Colin S. Smith's Blog, page 62

How Do I Get to Heaven?

How do I get to heaven? The story of the thief on the cross makes the answers to this question crystal clear—this man had no works to offer, either before or after his salvation. His salvation was only by grace of God. A. W. Pink asks:

What could he do? [The thief] could not walk in the paths of righteousness for there was a nail through either foot. He could not perform any good works for there was a nail through either hand. He could not turn over a new leaf and live a better life for he was dying.[i]

Truth can always be twisted by perverse people. The wonderful truth that God saves by grace, through faith and without works is no exception. A man said to Spurgeon, “If I believed that, I would carry on in a life of sin,” to which he replied, “Yes, you would!”[ii]

But the redeemed heart loves Christ. The forgiven sinner has a desire to please his Lord.  

If the thief had been rescued from the cross and lived another 30 years, he would have lived a new and different life, but he did not have that opportunity. The fact that he entered paradise shows us with great clarity where our salvation lies.

Our salvation in Christ involves three marvelous gifts—justification, sanctification and glorification. Justification is the gift by which our sins are forgiven, sanctification is the gift by which we grow in the likeness of Christ, and glorification is the gift by which we enter into the everlasting joy of heaven. If you get that, you get the Christian life.

Christ Justified Us

Now think about what happened to this man. He was justified and glorified on the same day! He completely bypassed sanctification! This man missed out on the entire Christian life—no battles with temptation, no struggles with prayer. He was not baptized, he never received communion, and he did not become a member of any church.

Let’s return to our question: How do I get to heaven? Here’s what this story tells us: Entrance to heaven comes through justification, not through sanctification. You enter heaven by forgiveness and through the righteousness that Jesus gives you. You do not enter into heaven by the Christian life.

The New Testament repeats this theme again and again:

A man is not justified by observing the law, but by faith in Jesus Christ. (Galatians 2:16)

He saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. (Titus 3:5)

For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—not by works, so that no one can boast. (Ephesians 2:8-9)

It’s always true that where faith is birthed, works will follow, but salvation is by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone. This is the good news that your acceptance with God does not depend on your performance in the Christian life.

Where would you be if Christ said, “I forgive you, but I’ll be watching to see how you do from now on.” What kind of love is that? “I forgive you, but make sure you don’t mess up again.” When you read the words “not by works,” rejoice. If it wasn’t for this, you’d be sunk because your Christian life is not what you want it to be and neither is mine.

Christ Gives Complete Assurance

“Today, you will be with me in paradise.” (Luke 23:43)

Don’t you just hate the business of waiting for exam results? You do the test, hand in your paper, and then you have to wait. Can you imagine living your whole life waiting for the results? Imagine praying every day, serving every week, and then wondering, “Will I make it into heaven? Or will I spend eternity in hell?”

When the man says, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom,” Christ does not say, “We’ll have to wait and see.” He doesn’t say, “It’s rather late in the day for you to think about repentance now. Look at all the years you’ve wasted!” No, Jesus says, “Today, you will be with me in paradise!”

The Son of God brings the declaration of the last day forward for all who put their trust in him. Do you see how the gift of assurance flows from Christ saving us by grace, through faith, and without works? If our works were in any way involved in our gaining entrance into heaven, assurance would be impossible.

If salvation rested on our works in any way, all assurance would be arrogance because it would be saying “I’ve done the necessary works.” Salvation depends not on your works for Christ, but on Christ’s work for you. His work is finished. It’s perfect and complete. You can rest your life, death, and eternity on him with complete confidence.

Heaven Is Nearer Than You Think

Jesus says, “I tell you the truth, today you will be with me in paradise” (Luke 23:43). Christ is the Lord of paradise. He holds its keys. There can be no higher assurance than his promise. That’s why the apostle Paul says, “It is God who justifies. Who is he that condemns?” (Romans 8:33-34).

Death does not lead to a long period of unconsciousness. Nor does it lead, for the believer, to a long process of being prepared. For a Christian believer, death is an immediate translation into the joys of life at the right hand of God. To be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord.

Christian, heaven is much nearer than you think. “Today you will be with me in paradise.”

[This post was adapted from Pastor Colin’s sermon, “Breakfast with the Devil, Supper with the Savior,” the second sermon in his series, 7 Words from the Cross.][Photo Credit: Unplash]
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[i] A. W. Pink, “The Seven Sayings of the Savior from the Cross,” p. 34, Baker, 2005
http://www.amazon.com/Seven-Sayings-Saviour-Cross-Arthur/dp/0801065739/
[ii] C. H. Spurgeon sermon, “Election and Holiness” March 11, 1860
http://www.spurgeon.org/sermons/0303.htm

Submit Your Dream to God

I held my rounded belly as I walked up the wooden, uneven stairs. We delayed their renovation until after the baby’s room was done. Almost everything was unfinished on the second floor of our house. The walls still had floral and striped wallpaper (and who knows what other colours underneath), the floors were chipboard, and there were boxes we still had no place for after living here almost a year. Some days I liked my dreams coming true: the walls having fresh paint, my bare feet walking on clean hardwood, and bright sunlight filling the spaces. But I knew that was still a number of months down the road.

If you asked me what I envisioned for my life, this was far from it. I would have told you about my plans to live in the city, work in a church, and use my Master’s in Biblical Counselling. Maybe I’d tell you about our cute house in the cul-de-sac with a modern farmhouse feeling. I would have told you children were in the picture, but not until I was 28.

And yet, here I was—21 years old, working as a babysitter and “Mommy Helper,” without a degree, and pregnant with my first. The only common denominator was my faithful husband. There were days I felt like my dreams were crushed by the sovereign hand of God.

Has life not turned out the way you dreamed? Maybe you thought you would have a growing family with babies and toddlers in tow—but your arms still remain empty. Perhaps you saw yourself going out on double dates with your married friends by now—yet, you are the only one who is still single. Maybe you saw yourself with a nicer and better-paying job at this point—but you still push grocery items on a conveyor belt.

Worshiping Our Dreams

Do you worship your dreams? I know I did. I held my dreams higher than God at times, and pursued my dreams more than I pursued holiness. There were times I was willing to sin to get my dreams. In my heart, I had pushed God aside and placed my dreams in his place.

Have you ever considered that these dreams you have might be an idol? Even if your dreams are good—like having a godly husband—our hearts can still worship them.

Since the lines can at times become fuzzy, here are a few ways to see if your dream has become an idol. You…

are willing to or have sinned in attempt to achieve it.
become sinfully angry when you can’t have it.
are willing to hurt others to get it.
put off obedience to God in the ways he has already called you in order to achieve it.
often think, “Without [insert your dream], I will never be happy.”

Before you can find hope again from your unrealized dreams, you need to first let go of this idolatry. God needs to be the One you delight in most. In recognizing this idolatry in your heart, start by repenting and asking God for forgiveness. Confess to him how you have placed this dream over him and the ways you have disobeyed him in order to get it. Then seek to know God more. As you grow in the knowledge of God, you will see how he is much better than your dream and how inferior your dream is to him.

Finding Hope In God’s Sovereignty and Wisdom

We know that God is sovereign. All of our plans and dreams pass through his hands first. If they are realized, then we know it was in his will for them to be fulfilled. But if they do not, we know that it was him who sovereignly chose to keep them from us.

This should give us great comfort. We are sinful and unwise people—if our plans and dreams always turned out the way we wanted, our lives would be a mess. When things go wrong, we would have no hope of them turning out for the better. Since God is sovereign, we can have hope even when our plans and dreams aren’t realized. We know God works together all things for good (Romans 8:28-30).

What is that ultimate good? When our dreams are crushed and we can’t see the goodness in it, we can know that the true goodness began with our salvation. When God rescued us sinners from the condemnation to hell our sin had sentenced us to, he began a good work in us that he promises to see to completion: Our sanctification—being made more like Christ.

We know that God is also much wiser than us. He knows what will make us more like Christ, which should be our ultimate goal (or dream). Isaiah declares:

For my thoughts are not your thoughts,

   neither are your ways my ways, declares the Lord.

For as the heavens are higher than the earth,

   so are my ways higher than your ways

   and my thoughts than your thoughts. (Isaiah 55:8-9)

In God’s greater wisdom, he decides which way our lives turn. Even though our way may seem like the best way at the time, we can trust that God’s is better. His ways are higher in his great wisdom. Rather than questioning his choices, we need to learn to accept what he gives and what he withholds.

In our pain, and when what we want is good and right, this isn’t always easy to do. But we must preach the truth to our hearts in those times and remind ourselves of his perfect character. Take hope today in your crushed dreams that every “gift”—whether it is something given or something withheld—is perfect when it is from God.

We can also cling to a better and certain dream. Because we bear Christ’s mark of salvation, we can trust that we will one day meet Christ, face-to-face, fully redeemed from sin and taken from this sinful work  wrecked with heartache, disappointment, death, and pain, and enter into eternal life where all is perfect and at peace. We will enter eternity with Christ, and spend all of time with him in the most perfect place. When our dreams are dashed, this is a much greater hope.

A New Dream

I had specific dreams for my life. Thankfully, God doesn’t work according to my desires. He works according to his, which are beyond my wisdom. And by his greater wisdom, he gave me something better.

I wanted to live in a big city where opportunities and people abound. But God had different plans for us. He began by softening our hearts for the people in the small town around us through youth group and our church. From there, he provided the perfect house for us.

Rather than pursuing a degree, God led me to ACBC certification, through which I’ve grown immensely. Rather than waiting to have children, God has blessed us with a healthy baby boy. And, rather than having a fancy office job in a church, I got the opportunity to work for two mothers in our community—who help me learn about being a godly wife and mom. Working for these two mothers has also blessed me with the ability to provide for my household and invest time into my writing.

Some days it’s hard to see the “better” in this dream, and some days I struggle to be thankful when I see others living out my previous dream. But God is working on my heart, and I am growing in contentment and joy for this new life God has graciously given us.

You may not be able to see it now, but God has a better dream for you. I’m not saying all will turn out well according to the world’s standards, or even your standards, but I do know that it all will turn out according to God’s will, which is the best thing that could ever happen for your life.

[Photo Credit: Unsplash]

Pastor Appreciation Month: Seven Ways to Bless Your Pastor

Obey your leaders and submit to them, for they are keeping watch over your souls, as those who will have to give an account. Let them do this with joy and not with groaning, for the would be of no advantage to you. (Hebrews 13:17)

Here’s a question for you: Do you make it easy for your pastor to do his job with joy? I hope and pray so. Chances are you’re reading this for some ideas to bless a pastor in your life.

In a culture that has come to claim a day or week or month for just about everything, you may not know that October is known as Pastor Appreciation Month for many churches. As a pastor for 22 years, I’ve had a number of moments when I’ve felt appreciated. I have also heard from other pastors about what has really blessed them. Based on this experience, I want to give you some tips about celebrating pastors during the month of October.

Seven Ways to Bless Your Pastor

Here are seven ways for you to show your pastor how much you appreciate the sacrifice they make for you. As you read through them, try and find one that sticks out and would be attainable for you. I know your pastor will appreciate it.

1. Give an encouraging word.

Most weeks pastors pour over their study time, care for the congregation, consult the hurting, and serve those in the local community. Being a pastor is burdensome and exhausting physically, emotionally, and spiritually. Often we only hear critiques or concerns, which can become discouraging; so encourage us with your words. Let us know how the Lord has specifically changed you under our ministry.

2. Give a gift.

Find out what kind of reference books your pastor uses, and get him a gift card to retailers that sell them. He may be a tangible book guy that likes to hold the pages. Amazon, Westminster Theological Bookstore, Lifeway, and Christian Book Distributor are all good options. Let him know with a note that you want him to keep pursuing study of the Bible and appreciate the time he puts in. Remember that pastors are people too, and a personal gift can go a long way!

3. Give hospitality.

Have your pastor (and his family) over to your home for a meal. I have known families that threw a “we appreciate you!” dinner and invited over key people in their lives to their home. They decorated the backyard, prepared a five-course meal, had their children help as servers, and were great hosts. They were also intentional with the time, filling it with encouragement and exhortation.

4. Give acts of service.

Set up a meeting with the pastor and ask him what’s needed in regard to service areas in the church. You might be able to fill a volunteer role that’s been weighing on him because it hasn’t been filled for some time.

5. Give time away.

If you have the means of a second home somewhere, see if you can offer it to your pastor and his family for a vacation. Pastors desperately need to get away, and sometimes that can be difficult due to restraints on money and time.

6. Give a written note.

Have your small group take some time during your next meeting to write a number of encouraging notes that can be delivered to your pastor’s office at some point. When I walk in to see those stacks of notes, I feel deeply grateful that people took time during their busy week to share what they’ve been encouraged by.

7. Give encouragement to his wife.

Often neglected in pastor appreciation month is the pastor’s wife. She bears the burdens he does (maybe even more at times). Behind every good married pastor is a good wife. She needs encouragement too: When you called your pastor to come to your church, you called his wife at the same time.

Appreciate Your Pastor This Month

We pastors need encouragement these days, as we fight for the eternity of souls:

We ask you, brothers, to respect those who labor among you and are over you in the Lord and admonish you, and to esteem them very highly in love because of their work. Be at peace among yourselves. (1 Thessalonians 5:12-13)

It’s a wonderful, rewarding work to be a pastor because of what we get to be part of, day in and day out. Great pastors take pride in doing their work well and exalting the name of Jesus. I hope you appreciate your pastor or your church’s team of pastors well this month. Take some time to pray and think about how you might bless them, and then put yourself in go-mode to make it happen!

[Photo Credit: Unsplash]

Do Everything in The Name of Jesus

And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him. (Colossians 3:17)

This is one of those verses that appears everywhere. You see it on chalkboards, t-shirts, coffee mugs, even tattoos. It’s so present that it feels cliché—co-opted, even, by popular culture. Kind of a pithy proclamation of, “Hey, I’m not living for myself. I do everything for Jesus.”

It’s one downfall of our consumer culture. So many things—even biblical, God-honoring things—have been turned into knick-knacks. Their ubiquity depletes them of power. Seeing them often, we run the risk of blowing off this verse and others like it: “I can do all things through Christ,” or “For I know the plans I have for you,” or “With God all things are possible.”

But before they were bumper stickers and hand-painted on reclaimed barn wood, they were God’s very words. The Creator and Sustainer of the universe spoke them into existence. He whispered them to you and me through their appointed human scribes. They were breathed out for our good and God’s glory.

Colossians 3:17 says so much more than, “Hey, let’s live for Jesus” (though if that’s all it said, and if we pondered that message in and of itself, it would pack a mighty punch). In the context of Paul’s letter to the young church at Colossae, this verse is a call to live from a foundation of gospel-centrality. With the past, present, and future in mind, this verse calls us to live in light of the gospel.

Appreciate the Past: Give Thanks to God the Father through Him

The second half of the verse tells us to give thanks to God the Father through Jesus. We are reminded that God is indeed our Father. He is the one who gives “to all mankind life and breath and everything” (Acts 17:25). He is the Father “from whom every family in heaven and on earth is named” (Ephesians 3:15). We are not self-created, nor self-existing. We have a Father who granted us life and gives us everything we need. He created us and sustains us. Through this verse Paul reminds us to thank our good God.

But not only is God our Father, he’s also our redeemer. When Paul says to give thanks “through him,” he means Jesus. We are to thank the Father through the Son. It is our faith and hope in Jesus, the beloved Son sent on our behalf, that grants us access to the Father. In his letter to the Ephesians, Paul said “for through him we both [Jews and Gentiles] have access in one Spirit to the Father” (2:18). We can approach our Father through the Son and thank him for life and salvation.

This posture of remembering who made us and remembering who saved us lays a foundation of gratitude. As we walk in awareness that we are not responsible for our own life and breath, nor our right standing before a holy God, we walk in humility and thankfulness. The routine acknowledgement that we exist and know God by grace alone leads to gratitude.

Act in the Present: Whatever You Do, in Word or Deed

The foundation of remembering and giving thanks, afforded to us through the Son from the Father, gives us the motivation and basis for how we are to speak and act today. We are creatures, brought forth by a good Creator who wrote us into his story and wrote our stories, as well. We thrive when all that we say and do flows from that ultimate reality and we suffer when we depart from it.  

Paul reminded the Corinthians, “Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own, for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body” (1 Corinthians 6:19-20). As the blood-bought and adopted children of our Father in heaven, we are called to be his ambassadors, a reflection of him to a watching world. Jesus not only purchased our salvation, but the right to inhabit whatever we do.

We are vessels, jars of clay, living sacrifices. And, we do not belong to ourselves, but to our Lord in heaven. We have been “crucified with Christ and [we] no longer live, but Christ lives in [us]” (Galatians 2:20). As we remember the past with gratitude, let’s live in the present, “working out [our] salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in [us] to will and to act in order to fulfill his good purpose” (Philippians 2:13).

Aim for the Future: Do Everything in the Name of the Lord Jesus

Finally, “everything” in this verse denotes a sum. What will be the sum total of our lives? What will our appreciation of the past and our acts in the present add up to in the end? The call to do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus lifts our eyes to the future and requires us to ask ourselves, “What—or who—am I living for?”

Paul said in another letter to another church, “Whatever you do, do all to the glory of God” (1 Corinthians 10:31). Who is getting the glory in our lives, God or us? He will not share his glory (Isaiah 42:8). How can we make sure we are living for him? Here are some ways:

Evaluate your plans and dreams and goals and ask yourself, and the Lord through prayer, if they are aligned with his Word, his will, and his character.
Put to death whatever is earthly in you (Colossians 3:5), waging war against your sinful habits.
Put on new, godly habits such as compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, patience, bearing with one another, forgiving each other, putting on love, letting the peace of Christ rule in your heart, and letting the the word of Christ dwell in you richly (Colossians 3:12-16).
Take all your thoughts captive so they obey Christ (2 Corinthians 10:5).

May God himself grant us fresh eyes to see his eternal Word. May we guard ourselves against becoming complacent and even cynical in our consumer culture, which commodifies Bible verses. Even when we see God’s Word sprinkled here and there—on a bumper sticker or a tattoo or a chalkboard—may we dwell on it and be transformed by it.

It is his Word, after all.

[Photo Credit: Unsplash]

Key Connections (October 19, 2018)

Here are your key connections from the past week!

Why Doctrine Still Matters (Scott Sauls, For The Church)

On the one hand, we love theology because it gives us an ordered, systematic, and storied picture of the sixty-six books of the Bible… On the other hand, if handled poorly, theology can turn us into the worst versions of ourselves.

How Evolutionary Thinking Influences Your View of the Bible (Colin Smith, Unlocking the Bible)

The Christian church has been in agreement for nearly 2,000 years that the Bible is the Word of God. We agree this word is 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.

Suffering In Community (Wendy Alsup, enCourage)

In December of 2014, I stole into the back row of the PCA church in my hometown on the east coast. Home from Seattle for Christmas vacation, I was at a crossroads. Facing a divorce I did not want in a city I couldn’t afford to live, I…

[Video] You Can Participate in God’s Multi-Ethnic Vision Right Now (Trillia Newbell, The Village Church)

We don’t have to wait for the day when every tribe, tongue and nation can worship together! We can participate in God’s vision for a multi-ethnic body of believers right now.

The Joy of Overlooking An Offense (Scotty Smith, Desiring God)

When we overlook an offense, we can rejoice that we’re growing gospel sensibilities and tasting true glory. The Bible says, “Good sense makes one slow to anger, and it is his glory to overlook an offense” (Proverbs 19:11). The shorter our anger-fuse, the quicker we’ll take offense at anything and anyone. “Good sense” is gospel sense

 

How Evolutionary Thinking Influences Your View of the Bible

Consider this verse from the Bible:

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. (Colossians 3:16)

What the Word Is

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 appears only twice in the New Testament. Even so, 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” (John 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. The Old Testament anticipates him, and the New Testament reveals and enjoys him.

The point of the Bible is that we know, enjoy, love, serve, and believe in and live for Jesus Christ. He 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. We agree this word is 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. He suggested we could explain the world entirely in terms of natural causes and processes.

It’s fascinating to follow the story of how, in the years that followed, some church leaders 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 he 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, “Other have told us 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.

These are two very different views of the Bible. In 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 shapes how you use it, and how you respond to it.

How Christians View The Bible

If you believe that the Bible is a human word about God, you may want to read it for inspiration. But what if 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.” 

I want to make this very clear: We do not view the Bible as a collection of human words about God. It is not our word about God, it is God’s Word to us.

Here’s a helpful statement for all believers regarding the Bible (from the Evangelical Free Church of America statement of faith):

We believe that God has spoken in the Scriptures, both Old and New Testaments, through the words of human authors

As the verbally inspired Word of God, the Bible is without error in the original writings, the complete revelation of His will for salvation, and the ultimate authority by which every realm of human knowledge and endeavor should be judged.

Therefore, it is to be believed in all that it teaches, obeyed in all that it requires, and trusted in all that it promises.

What’s at stake?

If the Bible is our word about God rather than God’s word to us, then God’s promises are replaced by our wishes, and we lose the basis of hope. God’s truth is replaced by our opinion and we lose the foundation of faith. God’s welcome is replaced by our journey and we lose the assurance of his love.

Do you see how much is at stake here? 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!

[This post is an adaptation of Pastor Colin’s sermon, “The Word of God,” from his series Soul Care, Part Two: Four Friends for your Soul][Photo Credit: Unsplash]

Mary and Martha: Choosing the Good Portion

“I can’t do it!”

My five-year-old collapsed on the floor in tears, overwhelmed by the task at hand. Even with my coaching and encouragement, she had become exasperated with her efforts at writing the alphabet. No big deal, you might think, but this wasn’t an assignment from her teacher—this was an assignment she had given herself.

I tried reminding her that this wasn’t necessary and that going to play would really do her some good, but she insisted this had to be done despite collapsing under the pressure—the pressure of wrong priorities she had put on herself. Yes, this is my Type-A firstborn and, truthfully, that apple doesn’t fall too far from the tree.

How many times have I ended up on the floor, collapsed under pressures and priorities of my own making?

Mary and Martha

In Luke 10:38-42, we meet a familiar friend. Her name is Martha, and she also had a priority problem. In this passage, she invites Jesus to her house as a token of her love for him. Perhaps Martha started her day staring out her window; she had heard that Jesus was in a nearby town, and she eagerly anticipated his arrival.

Martha was a dynamic character: proactive, hospitable, and hard-working. These are not faults! But, as Martha works, we see something shift or, better yet, something revealed. What starts as a heart of service seems to devolve into a heart embittered by overwhelming pressure.

In a gentle, yet powerful exchange between Martha and Jesus, we get to a window into the inner-workings of her heart. When Jesus tenderly reprimands her, he does not condemn her work; rather he speaks to the priority of her work. He points out that she is “anxious and troubled about many things.” He goes on to say that only one thing “is necessary. Mary has chosen the good portion, which will not be taken away from her” (v. 42, emphasis mine).

There were many things vying for Martha’s attention—all things she had demanded of herself when all Jesus asked of her was nearness.

Many Distractions

In verse 40 we read that Martha was “distracted with much serving.” If Martha was close enough to the Lord to see Mary sitting at his feet and close enough to ask him a question, she was close enough to hear him speak. But I have a feeling that his words were just white noise taking a back seat to the tasks—the distractions—she had placed on herself.

I am so much like Martha; at times I’m overwhelmed by my tasks. I start out serving, loving, and providing, but end up adding expectations that God didn’t put on me. I add requirements that God never commanded and pile on yeses that God never gave the okay for, all the while forgetting what is important and necessary. And, like Martha, I can let the “many things” distract me from the “good portion.”

Right Priorities

Alternatively, in Mary’s example we get to see what it looks like to prioritize the places God has called us. All of us are first called to love the Lord with all our heart, all our mind, and all our strength (Matthew 22:37). Jesus calls this the greatest commandment; in other words, this is our top priority. For me, I am next called to love and serve my husband, and then to love and serve my children. Everything else I do follows suit according to the Holy Spirit’s leading.

When my oldest was in a puddle on the floor, I turned off the stove top to sit on the floor next to her. Sure, preparing dinner was an important and good service, but that moment with her took priority.

I don’t always make the right decision, though. I’m ashamed with how often I prioritize other good things over loving my children properly. I’m even more ashamed with how often I prioritize other good things over loving my God properly.

But my shame and my failure doesn’t have the last word. God is always at work in his children, sanctifying and renewing us, and never leaving us alone as we seek to love him first. As he works to change my heart, I don’t have to live in the shame of my failures, but I can, by faith, drink anew from his living water and abundant grace that first drew me to himself. I, too, can be like a tree planted by living water, where the roots first planted in faith grow stronger and deeper and more fruitful each day.

The Good Portion

When Mary chose the good portion, she was choosing to keep her priorities straight, and that resulted in Jesus, the Messiah, receiving her full and undivided attention and affection. She was choosing to sit at his feet, listen to his words, and have a full, unbroken view of his face. She was a tree planted by rivers of living water, drawing life from the One who could truly give it (Psalm 1:3). In my imagination it seems that Mary sat so still, so quiet, and so enraptured with Jesus’s words that she nearly grew roots right into in the floor.

Our good portion may not look so still and beautiful, but it can still be a face turned toward the Lord. Choosing the good portion requires consistently aligning and realigning our hearts to the greatest commandment to love him first. It means to seek his kingdom first, all the while laying down our burdens (Matthew 22:37; 6:33; 11:28).

Seek First

Matthew 6:25-34 could easily be a commentary on Martha’s heart, and our own. As Jesus shares all the things that make our hearts anxious—what we eat, drink, or wear—he points his audience to what is truly necessary, saying, “The Gentiles seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness” (Matthew 6: 32-33, emphasis mine).

That, my friends, is the good portion. That is where our hearts find relief, our souls find rest, and our lives find right priorities. That is where we remember that some of the weight of service we carry is a real high-calling from God. But, some of it, simply, is not.

Eventually, my daughter let go of the alphabet and decided princess dresses were more fun. And one day I, too, might settle into the skill of choosing the good portion. For now, I will continue practicing because, as a wise preschool teacher once told me, “We’re working on it.”

[Photo Credit: Unsplash]

Women, Wage War on a Lustful Heart

I sat quietly as prayer requests were shared. Typical answers were offered: busyness, health, etc. Until I heard my own struggle spoken through the words of another woman, and I realized I wasn’t alone. We were both battling a lustful heart.

I thought my promiscuous past was the cause of my strife back then. But over time, women have confided in me regarding their own struggle, most of them being women who grew up attending church.

We’ve been taught to believe lust is a man’s issue, but truly, it’s a human issue.

Lust can make you feel hopeless. Like a worn down beast of burden, we carry the weight of it upon our backs, tarrying further into darkness. Who will save us from this body of death?

Lustful Heart Defined

Lust takes many forms, and its definition goes beyond sexual fantasy. For clarity’s sake, I’m defining it how Baker’s Evangelical Dictionary of Biblical Theology does: “a strong craving or desire, often of a sexual nature.”

Lust starts in the heart, springs forth to our thoughts, and most often results in an action. In Matthew 5:28, Jesus tells us “everyone who looks at a woman with lustful intent has already committed adultery with her in his heart.”

Men are prone to visually undressing a woman in their mind, though certainly women fall prey to this too. But for most women, lust is less about desiring a man sexually and more about wanting to be desired sexually and emotionally.

Regardless of the shape our lustful thoughts take, they always tempt, and often persuade us to sin outwardly. To battle our lustful heart, we must be equipped to fight, using our minds and our bodies.

Therefore, preparing your minds for action, and being sober-minded, set your hope fully on the grace that will be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ. As obedient children, do not be conformed to the passions of your former ignorance. (1 Peter 1:13-15)

We must prepare our minds for action and be obedient to Jesus, striving to be conformed into his image instead of our fleshly passions.

Fight by Renewing Your Mind

If we aren’t striving to renew our mind, we mimic a deer in open season. Eyes wide and body void of response to danger, we stand in the pathway of sexual temptation—and it hits us like an arrow between the eyes. We cannot escape Satan’s “flaming darts” if our minds are too dull to discern the threat (Ephesians 6:16).

Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect. (Romans 12:2)

We must put off thoughts of our old self and think on things of our new life in Christ. Meditate on the gospel—remember who you were before Jesus called you to himself and praise him for making you a new creation (2 Corinthians 5:17). When temptation enters your mind, choose to think on things that are true, honorable, just, pure, lovely, excellent, and worthy of praise (Philippians 4:8).

We renew our minds by immersing them in God’s Word, seeking him fervently, and praying he would purify our hearts (James 4:8).

Fight by Fleeing

Flee from sexual immorality. Every other sin a person commits is outside the body, but the sexually immoral person sins against his own body. (1 Corinthians 6:18)

To flee is to bolt—to run away from danger. Sexual sin is dangerous. Here are some practical ways to “flee”:

Go for a walk/run.
Go for a drive and call someone.
Run an errand.
Go to a coffee shop to study.
Listen to the Bible while doing house or yard work.
Go to the gym.

Furthermore, we must recognize where we’re tempted most often by our lustful heart, and set boundaries to protect ourselves.

Maybe temptation floods in at night when all is quiet and coffee shops are closed. We might be tempted to yield in order to get some rest. But it’s better to lack sleep than to transgress against God. Instead, we can redirect our mind by accomplishing a task or reading Scripture.

Fight With God’s Word

Though it’s the last thing we want to do when feeling sinful, our greatest need when faced with temptation is God’s Word. Force yourself to focus on a passage of Scripture, and pray for help to abstain from sin. Allowing ourselves to wallow in shame over temptation we face is exactly where Satan wants us. If he can keep us there, we’re more likely to give in.

Keep your Bible on your lap, mind fixed on God, and he will give you grace to fight. He’s not aloof in our struggles. He is near.

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)

Draw near to him. He promises mercy in time of need.

Fight With Accountability

There’s lack of transparency regarding lust among women, causing many to feel alone in their struggle. Reaching for help feels paralyzing, and we may fear the response of others.

Truly, we cannot fight this on our own. To overcome lust, we need to share with a godly mentor. This provides accountability and shines a light on sin’s darkness, making it less attractive.

Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working. (James 5:16)

Whether we’re the struggling sister or the one who’s struggle has eased, we must grow in our openness regarding sexual sin. If we don’t, our sister remains isolated and in bondage to lust. But if we speak forth, “Me too. Here’s how I fought it. Let’s fight this together,” we lift our sister up, bearing her burden with her.

Brothers, if anyone is caught in any transgression, you who are spiritual should restore him in a spirit of gentleness…Bear one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ. (Galatians 6:1a, 2)

Fight From Freedom

Many believe their lustful heart is unbeatable. Its draw is strong and its lies, sweet to the ears, but any pleasure found in it quickly turns sour.

Sin has the capacity to ruin us, but the born-again believer has a choice. We don’t have to sin. Remember, we are free:

We know that our old self was crucified with him in order that the body of sin might be brought to nothing, so that we would no longer be enslaved to sin….Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, to make you obey its passions. Do not present your members to sin as instruments for unrighteousness, but present yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life, and your members to God as instruments for righteousness. For sin will have no dominion over you, since you are not under law but under grace. (Romans 6:6, 12-14)

While those who remain dead in their sin are still enslaved to it, sin has no dominion over the Christian. We aren’t fighting for freedom; we are those who fight from freedom—the freedom Jesus Christ bought for us.

Lust isn’t invincible, nor is it outside of God’s power—and his power lives in you if you are his. So choose to wage war on your lustful heart today. This battle is difficult, but with each step toward victory, temptation will have less and less strength.

[Photo Credit: Unsplash]

Pregnancy and Infant Loss: Still Together in Christ

Feeling my first baby in my arms, all 7 pounds and 7 ounces—I had previously held no weight like hers. These were precious pounds, but entirely still. In that moment, I experienced that death is an enemy.

Remaining on a Fallen Earth

For months afterward, I could not bring myself to say the word, “death.” More, I called her gravesite her “marker” in the ground. In the intensity of those days, I was beholding the grave painted upon the landscapes around me; I saw decay—even decrepit buildings brought remembrance that this earth is wasting away, and in it, my baby was born without life at all.

Failing buildings and structures appeared often along the roads we traversed on the route to her marker. I would gaze to the skies on our travels—to that relieving blaze of golden-blue when my eyes had already met their fill of less-than-scenic evidence of Adam’s historic fall. I was comforted to lift my sight with hope of the joy of my daughter in glory.

But that joy alone could not deliver me through grief—for in the days when I exclusively thought of her gain, I also exclusively wanted to join her. I would tell God that if he wanted to take me to heaven where my daughter lived, then yes, I would desire to fly ahead too. But after every similar prayer, I was still on earth, surrounded by each death-foretelling shadow.

Enlivened by Heavenly Good

When my hospital nurse wheeled me out of the delivery room without those most precious pounds, she told me and my husband that she needed to re-evaluate her life based upon the strength she had witnessed in me. I had never felt closer to death than when within those four hospital walls—in fact, within that room I first envisioned that I might soon reside heaven-side. The strength this nurse witnessed was most certainly not my own.

This conversation was my first experience of the heavenly good God can bring from this kind of devastation. And so, from that early hour, I knew to my core that closeness with my daughter was in our joint union to the Lord whose purposes enliven us both.

Yet, when two people share a life-altering experience, a nearness can develop. In some sense, that is what I felt with my daughter; we had both endured a life-altering experience together, her earthly life ending within me and my life carrying her death. To venture into recollection of that grief was also to revisit my bond with her. If I could not join her through death, I could still “join” her in the magnitude of my sorrow over those last moments. But in time, I gained the full impetus to surrender to God the sorrow of the loss, should that be his will—content to remember my daughter outside of the pain.

United in Christ

Since the day her body went devastatingly limp, I have gained more time and capacity for the inner reception of Christ’s love. This I know: What could possibly draw any two people closer than the Lord himself—and the shared eternal love of the almighty One, which produces the most life-altering experience of all?

My nearness with my stillborn daughter does not come from thinking her “spirit lives on with us”—for I believe she is literally with the Lord (Luke 23:43). Closeness is not out of a belief she looks down on us from above—the Scriptures do not reveal her activities at present. And I do not sense a bond with her because I somehow see appearing in the world around me signs or symbols that I interpret to be from her—for it is the Lord, not my daughter, whom I can be sure communes with me. Rather, the Lord and his love unite us—his love forever evidenced by the cross (Romans 5:6-8).

Death, an enemy, separates relationships; physical death separates us from each other. But closer to the core, spiritual death has already separated us from God—the source of life and love. Being joined one day with my daughter will happen as a result of a more primary truth: reunion with fellow man is the result of being fully united together, one day, to Christ.

Our Belonging in Him

Under the present shadow of death, without hope for life, I am powerless to unite myself with him (Romans 5:6); but from one death comes reconciliation with God, and life (Romans 5:10). Mankind’s otherworldly reunions are first spiritual in nature—spiritual joy in Jesus Christ, the necessary first cause for joy and unity with each other.

For there is one body to which all who are in Christ belong:

Let it be considered that the church on earth is the same society with those saints who are praising God in heaven. There is not one church of Christ in heaven, and another here upon earth. Though the one be sometimes called the church triumphant, and the other the church militant, yet they are not indeed two churches. […] they are all united: for there is but one body, and one spirit, and one Lord Jesus Christ. (Jonathan Edwards, The Works of Jonathan Edwards, Vol. II)

Presently “militant” amidst a wasting-away world, I am soon to be resting “triumphant,” glorified in Christ with his people.

Continuing Life in His Perfect Love

But even this day, my hope in the One I have yet to see does disappoint. For I already have his love—evident in history, and poured by the power of the Holy Spirit, through the gift of faith, into my soul (Romans 5:5).

When my daughter became triumphant, while I remained militant, the theme of spiritual reconciliation with God was the source of my continuing life—the bright renewal of my inner spirit when earth seemed all decay and when sorrow was a connection to my daughter I could not envision my life without.

Though loss brought my strong and true motherly love for my daughter into focus, his love is perfect and incomparable. I have the great hope that my daughter and I share his love in forever-unity. His love came mercifully to us first. And his love does not ever disappoint.

Hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us. (Romans 5:5)

By continually receiving of his sacrifice, the cross could regain more predominance in my view than earthly loss, and my life on this fallen ground could soldier forward for his heavenly purposes.

Key Connections (October 12, 2018)

Here are your key connections from the past week!

Eternal Hope in Postpartum Depression (Hannah Abrahamson, Risen Motherhood)

Within a few days of my daughter’s birth, I knew something was very, very wrong with me. I couldn’t sleep, no matter how hard I tried. Food held no interest for me. I wanted to smile, but a veil settled over my heart. I felt far away from everyone around me, even the baby I nursed and rocked gently in my arms.

The Unexpected Trend Reviving Canadian Christianity (Sarah Eekhoff Zylstra, The Gospel Coalition)

“…the gospel is advancing,” Symons said. “Lives are being transformed, people are being baptized, and churches are being planted. . . . God is alive and well in Canada.”

Does Your Church Offer Weak Community? (Barry Cooper, 9Marks)

It can seem self-evident that the right course of action is to make it easier to become a church member. What if there were fewer doctrines to which people had to give assent? What if, once someone became a member, we asked less of them in terms of their responsibilities to other members? It seems obvious: if you lower the cost, more will buy. In fact, what if we just ditched the idea of membership altogether?

Can Our Sins Derail God’s Plan For Us? (Mark Altrogge, the blazing center)

Our sins play havoc with us, and sometimes we wind up eating the fruit of our disobedience for years. Sometimes it can seem like we have derailed God’s design for our lives and now he has had to opt for plan B. But that is simply not true.

What The Sinner Does Not Know (Colin Smith, Unlocking the Bible)

We need God to tell us what sin is, and he does that through his Word. That’s why we need to live under the Scriptures. We need the Scriptures to tell us what’s wrong, not for us to say what we feel is wrong with them. Paul said, “I would not have known what sin was except through the law” (Romans 7:7).