Humble…Or Not?

By JimZ, 5 August, 2009, No Comment

When an unsaved person’s guilt before God reaches his or her heart, things happen. Sometimes those things are very good, and sometimes they are very bad. The extremes of response are demonstrated in the book of Acts through responses to the preaching of Peter and Stephen.

The response to Peter’s charge of the crowd’s guilt before God:

Now when they heard this, they were pricked in their heart, and said unto Peter and to the rest of the apostles, Men and brethren, what shall we do? …and the same day there were added unto them about three thousand souls. (Act 2:37-41)

In contrast, this was the response to Stephen’s charge of the crowd’s guilt before God:

When they heard these things, they were cut to the heart, and they gnashed on him with their teeth…Then they cried out with a loud voice, and stopped their ears, and ran upon him with one accord, And cast him out of the city, and stoned him… (Act 7:54-58)

These two examples represent the extremes. Most often the response is somewhere in between. Sadly, it is not always repentance. Gladly, it is rarely murder. Usually, for better or for worse, the response falls in-between. Every response, the extremes and the in-between, demonstrates the degree of humility or pride in the responder.

This same range of response to guilt is demonstrated in the lives of believers as well. And here too, every response demonstrates the degree of humility or pride possessed by the believer.

Even though we, as believers, are guiltless before our Father through the blood of Yeshua, having a positional righteousness before God by faith, and a functional righteousness that comes from God through the Holy spirit, we still sin.

Assuming we have not “seared” our conscience through habitual sin, that sin results in guilt-awareness as it is brought to our attention. Our response to guilt-awareness depends, as it does with unbelievers, on the level of humility or pride we entertain in our hearts. And the messenger who causes us to be aware of our guilt risks, or is rewarded by, that response. Are we a blessing to God’s messengers to us, or are we “murder” on them?

We have been called to be Holy as He is Holy (sanctification, both positional and progressive). We have been given the standing and the tools to do so. Implied in our “progressive” sanctification is the fact that we have not arrived yet. We are “in progress.” That means we will sin. We don’t live in sin (or we shouldn’t), we live in Messiah (or we should). But we still sin. And there is no need for us to ask, “Men and brethren, what shall we do?” The Lord has told us:

If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. (1Jn 1:9)

That should always be our response to God when He makes us aware of sin. It’s a lot easier for us to be humble from the beginning because God is going to be right in the end anyway. And it’s also a lot easier on His messengers, too.

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Okay, We Know. So What?

By JimZ, 29 July, 2009, No Comment

Followers of Yeshua are called to a moral lifestyle, not a theological lifestyle. Don’t misunderstand me about theology (the study of God). A good theology serves a moral lifestyle by giving it a framework of truth in which to operate rightly.

The better one’s theology, the better one may think biblically and thus make better moral decisions in action. Conversely, a bad theology will lead to all kinds of evil, as the world has seen over and over, age after age.

So a theologically sound understanding of our faith is vitally important. But the main point of needing a theologically sound understanding of our faith is so that we can live our faith well. In other words, theology serves our moral action

Unfortunately, in many instances in the church today, theology supplants moral action. Many mistake the knowing for doing. We end up with technically correct churches and believers marked by morally wrong practice. Consider the words of the Lord’s half-brother:

But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves. (Jas 1:22)

We are called to live by God’s Word. To live God’s Word we must know it. To know it we must study it. But the fact remains that we study God’s Word in order to faithfully live it more truly, not so we know it better. If we are more concerned with the knowing of God’s Word than the doing of God’s Word we have missed the point of His having given it to us.

There is an astounding abundance of resources available today to help us better understand our faith and the Messiah we follow. Yet at the same time, all too often, there is an astounding lack of mature moral action among believers. Even “common” decency is no longer common in some corners of the church. Let us pray that we would not be numbered among those in that predicament and let us pray for those who are. May their actions catch up with their knowledge.

In the answer to these prayers the Lord is glorified in His people and His kingdom is built up. Aren’t we all much more impressed with those who do well rather than with those who know well? And if not, shouldn’t we be?

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How Can You Miss With 6.7 Billion Portals?

By JimZ, 27 July, 2009, No Comment

I was skimming through some messages today and the following words caught my eye:

There are 6.7 billion portals to god… love your fellow human beings to reach him.

Interesting thought. There was something off about it (way off in light of its intended meaning), but still I was drawn to the quote because something important seemed to be “hiding” in the words.

I checked the “bio” of the person who sent the message. Just as I had suspected. This viewpoint was expressed by one whose:

…idealistic vision of the world is one where there are a few billion gods (humans) in heaven (earth).

Way off base from truth. So why did this author’s quote catch my eye? Because, with a very minor change in wording, the new thought expressed is a very profound one for followers of the Messiah. Here’s how I would revise the statement:

There are 6.7 billion portals to serving God… love your fellow human beings to reach Him.

What kind of impact would the kingdom of God make on the world in the name of Yeshua if we were in the habit of viewing each person we met, every single day, as a “portal” through which we might “bless” God? I think that widespread adoption and application of this perspective would be radically transforming to the church in the world today. Especially now, as the cry seems to be arising more often that today’s church has lost much of its love.

Do I have a biblical basis for my reworded version? We could start with Matthew twenty-five:

Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world: For I was an hungred, and ye gave me meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me in: Naked, and ye clothed me: I was sick, and ye visited me: I was in prison, and ye came unto me. Then shall the righteous answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, and fed thee? or thirsty, and gave thee drink? When saw we thee a stranger, and took thee in? or naked, and clothed thee? Or when saw we thee sick, or in prison, and came unto thee? And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me.
(Mat 25:34-40)

In Scripture, there is no judgment day pictured where builders of great churches and church programs are commended. But the treatment of the needy is considered so important that it is the criteria for separating the “sheep” from the “goats” in this parable.

There are more needs that humans have than are pictured in Matthew twenty-five. I think those would count as well. Emotional and spiritual needs are experienced by vast numbers of people. In that expanded sense, everyone is needy in some way. I don’t think it is too far a stretch to say, or would be too difficult to build a biblical case that, Yeshua is personally concerned about those needs as well. So now we can include virtually everyone in our perspective that they represent an opportunity to serve God.

The kingdom of God would be radically transformed if the followers of Yeshua were to take on the perspective that each person encountered is potentially a channel through which we could directly bless God by providing ministry to their needs. I think that perspective, acted upon, would be transforming to the church. That is a tall order. But it starts with just us, you and me. Let’s get started today!

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Reality Check

By JimZ, 26 July, 2009, No Comment

Will the real followers of Yeshua please stand up? It seems we have many occasions to ask that question of our generation. But it was a question relevant even in the early church. The apostle John found it necessary to write down some indicators to help real followers identify the impostors who were starting to appear in the ranks. And to assure the real believers, who began questioning their own faith, where they stood with Messiah.

Just a quick survey from each chapter of the 1st Epistle of John should make all real believers take pause to consider their own standing in Christ:

If we say that we have fellowship with him, and walk in darkness, we lie, and do not the truth:
(1 John 1:6)

He that saith, I know him, and keepeth not his commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him.
(1 John 2:4)

In this the children of God are manifest, and the children of the devil: whosoever doeth not righteousness is not of God, neither he that loveth not his brother.
(1 John 3:10)

If a man say, I love God, and hateth his brother, he is a liar: for he that loveth not his brother whom he hath seen, how can he love God whom he hath not seen?
(1 John 4:20)

We know that whosoever is born of God sinneth not; but he that is begotten of God keepeth himself, and that wicked one toucheth him not.
(1 John 5:18)

Happily for real believers, who will be the only ones who actually take these words to heart anyway, John reminds us from the beginning that no one can claim to be without sin and that God has provided the remedy:

If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
(1 John 1:8-9)

The issue here is not “sinful vs. sinless,” but rather “abiding in sin vs. abiding in Christ.” Real followers of Yeshua abide in Him though they will sin from time-to-time. Fake followers abide in sin though, experience shows us, they will do good from time-to-time.

Okay, so how about it? We’re all believers here, right? How about a reality check to demonstrate to ourselves that we’re in good standing. Let’s pick some scripture to use as sort of an “acid test” on ourselves to demonstrate where we abide. Let’s see…how about…ohhhh…I know! Proverbs 6:16-19:

These six things doth the LORD hate: yea, seven are an abomination unto him: A proud look, a lying tongue, and hands that shed innocent blood, An heart that deviseth wicked imaginations, feet that be swift in running to mischief, A false witness that speaketh lies, and he that soweth discord among brethren.
(Proverbs 6:16-19)

All righty then. Here’s a handy list of seven things that the Lord just absolutely hates. They are an “abomination” to Him. He can’t stand the sight of them. Surely we who love Him will be abhorred with such things ourselves. We certainly would not be involved in them. So let’s run down the list and see how we do.

1. A Proud Look — Do I walk around looking down on others? Am I proud I’m not like those in humbler circumstances than me? Do I consider those who have not been blessed as I have been to be in some way inferior to me? Do I consider myself to be better than others — believer or not?

2. A Lying Tongue — Am I truthful in my dealings with others? Do I deceive in order to gain some profit or advantage? Can others have absolute confidence in the words that I tell them?

3. Hands That Shed Innocent Blood — Ah, murder. Now here’s one we’re not surprised to see on a list of things God can’t stand. But wait. In light of the other six items on this list, couldn’t we consider “character asassination” to be murder? Didn’t John write, “Whosover hateth his brother is a murderer…” (1 John 3:15). So, have I ever tried to destroy someone by impugning their character? Have I tried to “bury” someone’s chances by sticking a knife (metaphorically speaking, of course) in their back?

4. A Heart That Deviseth Wicked Imaginations — Do I enjoy thinking of ways to make others miserable or complicate their lives in some way? Do I plan out ways to cause pain or mayhem in another person’s life?

5. Feet Swift To Mischief — When there’s trouble-a-brewin’ am I quick to be in on it? Do I get a charge out of making trouble and get a thrill by being involved? Am I bored when there is no controversy I can put my two-cents into?

6. A False Witness — Do I ever exaggerate a story to make someone look bad? Do I ever repeat a story that I have not personally witnessed, but have heard “from reliable sources?” Do I offer my suspicions about someone as matter-of-fact to others?

7. He That Soweth Discord Among Brethren — Do I delight in seeing brothers or sisters fighting? Do I take sides in discord and try to fan the flames, rather than being a peacemaker? Do I plant little words in the minds of people that will bloom into full anger or simmering bitterness against another believer?

Well, that’s all seven. How’d you do? If you found some areas that you think need improvement then the exercise was valuable and you know what to do: repent, stop sinning, and do right. That’s what folks who abide in Christ do. If you thought the exercise was for other people and not you, you might want to ask yourself one last question: Just where do I abide anyway?

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Hot Coal Dumps Can Fall Two Ways

By JimZ, 24 July, 2009, No Comment

There is a call to humility, peacemaking, and mercy in Romans 12:20 that beautifully captures the Lord’s Spirit. It draws us to walk in that same Spirit if we hope to be able to respond faithfully. It is indeed a part of the “high calling of Messiah” to which we have been called to live:

Therefore if thine enemy hunger, feed him; if he thirst, give him drink: for in so doing thou shalt heap coals of fire on his head. (Romans 12:20)

At first glance, this verse also suggests a redemptive benefit to our faithful heeding of its call: one who was an enemy is drawn to Messiah by our actions.¹ The picture that wants to be painted in my mind shows a non-believer responding to our acts of mercy with godly shame over their own past actions of enmity. That godly shame presents an opportunity for a change of heart. Our old enemy then may turn away from a life of hostility to the beauty of a life lived in Messiah.

But all too often in practice, our acts of kindness to those who consider us an enemy are misinterpreted as weakness or guile. This can invite suspicion, scorn or contempt in response to our merciful intentions. That’s okay. We don’t follow Messiah’s call to be merciful in order to “win friends and influence people.” That would always be a welcome outcome, of course, but it is not our motivation to be merciful. At least I don’t think it should be.

Kindness and mercy shown to a world that is often hostile to us is really a reflection of the Spirit who indwells us. We’re just letting Him shine through us. In that “shining through,” the Spirit offers the lost world a glimpse of God through the actions of His servants. It is a merciful act of God toward people that rage against Him. An invitation offered in a very humble and subtle way.

Sometimes the negative response brought about by kindness shown an enemy has made me wonder about the “shalt heap” part of Romans 12:20. “Shalt” is pretty certain wording for something that more often than not doesn’t appear to happen. It seems that the word “may” as in “may heap” would be more true to experience. Why the disconnect between this verse and actual results?

I don’t believe the disconnect happens there. The disconnect happens between us and the verse. Actually, I don’t think it’s a disconnect so much as it is a failure to connect fully with the meaning of the verse. The “hot coal dump” is actually a two-edged sword that always falls. Every single time.

It’s just that the edge we want to see landing is not the side that usually hits. It’s the other side that lands in typical experience. Understanding the two-edged nature of the hot coals is powerful. It also reveals our responsibility to be merciful as God calls us to be because we are playing an important part in God’s work every single time we do.

On the one side, as we would like to see, the hot coals are shame that leads to repentance that leads to salvation. The other side of the hot coal dump is judgment. No, not a little personally-sized cloud of brimstone appearing with a gomorrahic shower of hot coals. (And, in light of the way I’ve seen this verse applied at times, that is a very very good thing.²)

The hot coals represent the coming result of an additional point of judgment in God’s case against that person. In rejecting mercy at our hand, as agents of God, they have yet again rejected an offer of mercy from God Himself.³ Further, if their response is to actually mistreat us because of our merciful actions, they are now additionally guilty of repaying evil for good. That just compounds the judgement against them.⁴

God’s call to us in Romans 12:20 is a powerful two-edged sword. On the one side, a hand of mercy is being extended by God to an undeserving person. On the other side, judgment awaits those who reject the mercy God has extended. That’s a powerful sword you posses. The implications to everyone who treats us as an enemy are enormous. You have been called to swing that sword, so swing with all your heart. But how it lands, and the coals to be dumped, belong to God.

Shabbat Shalom, friends.

———-

Footnotes:
1. Another common “first glance” interpretation of “hot coals” here is that acts of mercy will cause shame leading to despair on the part of the other person. It’s possible for that to happen, I suppose, but I see that as being something like “the sorrow of the world” as in:

For godly sorrow worketh repentance to salvation not to be repented of: but the sorrow of the world worketh death. (2Co 7:10)

I don’t see that as being God’s purpose or intention in calling us to be merciful to our enemies.

2. Too often I’ve seen this verse applied with a “vengeful” spirit. Ironic, no? The “mercy” shown in these instances seem to be thinly veiled attempts at demonstrating how “bad” the enemy is and how “good” the believer is.

3. For clarity’s sake on a very important point, let me emphasize that I do not mean that our acts are the acts of God. Rather, our acts when Spirit led and empowered, are the acts of God through us. We are the vessels, He has filled the vessels with mercy and He is pouring the mercy from the vessels as His act of mercy to the world.

4. Among other places, that concept can be seen in:

Whoso rewardeth evil for good, evil shall not depart from his house. (Pro 17:13)

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Is Your Faith Firewall Up and Running?

By JimZ, 22 July, 2009, No Comment

(Note: This post is “Part 2″ of yesterday’s post: Has an Unholy Trinity Turned an Evil Eye Your Way?)

When I fire up my computer and connect to the internet everyday, I always check to see that my computer firewall has loaded and that it is working. That firewall guards what comes into, and what goes out of, my computer. That’s a vital protection as I travel through the internet environment which is sometimes very hostile to the life and health of my computer. As followers of Messiah Yeshua, we also have a faith “firewall” to allow us to survive in the sometimes hostile environment of the world.

Our firewall is God’s Spirit-inspired Word. It works effectively when loaded and running. We load it into our lives through regular Bible reading, study and reflection. To be effective it must also be running. We must be doing the Word of God, not just hearing it. Of course, God wrote the program to be run under His “operating system,” the Holy Spirit.

Is your faith “firewall” up and running every time you connect with the world? I hope so. That is what will bring you through the daily challenges, tribulations, and persecutions that Yeshua promised all true believers. These come in many forms, one of which is the “Unholy Trinity.”

Yesterday I described an Unholy Trinity as being comprised of The Destructive Tongue, The Liars, and The Wicked Doers. Where ever such a trio forms into a symbiotic relationship, trouble entrenches itself. Woe to the person that is the focus of their “evil eye”…if they are not a follower of Messiah!

But since we are followers of Messiah, our “firewall,” our faith and practice, quite effectively protects us from being destroyed by this evil. No special strategies are needed. All we need to do is just keep on doing what we should be doing everyday already: living up to our high calling in Messiah Yeshua!

It should be noted, as it was yesterday, that we are protected from destruction, not the pain and negative effects caused by an Unholy Trinity. But those things prove to make us stronger in the faith and so they actually work to our benefit.

I “cherry-picked” some Scriptures from the forefront of my mind that will demonstrate how our regular faith and practice is the appropriate strategy to facing an Unholy Trinity. There are far more than I have listed below. The relevant Scriptures, and their application, to your situation will be most valuable to you when you discover them by experience and by the Spirit. But the following can get you started:

Repay evil with good.

But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you; (Mat 5:44)

And, of course:

Recompense to no man evil for evil. Provide things honest in the sight of all men. If it be possible, as much as lieth in you, live peaceably with all men. (Rom 12:17-18)

Repay evil with good. This most basic instruction to God’s people is most basic to confronting an Unholy Trinity. If the evil around you is able to drag you down to its level it has already ultimately succeeded in its goals. All the pain and suffering is just added fun. When you repay with good, you are being like your Father in heaven who does the same. You have already won when you do this. Everything else is just the details getting worked out.

Be persecuted for doing good, not bad.

But let none of you suffer as a murderer, or as a thief, or as an evildoer, or as a busybody in other men’s matters. Yet if any man suffer as a Christian, let him not be ashamed; but let him glorify God on this behalf. (1Pe 4:15-16)

If you are to be persecuted, be persecuted for doing good and not because you’ve done bad. If you’re a troublemaker you have to expect to end up with the fruit of your labors: trouble. It is to God’s glory, however, when we suffer as a follower of Messiah. In so doing, we follow in the footsteps of Yeshua.

Don’t add fuel to the fire.

Where no wood is, there the fire goeth out: so where there is no talebearer, the strife ceaseth. (Pro 26:20)

Don’t add fuel to the fire and thus make yourself part of the problem. If there’s strife, you will only increase it by telling stories to try to discredit those trying to discredit you. Even if true, it is better to not say critical things about your antagonizers. Let others draw their own conclusions. Stay away from gossip, even if you think it will gain sympathy for you and discredit the troublemakers.

Remember the big picture promise.

And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose. For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren.
(Rom 8:28-29)

God is still in control no matter what the situation. He has promised you that He is controlling circumstances in such a way as to make you more like the Son.

Remember the short-term promise.

Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies…(Psa 23:5)

God clearly does not remove us from the midst of our enemies. In fact, He has us sit down and stay for dinner right in front of them! So, as much as you are tempted to, don’t worry. He’s got you covered. Psalm 23 also reminds us of God’s staff and rod which are wielded in our behalf. He’s got His eye on the ball and He’s waiting for the right moment to swing.

Take it to the Lord, not other people.

But the salvation of the righteous is of the LORD: he is their strength in the time of trouble. And the LORD shall help them, and deliver them: he shall deliver them from the wicked, and save them, because they trust in him. (Psa 37:39-40)

Good advice is helpful, and mediators may be effective. But proceed with caution. And above all, don’t put your trust in them for the final solution. Remember, God saves the righteous because they trust in Him.

Well, that should do for now. So many more Scriptures could be searched out and applied, but that is the work of a lifetime in Messiah. The bottom line is to not focus on the potential threats in the world but to focus on being faithful to your call in Messiah. Everything, even an Unholy Trinity, is under God’s control and you will ultimately grow from the experience. Just make sure you don’t get out into the world without your faith firewall up and running!

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Has an Unholy Trinity Turned an Evil Eye Your Way?

By JimZ, 21 July, 2009, No Comment

Is trouble suddenly finding you even though you haven’t been looking for it? Does it seem to be coming all at once from a number of places? An Unholy Trinity may have turned its evil eye your way.

What is an Unholy Trinity? It is an interrelationship of three types of people with evil intention. Those intentions are to cause harm, even destruction, to some others in the group in which they lurk.

It’s possible this evil partnership is at work in the midst of groups to which you belong. You might even be an intended victim or an unwitting participant in its evil doing. For these reasons, it would be wise to recognize this group and avoid being pulled into its destructive agenda. The biblical book of Proverbs clues us in to the Unholy Trinity:

A wicked doer giveth heed to false lips; and a liar giveth ear to a naughty tongue. (Pro 17:4)

Folded compactly into this unassuming little proverb is a group I have come to know as the Unholy Trinity. Let’s give the players names to more easily distinguish them: Wicked Doers, Liars, and the Destructive Tongue.

Experience shows there is usually only one Destructive Tongue at the hub of a network of Liars, who are further surrounded by a network of Wicked Doers. A large group where evil is especially entrenched will likely have a number of Unholy Trinities, usually coexisting with tension between them. Fun, fun, fun…for them.

The glue that holds an Unholy Trinity together is the love of creating trouble for others. They like nothing else better than to complicate the lives of the innocent just for the fun and power of it. Why would anybody love participating in such evil? As one of these players told me a few year back: “because life is boring.” They are truly of a different spirit than the Spirit of Messiah and His people. Let’s consider each individually, in reverse order, from the proverb:

The Destructive Tongue is the “instigator.” This person enjoys the power of being able to “pull strings” within their group to make things happen. Good things when it consolidates their power. Bad things for those they don’t like. They also enjoy their cleverness at the game.

To increase the fun and further entrench their power, this person often seeks to act formally or informally as a mediator in the situation. Beware. This player is further crafting the web they weave to entangle you while at the same time acting as your friend. Their cleverness knows no bounds, they think.

The Liar is the middleman here. He acts as flame-fanner to the Wicked Doers and as insulation for the Destructive Tongue. The Liar gives ear to the destructive words of the Destructive Tongue. They then use those lies to “stir the pot” with those they know will act on any lie they are fed. In so doing, they encourage a “web” of Wicked Doers to form a network of trouble-making that surrounds the victim.

The Wicked Doer is the “bad actor” who enjoys creating chaos and harm to others. This is the person who brings the hurtful lies to their hurtful consequence. The range of meanness can run from insulting words, to destructive actions like “keying” the paint on your vehicle, to getting you fired from your job or ostracized in your church.

All the Wicked Doer needs is an excuse to act. That excuse is the lie to which they have given heed. Once the Liar feeds it to them, the Wicked Doer gets to work with all resources at hand to bring about bad to the intended victim. It doesn’t matter whether they really think the lie is true or not. They believe it because they want to believe it for no other reason than to justify their wicked doing.

Unholy Trinities cause pain and division in countless groups. If you have never experienced what I’ve described here I am very glad for you. If you have experienced these things, you know whereof I write. Either way, to be forewarned is to be able to be prepared for the future.

So what are the children of God to do in the face of all this evil? We don’t need to make up a strategy to counteract an Unholy Trinity. That is already built into the lifestyle of followers of Messiah. We just have to live the lifestyle. That doesn’t mean we won’t feel the pain, but we have the assurance that the pain is working toward the purifying of our faith and practice.

Still, you might feel better knowing specifically some of the ways that our lifestyle as followers of Messiah will protect us. I’ll save that for “Part Two.” Check back tomorrow.

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Here's a Provocative Ministry Idea

By JimZ, 20 July, 2009, No Comment

Would you like to be involved in an important ministry in your congregation? Unsure of where to start? Well, if you:

desire to be involved in a vital kingdom building ministry,
like to be creative, humble, loving, and committed,
insist on a biblical mandate as a basis for ministry,

then have I got a ministry idea for you!

The author of Hebrews writes:

And let us consider one another to provoke unto love and to good works: Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching. (Heb 10:24-25)

How about that for a biblical ministry idea? It will definitely build up the body by making each part strong. It does require lots of commitment, humility, love, and creativity to be effective. Up to the call? I hope so. The body needs you now more than ever!

Here are some biblical “parameters” from the verses that you may want to think about should you decide to work out your own version of a “provocation” ministry:

Consider:
Give each person some thought and prayer before you act. Be creative. Keep your eyes open for opportunities to serve in this capacity. Look at the people around you and ask, “How can I serve this person by helping him or her excel in their walk with Messiah?” There is no one-size-fits-all here. Each person should be considered and treated as the individual that they are.

One another:
“One another” implies that you are “in it together” with the other person. Don’t pontificate from above. Relate, don’t relay. Get in the mix and then mix-it-up.

Provoke to love:
Now that’s provocative done the way it should be done. Have you run across the type of person who constantly attempts to provoke all they can to anger and hatred? You’re called to be the antithesis to that person!

There are enough people out there, sadly even among believers, who are dedicated to spurring others on to be less than they are in Messiah. Be different: spur people on to loving others, as they have been equipped by the Spirit to do.

Often, people are simply unaware of all that they are in Messiah. Sometimes this is an educational ministry. In some cases, they just need to see another believer in action to get the idea. Others need a gentle word of exhortation to get started, or perhaps enthusiastic encouragement to continue. Remember, one size does not fit all. Different approaches provoke individuals differently. That’s where the “art” to this kind of ministry comes in.

Provoke to good works:
The kind of love Messiah calls us to is the kind that leads to action for the benefit of others. That’s exactly the kind of love we should be provoking in others. So teach, model, exhort, and encourage for this outcome.

Forsake not the assembling:
The United States does not, despite the claims of old recruiting commercials, have an “Army of One.” Neither does Yeshua. Each follower is interrelated to, and interdependent upon, all others. Our faith and practice have a context within a broader group of people, and ultimately, to all other believers. (Check out Ephesians 4 if you want to see where I’m coming from when I say this.)

Don’t hide from other believers…connect with them! But the connection must be more than a casual crowd of believers all going separate ways. Be sure the core of your connection to believers is in a framework of mutual worship, service, growth, and mission within the body of Messiah.

Exhorting one another:
Exhort is a strong, proactive word. Be strong and proactive in your ministry to the body. “Proactively provocative” should be the motto of this type of ministry. Look for things to make happen and then get out an make them happen.

That’s the biblical call in Hebrews 10:24-25. Up to it? Then get in there and be provocative!

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Aint No Saturday-Sabbath-Keepin'-While- Sunday-Morning-Church-Goin' Blues Sung Here

By JimZ, 15 July, 2009, No Comment

If you were to drive by my church on Sunday morning you might be surprised to see the congregation and I participating in a Sunday morning service. Surprised not because it is unusual for Christians to meet on Sunday morning, but surprised because we claim to be Sabbatarians (those that observe the Sabbath on the seventh day).

Could our participation in both a Saturday Sabbath and a Sunday Service indicate an inconsistency reflective of uncertainty or, even worse, duplicity? Let me assure you that neither is true. We’re not trying to “fake anybody out” by hiding our Sabbatarian beliefs behind a Sunday morning facade. Nor are we unsure of what we believe, “playing both sides” just to cover all angles. We’re quite convinced¹ that the fourth commandment² requires a seventh-day observance by us.

Well then what are we doing on Sunday morning? Isn’t it strange that we should keep a Saturday Sabbath and hold a Sunday Service? Nope, it’s not strange at all. The key to solving this puzzle is to remember that our Sabbath (Shabbat³) observance and our Sunday service are two very different events. Apples and oranges, lions and tigers. One is not the other, and vice-versa.

When we remember the Shabbat in reverence of the fourth commandment we do so on Saturday. In keeping with the Lord’s appointed time, we set the entire 24 hour day apart unto the Lord. That means we refrain from work, reflect on Scripture and rejoice over God’s blessings in our lives. It is a day of relaxation, family, and sometimes friends. That is our Shabbat observance and we do that on Saturday (actually, it’s from sunset Friday through sunset Saturday). For us, the timing of this weekly event is not optional.

When we meet on Sunday morning the Sabbath has passed and the new week is already underway. We start the week out right by gathering as a body of believers for corporate prayer, worship, preaching and fellowship. We could choose to do this on any other day of the week or even on all other days of the week. But Sunday is an excellent option for us and so that’s when we meet as a congregation. This practice is quite consistent with the practices of the early church. For example:

And they continued stedfastly in the apostles’ doctrine and fellowship, and in breaking of bread, and in prayers. And fear came upon every soul: and many wonders and signs were done by the apostles. And all that believed were together, and had all things common; And sold their possessions and goods, and parted them to all men, as every man had need. And they, continuing daily with one accord in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, did eat their meat with gladness and singleness of heart…(Acts 2:42-46)

And another example:

And upon the first day of the week, when the disciples came together to break bread, Paul preached unto them, ready to depart on the morrow; and continued his speech until midnight. (Acts 20:7)

Hope that clears up any confusion you may have experienced by references at various times to my involvement in activities connected to both Sunday services and to Shabbat observance.

And there you have it. Just sayin’ in case you’re ever just wonderin’.

————-

Footnotes:

¹ The general purpose of my writing is to be informative rather than to be apologetic (defending my faith) or polemic (attacking your faith). And that’s my intention here. I’m simply informing you of our personal position. I understand, in fact expect, that you probably see it differently.

Stating that we’re “confident” about the matter of Saturday Sabbath observance should not be taken as an implied challenge to the position you hold. The context here requires that I communicate that we’ve made up our mind and that we’re not unsure of our position. I assume that you, too, are confident in whatever position you hold. I encourage you to be faithful to that position. If you aren’t confident, keep searching, for conscience sake, and may the Lord reward your seeking with finding.

² Of course, if you are of the opinion that the fourth commandment (“Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy.” Exodus 20:8) is outdated, “remembering” it is not important. Since we consider the commandment to be relevant to us, we felt it was important to determine if a particular day for its observance mattered and, if so, which day that was. Again, I’m just sayin’ so you know where we’re coming from in order to make sense of everything else I’m sayin’.

³ I use the word Shabbat far more than the word Sabbath. Shabbat is the Jewish word for Sabbath but it can only mean a seventh-day sabbath. This is in contrast to the English word Sabbath, which is mostly understood by Christians as referring to Sunday. Shabbat communicates more precisely what I mean.

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Helping the Bible-Famished to Feast

By JimZ, 14 July, 2009, No Comment

I ran across a sad article from the UK’s Skynews this past Sunday that reports on a study about biblical literacy in the age-45-and-under crowd in Britain. From my personal observation, the USA is probably in pretty much the same state of affairs. The study reports:

Only one in 20 Brits can list all Ten Commandments and 16% cannot name any, a damning study of modern-day knowledge of the Bible has found. Young people are especially bad at reciting stories from the Good Book, the Durham University survey of 900 believers and non-believers learned.

The article goes on to report one conclusion drawn by the researchers:

The researchers say their findings show public figures can no longer make assumptions about people’s knowledge of Christianity.

Actually we don’t need to make assumptions. We know. Many, believers and non-believers alike, are lacking in basic biblical knowledge.

How has this situation arisen? There always seems to be an abundance of materials, print and media, related to our biblical faith and practice. We have Sunday School materials galore. VBS packages by the dozens every single year. New books relevant to the faith are published continually. I know. There’s a whole bunch of titles on my Amazon wish list at this very moment and I just can’t keep up with the steady output. We’re drowning in biblical resources!

With all of these biblical materials so widely available, we should be safe in assuming biblical knowledge is greater and more widespread than ever. But no, the opposite is true. It is, in fact, less. And it appears to be decreasing steadily year after year.

The problem, I think, is that many have used the abundance of biblical supplements as biblical substitutes. If this is true, and I think it is, then the solution would be to encourage believers we disciple to make Scripture their main spiritual food. Keep all the other stuff, but definitely feast on Scripture along with the side-dishes and deserts.

The challenge to helping others achieve this goal is one of getting them motivated, not teaching them a method. Most of us can easily communicate some version of a few basic get-started steps: open your Bible, read it thoughtfully, reflect on how to do what you read, now go do what you read. Simple. Most would be able to pick up that kind of process with ease. The difficult part is getting a person motivated to do it.

The desire for the solid meat of Scripture is just not present after one has spent many years on processed biblical material . Our challenge is to overcome a lack of appetite for God’s Word in its original unfiltered, unprocessed, and harder-to-digest form.

How do we help another get an appetite to read their Bible? By first helping them develop a taste for it. That taste will grow into a desire, and hence an appetite, on its own eventually. So to start, our goal is to introduce biblical non-readers to both the excitement of discovering biblical truths for themselves and the joy of applying those truths to their daily lives.

One approach to this issue has worked very well in our congregation. We like to start people out with an informal “mini-challenge” involving personal Scripture reading and application. When the appropriate time arises, usually during the course of a small group Bible study, each person is challenged to pick out a book in their Bible and read small successive portions of that book each day until it is finished. That’s it. No more. If in the process they find they want to do more, believe me, they’ll do more.

The key words in our approach are: read, small amounts, daily, and week-or-two. Let’s look a bit closer at each:

Read: Not study. But read thoughtfully. There’s no pressure here, but a part of the challenge is to reflect on what is read and to find one application that can be undertaken that day. Still, it’s casual, light, easy, and even fun.
Small Amounts: I like one chapter each day. It’s a very small amount (5-10 minutes worth) of reading. Not a big deal for anybody if they set their heart to doing it. Quite a number of folks who don’t read their Bible at all feel that one chapter daily is a lot. From where they are starting I guess it might look that way. But encourage them anyway. They’ll find it’s very doable.
Daily: This is important. The goal is not volume but consistency. The daily approach opens up an opportunity for the reader to experience God communicating with him or her over a period of days. The series of small Bible encounters spread out over time makes a more important impact than a one or two occasion reading session that covers the same amount of material.
Week-or-Two: “Commitment? Did I say commitment? I’m talking about a few days, not the rest of your life. See what God does over a few days. I think you’ll be amazed. If you like it keep going. If not, at least you tried it.” See what I’m getting at? Galatians or Ephesians will take about a week. If they want to tackle Mark it will take about two weeks. That’s about the range I like to keep it in.

We then offer lots and lots of personal encouragement, follow-up, and “handholding” throughout the mini-challenge period. We casually encourage Bible readers to talk about their excitement over their experiences of the Lord revealing biblical truths in response to their seeking.

The process is not always successful. It often results in less than stunning results. Try again later. That’s okay. It’s a ministry. It’s a growth process. Be encouraging and supportive. Most do succeed to some extent, even if only in small ways. And a few will get a taste for Scripture and will continue on their own.

It’s fun to see the sense of accomplishment experienced by those who successfully meet their mini-challenge. For many, it is the first time they have ever read through an entire book of the Bible on their own. This is an important building block. It provides the basis for encouraging that reader to continue with another mini-challenge. And then perhaps another after that. Hopefully they will at some point grow into full fledged Bible readers.

That’s our goal. Help our biblical non-reader take the next step toward becoming a daily Bible reader. It’s accomplished one small step at a time. Each step allows the person the chance to experience the rich and living Word of God personally. There are lots of lapses and incomplete tries. That’s okay. The Spirit provides us with lots of love and patience. We just help them up and encourage them to start where they left off.

Keep in mind that the idea here is not to manipulate or trick someone into reading their Bible. What we seek to do is encourage Bible reading and make it easy to try out. Our goal at this point is to help a person sit down briefly but consistently before God. Then we let God do His thing. We’ve done our part by accompanying that person to the fountain of God’s word. It’s up to God to get them to drink. Trust Him.

Eventually the ones who grow from the mini-challenge experience will develop an appetite for Scripture on their own. From there they develop their own reading program and set their own reading goals. Most become hungry for more than one chapter each day. All they really needed was the direction to get started, and the encouragement to keeping going at first.

It takes a little extra personalized effort in the beginning. And it’s a hundred-times more art than science when it works right. Rely on the Spirit for navigation through the process. It is a ministry after all. And it is also an investment in the kingdom. Believers who read their Bibles daily and do what they read are the living stones that will grow your congregation “deep and wide” into the future.

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JimBlogZ

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Helping the Bible-Famished to Feast

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