Something Has Changed

And do not get drunk with wine, for that is dissipation, but be filled with the Spirit, speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody with your heart to the Lord.

~ Ephesian 5:18-19

I am writing to you because I am not the person I used to be. Something happened, in the core of who I am. I have experienced the transforming work of the Holy Spirit. The person I am is so different from the person I would otherwise be, I wouldn't know that person if I were to meet him.

You can't explain this by calling it “religion.” I am not a follower of social conventions or ritual, or easily persuaded by emotion. I am an analytic person; my Myers-Briggs indicator is INTP. I am different because a transforming power came into my life. I have a presence with me at all times. I have an overwhelming experience of this same presence at certain times. It is an experience of love and joy. It is him. It is not like any other feeling I have ever experienced. It is the most fulfilling experience in my life.

I was reading an article written about Denzel Washington, about this same experience he had over 30 years ago. I assume it's the same, because it's similar to my experiences, through the same faith in Jesus Christ. His life was forever changed. Mine was also, and those of uncounted millions across the last 2000 years.

Christianity is not simply an idea. It is the activity of God in the lives of his children. It is not a religion—or at least, it is not intended to be one. It is a series of priorities that start with trusting and obeying God, as he has revealed himself in the pages of scripture. That does imply a way of living, but it is not a list of rules. It is not so much what you do as who you become, and why. In trusting him, he offers something to you. It's more than a promise of life after death, it's his actual presence within us (John 20:22; Acts 2:38-39; John 14:16; Rom. 5:5; 8:9; Eph. 1:13-14). As Paul writes in 2 Cor. 3:17-18, the Spirit brings freedom to the core of who we are, not ritual. The Spirit of God within me is changing me into his own image.

The book of Acts is about the transforming work of the Holy Spirit in the lives of the first Christians. The best way to describe the gift of the Spirit is power (Acts 1:8). Our experience of him in our lives, at the point we trust God and receive him, should also be power. I do not think the experiences we read about in the first few chapters of Acts are intended to suggest that ours will be identical. This is a kickoff event. But I do believe that the Holy Spirit is so powerful, in all times and for all who believe, that you cannot help but know he is there. Through the Spirit, God can do miraculous works in our lives, if he chooses. I believe he does so choose. We could not have the results of his work within us (Gal. 5:22-23) and not also have a tangible, powerful, and emotional connection to him.

Paul writes in Eph. 5:18-19 that we should not get drunk on wine, but instead be filled with the Spirit. I've heard this explained as two types of “control,” that Paul is saying we should not be controlled by wine but instead be controlled by the Holy Spirit. That isn't the dominant point here (though it is true). We don't normally pursue drunkenness and debauchery for a loss of control, and neither would the readers. We become drunk for the experience of being drunk. That experience can lead to debauchery (corrupt and sexual behavior). Paul is saying the experience we should pursue is of being filled with the Spirit, which leads to worship, song, and praise to God. Paul is not talking about control, he is talking about an experience. If you've had a tangible experience of the Spirit, being overwhelmed by his presence, you know what he means.

Christianity is not an experience to add to your list. That's not how this works. The Spirit is a gift to all who believe. But we need to stop thinking about our faith as a religion and start thinking about it as a powerful, tangible connection to the Lord our God. To experience his filling, you need to submit to him and long for his purposes. You need to stop giving in to bodily habits that undermine his work in your life (Rom. 8:12-16). If you want more of the Spirit, you must offer more of yourself. That is how you become filled. I can assure you, there is no better trade-off.

Fill me with your Spirit, O Lord. Transform me at the core of who I am. Let me experience your presence. Lead me in the path of holiness, and empower me for service in your name. Amen.

6/20 In the Cool of the Day

Then the man and his wife heard the sound of the LORD God as he was walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and they hid from the LORD God among the trees of the garden. But the LORD God called to the man, “Where are you?”

He answered, “I heard you in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; so I hid.”

~ Gen. 3:8-10

In high school there was one class I ditched for nearly two weeks, and if I saw the teacher walking down the hall, I’d take a right-angle turn to avoid her. The reason I was ditching her class was because I was required to deliver a verbal presentation on some topic, and I was terrified to stand up and speak in front of people (the memory makes me smile). The reason I avoided her was because I felt guilty about ditching her class, though I had a plausible (but totally made up) excuse. It eventually caught up with me and I had to serve detention. I was afterward compelled to attend her class and give the class presentation, and even if it didn’t go very well, in the end, it was a relief not to have to avoid her in the hallway.

When I read this passage from Genesis 3, it reminds me of that feeling. It’s a feeling I’ve had many times, as I’ve decided to do things my way and not God’s. I have spent months, even years, hiding from him.

Adam wasn’t hiding because he was embarrassed to be naked. He hadn’t learned about rejection yet, and without rejection, there isn’t embarrassment. I don’t think anyone, even today, would feel embarrassed simply because God looked at their naked body (which he does, every time you’re in the shower, by the way). Adam was hiding because he felt shame. Shame is not embarrassment. Shame is a negative, convicting awareness of failure. He was aware of his nakedness, but it was only because he had disobeyed God. By eating of the fruit, Adam had gained something, but it was something not to be gained out of our own will. Knowledge of good and evil that comes by God’s gift and timing, as we yield to his sovereignty, is different than what we might grasp for ourselves out of disobedience and a desire to set our own standards for morality. Adam achieved a new awareness, but at the cost of losing his reliance on the God who had made him, who walked with him through the garden in the cool of the day (Gen. 3:8).

Sin separates us from God. We hear that said often, in sermons, and it’s a recurring theme in scripture following the events in Genesis (see Isa 59:2). But the work of Christ restores us; if you repent of your sins, God’s grace covers us and you can draw near to him again (Rom. 5:12-17).

If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. 1 John 1:9.

Nothing is more important to God than that, restoring the relationship he always intended to have with men and women. The problem is not the sins we repent of, but the sins which we don’t. This includes sins we refuse to face. Those sins might be recurring. Things we keep secret. It is a barrier to drawing near to him, even for Christians.

During the years I went my own way, I found I couldn’t pray much. It was easier to avoid him and just stay focused on work, or one of a number of distractions I allowed into my life. Because the alternative was to face him with all my sin and own it, and that meant I didn’t get to do what I wanted. So I didn’t go to him with my sin. I hid. And I lived with and accepted the knowledge that I was far from him.

Just believing in Christ is not enough. You must go to him.

If you do not, the consequence is more than feeling ashamed. You miss out on his blessings and transforming power. You exchange true fulfillment and joy for whatever satisfaction there is in calling your own shots. It’s a bad trade.

I see two ways to get past this. One way is to fail miserably, to end up hitting rock bottom as a result of our pride. God does allow us to suffer the consequences of sin, as believers, and I think if we’re stubborn, this is often the only way to get through to us. When we are broken and helpless as a result of our foolishness, we may finally turn to him. The other way is to make a list of the sins you are hiding, and one by one, submit each of them to God. That also means you need to stop doing them, by the way. I personally don’t know if that works. My lessons have all come the hard way. If you are in a spot where you know you are hiding, but have not yet had everything crash down around you, I hope my words reach you in time.

There is a vision I want to share with you, walking with him through the garden, in the cool of the day. You, and the God who made you and loves you. It is not my vision. It is his vision.

Lord, we are your children. As we confess our sins, forgive us and draw us near to you. Walk with us through all the days of our lives. Amen.

WORDS

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.

~ John 1:1

I see the paper, the markings; the ink lines connected to make words. I run my finger across the lines but can only feel the impression left by a pen. I can’t see the instrument, nor even the ink in the well, only the ink left on the page. I can’t see the hand, yet I know there was a hand, and a mind that formulated the words which hold meaning. Only words! That’s all that remains. So, I read the words, looking at how the lines were made and know that someone I loved left that ink on that paper. It’s mine. I hold it fast. It’s not much, but it’s all I have. Only words of someone’s mind that knew me. Someone’s hand that held my hand. Someone’s words that said, “I love you.” Furthermore, I believe it.

The Word was in the beginning and was God. That is what scripture tells us. The Bible also tells us that creation started with the Word. “Let there be light,” and it was so. We are also told that the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us. Jesus, the son of God who was in the beginning with God, became that flesh. At least, this is what the Word says.

The Bible; God’s Word, symbols written down over, and over again, changing languages through the ages. We can’t see John, or Paul sitting in a prison cell giving the words. We can’t see Timothy, or Peter possibly having someone else transcribe their stories. We can’t see Moses parting the sea, or Isaiah predicting the coming of the Messiah. We can’t see David writing poetry, or his son Solomon giving words of wisdom. But, we do have the words.

We know that the words have been directed by the mind that formulate the story. The story is beautifully instrumented by God, the author and creator from the beginning to the end. The pinnacle is Jesus Christ, God in the flesh, born, preaching, performing miracles, crucified, dead, and buried, the Messiah, risen, victorious over death, bringing us new life.

We know from the Word, that Jesus knelt down and wrote in the dirt. This is when the accusers came to him with a woman caught in adultery. What were the words He wrote? We will never know, but in the end the accusers were all gone, and He, Himself did not accuse her. Maybe the words he wrote was, “Forgiven, or I love you.”

The words are all we have. We can’t see Jesus walking the streets, performing miracles, or bending down to write in the sand, but we do have the story in the Word. It’s ours. We can hold it fast to our hearts or we can turn our back to it. The words are read with our eyes, deciphered with our mind, and if we allow, pierces straight to our heart. It is then we comprehend, and the Word sinks into our very existence. The Word is God: the hope of God, the help of God, the instructions of God, the love of God, and the gift of God. The Word is timeless. The Word is unchanging, yet changes us forever. The message of the Word is, “I love you.” Furthermore, I choose to believe it!

Dear God of Love, Thank you for your Word. With that word you spoke everything into existence. Amen

The Church

The Church

For even as the body is one and yet has many members, and all the members of the body, though they are many, are one body, so also is Christ.

~ 1 Cor. 12:12

The church refers to all the people who belong to the Lord, those who have been purchased by the blood of Christ. Various other images and expressions are also used to define or describe the church. The church is called the body of Christ, the family of God, the people of God, the elect, the bride of Christ, the company of the redeemed, the communion of saints, the new Israel, among others.

The New Testament word for church, from which we get the word ecclesiastical, means “those called out.” The church is viewed as an assembly or gathering of the elect, those whom God calls out of the world, away from sin and into a state of grace.

Because the church on earth is always what St. Augustine called “a mixed body,” it is necessary to distinguish between the visible church and the invisible church. In the visible church (consisting of those who make a profession of faith, are baptized, and enrolled in membership of the institutional church), Jesus indicated there would be tares growing along with the wheat. Though the church is “holy,” it always, in this age, has an unholy mixture within it. Not all of those who honor Christ with their lips honor Him with their heart as well. Since God alone can read the human heart, the true elect are visible to Him, but in some measure invisible to us. The invisible church is transparent but completely visible to God. It is the task of the elect to make the invisible church visible.

The church is one, holy, catholic, and apostolic. The church is one. Though fragmented by denominations, the elect are united by one Lord, one faith, and one baptism. The church is holy because it is sanctified by God and indwelt by the Holy Spirit. The church is catholic (the word catholic means “universal”) in that its membership extends across the earth including people from all nations. The church is apostolic in that the teaching of the apostles as contained in sacred Scripture is the foundation of the church and the authority by which the church is governed.

It is the duty and privilege of every Christian to be united to the church of Christ. It is our solemn responsibility not to neglect the gathering together of the saints in corporate worship, to be under the nurture and discipline of the church, and to be actively involved as witnesses in the mission of the church.

The church is not so much an organization as it is an organism. It is made up of living parts. It is called the body of Christ. Just as a human body is organized to function in unity by the coworking and codependence of many parts, so the church as a body displays unity and diversity. Though ruled by one “head”—Christ—the body has many members, each gifted and endowed by God to contribute to the work of the whole body.

Amen.