As I glance down at my bathroom vanity this morning, various perfume bottles catch my eye. Appearing in all different shapes and sizes, each one individually uniquely designed. And although the bottles are quite captivating, the real treasure remains inside. The bottles were created to hold something, much like you and I.
Throughout Scripture, we as believers are often symbolized as clay jars, perfume bearers, or empty vessels. God Himself has poured His presence, the Holy Spirit, into our lives. We are His dwelling place. However, we often misunderstand God’s intention as we idly let the time tick by. We were not created to be a decoration, sitting as a display up on a shelf. His intent was to be poured out, spilling lavishly on those around.
But thanks be to God, who in Christ always leads us in triumphal procession, and through us spreads the fragrance of the knowledge of him everywhere. 2 Cor. 2:14
Read 2 Cor. 2:12-17. In the days of Paul, the Romans had grand parades to celebrate a militant victory. The general of the army would be perched high and lifted up on the first chariot. However, preceding him would be the spoils from the war.
Trials always precede triumph.
We often forget that our pain and suffering has a purpose. There is a victory awaiting us as we continue to allow the Lord to lead our way. Reflecting on the life of Paul, we see a man whose life was like a roller coaster. Twists and turns. Ups and downs. Often appearing to be travelling nowhere. But through it all, Paul continued to patiently endure with his eyes fixed on the final prize. He lived knowing heaven was awaitin’. He lived with certainty and spent his time well.
In the parade procession were incense bearers, spreading the fragrance of victory after the war. Y’all…we have a victory that is to be celebrated! It is “Christ in you, the hope of glory” (Col. 1:27). The person who recognizes they are nothing without God will empty themselves of everything they once trusted. The things we once placed our identity on no longer matter. We will become destitute in spirit, trusting God to do a work on our inside.
And here is a great paradox”¦the more you let go of “you” to God, the more “you” you do become. You find yourself in laying your life down. You find your greatest treasure is living for Him!
When we start living for Jesus, our aroma spreads out. Life to some. Death to others. This is where it gets hard. Not everyone we encounter will like the way we smell. It is not up to us to decide.
For the word of the cross is folly to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. 1 Cor. 1:18 For we are the aroma of Christ to God among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing, 2 Cor. 2:15
What if we poured out Jesus from our lives, regardless of the response? What if we eeked out love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control? What if we laid down our pride?
Ponder for a moment: How can we live differently? How can we pour the aroma of Jesus out to this world?
Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.
Think of how these two commandments, given to believers in the New Covenant, exactly encapsulate and fulfill the Ten Commandments given to those who were operating under the Old Covenant.
The first commandment is very great and the second is reciprocal to the first. In loving God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind a person will naturally love his neighbor; therefore, such love will also be imparted to his family, his country, and the world.
The New Covenant commandments (there are only two) of love are superior to the Old Covenant commandments. They are positive, whereas the law was negative. In the New Covenant, the commandments of love are superior because they are complete by the finished work of Jesus Christ. They are superior because they begin at the heart and lead us directly to our need for the Holy Spirit to guide us in our Christian walk.
We must not love God only with the heart, but with the whole heart. The whole heart is opposed either to a divided and detached heart or to an inconsistent and an inactive heart. The whole heart is focused on the loving and pleasing God. It is our indispensable duty to love God. To love God is our great natural duty. Man would more naturally love God than himself, were it not for sin.
Loving God with our whole heart is impeded by self-love, love of the world, spiritual apathy and carelessness of spirit, the love of sinful behaviors whatsoever or a disproportionate love of things which are lawful.
The great guiding influence of the Christian life is to be our love for God and others. Unfortunately, Christians often spend so much time in following the traditions of men, man-made standards and religious rituals that they have little, or no, time to attend to anything else. There are only two requirements: love God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind and love thy neighbor as thyself. If you take care of that, everything else will take care of itself.
I could have been like many fathers and not fought to stay close to my children after a terrible divorce, but I refused to let go of the relationship that I had with my three children. After my wife and I separated, over a year before our divorce, she moved 265 miles away, her desire was to kill the relationship that I had with our children and to be close to her family. It was the worst years of my life but it would give way to one of the greatest miracles that I have ever witnessed.
Going the Extra Miles
The relationship that I had with our three children was strained to say the least after the separation. Every phone call to the children was monitored by my ex-wife or her boyfriend and sometimes both. Every visitation was accompanied by a two to three-hour fight with my ex-wife just to be able to get my children for a weekend once every three weeks. I had no rights; no privileges and I was not allowed to have the children for holidays except New Years. I was not allowed spring breaks and I had one week in the summer with the children. I paid my child support as deemed by the court. My ex-wife even went so far as to tell the children, “I wish your father would just go away and leave us alone.” Traveling to another city and staying in a motel for a weekend visitation was miserable, to say the least. My financial situation was not good but still, I spent almost two weeks pay on a given visitation weekend to be with my children.
I took my wife to court to get my visitation rights upheld but to no avail. It was then my attorney told me to go for custody of the children. I could not prove my wife an unfit mother and I could not prove that I was a better parent to raise our children. The process proved to be time-consuming, monetarily costly and agitating but I believe God had a hand in that as well as the big picture of what was to happen.
Before the Mercy Seat
I prayed night and day and I spent most of my nights on my face before God, asking Him for mercy in the matter of this custody battle. Three things worked in my favor; one, that I believe in prayer, two that I kept impeccable records of phone calls, visitations and anything that I thought would be of interest to my attorney and the judge, and three, that I was relentless in staying in contact with the children by phone calls and visitations.
Do to Others, As You Would Have Them Do to You
In less than two years, God created a miracle that seemed impossible to my family, my church family and most of my friends, I was given custody of my children by my ex-wife, not the court system. Most honorably after this took place, I gave my ex-wife all the rights and privileges that I wanted when she had the children and I kept my part of the bargain until the children graduated from High School, even meeting her halfway to where she lived so the trips would be more bearable.
I only wish I could describe the miracle process in length, but that would belabor this article.
Don’t Lose Hope
I, like the writer of the original article; “Where HaveAll the FathersGone“, have heard my share of stories of fathers that just gave up. What a sad situation to allow another person to sever the bond between a child and its father.
Reading a house-church handbook, ONE: Unfolding God’s Eternal Purpose From House To House by Henry Hon, I was inspired, challenged, and equipped by many statements.
Here are 12 that you may enjoy.
“Believers should not wait for anyone to lead them; the Spirit is leading and speaking, and they should simply follow Him. Following the Spirit is what creates a leader.”
“Every believer is called to teach. Otherwise, they will remain a babe and never mature. Sharing what the believer has learned should begin as soon as a person comes to know the Lord.”
“It is a good practice to invite Christians to your house for fellowship. Inviting people into your house means that you are open to them, that you have nothing to hide from them, and they are welcomed to be comfortable around you.”
“You can always give your testimony of how you came to know Jesus. Certainly, no one can argue with your testimony.”
“Where everyone is accepted equally as a brother or sister in Christ, and where there is an open forum without a set program and format, believers will be in an environment where their gifts will develop and manifest naturally.”
“People’s hearts are opened when they speak freely.”
“How critical it is to stay focused on Jesus Christ.”
“Christians will remain a babe if they do not exercise and begin teaching others themselves. Maturity is not about knowing a lot but whether the believer is actually participating in the ministry.”
“It is a good practice to invite Christians to your house for fellowship. Inviting people into your house means that you are open to them, that you have nothing to hide from them, and that they are welcomed to be comfortable around you.”
“Believers should be open to and encourage the Spirit’s moving within each one, including the spontaneity from individual initiatives when gathered together. Believers need to be vigilant to prevent formality of liturgy where the Spirit is stifled, and individual initiatives are not allowed.”
“Believers can search the Scriptures on their own, and allow the Word of God, coinciding with the Holy Spirit, to enlighten their understanding, and open their spiritual eyes.”
“All believers need to become teachers, shepherds, ministers, and good-news-bearers.”
The book ONE expounds on becoming and functioning as ONE through these three gifts. It was written so that both Christians and non-Christians alike can easily understand it. It will take you on a journey through the Bible, into God’s eternal purpose, and into your own home (from house to house). Jesus prayed that when His people are ONE, then “. . . the world may believe. . .” in Jesus Christ. Today’s dream: Reset to ONE; Revival Next!
Sometimes Christians get to the point where they say, “I’m done with church,” and then drop out of church altogether. This is happening so much nowadays that it has become a social trend. Sometimes the people who do that are called “de-churched,” or “church refugees;” but the most common label they are known by is “Dones.”
Usually, Dones are deeply committed Christ-followers who are longing for more than they have found in the traditional church format. Normally Dones aren’t walking away from Christ or even Christianity. Instead, they are leaving the institutional church because they want more than they are finding there.
So why are the Dones flying away from church? What do they want? What are they looking for?
Dones want a heart-to-heart connection with other believers. They are tired of being passive spectators and looking at the backs of people’s heads in front of them. They want to really get to know their sisters and brothers in Christ.
Dones are looking for encouragement and support. The Christian life is not an easy way to live and Dones have discovered that weekly teaching that is often repetitive, doesn’t prepare them to victoriously walk with Christ in daily life. They realize they need an atmosphere of mutual caring, interaction, and support.
Dones are searching for usefulness. However, they realize that the typical church service has no need for them and no room for their input. They want to use the gifts that God has given them to minister to others, and they realize that they need interactive, hands-on training in using their spiritual gifts.
Dones desire spiritual experience. They don’t want to be spectators watching a human being give a lecture about God. They want to be in an environment where the resurrected Jesus is free to move and work among His people. They are tired of seeing Jesus as a mere figurehead and want Him to be the literal Head of the meeting.
Dones are looking for equality in the body of Christ. They have experienced religious authoritarianism and are tired of high sounding titles and demanding leaders. They want the freedom to listen to God and then say/or do what He tells them to. They want Spirit-led meetings.
Dones want reality in worship. They are seeking more than the outward forms of ritual, programs, pious platitudes, religious entertainment, and/or liturgy. That’s why millions of Dones are courageously obeying the Bible’s words in 2 Timothy 3:5: “Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof; from such turn away.”
Author, Thom Shultz, sums it up this way: “The Dones are fatigued with the Sunday routine of plop, pray and pay. They want to play. They want to participate. But they feel spurned at every turn.”
For more about how “Dones” like to meet, google my book: “Beyond Church: An Invitation To Experience The Lost Word Of The Bible–Ekklesia.”
That has to be the foremost question in the belief for the existence of Christ. Did he live? To defend your belief the first question is was He real, did He live where is the proof? You have sat too long in the church not knowing what or why you believe only that someone with a college degree is telling you the truth.
Did Christ live I am going to give you 12 outside sources that attest to Christ life? The first one comes from Josephus Flavius a first century Jew that wrote for the Roman Empire.
Quote;
About this time there lived Jesus, a wise man if indeed one ought to call him a man. For he was one who performed surprising deeds and was a teacher of such people as accept the truth gladly. He won over many Jews and many of the Greeks. He was the Messiah. And when, upon the accusation of the principal men among us, Pilate had condemned him to a cross, those who had first come to love him did not cease. He appeared to them spending a third day restored to life, for the prophets of God had foretold these things and a thousand other marvels about him. And the tribe of the Christians, so called after him, has still to this day not disappeared.
The next one; the Talmud
The Talmud contains passages that some scholars have concluded are references to Christian traditions about Jesus (through mentions of an individual called “Yeshu”, a derivative of Jesus’ Aramaic name Yeshua)
The next one is Tacitus
The Roman historian and senator Tacitus referred to Christ, his execution by Pontius Pilate, and the existence of early Christians in Rome in one page of his final work, Annals (written ca. AD 116), book 15, chapter 44.
The context of the passage is the six-day Great Fire of Rome that burned much of the city in AD 64 during the reign of Roman Emperor Nero. The passage is one of the earliest non-Christian references to the origins of Christianity, the execution of Christ described in the canonical gospels, and the presence and persecution of Christians in 1st-century Rome.
Scholars generally consider Tacitus’ reference to the execution of Jesus by Pontius Pilate to be both authentic, and of historical value as an independent Roman source.
Historian Ronald Mellor has stated that the Annals is “Tacitus’s crowning achievement” which represents the “pinnacle of Roman historical writing”.Scholars view it as establishing three separate facts about Rome around AD 60: that there were a sizable number of Christians in Rome at the time, that it was possible to distinguish between Christians and Jews in Rome, and that at the time pagans made a connection between Christianity in Rome and its origin in Roman Judea.
The next one is Thallus
Jesus of Nazareth existed.
Some people believed Him to be the Messiah.
He had many disciples from both Jews and Gentiles.
He was condemned to death by crucifixion under Pontius Pilate.
His disciples testified that Jesus rose from the dead three days after His death.
His disciples proclaimed the resurrection of Christ.
Thallus (c. A.D. 52)
The next one is Lucian of Samosata
“The Christians, you know, worship a man to this day,–the distinguished personage who introduced their novel rites, and was crucified on that account”¦and then it was impressed on them by their original lawgiver that they are all brothers, from the moment that they are converted, and deny the gods of Greece, and worship the crucified sage, and live after his laws.”
The next one is Pliny the Younger on Jesus Christ
They were in the habit of meeting on a certain fixed day before it was light, when they sang in alternate verses a hymn to Christ, as to a god, and bound themselves by a solemn oath, not to do any wicked deeds, but never to commit any fraud, theft or adultery, never to falsify their word, nor deny a trust when they should be called upon to deliver it up; after which it was their custom to separate, and then reassemble to partake of food—but food of an ordinary and innocent kind.
The next one is Celsus
Jesus had come from a village in Judea and was the son of a poor Jewess who gained her living by the work of her own hands. His mother had been turned out of doors by her husband, who was a carpenter by trade, on being convicted of adultery [with a soldier named Panthra (i.32)]. Being thus driven away by her husband, and wandering about in disgrace, she gave birth to Jesus, a bastard. Jesus, on account of his poverty, was hired out to go to Egypt. While there he acquired certain (magical) powers which Egyptians pride themselves on possessing. He returned home highly elated at possessing these powers, and on the strength of them gave himself out to be a god.
The next is Mara bar Serapion
What else can we say, when the wise are forcibly dragged off by tyrants, their wisdom is captured by insults, and their minds are oppressed and without defense? What advantage did the Athenians gain from murdering Socrates? Famine and plague came upon them as a punishment for their crime. What advantage did the men of Samos gain from burning Pythagoras? In a moment their land was covered with sand. What advantage did the Jews gain from executing their wise king? It was just after that their kingdom was abolished. God justly avenged these three wise men: the Athenians died of hunger; the Sumerians were overwhelmed by the sea and the Jews, desolate and driven from their own kingdom, live in complete dispersion. But Socrates is not dead, because of Plato; neither is Pythagoras, because of the statue of Juno; nor is the wise king, because of the “new law” he laid down.
These are 12 of the great historians of the 1st thru the 2rd-century folks who acknowledge that Christ lived. The historical Christ and the Christ of Faith.
They say love is what makes the world go round, but what does the Bible have to say about it?
The greatest love you can have for your friends is to give your life for them. (John 15:13)
‘Love is not ill-mannered or selfish or irritable; love does not keep a record of wrongs.'(1 Corinthians 13.5)
Above everything, love one another earnestly, because love covers over many sins. (1 Peter 4:8)
‘This is how we know what love is: Christ gave his life for us. We too, then, ought to give our lives for our brothers and sisters!'(1 John 3.16)
‘Hate stirs up trouble, but love overlooks all offenses.'(Proverbs 10.12)
‘If you love only the people who love you, why should you receive a blessing? Even sinners love those who love them!'(Luke 6.32)
‘The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; his mercies never come to an end'(Lamentations 3.22)
‘Meanwhile, these three remain: faith, hope, and love; and the greatest of these is love.'(1 Corinthians 13.13)
‘Let love be genuine. Abhor what is evil; hold fast to what is good.'(Romans 12.19)
‘Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends.'(John 15.13)
‘Love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength.'(Deuteronomy 6.5)
Be under obligation to no one—the only obligation you have is to love one another. Whoever does this has obeyed the Law. (Romans 13:8)
‘Many waters cannot quench love, neither can floods drown it. If one offered for love all the wealth of his house, it would be utterly scorned.'(Song of Songs 8.7)
I love you just as the Father loves me; remain in my love. (John 15:9)
If you had to choose one, which is the most important love verse in the Bible? Why would you choose one over the other?
Honesty is a character trait every child of God should develop. It is in man’s old, corrupted nature to be deceitful. It is true that you can actually surprise yourself. Jeremiah 17:9 says that one can be deceived by his very own heart. It can be difficult to maintain full awareness of one’s own intentions and motives. However, a person quickened by the Holy Spirit now has the ability to stay aware, for “the Spirit searches all things”. With the guidance of the Holy Spirit, we can make accurate assessments and we can work towards honesty and sincerity.
The Bible share a few things about honesty:
We are to work and do business with honesty.
“Use honest scales and honest weights, an honest ephah and an honest hin.” (Leviticus 19:36)
“You must have accurate and honest weights and measures, so that you may live long in the land the Lord your God is giving you.” (Deuteronomy 25:15)
In former times, people traded using weights and scales. An unfair yet prevalent business practice was to rig weighing scales so that goods were heavier than they actually were. God did not want His people to participate in that kind of business culture. God desires His people to be honest workers and businessmen. Goods should be presented and priced according to their actual conditions and capacities. Workers should put in honest work hours. Products should arrive as agreed upon.
Let me tell you about Mike. He is a real person. For some years, this God chaser owned and managed a second-hand car sales shop. Prospective buyers came in and were surprised every time. He gave full details of the things that were wrong with the cars they were checking out. He informed people about what was lacking in the cars they took interest in.And you know what? He actually sold all his cars that way. Every unit he ever had, he sold. God does bless honest people.
We are to speak with honesty.
“Therefore each of you must put off falsehood and speak truthfully to your neighbor, for we are all members of one body.” (Ephesians 4:25)
“Do not lie to each other, since you have taken off your old self with its practices.”
We will not debate about the rightness of white lies and half-truths which people utter for the “greater good” (like when Corrie Ten Boom lied in order to rescue many Jews from the Holocaust in World War 2).
Let’s talk about plain and simple honesty. When we speak with honesty:
We do not mislead someone into believing something that is not true.
We do not prevent someone from accessing helpful or rightful information.
We do not hide or cover up what is wrong.
God wants His people to be honest. Our speech should not be motivated by a desire to pretend or misrepresent something. We should be genuine and sincere. Our speech should not deprive others of justice. When we’ve wronged someone, we must be ready to admit it and make things right.
Honesty may require us to rebuke others of wrongdoing.
Open rebuke is better than secret love. (Proverbs 27:5)
“If your brother or sister sins against you, rebuke them; and if they repent, forgive them.” (Luke 17:3)
“Rebuke them sharply, so that they will be sound in the faith.” (Titus 1:13)
No good has ever come from suppressing our hurts. You don’t find the resolution you need. No good has ever come from ignoring wrong deeds. The other person does not get better when you stay quiet.Many times, to confront and rebuke is more fruitful. However, we must remember that the right reason for this is love. So, when we speak truth, we are to speak out of love, in love. (Ephesians 4:15) When we correct, we must correct in a spirit of gentleness. When we speak truth to someone, our desire should never be to prove ourselves right or to flaunt our self-righteousness, but always, to restore the erring person to rightness. (Galatians 6:1)
James E Faust said, “Honesty is more than not lying. It is truth speaking, truth living, and truth loving.” May God’s people be known for honesty today.
(Verses 6-11) They spread a net for my feet—
I was bowed down in distress.
They dug a pit in my path—
but they have fallen into it themselves.
My heart, O God, is steadfast,
my heart is steadfast;
I will sing and make music.
Awake, my soul!
Awake, harp and lyre!
I will awaken the dawn.
I will praise you, Lord, among the nations;
I will sing of you among the peoples.
For great is your love, reaching to the heavens;
your faithfulness reaches to the skies.
Be exalted, O God, above the heavens;
let your glory be over all the earth(NIV).
Reflection As with many of David’s psalms, Psalm 57 turns on a dime. By that, I mean the psalmist begins in a state of worry and trouble. In his distress, David cries out to God and the Lord answers him. Suddenly, desperate pleas are replaced by wholehearted praise. The psalm ends with rejoicing over the goodness of God. David invites us to join in his rejoicing. I will sing and make music. Awake, my soul! Awake, harp and lyre! I will awaken the dawn. I will praise you, Lord, among the nations; I will sing of you among the peoples.
There is tremendous power in music. When I am discouraged—trapped in the Christian pilgrim’s Slough of Despond—a song of praise can lift me out like nothing else. Perhaps you have had a similar experience. When I am drowning in a sea of regrets, music brings buoyancy. Worship helps me set my eyes on Jesus, the author, and perfecter of my faith. See Hebrews 12:2. Faith gives us eyes to see beyond our current set of circumstances.
Most often we want to see God’s deliverance before we praise Him. In the introduction to Psalm 57, we read that David hid in a cave from King Saul. David called out for God to deliver him and He did. Therefore, David bursts out with music and song. Can you picture him strumming on his harp and singing with a smile you can see for a mile?
But there are times when I believe God wants us to sing His praise before deliverance comes—before the healing appears. He is our good and faithful God whether we have faith to move mountains or are troubled by doubt. Whether we live or die, He is faithful and worthy of our praise. In all the circumstances of life, our help comes from Him.
Response: LORD God, even in the midst of trouble filling my heart with praise for you. You are good and faithful. You are my help—my steadfast help—through Jesus Christ your Son. Amen.
Your Turn: Can you recall a time when you praised God before He brought the answer to your prayer?
I can count on one thing – my overzealous, furry, abundantly large and often soaking – wet black lab is always excited to see me when I walk through the door. She often greets me and my guests with not one, but a gazillion wet, slobbery kisses. Doesn’t care if her breath smells like rotten slimy scum from the bottom of a river–she is gonna greet you with one hell of a smoocheroo. That’s my dog. Always ready for company. Full of joy.
Today’s text is 2 Corinthians 1:12-24, and once again, Paul’s actions are alarming. Here’s what I’ve learned about his friends, the Corinthians…they weren’t always nice. They had significant issues. False beliefs. Pagan practices. Relational factions. Morality problems. And as a result, Paul penned the letter called 1 Corinthians and to say it bluntly, this letter didn’t sit so well. The Corinthians were left with a sort of rawness and edginess towards Paul. They were holding a bag of mixed emotions.
However, Paul doesn’t let this dissuade his attitude and love for these stubborn people. He continues to pursue them, waiting patiently for the perfect timing. Paul always has their best interest in mind. This world would be a better place if we continuously put others above ourselves. Paul was fighting for their joy (v.23).
Because I was sure of this, I wanted to come to you first, so that you might have a second experience of grace. I wanted to visit you on my way to Macedonia, and to come back to you from Macedonia and have you send me on my way to Judea. Was I vacillating when I wanted to do this? Do I make my plans according to the flesh, ready to say “Yes, yes” and “No, no” at the same time? As surely as God is faithful, our word to you has not been Yes and No. For the Son of God, Jesus Christ, whom we proclaimed among you, Silvanus and Timothy and I, was not Yes and No, but in him it is always Yes. . 2 Cor. 1:15-19
As surely as God is faithful, Paul attempts to make amends. He delayed his initial trip in order to spare the Corinthians from further heartache. Sometimes we have to give the heart time to heal. Sometimes we have to allow people space to process.
How do we know when to keep pushing? How do we know if we should be still? In Kelly Minter‘s study (p. 25) on 2 Corinthians, she writes, “Here’s a litmus test I use: If defending myself is motivated by self-protection and characterized by pride, anger, fear, or self-righteousness, it’s most likely from my flesh. Whereas, if defending myself is motivated by love for the other and characterized by clarity, humility, kindness, and sincerity, it’s from the Spirit.”
Paul was motivated to work through the hard stuff because he wanted to see healing occur, which would be evidenced by joy. Ecstatic, exuberant joy (hopefully without wet, slobbery kisses). Paul was expecting God to do a heart work. Why? Because these were God’s people.
Established in Christ.
Anointed.
Sealed.
Filled with the Spirit.
And it is God who establishes us with you in Christ, and has anointed us, and who has also put his seal on us and given us his Spirit in our hearts as a guarantee. 2 Cor. 2:21-22
Obviously, joy is worth fighting for. In ourselves and in others. And we fight for it because God has been faithful over and over again. He has given us the Holy Spirit residing within us as a reminder that we are His.
What would it look like for us to be zealous for someone else’s joy? What if we were more concerned about others (like Paul) than ourselves?
Yes. Jesus is the quintessential embodiment of love, kindness, mercy, grace, and forgiveness. However, I feel that we are altogether too quick to chalk him up as a Hallmark card, forgetting that he is also the wielder of strength unfathomable, a conqueror and a king.
It is in the light of those aspects, that I have chosen to embark on a personal quest to discover how the qualities of Jesus compare to the most iconic action heroes in the movies – whose exploits and courageous feats ignited fires of inspiration across multiple generations.
A couple of notes here. Firstly, I ruled out superheroes off the bat to make a “person to person” comparison more applicable (Jesus: fully God; fully man). Secondly, I recognize that there are many worthy candidates missing – John McClane in Die Hard, William Wallace in Braveheart, Chuck Norris in”¦well, everything (although he blurs the line between person and superhero).
The list runs long and the well is deep. Knowing that I had to draw the line somewhere and preferring not to ramble on indefinitely, I chose to limit myself to three heroes that I think best embody the most imperative qualities of any good action hero. Now, without further ado, let’s get on to the competition:
1. Moral Fortitude – Luke Skywalker
By Source (WP:NFCC#4), Fair use, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=38400241
An action hero may waver and falter in the realm of moral decision making (which often makes for a good plotline), but when it comes down to it at the most critical moment, he always plants his flag firmly in the soil of the “good side”. Case in point – Luke Skywalker.
Reluctantly trust into a galactic war when the Empire murders his uncle and aunt, Luke is taken under the wing of Obi-Wan Kenobi and taught the ways of the Jedi. While blowing up Death Stars and fighting Darth Vader – whom he believed killed his father – Luke learns the horrifying truth: Darth Vader is his father. Now Luke must not only choose to fight against his own father (in a conflict he wanted no part of in the first place), but he must rebuff Darth Vader’s repeated attempts to lure him to the “dark side.”
“Join me, and together, we can rule the galaxy as father and son!” (Darth Vader, The Empire Strikes Back)
The temptation must have been enormous. Through two movies, Darth Vader and the evil Emperor Palpatine compel Luke to change sides. At the end of Return of the Jedi, Luke, filled with rage, cuts of Darth Vader’s hand and seems to be on the verge of capitulation.
Palpatine: [laughing] “Good! Your hate has made you powerful. Now, fulfill your destiny and take your father’s place at my side.”
Luke: [looks at Vader’s severed hand, then turns to face the Emperor, throwing away his lightsaber] “Never. I’ll never turn to the Dark Side. You have failed, Your Highness. I am a Jedi, like my father before me.”
Awesome.
What about Jesus?
Fresh off his baptism in the Jordan River, Jesus commits himself to 40 days of fasting in the wilderness. Let me repeat that. 40 days.
In this critically weakened state, he is approached and tempted directly three times by the “father of lies”[1] – Satan himself. He first attempts to get Jesus to break his fast by telling stones to become bread, then to prove he is the son of God by jumping off the temple, and then finally tries to offer him all the kingdoms of the world if he will just bow down and worship him. Each time Jesus rebuffs him with Scripture, remaining without blemish.[2]
“For we do not have a high priest who is unable to empathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are–yet he did not sin.” Hebrews 4:15 NIV
As convincing as Darth Vader and Emperor Palpatine may have been, they’re child play compared to lies of Satan – which Jesus resisted, without faltering, even after a 40 day fast. Jesus takes this category by storm.
Jesus: 1; Action Heroes: 0.
2. Heart – Rocky Balboa
By Source, Fair use, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=25375415
Talking about heart here, I am not referring to lovey-dovey hugs and kisses. I’m talking about the ability to get knocked down and get back up off canvas, time after time, even when the odds look insurmountable and everything inside you is screaming at you to quit.
An obscure club fighter without a significant victory to his name, nobody expected Rocky to get the call when heavyweight champion of the word, Apollo Creed, scrambled to find a last-minute replacement for his injured opponent. Yet, by being essentially the only option available, Rocky gets the nod – and puts on a show. Through 15 rounds, Rocky goes the distance and puts the champ through the wringer, tossing all expectations carelessly into the wind (although ultimately losing by close split decision). Thus, a movie dynasty is born.
Through 8 Rocky movies and counting, Rocky shuffles around the ring, blocking punches with his face and battling back to some implausible victory. Perhaps no finer example exists than in Rocky IV, where Rocky is knocked down almost every round by the steroid-riddled Russian juggernaut, Ivan Drago – and still manages to persevere for the knockout victory (why the referee didn’t stop the fight is another question that we’ll conveniently ignore). One thing is certain – “quit” is not in Rocky’s vocabulary.
In the Garden of Gethsemane, Jesus is faced with his own test of the heart. Now mere hours from the crucifixion, Jesus is literally sweating blood.[3] As if the coming physical punishment weren’t enough, the wrath of the Father for the sins of the world looms in the horizon. Jesus turns to prayer:
“My Father! If it is possible, let this cup of suffering be taken away from me. Yet I want your will to be done, not mine.” (Matthew 26:39 NLT)
Despite his “soul [being] crushed with grief to the point of death,”[4] Jesus presses onwards, enduring a beating Rocky never came close to. Flogged, scourged, and dying on the cross, Jesus still has the selfless audacity to look down and ask John to care for his mother.[5] That’s heart and heart (the love kind).
Winner: Jesus
Jesus: 2; Action Heroes: 0
3. Fighting Prowess – Maximus Decimus Meridius
By Source, Fair use, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=6703171
A firm grasp of physical fighting ability, leadership, and/or tactics is a necessity for the action hero. Maximus of Gladiator excels in all three.
Commanding a legion in one of the most dominant military forces in history, Maximus is a military genius, as he quickly proves when routing a barbarian horde in the opening battlefield scene of Gladiator. His leadership ability is also apparent as the emperor’s son, Commodus, perceives him to be a threat to take over the throne when his father passes away. As such, he orders Maximus and his family to be killed. Maximus escapes but ends up in slavery, vowing to fight through the gladiator ring to until he gets the opportunity to kill Commodus and avenge his family’s death – and does so quite adeptly, even when the odds are unfairly stacked against him.
So how does Jesus compare to this legendary soldier? In Revelations chapter 19, we get the clearest picture of Jesus the warrior:
“I saw heaven standing open and there before me was a white horse, whose rider is called Faithful and True. His eyes are like blazing fire, and on his head are many crowns”¦The armies of heaven were following him, riding on white horses and dressed in fine linen, white and clean. Coming out of his mouth is a sharp sword with which to strike down the nations.” (Revelations 19:11-15 NIV)
Maximus may have lead a mighty army in human terms, but that’s got nothing on the armies of heaven. And for all of Maximus’s brilliant wielding of the sword, I never caught a glimpse of him in the movie swinging it from his mouth with the power to strike down entire nations.
What about genius military tactics? How about slipping behind enemy lines and using the enemy’s own hate and propensity to persecute and kill you to accomplish your own conquering victory over sin? That’s like Trojan Horse stuff right there.
Jesus: 3; Action Heroes: 0
Well folks, it appears to be a landslide victory. Jesus trumps the action heroes in all the important metrics. Not only is he Lord and King, but he is also a certified stud.
In the wise words of Mr. Beaver,
“Safe?…who said anything about safe? ‘Course he isn’t safe. But he’s good. He’s the King, I tell you.” (C.S. Lewis, The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe)
Over the past months, I have waged spiritual war on a level higher than ever before. And during it, I’ve felt an unusual desperation: a pain–wracked plea for intervention only God can provide and the humbling acknowledgment all is lost if He doesn’t show up.
But I’ve also discovered a deep intimacy, one of total reliance on Him and His warring angels. There is an undercurrent of trust. A surety his timing is perfect. The victory is—and always has been—His, and He will see me through to the end. Grown through each battle, I have a deeper confidence as I approach the throne. Not only will He hear my plea, He will bring forth the full might of Heaven if needed. I have to admit, I relish in that intimacy, that security. “I lift my eyes toward the mountains. Where will my help come from? My help comes from the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth. He will not allow your foot to slip, your Protector will not slumber. Indeed, the Protector of Israel does not slumber or sleep. The Lord protects you; the Lord is a shelter right by your side. The sun will not strike you by day or the moon by night. The Lord will protect you from all harm; He will protect your life. The Lord will protect your coming and going both now and forever.” Psalms 121:1-8 HCSB
But then there is another type of intimacy with God, one found in times of rest; a quietness in being rather than doing. Comrades rather than comrades in arms. Simply sitting in His presence with no agenda, no battle. It is sweet and nurturing. But I’ll be honest, I’m not 100% comfortable with it.
It removes my armor and lowers my sword, revealing vulnerabilities and exposing weaknesses. I know. Who better to trust with weakness than the One who created me? He already knows my innermost being. It was His hand that formed me. His thoughts that set my personality and character in order. And He knew every situation that would make me who I am.
But why would a God who calls us to war also call us to be vulnerable? Wouldn’t He want us battle-hardened in order to best bring about His victory on the earth? Wouldn’t vulnerability be the last thing He would want?
Maybe, maybe not.
Psalms 62:8 HCSB Trust in Him at all times, you people; pour out your hearts before Him. God is our refuge.
Pour out is the Hebrew word shaphak: to pour out, pour, gush, dump. Okay, so, the Lord wants me to dump my heart at His feet. To let it gush”¦to lower my guard and let Him in. That’s definitely a vulnerability.
I don’t know about you, but I can count the number of people I feel comfortable gushing my heart out to on one hand (minus a few fingers), and the Almighty is wanting to be among that number. That’s pretty heady stuff.
And then, there’s this:
Therefore the Lord is waiting to show you mercy, and is rising up to show you compassion, for the Lord is a just God. Isaiah 30:18a HCSB
Waiting is the Hebrew word chakah: to wait, await, longs. So, He doesn’t merely want to show us mercy, He longs to do so. The God of the universe who supports me in the battles I wage also longs to be compassionate to me and wants me to dump my every weakness at His feet. He’s longing for this intimacy in rest.
But”¦I have to be willing to lay down my armor, to choose vulnerability. He won’t make me. Wow.
He is the warrior who saves, yes, but also the Father who loves. Two different intimacies. Yet both characteristics of the same God. How do we integrate them, then? I think it can best be summed up in one verse:
Yahweh your God is among you, a warrior who saves. He will rejoice over you with gladness. He will bring you quietness with His love. He will delight in you with shouts of joy. Zephaniah 3:17 HCSB
And there it is Intimacy in war. Intimacy in peace.
“It feels like God has forgotten about me,” cried the woman mourning her third miscarriage.
“Why won’t God answer my prayer for a job?” begged the man who got laid off six months ago, with a wife and four kids at home.
Can you relate to any of these hurting people?
Maybe you aren’t suffering from a natural disaster, miscarriage, or job loss. Maybe for you, it’s racial discrimination, sickness, loneliness, fear, church hurt, fill-in-the-blank. No matter what it is, we are guaranteed to face hardship in this life.
This isn’t news. We all know that because of sin, life is going to be hard until Jesus returns to Earth. We know that trials will come sooner or later.
But then, when they do come, something changes. The idea of hardship becomes a reality, and everything gets much, much harder. Knowing hardships happen is a lot different when you are actually walking through them. From the outside, we know that God is in control and has a plan for us. But in the midst of hardship, we tend to lose sight of this truth. We forget that God is in control, and will ultimately deliver us from every trial, whether in this age or the age to come. Instead, we can begin believing that God has forgotten us.
One of my favorite verses in the Old Testament is in Exodus 2. The people of Israel were enslaved by Egypt, and they were crying out to God for deliverance. Egypt was working them to the bone and treating them like dirt. All hope seemed lost as they cried out to God to save them from their bondage.
Exodus 2:23-25 says, “During those many days the king of Egypt died, and the people of Israel groaned because of their slavery and cried out for help. Their cry for rescue from slavery came up to God. And God heard their groaning, and God remembered his covenant with Abraham, with Isaac, and with Jacob.God saw the people of Israel—and God knew.“
God sees you. He knows what you’re going through.
In the midst of the hardest trial, this verse brings a breath of hope.
Romans 8:27-37 says, “What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things? Who shall bring any charge against God’s elect? It is God who justifies. Who is to condemn? Christ Jesus is the one who died—more than that, who was raised—who is at the right hand of God, who indeed is interceding for us. Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword? As it is written, ‘For your sake we are being killed all the day long; we are regarded as sheep to be slaughtered.’ No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us.”
In all these things – natural disasters, miscarriages, job losses, racial discrimination, sickness, loneliness, fear, church hurt, fill-in-the-blanks – we are more than conquerors through Jesus.
Because of Jesus, we can be confident in the truth that nothing will separate us from His love. If you are in the midst of hardship, linger over the words of Romans 8. Read them every morning, believing that God is in control, and is interceding for you.
Jesus says “Happy are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God.”
The commendation of peacemakers – It is one thing to keep the peace and it is quite another to make peace. In the one case it already exists, in the other, we are calling it into existence since it is lacking. Jesus calls us to be peacemakers. That is a huge challenge. Jesus gives us the power! We are to seek peace. We are to pursue peace. We are not to let up until we achieve it. Jesus challenges us to be tenacious.
How is peace made? Where does it come from? Consider this from Paul in Colossians (1:20). “Through Him to reconcile all things to Himself, having made peace through the blood of His cross; through Him, I say, whether things on earth or things in heaven.”
Peace is reconciliation with God. Without Jesus, we are enemies of God. James (4:4) warns us: “Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God.” Through the blood of Jesus, we achieve peace. We make peace by doing the hard work of helping others become followers of Jesus.
This is at odds with the idea keeping the peace. When we are a peacemaker, we will be at odds with people. Many will hate us. Some will try to kill us and may succeed. This is huge in the upside down and radical world Jesus lays out in His Manifesto (Matthew 5 – 7)
Am I ready to be called a “son of God”? If I am a peacemaker, that is the promise of Jesus as to who I am. So there we go!
Matthew 5:9 (NASB) — 9 “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God.
Proverbs 12:20 (NASB) — 20 Deceit is in the heart of those who devise evil, But counselors of peace have joy.
Romans 14:19 (NASB) — 19 So then we pursue the things which make for peace and the building up of one another.
The importance of pursuing peace – I can’t make peace if I don’t have peace myself. That is the first task, find peace in Jesus. Then, I can make peace by proclaiming His word and carrying on with His deeds. Jesus calls me to be a peacemaker. It is not optional. This isn’t about picking off one or two things off the menu.
Ecclesiastes 10:4 (NASB) — 4 If the ruler’s temper rises against you, do not abandon your position because composure allays great offenses.
Romans 12:18 (NASB) — 18 If possible, so far as it depends on you, be at peace with all men.
Titus 1:6 (NASB) — 6 namely, if any man is above reproach, the husband of one wife, having children who believe, not accused of dissipation or rebellion.
Hebrews 12:14 (NASB) — 14 Pursue peace with all men, and the sanctification without which no one will see the Lord.
James 3:17 (NASB) — 17 But the wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, reasonable, full of mercy and good fruits, unwavering, without hypocrisy.
Examples of peacemakers – Who can we look to show us the way?
John 14:27 (NASB) “Peace I leave with you; My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Do not let your heart be troubled, nor let it be fearful.“ ~ Jesus
Genesis 13:8–9 (NASB) — 8 So Abram said to Lot, “Please let there be no strife between you and me, nor between my herdsmen and your herdsmen, for we are brothers. 9 “Is not the whole land before you? Please separate from me; if to the left, then I will go to the right; or if to the right, then I will go to the left.”
The sequence of thought from the purity of heart in the previous prescription for happiness (aka beatitude), to peacemaking, seems very natural. One of the most frequent causes of conflict is the secret planning of something illicit or detrimental to someone, while openness and sincerity are essential to all true reconciliation. The purity of heart leads directly to the ability to be a peacemaker.
Every follower of Jesus, according to this happiness prescription, is meant to be a peacemaker both in the community and in the church.True, Jesus was to say later that he had ‘not come to bring peace, but a sword’, for he had come ‘to set a man against his father, and a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law’, so that a man’s enemies would be ‘those of his own household’. What he meant by this was that conflict would be the inevitable result of his coming, even in one’s own family, and that, if we are to be worthy of him, we must love him best and put him first, above even our nearest and dearest relatives. It is clear beyond question throughout the teaching of Jesus and his apostles that we should never ourselves seek conflict or be responsible for it. On the contrary, we are called to peace, we are active to ‘pursue’ peace, we are to ‘strive for peace with all men’, and so far as it depends on us, we are to ‘live peaceably with all’.
Now peacemaking is a big goal given to us by Jesus. For peace means reconciliation, and God is the author of peace and of reconciliation. Indeed, the very same verb which is used in this happiness prescription is applied by the apostle Paul to what God has done through Christ. Through Christ God was pleased ‘to reconcile to himself all things, ”¦ making peace by the blood of his cross’. And Christ’s purpose was to ‘create in himself one new man in place of the two (i.e. Jew and Gentile), so making peace’. It is hardly surprising that the benefit which attaches to peacemakers is that ‘they shall be called sons of God’. For they are seeking to do what their Father has done, loving people with his love, as Jesus is soon to make explicit. It is the devil who is a troublemaker; it is God who loves reconciliation and who now through his children, as formerly through his only begotten Son, is bent on making peace.
The words ‘peace’ and ‘appeasement’ are not synonyms. For the peace of God is not peace at any price. He made peace with us at immense cost, even at the price of the life-blood of his only Son. We too—though in our lesser ways—will find peacemaking a costly enterprise. Dietrich Bonhoeffer has made us familiar with the concept of ‘cheap grace’; there is such a thing as ‘cheap peace’ also.
To proclaim ‘Peace, peace,’ when there is no peace, is the work of the false prophet, not the witness of a follower of Jesus. Many examples could be given of peace through pain. When we are ourselves involved in a quarrel, there will be either the pain of apologizing to the person we have injured or the pain of rebuking the person who has injured us. Sometimes there is the nagging pain of having to refuse to forgive the guilty party until he repents. Of course, a cheap peace can be bought by cheap forgiveness. But true peace and true forgiveness are costly treasures.
God forgives us only when we repent. Jesus told us to do the same: ‘If your brother sins, rebuke him, and if he repents, forgive him.’ How can we forgive an injury when it is neither admitted nor regretted?
Or again, we may not be personally involved in a dispute, but may find ourselves struggling to reconcile to each other two people or groups who are estranged and at variance with each other. In this case, there will be the pain of listening, of ridding ourselves of prejudice, of striving sympathetically to understand both the opposing points of view, and of risking misunderstanding, ingratitude or failure.
Other examples of peacemaking are the work of reunion and the work of evangelism, that is, seeking, on the one hand, to unite churches and on the other to bring sinners to the Messiah. In both these, true reconciliation can be degraded into cheap peace. The visible unity of the church is a proper quest of a follower of Jesus, but only if unity is not sought at the expense of the goals Jesus has in mind for us.
Jesus prayed for the oneness of his people. He also prayed that they might be kept from evil and in truth. We have no mandate from the Messiah to seek unity without purity, purity of both belief and conduct. If there is such a thing as ‘cheap reunion’, there is ‘cheap evangelism’ also, namely the proclamation of the good news without the cost of discipleship, the demand for faith without repentance. These are forbidden shortcuts. They turn the evangelist into a fraud. They cheapen the good news of Jesus and damage the cause of the Messiah.
The club’s transgression? Harvard University has reprimanded a student Christian club for one year because its members pressured a female student leader to resign in September 2017 following her decision to date a woman.”, as reported by the Harvard Crimson.
Harvard College Faith and Action (HCFA) a thriving Christian student group was birthed in 2008 and is resourced by the Christian Union. Starting as a small group of eight freshmen studying the Bible together and then gained recognition from the College as an official student organization a year later.
The HCFA group reportedly has over 200 regular members attending Bible Courses and other weekly activities as of today.
The leaders of the HCFA Christian club said that they didn’t believe they violated any school policy, as they are a faith group based on Christian principals.
A college spokesman confirmed in an e-mail that the Harvard Faith and Action group has been placed on a one-year “academic probation.” The university has also said that if the club re-registers as a student organization next spring it will have to show that it is in compliance with the university’s “nondiscrimination principals.” Liberal hypocrisy one might add?
According to the Harvard Crimson, the action of asking the former leader to step down after they learned she was dating another woman violated guidelines in the Student Handbook, which states that student groups cannot discriminate on the basis of sexual orientation.
Aaron Goldman, Harvard spokesman said the Office of Student Life was alerted to the group’s actions in December 2017 and found it had conducted itself in a manner “grossly inconsistent” with the Student Handbook, he wrote in an e-mail.
“To be clear: Harvard is disciplining a Christian student group for the group’s expectation that its student leadership follow basic Christian ethical teaching on sexuality in accordance with Christianity’s 2,000-year-old doctrine on such matters.”
A statement from HCFA reads:
“We are an autonomous student group, and we do not discriminate on the basis of sexual orientation,” Molly Richmond, a co-president of the group, wrote in an e-mail Thursday afternoon. Richmond did not respond to questions about whether the group had asked the woman to step down and why.
Richmond said the club has operated at Harvard for more than 10 years and its policies and practices have remained unchanged.
“The college seems to believe despite our repeated assurances to the contrary that HCFA is not acting autonomously and that our leadership standards were applied unfairly,” she wrote.
What to make of this? Well, a lot.
The question is whether evangelicals will support this HCFA and remain true to the teachings of Scripture and the unbroken teaching of the Christian church for over two thousand years on the morality of same-sex acts and the institution of marriage.
Society is pressing this question upon us—voices that are calling for a radical revision of the church’s understanding of the Bible, sexual morality, and the meaning of marriage.
So now Harvard has resulted to disciplining a Christian student group—and not some radical fringe group, but the largest Christian group on campus—for the group’s expectation that its student leadership follows Christian ethical teachings on sexuality. So much for diversity?
For almost 2,000 years Christianity has spoken with one voice about homosexual behavior, calling it a sin. At the same time, the Church taught God’s design for sexuality — that marriage is the life-long, exclusive union of a husband and wife and the only place for sexual activity.
Harvard is a special case on this teaching as the school was founded explicitly on Protestant, even Puritan, faith and is now penalizing a group for holding to religious convictions that would have been identical to its founders’ views.
Unfortunately, according to other news sources, it seems as though anti-Christian discrimination is now the only form of bigotry acceptable at the modern university today.
