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TerryLema

Grumble, Grumble, Grumble

by TerryLema

Philippians 2:6-11 contains what theologians call, the Kenosis passage. We looked at it yesterday.

Kenosis in its simplest form means emptying. Jesus laid aside the privileges that were His in glory. Rather than stay on His throne, He made “Himself nothing” and came to earth choosing the position of slave. He chose death on a cross so that we might have life eternal as children of God. He gave up glory so that we might enjoy eternal glory in the presence of our Father God.

Reading a little past that Kenosis passage, I came to this admonition.  It is one that is so relevant for our life in this present age.

“Do everything without grumbling and arguing, so that you may be blameless and pure, children of God who are faultless in a crooked and perverted generation, among whom you shine like stars in the world.” [Philippians 2:14-15 HCSB]

Notice that word “everything?” We are to do everything, all things, without complaining and grumbling or arguing. Most of us are able to do somethings without complaint, but Paul does not provide any stipulations … we are exhorted to do it all with a joyful spirit, one that makes us shine like stars.

I like what Matthew Henry commented about this verse, “God’s commands were given to be obeyed, not to be disputed.”

I guess we should once again listen to ourselves and what flows out from the abundance of our hearts. Are we hearing grumble, grumble, grumble? Or are we hearing Rejoice, Rejoice, Rejoice! Jesus is LORD!

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Truth Remains Truth

by TerryLema

“Jesus is LORD.” Romans 10:9 tells us that in order to have salvation, we must acknowledge His LORDship over every area of our lives. We do that through submission and obedience. That is the only way we will be conformed to the image of our Jesus

Jesus possesses all authority. All authority. ALL authority. He has delegated authority to us to go into all the world and make disciples—baptizing them in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. [Matthew 28:18-20]

Jesus is LORD. That is the truth. It remains the truth whether or not people admit it is the truth. Truth does not change. What changes are opinions. Your “opinion” of Jesus as LORD has no effect on His position or authority.

One day all will submit to the truth that “Jesus is LORD.”

“[Jesus], existing in the form of God, did not consider equality with God as something to be used for His own advantage.
Instead He emptied Himself by assuming the form of a slave, taking on the likeness of men.
And when He had come as a man in His external form,
He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death—even to death on a cross.
For this reason God highly exalted Him and gave Him the name that is above every name,
so that at the name of Jesus every knee will bow—of those who are in heaven and on earth and under the earth—
and every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.” [Philippians 2:6-11 HCSB]

That wondrous truth should encourage us to bow our knee now—willingly—and confess that “Jesus Christ is LORD, to the glory of God the Father.”

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All Authority

by TerryLema

When we say those marvelous three words, “Jesus is LORD,” we mean “Jesus is GOD.” Jesus Himself told us what that means for us.

In Jesus’ final words to His disciples, He gave them this declaration, command, and accompanying promise. “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe everything I have commanded you. And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” [Matthew 28:18-20 HCSB]

The command is to “Go, therefore ….” The “therefore” refers back to the declaration that “all authority” has been given to Christ Jesus our LORD. There is no way we can make disciples or baptize people in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit, without the delegated authority that resides in Christ Jesus. Because He is God, we can “Go, make disciples, and baptize.”

Then there is the promise that Jesus our LORD will be with us always, clear to the end of the age. Only God can be with all of us, with each of us, to the end of the age.

When we make it personal, and acknowledge that “Jesus is my LORD,” we are committing ourselves to obeying and submitting to His authority.

As we do that, we acknowledge that He owns us and that He has the right to tell us what to do. Amen.

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Jesus is LORD

by TerryLema

There is so much depth in the three words, “Jesus is LORD.” How we walk our walk, how we live our Christian life is wrapped around them.

In Romans 10:9 Jesus’ lordship along with His resurrection set the parameters for our salvation. “If you confess with your mouth, ‘Jesus is Lord,’ and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.” [HCSB]

Look at that verse again. Look at what is set out as the way to salvation. First, we confess with our mouth that Jesus is LORD/GOD. That flows out of a belief held firm in our hearts that God raised Him from the dead. Then we are saved.

Look at that verse again and think about what we often focus on when we bring a sinner to the altar to be saved. We ask them to accept Jesus as Savior.

Telling people to “accept Jesus as Savior” seems to me to fall far short of what we should be telling them.  Should we not be telling them that they must completely and expressly surrender to the LORDship of Christ Jesus over the entirety of their lives?

Maybe I am wrong, I often am. But if I am right that we need to emphasize the LORDship of Christ Jesus, perhaps then we would have fewer lukewarm Christians and less struggling ones when Jesus Himself emphasizes His LORDship.

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LORD and CHRIST

by TerryLema

It is interesting to me that a moment of doubt gave enlightenment and revelation.  Following the resurrection of Christ, all the disciples had seen Jesus, except for one—Thomas. When the disciples told Thomas that Jesus had been in their midst, he did not believe them and expressed his doubt.  “If I don’t see the mark of the nails in His hands, put my finger into the mark of the nails, and put my hand into His side, I will never believe!” [John 20:25 HCSB]

A long eight days later, Jesus once again appeared and invited Thomas to see and touch Him in exactly the way Thomas said he must do in order to believe.  Thomas simply said, “My LORD and my God.” [John 20:28 HCSB]

Up until that acknowledgement, the title lord described someone with authority or control over others. It meant a master or ruler of some kind and in Jesus’ day the title lord was often used simply as a title of respect toward earthly authorities.

After Thomas’ declaration following the resurrection, Lord became much more than a title of honor and respect. It became a way of declaring Jesus’ deity. The Jews anticipated a Messiah sent by God, but they never expected that Messiah or Christ to be God.

From the moment Thomas uttered, “My LORD and my God!” the apostles’ carried the message that Jesus is God.  A few weeks later on the Day of Pentecost, Peter declared “Therefore let all the house of Israel know with certainty that God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Messiah!” [Acts 2:36 HCSB]

CHRIST/MESSIAH (SAVIOR). LORD (GOD). If we acknowledge Jesus as our Savior, we acknowledge Jesus as our LORD (GOD). You can’t have one without the other!  And that has deep implications for how we walk this Christian walk.

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An Ugly Sin

by TerryLema

Sin is ugly. Sin is birthed in our fallen nature. It progresses until it leads to death. James tells us “Each person is tempted when he is drawn away and enticed by his own evil desires. Then after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin, and when sin is fully grown, it gives birth to death.” [1:14-15 HCSB]

Most of us are aware of sin. If asked we can list them, murder, lying, adultery, and other such, but there is one especially ugly sin that seldom gets listed or even remembered.  Jesus warned us about it.

“He then told them, ‘Watch out and be on guard against all greed [covetousness] because one’s life is not in the abundance of his possessions.’” [Luke 12:15 HCSB]

Greed or covetousness as it is rendered in other translations, comes from the Greek word “pleonexia.” That is an ugly word describing an ugly sin that is often overlooked. Pleonexia is “the insatiable desire to have what rightfully belongs to others.”

Covetousness is ruthless. It arrogantly assumes that people and things are there for our own benefit.  It also puts our own self-interest in the place of God, so it is linked to idolatry.  [Colossians 3:5]

Christians, however, are to shift the intention of their lives from self-interest to God-interest. We are to put to death the things in our lives that block that from happening, whatever they may be. We are to turn away from anything that keeps us from fully surrendering or obeying our LORD and Savior Christ Jesus.

Be on the lookout for those “covetousness” self-interest things in life that draw us away from being transformed into the image of Jesus.

 

 

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Graciousness

by TerryLema

I was reading the closing chapter in that marvelous letter written to the Philippians. Many verses in that chapter are familiar and I hear them quoted often as words to live by.

Two examples are Vs 4: “Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice!” and Vs 6: “Don’t worry about anything, but in everything, through prayer and petition with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God.” [HCSB]

As I read that paragraph, I realized there is a verse between those two—one that I do not see quoted as often.  Vs 5: “Let your graciousness be known to everyone. The Lord is near.” [HCSB]

Some translations render the word “graciousness” as “gentleness.”  It is “epieikés” and it means gentle, mild, forbearing, fair, reasonable, moderate.

We live in a difficult time and amid a harsh society. Everything and everyone are dissected in the media and on social media. The national news I watch spends 29 of its 30 minutes on what is bad, and 1 minute on something good. I don’t think the ratio is really that one-sided, but good news doesn’t sell.

Social media is also often cruel. It is so easy to be snarky (something I can be guilty of at times), and so easy to even be nasty and vicious. We look for the worst and delight when we find it. Then we broadcast it to others.

As Christians, we are commanded to be gracious and gentle to others. The command carries no caveat. It does not matter the behavior of “others,” everyone is to be a recipient of our graciousness and gentleness. The reason: “The LORD is near.”

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Will He Find Faith

by TerryLema

Following Jesus’ discourse in Luke 17 on the signs of the coming of the kingdom, Chapter 18 begins with the Parable of the Persistent Widow.  Jesus explains in verse one why He is telling them that parable. “He then told a parable on the need to pray always and not become discouraged.” 

The widow in the parable was tenacious in her request for justice. She kept coming to an “unjust” judge until he became tired of her persistence and granted her request. By comparison, Jesus reminded His listeners that when they are persistent in their prayer to cry out to our “just” God, He is swift to respond.

“Will not God grant justice to His elect who cry out to Him day and night? Will He delay to help them? I tell you that He will swiftly grant them justice.” [vs 7-8a HCSB]

It is, however, how He ends the parable that caught my attention.  “Nevertheless, when the Son of Man comes, will He find that faith on the earth?” [vs 8b HCSB]

That question really takes us back to the signs of the coming of the kingdom that ends Chapter 17.  That is a time of difficulties, struggles, and distress as was found in the times of Noah and of Lot. It is a time of apostasy when the faith of many will grow cold.

When that time comes, will the LORD Jesus find the kind of faith possessed by that widow? The way the question is phrased, it suggests that on a broad scale, the answer is “no.”

However, God has always had a remnant who are true to Him. While we wait for His return, each one of us should be stirred to develop the kind of faith that cries out to God night and day.

LORD, help us to be persistent in our praying and tenacious in our faith. Amen.

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Renews Their Strength

by TerryLema

Ah, the end of Isaiah 40 is so very glorious. Most of us know the words, maybe even memorized them. We even sing songs to proclaim their wonderful truths.

“Youths may faint and grow weary, and young men stumble and fall, but those who trust in the Lord will renew their strength; they will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary; they will walk and not faint.” [Isaiah 40:30-31 HCSB]

The NKJV renders part of the verse in a more familiar way, “But those who wait on the Lord shall renew their strength….” 

“Trust in” or “wait on” are not that different. To wait you usually have to trust and trusting often involves waiting.

The promise is that those who trust in the LORD as they wait upon Him, will find their strength renewed by the LORD Himself, so much so that they will soar and run and walk supernaturally.

To soar and run and walk supernaturally does not mean we become like the superheroes that seem so popular in our culture.  It means that when the world tells us to quiet and sit down, the LORD empowers us to keep walking. When the enemy attempts to ground us and make us irrelevant, the LORD provides the strength to rise above his tactics and soar on the winds of the Spirit of God. When circumstances try to crush us, the LORD Himself provides the power to run and not grow weary with life.

The chapter that began with “Comfort, comfort My People!” ends with supernatural power and stamina provided by God Himself. Now that’s true comfort! Amen!

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Weary & Weak

by TerryLema

I have been working hard to strengthen my physical body and increase my stamina. Years of pain and fatigue from immune diseases and lately from a bout with a virus have stolen my physical strength and endurance. I do not want to be confined to a lounge chair. I want to do my worship walks again and have enough energy to enjoy life beyond the confines of my house.

I work hard to walk a little farther, lift a bit more, move more frequently. But there are still times, like last Saturday when all I want to do is sit. Fatigue sets in and it seems my whole body just hurts.

I find also that as I deal with the pain and fatigue in my physical body, it saps my emotional and spiritual energy as well. Pain demands attention. It seeks to rule.

So I went looking for Scriptures about strength and ended up walking through Isaiah 40.  “’Comfort, comfort My people,’ says your God.”

 As I finished the chapter, I sensed the presence of God. I felt His everlasting arms embrace me. The comfort we need for all of life is resident within the LORD.

“Do you not know? Have you not heard? Yahweh is the everlasting God, the Creator of the whole earth. He never grows faint or weary; there is no limit to His understanding. He gives strength to the weary and strengthens the powerless.” [Isaiah 40:28-29 HCSB]

It is Yahweh, the LORD, who gives strength to the weary and power to the powerless. The pain and fatigue in my body may not go away, but the LORD renews my spirit. He fills me with His strength to overcome the weariness and His power to overcome the weakness. Pain no longer rules.

Comfort, comfort My People! Amen

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