What's the Purpose?

2 John

When you put 2 John up against Romans, you have to think that either the early church fathers were totally off their rockers when they put the canon together, or that there was a spirit directing their every move. Not saying anything bad about 2 John, just that it is not the same as Romans, but God has his purposes. What's the purpose for 2 John... a purpose that isn't met by any other of the 65 books of scripture?

... I don't know, but what if it is in those words that John doesn't actually write in the letter, but is going to tell to the chosen lady face to face. Maybe that foreshadows our own meeting with the Lord face to face when he will tell us those words meant only for us.

Perfect?

1 John 4-5

For some time I've been thinking that the church has sold itself short in the area of Christian perfection. Too often I hear teachers of the Word say that we cannot reach perfection this side of heaven, but the underlying insinuation is that we will always sin until we die. I don't think that was the message that John was teaching...

We know that anyone born of God does not continue to sin; the one who was born of God keeps him safe, and the evil one cannot harm him. We know that we are children of God, and that the whole world is under the control of the evil one.

If we are children of God, then we will not continue to sin. There should be an end to our sin, not just a lessening... we should be seeking hard after the Kingdom rather than the World.

Didn't Just Hear About Him

1 John 1-3

I love the way John's first letter begins... John wants us to know that he didn't just hear about Jesus... he saw Jesus, touched Jesus, heard Jesus, was in his presence... and found him real. Modern believers don't have the same opportunity that the apostles had, but we can choose to either lean on their experiences or reject them. In the end, that gives us much the same choice since many of their peers evaluated Jesus and his teaching and walked away. We will join John in proclaiming that he is the one that brings eternal life, or will we scoff and walk away?

Most Important of All

1 Peter 4-5

Peter was the bold one who stepped out of the boat to walk on water... who declared that Jesus was the Christ... who denied Christ three times and who preached a sermon and instantly created a mega-church. So what would Peter say was the most important of all?

The end of the world is coming soon. Therefore, be earnest and disciplined in your prayers. Most important of all, continue to show deep love for each other, for love covers a multitude of sins. Cheerfully share your home with those who need a meal or a place to stay.

Prayer is important, very important, but most important of all, Peter says, is to show deep love for each other. How do we do that? By sharing our home with those who need a meal or a place to stay. When I think about the stalwart Christians I know, very few score well against those criteria. I can even here some of them now... "God wouldn't want me to place myself (my wife, my kids, etc.) at risk by inviting those people to eat and sleep at my house, would he?" I don't know, what does scripture say?

True Happiness

1 Peter 1-3

What would it take to bring true happiness to your life? Growing up, I just knew that true happiness could be found the the annual Sears Christmas Wish Book. Evey year when it arrived at the house, we would take turns (maybe nicely because Christmas was almost there) going through the Wish Book and developing our personal Wish Lists. Times haven't changed much, children (and sadly some adults) still think that true happiness comes from getting all the toys you want, but Peter had a different idea...

Now we live with great expectation, and we have a priceless inheritance—an inheritance that is kept in heaven for you, pure and undefiled, beyond the reach of change and decay. And through your faith, God is protecting you by his power until you receive this salvation, which is ready to be revealed on the last day for all to see. So be truly glad. There is wonderful joy ahead, even though you have to endure many trials for a little while.

 God has a present waiting for us in Heaven, there may be trials first, but the end is so worth it.

Final Words

James 4-5

The sermon series that we just finished at church was on the Book of James and how it provides a practical how-to guide for Christian living. But reading the last two chapters, it seems more like the last words that a parent is trying to get out as their child leaves for camp or college. "Do this, and oh by the way, don't forget to do this and that and that, and oh yeah I almost forgot that you need to make sure that you don't forget to do this because it's really important, oh and ..." James is all over the place wanting to make sure that he gets everything in before his time runs out.

Demonic Evil

James 1-3

How do you define demonic evil? What class of actions fall into the category of demonic evil? If you are like most people a class of actions comes to mind that are reminiscent of witches and the occult, or gruesome violence, but the Bible has a different depiction of demonic evil... jealousy and selfish ambition are identified by James as examples of demonic evil. That we don't have a similar definition probably says more about us... like wanting to excuse our sin as minor, than it does to refute James. A righteous understanding of God's commands to us will bring us to a similar understanding.

Not My Home

Hebrews 11-13

This world is not my home. Throughout scripture, men of faith have found that their rewards did not come to them in this world... this world can only produce worldly good and worldly evil. It cannot provide the eternal rewards that faith promises. To the worldly, Paul lived a life to be pitied, but he knew something they didn't. He had confidence in the one in whom he hoped and assurance about things he could not see... he was a man of great faith, following in the footsteps of great men and women of faith.

We to can walk in that light if we so choose to throw off the weights of this world that hold us back, especially the sin that trips us up. We do this by keeping our eyes on Jesus... Jesus at home, Jesus at work, Jesus at play, Jesus at church, Jesus at WalMart. Wherever we are, Whatever we are doing, if our sights are set on Jesus he will bring us through any trouble... on the other side.

New Covenant

Hebrews 8-10

If the first covenant had been faultless, there would have been no need for a second covenant to replace it. [...] When God speaks of a “new” covenant, it means he has made the first one obsolete. It is now out of date and will soon disappear.

What is so difficult about this passage that so many Christians want to go back to the first covenant? I could understand if a Jew who did not believe that Jesus was the Messiah thought that the Ten Commandments were a binding law on our lives (not to mention all of the other Levitical laws), but why should there be any need for a discussion of whether the Ten Commandments still apply for a Christian? They easily throw away the requirements for animal sacrifice that the Old Testament clearly show as a lasting ordinance for all generations, but want to selectively keep the Ten, as if there were magic in those laws. Try as they might, Israel was never successful in keeping the law... even though they saw God miraculously split open the Red Sea and witnessed the awesome might of God in the pillar of fire by night.

Jesus brought a new law... a new covenant... a relationship in which God tattooed his laws into our hearts so that we can't miss them... so that we can't miss him. And yet, like the Israelites at the foot of Mt Sinai, we want God to push God away for a substitute. But this time, God will not allow Moses or the Ten Commandments, or anything else stand in for us... he paid too high a price. We either accept the relationship that he has created us for... or we reject him and walk away. There's no other choice.

Just Kidding

Hebrews 5-7
Ok, so I have a new life verse...

There is much more we would like to say about this, but it is difficult to explain, especially since you are spiritually dull and don’t seem to listen.

Just kidding. But sometimes...

It would be nice to move off the basics and into the meat of the gospel, but our world is lost and getting more lost. We pore billions into new ways to sin and rebel against the moral law that God has set down, but virtually none to uphold his moral teaching. In each day we are given 86,400 seconds to budget, and the average person uses only a few devoted to God -- and those few seconds are often more in the form of a curse, than actually turning the heart towards God.

What if... a new national research project were created to delve into the spiritual depths and given a budget similar to that of embryonic stem cell research. If the greatest minds of our universities were pointed to the creator of the universe and really studied, what benefit would accrue to the nation?

A Weak Spot

Philemon

Paul's plea to Philemon to free hi former slave sounds as if Paul did not expect Philemon to comply without a fight. Paul clearly respects Philemon for his spiritual maturity, yet Paul seems to know that Philemon still has a weak spot... a place where Philemon has every legal right to act in a way that might not be the most profitable from a kingdom perspective.

How many Christians today have a similar weak spot? An area in their life that is perfectly legal, maybe even ethically okay, but not necessarily the right path to the Kingdom... sort of like the rich young ruler who confronted Jesus with the question "What must I do to obtain eternal life?" Having met the criteria that the law posed for him, he was caught off-guard by Jesus' request that he go beyond the law and give his money to the poor and follow after Jesus.

Interestingly, we don't really know how Philemon or the rich young ruler finally acted... and their response is truly not important... our's is.

Purity

Titus 1-3

In writing to Titus, Paul wants to ensure that Titus is following after righteous teaching. There were some in Crete that were teaching a righteousness based on the law, and Paul wanted to make certain that Titus did not follow after them, and in fact ran away from them. Paul's advice is still needed today. He said...

Everything is pure to those whose hearts are pure. But nothing is pure to those who are corrupt and unbelieving.

Too many Christians today want to follow after those same mistaken Cretans by putting laws on believers... don't drink, don't gamble, etc. We make a big mistake when we try to legislate the parameters of Christianity. Make no mistake, a person in love with the Lord Almighty and possessing a pure heart would not dream of doing certain things, but not because of a man-made law, but because love leads them in a different direction. On the other hand, those without pure hearts and whose love for good isn't pure, cannot be justified no matter how many laws they follow.

Lukewarm Christians

2 Timothy 3-4

Paul is instructing his acolyte Timothy to follow hard after Christ. He wants to make sure that Timothy doesn't get distracted by the world or follow after some psuedo-god. His words are still apropos today as he instructs Timothy to avoid people "having a form of godliness but denying its power." I think this is perhaps one of the biggest problems in the church today. Too much of the church today is composed of Christians in name only -- Jesus called them lukewarm and said that he would spit them out of his mouth.

How is it that many modern Christians will say they believe that God created the universe and everything in it, that he parted the Red Sea, that he came to earth as a baby in a manger, that he raised Lazarus from the dead, that he himself was raised from the dead, and then he worked for a couple of more years through the apostles and decided that was the end... that no more miracles would be performed... that his power would not be displayed on the earth any more? How? Because they have a form of godliness but totally deny its power. They actually believe in some other god, maybe an ancient god, but not the Lord Almighty, the great I AM.

Perfect Words

2 Timothy 1-2

In his sermon tonight, our pastor Craig Carter preached on The Wisdom of God. Among other things, he said that God reveals his wisdom through his word and we respond to God's wisdom by wise living grounded in scripture. To bring his point home he used the example that all of us have opened up the Bible and had that scripture speak to our immediate need. So that's the context in which I turned to 2 Timothy 1-2 tonight as part of my normal reading schedule. Four verses into the reading I read this...

I long to see you again, for I remember your tears as we parted. And I will be filled with joy when we are together again.

Today is the 244th day of 2010. If I had read this passage on any of those other 243 days, it would have meant very little to me... I probably would have slid right past it without a second glance. But today is not just any other day. Today is the day my first-born child Lauren left for a year long mission trip to Chicago with Mission Year. Today, I long to see her again, for I remember her tears as we parted (and mine later). And I will be filled with joy when we are together again (on December 17th). The remainder of the passage has Paul giving advice to his "son" Timothy... good advice for Lauren too (except I'm not in prison).

God's wisdom is perfect, and he has perfect words for each of us.

Pursue Righteousness

1 Timothy 4-6

Paul's instruction to Timothy was NOT characterized by a list of "thou shalt nots," but rather by the exhortation to pursue righteousness. Pursue it. Don't just try to be good... but seek out righteousness and claim it for your own. Put aside other undertakings that don't lead to the holiness that the Lord has in mind for you, and instead focus on that which heightens your awareness of God and his glory.

What's the Point?

1 Timothy 1-3

Paul urges Timothy to not be pointless... not to waste time in meaningless discussions or speculation. Some people seek favor in the eyes of men based on their knowledge of scripture or their ability to speak. Evidently this was a problem in Paul's time... it still is. Some people work harder at appearing spiritual than they'd ever have to work at actually being spiritual. The difference of course is that in acting spiritual, you never have to actually surrender your life to a sovereign God... you never have give control up... but that's all God really wants. He doesn't need our command of scripture... he already knows it all. He doesn't need our oratory skills... he commanded the universe into being with the words "Let there be light." The Almighty Lord of the Universe doesn't need us at all, but he does want us and love us. Amazing!

Idle Living

2 Thessalonians

Paul, Timothy, and Silas had some harsh words for those who would sit lazily around while others provided for their needs... "Those unwilling to work will not get to eat." He wasn't speaking to the disabled or those otherwise unable to work, but his words would most assuredly apply to many Americans. Our time in Zambia brought home how spoiled we are as a nation in many respects. In Zambia we saw many elderly women earning their daily bread by breaking large rocks into smaller rocks and selling the resulting gravel to concrete block makers. While the standard of living in Zambia is certainly far less than the United States, there is a dignity and joy in the people that speaks much for their biblical approach as compared to our feel-good secular entitlements-driven society. Paul knew well that entitlements might put food in the belly, but they do not lift the recipients up.

More and More

1 Thessalonians 4-5

Paul encourages the Thessalonians to continue doing the good work that have been doing, but then keep going... doing more and more. If anything, those words are Paul's watchwords for us even today. Don't stop with righteous acts, push on to more and more righteousness... more and more holiness... more and more Christlikeness. We cannot achieve the perfection that Jesus has laid out for us, but we can strive to get closer and closer.

Life Verse?

Colossians 1-2

I've never been a big fan of life verses, but some people for whom I have a lot of respect think highly of them. Perhaps I've never run across a verse at the intersection of my desires and God's desires for me. There is a verse in today's reading that could be just that...

See to it that no one takes you captive through hollow and deceptive philosophy, which depends on human tradition and the basic principles of this world rather than on Christ. (Colossians 2:8)

Paul's admonition to his friends at Colossae was to make sure that they made their decision on a true reading of scripture and not just what others had to say about the matter. I have become more and more convinced lately that part of the reason the the church in America has so little spiritual power is that it has become a business in so many ways. Likewise, it is becoming harder and harder to distinguish Christian workers from their worldly counterparts. What would it be like to live not according to "human tradition" or by the "common sense" principles of the world, but rather based on what the scriptures actually say? That sounds like a life worth living.

Enemies of the Cross

Philippians 3-4

Paul wrote to his friends in Philippi... "For I have told you often before, and I say it again with tears in my eyes, that there are many whose conduct shows they are really enemies of the cross of Christ." If today's enemies are anything like the enemies in Paul's day, they exist both within and outside the walls of the church. Sadly, many of the enemies of Christ may even think they are friends of Christ, but he told us that in the last days there will be some who say "Lord, Lord" and he will say "I never knew you" which is really to say... "You never knew me, and you didn't really ever want to." No wonder Paul has tears in his eyes. It is a sad fact that too many people in the pews, don't even know that they don't know Christ. How can we open their eyes, hearts, and minds?