In Luke 5, we receive a more full account of the call of James, John and Peter. Unlike what has often been portrayed out of Matthew Chapter 4 as an isolated call of Jesus and immediate response by the disciples, there is background to that call which is given more fully in the accounts of Luke and John. But to me, the issue is that they were once employed in a honest hardworking profession, and were called from that position to something very different. We are told they left everything!
We know from the book of Acts and other extra-Biblical accounts that except for a short period of time after the death of Jesus, they did in fact leave their profession of fishing and devoted themselves completely to following Jesus and His ministry. In fact, both Peter and James were killed as a result of their ministry, and John was imprisoned for a period of time on the island of Patmos. In other words....they suffered greatly! The concept of following Jesus and suffering for Him is not often talked about is Western Christianity. In fact, usually the opposite is proposed. Follow Jesus and you will be blessed! While this is certainly true, as the life of Paul makes clear, these blessings are usually non-material and eternal. Here in the West, we have assumed the blessings are material and present today.
We need to return to that thinking. We need to remember that our life in this world is fleeting and temporary. We need to remember that what truly matters is how we impact eternity by bearing eternal fruit in the form of new disciples who are themselves getting ready to follow Jesus. We need to take our eyes off of the present distractions of our materialistic world, and keep them focused on Jesus...who for our sake, endured the pain and suffering of the cross.
Sunday, November 21, 2010
Sunday, November 14, 2010
God's Glory
I've been thinking a lot lately about God's glory. I head up a Christian non profit and it's mission is to help young girls who have been exploited. As a non profit, we are always in the process of raising funds and dependent on donors to be able to do our work. The issue of God's glory comes up because I want to raise funds in such a way that whatever success we achieve, brings God glory. The problem is, there are many secular non profits with profound success in raising money for causes that have nothing to do with God. It raises all kinds of questions, such as... does God bless the work of a non profit even if they are secular simply because they are working to help the poor? Does God desire a Christian non profit to raise funds in a certain way so that it is clear He is behind the success in fundraising? If so, what would that certain way look like? These are questions for which I do not yet have answers. However, it has caused me to look into the Scriptures to learn more about God's glory.
First of all, the Bible tells us clearly that God deserves glory. One of the better known verses is 1 Chronicles 16:29- "Ascribe to the LORD the glory due His name...". We are to give the glory to God that He deserves. In fact, 1 Chronicles 29:11 tells us that ALL glory ultimately belongs to the Lord. "Yours, O LORD is the greatness and the power and the glory and the victory and the majesty, for all that is in the heavens and in the earth is yours." Psalm 8:1 tells us that God set His glory above the heavens, while Psalms 19:1 reminds us that the heavens declare the glory of God. Psalm 24 talks about the King of Glory, and in Isaiah 6:3 the cherubim are crying out that the whole earth is filled with His glory. Finally, Isaiah 40:5 reminds us that everyone...everyone will eventually see the glory of the LORD.
What concerns me is that God is also jealous for His glory. Isaiah 48:11 tells us "...my glory I will not give to another." Yet Paul tells us in Romans 2:10 that everyone who does good will receive glory.
My conclusion at this point is that God is in charge of His glory. He has put everything in place within creation to bring Him glory. He has created us for His glory. He created the angels for His glory. The whole earth is full of His glory. His glory is evident all around us. Therefore, He is in charge of His glory, not us. In addition, He has chosen to share His glory with us if we are obedient to Him and following His path. In other words, He is responsible for how His glory is manifested and revealed, and we are responsible for being obedient to Him. Part of that obedience is that we should also be careful that we ascribe to the Lord the glory He deserves. I do believe that extends to fundraising. Perhaps it's as easy as pursuing the fundraising techniques that He has chosen to bless, and then making sure that we ascribe to Him the glory and honor He deserves by establishing that blessing.
First of all, the Bible tells us clearly that God deserves glory. One of the better known verses is 1 Chronicles 16:29- "Ascribe to the LORD the glory due His name...". We are to give the glory to God that He deserves. In fact, 1 Chronicles 29:11 tells us that ALL glory ultimately belongs to the Lord. "Yours, O LORD is the greatness and the power and the glory and the victory and the majesty, for all that is in the heavens and in the earth is yours." Psalm 8:1 tells us that God set His glory above the heavens, while Psalms 19:1 reminds us that the heavens declare the glory of God. Psalm 24 talks about the King of Glory, and in Isaiah 6:3 the cherubim are crying out that the whole earth is filled with His glory. Finally, Isaiah 40:5 reminds us that everyone...everyone will eventually see the glory of the LORD.
What concerns me is that God is also jealous for His glory. Isaiah 48:11 tells us "...my glory I will not give to another." Yet Paul tells us in Romans 2:10 that everyone who does good will receive glory.
My conclusion at this point is that God is in charge of His glory. He has put everything in place within creation to bring Him glory. He has created us for His glory. He created the angels for His glory. The whole earth is full of His glory. His glory is evident all around us. Therefore, He is in charge of His glory, not us. In addition, He has chosen to share His glory with us if we are obedient to Him and following His path. In other words, He is responsible for how His glory is manifested and revealed, and we are responsible for being obedient to Him. Part of that obedience is that we should also be careful that we ascribe to the Lord the glory He deserves. I do believe that extends to fundraising. Perhaps it's as easy as pursuing the fundraising techniques that He has chosen to bless, and then making sure that we ascribe to Him the glory and honor He deserves by establishing that blessing.
Sunday, November 7, 2010
How Great a Salvation- Hebrews 2
Have you ever wondered why there is such a difference between the way God portrays Himself in the Old Testament and the New Testament? After all, there is a clear difference, and you don't have to go very far to find examples of it. Take for example Hosea chapter 13. Written around the time of the Assyrian capture of the Northern Kingdom of Israel and Samaria in 723 BC, the words of the LORD are instructive. In verses 7 and following, God compares Himself to a lion that will devour Israel because of their unfaithfulness. He says things like "...I will fall upon them like a bear robbed of her cubs...I will tear open their breast..." in verse 8. As if that is not enough, in verse 16 God says "...Samaria shall bear her guilt because she has rebelled against her God; they shall fall by their sword; their little ones will be dashed to pieces, and their pregnant women ripped open." It's hard to imagine a more graphic description of rage expressed against a group of people. It's even more meaningful when we realize that these events actually occurred against the people of Israel.
A clue for me is when the writer of Hebrews asks in chapter 2, verse 3 how we will escape if we ignore such a great salvation. After all, if God really isn't angry with our sin, than our salvation from sin is little more than a quick little reprieve that says "OK...just don't do it again". Our salvation through Jesus Christ truly is a GREAT salvation because God is truly angry at us because of our sin. The anger and wrath He expresses in the Old Testament illustrates this vividly for us.
While our God is a loving God, He is also a jealous God. He wants and deserves our worship and obedience. He also knows that the only way He could close the chasm between us and Him was in sending His son to die as the sacrifice for our sins. The penalty for sin had to be paid to show how horrific it is. We could never pay the price, only He could. When you stop and think about it, this salvation provided for us is truly great and should never be ignored.
A clue for me is when the writer of Hebrews asks in chapter 2, verse 3 how we will escape if we ignore such a great salvation. After all, if God really isn't angry with our sin, than our salvation from sin is little more than a quick little reprieve that says "OK...just don't do it again". Our salvation through Jesus Christ truly is a GREAT salvation because God is truly angry at us because of our sin. The anger and wrath He expresses in the Old Testament illustrates this vividly for us.
While our God is a loving God, He is also a jealous God. He wants and deserves our worship and obedience. He also knows that the only way He could close the chasm between us and Him was in sending His son to die as the sacrifice for our sins. The penalty for sin had to be paid to show how horrific it is. We could never pay the price, only He could. When you stop and think about it, this salvation provided for us is truly great and should never be ignored.