Christian Community: What Jesus wants and how we get there (John 17:20-21)

The theme of this week’s readings has been living in Christian community. Today’s reading (John 17:20-21) tells us what Jesus wants that to look like: we are to be as closely knit to each other as Jesus is to the Father. That is a tall order, but this week’s readings gave us several directions on how to fulfill it.

 

One was do better than the world around us.  Ephesians 4:17; 1 Peter 1:17; and Romans 12:2  each told us to aim higher than the norms/standards of the general culture. As Romans 12:10  put it, we are to “outdo one another in showing honor” to each other, something we rarely see in the world at large.  We are to love on each other to extents and in ways that the world would not.  That is how we live out Jesus’ command that we are to love each other so well that the world will know us by our love. John 13:34-35.

 

Another was to subordinate our desires to those of our brothers and sisters, to focus on their good.  As Philippians 2:3-4  put it, we are to “value others above [ourselves], not looking to [our] own interests but each of you to the interests of the others.” Relatedly, Ephesians 4:17-24  and 25-32  told us to get rid of the junk in our own lives that either hurts others or hinders our ability to bless them.

 

We were also told to follow Jesus’ examples and directions. Matthew 11:29 told us to put His yoke around us and follow Him. Philippians 2:5  told us to “have the same mindset as Christ Jesus.” The WWJD  concept of the 1990s comes to mind. 

 

Do those things come naturally? No.  Do they require us to change our default modes of operating? Yes. Is that hard? Yes, at times. 

 

But as anyone who has received the blessings of Christian community will tell you, it is worth it, exponentially so.  So ask God for His help in doing these things. He will be glad to provide it, and you will be glad you did them.

 

Prayer:

Loving Father, help us to love each other like you and Jesus love each other. Help us to love beyond worldly norms, to put others first, to remember and follow Jesus’ examples. And help us to taste and see the goodness of the community you desire for us, and to be motivated by that to persevere and excel in these things.

Shining (2 Corinthians 3:18-4:6)

Today’s reading (2 Corinthians 3:18-4:6) tells us that God’s goodness can shine through individual believers, being delivered by us into the world around us.  2 Corinthians 3:18 speaks of us "reflect[ing] the glory of the Lord."  2 Corinthians 4:2 describes us “setting forth the truth plainly.”  2 Corinthians 4:6 speaks of God’s light shining from our hearts. Those images are consistent with other scriptures instructing us to deliver God’s light. Matthew 5:16; Luke 8:16; John 3:21. Their consistent message is unmistakable: God expects us to deliver His light into an otherwise dark world. As one blogger wrote (before digital watches),  “Christians should be like the radium on a watch. We should absorb God’s light and make it available to others so they can organize their lives by it in a dark world.” 

So how do we do that? Today’s reading gives at least three insights. 

One is to ask for God’s help. Remember that we have that light because of God’s mercy. 2 Corinthians 4:1.   He wants that light to get out, and to get out through us, so he will give us the opportunities and means to do so.  We should therefore ask for His help in doing so; the odds are good that He will answer that kind of prayer. See John 14:13;  John 15:7-8; 1 John 5:14-15.  

Another is that we primarily do that through the way we live.  That is a powerful way of “setting forth the truth plainly.”  2 Corinthians 4:2.  We don’t have to hit people over the head with the gospel if we live it out on a consistent basis. Its beauty will shine through on its own. Although there are times when God calls us to explicitly declare the gospel, most of the time we spread it by living it out. The instruction to “preach the gospel at all times and if necessary, use words" comes to mind.

A third is to not be discouraged when others ignore or reject God’s light. 2 Corinthians 4:1  and 3-4, and other scriptures acknowledge the reality that not all will embrace God’s gracious overtures. Further, the unavoidable truth is that we are not always great at reflecting God’s goodness, but we'll get better if we keep trying.  God nonetheless expects us to try, despite those facts. 

 

Prayer:

Gracious Lord, help us to deliver your light into the world. Help us to live so that your love shines through our ordinary lives and to not be discouraged by either the darkness around us or our own missteps—help us to keep at it. We ask this in the name of Jesus, the light of this world. 

Community (1Corinthians 3:16-23)

This week’s readings have focused on individual believers becoming more Christ-like. Today’s reading (1 Corinthians 3:16-23) continues that focus, but on a corporate level, as a/the Church. 

That corporate focus is indicated by the Greek translated as “you” in verses 16 and 17; it is plural. See Youse, You Guys, Yous Guys, You Lot, You-uns, Yinz, You All & Y’all – 1 Corinthians 3:16-17.  Indeed, that is reflected in many English translations; they translate the Greek with plural references (“ye” in the King James, “you yourselves’ and “you together”  in the New International Version, “all of you together” in the New Living Translation).  

So what does today’s reading tell us about the Church? Two things jump out.

First and foremost, it shows that God desires the Church to foster ongoing, intimate, relationship with Him. Verse 16 tells us that the Church is where His Spirit should “dwell” “in” our midst. The Greek underlying those words communicates a rich relationship. To “dwell” is to inhabit, reside, settle, be fixed and operative in something. “In’ connotes mingling, being ingrafted, in fellowship and union with. God wants the Church to be the means for lasting, infusing, interaction with His people.  That sounds a lot like what Jesus was talking about in John 17:20-24.  

Also, the Church is to produce relationships between believers that transcend those found in the world. Verses 17 and 18 tell us that God desires that we exceed “the standards of this age” in our love. That’s consistent with Jesus’ instruction that we are to live so that people know us by our love for each other. John 13:35.  Its also consistent with the idea that we are to be mutually supporting parts of the same body, 1 Corinthians 12:7, 12-27; Romans 12:3-13,  and that we should “spur one another on toward love and good deeds.” Hebrews 10:24. God does not want us to settle for superficial relationship, He wants us to go much deeper.

So what does this reading tell us about how we get there? Several things.

One way is through humility. We are to contribute to our Church communities without vanity or a puffed-up sense of our importance. None of us are too good to hang with and love on any other person in the church or to take on any task that builds them up. See verse 18 and James 2:1-9. 

Another way is to ditch divisions and focus on the wonderful relationship we all share with Christ. See verses 21 and 22. We can’t let the tribalism of the culture at large or differences over such internal matters as worship styles or ministry focuses interfere with our relationships with our fellow members. What unites us—Christ and His love—is so much better than those things as to make differences over them immaterial. We are foolish to let those things get in way of the loving relationships Jesus wants us to have with each other.

Finally, we are to fully engage in Church community. As verses 22 and 23 suggest, God wants us to make the most of what the Church provides in order best distribute His love. That requires us to get off the sidelines and get involved.   Those things build relationships that directly deliver the love God wants to flow through His church—don’t miss out on them.

Prayer:

Lord, thank you for giving us your Church. Draw us fully into it. Don’t let pride, shyness, or differences hinder our giving and receiving all the love you desire to distribute through it. Help us to love each other fully. We ask this in Jesus all loving name. 

Suffering (Luke 23:32-47)

Jesus’ passion worked far more good than I can comprehend, let alone discuss. So let me focus on just one of those goods: what it shows us about how to get through times of suffering. 

Jesus did suffer, and suffered far more horrifically than the gospel accounts describe, but He able to get through it victoriously.  How did he do that, what helped Him endure to a successful end?  Today’s reading shows us two ways.

One way was through prayer. In verse 34  he interceded for His executioners. In verse 46  He told the Father that He was surrendering His soul. Other scriptures reflect Jesus’ prayer at other times during His passion. He poured his heart out in the garden. Luke 22:41-44; Matthew 26:36-44; Mark 14:32-39. He made prayers of lament while on the cross. Matthew 27:46. He reported the final completion of His mission to the Father. John 19:28. And those are only the prayers that he spoke out loud; He doubtless kept up an internal dialog with the Father that the gospel writers couldn’t capture. That is consistent with other scriptures; the Psalms provide multiple examples of God’s servants coming to Him in the midst of their sufferings. See e.g. Psalms 6, 10, 22, 38, and 43.   

Another way Jesus coped was by focusing on others. During his passion He  sought forgiveness for those executing Him, He ministered to the repentant criminal,  He  made provision for His mother. Attending to those folks’ needs likely diverted some of His attention from His own pain. Although I have never suffered anything close to what Jesus experienced, I know that I have found respite in my times of suffering by serving others. Some ways to do that can be found here, here, here, here,  here, and here. Try them out when you are hurting; you will likely receive at least as much solace as you give. 

 

Prayer:

Jesus, we can never thank you enough for what you did through your passion, but let us thank you for at least this one thing: for showing how to cope with suffering. Draw us to you when we suffer. Help us to help others in their suffering. Help us through. Pour out your mercy, on and through us.

Luke 14:26?

Luke 14:26 is one of Jesus’ hard teachings. What are we to make of his statement that me must “hate father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters” to be His disciple? We can’t ignore it; Jesus’ effectively makes it twice, here and in Matthew 10:37 .  What are we to do with it? 

Let’s start by considering what it doesn’t teach; Jesus is not telling His disciples to reject their families. On a broad level, we know that scripture tells us to nurture our family relationships, Exodus 20:12,  Deuteronomy 5:16,  Proverbs 6:20. and that Jesus came to fulfill scripture. Matthew 5:17-18. We also know that Jesus condemned folks who sidestepped their family obligations. Mark 7:8-13. Bringing the matter into finer resolution, the Greek word translated as "hate" does not always mean to detest or loathe, it can also mean a relative preference of one thing over another. The fact that Jesus intended that relative meaning is supported by the way this teaching is phrased in Matthew: “[a]nyone who loves their father or mother more than me is not worthy of me.” 

So, what does this verse teach? 

Context gives us two strong clues. Scripturally, Luke’s gospel places this teaching immediately after a parable stressing the need to prioritize God over of other things, even otherwise legitimate things. Luke 14:15-24. Historically, the people Jesus was addressing placed very great emphasis on family.  Those contexts indicate that Jesus is telling us to put Him above all other things—even things at the core of our lives.  

So what in your life is competing with Jesus? Is it your politics, media consumption, or “tribe”?   Is it your job, career, or finances? Is it an addiction?  Is it something else? Ask Jesus to show you and to show you how to put Him ahead of it. Scripture tells us that He will show you and help you put things right if you bring the matter to Him. Luke 11:9-13, Romans 8:26-27,  Philippians 4:6-7,  Hebrews 4:15-16,  James 1:5, 1 John 1:9.  

Will that be easy? Probably not. I’m struggling with something like that now and I can tell you it’s hard. Will it take time? It probably will; it has for me. Will God help you along the way? Definitely.  So seek His help for you and all others who are struggling with this.  And if you could, please include me in those prayers.

 

Prayer:

Loving God, help each of us to see where we have let other things take priority over you. Help us to put you first, no matter how hard that is. Help all others who are struggling with this. We say this in Jesus’ loving, healing, name.

What Mark 4:35-41 tells us about fear and how to respond to it

This week’s readings have discussed the overriding importance of staying close to God. We’ve seen how vital it is to not let fear, preoccupation with worldly things, and even otherwise legitimate things get between us and what God desires of us. Today’s reading, Mark 4:35-41, gives additional insights into one of those potentially distracting things—fear—and illustrates several encouraging things about it.

One is that even godly, faithful, folks experience fear and that it does not disqualify them from relationship with God. Here we see that the disciples—people who literally dedicated their lives to following Jesus—experienced great fear. We see that elsewhere in the gospels, during other storms and in connection with Jesus' passion.  But Jesus did not give up on them; He still loved and used them. So do not despair when you experience fear; fear does not equal failure and doubt does not equal disqualification.  

Another thing this reading shows us is to bring our fears to God; prayer is a powerful response to fear. Here, the disciples brought their fears to Jesus, prayer in its most direct form, and received peace. That is consistent with what we see in Philippians 4:6-7  and  1 Peter 5:7; those verses tell us that we receive peace when we bring our fears to God. So go to God when you are scared, you will experience peace from the very process of sharing your fear with Him. The fear causing circumstances may not be immediately changed, but your ability to deal with them will be. 

 Finally, this reading shows that we do not have to be shy about bringing our fears to God; we can express our fear without inhibition.  The Greek word translated in a very understated way as “said” in verse 38 actually connotes a much stronger communication. It describes commanding, exhorting, speaking emphatically. Jesus didn’t reject the disciples or their plea because of that. In fact, he later instructed them to be bold in presenting their concerns to God. Luke 11:5-8, Luke 18:1-8. We see that elsewhere in scripture, God’s faithful servants presented raw emotion to Him and did so with great intensity, but God was not offended. 1 Samuel 1:4-28, Psalm 55:1-8, Psalm 42:2-4.   Relatedly, Romans 8:26-27 assures us that we can bring our raw emotions to God even if we are so upset that we cannot clearly articulate them. So do not pull your punches with God, pour your heart out to Him.

 

Prayer:

Lord, draw us to you when we are afraid. Do not let our fear separate us from you, but help us boldly cast our cares on you. 

 

The Extraordinary Through The Ordinary: Luke 2:22-40

This week’s readings have described the extraordinary ways God moved to deliver redemption to the world. He enabled an elderly couple to conceive and raise John the Baptist. He caused the very young, unwed, Virgin Mary to conceive our savior. He provided powerful ratification to her through a host of angels and the shepherds they sent to her. Those were truly extraordinary events.

 

Today’s reading,Luke 2:22-40, shows that God also moves through the ordinary. He provided Mary and Joseph much needed ratification in challenging times through their following an ordinary spiritual discipline. He did that through two other folks (Simeon and Anna) who were in position to deliv er that ratification because they were faithful in their ordinary spiritual disciplines.  

 

What can we learn from that?  At least two things come to mind.

 

One is the importance of adhering to spiritual disciplines despite upheaval in our lives. Think about Mary and Joseph’s situation. They were effectively homeless, with a newborn, in a strange city, separated from their families, and they had been in that situation for about 40 days. That must have been very hard.  See What We Can Learn from Jesus’ Nativity: Mary and Joseph’s Journey to Bethlehem and Jesus’ Birth There (Luke 2:1-7)  and  What We Can Learn from Jesus’ Nativity: Jesus’ Circumcision and Presentation; Mary’s Purification (Luke 2:21-24)  Yet they still made it to the temple, where they received great ratification. Their perseverance in an ordinary discipline was key to their receiving it. Your situation is probably not as extreme as theirs, and God’s response will likely not be as extraordinary as that described in today’s reading, but it is likely that God will provide some comfort in your chaos if you keep seeking Him in the ordinary.

 

The other is to obey God’s prompts. I doubt Simeon expected the events that happened that day, but they happened because he responded to God’s nudge. Simeon was able to speak what God wanted Mary and Jospeh to hear because he responded to the Holy Spirit’s particular prompts on that particular day.  He, Mary, Joseph, and billions of other folks since then have been blessed in ways Simeon could not possibly have anticipated—because he followed the Spirit’s lead.  Who knows what blessings will be set in motion by your following the Spirit’s lead.

 

There is much more that we can learn from these events than space permits exploring here. Some of them are discussed at What We Can Learn From Jesus’ Nativity: Simeon Blesses Mary (Luke 2:25-35)  and What We Can Learn From Jesus' Nativity: Anna Ratifies Jesus (Luke 2:36-38).    Maybe they will provide one of the prompts I was just talking about.

 

God bless you, and others through you.

 

Prayer:

 

Lord, thank you for reaching out to is in so many ways. Help us to reach out to you through the ordinary disciplines you provide us and to respond when you prompt us to action. We pray that in Jesus’ name.

What we can learns about service from Matthew 23:1-12

This week’s readings have shown us a lot about service. Romans 12:4-8  told us the God gifts each of us with specific abilities/inclinations to use to help others, and that we should be all in in using them for that purpose.  Ephesians 4:12-24  explained that we can’t let social standards distort how we serve. 1 Corinthians 10:27-37  showed us that we must subordinate our desires to the interests of those we serve.  Romans 12:1-10  explained that sacrificial service is a form of worship, reiterated that it should not be confined by social standards, and it should be done humbly.

 

             So what does Matthew 23:1-12  add?  At least three things.

            First, it illustrates what service should not be: polluted by concern about what others will think. Using the religious leaders of the time as negative examples, Jesus powerfully states the principle that such concerns inevitably cheapen our service. This was not a context specific lesson—Jesus reiterated this principle in multiple ways.

        Second, and relatedly, we do the most good when we so lose ourselves in service that we cease to care about own status or desires. Jesus called—and still calls—his disciples to be “servants.”  The Greek word used to capture Jesus’ teaching  here refers to advancing others’ interests even at the expense of our own, something similar to what we saw in 1 Corinthians 10:27-37  and see elsewhere in scripture. The point is to focus on the person(s) served, not the server.

            Third, God helps us when we humbly strive to serve the way Jesus describes; He tells us that we will be "exalted" when we do so. One of the things that word means is to be increased in happiness. Those who humbly pour themselves into using the gifts God gives for His purposes experience a joy that propels them in their service. 

God works powerfully through seemingly weak, seemingly insignificant, people to address seemingly insurmountable dysfunction—Judges 5:24-27

             This week’s readings show multiple examples of an undeniable truth: God works powerfully through seemingly weak, seemingly insignificant, people to address seemingly insurmountable dysfunction.  We see that again today in Judges 5:24-27. Although not immediately obvious from the text of today’s reading, the reading’s backstory provides another example of that dynamic.

 That backstory is found in Judges 4. Isreal had been oppressed by a pagan king through Sisrea, the commander of the king’s powerful army.  Isreal “cried to the Lord for help.” Judges 4.3. God raised up a female judge deal with that king, the king’s seemingly invincible army was destroyed, and Sisera fled the battlefield. He took refuge in the tent of Jael, a non-Israelite woman, who dispatched him by luring him into a false sense of security and killing him. That effectively ended the king’s power and Isreal “had peace for forty years.” Judges 5:31. In sum, God used two very unlikely people—women in a male dominated culture, one of whom was not even an Israelite—to answer His people’s prayers and deliver them from oppression. 

So what does that mean for us, thousands of years later? Several things come to mind.

One is to remember that nothing is impossible for God. Luke 1:37. We should not despair even though the dysfunction in our world, and maybe in our personal lives, seems overwhelming.  God can and will overcome it all. Psalm 37, John 16:33, and this powerfully uplifting song  affirm that reality. That may not happen in the way we expect or on the schedule we desire, but it will happen.

Another is that we too should “cry to the Lord for help.”  God responds to our heartfelt prayers. Sometimes He changes our circumstances, sometimes He changes the way we approach those circumstances, but He always gives us peace in one form or another when we bring our problems to Him.  As Psalm 55:22 and 1 Peter 5:7 tell us, we should bring all our anxieties to him. See also Philippians 4:4-7.  And don’t worry if you can’t fully articulate your concerns, Romans 8:26-27 assures us that He’ll get them. Just go to Him.

Finally, open yourself to the possibility that you will be a person God uses to deal with some of the dysfunction around us. As this week’s readings show us, God works through all kinds of folks, and you are likely one of them. So follow Psalm 37:3's direction to “trust in the Lord and do good.” (Emphasis added).  That will position you to be one of the instruments God uses to deliver His healing, as unlikely as that may seem. This link  will connect you with some great ways to start doing that. 

God’s peace to—and through—you. 

 

Prayer:

          Lord, draw us to you, especially when things seem bleak. Help us to remember your perfect love, your perfect wisdom, and your ultimate power. Help us to bring our problems to you.  Open, position, align us with you so that we can be instruments of your healing. We ask this in Jesus’ name.