Celebrating the Unseen

Celebrating the Unseen

What a wonderful time of year!  The air is crisp, there is some white fluffy stuff on the ground (well at least in the mountains), and everywhere we look we see signs of Christmas.  It is hard to believe it is already December again, isn't it?  Last night, Stephanie and I set up our Christmas tree, we have begun to listen to Christmas music, and we are contemplating what Christmas traditions we want to continue and to start as a family.

Aren't traditions neat?  Traditions, when they’re done right, help us look both backward and forward – they make us think about the past and times we've practiced these same “traditions” before.  They bind our families together because traditions are something we share.  Also, they build the anticipation and expectation for something that’s coming.  Christmas traditions, many at least, build up to the big celebration of Christ’s birth.  Granted, there may be some traditions in our families and certainly in our culture, that take away from the true meaning, but when we’re intentional about preserving the traditions that focus on Christ and make the season of his birth extra special and extra meaningful, I think we’re doing a good thing.  Some cover every surface of their homes – inside and out – with lights and tinsel.  Some decorate multiple Christmas trees in various themes.  Others set a simple nativity scene in the center of their coffee table.  Whatever your traditions may be, they likely make this time of year, this season of celebrating Christ’s birth in a dusty stable, to a humble virgin, something set apart, something extra special and different from all the other times of the year. 

I think traditions help us slow down and remember.  We are so forgetful and busy that we need something to take our minds off of everyday life and redirect us to remember.  I know it works for me.  When I hear familiar old Christmas songs I instantly have warm memories of spending time as a family setting up our Christmas tree, reading the Nativity story together, going to the Christmas Eve candle light services, and waking up to breakfast and gifts on Christmas morning.

I also think traditions and physical tangible reminders help us think about that which is unseen.    One of the attributes that we know about our God is that He is invisible.  

Now to the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honor and glory forever and ever. Amen (1 Tim. 1:17, NIV). 

God is always with us, but we can’t see him.  Said another way, He can see us but we cannot see Him.  Hagar realized this in Genesis 16:13, after God saw her need and trouble, she called Him “The God who sees.”  When we celebrate what He has done, especially in the birth of His Son, we can remember that he is always with us even though we cannot physically see or touch Him. 

One wonderful and mysterious truth about Christmas is the invisible God made Himself visible to us through the person of Jesus Christ.  “Jesus is the embodiment of the invisible God”.[i]  Jesus came from heaven to earth and showed us what the invisible God is like, and who He is.  As we read in the Bible, the testimony of Jesus, we get to look at God, and we get to know exactly what He wants us to know about who He is (John 1:1-18, Heb. 1:1-3).

 The Son is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation (Col. 1:15, NIV). 

                    As we continue our traditions, and celebrate Christmas this season let us ponder that our God is invisible, that he always is near and always sees us.  Let us also remember that God did not leave us when Jesus’ time on earth was completed.  If you recall, He also promised us that He would send His Spirit to be with and in His children  to help, teach, comfort and lead us at all times (John 14:15-27, 15:26, 16:5-16; Phil. 1:19). 

Let us not allow our traditions to become dead rituals, but let us remember that God is with us, and that we are celebrating the incarnation of the only begotten Son of God, who took upon flesh, uniting Himself with humanity for all time in order to humbly and lovingly redeem His Creation.  We do not see Him now, but soon we will see Him face to face!  

“1 In the past God spoke to our ancestors through the prophets at many times and in various ways, ² but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, and through whom also he made the universe. ³ The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of his being, sustaining all things by his powerful word. After he had provided purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty in heaven” (Heb. 1:1-3 NIV). 

^“14 Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has ascended into heaven, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to the faith we profess. ¹⁵ 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. ¹⁶ Let us then approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need” (Heb. 4:14-16, NIV).

~Trev

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[i] For a short and inlighting post about God’s invisible attributes check out Ed Welch’s Blog at http://www.ccef.org/blog/good-news-god-invisible

Walking in The Way of Wisdom

I don't know about you, but I frequently feel inadequate in my understanding of God and His Word to serve Him as He deserves.  When I speak to people about difficult issues, and those seeking biblical guidance I feel lacking.  When I need to make a hard decision I'm indecisive.  Do you ever feel this way?

This morning I was reading a book about discerning the will of God and I came across this Bible passage.  It is exactly what I needed to hear, and I believe it gives us a good direction in knowing and doing God's will.  Here it is,

 My son, if you receive my words
    and treasure up my commandments with you,
² making your ear attentive to wisdom
    and inclining your heart to understanding;
³ yes, if you call out for insight
    and raise your voice for understanding,
⁴ if you seek it like silver
    and search for it as for hidden treasures,
⁵ then you will understand the fear of the Lord
    and find the knowledge of God.
⁶ For the Lord gives wisdom;
    from his mouth come knowledge and understanding;
⁷ he stores up sound wisdom for the upright;
    he is a shield to those who walk in integrity,
⁸ guarding the paths of justice
    and watching over the way of his saints.
⁹ Then you will understand righteousness and justice
    and equity, every good path;
¹⁰ for wisdom will come into your heart,
    and knowledge will be pleasant to your soul;
¹¹ discretion will watch over you,
    understanding will guard you,
¹² delivering you from the way of evil,
    from men of perverted speech,
¹³ who forsake the paths of uprightness
    to walk in the ways of darkness,
¹⁴ who rejoice in doing evil
    and delight in the perverseness of evil,
¹⁵ men whose paths are crooked,
    and who are devious in their ways (Prov. 2:1-15, ESV, emphasis added).

Kevin DeYoung in his book, Just Do Something, writes in response to this Proverb, "Isn't it interesting that we are never told in Scripture to ask God to reveal the future or to show us His plan for our lives?  But we are told--in no uncertain terms--to call out for insight and to cry aloud for understanding.  In other words, God says, 'Don't ask to see all the plans I've made for you.  Ask Me for wisdom so you'll know how to live according to My Book'" (pg. 90).

God help me have this type of bodily discipline, and give me the affections for you and Your Word so that I will desire to know you and treasure your commandments within me.  Make my ear attentive to your voice in the Bible, and my heart and mind be controlled by a holy fear of You.  Help us to be a people who delight in you, and rejoice in you and not in the way of evil.  

~Trev

Is Theological Knowledge Beneficial or Detrimental?

Is Theological Knowledge Beneficial or Detrimental?

Athanasius of Alexandria 

a 4th century theologian 

Image found  at http://www.ntcanon.org/Athanasius.shtml

Often times in the church, we see issues of theology and knowledge stirring up strife.  Some church goers who seem very familiar with the Word and very knowledgeable when it comes to theological topics come across as prideful, arrogant, and condescending. This raises the question: does God desire for us to have a rich knowledge of Him and His Word, or would it be more beneficial for us to not have a developed theological mind and rather to just "love Him and love others"? It is appealing to believe that the second option would lend itself to less arguments with one another and a trouble-free, unoffensive love for God.  However, I think that a person who truly knows God and is in a loving relationship with Him will be drawn to feed upon God’s Word, thus knowing Him more intimately, and in so doing be transformed to truly love as God has loved him.

  Knowledge without a loving heart is worthless, but love without knowledge is equally problematic. Knowledge without love causes arrogance, and in the church, arrogance breeds disunity and can hinder the spread of the Gospel.   Love without knowledge can lead to false teaching,  can deceive people and possibly prevents others from hearing the life saving message of the true gospel.  If we take either one without the other we are in danger of committing a grave error.  Love must always be in accordance with the truth, and the truth must always be steeped in love.   
This is where it's right to say that any deep study of theology should be primarily focused on the Word of God - using other authors and resources only to supplement Scripture.  Also, such a study should be saturated in prayer, and the learner should rely on the Holy Spirit to ultimately renew the mind and transform the whole person. When this happens, it would seem that growing biblical knowledge would be accompanied by a recognition of the Great and awesome God of Scripture, the lavish love of the Savior, and would result in proper humility of the believer.  Someone who is transformed by Scripture should exude a passion for God's Word that causes them to share truth in a loving, exuberant way rather than a belittling, condescending way.
The Bible itself teaches that the pursuit of Scriptural knowledge, and theological understanding, is vital but it must be accompanied by humility and love.  The following passages point to this.

Hosea 4:1-9 (NASB)

4 Listen to the word of the Lord, O sons of Israel,

For the Lord has a case against the inhabitants of the land,
Because there is no faithfulness or kindness
Or knowledge of God in the land.
² There is swearing, deception, murder, stealing and adultery.
They employ violence, so that bloodshed follows bloodshed.
³ Therefore the land mourns,
And everyone who lives in it languishes
Along with the beasts of the field and the birds of the sky,
And also the fish of the sea disappear.

⁴ Yet let no one find fault, and let none offer reproof;
For your people are like those who contend with the priest.
⁵ So you will stumble by day,
And the prophet also will stumble with you by night;
And I will destroy your mother.
⁶ My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge.
Because you have rejected knowledge,
I also will reject you from being My priest.
Since you have forgotten the law of your God,
I also will forget your children.

⁷ The more they multiplied, the more they sinned against Me;
I will change their glory into shame.
⁸ They feed on the sin of My people
And direct their desire toward their iniquity.
⁹ And it will be, like people, like priest;
So I will punish them for their ways
And repay them for their deeds.

Romans 10:1-16 (NASB)

10 Brethren, my heart’s desire and my prayer to God for them is for their salvation. ² For I testify about them that they have a zeal for God, but not in accordance with knowledge. ³ For not knowing about God’s righteousness and seeking to establish their own, they did not subject themselves to the righteousness of God. ⁴ For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes.

⁵ For Moses writes that the man who practices the righteousness which is based on law shall live by that righteousness.⁶ But the righteousness based on faith speaks as follows: “Do not say in your heart, ‘Who will ascend into heaven?’ (that is, to bring Christ down), ⁷ or ‘Who will descend into the abyss?’ (that is, to bring Christ up from the dead).” ⁸ But what does it say? “The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart”—that is, the word of faith which we are preaching, ⁹ that if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved;¹⁰ for with the heart a person believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses, resulting in salvation. ¹¹ For the Scripture says, “Whoever believes in Him will not be disappointed.” ¹² For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek; for the same Lord is Lord of all, abounding in riches for all who call on Him; ¹³ for “Whoever will call on the name of the Lord will be saved.”

¹⁴ How then will they call on Him in whom they have not believed? How will they believe in Him whom they have not heard? And how will they hear without a preacher? ¹⁵ How will they preach unless they are sent? Just as it is written, “How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news of good things!”

¹⁶ However, they did not all heed the good news; for Isaiah says, “Lord, who has believed our report?” ¹⁷ So faith comes from hearing, and hearing by the word of Christ.

Romans 12:1-2 (NASB)

12 Therefore I urge you, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship. ² And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect.

1 Timothy 2:1-15 (NASB)

¹⁴ Remind them of these things, and solemnly charge them in the presence of God not to wrangle about words, which is useless and leads to the ruin of the hearers. ¹⁵ Be diligent to present yourself approved to God as a workman who does not need to be ashamed, accurately handling the word of truth.

1 Peter 2:1-3 (NASB)

2 Therefore, putting aside all malice and all deceit and hypocrisy and envy and all slander, ² like newborn babies, long for the pure milk of the word, so that by it you may grow in respect to salvation, ³ if you have tasted the kindness of the Lord.

 

Ephesians 4:1-16 (NASB)

4 Therefore I, the prisoner of the Lord, implore you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling with which you have been called, ² with all humility and gentleness, with patience, showing tolerance for one another in love, ³ being diligent to preserve the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. ⁴ There is one body and one Spirit, just as also you were called in one hope of your calling; ⁵ one Lord, one faith, one baptism, ⁶ one God and Father of all who is over all and through all and in all.

⁷ But to each one of us grace was given according to the measure of Christ’s gift. ⁸ Therefore it says,

“When He ascended on high,
He led captive a host of captives,
And He gave gifts to men.”

⁹ (Now this expression, “He ascended,” what does it mean except that He also had descended into the lower parts of the earth? ¹⁰ He who descended is Himself also He who ascended far above all the heavens, so that He might fill all things.)¹¹ And He gave some as apostles, and some as prophets, and some as evangelists, and some as pastors and teachers,¹² for the equipping of the saints for the work of service, to the building up of the body of Christ; ¹³ until we all attain to the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a mature man, to the measure of the stature which belongs to the fullness of Christ. ¹⁴ As a result, we are no longer to be children, tossed here and there by waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, by craftiness in deceitful scheming; ¹⁵ but speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in all aspects into Him who is the head, even Christ, ¹⁶ from whom the whole body, being fitted and held together by what every joint supplies, according to the proper working of each individual part, causes the growth of the body for the building up of itself in love.

~Trev

Planting and Harvesting

Planting and Harvesting

This summer I planted my first garden.  I got the dirt ready; Stephanie bought the seeds, and then I planted them.  To be honest, at first I wondered if anything would grow.  I waited patiently, tried to pull up the weeds, and made a bigger than expected effort of keeping water on it.  I soon realized that if I didn't water the garden for a week, almost all of my plants would begin to shrivel and die.

Image Found at
 http://www.plant-and-flower-guide.com/how-do-plants-grow.html

Over the last few weeks we have been talking a lot about agriculture in the youth ministry.  We have talked about dirt, seeds, what kind of things it takes for a seed to grow, and what kinds of things are harmful to the growth of a seed.  For example, one of the lessons we talked about was the “Sower and the Seed” parable that Jesus spoke about in Matthew 13 (check it out it’s a good one). 

Throughout the Bible there are many illustrations about planting and reaping.  This makes sense because the growth of vegetation is something we see all around us almost every day.  It does not take a PhD to realize when you plant something, and if you foster its growth with its particular food, it will most likely grow. 

In Galatians 6 the Apostle Paul gives us another one of these farming illustrations, he states, “⁷ Do not be deceived: God is not mocked, for whatever one sows, that will he also reap. ⁸ For the one who sows to his own flesh will from the flesh reap corruption, but the one who sows to the Spirit will from the Spirit reap eternal life. ⁹ And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up. ¹⁰ So then, as we have opportunity, let us do good to everyone, and especially to those who are of the household of faith” (Galatians 6: 7-10, ESV).  

Just like we see all around us with vegetation, in our spiritual life, what we plant and what we feed will grow.  The simple truth is that God will not be mocked.  If we plant and feed sinful habits they will grow, and grow, and grow into destruction.  However, if we plant and feed actions pleasing to the Spirit we will have eternal life.  No one is exempt from this universal principle.

I believe the IVP New Testament Commentary summarizes this concept well by saying, “ Sowing to please the Spirit means "serving one another in love" (Gal. 5:13), restoring one who has been caught in sin (Gal. 6:1), carrying the burdens of others (Gal. 6:2), giving generously to those who teach in the church (Gal. 6:6) and doing good to all (Gal. 6:9)…. Sowing to the Spirit in the context of Paul's teaching here involves building love relationships with others.  Sowing to the Spirit cannot be done in isolation or separation from others. Carrying the burdens of others requires in-depth participation in their pain and sorrow.  As we see in verse 9, sowing to the Spirit means doing good to others.  If sowing to the sinful nature means selfish indulgence, then sowing to the Spirit means selfless service.”[1]

Father, please help us to be a people who sow to the Spirit.  Please give us endurance and strength to keep watering and feeding the habits of the Spirit.  Help us see the places where we are feeding our sinful nature and give us the ability to starve them out.  Father, please cause our love for you to grow!

~Trev

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[1] G. Walter Hanson, Galatians, http://www.biblegateway.com/resources/ivp-nt/Reaping-What-You-Sow, 11/1/ 2012




Here is a song that you will be whistling the rest of the day :)
It has to do with planting and harvesting. Hope you enjoy it!