Love’s Perspective

Posted on November 11, 2016 by Don Merritt

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Follow God’s example, therefore, as dearly loved children and walk in the way of love, just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.

Ephesians 5:1-2

We’ve now seen

Paul’s transition from general to more specific instruction, and we left off at the end of chapter 4 where it seemed that Paul was really getting to the point that he was describing love among believers as the main priority in Christian living. Now, in the first two verses of chapter five he confirms this impression with his brief comments on love, in what is really a bridge between instructional passages.

When you take these verses in with chapter 4 in mind, they are even more beautiful than when they are quoted alone, as they often are. Why? Because they show us that as we treat others as we should, which is to say that we place their interests and well being ahead of our own, we are actually following God’s example.

We love to think of ourselves as children of God, and Paul takes this thought and brings it into sharp focus pointing out that we express this relationship in following God’s example in the way we live our lives; this is true. Yet we sometimes seem to feel like we are being asked to make sacrifices living for others instead of ourselves. I know I have heard this mentioned by some who are perhaps not having their best of days… yet Paul manages to put even this into perspective in the way he mentions Jesus, reminding us of how Jesus showed His love for us in giving Himself up as a sacrifice for our sin. Thus we can ask, what is the sacrifice we offer in no longer living according to old ways, when compared to the sacrifice Jesus made for each one of us?

 

On a personal not: I would be entirely remiss if I failed to take the opportunity to thank all of you who have served in our armed forces on this Veteran’s Day…

Thank you for your service, and may God bless you and yours.

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Big Boy Thinking

Posted on November 11, 2016 by Don Merritt

Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen. And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, with whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice. Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.

Ephesians 4:29-32

As we review these verses, it becomes pretty clear that Paul is addressing the role of “self” in our lives. Right off the bat, notice what he says about “unwholesome talk”; he does not say “Don’t cuss or you’re going to hell.” No, he tells us that our speech should be for the benefit of others. Yet he goes even further than that when he says our speech should benefit others according to “their needs.”

Who does that? Don’t most people talk about their own needs, express their feelings to resolve their issues, let you know how they feel? Don’t the shrinks tell us we need to express our feelings…?

Unwholesome talk…?

I’ve often said in these posts that following Christ is counter-intuitive; this is one of those times.

He goes on, and raises a second question: What does he tell us is grieving to the Holy Spirit of God? Maybe we should come back to that one.

In the final piece of this text, Paul tells us to get rid of “bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice.” OK Paul, now you’re sucking all of the fun out of everything!

What are we to replace these with? Kindness, compassion and forgiveness…

It’s beginning to sound like “love one another” isn’t it? Can we love one another if we are filled with bitterness and rage?

No.

Are slander and malice expressions of love?

No.

How about anger and brawling; are they expressions of love?

No.

Now let’s try kindness, compassion and forgiveness; are these expressions of love?

Yes.

Did you notice that all of the “no’s” were self-focused? Did you notice that the “yes” ones were outwardly focused for the benefit of others?

Yeah, I thought so. OK back to speech…

We all know that Jesus taught us to set our own interests aside and put the interests of others ahead of our own; what does this sound like when we speak? Is our speech grieving to the Holy Spirit within us?

I’ll let you answer those on your own.

A couple of sections back we spoke of spiritual maturity. To me, spiritual maturity is a fairly simple concept: deal with self. A mature Christian is one who puts others first… really. I don’t mean to help out when you have time or when you feel like it, or so you will be recognized. I mean really change our orientation and worldview.

Well, I said it was simple, I didn’t say it was easy.  One thing is for sure: we won’t get there by following the ways of this world, and with that, this passage just slipped back into Paul’s larger context.

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Common Sense Rules for Following Elections

Posted on November 10, 2016 by Don Merritt

Since Tuesday night, I have heard and read comments of “shock”, “disbelief”, “dismay” and “horror” in reaction to this week’s election and I find all of this dismay a bit dismaying in itself: What is such a big surprise in the outcome?

In an effort to help those in shock, I offer the following “rules” (recommendations really, but “rules” works better in a title) for following elections that are based on many years’ experience in the political game. Before I continue however, I must issue the following…2016-election-logo

Warning

What follows will be a candid and frank discussion; I am pulling no punches. If you are likely to be offended by candor, please skip this post.

First, a Confession

I did not vote this week. Yes, that’s right, for the first time in my life I could not, in good conscience vote for either candidate. In the end, although I had resolved to hold my nose and vote for Mr. Trump… I couldn’t do it. The reason is that early in the primary season he made some very intemperate and ugly personal remarks about a number of people who are my friends, associates and former colleagues, people for whom I hold the greatest respect and admiration, and since Mr. Trump has thus far not seen fit to apologize or modify those personal comments, I simply couldn’t allow pragmatism to overrule the loyalty of friendship.

Rules for Following Elections

  1. Understand the fact that sometimes you win, and sometimes you don’t.

Politics and elections are very much like having a favorite sports team; we become very invested in our team, we might even love our favorite team. Yet sadly, our favorite team doesn’t always win. When catastrophe strikes and your candidate looses, deal with it gracefully, have a little class for heaven’s sake. No whining, no complaining, no blaming it on the referee… no protesting, no rioting, no threats and no vindictiveness. Here’s a trustworthy saying: If you cannot act like an adult when your team or candidate or party loses, then take up knitting and stay out of politics (or sports). If you are a candidate and the other side wins, you show up on election night and concede with dignity. You do not send a surrogate to send your loyal supporters home and then call your opponent moments later, after telling your supporters the race is too close to call.

No serious person will ever respect you again if you do any of these things.

  1. Understand how polls work.

It would appear to me that most people were “shocked” because most polls showed Mrs. Clinton with a small lead going into Election Day. This fact was gleefully reported by most news outlets, who for the most part, are sympathetic to candidates who run as Democrats. Consequently, they will often forget to mention that those polls were all within the margin of error. If you are really following the election, it is up to you to go to the poll’s website and look up the margin of error yourself. If a poll showed Clinton ahead by 4 percent (which many did) and had a margin of error that was 4 percent or higher (as most of them did) then the poll does not show that Clinton has a lead, it shows that the candidates are tied or too close to call. In that case, anything can happen.

Based upon polling, there were no surprises in Tuesday’s outcome.

For advanced political fans, while you are at the pollster’s website, take a look at their assumptions or sampling methods. These will tell you how much of their sampling was Democrat, Republican and Independent, and how they arrived at those percentages. Throughout the 2016 season, they over sampled Democrats based upon the 2012 November turnout, but did anybody really believe that 2016 was the same as 2012?

I don’t think so.

  1. Understand how presidential elections work.

We commonly refer to a presidential election as a “national” election, but in the United States, there is no national election, there are only state and local elections. A presidential election is 50 state elections, and one in the District of Columbia, that are all held on the same day. As a result, a “national” poll showing Clinton leading Trump by x percent means nothing. What matters is which candidate leads in which states. You can find that out easily and quickly at realclearpolitics.com where they put all of this together for you for free.

  1. Understand that Presidents are not elected by a direct vote of the people; they are elected by the Electoral College.

Once again people are whining about the Electoral College because their party lost an election, placing their sheer ignorance on display for all to see. The Electoral College was a brilliant solution to a difficult problem foreseen by the country’s Founders; it is one of the checks and balances placed into the Constitution to prevent a majority from overwhelming the minority in choosing a president. The concern was simple: What is to prevent a couple of very large states from constantly imposing their will upon the majority of smaller states, negating the votes of the people in the majority of states? The Electoral College has protected America from that sort of domination ever since, and insured that everyone’s vote is important, even if you don’t happen to live in California or New York.

  1. The other candidate is not the devil.

I know that’s hard to believe sometimes, but the other candidate and the other party aren’t evil because they see things differently than you do. It sounds silly to even say that, doesn’t it? Yet in the heat of a tough campaign, all of us need to remind ourselves of this obvious fact. When the other side wins, it seems like life is about to end, but it isn’t. Those checks and balances that you might like to do away with at the moment, will keep any president from going too far; even Mr. Obama found that out. Remember four years ago when he went around the country telling us he wouldn’t wait for Congress to legislate and promised a slew of Executive Orders instead… until Courts started throwing them out? Well, maybe you’ve forgotten that, but I haven’t; those checks and balances are pretty awesome.

A Final Word

See, I told you I wouldn’t pull any punches, and if my candor and frankness was too much for you, I’m sorry; no really, I am. I know how tough it is sometimes when you’re seriously invested in a cause or a candidate, and you fall short at the very last… It sucks. Yet being angry, hurt or distraught only leads to the next defeat… and it isn’t attractive. Learn the lessons that are there before you and live to fight another day.

Oh, and by the way, all of us should probably remind ourselves that our hope is not in the world of politics, but in the grace and promises of God, for we are citizens of His Kingdom and not of this world.

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Paul Becomes Practical

Posted on November 10, 2016 by Don Merritt

Therefore each of you must put off falsehood and speak truthfully to your neighbor, for we are all members of one body. “In your anger do not sin”: Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry, and do not give the devil a foothold. Anyone who has been stealing must steal no longer, but must work, doing something useful with their own hands, that they may have something to share with those in need.

Ephesians 4:25-28

In verses 17-24, Paul told the Ephesians that they must no longer live according to their old ways, instead urging them to live lives worthy of their calling, according to the ways of the truth they had been taught in Christ. Here, in this passage he becomes more specific in his instructions.

It would be well for all of us to consider carefully his words here, for they are both wise and practical. I hardly need to elaborate, for there is nothing in these few verses that will be news to anyone. We know that we should take care in what we say, that dealing with each other truthfully is the right thing to do, and of course we all know that we shouldn’t let our anger carry us away into rage. Oh yes, we all are angry sometimes, and often with good cause. But anger for a good reason is no excuse for losing control; everybody knows that… don’t they?

Well, maybe not. I know one young lady who, with good reason may become angry, but she seems to feel that since she has been wronged… yet again… by a certain individual, that she can let her mouth go completely out of control, after all, she has been wronged again, so it’s OK.

Well, it isn’t OK. It’s pretty easy for me to see how this gives a foothold to the devil, particularly when the same incident is still the object of her wrath days later.

Stealing: Nobody is likely to tell me that stealing is OK, right? Well, of course if it’s just a box of pens from work, that doesn’t count does it? Spending your time at work on Facebook, no of course that isn’t stealing; after all, you haven’t actually taken anything, right? Well, except for the money you were paid to do actual work; no that doesn’t count…

What does Paul say about that?

Gee, on second thought, maybe we can all take a little look into the mirror and ask how we can represent Jesus better in everyday life.

Notice how Paul redirects all of this: No, we shouldn’t steal; everyone should do something useful so they can have something to share with those in need! I would take away from this the notion that Paul wants us to consider the effect all of our actions have on others, and in the process perhaps we will worry less about ourselves. Now if I were irritated by the comment above about doing Facebook at work, shifting my focus onto how things I do can effect others might just stop the rationalizing about how wasting time at work is my right, for I would come back to the realization that others are supposed to be put first in all our lives.

I’d love to hear your thoughts on this!

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Well…?

Posted on November 10, 2016 by Don Merritt

 So I tell you this, and insist on it in the Lord, that you must no longer live as the Gentiles do, in the futility of their thinking. They are darkened in their understanding and separated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them due to the hardening of their hearts. Having lost all sensitivity, they have given themselves over to sensuality so as to indulge in every kind of impurity, and they are full of greed.

That, however, is not the way of life you learned when you heard about Christ and were taught in him in accordance with the truth that is in Jesus. You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; to be made new in the attitude of your minds; and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness.

Ephesians 4:17-24

I have the honor of having a large number of followers in the UK, so British readers, how would it strike you if I sent you an email that said, “You must no longer live as the British do…”?

I also have quite a few readers in Australia, so Australians, how would you respond if I wrote you, “You must no longer live as the Aussies do…”?

My guess is that in both cases, you would not really appreciate that coming from a loud mouthed Yank!

Along those same lines, I am really curious to discover how the Ephesians received this passage from Paul, the Jew writing to Gentiles telling them they must not live “as the Gentiles do” when in fact they are Gentiles, and Paul is not.

Yet as I read through the passage, I can see that the word “Gentile” can be replaced with “American” “Brit” “Aussie” “Canadian” or any other nationality with the same result and meaning… and be every bit as fresh and meaningful as it was when Paul first wrote it.

As followers of Christ, we must no longer live just like everyone else does, for their thinking is futile and their priorities are on the wrong things. It makes sense when you think about it, for we have received the truth of Jesus Christ and the others have not, so how could they know God’s priorities and God’s ways? To a non-Christian, looking out for number one seems logical and practical, and if this world is all a person knows, what would you expect from them? Yes, I agree that it seems a tad harsh when Paul says that their hearts have been hardened and they’ve lost all sensitivity, but consider this: He seems to be referring to people who have refused to respond to the good news about Christ, and if that is the case then harsh or not, it is the truth… as opposed to the ones who just haven’t heard about Jesus yet.

The really important part of this text comes in the second paragraph, beginning at verse 20, because here Paul reminds all of us that we have been taught a different way of life. We have been taught to put off our former ways, to be new in the attitude of our minds, and to put on the new life in Christ and to follow His ways. Notice that Paul isn’t likening the “new” to the future, but rather to the present; by implication he seems to be asking what we’re waiting for.

Let’s be entirely honest: For many of us, maybe even for most of us, there is little difference between the way we live our lives and the way everyone else lives their lives.

So, what are we waiting for?

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Photo of the Week: November 9, 2016

Posted on November 9, 2016 by Don Merritt

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Maturity!

Posted on November 9, 2016 by Don Merritt

Ephesians 4:7-16

Paul continues in this passage, moving on from unity in the Body of Christ into spiritual maturity. In verses 7-10, he discusses the fact that Jesus has risen to the highest position in the heavens, after having come all the way down to earth to be with us, to save us, to show us the way. In the remaining verses, he discusses the fact that this Jesus, who had come down to our level, gave generously of Himself so that we, being led by the apostles, prophets, pastors and teachers might share in His fullness to attain maturity in Him as his Body.

Pay careful attention to the wording here:  “to equip his people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up 13 until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ.” (4:12-13) There is purpose in these words, intentional and deliberate purpose, for Jesus has made Himself available to us, and blessed us with His presence not only in body, but now in the Spirit, not simply for our own edification, but to build up the entire Body of believers through us. This is quintessential discipleship. Jesus came and made disciples while here in the body, and then equipped His disciples to make more disciples… now it is our turn to carry this work forward.

Then we will no longer be infants, tossed back and forth by the waves, and blown here and there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning and craftiness of people in their deceitful scheming.

Ephesians 4:14

The goal is for us to help other believers attain this maturity, the maturity that enables us to avoid being tossed to and fro in confusion. How will we help such as these?  Surely, being tossed around by our own spiritual immaturity is not part of God’s plan for us!

Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will grow to become in every respect the mature body of him who is the head, that is, Christ.  From him the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work.

Ephesians 4:15-16

We have surely each received amazing gifts and blessings from God of many kinds and types, yet they are given to us freely so that we may use them to build up His church in love. Some are leaders, some are teachers, some are helpers, and many other things, but none have been given gifts merely for their own enrichment. No, we have been blessed that we might bless those around us, and each of us needs to use those gifts intentionally to help build up others for His glory.

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Unity!

Posted on November 9, 2016 by Don Merritt

As a prisoner for the Lord, then, I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received. Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love. Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace. There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called to one hope when you were called; one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.

As chapter 4 begins, Paul commences the next section of his letter, the section that relates to the Christian life. He starts this with a reference to his situation, but this is not a reference that should generate pity, it is a reference that shows his example of putting his faith into action, resulting in his being in chains. It is as though he is saying that he knows full well the implications of what he is telling them to do; live lives worthy of their holy calling.

He tells the people they should accomplish this through humility, gentleness, patience and love. They should “make every effort” to maintain “the unity of the Spirit” through the “bond of peace.” Remember his prayer and the illustration of family that we looked at earlier in the last post, for this is its application: “One body and one Spirit.”

Paul continues in verse 5 with the oft-quoted assertion of “one Lord, one faith, one baptism” but you no doubt see that in Paul’s context, there is no attempt to push one doctrinal position over another to win an argument. No sir, for Paul’s whole point in this passage is the importance of Christian unity. Verse 6 completes the sentence with the bold and unambiguous statement that cements Pail’s unity appeal:  there is “one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.”

 

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The Power of Prayer

Posted on November 8, 2016 by Don Merritt

Ephesians 3:14-21

This text is a prayer that Paul gave for the Ephesians, a prayer of power and of selfless love for the saints, a prayer that deserves our review and emulation.

Notice that as he begins this prayer, Paul points out that it is through God that every family derives its name. This is a curious statement, and we might be quick to slip right past it, seeing it as a sort of introduction and missing its amazing impact altogether; let’s not make that mistake today. The sense in which every family derives its name from the Father is not a literal sense, for every family derives its name from God in the sense that it is a relational unit that is bound together by love… and genetics. Think of how God intended for us to live, go all the way back to Genesis, to the garden: We were created to live in harmony and fellowship together with God the Father. In a sense, we were to be bound with Him through genetics, for did He not breathe of Himself, His life, into the man when the man was first created, and then from the man, God created the woman? This illustration of familial unity is continued as couples produce offspring and build family units to this day, units bound up in love, and in the nature of their very beings.

I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the Lord’s holy people, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.

Ephesians 3:16-19

Looking at these three verses, we can clearly see this picture of “family” being carried forward in the church, for not only is it rooted in love, but it is bound together by the very life force of God Himself; genetics of a sort. We see this when Paul refers to our being strengthened “with power through his Spirit in your inner being” this Spirit being the ingredient that binds His church into a family unit. This life force, His Spirit who dwells within us, is what enables us to experience His great love within and between each other, this great love that surpasses human comprehension and binds us together in oneness, this is the power of Christ in us.

Paul concludes his prayer by showing us that this power within us will continue to work to give Him glory through us in all succeeding generations; magnificent!

Oh, if only we would learn to pray like this! Yet it might just be that we seldom pray like this, because few of us have learned to think like this, to see the greater picture, to recognize the real significance of what it means to be a follower of Jesus Christ.

May His Spirit within us reveal to us the truth of Paul’s words, that each of us might better discern the family of God.

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God Has a Plan

Posted on November 8, 2016 by Don Merritt

Ephesians 3:1-13

Isn’t this an interesting little chunk? Paul mentions “mysteries” several times here, and likens these “mysteries” to the “administration of God’s grace”; what could he be referring to?

He mentions a mystery that was made known to him by revelation, and calls it the mystery of Christ. He ends the first paragraph telling us that this mystery has been made known, that through the gospel, the Gentiles are being made into one holy nation with Israel the administration of God’s grace! Consider this for a second; we usually think of the gospel as being all about salvation, our salvation. The gospel is the good news about the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ which made it possible for MY sins to be forgiven, so I can have eternal life… oh and by the way, you can have it too.

Yet Paul is telling us a much bigger story than MY story! He is telling us that God’s plan was to unite all of us into one Body, the church… for a purpose, and that purpose was not merely how God would save ME.

 His intent was that now, through the church, the manifold wisdom of God should be made known to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly realms, according to his eternal purpose that he accomplished in Christ Jesus our Lord. In him and through faith in him we may approach God with freedom and confidence.

Ephesians 3:10-12

The gospel is not just MY good news, nor is it just YOUR good news, it is God’s eternal purpose to bring us into unity, through faith in Jesus Christ, to crush the accuser of all of us, the Devil, and this is no small thing. Did you notice the role of the church? No, it wasn’t just to go through the motions on Sunday, it was to play a central role in this victory and be the means by which God’s message was brought to the world to accomplish God’s purpose.

Well dear reader, it seems like we are in the middle of something that is very big.

Why did Paul refer to this as a mystery? Simple, because God had not revealed it to anyone before it happened. There were prophecies for sure, but it is really only in hindsight that they become clear. In the gospel accounts, who was it that by all rights should have known right off who Jesus was when He first appeared on the scene? Well of course, it was the Pharisees and the teachers of the law, for they knew the prophets, and they were very intelligent and well-educated in these matters. OK, one more question: Who had Him killed?

Yep, you’ve got it, the very ones who should have welcomed Him.

Yes, it was quite a mystery!

But it is a mystery no more, and you and I are right in the middle of it, on the front lines you might say. Each of us has received gifts, as Paul received gifts from the Holy Spirit of God, and also just like Paul, we have His power and authority behind us. So troops, what shall we do next?

Here’s a hint: Did you notice Paul’s reference to his circumstances in verses 1 and 13?

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