June 13, 2014

"And Jesus grew in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and man." Luke 2:52

Joseph reminds me of Andrew, the disciple, because he doesn't show up in Scripture very often but whenever he does he is doing something very significant.

Andrew, whenever he is mentioned in Scripture he is seen bringing someone to Jesus.

Joseph, whenever he is mentioned in the Bible he is bringing Jesus to someone!

I honor Joseph as one of the best dads in the Bible, a true model and mentor for any dad who wants to do a better job.

As I have been sharing over the past several days, godly fathers like Joseph and Noah, knew their role was to allow the Heavenly Father to guide them in their parenting. They prayed and then they obeyed!

These fathers also availed themselves of spiritual resources to nurture the faith of their children. They made sure their children were surrounded by people of faith and exposed to good teaching.

They knew their role, they took advantage of their resources and they also embraced their responsibilities. 

What are the Biblical responsibilities of godly dads? To protect their family, to provide for the family and to prepare their family.

In the few brief mentions that Joseph gets in the Bible we see him getting up in the middle of the night to take Mary and Jesus to Egypt to protect them from Herod. We also see him make the decision to take Mary for his wife after she is found to be pregnant. That means that he also decided to provide the child, Jesus, with an earthly father. And, we know Joseph was a carpenter and we know that Jesus was a carpenter before he began His ministry. So, obviously Joseph had prepared Jesus with a trade.

How do you plan to protect your family?

How well are you providing for your family? Are you providing what they need emotionally and spiritually as well as physically?

How are you preparing your family? What are you preparing them for?

Dads, are you looking for a role model or mentor to help you become a better parent? I point you to Joseph and challenge you to learn from him about your role, and about your resources and about your responsibility as a father!

And, by the way, HAPPY FATHER'S DAY!

June 12, 2014

"And Jesus grew in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and man." Luke 2:52

If a man agreed to take on the task of being the earthly father for the Son of God, and if he was successful in accomplishing that task, wouldn't you think you could learn some dad lessons from him?

Let me ask it this way, would you have taken that job?

If you answer "no" then you have something to learn from Joseph.

In the last post we learned that Joseph, like other godly dads in the Bible, knew his role and knew his resources and knew his responsibilities.

Joseph's role was to allow God to raise Jesus through him. How did he do that? He did it by praying to God for guidance and then obeying when he received the answer. 

Praying and obeying sounds like a sound parenting strategy to me. How are you doing on that one, dads?

But not only did Joseph know his role he also very aware of his resources.

In the limited references to Joseph that are found in Scripture it becomes obvious that he was committed to his responsibility to make sure Jesus grew up according to the Jewish religious customs.

On the eighth day Joseph made sure Jesus was circumcised and given the name "Jesus" as the angel had commanded.

We know that Joseph observed all the Jewish religious feasts and holy days.

We know that Jesus was raised in the local synagogue in Nazareth because when He went back there at the beginning of His earthly ministry they knew who He was.

Dads, like Joseph, you are blessed with numerous faith resources that can help you shape your child spiritually. You have good local churches, you have Christian schools, you have Christian radio and Christian TV and Christian books, videos and websites easily available to you.

If Jesus needed to be nurtured in a faith community, how much more do your children need spiritual training within a sympathetic and supportive Christian fellowship?

In 2014, dads have more spiritual resources available for spiritual training of their children than ever before. Why would you neglect your responsibility to train and nurture you child's faith by drawing from all those available resources?

That would be childish....

June 11, 2014

"And Jesus grew in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and man." Luke 2:52

Fatherhood is a BIG job and you don't really get a chance to practice. By the time you get halfway decent at it your kids have grown up!

The good news is that I can be a better grand dad than I was a dad and my kids can be better parents than I was because they gained from what I did right and learned from my mistakes.

Having established my struggles, I can admire those men in the Bible who were good dads. Perhaps the best dad was Noah because he labored for a century to save his family from the impending judgment God had promised.

The other dad I respect is Joseph the earthly father of Jesus.

I want to reflect on what I learn from these godly men who did dad well!

Having studied godly fathers I see they understood their role, they were aware of their resources and they knew their responsibility.

I wish those things were true of dads in 2014. 

God give us dads like these!

God give us dads that are clear on their role as godly fathers!

Joseph, knowing he was charged with the role of parenting the Son of God, made a really good decision. He decided he would allow the Heavenly Father to father Jesus through him.

Let me give you three examples (Mt. 2:3; Mt. 2:14-15; Mt. 2:19-22). In each of these passages God spoke to Joseph in a dream and each time Joseph obeyed immediately!

Dad, how is your obedience? Do you respond to God the moment you hear His voice?

How can God father your children through you if you won't hear Him or if you won't obey when you do hear Him?

Joseph did dad well because He was able to hear God's voice and was willing to obey when He heard God.

What are you going to do, dad?

June 10, 2014

Jesus replied, “No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for service in the kingdom of God.”    Luke 9:62

One of the misconceptions that is doing great harm to the Faith and to the Church is the idea that there are levels of commitment. You might hear someone claim in self-defense that they are "more committed" than someone else. What they should say is that they are less uncommitted than that person. The point that Jesus is making here is either you are committed or you are not.

Claiming to be "sort of" committed is like saying you are "sort of" pregnant. You either are or you are not. You can't "sort of" sky dive. You can't "sort of" get married. Peter didn't "sort of" walk on water. Jesus didn't "sort of" die on the cross.

The challenge Jesus is issuing is this - "you can't 'sort of' follow Me!" Either you are a disciple or you are not! Either you do His will or you don't. Either you walk in holiness or you don't. Either you are saved or you aren't.

I know you live in a day and a culture that wants to nuance everything into shades and degrees. That would be fine if you were the rule-maker or the arbiter of the rules - BUT YOU ARE NOT - He is! He makes the rules and you don't. So, you either obey Him or you don't. You are either following Him or you are not. That is what commitment means!

Having grown up in corn and soybean country, I appreciate what Jesus is saying to His hearers, who were also rural folks. What He was saying was, "When you go out to plow you don't 'sort of plow', you plow or you don't!" No true farmer would begin plowing and quit. No true farmer would "sort of" plow. No real farmer would plow forward while looking backward.

In rural Indiana where I was raised and in rural Illinois where I served for 22 years, there are cornfields so huge you can hardly see across them. I have always been impressed how straight those long rows or corn or beans are. Never have I seen a field with crooked rows. That is proof that the farmers who planted those rows were committed to planting.

How so?

Farmers plant straight rows by lining up their plows and there planters with a reference point at the end of that row and they stay focused and aimed at that point. Straight rows are evidence of a committed and focused farmer. Those perfectly parallel rows are proof of a committed farmer who never looked back while he plowed!

When you think about commitment think about plowing. When you measure your commitment think about focusing on a fixed point and moving straight toward that point continually. And of course, that straight point is the way of God and the will of God as outlined in the Word of God.

There are no "sort of" committed plowers. Neither are there any "sort of " committed Christians. Either you are committed or you're not. 

Don't buy the lie.

June 9, 2014

^"Therefore, my dear friends, as you have always obeyed—not only in my presence, but now much more in my absence—continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling," Philippians 2:12

"For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God — not by works, so that no one can boast." Ephesians 2:8-9

Hmm! These two verses seem to contradict each other.

"Work out your salvation with fear and trembling" and then Ephesians says, "you have been saved by faith, through faith -- not by works, so that no one can boast".

How do we reconcile them?

Which one is right and which one is wrong?

That's a trick question, of course! They are from the Bible so they both have to be right - and they are!

Your salvation is an inside job accomplished by Christ's atoning death on the cross and activated in your life through your faith. So, salvation is done by God for you and in you when you confess your sinfulness and trust Christ for your salvation.

BUT, since salvation is a private and personal decision it must bear testimony in public demonstrations. As James says, "In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead.  But someone will say, “You have faith; I have deeds.” Show me your faith without deeds, and I will show you my faith by my deeds." James 2:17-18

Here is how it works! Through your faith in Christ God gives you His salvation within you. But then it is up to you to live out that salvation in your daily decisions and deeds. As we have been reading, " For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness".

God, through the grace of Jesus Christ and His righteousness, puts His goodness in you but then it is up to you to make decisions consistent with His goodness every day of your life. You must live out His salvation with your moral integrity and courage.

That's how your salvation is designed to work! He places it in you and your live it out!

Do you know His salvation? Are you living it out in such a way that others know it?

June 8, 2014

"Then Jesus said to his disciples, “Truly I tell you, it is hard for someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of heaven. Again I tell you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of God."  Matthew 19:23-24

Another way that Jesus made the point of spiritual poverty was a statement to his disciples His humorous hyperbole, "It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the Kingdom of God.

Have you ever tried to thread a needle? It's not real easy is it?

Then imagine a camel being threaded through a needle. No chance, right?

Some say, "But wait, there was a very small opening in the wall around Jerusalem that was referred to as "the eye of the needle". 

According to those making this claim, it was barely possible for a camel to unload his saddle and whatever burden loaded upon him and crawl through that opening into the city. Those making this claim would say that is what Jesus was referring to.

There is one small problem with this claim, there is no reliable historic proof that this "gate" ever existed.

Others contend that the Greek word rendered "camel" is very similar to a word that means "rope" and that Jesus was saying it is easier to thread a rope through a needle than for rich man to enter Heaven.

Again, the problems inherent in that explanation are: (1) the word IS camel and NOT rope, and (2) why use revert to this stretch of the Greek word when the literal interpretation make His point better.

There is no way that a camel could be threaded through a needle! None!

Even if you had a particularly small camel and a very large needle you could not thread the animal through the sewing tool.

But, Jesus says, as impossible as that scenario is, it is more likely than a rich man forsaking his riches to place his complete and utter trust in Christ.

I'm not seeing any "easy believing" here, no "cheap grace" suggested in this saying of Christ.

Everyone who wants to belong to the Kingdom of God MUST become poor in spirit, declaring to Christ his sinful and morally depraved nature and repenting of it.

You have a chance to enter into the Kingdom of God. But Jesus is that only chance.

Taking this one and only chance involves repenting of every sin and all spiritual pride and surrendering all to Jesus in faith.

Have you done that?

June 7, 2014

“Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven." Matthew 5:3

If I were looking for a good illustration from the Bible of what it means to be "poor in spirit" I would point you to the story of the Prodigal Son.

This foolish young lad bought into the notion that being rich in material possessions was the essence of happiness. So, he coaxed his father into letting him have his inheritance in advance and he took the money and ran as fast and as far as he could from the rules and restraints of home to a place where the pleasures of self-indulgence would be his boundless!

But he ran out of loot before he ran out of lust and when he did, his party time friends decided it was time to depart! Suddenly his quest for happiness left him humiliated, hopeless, and hungry.

Finding himself in an urgent need for lunch money, he took the only job he could find feeding pigs in a pig sty. Here is a young man who was destined to own his father's farm now feeding hogs for a farmer far less compassionate than his father.

His hunger didn't stop before the paycheck started and the foolish lad found himself longing for the slop he was he was giving the swine. Surrounded by hogs and knee deep in mud and slop he began to think of home. His mistreatment at the hand of this farmer refreshed his recollections of how well his father had treated those who fed the pigs back home.

Showing sudden signs of common sense, the son reasoned that if he was going to slop hogs he may as well try to hire on with his dad. Without giving two weeks notice he waded through the mud, around the pigs and over the fence to return to his father with the little bit of strength he had remaining. Luke 15 records the reunion that happened when he met his father on the dusty road home:

“The son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son.’ “But the father said to his servants, ‘Quick! Bring the best robe and put it on him. Put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet. Bring the fattened calf and kill it. Let’s have a feast and celebrate. For this son of mine was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.’ So they began to celebrate."  Luke 15:21-24

What is particularly noteworthy is the spirit of the son's plea to his father. Several key phrases give indication of his "poorness of spirit":

1) "Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you....."

2) "I am no longer to be called your son...."

He left as a son but was returning in hopes of becoming a servant. 

This is where it gets good!

We he came home properly poor, that is when he became prosperous! 

His father lavished on him full privileges of a highly favored son! The robe of righteousness, the signet ring of authority and the sandals signifying sonship! He finally found the happiness he had been looking for but it wasn't in the way he had expected.

What a vivid illustration of what Jesus meant when He said, "Blessed are the poor in spirit....."!

Being "poor in spirit" is not just about humility. Humility assumes you had something to be proud of. Being poor in spirit is about depravity, confronting your absolute spiritual depravity and then confessing it to your Father. That is your one chance at happiness!