For the love of Christ controls us...

I've been studying 2 Corinthians lately and a few things have really jumped out and blessed, encouraged, and challenged me, especially in chapter 5. Check out this passage:

5:14-17
"For the love of Christ controls us, because we have concluded this: that one has died for all, therefore all have died; 15 and he died for all, that those who live might no longer live for themselves but for him who for their sake died and was raised.

16 From now on, therefore, we regard no one according to the flesh. Even though we once regarded Christ according to the flesh, we regard him thus no longer. 17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come."

What powerful verses. It would take two and a half books to fully touch on all of the truths in these verses, but I just want to share what jumped out at me when I was studying them. We're going to go in reverse order here... the first thing that really sticks out to me is in verse 16- "we regard no one according to the flesh." How many of us regard people according to the flesh? According to worldly standards?

I find myself very often making rapid-fire assumptions from a first appearance, be it good or bad. James 2 speaks vehemently against favoritism... and yet that's a first-reaction many times. I'm guessing I'm not the only one who struggles with this, but the key is what we DO with that first reaction. Do we let it remain and affect the way we treat people? Or do we "regard no one according to the flesh... [any] longer"?

In your daily encounters with people, do your best to see them as Christ does- not making assumptions but seeking to get to know them and love them. "Do not be conformed to the patterns of this world" Paul writes in Romans 12, "but be transformed by the renewing of your mind." Don't judge them as the world does (on how good looking, talented, athletic, immodest, etc., you think they are), but pray for the Lord to open your eyes to see them as He does.

More prominently, though, is the idea found in verse 14: "For the love of Christ controls us..." I challenge you to take a moment to think about how life would be different if we were really controlled by the love of Christ. But not only controlled, like a master controls his robot. Another version translates it "For the love of Christ compels us..." so it's not just controlling but compelling, or "to force or drive, esp. to a course of action" (dictionary.com). So it's more of a controlling motivation, a passion that "controls" you and affects every decision that you make.

It's been said that the believers didn't call themselves Christians, but were called Christians because of how differently they were living (in giving, relationships, etc- Acts 11:19-26). If we were living a Christ's-love controlled (and compelled) life, this would be our situation, as well. We would be different:

In the way we spend our money- we would be much more concerned about the poor and needy around the world as well as our brothers and sisters worldwide who need help, and much less concerned about material things that will burn at the end of time. Christ loved the poor and needy and if His love controlled our lives, we would "give generously", as we're encouraged to (2 Corinthians 9:6-15), especially because we know that even when we have nothing, we "possess everything" (2 Cor. 6:10).

In the way we spend our time- we would waste less time with trivial things and spend much more time doing the things that mattered- Christ spent a large part of His time teaching and discipling, but also knew the value of getting alone with His Father (Mark 1:35). We would look for people to disciple and spend time memorizing that which will endure- the words of God. Christ loved His Heavenly Father and His disciples and spent His time with them.

In our relationships- the love of Christ might be most evident in our relationships, for instead of being self-centered, self-seeking people (looking out for our own interests), we would be seeking to build others up (1 Thess. 5:11), to encourage each other (Eph 4:29), considering them more significant than ourselves (Phil 2:3-4) and loving them sincerely, from our heart (1 Peter 1:22).

I've recently come across two striking examples of people who were compelled by the love of Christ:

Gladys Staines: she and her husband, Graham, were Australian missionaries (along with their three kids) to the poor and needy in India. They sought to care for the lepers and show the love of Christ to them through their work. But one night in 1999, Graham and their two sons were burned while they slept in their car. But this tragedy didn't deter Gladys and her daughter from the Lord or His love- at the public trial, she made clear that she had "forgiven" her family's murderers. Wow. Not only that, though, but if I read correctly, she and her daughter returned to the village in which their family was murdered and completed the task that had been in progress- the building of a hospital. Many MANY people have come to know the love of Christ because of His love shining through the two of them...

Thomas More: while I don't believe in a lot of what the 16th century author, statesman, and politician stood for most of his career, his display of the love of Christ at his death is undeniable. In the book of martyrs, "Jesus Freaks Vol. II", More's story is recorded as such:

'More was tried and condemned to death on the testimony of false witnesses and his unwillingness to take the oath of allegiance (he opposed King Henry's takeover of the church). In response to his sentence, he said, "I have nothing more to say, my lords, but that just as the blessed Apostle St. Paul, as we read in the Acts of the Apostles, was present and consented to the death of St. Stephen, ...and yet they are both together holy saints in heaven and shall continue to be friends there forever, so I truly trust, and shall right heartily pray, that though your lordships have now here on earth been my condemning judges, we may hereafter meet right merrily together in heaven and enjoy our everlasting salvations together."' After being sentenced to death, Thomas More prayed that his judges would be with him forevermore in heaven as friends, rejoicing in the Lord together. Nothing other than Christ's love could have compelled More to say that with sincerity.

So that challenge, friends, is to live a Christ's-love compelled life. Read and study how Jesus loved people and how God calls us through the authors of the Bible to love. And then don't let it remain as head knowledge- live it out for His greatest glory.

Striving for the sake of His Name...

Luke

Eternal Things

Does anyone else suffer from the "I watch, therefore I am" disease? I will watch a movie that includes fighting and automatically think that I would be a pretty good fighter if I tried/wanted, although I have never fought anyone in my life (other than some TKD action in Ecuador) nor have I been trained in it. It's also pretty bad when I watch D-I college or NBA basketball and think, "yeah- I can do that!" All it takes is a look at the mirror to realize that I'm 6', 160 with not a tremendous amount of natural athleticism and then a trip to the local gym to play some ball to put me back in my rightful place.

What I really want to write about, though, is a New Year's resolution of mine. It stems from 2 Peter 3:10-12 and Colossians 3:1-2. Here are the texts:

2 Peter 3:10-12- "But the day of the Lord will come like a thief, and then the heavens will pass away with a roar, and the heavenly bodies will be burned up and dissolved, and the earth and the works that are done on it will be exposed. Since all these things are thus to be dissolved, what sort of people ought you to be in lives of holiness and godliness, waiting for and hastening the coming of the day of God, because of which the heavens will be set on fire and dissolved, and the heavenly bodies will melt as they burn!"

Colossians 3:1-2: "If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth."

The thing that I was reminded of at the start of the new year is that one day this world will burn up. Dissolve. Poof. Boom. Gone. All of the awards won? Burn like wood, hay, and stubble. All of the time invested into things of this world? It will mean zilch. All of the cares of the world? Nada.

We have been blessed with a short amount of time (The Psalmist calls it "but a breath"- Psalm 39:5) to do work for the glory of God here on earth- so why mess around? It is SO EASY to get caught up in things of the world- cares, concerns, worries, stress-inducers. But one question that will be very helpful to ask is, "in eternity, will this matter?"

Recognize, please, that I'm not saying it is sinful to play video games or buy a new set of clothes three times a year. But how much time are you spending playing video games- especially in contrast to the time spent investing in others or time with the Lord- and for what purpose? And how much money are you spending on those new clothes- especially in contrast with how much you are giving to those who are in need?

Dad used to tell me (when I was nervous about a test grade), "a year from now, you'll never remember the grade you got on that test". That was true even a month later for me- keep it in mind when stress/worry/concern begins to creep up about things that really won't matter in the long (eternal) run.

CS Lewis wrote many books, one of which is entitled "The Weight of Glory". I read the text of a sermon he spoke concerning the topic and one of the main things that hit me was this: Lewis said, "You have never met a mere mortal... it is immortals whom we joke with, work with, marry, snub, and exploit-immortal horrors or everlasting splendours." The people we interact with on a daily basis are going to spend eternity in one of two ways: as an immortal horror or an everlasting splendor.

This could lead us to view each other "solemnly", sucking the 'fun' out of life. But Lewis also speaks on this: "This does not mean that we are to be perpetually solemn. We must play. But our merriment must be of that kind (and it is, in fact, the merriest kind) which exists between people who have, from the outset, taken each other seriously-no flippancy, no superiority, no presumption. And our charity must be a real and costly love..." So we can enjoy each other, but NOT at the cost of tearing each other down.

This has been especially convicting to me, for I do enjoy making people laugh but I need to be very careful that my joking has no "superiority" in it (very difficult to do, so sometimes it's better just not to joke). I need to ensure that what I say will be building up the Body of believers, not tearing them down.

What DOES God value? What WILL echo in eternity (to borrow words from Maximus Decimus Meridius)? Re-read what Jesus says to do in the Gospels to find out what will count in eternity (hint: Matthew 28:18-20 and Acts 1:8 are good places to start).

So my challenge to myself and to you is to fix your eyes on Jesus (Heb 12:2) and set your hearts and minds on things above, living with an eternal perspective on life- not wasting large amounts of time or money on things that will burn up, but investing our lives into Christ-exalting things. And treat each other as immortals- not worshiping each other, but respecting each other with NO 'flippancy, superiority or presumption', loving each other "earnestly from a pure heart" (1 Peter 1:22).

I'm clearly a work in progress, if you know anything about me. Let's journey this together and magnify the glory of God to the world.

For His glory...

Luke

Prayer Requests

Happy New Year, friends.

This is a blog about asking for prayer, and I don't intend to cover all of what I believe prayer to be in this post, for truly prayer is about more than just asking for things. But this morning I was studying 2 Corinthians 1:8-11, it was truly an amazing time with the Lord and I feel compelled to share. Here's the text (ESV):

"For we do not want you to be ignorant, brothers, of the affliction we experienced in Asia. For we were so utterly burdened beyond our strength that we despaired of life itself. 9 Indeed, we felt that we had received the sentence of death. But that was to make us rely not on ourselves but on God who raises the dead. 10 He delivered us from such a deadly peril, and he will deliver us. On him we have set our hope that he will deliver us again. 11 You also must help us by prayer, so that many will give thanks on our behalf for the blessing granted us through the prayers of many."

The focus of this post is on verse 11, but the context is necessary for some of the things I learned- and also because context is very important when studying Scripture!

One of the questions that I had in reading this first verse was "why did Paul want to be sure that his 'brothers' and sisters in the Lord weren't 'ignorant' of his sufferings?" A few possibilities came to mind: 1) they wanted prayer during this time of suffering, 2) that, as Philippians 1 says (verses 12-14), the brothers would be "much more bold to speak the word without fear.", 3) and/or that the Corinthian church would not be surprised when they suffered in similar ways. All of these are quite possibly true, but it's even more beautiful to see Paul's perspective on the situation- he recognizes that this suffering has pushed them beyond their strength and made them fully dependent on the Lord (not themselves). He's boasting in their weakness, for God's strength is being made manifest in this time of suffering!

Verse 11 was the kicker for me, though. "You must also help us by prayer, so that many will give thanks on our behalf for the blessing granted us through the prayers of many."

I discovered in my praying through this passage that for the majority of my life my thoughts on asking for prayer have been arrogant and self-centered. I do ask for prayer often, but usually solely for the benefit of myself- that I can receive the blessing of answered prayer. And if I think that my prayers alone can 'handle' the situation, I don't share it (sometime because I think 'why bother others with this small request?'). Father, forgive me.

The Lord blew open my view of asking for prayer through this verse. You see, Paul here is asking for prayer in a selfless, humble way. He is inviting the Corinthian church to join with him in the joy of seeing God answer prayer and getting a grander view of our Heavenly Father. Paul first acknowledges that there is power in prayer: "You must help us by prayer..." One of the reasons that the majority of Christians don't pray nearly as much as we should is because we don't understand the power of prayer and praying for each other. Here are a few Biblical examples of people requesting prayer:

Esther: in chapter 4, before she risks her life to go before the king and plead on her people's behalf, she calls all of the "Jews to... hold a fast on my behalf, and do not eat or drink for three days, night or day." She realizes that she has been pushed "beyond her strength" and needs the power of God to see her through this.

Daniel: one of my favorite men of the Bible, he asks his three buddies (before the wise men of the kingdom of Babylon are to be killed because they can't discern and interpret the dream of King Nebuchadnezzar) to "seek mercy from the God of heaven concerning this mystery..." (2:18). Verse 19 says "Then the mystery was revealed to Daniel in a vision of the night. Then Daniel blessed the God of heaven." Prayer works.

Jesus: on the Mount of Olives, He calls his disciples to "Pray that you may not enter into temptation." (Luke 22:40, 46) He understands the gravity of the situation (He is about to be crucified) and knows that this is beyond their strength.

So prayer, especially requesting prayer from others, isn't a foreign notion in the Scriptures. But even more spectacular about Paul's request of the Corinthian church is the proposed result of their prayers: "so that many will give thanks on our behalf for the blessing granted us through the prayers of many." He is calling the Corinthian church to pray for them so that they, too, can experience the joy and thanksgiving that comes with answered prayer! Have you ever considered that when sharing a prayer request?

We should be requesting prayer not just so that it may be answered, but more importantly so that others can share in the joy of seeing it answered and so that all of us may have a higher view of God due to the answered prayer. Whenever God answers one of my prayers in wondrous fashion, I am humbled by His Greatness and so excited to be reminded that He is real! How selfish of me to keep this joy and thanksgiving to myself when I can share it with others! Paul truly desires the best for the Corinthian church, and this 'best' involves them rejoicing with him when he is delivered. What selflessness...

As a guy, I try to be tough sometimes. I know many of us (guys and gals alike) sometimes see asking for prayer as a sign of weakness, but that's the beauty of it: it is a sign of weakness! We are revealing to our brothers and sisters that we need our Father. Paul writes later in 2 Corinthians that God's strength is "made perfect in weakness" and therefore boasts all the more in his weaknesses (2 Cor. 12:9-10). We need this same attitude- that God's strength may be made perfect in our weakness and He may be exalted.

I don't encourage you all to dump every single request onto the person next to you before prayer, but sharing what God has been teaching you and area(s) in which you need to grow is a healthy thing for us to get into the practice of doing. It will humble us, strengthen our community and also provide the opportunity for God to magnify Himself through us. But don't only share requests with your brothers and sisters- pray for one another (James 5:16)! Do remember to pray in faith, though, for the man who doubts is "like a wave of the sea that is driven and tossed by the wind. For that person must not suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord..." (James 1:6-7).

We have been created to exalt the Lord and when we share prayer requests believing and expecting God to answer them, God is exalted when He responds and our joy is magnified. Let's do it for His glory.

By His amazing grace...

Luke