Discipleship

by

Look! No Hands!

Look! No Hands!A generation ago, I would often challenge myself to see how far I could ride my bicycle without using my hands.  Perhaps you have done that, or still do.

I have to admit, there was generally no good reason for why I would do that other than to say that I could.  This was most effective with an audience.  To be able to call out, “Look!  No hands!”, and have people stop what they were doing and watch.  The longer I could go, the longer they would watch.

As I thought about this week’s topic, “We Are the Body of Christ”, I couldn’t help but wonder how often we do the same thing as Christians.  We want attention, so we ride through the Christian life shouting out, “Look!  No hands!”, hoping that someone notices what we are doing and focuses their eyes and thoughts on us.  We say, “Look how impressive I am.  I don’t need the hands, or the eyes, or the feet, or whatever other part God has placed in the body.  I can do this without them and then I get all the credit.”  While not saying any of this out loud, we even go so far as to say, “I don’t even need the head.  I’ve got this all figured out on my own!”

We do it even though we know what eventually comes next.  I never could succesfully finish a “no-handed” bike ride without using my hands.  While I could ride long distances, eventually I had to choose.  Do I give in and use my hands or do I crash?  The conclusion for that is the same as for life — either learn to use the parts of the body God has put into place or we crash!  As hard as we try, we eventually reach a point where we must allow the head to control all of the parts of the body for the good of the entire body.  If we fail to do that, a crash is on its way.

How often does pride get in our way and keep us from being a body where “each member does its part”?  How much do we limit ourselves as the “body of Christ” because we refuse to allow each part to do the work God created it to do?  What will it take to bring complete surrender to the headship of Christ so that each part of the body receives accurate instructions and accomplishes them effectively as part of a healthy body?  Why is it that even in the church we struggle getting past our desire to be seen and noticed when we know it is Jesus who ought to be evident in our assembly?

I pray that as the body of Christ, you and I would value each part as we allow and equip every member of the body to be used by God to accomplish His purpose and will.

by

Don’t Let Anyone Look Down On You . . .

If there was ever a verse of scripture I would like to re-write, it would be the verse I want to discuss in today’s writing.  I’m not talking about a verse I want to change because I don’t like the conviction it brings in my life — I have a few of those and I understand my need for them.  I’m talking about a verse that often gets misused because of the way we read it as it is laid out in the English language.  Perhaps you recognize it:

“Don’t let anyone look down on you because you are young.”

As one who has attended many youth events, seminars, workshops, and conferences where this verse (or I should say, this portion of the verse) was used as the cornerstone for teaching and challenging youth to stand up for who they are, I often wonder how many of those teaching even knew what comes next — the rest of the verse!  When we look at the entire verse and the subsequent context, it should be obvious that the oft emphasized beginning is not really the main point Paul is trying to teach Timothy.  Let’s look at the whole thing in context.

“Don’t let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith, and in purity.  Until I come, devote yourself to the public reading of Scripture, to preaching and to teaching.  Do not neglect your gift, which was given you through prophecy when the body of elders laid their hands on you.  Be diligent in these matters; give yourself wholly to them, so that everyone may see your progress.  Watch your life and doctrine closely.  Persevere in them, because if you do, you will save both yourself and your hearers.”  1 Timothy 4:12-16

To me, at least, that passage has an entirely different emphasis than the popular one often taught to young people — an arrogant attitude that says, “I can do what I want and God commands you not to look down on me for it!”  That comes out of the way we often read scripture.  We read until we find a line we like and then we adopt that as our life slogan — never mind what it means in context, who has time to read the whole thing anyhow?  If you read through the entire passage, it should be clear that the emphasis is on your own actions, not on the attitude of others.  I am not suggesting that we change scripture to make me happy, but listen to how I would word verse 12: 

You must set an example for the believers in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith, and in purity so that no one has a reason to look down on you because of your youthfulness.  1 Timothy 4:12 – Tom’s Paraphrase

That is what Paul is getting at.  It is not a command that you somehow force people to not look down on you.  It is instruction on how to live so that no one has an excuse to look down on you.  Those five areas — speech, conduct, love, faith, and purity — are often the main areas that a young person, and a not so young person, will stumble in.  That stumbling does not grant a person the right to look down on you, but it does often give them the excuse to.  When we commit to excelling in those areas, and any other area that exemplifies Christ, then the accusations, put-downs, and disdain have no merit and no reason to stick to us.

When you feel that people look down on you for whatever reason — it doesn’t have to be youthfulness — it is time for a self-examination.  Are you contributing to their attitude about you?  Are you setting an example that is visible in all areas of Christ-likeness?  “Don’t let anyone look down on you” is a great statement if it is used for yourself as a challenge to be an example above reproach.  For me, it is similar to the command, “as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone.”  I think that instruction from Romans 12 and this verse from 1 Timothy are all about how we ought to live and respond to others, not a mandate on how I dictate the attitude they must have toward me.

I pray that your life and my life are lived as an example.  An example that gives no one an excuse to look down on either of us.

by

Follow Me Heart and Soul

I am not a good follower.

That is a hard thing to admit, but it is true.  I have too many questions.  I’ve been described as “needing to have all my ducks in a row” before I act.  I want to calculate all possibilities and be prepared for anything.  I want no surprises that had not been anticipated and thought through.

That is why it is so easy for me to follow God!  Yes, there are times that I have my doubts and can’t see clearly, but I know that nothing catches God by surprise.  I have confidence and faith in His ability to see yesterday, today, and tomorrow with the same degree of clarity.  I have complete trust that if I listen to and obey Him completely, that He has my best interest in mind and each circumstance that I face while in obedience to Him is designed to “prosper not harm” me — even when I don’t see how at the moment.

As I think about this week’s study topic, “God Says I Am An Example”, I have to wonder how I’m doing at instilling that same faith and confidence in others as they watch me.  Do people see me following God so closely that they wouldn’t hesitate to follow me?  Does my leading show the same love, care, and concern for the welfare of others that God’s leading of me shows?

Monday’s text was taken from 1 Samuel 14 where we find the nation of Israel in dire straights.  Israel’s army consisted of 600 men with two swords between them facing the Philistine army who had been oppressing the Israelites for quite some time.  It is at this time that Jonathan, who has one of the two swords, decides something needs to be done.  The cat and mouse game of being teased and destroyed needed to end.

So, Jonathan makes a decision to go over to the enemy outpost and asks his armor-bearer to go with him — an armor-bearer without a sword!  Jonathan’s reasoning is quite simple and full of faith.  “Perhaps the Lord will act in our behalf.  Nothing can hinder the Lord from saving, whether by many or by few.”  This is where it gets hard for me.  It’s one thing for Jonathon to trust God and follow His leading.  It is another thing entirely for the armor-bearer to trust Jonathon and follow his leading.  I would be thinking, “Did you say ‘Perhaps!’?”  But that is just what he does.  I think his response says a lot more than first meets the eye.  He says, “Do all that you have in mind.  I am with you heart and soul.”  The outcome is incredible.  The two of them kill twenty of the enemy and it begins a panic that overcomes the entire Philistine army — “a panic sent by God”.  Victory is won because Jonathon follows God and says to his armor-bearer, “Follow me”.

“I am with you heart and soul” speaks deeply into how Jonathon could say, “Follow me,” and get a positive response from his armor-bearer.  The armor-bearer knew that Jonathon’s heart and soul was pursuing God.  God says that you and I are an example to others.  Our life calls out to people, “follow me”.  What kind of response we get often depends on what kind of life we are living.  I must constantly examine myself and see if I am living a life that “heart and soul” belongs to God.  If I am following Him “heart and soul”, then logic would say that someone following me “heart and soul” would actually be following God “heart and soul” because that is what they are seeing in me.

I am an example!  Am I a good example or bad?  That depends on what I am pursuing with all my heart, mind, soul, and strength.  If that sounds familiar, it should.  God says all of that — all of me — belongs to Him. 

I pray that as you and I live life, our example is pure because it flows from our heart and soul belonging completely to God.

by

All Or Nothing!

This week’s study in the Deer Run “View From The Top: What Does God Say?” series is, “God Says I Am A Lover of God”.

Our texts that we are using for daily reflection and discussion have been great, but here it is Friday and I’ve not yet written about any of them.  If I could blame my schedule, or simply the fact that I am having a hard time re-establishing the habit of writing, it would be easier.  It goes deeper than that.  I’ve sat down at the computer each day as I’ve gone through the daily scriptures and questions, thinking I would write about the truths God revealed to me that day.  Yet, there I sat and nothing was written.

Each day, that question would rise in my mind, “Why haven’t you written?”  I couldn’t answer it.  I’m still not sure.  It may be my inner desire to not write some glib words about loving God simply because that is the study topic this week.  It may be saving me from sounding hypocritical — it’s easy to write about loving God, but am I doing it?  It may be out of an inner wrestling of decision –does God really have all, or does He have nothing?

In the midst of it all, the words of Jesus to Peter, “Do you love me?”, kept standing out in my mind throughout the week.  My answer sounds so Peter-like, “Of course I do!”  And God’s response sounds so Jesus-like, “Then do something about it!” 

Do something!  Do what?

“Feed My lambs.  Take care of my sheep.”

But, I love You!  I don’t particularly like your lambs.  Your sheep — well, they actually scare me.

“So what?  You can’t do the greatest command, love the Lord your God with all your heart, mind, soul, and strength, and not do the second — love your neighbor as yourself.”

And then it hit me.  It’s the all or nothing dilemma.  All is so inclusive and exclusive that it leaves nothing out.  I can’t love God with ALL my heart and still have something else taking part of it.  All doesn’t leave room for other things.  All requires absolutely everything — nothing is left out, excluded, or hidden.

So, what about the sheep?  If I love God with the “all” kind of love, there is nothing left for the sheep?  No.  What is left for the sheep is God’s love in and through us.  That is the second greatest command, “Love your neighbor as yourself.”  It is given in conjunction with the greatest command to Love God with ALL.  When God doesn’t simply have first place, He has the only place in my heart, mind, soul, and strength, then the love required to care for His sheep cannot be mine — mine is all given to God.  It must be His!  It is His love that rejoices, cares, cries, ministers, and serves the people around  me.  It is not even the overflow of my love for Him.  That still all belongs to Him.  It is the overflowing grace and mercy of His love for me that is to be poured into the lives of others.

It is all or nothing.  If I don’t love God with all my heart, mind, soul, and strength, I will not experience the fullness of God’s love to express to my neighbor.  If God doesn’t have the “all” of my love, the sheep get left out because I’m tired, selfish, greedy, uncaring, poor, or busy.  True love — God’s love — can only flow accurately from me and be expressed to others if He is all I love.  If I don’t love God with “all”, then the people around me end up with nothing because personally I’m bankrupt in the love department.

I pray that God has my all and your all.  May we hold nothing back so that His love and His Spirit can completely fill all the rooms, corners, and hidden areas of our life.  I am a lover of God.  God, help me to be a faithful lover of you.

by

What Does Your Work Say?

How would someone observing you describe your work?  More importantly, what would they say about the results of your work?  What are you accomplishing?  What does your work really say?

My guess is that most of you reading this have struggled with these questions and others like them.  We want purpose and meaning out of the things we devote our time to.  For most people, the work they do for a living has a tendency to take up the most significant amount of their time.  But deep down, do we really want our job defining who we are?

I don’t think so!  I mean, my job is directing prayer ministry within an international campus ministry organization and I don’t even want to be defined by that.  It’s not that I pray, or someone changes tires, or someone else teaches school, or raises their family, or whatever else it might be, that holds the real significance.  The real significance comes when we use whatever tasks we face to bring glory and honor to Jesus.

Paul mentions this when he writes to the Thessalonians and lets them know that he is constantly praying for them.  It is their work, labor, and endurance that stand out and get the attention of Paul.  Not so much what they were doing, but what their work said to all who observed.  Paul writes:

“We always thank God for you and continually mention you in our prayers.  We remember before our God and Father your work produced by faith, your labor prompted by love, and your endurance inspired by hope in our Lord Jesus Christ. . . . And so you became a model to all the believers in Macedonia and Achaia.  The Lord’s message rang out from you not only in Macedonia and Achaia — your faith in God has become known everywhere.  Therefore we do not need to say anything about it, for they themselves report what happened when we visited  you.”  (1 Thessalonians 1:3-4,7-9)

The work, labor, and endurance of the Thessalonians became a model for the entire region.  People everywhere could look at them and see how to put into practice the gospel of Jesus that was being preached.  When they turned to God, their lives were transformed and nothing would be the same again.  All it took was watching and listening to them and you would see the change that had taken place and become “infected” yourself.

So how do we experience that kind of a change so that our work , whatever it is, proclaims the transforming power of Jesus?  The key can be found in six words that we are familiar with separately, but rarely consider together.  Work, labor, and endurance are terms we are likely familiar with and don’t really care for or embrace all that willingly.  They are not things that we often rejoice over or long for more of — at least not until they are missing completely from our life. 

Yet Paul takes each of these words and connects it with a word that unlocks the incredible power of transformation.  Faith, love, and hope — words that we are quite familiar with from Paul.  Yet words we rarely connect with work, labor and endurance like Paul does.  The gospel came to the Thessalonians, “not simply with words but also with power” because their work was connected to faith, their labor was connected to love, and their endurance was connected to hope.

What does your work say?  Is your work, labor and love being done with faith, love, and hope in order to unleash the power of the gospel?  I pray that your work and my work says quite loudly that we are workers for God.  May people see our good works and glorify our Father in heaven and say of us, “your faith in God has become known everywhere”.

by

Who Are You Working For?

As you consider the title question, Who Are You Working For, I imagine that a number of answers could probably come to mind.  The natural first thought is, “My employer — the person, company, or entity from which I draw a paycheck.”  Perhaps you even think a little deeper, considering the people that are the reason you work.  Maybe it is a spouse, family, children, parents, or someone that you have a desire to provide for so you would say, “I’m working for them.”  Maybe it is yourself.  Not that you are necessarily self-employed, but you are working so that you can have the things you want.

Sometimes it is easy to miss the Biblical instruction about our work ethic because the writers use language and terminology that our American culture — and much of the world — isn’t intimately familiar with, or we simply avoid considering it.  Paul, for example, consistently addresses how slaves ought to react to their masters and how masters ought to treat their slaves.  It is as if we come to those passages and we just skip over them because we are neither slave or master.  In doing so, we miss some valuable lessons that could be ours if we better understood how the principles being taught apply to each of us today.

For example, Paul’s writing in Colossians 3:22-4:1 begins, “Slaves, obey your earthly masters . . .”.  Instead of skipping over this section until we find something we think applies, why don’t we consider how Paul might have written this part of the letter if he were writing to today’s culture.  Perhaps something like this:

Employees, obey your earthly employers in everything; and do it, not only when their eye is on you and to curry their favor, but with sincerity of heart and reverence for the Lord.  Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human employers, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward.  It is the Lord Christ you are serving.  Those who do wrong will be repaid for their wrongs, and there is no favoritism.  Bosses, provide your employees with what is right and fair, because you know that you also have a Boss in heaven.

Changing a few words so that I can see myself more easily doesn’t change the principles that God wants us to get.  This passage isn’t a Biblical mandate for, or against, slavery.  It is a Spirit breathed teaching on how God wants us to see the work we do.  Even when “forced” to do a task we don’t like, God says to do it with sincerity and reverence for Him.  How often does an employer give instructions that we don’t like and we mutter under our breath and mock our boss the entire time we carry out the task?  That wouldn’t be “sincerity of heart and reverence for the Lord”, would it?  We get sidetracked so easily from the Biblical principle, “whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord”.  What would life be like if Christians everywhere actually lived this principle consistently?  What would your life, and my life, be like if we put this teaching into practice daily?

I can’t help but think of the contrasts I have noticed at a local Taco Bell that I’ve been known to frequent.  I actually hadn’t been to this particular location for quite some time.  It simply had gotten to the point that it wasn’t a pleasant experience.  Oh, the food was good and the customer service was even okay.  I couldn’t stand the fighting that was constant behind the counter and in the kitchen.  If there were any Christians that worked there at the time, it wasn’t obvious.  They definitely hadn’t applied the above verses out of Colossians to their situation at work.  The managers would be yelling at the employees about work needing done and the speed in which it wasn’t being accomplished.  The employees would be yelling back at the managers about anything and everything — it didn’t have to even be work related.  Both sides, when the other would turn away and do something, would mock each other to anyone who would pay attention.  Needless to say, it only took a couple of visits with that going on before I decided I really didn’t need Taco Bell that badly.

I ended up back there a few weeks ago after a six month or so break.  I couldn’t believe the difference!  Everyone was working together — from employee to manager.  The words being spoken between them were words that were helpful and encouraging.  Requests were made of one another and I don’t think I heard any demands.  The normal “standing around, that’s not my job” attitude seemed to be missing.  There was an overall willingness to pitch in and do whatever needed done.  Taking food orders, cleaning, filling orders, taking out trash, or whatever else needed done, simply got done with no complaint.  The shift supervisor?  She’s a Christian creating an atmosphere where everyone is doing their work for God, not for men — whether they know it or not. 

Living out this teaching from Colossians 3 does make a difference.  It is so radically different from the way the world typically operates that it stands out and can’t help but be noticed.

In whatever we do, I pray that you and I would work at it with all our heart, knowing it is the Lord we work for.

by

Resolutions For The New Year

While I’m posting newsletter article reprints, here is one I wrote for the church January 2003 newsletter.  (Okay, I wrote half of it.  Palmer Hartsough wrote the other half.) -tom

Many people have given up on the idea of New Year’s resolutions because they have such great difficulty keeping them.  Others continue the practice of resolving certain things at the beginning of a new year only to quickly forget and fall back into the old habits they were trying to avoid.  Believe it or not, there are actually some people who plan carefully to make changes in their life and keep the resolutions they make.

As I considered the idea of what you and I should resolve to do for the coming year, the words of an old hymn came to mind.  I would like to share these words with you as worthy of our consideration.  May we make these resolutions and keep them throughout our life.

I Am Resolved
(words by Palmer Hartsough, public domain)

  1. “I am resolved no longer to linger, Charmed by the world’s delight; Things that are higher, things that are nobler, These have allured my sight.”
     
  2. “I am resolved to go to the Savior, Leaving my sin and strife; He is the true One, He is the just One, He hath the words of life.”
     
  3. “I am resolved to follow the Savior, Faithful and true each day; Heed what He sayeth, do what He willeth, He is the living way.”
     
  4. “I am resolved to enter the kingdom, Leaving the paths of sin; Friends may oppose me, foes may beset me, Still I will enter in.”

“I will hasten to Him, Hasten so glad and free; Jesus, Greatest, Highest, I will come to Thee.”

May Jesus find you faithful when He returns.

Resolved to serving Christ,

Tom

by

Work That Counts!

I wrote the following as a church newsletter article in March 2002 and previously posted it as “Work That Really Pays!”  The verse is today’s text in our “View From The Top: What Does God Say?” study, so I’ve just copied my old writing here as a reminder.  -tom   

“Therefore, my dear brothers, stand firm.  Let nothing move you.  Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain.”  1 Corinthians 15:58

Does your work make a difference?  Do you ever end the day feeling that all of your efforts were a waste of time?  How often do you wonder what you are really accomplishing in life?

The Bible gives a simply stated solution to living a life that counts.  We find it in many places, including the verse above.  The problem, as in many Biblical truths, comes in the application.  It is easy enough to read a command, “always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord”, but it is a completely different thing to actually live it out each and every day.  We read along in our Bibles and see the word “always” and assume that this must only apply to those who work in full time professional ministry.  However, the context of this verse indicates it is meant for all believers who have the hope and assurance of a ressurection of the dead.  That is the “therefore” part of the verse.  Since death has been defeated and we have the assurance of life eternal with Jesus, we know our work is never in vain when it is the work of the Lord being done.

Teaching, serving, giving, sharing, cleaning, etc., are all things that are very necessary to the work of the Lord continuing within the local church.  The work of the Lord is also done wherever you are when you take seriously the Lord’s command to make disciples.  When you devote your life to making disciples, you truly “lay up for yourself treasure in heaven”.  As you live a life committed to sharing the gospel of Jesus, you will have found work that really pays. 

May God bless your work for Him.