Colin S. Smith's Blog, page 30

10 Tactics for Peacemakers, Part 1

1. Recognize where there is a problem.

They have healed the wound of my people lightly, saying, “Peace, peace,” when there is no peace. (Jeremiah 6:14)

There
were people then, as there are now, people who made a living saying, “Peace,
peace, even when there is no peace.” They tell people what they want to hear. So
the wounds of the people are dressed lightly.

We
might say they “put a sticking plaster over a septic wound.” Everyone knows
that can only make the problem worse.

Making
peace does not mean avoiding conflict. It’s not pretending that everything is
ok. It’s not “anything for a quiet life.” A conflict avoided is often conflict
postponed.

When
God makes peace with a person, He begins by wakening that person up to the fact
that there is a problem that needs to be faced. The honesty that says, “Well,
there’s a problem here,” is the kind of honesty that leads to peacemaking.

2. Deal with conflict early.

The beginning of strife is like letting out water, so quit before the quarrel breaks out. (Proverbs 17:14)

This
makes me think about being at camp as a child with a group of other kids. We
gathered rocks to build a dam in the stream, so that we could create a pool of
water to swim in.

You
know what it’s like: You build the dam, and then you get a pool of water
backing up—success! You notice a little trickle of water that comes through the
dam. If you don’t plug that hole, the trickle will become a cascade. The water
will move the rocks and all your work will be lost.

That’s
the picture here: The beginning of strife is like letting out water—the beginning of
strife!

Think
about this: every broken marriage had a point where the strife began! The first
harsh word, the first wound, the first moment of distrust. You didn’t see it at
the time, but the end was in the beginning.

You
look back and you say, “If I could go back to that moment and change what
happened then, I might be in a different place today.” But you can’t go back!

So
here’s what we learn: Deal with conflict early. Don’t let small things fester. Don’t
let it take root, because if you do, it will grow.

3. Practice restraint, especially with your tongue.

Let every person be quick to hear, slow to speak, slow to anger. (James 1:19)

Peacemakers
practice restraint. At times when you could unload, if you are a peacemaker,
you will hold back. This is surely one of the most obvious tactics and one of
the most important.

What
is the leading idol in our culture? “I must say what I think! I must say
what I feel!” Really? Do you really have to? When you hear that,
sometimes the right answer is to say, “What would happen if you didn’t?”

If
you want to be a peacemaker, learn to practice restraint. Even in honest
confrontation, you don’t need to unload everything. If you are a peacemaker,
you won’t!

If
God unloaded, all at one time, every way in which you and I had wronged Him, we
would never recover! In God’s grace, He shows us our sins slowly. So why would
you want to do that to someone else?

Practice
restraint, especially in relation to the tongue. The fruit of the
Spirit is self-control. Very rarely have I had reason to regret staying silent.
But too often I’ve had reason to regret something I said.

4. Prepare for a long journey.

Seek peace and pursue it. (1 Peter 3:11)

The
word “seek” tells us that sometimes peace will not be easy to find. The word
“pursue” means that the path of peace may be a long journey. Peacemaking is a
process, not an event.

Where
there are deep wounds, the path to peace may not be quick or easy. If you want
to be a peacemaker, be prepared for a long journey. God speaks about making
peace with those who are “far off” (Ephesians 2:13).

Think
about the length of the journey it took for God to be at peace with you! Where
did the problem begin? How did you become alienated from God and at enmity with
Him? Was it the first time you did something wrong? Of course not—the problem
goes much further back than that.

Where does it go back to? Some people say that their problems go back to their parents. That may be true, but it doesn’t go far enough.

The Root of All Your Problems:

The
Bible goes further: The real root of all your problems, and especially
your alienation from God, goes all the way back to your first parents who sinned
in the Garden, got themselves thrown out, and then passed on the impulse to sin
all the way down to you.

You
were born into a world that is hostile to God, and that hostility was
in you by nature. You were born alienated from God. That’s in your DNA,
until God makes you a new creation.

The
process of God making peace with you was a long journey. It goes back to the
beginning of time. It took all the promises of the Old Testament, all the work
of redeeming Israel, and all the ministry of sending the prophets.

It
took the coming of Christ for you to have peace with God. It took 33 years of
perfectly fulfilling all that God requires of you. It took his atoning death as
the sacrifice for your sins. It took his rising from the dead, and his
ascending into heaven, and even then it was not done.

It
took the sending of the Holy Spirit, who awakened you to your need of Christ,
and caused you to be born again. He applied the full effect of the cleansing
blood of Jesus to your life, moving you from a state of condemnation into the
blessing of life as an adopted child of God!

That
is a long, long journey! God has been relentless, over the centuries, in
pursuing peace with you.

5. Take a step toward peace.

If your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink. (Romans 12:20)

The
longest journey begins with a first step. When peace seems a long way off,
think about what might be one small step in the right direction. What could I
do that would be well received by the other person?

Is
there an act of kindness I can show, an evidence of goodwill I can display? What
would be one step that would make this better, one step that might make another
step possible?

I’ve
been reading the story of the Cuban missile crisis. The world was on the brink
of a nuclear holocaust. Two mighty nations were standing toe-to-toe, ready to
unleash enormous nuclear arsenals to unimaginable destruction. It remains the
most dangerous moment in world history ever.

The key question at the heart of the Cuban missile crisis was simple: What could be done to begin a process of de-escalation? What would be one step that might ease the tension and allow the other side to respond by taking another step back from the brink of mutual destruction?

Will
you look this week for one step that might make a counter-step, however small,
possible?

Continue reading these ten tactics here.

This is an excerpt from Pastor Colin’s sermon, “Cultivating Peace,” from his series Momentum, Part 2.



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Fight against Your Greatest Enemy this Year, Sin

As our king, Christ
poured His life into us and cultivates that life within us. Out of our life in
Christ, we surrender every square inch of our lives to His reign. Yet sin
tempts us to reject obedience to God as our king. We must wage war against this
foe. Otherwise we give ourselves over to the source of all death. 

Indeed, Christ’s life is a person. He sends His Spirit to indwell and fill us. The Spirit reveals sin’s subtle tactics to turn our focus away from God. Moreover, the Spirit empowers us to engage the means by which the Father cultivates and protects us in Himself.

Through walking by the Spirit, we will abide in eternal life (Romans 8:13). This same Spirit rose Jesus from His grave into glory and bliss. That Spirit lives inside us. He gave us a new life in Jesus. He empowers us to conquer any lingering desire to disobey God. As our counselor, the Spirit instructs us in three truths. They are vital to our well-being.

First, sin readily
tempts us who are easily convinced to rebel against God. Second, the Spirit
supplies us with all the strength we need to fight off sin. We must employ that
strength to surrender every aspect of ourselves and our lives to Christ. Third,
the Spirit employs one power to apply Christ’s salvation to us. That power is
the gospel. This good news motivates us to turn away from sin and encourages us
when we fall to sin.

Take Heed Lest You Fall 

“If you do well, will you not be accepted? And if you do not do well, sin is crouching at the door. Its desire is contrary to you, but you must rule over it” (Genesis 4:7)

Sin crouches outside the gates of our hearts, waiting to obtain the throne of our desires. Satan lurks outside and whispers into our ears an enticing offer, presenting the bait while hiding the hook. He knows just the right place to poke and prod. Indeed, he diligently searched for that one weak link to exploit. As a roaring lion seeking prey to devour us, he joins our sinful desires to destroy us (1 Peter 5:8; James 1:14). 

Once any sinful desire has been sufficiently cultivated and sustained to reach full growth, it will conceive sin and that sin will slay us (James 1:14–15). It delights in falsely clothing itself with the appearance of virtue, just as Satan delights to masquerade himself as an angel of light (2 Corinthians 11:14). Once fleshly desires and promises have intoxicated you, you are no more than a blind lamb on the path to the slaughterhouse. 

Once sin directs your
heart to believe that this particular act of rebellion is “desirable,” then
your mind will falsely reason that the act is “good.” With our hands and feet,
we implement what our hearts find desirable and what our minds consider good.

Through our intake of the Word, the Spirit transforms our hearts, minds, and wills. Radiating our hearts in the warmth of Christ, the Spirit melts away cold desires unaffected by God’s love. He inflames our hearts to adore and enjoy Christ. Shining the light of Christ into our minds, he chases all dark thoughts of sin away. He reorients our minds to meditate on Christ.

Invigorating our wills with the energy of Christ, the Spirit enlivens our wills otherwise unresponsive to God’s grace and mercy. Out of the Spirit’s effective work within us, we toil to maximize our enjoyment of God.

Sweaty Toiling and Restful Dependence

“Not that I have already obtained this or am already perfect, but I press on to make it my own, because Christ Jesus has made me his own” (Philippians 3:12)

Power to defeat sin has been granted to us by God. Through our death and resurrection in Christ, death to sin and life to God is ours. Through our transformation into new creations by the Holy Spirit, the old has passed away and the new is present (2 Corinthians 5:17). 

Additionally, we have a new identity in Christ. United to Christ, we receive the benefits of redemption, forgiveness, and reconciliation. God separates us from our sins. He no longer associates us with our rebellion. We no longer owe God a debt for our sin because Jesus satisfied the punishment for our sins on the cross.

While we had previously been cast out of God’s presence, God invites us back into His presence as His adopted children. And He invites us into His presence to worship and enjoy Him forever.

Because God has equipped us with His all-sufficient power and has called us into His all-satisfying presence, we can begin to live in obedience to his reign. We can put to death that which is contrary to his reign. Indeed, this is our spiritual worship.

Now when God looks at us, he sees Jesus. He sees us clothed in Jesus’s righteousness. He sees us cleansed in Jesus’s shed blood. And He sees us lifted up into Jesus’s life.

As we fight sin, we
should rest in Jesus because He alone removes the crushing weight of our sin.

As our friend and savior, He approaches us in
gentleness and humility. He assures us of our life in Him. Moreover, Jesus
cultivates our desire and ability to live for Him. In His incarnation, Jesus
condescended from His place in heaven to take on our humanity and live among
us. In His ascension, Jesus sent His Spirit to abide in us so that He accompanies
us all the time and everywhere.

We should not fear sin. Jesus secured our salvation. And His Spirit applies that salvation to us. We should strive in that salvation with our entire being to fight sin.

The Greatest Comfort of All: Belonging to Christ

“For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God” (2 Corinthians 5:21).

We must daily preach to
ourselves the Gospel. And God will comfort us in the good news that we belong
to Jesus forever. The blood of the Lamb, “the best blood, the noblest blood,
the life-blood, the heart-blood of the Lord Jesus,” was shed for us (Thomas
Brooks). Our ransom is paid.

God sits enthroned in
our hearts as our king. He requests the same level of commitment and loyalty
that He gives us. Indeed, He does not ask us to die to ourselves daily without
dying for us first. And you see, God enables us to accomplish His requests. Our
identity in Christ empowers us to live as faithful servants of God. Before we
could ever serve God, Christ became a servant for us. In His humanity, Christ
aligned His will with His Father’s will.

Certainly, Jesus has secured us as His own. Christ has rooted and established the very core of our being to Himself. He has stamped us with His royal crest. He has poured His very life and love into us. As our helper and guide, His Spirit strengthens and encourages us in our fight against sin. Nothing nor nobody can stop nor hinder God’s power at work within us. Neither can they separate us from the love of God poured into us.

Only in Christ can we fight the good fight, finish the race, and keep the faith (2 Timothy 4:7).

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Three Marks of a Godly Person

The Bible tell us that King David was a man after God’s own heart.

So what set him apart as such? David was a regenerated man, a man with a new heart, a man with a different spirit than other men of the world. We read of his godliness throughout the Old Testament books of first and second Samuel, as well as in the Psalms.

I want you to notice three truths that made David such an outstanding servant of the Lord, what distinguished him from all the rest. Let’s measure ourselves against these and remember that these are the gifts that Christ holds in His hands, and He offers them to us.

A New Heart

The Lord has sought out a man after his own heart (1 Samuel 13:14).

Where did David get this heart? Certainly he was not born with it! David was born with the same heart as all his brothers: “I was brought forth in iniquity, and in sin did my mother conceive me” (Psalm 51:5). David was saying, “I was born with a sinful heart.”

So how did he get a heart after God? There’s only one possible answer: God gave it to him! That is why God says, “I have provided for myself a king” (1 Samuel 16:1). God provided the new heart that He was seeking.

This new heart that God gave to David is central to God’s new covenant promise in Jesus Christ: “I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you” (Ezekiel 36:26). A heart after God is what Christ seeks, and it is also what Christ provides. God looked for this new heart, and He found it because He gave it!

God gave David a new heart early in life. He can begin a work of grace early in your life. Here’s what it looks like: You used to giggle and fidget in church, but now you find that you want to listen. You don’t understand everything, but you want to learn more. What is happening?

God is doing this! He is giving you a new heart for worshiping Him. He is regenerating you. And, He is putting a new spirit in you.

When God gives you a new heart, you will still sin and fail in many ways. But the trajectory of your life is different. The desire of your heart has changed, because you are coming to love Christ. You want to please Him. It hurts you when you grieve the Spirit, and that leads you to repentance.

You can come to Him today and say, “God, take away this heart of stone and give me a heart of flesh. Give me a new heart, according to your promise in Jesus Christ. Move me to live a new life, according to your laws.” Do you see the evidence of this in your own life?

A New Power

The Spirit of the Lord rushed upon David from that day forward (Samuel 16:13).

The Holy Spirit came on David like a mighty rushing wind. After the day that he was anointed king by Samuel, David had a new power that had not been in him before. In this strength, he was able to see off a lion and a bear (1 Samuel 17:34-36). In the power of the Spirit, David was able to face Goliath, that great tormentor of the people of God.

This new heart and new spirit is the promise of God’s new covenant in Jesus Christ: “I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you” (Ezekiel 36:26). The Gospel is more than good news to be believed; it is power to be deployed. If you have not grasped that, if you have not experienced that, then you have missed the very heart of what it means to be a Christian: “I am not ashamed of the Gospel for it is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes” (Romans 1:16).

When God makes you a new creation in Christ, you not only have a new heart, you have a new power. The Spirit of the Lord lives within you. He makes it possible for you to do what God is calling you to do. You will be able to forgive that wound that hurt you so deeply. You will be able to stand against the power of that temptation. And, you will be able to face the pressures of life that overcame you before. You will be able to persevere in the face of difficulty.

You will say with Paul, “I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength” (Philippians 4:13).

A New Struggle

When God gives you the gift of a new heart and He indwells you by His Holy Spirit, don’t expect the road ahead to be an easy one. God gave His Spirit, which was immediately followed by intense struggles.

That’s what we learn from the story of David, and from the story of Jesus. David was anointed, and then for years he had to put up with Saul, who hated him and hunted him. Jesus was anointed for ministry: He was born without sin, from the virgin, Mary, and the Spirit descended on Him like a dove at His baptism. What happens next?

The Spirit drives Jesus out into the wilderness where He is tempted by the devil. He launches into public ministry where He faces intense opposition and the relentless demands of crowds of people. Then He goes to a cross when He suffers and dies in agony—no crown yet.

There was a great struggle between the day of Christ’s anointing and the day when He rose from the dead and ascended in power and glory to take His seat on the throne. The pattern for David was the pattern for Jesus, and the pattern for Jesus will be the pattern for you and me!

Christ gives His people a new heart and a new Spirit, but then He gives us something else—a new struggle: “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me” (Mark 8:34).

What About You?

Christ gives you a new heart. He fills you with His Spirit. Then it’s back into the world with all its pressures and relentless demands. Back to that difficult marriage, back to that secular school, back to that hostile environment. Why? To honor Christ there!

So here is what Christ offers: A new heart, a new spirit, and a new struggle. Do you see evidence of these marks within yourself? These are the gifts God holds in His hands for you today. Will you take them, trusting in His ability to set you apart for Himself?

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3 Verses on the Importance and Blessing of Peace

There are peacemakers and there are peace breakers. God calls us to be peacemakers in a world of conflict. Let me give you some Scriptures to remind you of the importance and blessing of peace.

A. Called to Peace

God has called you to peace. (1 Corinthians 7:15)

If
you belong to Jesus Christ this is your calling. God calls you to contribute to
the peace of your family: Picture your father, mother, brother, sister, son or
daughter. They are your family.

They
may love each other dearly, they may be at each other’s throats. They may not
be speaking to each other—whatever it’s like, God calls you to contribute, to
the best of your ability, to the peace of your family. Whether it’s
dysfunctional or happy, you are called by God to be an influencer towards
making it better.

It’s
the same in the church: As a member of the congregation, God calls you to
contribute to its peace. That’s not an option; it is a calling from God Himself.
The same is true at work, in the community, in a restaurant. Wherever you are,
whatever you do, God has called you to peace.

B. Plan for Peace

Those who plan peace have joy. (Proverbs 12:20)

Since
this is the calling of God, we should be intentional about pursuing it: Plan
peace! Where we don’t have it, as a Christian we should be asking: What’s the
best way to get it? Where we do have it, we should be asking: How can we
protect it? How do we make sure we don’t lose this peace?

What
is peace? In the Bible, the word “shalom” (or peace) is more than the absence
of conflict. It is the active enjoyment of all that is good. As I think about
what I say and what I do, I should be asking this question: What would promote
peace?

What
would promote the greatest wholeness and health in my family, church,
colleagues, neighbors and friends? I should plan for that, plot it, hatch
schemes for it. Plan peace! Those who plan peace have great joy!

C. Work for peace

Strive for peace with everyone, and for the holiness without which no one will see the Lord. (Hebrews 12:14)

Peacemakers
don’t stop with plans—they plan the work and they work the plan. The word “strive”
indicates effort, hard work, and perseverance. There’s a reason why it’s the
seventh beatitude, it’s the summit.

What It Means to Be a Peacemaker

Peacemakers
are people who bring peace to others, because they have it themselves. But, how
do you get peace?

Peace
in your heart flows from purity in your life. Notice the order: “Blessed are
the pure in heart for they shall see God” (Matthew 5:8). “Blessed are the
peacemakers for they shall be called sons of God” (5:9). There’s a direct
connection:

The wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable. (James 3:17)

First pure,
then peaceable—there is an order there. Peace of heart flows from purity of
life. Why? Purity of heart is to “will one thing.”

The
person who wills one thing is a person who can be at peace. The impure person
has a heart that is fundamentally divided. He or she wants two contradictory
things at the same time. As long as that unresolved conflict rages there is no
peace.

That’s
why the Bible says, “There is no peace for the wicked” (Isaiah 57:21). The
wicked cannot have peace because they do not have purity.

Peace flows from purity, so the more you pursue purity the more you will discover and enjoy peace in your heart.

This is an excerpt from Pastor Colin’s sermon, “Blessed are the Peacemakers,” from his series Momentum, Volume 2.



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5 Key Connections: Fire, Googling Wisdom

Here are five important passages from recent articles around the web, including on the fire in Australia and one on where wisdom can be found. Enjoy!

Grace Under Fire (Jodie McNeill, TGC Australia)

As I stood before these deserted homes holding a charged hose, I was reminded again of how the works of our hands are so fragile, even when made out of bricks and steel.

And, to be honest, I was also a bit scared myself, as this was the first time since I joined the RFS that I was going to directly face a firefront like this.

Googling Wisdom (Seth Lewis)

I need something more stable than shifting opinions, more authoritative than contradictory experts, more substantial than catchy slogans, and better at sifting through the confusion than my own gut feelings.

Open the Bible (Colin Smith, Challies)

The Bible story gives us the building blocks we need to grasp the gospel. Step by step, the Old Testament builds a worldview that opens our eyes to Jesus, why we need Him, and what He came into the world to accomplish.

How to Get Your Kids to Read the Bible (Jonathan Pitts, Lifeway Voices)

You’ve heard the saying that “you can teach what you know, but that you’ll reproduce who you are.” And so I’m a firm believer in the fact that I can try to teach my girls to do lots of different things, but if I’m not doing it myself I won’t reproduce it in them.

What Being “In Christ” Means (Colin Smith, Unlocking the Bible)

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.

Six Faith Phrases to Know from Scripture

Faith is a common word. While this can be a good thing because it means people are talking about faith in general, it can also be a bad thing because our understanding of the Christian faith can become defined by general assumptions rather than biblical language.

So, here are some phrases regarding faith from the Bible that remind me what Scripture has to say about this word.

1.) Faithfulness

“The Lord, the Lord, a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness…” (Exodus 34:6)

The Lord abounds in faithfulness. That’s the place to start when we talk about faith!

Why? Faith is like trust, it is best to have when someone is trustworthy. If no one was trustworthy, I’d caution you from trust. But there are trustworthy people, so trust is a good idea because it helps us form relationships.

And there is One who is completely faithful–the Lord. That’s why we should have faith; He abounds in faithfulness.

2.) Breach of Faith / Breaking Faith

“What is this breach of faith that you have committed against the God of Israel in turning away this day from following the Lord by building yourselves an altar this day in rebellion against the Lord?” (Joshua 22:16)

“When a man or woman commits any of the sins that people commit by breaking faith with the Lord…” (Numbers 5:6)

The phrases “breach of faith” and “breaking faith” show us that faith is a relational thing. When we sin, we betray the relationship we have with God.

The word breach reminds me of the phrase breach of contract. And in this sense, faith is a thing that needs to maintained or consequences will ensue. This is true, there are certainly consequences to breaking faith in the Lord, which we will see in the next point.

3.) Faithless

Do not be like your fathers and your brothers, who were faithless to the Lord God of their fathers, so that he made them a desolation, as you see. (2 Chronicles 30:7)

This verse from 2 Chronicles shows us a sobering truth–there are terrible consequences for faithlessness. Choosing to not have faith in the Lord is not an innocent act. The Bible tells us that God brings His judgment upon those who are faithless.

In the first point, we saw the Lord is slow to anger. Our Lord is incredibly patient, and His forbearance is unmatched. So we know that when God brings judgment on those who have sinned against Him, we can trust that God did so in the right way and at the right time.

4.) Faith in Jesus

We know that a person is not justified by works of the law but through faith in Jesus Christ, so we also have believed in Christ Jesus, in order to be justified by faith in Christ and not by works of the law, because by works of the law no one will be justified. (Galatians 2:16)

The Bible is not vague about the Christian faith. The Christian faith is not faith in the world. It is not faith in humanity. It is not faith in yourself. The Christian faith is faith in Jesus Christ.

Let’s go back to the first point again. We have faith because God abounds in faithfulness. It is His nature that necessitates this response in us. If we have this idea that God created us to have faith in general, to be ambiguously optimistic about the world, then we are missing the point of why we were created!

We were created to have faith in the person of Jesus Christ, our Savior.

5.) Little Faith

But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is alive and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? (Matthew 6:30, see also 8:26; 14:31)

This point and the next one show us that Christians can have varying “amounts” of faith. Here we see that Jesus says His listeners have “little faith,” implying they are listening to His words and they have plenty of room to grow in their walk with Him.

6.) Great Faith

Then Jesus answered her, “O woman, great is your faith! Be it done for you as you desire.” (Matthew 15:28, see also 8:10)

And here we see that Jesus commends a woman for having great faith.

Both the people with little faith and the woman with great faith believe in Jesus Christ. They both hear His words. But who do you think brings greater delight to Christ? The one with greater faith!

May we all be like the apostles who wisely said:

“Increase our faith!” (Luke 17:5)

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What John 1 Taught Me about Who Jesus Is

The college I attended offered chapel services every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. Usually, we’d sing a few worship songs, and then the main speaker would come up to offer a message. Yet, before the main speaker, before the one we were excited for, came the introduction.

The introduction was often given by a student. While I was never asked to give one, people I knew from my residence hall or from classes got up to the podium to introduce the speaker. Of course, they were more qualified than others to do this because they had a personal relationship with the speaker. They not only knew about their accomplishments, but they could speak to their character.

John 1 is this kind of introduction. The stories and words of Jesus are coming, and readers anticipate those. They are the main event of the Gospel of John. And, as someone who knew Jesus personally, John offers his introduction. And here are three snapshots of how John describes his friend and Savior.

1.) The Word

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made. (John 1:1-3)

Immediately, we see the allusion to Genesis 1:1. The first words of John 1 speak an incredible truth. Compare them to the first words of Genesis 1:

In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.

Notice the verb created. That means the heavens and the earth were not there until the beginning. And if their creation marked the beginning, then God who did the creating was there before.

And John 1 says, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God.” So John is clearly saying Jesus, the Word, was not created but pre-existent. Eternal.

Consider how God created. How did He go about it? He spoke (Genesis 1:3). And what did He do after things were created? He named them: “God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night” (Genesis 1:5). Language was essential to creation.

John, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, calls Jesus the Word. No wonder he says, “without him was not any thing made that was made.” You can’t speak without the Word.

2.) The True Light

The true light, which gives light to everyone, was coming into the world.(John 1:9)

John is careful to describe Jesus as not only the Word (which carries connotations of truth and reality) but also the objective Word. Jesus is truth. He is reality.

Subjective truth, while it can be helpful and good, provides insights to some people in some place during some stretch of time. Objective truth, however, impacts all people in all places during all times.

John says that Jesus is the “true light” and that He “gives light to everyone.” In other words, if we can see, know, or understand truth, it is because He has given light to us. Jesus is not only the truth but also the way to know the truth.

We all must respond to the light He brings. John tells us that the world did not know Him and did not receive Him (John 1:10-11). What is the consequence of such rejection? Well, John 1:4 tells us what those who reject Him will miss out on:

In him was life, and the life was the light of men.

To reject His light is to reject life itself. So, Jesus is truth, He is the way to know truth, and He is the way to have life. Sound familiar?

Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” (John 14:6)

3.) The Only God

The Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth. (John 1:14)

The only God, who is at the Father’s side, he has made him known. (John 1:18)

John claims Jesus the Word. He explains that the truth Jesus brings impacts all people forever. And John also makes one more thing clear: Jesus is unique among all. He is the only God.

The phrase “only Son from the Father” may cause some confusion. “Son” seems to imply that Jesus was created by God, but we can just go back to John 1:1 to see that this cannot be the case. Jesus is eternal.

John 1:18 provides some clarity for the expression “only Son from the Father.” For the latter verse explains that Jesus has made God known to all (see again John 14:6). And so what John means by “Son” is not “creation” but “likeness.”

What is God like? God is holy, which means He is separate. He is unique. God describes Himself in Isaiah 46:

I am God, and there is none like me. (Isaiah 46:9)

Jesus is the incarnation of that “none like me” quality of God.

The People Who Knew Jesus Knew He Was Unlike Any Other

John the Baptist knew Jesus was unique, set apart. He told those sent from the Pharisees that “among you stands one you do not know” (John 1:26). Meaning, something totally, categorically different than humanity has ever seen or known is here. John the Baptist knew that human yearning for newness epitomized by Ecclesiastes 1:9 had been fulfilled in the birth of Jesus.

Nathanael would come to know of Jesus’s unique nature when Jesus knew he had been under the fig tree. He was so astonished he said, “You are the Son of God. You are the King of Israel!” (John 1:49)

And readers of the Bible can come to know Jesus as well. As the Creator of the Universe names what He created throughout Genesis 1, so Jesus gives Simon a new name in John 1:42: “Cephas (which means Peter).”

I urge you to embrace life and truth through the only God, Jesus Christ.

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What Being “In Christ” Means

Here is a 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. We call this being “in Christ.”

If you feel that all this is beyond you, I simply ask you this question: Can you see that if the Spirit of Jesus Christ were to live as an honored guest in your soul, to dwell in your mind and heart, to settle down in your desires, and in your conscience, and even in your memories, if that were to happen, it would be entirely different from you doing your best to be a good Christian?

I hope you know what I am talking about from your own experience. But if you don’t, I hope you’ll be awakened to what it really means to be a Christian, and that you will not rest until you can say with clarity and joy, “I have been crucified with Christ, and I no longer live but Christ lives in me” (Galatians 2:20).

Here is what the Good News of the indwelling Christ means for the Christian.

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” (Psalm 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?” (Psalm 27:1). You can say with Paul, “If God be for me, who can be against me?” (Romans 8:31). And you can say with John, “Greater is he who is in me than he who is in the world” (1 John 4:4).

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.

Some of you have told me that you enjoyed watching Downton Abbey, an English drama from the early 20th century set in a stately home, where the servants live, eat, and work downstairs, while the earl and his family enjoy their stately home upstairs.

One distinguishing feature of the house is that it has a system of little bells that ring in the kitchen with a pull cord in every room. The earl and his family can call for anything that they need. When the bell rings downstairs, it indicates exactly where the need is, so that the servants can make an immediate response.

Here is something very wonderful: Christ has installed a bell system that connects your heart with heaven. This is a bell system in reverse, because the bells ring in heaven. It is a bell system in which the servants ring for the help of the Master.

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” (Hebrews 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!

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 me and is actively at work in me.

“Christ in you, the hope of glory” (Colossians 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” (Revelation 3:20).

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God’s Way of Making Peace

Jesus
says, “Blessed are the peacemakers for they shall be called sons of God”
(Matthew 5:9).

When
you make peace, you reflect the likeness of God. People see a reflection
of His glory. Think about how God makes peace, and what it’s going to take
for you to do this hard work.

God’s Way of Making Peace



1. Don’t stand on your rights

Christ
was in the form of God. But He did not grasp what was His by right.

He
left heaven. He stepped down. He came into the world for us. Why? To make peace.
You will not make peace by standing on your rights.

Martyn
Lloyd-Jones says, “If God stood upon his rights and dignity, upon his person,
every one of us… would be consigned to hell and absolute perdition.” [1]

We
live in a world of rights, where people often say, “It’s my right.” It may
be your right, and there may be times when it is appropriate to insist on your
rights, but what is the best way to make peace?

Every
time you think about your rights, remind yourself, “If God stood on His rights,
I would be in hell forever and so would everyone else.” You don’t make peace by
standing on your rights.

2. Move toward the trouble.

But
don’t move toward all trouble. Some people are drawn to trouble. They look for
fights because they want to get involved. People like that are obviously not
Christians.

Our
calling is to act as peacemakers, and where you can be a peacemaker, you will
move toward the trouble. That is what God did in the incarnation.

A
wise person once gave me good counsel on dealing with situations of conflict:
“Always move towards the barking dog.” That’s never my inclination. If a
dog is barking, that’s the last thing I want to do. My instinct is to back off.

When
the world was barking at God, He did not back off. He moved towards us. He came
to us, and what did that lead to?  The shedding of His blood on the cross.

Making peace does not mean avoiding conflict

Peacemakers
often cause trouble in pursuing peace. I believe that is what Jesus was
referring to when He said, “I have not come to bring peace but a sword”
(Matthew 10:24). When the peacemaker came there was an outpouring of violence
against Him. People took sides over Him.

Christ
came to make peace between men and God. He moved towards the trouble, but when He
came the trouble flared. That will often be the experience of a peacemaker. Peacemaking
is not for the faint-hearted—it takes immense courage. It’s the most dangerous
job in the world! For Jesus it meant laying down His life.

3. Love before you are loved in return.

God demonstrates his own love for us in this: that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. (Romans 5:8)

Amazing! Could
you do that? Could you love and keep loving where love is not returned? Of
course not… unless the Spirit of Jesus were to actually live
in you.

Here’s
a prayer that you could make your own:

Make me a channel of your peace
Where there is hatred let me bring your love
Where there is injury, your pardon, Lord
And where there’s doubt true faith in you.

O master grant that I may never seek
so much to be consoled as to console
To be understood as to understand
To be loved as to love with all my soul
Make me a channel of your peace. [2]

This is an excerpt from Pastor Colin’s sermon, “Blessed are the Peacemakers,” from his series Momentum, Volume 2.



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____________________

[1] D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones, “Studies in the Sermon on the Mount,” p. 108, Eerdmans, 1984

[2]
This prayer is attributed to St. Francis of Asissi, 1181-1226

5 Key Connections: Amen, Journaling, and more

Here are five key passages from recent Christian articles around the web. There’s one on learning to say “Amen,” and there’s another on how to flourish in your journaling.

Learning to Say “Amen” (Becky Pilego)

May 2020 be a year of “Amens” for all of us. May we quickly learn not to complain and murmur and let unbelief take root in our hearts, but with the help of the Spirit, may we learn to submit ourselves to the Word of God and the work of the Spirit in our lives. God is good and He is at work, we cannot forget that.

5 Ways to Flourish in Journaling (David Mathis, Crossway)

Journaling is a gift for the long haul. The flash-in-the-pan attempt has limited value. And so an important counsel for journaling is keeping it simple enough that you can keep coming back. Be modest in your plans for frequency and length of entries. If your expectations are too involved and complex, then you’ll be less likely to continue over time.

Not as the Word of Men (Nicholas T. Batzig, Feeding on Christ)

Whether it is those sections of God’s word that fit within our already developed framework; or those which challenge us to reassess our propensity to allow culture or our subjective preferences to color our reading of God’s truth, we must subject ourselves to the whole counsel of God “not as the word of men but as what it really is, the word of God, which is at work in you believers.” (1 Thess. 2:13).

Trust the Bible above Your Experience (Jordan Standridge, the Cripplegate)

We need a sea of people in the church who completely rely on Scripture–to unapologetically declare our hearts’ wicked inability to know the truth without it, and to resolve to completely rely on the Holy Spirit to inform our doctrine and theology.

Seven Opportunities for Manifesting Mercy (Colin Smith, Unlocking the Bible)

A hard heart always makes a big deal of another person’s failure, but a tender heart, a merciful heart, often uses the blind eye and the deaf ear!