The child sticks out her tongue;
It is a tease, a taunt.
She does not know the power
That does this organ haunt.
To the tongue belongs the gift
To swallow and to taste.
We take our sustenance in joy
Their savor it does not waste.
To the tongue belongs the skill
Of singing and of speech.
It can encourage and inspire,
Scold, rebuke and teach.
To the tongue belongs power
To kill and make alive;
To crush a spirit viciously
Or, in mercy, to revive.
To the tongue belongs the truth
It also has the knack to lie;
As though water, fresh and salt,
Together could abide.
The tongue that parts the lips
In defiance or in play
Is potent for good and ill;
It curses and it prays.
Tuesday, March 31, 2020
God Really Wants You to Know
To the Body of Christ at Gloria Dei,
Grace, mercy, and peace in Christ Jesus!
At a meeting of the American Psychological Association,
Jack Lipton, a psychologist at Union College, and R. Scott Builione, a graduate
student at Columbia University, presented their findings on how members of the
various sections of 11 major symphony orchestra perceived each other. The
percussionists were viewed as insensitive, unintelligent, and hard-of-hearing,
yet fun-loving. String players were seen as arrogant, stuffy, and un-athletic.
The orchestra members overwhelmingly chose "loud" as the primary adjective
to describe the brass players. Woodwind players seemed to be held in the
highest esteem, described as quiet and meticulous, though a bit egotistical.
Interesting findings, to say the least! With such widely divergent
personalities and perceptions, how could an orchestra ever come together to
make such wonderful music? The answer is simple: regardless of how those
musicians view each other, they subordinate their feelings and biases to the
leadership of the conductor. Under his guidance, they play beautiful
music. (Today in the Word, June 22, 1992)
When Paul described the church as the body of Christ, it
was clear that Jesus is the head (Ephesians 4:15), and our mind is the mind of
Christ (1 Corinthians 2:16). It is when
we submit to His headship that we have unity and fulfill the purpose for which
He called us – that we operate like the symphony in concert.
How do we know the thoughts of the Head? How do we know the mind of Christ?
God’s mind and will are revealed to us in His Word. The Bible is God speaking to us,
communicating His Law and Gospel, revealing His attitude, will, and
message. This is one of the reasons it
is so important for us to read (or listen to) our Bibles and hear for ourselves
what God has said!
If that is the case, why don’t all Christians believe the
exact same thing? Why is there so much
division within the body of Christ?
It is because of Sin.
Our sin and pride cause us to take the clear meaning of God’s Word and
twist it to fit our own understanding of the world, preconceived notions, and
personal preferences. A good example of
this is when Thomas Jefferson cut out all the references to miracles from his
Bible, including Jesus’ resurrection. In
his mind these things cannot happen, therefore the text must be wrong. And when there is not a clear meaning in the
passages, people often insert their own opinions instead of drawing from the
larger message of the Bible.
How, then, can we be confident that when we read the
Bible we won’t, “get it wrong”?
Faith.
The Communicator desires to be understood. God wants us to hear what He says, and wants
us to know His mind. (John 1:18, 1
Timothy 2:4, Romans 10:17) This is part
of why Jesus came, to communicate God’s Word and love to us. The Spirit still guides us and opens God’s
Word and creates faith in us (1 Corinthians 12:3). Our confidence in reading the Word is not
rooted in our ability to understand, but in God’s ability to make Himself
known.
So take up the Bible and read, O Body of Christ! Know the mind of Jesus, and be strengthened
in faith, hope, and love.
Questions to Ponder
-
How does God speak to us?
-
Why can we be confident that we can understand
God’s Word?
-
When we don’t understand something in the Bible,
where can we turn to understand?
-
What hinders or prevents you from reading the Bible?
-
“God wants us to hear what He says, and wants us
to know His mind.” Have you ever
considered this proposition? How might
this comfort us? How might it challenge
us?
-
When have you read God’s Word and been
comforted? Challenged? Confused?
Enlightened?
Don’t forget that you are invited to join me on a journey
through the New Testament! You can get
the readings, read some explanations of the readings, and even ask questions at
www.lotrittens.blogspot.com
Sunday, August 11, 2013
Missional Communities
It sounds relatively simple. “Get to know Jesus.” But how do you actually do that?
I knew how to worship Jesus, obey Jesus’ words, have faith in Jesus. But get to know Him as a person? Is that even possible?
What I have found is that it is not only possible, it is the main reason Jesus says, “Follow Me.” He wants us to literally come with Him and get to know Him.
Here’s how you start:
1) Ask Jesus in which Gospel He would like to meet you.
You can make it sound like a prayer. But that’s not necessary. Just ask Him and wait til He pops the answer into your mind. Jesus is risen from the dead and already with you all the time. He’s just waiting for you to realize that. He wants to tell you things and show you things that will change you from the inside out. But we have to come to Him and then come with Him so He can. One of the main ways He gains access into our hearts and minds is through the words He left in the Bible. The Spirit of God literally comes into the realm of human beings through those words. So, ask Jesus where He wants to meet you in the Gospels – Matthew, Mark, Luke, or John.
2) Now, open a Bible to that Gospel and literally join the crowds following Jesus.
Come up to the fringe of all those people surrounding Jesus and start listening to what Jesus is actually saying. Watch what He is actually doing. Just like the people around you in the crowd, wrestle with what you see and hear from Him. Allow yourself to realize that what He is saying He is saying to you and that He is requiring a response from you. Will you believe Him? Will you follow Him? Because if you will…
What I have found over the years is that the people who have the hardest time with this are church-going Christians. We have built up so much presumption around Jesus and have so successfully nipped and tucked Jesus to conform to our religious preferences, that we have a hard time simply listening to what Jesus actually says and watching what Jesus actually does.
But if we can realize this and repent of it, the Kingdom of God is already near. You are ready to get to know Jesus.
Tomorrow we will look at what will happen as we get to know Jesus in the Gospels.
What happens when you follow Jesus around in the Gospels? You get to know Him.
When we join the crowds following Jesus around, when we join the inner circle of disciples, when we watch what is going on and wrestle with what He is actually saying, we are letting Jesus Himself disciple us.
This is a simple but profound point for those who would follow Jesus: You need to put yourself into position to let Jesus disciple you.
That’s why the first step in being a Jesus-follower is planting yourself in one of the Gospels and getting to know Jesus. We are literally giving Jesus access to our minds and lives by listening to and watching Him. His Spirit is literally let loose through His words (in the Gospels) to start His formational (read “discipling”) work in our minds and lives.
Then there is this other simple but profound point: The better you get to know Jesus in the Gospels, the better you will be able to recognize Him at work around you today.
When we follow Jesus around in the Gospels we become so familiar with what He did do (in the Gospels) that we begin to recognize what He is doingaround us right now. And we can join Him.
We will talk about that in a few days when we look at the Kingdom of God coming near.
So, how do you get to know Jesus?
So here’s a recap of what we’ve discovered so far:
1) If we get to know Jesus in the Gospels we will be able to more accurately recognize Him around us today.
2) When we recognize Him around us today, we will be able to follow Him, join Him, be a part of His Kingdom coming (more on this tomorrow).
So, get to know Jesus, recognize Jesus, follow Jesus. (By the way, the more you follow Jesus, the more you’ll recognize Jesus and get to know Jesus!)
Today, though, let’s talk about one of the questions I am asked the most: ”I feel like I am getting to know Jesus in the Gospels. I feel like my relationship with Him is so much more real now that I spend some time with Him in a Gospel each day. But once I go out the front door into my day, how do I recognize Jesus in the world? How do I know it’s Jesus and not my over-fertile imagination?”
Good question.
Lots of crazy stuff happens because people “think” God wants them to do something.
So, how do you know it’s Jesus?
Quick answer? If you benefit from it, if it lifts you above others, if it brings glory to you? Exercise extreme caution. But if it costs you something, if it’s hard, if it requires you to humble yourself for the good of another? It’s probably Jesus. Start with that.
We could go to all kinds of places in the Gospels to verify this: John 1:14 (then expanded in Philippians 2), Matthew 16, John 13, Luke 15, Matthew 25, etc. But I would like to take us to the beginning of the Gospel of Mark and then to the end.
Mark 1:1 says, “The beginning of the gospel about Jesus Christ, the Son of God.” It’s an easy nuance to miss, but did you realize that not once throughout the rest of the Gospel of Mark is Jesus recognized as the Son of God by a human being until Mark 15:39. “And when the centurion, who stood there in front of Jesus, heard His cry and saw how He died, he said, ‘Surely this man was the Son of God!’”
Jesus is recognized as the Son of God by demons (Mark 3:11) and, of course, by God the Father (Mark 1:11). But no human, no disciple, really understands that Jesus is God the Son until He is hanging dead, sacrificed, given away on the cross.
If you want to learn how to recognize Jesus, go to where life is needed. If you want to learn how to preceive the Jesus of the Gospels in the world today, go be with people who need redemption, help, hope, and forgiveness. When you give yourself up, when you have to take up a basin to wash feet, when you have the cross laying at your feet and you’re wondering if this is Jesus prompting you to pick it up and follow… pick it up.
You’ve just recognized Jesus.
“The Kingdom of God is near you.”
This was the core message of Jesus. Everything He said and taught came through the lens of this new reality He came into the world to announce. He was saying that the reality of God’s presence and working has come to you. It is within reach of you. It is all around you. It is able to be perceived and recognized by those who would seek it out.
God is breaking into the realm of human beings all the time and God the Son tells us exactly how to recognize it.
All we have to do is listen to what He is actually saying. That’s why it is so important to really plant ourselves in the Gospels and follow Jesus around there. Jesus tells us everything we need to know. John 15:15, “…for everything that I learned from My Father I have made known to you.” Matthew 11:29, “Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me.” Keep following Jesus, keep listening, keep wrestling with His Words. “Whoever has will be given more,” Mark 4:25.
So how does Jesus say we can recognize Him and His Kingdom coming into the realm of human beings? How does He say He will show up? How does He say we can perceive the Kingdom breaking through?
It is not usually in big, showy, spectacular ways. The Last Day, when the Kingdom comes in finality and the old order of things passes away, yeah, that will be big and showy and spectacular. But today? Right now around you? Right now within you?
Jesus says it will most often be in little ways.
The Kingdom of God is like a mustard seed… the smallest seed. The Kingdom of God is like a pinch of yeast… starting out small. The Kingdom of God comes in the faces of hungry people and hurting people… whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me. The Kingdom of God comes near when you speak a word of Hope or Truth to someone who needs it. The Kingdom of God comes when you sit down and listen to the one who needs such compassion. The Kingdom of God is near when you feel that tension between hurrying on by and coming on over to someone bloodied and beaten by life and in need of the oil and wine of grace. The Kingdom of God is near when you feel that tension between getting busy with preparations for the day and choosing the “one thing” needed, sitting at the feet of Jesus and talking with Him and receiving from Him before we enter the day.
This isn’t all, but it gives you the idea.
Jesus is at work all around us and within us. He shows us how to recognize Him. The Kingdom of God is near. Seek first His Kingdom.
Like the blind man, when Jesus asked him, “What do you want me to do for you?” let us reply, “Rabbi, I want to see.”
Be sure to check out Greg's Web Site - www.dwelling114.org
The following are blog posts from Pastor Greg Finke. His ministry Dwelling 114 is focused on setting up missional communities as avenues for people to hear the gospel and come to know Jesus. He is on the cutting edge of mission work to this generation in twenty-first century, post-church, America.
Friday, August 9, 2013
Small and Large Catechism - Third Article of the Creed
Small Catechism
Third Article
{SANCTIFICATION}
I
believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy Christian church, the communion of saints,
the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and the life
everlasting. Amen.
What does this mean?
I
believe that I cannot by my own reason or strength believe in Jesus Christ, my
Lord, or come to Him; but the Holy Spirit has called me by the Gospel,
enlightened me with His gifts, sanctified and kept me in the true faith.
In
the same way He calls, gathers, enlightens, and sanctifies the whole Christian
church on earth, and keeps it with Jesus Christ in the one true faith.
In
this Christian church He daily and richly forgives all my sins and the sins of
all believers.
On
the Last Day He will raise me and all the dead, and give eternal life to me and
all believers in Christ.
This
is most certainly true.
Large Catechism
34] I believe in the Holy Ghost; the holy Christian Church, the communion of saints; the
forgiveness of sins; theresurrection of the body; and the life everlasting. Amen.
35] This article (as I have said) I cannot relate better than to Sanctification, that through the
same the Holy Ghost, with His office, is declared and depicted, namely, that He makes holy.
Therefore we must take our stand upon the word Holy Ghost, because it is so precise and
comprehensive that we cannot find another. 36] For there are, besides, many kinds of spirits
mentioned in the Holy Scriptures, as, the spirit of man, heavenly spirits, and evil spirits. But
the Spirit of God alone is called Holy Ghost, that is, He who has sanctified and still sanctifies
us. For as the Father is called Creator, the Son Redeemer, so the Holy Ghost, from His work,
must be called Sanctifier, or One that makes holy. 37] But how is such sanctifying done?
Answer: Just as the Son obtains dominion, whereby He wins us, through His birth, death,
resurrection, etc., so also the Holy Ghost effects our sanctification by the following parts,
namely, by the communion of saints or the Christian Church, the forgiveness of sins, the
resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting; that is, He first leads us into His holy
congregation, and places us in the bosom of the Church, whereby He preaches to us and
brings us to Christ.
38] For neither you nor I could ever know anything of Christ, or believe on Him, and obtain
Him for our Lord, unless it were offered to us and granted to our hearts by the Holy Ghost
through the preaching of the Gospel. The work is done and accomplished; for Christ has
acquired and gained the treasure for us by His suffering, death, resurrection, etc. But if the
work remained concealed so that no one knew of it, then it would be in vain and lost. That
this treasure, therefore, might not lie buried, but be appropriated and enjoyed, God has
caused the Word to go forth and be proclaimed, in which He gives the Holy Ghost to bring
this treasure home and appropriate it to us. 39] Therefore sanctifying is nothing else than
bringing us to Christ to receive this good, to which we could not attain of ourselves.
40] Learn, then, to understand this article most clearly. If you are asked: What do you mean
by the words: I believe in the Holy Ghost? you can answer: I believe that the Holy Ghost
makes me holy, as His name implies. 41] But whereby does He accomplish this, or what are
His method and means to this end? Answer: By the Christian Church, the forgiveness of sins,
the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting. 42] For, in the first place, He has a
peculiar congregation in the world, which is the mother that begets and bears every Christian
through the Word of God, which He reveals and preaches, [and through which] He illumines
and enkindles hearts, that they understand, accept it, cling to it, and persevere in it.
43] For where He does not cause it to be preached and made alive in the heart, so that it is
understood, it is lost, as was the case under the Papacy, where faith was entirely put under
the bench, and no one recognized Christ as his Lord or the Holy Ghost as his Sanctifier, that
is, no one believed that Christ is our Lord in the sense that He has acquired this treasure for
us, without our works and merit, and made us acceptable to the Father. What, then, was
lacking? 44] This, that the Holy Ghost was not there to reveal it and cause it to be preached;
but men and evil spirits were there, who taught us to obtain grace and be saved by our
works. 45] Therefore it is not a Christian Church either; for where Christ is not preached,
there is no Holy Ghost who creates, calls, and gathers the Christian Church, without which no
one can come to Christ the Lord. 46] Let this suffice concerning the sum of this article. But
because the parts which are here enumerated are not quite clear to the simple, we shall run
over them also.
47] The Creed denominates the holy Christian Church, communionem sanctorum, a
communion of saints; for both expressions, taken together, are identical. But formerly the
one [the second] expression was not there, and it has been poorly and unintelligibly
translated into German eine Gemeinschaft der Heiligen, a communion of saints. If it is to be
rendered plainly, it must be expressed quite differently in the German idiom; for the word
ecclesia properly means in German eine Versammlung, an assembly. 48] But we are
accustomed to the word church, by which the simple do not understand an assembled
multitude, but the consecrated house or building, although the house ought not to be called
a church, except only for the reason that the multitude assembles there. For we who
assemble there make and choose for ourselves a particular place, and give a name to the
house according to the assembly.
Thus the word Kirche (church) means really nothing else than a common assembly, and is not
German by idiom, but Greek (as is also the word ecclesia); for in their own language they call
it kyria, as in Latin it is called curia. Therefore in genuine German, in our mother‐tongue, it
ought to be called a Christian congregation or assembly (eine christliche Gemeinde oder
Sammlung), or, best of all and most clearly, holy Christendom (eine heilige Christenheit).
49] So also the word communio, which is added, ought not to be rendered communion
(Gemeinschaft), but congregation (Gemeinde). And it is nothing else than an interpretation or
explanation by which some one meant to explain what the Christian Church is. This our
people, who understood neither Latin nor German, have rendered Gemeinschaft der Heiligen
(communion of saints), although no German language speaks thus, nor understands it thus.
But to speak correct German, it ought to be eine Gemeinde der Heiligen (a congregation of
saints), that is, a congregation made up purely of saints, or, to speak yet more plainly, eine
heilige Gemeinde, a holy congregation. 50] I say this in order that the words Gemeinschaft
der Heiligen (communion of saints) may be understood, because the expression has become
so established by custom that it cannot well be eradicated, and it is treated almost as heresy
if one should attempt to change a word.
51] But this is the meaning and substance of this addition: I believe that there is upon earth a
little holy group and congregation of pure saints, under one head, even Christ, called
together by the Holy Ghost in one faith, one mind, and understanding, with manifold gifts,
yet agreeing in love, without sects or schisms. 52] I am also a part and member of the same,
a sharer and joint owner of all the goods it possesses, brought to it and incorporated into it
by the Holy Ghost by having heard and continuing to hear the Word of God, which is the
beginning of entering it. For formerly, before we had attained to this, we were altogether of
the devil, knowing nothing of God and of Christ. 53] Thus, until the last day, the Holy Ghost
abides with the holy congregation or Christendom, by means of which He fetches us to Christ
and which He employs to teach and preach to us the Word, whereby He works and promotes
sanctification, causing it [this community] daily to grow and become strong in the faith and
its fruits which He produces.
54] We further believe that in this Christian Church we have forgiveness of sin, which is
wrought through the holy Sacraments and Absolution, moreover, through all manner of
consolatory promises of the entire Gospel. Therefore, whatever is to be preached concerning
the Sacraments belongs here, and, in short, the whole Gospel and all the offices of
Christianity, which also must be preached and taught without ceasing. For although the grace
of God is secured through Christ, and sanctification is wrought by the Holy Ghost through the
Word of God in the unity of the Christian Church, yet on account of our flesh which we bear
about with us we are never without sin.
55] Everything, therefore, in the Christian Church is ordered to the end that we shall daily
obtain there nothing but the forgiveness of sin through the Word and signs, to comfort and
encourage our consciences as long as we live here. Thus, although we have sins, the [grace of
the] Holy Ghost does not allow them to injure us, because we are in the Christian Church,
where there is nothing but [continuous, uninterrupted] forgiveness of sin, both in that God
forgives us, and in that we forgive, bear with, and help each other.
56] But outside of this Christian Church, where the Gospel is not, there is no forgiveness, as
also there can be no holiness [sanctification]. Therefore all who seek and wish to merit
holiness [sanctification], not through the Gospel and forgiveness of sin, but by their works,
have expelled and severed themselves [from this Church].
57] Meanwhile, however, while sanctification has begun and is growing daily, we expect that
our flesh will be destroyed and buried with all its uncleanness, and will come forth gloriously,
and arise to entire and perfect holiness in a new eternal life. 58] For now we are only half
pure and holy, so that the Holy Ghost has ever [some reason why] to continue His work in us
through the Word, and daily to dispense forgiveness, until we attain to that life where there
will be no more forgiveness, but only perfectly pure and holy people, full of godliness and
righteousness, removed and free from sin, death, and all evil, in a new, immortal, and
glorified body.
59] Behold, all this is to be the office and work of the Holy Ghost, that He begin and daily
increase holiness upon earth by means of these two things, the Christian Church and the
forgiveness of sin. But in our dissolution He will accomplish it altogether in an instant, and
will forever preserve us therein by the last two parts.
60] But the term Auferstehung des Fleisches (resurrection of the flesh) here employed is not
according to good German idiom. For when we Germans hear the word Fleisch (flesh), we
think no farther than of the shambles. But in good German idiom we would say Auferstehung
des Leibes, or Leichnams (resurrection of the body). However, it is not a matter of much
moment, if we only understand the words aright.
61] This, now, is the article which must ever be and remain in operation. For creation we
have received; redemption, too, is finished But the Holy Ghost carries on His work without
ceasing to the last day. And for that purpose He has appointed a congregation upon earth by
which He speaks and does everything. 62] For He has not yet brought together all His
Christian Church nor dispensed forgiveness. Therefore we believe in Him who through the
Word daily brings us into the fellowship of this Christian Church, and through the same Word
and the forgiveness of sins bestows, increases, and strengthens faith, in order that when He
has accomplished it all, and we abide therein, and die to the world and to all evil, He may
finally make us perfectly and forever holy; which now we expect in faith through the Word.
63] Behold, here you have the entire divine essence, will, and work depicted most exquisitely
in quite short and yet rich words, wherein consists all our wisdom, which surpasses and
exceeds the wisdom, mind, and reason of all men. For although the whole world with all
diligence has endeavored to ascertain what God is, what He has in mind and does, yet has
she never been able to attain to [the knowledge and understanding of] any of these things.
64] But here we have everything in richest measure; for here in all three articles He has
Himself revealed and opened the deepest abyss of his paternal heart and of His pure
unutterable love. For He has created us for this very object, that He might redeem and
sanctify us; and in addition to giving and imparting to us everything in heaven and upon
earth, He has given to us even His Son and the Holy Ghost, by whom to bring us to Himself.
65] For (as explained above) we could never attain to the knowledge of the grace and favor
of the Father except through the Lord Christ, who is a mirror of the paternal heart, outside of
whom we see nothing but an angry and terrible Judge. But of Christ we could know nothing
either, unless it had been revealed by the Holy Ghost.
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