The day I became a "picture choosing" expert.

One of the pieces of information that churches sometimes ask for from candidates during their pastoral search is the story of how they came to have faith in Jesus. This morning I was working on my story and I thought that I would share a bit of it here.

I don’t remember all of the exact details of my confession of faith in Christ. That is not to say that I don't remember what happened. There are a few details that I don't quite remember. For example when I was about 7 years old I said something to my parents about wanting to accept Jesus into my heart. I don't quite remember exactly what I said or what prompted me to say something. All I know is that what ever I said caused my parents to have the pastor of our church come over to talk to me. I do clearly remember him coming over and talking to me. I remember it because at first I thought I was in trouble. I was playing in my room and all of a sudden our pastor and my mom walked in. My mom said, "Pastor Hargrove wants to talk to you..." What an ominous way to start a conversation with a 7 year old. It was rather intimidating. He sat on the edge of my bed and my mom was standing in my doorway. I do not recall the content of that conversation but what ever I said satisfied both my parents and the pastor that I was making a genuine confession of faith in Jesus.

The next Sunday I went forward during the Invitation portion of the service and made my confession public. I can still vividly remember the scene. We were a part of a church plant which was meeting in a grade school gym. I knew that I was supposed to go forward during the Invitation and this meant that I was not able to go to the normal children's service. I had to sit still through the whole service and it seemed like it would never end. Finally the pastor finished and he invited anyone that wanted to put their faith in Jesus to come forward. I went forward along with a few other people. I stood up a bit straighter as I walked forward without my mom even having to say anything. Then the few of us that came forward went and stood in the back.

When I got to the back my attention was immediately grabbed by a table of pictures from the latest youth group happening. I was so intrigued by the pictures that I didn't notice when the service ended. All of a sudden a whole lot of of people started to come up and talking to me. Which is sort of odd for a 7 year old; most of the time someone was just telling us kids to stop running. So I took the full advantage of my audience and pointed out which of the youth group pictures were my favorites. And to my surprise and delight every one kept coming up to me and telling me that I had made a great decision. Some of them didn't even need to take the time to look at the pictures. They just trusted that I was picking the best ones. It was right then and there that I decided that I was a "picture choosing" expert.

Of course now I realize that I am not a "picture choosing" expert. But I still made the greatest decision of my life that morning. It would take many more years and a lot of growing to even start to grasp the depth of that decision. Looking back and knowing what I know now, I have come to realize that I would still make that same decision.

 

The most important thing ever.

So far this week has been one of those weeks. My church is located in a near western suburb of Chicago. While the suburb butts up against Chicago and is in the flight path of Midway Airport; it is a small village of about 6,000 people and has retained a small town feel. Even with the Chicago skyline visible it can be very easy to forget in the middle of one of the major metropolitan areas of the world.

The town suffered a great tragedy last week when a prominent member of the community was killed in an on the job accident. Our church hosted the funeral yesterday and nearly 225 people showed up. Our sanctuary is normally set to seat about 100 and we really start feeling full at around 75-80. So Monday was filled with moving all of the normal stuff out of the sanctuary, adding an additional 55 chairs and setting up overflow seating and sound equipment downstairs and outside. Tuesday afternoon was filled with putting everything back. (Hence no blog posting either day.)

The death of this young man shook the the whole community. I never had the privilege of meeting him but his grandmother is a member of our church. From what I heard at the funeral yesterday I have every reason to believe that this man was not only a very good man but also a fellow believer in Christ. Being Easter we have just celebrated the most important event in human history. It is the resurrection of Christ that gives us the only hope we can have in a time like this. Paul shares the hope that we should have in 1 Corinthians 15:1-23:

"Now I would remind you, brothers, of the gospel I preached to you, which you received, in which you stand, and by which you are being saved, if you hold fast to the word I preached to you-unless you believed in vain.

"For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures, and that he appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve. Then he appeared to more than five hundred brothers at one time, most of whom are still alive, though some have fallen asleep. Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles. Last of all, as to one untimely born, he appeared also to me. For I am the least of the apostles, unworthy to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God. But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace toward me was not in vain. On the contrary, I worked harder than any of them, though it was not I, but the grace of God that is with me. Whether then it was I or they, so we preach and so you believed.

"Now if Christ is proclaimed as raised from the dead, how can some of you say that there is no resurrection of the dead? But if there is no resurrection of the dead, then not even Christ has been raised. And if Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is in vain and your faith is in vain. We are even found to be misrepresenting God, because we testified about God that he raised Christ, whom he did not raise if it is true that the dead are not raised. For if the dead are not raised, not even Christ has been raised. And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile and you are still in your sins. Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished. If in Christ we have hope in this life only, we are of all people most to be pitied.

"But in fact Christ has been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. For as by a man came death, by a man has come also the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive. But each in his own order: Christ the firstfruits, then at his coming those who belong to Christ."

What Paul is saying is that Christ's resurrection is the most important thing that we can hold on to and it is more than just a one time event. Christ's resurrection on that first Easter morning is the first-fruit of the resurrection that we as believers in Christ can also expect to be a part of. We have the hope that–while tragic and sad–that death here on this earth is not the end. There is more to come and we will one day be reunited with all those that have put their faith in Jesus Christ.

 

Scripture quotations are from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version® (ESV®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

John 14, Part 3

The final part of Brad Kautz's reflection on John 14. I hope you have enjoyed it as much as I have.

John 14, Part 3 – Brad Kautz

A week ago I gave a lecture for my local Bible study on John 14. In this third, and concluding, post of the series I want to share the things I learned from John 14 and taught to the class. (Here are the links to Part 1 and Part 2.)

If you have missed the first two parts, or to review for those of you who have read them, John 14 is the beginning of Jesus’ farewell to his disciples. They are gathered in the Upper Room and have shared a meal, shared in the Lord’s Supper and experienced the foot-washing. Judas has left the group, putting in place the process of Jesus’ betrayal. Chapters 14, 15 and 16 make up Jesus’ final teaching session for those who have walked so closely with him for three years.

The broad theme I believe is present in chapter 14 is that it was Jesus intent to prepare his disciples for the time when he would be absent from them by giving them a firm sense of hope and assurance in their future. He wanted to give the disciples a perspective that looked beyond the present and cast their vision on eternity. And I believe that this same intent is true for us as we read and study John 14.

Chapter 14 briefly considers Jesus’ teaching on six different topics. In Part 1, I talked about Heaven and God, the Father. In Part 2, I reviewed Prayer and the Holy Spirit. In the last part of the chapter Jesus talks about the Father’s love and God’s peace. He then closes with an enigmatic, but meaningful phrase.

In verses 19 through 24 Jesus talks about the love that God, the Father, has for the disciples. Verse 21 says,

"Whoever has my commandments and keeps them, he it is who loves me. And he who loves me will be loved by my Father and I will love him and manifest myself to him."

Despite the way it may sound here, I don’t believe that Jesus is teaching that the presence of God’s love in their lives is dependent on their keeping the commandments. Instead, Jesus is teaching them that God’s love is present to them because they love Jesus.

The disciples grew up and lived in a culture where there was a precisely calculated system of sacrifice and atonement in order for one to experience forgiveness by God. But even with the performance of the sacrifices I don’t think that a Jew would claim to know God personally, or to experience God’s love intimately.

But in these verses Jesus is teaching a radical truth. He is teaching them that God’s love is known personally by them in the very presence of Jesus.

We can take great comfort in this too, because we can’t possibly be perfect in living within God’s commandments. The radical truth is that God loves us nonetheless. He has promised to love us no matter what the circumstances of our lives may be.

There may be times when God seems distant, and in my experience these are times when the distance has been due to my own bad choices in relation to godly living. And the misery I may know at these times is actually God’s merciful action towards me, driving me back to him, where in repentance I clearly know his presence and love.

The last thing that Jesus assures his disciples of, in verses 25 through 31, is that they will experience God’s peace. In verse 27 he says,

“Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid.”

Throughout chapter 14 Jesus has been preparing his disciples for the time when he will no longer be with them, a time that he knows is very close. But while he will be physically absent he wants to assure them that they will know peace, a deep and true peace. The world’s peace is transient and imperfect but the disciples will know God’s peace, which is perfect.

God’s peace is something that they are hearing about in the Upper Room but that they won’t be able to really grasp until he is gone and they are living without him. It is a peace in which they will have no reason to be troubled or to have fear.

The disciples will experience persecution, but they won’t experience it on their own. They will have the Holy Spirit and the deep comfort of God’s peace. IN the presence of persecution they will have full faith in God’s promises.

In the book of Acts we see something of the violent persecution of the church by Saul. But later, writing as Paul, he tells the church at Philippi that God’s peace is one that surpasses all understanding.

We, too, will know times of struggle. Physical struggle. Emotional struggle. Spiritual struggle. Struggles that can take us to our breaking point. But we can go through those struggles knowing that in each and every circumstance of life we have the promise of God’s peace.

Jesus has given his disciples assurance of God’s promises and hope for their future. It may not have been fully known in the short-term but it is certainly true in the long-term, when they cast their vision on eternity.

And eternity is where we should cast our vision as well. John 1:4 says,

“In him was life, and the life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.”

We will certainly see and know periods of darkness but God’s light, in Jesus, has already overcome darkness and shines eternally.

John 14 ends with the phrase “Rise, let us go from here.” The curious thing is that there is no action that follows the phrase, as chapter 15 begins with Jesus continuing to talk, something that lasts through chapter 17.

This phrase is something that biblical scholars have differing views on, with some believing it to have been added in error, while others completely ignore it.

Because my lecture was only on chapter 14 I believed that it was of significance for our study, because it reminds us that the reason we study God’s word is not merely to learn it more deeply, but to live by it in the world.

We were gathered in a Bible study and were fed on God’s word. And being nourished we were then sent out by him to serve him faithfully and to make his glory known through acts large and small in the places we live our daily lives. In our homes. In our places of work. Through our recreational activities. Through the seemingly chance encounters that occur each day.

And this is true each and every time we draw from God’s word.

So let us rise, and go from here, out into the world, making the glory of God known wherever we are.

 

Scripture quotations are from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version® (ESV®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

 

Copyright Brad Kautz 2012. Used with permission.

 

John 14, Part 2

Once again I would like to share my friend Brad Kautz's reflections on John 14. I found it to be a very interesting and inspiring look at some of Jesus' final teaching.

John 14, Part 2 – By Brad Kautz

In the first post of this series I shared some thoughts I had on John 14 from a lecture I gave on that chapter at a local Bible study. To briefly review, the setting of chapter 14 is in the Upper Room. Jesus has shared a meal with his disciples. There has been the foot-washing and the Lord’s Supper. Given that no Gospel includes both of those activities we don’t know in which order they happened. Judas has left the group to arrange Jesus’ betrayal. The remaining disciples are receiving their final teaching from him, a teaching that includes this chapter, along with chapters 15 and 16.

For the purposes of my lecture I found six key teachings collected under the broader intent of Jesus to provide his disciples with assurance and a firm hope in their future as he prepared them to go on without him. In the first post I talked about Heaven and God, the Father. Today I’ll discuss the next two points, and the series will conclude with a final post on the two remaining points and a thought on how the entire chapter calls us to serve God today.

After teaching about God the Father Jesus then moves to a brief discussion of prayer in verses 12 through 15. Broadly speaking, prayer is conversation with God. We speak with God and God speaks with us. I think that many of us are better at speaking to God than listening to what he may have to say to us. A teacher I have learned a great deal from has often equated prayer with breathing, because as constant breathing is necessary to sustain life, constant prayer is also needed to sustain spiritual life. Perhaps this is why in writing to the Thessalonians Paul encouraged them to “pray without ceasing.”

In the three years Jesus has spent with his disciples he has given them a model of a prayer-filled life. They have seen him give thanks to God as he has done miracles, such as feeding the five thousand. The disciples have seen him go off by himself to pray. Jesus has also given them a model of prayer in the form of the Lord’s Prayer.

Now Jesus teaches the disciples something about the power contained in prayer. In verse 13 he says,

“Whatever you ask in my name, this I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son.”

I believe there are two things to be mindful about prayer within this verse. The first has to do with the idea of asking “in my name.” I don’t believe that Jesus is teaching that our prayers have to be structured in a specific manner, containing the phrase “in Jesus name I/we pray,” as if that was an incantation or formula that makes the prayer acceptable before God.

To pray in Jesus’ name does mean that we have to have the mind of Jesus as we pray, i.e. that in making our requests to God they should be the types of things that Jesus would ask of God.

As an example, I could pray that God would make me prosperous in my work. And while that may seem like a good thing to pray for I have serious doubts that it is the type of thing God would want us to ask of him, or that Jesus would pray to the Father for. A better example would be that God would lead me to use whatever prosperity I experience in my work to serve him well. This latter example combines both parts of Jesus’ teaching, that the prayers are the kinds of things Jesus would pray for and that God is glorified through their fulfillment.

One thing Jesus doesn’t talk about is the connection between our prayers and when they maybe fulfilled. It could be that our prayers are for things we would consider to be very appropriate, such as that someone dear to us would come into a saving relationship with God. And while we ardently pray for such things we have to be mindful that our knowledge is always incomplete. Our prayer, as heartfelt and sincere as it may be, may not be a part of God’s greater purposes and plan. I think the best thing we can do at such times is to remain faithful in our prayers and to leave the results in God’s hands.

In verses 15 through 18 Jesus assures the disciples that even though he will be absent they will not be left alone. In verses 16 and 17 he says,

"And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Helper, to be with you forever, even the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him. You know him, for he dwells with you and will be in you."

Jesus tells his disciples that, through the Father, he will provide an eternal presence to be with them.

In the ESV the word “Helper” is used. The NIV translates this as “Counselor” and other translations use “Advocate.” We know this presence more clearly as the Holy Spirit. The word that John uses in the Greek doesn’t translate easily, hence the variations, but it does clearly teach us that one the purposes of the third person of the Trinity sustain us in God’s truth.

The world may tell them, and us, that Jesus is an ordinary man. The world may say that Jesus was a good teacher. The word may say that in death Jesus was a misguided martyr.

The disciples are learning a different truth about Jesus. They are learning that Jesus is God, alive in the world and alive in them, for the purpose of bringing a people into eternal fellowship with him.

And there are the same truths that we need to be reminded of again today. God has touched us and healed us. God is with us, and we will never be the same. Thanks be to God.

 

Scripture quotations are from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version® (ESV®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

 

Copyright Brad Kautz 2012. Used with permission.

 

 

Supreme Sacrifice Day

Apparently March 18 is "Supreme Sacrifice Day." At least that is what my friend Brad Kautz told me. He found out through his monthly cultural diversity newsletter at his work. And included within the newsletter was a link explaining the day. According to holidayinsights.com it is an annual holiday to celebrate:

"the ultimate sacrifice made by some for the good of others. History is filled with examples of people who offered the supreme sacrifice for other people."

And they offer these examples:

• "Jesus Christ gave the supreme sacrifice when he died on the cross for us.
  
• "Soldiers in battle gave their lives to protect our freedom, our way of life, and to keep us safe.
  
• "Fireman and police officers have given their lives in the line of duty, while saving and/or protecting people.
  
• "More often than you think, a young man or a young women caught up in a love triangle, gave up the chase for the sake of their loved one."
  

Wait...what? Ok, I get the first one. I even get the next two. But not the last one. I realize that giving up on "love" can seem like the end of the world. But is backing out of a "love triangle" really on the same level as the first three? Does that constitute a supreme sacrifice? So just what is sacrifice from a Christian perspective?

Paul had something to say about sacrifice from a Christian perspective in Romans 5:6-8:

"For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. For one will scarcely die for a righteous person–though perhaps for a good person one would dare even to die–but God show his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

Paul is saying that there are occasions when someone will give their life for another when they think that they are a righteous or a good person. We do see this in life and in the above list the soldiers, firemen and police officers are giving up their lives for what they see as a group of good people. These men and women give up their lives so that the people in our country can go on living. That is quite a sacrifice to pay and they pay it because they see our way of life–at least generally–as important enough for them to give up their own lives. It is the whole "truth, justice and the American Way" thing.

And it is also true for someone that gives up on their own hopes for someone else that they care about deeply. When we love someone else we are willing–or at least are supposed to be willing–to give up our own selfish desires in order to do what is best for both people in the relationship. So from that perspective I can sort of see how someone backing out of a "love triangle" can be considered a sacrifice.

But neither of these types of sacrifices even come close to the sacrifice that Christ paid. He is the only one that paid the Supreme Sacrifice. Paul makes it clear that Christ died for us when we we were still sinners. We might want to try and make the argument that are good people. But from God's perspective of being perfect are not good and we are most assuredly not righteous. When we sin we are rebelling against God. We are God's enemies. But Christ died for us anyway.

That means the only Supreme Sacrifice Day worth "celebrating" will fall on April 6. That is Good Friday. It is the day that Christ died for us. And what is even better is that we get to the real celebration three days later. Not only did Christ give up his life to pay for our sins but he also returned from the dead and is willing to give us eternal life. We just need to repent from our rebellion against God and to put our faith in Christ. Then Easter morning and the resurrection of Christ is our real celebration of the Supreme Sacrifice.

For more on Supreme Sacrifice Day you can read Brad's thoughts here.

Scripture quotations are from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version® (ESV®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

How can God send good people to hell?

I came across an interesting tidbit from my favorite Christian apologist Greg Koukl last week. His brief blog post gets at a common objection to Christianity: "How can God send someone to hell that is basically a good person." Or it might be restated as: "How can God send someone to hell simply because they don't believe in Jesus." The objection seems to hold up because there are those people that we can easily understand how God would send them to hell and there are those where we simply cannot understand it. There are those people whom are nice people that live a charitable and loving life. They are people that we would consider to be good people.

Mr. Koukl frames his answer this way:

"If you sinned only ten times a day from your tenth birthday to your sixtieth--and keep in mind we're not just talking about rape, pillage, and murder, but the full range of human moral failing, including heart attitudes and motives--only, ten sins a day, what would your rap sheet look like? You would have amassed 182,500 infractions of the law. What judge in his right mind would turn you loose with a record like that?"

That is quite a criminal record. Fortunately for us we have an advocate on our side. Mr. Koukl concludes by saying:

"Whenever you're tempted to trust in your own ability, take a good look at the standard, God's Law, then look at your own score card. To use Paul's words, the law has each of us "shut up under sin" (Gal. 3:22), it's closed our mouths, and we all have become accountable to God (Romans 3:19). Saved by our own goodness? The Law gives us no hope. Only the Gospel and the righteousness of Jesus Christ can offer us hope of pleasing God."

This is the whole point the Lenten season. It is not just to focus on our need for a savior but also that God has provided that savior for us. God didn't just pile all of our sins on an innocent man. He took them all upon himself. All we need to do is to acknowledge that Jesus Christ is that Savior.

 

Freedom in Christ

Just as I was planning to write on the notion of being free in Christ I came across an article on the Art of Manliness website explaining two different types of freedom. I wanted to cover the topic of freedom in Christ as a follow-up to the posts that I just wrote concerning God's plan for our lives. That series concluded with me saying:

"[W]hen we are abiding in God and his Words are abiding in us, we can rest assured that we will be making solid decisions that have good eternal consequences."

Which means that we have a freedom to make decisions as long as we are in Christ. So I wanted to explore the what it mean to have freedom in Christ and that is when I read the article "Freedom From...Freedom To." The article does a good job of covering the difference between being free from something which is negative freedom and being free to do something which is positive freedom. The terms negative and positive freedom do not speak to the relative goodness of something as we might assume. Rather the terms speak to how the freedom relates to us.

Negative freedom means that external controls on what we might want to do are absent. So for example if there was a law against owning purple dinosaurs then we would not be free from the law. However if no such law exists then we are free from the restriction of owning purple dinosaurs.

Positive freedom means that we are in control of doing those things that we want to do. So when there is no law restricting the ownership of purple dinosaurs we are free to own a purple dinosaur if we want to. We are not required to own a purple dinosaur but rather have the choice of owning one or not.

The article sums up the differences like this:

"The concept of negative freedom can be summed up as: 'I am a slave to no man.'"

And

"The concept of positive freedom can be summed up as: 'I am my own master.'"

This understanding of freedom is essential to understanding the freedom that we have in Christ.

The concept that needs to be understood from the positive/negative freedom discussion is that freedom must always be viewed in relational terms. This remains true with our freedom in Christ. We do not have some sort of nebulous freedom rather we have been freed from something and to something else. Paul makes it pretty clear in Romans 6 that we have been set free from sin through the work of Christ but that this freedom from sin has a second side. We have been set free from sin and to obedience to God. Every freedom has two sides to it; every freedom has a consequence.

As human beings we have two choices. The first is to reject God and the second is to be obedient to God. The first option is what we call sinfulness. We decide to be free from being obedient to God but there is a second side to choosing this freedom. We must then live with the consequence of living a sinful life which leads to eternal judgment. The second option is to choose to be obedient to God's commands. The second side to this is that we are not free to do what ever we want. Rather we are free to only do those things that fall within the will of God.

This is the controlling factor when it comes to making decisions and trying to follow God's will. We have to deal with both negative freedom aspects as well as positive freedom aspects. We can freely choose to do what ever we want to do but we are not free from the restrictions of God's commands. This is why it is essential for us to be reading the Bible in order to make good decisions.

 

What's in a name?

When I started reading the book of Romans this morning I paused at the very first word. 

"Paul"

It seems like such an odd way to start a letter. Generally we start our letters with "Dear Soandso." We might even be familiar and intimate with someone and therefore start the letter "To Whom It May Concern." Or if we are sending an email we might not even include a salutation. But how often do we start a letter with our own name?

More often than you might initially think. Take it from someone that has recently written a few cover letters. Every good business letter starts with your own name and address. The first thing someone needs to know when reading a letter is who sent it. Unsurprisingly we read letters from different people differently. The relative power of the letter is held in the name. So it is understandable that every letter from Paul that we have in the Bible all start with the same word. 

"Paul"

But what is in a name? What is the importance of a name?

Our name is our name and it contains our identity. A lot can be communicated by our use of names. We can either convey respect and dignity or distain and derision. Think about when you go into a business. There is a great difference between hearing: "Mr. Manning it is good to see you again.  How can I help you?" and: "Next!" But there is even more than that. 

I know that I am not the only Michael Manning to have ever existed. My father has the same name. And so did his father. But beyond that there are other people named Michael Manning as well. This became clear to me just out of high school. My parents had just moved to a new town. Some kids from our church youth group were trying to call my brother but they did not have our new phone number. So they called the operator and asked for the phone number for Michael Manning (my dad) in the new town we lived in. When they called the number it was a completely different Michael Manning. It was the first time that I ever considered that there might be someone named Michael Manning that was not related to me.

Today if you search "Michael Manning" on the web you will find a fair number of relatively famous people with that name and none of them are me. In fact there are a fair number of them that I really would not want to be confused with. But that name contains my identity whenever someone uses it in reference to me. None of those people are this "Michael Manning."

The same is true for Paul. When Paul started those letters and wrote his name he was referring to a particular Paul with a particular identity.

This Paul started out his life with what would have been considered the perfect pedigree. He was "circumcised on the eighth day, of the people of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews; as to the law, a Pharisee; as to zeal, a persecutor of the church; as to righteousness under the law, blameless." This Paul also had a life changing experience with Jesus Christ on the road to Damascus. After that he considered his only true identity as being found in Christ Jesus. Paul decided that all of those things that he could have used to find his identity as being worthless compared to the identity that he found in being a servant of Christ.

Far too often when I look for my own identity I look within myself. I look at the things that I have done. I look at the things I hope to accomplish. What I need to do is to do a better job of find my identity the same way that Paul did.

"Paul, a servant of Christ Jesus, called to be an apostle, set apart for the gospel of God."

 

Scripture quotations are from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version® (ESV®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

A Joyous Sadness

One of my favorite people passed away on Friday and today I will be going to her funeral service. My wife and I affectionately referred to Lydia as the "coolest old person." She was a marvelous person and we will greatly miss seeing her every week at church.

I found Lydia to be so special because she was always so encouraging. She encouraged me as a youth pastor. She encouraged me as a seminary student. She encouraged me when I preached. She encouraged me when I led worship. Whenever she saw my guitar she would ask me: "Are you going to play for me today?"

I also loved how Lydia related to people regardless of their age or place. She would strike up a conversation with the other seniors in the church as well as with the youth. Her comfort level with everyone is a model that I am trying to emulate. I think that her persistent smile and winsome manner are what ingratiated her to everyone. I cannot remember ever seeing her when she was in a bad mood.

But the last year or so had been extremely hard on Lydia. You could see it in her face and in her demeanor. It was obvious that she was slowing down and having great difficulty. Yet that smile was still on her face every time I saw her at church. The woman that would be at church every Sunday suddenly started to miss church more and more. At 93 years old she finally lost her battle with a tumor and pneumonia.

It is very sad to see such an example of how to act like Christ pass from this world. I will miss her greatly.

But it is very joyous to know that she is now with the very person that she emulated. While there will be sadness for us while we celebrate her life, it will be wonderful to know that her new life in heaven will be a great celebration.

Lydia, my wife and I are so glad that you are living in the splendor of the King and singing how great is our God.

The relationship of the Old and the New.

I came across an illustration by John Phillips from Exploring Hebrews shared by Jared Wilson on his blog The Gospel Driven Church. The illustration does a wonderful job of showing how the New Testament both fits into the Old Testament as well as provides an even better way to God. It is something that I will file away for future reference.

Imagine with me a Moabite of old gazing down upon the Tabernacle of Israel from some lofty hillside. This Moabite is attracted to what he sees so he descends the hill and makes his way toward the Tabernacle.

He walks around this high wall of dazzling linen until he comes to a gate and at the gate, he sees a man. “May I go in there?” he asks, pointing to the gate where all the bustle of activity in the Tabernacle’s outer court can be seen.

“Who are You?” demands the man suspiciously.

“I’m from Moab,” the stranger replies.

“Well, I’m very sorry, but you can’t go in there. You see, it’s not for you. The Law of Moses has barred the Moabite from any part in the worship of Israel until his tenth generation.”

The Moabite looks so sad and said, “Well, what would I have to do to go in there?”

“You would have to be born again,” the gatekeeper replies. “You would have to be born an Israelite, of the tribe of Judah, or of the tribe of Benjamin or Dan.”

“Oh, I wish I had been born an Israelite,” the Moabite says and as he looks again, he sees one of the priests, having offered a sacrifice at the brazen altar and the priest cleansed himself at the brazen laver and then the Moabite sees the priest enter the Tabernacle’s interior. “What’s in there?” asks the Moabite. “Inside the main building, I mean.”

“Oh,” the gatekeeper says, “That’s the Tabernacle itself. Inside it contains a lampstand, a table, and an altar of gold. The man you saw was a priest. He will trim the lamp, eat of the bread upon the table and burn incense to the living god upon the golden altar.”

“Ah,” sighs the Moabite, “I wish I were an Israelite so that I could do that. I would so love to worship God in there and help to trim the lamp and offer Him incense and eat bread at that table.”

“Oh, no, the gatekeeper hastens to say, “even I could not do that. To worship in the holy place one must not only be born an Israelite, one must be born of the tribe of Levi and of the family of Aaron.”

The man from Moab sighs again, “I wish that I had been born of Israel of the tribe of Levi of the family of Aaron,” and then, as he gazes wistfully at the closed Tabernacle door, he says, “What else is in there?”

“Oh, there’s a veil. It’s a beautiful veil I’m told and it divides the Tabernacle in two. Beyond the veil is what we call ‘the Most Holy Place’… ‘the Holy of Holies.’”

“What’s in the Holy of Holies?” the Moabite asks.

“Well, there’s the sacred chest in there and it’s called the Ark of the Covenant. It contains holy memorials of our past. Its top is gold and we call that the mercy seat because God sits there between the golden cherubim. Do you see that pillar of cloud hovering over the Tabernacle? That’s the Shekinah glory cloud. It rests on the mercy,” said the gatekeeper.

Again, a look of longing comes over the face of the Moabite man. “Oh,” he said, “if only I were a priest! How I would love to go into the Holy of Holies and gaze upon the glory of God and worship Him there in the beauty of His holiness!’

“Oh no!” said the man at the gate. “You couldn’t do that even if you were a priest! Only the high priest can enter the Most Holy Place. Only he can go in there. Nobody else!”

The heart of the man from Moab yearns once more. “Oh,” he cried, “If only I had been born an Israelite, of the tribe of Levi, of the family of Aaron. If only I had been born a high priest! I would go in there every day! I would go in there three times a day! I would worship continually in the Holy of Holies!”

The gatekeeper looked at the man from Moab again and once more shook his head. “Oh now,” he said, “you couldn’t do that! Even the high priest of Israel can go in there only once a year, and then only after the most elaborate preparations and even then only for a little while.”

Sadly, the Moabite turned away. He had no hope in all the world of ever entering there!

. . . Therefore, brothers, since we have confidence to enter the holy places by the blood of Jesus, by the new and living way that he opened for us through the curtain, that is, through his flesh, and since we have a great priest over the house of God, let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith (Hebrews 10:19-22).

Here it is, a tremendous word of welcome, extended to Jew and Gentile alike, to come on in and worship, not in the holiest place of the human tabernacle, but into the Holy of Holies in heaven itself "by the blood of Jesus."

Source: The Gospel Driven Church