Father,
Thank you for good news of Jesus, thank you for your grace in our lives.
May your work in our lives spur us on to share the good news with others.
May the gracious welcome of Jesus lead us to graciously welcome each other.
May freedom from bondage to sin move us to press on in growing together.
May all that you have done for us draw us to sing and live for your glory.
Amen.
Category: PASSION Reflections
Welcome One Another
Therefore, welcome one another as Christ has welcomed you, for the glory of God.
– Romans 15:7
How has Christ welcomed you? Was it based on your good works that he welcomed you? Was it based on your behavior? Was it based on your performance? No, he welcomed you apart from your works, apart from your behavior, apart from your performance. Indeed, he welcomed you in spite of your works, your behavior, your performance. He died for you while you were still a sinner. He loved you when you were unlovable. He welcomed you by grace, in light of his sacrifice on your behalf.
And we are to welcome each other as Christ welcomed us – apart from their works, their behavior, their performance. Even when they are unlovable, when they don’t measure up to our standards, when they are not perfect. We are to look past their sins that Jesus already paid for and see their righteous standing in Christ. We are to welcome each other as Christ welcomed us – by grace.
But again, how has Christ welcomed you? Was it based on your personality? Was it based on your personal convictions about all kinds of little things? Was it based on your standard of living? Was it based on your level of education? Was it based on your sense of humor? No, of course not – he welcomed you based on his finished work on the cross.
And we are to welcome each other as Christ welcomed us – regardless of our personalities, personal convictions, standards of living, levels of education, or senses of humor. We come together in Christ. The church is not a club for people that are all the same. The church is for very different people coming together in Christ, welcoming each other by grace.
Therefore, welcome one another as Christ has welcomed you, for the glory of God.
10 Reasons We Should Flee Coveting
The tenth commandment forbids coveting. The Bible fleshes out that command by giving us several practical reasons to flee coveting:
1. Life does not consist in the abundance of our possessions – there is more to life than stuff (Luke 12:15).
2. There is great gain in godliness, so we should pursue being godly instead of having more (I Timothy 6:6).
3. Things are temporary – you can’t take them with you when you die (I Timothy 6:7).
4. Only a few things are needful – things like food and clothing. Anything else is extra and unnecessary (I Timothy 6:8).
5. Coveting leads to other temptations that can lead to ruin and destruction (I Timothy 6:9).
6. Coveting has led some to walk away from Christ – they have lost their soul seeking to gain the world (I Timothy 6:10, Matthew 16:26).
7. Riches are uncertain – we should look to God to provide instead of pursuing things (I Timothy 6:17, Hebrews 13:5, Matthew 6:33).
8. Things rot, wear out, rust, break, become obsolete, and can be stolen – we ought to pursue treasures that have a more eternal value (Matthew 6:19-20).
9. Coveting reveals a heart that is caught up in the idolatry of wealth (Matthew 6:21, 24).
10. Everything else is rubbish compared to the surpassing worth of knowing Jesus (Philippians 1:21, 3:8).
Four Good Reasons We Should Speak The Truth
The ninth commandment forbids bearing false witness. The command alone should cause us to commit to speaking the truth. But God gives us at least four more good reasons to speak the truth:
1. God hates lying. Proverb 12:22 tells us that “lying lips are an abomination to the Lord.” God absolutely despises lying, and so we ought to speak the truth.
2. Habitual liars are lost. In Revelation 21:8, liars join murderers, sorcerers, and many other sinners in the lake of fire. A life characterized by lying denies a gospel transformation in one’s life. Liars need salvation.
3. Lying belongs to the old way of life. Colossians 3:9-10 reminds us that we have put off the old self with its sinful practices (including lying) and put on the new self. We have a new life in Christ, and we should act like it.
4. We follow the truth. Jesus is the truth (John 14:6). The Spirit is the Spirit of Truth (John 4:16-17). The Word is the Word of Truth (John 17:17). As we follow Jesus, the Holy Spirit, and God’s Word, we follow the truth. And if we follow the truth, our words should agree with the truth.
Bruised and Fainting
A bruised reed he will not break, and a faintly burning wick he will not quench.
– Isaiah 42:3
This verse about the Servant of the Lord is quoted in Matthew 12 in reference to Jesus.
Jesus will not break a bruised reed.
Jesus will not quench a faintly burning wick.
Jesus came not to break, but to bind up.
Jesus came not to snuff out, but to save.
Jesus came not to harm, but to heal.
Perhaps you are bruised this morning.
You may be bruised by your own sinful actions. Jesus invites you to come to Him and find mercy, forgiveness, cleansing.
You may be bruised by chasing idols that have left you empty, without meaning, without hope. Jesus invites you to come to Him and find a new life with a new meaning and a new hope.
You may be bruised by what others have done. Jesus invites you to come to Him and find refuge, rest, comfort, and peace.
Perhaps you are a faintly burning wick this morning.
Faint and weary, you may be flickering, smoldering – and you are not sure you can go on. Jesus invites you to come to Him and relight your flickering wick in the flame of his fire. He invites you to look to Him to renew your strength.
Are you bruised? Are you faint? Jesus invites you to draw near to Him.
From Stealing To Giving
The Eighth Commandment tells us not to steal. We must not shoplift, take items from work, waste time while on the clock, lie on our expense accounts, or cheat on our taxes. We must not kidnap, embezzle, or commit fraud. We must not cheat on a test or plagiarize someone’s work. We must not rob someone of their reputation, or steal glory from God. We must not steal.
Instead we must work to provide for our needs in an honest way. We must earn what we have. And yet, God calls us to go further. We must work so that we can give to those in need (Ephesians 4:28).
Instead of stealing, our lives are to be marked by giving. Instead of hands that grab what belongs to another, we are to have open hands that share with others. God is a giving God, and we, who are made in his image and are being conformed back into his image, should be a giving people.
Is your life characterized by giving?
Behold Our God In 2015
Perhaps our greatest need as we begin a new year is to behold our God – to be reminded of who he is. Isaiah 41 gives us just the glimpse we need:
Our God Rules Over All (v1-7) – God raised up Cyrus to end the Babylonian empire and usher in the Persian empire so the people of Israel could return to their land. Indeed he rules over each generation that comes along – he is the first and the last. And our God will rule over this year. God has a plan for 2015, and he will fulfill his plan. He has a purpose for your life this year.
Our God Cares About Us and Helps Us (v8-20) – God has chosen his people to be his servants, and he will be with us in 2015. He will strengthen us in our weakness. He will help us in our trials. He will uphold us in our need.
Our God Knows The Future (v21-29) – The gods of the nations cannot tell the future – they are nothing, a delusion, empty wind. But our God predicted the coming of Cyrus about 200 years before he came onto the scene. Our God knows the future. He knows what will happen in 2015. Nothing this year will take him by surprise.
Our God rules over the coming year. He knows what the coming year will bring. He cares about us and will help us this year. So let us set our gaze upon him, and trust him with the 2015.
The God of the Weak
Why do you say, O Jacob, and speak, O Israel,
“My way is hidden from the LORD,
and my right is disregarded by my God”?
– Isaiah 40:27
Have you ever felt like that? Thought that? Said that?
My way is hidden from God. He doesn’t know what is going on? He doesn’t see?
Or worse – my right is disregarded. He doesn’t care.
Ever felt abandoned by God?
Even youths shall faint and be weary,
and young men shall fall exhausted.
– Isaiah 40:30
Ever been faint? Weary? Exhausted?
Physically exhausted by sickness or disease or injury or just old age?
Mentally exhausted with all the things you are trying to keep track of?
Emotionally exhausted by grief or fear or anxiety – distressed, discouraged, depressed?
Or spiritually exhausted by temptations?
God has a word for us who are weak, weary, in need of strength, in need of God.
He calls us to behold our God (v28).
He is the everlasting God. He is the Creator God.
He is the never-tiring God. He is the all-wise God.
He is a great God, and this great God is the God of the weak.
He gives power to the faint,
and to him who has no might he increases strength.
– Isaiah 40:29
He gives power to the weak so that we might renew our strength,
and mount up with wings as eagles, and run and not be weary.
God gives us strength to do what is otherwise humanly impossible,
to overcome giants in our lives by his power,
to press on and endure great hardships in a supernatural way.
Our great God is the God of the weak who stoops down to help us,
to give us a power beyond ourselves.
And this power comes as we wait upon the Lord (v31).
We wait for the Lord with patience, trust, and expectation
that he will give his power to help us in our weakness.
We wait upon the Lord for strength in our sickness, disease, injury, or old age.
We wait upon the Lord for strength when we are overwhelmed.
We wait upon the Lord for strength in our grief, fears, anxieties, and discouragement.
We wait upon the Lord for strength in our temptations.
They who wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength.
Our great God is the God of the weak who gives power to those who wait upon him.
Will you wait upon the Lord today?
Our Shepherd
He will tend his flock like a shepherd;
he will gather the lambs in his arms;
he will carry them in his bosom,
and gently lead those that are with young.
– Isaiah 40:11
God cares for us like a shepherd.
He tends his sheep. He takes care of us. He feeds us – both physically and spiritually. He provides for us – like a parent provides for their child. He prepares a table before us.
He gathers his sheep in his arms and carries us close to him. When we can’t walk on our own, he carries us – close to his heart. He loves us.
And he leads his sheep. Not harshly, but gently. He leads us at the right pace, and to the right place. He leads us beside still waters that we might be refreshed. He leads us in the paths of righteousness – a good path to tread! At times he leads us through valleys, but he is always with us to help us. His rod and staff comfort us.
No matter what you may be facing this Christmas, remember that the Lord is your shepherd, and he will take care of you.
Jesus and Human Sexuality
It is often said that Jesus didn’t say anything about homosexuality. This is wrong on at least two accounts. First, such a statement fails to recognize that Jesus is God, and as God spoke the entire Bible which addresses homosexuality in several places. Second, such a statement misses Jesus’ clear teaching on human sexuality in Matthew 19:
First, God determines our gender. Jesus clearly says that God made us male and female (v4). Our gender is determined by God, and not by our thoughts, feelings, desires, or whims. God, by his act of creation, determines reality, and he creates us genetically and biologically as male or female. To reject his determination is to abandon reality. My gender is not for me to decide. God determines our gender.
Second, God determines the definition of marriage. Jesus takes us back to Genesis, and tells us that marriage is between a man and a woman (v5). Marriage is determined by God, and not by our thoughts, feelings, desires, or whims. Again, God as the Creator determines reality, and he has determined that marriage is between a man and a woman. To reject his determination is to abandon reality. The definition of marriage is not for me to decide. God determines the definition of marriage.
Third, God determines the right context for sex. Jesus teaches that it is within marriage that a man and woman are to have a one flesh sexual relationship (v5). The right context for sex is determined by God, and not by our thoughts, feelings, desires, or whims. God as our Creator determines not only reality, but also morality, and he has determined that sexual activity is to take place within marriage. And so a man and woman who sleep together before marriage, live together, shack up together for a night, or have an affair are committing sexual immorality and sinning against God. Two men or two women who engage in homosexual activity are committing sexual immorality and sinning against God. The right context for sex is not for me to decide. God determines the right context for sex.
Jesus teaches that God determines our gender, the definition of marriage, and the right context for sex. Which leave us with a stark choice: We can reject Jesus’ teaching and God’s determination, and join the rest of our culture in its mass sexual confusion. Or we can follow the teachings of Jesus, embracing both reality and morality. We can throw out the teachings of Jesus and go our own way, or we can follow him. The choice is ours, but we must choose. Let’s not have any nonsense about following Jesus while rejecting his teaching. We must choose.
What will you do with Jesus’ teaching on human sexuality?
Brian J. Mikul 