Sanctification and Servitude
Some have reduced holiness to a private religious experience that occurs in the solitude of one’s own soul. The Romans’ letter may help us here. “For just as you presented your members as slaves to impurity and to lawlessness, resulting in further lawlessness, so now present your members as slaves to righteousness, resulting in
Work to Do
Stop waiting for God to give you special leadership to do something that His word has already told you to do. Our egos may long for a special revelation, just for us; we are important, you know. Our Father’s word is calling us to work in His vineyard; the harvest itself calls us. The
Growing Deeper
There are two ways that churches grow. One is growth in numbers and the other is growth in spiritual depth. The second requires good teaching and living out what is taught. Jesus never sought for large crowds; His call for self-denial and cross bearing often thinned out the crowds. The goal of individual and
Go on to Perfection
“Therefore, leaving the discussion of the elementary principles of Christ, let us go on to perfection, not laying again the foundation of repentance from dead works and of faith toward God, of the doctrine of baptisms, of laying on of hands, of resurrection of the dead, and of eternal judgment.” (Hebrews 6:1–2 NKJV). We
Sickness Unto Death
When death comes to a friend or loved one, we seem surprised by it. Parting with someone we love is a shock; denial is our first reaction. As we get older, we become more aware of death’s inevitability. We still pray for the sick, as we should. We pray to be rescued from death's
Sanctified Humility
When we have put to death self-centeredness, allowing the Holy Spirit to deal with our inward pride, then humility is the true end result. We become like the humble God who rode a donkey; we become like the Messiah who washed feet. We stop seeking the chief seats and settle for footstools; we stop
The True Treasure
The Bible was written over hundreds and hundreds of years, written to cultures that no longer exist. When biblical texts seem to be at odds or variance with other texts, readers have different reactions. Some abandon the Bible as a result. Others latch on to their preferred texts while closing their ears to any
Inexpressible
We have experiences that we can’t explain. I heard a minister say, “We believe things that we cannot comprehend.” We put our feet in the ocean with little thought that someone on another shore, a thousand miles or more away is doing the same thing. Then between the two of us there are battle
Co-Suffering
We get through our tough times better when we remember our solidarity with Christ and His solidarity with us. We suffer with and for the One who suffered with and for us. When He came in the flesh, it was more than to merely identify with us. He entered into all the pain of
Saving Solidarity
Salvation is found in being in solidarity with Christ Jesus. By incarnation He entered into solidarity with all of humanity. By baptism we enter into solidarity with Him. Paul’s words, “in Christ” and “in Him” are ways of speaking of this solidarity. Let’s see if we can think of some ways to bring it
Soul Health
Any violation of the Ten Commandments is at heart a failure to love. The first four are about loving God and the last six are about loving our neighbor. If I hate my neighbor, which Jesus called murder, then I poison my own soul. To fail to love will make you sick mentally, emotionally,
Credibility Gap (2)
This gap can be brought on by a lack of self-knowledge. It can be very painful to take a deep look at our own heart and mind; it requires a level of honesty that is disarming and can be downright frightening. Others are likely to see our duplicity before we do. Those who were
Credibility Gap (1)
Years ago Dr. Mildred Wynkoop wrote a great book, called the “Theology of Love”. She observed the lives of some who claimed a high level of holiness, but whose lives and lack of love exposed what she called the credibility gap. Their actual living did not lend credibility to their profession. When love, which
Holiness and Love
“Be you holy for I am holy” (Leviticus 19:2). Join this to what Jesus said, “Be perfect as your Father in heaven is perfect” (Matthew 5:48), and you will get an understanding of how holiness is joined to love. This section of Matthew is about how the Father loves unconditionally (5:43-48). We usually think
Trust and Love
Trust in God can’t be built in the heart where love for God is not central. When we know that He is a God who loves us without reservation, we know that He is trustworthy. We know that we can trust a God like that. It is hard to have faith and trust in
Loving the Imperfect (2)
If loving the imperfect is godly, then, just maybe, mocking the imperfect is demonic. Who would mock a Downs’ child? Who would mock a person whose cerebral palsy had wrecked mobility or altered speech? Who would make fun of a class or ethnic group with demeaning, offensive, and abusive rhetoric? Jesus teaching in Matthew
Loving the Imperfect (1)
To the extent that we are not able to love the imperfect, to that same extent we are ungodly/un-God-like/un-Christlike. We certainly know He loves imperfect ones, because He loves us. Perhaps our problem is that we are making ourselves more lovable, since we are less imperfect or more righteous, than the folks with whom
Humility and Pride (3)
In Numbers 12, Miriam and Aaron were critical of Moses over his marriage. Then in anger, they spiritualized their attack. Miram and Aaron said, “Has the Lord indeed spoken only through Moses? Has He not spoken through us also?” (v. 2). True, He had at times spoken through both of them, but now they
Humility and Pride (2)
We all have opinions; humility says, “I could be wrong”. Pride can cause great harm, but can never say, “I am sorry that I hurt you”; this is horribly dethroning to the self. Pride can disguise itself as spirituality; it can wear the clothes of the most sanctified saint. Underneath these garments there is
Humility and Pride (1)
Humility is a forgotten and most neglected virtue. It is no longer prized; it is seldom sought and practiced. It is sorely needed. Humility is the opposite of pride. When pride is guarding the door, humility is not granted admission. Pride makes of oneself its own god; it wants to be a god, but
Made Holy to Love
The Great Commandment is to love God with our WHOLE BEING (Mark 12:30-31). The great benediction of 1 Thessalonians 5:23-24 is that our WHOLE BEING would be sanctified through and through, with the promise that the One who calls us to holiness is the One who will do it. This is no casual connection;
Faithful To Christ and Others
Jesus was faithful to the Father in His mission to the world. Since He was on a mission of rescue, His faithfulness to the Father proved to be faithfulness to us. Our faithfulness to the Lord is also faithfulness to all of those in our sphere of influence. We cannot let the Lord down
Acts Of Becoming
What I do comes down to who I am. Actions flow out of character. Words and deeds flow out of thoughts. All of these things speak of who we are. Observe them. There are things about our own words and actions that should alarm us. There are things about our thoughts and attitudes that
Valleys And Mountains
We place too much value on getting out of the valley and on top of the mountain, as if our goal and god is always some spiritual high. I have learned that when I live in brokenness, valleys and mountain peaks mean very little. There may be highs and lows even in brokenness, for
The Face of God
The Psalmist cried out to see the face of God. “My soul thirsts for God, for the living God. When shall I come and behold the face of God?” (Psalm 42:2, NRSV). Moses wanted to see the face of God but could not (Exodus 33:20-23). The face of God that the Psalmist and Moses