Consequence

Acts 18:8 ESV

Crispus, the ruler of the synagogue, believed in the Lord, together with his entire household. And many of the Corinthians hearing Paul believed and were baptized.

Acts 18:17 ESV

And they all seized Sosthenes, the ruler of the synagogue, and beat him in front of the tribunal. But Gallio paid no attention to any of this.

Following Christ has always had consequences, good and bad. Being at peace with God, sharing and inheritance with Christ, growing in Christlikeness, are all many of the inescapable good consequences we are given when we choose to follow Christ as Lord, and are transferred from the Kingdom of darkness to the Kingdom of light. We find ourselves wrapped in the father’s love. Much like my children find themselves wrapped in my arms unable to escape giggling wildly, trying to escape their fathers tickling fingers and hugs. We find ourselves wrapped in the love of the father, at peace with him, waiting expectantly for him to return that we might run to meet him and jump into his arms.

So, to the kingdom of darkness starts to rage against us. It was no friend of us before, much like a cruel master would kick its own dog, but know we are at enmity with the world and the kingdom of darkness, and our former masters fury is greater than his casual hatred. As such we have consequences for our switching allegiance. This has always been the case for those who have chosen to accept Jesus as LORD of their lives. As I have read the book of acts multiple times recently one such casual detail was brought to the front of the text for me.

The two verses separated by nine are also separated by a year and a half of time (vs. 11) and so we see two different synagogue rulers. Crispus had become a Christian. Following Paul’s teaching and leadership he was overwhelmed by God and was baptized on his statement of faith. The chapter continued on not mentioning him yet in verse 17 we see he is no longer the Synagogue leader he was replaced by Sosthenes. This change also meant that Crispus had lost his home since that was often part of the Synagogue, much like a pastor who lives in the parsonage.

Notice hear the sweet beauty of his new master and the cruelty of his former. Crispus’s new master took his job and home. He lost everything for Christ that he might purchase the field with the pearl of great price. The man who was given his place, who still served the former master, the ruler of this world, had gained everything, until his master was frustrated, then he was beaten by his fellows!  As you read through the text remember that modern medicine and dental care was not in existence. A mob beating probably had lifelong consequences. Plastic and oral surgeons did not exist to provide facial reconstruction and new teeth to eat with.

We serve a merciful God. Who in his mercy requires us to face loss of those items we hold dear. Yet the blessing is that “God is good…  and All the time…” Crispus was blessed to see a little of God’s mercy in this life, some of us will wait much longer, maybe even into eternity before God will show us all of his mercy in the pain and lose we suffer in this life, but be assured it is mercy that we find, “the bud may have a bitter taste, but sweet will be the flower” – William Cowper.

CRUCE, DUM SPIRO, FIDO

Hiding in Our Homes

Psalm 73:3 ESV

For I was envious of the arrogant

When I saw the prosperity of the wicked.

Envy is an insidious thing. It works against the contentedness God has commanded for Christian character. As I am working my way through Romans, Paul lists envy next to murder, strife, deceit, and maliciousness. Envy is more cleaver than a roaring Lion, seeking to steal kill and destroy, no it is one much more characteristic to the snake, lurking and quietly catching its prey, with out shout of battle or scream of fear. Yes, envy lurks behind every door and book, more acutely a book of faces, waiting to catch the foolish youth in the market place and draw it to the bed of sin, under the guise of love.

As the market place of life is more and more seen through our computer screen, the town square is more and more a place where we can invent ourselves. Hide that the sorrows of our lives behind selfie pics and hallow words of type. Type that doesn’t reveal the pain, frustration, and quivering lip as they are uttered. A picture may indeed be worth a thousand words but often they are lying words. It is easy to envy these pictured lies. It was a picture so I know its true. To look at the sorrow and struggle that remain in our own lives and compare them against the falsehood of our neighbors, begins to lay the seeds of envy. Although seeing may be believing, seeing is not truth.

As I look and remember the arguments and false representations that I have been acquainted with on Facebook, all of which occurring with “friends”, I am struck by the song Try to Remember in The Fantasticks, “try to remember the kind of September, when life was slow and oh so mellow…try to remember when life was so tender, that no one wept except the willow…”. Yes, I remember when those friends were truly friends. When good times were had by us, despite the realities of life, when friends shared life not links together and created friendships deeper than envy and pride good ever break. It is easy to pigeon hole those who we only see one dimensionally, on a screen or in a paper. I am often haunted by the nice pictures I see on Facebook, knowing how many post the great days and not the bad ones. How many believe that the life they see is the one their “friend” is living, how many fall simply because they don’t know reality.

God has given us a great and powerful weapon in response to this, his Spirit, working in his bride and body, the church. Such shallow relationships or “friendships” have existed in churches longer than on the internet. “How are you?” response “fine”, then to leave and never live life together. God has given us his Spirit, God has given us brothers and sisters, and we are guilty of living in opposition to both. Love does not envy and yet we look across the pews and see the “perfect” family with babies that don’t cry in church and little boys that don’t wiggle during sermons. Let us live together as the church was intended to do that sin might die quicker than it has. “Deep in December its good to remember” that God is good in all circumstances and God has given us brothers and sisters to help us through the pains of this life, not to hid them from them! “And distributing the proceeds to all, as they had need. And day by day, attending the temple together and breaking bread in their homes, they received their food with glad and generous hearts” (Acts 2:45,46).  Let us immolate our brothers and sisters from generations ago not hiding our needs from each other nor hiding in our homes from each other but living life in communion with God and each other.

CRUCE, DUM SPIRO, FIDO

Reflex

Acts 11:28-29 ESV

And One of them named Agabus stood up and foretold by the Spirit that there would be a great famine over all the world (this took place in the days of Claudius). So the disciples determined, everyone according to his ability, to send relief to the brothers living in Judea.

The Christ-Centered nature of the church is a constant and consistent rebuke on my own self-centered nature. As the church hears many of our day and age talking about the coming fall of the American economic system or government, counseling men and women to prep for the impending doom. Guns, Ammo, food, heirloom plants, you name and you should be storing it and hording it. Then we come face to face with the scripture.

A much surer witness of impending disaster was given to the church. They were given a message by God warning of the coming food shortage and the economic repercussion associated with this event. Yet, note how different the church in Antioch responds to this warning than the knee jerk response of the American Church. The Church in Antioch chooses to start gathering their food and economic resources together, not so they can survive but so they can give. The immediate thought that went through their minds when God chose to warn them was not that he had done so, that they might be spared from trial and tribulation but that they had been told so they might share what little they had with those who would need it more.

When God gives us insight into something the end goal is not our own edification and ease. The end goal of every gift given by God is the edification of the Body as a whole. Not only locally but also globally. God has given the gift of free speech not so you can say what you want but that you might edify those who are not given such a rich gift. God gives the American church money not so it can build larger more beautiful buildings but to share with those building and saving the bi-pedal temples of God. God gave not for our benefit or even the benefit of others but rather for the Glory of his name and his kingdom.

I often knee-jerk news to how does this affect me, how does this apply to me, do I need to move. Join me in asking the spirit to casting out the sinful-man’s reflex of self-centeredness and pray for the creation of a gospel centered Christ-centered nature, one that focuses on others first, and maybe never even bothers worrying about me and mine. Letting our master take care of us while we take care of his servants.

CRUCE, DUM SPIRO, FIDO

To Stink

Exodus 5:21 ESV

And they said to them, “The Lord look on you and judge, because you have made us stink in the sight of Pharaoh and his servants, and have put a sword in their hand to kill us.”

There is no shortage of words describing those who would desire to hold to a fixed worldview. I say it this way simply because even atheists, like Richard Dawkins, are finding themselves on the outside of the cultural moment because they unwilling to curb their speech and belief to better align with the current cultural mood. To watch as the threat of “the right side of History” is leveled against all those not willing to bend the knee to Cesar. What can thinking Christians do in such a moment?

As Israel is preparing to leave the promised land such moments come upon the faithful. Moses and Aaron had delivered the good news of salvation only one chapter previous in Exodus 4:31. Now that it was plain that God would expect some sacrifice and work on their part before they would be freed everything changes. The people even called the Lord to judge Moses for his faithful action. You see the idea prevalent among them that work and effort now required of them, obviously mean that a wrong step had been taken. So, men who a few days earlier and been singing God’s praise and worshiping, now are forsaking his prophet.

Moses and Aaron suddenly found themselves on the outside of the cultural moment. They were the cause of hardship in the world of their family and friends. Moses and Aaron’s religious zeal had caused those in power to look less favorably on the Israelites. Judgements were being handed down by the government against them, truly excessive work was being required from them, and they had no answer but to follow Job’s friends and assume sin was in the heart of the one who had caused the trouble. In God’s mercy he was much more faithful than Israel and Moses did not turn from the path clearly laid before him by the living God who had spoken to him. Faithfulness to the leading of God would lead to more and more hard situations, walking in oceans, walking without water, living with no idea were your food comes from, the list of hardships is great, but greater still are his mercies and grace.

To the question at hand, what can thinking Christians do is such a moment? Remain, faithful. The threat of who writes history is just that, a hollow threat, Korah and his 250 leading men (Numbers 16) did not right the Pentateuch God did, through Moses. God writes the final history not those rebelling against him. Hardships come in great heaps in this world for those that are residents of another. The gentleman who works at the dump doesn’t want to smell like it. It is better to stink in the nostrils of this world then to share their odor. To have an accent and speech that simply doesn’t fit in and sounds funny or annoying, is the mark of another home. Thinking Christians are to rejoice that they are not home. This world and life is not their home and the light that shines in the darkness can not be overcome no matter how hard the darkness tries. No matter how often it is de-platformed, unfriended, or censored. The homes of the Israelites were literally taken from them that they might receive a better one in the Promised Land. Are we prepared to lose our homes and be thrust out that we might receive our new home, our inheritance, in the presence of the Living God?

CRUCE, DUM SPIRO, FIDO

My Strength

Psalm 18:1-2 ESV

I love you, O Lord, my Strength.

The Lord is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer,

                My God, my rock, in whom I take refuge,

                My shield, and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold

It is so easy to gloss over the depth and riches of those things that are said every day. This in the end is one of the reasons those coming from a more defined liturgy get so frustrated with worry that if the Lords prayer, Apostles Creed, and Lord’s Supper and said and practiced every Sunday they will become empty ritual. Devoid of the power and beauty they possess. Having come to faith and realizing they have been practicing and repeating some of the most powerful prayers, creeds, and acts known throughout Christian history without even a quiver of the heart. Instead of laying blame to the power of sin over our hearts and reveling in the graciousness of God to finally reveal the majesty of them, fault is found in repetition and habit, the most powerful force in the disciplined Christian walk.

The veil of darkness that dwells over those men and women who repeat and act mindlessly is not one of habit and repetition, since many come Christmas and Easter only and still do not see the depth and beauty of what is said and done, but one of sin. Yet to read the scripture without an eye to the miraculous is the same, is it not? Here the Christian holds the book, breathed out by God, written through men as they were carried along by him, to correct, inspire, and guide us as we look to and long for him who loved us so much that he came and died for us that we might dwell with him. Are we to not read the bible except when our heart is ready, or perhaps the real call is to prepare our hearts. Not to become derelict in our duty but diligent in our faithfulness.

All this is said because I have guiltily read over and sang the lines at the top of this page often and regularly. Not seeing the depth and not reflecting on the reality of what is said. “My Strength”, the only power I have to accomplish anything in this life comes from my creator as he gives it to me. How do I take for granted that which he has provided me? Why do I whine when I don’t have enough to accomplish what is set before me? The strength of the Living God is before me to accomplish all that is needed! My rock, fortress, deliverer, God, refuge, shield, salvation, and stronghold, pretty much everything I need to feel safe and secure. Why does timidity cling to us? Why do we frighten so easily? Is God’s hand shortened? The only answer I can come to is that we have read and sang these verses not allowing the truth in. Not letting the light to shine in the darkness of our hearts. We, like the Israelites and the disciples, have chosen to ignore what he has said. Take the time to prepare in prayer before you read. Don’t neglect the reading of God’s word, prepare for it.  

CRUCE, DUM SPIRO, FIDO