Virtual Vitamins

Acts 13:38-39 “Therefore, my brothers, I want you to know that through Jesus the forgiveness of sins is proclaimed to you. Through him everyone who believes is justified from everything you could not be justified from by the law of Moses.

I chose these verses to write on because of the declaration of forgiveness, but I ran into a fascinating difference in translation between the NIV and the Japanese. In verse 39, the NIV says “justified,” and the Japanese says “set free.” “Justified” is very much a “churchese” word, particularly in this usage, and in other usage it means “had a good excuse.” That second meaning really doesn’t apply to any sin, and “churchese” isn’t helpful in communicating the Gospel to those who don’t already know it. On the other hand, “set free” is a concept even small children can understand. Regardless of those points of translation, it is clear that Paul is speaking to people who have a foundation of understanding of Mosaic Law. Otherwise, their understanding of sin would have been deficient. Missionaries in general all too often fail to be culturally relevant in their presentation of the Gospel. This particular passage would mean absolutely nothing to the average Japanese, because they know next to nothing about Moses, much less his law. It is only when we understand the Law that the idea of being set free from its penalties becomes attractive. However, you don’t have to have the Mosaic Law to understand that you are a sinner in need of salvation. In each culture, the Gospel needs to be presented in ways that will get through to the hearers, without distorting the basic truths. This applies across geographical boundaries and generational boundaries, as well as ethnic and social boundaries within a nation or age group.

As a cross-cultural minister, born and raised in a missionary family, this could hardly be more applicable. I saw difficulties for my parents in this area, and I have certainly run into them myself. In my case, not only am I non-Japanese, I was born and raised steeped in the Bible, and I am ministering to many who have never even held a Bible in their hands. All too often my messages go right over the heads of many of my hearers, and that is not being an effective witness. I need the wisdom and anointing of the Holy Spirit to proclaim the things He says through me in ways that people can receive them. I am very aware that the messenger colors the message. I need to do everything I can to let that coloration be as light as possible in respect to those who hear me, so that the message will not be obscured.

Father, You know my failures in this area even better than I do. I ask for Your help to bring Your Word to the level my hearers can receive it, without distorting it in any way. I certainly don’t have the wisdom for the task, so I rely on You. May Your Word through me accomplish all that You intend in the heart of each hearer, for their salvation and Your glory. Thank You. Hallelujah!

Acts 13:4 The two of them, sent on their way by the Holy Spirit, went down to Seleucia and sailed from there to Cyprus.

Sometimes the simplest, most matter-of-fact statements in the Bible have great importance and impact. The fact that Saul (Paul) and Barnabas were sent by the Holy Spirit was entirely ordinary to Luke as he was writing, as it is to many Christians today, but it is in fact supernatural from the very definition. Those who are habitually led by the Holy Spirit are sometimes surprised and even amused by people’s reactions when they mention some point of guidance. Some people take such things as spiritual conceit, and it is true that people sometimes use “God told me” as an excuse for their own selfish desires. However, Paul said to the Romans that being led by the Holy Spirit is a hallmark of all children of God. (Romans 8:14) Being a Christian is supernatural business, and we must not forget it. Most of the time we tend to operate like everyone around us, but that is a waste, a deception, and a trap. Paul scolded the believers in Corinth for acting like that! (1 Corinthians 3:1-4) One of the most important facets of spiritual growth is recognizing and following the guidance of the Holy Spirit more accurately. After all, He will always lead us to Christ.

The story of my life, as it is for every Christian, is one of learning to hear and obey the Holy Spirit. The world is full of noise, both physically and spiritually, and it takes focus on our part and grace and mercy on God’s part for us to hear Him accurately. As a pastor, I need to hear accurately so that I can lead the believers to do likewise. I am not to apologize for hearing from God, but neither am I to flaunt it. My goal as a pastor is for every believer to hear Him as accurately as I do and more so. Some pastors are jealous of their position and feel threatened by spiritual growth in their congregation. That is a tragedy and a travesty of the office of pastor! I need to have Moses’ attitude, who when told that “Eldad and Medad are prophesying in the camp,” said, “I wish that all the LORD’s people were prophets and that the LORD would put his Spirit on them!” (Numbers 11:26-29) I am to be led and used by the Holy Spirit, and I am to encourage as many as possible to do likewise.

Father, thank You for the incredible privilege of being led and used by You through Your Spirit. Help me open the eyes of the believers to understand that the same privilege is available to them, and that You desire to lead them even more than they desire to be led. May we be a supernatural congregation in all respects, not to be weird but to be fully and vitally all that You created and intended us to be, for the salvation of many and for Your glory. Thank You. Hallelujah!

Acts 12:16 But Peter kept on knocking, and when they opened the door and saw him, they were astonished.

I have always enjoyed the story of Peter’s release from prison for various reasons, not least of which is imagining the looks on these people’s faces! However, there’s a lot to be learned from the story besides simply enjoying it. These believers had a lot in common with earnest believers today. They did the right thing, gathering to pray about a situation in which they were helpless apart from God. I am reminded of situations in several countries today where people are not free to follow Christ openly. I don’t know the content of their prayers, but the record is clear that God answered them miraculously. However, this is where it gets amusing, and where there is a further lesson for us today. As earnestly as they had been praying, and as much faith as I am sure they had, they were astonished at how God answered. His answer was both more direct and more immediate than I’m sure any of them had anticipated. They had probably been praying for a change of heart in Herod! I am reminded of stories of people smuggling Bibles, when customs agents have opened bags full of Bibles, not seen them, (I wonder what they did see?) and sent the smugglers on their way. We tend to limit how we think God can or will meet our needs, sometimes to the point of not recognizing His provision when it comes. I sometimes wonder how much we miss out on for precisely that reason. I have seen people pray earnestly for a spouse, for example, without recognizing that God’s candidate was right there in their own group. There is certainly nothing wrong with being specific in prayer, but we must not let that degenerate into tunnel vision.

I am occasionally reminded of the time that God told me not to be amazed at what amazed others, but to expect great things of Him. I think I still miss recognizing some of what God does in response to prayer, but I hope I’m improving! I am to be bold in my praying, but always give God full permission to act as He knows best. Most of the time I have so little grasp of the situation that I can’t begin to imagine the ramifications of each possible outcome. When I have been given full assurance of what God’s will is in a specific situation, I am to pray and declare that with all boldness. However, I am not to be presumptive when I haven’t been given such revelation. I need have no hesitation in praying that God’s plans be fulfilled and every other plan be thwarted, even when I don’t know what those plans are.

Father, You are continuing to teach, grow, and guide us in prayer. Thank You. Thank You for the good prayer meeting last night, and for the growing numbers. I do need Your wisdom to know how to maximize participation, particularly with the two languages involved. May we be fully useful to You in bringing Your kingdom, Your will to this city and region, through prayer, witness, and general obedience to You, for a massive harvest of souls, for Your glory. Thank You. Hallelujah!

Acts 9:3 As he neared Damascus on his journey, suddenly a light from heaven flashed around him.

Light has a number of functions, and they aren’t all comfortable. Someone asleep in a dark room is hardly pleased if a bright light is suddenly turned on! Even if we aren’t asleep, sudden light in the middle of darkness can be painful to our eyes. The light of God’s truth can be like that, and that’s why some people run from it. As Jesus said, they prefer the darkness. (John 3:19) When sufficiently focused, light becomes a knife, as in a surgical laser. Hebrews says it is sharper than any two-edged sword, penetrating even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow. (Hebrews 4:12) When we need spiritual surgery, there’s nothing better, but even the thought of it can be frightening. Saul had a particularly hard shell of self-righteousness that needed to be cut off of him, and the light of God was up to the task. It wasn’t at all comfortable for Saul at the time, but later he was enormously grateful for it. All of us can benefit from spiritual surgery, allowing God to cut off of and out of us things that hinder our life in Christ. Likewise, light of the right wavelength sterilizes, killing harmful bacteria. We should not shrink from it, but rather choose to walk in the light at all times, so that we may enjoy the spiritual health God intends for us.

I must be careful to welcome the light myself, and as a pastor I am to be encouraging people to do likewise. Though I am often used as a conduit for the light, I must never forget that I am not the source of the light, any more than a fiber optic generates the light that passes through it. As God’s light passes through me, I need to let it burn out of me every impurity that would color or distort it, so that it may do its work in all purity, love, and holiness.

Father, help me love the light of Your truth indeed, not as a light show to entertain, but as life itself. Help me be faithful as a carrier of Your light so that people may be brought out of their darkness into the light of life in Christ, for their salvation and Your glory. Thank You. Praise God!

John 12:42-43 Yet at the same time many even among the leaders believed in him. But because of the Pharisees they would not confess their faith for fear they would be put out of the synagogue; for they loved praise from men more than praise from God.

Just five days ago we had Jesus’ statement that people couldn’t believe because they sought the accolades of men rather than those of God, and here we have a practical example. These leaders believed that Jesus was the promised Messiah, but even so they were more afraid of the reaction of the Pharisees than they were of God. That seems very Japanese to me! In Japan, the group is of supreme importance. That can have some very good effects, like right now when people are so polite and disciplined even in the face of a terrible disaster, but it often has the effect of binding people to what they think are the group expectations and norms. Actually it doesn’t matter so much what those expectations and norms are, so much as what each individual thinks they are. People think they will be excluded if they become Christians, and so they hold back. Sometimes people are indeed excluded, or even disinherited, for becoming Christian, but that is far rarer than people think. Even if we are cut off, however, God calls us to complete allegiance to Him, regardless of what others say or do. Like came out yesterday, it’s a matter of priorities. We aren’t to go around ignoring the opinions and reactions of those around us (as some Americans tend to do), but we are to be committed and obedient to God before and above any concern we have of what people will think of us.

This is something I deal with all the time, not because I am afraid of what people will think, say, or do, but because the people to whom I witness are. Not having been raised as a Japanese (even though I was raised in Japan) I don’t have full empathy with that. There is some truth to it when Japanese accuse me of not understanding how they feel. However, I do know without question that Christ calls for our full allegiance, and that is true regardless of our culture. I need wisdom and sensitivity from God to speak the truth in love consistently to everyone, not coddling them and leaving them in spiritual weakness, but helping them step out of the quicksand of culture onto the firm bedrock of Jesus Christ.

Father, You’ve given me a clear word picture of what I need to be doing, but You know even better than I do that I can’t begin to do that in my own strength and wisdom. I ask for guidance and anointing so that I won’t rely on myself or even the gifts that You have placed in me, but on Your Spirit at all times and in all ways. May I not be worried about whether people will reject me, but be bold in proclaiming Your kingdom, Your grace and love to them, for their salvation and Your glory. Thank You. Hallelujah!

John 12:25 “The man who loves his life will lose it, while the man who hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life.”

The easier our lives become, the bigger an issue this is. It would seem that the majority of people in the world today indeed love their lives. That is, they love and value their “creature comforts” above spiritual things, and that is where they invest their time and energy. It is important that Jesus said “in this world” when He spoke of hating life. He didn’t mean spending your time wanting to be dead, he meant having material comfort on the bottom of your priority list. This is the same usage of “hate” as in Luke 14:26, where He speaks of hating our family members. Taken wrongly, that is in violation of the rest of the whole Bible! We are very prone to put all sorts of things ahead of following and serving God, and Jesus said very clearly that such an attitude doesn’t cut it. A massive natural disaster like just happened in Northeastern Japan is a good reference point from a number of perspectives. None of us knows when we might lose everything, even physical life. If our values, our treasure, is in the material, then we indeed lose everything. However, if our hearts are indeed set on the eternal, then even if everything material is taken from us, we really lose nothing.

I enjoy “creature comforts” about as well as anyone, I think, and most of the time I genuinely enjoy life on this planet, which makes it imperative that I keep watch over my priorities. God delights to give good things to His children, and if our priorities are right, He promises to meet all our physical needs. (Matthew 6:33) However, priorities are the key point. I tend to get tied in knots over all sorts of things in this life, and that’s a good indication that I have plenty of room for growth. I have a particular difficulty with loving my time, resenting incursions on my anticipated schedule, and that is a real red flag, because life itself is measured in time. I need to be faithful at all times in releasing my time to God, allowing Him to use it as He pleases and rejecting all temptations to resentment. Resentment accomplishes nothing constructive!

Father, thank You for pointing out to me that I need to keep a loose hold on everything, even these morning times with You. I am deeply grateful to be able to meet with You morning by morning, yet there is the danger of valuing the activity more than I value obedience to You. I have a loose schedule today, but a lot of things to be done in it. Help me be focused on You so that I will be doing the right thing at the right time, and not be resentful when it isn’t what I expected to be doing at that time. Help me indeed love You more than life, so that all of Your purposes may be fulfilled on Your schedule for Your glory. Thank You. Praise God!

John 11:5-6 Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus. Yet when he heard that Lazarus was sick, he stayed where he was two more days.

The NIV does a disservice by changing “so” to “yet” at the beginning of verse 6. It is a very important principle that sometimes God allows us to go through difficult trials precisely because He loves us. Jesus made that very clear in verse 15, saying that His love for His disciples was also a motive for His actions. Humanly speaking, we are very prone to equate “pleasant” with “good.” That is a major hindrance to good parenting, because parents tend to give their children what they enjoy rather than what is best. That’s not to say that pleasant things are never good, or that parents shouldn’t do or give delightful things to their children, but it is to say that if things are always easy, we won’t grow. It is well known that if you “help” a butterfly by cutting open its chrysalis, it will never fly. It needs the exertion of coming out on its own to pump fluids into its wings and make them expand and grow rigid. Depriving it of the struggle is no kindness at all. God never picks on us, but He knows what struggles we need to go through to expand our faith and make it strong, so in love, that’s what He gives us. When we moan and groan and complain about what we’re going through, we often prolong the process!

I have certainly done my share of complaining, but I’ve walked with the Lord long enough to be able to recognize this pattern in my own life. The more I choose to look to the Lord and thank Him for whatever circumstances I find myself in, the more quickly I get through the hard parts and enjoy the benefits. This is something I have tried again and again to teach people, but its reception has been spotty at best. For my efforts I have been accused of being uncaring and worse. I must be very careful that I always speak the truth in love and without pride, but that does not mean I am not to speak the truth. I am to pray that those I speak to would have hearing ears, and I am to exercise wisdom in timing, but by the grace and power of the Holy Spirit I am to point people to Christ regardless of their circumstances.

Father, thank You for the practicum on this point in the middle of the night, when the phone ringing woke us up and I was awake for over an hour. Thank You for that training in forgiving and releasing. Help me grow more and more in thanking You for all things, knowing and trusting that You will never allow anything that can’t be used for my good. I ask You to keep me from the sin that brings needless suffering. May I be an effective instrument of Your grace and blessing to all I encounter, for Your glory. Thank You. Praise God!

John 9:25 He replied, “Whether he is a sinner or not, I don’t know. One thing I do know. I was blind but now I see!”

Just yesterday I wrote about “a man with an experience is never at the mercy of someone with a theory.” This is a perfect example of that! The Pharisees could talk themselves blue in the face, but they couldn’t change the fact that this man who had been born blind could now see. Interestingly, such things don’t change the validity of the English saying, “My mind is made up; don’t confuse me with the facts.” Human beings have an immense capacity for self deception. We change our world views very slowly, if at all, which is why the environment in which we are raised is of such vital importance. There are multiple sayings to that effect in just about every language, such as, “The child is father of the man.” Sometimes God has to do something really dramatic to break people free from such embedded thought patterns. When it is sad is when people refuse to see God’s truth even when He gives such opportunities. Yesterday’s earthquake and tsunami across such a wide area of Japan is a good example. If people will cry out to God because of it, it will turn out to have been a great mercy. However, if they remain mired in materialism, then it will remain merely a tragedy.

I keep coming back to the incredible blessing of having been raised in a family with a genuinely Biblical world view. However, that doesn’t mean I’ve been all that quick to learn the things God has taught me! I need to be available to God for Him to use me to bring people to experience Him in various ways. I need to help them recognize God’s hand in their lives, instead of dismissing events as chance. I am not to focus on trying to convince people by logical argument, though I do need to be prepared to give a clear explanation of the Gospel at all times, but rather pray for the Holy Spirit to open people’s eyes to the truth. I am to rest assured in what has been shown me, and communicate it in love, gentleness, and power to all who will receive, for their salvation and the glory of God.

Father, I do pray for the nation of Japan. Yesterday was genuinely devastating, and today will be one of trying to grasp the extent of that devastation. I pray that many would cry out to You, whether they have known You before or not, and discover that You are real indeed. I pray for the Christians of Japan, that they would both reach out in love and be fearless in expressing the hope of salvation to all who are impacted. Even far from the physical devastation, people will be anxious and examining the purpose of life. May Your children not hesitate to speak Your life to all who will hear, for a mighty harvest in Your kingdom, for Your glory. Thank You. Hallelujah!

John 8:19 “If you knew me, you would know my Father also.”

Many people say they know God, or at least believe in Him, yet they choke on Jesus. Jesus Himself said it doesn’t work that way, and in his first letter John spells it out even more plainly: “No one who denies the Son has the Father; whoever acknowledges the Son has the Father also.” (1 John 2:23) In Colossians 1:19, Paul puts the issue as the fullness of God having bodily form in Christ. Any way you look at it, the way to know God is to know Christ, and visa versa. This has been a pillar of Christian theology for almost 2000 years, but it leaves some people in the dark about the Holy Spirit. That actually is a non-problem, because He is spoken of in the Bible not only as the Holy Spirit, but also as the Spirit of God and the Spirit of Christ. Because we cannot see God physically, and only people 2000 years ago could see Jesus physically, the Holy Spirit reveals the totality of God to us. Those who exclude the full operation of the Holy Spirit from present times, saying that His gifts were just for the 1^st Century, are excluding understanding of the Father and Son as well. It is interesting that the Pentecostal movement was for many years deficient in academic theology. They were too busy experiencing God to study about Him! That is certainly being corrected today. I would say that it is impossible to have an adequate theology of God without an active experience of Him. I think that’s exactly what Jesus was saying to those with whom He was physically present.

I am not to disdain academic theology, but I must never divorce it from the active experience of and fellowship with God. I have seen so many people separated from each other and from the richness that God has for them by splitting theological hairs. It has been said that a man with an experience is never at the mercy of someone with a theory. That’s why people who are walking with God aren’t likely to believe in evolution. Having experienced Him, they know that the universe and everything in it exists by His will and action. I am not to limit my evangelism to intellectual arguments. That would get no results! Like Paul I need to present the living God who is holy and yet loves us enough to die for us. That transcends intellect!

Father thank You for Your incredibly gracious plan of salvation, revealing Yourself to Abraham and others, then sending Your Son to manifest You and take the penalty for our sin, and then pouring Your Spirit out on all who will believe. Help me not stop with less than the full package, either in my own understanding or in communicating the Gospel to others. May we as a church walk in full fellowship with and obedience to Father, Son, and Spirit, so that all of Your purposes for us may be fulfilled on Your schedule for Your glory. Thank You. Hallelujah!

John 5:44 “How can you believe if you accept praise from one another, yet make no effort to obtain the praise that comes from the only God?”

A close analysis of the times that Jesus talked about faith in one way or another would probably bring about a major shift in our understanding of faith. We would tend to think that someone would have to believe in God before they would seek His accolades, but Jesus here clearly puts it the other way around. That is, if we aren’t seeking His accolades, then we can’t really believe. That really wipes out “faith” that doesn’t follow through with heart attitudes and lifestyle. Everyone likes to be praised, but if we really believe God is, and that He cares about us and holds us responsible, then we will indeed seek to be praised by Him. Believing facts about God isn’t the same as believing Him. Once we believe that He exists and that He has spoken to mankind, then we have to believe what He has said and is saying. That’s where the rub comes in. When we value human opinions over God’s, then we will not, we cannot, accept what He says to and about us. Much has been said about Jesus’ statement that at the Judgment He will say to many people, “Depart from me; I never knew you.” (Matthew 7:21-23) I think this verse gives great insight as to how that can happen. We can have all the facts straight about God, but if we value human opinion over God’s opinion, we don’t really believe Him. We might be operating in the truth about God, and so even work miracles, but if He is not first in our personal values, it does us no good, because we have cut ourselves off from fellowship with Him.

This is a strong, clear word about a difficult subject. I’ve got to be very careful of my own priorities. Sometimes people say very flattering things about me, but if I let my head be turned because of those things, I am turning away from God. I must not do that! The more God graciously speaks and acts through me, the more people I care about will say nice things about me. However, if my motive is to have people say nice things about me, then I am in direct violation of what Jesus said in this verse. I cannot directly change someone else’s priorities, but I do need to be consistent in praising and encouraging the believers in ways that point them to God. We can’t earn salvation, and I must not give the impression that we can, but I need to make it clear that our gratitude for salvation should motivate us to seek to please God at all times and in all ways.

Father, thank You for this insight. I think I understand the Matthew 7 passage now better than I ever have before. Help me keep my priorities straight at all times. You know my weakness, and how I sometimes crave affirmation. Help me seek Your affirmation rather than that of men, so that nothing will interfere with my hearing and obeying You, for Your pleasure and glory. Thank You. Praise God!