for?! They are to guide BUILDING! On the other hand, suppose a crew shows up to the work site with NO blue prints but each worker with a different idea of what the house ought to look like and how to go about building it? They have no idea what you, the owner, wants...they are just zealous to build and want to get on with it. THAT might end up a very interesting house, but not one you'd want to live in and certainly not one that would match YOUR PLANS.

God created us to KNOW the truth and to LIVE OUT the truth. That fact is reflected strongly in letters like Ephesians, where DOCTRINE is carefully laid out as a FOUNDATION for DOING. The only BALANCED Christian life is one with BOTH WINGS, Knowing and Doing, an equal part of every day life. The BALANCED Christian life is one where the Blue Prints of the Word are constantly consulted so that there can be BUILDING of a life that is pleasing to God...and useful.

As you read the Scriptures in your devotions or as you listened to a sermon from the Word yesterday (Sunday), did you listen not only to KNOW what God had to say, but also to be equipped to DO what He says? Has there been APPLICATION of the Word? Wow, I am SO OFTEN guilty of listening without the intention of DOING. Lord, have mercy on me and make me more and more the man James speaks of in James 1:25:

"But the one who looks into the perfect law, the law of liberty, and perseveres, being no hearer who forgets but a doer who acts, he will be blessed in his doing."

10 Scriptural Reasons You Can Change - 10

Reason why God says you can CHANGE #10:

"The Glory of God"

God is passionate that His glory be known. God's glory is the majestic shining forth of His greatness. His person is infinite in perfection and His works are perfect in their purpose and results. God has sovereignly chosen that all His plans and works will accomplish the ultimate shining forth of His greatness throughout eternity.

God chose us to be holy and blameless before Him and to be adopted as His children through Christ "to the praise of His glorious grace" Ephesians 1:6.

Our sanctification or progressive CHANGE into the likeness of the Lord Jesus Christ is ultimately for the purpose of displaying God's GLORY. Our CHANGE shows how GREAT God's GRACE is. Our CHANGE shows how great God's PATIENCE is. Our CHANGE shows how great God's SOVEREIGNTY is. Our CHANGE shows how great God's CHARACTER is. God WILL have His greatness known and a great part of that display is OUR CHANGE into the likeness of His Son.

THEREFORE, we can take heart and hope and gain confidence that we both CAN and WILL CHANGE to be like Jesus, regardless of our past, present, or future, because that change is ultimately for the display of God's GLORY.

May we all continue to CHANGE daily for the Glory of our Great God.

10 Scriptural Reasons You Can Change - 9

Reason why God says you can CHANGE #9:

"Hope"

The PROMISES God has given us for CHANGE give a buoyant HOPE that keeps us pressing into change when we would otherwise give up. The moment we begin to focus on ourselves and either our slowness to change and constant failure OR our occasional successes OR our supposed part in our spiritual success, we are on the slippery slope towards discouragement and despair. Our HOPE must be in our never-changing, always-changing-us God.

Talk about PROMISES!:

• "...He who began a good work in you WILL BRING IT TO COMPLETION at the day of Christ Jesus" Philippians 1:6
• "...Work out your salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who IS AT WORK IN YOU, both to will and to work for His good pleasure" Philippians 2:12,13
• "Now may the God of peace himself sanctify you completely, and may your whole spirit and soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, He who calls you is faithful; HE WILL SURELY DO IT" 1 Thessalonians 5:23,24

If you are STANDING on the PROMISES you will also be MOVING TOWARDS CHANGE.

The HOPE of our DESTINY also produces energy and godly motivation for change. BECAUSE we are safe in His hands, we can focus NOT on trying to hold onto a shaky salvation but rather on living out that salvation in ever greater maturity. No one steps out in faith to grow in new ways when they FEAR that God may not be with them. But He is...HE IS! "I will NEVER leave you, and I will NEVER forsake you" Hebrews 13:5. "No one can snatch (you) out of the Father's hand" John 10:29.

The story is told that when the Golden Gate Bridge was being built a significant number of men were falling to their deaths during work. The effect of this lack of safety was an increasing slow down in work production. That slow down did not change UNTIL someone came up with the idea of installing large SAFETY NETS beneath the structure. If a workman fell, he would fall INTO the net, not to his death. Needless to say, work sped up rapidly. Why? They could do the risky work IN SAFETY.

Brothers and sisters, GROWTH and CHANGE is RISKY. It takes FAITH. It takes leaning forward into new and often scary territory. But we can take steps of faith directly INTO CHANGE with confidence because our sovereign, omnipotent God is our safety net. In seeking to change, I increase the likelihood of failure in my life. REFUSE to change, and life becomes nothing but failure.

We can move boldly in the direction of change and growth because of the HOPE of God's PROMISES and our secure DESTINY.

10 Scriptural Reasons You Can Change - 8

Reason why God says we can CHANGE #8:

"God has given us a CHANGE PROCESS for TRANSFORMATION."

" You were taught in (Christ), as the truth is in Jesus, to PUT OFF your old self, which belongs to your former manner of life, and is corrupt through deceitful desires, and to be renewed in the spirit of your minds, and to PUT ON the new self, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness." Ephesians 4:21-24

Even with all the glorious helps God has given us for CHANGE we STILL need to understand His basic PROCESS for change. We do not change by CHANCE, nor do we change without real INTENTION to change. What is this process for change?

• The attitudes, actions, and speech of our FORMER LIFE are to be PUT OFF. In other places Scripture calls this "putting to death the deeds of our flesh" (Romans 8:13; Colossians 3:5). We HAVE DIED with Christ (Galatians 2:20; Romans 6:6) in that the PENALTY of sin has been paid and the POWER of sin to rule us has been broken. But there remains sin at work as a force in our lives and HABITS remaining from our life before Christ. We are told that these must be PUT OFF, put out of our lives, and amputated from our lifestyle. And so, as vv.25-32 of Ephesians 4 illustrates, we are to stop lying, to be angry without sinning, to steal no more, and not to let any rotten words come out of our mouths. However, PUTTING OFF alone is NOT enough. If you put something sinful out of your life without REPLACING IT, it won't stay away long!
• And so, between PUTTING OFF and PUTTING ON there needs to be a RENEWING OF OUR MINDS that takes place (v.23). We must be learning of God's new and holy ways. We must be learning what our Father and His Son are like and therefore what being like Him requires in daily living. By meditation in the Word of God and by the sanctifying work of the Holy Spirit our minds are RENEWED by God's truth (John 17:17; 2 Corinthians 3:17,18) so that we think more and more naturally God's thoughts after Him. We begin to know His will in more and more areas and situations of life. What a glorious day it is when instead of responding to an insult in anger and insult we immediately turn in trust to God to be our Shield and we let HIM take revenge. What a day it is when instead of wishing harm on our enemy we have compassionate thoughts and pray for his salvation. How do these days come? NOT by trying to live by some external list but by INTERNALIZING the Word of God, allowing it to RICHLY DWELL within us, and therefore allowing the Spirit of God to transform our very souls, the core of our being, our MINDS!
• This renewing of the mind, then, makes possible not only the PUTTING OFF of the habits and sin of our former life, but the PUTTING ON of new, godly habits of life. And so, as Paul again illustrates in vv.25-32, we don't lie but we tell the truth, we don't sin in our anger but take our anger to God and respond in self control, compassion, and kindness, we don't steal but instead give generously, and we don't speak garbage but instead speak gracious truth in love! And these kinds of godly habits more and more flow out of an increasingly godly heart and mind.

This PROCESS of CHANGE is God's good gift to us. It is for the beginner and for the mature saint equally. The old must be PUT OFF before we can PUT ON the new. And our very soul and mind must be transformed as well as our speech and actions.

Let us be clear on this PROCESS and daily PUT OFF, BE RENEWED, and PUT ON the new life that is ours in Christ.

10 Scriptural Reasons You Can Change - 7

Reason why God says you can CHANGE #7:

"God has given us the BLANK CHECK of PRAYER."

"Ask and it will be given to you, seek and you will find, knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives and he who seeks finds and to him who knocks, the door will be opened" Matthew 7:7,8

If being BORN AGAIN, being indwelt by the Holy Spirit, having Christ intercede for us in Heaven, having God sovereignly control all things for our transformation into Christ's likeness, having the Bible to teach us and renew us, and being part of the community of the being made new, the Church, WASN'T ENOUGH to effect real and lasting change in our lives REGARDLESS of our past, present, or future...

God has given us the breath-taking promise that IF WE ASK, He, the sovereign, all powerful Lord of the universe, WILL ANSWER! What a CHANGE AGENT is PRAYER! We cannot change ourselves...but we CAN pray. We cannot change others, but we CAN pray. We cannot overcome memories from the past that we just can't seem to put away, but we CAN pray. We cannot rise up in hope and joy each day in such an uncertain world that SEEMS to be controlled by those who do not share our worldview...God's worldview...but we CAN pray.

And when we DO pray...God promises to answer...and HE CAN do all the things we cannot and He can do them exceedingly abundantly above ALL that we ask or think (Ephesians 3:20,21).

What are YOU praying for in regards to your spiritual GROWTH? How are you praying for your spouse and children to CHANGE?

As we pray, there are some important points to be reminded of:

• KEEP ON praying. This is the tense of the ask, seek, knock in Matthew 7. How soon we give up! Make up your mind that you will ask God to change your life daily and you will not stop. This shows you are serious and that you really DO believe He means what He promises. MANY of our unanswered prayers are simply prayers that we stopped praying.
• Pray ACCORDING TO GOD'S WILL. 1 John 5:14. If you want a REAL encouragement to keep praying, dig into the Word of God and see what God wants you to pray and then KNOW that He ALWAYS answers the prayer that agrees with His will. God WILL answer: "Lord, give me a heart of love and compassion for my neighbors" because it is His will expressed in Mark 12:31. God WILL answer "Lord, fill me with your Spirit as I serve my brothers and sisters in corporate worship today" because it is His will expressed in Luke 11:13 and 1 Corinthians 12:7. Will God answer "Lord, make this LOTTO card be a winner!"? Better look long and hard into the Word for that one!
• TAKE care of SIN in your life before you expect answered prayer. David is very clear on this in Psalm 66:18, "If I had cherished iniquity in my heart, the Lord would not have listened." This prayer-hindering sin may include: selfish motives (James 4:3); a broken relationship with my brother (Matthew 5:23,24); not praying according to God's will (1 John 5:14); unforgiveness (Matthew 6:14,15); or loving the world (1 John 2:15-17; James 4:4). It is a good thing to evaluate my heart and to ask the Lord to show me any sin that may be a ceiling to my prayers.
• ASK OTHERS to PRAY along with you (Colossians 4:2-4). How powerful is united prayer...wow!

When I was in college, one day I came back to my dorm room between classes and while there I got down on my knees, and with no one around, began to verbally pour out my heart to the Lord in prayer. It was probably a pretty passionate time and it lasted for a while. After I finished praying, I eventually started to leave the room...BUT...for some reason I went back to my stand up closet and opened it before I left. To my GREAT surprise and consternation (?), my roommate was sitting there on the closet floor looking like...well, like he SHOULD have looked. He had heard me coming into the room and wanted to hide and scare the pants off me. What better place than the closet? The only problem was, I started to pray before the right SCARE moment presented itself. Poor Bill. He had to sit there for quite a while and didn't dare make things worse by interrupting my prayer time. After that time, BILL KNEW a lot about my prayer life! He knew the kinds of things I prayed for...HOW I prayed, etc.

Brothers and sisters...if someone were to be able to look into your prayer closet without your knowing it, WHAT WOULD THEY HEAR? Would they hear you taking advantage of God's astounding promises to answer the prayers of His people for CHANGE?

May it more and more be so for us as we ask, seek, and knock to the One who CAN.

10 Scriptural Reasons You Can Change - 6

Reason God says you can CHANGE #6:

"God has put us into the CHURCH, the FAMILY of the CHANGING."

We don't change alone. Besides the ceaseless activity of the Trinity for our change, we are part of the most dynamically changing family on earth - the CHURCH. Consider:

• "To each one is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good" 1 Corinthians 12:7
• "...Speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ, from whom the whole body, joined and held together by every joint with which it is equipped, when each part is working properly, makes the body grow so that it builds itself up in love" Ephesians 4:15-16
• "...Let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near" Hebrews 10:24-25
• "As iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another" Proverbs 27:17

Just as our Father in Heaven is determined to make us like Jesus, so we should be with one another. When you are about to meet with another brother or sister for lunch or coffee, do you ask the Lord to help you help THEM to grow? We have the ability to help our brother grow through the indwelling Spirit and His gifts and through the Word dwelling richly within us.

I shudder to think where I would be if it were not for the encouragement, rebuke, correction, wise counsel, and empathetic love of brothers and sisters throughout the years of my Christian journey. A sister who confessed her bitterness towards me that was provoked by my joking about her husband; a public school teacher who encouraged me as a teacher of the Word one summer; a brother who was willing to speak the truth in love about my self-absorption in conversation with others; a fellow elder who shared that he felt I did not really love the sheep in our church; a brother who corrected my false thinking about a certain relationship with a woman who became my wife (!); a professor who gave me strong encouragement to pursue pastoral ministry; a believing wife who mirrors to me my impatience with my precious daughters; a brother who greatly challenges me by his passion for the lost...these and hundreds and hundreds of others have been CHANGE AGENTS in the hands of the Head of the Church in my life.

How about you? Who has God used to change you? Who has God used YOU to change?

Let us PRAY that God will make us more than ever change agents in the lives of our brothers and sisters and that He will graciously do the same through them for us...How we NEED them...How they NEED us. We are both NEEDED and NEEDY.

10 Scriptural Reasons You Can Change - 5

Reason God says we can change #5:

"We have the change agent of the Word of God."

The Bible is no ordinary book. It was written by men who were guided to the very choice of individual words in their writing so that the end result is that it is in its entirety the very WORD OF GOD (2 Peter 1:19-21). Since it is the Word of God, it is ALIVE and POWERFUL (Hebrews 4:12,13). This Word is like a sharp sword that pierces to the very core of our being and REVEALS to us what we are really like. I may think I do not need to change in certain areas of my life, but the Word holds up the mirror of God's REALITY to my mind and shows me that I have an embarrassingly dirty moral face.

The Word of God is PROFITABLE in every way for change (2 Timothy 3:16,17). It is profitable for TEACHING, REPROVING, CORRECTING, and TRAINING IN RIGHTEOUSNESS. Another way of thinking about this is the analogy of a PATH. The WORD of God shows us the path (Teaching). It teaches us how to walk in God's way in our finances, parenting, witnessing, church life, and more. It also shows us when we have SKEWED from the path (REPROOF). I remember well a morning when I was reading in Proverbs and encountered a verse about "honest scales." I was immediately convicted that I was compromising in an area of our family finances and had to repent. I was thankful (eventually!) that the Word shined its light on my wayward ways. The Word of God is also God's CHANGE AGENT in that is shows us how to GET BACK ON the path (CORRECTION). If I find that a significant part of my moral dirtiness is the way I use my tongue to belittle others, the Word shows me how to use my tongue to BUILD others up: what to say, how to say it, when to say it, why to say it (Ephesians 4:29; Proverbs 15:1; Colossians 4:6; 1 Corinthians 10:31). God's Word also instructs me, once I have seen my sin and corrected my path, how to STAY MORE FAITHFULLY on the Path (INSTRUCTION IN RIGHTEOUSNESS). How do I discipline myself for the purpose of godliness? The Bible is my spiritual fitness manual (1 Timothy 4:7ff).

The Bible is able to build me up (Acts 20:32), to daily restore my soul (Psalm 19:7), to supply everything I need for life and godliness (2 Peter 1:3), and to give wisdom and joy (Psalm 19:7,8).

The Bible presents to me the inspired picture of the One whom God is changing me to be like. As I gaze long and deeply on the Lord Jesus as He is presented in the Scriptures, I am being transformed into His likeness (2 Corinthians 3:18).

And so...with this inspired CHANGE AGENT available to me at all times, I TAKE HOPE that even the most deeply entrenched habits from my old life can change as I...

• READ the Bible regularly,
• MEDITATE on the Bible regularly,
• OBEY the Bible regularly.

This book not only describes and defines the CHANGE that God wants in my life, it CHANGES me with divine power because it is the VERY WORD OF GOD.

10 Scriptural Reasons You Can Change - 4

Reason why God says you can change - #4:

"The Sovereign Control of God"

"And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose" Romans 8:28

The following verse, of course, teaches us that the GOOD which God is sovereignly controlling all things for is that we might "be conformed to the image of His Son" Romans 8:29. Being made like Jesus is the constant and ultimate goal of all things in our life. How is it that ALL things work for our becoming like Jesus? Behind every move of the planet, behind every germ that flies through the air towards our nostrils, behind every car on the road next to us, behind every lost job and new job, behind family trials and family blessings, behind today's sermon and tomorrow's devotional reading, behind "chance" happenings and behind the most detailed of planning...there is our Father in Heaven CAUSING all things to be transformed into transforming events in our lives.

God uses all things at all times in all ways as CHANGE AGENTS in our lives. It is IMPOSSIBLE for us not to continue changing and growing into the likeness of Christ with the sovereign God at the helm of the universe.

On one level, the question, "Why is this happening" is ALWAYS answered "to make me like Jesus Christ." Why is God so determined to make me like His Son? HE alone is the perfect man, the sinless man...the One who lived His entire life in submission to the Father. He alone is the man who lived the life of perfect reflection of God. Only like Jesus can I be fitted for heaven...my eternity.

Life is BEING MADE LIKE JESUS 101. That class no believer can audit or skip or exempt. The sovereign Lord is the instructor and his assistants are many: good, bad, devils, angels, people, the physical universe, etc.

May God grant us grace to be good students and to trust our Great Instructor in all his glorious and sovereign methods of CHANGE.

10 Scriptural Reasons You Can Change - 3

Reason why God says we can change #3:

"The Presence of Christ in Heaven for US."

What is Jesus Christ doing at this time? Hebrews 7:25 tells us:

"...He always lives to make intercession for [us]"

In agreement with that statement, Paul writes in Romans 8:34:

"Who is to condemn? Christ Jesus is the one who died - more than that, who was raised - who is at the right hand of God, who indeed is interceding for us."

Not only did Jesus LIVE a perfect life to be put on our account; not only did Jesus DIE a sufficient death to pay the full and final payment for our guilt and sin; not only did Jesus RISE again from the grave overcoming death and guaranteeing our resurrection; Jesus LIVES at the present time in the true temple in Heaven offering never-ceasing prayers for us. He is continuing His ministry as our GREAT HIGH PRIEST.

What is Jesus praying for?

Most certainly what he prayed for Peter in Luke 22:32: "...I have prayed for you that your faith may not fail..."

Most certainly our Great High Priest is praying what He prayed on the night He was betrayed, recorded for us in John 17:

• "Keep them in Your name...that they may be one..." v.11
• "Keep them from the evil one" v.15
• "Sanctify them in the truth; your word is truth" v.17

What Jesus is praying for you and me right now and all the right nows until He returns for us is that God His Father will continue to keep us GROWING and CHANGING and WALKING WITH HIM as we trust in Him, obey Him, and are protected from the devil. How do we know we can CHANGE, even now?

He always lives to make intercession for us...for US! And this PRIEST'S prayers cannot go unheard or unanswered.

10 Scriptural Reasons You Can Change - 2

In one sense, CHANGE is the name of the Christian life. We are always being transformed into the likeness of Christ...and we NEVER reach that full likeness in the here and now. God is engaged in conforming us to His Son's image...a conforming that began when we were BORN AGAIN, born from above, made alive with the very life of God. What an encouragement to know that we are NO LONGER who we were when we were enslaved to sin and the world and Satan. Isn't it because we still see ourselves as the person we were BEFORE Christ that we don't believe we can change?

Reason why God says we can change #2:

"We are indwelt by the Spirit of God."

The Holy Spirit is God the Spirit, the third member (we might say) of the Trinity. He is fully God. And...wonder of wonders, He comes to live in us to apply the work of salvation and CHANGE that the Father planned and the Son accomplished in eternity past.

The Holy Spirit is the Spirit of CHANGE,
"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." 2 Corinthians 3:18

The Holy Spirit is the Spirit of CHARACTER,
"But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control..." Galatians 5:22,23

The Holy Spirit is the Spirit of MOTIVATION and POWER,
"And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. And I will put my Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes and be careful to obey my rules." Ezekiel 36:26,27

Not only has God given you His life in your spirit (Born Again), He has also come to LIVE IN YOUR SOUL. This new life that is ours is brought to us and given to us and maintained in us by the HOLY SPIRIT. As God dwelt above the cherubim in the tabernacle in the wilderness in the holy of holies of that holy tent, the Spirit of God dwells in our hearts...our very bodies are temples of the Spirit in this age...1 Corinthians 6:19. This is astounding...but Scripture assures us it is so.

Therefore, WE CAN CHANGE, no matter our past, present, or future, because the Spirit of God is the present, transforming, SOVEREIGN Spirit. He is in control of all things and works them for our good.

We must be careful, then, NOT to grieve the Spirit (Ephesians 4:30) by our sin and unbelief. We are utterly dependent on Him every moment of every day for godly change.

10 Scriptural Reasons YOU CAN CHANGE - 1

Is change possible for everyone? Can we become more and more like Jesus no matter what our background, no matter what our present circumstances, no matter what our age? Can an "old dog" who is a believer really learn "new tricks"? Can deep, long-entrenched habits of thinking, acting, and responding be overcome and replaced by godliness? Or, as Jeremiah wrote, "Can the Ethiopian change his skin or the leopard his spots?" Jeremiah 13:23.

The immediate answer is, "NO!" That is, NO, if we are asking, "Can I change deep, long-entrenched habits in my life and replace them with godly habits BY MY OWN STRENGTH and BY MY OWN STRATEGY (or with the latest self-help best seller)?"

But if we are asking, "Does GOD have a way, does He make PROMISES that people like me can truly, lastingly change in a God-ward direction?" Then the answer is a resounding, biblical, tried-and-proven-by-believing-saints in all ages, YES!"

For the next 10 days or so, Lord willing, I want to look at ONE REASON a day why this kind of deep, lasting, godly change is possible and promised.

Reason Why God says we can change #1:

Because we are BORN AGAIN.

This may seem like a no-brainer, but it isn't. Often we DO NOT fully understand or keep understanding that being born again is the most life transforming, heart-changing, destiny-altering experience of human existence. Jesus said to Nicodemus, "You must be born again" John 3:7. Being born again is to be raised from spiritual death to spiritual life (Ephesians 2:4-9). It is to be given the very life of GOD himself! It is to be given a heart of flesh (softness and willingness towards God) that has a new bent towards God and is moved and empowered to obey God by the power of the now indwelling Holy Spirit (Ezekiel 36:26,27).

If you are born again by the Spirit of God YOU ARE NOT WHO YOU USED TO BE. "If any man be in Christ (born again) he is a NEW CREATION, the old things have passed away. Behold, all things are new" 2 Corinthians 5:17. You are:

• A NEW PERSON, with
• A NEW POWER, and
• A NEW MASTER, who
• GIVES NEW DESIRES, and who
• NEVER STOPS HIS WORK IN US.

Your ability in Christ and by the Spirit to grow and change and to overcome enslaving habits of the past is JUST AS GREAT AS ANY BELIEVER WHO HAS EVER LIVED. Why? Because you are BORN AGAIN. There are no lesser or great-ers here. We are on the level (but elevated) ground of those with the very life of God.

Radical life change towards godliness can only happen when there is the most radical of all changes in the HEART. "You must be born again."

Are you? If you are not sure, read on...

To be born again and to be given God's life requires you understand:

-God created the world and created us to live under His good rule.

-mankind, beginning with the first man and extending all the way to us, has REJECTED God's rightful rule.

-God’s rightful response to man’s rejection of His rule is JUDGMENT and DEATH.

-God is JUST, but also MERCIFUL and LOVING. In His mercy He has given His Son, Jesus Christ, to suffer judgment as a sinless substitute for those who have rejected God’s rule in their life.

-God commands all people to TURN from their rejection of His rule and TRUST Jesus Christ as their RESCUER and MASTER. To the humble person turning and trusting His GIFT is eternal life.

If you have not TURNED from your own way and your own saving devices and your own religion and your own idols of pleasure and possessions and reputation, DO IT TODAY! TURN to Christ, and TRUST in His saving sacrifice for rebel idol-worshipers like yourself. He DELIGHTS to forgive and rescue idol-worshipers and make them His own. He loves to make lost people BORN AGAIN.

If you would like more information on this being BORN AGAIN drop me a line at fbcstcloud@gmail.com or appointmentwithoutsin@gmail.com

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A TENTH guideline for Biblical Communication:

Deal with problems between you and others quickly. Matthew 5:23ff

We've touched on this previously, but I list it as a separate guideline because it is SO important and we fail SO often to address problems WHEN we should. Why would we WAIT or DELAY to address our problems with our brother?

• We hope they will go away on their own. They will NOT. We speak and act our way into problems and we must speak and act our way out of them.
• We are waiting for the "ideal" time to go to our brother. Perhaps this ideal time is when emotions have died down (which certainly has some wisdom) or when our brother no longer seems angry or upset at us. However, the "ideal" time to go to our brother is ASAP (As Soon As Possible). Even if our brother or sister seems to have forgotten what happened, the truth is they have probably just BURIED it. And a BURIED problem is like PLANTING a toxic plant in the soil of our heart. It WILL bear fruit...cancerous fruit...bitter fruit. And the end will be a MORE DIFFICULT relationship to reconcile.
• We might also be waiting for our brother or sister TO COME TO US. Perhaps we are just plain cowardly, the fear of man holding us in spiritual paralysis. Whether we are the offender or the offended, we are commanded to go. It is a matter of obedience to Christ's command, even if no other godly motive moves us. What if our brother is also waiting for us to come to him? There will be no reconciliation, only growing bitterness and distance.
• We are waiting to think of just the right way to do it and just the right thing to say. We SHOULD carefully consider before we go to our brother WHAT we will say and HOW we will say it. But the question usually is: AM I REALLY praying about this, consistently and earnestly so that I can receive wisdom and go as soon as possible?
• We think that our brother or sister will not be receptive to our efforts to reconcile. Perhaps this comes from their past track record or perhaps we are not believing the best about them as well as not believing in the sovereign work of the Holy Spirit. NEVER fail to obey because of the POSSIBLE response of the other person. It is always right to do right. And the Lord is the Lord of the hearts of all men, especially my brother's heart.

In this area of going to a brother or sister we have offended, we must KNOW OUR HEARTS. We tend to be swayed by the fear of man. We tend to rationalize and compromise our way out of hard obedience. Weak excuses become massive REASONS for disobeying Christ. We must know ourselves. Christ gives this self knowledge through His Word (and through spouses!).

A few guidelines before you QUICKLY go:

• PRAY for wisdom to know what to say and how to say it.
• Pray for the Lord of Peace to bring peace and reconciliation between you and your brother.
• PRAY for a pure heart...not defensive...not bent on "winning"...aware of personal "logs" in your own eyes...with LOVE for your brother.
• ASK one or two trusted brothers or sisters to PRAY FOR YOU. Giving only what info is necessary, ask them to intercede for you as you go, and for your brother as you are received. Ask them to pray for reconciliation.
• Formulate what you will say, focusing on YOUR part in the problem first.
• Contact your brother or sister and ask them WHEN you could get together to talk about what has happened. This lets them know you are serious about reconciliation. Do it humbly so that opening the door to you is easier.
• BE CONFIDENT that you are doing what is pleasing to Christ and that His Spirit will help you with your attitude, words, non-verbals, and actions.

May our Lord bring a revival of reconciliation to His church...starting with you and me.

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A NINTH guideline for Biblical Communication:

"Believe the best about others. Hope the best for them. Trust God for this kind of anti-critical love and God-centered hope."

"Love...is ever ready to believe the best of every person" I Corinthians 13:7 (Amplified Bible)

Why is this a guideline for biblical communication? Because if we truly believe the best about every person in our life is will UTTERLY TRANSFORM the way we speak to them! How often our offense at a brother is birthed in the context of a heart that EXPECTS the WORST from them. Do we really want our brothers to fail? Do we want them to want US to fail?

HOW can we honestly believe the best about our brothers? By trusting that OUR GOD is THEIR GOD and that He is a God who NEVER GIVES UP on us or them. God is at work transforming the hearts of His people. The God who commands us to believe the best of our brother is at work giving us hearts that can do just that! The Holy Spirit who indwells us and our brother is the Spirit of LOVE...love that believes the best.

No one on this earth has absolutely PURE motives. However, the children of God are constantly being transformed into the image of the ONE who was PURE in every word and thought throughout His holy life on earth (Romans 8:29; 2 Corinthians 3:18). If God is doing this in us and in our brothers then it is a reasonable thing to believe the best of them.

One reason we often take offense and expect the worst is that we think we know the HEARTS of others. We reason that a person's motives were clear when they said or did a certain thing. But once again...we ONLY CAN KNOW what we SEE or HEAR. We DO NOT know the motives of others. There is ONE heart-knower, and He is not US! Therefore, knowing that a certain word or phrase or action can have a hundred possible motives behind it...good and bad...it is a safer and wiser and more humble thing to BELIEVE THE BEST.

We also tend, like the culture we live in, to believe the worst of those we do not have affinity with or that we are not close to or just plain for whatever reason DON'T LIKE.

If you tend to be quickly critical of your brothers and to believe the WORST of them, what can you do to change?

• Remind yourself what kind of sinner you are and what an arrogant thing it is to assume God's position and judge my brother.
• Remind yourself that you do not know the heart of your brother. Never have, never will.
• Remind yourself that the Lord of hearts who is at work in you by grace is also at work in your brother producing genuine Christ likeness...from the heart outward.
• PRAY to God to give you a daily filling of the HOLY SPIRIT of "believing all things" love. He delights to answer that prayer: Luke 11:13. Pray this especially if you are going to be around brothers that you naturally have a difficult time with.
• By a believing act of the will, CHOOSE to believe the best. Talk to yourself: "Self, this is my brother (or sister). They are part of the same body of Christ as I am. They have the same sanctifying Lord that I do. He is at work in them. I am commanded to love them...and I DO. I WILL believe that what they say and do is meant to honor the Lord."
• Be THANKFUL for your brother. Thankfulness is transforming. It is difficult to find reasons to be thankful for someone and to be suspicious and accusatory of them at the same time.
• In conversations with others, YOU be the one to speak positively about a brother and to put the best interpretation on what someone has said or done.

Of course, clearly sinful words or actions do not need to be interpreted at a heart level. Sinful words (profanity, angry abuse) are sinful. Sinful actions (stealing, adultery, hitting in anger) are sinful. If we hear or witness these kinds of things from our brother, our responsibility is to go to them and confront them and challenge them to repent...in love.

But our problem is more often taking offense because we have not believed the best of our brother. May our Lord transform us into those whose first reaction FROM THE HEART is to believe the best of our brothers and sisters.

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An EIGHTH guideline for Biblical Communication:

"If someone having a problem with another brother comes to you before they go to that brother, encourage and urge them to go to their brother right away and to talk over the problem with them FIRST."

You can help a brother who has come to you first by PRAYING with them for courage and humility and wisdom as they go to their brother. Let them lovingly know that for them to share details with you would very possibly be gossip. Encourage them that Christ will be with them because He loves His body and He loves peace. You might also give some general advice regarding how to approach a brother with the problem.

Of course, there may be times when sharing SOME details will be necessary for you to help someone. They may need help to identify just what the offense was biblically or they may need help with how to approach their brother. This can be done WITHOUT sharing the identity of a brother and without sharing UNNECESSARY DETAILS about what has happened. A general rule in talking to someone about their conflict with a third party is: focus on the person present and not the person absent.

NEVER allow someone to vent their anger or spew their bitterness towards a brother in your presence.

You might also volunteer your help if the reconciling process is not going well and BOTH this brother and the other brother are open to your mediation.

Other exceptional situations might be a child going to an adult or an abused person going to their abuser or a male going to seek reconciliation with a non-family member female. In such cases there may well be need for someone to go with a brother from the first contact. In such a case, we must be earnestly dependent on the Holy Spirit for a spirit of impartiality and grace and wisdom and peace-making.

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A SEVENTH guideline for Biblical Communication:

"Refuse to listen to information you have no business knowing about a problem between others and don't give information to people who are not immediately involved with a problem. To give information to those outside the loop of a problem often equals GOSSIP and gossip is a serious sin before the Lord and to the body of Christ: Proverbs 11:13; 16:28; 18:8; 26:20."

John MacArthur comments that a gossip is someone who "peddles scandal." It is one who speaks words deliberately intended to harm rather than merely unguarded speech.

This is one of the most difficult of all sins of the tongue to tame! For some of us the temptation to gossip begins as we listen to gossip from others and do nothing to stop it. Speaking up to question whether certain information should be shared runs counter to the FEAR of MAN (Proverbs 29:25). We ARE a curious culture and we want to know every juicy bit of information that is available. There is often a secret delight in the failure of others. Our tendency to sinfully compare ourselves with others is satisfied through gossip.

If you are not directly responsible or involved in the problem someone is facing or the sin they have fallen to or its solution, DO NOT listen to details about the situation. Most often a general "John needs special prayer at this time" is sufficient to elicit prayer from those who are not hungry for the morsels of gossip. If a brother wants to know more, tell him you are not at liberty to share more.

If you do not know whether a brother is OK with you sharing information about his problem or need...ASK HIM. You may need to ask him exactly WHAT he is comfortable with you sharing with others. If you are not sure what to share, ERR on the side of less details and more general information. As we are careful about what we share and what we listen to, we will protect our brother's rightful privacy, prevent gossip, and protect our brothers and sisters from the temptation to gossip.