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Audience of One

Recently I took the leap to request anonymous professional feedback from co-workers including leaders to whom I report, my peers, and those who report to me. And by “leap”, this is my confession that I was nervous. The request went out to roughly forty people who have had serious insights into my behavior over the last five years at the company where we serve.

Would their responses be better or worse than my own “inner monologue”? Would they tell me things I don’t already know? Would there be harsh comments or would the comments be gentle and encouraging?

Regardless of their feedback, there are things in my heart that I know can be improved upon. I’ve made mistakes, and whether public or private, the fact is that no one is perfect.

When considering what work colleagues think of me I thought further about how God knows all my secrets. My failures, fears, bad thoughts, all of my sins.

3 But among you there must not be even a hint of sexual immorality, or of any kind of impurity, or of greed, because these are improper for God’s holy people. 4 Nor should there be obscenity, foolish talk or coarse joking, which are out of place, but rather thanksgiving. 18 Do not get drunk on wine, which leads to debauchery. Instead, be filled with the Spirit, (Ephesians 5:3-4, 18)

After spending time in today’s reading (Ephesians 5:1-20) I was convicted with the realization that during this time of professional feedback, I was more focused on what others thought of me than how God views my sins. He should be my audience of one.

Fortunately when we go back to the beginning of Ephesians Chapter 5 we are reminded that Christ gave himself up for us, for our sins piled high. If our behavior is pleasing to God then inherently it won’t matter what others think of us because comparatively, nothing else matters.

Instructions for Christian Living

Today’s Reading:  Ephesians 4:17-32

A couple weeks ago, my 18 year old told me he’d had a fight with his friend about a controversial issue.  He went on to explain their disagreement and share more details about his point of view.  I walked away from that conversation with mixed emotions.  On one hand, I felt good because his theology was in line with the Bible and I was thankful that he had the courage to stand up for it.  On the other hand, I was worried his delivery may have over shadowed his message.  See my 18 year old son is very outspoken about his convictions, but has very little patience for listening to different points of view.  Discussions about controversial topics, even those about which we generally agree, often turn heated at our house.

The New International Version translation of the Bible titles Ephesians 4:17-21, our scripture for today, as “Instructions for Christian Living”.  Verses 29-32 made me think of Freddy and his loud mouth.  Unfortunately I also found them deeply convicting.  Let’s take a closer look.

Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen (Ephesians 4:29).

Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice (Ephesians 4:31).

Yikes.  While I don’t struggle all that much with gossip, I know what comes out of my mouth isn’t always aimed at building others up.  I have room to improve here.  But the next part is even harder.  Verse 31 goes deeper by instructing us to get rid of bitterness, rage, anger, brawling, slander and malice.  This isn’t just about what we say, it includes what we do and what we think/feel.  Controlling how we outwardly react to a situation is hard enough, but controlling how we feel in the heat of battle can seem almost impossible sometimes.

I definitely don’t have everything figured out, but what I have learned is that treating someone with kindness helps to diffuse bitterness, rage and anger.  When I feel wronged by someone, my natural reaction is to try and avoid contact with them.  But you know what I’ve found?  If I treat them with kindness rather than saying hurtful things or avoiding them, harboring anger and bitterness becomes much harder.  True kindness and compassion towards others helps to right a lot of wrongs.

Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you (Ephesians 4:32).

 

 

The Stewardship of God’s Grace

There are many things we are called to be good stewards of.  Time and money are the obvious ones.  Maybe you think about health or, gifts and talents. Good stewards of any of these are easily spotted.  You might even be able to identify what makes them a good steward. Today, in Ephesians 3, Paul suggests grace as an additional item to steward.

Each of the items I mentioned has significant value.  To maintain it, they require care. Vigilance even.  This is particularly true for grace.  Why?  Because we will always choose strength over grace.  To harsh?  Consider Peter.  He was sure that his strength of faith was enough to keep him clean.  He believed that right up until he heard the rooster crow (Mark 14:72).  Suddenly, he understood his greater need for grace.

There is a significant contrast between Peter and Paul.  First, Paul had a keen awareness of his weakness.  He testifies, “I have discovered this principle of life—that when I want to do what is right, I inevitably do what is wrong. I love God’s law with all my heart.  But there is another power within me that is at war with my mind. This power makes me a slave to the sin that is still within me (Romans 7:21-23).  This confession allows Paul to understand that there is no way out of sin.  Instead, he must have a way through it.  So do we.

Grace offers us a way through it.  It comes, fully and freely, upon our remembrance of Jesus Christ and his sacrifice.  Paul says it well in Romans 8:11, “If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit who dwells in you.”

You’re In

Today’s Reading: Ephesians 3:1-21

It’s incredible to think back to how much of my life I have always just tried to fit in.  I wouldn’t be inaccurate in saying that most likely, in all aspects, I have just tried to appear like I have it all together.  As humans, we try our best to fit in; many of us will face this-worldly battle until there is no battle to fight on this side of the earth anymore. Thankfully we know that Jesus says, You’re already in.  We can stop the daily hustle, grind, and race that wakes you up by the alarm and keeps you going until you fall asleep.  I wish and pray that I have this down, but it would not be honest.  There are still times I try to fit in at my job, with my parenting, with friends, in our marriage, and in any other daily interaction that requires my presence.

Give yourself some grace.  Turn every moment of insecurity to Him.  We attempt and try to be the All-Star in all we do. We spend a lot of time trying to live by the rules people set for us. I have now seen days where I’m parenting and forcing the world’s expectations into them at a young age instead of just my love and His promise that takes care of every aspect of life.

None of the rules of life or the attempted All-Star parenting measures up to the power the love of Jesus has for us. If I can teach others and my family, I want to show them how to live in grace like Jesus and to walk in love like Jesus.  I need prayer to be their number one model. Will you pray for me?

I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the lord’s holy people, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge– that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God. Ephesians 3:17-19

Jesus: The Emulsifier

Today’s Reading : Ephesian 2:1-22

As a child of the 80’s, I remember many sitcoms that were available to me as a youth. As I look at my children today they are obsessed with YouTube and other videos and do not have access to the great genre of television shows that I had access to as a child. But in these sitcoms, there were times where a person was having a dilemma and they needed to figure out what would be the best course of action. In these times, the actor would have a good side and a bad side, an angel and a devil, on their shoulders and they would consult each of these for their situation.

In real life, we actually do have two major sides that are residing in our body. We have the flesh, which is the natural side of our being. We also have the spiritual side. There is always a conflict between the flesh and the spirit sides in our body. But we have the person of Christ Jesus which has bridged the divide within us.

Ephesians 2: 13-16

But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ. For he himself is our peace, who has made us both one and has broken down in his flesh the dividing wall of hostility by abolishing the law of commandments expressed in ordinances, that he might create in himself one new man in place of the two, so making peace, and might reconcile us both to God in one body through the cross, thereby killing the hostility.

We have the benefit and the luxury of having Christ coming into the world and making available to us the Holy Spirit. Before Christ came to the world the spirit of God was available, but not to everybody. Before Christ we were all flesh, and there was no spirit within us. Before Christ we did not truly understand good and bad for ourselves.

But when Christ came he brought the Holy Spirit to us through his body. In Ephesians, we are seeing the two natures of Christ: the spirit and the physical manifest in one. Before Christ the spirit and the body could not coexist as it does today.

When Christ came to Earth, he became an emulsifier. An emulsifier is an agent that brings two unlike things together. When you are mixing water and oil together, they will separate. But when you put in an emulsifier with these to the water and oil , then you make the water and oil combine together so they do not separate. When Christ came into our life he brought the spirit. When Christ came to our lives he allowed our flesh and the spirit to combine as one, as he himself was the first to bring this together.

In essence, Christ has made us new creations. We are no longer just flesh without the spirit, but we are flesh and spirit together. Before Christ we did not truly understand good or love or peace within ourselves. But with Christ we have the Spirit of God living in us daily. For some of us we will be able to acknowledge the spirit. For others they are not able to acknowledge the spirit because it has not been shown to them that they have good. But we all have a spirit inside of us.

Ephesians 2: 19- 22 

So then you are no longer strangers and aliens,but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the cornerstone, in whom the whole structure, being joined together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord. In him you also are being built together into a dwelling place for God by the Spirit.

Let us acknowledge how good new creations we are on a daily basis. This is a continual process. Sometimes when you allow oil and water to sit even in the presence of an emulsifier, they may separate. But it’s up to us to shake up the solution daily. When we shake the solution (the flesh and the spirit) daily: by meditating, by reading the Scriptures, by showing love to each other… We are continually creating new creations through Christ.  Let us not become separated in our body.  Let us allow Christ to daily combine our flesh and spirit and produce good for God’s glory.

Life is Hard, but God is Good

How has your day been? Your week? Your month? Odds are that you have faced a trial or two. Maybe it was a quick argument or a small fender-bender. Or, maybe you or someone you love is facing a difficult health or personal circumstances. The reality is, this is life. Life is hard. No where will we find a promise that our life is supposed to be easy. In fact, we read in God’s Word that we will have trouble.

“I have told you all this so that you may have peace in me. Here on earth you will have many trials and sorrows. But take heart, because I have overcome the world.”
John 16:33

As we go through these troubles in our life, it is easy to lose focus. The enemy wants nothing more than to get in our thoughts and feelings and tell us lies about what we are experiencing. The enemy is waiting for any moment that he can jump in on our struggles. He makes us think that we haven’t handled a situation right, that we are not good enough, that we could have done more. He never stops whispering in our ear that we are never going to measure up.

But!!!! If we know Jesus, we are none of the lies that the enemy wants us to believe about ourselves.

In our reading today, Ephesians 1, Paul reminds the church of Ephesus, and us, who we are in Christ.

All praise to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly realms because we are united with Christ. Even before he made the world, God loved us and chose us in Christ to be holy and without fault in his eyes. God decided in advance to adopt us into his own family by bringing us to himself through Jesus Christ. This is what he wanted to do, and it gave him great pleasure. So we praise God for the glorious grace he has Poured out on us who belong to his dear Son. He is so rich in kindness and grace that he purchased our freedom with the blood of his Son and forgave our sins.
Ephesians 1:3-7

Did you read that and realize that we already have everything we need through Christ. I find that when I make scripture personal I relate to it on a different level. Do this. Read the above verses again and exchange the underlined word with your name, I, and me. This is written for you. When you insert your name, you really understand what God has done for you!

God has blessed you with every spiritual blessing.
You are Holy and without fault in the eyes of God .
You are adopted as His child.
You are beloved and accepted by his son Jesus.
In Jesus, you are redeemed and your sins are forgiven!

We are not defined by the thoughts that drift into our mind from the enemy. We are not defined by how we are handling a certain situation or by our past.

We are defined by God. Our identity in Chris is our true worth. It is easy to get wrapped up in our circumstances, especially when they are hard. Take a moment to read the scripture above and remember who you truly are… A child of the one true God!

Staying Strong

Today’s reading is Hebrew 12:12-19.

I’m sure many of you can relate in some way to the post-4th of July struggle I’ve been dealing with. After a rather long stretch of admittedly being very sedentary, I was offered an opportunity to go water skiing at family’s this past weekend. It was a fun experience for sure, but let me tell you; it’s been a while since I’ve done anything similar, and I’d definitely forgotten how much upper-body, shoulder, and core strength you need for that. In the week since, my shoulders have been wildly sore, and after finally getting better, have been a good reminder of how I’ve let myself get weak physically.

When considering the example of Jesus and His continued holiness and spotlessness despite all He went through, Paul continues in Hebrews 12:12-29 on the importance of remaining strong and enduring in our faith. When we let our spiritual guard down and grow complacent and weary in our faith, Paul warns, we can not be guaranteed to live upright lives and lead others to do the same. And when we can not lead others to Christ and refuse what was commanded of us, we are reminded of what awaits – that we will be shaken away and “removed” when God fulfills His promise – “Yet once more I will shake not only the earth but also the heavens.”

When the Israelites approached Mount Sinai, in Exodus 19 & 20, it was an image of fury and fear – the people drawing away at the severity of the punishment of those within God’s presence not being worthy, leaving Moses alone to speak to God. But we are not approaching Sinai, Paul reminds us; we approach Zion, the hill on which Jerusalem and the kingdom of God sits, a place of joy where all right with God may be with Him, a place where Jesus has spoken on our behalf and ensured our salvation. It is this reverence and joy that drives us to stay strong in our faith, to stay upright, seeking and leading others to a more Godly life, in thanks of what Paul summarizes in verse 28: “Therefore let us be grateful for receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, and thus let us offer to God acceptable worship, with reverence and awe.”

We are offered the kingdom of God and a chance to be apart; are you spiritually coasting, letting yourself grow weak, so that when a tough workout comes your way you will be left bruised and weary? Or are you immersed & strengthening your spirit at all times, so that when the time to lead others to Christ through word & examples comes, you will be able & willing? I pray that I would never lose sight of the need to stay strong and ready for Christ’s sake, and extend this prayer of self-reflection to you as well. May we never lose sight of He who shakes the earth & heavens, and has shaken up our lives to the point we can not help but offer reverence & awe.

True Light, True Life

What is the darkest physical place you have every been? Two places that come to mind for me are inside of a cave while visiting Ruby Falls when they turned the lights off and the other being on the deck of a cruise ship in the middle of the ocean at night as a child. I can remember thinking while standing on the deck that if I fall off they will never find me! Of course, the ship we were on even had lights. I can remember thinking how dark it must have been for some of the first explorers at sea.

Right now, we have a lot of darkness in this world. Every day it seems there is word of another terrible shooting, leader or celebrity succumbing to the temptation of sin that is in news, or a political/social issue that’s causing division and bickering with the platform of social media making it more evident. The world is often a dark place. There are also many individually that are living in darkness with depression, anxiety, and just an unhappiness they are experiencing to which they possibly can’t even pinpoint the reason.

John 1:1-17 tells us that Jesus is the true source of light and thus life. Specifically, John 1:4-5 says, “In Him was life, and the life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.” Revelation 21:23 tells us in Heaven there is no sun or moon needed because the glory of God brings light.

Why is God light? John 1:14 tells us His glory comes from his grace and truth. This glory provides the light as mentioned above in Revelation 21:23.  In this world, we have much of the opposite. We don’t have much grace. We have much more judgement and gossip about others not noticing our own sin. We also have sin and lies through not following the truth in the Bible and the way He wants us to live so we are a slave to sin bringing more unhappiness (John 8:34).

If you are reading this and struggling with stress, anxiety, depression, or just unhappiness, I would encourage you to think about how you can get more light in your life…more Jesus…through His Word, small group, prayer, and I even might encourage you to watch the series The Chosen. The series is not a substitute for the Bible, but it can inspire us to get in the Word more to help grow our relationship with Jesus through seeing the realness of who He was as both man and Son of God full of grace and truth who brought light and life to everyone. Many struggling with these challenges may need a doctor and/or counselor of which I would encourage a Christian counselor for the help needed to point us in the right direction back to Him.

It is easy for me to become self-absorbed… focused on my own problems, issues, and challenges. But ultimately when I die some day what I truly want is to know that I made an impact on others during my lifetime on this Earth. To try to keep me more focused on this, I recently changed my mission statement to “Impacting others by helping them live life to the fullest.” This was inspired by John 10:10 where Jesus says He came so that we may have life and live it abundantly.  This allows me to ask myself, am I helping those around me live life abundantly and to the fullest? Am I building others up so they can see they are a child of God who He made for a purpose and bigger things than they may see for themselves? Are they seeing the love of Jesus and His grace and truth come from my lips and in my actions? Unfortunately, the answer to these questions are not always yes and are no way too often.

Reading this mission statement and being in His Word helps get me re-focused and re-centered. I’ve heard it said when we interact with another human, we leave them after that conversation feeling a little better or a little worse. There are no net neutral interactions. Your mission statement should not be my mission statement, but I would encourage all of us to reflect on some of these questions and think about how we can bring more light, more life, and more Jesus through grace and truth to every interaction with another to leave them in a more positive place afterwards.

Keep the Faith

Do you think Abraham realized when he was living, approximately 4000 years ago, that he would leave a legacy of faith? We have the opportunity to pick up our Bible and read all about his faith and how he lived it out. Because he had faith, we get to learn from him and have our faith strengthened.

Hebrews 11:1-21 covers the stories of some of the best faith keepers in the Old Testament. When we read the stories of these faithful people we get to see faith in action and learn what real faith is.

Here is a list of the faith keepers in our reading today:
*Abel
*Enoch
*Noah
*Abraham
*Issac
*Jacob
*Sarah

So, what is faith?

Faith is responsive. All of the faith keepers above obeyed what God told them to do. Abraham for instance left all that he had, not knowing even where he was going.

Faith is persistent. None of the above faith keepers ever gave up. They exercised their faith knowing that God would be true to his word.

Faith is dependent. “For without faith it is impossible to please God.” (Hebrews 11:6) All of these faith keepers were dependent on God to see them through their days. Their hard days, the days they struggled, and especially on the days they wanted to give up.

These faith keepers were commended by God for keeping their faith.  According to Dictionary.com, the word commended means 1) to present, mention, or praise as worthy of confidence, notice, kindness, etc,:  recommend 2) to entrust; give in charge; deliver with confidence and 3) to cite or name with approval or special praise.

But as it is, they desire a better country, that is, a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared for them a city.
Hebrews 11:16

I long for the commendation of God. Just as we read he gave to the faith keepers (Abel, Enoch, Noah, Abraham, Issac, Jacob, and Sarah), this same promise is made to us if we keep our faith focused on God. To receive the praise of God we must keep the faith. We must be responsive, persistent and dependent to God.

God Has Not Forgotten Us

Happy Independence Day today to you all.

My heart is heavy and grateful this week as our daughter returned from a weeklong mission trip in Guatemala and my wife and I celebrate our 25th wedding anniversary tomorrow, July 5.

While in Guatemala, our daughter visited a home for young women who have been trafficked, ranging from the ages of 12 to 17, many with children of their own.  One of the young women our daughter met, said her favorite chapter of the Bible is Psalm 10.

In Verses 10 and 11 of Psalm 10, David said 10 “So he crouches, he lies low, that the helpless may fall by his strength, 11 He has said in his heart, God has forgotten; He hides His face; He will never see.”

No matter how bad the world around us seems to be, God has not forgotten us.  He sees us. His promises and love are true, and He fulfills His promises.  The challenge is that God’s timing is not our timing, and our understanding of the hate and sin of this world are not easy to comprehend.

The suffering and sin that we see in our world has occurred since the beginning of time.  If the Bible does anything, it shows us that even back to Adam and Eve, mankind has made poor choices that are evil, inconceivable, and against God.

The sins of the world are not the fault and doing of God.  The deplorable sins and suffering are caused by man alone.

Yet God still fulfills his promises with every new day. A life following Christ washes away even the worst of our experiences and refreshes us with a new life and hope knowing we are loved and wanted by our Creator.

What about the poor and the weak?  What about the vulnerable that are taken advantage of by evil people?

Hebrews 10:23 says “Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful.”

A life without suffering is not possible. Suffering provides us a path to Christ.  We seek solace in times of pain and challenges wanting an end to our unhappiness.  We challenge and frequently deny the need to relent and depend on God for our strength.  Suffering brings about resilience and strength to understand that our faith in Christ provides the solace and satisfaction in this life.

God does not leave us or forsake us.  God’s love is eternal for all, every day, every year, and every generation.  No matter what our situation, sin, or pain, God is walking with us, with every step. Many times, we just need to stop and ask Him for wisdom, guidance, and strength.

Throughout our 25 years of marriage, we certainly have experienced the highs and lows of life.  What is most certainly true is the happiest times of our marriage are when we are walking in faith with our Lord and turning to His Word for guidance and understanding.  Our marriage has been sustained by our faith, together, in Christ.

Happy 25th Anniversary to my bride…and many more!