Rebuke

TODAY'S SPECIAL: Titus 1-3; Psalm 23

TO CHEW ON: "For there are many insubordinate both idle talkers and deceivers ... whose mouths must be stopped, who subvert whole households, teaching things which they ought not for the sake of dishonest gain .... Therefore rebuke them sharply that they may be sound in the faith." Titus 1:10-11,13

A friend was sharing the story of her spiritual journey with me the other day. She told of a time, about a year into her walk with Christ, when substitute teaching jobs kept coming up on the day of her women's Bible study. Feeling the need for more money, she almost always accepted them.

One day when she again phoned her Bible study leader to tell her she would be away, the woman confronted her. "You know," she said, "you're a new Christian and you need this Bible study. You need to get off the fence."

"My leader's words really made me think," my friend said. "We don't reprove or rebuke people much these days."

My friend is right. Rebuke, reproof, confrontation—whatever word you use for it—our tolerant society isn't very tolerant of such corrective speech. But this is what Paul told Titus to do when he encountered the idle talkers [mataiologos  = speaking that lacks reason and worth and gives evidence of an undisciplined lifestyle - New Spirit-Filled Life Bible, p. 1720] and the deceivers who influenced entire families against the gospel with motives of personal gain.

Titus isn't the only place the Bible mentions rebuke/reproof.

• Proverbs speaks of the people who rebuke the wicked as having delight and gaining a blessing (Proverbs 24:25). However, the writer is realistic and also warns of the bad reception such rebuke may cause (Proverbs 9:7).

• Luke tells us to rebuke with care, and forgive when the wrongdoer repents (Luke 17:3).

• Paul tells his readers to expose the deeds of darkness (Ephesians 5:11). He lists "rebuke" as one of the routine duties of the pastor, along with "preach, exhort, convince, and teach" (2 Timothy 4:2). He tells Timothy to rebuke publicly so that onlookers will examine their own actions (1 Timothy 5:20) and Titus to rebuke sharply (our reading) and with authority (Titus 2:15).

Have you ever been rebuked? Have you rebuked someone? Maybe this is a biblical practice we should do more of, with the intention of helping people mature (Titus 1:13) and as an expression love to fellow members of God's family (1 Corinthians 4:14).

PRAYER: Dear God, help me to have the courage to rebuke a fellow Christian if there is a need. But more, help me to accept rebuke. Help me to see it as an act of love. Amen.

PSALM TO PRAY: Psalm 23

The Bible Project VIDEO: Titus (Read Scripture Series)

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Unless otherwise noted all Scripture quotations are taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Insulting the guests

Jesus Eats With Publicans and Sinners - by Alexandre Bida

TODAY'S SPECIAL: Matthew 9-10; Psalm 85

TO CHEW ON: "And when the Pharisees saw it, they said to His disciples, 'Why does your Teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?' When Jesus heard that, He said to them, 'Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick.' " Matthew 9:11,12

Jesus and His disciples were socializing with known sinners. This dinner party was in Matthew's own home (this is clear from the Mark 2:13-17 and Luke 5:27-32 versions of this story, where Matthew is called "Levi").

You've got to admire Matthew's humility when he reports Jesus' defense of why He's associating with, what his critics consider, riffraff.  Jesus says they are sick and need a doctor, sinners who need to repent, unrighteous who need mercy. He's basically describing Matthew and current company. How would you or I feel if a dinner guest said that about us and our guests?

But it seems Matthew had no problem with it. He had faced himself in this way. It had brought him to his moment of decision, led him to leave his job— a life change (Matthew 9:9).  Now he wanted his friends to be exposed to the same ideas and the Person who had helped him see himself.

I would suggest that it is similar for us. It's only when we are honest about our condition and realistic about who and what we are that we get free to leave the old life behind and embark with Jesus on the new.

We have to face that we don't "make mistakes," we sin. Our sinful acts aren't the odd exception, they are symptoms of our chronic condition. We need to repent, turn around, and come to Dr. Jesus for mercy. This is not some self-improvement program for us and our friends, but a spiritual healing, a rebirth.

PRAYER: Dear Jesus, in my society where "sin" and "repentance" are words I rarely hear, help me to understand the depth of human separation from You, the need to admit that we're all sinners and must turn around (repent) to re-establish our relationship with God. Amen.

PSALM TO PRAY: Psalm 85

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Unless otherwise noted all Scripture quotations are taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Our real home and native land

Image: Pixabay

TODAY’S SPECIAL: Philippians 3:12-4:1


TO CHEW ON: “For our citizenship is in heaven, from which we also eagerly wait for the Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ, who will transform our lowly body that it may be transformed to His glorious body according to the working by which He is able to subdue all things to Himself.” Philippians 3:20,21


The older I get the more I long for the day my “lowly body” will be “transformed” and “conformed” to Jesus’ “glorious body.” That longing is multiplied many times over when I see bodies of family members and friends ravished by disease and crippled by failing parts. We are so fragile. A few moments of insufficient oxygen at birth can determine the course of a life. A trip or fall or crash can maim us permanently. And then there are all those hidden processes of our inner organs that open the door to heart attacks, strokes, dementia, and the growth of malignant cells.

Another reason I long for heaven is because more and more I feel like a social and cultural misfit here on earth. It's just as Paul described it in Philippians 3: 18,19. I have the sense of being an alien in a place populated by enemies of the cross. It’s a place where I am bombarded by advice on how to placate the god of my belly and where much that the Bible teaches me is wrong is my society’s pride.

Anticipating heaven reminds me of planning a trip to the tropics during Canada's harsh winter. When we do that, we feed our anticipation for our trip by reading the travel agent's brochures about our destination.Today, let's anticipate our heavenly destination by reading some of the Bible's brochures about it. 

• It’s where our Father lives and prepares the reward for all the secret “charitable deeds” we’ve performed while on earth - Matthew 6:4.

• It’s a place we’re known. Our names are written in its roster - Luke 10:20.

• It’s a place of honour and work—a banquet and an assignment - Luke 22:30.

• It’s a place of residence, of “many mansions” prepared for us by Jesus - John 14:2.

• It’s a perfect place (of “incorruptible and undefiled inheritance”). Only people whose names are in God’s book are allowed to live there - 1 Peter 1:4.

• It’s a place of purity, reserved (again) for those named in the Lamb’s Book of Life.

• It’s the place of our real citizenship, with our Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ - Philippians 3:20 (our focus verse).

What a destination to look forward to!

PRAYER: Dear Father, I’m excited for heaven. While I’m still firmly on planted on earth, help me to envision this final destination to keep me hopeful, focused on what’s real, and unswayed by the tempting voices around me. Amen.


MORE: "Sometimes I Wonder"

Heaven is a very popular subject for gospel music writers. Here's a relatively recent song about heaven, "Sometimes I Wonder" sung by Ernie Haase & Signature Sound.



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Unless otherwise noted all Scripture quotations are taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

A wedding made in heaven

Image: Pixabay

TODAY’S SPECIAL: Revelation 21:1-21

TO CHEW ON: “Then one of the seven angels who had the seven bowls filled with the seven last plagues came to me and talked with me saying, ‘Come, I will show you the bride, the Lamb’s wife.’
And he carried me away in the Spirit to a great and high mountain and showed me the great city, the holy Jerusalem descending out of heaven from God.” Revelation 21:9,10

Imagery of God taking a bride is present already in the Old Testament. The book Song of Solomon—a celebration of married love all the way through—is interpreted on one level as “… the covenant love relationship enjoyed by God’s church” Donald Pickerill, “Introduction to the Song of Solomon,” New Spirit-Filled Life Bible, p. 860.

Isaiah prophesied a time when the relationship of God and His people would resemble a marriage. About Zion (Jerusalem) he said:

“For as a young man marries a virgin,
So shall your sons marry you;
And as a bridegroom rejoices over the bride,
So shall your God rejoice over you” - Isaiah 62:5.

Bride imagery comes to us again through Jesus. When John the Baptist’s disciples came to Him and asked Him why His disciples didn’t fast while they and the Pharisees did, Jesus’ answer (“‘Can the friends of the bridegroom mourn as long as the bridegroom is with them? But the days will come when the bridegroom will be taken away from them, and they they will fast’” - Matthew 9:15) implied that He was the Bridegroom and was not going to be around forever.

John the Baptist also recognized Jesus as the bridegroom. When people came to him (John) wanting a reaction to Jesus’ success at attracting crowds, John said, “‘He who has the bride is the bridegroom; but the friend of the bridegroom, who stands and hears him, rejoices greatly because of the bridegroom’s voice. Therefore this joy of mine is fulfilled’” - John 3:29,30.

Paul picked up this imagery in his letters. In writing to the church in Rome, he spoke of their life of faith in Christ:

“Therefore my brethren, you also have become dead to the law through the body of Christ that you may be married to another—to Him who was raised from the dead…’” - Romans 7:4.

And to the Corinthian church he wrote:

“For I have betrothed you to one husband that I may present you as a chaste virgin to Christ” - 2 Corinthians 11:2.

Finally, in Revelation, John had several visions that included brides, weddings and wedding feasts. Among them is the vision of Revelation 19:7,8  when he heard the multitudes of heaven proclaim:

“‘Let us be glad and rejoice to give Him the glory, for the marriage of the Lamb has come and His wife has made herself ready.’ And to her it was granted to be arrayed in fine linen, clean and bright, for the fine linen is the righteous acts of the saints.”

And then we have the beautiful image in our passage of Jerusalem, descending from heaven like a bride - Revelation 21:2,9,10.

Several thoughts come to mind in response to this:

1. The Christian community’s outrage at changes in society’s definition of marriage is easily understood in the light of the sacred covenant and union marriage symbolizes in the Bible. It’s one of the reasons some of us will never give in to demands that we change our stand on this.

2. The beauty and purity of the Bride, as pictured here, is a challenge to each one of us to keep ourselves ready, dressed in that “fine linen clean and bright,” our wedding garment, gifted and made possible through the shed and cleansing blood of our Bridegroom.

PRAYER: Dear Jesus, help me to live in a spirit of repentance and purity, always aware of whose I am. Amen.

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Unless otherwise noted all Scripture quotations are taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

An invitation to Christian meditation

TODAY'S SPECIAL: Philippians 4:1-23

TO CHEW ON: "Finally brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy—meditate on these things." Philippians 4:8

Do you meditate? What is meditation?

The very week I'm writing this our pastor gave a talk on meditation to our Wednesday Women's group. In his talk he referred to the chapter on meditation in Celebration of Discipline (Richard Foster)—which I own and so have re-read in the past few days. And now this reference to meditation. It feels like an invitation to share some of the things I've been learning, thinking about—meditating on!

What is Christian meditation?

"Christian meditation, very simply, is the ability to hear God's voice and obey His word…. It's growing into 'a familiar friendship with Jesus'" - Richard Foster, Celebration of Discipline, p. 17. , p. 19 (quoting Thomas a Kempis).

How do we meditate? 

1. It may not be a natural desire
Foster describes the desire to want to meditate on God, hear His voice, and obey it as a  "grace." In meditation we detach from the things of this world and attach to the things of God: "The detachment from the confusion all around us is in order to have a richer attachment to God. Christian meditation leads us to the inner wholeness necessary to gives ourselves to God freely" - Foster, p. 21.

2. We find a quiet place and assume a posture that is conducive for us.
Some kneel, some sit, some walk about.

3. We focus on Scripture.
… the meditation upon Scripture, is the central reference point by which all other forms of meditation are kept in proper perspective" - Foster, p. 29.

Some advice about Scripture meditation:

• Small portions: My pastor and Foster advise meditating on small bits of Scripture at a time—a verse, a phrase, a word.

• Review: My pastor said: "Plant it early (in the day) and come back to if often" - Derrick Hamre.

• Memorize: memorization helps us internalize the Word, get it into our very DNA.

• Journal: what God says to us, our insights, learnings, confessions.

• Martin Luther's questions. Pastor gave us these questions to ask about a Scripture passage:

1. What does this text say about God (e.g. to help me praise Him)?
2. What sin does this text bring to light that I need to confess?
3. What do I need to ask God for in the light of this text?

4. We use imagination.

• Live the Scripture passage vicariously—experiencing, through imagination, the very physical sensations of the parable, story, or event.

• With news headlines at hand, "…ask God for prophetic insight to discern where these things lead. Further, we should ask for guidance for anything we personally should be doing to be salt and light in our decaying and dark world" - Foster p. 32.

5. Meditate in nature.
While we're outside, walking beside a field of grain, watching the birds in the forest, standing beside the crashing waves "…the Creator of the universe shows us something of his glory through creation" - Foster,  p. 31.

What are the benefits of Christian meditation?

"What happens in meditation is that we create the emotional and spiritual space which allows Christ to construct an inner sanctuary of the heart" - Foster p. 20.

Being in touch with God through times of meditation in this way can change our whole day. Foster suggests that a regular habit of Christian meditation can lead to living with a sense of "holy leisure" - Foster, p. 27.

With the above in mind, we see what a treasure trove of meditation material Philippians 4:8 is. We could meditate on a quality a day and this verse could last us a whole week. We could examine our lives for the presence or absence of each quality, confess their lack,  and pray for more of them. We could memorize the list so that we can recognize their presence and turn our minds to good thoughts the moment one of their opposites makes an appearance.  For "'Meditation has no point and has no reality unless it is firmly rooted in life,'" - Foster, quoting Thomas Merton, p. 22

PRAYER: Dear God, teach me to meditate deeply and practically on You and Your words. Amen.

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Unless otherwise noted all Scripture quotations are taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.