In the Body

God did what the law could not do. He sent his own Son in a body like the bodies we sinners have. And in that body God declared an end to sin’s control over us by giving his Son as a sacrifice for our sins. – Romans 8:3

Why did He have to come in the flesh? 

And I know that nothing good lives in me, that is, in my sinful nature.  I want to do what is right, but I can’t. – Romans 7:18

Because our flesh is weak and it is impossible to be saved or reconciled to God in the flesh, Jesus had to come as we are.

Because God’s children are human beings—made of flesh and blood—the Son also became flesh and blood.  For only as a human being could he die, and only by dying could he break the power of the devil, who had the power of death.  Only in this way could he set free all who have lived their lives as slaves to the fear of dying. – Hebrews 2:14-15

The flesh allowed Him to die.  Just as it will allow all of us to die.  The flesh cannot save.

We also know that the Son did not come to help angels; he came to help the descendants of Abraham.  Therefore, it was necessary for him to be made in every respect like us, his brothers and sisters, so that he could be our merciful and faithful High Priest before God.  Then he could offer a sacrifice that would take away the sins of the people. – Hebrews 2:16-17

Jesus was more than just flesh, He was our Holy Priest, making the highest sacrifice for the atonement of our sins. But by being in the flesh and not sinning, He could offer what we can’t, a sinless body.  He could offer the perfect sacrifice, one that could be acceptable to God and therefore death would no longer be an eternal separation from God.

He is the kind of high priest we need because he is holy and blameless, unstained by sin.  He has been set apart from sinners and has been given the highest place of honor in heaven.  - Hebrews 7:26

That is why, when Christ came into the world, he said to God, “You did not want animal sacrifices or sin offerings.  But you have given me a body to offer.” – Hebrews 10:5

And by sacrificing His sinless flesh, “God did what the Law could not do” and “declared an end to sin’s control over us”, specifically sin’s control over our eternal destiny.

February 14, 2014

But 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. - Ephesians 5:3-5

I find these verses striking.  For one, you could read verse 5 and argue that someone could lose their salvation.  Although I don't believe that theology I am aware that some do.  I believe you have to take into account verse 6 and 7 if you are reading this passage in this way.  Two, I believe the writer hits the nail on the head when he says that "such a person is an idolater".  I have about convinced myself that any sin is a form of idolatry.  Jesus said (Matthew 22:37) the most important commandment is to "Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind."  All sin, as best as I can tell, violates that. 

Our culture's massive entertainment industry drives the following messages in almost every venue it can fit the message into: homosexuality is okay and normal (even encouraged), teasing and flirting with sexual intent  is expected and normal (and encouraged), and sex is okay anytime two people agree on it (there are no consequences).  There is no Biblical basis for any of these.  But these are shoved into my face on every mode of entertainment, even sports and politics.  Our church seems to do very little in its rebuttal to this attack and invasion.

Contrary to when I was a teenager when the girls said "no" to the pressure of their boyfriends, today's boys have to be strong enough to say "no".  While I would consider this to be very difficult for our young men, I believe it puts them in the right leadership role.  Of course, I hope they find a girlfriend who has the same values that I hope my boys have. 

It is difficult to be a failed person.  It is difficult to have fought for so long through so much only to find out that you can crack apart.  No one likes to fumble and no one likes to lose.   Through God's grace and mercy, and my extraordinary wife, my hope is that I might be more than who I could settle on being, and I can only hope that my boys are much stronger and wiser and can be much, much, more than I.  

Feb 14

Ephesians 5: ³ But immorality (sexual vice) and all impurity [^[a]of lustful, rich, wasteful living] or greediness must not even be named among you, as is fitting and proper among saints (God’s consecrated people).(AMP)

 

One of the most important messages we as fathers and church leaders can get out to the youth of today is the responsibility to protect the marital bed and their future spouses NOW.  The past doesn't matter to God where repentance is real, so is forgiveness.  I fear this message is being drowned out by a media-rich environment that drives an expectation of promiscuity and a church that has bought into a lie that bold proclamation of scripture and high expectations might drive away some people.  Its time as a father and a church leader to take a bold and courageous stand to love people, but expect that dedication to a sinful lifestyle is inconsistent with a walk with Christ.  

 

Lord let me proclaim your love and high expectations first to my bride, then to my own children- your unique blessings to me, then to those you've placed in my life.

 

 

Honor your parents

Honor your father and your mother, so that you may live long in the land the Lord your God is giving you. - Exodus 20:12

This is certainly a difficult thing to do for me with regards to my father.  Hopefully I do honor my mother and am grateful for the difficult things she had to do as a single mom just to get us through high school and out of the house. 

I know that when I was in the 10th grade her moving us to Arizona from her lifelong home in Mississippi was a very difficult thing for her to do.  When I asked her why we were moving she said that she just wanted to be able to not have to borrow money from her mom each month to make it and survive.  Turns out she was having to borrow around $200 a month just to pay bills.  My cousin Joe's dad and I had asked if I could stay in MS and live with them and not move.  She said no; the family has to stay together.  I'm sure that was tough for her and I know she cried herself to sleep more than a few nights before we moved.

It's memories like that of my mom that make this "honor your father" thing so hard to do.  He left her when my sister was 6, I was 2, and my brother was 1.  Both of my parents were working as teachers at the time. ...  My dad told my brother and me once when I was in the 4th grade that we could leave and he didn't care if we ever came back.  We didn't.  ...  I needed running shoes for track when I was in 6th grade so I asked my mom if we could get some.  She said she didn't have  the money for them, but I might could call my dad and ask.  So, I did.  Two days later there was a pair of shoes stuffed in our mailbox.  He didn't bother to pick me up, take me to a shoe store and let me try some on and pick a pair.  He just went and bought a pair and stuffed them in the mailbox.  ...  He never once attended a football, basketball, baseball, or track game or meet in my life for myself, my brother or sister.  He lived less than 5 miles from all the events. 

As a kid, what do you do with memories like these?  How do you pick up your pieces, glue yourself back together and honor your father?  I would love to be able to settle it by saying "I don't care", but as Andy Stanley points out, we were made to care and we can't not care no matter how we try to fool our self.  Going back to yesterday's devotion, my job is to set the table, prepare the table, and send him an invitation "in spite of" who he is for Christ sake.  Then it's up to love to conquer all.  Is that honoring my earthly father?  I'm not sure, but I am sure it honors my Heavenly Father.

Love the Sinner

Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins. - 1 Peter 4:8

Love covers over all wrongs. - Proverbs 10:12b

[Love] keeps no record of wrongs. - 1 Corinthians 13:5b

Today's devotion can best be summed up by "Love the sinner, hate the sin."  But it is mostly about loving the sinner.  This is a very difficult thing to do for us.  But I think Andy Stanley did the best job of any message I've ever heard on this topic in his Future Family series in the fourth video message.  I'll try to sum up the thoughts as they relate to this topic.

The verses used were 2 Corinthians 5:18-19, "All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting people’s sins against them.  And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation."  The idea is that God reconciled us "in spite of" us.  God restored friendly relations with us.  He cleared the table, prepared the table, and gave us an invitation and the only thing that can keep us from being at the table is us.  We must choose to accept the invitation and sit at the table or to turn it down. 

For those of us who choose to sit at the table, we have been given "the ministry of reconciliation".  We must tell the world "that God was reconciling the world to Himself in Christ, not counting people's sins against them".  This is our witness to others, but there is more, God "has committed us the message of reconciliation".  2 Corinthians 5:20 follow on this explaining that "We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us."  That is, if we are carrying the message of reconciliation, we must do so as an ambassador of Christ where God is making His appeal through our actions.

So, if God is willing to clear the table, prepare the table, and send us an invitation to us who have sinned against him, "in spite of" us, we must also be willing to clear the table, prepare the table, and send an invitation to others who have sinned against us, "in spite of" them, for His sake.  It's a long sentence but I think it is accurately stating why and how we are to love others.

Healing

Is anyone among you in trouble?  Let them pray.  ...  Is anyone among you sick?  Let them call the elders of the church to pray over them and anoint them with oil in the name of the Lord.  And the prayer offered in faith will make the sick person well; the Lord will raise them up.  If they have sinned, they will be forgiven.  Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed.  The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective. - James 5:13-16

There is another aspect of these verses that came to me a year or so ago.  "And the prayer offered in faith will make the sick person well; the Lord will raise them up.  If they have sinned, they will be forgiven.  Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed."  There is a direct connection between healing and forgiveness.  Jesus also addresses this when He heals a paraplegic man as recorded in Matthew 9, Mark 2, and Luke 5.  He tells the man, "Your sins are forgiven" and the man is healed.  Once questioned on whether He can forgive a man's sins, Jesus asks, "Which is easier: to say, 'Your sins are forgiven,' or to say, 'Get up and walk'?"  In essence, Jesus is saying that the two are the same.

There are a lot of rabbits to chase in these verses.  But the one that was revealed to me was that we need to be healed from our sins, not our physical infirmities.  People do not see their spiritual condition until they are praying to God and He reveals it to them slowly, or a man of God delivering a message of God shows it to them.  I have to be healed from my sins.  I have to be healed from the sins people commit against me.  Jesus came to forgive sins and He heals us; we depend upon Him and nothing else.

Our spiritual condition is what matters and nothing else.  Jesus will heal us of this or that if it causes our belief in Him to be improved and it's not just a sideshow of His power.  How many more will believe in Him because of the miracle and our great testimonies of Jesus?  While I think that is the real question behind any healing, I also know He listens intently and sincerely to His children and He is ready to ease our suffering.  As a sinful man and a father I have compassion for my children, how much more a perfect Father has for His children!

Yet I long to have the friend relationship with Him.  The one where we are always together and I can say to Him, as I would say to anyone "Hand me that screwdriver", "Heal them" knowing He will or that He will answer the thought in truth.  This is the way I think Paul and Peter walked in Acts and that is the way I want to walk.

Prayer

Is anyone among you in trouble?  Let them pray.  ...  Is anyone among you sick?  Let them call the elders of the church to pray over them and anoint them with oil in the name of the Lord.  And the prayer offered in faith will make the sick person well; the Lord will raise them up.  If they have sinned, they will be forgiven.  Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed.  The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective. - James 5:13-16

"Do we actually believe that we can be effective in prayer?" Dungy asks.  This question certainly gets right to the heart of us.  Prayer, as simple as the definition is (talking to God), can be complicated for people.  Follow this thinking: Yes, I believe that prayer is talking to God and yes I definitely have a peace after sincerely praying, but isn't God going to do what God is going to do no matter what my prayer is, and if He already knows my needs isn't He either going to help me in some way or not as He sees fit no matter what my prayer is?  I think a lot of people get lost in these type of thoughts.

The Bible says that the "prayers of a righteous man availeth much".    Moses prayed and God parted the Red Sea.  This was done just for the Hebrews.  God could have prevented the Egyptians from getting to them in a million different ways and not have parted the sea, but He wanted them to see His power and to not fear anyone or anything but Him and He wanted them to know that they could depend upon Him in their time of need.  Daniel prayed and God closed the mouths of lions.  Daniel prayed and angels were sent to him and the devil warred against them as they sought to deliver God's message to him.  Peter prayed and Tabitha came back from the dead.  Each one a man praying to the same God.

I prayed in the delivery room when Reed was being born.  The doctor was ready to go for the C-section as the baby's heart rate was slowing and Julie's blood pressure was rising really high.  Reed was stuck in the birth canal and they couldn't pull him out.  People were everywhere in the room running in and out.  As I just finished my prayer, the doctor looked at me and said they were going to have to take him quickly.  I replied, "Try one more time".  God saw that Reed was delivered.

Jack had a fever of 103, then 104, then 105.  105!  I thought this was a cheap thermometer error so we checked it with another one - 105.  Julie called the ER, they said to watch it closely and to try to cool him.  I didn't know people could have high fevers like that.  We watched him closely and took his temperature every few minutes.  Finally it settled down to 104.  We were both tired and had to sleep.  But what if in our sleep it spiked?  Very unsettling to parents.  I prayed.  The next morning, no fever.  How do you go from having a super high fever to no fever?  God took it from him.

I believe that if you want to be good at praying, you need to pray.  For me, I have to take a few deep breaths, settle my mind and body to avoid thoughts that are not focused on my being in the presence of God.  Open my heart to input, then start praying, just talking to God.  There are many methods on how to pray, but as a father all I want from my boys is for them to put everything aside and just talk to me and listen to me so we can draw closer together.  I believe this is exactly what God desires from us in prayer.

Feb 11

James 5: ¹³ Is anyone among you afflicted (ill-treated, suffering evil)? He should pray. Is anyone glad at heart? He should sing praise [to God]. ¹⁴ Is anyone among you sick? He should call in the church elders (the spiritual guides). And they should pray over him, anointing him with oil in the Lord’s name. ¹⁵ And the prayer [that is] of faith will save him who is sick, and the Lord will restore him; and if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven. ¹⁶ Confess to one another therefore your faults (your slips, your false steps, your offenses, your sins) and pray [also] for one another, that you may be healed and restored [to a spiritual tone of mind and heart]. The earnest (heartfelt, continued) prayer of a righteous man makes tremendous power available [dynamic in its working]. (AMP)

 

I'm hugely undisciplined in prayer.  My prayers are usually short, self-centered, and needy.  I do thank God continually for my wife and my children and revel daily in the blessings they are to me.  I can clearly remember thinking when my kids were little that it was too bad they had to grow up as they seemed so perfect at that time.  Somehow God has had me grow with them and I appreciate every day with them as the best yet.  I also thank God for special people in my life who have become like family. 

 

Unfortunately, like my miserably weak prayer life, my appreciation for (probably all) of them ends with a short prayer of thanksgiving.  I've got to learn to pray for actionable ways to show my appreciation both to God and others.  While I think the worlds pressure to "just don't stand there, do something" poses a high risk of taking action outside of God's will, clearly we can't simply "don't just do something, stand there."  I need to have God teach me how to follow prayers of thanksgiving with an unmistakable message of what to do to better appreciate and minister to others. 

 

Perhaps like prayer, action guided by God's vision is a discipline.  For my prayer life to be effective and outwardly focused, I've got to journal.  I've got to write down prayer requests and stay focused upon them or my mind wanders and I lose track, then I simply quit and go on about my day.  Perhaps I need to be in constant prayer for just a few and pray for actionable plans that God needs to accomplish both in and through me. 

 

Finally, I end with a few questions.  Last night I asked Mom why it was necessary or advantageous for many people to join in prayer.  Do numbers praying or the length or "earnestness" of prayer somehow change God's mind?  I don't think so, but scripture seems to leave the door open to that possibility.  I think a number of people praying together provides an opportunity for them to become like-minded and aligned with God's will.  Additionally, the old testament likens the prayers of the saints to a "sweet aroma" unto God, so perhaps the prayers of many are an act of worship to our high and holy God.  Still, I wonder why God says "where two or three are gathered together, there I am also."  I know God lives in me and is therefore constantly with me.  So what does it mean to join in corporate prayer?  Can't one single prayer, muttered under ones breath get the message to heaven?  Perhaps the discipline of prayer is a tool God uses to force us to "be still and know..." 

Tabitha

In Joppa there was a disciple named Tabitha (in Greek her name is Dorcas); she was always doing good and helping the poor. - Acts 9:36

I think this is an awesome testimony for Tabitha.  All we know about her is that she was "always," not sometimes, not when it was convenient, not just when she felt like it, but "always doing good and helping the poor".  That is an incredible testimony.  I have a long way to go for it to be said of me anything more than that when it was convenient I sometimes did good or occasionally helped the poor.  I find this very convicting.

Unfortunately, the in very next verse says she died and the story of Tabitha becomes her coming back to life as Peter comes to her house and prays for her.  I don't want to take away from her testimony, since that's what I want to focus on, but this is Peter, not Jesus, who is with her when she comes back to life.  Obviously Peter does this in the name of Jesus and through His Power alone, but I find it amazing.  Contrary to many theologians and preachers of today, I believe this is still possible in today's world.  There just aren't any men or women following Jesus that closely.

Back to reflecting upon Tabitha, I find myself going to this verse.  Do everything without grumbling or arguing, so that you may become blameless and pure, “children of God without fault in a warped and crooked generation.” Then you will shine among them like stars in the sky as you hold firmly to the word of life (Philippians 2:14-16a).  I think the reflection of the widows in the story of Tabitha is that she was like a star in the sky to them.  She shined brightly.

I don't think it was just her works that the people appreciated, but her true compassion that led to her works.  I say this, having lived in this world, because I know that you have to have a real compassion for people to make them things requiring your time and energy just for their need.  Otherwise you'll stop and you can't do it "always."  And if some of the poor then are like some of them now, you have to have a real compassion to "always ... help the poor."  They can be very difficult to help at times.

I want to have a testimony like hers one day and I want to shine like stars in the sky to the lost in this world.  It is imperative for me to find where I can be doing good and helping others.  I pray today that God would impress upon me where that ministry opportunity is and what's my purpose for it.

Feb 10

1 Corinthians 10: ²³ All things are legitimate [permissible—and we are free to do anything we please], but not all things are helpful (expedient, profitable, and wholesome). All things are legitimate, but not all things are constructive [to character] and edifying [to spiritual life]. ²⁴ Let no one then seek his own good and advantage and profit, but [rather] each one of the other [let him seek the welfare of his neighbor].  (AMP)

 

Tony does a good job on this one.  I think the best summary is that we are to constantly be focused on others rather than self.  When every decision is driven by the "what's in it for me" attitude, we end up in sin, but worse mis-represent Christ to a lost world.  He came to serve, not be served.  I note that he was intentional about withdrawing at times to commune with His Father, but once re-charged, he was back to serving.  Having recently been reminded of my own shortcomings in this area, this is clearly a growth area for me and my family. 

 

Lord I pray that I would be focused more on others needs and less on myself. 

Feb 8

James 1: ² Consider it wholly joyful, my brethren, whenever you are enveloped in or encounter trials of any sort or fall into various temptations. ³ Be assured and understand that the trial and proving of your faith bring out endurance and steadfastness and patience.⁴ But let endurance and steadfastness and patience have full play and do a thorough work, so that you may be [people] perfectly and fully developed [with no defects], lacking in nothing. (AMP)

 

Perhaps the most stressing situations to me are interpersonal conflict.  The worst is when I'm caught in pitched battle between two people or parties and am derided by both sides.  This is exactly the situation I found myself in for about 5 years in the late '90's.  It took constant prayer just to get myself up and in the truck to go to work.  The personal attacks included attacks on my faith as yet another example of being weak minded.  It was hard to feel joy during this time.  I decided at that point that the verse is one more focused on the intellectual exercise of perseverance.  I was to focus on the fact that in the end God would win, I needed to be clearly on His side, and in the interim I was to endure with a positive witness for him.  I don't think I was all that successful, in fact its the only time in my life that I had to go to mediation to solve a squabble. 

 

Since that time, I went on to a senior leadership position at Eglin.  One of the ring leaders when through a divorce, left government service, and moved out of the area.  The other retired, got a high paying consulting job for a while, but is back in government service and we are actually collaborating on numerous high visibility initiatives.  I'm not claiming wordly success because of anything I did, I just testify to God's faithfulness during what seemed like an endless time of trial.  I testify to the songs that remind us "there may be pain in the night, but joy comes in the morning" and "great is thy faithfulness - morning by morning new mercies I see.  All I have needed, thy hand hath provided..." 

 

 

 

Perseverance

Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance.  Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything. – James 1:2-4

Dungy comments in today’s devotion, “Consider that you may be planted exactly where God intended for you to be in order to grow your faith in Him, even though the rain and wind are blowing so hard it may have clouded the broader, bigger, better vision He had set before you earlier.  …  God never wastes what you are going through for Him.  He will use it to grow you more into the person He wants you to be.  …  It’s not about what you can get out of where you are, but what you can put into and do by enduring right where He has planted you.”

I really don’t know how to fabricate joy out of a trial.  There is stress, intense emotion, deep lows, and somehow I’m supposed to consider it joy.  This reminds of the verse that says something about God disciplining those He loves so be happy when disciplined.  It is just proof that God loves me.  Love hurts sometimes.

In any type of physical training, the effort of push or pull against weight produces muscle and fitness.  It is the struggle against the object that produces results.  Similarly, the testing of faith in trials produces perseverance, a characteristic of God.  My Bible says that God is long-suffering, a quality that I am so glad is His, for my sake!

James says in the verse that if we allow the testing to produce perseverance, the finished work helps us to be mature.  I’m not sure what is meant by not lacking, maybe being a full person, well put together in our emotional and spiritual condition?  Maybe perseverance is such a character builder, that it completes character.  I need to research that verse I think.