May you believe who God says He is
Not what people say He’s not
May you base your faith on what God says He’ll do
Not on what your experience seems to show
May you place your confidence and pride in the Lord and who He’s made you to be
Knowing full well you can’t draw a breath without Him
May you be assured that Jesus’ atonement covers every one of your sins
And the sins of those who wrong you
May you remember that Jesus’ main desire is that we love
May you throw yourself wholly into trusting Him
Never leaving yourself a back door out
May you live as though the Kingdom of God is “the real world”
May you realize that you are no longer “only human” but filled with the same Spirit who raised Jesus from the dead
And that you are empowered to answer His call
Joan C. Thomson
(c)December 2001
Monday, February 9, 2009
Thursday, December 18, 2008
Jesus, The Light of the World
My Buddhist friend says, “You have to have “darkness” (or evil) in order to appreciate the “light’.”
My writing teacher who wanted nothing to do with God said, ‘You can't only write “light”, you have to write mostly “darkness” in order for the ” light” to shine brighter.’
My artist friend whose husband describes them as “born-again pagans” insisted that I must paint more “darks” in order for the “lights” to “pop” (stand out).
Curiously, I’ve heard much the same thing from many church friends, “You have to have “darkness” in order for the candle to shine brighter.”
The Bible disagrees and so do I.
Jesus said, "I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life." (John 8:12) and John later wrote, God is light; in him there is no darkness at all. (1 John 1:5)
The Buddhists with their “yin and yang”, see dark and light, evil and good as equals to be balanced (incidentally, they put female on the same side as evil) but Solomon pointed out that light is better than darkness. (Ecclesiastes 2:13) Jesus came to dispel darkness not balance it!
"The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the devil's work." (1John 3:8)
In creative writing class, I made it my goal to prove that I could write about “light” more than “darkness”. I simply couldn’t dwell on darkness because as Paul said to the Thessalonians,"You are all sons of the light and sons of the day. We do not belong to the night or to the darkness." (1 Thessalonians 5:5)
Perhaps my artist friend gave up on me since I kept insisting that my paintings are about light, that there is plenty of darkness in this world already—I don’t need to add to it! (If you’ve seen my paintings, you know that I have no trouble getting my “lights to pop”!) As Paul exhorted the Ephesians, “For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Live as children of light (for the fruit of the light consists in all goodness, righteousness and truth) and find out what pleases the Lord. Have nothing to do with the fruitless deeds of darkness, but rather expose them.” (Ephesians 5:8-11)
Physical science would probably refute my church friends’ candle philosophy but psychology would likely agree with their perception. But we followers of Jesus need to be concerned with what is true, not what seems. Many who are called by Jesus’ name (so many that it’s epidemic) believe wholeheartedly that God makes them sick or puts other evil things in their lives (one person even said that God makes people sin!) in order to “teach them something” or ‘bring them closer to him”! (see Matthew 7: 9-11) But the Bible continually speaks of Jesus bringing us out of darkness and into the light! (1 John 1:6; 2 Corinthians 4:4,6; Colossians 1:12,13; Isaiah 5:20)
We are coming into Christmas, the season in which we celebrate The Light of the World, Jesus. I’ve heard from two sources lately that it doesn’t matter if all the trappings of Christmas that we’ve come to value—saying “Merry Christmas” (though Charles Spurgeon said that, in his time, people were bothered by the “Merry” part) or nativity scenes (attributed to St. Francis) and are only left with “twinkling lights”. Because, they said, “Light is what we celebrate. The Father of Lights (James 1:17) sent The Light of the World (John 8:12) into a dark world (Isaiah 9:2) during the Festival of Lights (Chanukah).
Light has overcome and is overcoming darkness. Don’t try to balance it and don’t make darkness your friend.
“...giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in the kingdom of light. For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.” (Colossians 1:12-14)
This Christmas season, walk in the light as he is in the light and as Michael Card sings, “Celebrate the Child who is the Light”!
My writing teacher who wanted nothing to do with God said, ‘You can't only write “light”, you have to write mostly “darkness” in order for the ” light” to shine brighter.’
My artist friend whose husband describes them as “born-again pagans” insisted that I must paint more “darks” in order for the “lights” to “pop” (stand out).
Curiously, I’ve heard much the same thing from many church friends, “You have to have “darkness” in order for the candle to shine brighter.”
The Bible disagrees and so do I.
Jesus said, "I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life." (John 8:12) and John later wrote, God is light; in him there is no darkness at all. (1 John 1:5)
The Buddhists with their “yin and yang”, see dark and light, evil and good as equals to be balanced (incidentally, they put female on the same side as evil) but Solomon pointed out that light is better than darkness. (Ecclesiastes 2:13) Jesus came to dispel darkness not balance it!
"The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the devil's work." (1John 3:8)
In creative writing class, I made it my goal to prove that I could write about “light” more than “darkness”. I simply couldn’t dwell on darkness because as Paul said to the Thessalonians,"You are all sons of the light and sons of the day. We do not belong to the night or to the darkness." (1 Thessalonians 5:5)
Perhaps my artist friend gave up on me since I kept insisting that my paintings are about light, that there is plenty of darkness in this world already—I don’t need to add to it! (If you’ve seen my paintings, you know that I have no trouble getting my “lights to pop”!) As Paul exhorted the Ephesians, “For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Live as children of light (for the fruit of the light consists in all goodness, righteousness and truth) and find out what pleases the Lord. Have nothing to do with the fruitless deeds of darkness, but rather expose them.” (Ephesians 5:8-11)
Physical science would probably refute my church friends’ candle philosophy but psychology would likely agree with their perception. But we followers of Jesus need to be concerned with what is true, not what seems. Many who are called by Jesus’ name (so many that it’s epidemic) believe wholeheartedly that God makes them sick or puts other evil things in their lives (one person even said that God makes people sin!) in order to “teach them something” or ‘bring them closer to him”! (see Matthew 7: 9-11) But the Bible continually speaks of Jesus bringing us out of darkness and into the light! (1 John 1:6; 2 Corinthians 4:4,6; Colossians 1:12,13; Isaiah 5:20)
We are coming into Christmas, the season in which we celebrate The Light of the World, Jesus. I’ve heard from two sources lately that it doesn’t matter if all the trappings of Christmas that we’ve come to value—saying “Merry Christmas” (though Charles Spurgeon said that, in his time, people were bothered by the “Merry” part) or nativity scenes (attributed to St. Francis) and are only left with “twinkling lights”. Because, they said, “Light is what we celebrate. The Father of Lights (James 1:17) sent The Light of the World (John 8:12) into a dark world (Isaiah 9:2) during the Festival of Lights (Chanukah).
Light has overcome and is overcoming darkness. Don’t try to balance it and don’t make darkness your friend.
“...giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in the kingdom of light. For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.” (Colossians 1:12-14)
This Christmas season, walk in the light as he is in the light and as Michael Card sings, “Celebrate the Child who is the Light”!
Tuesday, December 9, 2008
Advent—Looking for Jesus’ Return
Since Jesus already came to earth as a man (a baby who grew into a man) about two thousand years ago, Advent (coming) isn’t about Jesus’ first coming but his second one.
Indeed much has been said and written about “The End Times”—often too much and too little. I tend to hold “End Time prophecies” and eschatological interpretations of current events at arm’s length because they tend to focus heavily on one aspect, adding to the Word, taking away from it or rearranging it. Much paralyzing fear is generated; keeping God’s people from doing the work Jesus assigned us.
But some people, you may say, are scared into the Kingdom (of God) this way, but I have to wonder what they are being brought to--when scripture is changed to enable the process. Besides fear breeds fear not love or life.
The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full. John 10:10
It seems strange that the same people who preach that the church will be raptured before “The Great Tribulation” seem to be the same ones who are so worried about “Armageddon”, the last battle at the end of the world (after the Tribulation). Jesus is most definitely coming back for his followers, but he has given us some clear guidelines that have been largely ignored.
Fear Not
You will hear of wars and rumors of wars, but see to it that you are not alarmed. Matthew 24:6
This was the watchword the Lord gave me after “September 11”—it still applies.
No Avoiding It
Such things must happen Matthew 24:6b
Theses things, wars, earthquakes, famines will happen, must happen because they are the signs of the end. Nor can we completely prevent them, though we may be able to lessen some of the effects through considerate decisions and perhaps science. We can’t, as one pastor said, pray away the signs of the end times nor, I would add, protest them away with picket signs, petitions nor boycotts, though avoiding being a part of making them worse is wise.
but the end is still to come. Matthew 24:6b
These things aren’t IT but only the signs of the end.
Jesus’ emphasized that we should avoid being deceived by false prophets (v.11) since many will appear and that we should stand firm until the end in order to be saved. This doesn’t sound like we’ll have an easy ticket out. A major focus rather than wringing our hands about how bad things are (hint:read history;things have always been bad and often good,just as now) but on shoring up our faith (Jude 20) and living holy and obedient lives.
Jesus went on to say (v.14) that “this gospel will be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all nations (people groups) and then the end will come.” Missions are crucial to eschatology (study of the End Times) but the average Christian isn’t all that interested in seeing to it that every one hears the Good News. Notice that Jesus said, “this gospel of the kingdom” not the gospel of the cross (which is a MAJOR part), he also said that we’re to teach them to obey everything he commanded us. (Matthew 28) Any gospel that teaches less is not “this gospel of the kingdom”. Any gospel that disrespects or disregards the poor, women or aliens, waves a national flag or seeks to put Christians under Mosaic Law not only is not the gospel of the kingdom (of God) but what Paul called “a different gospel—which is really no gospel at all.” (Galatians 1:7)
We need to be careful what we teach and what we’re taught—always taking the teachings of Jesus (including that which he taught through the apostles) as our standard rather than “conventional wisdom”, culture or “what I’ve always been taught”. And we need to be careful what teachings we export to other parts of the world. For example, I read that there are women in an African country who are called by the name of Jesus, yet they believe that they can only be saved by having babies! This is NOT Good News! What happened to grace? The true meaning of I Timothy 2:15 was apparently ignored--to great harm. The Greek says “the childbearing” and clearly points to Jesus, born of Mary, who was Eve’s seed (or offspring)! Genesis 3:15
In summary, we need to avoid fear, watch the signs, be ready by preaching the gospel of the kingdom to all nations (and living it!) and standing firm, not being taken in by the many false prophets. There’s no time for fearful hand wringing! We’ve got work to do!
Indeed much has been said and written about “The End Times”—often too much and too little. I tend to hold “End Time prophecies” and eschatological interpretations of current events at arm’s length because they tend to focus heavily on one aspect, adding to the Word, taking away from it or rearranging it. Much paralyzing fear is generated; keeping God’s people from doing the work Jesus assigned us.
But some people, you may say, are scared into the Kingdom (of God) this way, but I have to wonder what they are being brought to--when scripture is changed to enable the process. Besides fear breeds fear not love or life.
The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full. John 10:10
It seems strange that the same people who preach that the church will be raptured before “The Great Tribulation” seem to be the same ones who are so worried about “Armageddon”, the last battle at the end of the world (after the Tribulation). Jesus is most definitely coming back for his followers, but he has given us some clear guidelines that have been largely ignored.
Fear Not
You will hear of wars and rumors of wars, but see to it that you are not alarmed. Matthew 24:6
This was the watchword the Lord gave me after “September 11”—it still applies.
No Avoiding It
Such things must happen Matthew 24:6b
Theses things, wars, earthquakes, famines will happen, must happen because they are the signs of the end. Nor can we completely prevent them, though we may be able to lessen some of the effects through considerate decisions and perhaps science. We can’t, as one pastor said, pray away the signs of the end times nor, I would add, protest them away with picket signs, petitions nor boycotts, though avoiding being a part of making them worse is wise.
but the end is still to come. Matthew 24:6b
These things aren’t IT but only the signs of the end.
Jesus’ emphasized that we should avoid being deceived by false prophets (v.11) since many will appear and that we should stand firm until the end in order to be saved. This doesn’t sound like we’ll have an easy ticket out. A major focus rather than wringing our hands about how bad things are (hint:read history;things have always been bad and often good,just as now) but on shoring up our faith (Jude 20) and living holy and obedient lives.
Jesus went on to say (v.14) that “this gospel will be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all nations (people groups) and then the end will come.” Missions are crucial to eschatology (study of the End Times) but the average Christian isn’t all that interested in seeing to it that every one hears the Good News. Notice that Jesus said, “this gospel of the kingdom” not the gospel of the cross (which is a MAJOR part), he also said that we’re to teach them to obey everything he commanded us. (Matthew 28) Any gospel that teaches less is not “this gospel of the kingdom”. Any gospel that disrespects or disregards the poor, women or aliens, waves a national flag or seeks to put Christians under Mosaic Law not only is not the gospel of the kingdom (of God) but what Paul called “a different gospel—which is really no gospel at all.” (Galatians 1:7)
We need to be careful what we teach and what we’re taught—always taking the teachings of Jesus (including that which he taught through the apostles) as our standard rather than “conventional wisdom”, culture or “what I’ve always been taught”. And we need to be careful what teachings we export to other parts of the world. For example, I read that there are women in an African country who are called by the name of Jesus, yet they believe that they can only be saved by having babies! This is NOT Good News! What happened to grace? The true meaning of I Timothy 2:15 was apparently ignored--to great harm. The Greek says “the childbearing” and clearly points to Jesus, born of Mary, who was Eve’s seed (or offspring)! Genesis 3:15
In summary, we need to avoid fear, watch the signs, be ready by preaching the gospel of the kingdom to all nations (and living it!) and standing firm, not being taken in by the many false prophets. There’s no time for fearful hand wringing! We’ve got work to do!
Tuesday, November 25, 2008
Who Were the Pilgrims, Anyway?
My elementary school classrooms were always filled this time of year with pictures of austere-looking men in black hats and shoes with big buckles. The women in the pictures had white headdresses and aprons over their black dresses. These were the Pilgrims, we were told, who had crossed the ocean in a tiny ship to come to start America—definitely the condensed and inaccurate version.
I was shocked (and relieved) to discover that the people in black were not the Pilgrims but those who came later, the Puritans. The Pilgrims were a church from England, formed when they saw no hope for positive change in the Church of England. They were persecuted for believing that a person could have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ and for wanting to see “the churches of God revert to their ancient purity and recover their primitive order, liberty and beauty” (William Bradford)*, for believing that no one but Jesus could be the head of the church. They were “hounded, bullied, forced to pay assessments to the Church of England, clapped into prison on trumped up charges, and driven underground,” and “constantly spied upon”*. Finally, (to put it very simply) these “Separatists” had had enough and left England. The black-clad Puritans stayed and tried to “purify from within”*.
And surprise! The Pilgrims didn’t wear black, either! They wore colors such as plum red and emerald green!
*The Light and The Glory by Peter Marshall & David Manuel
I was shocked (and relieved) to discover that the people in black were not the Pilgrims but those who came later, the Puritans. The Pilgrims were a church from England, formed when they saw no hope for positive change in the Church of England. They were persecuted for believing that a person could have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ and for wanting to see “the churches of God revert to their ancient purity and recover their primitive order, liberty and beauty” (William Bradford)*, for believing that no one but Jesus could be the head of the church. They were “hounded, bullied, forced to pay assessments to the Church of England, clapped into prison on trumped up charges, and driven underground,” and “constantly spied upon”*. Finally, (to put it very simply) these “Separatists” had had enough and left England. The black-clad Puritans stayed and tried to “purify from within”*.
And surprise! The Pilgrims didn’t wear black, either! They wore colors such as plum red and emerald green!
*The Light and The Glory by Peter Marshall & David Manuel
Tuesday, November 18, 2008
Thanksgiving--A Community Celebration
In the U.S. we’ll soon be celebrating Thanksgiving, a special day originally set aside by our early settlers, the Pilgrims, to give thanks to God for providing their food and safety. (though not the original date) Many have (rightfully) complained that it has degenerated into “Turkey Day” or “Football Day”, though food and games were a large part of the original. The lament continues that Thanksgiving is supposed to be a time for families to get together—you know, like the Norman Rockwell painting. Wait! Where did that come from?
The Pilgrim’s celebration had nothing to do with family, except of course that they were thankful that any of their family members survived at all. It was a community celebration. The entire settlement came together, and they invited an Indian chief. Surprise! Massasoit came “ a day early with ninety Indians.” How would they feed them all? No problem, the Indians had brought “five dressed deer and more than a dozen fat wild turkeys.” They taught the pilgrim women how to make hoecakes, Indian pudding and popcorn! * The whole community brought food and there was plenty.
If each Pilgrim family had stayed around their own table, they would have missed the opportunity to thank God together with others who had gone through the same trials. They would have missed building valuable friendships with their neighbors (and another culture). And of course, they may have missed popcorn!
If you’ve been in the habit of keeping your Thanksgiving celebration in the “us 4 and no more” realm, I urge you to reconsider and include others from the church and the community. “But I don’t have enough chairs…” You can borrow some or even ask your guests to bring some. “But this is the only time I can be with my family…” Well, then that needs some work. Sure people often include those who are single--but don’t stop there. What about the couple who is far away from their family? Why not make room for them, too? “But they have each other…” Well, “us 2 and no more” isn’t healthy either.
Some of my best memories of Thanksgiving are of community gatherings. One year, when we had our house in Texas, we invited my parents and sister, and a family of three from church who brought along a hitchhiker they had picked up the day before! (I don't recommend picking up hitchhikers but the Lord used it.). Another year, a variety of us from our apartment building gathered to eat, pray and listen to my husband read about the original celebration. Don’t be isolated, celebrate together!
*The Light and The Glory by Peter Marshall & David Manuel
Keep on loving each other as brothers. Do not forget to entertain strangers, for by so doing some people have entertained angels without knowing it. Hebrews 13:1,2
The Pilgrim’s celebration had nothing to do with family, except of course that they were thankful that any of their family members survived at all. It was a community celebration. The entire settlement came together, and they invited an Indian chief. Surprise! Massasoit came “ a day early with ninety Indians.” How would they feed them all? No problem, the Indians had brought “five dressed deer and more than a dozen fat wild turkeys.” They taught the pilgrim women how to make hoecakes, Indian pudding and popcorn! * The whole community brought food and there was plenty.
If each Pilgrim family had stayed around their own table, they would have missed the opportunity to thank God together with others who had gone through the same trials. They would have missed building valuable friendships with their neighbors (and another culture). And of course, they may have missed popcorn!
If you’ve been in the habit of keeping your Thanksgiving celebration in the “us 4 and no more” realm, I urge you to reconsider and include others from the church and the community. “But I don’t have enough chairs…” You can borrow some or even ask your guests to bring some. “But this is the only time I can be with my family…” Well, then that needs some work. Sure people often include those who are single--but don’t stop there. What about the couple who is far away from their family? Why not make room for them, too? “But they have each other…” Well, “us 2 and no more” isn’t healthy either.
Some of my best memories of Thanksgiving are of community gatherings. One year, when we had our house in Texas, we invited my parents and sister, and a family of three from church who brought along a hitchhiker they had picked up the day before! (I don't recommend picking up hitchhikers but the Lord used it.). Another year, a variety of us from our apartment building gathered to eat, pray and listen to my husband read about the original celebration. Don’t be isolated, celebrate together!
*The Light and The Glory by Peter Marshall & David Manuel
Keep on loving each other as brothers. Do not forget to entertain strangers, for by so doing some people have entertained angels without knowing it. Hebrews 13:1,2
Tuesday, November 4, 2008
Whose side is God on?
Now when Joshua was near Jericho, he looked up and saw a man standing in front of him with a drawn sword in his hand. Joshua went up to him and asked, "Are you for us or for our enemies?"
"Neither," he replied,"but as commander of the army of the LORD I have now come."
Joshua 5:13,14
"Neither," he replied,"but as commander of the army of the LORD I have now come."
Joshua 5:13,14
Friday, October 31, 2008
Election Woes
For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind. I Timothy 1:7
My spirit is deeply troubled over the upcoming election—not so much about the outcome but over the fighting between those who are called by Jesus’ name. I don’t think I’ve ever seen such fear, even hysteria from the “conservatives”, who have resorted in their fear to making up accusations against their opponents. The “progressives” retaliate in anger, accusing of slander.
Somehow, those who are called by Jesus’ name have taken hard stands with both parties though I don’t see how they can support either. Conservatives scream, “How can you possibly vote for abortion or homosexual marriage? Anyone who votes like that can’t possibly be a Christian!” The progressives yell back, “We’re not voting for that, but it’s the best we can do! How can you possibly vote against the poor and not care about the babies after they’re born and against taking care of God’s creation? No one who votes like that can really be a Christian!” Increasingly, conservatives are beginning to hang their heads and say, "We're not voting against that, but it's the best we can do." Each of the two parties gets some things right and some things wrong. But neither is a good option.
And it will continue this way until those who are called by Jesus’ name forget about who is wearing a flag on their lapel or who contributes the most money and focus on following Jesus and his teachings. We can’t cherry pick which ones we like—and they go far beyond the issues of abortion and traditional marriage, even beyond caring for the poor and creation. One of Jesus’ main teachings was that we are to love and serve one another in unity. It’s time for a better way—Jesus’ way.
Jesus said, "If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free." John 8:31,32
My spirit is deeply troubled over the upcoming election—not so much about the outcome but over the fighting between those who are called by Jesus’ name. I don’t think I’ve ever seen such fear, even hysteria from the “conservatives”, who have resorted in their fear to making up accusations against their opponents. The “progressives” retaliate in anger, accusing of slander.
Somehow, those who are called by Jesus’ name have taken hard stands with both parties though I don’t see how they can support either. Conservatives scream, “How can you possibly vote for abortion or homosexual marriage? Anyone who votes like that can’t possibly be a Christian!” The progressives yell back, “We’re not voting for that, but it’s the best we can do! How can you possibly vote against the poor and not care about the babies after they’re born and against taking care of God’s creation? No one who votes like that can really be a Christian!” Increasingly, conservatives are beginning to hang their heads and say, "We're not voting against that, but it's the best we can do." Each of the two parties gets some things right and some things wrong. But neither is a good option.
And it will continue this way until those who are called by Jesus’ name forget about who is wearing a flag on their lapel or who contributes the most money and focus on following Jesus and his teachings. We can’t cherry pick which ones we like—and they go far beyond the issues of abortion and traditional marriage, even beyond caring for the poor and creation. One of Jesus’ main teachings was that we are to love and serve one another in unity. It’s time for a better way—Jesus’ way.
Jesus said, "If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free." John 8:31,32
Tuesday, September 30, 2008
Important Questions
“The thoughtful person finds herself asking important questions. If Jesus’ ethic speaks of loving one’s enemies, why are we praying for American soldiers but not their victims? Why are we passionate to protect life in the womb but often apathetic about the plight of single moms trying to raise infants without health coverage or access to living wage employment? Why are we working just as hard as everyone else to perpetuate an American dream that results in our 5 percent of the world’s population consuming 26 per cent of the world’s resources? When thoughtful Christians articulate these questions, they are too often told to stop thinking so much and get with the program.”
Richard Dahlstrom
Richard Dahlstrom
Tuesday, September 16, 2008
Rescue
For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins. (Col. 1:13)
In Galveston,Texas those who ignored the order to evacuate from Hurricane Ike’s fury now have to be rescued from waist-deep water. Reporters and observers have been quick to point out that these “determined” residents have put the “first responders” at risk. While it is true that they have needlessly endangered themselves and others, I was impressed by the response from a spokesman for some of those “first responders”. He gently said, “Our job is to rescue, not to judge.” What a refreshingly mature response!
Isn’t that the response we Christians should have toward unbelievers—those who have not yet heeded God’s warning and offer of safety? Paul said that it wasn’t his business to judge the world. (I Cor. 5:12) Even Jesus, the Creator of everything (Col 1:16) and eventual* judge said that he didn’t come to condemn the world but to save it. (John 12:47) Jesus response was and ours should be, “Our job is to rescue, not to judge.”
*Eventual is the key word here. Jesus will be the judge of all things and “the saints” will judge the world with him (John 5:27-30; I Cor. 6:2) but not until the “end”.
Therefore judge nothing before the appointed time; wait till the Lord comes. He will bring to light what is hidden in darkness and will expose the motives of men's hearts. At that time each will receive his praise from God. (I Cor. 4:5)
In Galveston,Texas those who ignored the order to evacuate from Hurricane Ike’s fury now have to be rescued from waist-deep water. Reporters and observers have been quick to point out that these “determined” residents have put the “first responders” at risk. While it is true that they have needlessly endangered themselves and others, I was impressed by the response from a spokesman for some of those “first responders”. He gently said, “Our job is to rescue, not to judge.” What a refreshingly mature response!
Isn’t that the response we Christians should have toward unbelievers—those who have not yet heeded God’s warning and offer of safety? Paul said that it wasn’t his business to judge the world. (I Cor. 5:12) Even Jesus, the Creator of everything (Col 1:16) and eventual* judge said that he didn’t come to condemn the world but to save it. (John 12:47) Jesus response was and ours should be, “Our job is to rescue, not to judge.”
*Eventual is the key word here. Jesus will be the judge of all things and “the saints” will judge the world with him (John 5:27-30; I Cor. 6:2) but not until the “end”.
Therefore judge nothing before the appointed time; wait till the Lord comes. He will bring to light what is hidden in darkness and will expose the motives of men's hearts. At that time each will receive his praise from God. (I Cor. 4:5)
Tuesday, September 9, 2008
God's Pruning
Have you ever heard someone exclaim (or write), “ I was cut to the heart by what I read in Scripture”? If you’re like me, it’s been a very long time since you have. In the last several years, people I’ve encountered have been more likely to instead say, “God is teaching me so much through this sickness that I wouldn’t have learned any other way. I wouldn’t trade it for anything.”
Jesus said, "I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful. You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you.“(John 15:1-3) Since the Greek words for “prune” and “clean” come from the same root, Jesus was saying that his word had pruned them already and they apparently didn’t need any other. If we stay in the Word (continually reading the New Testament and making the teachings our way of life) we won’t need any other kind* of “pruning” either. Sure, the Lord uses every situation, turning what the devil meant for evil into good,(see Romans 8:28) but it’s so much better to let the Holy Spirit convict and teach you through the Word of God.
*Persecution for Jesus’ name's sake is the kind of trial that God uses for chastening us and building character. Look for future posts on this.
Jesus said, "I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful. You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you.“(John 15:1-3) Since the Greek words for “prune” and “clean” come from the same root, Jesus was saying that his word had pruned them already and they apparently didn’t need any other. If we stay in the Word (continually reading the New Testament and making the teachings our way of life) we won’t need any other kind* of “pruning” either. Sure, the Lord uses every situation, turning what the devil meant for evil into good,(see Romans 8:28) but it’s so much better to let the Holy Spirit convict and teach you through the Word of God.
*Persecution for Jesus’ name's sake is the kind of trial that God uses for chastening us and building character. Look for future posts on this.
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