Author: Craig

Faith in the age of “unless I see” Part 2

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Scripture:  Read 1 Peter 1:8-9

“Though you have not seen him, you love him.  Though you do not now see him, you believe in him and rejoice with joy that is inexpressible and filled with glory, obtaining the outcome of your faith, the salvation of your souls.”  1 Peter 1:8-9

Observations: O Peter comments on the common experience of all the Christians who have come after the birth, ministry, crucifixion, and ascension of Jesus.  Although Peter walked and lived with Jesus in the flesh, the new believers have not.

 

But this has not kept them from having a relationship with the Living Risen Jesus Christ.  Far from it!  Though they have not seen him, they love him, believe in him, and rejoice in Him.  They are receiving the salvation of their souls.

Applications:  This passage warms my heart and causes me to overflow with Sometimes we are tempted to think that we must see in order to believe.  But actually trust and faith is a grace gift of God drawn now from the clues for belief contained in the Gospel and activated by the Holy Spirit.

The disciple Thomas struggled with believing that Jesus had risen from the dead.  In fact he told the other Disciples that he would not believe until he had seen and touched Jesus.  Jesus gracefully appeared to Thomas in a gathering of the Disciples and addressed Thomas — rebuilding and restoring Thomas’ faith.  Notice what Jesus said:

24One of the twelve disciples, Thomas (nicknamed the Twin), was not with the others when Jesus came. 25They told him, “We have seen the Lord!”

But he replied, “I won’t believe it unless I see the nail wounds in his hands, put my fingers into them, and place my hand into the wound in his side.”

26Eight days later the disciples were together again, and this time Thomas was with them. The doors were locked; but suddenly, as before, Jesus was standing among them. “Peace be with you,” he said. 27Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here, and look at my hands. Put your hand into the wound in my side. Don’t be faithless any longer. Believe!”

28“My Lord and my God!” Thomas exclaimed.

29Then Jesus told him, “You believe because you have seen me. Blessed are those who believe without seeing me.”

Jesus says I am blessed!

Prayer:  Heavenly Father thank you for constantly pushing back against the tide of unbelief that seeks to push me beyond the tension of faith and doubt into the abyss of “No Trust.”  Please LORD, may your Spirit pour your love into my heart.  May your Spirit renew my mind and remind me of the promise of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.  It’s in His name that I pray.  I love you! AMEN.

 

Faith in the age of “unless I see”

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Scripture:  Read 1 Peter 1:3-5

3All praise to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. It is by his great mercy that we have been born again, because God raised Jesus Christ from the dead. Now we live with great expectation, 4and we have a priceless inheritance—an inheritance that is kept in heaven for you, pure and undefiled, beyond the reach of change and decay. 5And through your faith, God is protecting you by his power until you receive this salvation, which is ready to be revealed on the last day for all to see.

Observation:  Peter writes to the church the reason for our praise and worship of God through Jesus Christ:  We have been born again — given new life-  through His mercy toward us.  Just as Jesus was raised again from the dead, we now have had a spiritual transformation from death to life.

This changes the way we live.  We live with great expectation.  We have hope.  We have the promises of God.  We are living looking forward to God’s triumph in the end and even now we can trust that in this life — we now belong to God.

Application:  What am I looking forward to?  What am I trusting God for in my life because of the change that Jesus is brining.  I recently met a person who said they had absolutely nothing to look forward to.  As a follower of Jesus part of our challenge is to let our faith in Christ pull us forward in each day with some kind of “Great Expectation.”  Where will I see God working in my life and the lives around me?  With whom will I get to share the life of Jesus?

Prayer:  Heavenly Father, thank you for the new life I have in Jesus.  You have been merciful to me.  Even as I know my life is secure in you and for eternity, help me by your grace to look forward today with expectation of seeing and meeting you.  I expect now that my life will honor you.  Thank you for this grace.  You give me meaning for life!  Thank you!  In Jesus name, AMEN.

Regeneration: “You must be born again.”

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It was the Passover and Nicodemus came to see Jesus at night.  In the quiet of that holiday season, surely there were spiritual sensitivities in the heart of Nicodemus.  It’s possible that Nicodemus might wonder if Israel would again (As they did when God rescued the people from the slavery and oppression of the Pharaohs.  As God did when He delivered them from His judgement of the firstborn in the land.) see the power of God on display to deliver them from their enemies.  How long would they have to wait this time? What would be required to again see God’s power on display?

Jesus rocked Nicodemus’s view of the world when He told him you “must be born again” to see and enter the Kingdom of God.  To Nicodemus this was not how the world worked when it came to being on the inside track for God.  Faithful obedience to the Law of God is what made it possible to be on God’s side.  Nicodemus must have found Jesus’ declaration disconcerting.

Nicodemus said to him, “How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter a second time into his mother’s womb and be born?”5 Jesus answered, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God.6 That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.t 7 Do not marvel that I said to you, ‘You must be born again.’8 The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear its sound, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit.”

In order to help Nicodemus, a teacher of the Law understand, Jesus makes a statement, makes an allusion, and gives an illustration.

Statement:  You must be born again.

Allusion:  Jesus reaches back to God’s message to Ezekiel (See Ezekiel 37 and the Valley of Dry Bones.) and the promise of God’s activity in raising up a people for Himself.  Flesh gives rise to flesh.  The Spirit gives rise to flesh.  God will put his Spirit within them and He will cleanse them.  He will be among them.

Illustration:  The wind.  Jesus says the wind blows where it will, we don’t see where it comes from, but we do see the effects.  So it is with people born of the Spirit.  We cannot see the internal work of the Spirit of God, nor are we in control of the Spirit; we cannot even limit the Spirit of God to borders and classes of people.

This sets up the incredible declaration and mind-expanding statement from Jesus about what God is up to in sending the Son of Man, “down” from heaven with all the wisdom and knowledge of being God:  “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.17 For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him.18 Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God.”

God has come down into the realm of humanity in order to love us all.

Jesus disturbs the self-situated moorings of religion and any form of self-righteousness.   However, Jesus, the rabbi, is very kind to Nicodemus.  Teachers teach what they know.  Jesus has pointed out that being born again is an “earthly matter” (John 3:12) and in this matter, Jesus gently points out that Nicodemus doesn’t know about it.  Then he goes on to show that there is urgency in Nicodemus’ need for the healing virtue, salvation, and life available in Jesus the Messiah.  Judgement is a condition all people are in just  as Israel was when the poisonous snakes entered their camp in Numbers 25.  Healing and a prolonged life was available for all who were bitten if they looked on the bronze snake formed and lifted up on a stake by Moses.  But soon (relative to the night of this conversation with Nicodemus) the Son of Man, the form of God in Christ Jesus, would be lifted up (exalted) on an execution stake (the cross) for the healing of the nations.  And all who by the grace of God look upon Him in faith shall have eternal life–life now and for eternity in the Kingdom of God.

Routines and University

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So you are a returning student to University and you know that you OUGHT to create some new routines for your life.  Don’t let laziness keep you from putting into place some habits that will help you in the long run.  And, don’t despair new habits really do take time and practice to establish; some people have suggested that it takes 42 days to put a new habit firmly into place.

Routines like brushing your teeth and washing your clothes–well we hope those are in place.  But if you are just showing up as a new student or you were really went on holiday even from your routines over the summer, now is the time to get some of these in place.  Its unlikely that you will get them all going but here’s a few.  At Origin, You Were Born for More we talk about two sets of habits or routines:  Get Alone habits and Get Together habits.  These habits are supportive of Jesus’ call for us to love God and to love people.

Here’s a list of possible routines that would really help you during University.

  • Sleep routine.
  • Study routines.
  • Work-Out routines.
  • Set up a study group.
  • Nail down when you are going to do laundry.
  • Get connected in a faith community.  These groups have regular rythms of life that  often contribute to a healthy life.
  • Pay attention to your money:  When do you pay the bills, check your balances, contribute to your assets and savings?
  • Call home.  Stay connected with family and friends.
  • When do you grocery shop and where?
  • Prayer.
  • Get into a regular Bible study group.
  • Study breaks — walks work for me!
  • Meditation and personal reflection.
  • Join a group to regularly “give back” through community service.
  • Journalling.
  • Set up a dinner group.
  • Set up a learning group.
  • Set up a social group for whatever you really like to do.
  • Join a club–Participation in the club might even pull several of these needs together for you.
  • When do you clean the place up?  Clutter distracts!

You may have noticed at some of the Residences or at Irving K Barber, The UBC Chaplains are encouraging students to put routines in place this month.  Many routines connect to the spiritual side of life!

Here’s a picture of my friend Kevin, from St. Marks, connecting with students at the Irving K Barber Centre for Learning at UBC.

 

What routines are you putting in place this month?

 

 

 

Looking to the interests of Jesus

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You don’t have to look long through the pages of on-line media to discover that having the role of pastor or minister does not mean that a man or woman is actually “looking to the interests of Jesus.”  But I have also heard sincere followers of Jesus indicate that they cannot “look to the interests of Jesus” because they don’t have time be full-time.  That’s a problem of perception:  life with Jesus is full-time.  Life in His Kingdom is full-time.

So, what does it mean to look to the interests of Jesus?

Paul writes of Timothy, “I hope in the Lord Jesus to send Timothy to you soon, so that I too may be cheered by news of you.  For I have no one like him, who will be genuinely concerned for your welfare. They all seek their own interests, not those of Jesus Christ.”  Philippians 2:19-21

1.  Be with Jesus.  At the the heart of the Gospel is desire of God to be with His people.  Jesus called disciples that they might be “with” Him. (Mark 3:14)  So seek daily to be “with” Jesus.  Paul saw this experience of God’s love and grace in Christ as the source of the attitude required to look to the interests of others. (Philippians 1:1-4) In the practice of being mindful of Jesus’ presence with you and reflection on His words, you will learn to hear (sense) his voice in your daily life.  (John 10:3, John 14:15-21).

2.  Be transformed by Jesus.  The new creation work of God (2 Corinthians 5:14-17) in the life of a disciple translates into new affections, new attitudes, and new actions.  As we follow Him the transformation of our lives through the practices of repentance and faith will show His glory even in our weaknesses.  Even as He has occupied our lives by His Spirit, He is cleansing our lives from the inside out.  (Mark 7) To cooperate with His work we take hold of that for which He has taken hold of us–being like Jesus in His Kingdom.

3.  Be on mission with Jesus.  We must trust that as we submit our lives to Jesus the King He is going to take liberty to progressively call us and place us strategically in His mission of loving people and transferring them from the kingdom of darkness to the Kingdom of God.  For Origin, we are living this out in the UBC campus community and the city of Vancouver.

We trust that God will call out people like Timothy and Epaphroditus, and Euodia and Syntche, mean and women who are giving more and more of their time and energy to the ministry of the Gospel and the church.  But God will also continue to create disciples who remain anchored in the context of their work, their faculties, their dorms, their neighbourhoods, and their families to fulfill His mission.  In those settings, the call is the same, look to the interests of Jesus by contributing somehow to the disciple-life-journey of another person.

Now anyone in a friendship that matters, or married, or working, or responsible for children or parents, will discover that good relationships require that we temporarily suspend our own interests in order to look to the interests of others.  But this willingness and sacrificial attitude is also required at times of Gospel ministry .  To look to the interests of Jesus will sometimes require that we set aside our own interests, just as our Lord Jesus has done for us.  We may need to set aside our own interests in order to “witness” to the grace of Jesus in our lives or to “proclaim” the Gospel, or to meet regularly to share our life with another disciple, or to sacrificially serve another person or His church with the gifts His Spirit has give us.

Jesus said, “Come follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.”

Today, its full-time: look to the interests of Jesus.