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Nothing without Love: Three Mistaken Ministries

“Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, and have not charity, I am become as sounding brass, or a tinkling cymbal.

And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries, and all knowledge; and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, and have not charity, I am nothing.

And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, and have not charity, it profiteth me nothing.” ~ 1 Corinthians 13:1-3

In the opening three verses of the most famous chapter on love, Paul, inspired by God argues that love is the essential ingredient in the ministry of the Church as an institution and in the ministry of each and every Believer. In so doing, Paul outlines three common mistakes often made in the ministry of the Church:

The Cult of Personality
The Cult of Spirituality
The Cult of Generosity

Let us consider each of these mistaken ministries.

The Cult of Personality

“Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, and have not charity, I am become as sounding brass, or a tinkling cymbal.” ~ 1 Corinthians 13:1

In the ancient world, oratory (public speaking) was a major attraction and a much sought after skill. At the time Paul’s first letter to the Corinthians was written it was still quite popular and remained so for centuries after. In fact, oratory was such an important aspect of public life that it was studied and written about by Socrates, Aristotle, and Plato. By Paul’s time, oratory was “…an important form of entertainment, with famous orators or declaimers gaining great wealth and prestige for their skills.”

Inevitably, the culture of oration started seeping into the church. Indeed, in earlier chapters of this epistle, Paul had to settle an argument that had sprung up in the Corinthian church, because some had declared themselves followers of Apollos, ostensibly because of his “eloquence” (Acts 18:24). People who were accustomed to great oratory in the marketplace were drawn to it in the Church after they were converted. Though Paul settled the matter by pointing out that the Corinthians were to lift up Christ rather than mere men like himself and Apollos (1 Corinthians 3:5-11; 4:5-6), it was clear that the appeal of oratory could become a problem.

Oratory is in essence just communication. And a skillful orator is a skillful communicator. Moreover, there are several ways to communicate. Some people are good at making the complex seem simple. Others are good at empathizing, connecting emotionally, with their audience. Others are good at inspirational/motivational speech. Whatever the method of communication, it centers on the skills of the person: it is driven by personality. Even in Paul’s day, people were caught up in the craft of the individual and would pay good money to hear them communicate/speak.

The effect this had on the Church from then persists to the present day. Many, many Believers choose to attend churches where there is a “good preacher”, by this they mean the pastor is a good orator. In many cases, this reason supersedes doctrine. Many people soak up the heresies of many a “good preacher” just because he/she “says it so well”. They feel “inspired” by the preaching, even if the preaching in doctrinally wrong.

This phenomenon extends to the area of music. Music is a powerful communication tool; it imprints data onto the brain almost imperceptibly. And it connects emotionally in ways yet to be fully understood. Skillful musicians use the allure of music both inside and outside of the church to draw people in. Therefore, music has become a powerful magnet that pulls people to church so that they can ‘get lost in the feeling’: there is a celebration of a communication medium, rather than the message being communicated; just as it was with oratory of old.

Indeed, sophist orators were known to “…charge fees, to ‘make the weaker argument the stronger’.” In other words, the oratory—i.e., the communicator and the mechanics of communication—was more important than the content.

To be clear, skillful preaching and skillful music playing are not of themselves bad things. Scripture instructs us to both play music skillfully as well as to teach skillfully. A problem only arises when the craft supersedes the content, which is the point Paul was making in the first verse of our text: 1 Corinthians 13:1. If God’s love isn’t being channeled through the preacher/musician while he/she speaks then it is pointless.

The point of preaching is not the preacher.

The point of Christian music is not the musician.

The point of both preaching and Christian music is God. The focus in the Kingdom of God is never on a personality; rather, it is always God. And God wants people to know how much He loves them. And the only way for people to know God’s love is for us, believers, to love them.

Therefore, no matter how well a preacher preaches or a musician plays, if the love of God isn’t pouring through his life to those around him, all his preaching/performing is useless.

The Cult of Spirituality

“And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries, and all knowledge; and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, and have not charity, I am nothing.” ~ 1 Corinthians 13:2

In all people groups everywhere, from the beginning of creation till now, individuals have sought to set themselves apart to gain an advantage over others using the currency, the values, of the group. If a tribe valued strength, then men would seek to be the strongest to gain an advantage; if a tribe valued courage, men would vie to be the most courageous; if a tribe valued children, the most valued women would be the ones that are most fertile; and so on.

We see this in modern society as well: In academia, research output is the currency, so scientists gain prestige by the number of publications they author. Everywhere money is esteemed and so the wealthiest tend to be the most honored/revered. Teens in schools are probably the best examples of this behavior. Some try to gain prestige through sports, some through “cool” (i.e., social intelligence) some through grades (academic intelligence) and so on.

This phenomenon was also seen in the Bible. As invaders of a land of giants, the Israelites favored Saul because of his height. Leah, unwanted by her husband Jacob, tried to win his favor through childbearing; she was more fertile than her sister Rachel.

This also was the problem being addressed by Paul in 1 Corinthians 13:2 (above). Since churches are concerned with the spiritual development of its members, it is natural for spirituality to become the currency among Believers. Accordingly, like all people groups elsewhere, church members would then seek to gain an advantage, to gain prestige, by accumulating the currency of spirituality. The most spiritual would then be the most respected/honored/revered.

Spirituality in churches, as Paul alluded, has two branches that persist even today: we might call them doctrinal branch (“…though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries, and all knowledge…”) and the charismatic branch (“…though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains…”).

The doctrinal branch focuses on Scriptural knowledge and understanding, while the charismatic branch focuses on works/application of great faith through the employment of spiritual gifts (i.e., the miraculous manifestations of The Holy Spirit). These two branches exist today and churches tend to be dominated by one or the other and there are battles between both camps from time to time.

Paul points out that without charity, without Godly love, both are useless. Spirituality gains favor with man, but not particularly with God. Spirituality, whether by doctrinal knowledge or faith, is not an end in itself. Rather the purpose of spirituality is to facilitate the flow of God’s love from one individual to another.

If with all my great knowledge and/or all my great faith, God’s love does not flow through me to my fellow man then my great knowledge and/or all my great faith has accomplished nothing. Jesus is our example. Jesus did not teach everything to His disciples/followers, rather He sent them the Holy Spirit to indwell their hearts and gradually teach them as much as they needed over time.

The Gospels clearly show that the people were impressed by Jesus’ teaching ability (Matthew 7:28-29), but Jesus repeatedly deflected this attention, even going so far as to use words and concepts that were bound to frustrate those who heard him (John 6); even to the point where many stopped following Him.

Likewise, Jesus manifested the greatest displays of faith through miracles that had ever been seen to that time. Yet, He refused to use that faith to exempt Himself from the greatest work of love: His sacrificial death on The Cross. Imbued with divine knowledge and power, Jesus used both to channel God’s love to us rather than to accumulate prestige to himself.

Brothers and sisters, be careful. There are many who leverage spirituality for personal gain rather than for Godly gain. Do not be taken in. The hallmarks of Believers are love (John 13:34-35) and unity (John 17:21). The world will never be impressed by our knowledge or our faith.

The Word instructs us that it is the love we show and our unity in Christ that will cause the world to believe, nothing else will do. And that is our purpose (Matthew 28:18-20). We are here to teach the Good News of Salvation because God so loved the World that He gave His only Son: God loves and so must we.

The Cult of Generosity

“And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, and have not charity, it profiteth me nothing.” ~ 1 Corinthians 13:3

From the outset, man has wrestled God for control of Salvation. When God rejected Cain’s offering, He pointed out to Cain that his offering would have been accepted if he had done well, i.e., if he had offered the right sacrifice (Genesis 4:1-16). Cain could have easily asked or purchased (traded) a lamb from Abel. However, quite bizarrely, Cain decided to kill Abel instead. Why? More curiously, even after killing his brother Cain never took a lamb from Abel’s flock to offer as a sacrifice. Why?

Cain wanted to offer the sacrifice he chose, the sacrifice he thought was sufficient: Cain wanted control of his own salvation. And, from a purely humanistic perspective, Cain’s approach seems fairly reasonable. Here is the argument: If a lamb is worth a certain quantity of crops, why not just offer that same quantity (or even more!) to God. If salvation is a commodity, why does God care whether or not He is paid in sheep or crops?

But, as reasonable as that argument may seem, therein lies the error: Firstly, salvation is not a commodity to be bought; and, secondly, God was not interested in the offering (Micah 6:6-8) He was interested in Cain’s faith and Cain’s obedience. For Cain to have purchased a lamb from Abel, and then offer that lamb with contrition and humility as a sacrifice to God, he would have to believe (have faith) in God’s way rather than his own way. He would have had to accept that there it was important to come to God in the way that God ordained, and that there was no other way.

And that remains a dilemma for mankind, even Believers, till today. The question of who controls salvation is key, because it determines who sets the agenda for our lives. If we have to do what God tells us, then it means God dictates how we must relate to Him. If we can choose our own “offering” then we are the ones who decide how we relate to God.

The commoditization of salvation is endemic is modern society: So many believe that it is possible to please God (and thereby to get into heaven) with an offering of their choice.

“I do good things, I have never hurt anybody, I don’t see why I won’t get into heaven.”

“Are you trying to tell me that God won’t accept all the millions of people all over the world who live good lives every day, just because they aren’t Christians?”

God, however, says there is only one way: through Jesus

“Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.” ~ Acts 4:12

And this is what Paul was warning against in our text: we can’t work our way into heaven through good deeds, through acts of generosity: we are not good enough and that is not an acceptable sacrifice to God. We do not get to choose what pleases God. We do not get to choose what washes away our sin. God has chosen. The only acceptable sacrifice is the Lamb of God: Jesus, The Christ. Our challenge is to accept that sacrifice in faith.

Moreover, if faith in Jesus dwells in a Believer, then Jesus indwells that Believer. The work of faith in a Believer is Jesus working through that Believer. And the work of Jesus on earth, before His return, is to declare, demonstrate and deliver the love of God to every man.

“And hope maketh not ashamed; because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us.” ~ Romans 5:5

To be clear, generosity, giving, is clearly mandated for each Believer. Indeed, God’s Word devotes many passages to this topic.

“Hereby perceive we the love of God, because he laid down his life for us: and we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren. But whoso hath this world’s good, and seeth his brother have need, and shutteth up his bowels of compassion from him, how dwelleth the love of God in him?” ~ 1 John 3:16-17

However, our gifts do not save us and our gifts are not an end in themselves. We are called to give, not for the sake of giving and not as an entryway into God’s kingdom. Rather, we are called to give as a consequence of Jesus’ love pouring through us.

When giving becomes an end in itself, rather than the result of love, we get Church ministries that feed the poor, but do not know the poor; ministries that fill bellies but do not fill souls; ministries that warm the body, without warming the heart. A famous quote from a famous giver says,

“The hunger for love is much more difficult to remove than the hunger for bread.” ~ Mother Teresa

Hence, let us set forth to accomplish the harder task… while not forgetting the easier. Let Christ work through us to “remove” the “hunger for love”, while also removing the hunger for material things: let us give love as we give bread.

CLOSING THOUGHTS

Scripture tells us that we cannot please God without faith:

“But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.” ~ Hebrews 11:6

The message in our text is similarly stark. Here we are told, without LOVE it is impossible to SERVE God. Preaching/Teaching is empty without Godly love, Spirituality is pointless without Godly love and Generosity/Giving is worthless without Godly love.

Moreover, when the three ministries Preaching/Teaching, Spirituality, Generosity/Giving are pursued without love they end up as no more than cults: deceptive deviations from God’s truth and God’s purpose. Therefore, let us take heed and always be guided by Godly love in all our actions, in everything we do.

“Beloved, let us love one another: for love is of God; and every one that loveth is born of God, and knoweth God.
He that loveth not knoweth not God; for God is love.
In this was manifested the love of God toward us, because that God sent His only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through Him.
Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us, and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins.
Beloved, if God so loved us, we ought also to love one another.
No man hath seen God at any time. If we love one another, God dwelleth in us, and His love is perfected in us.”

~ 1 John 4:7-12

A Subtle Heresy

Published by reflectionsintheword

Help My Unbelief

Question: does God want you to be healthy, wealthy, and wise? Many Christians would say that yes, this is God’s desire for our lives.

Better Question: does God want to conform us into the image of His Son, Our Savior, Jesus Christ? Yes, yes, and yes again.

This means that the Lord will go to great lengths to accomplish this in your life. Including bringing suffering into your life. Not a once of us would ask to go through the school of suffering. But, I can attest, great growth in faith and the Gospel comes through our suffering well in Christ. A friend of mine called it a subtle heresy that most Christians believe, when we that God wants to make us happy and comfortable. Actually he wrecks our comfort, especially our comfort with our sin. When we quit fighting for our sanctification. God wrecks our apathy…

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A Couple Crucial Characteristics of Christians

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“We are bound to thank God always for you, brethren, as it is meet, because that your faith groweth exceedingly, and the charity of every one of you all toward each other aboundeth;” ~ 2 Thessalonians 1:3

The Christian walk is sometimes made overly complex. Believers are often distracted by the many “shiny objects” beside our path. In the epistle to the Thessalonians, God praises them for two characteristics that are almost boring and often diminished among Christians of today.

Specifically, God (speaking through Paul) commends the Believers of Thessalonica for

their growing faith (“faith that groweth exceedingly”) and
their Godly love for each other (“the charity of every one of you all toward each other aboundeth”).

The simple lesson for each Believer is this: If we want God’s praise/approval, if we want to excel in what God values, then we must trust Him more and we must love each other more. We don’t earn God’s praise by the songs we sing, or by how often we go to church, or by how many committees we sit on, or by the image we project.

Faith in God

What God wants to see is, first, our faith: “Will we trust Him when our very lives are falling apart?”, “Will we trust Him when our child dies?”, “Will we trust Him when our finances are wiped out?”

Horatio Spafford, the writer of the great hymn “It is Well with My Soul” wrote it AFTER two great tragedies in his life that would have broken someone with less faith. First, the great Chicago Fire and the ensuing economic downturn destroyed him financially (he had invested in property). Secondly, his four daughters died when the ship carrying collided with another ship and sunk. In the midst of crushing grief, he held on to God in faith. The opening lines of that hymn say:

When peace like a river attendeth my way
When sorrows like sea billows roll
Whatever my lot, though hast taught me to say
It is well, It is well with my soul

Can you lose your children without losing your faith? Yes, faith that is real is faith that endures.

When I think of the challenges in my own life sometimes I don’t want to go on. But God has sustained me so far and I trust that He will continue to be with me through the fires and through the floods.

God wants us to trust Him. Will we continue trusting Him when our lives are in turmoil, through no ‘fault’ of our own? If we want to enjoy the praise that the Thessalonians had, we must. We, every one of us, must allow God to grow our faith in Him exceedingly, no matter the cost.

Love of Others

God also wants to see if we love each other: “Will we love those who are mean/unkind to us?”, “Will we love those who are different from us?”, “Will we love those who won’t love us back?”

It is easy to talk about love, but do we even know the other members/visitors of our churches? Do we even spend time to get to know those outside of our ‘circle’. How can we “love” people we don’t even know? How can I help someone in need, when I have not spent the time to get to know them and their needs? Too often we hear of the church brother/sister who was sick for weeks and no one even realized they were missing from church.

Godly love takes effort; Godly love requires that I reach beyond my “comfort zone” to be available to serve both the least and the least popular. It may not be easy, but it is necessary.

I remember when I was younger, I had little compassion for drug addicts, and because of the culture I grew up in, I despised homosexuals; and I was just as intolerant with racists. Later in life, I started attending a small church that I soon found had a few recovering alcoholics, a couple recovering drug addicts, a recovering homosexual and a brother (a truly wonderful man) who had quaint but quite racist views on intermarriage.

By the grace of God, I have enjoyed great relationships with all of these Brothers in Christ. But sometimes it was a challenge. However, the challenge diminished greatly as I looked ever more closely in the mirror of God’s word and saw my own flaws: my own addictions, my own lusts, and my own prejudices.

The God that loves everyone in the world lives in us and wants to share that love through us. Will we let Him? If we want to enjoy the praise that the Thessalonians had, we must. We, every one of us, must make the effort to connect with each other so that God can share His wonderful love through us.

Wise Men, Whom Do You Seek?

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A long time ago,
Some men who were wise
Were led to The Child,
His star in the skies.
They worshipped God’s Son,
Gave gifts they had brought,
This was the true King,
The one they had sought.

Wise men of today,
For whom do you seek?
Whose star will lead you?
Whose praise shall you speak?
What worth is wisdom,
If it cannot save?
What joy is wisdom,
That ends in the grave?

Wise men seek Jesus,
And search for His light,
Joy in His presence,
Glory in His sight.
Wisdom’s worth is Christ,
Our Saviour found!
Wisdom’s joy is Christ,
Risen from the ground!

“…and, lo, the star, which they saw in the east, went before them, till it came and stood over where the young child was.

When they saw the star, they rejoiced with exceeding great joy.

And when they were come into the house, they saw the young child with Mary His mother, and fell down, and worshipped Him: and when they had opened their treasures, they presented unto Him gifts; gold, and frankincense and myrrh.” ~ Matthew 2:9b-11

Don’t be Afraid of THE LIGHT

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“He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. For every one that doeth evil hateth the light, neither cometh to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved. But he that doeth truth cometh to the light, that his deeds may be made manifest, that they are wrought in God.” ~ John 3:18-21

Let’s take a few minutes to look at this passage. Just a few verses ahead is the famous John 3:16, (“For God so loved the world that he sent his only begotten Son that whosoever believeth on him should not perish but have eternal life”). We quote that verse as if it should be all anyone needs to come to Jesus, but Jesus himself surrounded that statement with a wealth of supporting verses that have much to tell us about Him—and about ourselves.

1. “He that believeth is not condemned.”

This is a simple, straightforward statement of the position of the believer in the eyes of God. Those who believe on Jesus are not condemned. Period. No caveats or clauses. If you believe, you are not in the position of being condemned. Jesus himself said it, and leaves no room for arguing on that point.

2. “But he that believeth not is condemned already.”

Many people feel that as long as they are well-behaved, are generous and good, that God will surely take them in after this life. Jesus refutes that. He says that if a person does not believe on His name, that person is condemned already, regardless of how he/she lives his/her life.

Why is this? Because no matter how good you are, you always fall short.

“For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God.” ~ Romans 3:23

“As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one” ~ Romans 3:10

You see, when we measure our own goodness we have a terrible habit of comparing ourselves to people we consider far worse than ourselves:

“Well, I’m not a cheat or a liar or a child molester or a murderer. I am a good person.”

The problem is, our (self) righteousness is insignificant compared to God’s standard!

“But we are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags; and we all do fade as a leaf; and our iniquities, like the wind, have taken us away.” ~ Isaiah 64:6

Can we claim to be as good as Jesus?

We often ignore/discount Him because in the light of His goodness we suddenly don’t look as “righteous”. So we compare ourselves to those we consider to be beneath us, convincing ourselves that our self-defined “good” status is what gains us entrance to presence of a Holy God.

The problem of sin is this: when it comes to being good, God’s standard is Himself. He is perfectly holy and just and selfless. Anything short of that must, by definition, be excluded from Himself. So we fall into that category when we insist on being accepted by our own goodness; our own goodness is not even close to good!

Jesus came and died so there would be another way to come to God: through HIS goodness! He knew we could never pay the price to be free of our sin; so He came and paid it for us. All He asks is that we accept Him, accept what He did; then we are no longer condemned! When we grasp the depth of His awesome gift, the wonder of it sweeps us right into worship. What a joy to be utterly un-condemned!

3. “And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil.”

We are not only condemned by our status as un-godly, we are condemned by our stubborn refusal to admit that we are sinful. The light came to brighten our dark world, and what did people do? How did people in Jesus’ time treat Him? With disdain and mistrust.

They abandoned Jesus in droves when He failed to meet their expectations of a warrior king; they showed up to gawk at His miracles and were thrilled to eat His food, but when His message turned hard they walked off and rejected Him (John 5-6). And they demanded his death on a cross when there was no legal or moral cause to do so. Their hearts were dark, and even in the presence of the Light of God, they preferred to stay in the dark.

Do not for one second think that, if we have been there, we would have acted differently. The Jews of Jesus’ day claimed as much, and He confronted them with the truth. (Matthew 23:29-32) The only disciples that truly discerned who Jesus was did not do so of their own wisdom, it was given to them by God. (Matthew 16:15-17).

When it comes to the hearts of men, nothing was different before Jesus’ day, and nothing is different afterwards . We are rotten to the core, and don’t want to face it, and will go to great lengths to extinguish any light that comes close enough to expose us. (“For every one that doeth evil hateth the light, neither cometh to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved.” ~ John 3:20)

4. “But he that doeth truth cometh to the light, that his deeds may be made manifest, that they are wrought in God.”

“But…”

What a wonderful word!

Even though we are sinners condemned in our sins, and even actively keeping ourselves there, there is a great and glorious “BUT!”

There is another option!

Through the blood of Jesus, we are no longer condemned!

When we accept His Truth we become a new creature, one that not only no longer hides in the dark, but is actually drawn to The Light! Why? Because we have nothing to fear from The Light!

In The Light, our status is no longer defined by our sinfulness, nor by our self-made goodness; we stand un-condemned, and now we have nothing to fear by being exposed. In fact, The Light reveals what God has done for us! He displays for all to see the wonderful works of redemption and forgiveness He has done in the lives of Believers.

If you are a child of God, don’t ever find yourself hiding in the corner. Fear of being exposed is an old habit we often fall into, even though we are forgiven. We start to measure our worthiness once more by what we do: how regularly we go to church, how often—or rarely!—we read our Bibles, how well we acted like Christians this week at home or work or school.

But we were never saved by that standard in the first place. So, why would God suddenly hold that over our heads? We are not to live in fear, because fear is torture; and the only one who tortures is God’s enemy, Satan. (I John 4:18)

Have you done something since believing in Christ that you are ashamed of? Bring it into the Light! You don’t need to hide your flaws from Him; as if you could really hide it in the first place! He already knows – and you still stand un-condemned before him. Don’t hide, bring it to Him! Let Him expose the darkness so that He can make it a place through which He can shine. Don’t come to the throne in fear and trembling:

“Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need.” ~ Hebrews 4:16

If Jesus does not condemn you, then no one else has the right to do so (Romans 8:1). Stand firm on that, and don’t be afraid of The Light.

by Joelle Heilemann

Always Thankful

Published by reflectionsintheword

“I thank my God always on your behalf, for the grace of God which is given you by Jesus Christ; That in every thing ye are enriched by him, in all utterance, and in all knowledge;” ~ 1 Corinthians 1:4-5

One of the apostle Paul’s finest traits, in my opinion, was that he always found something to be thankful for in the people he interacted with. The church at Corinth had major problems, and as you go on and read the entire book, he addresses those problems head on. But first he starts out by being thankful for the little he can be thankful for in them, which has nothing to do with them really, but with God who has given them grace.

God had bestowed many gifts of the Holy Spirit on the believers in Corinth, such as speaking in tongues, and interpretation of said tongues, and knowledge to an extraordinary degree. They had outward expression through their speech, and inward comprehension in their knowledge. However, the Christians in Corinth were not what we would call “godly” Christians. Nevertheless, Paul still had a great love for them and desired for them to return to the truth and use the gifts God had given them for His glory.

There is a great lesson for us in this. Lots of families and friends will be getting together for the holidays which are fast approaching. Even though there may be problems in the lives of some of our close relationships, look for something in them to be thankful for and focus on that for the time that you are together with them. It does not mean that you condone all of their behavior, but that you love them with the love of Christ!

You may say, “Well you don’t know my family!” No, I may not, but God does! And He gave you the family you have on purpose, so be a light of Christ to them by being kind towards them and if they treat you poorly do as Romans 12:21 states and overcome evil with good. God will bless you for obeying Him!

Thank You Father God for all of Your care and keeping on me. Thank You for sending Jesus to shed His blood for my sins, and for never leaving me or forsaking me. I love You so and give You thanks this day, Amen!

by Mary Heuss-Nelson

Mind-Blowingly More Than I Bargained For (A Testimony)

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by Joelle Heilemann

I grew up in the church – literally. I am a pastor’s kid, and while most people only see their church on Sunday when everyone has their best manners on, during the week I chased my twin sister around the altar, messed with the keys and buttons on the organ, and played hide and seek in the pews.

The first parsonage I remember was actually attached to the church building, so to me the sanctuary was just an extension of my home. Some people might raise their eyebrows at the thought of kids rough-housing in a place of worship, but I’m sure the laughter made God smile.

As I grew older, though, I learned not to play in the church: Kids were expected to behave a certain way in the house of God; and the preacher’s kids especially were to model that behavior. I respected what people thought of me and learned to play the game. At a very young age I was quite adept at putting my best foot forward. I was quiet and shy, but I was well behaved.

No one ever asked what was going on underneath.

I of course grew up hearing the Gospel message, both from my father and my mother. (Women weren’t ordained as ministers as easily back then as they are now, but my mother fought for – and won – her ordination when I was in grade school.) I don’t recall the gospel making much of an impact on me when I was young; it was part of home life, like the sanctuary I so irreverently romped through as a child. Besides, I was a good girl. What had I ever done that needed forgiveness?

As I got older, though, a terrible realization began to creep into my heart: as much as I tried to be good, I always failed. I could put on a good show, but on the inside I was full of terrible thoughts and desires I couldn’t control. There was something broken there, something I couldn’t fix. No matter how hard I tried to make my insides match my outside behavior, when my parents preached about the sinfulness of man I knew that that was true about me. I was afraid and discouraged, but I wouldn’t ask Jesus for help. I was already a failure at living a good life; living a Godly life was utterly out of my reach. I knew I would just mess it up. So I silently vowed to do better, and hoped that someday I would be good enough to be a child of God.

This went on for a surprisingly long time. Like I said, no one ever looked beneath the surface. Being a pastor’s daughter meant everyone assumed I was saved. I went to all youth functions, summer camps, teen retreats and revival services. I sang in the choir, bowed my head reverently during prayer, tithed on my allowance and helped raise money for church functions. Only one thing I absolutely never did was go forward for an altar call.

I couldn’t. Everyone thought I was already a Christian.

“Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven.” ~Matthew 6:10

I couldn’t let them down by admitting the truth: that hearing about Jesus made me squirm inside, because I knew I didn’t belong to Him, I knew my broken self was at odds with Him – and I knew I wasn’t good enough yet to please Him. I just needed more time to get my act together; but the older I got, the more set in my sinful ways I became. Instead of becoming a better person, I was becoming worse. I had my pet sins and didn’t want to part with them, no matter how guilty I felt – and that would never do for a God who demanded all of my heart and devotion. So on I went, playing the good little Christian girl but on the inside running from God as hard as I could.

I was nearly 16 years old before I hit a breaking point. Conviction was laying heavily on me, but as usual I was so entangled in despair at my inability to reach God that I did not know what to do with the burden I felt in my heart. As I lay alone in the dark in my room one cold January night, I tentatively approached Jesus with an alternative suggestion: “Lord, I know I’m not good enough to be a Christian. Could you help me be better? And then someday when I’m good enough, then I’ll become a Christian.”

It was the first time I had ever admitted to God that I needed and wanted His help. He took that simple prayer – more like a negotiation, really! – and gave me something better than what I had dreamed. Just like that, He was there in my room, inside the fundamental essence of my being, pouring out His love and forgiveness into my sinful, starving heart. All those years of sickening fear were wiped away in an instant, and it was as if someone had turned a light on in my heart and mind. I came alive in a way I never had been before, and tears poured out of my eyes.

I had been accepted!

Not by anything I had done, but by admitting how much I needed Him! I reveled in the sheer bliss of it: Jesus had accepted me! Not in the absence of my faults, but in spite of them!

It was a revelation, and I knew that what He had done in my heart was deeper and more real than any other attempt I had made thus far to become a child of God. There had been times before this when I had tried to come to God. Those had been superficial actions based on emotion, which had faded within a short amount of time. This – this was entirely different. This was a real transaction, fuelled by God Himself. This did not fade, not when I eventually drifted off to sleep, not when I woke the next morning, not as the days and weeks and months went by. Something was new; I was new. I wasn’t afraid any more! Jesus was with me now, and He would help me.

And I was going to need a lot of help!

The anxious teen years were survived, more or less. I wasn’t as good a Christian as I wanted to be, but God had taken me on different terms, and I understood that. Sometimes all went very well, other times I really struggled.

College went much the same way; I went to a Christian college, as was expected of me, and while intriguing questions were raised, I never explored them much. I didn’t want anything to shake my faith. I knew God was real; I knew He had accepted me. I knew my parent’s faith, and to a large degree that was good enough for me. I didn’t understand why He was taking so long to fix my flaws, but I knew good and well I couldn’t fix them, so I plugged along as best I knew how.

I left college with God and without a husband, which kind of surprised me. I had planned on meeting the man God had for me there. Marriage was something I thought I had settled with God; I had offered to sacrifice much to be allowed a husband. But I reasoned my doubts away; God’s match for me was not to be found at college, then. No problem. I was young, and had plenty of time to find him.

I started my career in nursing, and within 6 months was living on my own, supporting myself. It felt good; but I was still plagued with a vague nagging guilt for not being a better Christian. I went to church, but the minute I left the building I left most of my Christianity behind me. I still trusted God, and I knew that my life was still different, but I was missing something.

One day I was doing my Bible reading at my local laundromat when a stranger struck up a conversation. I was a bit hesitant – I was still rather shy – but the stranger was insistent on knowing what I was reading. I told him, and he seemed immediately to regret his curiosity; he politely tried to dodge the subject of God and the Bible with humor, but something in me was prompted to talk to this man. As the conversation went on, the stranger opened up some – his mother had been religious, but he had gotten away from all of that as he got older. I wanted so much to help him; and suddenly a Voice inside my heart said “Give him your Bible.”

I did not want to give this man my Bible! I had had it all through college, it had many personal notes written in the margins, and I liked that Bible! But the command was clear: “Give him your Bible.” My fight with the Voice was a short one, the imperative was so pressing; within minutes, I handed over one of my most precious possessions to a man I did not know and never met again.

I don’t know what happened to that man – I hope he found Jesus. But I know what happened to me with that interchange. I walked away from that with a new thought: “Who IS this God I claim to serve? I thought I knew all about Him, had Him wrapped up in a neat and predictable package that I only open on Sundays and occasionally during the week when I need Him. But…He asked me to give my Bible away! What kind of God is this?? Is there more to Him than I thought?”

For the first time in my life, I really understood that there was more to God than what I thought I knew. I began to read the Bible as never before: not just reading it, but searching it. I wanted to know who God was; not just what I had been taught, or what other people thought of Him. I wanted Him to tell me who He is. Over the next weeks and months, I came out of the bubble of my parents’ faith and embraced a faith of my own – one based on a God Who could surprise and delight me, confuse and challenge me. A God, in short, who was truly worthy of devotion and respect. I had been accepted by Him as a frightened teen; now as I grew into adulthood I began to develop a real relationship with Him.

That relationship underwent many challenges over the next decade. Proving Himself to be a God I couldn’t put into a box, nothing in my life turned out as I had planned. The married life I had thought I had successfully bargained for became me accepting God’s call to singlehood – and rejoicing in it! The beautiful house in a town I loved, which I owned with a friend, became a call to a rural home in need of many years of work and repair. Even my loving, Christian family became a point of sacrifice as I walked in confused obedience through a time of estrangement from them; I did not speak to my own twin for nearly two years.

I learned more about the faithfulness of God than I could write in a dozen books, but I learned it through trials of every kind of fire you can imagine. And in everything, God was with me, as He had promised that first day. I didn’t often know where we were going, or how the road before me could possibly be God’s plan, and there were times I couldn’t sense Him at all; but He carried me through, and on the other side of the storms I could see how He worked all things for my good, and how He never ever left my side.

And He is still a God of surprises! When I had weathered it all and thought myself pretty well established as a child of God, He used a program at church to call me to a deeper walk with Him. At this point, I had been walking with God for 18 years. I was solid on several points of faith, but my daily walk was still hit-or-miss. I was relatively content with this; sure there were areas of defeat and struggle, but isn’t that the way of life? I still had a fondness for my pet sins. Part of me wanted more in my walk with God than what I had, and part of me liked to keep one foot in the world.

I knew that going any further was going to require more of me than I had previously given, and my old fear of inadequacies still haunted me – especially now, after another decade and a half of failures that Satan could taunt me with. I had accepted that failure was a part of life, but I struggled with knowing how that affected my standing with God. The faith I was raised in emphasized holy living, and in that arena I feel dismally short of God’s best. But I perpetually lacked the ability to live any better.

I knew grace was accepted, not earned; but how do I reconcile that with the exhortations in the Bible to live spotlessly before God?

Confusion and frustration made an easy ground for Satan to play with my mind and heart, and it seemed he won more victories than I did.

I had Jesus, but I had little to no victory.

It was only by His strength I was able to say yes to that call to a deeper walk with God. I tend to like things in moderation, even my devotion to God! But He once again challenged what I thought I knew. When it comes to God, there is no moderation; in our lives either He is Lord of all, or He is not Lord at all. Jesus had to overcome my natural desire to hold back, because if it had been up to me I would have smiled politely and kept half my heart in the world. But He had greater plans for me. I said “Yes” to the deeper walk with no idea what that would mean for me; I only sensed that it meant something new was coming.

It didn’t come for several months, and when it struck it was completely unexpected. No matter how clever we are, we cannot predict God! He ambushed me in the car on the way to work one morning; that’s the best way I can describe it. I had always known that Jesus had died for my sins, but that morning the understanding of it came to me with such clarity and conviction that I nearly had to pull off the road.

If you’ve never had such a revelation, I pray that you will; because such understanding does not come from study or from will-power, or even from experience: it comes from God alone.

I was struck by the completeness of Jesus’ death and resurrection; how it totally and utterly reconciled me to God. I didn’t have to be good to be Christian; I didn’t have to redeem myself. Only one Person in all of history could accomplish that, and He already did it 2000 years ago. I couldn’t crucify myself; and I didn’t need to! I was crucified with Christ; the old me was dead and buried with him; a new me was resurrected with Him! It was all DONE. I needed only to enter into that marvellous truth through faith; and then the power of God flows through me to shape my thoughts and words and actions into the similarity to Christ that I had longed for.

I had accepted Jesus’ help all those years ago as a bargain: that someday I would be good enough to deserve it. Now I understood that there was no “someday”; it had been nailed to a cross; I was already good enough, not by virtue of my own works, but by the perfect completed work of Christ. My “work” is to believe the Word of God – believe that Jesus has done it all (John 6:29, 19:30). All I needed to do was live in the light of that phenomenal truth!

Once I could accept that the work was done, that I had no need to prove myself or to earn His favor, then Satan’s grip on my heart lost its power. He couldn’t torment me with failure any more, couldn’t nag me with thoughts like “If you were a better Christian you wouldn’t…..” or “If you were a better Christian you would….” Instead I choose to believe God’s Word – that He would never leave me or forsake me (Hebrews 13:5), that He would finish the work He’d begun in me (Philippians 1:6), that He works all situations in life to our good (Romans 8:28).

God’s Word never promises happiness or an easy life; but it does promise joy and peace and hope, and in those we have victory over our circumstances, over our temptations, even over our old sinful self. And all because Jesus did everything – EVERYTHING – and all we have to do is rest on that truth in faith, trusting in His grace. Then and only then can His life be manifested in us – the fruit of the spirit and the blessings of being in right relationship with Him.

If you’ve never understood these things, then I pray right now that the Holy Spirit will open your mind and heart to understand His Truth. I am sure there is still much for me to learn – I doubt God is done surprising me! – but I know I can walk in victory every day, regardless of the circumstances that I face. – not because I am some super-Christian who has conquered my fears and flaws, but because I serve Christ, who conquered it all!

by Joelle Heilemann

Altar Call

Published by reflectionsintheword

“For Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh, but quickened by the Spirit:” ~ 1 Peter 3:18

What a wonderful verse! Our precious Lord Jesus Christ died for our sins “once for all”, His blood shed on the cross is totally sufficient to pay my sin debt to God. When Jesus died He settled the sin question, the work of redeeming us to God was completed. If you look back at the Old Testament they had to keep sacrificing animals to cover their sin before God repeatedly. But Christ is the perfect sacrifice for sin before our holy and righteous God; no other sacrifice is needed or can cover our sin before Him!

Why does the blood of Christ cleanse our sin?

Because He is righteous, “…the just for the unjust…” (1 Peter 3:18), “…the Lord hath laid on him the iniquity of us all” (Isaiah 53:6b). Christ is God’s one and only Son and therefore sinless:

“Who did no sin, neither was guile found in his mouth:” ~ 1 Peter 2:22

Yes indeed the righteous for the completely unrighteous.

We deserved death and separation from God, but God is love and He wanted to reconcile us to Himself through His righteous One. He wants an ongoing relationship with us. Truly amazing, isn’t it?

Yet some choose to reject Christ and, therefore, to reject God Himself!

Jesus was put to violent death in His body, nails were pounded through His hands and feet, a crown of twisted thorns slammed down on His precious head, mockers hit Him with their fists and spat upon Him, they pulled His beard from His holy face, all the while hurling insults at Him with their vile mouths. But what did Jesus say to all this? He said,

“…Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do…” ~ Luke 23:34

“For scarcely for a righteous man will one die… But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. Much more then, being now justified by his blood, we shall be saved from wrath through him.” ~ Romans 5:7-9

He could have come down from that cross at any moment and annihilated the whole crowd… but He stayed; oh praise God He stayed on that cruel cross and paid for my sin and yours! No one will ever love as much as He does!

But it did not end there. On the third day after His death, God raised Him back to life by the power of His Holy Spirit!

1 Peter 3:22 tells us that Christ is in heaven at the right hand of the Father. We serve a risen and very much alive Savior! He conquered death and sin once for all by the shedding of His redemptive blood.

Have you accepted His free gift to you (Ephesians 2:8-9)? It cost Him dearly, but He loves us so much that He offers it in love to you right now.

Jesus said,

“Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life.” ~ John 5:24

Thank You Jesus for dying for me, help me to live for You all the days of my life, for Your glory, Amen!

by Mary Heuss Nelson

The Hope of His Calling

Published by reflectionsintheword

“That the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give unto you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of him: The eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that ye may know what is the hope of his calling…” ~ Ephesians 1:17-18a

What is the hope of His calling? What is the Christian’s hope?

We may have to adjust our present understanding of the word hope. Typically, today, we think of hope as having to do with uncertainty: e.g., “Well I hope so.” OR “I’m not sure, but I do hope so.”

However, Peter tells us that God has begotten us to a living hope:

“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, which according to his abundant mercy hath begotten us again unto a lively hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead,” ~ 1 Peter 1:3

The resurrection of Jesus from the dead causes our hope to come alive. God by His mercy has “birthed” us into a living hope. Our hope is living and is based on the resurrection of the Lord Jesus from the dead.

The first aspect of our hope is that it’s a living hope.

The second aspect of our hope is that it is sure:

“Wherein God, willing more abundantly to show unto the heirs of promise the immutability of His counsel, confirmed it by an oath: That by two immutable things, in which it was impossible for God to lie, we might have a strong consolation, who have fled for refuge to lay hold upon the hope set before us: Which hope we have as an anchor of the soul, both sure and steadfast, and which entereth into that within the veil;” ~ Hebrews 6:17-19

It is like an anchor sure and steadfast. What makes our hope sure? Our hope is sure because it is based on the Word of God, v.17. Specifically, (1) God spoke, and (2) God swore (made an oath). So, by these two immutable, unchangeable, irrevocable things—because God can’t lie—we know for sure. There is no doubt, no uncertainty, no reservation; it is a sure hope.

There is another reason why our hope is sure: Because our hope IS Jesus:

“Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the commandment of God our Saviour, and Lord Jesus Christ, which is our hope;” ~ 1 Timothy 1:1

“To whom God would make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles; which is Christ in you, the hope of glory:” ~ Colossians 1:27

Christ in you is the hope of Glory. Because Jesus Christ comes to live in our hearts by The Holy Spirit we know that we know.

The Holy Spirit is like the engagement ring, the promise that He will marry us (i.e., The Church “the bride of Christ”):

“In whom ye also trusted, after that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation: in whom also after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that holy Spirit of promise, Which is the earnest of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, unto the praise of his glory.” ~ Ephesians 1:13-14

I pray the picture is becoming clear: Our hope is based on some pretty unshakeable things

The resurrection of Jesus from the dead
God said it
God swore – He made an oath.
The Holy Spirit was given to us to prove that He would do what He said.

Any 1 of the 4 would be secure on its own, but God gave us all four so that we would know that our hope was SURE.

Look again at Heb.6:17-19: “that… we might have strong consolation”. How sure is our hope? It could not be more sure. It is more sure that the sunrise, than the Earth, than time itself, than death, than taxes. It is very, very sure.

How long will our hope last?

Hope will last only for the time that we are here on Earth. 1 Corinthians 13:13 tells us that three things abide now Faith, Hope and Love. The greatest is love because love goes on into Eternity. Faith will give way to sight, and hope will give way to confirmation. Look at Romans 8:20-25

“For the creature was made subject to vanity, not willingly, but by reason of him who hath subjected the same in hope, Because the creature itself also shall be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God.
For we know that the whole creation groaneth and travaileth in pain together until now. And not only they, but ourselves also, which have the firstfruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting for the adoption, to wit, the redemption of our body.
For we are saved by hope: but hope that is seen is not hope: for what a man seeth, why doth he yet hope for? But if we hope for that we see not, then do we with patience wait for it.” ~ Romans 8:20-25

Once we arrive in heaven we won’t have to hope any more. Our hope will be fulfilled.

I want to look at a verse that appears to contradict the thought that our hope only lasts for the time we are on the Earth:

“If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men most miserable.” ~ 1 Corinthians 15:19

The verse seems to be saying that if our hope is only for this life we are miserable. However, to understand what the verse is saying we must look at it in context: 1 Corinthians 15:12-20.

What this verse is really saying is that our hope is for the resurrection. That if we have no hope of being resurrected then we are the most to be pitied. So it is not the hope itself that goes on after death but the resurrection life and the reality of the world to come.

The truth is that although the hope itself won’t go on into eternity, during the present time it reaches out into eternity and holds on to eternal things. Therefore, when I get saved, my soul gets anchored in Heaven, Hebrews 6:19-20.

So, when satan tries to wash me away with doubt, or fear, or sickness or death or whatever, my anchor, which is connected behind the Veil in the presence of God where Jesus is, holds me firm.

What are some of the things that we hope for?

We hope for the resurrection (as discussed earlier), 1 Corinthians 15:12-20.
We hope for the rapture. If we die before Jesus returns then we will be resurrected when He comes, if not then we will be caught up to meet Him in the air. 1 Thessalonians 4:17.
We hope for son-ship: We hope to be sons and daughters of the God of the universe, Romans 8:14, Galatians 4:5-6, 1 John 3:1-2.
We hope to be confirmed as The Bride. As the Bride of Christ we will be “married” to Him and, as mentioned earlier, the proof of this is the engagement ring, which we got at conversion the Holy Spirit, John 3:29, Revelation 19:7 ; 21:9 ; 22:17, Ephesians 5:25, 32.
We hope to become like Christ. God has predetermined that we will become like Jesus. Romans 8:28, Ephesians 4:13-15.
We hope to be joint heirs with Jesus. Jesus is heir of everything (Hebrews 1:2) and we are to be joint-heirs with him. 1 Peter 1:3-4, Romans 8:17, Galatians 3:29.

So I trust that you will understand that the Christian hope is a living, sure person. And that hope is the thing which reaches out into eternity and anchors our soul there even as here we endure the storms of life.

by Gordon Russell

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Practical Parenting

Published by reflectionsintheword

For many years my husband and I were counselors at a Bible Camp for teenagers each summer. I had about 14 or 15 girls in my cabin that ranged in ages from 14-17. My husband had boys in his cabin in the same age range.

At some point during the week we were to have one on one counseling sessions with each teen, a time to encourage them to share any concerns they were having and of course to make sure they understood the gospel of Jesus Christ. We did this for 12 years and as you can imagine we heard many, many different accounts of their lives and lifestyles. Some came from Christian homes and some did not.

When I look back and review the number one complaint that these girls shared it would have to be that their parents took them to church, told them to obey the Bible, yet their parents did not obey God themselves in their personal lives.

We cannot expect our children to grow up and follow Christ if we as parents do not follow Christ! Our kids are with us for 18 years 24/7, they see us at our worst and our best. They see us when no one else is around to impress with our “godly” behavior. Our children know, probably more than anyone just how much we love and follow Jesus.

“Train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not depart from it.” ~ Proverbs 22:6

Clearly we will all make mistakes as parents for we are human, but our hearts should have a purpose to make choices each day that are in line with God’s Word. There should be an overall desire to bring honor and glory to Christ in our lives. When we do this we are indeed training our children to follow Christ for that will bring them great success in the matters of life that are of eternal value!

So let me just encourage all parents to be diligent in your walk for Christ. God has entrusted you with your children to love, nurture, and provide for. It is a great responsibility and a tremendous privilege that we have been given. Lord help us to be wise parents by pointing them to Christ by word and deed!

by Mary Heuss Nelson

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