Romans 15:5-6–Cry for Unity with Purpose

Romans 15:5-6–"May the God of endurance and encouragement grant you to live in such harmony with one another, in accord with Christ Jesus, that together you may with one voice glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ."

Unity is a great thing.  In many ways it drives much of the human experience as we seek and define unity amidst the immense diversity that is always around us.  Humans seem to yearn for unification, it is, in many ways, the very thing that drive so much of our lives.  We can unify behind entertainment, like sports teams or favorite movie franchises, or we can unify behind a common goal or experience, such as the GLBT community or human rights.  And while there are a vast number of unifying principles or ideals, they are all paltry and counterfeit in comparison to the single most vital thing that unites all persons and peoples who have ever lived and will ever live (save for Christ who remains uncreated)–We are made to glorify God.

It's in our DNA, our very genes cry out in worship to the Creator of the universe.  And despite our best efforts to suppress or to misplace this reality, it is inescapable.  After all, even the atheistic artist can compose beautiful and intelligent art that, by its very nature, worships the Creator!  But as in this human experience we are faced with the proposition of either discovering or manufacturing unity in diversity, we are faced with the dilemma: what unifies us?

The answer, as is so often true of honest questions, relies solely on the singular and profound theological reality of our existence and our identity.  Every human that has every lived was born bearing the image of God.  This is the utmost truth about us.  It is this astonishing truth that provides for us the very essence of unity under the strains of overwhelming diversity.  For the image of God is born just as much in the life of the drunkard as it is on the saint.  It often turns out that what caused the drunkard to turn to drink in the first place was that he either never knew whose image he was meant to bear or he is more interested in bearing his own rather than His.  In both cases, the fault, it turns out, is not on the One whose image is borne, but on he who illegitimately bears it.

In both cases though, that of the saint and the drunkard, they are, ultimately, unified in the fact that they each bear His image.  Therefore, unity is only held at the distance of recognition: that we would recognize the reality of our unity and that this recognition would only be crystalized through a unified glorification of God!  That is what the aforementioned verse is about, and we would do well to pray for the very same thing that Paul is praying for, too!

Psalm 16:8–I Shall Not Be Shaken

Psalm 16:8: "I have set the Lord always before me; because He is at my right hand, I shall not be shaken."

This is a verse which I take very seriously.  It forms the impetus and motivation for most of life, actually.  My thought process's course is founded upon a basic presumption that is so foundational to the core of who I am that I am compelled unabashedly to share it.

God is our Creator.  Because of this, He knows the correct direction and trajectory for every one of us to take.  In other words, He has the right by virtue of being our Creator to set the bearing for our lives.  We are thus obliged by conscious and bound by our beings to either adhere to God's prescribed route or to reject it.

In the end, if we set the Lord always before us, as this verse conveys, it turns out we will inevitably be taking each step as it is meant to be taken in the correct direction; our footing will be sure and our purpose will remain intact and propelling.  However, if we neglect the prescription of this verse, we will inevitably find ourselves lost, anemic, and failing.

The only right course of action, then, is to forever strive to set the Lord before us and follow Him!

Eph. 2:10–We Are His Workmanship

Ephesians 2:10: "For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them."

Identity and purpose are two of the most significant journeys that humans embark upon in their lives.  And there is a veritable deluge of possibilities vying to be the source and vision that we would adhere to, that which might define our identity and our purpose.  But this verse, along with many other verses is a solid and sobering reminder that our identity is and will always be found in God and in God alone.  The precursor to this verse is the famous: "For by grace you have been saved through faith and this is not of your own doing so that no man may boast."  But this statement about workmanship speaks primarily into identity.

I want this to be clear and unequivocal: there is no source of identity and purpose to be found anywhere but in Christ.  Image bearing is our identity and our purpose.  We should not ever forget this simple but profound truth.  It is who we are and it is what who are to be.  Let us keep this before us.

I Never was a Football Star

A few weeks into the 2012 NFL season, I am reminded yet again how much I love football.  It is a great sport.  Massively talented, superhuman-athletes going at each other in an intensely coordinated and thoroughly competitive manner make for a great sport.  Almost without fail I find myself wanting to go outside with a friend and play catch or a pick-up game.  However, football and I have an interesting history and it sometimes saddens me to admit that for as much as I love the sport, I never really got the chance to play it.

The fall of my freshman year of high school was as eventful as it is for any would-be high schooler, but for me it was foundational in making me who I am as a person.  Due to scheduling allowances and my diversified interests, I was simultaneously signed-up for the football team and the marching band.

In the mornings, I would have football practice and then in the afternoon I would go to the other side of the school and have marching band practice.  This went on for a couple of weeks until we got to the busy part of the schedule.  For football this meant two-a-days, while for band this meant heat-week.  Individually, each of these is brutal but when combined they are just totally exhausting.

On Tuesday of that over-stuffed practice week, during football practice, I broke my foot.  Not a horrible break but enough to put me out of commission for the football season.  However, while the football team would, obviously, not allow me to play football with a broken foot, the marching band did let me march with a cast.

The net effect was that my more-than-short-lived football career was over, but my identity of a musician and geek was cemented.  Although I never played organized football again, my path was set as I became heavily-involved in music and all of my relationships were taken from my musical activities.

The point is, as painful as it can sometimes be, life (GOD) has a funny way of orchestrating events so that we will become who we are.  And though we may plan and scheme, it is the Lord who establishes our steps (Pro. 16:9).  Or as the old colloquial proverb goes: for every door that is closed, a window is opened.  Let us then find comfort in that God has made us for specific things and for specific paths that may lie outside of our current comprehension.  But we should also take joy that God has it all in His hands and for our good!

Working because its Right

Over the course of the past couple of decades, America has seen a dramatic change in its work force.  The increase in the technology of distractions (video games, entertainment, etc.) and the growing sense of entitlement has created generations of Americans who either do not know how to work or just don't want to.  It is more than the concept of rest in relation to work.  Rather it is the idea of the value of work.

For starters, there is a significant difference between resting after work, and deciding to be lazy and slothful before ever working at all.  This is a major issue of extreme importance, and if we miss this one, we will never live our lives to the extent that God has for us.

In reality, work and the whole concept of work goes back to the very beginning of time.  When Adam was created, God ordained him for work.  Work marks the days, six on and the seventh off.  It is also work that informs life with purpose and intent.  If we understand that work has not deviated from its origins, then we can begin to understand that to skew our concepts of work isnothing less than disbelief and, dare I say, sin.

For this, the writer of Ecclesiastes, a wise man with wisdom to share, has much to say in this regard:

"Behold, what I have seen to be good and fitting is to eat and drink and find enjoyment in all the toil which one toils with under the sun the few days of his life that God has given him, for this is his lot (Ecc. 5:18)."

Although this is a single passage of Scripture describing the value of work, particularly the worth of enjoying one's work, it is by no means an isolated instance in which work is esteemed for its value.  Instead, this is just a simple and overarching reality of human life.  We, as humans, are made to work just as work has been made for us.  Assessing the purposes and reasons behind are more than this dialogue permits, suffice to say that it is God's will that we work and work with diligence and enjoyment.

Unfortunately, there have been misconceptions of what constitutes enjoyment in our culture.  Our world has misconstrued enjoyment to mean something less-satisfying and more instantly-gratifying, to the detriment of the good that comes from having to work for enjoyment, namely perseverance and character.  Should it be any wonder, then, why the world is inundated with people who lack character and inner fortitude?  Let us then take joy in the toils under the sun all the days of our lives, knowing that God has made us for this and He has purposes for us through it!

Using Time to the Fullest

Much of Holy Writ is dedicated to the task of understanding wisdom.  Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, and the book of Job are all explicitly devoted to the quest for wisdom.  The particulars of wisdom are examined by pitting wisdom against folly.  The onset of the search for wisdom is the fear of God (Pro. 9:10).  Reverence for God is the beginning of wisdom, and should guide every decision in every situation we may face.

Some of the most constant and challenging decisions we face is that of time usage.  Time is limited; there is only so much of it to do all of the things that need to be done.  Everyday, several times a day, we face decisions in how we will choose to devote our time.  As a result, a true test of wisdom is in how well we make use of the time we have been given because our time is so limited.  We should, then, strive to prioritize with wisdom so as to not let the time go along in uselessness.

Paul exhorts believers in Ephesians to live wisely by making the most use of the time, for the days are evil (Eph. 5:15-16).  Truly, this is the case.  For time passes whether we are aware of it or not.  And if we are not paying attention, it will be too late before we realize.  Paul echoes his exhortation in his letter to the Colossians (Col. 4:5), indicating that this is an important teaching and should not be quickly neglected.

Ultimately, godly time management and prioritization is a practice that takes effort, diligence, and discipline.  Often the trappings of the world have such a hook-like pull that distract us from the tasks we have been called to complete.  Think of all the time we've so easily spent online, in front of the television, or just sitting around doing nothing.  In the end, this should not be so.  Let us then press on in faith and obedience to make the best use of the blessed time that God has given us!

Understanding the Holy Spirit

Throughout the Church, there seems to be much teaching and doctrine about the Father, and certainly the Son, but the work of the Holy Spirit is oddly neglected.  To be sure, it is challenging. For however many and eloquent words we might employ to depict and discuss the Holy Spirit, we are inevitably left using material and human words to describe an altogether un-human being.  This leaves us inclined either to dig deeper into the Scriptures for clarification or simply to ignore teaching about the Holy Spirit entirely for fear of doing Him injustice.  Needless to say, the latter is unacceptable.  Instead, we should look at the opportunity to learn about God, His Holy Spirit, with joy and energy.

At the onset, the Holy Spirit is unique to Christianity.  Only Christianity teaches that God Himself, in His Holy Spirit, will actually descend upon and indwell believers.  This should excite us to know that God desires to indwell us with His very person so as to guide, to teach, and to grow us from the inside-out.  Because we are discussing a Spirit, we should be sure to consider a couple of points of clarification: we are referring to the Spirit not a material substance; we are talking about One who indwells within believers not everyone; and there is an emphasis in the New Testament, particularly Acts, for a baptism of or being filled by the Holy Spirit.  These three basic assertions form a trifecta of foundations supported and supplemented by the Word, specifically the New Testament.

While the Holy Spirit plays a major role in nearly all of the New Testament works, none more so than that of the Gospel of John and Acts.  More than any other writing does John chronicle Jesus specific teaching about the Holy Spirit.  For starters, people are to be baptized in the Holy Spirit (John 1:33), which equates to be born of the Spirit (John 3:5).  This can seem both odd and confusing, and has sparked much debate over what amounts to this baptism.  Luckily, Jesus does not leave us without reference about this, as chronicled by Luke throughout Acts.

In Acts 1:4-5, Jesus tells the disciples to wait for the promise of the Father, "He said, 'you heard from me; for John baptized with water but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now.'"  Jesus, quite clearly, tells the disciples that, though they had already been baptized with water and were believers, they would be baptized with the Holy Spirit.  Moreover, just before Jesus ascends, in His final words to His disciples, He says, "But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth (Acts 1:8)."  The event Jesus prophesied is Pentecost (Acts 2:4), accompanied by the physical manifestations of the Holy Spirit, namely speaking in tongues and prophesying.

Much destructive and unbiblical teaching has been done on this subject, to the effect that the Church seems polarized.  In an effort to keep true to the Scripture and reserved, we can point out a couple of clear things about this.  For one, believers are to be baptized in water and the Holy Spirit.  These being two things, they do not necessarily mean two separate occasions; they could be simultaneous.  Secondly, the baptism of the Holy Spirit is the power of God.  If we do not have the Holy Spirit, we could believe all the right orthodoxy but never bear fruit.  In this far-too-normal scenario, we need to earnestly pray to receive the Holy Spirit who guides, counsels, teaches, helps us grow spiritual fruit and is the medium of worship (John 4:23; 14:15-18, 25-26; 16:4-15).

The other, and most controversial, aspect of the Holy Spirit that should not be neglected for fear of disrupting our denominational doctrines or sensibilities is in reference to the "sign" gifts: healing, miracles, prophecy, visions, and tongues.  In an effort to let the Word determine theology as opposed to the dire case of the reverse, it must be said unambiguously that these gifts are still in effect today.  We still live in the age of grace, and God still empowers believers who have been baptized by the Holy Spirit with these gifts and He still works in these ways today.

In the end, understanding who the Holy Spirit is, how He is received, and what He does within believers is essential teaching.  Certainly, it is challenging teaching that can convict and push us in unforeseen ways but this should not allow us to neglect it.  In closing, Paul indicates that the Holy Spirit "seals" our inheritance in the Father, and is a "guarantor" of our eternity (2 Cor.21-22; Eph. 1:13-14).  The purpose of this article has not been an exhaustive or comprehensive teaching on the Holy Spirit, but just a taste of the more important things that Christians need to be aware of.  Let us then pray to be baptized by the Holy Spirit so as to be empowered by God Himself!

Doctrine of Suffering/Calamity

There is an inevitability to natural disaster and suffering.  No human will live a life free from suffering or unaffected by natural disaster of some sort or another.  In these moments, when unforeseen disaster strikes or suffering stings, people cry out, "where are You, Lord?"  Needless to say, the sober importance of this significant issue necessitates a sincere examination.  The complexity of the issue is weighed upon by our theological bent; however, a good place to start would be theology proper, that is, the nature and character of God.

A simple but necessary assertion: only God is God.  There is no other God and God is not accountable to anyone but Himself.  He is jealous for our worship and He delights in His own glory (Ex. 20:4-5; Isa. 63:12-14).  He is omnipotent, omniscient, omnipresent, infinite, holy, just, righteous, sovereign, and good.  These are truths that apply only to the Lord.  Additionally, the practical implications of His character is that all things and everything is in and under His control, through Him, by Him, and for Him (Col. 1:16-17).  Many Christians assert this truth but have trouble applying it when the rubber hits the road.

If all things are under His control, most assuredly this includes calamity and suffering. Scripture confirms that God is the cause of calamity and strife (Isa. 45:7; Amos 3:6).  God is glorified and good throughout everything.  The complexity of this issue meets with another, namely the righteous judgment due man as a result of sin.

Mankind is wholly depraved as a result of sin.  We are born into the sin of Adam.  The wages for this sin is God's righteous and just wrath as the due penalty for sin, finally realized in death.  Therefore, one of the obvious but neglected handlings of suffering and calamity is that it is God's righteous punishment meted out.  This perspective is often met with resistance in the form of an argument, known as "the problem of evil."

In truth, if we take seriously the sovereignty of God and the reality of sin, "why God would let evil happen to good people" is not the appropriate question to ask.  Rather, the more accurate question to ask would be, "why would God let good happen to bad people."  Remember, "None is righteous, no not one (Rom. 3:9)," and "all have sinned and fall short of the Glory of God (Rom. 3:23-24)."  Only by the application of grace through faith and the indwelling of the Holy Spirit can any man be measured good.  Therefore, calamity and suffering should remind us that no matter the circumstance we receive far better than we truly deserve.

Additionally, the Book of Job has much to say about the causes of calamity and suffering.  Two brief points will be made in this regard.  Firstly, Job is, by all accounts, a righteous man.  He has not done anything so profane or sinned in such a way as to justify the suffering which befalls him.  This leads to a second point: Satan is gifted the realm of suffering and calamity by God.  More succinctly, although Satan is allowed to destroy Job, God not only oversees Satan's hand, but more profoundly, He commissions Satan's work.

In a real sense, Satan is the dog on God's leash, meaning that he is under God's sovereign control.  The implication is that the suffering that befalls Job, though administered by Satan, is known, unstopped and firmly controlled by God.  This is not an easy teaching, but we should recognize that God is glorified equally in calamity and calm.

How we handle, then, suffering and calamity is in proportion to how we handle God.  If we "let God off the hook," so to speak, we are removing from God the power that is rightfully His.  Instead, our theology of calamity and suffering should remember who God is, that He is not accountable to our comfort and/or dignity, but He is accountable to His righteous and holy nature.  In the end, all things serve to prompt us to praise Him.  Thus, in moments of intense suffering or unforeseen calamity our response should be praise, fear, and awe at the glory of God.

Powerful Purpose

God has created each of us individually with purpose.  Every person has been designed for intended reasons, purposed by the Lord.  The aims and intentions that individuals were created for are many but are not passively accomplished.  Because of the importance of this ideal, addressing purpose in accessible ways will be the goal of this conversation to shed light upon a significant issue.

At the onset, it must be stated that our individual purposes are always in-line with His will.  Because we are created beings, we cannot determine our purpose(s) apart from Him.  This reality is confirmed by logic and reason.  For instance, a clay pot does not plan its curves or determine its glaze; only the potter can mold the clay and create its intended purpose (Isa. 64:8; Rom. 9:20-21).

Because purpose is, by design, determined by Him and because purpose needs to be in-line with His will, this challenges many preconceptions about self-determination.  For starters, recognizing that we fulfill His purposes and not that He helps us to fulfill ours.  Scripture is unified in this regard, that His purposes are fulfilled in us (Psa 138:8; Rom. 8:28; 12:2; Eph. 2:10; Heb. 6:17-18).

Therefore, because purpose is determined by Him and for Him, the tactic for receiving purpose is intimately tied to our willingness to press into Him.  How are we to receive or achieve His intended purpose(s) for us if we are not in right relationship with Him?  If we are to fulfill His purposes in us, then we need to be diligent in pursuing Him.  This means Spirit-filled Bibly study, prayer, worship, fellowship.

This should prompt us to examine ourselves: are we living our His purposes?  if not, what is preventing us?  Because of the importance of this ideal, we need to take it seriously.  Additionally, appraising our circumstance in reference to purpose should be a practice that we do periodically throughout our lives, for God's purpose(s) for us can and do change dependent on life stage, etc.  Let us then press into Him to reach and fulfill His purposes in our lives!