I’m out on a limb…and I’m not Shirley MacLaine.
“I am the Vine; you are the branches. Whoever lives in Me and I in him bears much (abundant) fruit. However, apart from Me [cut off from vital union with Me] you can do nothing” (John 15:5 Amplified Bible).
When John wrote the fourth Gospel he was not writing for the saints at the headquarters church in Jerusalem, he was writing to help new believers get grounded in their faith. John lived in Ephesus in what then was considered Asia Minor (Turkey) and was helping to pastor the growing church there. The focus of his writing was to assist these newly saved grow in faith while living in a community that was overtly hostile to Christianity.
I am convinced that it is extremely important for a believer to prioritize his devotional life. Everything else in the believer’s spiritual life is secondary; it may be important but not as much as being tightly connected to the Author and Finisher of our faith. The devotional life makes or breaks the successful walk with God.
John begins this verse with a clear declaration of identity: “I am the Vine; you are the branches.” The question and struggle over identity goes right back to the Garden (Genesis 3:5) and the age-old struggle of man wanting to be like God. John highlights Jesus’ statement because he understands that until the identity issue is settled, there can be no forward progress. There can only be one Vine but lots of branches. So this has to be settled: “He is the Vine and I am the branch! He is God and I am not!”
One reason I stress so strongly in my writing and teaching the importance of the devotional life is clearly spelled out in this verse. Fruitfulness comes from the relationship of the individual with Jesus. The branch draws life from the Vine and from that life comes fruit. Before a branch can be fruitful, it must be in continual contact with the Vine. We draw life from Him and then we give out to others and it cannot be otherwise. The vine feeds and nourishes the branch. “If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit” (NIV).
I am concerned for the sloppy Charismatics who think that going to a meeting once a week, singing, dancing, praying out loud in tongues and occasionally falling on the floor is all that is needed to fill up their spiritual batteries. There is nothing wrong with a lively prayer and worship service but that does not, I repeat, does not, replace the importance of your regular personal time with Him. And then there are the laid-back, ultra-cool evangelicals who come to church most Sundays in jeans and T-shirts, carrying a big cup of coffee and smiling as they listen to the rock-and-roll worship band and the 25-minute teaching. For many of them, that is the totality of their spiritual life. To them, Jesus is worth sixty minutes on Sunday morning as long as the pastor is cool, the worship band really rocks, and they can have a cup of coffee at the same time. Pretty sad commentary on the state of spiritual vitality flowing into these lives.
Try this experiment! Get a knife or a pair of scissors and go into your yard. Pick out a small hedge or a plant and cut off one of the smaller branches. Put that little cutting on a piece of paper in a safe place and see what happens over the next couple of days. Some of you are shaking your heads, saying, “This is silly. I know exactly what will happen. Once the branch is disconnected from the plant, it will begin to die,” and you are exactly right. The point is very clear—Jesus is the Vine and we are the branches and disconnected from Him we are helpless. We cannot survive, we will wither and die, because “apart from me you can do nothing” (NIV).
The little cutting that we set aside to view is now dead. Within hours dryness began to set in and within a few days the cutting dried up and withered. The possibility of it ever being fruitful is over and gone. So it is with the man (or woman) who habitually neglects his personal communication with the Savior. Jesus said, “Apart from me you can do nothing.” The Greek for nothing is nothing. Apart from the Vine there is no fruitfulness that counts. Dryness in us does not begin as quickly as it does in that little plant, but don’t fool yourself, it will start and continue unless we get back to being connected to Him.
“No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me.” (15:4b)
Thursday, September 24, 2009
Wednesday, September 16, 2009
IT'S TIME TO WORSHIP
He knows you are in pain.
He knows you feel overwhelmed.
He knows you are lonely.
He knows when your strength fails and you just can’t take another step.
He knows when you are betrayed by people you counted on.
He knows when fear is knocking on your door.
He knows and has not left you alone…still He waits!
Jonah tried to run from the presence of God and his world fell apart around him. He was at the end of his nightmarish flight and death was the next stop on his journey. In despair and surrounded by darkness, the fleeing prophet was at the lowest point of his life. There was no light at the end of his tunnel and no road to victory to be found in the darkness.
At the point when Jonah was about to be consumed by his circumstances, he desperately cried out to the Lord:
“I will sacrifice to You with the voice of thanksgiving; I will pay what I have vowed. Salvation is of the Lord” (Jonah 2:9).
It was contrary to the nature of the circumstances, it went against the grain of all the human teaching on survival, and it cost him dearly, but in the darkness and pain, Jonah chose to pray and worship. With the few breaths he had left, he gave voice to his thanksgiving. It was a sacrifice for him to do this, as he was in the final moments of his life, and death and eternity were just ahead, but Jonah chose to worship and raise his voice in thanksgiving to the Lord. With almost no strength left and a weakening voice, Jonah cried out in worship, “Salvation is of the Lord!”
The dictionary says that worship is the surrender of something for the sake of something else. Jonah was running from the presence of the Lord (1:3). His running from the Lord took him into terrible circumstances, but then, it always does. When his circumstances overwhelmed him and the tragic end was close at hand, Jonah chose to make a sacrifice. It is the sacrifice that validates the offering. Jehovah knows it costs you when you choose to worship instead of groveling in self pity, complaining and fear. He’s aware of the sacrifice and the cost…and He responds.
“So the Lord spoke to the fish, and it vomited Jonah onto dry land” (2:10).
Paul and Silas were in trouble. Savagely beaten and thrown into jail, the men were chained and their feet locked into wooden restraints. Unpleasant, filthy, painful circumstances, to say the least. There was no Christian Legal Society to get them out of the trouble they were in nor some megachurch to rally support and finances. It would have been so easy to slip into despair, just to give up.
“But at midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the prisoners were listening to them. Suddenly there was a great earthquake, so that the foundations of the prison were shaken; and immediately all the doors were opened and everyone’s chains were loosed” (Acts 16:25-26).
Paul and Silas chose to pray and give voice to their thanksgiving and God responded in power to their sacrifice of worship.
The sacrifice of thanksgiving is a choice. When circumstances are overwhelming, when you are tired from the fight, when there seems to be no clear road to victory, then it’s time for God’s people to worship Him.
When we choose to worship, we are choosing to acknowledge Him as greater than our circumstances, greater than our pain and doubt. Our sacrifice of worship, our choice, brings Him into our circumstances.
A black cloud of evil is settling on our nation. Our leaders are being foolish. They are confused, they are arrogant, and they do not acknowledge God’s place in the founding of this nation. All the money in the world will not bring back the blessing of the Lord that has been lost.
Our nation is in a storm of trouble for which there is no human answer. It is time for God’s people to lift their voices in the sacrifice of thanksgiving.
It is time for God’s people to worship!
He knows you feel overwhelmed.
He knows you are lonely.
He knows when your strength fails and you just can’t take another step.
He knows when you are betrayed by people you counted on.
He knows when fear is knocking on your door.
He knows and has not left you alone…still He waits!
Jonah tried to run from the presence of God and his world fell apart around him. He was at the end of his nightmarish flight and death was the next stop on his journey. In despair and surrounded by darkness, the fleeing prophet was at the lowest point of his life. There was no light at the end of his tunnel and no road to victory to be found in the darkness.
At the point when Jonah was about to be consumed by his circumstances, he desperately cried out to the Lord:
“I will sacrifice to You with the voice of thanksgiving; I will pay what I have vowed. Salvation is of the Lord” (Jonah 2:9).
It was contrary to the nature of the circumstances, it went against the grain of all the human teaching on survival, and it cost him dearly, but in the darkness and pain, Jonah chose to pray and worship. With the few breaths he had left, he gave voice to his thanksgiving. It was a sacrifice for him to do this, as he was in the final moments of his life, and death and eternity were just ahead, but Jonah chose to worship and raise his voice in thanksgiving to the Lord. With almost no strength left and a weakening voice, Jonah cried out in worship, “Salvation is of the Lord!”
The dictionary says that worship is the surrender of something for the sake of something else. Jonah was running from the presence of the Lord (1:3). His running from the Lord took him into terrible circumstances, but then, it always does. When his circumstances overwhelmed him and the tragic end was close at hand, Jonah chose to make a sacrifice. It is the sacrifice that validates the offering. Jehovah knows it costs you when you choose to worship instead of groveling in self pity, complaining and fear. He’s aware of the sacrifice and the cost…and He responds.
“So the Lord spoke to the fish, and it vomited Jonah onto dry land” (2:10).
Paul and Silas were in trouble. Savagely beaten and thrown into jail, the men were chained and their feet locked into wooden restraints. Unpleasant, filthy, painful circumstances, to say the least. There was no Christian Legal Society to get them out of the trouble they were in nor some megachurch to rally support and finances. It would have been so easy to slip into despair, just to give up.
“But at midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the prisoners were listening to them. Suddenly there was a great earthquake, so that the foundations of the prison were shaken; and immediately all the doors were opened and everyone’s chains were loosed” (Acts 16:25-26).
Paul and Silas chose to pray and give voice to their thanksgiving and God responded in power to their sacrifice of worship.
The sacrifice of thanksgiving is a choice. When circumstances are overwhelming, when you are tired from the fight, when there seems to be no clear road to victory, then it’s time for God’s people to worship Him.
When we choose to worship, we are choosing to acknowledge Him as greater than our circumstances, greater than our pain and doubt. Our sacrifice of worship, our choice, brings Him into our circumstances.
A black cloud of evil is settling on our nation. Our leaders are being foolish. They are confused, they are arrogant, and they do not acknowledge God’s place in the founding of this nation. All the money in the world will not bring back the blessing of the Lord that has been lost.
Our nation is in a storm of trouble for which there is no human answer. It is time for God’s people to lift their voices in the sacrifice of thanksgiving.
It is time for God’s people to worship!
Saturday, September 12, 2009
STRANGERS AND PILGRIMS
I have to confess that I struggle with the word “pilgrim” when I see it used in Hebrews 11:13.
“These all died in faith, not having received the promises, but having seen them afar off were assured of them, embraced them and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth.”
As a boy I was a great fan of John Wayne movies (and still am). In his inimitable voice, the Duke would often call a bad guy or a hapless city slicker a “pilgrim.” The connotation lingers in my mind that a pilgrim was a guy with bad intentions or someone with no idea of what real life on the frontier was all about, a hopeless rube that attracted trouble like manure drew flies. I guess it’s fair to say that my mental image of a pilgrim was basically that of a loser with no hope of making his way successfully through life. Needless to say, this was not a healthy image to have.
When the writer of Hebrews uses this phrase, he is picking up on a stream of truth that began in the Old Testament. Jesus reemphasized it and then it flows throughout the entire New Testament. An old gospel song puts it this way:
This world is not my home, I'm just passing through.
My treasures are laid up somewhere beyond the blue.
The angels beckon me from heaven's open door
And I can't feel at home in this world anymore.
Chorus
O, Lord, you know I have no friend like you
If heaven's not my home then, Lord, what will I do?
The angels beckon me from heaven's open door
And I can't feel at home in this world anymore.
Paul followed this thinking and in Colossians encouraged us not to get overly engaged by the “things of earth” but to set our heart on “things above.”
“If then you were raised with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ is, sitting at the right hand of God. Set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth” (Colossians 3:1-2)
Peter uses the same phrase that is used in Hebrews: “Beloved, I beg you as sojourners and pilgrims, abstain from fleshly lusts which war against the soul” (1 Peter 2:11).
It seems to me that the truth being put forward is that heaven is really our home and believers are a nomadic type of people travelling through this life. All of this seems to start in Genesis 12:1 when God spoke to Abraham, “Get out of your country…to a land I will show you”—and the great trek began. God’s people have been nomadic, noncitizens ever since. I think it is important to acknowledge that while we currently live on earth and have work to do here, our real home is with Him in eternity. Pilgrims have made a choice because they understand they must, and their choice is to not overly fixate on this life but to keep “the long view” ever in front of them.
I don’t hear much preaching or teaching today about keeping eternal values forefront in our hearts and minds. In our overly materialistic world and church, the idea of focusing on eternity and what I call “the long view” is not in vogue. In today’s dumbing down of spiritual values in the church, it is not really considered cool to talk about heaven or hell and the transitory nature of our life here.
Signs abound that the church has lost “the long view.” Overemphasis on material things, success, money, and retirement are sure signs that for many, the view of the transitory nature of this life has all but gone dark. We are living in the age of the 60-minute rock and roll church service where the sermons primarily tend to deal with “how to be successful now.” Almost no thought or teaching is given to where we are going next.
In case you’ve forgotten, there are two eternal destinies and we get to choose one. For the procrastinators and the, “I just can’t make up my mind” crowd, the default choice is definitely one with an unusual and unpleasantly warm welcome—and it will not be a cool place to spend eternity.
Well, strangers and pilgrims, here we are! Living in the middle of this mess we call 2009. The more I think about it, the more I’m glad we’re just passing through because I wouldn’t want to think this is where I was going to have to spend my eternity. I think a new definition of hell could be the current Congress of the United States.
My apologies to John Wayne…I’m beginning to like being called a pilgrim. I think I’ll let the rest of you be called “strangers”…because some of my friends and a few of the relatives just are!
“These all died in faith, not having received the promises, but having seen them afar off were assured of them, embraced them and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth.”
As a boy I was a great fan of John Wayne movies (and still am). In his inimitable voice, the Duke would often call a bad guy or a hapless city slicker a “pilgrim.” The connotation lingers in my mind that a pilgrim was a guy with bad intentions or someone with no idea of what real life on the frontier was all about, a hopeless rube that attracted trouble like manure drew flies. I guess it’s fair to say that my mental image of a pilgrim was basically that of a loser with no hope of making his way successfully through life. Needless to say, this was not a healthy image to have.
When the writer of Hebrews uses this phrase, he is picking up on a stream of truth that began in the Old Testament. Jesus reemphasized it and then it flows throughout the entire New Testament. An old gospel song puts it this way:
This world is not my home, I'm just passing through.
My treasures are laid up somewhere beyond the blue.
The angels beckon me from heaven's open door
And I can't feel at home in this world anymore.
Chorus
O, Lord, you know I have no friend like you
If heaven's not my home then, Lord, what will I do?
The angels beckon me from heaven's open door
And I can't feel at home in this world anymore.
Paul followed this thinking and in Colossians encouraged us not to get overly engaged by the “things of earth” but to set our heart on “things above.”
“If then you were raised with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ is, sitting at the right hand of God. Set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth” (Colossians 3:1-2)
Peter uses the same phrase that is used in Hebrews: “Beloved, I beg you as sojourners and pilgrims, abstain from fleshly lusts which war against the soul” (1 Peter 2:11).
It seems to me that the truth being put forward is that heaven is really our home and believers are a nomadic type of people travelling through this life. All of this seems to start in Genesis 12:1 when God spoke to Abraham, “Get out of your country…to a land I will show you”—and the great trek began. God’s people have been nomadic, noncitizens ever since. I think it is important to acknowledge that while we currently live on earth and have work to do here, our real home is with Him in eternity. Pilgrims have made a choice because they understand they must, and their choice is to not overly fixate on this life but to keep “the long view” ever in front of them.
I don’t hear much preaching or teaching today about keeping eternal values forefront in our hearts and minds. In our overly materialistic world and church, the idea of focusing on eternity and what I call “the long view” is not in vogue. In today’s dumbing down of spiritual values in the church, it is not really considered cool to talk about heaven or hell and the transitory nature of our life here.
Signs abound that the church has lost “the long view.” Overemphasis on material things, success, money, and retirement are sure signs that for many, the view of the transitory nature of this life has all but gone dark. We are living in the age of the 60-minute rock and roll church service where the sermons primarily tend to deal with “how to be successful now.” Almost no thought or teaching is given to where we are going next.
In case you’ve forgotten, there are two eternal destinies and we get to choose one. For the procrastinators and the, “I just can’t make up my mind” crowd, the default choice is definitely one with an unusual and unpleasantly warm welcome—and it will not be a cool place to spend eternity.
Well, strangers and pilgrims, here we are! Living in the middle of this mess we call 2009. The more I think about it, the more I’m glad we’re just passing through because I wouldn’t want to think this is where I was going to have to spend my eternity. I think a new definition of hell could be the current Congress of the United States.
My apologies to John Wayne…I’m beginning to like being called a pilgrim. I think I’ll let the rest of you be called “strangers”…because some of my friends and a few of the relatives just are!
Saturday, September 5, 2009
THE HYPOCRISY I DON'T WANT TO TALK ABOUT!
“He began to say to His disciples first of all, ‘Beware of the leaven of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy’” (Luke 12 1).
The Pharisees were the one group that consistently opposed Jesus. As you study the life of Christ, you see the ascending spiral of opposition to Him and His ministry flowing from the Pharisees. In Luke 11, Jesus had some very strong words to say about the Pharisees and their duplicitous behavior. The chapter finishes with the Pharisees looking to find ways to attack and destroy Him.
Chapter twelve begins with a scene that is somewhat incongruous. On the one hand we see the Pharisees plotting against Jesus, and on the other is a crowd that has come to see Him. Luke describes that crowd as so big that it could not be counted, perhaps in the tens of thousands. In this milieu of excitement and intrigue, Jesus calls His disciples together and makes this warning statement: “Beware of the leaven of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy” (see above).
Jesus is not attacking the Pharisees as a group, He is warning against a spirit that was embedded in their religious and social philosophy. He is warning against hypocrisy!
He is instructing His followers to be on guard, but on guard against what? Are we to guard against acting like Pharisees? Talking like Pharisees? I don’t think so! I believe He is warning against the pharisaical spirit, which is like a virus—it’s infectious and if you embrace just a little bit, it will spread through your whole system.
Jesus compares hypocrisy to leaven. Leaven was a type of yeast used in the baking of bread and it also aided in the fermentation of wine. It took only a little yeast to do the necessary work. Paul also warned about leaven in 1 Corinthians 5:6 and Galatians 5:9: “A little leaven leavens the whole lump.” Leaven is a spoiler; a little bit in the wrong place infects everything.
Hypocrisy, a Greek word borrowed from the Greek theatre, literally means “mask.” Actors in the Greek theatre would wear an oversized mask to portray the character they were playing, which was known as their “persona.” Sound familiar? With the use of masks, an actor could play several different roles and since all actors were men, they could assume a female part, as well, which would make some of you reading this happy!
Hypocrisy as it is referred to here is the “wearing of a mask” regarding spiritual matters. Jesus soundly condemns this behavior of “mask wearing” in any part of our life. He is saying, “You can’t make this work. What you are in private will eventually be seen in light of day.” This is a strong condemnation of pretending that you are living for God when you are at church or with Christian friends, while it really is all a mask and not the real you.
One of the favorite accusations leveled by the secular world at the church is “hypocrisy” because they have seen people who call themselves Christ followers behaving like thugs from the streets of Chicago—and in some cases the accusations are correct. However, hypocrisy is not limited just to the church but infects all areas of society and all kinds of people. For instance, Bernie Madoff is a classic picture of a hypocrite wearing the mask of respectability while robbing people blind.
Jesus says we are to be on guard and not allow any of that leaven, that viral infection of hypocrisy or duplicity, to get into our lives. Our lives are to be lived in openness and transparency before Him, and our brothers and sisters in Him. We need to deal with hypocrisy the moment we are aware of its attempt to invade our life.
Here are a few things to chew on about hypocrisy and questions to ponder:
• Is it hypocritical to say, “I love you in the Lord,” and then spread rumors about that person?
• Is it hypocritical to say we are not under the law but under grace, and then tell an acquaintance that if they don’t pay their tithes, they are cursed?
• Is it hypocritical to complain about the sad state of our nation but then never pray for our leaders?
• Is it hypocritical to sing, “Oh, how I love Jesus,” in church and then not talk to Him or about Him the rest of the week?
In Galatians 2 Paul illustrates how hypocrisy can “inch” its way into Christian conduct and how it can devastatingly spread.
“Now when Peter had come to Antioch, I withstood him to his face, because he was to be blamed; for before certain men came from James, he would eat with the Gentiles; but when they came, he withdrew and separated himself, fearing those who were of the circumcision. And the rest of the Jews also played the hypocrite with him, so that even Barnabas was carried away with their hypocrisy” (Galatians 2:11-13, NKJV).
Oh, yes! In case you’re wondering, the hypocrisy I don’t want to talk about is mine!
The Pharisees were the one group that consistently opposed Jesus. As you study the life of Christ, you see the ascending spiral of opposition to Him and His ministry flowing from the Pharisees. In Luke 11, Jesus had some very strong words to say about the Pharisees and their duplicitous behavior. The chapter finishes with the Pharisees looking to find ways to attack and destroy Him.
Chapter twelve begins with a scene that is somewhat incongruous. On the one hand we see the Pharisees plotting against Jesus, and on the other is a crowd that has come to see Him. Luke describes that crowd as so big that it could not be counted, perhaps in the tens of thousands. In this milieu of excitement and intrigue, Jesus calls His disciples together and makes this warning statement: “Beware of the leaven of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy” (see above).
Jesus is not attacking the Pharisees as a group, He is warning against a spirit that was embedded in their religious and social philosophy. He is warning against hypocrisy!
He is instructing His followers to be on guard, but on guard against what? Are we to guard against acting like Pharisees? Talking like Pharisees? I don’t think so! I believe He is warning against the pharisaical spirit, which is like a virus—it’s infectious and if you embrace just a little bit, it will spread through your whole system.
Jesus compares hypocrisy to leaven. Leaven was a type of yeast used in the baking of bread and it also aided in the fermentation of wine. It took only a little yeast to do the necessary work. Paul also warned about leaven in 1 Corinthians 5:6 and Galatians 5:9: “A little leaven leavens the whole lump.” Leaven is a spoiler; a little bit in the wrong place infects everything.
Hypocrisy, a Greek word borrowed from the Greek theatre, literally means “mask.” Actors in the Greek theatre would wear an oversized mask to portray the character they were playing, which was known as their “persona.” Sound familiar? With the use of masks, an actor could play several different roles and since all actors were men, they could assume a female part, as well, which would make some of you reading this happy!
Hypocrisy as it is referred to here is the “wearing of a mask” regarding spiritual matters. Jesus soundly condemns this behavior of “mask wearing” in any part of our life. He is saying, “You can’t make this work. What you are in private will eventually be seen in light of day.” This is a strong condemnation of pretending that you are living for God when you are at church or with Christian friends, while it really is all a mask and not the real you.
One of the favorite accusations leveled by the secular world at the church is “hypocrisy” because they have seen people who call themselves Christ followers behaving like thugs from the streets of Chicago—and in some cases the accusations are correct. However, hypocrisy is not limited just to the church but infects all areas of society and all kinds of people. For instance, Bernie Madoff is a classic picture of a hypocrite wearing the mask of respectability while robbing people blind.
Jesus says we are to be on guard and not allow any of that leaven, that viral infection of hypocrisy or duplicity, to get into our lives. Our lives are to be lived in openness and transparency before Him, and our brothers and sisters in Him. We need to deal with hypocrisy the moment we are aware of its attempt to invade our life.
Here are a few things to chew on about hypocrisy and questions to ponder:
• Is it hypocritical to say, “I love you in the Lord,” and then spread rumors about that person?
• Is it hypocritical to say we are not under the law but under grace, and then tell an acquaintance that if they don’t pay their tithes, they are cursed?
• Is it hypocritical to complain about the sad state of our nation but then never pray for our leaders?
• Is it hypocritical to sing, “Oh, how I love Jesus,” in church and then not talk to Him or about Him the rest of the week?
In Galatians 2 Paul illustrates how hypocrisy can “inch” its way into Christian conduct and how it can devastatingly spread.
“Now when Peter had come to Antioch, I withstood him to his face, because he was to be blamed; for before certain men came from James, he would eat with the Gentiles; but when they came, he withdrew and separated himself, fearing those who were of the circumcision. And the rest of the Jews also played the hypocrite with him, so that even Barnabas was carried away with their hypocrisy” (Galatians 2:11-13, NKJV).
Oh, yes! In case you’re wondering, the hypocrisy I don’t want to talk about is mine!
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