Loving God With All

Many today suppose that a periodic acknowledgment of God or a half-hearted recognition of Christ should be sufficient to avoid any concerns come Judgment Day. “As long as I am not an atheist or a murderer and I believe in the Man upstairs,” they presume, “then I should be okay.” Perhaps we are partly to blame for such a widespread misunderstanding regarding the normative mindset of people who are forgiven. We too often acquiesce to our critics, tacitly agreeing that people with a zeal for God are “zealots” who would do well to tone it down. But Christ, when asked for the most important directive in all of Scripture, answered, “You shall love the Lord your God will all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind” (Matthew 22:37). This is hardly a moderate attitude. It is high time for God’s redeemed people to remind themselves and everyone else that being sold-out for Christ and deeply in love with God is not “super-spiritual” or extracurricular. Being obsessed with God and resolute to serve Christ is normative and expected. May the world clearly see in us that there is no “happy medium” or halfway. God expects all his kids to be all-in.

Christ Honoring Words

While impossible to master this side of heaven, God calls us to give special attention to replacing our errant and superfluous words with Christ-honoring words that make a good and godly difference (Ephesians 4:29). While this requires restraint and thoughtfulness, the primary focus of this command is not some regular strategic planning for our upcoming conversations. Scripture’s concern goes much deeper. Jesus said, “out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks” (Luke 6:45). Proverbs 10:11 tells us, “The mouth of the righteous is a fountain of life.” Inversely, Jesus asks, “How can you speak what is good, when you are evil?” (Matthew12:34). The key to a renewed vocabulary and more edifying talk is a renewed heart which is growing daily in righteousness. If our hearts aren’t advancing in Christ and our minds aren’t increasingly saturated with the truths of God’s word, then there is little hope that our words will improve. This is why the command to “Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly” necessarily proceeds the call to speak to one another “with wisdom,” to engage our mouths “with psalms and hymns and spiritual songs” and to be known as one who regularly expresses “thankfulness” (Colossians 3:16-17). So the next time it is revealed that your words need to be amended or reformed, find your way quickly to spend time communing with God and ingesting more of his heart-transforming word.

Scripture

One big challenge of the Christian life is to courageously stand our ground regarding the veracity of God’s word, while living in a world which makes a sport of mocking, maligning and ridiculing it. It is helpful to regularly study and frequently recall how the Bible stands apart from all other religious texts, and how God has gone to such great lengths to underscore its supernatural origins through so many exacting predictive prophecies. The Scripture also provides us perspective by reminding us that all people (not just Christians) will one day be held accountable for the truth contained in God’s Word. Jesus said, “The one who rejects me and does not receive my words has a judge; the word that I have spoken will judge him on the last day” (John 12:48). Being certain about the truth and importance of the words contained in the Bible should not only instill us with fortitude when the world mocks Scripture, but should also prompt us to lovingly seek to persuade people to soberly reconsider the truths they now dismiss.

-- Pastor Mike

Moses

When God called Moses to be his representative during a dark hour in Israel’s history, Moses’ response was less than compliant. We might sympathize with his reluctance to stand before Pharaoh and deliver what was sure to be an unpopular message, but God was not so sympathetic. God was ready to enable and empower his newly called spokesman, but Moses continued to give the Lord one excuse after another. Moses, like us, was quick to focus on his weaknesses, his fears, and his past failures. But God, as always, was ready to supply all that was needed for all he commanded. After Moses protested that he could not do the job because he was “not eloquent” and was “slow of speech”, the Sovereign God put everything in perspective when he replied, “Who has made man’s mouth? Who makes him mute, or deaf, or seeing, or blind? Is it not I, the Lord? Now therefore go, and I will be with your mouth” (Exodus 4:10-12). So the next time you feel reluctant, fearful or inadequate to do what you know Scripture calls you to do, remember that God will always supply what is needed as you step up with faith and obedience to do what he commands.

-- Pastor Mike

Consideration

It is unfortunate that we often treat God with less respect and consideration than we treat the people with whom we interact from day to day. This is especially true when it concerns our sin. Were we to come to the realization that we had offended, insulted or sinned against someone at the office or in our neighborhood, most of us would be careful to word a sincere apology, and be quick to express our heartfelt remorse. “I am so sorry!” and “Please forgive me!” would be the natural and immediate expressions of our hearts and our mouths. It is tragic that our relationship with God is often very different. It is not uncommon to hear Christians respond to the realizations of their sin with statements like “I’ll work on that,” or “I should really try to do better.” It is as though God were a concept or a standard that we were attempting to live up to, rather than a holy Person whom we have offended. In contrast, the Bible pleads with God’s people to “Take words with you and return to the Lord; say to him ‘Forgive all our sins and receive us graciously’” (Hosea 14:2). Jesus ordered this kind of direct and daily appeal to God when he taught us to pray, “Our Father in heaven… forgive our debts” (Matthew 6:12). Let us be careful then, to thoughtfully and sincerely express our regret to God each time his Spirit brings another of our transgressions into view. God, of all people, certainly deserves our sincerest apologies.

-- Pastor Mike

Holiness

The concern for most Christians isn’t “How far from sin can I get?” but rather, “How close is okay?” Anyone who is thoughtful about obedience and wants to distance himself from temptation and sinful behavior is sure to incite the charge of being “a misguided legalist” – as if the accuser knows what biblical legalism is. He usually doesn’t. But it sounds like a good “put-you-in-your-place” Christian comeback. And often it works. The one pursuing holiness is embarrassed, while the libertines feel empowered to continue to banner their form of “grace” as an excuse for their compromise and their love of the world and the things of the world. Compare the familiar license of “do what you want, cause you’re forgiven” with this charge of one New Testament Christian to another: “I charge you in the presence of God, who gives life to all things, and of Christ Jesus… to keep the commandment unstained and free from reproach until the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ… who is the blessed and only Sovereign, the King of kings and Lord of lords” (1 Timothy 6:13-15). Unlike today’s attempts at “counsel”, this kind of “charge” doesn’t result in a casual and careless approach to sanctification. The goal is clearly not “as much fun as possible” but instead, “Let us reverentially pursue as much holiness as possible!”

Real Missions

The Book of Acts is a story about first century Christians who, by today’s popular standards, would be considered brash, judgmental, narrow-minded zealots who were fueled by some sort of spiritual imperialism devoid of any real empathy, care or compassion. That theoretical assessment comes largely from today’s redefinition of “care and compassion”, as well as our monumental misunderstanding of what “biblical missions” is and isn’t. Today we like to talk about “respectfully reaching out in love” or “extending compassion in the name of Christ”; proclamation has given way to “polite conversation” and “preaching” is considered a bad word. A certain modern “evangelical missionary” sought to help me understand missions when she said, “It doesn’t matter what we say to the people, it’s just being there that counts.” These sentiments may sound “gracious”, but they have nothing to do with the grace we are called to herald regarding a crucified and resurrected King of kings. The Acts of the Apostles tell us of Christ’s Ambassadors boldly moving from city to city, resolutely calling people to repudiate their gods, their idols and their self-interests, instructing them to repent and turn to Jesus Christ so that they by faith might be graciously exempted from the coming wrath of God. Understandably this did not “go over well” in many cities. The Acts missionary teams were forcefully ejected from several cities – a response that with today’s mindset would require a “modern care extender” to retool her approach, not to mention her message. But much like firefighters attempting to rouse sleeping tenants in a burning building, true love and real compassion isn’t measured by pleasant inter-ethnic dialogue, amiable “moments” and feel-good photo ops, it is biblically measured by the clarity and urgency with which we proclaim our message of eternal life and death.

-- Pastor Mike