Receiving Grace from Grace Healed Hands

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Oh how I love this short testimony from the Apostle Paul. It speaks of the confidence and humility that ought to characterize ministers of the Gospel. Truth and grace are both continually evident in their words, actions, and in all of their lives – because they too need the gospel. Truth and grace must together shine in him.

“The saying is trustworthy and deserving of full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am the foremost. But I received mercy for this reason, that in me, as the foremost, Jesus Christ might display his perfect patience as an example to those who were to believe in him for eternal life.” – 1 Timothy 1:15-16

Paul is convinced beyond all doubt that Jesus saves sinners, even the greatest of sinners. Why? Because Paul, the foremost sinner, has received mercy. Therefore, no one has sinned too much to be forgiven by the grace of God.  Notice the great humility of Paul – he is the foremost sinner! Ministers ought to get the gospel like this and walk in all humility before ‘lesser’ sinners.

I sometimes tell sin-shamed people when I begin to counsel them that I am the greatest sinner in the room. That is not a technique, it is the truth. I need the grace that I am ministering to others. In fact, Paul Tripp says, “Your desire and enthusiasm to minister God’s grace to others is directly related to how much you think you need that same grace yourself.” Once you have been to the well of grace and tasted its sweet refreshment, you can draw water for others – and are eager to do so.

Christians are healed by the grace that they offer to others. But notice also this. Paul, as the foremost sinner, is an encouragement to all other sinners to come and find rest and peace in Jesus Christ.  Why? Because he was the foremost sinner! He is an example to all who would draw from the wells of salvation – God will receive you, accept you, cleanse you. It is all of grace, and it is free even to the worst of sinners.

What a comforting message! And it is a message that you can believe because it is true. And it is easier to believe when this grace is ministered to you by broken hands now healed by the same gospel message.

Come, I have found the Messiah! The one with perfect patience. Let me introduce you to the fountain of grace and divine favor. He will not turn you away.

Reaching the Post-Christian Mind

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Why does the old form of evangelism no longer work? Repent and believe in Jesus, God’s Son, our savior, who takes away the sin of the world. He lived and died in your place – accomplishing salvation. He will forgive you, restore you, and grant you the right to eternal life through faith.

This appeal has an appeal if you assume:
1) God created the world,
2) We live in a a moral universe and we all answer to God,
3) There is more to life than this life,
4) We need God’s revelation to understand life,
5) We need something outside of ourselves to validate our lives.
But, the forces of secularism have denied these truths and convinced our culture of another set of ultimate presuppositions – empty and unsatisfying as they are.

1) Time plus chance plus nothing has created our world, not God. There is no spirit, or spiritual world. The material world, the cosmos, is all there was, all there is, and all there ever will be.
2) There are no transcendent morals, no right and wrong outside of ourselves. We make up our own morality. Therefore we answer to one one. Morals, if there is such a thing, are based on evolutionary biology or they are culturally constructed.
3) This life is all that there is. There is no afterlife or spiritual realm and therefore nothing to worry about regarding sin. Unfortunately, this also means that there is no meaning, purpose, or justice in life. Pretty depressing.
4) We have reason and we don’t need revelation. The human mind can unlock the mysteries of the universe (yes, but where do these mysteries come from and why do they have an order and structure that can be discovered? but I digress). Our mind is all that matters. Reason is our new god, little g.
5) We do not need God, we validate ourselves. We form our own identity regardless of how we were created. The modern self is a self-authenticating person. Freedom is not returning to our created purpose, it is doing whatever I want as long as I do not hurt anyone else.

The old gospel does not make sense to this post-modern mind.

So what can we do? We can tell the emperor that he has no clothes. His view of the world does not work, it does not fit with the world as it really is.

Time plus chance cannot create anything. Have you tried?

Without transcendent morals, the 51% majority rules – and that quickly descends into a might makes right, winner take all oppressive tyranny. If you deny a God that you know exists, any true morality and satisfying meaning leave with him.

Without God, there is no justice. Without a judgment in the afterlife the great evils of this world will stand forever.

Reason alone cannot answer the mysteries of life nor satisfy the philosophical questions of our hearts. Reason, like a sugary birthday cake, gives a temporary high but is nutritionally disappointing. It cannot answer our deepest questions about life nor quench our thirst for satisfying answers.

Self-validation has lead to purposeless life, societal confusion and exploding rates of suicide. If there is nothing beyond myself, then what is the point?

Our new gospel most uncover the nakedness of postmodern thought. The emperor has no clothes. He is denying what Francis Schaeffer called, “The Mannishness of Man” and I would add, life as it really is on God’s world. Their square peg thinking does not fit with God’s round hole universe. We need to critically deconstruct their thinking and then reconstruct their ultimate presuppositions along truer, more satisfying, and clearly Biblical lines.

So, we need a new form of evangelism. A new point of contact with the empty concepts of our changing culture. We need to speak the old gospel in a way that the post modern, post Christian mind can understand. The emperor has a fine new invisible frock. He does not need the righteousness of Christ. We need to convince him that he does.

Signals of Transcendence

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To stop and smell the roses can be frightening thing – that is why we do it so infrequently. We often think of that phrase, ‘Stop and smell the roses’, as a call to forsake the busy rat race for a quick time of sweet rest and refreshment among the treasures of nature.  Pause, relax, let the stress drain away while you watch the waves or stare at a mountain peak.

So, how can that be a frightening thing? Because, to ‘stop and smell the roses’ can be a ‘signal of transcendence.’  Peter Berger coined the phrase to means hints and clues in life that awaken us to unseen realities. Os Guinness has a new book out by that title where he shares how ten people came to understand that there must be more to life.

Peter Berger described these hints and clues as “signals of transcendence” that awaken us to unseen realities.  Have you ever experienced a “there must be more to life” or a “signal of transcendence?”  Some thought that so stunned you as to change your perspective on life radically? It could be a deep disappointment, or a frustrated desire, or the scent a flower, or a death, or a sermon?  Anything can be a signal of transcendence calling you to reevaluate your assumptions in life.

You might think that I am talking about conversion, and that is in the mix, and it is often the end of a journey that begins with a ‘signal of transcendence.’

There must be more to life. Let me give you a taste of this from my own experience.  When, as a teenager, death stuck my extended family twice, I thought, there must be more to life.  When I learned about Corrie Ten Boom who survived the Nazi death camps, but her sister did not, forgave a guard from that camp.  When I went to L’arbi in Switzerland and knew the tangible presence of the Holy Spirit, when I was called to be ministry during a sermon, when I was called by God to my first church, when my children and grandchildren were born.  God can use any experience to awaken us to profound, and neglected spiritual realities.

The essential thing is to listen when God speaks in this way.  Heed the still small voice. Follow up on the signal. Don’t forget how the rose smells.  It may change your life. 

Building Community in your Local Church

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The Christian life is meant to be lived in community. We are encouraged, challenged, and sanctified through relationships with other believers. But many Christians feel isolated and unsure about how to connect with others…Perhaps you’re surrounded by people who seem to be in a different life stage, and it feels like you can’t fit into the community around you.

Whatever your circumstances, here are seven suggestions for finding community:

1. Join a church

This may seem obvious, but joining and investing in a church is foundational to building Christian community. I’ve often heard young adults lament the lack of community they have post-college while fondly reminiscing about their experience with a campus ministry. A common thread seems to be either they have not joined a church since college, or they are not invested in the church they have joined. Churches are the primary way Christian community is organized. Find a Bible-believing church in your city with pastors who faithfully preach the Word and join it. Then invest in it. The remainder of this list provides ideas for how to do that.

2. Invite people over for dinner (in every season of life)

We have found that one of the best ways to get to know people is to invite them into our home and share a meal (or even just a dessert) together. Food is a fairly universal way to bond. While everyone may not be interested in joining you for a hike or going to a concert, everyone has to eat and most people enjoy doing it with others.

Being married is not a requirement for this type of hospitality. We have a friend who as a single man regularly invited other single people, couples, and families into his home for meals. His intentionality about pursing relationship built him many lasting friendships. It also helped him find his wonderful wife. Now they regularly invite others into their home together.

You can also volunteer to take a meal to someone else’s home if you have more flexibility than they do. We have some friends who as a married couple without children often asked families with children if they could bring pizza over for dinner so that everyone could more easily enjoy the fellowship. No one ever turned them down!

3. Serve

While many churches have paid staff, the various ministries of the church largely function by members volunteering their time and energy. Most ministries involve serving with other members and provide a great way to build relationships. Serving in the nursery is a prime example. Nothing bonds people like cleaning up an exploding diaper or trying to wrangle a herd of 2-year-olds and their Cheerios around a table for snack time. Not to mention, caring for people’s children to allow them to worship in peace will make them instantly predisposed to like you! If children just aren’t your forte, there are plenty of other ways to serve. Sign up to take a meal to a family in need. Become a greeter. Join the worship team. Whatever your interests or gifts, there is somewhere for you to serve the church.

4. Introduce yourself to new people you see at church

As you seek to build community, set yourself up for success. Seek out others who are likely looking for community too. People who are new to a church usually fit this category. When you notice visitors, go up to them after the service and introduce yourself. Be bold and ask if they have lunch plans. If they aren’t available that day, try to set something up for a future date.

Right after graduating from college, my husband and I moved to a suburb of Philadelphia. The first Sunday we visited a church, a man introduced himself to us after the service. He told us a bit about his family and the church, and then invited us over for dinner that week. We went to dinner, met his wife and daughter, and formed a friendship that lasts to this day even though we moved away from that town years ago. If you are blessed to receive this kind of invitation, be sure to accept!

If your church is somewhat large, it may not always be clear to you who is new. Our associate pastor wisely recommends asking the question, “How long have you been coming to _______ church?” rather than “Is this your first time visiting?” When following his model, I have gotten answers ranging from “this is my first Sunday” to “we’ve been members for about five years.” This approach has saved me some embarrassment and made for much more successful conversations.

5. Join a small group

Most churches now have some form of small groups that meet throughout the week. Whether they are called community groups, life groups, covenant groups, or just small groups, they are usually a fantastic way to build relationships with other believers. Though each church may have its own spin on how they work, the general idea is a small group of believers getting together in someone’s home to study Scripture and pray together. The common interest in studying the Word and growing in the Lord provides a wonderful foundation for developing meaningful personal relationships with other members of your church.

6. Follow up on prayer requests

When you are made aware of a prayer request, whether someone shares it with you individually, you hear it during small group, or it is shared in a corporate setting, follow up on it in two ways. First, pray for the request. Praying for others causes us to care for them, to become invested in their lives, and to exercise faith on their behalf. Second, check in with the person to see how it turned out. For example, if someone in your small group asks you to pray for an upcoming family gathering or work meeting that they are anxious about, make note of when the event will take place (put a reminder in your phone or write it on your calendar) and make a point to ask the person afterwards how it went. They will appreciate your concern and likely want to reciprocate by praying for you. What better way to begin a friendship with someone than praying for one another!

7. Go to Sunday school

Not all churches offer Sunday school, but if yours does, take advantage of it. Some churches organize Sunday school by ages or life stages, others by topics. Either way, it is a good opportunity to meet people in a small, informal setting. Sunday school classes will likely put you in contact with people who are not in your small group and allow you to broaden your connections within the church. And even if you don’t meet your best friend in Sunday school, we can all benefit from additional time studying the Word.

The list above is merely a list of suggestions. It’s helpful to add in a large dose of patience and grace. Building community takes time, so be gracious to yourself and others. These ideas may not work in all contexts, but the main idea is that building community is an active pursuit. Be creative. The Lord is building his church everywhere. Find out where his people gather in your area and get involved. The blessing of community is worth the effort.

Winfree Brisley

Fully Known and Truly Loved

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Does anyone really know you? Does anyone really love you?  We are all created in the image and likeness of God in order to commune with God: to enter a relationship with him, to know and love God. We are made to know, love, and enjoy fellowship with God and with others made in His image. But, sin has really messed us up. Now, we have lost fellowship with God, and we fear to be known, but still long to be loved.

Does anyone really know you? Does anyone really love you? Now, the safest course is to hide ourselves and stoically refuse to acknowledge our need for loving fellowship. You cannot love is you do not play the game. But, nothing ventured, nothing gained.  Those who are neither known nor loved tend to be sad, shriveled shells of broken humanity.

As a safer compromise, we will settle for being loved but not truly known. We will receive the love and attention that we crave, but it is not really “me” who is being loved. They are loving a sanitized image, a filtered projection of a self that is not really me. We fear that if we are really known we will not be really loved.

But our greatest fear is to be fully known, and not loved.  This, we think, is what ought to happen to us. We are broken, confused, rebellious people.  We don’t love people like that, why should others love me when I am like that. If they really knew me, they were reject me.

Our greatest need, our deepest longing, our highest joy is to be fully known and still sincerely loved. To be loved, warts and all. We are often seeking this relationship with others, but slowly, carefully. We receive initial indications of love, or at least potential love from another. Then, we risk unveiling a little more of ourselves and wait for the results. If all goes well, we reveal a little more, then a little more. Until finally, we reveal the dark stuff, the sinful and broken parts of who we are.  If they love us at that point, well, we have arrived.

God knows you. He knows everything about you. You cannot hide anything from God. And, in the Gospel, the good news, he tells us that he loves us. God can love even enemies and rebels.

God knows you  and still loves you. Will you rest in that love? Or will you continue to hide yourself and ignore your warts? Someone really loves you, the real you.  Through faith you can find shelter in the gracious love of God.  “Come to me all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.”

A Relationship With God?

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You can know God! You can have a real, vital, living relationship with the eternal God, the creator and Lord the universe.  You can talk to him. You can relate to him as father. Now that is an enticing proposition. We are all eager to have a relationship with God.

But, we too often think that we need to establish and maintain this communion just as we do other relationships.  We need to start the relationship. “Clean up my life and give my heart to Jesus.” I need an introduction somehow. I must prove that I am useful to God, I need to offer him something. “I can scratch your back, if you will scratch mine.” Most relationships are a means to another end. Friends are our ticket into the right crowd, or they will open doors for my career.

We think of relating to God in utilitarian terms. If I know God I will receive forgiveness and go to heaven when I die.  So, Knowing God is useful, beneficial.  He gives gifts to me – blessings. He is a means to another end.

We think that we maintain our relationship with God with submission and obedience.  If I am good, God will bless me.  If I serve Him, he will have my back. If I make sacrifices for God, he will owe me one.  Too many have a cause and effect agreement with God.

But truly knowing God turns this all around. It is God that initiates the relationship.  We are not ‘useful’ to God.  That is not why he befriends us. Early in Genesis when all men had descended deeply into sin and “the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually” (Genesis 6:5, 8), “Noah found favor in the eyes of the Lord.” That word ‘favor’ means grace. God was not responding to Noah’s good works, faith, or sacrifice, he simply gave him grace.  That was the foundation of the relationship.

God asked Noah to respond to his grace, not earn it. The unmerited grace and one-sided favor of God transforms us.  Knowing God in this way, we respond with joy and gratitude to his love and kindness, but we do not merit it.  And, therefore, we cannot lose it.  When God claims you as his friend, no one can take you out of his hand. Grace is forever. That forever commitment from God releases, calms, encourages, stabilizes, and empowers us to live a life of gratitude. It is God who begins and maintains his friendship with us – that is life in God’s Covenant – so that we respond in love, kindness, thanksgiving and praise to God for what He has done for us. 

Do you want to know God? He invites you to respond to his mighty grace.  You have found favor with God.

Communion Meditation June 25, 2023

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The Lord tells us that he loves his children many times. 

The Lord shows us that he loves his children in many ways.

One of the more shocking ways, and perhaps the most comforting way we find in Hosea chapter 3.

Hosea 3:1-2 And the Lord said to me (Hosea), “Go again, love a woman (Gomer, your wife) who is loved by another man and is an adulteress, even as the Lord loves the children of Israel, though they turn to other gods.”

Go again and reclaim her. Hosea was earlier told by God to marry a woman who would break his heart, and in the end give herself to many other men. In fact, she is most likely a temple prostitute now.

Go again. Buy her back from slavery and degradation. 

Go again, and make her your wife a second time. 

Go again, and reestablish a relationship of love with her. 

Go again, and assure her, at great cost, of your love for her.

Why does God command this? 

Because, God’s bride, the church, is like Gomer, chasing after other gods. And God, in the depths of His love, will buy her back. God, out of the great love that He has for her, will make her His very own again. Even great sin cannot quench my love for my bride – my people.

Grace is love poured out on the undeserving, the lost, the fallen, the broken, the rebels. 

Jesus, like Hosea, is married to a fallen woman. And he will go again, and buy her back at great cost. He will reestablish a relation of love with her even by the shedding of his own blood. He will receive her back to his table, to his home, to his heart.

That is what the Lord’s table speaks to us.  We are Gomer, having chased after other gods and turned our backs on our full and lasting delight in the love of God. 

The great grace of God is given freely to the rebels and the outcast, the stained, shamed, guilty and broken.  This love, this grace is free.

Do this in remembrance of me. Remember my love. Remember my sacrifice. I have come again, to embrace you, to forgive you, to make you my very own.

If you are Gomer, and know that you are greatly loved. If you can remember the gospel fact that Jesus has come again for you on the cross.  You are welcome to this table.

Dancing with God?

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I don’t dance often nor particularly well. And I only dance when I have something spectacular to celebrate. I dance when I am happy. And also, because I am a fallen self-conscience guy, only when no-one is looking!  Still, dancing at its best is a spontaneous physical response to an internal unconstrained joy. And here is the punchline – God has invited us to dance with Him! To enter into His joy by receiving his undiminished happiness. God has created us out of the fullness of His love.

We are made in the image of an infinitely happy God. God is essentially a community of persons celebrating mutual glorifying love. From eternity past God has existed in a fellowship of love, light, and life. The three persons of the Trinity pour themselves out in love and honor and delight toward the other persons in the Godhead.

What does it mean to glorify someone? When we delight in another and praise them we glorify them.  When we enjoy the other for who they are we glorify them. When we pour ourselves into and for the other in order to see them radiate with joy we glorify them.

God – Father, Son, and Spirit – has always existed in a radiant community of pure, self-giving love. It is this God, this eternally and infinitely happy God, this full to overflowing God, that creates us in His own image. I am straining finite words in an attempt to stretch them around an infinite concept. These words may fail to do it justice, but they do, I trust, entice us.

We are made to be like the infinitely happy God. We are formed and fashioned to glorify another, as He does; to wrap our lives around another in order to make them happy, as He does; and to give others joy, as He does. That is how we bear the image of God well. We were made for community – ‘it is not good for the man to be alone.’ We were made to focus and aim at the joy of another. We are never more at rest than when we sacrifice for the contentment, fulfillment, and joy of other persons. We were made to give ourselves away in other glorifying love because we are made in God’s likeness.

If we have not received this message sooner, God shouts it to us clearly through our grandkids. Typically, grandparents find no greater delight than in their children’s children. They pour themselves into those precious image bearers, they glorify them! Later, I will show you pictures of my grandkids. Oh, what a delight to give myself away to them. We are never more ourselves than when we truly love others. But the main object of our love, the focus of our lives ought to be the God of glory himself!

God created us to know him, to enjoy him, to glorify him. God has invited us to the dance of life. When we give ourselves away to God in other glorifying love, we receive back the same, ten-fold. God has invited us to dance, not merely with other creatures made in His image, but with God himself.  We are called to enter into the community of self-giving love that is God himself. And the dance increases.

So, what is heaven anyway? It is dancing in delight with God and his people, forever. It is living the heavenly life now, and always. It is receiving and then reflecting back, the glory, the love, the fulness of God. Will you dance with me? Won’t you dance with Him?

A Relationship With God?

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You can know God! You can have a real, vital, living relationship with the eternal God, the creator and Lord the universe.  You can talk to him. You can relate to him as father! Now that is an enticing proposition. We are all eager to have a relationship with God.

But, we too often think that we need to establish and maintain this communion with God just as we do other relationships.  We need to start the relationship. “Clean up my life and give my heart to Jesus.” I need an introduction somehow. I must prove that I am useful to God. I need to offer him something. “I will scratch your back, if you will scratch mine.” Most relationships are a means to another end. Friends are our ticket into the right crowd, or they will open doors for my career.

We think of relating to God in utilitarian terms. If I know God I will receive forgiveness and go to heaven when I die.  So, knowing God is useful, beneficial.  He gives gifts to me – blessings. He is a means to another end.

We think that we maintain our relationship with God with submission and obedience.  If I am good, God will bless me.  If I serve Him, he will have my back. If I make sacrifices for God, he will owe me one.  Too many have a cause and effect agreement with God. Or, so they think.

But truly knowing God turns this all around. It is God that initiates the relationship.  We are not ‘useful’ to God.  That is not why he befriends us. Early in Genesis when all men had descended deeply into sin and “the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually” (Genesis 6:5, 8).  And, “Noah found favor in the eyes of the Lord.” That word ‘favor’ means grace. God was not responding to Noah’s good works, faith, or sacrifice – he simply showed him grace.  That was the foundation of their relationship.

God asked Noah to respond to his grace, not earn it. The unmerited grace and one-sided favor of God transforms us.  Knowing God in this way we respond with joy and gratitude to his love and kindness but we do not merit it.  And therefore, we cannot lose it.  When God claims you as his friend, no one can take you out of his hand. Grace is forever. That forever commitment from God releases, calms, encourages, stabilizes, and empowers us to live a life of gratitude. It is God who begins and maintains his friendship with us – that is life in God’s Covenant – so that we respond in love, kindness, thanksgiving and praise to God for what He has done for us. 

Do you want to know God? He invites you to respond to his mighty grace.  You have found favor with God.

Work, Rest, and Retirement

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We are made to work, to accomplish, to rule over God’s creation, to exercise dominion.  But, we cannot work forever, unceasingly. God commanded us to rest one day in seven.  God gives his beloved sleep, rest, every night. We are made to work 8 hours a day; 20 if you are a farmer or a mother. But we all need rest. ‘All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy.’ We should not work ourselves to death, but to work ourselves to life!

The purpose of life is not to go on vacation. Retirement does not equal 52 weeks of vacation. The purpose of vacation is to get back to work.  The purpose of retirement is re-tread-ment – you can retool for a different kind of work. Many are terrified of retirement – but what will I do? How will I invest my time? What will be my purpose? We are made to work, to accomplish, to build, to create. We rest, so that we can work without reaching the point of exhaustion.

Even Jesus told his disciples to take a break. In Mark 6:30-32, after he had sent out the 12 apostles and they had just returned,  “The apostles returned to Jesus and told him all that they had done and taught. And he said to them, “Come away by yourselves to a desolate place and rest a while.” For many were coming and going, and they had no leisure even to eat. And they went away in the boat to a desolate place by themselves.”

They were returning from work, from a missions trip and they needed rest and refreshment. Go to a desolate place beyond the reach of the busy, hectic chaos, and the many demands on your time. Don’t take your cell phone or your computer. Bring a book that you don’t have to read, and enjoy. “For many were coming and going, and they had no leisure even to eat.”  Go to a restaurant, leave a big tip, enjoy.  Rest. Be refreshed. 

So, get away from it all. Find a boat and go to a desolate place, alone. You will find God, rest, and refreshment there. And then, back to work!