Spiritual fruit – Wisdom From the Word

The Tree of Life Part 2

We continue our exploration. Last week I provided the places in scripture where the tree of life is referenced and noted that qualitatively life is life in the Old Testament (OT). I then concluded by briefly pointing out Paul’s distinction between a soulish and spiritual life. The difference wasn’t in the word life, the distinction is whether the life we have is soulish life or spiritual life.

To clarify, as I noted in Genesis 2:7 Adam became a living being. The Hebrew literally says Adam became a living soul (nephesh in Hebrew). In quoting this in 1 Corinthians 15:45 Paul makes the distinction between Adam being a living soul and Jesus as the last Adam being a lifegiving spirit. In the Greek here, just as in the Hebrew in Genesis, the literal rendering of the word ‘being’ is soul and that is how it is still translated in the most recent version of the New American Standard Bible and the very recent Lexham English Bible.

Now we need to look at how the distinction between soul and spirit relates to the tree of life. The tree of life represents Jesus as our source of life. Adam and Eve, like us, had the opportunity to partake of a natural life and natural understanding, the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, or to partake of the tree of life, Jesus. We know something happened within them when they ate of the wrong tree. In a similar manner, something happens to us at conversion when we initially partake of Jesus, the tree of life. Paul described it in the following manner. First, he identifies the problem of partaking of the wrong tree in Ephesians. He points out that not only did we sin in our pre-conversion life, sin was in fact our very nature.

³ among whom also we all once conducted ourselves in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, just as the others. Ephesians 2:3 (NKJV)

Paul then describes what happened when we partook of Jesus.

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)

²¹ For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him. 2 Corinthians 5:21 (NKJV)

We were spiritually regenerated when we had our first taste of the tree of life, Jesus. The question before us as believers then becomes twofold. It is a matter of how we continue to partake of Jesus and whether we will continue to partake of Jesus.

To be continued.

With Thanksgiving

A note to start. I don’t write my posts in advance. I generally compose them during the week and do my final edits in the morning before I post them. However, I had been working on a post for awhile and set it aside and planned to complete it for this week. However, last Sunday I was reading the following passage and the phrase the Spirit impressed upon my heart was “with thanksgiving.” It never occurred to me at that time that I was writing and this post that I was preparing it for the time of our Canadian Thanksgiving. For me that means this Thanksgiving is significant to the Lord. Now back to scripture.

⁴ Rejoice in the Lord always. Again I will say, rejoice! ⁵ Let your gentleness be known to all men. The Lord is at hand. ⁶ Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; ⁷ and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus. Philippians 4:4–7 (NKJV)

For me personally not being anxious and praying are easy things to walk out. Where I need to grow is in thanksgiving. Verse 6 basically says that we are to let our needs be known to the Father, but in the process we are to include thanksgiving. The reason for that is what we will now look at.

There are a couple of things to reflect on. The first is that thanksgiving changes us not God. It brings our hearts to a place of rest in Him. In fact, that is Paul’s main point, when we bathe our prayer needs in thanksgiving His peace will guard our hearts and minds. Interestingly Paul says nothing about answers to our prayers, his focus is on the effect that pairing thanksgiving with our prayers makes. Now it is easy to say that but it is helpful to know how it works.

I remember lines from a childhood church song. “Count your many blessings, name them one by one and it will surprise you what God has done.” The whole refrain is below, published by Johnson Oatman Jr. in 1897.

Count your blessings, name them one by one,
Count your blessings, see what God has done!
Count your blessings, name them one by one,
And it will surprise you what the Lord has done.

This is another part of pairing thanksgiving and prayer, a recounting of our blessings.

Practically here are some simple examples.

Father;

I thank You that You have given me life and breath,
I thank You for access to Your word and freedom to worship You in spirit and truth in this land where I live,
I thank You that You supply all my needs according to Your riches in glory in Christ Jesus (Philippians 4:10),
I thank You that you have placed X and Y in my life.

Obviously, you can generate your own list. I simply know from both scripture and experience that when thanksgiving is part of our prayer life our perspective shifts and hearts come to a place of rest in Him. We are then left confidently expecting Him to do what is best for our lives in our service of Him.

As a closing note, the theme of Philippians is rejoicing and thanksgiving, something Paul practiced and taught. Philippians is one of Paul’s prison letters and I am sure as he wrote from prison in Rome he reflected back on his prison experience in Philippi, where we see that after he and Silas had been beaten and put in stocks they were praying and worshipping in the prison (Acts 16:25). Let’s emulate his heart and as another song says, “Give thanks with a grateful heart.”

Seeds

In the parable of the sower in Matthew 13, Mark 4 and Luke 8 Jesus says the harvest from the seeds depends on the condition of the soil. We see that in Jesus own ministry. He spent His earthly ministry sowing seeds and changing lives but the degree of change was commensurate with the commitment to Jesus’ message. What prepared the soil of Israel was John the Baptist’s forerunner ministry warning and exhorting people and calling the nation to repentance and baptism. Though we don’t have much recorded about it in the scripture we know that prayer also paved the way for Jesus’ ministry. One example is Anna.

³⁶ Now there was one, Anna, a prophetess, the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher. She was of a great age, and had lived with a husband seven years from her virginity; ³⁷ and this woman was a widow of about eighty-four years, who did not depart from the temple, but served God with fastings and prayers night and day. ³⁸ And coming in that instant she gave thanks to the Lord, and spoke of Him to all those who looked for redemption in Jerusalem. Luke 2:36–38 (NKJV)

This pattern of prayer and proclamation is evident in scripture and in every move of the Spirit I have studied in church history. We see it in the history of the Moravians and their 100-year prayer meeting that birthed modern missions. We see it in the life of Evan Roberts and others in the Welsh Revival, we see it in the intense travail of Frank Barlteman and others in the Azusa Street outpouring that birthed the worldwide Pentecostal Movement. I don’t know of a significant movement that arose without it

Now back to scripture regarding sowing. Like Jesus, Paul also addressed the issue of sowing. Below are a couple of examples, the first from 1 Corinthians.

⁵ Who then is Paul, and who is Apollos, but ministers through whom you believed, as the Lord gave to each one? ⁶ I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the increase. ⁷ So then neither he who plants is anything, nor he who waters, but God who gives the increase. ⁸ Now he who plants and he who waters are one, and each one will receive his own reward according to his own labor. 1 Corinthians 3:5–8 (NKJV)

Paul’s primary point to the Corinthians was that they were not to elevate one leader over another and choose to follow one over another as God is the source of fruitfulness. His other point is that the sowing or planting is our job, God gives the increase or harvest.

We also see Paul addressing sowing and reaping in Galatians.

⁷ Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, that he will also reap. ⁸ For he who sows to his flesh will of the flesh reap corruption, but he who sows to the Spirit will of the Spirit reap everlasting life. Galatians 6:7–8 (NKJV)

Once more we see that the sowing is our responsibility and the fruit comes from the Spirit.

We see this principle of sowing and reaping on a broader scale in another place in scripture. Keep in mind Jesus’ seed sowing in His earthly ministry was His teaching along with the demonstration of the kingdom. Look at The Great Commission.

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)

This is Jesus’ command for us to sow and see a harvest from all nations. An important piece here is we can view this as a command to make disciples from all nations, which is reflected in Matthew 24:14, Jesus’ message about the gospel of the kingdom. We could also look at Matthew 25:31-34 where Jesus refers to sheep and goat nations. In that some see a call for the church to disciple nations. Lastly, we could see The Great Commission as a call to do both. You decide.

I share all of this to lead to a point. I believe when we teach, we can sow seeds of righteousness in the lives of individuals, cultures and nations. I am Canadian and I know seeds of righteousness were sown in the founding of our nation. We were originally known as the Dominion of Canada based on Psalm 72:8, which is inscribed on the Peace Tower on Parliament Hill in Ottawa.

⁸ He shall have dominion also from sea to sea, and from the river unto the ends of the earth. Psalm 72:8 (KJV)

We can thus pray that this will be fulfilled and His dominion realized in our nation. This is but one example.

As I post this I have just returned from a vacation in Portugal. While there, as we traveled, I sought to discern what the Spirit wanted me to intercede for. I know that while historically there was a religious mixture in Portugal there were many seeds of the gospel and truth sown in the nation. At the beginning of our trip I was led to pray that apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors, teachers, elders and intercessors would be raised up from among the people. Later while traveling through the countryside on more than one occasion He led me to pray that the spiritual seeds sown in this land would sprout and a harvest would come forth.

If we look at the pattern the Spirit led me to in prayer the main focus was on raising up proclaimers and intercessors. The latter part was for these seeds to come to life. I only saw this pattern upon reflection as I was led to write this, not while I was engaged in it. There were other things He led me to do but this example is sufficient.

This now comes back to each of us. In our lives let’s seek to follow Him each day and look for what He is leading us to pray and proclaim so that we see the fruit Jesus desires in our lives, cities and communities.

At Hand

I last wrote about the kingdom of God being within us and our ability as believers to access it via our ‘state of mind.’ That is, how we think about it. Here I will look at a related idea, starting with the following verses.

¹ In those days John the Baptist came preaching in the wilderness of Judea, ² and saying, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand!” Matthew 3:1–2 (NKJV)

¹⁷ From that time Jesus began to preach and to say, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” Matthew 4:17 (NKJV)

¹⁴ Now after John was put in prison, Jesus came to Galilee, preaching the gospel of the kingdom of God, ¹⁵ and saying, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand. Repent, and believe in the gospel.” Mark 1:14–15 (NKJV)

Here we have John the Baptist and Jesus delivering the same message. There are two parts, the need for repentance and ready access. They both require choices to be made on our part. Repentance is a change of mind and heart that produces a change in behaviour and the phrase ‘at hand’ is a single Greek word that refers to something coming near or being close at hand, again, the idea of access.

Their message was that if the hearers changed their thinking and heart attitudes, they could have access to the kingdom. What is important is recognizing what Jesus in particular meant by the kingdom. Which He nicely summed up for us in a portion of what we call The Lord’s prayer.

¹⁰ Your kingdom come. Your will be done On earth as it is in heaven. Matthew 6:10 (NKJV)

From Jesus perspective the kingdom being at hand was the authority of the kingdom being accessed and demonstrated.

While we can understand what Jesus meant looking back, neither John nor Jesus closest followers really understood what the kingdom being at hand meant.

We know from John’s interactions with Jesus, that like the prophets of old, he was being faithful in delivering the message Yahweh had entrusted to him, even though he didn’t fully understand it. In fact, even after he had publicly endorsed Jesus as “The lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!” (John 1:29) he still struggled. After he was imprisoned, he sent two of his disciples to Jesus to ask, “Are You the Coming One, or do we look for another?” (Matthew 11:3).

There is no need to be critical of John, after all, he did understand that the kingdom was accessible and whether he knew it or not his prophetic voice was beckoning people to a new era of kingdom authority that Jesus was ushering in. Even after walking in the benefits of this access to the kingdom His closest friends who heard all of His teaching and parables didn’t understand what they were accessing. That is evident based on what they asked Jesus just prior to His ascension.

⁶ Therefore, when they had come together, they asked Him, saying, “Lord, will You at this time restore the kingdom to Israel?” ⁷ And He said to them, “It is not for you to know times or seasons which the Father has put in His own authority. ⁸ But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.” Acts 1:6–8 (NKJV)

What this means is that even though John and Jesus preached that the kingdom was accessible, at hand via repentance, those hearing didn’t understand what they were looking for or seeking to access! I also contend that even today, many of us who have been delivered, “from the power of darkness and conveyed us into the kingdom of the Son…” (Colossians 1:13) don’t fully grasp what has taken place, I know I don’t. This is what we will briefly look at now.

¹ For I want you to know what a great conflict I have for you and those in Laodicea, and for as many as have not seen my face in the flesh, ² that their hearts may be encouraged, being knit together in love, and attaining to all riches of the full assurance of understanding, to the knowledge of the mystery of God, both of the Father and of Christ, ³ in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. Colossians 2:1–3 (NKJV)

This passage is related to Paul’s prayer in Ephesians 1:17 for wisdom and revelation. Once we have repented and have been born again, we have access to the kingdom through the King living in us by the Spirit because we have changed domains and dominions (Colossians 1:13). Paul’s prayer for the Colossians, and by extension us, is that we could come to a full assurance and understanding of what it means to have Christ in us and access to Him to extend His kingdom. We have spiritual authority, we have access to the throne of grace, we carry eternity in our hearts. These things, and many others in scripture, are available and I invite you to search them out. Additionally, Paul presents a number of the benefits we have in the rest of Colossians 2, 3 and 4.

Now for a simple example of accessing the kingdom that is at hand. As I write this I am in another country. I am here on vacation but I have been walking around seeking to know His heart and pray. Not that I am interceding every waking moment, but I am seeking to be sensitive to the Spirit’s leading.

After we arrived a prophetic friend sent me an assignment. He had an image/vision of me standing on a barren hill praying and declaring some things over the country. We have been traveling to different places along the coast and in one locale as we were walking through the old town to hike along the coast, I saw a barren hill in the distance that I knew was the correct one. In the afternoon after our hike, I went back, hiked up the hill, and prayed and proclaimed over the area. Here is an important part. I prayed about what to pray before I went up the hill, prayed and spoke as the Spirit led, then hiked back down. I felt nothing other than a sense that I had been obedient and that I had done as the Lord asked. I now leave the results in His hands and continue to pray off and on during the day as we vacation, in this way accessing and extending the kingdom. There have been other examples on this trip but I encourage you to seek His face, extend His kingdom and share the results with others!

Holiness

Depending on our church background and experience you may have different views or understandings of what constitutes holiness. Thus, it seems we should begin with defining the term holiness before relating it to prayer.

In my experience holiness was generally presented as related to behaviour, a list of do’s and don’ts. While there are do’s and don’ts in scripture, our behaviour is to flow from our heart attitudes. Jesus put it this way.

⁴⁵ A good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth good; and an evil man out of the evil treasure of his heart brings forth evil. For out of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaks. Luke 6:45 (NKJV)

What we carry in our heart is reflected in our words and actions that flow from our heart.

²³ Keep your heart with all diligence, For out of it spring the issues of life. Proverbs 4:23 (NKJV)

When we see that holiness is more about our heart attitude, we can begin to make sense of a phrase in Psalm 96:9, “worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness!” This was highlighted for me over thirty years ago through a song. I attended a church where one of the pastors, Gordon Dyck, wrote a song about holiness based on part of Psalm 96 (I don’t know if others contributed to the writing). I do remember the words.

I will worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness

Unto His throne room I now come

With my voice lifted up, hands raised on high

I will render the praise due unto His name

Worship the Lord!

Over my years of involvement in the church I haven’t regularly heard holiness linked to beauty, but there it is in scripture, “The beauty of holiness.” The concept of holiness is a reference to something set aside for a sacred purpose. This setting aside is a separation from darkness to reflect light. The word ‘beauty’ in Hebrew refers to an adornment, glory or attire. In essence the beauty of holiness is to be adorned with or attired in holiness! Holiness is the garment we are to wear as we worship!

While holiness in Psalm 96 is connected to wearing something. When we come over to prayer it is also connected to fragrance. The majority of people in the worldwide prayer movement are familiar with the harp and bowl model, the connection between worship and prayer.

⁸ Now when He had taken the scroll, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb, each having a harp, and golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints. Revelation 5:8 (NKJV)

Incense has a fragrance. The point here is that our prayers have a fragrance.

If we reflect back on the tabernacle and temple the priest offering the incense had to wear specific garments and a label on the turban on his forehead that said, Holiness unto the LORD.

³⁶ “You shall also make a plate of pure gold and engrave on it, like the engraving of a signet: HOLINESS TO THE LORD ³⁷ And you shall put it on a blue cord, that it may be on the turban; it shall be on the front of the turban. ³⁸ So it shall be on Aaron’s forehead, that Aaron may bear the iniquity of the holy things which the children of Israel hallow in all their holy gifts; and it shall always be on his forehead, that they may be accepted before the Lord. Exodus 28:36–38 (NKJV)

Now if you are still with me, we need to put all of the pieces together. The high priest carried a fragrance (the incense), wore special garments and had holiness engraved on His forehead. His calling was to walk in a heart of holiness. Jesus was the ultimate representation of all of these symbols. Thus, Jesus could walk into dark places and not be tainted by them, He brought light to darkness because He was adorned with the beauty of holiness and carried the fragrance of heaven.

The more our hearts fully walk in and with Him the more fully we have the same effect on the environment around us and the more effective our prayer life. We are called to both be with Him and like Him. Let’s carry that awareness into the prayer closet and our daily interactions and live in the ‘beauty of holiness.’

Resilience

I took this picture on a recent hike. If you look in the bottom left corner of the picture you will see mature trees growing together far below. This one grew in a very inhospitable place and to me it represents overcoming adversity and difficulty.

This little tree, standing alone, is about 2,300 metres above sea level and surviving. It is here because a seed landed in this inhospitable spot, found a bit of soil, germinated and began to grow. I don’t know how old it is. In a regular setting in a town or city it may be three or four years old. At this elevation it may be ten or fifteen years old. It is much harder to survive and grow at this elevation with almost no soil. Yet, if it survives the snow and rain storms that will come its way, the long periods in hot sun and the lack of soil, something remarkable will take place. It will grow, produce cones and seeds, those seeds will fall on the rock and look for a place to germinate and eventually a community will grow up around this resilient little tree.

When we look at our lives Jesus encourages us to be like this tree. Well, not in so many words but through illustration.

⁶² But Jesus said to him, “No one, having put his hand to the plow, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God.” Luke 9:62 (NKJV)

The context is Jesus calling people to follow him but then excusing themselves because they have some other matters to attend to before they follow Him.

Let’s think this through. In Jesus day you plowed alone. There was an animal in front pulling the plow. Your job was threefold, guide the animal, guide the plow and make a proper furrow deep enough for whatever seeds you were planting. Growing up with a large garden under my grandfather’s work and oversight I learned different seeds required different spacing and depth to grow properly.

Now back to Jesus’ illustration and warning about looking back. A literal rendering of the Greek would be ‘look/looking in the behind.’ In this case not in the ‘behind’ of the donkey or ox but back behind yourself. Similar to the story of Lot’s wife. She looked back because she longed to remain in Sodom and she died with the rest of the people of Sodom because in her heart she was still there.

In plowing, if you were looking back the animal may keep going but the plow would not be making a straight furrow, not maintain the proper depth and would not be fit for sowing. If you were planting for your family, they would have no harvest as you wouldn’t have even properly completed the first step, preparing the soil for planting.

Jesus’ point is that to step into a new life you need to make a decision and stand alone, firm in your decision, not looking back and longing for your former life. It is well said that ‘God has no grandchildren.’ We are not saved by the faith of our parents, friends or a local church leader. We are translated from the kingdom of darkness into the kingdom of light when we alone make that firm decision (Colossians 1:13).

Now, unlike the tree, we are immediately part of a family and have support around us. At the same time, we need to avail ourselves of this support, and like the little tree need to stand in spite of circumstances. Jesus promises us a fruitful life if we faithfully follow Him (John 15:5), He never promises an easy life.

In scripture we see Joseph betrayed by his brothers, as a slave betrayed by his owner’s wife and needing to resiliently stand, trusting Yahweh. We see Elijah standing against the prophets of Baal and the king and queen. We see Daniel, Jeremiah, Isaiah, Ezekiel and many others swimming against the tide of popular opinion. There are more in the great hall of faith in Hebrews 11. In difficult circumstances they all stood.

What they all had in common was a reliance on Yahweh and others they could lean on for support. Elijah had the school of the prophets and later Elisha. Daniel had his three friends, and others sought out other supports. They all found someone. The little tree is standing in difficult circumstances but it would do better with the support of added soil and regular watering. Thus, while it is a picture of resilience and we are called to be resolute in our decision to follow Jesus, our success is much more likely if we look to our fellow believers for support in our journey.

I close with something Billy Graham said decades ago. When asked the secret to success he responded, “Find a group of people and grow old together.” If you don’t have those people, seek them out.

Where are You Staying? Part 2

In my last writing I referenced the importance of recognizing where we are located and the importance of ‘staying’ there. This is explicit in the passage below.

¹ If then you were raised with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ is, sitting at the right hand of God. ² Set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth. ³ For you died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. ⁴ When Christ who is our life appears, then you also will appear with Him in glory. Colossians 3:1–4 (NKJV)

What we now need to do is look at how we practically apply this spiritual reality because we are spiritually with Him, not there in physical substance. Doing this will of course address the saying, “You are so heavenly minded you are no earthly good” and establish that being heavenly minded is what enables us to truly be of earthly good. After all, as the tagline I came up with for my blog says, “An Eternal Perspective: Living in time, preparing for eternity.” It is what we do in time that determines both our eternal destiny and our role in eternity.

Now to the solution to our apparent problem. We find it in a verse in Isaiah that we will dig into.

³ You will keep him in perfect peace, Whose mind is stayed on You, Because he trusts in You. Isaiah 26:3 (NKJV)

The words perfect and peace are shalom in Hebrew, it is translated as ‘perfect peace’ to convey the importance via repetition but in Hebrew it is shalom shalom. Isaiah is telling us up front that this perfect peace, a heart at rest, is the result of an activity. That activity is keeping our minds set on Him (This may be the verse Paul had in mind when he wrote Colossians 3:2). We also see in what Isaiah wrote that we can only keep our mind fixed on Yahweh if we trust Him.

To go a little deeper the Hebrew word translated as mind is yester and it refers to how something is framed or formed and includes the idea of intention. The word stayed is the Hebrew samak and refers to leaning, resting or laying. In a number of places in scripture it is used to refer to a priest laying (resting) their hands on an animal before it is sacrificed. We can then see that when our intention is resting in and on Him we experience His peace and rest.

That is the background and in terms of our daily practice it means constantly looking to Him. Let me give you an example, one of my cousins recently shared a sermon with me. Bob, who is one of the pastors at a church in St. Albert, was preaching in a smaller community outside of Edmonton that my cousin attends. In his message Bob frequently referenced being in situations where he would inquire as to what the Father wanted him to do in that situation. He shared one story which had quite an impact on my cousin, and subsequently on me. Bob, was converted as a teenager from a lifestyle of drugs and partying in a small town in Northern Alberta. Not long after he attended a party to share the gospel. There he felt the Father leading him to share with two young men in their late teens who subsequently both acknowledged they wanted to change their lives and give their hearts to the Lord, which they did. Within two weeks they both died in a car accident.

One of those young men was my cousin’s brother and I was one of the pall bearers at the funeral forty-four years ago. It was only recently that the family learned through this sermon that he had given His heart to Jesus prior to his death.

The significance of these events is tied into how Bob lives his life. He is constantly looking to the Father for direction. His life is a pattern of how we are to live. We really have two options. We can live from earth toward heaven, or from heaven toward earth. Which is what Isaiah and Paul both described. When we live from heaven toward earth our hearts are at rest and we have no anxiety because we are assured of the ultimate outcome of our faith.

An example from my life took place over twenty-four years ago. I followed what I believed was His leading in applying for a different role at work. Logically it made no sense to me as I had just moved offices to be closer to home, thought I was to be in this particular office, and the new job was way across the city far from my home. I went through about four weeks of internal wrestling and anxiety because I tried to follow what seemed to be His leading but the logical outcome appeared to contradict His leading. It seemed that the Spirit’s leading to change offices and the Spirit’s leading to apply for the new role were contradictory!

In this situation if I had kept my mind set on Him, I could have gone through that time period with no anxiety. However, my vacillation between living from heaven toward earth and then seeking to live from earth toward heaven created a great deal of stress in my life. In the end it was needless. The position I had applied for was to be the manager of an office and it was offered to me – in the office I had transferred to! The current manager was transferred to the office I had applied to manage and I remained in the office I thought I was supposed to be in and in the role I sensed He had led me apply for. It worked out.

In the examples above, Bob had learned to consistently live from heaven toward earth. I had vacillated. I still do at times but the majority of the time I am at rest because I trust Him and seek His perspective on a daily basis. The choice is before all of us. We can live in and out of rest in Him or we can trust in our own wisdom. I prefer the former, what about you?

An additional thought. One of the places I have been reading in scripture is through Numbers. Recently in my reading I came across what has to be the funniest group of people in the bible. Who knew it would be found in Numbers! If you are curious read Numbers 26:23 in a more literal version like the NKJV, ESV or NASB.

Having Gifts Part 3

In my last post I focused mainly on the way gifts can be used, drawing primarily on the Old Testament (OT). Now we turn to the New Testament (NT) and the use of gifts in building the body of Christ, the church. The parallel is that in the OT there were gifts given to the craftsmen to build the tabernacle, Yahweh’s earthly dwelling place and to establish worship in and before it (Exodus 31:1-5, 2 Chronicles 7:6, 29:25–27). Bezalel was the main artisan gifted by Yahweh to build the tabernacle and David was the worshipper who created musical instruments to bring forth worship.

Bezalel means ‘in the shadow of El’ which carries the idea of protection as in Psalm 91:1, our protection being found in abiding in His shadow. The shadow idea is fascinating as we know from Colossians 2:17 and Hebrews 10:1 that the OT rituals were shadows pointing to the reality found in Jesus.

In the NT the primary gifts given to build His dwelling place and bring forth worship are listed in Ephesians 4. Gifts given to move us from shadow to substance. Here we have Paul referencing apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors and teachers given to the body to build, not build their ministries, as is sadly the focus for so many today in the Western church, but to build His body. Paul is clear on Jesus’ purpose for giving the gifts and the outcome Jesus desires to see.

¹² for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ, Ephesians 4:12 (NKJV)

¹⁶ from whom the whole body, joined and knit together by what every joint supplies, according to the effective working by which every part does its share, causes growth of the body for the edifying of itself in love. Ephesians 4:16 (NKJV)

These ministries gifts are given to equip all of us to build the body and the body is built when it is rightly joined and knit in community and every joint, every relationship between parts, works effectively. Then the church, His body, grows. This is Jesus plan for building His church.

This means that we as His body as a whole need to understand our part. The focus of the leadership gifts from Ephesians 4:11 is dualistic. The apostolic and prophetic gifts are described as foundational. They are to lay the foundation of Christ in the life the church. The evangelistic gift is given to bring others into the body, the pastoral gift given to shepherd and tend the body and the teaching gift given to establish the body on and in truth. This is their first responsibility. Secondly, they are also to raise up and release others into their gifts and callings.

I am well aware that this is not what happens in most fellowships as the majority of us function as an audience not participants. Whether by design or default that doesn’t take away from what Jesus has called us to, which means we each need to labour to see the church built into what Jesus desires, not what we are familiar with. If we embrace His call our labour will include sharing, intercession and active involvement. In essence we are called to be that which we wish to see. If we wish to see the church grow into what Jesus envisioned, we need to embrace His desire and follow Him in being and doing.

Having Gifts Part 2

In this first post in this series, I provided a brief overview and sampling of gifts and their use, while noting that scripture has much to say about the subject. I concluded that we need to both discern and use the gifts we have been given. Now we look a little further into what scripture has to say, beginning with the Old Testament (OT). The clearest example is gifts given for the building of the Tabernacle of Moses in the wilderness.

¹ Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying: ² “See, I have called by name Bezalel the son of Uri, the son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah. ³ And I have filled him with the Spirit of God, in wisdom, in understanding, in knowledge, and in all manner of workmanship, ⁴ to design artistic works, to work in gold, in silver, in bronze, ⁵ in cutting jewels for setting, in carving wood, and to work in all manner of workmanship. Exodus 31:1–5 (NKJV)

The passage goes on to name others but the main point is the gifts came from the Spirit and were commensurate with the task. Nothing suggests that these abilities were removed from Bezalel, merely that they were given for a specific task. I say this to note that whatever gifts we have, they can be used wisely, carelessly, or misused. We don’t who made the golden calf in Exodus 32 beyond ‘they’ (Exodus 32:20). Aaron’s assertions that he threw gold into the fire and the calf came out is far less than plausible (Exodus 32:22-24). In a similar manner gifted speakers can persuade us to embrace right or wrong ideas but the gift is the same.

An example of gifts used for a godly purpose is David’s development of musical instruments. David, the ‘man after God’s own heart’ (1 Samuel 13:14, Acts 13:22) was a worshipper and due to his heart desire and at Yahweh’s command, created musical instruments to be used in worship.

⁶ And the priests attended to their services; the Levites also with instruments of the music of the Lord, which King David had made to praise the Lord, saying, “For His mercy endures forever,” whenever David offered praise by their ministry. The priests sounded trumpets opposite them, while all Israel stood. 2 Chronicles 7:6 (NKJV) See also 2 Chronicles 29:25–27 (NKJV)

The gifts we have been given are meant to be used to glorify God. Bezalel and David both did that with their gifts. Another gift Yahweh gave in the OT is prophecy. Jacob/Israel had it. We see it in operation in Genesis 49:1-28. The chapter begins with a declaration.

¹ And Jacob called his sons and said, “Gather together, that I may tell you what shall befall you in the last days: Genesis 49:1 (NKJV)

Jacob then goes on to prophetically tell each of his sons what will happen to them as a tribe of Israel in the future.

Yahweh gives gifts but we need to choose what to do with them. An example is Balaam in Numbers 22-24. Balaam had a genuine prophetic gift and was hired to curse Israel but instead declared blessing over them. His heart was corrupt, his prophecies were true. Balaam didn’t misuse his prophetic gift, instead he misused the influence he acquired through his gift. He couldn’t violate what Yahweh told him to speak prophetically so he sought to overthrow the fruit of his own gifting by counselling the king of Moab on how to entice the Israelite’s into sexual sin.

¹ Now Israel remained in Acacia Grove, and the people began to commit harlotry with the women of Moab. Numbers 25:1 (NKJV)

The reason we know this came from Balaam is from what Jesus said in Revelation.

¹⁴ But I have a few things against you, because you have there those who hold the doctrine of Balaam, who taught Balak to put a stumbling block before the children of Israel, to eat things sacrificed to idols, and to commit sexual immorality. Revelation 2:14 (NKJV)

It is clear that gifts can be used or misused so now we can draw some conclusions. As noted in my last article, gifts are given to be used. In using them we are called to use them wisely, and of course the wisest thing we can do with our gifts is glorify God. Jesus noted that even if we give a cup of cold water in His name, we will not lose our reward (Matthew 10:42). Compassion and empathy is a wise use of a gift. Given that what counts in the end is how we use the gifts we have been given, it is best to use them wisely and look forward to hearing on that great day the words from Matthew 25:23, “Well done good and faithful servant.”

Having Gifts Part 1

Scripture has much to say about the use of our gifts and talents. In some sectors of the church discovering and doing tests for spiritual gifts became a bit of an industry a few decades ago. I don’t know if that is still the case. My focus here is twofold. What we can learn from scripture about the use of our gifts and talents and what does the use of them look like in practice. I am not going to enumerate all of the gifts in scripture. One reason being, if we take teaching as an example, the use of the gift can look very different in two people who are both gifted teachers. Our calling is to be who He made us to be not try to be someone whom we may admire. If we are trying to be someone else then we are missing from the body and someone else has to take on our role. The same is true of any gift, ranging from preaching to helps. Below is a sampling of gifts from Romans.

⁶ Having then gifts differing according to the grace that is given to us, let us use them: if prophecy, let us prophesy in proportion to our faith; ⁷ or ministry, let us use it in our ministering; he who teaches, in teaching; ⁸ he who exhorts, in exhortation; he who gives, with liberality; he who leads, with diligence; he who shows mercy, with cheerfulness. ⁹ Let love be without hypocrisy. Abhor what is evil. Cling to what is good. Romans 12:6–9 (NKJV)

In considering this sample there is an element that is generally not addressed. Paul’s exhortation about using the gifts we have been given is preceded by an exhortation to consecrate ourselves to His service (Romans 12:1-2). The obvious implication is that we are most fruitful in the use of our gifts, or they may work more effectively in and through us, if we are wholly committed to following the word and the Spirit.

The gifts we have are abilities He has imparted to us. Let me share an example. At events my wife and I often find ourselves helping in the kitchen and doing the dishes. Recently we were doing this at a church event and the previous day at a Pickleball event. At church someone asked if I minded washing dishes. I responded no, as my mother had us start helping with them at about age 5. That however is not the whole truth, I enjoy helping, which makes sense given I spent my career in the helping professions. Is this a spiritual gift? I think it is as He designed me to both lead and help and it is part of who I am.

At the same time, I also recognize that I do not possess the gift of hospitality. I enjoy spending time with people but after a while I am looking for an opportunity to get away and recharge. On an introversion-extroversion scale I am more in the introversion range. Is this a bad thing, no. Others carry this gift and express it very well. I can host if needed but it is not part of who I am so if I am wise with my time I will spend it in areas where I carry a gift with me because grace comes with the gift.

The same is true of you. Whatever He has called you to He has gifted you for; the gifts and callings go together. If you don’t know your gifts spend some time with Him and reflect on the bent of your heart. If you follow it in partnership with Him you will be led to your area of gifting.

Lastly, the title began a sentence, now we complete it. Having gifts, let us use them!