This morning, I read from a great collection of Puritan prayers called The Valley of Vision. This statement resonated in my heart…
Help me to be in reality before thee, as in appearance I am before men, to be religious before I profess religion, to leave the world before I enter the church…
The Valley of Vision, 21
Some years back, a popular saying among some in “church circles” was, “It is not about religion, but a relationship.” While coming from a place of good motives, I think this particular “bumper sticker” statement is unhelpful. More to come on that and a few other unhelpful statements in a coming article.
According to Webster:
Religion: a personal set or institutionalized system of religious attitudes, beliefs, and practices; the service and worship of God…
Religious: relating to or manifesting faithful devotion to an acknowledged ultimate reality or deity. Merriam-Webster.
Now let’s modify the prayer slightly with these considerations in mind:
Help me to be the same before you as I appear before men, to be devoted to you before I profess to others to be your follower…
I cannot think of anyone who would resist the sentiment of this prayer. After all, it speaks of being consistent rather than duplicitous; being devoted rather than merely adhering to a defined code of conduct; working from our faith rather than working for it (See Phil 2:12 for more on this).
Now, in a way that only the Lord can and for His own purposes…notice how Paul addressed this in my reading from Romans 9.
30What shall we say then? That Gentiles, who did not pursue righteousness, attained righteousness, even the righteousness which is by faith; 31but Israel, pursuing a law of righteousness, did not arrive at that law. 32Why? Because they did not pursue it by faith, but as though it were by works. They stumbled over the stumbling stone, 33just as it is written, “Behold, I lay in Zion a stone of stumbling and a rock of offense, And he who believes in Him will not bedisappointed.”
Romans 9:30–33, NASB95
Paul said to the church in Rome that outsiders (Gentiles) attained their righteousness by faith, whereas insiders (Israel) sought to fulfill the requirements of the Law to attain righteousness. One (Israel) sought to serve God for their faith, whereas the other (Gentiles) served God from a position of acceptability by faith through Jesus Christ. Israel made their “Messiah” the proper conduct of life, while the believers trusted a Messiah and then lived in a manner that reflected Him as they followed. Do you recognize the difference?
No matter how hard you work toward righteousness, you will never obtain it. However, when you run to Jesus, recognize Him as your only valid hope of right standing before God, and live your life accordingly, you experience righteousness by faith.
The choice is not merely an exercise in semantics. It is faith. Will you trust Jesus to give you what you could not work for, or will you work for what you cannot attain apart from Jesus?
One of the great privileges, the highpoints on my ministry has been the pleasure of encounters with those when they first encounter the Lord. When they respond to His gracious invitation and He lifts the burdens of failure. When the reality of judgment for their rebellion is not lost but they realize that it was taken on by Another, by the Lord who came to seek and save that which is separated from God.
This privilege is not exclusive to ministry; rather it is the desire of God for all who follow Him…that the lost be saved when His people rehearse the gospel time and time again. As much as I love to share Jesus’ story and love seeing people respond to it, at times the passion wanes. Maybe it is that family member or co-worker who has heard the story a hundred times; or, maybe it is that terribly inconvenient circumstance where sharing the gospel is costly.
There are times when I have to repent before the Lord and seek His help to stir up the passion. A passion that is exhibited by the Apostle Paul.
1I am telling the truth in Christ, I am not lying, my conscience testifies with me in the Holy Spirit, 2that I have great sorrow and unceasing grief in my heart. 3For I could wish that I myself were accursed, separated from Christ for the sake of my brethren, my kinsmen according to the flesh, 4who are Israelites, to whom belongs the adoption as sons, and the glory and the covenants and the giving of the Law and the temple service and the promises, 5whose are the fathers, and from whom is the Christ according to the flesh, who is over all, God blessed forever. Amen.
Romans 9:1-5, NASB95
Paul’s passion was for the Israelites to be saved. Remember now, Paul is the Apostle to the Gentiles. Christ set him apart primarily to the nations. [As an aside, I still smile a bit when I remember that Paul had stellar credentials in Judaism and God sent him to the Gentiles, while Peter had limited training in Judaism and God sent him to focus primarily on Jacob’s descendants. I digress.]
Notice Paul’s heart, particularly in verse three where he calls the Holy Spirit to bear witness to the truthfulness of his statement: He would wish himself accursed (i.e. to give up his salvation) if that somehow would lead to the salvation of the Jews. Let that sink in for a moment and reflect on it. Have you ever loved someone so much that you’d wish your life for theirs? Perhaps a family member. Maybe a confidante or a good man. But Paul states this about a people group…the Jewish people…those whose leaders not only rejected Jesus but sought to destroy His followers.
Perhaps, you, like me, need to ask the Lord in faith today to strengthen your passion for your people, your neighbors, and your nation in the same way. Make this the year when you build a bridge left and right of your home and across the street… a bridge for the gospel…whatever the cost.
Someone once said that the key to organizational thriving is to get the Vision “off the wall and down the hall.” This is simply a recognition that there is a difference, at times, between the aspirational and the practical. I was asked recently what kind of team culture I considered conducive to thriving. My response was, in part, to lay out the Five Pillars of Team Culture that I feel are essential: Contagiously Positive, Exceedingly Helpful, Personally Responsible, Relentlessly Improving, and Laser-Focused. The team will thrive if these five characteristics are present in a Team and its members.
Here is the greater question: “Do I really want that?” Some days, if I am honest, I don’t want to be positive. Some days I want to sit alone and whine to myself (and maybe the Lord) …rehearsing every unjust thing that has ever happened. Some days I don’t want to be relentlessly improving. Innovation and reinvention are hard work! Comfortable is more attractive some days. Even if I “say” that I want these characteristics to be true, in my heart… I know that it is not true. So, what does one “do” when you don’t want what you want to want?
That’s the question I took to prayer this morning as I read Psalm 128 and prayed it back to the Lord.
1How blessed is everyone who fears the Lord, who walks in His ways. 2When you shall eat of the fruit of your hands, you will be happy and it will be well with you. 3Your wife shall be like a fruitful vine Within your house, Your children like olive plants Around your table. 4Behold, for thus shall the man be blessed Who fears the Lord. 5The Lord bless you from Zion, and may you see the prosperity of Jerusalem all the days of your life. 6Indeed, may you see your children’s children. Peace be upon Israel!
Psalm 128:1-6, NASB95
Such huge categorical statements of unequivocal truth here. The people who fear the Lord and walk in His ways shall be blessed! The word blessed is the Hebrew, as re, and it means to be fortunate or happy. Our happiness is based on the fact that things will go well with you (v.2), your wife and your children will be blessed and fruitful (v.3), and for many generations (v.6). God will be present in your midst and will bless you and your people, His people, with Peace. This is a HUGE promise! There is no downside at all. So, why do I still resist walking in His ways in fear (Hebrew- ya re, meaning to be afraid, to honor, to reverence, to be in awe)? The answer comes down to trust, I think, and has been the issue since the first couple in the Garden (Gen 3).
So, my prayer this morning is for the Lord to help me to more fully want what I want to want, even when I don’t want it. Perhaps that is your cry before him as well. Grace and Peace.
1You therefore, my son, be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus. 2The things which you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses, entrust these to faithful men who will be able to teach others also. 2 Timothy 2:1–2 (NASB95)
What does “success” look like?
Numbers matter. Yep, I said it. As a pastor, I constantly fight the feeling within me to focus on “numbers” as a proper measure of success. Many days I have walked away from a great sermon and felt like it “flopped” simply because the attendance was low. At other times, I’ve taught an average (or below average) lesson and felt like a rock star because the room was more filled than normal.
Activity matters. There have been days when I was really proud of the fact that I preached four or five times…or I taught for six or eight hours. After all, if you are doing a lot, you must be successful.
Truthfully, activity is important and numbers are a reasonable measure of influence; however, neither activity nor numbers are effective indicators of success. In the passage above, we see that the Apostle Paul instructs Timothy in his ministry…to entrust what he has learned to faithful men who will entrust these things to others. No amount of activity is given as a standard. No base line of numbers is identified as acceptable. What is articulated is duplication…or more accurately, multiplication. Stated differently, Paul says to Timothy: your ministry is to multiply people who do what you do, which is to take what they’ve heard and teach it to others. Another word for this is discipleship.
Discipleship is not a class or a multi-week study. It is not an hour set aside on Sunday or Wednesday evenings. It is not a program, a pathway, or a track to follow. Discipleship is a descriptor of the life of a Christ-follower. Discipleship describes a life of learning, obeying, and teaching others to learn and obey. It alone is the measure of success.
I expect that many will be surprised when standing before Jesus one day. These will try to tell Jesus how busy they were, how many groups they were in, how many hungry people they fed, how many spiritual crisis situations they intervened in. These people will point to the breadth of their ministry lives. In then end though, when they came to the end, so did their ministries because they never multiplied their influence.
Is it possible that one faithful person who intentionally discipled one person a year who went out and did the same could better obey the Great Commission than the most active of church members and eloquent of teachers?
Reflection: Who are you discipling right now? Who is discipling you? If you hesitate on either or both questions, then the next step is to ask the Lord for forgiveness and commit to begin the discipleship journey today.
8Finally, brethren, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is of good repute, if there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise, dwell on these things. 9The things you have learned and received and heard and seen in me, practice these things, and the God of peace will be with you.
Philippians 4:8–9 (NASB95)
Have you ever noticed that you often see what you’re looking for? Several months back, I was considering changing vehicles. I got in my head that I wanted a Toyota Tacoma. Of course, it had a good reputation and held its value well. I liked a number of the features of it. What struck me the most was how many other people had the exact same idea. It seemed that every third or fourth vehicle in town suddenly became a Tacoma. Everywhere I went, there were more of them. They were everywhere! How did so many people know to go buy a Tacoma the week I started looking at them?
Of course, that’s a silly question. No one rushed out to buy the truck I was looking at. My focus and awareness simply changed. The same trucks were always there…but now I was seeing them.
That works with the other circumstances of our lives. If you’re looking for trouble, you’ll find it. If you are looking for a conspiracy theory (especially in election season), there are dozens of people who will help you find it on the Internet. If you want negativity, suspicion, defeatism…all are readily available.
The same is true if you’re looking for hope. If you want to see the fruits of the gospel, there are there too. Kindness is there. Respect for authority…also there. Grace and forgiveness is also right there! Certainly, you see these things rehearsed in the pages of Scripture, but they also exist in your life if you are a believer. They are rehearsed in sharing within your Connect Group/small group at church. They are trumpeted in praise songs and heralded in preaching. They are present in acts of kindness prevalent around us.
It leads one to wonder…if you see the darkness of the world as its most prominent feature…what are you looking for? Do you focus on criticism or on compliments? What are you projecting? Maybe the world needs a little sunshine and you’re the window through which God wants it to be revealed. What if we simply took the counsel of Scripture above and applied it? Whatever is good, lovely, true, honorable, excellent, praise-worthy—dwell on these things.
We often find what we fixate on. By the way, I love my Tacoma.
39Many Samaritans from the village believed in Jesus because the woman had said, “He told me everything I ever did!”
John 4:39 (NLT)
Have you ever considered the value of a simple Gospel Conversation?
In John 4, Jesus encountered the woman at the well. Their exchange was unusual. It was cross-cultural. It was uncomfortable (at least for the woman). At times, it was adversarial. It was also essential. The disciples did not understand. The woman did not fully understand. Certainly, she was not totally oblivious; however, she could only see and understand the events from a very narrow perspective.
This momentary exchange with the woman led to a witness. The woman did not have to explain all of the theological nuances of Judaism. She did not have to give a defense of her Samaritan traditions. She simply and plainly bore witness to what Jesus did in her life in a personal encounter. From this simple exchange, Jesus drew many Samaritans to a saving relationship.
Who are the “Samaritans” in your pathway? How are you looking for bridges to the gospel? How do you pray for God to make opportunities clear to you and to give you courage to speak?
What if through a faithful witness, just like the Samaritan woman, many people you knew could encounter Jesus and believe?
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