This is a video post. For my e-mail subscribers who can’t see the video, click here.

Continue Reading »

Today’s reading is Philippians 1:1-2:30.

“…for it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure” (Philippians 2:13).

I can relax today. I don’t have to give myself ulcers worrying about how I’m ever going to be pleasing to God. I don’t have to fret that I’m just not ever going to be good enough for Him. He’s working on that. He is working in me both to will and to work for His good pleasure.

Part of me wants to rebel against that. Part of me wants to say, “NO! I will do this.” But a very real part of me has come face to face with exactly how badly it goes when I am trying to do this. I have failed again and again and again. Today, instead of failing, I can just give up. That’s right. I can quit. I can surrender. I can admit I am powerless and only botch things myself, so I’ll just have to surrender my life to God and let Him be in control, simply doing what He says.

No, this doesn’t mean I sit on my backside and wait for the cosmic puppet master to pull my strings. It means I can have confidence to work out my salvation with fear and trembling. Why? Because God is working in me. It means all I have to do is learn God’s will and surrender to that. My job is simply to do the next right thing. God is working in me. I can trust that He will get me where I need to go if I simply surrender to Him today.

Keep the faith and keep reading,

ELC

PS. What struck you in today’s reading?

Today’s reading is Ephesians 5:1-6:24.

“Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her, that he might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word, so that he might present the church to himself in splendor, without spot or wrinkle or any such thing, that she might be holy and without blemish” (Ephesians 5:25-27).

Church. To some that word carries amazing baggage. Boring. Irrelevant. Useless. When they hear the word, they think of buildings or ritualistic services. But that is not what Paul is talking about. How could I want to be anywhere but in Christ’s church. The church is the group of people that Jesus died for. The church is the group of people Jesus purchased with His blood. The church is the group of people that He will present to Himself cleansed, washed, holy, without spot, wrinkle, or blemish.

When I understand that is what the church is how can I ever think of it as boring or irrelevant or useless. Christ’s church is awesome and today I’m glad to be part of it.

Keep the faith and keep reading,

ELC

PS. What struck you in today’s reading?

PPS. If you’d like to hear more about Christ’s awesome church, come to a special assembly at the Brownsburg Church of Christ in Brownsburg, Indiana on Sunday, August 29, 2010 at 10:30 am. I’ll be sharing the 4 reasons Christ’s church is awesome.

Today’s reading is Ephesians 3:1-4:32.

“Be angry and do not sin; do not let he sun go down on your anger, and give no opportunity to the devil” (Ephesians 4:26-27).

Many of us learned the #1 rule of dysfunction as we grew up.

RULE #1: Don’t Feel

Few of our parents meant to teach us this rule, but it gets passed on pretty often. Perhaps we gathered that the only legitimate feelings were our parents’ feelings. If we didn’t feel as they did about things we were punished, scorned, belittled, lectured, yelled at. We learned quickly to get rid of those feelings. Even in churches this rule gets passed on. Almost without thinking the rule is taught that Christians are supposed to always feel great. “How are you doing?” we ask someone. “Great!” the other says. “Couldn’t be better,” another says. “God’s blessing my socks off,” says a third. We wonder what is wrong with us for feeling lousy, angry, sad, hurt. But we refuse to let them see our supposedly unChristlike feelings.

But wait. Look again at what Paul says. He doesn’t say, “Don’t be angry, it is a sin.” He says, “Be angry and do not sin.” Anger is not a sin. It is simply an emotion. Anger happens. So does sadness. So does hurt. So does fear. So does regret. So does guilt. So does shame. These feelings are not sins. We don’t have to hide them. Certainly, none of these feelings is a justification for sin. Just because I’m afraid, hurt, sad, or angry doesn’t mean I get to yell at my wife and kids, calling them names, beating them. That would be sin. But the feelings themselves are okay.

But I must not let the sun go down on these emotions. I don’t think that means I have to eradicate these emotions before I go to sleep. I’m not always sure that is possible. Rather, I think I need to express these emotions in a proper and healthy way as quickly as possible. Otherwise, the stuffed emotions will come out in sinful explosions or in sinful escapes later.

It’s okay to feel. But be honest with your emotions. Define them to yourself and share them with those closest to you so you can work through them without sinning.

Keep the faith and keep reading,

ELC

PS. What struck you in today’s reading?

Today’s reading is Ephesians 1:1-2:22.

“For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them” (Ephesians 2:10).

What a thought! I am not my workmanship. I am God’s workmanship. Obviously, I’m making choices in my daily life. This doesn’t mean I’m nothing more than a puppet with God literally pulling the strings. But it does mean I’m not alone. It means I don’t have to direct the way for me to be all that God wants me to be, all that I want me to be.

God has created me in Christ Jesus to walk in His good works. But is His workmanship merely a moment in time switcheroo? Does Paul simply mean when I was baptized into Christ, God did some work but now He is sitting back hoping the switch took? I don’t think so. This verse means God is still working in me. He is providing me with progressive victory over sin and progressive victory in righteousness.

This doesn’t mean I sit on my backside and wait for God to pull the strings. But it does mean I can take comfort today that God is working in me. I am His workmanship and He is the Master Craftsman. He may not always work on my timetable, but He is working.

I think today, I’ll just surrender to God’s way. I’m pretty sure it works. And I’m pretty sure it will work on me.

Keep the faith and keep reading,

ELC

PS. What struck you in today’s reading?

PPS. For those who haven’t seen it elsewhere, here is a great video from the Skit Guys about God working on us. Even if you have seen it, you may want to watch it again. Enjoy.

God’s Chisel by the Skit Guys

Here is the link for my e-mail subscribers: http://giveattentiontoreading.com/?p=1620

Today’s reading is Ephesians 5:1-6:24.

What a great perspective the Spirit has given me through Paul today.

“Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of these things the wrath of God comes upon the sons of disobedience. Therefore do not  become partners with them; for at one time you were darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light (for the fruit of light is found in all that is good and right and true), and try to discern what is pleasing to the Lord” (Ephesians 5:6-10).

I noticed something about this passage that I had never noticed before. Paul does not tell me to avoid the deceptions, walk as a child of light, and try to please God so that maybe one day if I do this all well enough I can be God’s child of light. Notice he actually says I am already a child of light. It is because I am already “light in the Lord” that I should do these things. 

I don’t know about you, but that little shift in understanding helps me. I’m not trying to become something through my own strength. Rather, God has brought me into His kingdom. He has already made me a child of light. My job is to progressively live like it. I don’t have to view every flub as an indication that I’ll never be a child of light. I already am one. Rather, I can see my mistakes as part of the learning process now that I am God’s child and I am walking in the light. Please, please don’t misunderstand. I’m not saying I’m a child of light even if I decide to just continually walk in darkness. Paul’s encouragement is that continuing to walk in darkness will take me right back to that. But, what I am saying is that I’m not trying to earn my way into this status of being “light in the Lord.” I’m already there. I need to work on living like it.

In fact, how could I not work on that? How could I not show my love for God by walking in His light since He has brought me into this light by His love?

Thank You, God, for making me your child of light. Today, I commit myself to walking in your light.

Keep the faith and keep reading,

ELC

P.S. What struck you in today’s reading?

Today’s reading is Ephesians 1:1-2:22.

I love Ephesians. There are so many things that jump out at me as I read this book. These first two chapters are no exception. However, I’m only going to comment on two of them for the sake of your time.

First, I am really struck by Ephesians 1:15-16:

For this reason, because I have heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love toward all the saints, I do not cease to give thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers…

Paul gave thanks because of their faith in Jesus and their love toward the saints. Today, I need to work on both of those. I need to increase my faith in Jesus. I don’t need to increase His faith in me. I don’t need to spend my time trying to convince Him that He can trust me to always do what is right. I need to increase my faith in Him and through that, I’ll have the righteousness He gives. I also need to work on my love toward the saints. Again, I don’t need to focus on getting them to love me. I don’t need to walk around as a people pleaser trying to get them to like me or appreciate me. Instead, I need to work on genuine love and service. I need to work on treating others the way they want to be treated because it is right, not because they’ll like me for it. 

When I work on my faith in Jesus and my love toward the saints, then I become a person others can be thankful for.

Second, I am also struck by Ephesians 1:17-19:

…that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you a spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of him, having the eyes of your hearts enlightened, that you may know what is the hope to which he has called you, what are the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, and what is the immeasurable greatness of his power toward us who believe, according to the working of his great might…

In Paul’s prayer, I learn what I need to be praying for me and for you. Neither of us have all wisdom and insight. Rather, I need to pray that we may be granted wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Christ. We often wander in darkness and are so blind we don’t even know it. I need to pray that our hearts may be enlightened. Too often, we walk in despair. We get distracted by what is going on in the world and forget what Christ has done for us and what He is planning for us in the next. I need to pray that we may know the hope Christ is offering us that conquers our sadness and despair. We sometimes forget that this life isn’t really about this life. This life is not about having the best job, the biggest house, the nicest cars, the most comfortable clothes. This life is about what comes next. I need to pray that we can keep our eyes focused on the inheritance of true riches that Jesus has waiting for us. Sometimes, we begin to think it is not possible that we’ll make it. We mess up so much we just aren’t sure how God could possibly save us. I need to pray that we be kept by God’s power and also pray that we’ll know God’s power that we might have confidence in Him that we will make it, not because of our strength but because of His power. His power is so immense He raised Jesus from the dead and sat Him in the heavenly places above all things.

This needs to be my prayer today for both you and me. I hope you can join me in this prayer.

Keep the faith and keep reading,

ELC

P.S. What struck you in today’s reading?

Today’s reading is Ephesians 3:1-4:32.

Ephesians 3:10 caught my attention today. It says, “So that through the church the manifold wisdom of God might now be made known to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly places.” 

Sadly, in times past, people have placed so much emphasis on “the church” that hierarchies and denominational error became the mainstay because “the church” was the key. Thus we have some who believe that “the church” is without error and is the deciding factor on every key issue. Of course, that usually means through its elected or representative bodies (something which the New Testament knows nothing). The church is the deciding factor for what is right and wrong for those with this view. 

Gratefully, many have come past that. They recognize that the New Testament is far more a book telling us how to live as individual Christians and members of the church than telling us simply about the church as a whole. However, it seems folks easily ride the pendulum to far the other way. When the mantra becomes preach the Christ not the church, we are missing something. Ephesians 3:10 says the church should be preached. It is not just through Christ but also through the church that the manifold wisdom of God is demonstrated to all, including the rulers and authorities in heavenly places. Don’t water this down. This isn’t speaking about the individual lives of the individual church members. No, it is through the collective that God’s wisdom is demonstrated.

The point is we need to understand balance. We don’t need to so emphasize the church that it becomes some iconic organization and goes beyond what Scripture establishes. At the same time, we must not so degrade the church as if it make it nothing more than a necessary evil way of describing the group of individual Christians. 

The church is important. As Ephesians 5:25-33 will demonstrate in tomorrow’s reading, Jesus did die for Christians as individuals. He died for His church. He redeems His church. He washes His church. He will present His church as holy and blameless to God. We need to be in His church.

***Question: Why do you think so many are getting fed up with the concept of “the church” that they are making Christianity such an individualistic religion? Or are they? Am I missing it on this?

Keep the faith and keep reading,

ELC

Today’s reading is Ephesians 1:1-2:22.

Ephesians 1:3-14 gives me all kinds of hope. Sadly, many people misinterpret it and provide themselves with false hope. Others misinterpret it and have absolutely no hope, just fear. 

Some misinterpret this passage claiming the predestination mentioned means God has chosen before time who would be saved and they will be saved no matter what. Of course, the only people I’ve ever met that believe this all believe they are part of that chosen elect few. How convenient. I think this provides some false hope. That is not what the text is saying.

However, others, in order to combat the above false hope have almost sucked all the hope out of the passage completely. They hone in on words like “holy and blameless” and act as if we have accomplished that through our own perfect obedience then we don’t actually have the hope. We are striving for that holiness and blamelessness and if we reach it, we’ll be adopted and saved, but we just can’t really be sure if we’ve done enough to reach that. What hope is there in that? We all know ourselves too well to deceive ourselves into thinking we’ve really attained true holiness and blamelessness by our own righteous deeds.

So what is the truth that lies in between these two extremes of false hope and no hope?

The text does not say God has predestined who will be in Christ. Rather, it says He has predestined those who are in Christ to be holy and blameless. Before the world began, He chose those who are in Christ to be adopted as sons, to be to the praise of His glorious grace, to have forgiveness and redemption. 

Do you see what this means? The passage does not say if we are holy and blameless then we get to be in Christ. It says if we are in Christ, then God makes us holy and blameless. No doubt, this does not mean that I get to have a moment of mental assent, now I’m in Christ and what I do doesn’t matter. Of course not. When we truly hope in Christ and believe in Him, then our lives change. But the point is, I don’t have to fret my days away wondering if I’m being holy and blameless enough to get into Christ in the end. Rather, I can get into Christ and have confidence that God has predestined that I will be holy and blameless. As Romans 8:29 says, those whom God foreknew, He predestined to be conformed to the image of Jesus. Maybe today I’m still struggling, but I can have confidence that as long as I stay in Christ, God will work in my life to conform me to Jesus. It is a path of progress not perfection, but we are not working alone. God has placed His stamp on us to grow us to the image of Christ. 

What is the take away? Instead of spending today worrying if I’m good enough, I’m just going to abandon myself to Jesus and let Him have His way with me, conforming me to His image.

***Question: Why do you think we so readily try to establish our own righteousness instead of relying on the righteousness of God? (This ties in with our previous readings in Galatians 3 and Romans 10)

Keep the faith and keep reading,

ELC