Galatians 6:7-8–"Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows. Whoever sows to please their flesh, from the flesh will reap destruction; whoever sows to please the Spirit, form the Spirit will reap eternal life."
In many ways the reality of this passage seems so obvious to us as if it were a simple matter of arithmetic. However, the assertion itself necessitates that the one who sows would live an observed life, that is, that the sower would be cognizant and self-conscious enough to recognize the priorities of his/her labors in this life.
Because this appears to be the case, rather than praying that we would sow correctly, we should first pray that we would be able to recognize where we're sowing already and, if the aim of our cultivation is one of the flesh, that we would then be reordered to plant in the Spirit. This is about perspective as much as it is about prioritization, in focusing devotion as much as in transforming tastes.
Ultimately, the Christian life is about radically ordering our lives to the singular goal of glorifying God in everything we are. Sowing in the Spirit turns out to be the primary mode for this occurring. We would do well to make it our primary mode for life too.
Showing posts with label Spirit. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Spirit. Show all posts
Tuesday, January 21, 2014
Monday, January 28, 2013
Spirit & Truth: Requisites for Worship
Jesus says these words in John: "God is spirit and those who would worship Him must do it in spirit and in truth." (John 4:24).
The context here is the scenario with Jesus at the well and the woman from Samaria. Jesus has just convinced her that He is the Christ because He has told her about her life. She is confused by this stranger but she marvels at His intimate knowledge of who she is. She then makes the statement about places of worship, pointing to the reality that the Jews believed that only the Temple was the appropriate place to worship. This statement has a whole host of connotation: not only is she referring to the place of worship, but she is also referring to the what of worship, namely, the ceremonial Law of Torah.
Jesus, though, indicates that a time is coming and has now arrived in Him that the worshipers of God will worship God purely, in spirit and in truth. Jesus' statement is remarkable because it flies in the face of the presumptions of Judaism of His day, which saw the worship of God as an ethnically exclusive activity. For anyone to truly worship they would have to become a Jew first.
Additionally, Jesus is taking the monopoly of worshiping God out of the hands of the Jews and giving it to the scope of humanity. Now, anyone and everyone can worship by these requirements, as God had always intended: in spirit and in truth. While this might seem, at first glance, to be enigmatic Jesus is saying that worship has a specific energy, the spirit, and a specific content, the truth.
This energy is the Holy Spirit. He is the exciter, the comforter, the empower, and the initiator of worship. He is the spirit of worship, and He is the One who initiates and activates the worshiper's heart for worship.
This content, the truth, is the Word of God. It is the Word itself that forms the backbone for any and all worship. If worship is not based on or does not come from the Word of God, then it is not worship. There are a great many things that claim to be worship but lack the Word of God, that is, Christ. Because of this, they cannot be worship.
In the end, the Spirit works in conjunction with the Word in the worshiper's worship of God. If we desire to worship, then, we need only prayer for the Spirit and engage in His Word. In this way, worship is made available for every human who calls on the name of the God, crying out that Jesus is Lord and King!
The context here is the scenario with Jesus at the well and the woman from Samaria. Jesus has just convinced her that He is the Christ because He has told her about her life. She is confused by this stranger but she marvels at His intimate knowledge of who she is. She then makes the statement about places of worship, pointing to the reality that the Jews believed that only the Temple was the appropriate place to worship. This statement has a whole host of connotation: not only is she referring to the place of worship, but she is also referring to the what of worship, namely, the ceremonial Law of Torah.
Jesus, though, indicates that a time is coming and has now arrived in Him that the worshipers of God will worship God purely, in spirit and in truth. Jesus' statement is remarkable because it flies in the face of the presumptions of Judaism of His day, which saw the worship of God as an ethnically exclusive activity. For anyone to truly worship they would have to become a Jew first.
Additionally, Jesus is taking the monopoly of worshiping God out of the hands of the Jews and giving it to the scope of humanity. Now, anyone and everyone can worship by these requirements, as God had always intended: in spirit and in truth. While this might seem, at first glance, to be enigmatic Jesus is saying that worship has a specific energy, the spirit, and a specific content, the truth.
This energy is the Holy Spirit. He is the exciter, the comforter, the empower, and the initiator of worship. He is the spirit of worship, and He is the One who initiates and activates the worshiper's heart for worship.
This content, the truth, is the Word of God. It is the Word itself that forms the backbone for any and all worship. If worship is not based on or does not come from the Word of God, then it is not worship. There are a great many things that claim to be worship but lack the Word of God, that is, Christ. Because of this, they cannot be worship.
In the end, the Spirit works in conjunction with the Word in the worshiper's worship of God. If we desire to worship, then, we need only prayer for the Spirit and engage in His Word. In this way, worship is made available for every human who calls on the name of the God, crying out that Jesus is Lord and King!
Thursday, July 26, 2012
Be Careful When Praying for Patience
A mentor of mine tells a story about a particular instance years ago. He was a pastor in Chicago and, like most pastors, had a week filled with meetings and visitations to the degree that Saturday had come with the Sunday morning's sermon still unfinished. Perhaps it would be more accurate to say that the sermon was barely started.
To remedy the situation, he locked himself in his church office for a couple of hours. Yet despite his intentionality, he was distracted and struggling to stay focused. Fed up with his lack of progress, my mentor went for a walk around the neighborhood to clear his head. When he got back to the church, he went into his office, knelt down before his desk, and prayed: "Lord, please grant me the patience to do what I need to. Lord, help me be patient. Amen."
Just as he finished his prayer, there was a knock at his office door. He went to the door and opened it to find the exact person needed for the job of distracting the pastor from writing his sermon. Over the next two hours, the visitor chatted my mentor's ear off. The whole time, my mentor was planning his escape and trying all the while to send his time-consuming visitor on his way.
Finally, the visitor leaves and my mentor is left alone, no closer to completing his sermon than he had been hours before. Dejected at his progress, he sat down in his desk chair, trying to sink as far into the leather upholstery as he could. It was now nearly dinner time and he still no sermon for his effort so he simply closed his eyes and breathed. At this moment, he realized what just happened.
He had prayed for patience, expecting for God to instantly transform him into a man of patience. Instead, God sent to him the very person to exercise his patience. The visitor was the very thing God used to test and grow his patience. My mentor understood this as a revelation from God, checked and confirmed it with Scripture, and the sermon was written in under an hour.
Patience is a tricky thing. It is kind of like filling a bathtub as full as it can go but instead of pulling the drain plug, you keep the faucet on while the water flows over the side of the tub and pools into puddles on the tiled bathroom floor. Being patient requires something or someone for us to be patient of. For instance, you need patience when dealing with a long business deal, when handling difficult people or situations, and when overcoming illnesses. Understanding that patience is how God would have us deal with difficult situations is key to recognizing when patience is needed and when we need to pray for God to help us.
Paul includes patience in his list of fruits of the Spirit (Gal. 5:22-23). This is an important distinction for two reasons. The first is that the Spirit is the source of patience, and as such when we need patience, what we really need is the Holy Spirit. This equates to prayer and devotion. Secondly, fruit is different than a gift in that gifts are given ready for usage whereas fruits need to be grown over time. Because of this, when we pray for patience, like my mentor, we should not be surprised when we suddenly find ourselves being tested. Let us then seek after God to grow our patience just as He provides opportunities to be patient!
To remedy the situation, he locked himself in his church office for a couple of hours. Yet despite his intentionality, he was distracted and struggling to stay focused. Fed up with his lack of progress, my mentor went for a walk around the neighborhood to clear his head. When he got back to the church, he went into his office, knelt down before his desk, and prayed: "Lord, please grant me the patience to do what I need to. Lord, help me be patient. Amen."
Just as he finished his prayer, there was a knock at his office door. He went to the door and opened it to find the exact person needed for the job of distracting the pastor from writing his sermon. Over the next two hours, the visitor chatted my mentor's ear off. The whole time, my mentor was planning his escape and trying all the while to send his time-consuming visitor on his way.
Finally, the visitor leaves and my mentor is left alone, no closer to completing his sermon than he had been hours before. Dejected at his progress, he sat down in his desk chair, trying to sink as far into the leather upholstery as he could. It was now nearly dinner time and he still no sermon for his effort so he simply closed his eyes and breathed. At this moment, he realized what just happened.
He had prayed for patience, expecting for God to instantly transform him into a man of patience. Instead, God sent to him the very person to exercise his patience. The visitor was the very thing God used to test and grow his patience. My mentor understood this as a revelation from God, checked and confirmed it with Scripture, and the sermon was written in under an hour.
Patience is a tricky thing. It is kind of like filling a bathtub as full as it can go but instead of pulling the drain plug, you keep the faucet on while the water flows over the side of the tub and pools into puddles on the tiled bathroom floor. Being patient requires something or someone for us to be patient of. For instance, you need patience when dealing with a long business deal, when handling difficult people or situations, and when overcoming illnesses. Understanding that patience is how God would have us deal with difficult situations is key to recognizing when patience is needed and when we need to pray for God to help us.
Paul includes patience in his list of fruits of the Spirit (Gal. 5:22-23). This is an important distinction for two reasons. The first is that the Spirit is the source of patience, and as such when we need patience, what we really need is the Holy Spirit. This equates to prayer and devotion. Secondly, fruit is different than a gift in that gifts are given ready for usage whereas fruits need to be grown over time. Because of this, when we pray for patience, like my mentor, we should not be surprised when we suddenly find ourselves being tested. Let us then seek after God to grow our patience just as He provides opportunities to be patient!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
