Two tests for our to-do lists

TODAY'S SPECIAL: James 4-5; Psalm 32

TO CHEW ON: "Therefore, to him who knows to do good and does not do it, to him it is sin." James 4:17


In this practical section of James' practical letter, I see two filters or tests for our to-do lists for today, tomorrow, and into the future.

1. Is this God's will (James 4:13-16)?

After years of walking with the Lord, I still often find myself making plans and then feeling a check in my spirit and the question: "Have you consulted Me about this?" Or realizing that I want something to happen or work out NO MATTER WHAT and then getting the insight: this thing is self-conceived, self-imposed, and self-generated.

Author Janette Oke came face to face with such a dilemma when she began writing. At first she prayed:

"'God, I'm going to write this book. And if it works and if I discover that I have talent, I'll give it all to You.'"

But she quickly sensed that was not what God wanted. His response as she recalls it:

"'I'm not interested in your book after you're done with it. I'm not even particularly interested in your talent. If you are really serious about writing as a ministry, then I want it all, right now before you start.'"

At that early stage in her career, then, she made a hands-off commitment  and the result:

"She was free. She was free to write without worrying about the outcome. She was free from the pressure of getting sales. She was free from the temptation of pride'" -  Janette Oke: A Heart for the Prairie by Laurel Oke Logan, Kindle Location 3167.

2. Am I doing the good I know to do (James 4:17)?

The IVP commentary says about this verse:

"Suddenly James shifts his emphasis from whether we know God's will to whether we do God's will… The adverb oun ("Then"—in the NKJV "Therefore") provides grammatical evidence James intends a connection in thought. The picture is of one who knows the good he ought to do and doesn't do it" - IVP commentary accessed through Bible Gateway.

I see this enacted in author Oke's life as well. Once she'd had her first book published, she started planning another. But then letters began pouring in from people who wanted to know what happened next to the characters in her story and her editor asked her to write a sequel. So she abandoned her plans and did her duty to the publishing company.

Throughout the active years of her writing career, she continued to do the good she knew to do, delivering three books a year. And it wasn't always easy. In this interview she describes writing as " ... very time consuming and frankly, it’s hard work."

That, folks, is knowing the good one should do, and doing it!

PRAYER: Dear Father, help me to make plans subject to Your lordship in my life and to faithfully perform the good and humble duties You set before me. Amen.
 

MORE: The Reward
The reward to Janette Oke for relinquishing her work to God and faithfully doing her duty is still being seen. Her books have sold over 30 million copies. In 2002, Michael Landon Jr. chose that first book she wrote—Love Comes Softly—as the basis of his first TV movie for the Hallmark Channel. Over the years many more of her books have been made into movies, including the When Calls the Heart TV series, based on her Canadian West books.

But it would be my guess that the reward she is most looking forward to is meeting Jesus and hearing His: "Well done, good and faithful servant."

My  short biography of Janette Oke, posted in the Encyclopedia of Canadian Christian Leaders is HERE.




*********
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.

Poured out versus self-directed life

TODAY’S SPECIAL: Philippians 1-2; Psalm 11

TO CHEW ON: “Yes, and if I am being poured out as a drink offering on the sacrifice and service of your faith, I am glad and rejoice with you all.” Philippians 2:17


Several times in his writing Paul uses metaphors of sacrifice for his life. These are word pictures that take us back to the Jewish sacrifices. He does that in Philippians 2: “… I am being poured out as a drink offering…” vs. 17.

The IVP New Testament Commentary Series explains the drink offering metaphor:

“The metaphor itself is taken from the Jewish sacrificial system. Pictured is the burnt offering (thysia, ‘sacrifice’), the service itself (leitourgia) and the drink offering poured out at the sanctuary (spendo) in connection with (not ‘on’ in Jewish ritual) the sacrifice (cf. Num 28:1-7)....

“Most likely, then, the whole clause is a metaphor for the present suffering that both he and they are experiencing at the hand of the Empire. He pictures his imprisonment as the drink offering that goes along with their 'burnt offering,' their present struggle in Philippi." (IVP Commentary accessed through the free resources at Biblegateway.com).

Our experience may not include seeing or being part of such a ritual. But even so it’s clear, I think, that Paul is talking about complete relinquishment of his life to the purposes of Jesus.  His life is some sort of liquid—water, or wine, or perfume—poured out.

A more modern voice that sounds a lot like Paul’s on the matter of living the sacrificial life is Oswald Chambers. Here are some things he says in the book Biblical Ethics (all emphases added):

“The attitude of Christians toward the providential order in which they are placed is to recognize that God is behind it for purposes of His own” - Biblical Ethics, Kindle Location 554.

“The only way one can ever be of service to God is when one is willing to renounce all one’s natural excellencies and determine to be weak in Him. ‘I am here for one thing only, for Jesus Christ to manifest himself in me.’… We have to form the habit of letting God carry on His work through us without let or hindrance - Op. Cit. K.L. 3317.

“There was no ‘show business’ in the life of the Son of God, and there is to be no show business in the life of the saint. Concentrate on God, let Him engineer circumstances as He will, and wherever He places you…” Op. Cit. KL 3344.

What a contrast such a life is to Paul’s description of a group of people he calls “all” a little further down:

“For all seek their own, not things which are of Christ Jesus” - Philippians 2:21.

“For the others seek [to advance] their own interests, not those of Jesus Christ the Messiah” - Philippians 2:21 AMP.

Chambers:

“Sin is literally self-centered rule, a disposition that rules the life apart from God.” Chambers, Op.Cit. KL 4502.

I ask myself, as perhaps you do too, what sort of life am I living? A poured-out, drink offering life, or a self-centered one?

PRAYER: Dear Father, I find myself so often defaulting to self-rule. Help me to live the poured-out life, completely at Your disposal more consistently. Amen.

PSALM TO PRAY: Psalm 11

The Bible Project VIDEO: Philippians (Read Scripture Series)





 *********
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.

Scripture quotations marked AMP are taken from the Amplified® Bible, Copyright © 1954, 1958, 1962, 1964, 1965, 1987 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission." (www.Lockman.org)

The great trade-off

TODAY'S SPECIAL: Philippians 3:1-11


TO CHEW ON: "Yet indeed I also count all things loss for the excellence of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them as rubbish, that I may gain Christ." Philippians 3:8

Paul, here, could be the merchant in the story Jesus told: "Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant seeking beautiful pearls. who, when he had found one pearl of great price went and sold all that he had and bought it" (Matthew 13:45-46).

What had Paul "sold" (Philippians 3:4-6)?
- His own efforts to satisfy the law.
- His confidence of special Hebrew-born status.
- His self-assuredness from his training, education and prestige as a Pharisee.
- Faith in his zealous religious work.

And what did he get in exchange (Philippians 3:7-21)?
- Intimate knowledge of Jesus.
- Right standing with God based on faith not works.
- Power (resurrection power).
- Suffering - to the extent of death.
- A new life-goal.
- A new final home.
- The hope of a glorified body.

A sidebar article in my Bible comments:

"This passage sums up Paul's primary pursuit in life: to know Christ. From a prison cell in Rome, Paul pens this personal letter in which he comes to terms with an accomplished past and a confining present. After his past as a persecutor of God's people and through his "superior" religious activities as a Pharisee, Paul came to the liberating conclusion that all is rubbish compared to knowing the Lord (Philippians 3:8).


Freed from the stagnation of yesterday's victories and the emotional paralysis of yesterday's mistakes, Paul knew that the only thing that ultimately counted was knowing the Lord and being obedient to His will." - Steven Fry, New Spirit Filled Life Bible, p 1664.

I ask myself, have I felt the heartbeat of such a passion to know Christ? Could I readily "count all things loss," turning my back on everything that is "me"—my education, family, comfortable home, attainments—if such relinquishment meant I would get I would get to know Jesus better? What about you?

PRAYER: Dear Holy Spirit, please birth in me a deep hunger and longing for more of Jesus. Put in my heart a burning desire to know God in a greater way then ever before. Amen.

MORE: "He is No Fool" - by Twila Paris

Jesus and family loyalty

The Finding of the Savior in the Temple by William Holman Hunt - 1860

TODAY'S SPECIAL: Luke 2:41-52

TO CHEW ON: "And He said to them, 'Why did you seek Me? Did you know know that I must be about My Father's business?'" - Luke 2:49

Joseph Seeks Jesus
The annoyance of calling and getting no answer
soon changes to anxiety,
panic to heated words
“I thought you said he was with us.”
“Why didn’t you make sure?”
“You’re positive he’s not with Elizabeth
Zachariah and John?”

Mary and I leave the caravan din
of flickering fires and comforting supper smells
head back to Jerusalem with heavy, urgent steps
eyes sweeping hillsides and ditches.
At dark we stop in a wayside inn
where the night is a toss
of anxiety and self-recrimination:
After seeing him through everything
how could I lose him now?

Next morning in the city
we comb the markets, revisit inns
head back to relatives
asking everyone
“Have you seen our son
twelve, about so tall,
named Jesus?”

Two days like this and well into the third
exhausted Mary stumbles on the stones
I hold her sobbing, trembling form
and know we must go to pray.
The temple courtyard at dusk is deserted
but for a knot of rulers in deep discussion
Mary stops. “It’s his voice!”
Goes running over – “Jesus!
Why have you done this to us?”

He stands, steps away from them...
I, weak with relief am thinking
how can I put three days of anxiety
into words that won’t hurt,
when he says
so innocent and surprised:
“Why did you seek me? Did you not know
that I must be about my Father’s business?”

Now it is I who am lost.

© November 18, 2010 by Violet Nesdoly

This poem meditation expresses what strikes me most about this story—how Jesus and His mission affected His parents. I imagine Joseph felt a stab when Jesus said, in effect, You're not my real father. Just as Mary must have felt one earlier at hearing the prophetic words of Simeon about Jesus' future (Luke 2:34,35).

After this temple incident the 12-year-old Jesus bent to His earthly parents' wishes and it sounds like from this day on was a model child. But again in adulthood, He repudiated family ties for kingdom loyalties. He shrugged off His family's rights to Him when His mother and brothers tried to take Him home when His ministry had stirred up controversy (Mark 3:31-35). And He taught that discipleship loyalty superseded family claims (Luke 14:26).

What does this mean for us, now?

If we're young and have our lives before us, this may be our permission to follow the voice of Jesus first in making life's choices, even over parents, counselors etc.

For us who are parents, I see the words RELINQUISH, of children, grandchildren all over these passages.

PRAYER: Dear Jesus, help me to be loyal to You first, above any person, and then to allow those in my life that same freedom. Amen.
MORE:

"We put sensitive loyalty to relatives in the place of loyalty to Jesus Christ and Jesus has to take the last place. In a conflict of loyalty, obey Jesus Christ at all costs." ~ Oswald Chambers, My Utmost for His Highest, September 27 reading.

 *********
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.

What do YOU want me to do?

"The Conversion on the 
Way to Damascus" - Caravaggio

TODAY'S SPECIAL: Acts 9:1-19

TO CHEW ON: "So he trembling and astonished, said, 'Lord, what do You want me to do?' Then the Lord said to him, 'Arise and go into the city, and you will be told what you must do.'" Acts 9:6

I imagine Saul as a sincere persecutor. He was absolutely convinced that he was doing God's will and helping God's cause when he rounded up believers in Jesus and oversaw their imprisonment or death. So it's no wonder he reacted with trembling astonishment when Jesus, as a voice issuing from a blinding light, stopped him and asked, "Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting Me?"

His answer— "'Lord, what do You want me to do?'"—tells us that his desire to please God was bigger than his own agenda. Jesus' reply, "'Arise and go into the city and you will be told what you must do'" was only the first order of many that Saul obeyed. From that day on Saul / Paul was no longer the boss of his life. He was a man under orders and those orders led him to live a life of amazing impact on the church and history.

His unquestioning turnaround should cause us to examine our own lives in the same regard. Though Jesus may never come to us in blinding flashes of light to tell us to change direction, He does come in a myriad of scriptures. We know what pleases Him: a life of humility, service, love, mercy, worship—all to be done for His glory.

When he alerts us to areas in our lives that don't fit with these things, are we as quick to forsake them as Saul was to leave his mission?

Barnes' Notes on the Bible say it well:

"Lord, what wilt thou have me to do? - This indicates a subdued soul, a humbled spirit. Just before, he had sought only to do his own will; now he inquired what was the will of the Saviour. Just before he was acting under a commission from the Sanhedrin; now he renounced their authority, and asked what the Lord Jesus would have him to do. Just before he had been engaged in a career of opposition to the Lord Jesus; now he sought at once to do his will. This indicates the usual change in the mind of the sinner when he is converted. The great controversy between him and God is, whose will shall be followed. The sinner follows his own; the first act of the Christian is to surrender his own will to that of God, and to resolve to do what he requires" - Barnes Notes on the Bible - Acts 9 (emphasis added).

Then can we tolerate the silence and the waiting—suspending our need to be busy as we wait for Him to tell us what's next.

PRAYER: Dear Jesus, Saul's prayer—What do You want me to do?—is one I need to pray every day. Help me to have no agenda but Yours. Amen.

MORE: Conversion of St. Paul

Today the church celebrates the Feast of the Conversion of St. Paul. The liturgy for this day begins with this collect:

"O God, by the preaching of your apostle Paul you have caused the light of the Gospel to shine throughout the world: Grant, we pray, that we, having his wonderful conversion in remembrance, may show ourselves thankful to you by following his holy teaching; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one god now and forever. Amen."

*********

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