One Heart and One Mouth

The Word is first...

Romans 15:5-6 (NIV)

⁵ May the God who gives endurance and encouragement give you a spirit of unity among yourselves as you follow Christ Jesus, ⁶ so that with one heart and mouth you may glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.

The Holy Bible : New International Version. electronic ed. Grand Rapids : Zondervan, 1996, c1984

I find that even as I read this passage, my initial reaction is one of disbelief and lack of faith. It's hard enough to have unity with only two people let alone an entire Sunday School class, a congregation, a church, an association, a denomination. If unity is what we are to strive towards, why are we always at each other's throats?

Apparently, this problem has persisted for thousands of years and Paul confronts it in the early church through this passage. He calls upon the only power that strong enough to unite a disparate collection of people, the one who gives endurance and encouragement. I believe he did this because he recognized that people were incapable of this under their own power and that endurance and encouragement are core components to true unity.

Paul also speaks of the purpose of this unity "so that with one heart and mouth you may glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ." It's not so that we can all "get along", hold hands and sing kum-ba-ya around the campfire. It is so our praise and worship can be multiplied to the ultimate level.

In the story of Christ's birth, the heavenly host spoke as one in celebration of the birth of Immanuel. I believe that models the unity that we are to strive towards so that we can speak as one not only to God our Father but also to the world of unbelievers.

My lack of faith and disbelief is grounded in my own failing at preserving unity. I find it odd that I would attribute my own inability and shortcomings to a lack of power in God but there it is.

The truth is that only God can bring about that unity and certainly He can do it. Lord, I believe, help me with my unbelief! The steps that I must take are two-fold. I must not do those things that I want to do that lead to separation and disunity and I must do those things which promote unity. Both of these require a continual pouring out of my self and a continual filling by the Spirit. This is a good lesson for me today and one that is sorely needed.

I have a wonderful opportunity to practice this in the coming days as I embark on my first foreign mission project. I'll be a stranger in a strange land but I will be travelling with 30+ others, some that I know very well, others I barely know at all. What a great place for me to yield to God in the name of Christian unity so that we may function as a team, as one, for the glory of God's kingdom.

Shaking,
Carl

Strengthened With All Power

The Word is first...

Colossians 1:9-14 (NIV)

⁹ For this reason, since the day we heard about you, we have not stopped praying for you and asking God to fill you with the knowledge of his will through all spiritual wisdom and understanding. ¹⁰ And we pray this in order that you may live a life worthy of the Lord and may please him in every way: bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God, ¹¹ being strengthened with all power according to his glorious might so that you may have great endurance and patience, and joyfully ¹² giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified you^b to share in the inheritance of the saints in the kingdom of light. ¹³ For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves, ¹⁴ in whom we have redemption,^c the forgiveness of sins.

^b Some manuscripts us

^c A few late manuscripts redemption through his blood

The Holy Bible : New International Version. electronic ed. Grand Rapids : Zondervan, 1996, c1984

It seems silly to me to go forth and add "numbers" to the kingdom with no thought given to the spiritual development of all those baby Christians. And in this passage Paul models the type of behavior that we, as Christians, ought to have towards all those who profess their belief in Jesus.

Note that the first thing Paul does is resort to the power of prayer. His prayer is targeted towards developing the most important aspects of a developing relationship with God. His initial request is one for knowledge (discernment) of God's will. He prays that this be developed through a filling of spiritual wisdom and understanding. To me, this reflects upon something else Paul wrote in Romans 12:1-2 wherein he charged the believer to "no longer conform to the patterns of this world but to be transformed by the renewing of your mind" that in this way the believer would "be able to test and approve" God's will. This ability, to discern God's will, is a critical component for an effective life in Christ.

Paul then prays that the new believer would "live a life worthy of the Lord". This doesn't mean that we lead a life that is without sin so as to be found suitable for the presence of the Lord. Rather it means that we are to change our priorities in recognition of the great sacrifice of Jesus Christ which brought us to this point of understanding. If we understand the sacrifice that Christ made on our behalf, we ought to be filled with an overwhelming desire to live up to that sacrifice.

In this verse, Paul charges through prayer that the believer live to "please him in every way." Recently, a friend of mine shared with me his new understanding that he is to live to 'please God, not appease God.' I found this to be a profound thought and one worthy of our consideration. Afterall, we 'appease' out of fear but we 'please' out of love. Thus, as a token of the great love that we hold for God, we should examine every aspect of our lives; feed and nurture those aspects that please the Lord and starve to death every aspect that displeases Him.

The manifestation of this is demonstrated in the fruit we bear in his name. I do not believe this is measured by the number of people we 'lead to the Lord' but rather in the number of people to whom we show God's love. Though the number of people we may have the privilege to lead in "the sinner's prayer" may be quite small, the number we can love is limitless. The Lord God is "abounding in love" and our lives should be able to be described in the same way.

The natural progression of leading a life pleasing to God and bearing fruit in every good work, is that the believer will continue to grow in relationship with God. The deeper this relationship goes, the better we, as disciples, come to know God. And as we come into an ever-increasing knowledge of God, the more we know, the more we are strengthened. The better we are able to make sound decisions and so long as we rely on this strength, that which comes from The Lord and not from our selves, we become patient and long-suffering, able to endure the endless trials and tribulations of this present life. One aspect of this strengthening, one thing that gives us the ability to sustain our faith in the face of adversity, is the hope we have in the inheritance which awaits us as children of God. Though we have received but a portion of it now, as reflected in the new life we lead, we give thanks for what we have received and for what is yet to come. We can give thanks in advance because, as Paul writes, the Father "has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in the kingdom of light." What a beautiful picture that presents in my mind! What hope to be multiplied in the sharing.

All these things are possible and available to the believer who has been rescued by God. We have been snatched, lovingly, from the "dominion of darkness and brought into the kingdom of the Son [God] loves." It is by His sacrifice that we have been redeemed, our sins 'sent away' from us that we may be brothers and sisters of and in Christ.

Nourished by this understanding and claiming this prayer of Paul for myself I go into the marketplace now and in a couple of days I go into a distant land. I will seek every opportunity to live up to Christ's sacrifice and to seek out every chance to be flesh and bone to the love of God in the sight of all men.

In His Grip,
Carl

He Will Protect You

The Word is first...

Psalm 91 (NIV)

Psalm 91

¹ He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High

will rest in the shadow of the Almighty.^a

² I will say^b of the Lord, “He is my refuge and my fortress,

my God, in whom I trust.”

³ Surely he will save you from the fowler’s snare

and from the deadly pestilence.

⁴ He will cover you with his feathers,

and under his wings you will find refuge;

his faithfulness will be your shield and rampart.

⁵ You will not fear the terror of night,

nor the arrow that flies by day,

⁶ nor the pestilence that stalks in the darkness,

nor the plague that destroys at midday.

⁷ A thousand may fall at your side,

ten thousand at your right hand,

but it will not come near you.

⁸ You will only observe with your eyes

and see the punishment of the wicked.

⁹ If you make the Most High your dwelling—

even the Lord, who is my refuge—

¹⁰ then no harm will befall you,

no disaster will come near your tent.

¹¹ For he will command his angels concerning you

to guard you in all your ways;

¹² they will lift you up in their hands,

so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.

¹³ You will tread upon the lion and the cobra;

you will trample the great lion and the serpent.

¹⁴ “Because he loves me,” says the Lord, “I will rescue him;

I will protect him, for he acknowledges my name.

¹⁵ He will call upon me, and I will answer him;

I will be with him in trouble,

I will deliver him and honor him.

¹⁶ With long life will I satisfy him

and show him my salvation.”

^a Hebrew Shaddai

^b Or He says

The Holy Bible : New International Version. electronic ed. Grand Rapids : Zondervan, 1996, c1984

It's just beautiful. And the most beautiful is v14 spoken in first person by God.

"Because he loves me," says the Lord, "I will rescue him; I will protect him, for he acknowledges my name."

I'm safe in God's hands.

Peace Out,
Carl

A Vessel of Honor

The Word is first...

2 Timothy 2:20-22 (NIV)

²⁰ In a large house there are articles not only of gold and silver, but also of wood and clay; some are for noble purposes and some for ignoble. ²¹ If a man cleanses himself from the latter, he will be an instrument for noble purposes, made holy, useful to the Master and prepared to do any good work.

²² Flee the evil desires of youth, and pursue righteousness, faith, love and peace, along with those who call on the Lord out of a pure heart.

The Holy Bible : New International Version. electronic ed. Grand Rapids : Zondervan, 1996, c1984

To be useful to God is an honorable desire and is a recurring prayer of my own. Over time I have developed an understanding that I am unique and that I am not to judge my usefulness through comparison to others but rather to God's design.

This passage speaks to the wisdom of that understanding. When studying this passage it is important to understand what is meant by "large house" and also by "noble" and "ignoble" purposes.

The 'large house' refers to the Church, the whole church and not just sizable congregations. As Christians we are all members of 'the' church and it is indeed a large house with room sufficient for everyone.

The terms noble and ignoble are references to the function served by a particular vessel (person). Those vessels that are for 'noble' purposes are seen in public, kept in good repair and preserved. This might include pitchers for water or wine, plates or bowls for eating, etc. Thank of it as all those things which are 'set out' when company is coming. :) On the other hand are the vessels for ignoble purposes. Simply stated, they are for garbage or excrement. They are not presented for inspection, kept in good repair and indeed, they are discarded when their purpose is accomplished. Either way, honor or shame is bestowed upon a vessel by the way in which the owner uses them.

This passage speaks to the necessity of preparing ourselves for service to The King. It speaks of cleansing oneself so that one could be a vessel of noble purpose. To me, this means a couple of things. First, the vessel must be empty. If I've filled my 'self' with pride, arrogance, self-sufficiency, etc, there is no room for God to use me. But if I've emptied myself then the only remaining matter is one of cleanliness. Jesus admonished the Pharisees to 'clean the inside of the cup and the outside would be clean also.' This is the same concept. We must submit to being cleaned by God through contrition, confession and forgiveness. We must endeavor not to spoil his work by pouring pollution back in after the cleanup has occurred.

This passage speaks specifically to flee the evil desires of youth; some versions say "youthful lusts." This includes not only the obvious physical lusts of youth but also the lust for power, fortune and fame; anything self-aggrandizing falls into this category as well. Instead, we maintain our cleanliness and suitability for purpose by pursuing righteousness, faith, love and peace and this we do in fellowship with other believers, not as individuals.

With great effort against my sin nature, I live a life of fleeing from all manners of sin and in hot pursuit of righteousness, faith, love and peace. To be honest, I'm not very good at it. But whenever I find that I've poured the pollution into the pitcher, I pour it all back out and submit to the hands of He who can cleanse me and make me anew. Then I wait, sometimes impatiently, for him to decide what to do with me and then to fill me up and put me to use.

I suppose that's why I'm headed to Guatemala. God must feel like he can use me there and it is my fervent prayer that he would use me for noble purposes to serve those in that country. I know where I stand but what's your choice? Tea pitcher or honey-pot? They look so similar...

Ewwww,
Carl

Please, Pray for Me

The Word is first...

Ephesians 6:19-20 (NIV)

¹⁹ Pray also for me, that whenever I open my mouth, words may be given me so that I will fearlessly make known the mystery of the gospel, ²⁰ for which I am an ambassador in chains. Pray that I may declare it fearlessly, as I should.

The Holy Bible : New International Version. electronic ed. Grand Rapids : Zondervan, 1996, c1984

I've been pondering this simple request for a few weeks now. And I've been wondering about that whole 'being filled with the spirit and speaking in tongues' thing. I wonder if the apostles spoke foreign languages or whether the hearers simply heard a foreign language. Or if the apostles spoke some kind of God-given universal language that everyone could understand because it operated at a totally different level than we are accustomed to.

The reason this has been on my mind is because I'm headed of to a Spanish-speaking country and I don't speak Spanish. I've really been concerned about what kind of witness or evangelist I could be when I don't speak the language of the people I'm around. Sometimes I wonder if I really get it or not. I mean I'm going as a representative of the Almighty God, Creator of the Universe, who numbers the decreasing numbers of hairs on my head as well as the stars in the sky. Why oh why would I be worried about such a small matter as language? I like to believe that God is letting me flex my stupidity so that he can really blow me away when He does what He has planned. Geez, the things I worry about!

So then God sends along this verse, to remind me that I'm focused on the inconsequential and that I'm just a mouth-piece.

The Apostle Paul prayed to receive words that he could 'fearlessly make known the mystery of the gospel' and that he 'may declare it fearlessly, as [he] should.' That seems like a much more substantial and far more important prayer than the one I've been praying. And the thing that makes it so much more powerful is that it focuses cleanly on God's will and not on anyone's self. Paul did NOT pray for persuasive words, nor the ability to communicate. He prayed that he could fearlessly proclaim the good news of Jesus Christ. I'm giving up my paltry self-centered prayer and adopting this one as my own. I can do that you know because God GAVE IT TO ME.

There is something else that he gave me; common sense. So I've put some of that to use and I've bought a bi-lingual Bible to take with me. Between now and then though I'm studying it instead of my usual Bible. And I'm going to mark out 'la via romana' in preparation. That way, I can be prepared to fearlessly declare "la buena noticia de Jesucristo!"

Okay, so like please, pray for me that whenever I open my mouth, words may be given me so that I will fearlessly make known the mysteries of the gospel.

Adios,
Carl

Declare His Glory

The Word is first...

1 Chronicles 16:23-33 (NIV)

²³ Sing to the Lord, all the earth;

proclaim his salvation day after day.

²⁴ Declare his glory among the nations,

his marvelous deeds among all peoples.

²⁵ For great is the Lord and most worthy of praise;

he is to be feared above all gods.

²⁶ For all the gods of the nations are idols,

but the Lord made the heavens.

²⁷ Splendor and majesty are before him;

strength and joy in his dwelling place.

²⁸ Ascribe to the Lord, O families of nations,

ascribe to the Lord glory and strength,

²⁹ ascribe to the Lord the glory due his name.

Bring an offering and come before him;

worship the Lord in the splendor of his^c holiness.

³⁰ Tremble before him, all the earth!

The world is firmly established; it cannot be moved.

³¹ Let the heavens rejoice, let the earth be glad;

let them say among the nations, “The Lord reigns!”

³² Let the sea resound, and all that is in it;

let the fields be jubilant, and everything in them!

³³ Then the trees of the forest will sing,

they will sing for joy before the Lord,

for he comes to judge the earth.

^c Or Lord with the splendor of

The Holy Bible : New International Version. electronic ed. Grand Rapids : Zondervan, 1996, c1984

This is a beautiful passage of scripture which attests to the glory of God which describes the right response of all creation. Rather than pick this passage into individual pieces, I just want to parse through and hit some highlights.

First, this passage contains commands and it is declarative. We are commanded to sing, proclaim and declare his glory among the nations. We are to share his marvelous deeds with everyone, everywhere.

The passage declares that the Lord is great and most worthy of our praise. He is to be feared. He is fundamentally different from all the god's of the people of this earth for He alone is real. The power of creation is His and reflects His splendor.

We are then commanded to 'ascribe' to him glory and strength. This means that we are to refer to Him as the source, cause or author of glory and strength. We are to do this not because of anything he has done, though He has done much, but rather because of His name alone. His name is Holy.

Continuing with commands we are directed to bring an offering and enter into his presence. At this time, this meant a bull or ram or something else that was suitable to be sacrificed. But today, due to the vicarious sacrifice of Jesus, we need bring only ourselves as living sacrifices. And it is the doing of that that we are able to worship the Lord in the splendor of his holiness.

The last command to us is that we tremble; and tremble we should. We often forget the raw power and supremacy of God as we seek to be in relationship with him. But the truth is that God is all-powerful, all-holy and so far above us as to be incomprehensible. The thought of standing in front of him with my chin held high, my chest inflated and knees locked in place is ludicrous! Knee-knocking scared is what I am.

The passage ends with further declarations about the heavens, the earth, the sea, the fields and the trees. That all these things declare his glory and rejoice for joy at the coming of the King. On this I have to quote the words of the modern philosopher Carmen who said "Ain't no rock gonna take my place!" What an embarrassment it would be for all of creation, except for man, to glorify the Lord.

Okay, where do I go from here? I'm reading this as instructions for my upcoming trip to Guatemala. I'm going to build houses, etc but I'll have a song in my heart and on my lips. Given the opportunity, I will declare his glory to the people around me and I will try to convey his splendor and his glory as I understand them. I just hope someone asks me "why?" as in "Senor Carl, why do you come to my country to build a house for me?" And I'll say because Jesus is building a house for me.

Shalom,
Carl

Blessed To Be A Blessing

The Word is first...

Genesis 12:1-3 (NIV)

12 The Lord had said to Abram, “Leave your country, your people and your father’s household and go to the land I will show you.

² “I will make you into a great nation

and I will bless you;

I will make your name great,

and you will be a blessing.

³ I will bless those who bless you,

and whoever curses you I will curse;

and all peoples on earth

will be blessed through you.”

The Holy Bible : New International Version. electronic ed. Grand Rapids : Zondervan, 1996, c1984

Abram... what a guy. Commanded to leave so he left, commanded to sacrifice his son so he set about doing it, faithful, obedient, an example to be emulated. In fact, today's passage is where God told Abram to pack it up and move out. No forwarding address, just a caravan of people and animals striking out in the direction that God pointed, so to speak. Oh, and a promise, let's not forget that.

Today's passage contains not only the command from God to Abram to 'move out' but also the promise for his obedience. God said to Abram "I will make you into a great nation and I will bless you; I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse; and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you." Now THAT is a blessing indeed! Let's look at it bit by bit, as is my habit.

Almighty God, the one worthy to be praised and the rightful heir to all the blessings we can give is promising to Abram that He, God will bless him, Abram. He will cause Abram's family to be the root from which a great nation will grow. From reading the books of history we know that that great nation is Israel, God's chosen people.

Then God says that he will make Abram's name great and Abram will be a blessing. Well, need I say anything more than "Father Abraham?" When counting down the hall of fame for those counted faithful in the eyes of God, Abram is near the top of the list. I'd say that's a pretty great name he has received. And it is through Abram that Israel became a nation and it is from Israel that Jesus came. In this way, Abram is indeed a blessing.

God promises to bless those who bless Abram and to curse those who curse him. At this point, I'm not certain he is referring to Abram the man or Israel the nation but regardless, we need look no further than today's headlines to see that this promise is still being fulfilled. Am I the only one predisposed to Israel?

God promises that 'all peoples on earth will be blessed through you' and this is the supreme blessing in the person of Jesus Christ.

Great lands, fame, fortune and power were not the things that Abram needed as part of his blessing. All he needed was the favor of God to be upon him and for God to use him in the grand scheme of things. Abram was blessed to be a blessing.

My prayer is that God would bless me too to be a blessing to others. Oh sure, I'd appreciate an over-abundant bank account but God gives me an abundance of friends instead. And as I count the many blessings that God has bestowed to me, I pray that my friends count me among their blessings too. I'm happy to be blessed to be a blessing. Now, as I set forth for strange lands and strange people in response to God's calling, I pray that he will use me in that place, as Abram was used, as a blessing to others.

Grace and Peace unto you,
Carl