Doubt

 Dear brothers and sisters, when troubles of any kind come your way, consider it an opportunity for great joy.  For you know when your faith is tested, your endurance has a chance to grow.  So, let it grow, for when your endurance is fully developed, you will be perfect and complete, needing nothing.

If you need wisdom, ask our generous God and he will give it to you without hesitation.  But let him ask in faith, with no doubt, for he who doubts is like a wave of the sea that is driven and tossed by the wind.  Such a double-minded person, unstable in all his ways, who not receive anything from the Lord.  James 1:2-7 

What a great promise!  The assurance that God wants to give us what we need during times of trial!   The question is whether we want the same thing God does.  This is seen in James' use of "doubt."  Only doubt will keep us from the wisdom to get through difficult times.

The word is not being unsure but rather being sure...of yourself.  Of thinking that your answer is the only answer for relieving the stressor, thinking that you can dictate to God what you want for a solution.

Doubt - diakrino - dia+ krino - with prejudice, with judgment;  to withdraw or oppose other offerings.

In my interpretation, doubt is to already know, to be assured of one's assessment, against God's assessment and judgment.  "Ask in faith, not resting on your own assessment of the situation as if you know, thus, never hearing from God..."

How many times have I told God what to do!

How many solutions I have offered him!

That is not the door to wisdom.  That thinking shuts the door to receiving God's thoughts and solutions to a difficult situation.  What it takes to cause us to finally give up on ourself and finally be willing to listen to God can be harrowing.

An adult student of mine, who through years of addiction and drug dealing, finally faced the moment when all he could do was listen to God.  As the prison doors shut, he realized that no one could help him.  He was getting his just dues.  He said, "I realized that I had nothing, no one...but God.  I knew he was not likely to get me out of prison.  I had committed the crime and now I was going to do the time.  So, I asked for the one thing I knew from scripture that I could claim:  'Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our affliction...'  So, I prayed for the comforting presence of His Holy Spirit.  I didn't ask for privilege or protection, just His presence."

Finally seeking what God wants is the way to wisdom.  I put aside my prejudice and predetermined answers/solutions.  I have found that when I have asked, He has told me yes or no and sometimes He has told me, "Better than this."  And the best is always His presence.

Celebrate!!!

 Praise the Lord!

Praise God in his sanctuary;

praise him in his mighty heaven!

Praise him for his might works;

praise his unequalied greatness!

Praise him with a blast of the ram's horn;

praise him with the lyre and harp!

Praise him with the tambourine and dancing;

praise him with strings and flutes!

Praise him with a class of cymbols;

praise him with the loudest of cymbals!

Let everything that breathes sing praises to the Lord!

Praise the Lord!

Do you have any celebrations that look like this?  At church?  At home?  At small group?  I bet not. I've seen this in marching band and at rock and roll concerts, but not about God.  I really think we are missing the point of the kind of celebration that God deserves and expects.  Especially in David's time, we see this joyful spirit of festivity.  I think of David as a party animal when it comes to his sense of thanksgiving and celebration.  Seventy plus times in the Old Testament, God commands a celebration.  

This kind of celebration requires deliberate planning, particularly dedicating everything to God.  

This celebration is in the form of thanksgiving, in gratitude for past good and coming good, maybe in the form of daily dedications.

This kind of celebration can also occur by claiming God's promises.  There are 3000 promises listed in various passages.

There is a communal nature of celebration where godly leaders lead joyfully, where everyone contributes, defining what is corporate worship because responding to the evidence of biblical truth is an encouragement for others' faith.

Celebration denotes a sacred space where belief is renewed with the music, the dance, the scripture, which can be used to revive the soul and make one wise through the exploration of God's truth.  And it's the best party ever when Jesus is the star!

The heavens proclaim the glory of God:

the skies display his craftsmanship!

Day after day they continue to speak;

night after night they make him known.

They speak without a sound of word;

yet their voice is always known.

Their message has gone throughout the earth,

and their words to all the world.

The instructions of the Lord are perfect, 

reviving the soul.

The decrees of the Lord are trustworthy,

making wise the simple.

The commandments of the Lord are clear,

giving insight for living.

Reverence for the Lord is pure,

lasting forever.

The laws of the Lord are true;

each one is fair.

They are more desirable than gold,

even the finest gold.

They are sweeter than honey, 

even honey dripping from the comb.

They are a warning to your servant,

a great reward for those who obey them.

May the words of my mouth and

the meditation of my heart be pleasing to you,

O Lord, my rock and my redeemer.

most of Psalm 19

Your High Calling

I therefore, a prisoner for the Lord, beg you to lead a life worthy of the calling to which you have been called, with all lowliness and meekness, with patience forbearing one another in love, eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.  There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called to the one hope that belongs to your call.  Ephesians 4:1-4

You, my dear, have a unique advantage in that you have been called and then taught the divine ways, maybe even since birth.  You have held the power of prayer in your heart and mouth, the wisdom of God's Word in your mind and hand.  The strength of the unity of the fellowship of believers as family and friends, knowing you've got each other's back has given you a place to live out Truth.

The full knowledge of that Truth, which overcomes every insignificant and misplaced idea that comes out of people in the city square or the body politic, does not sway you.  Only the full grace of living within God's care can sway you, because, most of all, you bear the name of the Creator of the universe.  His image is pressed within you AND you live within the living presence of His Spirit.

It is a high calling to represent Him.  You must understand to do so will require that you lay down your earthly strength and your worldly knowledge in favor of His.

How could you not?

#36 Being as I Ought to Be

 The relationship builds.

I moved beyond words into presence.

I hunger to go beyond description into dwelling.

I desire to ride knowledge into communion with the Christ.

 

These are the tools –

          Words

          Description

          Knowledge

 

This is the result –

          Presence

          Dwelling

          Communion

 

Only then is it real and sanctifying.

Only then am I right(eous).

#35 Make the Table Full

 God wants a full house.

He has a table of plenty;

He sets the table for plenty to join.

It’s ready.

He’s eager for the communing and the community.

 

So, He employs his servants to lure the people to the table.

“Come!”  The table is set.

“Come!” There’s room for all.

“Come!” Let no one miss out.

 

You, too. 

Take your place:

Be part of the call or heed the call.

Make the table full.

 

Baptism's many Purposes

“[John the Baptizer]:  I baptize you with water for repentance, but after me comes one who is more powerful than I, whose sandals I am not worthy to carry.  He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire….Jesus came from Galilee to the Jordan to be baptized by John, but John tried to deter him, saying, “I need to be baptized by you and do you come to me?”  Jesus replied, “Let it be so now.  For it is proper for us to do this to fulfill all righteousness.”  So, John consented.  Matthew 3:11, 13-15

John’s mission on the Jordan river was well attended in his ministry.  The Jews had the practice of mikvoh, a Judaic ritual bathing that had language around what we understand as baptism.  People would step in and out: they went in unclean and came out clean.  They even used the language of “new birth,” especially for Jewish converts who wanted a marking ceremony. 

John the Baptizer expanded the meaning to include repentance and conversion, ladening the waters as an expressing of God’s forgiveness and grace.  This conversion was expressed in the Greek word metanoia, which means “change of mind”, but was expanded it to mean a change of heart, of values and of lifestyle.

For me, the burning question that arises around Jesus’ baptism is this:  Why did a sinless Jesus ask John to baptize him?  I think one answer lies in Jesus’ task on earth in living among people and bringing their identity into his.  He wanted to identify with sinful people – “The Son of Many came to seek and save the lost… (Luke 19:10)  So he started where they needed to start – at the place of repentance and conversion.  Since Jesus asked others to follow him, he included the baptism waters as a path.

But there is more.

Jesus’ baptism was a defining act of his obedience to God.  It demonstrated his commitment by the announcement of baptism, a public display of his truth and relationship with the Father.  Its import is announced by the Father, himself:

“As soon as Jesus was baptized, he went up out of the water.  At that moment, heaven was opened and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting on him.  A voice from heaven said, “This is my Son, whom I love,  with him I am well pleased.”  Matthew 3:16-17.

Jesus used it to demonstrate his allegiance to God and God used it to announce to the world his relationship with Jesus. The dove is a symbol or metaphor for the visitation or inhabitation of God’s Holy Spirit.  

This was a turning point for Jesus.  Things would never be the same thereafter.

How was your baptism a defining act?

How was your relationship with God changed by your baptism?

With what symbol would you mark the receiving of the Holy Spirit in your life?

The Household of Faith

Do not speak harshly to an older man, but speak to him as a father; to younger men as brothers; to older women as mothers; to younger women as sisters - with absolute purity.   1 Timothy 5:1-2

Since we have been adopted as sons and daughters, the sibling relationship emerges as prominent in describing how the family of God should operate.  I am thinking that our own sibling groups may often fall short of a being a guide.  Some of the biggest contentions in our life might be with our siblings.  

Yet, in the New Testament the relationship between believers is referenced as "brethren."  It comes from the Greek word, delphos, which means "from the womb." It is cast as our commonness with Christ as if brothers/sisters by blood, hailing from the source of life of the Trinity:  a common bond intended to honored.

Since our sibling groups on earth aren't always the best example, how does the Bible describe this sibling group?

First, the sibling ethos rests in mutual love.  In John 15:12-13, "Love each other as I have loved you.  Greater love has no one than this:  to lay down one's life for one's friends."  This means to go the distance for each other, to be in service to the ones we love.  Here are ways to do this:

    - be of service to your siblings (Galatians 5:13)

    - cause no one to stumble;  don't get in the way of faith for anyone 1 Corinthians 8:11-13

    - look to the interests of others (Romans 14: 15, 21; Philippians 2:4)

    - share resources (Heb 13:16; 6:9-10; 10:24 -25)

    - to the point resources are shared so there is equity (Acts 4:32, 34-35; Acts 11:29)

    - hospitality is a top priority, a core-value (3 John 1:5-8, 9-10)

    - act in unity, since in being one-minded and one-hearted (1 Peter 3:8  (Please note that this is "harmony" - of a blended chord not a single note and of same motivations - not self, but Christ's.)

    - Paul censures all rivalries - pitting one against the other - selfish ambition and disunity.  (Philippians 1:27-30; 4:2-3)

Paul's treatise on this unity is in Philippians 2: 1-5, finally declaring Christ as our ultimate example in verses 6-11.  The sibling question becomes one of who is really in charge and that equity is to rule our relationships because the honor or loss of one is felt by the entire kinship group, as seen in 1 Corinthians 12:12-27.  "If one part suffers, every part suffers with it; if one part is honored, every part rejoices with it."

These seem to be the most demanding choices of the faith, to be in full allegiance with the family of God:  No black sheep, no first born privileges (except Christ), no exclusions.  We need this solidarity with each other is the ultimate expression of love when we all live a caste-based society with a hierarchy, which often results in the  sequestering of human sustenance and privilege.    

Also, we need this solidarity because it becomes the greatest tool for evangelism.