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John 4:1-3, Philippian 1:27

Teamwork

Filed Under: Devotions by Chuck
April 8, 2013

John the Baptist had a wide following in his day. Those who followed John were called his “disciples.” He knew, however, that he would decrease and Jesus would increase. I like John! He knew his limitations and was well adjusted to them! He understood God’s purpose for his life was just to be “a voice.” He had no visions of grandeur or and overestimation of his abilities or his purpose. I expect John knew even in his death that God’s purpose has been fulfilled. Although he patterned his life after the prophet Elijah, the great miracle worker who witnessed the death of his female nemesis, he was content with never having performed one miracle and ended being beheaded at the request of his female nemesis. He simply was a voice who spoke God’s truth to those who needed to hear it most. John had a role in making disciples for Jesus, but it was limited. He knew that Christ would be the one to bring it to fruition and fulfillment.

Like John, Jesus committed His early ministry to “making disciples.” But he didn’t do everything himself. His disciples were involved in that process. John 4:1-3, tells us, “Now when Jesus learned that the Pharisees had heard that Jesus was making and baptizing more disciples than John (although Jesus himself did not baptize, but only his disciples), he left Judea and departed again for Galilee.” Jesus’ mission, much broader and wider than John’s mission, was to seek and to save that which was lost and to turn them into seekers and savers of others who were lost throughout all time until He, Himself, would return to establish God’s Kingdom on earth. He not only passed that mission on to us, he passed on the idea of sharing the responsibility.

The fulfillment of God’s purpose in our lives requires working together as one body. We all have different gifts and each gift needs the rest in order to make our own efforts successful. Kent Hughes wrote, “The immediate and concomitant effect of their ‘standing firm in one spirit [Spirit]’ that Paul called for was profound cooperation—‘with one mind striving side by side for the faith of the gospel’” (Philippians 1:27) “Striving side by side” is the teamwork vocabulary of athletes or soldiers. It is at the heart of winning teams. Our problem is, unlike John, we all want to be the General! Stephen Ambrose, in his book on the Lewis & Clark expedition said, “What Lewis and Clark had done, first of all, was to demonstrate that there is nothing that men cannot do if they get themselves together and act as a team.” It was not only the success of the church in Philippi that Paul was stressing. It’s the success in every Church thereafter!

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Romans 3:11, 15:20, Matthew 28:19

Being Seeker Driven!

Filed Under: Devotions by Chuck
April 5, 2013

Churches are often categorized by the focus of their ministry. One of today’s most frequently used ways to describe various styles of services is wrapped around the word “seeker.” You can be “seeker driven.” Most define this as doing everything to reach non-believers! You can be “seeker friendly.” This implies that unbelievers are always considered in the planning and preparation of services. You can also be “seeker sensitive.” It’s usually means that less attention to an unbelieving presence, but an effort not to offend anyone is made. I think this stereotyping misses the entire point of Jesus command to “make disciples.”

In defining the process of making a disciple the Dictionary of Jesus and the Apostles says, “The obvious meaning of ‘making disciples’ is to proclaim the gospel message among those who have not yet received forgiveness of sins.” Although this might not be as full a definition of “making disciples” as I’d use, it does focus on the vital need of reaching unbelievers with the truth of the Gospel message. When writing to the Romans, Paul expressed his personal desire to focus his attention on proclaiming Christ to non-believers. In Romans 15:20, Paul says, “But I have always tried to preach where people have never heard about Christ.” We too should share that passion with Paul. You and I are disciples in the line of apostolic succession. From their efforts the early Church fathers became disciples and made disciples and that process continued all the way down to you and me! Jesus’ final words in Matthew 28:19 were spoken to the Apostles but also to us: “Go, make disciples…” We must not drop the baton!

Romans 3:11 says, “There is none that seeks after God…” Jesus is the seeker. C.S. Lewis said, “I never had the experience of looking for God. It was the other way around. He was the hunter and I was the deer. He stalked me, took unerring aim and fired.” As followers of Jesus we must be “seeker” sensitive. I want to do what the “seeker” wants me to do. I hope my heart and mind is sensitive to everything He says! We must also be “seeker friendly” because the seeker calls us his friends. I’m a friend to the one who has commissioned me to preach the gospel among those who have not heard the message of forgiveness of sins. Further, I think we must be “seeker driven” also. David Jeremiah agrees with this and says, “My whole life is motivated and energized by the Lord Jesus Christ. He is the driving force in my life. He is the reason I get up in the morning and feel an urgency to minister in His name during the day.” He said, “as the father sent me, so I send you.” He also said “I came to seek” and to save those that are lost. We must similarly focus! To be a true disciple of Jesus, we too must become those who seek to save those who are lost.

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John 5:39-40, 2 Timothy 2:15

A Student of Jesus

Filed Under: Devotions by Chuck
April 4, 2013

The Greek word for disciple is “mathetes” (the a is pronounced as in father, both “e’s” are pronounced as in “they.”) It is the word from which we get “mathematics.” We normally understand it as a “learner.” Yet, the focus is more specific. Generally speaking, mathematics is the science of numbers. I was never very good at math, but when I needed to get through College Algebra, I sat down and studied. I couldn’t quite grasp all the dynamics of absolute value, integers, primary numbers, or irrational numbers. But with time, I learned and ended with a good grade in the course. I had to learn how to study! I learned that I had to focus, clear my mind of distractions, and patiently stay with a paragraph until I understood the concept well enough to vocalize it myself. Mathematics is not just about numbers. It’s about relationships between numbers. It deals with quantities and magnitudes. It really is all about relationships.

A math deals with the relationships between quantities and magnitudes, Jesus deals with the relationships between man and God and man with others. Numbers are just the substance of the science you must understand them before you will ever grasp the relationships between them. Mathematicians give their lives to learn more about the relationships so that we can apply them in ways that changes the world. E=MC(squared) is a powerful mathematical formula that has had profound impact on the world. Numbers represent the content, relationships bring meaning and understanding.

The Corpus of Mathematics is numbers. The Corpus of Christianity is the Bible, the Inspired Scriptures. But it’s not just the information, but the content, that matters. Jesus once confronted the Scribes of His day who spent their lives studying the scriptures, without grasping the relationships. In John 5:39-40, he said to them, “You study the Scriptures carefully. You study them because you think they will give you eternal life. The Scriptures you study give witness about me. But you refuse to come to me and receive life.” The entire Body of Biblical Literature speaks of Christ. The life and teachings of Jesus make up the content of a disciples life. Even when he studies the Old Testament it reveals Christ. We must give attention, clear away distractions, focus our energies on Christ. That’s what true Discipleship is all about. Paul exhorted his young disciple to “study To show yourself approved unto God, a workman who need not be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth” (2 Timothy 2:15). Just as one studies long division, one must “rightly divide” (understand) God’s word, and reflect on the relationships, in order to grasp truth that will have a powerful impact on our own lives, as well as the world.

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Matthew 11:28

An Easy Yoke

Filed Under: Devotions by Chuck
April 3, 2013

One of my old (I think he’s in his 90’s) Seminary Professors, (J.D. Pentecost), tells about the time he visited a rural church to teach a Sunday school class. He says, “There was an old farmer plowing with a team of oxen. As I saw this team I was somewhat amazed, for one was a huge ox and the other a very small bullock. That ox towered over the little bullock that was sharing the work with him. I was amazed and perplexed to see a farmer trying to plow with two such unequal animals in the yoke and commented on the inequality to the man with whom I was riding. He stopped his car and said, “I want you to notice something. See the way those traces are hooked to the yoke? You will observe that the large ox is pulling all the weight. That little bullock is being broken into the yoke but he is not actually pulling any weight.”

He argued that every pre-mechanized farmer knows well the procedure of breaking in, or training, a new ox to pull a cart. Jesus, in the agricultural community of Judea, knew this well. He said, “come to me all of you who are weary and heavy laden” (Matthew 11:28). I understand what that means, don’t you? In the summer of 1963, my 16th year, my dad pulled some strings and Builder’s Supply hired me. At that time it was located at 40th and Lake while I lived on 43rd and Lake. All summer long I delivered dry wall to job sites, unloaded huge boxcars of brick that sometimes took days to do by hand, as well as any odd job the foreman ordered me to do. I was given all the jobs that nobody else wanted to do. I was the new guy! I was the neophyte! It’s that way in the Navy as well. I spent almost four months washing the dishes and silverware for 1500 men aboard the USS WRIGHT before I earned the right to do anything else. Disciples in this world do the work and bosses give the orders.

But Jesus goes on, “come to me all you who are weary and heavy laden and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls, for my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.” As true disciples, followers of Jesus, He does the work. We just walk with Him. Let Jesus pull the weight, Just walk along with Him!

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Proverbs 23:7

Heart-Work!

Filed Under: Devotions by Chuck
April 2, 2013

A lot of times when dealing with our kids we strive to correct their conduct and very often we are satisfied with that. Yet we really want to win their hearts not just their outward behavior. I think God deals that way with us as adults as well. We can change a person’s behavior sometimes without effecting how they think. We’ve all heard the little boy who was ordered to “sit down” by his father he said, “I’m sitting down on the outside, but I’m standing up on the inside.” Proverbs 23:7 has been translated in several ways, but I’m hung up on the old King James Version. It says, “For as he thinketh in his heart, so is he: Eat and drink, saith he to thee; But his heart is not with thee.” Getting beyond the archaic language we see that actions and external words and or actions never tell the whole story. I’m sure we’ve all experienced those times in life when we submitted to some authority; parental, legal, social, etc., while inwardly rebelling from the very principle being addressed.

Jesus was adamant on the condition of our hearts much more than he was on the external behavior patterns in our lives. His struggle with the religious leaders he frequently dismissed their legalistic obedience explaining that they have missed the great parts of “love, mercy, compassion.” All these deal with our hearts. Further I’d argue that when Jesus taught, he always addressed our consciences rather than our conduct. Think about this as it relates to raising adult children or dealing with people as a whole. If I had the choice of having an impact on a person’s behavior or on their conscience, I would definitely choose their conscience. Shaddix says this is what he prefers as well because, “The issue of conduct is specific and narrow, limited to a particular situation or circumstance. Conscience, on the other hand, is general and broad, influencing any number of varying life situations. A person’s convictions and standards—what they believe—apply to the multiplicity of issues that he or she will face along life’s path.

I’m not suggesting we need to ignore specific instructions concerning our children’s behavior, but the surely the more important issue is their heart. If we simply address conduct in specific situations, however, we only address that problem. When we address character and conscience we make Christ-like principles relevant for the current problem and allow our children to make the connection themselves with the indwelling presence of the spirit. More importantly, the instruction addresses a plethora of problems that our children will face as they move on in life. Indeed, as a conference speaker said, “raising children is heart-work.”

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1 Peter 1.3

He Is Risen!

Filed Under: Devotions by Chuck
April 1, 2013

The resurrection is the central, most important, truth taught in the Bible. The unbelieving world often want to embrace the love standards and ethical teachings of the Bible as valid while dismissing or rejecting the historical claims of the Bible. Paul teaches us in 1 Corinthians 15, that if the resurrection of Jesus is not true, then all who look to Christ for Salvation are indeed a people with a useless and futile faith. Actually, without the resurrection of Jesus there is no Christianity and as Morgan puts it, “…what we believe is mere philosophical rhetoric taught by a man who was either crazy, a liar, or both.”

When we read the Gospel accounts we find that contrary to liberal theology today, it wasn’t faith that created the appearances of Jesus to His apostles and followers, it was His appearances that created the faith. The Apostles were hiding in an upper room, afraid of their future, worried about the consequences they’d suffer because they had been His followers. He had been executed, what would happen to them? The night of Jesus’ execution Peter, the “chief” follower, denied that he even knew Him. No, it took the reality of His resurrection and appearances to them to bring them from fear to faith. No, faith did not create the appearances, the appearances created the faith.

In verse 17 of 1 Corinthians 15 Paul tells us that without the resurrection we have no forgiveness of sins. The holiness and love of God was seen on the cross, but forgiveness and grace were seen in the empty tomb. If Christ would not have risen from the dead, He could not have forgiven sins. In verses 18-19 we learn that without the resurrection we have no future. If Jesus was not raised from the dead, those who have died before us would be lost and those perishing and would have no hope. Without hope for a future there is no meaning for today. So because of the resurrection we have life, real life, abundant life today, and eternal life beyond the grave. Since the resurrection is a certain, clear, historical doctrine of our faith we can live, not just in the moment but with the light of eternal life that shines in the darkness. Baker’s New Testament commentary puts it this way, “The Lord is risen indeed! Here all changes. The Cross, the very instrument of despair, becomes an object of glory. The resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead is the source of a living hope. Listen to the message of exuberant joy, praise, and thanksgiving. Hear it from the lips of one who experienced the deepest darkness of despair and remorse. Says Peter: Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to his great mercy begat us again unto a living hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead” (1 Peter 1:3).

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John 19:30

It Is Finished!

Filed Under: Devotions by Chuck
March 29, 2013

When we walk the Via Delarosa (The way Jesus walked to Golgotha), we find plaques along the way that note which of the 14 Stations of the Cross traditionally took place at that point. I was able to find most of them during our list Israel trip. These 14 stations are usually positioned around the sanctuary in many Catholic Churches. When I was a little boy, and an altar boy at Blessed Sacrament, I remember being part of the Way of the Cross services in which I’d hold an incense burner and follow the Priest who would walk around the sanctuary and stop at each station and reflect on its significance. It is a Good Friday morning tradition for many Catholics still today. I’ve also read that a “Three Hours” service has become popular throughout the Americas as well. It began in the 17th century in Lima, Peru. It begins at noon and continues until 3pm, the hours that Jesus was actually on the cross.

Since the earliest days of Christianity, Good Friday has been an important day and observed with a somber reflection and meditation on the death of Christ. In some traditions bells are silenced, music is not played, and black is the color theme for the day. According to The Dictionary of Christianity in America, “Many Protestant churches also observe Good Friday with special services and memorial observances focusing on the crucifixion. Some schedule meditations on the ‘Seven Last Words’ from the cross or other Pascal themes. On Good Friday evening many churches observe the Lord’s Supper, while others use the Tenebrae service centered on the theme of light and darkness.”

Jesus’ last words from the cross have been the traditional subject of most Good Friday services that I can remember taking part in or watching. There were seven different statements that Jesus made as he hung on the cross. There are different opinions as to the actual order in which these were delivered but it makes sense to accept the traditional order: 1) “Father forgive them for they know not what they do” (Luke 23:34). 2) “Truly I say to you, today you will be with me in Paradise” (Luke 23:43). 3) “Woman behold your Son!” Then he said to the disciple, “Behold your mother!” (John 19:26–27). 4) “My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?” (Matt. 27:46). 5) “I thirst” (John 19:28). 6) “It is finished” (John 19:30). And 7) “Father into thy hands I commit my spirit!” (Luke 23:46). While harmonizing the Gospel accounts we find that John records “It is finished” as the last words of Christ from the cross. But immediately follows up with “…and he bowed his head and surrendered His spirit.” The other three Gospels do not tell us that Jesus said “it is finished.” Instead, they report that Jesus died with a great shout on his lips (Matthew 27:50; Mark 15:37; Luke 23:46). I believe that the great shout and “it is finished” is one and the same thing! It was a shout of victory! All other religions in the world say, “do, do!!” But Jesus said in a loud voice “done, done!” It is finished!

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John 19:26-27

Behold, Your Mother!

Filed Under: Devotions by Chuck
March 28, 2013

In John 19:26-27, we read, “When Jesus saw his mother and the disciple whom he loved standing nearby, he said to his mother, ‘Woman, behold, your son!’ Then he said to the disciple, ‘Behold, your mother!’ And from that hour the disciple took her to his own home.” Since John is referred to as the disciple that Jesus loved, it’s been the tradition that he was the disciple that Jesus addressed from the cross. Early Church History bears this out as well. Mary is not mentioned by name, but it’s clear who he was referring to.

It’s a remarkable thing. Here Jesus is, suspended above the earth by nails driven into his hands and feet with a crown of thorns on his head, dying the most painful death imaginable and he’s focused on the needs of others. One write described the scene this way: “Here he is humiliated by being made a public spectacle. Sweat pouring off his body in the intense heat of the day. Flies swarming around his head. Blood dripping down from his head. And increasingly finding it harder and harder to speak. His posture on the cross put pressure on his lungs so that breathing was more and more difficult. And yet he turns his gaze toward his mother and speaks to her and then to the disciple who would become her son.”

Some argue that these words, in the simplest sense, might be like our concern for who would look after a loved one we’re gone. We might be concerned about who will care for our aged parents if we weren’t around to do so, but Jewish tradition required the children to care for their children and Mary had four other sons as well as at least one daughter. It wasn’t her physical needs that Jesus was concerned about. In my opinion, at the foot of the cross, men and women, all become part of a new family. Older women become like mothers. Younger women become like sisters and in the early church that’s what they were called. Men become my brothers, and lo and behold, a new family is established. Based not on the DNA contained in the blood of the physical parent, but according to the DNA of Jesus’ blood, there’s a new relationship between people who gather at the foot of Jesus’ Cross in faith. I’m sure there was loving concern for His earthly mother, but I can’t escape the fact that Jesus was expressing more than that. He was commending us to each other to be cared for and watched out for in the new family called the Church.

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