Sent to Make Christ Known

“How are they to believe in Him of whom they have never heard?” –Romans 10:14

I heard a haunting statistic recently: worldwide, 81% of non-believers do not personally know a Christian. In the U.S., it hovers around 60%. Think of the sea of faces your eyes pass by each day. They have souls; God knows them by name and has numbered their hairs. They are humans with fears and dreams and families. The overwhelming majority of them do not have a personal relationship with someone with the message of the only hope of rescue for sinners. 

In Acts 8, Philip was asked to join an Ethiopian eunuch in a chariot heading home from Jerusalem. The man was reading Isaiah. Philip asked him, “Do you understand what you are reading?” Which the man replied, “How can I, unless someone guides me?” How are they to believe in Him of whom they have never heard?

Your neighborhood is filled with sinners on a trajectory toward eternity to suffer God’s wrath, and they do not know you or any gospel proclaimer personally. This world is filled with sinners with no hope, and we have a message. Your neighborhood is not unreached, because by God’s grace He sent you there.

For what purpose did God rescue you? The Apostle Paul called himself the chief of sinners rescued to display Jesus Christ’s perfect patience (I Timothy 1:16) and that in the church God displays “the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus” (Ephesians 2:7). We cannot display without intentionality. We are commanded by our Lord to make disciples of all people. Every background, every kind of sinner, every type of folks who may be uncomfortable to be around. Yes, they are blinded by Satan (II Corinthians4:4), but we do not proclaim ourselves but Christ Jesus who has the power to bring light from darkness! 

Do not be intimidated and let not your heart be troubled, dear disciple of Jesus. You weren’t given a spirit of fear, but of boldness to proclaim the truth of Jesus Christ to such sinners. That is Jesus’ mission; that is your mission! Do not hesitate to gain relationships with those who are not following Jesus. Do not hesitate to tell them the glorious truth of Jesus Christ from His Word. With urgency and grace-gifted boldness, share the love of Jesus with those in darkness that they may see a great Light.

Heavenly Father, give us urgent and compassionate hearts to weep over sinners like Jesus wept over Jerusalem as a people without a shepherd. May we trust in Your Word and Your Holy Spirit to give us words to say as we faithfully fulfill the Great Commission of our Lord. Grant us Your mercy, O Lord, in Jesus’ name. Amen.

Wisdom to Age and to Die Well

“For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven: a time to be born, and a time to die.” –Ecclesiastes 3:1-2

We get excited when a baby is born. There is fresh celebration when we’re newly wed, entering a new job, or buying a first home to raise our children in. When something is new, our imaginations run wild with future memories made and the hope of life getting better. But babies grow old and die. Newlyweds endure a lifetime of two sinners living together. Jobs turn into careers that we work until our bodies fail, and we retire. Houses age and children move out. Hopes and dreams excite us, but living out life drags us. We aren’t prepared for the fight. The world does not prepare us to age and to die.

The world only knows how to celebrate what is fresh. That’s why fads are so quick to come and go. We are pressured to discover a “new you,” to find what makes our hearts flutter afresh each day. Youth culture is celebrated far more than wisdom from a life well lived and a life prepared to die well. But the freshness of new things is not better than the end. Ecclesiastes 7:8 reads, “Better is the end of a thing than its beginning, and the patient in spirit is better than the proud in spirit.” Arrogance keeps us impatient. A humble faith in God gives us patient endurance to age well and die well to the glory of God.

I learned something from lying in a hospital bed for 3 days last week: our existence is a fragile mortality. Wisdom comes from aging well; that is growing in Christ-likeness. Wisdom is found in dying well; that is trusting that the celebration of things in the end is better than the beginning. God is sovereign, and I know I gained more wisdom in 3 days than I could in 3 weeks at a Bible conference. My folly is more than an information problem; deeper still, it is a relationship problem. The course of our lives has phases, but then we die. Has eternity with Jesus been displayed as my highest joy while aging and walking toward my death on earth?

Wisdom to age well and die well must be Spirit gifted wisdom in the Word received with humility and a dependence upon God’s sovereignty even when I am left confused and my “why” questions are left unanswered. O for grace to trust Him more!

Grant us grace, O Lord, to trust You and depend upon You even if it means temporary pain in this temporary life. Give grace to our eyes of faith to see eternity with You as far greater, far more satisfying than even our wildest dreams on earth. Teach us to age well and to die well, displaying Your glory through us to a world that is dying. Amen.

Pray for Me, for Us

“I urge you, brothers, by our Lord Jesus Christ and by the love of the Spirit, to join me in my struggle by praying to God for me.” –Romans 15:30

Paul was a giant in the faith. Thoughtful, intelligent, willing to work and to suffer for Christ. He planted churches around the Mediterranean Sea, fought off wolves endangering young Christians, and was a bold preacher in front of Herod, Mars Hill, and angry mobs. Yet, Paul still needed the prayers of the church gathered. “Join in my struggle through prayer,” he pleads to the church. 

Why does Paul ask the church to join in his struggle? For “our Lord Jesus Christ and by the love of the Spirit.” Paul’s prayer for the local church is that our “love may abound more and more, with knowledge and all discernment” (Philippians1:9). Love increases in the church that gathers to know God more and discern His truth. 

My ministry, just like Paul’s, is utterly dependent on God to do the things only God can do. Making disciples of all people to the glory of God requires God’s power. Paul knew his personal growth and labor in ministry was by God’s grace alone (I Corinthians15:10). Who I have become and how I minister is dependent upon God’s grace alone. Therefore, my beloved Allison Avenue saints, struggle with me by praying to God for me.

Also, Paul pleads for the saints in Rome to join him in his struggle by praying “by the love of the Spirit.” There is a sweetness found in a church who prays such Kingdom prayers together! Join the struggle together by praying to God together! Paul already commanded the Roman saints to “rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer” (Romans 12:12). Be constant in prayer…together. Struggle together. Paul wrote to the Colossian church how he heard of their faithfulness to God and of their love in the Spirit (Colossians1:8). This is the same Holy Spirit in whom we the church enjoy unity and a bond of peace (Ephesians 4:3), a perfect unity held together by God’s perfect love (Colossians3:14).

I plead with you: pray for me, for my teaching ministry, for my leadership of our church. Pray that I speak the mystery of the gospel in the way I should (Colossians 4:3-4) with boldness (Ephesians 6:19). Pray for one another. Pray together. Pray constantly. Pray that you love one another more (Philippians 1:9). Pray that you encourage one another to walk in a manner worthy of the Lord and to bear fruit for His glory (Colossians 1:9-10). 

Let us be a praying church, faithful to God and depending on God and going to God on behalf of one another. Join in the struggle of the global gospel mission of Christ in prayer for laborers to enter the field for the harvest (Luke 10:2) and then go to the field ourselves (Luke 10:3).

Heavenly Father, my love for Your people whom You have sovereignly placed under my leadership compels me to ask You for Your favor to them. Bless them by Your rich mercies, deliver them from temptation, and may our love for one another increase. To Your glory and in Jesus’ name. Amen.

Knowing and Loving God

“I have stored up Your Word in my heart, that I might not sin against You.” -Psalm 119:11

We humans are in desperate need of correction. The Bible tells us that our minds are corrupt and bent toward evil constantly (Genesis 6:5) and that we need the Bible to renew our minds so as to not become like the world around us (Romans12:2). How well do you know the Bible? Do you store up the wisdom from the Word in your heart?

I sense an awkward hesitation from some to attend our Bible studies and discipleship groups, and I am curious if it is our pride being intimidated. We are intimidated by what we don’t know, especially if we walk into a room filled with people who do know the Bible well. Let me teach you a proverb I took up many years ago: do not be ashamed about what you do not know, only from an unwillingness to learn.

The Scripture is God speaking of Himself; His infinite, eternal, everlasting, beauty never fading Self. None of us would know God without Him revealing Himself. And the Lord says to worship the Lord our God with all our minds. Have a desire, a willingness, to learn from His Word. We are to know God well to love God well. Do you know Him well?

I encourage you and your family; do not be content with the label “Christian” without knowing and loving God well. We learn in community as a local church. God made us to need Him and to love Him, and we learn by renewing our minds with Scripture together. Join our Bible studies, discipleship groups, and for our worship gatherings. But don’t leave it there. Take your Bible and learn from God at home. Learn the God you love. He will instruct and correct you, discipline and convict you, to renew your mind to love the Lord will all your mind. Our Lord teaches us His revealed Word that His complete joy may be in us (John 15:11).

Heavenly Father, forgive us for any idle thinking and grant us Your mercy a yearning to receive Your instruction, storing up Your Word in our hearts. Grant us repentance, O Lord, and teach us that Your joy may be in us. We praise You for Your steadfast love given through our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.

Pray for those in High Positions

The United States of America has a new President. This news has met an increasingly sensitive and contentious American culture with either anger or jubilee. Social media is filled with name calling from all sides, and anger has driven crowds to riot in the streets. I am curious of any Bible verses being mentioned in this sort of cultural climate. One that has stood out comes from I Timothy 2:2 which says, "Pray for kings and all who are in high positions."

In verse 1, we read a "therefore," which should tell us that chapter 1 is informing this word from God to pray for those in government power. In chapter 1, Paul urged the young pastor Timothy to "wage the good warfare, holding faith and a good conscience." Don't be like Hymenaeus and Alexander who shipwrecked their faith by not holding the faith in Jesus Christ with a good conscience.

Since pastor Timothy holds the faith with a good conscience, fighting the good fight of the faith, Paul's urgency to pray is then given. We are commanded to pray to keep the faith and a good conscience in our fight for the faith, seeing our dependence on God (faith) as our desperate need, and submitting to God as above all people, including kings and those in high positions.

Paul was writing this letter at a time when people in high positions were hard to pray for. Paul says to pray for Nero, Herod, even Pilate. People in high positions were hostile to the faith, persecutors of Christians, and power hungry individuals. So, the command to pray for government leaders is not based on whether or not we agree with them and their lifestyle.

Jesus told Pilate that the Roman prefect had no authority but what God has given him. Paul says in Romans 13:1 to submit to governing authorities because God put them there. Paul was fully aware of the weight of the command to pray for government leaders. Pray for ALL kings and government leaders. Paul doesn't tell us to pray only for my government leaders, but ALL. Not just the US President and congressperson and mayor, but also for Kim Jong-un, Ayatollah Khamenei, and Chairman Xi Jinping.

Why all leaders around the world? God desires all people from every nation to be saved. The overwhelming majority of Christians on planet earth right now doesn't even speak English, even more is not American. Our prayers are not to be exclusive, nor is the aim a prosperous and comfortable life. The aim is a quiet life that is kept on a global, disciple-making mission.

What specifically are we to be praying for our government leaders? Paul says we pray for government leaders "that we may lead a peaceful and quiet life, godly and dignified in every way." God is sovereign over all government authorities. He has placed all governments on the shoulders of Christ our Lord (Isaiah 9:6), and all authority in heaven and on earth has been given to our King Jesus (Matthew 28:18). By His authority, Jesus commands His church to make disciples of all nations. Paul commands to pray for earthly government authorities, both good and evil, to free us to live peacefully and godly. Paul adds that God is pleased by our prayers for earthly government leaders because God is our Savior "who desires all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth." Paul's focus is on Christ Jesus. We are to pray for government leaders to leave the church free to continue our disciple-making mission on earth, because God desires all nations to be saved.

Do you pray and so speak on social media and in private conversations displaying a peaceful and quiet life, godly and dignified in every way? I am troubled by comments online, not from unbelievers, but those in the name of Jesus displaying an angry and name calling Christianity. We are to pray for our leaders to free us to live peacefully; this includes our interactions with the culture around us. My fellow Christians, be slow to speak (James 1:19), and when we do speak (James 1:26), let our speech display a peaceful and quiet life, godly and dignified in every way.

Christian: pray for governing authorities around this world, both good and bad, to free us to live our lives in a godly way and to continue Christ's mission to make disciples of all nations. Continue in your good fight of the faith and celebrate your dependence upon Christ Jesus, the King of kings, Prince of peace. Let us pray and let us labor in His mission knowing we have no abiding city here, but we look to the city yet to come of which God Himself is the Architect and Builder. Meanwhile, let us display for a dark, unbelieving world that a life trusting in King Jesus is a life lived peacefully and quietly, godly and dignified...in every way.

Devoted to a Church that Frustrates You

“They devoted themselves to…the fellowship.” –Acts 2:42

When I attended seminary, I taught Bible classes in a church in the suburbs. Visiting a member's house was like seeing a mansion, in my eyes. One such home had a room near the front of the house the owner called, "The Sitting Room." The room was perfectly set up and dusted. The couches and chairs with accent lights and decorations on a perfectly placed coffee and end tables looked like something staged for a magazine photoshoot. The Sitting Room was very infrequently used. Only on special occasions were people allowed to visit the room and sit. No food or drinks were allowed, so as to not get the room dirty.

This is the draw for many churches. No drama allowed in church, no relationships too close or else our dirtiness will get exposed. We want a church we can simply visit, where everything is nice. Our sentimental ideas of church get ruined by dirty people. We desire to make and attend churches to visit; Jesus wants us to be devoted to one another and love one another.

When folks come over to my family’s house, I tell them, “Excuse the mess; this house is lived in.” That is exactly what our church must be like: lived in. Lived in by sinners saved by grace and on the journey to be more like Jesus. We must understand that the Lord commands us to be a part of a local church that sometimes frustrates us, sometimes disappoints us, and oftentimes requires us to be the initiator of conversations, reconciliation, and service.

When the early church devoted themselves to the fellowship, it was a devotion to biblical teaching, breaking of bread, and prayers. Our flesh desires church to be low maintenance, convincing ourselves that we should expect to leave church always feeling good about ourselves. Truth is, they are sinners…just like you and me. We are commanded to confess our sins to one another, teach and admonish one another, and love and serve one another. This requires closeness. This requires frustration. This requires a house that is lived in.

I am convinced that the best churches have buildings with faded carpet, tattered chairs, and worn Bibles. Evidences of a people devoted to one another and being close to one another as they draw near to God together. Let’s be a house of God, and let this house be a home that is lived in.

Heavenly Father, forgive us for letting our frustrations keep us at enmity with others. Help us by Your steadfast love to display Your love for Your people. Help us by Your Spirit to be a people devoted to the fellowship, not neglecting to meet regularly, and be a home that is lived in by Your mercies. In Jesus’ Name. Amen.