"I've Gotta Be Me!"

[Note: The following post is adapted from its original version which was published on March 20, 2012.]

Ziggy is a cartoon character that was launched by Tom Wilson the year I was born (1968). Ziggy has a rather unimpressive appearance. He is small, bald, and barefoot. He has been described as always being one step behind, one nickel short, one lane away from the fast lane.  Poor Ziggy never seems to catch a break!

That's probably why Ziggy has so many fans. For in Ziggy they see a reflection of themselves, and the many misfortunes that come his way remind them of their own life experiences. In fact, this was precisely the case with Ziggy’s creator, Tom Wilson. The Associate Press reported,

The name Ziggy derived from his father’s school experience of being the last alphabetically. When a new classmate arrived beginning with “Z,” the idea took root with the friendly sounding “y” ending, such as Billy or Tommy. “Ziggy is a last-in-line character,” the son said in a phone interview. The last picked for everything and kind of a lovable kind of loser character. [Today show website]

When I was a kid, my parents got me a T-shirt with Ziggy on the front saying, "I've Gotta Be Me!" Looking at that statement from a Christian standpoint, it can be viewed as either positive or negative, as true or not true.

Looking at it negatively, we can say that it is not true as it concerns sinful traits and patterns in our lives. 

• A Christian brother who has an anger problem says, “I can be a bit of a hot-head, but then I cool down after a while. That’s just the way I am. I’ve gotta be me.”

• A Christian sister is known for being obnoxious. She prides herself on “speaking her mind,” describing herself as one who “tells it like it is. That’s just the way I’m wired. I’ve gotta be me.” 

Each of these two cases conveys a sinful pattern — not a personality trait — that must be addressed. This is not a matter of “teaching an old dog new tricks,” because we are human beings, not dogs. Furthermore, if we are in Christ, we are a “new creation.  The old has passed away; behold, the new has come” (2 Cor. 5:17).  Scripture says “to put off your old self, which belongs to your former manner of life … and to put on the new self, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness” (Eph. 4:23-24).

When it comes to sinful traits and patterns, I don’t gotta be me.  In fact, I gotta kill me [self] and become like Christ. Thankfully, God has made this possible by his Spirit, giving us the power to change. This is the only way to truly live (Rom. 8:13).

With this in mind we can also take to heart the quote “I’ve Gotta Be Me!” in a positive sense, stressing the blessed uniqueness of our individuality. This has to do with aspects of our person that distinguish us from others. Such features would include our personality, skill sets, spiritual gifts, and more. 

Paul testified in 1 Cor. 15:10, "By the grace of God I am what I am." 

• The first part of the verse — the realization that who we are is the work of God’s grace — keeps us from pride.

• The second part of the verse--"I am what I am" — keeps us from wishing we were someone else. Instead, we strive to become all that God has created us to be. That's why Paul goes on to say in the second half of the verse, " … and his grace to me was not without effect. No, I worked harder than all of them — yet not I, but the grace of God that was with me" (1 Cor. 15:10).

Earlier in life and ministry I squandered much time wishing that I was different or more capable than I am, rather than going all out in God's strength to reach my full potential in Christ.

This reminds me of another cartoon I watched as a kid. It was called "King Leonardo and His Short Subjects." One of the main characters was Mr. Wizard the Lizard who lived in the woods at the base of a tree. He was often visited by Tooter the Turtle (pictured below with the Wizard), who wondered what it was like to be someone else.

So with a wave of his arms, Mr. Wizard would send Tooter Turtle through time or space to experience what it was like to be a gunfighter, police officer, sailor, or whatever else Tooter wished to be.

The climax of each story would occur when Tooter would get himself into an awful, inescapable predicament and cry out, "Help, Mr. Wizard!" Upon hearing the cry, Mr. Wizard would utter his magical chant, "Drizzle, Drazzle, Druzzle, Drome, time for this one to come home!" In a matter of seconds, Tooter would make it back, safe and sound. At that point Mr. Wizard would give him the wise counsel that would conclude every episode: "Be what you is, not what you is not. Folks that what is, is the happiest lot."

That’s bad grammar but good counsel. Don’t try to be someone else. Be all that God has called you to be in Christ!

God's Sustaining Grace in the Midst of Devastating Loss

That’s what I’m expressing gratitude for this #ThankfulThursday: God’s sustaining grace in the midst of devastating loss. For the last couple of weeks I’ve been reading through the book of Job in my daily quiet time with the Lord. This book of wisdom explores the reality of human suffering, at a very personal level. The first one and a half chapters describe Job’s devastating losses, one right after another (Job 1:13-19), the greatest one being the sudden loss of his children.

My wife and I have never experienced such a devastating loss, but we know many loved ones who have — close relatives, church members, neighbors and colleagues.

The most recent heartache came yesterday morning when I woke up and saw Tim Challies’ post, My Son, My Dear Son, Has Gone To Be With the Lord. As I read this brief article, my heart broke for Tim, his wife Aileen, their two other children, and Nick’s fiancée. Here’s what Tim wrote:

In all the years I’ve been writing I have never had to type words more difficult, more devastating than these: Yesterday the Lord called my son to himself—my dear son, my sweet son, my kind son, my godly son, my only son.

Nick was playing a game with his sister and fiancée and many other students when he suddenly collapsed, never regaining consciousness. Students, paramedics, and doctors battled valiantly, but could not save him. He’s with the Lord he loved, the Lord he longed to serve. We have no answers to the what or why questions.

Yesterday Aileen and I cried and cried until we could cry no more, until there were no tears left to cry. Then, later in the evening,  we looked each other in the eye and said, “We can do this.” We don’t want to do this, but we can do this—this sorrow, this grief, this devastation—because we know we don’t have to do it in our own strength. We can do it like Christians, like a son and daughter of the Father who knows what it is to lose a Son.

We travelled through the night to get to Louisville so we could be together as a family. And we ask that you remember us in your prayers as we mourn our loss together. We know there will be gruelling days and sleepless nights ahead. But for now, even though our minds are bewildered and our hearts are broken, our hope is fixed and our faith is holding. Our son is home.

As I weep and pray for Tim and Aileen, I salute their faith and extol the God of our salvation. He is the one who grants us the grace to persevere through such suffering. People like John and Celia, Bill and Betty, Gary and Carol, Phil and Nancy, Josh and Courtney, Henry and Cyndy, Irv and Darci, Jim and Martha, and numerous others whom I know personally — whose faith has been sustained, and even strengthened, through such sorrow.

These brothers and sisters in Christ, like the Old Testament saint Job, have come to see that their “relationship with God is ultimately the main issue and that suffering, while extremely important, is secondary. The complex of issues is not theoretical but practical.” Their world, like Job’s world, “is real, not a hypothetical ‘ivory tower’ where these questions can be bandied about among the participants without anyone feeling the hurt.”
(NIV Zondervan Study Bible, p. 901)

No, these precious followers of the Lamb understand the nature of deep suffering and of God’s sustaining grace, which John Piper poetically describes this way:

Not grace to bar what is not bliss,
Nor flight from all distress,
But this, the grace that orders our trouble and pain,
And then in the darkness is there to sustain.

Praise God for his sustaining grace.
Pray for those who are suffering.
Thank God for their steadfast faith.
Take heart in knowing that as the Lord has carried them, so he will carry you.

And, after you have suffered for a little while, the God of all grace who called you to his eternal glory in Christ will himself restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you. To him belongs the power forever. Amen. (1 Peter 5:10-11)

Young and Wise

You don’t have to be old to be wise. In fact, one can be advanced in years and still be a fool. Still, we’re inclined to think that “with age comes wisdom.” Actually, with age comes experience. Hopefully the older a person gets, the wiser he becomes, since wisdom is the right application of knowledge.

The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge; fools despise wisdom and instruction. (Prov. 1:7)

If you were asked to name a few wise young people in the Bible, you would likely mention characters like Daniel, Samuel, David, Ruth, and certainly Jesus (Luke 2:42-47, 52).

But one young adult that might get easily overlooked is Elihu.

Eli who?
Elihu, that’s who!

He was the youngest of Job’s friends who came to visit him when Job was undergoing tremendous suffering. (I wrote about Job in another recent post titled “The Unexpected Book.”) Also present were three other friends of Job: “Eliphaz the Temanite, Bildad the Shuhite, and Zophar the Naamathite. They made an appointment together to come to show him sympathy and comfort him” (Job. 2:11).

Unfortunately, their attempts to help Job only made matters worse, because they misdiagnosed Job’s spiritual state, misapplied theological truth, and mistimed their reproof — all of which led Job to say, “miserable comforters are you all” (Job 16:2).

The whole time these inept counselors were talking, Elihu sat in silence.

But in chapter 32, Elihu breaks his silence because he “burned with anger. He burned with anger at Job because he justified himself rather than God. He burned with anger also at Job’s three friends because they had found no answer, although they had declared Job to be in the wrong. Now Elihu had waited to speak to Job because they were older than he. And when Elihu saw that there was no answer in the mouth of these three men he burned with anger” (Job 32:2-5). Elihu was so hot, he couldn’t keep quiet any longer. So he says to them,

I am young in years,
and you are aged;
therefore I was timid and afraid
to declare my opinion to you.
I said, “Let days speak,
and many years teach wisdom.”
But it is the spirit in man,
the breath of the Almighty,
that makes him understand.
It is not the old who are wise,
not the aged who understand what is right.
Therefore I say, “Listen to me;
let me also declare my opinion.”
(Job 32:6-10)

Elihu does just that. First he rebukes Job’s three friends for failing to refute Job’s arguments and to come up with a good answer for him. Then Elihu chides Job for seeking to justify himself rather than God. Elihu then proceeds to affirm God’s justice (Job 34:12), extol God’s greatness (Job 36:26), and proclaim God’s majesty (Job 37:22-23).

When Elihu finishes speaking, God breaks his silence and answers Job directly (Job 33-41). Humbled by the Lord’s rebuke, Job admits that he spoke out of ignorance, and he acknowledges God’s infinite power and wisdom. Job confesses, “I had heard of you by the hearing of the ear, but now my eye sees you; therefore I despise myself, and repent in dust and ashes” (Job 42:5-6).

Having dealt with his servant Job, the Lord then turns his attention toward Eliphaz the Temanite and says, “My anger burns against you and against your two friends, for you have not spoken of me what is right, as my servant Job has” (Job 42:7). God reiterates their failure in the next verse: “you have not spoken of me what is right as my servant Job has” (Job 42:8).

Can you imagine Elihu sitting there, listening to the Lord speak? First he reprimands Job. Then the Lord rebukes Eliphaz and his two friends. Surely Elihu is next! One can imagine him sitting there, his heart racing and his body quaking, as he anticipates a divine tongue-lashing.

But the rebuke never comes. Elihu’s words sat well with God, because they were cloaked in wisdom.

You don’t have to be old to be wise. But you do have to walk with the Lord in the light of his Word. Do that, and you’ll have something worthwhile to say.

A wise man speaks because
he has something to say.

A fool speaks because
he has to say something.

Which statement best characterizes you?

“Don’t let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith and in purity” (1 Tim. 4:12).

“The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom; all who follow his precepts have good understanding. To him belongs eternal praise” (Psalm 111:10).

Why Tuesday?

Years ago my dad rattled off this little rhyme about diets:

Why do diets start on Monday?
Why not Saturday or Sunday?
Why not any other one day?

While there is a certain psychology behind the answer to that question, the main reason is that we like to unwind over the weekend — and perhaps even indulge — before starting a new diet. Also, by starting on a Monday, we can get in several days of dieting before the next weekend and thus stay motivated to stick with it. In other words, the structure of our week determines our selection of a day to start dieting.

This same principle came into play 175 years ago when Congress passed a federal law designating the first Tuesday following the first Monday in November as Election Day. Previously, states had been allowed to hold elections with a 34-day period before the first Wednesday in December.

Since American society was mostly agrarian at the time, Congressional leaders considered that the month of November would be ideal for voting. Harvest would be over, yet the cold of winter would not have yet arrived. But the 34-day voting window created what Senate Historian Don Ritchie called a “crazy quilt of elections,” held at different times, all over the country.

So on January 23, 1845, Congress passed the Presidential Election Day Act “to establish a uniform time for holding elections for electors of President and Vice President in all the States of the Union.” This Election Day would occur every four years on the first Tuesday following the first Monday in November.

But why Tuesday? As Dad would say, “Why not Saturday or Sunday, or any other one day?”

History.com provides a concise answer (with a creative 90-second video):

In the 1800s, most citizens worked as farmers and lived far from their polling place. Since people often traveled at least a day to vote, lawmakers needed to allow a two-day window for Election Day. Weekends were impractical, since most people spent Sundays in church, and Wednesday was market day for farmers.
With this in mind, Tuesday was selected as the first and most convenient day of the week to hold elections.

Various insights could be gleaned from this explanation, such as people’s willingness to travel a great distance to to vote. (Do we complain for having to travel a few miles and wait a few minutes in line?). But here’s what really stood out to me: “most people spent Sundays in church.”

Church attendance on Sunday
was a key factor in selecting
Tuesday as Election Day.

How times have changed! Whereas back in the 18th century 75-80 percent of Americans went to church weekly, nowadays (according to a 2019 survey), 29 percent of Americans never attend church or synagogue, and only 23 percent of Americans attend on a weekly basis.

Imagine an American population that was so committed to attending church each Lord’s Day, that it was a major factor in determining the Presidential Election Day!

Yet consider where we are now in 2020. I wonder how much more church attendance has precipitously declined even over this past year. Given the moral trajectory of our nation, we should not be shocked that several state governments did not consider church “essential.” However, we should be greatly saddened that many professing Christians no longer consider church “essential.”

Yet God says otherwise.

Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful. And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds, not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another—and all the more as you see the Day [of Jesus’ return] approaching. (Heb. 10:23-25)

Less than three months ago, Christian researcher Thom Rainer listed “Five Types of Church Members Who Will Not Return after the Quarantine”:

1. The decreasing church members - those whose frequency of church attendance had already decreased before the pandemic. Now they’re attending zero times.

2. The disconnected church members - those who attended Sunday worship only but never built meaningful relationships.

3. The church-is-another-activity church members - those who let inclement weather or Sunday sports keep them from church. They have no commitment in the post-quarantine era.

4. The constant-critic church members - those who have had a pattern for complaining and are still doing so, even though they have not returned to in-person services.

5. The cultural Christian church members - those who were never truly converted but gave the appearance of being Christians to look good to others. But now that they have an out (Covid), they’ve called it quits.

Perhaps you may be thinking, “Hey, I thought this blog was supposed to be encouraging!” It is, which is why I want to persuade all my fellow believers to be the people God has called us to be! Because we live in dark days, we can shine all the more brightly “as lights in the world, holding fast to the word of life” (Phil. 15-16). “Therefore encourage one another and build one another up” (1 Thess. 5:11).

As our congregation was reminded at our Sunday evening gathering, “our citizenship is in heaven, and from it we await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ” (Phil. 3:20). As believers in Christ, we are an outpost of God’s kingdom on earth. Let’s live like it!

Remember Tuesday became Election Day, largely because of the Lord’s Day.

Let’s “make America great again” by making church the priority it once was.

A Bronx Tale: Christian Unity in a Divided Country

My cousin Joe has been a pastor in the Bronx, NY, for nearly forty years. Given the demographics of his congregation, the church could be easily and deeply divided over politics. But Infinity Bible Church has found a better way.

As a follow-up to my devotional, Agree in the Lord, I’ve invited Joe to be a guest blogger and share his thoughts on this day before Election Tuesday. Here’s what Joe had to say:

I appeal to you, dear brothers and sisters, by the authority of our Lord Jesus Christ, to live in harmony with each other. Let there be no divisions in the church. Rather, be of one mind, united in thought and purpose. (I Cor. 1:10 NLT)

I am a white guy from a relatively small suburb in Ohio. I planted a church in the Bronx over 37 years ago. I still pastor this church. I am an anomaly. In order to be successful, I had to adapt to living in a big city. I had to try to understand and serve people of different ethnicities and cultures. Now I’m facing my greatest challenge yet: 

How do I keep our church unified during the most politically toxic era in my lifetime?

In too many cases, the days of civil discourse and polite debate are over. This political climate has polarized both sides. The issue is larger than this, but to illustrate my point, I will boil down the arguments of both political sides:

Trump supporter: “How could you possibly support Biden? He is in favor of abortion up until the last day of a pregnancy??? You are literally supporting murder!”

Biden supporter: “Not all Trump supporters are racists. But all of them decided that racism isn’t a deal breaker.” (By the way, I got that exact quote from one of my facebook friends.)

If you just read the above discourse, and you are ready to argue, you are proving my point about the politics becoming polarized!

My church exists to bring the lost to Christ, and to help believers grow in their faith. It does NOT exist to promote a political party or a specific candidate. Some of the most godly people I have known are Trump supporters. And some of the most godly people I have known are Biden supporters. And if that statement makes you angry, you are again proving my point!

Recently someone from another church told me, “Our church doesn’t have a problem with unity.  Everyone is voting for Trump!”  

I thought, “How sad that is! There is an entire group of people that this church will never be able to reach with the Gospel. And I fear that they may not even be interested in reaching them!”

The 2020 election will be over after tomorrow. But I dare say that the polarization of our country and the visceral anger will continue past the election — no matter who wins.  

What is the role of the church in the midst of all this? Our church’s mission statement has not changed:

We exist to bring the lost to Christ, and to bring those who already know Christ into a deeper relationship with Him.

To me everything else is a distraction. I cannot control all the communication between the people in our church. But, although I have strong political beliefs, I don’t need to share them with my flock. “Coward! Compromiser!” some will say. But they probably wouldn’t say that if they had heard me when I spoke against racism — or abortion.  

It is entirely possible to address biblical issues without endorsing a specific candidate.

Two things would happen if I were to publicly endorse a political candidate:

1. Our church would be distracted from our mission statement.

2. There would be disunity in our church. Where is the upside???

When people in my church ask me who I’m voting for, I tell them, “I don’t do politics.”  And when this is all over, and people ask me what I think about the election results, I will tell them, “We need to pray for our president!”

Final note: If you read this article, liked what I said, but have no idea who I’m voting for, you just proved my point!

The Cosmic Temple

Currently our congregation is studying the book of Hebrews. Preaching through this New Testament book each week has been extremely challenging but also rewarding. Lately we’ve been exploring chapter 9, which contrasts the “earthly sanctuary” with the “heavenly sanctuary.” The Old Testament tabernacle (which was basically a portable temple) and its furnishings symbolized the spiritual realities now fulfilled in Christ.

But the more I study the significance of the tabernacle/temple in relation to Christ, the more of its significance I see in Scripture. When I began our study of Hebrews, I was in the wading pool. Now I’m in the shallow end, making my way to the deep end, as I undertake a broader study of the temple in Scripture (beyond our study of Hebrews).

At a recent pastor’s gathering, a fellow minister recommended a landmark book by G. K. Beale entitled The Temple and the Church’s Mission: A Biblical Theology of the Dwelling Place of God. In the introduction, Beale sets forth is main proposition for the reader’s consideration:

My thesis is that the Old Testament tabernacle and temples were symbolically designed to point to the cosmic eschatological reality that God’s tabernacling presence, formerly limited to the holy of holies, was to be extended throughout the whole earth. Against this background, the Revelation 21 vision is best understood as picturing the final end-time temple that will fill the entire cosmos.

Those statements may sound a bit technical, especially for a basic devotional like this, but stick with me for just a moment. It’s a fascinating subject! Using Scripture as his basis, Beale argues that

the Garden of Eden was the first archetypal temple, and that it was the model for all subsequent temples. Such an understanding of Eden will enhance the notion that the Old Testament tabernacle and temples were symbolic microcosms of the whole creation. As microcosmic symbolic structures they were designed to point to a worldwide eschatological temple that reflects Gods’ glory. It is this universally expanded eschatological temple that is pictured in Revelation’s last vision.

Asaph, who was a singer and poet appointed by King David to lead Israel in worship, describes God’s creation this way in Psalm 78:69:

And He built His sanctuary like the heights, like the earth which he has founded forever (or from eternity).

Asaph indicates that the earthly temple corresponded in some way to creation as a whole.

Israel’s temple was composed of three main parts: the outer courtyard, the Holy Place, and the Most Holy Place (Holy of Holies).

Beale contends that (1) the outer court represented the habitable world where humanity dwelt; (2) the holy place was emblematic of the visible heavens and its light sources; (3) the holy of holies symbolized the invisible dimension of the cosmos, where God and his heavenly hosts dwelt.

Still with me? If so, let’s unpack this just a bit further.

The Outer Court

This consisted of a large wash basin called the “sea” (1 Kings 7:23-26), and the altar of sacrifice which was to be an “altar of earth” or an “altar of [uncut] stone” (Ex. 20:24-25), thus identifying it with the more natural earth. So the “sea” and the “alter” appear to be cosmic symbols of the seas and the earth (land).

The Holy Place

This could well be a symbol of the visible sky. The lampstand in the Holy Place had seven branches and thus seven light-sources. These may have been associated with the seven light-sources visible to the naked eye (five planets, sun and moon). Interestingly, Genesis 1 uses the unusual word for “lights” (me·'o·rot) five times instead of “sun” and “moon” — a word that is used throughout the remainder of the Pentateuch (ten times) only for the “lights” on the tabernacle lampstand.

Furthermore, Vern Poythress notes,

The whole cycle of time marked by the sun and moon and stars is divided up into sevens: the seventh day in the week is the Sabbath day; the seventh month is the month of atonement (Lev. 16:29); the seventh year is the year of release from debts and slavery (Deut. 15); the seventh of the seven-year cycles is the year of jubilee (Lev. 25). Fittingly, the lampstand contains the same sevenfold division, symbolizing the cycle of time provided by the heavenly lights.

The Most Holy Place (Holy of Holies)

This chamber represented the unseen heavenly dimension of the world — the abode of God. Beale points out,

Just as the angelic cherubim guard God’s throne in the heavenly temple (e.g., Rev. 4:7-9), the sculpted cherubim around the ark of the covenant in the holy of holies (1 Kgs. 6:23-28), and the figures of the cherubim woven into the curtain that guards the holy of holies reflects the real cherubim in heaven who presently and in the future will stand guard around God’s throne in the heavenly temple (cf. 2 Sam 6:2; 2 Kings. 19:15; 1 Chr. 13:6; Pss. 80:1; 99:1, all of which may have double reference to the earthly and heavenly cherubim).

No human could enter the Most Holy Place (Holy of Holies) in the earthly tabernacle but once a year, on the Day of Atonement. Even then, only the high priest could enter, and he offered incense which formed a cloud that covered God’s glorious presence so that the priest wouldn’t die (Lev. 16:13).

The ark of the covenant was understood to be the footstool of God’s heavenly throne (1 Chr. 28:2; Psalm 132:7-8; Isa. 66:1). The space directly above the Ark, between the two cherubim, was empty, because “God is spirit” (John 4:24) and therefore cannot be seen. “Thus,” Beale concludes, “the holy of holies was a representation of God’s unseen heavenly dwelling in his temple amidst ministering angels and spirits (Isa. 6:1-7; Ezek. 1; Rev. 4:1-11).”

Theological Conclusions

How does this biblical concept of the tabernacle representing both a cosmic temple and Christ all come together, especially when we consider Paul’s statement to the church, “You are God’s temple” (1 Cor. 3:16)? Well, Beale takes over 400 pages to trace the biblical theology of God’s dwelling place, and I’m trying to cram everything into a single blog post, which of course is impossible. My hope is simply to whet your appetite for further reading on your own.

The bottom line is that the physical temple was a foreshadowing of God’s and Christ’s presence as the true temple. Christ arose to become the cornerstone of the temple, and believers are living stones being built up as a spiritual house (see 1 Peter 2:4-10). In the book of Revelation,

the new creation and Jerusalem are none other than God’s tabernacle, the true temple of God’s special presence portrayed throughout chapter 21. It was this divine presence that was formerly limited to Israel’s temple and has begun to expand through the church, and which will fill the whole earth and heaven, become co-equal with it. Then the eschatological goal of the temple of the Garden of Eden dominating the entire creation will be finally fulfilled (so Rev. 22:1-3). Hence, eschatology not only recapitulates the protology of Eden but escalates it. (Beale, 368)

That is to say, the tabernacle/temple images not only the cosmos, but more specifically and importantly, Christ as the true temple. As a result of Jesus’ resurrection, the Holy Spirit continues to build the end-time temple, “the building materials of which are God’s people…. This building process will culminate in the eternal new heavens and earth as a paradisal city-temple. Or, more briefly, the temple of God has been transformed into God, his people, and the rest of the new creation as the temple” (Beale, 393).

Again, I have but scratched the surface in a blog post that is already a bit too long. But I hope this brief look at the cosmic temple — initially at creation and finally in the new heavens and new earth through the redeeming work of Christ, the true temple — will whet your appetite for further study.

More importantly, I hope that you personally have experienced God’s presence in your own life by believing that Christ died for your sin and rose from the dead and now reigns as the Lord God. Those who believe in Him become the dwelling place of God’s Spirit, just as God dwelt in Eden and in Israel’s temple. As believers, we enjoy God’s presence through prayer, through reading his Word, and by doing his will.

Furthermore, as we proclaim the gospel to others and they believe, God’s temple continues to grow. We actually partner with the Lord God in the expansion of his temple. “For the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord as the waters cover the sea” (Habakkuk 2:14). That’s why the Psalmist prayed,

May God be gracious to us and bless us and make his face to shine upon us, that your way may be known on earth, your saving power among all nations. (Psalm 67:1-2)

Amen.

Letter of Recommendation

Yesterday I wrote a reference letter for a young lady applying to various colleges. When drafting such a letter, I always try to be positive, yet I’m also compelled to be honest. I want to be complimentary but also credible.

How much more so would truthfulness and trustworthiness mark the writers of the New Testament? Not only were they men of integrity, but they actually “spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit” (2 Peter 1:21). So any letter of recommendation from them would be completely accurate, with no embellishment whatsoever.

This makes the character reference for Timothy and Ephaphroditus in Paul’s letter to the Philippians all the more impressive. In chapter 2, Paul sums up his assessment of these men in two paragraphs. Read them carefully, as if these men were being recommended to you for service:

I hope in the Lord Jesus to send Timothy to you soon, so that I too may be cheered by news of you. For I have no one like him, who will be genuinely concerned for your welfare. For they all seek their own interests, not those of Jesus Christ. But you know Timothy's proven worth, how as a son with a father he has served with me in the gospel. I hope therefore to send him just as soon as I see how it will go with me, and I trust in the Lord that shortly I myself will come also.

I have thought it necessary to send to you Epaphroditus my brother and fellow worker and fellow soldier, and your messenger and minister to my need, for he has been longing for you all and has been distressed because you heard that he was ill. Indeed he was ill, near to death. But God had mercy on him, and not only on him but on me also, lest I should have sorrow upon sorrow. I am the more eager to send him, therefore, that you may rejoice at seeing him again, and that I may be less anxious. So receive him in the Lord with all joy, and honor such men, for he nearly died for the work of Christ, risking his life to complete what was lacking in your service to me. (Phil. 2:19-30)

As I read Paul’s description of these two men, four qualities stand out:

1. Genuine concern - Paul said of Timothy, “I have no one like him, who will be genuinely concerned for your welfare.” Considering all the people that Paul knew, that’s impressive! Furthermore, Paul mentioned that Epaphroditus was “distressed” that people were worried sick about his being sick! These two men were genuinely concerned for others.

2. Proven worth - “But you know Timothy’s proven worth, how as a son with a father he has served with me in the gospel” (Phil. 2:22). Acts 16 describes Paul’s first encounter with Timothy, who was already “a disciple … well spoken of by the brothers” (Acts 16:1-2). Timothy’s reputation continued to build, and he became a faithful pastor. Ephaphroditus proved his worth too, “for he nearly died for the work of Christ, risking his life…” (Phil. 2:30).

3. Team spirit - Paul said that his relationship with Timothy was like a son working with his father. Paul described Ephaphroditus as “my brother and fellow worker and fellow soldier.” These men were team players! They were the kind of guys that would stand shoulder to shoulder with other believers in serving the Lord and “standing firm in one spirit, with one mind striving side by side for the faith of the gospel” (Phil. 1:27).

4. Choice representatives - Paul wrote to the church in Philippi, “I hope in the Lord Jesus to send Timothy to you soon” (Phil. 2:19), and then adds, “I have thought it necessary to send to you Epaphroditus” (Phil. 2:25). These were the men that Paul wanted representing him, and more importantly, representing Christ. Timothy’s name means “honor God.” Ephaphroditus’ name means “beautiful” or “charming.” Both of these men lived up to their names! They were choice representatives of Jesus Christ.

In writing this recommendation to the Philippians, Paul tells them to receive such men “in the Lord with all joy and honor” (Phil. 2:29). Welcome them! Publicly commend them! Even though humble Christians don’t serve in order to be recognized, thankful Christians are quick to commend such faithful servants and to do so publicly. Jesus himself did so on occasion.

Celebrate people who serve others like Jesus.

Paul said in Philippians 1:21, “For to me to live is Christ.”

Paul said in Philippians 2:21, “They all seek their own interests, not those of Jesus Christ.”

Warren Wiersbe wrote, “In a very real sense, all of us live either in Philippians 1:21 or Philippians 2:21!” That is to say, we are either living for Christ, or we are living for ourselves.

How are you living? What kind of reference would Jesus give you?

Agree in the Lord

I didn’t design this graphic, but aren’t the colors revealing? With the election just days away, these two colors are dominating the American landscape. People see blue and red as black and white.

Believe me, I understand. I have my own political views, which stem from my biblical worldview. But how much weight to assign to various issues, plus the manner in which one thinks is best to uphold and pursue certain values and ideals, ends up becoming the rub.

That’s how conservative evangelicals like John Piper and Wayne Grudem can be at odds with one another in terms of how they’ll vote (or not) in this year’s election. Sometimes Christians have serious disagreements over politics or other pertinent issues.

But all Christians at all times in all places in all situations should “agree in the Lord” and “rejoice in the Lord.” That’s precisely what Paul the apostle wrote concerning two women in a local church. In his letter to the church at Philippi, Paul writes,

I urge Euodia and I urge Syntyche to agree in the Lord. Yes, I also ask you, true partner, to help these women who have contended for the gospel at my side, along with Clement and the rest of my coworkers whose names are in the book of life. 

Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! Let your graciousness be known to everyone. The Lord is near. (Phil. 4:2-5)

Two ladies in Philippi went down in history as two Christians who couldn’t get along. We don’t know what the disagreement was about; Paul doesn’t tell us. But it must have been festering for some time since everyone knew about it, even Paul who was in faraway Rome when he wrote this letter. Twice he uses the word “urge,” once in reference to each of them. It’s as if they had to be admonished separately, so great was the rift between them. Sinclair Ferguson writes, 

Christian fellowships are at their worst when dealing with differences of opinion. In some ways biblically-based churches find it easier to deal with false teaching! But personal differences can be almost as deadly, dividing the church, sowing seeds of bitterness, … sucking energy that should be employed in building up believers and reaching out to the community. How effectively we handle these differences may say more about the biblical character of our church than how we handle heresy.

Paul tells them to “agree in the Lord,” without saying which of them was right or wrong. The issue wasn’t a matter of being right but doing right.  If each of them would adopt the mindset of Christ, as Paul talked about in Phil. 2:1-11, then their disunity would vanish.  If the secret to unity is humility, then the chief cause of division is pride (see James 3:13 - 4:6).

Paul asked his “true partner” in ministry to help these ladies, both of whom had stood by Paul for the sake of the gospel. But their legacy was being tarnished by their conflict with one another. To this day, when the question is asked, “Who were Euodia and Syntyche?”, the answer has always been, “They were the two ladies in Philippi who couldn’t get along.”  

The key to keeping our relationships strong is to “rejoice in the Lord” (v. 4) and to let our “reasonableness [graciousness] be known to everyone” (v. 5). The term “reasonableness” or “graciousness” conveys a spirit of willingness to yield one’s personal rights and to show consideration and gentleness to others.  

Why? Because “the Lord is near” (v. 5). I don’t believe Paul is referring so much to Jesus’ continuing presence as to His return (Phil. 3:17-21; see also James 5:7-11 for a similar connection between a gracious spirit and the Lord’s return). When the Judge returns, He will settle all disputes and subdue all things to Himself. In order to be kind, we must recognize who is King.

This is where Piper and Grudem, despite their political disagreement, set a good example for us. At the close of Grudem’s response to Piper’s article, Grudem writes,

Finally, just as John Piper in his article modeled respect for those who have another position, so I also respect him for the courage and clarity of his convictions, and for his characteristic willingness to advocate a potentially unpopular position because he thinks it is right. I hope that in what I have written here I have modeled a way to disagree with a friend graciously and in a way that will not damage our friendship in the future.

P.S. After I finished writing this article, I sent it to John for any comments. He replied that I had represented him fairly, and he assured me that he counted me as a dear friend. He also pointed out how I could make one of my arguments stronger! I think that only someone with a strong confidence in the sovereignty of God over all history would do that in the midst of a serious disagreement about the future of a nation.

May our worship of the one true sovereign God, our joy in Jesus Christ his Son, and the love of the Holy Spirit, govern our disagreements as well.

As we “agree in the Lord” and “rejoice in the Lord always,” we’ll know how best to relate to one another.

The Unexpected Book

Job was one of the first big books of the Bible I remember reading through as a kid. I was probably around ten years old. Our family was on a week-long vacation at the beach.

Now, you may be thinking, “What kid would read through a lengthy Old Testament book while at the beach?” The answer is: a kid that was covered in blisters from too much sun exposure the day before and had nothing better to do. My siblings hadn’t got burned as badly as I, so they were out enjoying the sand and the surf. Back in those days we didn’t have Netflix or Prime Video, so binge-watching wasn’t an option. All that was on T.V. throughout the afternoon were soap operas and daytime talk shows. Give me a break.

So for whatever reason (perhaps the Holy Spirit’s prompting?), I sat down and opened my Children’s Living Bible to the book of Job. I had always found the first couple of chapters intriguing — reading about how rich Job was, the conversation between Satan and God, the tragic death of Job’s children and the loss of Job’s own health.

I also liked the last chapter of the book when God rebukes Job’s friends and restores all of Job’s fortunes by giving Job “twice as much as he had before” (Job 42:10). I also wondered what Job’s daughters looked like, for “in all the land there were no women so beautiful as Job’s daughters” (Job 42:15). I’ll bet they were knock-outs.

But the first two chapters and the last chapter are but the bookends of this 42-chapter book. The main substance of the book is the 39 chapters in the middle. The story centers on the sovereignty of God and the justice of God in light of human suffering and misery. This account also reveals the limitations of human perspective. As one commentator put it,

The oversimplified counsel of Job’s friends provides no answers for the tragedies that strike the lives of the righteous.

My Bible reading plan for this year currently has me reading a few chapters from Job each day. This morning I as I read Job’s expression of anguish in chapter 19, I was struck by his words in verses 23-24:

Oh that my words were written! Oh that they were inscribed in a book! Oh that with an iron pen and lead they were engraved in the rock forever!

If only Job knew at that time that his words, his story, his pain, his spiritual journey were written! They were “inscribed in a book” — the Book of all books! The Word of God, which stands forever (Isa. 40:8)!

We’re not sure exactly how this came to be. Perhaps Job’s friend Elihu wrote this book shortly after the recorded events occurred. Maybe Moses wrote the account of Job, either during the pre-exodus years when he was in Midian and the people of Israel were suffering under bondage in Egypt, or during Israel’s forty years in the wilderness. Still other Bible scholars believe that Job was written by Solomon during the days of the kings (around 950 B.C.). Whatever the case, the record was revealed by the Holy Spirit, otherwise the author would have never known of the conversation in heaven between God and Satan.

The point is that Job’s story was written down for our benefit. “For whatever was written in former days was written for our instruction, that through endurance and through the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope” (Rom. 15:4).

• Have you suffered financial ruin? Job’s possessions were wiped out in a single day (Job 1:13-17).

• Have you lost a child in death? Job lost all of his kids (Job 1:19).

• Have you suffered through health problems? God allowed Satan to do whatever he wanted with Job’s body, except kill him (Job 2:4-8).

• Has your spouse failed you? Job’s wife told him to curse God and die (Job 2:9).

• Have your friends misjudged you and been overly harsh with you? Job’s friends were “miserable comforters” (Job 16:2).

Any one of these tragedies would be devastating, yet Job suffered through them all. Yet God had a purpose in his pain. God allowed Job to suffer in order to prove the genuineness of his faith, to help him see God more clearly, and to help comfort countless people down through the centuries who have suffered greatly and found themselves asking the same questions Job did.

Centuries after Job’s experience, the New Testament writer James wrote to challenge Christians to live out their faith in the midst of suffering. In doing so, he wrote,

Think of how we regard as blessed those who have endured. You have heard of Job’s endurance and you have seen the Lord’s purpose, that the Lord is full of compassion and mercy. (James 5:11)

Yes indeed, we “have heard of Job’s endurance” because his words were written in the greatest book of all, the Holy Scriptures, for our benefit.

Maybe it’s time you cracked open this Old Testament book of wisdom and read through it again — or perhaps for the very first time.

It sure beats Netflix … and sometimes even a day at the beach.

I Will Carry You

The other day I spontaneously scooped up my wife in my arms. It caught her off guard and she shrieked, “Honey, no!” She was scared that I would drop her or would end up killing my back trying not to.

I must admit that when I first picked her up, I faltered for a second while trying to regain my balance. With my back still intact, I was able to carry her briefly before setting her down again. The whole incident lasted about 20 seconds. I may have been able to carry her a few seconds longer … a few feet further … but that’s about it.

I wanted to show my wife that I could still carry her. But I know the day will come when I’ll no longer be able to do that. Even this time my wife had her doubts that I could do so, and not without good reason. The fact is, I’m getting older and growing weaker.

But that’s never the case with God. He is eternal, omnipotent, ever-faithful, and does not change. For that reason he is able to assure us,

I will be the same until your old age, and I will bear you up when you turn gray. I have made you, and I will carry you; I will bear and rescue you. (Isaiah 46:4).

God initially made this promise to the people of Israel after declaring through Isaiah that they would be carried away as captives to Babylon (Isa. 39:5-6). it looked as if God no longer regarded them, no longer cared for them, and would cut them off.

But that wasn’t the case at all. God would always be their provider and their protector — unlike the false gods that the Babylonians worshiped. At the beginning of Isaiah 46, God says,

Bel and Nebo, the gods of Babylon, bow as they are lowered to the ground. They are being hauled away on ox carts. The poor beasts stagger under the weight. Both the idols and their owners are bowed down. The gods cannot protect the people, and the people cannot protect the gods. They go off into captivity together. (Isa. 46:1-2)

Bel and Nebo were the celebrated gods of the Babylonians. Their names were incorporated into the names of Babylon’s kings, such as Belshazzar and Nebuchadnezzar. It looked like these gods were more powerful than the Lord God of Israel, but God proved that was not the case by predicting what would become of these idols. Not only would they not be able to sustain the people that worshipped them, but the idols themselves would become a burden to the animals that would carry them away into captivity.

But the God of Israel would continue to carry his people! He wants them to hear this message loud and clear:

Listen to me, all Israel who are left: I have created you and cared for you since you were born. I will be your God through all your lifetime, yes, even when your hair is white with age. I made you and I will care for you. I will carry you along and be your Savior. (Isa. 46:3-4 NLT)

Centuries earlier, when God had delivered the fledgling nation of Israel from their Egyptian captivity, he reminded them, “You yourselves have seen what I did to Egypt, and how I carried you on eagles’ wings and brought you to myself” (Ex. 19:4 NIV). Before Moses died, he assured the people of Israel, “The eternal God is your refuge, and underneath are the everlasting arms” (Deut. 33:27).

These precious promises apply to us as Christians today, thanks to Jesus Christ. “For all the promises of God find their Yes in him. That is why it is through him that we utter our Amen to God for his glory” (2 Cor. 1:20).

When we’re young, we feel like we can conquer the world. But the years pass quickly. As we age, our weaknesses become more apparent.

We all trust in something to carry us.

Some trust in money. But that’s a big mistake, because our fortunes can turn on a dime. “Cast but a glance at riches, and they are gone, for they will surely sprout wings and fly off to the sky like an eagle” (Prov. 23:5).

Some trust in relationships. But people will also inevitably fail us. “Even my close friend, someone I trusted, one who shared my bread, has turned against me” (Psalm 41:9). “My relatives have failed me, my close friends have forgotten me” (Job 19:14).

Neither money nor relationships can carry us. In fact, both often prove to be a burden to us.

The only one who can truly carry us is the one who cares most deeply for us — so much so that he gave his very life for us. Having paid the price for our sin, he rose victoriously from the dead. Jesus is our Conquering Hero, and he says to us, “I am the LORD; those who hope in me will not be disappointed” (Isa. 49:23; Rom. 10:11). With a love that will never end, a power that can never be quenched, and promises that will never fail, our Lord says,

I will carry you. I will bear you up, and I will bear you out. I will carry you on your way, and I will carry you Home.

Don't Be Stupid: Pt. 3

Today we come to part 3 in our current devotional series, “Don’t Be Stupid.” Why? Because dumb mistakes can be costly. A little wisdom goes a long way in keeping us out of trouble.

That’s why we’re taking a few days to glean some wise counsel from Ecclesiastes 10. The chapter begins with an observation:

Dead flies make the perfumer’s ointment give off a stench; so a little folly outweighs wisdom and honor. (Eccl. 10:1)

Here we see a key principle loaded with practical implications:

Because even a little folly stinks, steer clear of stupidity.

From this central truth spring five practical words of counsel which fill the rest of the chapter. In part one and part two of this series, we considered the first few tips:

1. Remain calm in the face of foolish anger (vv. 4-9).

2. Do the right thing at the right time (vv. 10-11).

3. Choose your words carefully (vv. 12-14).

Today we want to consider the last two pearls of wisdom in this chapter.

4. Don’t waste your energy on unproductive activity.

“The toil of a fool wearies him, for he does not know the way to the city” (Eccl. 10:10). His efforts are fruitless because he has no sense of direction.

There are countless people like this in business corporations, educational institutions, non-profit organizations, and government agencies. Their days are filled with fruitless activity. They fritter away their time on social media, video games, and idle conversation.

In his commentary on Ecclesiastes, Philip Graham Ryken asserts,

Merely playing at work wearies the soul, because deep down we know that we ought to be more productive. The feelings of guilt that we have as a result are exhausting (especially when we realize that we still have a lot of work to do that we should have done already).

Does this describe you? Is this how you feel after a typical workday? Do you come home with a headache, feeling stressed and discouraged? Is it because deep down inside you know that you wasted your time and did not channel your energy effectively?

It’s hard to believe that a man could wander around and miss a city. A small town, perhaps. But a major metropolis? Yet that’s the picture of a person who makes things needlessly difficult for himself because of his stupidity.

His lack of progress comes at a price. Things around him begin to fall apart, as indicated by his dilapidated house described in Ecclesiastes 10:18: “Through sloth the roof sinks in, and through indolence the house leaks.” Proverbs 18:9 says, “Whoever is slack in his work is brother to him who destroys.” The two go hand-in-hand.

King Solomon, who understood the importance of productivity, writes in verses 16-17, “Woe to you, O land, when your king is a child, and your princes feast in the morning! Happy are you, O land, when your king is the son of the nobility, and your princes feast at the proper time, for strength, and not for drunkenness!”

If you are a Christian, you have every reason to be productive! Every task we undertake is to be done for the glory of God and will be rewarded. For this reason we are told, “Do not be slothful in zeal, be fervent in spirit, serve the Lord” (Rom. 12:11).

Ecclesiastes 10:19 sums up the earthly benefits of hard work: “Bread is made for laughter, and wine gladdens life, and money answers everything.” Of course this truth must be held in tension with the rest of Scripture. Money has its limitations, and “the love of money is a root of all kinds of evils” (1 Tim. 6:10). But money itself is not evil, and it’s a great resource. If we have money, we can buy whatever we need. Bread is a daily necessity. Wine is a luxury. But if we have money, we can buy both. We can enjoy both the necessities and the niceties of life.

Better yet, we can use our earthly resources to advance God’s kingdom and lay up treasures in heaven (Matt. 6:19-21). That’s the only investment that pays eternal dividends!

So work hard, and live well. Don’t waste your energy on unproductive activity. Use your energy effectively, and enjoy the benefits of giving 100% for God’s glory.

5. Kill sin at its root before it bears fruit.

Ecclesiastes 10 ends with a warning: “Even in your thought, do not curse the king, nor in your bedroom curse the rich, for a bird of the air will carry your voice, or some winged creature tell the matter” (v. 20).

The expression, “A little bird told me,” comes from this verse. Even our most private sins have a way of getting exposed and coming back to bite us. Remember the first of the five practical points Solomon made in this chapter? Remain calm in the face of foolish anger. You may be able to do that when you’re at work or at school or in the kitchen with your mom and dad. But what happens in your bedroom? What do you say or think about that person when you’re all alone? You may think that nobody hears, but a little undetected bird may be listening and make the matter known!

Scripture says, “Be sure your sin will find you out” (Num. 32:23). That’s because whenever we sin, we are never truly alone. The Lord is always present. The more we are aware of his presence, the more alert we will be to sinful thoughts, attitudes, and words.

Now and then I see this little motto hanging on a wall in someone’s home:

If we could only keep this in mind, what a difference it would make! We would soon pray regularly with the psalmist, “Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in your sight, O Lord, my rock and my redeemer” (Ps. 19:14).

Is Christ the head of your home? Is he Lord of your life? If you are a Christian, the Holy Spirit lives in you (Rom. 8:9). He is resident, but is he president?

A Final Thought

Colossians 2:3 says, “In [Christ] are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.” Since Jesus is the source of all wisdom, you don’t have to be stupid. You can live wisely and well. But you must embrace Jesus as your Lord and Savior. You must saturate your life with his truth, reading your Bible daily and obeying what you read.

We’ve gleaned five practical lessons from Ecclesiastes 10:

1. Remain calm in the face of foolish anger.

2. Do the right thing at the right time.

3. Choose your words carefully.

4. Don’t waste your energy on unproductive activity.

5. Kill sin at its root, before it bears fruit.

Obey these principles in the power and wisdom that God provides, and you’ll avoid stupidity. Instead of stinking up your life with a little folly, you’ll be a pleasing aroma to God.

Don't Be Stupid: Pt. 2

Dumb mistakes can be costly. A little wisdom goes a long way in keeping us out of trouble. Ecclesiastes 10 can be a big help in this regard. This chapter opens with this declaration: 

Dead flies make the perfumer’s ointment give off a stench; so a little folly outweighs wisdom and honor. (Eccl. 10:1)

This verse sets forth a key principle loaded with practical implications:

Because even a little folly stinks, steer clear of stupidity.

From this central truth spring five practical words of counsel. We’ll covered the first tip yesterday, in part one of our three-part series: Remain calm in the face of foolish anger. (see yesterday’s post)

Today we’ll consider the next two tips:

2. Do the right thing at the right time.

In Ecclesiastes 10:10, wisdom is compared to a sharpened blade: “If the iron is blunt, and one does not sharpen the edge, he must use more strength, but wisdom helps one to succeed.” It takes more strength to swing an ax when the blade is dull. You have to hack away like crazy to make even a little headway. That’s the way foolish people live. They keep flailing away at their work or their relationships, making little to no progress, especially spiritually. That’s stupid! The wise person understands that taking time to prepare for a task can make one all the more efficient at doing it.

That’s the point in verse 10. But in verse 11, he seems to state virtually the opposite point, that there is a danger in acting too slowly. He says, “If the serpent bites before it is charmed, there is no advantage to the charmer.” Once a snake is charmed, it’s under control. But until it is charmed, it’s dangerous.

So by bringing verses 10-11 together we see that wisdom is found in doing the right thing at the right time. Discernment is the key. Sometimes we need to wait on a decision or task in order to be better prepared to do the right thing. At other times we need to stop putting off what needs to be done. To delay any further would be foolish and even dangerous. So don’t be stupid — be discerning. Do the right thing at the right time.

3. Choose your words carefully.

Ecclesiastes 10:12 says, “The words of a wise man’s mouth win him favor, but the lips of a fool consume him.” Here is a contrast is between the speech of wise man and that of a fool. “The words of a wise man win him favor….” This could also be translated, “The words of a wise man are gracious.” Here is the first of two exhortations in choosing our words carefully:

a. When it comes to building up others, speak up! Always take advantage of opportunities to encourage others. Scripture says, “Encourage one another and build one another up…” (1 Thess. 5:11). In our society, people are quick to criticize and slow to encourage. But if you would be wise, be an encourager! Proverbs 11:25 says, “Those who refresh others will themselves be refreshed.”

b. When it comes to bragging about yourself, shut up! The second half of Ecclesiastes 10:12 says, “The lips of a fool consume him.” Whereas the wise person receives blessing from his words, the fool ends up destroying himself. Verse 13 says, “The beginning of the words of his mouth is foolishness, and the end of his talk is evil madness.” His stupidity becomes more apparent with every word he speaks!

Verse 14 says, “A fool multiplies words, though no man knows what is to be, and who can tell him what will be after him?” The point is that stupid people are big talkers. They always brag about how they’re going to do this and accomplish that. James warns us against this kind of presumptuous speech: “Instead you ought to say, ‘If the Lord wills, we will live and do this or that.’ As it is, you boast in your arrogance. All such boasting is evil” (James 4:16-17).

Remember, it only takes a little bit of folly to stink things up. So steer clear of stupidity! If I were to stress any one of the five points above the others, it would be this matter of our speech. Earlier in his epistle, James wrote, “If anyone does not stumble in what he says, he is a perfect man” (3:2).

When it comes to our words, we can all find room for improvement. One foolish comment can stink things up. So don’t be stupid. Choose your words carefully!

We’ll look at the last two practical tips tomorrow!

Don't Be Stupid: Pt. 1

Each Sunday as I make my way from my office to the sanctuary, I try to make sure that I have two “essential” resources in my pocket: chapstick (because my lips get dry) and mints (because my breath gets stale).

Years ago I was on staff at a church where the pastor did the funeral for an elderly church member who had died. During the funeral the pastor remarked that every Sunday after church, this lady would greet him in the lobby and hand him a Certs – every Sunday without fail. He said, “I’m sure going to miss her.” Then I thought, “We’re all going to miss her!” This pastor definitely needed a breath mint after every service. Probably most of us do!

A person can be sporting a sharp-looking outfit, have their hair looking good, and be wearing nice cologne or perfume. But if they have bad breath, that’s the dominant thing you notice. It seems to overpower everything else. The person with halitosis may not clue in to the problem, but everyone else around him does!

In Ecclesiastes 10, Solomon says that’s the way that folly works. He begins the chapter by saying,

Dead flies make the perfumer’s ointment give off a stench; so a little folly outweighs wisdom and honor. A wise man’s heart inclines him to the right, but a fool’s heart to the left. Even when the fool walks on the road, he lacks sense, and he says to everyone that he is a fool. (Eccl. 10:1-3)

In these verses, Solomon is simply stating that a person shows himself to be wise or foolish by how he behaves. This observation becomes the launch pad for five practical lessons that will benefit us greatly if we take them to heart. They all tie into one truth, which can be summed up as follows:

Because even a little folly stinks, steer clear of stupidity.

That’s the central truth from which spring five practical words of counsel. We’ll cover the first one today.

1. Remain calm in the face of foolish anger.

“If the anger of a ruler rises against you, do not leave your place, for calmness will lay great offenses to rest” (Eccl. 10:4). In this situation, the angry person is in a position of authority, his anger is personal, and its a reflection of his own incompetence rather than yours. We know this is the case because of what Solomon writes in the next two verses: “There is an evil that I have seen under the sun, as it were an error proceeding from the ruler: folly is set in many high places…” (Ecc. 10:5-6).

This reminds me of an old cartoon I saw in my dad’s executive comic book:

Life can be frustrating for an employee who is more competent than his boss, a student who knows more than his teacher, or a child who is more mature than her parents. And the situation is made worse when they get angry at you, even though the fault lies with them. In the heat of the moment, you may be tempted to become unglued yourself, but Solomon says to stay put and stay calm, “for calmness will lay great offenses to rest.”

Plus it will save you a heap of trouble, because the antics of fools have a way of catching up with them. This seems to be Solomon’s point in verses 8-9:

He who digs a pit will fall into it, and a serpent will bite him who breaks through a wall. He who quarries stones is hurt by them, and he who splits logs is endangered by them.

In these verses, Solomon gives us various scenarios of the harm that can naturally befall a person as he goes about his work. But in this context it serves as an analogy of the fate that will befall a fool. David makes a similar analogy in Psalm 7, saying,

He makes a pit, digging it out, and falls in to the hole that he has made. His mischief returns upon his own head, and on his own skull his violence descends. (Ps. 7:15-16)

What goes often comes around. So don’t be stupid! Remain calm in the face of foolish anger.

We’ll look at two more tips tomorrow!

Running on Empty

“Ding! Ding!”

Upon returning to town after an afternoon ministry commitment, I heard a warning chime emanating from my dashboard. At that point I noticed that my fuel tank was on empty, and it was time to fill up.

The same can be true of us spiritually, but that’s not always the case. Sometimes our spiritual tank can be full while our physical or emotional tank is running on empty.

In Mark 6, Jesus “went about among the villages teaching. And he called the twelve and began to send them out two by two” (vv. 6-7). At the time, there were over 200 towns in Galilee. So the disciples had their work cut out for them! In obedience to their Lord’s command, they went out preaching God’s word, casting out demons, and healing the sick. Later on, just before the feeding of the five thousand,

The apostles gathered around Jesus and reported to him all they had done and taught. Then, because so many people were coming and going that they did not even have a chance to eat, he said to them, “Come with me by yourselves to a quiet place and get some rest.” (Mark 6:30-31 NIV).

These men had been so busy serving others, that they hadn’t taken time to tend to themselves. That’s how it is sometimes with ministry. If we are committed to serving Christ, we will pour ourselves into serving others, which will demand much of our time, attention, and energy.

In a famous movie scene, a man looks at the woman he loves and says, “You complete me!” Sometimes in ministry we look at the people we serve and think, “You deplete me!”

Jesus sympathizes with us and says, “Come with me by yourselves to a quiet place and get some rest.”

In his book on leadership, Saint Peter’s Principles, Peter Lillback points out, “We are to pray without ceasing … but not to work without ceasing.” He then quotes the Christian businessman and philanthropist John Wanamaker, who said, “People who cannot find time for recreation are obliged sooner or later to find time for illness.”

Referencing 1 Peter 5:8, Lillback lays down the following principle:

Don’t let the roaring lion devour your body any more than you’d let him devour your soul.

“The image of a well-trained athlete has implications for us in terms not just of the soul but also of the body.” We can’t excel as well as we could or should for our Lord if we’re not taking care of our bodies.

Don’t you realize that in a race everyone runs, but only one person gets the prize? So run to win! All athletes are disciplined in their training. They do it to win a prize that will fade away, but we do it for an eternal prize. So I run with purpose in every step. … I discipline my body like an athlete, training it to do what it should. (1 Cor. 9:24-26 NLT)

This includes incorporating into your schedule a regular cycle of rest. The Lord has designed it so that we rest not at the end of the week but at the very start of the week — the first day of the week — the Lord’s Day! It’s a beautiful opportunity to respond to our Savior’s invitation, “Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest” (Matt. 11:28).

This weekly cycle of rest sets the pattern for our daily cycle of rest. Think about it: Each day begins with rest, because most of us are asleep the first several hours of each new day (which begins at midnight). Begin each day and each week well by observing the rest that God has provided for you.

Years ago I remember hearing a quote by the late CBS News broadcaster Andy Rooney, who said, “Go to bed. Whatever you’re staying up for isn’t worth it.” I have found that to be true 99% of the time. If I can discipline myself to go to bed, even when I feel like staying up, I always feel better and more refreshed the next morning. God has given us this daily cycle of rest because he loves us.

Ask yourself:

• Am I getting the rest that my body needs to function efficiently?

• Am I keeping the Sabbath principle of weekly rest in my busy life? If not, why not?

• Is it fair to say that if I’m too busy to pray and to read the Scriptures on a daily basis, too busy to participate in corporate worship and rest on the Lord’s Day, then I’m too busy to be physically and spiritually healthy?

• Will I ever regret having spent a day a week with my family in worship and rest?

These are good things to think about.

I encourage you to receive God’s love — by getting adequate rest.

Monday Motivation

If you’re on social media, you’re probably familiar with the hashtag slogan #MondayMotivation. People typically use this slogan in conjunction with positive messages as a way of counteracting the “Monday blues.” In fact, they could be called the “Sunday blues,” because many people begin to feel anxious, stressed or discouraged late Sunday afternoon or evening.

These negative emotions can be caused by any number of reasons, such as staying up too late over the weekend, eating or drinking too much, procrastinating, or feeling anxious about the responsibilities and tasks awaiting you.

As I surveyed a few articles on the subject, I found several suggestions for beating the Monday blues:

• Pin-point the problem (so you can address it)

• Prepare for Monday on Friday (by getting organized)

• Ignore your work email over the weekend

• Say no to debauchery (participate in wholesome weekend activities)

• Get enough sleep

• Make a list of things you’re excited about

• Dress for success (if you dress good, you’ll feel good)

• Be positive (e.g. develop an attitude of gratitude)

• Make someone else happy (it will make you feel better)

• Find a job you love

• Have something to look forward to on Monday night

Most of these are helpful suggestions. But one of the most invaluable aids is noticeably absent, and that’s praying — especially praying Scripture.

This is where Matthew Henry’s Method for Prayer can help. It was written to “promote, encourage, and assist God’s people in Biblical prayer.” For years I have received their free daily emails and have been greatly benefitted by them. I pray most confidently when I pray God’s own word to him!

I saved one such prayer in my inbox so that I could splice it with today’s devotional as a key part of your Monday Motivation. May it encourage you and enrich your day!

Pray for Grace to Assist you that you may be Diligent in your Duty

Lord, quicken us to work the works of him who sent us while it is day, because night is coming, wherein no one can work (John 9:4), and what good our hands find to do, enable us to do it with all our might, for there is no work or knowledge in the grave, to which we are going (Ecclesiastes 9:10).

Lord, grant that we may never be slothful in zeal, but fervent in spirit, serving the Lord (Romans 12:1), steadfast and immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord our labor is not in vain (1 Cor. 15:58).

Lord, make us zealously affected in every good work (Gal. 4:18), and in whatever we do, enable us to work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men (Col. 3:23).

Lord, enable us to do the work of every day in its day, as each day requires (Ezra 3:4), making the best use of the time, because the days are evil (Eph. 5:16), that when our Master comes, he may find us so doing (Luke 12:43).

Pray for Grace to Assist you that you may be Cheerful in your Duty

Lord, enable us to rejoice always (1 Thess. 5:16), to rejoice in the Lord always, because he has again said to us, Rejoice (Phil. 4:4), that we may go on our way rejoicing….

Deliver us from that anxiety which weighs down the heart (Prov. 12:25), and let us have that cheerfulness of heart which is like good medicine (Prov. 17:22).

Give us grace to serve you, the LORD our God, with joyfulness and gladness of heart in the abundance of all things (Deut. 28:47) and to sing of the ways of the LORD, for great is the glory of our God (Ps. 138:5).

In Labor Again

This morning my daughter went to the hospital with her husband to give birth to their third child. For most women this is an agonizing process. But in the end it results in great joy as they see their baby born.

In a spiritual sense, Paul went through the same process as a minister of the Gospel. He says so to a congregation of believers in Galatians 4:19:

My little children, I am again suffering labor pains for you until Christ is formed in you.

This church had come into being as a result of God’s Spirit at work through Paul’s proclamation of the gospel. But shortly after Paul left them, the church was infiltrated by false teachers who troubled them (Gal. 1:7) and unsettled them (5:12) by adding additional requirements to faith in Christ. Basically, these false teachers, called Judaizers, told the Galatians that they had to become like the Jews in order to be good Christians.

But this teaching contradicted the gospel, because it divided the Jews and Gentiles inside the church, where believers “are all one in Christ Jesus” (Gal. 3:28). Apparently, these false teachers were jealous of Paul and were trying to get others to follow them, whereas Paul’s goal was to see Christ “formed” in them.

The character of Christ had already been taking shape in Paul’s life. Earlier in this same letter he wrote, “It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me” (Gal. 2:20). Paul longed to see the same spiritual development in the lives of these church members. Philip Graham Ryken wrote,

This ought to be the goal of every pastor: not the favor of men, but the formation of Christ.

Ryken goes on to say,

This kind of spiritual formation does not happen overnight. It takes a while for an embryo to grow into an infant, and then for a child to grow into an adult. Cell must be added to cell, tissue to tissue, sinew to bone. In the same way, the Spirit gradually uses God’s Word to make God’s children like God’s Son.

In Galatians 4:19, Paul addresses the church as “my little children,” a term expressing parental affection. In his letter to the Thessalonians, he likens himself to “a nursing mother taking care of her own children” (1 Thess. 2:7). Then in the next sentence he writes, “So, being affectionately desirous of you, we were ready to share with you not only the gospel of God but also our own selves, because you had become very dear to us.”

Love is what motivates a mother to suffer through the pains of childbirth. Deep affection drives her to care well for her young children. The same is true of pastors and other Christians who labor hard to see believers become like Christ.

Moments ago my wife (who is with my daughter) texted me to say that the nurse was about to “start Pitocin,” a natural hormone that induces labor. I suppose we could say that love is the pastor’s Pitocin. The compassion of Christ is what initiates labor in the heart of spiritual leaders, until they see Christ fully formed in God’s people.

Him we proclaim, warning everyone and teaching everyone with all wisdom, that we may present everyone mature in Christ. For this I toil, struggling with all his energy that he powerfully works within me. (Col. 1:28-29)

My daughter has a long, agonizing day ahead of her. Yet I remember the words of Jesus: “When a woman is giving birth, she has sorrow because her hour has come, but when she has delivered the baby, she no longer remembers the anguish, for joy that a human being has been born into the world” (John 16:21).

As believers, we share in a similar joy as people are “born of the Spirit” (John 3:6) and then “grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ” (2 Peter 3:18). As John the apostle testified, “I have no greater joy than to hear that my children are walking in the truth” (3 John 4).

Where are you on the path to Christian maturity? What pains will you endure to help others along the way?

Getting Over Grouchiness

How ironic that #ThankfulThursday collides with #NationalGrouchDay!

And isn’t it an oxymoron to say, “Happy National Grouch Day!”

We’ve got a day for everything now, don’t we?

Apparently, October 15 has indeed been designated as National Grouch Day. Here’s the scoop, according to the NationalDay.com website:

To honor the world’s favorite grouch, Oscar, from “Sesame Street,” National Grouch Day was created on October 15. This is a day to celebrate all the grouches we know — or to embrace the grouch that lives inside all of us. On this day no one can stop us from complaining, being irritable, or wallowing in misery. Because that is what grouches do! Also, this day teaches us that it’s good to spend time processing our negative emotions. On social media this a fun day with people posting jokes, memes, funny photos, and stories.

Clearly, this holiday is meant to be taken in stride and is primarily for fun. Still, it provides a good opportunity for “processing our negative emotions.”

Here’s where we can glean some insight from Oscar the Grouch — a fictional character on the PBS show, Sesame Street. Oscar lives in a trash can (and he looks like it!). Why? Because Oscar loves trash. He even sings about it in a humorous tune called “I love trash.” It’s a song about Oscar’s collection and infatuation with useless items. That’s what makes the song so funny. After all, who wants to live like that?

But that’s exactly what we can tend to do in terms of our mindset if we’re not careful! We can gravitate toward the negative.

Joyful Christian living is in large part a state of mind. Proverbs 23:7 says,

As a man thinks, so he is.

What you think about matters, because it shapes who you are as a person. Grouchy people, like the Sesame Street character Oscar, live in the trash — at least mentally speaking. They allow their thoughts to drift toward things that are useless at best and, in many cases, are sinful.

The remedy to such a negative state of mind is to “rejoice in the Lord always” (Phil. 4:4).

How do we do that? The apostle Paul goes on to tell us in Philippians 4:8:

Finally brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable — if there is any moral excellence and if there is anything praise-worthy — dwell on these things.

Believers in Christ, more than anyone else, should experience the power of positive thinking. The devil will do all he can to assault us with negative thoughts, in order to get us to doubt God’s goodness or to question the reliability of his promises. Yet we can withstand Satan’s attacks by affirming what we know to be true. Paul writes in 2 Corinthians 10:3-5,

For though we walk in the flesh, we are not waging war according to the flesh. For the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh but have divine power to destroy strongholds. We destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive to obey Christ.

The power of positive thinking that Paul describes is not the kind made popular a generation ago by Norman Vincent Peale and continues to be propagated by the likes of Joel Osteen today in best-selling books such as I Declare, Your Best Life Now, Every Day a Friday, It’s Your Time, and You Can, You Will. This type of teaching appears to be positive but is actually negative. Trevin Wax writes,

Though Osteen claims he has positive sermons, I believe he is proclaiming the most negative, unmerciful message possible. Like telling a clinically depressed person to “just snap out of it!,” Osteen is giving people burdened by sin, guilt and despair more reason to despair.

In contrast to this unbiblical approach, Paul prescribes a way of thinking that is Christ-centered. What is more true, lovely, pure, commendable, excellent and praiseworthy than Christ Jesus and all the blessings we have in him? These are the kinds of thoughts that should occupy our thoughts at all times in all circumstances.

At the end of Philippians 4:8, Paul shifts to conditional clauses: “if … if.” This emphasizes our responsibility to exercise discernment in our thinking, whether we’re reading a book, watching a movie, playing a game, or having a conversation. Spiritual discernment is what Paul prayed for back in Philippians 1:9: “And it is my prayer that your love may abound more and more, with knowledge and all discernment.” Philippians. 4:8 is that prayer put into action!

So get rid of grouchiness with gospel-centered thinking! Then spread the joy to others — not just on “Thankful Thursday,” but every day of the week!

Call It!

It could by a mystery movie … or a football game … or a developing situation. And someone says, “Call it!” or, “I’m calling it!”

To “call” something is to predict it before it happens. It can also mean to claim something, like when a child yells, “I call the front seat” as she and her siblings race to the car.

Did you know that one of the most frequent one-word descriptions of the Christian in the New Testament is that he is “called”? In a letter to fellow believers, the apostle Paul writes, “God is faithful, by whom you were called into the fellowship of his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord” (1 Cor. 1:9). In writing to another local church, Paul gives thanks for them, saying, “God chose you … to be saved, through sanctification by the Spirit and belief in the truth. To this he called you through our gospel, so that you may obtain the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ” (2 Thess. 2:13-14).

Wow! If that doesn’t put wind in your sails, I don’t know what will. God called each Christian for himself, even before the creation of the world (Eph. 1:4).

God is the ultimate Caller!

But there is a sense in which he has also passed on this quality to us. In his book, Kingdom Man, Tony Evans talks about what theologians refer to as the dominion covenant (Gen. 1:26-28; 9:1-5; Matt. 28:18-20), which includes the concept of naming. We see this in the Garden of Eden, when God brought the animals to Adam and had him name them (Gen. 2:19-20). God then made one of Adam’s ribs into a woman and brought her to him (Gen. 2:22). “Then the man said, ‘This at last is bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh: she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man’” (Gen. 2:23).

Evans points out, “To be in the position to name something … communicates ownership, responsibility, and the exercising of authority over it.”

“Wait a second,” you might be saying. “This idea of calling something … of naming it. Are you advocating some sort of ‘name it and claim it’ theology?”

No, not at all — at least not in the unscriptural way that prosperity gospel preachers do. As David W. Jones and Russell S. Woodbridge point out in their terrific book, Health, Wealth & Happiness: Has the Prosperity Gospel Overshadowed the Gospel of Christ?,

The prosperity gospel does not point people toward Christ. Instead, it points them to the lust of the eyes, the lust of the flesh, and the pride of life (1 John 2:15-17). For the prosperity faithful, hope rests in accomplishments, dreams, money, and accolades. This is a superficial, temporary, and shallow understanding of the biblical message of hope.

Tony Evans agrees, stating, “A key element … in practicing and perfecting the art of naming … is tied directly to the rightful alignment of a man under God. This is not a blank check to name, claim, and gain whatever it is that you want. Unless attached to the overarching governance of God according to His kingdom agenda, the use of naming may actually leave a man vulnerable to loss.” (p. 110)

At the same time, if we are not careful, we can swing the pendulum too far the other way by exhibiting little faith in our all-powerful God. Jesus addressed his disciples, “you of little faith” (Matt. 8:26). The disciples said to the Lord, “Increase our faith!” (Luke 17:5)?

Many of us echo this prayer. But in addition to praying, we should also become more proactive in exercising our faith.

My reading in Nehemiah this morning both challenged and encouraged me in this regard. God used Nehemiah to rebuild the walls of Jerusalem in 445 B.C., after Israel’s time of captivity had come to an end. A century earlier, God had assured his people through his prophet Jeremiah, “When seventy years are completed for Babylon, I will visit you, and I will fulfill to you my promise and bring you back to this place” (Jer. 29:10). The Lord went on to say that he had good plans for his people, that when they prayed to him, he would hear, that he would gather them from all the nations where he had driven them and bring them back to the place from which he sent them into exile (Jer. 29:11-14).

Nehemiah believed God’s promise and acted on it. While he was in Susa, the capital of Persia, Nehemiah got word that the walls of Jerusalem were broken down and its gates destroyed by fire. Upon hearing this, he wept and fasted and prayed for many days (Neh. 1). He then made request of the king to go and rebuild the wall (Neh. 2:5). Nehemiah made additional requests for official documentation and other materials he would need to undertake this task. Nehemiah noted, “And the king granted me what I asked, for the good hand of my God was upon me” (Neh. 2:8).

One of my favorite parts the story occurs in the second half of chapter two. Here’s what happened, in Nehemiah’s own words:

So I went to Jerusalem and was there three days. Then I arose in the night, I and a few men with me. And I told no one what y God had put into my heart to do for Jerusalem. (Neh. 2:11)

Upon completing his circuit, Nehemiah noted,

And the officials did not know where I had gone or what I was doing, and I had not yet told the Jews, the priests, the nobles, the officials, and the rest who were to do the work. (Neh. 2:16)

Nehemiah called it! In bold faith, he predicted something before it actually happened! Afterwards he challenged the people, saying,

“Come, let us build the wall of Jerusalem….’ And I told them of the hand of my God that had been upon me for good, and also of the words that the king had spoken to me. And they said, “Let us rise up and build.” So they strengthened their hands for the good work. (Neh. 2:17-18)

The wall was finished in 52 days (Neh. 6:15). Before the people constructed it, Nehemiah had already claimed it!

In Kingdom Man, Tony Evans tells of a time when he drove by a beautiful 20-acre property in the heart of urban Dallas. Tony testified, “God had put it in on my heart that this building was going to be used for His glory. So while looking at the building, I said, ‘God, I name that. I name this entire place for the good of others and for your glory. We don't have the money for it right now, but God, hold it for us. Because I name it in Jesus’ name.”

God held it, Tony got it, and that property has become a pregnancy center “where the message of restoration and new beginnings is given to teen girls in crisis every single day.” Wow! Praise God! Tony says,

I now go throughout my day looking for something I can name, and then I watch in anticipation for God to bring it to fruition. Each day comes with a spirit of expectation because I have seen Him do so much already in response to the practice of this truth. It’s important, though, to realize that naming does not mean claiming anything and everything that you want. Neither is it naming something solely for your personal benefit. Naming … is always tied to God’s glory and the expansion of His kingdom. It is assigning direct involvement based on how God’s revealed will and Word says He will be involved.

That last statement is key. Tony follows it up by saying,

Does this require an intimate and abiding relationship with God so you are attuned to what He is bringing to you — either in your thoughts, across your path, in your prayers, or in the Word — to name? Absolutely. Is it worth every effort put into spiritual growth and a personal relationship in knowing and experiencing Him? Without question. The process of naming things is confirmed objectively by God’s Word and subjectively by the inner witness of the Holy Spirit & confirmation of circumstances. So the closer you are to God and His Word, the closer you are to knowing and naming what God has destined for you.

I’m still thinking through all the theological intricacies and practical implications of this reality. But one thing is for sure: I want to glorify God by greater faith.

Don’t you?

Jesus promised, “Whatever you ask in my name, this I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If you ask me anything in my name, I will do it” (John 14:13-14).

“And this is the confidence that we have toward him, that if we ask anything according to his will he hears us. And if we know that he hears us in whatever we ask, we know that we have the requests that we have asked of him” (1 John 5:14-15). So, call it!

Ezra's Example

As I read through Scripture, certain characters in the Old and New Testaments inspire me by their example. While none of them were sinless except Jesus Christ, the only true Hero in history, some stand out as men and women of noble character.

Ezra is such a person. So much so that my daughter and her husband named their first son after him.

Ezra was a descendant of Aaron the priest. “he was a scribe skilled in the Law of Moses that the Lord, the God of Israel, had given, and the king granted him all that he asked, for the hand of the Lord his God was on him” (Ezra 7:6). The first part of that statement seems to be directly linked to the second part of that statement. That is to say, they are not two separate, unrelated facts. Rather, they have a cause-and-effect kind of relationship.

This becomes even more clear in the verses that follow:

… the good hand of God was upon him. For Ezra had set his heart to study the Law of the Lord, and to do it and to teach his statutes and rules in Israel. (Ezra 7:9-10)

The reason God blessed Ezra was because he had committed himself to the Holy Scriptures. The word “heart” refers to the whole of one’s being. So the clause “set his heart” emphasizes a proactive, willful determination on Ezra’s part to give all that he is to all that God has revealed himself to be through his Word.

Ezra was a living demonstration of the “blessed man” of Psalm 1, whose “delight is I the law of the Lord, and on his law he meditates day and night” (v. 3). Ezra would have readily testified, as Jeremiah did, “Your words were found, and I ate them, and your words became to me a joy and the delight of my heart, for I am called by your name, O Lord, God of hosts” (Jer. 15:16).

Ezra fully committed himself to three things when it came to God’s word:

1. Study it.

2. Do it.

3. Teach it.

All three actions are key, and their sequence is significant. By studying God’s word, Ezra made sure that he understood it correctly and could mark out his path accordingly. “Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path” (Ps. 119:105). Ezra took to heart what the Lord said to Joshua centuries earlier: “This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success” (Joshua 1:8).

By doing (obeying) God’s word, Ezra demonstrated that he really believed it. “It was not a dead letter, but a living reality to him” (F. Charles Fensham, The Books of Ezra and Nehemiah, p. 101). Faith is taking God at his word and acting on it. In his commentary on Ezra, Harry Ironside wrote, “Having learned the mind and will of God, he undertook to do it. He did not preach truth that he was not living.”

By teaching God’s word, Ezra sought to benefit others as well. The truth that Ezra had treasured up in his heart he shared intentionally and liberally with others. As Matthew Henry put it, Ezra “laid out what he had laid up.” This is the responsibility of every Christian: “Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teasing and admonishing one another…” (Col. 3:16). The apostle Paul wrote to an entire congregation of believers, “I myself am satisfied about you, my brothers, that you yourselves are full of goodness, filled with all knowledge, and able to instruct one another.” We are to treasure up God’s truth for ourselves, and then dispense it liberally to others.

Ezra “set his heart” on God’s word, so God set his hand on Ezra. God used Ezra’s leadership to impact an entire nation. Later on, when the people of Israel sinned against the Lord, Ezra was shocked with grief, fell on his knees and cried out to God. His prayer of confession is one of the most moving passages in the Old Testament (Ezra 9:5-15). My eyes filled with tears as read his emotion laden prayer this morning. Oh, that I would have such a heart for God and his people!

But look at what the text says next: “While Ezra prayed and made confession, weeping and casting himself down before the house of God, a very great assembly of men, women, and children, gathered to him out of Israel, for the people wept bitterly” (Ezra 10:1). Wow! Talk about spiritual leadership! As Ezra prayed, people of all ages gathered around him and wept. They confessed their sin and recommitted themselves to the Lord, urging Ezra to lead them in this regard. They said to him, “Arise, for it is your task, and we are with you; be strong and do it” (Ezra 10:4).

You can guess what happened next: Ezra got up and did it! And the people followed his lead.

National revival and renewal came through a man who had “set his heart” to study, do, and teach God’s Word.

What an example Ezra is to us!

Who knows how God might use you, if you will “set your heart” to do likewise.

Should Christians Celebrate Columbus Day?

Before addressing today’s topic, I’d like to wish all my Canadian friends a happy Thanksgiving! During the five years my family lived in Nova Scotia (1994-1999), we would celebrate the Thanksgiving holiday twice — both in October (Canadian Thanksgiving) and November (American Thanksgiving). Two of our five children were born in Canada and have dual citizenship. So “Canadian Thanksgiving” will always have special significance for us.

Today is also significant because it’s a U.S. holiday that commemorates the landing of Christopher Columbus in the Americas in 1492. (He was also born on this exact date in 1452.) As noted on the History.com website, the holiday “was unofficially celebrated in a number of cities and states as early as the 18th century, but did not become a federal holiday until 1937.”

When I was growing up, the name Christopher Columbus had a positive connotation. His adventurous and courageous spirit would characterize America as an emerging nation in the centuries that followed him.

But in recent decades, the celebration of Columbus Day has been diminished by critics who describe the explorer as “a deeply flawed man who, as the short-lived governor of the island of Hispaniola (now Dominican Republic and Haiti), ordered the enslavement and murder of countless native Taino people there.” In addition to these vices, say the critics, “Columbus’ legacy also includes forcing the islands’ indigenous people to convert to Christianity and and introducing smallpox and other new diseases for which they had no immunity.”

For these reasons, 14 states and over 130 cities now observe Indigenous Peoples Day instead of or in addition to Columbus Day.

So how should Christians regard Columbus Day? Should we celebrate it? Disregard it? Denounce it? Should we observe Indigenous Peoples’ Day instead?

Here is where Scripture can inform our understanding. Let’s begin with the aforementioned statement that Christopher Columbus was a “deeply flawed man.” Without having ever known Christopher Columbus personally, we can affirm that this statement is true, for that is how the Bible describes every human being!

“For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Rom. 3:23).

“There is no one who does not sin” (2 Chron. 6:36).

“No one is good, except God alone” (Mark 10:18).

The problem isn’t that we’re merely imperfect, but that we are “deeply flawed” to the core of our being.

“For from within, out of the heart of man, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, coveting, wickedness, deceit, sensuality, envy, slander, pride, foolishness. All these evils come from within, and they defile a person” (Mark 7:21-23).

“The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick; who can understand it?” (Jer. 17:9).

There is only one person in the history of planet Earth who was not “deeply flawed,” and that was Jesus, “who committed no sin, nor was any deceit found in his mouth” (1 Peter 2:22).

The Good News is that God “made him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in him” (2 Cor. 5:21). When Jesus died on the cross, the sins of all who would ever believe in him were imputed (“credited”) to him, and his perfect righteousness was imputed to us.

“For all have sinned an fall short of the glory of God, and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus” (Rom. 3:23-24).

This is the Good News of Jesus Christ! His salvation is available to all who trust in him!

Here is another point to consider: All people “are made in the likeness of God” (James 3:9). Sin distorts the image of God in us, but sin doesn’t eradicate the image of God in us. This means that there are still admirable qualities we can observe in others.

For instance, the author of Hebrews commends several men and women for their faith. But they had some not-so-admirable qualities as well:

• Noah got drunk.

• Rahab lied.

• Jacob deceived his father.

• Samson had a vicious temper.

Many more examples could be listed. But all these people are part of history: His Story. We can admire certain traits about them without endorsing everything they did. For instance, we still observe Martin Luther King Jr. Day, even though he had multiple affairs. What we’re commemorating is MLK’s lasting contribution to the civil rights movement, not his marital fidelity.

If we shouldn’t celebrate Christopher Columbus Day, then we shouldn’t observe Indigenous Peoples Day either, because they were “deeply flawed” as well. In his book, The War on History, Jarret Stepman notes, “Pre-Columbian civilizations from Mexico to Peru were nearly all responsible for brutal violence on a large scale long before Columbus arrived on the shores of the New World - including human sacrifices, even of children, sometimes by tearing out the victim’s still-beating heart.”

But it would be also wrong to say that Native peoples have made no positive contributions to our country’s history. Many of them helped the Pilgrims and other early settlers greatly by teaching them to plant corn and where to fish and hunt. Plus they made useful and beautiful goods that strengthened the trade industry.

So, yes, celebrate Columbus Day! Celebrate Indigenous Peoples Day, too, if you’d like. Just remember that “the best of men are men at best,” and Jesus is the only real Hero in history. The rest of us are all sinners. Before we tear down any statues or wipe the calendar clean of historical holidays, let’s take a good look in the mirror. Thank God for his grace and for using deeply flawed people like us to have a positive impact on human history.

To read more on this topic, check out the Focus on the Family opinion piece published in The Daily Citizen. The article shares “five reasons why we should still celebrate Columbus Day.”