Virtual Vitamins

Matthew 5:20 For I tell you that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the Pharisees and the teachers of the law, you will certainly not enter the kingdom of heaven.

Frankly, verse 19 has given me the most trouble of any verse in the whole NT, and it is directly attributed to Jesus! There are numbers of things in the Levitical code that haven’t been practiced by Christians since Pentecost. Jesus Himself was clear, on such issues as the Sabbath, that it was made for man, and not the other way around. (Mark 2:27). Paul was very clear that the dietary restrictions don’t apply. I find myself wondering if there is a distinction between the Law and various regulations. Here again Jesus lambasted the Pharisees for “nullifying the Word of God for the sake of tradition.” (Matthew 15:6) How much of the material on “leprosy” fits into that?

There is much I don’t know, and that I won’t until I am before the Throne, and then it won’t matter! This verse actually supplies the key, because the whole point is to serve God from our hearts and not from external rules and regulations. Jesus indeed fulfilled the sacrificial system through His death on the cross, so that is not an issue. My focus, and the focus of my teaching, has got to be on who Christ is and responding rightly to Him. That certainly means obedience, but it means far more than the nit picking of the Pharisees, and that is what Jesus is talking about here. I cannot wrap my mind around the totality of it all, so I’ve got to trust God to lead me by His Holy Spirit, because I have no other hope of getting it all right. Paul wrote about this extensively in Romans and Galatians, and I’ve got to listen to the Holy Spirit as he did.

Father, I don’t want to seek excuses not to obey, but at the same time, I fear legalism because I’ve seen the destruction it causes. Help me hear and obey You aright, and teach others to do the same. May we as a church indeed operate by the law of liberty (James 1:25), for Your pleasure and glory. Thank You. Praise God!

Matthew 5:1-2 Now when he saw the crowds, he went up on a mountainside and sat down. His disciples came to him, and he began to teach them.

I notice some things in this that I haven’t paid attention to before. In the first place, when Jesus saw the crowds, He went somewhere else. That could have been simply to get a vantage point from which to teach them, but it also could have been to see who would follow Him. Preachers today like to go to where the crowds are, and some will do almost anything to keep the crowds from leaving. Jesus was never like that. When hard teaching caused many to turn away from Him a little later, He bluntly asked those who were closest to Him if they were going to leave too. (John 6:67) In this case, those who were really interested in being His disciples gathered to Him, and He taught them. It was customary in those days for a rabbi to sit to teach, so that isn’t at all strange, even though we are used to teachers standing as they teach. Jesus did something to see who had ears to hear what He was going to say. The point is, every crowd is mixed. That is, there will be some who will hear gladly, some who are merely curious, and some who are there in opposition. Jesus taught them anyway, but only after doing something to weed out the indifferent.

As both a classroom teacher and a pastor, I am certainly familiar with mixed crowds! There is no question that it’s more rewarding to teach those who are hungry to learn. It can be torture to try to teach a classroom full of people who are bored and/or antagonistic, but it is joy indeed to open God’s truth to those who are eager to receive it. I have experienced the gamut! I am to pray for my learners, both secular and in the church, to have ears to hear what I have to share with them. I can’t force them to receive if they are unwilling, and I should not try. Far too much preaching is of the “trying to force” variety. At the same time, I am not to prejudge people, deciding ahead of time that it’s useless to try to teach them. Rather, I am to depend on the Holy Spirit to show me when to say what. If I will do that, then I will have the joy of seeing people receive what God wants to give them through me.

Father, thank You for the teaching appointment yesterday. Those who heard had no background and actually very little understanding, but they had the commitment to learn. Help me be gentle with them, leading them along as fast as they are able to follow, but not making them run ahead of their pace. I do pray for hearing ears for all of my listeners, not that they would hear what I am saying but rather that they would be able to grasp what You say through me, so that people would be set free and lives transformed, for their salvation and Your glory. Thank You. Hallelujah!

Zephaniah 3:5 The LORD within her is righteous;
he does no wrong.
Morning by morning he dispenses his justice,
and every new day he does not fail,
yet the unrighteous know no shame.

When I started reading this chapter, America immediately came to mind. Modern technology allows us to know things that used to be hidden, and some of it is pretty nasty. The point, though, is that in the middle of all the rot, God is still God, and He hasn’t changed. In dark times, light is all the brighter in contrast. Believers aren’t to focus on the evil, except in specific ways that they can counter it, but rather focus on the One in whom there is no evil at all. When we do that, we become transmitters of His light, just as our Scripture passage for the year says. One thing to keep in mind, though, is what the last part of this verse says. Those who love evil aren’t going to be swayed by the righteousness they see in us. Rather, they will despise us because it makes it all the clearer how depraved they are. It really struck me that a primary characteristic of modern society is the lack of shame for evil. In fact, in the US today there is an active program to deny that the shameful is indeed shameful. Those who don’t want to choose God’s way want everyone else to accept that their choices are just as good as choosing righteousness. The flood of that kind of nonsense makes it imperative that we remember that God is still God!

I am thankful for information to help me know how to pray, and for the opportunity to sign petitions that influence legislators, but at the same time there is a real temptation to get agitated over what is going on, forgetting to trust God. I am not to stick my head in the sand and pretend that everything is lovely, but neither am I to get worked up over things I can’t influence. I’ve got to remember that my greatest weapon is prayer in the power of the Holy Spirit, and exercise that faithfully in obedience to God. With all the flood of information, the most important thing to know is that God loved the world so much that He gave His Son, and all who are in the Son by faith are sealed for eternity by the Holy Spirit. As a pastor/teacher, my job is to communicate that information, and to teach and lead others to do likewise.

Father, thank You for this reminder this morning. I do tend to get worked up over some of the stuff I hear! Help me trust You fully and be faithful at the tasks You set for me, not wasting time or energy chasing emotional rabbit trails. Last night the enemy had me running off on some “what if” scenarios. Thank You for reminding me at the time that Your grace will always be sufficient for me. Help me live in the present, with faith and joy, for Your glory. Thank You. Praise God!

Micah 4:5 All the nations may walk
in the name of their gods;
we will walk in the name of the LORD
our God for ever and ever.

On the 14th, when the reading was the parallel passage in Isaiah 2, I wrote on verse 3, which echoes or is echoed by verse 2 in Micah 4, about the nature of the commitment of those who would come to the God of Jacob. What I missed in that verse comes out again in this one, and that is the simple fact of the commitment. In the case of Gentiles coming to Yahweh, it is a decision to change religions. Few if any Americans understand what that means, because regardless of what some people are trying to do in rewriting America’s history, it was founded on the assumption that the God of the Bible is the only true God, and that has trickled down through the centuries. People might not follow Him (and I’d say a majority do not), but He is the underlying assumption. Japan is radically different. Christianity is still widely considered a foreign religion, and many people feel they would have to give up being Japanese to convert. (That’s not true, but that is how they feel.) This verse is asking the question, in whose name do you walk? Becoming a Christian is certainly a matter of individual faith and repentance, but in Japan at least, it is also a matter of changing labels, and that can be a really big deal.

That is a pressing issue in this church right now, with an older couple who have officially severed ties with their previous Buddhist temple with the intention of becoming Christians, yet they still have little idea of what sin, repentance, and forgiveness are all about. On top of that, yesterday in visiting the mental hospital I had two men declare to me that they were changing their religion to Christianity. My American mindset doesn’t know what to do with that! I am not to abandon teaching repentance and faith by any means, but I do need to examine what it is to become a Christian after having been something else. The American mindset tends to assume a vacuum before a person “comes to Christ,” and in Japan, at least socially speaking, that is almost never the case. Few Japanese have strong personal faith in anything, so the label takes on all the more importance. I need to receive these “label changers” and teach them the truth of God.

Father, I’m a bit stirred up over this. In the past I have baptized some people too early, and they have quickly fallen away. I don’t want to repeat that, but I must not let fear of that cause me to turn people away. Help me trust You while seeking and receiving Your wisdom and guidance, so that these “bruised reeds” may not be broken, but rather brought whole into the kingdom of God, for Your glory. Thank You. Praise God!

Daniel 10:12 Then he continued, “Do not be afraid, Daniel. Since the first day that you set your mind to gain understanding and to humble yourself before your God, your words were heard, and I have come in response to them.”

Sometimes it seems like our prayers get nowhere, but that doesn’t mean they haven’t been heard. We needn’t waste our breath on selfish prayers that treat God like an ATM, but if our attitude is like that of Daniel, we can have full assurance that we are heard. Daniel did two things. The first was, rather than demanding, he sought understanding. Telling God what to do isn’t very effective! Sometimes God will let us in on what is really going on, but sometimes He doesn’t. We need to trust Him in either case. The second thing Daniel did was to humble himself consciously before God. In his case that probably meant fasting. That’s not a bad idea for us today, but a lot of people think of fasting as twisting God’s arm to make Him do something. That kind of fasting will just make you hungry! Daniel’s kind of fasting was a declaration that God was his supply, that he could not live on bread alone (Deuteronomy 8:3), but was fully dependent on God. When we have that heart attitude, whether or not we are fasting, our prayers are welcomed before the throne of God. Not many people have an encounter with an angel as a response to their prayers, and that is not what we should be looking for. Our prayers need to be seeking God’s will so that we can line up with it, not for our glory but for His.

I am still in the classroom of prayer, and don’t expect to “graduate” until I am face to face with my Lord. That’s fine with me. I know that my capacity for understanding is limited, and that God will grow me as fast as I can take it. I need to keep watch over my heart attitude to be sure I am following Daniel’s example. Distractions and pride certainly get in the way of an effective prayer life. Setting my heart to understanding means keeping Christ as my first priority in every situation on every level. I’m not 100% in that yet. Humbling myself before Him means remembering that He’s smart and I’m not, and not trying to tell Him how to do things. That doesn’t mean I’m not to make specific requests, because the Bible is clear that we are to ask, but it does mean I must not be presumptive and demanding. I am to remember and teach that this is the prayer posture of a disciple.

Father, it’s quite moving to be praying to You right after You have been teaching me about prayer. Help me keep growing in my prayer life, overcoming the distractions and listening to obey, so that all of Your purposes for me may be fulfilled for Your glory. Thank You. Praise God!

Jeremiah 31:34 No longer will a man teach his neighbor,
or a man his brother, saying, `Know the LORD,’
because they will all know me,
from the least of them to the greatest,”
declares the LORD.

The thing that jumps out at me from this portion of a verse is that until the fulfillment of the promise in verse 33, of God writing His Law on each person’s heart, each person should be teaching his neighbor, saying “know the Lord.” At this point there are millions who do not know the Lord, so it is imperative that those who do know Him, teach them. This is what the Great Commission (Matthew 28:18-20) is all about. I run into so many people who think they are unqualified to teach anyone about God. If they know Him at all, they are a big step ahead of a lot of the people around them! “Social security” in the kingdom of God is superb, but it is very different from what we know in the world today, because no one is expected not to work. Churches are filled with “pew warmers” because of the false dichotomy of clergy and laity, the pros and the amateurs. Everyone has a different job description, but everyone has a job. There is no unemployment in the kingdom of God! Those who aren’t working are either ignorant of what their job is, or they are skipping work.

This has certainly been a major issue in my life, particularly for as long as I have been a pastor. The irony of it is that there is nothing more rewarding than being used by God to communicate His truth to someone, yet people run from it. My job is to equip them to better be able to share their faith and the truth of God, but that’s not to be like putting them into Saul’s armor. The boy David wisely knew that it didn’t fit, and would get in the way more than it would help. (1 Samuel 17:38-39) Most of the “personal evangelism” systems I’ve seen have been very much like that. I am to deepen each believer’s personal knowledge of God and His Word, and then help them see how they can apply and communicate that in their own environment to their family and friends. I don’t live in their home, and I didn’t grow up with the same cultural mindset they and their neighbors did. I need to give them information, and I need to be a channel of courage and determination to them. I can’t generate those things in them, but God can do it through me. When that happens, they will be disciples indeed.

Father, thank You again for this period of discipleship training You have us in. Actually, that’s a description of the life of every believer, but some accept the training better than others. Help me be a good disciple and lead others to do the same, so that together we may be powerfully effective in Your kingdom, bringing in many, many more, for their salvation and Your glory. Thank You. Hallelujah!

Jeremiah 10:23 I know, O LORD, that a man’s life is not his own;
it is not for man to direct his steps.

The Japanese translation of this verse brings to mind a Southern Gospel song I heard recently that I found very moving: “I Can’t Even Walk Without You Holding My Hand.” As I listened to it, I found myself dissolved in tears of gratefulness and worship, because it is so true. Jeremiah lived what most of us would consider a very hard life, and he did it with full integrity and faithfulness to God. He was very aware that he couldn’t take any steps with certainty on his own; it had to be God enabling him. When life is easy, that can be a truth that is easy to forget. Moses cautioned the Israelites on this in Deuteronomy 8. Verse 5 is the justly famous, “Know then in your heart that as a man disciplines his son, so the LORD your God disciplines you.” He then goes on to talk about forgetting the Lord when they become prosperous. We have a remarkable capacity for taking credit for good things that happen, while denying responsibility for the bad. The fact of the matter is, God plans good things for us, and we are the ones who mess it up. God sometimes has to allow severe things in our lives to get us back on track, because otherwise we’d be stumbling over a cliff in no time. The better we grasp this reality, the better we will listen to God and stick with Him, enjoying His blessing on this earth and in eternity.

I certainly have the impulse to take credit for the good and avoid responsibility for anything else, and I’ve got to guard against acting on that. As a pastor/teacher, there’s the temptation to think I’ve got it all together since I’m telling others how they should walk, which is compounded by admiring comments from those around me. Pride is such a trap! I’ve got to remember that in God’s kingdom, genuine humility is indeed the path to exaltation. (James 4:10, 1 Peter 5:6) It goes against the grain to acknowledge, as the song says, that I can’t even walk without God holding my hand, but it is enormously liberating when I do so.

Father, thank You for the time the other night when I was listening to that song, and thank You for reminding me of it this morning. Thank You for the examples of Jeremiah, Paul, and others who realized this truth and expressed it for the benefit of those who would come after them. Help me both walk in this truth and communicate it to the believers here, so that we may be the children and disciples You desire, for Your glory. Thank You. Praise God!

Isaiah 53:6 We all, like sheep, have gone astray,
each of us has turned to his own way;
and the LORD has laid on him
the iniquity of us all.

This is one of the first verses I consciously memorized as a child, and it’s still worth meditation and reflection. The first point is how inclusive it is. There is no human being to whom it doesn’t apply. It is a reflection of our human nature that we don’t like to take instruction. I’ve never tried to tend four-legged sheep, but I’ve read stories and watched videos of how they act, and this is certainly an apt image. God certainly has His hands full with us! However, the most important part of the verse is the last part, because by rights, our actions would destine us for the slaughterhouse. Rather than consigning us to the destruction we so richly deserve, God laid the penalty for our sin on His Son. That He would do such a thing is mind boggling any way you think about it, and some people simply can’t bring themselves to believe it. The incredible thing is that others take it for granted! There is absolutely nothing that would force God to do anything besides wiping us out of existence, except for His love and grace. He is incredibly merciful, and the better we grasp that, the more joyfully devoted to Him we will be. That understanding is the essential foundation of discipleship.

Just because I memorized this before I was a teenager doesn’t mean I’ve always appreciated it fully. As I recall, at the time I was being made to memorize it, I was rather resentful of having to do so! I have done my share of wandering off on my own path, and God has so graciously brought me back each time. As David said in the 23rd Psalm, His rod and His staff are indeed a comfort, even if they happen to be painful in their application! As I seek to lead the believers into full discipleship, I need to remember God’s grace toward me, and also that I’m not the one who bears anyone’s guilt. Jesus did that on the cross, and my job is to help people understand that and trust and obey Him in response.

Father, this is indeed foundational. Help me walk in grateful obedience in response, not adding to Christ’s load but expressing the character of Christ in my own life. Use me to open the eyes of many so that they will receive Your saving grace as well. May we as a church be mightily effective in tearing down the lies of the devil and setting captives free to repent and believe, for their salvation and Your glory. Thank You. Hallelujah!

Isaiah 48:17 This is what the LORD says–
your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel:
“I am the LORD your God,
who teaches you what is best for you,
who directs you in the way you should go.

It amazes me how much trouble we have getting this fundamental truth through our heads and into our hearts. In a sense, this is really all we need to know about God. That is, that He is our Redeemer, saving us from our sins, that He is holy, that He indeed teaches us what is for our benefit and leads us in the way that is best for us. When we genuinely understand that, then adoration and obedience are the only logical choice. However, we are far from logical! Even in countries where the Bible is widely taught, only a fraction of the people are genuinely committed to God in real terms. They might be church members, but in their daily lives they effectively ignore Him. Frankly, that’s stupid! We repeatedly get ourselves into one mess after another by stubbornly refusing to look to God and be obedient to Him. In many cases the Church has failed to teach that it is indeed possible to be true disciples, when growing and training disciples is supposed to be the first priority! Discipleship isn’t a burden, it’s a privilege, but in our childish rebellion we refuse to believe that.

In some respects I have been Exhibit A in this, even while I thought I was a good Christian, and even as a pastor I haven’t stressed discipleship as I should have. However, as this verse says, God is our Redeemer, so I am not to be bound by the past, but rather submit it to Him and press on into what He has ahead of me. I am to be a disciple maker, which is to say, both a disciple and one who leads others to become disciples. That means I must be very clear in my heart and mind that Jesus is Lord, because He is indeed my Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel, and worthy of all praise, adoration, and obedience. That includes being sensitive and responsive to His direction all the time, not just in special moments of worship. He is wise and I am not, and He has a plan for my life that is productive and fulfilling and overflowing with all the fruit of the Spirit. (Galatians 5:22-23) When I understand and act on that on every level, I will indeed be transformed into the image of Christ, and lead many more to do the same.

Father, thank You for getting us going in this direction since last month. Thank You for the message for tomorrow, and for the one You are already building in me for the next week. Keep me from just speaking Your truth; help me walk it out. Keep me from coming across as talking down to my hearers. Help me lift them up, opening their eyes to understand the incredible riches of glory that You have prepared for us. Help me communicate that discipleship is more than worth the effort, so that we may indeed become a body of self-replicating disciples, multiplying until we fill this city and this nation, for Your glory. Thank You. Hallelujah!

Isaiah 48:17 This is what the LORD says–
your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel:
“I am the LORD your God,
who teaches you what is best for you,
who directs you in the way you should go.

It amazes me how much trouble we have getting this fundamental truth through our heads and into our hearts. In a sense, this is really all we need to know about God. That is, that He is our Redeemer, saving us from our sins, that He is holy, that He indeed teaches us what is for our benefit and leads us in the way that is best for us. When we genuinely understand that, then adoration and obedience are the only logical choice. However, we are far from logical! Even in countries where the Bible is widely taught, only a fraction of the people are genuinely committed to God in real terms. They might be church members, but in their daily lives they effectively ignore Him. Frankly, that’s stupid! We repeatedly get ourselves into one mess after another by stubbornly refusing to look to God and be obedient to Him. In many cases the Church has failed to teach that it is indeed possible to be true disciples, when growing and training disciples is supposed to be the first priority! Discipleship isn’t a burden, it’s a privilege, but in our childish rebellion we refuse to believe that.

In some respects I have been Exhibit A in this, even while I thought I was a good Christian, and even as a pastor I haven’t stressed discipleship as I should have. However, as this verse says, God is our Redeemer, so I am not to be bound by the past, but rather submit it to Him and press on into what He has ahead of me. I am to be a disciple maker, which is to say, both a disciple and one who leads others to become disciples. That means I must be very clear in my heart and mind that Jesus is Lord, because He is indeed my Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel, and worthy of all praise, adoration, and obedience. That includes being sensitive and responsive to His direction all the time, not just in special moments of worship. He is wise and I am not, and He has a plan for my life that is productive and fulfilling and overflowing with all the fruit of the Spirit. (Galatians 5:22-23) When I understand and act on that on every level, I will indeed be transformed into the image of Christ, and lead many more to do the same.

Father, thank You for getting us going in this direction since last month. Thank You for the message for tomorrow, and for the one You are already building in me for the next week. Keep me from just speaking Your truth; help me walk it out. Keep me from coming across as talking down to my hearers. Help me lift them up, opening their eyes to understand the incredible riches of glory that You have prepared for us. Help me communicate that discipleship is more than worth the effort, so that we may indeed become a body of self-replicating disciples, multiplying until we fill this city and this nation, for Your glory. Thank You. Hallelujah!