It All Begins with God–“Beside” [#4]

Life is difficult. Life is not easy. Life is often a lonesome journey. Moving forward is challenging, difficult. At times we face seemingly impossible odds. We experience problems, setbacks, failures. We want a companion, someone who understands our needs and the nature of the journey. The last two sermons in this series show how God meets that need in Jesus, in the promise of Jesus to give us a Comforter to be at our side, and in Jesus’ presence with the Father.
Time for a quick review–

  • The God of Scripture, the God who promised again and again, “I will be with you,” in Jesus’ birth and ministry came to be “with us.”
  • The God who is “for us” has done everything necessary to assure our victory; he has indeed fought on our side against the enemy. In Jesus’ ministry and death, we clearly see the God who is “for us”, a concept so powerful that Paul’s rhetorical question affirms the conclusion: no one can stand against us.
  • This God–Father, Son, and Spirit–takes up residence, dwells, is at home, “in” us. This truth changes everything about our lives as we listen to, focus on, respond to, and anticipate the glory of our God.

Lesson Four–God has promised to be at our side. Why is it important to know that God is “beside us”? The understanding that God is beside us leads to two important Bible teachings.

  • Beside us is an Advocate, Encourager, Exhorter, Comforter–the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is sometimes referred to as the Paraclete. This word comes from a Greek verb (parakaleo) that means to comfort or console. The word is sometimes translated exhort or encourage.
    • The Spirit comforts us
    • The Spirit encourages us
    • The Spirit exhorts us, perhaps this connects to how the Spirit guides us
  • Also beside us is Jesus Christ–our Advocate with the Father
    • Jesus Christ is beside us as our advocate, 1 John 2:1-2
    • Jesus Christ presents our case based on his continued action on our behalf, 1 John 1:6-10
    • Jesus Christ intercedes, Heb. 9

God is “at our side” in every part of life. You cannot think of any time in your life when God was not at your side. It does not matter how far you have wandered or strayed, God through Jesus and the Spirit can be at your side. It does not matter how difficult the stretch of life you are going through; God is beside you. Problems–God beside you. Failure–God beside you. Overwhelmed–God beside you. Confused, doubtful, struggling–God beside you.

Three takeaways–
• God stays put. God never gives up on us no matter what we have done or are doing.
• God empowers us. He encourages us and enables us to experience the power and presence of God
• God supercharges us. We come to understand that God uses ordinary people to do extraordinary things.

The Rest of the Story–Faith

Yesterday I mentioned “the rest of the story.” On the day that would have been my mother’s 100th birthday, I shared how God has worked for good in our lives in mysterious and marvelous ways, even in tragic and difficult events.

Today I reflect upon the nature of faith. I have continuously and confidently affirmed that God is God, and that God is good (Psalm 100), through all of the circumstances of my life. I am also confident that God is faithful. I did not waver in that confidence in the face of my mother’s untimely death.

Do not miss an important truth. The Old Testament declaration, God is God and God is good, is less frequent in the New Testament. With the coming of Jesus Christ, the great truth about God, declared again and again, is that God is faithful.

Here is what I have learned. The time to decide that God is faithful is not after the difficulties come. One cannot wake up each day and say, “I must decide again today if God is God and if God is good. I must decide again today if God is faithful.” Faith must be established before faith-shattering events occur. God is faithful. When difficulties come, it is too late to decide if one will respond in faith. Disciples of the faithful God are faithful people. That’s how it is for people of faith. I pray that you today will know with certainty that our God is faithful.

God is Good!

Today is my mother’s birthday. She is gone from this earth, but not from our hearts. Today she would have been 100. For almost 30 years, I have remembered her birthday without being able to tell her “Happy Birthday” in person. In reality, the important people in our life never really leave.

My mother had a stroke in 1991. That changed her life — and mine. I never went home again as a care receiver — always as a caregiver. There was always something that needed doing around the house or yard, and I gladly pitched in to do whatever needed to be done. Two years later, my mother and stepfather deceased in an automobile accident on Thanksgiving Day 1993. Had God asked me, I would not have chosen that path. But now I see clearly the ways he has worked for good.

Without the accident, I think we would never have moved to Ohio Valley University to assist with the things of the kingdom there. At OVU, we found expanded involvement in mission work around the world. Our interest and opportunities in mission work and kingdom work have carried us to many places around the world, here and there, longer times and shorter, sometimes inside (but often outside) our comfort zone.

The opportunity to reflect upon this aspect of my life has been a great strength and buoy for my faith [but that is another story for another day]. I observe my peers, many of whom are in the “sandwich generation” — concerned both with parents and children or grandchildren. God opened a unique door for us; God works all things together for good! Praise Him!

My Mother’s Birthday: 2/2/22

Today is my mother’s birthday. She would have been 100 years old today. The unique, memorable, number combination has rolled around again, 2/2/22. My mother left this temporary earthly home and went home to dwell forever with the Lord almost 30 years ago. It seems that in timeless eternal existence, she is not counting the years as we do. She is present in my heart and mind, even though she is not present physically.
I still try to live my life in a way that would make her proud. She was and is my heroine. She would be amazed, but perhaps not surprised, at the opportunities God has afforded her son. Her faith, lived out in my life, has taken me around the world to places she probably never dreamed or imagined. The goals are always the same–to share the light of the gospel of Christ and to bring glory to God.
Today I remember my mother, her influence, her strength, her faith, and her love, in the words of Paul to the Ephesians: “Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus, throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen.” (3:20-21).

It All Begins with God–“In” [#3]

We struggle to understand God. The challenge is even more apparent as add another dynamic: God in us.
A brief review. Everything begins with God. In the beginning, God. In the beginning, the Word. Eternal existence, no beginning, no end. Above and beyond human concepts of space and time. Above matter, speaking matter into existence. Creative power, creative genius, sustaining the universe. This is God; this is Jesus pre-incarnate.
Then, the Incarnation. At the Christmas season, many think about Jesus and the beginning of his physical life on this planet. This is God with us. The baby in the manger is popular, non-threatening, lovable. But the story of Jesus’ life among us is not complete unless the story of his birth leads to the story of his death. Easter, as a religious event, even more popular than Christmas. Who doesn’t want to be saved? Who cannot sympathize with a suffering Savior? Who is not touched by the passion of Christ? God demonstrates love, he clearly shows how much he is for us.

I wish I understood more fully the significance of eternal existence–the One who is the very image of God, for whom all things were created, the One who now sustains and has always sustained this physical creation (Col. 1; Heb. 1). I wish I understood better the “God with us” dimension of Jesus’ coming. I wish I understood better how powerful is Jesus’ presence right now before the throne of God, the clear declaration that God is for us. I think clearer understanding of “with” and “for” would be helpful in the third dimension of this series.
I also want to understand what it means that he is “in us” or “within” us. Wow! God in us!

Seven well-known texts show us different dimensions of “God in us.” Here are the passages: John 14:23; Romans 8:9, 11; 1 Corinthians 3:16, 6:19-20; Ephesians 2:22; Ephesians 3:17; Col 1:27; 2 Timothy 1:14. What should we see? What conclusions should we draw?

  • Before he left the earth, the promise of Jesus to his followers was that God and Jesus would take up residence in those who keep his words.
  • The Spirit (of God, of Christ) lives in Christians, as evidence that we are in the Spirit and that we belong to Christ, and as promise that we will be resurrected.
  • Christians collectively are the temple (dwelling place) of God, where the Spirit of God dwells.
  • The church is the dwelling place of God through the Spirit.
  • Christ dwells in human hearts by faith.
  • Christ in us is the hope of glory.
  • The Holy Spirit dwells in Christians.

    • Since God is “in” us, “within” us, how shall we then live? Four truths can be distilled from these seven passages. We live….

  • In the Word. Paying attention to, obediently keeping, his words (guarding the sounds words)
  • In the s(S)pirit. Meditating on and focused on spiritual things
  • In relationship. As belonging to God, as belonging to Christ, in his presence
  • In expectation. Expectantly, hopefully

    • It All Begins with God–“For” [#2]

    God for us. A rich Bible concept not easy to grasp. Summarizing: God is on our side; God wants us to win; God wants us to succeed. From the reverse side: God is not against us.
    God is for us (Rom. 8:32-39). This alters our understanding of God. God is not a celestial policeman waiting to measure us with a long list of prohibitions. God is cheering us on; God protects, guides, helps, sustains, rescues, saves.
    God is for us (Rom. 8:32-39). This alters our understanding of life. When God is for us, nothing and no one can successfully oppose us.

    Why understanding this idea is important
    Because we spend so much time grasping for grace. We do not understand grace. How can we wrap our minds around grace? God is on our side, even when we mess up, even when we have messed up. The gospel message is not, “God will love you if you…” Or, “God will love you if you quit….” Or, “God will love you if you don’t do….” The fundamental message of Christianity is that God—-in all of his holiness, justice, and love—-is for us, creating us to be like him, re-creating us to be like him, helping us be like him.

    Because the gospel is positive, not negative. The gospel is what we are “for,” not what we are “against.” Or better said, the gospel is God for us, not God against us. It is amazing how often Christian faith is defined and understood by what it is against. The central message of Christian faith is about what we are for, because that is the central message of the gospel. God is for us; he is on our side. The gospel message that “God is for us” alters spiritual reality in our lives; it is not about guarantees of health, wealth, and success in this world.

    Because it is beyond incredible that God is “for us”! Philippians 2:5-11 is helpful. To understand the depth of the “God is for us” declaration, we have to understand Jesus. Here is the center of the gospel. Here is the supreme evidence of grace. We cannot really talk about God unless we mention Jesus. We cannot tell about Jesus without mentioning God.

  • Jesus existed with God, in the form of God, in the very nature of God, equal with God.
  • Incarnation, Jesus emptied himself, he became like us, he assumed human likeness, but even more, he came desiring to serve. Hebrews 1-2 presents Jesus as both Son of God and Son of Man. The whole idea is counter-intuitive.
  • Jesus is made like us, in human form, participating fully in the human experience, even dying.
  • Jesus comes doing the unexpected–living by a different value system. Jesus humbly submits to death, and even worse, death on a cross. The gospel of God “for us” denies the value systems of the world.
  • Jesus comes confronting life’s greatest challenges. Victorious living does not guarantee the absence of problems.
  • The victory is secure, the victory is won. God exalts Jesus above every other authority.

    • Why the message that “God is for us” is Good News

  • Because we cannot handle our past. We do not know how to undo the past, we are constantly burdened by our failures.
  • Because we cannot handle the present–the here and now. We cannot solve life’s problems. Life in this world is a puzzle that frustrates us.
  • Because we cannot handle the future. We cannot find a fresh start with our own power and efforts. In reality, we are in an impossible dilemma in this world.
  • Because God has already handled our past, our present, and our future. He was “playing on our side” before we were born. He has done what we cannot do. With God for us, the victory is assured!

    • It All Begins with God–“With” [#1]

    Beginning 2022 with the basics!  Four questions. Who is God? Who are we? What was God doing in sending Jesus? How should we respond? If we do not know who God is, we cannot know who we are. If we do not understand God’s purpose, we will fail to understand our appropriate response. The message of Scripture can be summed up in five affirmations about God. In Jesus Christ, God declares that He is with us, for us, within us, beside us, and before us. Five affirmations–five sermons!  Jesus’ coming to earth in the Incarnation continues and makes certain in new ways an Old Testament promise: “I will be with you.”

    Tracing this idea through Scripture
    “God with us” is an Old Testament concept: check out Abraham, Joseph, Moses, on and on… “I will be with you.”
    In the New Testament, consider the promises of Matthew 1:23 and 28:20. Read about Paul’s experience in Corinth in Acts 18. Check your concordance: “I will be with you.”
    What does “God with us” mean? This is not God beside us; this is not God within us. This is God with us! This is Hebrews 1-2: Jesus Christ accomplishing God’s purpose: Son of God, Son of Man, combined in Jesus.

    Struggling with this idea
    We struggle with this idea. We hear people say, “And then God showed up.” Where was he before he showed up? We talk about coming into God’s presence—are we not always in his presence? Where can we flee from his presence? Read Psalm 139 again. We pray, “God be with them.” Is He not always present? We struggle with God’s “where” because we do not understand his “who.” We sing songs that ask God to come near. What does that mean? Is it figurative language? What does it mean that something is a “God thing”? Perhaps we mean that God was active providentially. I cannot accept that! But let us never think that God suddenly shows up.
    We struggle with this idea—God with us—because of the times it seems he is not with us. How do we explain? Why does God show himself and act in one instance and not in another? Why does it seem that God is “here” sometimes and not at other times? The idea that God is sometimes here and sometimes not leads to faith problems—the absent God, the dead God, the optional God.

    Clarifying this idea
    God Present in the World. We can’t really see life clearly unless we understand God’s role in the world. God is with us—even when bad things happen. “I will never leave you.” For Christians, the presence of problems does not mean the absence of God. Even with Jesus on the cross, the Bible says that his prayer was heard.
    God Transcendent above the World. The transcendent God balances the present God. We do not understand—how is it possible that he is both present and transcendent at the same time? Rob Bell is helpful when he explains that one way the Hebrews described God’s action and presence was in the Hebrew word ruach. If you know Hebrew, you may immediately think spirit, breath, wind. But making this quick connection may do us a disservice. Ruach is energy, creative, surprising, surging in and through everything, holding stuff together, like a cosmic electricity, power, divine energy. This is God ever-present and ever-sustaining. Ruach is breath, it is wind, and it is spirit (although our English word spirit has a lot packed into it that the Hebrews did not have). Spirit (and Holy Spirit, a study to which we will come later this year) certainly doesn’t mean less real, or unpredictable — jumping in and out of existence, jumping from here to there.
    God in the World through the Church. God with us.  What should we hear? What should we think? Jesus inhabiting hearts by faith, the coming of the Holy Spirit. The church is the fullness of God’s presence through Jesus.

    Applying this idea practically
    God is present in his church, present in every moment. What are we supposed to learn? “God with us” helps us answer four questions.

    • What is real? “God with us” says that there is a spiritual dimension to our existence. “God with us” transcends physical realities. We are spiritual beings—we are spiritually connected. This says something about who we are and how we should understand our existence in this world. God energizes us—he gives breath to our physical bodies.
    • Where is our focus? “God with us” raises our view above and beyond this world. We see further, we see God. This mixes the daily and the religious, the common and the uncommon. There is more to this world than what we see because of God’s penetration and participation in this world.
    • What is important? “God with us” says that what is going in our lives is supremely important. This life matters: it matters to God; there is no such thing as humdrum, everyday kind of stuff. Moses experienced it at a burning bush as he went about doing what he did every day, God always present, but one day suddenly both present and visible.
    • What is the goal? “God with us” says there is hope, things can change, things can get better.

    It’s Sunday Again: For Spiritual Growth in 2022–Live Intentionally!

    The text for today comes from Philippians 3:7-16. This extended reading is usually divided into two sections: 7-11, 12-16.  Three goals are suggested by the passage. What will it take in 2022 for me to grow spiritually?  What should I pay closest attention to?  In the passage, I see three commitments, three goals to guide our Christian walk, our spiritual lives.

    I WILL NOT BECOME COMPLACENT. Reading vv. 7-11, one sees the exact opposite of complacency. The text deserves a careful reading and brief explanation.  “But whatever gain I had, I counted as loss for the sake of Christ.  Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God that depends on faith—that I may know him and the power of his resurrection, and may share his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, that by any means possible I may attain the resurrection from the dead.”

    After the Damascus Road encounter, Paul could never be complacent; he would never be satisfied with mediocrity.  Paul established a singular FOCUS in his life. Seeking applications from the text suggests to me how easily we are satisfied in our Christian walk. We are too easily satisfied. Mediocrity is too often sufficient. We are happy to repeat the past — doing the same things, hoping for different results. We see, feel the complacency but do not address it. We must be willing to change, we must keep up. We must seize opportunities, walk through open doors. We must learn, grow, develop, dream, expand, plan, escape. Passion must burn ever brighter. Complacency will stall you, bring you struggles, and silence your heart. When complacency sets in, we stay where we are and repeat the same things over and over. Here is a helpful prayer — “God, make me dissatisfied!” I will escape complacency.

    I WILL LET GO OF THE PAST. The contrast that Paul sets forth, comparing the past and the future, is a familiar and popular Bible text to many people.  Nonetheless, it deserves a quick overview. “Not that I have already obtained this or am already perfect, but I press on to make it my own, because Christ Jesus has made me his own. Brothers, I do not consider that I have made it my own. But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. Let those of us who are mature think this way, and if in anything you think otherwise, God will reveal that also to you. Only let us hold true to what we have attained.”

    The future is often hindered by the past. What we have done in the past will never be good enough again! We do not move forward effectively by looking in the rearview mirror. We do not move forward by repeating what we have always done. We do not move forward without developing spiritual vision that gazes longingly at the things of God and seeks the way forward. You will struggle to move forward if you allow your vision to be limited and fail to plan. Some fail to plan because planning was not necessary in the past. Sometimes churches swell without doing much; they get by without much intentional planning. What a tragedy! What could have been! How much more would have been accomplished in the kingdom by aligning resources and focusing on God’s priority? You can count on this – to fail to plan is to plan to fail. The past is like an anchor, weighing you down and holding you back. The past can inform my future, but the past must never define my future.

    I WILL PRESS ON TOWARD GOD’S GOAL. Pressing on requires consistent energy, purpose, priority, planning. The goal must be visible, the way to reach it defined. I repeat, planning is essential. What is the goal? What is the path forward? I identify the path and I press onward, letting God guide me forward. To know Jesus is our aim. His love compels us. He holds our future. “As many as are mature, let us think this.”  What is “this?”  Vv. 12-14? The entire context? “If in any point, you (plural) think differently (something else), also this God will reveal to you.” Is Paul opening the door to minor variations of thinking? Is he referring to the opponents, persons with conflicts, or false teachers?  Two options are possible. God will reveal the truth to those who think differently.  God will reveal to the mature who they are who think differently. The test of thinking is in the actions that come from the thinking. Paul urges them to walk in step, conform, to what has been attained up this point.  The verb is different than he one he uses earlier in the passage.

    Each year, I take some time to write down goals for the coming year. One of the documents that I update is titled, “Living Intentionally.” Obviously, one doesn’t have to do that.  Living is, in one sense, automatic.  You keep living, but life does not feel much like life. I remember a section from Katherine Porter’s Ship of Fools, in which a character awakened in his coffin and remarked, “I can’t be dead!  I’ve never really lived!”

    If I could sum up these three ideas from Philippians 3 in one concept, the goal is to LIVE INTENTIONALLY! I will be intentional – each day focused, looking forward, anticipating the future.

    Sunday’s Coming: How to Develop Your Spiritual Vision

    How is your spiritual vision?  When 2020 came, many church bulletin articles focused on developing a 20/20 spiritual vision.  Now another year has come and gone–2021 is history and 2022 has begun. We must think carefully about 2022 — think about our spiritual vision, our spiritual growth and development in 2022. In 2021, we did something; we did not do everything. We could have done more. Why did we…. why did we not?

    Do you want to change the trajectory of your life in 2022? Develop more acute spiritual vision? It is not too late. The coming year is not yet set in stone. It is not predetermined.  The coming year is yet within your grasp. You can yet seize the moment. You can yet identify goals and commit to forward movement.

    Here is a key—God!  We must see God more clearly. Believe in God. We live in the midst of a world with worries and fears. The world drags us down. How can we overcome? By developing faith in a God who is too big to allow fears to take over our lives. Four Bible examples will help us see four great truths about God.

    (1) In 2 Kings 6, Israel is surrounded by the enemy. Elisha prays for his servant, that the Lord will “open his eyes” to see the protection and care of God.

    (2) In John 2, Jesus’ mother turns to Jesus in faith when the host runs out of wine at a wedding in Cana. Listen to her counsel. “Do what he says,” to see the power of God. Seeing God’s power is not the product of waiting to see what God will do.  Seeing God’s power is the product of doing what God says.

    (3) In Acts 1-6, we read the compelling story of the early church. The Jewish leaders wanted to silence the apostles.  The apostles were committed to continuing to faithful proclamation of Jesus. “You decide for yourself, but we must speak. We cannot but speak the things which we have seen and heard.” In the midst of challenges, we must not shirk our responsibility. Tell what you have seen and heard. You will both see and be the presence of God.

    (4) In Phil. 3:12-14, a text we will study in more detail tomorrow, we must pursue what can be seen only with spiritual eyes. Focus to look forward to the future. The Christian life requires some forgetting, some straining, and spiritual vision, so that we can see the provision of God.

    I hope these four points are memorable for you.  May we each day in 2022 take time to see in our lives God’s protection, power, presence, and provision.

    Beginning the New Year Well–A Daily Checklist

    Today I follow up on my December 26, 2021, blog. Day 2 of 2022, the first Sunday of the year, the question is still valid, relevant. “How can we begin the New Year well?” I have in mind something more than making better resolutions and developing greater resolve. In my own life I have found a powerful tool that continues when the resolutions are broken and forgotten — spiritual power for spiritual living throughout the year. I set goals rather than resolutions!

    Before sharing three principles–a daily checklist–for living well in the New Year, let me briefly say something about goals vs. resolutions.  I set goals and work toward them throughout the year. The problem with resolutions is that they tend to be all or nothing, yes or no. The first time we fail, once we stumble, once we fall short, the resolution is broken.  We have failed.  When I set a goal, I may advance rapidly some days, and slowly other days, but the reckoning point comes when the year ends!  Did I live my life well? Did I stretch toward the goal?

    One more practice that I find helpful — choose a word for the year. You get to pick your own word. You do not have to use the word I will suggest.  Choose a word that you like, a word that speaks to you, a word of anticipation, hope, and possibilities. What words would you consider?  I can think of many possibilities. I generally use a different word each year. For 2022, I am choosing the word “confidence.” In Hebrews 11, confidence and conviction are combined to describe my faith in the One who walks beside me. I will move forward into 2022 with faith and fidelity, with confidence. You are welcome to use my word, but I encourage you, right now, to choose a word, whatever word you wish.  How can you bring to reality in 2022 the word you have chosen? Each day guided by your word. Awaking and resting–this is your word.  This is how you will move toward God’s goals, God’s purpose, in your life?

    Here’s my daily checklist for 2022.  Daily, or at least weekly, these are my commitments.  Pick a time, set it aside, ask yourself the questions. Evaluate your progress toward the goal.

    Commit to RENEWAL. Recognize that renewal is an ongoing process. Renewal is not once and done, never to be repeated. Paul wrote that the inner man is continually renewed day by day, even when the physical body is deteriorating and aging. Remind yourself regularly that you are committed to the constantly renewed life.

    Continually REBALANCE life. Life is a series of choices. Today’s choices are not the same as yesterday’s choices. We progress, and we regress. (That’s why goals are so much better than resolutions!) We face new challenges. New opportunities come. Our lives cannot focus on everything at once. We cannot do it all. We have to decide what is important. The best life is the focused life. I have to lay aside some things in order to focus on the better things.  Paul prayed for the Philippians, that they would be able to choose what is best!  One purpose of rebalancing life regularly is to stay focused on what is best.

    RELY on God. The essence of faith, confidence and conviction, is that the power for Christian living is not of us, but of God. This is my prayer, God’s daily presence. God is God. Know who He is. God is at work. Observe what he does. Let God be God.