Acts 21- Bound by Belt

I worry sometimes... It is easy to get a hobby horse in the bible and to ride it to the exclusion of other horses. Some people, choose prosperity to be their horse. They read the text with amber colored lenses, looking for any promise to claim as their own. Victory in all spheres of life. Sometimes, this can get ugly. When you read these truths and dismiss other realities in the bible they actually get a lopsided and false faith. This can happen in many ways, not just prosperity. But let us look at prosperity for a moment then we can apply it to some other issues.

With prosperity, if we read the text looking for verses to claim victory over our lives then we come up with a prosperity theology that says, "God wants me to be happy in everything." When I am not financially blessed, or physically blessed, or (fill in the blank), then something is wrong. What happens when a prosperity seeking person gets cancer or loses a job? The house of cards tumbles and falls. Faith waivers. Or worse yet, the person can continue to believe in a fairy tale when reality doesn't match their wish list. I contend, this is borderline crazy. It is crazy to interpret the world like this.

So, it is unhealthy to read like this. There are realities of prosperity to be experienced in this life and in the life to come, but there are also some harsh conditions that seem to be almost mandated by the Word. "In this world you will have trouble" says Jesus (John 16:33). Or where the disciples say, "we must go through many hardships to enter the Kingdom" (Acts 14:22). This may be my hobby horse of the Scriptures?

Over the past couple years I have made it my aim to develop an understanding of God that is big enough to handle the realities of this world... When I read the bible I see so many texts that justify the difficulties of life and actually fold Jesus into our sufferings. Acts 21 included:

After we had been there a number of days, a prophet named Agabus came down from Judea. Coming over to us, he took Paul's belt, tied his own hands and feat with it and said, "The Holy Spirit says, 'In this way the Jews of Jerusalem will bind the owner of this belt and will hand him over to the Gentiles.'" When we heard this, we and the people there pleaded with Paul not to go up to Jerusalem. Then Paul answered, "Why are you weeping and breaking my heart? I am ready not only to be bound, but also to die in Jerusalem for the name of the Lord Jesus" (Acts 21:10-13).

Why are texts like this in the Word if not to give us an expectancy to suffer and strength in the midst of it? I am comfortable to point out the difficulties and realities of persecution and struggle all throughout the Bible because I think the Bible itself, puts an emphasis on it. Then the realities of life add a big exclamation point to the text. We have a handful of students that have lost loved ones. I have a grandma that is having health issues. My fuwi's (future wife's) grandma has Alzheimer's and her grandpa has shingles. I've witnessed pay decreases and job loss. Those are simply realities of life... not even tied to persecution. If our understanding of God and His workings isn't big enough to handle those then how can we ever prepare people for persecution? How can I prepare students to lay down their lives to take the gospel to the unreached?

So, I hope to be extremely biblical... I hope that I would not shy from prosperity texts or persecution texts or holiness texts or grace texts or any texts! Lord help me to be faithful to the contours of your Word... all of them.

Acts 21- Posturing

"there on the beach we knelt to pray" (vs. 5b).

Hmmm. So they literally got down on their knees to pray?

How often does our prayer life suffer... we may have had good times of prayer pouring out of us before, but it can be like a slow inconsistent drip too. I have intentions of praying often, but most days I am distracted. Other things nab my attention and at the end of most days all my prayers add up to an insignificant amount.

I think there is something to this posture of prayer, this idea of kneeling. I remember when reading Tozer's biography that he had a pair of prayer trousers that he left at his church office... He didn't want to wear out all his pants so he had a special pair with holes in the knees from praying!?

In my travels as a sports minister I got to meet an interesting guy named Mr. Ralph Meloon. Chairman of Correct Craft Boats. He was such a man of prayer that he actually had to have the fluid in his knees drained on a couple occasions.

Maybe, prayer life suffers because we never place ourselves in a position of awe and reverence... when is the last time you knelt to pray? Try it out today.

Acts 20- Word of his Grace

"Now I commit you to God and to the word of his grace." (Acts 20:32)

Seldom do I ever live in this rest. Paul was bidding his friends farewell and confidently places the future of Ephesus into the hands of God who is able... and specifically commits them to the word of God's grace.

All too often, I wrestle control over to my self and operate under the assumption that God needs me... I better crank out a bomb message for the students that is biblically faithful and totally relevant. That is what is going to help these kids come to know and love Christ. In my defense, there is a lil' truth to that (We will get to that in a minute). I am constantly working as if the faith of students rests on my shoulders... or even my own faith. I had better get into the word. I had better read the right books. I had better... and on and on it goes. The sad thing is most weeks you could remove God from the equation and my life would look the exact same. It is cold, calculated, and self reliant.

Not so with Paul. He is confident to place his friends into the care of the one who can actually keep them, the one who is faithful even when we are faithless (2 Tim 2:13).

"And to the word of his grace." That is where I am partially right most weeks. I do put a lot of hope into God's Word, and its transforming work. But, when I think that the way I present it makes it either effective or ineffective, I essentially am saying, 'the way I preach is more important than God's word." This is simply not true...God's word of grace is able to accomplish all of His purposes. His word "can build you up and give you an inheritance among those who are sanctified" (vs. 32b). It is by God's word of grace that students are transformed... yet, I need to learn to trust the word more and rely less on my ability to preach it.

God is able to do his work in us, by his word, for his glory. Do you believe that? Do you trust that?

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.

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.

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.