Colin S. Smith's Blog, page 17

Tending the Fire of Private Prayer

Do not let the fire go out on the altar (Lev. 6:13).

Here is one tall order in Scripture, if I’ve ever seen one.

God gave this instruction to the Old Testament priests. If that wasn’t enough, he also called his people to offer ceaseless sacrifices—burning bloody, slain animals, day after day, morning and evening.

God gives us helpful pictures in his Word so that we may better understand the nature and purposes of his commands. Here, the fire represents the presence of God, always emanating, or “burning” with, holiness and purity. The animal sacrifices depict the necessary payment for sin. God’s people placed these atoning sacrifices on the altar and watched the flames consume them. How was this perpetually possible? The priests obeyed God’s command to tend the fire, and God graciously dwelt with his unholy and undeserving people.

Today, we no longer need to sacrifice animals before coming into God’s presence. Since Christ gave himself as a once-for-all sacrifice (Heb. 9:26-28), those who put their faith in him can freely enter into God’s presence, day after day, morning and evening. The Old Testament sacrificial system pointed to Christ but is no longer necessary in light of Christ’s completed, atoning work on the cross.

Spiritual Fire

While there is no longer a physical fire that we must tend to, there is most certainly a spiritual one for today’s “royal priesthood”—Peter’s remarkable name for Christian believers (1 Pet. 2:9). The Levitical priests’ task reminds us of Paul’s exhortation to another perpetual action: to “pray without ceasing” (1 Thess. 5:17). Similarly, C.H. Spurgeon applies Leviticus 6:13 to Christians, challenging them “[k]eep the altar of private prayer burning.” [1]

While the Bible tells us that we are “priests”, we serve a great high priest, who is God. Hear Christ’s compassionate invitation in Hebrews 4:15-16: “For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin. Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.”

In Leviticus 9:24, God initiates the physical fire. He is the fire-starter. Likewise, he is the initiator of our devotion to him today. The Holy Spirit moves in our hearts to grant us the faith to trust in Christ. We love the Lord, because he first loved us (1 Jn. 4:19). Knowing that the great high priest changes our hearts, we look to him to ignite in us a fresh love for him and a greater desire to commune with him.

There is common ground between the Old Testament priests tending a physical fire and today’s “royal priesthood” of believers who mind a spiritual fire on the altar of private prayer. Both require hard work. Prayer takes effort. Praying “without ceasing” is a tall order—a solitary battle won or lost each day. It is a battle worth fighting.

Humble Devotion

To pray without ceasing is not the call to never stop talking, but rather it is carrying a sense of prayerfulness into every aspect of our lives. I have heard it described as an open phone line with the Lord, where we never have to hang up. It is an awareness of being in his presence throughout each day. From the time we wake up until our heads hit the pillow, the Lord wants us to be conscious of his presence.

Regular, frequent, and undisturbed prayer is one of the most difficult things we are called to in the Christian life. Yet we know by experience that nothing worth doing comes easily. Spurgeon rightly says that “[secret] devotion is the very essence, evidence, and barometer, of vital…religion.” [2] All other aspects of our lives borrow from the vibrancy of our time spent in personal fellowship with the Lord.

Devotion to private prayer comes with the cost of our time, our focus, and our pride. We do not like to be dependent, but isn’t that how the Christian life works? While we often function as if we are self-sufficient, the truth is that we are creaturely, and therefore wholly dependent. Prayer is the best reminder of our right relation to God. Not even Jesus Christ operated apart from dependence on the Holy Spirit and prayer. The Holy Spirit was Jesus’ inseparable companion, and the same Spirit who empowered our Lord Jesus Christ is the Spirit who lives within all believers, and enables us to commune with God.

Private prayer is the most beautiful posture and priority in the life of a believer because it tells the truth about our position before God. It reflects the fact that we are not the authors of our lives; rather, we depend on God for our every breath. Private prayer instructs our hearts to this end. It also operationalizes the mysterious reality that the God who holds all things together (Col. 1:17) also wants to spend intimate one-on-one time with us. He wants to intentionally commune with us every day, throughout the day. We can have no greater audience than a private exchange with the living God.

Priority and Privilege

In addition to tending the fire, God instructed the Old Testament priests to regularly remove the ashes of each burnt offering. This task was a priority in order that the fire would stay ablaze. What ashes are accumulating on the fire of our secret devotion to God? God does not want our lukewarm hearts, so we must examine what smothers the flames. It may be the concerns of daily life, a long to-do list, unforgiveness, or unrepentant sin. It is time to lay those things aside.

One of the best ways to reignite a fire that once burned brightly is to open the Bible. Spending time with God’s people and listening to sermons are good things, but they are no substitute for independently digging into God’s Word. As Scripture reminds us of who God is, what he has done for us, and why he deserves our wholehearted devotion, we will be more motivated to spend daily time in his presence.

Prioritizing private prayer will help us to live for God’s glory and also receive the greatest joy and satisfaction from our communion with him. When we spend time in God’s presence, and are reminded of biblical truths, the burden of prayer transforms into the privilege of prayer.

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Photo: Unsplash1. C.H. Spurgeon, Morning & Evening (Hendrickson Publishers, 1995), 394.2. C.H. Spurgeon, ibid

 

 

 

 

 

 

How Opening the Bible is Bringing Hope to Japan (re-direct)

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Five Ways the Bible Will Help You Grow

Let the Word of Christ dwell in you richly (Col. 3:16).

Is the Word of God the honored, welcome guest of your life? Let the Word come into your life, and let it live with you. Let it remain in you. Don’t have a passing brush with the Word of Christ.

The Word of God can dwell in the life of a Christian believer in different degrees. Here are four types of growth that the Word will produce in you when you give it a prominent place in your life.

You will grow in strength against temptation.

I write to you, young men, because you are strong, and the word of God abides in you, and you have overcome the evil one (1 Jn. 2:14).

In this letter, John identifies different groups within the congregation. He writes some things especially to those who are older. Here in verse 14, he speaks specifically to young men. Notice what he says.

“…the Word of God abides in you…” The Word of God is going into your soul. It is settling in your inner life and it remains there. The result of this is that…“…you are strong…” You started out like little children. At one time you were spiritual infants, but now, even though you are still young, you are spiritually mature. And because of this…“…you have overcome the evil one…” There are victories over temptation in your life. You are making progress. You are growing up in Christ, and the reason is that the Word of God abides in you.

This is why it is so important for young families to find a church where they are rooted deeply in the Word of God. You don’t get this by going to a church that entertains your kids. You get this strength from a church and a youth group that is serious about getting the Word in their lives.

You will grow in effectiveness in prayer.

If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you (Jn. 15:7).

Notice how effectiveness in prayer arises from the Word abiding in your soul: “If…my words abide in you, ask whatever you wish…” The strength of our praying shows how much or how little the Word of God dwells, abides, remains in us. Where the Word abides, the fruit will be seen in effective praying.

You will grow in wisdom and discernment.

…teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom… (Col. 3:16).

We live in a “how to” culture in which many people are becoming more and more dependent on someone else telling them how to do even the most basic things in life. Once the “how to” thing takes root in your mind, it can be quite paralyzing. You lose confidence. You feel that you will mess things up unless you can get someone else to walk you through what to do. The Bible has a great answer to this: wisdom.

A rich and regular diet of the Word of God will increase your wisdom. The Bible is the Word of God. It comes from the mind of God. Thinking God’s thoughts after Him is the best way to grow in wisdom for every area of your life.

You will grow in usefulness to others.

…teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom… (Col. 3:16).

Here’s a healthy church in action: God’s people are feeding on His Word.  It dwells in them richly. As they speak about their lives, they are able to help each other see how the Word relates to the various circumstances of their lives.

Someone says, “I am really struggling with my 13-year-old daughter,” and explains some of the circumstances. Someone else says, “Here’s what I learned from the Scriptures that helped me. Here’s the principle I applied.”

Not only are God’s people able to teach one another, but they are able to admonish one another. That is, they can spot where someone is straying down a wrong path and help get him back on the straight and narrow. This kind of mutual ministry in the body of Christ is wonderful. It depends on God’s Word dwelling in His people richly. How much more useful could you be to others if the Word of Christ dwelled more richly in you?

You will grow in joy and thanksgiving.

…singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God (Col. 3:16).

A rich diet of the Word of Christ always produces more joy and thanksgiving in the lives of God’s people than if you drift through life with your Bible closed.

Spiritual life is found and nourished by the Word of God. But if you ask people the question, Where is spiritual life found? you are likely to receive one of three different answers:

The religious or communal answer:

Spiritual life is found and fed in the people around you. This is the teaching of the cults: Join us and all will be well with you. That’s what the Pharisees believed. Don’t buy that one. Sure, fellowship is important to the spiritual life, but it is not a source of the spiritual life.

The secular or psychological answer:

Spiritual life is found and fed from the instincts within you. This is the overwhelming consensus of our culture: The answers lie within you. This is why so many Christians rarely read the Bible. They have bought into secular psychology and feel that the source of life lies within them.

The biblical or theological answer:

Spiritual life is found and fed from the Bible before you:

You have been born again… through the living and abiding word of God (1 Pet. 1:23).

Man shall not live by bread alone but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God (Matt. 4:4).

Sanctify them by the truth; your word is truth (Jn. 17:17).

Is the Word of Christ dwelling richly in you?

The book of Hebrews describes people in whom the word does not dwell richly:

Though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you again the basic principles of the oracles of God. You need milk, not solid food, for everyone who lives on milk is unskilled in the word of righteousness, since he is a child (Heb. 5:11-13).

How can you let the Word of God live in you?

Make the best possible use of SundayJoin a small group, and keep the group centered on the Word of Christ.Establish a pattern of daily Bible reading and meditation.

Let the Word of Christ dwell in you richly. It will bring spiritual life. It will sustain spiritual strength. It will produce spiritual growth.

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Photo: UnsplashThis article is an adaptation of Pastor Colin’s sermon, “The Word of God”, from his series, Soul Care: Part 2—Four Friends for Your Soul.

 

A Ready Resource to Help You Share the Gospel

Frequently, the team at Unlocking the Bible receives thoughtful questions and helpful feedback from our listeners and web users. The inquiry below is a recent and very relevant example.

The Question

Dear Unlocking the Bible,

The reason I am writing is because of one of my colleagues who is an African American. I told him about Jesus, and he told me that he would like for me to tell him more and to mentor him. But I am not sure I can do much. So, I would like to know is there any way you can help me?

–Web User

This question is apropos for anyone who has ever felt ill-equipped to open the Bible with an unbeliever. Which is all of us! If we’re honest, every believer has experienced this sense of inadequacy at one time or another.

After all, the gospel is both simple and profound, and we want to uphold the biblical integrity of this good news. We want to share the gospel effectively. Yet, Jesus tells us in Matthew 13 that our efforts to sow gospel seeds will have varying results.

A sower went out to sow. And as he sowed, some seeds fell along the path, and the birds came and devoured them. Other seeds fell on rocky ground, where they did not have much soil, and immediately they sprang up, since they had no depth of soil, but when the sun rose they were scorched. And since they had no root, they withered away. Other seeds fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked them. Other seeds fell on good soil and produced grain, some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty. He who has ears, let him hear (Matt. 13:3-9).

When you share the gospel with your unbelieving friend, family member, neighbor, or colleague, you may find that the person’s ears are not open—not able to hear the truth of God’s word. It’s as if the words you share are snatched away, inaudible as soon as they leave your mouth (Mt. 13:4).

You may encounter a person who appears to be open to hearing the gospel, but no deep, lasting roots of faith are growing. Whatever belief begins to take root soon fades under the first “heat” of trial or testing (Mt. 13:5-6).

Perhaps you faithfully share the gospel with someone, but competing (and false) ideologies choke out whatever spiritual growth is taking place in his or her heart (Mt. 13:7).

We long to share the gospel effectively—to see the seeds of truth falling on “good soil” and producing a fruitful harvest of genuine faith (Mt. 13:8-9). This extraordinary, God-given yield can leave us feeling reverent and thankful, yet uncertain of our next step.

Where can we find help to come alongside a person whose faith is new and growing? How can we mentor the open-eared friend toward deeply rooted, long-lasting faith?

The Answer for Open Ears

Dear Web User,

Thank you for your good question. It sounds like you had a wonderful conversation with your work colleague! Pastor Colin Smith and Unlocking the Bible have developed something that we call “ Open .” This resource is specifically for situations like this, where a person like you has the opportunity to introduce someone to the Christian faith.

Just go to the website: www.openthebible.org and create a login. You will notice that there are three pathways through the Bible: a 10-session (flight), a 30-session (drive), and a 50-session (walk).

The 30-session (drive) is the best path for someone who is new to the Bible. It is not the shortest path, but it is the easiest. This is the one I would recommend for you.

You will also notice that each session contains:

a Bible passagea teaching from Pastor Colina discussion question

You could meet together and do all three parts. Or, you and your friend could do the first two sections separately (on your own), and then meet and discuss the question together. You could do it online or in person (if you are able to). Notice also that you have the option of listening to or reading the teaching sessions.

I am praying that your colleague would be open to doing this, that your time together would be fruitful, and that the Holy Spirit would lead you as you open the Bible.

–The Team at Unlocking the Bible

The “Open” resource is ready and waiting for you! It may be exactly what you are needing as you seek to share the gospel. Since “faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ” (Rom. 10:17), open your Bible! Let God’s word fill and direct your conversation, so that he who has ears will be able to hear.

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Photo: Unsplash

What is God’s Word, and Why Does it Matter?

Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God (Col. 3:16).

Notice that God’s communication with us, which is normally referred to as the Word of God, is described here as the Word of Christ. That phrase is only used here and in one other place in the New Testament, but it reminds us of a very important truth.

The whole Bible is one story and it is all about Jesus Christ. Jesus said to the Pharisees, “The Scriptures…  bear witness about me” (Jn. 5:39). On the road to Emmaus, Jesus took two confused disciples through the Old Testament scriptures, showing them “in all the Scriptures, the things concerning Himself” (Luke 24:27).

Jesus Christ is the central figure in the whole Bible, in both the Old and the New Testaments. In the Old Testament, He is hidden and anticipated. In the New Testament, He is revealed and enjoyed.

The whole point of the Bible is that we should come to know and enjoy and love and serve and believe in and live for Jesus Christ the Son of God, who is the Savior, the Lord of all.

This is the great theme of Colossians: In Him, all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell (1:19). In Him, God has triumphed over all the dark powers (2:15). In Him, believers are rooted and built up and established in the faith (2:7).

The word of Christ, the Bible, is God speaking to us about His Son, or God speaking to us through His Son.

New Thinking about the Bible

The Christian church has been in agreement for nearly 2,000 years that the Bible is the Word of God, one that speaks primarily about his Son, Jesus Christ. I say nearly 2,000 years, because about a hundred years ago some people introduced a new and very different view of the Bible.

Charles Darwin grasped the minds and hearts of many people with his theory of evolution, suggesting that the world could be explained entirely by natural causes and processes. It’s fascinating to follow the story of how in the years that followed, some leaders in the church began to recast their view of the Bible in the light of evolutionary theory.

The church had always held the conviction that the Bible was God’s Word to us. The church believed that God exists, that God has made Himself known, and that the Bible tells us what God has said and what He has done. The Bible is essentially a story about God: God’s world and God’s Word to mankind.

But the new thinking turned all of that on its head. You can imagine how some began to say, “We’ve been told that the story is all about God. What if the story is really about us?”

If this were true, then the Bible would be the evolving story of human thinking about what God might be like. And the Bible would not be God’s words to us, but the record of our words about God. If you believe this, then it is reasonable to conclude that it began very crude, and over time, our view of God has become more sophisticated.

These are two very different views of the Bible. In the one, the Bible is God’s Word to us. In the other, the Bible is our word about God.

What you believe about the Bible will shape how you use it and respond to it.

If you believe that the Bible is a human word about God, you may want to read it for inspiration, but when it does not fit well with your view of life or of the world, you will feel free to disagree and choose your own path.

If the Bible is merely a collection of human words about God, it will be natural for you to say, “That was then, but this is now.”

Why the Word Matters: Three Biblical Convictions

Why is this important? What difference does it make? Why should anyone care whether the Bible is our speaking about God or God speaking to us? It makes all the difference in the world:  Here’s why:

1. If God has not spoken, His promises are replaced by our wishes.

Think about some of the great promises of Scripture:

I will never leave you nor forsake you (Heb. 13:5).

Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ and you will be saved (Acts 16:31).

My God will supply every need of yours according to his riches in glory (Phil. 4:19).

Who said these things? If these words came from the mouth of God, if God said them, if they are indeed the Word of God to us, then they are promises on which we can depend. You can take them to the bank. You can build on them in every circumstance of your life.

But if these are human words about God, then they are not promises on which we can depend but merely wishes arising from the heart of Paul or from Isaiah, that we might also cherish.

If you believe that the Bible is our word about God rather than God’s word to us, you undermine the foundation of hope and replace God’s promises to us with our wishes about God.

2. If God has not spoken, His truth is replaced by our opinion.

The Bible says that God is gracious, merciful, slow to anger, and abounding in love. These words are repeated no less than seven times in the Old Testament (Ex. 34:6, Neh. 9:7, Psa. 86:15, Psa. 103:8, Psa. 145:8, Joel 2:13, Jonah 4:2).

But whose words are these? If God spoke these words to Moses and the prophets, we can be sure that he is indeed gracious, merciful, slow to anger, and abounding in love, because He is the one who said it. He has disclosed this Himself.

But if these words arose from the thoughts of Moses, David, Nehemiah, or Jonah, then we do not have truth that we can count on for our lives today. All we have is opinion that arose from the experience of these particular men, and it may or may not prove true for us today.

When you buy into evolutionary theory, conversations in small groups around the Word of God go something like this… Moses believed that God is gracious and merciful, but others have a different experience.  What about you? What do you think God is like? How do you see him?

When the Word of God to us is viewed as our word about God, His truth gets replaced by our opinion—and that undermines the foundations of our faith.

3. If God has not spoken, His welcome is replaced by our journey.

The Bible is full of invitations:

Incline your ear and come to me. Hear that your soul may live; I will make with you an everlasting covenant (Isa. 55:3).

Draw near to God and he will draw near to you (Jas. 4:8).

Come now, let us reason together, says the Lord: though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow (Isa. 1:18).

Who said these things? If God said them (to and through the prophet Isaiah and the apostle James), then you can be certain that God is reaching out to us in love. That means we can come to Him with confidence. We can enjoy a true and authentic relationship with God because He has invited us to come to Him.

If these words were simply reflections of the thoughts or experience of James and Isaiah, they are only pointers on a journey. They tell us what others have found, but they offer no assurance that we will find the same.

If the Bible is viewed as our words about God rather than God’s word to us, you may have people reaching out and seeking after God, but very, very little finding. Why? Because what is lost is God reaching out in love through his Son, and what you have left is people seeking.

What’s at stake? If the Bible is our word about God rather than God’s word to us, then God’s welcome is replaced by our journey, and we lose the assurance of His love.

Do you see how much this matters? The basis of faith, hope, and love all rest on God having spoken—giving us promises, telling us who He is, inviting us into a relationship with Himself, and telling is how that is possible through His Son Jesus Christ.

When I think about all this, it makes me step back and breathe a big sigh of relief. Thank God for the Word of Christ!

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Photo: UnsplashThis article is an adaptation of Pastor Colin’s sermon, “The Word of God”, from his series, Soul Care: Part 2—Four Friends for Your Soul.

Three Ways to Dig Deeper into Scripture

How do we hear from God?

How do we use what we hear from God for his glory and our good?

How we hear, how we learn, and how we integrate learning into our lives has always been a part of my life. When I was a little girl, I would play “school”, pretending to be a teacher. Since then, I have loved everything about the exchange of teaching and learning, the act of taking in and sharing knowledge.

This fascination is probably one of the reasons I pursued a master’s degree in Curriculum and Instruction. I want to know how students learn. I want to know how I learn.

So, how do we learn about God?

We listen to him. But, how do we really understand and obey his given message?

One helpful way that I have taught my students and my own children to hear from God is to search a passage of scripture for truth in three categories. I call this method “The Three Ps.” While reading any passage, we simply pick out a praise, a promise, and a practice that we can implement in our lives. Each part is important, but we especially can’t neglect that last “P.” In Philippians 4:9, Paul promises, “What you have learned and received and heard and seen in me—practice these things, and the God of peace will be with you.”

Searching for the “Three Ps”

Let’s try an example together by using a familiar Bible passage: Psalm 23.

The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.
He makes me lie down in green pastures.
He leads me beside still waters.
He restores my soul.
He leads me in paths of righteousness
for his name’s sake.

Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,
I will fear no evil,
for you are with me;
your rod and your staff,
they comfort me.

You prepare a table before me
in the presence of my enemies;
you anoint my head with oil;
my cup overflows.
Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me
all the days of my life,
and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord forever.

Praise: God Deserves Our Worship

After reading this passage, we first look for words that show why God is deserving of our praise. What words reveal his praise-worthy character?

God is our provider (v 5).

God is our comforter (v 4).

God is the good shepherd (v 1).

We can take each of the characteristics above and use them to name who God is. This is a way to bring glory to him as Psalm 115:1 tells us to do: “Not to us, O LORD, not to us, but to your name give glory, for the sake of your steadfast love and your faithfulness!” For example, we can pray out loud: “God, you are our provider, and you give us everything we need.” This reminds us of a comforting truth while also praising God.

Promises: God Keeps His Word

Now we look for something that God promises he will do.

God leads me besides still waters (v 2).

God promises to guide me (v 3).

God will stay with me (v 4).

These promises motivate our confidence in God’s faithfulness. When we reflect on past experiences, we see how he has shown us goodness time and time again. When we ponder these assurances of unfailing love, we remember this: he kept his word before and he will keep his word again. He is unchanging, and that is a truth we need in this world of unrest and unknowns that often lead us to doubt and fear. God is faithful and trustworthy.

Practice: God Commands Our Obedience

Last, we look for a practice that this passage calls us to follow. What habit of obedience will bring glory to God?

I will be content for I shall not want (v 1).

I will tell people of my relationship with God because I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever (v 6).

As we read scripture, we need consistent practice at identifying the truths that rebuke, guide, and encourage us. In order to “correctly [handle] the word of truth” (2 Tim. 2:15), we rely on the Holy Spirit to help us “so that we may understand what God has freely given us” (1 Cor. 2:12).

Applying the “Three P’s”

When I help my children and students learn to apply the “Three Ps” they’ve found, I try not to use a “one size fits all” approach—three life lessons tied neatly in a little box. The Bible is the living and active word of God, and he blows our little boxes away. He wants to give us more than we can ask or imagine (Eph. 3:20), so we can expect that the power of the Holy Spirit will be at work, helping us to apply scripture in very personal ways.

The next time you read scripture, ask yourself, “How does this passage help me to praise God? What promises can I believe? What does God want me to put into practice?” Then, trust the Spirit to guide and empower you to live according to the truth you’ve learned.

God deserves our praise as the Lord of our lives. He promised a way for us to be in a right relationship with him, despite our sin: Jesus’s death on the cross shows the faithfulness of God to keep his promises. Because of the gospel, we can practice the things we learn from the Bible, to the delight of God.

John 1:16 says, “For from his fullness we have all received, grace upon grace.” God’s word is a gracious blessing to us. Let us use the gift we’ve received, searching it and training ourselves to live by it for God’s glory.

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Photo: Unsplash

 

How You Can Experience More of God’s Love

God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us (Rom. 5:8).

When you ask, “How can I know that God loves me?”, Romans 5:8 is where you can go for the answer. God demonstrates His love. We might even say, “God proves His love.” How? In this: Christ died for us.

We are looking at objective historical data—something happened. How can I know that God loves me? Christ died. He died for me. This is the proof of God’s love: Christ did this! And he did it for me!

It’s really important that you are able to answer the question: “How can I know that God loves me?”, especially when you are facing traumatic events in your life. You may find yourself saying: “I can’t feel a thing. I come to church and I feel numb. But I know that God loves me, because He sent His Son to die for me. Christ gave Himself for me. And this is love, even when I cannot feel a thing.”

Knowing God loves you is of huge importance. But there’s more.

The love of God is more than a truth to know; it is a gift to be enjoyed.

God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us (Rom. 5:5).

Notice how Romans 5:5 and Romans 5:8 complement each other so beautifully in giving us a full picture of the love of God, which is universal in its scope and personal in its application. The love of God was proved back at the cross, and it is experienced now in our hearts. The love of God was poured out at the cross by the Son of God, and it is poured into our hearts by the Holy Spirit.

I want to experience as much of God’s love as possible, this side of heaven. But how?

Believing the Promise

The love of God is not dribbled, dripped, or sprinkled into our hearts. It is poured! That speaks of an abundance.

Six days before the Passover, when He was about to suffer on the cross for us, Jesus came to the home of Mary and Martha and Lazarus, their brother, whom Jesus had raised from the dead. This was a home where Jesus was loved. And when He arrived, the three siblings gave a dinner in His honor. How do you say “thank you” to someone who has given you life from the dead? Of course, that is the position of every Christian, isn’t it?

Mary had an idea. She took a pound of expensive ointment, and poured it out on the feet of Jesus, and “the house was filled with the fragrance of the perfume” (Jn. 12:3). When the perfume is poured out, it gets everywhere! Every corner of the room is affected, not just the room they were in. The whole house was filled with the fragrance!

That’s a beautiful picture of what happens when the Holy Spirit pours the love of God into the heart of a Christian believer. It gets everywhere. This love can’t be contained in a small corner of your life. When the love of God is poured out by the Spirit, everything is affected. This is something very wonderful. The love of God, in all of its healing power, permeates every part of your interior life—your thought patterns, your speech, your memories.

Your pastor can tell you about the love of God, but he does not have the ability to pour this love into your heart. A counsellor can point you to this love, but she cannot pour it into your heart.

Only God can pour His love into your heart.

It’s not just that the Holy Spirit can pour the love of God into our hearts; He has done this! God pours His love into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us.

In Romans 5, Paul is writing to Christian believers in Rome. He is saying to them, “Here are two things that are true of you in Christ”:

The Holy Spirit lives in you.God’s love has been poured out into your hearts.

These things are true of every Christian. Every believer has tasted something of the love of God. If these things are not true of you, then don’t go around telling yourself that you’re a Christian. There is something wonderful still ahead for you.

But there’s so much more than any of us have tasted. The love of God is greater by far than tongue or pen can ever tell. Think about the vastness of that love being poured into the restricted capacity of our human hearts! This is like trying to pour the ocean into a thimble!

There is a second way that we can receive more of God’s love.

Enjoying the Gift

Who are the people who enjoy this outpouring of God’s love in their hearts? The more we reflect the marks of these people, the more we will experience what is promised to them. You can see the answer for yourself just by looking at the verses that come before and after this great promise in Romans 5:5.

Who are the people being described in verse 5? When Paul writes that “God’s love has been poured into our hearts” and “the Holy Spirit who has been given to us”, who does “our” refer to? Into whose hearts is the love of God poured? Who are the “us” to whom the Holy Spirit is given?

People who exercise faith (Rom. 5:1)People who persevere through suffering (Rom. 5:3-4)People who own their need for Jesus (Rom. 5:6-8)People who embrace Jesus Christ (Rom. 5:10).Embracing Christ

For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, now that we are reconciled, shall we be saved by his life (Rom. 5:10).

What a marvelous statement about the Lord Jesus Christ! Here we read about the death of God’s Son (on the cross) for our reconciliation, and the life of God’s Son (through the resurrection) for our salvation.

Notice what Paul is saying. We were reconciled to God by the death of His Son! In Christ we are forgiven, the past is wiped clean, and we are brought into a new relationship with God. All of this flows from the cross of Jesus.

We are reconciled by the death of Christ. But it doesn’t end there. Now that we are reconciled, how much more shall we be saved?

Reconciled by Jesus’ death and saved by His life, we are loved by God!

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Photo: UnsplashThis article is an adaptation of Pastor Colin’s sermon, “The Love of God”, from his series, Soul Care: Part 2—Four Friends for Your Soul.

 

The Surprising Reason God Says Not to Worry

“Don’t worry,” my husband says. At that moment, a hundred scenarios enter my mind as I worry about the reason he felt the need to tell me not to worry. The same thing has happened when I’ve read those words, quoted from Luke 12, on coffee mugs, t-shirts, and wall decorations.

If you’re going to tell someone not to be anxious in a world plagued by sin, you need to have a good reason. Thankfully, God does.

The Story Before the Verse

Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat, nor about your body, what you will put on (Luke 12:22).

Jesus’s famous words about worry followed a parable, which Jesus says illustrates his statement. The ESV’s title for this section is “the parable of the rich fool.”

From Luke 12:16-21 we read the account of a rich man whose harvest is so huge he decides to build bigger barns to store up his abundance. The man has it made, and he knows it. But that night, he will die.

God says to the man, “Fool! This night your soul is required of you, and the things you have prepared, whose will they be?” (Luke 12:20).

What a stark story demonstrating how unproductive worry is. There isn’t a happy ending. It seems that despite the man’s worries and solutions to his concerns, he is a fool.

The Point We Might Miss

To summarize the point of the parable, Jesus says, “So is the one who lays up treasure for himself and is not rich toward God” (Luke 12:21).

Was the man’s foolishness simply that the man didn’t give away enough of his abundance? Did he neglect his tithes as he worried about himself? Would he have been counted wise if he’d prepared a will before slipping into his pajamas?

At a glance, it seems the man’s problem was greed, not worry. But the source of his worry is what he treasures, and that’s a point we often miss. The man’s solution to his worries didn’t show a love for the Lord, or a trust in him. The man’s only answer to his anxieties was his own wisdom.

We Can Worry with Our Hands Full

The man in the parable wasn’t a poor farmer overreacting to his first great harvest. He was rich. His concern wasn’t “where will my next meal come from?” but “where do I store all this abundance?” His hands were full, and he still found a reason to fuss.

Gaining more doesn’t give us a reason not to worry, it just changes what we worry about. Sometimes it gives us more to worry about. As long as we’re trying to ensure our hands are full of what we believe is important in life, we’re going to have cause for worry. The treasures of this world are elusive, and they will never be enough. When we hope in even the best this world offers, we will have endless reasons for anxiety.

Jesus brings that point home, saying “For life is more than food, and the body more than clothing” (Luke 12:23).

The Treasure We Don’t Need to Secure

Life is about far more than the things we tend to worry about. It certainly turned out to be so for the rich man who thought life was finally good and problem-free once he accrued ample riches, only to be faced with death.

This truth that “life is more” is the surprising reason God’s word says not to worry.

Jesus illustrates what “more” life really consists of in the rest of the passage.

Life is Depending on God

Speaking about the ravens, Jesus points out that they are fed by God though they don’t work for their food. Then he says, “Of how much more value are you than the birds! And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life?” (Luke 12:24-25).

We don’t need to worry about our ability to provide for ourselves. A life of faith involves growing in cheerful dependence on God. That doesn’t mean we don’t work for our food (we’re not ravens), but that we don’t regard our “stuff” as less than a good gift from God. We see needs differently when we see God as the provider.

Life is Glorifying God

Next, Jesus talks about how splendidly the lilies are arrayed even though they’re not longing for this world. Their simple existence points to God’s glory. He will transform us to his glory, so we don’t need to worry about accruing stuff to make us worthy.

“For all the nations of the world seek after these things,” Jesus says, highlighting the perspective of those who don’t know that “life is more.” Seek God’s kingdom, he continues, “and these things will be added to you.” Glorify God in whatever you do, whatever you have or do not have. That’s the point. He’ll give you the means, surprising as they may sometimes be (Luke 12:30-31).

Life is Treasuring God

Back at the end of the parable of the rich fool, Jesus mentions being rich toward God. This is the joy and privilege of the Christian. We are not problem-free, but we trust in God’s promises and realize everything we have is God’s in the first place. He delights in sharing what he owns with his children because “it is [our] Father’s good pleasure to give [us] the kingdom” (Luke 12:32).

This magnificent truth warrants our response: Jesus calls us to give things away and build into eternity. In the parable, the rich man had nowhere secure to store his stuff. When we treasure God as the point and purpose of life, what matters most—our hearts—are secured where worry wields no power: in heaven with Jesus. “For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also” (Luke 12:33).

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Photo: Unsplash

Why “Christ Lives in Me” is Good News

I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me (Gal. 2:20).

For Paul to say, “Christ lives in me” is a marvelous statement of what it means to be a Christian. The Son of God can move in as the honored guest in your soul.

Think about how the Bible puts this: “I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and eat with him, and he with me” (Rev. 3:20). If you have the idea that Christian faith is about believing in Christ from a distance, think again.

Christ says, “I am knocking on the door of your heart. I want to come in. I want to settle into a booth with you, and for the two of us to share breakfast, lunch, and dinner together. That’s the relationship I want with you. And that is why I stand at the door and knock.”

How is Christ present in the soul of a believer? 

Christ rose from the dead in a resurrection body, and then ascended into heaven. The resurrection body is different from the bodies we have now, but it is a body. The risen Christ is seated at the right hand of the Father in heaven and so His resurrected body cannot be in your heart any more than it can be on the communion table. So, how is Christ present in the soul of every believer? The answer is: “by the Spirit.”

Jesus spoke about this to His disciples. He said that He must go to His Father. They did not want Him to go, but He said, “It is to your advantage that I go away, for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you. But if I go, I will send him to you” (Jn. 16:7).

Who is this Helper? The Holy Spirit. Jesus said, “I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Helper, to be with you forever, even the Spirit of truth… You know him, for he dwells with you and will be in you” (Jn. 14:16-17).

The Holy Spirit, the third person of the Trinity, is referred to in the Bible as the “Spirit of God,” the “Spirit of Christ,” the “Holy Spirit,” and the “Spirit of truth,” or simply the “Spirit.”

In one passage, the Holy Spirit is referred to three times—first as the Spirit, then as the Spirit of God, and then as the Spirit of Christ: “You, however, are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if in fact the Spirit of God dwells in you. Anyone who does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to him” (Rom. 8:9). 

Here is this great reality that stands at the center of the Christian life: Jesus Christ, the Son of God—who was born in the manger, died on the cross, and rose from the dead—lives by His Spirit in the soul of every Christian believer.

Three Pieces of Good News

1. The Christian is never truly alone.  

If you are in Christ and Christ is in you, He is with you wherever you go. At your lowest moment, when you feel isolated, abandoned, and alone, you can say, “The Lord is at my right hand, therefore I will not be shaken” (Psa. 16:8).

There’s a prayer that we often pray. It is somewhat redundant: “Lord, Mary is sick, please be with her. Lord, Jim is undergoing this great trial, please be with him.” I’ve prayed like that many times, as I am sure you have.

It’s good to pray that a person will be aware of the presence of Christ as they move through a time of trial. But it’s good to remember that a prayer for Christ to be with a Christian in trouble is a prayer that has already been answered.

When you know that Christ lives in you, then you can say with David, “The Lord is my light and my salvation, whom shall I fear?” (Psa. 27:1). You can say with Paul, “If God be for me, who can be against me?” (Rom. 8:31). And you can say with John, “Greater is he who is in me than he who is in the world” (1 Jn. 4:4).

2. Christ knows directly all that you face and feel and fear. 

Christ has a real-time awareness of every trial and every temptation you face.

This is worth thinking about: The Spirit of Christ lives in your heart. He feels the approach of every trial and temptation, and He pulls the cord that rings the bell in heaven. Christ knows directly all that you face and feel and fear.

And Christ does not roll his eyes when the bell rings. We have a high priest who is able to sympathize with our weaknesses. Why? He has been downstairs. He has been tempted and tested in every respect. And now, as your advocate, He brings your need before the Father so that all the resources of heaven are available for you.

“Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need” (Heb. 4:16). Come with confidence, because the bell has already been rung. Christ knows all that you face and feel and fear, and He is for you!

3. The Spirit of Christ is actively at work in your soul.  

Think about the work of the Spirit in the life of a believer: The Spirit gives us understanding of the Word. The Spirit convicts of sin. The Spirit makes us holy. The Spirit equips us with gifts for ministry and thrusts out the people of God into every sphere of life. The Spirit intercedes for us. The Spirit bears witness with our spirit that we are the children of God.

The Spirit of God is always working in the life of a believer. I cannot think of a greater incentive to care for my soul than to know that he cares so actively about me. I cannot think of a greater motivation to work for God than to know that He works so powerfully in me. I cannot think of a greater reason for hope than to know that at the hardest moments of life the Spirit of God Almighty, the Spirit of Jesus (who died and rose) is for you and is actively at work in you.

“Christ in you, the hope of glory” (Col. 1:27)—the presence of Christ with you, the sympathy of Christ toward you, the strength of Christ in you… that’s what is going to get you through. Christ in you! That’s your hope of glory!

To all who would say today, “That’s exactly what I need,” He says, “Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and eat with him, and he with me” (Rev. 3:20).

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Photo: Unsplash

This article is an adaptation of Pastor Colin’s sermon, “The Son of God”, from his series, Soul Care: Part 2—Four Friends for Your Soul.

 

Jesus Headed Toward Those at the Bottom of the Pile. Will Our Children Follow Him?

She was six years old. She sat in the school hall, quietly eating out of her lunchbox. The class troublemaker sat at the next table. In his lunch box was only one item: a chocolate bar. She remembers having two thoughts in that moment. First, chocolate bars were not allowed in lunch boxes. Yet again, here he was being mischievous. Secondly, she knew that his was no proper lunch. Looking at her own sandwiches, she wondered about giving him some. She didn’t. Twenty years later, my colleague tells me that she still thinks about her failure to show love to the naughty boy.

How do we want our children to treat the naughty boy, the unpopular girl, and the kid whose shirt is always dirty? Will we repeat the saying, “Birds of a feather flock together” and tell our children to stay far away from the unlovely? Every parent wants their children to achieve at school, so should they avoid sitting next to the child who can’t keep up? In the teenage years, will the intense pressure to fit in make it feel too costly to befriend the one no-one talks to?

Radical Compassion

As we read through Luke’s Gospel, we can’t miss Jesus’s concern for the marginalised (the tax collectors, the infamous women, and the beggars). In chapters 13 and 14 we are confronted with the uncomfortable message that, on the final day, we will see that the most humble, even those on the bottom rung of society, are the first into the kingdom.

And people will come from east and west, and from north and south, and recline at table in the kingdom of God. And behold, some are last who will be first, and some are first who will be last (Lk. 13:29-30).

This comes at the end of a section where Jesus taught that some will be surprised to find themselves on the wrong side of a closed door, being told by the master, “I do not know where you come from” (Lk. 13:25). Being in the general vicinity of Christian things and hearing Jesus’ teaching are not enough. A close, dependent relationship is needed, so that Jesus won’t say of us, “I don’t know you” (Lk 13:27). And that saving faith in Christ is available to, “some who are last”, those who seemed furthest from the kingdom of God: the Gentiles, the poor, the unclean, and the sinful.

Luke’s words are an encouragement for those believers who are considered “last” in this life but a warning to those who find themselves comfortable and popular, but lacking genuine, saving faith in Christ. Before we close our Bibles feeling unsettled, we see Jesus live out an example of this teaching to help us understand.

One Sabbath, when he went to dine at the house of a ruler of the Pharisees, they were watching him carefully. And behold, there was a man before him who had dropsy (Lk. 14:1-2).

The Pharisees had staged a situation, on the Sabbath, to see what Jesus would choose to do. Would Jesus conform to the established, religious expectations and leave the man to fend for himself? Or would Jesus choose to care for the lonely, disabled, untouchable man despite outrage from the vocal majority?

Let us hit pause here for a moment. Place yourself in a modern equivalent of this situation. If you’re a parent, imagine your child is standing beside you. On one side stand the influential, the popular, the wealthy, and the morally respectable. On the other stands a lonely, broken, diseased, filthy, poor individual. With whom will you stand? And as a parent, whom do you pray your child chooses? Which side are you longing for your child to walk toward? Where does your ache of parental hopes rest? Let’s learn from Jesus.

And Jesus responded to the lawyers and Pharisees, saying, “Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath, or not?” But they remained silent. Then he took him [the man with dropsy] and healed him and sent him away (Lk. 14:3-4).

As I watch Jesus, I remain silent, too. I am in awe. And then I smile with the wretched, filthy man as I watch him straighten up and walk out of the room. My children would smile, too. They would see the care and the gentleness of their Lord. I suspect they know, as I do, that Jesus is far more courageous and far kinder than we are. But we do not have to be the Messiah. There is only one Messiah. By grace, his goodness can be credited to us and to our children. That is the miracle of the gospel.

But Jesus Christ is not done. He points us to what we can do, and what we can pray that our children will do. He answers the Pharisees’ silence with a parable about a seating plan at a wedding banquet. Let me jump to Jesus’ conclusion:

But when you are invited, go and sit in the lowest place, so that when your host comes he may say to you, “Friend, move up higher.” Then you will be honored in the presence of all who sit at table with you. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted (Lk. 14:10-11).

Radical Challenge

The teaching is simple. It’s easy to understand, but incredibly challenging. Jesus is asking his followers to always search for the ‘lowest place’ in each situation, because those who seek humility in this life will be seated with Christ in that very, very highest place for all eternity. The incentive for obedience is huge. Living such a life remains incredibly difficult. Raising children to live searching for the “lowly” feels truly radical. Our culture tells us to raise our children to occupy the exalted seats—in board rooms, in gated houses, and at prestigious parties. Can you imagine training the heart of your child to be more concerned about those who clean the board rooms, those who paint the gates and those who are never invited to any parties? The first, difficult step is to make peace with the idea that this is the sort of parent you want to be. Even that will require prayer, and perhaps repentance.

Twenty years later, my colleague still wishes she had offered her sandwich to that difficult classmate. Perhaps we can be the generation of parents whose children walk over to the next table, following in the footsteps of Jesus. By grace, in the power of the Spirit, that is possible.

 

Photo: Unsplash