Mutual Assured Destruction

 Because some folks read one blog but not the other, I'm posting this on both blogs today. I've wrestled with this for months and months.

Robert L. Withers, August 28, 2020

 

For the past few years, as I’ve been observing the polarization and fragmentation of our society, and the societies of the world, I’ve grappled with words and images to describe what I’m seeing. One of my favorite words since around 2005 has been “tsunami”, for this word conveys sudden and chaotic destruction. Undersea earthquakes hundreds of miles away can visit destruction and death and disorientation on the unsuspecting.

 

There is another phenomenon which I’ve been observing, for which I have no one word but rather a term borrowed from the Cold War, “mutual assured destruction.” This was the Cold War doctrine that if the superpowers each had enough nuclear weapons to destroy our planet many times over that they would not dare initiate nuclear war. What did not happen in the Cold War is happening within our society, and I frankly think the church (a term I use loosely) is an enabler of this insanity.

 

What do I mean?

 

Let me begin with the political climate in the United States. Politics has always been hardball and ugly, a serious student of history knows that for every bright and shining moment in government and politics that there might be ten moments that make one ethically and morally sick. Today we have a situation in Washington, D.C. in which it appears that the avowed goal of both political parties is to destroy the opposition. Not only that, but within each political party there are factions whose agendas seem to be the elimination of their ideological opponents within their own parties.

 

The notion of compromise, of reasoned discussion, of give-and-take, has itself become a target of elimination by both parties.

 

The excesses of the party in power, whether in the White House, the Senate, or the House of Representatives, are surpassed when the party out of power gains the supremacy – then it is payback time. Thus, I find the term “mutual assured destruction” an apt description of the escalation of what payback time looks like. This abdication of moral leadership on the part of both parties, and of the church (which I’ll address below), is propelling us into an abyss from which it is doubtful we will recover. We will likely have the moral equivalent of a nuclear winter.  I am reminded of the title of a book written some years ago by Dr. Richard Swenson, Hurtling Ourselves Into Oblivion – this is what we are culturally doing, politics being the particular rocket that I am focused on in this reflection.

 

Political and social “mutual assured destruction” is not without precedent, it reaches at least as far back at the Roman Republic. In his book, The Storm Before the Storm – The Beginning of the End of the Roman Republic, Mike Duncan makes the following observation and quotes Gaius Sallustius Crispus (86 – 35 B.C.) on the political dynamics that led to the Roman Republic’s demise and the rise of the dictatorial Caesars:

 

“But though there were not formal parties, it is true that there were now two broadly opposing worldviews floating in the political ether waiting to be tapped as needed. As the crisis over the Lex Agraria [land reform legislation] revealed, it was no longer a specific issue that mattered so much as the urgent necessity to triumph over rivals. Reflecting on the recurring civil wars of the late Republic, Sallust said, ‘It is this spirit which has commonly ruined great nations, when one party desires to triumph over another by any and every means and to avenge itself on the vanquished with excessive cruelty.’ Accepting defeat was no longer an option.” [Italics mine].

 

Duncan observes that in the late Roman Republic “it was no longer a specific issue that mattered so much as the urgent necessity to triumph over rivals.” This is what we have come to in the United States. We have abandoned long-term thinking for short-term victories. We have hardened ourselves across the political spectrum against the suffering and needs of others as we look to vanquish our opponents. The term “culture war” is an apt term indeed, but we ought to expand it to, “a culture war of mutual assured destruction.” Many of those leading this war have their economic bomb shelters which they think make them invulnerable, impervious to the spiritual and moral nuclear winter descending on humanity – they are the wolves licking the knife bathed in blood, their insatiable appetites will consume them.

 

Through all of this, the professing church has been an enabler through its identification with political parties, by identifying with competing worldly worldviews, and by the abdication of its Biblical mandate to be “in the world but not of the world”, to be seeking a City whose builder and maker is God. We are called to be witnesses to Jesus Christ, not advocates for a political party or for a worldly worldview – and when we are seduced into adopting a view of life and of the world that is other than a Biblical view – which all sub-Christian views necessarily are, then we exchange the glory of God for the glory of man, God’s vision for man’s vision.

 

In the United States, our syncretistic civil religion, with its blend of pseudo-patriotism and Christianity, is particularly seductive. While there are professing – Christians who lament political correctness and the thought police, many of those same Christians are quick to condemn the notion that we are a deeply sinful nation with an ingrained sinful past, and that Christians are citizens of heaven (Philippians 3:20) before we are citizens of anywhere else. (I will mention that the concept of dual citizenship is not helpful here, for there can be no parity in our thinking or dual allegiance in our hearts, “no one can serve two masters”).

 

The Church is not called to take sides in culture wars, doing so pulls us down into the toxic morass of the present age. We are called to bear witness to Jesus Christ, to be His faithful Bride (not the harlot of an element of the world-system – no matter how attractive it may appear – note what happens to harlots in Revelation 17:16). The Church is called to be separate and distinct from the war of mutual assured destruction swirling around it.

 

The people of the world; our families, friends, neighbors, coworkers; need to hear us speak from heaven, not from earth. The world needs us to wear the white linen of the righteousness of Jesus Christ, not the red and blue garments of political parties.

 

In the war of mutual assured destruction, we are called to be peacemakers (Matthew 5:9), agents of reconciliation (2 Corinthians 5:20), and medics on the battlefield (Matthew 5:43 – 48).

 

Consider these words from John the Baptist (John 3:29 - 30):

 

“He who has the bride is the bridegroom; but the friend of the bridegroom, who stands and hears him, rejoices greatly because of the bridegroom’s voice. So this joy of mine has been made full. He [Jesus] must increase, but I must decrease.”

 

And then of Paul (2 Corinthians 11:2 – 3):

 

“For I am jealous for you with a godly jealousy, for I betrothed you to one husband, so that to Christ I might present you as a pure virgin. But I am afraid that, as the serpent deceived Eve by his craftiness, your minds will be led astray from the simplicity and purity of devotion to Christ.”

 

Let me be straightforward here; pastors, priests, elders, deacons, evangelists, church leaders, are called to wed the Church to Jesus Christ in a monogamous marriage, a pure marriage, a holy marriage. The “Christian” leader who in any way suggests and encourages God’s People to dye the white linen of Jesus Christ with the colors of this world, including blue or red, is not acting as a friend of the Bridegroom. (There are many other colors we could include here, including green – the color of money - one of the gods of our pantheon).

 

Dear friends, the people of the world need us to bear witness to Jesus Christ, not political or economic or social agendas. They need the Church to demonstrate the Gospel and what it is to love one another as Christ loves us, they need to see us actually living in community across ethnic, racial, socio-economic, political, and educational barriers…yes, even nationalistic barriers.

 

There are two women portrayed throughout the Bible; the harlot, and the Bride of Christ (Proverbs Chapter 9, Revelation Chapter 17; 19:7 – 10; Chapter 21).

 

Which one are we?

 

 

 

 

 

 

Living Beyond Death (8)

 

Revelation chapters 21 and 22

 

Have you given any more thought to the key of John Chapter 11? Take a look at John 11:21 – 25. Where is Martha “looking”? She says, “If you had been here my brother wouldn’t have died.” Then she says, “I know he will rise again in the resurrection on the last day.” Martha is looking to the past and the future.

 

When Mary shows up, she says (11:32), “If you had been here my brother would not have died.” Mary is also looking to the past.

 

What is Jesus saying in 11:25 - 26? Can you relate this to John 8:51? (Along this same line, you might want to consider the point Jesus makes in Matthew 22:31 – 32).

 

Jesus is saying, “I AM the Resurrection and the Life…” (Remember God and Moses and the burning bush? Exodus 3:14.) Martha and Mary are looking to the past and the future, but they are not seeing Jesus in what I’ll call the transcendent – present. What I mean by the transcendent – present is that we see Christ now, but in seeing Him now we see Him in such a way that He transcends time and space – as Jesus says in Matthew 22:31 – 32, He is not the God of the dead but of the living.

 

In Christ, our lives are to be supernatural, and that means that God wants to develop and grow our life in the Holy Spirit as we are transformed into the image of Jesus Christ.

 

Our propensity is to see Jesus in the past or in the future, but not now as the I AM. This goes far beyond what people call “application” – “how does the Bible apply to today?” While it is important to always ask, “How am I being called to respond and obey this Biblical text today?” The Bible calls us to see Jesus Christ and experience relationship with Him today.

 

This is why if all we do, when working through a Bible text, is to talk about the past or the future – we may be reading the text but we are not experiencing the text as the Living Word of God. I have seldom been in a Sunday school group that moved beyond the past or future and “saw” Christ as the I AM in the here and now.

 

Why are we so obsessed, in the church in this nation, with figuring out the future when we aren’t living in Christ today? When we aren’t seeing Him as the Resurrection and the Life today?

 

If we saw Jesus Christ as the Resurrection and the Life today, do you really think that professing – Christians would be involved in some of the things they are? That we would consume the types of entertainment we do? That we would use some of the vitriolic language that we do? Do you think we might actually start to be a witness for the Gospel – not afraid to share Christ with others – wherever we are? Do you think that congregations just might not be as petty as some are? Do you think that we would have a passion to obey the Word of God…no matter the consequences?

 

But most of all, if we saw Jesus Christ as the Resurrection and the Life today, our hearts and souls would be consumed by Him, loving Him, adoring Him, seeking Him; with all of our hearts, souls, minds, and bodies (Mark 12:29 – 31), loving others with a passion…and joyfully looking forward to life beyond death…knowing what is in our wallet. If Christ is not the Resurrection and the Life this all means nothing, absolutely nothing, but if He is the I AM THAT I AM, then He means everything – there is no middle ground.

 

Our lives in Christ are to be naturally supernatural.

 

When reading Revelation chapters 21 – 22, ask the Holy Spirit to reveal what these images mean – how do they speak to you about the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit? We see the Vine and the Branches of John 15 in Revelation 22:1 – 2. We see our minds being filled with the nature and glory of our God (22:4). We see ourselves as His sons and daughters inheriting all things in and with our Lord Jesus Christ (21:7).  We see an end to sorrow and the final and complete end of death (21:4). We see a life of transparency, where we never have to hide from others and they never have to hide from us – the City is transparent (21:18).

 

Well, I could go on and on…what do you see? It takes time to develop vision…but it will come…I promise you…it will come.

 

I Iove Jesus Christ…I hope you do too!

Life Beyond Death (7)

 

Revelation 2:7, 11, 17, 26 - 28; 3:5, 12, 21; 21:7; Romans 8:31 – 39

 

When I was a boy there was a carousel in a park on the Virginia side of Great Falls, on the Potomac. My family only went there once, living in Maryland we usually went to idyllic Glen Echo Park, which also had a carousel. I don’t recall anything about our outing to the Virginia park except the carousel, for that carousel had something that the Glen Echo carousel didn’t – it had a ring dispenser.

 

The ring dispenser was in the form of a long arm, or sleeve, that was spring loaded with rings - most of the rings were steel, but every so often a ring would be brass. If you were on an outside horse you tried to grab a ring from the sleeve as you circled, hoping that your ring would be brass. If you grabbed the brass ring you got a prize, usually a free ride.

 

No long ago I was talking with a retired Coast Guard admiral and he said something like this, “For so long I was focused on grabbing the brass ring of becoming an admiral and I wasn’t focused on what is really important, I wasn’t focused on Jesus Christ.”  I knew what he meant when he used the term “brass ring” for I had my boyhood memory.

 

Of course, this isn’t to say that one can’t be an admiral and be focused on Jesus Christ, but it is to say that if being an admiral is our brass ring, or if being an admiral is the framework of life – rather than knowing, worshipping, and sharing Jesus Christ – then we’ve got the wrong framework. The Scriptures are clear that whatever we do, we are to do to the glory of God in the name of Jesus Christ (Colossians 3:17).

 

I imagine we’ve all had our own brass rings in life that are the equivalent of becoming an admiral – it may not be a position; it could be possessions, recognition…any number of things. I’m reminded of something Tom Brady said a few years ago, after he had won yet another Super Bowl, it went something like this, “I thought that winning a Super Bowl  would give me a sense of fulfillment, but it didn’t. Then I thought winning multiple Super Bowls would give me a sense of fulfillment, but when I had done that, I asked myself, Is this all there is?”

 

When our identity is in Jesus Christ, when we know He lives in us, when our relationship with the Trinity is “what’s is our wallets” – then we learn to not only look at life beyond death, we live in the light of eternity here and now – worshiping God, encouraging our brothers and sisters in Christ, and seeking to bring others to Him and to be a blessing to the world. Jesus Christ becomes our way of life.

 

Most of our readings for today are from Revelation. Revelation was not written to satisfy our curiosity about the future, it was written to show us Jesus Christ and to encourage us to live today in the fulness of His grace and power – no matter what. Revelation is about showing us Jesus, the Lion of the Tribe of Judah, the Lamb of God (Rev. 5:1 – 6). It was written to teach us not to love our own lives – even if it means death – which it always does in one way or another (Rev. 12:11 – 12; Mark 8:34 – 38; Galatians 2:20).

 

The Overcomer Promises in Revelation chapters 2 and 3 are promises that we can begin to experience today, to one degree or another. Peter (2 Peter 1:2 – 4) tells us that God gives us promises so that as we believe them and drink them in, experiencing them, that we become partakers of the Divine Nature (ponder that one!). Knowing Christ and His Word is not about being able to play Bible Jeopardy, it is about relationship with the Trinity.

 

When you read the promises in Revelation are there any that especially strike you?

 

Our final reading today is from Romans 8. Please pay special attention to 8:37, Paul writes that we are not just overcomers, but that we are “super” overcomers (or however your translation makes the point). What is it that ensures that we are overcomers? It is Christ and His incredible love! Just look at the context of verse 37 – what a blessed assurance we have that Jesus Christ, the One who called us, will always be with us and that “nothing can separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

 

This is worth living and dying for – this is life beyond death!

Living Beyond Death (6)

 

1 Corinthians Chapter 15

 

This is the great resurrection chapter of the Bible; while the Gospels tell us what happened, 1 Corinthians 15 tells us why it happened. Of course there are many places in the Bible that speak to us of Christ’s Resurrection, both in the Old and New Testaments, but perhaps nowhere else do we have such a comprehensive statement of Christ’s Resurrection, and of the Resurrection of those who have the life of Christ living in them.

 

There are many themes and nuances in this chapter, some of which are unfamiliar to most Christians. For example, in verse 45, what does it mean that Jesus Christ is the last Adam? In verse 47 what does it mean that Jesus Christ is the Second Man? Furthermore, is the Second Man limited to Jesus Christ alone, or does it include the Body of Christ? If the Second Man is the Head of the Body, then the Body must be included.

 

Note the progression of verse 23.

 

Note the question Paul raises in verse 35 and how he answers it.

 

Note John 12:24 and how it relates to 1 Cor. Chapter 15.

 

Note Romans 5:12 – 21 and how it relates to 1 Cor. Chapter 15.

 

Remember our reading yesterday in 2 Cor. 5 and see how that relates to 1 Cor. 15:53.

 

This is a complex chapter that begins with a statement of the foundation of the Gospel and culminates with a statement of the universal victory of Jesus Christ, and us in Christ, over sin and death.

 

I suppose if I had to emphasize one element that Christians are unfamiliar with it would be verses 20 – 23 and 45 – 49, connecting them with Romans 5:12 – 21. When we come into a relationship with Jesus Christ we are taken out of the first man Adam, and placed into the second Man, Jesus Christ – we have a new identity (what’s in your wallet?) See also Romans 6:1 – 6 and 2 Corinthians 5:14 – 21.

 

There is a new creation on this planet in Jesus Christ. Those who are in Christ no longer trace their genealogy back to the first man, Adam, but rather to the Second Man, Jesus Christ. Our lives consist, in part, of learning to bear the image of the heavenly (1 Cor. 15:49). This goes back to the idea that we are the sons of the Living God and not groveling worms hoping that we’ll be thrown table scraps (1 John 3:1 – 3; 2 Cor. 3:17 – 18).

 

The Early Church believed that there were three races on the earth; Jews, Gentiles, and Christians – they saw themselves as strangers, pilgrims, and aliens. How do we see ourselves?

 

There is a lot to ponder in 1 Corinthians 15 – it spans from Genesis to Revelation. It also says a lot about how we should be living. In essence, if the Gospel is true it means everything, if it isn’t true it means nothing – there is no middle ground; and for the Christian, it means there is no excuse for not living in the light of eternity – in not living as those who look forward to life beyond death.

 

We have a hope that we can share with the world!

 

What’s in your wallet?

Living Beyond Death (5)

 

2 Corinthians 4:16 – 5:10; Philippians 1:21 – 26

 

My brother-in-law Rod was my best friend. While he lived in Iowa and I lived on the East Coast, meaning that we didn’t see each other all that much, we talked on the phone frequently, and when we did see each other it was always a joy. Rod was my biggest cheerleader (next to Vickie) when I faced a challenge that I was unsure of, he had more confidence in me than I had in myself. Rod was always telling me how proud he was of me. We lost Rod about 20 years ago, when he was 42 years old, to complications from Type – I diabetes, it is a loss I still feel. I can still see his smile, I can still hear his voice.

 

A few years before Rod’s moving day, he came to know Jesus Christ as a result of the Gospel being preached at his grandmother’s funeral – from that day until his last breath he was amazed at the love of Jesus Christ. We didn’t make it to Rod’s bedside before he died, we were a few hours late – I knew when we drove up to his and Janet’s house that Rod was already gone, something inside me told me – Vickie didn’t know until our sister-in-law Janet met us at the door.

 

On Rod’s last morning here, his bedroom was filled with family and friends. Rod had been in a coma, unresponsive, the covers were pulled up to his neck in order to keep him warm. All of a sudden Rod’s eyes opened wide, he was obviously staring at something in the room – then his arms came from beneath the covers and he lifted both of them into the air toward what he was seeing – and then Rod was gone, it was moving day. Everyone felt something that was beyond them, that they couldn’t explain. My father - in - law George, who was not a Christian at that time, was quite clear that he had “felt something” powerful that he couldn’t explain.

 

As a child Rod suffered a number of injuries due to the weakness of his body – one of those was a broken arm – since childhood he had been unable to lift that arm above shoulder level – and yet on moving day that arm was lifted high in the air as he reached toward the invisible.

 

(On the day before his moving day, before he lapsed into a coma, Rod spent his time calling friends and telling them about Jesus).

 

What happens when a Christian (someone in a relationship with Jesus Christ) dies? What does life beyond death look like? There are some things we know, and many things we don’t know – and many of the things we know, we don’t understand…if we are honest and not making things up. In one sense, after moving day, there is still a sequence of events yet to happen – at least from a human perspective. For example, in 1 Corinthians 3:10 – 15, Paul is quite clear that the quality and nature of our works, of the things we’ve done in our lives, will be tested and shown to be what they are – either things built on Jesus Christ or not. When does that happen? How does that happen? I don’t think we really know.

 

Along this same line, in today’s passage in 2 Corinthians Paul writes, “For we must all stand before the judgement seat of Christ, so that each one may be recompensed for his deeds in the body, according to what he has done, whether good or bad” (2 Cor. 5:10). When does this happen? How does this happen? I don’t think we really know.

 

We do know there is an accountability yet to come. The quality of our lives matters. Jesus wasn’t kidding when He told us to store up treasure in heaven and not on earth (Matthew 6:19 – 21).

 

As we’ll see in tomorrow’s reading, when we live beyond death there is still a resurrection to come – so we know that there is a period of time between dying and being with Christ and the Resurrection of the Just and Righteous, of those in Christ – what does this intervening period look like? We really don’t know. The Bible is not the National Enquirer, the Bible was not written to satisfy our curiosity – it was written to reveal the True and Living God.

 

C.S. Lewis wrote a little story titled The Great Divorce, on the one hand it’s an easy read, on the other hand it gives us a lot to think about. Dante’s Purgatory can be helpful in terms of thinking about accountability for the way we live, it requires work to read and think about – but I imagine that most anything of value requires work (you might want to look for a contemporary translation of Dante if you read it – make sure it has explanatory notes). What’s the point of going to the gym if you don’t break a sweat?

 

What can we know about dying when reading Philippians 1:21 – 26? Here is an example of the Bible telling us the Main Thing, the Most Important Thing, and leaving it at that.

 

2 Corinthians 4:16 – 5:10: I’ve been writing two blogs for over ten years now, and I imagine that if I went back and counted which Bible passages I’ve quoted and alluded to the most, that 2 Corinthians 4:18 would be at the top or near the top. Why? Because this is the way we ought to learn to live – seeing the invisible (see also 2 Cor. 5:7 in our passage).

 

(This is why, in the midst of the pandemic, and social, political, and economic chaos; that I try to ask the questions, “What’s really happening? What is going on in the invisible world?” Otherwise we, like everyone else, will be like blind men walking in an unfamiliar house and always banging into furniture and hurting ourselves, maybe even falling down stairs!).

 

In 2 Cor. 5:4 Paul talks about a desire to be clothed with heavenly glory – not to escape (to be unclothed), but rather to complete and fulfill his destiny (to be clothed upon). Paul wants to ride the Big Kahuna – he is looking forward to it. Paul has this desire because he knows what’s in his wallet, he knows that Christ is in him and that he is in Christ.

 

In 5:5 Paul is saying that God made us for this purpose, for this destiny.

 

Please compare 5:6 - 8 with today’s Philippians passage – what do you see?

 

What is Paul’s desire in 5:9?

 

For the first few years after Disney World opened you didn’t just purchase a ticket, enter the park, and ride any ride you wanted to. Instead, you were given a book of tickets for rides, and each ticket had a letter on it. If the ride ticket had an “A”, that was for a ride like the carousel, the bottom of the excitement scale. At the other end of the scale was the “E” ticket – that was for something like Space Mountain, at the top of the excitement scale – so “E” tickets were the cool tickets.

 

Living beyond death is the ultimate “E” ticket ride.

Living Beyond Death (4)

 

Hebrews 2:14 – 15; 2 Timothy 1:8 – 11

 

A few weeks ago, when we were also reading Hebrews Chapter 2, Bill DeWorken shared about the meaning of verses 14 – 15. Bill told us that for much of his life that he was afraid of death, but then he came to understand that because of Jesus Christ, and his relationship with Jesus, that he no longer needed to fear death. Hebrews Chapter 2 is one of the great Bible passages about the Incarnation – and just as the Cross has many facets to it, so does the Incarnation.

 

What facets of the Incarnation and the Cross do you see in verses 14 – 15?

 

In reading 2 Timothy 1:8 – 11, please pay particular attention to verse 10.  Ponder what Paul says about Jesus abolishing death, rendering death powerless – and bringing life and immortality to light through the Gospel. What do we see here?

 

Just as living in the peace of Christ is a way of life, so living beyond death is a way of life in Jesus Christ. We can learn to live in the reality that Jesus Christ abolished death, we can learn to live in life and immortality, we can learn to live “seeing the invisible”, we can learn to live abiding in Vine, we can learn what it is to eat of the Tree of Life as a way of life.

 

A question we can learn to ask ourselves throughout the day is, “Is this thing life or death?” Remember there are two trees in the garden, the Tree of Life and the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. Note that the second tree is not the Tree of Evil, but of the Knowledge of Good and Evil.  Jesus Christ is the Tree of Life – we can live by Jesus Christ or we can live by our own judgment – of both good and evil.

 

What might this look like?

 

If we no longer live in the fear of death, and if we are learning to realize that Jesus abolished death – then we need not fear the things of this world – including the expectations of this world. In Romans 8:29 we’ve seen that we are to be conformed to the image of Jesus Christ; then in Romans 12:1 – 2 we’re taught that we are not to be conformed to this world. Yet, what is the reality for many professing Christians? What molds us?

 

How often have our lives been conformed to what other people expect of us rather than to the image of Jesus Christ? We are sold images and we buy into those images – and those images become our idols. Then, when someone messes with our idols we get angry and can’t believe how others could be so stupid.

 

Our Father has convicted me of idolatrous images in my own life many times; images from my business career, images from vocational ministry, images from politics, images from economics, images from history, images from entertainment…the list goes on. The images purport to be something that they are not – they lie to us, they show us their appealing side but not their ugly side. The only image that never lies to us is the image of God in our Lord Jesus Christ. If we get angry when someone, rightly or wrongly, messes with our images perhaps we should ask our Lord Jesus why we are so angry – what is really going on within us? After all, we are the sons of the Living God and our citizenship is in heaven.

 

If we are accustomed to living in the light and life of Jesus Christ, if we are accustomed to eating of the Tree of Life, then physical death is moving day – for we are looking beyond death (we’ll look at moving day more closely in tomorrow’s reading).

 

Again, what might living by the Tree of Life look like? Well, what images are we putting into our minds? What words are we listening to? Are they words and images of life or of death? If we wouldn’t allow someone to put rat poison in our coffee, why do we willingly allow others to put poison in our hearts and minds? And keep in mind, that when we watch video that our brain waves go into a passive – receptor mode and we tend to drop our critical thinking – the Bible takes images seriously, and images bombarding us through video is something to be taken very seriously.

 

No one, not me and not you, can watch images that violate the Bible with impunity – they will sicken our souls and we’ll lose our sensitivity. For most Christians the problem isn’t losing sensitivity to light and darkness, it is how to regain that sensitivity. About a year ago Carroll shared his experience of going with his granddaughter to VA Tech for orientation. He couldn’t believe the language and messaging from both the students and the school. I think Carroll is probably the exception – most parents and grandparents have come to accept what’s going on because they’ve been desensitized.

 

“In the way of righteousness is life, and in its pathway there is no death.” Proverbs 12:28.

 

We can learn, in Christ, to live in the light and life of Jesus Christ, no longer being slaves to death and the ways of death. Free men and women in Jesus Christ can say “yes” to Christ and “no” to death. If we say “no” to death today, we will know no death tomorrow.

Living Beyond Death (3)

 

John 5:18 – 32; 8:51; Ephesians 2:1 – 10.

 

Of all the books I’ve ever read, the very best book about what we might call “The End Times” and “life beyond death” is the Last Battle by C.S. Lewis. There is no book I’ve ever read, or listened to via audio (there is a Focus on the Family Radio Theater production of this that is amazing), other than the Bible, that has the emotional and intellectual impact on me that this book continues to have. Lewis’s depiction of “heaven” is full of hope and joy and delight and Jesus – it is the best there is outside of the Bible – though on another level Dante’s Paradise is worth pondering – but that has a different flavor. As you may know, The Last Battle is the seventh and final volume of the Chronicles of Narnia – and while all of the Narnian books speak to me deeply, The Last Battle never fails to first break my heart and then raise me to joy.

 

Those who have made Jesus Christ their life in this life have a glorious and mysterious future ahead of them. The good news for us all is that it’s never too late (Matthew 20:1 – 16). When God told Adam that the day Adam ate from the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil that Adam would die, God meant what He said. That act of disobedience, that sin, which I don’t think we can really comprehend, introduced spiritual death into the world, and ever since then everyone who has ever been born has been born dead – other than…of course…our Lord Jesus Christ. This is the backdrop for today’s readings.

 

 

In John 5:18 – 32, how many kinds of death is Jesus talking about?

 

How can we link John 5:24 - 25 with the Ephesians passage?

 

What does Jesus mean in John 8:51? How is this possible?

 

Living Beyond Death (2)

 

John 11:1 – 46

 

Let’s begin with a story. This story can be our framework for thinking about death for the Christian, the person in a relationship with Jesus Christ. It would be good if we’d think about this story throughout this series, because there is a key in this story that is the key to everything the Bible has to say about death – at least for the Christian. Can you find the key?

 

What is Martha’s perspective in this story?

 

What is Mary’s perspective in this story?

 

What do you see? Please make some notes about your thoughts – see if you can add to them during the next few days. 

Can you find the key?

We'll revisit this passage later in this series.

Living Beyond Death (1)

My small group is going to focus on Living Beyond Death for a week.  Below is the first section of my handout for them.

Well brothers, this week we come to that most exciting of subjects – death! But really, rather than just look at death, let’s also look at beyond death. Since the death rate in our nation, and I assume the world, is 100%, it is something that you’d think we’d talk about more…but of course we don’t.

 

When is the last time you had a real conversation about death? What about a conversation about “beyond death”?

 

Why do you think we don’t talk about death and dying in our society?

 

Yes, I realize there is the Hemlock Society, and the question of euthanasia, and advance medical directives; but even when those subjects enter a conversation it seems the sooner we move on to another topic the better.

 

Death was a part of life up until around our parents’ generation. Folks often died at home, cared for by family and friends, and were laid out in the “parlor”. Unless death was sudden, death was a process, a journey, shared by the person dying and by family and friends. When Pope John Paul II was dying, he refused extraordinary medical care because he wanted to model “how to die” as a Christian.

 

When I was with E. Carlton Wilton years ago, Bernie, my number two guy in our finance/accounting department, died of a heart attack. I still recall the day of his funeral. We closed the office, went to the funeral, came back to the office and went back to work. As I sat at my desk and thought about it, it seemed surreal. You may have had a similar experience. Since that day, when I’ve gone to work – related funerals, I’ve tried to engage coworkers on death and dying.

 

Perhaps we don’t talk about death out of fear – if we pretend it isn’t there maybe it won’t happen. I’ve had two women friends who were afraid to get lumps checked because they were afraid they might have cancer. In both cases it was cancer and in both cases early treatment may have made a significant difference. While for sure we are all going to die, death does not mean the same thing for everyone – as we’ll see in our readings, those who are alive in Christ will not taste of death, they will lay one house down and move to a better neighborhood – it will be moving day – they will be living beyond death.

 

Another reason perhaps we don’t talk about death is that if we’re going to talk about death then we really need to talk about life – about the meaning of life, about how we should be living. Thinking about death can really help us live positive, enjoyable, and fruitful lives – because we know the best is yet to come! We learn to live in the light of eternity in Jesus Christ. This light becomes a present reality that grows brighter and brighter as we advance in age and in our relationship with Jesus Christ – we learn to look not so much at death, but at beyond death.

 

After all, if we are the sons of the Living God, and if Jesus Christ is our brother – then we have a bodacious homecoming to look forward to!

The Peace of God (7)

Monday, August 10: Galatians 5:22 – 23; Isaiah 32:1 – 2; Luke 21:25 – 28; Revelation 6:3 – 4

 

We live in an age of “the quick fix” – we want instant gratification, instant answers, instant personal and spiritual growth. This quick fix mentality is one of the great enemies of our lives and of the life of the church – and certainly of our society. In the Parable of the Sower the plants that grew quickly were the plants that died – they did not have a root system. In my business career I saw many fast – starters who looked impressive but who, sooner or later, failed when they encountered challenges. In the church I’ve seen more than a few preachers, pastors, ministry leaders who generated excitement but who offered little beyond the superficial – giving people what they wanted rather than challenging people to follow Jesus. Sadly, this quick – fix and superficial approach to ministry often catches up with these “leaders” in their spiritual, moral, and ethical lives.

 

What does this have to do with “what’s in your wallet” and with the peace of Jesus Christ? The peace of Christ is not a commodity, it doesn’t come in a can or a bottle – the peace of Christ comes as we live in relationship with Christ and with one another. Many times people have come to me wanting their lives “fixed”. They want their marriages “fixed”, they want their anxiety “fixed”, they want their fear “fixed”, they want “peace”, they want “hope”, they want “love” – and then they want to get on with life.

 

To know the peace of Christ we must live in relationship with the Christ of peace. The peace of Jesus Christ is a way of life; a way of thinking, feeling, speaking, desiring, giving, loving, praying. The peace of Jesus Christ is also a way of living in mission – being a blessing to others. This brings us to today’s passages.

 

Galatians 5:22 – 23: “Peace” is in the fruit of the Spirit. How can you relate this to yesterday’s readings? How can you see yourself in yesterday’s readings?

 

Isaiah 32:1 – 2: What picture to you see here? How can you see yourself in this passage?

 

Luke 21:25 – 28: In the Bible, the sun, moon, and stars are often images of governing powers in spiritual (unseen) and earthly realms; the sea is often an image of the mass of humanity, with its dangerous unpredictability. Based on these images, this passage portrays upheaval in the heavens (the unseen) and on earth. That which was predictable has become chaotic – note verse 26, “the powers of the heavens will be shaken” (see also Hebrews 12:25 – 29).

 

I’d like us to especially note in verse 26 that “men’s hearts will be failing them for fear” or that men will be “fainting from fear”.

 

Let’s connect this with Revelation 6:3 – 4 where we see that it is granted to the second horseman to “take peace from the earth.”

 

Whatever ultimate context we might want to place Matthew 24:26 and Revelation 6:3 – 4 in, most (if not every) generation has experienced instability, uncertainty, and the dissolution of peace. Nations, continents, the world at large – chaos and upheaval are not new to our generation. Americans, and perhaps especially the American church, think the End Times are upon us when we stub our toes. How would we ever survive in places where war, famine, and persecution are the daily lot of humanity in general and Christians in particular?

 

Here’s my point – when chaos invades the world around us, when men’s hearts fail them for fear, when peace is taken from the earth – how are we going to live? Will we live in the peace of Christ and call others to experience that peace with us – or will we look after ourselves, forgetting that Christ calls to deny ourselves and take up our cross and follow Him?

 

When the world has chaos, the Church has opportunity. When hatred and anger and vitriol are the coinage of the land – we, you and I, are called to use another currency – the peace and reconciling love and grace of Jesus Christ. We will never know the peace of Christ unless we live in relationship with the Christ of peace and share that peace with others – treasure kept to ourselves will rust and decay and poison our hearts.

 

In Christ, will we bear the fruit of the Spirit that includes gentleness and peace? Will we be peacemakers, and thus be recognized as the sons of God? Will we be found on the page of Isaiah Chapter 32?

 

What’s in your wallet?

 

 

The Peace of God (6)

 

Sunday, August 9: John 15:1 - 11; Psalm 1:3; 92:12 – 14; Jer. 17:7 – 8; Rev. 22:1 – 2

 

Some of us may be familiar with the story of sisters Betsy and Corrie ten Boom. Their Dutch family provided refuge for Jews during WWII until they were all arrested by the Nazis and sent to concentration camps. Corrie was the only member of the family to survive.

 

One day in the camp, Corrie asked her older sister Betsy, “How long will we have to be here?” Betsy replied, “As long as it takes for them to know the love of God. If they can be taught to hate, they can be taught to love.” [I am writing this from memory, so these are not exact quotes but they are close].

 

As Corrie recounted this conversation she said, “At first I thought my sister was speaking of the other prisoners, of us sharing Christ with them; but then I realized that she was talking about the prison guards.”

 

This is what the peace of Christ looks like. This is why, if we will experience the peace of Christ, we will always be in the minority. This is the passionate peace of the Father who gave His Only Begotten Son. This is the passionate peace of the Son who laid down His life for us – certainly Jesus Christ thought, “If they (you and me!) can be taught to hate, they can be taught to love.”

 

And this brings us to our final two days of meditations – which bring us back to who Christ is in us, who we are in Him, and what our mission is – for without a deep identity in Christ and in the mission of Christ, knowing the peace of God is problematic. To know the peace of Christ means that we must share the peace of Christ, and if we are not willing to share the peace of Christ it is unlikely that we will live in the peace of Christ.

 

Selfishness, self-centeredness, egotism, putting ourselves first, all of these things are contrary to the nature of our Elder Brother – are contrary to allowing His peace to rule in our hearts.

 

As you read today’s passages, what common threads do you see? How do these passages speak to us of our relationship with God? How do they speak to us of our purpose and mission?

 

Please compare the Tree of Life in Genesis 2:9 with Revelation 22:2.

 

Is the Tree of Life in our wallet?

The Peace of God (5)

 

Saturday, August 8: John 14:1, 27; 16:33; 20:19, 21, 26.

 

John chapters 13 – 17 constitute what I’ll call the Upper Room, it is not only the most extended scene in the Gospels, it is, I think, the most extended scene in the Bible with its five chapters. While Jesus’ prayer of John 17 may not have occurred in the Upper Room, since it is the culmination of chapters 13 – 16 it naturally goes with those chapters.

 

The setting is the night that Jesus Christ is betrayed, it is Maundy Thursday and Jesus is with His friends, who are also His brothers. What see here is “family talk” – the Father, the Son, the Holy Spirit, and the children (getting ready to grow – up) around the Table.

 

Three of today’s verses come from the Upper Room, two from Easter day, and the last verse from eight days after Easter. As you read these verses please look at their immediate context (the verses coming before and after each one) and please keep in mind their larger context – the Upper Room, Easter, and indeed the entire Story – including the Father bringing many sons to glory (Hebrews 2:10).

 

What do you see in these verses? Please ponder them, asking the Holy Spirit to speak to you. After you’ve done that, I’ve made some comments below.

 

14:1:   Did you look at the verses leading up to this verse? Remember, chapter divisions and verse numbers were not in the original manuscripts. While chapter numbers and verse numbers are helpful in finding places in the Bible, they are also a hinderance (I didn’t say they “can be” a hinderance, I said they “are” a hinderance), because the tendency of our minds is to separate the contents of one chapter from another when they are often connected. We wouldn’t watch a movie one frame at a time, or watch one scene from a play one day, come back the next day and watch another scene, come back the next day and watch yet another scene. If we watched movies or plays this way we’d lose the force of the production and we’d lose continuity – yet we read the Bible, and therefore experience the Bible, this way.

 

What is happening prior to 14:1? Jesus is telling a confident Peter that Peter will deny Him three times. But along with Jesus saying to Peter that “a rooster will not crow until you deny Me three times”, Jesus also says, “Let not your heart be troubled; believe in God, believe also in Me.” Do you see what we miss if we don’t keep reading at the end of chapter 13, or what we miss if we begin reading chapter 14 without reminding ourselves how chapter 13 ends?

 

14:27:  Here is a reinforcement of 14:1, with Jesus also saying, “Peace I leave with you; My peace I give to you.” As we’ve seen in our previous readings, we are not talking about some kind of generic peace, a peace with psychological roots, a peace that can be achieved through some method, or with drugs – we are talking about the very peace of God, the peace of Jesus Christ, the peace that is the very Nature of God the Trinity.

 

Think about Jesus words in 14:1 and 14:27, “Do not let your heart be troubled…nor let it be fearful.” Remember Colossians 3:15? “Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts…” Our hearts are not to be passive sponges, absorbing whatever is around us without our consent – we are to exercise our wills, by God’s grace, and to choose to obey Jesus Christ (John 14:21; 15:10).

 

Jesus is about to be betrayed and tortured and crucified, His disciples are about to abandon Him – and He is telling them to not let their hearts be troubled or afraid! Do you think there might be something here for us?

 

16:33:  What do you see in this verse? Why has Jesus been saying all of the things He has in chapters 13 – 16? Where are we to find peace? Once again, we aren’t to find peace in a program, in mental exercises, in drugs, in causing our minds to go blank, in techniques – peace is in found in a Person and in living in that Person and that Person living in us, that Person is Jesus Christ. Jesus says, “…so that in Me you may have peace.” We find peace in an intimate relationship with Jesus Christ – a peace we can share with others.

 

It is also a peace that we can experience in the midst of tribulation. Jesus says in this verse, “In the world you have tribulation…”  (see also John 15:18 – 16:4). Make no mistake about this, tribulation and persecution await the follower of Jesus Christ – if we have never experienced resistance to our lives or our message could it be because we have offered nothing for others to resist?  Note 15:20, “If they have persecuted Me; they will also persecute you.” Let’s keep in mind Paul’s words that, “…all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will be persecuted (2 Timothy 3:12).

 

Peace does not mean the absence of conflict, either without or within – peace is rooted deeper than conflict and suffering and it sustains us through suffering and conflict and temporal uncertainties. In one sense we don’t know whether we are experiencing the peace of Christ until we experience hardship, trial, suffering, and conflict.

 

Note Jesus’s concluding words, “…but take courage; I have overcome the world.” John writes in his first letter (1 John 4:4), “You are from God, little children, and have overcome them [the spirits of antichrist in the world] because greater is He who is in you than he who is in the world.”

 

The people of Jesus Christ are here in this world to overcome the world, to preach and teach the Gospel of Jesus Christ, to make a difference in the lives of others, to bring others into the light and life and peace and joy of Jesus Christ – and we aren’t going anywhere – just like Daniel Chapter 2 shows us – God’s Rock is destroying the kingdoms of this world and is filling the earth – there is only room for one kingdom on this planet, and that is the Kingdom of Jesus Christ.

 

20:19, 21  When Jesus appears to His disciples on Easter evening, as they are huddled together with the door locked, “for fear of the Jews” (the leaders of the Jewish people), what are Jesus’ first words? “Peace be with you.” These are the very men who abandoned Him to arrest and crucifixion! Does He accuse them? Does He berate them? Does He tell them that they’ll have to do better? Does He make them grovel on the floor?

 

In fact, look at 20:17, how does Jesus speak of these men when He talks with Mary Magdalene? “…go to My brethren and say to them, I ascend to My Father and your Father, and my God and your God.” Isn’t this what we might expect from our Elder Brother?

 

But then we have a second “Peace be with you” and this one comes with a commission, a charge, a calling; “…as the Father has sent Me, I also send you.” (See also John 17:18). Jesus is saying in part, “You’ve seen how I lived and died, now it’s your turn. You’ve seen how I’ve loved, you’ve seen my joy, you’ve seen my peace, you’ve seen Me love the unlovable and touch the untouchable – now it’s your turn!” Isn’t it a good thing that Christ showers us with His peace? We sure need it if we are to embrace the calling that, “Now it’s our turn!”

 

20: 26 Our final verse comes eight days after Easter. This time when Jesus appears to His apostles Thomas is with them – Thomas was missing on Easter evening. When Thomas was told by the other apostles about Jesus appearing the first time (20:24 – 25) he didn’t believe them.  Jesus appears again and says, “Peace be with you.” This includes Thomas. Once again, as on Easter evening, Jesus doesn’t look at Thomas and scold him, berate him, make him grovel, or heap guilt on him – He simply says to Thomas, “Reach here…do not be unbelieving but believing.”

 

I imagine we’ve all deserted Jesus when they’ve come to arrest Him. I imagine we’ve all been like Thomas and haven’t believed. I imagine we’ve all been like Peter and denied Jesus before others – well, at least I have. What a wonderful realization that when Jesus appears to us that He says, “Peace be with you”!

 

Let us receive the peace of Jesus Christ today. What’s in your wallet?

 

The Peace of God (4)

Friday, August 7: I want to begin today’s meditation with St. Francis of Assisi:

 

“Lord, make me an instrument of thy peace. Where there is hatred, let me sow love,

where there is injury, pardon; where there is doubt, faith; where there is despair, hope;

where there is darkness, light; where there is sadness, joy.

O Divine Master, grant that I may not so much seek to be consoled as to console,

to be understood as to understand, to be loved, as to love.”

 

What would our lives be like, our heart and minds and souls, were we to pray this every day? For then every day this image of being a blessing to others, as Jesus Christ is a blessing to us, would be before our hearts and minds – and by God’s grace, the Holy Spirit would use this image of Jesus Christ, pouring through St. Francis, to transform us into the image of our elder brother, Jesus Christ.

 

If we meditated on this every morning, might we begin to find all hatred and anger and violence and vitriol poison to our souls – and might we begin to experience the peace of Jesus Christ as we learn to share His peace with others through prayer, encouraging words, and actions?

 

When you read Matthew 5:9 consider these questions:

 

Who is the greatest peacemaker who has ever lived? Why?

 

What does peacemaking look like in your life? How are you practicing peacemaking in your thought life, with your words, and with your actions?

 

Please read and ponder Isaiah 9:6 – 7. Consider that the Messiah, the Christ, is not only styled “The Prince of Peace” but that we’re promised that of the increase of peace there will be “no end”.

 

If we are called to peace, if we are called to be peacemakers, and if our Elder Brother is the Prince of Peace, then we can ask ourselves, “What is in our wallet? Is peace in our wallet?” That is, “Is the peace of the Prince of Peace our core identity?”

 

Of course, we’ve got to face the question of whether we really want peace and whether we are willing to pay the price for peace. Jesus Christ wanted peace with us so much that He died for us, absorbing our sin and hideousness. Father God wanted peace with us so much that He gave His only begotten Son. How much do we really want peace? If we want it then it will cost us – we will have to learn to lay down our agendas, we will have to learn to reach out to those with whom we disagree, dislike, don’t understand, and who may very well abuse us. We will have to learn to identify with Jesus Christ (What’s in your wallet?) as our core identity. This means that we will always be in the minority, always.

 

It means that we will have to learn to pray with St. Francis.

 

As we seek peace for others, we will experience the peace of Christ within us – we will, in Christ, become a source of peace for others…more on that later.

 

Is peace in your wallet? Is there a card in your wallet identifying you as a peacemaker in Jesus Christ?

The Peace of God (3)

Thursday, August 6: Colossians 3:9 – 17

 

Verse 15 offers us an image upon which we can ponder the peace of Christ and its role in our lives, it’s an image, a paradigm, which has been part of my life for many years. But first please consider the verses leading up to verse 15.

 

What do you see in verses 9 – 11? What’s the story?

 

What do you see in verses 12 – 14? What’s the story? What’s the picture? Note that in verse 12 Paul isn’t talking to miserable worthless sinners who ought to be groveling on the ground hoping that God will love them; he is writing to “those who have been chosen of God, holy and beloved”! Paul is writing to the sons and daughters of the Living God.

 

Let’s consider that if we are going to experience the peace of Christ in verse 15, that we need to live in verses 12 – 14 (note that we see “gentleness” again in verse 12). If we aren’t going to be compassionate we aren’t going to have peace, if we aren’t going to be gentle and patient with others we aren’t going to have peace, if we aren’t going to be forgiving we aren’t going to have peace – and for sure, if we aren’t going to love others we aren’t going to have peace.

 

Also, take a look at what follows verse 15 because that is part of the story too, what do you see in verses 16 and 17? How do these two verses fit into the story of our lives in Christ?

 

Okay, now let’s look at verse 15:

 

            Let the peace of Christ

                        rule in your hearts

                        to which indeed you were called in one body

            and be thankful.

 

Note the role of thanksgiving in verses 15, 16, and 17. A thankful person is likely to be a peaceful person. Thanksgiving is a key element of healthy relationships, and this is especially true of our relationship with our Father, the Lord Jesus, and the Holy Spirit. When we live in thanksgiving to God, we become thankful for others.

 

Note that we are called to peace in one body; that is, as a family of brothers and sisters – if we are going to have peace within ourselves we need to practice peace in our relationships: marriage, family, friends, the workplace, and most certainly church.

 

Are there areas of our lives, are there relationships, in which we are not practicing the peace of Christ?

 

Paul is writing about the “peace of Christ”. This isn’t a peace that comes from positive thinking, or the latest pop culture fad, this is the peace of Christ – it is the peace that flows from the Person of God in Christ. To touch the peace of Christ is to touch the Person of Christ – it is touching the Divine and being touched by the Divine – it is an encounter with God, it is God living in us. Remember in Philippians 4 that it is the peace that surpasses all comprehension.

 

Now I’d like us to please look at one word in this verse, in the above translation (NASB) it is the word “rule”. We are to “let” or “allow” the peace of Christ to rule in our hearts. That is, we are to submit to the peace of Christ. The peace of Christ is already within the sons and daughters of the Living God, the question is whether we will submit to that peace in our hearts. In other words, the issue isn’t getting the peace of God within us, it is whether we will obey the Word of God (for example in verses 9 – 14, and in verses 16 & 17), allowing that peace to rule.

 

When Christians look for the peace of God they are, more often than not, looking for something they already have but which they refuse to submit to – it may take a while to ponder this to really begin to realize what this means – I’ve been meditating on this passage for years and I am still, by God’s grace, experiencing new depths in it.

 

The Greek word translated “rule” is βραβευέτω – it’s an imperative verb and it means “to be the judge, to control, to rule”. This is the only place in the NT where this verb occurs. The Holy Spirit through Paul is saying that we are to submit ourselves to the rule of the peace of Christ in our hearts. We are to allow the peace of Christ to control us, to be the arbiter of our hearts and lives. The word “umpire” is a pretty good word for this – the peace of Christ is to umpire our lives – telling us what are the balls and strikes, when we are out of bounds.

 

This can be a challenge when we’re surrounded by anger and violence – if we let the world around us rule our hearts, if we take our lead from the world, no matter what form it may be, we will not know what it is to have the peace of Christ ruling in our hearts. This is very much in line with our previous passage in Philippians 4.

 

Are we learning what it is to allow the peace of Christ to rule in our hearts? What does this look like in our lives? Our marriages? Our families? Our churches? Our other relationships? Our thought lives? Our emotional lives?

The Peace of God (2)

Wednesday, August 5: James 1:19 – 20; 3:8 – 18.

 

How would you explain James 1:19 – 20 to your grandchildren or to a Sunday school class of younger people? Have you known men or women who were examples of these two verses? What were they like? Do these verses challenge you today? Have they ever challenged you?

 

Consider the verses coming before and after these two verses, how do they form a story, a message?

 

The Holy Spirit has convicted me of verse 20 many times, many times I have been selfishly angry, and the Lord has convicted me of this sin. Part and parcel of this conviction has been to ask forgiveness of those I have been angry with. While I don’t recommend that we sin in order to share the Gospel, I have learned than when I sin and seek forgiveness from others that I am able to model love for Christ, love for others, and a desire to obey Christ. I’ve also learned that in seeking forgiveness that I am able, by God’s grace, to show the world a way, in Christ, to heal relationships.

 

In some of my bibles I’ve written the name “Bob” above the word “man” in verse 20. When I read verse 20 I read, “…for the anger of Bob does not achieve the righteousness of God.” I read it this way whether or not I’ve actually written my name in the verse – it is a good reminder to me that God’s Word is speaking directly to me.

 

In considering James 3:8 – 18, please pay particular attention to verses 17 – 18. Note the word “gentle” which we considered yesterday in Philippians. What are the characteristics of “the wisdom from above”? In verse 18, how is the fruit of righteousness sown?

 

We live in a culture that is permeated by violence and anger – not just physical violence as we normally think of violence, but violence in the way we communicate (the loudest and most belligerent mouth wins), violence in the way we do business, violence in politics – “might makes right and the means justifies the end”.

 

If we are going to experience the peace of God, and share that peace with others, we need to know not only what that peace looks like, but we need to understand that when we adopt the ways of the world that we are touching what is demonic (James 3:15). As sons and daughters of the Living God, as brothers and sisters of our Lord Jesus Christ, are we showing the family likeness in our lives?

 

What can we learn from these passages in James? Let’s ask the Holy Spirit to show Christ to us through these passages, and let’s share the “wisdom that is from above” in peace with those around us.

 

The Peace of God

Today the small group that I participate in begins a focus on the peace of God in preparation for our virtual meeting next Tuesday morning. Below is our passage for today:

This week we want to ponder “peace”. How can we have the peace Christ? How can we share the peace of Christ? In the midst of the pandemic and economic and social uncertainties, people are looking for peace and if they can’t find it they are looking to deaden the pain through a number of ways.

 

The foundation for knowing, experiencing, and sharing the peace of Christ is knowing who Christ is in us, and who we are in Him – it goes back to the question, “What’s in your wallet?”

 

Tuesday, August 4: Philippians 4:4 – 9.

 

This is one of those passages that is so familiar that we miss its meaning and we miss its action items. We sometimes think that the Scriptures are some kind of treasury of magic sayings; if we say them over and over enough, or if we memorize them, then fairy dust is going to fall on us and things will be just fine. Lots of folks know something of this passage and seem to think that if they read it, or memorize it, that they’ll have peace – but is this true?

 

I verse 7 Paul writes of the peace of God which passes all understanding, or comprehension – in other words, God’s peace is so “other” than the peace of the world, that even when we experience it we just don’t understand it – it is, after all, God’s peace.

 

But we don’t experience God’s peace just by wishing for it, we experience God’s peace as we live in relationship with Him as His sons and daughters; living in relationship includes responding to Him and His Word in obedience and trust.

 

You might want to consider spending some time in this passage for a few days, asking the Holy Spirit to speak to you through it, to reveal Jesus Christ to you through this passage. You might want to think about memorizing it, don’t be in a hurry, take your time, a few words a day is good – even if you forget the memorization in a few weeks or months you’ll “see” things you wouldn’t have seen otherwise.

 

What do we see in this passage that requires our obedience? In other words, by God’s grace, what are we supposed to be doing, how are we supposed to be living?

 

v. 4: What do you see? What does this look like in your life? Is this something you need to cultivate? Those who follow Christ are called to be joyful in Christ! Do others see you rejoicing in Jesus Christ? Your family? Your friends? Are you having a bodacious life in Jesus Christ? When we rejoice in Christ we open ourselves to experience God’s peace.

 

v. 5: Paul says that our gentleness is to be known by everyone, and then he reminds us that Christ is present and near all the time – we are to live in that awareness. Take a look at Galatians 5:22 – 23; gentleness is an element of the fruit of the Holy Spirit. Paul writes to Titus (3:2) that we are to malign no one, we are to be peaceable, and we are to be gentle. While we’ll look at gentleness again this week, because it is closely linked to the peace of God, let’s consider the common sense principle that someone who cultivates anger and vitriol and talks maliciously about others isn’t likely to put himself in a position to experience God’s peace.

 

Are we known for our gentleness? Are the people we associate with known for gentleness? Are the people we listen to and watch on media, people who radiate peace and gentleness? Do we talk critically about others? Do we malign others? Do the people we read and watch and listen to speak respectfully of others? Let’s remember that we are sons of the Living God and brothers of Jesus Christ – is the family likeness radiating from us? I’m reminded of the following quote (I don’t know who first said it); “Great minds discuss ideas; average minds discuss events; small minds discuss people.”

 

v. 6: Our Father wants us to talk to Him all the time about everything. What else do you see in this verse?

 

v. 7: God’s peace guards both our hearts and our minds – both our emotional and intellectual health. God’s peace “guards” us – He builds a wall around us.

 

v. 8: Boys, if we expose ourselves to violence, lust, greed, vitriol, gossip, slander, hatred; if we are always looking for the bad in others, if we have a habit of believing the worst about others, if we are not looking for things that are excellent and things worthy of praise – then we can’t expect to live in the peace of God. People who are pretty much always looking for a reason to be mad, to find fault, to impute impure motives, to uncover deep and dark secrets in others can’t expect to live in the peace of our Lord Jesus Christ. We are sons of Light, not of darkness – we’re to be focused on the Light, not on darkness and evil.

 

v. 9: Now this verse is really a wake–up call to me. I read this passage for decades and never paid attention to this verse. Paul says, “…practice these things, and the God of peace will be with you.” If we don’t practice what Paul has been writing we can’t expect to experience the peace of God or the God of peace. If we aren’t willing to, by God’s grace, learn and practice rejoicing, gentleness, thanksgiving; thinking and meditating on the pure and honorable and excellent – then we can’t expect to experience the peace of God.

 

As sons of God we are to live as our Father and Lord Jesus – no matter what other people, or what society and culture, are doing.

 

Are there things that need to change in our lives in order for us to obey this passage and experience the peace of God which passes all comprehension?

Sons and Daughters of the Living God (7)

Monday, August 3: John 20:17

            On the Day of His Resurrection Jesus says, “…go to My brethren and say to them, I ascend to My Father and your Father, and My God and your God.”

            The Gospel of John begins with a focus on God coming to earth, with the Word being made flesh and living among us. In the very first chapter we see not only the Word becoming flesh, we also see those who received Him being given new life – born of God. The meaning of the Incarnation unfolds throughout the Gospel of John until, when we arrive at chapters 13 – 17, we see that as we come to live in God, that God comes to live in us – we are His sons and daughters.

            Just as Joseph was revealed to his brothers in Genesis (Chapter 45), so Christ Jesus is revealed to us – as our Brother, for as we saw in Hebrews Chapter 2, we all have one Father.

            In the midst of the chaos and uncertainty surrounding us, we can be certain of who Christ Jesus is and of who we are in Him. As we learn to live in this certainty, we can give hope to those around us, peace to those around us, we can share Christ with those around us.

            What is our core identity? Who are we? What’s in our wallet?