What Will We Value?

The Holy Spirit is doing a fresh work in my life, drawing me closer, allowing me to see and hear clearer in prayer and in the Word, and calling me to abandon the things of this world.  This post communicates a piece of what He is confirming in me and calling me toward in these days.

The picture of this Bible is one that I look at often as it reminds me of what I should value in this life.  It is one of the most precious pictures I own. It communicates what someone treasures and values. 

In our lives, we are always communicating something about what we value whether we realize it or not. You can see our values in what we say, what we buy, what we wear, who we spend time with, the content of our conversations, and how we spend our time. Then, in the world of social media – what we type, take pictures of and post can reveal some of the things we value.

What we fail to realize is that all of our actions are not just communicating our values and shaping how we are seen by others, but if we were honest, those things reveal what is actually inside of our heart – they lay bare the true condition of what resides inside of us where the Holy Spirit also lives.  I wonder what He must think as we put more and more things in our lives that are not in line with Who He is and His purposes.

Jesus said it like this…Luke 6:43 “No good tree bears bad fruit, nor does a bad tree bear good fruit. 44 Each tree is recognized by its own fruit. People do not pick figs from thornbushes, or grapes from briers. 45 A good man brings good things out of the good stored up in his heart, and an evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in his heart. For the mouth speaks what the heart is full of”.

As Christ-followers, how we live matters and what our life affirms as important also matters for someone is always listening, watching, being confused over, observing, being encouraged by, forwarding, or reading.

The world and the Trinity have nothing in common, so then how should we live as children of the Three in One?  The answer is found here…

1 John 2:15 Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. 16 For all that is in the world—the desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes and pride of life—is not from the Father but is from the world. 17 And the world is passing away along with its desires, but whoever does the will of God abides forever.

I think our struggle at times in loving the world flows from several areas…

(1) We can get caught up in the love of the world

(2) We have never really seen abandonment from the world in someone we know 

(3) We don’t think Jesus has infinite value over the things of this world

I want to deal with #2 above and give us two examples in the Scripture on what this could look like and we could embrace.  The examples are Moses and Paul, and we will first examine Moses.

            Moses

Hebrews 11:24 By faith Moses, when he was grown up, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh's daughter, 25 choosing rather to be mistreated with the people of God than to enjoy the fleeting pleasures of sin. 26 He considered the reproach of Christ greater wealth than the treasures of Egypt, for he was looking to the reward.

Look at the choice Moses made in regard to what he wanted to be shaped by and be known for in his generation.  He refused to be called a son connected to Pharaoh but rather he wanted to be clearly marked as one belonging to the people of God. 

The second choice he made was contrary to the current church climate in America where he chose mistreatment, not comfort.  The verse also says that Moses chose the persecution over a life of the fleeting pleasures of sin.  We should not just assume this only means sex or alcohol.  This also means any of the pleasures that this world offers – food, clothing, travel, power, influence, etc. 

Third, Moses had at his disposal the treasures of Egypt.  Here are examples of what he would have rejected…

He could have had all of those things to wear, possess and experience.  Why did he refuse those kinds of things?  For this reason - Moses considered the reproach of Christ as the greater treasure and wealth of life here on earth. 

He did not boast about his chances to have them and it is clear that he just did not care about them, they did not hold his interest because he was captured by something so far greater and magnificent.

It then says that he was looking to the reward, the kind of reward that cannot be found in the dirt of this place.

            Paul

Paul wanted nothing of this life here but the glory of God and the joy of living for the Gospel.  He just wanted Jesus no matter what the cost.  I will let him speak for himself… 

Galatians 6:14 But far be it from me to boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world.

Philippians 3:7 But whatever gain I had, I counted as loss for the sake of Christ. 8 Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ 9 and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God that depends on faith— 10 that I may know him and the power of his resurrection, and may share his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, 11 that by any means possible I may attain the resurrection from the dead.

1 Corinthians 2:2 For I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and him crucified.

Both of these men model the life I want and need. Love for God poured out of their lives for their life was Christ.  The love of the world had been crushed and disposed in them so that nothing else mattered but Jesus!

This is my prayer:

God free me of any grip this world has upon my mind, heart, feet, ears, eyes, and hands so that I know the full life I can have in you.

I want to boast in you alone as I have been crucified to the world and the world to me so that all my life says that I value is the GLORY of YOUR NAME!

Amen

The Unknown Life that Matters

I have been thinking about the subject matter of this post for about a week now and it comes from my reading of Romans 16.  For most us, our faith in Christ is not going to lead to some kind of recognition in any Christian circles, for we are just going to live the rest of our days in a faithful and relatively unknown life to the world, but it will be a life that matters nonetheless.

The text in Romans 16:1-15 are not ones that make it high of the list of deep scripture as there is not any great verses to memorize or preach from to awaken the masses.  After all, they are just a bunch of names of people Paul came across in all of his missionary travels.  Who gets excited about a names?  A slower look at some of the other words surrounding the names reveals something spectacular to think on and something encouraging for Christ-followers like most of us who will love Jesus and  invest in the Kingdom greatly for the rest of our lives without much fanfare.

We don't really care about that as we are living for Him anyway and we love being nothing in light of the greatness of His name. 

Here is the text and I have highlighted the unique words surrounding the names..

Romans 16:1 I commend to you our sister Phoebe, a servant of the church at Cenchreae, 2 that you may welcome her in the Lord in a way worthy of the saints, and help her in whatever she may need from you, for she has been a patron of many and of myself as well.

3 Greet Prisca and Aquila, my fellow workers in Christ Jesus, 4 who risked their necks for my life, to whom not only I give thanks but all the churches of the Gentiles give thanks as well. 5 Greet also the church in their house. Greet my beloved Epaenetus, who was the first convert to Christ in Asia. 6 Greet Mary, who has worked hard for you. 7 Greet Andronicus and Junia, my kinsmen and my fellow prisoners. They are well known to the apostles, and they were in Christ before me. 8 Greet Ampliatus, my beloved in the Lord. 9 Greet Urbanus, our fellow worker in Christ, and my beloved Stachys.10 Greet Apelles, who is approved in Christ. Greet those who belong to the family of Aristobulus. 11 Greet my kinsman Herodion. Greet those in the Lord who belong to the family of Narcissus. 12 Greet those workers in the Lord, Tryphaena and Tryphosa. Greet the beloved Persis, who has worked hard in the Lord. 13 Greet Rufus, chosen in the Lord; also his mother, who has been a mother to me as well. 14 Greet Asyncritus, Phlegon, Hermes, Patrobas, Hermas, and the brothers who are with them. 15 Greet Philologus, Julia, Nereus and his sister, and Olympas, and all the saints who are with them.

There are 29 names, plus the words "and his sister" ; "and the brothers who are with them" & "all the saints who are with them".  Most of these are not mentioned anywhere else in Scripture but here , but what we most know of them is that the Apostle Paul found them to the most significant people in his life and in the kingdom.

Here is a thought to consider: The Kingdom moves forward by the uniquely called and by those who will never be known.  It actually takes both to impact the kingdom.  Paul is making it clear that he needed all of these people along the way and his relationship with them encouraged him to fulfill the calling of Christ upon his life.

There are few "Paul's" in the world, so most of us just go by the words servant, patron, workers, beloved, kinsmen, fellow prisoners, approved in Christ, chosen in the Lord, and even "spiritual" mother.

We are perfectly content in those names as long as we get to live for the honor of His.

Never forget...The Unknown Life Matters!

  

What Comes After "Here Am I Send Me"...

There are those texts in the Bible where our interest in them has made them famous, so famous that in some ways we don't know what is said before or after them.  We make a mistake in making some verses so famous that we lose sight of the inspired words that surround them.  One of those texts is found in Isaiah 6 and here it is...

Isaiah 6:1 In the year that King Uzziah died I saw the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up; and the train of his robe filled the temple. 2 Above him stood the seraphim. Each had six wings: with two he covered his face, and with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew. 3 And one called to another and said: “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts; the whole earth is full of his glory!” 4 And the foundations of the thresholds shook at the voice of him who called, and the house was filled with smoke. 5 And I said: “Woe is me! For I am lost; for I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips; for my eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts!” 6 Then one of the seraphim flew to me, having in his hand a burning coal that he had taken with tongs from the altar. 7 And he touched my mouth and said: “Behold, this has touched your lips; your guilt is taken away, and your sin atoned for.”8 And I heard the voice of the Lord saying, “Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?” Then I said, “Here I am! Send me.”

Have we ever noticed there are 5 more verses in the chapter? In every one of these verses, God is continuing to communicate with Isaiah concerning His call upon the prophet's life. This continued conversation between the Lord and the prophet define for us an early picture of the kind of proclamation of Scripture commitment that is necessary in a culture that has abandoned the truth.  Isaiah's culture had no interest in truth.  

The beginning of Isaiah's famous missionary call that we love so much includes strong instruction to him about how long Isaiah would be sent and how long he would serve.  Let's look at the words that have long been ignored...

Isaiah 6:9 And he said, “Go, and say to this people: “‘Keep on hearing, but do not understand; keep on seeing, but do not perceive.’ 10 Make the heart of this people dull, and their ears heavy, and blind their eyes; lest they see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their hearts, and turn and be healed.”
11 Then I said, “How long, O Lord? ”And he said: “Until cities lie waste without inhabitant, and houses without people, and the land is a desolate waste, 12 and the Lord removes people far away, and the forsaken places are many in the midst of the land. 13 And though a tenth remain in it, it will be burned again, like a terebinth or an oak, whose stump remains when it is felled.” The holy seed is its stump.

Isaiah's missionary call was to be one of Proclamation of truth that would result in little results. When he said "Here I am! Send me", not one aspect of answering that call was going to be easy as he was going to go into a culture that had no interest in what Isaiah would have to say about anything for his culture had abandoned Biblical truth long ago.  

Take a look at verses 9-10 and try to imagine that being your task from God in one of the most difficult settings in the world's history to speak of truth. These two verses define what the results of his ministry would bring among the people.  Obedience to God would have to matter more than results.  

I appreciate the prophet's honesty in 6:11 when he asks, "How long do you want me to say those words?"  God's answer to his question must have landed heavy on Isaiah for the response from the Lord was not one that said Isaiah would lead a revival.  He would not see an awakening, but he would continue to preach until the land was desolate and the people were taken away to far and forsaken places. That is a difficult calling! 

This is to be no less for us as well.  The call we have to proclaim the Gospel is not one of convenience nor comfort, but rather it is one of being wholeheartedly compelled to not being able to do anything else but speak the Words of the Gospel. 

I am reminded of Paul's Words in line with this...

2 Timothy 4:2 I charge you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who is to judge the living and the dead, and by his appearing and his kingdom: 2 preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, and exhort, with complete patience and teaching. 3 For the time is coming when people will not endure sound teaching, but having itching ears they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own passions, 4 and will turn away from listening to the truth and wander off into myths. 5 As for you, always be sober-minded, endure suffering, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry.

This is one example as to why we ought to read everything before and after "famous" verses as we just might be able to learn a bit more.  

As I reflect upon my own life, I want to be like Isaiah, one who is willing to preach even if people hear but don't understand, see but never perceive, have hearts that are dull and ears that are heavy. The Gospel matters that much!

In an age where churches, ministers and denominations are solely judged on how big they are or cool/hip music they have - it makes you wonder if anyone is left who would be willing to be an "Isaiah preacher" or go to an "Isaiah church"? 

One where obedience to the proclamation of the Gospel matters more than anything else.

Where are you Isaiah? For your commitment is needed in our day!