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Wednesday, April 17, 2013

Make Disciples

Some days, I just want to write about what is on my heart... today is one of those days. So here goes... when I was a student at NC State, I got involved with a movement that became know as the "discipling movement". Basically, the focus of the movement was that disciples were to mature one another and new disciples were to be made. That was the concept and I believe that the Bible fully supports that idea. I was often convicted and sometimes encouraged through this movement. Unfortunately, things went too far and people were hurt.

The result of the movement was that people began making disciples of themselves and abused each other. Controlling the person that you were "discipling" became the focus of the relationship. A good thing jumped the track and became a bad thing. Many people came to know the Lord that otherwise would have not heard the Good News. Many others left the movement damaged by the control that others had been exercised in their lives. Some are still dealing with the harm that they endured.

In my mind, this is a baby and bathwater issue. Do we throw away the good along with the bad because the movement went off the track. Or... is there a way to learn from the past and take the good and leave out the bad? One thing is certain, we are commanded to make disciples.

And Jesus came and said to them, All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” (Matt 28:18-20, ESV)


Jesus stands before His disciples and tells them that "all" authority, "all" power in heaven and earth had been vested in Him. The president has some power. The governor has some power. We respect that power that is placed in those offices, but Jesus says that every bit of all power had been given to Him. And then, clothed in that power, He tells... no commands them (and us) to make disciples. They were to spend their lives, their money, their talent, their everything helping people to know Him. Not just know about Him, they were to become like Him. Paul says it like this... my little children, for whom I am again in the anguish of childbirth until Christ is formed in you!

Until Christ is formed in you... get the idea. The outcome of our faith is that we become like Him. We are born again, this time to a heavenly Father and it is His Son's image that we are to pursue. Here is the difficult question for each of us... am I a disciple? Is Christ formed in me? To make a true disciple, I have to be a true disciple. Can someone spend time with me and see Jesus? Tough question. Many of us have spent a lifetime in the in the pew, listening to thousands of sermons and singing thousands of songs... but we don't look like Jesus. We were never truly discipled. No one ever took us under their wing and demonstrated what a life lived like Him looks like. We were told that we needed to be saved, we did what we were told and then we sat down.

Jesus says that when we make the decision to follow Him, that is the beginning of life. When you and I come to faith, when we are immersed in the waters of baptism and have our old life washed away, we are to begin the new life of becoming His disciple and making other disciples, God includes us in His redeeming work. We get to work with Him to change the world... and that begins with the guy or gal next door, down the street, around the corner or in the cubicle next to mine. He says tell them your story. Tell them about how you meet a Savior and what your life has been like since then. Make disciples of Jesus. That is the command from the One that has all authority. Change your neighbor, change the world. One life at a time... introduce them to Jesus.

Tuesday, April 16, 2013

A Difficult Scripture

(Today's Reading - 1 Samuel 19-21; Luke 15:11-32)

I prefer easy to understand scriptures. You know... don't steal, don't kill, don't lie... the ones that I can read and say "ok, got it". The ones that make me scratch my head and wonder what God was thinking when He wrote it down are the ones I had rather just skip over. But, He must want us to dig and search and really want to get His meaning sometimes. Maybe it is a test. Maybe He wants to see if we are paying attention. Whatever it is, today we encounter just such a verse...

Then a harmful spirit from the Lord came upon Saul, as he sat in his house with his spear in his hand. (1 Samuel 19:9) A harmful spirit from the LORD? Did God send a bad spirit into Saul? Does He do that? Let's put in plain English... did the just God of the universe send a spirit into Saul that overwhelmed his ability to make a decision for himself? Does God do that sort of thing?

Because of all the other scriptures in the Bible that would teach very clearly that God allows man to have a free will and choose to be obedient or disobedient, something else must be in play here. We know scripture cannot contradict itself, so there must be another answer. Three thoughts...

First, the Bible frequently refers to acts of deserved punishment that God has inflicted upon people throughout history. Time after time, we read of people who receive what they deserve. Think of the flood. God is not considered unjust for dealing with the sinfulness of humans. So, one possibility is that Saul was afflicted with “an evil spirit” as a punishment for his disobedience of God’s will. He had committed flagrant violation of God’s commands on two previous occasions (1 Samuel 13:13-14; 15:11,19). His persistence in this lifelong pattern of disobedient behavior certainly deserved direct punishment from God. One possibility.

Second, I think we should consider what the phrase "from the LORD" could mean based upon the usage of the phrase at the time it was written. Sometimes words change. A phrase written in 1700 sometimes has a completely different meaning in 2013. It frequently was the case that “active verbs were used by the Hebrews to express, not the doing of the thing, but the permission of the thing which the agent is said to do” (Bullinger, 1898, p. 823, emp. in orig.; cf. MacKnight, 1954, p. 29). So, the idea here is that the phrase doesn't require that God sent the evil spirit, rather He allowed the evil spirit to come on Saul. George Williams commented: “What God permits He is stated in the Bible to perform” (1960, p. 127).

A third consideration regarding the “evil spirit” that came upon Saul is the fact that the term “spirit” (ruach) has a wide range of meanings: air (i.e., breath or wind); the vital principle of life or animating force; the rational mind where thinking and decision-making occurs; the Holy Spirit of God (Gesenius, 1847, pp. 760-761), and even disposition of mind or attitude (Harris, et al., 1980, 2:836). Additionally, the word translated "evil" can also mean "bad", "sad" or "sad of heart or mind". If you accept that idea, then it was Saul's own bad attitude or state of mind that is view here. Often, we can be our own worst enemies and Saul is a great example of this.

He demonstrated repeatedly his desire to rebel against God's will. His own choices are in view here. God allowed Saul to choose his attitude of heart and by doing so, He allowed an evil spirit to come upon him. In fact, all people ultimately choose to allow Satan to rule them by their surrender to their own sinful inclinations, desires, and decisions. The question for us is will we stay there? God provides a way out of this mindset. His will is that we follow Him, that we make Him the ruler in our lives... but in the end, the choice is ours. Choose wisely.

For more thougths on this topic, check out http://www.apologeticspress.org/apcontent.aspx?category=6&article=1278

Love God, Love People

Dale

Monday, April 15, 2013

Life's Giants

(Today's reading - 1 Samuel 17-18; Luke 15:1-10)

Most everyone knows the story of David and Goliath. David arrives at the camp of the Israelites and finds them afraid to go out and face the Philistine champion, Goliath. He is ginormous and they are afraid. Who wouldn't be...the man stood over nine feet tall? I have stood beside a man that is seven feet tall and felt like a munchkin. Nine feet tall... hard to even imagine. Most ceilings these days are eight feet tall, so imagine his head and shoulders sticking through the ceiling.

Now imagine this giant dressed in full military gear. He was intimidating to say the very least. Think of the fiercest man you have ever seen; maybe one of those wrestlers on television. Big, muscular, standing in your face screaming horrible things to you. "Come on out here and I will hand your head to your father" or "When I finish with you, the birds will eat the scraps that I leave". You get the idea. Nine feet of killing machine.

And this young man, hearing the taunts of the enemy stands up and says "Your servant has struck down both lions and bears, and this uncircumcised Philistine shall be like one of them, for he has defied the armies of the living God.” When others cowered behind their fear, David stood fearlessly beside his LORD. And David said, “The Lord who delivered me from the paw of the lion and from the paw of the bear will deliver me from the hand of this Philistine.” We all know how the story goes, David faces the giant and slays him.

So, what's the message? Simplistically speaking, God is bigger than anything we will ever face. He is able to deliver us from the giants that we will face in this world. That is wonderful assurance.

I met with a woman this morning that is facing the giant of Alzheimer's. Her mother is 86 and she is the caregiver. I listened as she talked about the difficulties that she faces each day. Her tears flooded the tissue that she held as she told me her story. She had never had a father, so her mother was everything to her. Now she deals with the daily trials of a mother that doesn't know her name or remember how to do the things that she once taught her daughter. Giant? Absolutely! I gave her hugs and encouragement, but that only goes so far... she needs the LORD that stood beside David to stand beside her.

What are you facing? What are you going to face? How will you stand in the face of your Giant? Can you say, like David, "the LORD will deliver me from the hand of this Giant"? Or, will you face it alone? That was the problem with the Israelite soldiers, they stood alone. They allowed fear to sever the relationship they had with God. But David understood that with the LORD, courage was found. Nothing was too big if God was by his side. His faith in God enabled him to face Goliath. (read Psalm 27, written by David) He understood what we must come to understand... only through a relationship with the LORD can we find the courage to look into the eyes of our Giants and say, "bring it on".

David wasn't perfect (understatement), but David loved God and followed Him. Our perfection is not connected with God's faithfulness. We don't have to perform flawlessly, we just have to try our best. That is what David did and God blessed his life and used him to demonstrate His love. Trust God. Follow Him. He won't prevent Giants from entering your life, but He will provide the courage needed to face them. Whatever you are going through, God is bigger. He defeats Giants every day!

Love God, Love People.

Dale Isom



Monday, April 8, 2013

Justice and Love

"But woe to you Pharisees! For you tithe mint and rue and every herb, and neglect justice and the love of God. These you ought to have done, without neglecting the others. Woe to you Pharisees! For you love the best seat in the synagogues and greetings in the marketplaces. Woe to you! For you are like unmarked graves, and people walk over them without knowing it." (Luke 11:42-44)

(Today's reading - Ruth 1-4; Luke 11:29-54)

Interesting stuff in Ruth. I often find the traditions of the Jews hard to understand, but I am sure they would find ours just as interesting. The whole, "go uncover his feet and lay down there" thing makes me smile. Maybe I should give that advice to my daughter :). I understand that this is all done to keep the land in the proper families and tribes, so just go with it.

Luke records Jesus confronting the Pharisees... as He usually does. This time he is brutal. No wonder they decided to kill Him, He was calling them out for their unrighteousness all the time. Be sure to read the entire section. The piece that I want to discuss today are verses 42-44. He comes down hard on them for their devotion to keeping the portion of the Law that is easily kept, while disregarding the spirit of the Law.

The Pharisees were dogmatic about keeping the letter of the Law that dealt with the outward demonstration of righteousness. They would go so far as to measure out the smallest herb and give a tenth of the measure. Imagine going to your kitchen cabinet and getting out your oregano and dumping it out on the counter, measuring it up and giving 1/10th of that this Sunday when the collection plate is passed. Now do the same with everything in your cabinet. They were devoted to this demonstration of their religiousness. (if that is a word)

Jesus tells them that righteousness is more than outward demonstrations of devotion. He tells them that in doing the trivial, they have neglected the important. They have been so focused on meeting the letter of the Law, that they have overlooked the nature and spirit of the Law. They have a checklist religion. Mint, check. Rue, check. Herbs, check. They want the best seats in the assembly. They want the attention of the people. I can hear them now, "did you see me give my oregano, I am so committed that I even gave a tenth of my salt!". Jesus is having none of this. He tells them they are like unmarked graves. They are spiritually dead and don't even know it.

So, what does that have to do with you and me? Human nature is still the same. If we are not careful, we can begin to have a checklist religion. Attend worship, check. Give a little cash, check, Communion, check. Sing, check. Read my Bible, check. Pray, check. Jesus says to us, "These you ought to have done, without neglecting the others". He doesn't tell us to stop keeping the letter of the Law; rather, He tells us to keep on doing the little things and... do the big things. Things like justice and the love of God. We are to worship, sing, give and commune, but these are not the whole of the matter. We are to be a people of justice! We are to be a people of love!  

God has called us to be His representatives on planet earth. We are to demonstrate His justice, His love to those around us. Doing the little outward things is required, but He is not satisfied if that is our focus. The question for us to answer is this, what am I doing to demonstrate justice and love to my neighbor, the person around the corner, the lady in prison, the girl starving in Africa or the boy being beaten by the Taliban? Are we too busy with the mint, the rue, the herbs to do the work of God? Think about it.

Love God, Love People.

Monday, April 1, 2013

Women!

Soon afterward he went on through cities and villages, proclaiming and bringing the good news of the kingdom of God. And the twelve were with him, and also some women who had been healed of evil spirits and infirmities: Mary, called Magdalene, from whom seven demons had gone out, and Joanna, the wife of Chuza, Herod's household manager, and Susanna, and many others, who provided for them out of their means. (Luke 8: 1-3)

Luke tells us something in this mornings reading that might disturb some folks. We are told that in addition to "the twelve", Jesus was accompanied by women as he traveled proclaiming the good news of the kingdom of God. The indication is that these women had been healed by Jesus in some way. Some had evil spirits removed and others had illnesses healed. Whatever the problem had been, Jesus had fixed it and the women were now with Him and his apostles. Interesting, isn't it, Jesus and the twelve and a group of women traveling from town to town to tell the good news of the kingdom of God.

For sure, I have read this before and quickly passed over it with little thought. What of their homes and husbands? Joanna is said to be "the wife of Chuza, Herod's household manager". Sometimes, I wish for more details... this is one of those times. How did this group function? It doesn't appear that having these women along for the ride caused any issues. We aren't told that the men resisted their company. When Jesus didn't want someone to tag along with Him, He told them to hit the road. Strange stuff.

What little we are told is this... they were "with Him". Whatever that entails, they were "with Jesus". Three names are given, Mary, called Magdalene, Joanna and Susanna. And, we are told that in addition to these three there are "many others". What were they doing? I don't know. Did they look after the food for the group? I don't know. Did they do laundry for the group? I don't know. Did having women in the group make it easier for the group to go into a town and be accepted as they brought the message? I don't know. Did they teach the women in the villages they visited? I don't know. We are told that they were with Him!

In the absence of details, we are told one thing that they did do. These women, the three and many others, provided for the twelve and Jesus out of their means. I have to admit here that I am struggling with this information. The women were supporting the men. These women, who evidently had financial resources, were providing funding for the ministry of Jesus. We know that He could have provided everything that they needed himself, he had done it. But in this case, He let these women give of themselves, their money to keep the gospel message going. I love that! Male or female, Jesus wants us committed. He wants us to give, to invest in the spreading of the good news.

I fully understand that Paul gives us teaching on women and their roles in the church. I respect that. But, I also see that our Lord allowed women to be a key part in His ministry. He invited them to come along and He allowed them to provide support for Him. What else did they do? I don't know. But one thing is for sure... they didn't take a back seat on the gospel bus; they paid the fare! What's the message? For me, Jesus is letting us know that there is a seat for everyone and that everyone is invited to participate in taking the life-changing message of a risen Savior to the world. Ladies, get on board... Jesus is glad to have you on His team. You are not just cheerleaders, get on the field and make some plays!