Evidently Gentleness Should Be Evident! - Ruminating in the Word of God

The Lord is awe-inspiring, fearsome, fascinating, intriguing, majestic, and full of splendor: breathtaking! Here is what I saw of him today and what came to my heart and mind in Philippians 4:5,

"Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near."

Paul asked his Philippian readers to ensure their gentleness be evident, observable, on display to all, to everybody.

I learn from the dictionary that to be gentle is to be free from harshness, sternness, abrasiveness. Softness and a delicate touch come to play with gentleness. Kind and amiable, while the opposite is to be rough, harsh, stern.

A gentle person is a sympathetic and helpful person with a forbearing nature, a thoughtful person. We all like to be around gentle and kind people. Unfortunately, many of us struggle to find that disposition within us at times. Nevertheless, Paul, as Jesus' emissary, instructs us to make sure our lives display just that very thing.

Paul had a wonderful admonition to the Colossian fellowship, "Therefore, as God's chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity." Colossians 3:12:14.

So where do we go to find the inner capacity to cultivate this golden trait in our lives? We read in Galatians 5:22-26, "But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit. Let us not become conceited, provoking and envying each other."

How often we see those who should be modeling a disposition of gentleness and kindness displaying something  else when they critique others for their failures or, say for instance, their lack of appreciation for the theology they subscribe to. Yes, there is a place for firmness, for standing for the truths of God's word, for opposing the sinful acts of people.

Here is a thought: can we be firm, stand for truth, oppose the sinful acts of people while having a gentle and kind heart? Is that something we can still display as we go out on our crusades to straighten everyone else out?

Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share what moved you about him from your Bible reading today. I'd love to hear from you!

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Home Is Where the Heart Is - Ruminating in the Word of God

The Lord is awe-inspiring, fearsome, fascinating, intriguing, majestic, and full of splendor: breathtaking! Here is what I saw of him today and what came to my heart and mind in Philippians 3:20-21,

"Our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ, who, by the power that enables him to bring everything under his control, will transform our lowly bodies so that they will be like his glorious body."

Next month we are headed out for a vacation (at least that is the plan). When we get to where we are going, we will enjoy where we are at: rest, relaxation, recreation. At the end of our vacation we will be returning home. As I think about it, I have always looked forward to returning home after I have visited somewhere. Home is where family is, home is where I order the things of my life, home is also a comfortable location where I can rest, relax and recreate as well. It is also a great vantage point where I can initiate new ideas, new projects, new opportunities to pursue.

Paul speaks of a home we believers look forward to that is different from the one we enjoy here in this life. Not only is it a different geographic location, it is also a different spiritual location, a different dimensional location, a location where I will not be residing in the body I have here in this life. I will have a resurrected body, a glorious body transformed from the "lowly body" I currently am "housed" in.

Paul talks about this reality as a citizenship we have in heaven. There is our permanent home, our eternal home, the home we as the children of God are destined for. It is where our Savior, Jesus Christ, will be coming from when he comes for us.

The writer of Hebrews also speaks about this as he recounts heroes of the faith. "All these people were still living by faith when they died. They did not receive the things promised; they only saw them and welcomed them from a distance, admitting that they were foreigners and strangers on earth. People who say such things show that they are looking for a country of their own. If they had been thinking of the country they had left, they would have had opportunity to return. Instead, they were longing for a better country—a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared a city for them." Hebrews 11:13-16.

Home really is where the heart is, isn't it?

Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share what moved you about him from your Bible reading today. I'd love to hear from you!

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The Interests of Others - Ruminating in the Word of God

The Lord is awe-inspiring, fearsome, fascinating, intriguing, majestic, and full of splendor: breathtaking! Here is what I saw of him today and what came to my heart and mind in Philippians 2:20-21,

"I have no one else like him [Timothy], who will show genuine concern for your welfare. For everyone looks out for their own interests, not those of Jesus Christ."

Paul makes a startling observation about his team. He says he had no one else like Timothy. Timothy will show "genuine concern for your welfare." Apparently, not so much for the others. In light of that and although he was sending one of their own back to them, Epaphroditus, he hoped he would be able to send Timothy to the Philippian church soon.

Timothy modeled in his own life something that was important to Paul and expressed in this letter to the church in Philippi. He desired this fellowship to work and play together well. To avoid factions and dissensions. "Whatever happens, conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ. Then, whether I come and see you or only hear about you in my absence, I will know that you stand firm in the one Spirit, striving together as one for the faith of the gospel without being frightened in any way by those who oppose you." Philippians 1:27-28a. "Striving together as one... "

Paul also said to them, "make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and of one mind. Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others." Philippians 2:2-4. He also had a message to two individuals in the fellowship, "I plead with Euodia and I plead with Syntyche to be of the same mind in the Lord." Philippians 4:2.

Timothy had genuine concern for the welfare of the fellowship. 

"Stand firm in the one Spirit, striving together as one". 

Be "like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and of one mind." 

"In humility value others above yourselves" 

Look to the "interests of the others." 

Be "of the same mind in the Lord."

I think I see a pattern there, how about you? How can I model this outlook in my own life today?

Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share what moved you about him from your Bible reading today. I'd love to hear from you!

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We All Have Things To Do - Ruminating in the Word of God

The Lord is awe-inspiring, fearsome, fascinating, intriguing, majestic, and full of splendor: breathtaking! Here is what I saw of him today and what came to my heart and mind in Philippians 1:15-16,

"It is true that some preach Christ out of envy and rivalry, but others out of goodwill. The latter do so out of love, knowing that I am put here for the defense of the gospel."

Paul mentioned his imprisonment to his Philippian readers. He says what he has gone through "actually served to advance the gospel." Verse 12. In the verses above he pointed out that he was put where he was "for the defense of the gospel." As an apostle, Paul served the Lord in a variety of ways.

Paul is not the only believer who has been given things to do, things to accomplish for the sake of the gospel. The redemption of mankind is God's own declared agenda for himself and he has invited all us believers to share in the work, just like Paul did. So we find a number of places in Scripture that speak to this.

One place is 1 Peter 4:10, "Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others, as faithful stewards of God's grace in its various forms." Another is found in Romans 12:6-8, "We have different gifts, according to the grace given to each of us. If your gift is prophesying, then prophesy in accordance with your faith; if it is serving, then serve; if it is teaching, then teach; if it is to encourage, then give encouragement; if it is giving, then give generously; if it is to lead, do it diligently; if it is to show mercy, do it cheerfully."

The Lord has given us his Spirit who enables us to serve him. All of us believers have been gifted by God for his purposes, in order that we may join in his work of his redemption of mankind. This is how we find meaning, purpose, fulfillment and satisfaction in our lives as believers.

How has God gifted me? Where does God want me? What is it he wants me to be doing? How can I participate in his redemption of mankind?

Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share what moved you about him from your Bible reading today. I'd love to hear from you!

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Paul and Slavery - Ruminating in the Word of God

The Lord is awe-inspiring, fearsome, fascinating, intriguing,
majestic, and full of splendor: breathtaking! Here is what I saw of
him today and what came to my heart and mind in Ephesians 6:5-9,

"Slaves, obey your earthly masters with respect and fear, and with
sincerity of heart, just as you would obey Christ. Obey them not only
to win their favor when their eye is on you, but as slaves of Christ,
doing the will of God from your heart. Serve wholeheartedly, as if you
were serving the Lord, not people, because you know that the Lord will
reward each one for whatever good they do, whether they are slave or
free. And masters, treat your slaves in the same way. Do not threaten
them, since you know that he who is both their Master and yours is in
heaven, and there is no favoritism with him."

If we can get past the rotten obsession with how bad America is
because of slavery that was present at its founding (it was Christian
America and England that led the rest of the world to bring slavery to
an end as an accepted practice), there is a history of slavery
worldwide we can learn of. Here is an interesting tidbit from
Wikepedia in its article of the history of slavery:

"Evidences of slavery predate written records; the practice has
existed in many—if not most—cultures. Mass slavery requires economic
surpluses and a high population density to be viable. Because of this,
the practice of slavery would have only proliferated after the
invention of agriculture during the Neolithic Revolution, about 11,000
years ago. Slavery occurred in civilizations as old as Sumer, as well
as in almost every other ancient civilization, including ancient
Egypt, ancient China, the Akkadian Empire, Assyria, Babylonia, Persia,
ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Greece, ancient India, the Roman
Empire, the Arab Islamic Caliphate and Sultanate, Nubia and the
pre-Columbian civilizations of the Americas. Ancient slavery consists
of a mixture of debt-slavery, punishment for crime, prisoners of war,
child abandonment, and children born to slaves."

Slavery was a part of the real world the apostle Paul took his gospel
message to. Unlike those who prefer to remain ignorant of Paul, and
the New Testament, and the gospel message of the Son of God, it should
be noted Paul is not endorsing slavery here in this passage. What he
is addressing is how the message of the gospel is to be carried and
lived out among those who embrace the Lord in faith in a world that
practiced slavery.

Paul's mission was not to recreate the world and its system into some
kind of idylic utopian fantasy. His was a mission to bring the message
of freedom from slavery to sin and God's impending judgment. His
message was Jesus Christ and the freedom we have in him. "But thanks
be to God that, though you used to be slaves to sin, you have come to
obey from your heart the pattern of teaching that has now claimed your
allegiance. You have been set free from sin and have become slaves to
righteousness." Romans 6:17-18.

Those who attempt to discredit Paul and the Scriptures are simply
grasping for any reason to reject Jesus Christ. Paul provided
direction on how to live out a redeemed life in the real world that
existed at the time. His focus was on anything believers could
possibly do to promote the gospel message. On the contrary, Paul says,
"There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is
there male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus." Galatians
3:28.

To criticize Paul for not condemning slavery is a preference to remain
ignorant of Paul and his message. Listen to what he says about the
slave traders, "We know that the law is good if one uses it properly.
We also know that the law is made not for the righteous but for
lawbreakers and rebels, the ungodly and sinful, the unholy and
irreligious, for those who kill their fathers or mothers, for
murderers, for the sexually immoral, for those practicing
homosexuality, for slave traders and liars and perjurers—and for
whatever else is contrary to the sound doctrine that conforms to the
gospel concerning the glory of the blessed God, which he entrusted to
me." 1 Timothy 1:8-11.

Here is Paul's message to his enslaved readers, "Were you a slave when
you were called? Don't let it trouble you—although if you can gain
your freedom, do so. For the one who was a slave when called to faith
in the Lord is the Lord's freed person; similarly, the one who was
free when called is Christ's slave. You were bought at a price; do not
become slaves of human beings."

I might add we should not become slaves to intentionally mistaken
notions about Paul and slavery.

Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share
what moved you about him from your Bible reading today. I'd love to
hear from you!

If you have someone you would like to receive these ruminations, send
me their email address. I'm happy to add them to the list. If you are
receiving this and would like to be removed from the list, just reply
and let me know.

Lifestyle Changes - Ruminating in the Word of God

The Lord is awe-inspiring, fearsome, fascinating, intriguing, majestic, and full of splendor: breathtaking! Here is what I saw of him today and what came to my heart and mind in Ephesians 5:3-5,

"Among you there must not be even a hint of sexual immorality, or of any kind of impurity, or of greed, because these are improper for God's holy people. Nor should there be obscenity, foolish talk or coarse joking, which are out of place, but rather thanksgiving. For of this you can be sure: No immoral, impure or greedy person—such a person is an idolater—has any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God."

Paul describes lifestyle choices in this passage that identify an "immoral, impure or greedy person" and then makes a rather pointed statement, that no such person "has any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God."

He makes a very similar statement in 1 Corinthians 6:9-10, "do you not know that wrongdoers will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: Neither the sexually immoral nor idolaters nor adulterers nor men who have sex with men nor thieves nor the greedy nor drunkards nor slanderers nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God."

I don't see much gray in these two passages. The Holy Spirit, who directed Paul to write these things, is quite the "black and whiter", isn't he?

What comes next in that 1 Corinthians 6 passage, however, could not be more uplifting, bringing so much hope to someone like me. "And that is what some of you were. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God." 1 Corinthians 6:11.

The hope of mankind! The hope I cling to is that as an immoral, impure or greedy person, I have been cleansed from my sin! I have been washed, sanctified and justified!

Paul points out that as a changed person, a regenerated person, our lifestyle choices are impacted by the new life within us. We can no longer live as we used to before we met Jesus Christ. Our new life in Christ will be manifested in how we live our lives.

John puts it this way, "No one who is born of God will continue to sin, because God's seed remains in them; they cannot go on sinning, because they have been born of God. This is how we know who the children of God are and who the children of the devil are: Anyone who does not do what is right is not God's child, nor is anyone who does not love their brother and sister." 1 John 3:9-10.

John is not saying we are incapable of sinning as believers in Jesus Christ, but he is saying we cannot continue to live a lifestyle of sin, just as Paul spoke in Ephesians 5:3-5 and 1 Corinthians 6:9-10. Earlier in his letter John said, "My dear children, I write this to you so that you will not sin. But if anybody does sin, we have an advocate with the Father—Jesus Christ, the Righteous One. He is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only for ours but also for the sins of the whole world." 1 John 2:1-2.

How wonderful is that?!

Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share what moved you about him from your Bible reading today. I'd love to hear from you!

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Living Our Lives Worthy Of The Lord's Invitation To Us - Ruminating in the Word of God

The Lord is awe-inspiring, fearsome, fascinating, intriguing, majestic, and full of splendor: breathtaking! Here is what I saw of him today and what came to my heart and mind in Ephesians 4:1,

"As a prisoner for the Lord, then, I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received."

For those of us who have any sense at all, we want to live our lives pleasing to our Creator. After all, we are only in this life 70 or 80 years or so, shorter for some, longer for others, and then we are off to the next phase of life: eternal life or eternal death. 

The foolish, those who cherish their sin more than their Creator, those given to immediate gratification of what they might find appealing for sensuality's sake, reject God. Their place will be in a fiery lake of burning sulfur, see Revelation 21:8. Of them, Jesus said, "This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but people loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil. Everyone who does evil hates the light, and will not come into the light for fear that their deeds will be exposed." John 3:19-20.

However, for those of us who care, for those of us who have any lick of sense, we turn to our Creator in this life, we embrace Jesus Christ as the only way into God's family with a wonderful inheritance that awaits us. Consequently, we desire to live our lives in a manner pleasing to him. We put off, we shun, the pleasures of this life as we attempt to live our lives worthy of the calling, the invitation, we have received and responded to.

As members of God's household of faith we emulate the heroes of faith we read of in Hebrews 11:13-16, "All these people were still living by faith when they died. They did not receive the things promised; they only saw them and welcomed them from a distance, admitting that they were foreigners and strangers on earth. People who say such things show that they are looking for a country of their own. If they had been thinking of the country they had left, they would have had opportunity to return. Instead, they were longing for a better country—a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared a city for them."

Living our lives in a manner worthy of what God has freely given us, a righteous standing before him, is different from earning it. It is because he has already given us this place in his family, it is appropriate we reflect our gratitude by living our lives in a manner worthy of it.

This chapter is rich with direction from Paul on how we can do just that.

Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share what moved you about him from your Bible reading today. I'd love to hear from you!

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The Fullness Of God In Us! - Ruminating in the Word of God

The Lord is awe-inspiring, fearsome, fascinating, intriguing, majestic, and full of splendor: breathtaking! Here is what I saw of him today and what came to my heart and mind in Ephesians 3:16-19,

"I pray that out of his [the Father's] glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the Lord's holy people, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God."

Here Paul speaks of a fullness of God that we may be filled with, right here in this life. This fullness does not appear to be automatic in our new life in Jesus Christ but available through being rooted and established in love, which brings power with it, a power that helps expand our knowledge and understanding of the full dimension of the love Jesus Christ has for us. As we know and experience this love (and, yet, Paul says this love surpasses knowledge!) it makes this fullness of God possible within us.

Far from either a passing knowledge of Jesus Christ in his love for us, or the dusty stuff of the theologian's parsing, this fullness becomes an existential reality for those who apply themselves through prayer for grasping the full dimension of the love of Jesus Christ.

Going to the right church can't bring it to us. Our pastor can't give it to us. We can't get it from our parents or friends or siblings. We have to go before the Lord in prayer. Paul prayed for these believers to have this fullness. Perhaps we can go before the Lord in prayer, both for ourselves and those we care for. Paul did.

May we all strive for the measure of all the fullness of God within us!

Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share what moved you about him from your Bible reading today. I'd love to hear from you!

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Predestined By God- Ruminating in the Word of God

The Lord is awe-inspiring, fearsome, fascinating, intriguing, majestic, and full of splendor: breathtaking! Here is what I saw of him today and what came to my heart and mind in Ephesians 2:10,

"For we are God's handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do."

Do you believe in predestination? I do. Not in the way "reformed theology" views it, but in the fact that God has predestined all kinds of things throughout the history of mankind.

Look at the verse above. God prepared good works for us, as believers, to do in advance. In other words, God has predestined us believers, now that we are his children and hold a place in his family, to do good works while in this world, and not to just sit on our hands on Sunday mornings in church.

This is the very thing Paul speaks of in Romans 8:29, "For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters." Some misunderstand this, that Paul speaks of individuals being "predestined" to salvation. But a careful reading of the text and an understanding of Paul's flow of thought in Romans is helpful in realizing Paul speaks there of those that God foreknew that would be saved, that he predestined them to be changed from within by the Holy Spirit, conforming them to the likeness of Jesus Christ. Our change into the likeness of Jesus Christ is a part of the "good works" Paul speaks of in Ephesians 2:10.

When we receive Jesus Christ in faith, our new life begins. It is designed by God to be an expansive and ever-growing new life as we mature spiritually. With the presence of the Holy Spirit now within us, new character qualities begin to emerge, a process Paul calls the "fruit of the Spirit." We find we become enabled with abilities to carry out a part of God's redemptive plan he has provided for us, "gifts of the Holy Spirit." Peter says, "Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others, as faithful stewards of God's grace in its various forms." 1 Peter 4:10.

Our life in Jesus Christ is to be expansive, effusive, blossoming and blooming. God has predestined us for this!

Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share what moved you about him from your Bible reading today. I'd love to hear from you!

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A Remarkable Love for Other Believers - Ruminating in the Word of God

The Lord is awe-inspiring, fearsome, fascinating, intriguing, majestic, and full of splendor: breathtaking! Here is what I saw of him today and what came to my heart and mind in Ephesians 1:13-19a,

"And you also were included in Christ when you heard the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation. When you believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God's possession—to the praise of his glory. For this reason, ever since I heard about your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for all God's people, I have not stopped giving thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers. I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know him better. I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in his holy people, and his incomparably great power for us who believe."

There is so much in this passage that is amazing. Here Paul speaks of the embrace of the gospel message by these Ephesian believers. How they were now sealed by the Holy Spirit, the very same thing that has happened to us believers today.

What captures my eye this morning is the excitement Paul had for these believers. He says that since he had heard about their faith in Jesus Christ, he had not stopped thanking God, and that he always remembered them in his prayers. As a result he continued to pray for wonderful things for them. Paul had an unbounded love for these believers! He also speaks of their love "for all God's people."

Paul, full of the Holy Spirit in his heart, truly had a love for others. That love is found in so many expressions in his writings. I also have to think that a part of the love he had for other believers is that as the church grew, Paul rejoiced in his heart over the fulfillment of God's redemptive purposes. Paul really loved what God was doing in the hearts and lives of others.

As I think about Paul, and the love of these Ephesian believers, it causes me to think about my own outlook toward other believers today. Do I cherish my brothers and sisters in Christ? Does it drive me to pray continually for them, asking God for the wonderful things in their lives that the Holy Spirit can bring?

Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share what moved you about him from your Bible reading today. I'd love to hear from you!

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Reaping What Is Sown - Ruminating in the Word of God

The Lord is awe-inspiring, fearsome, fascinating, intriguing, majestic, and full of splendor: breathtaking! Here is what I saw of him today and what came to my heart and mind in Galatians 6:7-9,

"Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows. Whoever sows to please their flesh, from the flesh will reap destruction; whoever sows to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life. Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up."

Here Paul provides a sobering opportunity for reflection. In the previous chapter he called attention to what the acts of the flesh look like, as well as the fruit of the Holy Spirit. Here he says that sowing to please the flesh, the sinful nature, will reap destruction for an individual. On the other hand, sowing to please the Holy Spirit reaps eternal life. This isn't about earning salvation. It is an axiom: what a person does reflects what he is.

Many can start off with a confession of faith, but the fruit of a person's life over time tells the tale as to whether that confession of faith was genuine or not. In Romans 8:12-13 we read, "Therefore, brothers and sisters, we have an obligation—but it is not to the flesh, to live according to it. For if you live according to the flesh, you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the misdeeds of the body, you will live." In verses 5-8 he gives the reason why: "Those who live according to the flesh have their minds set on what the flesh desires; but those who live in accordance with the Spirit have their minds set on what the Spirit desires. The mind governed by the flesh is death, but the mind governed by the Spirit is life and peace. The mind governed by the flesh is hostile to God; it does not submit to God's law, nor can it do so. Those who are in the realm of the flesh cannot please God."

The writer of Hebrews speaks of the persistence of faith as the reflection of a genuine confession of that faith. "We are his house, if indeed we hold firmly to our confidence and the hope in which we glory." Hebrews 3:6. Also, Hebrews 3:14, "We have come to share in Christ, if indeed we hold our original conviction firmly to the very end."

What are we? Just look at what we do: a man reaps what he sows!

Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share what moved you about him from your Bible reading today. I'd love to hear from you!

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Live Not By The Law, But By The Holy Spirit - Ruminating in the Word of God

The Lord is awe-inspiring, fearsome, fascinating, intriguing, majestic, and full of splendor: breathtaking! Here is what I saw of him today and what came to my heart and mind in Galatians 5:16-18,

"So I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. For the flesh desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the flesh. They are in conflict with each other, so that you are not to do whatever you want. But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law."

These Galatian believers had allowed themselves to get into a conflict with Paul by embracing false teachers who had come into their midst. These false teachers contradicted the pure gospel message Paul had given these believers earlier by claiming Christians had to get circumcised and keep the law. 

It is a false theology that people still struggle with today. Not finding assurance (full faith!) in the atonement Jesus Christ made on the cross, that his payment for all our sins fully satisfies our just and righteous God when we embrace him in faith, they attempt to adorn the cross with their own efforts of law-keeping. It is as if the death of Jesus Christ on the cross is not enough, that we need to add to it by law-keeping.

How many times I have heard someone say that we need to keep the ten commandments! In Romans 7, Paul uses the tenth commandment (don't covet) as his example of why we serve "in the new way of the Spirit, and not in the old way of the written code." Romans 7:6.

The conversation about this issue inevitably leads to the question, "If we don't have to keep the law, then are you saying we can do whatever we want and still get to heaven?" Although the question is asked of me, it really needs to be asked of the Scriptures, Paul particularly. 

Paul actually answers the question in our passage above. The answer is that true believers are led by the Holy Spirit, true believers are influenced by the Holy Spirit. We do not need to worry about law-keeping, we need to "walk by the Spirit", something that goes well beyond law-keeping in ordering our lives. The Holy Spirit should well up within our hearts a strong desire to be conformed to the image of Jesus Christ, to please our loving Heavenly Father, to be changed from within. An outward adherence to the law just won't do, God has grander designs for us: a change within!

Our lives are to be ordered by the Holy Spirit, not the Mosaic law.

Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share what moved you about him from your Bible reading today. I'd love to hear from you!

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Enslaved! - Ruminating in the Word of God

The Lord is awe-inspiring, fearsome, fascinating, intriguing, majestic, and full of splendor: breathtaking! Here is what I saw of him today and what came to my heart and mind in Galatians 4:8,

"Formerly, when you did not know God, you were slaves to those who by nature are not gods."

As Paul presents his concerns about these Galatian believers, he brings up a bit of their history. Before they embraced Jesus Christ, (but now knew him), they existed in a state of slavery. This is actually the history of all of us who are believers. Before we chose to embrace Jesus Christ in faith we were slaves to "those who by nature are not gods."

The notion of being enslaved by "those who by nature are not gods" speaks to an irresistible influence in a person's life. We read of the freedom from slavery when we come to know Jesus Christ in Romans 6:14, a slavery to sin, "For sin shall no longer be your master, because you are not under the law, but under grace." Here we read of slavery to "those who by nature are not gods."

In another place Paul speaks of "gods" that influenced people before they came to Christ, who were really not gods at all, "For even if there are so-called gods, whether in heaven or on earth (as indeed there are many "gods" and many "lords"), yet for us there is but one God, the Father, from whom all things came and for whom we live; and there is but one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom all things came and through whom we live." 1 Corinthians 8:5-6.

These so-called "gods" were idols and false deities that were worshipped in an organized pursuit of spiritual darkness. Beyond personification, I also believe they were/are influences that impact unbelievers. Influences that emanate from the forces of darkness. All who do not know Jesus Christ march to a drummer. Unsaved people would like to think they are "independant", that they order their own lives in certain directions all on their own. Deceived, they fail to recognize that they are enslaved in lock-step with many others as they pursue the purposes of the spiritual forces of darkness. 

Believers march to a different drummer. We are influenced by the Holy Spirit and find our lives are changing from within as the Holy Spirit indwells us. The reality is that mankind, all mankind, march to one drummer or the other (and there are only two drummers!) As our lives take direction, we find the expression of who we are influenced by: a slave to the forces of darkness or a child of God.

Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share what moved you about him from your Bible reading today. I'd love to hear from you!

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By Promise, Not Performance - Ruminating in the Word of God

The Lord is awe-inspiring, fearsome, fascinating, intriguing, majestic, and full of splendor: breathtaking! Here is what I saw of him today and what came to my heart and mind in Galatians 3:3,

"Are you so foolish? After beginning by means of the Spirit, are you now trying to finish by means of the flesh?"

Paul chastised these Galatian believers for pursuing God by keeping the law. False teachers, Judaizers, had come into their midst and convinced them they needed to keep requirements of the Mosaic law now that they were Christians. Paul questions them that since they began their new life in Christ by faith, why would they go back to the old law God gave Moses (the "means of the flesh")? This includes the big 10 (the ten commandments).

Paul said that no one was ever justified by keeping the law, verse 11, rather, only those who rely on faith, verse 9.

Interestingly, Paul points out that salvation by faith preceded the giving of the law by 430 years. "What I mean is this: The law, introduced 430 years later, does not set aside the covenant previously established by God and thus do away with the promise. For if the inheritance depends on the law, then it no longer depends on the promise; but God in his grace gave it to Abraham through a promise." Verses 17-18.

Paul sums up these thoughts with the comment, "Is the law, therefore, opposed to the promises of God? Absolutely not! For if a law had been given that could impart life, then righteousness would certainly have come by the law. But Scripture has locked up everything under the control of sin, so that what was promised, being given through faith in Jesus Christ, might be given to those who believe." Verses 21-22.

How happy this makes me! If being saved from God's wrath depended on my performance before him in keeping his law, I would be utterly hopeless! How wonderful his promise to me is assured by what Paul said in verse 14, "He redeemed us in order that the blessing given to Abraham might come to the Gentiles through Christ Jesus, so that by faith we might receive the promise of the Spirit."

How wonderful is that?!

Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share what moved you about him from your Bible reading today. I'd love to hear from you!

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Apostolic Realities - Ruminating in the Word of God

The Lord is awe-inspiring, fearsome, fascinating, intriguing, majestic, and full of splendor: breathtaking! Here is what I saw of him today and what came to my heart and mind in Galatians 2:11-13,

"When Cephas [the apostle Peter] came to Antioch, I [the apostle Paul] opposed him to his face, because he stood condemned. For before certain men came from James, he used to eat with the Gentiles. But when they arrived, he began to draw back and separate himself from the Gentiles because he was afraid of those who belonged to the circumcision group. The other Jews joined him in his hypocrisy, so that by their hypocrisy even Barnabas was led astray."

I recall, as a boy, attending a church that had beautiful large stained glass windows depicting heroes in Scripture. I recall looking at the images of the apostles in these windows in beautiful robes, with halos hovering over their heads. Clearly these were men of transcendent spirituality. I recall wondering what sort of humans these were. I didn't know anyone like that in my young life, hadn't seen anyone like that. Yet, here they were, the great holy and spiritually lofty ones from the pages of Scripture!

I have since had to come to grips with the reality that these depictions created within me a misconception about these great heroes in Scripture. Far from perfect, they made mistakes, as we read in the above passage. They had occasion to correct one another, a need to resolve problems they had with one another. Read the account of the Jerusalem council in Acts 15. Just following that we read of a dispute between Paul and Barnabas over Mark, which caused them to part company, Acts 15:36-41.

The apostles and the early church leaders were not perfect. Neither was Abraham, the twelve sons of Jacob, Moses, David and all the others. What they were, however, were people who embraced God in faith, became heroes and examples for us, and through their lives, God shows us the way. They all had their shortcomings, but they also had God's Spirit burning within them that enabled and emboldened them to do works of God and to leave us a legacy that God wants us to know of.

Of these heroes of faith, the writer of Hebrews says, "All these people were still living by faith when they died. They did not receive the things promised; they only saw them and welcomed them from a distance, admitting that they were foreigners and strangers on earth. People who say such things show that they are looking for a country of their own. If they had been thinking of the country they had left, they would have had opportunity to return. Instead, they were longing for a better country—a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared a city for them." Hebrews 11:13-16.

The apostles were the ambassadors of Jesus Christ, his emissaries to the world. As such they held great authority given them from the Son of God to aid in the birthing and development of his church. They wrote Scripture, shepherded and corrected the various fellowships that were forming. The Holy Spirit ran deep in their lives as they performed various miracles, signs and wonders that were needed during the early formation of the church. As such we look up to them for who they were: the apostles of Jesus Christ. Not perfect men, but men chosen by God and used greatly by him.

Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share what moved you about him from your Bible reading today. I'd love to hear from you!

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A Unique Man With A Unique Message - Ruminating in the Word of God

The Lord is awe-inspiring, fearsome, fascinating, intriguing, majestic, and full of splendor: breathtaking! Here is what I saw of him today and what came to my heart and mind in Galatians 1:11,

"I want you to know, brothers and sisters, that the gospel I preached is not of human origin."

Paul explains to his reading audience that he preached a message that God had given him directly. He says, "I did not receive it from any man, nor was I taught it; rather, I received it by revelation from Jesus Christ." Verse 12.

Paul was a unique individual. His relationship with God did not begin the way ours does. He was set apart from birth for God's purposes and was "called" by God as a young man, "But when God, who set me apart from my mother's womb and called me by his grace, was pleased to reveal his Son in me so that I might preach him among the Gentiles, my immediate response was not to consult any human being." Verses 15-16. In this regard, he was much like John the Baptist. Both were set apart from their mother's wombs for God's purposes. We might say both were non-normative when it came to their salvation. We come to know God a different way: through our exposure to the gospel and our embrace of Jesus Christ in faith in our response to it.

Paul says in another place, "But we ought always to thank God for you, brothers and sisters loved by the Lord, because God chose you as firstfruits to be saved through the sanctifying work of the Spirit and through belief in the truth. He called you to this through our gospel, that you might share in the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ." 2 Thessalonians 2:13-14. This is how we come to know Jesus Christ, God's "normative" way.

The message spoken by Paul was a unique message, a message not from within him, or that any other human had given him. "And we also thank God continually because, when you received the word of God, which you heard from us, you accepted it not as a human word, but as it actually is, the word of God, which is indeed at work in you who believe." 1 Thessalonians 2:13.

Paul was a unique man, a man gifted by Jesus Christ to carry the message of the gospel. He said, "For I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God that brings salvation to everyone who believes: first to the Jew, then to the Gentile. For in the gospel the righteousness of God is revealed—a righteousness that is by faith from first to last, just as it is written: 'The righteous will live by faith.'" Romans 1:16-17.

Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share what moved you about him from your Bible reading today. I'd love to hear from you!

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Living In A Manner Worthy of Jesus Christ - Ruminating in the Word of God

The Lord is awe-inspiring, fearsome, fascinating, intriguing, majestic, and full of splendor: breathtaking! Here is what I saw of him today and what came to my heart and mind in 2 Corinthians 13:2-4,

"I already gave you a warning when I was with you the second time. I now repeat it while absent: On my return I will not spare those who sinned earlier or any of the others, since you are demanding proof that Christ is speaking through me. He is not weak in dealing with you, but is powerful among you. For to be sure, he was crucified in weakness, yet he lives by God's power. Likewise, we are weak in him, yet by God's power we will live with him in our dealing with you."

Here is an absolutely frightening threat from Paul to the church in Corinth. He has already expressed his love for them, a love that found its origin in Jesus Christ. Yet, due to the sinful condition within the fellowship in Corinth, he now tells them they had better set things right before he came for his next visit with them. He tells them, "Examine yourselves to see whether you are in the faith; test yourselves. Do you not realize that Christ Jesus is in you—unless, of course, you fail the test?" Verse 5.

We don't know exactly what Paul intended if he found the fellowship there still enmeshed in sin when he came for his next visit, but we can be certain it was not an empty threat. Paul carried the authority and power of Jesus Christ within himself as his apostle, and when he says, "I will not spare those who sinned earlier or any of the others", it is a frightful thing to consider.

We all look to the love of Jesus Christ who died for us so that we might live with him. However, we should not overlook another aspect of his nature, "I saw heaven standing open and there before me was a white horse, whose rider [Jesus Christ] is called Faithful and True. With justice he judges and wages war. His eyes are like blazing fire, and on his head are many crowns. He has a name written on him that no one knows but he himself. He is dressed in a robe dipped in blood, and his name is the Word of God. The armies of heaven were following him, riding on white horses and dressed in fine linen, white and clean. Coming out of his mouth is a sharp sword with which to strike down the nations. 'He will rule them with an iron scepter.' He treads the winepress of the fury of the wrath of God Almighty." Revelation 19:11-15.

I am reminded of my own responsibility before the Lord, "So then, each of us will give an account of ourselves to God." Romans 14:12. It also brings to mind Hebrews 4:13, "Nothing in all creation is hidden from God's sight. Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of him to whom we must give account."

How thankful I am that all my sins have been paid for by Jesus Christ! If not for that, there would be no hope for me. Yet, I find instruction in Philippians 1:27, "Whatever happens, conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ."

Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share what moved you about him from your Bible reading today. I'd love to hear from you!

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Wonderful Loving Christian Leaders! - Ruminating in the Word of God

The Lord is awe-inspiring, fearsome, fascinating, intriguing, majestic, and full of splendor: breathtaking! Here is what I saw of him today and what came to my heart and mind in 2 Corinthians 12:14-15,

"Now I am ready to visit you for the third time, and I will not be a burden to you, because what I want is not your possessions but you. After all, children should not have to save up for their parents, but parents for their children. So I will very gladly spend for you everything I have and expend myself as well. If I love you more, will you love me less?"

The love Paul had for the brothers and sisters in the fellowships he founded is a wonder to behold. Here is a man who, years earlier, persecuted believers. "Meanwhile, Saul [Paul] was still breathing out murderous threats against the Lord's disciples. He went to the high priest and asked him for letters to the synagogues in Damascus, so that if he found any there who belonged to the Way, whether men or women, he might take them as prisoners to Jerusalem." Acts 9:1-2.

But he encountered Jesus Christ on the road to Damascus! "As he neared Damascus on his journey, suddenly a light from heaven flashed around him. He fell to the ground and heard a voice say to him, 'Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?' 'Who are you, Lord?' Saul asked. 'I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting,' he replied." Acts 9:3-5.

Paul was called by the Lord to be his apostle to the Gentiles and received the Holy Spirit who indwelt him and energized him, changing him from within.

We read of the kinds of things the Holy Spirit does in the lives of those whom he indwells (all of us believers have the Holy Spirit dwelling within us, "And if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, they do not belong to Christ." Romans 8:9b). The change within us includes things like, "love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control." Galatians 5:22-23. Paul certainly had these in full measure.

How wonderful it is to find Christian leaders today who follow in Paul's footsteps, who are energized by the Holy Spirit, who reflect that in their love for others. Rather than seeing others from the standpoint of what others can do for his or her ministry, seeing them from a standpoint of how he or she can serve them, expending themselves in the lives of others, just as Paul did!

Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share what moved you about him from your Bible reading today. I'd love to hear from you!

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Paul: A True Apostle And Guide - Ruminating in the Word of God

The Lord is awe-inspiring, fearsome, fascinating, intriguing, majestic, and full of splendor: breathtaking! Here is what I saw of him today and what came to my heart and mind in 2 Corinthians 11:4,

"If someone comes to you and preaches a Jesus other than the Jesus we preached, or if you receive a different spirit from the Spirit you received, or a different gospel from the one you accepted, you put up with it easily enough."

This is a sobering observation. "Super-apostles", "false apostles, deceitful workers, masquerading as apostles of Christ.", verse 13, had come to Corinth and Paul had found the Corinthians accepting them in his absence! In the previous letter he called these Corinthian believers "still worldly-mere infants in Christ" 1 Corinthians 3:1. Yet, they were well endowed with gifting from the Holy Spirit, "Therefore you do not lack any spiritual gift as you eagerly wait for our Lord Jesus Christ to be revealed.", 1 Corinthians 1:7.

In spite of the activity of the Holy Spirit within their lives, and in spite of their earlier commitment to the gospel Paul preached to them, they were guilty of embracing false teachers and  false apostles within their midst. Paul points to his credentials as a genuine apostle for the Lord as key to their understanding of who was genuine and who was false, who would lead them in the right path and who would lead them astray. In a key verse Paul said, "We have been speaking in the sight of God as those in Christ; and everything we do, dear friends, is for your strengthening." 2 Corinthians 12:19b.

I find that verse to be a good direction for me. All we have to do is look around at all the differing "expressions" of Christianity to understand that many false leaders have led the church astray in many directions. I'll follow Paul as a true apostle of the Lord to help me stay on the right track.

Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share what moved you about him from your Bible reading today. I'd love to hear from you!

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