Author: Kirk Lewis

What’s Love Got To Do With It?

Focal Passage: I Corinthians 13:1-13

I sang a duet this week with Pop/Soul recording star Tina Turner. She didn’t know it, but I certainly did. Listening to Sirius Radio’s Classic Hits station in my car this week behind the protection of my tinted windows, Tina and I belted out her soulful and defiant rendition of What’s Love Got to Do with It? Personally, I think I nailed it!

While my voice probably added little value to the 1980s hit, Tina’s husky voice gave the song a raw, emotional edge that made it feel lived in rather than just performed. What’s Love Got to Do with It? became Tina’s “anthem of independence,” a song that questioned love’s place in relationships while asserting her own strength.

What’s love got to do with it?

You may find it hard to believe, but that’s essentially the question Paul asked the people in the church at Corinth over 2,000 years ago. Let’s jump back in time for a bit.

Paul established the church in Corinth during his second missionary journey around 50 AD. While the church was doing some good things, it also struggled to stay grounded in Christ as Paul taught them. Some of the believers had a tendency to drift back into their old way of life, indulging in sexual immorality or blending aspects of their former pagan worship into their new beliefs.

Others, gifted by God for ministry in various ways, tended to believe their gifts were of greater value than others and considered themselves better than their fellow church members. Evidently, it led to some nasty arguments among them and more than a little name calling.

When the situation got bad enough, some folks in the Corinthian church, trying to do things the right way, boarded a boat and crossed the Aegean Sea from the port of Cenchreae (near Corinth) to Ephesus, a journey of about 200 nautical miles. They came to Paul, sharing what was happening back home and seeking his counsel.

While they struggled with a great many things, the story of the Christians in Corinth was a sad tale of dissension and disunity. All the infighting within the church damaged their witness for Christ. As a result, Paul sat down and wrote a corrective letter to his “brothers and sisters,” urging them to “end the divisions among you” and to be “perfectly united in mind and thought.” (I Corinthians 1)

At one point Paul addressed the issue of their disunity by explaining that God grants everyone abilities and spiritual gifts to be used to build up each other and the church as they work together to advance the cause of Christ. One gift is not greater than the other, making each person valuable to God’s kingdom.

Then, Paul shows them “the most excellent way” to end their divisiveness. As he did so, he wrote perhaps one of the New Testament’s most memorable passages: I Corinthians 13. Take a look.

If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but have not love I am nothing. If I give all I possess to the poor and surrender my body to the flames, but have not love, I gain nothing.

Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails. (I Corinthians 13:1-8a)

It’s difficult to read these verses, as I often do, and not hear wedding bells. In fact, my wife and I chose these verses to be read at our wedding 50 years ago. While they fit quite well shoehorned into a marriage ceremony, it’s not what Paul had in mind when he penned them.

Paul needed the believers in Corinth to start loving each other as Christ loved them. To express love for each other and for the lost as a priority over everything else. Love, Paul believed, is the litmus test of our life in Christ, proving that we are his.

It wasn’t a thought unique to the apostle. Jesus taught his disciples the same thing just prior to his death on the cross.

A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this shall all me know that you are my disciples, if you love one another. (John 13:34-35)

The love both Jesus and Paul spoke about is selfless love as defined in the Greek word agape. It was modeled by Christ throughout his life and upon his death on the cross for our sins. Self-giving. Sacrificial. Always seeking good for others even when they don’t deserve it.

Given the attitudes of many in the Corinthian church, Paul described not what love is, but how love acts—less descriptive adjective and more active verb. If our love fails to positively engage in the joy and hurt of others, if love fails to extend God’s grace , we accomplish nothing. We gain nothing.

That sounds harsh. There is a Latin phrase—sine qua non—that means essentially, “if you don’t have this, you don’t have anything.” Without love, the rest comes off no better than Professor Harold Hill’s River City Marching Band, a lot of notes, but very little music. Whatever we tried to accomplish gains nothing.

When considered in the context of Paul’s instruction to the Corinthian church, love expressed in patience is our choice to love someone not because of who they are, but in spite of who they are, in spite of what they’ve done to you. It is love that refuses to be offended and chooses again to see potential in others. Patient love does not demand instant understanding, but continues to disciple and teach.

A love expressed in kindness love isn’t just being nice. In the original Greek, the word for kind carries a sense of active gentleness that treats others with worth and dignity. It builds up others rather than tears down. It notices need and acts upon it. It is consistent in deeds, words and tone. It is love with hands and feet…and a gentle voice.

Paul also cites a litany of things love is not. He’s speaking directly to the Corinthians for whom love was, as Tina sang, a “second-hand emotion” forgotten amid the disharmony.

The attitudes of some within the church were envious, boastful, rude, self-seeking and angry toward others they deemed unworthy of their time and help. They diminished their giftedness by their lack of genuine love toward others. These attitudes were tearing apart the church and proving to be an ineffective witness.

“Love never fails,” Paul said. It always wraps its arms around the hurting. Love gives the benefit of the doubt by looking for the good in others. It clings to hope when change, healing or reconciliation is needed. It perseveres through the toughest of times, never giving up on God. Never giving up on others.

It must have hurt the heart of God for the Corinthian church to fall into such a destructive pattern of life. When you read through Paul’s letter, it’s not hard to imagine the hateful exchange of words among the believers who felt justified in their arrogance, believing themselves to be better, more faithful followers of Christ than others.

As I’m imagining their lack of love, I’m reminded of my own failure to extend love and grace to others in times they needed it most. I suspect you’re no different. We must do better.

Though I sometimes fail in that regard, I cringe when professing Christians post angry tirades on social media toward non-believers or even other professing Christians who hold differing views on the social, political or even spiritual topic of the day. I groan at the damage done to the cause of Christ when professing Christians in high political or social positions question with hateful words the faith of others who stand against their programs and policies.

Not everyone who loves is Christian, but every Christian should love always– because God first loved us.

Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love. (I John 4:7-8)

Therein lies the challenge for our faith in our world today. To set aside the divisions and the disunity among us and love nonetheless. To pray sincerely for a change of heart for those who are so hurt they have to hate. Let love start with me. Let it start with you. As we grow in love, maybe we can love others into loving others.

Paul ends his discussion on the subject of love with this:

And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love. (I Corinthians 13:13)

You see, as critical as faith and hope are to our present days, love supersedes them both. For one day, when we see Christ face to face, faith and hope will no longer be necessary.

Faith is that conviction that anchors us in Christ. Yet, one day in God’s kingdom, faith will give way to sight. We won’t need faith once we see him face to face. Hope, our confident expectation of God’s eternal promises, sustains us through this life. Once we have received what we long for in Christ, hope has served it’s purpose

Love never ceases. Love is not something God gives, it is who he is. In Christ, love will never fail or be replaced in heaven, it will only be perfected. Because love embodies the character of God as shown in Christ, it is our highest expression of spiritual maturity and the truest mark of any disciple.

That’s what Paul told the Corinthian church. It’s what he is telling us today. Measure your spiritual life not by the knowledge you attain, not by your giftedness and not the strength of your faith or the depth of your hope. Love is the proof of a life lived for Christ.

So, what’s love got to do with it?

Simply everything.

Thinking Points

In what ways am I tempted to value certain gifts, accomplishments, knowledge or opinions more than love?

When I am confronted with people who think, believe or act differently than I do, do I lean on active patience and kindness or do I fall back on something else?

Since love is eternal, how should that reshape the way I prioritize my relationships today?

React to this statement. Not everyone who loves is Christian, but every Christian should love? What does it say about our priorities?

Where might God be calling me to put love’s hands and feet into action this week?

Rooted

Focal Passage: Colossians 2:2-7

While visiting California years ago, my wife and I visited the Sequoia National Park, walking among those magnificent redwoods towering toward the sky. After growing up among the mesquite trees on the South Plains of Texas, those trees inspired awe and reverence in God’s amazing creation.

The National Park Service believes the 275-foot tall President’s Tree in the park is among the oldest trees in the world, estimated to be more than 3,200 years old. That means when the President’s Tree sprouted as a seedling, Israel had no king, Samson fought his battles with the Philistines, and God was actively preparing the stage for Samuel, Saul and David.

You probably knew that sequoias don’t have a tap root. Their roots rarely go deeper than 10-12 feet, but they spread as far as 150 feet or more in every direction in search of water and nutrients, intertwining with the root systems of the trees growing around them. It is this interlocking root system that gives them strength, enabling them to stand strong through the centuries despite wind or storm.

Paul would have enjoyed knowing about these redwoods. It would have provided another great illustration to use as he wrote to the churches in Asia Minor.

No firm record exists that the apostle Paul ever personally visited Colossae. The apostle sent Epaphras, his recent convert and companion, to Colossae to preach and teach the gospel in what was likely Epaphras’ hometown.

By the time Paul sent his letter to believers in this once prominent city, the church was already being pressured by false teachers and even well-meaning individuals who misunderstood Paul’s teachings about Christ. Paul intended his letter as an encouragement for the believers in Colossae to stay grounded in the gospel they were taught. Hear his words.

My goal is that they may be encouraged in heart and united in love, so that they may have full riches of complete understanding, in order that they may know the mystery of God, namely Christ, in whom are hidden all the treasures of hidden wisdom and knowledge. I tell you this so no one may deceive you by fine sounding arguments. For though I am absent from you in body, I am present with you in spirit, and delight to see how disciplined you are and how firm your faith in Christ is. (Colossians 2:2-5)

It is what he wrote next that captured my attention.

So, then just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to walk in him, rooted and built up in him, strengthened in the faith as you were taught, and overflowing with thankfulness. (Colossians 2:6-7)

Paul gave the believers in Colossae a lot to think about in these two verses. Everything it implied to those first century believers applies equally to any 21st century believer in Christ.

Colossian believers received Jesus as Lord through faith alone, not by adding rituals, Greek philosophy or Jewish legalism to the good news they heard proclaimed. He urged them to continue in faith as they were taught when they first received Christ. He implored them to not muddy the waters with things that have no foundation in Christ Jesus.

Depending on the Bible translation you use, Paul told them to keep on “walking” or “living” in Christ every day. The Hebrew word halak, translated here as walk, stands as a metaphor for one’s daily life. In other words, Paul warned them not to add or subtract from their daily walk in Christ some philosophical or mystical experience taught by those trying to draw them away from the faith they first experienced in Jesus.

This idea of walking in Christ reminds us that the way we choose to live—every decision, every thing we do–should flow from our growing relationship with Jesus, rather than from outside influences or teachings of those wanting to adjust the gospel to make it more comfortable or appealing to the world. Let truth, but the truth, Paul might declare. While many in the world might consider the Christian walk limiting, Paul found it liberating.

Paul frequently talked about dying to self in some of his other letters…this idea of a believer in Christ setting aside life unbecoming and less fulfilling for the life to which we’ve been called in Christ. He just a few sentences later in Colossians 3:2-3, Paul wrote,

Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. For you died (to your old life), and your life is now hidden (secured and protected) with Christ in God.

What the world offered compared poorly with what Paul felt he gained with Christ.

For whatever were gains to me I consider loss for the sake of Christ…I consider them garbage that I might gain Christ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ. (Philippians 3:7-9)

If Paul knew about those mighty redwoods in California, he might have drawn from that knowledge to clarify his next words.

Continue to walk in him, rooted and built up in him.

Think about this. In order to grow to its impressive size, a giant sequoia every day takes in about 800 gallons of water and a steady supply of nutrients primarily through its expansive root system. To be rooted is to be fed and nourished.

However, its strength comes from its connection with other trees, by interweaving its roots with the roots of other nearby sequoias. A sequoia could not survive in isolation. The interlocking system of roots prevent it from being toppled in a storm.

Being rooted in our faith carries two distinct meanings for me.

We are to be rooted in the gospel. Our spiritual nourishment comes only when we study God’s word and spend time with him in prayer, seeking his wisdom and understanding in how he wants us to act and react to life. Being soundly rooted in the teachings of Christ enables us to live fully nourished and strong in the face of every foul wind and storm life throws our way.

We need to realize our need for belonging to a community of faith. We can study and pray and never walk into a place of worship, but I don’t believe we will ever be as strong in our faith as we can be if we practice our faith in isolation.

When we try to live our faith without the presence of other believers in our lives, without the fellowship of the church, we risk losing our grip on faith’s foundation when the next big storm arrives. We need to intertwine our faith roots with the roots of our brothers and sisters in Christ.

Faith was never meant to be a solitary walk. Faith grows in the connection with other like-minded believers. This connection holds us up in our times of greatest need.

I know in my own life the church, my church, provides strength, stability and endurance when I need it most. If you’re not present in worship and Bible study on a regular basis you miss out on the strength gained from others who have walked the same road you’re walking, even those who managed to avoid it in the first place.

When we belong to a community of believers, we are not only more rooted in our faith, we’re “built up in him,” as Paul said. I learn a lot in my personal reading when I read and study scripture. God always teaches a new thought or reinforces my study when I listen to my pastor’s sermons. When I’m open to the spirit’s teaching and guidance while in corporate worship. When studying or discussing the Bible with fellow believers. When watching my spiritual heroes live out their faith walk with Christ in the face of life’s challenges and uncertainties.

Paul even affirmed that thought when he encouraged the Colossian church to be “strengthened in the faith as you were taught.” Being rooted and built up in Christ and his church gives me strength to endure. It sustains me in troubled times. It allows me to grow deeper in my faith and relationship with Christ. I thrive on my connection with Christ and those who believe so strongly in him.

This connection is something I pray I never lose and something I desire for my family. Aside to salvation itself, this connection would be the greatest blessing he gives anyone.

Let me encourage you. Since you received Christ as Lord by faith, keep living each day in his footsteps, modeling the things you do and say in the pattern of Christ. Let your roots continue to seek the spiritual nourishment that delving into his word always provides.

Connect yourself with a local congregation of believers. Find a place to worship where they will build and strengthen your faith. Actively join that fellowship of believers in praise, worship and Bible study. I promise it will make a difference in your life just as it has in mine.

Paul added one final word of advice to the church in Colossae at the end of our passage. He encouraged them to overflow with thankfulness. Not just to be thankful, but to overflow. Letting our gratitude to God spill over into our worship, our walk and our witness.

The call to overflow with thankfulness connects deeply with the foundational principles of discipleship and spiritual growth. When we are firmly established in our faith and in Christ, we more easily see his work in our lives—in our salvation, the guidance of his spirit, his daily provision. Gratitude naturally follows.

It is this gratitude that shapes our perspective in difficult times, reminding us that God is at work even in our suffering.

Rejoice always, pray continually and give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you in all circumstances. (I Thessalonians 3:18)

As we let our gratitude overflow, make this be our prayer.

May our faith roots be as broad as the redwood, nourishing our souls and transforming us into the mirror image of Christ himself. Connect us more tightly to a community of believers to teach and strengthen us. Through it all, make us more like Jesus in a world that desperately needs to see his face in us.

Thinking Points

1. In what ways are your spiritual “roots” nourished daily, and where might you need to seek deeper connection with Christ through Scripture and prayer?

 

2. Paul emphasizes being “rooted and built up in Christ” while staying true to the gospel. In what areas of your life might outside influences be subtly reshaping your walk with Christ?

 

3. How does your relationship with other believers strengthen or challenge your faith, and are there ways you could cultivate more meaningful spiritual connections?

 

4. How often do you intentionally cultivate gratitude in your life, and how could a practice of “overflowing thankfulness” transform your perspective on daily struggles or blessings?

What Will You Ask For?

Focal Passage: I Kings 3:5-12

I was in elementary school the first time I heard about King Midas. Mrs. Wallace, my third-grade teacher, introduced this piece of classical Greek literature to her class of farm kids.

If you recall the story, after extending kindness to one of Dionysus’ servants, the Greek god granted King Midas one wish.

Midas asked that everything he touched would turn to gold. It was a great wish as long as he touched a pile of stones or a palace wall. It was less desirable when he touched a rose or the turkey leg on his plate. It became a horrible curse when his daughter rushed to him in excitement and wrapped him in a hug. Just like the stones and the turkey leg, she, too, turned to gold.

While the story turned out okay in the end, Mrs. Wallace reminded us of the dangers of greed and pride. Then, as if we might find someone willing to grant us anything we wished, she told us to be careful what we ask for. She said it with such mystery in her voice, I don’t think I asked a question of any kind for the rest of that semester.

Midas wasn’t the only one to be granted a wish. It turns out that King Solomon faced a similar decision one night when God, the creator of the universe, came to him in a dream.

King Solomon spent the day offering sacrifices and incense in worship to God. In his exhaustion, he laid down to sleep. At some point in the night God spoke to him in a dream and asked that important question.

Look at I Kings 3:5.

Ask for whatever you want me to give you.

Solomon began with his heart in the right place. He responded to the blank check God offered to write by acknowledging that God had already done so much. He thought of God’s faithfulness and his promises to his father David. He thought about the joy of being David’s son and watching him serve as King of Israel.

Then Solomon got more personal with is gratitude that God had worked through circumstances to make Solomon king.

There is something innocent and intentional in his gratitude to God. Solomon recognizes he is where he is because God is faithful. That God, in his mercy and grace, did as he promised to David and to his people. By acknowledging God’s grace, Solomon expresses what is in his heart. Notice, though, that the grace Solomon senses is not the common grace God extends to all his creation. It is deeply personal.

Solomon, born to David and Bathsheba, was a child born of adultery, abuse of power and murder. Knowing how his life started, Solomon understands that his elevation as king is a clear act of God’s mercy and grace. Solomon knows where he is and who he is only because of God’s grace.

That’s when Solomon proved himself a wiser king than Midas. Look at I Kings 3:7-9. His thoughts express his gratitude.

Now, O Lord, my God, you have made your servant king in place of my father David. But I am only a little child and do not know how to carry out my duties. Your servant is here among the people you have chosen, a great people, too numerous to count or number.

Solomon was given an opportunity of a lifetime. Knowing it was within God’s power to grant, Solomon could go full bore Midas, asking that anything he touched might turn to gold. He could ask for immortality. He could ask for great victories in every battle, building a reputation to be feared and a powerful empire that no one could conquer.

Instead, in a moment of clarity and self-awareness, Solomon shared his vulnerability. He humbled himself before God, acknowledging that the situation overwhelmed him. The burden of leading God’s people weighed heavy on his shoulders and his spirit. Solomon realized his youth and inexperience could be a problem. Setting aside the pride that often comes with kingship, he understood his need for guidance as he governed God’s people.

At that point Solomon gets around to answering God’s question.

So give your servant a discerning heart to govern your people and to distinguish between right and wrong. For who is able to govern this great people of yours? (I Kings 3:9)

Solomon prays for wisdom and a listening heart. There isn’t a modicum of selfishness in the request. It’s not wisdom for wisdom’s sake. It’s not that he wants to be known as a wise king. His concern is for those he rules. That his own actions would reflect God’s will for Solomon and for God’s people.

When Solomon asks God for a discerning heart, he is asking for the ability to distinguish between good and evil, truth and error. To see what is helpful and not harmful. His request involves deep insight, moral sensitivity and spiritual wisdom. Rather than just knowing stuff, Solomon desires wisdom that transcends knowledge.

It’s the kind of wisdom that comes from God alone into a heart that is grateful, humble and focused on doing the will of God as he leads.

I studied this story recently as I prepared to teach my Bible Study class at South Main Baptist Church in Pasadena. Something about the passage caused it to keep resurfacing in my thoughts as if there might be something more I needed to learn. So, I spent some time looking again at the story.

The first thing that struck me this time was that God initiated the conversation during Solomon’s dream. Solomon had yet to voice his insecurities. Unsure if he had the ability to lead God’s people effectively, Solomon surely fretted over every decision. Doubting himself. Second guessing every call he made. Yet, he kept those thoughts to himself.

God, who certainly knew Solomon’s angst and fears, extended an invitation to the king he anointed. In essence, “Ask for whatever you want me to give you.”

Think about that for a second in a broader context that encompasses you and me. God wants to give us what we need to be the person he called us to be. It’s his fervent desire. So much so that he stands ready to provide what we need even before we know to ask for it.

It’s as if he’s telling you and me. “I’m here. I’m ready to help. I sense your struggle. Tell me what you need from me.” I find that both stunning and almost unimaginable!

It’s not that God doesn’t know what we need and is just waiting for us enlighten him. It is that he’s wanting us to reflect honestly on who we are, where we are in life and what we need from God to become the person he wants and needs us to be.

So, the passage tells me that God, in his generosity and grace, approaches his people eager to give us what we need.

Jesus encouraged his disciples with a similar thought. Once, after his disciples were so moved by Jesus’ prayer, they asked him to teach them how to pray as he did. He gave them a example to follow and then he said something that echoes what God shared with Solomon.

So I say to you: Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find, knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds and to him who knocks, the door will be opened. (Luke 9-10)

But, he didn’t stop there. Jesus, with, I suspect, a playful gleam in his eye and a giggle on his lips, went on to explain that God, like any good father, wants to say yes to our requests if he can.

Which of you fathers if your son asks for a fish, will give him a snake instead? Or if he asks for an egg will give him a scorpion. If you then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your father in heaven give the Holy Spirt to those who ask him! (Luke 11:11-13)

I don’t know whether the parallel is intentional, but it connected with me. See if this makes sense to you.

Jesus is promising a gift from God greater than anything else he could give us. “How much more will your father in heaven give the Holy Spirit.” That’s God in us. Always. His thoughts. His guidance. His counsel. His wisdom. Available to us if we only open our hearts and listen.

Now look at what God grants Solomon.

The Lord was pleased that Solomon had asked for this. God said to him, “Since you have asked for this and not for a long life or wealth for yourself, nor have asked for the death of your enemies, but for discernment in administering justice, I will do what you have asked. I will give you a wise and discerning heart so that there will never have been anyone like you, nor will there ever be.” (I Kings 3:10-12)

Is it a stretch to believe that the wisdom to discern and administer justice grows from the work of the Holy Spirit in our lives? The spirit of God within us who is our counselor enables us to listen with the ears of God, to act as his hands and feet, to discern right from wrong with the heart of God?

Is seems to me that when Solomon asks for a discerning heart, when he asks for wisdom, he’s asking for God’s spirit to guide his every thought and deed in ways that honor God. And God grants that request, not just to Solomon, but to us when the spirit comes upon us at the moment we give our lives to Christ.

It is this spirit that offers the discernment and wisdom we need to live the life to which he has called us. We just have to break down all our self-created barriers that keep us from accessing the spirit to the fullest.

That’s really the second truth revealed in this passage in I Kings. It goes back to what Mrs. Wallace said. Be careful what you ask for.

It’s Solomon’s response to the blank check he had been given that defines the rest of the story. In response to God’s invitation, Solomon demolished those barriers by sharing openly what was on his mind.

None of us want to be vulnerable, much less show that side of us to the world around us. The king was no different in that regard than each of us. In this critical moment with God’s invitation hanging in the air, Solomon opened his heart to God with the kind of deep humility that only the truly overwhelmed can know.

Look how Eugene Peterson says it in The Message.

And now here I am: God, my god, you have made me, your servant, ruler of the kingdom in place of David my father. I’m too young for this, a mere child! I don’t know the ropes, hardly know the ins and outs of this job. Yet, here I am, set down in the middle of the people you’ve chosen…

In that moment, we’ve invaded the privacy of his mind where Solomon is alone with his thoughts. We see him, at his most vulnerable: lost in his role and admitting to God that he is helpless on his own.

When given the chance to ask for anything, Solomon chose a listening heart. He chose discernment and wisdom. Even in his fragile state, Solomon realizes that his role in God’s kingdom is not about power and might, it is about serving. It’s about leading with love and justice.

Solomon’s humble heart reminds me that I don’t have to know everything. Even if it’s only in my quiet self, I can acknowledge my vulnerabilities and lay them before God, instead of pretending I have it all figured out.

All I need is the spirit’s indwelling presence that imbues me with a heart that listens and discerns truth. A heart dependent upon the wisdom of God available through the spirit’s counsel.

It’s something James, the half-brother of Christ, reminds us about at the beginning of his letter to believers.

If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to him. (James 1:5)

So, the creator of the universe, our father, extends us the same invitation that he extended to Solomon. “Ask for whatever you want me to give you.”

What will you tell him?

Thinking Points

When God tells you, “Ask for whatever you need me to give you?” what is the first thing that comes to your mind? How honest and vulnerable are you willing to be?

How can you cultivate a heart that seeks wisdom and discernment over personal gain or comfort?

In what areas of life do you need to invite God’s indwelling spirit to guide your thoughts and decisions more fully?

What barriers keep you from hearing the spirit’s wisdom and guidance in your daily life?

Thinking About Forgiveness

Focal Passages: Luke 23:26-43; Colossians 3:12-13

It may come as a surprise to you, but I can carry a tune. My bucket may be a little larger than most good singers, but I can still hit a few notes the first time I try. In truth, I sing quite well…when I’m alone in my car…with the radio turned up high.

That elevated opinion of my singing abilities echoed clearly as I drove across town this week with the volume cranked up, singing loudly and proudly along with Don Henley as he blasted out his soulful rendition of Heart of the Matter. Sing it with me.

“I’ve been trying to get down
to the heart of the matter,
but my will gets weak and
my thoughts seem to scatter,
but I think it’s about forgiveness.”

You can stop singing now because that’s when I stopped singing and started thinking about forgiveness. Not specifically the forgiveness Henley was singing about, but rather the forgiveness extended to me by God, family and friends and the forgiveness I need to extend to others. When I got home, I realized it was time for a deeper dive into forgiveness.

What better place to start than with the one who died to forgive. Join me in Luke 23.

Those verses find Jesus nailed to a cross, suffering an agony you and I cannot comprehend, condemned to death by arrogant Jewish religious leaders and conniving Roman politicians. The witnesses who testifying in Jesus’ sham of a trial lied. Now, a crowd that days earlier cheered him as they waved palm branches amid shouts of Hosanna, hurled insults as they slandered and mocked him.

“If you’re the king of the Jews, come down off the cross and save yourself.”

Their shattered illusions about the promised Messiah overflowed in bitterness and hate. As he suffered unimaginable pain leading to his death, the religious leaders smiled, quite pleased with how it all played out. Pilate, who granted permission for the execution, washed his hands of the sordid affair, thankful he tiptoed through the political minefield.

Through it all, not one looked at the man on that middle cross and said, “I was wrong.” Not one said, “This is a mistake.” Instead, they laughed. They jeered. They celebrated.

Then, Jesus uttered what noted Christian author Ray Pritchard called one of the most profound statements in the entire Bible, “the finest, purest, highest example of forgiveness.” At a time when we might find our will weak and our thoughts scattered, Jesus thought about forgiveness!

Father, forgive them, for they don’t know what they are doing. (Luke 23:34)

Pritchard wrote, “Jesus, the Son of God, the one who knew no sin, the only truly innocent man who ever walked this sin-cursed planet, in his dying moments uttered words that still ring across the centuries…Those 11 tortured words sweep away all our shabby excuses. They reveal the barrenness of our hearts; they rip the cover off our unrighteous anger and show it for what it is.”

I always assumed Jesus was talking to his father about forgiving the Pharisees who forced the issue. Forgiving Judas who betrayed his love. Forgiving Pilate who turned his back on innocence. Forgiving the gathered crowd lining the road to Golgotha who spat upon him as that splintered beam of wood scraped across his whip-torn back. Forgiving the disciples who denied him and ran away. Forgiving the Roman soldiers who wielded the hammer and nails and gambled away his clothes. Forgiving the thief on the cross who, in his own pain and shame, mocked and reviled Jesus. Forgiving the angry crowds who insulted him and misunderstood who he was.

It is more comfortable to think that way. They certainly needed his forgiveness.

Father, forgive them, for they don’t know what they are doing.

As he approached his death on the cross, the words carried a meaning beyond the moment. What if he was really saying, “Father, forgive Kirk. He is not born yet, but when he is, he will do things beyond reason. He will not fully understand what he is doing. Even now, through this sacrifice, forgive Kirk.

So, now? Are you thinking about forgiveness?

Paul tells us Jesus did what was necessary. What God planned from the beginning of creation as he hung the stars and moon: Jesus would die for my sins, your sins and the sins of the world. The unknown writer of Hebrews spells out that covenant promise when he declares that “…without the shedding of blood, there is no forgiveness…so Christ was sacrificed once for the sins of many.” (Hebrews 9:22, 29) 

What Jesus did on the cross and through his resurrection stands as truly the most life-changing act in human history. He died as a substitute for the death we deserve because of who we are and how we live. We are not much different in the grand scheme of life than the unyielding religious leaders, the jeering crowd, the grimly efficient Roman soldiers and the fearful followers who denied their association with Jesus.

I certainly don’t deserve his forgiveness, but I felt it the moment I gave my heart to him as a nine-year-old boy. I feel it, time and time again, when as a man I walk my own path instead of the path he needs me to walk. His forgiveness is there every time I seek it.

If you are a believer in Christ, I know you understand that. If you’ve not yet turned your life over to him, I pray you will find his forgiveness and start a new life lived in the light of his forgiveness and the sunshine of his grace.

There are two sides to every coin, as they say. It is easy to bask in the beauty of God’s forgiveness. We should live each day in gratitude for grace extended. Absolutely. The other side of the coin, though, can make us uncomfortable. Jesus did not just forgive us so we could feel better about ourselves and our past mistakes. His forgiveness comes with a command to forgive those who hurt us.

That’s where it gets messy for many of us. Most of us can agree with the idea of forgiveness in the abstract. The real challenge arises when we are personally wronged and contemplate offering forgiveness to someone who hurt us deeply.

“You don’t know what he did to me.”

“You should have heard what she said about my kids. You’d be angry, too.”

“They should suffer like they made me suffer.”

“No one has ever hurt me like he hurt me.”

“How can I possibly forgive her when she keeps telling those lies about me?”

C. S. Lewis devoted a chapter of his book Mere Christianity to the idea of forgiveness, calling it fundamental to the Christian faith. He said, “Everyone says forgiveness is a lovely idea until they have something to forgive.”

I am not saying forgiveness is easy. When the offense cuts to the core, forgiveness can be difficult. Living like Christ requires his followers not just to admire forgiveness from a distance, but to actually practice it. To forgive even when our baser instinct says, “I’ll bury the hatchet, but it will be somewhere between your shoulder blades.”

There was a time when Jesus found Peter thinking about forgiveness. With irritation written all over his face, Peter plopped down beside Jesus and asked him how many times he had to forgive someone who offended him. Thinking he was being magnanimous, Peter seemed to think seven times was an acceptable number. He sought Jesus’ confirmation.

Rather than seven times, Jesus offered seventy times seven, which in Peter’s mind seemed too much like ever and always. Given Peter’s confused look, Jesus just jumped with both feet into a parable about a forgiven servant who could not forgive the debt someone owed him.

Read Matthew 18:21-35 for the full story.

Essentially, Jesus told Peter that forgiveness is evidence of Christlike behavior and a natural outgrowth of the mercy offered by Christ’s sacrifice on the cross. It is unlimited grace extended to others because of how much God, through Christ, has forgiven us.

When he gave the believers in Ephesus instructions on Christian living, Paul encouraged them to live differently than the rest of the world. He said,

Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ, God forgave you. (Ephesians 4:32)

It was a motivation for forgiveness Paul echoed with the Colossian church. Look at what he said in Colossians 3:12-13.

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.

So, I’m thinking about forgiveness.

No. There is nothing easy about forgiveness. It was anything but easy for Jesus as he hung on the cross experiencing a physical pain and an emotional agony as he bore my sin and yours. Yet, that act of forgiveness that extends beyond the cross to my life and yours demands that we respond to the hurt others inflict upon us with the kind of compassion and love that forgives even the most harmful attack.

It doesn’t mean we pretend it never happened. It doesn’t mean letting people walk all over you. It doesn’t mean making excuses for other people’s bad behavior. It simply means letting go of the hurt so you can begin to restore the broken relationship.

Forgiveness is evolution. A risk. A leap that opens us up to both the possibility of repeated hurt or restored relationship. It is a leap God makes every time we seek his forgiveness. If he forgives us, shouldn’t we be willing to make that same leap for those who desire our forgiveness?

If you are having difficulty forgiving, maybe the heart of the matter is just a matter of heart. A matter of loving others as Christ loves us.

In the middle of all that hurt, when your will gets weak and your thoughts seem to scatter, maybe it is time to think about forgiveness.

Thinking Points

What are some common excuses you use to avoid forgiving others?

 

From the cross, Jesus said, Father, forgive them, for they don’t know what they’re doing. What does his statement reveal about the nature of true forgiveness? How does that idea contrast with your usual response to being wronged?

 

How does recognizing the depth of God’s love and forgiveness toward you shape your ability to (or struggle) to forgive others?

 

Peter wondered if forgiving someone seven times was sufficient. What are the dangers of placing conditions or limits on your willingness to forgive?

Search Me, O God!

Focal Passage: Psalm 139

About a year ago, my insurance provider told me that my health plan dropped the internist and cardiologist l went to for 20-plus years. That’s insurance-speak for, “They wouldn’t agree to what they can charge and what we will pay.” That’s the health-care business in today’s America. I began to look for new doctors within the provider’s plan.

I found a new internist quickly enough. I like her, but to be honest, I didn’t know “teenagers” were allowed to practice medicine. Goodness! She looks young! She certainly seem skilled and current on the most modern medical procedures and practices, maybe even more so than my “old” doctors. May all that new knowledge prove beneficial to my health. That’s the hope.

Aside from the endless paperwork, finding a new doctor came with the inevitable need for her to personally verify my health status. Despite having my old records transferred, my new physician insisted on conducting her own series of tests, scanning, probing, and imaging almost every part of me

When I asked if the new tests were necessary, she said she could only tell so much by looking at past records. She wanted to search what is hidden to reveal the good and the bad, the beneficial and harmful, so they could know me better, inside and out. Okay. Fine.

My angst associated with all this testing, other than the cost of meeting my deductible, was that she might actually uncover something that I’d rather not think about or deal with. This new, young internist, a female version of Doogie Howser, M.D. (for those old enough to remember ‘90s television), sensed my discomfort.

She reached over, patted my hand, like she might her own doddering grandpa, and told me not to worry. If they found anything, she’d find a way to treat it and put me on a path to healing and a healthy future. Her compassion felt sincere. Plus, you’ve got to respect the unbridled confidence.

The good news for me is that none of those tests, scans and probes uncovered anything worse than the need to lose 30 pounds. Mission accomplished.

I had not given that much thought over the past few months until I read Psalm 139 this week. David wrote of his own experience with the Great Physician. I so love this Psalm in its entirety because it tells you and me that we are deeply loved and fully known by God! The Almighty! The Creator of the Universe!

Stunning! Absolutely amazing!

David, the presumed writer of this Psalm, marvels at how God knows us perfectly. Every action. Every undertaking. Even the manner in which we pursue each step of life before we take that first stride. He knows our thoughts before they are fully crystalized in our own minds. God is always present with us. There is no place we can hide from him, a fact that is surprisingly more comforting than threatening. David feels God’s presence with him through every aspect of life.

God knows these things about David because he has already run the scans. He’s already examined the shepherd king. You see, to David, God’s knowledge stems from knowing him before the creation of the world, while he was yet a dream in the hearts of his parents. David recognizes that he was “fearfully and wonderfully made,” not just physically, but in the very fabric of who he is…his emotions, his personality, his interests, his relationships. Psalm 139 is a celebration of the divine care provided by the Great Physician.

What David understands for himself, we must understand for ourselves. You and I are known by the same God who knew David and we’re known just as well.

Let me encourage you. Stop reading this right now and read Psalm 139 from that perspective. Then, you can come back and finish this.

I read Psalm 139 from beginning to end this week…a couple of times. It was the beginning and the end that kept calling me. Look at the beginning.

O Lord, you have searched me and known me. (Psalm 139:1)

The Hebrew word haqar translated as “searched” means more than a cursory TSA scan or pat down. Haqar suggests to search out, investigate, explore or probe. It means taking a deep dive into something to learn all one can learn about the subject. To go beneath the surface to uncover the hidden things.

So Psalm 139:1, tells me that what was true for David is true for us. You and me. Before the world began, God thoroughly and intimately investigated or probed everything about us. The scan probed not only the person we let everyone else see, but also the person we hide from even our closest friends. The person we try, at times, to hide from God. God explored every strand of our spiritual DNA. He did all of this while still deciding where to hang the stars.

There is more to this opening verse. Yada, the Hebrew word for “known,” expresses intimacy, perception and understanding. Because he searched so deeply, he knows what makes us tick. He understands how we will respond to any situation. Hear it in David’s prayer. He acknowledges God knows when he sits or stands, knows what he’s thinking even before those thoughts gel in his own mind. God is “familiar with all my ways” and “even before a word is formed on my tongue, you know it completely.”

For someone like me who spent a career measuring his words and someone whose innate shyness and hidden insecurities often kept people at arms-length, that can be a scary proposition. God knew my thoughts before I had them. My words before I spoke them. God knew me intimately before I was born.

While I do find it a little convicting, I find it far more comforting. There is someone out there who knows me both as the person I am and the person I was created to be.

God sees every sin. Every tumor of disobedience showed up on his scans. Every hidden sin, bad attitude or break from his righteousness that I try to hide showed up on my x-rays. That’s convicting. Because of his intimate knowledge of what makes Kirk “Kirk,” he also knows who I can be if I only do what the doctor ordered. That’s so comforting.

Just as I am fully known by God, I am fully loved by God. For everyone struggling to live up to what we perceive as God’s expectations, that is music to our ears.

As David reflects on all the ways he is known and still loved, he ends this beautiful poem with the desire for more tests to be run.

Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there is any offensive way in me and lead me in the way everlasting. (Psalm 139:23-24)

Note the intentional similarities between verses 1 and 23. The former usage, stated in the past tense, shows the psalmist’s realization that God has already studied in depth who he is and who he can be. That God knows him inside and out because he scanned his innermost being.

The grammatical shift in verse 23 moves from past tense to an imperative. The psalmist expressed an urgent plea for the God to keep looking into his heart. Keep testing and probing his every thought and deed. David knew that to become the man God wanted and needed him to be, he must allow God to continually assess his motivations, measuring how he thinks, believes and acts. David, like any good patient who wants to stay healthy, asks God in no uncertain terms, “Keep running your tests. Keep searching my heart.”

Why?

David’s prayer essentially says, “God, during your search, if you find me doing something I should not be doing, being something I shouldn’t be, lead me toward your righteousness. The plea is no longer only a theological observation of an omniscient and loving God as it was in verse 1. It is a personal prayer of surrender and openness to the God who knows and loves him.

Shouldn’t that be my prayer every day? The prayer of every believer every day?

Our desire cannot be that God should know us in the abstract. David wanted to tap into that knowledge to help him become a better man. That ought to be our mindset. It ought to be our prayer that God would search our hearts and identify for us the issues within, so we can ask our Great Physician to remove the hurtful parts of us and to put us on the path that Jesus walked. To be more like him. The eternal path.

God’s refining and healing work to not just open the doors to eternal life, but to enable us to walk each day on the path that aligns with God’s eternal purpose and will. A life reflective of God’s character and truth. Daily living in obedience, faith and integrity shaped and measured by God’s eternal purpose.

The entire Psalm blesses and humbles me. That God has known me from the beginning of time and still loved me enough to offer his son to bear the burden of sin that was mine to bear, reveals a love of unfathomable depth. That he knows me as well as he does and still engages with me, is mercy unimaginable. What a blessing!

Be reminded that you have purpose and value in God’s eyes. This Psalm is a humble invitation to God to look deeply into our hearts, discover every malignant and sinful tumor within us and treat it. To put us on a path of righteous healing and healthy spiritual growth.

Be comfortable in God’s presence. Live transparently before the God who knows us better than anyone…even better than we know ourselves.

There is something so very comforting when the Great Physician runs his tests. Let him pat your hand like you are his doddering old grandpa. His compassion is sincere.

Let him tell you not to worry…that if he finds anything, he’ll find a way to treat it and put you on the path to healing and a healthy future.

I promise. You will find your strength in his unbridled confidence.

Thinking Points

Why does God “searching” and “knowing” you so deeply make you feel comforted, or anxious or both?

Can you think of a time when you felt being “seen” or “known” by God? How did that experience affect your relationship with him?

 

David prays for God to continue searching him and revealing any hidden issue. What areas of your life are you willing (or hesitant) for God to probe right now?

 

In what ways does knowing that God truly understands and knows who you’ve been, who you are and who you can be help you face your own weaknesses, sins or fears?

 

How does the metaphor of God as the Great Physician shape your understanding of spiritual growth and healing?

 

Independence Day

Focal Passage: Romans 8:1-2

Our nation will gather this weekend in various ways to celebrate the signing of that document on July 4, 1776. Enjoy the fireworks as they light up the sky. Let your flag wave. Hear the patriotic songs echo through the streets. Freedom is a beautiful gift, bought and paid for by the incredible sacrifice of so many men and women through the years.

Let’s enjoy the day and honor that sacrifice. Let’s also pray that our nation’s leaders uphold in every way the freedoms promised to all of us in the Declaration of Independence and those guaranteed in the U.S. Constitution.

President Thomas Jefferson, about a year before his death in 1826, responded to a letter from Henry Lee IV, an early American historian and the son of Revolutionary War hero “Lighthorse Harry” Lee. In a desire to better understand their motivations for seeking freedom from England, Lee asked Jefferson to explain why he felt compelled to write the Declaration of Independence.

Jefferson wrote back and explained. “This was the object of the Declaration of Independence. Not to find out new principles, or new arguments, never before thought of…but to place before mankind the common sense of the subject…” Jefferson said the document was simply to explain to the world why they chose to separate from English rule.

Read the opening two paragraphs of that cherished document through that lens as if Jefferson himself were reading it to you.

“When, in the course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bonds which have connected them with another, and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature’s God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.

“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.”

As one who loves history, the Declaration of Independence is a hallowed document for me. While I don’t do it every July 4, I have often read the Declaration in private reflection and gratitude for being blessed to live within the freedoms it holds dear. I believe it contains great words of promise still unfulfilled in some ways. America is still, and I suspect always will be, a work in progress.

Despite our failure at times to live up to the ideals expressed in the Declaration, I cherish those God-given, inalienable rights it holds true…rights that cannot be sold nor surrendered; rights that cannot be transferred or taken away. They belong to each of us fundamentally by the very nature of our citizenship and our existence as God’s creation.
Life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.

As a citizen of the United States, I reflected on the Declaration this week based on Lee’s question to better understand why the document was written. As a citizen of God’s kingdom, I think we must explore a much deeper and important question. What is the nature of true freedom? Is there a spiritual declaration of independence that promises life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness to those who live under the blanket of God’s love?

Paul, in his letter to the Romans, talked to them about his personal struggle with sin. He said his inability to obey the commands and laws of God, drove him farther from God, separated him. Sin became as death to Paul.

When I want to do good, evil is right there with me. For in my inner being, I delight in God’s law, but I see another law at work in the members of my body, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin…in my sinful nature a slave to the law of sin. (Romans 7:21-22, 25)

Paul declares that all of us fall under the tyranny of sin. He didn’t leave us there. Paul goes on to write what one might consider our spiritual Declaration of Independence.

Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit of life set me free from the law of sin and death. (Romans 8:1-2)

It’s a declaration of independence Paul echoes to the church in Galatia.

It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by the yoke of slavery (to sin). (Galatians 5:1)

By taking our sins to the cross, Christ has set free from sin all those who put their trust in him. As a child of God, I am free from the penalty of sin because Jesus already paid the price. I am free of the tyranny of sin and claim my independence from sin’s rule, its condemnation and its hold on me. I declare my freedom through Christ to live without fear of judgment and free to walk in righteousness in relationship with God. For each Christian, these verses are the foundation for a new, liberated life in Christ.

So, I can declare that winter day in 1962 when I gave my heart of Jesus as my Spiritual Independence Day. Your day of independence may be different, but it is just as real.

As ones now living in the freedom God provides, these truths then become self-evident. That we, by virtue of being his sons and daughters through Christ, are endowed or gifted by our Creator with certain inalienable rights; rights that cannot be sold, surrendered, transferred or taken away. Among these rights are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.

Life

Listen to the words of Jesus…

I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me will live, even though they die.” (John 11:25-26)

God has given us eternal life, and this life is in his son, whoever has the son has life. (I John 5:11-12)

Jesus’ death and resurrection conquered sin and death and provides the gift of life eternal, liberated from the finality of death. However, that’s just the starting point. It offers so much more.

I have come that you might have life and have it more abundantly. (John 10:10)

This is a promise that life is not just eternal. It is, in the present, full of meaning and purpose. Because of Christ, we live in the abundance of God’s love and grace. Because this life is a gift from God through our belief in Christ, one that we don’t have to earn through perfect obedience or good works, we can live with confidence and hope. Eternal life is promised and assured because we belong to him.

That relationship we have with Jesus means that life in Christ is not just about surviving or punching a ticket to heaven. It is a life filled with purpose, joy, peace and an abiding richness for today. It is a life marked by our ability to experience life as God intended it to be, in service to others and overflowing with his grace.

I find that life-changing.

Liberty

To the Jews who had believed in him, Jesus said, “If you hold to my teaching you are really my disciples. Then, you will know the truth, and the truth shall set you free. (John 8:31-32)

When these same people struggled to understand the freedom Jesus offered, he told them.

I tell you the truth, everyone who sins is a slave to sin. A slave has no place in the family, but a son belongs to it forever. So, if the son sets you free, you are free indeed. (John 8:34-36)

When you get right down to it, that last verse is the Christian’s cornerstone of hope. Jesus has the authority and power to break sin’s hold on us. Because of this, when we trust him, he welcomes us into his family as sons and daughters with permanent belonging. It is not just freedom from guilt or punishment, it is a new identity, one that is not only empowering in the present, but secure and eternal for life to come.

I find that liberating.

Pursuit of Happiness

Let’s deepen the definition of happiness to joy…that abiding sense of gladness, well-being and contentment that is grounded in God’s character, his promises and his presence. Paul draws upon this to remind us that this kind of happiness or joy is not determined by circumstances, but through the power of God’s spirit.

I have learned the secret of being content (joyful) in any and every situation. I can do all this through him who gives me strength. (Philippians 4:11-13)

Even in the face of what seems insurmountable, we find joy in Christ because of the strength he gives to endure and overcome.

Let all who take refuge in you rejoice; let them ever sing for joy, and spread your protection over them, that those who love your name may exult in you. (Psalm 5:11)

Joy comes in relationship to God, anchored in knowing him, trusting his love and experiencing his protection and grace. The Psalmist said that all who take refuge in God rejoice or exult. Exult is not a word we use often, but we should in this context. It means a triumphant joy, to be exceedingly glad. It expresses emotional elation and spiritual celebration of all God has done for us.

Jesus knew this kind of joy because of his connection to his father. He longed for his followers to feel the same. When we remain connected to Christ as he was connected to God, listening to his word, being obedient to his teachings, our joy grows. It transcends the circumstances. In Christ we find a joy that is full and complete. A joy that is resilient in the face of difficulty.

“I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete. (John 15:11)

I find that makes me happy.

It’s good to celebrate our national independence and remember to hold dear the rights and responsibilities such freedom requires. It is equally important to celebrate our spiritual Independence Day and to hold dear the life, liberty and happiness it promises and to bear the deeper responsibility it requires to live worthy of the freedom it provides.

Thinking Points

When you read the opening words of the Declaration of Independence, what thoughts or emotions stir in you about the freedoms we enjoy today? What can we do to ensure that those freedoms remain for future generations?

Paul writes that “it is for freedom that Christ has set us free.” What does spiritual freedom mean to you personally, and how have you experienced it in your own life?

How do you see the “life, liberty and pursuit of happiness” promised by God through Christ differently from the freedoms promised by our nation?

Reflect upon your own Spiritual Independence Day,” that moment when you gave your heart to Christ. How has that decision changed you and how has it shaped your life since?

The Begin Againers

Focal Passage: Joel 2:12-13

Of all the jobs on the farm, I hated to hoe more than any other. Those endless, quarter-mile rows of cotton stretched forever into the horizon, especially in the July heat. The mindless hours of swiping that blade through that red West Texas dirt sure made going to college more appealing.

“Chopping cotton” was the first job most of us farm kids were compelled to do. We were too young to drive the tractor, but Dad could always shorten the hoe handle to fit our short stature. I learned how to sharpen the edge of my hoe with a file long before I mastered long division.

My Dad and older brother flanked each side of me the day I hoed my first row of cotton. I was not amused. I reached the age where I had to trade play for hard work…at least some of the time. My attitude reflected my half-hearted effort. Chopping just beneath the sandy surface to slice the stem of the weeds, took less effort than digging them out by the roots. So, that’s what I did…for hours.

Dad tried to get me to do it right. He showed me. He scolded me. He finally just took care of his business and left me alone.

About 10 days later, Dad took me to the same field and told me to tell him what I saw. Clearly, every third row, the rows I hoed, were fresh with regrown weeds while the other two were still pristine. The weeds I sliced seemed to grow back faster and stronger, nature’s way of thumbing its nose at me.

Dad pulled my hoe out of the bed of the pick-up truck, handed it to me, and said simply, “Begin again.”

I spent the rest of that day, miserable in a field, fixing my mistake. Lesson learned.

That distant life lesson resurfaced this week after years buried in the background of my mind. A passage in the Old Testament book of Joel reminded me that when God points out our sins, he also calls us to return to him, to begin again living within the framework of his will. To be what singer/songwriter Scott Mulvahill calls in one of his songs a “begin againer.”

Look at the message God shares through the prophet Joel in his call for repentance and starting over in restored relationship with the father.

Even now,” declares the Lord, “return to me with all your heart—with fasting and weeping and mourning. Rend your heart and not your garments. Return to the Lord your God for his is gracious and compassionate, abounding in love… (Joel 2:12-13)

You see, my Dad, rather than get angry, let my mistake run its course. Despite his instruction, he gave me my free-will choice to stubbornly do things my way. When that didn’t work well, he pointed out how my half-hearted effort didn’t achieve the desired results. He wanted me to understand that doing things the right way may be harder, but it is always better. Then, with a pat on the back, he just told me to begin again. Start over. Return to the field and do it right.

Does that not sound like how God deals with his own children? We grip the handle of our free-will choices and dig just beneath the surface of obedience, with an insincere effort. Then, just a few days later the sin, the weeds, return.

God walks us out to that weed-infested life and shows us the difference in doing things his way or doing them our way. With a pat on the back, he hands us the hoe and says get after it. “Do it again, please, but this time, do it my way.” God is a God of second and third chances… and thankfully so many more. In our rebellion, even now, he calls us to return to him. To be a begin againer.

Look again at this beautiful passage.

Return to me. Three words of incredible and incomprehensible hope that speak directly to those moments when we feel it’s too late. Those days when we feel we’ve strayed too far from the Lord to find our way back. Unintended mistakes. Deliberate rebellion. Spiritual apathy. God says, even now despite all you’ve done or failed to do, you can return. It’s never too late. Begin again.

The call to return must be answered with all your heart, God says. With fasting, weeping and mourning. Beginning again isn’t just a surface level change. God desires our complete and utter surrender. Not religious gestures or rituals. Not going through the motions. Just a sincere turning away from our stubborn desires to do life our way. He wants us to return to him with all that is within us. Our thoughts. Our affections. Our desires. Our souls. Our hearts. Our strength.

Fasting, weeping and mourning capture our deepest expressions of repentance. These acts and emotions are not expressions of sorrow over being called out or regret for the consequences we face, but sincere grief over the sin itself. In these things we recognize deeply our failure for what it is and how far it has taken us from God’s way and will.

Then Joel takes it a step further. Rend your heart, not your clothes. The ancient Hebrew would tear his clothes as a symbol of repentance or being repentant. God wants to make sure we understand that the transformation must be real. Don’t just look or sound repentant on the outside while stubbornly holding on to our old self on the inside. Perfection is not required. Humility is. Be transformed and renewed. Begin again.

God’s call to return to him or to begin living again for him rests in the very character of God. Our sincere regret opens the possibility of restoration. God’s grace confirms it. He welcomes us back, not because we earned it, but because of his goodness. His patience. His mercy. His grace. His never ending and all-encompassing love. It is who he is.

After his moral failure with Bathsheba and his scheme to claim her as his own, David, the psalmist, painted a vivid picture of how to begin again. Listen to the pleading in his words.

Create in me a clean heart, Oh God, and renew a right spirit in me. Cast me not away from your presence and take not your holy spirit from me. Restore to me the joy of my salvation and uphold me with a willing spirit. (Psalm 51:10-12)

Here’s what I find interesting in his passage as I think about my need at times to begin again.

David does not ask God to fix his heart—he asks Him to create a new one. The Hebrew word for “create” (bara) is the same used in Genesis 1:1 when God creates, well, everything. It suggests that David knows he needs a fresh start—something only God can accomplish. It is a cry for transformation, not just forgiveness. Let me say that again because it’s important. It is a cry for transformation, not just forgiveness.

It’s not just that we made a mistake when we sinned. We must recognize our hearts as fundamentally broken. David doesn’t minimize his sin. He’s asking for a radical inner change. He’s asking to begin again with the right spirit within him…steadfast, faithful, true…in touch with God’s spirit within. It is an urgent desire to draw near to the God he abandoned for a time. It’s David’s desire to begin again, living in the nurturing presence of his father in heaven.

Just recognizing my mistake in that field years ago, did not relieve me of the consequences. I got to hoe it all again, but I wasn’t by myself. Dad walked three rows over. Hoeing weeds that were mine to hoe.

What a marvelous picture of God’s sacrifice and abiding presence! When we sincerely begin again, we will never walk alone. For anyone needing to begin again, to start living for Christ again tomorrow, you need to know that God’s mercy is stronger than our failure. His presence is the reassurance of his sacrificial and everlasting presence.

That passage in Joel calls us to return to God. In its context, though, the call to return comes after a long period of rebellion. Our seasons of rebellion may seem just as long. Wouldn’t it be great, however, if we returned to God each morning. Start the day with a clean slate…a pure heart and a right spirit…a chance to set aside yesterday’s failure for a fresh start within the will of father in heaven?

God’s ready to walk with us every day, hoe in hand, helping us do it right.

The every day begin againers.

Thinking Points

In what areas of your life have you been giving a half-hearted effort? How might God be calling you to dig deeper?

 

How does the image of my father walking alongside me while I fix my mistakes help you understand God’s presence when you face the consequences of your own sin?

 

Why is transformation more important to God than just seeking forgiveness? What must we do to move past regret and really change the way we live?

 

What would it look like for you to “return to God” every morning as an “every day begin againer?”

The Mind of Christ

Focal Passage: I Corinthians 2:10-16

I read the passage several times in recent years, I’m sure. The notes in the margin of my Bible tell me so. I am always amazed at how God opens my eyes to his inspired word, often opening a new line of thought. There is, it seems, always something new to learn and discern.

In a conversation with my sister this week, we talked about the state of our country and the world today. Troubled by the hateful and divisive rhetoric and the internal and external conflict that pits person against person, group against group and nation against nation, we both wondered at what seemed to be the lack of wisdom, compassion and understanding. I remember thinking, “What kind of mind makes these kinds of decisions?”

Two days later, I sat down to read a passage in I Corinthians which oddly enough speaks to mindset of those called as God’s people. I had to think about the state of my own mind and whether my mind was where it needed to be.

Listen to what Paul tells the Corinthian church. Don’t just read it. Read as if Paul sent the letter to you.

“…The spirit searches all things, even the deep things of God. For who among men knows the thoughts of a man except the man’s spirit within him? In the same way, no one knows the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God. We have not received the spirit of the world but the spirit who is from God, that we may understand what God has freely given us. This is what we speak, not in words taught us by human wisdom, but in words taught by the spirit, expressing spiritual truths in spiritual words. The man without the spirit does not accept the things that come from the spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him, and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually discerned. The spiritual man makes judgments about all things, but he himself is not subject to any man’s judgment: “For who has known the mind of the Lord that he may instruct him?” (I Corinthians 2:10-16a)

Then Paul adds this one phrase in this passage that I have missed time and time again.

“But we have the mind of Christ.” (I Corinthians 2:16b)

As I try to make sense of how I should think amid today’s disturbed world, this phrase was a 2” x 4” across my nose. It certainly got my attention.

We have the mind of Christ.

Before we get too deep into what that means, let’s briefly explore the context of Paul’s first letter to the Corinthian church. The church in Corinth experienced wave after wave of division and conflict. Arguments over theology or ministry pitted one faction against the other, each thinking they were wiser than the other. Corinthian culture drew upon the influence of Greek philosophy and human wisdom.

Early Christian apologist Aristides, an Athenian philosopher who converted to Christianity in the 2nd century, said of Corinth, “On every street in Corinth one meets a so-called wise man, who has his own solutions to the world’s problems.” (That sounds eerily familiar to our culture today.)

This cultural pattern invaded the church like a virus and spread. Paul spent the early part of his letter addressing the difference between worldly wisdom and God’s wisdom.

Paul tells the church that a person without God’s spirit cannot accept or understand the things that flow from the spirit of God. It is foolish sounding to him because the things of God are spiritually discerned…revealed to believers by his indwelling spirit. That’s a critical point because it is the basis for understanding “the mind of Christ.” It is the basis for grasping the importance of relying on God’s spirit for understanding and wisdom.

If believers, as spiritual beings, are to “make judgments about all things,” it is the mind of Christ we must use to help us discern the truth and determine what we should say and how we should live.

I’ve shared a lot in the past writings about my journey in understanding what it means to be made in the image of God. Equally, this one phrase about having “the mind of Christ” opened a new avenue of study into understanding who we are in Christ. How he shares his mind with us through his spirit. How his mind should set us apart from the culture around us. It is his invitation for us to discover rich spiritual truths and explore a deeper relationship with God.

Let’s look again at I Corinthians 2:16.

For who has known the mind of the Lord that he may instruct him? But we have the mind of Christ.

Paul first quotes Isaiah 40:13, drawing on this Old Testament passage to emphasize God’s wisdom and mind are beyond human understanding. At the same time, it challenges us to contemplate God’s desire to teach us his will and way.

In Jesus, believers are given access to God’s wisdom, God’s mind, if you will, through the Holy Spirit. The spirit is a gift God gives us when we profess Jesus as Lord of all. Jesus told his disciples there would come a time when he was no longer with them physically. When he left God would send “the Counselor.”

…The Holy Spirit whom the father will send in my name , will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you. (John 14:26)

His spirit is not something we have to work to acquire, but we must learn to use the mind of Christ within us. To let it teach us and remind us of what Jesus said and did. To help us understand the mind of Christ by providing insight into scripture and how it applies to life. He gives us the vision to see the world differently. To see others, their hurts and their needs, through the eyes of Christ. He gives us the desire then to act upon what we see in service to others, extending grace to those around us while holding ourselves accountable to God’s truth.

Let me underscore that last part. Living with the mind of Christ means we hold ourselves accountable to his word and will. We cannot lay claim to the mind of Christ and treat others with contempt or to engage in the hateful rhetoric or acts we see around us. Such attitudes and actions are not compatible with the mind of Christ.

Paul contrasted our human inability to comprehend God’s mind on our own with the insight gained through the indwelling presence of the “mind of Christ.” Even on our best days, our understanding of the purpose and plans of God is limited. Isaiah alluded to this limitation. I think that’s why some scripture jumps out at us with deeper meaning, depending on the season or circumstance of our lives.

For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, declares the Lord. As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.” (Isaiah 45:8-9)

The unknown elements of life cause confusion. At times we question or doubt God. However, we are repeatedly assured of God’s love and that he always knows the path ahead of us. The good news is we have what Isaiah didn’t have. We have the mind of Christ and that is life-changing.

We are no longer restricted by the limited wisdom of man. Our identity as “new creations” through our faith and trust in Christ, allows us to embrace, experience and exemplify the mind of Christ exhibited during his ministry on earth.

Christ showed us how to live a life of love, sacrifice, wisdom and grace. It was on his mind and in his heart always…in every encounter with every soul. Writer Jamie Wilson said that experiencing the mind of Christ is transformative, “…not a mere change in perspective; it is a radical shift in how we approach life and our relationship to God and others.”

It was a theme Paul carried to the Philippian church, as well, when he encouraged them to be united in Christ, possessing compassion and tenderness toward others. He urged them to be like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and purpose. He said, “Let this mind (attitude) be in you which was also in Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 2:5)

It carries a responsibility as Christians to cultivate a mindset that looks like Jesus. That thinks, lives and acts in all things, in all ways and at all times with compassion and a servant’s heart just as Jesus did.

I can’t speak for you, so I’ll just share my thoughts. My life experiences, my fruitful and my failed efforts at living life, have taught me that my understanding of God’s will for my life is imperfect. My background, education and experiences offer beneficial insight, but true wisdom is a God thing. It is his alone. I have to be willing to let go of my ego and follow where he leads every day.

I find it hard to seek and understand the mind of Christ if I am not truly engaged with him. If my prayer life is stilted, if my Bible study is superficial, if my fellowship with other believers is inconsistent, I miss opportunities to grow in the mind of Christ. Connecting with God through his word and through worship and praise, helps align my thoughts with his thoughts. I find that’s when clarity comes.

Having the mind of Christ carries a responsibility of reflecting him to others, inviting them to share in his love. Jesus thrived on his relationship with the father. It ignited the passion he had for sharing his love with others. If I embrace the mind of Christ, it deepens my own relationship with the father. My passion for sharing Christ’s love is at its highest when I am most connected to the mind of Christ.

I suspect it’s no different for you.

Think of the change the world would experience if all who professed a faith in Christ lived as if they had the mind of Christ. Our approach to ministry, outreach, service, governance and life in general would be much different.

Make this our prayer:

Father, help us remember that we are called to reflect Christ’s heart and mind in all our relationships. Let the mind of Christ guide our decisions, our thoughts, our words and everything we do. Help us avoid adding to the world’s divisive rhetoric and even more destructive behaviors. Help us seek to heal wounds by trusting in your wisdom and living in the mind of Christ so that others may see and experience the transformative power of God’s love.

Amen.

Thinking Points

What does it mean to you personally to have “the mind of Christ?” How does it shape the way you view and interpret current events or the culture around you?

 

In what ways might you be relying on human wisdom rather than God’s spirit to inform and guide your decisions?

 

How might your interactions with others and your social and political outlook differ if you approached the compassion, humility and grace exemplified in the mind of Christ?

 

Are there habits or patterns in your spiritual life—inconsistent worship, Bible study, prayer or fellowship—that hinder your ability to experience the mind of Christ?

 

In what areas of life do you most need and desire God’s wisdom this week? How can you actively seek it through his spirit this week?

 

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Author’s Note: If you would like to receive this Bible study blog via email, click www.drkirklewis.com/the-searcher. Find the “Subscribe” button and enter your email address. That’s all it takes.

What’s Next?

Focal Passages: Jeremiah 29:11-13 and Proverbs 3:1-6

Graduation from either high school or college is a beautiful moment of celebration—a capstone of years of study, late nights, tests and struggle.

I sat through 147 of them in my career and only two of them were mine. Every graduation I attended buzzed with excitement and emotion. Classmates hugged or slapped each other on the backs, relieved that that piece of paper they’d been working toward for so long had been signed, sealed and delivered.

I watched thousands of graduates cross the stage each year, thrilled to see the unadulterated joy in the faces of the students as they held the diploma high, searching the crowd for their proud parents. As I sat on that stage year after year, I also noticed as each graduate sat back down waiting to toss those mortar boards into the air, there was a moment when the smile faded, replaced by that 1,000-yard stare. I could almost read their minds as they pondered, “What’s next?”

Equally exciting and terrifying, that question is relevant and filled with more uncertainty that anyone cares to admit. Those of us who have made that journey through life know how our best laid plans often morph into something unexpected.

What’s next? What would you tell that graduate you know?

At a time like this, it is easy to look inward for guidance and understanding. What are my dreams? What do I enjoy doing? What do I want out of life? Where do I go from here?

Scripture, however, points us not inward, but upward. Solomon’s wise words in Proverbs 3:1-6 provide comfort in the uncertainty of ‘what’s next.” He also offers practical wisdom for how to step forward with confidence and faith. In Solomon’s words to his son, you hear God’s voice speaking to all of us.

“Do not forget my teaching. Keep my commands in your heart…” (Proverbs 3:1)

Solomon’s tone is tender, wise and equally urgent. Standing on the threshold of uncertainty, stay grounded in what you’ve been taught. Remember what is truth. It’s not an academic reminder. It’s spiritual.

Whether we grew up in our faith or came to it later in life, this word reminds us to cling to the commands of God and his word. The world constantly works to reshape our identity, telling us that our worth is in our grade point average, our income, our popularity or fame, or our most recent accomplishment. God says otherwise. Remember what you’ve been taught about his character and his love and the way he wants us to live.

“Let love and faithfulness never leave you; bind them around your neck, write them on the tablet of your heart.” (Proverbs 3:3)

Love and faithfulness are the very character of God. Make them a part of who you are, engrave them on your heart and in your soul. Let them be the compass that guides your decisions and your actions as you navigate the foggy terrain of life. Allowing your life to be driven by selfish ambition or fear leads nowhere. Instead, allow your love for God and others to shape our next steps, to inform your every choice and decision.

Then, we see the more familiar part of this passage.

“Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him and he will make your paths straight.” (Proverbs 3:5-6)

Left to our own thoughts, success makes us feel invincible. Uncertainty makes us feel invisible. Our understanding, even of what is best for us, is limited, shaped by fleeting emotions, cultural noise and incomplete knowledge. When we can’t see around the bend, God sees the entire path. He knows where every road leads.

Because he knows the path we’re walking and he knows where he wants to so go, God offers a promise in this passage. Submit to him. That doesn’t mean your life becomes easy, without its share of difficulty and heartache. It means it will be “straight.” Your life aligned with God’s perfect will and desire for your life, always leading to his purpose and desired outcome. Always anchored in his love.

It is a thought echoed in Jeremiah 29:11.

“I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.”

We too often make this passage a motivational poster: God’s got this! Everything will be fine. Nothing bad will happen to me.

See the passage in its context, though. These words are spoke to exiles—people ripped from their homes, living in a far away land, wondering if God had forgotten them. They had every reason to ask, “What’s next?”—not out of excitement, but out of despair.

God’s words through his prophet are meant to encourage and reassure them. “I know the plans…,” he says, not you. Not, you can figure them out on your own. “I know…” You see, when we don’t know what’s next, God knows. His plans for us are intimate, intentional and infinite, far greater in purpose and meaning than anything we could come up with on our own.
His plans will bring about spiritual and relational prosperity.

Despite the difficulty of the path, even if the journey is hard, God’s plan will never destroy us. Rather, they will always bring about hope and a future. It’s not vague reassurance. It is a divine guarantee.

Here’s the catch and one we don’t see if we don’t keep reading in Jeremiah.

“Then you will call on me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.” (Jeremiah 29:12-13)

The promises of Jeremiah 29:11 find fulfillment only when we chase after God in wholehearted pursuit. He isn’t calling us to sit back passively and wait for his direction. He’s inviting us to pray. To actively look for him and his path. To seek him passionately and persistently.  To connect with him. To follow him with all our heart.

Florence Nightingale grew up in a wealthy British family in Embley Park in Southampton. She was well-educated, fluent in multiple languages and expected to marry well and live a life of social refinement and leisure—hosting dinners, engaging in cultural events and managing the household estate.

When she turned 16, Florence wrote in her diary of a divine calling, sensing that God was leading her off the linear path she thought she was on to serve him as a nurse. At the time, pursuing a career in nursing was a scandalous choice for a woman of wealth. Elite English society and her family opposed her decision, deeming it beneath her station.

Her diary entry said, “God called me in the morning and asked me if I would do good for him alone without reputation.”

Shifting from a life of comfort to a life of purpose and sacrifice was central to her legacy. She became the founder of modern nursing and dedicated her life to reforming health care, improving hygiene and training nurses, all as an outgrowth of her Christian faith and conviction. She revolutionized nursing during the Crimean War by working tirelessly in harsh conditions taking care of wounded soldiers…a real-life Margaret Houlihan in a 19th century M*A*S*H unit.

If you had asked her at 15 years-of-age to tell you what’s next, she would have described a very different life than what she lived when she submitted to God’s plans to “prosper her, not to harm her and to give her hope and a future.” What a difference she made in the lives of so many when she let go of her plans and aligned her purpose to God’s will!

Graduation is the beginning. It is not the end. It is the start of a long, winding journey of growth challenge and purpose. That’s what those of us who have been there, done that, want our graduates to understand.

However, I don’t care if you are graduating high school, college or doing whatever it is you do decades after you got that diploma. Here’s the message for all of us when life leaves us asking, “What’s next?”

The joy we find in life…the meaning we find in life… is at its deepest when we’re doing what God calls us to do. When we remember his words and bind them in our hearts. When we set aside what we think we know and what we think we want. When we put our lives in his hands and submit to his will. When we seek him out in prayer and Bible study for his direction and guidance in life.

Our joy and our purpose come when we make him Lord of our lives.

May this be our prayer:

Thank you, God, for walking me through every season of life…from the classroom to the unknown. Help me trust you fully, even today, and lean not on my own understanding. I surrender my plans, my worries and my future into your hands. Lead me on the path you have prepared. When I stray from it, bring me back. Help me seek you with all my heart. I pray this in the strong name of Jesus Christ, Amen!

THINKING POINTS

Proverbs 3:3 says, “Let love and faithfulness never leave you.” What might it look like in your life right now to make love and faithfulness your guide in decisions about your future—especially when the world measures success differently?

Jeremiah 29:11 is a favorite verse for many, but verses 12-13 speak of seeking God with your whole heart. How are you actively seeking God’s direction in this season of your life? How could you pursue him more fully?

Is there a dream or opportunity in your heart that might require stepping away from what’s easy in order to pursue what’s godly?

Think back on what you’ve been taught about God’s character and promises. How can remembering those truths help you navigate the pressure and uncertainty of what’s next in life?

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Author’s Note: If you want to receive this blog via email, click www.drkirklewis.com. Find the “Subscribe” button and enter your email address. That’s all it takes. Your email will not be released to anyone else.

Overcoming Fear

Focal Passage: 2 Timothy 1:5-7

Holocaust survivor and author of The Hiding Place, Corrie ten Boom understood the power of fear more than most of us. She also understood the power of her God to take away fear. “Never be afraid,” she said, “to trust an unknown future to a known God.”

I thought about what she said this week as someone talked about the current state of affairs in our country and across the world. In his understated way my friend told me that the political and social turmoil left him “a little unsettled.”

Americans feel increasingly pessimistic and uncertain about the future, according to recent polls. Many people suffer from a growing sense of despair and concern about perceived changes in the quality of life and the future of their children or grandchildren.

A recent Gallup poll found 80 percent of Americans anticipate some level of economic difficulty in the near future, with expectations of higher taxes and deeper national deficits. That same poll showed optimism about the next generation’s prospects has declined significantly in recent years. Only 42 percent of Americans believe today’s young people will have a better life than their parents, an 18-point drop since 2019.

As troubling as that sounds, there is more depressing news. A recent Reuters poll reveals that 80% of Americans expressed “fear that the world is spiraling out of control.” In addition, 64 percent of Americans are pessimistic about the country’s moral and ethical standards.

While I understand the feeling and fight its grip on me at times, as an American and a Christian, I find this underlying fear disturbing. Fear cannot be a part of the Christian’s vocabulary, can it? How can we “trust an unknown future to a known God,” as ten Boom said? Thankfully, the Bible has an answer.

Paul found himself in a cold Roman dungeon, chained to a common criminal, isolated from his friends and staring death in the face. Believers in Christ were being persecuted. Preaching God’s word put Jesus followers in opposition to the Jewish faith and to Roman rule. If anyone had a right to fear it was those early Christians.

In his second letter to Timothy, a young pastor he left in ministry in Ephesus, Paul encouraged Timothy to set aside fear in favor of faith. To draw upon the power of God’s spirit in the face of life’s challenges.

I have been reminded of your sincere faith, which first lived in your grandmother Lois and in your mother Eunice and, I am persuaded, now lives in you also. For this reason, I remind you to fan into flame the gift of God, which is in you through the laying on of my hands.” (2 Timothy 1:5-6)

It’s Paul’s next words I needed to hear this week.

“For God did not give us a spirit of fear, but a spirit of power, of love and of self-discipline.” (2 Timothy 1:7)

Paul ordained Timothy to preach and teach Jesus. He wanted him to continue to build up the faithful believers in Ephesus to grow and mature in their own faith…despite the opposition he faced and the persecution Paul knew would come their way.

Perhaps a young Timothy let timidity grab hold, dousing his passion for God’s work. That’s why Paul urged him in verse 6 to fan the flame of his calling. To stoke the fire. To burn again and rekindle his desire to share Christ with others and encourage others to live up to their calling.

Fear and anxiety are not from God. Fear paralyzes. Fear manipulates. Fear destabilizes and prevents us from serving God, from living as Christ lived.

When circumstances grip us in fear and hopelessness, God’s spirit gives us power beyond human experience. When he knew the deep fear the disciples would feel when he was no longer with them, Jesus lets them know they would find power through God’s spirit.

“You will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you. You will be my witnesses, telling people about me everywhere—in Jerusalem, throughout Judea, in Samaria and to the ends of the earth.” (Acts 1:8)

The power to be his people, to stand for him, to share him with those we encounter comes from the presence of the Holy Spirit and his work within us. Divine strength flows to us from the spirit to overcome obstacles and face challenges to boldly proclaim the gospel and live intentionally for him. When filled with fear, we rest on the knowledge that God’s gift of his spirit is greater than our fears.

You find the empowerment in the spiritual gifts which God uses to equip his believers for service and ministry…powerful gifts to proclaim, encourage, and discern. Gifts that extend hospitality and administer his work.

The spirit also empowers us to grow in the fruits of the spirit, the outward demonstration of his work within us. He provides the power to develop kindness, hope, love, faithfulness, gentleness and goodness. In other words, to develop the character of Christ that we would be powerless to accomplish without his presence.

Through his spirit of power, God grants us these gifts to strengthen us to do the work.

Paul also said Gods fills us with a spirit of love that surpasses human understanding. This agape love is a sacrificial love that compels us to reach out to the lost, to forgive those who hurt us and to serve others openly and selflessly.

The Apostle John talks about this spirit of love in one of his letters.

God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God and God in him. In this way, love is made complete…There is no fear in love. Perfect love drives out fear…And he has given us this command: Whoever loves God must also love his brother.” (I John 4:16-18, 21)

On an earlier occasion Jesus said something similar.

A new command I give to you, that you love one another as I have loved you…By this shall all men know that you are my disciples, that you love one another. (John 13:34-35)

I like what Pastor Dean Courtier said about the power of love granted by the spirit. “When we truly grasp the depth and breadth of God’s love for us, we no longer cower in fear of judgment or condemnation. Instead, we are emboldened to approach God with confidence and to extend love and compassion to others without reservation.’

Paul also talks about the Spirit granting us the power of self-discipline, what other translations call a “sound mind.” It is the power to think clearly, remain grounded in our faith and not be swept away by fear and panic. In this day of misinformation and the sensationalized nature of modern media, that’s not the easiest thing to do on your own.

A Christian nurse working in an overcrowded hospital through the horrors of Covid, talked about how she would pray each morning quoting 2 Timothy 1:7 to herself. So much was unknown early in the pandemic. The threat of infection and death loomed large. She reminded herself that she had not been given a spirit of fear.

She chose instead to show the spirit of power through her unwavering presence, the spirit of love through her care for her patients and a spirit of sound mind or self-discipline by following safety protocols to protect herself, her patients and her colleagues. The sense of peace she experienced after each prayer, she said, became “as contagious” as the virus, serving as an encouragement not only to herself, but to the patients, doctors and nurses in her unit.

Truthfully, there is much going on in this world that might engender fear in my heart. You may feel the same way. Rosa Parks, the civil rights icon, fought a tough battle against racism and discrimination. She said, “I have learned through the years that when one’s mind is made up, this diminishes fear. Knowing what must be done does away with fear.”

Let’s, therefore, make up our minds. There is no room for fear in a Christian’s life even when the world seems to unstable. That’s when the world needs Jesus most. That’s when the world needs us most to be Jesus’ voice, hands and feet. That’s what must be done. That is the life to which we’ve been called. Let our purpose and God’s spirit of power, love and self-discipline within us drive away our fear.

Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with Thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. (Philippians 4:6-7)

Thinking Points

Paul reminded Timothy of his spiritual heritage through his grandmother and mother. What spiritual habits, values and attitudes have you inherited from others and how are you passing those on to future generations?

What gifts or callings in your life have grown dormant by fear, distraction or fatigue? What would it look like if you fanned the flames or rekindled your passion?

How would living in power, love and self-discipline change your response to the challenges and uncertainties in your life?

What would a spirit-empowered life look like in today’s cultural and political climate? Can the church respond to the fear in the world without becoming fearful itself?

*****

Author’s Note: If you want to receive this blog via email, click on this link or go to www.drkirklewis.com. Find the “Subscribe” button and enter your email address. That’s all it takes. Your email is not released to anyone else.