1 Corinthians 15:58 ESV

Therefore, my beloved brothers, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord your labor is not in vain.

What a GREAT verse!  In the Lord, our labor is not in vain.  Boy, did I need to hear that or what.  What a POWERFUL encouragement, especially when we feel our work is small and has little positive effect!  It is great to know that "in him," our labor is never in vain.

But, there is kind of a caveat to this.  We need to be steadfast, immovable and constantly abounding in His work.  

Now a lot of us will balk at the, "in the work of the Lord."  We will think that this verse applies only to those "professionals" who serve in some fulltime ministry.  As a great friend of mine would say, "That is a lie right out of the pit of hell!"  We have to get away from this incredibly narrow view of what is His work. 

A Christian mother and wife is engaged in His work as she cares for her family.  She does not have to ever leave the home to be in fulltime service.  Everything she does is, "in the Lord," and hence, it is His work.  As children obey and respect their parents they are engaged in His work.  As husbands and fathers labor to provide subsistence  for their families, they are engaged in His work.

Anything we do, "in the Lord," is His work and is NEVER in vain!

But we do have to be steadfast (keep on keeping on), immovable (bloom where you are planted) and abounding (what your hand finds to do, do)!

We also need to examine ourselves and our labor to be confident that we are doing it. "In Him."  Sure, you'll find a lot of messy mixed motives as you examine this but you look for the light not the shadows.  Whatever you find in the mix, if love for Christ is there, you are good to go.  You're gonna find a lot of your own stuff mixed in there.  Do not let it stop you or hinder you in any way.  He is in the business of refining us and all we do do. Don't sweat it, do it and do it for Him.

Now, notice I don't say do it perfectly.  You're not gonna.  Not gonna happen. You're gonna move forward in fits and starts, ups and downs, homeruns and foul balls.  But you gotta be doing it for Him to be refining it.  Sure, perfection is a great and worthy goal.  We aim at it, constantly secure in the knowledge that wherever we fall short, He covers the shortfall.

A great lesson concerning our labor is found here; 

1 Corinthians 3:6-7, 9 ESV

I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the growth. [7] So neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God who gives the growth. [9] For we are God's fellow workers. You are God's field, God's building.

Oh, dear ones, if we would only carve that on our consciences!  We always tend to take on that which is not ours to fulfill!  None of our labors in Him can ever be in vain when the conclusion of the effort is in His hands!

WE ARE ALL God's fellow workers, right where He has us doing what He has given us to do.  Whatever a believer does should be considered fulltime service.  That includes both our labor and our leisure.   We are His fulltime, therefore what we do should be His fulltime!

Dear ones, stay steadfast.  Be immovable.  Abound in what He has given you to do.  AND relax and rejoice in the fact that He is the period on all the senteces our lives write.  NOTHING you do in Him is EVER in vain!

2 Corinthians 1:3-4

2 Corinthians 1:3-4 ESV
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, [4] who comforts us in all our affliction, so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any affliction, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God.

I have always loved this verse.  It has never ceased to be a source of encouragement and blessing to me as I deal with the day to day issues that surround the melancholy from which I suffer.  But ya know, though it is a great passage it has to be understood within the individual context of our  circumstances for its value to be truly appreciated.

The first thing we need to reflect upon is exactly how God is merciful to us in our affliction.  Of course, the big thing is that it could always be worse than it is or it could be a different and more crippling affliction.  We never understand this until we actually consider the possibility of a greater and more difficult affliction.  I really believe that each persons afflicton is tailor made for their maturity, ability and need.  There are no purposeless afflictions.  Nor are they arbitrary or random.  They are individual and specific to each of us.

1 Corinthians 10:13 ESV
No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation he will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it.

Though our " temptation" or more accurately "trial" can be listed in a plethora of trials available, OUR trial is specific to US.  As there are no cooky - cutter blessing and no recipes for endurance, there are no cooky - cutter afflictions.  Each and every affliction is specific to the individual facing it.  Each affliction is "special."

Trials are common to all men but our trial is our trial.  It is packed in with all our "baggage" which gives it that unique flavor.  Because of this a lot of the "encouragement" we're offered sounds terribly hollow.  People lovingly seek to encourage us and it is a kindness but we always have the , "Yes, BUT....." in the back of our minds.  It is, I believe, true that,  " Nobody knows the trouble I've seen, nobody knows but Jesus."  They may have had a similar experience but MY trouble is MY trouble.  Yes?????

We need to own our trials and know them as well as possible.  They need to be prayerfully examined and not just accepted on face value.  As we examine them we will see the dynamic of the trial...the components and secondary causes and we can then pray with greater wisdom and insight concerning them.  Trust me, ignorant prayers, though acceptable, are not nearly as useful as prayer born out of deep and meaningful reflection.  Especially concerning the trials and afflictions we face.

We do so need wisdom in affliction and we are promised that His wisdom is available for the asking.  BUT when we ask we need to purpose to use it!  It does us no good to ask and receive if we do not plan to do the wisdom work. That means we have to sit down, perhaps with pen and paper, and really consider our affliction within the context of our redemption and our abiding sin.  I fear that this is the only way we can gain a solid and meaningful understanding and  appreciation of the circumstances we find ourselves in.  It ain't magical folks, it all takes our cooperator with the work of the Holy Spirit.  This isn't about "works" but it is about "work."
I'm not done with this passage but will end this at this point to allow you time to prayerfully consider what has been offered here.  I pray that you will grow in knowledge, understanding and appreciation of all God has done, is doing and will do in your life that it will glorify His name and bring peace to your soul.

Michael

Heart Keeping 02 030414

Heart Keepers 002

2.  Deep humiliation for heart evils and disorders.

Paul exposes himself and us in Romans when he speaks of his own struggle with sin.  For some of us this is, well, embarassing.  Paul, the author of 2/3 of the New Testament; a man to whom Christ revealed Himself after His ascention - this pillar of the faith had a constant and pernicious battle with heart eveils and disorders?  Wow, do we even stand a chance?

Yes, we do!  We most certainly do!

But we only have a chance if we desire a chance.  What I mean is we must be motivated somehow to battle (with the aid of the Holy Spirit) each and every heart evil and disorder.

How can we be so motivated?  Flavel uses and interesting term, "Humiliation."  Not humbling but humiliation.  This is a most uncomfortable idea.  We work hard - very hard at never being humiliated and here it's presented as a necessary element in keeping the heart.

But can we be anything other than humiliated when we consider the cross?  When we reflect upon the suffering both physical and spiritual that our Master was willing to endure for our sakes?  Can we not find humiliation in our refusal to be humbled and made contrite?  Can we not find humiliation in our failure to faithfully pursuer godliness and holiness in the face of the cost?

Humiliation requires exposure.  Our deepest sins and secret desires must be exposed for us to have a sense of humiliation.  It is not a casual thing not a common thing.  We work very hard to resist and abait anything that might expose us to humiliation.  We sneak and lie to avoid it.  We critisize and complain to divert attention.  We work very hard to fool others and ourselves.

Humiliation is hard to bear.  But if the cost of not being humiliated is faithlessness, a hindered sanctification or a constant questioning of the veracity of our faith - isn't it reallly worth it?

Note though, it is not the sinful actions that Flavel calls us to humiliate - It is the sins in the heart.  The deep deep recesses of our hearts need to have the light of the Word shone into them so that we may expose - to oursevles at least - the depth of our remaining depravity and disorder.

This is not to be done causally or lightly.  It will be painful and irritating.  You will suffer and struggle.  But is we truly desire to live in the freedom Christ has bought us this must be done.  Without it we remain wounded and bound, cheating ourselves of the freedom Christ paid for.

How?  What are the "mechanics" of such a deep search and the resulting humiliation?  I wish I had an easy answer, a simple "how to."  But each of us much pray earnestly that God will first convict us of the need for such a search and will, by His Word, Spirit and perhaps the guidance of a godly mentor show us our "how."

I can only suggest some things.  The first is, of course, prayer and not a short simple prayer.  This is heart work and a great battle and demands great effort and submission.  I have thought that actually stretching out of the floor in a postion of submission might be of help.  Humbling ourselves physically can be an aid to humbling ouselves spiritually.  Focusing on the target - a deep humiliation for heart evils and disorders - would be critical.  Perhaps, should being prostrate on the floor not seem seemly to you, you could sit and write out your prayer for God to expose these twists in the heart.

Saturating yourself with the Word will be necessary.  The Psalms are replete with prayers of this nature.  Seek them out.  Meditate on them.  Ask God to make these prayers your prayers.

Foremost in all this is to beseach the Holy Spiriti to be the Holy Spirit in this.  Claim the promise of His advocacy and His comfort.  Demand - yes demand, that He work in your heart and your mind to bring the humiliation of exposure so that you may seek God's relief and release form these evils and disorders.

Paul was willng to "beat" his body daily to make it his slave and if he was willing to do that (figuratively) what are we willing to do that our hearts might know the blessed peace of Christ?

I don't believe there is any "magic means" to this goal.  There is no formula, no recipe.  But we have an arsenal of means for communicating with God and hearing from God that we may take up and use in this quest.

I have come to believe that if I take my faith seriously and truly desire to be conformed to His likeness that not only my mind but my heart must be renewed and renewed consistantly and constantly.  I encourage you to pray earnestly for the conviction to seek that deep humiliation for the evils and disorders of the heart that as they are exposed and God addresses them we may be freed so we may remain free.

Heart Keeping 01 020314

6 Heart Keepers 01

John Flavel in his work Keeping the Heart offers six things we ought to be doing in order to keep the heart.
Frequent observation of the frame of the heart.
Deep humiliation for heart evils and disorders.
Earnest supplication and instant prayers for purifying and rectifying grace when sin has defiled and disordered the heart.
Imposing strong engagement upon ourselves to walk more carefully with God and avoid the occasions whereby the heart may be induced to sin.
A constant and holy jealousy over our own hearts.
The realizing of God's presence with us and setting the Lord always before us.

In this series I hope to go through each one of these and help us understand how and why these are important.

Needless to say we should all recognize the imperative of "keeping" or "guarding" our hearts.  Jesus made is very clear that it is out of our hearts that all evil springs.  Even in our redeemed state and in the midst of God's sactifying work we still have that remnant of the corrupt nature in our hearts and we must live and act on that fact humbly submitting to God and resisting and fleeing the Devil.

1.  Frequent observation of the frame of the heart.

"PAY ATTENTION - ON PURPOSE!"
The word heart in the Bible typically is synonymous with the word "soul."  So we need to be clear that we are not talking about either the muscle or the emotions.  This isn't the seat of your feelings or affections but rather the seat of your faith that we are dealing with.

The "frame" of your heart can best be seen as like steel beams that support any massive structure.  Though they are not visible yet they are the key to the structural soundness of any building.

What are the "steel beams" of your heart?  Are they submission to, dependence on, worship towards and trust in God?  If these are not sound then your structrue is in danger.

It's not a matter of having one or two of these but having all four as the frame of your heart - and hopefully the only frame.  Anything other than these four basic "beams" and your structure is not sound.  You will have weak spots and vulnerabilities.

Trusting in things, people, position; taking comfort in prosperity or favorable circumstances; harboring self-love or the fear of man are all examples of the weak beams with which we tend to frame our hearts.

It is well written in Proverbs:
Proverbs 3:5-8 ESV
[5] Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. [6] In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths. [7] Be not wise in your own eyes; fear the LORD, and turn away from evil. [8] It will be healing to your flesh and refreshment to your bones.

Verse 5 = the heart
Verse 5b & 6 = the mind
Verse 7 = the choices
Verse 8 = the blessing

It all begins (and ends actually) in the heart.  Is the Lord actually the Lord of your heart?  Do you struggle in your heart with doubts and sin?  Is your heart aimed at and centered upon the Lord and what He has done for you - desires from you?

We know that the answer to the question above is, "Not so much as I would desire."  And so we must intentionally and regularly and consistantly examine our hearts - the frame of our hearts - to make sure they are framed with the right stuff.

Psalm 26:2 ESV
Prove me, O LORD, and try me; test my heart and my mind.

Psalm 51:10 ESV
Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me.

Psalm 119:10 ESV
With my whole heart I seek you; let me not wander from your commandments!

Psalm 119:34 ESV
Give me understanding, that I may keep your law and observe it with my whole heart.

Psalm 141:4 ESV
Do not let my heart incline to any evil, to busy myself with wicked deeds in company with men who work iniquity, and let me not eat of their delicacies!

We examine our hearts through the Word of God and prayer.  Not to mention the necessary reliance upon the work of the Holy Spirit.  Being consistantly and prayer fully in the Word with an aim to the condition of our hearts is critical.  Think of the intensity nd awesomeness of open-heart surgery.  This work of keeping the heart is not less so and perhaps even more so.

I encourage you to pray for the conviction, strength and intention of keeping your heart.  This is the way of sanctification that the Lord has established so it is the way we should commit to go.

Trusting God - Or? 021414

Jesus tells  that we will trust either God or Mammon (Money).  And who of us could dispute that truth?  For better or ill we need money to live in this fallen world and we are subject to all the schemes and machinations of our economy devised by men and women for whom Mammon if indeed God.

We do foolish things when it comes to money and we do make mistakes.  We take bad advise and well - we sin.  And so money (for both needs and debt) looms large in our vision and can preoccupy our prayers.

It's all too easy to see Mammon as an answer - and we have to admit sometimes it is.  But how do we pray for that answer - and whom we pray to for that answer is critical.

Fred has been out of work for a year.  He and his wife squeak by on what she earns and the kindness of both friends and strangers.  They worry and fret.  They are embarrassed and convicted.  They have erred and sinned when it comes to money.

How do we encourage them?  How do we direct them to pray.   Fred needs a job - they need money - what do we say, what do we do?

Encouraging them to pray for God's provision is a "Yeah duh."  But they struggle with constantly praying for money.  They feel they are using God like and ATM and they do not want to.  They fear imposing upon friends and ruining relationships.  They are embarrassed and to some extent ashamed.  The "brave faces" they put on often crack and become scowls and frowns of shame.

They wonder why God should make up for their errors and their sins with material blessings.  They struggle with bartering with God about what they will do if He come to their relief.  They struggle becasue their prayers seem inundated with their needs to the exclusion of other more important things.

What to we tell them, what do we do?

Are their prayers for financial relief actually prayers to Mammon?    They sometimes feel they are?  Though God provides for them daily and friends and strangers do what they can to help they still struggle with trust even in the face of provision

They know that God is providing but as we all know, looming future needs can force their way into our hearts and blot out that present gratitude with fear and axiousness.

Are they trusting God "Or" are the trusting someone or something else.  They think of some who could relieve their distress either by helping Fred find work of by directly addressing their debt.  They find themselves trying to figure out how God can fix the problem and they even sometimes feel that God expects  then to fix it  their own.

As Fred's wife says, she struggles, " I know God CAN provide, I struggle with IF He WILL  provide."  This is so very common especially when we look at the circumstances as the consequences of of our sin.  We ask, "Why should I ask God to clean up my mess?"  "Why should I expect or even ask Him to undo the consequences of my sin?"

Prayer can be tough in tough times.  The world condemns, Satan raises our failures and sows doubts and the flesh wants to have a pity party or just give up.

Perhaps - just perhaps the safest prayer we could ever pray - regardless of the situation is, "God have mercy on me, a sinner."

When it comes to tough times and the assaults we suffer in them we  tend to "pray to the hurt" instead of praying as we ought.  It's a fight but a fight worth the effort.

But still the question remains, "Am I trusting God for money or am I asking God for money to trust in."

It is finished - He is risen - but He isn't done!

OK - it's the Monday after.  Not an easy day for those disciples.  Still amazed, confused and frightened.  But, "it is finished," will come to mean more and more as they are empowered and instructed over the following 39 (?) days.

There are two lessons I hope we will take from this.

First, without the empty tomb the cross is just a very very sad event.  I understand why we use the cross as the symbol of our faith - it is appropriate.  But I wish someone would design an empty tomb that could be worn - either with or I stead of the cross.

No, I don't want to detract from the significance of the cross in any way but I am saddened that we typically only think of the empty tomb once a year.

Second, I hope we realize from what comes after the tomb - that there is still a plan and process that God is working in the lives of believers.  Ignorance, misunderstanding, the flesh, - all these things are worked through by the Spirit in the lives of those early believers.  We do ourselves and others great harm when we forget that it is so in our lives as well!  We also impose a burdensome yoke on new believers when we have unrealistic expectations of them.

The great commission is primarily to teach - to teach as witnesses and to teach as those who are just a little bit further ahead in our walk than others.  But, too much of the "teaching" we find in the church is more world and flesh focused that Christ and the faith focused.

Catechism has gonna the way of the Dodo bird and with it the opportunity to firmly ground believers - young and old - new and mature - in the fundamentals of the faith.

"It IS finished!". "He is risen!". But we aren't finished nor is He finished with us.  Oh, we will rise on that great day but between we really need to be about the work of growing in maturity, knowledge, understanding and right living.

Just some post Resurrection Sabbath thoughts.

Father - let me not be idle as You complete what You have begun in me.  Give me a hunger and a conviction to do all I can to work with You as You conform me to His likeness.
Amen