West Park Baptist Church

Abide

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Abide: Kindness

Many times as a dad I’ve played the role of mediator in a spat between siblings. When it becomes impossible to figure out who started it or who the true victim is, I recall reaching the end of my resources in that moment and settle on the counsel, “Just be kind to each other!”

I wish that actually worked – just to give a command and see my kids walk in loving-kindness. It would be wonderful if all of us who quarrel and fight would end up like that 1971 Coca-cola commercial, on some hilltop singing together, “I’d like to buy the world a Coke.” A simple act of kindness has great potential.

Of course life doesn’t happen that way. Telling someone to stop arguing and to be kind instead doesn’t work. At least not in my experience. Fighting, quarreling, coldness and bitterness, to name just a few of the relational sins, can’t be cracked or thawed merely by one kind act. A bottle of Coke hasn’t yet ended wars on Earth. Each of us who wish to walk in the Spirit and show the kindness of Christ need the power of our Lord in us, motivated by the loving-kindness He showed us.

How can we become the kind people that God wills us to be? Let me suggest a few things to think through.

  • Think about the kindness of God toward you. Romans 2:4 asks us, “Or do you presume on the riches of his kindness and forbearance and patience, not knowing that God’s kindness is meant to lead you to repentance?” (ESV).  After arguing in Romans 1 that all the Gentile world is lost in sin and deserving hell, Paul reminds the Roman church that the reason they escaped this judgment was the fact of God’s kindness toward them. God did not give any believers what we deserve, for that would be hell. He instead, in kindness and compassion, called us to be His chosen children, holy and beloved (Col. 3:12). Think long about what you deserve, and think now of what by God’s kindness you have. That is the motivator to compel your kindness toward others. It won’t happen merely by fulfilling a command. You can’t be kind enough to please God. He is pleased when we rest on His kindness to us in Christ. That abiding in Him begins the work of making us kind like He is kind.

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  • Consider who you can show kindness to right now. I love the story of King David remembering his covenant with Jonathan, son of King Saul. David asks, “Is there not still someone of the house of Saul, that I may show the kindness of God to him?” (2 Sam 9:1;3). He tracked down Jonathan’s son Mephibosheth and gave him a portion of the king’s own wealth. The story in 2 Samuel 9 ends with “So Mephibosheth… ate always at the king’s table.” I think of how earth-shattering the kindness of David was to Mephibosheth. He expected death but received the “kindness of God.” Who do you know that right now could be surprised by kindness? To whom can you show the kindness of God?

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  • Measure kindness not by random acts but by abiding acts. The series theme for these articles is “abide” and comes from John 15. When Jesus called on us to abide in Him and bear much fruit, He intended for us to abide in kindness toward one another. Our culture celebrates random acts of kindness: leaving 5 bucks in an envelope on a park bench, giving an unusually large tip, or mowing a neighbor’s yard by surprise. For the Christian such acts should not be random (“Where did that come from: that’s uncharacteristic of him/her!”) but abiding (“Wow! How can he/she be like that so often?”). Hopefully an abiding presence of kindness can turn our society around by pointing people beyond ourselves and to the Lord.

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  • Exercise kindness in all of its manifestations. One “kindness” passage really surprises me. It doesn’t seem like the others. Especially when “kindness” gets muddled in my brain with just being “nice.”  David says in Psalm 141:5 “Let a righteous man strike me—it is a kindness; let him rebuke me—it is oil for my head; let my head not refuse it.” Kindness shows up when we give, when we serve, when we forgive, but also when we enter a person’s messy life and speak a hard truth lovingly for that person’s healing and spiritual good. May the Lord give us all grace to grow in this area: expressing the kindness of open rebuke and receiving it humbly as a gift of the Lord.

I conclude today with Micah 6:8 –

He has told you, O man, what is good;
and what does the LORD require of you
but to do justice, and to love kindness,
and to walk humbly with your God? (ESV)

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

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Abide: Joy

Joy. Sometimes I confess it is elusive. Whenever I seek to be joyful or to rejoice it isn’t easy to turn that faucet on. Can you identify with that?

Personally I see as a pastor a lot of pain in people’s lives. Sin and struggle. Hurt and loss. Disappointments from circumstances and people. If I’m not careful, that’s all I see, and rejoicing feels like a foggy land I can’t get to. You may be there too!

Joy is not as simple as pasting on a smile or merely acting happy.

So, what is joy anyway? And how can we rejoice in this challenging life?

Let’s turn to Psalm 33:1–5

[1] Shout for joy in the LORD, O you righteous!
Praise befits the upright.
[2] Give thanks to the LORD with the lyre;
make melody to him with the harp of ten strings!
[3] Sing to him a new song;
play skillfully on the strings, with loud shouts.
[4] For the word of the LORD is upright,
and all his work is done in faithfulness.
[5] He loves righteousness and justice;
the earth is full of the steadfast love of the LORD. (ESV)

This Psalm teaches us that “praise befits the upright.” In other words, it’s fitting for God’s people to be full of joy!

I love hanging out with genuinely joyful Christians. They aren’t easily offended, they approach hard issues with patience, they love people and laugh freely. In other words, they exhibit the other Fruit of the Spirit in their joy. Do you know people like this?

Recognize that God wills all His people to be like this. He commands us to rejoice:

  • Shout for joy (1)
  • Give thanks to the LORD with the lyre (2)
  • Make melody to him with the harp of ten strings (2)
  • Sing to him a new song (3)
  • Play skillfully on the strings, with loud shouts (3)

The Lord knows our hearts need to be primed to rejoice, and those commands tell us the means to rejoice in joy. I find Jesus rejoicing in song like this in the New Testament. He knew this Psalm and obeyed it fully. He sang with His disciples after the Last Supper on the way to the Garden of Gethsemene. He sings even now as our Resurrected Lord and King in Heaven (see Heb. 2:12). Jesus was and is today and will forever be the most joyful Person we could ever be with. What does He delight and rejoice in? Psalm 33 gives us fuel for rejoicing like Jesus.

  • We have joy because God has given us His Word and forever settled it. He won’t change it. What He says is true and totally trustworthy. So, rejoice! (33:4,11)
  • We have joy because God has given us His steadfast love. He won’t remove it from us, no matter what happens to us or what we go through. So, rejoice! (33:5,18,22)
  • We have joy because God controls all the nations. Nothing happens outside of His power and control. The blessing is on the nation who fears God. So, rejoice! (33:10-12)
  • We have joy because the stability and strength of our lives doesn’t depend on our strength or the shaky foundation of human leaders. God Himself is our strength. So, rejoice! (33:13-19)
  • We have joy because we have the Lord. Christ is our gladness and joy. So, rejoice! (33:20-22).

Joy, then, is a settled gladness in God – who He is and what He does.

So, friends, when you feel down, even struggling with depression, don’t try to fake your way out of it. There are hard realities in life, and the joyful Christian doesn’t ignore them. He or she instead shifts the focus from the hard realities to the unchanging truth of God.

From time to time Pastor Sam Polson has reminded us of the prayer of Jehoshaphat in 2 Chronicles 20:12 – “Lord, we don’t know what to do” (the acknowledgement that life is tough, trials are at the door, and we don’t have the resources to change things) “but our eyes are on you” (the God who speaks, loves, controls all things, gives strength to His people and delights us with His presence). Yes, instead of looking to get joy, God’s people look to the Lord. And joy comes.

How, then, can you experience joy?

  • Spend quality time in God’s Word, orienting your mind and heart on God’s truth.
  • Pray, worshipping God for who He is.
  • Focus on the Lord Jesus, praising Him for His sacrifice and life given for you. Praise Him for His joyful presence always.
  • Sing songs of praise to the Lord!
  • Gather (and thankfully we will soon!) with God’s people. Surround yourself with genuinely joyful Christians, those types I referred to above. Seek them out, for that kind of Spirit-driven joy really seems to be contagious!

Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice. (Philippians 4:4, ESV)

A song to remind you of our Joy in Christ – Forever Jesus

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

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Abide: Re-entry

Back in 2013 my family and I left the relative comfort and security structures we had known in China to return to the United States. I can recall feeling excited but also scared about a big move like that. For 8 years I lived and worked there, meeting my wife there in year 3 and enjoying life together as husband and wife there for 4 years. We built up a support structure in China; had people who knew and nurtured us. We knew our way around, had favorite places to go, and even could communicate with others (for the most part!).

Then a jet lifted us and our two kids up over the Bering Strait, down through Canada and back to the United States. And our security, support structure and way of life was suddenly removed.

It takes time to become accustomed to a new way of life, establish new support structures and to feel secure. While the USA was our place of birth and early nurturing, it was not quite the same place that we had left behind and then returned to.

Friends, we will all experience some of those same things as we re-enter life post-quarantine. What seemed normal 2 months ago will not be the same as the normal we encounter now. What sustained my wife and I, and what can sustain you in the days ahead? While not an easy path, the only right and fulfilling path for re-entry was rest in Christ and bearing fruit through Him.

Here’s what Jesus says in John 15:1–5

[1] “I am the true vine, and my Father is the vinedresser. [2] Every branch in me that does not bear fruit he takes away, and every branch that does bear fruit he prunes, that it may bear more fruit. [3] Already you are clean because of the word that I have spoken to you. [4] Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me. [5] I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing. (ESV)

Abide

That’s the main theme Jesus wants us to get and the unifying theme of this series of articles. It’s a compelling invitation and command: “Abide in me” (4). Jesus speaks a word that refers to true home, rest, fellowship and security. Each of us seek for home and rest, fellowship and security all the time, and Jesus tells us that all those things are found in Him. He compels and commands His beloved people to remain close to Him, learning from Him, trusting Him through all the changing scenes of life.

Isn’t this so good? Although life continues to change, and the lives we lived 2 months ago aren’t quite what they are today, the Christian has Christ. When we live in dependence on Him, trusting Him, obeying Him, we accept whatever changes come, knowing in Him we have a home, rest, fellowship and security.

The key to bearing true spiritual fruit that will be to the glory of God and the good of others is to first abide in Christ.

One of the lessons my wife and I learned over those initial months of re-entry is that Jesus Christ had not left us, and that no matter where we were He was with us, and we were with Him. Everything else got sorted out as we looked in dependence on Him.

How quickly we all tend to forget Him. Our love comes and goes. Our fruit looks often like the plants in my family’s garden: will they hang on? Will they make it? In times of stress and upheaval our spiritual lives too often suffer.

Yet our performance isn’t the resting place. Our record doesn’t produce the fruit. Christ has not changed, no matter if we’ve flown thousands of miles over oceans or the culture around us changes while we remain in our homes. Christ is ours by His self-giving love and sacrifice. And we are His.

We will meditate further on the fruit we can bear for Jesus, but I was struck today by how fruitless our lives would be if we do not first submit to Jesus as the One who has not changed and who is with us now.

Meditation in Song: I Hear the Words of Love

This older song by Horatius Bonar (1861), is not often sung today, but the words are still as life giving today as they were over 150 years ago.

“I change, He changes not,
The Christ can never die;
His love, not mine, the resting place,
His truth, not mine, the tie.”