"Who Are You?"

Scripture: Exodus 3:13-14 "Then Moses said to God, 'Indeed, when I come to the children of Israel and say to them, "The God of your fathers has sent me to you," and they say to me, "What is His name?" what shall I say to them?' And God said to Moses, 'I AM WHO I AM.' And He said, 'Thus you shall say to the children of Israel, "I AM has sent me to you."'"

Observation: The name that God gives to Moses for Himself is one of the most significant things in the entire Bible. "I AM" is the Hebrew word transliterated as haya (with a couple of cool marks above both a's) and as it pertains to God it simply means "to exist".

God just exists. He has no beginning or end. He doesn't even experience moments passing.  He doesn't require the decision-making processes that we do because He never learns any knowledge of experience or of past or present. His decisions have always occurred. He is not supported by anything.

There are no needs for God. He doesn't need the universe to exist, or us. He lacks no thing. The trinity is a perfect relationship and needs no external compliments. He has no bounds for bounds are part of a physical existence. He simply exists. We humans are completely unable to truly grasp His being (which is the point of Psalm 145:3).

Application: Why was this God's answer and why is it significant to me? Moses' question was a search for confidence. God's answer is simply this: "You can be sure of what I am saying because I am He who is so beyond all created things and so in control of all created things that if I want something done, it happens. Nothing can resist My will."

Rest in the shadow of a God who is unstoppable, who cannot be deterred, and who is unchangeably on my side as I go about doing His business and walking in nearness to Him.

Irregardless

See - not a word.

Good News

Scripture: Romans 16:25-27 "Now to Him who is able to establish you according to my gospel and the preaching of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery kept secret since the world began but now made manifest, and by the prophetic Scriptures made known to all nations, according to the commandment of the everlasting God, for obedience to the faith— to God, alone wise, be glory through Jesus Christ forever. Amen."

Observation: When I prepared to teach this in Sunday school back in April, the first thing in this passage that caught my eye was the phrase "the preaching of Jesus Christ." That is basically synonymous with the previous phrase "my gospel".

It caught my attention because the gospel, which is normally summarized as the fact that Jesus lived, died and rose again, seems pretty straight forward and yet Paul just spent 16 chapters on this gospel! So here it seems that Paul lays out the attributes of the gospel that I must understand, for by grasping these my life should change; these truths are that huge!
1. The gospel is the foundation.
2. It was kept secret (Ephesians 3:3-4, 3:9, 6:19; Colossians 1:26-27, 2:2, 4:3).
3. It was predicted and witnessed to (Romans 3:22).
4. It is to be submitted to - consequences come from disobeying it and obeying it.
5. It is for the world - no other religious system will suffice. All roads don't lead to God. Salvation only comes through Jesus and only lead to this God. Universality is false and demonic. Pluralism is false and demonic. This is the gospel that YHWH has designed, delivered and witnessed to. Rejection of this equals rejection of God.
6. It's ultimate purpose is to bring glory to God (Ephesians 3:8-12).

Application: All preaching should be based on the gospel and should point back to Jesus. Regardless if the subject is about history or current events, traffic tickets or human trafficking, if it is preached it must return us to Jesus Christ. If separated from the purpose of pointing others to God through Jesus Christ, all preaching, teaching, service, social work, gifts, etc. is ultimately meaningless.

Find Jesus in everything and make Him known.

Prayer: Thank You, thank You, thank You! I am saved by Your grace alone that the praise may be to You alone for the glory that belongs to You alone. Amen. 

Parting Words of Paul

Scripture: Romans 16:17-20 “ Now I urge you, brethren, note those who cause divisions and offenses, contrary to the doctrine which you learned, and avoid them. For those who are such do not serve our Lord Jesus Christ, but their own belly, and by smooth words and flattering speech deceive the hearts of the simple. For your obedience has become known to all. Therefore I am glad on your behalf; but I want you to be wise in what is good, and simple concerning evil. And the God of peace will crush Satan under your feet shortly. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you. Amen.”

Observation: These are some of Paul’s final thoughts in the letter. He is summing up the concerns that has been behind much of the theology of the first fourteen chapters. His heart felt outpouring reveals a couple things.

First, Paul would never ascribe to the anti-emotion rhetoric that sometimes echoes in theological talks these days. Similar to the differentiation between money being the root of all kinds of evil verses the love of it being the root of all kinds of evils, so also a biblical perspective on human emotions cannot demonize emotions absolutely.

Second, Paul’s theology and his emotions are consistent. In the first thirteen or so chapters, he explored a gospel that reveals a God who loves me, teaches of my desperate need for forgiveness and that has the power to change lives. Then Paul spent the last two or three chapters pouring out his heart for fellow believers and for the lost. Here in today’s four verses he gives five warnings or concerns in the manner of a true, loving father or mentor. He reminds them of:

1.     The influence of those who cause division.

2.     The faith of those that are weak in their doctrinal understanding (2 Timothy 2:15, 1 Timothy 4:15 and Psalm 119:9-11)

3.     The influence of good works.

4.     The influence of evil works.

5.     Their perseverance.

Application: Continue to discern the good and bad influences in my life. In this area, the enemy of the God's best is not the worst... it's the good. Study the Word to protect myself and to protect and encourage others. Fellowship with the church, pursuing unity and encouragement, to ensure our mutual perseverance.

Prayer: Lord, I know that even with your grace sustaining me my faith is tender. So is the faith of others. Help me to remember that I’m in a battle. Satan and the angels with him are real and they  hate me and every other person. They want us to fail. Please teach me steadfastness. I love You. Amen.

The Value Of Being A Master Craftsman

Scripture: Romans 16:19 "...but I want you to be wise in what is good, and simple concerning evil."

Observation:
"wise" - Greek sophos: skilled, expert in something (especially artisan skills), forming the best plans and using the best means for the execution.
"simple" - Greek akeraios: unmixed; literally, pure as in wines or metals; figuratively, of the mind, free of evil, innocent.

I knew a man once who had very little intention of pursuing holiness. He professed Christ as Lord. He told me that by remaining in and struggling with sin he was a better witness to unbelieving people; he was able to relate with them and they were more open to talk to him. Was this a good thing?

At the time I was unsure, but the Scripture says the answer is "no". The important thing is that "why".

First, as we walk in faith and pursue a holy lifestyle God will bring victory over sin (i.e. He'll sanctify us). This is the point of verse 20.

Second, there are also the dangers or consequences of being "skilled" in evil. Being wise in evil:
1. Means not being wise in good things. They are mutually exclusive on a real-time basis.
2. Creates stumbling blocks for me (and others).
3. Creates "friendships with the world" (see James 4:4).
4. Breaks fellowship with God.
5. Divides the church over sin.
6. Undermines ministry and serving.
7. Demonstrates that Christ, the Holy Spirit, and the Father have no immediate power or effectiveness over sin.

Application: Look at my life. Remove the time wasters that teach me evil. Like an artisan, approach the craft of holiness and spiritual growth as something that is learned through daily practice, training and apprenticing. Be the student at all times. Teach when possible.

Prayer: Father, I need a ton of humility here. I'm an arrogant, proud man. Purify me and I shall be white as snow. That's Your promise and I cling to it. Help me to set my path straight. I love You! Amen.

Not For The Faint Of Heart

Scripture: Romans 16:17-18 "Now I urge you, brethren, note those who cause divisions and offenses, contrary to the doctrine which you learned, and avoid them. For those who are such do not serve our Lord Jesus Christ, but their own belly, and by smooth words and flattering speech deceive the hearts of the simple."

Observation:
Paul has emphasized unity of the body of Christ - the truth church - throughout Romans. In fact, in a quick scan of all the chapters, I found a direct mention of unity in every chapter of Romans except for Chapters 6 and 7.

Paul had a clear purpose for stressing the importance of unity. However, he did so on the back of a firm theological foundation. While Scripture can, in a simplistic - though mostly unhelpful - way, be boiled down to love in action, Paul never promoted such an approach to the Scriptures, the work of God or our faith.  Our faith is complete foolishness if it lacks coherence and truth as bedrocks.

What unity does not mean... It does not mean that I
1. Don't contend for the faith.
2. Dismiss denials of essential doctrines by professing believers.
3. Remain uneducated on non-essential doctrines; I have to be able to defend those as well (I just don't need to die on those hills).
4. Ignore attacks from non-believers.
5. Sacrifice truth and doctrine on the alter of unity.

A strong grasp of theology is indispensable for me (and all believers). Jude implored believers to study and defend Christianity. 1 John 2:18-19 identifies thorough Biblical literacy as the means by which purity is kept!

Application: Paul emphasized unity. Paul emphasized defending and teaching doctrine. Do the same!

Prayer: Father, thank You for the gift of eternal life that is founded on and requires faith, yet that doesn't require nonsensical belief.  Purify Your church, Lord! I love You. Amen.

Equal But Different

Scripture: Romans 16:7 "Greet Andronicus and Junia, my countrymen and my fellow prisoners, who are of note among the apostles, who also were in Christ before me."

Observation: This verse has been scrutinized by Christian's for a long time. The apparent problem is that Junia was a woman and Paul says she ranked high among the apostles. Why is that scandalous? It is thought by some that apostles can only be men because the office of an apostle exercised authority over the church and Paul said in 1 Timothy 2:12 that woman are not to be in authority over men (in the church). Therefore, either Junia was a man or the phrase about her apostleship meant that the apostles took note of her because of her excellent work for Christ in ministry.

Two things here: (1) the best N.T. and first century scholarship confirms that "Junia" would not be a man's name, even if it was short for something else, and (2) the word "apostle" is not a technical one nor is it strictly a biblical one. It was a common Greek word for an emissary or messenger (meaning "one sent with a message").

1 Timothy 2:12 is still God's design for church leadership. It does not reflect God's valuation of men or women, but merely defines roles or functions. The Bible frequently, as a historical document that accurately records historically true events, describes sexism or prejudices but that does not mean that it endorses it.

Application:
Again, the Bible teaches no inequality between the sexes. Guard my mind from the prejudices that the word teaches. Even when the world attempts to correct such sex-based superiority, they either denigrate one sex or they swing to the opposite extreme. Ultimately, they reject God's authority as Creator and for God's designed purpose for men and women. In doing so, they can provide neither sufficient nor logically-sound justification for equality. So, they swing from one extreme to the other.

Prayer; Father, thank You for speaking to me today. Thank You for Your protecting grace and Your grace which guides me away from evil. Your Spirit is my strength. I love You. Amen.

Thesis Statement of Hebrews... By An Eight-Year Old

Okay, so the title above isn't exactly the truth, but it's close.

Sometime in April for our morning Bible study we started going through the theology-rich (and big-worded) Bible book titled "Hebrews". As of Day 2 something had to change. Apparently it was making everyone under the age of 36 cranky.

The Lord gave me the idea of making it a bit more enjoyable and engaging by having a different family member draw a picture of the main theme of each chapter each day. Some days it took more than one day to get through those chapters though. Some days it took more than one day to draw the picture.

After we finished drawing pictures of each chapter we used a method I learned in Bible college in which the main themes of each section are pulled together to make one theme of larger sections. Then  those large sections are pulled together to summarize the focus on even larger passages (one or two chapters) and so on until eventually one single full-letter-summarizing sentence is formed. It's actually really helpful in aiding good interpretation of the Bible. It keeps everything in context.

Here's our results. The first picture is, well, our pictures. Yes, Chapter 6 is about pizza, Chapter 7 is about babies and Chapter 8 is about monkeys.















This one is us trying to pull the themes together, plus a little nasty glare.

The third is the thesis statement that Nori made on her own. I couldn't have done any better.

So I say, not bad. It was definitely worth the two months we spent getting up and at 'em each morning at 7. I encourage all parents to carve out some time every day to spend together around the word. It has done wonders in our family. Not that it's all roses at 7 am, but I've found a little crankiness does wonders for growing us in how to show patience and grace to each other.

I doubt anyone else would get what we got based on the pictures, though.

Someone please give me advice on how to talk Christian out of wanting to do the book of the Revelation next.

Give Her Props And Get To Work

Scripture: “I commend to you Phoebe our sister, who is a servant of the church in Cenchrea, that you may receive her in the Lord in a manner worthy of the saints, and assist her in whatever business she has need of you…”

Observation: The Greek word translated “servant” here is transliterated diakonos, which refers to a “deacon” elsewhere. I don’t see any reason to render it as “servant” here. Clearly Paul sees here as a deacon and wants those in Rome to  think the same.

“that you… assist her in whatever business she has need of you…” I love this! Pheobe traveled from Corinth to Rome to deliver this letter, but either before she arrived or afterward she made some other plans for serving the Lord as well.

Application: Continue to challenge any thinking that limilts the role of women beyond what Scripture does. Continue to check any negative views of women and encourage the women in the church to step out into whatever they feel the Lord is calling them. The church of Christ needs all women serving with their Holy Spirit-given spiritual gifts in order for the body of Christ to be complete. More will come on the roles of women later on in this chapter.

I am always on mission for the gospel. Be about that business and aid those who are working for the furtherance of the awesome news of Jesus’ work for us. The world needs Jesus (just saying) and they need to know that God loves them and they need to hear that they need to repent, turn to God and do works befitting repentance (Acts 26:20). I’m the apostle (“one sent”) for that mission. Fulfill that mission.

Prayer: Father, I love you. You are far too good to me. I find daily that I’m good at not being good. But your mercy and grace are abundant and strong. Thank you for loving me beyond my wildest dreams. Amen.

Bold For The Brightness, The Blessed, And The Bound

Scripture: Romans 15:15-16 "Nevertheless, brethren, I have written more boldly to you on some points, as reminding you, because of the grace given to me by God, that I might be a minister of Jesus Christ to the Gentiles, ministering the gospel of God, that the offering of the Gentiles might be acceptable, sanctified by the Holy Spirit."

Observation:
These two verses are packed with important truths which I suppose could be separate journals.

1. "grace given to me by God" - reference to Ephesians 3:1-12 (especially verse 8).

2. "the gospel of God" - gospel = good news. The wonderful things that people love about Jesus are the wonderful things that people should love about God. It is God the Father that we are reconciled to and it is God the Son that we are reconciled through!

3. All three trinity members are named here - yes, the Bible teaches a triune God, but not three separate gods.

4. (today's focus) "I have written more bodily to you on some points."

Paul was willing to be direct, honest, unashamed, and bold in his ministry - even willing to risk the possibility of offense (sometimes), because he knew what was at stake! He is focused on the spread of the gospel and the acceptability of the Gentile's lives before God (his master).

Application: Be bold with proclaiming God's name and God's message to others. That means I have to care enough about people and about the glory (fame) of God to act on the importance of those two things.

Mark 8:38 says, "For whoever is ashamed of Me and My words in this adulterous and sinful generation, of him the Son of Man also will be ashamed when He comes in the glory of His Father with the holy angels."

Prayer: Lord, I need You. This whole thing, my life day in and day out, ought to be about You. Help me to see You and Your mission today. I love You. Amen.

The Mission And The Master

Scripture: Romans 15:30 "Now I beg you, brethren, through the Lord Jesus Christ and through the love of the Spirit, that you strive together with me in prayers to God for me."

Observation: In verse 30 Paul asks the church to pray. Verses 31-33 describe what he desires the content of their prayers to be - it's his prayer list, if you will. I think I need to learn from this.

Here's the heart of what Paul asks for prayers for:
1. that he could be delivered from the Jews that were fighting against the gospel (those that he was once numbered among...).

2. that his service in delivering the gifts to the poor Christians in Jerusalem would be found acceptable to the church at large (especially those that received and those that gave).

3. that Paul could finally come to them in Rome (in other words, that God would extend Paul's evangelical mission to Rome).

4. that they would finally be able to fellowship over their common faith (and I believe, as with all things that Paul does, he is also driving at the ministering of him to them and vice versa as a "refreshing" to their spirits (i.e. service to the body of Christ and the exercising of spiritual gifts brings strengthening and refreshing to my faith).

First of all, Paul's four requests are ultimately about God's glory.
1. Paul wants to be delivered from haters of God (John 15:18-25) so that the gospel can be preached so that God is glorified (Ephesians 1:3-6; Philippians 1:20-25; 1 Corinthians 1:23-29).

2. He knows that if his service is honorable, the believers will thank and glorify God more.

3. Paul wants the gospel to spread more (to Rome and to Spain) for God's glory.

4. Finally, fellowship and Christian ministering/service are God's plan to bring God's people closer to Him (John 3:21-24).

Second, I think Paul spent so much time in the letter to the Romans teaching "salvation by faith alone" because he knew that any thinking which was contrary to that crucial doctrine would undermine the pleads he would make for their unity in chapters 9-15. If I peel additional layers back on Paul's point, he had to establish their unity so that they could be united behind the cause of the spreading the good news about Jesus Christ.

So, at its core, the entire letter is Paul's action call to the Great Commission for the purpose of magnifying our Great Commissioner.

Application:
1. My life ought to be 100% about the glory of God.

2. The unity of believers behind the gospel is of utmost importance.  Make it a priority in my life.

3. Get active in the spread of the awesome news of my Savior, Jesus.

Prayer: Father, I want Your fame to spread and increase. Please turn my heart toward loving other believers more, valuing service in Your church and committing to unashamedly share the gospel. I love You. Teach me to love You better! Amen.

From Seriously

I get regular posts from Steve Maxwell. He has a blog that is purposed to encourage men, specifically fathers, in their roles as fathers and husbands. I wanted to email the posts to some friends but I'm going to repost them instead. Here's the first. 

WORKING IN A SALT MINE

This was posted on March 15, 2014 by Steve Maxwell.

Tomorrow is another work day. You will head off to work, spend all day, and come home to the famly. Then you will begin all over again the next day. The weekend will come yielding a change of pace, and then it begins again on Monday.

Many years ago I had a hamster. He would run in an exercise wheel for hours. He never went anywhere or accomplished anything. It was a whirl of activity, but that little hamster had nothing to show for it. Can you relate to that?

Our joy in work comes down to “why” we are doing what we are doing. We must be looking beyond the immediate activity and seeing the whole picture. Why are we working?

One dad is bringing home a paycheck to feed his family. Another dad is working because it is expected of him. He goes to work; Mom stays home. Another dad views his job as a means to raising God’s heritage. His family members are his best friends, and his delight is raising his children in the nurture and admonition of the Lord.

“And whatsoever ye do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God and the Father by him” (Colossians 3:17).

“Except the LORD build the house, they labour in vain that build it: … Lo, children are an heritage of the LORD: and the fruit of the womb is his reward” (Psalms 127:1,3).

What’s your “why?”

Steve Maxwell

Do I Demolish or Do I Build?

Scripture: Romans 15:14 “Now I myself am confident concerning you, my brethren, that you also are full of goodness, filled with all knowledge, able also to admonish one another.”

Observation: Paul has spent much time throughout the letter to the Romans in instructions and strong warnings over things they ought not do. All the while, and here in this verse, he encourages them so as to keep them from falling into despair, frustration or defeat. He also knew how important it was that his audience not sense condemnation. Paul instructed from a heart of passion that desired the Found and the Lost to come to know God through Jesus Christ. And ultimately that desire was established on the greater goal of the glory of God.

Application: I’ve read frequently that I should bless people seven times for every one criticism that I offer, or something similar to that. I struggle with doing that, though. The difference, I believe, is the state of my heart. Or maybe failing to make known my heart to others. My heart burns for people to be freed from the bondage of sin and to be freed from its consequences, but I do not express that very much in a positive way. So the application for me is to start today to say something encouraging about every person I speak with in each conversation.

Prayer: Father, please help me to accomplish this application. Not for the purpose of self-righteousness and pride, but out of a desire to build others up and to help them to see You more clearly. I love You. Amen.

Live United.

Scripture: Romans 5:13 "Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that you may abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit."

Observation: (#4 from May 6th) The cross is the foundation for why we ought to "receive" (vs 7) all people from all nations, tribes and tongues in unity.

I key in on the word "Now" ... "Now may the God of hope fill" who? The "you refers to the whole united ecclesia of Jews and Gentiles. We, the church, have the certain promise of spiritual blessings now. What occurred to cause the certainty of those blessings? The cross of Jesus.

The cross is the most gruesome of sights.
The cross is the most sweet of sights.

At the cross I am revealed as a damnable sinner.
At the cross I am revealed as the forgiven and beloved child of God!

Application:
Really, this is a call for me to:
1. Remember (yet again) the preciousness of the cross.

2. Share the promise of the acceptance of all (who are willing to come) through the cross.

3. "Get" the unity that should be in the body of Christ. Receive other believers without partiality.

Prayer: Please help me, my Father, to remember the promises, to receive all believers without judging or prejudice, and to share the good news of Jesus Christ with those I meet today. I cannot but love you! Amen.