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Friday, January 29, 2010

Acts 20: Gospel Trajectory

This was Paul's farewell address to his friends in Ephesus. Essentially, he was laying the basic elements of Christian leadership in a brief beach-side meeting... He called the leaders to imitate his life saying things like, "you saw how I lived when I was with you" (vs. 18, paraphrased), "you know that I have not hesitated to preach anything that would be helpful to you" (vs. 20), "I only want to finish the task Jesus has given me-the task of testifying to the gospel of God's grace" (vs. 24, paraphrased), then he says, "I am innocent of the blood of all men. For I have not hesitated to proclaim to you the whole will of God" (vs. 26,27). All of these verses serve as a call to christian leaders to do those things; Preach the Word, live lives worthy of imitation, declare the Gospel of God's grace, and proclaim the whole will of God.

Then, in addition to those things, defend the truth. "Keep watch... even men from your own number men will arise and distort the truth in order to draw away disciples after them. So be on guard!" Proclaim and defend. This, my friends, might be the hardest vocation in the world. If you are too heavy on proclamation you become a bumbling fool with no credibility. Too hard on the defending and you become self-righteous, arrogant doctrine police.

So what are we to do?

Here is my plan... I am going to apply the Gospel of God's grace to my life first. Then, I am going to patiently and prayerfully live cultivating both discernment to defend and grace to extend toward others... I want to set a trajectory that moves me closer to Jesus and not closer to Pharisee-ism. Then, maybe when I am old, I can revisit this portion of scripture and have more to say.

Tuesday, January 26, 2010

Acts 20- The Task


"You know how I lived the whole time I was with you, from the first day I came into the province of Asia. I served the Lord with great humility and with tears, although I was severely tested by the plot of the Jews. You know that I have not hesitated to preach anything that would be helpful to you but have taught publicly and from house to house. I have declared to both Jews and Greeks that they must turn to God in repentance and have faith in our Lord Jesus" (Acts 20:18-21).

First off, is my life like that of the Apostle? Can I honestly say to anyone, "you know how I lived" and have that mean, have you studied my life to see how the gospel drives every action? I can think of many deficiencies in my life that would deter me from saying that statement. There are many things that I do that has yet to be transformed by the gospel of grace. However, I want to be able to extend that invitation of inspection. Watch me. See if you can see the marks of Christ in my life. Examine my daily routine, watch how I interact with people, see if you notice the deep affects of the Gospel. I know I have far to go but I hope to say with Paul, "follow my example, as I follow the example of Christ' (1 Cor 11:1).

"I served the Lord with humility and tears" (vs. 19a). Has my ministry been marked with humility? I can answer that one honestly: Nope. Matt Chandler says, "With youth comes arrogance... most times life just needs a little time to beat it out of you." I am trying to learn this lesson. I want to be known as someone with humility. I do not want to always position myself as knowing everything and having an opinion. I look back on the last two years of ministry with regrets of things I have said and done. I hope to grow in humility and serve with tears as my heart breaks for those I serve.

"Even though I was severely tested" (vs. 19b). When things go well it is easy to serve and minister, but what happens when things go poorly? When I do not see successes and victories everywhere I look, will I have faith to stay the course even when I am severely tested? Lord have mercy on me... I hope so.

What is the course? It is a ministry of faithful Bible teaching. "I did not hesitate to preach anything that would be helpful to you" (vs. 20a). Preaching the word is the means that God has ordained for the building up of His Church. Have I put faith in His plan? Have I hesitated to do the hard work of "rightly dividing the Word of Truth" or exclaiming with passion the truths of God? There are many times when I have procrastinated and slacked. Times when what I have offered has been less than God-honoring. Many Wednesday's I have brought crippled lambs and lame sheep to God's house. I have robbed the students of hearing preached things that would be helpful for them. This needs to change.

"and taught publicly from house to house" (vs. 20b). Paul had a helpful habit of proclaiming the word of God in all settings. He taught the scriptures every chance he had. When he opened his mouth, the scriptures would be on his tongue... Have I done this? Have I taught the scriptures in every setting and in all circumstances? This is an area where I could and will grow by the grace of God.

We now have a life worthy of examining, a ministry conducted in humility and tears, a willingness to suffer for the cause and stay the course, a plan of faithful preaching, and a message that extends beyond the walls of the church, but what is the crux of the message? "turn to God in repentance and have faith in our Lord Jesus" (vs. 21). That is the essential message... are we turning people to God by repentance and faith in Christ? What an amazing calling!

Praise for My Riblet

In our "Marriage Matters" small group, Ashley and I received some homework. The homework that we are instructed to do throughout the week is to think of some things that are praiseworthy in each other and meditate on them throughout the day. Then, we are to offer those words of praise free of any strings or attachments. So, I have been wondering if I am openly encouraging?

The other night I had the privilege of running into a few CSM graduates. I had not seen them in a about 18 months so we were catching up on what everyone has been up to. One graduate congratulated me on my engagement and said something along the lines of, "I am so happy for you and her! You were talking her up so much!" That was encouraging because it says something about the way I talk about Ashley to my students... a graduate remembers that a couple years ago when she was in youth group, I praised Ash. But, that still misses the point. If Ashley never hears the words from my mouth directly to her, she is unaware. So I need to literally let Ash know on a regular basis how much I appreciate her.

That leads me to a homework assignment to you.... who are people in your life that you appreciate? It doesn't have to be a significant other, it can be anyone. Do them (and you) a favor by letting them know how much you appreciate them. Write a letter, send a text, give them a phone call. Whatever you need to do, do not let another day fly bye without showing the love of Christ in a real and tangible way.

Monday, January 11, 2010

Quote for the Day

"Pray that, rather than being a church where it's strange to ask people how they're doing spiritually, you would become a church where it would begin to seem strange if someone didn't ask about your life."

Mark Dever, from IV Marks Ministry, in a recent article that can be read here.