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Daily Dose of Faith (6/18/2020) – Brick by Brick

Now you are the body of Christ and individually members of it.

(1 Corinthians 12:27, ESV)

Legos have been around my house for a decade now. My son turned 10 recently, and since his earliest days of playing with the big Duplo kind until the sophisticated sets he puts together now, he’s built some pretty amazing things out of Legos.

I remember, though, the earlier days when it was more fun (at least for the kids) to knock the Lego creations down than build them. For a dad, getting Lego bricks again is a chance to play, to build and impress the kids! But no sooner is that tower or small apartment building made than little wrecking balls come to destroy it brick by brick.

I’ve got to say, that’s what things feel like when I think deeply about our culture and time. We’ve seen values forged by God’s Word get knocked down and destroyed one principle at a time. Marriage, family, gender, those with disabilities, minority groups, police officers – these areas in particular, valued as each area or person is to God, has been and continues to be attacked. Our enemy Satan employs the same tactics that he always has with the same aim that he’s always shot for: the defilement of the image of God and the destruction of all God has said is right and good and beautiful. Satan is doing his work of destroying the foundations of God’s work brick by brick. We see his sinister work on the news every day.

Oh how terrifying it would be… if that was all that was going on.

But, God! God has dealt with the attacks of the enemy for millennia. He has seen brick by brick of His work pulled down through the earliest chapters of Genesis through Israel’s history, through the time of Jesus the Messiah on earth, to the current scene of the church. Yet God cannot be undone by the attacks of the enemy. The Apostle Paul was overwhelmed as he described the work of God to rebuild all things through Christ in the church.

Ephesians 2:13–14

[13] But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ. [14] For he himself is our peace, who has made us both one and has broken down in his flesh the dividing wall of hostility (ESV)

You see, the enemy is doing everything he can (and he’s got a full arsenal – Eph. 6:11) to destroy what God has said is good and right and holy. And just when it seemed like no one could put the pieces back together, that we’d been forced to continue fighting and hating one another, Jesus came! His work, among the many other things He accomplished, was to bring lost sinners near to God once again and to bring us sinners close together into one new body – the church.

Ephesians 2:19

[19] So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, (ESV)

Out of the chaos of brokenness that is our country and the world we live in, Jesus continues to rescue people out and build them into something beautiful, good and holy. We are now fellow citizens and members of God’s own house. Brick by brick Jesus is building us into the display of what the whole world will look like one day when He’s done – beautiful, good and holy.

Some are asking right now, and understandably, what is our plan? We agree in the present that racism is evil and must be confronted, but what is the end game? While we do what we can on the social levels, the real work must begin in the household of God. What are we aiming for?

  • God’s work of reconciliation. If Jesus can reconcile Jews and Gentiles to God and each other who for thousands of years hated each other on every level, how can Jesus not do the lesser work of reconciling God’s people who separate for reasons of skin color?
  • Inclusion of all repentant sinners, regardless of their ethnicity or background. Key there is repentant sinners – repentance is the act of saying to God, “You’re right in your view of my life/my sin. I’m not able to control my life. I’ve made a wreck of it, and I’ve hurt others.” Repentance is beautiful, for it clears the life of sin’s power and acknowledges and hopes in the power of God.
  • Joyful worship and life together. Tough times won’t last forever. Someday God will make all things right and whole again. In the meantime we will laugh, sing, talk, listen, learn, hurt, weep and grieve together.

When the world sees love like that, they’ll marvel. And perhaps the Master Builder will get for Himself another brick to add to the building He’s making.

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Daily Dose of Faith (6/16/2020) – Race and Racism

How many races are there?

For clarification I’m not referring to the Tour De France, a marathon or an ironman competition. I’m talking about humanity. When it comes to human beings, how many races can they be divided into?

Ready for the answer?

One. That’s right: one race.

Sources outside of the church have affirmed this in recent years, but the Bible has made it clear from the beginning.

Acts 17:26 says, “And he [God] made from one man every nation of mankind to live on all the face of the earth….”

The New King James version phrases the same verse this way: “He [God] has made from one blood every nation…”

One man. One blood.

That’s what the Human Genome Project can corroborate even if it can’t fully explain. All human DNA points back to a shared ancestry. While secular theorists claim it results from eons of evolutionary pairing down of the species, Bible believers know human ancestry began with one man, one blood. We all come from Adam and are descendants of one of the sons of Noah.

So if we are all one race, what then is racism?

Racism, as I understand the term, is the perpetuated lie that there are different races of people, some more important or valuable than others. This is an evil thought (Mark 7:21), sinful partiality (James 2:1-13) and hate (1 John 2:9-11; 1 John 3:15).

God created us all as humans, male and female, into His image. The color of our skin was never intended by God to be our defining mark or classification. Skin color was always meant by God to display His own unity in beautiful diversity. Sin marred that image in many ways, including the sin of classifying people into different “races.” There’s just no such thing, and the separating of people by distinct races perpetuates the sin against the image of God.

When referring to the sin of racism, remember that it is a sin of cutting up the image of God. It’s classifying some of worthy of inclusion and others as not. None of us are worthy of inclusion in the image of God, but that’s the honor He has nonetheless entrusted into every human being. We all have worth and value and should be treated with dignity, respect and honor.

One of the greatest images of the Civil Rights Movement, in my opinion, is the parade of black men wearing sandwich boards with the message, “I am a Man.” That’s spot on true to God’s Word. The truth has not changed. May God help us to honor the men and women in front of us with the dignity, respect and honor they are due as image bearers of God.

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Daily Dose of Faith (6/15/2020) – Listen up!

Reading the news headlines these days gives me a sensation that I’m drowning and can’t find something to grab onto to pull me out of the waters. That sounds overly dramatic, I realize. But the truth is that the varying opinions represented in reporting don’t lead me to firm convictions. Instead, the issues confronting our nation and the church become muddied in conflicting terms, labels and sides.

Yesterday our Lead Pastor shared the needed message that Love Listens. In order to make sense of the pain we know exists in this world, we need to take our cues from Jesus Christ and the Word He has given us. Only God’s Word makes sense of the world and all our problems. God’s Word is solid, and it’s the thing that helps pull me and you out of the waters of culture.

This week on the blog I will focus on terms that appear in the news and in culture and seek out the scriptures to help us gain biblically clarity, especially on the issue of racism in the United States. By doing this I know we will not marginalize the problems in our country but instead expose them with God’s light and truth so we can deal with what we find in the clear exposure of the Bible.

Jesus spoke to people with a muddied understanding of the world all the time. In Mark 7 Jesus spoke to the confusion caused by the Pharisees and their misrepresentation of God and His standards. In Mark 7:14–23 Jesus told a parable and applied it for the benefit of His confused disciples [words emphasized in bold by me]:

[14] And he called the people to him again and said to them, “Hear me, all of you, and understand: [15] There is nothing outside a person that by going into him can defile him, but the things that come out of a person are what defile him.” [17] And when he had entered the house and left the people, his disciples asked him about the parable. [18] And he said to them, “Then are you also without understanding? Do you not see that whatever goes into a person from outside cannot defile him, [19] since it enters not his heart but his stomach, and is expelled?” (Thus he declared all foods clean.) [20] And he said, “What comes out of a person is what defiles him. [21] For from within, out of the heart of man, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, [22] coveting, wickedness, deceit, sensuality, envy, slander, pride, foolishness. [23] All these evil things come from within, and they defile a person.” (ESV)

The controversy in this passage was what counted as unclean and therefore defiling for the people of God. Jesus says here that foods do not defile. It’s not what goes into your body that defiles you but what is already present in your sinful heart.

Jesus says in verse 14 “Hear me, all of you, and understand,” and that is a biblical evidence of what Pastor Sam shared yesterday: we must position ourselves to be discipled by Jesus Christ. When Jesus emphasizes the need to hear, we need to listen up!

Jesus responds to His disciples in verse 18 with “Are you also without understanding?” This reminds me that being a Christ-follower does not mean I automatically connect all the dots and have proper insight into the controversies in front of me. 

Jesus teaches that the controversies around us take backstage to the true conflict inside of us. The true problem we face today is the problem of the heart. In verse 21 Jesus lists several heart-issued sins that result in outward defilement. Today we need to see the first sin on that list: evil thoughts. All of our problems begin in the heart, stew in our evil thinking and then result on the outside with defilement. I’ve seen this past week how the evil we call racism begins in the heart and is more accurately called evil thoughts. These evil thoughts include any opinions held that support the divide of people based on the color of their skin.

Let’s be careful that we not get overwhelmed by the flood of terms confronting us today. On the one hand, is there racism around the world and particularly in the United States? Yes. Is racism the main trouble that we have? No. The deeper issue is the evil thoughts that come from hearts that want to sin. Evil thoughts that end up in racist opinions and words are defiling. We all have them as part of the indwelling sin that we deal with. Our hope is that Jesus will continue to boldly expose evil thoughts within us, help us to confess them and to cleanse us as we seek to listen to Him and listen to others.

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Daily Dose of Faith (6/12/2020) – Humble Minds

Today’s blog prayer is written by Tony Sims, husband and dad, church member and deacon and servant leader on the West Park Prayer Leadership Team.

1 Peter 3:8 – Finally, all of you, have unity of mind, sympathy, brotherly love, a tender heart, and a humble mind. (ESV)

Heavenly Father,

What an awesome Father you are to your children. You are a Father of light in whom there is no darkness at all.  You declare us as your children to participate in your kingdom.  Lord, we understand that we are a fallen people and do not represent you as we should in this dark world.  The choices and stances we often take bring shame to you and how we affect our brothers and sisters in Christ.  You are clear in your Word that we are to humble ourselves under your mighty hand that we may be exalted by you at the proper time.

Our nation, government, media, social networking, and families are suffering from a lack of humbling ourselves before you.  We fail miserably in listening to others who are hurting during a time when the “author of confusion,” our enemy, is at work.  Father, we choose to listen to the many voices around us in the world and refuse to even attempt to look through the lens of others as to how our actions impact your kingdom which includes our brothers and sisters in Christ who you dearly love.  You boldly asked us not to be conformed to this world but be transformed through your Word.  We humbly ask that you help us to see how you value love in all our relationships.  The only way that we as brothers and sisters in Christ can show the world that we are your image bearers is that we show love that is active and not passive.

Thank you, Father, how you demonstrated love through Jesus during His ministry on earth.  Your attention was on the marginalized, the rejects of society, the oppressed, those who had no voices and the disqualified.  Your Word says that you came to set at liberty those who are oppressed.  Give us sensitive ears and humble minds and hearts to see how our choices and fallenness impact your intentions for your kingdom.  We understand that suffering precedes glory as it has been demonstrated by the prophets of old, the apostles, many saints before us and, most importantly, by Jesus who suffered for us and now is glorified. Help us to be poor in spirit, mourners, meek, willing to comfort others, peacemakers, merciful, pure in heart, and to hunger and thirst for righteousness in this world.

We need you to please give our church leaders your Word that will spark a spirit of humility in the behavior of your people.  Help us to understand it is not about us, but it is all about you.  Father, help us to remember that this world is not our home and we are only pilgrims passing through.  While we are here, help us to follow your example by having a humble, open mind towards you and especially our brothers and sisters in Christ.

Help us to love you with all our heart, soul, and mind and love our neighbors as ourselves in fulfillment of your command.  Forgive us for not loving our neighbors and for not taking on the mind of Christ so that your name will be glorified throughout this world.  Now, Father, we commit our hearts and all our thoughts to pleasing you because of what you did for all of us through your Son at Calvary, by humbly taking on our sins to make us right with you.  It is in Jesus’ precious name we ask these things.  Amen

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Daily Dose of Faith (6/11/2020) – Tender Hearts

1 Peter 3:8 – Finally, all of you, have unity of mind, sympathy, brotherly love, a tender heart, and a humble mind. (ESV)

A Prayer for Today:

Most Holy Father, 

You shower us daily with love and care from the abundance of your tender heart. Even as we pursue Peter’s command, we cannot begin by our actions to scratch the surface of Your infinite tenderness. You did not leave us to wallow in our lost state, for in tenderness of heart You sent Jesus for our great need of forgiveness. We believe You change not, so Your tenderness will minister to us still today. We need You, Father. 

Jesus, our Lord, You understand the world of men. You who lived among us know our tendency toward closed hearts… hard hearts. Where You constantly met the needs of others who came to You for help, we tend to close ourselves off from others, not wanting the inconvenience of feeling their pain. We are guilty of making excuses so that we feel less guilty when we leave the suffering of our fellow man unaddressed. Forgive us for our hard-hearted apathy. Yet in the wonder of grace we receive Your forgiveness and cleansing for even this sin! You are so faithful to us in Your tender love. 

Holy Spirit, please help us to live the good life that Peter describes in this verse. It is the good life of following in the footsteps of our Lord Jesus: He who loves with such tender-hearted love. Help us to see the needs of those around us and be softened. Help us to pray for those on our screens protesting right now, seeing their needs for which they cry and praying for their greater need of Christ their only Hope. Help us to see our law enforcement officers fulfilling their duty with the tender heart of Christ. Their service in these days is crucial, and we pray You would grant our believing brothers and sisters in the police force and military with tender hearts for those in front of them. 

God, grant that we as a church would have tender hearts toward one another. Make us like You.

In the name of Jesus, Amen. 

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Daily Dose of Faith (6/10/2020) – Sympathy and Brotherly Love

Today’s prayer comes from Jeff Wiggs, husband, father, member of West Park and servant leader on the West Park Prayer Leadership Team.

1 Peter 3:8 – Finally, all of you, have unity of mind, sympathy, brotherly love, a tender heart, and a humble mind. (ESV)

As we are spending time with Peter in this passage from his letters to the church, I am struck by how powerful his advice to them is. The church was growing and was persecuted. There were many things vying for their attention and their allegiance. They needed to find their true identity in one place: the person of Jesus Christ.

This doesn’t lessen the other parts of who we are, it prioritizes who we are. We are aliens and foreigners to this world. We are His people, His nation, His priesthood to this world. We must have a unity in our minds around Christ. The outflow of this is sympathy and brotherly love because we see people for who they are and ourselves for the redeemed sinners we are.
This is an encouragement to me and gives me hope in the beauty of the community of Christ.
 

Let us pray together…

Our Loving and Faithful Heavenly Father, You are just and mighty. You are a strong tower that we run to for shelter in the midst of the storms of this life. How it is storming right now. We have brothers and sisters who are sick and need comfort; who are sin-sick and need a word from You; who feel mute because no one seems to listen to their pleas for justice, for a change; who are desperate for a reprieve from the isolation and separation that is their lot right now. I pray that your Spirit would help us see those around us, sheltering in the base of your tower, weeping at the foot of the cross, and that we would sympathize with them. I pray that  we would remember what it is like to be there and have compassion on those we see hurting. 

You have sent us as your royal ambassadors, messengers of the King to this world we are traveling in. You had a plan for us before this world began. You knew we would turn away but you set it in motion because you loved us still. This plan involves a great mission, to show your kingdom to those who would hear and to bring the message of your good news to the poor and hungry of this world. We bring a message of freedom to the captives and a promise of hope to those blinded by this sin-sick world. Help our words to pour out from our brotherly love. Help us to be quick to listen, slow to speak, slow to judge those around us. To be sympathetic to the frustrations and needs of our brothers and sisters. We are one race, one people, you are making of us one nation. Let the differences we see be beautiful in our eyes and the love that you have for us filter our vision of each other.

Knit us together in unity of mind that we may be effective in this mission you have before us. Teach us to repent: to turn from our sins and to follow hard after you. Teach us to forgive: to not hold a grudge, but to offer a meal, an ear, and a helping hand to all who are in need. Let us fight for the dignity of our brothers and sisters and to surrender our pride as we look to represent you on this earth. We pray this in the name of the one who unites us, who loves us, and who sent us. We pray this in Jesus’ name.

And so let it be. Amen.

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Daily Dose of Faith (6/9/2020) – Unity of Mind

1 Peter 3:8–12

[8] Finally, all of you, have unity of mind, sympathy, brotherly love, a tender heart, and a humble mind. [9] Do not repay evil for evil or reviling for reviling, but on the contrary, bless, for to this you were called, that you may obtain a blessing. [10] For

“Whoever desires to love life
and see good days,
let him keep his tongue from evil
and his lips from speaking deceit;
[11] let him turn away from evil and do good;
let him seek peace and pursue it.
[12] For the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous,
and his ears are open to their prayer.
But the face of the Lord is against those who do evil.” (ESV)

 

I wish I had answers that could solve all the turmoil I see around the country right now. The kind of answers that would quickly end the suffering, stamp down the pride, and see people of all walks of life prosper and thrive.

But if we want to see change happen in society, it must first happen within the Household of God.

Peter wrote back in the 1st Century a message that is still needed today because the counsel is God’s timeless Word. While I can’t come up with quick answers to change people’s hearts, God can. Today through Friday let’s turn to 1 Peter 3:8-12, seeking God’s plan for how we should respond at all times to our fellow believers in the church and towards those outside the church. Join me in prayer today for unity of mind (3:8).

Most Holy Father,

We turn to You because You are the Truth. You have established Your Word and it stands firm. No matter the course of human history, no matter how buffeted we are on this earth, no matter how shifting the tides of culture may be, You change not. We read in the Bible that Your steadfast love never ceases, therefore we are not consumed. How great is Your faithfulness!

Yet, Father, we are confronted by images on our screens, devices and newsfeeds of the turmoil in our country. How far we have fallen from the unified goal of being Your image-bearers. Instead we have succumbed to the darker strains of our fallen natures, preferring one over another, giving priority to some and not others, placing distinctions on the human race and, even worse, within the church. Forgive us, Father.

Lord Jesus, You always walked through life looking for who You could encourage, who You could listen to whether that be children, women, or the worst sinners you could find. You did all so You could rescue those trapped and fallen far from God’s glory. You took on full humanity so You could identify with us all. You did this so You could truly be our substitute to endure the wrath of God. We confess again our trust in You. Of all potential saviors in this world, You alone are exalted as worthy and able to save. We need You, Jesus.

Holy Spirit, help us to have unity of mind. Help us to remember who we are as the image-bearers of God and as the redeemed family of Jesus. Help us to prioritize the unity that we have in Christ and apply it in our discussions with one another. Help us to respond to those who differ with the love and patience of Christ. Please do this to glorify our Father God and to produce good in our lives. May You be pleased to do this work in us. And may You be pleased to transform us so that our unity would shine out brightly to a dark world, showing them the glory and majesty of King Jesus.

In His name we pray, amen.

 

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Last Sunday Around the World: Colombia

Greetings, friends! Today starts a new Monday blog series called “Last Sunday Around the World.” On Mondays we will read stories from our partners around the globe and in the United States as they restart church post-lockdown.

Today we get a look into the mighty works of God in Colombia. I know you will rejoice in the update shared today by Daniel Mee.

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Ministry in Colombia had never seemed more fun or fruitful. The residential seminary where we work was in the middle of its biggest semester ever. The new church plant had recently achieved the goal of financially supporting its Colombian pastor and making its own rental payments. As a church we were also planning on starting a new evangelistic Bible study in a neighborhood near the church.

Then COVID-19.

On March 20th, the Colombian government announced we were going into a mandatory lockdown for 4 days. Those 4 days turned into weeks, which have turned into months. I began to struggle with giving up plans. Things were going so well and COVID-19 seemed to be destroying plans and tearing down accomplishments. As I write, it is now June 1st. I still struggle at times with giving up certain plans, but as I look back on this time and what God has done, my heart is filled with praise to a sovereign God who was not surprised by COVID-19 and who is not currently implementing plan B. My heart rejoices to see a few of the ways in which he has let us see how his plans are better than ours. I will mention a few.

  1. Meeting online has created in our church a strong desire to meet all together in the same place. 

    2.  

  2. Our church now understands the Lord’s Supper better than before. At the beginning of the lockdown we had decided we would wait till we were physically together again before celebrating the Lord’s Supper. We believe that an important aspect of the Lord’s Supper is the unity of the body of believers and we didn’t think we could emphasize that aspect online. However, as time passed we knew we needed to observe this important ordinance. Some of you can imagine the questions that arose from the young church whose members are primarily from a Catholic background. Observing the Lord’s Supper in this format actually opened doors for us to teach on these topics in a way most of the church will never forget. Church members prepared juice and bread, we turned on our cameras on Zoom and we celebrated the Lord’s Supper together.

    3.  

  3. We were able to enjoy fellowship with other churches. The church where we are serving is the result of a church-planting effort of two mother churches. As pastors of the three churches, we meet every week to drink coffee, talk ministry, and plan future church-planting efforts. We had often talked of getting the three churches together for a joint service but as the churches grew, finding a place to all meet together became more and more difficult. Because each church was meeting online, we realized that we could easily plan a joint service. On May 31st the three churches met together via Zoom and facebook live. Music, prayer, and even preaching was shared between the three churches. We celebrated the history of the churches and encouraged the churches with the plans for the next church plant.

    4.  

  4. God has brought together the largest evangelistic Bible study we have ever done in Colombia. After praying for some time for the evangelistic Bible study we would start after the pandemic passed, we realized that perhaps this extended lockdown was an amazing opportunity to share hope with our community. When we floated the idea of a virtual Bible study, our church immediately began to invite neighbors, friends, and family members. In my heart I hoped that there would be at least 4 people. The first night of the study I looked with amazement as more and more people joined the video call. At one point I looked down and there were 41 computers connected to the call. Many of those connections represented whole families. God’s ways are certainly best.

    5.  

  5. God has provided. Not only has the church been able to continue to support its pastor and pay its rent, but there have also been opportunities for the church to give to those in need.

    6.  

  6. Beyond these opportunities we have also been able to participate in a virtual missions conference with around 800 people connected. These conferences usually host around 300. In a couple of weeks we are holding a church-planting training course for pastors. Not only has nearly every pastor we have invited signed up to attend, but we are also able to have a group of amazing professors from the US and Latin America that we would never have been able to gather in a traditional classroom.

This is not to say that we haven’t had our difficulties. Just like you, we have had problems with internet at times, certain people in our church have become more distant, and the seminary faces many difficulties for upcoming semesters… But looking at what God has done, I recognize that his plans are always better than mine and my heart is motivated to trust him for the future (Is. 55:8-9)

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Daily Dose of Faith (6/4/2020) – Justice

Justice. 

All over the world people are pleading for justice.

In our country’s major cities people are protesting for justice.

I think today it would help me to write about and for you to learn with me about justice.

We all want the facts, and it’s the best we can do in this world of opinions if we can boil things down to the facts. We see images of injustice but what are the facts? So first, let’s establish a simple fact. God prioritizes justice. Let’s get one more fact: the Bible speaks in Old and New Testaments about justice.

Let’s get a visual on this. One resource that has really helped me to grow in biblical understanding of justice is the Bible Project. Take about 6 minutes to watch their video presentation on biblical justice, and then read what follows.

 

 

What does the Bible say about Justice? Just a sample of texts reveal its relevance to God.

Proverbs 31:8–9

[8] Open your mouth for the mute,
for the rights of all who are destitute.
[9] Open your mouth, judge righteously,
defend the rights of the poor and needy. (ESV)

Jeremiah 22:3

Thus says the LORD: Do justice and righteousness, and deliver from the hand of the oppressor him who has been robbed. And do no wrong or violence to the resident alien, the fatherless, and the widow, nor shed innocent blood in this place. (ESV)

Psalm 146:9

The LORD watches over the sojourners;
he upholds the widow and the fatherless,
but the way of the wicked he brings to ruin. (ESV)

Matthew 23:23

“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you tithe mint and dill and cumin, and have neglected the weightier matters of the law: justice and mercy and faithfulness. These you ought to have done, without neglecting the others. (ESV)

What is Justice, according to God’s Word? Here’s what I learned from the video and putting the biblical texts in context.

Justice is a radically selfless activity that aims to be restorative:

  • by seeking out the vulnerable who are being taken advantage of and helping them
  • and by advocating for the vulnerable and taking steps to change the social structures that cause injustice.

How should we apply Justice?

Let me suggest a few things about how we who call ourselves Christians should think and act justly.

1) Recognize first that the justice we deserve is the justice of God for our sin. We will not see clearly to offer restorative justice to others if we do not first see our common plight as creatures made in the image of God who fell willingly into sin. Whether we are black, white, Asian, Middle-Eastern, or some ethnicity in between, we are all made in the image of God. Whoever we face we can acknowledge that we are all equal in the eyes of our Creator God, and that should be all we need for classification. It’s because we still have indwelling sin that we make unholy distinctions between ethnic groups. Wasn’t the imagery of people pushing others down in the video so true to what we do? Or at least to what we allow? We deserve the just penalty of God for our sin.

2) Jesus lived out justice toward others perfectly. He condemned the Pharisees for tithing on minuscule spices (which made them seem important and holy) yet failing to show mercy, justice and faithfulness (Matt. 23:23). Jesus says mercy, justice and faithfulness are the weightier things of God’s law. Jesus hefted those weighty matters, seeking out the marginalized, the oppressed, the prostitutes, the zealots and the tax collectors. He created His new family out of such people, and He achieved the justice that God demanded.

3) Yet Jesus was killed as if He was unjust, all on our behalf. This is the great image the video used: our unrighteous red covering was put on Him, and His righteous white covering was given to us. The great exchange of the Gospel is that we who live unjust lives were shown great mercy. Oh, how we need mercy! Jesus has given us mercy.

4) Christians are called to be the leaders in showing true justice. Remember, justice is about retribution for one, and that means appropriate punishment for crimes. But justice is also about restoration, looking out for the oppressed and seeking to help them, even changing social structures that continue to oppress them. Ironically, just like we experienced from God, this means applying mercy, even when we are certain someone deserves justice. The media wants to capitalize on the polarization of our country. It sells news. But what an opportunity for us who claim to know Christ to not give in to the world’s views but to see those oppressed as well as the oppressors with eyes of mercy. Quick to seek out the good of those oppressed, and hanging in there for the long haul to help all who are trapped in the world’s system, both oppressed and oppressor, to repent, believe the gospel and to join the family of Christ.

This has been a high-level overview of the topic of justice today. Think about this and consider further applications. I’ll leave you with this from the Lord:

James 2:13

For judgment is without mercy to one who has shown no mercy. Mercy triumphs over judgment. (ESV)

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Abide: Together

On Sunday June 7, 2020 West Park Baptist Church will meet in person once again.

It’s hard to believe that over the past 3 months we’ve not seen one another, and it’s with joy and excitement that we look forward to Sunday. Who are the people that we might see?

There’s the wife and working mom with 2 young kids. At the beginning of the pandemic she was told she had to work her full-time job at home while her kids stayed home full-time from school. It’s been a juggling routine to feel all there for any of those involved in her daily routine, and the work-from-home order continues for another few months. She’s in need of encouragement and is eager to get back to worship.

There’s the man whose wife is in the midst of trying times with chemotherapy. He’s caring for her daily on top of the trying times brought by the pandemic. He’s coming back to church to serve, while being as careful as he can.

There’s a senior saint who has been sheltered at home for several months and likely won’t be back to worship just yet. But she’s praying for and contacting others. She’s thinking through how the Lord wants her to respond in the relationships He’s entrusted to her.

Gathering as a church is not just about seeing friends and family or feeling connected once again to God and others, as important as those things are. Gathering as a church is about following the Spirit’s lead together as we walk in love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.

As I mentioned in yesterday’s post, walking in the Spirit and producing spiritual fruit is a community project. Abiding in Jesus Christ is a personal matter, but it is never private. Jesus wills us for us to follow Him in the company of the family He’s creating. So my aim in this final installment of “Abide” is to help you get ready to put the fruit in practice as you start regularly encountering others once again.

First, consider the many many times the Fruit of the Spirit is commanded in the “one another” passages in the New Testament letters:

Romans 12:10 – Love one another with brotherly affection. Outdo one another in showing honor.

Romans 14:13 – Therefore let us not pass judgment on one another any longer, but rather decide never to put a stumbling block or hindrance in the way of a brother.

Galatians 5:13 – For you were called to freedom, brothers. Only do not use your freedom as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another.

Ephesians 4:2 – with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love,

Ephesians 4:32 – Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you.

1 Thessalonians 5:11 – Therefore encourage one another and build one another up, just as you are doing.

1 Peter 5:5 – Likewise, you who are younger, be subject to the elders. Clothe yourselves, all of you, with humility toward one another, for “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.”

There are so many passages I could include, but I think you get the gist of God’s will for you and me. What remains, though, is to think through what humility and love and encouragement look like as we regather. Let me suggest a few ways.

  • Humility – People will be coming back to church with all kinds of opinions and convictions about how to act. Some will wear masks to protect themselves or those they are trying to minister to at home, and some will not because they think that perhaps everything about the virus is overblown. Humility may look like (please not that I’m not saying it must or should look like) wearing a mask going in and out of the building for the sake of another’s needs. Humility is the posture of counting others as more significant than yourself.
  • Love – Love might need to be exhibited by refraining from the hug you want to give for maybe another week or two as we take careful steps forward. Those “careful steps” are in line with Pastor Sam’s message on “Going to Church and Being the Church” and Pastor Doug’s video announcement last week.
  • Encouragement – Words are powerful. When you come, share truth and love with one another. Share your joy at being back, but pray that God the Holy Spirit would help you to walk by His lead, no matter what the needs are in front of you. Pray, seriously pray, that God would use you for the encouragement of others in this time.

It would please the Lord so much to see His family walking in the Spirit together, eager to bear fruit to the praise of the Father. We’re in this together. Praise the Lord He’s with us always!

Love, Joy, Peace, Patience, Kindness, Goodness, Faithfulness, Gentleness, Self-Control