While we cannot earn salvation, clearly Paul, and the rest
of the letter writers of the NT, expected a change in behaviour as evidence of
conversion. Below are two translations of Acts 26:20. The Amplified highlights
the expectation of a lifestyle change.
20 but declared first to those in Damascus
and in Jerusalem, and throughout all the region of Judea, and then to
the Gentiles, that they should repent, turn to God, and do works befitting
repentance. Acts 26:20 (NKJV)
20 But made known openly first of all to those
at Damascus, then at Jerusalem and throughout the whole land of Judea, and also
among the Gentiles, that they should repent and turn to God, and do works and
live lives consistent with and worthy of their repentance. Acts 26:20
(AMP)
I write this because we rarely hear repentance spoken of in the church anymore. I cannot remember a single sermon in recent years that has highlighted it. Granted I may have forgotten some, but my experience now is that evangelicals not only rarely talk about it, many will even argue about the need for it, that is, that we just need to trust in grace. My wife and I were recently talking with a couple and the fellow shared about a co-worker who claimed to be born again but was living in a common-law relationship (In modern vernacular, an ‘adult interdependent relationship’). He said he knew it was sin but it was ‘covered by grace.’
I think we need a return to understanding that turning to
Jesus means living lives consistent with the gospel. After all, when Paul
confronted the Corinthians over their claims to be following Jesus, when their lifestyle
choices suggested otherwise, he said the following.
5 Examine
yourselves as to whether you are in the faith. Test yourselves. Do you
not know yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you? – unless indeed you are
disqualified. 2 Corinthians 13:5 (NKJV)
The symbol below is a representation of the Trinity.
Here I am looking at how the Trinity functions and how we
are invited in to experience this relationship. I was first exposed to this
idea many years ago through the writings of Gene Edwards. He put forth the idea
that the Godhead, Father, Son and Spirit had eternally beheld one another with affection
and love. I don’t know that we normally think of the Godhead as gazing upon one
another but here is a scripture passage.
24 Father, I desire that they also whom You
gave Me may be with Me where I am, that they may behold My glory which You have
given Me; for You loved Me before the foundation of the world. 25 O
righteous Father! The world has not known You, but I have known You; and these
have known that You sent Me. 26 And I have declared to them
Your name, and will declare it, that the love with which You loved Me
may be in them, and I in them.” John 17:24-26 (NKJV)
The reason Edwards raised this was to encourage us to accept
the invitation into this same fellowship, as Jesus prayed above, that we would behold
His glory. Jesus desires that we would be drawn into this eternal beholding of
the Godhead.
John the apostle understood this reality and also invited us
to participate.
1 That which was from the beginning, which
we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon, and
our hands have handled, concerning the Word of life – 2 the
life was manifested, and we have seen, and bear witness, and declare to you
that eternal life which was with the Father and was manifested to us – 3 that
which we have seen and heard we declare to you, that you also may have
fellowship with us; and truly our fellowship is with the Father and with
His Son Jesus Christ. 1 John 1:1-3 (NKJV)
Furthermore as His children we are always in His presence.
7 Where can I go from Your Spirit? Or where
can I flee from Your presence? 8 If I ascend into heaven, You are
there; If I make my bed in hell, behold, You are there.Psalm 139:7-8
(NKJV)
And He thinks about
us.
17 How precious also are Your thoughts to
me, O God! How great is the sum of them! 18 If I should
count them, they would be more in number than the sand; When I awake, I am
still with You. Psalm 139:17-18 (NKJV)
And desires that we behold His glory.
18 But we all, with unveiled face,
beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the
same image from glory to glory, just as by the Spirit of the Lord. 2
Corinthians 3:18 (NKJV)
Through seeing Jesus.
6 For it is the God who commanded light to
shine out of darkness, who has shone in our hearts to give the light of
the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. 2 Corinthians
4:6 (NKJV)
How about accepting the invitation and sitting with the
Godhead and participating in this eternal beholding?
Think about Jesus resurrection and the stone being rolled
away from the tomb. At Easter we often see images such as the one below. Jesus
standing in front of the open tomb with light shining around Him.
These images can be quite moving and it seems that generally
the idea is that the stone was rolled away and Jesus burst forth from the tomb.
To determine the accuracy let’s look at the scriptures. In the four gospels the
most thorough account is in Matthew.
1 Now after the Sabbath, as the first day
of the week began to dawn, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary came to see the
tomb. 2 And behold, there was
a great earthquake; for an angel of the Lord descended from heaven, and came
and rolled back the stone from the door, and sat on it. 3 His countenance was like lightning,
and his clothing as white as snow. 4 And
the guards shook for fear of him, and became like dead men.5 But the angel answered and said to the
women, “Do not be afraid, for I know that you seek Jesus who was
crucified. 6 He is not here;
for He is risen, as He said. Come, see the place where the Lord lay. Matthew
28:1-6 (NKJV)
When the stone was removed Jesus was already gone. Jesus did
not need the stone removed to get out, He had the stone removed so that we could
see in and encounter truth! This is similar to the idea inherent in Proverbs
that God hides things not from us but for us.
2 It is the glory of God to conceal a
matter, But the glory of kings is to search out a matter. Proverbs
25:2 (NKJV)
So, as we seek to see Jesus move in our lives, as we bring
Him dreams to resurrect, shackles to break off, let’s begin by accepting His invitation
to encounter truth. Let’s honour and embrace the truth of His presence, honour
that He is alive and wants to move in our lives. Let’s hear what the angel
said, “Come, see…”
Paul made an interesting
statement about relationships among believers.
16 Therefore,
from now on, we regard no one according to the flesh. Even though we have known
Christ according to the flesh, yet now we know Him thus no longer. 2
Corinthians 5:16 (NKJV)
I suspect most of us are more
familiar with the verse that follows.
17 Therefore,
if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have
passed away; behold, all things have become new. 2 Corinthians 5:17 (NKJV)
Paul’s point seems to be that
because we are new creations we need to relate to and ‘regard’ our fellow
believers based on who they are as a new
creation. This includes the need to discern the gifts and callings they
carry and receive accordingly.
When we look at fellow
believers with a new creation mindset
we can first look for Jesus in them, then honour what He is manifesting in and
through them, the primary goal being Himself. I am sure most of us have had the
experience of meeting someone and ‘knowing’ they were a fellow Christian. Not
because they carried a large bible, wore a cross or had a neon sign on their
head. No, our spirit encountered Jesus in them and we had the opportunity to
receive from them, encourage their growth and honour the fact that as fellow
believers they were carrying His presence.
The type of honouring I
described above requires walking closely to His heart in our evaluations of
others.
In contrast to what I just
shared above, I know there have been times when I judged others wrongly. Okay,
a number of times. When we first meet fellow believers if we set aside our initial
judgements we have the potential for deep fellowship through following the
leading of the Holy Spirit.
So, let’s look to Him and seek
His heart in the knowing of others.
As an encouragement, one way to
walk in honour toward others is by cultivating a heart that honours Him first.
See the song below.
There is the expression, “You can never go home again.” It
is akin to the idea, “You can never step in the same river twice.” Time marches
on and we need to recognize the impermanence of moments. However, one would
expect Jesus to be welcome at home, He was after all a nice guy. He didn’t
bully people while growing up, He was helpful at home and in the community and
there were now stories circulating of people being healed by Him. Here is what
happened when Jesus spoke at the synagogue upon His return to Nazareth.
18 “The Spirit of the LORD is upon Me,Because He has anointed MeTo
preach the gospel to the poor;He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted,To proclaim liberty to the captivesAnd recovery of sight to the
blind,To set at liberty those who are oppressed;19 To proclaim the acceptable year of
the LORD.”Luke 4:18-19
(NKJV)
After His testing in the wilderness Jesus returned to
Nazareth and stood up and read this passage about the coming Messiah and then
told them the scripture was fulfilled, that is, that He was the fulfillment
(verse 21). This was Jesus first public proclamation that He was the prophesied
Messiah. The response – they marveled at His words and when He challenged them
to believe it they were “filled with wrath” (verse 28).
What was the outcome of their response?
5 Now He could do no mighty work there, except
that He laid His hands on a few sick people and healed them.6 And He marveled because of their
unbelief. Then He went about the villages in a circuit, teaching. Mark 6:5-6
(NKJV)
When Jesus
was not honoured He could do very little in their midst.
It is
interesting if we look around at various segments of the body of Christ that
those who believe in healing see more of it. Those who believe in spiritual
gifts tend to operate in them. This happens because just as Jesus was present
in Nazareth, He is also present when believers gather.
20 “For where two or three are gathered together
in My name, I am there in the midst of them.” Matthew 18:20 (NKJV)
Jesus
reinforced this message just before His ascension to heaven.
18 And Jesus came and spoke
to them, saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. 19 Go therefore and make disciples of
all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of
the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching
them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you
always, even to the end of the age.” Amen. Matthew 28:18-20 (NKJV)
Since Jesus is with us when we
gather why not honour His presence and pursue all that He has to offer?
In 1 Cor. 11:17-34 Paul addresses how we are to partake of
communion, the Lord’s Supper. We generally focus in on verses 28-29.
28 But let
a man examine himself, and so let him eat of the bread and drink of the cup. 29 For he who eats and drinks in an
unworthy manner eats and drinks judgment to himself, not discerning the Lord’s
body. 1 Corinthians 11:28-29 (NKJV)
What I want to focus on is the phrase, ‘not discerning the
Lord’s body.’ In general I believe the teaching on this addresses the elements,
the cracker and grape juice or wine because they represent Jesus broken body
and shed blood.
While there is important truth in that in the context of the
passage there is a broader application. Paul’s focus is on the behaviour of the
congregation as they gather. In the early church they ate a whole meal together.
Here is what Paul said of their behaviour.
20 Therefore when you come together in one
place, it is not to eat the Lord’s Supper. 21 For in eating,
each one takes his own supper ahead of others; and one is hungry and
another is drunk. 1 Corinthians 11:20-21 (NKJV)
What concerned Paul was how they were treating one another
in the process. They were not discerning Jesus body, that is, the church, and
in the process were not honouring Jesus presence among them and within them. Paul’s
statement below is a commentary on verses 20-21.
27 Therefore
whoever eats this bread or drinks this cup of the Lord in an unworthy
manner will be guilty of the body and blood of the Lord. 1 Corinthians 11:27
(NKJV)
I don’t know how often we think about this but our call as
Christians is also a call to honour and bless our fellow believers. We have
different degrees of relationship with different ones but regardless of the
level of relationship the common factor needs to be one of respect and honour.
When we do this we discern Jesus body, honour His presence and instead of
coming under judgment we open the door to the blessing of more of Jesus
presence in our lives.
In my last post I referenced the importance of thinking and our imagination. In response a friend posted a comment that included the following, “The importance of a sanctified imagination.” I read this comment and it has been with me for days. In our walk with Jesus our thinking is critical, and is highlighted in Proverbs.
In examining this proverb it is important to compare two
versions as when most quote it they refer to how we think in our heart.
7 For as he thinks in his heart, so is
he. “Eat and drink!” he says to you, But his heart is not with you. Proverbs
23:7 (NKJV)
7 For as he thinks within himself, so he
is. He says to you, “Eat and drink!” But his heart is not with you. Proverbs
23:7 (NASB)
The NASB is the more
accurate translation. The reference is about our inner thoughts. The word
translated as heart in the NKJV is actually the Hebrew nephesh, soul.
Proverbs 23:7 is an
important verse that presents an important principle in the context of verses
1-2. The context provides both wisdom and warning, for who of us doesn’t
entertain the fantasy of knowing the ‘important’ people? Who would not have his
ego ‘stroked’ by their attention? Solomon recognized this.
1 When you sit down to eat with a ruler,
Consider carefully what is before you; 2 And put a
knife to your throat If you are a man given to appetite. Proverbs
23:1-2 (NKJV)
The phrase ‘given to appetite’ translated more accurately
would be ‘ruled/mastered by your soul.’ The word ‘appetite’ is also the Hebrew nephesh, soul. Solomon is saying the
degree of control our appetites have over us is connected to how we think. This
connection leads us to verse 7 which contains a key idea about the impact of
our thought life.
If we focus on a soulish desire to be seen as ‘important’ in
the eyes of others we will concentrate on their assessments and this is what we
will think about. IF we root our thought life in the renewed and renewing mind
of Christ, we will embrace His assessment of us.
The importance of this is found in the word translated
‘thinks’ in verse 7. It is the Hebrew word shāʿar
and in addition to referring to our thinking also means to act as a gatekeeper.
What Solomon is saying is that the way we think, what we open or close the gate
to, determines who we are. Years ago I read something by A. W. Tozer talking
about taking responsibility for our thought life. He said, “You may not be able
to keep a bird from landing on your head but you can keep it from building a
nest in your hair.”
Tozer’s idea echoes Solomon. The enemy or our flesh may
initiate things in our thought life. Our responsibility is to shoo them away
and close the gate.
4 Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch
cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you,
unless you abide in Me. John 15:4 (NKJV)
If we want to bear fruit we need to learn to abide. If we
approach the metaphor from the perspective of agriculture it is clear that
branches that are not connected to life giving vines cannot produce fruit, even
though for a season we may be able to produce a semblance of life.
For example, one spring I cut down a large willow tree. I
left a four foot portion of the trunk lying on the patio. In a couple of weeks
small leaves appeared on the side of the prone trunk. There was the remnant of
life in the trunk, but in a few days the leaves withered. The trunk was no
longer connected to life giving roots.
Beyond the obvious practical need to abide to produce life,
we need to know how to abide. With that in mind I will look at one tool to aid
in abiding, our imagination. Isaiah said something very interesting and I have
included a couple of translations to bring out the shades of meaning in this
verse.
3 You will keep him in perfect
peace, Whose mind is stayed on You, Because he trusts in
You. Isaiah 26:3 (NKJV)
3 You will guard him and keep him in
perfect and constant peace whose mind [both its inclination and its
character] is stayed on You, because he commits himself to You, leans on You, and
hopes confidently in You. Isaiah 26:3 (AMP)
3 An imagination supported Thou fortifiest
peace -peace! For in Thee it is confident. Isaiah 26:3 (YLT)
The Amplified translation brings out the idea of inclination
and character while Young’s Literal Translation correctly informs us that the
Hebrew word here for ‘mind’ actually refers to our imagination, or more
specifically how our thoughts are formed. Our thought life is a powerful tool
to deepen our walk with Jesus or draw us away. So, allow me to take the
presentation in the different translations above further and offer my own.
3 You will keep him in deep peace, Whose
imagination is fixed upon You, Because he trusts in You. Isaiah 26:3
The idea here is the need to take control of our thought
life. Doing this requires that we be intentional regarding the use of our mind.
My friend Evelyn used to warn me, and others, of the need to avoid passivity in
our thought life. We are in a spiritual battle and when we let down our guard
and let our thoughts wander we cease to abide. If we recognize what is
happening we have an opportunity to pull our thoughts back. When we fix our
thoughts on Him He responds by imparting peace to our hearts.
With special interest groups, using social media to both
propagate their positions and to shame those of their opponents, minority
interests seem to be invested with disproportional power. We live in a time
when confusion and the quest for control seems to reign in Western civilization.
More accurately, many seek to use confusion to establish control. And this
quest is undergirded by worldly wisdom. The scriptures say the following.
13 Who is wise and understanding
among you? Let him show by good conduct that his works are done
in the meekness of wisdom. 14 But if you have bitter envy and
self-seeking in your hearts, do not boast and lie against the truth. 15 This
wisdom does not descend from above, but is earthly, sensual, demonic. 16
For where envy and self-seeking exist, confusion and every
evil thing are there. 17 But the wisdom that is from
above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, willing to yield, full of mercy
and good fruits, without partiality and without hypocrisy. 18 Now
the fruit of righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace. James
3:13-18 (NKJV)
James clearly contrasts wisdom from above with wisdom from
below. When we look at the cultural maelstrom Western civilization has been
descending into it is easy to see which type of wisdom has been predominant.
Yet Jesus calls us to step into this storm of confusion and walk uprightly
sowing peace.
To sow peace into confusion we need to carry peace. We
cannot release what we do not possess. One of my favourite verses is Proverbs
16:1.
1 The preparations of the heart belong
to man, But the answer of the tongue is from the LORD. Proverbs 16:1
(NKJV)
In reading Proverbs
16 recently, my heart was drawn more to verse 3.
3 Commit your works to the LORD, And your thoughts will be
established. Proverbs 16:3 (NKJV)
What stood out for me was the idea of our thoughts being
established. Like many other places in scripture here is a promise with a
condition. Our thoughts are established when we truly commit all that we are
doing to Yahweh. Like seeking to fit a square peg in a round hole we can’t sow
peace and righteousness through envy and self-seeking; we must walk in the
godly wisdom James calls for. When our thoughts are established, we walk in
peace and can release this wisdom from above; wisdom that is pure, peaceable,
gentle, willing to yield, full of mercy and good fruit. Wisdom that sows peace
and righteousness.
Without knowing it, our culture is crying out for this
wisdom. Jesus said at the end of this age He is going to separate the nations
into sheep and goat nations, with the sheep ones being those He blesses and
honours (Matt. 25:31-46).
Let us pray and focus our hearts on doing all
that we can to assure that ours will be a sheep nation.
For those of you who know your bible you likely assumed this
is a post about Elijah’s cave experience: you are correct.
As we follow the story we learn that Elijah is a prophet who
moves in dramatic power. He bursts on the scene in 1 Kings 17 declaring to the
wicked king Ahab a drought that will last years and not end until Elijah says
so, which happens. He raises a dead child back to life. In a public contest
with the prophets of Baal he calls upon Yahweh to vindicate him and fire comes
down from heaven that consumes the sacrifice and the altar. Elijah then slays
the 450 prophets of Baal. Great and dramatic feats!
After all of these dramatic victories Elijah’s life is
threatened by Jezebel and he flees (1 Kings 19:1-3). This seems unbelievable.
After all of Elijah’s victories he is suddenly afraid for his life and flees
when threatened by Jezebel. Clearly, though not from Yahweh, Jezebel had some
spiritual power that intimidated Elijah.
Whatever is happening it puts Elijah into a spiritual funk.
He is discouraged and irrational. After being strengthened and fed by an angel
he travels forty days on that food, another supernatural experience. Yet,
whatever he is thinking about over the forty days does not help as he ends up
in a cave on a mountain, feeling emotionally and physically alone. While Elijah
is in the cave Yahweh asks him a question and he gives an interesting answer.
9 And there he went into a cave, and spent
the night in that place; and behold, the word of the LORD came to him,
and He said to him, “What are you doing here, Elijah?” 10 So
he said, “I have been very zealous for the LORD God of hosts; for the children
of Israel have forsaken Your covenant, torn down Your altars, and killed Your
prophets with the sword. I alone am left; and they seek to take my life.” 1
Kings 19:9-10 (NKJV)
Is what Elijah says true? Partly. Elijah has been zealous
for Yahweh and the children of Israel have for the most part forsaken the
covenant. Yet, he is not the only one left. In 1 Kings 18:13 Obadiah explained
to Elijah how he had hidden and fed 100 of Yahweh’s prophets; in fact he
implies Elijah already knew this to be the case.
It has been well
said that when an omniscient God asks a question He isn’t looking for
information. Generally Yahweh asks us questions to reveal our hearts, to us –
He already knows them. When we are depressed and under spiritual
oppression we don’t think rationally. Yet in this state, like Elijah, we can
still hear God’s voice. The issue is our response.
In verse 9 Elijah was
in a cave alone. After the first question and response Yahweh directed Elijah
to come out of the cave and stand on the mountain before Him. It appears that
Yahweh was seeking to shift Elijah’s perspective. He wanted him to move from
darkness and isolation out into the open. Yet look at what happens.
We don’t know how
Elijah heard in the cave but when he stepped out he saw dramatic supernatural
displays but he did not encounter Yahweh in them. It is easy to miss the
spiritual looking for the supernatural. We can engage in loud emotional and
dramatic events but He is not in them.
When Elijah
encounters Yahweh it is in a still small voice. Yet look at Elijah’s response.
13 So it was, when Elijah heard it,
that he wrapped his face in his mantle and went out and stood in the entrance
of the cave. Suddenly a voice came to him, and said, “What are you doing
here, Elijah?” 14 And he said, “I have been very zealous for
the LORD God of hosts; because the children of Israel have forsaken Your
covenant, torn down Your altars, and killed Your prophets with the sword. I
alone am left; and they seek to take my life.” 1 Kings 19:13-14 (NKJV)
Elijah heard Yahweh in a quiet voice but it didn’t bring him
out of his funk, it didn’t shift his perspective. Elijah remained in a ‘woe is
me’ mode. So how does Yahweh respond? He recommissions Elijah to perform
significant prophetic acts, one of which is to call and train his successor.
The mantle is to be passed.
I believe in this Elijah missed something. I think if he had
been able to focus on intimacy over power his perspective would have shifted
and his ministry may have remained fruitful for a longer period.
Not unlike Elijah, whose attention was drawn by the
dramatic, we live in a busy noisy culture surrounded by marketing hype. One
response to coping with seeming endless busyness and urgency is the growth of
training opportunities in practices like ‘mindfulness’: learning to quiet our
minds and refocus to shut out multiple competing distractions. It is sad that
many in the world are turning to these ‘spiritual’ practices that while
effective in reducing stress, do not bring spiritual reality. We as the church
should be, among other things, a place of refuge where minds and hearts can be
quieted and where we can hear His whisper.
At times we do need dramatic displays of power, but even
more we need to learn to lean into His heart, to know His voice in intimacy.
How are we doing?
