Dying for His Strength

In St. Paul’s second letter to the Corinthians, 4:1-12, he speaks of the things that come against him and his brothers in Christ: "We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not driven to despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed; always carrying in the body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be made visible in our bodies. For while we live, we are always being given up to death for Jesus' sake, so that the life of Jesus may be made visible in our mortal flesh."

St. Paul opens in this chapter by saying, "Therefore, since it is by God's mercy that we are engaged in this ministry, we do not lose heart." He then goes on to describe the things that have come against his ministry. I would say that I have probably had more things come against me since I have truly found the Lord than previous to that time. I say, "What have I done to deserve this? Is this my past catching up with me?

My faith is tested. The devil tries to cause me to question my Lord and God. In seeking God's presence, my faith overcomes the circumstances. I sail into the storm with abandon. I have an irrational confidence. Those that watch are sure of my destruction. I seek Him more and more with greater and greater confidence in my place in His kingdom. He is my rudder and my compass. He makes my ship's hull and keel strong.

Whew! I'm working up a sweat now. I'm getting carried away because I have experienced His strength in the midst of chaos. One time it was a life threatening illness. Another time it was a personal attack from someone that I had considered a friend.

We all have our list of the situations that have tested us. Have we seen the strength of God in them? If we seek Him, He will be our shield and our defense. St. Paul and His fellow messengers for the Lord experienced tremendous threats as they spread the gospel in their world. When we are living in God's word and doing His will, His mercy for our mission is our protector.

Paul's protection was the carrying in his body the death of Jesus. It was in this way that the life and light of Jesus was made manifest in his body. The Holy Trinity of God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit is described, petitioned and praised in this 4^th verse written by William Whiting (1825-1878), as part of what is commonly referred to as The Navy Hymn:

"O Trinity of love and power, Our brethren shield in danger's hour; From rock and tempest, fire and foe, Protect them where so e'er they go; Thus evermore shall rise to thee Glad hymns of praise from land and sea."

God's Looking Glass

St. Paul tells us in 2 Corinthians 3:4-11, 17 & 4:2, "Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. And all of us, with unveiled faces, seeing a mirror, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another; for this comes from the Lord, the Spirit."

St. Paul has been speaking of his ancestors and how they lived by the letter of the law under Moses. And even then as Paul was proclaiming Christ Jesus they were living under the letter and not of the Spirit which gives new life. He likens their condition to having a veil over them, which prevents the vision of God's glory.

God sent Christ Jesus to remove the veil so that we can see Him face to face and become more like Him by one degree of glory at a time. As we look into the mirror each day we should be able to see ourselves changing and looking more like Christ.

If we are seeking Him in our lives and studying His Word, we will see ourselves changing bit by bit. We will go through a transfiguration, if you will, that will make us more Christ-like until the day comes when we will be with the Father forever.

I worked for many years to remove my veil. The trouble was that I was not even living under the letter of the law. I would get glimpses of Christ Jesus, but my old ways kept me from seeing myself transforming when I looked into the mirror.

Our Christian history is full of people like you and me that had to have the world fall in around them in order for their attention to be turned to God. However, what a blessing in the middle of the rubble to reach down and pickup the broken mirror and look into it and see the face of Jesus.

As St. Paul says, "Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom." The letter of the law seems to confine and entrap us. It is through the freedom given by the Spirit that we can come closer to knowing God.

 

Paul reminds us that, "Such is the confidence that we have through Christ toward God. Not that we are competent of ourselves to claim anything as coming from us; our competence is from God, who has made us competent to be ministers of a new covenant, not of letter but of spirit; for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life."

Remembering who we are

Many churches across the country have outreach ministries for those outside the walls of their churches that are in some kind of need. The percent of the church members that get involved in such ministry varies from place to place. It is a good thing for all churches and all their members to regularly evaluate just what is being done for those in need.

Another area of getting outside our church walls involves being in community with others around us. We are not alone in the world and need to get to know and understand others. When we work together in our communities, good fruit is produced for all.

Worship in our churches is a key to our getting closer to God and seeking Him in the positives and negatives of our lives and those lives around us. My friend Charles Hart sends me a spiritual quote each day by email. It’s a daily publication of famous quotes he subscribes to. A recent quote got my attention regarding reaching out in many ways.

The quote was by American writer Madeleine L’Engle and goes like this: “Sometimes the very walls of our churches separate us from God and each other. In our various naves and sanctuaries we are safely separated from those outside, from other denominations, other religions, separated from the poor, the ugly, the dying.… The house of God is not a safe place. It is a cross where time and eternity meet, and where we are – or should be – challenged to live more vulnerably, more interdependently.”

Outreach from our churches is not a way to get new members. If outreach produces new members for us, it is God’s Will working in and through us, not something we are seeking to keep score by. No scorecard is needed in outreach ministry.

Our Worship time in our churches should inspire us to get outside the walls of our churches and put God’s Word to good use through our actions. We must mirror the work of Jesus as He sought to be among the people, especially those in need.

It’s so easy to get caught up in the “busy work” within our churches.  This keeps the physical church in good shape, but takes time away from God’s work needed outside our church walls. As in most outreach ministry, we get as much of a blessing as those to whom we are ministering.

In doing outreach in groups from our church, we become more bonded as a Christian Community. The “hands on” experience of outreach ministry gives us a better understanding of our fellow men, women & children and what they go through in their lives in trying to live in peace and security.

In many ministries I’ve been involved in, comments from those being ministered to have been surprising. Many have said, “This is the first time in my life I’ve felt loved.”  Others have said, “While I appreciate gifts of food and supplies, the gift of your willingness to be with me and get to know me is the most joyful gift.”

Sharing the Gospel together, with those we reach out to, is done through God’s leadership as to how and when this is important to do. There are specific types of outreach that include things like “Bible Study’, and engaging folks in conversation about life can lead to some good spiritual sharing. All in all, our outreach ministry turns out to be “fun for all”.

A good friend of mine sometimes refers to the “many flavors” of Christianity. That is, we have many denominations of Christianity, each having its unique way of worship and outreach ministry. Within our Christian Community of churches, it is always a joy to reach out together. Prison Ministry is my best experience of seeing this work with an ecumenical effort to love and help others--many denominations serving God together in love.

Which kind of Glory

In the Gospel according to John, he says in a portion of Chapter 12:36-50: "Although he had performed so many signs in their presence, they did not believe in him...Nevertheless many, even of the authorities, believed in him. But because of the Pharisees they did not confess it; for fear that they would be put out of the synagogue; for they loved human glory more than the glory that comes from God."

Do we love human glory more than we love God's glory? We think that we were born into humanness without a choice, so we are stuck with natural world rules and measures. After all, we do need to fit in to our surroundings, our society, and our culture. Isn't pleasing our neighbor one of the commandments? What's wrong with hard work and dedication?

We can't afford to fail. Being successful just comes with our commitment to be the best that we can be in what we do. We believe in Jesus, but we have to handle the opportunities and problems of the real world.

If we really know Christ Jesus and His Father through Him, we know that life is a gift. Our lives are not just random accidents of nature. We are chosen by God and can share in His kingdom as His children. He is our source and therefore His is the glory that we should seek.

Natural world rules and standards are humdrum and only have real meaning if God is in them. Cultures, societies, governments and all other ways the natural world is organized is merely man shaping and manipulating parts of God's creation. They do not exist without Him.

Jesus told us to love our neighbor not to try to please our neighbor. Are we afraid of being shunned if our neighbor is not pleased? Pleasing God is the goal and if we love our neighbor, we please Him.

In the natural world we can have our hard work and dedication. We can be successful and we can have failures. We can be the best at what we do. We can be good at seizing opportunities and solving problems. Ultimately however, if God is not at the center of it all, we have missed the mark. We must praise Him and give Him thanks for all that we have and do, because it is His creation that has made all of it possible.

And when things go wrong as we play with His creation, we have only God to fall back on. How can we fix the clock that the master clockmaker has made? How can we fix God's creation when we have tampered with it? We must give God our successes and our failures.

Better yet, we must let Him in on the front end of our endeavors. Otherwise we must pray and say, "Father, I have tried to work things out on my own. Please help me function in Your creation. I am helpless without You. I now seek Your glory Father."