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Monday May 23, 2022
Monday May 23, 2022
KNOWLEDGE PUFFS UP WHILE LOVE BUILDS UP
Some in the church of Corinth had come to a logical conclusion based on knowledge of truth. It went like this:
- “An idol is nothing at all in the world.”
- There is truly only one God.
- All of those idols and names of gods are human inventions, not really gods at all.
- Food offered to an idol is simply food sitting in front of a statue.
- There is no reason to avoid such food, since it was dedicated to something that doesn’t exist.
- There need be no guilt for the Christian to eat such food.
- Those who are offended by this are merely being superstitious.
- If someone is offended, tell them the above points.
- If someone is still offended, tell them to grow up.
- Anyone should come to the same position, since “We all possess knowledge.”
Paul is addressing this issue in the church. He is going to tell them a different syllogism:
- Their thinking is not wrong.
- But it is insensitive toward those who are weak in this matter.
- Idols might not be real. But demons are.
- A person who goes against their conscience in these matters is susceptible to demonic attack.
- If you exercise your rights, it could be a stumbling block for the weak.
- Your weaker brother or sister is destroyed by your knowledge.
- You sin against them and wound their weak conscience.
- That means you sin against Christ.
- Now you are the one in spiritual danger.
- “Therefore, if what I eat causes my brother or sister to fall into sin, I will never eat meat again, so that I will not cause them to fall.”
Before he launches into the whole logical and spiritual mess, Paul starts with the stronger brother’s conclusion: “We all possess knowledge.” And then Paul says, “But knowledge puffs up while love builds up.”
I was well into adulthood when this verse smacked me in the face. Was this always in the Bible, or had they just inserted it onto page 262 of my New Testament? To be sure, knowledge puffs up. But I had been pursuing knowledge my whole life! I wanted to know the Scriptures. I had spent years pursuing education and credentials, and (now that I think about it) I was proud of my accomplishments. Knowledge had—dare I see it?—puffed me up!
That’s when it hit me between the eyes: I’m not even in Kindergarten when it comes to knowing about LOVE! It’s like I had been competing to win a race, only to find out that I was running in the wrong direction! Whatever knowledge I was dedicating myself to acquire only led me farther away from what God was calling me to do. Why wasn’t this the first lesson they taught me in seminary? Or in Sunday school, for that matter?
But it was true. For a deeply competitive individual, being knowledgeable only generates a perfect know-it-all. It takes genuine love to generate a true disciple. And how does a deeply competitive individual “win” at the contest of loving better than anyone else?
In the case of these Corinthians who held the true-but-insensitive position about meat sacrificed to idols, it led them to the relational opposite of where they needed to be. Relationships are what it’s all about. Not degrees. Not study. Even the knowledge of relationships themselves ends up leading to a puffed up head. Oh, who will deliver me from such a bondage to self?
Jesus. Follow Jesus. Just imitate what you see. Learn to love, and you will learn to build up those around you. Because love builds up, don’t you know? How do you win in a contest of love? Only really bad tennis players earn a score like that!
But I’m thinking, if I can really excel at knowing how to build others up, maybe I’ll win the annual MOST HUMBLE AWARD. And they’ll hang a gold medal around my neck. And then they’ll take it back again, because I would wear it.
I still have a long, long way to go.
Monday May 23, 2022
Monday May 23, 2022
COME LET US FLEE
About 20 years ago, cancer had returned in a family member, and she was going into her final battle. And I was reminded of Robert Webber's account of his best advice to someone who was struggling. He would tell them that he lacked in wisdom, but urged to "flee to the table." "Run, don't walk. Do not pass GO, do not collect $200, but flee to the Table. And when you get there, receive the bread, and bite down hard on it and claim the body of Christ for your healing. And when you drink the wine, feel it as it flows down into your throat, and know that the blood of Jesus is the truest healing balm you can know." I was deeply impressed with his counsel, and it was the best advice I could know. So, of course, I wrote it as a song.
You are broken
and I am undone
There is no comfort or purpose or meaning here under the sun
I have no wisdom
I have no words
to make any sense of this or heal any hurt
So all I can say is:
Come let us flee
Come let us run
Come to the table, the covenant, the Son
Come join the feast
Come drink the wine
Let it flow down in remembrance and heal us in time
Let us join in the song
Let us join in the dance
and remember the steps with our feet and our hands
Let us speak let us hear words so ancient and dear
And when there's nothing to say let us pray
Let us pray
Tuesday May 24, 2022
Tuesday May 24, 2022
GOING BEYOND
It is a universal experience, though not always talked about. It is the question of How much is enough? When is it too much?
It struck me a few years ago that I cannot really know where my limits are until I have gone beyond them. When indicators tell me I’m in over my head, that’s when I know that it was too much.
Seems kind of tragic, doesn’t it? Maybe I regret having reached my limit, because it causes me to realize how out-of-balance my life has been. I focus on words such as “balance” and “margins.”
All’s well. Right?
Let’s think on this metaphor just a bit more: Is this natural limitation something you should submit to? Or can—indeed, SHOULD—you push through and increase your strength and surprise yourself that you actually can do more than you once had been able to do. You strain your muscles, and in a few days, your muscles are actually getting stronger. You stretch your margins, and find that next time it is a little less difficult to do. So, maybe we are called by God to press ourselves harder than we thought we could, for the sake of the Gospel.
This seems to be Paul’s point, and his challenge to us all: Train yourself for battle and you will be ready when the time comes. Every athlete understands that if you want to compete on an advanced level, you must do more than you imagined you could do if you are to win. Because all the other athletes are doing the same. The effort you put out the first time will not win your tenth race.
Paul says that the call of God is similar to the athletic strengthening process and to working to break your own records.
Here’s how Paul words his challenge to us all: “Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize.”
Paul is saying that God calls us to go beyond our limitations for the sake of the Gospel. This is no jog in the park. Paul himself has already proved himself to have gone beyond his physical and psychological limits. And now he encourages us to go and do likewise: Go beyond what everyone else is giving is what God expects of us. Not that it is a competition. It is not. But that’s how hard Paul and Silas worked for Christ.
“Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last, but we do it to get a crown that will last forever. Therefore I do not run like someone running aimlessly; I do not fight like a boxer beating the air. No, I strike a blow to my body and make it my slave so that after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified for the prize.”
After I have preached to others, how would I disqualify myself for the prize? I might break the rules. I might let up. I might take a shortcut to gloryg through bypassing uncomfortable effort.
Did God ever say that He wants us to experience comfortable Christianity? I think generations of churches that have been built by what we might call entry-level faith has created a false sense that following Jesus is easy. We have catered to immature believers and tried to win the crowds, and what we have harvested is a generation of Jesus followers who gently jog with the majority and imagine their level of dedication to be “good enough.”
God hath not promised skies always blue,
Flower strewn pathways all our lives through;
God hath not promised sun with out rain,
Joy without sorrow, peace without pain.
But God hath promised strength for the day,
Rest for the labor, light for the way;
Grace for the trials, help from above,
Unfailing sympathy, undying love. (Annie Johnson Flint)
Wednesday May 25, 2022
Wednesday May 25, 2022
KNOWLEDGE VS SIGHT PART ONE
The Exodus event is the story of the generation when God had the most direct interaction with his people. Imagine it: Every day they received manna. They planted no crops, and they did little outside trading. Their shoes did not wear out, and for forty years their clothes did not go out of style! (Okay, I made that last part up.) You get the point.: The Lord provided for them every single day. And yet, instead of God’s direct providence leading them to lives of MORE faith, it seems to have done the opposite quite often.
Ungrateful Israelites! How could God’s direct interventions be taken for granted like that? You would think they would be the generation most known for their faith.
And yet, despite all that God does supernaturally for the nation, we find Israel with less and less faith! Surprise! Some committed idolatry. Others committed sexual immorality Some tested Christ. And still some grumbled.
How can God’s direct intervention into human affairs become such a failure? Is it because “faith” and “sight” can be the opposite of one another? The only other time when God took such an active role in human history was when His son, Jesus, walked the earth. And we killed him. Literally. Wait! Could that be true?
Could this mean that the more God gives us “sight” into his ways, the less “faith” we have? The more we are provided for, the less impressed we are, and the more unimpressed and self-willed!
When I think of the book of Exodus, I think of it as being a story about national deliverance, and sin, and punishment, and restoration. And it is all that, and more.
But it is also given to us to teach us about sin and righteousness. More specifically, the book of Exodus is there to provide us with examples to keep us from setting our hearts on evil things. We find some of the people of God committing idolatry. In fact, becoming idolaters. Some commit sexual immorality. Some test Christ, and some grumble. All of them faced the death penalty, and their stories were written down for us, so that we will not make the same mistakes they did.
That’s when Paul makes the application statement: “So, if you think you are standing firm, be careful that you don’t fall!”
1 Corinthians 10:12 NIV
I think I have my feet under me. I imagine myself to be mature and dependable, being led through life by the Holy Spirit within, being as cared for as if I were one of God’s people being led by God’s own hand through the wilderness, as if God himself was with me (“Emmanuel!”) and I was safe within his hand. And I say by faith, “Jesus, take the wheel!” And I sit back and take a nap spiritually while Jesus does all the work for me.
This is the moment of danger. Do you see it? I have become so used to God’s providence that I have become complacent. And because it has all come so easily, I am especially vulnerable to fall into sin. Think of all the famous Christian celebrities and preachers who have fallen in a big way, even while outwardly it seems they had it all together. “Be careful,” says Paul. Then he goes on:
“No temptation has overtaken you except what is common to mankind. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can endure it.”
It’s good to know that any and every temptation that I have faced is the same basic temptation that all other human beings have faced. It may come in a slightly different form, so that I missed being ready for it, but before long my flesh will lead me into sin.
The good news is that there is always time to repent! Amen.
Friday May 27, 2022
Friday May 27, 2022
Remember how at the beginning of the letter to Corinth I said that the congregation was largely Gentile, and therefore many of the members were not familiar with the Jewish customs and standards? Well, one of the places that their ignorance is most demonstrated is in the matter of the church’s common meal.
The very first setting of the Lord’s Table was within the context of a common meal, the Passover Seder dinner. So it was common practice to have everyone share together in a meal, and to then consecrate a loaf and cup in remembrance of the Lord.
Our nation’s largely-Christian cultural heritage has treated Sunday as “the Lord’s Day,” which we treat as a day of rest. Of course, the Jewish Shabbat was also a day of rest, and it was the seventh day of the week, Saturday. So in our Judea-Christian culture, we actually take two days off every week, and call it a “weekend.”
Not so in the Jewish-and-pagan culture of early Rome. Saturday may have been a day of rest, at least among the Jewish members, but for both Jew and Gentile, Sunday was a regular work day. And a full day at that, especially for slaves and servants. Servants had to be up and preparing food for the family they served, and then they worked all day until sunset.
So, when did they have church gatherings, you ask? I’m glad you wanted to know. From early on, the church tended to have TWO separate meetings each Lord’s Day—one in the early morning, before the work day started at sunrise, and the other after the work day was over, after sunset.
Not only did they gather twice on Sundays for a morning service and an evening service—sound familiar?—but the purpose and actions were in each of the two gatherings also differed.
The early gathering was modeled after the synagogue, and was called the Synaxis. It was dedicated to the Word and to prayer. Scripture reading, prayer and instruction were the basic elements of the early morning gatherings, and visitors were encouraged to attend any given week.
The evening gatherings were for sharing a meal together, and they included the Lord’s Supper. The gathering was called the Eucharist (blessing. So-called because of the “cup of blessing” for which we give thanks. And while visitors were expected to attend the early morning Service of the Word and Prayer, the evening gatherings were specifically a Service of the Table, and it was only for the church members. Many churches even kept deacons at the doors in order to keep any blasphemers from bringing condemnation only themselves by taking the Lord’s Supper in an unworthy manner. As a result, what those Christians did during their meeting times was a mystery to most outsiders. Outsiders heard something about people eating the Body and Blood of Jesus, and the rumors began flying about cannibalism and incest (they talked about loving their brothers and sisters, and it sounded kind of creepy.
This the moment we are stepping into in verse 20: the evening gathering, for which there was no precedent among either Jews or Gentiles. A church potluck is very difficult to organize if everyone comes at a different time, just for starters. So the early arrivers decide to stop waiting for stragglers, and they go ahead and eat what they brought. Now the latecomers to the evening gathering did not have time to get their own food together, so they arrive late and go hungry. It is a recipe for disaster. Here’s what Paul says:
“So then, when you come together, it is not the Lord’s Supper you eat, for when you are eating, some of you go ahead with your own private suppers. As a result, one person remains hungry and another gets drunk. Don’t you have homes to eat and drink in? Or do you despise the church of God by humiliating those who have nothing? What shall I say to you? Shall I praise you? Certainly not in this matter!”
1 Corinthians 11:20-22 NIV
Good thing that in our generation you and I never meet thoughtlessly out of habit, huh?
Saturday May 28, 2022
Saturday May 28, 2022
PROCLAIMER (SONG OF THE WEEK)
(This song was written around 1987 when Margaret Cloud (now Searcy) was beginning her recording career. Ellen and I were praying with her, and a phrase from a prayer stuck with her to mark her first project and serve as title and theme of this song. She then allowed me to write the music, and JD Miller arranged and produced the album. Within a couple of years, Pauline Mummert (now Williams) was also doing a first album and chose the song as part of it. Also, the Come Alive Singers of Cincinnati Bible College in 1989 did a recording of it. I wrote the arrangement of both of those recordings. This is a mashup of the three recordings, all on cassette tape, and not in the same key. Nonetheless, it is a powerful challenge to me, so I share it with you.)
(intro. Pauline)
(Margaret) Don't let my lips be silent
Don't let me speak in works alone
But tell of your lovingkindness
With powerful words that pierce the soul
(Come Alive) Why should I be silent
When the world is crying out in pain?
Empty hearts are listening
To hear me calling out His name
(Pauline) Proclaimer! Telling my world that Jesus lives!
Proclaimer! Speaking with power His Spirit gives!
(Come Alive) To let Him touch through me
To make the blinded eyes to see His glory
(Margaret) Proclaimer! Telling my world that Jesus lives!
Proclaimer! Speaking with power His Spirit gives!
(Pauline) To let Him touch through me
(Come Alive) To those who need Him desperately
Proclaimer!
(Margaret) Why should my joy be hidden
Why should I keep it locked inside
(Pauline) I'm not afraid to tell it
Powerful words that bring such life
(Come Alive) Why should I be silent
When the world is crying out in pain?
Empty hearts are listening
To hear me calling out His name
(Pauline) Proclaimer! Telling my world that Jesus lives!
(Margaret) Proclaimer! Speaking with power His Spirit gives!
(Come Alive) To let Him touch through me
To make the blinded eyes to see His glory
(Margaret) Proclaimer! Telling my world that Jesus lives!
(Come Alive) Proclaimer! Speaking with power His Spirit gives!
(Pauline) To let Him touch through me
To those who need Him desperately
(Come Alive) Proclaimer! Telling my world that Jesus lives!
(Margaret) Proclaimer! Speaking with power His Spirit gives!
(Pauline) Proclaimer! Oh, I'm a proclaimer! Telling my world that Jesus lives!
(Pauline and Come Alive) Proclaimer! Speaking with power His Spirit gives!
I'm a proclaimer! I'm a proclaimer! I'm a proclaimer!
c. 1989 Always Alive Music/LifeGate Music (Admin Gaither Copyright Management)
Sunday May 29, 2022
Sunday May 29, 2022
CARING FOR THE WEAKEST
Do you ever find yourself rooting for the underdog? Do you know any good stories where the person who defies the odds ends up winning in the end? Is it because what others had regarded as a weakness turned out to be a strength when the character used that weaker power wisely?
Likewise, most of us tend to have a special reaction to a tragic event when it involves young children, as opposed to a public venue for the general public. In recent years, our society has learned to think more compassionately about those who used to be called crippled or lame or retarded. Now we say that they have special needs, or that they are paraplegic, or have developmental delays. A generation ago, some demographic groups were singled out for ridicule, and people laughed about them (blondes, Pollacks, drunkards, etc.). Today, such jokes come across as insensitive and mean, rather than funny. But they were always mean.
Why do I bring up all of this? Because this is how the church should be acting all the time. Watching out for the very young and the very old, giving to the poor and the sick among us. Caring for widows and orphans, and in general letting women and children go first. We show love when the protect and defend the most vulnerable among us. These are the points that Paul brings up with the Corinthians.
But the way that Paul introduces compassion in the church may be confusing to you, as it was to me. Then I read 1 Corinthians chapter 12 and I experienced a new way of viewing what Paul says.
“Now you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it.”
A body needs different parts in order to function as a body. Eyes and ears and mouth and nose, head and shoulders, knees and toes (knees and toes). You might think that the toes are unimportant, but if you try to squat and get back up again without losing your balance, you’ll see how essential toes are.
It’s like that with a family, too, isn’t it? Each person finds and fills a certain niche that keeps the family running right. Someone keeps everyone laughing. Someone is the organized one, or the dreamer, or the decision maker. Someone earns the money, and someone fixes the toaster. Someone takes care of the pet, and someone makes the appointments with the doctor. All of these things need to be done, but no one person has all those gifts. What is your role in your family? What do you think? Would the other family members agree with you?
All of us live in Christ together
None of us alone is complete
Each of us brings a gift to the others
Each of us carries a piece
All of us need all of us
The best of us needs the rest of us
No, none of us has it all together
But together we have all we need
Now let me comment briefly on what Paul says about the functions of the church as a body:
“On the contrary, those parts of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable, and the parts that we think are less honorable we treat with special honor.
Many churches have children’s ministry or outreach programs for addicts, food pantries for the poor and sign language for the hearing impaired. These are right priorities for a church, because those who are young and those who are overwhelmed do not have equal access, and those who are hungry and sick are not ready to find deeper fulfillment in nurturing their souls when there is a physical need in the way.
And the parts that are unpresentable are treated with special modesty, while our presentable parts need no special treatment.
This is the part that touches me the most, if I can find a way to describe it. We have parts of our bodies that we cover up, because they are not “presentable.” To be sure, some parts would be distracting to others, or embarrassing to us, and so we treat them with “modesty.” So who in the church body do we need to serve by treating them with special modesty? Those who can’t sing in tune, we don’t put them on the stage to be embarrassed and make others feel awkward. People who don’t have the gift of teaching we don’t dump an assignment to prepare and preach a whole sermon. But if they have a good testimony or if we give them some coaching and a microphone and keep someone standing right by them while they speak, then we are helping that person to succeed rather than exposing their weakness. Do you see how we protect our weakest members by treating them with special modesty?
But God has put the body together, giving greater honor to the parts that lacked it, so that there should be no division in the body, but that its parts should have equal concern for each other. If one part suffers, every part suffers with it; if one part is honored, every part rejoices with it.
And so we prayerfully, carefully match gifts with responsibilities, and we protect someone from being humiliated when we protect them. These are decisions of love, not of punishment or limitation. And Paul is about to talk about love in teh next chapter.
Now you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it.”
Monday May 30, 2022
Monday May 30, 2022
A MORE EXCELLENT WAY
Today we are going to talk about one of the most famous passages of Scripture in the Bible. The love chapter. 1 Cor 13.
In chapter 12 Paul had just been talking about how every gift is important, distributed by the Holy Spirit in order to build His body. He enumerated a word of wisdom, a word of knowledge, prophecy and other public speaking type gifts. All are important, and all are for building up the church, to equip and encourage the saints.
And then when he has made his case and issued his challenge, Paul turns the corner and says, “I will show you a more excellent way.” This is the more excellent way for the church than is having a great preacher or highly gifted leadership. It’s not just about generating a professional program or running a food pantry in order to bring new people into the fold. It’s about WHY you do those things.
“If I speak in the tongues of men …
You might say the tongues of men is referring to those speaking gifts just listed. He is saying that the ones who speak in the gathering contribute nothing if they are not doing so with the right motive inside.
…or of angels,
Paul is likely using this term as a way of categorizing speaking in tongues. What is the gift of tongues? I’ll tell you that I don’t think it is what we might call the language of heaven. The word ANGEL means MESSENGER. So any time that an angel is sent to earth, it is in order to deliver a clear message from God to people. So if you are thinking that people who speak in tongues are speaking in a language that only makes sense in heaven, I’ll just say that is unlikely. Though it does have a certain appeal, doesn’t it?
So, what IS speaking in tongues? Do you remember back in Acts 2 at Passover when the twelve were with a hundred or so others, and they were all praying together in one accord. Then there was the sound of a rushing wind, and tongues as of fire appeared over the heads of each person and they began to speak as the Spirit gave them words to say. People who had heard the sound of the mighty wind came running, and there they heard someone speaking in each person’s own language. They were each glorifying and praising God in a loud voice. Peter then got up and explained to the crowd that this was to fulfill prophecy and that it showed the Day of the Lord was at hand. This was the spirit of Jesus, whom they had crucified but whom God had raised from the dead. It convicted many there that day, and they asked what they should do, and Peter replied Repent and be baptized, each one of you, for the forgiveness of sins and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. That was the first incident of speaking in tongues. Glossolalia in Greek. He mostly wants to limit the amount of tongues speaking in the church, since if just one person is speaking, it is likely most people in the room will not understand what is being said. In my spirit, perhaps I’m saying “Thank you Lord. Praise you for the blood of Jesus.” But if the actual words that are coming out are in Vietnamese, my words do not benefit most of the people in the room—except perhaps for the one visitor from Viet Nam who just happened to be in attendance to hear those words clearly in their own language. That would be something, wouldn’t it? Not that it hasn’t happened. But Paul is telling the church in Corinth that the majority are not edified by what is said since it is nonsense to them. So don’t be speaking in tongues in church, unless someone is there who will also interpret for the rest of the congregation.
but do not have love,
Is it possible that you can do something profoundly spiritual, and yet not have love in your heart? Of course it is possible! We are humans, capable of saying anything while having at our core very selfish. So I can prophesy, I can give wise counsel, and I can do it without actually loving the person I am speaking to.
I suppose we would be wise to pause for a moment and be sure that we understand what the word LOVE is meaning here. We use the word love a lot of ways. I love hot chocolate. I love my neighbor. I love my wife. And I love God. But I don’t mean the same thing by the word each time, do I? I mean, I REALLY love hot chocolate! No. The word for LOVE is AGAPE, which refers, of course, to a sacrificial commitment to the good of another. God loved the world. Jesus loves me. I choose to serve instead of seeking my own way. This kind of love is a choice, not a feeling. This kind of love has nothing to do with me and what I get out of it, you might say. It is wholly absorbed into what is best for you. It is the strongest love.
Now, more likely is this: if I don’t have the strongest of love as my motive for saying something, I am probably not actually saying God’s best, truest words either. I have a little irritation in my voice or I’m rolling my eyes, or I talk a little too long, just to get my point across, you know? Here’s how Paul ended his sentence:
…I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal.
Bong. Crash. Blah blah blah. I may as well be speaking in tongues if I have not love.
If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing.
The gift of prophecy means I speak the very words of God to people. Fathoming all mysteries and all knowledge means I understand everything in the universe, which puts me on a level with Almighty God himself. Faith to move mountains, I have never known anyone with faith to literally do that. If I had that kind of faith, imagine what my prayers would accomplish? Put all these together, and I would be like Church Norris.
You know about Church Norris, right?
Is Church Norris holy? Oh, yeah....
Church Norris never says amen at the end of his prayers, because he never stops praying.
When Church Norris tithes, he gives 110% to God.
Is Church Norris holy? Oh, yeah....
Church Norris never sleeps; he lays prostrate before the Lord all night.
No, those aren't shoes. Church Norris has glued holy ground to his feet.
Is Church Norris holy? Oh, yeah....
Church Norris doesn't watch the weather forecast; he tells God what it will be.
Church Norris knows Jesus Christ's middle name. It start with "H" but he can't tell you the rest, or he'd have to kill you.
Church Norris has seen BEFORE the Beginning.
What do the pope, Billy Graham and Rick Warren have in common? They all preach from Church Norris sermon notes.
Is Church Norris holy? Oh, yeah....
The devil prowls about like a roaring lion, seeking to get away from Church Norris.
Church Norris just prayed for you. That’s why you’re happy right now.
If I give all I possess to the poor and give over my body to hardship that I may boast, but do not have love, I gain nothing.
Notice how sacrificial and giving this person is: give away everything I own, give my body and blood for others, but if I don’t actually love them, it bought me no points. And if I don’t have love, all I have is what will I get out of this?
And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.”
1 Corinthians 13:1-13 NIV
Faith. Because we don’t see God yet.
Hope. Because we can’t see what happens the other side of death.
Love. Why isn’t faith the greatest? Doesn’t that get you into heaven? Well, how do I know if I have faith? Because of what I do. I act as if I believed what God said, and as if I didn’t have to pursue my own agenda. I live for God and others, and that’s the most important thing I can do.
Monday May 30, 2022
Monday May 30, 2022
DEAR LORD AND FATHER OF MANKIND
(Back in the mid-1980s, I was struck by the depth and beauty of the text for the hymn "Dear Lord and Father of Mankind." I wanted to personalize it and update the text a bit, but mostly I felt like it needed new music that would match what I was hearing in the text. Margaret recorded the song on her 1989 album, and when I was rediscovering the album I recalled this song, which I share here with you. Thank you, sister, for doing tis so beautifully.)
Dear Lord and Father of mankind, forgive my foolish ways
Reclothe me in my rightful mind, in purer life Thy service find
In deeper reverence, praise.
In simple trust like theirs who heard beside the Syrian Sea
the gracious calling of the Lord. Let me, like them, without a word
rise up and follow Thee.
Breathe through the heat of my desires
Thy coolness and Thy balm
Let sense be dumb, let flesh retire
Speak through the earthquake, wind and fire...
Drop Thy still dews of quietness 'til all my strivings cease.
Take from my soul the strain and stress
And let my ordered life confess the beauty of Thy peace.
Tuesday May 31, 2022
Tuesday May 31, 2022
INSTRUCTIONS ON WORSHIP
In this chapter, Paul gives what we might see as instructions on what to do during an assembly. Instructions for worship, we might say. Some of these are so essential, and yet so neglected, that it may come across as controversial, but I’m going to try to simply line out what Paul is saying about what to do and not do when we gather.
What to do: “Follow the way of love and eagerly desire gifts of the Spirit, especially prophecy.”
This one sentence summarizes both chapters 12 (prophecy) and 13 (love). But notice the ending of the sentence: eagerly desire prophecy. He will go into much more detail about that simple call, but rather than repeat the same thing, let me try to define what the word “prophecy” might mean.
To prophesy is NOT simply to foretell the future, however. We have come to use the word that way often, but it is not limited to declared predictions. To “prophesy” (notice the “s” in the word, which makes it a verb instead of a noun, and is pronounced like “sigh”) is to speak before (pro), or to tell out. To speak before people, not to speak before it happens. In an of itself, it is not necessarily even a spiritual word (we have “professors” and “predictions” and other similar words). But when it is a gift of the Spirit, you might say it is supernatural. Even so, we might better define prophecy as authoritative teaching in the Spirit. Saying what God has given in front of people. How’s that?
So the most important thing that can happen in the assembly is to prophesy. And Paul contrasts prophecy with speaking in tongues, saying that prophecy is better because everyone can understand it.
“But the one who prophesies speaks to people for their strengthening, encouraging and comfort.”
Three great outcomes or purposes of prophecy: strengthen, encourage and comfort people. Paul is about to say that everything we do is to edify or build up the church. It starts with and centers around prophecy.
I guess I haven’t really defined prophecy yet. Let me try again. Some people take what I would call a “hard” definition of prophecy and consider it to be spiritual revelation from God, as in the Old Testament prophets of God. Such a “hard” definition would require that the prophecy is held to biblical standards, which means if it does not come true then we must stone the prophet. A more “soft” definition of prophecy would say that it is sincere and might be some direct revelation from the Holy Spirit to the person who prophesies, but that it could be wrong. For example, when Agabus came and prophesied about Paul being bound if he went to Jerusalem, and how everyone then urged him not to go. What Agabus said was accurate, but the application from everyone in the room was not. So we must be careful to avoid what I call prophetic abuse, which is overstepping your authority and declaring something as revelation when you have not actually had a direct word from the Lord. Anyway, we must move on with the other elements. I’ll go quickly through the rest.
The second point from Paul is this: Let everything be done to edify the church. He says it several times, such as “So it is with you. Since you are eager for gifts of the Spirit, try to excel in those that build up the church.”
The importance of this instruction from Paul is that I think many churches have focused their Sunday gatherings more on evangelism and outreach than on having literally everything focus on building up the church. If in doubt, ask yourself if it is edifying the saints. If not, cut it out.
Here is another important instruction from Paul: “So what shall I do? I will pray with my spirit, but I will also pray with my understanding; I will sing with my spirit, but I will also sing with my understanding.”
Sing with your spirit, but also with your understanding. Paul is in the midst of talking about tongues again, but let me bypass that and get to the singing part. Let’s call “with your spirit” to be the equivalent of singing with emotional sincerity and authentic zeal. It’s great to be zealous, to be sure. But if you have an emotional connection but not intellectually grasp what it is you are saying, then you are only halfway there. As a songleader, I try to explain lyrics or in some way highlight the meaning and context of the words, so that people are singing emotionally connected but also with understanding.
While Paul is talking about prophecy vs tongues again, a little comment also slips through that would be easy to miss. But this is another aspect of an effective gathering: “But if an unbeliever or an inquirer comes in while everyone is prophesying, they are convicted of sin and are brought under judgment by all, as the secrets of their hearts are laid bare. So they will fall down and worship God, exclaiming, “God is really among you!””
This point is so essential, and yet so subtle. Paul has said that everything we do is to be done toward the edification of the believers. Yet now he is talking about an unbeliever or someone who does not understand (idiotes in Greek) being among us. And he says that the very thing that does the most good for building up the believers (prophecy) is also the very best evangelism tool! This unchurched person comes in and everyone is prophesying, and they are convicted of sin, brought under judgment, the secrets of their heart is laid bare. Then notice that they fall down and worship! Worship and evangelism are put together in the right order here. If only everyone would prophesy, what a powerful impact that would have!
How do we all prophesy? How about during congregational singing? What if everyone around the newcomer is being wholly engaged and sincere, clearly singing with the spirit and with understanding, declaring the great things of God? The person looks around and sees the deepest intensity in every person’s expressions. Wouldn’t that be convicting? What if everyone, from the parking lot to the front door to the greeting time in every moment was speaking sincere, authoritative and Spirit-directed words? Asking questions and saying sincere things that cut through the veneer and speak directly to the heart. Praying with insight and effectiveness for the person. Wouldn’t that be amazingly powerful? May it be true for us.
We aren’t quite done yet. Here is another important point that Paul has to make about the assembly: “What then shall we say, brothers and sisters? When you come together, each of you has a hymn, or a word of instruction, a revelation, a tongue or an interpretation. Everything must be done so that the church may be built up.”
The last sentence we have heard already. But the application that Paul suggests is a powerful vision of what the assembly could be like. Now, when you picture all of these points, you would do well to imagine it in the context of a house church, with perhaps 40 people there in someone’s home. There is another house church just a few blocks away. But the dynamics of the gathering are a bit more like a large small group than like a crowd sitting in straight rows looking ahead at a stage with lighting. That kind of dynamic is what Paul is describing. Everyone has come with a hymn (the actual Greek word is “psalm”), and each person is ready to start leading out as the song overflows from their heart. Then everyone joins in to support and enhance the song of that individual. That is how we love one another. Likewise, someone has been thinking about something and has an insight that they think would build up others. So they share and the others listen and weigh it carefully, adding to it as seems right.
Then Paul talks about limits to the free-for-all that could easily poison the group dynamic: he says in any given gathering, two or three prophets should speak. Not 36 or 37 of the large group are speaking, but just 2 or 3. It keeps the meeting moving, and it avoids having too many “lessons” to try to remember. Note, however, that it is not limited to just one long sermon, either.
What’s more, if someone else starts in, interrupting the first persons who is prophesying, Paul says that the first one should yield the floor and sit down to let the other person talk. After all, the spirit of prophets is subject to the control of prophets. That is very important to know. Just because you have an insight from God doesn’t mean that you have to say it today. Surrender the mic and let the Spirit continue with the flow from someone else.
Just another one or two mentions. First, he says, “For God is not a God of disorder but of peace.”
It’s good to know that this practice is not instruction into gathering in chaos, with a free-for-all that features multiple people talking over the top of one another and sounds like disorder. No, that would go against the nature of God himself, for he is a God not of disorder, but of peace. In a few verses later, he says it this way, “But everything should be done in a fitting and orderly way.” Amen
Lastly comes this controversial comment from Paul, but it seems as clear as all the others, so I should mention it: “Women should remain silent in the churches. They are not allowed to speak, but must be in submission, as the law says. If they want to inquire about something, they should ask their own husbands at home; for it is disgraceful for a woman to speak in the church.”
Oh, look at the time! I can’t stay to talk about this one. Sorry!
No, I must at least mention it for the same reason as I just mentioned a minute ago. But this is practical, in spite of going against the grain of our contemporary culture. When a husband is speaking authoritatively in the Spirit, and his wife interrupts him to make a comment or ask a question, can you see how it undermines the authority of her husband’s prophecy? She corrects her husband, and he yields to his wife. But the spiritual moment is derailed as people are dragged into a little tense moment between husband and wife. I’m just saying that I have seen these moments happen, and that perhaps that is what Paul is describing and instructing about.
To take this further might be crossing a line that has more to do with culture than was meant to be universally applied. There are three possible reasons for Paul to include it: It is corrective, meant to fix a problem, such as I described above. Secondly, it could be cultural. In that Jewish-influenced culture, women wore head coverings to show their absolute submission to their husband, but this is a different, more egalitarian, culture, and the instructions can be applied more freely and less strictly. Or, this could be universal and meant for all time, which means that our current culture is simply wrong in the matter, and we need to obey what is written regardless. I’ll let you decide which makes the most sense to you.
These are 9 or 10 instructions on what the guidelines for church gatherings are to be. May we all wisely apply what is from the Lord here. Amen.