gospel

Y(our) Remedy for Spiritual Stagnation

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Scripture:  2 Peter 1:5-9 NLT

5In view of all this, make every effort to respond to God’s promises. Supplement your faith with a generous provision of moral excellence, and moral excellence with knowledge, 6and knowledge with self-control, and self-control with patient endurance, and patient endurance with godliness, 7and godliness with brotherly affection, and brotherly affection with love for everyone.

8The more you grow like this, the more productive and useful you will be in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. 9But those who fail to develop in this way are shortsighted or blind, forgetting that they have been cleansed from their old sins.

Observations:

Peter observes that the failure to grow in our faith creates

shortsighted, blind (or myopic) people

who have forgotten that they have been cleansed from their old sins.

Application:

Remember, treasuring, reflecting on the Gospel and Jesus’ extraordinary love for us shown at the cross is the catalyst for all that is good in our spiritual growth.  If you want your relationship with Jesus to regularly be refreshed consider again the delight of coming to know Him and the joy having sin forgiven.  Pause again and consider His unmerited kindness expressed towards us.  Dive into the depths of your simple confession: “Jesus is Lord.”

Shortsighted, stagnated Christians have trouble seeing an increasingly large vision of God.  They have trouble looking back and seeing God’s grace in their past.  They have difficulty looking forward and seeing how God’s grace pulls them forward into a new way of living in His Kingdom.

Since we are interested in “our” spiritual growth I must never underestimate the power of listening long, patiently, and hopefully in the power of the Spirit with another follower of Jesus who is struggling to see grace.  The challenge when I speak is to give voice to a vision of grace without falling into the wide and destructive ditches of moralism or relativism.  Without this grace-infused wisdom we are doomed to be the blind leading the blind.

Prayer:

Heavenly Father, thank you for wiping out my past sins.  It cost you so much!  Its a problem when my sin seems larger than your grace.  Such lies are unworthy of Jesus.  I want Him to stand in the darkened rooms of my life and say to me, “Truly, Truly, I say to you…”  May He cast out the darkness and let me hear again, “You are my beloved.”  Then I will see.  AMEN.

Baptism and life with Jesus

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Scripture:  1 Peter 3:18-22

18For Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh but made alive in the spirit, 19in which he went and proclaimed to the spirits in prison, 20because they formerly did not obey, when God’s patience waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was being prepared, in which a few, that is, eight persons, were brought safely through water. 21Baptism, which corresponds to this, now saves you, not as a removal of dirt from the body but as an appeal to God for a good conscience, through the resurrection of Jesus Christ, 22who has gone into heaven and is at the right hand of God, with angels, authorities, and powers having been subjected to him.

Observations:

For — Peter is connecting how we may suffer in this world according to God’s will even as we “do good” (See vs 17).  In our sufferings we may consider our Lord Jesus who:
suffered…once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous,

that he might bring us to God being put to death in the flesh but made alive in the spirit.

Jesus’ ministry continued in the spirit and with proclamation of God’s freedom in Christ. vs. 20

Baptism corresponds to the story of Jesus… and indicates our participation in His mission.  vs. 21-22

Application:

Peter is not making baptism the agent of God’s salvation.  Rather he is connecting the act of baptism with the immersion of our decision-making capacities (conscience) in the grace of God in the Gospel.  In verse 18 Peter captures the movement of Jesus born into this world: suffering for sins on the cross, put to death, raised again, and then vs. 22 ascended to the Father.

Baptism “corresponds” to the story of Jesus.  The appeal of baptism as we make the confession that “Jesus is Lord,” is for God to grant us the grace to live by the Spirit of Jesus in this world of relationships infected with brokenness and darkness.  By joining with Jesus’ ministry by the same Spirit that raised him from the dead we may see people delivered from captivity of sin and into God’s forgiveness and His Kingdom (just as God delivered Noah and his family of eight.)  Now we look forward to the end of suffering with Jesus in heaven where all things and powers are being brought under Him.

This Gospel approach to life is “salvation.”  Baptism is part of our redemptive process because of how the act aligns us with the work and community of Jesus in the world by the Spirit of God.

Prayer:

Heavenly Father, Today I am remembering the day of my baptism and our celebration of your grace toward me.  Thank you for the hope that pulls me forward and gives perspective to the troubles of this world.  Even this day fill me with your Spirit that I may live aware of the company of Jesus and join you in loving people.   AMEN.

The Gospel Empowered Husband

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Scripture:  1 Peter 3:7

7Likewise, husbands, live with your wives in an understanding way, showing honor to the woman as the weaker vessel, since they are heirs with you of the grace of life, so that your prayers may not be hindered.

Observations:

Husbands, “Likewise”: living in response to the Gospel.

Live with your wife in an understanding way,

Showing honor to her.

Though she might be weaker than you, she is equal with you as an heir with you of the grace of life.

Mistreating your wife will hinder your prayers.

Application:

The husband living from the perspective knows that the Gospel creates equality at the foot of the cross.  He knows that both he and his wife need a Saviour.   He relates to his wife as one who is equally graced by Jesus and granted citizenship in His Kingdom.  The Gospel empowers a husband to seek to live with his wife in an understanding way.  Understanding and communicating that understanding requires work and time.

The Gospel compels each spouse to value oneness with their spouse and to make decisions that move them toward each other in love and appreciation.  Seeking understanding requires discipline and an open heart.  Learning to recognize when a  spouse makes a bid for a husband’s heart and shifting gears to let her in can be needs deep wells of grace.

The husband who decides to honouring his spouse will make 1000’s of persistent decisions to elevate the place of his wife in his life.  “Honouring your wife” means that she knows there is no one else taking her place.  Honouring your wife means that she comes up early in conversations with others.  Honouring your wife means that children and other family members do not get to divide and conquer.

Peter shows husbands that their attitudes and actions toward their wife impact the quality of conversation they have with God.  Truly no married man is an island.  The quality of his relationship with his wife impacts all of his life.  Jesus indicated that divorce is a product of hardness of heart.  Exam your heart:  To be hardhearted towards your wife may be an indicator of callousness towards God too.

Prayer:  

Heavenly Father, may my heart be tender toward you and the people you have give me to love, honour, and cherish.  May my wife know today, that she is loved.  AMEN.

Healing for the Sin-Sick

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Scripture:  1 Peter 2:24-25

24He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. By his wounds you have been healed. 25For you were straying like sheep, but have now returned to the Shepherd and Overseer of your souls.

Observations:

Jesus bore our sins on the cross.

So that we might die to sin and live to righteousness.

His wounds bring healing to us.

We were like lost sheep.

But now, we have returned to the Shepherd and Overseer of our souls.

Application:  Healing for the sin-sick.

Jesus said He was the good Shepherd who lays down His life for the sheep. (John 10)  He is healing our hearts so that we can die to sin and live to righteousness.  Righteousness has to do with our relationships.  Independence from God infects our relationships with sin and brokenness.  The consequences of sin can leave people washed up in a wake of destruction.  The “straying sheep” is living independent of God and for sure is leaning into his or her own way rather than the way of God (Proverbs 3:5-6).  The image of Jesus dying on the cross that we might live is a picture of enduring grace for our lives.  When I sin and infect my relationships with death, Jesus can lead me and the other person into the grace necessary for the healing of our souls.

Prayer:

Heavenly Father, you have raised up Jesus as the Shepherd and Overseer of my soul.  Lead me into your grace for relationships today.  May I with you be a source of healing and life.  AMEN.

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.