Flashback Favorite: Receiving personal instruction

I didn’t realize how unique the situation was at the time, but one of my favorite college experiences became a great lesson when studying the Bible.

Receiving personal instruction
Originally posted on June 19, 2015

In one of my year-long college courses, I was fortunate enough that the professor who taught the class had also written the text book.  This might not seem like a big deal from the outside looking in, but it made a huge difference in how we learned from him.  We knew that what he taught us in the morning was going to be reiterated in the same style and with the same emphasis as we read the text in the evening. 

Prof could easily explain how the different sections fit together and even cross-referenced chapters as we were being taught.  He knew the exact layout and intention of each part of the text because he was the one who had put it all together.  There was never any conflict between the teaching and the text – they were from the same man.  Not only was the text well-written for the subject matter, but the class became almost like a personal tutoring session with the author.

We get the same dynamic as we go through the Scriptures.  Although it took hundreds of years and many different authors to complete the text, God superintended the process such that it all hangs together as one, and communicates truth directly from the Creator of Everything to each of us individually.

The author of Psalm 119 did more than just acknowledged this reality of Scripture – he enjoyed it thoroughly.  Take a look through this section and note the role God’s Word plays in the author’s relationship with God.

Psalm 119:97-104
How I love Your teaching!  It is my meditation all day long.
Your command makes me wiser than my enemies, for it is always with me.
I have more insight than all my teachers because Your decrees are my meditation.
I understand more than the elders because I obey Your precepts.
I have kept my feet from every evil path to follow Your word.
I have not turned from Your judgments, for You Yourself have instructed me.
How sweet Your word is to my taste – sweeter than honey to my mouth.
I gain understanding from Your precepts; therefore I hate every false way.

The psalmist doesn’t distinguish between communicating with God and reading the Scriptures, they are interactions with the same person.  The psalmist gives the reason why he follows what God has taught him when he says for You Yourself have instructed me.  He trusted God’s teaching because it was coming from God Himself.  Nothing was second-hand, there was no need for an interpreter or any guess-work.

And just look at the results of this personal instruction from the Lord – success over enemies, gaining insight and wisdom, the ability to avoid every evil path, gaining understanding, and he can also recognize every false way.  The psalmist has become fully mature because his instruction has been taken directly from the Lord.

The Lord will mature and develop us as well.  He’s ready to give each of us personal, one-on-one instruction.  The teacher and the text are from the same person.  As much as the teaching or writing of others can sometimes help, there is nothing like direct communication and instruction from the Author of Life.  He knows how it all works and why it all works.  

We have an open invitation to be instructed by God Himself.  Will you accept the invitation and meet Him in the Scriptures?

Keep Pressing,
Ken

You first, not me first

A friend of mine pays careful attention to his diet.  So much so, that he inspects labels before purchasing items from a grocery store, and he also analyzes online menus when considering a restaurant for a date night with his wife.  What is he so diligently on the lookout for?  Wheat and gluten.  But not because he’s allergic or has any sensitivity to it.  In fact, he’s perfectly fine to eat a large bowl of spaghetti and meatballs. 

So why does he go through all that work, constantly monitoring what food is allowed in his house and asking pointed questions of restaurant staff about their kitchen protocols – when he doesn’t really need to?

He does these things because his wife has both Celiac and Crohn’s disease.  Accidently ingesting even a little bit of wheat or gluten would be devastating and extremely painful for her.  Of course, she is on a strict wheat-free and gluten-free diet.  So, in turn, is my friend.

He’s giving up a large portion of his food options in order to protect his wife.  He doesn’t have to, really.  He could tell her that she’s on her own for keeping “her food” separate from “his food” and then go on to eat all the pasta, pretzels, and cakes that he desires.  Instead, he has set aside his rights and preferences in order to meet her needs.  He’s a huge fan of Mexican food, especially flour tortilla burritos, so living the wheat-free and gluten-free life is an admirable sacrifice…but one that he believes is completely worth it because of whom he’s doing it for.

My friend is a great example of what it looks like to put someone else first – something we Christians are repeatedly called to do in Scripture.  Here’s just one example:

Philippians 2:3-4
Do nothing out of selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility consider others as more important than yourselves.  Everyone should look not to his own interests, but rather to the interests of others.

It’s obvious to see how my friend is living out this command in his marriage.  He is considering her situation, a dietary syndrome that she has no control over, to be more important than his opportunity to eat whatever he wants, whenever he wants.  It’s not just a one-time sacrifice for him, either – it’s every day, for the rest of their lives. 

This “you first, not me first” attitude can be applied in any area of our lives, and it can show up in both big and small ways – perhaps as simple as giving the TV clicker to someone else to choose the next show, asking for (and actively listening to) someone’s opinion or experience before sharing your own, or jumping in to regularly help at church or a local non-profit. 

OR…if you want to go for this “you first, not me first” lifestyle in a BIG TIME manner…resolve now to let other cars merge into your lane.  Even if they don’t deserve it.  Even if they are driving like a jerk.  Even if you really want to “teach them a lesson” by speeding up and not letting them in.

What we often don’t realize is that the “you first, not me first” actions – even when grudgingly done – carry more weight than just the benefit to the recipient.  Each time we put someone else’s needs before our own desires, we are rewiring our brains to take the focus off of ourselves.  This mindset takes practice and time to fully mature, but once it does…the mindset becomes the default guide for all our actions.

If you continue reading Paul’s letter to the believers in Philippi, you’ll find that this “you first, not me first” lifestyle is one that God honors and rewards.  Since God doesn’t take His offer of rewards lightly, neither should we.  To get there, all we need to do is take our focus off ourselves (whether the situation means adjusting our diets or letting people merge).  These are sacrifices worth making, all because of whom we’re doing it for.

Keep Pressing,
Ken

Want a mature response? That’ll take some time.

We’re impatient people.  I mean, really impatient people.

Look no further than how rookie players on professional sports teams are treated nowadays.  If players don’t come in and light up their competition right away, the “BUST” label starts to be tossed around.  It used to be that first round draft picks were afforded 3-4 years to develop into a “Pro”, but not these days.  Any more, if you don’t produce after 1-2 years, the team moves on. 

Teams and impatient fans often throw around the phrase “It’s just business” – but is it really good business to put 19-21 year old rookies against seasoned veterans, and expect the newbies to always succeed?  It takes time to physically, mentally, and emotionally mature…but no one seems to have time for that any more.

It’s not just sports, either.  We put our kids under tremendous pressure to perform at an adult-level, way too early.  Of course, it is important to have standards and rules and expectations – but you can’t demand an 8 year old have the same emotional maturity and personal awareness of a 45 year old.  There are going to be mistakes, misses, and meltdowns.  They’re going to happen, no matter how you respond as a parent. 

I think this happens in the church, as well.  Someone believes in Jesus for eternal life, and BOOM, they’re part of the family.  They are a Christian, forever and ever, amen.  God doesn’t take His gifts back, but they are still a young, immature believer.  And then…while nobody comes out and says this directly…this new believer is suddenly expected to clean up every negative aspect of his behavior, never get angry, never cuss, stop smoking, stop drinking, and on and on and on.  Instantly, as if God flipped a switch and they went from sinner to saint in 3.2 seconds.  And if this new believer slips up a few times and goes back into his old habits?  Well…the veterans might start to wonder if he’s “really a Christian”.

I was recently reading through the stories of Judah’s kings and found a wild situation where a boy named Josiah – through crazy family circumstances and the assassination of his father – became king, at just 8 years old.  That’s just bonkers!  He turned out to be a very good king, but take a look at the timeline for his reign:

2 Chronicles 34:1-3, 8
Josiah was eight years old when he became king, and he reigned thirty-one years in Jerusalem.  He did what was right in the Lord’s sight and walked in the ways of his ancestor David; he did not turn aside to the right or the left.

In the eighth year of his reign, while he was still a youth, Josiah began to seek the God of his ancestor David, and in the twelfth year he began to cleanse Judah and Jerusalem of the high places, the Asherah poles, the carved images, and the cast images…In the eighteenth year of his reign, in order to cleanse the land and the temple, Josiah sent [several of his officials] to repair the temple of the Lord his God.

So, here’s the timeline:

8 years old = becomes king
16 years old = begins to seek God
20 years old = begins to remove various idols from the land
26 years old = begins the repair of the temple

I wonder what the people of Judah said about their king during the four years between when he began seeking God and when he took down the first idol in the land:

“You know…the king says he follows the God of David, but I still see all these other idols around here.  So, I don’t know if he’s really following this God.”

I also wonder what the people of Judah said about their king during the 6 years between when he began removing the idols from the land and when he started the repair work on the temple:

“You know…the king says we can’t worship these other gods anymore, but he hasn’t put any effort into the temple of the God he says we should worship!  Where are his priorities?”

Josiah wasn’t ready to fix the temple or clean up the nation within two months of becoming spiritually aware and seeking the God of his ancestors.  Those outward actions came later, some even 10 years later!  Josiah had to mature first.  He had to learn first.  He needed time first.

I think the parallel for us modern believers is pretty obvious – instead of demanding immediate behavioral perfection, we need to look for progress…and progress in maturity can take time, even years.  Instead of questioning a believer’s salvation because they aren’t behaving the way you think they should, why not find ways to encourage their maturity?

Isn’t that what a family should do?

Keep Pressing,
Ken

Fish sauce and faith

My wife is half Filipino – that’s where her dad’s family is from.  And because of this, I, your average American white guy, have been exposed to (and enjoyed!) lots of cultural differences from where I grew up in rural southern Nevada.  One of the biggest differences has been the food.  First off, to say “rice is a staple” is an understatement.  For our entire marriage, we’ve had rice with nearly every dinner meal.  And when we visit her family, there’s rice at every meal.  Every.  Meal.  For example, breakfast is scrambled eggs, a meat, and rice.  That’s just “normal” for Filipinos.

For me growing up, we had rice probably once, every-other week.  So having it every day has been a bit of an adjustment, but overall, I don’t mind.  Other “normal” dietary adjustments have been a little tougher for me, though.  One of them is cooking with a substance called “fish sauce.”  I had never heard of this liquid before, but I was quickly introduced to it – and its pungent smell.  Fish sauce is made from a mixture of fish and salt that is allowed to ferment for up to two years.  Oily fish, like anchovies, are traditionally placed in a barrel with salt and slowly pressed to extract the liquid.  Sounds yummy, doesn’t it?

When cooking with it, the smell intensifies – to the point that our entire kitchen stinks of fish sauce.  At first, I couldn’t stand it.  I’d have to leave the room.  But now, after a couple of decades, I can tolerate the smell – but I still don’t particularly like it.  The dish most commonly cooked in our house that uses this stinky sauce is affectionately called “crunchy meat.”  The recipe calls for cubed pork shoulder steak and its fat cooked in water with a quarter cup of fish sauce – cooked low and slow in an open skillet for a couple of hours.  And you can’t cook it fast, or else it won’t come out right.  You have to go low and slow…but that means smelling the simmering fish sauce for a while.

Why would I even “put up with it” if it smells that bad?  Because I know that the outcome of the dish will be really tasty.  Crunchy meat mixed with rice and steamed broccoli is a fantastic dinner.

I’m not sure that Jesus’ brother James would refer to surviving stinky cooking smells as a “trial,” but I still see a parallel with what he wrote to believers in the first century:

James 1:2-4
Consider it a great joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you experience various trials, because you know that the testing of your faith produces endurance.  And let endurance have its full effect, so that you may be mature and complete, lacking nothing.

When life stinks, it’s easy to forget that there’s more to life beyond the trial of the moment.  As James reminded his readers, the testing of your faith produces endurance – and the only way to develop endurance is to endure hard things.  Learning to have faith and trust God’s promises requires situations we generally don’t want to deal with or choose to go through. 

James isn’t telling us to ignore the difficulties, but rather embrace them for what the outcome will be.  The hard situations that make us strong, mature, and complete are typically “low and slow” processes.  But they are worth going through…and what comes out on the other side is worth looking forward to with great joy.

Keep Pressing,
Ken

Flashback Favorite: If you could ask God for just one thing

What’s the most important request on your heart right now?

If you could ask God for just one thing

Originally posted on June 22, 2017

When I was a child, I would sometimes think about what Heaven would be like.  All I really understood was that Heaven was this great place where we would “be with God forever” and everyone would be happy.  Well, to my little mind, the greatest place I would want to spend long lengths of time in would obviously be chock full of my favorite Saturday morning cartoon toys.  I had it all planned…when I got to Heaven, I was going to ask God for the ENTIRE COLLECTION of He-Man action figures and playsets.  Pure bliss, as far as I was concerned, required a large amount of the best toys I could imagine.

Even as I’ve grown and matured in my understanding of God, Heaven, and Eternity Future, my desire to ask God for “just one thing” hasn’t subsided, but the “one thing” I would ask for has changed.  At various stages of my life, it’s been financial assistance, romantic love, new friends, a new job, a healthy baby, my own health, the health of someone else, a reasonably-comfortable life, and many other things. 

Somewhat tongue-in-cheek, but if I’m feeling very spiritually mature, I tell people that when I get to Heaven, the only thing I plan on asking God for is a blue-ray history lesson narrated by Him.  I just want to know why stuff happened like it did and how He worked through it all.

But when you look closely at my progressing list of “just one thing” requests, not much has changed since I was fully enamored by plastic toys.  Even though I’m asking Him about good things for myself or others, I’m still treating God like a cosmic vending machine.  Even if God actually gave me the toys, the money, and the good health…each “one thing” item is still something that I could lose, something that could be taken away from me.

In the second stanza of Psalm 27, David asks God for “one thing”.  His ask puts his life and God in the proper perspective:

Psalm 27:4-6
I have asked one thing from the Lord;
it is what I desire:
to dwell in the house of the Lord
all the days of my life,
gazing on the beauty of the Lord
and seeking Him in His temple.
For He will conceal me in His shelter
in the day of adversity;
He will hide me under the cover of His tent;
He will set me high on a rock.
Then my head will be high
above my enemies around me;
I will offer sacrifices in His tent with shouts of joy.
I will sing and make music to the Lord.

Relationship.  Created Being relating back to his Creator.  That is the most important “one thing” we could ask for, and it will not be taken away from us, not even in the day of adversity.  However, we often let life’s issues and detours distract us from the true aim of our lives – to know God and to be known by Him. 

I think C.S. Lewis summed us up rather well, even if it does sting a little:

“It would seem that Our Lord finds our desires not too strong, but too weak. We are half-hearted creatures, fooling about with drink and sex and ambition when infinite joy is offered us, like an ignorant child who wants to go on making mud pies in a slum because he cannot imagine what is meant by the offer of a holiday at the sea. We are far too easily pleased.”

It’s good to pray about all our requests, cares, and concerns, for God has instructed us to do so (Philippians 4:6).  However, the next time you do ask for something, go for the biggest thing you can ask Him for.  Ask God to give you Himself.  Seek a deeper relationship with Him.  Ask for even a glimpse at His glory.  Ask to be closer to Him, even if that means dealing with enemies and adversity.  God’s beauty and splendor exceeds everything we can see on this earth.

Ask for Him.  He will not disappoint.

Keep Pressing,
Ken

Proverbial life: watch your mouth

We’re taking a topic-focused tour of the book of Proverbs.  Although Solomon was commenting on life roughly 3000 years ago, his observations ring loud and clear in today’s modern times.  In this blog post, we’ll be looking at a topic that trips us all up: what we say and how we say it.

Our words matter, and once they are said, there are no take-backs.  We have several familiar phrases in the English language to communicate this truth:

You can’t put the toothpaste back in the tube.
You’ve let the cat out of the bag.
You can’t unring that bell.

When Solomon was instructing his son about living wisely – how to skillfully apply knowledge to his earthly life – he frequently brought up the words his son would choose.

The first proverb we’ll look at might feel a little obvious…but sometimes we need to be reminded of the obvious:

Proverbs 11:13
A gossip goes around revealing a secret,
but a trustworthy person keeps a confidence.

Being labeled as a gossip or as a trustworthy person is a matter of verbal reputation.  You can be known as either one, but not both.  If you share another person’s secrets or words spoken in confidence, you are betraying the trust that was placed in you.  As long as keeping the secret does not bring harm to others, the best use of our words when another person shares confidential information is to not use them at all…in essence, being trustworthy is often a matter of us keeping our teeth together and saying nothing.

Next, we find Solomon addressing a common situation in life: what to do with an angry person.  Whether the anger is caused by Solomon’s son or if he happens to get caught in the cross-fire of another person’s issues, he’s going to have to navigate situations were other people are seeing red and are looking for a fight.  Curiously, Solomon does not tell him to fight fire with fire:

Proverbs 15:1
A gentle answer turns away anger,
but a harsh word stirs up wrath.

Anger is a secondary emotion.  While anger may be at the surface-level and more prominent, there is always a primary emotion found underneath, driving that angry response.  Perhaps they feel taken advantage of, or foolish, or embarrassed…whatever the root cause is, the angry outburst is almost never subdued by fighting fire with fire.  Matching anger’s intensity or deriding it with a harsh word only escalates the situation.  In these situations, Solomon wants his son to use his words to diffuse the tension – and a gentle answer is the key to doing so.

Admittedly, giving a gentle answer in the heat of the moment is hard.  Not saying anything and keeping another’s confidence is also difficult.  Thankfully, Solomon clues us in to how we can make sure our mouths are doing the right thing:

Proverbs 16:23
The heart of the wise person instructs his mouth;
it adds learning to his speech.

You’ve certainly heard descriptions of other people like, “Her mouth has a mind of its own.” or “He has a loose tongue.”  These phrases attempt to excuse a person for running their mouths or speaking before thinking…instead, Solomon says that our mouth can be instructed and trained by what we have in our heart.  So, time to do a heart check – What are you feeding your heart?  What are you learning so that you can grow and have mature speech?

The benefits of being wise with your words isn’t limited to just you.  Being able to manage your mouth is more than having a good reputation and being able to handle an angry outburst.  Solomon also tells his son that his mature words will be helpful to others:

Proverbs 16:24
Pleasant words are a honeycomb:
sweet to the taste and health to the body.

When someone speaks kind words, encouraging words, supportive words, or empathetic words to you…those are special.  They are sweetly remembered, like a mental candy, that we can retaste anytime we recall them.  Our words can make someone else strong, brave, open, and confident…healthy at many levels of the body – mental, emotional, and yes, even physical.

Words are powerful.  What comes out of our mouths can make or break someone.  How will you choose to use your words today?

Keep Pressing,
Ken

Kid, don't tell me "No"

When our older son was three and our younger son was less than a year old, we took a trip to visit family.  The trip was good, but one scene certainly stands out in my memory.  Our three year old was acting very much like a three year old that day…rambunctious, high-energy, and constantly repeating his latest favorite word, “No”. 

If you have parented through this stage, I’m sure you can agree that this is a difficult time.  Everything…and I mean everything…gets a “No” reply:

Can you come here please?  No.
Are you hungry?  No.
Do you want to play a game?  No.
Do you need to go to the bathroom?  No. (and you know that’s not true)
Stop hitting your brother.  No.
Go get your shoes, it’s time to go.  No.
Your mom called you, go see her.  No.
What’s your favorite color?  No.
(sitting by himself and talking)  No.  No.  No.  No.  No.

Developmentally, he was finding his voice and learning the proper/improper use of this powerful word.  Even if “No” didn’t fit the context, was untruthful (like when he actually was hungry, or he really did need to go to the bathroom), or was disrespectful, he was going to say it and find out what the consequences were. 

As a parent, this stage wears on your patience.  And by the end of this particular day, my patience was extra thin.  We were all tired, and the constant dripping of No-No-No-No-No had gotten on my last nerve.  After being told to do something and replying with a defiant “No.”, I looked him in the eyes and said “If you say ‘no’ one more time, you’re getting spanked.”  I turned around to walk into the next room, and before I took three steps, behind me I heard

“No.”

I took a deep breath and spun around.  He had just earned a spanking, and he was going to get one.  When our eyes met this time, his were huge, like a deer in the headlights, because he knew what was coming next by the look on my face.

And then my wife burst out laughing.

She was in the room the whole time, holding our younger son.  I stared at her, trying to figure out what was so funny in the middle of this intensely frustrating moment.  She was laughing so hard that she could barely talk – but finally she eeked out, “It wasn’t him…it was…the baby.”

Here’s the kicker.  Our youngest hadn’t said his first word yet.  Not “dada”, not “bye”, not “mama”…nothing but incoherent baby babbles up to this point.  His very first word was the word “No”, and it nearly got his older brother in trouble when he said it!

I was ready to act on the information I had, but what I heard was taken out of context.  Because my back was turned, I did not see who actually said “No”.  If I had gone through with what I understood to be true, I would have unjustly punished my older son for saying something that he didn’t say.

As funny as this family story turned out…unfortunately, many Christians are guilty of doing the same thing with Scripture.  We find a verse that sounds good, that makes us feel good, and we run with it.  We plaster it on coffee mugs, wall hangings, and social media.  However, if we zoom out and look at the context of the verse, we find that the part we like best is only half of the sentence, or just a part of the author’s thought in the particular section.  It is entirely possible to look at a verse in context and discover that the opposite of our single-verse interpretation is true!

Let me give you a couple examples.  A favorite verse of many people is found at the beginning of Paul’s letter to the believers in Philippi:

Philippians 1:6
I am sure of this, that He who started a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.

This verse is typically understood to mean that God will always grow you through whatever challenges and circumstances you face.  That God is going to be working on us and with us throughout our lives.  While that feels nice (and God really does do these things), if we read the full context of the introduction of Paul’s letter (Philippians 1:3-11), we find that the good work isn’t an individual’s path to maturity.  Instead, the Philippian church chose to partner with Paul and financially support his ministry.  Philippians is actually a “thank you” letter, and in 1:6 Paul is telling them that their contributions and partnership will have impact until Jesus returns.  Interpreting in context instead provides a bigger application for us modern believers – we can see how a small gift from a congregation is still ministering to believers 1000s of years later, because we get to read this letter.  The Philippian believers wouldn’t have expected to have this kind of impact, but this example does give us confidence that God can do great things with our contributions and support of ministries today.

A second example is a quote from the Old Testament that often floats around social media when national circumstances feel difficult:

2 Chronicles 7:14
and My people, who bear My name, humble themselves, pray and seek My face, and turn from their evil ways, then I will hear from heaven, forgive their sin, and heal their land.

If taught on a Sunday morning, I’m certain your pastor will encourage you to pray for your national leaders, to pray against the evil actions we see in society, and that by doing so, we can be hopeful that God will bless the USA.

And while we should be humble before God, we should pray and seek Him, and we should turn from evil, the promise to heal their land isn’t one that a modern church-age believer can claim.  The fuller context of 2 Chronicles 7:12-22 shows that God is talking to Solomon about a specific location (the temple in Israel).  God goes into great detail about how He will punish the nation of Israel if they abandon Him and what their responses to His punishment could bring.

If we still insist that this verse applies to modern believers, then we need to honestly struggle with a few more questions – namely how this applies to believers in other countries, especially ones like China, Iran, or any place that is violently hostile toward Christians.  Are they not praying hard enough?  Is that why God has yet to heal their land?

God responds in significant ways when we are humble, when we pray and seek Him, and when we turn from evil…but we can’t assume national revival in the USA based upon this verse.

Ultimately, we need to remember that the Bible was written for us, but not to us.  God’s promises were often for specific people at specific times.  We will find promises made to the church, but not every promise contained in Scripture is ours to claim.  Even still, there is plenty to learn about God when we come to a promise that was made to someone else, as they provide evidence that He is faithful to His word and that He cares for those who follow Him.

You may be wondering, What’s the big deal?  If I take a verse “out of context” but it’s still a good application, why should it matter?

Here’s the ultimate reason why we don’t want to take Scripture out of context – to mis-quote God, if you will – a verse out of context can easily lead to an application that is completely wrong and not what God intends for His children.  Just like when I almost unjustly punished my older son, I thought I had all the information needed to take action, but it turns out I didn’t.  My wife provided the additional context so I did not do something that would have harmed my relationship with my son.

We need to be willing to take God at His word.  All of it, in context.

Keep Pressing,
Ken

The purpose of church leadership

From meeting in homes or coffee shops, to tiny 10-seater buildings, even to auditoriums that seat thousands…church congregations come in all shapes and sizes.  Despite the size or location, God has desired both order and direction in the local gathering of believers.

Throughout his letter to the believers in Ephesus, Paul unpacks God’s design and purpose for the church.  Paul begins the letter by talking about the church “corporately” as the body of Christ, discussing the blessings we have as the group of people unified in Christ.  He ends the letter discussing how God defines and helps us obtain success within the individual relationships we have in the church body.  The part I want to look at is in the middle, when Paul mentions a few church leadership positions and their role within the body:

Ephesians 4:11-12
And [Jesus] Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, some pastors and teachers, equipping the saints for the work of ministry, to build up the body of Christ,

Apostles and prophets were foundational, first-century gifts; whereas, evangelists, pastors, and teachers are gifts that have persisted since the founding of the first churches.  However, all of these church-body leadership roles had the same aim – equipping the saints for the work of ministry and to build up the body of Christ.

The Greek word translated as equipping (katartismos) was used in several different ways in the ancient world.  Firstly, it was used to describe the action of preparing a ship for a journey.  You won’t find a Walmart floating around in the Mediterranean Sea, so whatever you pack is all you have.  They would equip the ship with everything they needed to survive the journey.  Another common use of katartismos was to describe fishermen who were repairing their nets.  During a day’s work, their nets would become ripped, torn, and develop holes from repeatedly bringing in fish and being dragged across the bottom of the lake.  The fishermen would end their days mending these issues.  In doing so, they were said to be equipping the nets, preparing them for use the next day.  For a Biblical example of the word being used this way, refer to Matthew 4:21.  Thirdly, katartismos was used as a medical term.  When a doctor would reset a patient’s broken bone, he would put the two parts back together and bind the wound.  He was equipping the bone to promote healing.

Because of these common uses for katartismos, I absolutely love Paul’s use of the word in Ephesians 4:12.  Each use shines a light on what church leaders should do: 

While ships go on journeys with what they have, at some point they need to restock supplies.  People should be leaving church gatherings equipped for their journey into the world, but also be able to come back and be re-supplied.

Let’s be honest, the world can beat us up.  Just day-to-day life can leave us feeling ripped/torn/frayed when we’re doing what we need to do…but especially when life drags us across the rocks.  We need our church leadership to help mend us, so we’re equipped to go back out again.

Sometimes, life just breaks us.  There are situations that are too much for one person to bear alone.  When that happens, we need help to be reset.  We need a place where we are equipped to promote healing.

After Paul gives the Ephesian believers (and us!) such a rich metaphor, he goes on to tell them what the end goal is for those who lead.  They are to build up the body of Christ…

Ephesians 4:13
until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of God’s Son, growing into maturity with a stature measured by Christ’s fullness.

The aim for a church family is to be unified and growing into maturity – which sounds great, but note that it’s not just in a general sense, the way we often hear the world talk about both subjects.  Both our unity and maturity are based upon and measured against Jesus and the example He has set.  It is the responsibility of church leaders that these are constantly in focus, from the way they treat others to the messages they teach.

And if you’re not in a leadership position, that doesn’t mean you’re off the hook.  As you are being equipped, it’s now your turn to go out into the world and fulfill the work of ministry God has given you.

Keep Pressing,
Ken

Flashback Favorite - Resolutions about maturity

We don’t know what 2022 is going to be like, but we know Who will walk with us. God will mature and grow us as we navigate the next year together.

Resolutions about maturity
originally posted on December 28, 2017

It’s that time of year again…time to make resolutions to be better at something.  We know the big ones – get in shape, eat better, learn a new skill – and we know that we should do these things and they have lasting, positive benefits to our lives.  But why is it, that by sometime in February, we’ve given up on working towards them? 

When we’re honest – we recognize that we give up on these resolutions because we don’t value the end product highly enough.  We aren’t diligent in pursuing it, and we become lazy.  This doesn’t mean that we do not understand or fully trust the benefits of exercise, a good diet, or learning something new…it just shows that we value them less than other competing priorities in our lives.

Did you know that the same thing happens to us spiritually?  Other things crowd into our lives and we sometimes don’t value our growth as a Christ-follower or our relationship with God like we should.  We can become spiritually lazy.  It’s not a new problem for Christians, either.

After starting a discussion of Christ’s superiority as our high priest and reviewing some of the great benefits available to a believer who partners with Jesus, the author pauses to say:

Hebrews 5:11-14
We have a great deal to say about this, and it’s difficult to explain, since you have become slow to understand.  For though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you again the basic principles of God’s revelation.  You need milk, not solid food.  Now everyone who lives on milk is inexperienced with the message about righteousness, because he is an infant.  But solid food is for the mature – for those whose senses have been trained to distinguish between good and evil.

Looking at this passage, it is clear that this letter was written to people who have already accepted Christ as the substitutionary payment for their sins.  The solid food is the teaching that deals with righteousness, or right-living, before God.  Because these “big babies” haven’t progressed to solid food, they cannot grasp the implications of the Greater Message of future partnership with the Greater Messenger.

Hebrews 6:1
Therefore, leaving the elementary message about the Messiah, let us go on to maturity

If you could travel into a mother’s womb and speak with the prenatal child, I’m sure he would be very confused as to why he was growing arms and legs and a mouth.  He has no real, tangible need for them so long as he remains in the womb.  However, we would desperately explain that while he sees little use for them in his present stage in life, they will become vitally important for the way he interacts with the world of his next stage of life.

The entire New Testament, except for John’s Gospel, speaks to us like we are the child still in the womb.  The vast majority of the New Testament is written to believers and contains encouragement to put in the effort now to grow towards maturity…because the level of maturity we develop here and now will directly impact how we interact with the world of our next stage of life.

Hebrews 6:11-12
Now we want each of you to demonstrate the same diligence for the final realization of your hope, so that you won’t become lazy, but imitators of those who inherit the promises through faith and perseverance.

Keep at it.  Keep going towards maturity.  Not everyone does, but those who trust Jesus’ offer of partnership and patiently wait for it, they will obtain it.

That’s a resolution worth keeping, one with results that echo into eternity.

Keep Pressing,
Ken

Don't be a Jedi

I was recently watching a cartoon Star Wars episode where two sisters were describing a major event in their lives that involved the Jedi.  The Jedi were chasing a runaway fugitive, and during the chase, the fugitive damaged a ship to help his escape.  One of the Jedi used the force to redirect the ship away from the gathering of people it was about to crash down on, as you often see Jedi characters do.  When you initially saw this scene, it appeared that the Jedi had saved many people.  And while they did save the crowd of people, as the sisters continued, we found out the rest of the story.  The new crash location of the damaged ship ended up being their family’s home.  The crash killed the sisters’ parents – leaving them orphans.  After the battle, the Jedi approached the sisters and told them “I’m sorry, I had to make a choice.  But don’t worry, the force will be with you.”  And then the Jedi left, never to return.  After going through an unexpected tragedy and then being left completely alone by everyone responsible, you can imagine what the sisters thought of Jedi…

I know, I know…it’s just a cartoon.  But I was immediately struck with the thought, “How often do us Christians say something like that, and then leave people to themselves?” 

Or, more specifically, How often do we say things like that to other Christians?

When you believe in Jesus for eternal life, you are immediately adopted into God’s family.  Regardless of your biological family background, you now have a Heavenly Father who loves you perfectly.  He looks out for you and knows what is best for you.  In addition, you suddenly have more brothers and sisters then you ever thought possible…but biological age often doesn’t match a person’s spiritual maturity.  Depending on your age when you believe in Jesus, don’t be surprised if you find Christians who are physically older than you, but still acting like spiritual babies.  It is also possible to have a spiritual mother or father that is physically younger than you.

I point out these differences within God’s family so we have a little context to what we’re about to read from the book of James.  Often misunderstood as a letter describing the actions of a “true Christian”, it is, in fact, a letter pointing out what a mature Christian does in contrast to an immature Christian.  Although it is a letter from Jesus’ younger brother to the early church of believers, its structure and feel is much like the wisdom literature of the Old Testament.  James heavily focuses on practical application in a believer’s life.

James wants his readers to intentionally live out their faith in Jesus.  He desires to see them treat each other the way that Jesus treats us.  At about the halfway point of the letter, he says this:

James 2:15-16
If a brother or sister is without clothes and lacks daily food and one of you says to them, “Go in peace, stay warm, and be well fed,” but you don’t give them what the body needs, what good is it?

In situations like this – from a practical standpoint – our words are useless.  Did your brother’s need change?  Do you still have the ability to help your sister?

Before James asked this question, just a few paragraphs back, he was scolding his readers about favoring the rich believers over the poor believers.  He exhorted them to follow the royal law: Love your neighbor as yourself.  Next, he poses the above question as a practical application of his teaching.  However, with the following verse, he cuts deep and to the point.  For those who only say niceties, to those who could do much more than only offer “thoughts and prayers” to their fellow believer in need, James says:

James 2:17
In the same way faith, if it doesn’t have works, is dead by itself.

Ouch. 

But the truth can be painful sometimes.  When we encounter painful truth, don’t ignore it…instead, we need to learn from it.

Some have taught that “faith without works is dead” means that person wasn’t a “true Christian” to begin with.  However, acting immaturely doesn’t mean you aren’t saved from eternal condemnation.  What it does mean is that you’re a lousy sibling to a brother or sister in need.  Throughout his letter, James constantly refers to his readers as believers and family.  He’s not saying that their immature behavior means they’re not really family.  “Dead” in this passage does not equal “corpse”.  Based on the context, we find that James is emphasizing the usefulness or profitability of faith in action.  So instead of a “dead body” assumption, try this analogy:

We love our cars.  We love the freedom they give us to travel quickly, accomplish tasks, help others, or to just enjoy a drive.  However, without fuel, that car is useless.  For all intents and purposes, it’s dead.  Without fuel, it’s still a car…but it cannot fulfill its designed purpose.  However, if you add gas back to the car, it becomes “alive” again.

Similarly, our faith – in order to be useful and profitable – needs to have action.  Just like the car needs gas.  And that’s what James is really getting at here:

If you see a brother or sister in need of help and you have the capacity to help them, don’t just say Christian-sounding words that do not change their situation.  Buy them groceries.  Lend them your car.  Cut their grass.  Buy them coffee and listen to their story.  Mentor their kids.  Hire them.  Use your connections to others who can help them in ways you can’t. 

Don’t be like the Jedi from the cartoon I watched – don’t give a nice little platitude about “God will be with you” and then walk away.  These are fellow members of God’s family.  So let’s act like family and help each other.

You’ll be amazed at what God does when your faith is alive through our actions.

Keep Pressing,
Ken