Acts 19:1-7: Living in the Landscape of Grace

While Apollos was at Corinth, Paul took the road through the interior and arrived at Ephesus. There he found some disciples and asked them, “Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed?”

They answered, “No, we have not even heard that there is a Holy Spirit.”

So Paul asked, “Then what baptism did you receive?”

“John’s baptism,” they replied.

Paul said, “John’s baptism was a baptism of repentance. He told the people to believe in the one coming after him, that is, in Jesus.” On hearing this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. When Paul placed his hands on them, the Holy Spirit came on them, and they spoke in tongues and prophesied. There were about twelve men in all. - Acts 19:1-7

It would be a sad salvation if we only had repentance. Yes, we would truly recognize how had the things we had done were. It is like the hunger without the feast. Repentance is good for showing you how good God is and make you realize how much you long for the holiness of God and how much you lack that holiness. It can lead to life change, making you strive to attain that holiness with the strength within you, fueled by that sense of longing and that sense of guilt and opportunity lost. But it seems like a kind of losing cause, like you are pushing a giant boulder up a hill, trying to reach the very top but knowing realistically that at some point you will grow tired and your footing will slip and that boulder will roll right over you back down to the foot of the hill and then you must start over again, only this time with less strength--a strength that will eventually fade until it is overcome by death. 

But repentance isn't the end of the gospel story--instead it is just the beginning. The fresh wind of the Spirit and the rescue by the Messiah Jesus are for the life post-repentance. It is the life full of new opportunities, not based on avoiding regret but rather based on running fueled by gratitude. It is the new life, not just a grueling extension of the old life.  Repentance is key, because no recognition of the grace of God can fully come until we are willing to relinquish the past and accept that God's way is better. But repentance is not sufficient, because we must learn to live in the landscape of grace.

2 Peter 3:8-15: An Eternity Not So Jarring

But do not forget this one thing, dear friends: With the Lord a day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like a day. The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. Instead he is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.

But the day of the Lord will come like a thief. The heavens will disappear with a roar; the elements will be destroyed by fire, and the earth and everything done in it will be laid bare.

Since everything will be destroyed in this way, what kind of people ought you to be? You ought to live holy and godly lives as you look forward to the day of God and speed its coming. That day will bring about the destruction of the heavens by fire, and the elements will melt in the heat. But in keeping with his promise we are looking forward to a new heaven and a new earth, where righteousness dwells.

So then, dear friends, since you are looking forward to this, make every effort to be found spotless, blameless and at peace with him. Bear in mind that our Lord’s patience means salvation, just as our dear brother Paul also wrote you with the wisdom that God gave him. - 2 Peter 3:8-15

What do you really want to last? Because that is what is going with you into eternity. There are none of us who will bring one asset or accomplishment into eternity. We only bring ourselves.  "Since everything will be destroyed in this way, what kind of people ought you be?"

But will we like that? I am not always sure that I would like living with myself for eternity. I'm not sure that other people would like to live with me for eternity. How is it that Jesus can offer no regret? I can see many gaps, not just in resume but in my character, which I wish were smoothed over like spackle over holes in my wall. Some of eternity will be spent, I think, in comparing the choices I made and  comparing them with the goodness of God. Even with the redeemed character of Christ living in me, there will be a dissonance and some time for resolution.

Maybe that is why the Bible reminds us to "make every effort to be found spotless, blameless and at peace with him." We will enjoy forever better if the dissonance is not so jarring, where the fulness of the grace of God doesn't shock when it is revealed because we have been living with it here on earth. 

Call to Worship: Trees, Not Channels (Psalm 1)

Leader: Blessed is the one...whose delight is in the law of the Lord, and who meditates on his law day and night.

Response: That person is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither—whatever they do prospers.[1]

Leader: The tree is no mere channel, piping water unchanged from one place to another, but a living organism which absorbs it, to produce in due course something new and delightful, proper to its kind and to its time.[1]

Response; Like water through the tree, God's grace does not retain the same form. It is expressed in as many unique ways as there are children of God. We are your children.

Leader: Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life, on each side of the river stood the tree of life, bearing twelve crops of fruit, yielding its fruit every month. 

Response: And the leaves of the tree are for the healing of the nations.[3] We are your people.

[1] Psalm 1:1a,2-3 (NIV)
[2]Derek Kidner, Psalms 1-72, Tyndale Old Testament Commentaries, vol. 15 (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1973), p. 48 as cited by Tim Keller, Prayer (New York, NY: Dutton, 2014), p. 148

[3] Revelation 22:1a,2b (NIV)

Psalm 145:15-16: All The Things Which Had To Go Right

The eyes of all look to you, and you give them their food at the proper time. You open your hand and satisfy the desires of every living thing. - Psalm 145:15-16

I was marveling at how many things had to go right in order for my morning to work out. When I say "my morning" I usually am referring to the time period from 5:30 am, when I wake up, until about 9:00 am, when I head into work. Since I usually get the breakfast going, I'm first awake in the house, turning on the lights, heater, and coffee maker, then opening the blinds and setting out our morning medications. Then I start breakfast.

Breakfast was nothing special: a smoothie. But it contained an a startling number of pieces. There were pineapple chunks from the Philippines in a can made in Mexico. Yogurt, milk and honey produced in northern California. Mangoes from Mexico. Bananas from the Dominican Republic. Each of these were grown by people, packed by people, shipped by people, distributed by people, trucked by people, stocked by people and, eventually, sold by people to me.

These are all thrown into a blender with a similar story. In all, thousands of people touched these foods and components and cartons and containers of cartons before they reached me. Just so I could push a button, whir the ingredients around for 30 seconds and pour a refreshing morning meal.

Once my youngest has descended and imbibed this invigorating elixir, it's off to the bus stop where she gets on a bus. A bus. Driven by a lady who waves at my wife when she sees us out walking. Maintained by a few hardworking guys at the school bus yard. Built and customized by a team from hundreds of components provide by other companies, each with their own work force.

That's just breakfast and the bus. Think of how many things had to go right just for me to have a normal morning. There is a grace in that-the sustaining, providential (or common) grace of God which allows us to live and work. These verses from Psalm 145 actually simplify the incredibly complex processes through which God works to even give us the simplest of good things, such as our food.

Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him. - Matthew 6:8

Consider what this simple verse means when coupled with our Lord's prayer, "Give us this day our daily bread." Not only did he know our need before we prayed, but had to have kicked off his answer days, months or years before we asked so that, at the right time, he could give it to us.

So spend a moment today and thank God for all of the things which had to go right.

Psalm 1: Conduits vs. Trees

The tree is no mere channel, piping water unchanged from one place to another, but a living organism which absorbs it, to produce in due course something new and delightful, proper to its kind and to its time. - Derek Kidner[1]

I have often thought of God's life-giving grace as something which God gives to us with the intent that we would, in turn, give it to others. We act as a sort of conduit or channel of grace. This word picture was helpful in my conversations to describe God's intent that we were not the intended end-point of his grace. We should not be a point of blockage or diversion.

But in reading this quote this morning, I realized that my working picture was inadequate. The electrical conduit or water channel does not change the form of what it receives, it merely passes it along. Also, the conduit doesn't grow and the channel doesn't alter. But the tree takes what comes in-soil, sun and water-and expresses it in a new, fresh and yet entirely dependent way: trunk, branches, leaves, fruit, shade, and protection.

We receive God's grace, it transforms us and we produce the fruit of the Spirit and (my wife mentioned) shelter for others to grow and flourish (shalom). God's grace does not retain the same form. It is expressed in as many unique ways as there are children of God.

His grace takes many forms, but one of the most available is his Word. The Bible says that God's replenishes those "...whose delight is in the law of the Lord, and who meditates on his law day and night. That person is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither—whatever they do prospers."(Ps. 1:2-3)

So this week I am considering myself a tree.



[1]Derek Kidner, Psalms 1-72, Tyndale Old Testament Commentaries, vol. 15 (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1973), p. 48 as cited by Tim Keller, Prayer (New York, NY: Dutton, 2014), p. 148

Ephesians 1:8: Grace Lavished

If you're going to give, go over the top. Yes, they could get by with X and be happy. But why not go the extra mile and give them X + 1 and let them rejoice exceedingly, abundantly (see Matt. 5:40-42)? This isn't about money or stuff. It is about helping and loving, with everything that entails.

Why are we such stingy givers? Here are three reasons I have found in my own life:

First, we gauge our gift based on the perceived worthiness of the recipient. They don't need it. They will waste it or misuse it. There are others who need it more. Even in church (see James 2:2-4). But God doesn't act that way towards us. "Since he did not spare even his own Son but gave him up for us all, won't he also give us everything else?" (Rom. 8:32) I want my love to look more like grace, not like a transaction based on return-on-investment.

Second, we don't get appreciated for our gift. We do the right thing but no one-including God-seems to notice. We resort to subtle reminders to let others and God know what we've done. No need for trumpets  (Matt. 6:2) when the off-hand comment and self-deprecating remark will do the trick. Down that path is resentment and disappointment. Rick Warren commented, "What you get out of service is joy. You don’t get approval. God approves of you, but it’s not because of what you do. He approves of you because of what Christ did for you already. That’s grace."[1] I want my love to look more like grace, not a barter economy.

Third, we need to ration our giving. We might run out. If I give too much here, there won't be enough there. But this isn't a limited grace universe.  Paul comments, "I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in his holy people, and his incomparably great power for us who believe." We live like the impoverished when, in fact, we have access to God's inexhaustible resources of hope and power. I want to give like I am rich in God's grace.

His grace is lavished upon us. Lavish it on others:



[1] Is Legalism Killing Your Ministry, Rick Warren, http://pastors.com/legalism-in-ministry/, retrieved on 26 February 2015