Outrageous Nonsense

For believers and non believers alike, James 2 hits us where it hurts.  James was the brother of Jesus and an influential leader in the early church.  He knew and understood his brother’s heart well.  He knew the battle that all of us face in walking out our faith.  He also knew that our battle in walking out our faith is one of the key stumbling blocks to people coming into the faith.  We say we believe in Jesus and that we’ve received his salvation but we sit still twiddling our thumbs in our Spirit life.  We receive the greatest gift there is of love and mercy but leave it barely opened on the table when it’s time to share it with others.  We acknowledge we have this new life of faith and call ourselves believers yet we return to life as if nothing has changed.  Do we really believe or not?

We cannot expect others around us to believe we’ve actually received this life giving gift of love and mercy if we cannot show evidence of it.  Its like telling your friends you just won the lottery but you continue to live in the ghetto and walk everywhere.  Who would believe you?  Wouldn’t you buy a home and a car and invite friends over to share your new fortune?  How can we tell people that we are owners of the greatest love that has ever been yet fail to love them with it?  As James asks,  “Isn’t it obvious that God-talk with out God-acts is outrageous nonsense?’ (James 2:17 the Message)

At the same time, showing evidence of the love without believing the One who loves us is equally absurd.  It is a waste of eternity.  Eternity starts this very minute.  We believe in our hearts and the love we’ve received overwhelms us to flow into the lives of others through our actions.  Our actions must be consistent.  James reminds us that treating society’s best differently from society’s outcasts is dangerous.  God’s love is for one and all.  Equal treatment.  If we love him, we love all equally.  Here is where it hurts.  Do I really believe Jesus died for every single person in order to reconcile us to God our Father and to enjoy the freedom and abundance of His love for us?  Or did he die for the ones with whom I’m comfortable and able to connect.  This is hard.  It is a pruning of sorts.  I must allow God to prune back all that blocks me from loving every person he allows on my path.  Some are easy, many simply are not.

Our culture and society tell us that who we interact with matters and we must connect with the right people.  This is true; we do need to connect with the right people. The “right people” in the world’s eyes aren’t necessarily the same as those God calls “right”.  To God, the right people are those who are hungry and needy and desperate for his kindness to reach them.  “God chose the world’s down-and-out as the kingdom’s first citizens, with full right and privileges,” (James 2:6). These are often the difficult people in our lives; the ones who cut us off, who smell bad, who do not fit in.  If we’re a part of God’s kingdom and his culture, then we love everyone He loves regardless of how they look, smell or succeed in life.

The world doesn’t know Jesus Christ in large part because we don’t love others with the love we say we have from him.  We speak one thing and go and do something entirely different.  We stay in our small safe circles of friends, we walk on our narrow safe path through life, we avoid those who might challenge our routine.  We tell people we’re saved but we’re unwilling to extend salvation to those who most desperately need it.

Let’s live lives with integrity.  “Faith and works, works and faith, fit together hand in glove.” (James 2:18).  Who is in your life that is desperate to know God’s love?  Who  do you need share His heart with? Sometimes the neediest can be the most offensive.  Loving them could be a gesture as small as a smile or as large as inviting them over to eat.  Who is God putting in your path that needs his peace and hope.  If you believe, then you are filled with his Spirit and He wants to pour out his love out through you.  How is he calling you to love others today?

 

A Noise and Four Lepers

Elisha said, “Hear the word of the LORD: thus says the LORD, Tomorrow about this time a seah of fine flour shall be sold for a shekel, and two seahs of barley for a shekel, at the gate of Samaria.” Then the captain on whose hand the king leaned said to the man of God, “If the LORD himself should make windows in heaven, could this thing be?” (2Kings 7:1-2)

When God says something, it will come to pass. Such is the testimony of Scripture from cover to cover. But sadly, many will not believe Him and will not learn to trust his word.  Many will not learn to listen to the Voice of God and live.  Many will miss his great salvation. So it was for the King’s captain who could not fathom that within 24 hours God could entirely change the fortune of the city.

The Syrian king had besieged the capital until there was very little food; even the worst food was selling at outrages prices. Some people had even resorted to cannibalism. In desperation, wicked King Jehoram sent a messenger to Elisha to receive a word from the Lord.  Elisha predicted that by the next day Samaria would be delivered and there would be plenty to eat.  In essence, Elisha said they would be able to buy six times the food at one-fifth of the cost. To this incredible Good News of deliverance, the king’s messenger responded in utter unbelief. And so the prophet declared judgment upon the man.  And judgment did come to pass when the man was trampled by the crowd. The principle still holds: those who will not respond to the good news of deliverance and salvation that the Lord offers us by his sheer grace and love, will not only miss out on that salvation, but also will face death and judgment.

And how did God deliver the city?  With a great army?  With an earthquake? With a supernatural fire from heaven?  No.  He delivered them in a seemingly foolish way:  with a noise and four lepers!  The Syrians thought a vast army of hired mercenaries was coming upon them. So they fled, leaving behind the vast resources of their camp.  Logically, the four lepers realized that it was better to eat as prisoners (or die rapidly) than to starve in the city.  And so they discovered the deliverance of the Lord.

Listen to their words in verse 9: “This day is a day of good news. If we are silent and wait until the morning light, punishment will overtake us. Now therefore come; let us go and tell the king’s household.” What an amazing word to us today! Would that we would heed their words and do likewise — that is, to declare the good news of God’s deliverance to those who are still captive and starving in the city (the world)!  Through the foolishness of a cross, God has made deliverance and life available to all who will receive it. May we not hold back and so miss the call of God on each of our lives to announce good news and to be ministers of reconciliation to a lost and broken world.

What’s Your Purpose in Life?

“I have become all things to all people, that by all means I might save some.” (1 Cor. 9:22)

I once read about a high powered headhunter – not the guy in the jungle, but a corporate recruiter – a man who helps business executives find placement in companies.  This fellow said that as part of his interviewing process — he would sit  the interviewees down and begin to get to know them.  He would intentionally seek to put them at ease.  He would talk about anything that would relax them – baseball, the weather, trips they’d been on, family.  Then about the time that they would lean back and make themselves comfortable he would quickly ask them, “What is your purpose in life?”

“You’d be amazed,” he said, “at how few of these high powered professional people could answer the question.”  Some would speak of retiring early and others about obtaining power or financial success.  “But most,” he said, “Would simply fumble and stammer and be totally unclear.”

Well, one day, as he was going through the interviewing routine with a man in his office – talking about football — he noticed the man begin to relax. So, he hit him with the question,  “What is your purpose in life?”

And without blinking an eye, the interviewee replied, “To go to heaven and to take as many people with me as I can.”

The interviewer was blown away.

You see that’s a purpose.  It’s a bigger story with focused intention.  It has eternal perspective and eternal significance.  It has goals built into it.  And it goes way beyond the little soap operas that most people spend their lives living.  It doesn’t neglect the temporal things (the things of this world), but it doesn’t make them the primary motivator nor the chief place of investment.

Let me ask you, “Do you know your purpose in life?”

If it’s to retire early – or to enjoy retirement – it’s not big enough. If it’s to live in a big house in the suburbs or on one of the islands – it’s not big enough.  Is your purpose merely about yourself and accumulating the things and the esteem of this world – or is your purpose grounded  upon God Almighty and his intentions and pleasure?

The apostle Paul said, “I have become all things to all people that by all means I might save some” (1 Cor 9:22). His life was focused on bringing people to the saving knowledge of Christ. He knew that not everyone would be saved, but he made it his purpose to do all that was in his power to reach as many people as he possibly could.  This included giving up his rights: “For though I am free from all, I have made myself a servant to all, that I might win more of them, (v 19).  Likewise he willingly sacrificed and disciplined himself because he knew that his efforts in serving Christ would be met with eternal reward: “So I do not run aimlessly; I do not fight like a man shadow boxing. No, I discipline my body and make it my slave so that after I have preached to others I myself will not be disqualified from the prize,” (vv. 26-27).

So what’s your purpose in life?  If you don’t know, may I suggest you spend some time seeking God’s heart on the matter through prayer and the scriptures? Be assured, God has made you for an eternal purpose and he desires that you know what that purpose is.

Undivided Devotion

“I am saying this for your own good, not to restrict you, but that you may live in a right way in undivided devotion to the Lord.” (1 Cor 7:35)

The story is told that Napoleon Bonaparte made a lonely surprise visit one night to the outpost sentries on one of the vital positions of his battlefield. Stealthily he moved along in the gray light of the morning. One sentry after another immediately challenged him. Finally, the crafty warrior stole up to a strategic spot. There was no sentry to challenge him. The wily Napoleon moved closer and saw a pair of boots protruding from under a shock of corn and a rifle propped beside them. He made no comment – just picked up the rifle and himself stood guard, waiting for the awakening of the snoozing soldier. Finally the corn stirred, and up jumped the guilty defender and grabbed for the gun that was gone. Can you imagine his confusion and chagrin? What a bitter and shattering experience – caught napping by Napoleon!  When the Lord of glory returns, will He find us Christians sleeping at our post of duty?

In 1 Corinthians 7 Paul reminds us that, “this world in its present form is passing away (v. 31b);” therefore he says, “live in a right way in undivided devotion to the Lord,” (v 35b). God is looking for people who will lay themselves out for his kingdom and his purposes in this world.  He is looking for people who will join him in his vast endeavor to demonstrate his great love and win the lost to himself.  I just returned from India where there are 1 billion people.  Of those billion people approximately 970 million do not know the Lord Jesus Christ and will spend eternity apart from him. What I saw there were people desperately hungry to know the real God and when Jesus revealed himself to them, they gladly responded.

While there were many things that amazed me in India, I was particularly impressed by the Indian Christians and the few foreign missionaries living among them.  I observed these people living lives of extraordinary commitment to Christ and his call to reach the lost in the midst of a dark and sin-sick culture. These people were not confused about the task at hand. They were willing to suffer if need be. They lived “lean” lives unencumbered by wealth and personal holdings. Their hearts burned with zeal as they passionately worshiped the Lord and pursued his great harvest of souls.  They were not living in this world as if it were a “cruise ship” but instead, they lived the “battle ship” lifestyle.  I was deeply moved and challenged by these everyday people living not for this life nor themselves, but for eternity and for Christ.

May I encourage you during this Lenten season to ask the Lord to explore your heart and show you the places where you have a divided devotion?  Ask him to show you whether you, like Napoleon’s sentry, have fallen asleep at your post.  Ask him to put zeal and fire and passion and His deep love and concern for the lost within you. And then, ask him to show you where to join him in his great work of redeeming the world to himself.

Beautiful Feet… Is Evangelism Ok?

“How then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them? And how can anyone preach unless they are sent? As it is written: “How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!” (Romans 10:14-15)

According to Romans 10, evangelism is not only okay, but God thinks that evangelists have beautiful feet!  Those who go out with the good news bring beauty and life with their footsteps!

As verse 16 tells us, “Faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the word of Christ.”  While it is true that many people believe in Christ by reading the scriptures on there own, many more believe in Christ because someone has shared the good news of Jesus with them. According to Paul, Christ sends messengers, messengers preach/speak, people hear, hearers believe, believers call on Jesus, and those who call on Jesus are saved.

I once heard it said that there are only two things we won’t be able to do in heaven: sin and evangelize. We won’t be able to sin because, well, it’s heaven. We won’t be able to evangelize because everyone will already have trusted in Christ.  Who are you currently praying will come to Christ?  Perhaps its time you ask the Lord to send an evangelist to them – maybe even you?  Who will be in heaven because you shared the message of Christ with them? Wouldn’t you love to have beautiful feet in God’s eyes?