IN CELEBRATION OF DIVERSITY

 Psalm 19:1-4 (NIV)

The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands.
Day after day they pour forth speech; night after night they display knowledge.
There is no speech or language where their voice is not heard.
Their voice goes out into all the earth, their words to the ends of the world.

                As I sat at the table eating my breakfast, I looked out of the window at the gently falling snow, enhancing the blanket of white that transformed my backyard into a winter wonderland. In that moment, a thought came to me about the diversity of the world in which we live. I praised God that He did not create a boring, one dimensional, unimaginative world.

                Think about it. Sameness is boring. Not only is it boring, it is numbing. We struggle with routine because it dulls our senses and slowly drains our energy. When everything is the same our world fades into blurry shades of gray. Sameness stifles creativity. Sameness makes our world rigid and small. In a world of sameness there is nothing to get excited about, nothing to pique our interest, nothing to stir us emotionally.

                I am blessed to live in a part of the world that experiences the changing of the seasons. There is something about each season that I relish, that stirs a sense of excitement within me. There is also something about every season that I don’t particularly enjoy. Whether I am rejoicing or complaining, the diversity of our world is energizing me to feel, experience, and interact.

                The cold and snow of winter can be an inconvenience, yet it brightens our drab world. A brisk walk in the snow is complimented by a roaring fire and a cup of hot coffee. The heat and humidity of the summer can make us uncomfortable, yet it yields flowers and fruit and vegetables that enhance our lives. Each season is a mix of blessings and challenges, which remind us that we live in a dynamic, ever-changing world.

                I believe that God designed the diversity of the world as an on-going gift to us. If nothing else, the diversity of our world delights our senses. It stirs our emotions. It reminds us that we are alive. It invites us to interact with the world around us.

                But the diversity of our world also points us to God. The diversity of our world points to the creativity of God. He could have created a mono-chromatic world where everything was in shades of gray. Instead, He created a world awash with vibrant color in a multitude of shades. He could have created a uniform world where there was just one kind of everything: one kind of dog, one kind of cat, one kind of bird, one kind of horse, and one kind of people. Instead, He created a world with endless variety. Although each species conforms to a certain set of criteria, each individual within that species is unique. We can quickly recognize that a bird is a bird, but many people have spent their lives cataloging the vast array of different kinds of birds.

                Even with all of the diversity that God has designed into our world, there is an underlying order and conformity to God’s design. When things vary from God’s design, they become deformed and disoriented. The beauty that God designed into His creation is distorted and marred. What God designed to be beautiful becomes ugly and repugnant.

                God designed humanity to reflect His diversity and creativity. He did not make us all the same, instead He endowed each of us with unique characteristics and qualities. These unique qualities are what make us interesting. As we share our unique qualities with one another, we are enhanced. We bring out in others qualities that are often hidden and can be revealed only through interaction with others. But Satan has twisted God’s design and introduced a diversity that is contrary to it. Instead of drawing us together, our diversity has built walls between us. Jesus came to break down those walls and draw us back to God’s original design.

                I rejoice in the diversity God has placed in nature and in humanity. Each individual piece of God’s creation is part of an eternal jig-saw puzzle. Each part of God’s creation fits into a particular place in that puzzle. It is when we try to put the pieces in the wrong places that we get in trouble. God’s original design is perfect. We cannot “improve” upon it. When we fully recognize this, we can relax and enjoy the gift that God has blessed us with.

Genesis 1:31 (NIV)
God saw all that he had made, and it was very good.

RECAPTURING HOLINESS

 In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord seated on a throne, high and exalted, and the train of his robe filled the temple. Above him were seraphs, each with six wings: With two wings they covered their faces, with two they covered their feet, and with two they were flying. And they were calling to one another: "Holy, holy, holy is the LORD Almighty; the whole earth is full of his glory."

Isaiah 6:1-3 (NIV)

                What is your idea of holiness? For many of us, holiness is equated with perfection. When it comes to understanding the holiness of God, this is very true. God is perfect perfection in every way. But if we understand holiness as perfection, when applied to us, then holiness becomes an unattainable goal. We all know that we are far from perfect, so what does it mean for us to be holy? The Bible tells us to be holy, but is that even possible? Peter gives us some clues to what it means for us to be holy.

Therefore, prepare your minds for action; be self-controlled; set your hope fully on the grace to be given you when Jesus Christ is revealed. As obedient children, do not conform to the evil desires you had when you lived in ignorance. But just as he who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do;
for it is written: "Be holy, because I am holy." 1 Peter 1:13-16 (NIV)

                Both Peter and Paul tell us that God’s will for our lives is that we would be holy. If this is God’s will for us, then it must be attainable. For us to begin to move in the direction of holiness, we need to understand a simple truth. In its simplest form, holiness means to be separated from normal use for a specific purpose. When God instructed Moses to build the Tabernacle and to furnish it in a particular way, all of the articles of the Tabernacle, including the tent itself, were declared holy. They were to be used only for the worship of God. The entire Tabernacle was separated from common use.

                If we apply this to our lives, holiness is separating ourselves from the world and to God for His use. In one sense this has already been done when we yielded our life to Christ through faith.

Once you were alienated from God and were enemies in your minds because of your evil behavior. But now he has reconciled you by Christ's physical body through death to present you holy in his sight, without blemish and free from accusation-- Colossians 1:21-22 (NIV)

                We have been made holy by the work of Christ on the cross. When God looks at us, He sees the holiness of Christ surrounding and enveloping us. We are holy in His sight. That is the big picture.

                But that leaves the practical side of holiness. To be holy is to dedicate our thoughts, words, and actions to God. We are to separate ourselves from the world and live to honor and please God. As Peter said, it means to be self-controlled, to focus on Christ and what He has done for us, and to be obedient to what God calls us to. It means seeing things differently from how the world sees things. To be holy is to embrace God’s values instead of the world’s values. It means living for God instead of living for ourselves.

                Being holy is acted out in the way we live our everyday lives. Throughout our day we make decisions and take actions that may or may not be holy. When we intentionally gather in worship on a Sunday morning, we are engaging in a holy activity. We are setting apart a portion of our day to honor and worship God. When we spend time reading God’s word, we are being holy because we are focusing on Him. When we show love and compassion to another person, we are acting in a holy manner. When we do our best at work, without regard for how others view us, we are being holy. The attitude of our heart and the focus of our life are what determines if our actions are holy or not. When we seek to please God through what we do, we are being holy. As Paul says, And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him. Colossians 3:17

                Being holy is not about being spiritual or religious. It is not talking in archaic, religious language or always saying things like “praise the Lord.” It is definitely not acting superior to others; being holier than thou. In fact, that is the exact opposite of being holy. A person who is truly living a holy life is not constantly thinking about their actions, but seeking to please God in all that they do. When they fail, they acknowledge it and go back to God to forgiveness and restoration. They have an upward and outward attitude. They live with a constant awareness of God’s presence, and a genuine concern for others.

                Holiness is not some mystical, magical entity that embodies certain objects, places, or people. Things become holy when they are set apart for God’s use. The Bible is not holy in and of itself. It is holy when it points us toward God. Our church services are not holy because they take place in a church building. They become holy when we intentionally gather to worship God together. Our lives become holy when we intentionally live to honor and serve Christ.

                If you are a following of Jesus Christ, you are holy in God’s sight. But you also have the obligation to live your life in holiness, intentionally seeking to live in a way that will honor God.

And we pray this in order that you may live a life worthy of the Lord and may please him in every way: bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God, being strengthened with all power according to his glorious might so that you may have great endurance and patience, and joyfully giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in the kingdom of light. Colossians 1:10-12 (NIV)

NEVER IRRELEVANT

 Brothers, think of what you were when you were called. Not many of you were wise by human standards; not many were influential; not many were of noble birth. But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong. He chose the lowly things of this world and the despised things--and the things that are not--to nullify the things that are, so that no one may boast before him.

1 Corinthians 1:26-29 (NIV)

                The last player to be drafted in the NFL draft is dubbed “Mr. Irrelevant.” In 2022 that spot was filled by Brock Purdy, a quarterback from Iowa State. He was drafted by the San Francisco 49ers. With five games left in the regular season, “Mr. Irrelevant” became the starting quarterback. He won all five of those games and led the 49ers into the NFL playoffs. Purdy then led the 49ers to a decisive victory over the Seattle Seahawks in the first round of the payoffs.

                Many of us, at times, feel like we are Mr. or Miss Irrelevant. We see others seemingly succeeding without effort, while we struggle to make progress. We can feel like no one notices us or cares about us. Our lives seem to be irrelevant in the grand scheme of things. It is especially hard as a believer when we see blatantly irreligious people excel in life.

                Asaph expressed exactly how we feel at times in Psalm 73.

Surely God is good to Israel, to those who are pure in heart. But as for me, my feet had almost slipped; I had nearly lost my foothold. For I envied the arrogant when I saw the prosperity of the wicked. They have no struggles; their bodies are healthy and strong. They are free from the burdens common to man; they are not plagued by human ills.
Psalm 73:1-5 (NIV)

Surely in vain have I kept my heart pure; in vain have I washed my hands in innocence. All day long I have been plagued; I have been punished every morning.
Psalm 73:13-14 (NIV)

                It can be very discouraging trying to live a life pleasing to God and watch arrogant people, who want nothing to do with God, prosper. God’s values have been turned upside-down by the world. It seems like selfishness, arrogance, crudeness, and raw power are what gets rewarded. Godliness and righteousness living are laughed at and ridiculed. Satan has been doing his best to make believers feel irrelevant in the world.

                But Paul paints a very different picture for us in 1 Corinthians. He reminds us that God’s ways are not man’s ways. He reminds us that God has taken what the world sees as weak, powerless, and irrelevant and has used it to accomplish His purposes.

Where is the wise man? Where is the scholar? Where is the philosopher of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world? For since in the wisdom of God the world through its wisdom did not know him, God was pleased through the foolishness of what was preached to save those who believe. ²² Jews demand miraculous signs and Greeks look for wisdom, but we preach Christ crucified: a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles, but to those whom God has called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. For the foolishness of God is wiser than man's wisdom, and the weakness of God is stronger than man's strength.
1 Corinthians 1:20-25 (NIV)

                All of humanity’s wisdom pales in comparison to God’s wisdom. There is nothing that humanity can discover that God has not created. There is nothing that humanity can accomplish that God has not empowered. Our ability to think and reason comes from God. Our ability to understand our world and to look deeply at how it is made comes from God. The very life that we guard so passionately is in God’s hands.

                When a person comes into a right relationship with God, through faith in Jesus Christ, they can never be irrelevant. God has placed His spirit in every believer. God has claimed us as his children and given us an inheritance that the world can never take away from us. God has empowered us to accomplish great things that will make a difference for all of eternity. No matter wherever a person may be on the world’s “draft list”, they are never irrelevant to God.

                All of the plans, schemes, accomplishments, and progress of humanity are temporary and will pass away with time. But the plans of God will prevail for all of eternity. A life lived for the pleasures of this world will in the end prove to be irrelevant. A life lived in relationship with God will always be relevant.

                Satan continually whispers in our ears that our lives are irrelevant and meaningless, but he is wrong. We are new creations in Christ and our lives will count for all of eternity, because God has claimed us as his own.

But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light. Once you were not a people, but now you are the people of God; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.
1 Peter 2:9-10 (NIV)

How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are! The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know him. Dear friends, now we are children of God, and what we will be has not yet been made known. But we know that when he appears, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is. Everyone who has this hope in him purifies himself, just as he is pure.
1 John 3:1-3 (NIV)

 

FAMILIAR FAITH

 "Isn't this the carpenter's son? Isn't his mother's name Mary, and aren't his brothers James, Joseph, Simon and Judas? Aren't all his sisters with us? Where then did this man get all these things?" And they took offense at him. But Jesus said to them, "Only in his hometown and in his own house is a prophet without honor."

Matthew 13:55-57 (NIV)

                One of my best friends grew up in Duluth, Minnesota, at the very beginning of the north shore of Lake Superior. If you love the outdoors, the north shore of Lake Superior is one of the most amazing places on earth. The beauty and awe of this wilderness area are breathtaking. My friend was very familiar with the north shore, but he didn’t love it, at least as a youth. Like many of his friends, he could hardly wait to move to someplace more exciting.

                For many of us who grew up in church, our faith experience is like growing up on the north shore. We are familiar with all of the Bible stories but we don’t love them. We have heard sermons preached at us all our lives. But our faith seems dull and boring. There are so many things out in the world that seem much more exciting.

                We have all heard the proverb, “Familiarity breeds contempt.” Familiarity is one of the greatest barriers to maturing in our faith. We know just enough about our faith to make us complacent and unmotivated. In a broad sense, familiarity with the truths of the Bible has fostered a general distain in our society. Familiarity does not equate with understanding, which is the basic problem.

                When Jesus visited his hometown of Nazareth, the people took offense at him because they saw him as just the carpenter’s son. They discounted what they had heard about Jesus, because they thought they knew him. Consequently, Matthew tells us that Jesus could not do many miracles in their midst. I wonder if one of the reasons that we don’t see more amazing things happening in the church today is because we are too familiar with Jesus.

                There is a commercial on TV right now promoting the NHL. One of the lines from the commercial goes something like this. “Did you think you have seen all that there is to see?” I think that is a good question for those of us who call ourselves Christians. Do we think we have seen all there is to see when it comes to our faith? Has our faith become rote and stale? Are we complacent because we are familiar with the truths of the Bible but we don’t really understand and apply them?

                It is essential for us to move beyond a rudimentary understanding of our faith to a vital, energized embracing of our faith. It is not enough to be familiar with the stories in the Bible. Instead, we need to dig deeper into the meaning and impact of those stories.

                Matthew 13 is a series of parables told by Jesus. His disciples came to him and asked why he taught in parables. This is how he answered.

He replied, "The knowledge of the secrets of the kingdom of heaven has been given to you, but not to them. Whoever has will be given more, and he will have an abundance. Whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken from him. This is why I speak to them in parables: "Though seeing, they do not see; though hearing, they do not hear or understand. In them is fulfilled the prophecy of Isaiah: "'You will be ever hearing but never understanding; you will be ever seeing but never perceiving. For this people's heart has become calloused; they hardly hear with their ears, and they have closed their eyes. Otherwise they might see with their eyes, hear with their ears, understand with their hearts and turn, and I would heal them.' But blessed are your eyes because they see, and your ears because they hear. For I tell you the truth, many prophets and righteous men longed to see what you see but did not see it, and to hear what you hear but did not hear it.
Matthew 13:11-17 (NIV)

                There were many in Jesus’ day who were content to settle for a superficial understanding of Jesus’ teaching. Their familiarity blinded them to the deeper truths. But those who had the eyes to see and the ears to hear understood that there was far more to what Jesus was saying than met the eye at first. Still today, those who are willing to dig deeper will be rewarded and those who settle for mere familiarity will fade.

                Paul was unwilling to settle for being familiar with Jesus. He wanted to know Jesus in the deepest ways possible. So, he was willing to do the hard work of gaining wisdom and understanding.

I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of sharing in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, and so, somehow, to attain to the resurrection from the dead.
Philippians 3:10-11 (NIV)

                There are times when I read the Bible and I don’t really see the words any more. I am so familiar with what is being said that I just gloss over it. I have been convicted about this. I have made a new commitment to dig deeper, and to not settle for being familiar with the truth. Like Paul, I want to continually press on toward the goal of knowing Christ fully and completely.

Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already been made perfect, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus. All of us who are mature should take such a view of things. And if on some point you think differently, that too God will make clear to you. Only let us live up to what we have already attained.
Philippians 3:12-16 (NIV)

NEW YEAR’S RESOLUTIONS

 Be imitators of God, therefore, as dearly loved children and live a life 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 (NIV)

                This time of the year it common for people to make New Year’s resolutions. Usually, these resolutions focus on what a person wants to do in the new year. It may be to lose weight, or write a book, or get a new job, or find that special someone. Some of these resolutions are “big picture” and some are more short-term goals. We all need goals to strive for, so making resolutions at the beginning of the year is not a bad idea. The problem for most of us is that we routinely fail to follow through. In the routine of life, we forget about our resolutions and fall back into well-worn patterns of living. It takes real intentionality and determined action to actually attain the goals we set for ourselves.

                As I have already stated, most of our resolutions focus on what we want to do in the new year. I want to suggest that we need another category of resolution; a much more significant category. We need to ask ourselves not what we want to do in the new year, but who we want to become in the new year. In what ways do I want to be a different, and hopefully better, person at the end of 2023? What I am talking about is character development. Who I am shapes all that I do.

                We live in a world where character have been marginalized. How many times have we heard some prominent person say something like this. “My personal life has nothing to do with my ability to do my job.” “My private life is none of anyone’s business.” “Who I am in private has no bearing on who I am in public.” These kinds of statements are routinely accepted by the general public, yet they are completely false. Who a person is in their character shapes all that they do in life. The two cannot be separated.

                Too often lately, we have seen the demise of some public figure because of “their private life.” Unfortunately, this has been too common among well-known Christian leaders. Their public persona and their personal character collide causing a mighty crash. Not only does this affect the individual, but it expands in a wave that engulfs a multitude of others. Entire congregations and networks of churches have suffered because of the character flaws of their leader.

                Having said all this, I come back to my original thought. Who do you want to be this year? A good place to start is with the fruit of the Spirit as outlined in Galatians 5:22-23. But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. Each of these fruits is a character issue. For these to be fully realized in our lives, we need to intentionally cultivate them.

                When we moved to Michigan, we inherited some fruit trees. I was excited about the possibility of harvesting fruit from my own trees. I quickly realized that it wasn’t that simple. In order for my trees to bear good fruit, I had to fertilize them, water them, prune them, and spray them. If I just left them, I would get bad fruit or no fruit at all. But if I was intentional about caring for them, I could expect an abundance of fruit.

                The same is true of our character. If we neglect developing our character, we can expect negative results. But if we intentionally invest in developing our character, we will bear much fruit. There are two things that I need to say about developing our character. First, we cannot do this on our own by sheer will-power. We need both the power of the Holy Spirit guiding us and others to walk along side of us to encourage us. Second, we cannot expect to tackle all of the issues of our character at once. Instead, we need to focus on one or two critical areas, and trust the Holy Spirit to guard the rest.

                Ultimately our goal is to be like Christ. We want to be transformed by the power of the Holy Spirit so that we can conform to Christ’s likeness. As Paul writes in 2 Corinthians 3:18, And we, who with unveiled faces all reflect the Lord's glory, are being transformed into his likeness with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit.

                So, who do you want to be in 2023? What character traits are at the top of your list? Two things I want to work on this year are patience and self-control. Too often I get impatient and want to run ahead of God. I also give in to temptation way too easily. I need to learn to rest in God’s timing and trust in His design for my life. How about you?

And we pray this in order that you may live a life worthy of the Lord and may please him in every way: bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God, being strengthened with all power according to his glorious might so that you may have great endurance and patience, and joyfully giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in the kingdom of light.
Colossians 1:10-12 (NIV)