Thoughts From Ephesians 4 - Part 5

 Therefore each of you must put off falsehood and speak truthfully to your neighbor, for we are all members of one body. 26 “In your anger do not sin": Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry, 27 and do not give the devil a foothold. Eph. 4:25-26

         Paul starts out with "therefore" and I believe that he is going to relate the next series of thought to the fact that since we are no longer slaves to Satan, self, sin but rather slaves to Christ, here is how slaves of Christ should behave. My grandson, who does not conform to the cloning of middle-schoolers, was somewhat ostracized in public school and occasionally bullied. This led his parents to finding a private school that attracts students that don't fit into the collective mold. They have certain mottos that they say at the beginning of every school assembly. They are:

• trustworthiness: to act in a manner that makes one worthy of trust and confidence
• truthfulness: to be honest about things and feelings with oneself and others
• active listening: to listen with the intention of understanding what the speaker intends to communicate
• no put-downs: to never use words, actions, or body language that degrade, humiliate, or dishonor others
• personal best: to do one’s best given the circumstances and available resources
• Along with this, they are encouraged to wear the school colors though they don't have a school uniform per se. In other words, if you are to belong to this school body, this is how you should behave. If we belong to Christ, Paul is about to tell us, this is how we should look.
•          Paul starts out with truthfulness. As believers we should be able to say, like Christopher Reeve in Superman, "Lois, I never lie." Jesus said, I am the way, the truth..." Satan is said to be the father of lies in John 8. God's word, the Bible, is said to be truth. If we are going to represent Him, we can't spread falsehood. Make sure that every fact that you post or repost or like on social media is true. If you find out it isn't consider blocking that person because you don't know in the future if you can trust what they post.
•          Secondly, he says that anger is to be monitored closely. He doesn't say that being angry is a sin which somewhat surprises me. There appears to be a righteous anger like Jesus had in the temple. He was angry especially at "religious people", as we recently talked about, feeding spiritual babies toxic food. I'm forever wanting to give my grandchildren ice cream before their 1st birthday because they would love it so much. My children tell me, no, they can't have dairy products until they are 12 months, so I wait. I'm pretty sure my kids would be angry with me if I did and they would be justified. But then what does Paul say? "Don't let the sun go down on it." What does he mean? We quite often use this verse in marriage as a principle saying that if you get in a fight with your spouse, settle it soon - don't let it stew. However, it probably isn't talking about marriage because rarely is it righteous anger. Fights in marriage usually stem from selfishness and pride no matter how much we try to convince ourselves that we are righteously indignant. Paul is saying that although someone is hurting the body of Christ and we confront it, afterward, don't let that anger marinate. Don't become an angry person. Boy are there a lot of Christians out there currently that I would consider angry people. They aren't wearing "the school uniform."
•           So, don't be a spreader of falsehood and don't be an angry person. I'm pretty sure he is talking about Christians on Twitter and Facebook 2000 years before they even existed. See how relevant the Bible is!

Thoughts From Ephesians 4 - Part 4

 So I tell you this, and insist on it in the Lord, that you must no longer live as the Gentiles do, in the futility of their thinking. 18 They are darkened in their understanding and separated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them due to the hardening of their hearts. 19 Having lost all sensitivity, they have given themselves over to sensuality so as to indulge in every kind of impurity, and they are full of greed.20 That, however, is not the way of life you learned 21 when you heard about Christ and were taught in him in accordance with the truth that is in Jesus. 22 You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; 23 to be made new in the attitude of your minds; 24 and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness. Eph. 4:17-24

          If God is so great, if the gospel is good news, if we get the opportunity to live forever in Heaven, why doesn't everyone accept that offer? Paul gets at that here. To surrender to Christ means to give up control of their lives and autonomy or control or freedom to make one's own choices is built in all of us in our nature. I was going to say sin nature but didn't the serpent appeal to that in Eve, even before sin?

       I'm unashamedly pro-life. I'd like to say that it's a rational decision based on the fact that I saw 20 babies a day for 37 years in my office with an ultrasound, moving punching stretching making breathing movements with a beating heart, and I know they were alive. Being a former fetus, they were me. To me, ending those pregnancies would be taking a life. That's why I vote Republican, even when the choices aren't good, because I have yet to meet a pro-life democrat candidate. I recently posted on Facebook a response to why anyone would vote for Trump the racist (even though I didn't but wrote in a truly pro-life candidate), and stated why I would. A person responded that she too is pro-life, but she sees women's rights as paramount. I didn't respond because I'm not going to hijack someone's post to get in an argument that no one will win on Facebook, but can you see what Paul is saying here? The desire for freedom or autonomy makes someone think that's more important than the life of a helpless, innocent baby. That is the definition of "futility of thinking." And people's hearts are so hardened you can't even reason with them. You can't tell them, but half those babies are women - what about their rights. You can't show them a video of a baby being sucked out of the mom's womb. Nothing will change their minds. They have lost all sensitivity.

       Likewise with the gospel. Leading a youth group, when one teen started drifting away in both their attendance and their orthodox beliefs like the Bible is the word of God and as true today as it was 2000 years ago, the reason for the drifting was sensuality. They desired to go against God's authority in areas of sexuality and do what their flesh and "freedom" (Eph.2 tells us that the unsaved aren't free but controlled by Satan) tells them to do.

       Bob Dylan, who once claimed to be a Christian but was a fraud, wrote "You gotta' serve someone. It might be the Devil, it might be the Lord but you gotta' serve someone." I've been watching Game of Thrones (fast forwarding through the nudity and sex scenes and there are a lot) and the Dragon Queen, in her path to obtaining the Iron throne, is going through city by city freeing enslaved people by killing off the tyrannical leaders that are enslaving them and saying, "You are now free, you can go, do, be whoever and whatever and wherever you want to be." What do the throngs do? They all bow down to her and pledge to serve and follow her. You see, Hollywood knows Bob Dylan's song is true. What she is doing is a picture of what God has done except He is good and I sense she is just as evil as all the ones she deposed. God has defeated the Devil who has us enslaved and made us free. Out of gratitude for that, our natural response is, "I want to serve You." The problem is that Satan has put us in chains that appeal to what's inside of us - desires and lusts, and mankind can't see the chains but think they are free. This is why Salvation requires the Holy Spirit intervening and opening their eyes to see the chains and futility of their thinking.

      Let's pray for revival, a move of the Holy spirit to open mankind's eyes to the beauty of following and serving Christ and the reality of their enslavement by Satan.

Thoughts From Ephesians 4 - Part 3

 But to each one of us grace has been given as Christ apportioned it. 8 This is why it says:

“When he ascended on high,
    he took many captives
    and gave gifts to his people.”

9 (What does “he ascended” mean except that he also descended to the lower, earthly regions? 10 He who descended is the very one who ascended higher than all the heavens, in order to fill the whole universe.) 11 So Christ himself gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors and teachers, 12 to equip his people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up 13 until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ.14 Then we will no longer be infants, tossed back and forth by the waves, and blown here and there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning and craftiness of people in their deceitful scheming. 15 Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will grow to become in every respect the mature body of him who is the head, that is, Christ. 16 From him the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work.  Eph. 4:7-16

              On X or Twitter today, there was a post condemning Francis Chan for supporting verbally, at a conference put on by these men, Mike Bickle, Benny Hinn, and a number of "prophets" who lately have been exposed by Mike Winger as being frauds. It appears that some of these "prophets" would go on Facebook and glean information about people in the audience and then give words of knowledge that the prophets shouldn't have known, astounding everyone.

          So what do we see here? First of all, we see vs. 14, people in the church being like infants tossed to and fro by false doctrines. It's hard to fault them too much because we all start out in this world and in faith as babies. My full-grown children are always trying to protect their babies from me who will feed them anything. And it's true, kids will stick anything in their mouth. One of our grandchildren has been x-rayed because batteries were missing from a toy. Paul is saying that we start out as spiritual infants and gifts are given to the body to make sure those infants grow up to be sturdy, mature Christians.

         Next, teachers like Francis Chan can open the word to us and teach us how to grow up. His teachings over the years have been life changing and he has influenced hundreds of thousands at Passion conferences and other speaking events. His book Crazy Love is challenging and true. He has the gifts of encouragement, preaching, teaching... but he probably doesn't have the gift of discernment. He believes the best about anyone and just wants to encourage them.

        Lastly you see a guy like Mike Winger. He has the gift of discernment. He sees all the frauds and wolves in sheep's clothing and wants to protect the infants out there as they are growing up, not to swallow "batteries". He discerns what are issues and what aren't also. There are tons of "discerners" on the internet warning people, but most of them are warning against premillennialism, dispensationalism, Arminianism, reformed doctrine, Pelagianism, and things that are non-essentials that are just differing opinions in the body. We need discernment to protect us from discerners and Mike gives that in his teachings.

       Jesus, after dying on the cross, descended into Abrahams bosom (my take), freed them and took them to Heaven after proclaiming to those in Hades His victory and their judgement, and a number of days later, after returning to Earth to encourage His disciples, ascended again and sent the Holy Spirit to indwell believers and bestow on them, according to His will and His plan for each individual and the body, a or some gifts to make the body a complete, functioning organism with the goal of growing spiritual babies into spiritual adults that glorify God.

       People like Francis Chan and Mike Winger are needed, and rather than blasting them for being unloving, lacking in grace and mercy, judgmental, self-righteous (accusations against Mike Winger and frankly, anyone with the gift of discernment) or non-discerning and promoting false teachers and doctrines (accusations against Francis Chan and all encouragers - Paul accused Barnabas of this for promoting Mark on the 2nd mission trip), we need to bind the body together in love realizing that we need all the gifts to make this work.

      Social media and influencers do all they can to divide the body while thinking that they are uniting the body to think like them. We need to be wise to Satan's schemes. Let's grow up!

             

Thoughts From Ephesians 4 - Part 2

  Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love. Eph. 4:2

      Are you ready for a word study? When I memorized Gal.5:22,23 as a kid, I learned it in KJV and the 4th fruit was "long-suffering" not "patience". The same Greek word is found in Eph.4:2 and we get a glimpse into what it means. Long-suffering means suffering a long time with people or bearing with them. People will let you down, they won't follow through on tasks they have been given, they will go back to sins they said they were done with and you might be tempted to give up on them, but if we are being changed by the Holy Spirit inside of us, we will suffer with them a little longer.

     Paul was a living testimony of long-suffering. He says in 1Tim.1:16,

    "But for that very reason I was shown mercy so that in me, the worst of sinners, Christ Jesus might display his immense patience as an example for those who would believe in him and receive eternal life." (same Greek word)

     How many chances or how long do we have to put up with being let down?

   " To those who were disobedient long ago when God waited patiently in the days of Noah while the ark was being built. In it only a few people, eight in all, were saved through water." 1Peter3:20 (same Greek word)

     Noah put up with rejection for 120 years. And God has been patient going on 2000 years,

   "The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. Instead, he is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.  Bear in mind that our Lord’s patience means salvation, just as our dear brother Paul also wrote you with the wisdom that God gave him." 2Peter 3:9,15 (same Greek word)

     Mr. Wonderful on Shark Tank has popularized the phrase, "You're dead to me." He usually uses it in a situation where he is negotiating with someone, and he finally gets tired of it and says that famous phrase. I've heard it recently with some acquaintances who had been offended one to many times by each other and the comment was made that that person was now dead to them. Paul would say that if we say, "You're dead to me", that is the opposite of the fruit of the Spirit, "long-suffering". What if God gave up on you? What if God gave up on me? He should have long ago but He didn't. Praise God! No go and do likewise in the power of the Spirit.

Thoughts From Ephesians 4 - Part 1

  As a prisoner for the Lord, then, I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received. 2 Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love. 3 Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace. 4 There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called to one hope when you were called; 5 one Lord, one faith, one baptism; 6 one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.  Eph. 4:1-6

              Any idea what word appears the most in this passage? I highlighted it just in case you missed it. I saw that the lead singer of "Three Dog Night", a band from my high school days, passed away this week. They were famous for many songs but one in particular was "One is the Loneliest Number". Paul would have to disagree with him in this passage. In fact, Paul would be saying just the opposite. He is in effect saying that the fact that there is only one God and one way to be saved brings people from all nations, cultures, colors together into one body. People I would have never known otherwise are now my family. That oneness takes away all loneliness.

           My ex-partner in my medical practice who went back to his Seventh Day Adventist roots, loves to post pictures about his church on Facebook after their Saturday (Sabbath) meetings. Many of them have a common theme pointing out the diversity in his church is something that all other churches are failing at and God's plan for the church, like in Heaven, is to include every tribe, tongue, and nation. He is right, of course, so I ponder, why is my church so white? I keep falling back to how many Adventist churches are there in Sevierville, TN? One. There are no other choices and that's why, if you are Adventist, no matter what color, nationality, language, culture, etc. you are going to go to the same church. I googled Adventist Churches in New York city and there was one in Harlem, a Chinese one, a Korean one, a Spanish one, one in the rich area... My point is those churches probably aren't as diverse because you can take the subway to any church that you feel more comfortable in. You see, one church option, like Paul says, creates unity among people that wouldn't normally mix but rather stay alone. One is not lonely but the key to fellowship.

        We recently had a Church snow day, and we built a fire, turned on the TV, and streamed Church. OK. I'm going to confess and hope no Church members read my blog, but we streamed Passion City Washington DC with Ben Stuart who we love. Great worship, great message, great everything except fellowship. We were alone. That's not the Church. That's not God's plan for us. He created us for fellowship and although afterward we thought, "We could get used to this", it was wrong. However, there is no reason we couldn't do it Monday night.

Thoughts From Ephesians 3 - Part 3

  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, 21 to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen. Eph. 3:20,21

    When I was in the Presbyterian Church, they spoke of the catechisms and if I'm not mistaken, they start with, "The chief end of man is to enjoy God and glorify Him forever." In laymen's terms this means we were created to give glory to God and enjoy life presently and eternally which is only possible if you are walking in His presence. Verse 21 reiterates the first part of this, "to Him be glory in the Church". One of the ways to do this is found in verse 20, "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."

      When I first look at verse 20, I think, wow, He is able to do more than I could ever imagine, so when I pray for a job, a raise, a spouse, a home, a career, etc. I should not be limiting God because He has good plans for me and He is for me (to quote 2 popular worship songs) and He has plans to prosper me, not to harm me. (Jer.29:11) He can do more than we could ask, think, or imagine! But is this what the verse is saying? I don't think so. The verse is saying that because I have the power of the Holy Spirit in me, He can do more than I could ask or imagine. What does the Holy Spirit in me have do with all those things I was asking for earlier? No, what this verse is saying is that He can do more and greater things with and through me than I could even imagine.

       Let me give an example of what I think He is saying. A friend of mine, Scott, an auctioneer, who I have been on multiple mission trips with is an effective evangelist. He has led hundreds to the Lord, maybe it's even a thousand. Same for John, a high school basketball coach. Both of them felt called to go on their first overseas mission trips and were terrified when the leader gave them a small group of nationals and had them share the gospel through an interpreter after observing someone else do it once. They stepped out in faith led by the Holy Spirit to go on the trip, and they stepped out trusting the power of the Holy Spirit to share the gospel, and to their amazement people responded and were saved. God did, through them, through the power of the Holy Spirit, more than they could ever have imagined asking for. They were probably asking God, "HELP!", and He did much more than that. That is what glorifies God.

       Note, I didn't say they were great evangelists, I said effective evangelists. I've heard both of them and there is nothing remarkable in what they are doing. What is remarkable is the power of the Holy Spirit to save through average people like us. When that happens, God gets all the glory, not us. But this doesn't happen if we don't step out in faith but rather life in fear comfortable in our home. Try sharing Christ today with someone you meet. Watch the power of the Holy Spirit take over. God will be basking in the glory and it will give you joy in a way you could never imagine.

Thoughts From Ephesians 3 - Part 2

 For this reason I kneel before the Father, 15 from whom every family in heaven and on earth derives its name. 16 I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, 17 so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, 18 may have power, together with all the Lord’s holy people, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, 19 and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God. Ephesians 3:14-19

            A street preacher at the Island in Pigeon Forge, TN. would stand on the sidewalk with a mic and speaker and share the gospel as people walked into the shopping/entertainment area. My wife and I often walked that path along the river, so we heard him speak quite often. One night an angry heckler yelled back at him some derogatory comment about Jesus and to go away. The preacher, in a soft, caring, saddened voice said something like, "How can you hate Jesus when all He ever did was love you so much that He left His throne in Heaven, took on a human body and suffered and died on the cross for you? He never did anything to you but love you and yet you hate him?"

         Paul in this passage is telling us that understanding how much God loves us is essential to our growth which he describes as "to be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God." He says that it is this love that roots us and establishes us. I saw a picture on Facebook today of a young man holding his newborn baby in his arms. This would have been a precious picture deserving of a heart emoji except for the fact that this young man, once an active member of the church youth group went to college, forsook the faith and has lived an ungodly lifestyle and is living with this woman, not his first, and now has a child. He, like Eve, bought the devil's lie that God didn't truly love him and was keeping him from something good, so he forsook the love of Christ in search of what God was withholding from him. Understanding how much God loves us is essential to our establishment, roots - our perseverance.

       We have a tendency to view God through His other attributes such as truth, holiness, justice and wrath, immutability, omnipresence, omnipotence, omniscience, eternality, creativeness and others, all of which make Him who He is, but we see love sometimes lower down on the list or at best equal to all the others. The fact of the matter is that the love of God trumps all His other qualities. When Moses asks to see Him, God introduces Himself as the God who is rich in grace abounding in love. When Jonah runs from the Ninevites it's not because of fear but rather because he knows that God is "abounding in love"(Jonah 4:2) and that will trump the judgement that the Ninevites so desperately deserved.

       When we read our Bible and go through the difficulties of life, the love of God needs to be the lens we filter these things through. God is giving us counter-cultural rules for living because He knows these lead to flourishing on account that He loves us and wants the best for us. When we don't get the job or the promotion we want it's because He loves us and has something better for us. And the ultimate love is that when we leave this world, He has been preparing an eternal home for us and waits to welcome us who believe with open arms. How can you not love a God like that?