Helping God
He must become greater; I must become less. – John the Baptizer
Taken from John 3:30 NIV
It is a simple thing, less of me and more of Him. And yet it continues to be an issue for me. It isn’t even a sense of arrogance as much as it is zeal. I want God to work more quickly, I want Him to use me for His purposes and I want Him to see how urgent the need is and how late the hour. And as serious as this is and as short as the time is, I think the Lord sort of chuckles at me and tells me with a smile in His voice, “I know, I know. But this depends on me, my son, my Spirit and my time, not yours.”
So I find myself having to ask for God’s forgiveness. I have wanted to “help” God along in His ministry instead of walking where He leads. There may be a necessity for my duty to increase, but not for me to increase. If I am really serving my purpose in God, it is as one who points the way to Christ. I have failed to do this when anger, impatience and self-recognition become paramount. It is time for me to decrease and time for God to increase. And when others see me, I pray that they merely see a sign that points to God the Father, to Christ His son and to His Holy Spirit. And if I do that with sincerity, God might call me a good and faithful servant.
Friday, July 25, 2014
Friday, July 18, 2014
Living Martyrs
Living Martyrs
While they were stoning him, Stephen prayed, “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.” Then he fell on his knees and cried out, “Lord, do not hold this sin against them.” When he had said this, he fell asleep. Acts 7:59-60 NIV
I was listening to Pastor Mason one morning as he spoke about martyrs. In my mind, saints and martyrs are sort of related. So I began thinking of the names of Saints. My wife has a saintly name; I already knew that there was a Saint Ursula. I did a search of my neighbor’s names and found a Saint Marcia (spelled differently though). If you can believe it, I even found her husband’s name, Saint Ralph. But there was no saint Eric to be found. I can hear the voices of my closest friends in my mind saying, "Of course there is no St. Eric. All people named “Eric” are bad."
In the Bible, people that follow Christ are considered saints (Romans 8:27). Or in other words, you don't have to be dead to be a saint or a martyr. A good redefining of martyr might be "Someone who volunteers their life for the gospel of Christ." While "living Martyr" might sound like an oxymoron, I think it further explains what we are as new creations in Christ. We "new creation" folk are new because of the Holy Spirit's indwelling, presence and power. Pastor Mason went on to say that martyrs are living co-witnesses that are empowered to testify for Christ (John 15:26-27), that we convict the world of sin (John 16:5-11) and that we are assured to receive the gift of the Holy Spirit (John 16:12-15). These are the things that define the healthy life of a saint and living martyr.
In today's verse, Stephen didn't die a martyr; he lived as one. He was a Saint long before his passing. He was a saint because he volunteered his life for the Gospel of Christ. God may not be calling you to die, but I think He may be asking you to live vibrantly, and to volunteer the time you have left for the Gospel.
While they were stoning him, Stephen prayed, “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.” Then he fell on his knees and cried out, “Lord, do not hold this sin against them.” When he had said this, he fell asleep. Acts 7:59-60 NIV
I was listening to Pastor Mason one morning as he spoke about martyrs. In my mind, saints and martyrs are sort of related. So I began thinking of the names of Saints. My wife has a saintly name; I already knew that there was a Saint Ursula. I did a search of my neighbor’s names and found a Saint Marcia (spelled differently though). If you can believe it, I even found her husband’s name, Saint Ralph. But there was no saint Eric to be found. I can hear the voices of my closest friends in my mind saying, "Of course there is no St. Eric. All people named “Eric” are bad."
In the Bible, people that follow Christ are considered saints (Romans 8:27). Or in other words, you don't have to be dead to be a saint or a martyr. A good redefining of martyr might be "Someone who volunteers their life for the gospel of Christ." While "living Martyr" might sound like an oxymoron, I think it further explains what we are as new creations in Christ. We "new creation" folk are new because of the Holy Spirit's indwelling, presence and power. Pastor Mason went on to say that martyrs are living co-witnesses that are empowered to testify for Christ (John 15:26-27), that we convict the world of sin (John 16:5-11) and that we are assured to receive the gift of the Holy Spirit (John 16:12-15). These are the things that define the healthy life of a saint and living martyr.
In today's verse, Stephen didn't die a martyr; he lived as one. He was a Saint long before his passing. He was a saint because he volunteered his life for the Gospel of Christ. God may not be calling you to die, but I think He may be asking you to live vibrantly, and to volunteer the time you have left for the Gospel.
Friday, July 11, 2014
Unexplored Love
Unexplored Love
But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Romans 5:8 NIV
I think that there are two kinds of love in the world. The one we are most familiar with is one that is strictly human. We love our family and friends, and they love us back. But now I have a question; does this type of love have any eternal value? If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? Even sinners love those who love them (John 6:32 NIV).
Now, there is a different kind of love among us too. This other type of love serves humanity and comes to us by Christ. This love not only reconciled man to God, not only permanently removed our sin, but also made us co-heirs with Christ (Romans 8:17). This new love, this very much-unexplored love pushes us beyond our "love borders". Instead of loving just the ones that love us, God calls and pushes us to imitate His love in this world. His love is not content with the ones that seem deserving, but with the ones that seem like they are beyond all love and grace.
Both loves have, as Bonhoeffer put it, the same power, passion and exclusivity. But they both have radically different goals. The first is centered on I, and Me. The second is centered on God and my neighbor. I think the second kind of love is the one that will garner the attention of the world. And when they examine this love, they will inevitably be led to God.
But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Romans 5:8 NIV
I think that there are two kinds of love in the world. The one we are most familiar with is one that is strictly human. We love our family and friends, and they love us back. But now I have a question; does this type of love have any eternal value? If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? Even sinners love those who love them (John 6:32 NIV).
Now, there is a different kind of love among us too. This other type of love serves humanity and comes to us by Christ. This love not only reconciled man to God, not only permanently removed our sin, but also made us co-heirs with Christ (Romans 8:17). This new love, this very much-unexplored love pushes us beyond our "love borders". Instead of loving just the ones that love us, God calls and pushes us to imitate His love in this world. His love is not content with the ones that seem deserving, but with the ones that seem like they are beyond all love and grace.
Both loves have, as Bonhoeffer put it, the same power, passion and exclusivity. But they both have radically different goals. The first is centered on I, and Me. The second is centered on God and my neighbor. I think the second kind of love is the one that will garner the attention of the world. And when they examine this love, they will inevitably be led to God.
Friday, July 4, 2014
Watchman
Watchman
Son of man, I have made you a watchman for the house of Israel; so hear the word I speak and give them warning from me. When I say to a wicked man 'You will surely die,' and you do not warn him or speak out to dissuade him from his evil ways in order to save his life, that wicked man will die for his sin, and I will hold you accountable for his blood. But if you do warn the wicked man and he does not turn from his wickedness or from his evil ways, he will die for his sin, but you will have saved yourself. Ezekiel 3:17-19 NIV
I read about a minister that gave instructions to other pastors on how to grow their church membership. One of his main points was to "never talk about sin". If your only purpose is to grow membership in a club, then I guess this makes sense. But if you are preparing God’s people for works of godly service then this is truly a disturbing idea. And let me offer what might be an equally disturbing idea; Sin is necessary. Without a revelation of sin (that we get from God’s Word), we would not be able to see that we are living in opposition to God. Or let me put it a different way; When we are made aware of our sin by the standard set in God's Word, that sets us on a path. We either take the path toward salvation in Christ or we trod the way of rejection and spiritual death. It may be a bit of a stretch, but I will ask the question; Without an understanding of sin, is faith in Christ even possible?
Silence on sin is the equivalent to telling a person to "Go to Hell." I mean that literally. Think of it this way, if you really love them, if you give a care as to where a person will spend his or her eternity, then ask God to help you minister to them in love, integrity, godly wisdom and with the scripture. We who have God's word and salvation inside of us have a great position in life, but we also hold the responsibility to share God’s gift of salvation with a world in need.
I remember one time where I felt God tugging at my heart about witnessing to a man in the hospital. At first I thought to myself, "What happens to him is between him and God." But I don’t think like that anymore. After thinking of Ezekiel’s call to service, after considering that I could be partially responsible by remaining silent, I have decided that what happens between a person and God isn't only between them and God, it also includes the person that knows God and remains silent.
Son of man, I have made you a watchman for the house of Israel; so hear the word I speak and give them warning from me. When I say to a wicked man 'You will surely die,' and you do not warn him or speak out to dissuade him from his evil ways in order to save his life, that wicked man will die for his sin, and I will hold you accountable for his blood. But if you do warn the wicked man and he does not turn from his wickedness or from his evil ways, he will die for his sin, but you will have saved yourself. Ezekiel 3:17-19 NIV
I read about a minister that gave instructions to other pastors on how to grow their church membership. One of his main points was to "never talk about sin". If your only purpose is to grow membership in a club, then I guess this makes sense. But if you are preparing God’s people for works of godly service then this is truly a disturbing idea. And let me offer what might be an equally disturbing idea; Sin is necessary. Without a revelation of sin (that we get from God’s Word), we would not be able to see that we are living in opposition to God. Or let me put it a different way; When we are made aware of our sin by the standard set in God's Word, that sets us on a path. We either take the path toward salvation in Christ or we trod the way of rejection and spiritual death. It may be a bit of a stretch, but I will ask the question; Without an understanding of sin, is faith in Christ even possible?
Silence on sin is the equivalent to telling a person to "Go to Hell." I mean that literally. Think of it this way, if you really love them, if you give a care as to where a person will spend his or her eternity, then ask God to help you minister to them in love, integrity, godly wisdom and with the scripture. We who have God's word and salvation inside of us have a great position in life, but we also hold the responsibility to share God’s gift of salvation with a world in need.
I remember one time where I felt God tugging at my heart about witnessing to a man in the hospital. At first I thought to myself, "What happens to him is between him and God." But I don’t think like that anymore. After thinking of Ezekiel’s call to service, after considering that I could be partially responsible by remaining silent, I have decided that what happens between a person and God isn't only between them and God, it also includes the person that knows God and remains silent.
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