One In Christ

Eph 2:11-22

Years ago I was pastoring a little church in a small community. I was part of a ministerial association that met once a month at different local restaurants to support one another. They also had special services a couple of times a year, usually held at the local high school auditorium. It was a great experience for my little congregation because it gave them a big church experience, and it let them see that the church was much larger than themselves. There was one minister there who had a beautiful deep rich singing voice. His church didn't have an evening service so I invited him and his wife to come and sing at our church as guests. He told me that he couldn't come because we believed different things. I was so disappointed. I wasn't asking him to change his faith, or even agree with the part of our teaching that differed from his. I was simply asking him, as my brother in Christ, to come and share the gift that God had given him. There is a dividing wall in the church world, between believers in Christ, that needs to come down. We don't have to agree with every jot and tittle of each others faith to work together for the kingdom of God.

As you read through the Old Testament you will find that there was a time when God strictly limited the contact the Jewish people had with the Gentile world. The purpose of those limitations was to protect the Israelites from falling in to the pagan worship that the whole Gentile world was involved in.  Consequently, the Gentiles were called uncircumcised by the Jews, which meant that they were outside the covenant. This meant that the Gentiles had little or no access to God. There were a few who the Jews called "God fearers," who believed in the God of the Jews, and there were a few like Ruth who were proselytes, but on the whole the Gentiles were without hope and without God in the world.

Many of the Jewish Christians were so locked into the traditions that had been handed down that they had a hard time when the Gentiles started coming into the church. There was a legalistic group that came out of the Pharisee sect, who were called Judaizers, who believed that the Gentiles must become Jewish proselytes before they could become Christians. Paul understood that the ceremonial laws that were in place during the Old Covenant were to remind God's people that a redeemer was coming. When Christ gave his life those customs were no longer needed. He taught that the Gentiles did not need to be circumcised to be Christian. They merely needed to receive Christ by faith. However, their not wanting to be circumcised or keep the Jewish customs sent many of the Jewish Christians ballistic. They accused the Gentiles of being apostate and insisted that if the Gentiles wanted to be saved they must first be circumcised and become Jewish converts before they could be a Christian.

Christ destroyed the hostility and made peace possible through the cross. He fulfilled and therefore did away with the Levitical laws of sacrifices and separation. He made all people into one body. Both have the same access to the Father through the Spirit. All believers, both Jewish and Gentile are now united as one body in Christ.

What relationship in your life do you need to let Christ knock down walls and do a work of reconciliation?

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Living as Children of the Light

Eph 5:1-21
When I was a young guy I remember getting my mouth washed out with soap a time or two for using bad words. Today that would be considered child abuse. There are some people who take punishment to extreme and become abusive. Then there are also those who go to the other extreme. My wife once worked with a woman who didn't believe in discipline of any kind for her child. I told my wife I want to see if that person still believes that when their child becomes an out of control teenager.

One of my favorite Christmas stories is the "Christmas Story." Ralphy and his family are driving down the road after picking out a Christmas tree when they get a flat tire. His father has him help with changing the tire, when Ralphy's hand slips and he curses, to the shock and dismay of his parents. When they get home his mother interrogates him about where he learned the bad words. He can't bring himself to admit that he learned them from his father who is constantly cursing as he works on the furnace, the plumbing, or anything else mechanical, so Ralphy blames his friend.   Ralphy's mom calls his friend's mother to report Ralphy's confession. Then she washes his mouth out with soap. As he is chewing on the bar of soap you hear him thinking about the nuances of the flavor of the different soaps.

When I was in High School I had to read a book called "The Lord of the Flies." It was about a bunch of children who were stranded on a deserted island during WWII. At first they all worked together to survive. But little by little their social order began to decay. Man left to himself will always sink to his lowest level because of the fall in the Garden of Eden. Even today, the economic crisis we are experiencing in not an economic problem, it is a moral problem. In verses 3-7 Paul addresses the moral issues. He also shares the consequences of those who are immoral. They eventually bring the wrath of God upon themselves.

There are three standards that Paul sets for successful Christian living in vv 1,2,8. They are to be imitatiors of God, live a life of love, the same kind of sacrificial love that Christ used when he gave his life for us. To live as children of light in goodness, righteousness and truth.

Aside from avoiding deeds of darkness (v11) we are also supposed to expose those deeds to make visible the shameful disobedience done in secret places. My wife and I did foster care for several years. One common denominator with all of the abused children that have come to stay with us is that they were conditioned not to tell anyone what happens in their home. They are made to feel like they are being disloyal to their family if they do. The only way to stop the abuse is to expose the abusers and remove the children from the situation. What kind of country would we have if all held our politicians and corporate leaders to a high moral standard?

Verses 18-21 instruct us about the qualities that should be exhibited in every spirit filled life. We are to speak encouragingly to one, another with psalms, hymns and spiritual songs. There should be a constant joy in our hearts that cause us to sing and make music in our hearts to the Lord. We are to constantly give thanks to God for everything in Jesus' name, and finally that we submit to one another out of reverence for Christ.

Spiritual Blessings in Christ

Eph 1:3-10
They say that if you are feeling down or that God doesn't love you, all you have to do is count your blessing. look back and see what God has done your you in the past. God is the same yesterday, today, and forever. The Blessings of the past should give you greater faith for the future. When I count my blessings, the first thing that I am thankful for is my redemption and baptism in the Holy Spirit. Then my wife and family, home, food, and clothing.

There was a time when it seemed that everyone was coming up with some new mysterious revelation given to them by God. I heard one minister tell how the Lord told him to tell a person to go run around the church seven times. That is just absurd. The devil will make fools of us all, if we let him.  The Bible tells us that there is nothing new under the sun. The Lord will illuminate our understanding of what he has already revealed in his word, and help us to apply that understanding to our lives, but all of his revelations are in his word. Paul talks about the mystery of God's will in our reading. God has revealed that mystery in the fulness of time. It is his ultimate plan to redeem and restore all things that were lost in the fall of humanity. It starts with the redemption of man's soul, but in the end all things will be restored to what God intended when he first created the world. The Word tells us that all of nature is groaning until the time of restoration of all things. All of this was accomplished with the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. It will all come to fruition when Christ becomes the head of all things in heaven and earth at the end of this age.

I look, with a broken heart, at how a few powerful people are systematically dismantling and destroying the American way of life. There is turmoil great in Europe, with country after country heading for bankruptcy. The Middle East has always been a turbulent place. The natural disasters that are taking place all over the world are more intense than I ever remember in my life time. I am more convinced now, than ever before, that the Lord's return is soon at hand. If I am right this should not be a time of fear and dread for the child of God. It should be a time of great expectation. Jesus said that when all these things begin to happen for us to look up for our redemption draws near. Now, having said that, I am not advocating that all Christians should go to some mountain to chant "coom by ya" as some foolish people have done. Nor am I setting a date for his return. That also is foolish. The Lord said that no one knows the hour or day. However, he did tell us that we could know the season.

No matter what may come in the future, as far as this life goes, it will ultimately end with the believers receiving their eternal inheritance. God has set his mark on the life of all  believers. That mark is the seal or promise of the Holy Spirit that indwells all believers when they are born again. The purpose of the seal is to give assurance to every child of God that they are guaranteed their inheritance. The exciting thing is that we don't have to wait until we get to heaven to receive our inheritance. There are so many spiritual blessings that we receive here and now. I do believe that the Lord does want to bless us in our finances, however, I believe that the prosperity message preached today is out of balance. There are so many blessings that the Lord wants to lavish on us. There is the forgiveness of our sins, eternal life, healing for the body, mind, and spirit. There is wisdom and understanding to know his will and good pleasure for our lives. None of these need to be purchased by "sowing seed." They have already been purchased for us through the shed blood of Jesus Christ. The only requirement is that we receive them through faith with a grateful heart

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Parable Of The Sower

When we read the Parable of the sower, what we are really reading is the condition of the human heart. I have come to learn that these conditions are not static. In other words you don't have stony soil, or thorny soil and either God saves you from it, or not. I have found that, even as Christians we can drift in and out of any or all of these states if we are not careful. For instance, you can be growing in Christ until the Lord begins to deal with an issue in your life that you refuse surrender to Him. In that case you have just become stony ground. You may have started to allow worldly things to take up time you used to give to the Lord. You find that you don't have the time to read the Bible or pray like you used to. Now you just entered into thorny ground. Let's take a look at the different soils and see what we can learn.

Mat 13:19  When any one heareth the word of the kingdom, and understandeth it not, then cometh the wicked one, and catcheth away that which was sown in his heart. This is he which received seed by the way side.

The first condition that Jesus addresses is the person that hears the Word of God, but they don't really understand what they are reading so the devil comes and steals the word out of the heart. Jesus implies that the reason this person doesn't understand the Word is because they have allowed their heart to become so hard that the Holy Spirit can't penetrate it with the word. The wayside being the road that has been compacted rock hard by many travelers. There are some whose hearts have been so walked on, so broken that it is rock hard and nothing can penetrate it. They have decided that they will never be hurt again. Consequently, the love of God can't even reach them

Mat 13:20  But he that received the seed into stony places, the same is he that heareth the word, and anon with joy receiveth it;
Mat 13:21  Yet hath he not root in himself, but dureth for a while: for when tribulation or persecution ariseth because of the word, by and by he is offended.

When we bought our home, my next door neighbor told me that the area I live in used to be swamp. The developers filled it in with what I found was not only dirt but all kinds of rock, concrete, brick and what not. Consequently, when I attempted to plant vegetables they would grow a little bit then die off. The stony soil would keep the roots from going very deep, so it wouldn't take long for the hot sun to burn out the plants. I had to dig several inches deep into the soil, remove the rock and put good soil in its place. I had a decent garden this year.

Some hearts are like my soil. They give their heart to the Lord and are enthusiastic about serving him for a while. However, they have stony places in their heart. These stones are issues in a person's life that is at variance with God's word that they refuses to surrender to God. So when hard times or persecution come their way their faith has no strength so they quit on God.

The stony soil and the thorny soil have to be the two types that frustrate the Lord the most. The reason I say this is because both types seem to start out well. They receive the Word but somewhere along they way they fail to count the cost (Luke 14:28) of serving the Lord. Both find the sacrifice too great and turn back on God. With the stony soil hard times cause them to quit. With the thorny soil it is good times.

Mat 13:22  He also that received seed among the thorns is he that heareth the word; and the care of this world, and the deceitfulness of riches, choke the word, and he becometh unfruitful.

It seems that there are some people that the Lord almost has to keep in a perpetual state of need. I have seen people who are in crises because they lost their job, or their world is crumbling in some other way, cry out the the Lord, promise to give their lives to him and serve him the rest of their lives, only to forget all about God after He has rescued them from the crises, and blessed them.

The solution is the same for all three types of  undesirable soil. You have to dig up that which keeps the word from enter and make the soil receptive to the seed.

Mat 13:23  But he that received seed into the good ground is he that heareth the word, and understandeth it; which also beareth fruit, and bringeth forth, some an hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty.

I like the Lord's view of good soil. Unlike the parable of the talents in Matt 25 where the master was displeased with the servant with the one talent. The Lord is pleased with the fruit from all three of the good soils in verse 23. The reason is that even though some produce more fruit than other, each is producing at their fullest potential.Are you producing at your fullest potential?

What's For Dinner?

Gen_1:29
I have been studying edible wild plants, not because I think that the world is coming to an end, but because I have been laid off for over two years from the church where I was an assistant pastor. I was looking for alternative food sources. Studying these wild plants began to teach me things about God's ability to supply our needs. I am reminded of the garden of Eden. I began to really see God's provision. It is strange that when I look at a vacant lot, open field or walk through the park I now see food all around me, where before I would only see weeds. The interesting thing is that on several occasions I have looked at a certain plant in my guide book thinking that I would like to see it in the wild only to find it growing in my back yard.

God can supply all of my needs according to His riches in glory. In spite of all of the upheaval and uncertainty of today I worry less and less and trust the Lord more and more for my needs.
Php_4:19
Mat_6:31-33