Sometimes the valley in between mountains can be a hard place to travel. We remember the joy and peace perhaps of the time just spent on the mountaintop but when we going through those times in the valley, where we are attacked by the enemy, we sometimes lose sight of the preserving and purposeful work of Jesus in our lives.
In between the baptism of Jesus found in John 3:13-17 and the beginning of Christ’s earthly ministry found in John 4:12, in just 11 short verses, Jesus experiences the full on attack and temptation of Satan. Christ was hungry and tired and coming off what we might see as a spiritual mountain top experience.
The “in between” times in our lives can sometimes be periods of struggle and discouragement. But do not lose heart. He is faithful! He is our strength! The apostle Paul writes in 2 Timothy 2:18:
“The Lord will deliver me from every evil work and preserve me for His heavenly kingdom. To Him be glory forever and ever. Amen!”
We long for the joy of seeing the Lord work in our lives in those amazing times of blessing. But we must never forget that during those “in between” times in our lives, during every attack and time of struggle, the Lord promises to deliver and preserve us for His purposes and glory.
When you hear “eurythmics” you might, if you are of a certain age, recall that it is the name of a musical group. What you might not know is that it is also a method for teaching and reinforcing musical rhythm. According to the website Dictionary.com, eurythmics is also “the art of interpreting in bodily movements the rhythm of musical compositions: applied to a method invented by Emile Jaques-Dalcroze, a Swiss composer, aiming to develop the sense of rhythm and symmetry.” In more generic terms, eurythmics helps folks understand and develop rhythm.
Why on earth did would I bother looking that up? Well, today while watching the incredibly talented drummer at our church seamlessly and passionately play the beats that provided a steady tempo and emphasized the words and phrases of our worship song, a thought…more like a concept…went through my mind. First, I thought how awesome it is when the drummer plays a consistent, unrelenting rhythm and sets the pace of the song and keeps us in sync with the worship leader. At other times the drummer will build in volume and stroke so as to reinforce and drive home the power and meaning of the words being sung. At other times he sits silently so that the words alone have an opportunity to be heard and their emphasis allowed to settle on our hearts without interruption or distraction.
While I stood listening and being led in song, I started thinking that there is a part of our spiritual lives that is a constant presence; a personal presence that helps us to keep in sync with the Leader, to grow through steady faithful reminders; a wise comforter that provides spiritual understanding and emphasizes spiritual truths and that is always providing a spiritual rhythm…a heartbeat…in our lives. That personal, living presence is the Holy Spirit.
John writes in his gospel letter: “But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all that I said to you.” (John 14:26)
Later he writes “…when He, the Spirit of truth, comes, He will guide you into all the truth; for He will not speak on His own initiative, but whatever He hears, He will speak; and He will disclose to you what is to come. 14 He will glorify Me, for He will take of Mine and will disclose it to you. 15 All things that the Father has are Mine; therefore I said that He takes of Mine and will disclose it to you.” (John 15:13-15)
The Holy Spirit teaches us and guides us in truth. His work in our lives helps us to understand the mind of God himself. Much like the drummer that helps to keep rhythm and provide emphasis, the Holy Spirit works in our lives to provide a constant presence and heartbeat of God in our lives. He works in our hearts and minds to disclose the truth of God and emphasize the areas in our lives that need to grow in understanding.
Praise God for the presence and work of the Holy Spirit in our lives.
As our church starts another semester of small groups in a couple of weeks, it is so exciting to see people getting more and more excited about every part of what small groups is about. The fellowship, the group study, and the commitment to loving and serving others is awesome…it is infectious.
One of the things that excites me is seeing people grow in their faith and knowledge of Jesus Christ. What excites me almost as much, is seeing people learning how to learn better. That may sound a bit odd but it is true. Seeing and hearing how people are figuring out how better to study God’s Word, how to dig in deeper and put the pieces together, how to find tools and approaches that will help them to get the most out of their time in the Bible is awesome.
So it is with each of us as we continue to grow and mature in our Christian faith that we continue to love how to learn how to learn better. We continue to commit ourselves to a lifetime of learning how to learn better, to grow deeper, and to mature from walking to running…from sipping milk to chowing down on some solid food of God’s Holy Word.
We should never be satisfied as learners; not just in what we learn, but in how we learn too. Our Lord is immeasurable and our desires should echo the words of Paul in Ephesians 3:18-19 where he prays that others might: “grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.”
As we all continue to grow in our knowledge of Christ, let’s not get sedentary in our approach to our study. Rather, lets challenge ourselves to be better learners, working hard to become “excellent” students (Colossians 3:23-24), growing and maturing so that we might be effective and productive in our knowledge in our knowledge of our Lord and Savior (2 Peter 1:5-8).
“In everything set them an example by doing what is good. In your teaching show integrity, seriousness and soundness of speech that cannot be condemned, so that those who oppose you may be ashamed because they have nothing bad to say about us.”
Titus 2:7-8 NIV
These verses are not a “stretch goal” for teachers of the Word of God. They are the model for strong, biblical teaching. They set the bar where it needs to be because the truth of God’s Word demands and deserves no less.
What incredible reminders that the Lord provides to remind us of his omnipotence. The bible is replete with passages that point to God’s creation and how it declares His glory.
“For this reason we also, since the day we heard it, do not cease to pray for you, and to ask that you may be filled with the knowledge of His will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding; that you may walk worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing Him, being fruitful in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God…” Colossians 1:9-10
That is what I want…I want to be filled with the knowledge of His will but want more than just head knowledge. I want to know His will “in all wisdom and spiritual understanding“. I am convinced that it is not until I have that kind of God-given knowledge and understanding that I will be able to walk and live in a way that is fully pleasing to the Lord; in a way that produces that “fruit of righteousness” (James 3:18), and that continues to increase my passion and my knowledge of God.
“But the wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, reasonable, full of mercy and good fruits, unwavering, without hypocrisy. ” James 3:17
One of the key factors that contributes to the success of any local church leadership is the fervent prayers of the church. Great godly leaders will strive and endeavor to seek, know and obey the will of God with love, in humility, and honorably. They are deeply aware of the important purposes to which they have been called. As a church we are called to lift them up in prayer (1 Timothy 2:2), to encourage them (1 Thessalonians 5:11), and to not cause them grief (Hebrews 13:17).
I have recently been studying through James and recently found my mind focusing on the need to pray specifically for the wisdom of God for those in leadership of my own church. James writes that true wisdom, the wisdom from above…that comes from God alone, is pure, peaceable, gentle, reasonable, full of mercy and good fruits, unwavering, and without hypocrisy. A leadership team in a church that demonstrates that kind of wisdom would be a powerful, God-honoring group, capable and empowered to do great things for His kingdom.
Our prayers for those in leadership should absolutely include a fervent, impassioned plea to God for His wisdom that will be evidenced by these types of interactions and characteristics. We pray that as they lead and shepherd the “sheep” of the church, you know…all of us that are prone to wander, to be needy and messy, the ones that sometimes are more sheep-like than we care to admit (guilty as charged), we pray that the leadership is abundantly blessed with a God-given wisdom that results in their joy and unity, and in our being blessed by godly leadership as we serve the Lord together.
I remember as a kid my mom or dad would yell up the stairs to my room or down the stairs to the basement asking “What are you doing?” It was a simple enough question but the answer was not always simple…or truthful. It was not like I was doing something illegal but sometimes my unsupervised activities might not have been acceptable in the eyes of the “authorities” so to speak. How I spent my time was up to me after all and if I wanted to use my dad’s lathe tools as chisels or use my mom’s good pinking sheers for cutting some ninja throwing stars out of aluminum what was the big deal? I soon found out what the big deal was. The truth is my parents wanted to know how I was spending my time.
In Ephesians 5:15-16 Paul writes “See then that you walk circumspectly, not as fools but as wise, redeeming the time, because the days are evil.“
The term circumspectly is sometimes replaced with the word carefully, but that word just doesn’t convey the meaning of the original language. The walk circumspectly is to be exacting in paying attention to the details of how we walk. It is to take great care when considering the details of our life and walking with God-given wisdom. It is walking with deliberate purpose in an effort to live a Christ-like, Spirit-filled life that brings honor and glory to God.
When we live circumspectly, we choose to make full use of the time we have, we redeem the time that God has graciously given to us to live for Him., by Him, and through Him. We put off the things that weigh us down and distract us from His purposes, and run with purpose to the life that He truly wants for us.
These words come at very end of the book of Second Peter. They come at the end of instructions from Peter about Christian living; about growing and maturing in the grace and knowledge of the Lord. They are a part of the doxology from Peter as he closes a heartfelt exhortation to his readers and in it he puts a worshipful exclamation point on his dispatch.
“To Him be the glory both now and forever.”
To Jesus be all worship, praise, and honor all the time. We often think about bowing down in worship for all eternity, but Peter reminds his readers that they are to give Jesus the same intensity and purposeful glory-filled worship in this life as we are for all eternity.
“To Him be the glory both now and forever.”
Our lives need to be living doxologies of worship to the One that has called us, redeemed us, and preserved us for all eternity.
“To Him be the glory both now and forever.” 