How Shall Christians Be Known?

July 23, 2024July 21, 2024Todd R 1 Comment

The mark of a relationship with Christ has taken many forms over the ages, but with one common factor: a self-sacrificing love.

In the book of Genesis, Joseph, son of Jacob, has a fascinating story. Joseph was favored by his father, despised by his brothers, sold into slavery in Egypt, but eventually rose to a position of prominence under Pharaoh. In Genesis 41, Pharaoh learns that Joseph has interpreted dreams and calls for his help with Pharaoh’s own distressing series of dreams. Joseph interprets Pharaoh’s dreams as a prophecy of seven years of famine and recommends a plan to get through it. After this interpretation comes Genesis 41:38, where “Pharaoh said to his servants, ‘Can we find a man like this, in whom is the Spirit of God?’” We connect Pharoah’s recognition of God’s Spirit in Joseph to the correct interpretation of dreams, but there is more to it: Joseph also cared for the people of Egypt and oversaw the plan to survive the famine.

In the book of Acts, after Peter’s proclamation of the gospel of Jesus Christ to many “rulers and elders and scribes gathered together in Jerusalem,”[1] Acts 4:13 records that “when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, and perceived that they were uneducated, common men, they were astonished. And they recognized that they had been with Jesus.” These crowds knew that Peter and John had been with Jesus, that they had a similar spirit. They had something that comes not from this world’s schools or from what it holds in distinguished, high regard. Instead, “they were uneducated, common men,” but they carried the mark of Jesus. They had a connection to an unknown source of boldness and were concerned for the spiritual needs of all people.

In the Psalms, a Psalmist (probably David) wrote in Psalm 119:97-98:

“Oh how I love your law!
It is my meditation all the day.
Your commandment makes me wiser than my enemies,
for it is ever with me.”

The Psalmist praises God’s commandment as a source of wisdom better than anything available to his enemies. By meditating on God’s commandments, the Psalmist is “wiser than my enemies,” because he has a wisdom from an unworldly source. He carries the mark of Christ, but what is this commandment and what is this wisdom?

In Matthew 22:37-40, Jesus says the greatest commandments are: “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment. And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets.” In other words, any and all commands of God are subordinated to the command to love God and neighbor, including our enemies.

In John 13:34-35, Jesus reiterates the rule, telling His disciples: “A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another. By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.” Therefore, how can all people “find a man…in whom is the Spirit of God?” Where will the world find astonishing boldness and good news among even “uneducated, common men”? They will find it in those who have the fruit of the Spirit, which begins with “love,” but also includes “joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control.”[2]

So, does someone have a physical need like those impacted by the famine in Joseph’s day? Does someone have a spiritual need for hope that only the gospel can provide? Love provides the answer to both needs, and by love will the world know Christ’s disciples.

Therefore, make Christ known today by loving someone as Christ would.

[1] Acts 4:5
[2] Galatians 5:22-23

Hypocritical Bread

July 11, 2024Todd R 3 Comments

One of the reasons Jesus encountered so much opposition was that He could see many of the religious leaders of His time as they really were – sinners condemned by the law and in need of a Savior – and was not afraid to call them out on it. Once when some scribes and Pharisees were crowding Him, trying to catch Him in an error, Jesus said to His disciples:

“Beware of the leaven of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy. Nothing is covered up that will not be revealed, or hidden that will not be known.”[1]

Jesus calls the Pharisees hypocrites, which means someone deceitfully playing a part, using leaven as a metaphor. Leaven is yeast, but how is yeast like hypocrisy?

^{Beware the nooks and crannies of the Pharisees! Photo by Debbie Widjaja on Unsplash}

Looking at leavened bread and unleavened bread from the outside, they might look the same: they both look like solid loaves of bread. However, in the process of making bread rise, yeast creates gas bubbles that form holes inside the bread (or “nooks and crannies” as in an old English muffin ad). So, when you break or cut open a piece of leavened bread, it does not look solid on the inside like it does from the outside. It is full of holes. On the other hand, unleavened bread tends to be more solid, such as many flatbreads or tortillas.

Yeast is like hypocrisy because the hypocrite is not the same on the inside as they are on the outside. The image they carefully craft for themselves fails inspection to One who can see inside. In the case of the Pharisees, who wanted to appear superior in their knowledge of, and observance of, Jewish law, Jesus revealed that they were “like whitewashed tombs, which outwardly appear beautiful, but within are full of dead people’s bones and all uncleanness.”[2]

Later in the New Testament, in 1 Corinthians 8:1, the apostle Paul wrote: “we know that ‘all of us possess knowledge.’ This ‘knowledge’ puffs up, but love builds up.” Paul’s warning was that knowledge, if not used in love, puffs us up as yeast puffs up bread, making it full of air bubbles, and hollow inside. Knowledge can make us proud and inflate our own sense of importance if we aren’t careful. Love, on the other hand, seeks to build up others in humility.

Therefore, whose who seek to walk in integrity before God, to live an unleavened life, must reach out to the only One who can see all of our inner nooks and crannies, yet still loves us. Though we are still sinners, by His blood we are justified in His sight and being made whole by our Maker. We should pray as David prayed in Psalm 139:23 –

“Search me, O God, and know my heart!
Try me and know my thoughts!
And see if there be any grievous way in me,
and lead me in the way everlasting!”

He can supply everything we lack.

[1] Luke 12:1b-2
[2] Matthew 23:27

Walking Safely with God

June 10, 2024June 9, 2024Todd R 1 Comment

Many people, both Christian and non-Christian, think of obedience to God as a dreadful chore, something that robs us of our autonomy and joy. Sometimes people refuse to believe in God because they reject His requirements, and sometimes people resent God because they see Him as making them labor in futility for the perfection He requires. However, we know that salvation does not come from our obedience, but Christ’s, and through God’s grace He reveals Himself to us. Then we learn that the rules we should follow come from a God who loves us and perfectly knows what is good and bad for us – far beyond our own knowledge. Therefore, those rules become our freedom and joy when we follow them willingly. He always knows the best and right choice to make.

Psalm 119 (the longest chapter in the Bible) is a meditation on the benefits of God’s laws for us, and verses 44-45 give us a picture of those benefits:

“I will keep your law continually,
forever and ever,
and I shall walk in a wide place,
for I have sought your precepts.”

The central idea here is that when we are obedient to God, we “shall walk in a wide place,” but what does that mean? How does that benefit us?

Think about walking along a mountain path, or on stones crossing a river. Does it make a difference how wide that path is, or how big and flat the stones are? If we trip and fall on a narrow place, we may fall into a river or off a cliff. However, if we fall in a wide place on a mountain path or on a very large rock, we may scrape a knee or our hands, but the consequences won’t be as severe as falling off a cliff!

The idea of walking in a wide place brings to mind the contrast between the consequences of following our own way versus following God’s. Going our own way can not only have worse consequences now, in this world, but it can also have consequences in eternity. Never repenting of going our own way at all leads to an eternity banished from God’s presence and blessings. But even if we are saved, failure to follow God can rob others of God’s blessings for them that He intends through us and can influence our experience in heaven. Paul teaches in 1 Corinthians 3:12-15 that there are rewards in heaven for those who follow Him, as well as “loss” for not doing so. So, doing whatever we please has consequences, some of which may be eternal.

In contrast, obedience to God is like walking in a safe place, where any negative consequence is temporary, or comes with a corresponding blessing. We may get a scraped knee, but we don’t fall off a cliff, suffering permanent damage, death or other loss. Following God’s word can’t keep all bad things from happening to you, but it can limit the worldly consequences, and eliminate the eternal consequences.

Therefore, seek God’s guidance and follow it, and we “shall walk in a wide place, for I have sought your precepts.”

It’s a better path to follow than any other.

Sing a New Song!

May 27, 2024May 26, 2024Todd R 2 Comments

God’s people – His church – is the living temple in which He chooses to dwell by His grace and mercy. While nobody but Jesus will consistently “hit the mark” of holy perfection until eternity, Paul urges us to “cleanse ourselves from every defilement of body and spirit, bringing holiness to completion in the fear of God.”[1] But this fear should not be a dissatisfied, joyless obedience. Instead, look at Psalm 149:1-4 for an example of how to build life in Christ:

“Praise the LORD! Sing to the LORD a new song,
his praise in the assembly of the godly!
2 Let Israel be glad in his Maker;
            let the children of Zion rejoice in their King!
3 Let them praise his name with dancing,
            making melody to him with tambourine and lyre!
4 For the LORD takes pleasure in his people;
            he adorns the humble with salvation.

The 2^nd verse says to be glad! But why should we be glad? Because we have a loving Maker and King who died that we might live as His children. None of us are random accidents with no creator and no purpose. In response (3^rd verse), we offer our creativity and energy to God as worship, in all forms available to us (including but not limited to dancing and music!) and within our area of influence. Accepting us in Christ as we humbly are (4^th verse), the Lord takes pleasure as we offer what we have to His service and rewards us with His blessings. This verse reminds us that God likes us; He wants to be with His people and see them succeed. He takes pleasure in our praise and enjoyment of Him.

When we acknowledge our Maker and King as the protagonist of our life story, we know that we have an origin, a purpose, and a destiny, and that our lives can have eternal value, beyond all “random acts of kindness”. Whether our community and culture are crumbling or thriving, the call of God to live in the Spirit can bring “love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, [and] self-control.”[2]

However, if we insist on being the protagonist and following the idols we create, our worldly altruism and good intentions will never be enough, and our works will always fall short of the mark. God has better in store for us.

A New Song
Now we return to the 1^st verse of Psalm 149: “Praise the LORD! Sing to the LORD a new song, his praise in the assembly of the godly!”

The Psalmist asks us to publicly sing “a new song”: something that’s creative and offered in praise. It’s an invitation from God to think expansively under the Spirit’s guidance, not restrictively under laws and regulations. It doesn’t mean we all need to be extroverts, or become what people consider a “creative” person. You might be a tax collector or a soldier[3]. You might be a clerk, accountant, lawyer, politician, engineer, housewife, mechanic, or anything else. It doesn’t matter. It’s about knowing who you are and dedicating that to the Lord and to others.

Therefore, “Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men, knowing that from the Lord you will receive the inheritance as your reward. You are serving the Lord Christ.” – Colossians 3:23-24

Soli Deo Gloria

[1] 2 Corinthians 7:1
[2] Galatians 5:22b-23a
[3] See Luke 3:12-14

Bible in a Year: Week of May 27 – June 2

May 26, 2024May 24, 2024Todd R Leave a comment

Fellow travelers:

Below are the chapters to read this week if you’re following along in my Bible in a year schedule, divided into morning and evening readings. If you’re interested in jumping in late, this week isn’t a bad time. On Wednesday, we finish Psalms and Nehemiah and begin Proverbs and Matthew, our first New Testament book. Sunday we move from Numbers to Deuteronomy in the evening reading.

Follow along any way you want: you can just do the evening reading, flip the morning and evening, or read it all. Whatever works for you and your schedule! It doesn’t have to be Bible in a Year for everyone.

Monday, May 27
Morning: Psalm 149, Nehemiah 12
Evening: Numbers 31

Tuesday, May 28
Morning: Psalm 150, Nehemiah 13
Evening: Numbers 32

Wednesday, May 29
Morning: Proverbs 1, Matthew 1
Evening: Numbers 33

Thursday, May 30
Morning: Proverbs 2, Matthew 2
Evening: Numbers 34

Friday, May 31
Morning: Proverbs 3, Matthew 3
Evening: Numbers 35

Saturday, June 1
Morning: Proverbs 4, Matthew 4-5
Evening: Numbers 36

Sunday, June 2
Morning: Proverbs 5, Matthew 6-7
Evening: Deuteronomy 1

Driving Toward the Morning Sun

What "Not Yet" Means for "Now"

Tag Psalms