In the course of some reading this afternoon in preparation for a blog post on Matthew 13, I read the following paragraphs from Capon’s wonderful book The Parables of the Kingdom.
These paragraphs speak to the untidy nature of the parables and strange nature of the God whose Kingdom is spoken of by Jesus. God, as it turns out, turns all of our notions about himself upside down and inside out. We do not get from him what we might expect, and he does not give to us as we might desire. Those who are first are last and those who are last are first.
It is this strange way of grace that keeps us anchored to him. It is his own strangeness that keeps us coming back to his well of grace. We know that even if all else fails, grace will not.
“In the eighteenth chapter of the Gospel of Luke, we find him addressing a group of people who are smugly content in their confidence that they are upstanding citizens—and who are convinced that anyone not exactly like themselves has no chance of making it into God’s guest register. So he tells them the parable of the Pharisee and the Publican. Note not only what an insulting story it is, but also how small the prospects are that his audience will ever be able to get past its details to its point. Far from being an illustrations that shines an understanding they already have on something they haven’t figured out, it is one that is guaranteed to pop every circuit break in their minds.
“God, Jesus informs them, is not the least bit interested in their wonderful lists of moral and religious accomplishments. Imagine the scene for a moment. You can almost hear the reaction forming in their minds: ‘What do you mean, God’s not interested? We have read the Scriptures—with particular attention to the commandments. We happen to know he is absolutely wild about fasting, tithing, and not committing adultery.’ But Jesus ignores them and presses the parable for all it’s worth. Not only is God going to take a dim view of all their high scores in the behaving competition; he is, in fact, going to bestow the gold medal on an out-and-out crook who just waltzes into the temple, stares at his shoelaces, and does nothing more than admit as much” (7).
So you can be reminded of what Jesus said that day and why Capon’s words are so important:
To some who were confident of their own righteousness and looked down on everybody else, Jesus told this parable: “Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. The Pharisee stood up and prayed about himself: ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other men—robbers, evildoers, adulterers—or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week and give a tenth of all I get.”
“But the tax collector stood at a distance. He would not even look up to heaven, but beat his breast and said, ‘God, have mercy on me, a sinner.’
“I tell you that this man, rather than the other, went home justified before God. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.”
The trouble with this parable is in the assumption that we know who Jesus is speaking to (‘those who were confident in their own righteousness’) and the assigning of roles. This is exactly what we must not do with this parable. It’s too easy to do so. It’s too easy to know exactly who is the publican and who is the sinner and the minute we start assigning roles we have ceased being a player (either a publican or a tax-collector) and started being the one who justifies one and not the other (i.e., God). It is only God who justifies and therefore only God who can assign roles.
Jesus didn’t tell this parable to us so that we would take it upon ourselves to assign roles. He told it to us so that we would recognize the grace of God. What is amazing is that the grace of God was available to both the publican and the tax-collector, but one understood it and the other did not. That is, the publican thought he deserved it because of all his righteous acts; the tax-collector did not even though he begged for it on the slim chance that there might be some for him.
Those who are warped by the grace of God get this, sort of. These are the ones who come before God singing ‘nothing in my hands I bring simply to the cross I cling.’ They recognize that they are broke, broken, and full of brokenness. They recognize that before God they are empty and need everything. These ones fall on their faces saying, “God what do you have for me?”
Those untouched by grace do not get it. They are the ones who come before God with a laundry list of their accomplishments and gifts and achievements talking out loud to God and saying, “God what can I give to you?” They have to do this because, as people who have everything already, there is nothing left for God to give them. They don’t need his grace because they don’t want it. They don’t want his grace because they don’t need it.
So God turns upside down and inside out notions of who he is and what his kingdom is like. It’s certainly nothing like we might expect. His is a kingdom where it is far better to be broke than it is to be fixed, far better to be empty than filled, far better to be the sinner than the righteous.
With each passing day, grace becomes more and more alive to those who are willing to cast all of their life on Jesus who can and does what we can’t and won’t. Grace. A sweet word. A sweet sound.
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Father, I have no business coming before you. I have no business asking you for anything. Why would you want me, a disfigured and maimed sacrifice, to come into your Holiness? And yet…and yet…have you not made a way through Christ? Have you not invited me in to worship and pray and commune with you?
I don’t even know if you expect me to recognize that I am one and not the other. In all likelihood, I am the publican. I’d rather come before you with a list of accomplishments than a list of needs. I’d rather brag to you of all I have done than to be like Jesus and cast myself on your grace and cry out, “Give us this day, your will, your name, your kingdom, forgive us, lead us not.” I’d rather tell you about all the right things I did than all the wrong things. I’d rather take the focus off of you and your grace and redirect it to myself. I’d rather you not even look at that fellow over there who is in such obviously bad shape–why look at him and all his misery when you can look at me in all my perfection?
Am I not your type? Help me, by your grace, to see myself for who I am so that I will recognize that I need your grace. And, Father, pour out your grace in abundance. Spare me not, Abba. Spare not a drop, Papa. Spare not a drop.
Forgive me Father. This is all I can ask. Even though I am the Publican and I am, too ,the Tax-Collector. Have mercy on me, Father, a sinner. Nothing in my hands I bring, simply to the cross I cling. Have mercy.
There’s been a lot of noise lately by people who are terribly concerned about the state of the world. Perhaps rightfully so. It does so seem that much about the world is out of whack. A couple of articles demonstrate this point. Please read them entirely as I am only quoting portions. One preacher said it this way:
AN EARTH-SHATTERING CALAMITY IS ABOUT TO HAPPEN. IT IS GOING TO BE SO FRIGHTENING, WE ARE ALL GOING TO TREMBLE – EVEN THE GODLIEST AMONG US.
For ten years I have been warning about a thousand fires coming to New York City. It will engulf the whole megaplex, including areas of New Jersey and Connecticut. Major cities all across America will experience riots and blazing fires-such as we saw in Watts, Los Angeles, years ago.
There will be riots and fires in cities worldwide. There will be looting-including Times Square, New York City. What we are experiencing now is not a recession, not even a depression. We are under God’s wrath. [Dave Wilkerson his emphasis]
Another well respected blogger said it this way:
Oneida, Ky. – We are on the verge – within 10 years – of a major collapse of evangelical Christianity. This breakdown will follow the deterioration of the mainline Protestant world and it will fundamentally alter the religious and cultural environment in the West.
Within two generations, evangelicalism will be a house deserted of half its occupants. (Between 25 and 35 percent of Americans today are Evangelicals.) In the “Protestant” 20th century, Evangelicals flourished. But they will soon be living in a very secular and religiously antagonistic 21st century.
This collapse will herald the arrival of an anti-Christian chapter of the post-Christian West. Intolerance of Christianity will rise to levels many of us have not believed possible in our lifetimes, and public policy will become hostile toward evangelical Christianity, seeing it as the opponent of the common good.
Millions of Evangelicals will quit. Thousands of ministries will end. Christian media will be reduced, if not eliminated. Many Christian schools will go into rapid decline. I’m convinced the grace and mission of God will reach to the ends of the earth. But the end of evangelicalism as we know it is close. [Michael Spencer]
I’m not terribly concerned about the nature of either prediction. Either could happen. Either might not happen. Both could happen. Both could be happening right now. It doesn’t really matter if these things happen or when they happen. What matters is the manner in which we, Christian people, respond to them either way. Every so often things like this happen and people make predictions
These two stories, along with a couple of others I read this week, got me to thinking about Matthew 24-25. I just happened to be reading these two chapters as part of my Lenten discipline. I’ll quote just a bit from Matthew 24 (while encouraging you to read both chapters in their entirety):
As Jesus was sitting on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to him privately. “Tell us,” they said, “when will this happen, and what will be the sign of your coming and of the end of the age?”
Jesus answered: “Watch out that no one deceives you. 5For many will come in my name, claiming, ‘I am the Christ,[a]‘ and will deceive many. 6You will hear of wars and rumors of wars, but see to it that you are not alarmed. Such things must happen, but the end is still to come. 7Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be famines and earthquakes in various places. 8All these are the beginning of birth pains.
“Then you will be handed over to be persecuted and put to death, and you will be hated by all nations because of me. 10At that time many will turn away from the faith and will betray and hate each other, 11and many false prophets will appear and deceive many people. 12Because of the increase of wickedness, the love of most will grow cold, 13but he who stands firm to the end will be saved. 14And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come. Matthew 24-25
The disciples had specifically asked: What will be the signs of the end of the age? I assume it is fair to suggest that they were referring, first and foremost, to the age in which they lived. Thus Jesus’ words would make a lot more sense to them then they would say to us. But this does not mean that these words have no meaning to us or value to us or message to us. Part of what makes Scripture scripture is that it has meaning and is revelatory to every generation that reads it and accepts it as God’s Word to humanity. That’s not all that makes it Scripture, but that is part. So these words must mean something to us too: “Heaven and earth will pass away but my words will never pass away” (24:35) said Jesus. At minimum this must mean something like, “Things will never change and my prophecy about man will always be true regardless of which generation hears it.”
We will always, always, always, be people of war, violence, hatred, and deceit. Jesus’ words will never fail in this regard. His assessment of us and our ways will always be right.
On the other hand, we will also, always, be people who are looking for hope, that glimmer of light, or ray of sunshine. Hence Jesus’ warning that we should be on our guard against all the false prophets and messiah’s who will make their appearance as soon as things start getting rough on earth. We must beware because there will come along people who will have ‘all the answers,’ who will provide that glimmer of hope.
I’d like to take a broad sweep at these two chapters and note briefly four pieces of ‘advice’ that Jesus has for every generation of believers who happens to exist during particularly difficult times on earth. Again, these are broad sweeps and not in any way meant to be comprehensive exegetical masterpieces.
First, covering 24:1-29: Don’t be deceived. This leads me to thing that people will be deceived or at least susceptible to being deceived. He uses words like ‘watch out’, ‘do not be deceived’, ‘do not believe it’, and others. His warning is stern: Don’t fall for it. Believe it or not, there are people who actually might be trying to deceive the elect during such difficult times as these. But it is not just deceit by false prophets and false messiahs that causes us problems. Look, we are liable to deceive one another too. “At that time many will turn from the faith and will betray and hate each other and many false prophets will appear and deceive many people. Because of the increase of wickedness, the love of most will grow cold” (24:10-12). Love? Our love of God? Yes. And our love for one another. That’s what happens when deceit worms its way in and we start growing paranoid about the wickedness in the world and the wars and the famines and the earthquakes. We start to lack faith and we give up loving God and loving one another. We have to guard against the deceit of thinking that we can get by without one another. We have to guard against the deceit of thinking that wickedness will abate if only we despise one another. We have to guard against the deceit of thinking we will be safe or safer just because we turn on one another. Seems to me Paul warned the Corinthian church about this same thing in 1 Corinthians 1. We have to guard against being deceived in a hundred different ways. Why? “For as lightning that comes from th east is visible in the west, so will be the coming of the Son of Man” (24:27). In other words, we guard against being deceived because he is coming back.
Second, covering 24:30-25:13: Pay close attention to yourself, not to the signs that you see around you. If you read carefully through this section of verses, you will note a refrain. It’s not always in the exact same language, but the gist of it is this: “At that time, the Son of Man will appear in the sky.” Then Jesus keeps on harping on this over and over again: “But about that day or hour no one knows…” He keeps stressing this ‘unknown’ factor in his return. He also keeps stressing that those who are waiting for his return had better be paying attention ‘…because you do not know the day your Lord will return.’ And this is how he ends this section in 25:13: “Therefore, keep watch because you do not know the day or the hour.” Over and over. The parable of the ten maids is about this very point. We have enough to worrry about trying to keep ourselves prepared and ready without having to worry about others’ preparedness. The wise servant pays attention. He works diligently because he knows his master will return and he doesn’t want to be caught unawares. The point? We are to be paying attention to ourselves because He will be returning. That is, we are to be looking forward to his return and thus making preparations for that return.
Third, covering 25:14-30: Use whatever opportunities you have been entrusted with to bring honor to the Master who entrusted them. Why? Because, as with the previous two points, he is coming back and will hold us accountable for what we have been entrusted with. We cannot escape this conclusion. The foolish servant who hid his treasure under his tent, in the dirt, did the wrong thing. It appears, at least on a surface reading, that the Master would rather us use what he has given us and fail than to sit on it and preserve it. The person who takes no risks, who ventures nothing, does so why? In order only to preserve himself. This is the person who refuses to live by faith. Jesus here is saying this: Be more concerned with the Master than you are with yourself. The one who merely hides the treasure is a person who loves himself more than his Master. But Jesus is saying that if the times are as perilous as they might appear, this is no time to be sitting on a bag of gold. Use it! Risk it! Put it to work! We shouldn’t be so terrified that the Master will scold us if we lose what he has given us in our efforts to bring glory to His name. It seems, at least on the surface, that there is no patience for those who value their own life more than they value the Master’s honor. You see, the servant’s failure was a direct and clear indication to every one else what he thought of his Master. His opinion was not high. In Kingdom economy, we might say that risk matters far more than preservation. Far too few are willing to sell out all their life for Christ: He who loses his life for my sake will find it; he who saves it will lost it. Worse, this servant blames the Master for his failure. It will be no ones fault but our own when we are rejected for possessing the treasure and not giving it away to the Master’s glory. The servant’s own words were used to condemn him! Scary. So, we must make wise use of what he has entrusted to us because he will return and ask for an accounting.
Fourth, covering 25:31-46: Understand that the manner in which we treat God’s servants is the manner in which we treat God himself. “Truly, I tell you, whatever you did for the one of the least of these brothers or sisters of mind, you did for me” (25:40). This might be hard to grasp, or to accept, but that is what Jesus is saying: If you treat God’s servants poorly, it is unlikely you will treat the Lord any differently. In fact, that is how you are treating the Lord even though you don’t know it: “When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?” If we have rejected those who minister Christ to us in Word and deed, then we have rejected Christ himself: “Truly, I tell you whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me” (25:45). What is more powerful than even this, however, is this: “All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate the people one from another as a shepherd the sheep from the goats. He will put the sheep on his right and the goats on his left.” And this separation is based in large part on the manner in which we received those brothers and sisters of Christ. There is an obligation, on our part, and on the part of the world in general, to recognize Christ coming to us. And why? Because he is coming back to call us to account for the way we received Him. The manner in which we received him the first time, in the form of his servants, is the manner in which he will receive us when he returns.
Concluding Thoughts There are a lot of emerging and converging themes in these two chapters. Admittedly, I haven’t taken much time to dissect details or even explore the historical context. The historical context matters, but frankly, I think it is far more important to translate this into our own day. So, a couple of concluding thoughts.
Look for His Return. It is impossible to read these chapters and conclude that there will not be some dramatic return of the Son of Man. Call it the Second Coming, call it the Kingdom Come, call it the Great and Terrible Day of the Lord. This thought comes up over and over again, but there’s also a hook. Many think we won’t notice his return or that it will be secret. Not at all. Jesus says: You will not mistake any one else’s return for His. That is, when Jesus returns, we will know it. We will see. It won’t be mistaken for a parlor trick or dog and pony show. He will come back, and it will not be pleasant: “At that time the Son of Man will appear in the sky, and all the peoples of the earth will mourn. They will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven, with power and great glory.” No, there will be no mistaking his return and we are right to pay attention and look for it and watch for it.
Live by Faith. It is too easy, far too easy, to get worried and distracted by all the bad news we see every day in the news. This requires little thought, though. How else are the elect called to live but by faith? We will be tempted to take the easy way out and run after false messiahs and listen to false prophets. It will be far too easy to think that others have the answer to what ails the world. But Jesus is quite clear: Don’t look for the answers in false hopes. Look for me. I am all you need. I am your answer. Put your hope and faith in the only real Messiah there is. And to do this, you must live by faith.
Stay Busy. Those who live in expectant hope are not called to a life of laziness and irresponsibility. No. We are called to action. We are called to duty. We are called to be busy doing what he sets before us each minute of each day. Again, here, we see the life of faith lived out in the power of the Faith. He gives treasures and gifts and says use them. Use them to feed the poor. Use them to visit the sick. Use them to bring hope to others. Use them to the Master’s glory. You don’t have a right to sit around being lazy. We are not to be like they were in Noah’s day merely reveling and partying and dancing and whooping it up all day. No. Those in the parable were ‘in the field’ and ‘at the mill.’ In other words, they were working, getting on with life’s business. Thus it is must be.
Consequences for Failure. For some this means being deceived. For some it means growing in hatred and opposition to brothers in faith. For some it means love that grows cold. For some it means a place with the hypocrites, and weeping, and gnashing of teeth. For some it means he doesn’t know them; the door is shut. For some it means being thrown out into the darkness. For some it means eternal punishment. I suppose there are many ways to interpret these things Jesus said. Maybe they are all different ways of describing the same thing. Maybe they are degrees of punishment. I don’t know and I’m not sure it matters. What could be worse than ‘I don’t know you’ coming from God’s mouth to our ear? What could be worse than, ‘Depart from me, you who are cursed, in the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels”? Whatever that means, I don’t want to hear it, not even an echo. I don’t want to hear anyone hear it. At least, we might say there are consequences for our failure to heed these warnings. (Also note who it is each case who delivers the consequences for failure. It is the Master, the Lord, the King, the Bridegroom. It is He we have failed. It is He who is Judge.)
Jesus Cares. Why does he tell us all this stuff? Why does he warn us that the only way we can live is by faith? Why does he warn us of false prophets? Why tell us about false prophets? Why tell us not to get worked up about war, famine, and conflict? Why does he tell us he will be back? Why tell us that we too, like every other generation, can expect life to be tough? Why tell us of rewards and consequences? Why warn against love that grows cold? Could it be that he knew it would be a long time? Could it be that he knew we would grow weary? Could it be that he expects us to encourage one another with these words? Could it be that he cares? And could it be that his goal is to save us from disaster?
We are weak and frail and so easily duped. But we have been warned. We have been told that we are far to prone to failure in the life of faith. Could it be that he is trying to calm us down by telling us in advance what to expect? We cannot change it, he will not stop it. And yet…and yet…we will not only survive, we will be blessed. “But whoever stands firm to the end will be saved. And this gospel will be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come” (24:13-14). Oh, yes. We can expect an end. But we can also expect to live in hope that Christ has not abandoned us to hopelessness.
These chapters make no sense apart from a resurrection point of view.
Prayer Thoughts What can we pray about after reading these passages? There are a few thoughts we can consider.
Christ Minds. We are warned by Peter to be sober. Pray for clear minds and thoughts. Keep your eyes fixed on Jesus warned the author of Hebrews. Pray that our minds will be clear so that we will not be deceived.
Christ Preachers. Pray for those who preach. Pray that their words will be Christ honoring and Gospel filled. Pray the Word of Christ which will not fail will be on their lips.
Christ’s Return. I should certainly think we would want to pray for his soon return. We pray that he will hasten the day and cut short the days of suffering. Also that we have eyes to see and ears to hear. We won’t miss it, but we don’t want to grow weary while we wait.
Christ Wisdom. He has given us gifts and treasures and he expects us to use them. They are still his treasures, but he has given them to us to use for his glory and his reward. Pray for wisdom to know when such opportunities are before us. Pray for wisdom to discern appropriate courses of action.
Christ Perseverance. Again, it will be easy to fail and fall behind. It will be easy to be sidetracked. We need the perseverance of Christ if we are to be standing at the end. Pray for the courage to press on even in the midst of all sorts of world turmoil. Press on toward the mark to which he has called us in Christ.
Christ Strength. He has called us to work and serve. The temptation will be to do things in our own strength and in our own wisdom and in our own power. We pray for his strength to empower us to work and serve and love. We are weak, He is strong. We pray it will be His strength that is exerted through our obedience. Persecution will come when ‘all nations hate us because of Him.’ We need his strength to stand. Pray for his strength, His resurrection power (Ephesians 2), to empower and embolden us.
There’s probably a lot more in these two chapters. This is what struck me tonight as I shared in fellowship with my congregation. I hope this blesses you and encourages your prayer life and your service in Christ’s Kingdom.
This is a re-post from Life Under the Blue Sky, a blog you should visit often. It is part of a longer series of blog posts that will cover the entire letter to the Colossian church. This post deals with prayer and I thought it would work well at the Prayer Journal. I hope to begin updating the prayer journal again with prayer thoughts for your journey. Thanks for stopping by.-jerry
Day 9, Colossians 1:10: A Life that Pleases God!
“And we pray this in order that you may live a life worthy of the Lord and may please him in every way: bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God.”
“Christian living is that which, through the knowledge of God, is constantly bearing fruit and increasing in good deeds. Here, the emphasis is on the essential link between right beliefs and righteous conduct. In the end, false teaching is known by its fruits, or rather lack of them, for observation does not discover a clear link between claims to possess gnosis and actual goodness: whereas an awareness of God’s gracious acts towards us should lead to many gracious acts from us towards others.”—RC Lucas, Colossians, 39
Prayers have a point. We are not merely whispering into the wind and hoping that our prayers land somewhere or near someone. Nor, for that matter, was the apostle content to pray prayers that were the mindless ramblings and incoherent mutterings of someone who has no knowledge of the true God. Everything Paul did was to an end; prayer was no different.
I take the two phrases, ‘live a life worthy of the Lord’ and ‘please him in every way’ to be parallel ways of saying the same thing. I might also say this: How does one please the Lord? How does one live a life worthy of the Lord? Then he goes on: Bearing fruit in every good work and growing in the knowledge of God. Let me take each one at a time.
First, live a life worthy of the Lord. I don’t think this is terribly complicated, but I think we make it terribly complicated. We seem to forget, for some reason, that we are not being asked to do something we have not been empowered to do. In other words: We can live a life worthy of the Lord! We are expected to continue living, but now the manner in which we are living is different. It used to not matter if we lived a life that was worthy of the Lord; we used to have no power to do so. But now things are different: Now we should because we can. We don’t quit living once we find ourselves in Christ. There’s a lot living to be done and those in Christ must do so in a way that is worthy of the Lord. I’ll leave it at that. ‘Worthy’ is a loaded word. Doing something now that was once simply beyond our imagination, capability or desire still strikes fear in many. Nevertheless, as we shall see, the longer we walk with the Lord, the more we know Him, the more we will understand what ‘worthy’ means.
Second, we are to please him in every way. Pleasing. Not only are we living, but we are to be pleasing him also. Here is what Jesus said concerning this: “By myself I can do nothing; I judge only as I hear, and my judgment is just, for I seek not to please myself but him who sent me” (John 5:30). Jesus’ ambition, his goal, was to please the Father who sent Him. I think what this means is that Jesus would never do any such thing that might notplease the Father. This means he was perfectly fair, just, and reasonable. It meant that it pleased the Father for Jesus to die; Jesus died. It meant that Jesus did not seek to go about satisfying his own ambition or desire, but only that of God. It means that Jesus was the first to ‘take up his cross and deny himself.’ Well, I won’t argue with you if you say that it is not always easy to ‘please God in every way.’ On the contrary, we wage war against the flesh because there are pockets of resistance. We still, even after we find ourselves in Christ, want to please ourselves. So he expects us, too, to reflect God’s character too in all that we do. It means the often difficult and terrible work of self-denial. It means that disturbing work of not pleasing the self. It means the complicated work of learning when it is appropriate to do so.
Third, we are to be bearing fruit. The New and Old Testaments are filled with this idea that a good tree will bear good fruit and a bad tree bad fruit. It is also consistent that fruit will be born in some way, and that by our fruit we will be identifiable. The Fruit we bear is a strong indication of our identity and to whom we belong. Jesus expressed it this way in Matthew 7:
“Watch out for false prophets. They come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ferocious wolves. 16By their fruit you will recognize them. Do people pick grapes from thornbushes, or figs from thistles? 17Likewise every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. 18A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, and a bad tree cannot bear good fruit. 19Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. 20Thus, by their fruit you will recognize them.”
I wonder if Paul is making this statement, ‘bearing fruit in every good work’ because it is possible that some Christians might just get lazy and forget that we are called to living, that once we have been raised up from the grave, we are not to find ourselves slumbering therein any longer. If false prophets then are recognized by their fruit, how much more will the Christian be recognized by hers?
Finally, and here is where everything comes together, Paul writes that we are to be growing in the knowledge of God. This growing seems to be the catalyst by which all of our living, pleasing and bearing get their start and get their energy to continue on day after day. Growing in the knowledge of God. Here’s what else Paul wrote about this:
33Oh, the depth of the riches of the wisdom and knowledge of God!
How unsearchable his judgments,
and his paths beyond tracing out!
34″Who has known the mind of the Lord?
Or who has been his counselor?”
35″Who has ever given to God,
that God should repay him?”
36For from him and through him and to him are all things.
To him be the glory forever! Amen.
What better way to live our lives? Living, pleasing, bearing and growing. It sounds like quite a remarkable manifesto for living the Resurrection life, doesn’t it? As we grow in our knowledge of God, won’t our living a life worthy of him become much less complicated? As we grow in our knowledge of God, won’t our pleasing him in every way become far more important? As we grow in our knowledge of Him, won’t our bearing of fruit become far more productive? Yet also, as we do these things—living, pleasing, and bearing—won’t these things lead us to a greater understanding of God?
And these are the things that Paul never stops praying about for the Colossian Christians. It sort of puts a new perspective on the nature of prayer and on what our priorities ought to be during prayer. These things give meaning to our prayer that is far greater than the mere stringing together of words that some prayers are. Here’s what he prayed:
“For this reason, since the day we heard about you, we have not stopped praying for you and asking God to fill you with the knowledge of his will through all spiritual wisdom and understanding.”
Does this, in any way, resemble our prayers? Is this, in any way, the content of our own conversations with the Lord? Perhaps if we find ourselves struggling with living a worthy live, pleasing the Lord, bearing fruit, and growing in knowledge of God—perhaps, it has something to do with the content of our prayers, the intent of our prayers, and the purpose of our prayers. Perhaps the apostle ought to be our guide in these matters.
I feel like it has been forever since I had a meaningful post here. I need to write this morning, but in a non-connected sort of way. I have some rumblings I’d like to share with you from the past week or so.
First, I learned something interesting about ‘church’ this week. Tuesday night I went to visit a young couple who have been worshiping with our congregation. I was feeling rather pleased with myself when the husband said, “I really enjoy your preaching. It really gets deep and feeds me spiritually.” He’s a Catholic and he and his wife have been worshiping at what might be called a ‘PD’ Church and they are in their 20’s. Wow. Then Wednesday morning I went to FCA (Fellowship of Christian Athletes) at the local Middle School where I work. We were doing sort of a survey of the kids and one of the questions was, “So when you think of church, what word comes to mind?” My 7th grade PK spoke up, “Boring.”
I guess that just goes to show that no matter what sort of congregation one has or worships with not everyone will be pleased.
Second, I watched the latest installment of Rambo this week, Rambo. It was an interesting movie. It featured some Christian missionaries who hearts were bigger than their brains and, of course, a lot–I mean a lot–of bullets. Stallone raised some important questions about war, violence, justice, peace, and, I think, Christianity. The film was unbelievably violent. I didn’t know that the human body could be shredded in so many ways (I thought once I had seen “Saw” I had seen it all.) Stallone took it to a ‘whole nover level.’ The film wasn’t the best Rambo I have ever seen: the dialogue was full of cliche, too fast, too predictable. Furthermore, I tend to disagree with the idea that nothing changes–even though I have argued otherwise here and elsewhere in the past. But the violence and horror and blood: Oh, it was glorious!
I guess it just goes to show that no matter what the plot or how bad the dialogue I will tune in to a film where the bad guys get eaten up by .50 caliber machine gun bullets, in a variety of ways, and the hero lives (Oh, and where a once pacifist Christian grows a set and bashes in the head of a child of Babylon).
Third, it has been a long week. Last night, I had a huge ‘family discussion’ with my youngest son, who is in 5th grade, because he just refuses to do his homework. Then his teacher, a 20 something just out of college who knows all about raising recalcitrant and stubborn children and what is the best way to educate them, sends me email informing me of how my son is ’still not turning in his homework’ as if to say, “You freaking moron, why won’t you make your son do his homework. I have been over this with you a hundred times now. Are you dense.” I want to respond to her e-mail, but I let my wife instead. My son simply does not see the point of doing ridiculous math problems where he has to, and I quote, ‘interpret the remainder.’ What does that mean? I can’t blame him; I hate math too. He says, in an all too eerie imitation of his father, “I can add, subtract, multiply, and divide. Why do I need to do story problems?” Oooooohhh. I get it. I really do.
I guess it just goes to show that no matter ‘important’ the work to be done, there will always be someone who refuses to see its value or significance.
Fourth, I can’t pray this week. I don’t know why. I have prayed a little. I have been reading my bible. But I just cannot seem to find the energy to pray. My dad lost his job again. My brother had to be evacuated from his house in CA due to fires. My mother, I am convinced, hates me. I fought with my sons yesterday and hurt my oldest son’s feelings. I go to bed early and can’t get up. My wife and I were getting along and then I snapped at her again this morning. One of the ladies wants me to, get this, hang curtains at the church building this afternoon. What? Is that why I’m around here? Is that what my degree prepared me for? To hang curtains? You’ve got to be kidding me. I can’t pray this week. I’m stuck in a funk. Plus, on top of that, I just finished reading Joshua. And for the first time in my life, the book of Joshua frightened and confused me.
I guess it just goes to show that no matter how much is going right in a person’s life there will always be enough wrong to sap the strength, the joy, and the communion. Rich Mullins said it best, “It’s hard, yes it’s hard. You know it’s hard to be like Jesus.”
Fifth, I’ve been lurking this week; reading; watching; listening. The world of the blog is a complex place. One day I think, “I’m done with blogging.” The next day, I get 200 hits on my blog and change my mind. What amazes me is the depths that people are willing to go to in order to be right. (It was my oldest son who confronted me with this hard truth last night. I won’t tell him, but he was right.) I have trouble living with myself just because I am, so I don’t know how some bloggers live with themselves when their sole purpose in life and writing is to destroy everything that is not of themselves. I have to admit that sometimes I wish I had never started blogging. It’s a terribly depressing place at times. I think I’ll start praying for a worldwide crash of the blogosphere. Nah. I’m too vain for that. Someone said to me the other day, “The problem is that some bloggers are more in love with theology than they are with Jesus.” Gawd, I hope that is never me. I love theology, but not at the expense of The person.
I guess it just goes to show that everything that is a blessing is also a curse. If we find some joy while we are here, perhaps there will be distress from some place else. Thankfully, Jesus can be found.
Sixth, and finally, the world is uh, messed up. I am frustrated because there is so much hate, so much greed, so much violence, so much fear, so much disaster, so much death. Really, this place is too much. I hate it here most of the time and yet I lack the necessary courage to constantly pray ‘maranatha!’ Really, this place needs some serious help because I’m just pessimistic enough to believe that it is not going to get better before it gets worse and with presidential elections looming, taxes likely to go up, the ever-present concern of when the next terrorist strike will come, the growing concern about how all the financial stuff will affect my salary (since it depends upon donations to the church)–well, that and more, my concern about the Steelers winning every Sunday and my disappointment with Jeff Gordon’s terrible, terrible year in NASCAR. Well, the world is messed up and I have just been thinking about whether or not I am doing enough one one hand, and on the other lamenting that I can only do so much, that I feel so helpless.
I guess it just goes to show that the world is in much bigger need of someone much bigger than I to solve the problems that this world is faced with just now. (I also seriously doubt that either presidential candidate is going lessen my anxiety.)
It’s only Thursday. I have band practice and a board meeting tonight. I have a wedding rehearsal tomorrow. I have prayer meeting and a wedding on Saturday. Somewhere in the midst of all this I have to write two sermons. I don’t know if I can write sermons this week. Maybe I’ll just watch some more baseball and hope that the Red Sox get clobbered again. One can dream, can’t he? Happily, on Sunday, I can worship with my friends. In the meantime, I’m glad to know you and happy you stopped by for a visit today. Perhaps some of my angst can touch you and point you to Jesus. I’m sticking with Jesus today. I hope you are too.
“Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.” (1 Peter 5:7)
I think I’m getting back into prayer shape. I hope you will join with me.
This will be my third installment of ‘prayer thoughts’. I’m glad to share them with you and encourage you, if you wish, to leave a thought and share your own. Replies are easily accomplished here at WordPress. This week’s prayer Scriptures came from 1 Samuel, Joshua, Isaiah, and Matthew–all chapter 7s. Pray well, friends.
Invocation: Lord, God, Thous has given me another day, a day to live in Thy service and for the good of my fellow-men. I am indeed a poor tool in Thy hand and deserving to be cast aside. Forgive me all my sins for Jesus’ sake, and by Thy Spirit grant me the fitness to work for Thee this day. I beseech Thee to make me mindful, dear Lord, that I am but a stranger and a pilgrim in this world. Let me not devote my efforts today to purposes that are unworthy; let me not merely gather treasures for this world; let me not serve Mammon. This life is but a vain show; let me not search for an abiding city here. But, Lord, fasten my heart and hope on the life that is in Thee and let my striving and my desires be directed to the treasures of Thy love. As long as I am in the land of my pilgrimage, hold Thou my hand; keep me from every false path. If I should stumble in sinful weakness, grant me repentance and faith. For Jesus’ sake. Amen. (From Lutheran Book of Prayer, prayer for Wednesday Morning, page 31, Concordia Publishing House, 4th ed. 1941)
Adoration
2 Samuel 7:1-29 The hardest thing about this passage is that God told David ‘no.’ David wants to build a ‘house’ for God—that is, a temple. First Nathan tells David to go ahead; then Nathan has to go back and tell David ‘no.’ I imagine this was difficult for the prophet. It’s almost like Nathan didn’t really feel like dealing with this issue so he just presumed upon the Lord and told David to do whatever he wanted. God rebuked Nathan in a dream and he had to go back to David the next day. But the thing that is most difficult is that God told David ‘no.’ The answer to David’s prayer was ‘no.’ The movement of David’s heart was stilled when the Lord told David, through the prophet, that someone else would have the honor of building His house. Instead, in a great ironic twist, the Lord tells David, “The Lord declares to you that the Lord himself will establish a house for you” (v 11). Kind of makes one wonder what is more important, doesn’t it? Is it more important for us to build a house for God or for God to build a house for us? (See Psalm 127; 1 Peter 2). I also found interesting the comment in verse 18: “Then King David went in and sat before the Lord, and he said.” I wondered: “where did David go in to?” What about his posture? Does this in any way relate to what the Hebrew writer wrote, “ Let us then approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we might receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.” The short and long of this is that David was told ‘no’ by God, and yet David’s response was one of worship. The question for our prayers is thus: How do we respond when God tells us ‘no’? (I will explore this a little more deeply when I write about last week’s prayer thoughts from Psalm 40.)
Confession
Joshua 7:1-26 This is another troubling story because it just doesn’t seem to fit well with our modern sensibilities: why was Achan’s entire family destroyed when it was, apparently, only Achan who sinned? Worse, perhaps, is that author begins this way, ‘But the Israelites were unfaithful in regard to the devoted things’ (things under the ban, 7:1). The Lord’s anger burned against the people who, with the very tiny exception of Achan, had no idea why they were being punished, why God was angry, or even that God was angry. First, however, is that Joshua confessed, and the Lord rebukes Joshua essentially saying, “This is not a time for confession or repentance; that time has passed. Get up!” It was time to root out the sin from Israel. I find it amazing that Achan hid the things under his tent—as if he were trying to lay a new foundation for his family built on the banned wealth of the heathen. Not only that, but Achan was trying to keep all this a secret, hidden. I wonder if things would have gone differently for Achan if Achan had confessed. I can’t believe that Achan didn’t feel the heat after Joshua announced that Israel would present themselves the next day. He had to tell the people, “Go, consecrate yourselves in preparation for tomorrow; for this is what the Lord, the God of Israel says, ‘There are devoted things among you, Israel. You cannot stand against your enemies unless you remove them.” I think Achan had a chance—and he did not take the opportunity to do what was right. Even the next day he had every opportunity: Tribe by tribe, clan by clan, family by family, man by man. He made all those people go through this project and, I suspect, confessed only because he was caught at the end. I think he showed disdain for the Lord’s Word by refusing to come forward sooner. His sin was not just coveting, but also idolatry and disdain for the Lord. Confession is a significant aspect of our prayer life both positively and negatively. The short and long of this is is simply this: We may hide our sin for a while, but it will eventually be revealed.
Thanksgiving
Isaiah 7:1-17 Key to these verses is verse 9: “If you will not stand firm in your faith, you will not stand at all.” But this was not the way of Ahaz. Ahaz demonstrates that he did not want the Lord’s deliverance. He did not want the protection of God, so he rejected the Lord; he disobeyed. The Lord told him to ask for a sign and Ahaz steadfastly refused and, thus, announced his own rebellion against the Lord. The fearless king was a shaking man. The Lord promised deliverance, but Ahaz did not believe the word of the Lord nor did he take YHWH at His word. What is worse than rejecting the word of the Lord? How many times have any of us prayed for the Lord to give us a sign of his will, his intentions, his desires only to be rejected? Here is Ahaz—with the power to ask for anything he wants and he rejects the opportunity to see the Lord’s deliverance. So that is how Ahaz thanked God. I wonder: How do we thank God when he promises deliverance? Did Ahaz not hear: The Lord had promised a Deliverer! A Deliverer! And Ahaz could only reject the Lord’s offer and the Lord’s word and the Lord’s command. But in typical the Lord type fashion this Deliverer will be nothing like what anyone of them expected: A child, the Deliverer would be. The Lord will deliver Israel with a child?! It’s rather absurd—but this boy will be a sign of the Lord’s Deliverance: “God is with us.” We can be thankful that ultimately it is Jesus of Nazareth who is Immanuel. Ahaz may have seen a temporary deliverance, but the prophecy here fully anticipates a fuller, more complete deliverance. The New Testament declares that it is in Jesus that this is true. So we walk by faith even though things may seem a bit upside down and backward and less than encouraging. We can be thankful that God has asked us to walk in faith instead of in strength. In strength we would surely fail; in faith we surely fail, but in faith we stand because there is no other way to stand. We are thankful for God’s deliverer.
Supplication
Matthew 7:1-29 So we are not to judge or at least we are to be generous in the way we judge. That is, careful; gracious. It has been pointed out elsewhere that even the generous must decide who the ‘pigs’ are when we are sowing pearls. Discerning, yes; overly judgmental and haughty, no. We must, before we discern, judge ourselves. We must be harder on ourselves than we are on others. In a sense we must be our own worst critic. I ere on the side of caution here, or at least I try. Perhaps Paul’s dictum would suit all of us well: “It is the Lord who judges me. Therefore judge nothing before the appointed time; wait till the Lord comes. He will bring to light what is hidden in darkness and will expose the motives of people’s hearts. At that time each will receive their praise from God” (1 Cor 4:4b-5). Yet, still we pray that God strengthen us and enable us to discern the ones before whom we should and should not cast our pearls. Verse 12 says: “In everything do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets.” Well, what would we have others to do us? Would we have them judge us, reject us, turn us away? Or would we have others love us? Interestingly enough Jesus says that this ‘golden rule’ sums up the Law and the Prophets and yet later he also says that to Love the Lord our God with all our heart and with all your soul and with all your mind…and to love our neighbor as ourselves, these also sum up the Law and the Prophets: “All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commands” (22:37-40) So we pray: Lord help us to be ones who fulfill the Law and Prophets in perfect Love: Love for you, love for others. There must be a connection between these two verses (7:12 & 22:40) that is deeper than mere coincidence. How shall we fulfill these thing? How shall we love? Lord help us love! But Jesus goes on, too, and says that we should be mindful of the road we are traveling. It is a narrow road we travel, one that we could easily fall off of if we are not careful to mind our own steps. He says we should be mindful of those who are false prophets: By their fruit you will recognize them. He doesn’t say that we should go around pointing them out to others; he says by their fruit we ourselves will be warned and we should take precautions. We should pay attention, yes, but it seems that we are to be mindful of our own walk and our own salvation lest we get sidetracked. So we pray: Lord help us to be discerning about who we follow. Give us eyes to see and ears to hear because indeed, as Jesus said, there will be many who are not true. Finally, we end right back where we started: House building. The Lord told David, “I will build your house.” Now here Jesus warns us about the foundation of the house we will build, “Don’t be stupid. Don’t build on a bad foundation. If you build on my word, you will have a house built by the Lord. If you don’t, your house cannot possibly stand.” So we pray: Lord may we be attentive to your Word. Lord, we pray that you build our house according to your plans and your blueprints. Incline our hearts to your Word. We bless you, our Father.
Benediction: Lord we bless you and thank you for you Word which builds our house, narrows our walk, promises us a Deliverer, searches us and reveals our secrets, teaches us how to worship. Lord, teach us to love like you.
I am happy to bring you my second podcast. This is part 1 of a six part series from the Old Testament book of Leviticus. The six parts come from a sermon I did about two years ago. Part 1 is the introductory material. The sound isn’t too bad considering I do not have professional equipment. This episode is 10 minutes and 45 seconds long. Don’t forget to leave feedback after you have listened and you can use the button below to subscribe to this and future podcasts from Life Under the Blue Sky. Thanks for stopping by. (You can use the link above to open in a new window, or you can use the inline player below.)
