God Loves It When A Plan Comes Together

         

                

Several months ago, our pastor challenged us to memorize the book of Ephesians. Not just a verse or two, but the entire book. When I was young, I could have memorized it in two weeks or less. But I’m getting older. After several months, I’m almost through chapter three.

It isn’t just that my brain is older and slower. It’s that my attention gets caught by different words…different phrases. They stick in my brain and de-rail my rote memorization as my brain attempts to grasp what is really being said. I can say with no exaggeration that Ephesians is currently my favorite book of the Bible.

Did you know that the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ has blessed us with EVERY spiritual blessing…such as the fact that we were chosen in Christ before the foundation of the world!? (Ephesians 1:3-4)

If you don’t think that’s personal and specific, keep reading. I spent weeks on just the first four or five verses. The book of Ephesians is dripping with God’s love for us. For you. For me.

As I struggle to engrave these precious words into my permanent memory, I occasionally find a concept that seems to have many layers. The most recent of these was Ephesians 2:14-22 (ESV[1])

“For he himself is our peace, who has made us both one and has broken down in his flesh the dividing wall of hostility by abolishing the law of commandments expressed in ordinances, that he might create in himself one new man in place of the two, so making peace,  and might reconcile us both to God in one body through the cross, thereby killing the hostility.

 And he came and preached peace to you who were far off and peace to those who were near.  For through him we both have access in one Spirit to the Father.  So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God,  built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the cornerstone,  in whom the whole structure, being joined together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord.  In him you also are being built together into a dwelling place for God by the Spirit.”

“For He, Himself is our peace.” 

I need peace right now. It doesn’t matter what circumstances we face. As believers, our peace can always be found in the Prince of Peace, Jesus Christ. I found that thought incredibly comforting – until a nasty voice in the back of my mind accused, “You’re taking that out of context. That’s not the peace Paul’s talking about.”

Maybe not, I thought rebelliously, but it’s still true.

Paul is referring to the conflict between the Jews and the Gentiles in this passage, and the miracle of love shown by Jesus when He included Gentiles in God’s kingdom through His sacrifice. In our day, we have the opposite problem. We Gentiles have to be reminded that the Jews are also included – if we know any Jews to include. Our culture is not the clear-cut mix it was in Paul’s day. Aside from general racism, I really have to stretch to find a corresponding example in my life.

I had a difficult time with this passage because it seemed too specific to have any relevance for me. Everybody knows the Gentiles are included – why keep harping on it?

“For He, Himself is our peace…and has broken down in His flesh the dividing wall of hostility…” (vs. 14)

What does that mean? Romans 8:7-8 flitted across my mental screen.

 “For the mind that is set on the flesh is hostile to God, for it does not submit to God's law; indeed, it cannot. Those who are in the flesh cannot please God.”

I sat up a little straighter. Maybe there was a way I could apply these verses in my life.

“For he himself is our peace, who … has broken down in his flesh the dividing wall of hostility by abolishing the law of commandments expressed in ordinances…” (vs.14-15)

My mind was hostile, at war with God, until Jesus came - as a man - prone to that same hostility, but broke down in His flesh the wall of hostility by living a sinless life and allowing Himself to be slain as a sacrifice, both fulfilling the law and abolishing the “law of commandments expressed in (639) ordinances” – the law that made God impossible to please and left me consumed with guilt, dead in my trespasses and sin. But He abolished it – put a stop to it…

“that He … might reconcile us both to God in one body through the cross, thereby killing the hostility.” (vs. 16)

What a way to put it! He didn’t just make peace, He killed the hostility. Killed it, buried it, left it in the grave when He resurrected. It is gone. Forever!

“And he came and preached peace to you who were far off and peace to those who were near.”(vs. 17)

Then He came and told His disciples about it, and sent them into the world to declare that

 “ … through him we both have access in one Spirit to the Father.” (vs. 18)

Both Jews and Gentiles, “us” and “them”, whoever that may be today.

Then Paul reveals the true miracle:

“So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God,” (vs. 19)

Me? Really? Can it be true?

I, who was once

“…separated from Christ, alienated from the commonwealth of Israel and strangers to the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world.” (vs. 12)

I am now included among the saints as a member of the household of God. If you have believed on the Lord Jesus Christ, so are you.

This is a household, not a bachelor pad. I find I have come full circle from what Christ has done for me personally, to what He has done for those who are hostile to each other.

I am not allowed hostility toward others because He did not break down the wall of hostility between myself and God only, He broke it down between each of us as well.

“that he might create in himself one new man in place of the two, so making peace,” (vs.15)

His desire for His people is that we would become one. He emphasizes this again and again in the prayer he prayed for us in John 17:22-23

  … “that they may be one even as we are one,  I in them and you in me, that they may become perfectly one, so that the world may know that you sent me and loved them even as you loved me.”

He has brought us together for a reason. Returning to Ephesians 2, the household of God is

“built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the cornerstone,  in whom the whole structure, being joined together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord.” (vs. 20)

The whole structure…this is not a physical building, Paul clarifies in the next verse:

  “In him you also are being built together into a dwelling place for God by the Spirit.” (vs. 22)

This is the reason for the command found in Hebrews 10:25,

“not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near.”

We are not islands.

The “church” is not a building, or an institution, or a religious system. It is the act of assembling together.

We gather together as a church to worship together, to learn from each other, to correct each other when we start to get off course, to encourage each other… to love each other.

And in this gathering, a temple for the Lord is being built – a microcosm of the plan set in motion before the foundation of the world. A plan Paul reveals in Ephesians 1:9-10

“making known to us the mystery of his will, according to his purpose, which he set forth in Christ  as a plan for the fullness of time, to unite all things in him, things in heaven and things on earth.”

One day all of creation will be united in Christ. That unity began in God and continues in us.

We see the moments. We see the brokenness, we see the failures, we see the abuse, and we see the hurt.

But let us not forget the plan God has set forth in His Son.

A plan for eternity, for healing, for victory, for love, for joy…

For His glory.

And it will be more beautiful than anything our human minds can comprehend.

Have faith, hold on to His nail-scarred hands, and accept the spiritual blessings He has prepared for you.

And go read Ephesians - maybe even memorize it. 

God bless!

Jules

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[1] For those of you who know me, I have switched to the ESV – but that is material for a different blog.

Why Go To Church?

Wow!

As I travel through the holidays this year, I am constantly struck with a sense of "deja-vu" - or should I say "deja - this is SO different!"

Last year at this time, I was a broken, bleeding wreck, terrified of having to go a whole three weeks without Bible Study Fellowship, and even more terrified of going two weeks without attending my new church while we went on a trip over Christmas. I had reason to be terrified. By Christmas, I was a complete basket case, emotionally crawling from one day to the next. By January second, I slipped away for a quiet Bible study at Shari's and spent most of the time crying into my coffee. I don't know what the waitress must have thought.

It wasn't missing the services that bothered me. It was being without the people. Precious people who had taken me into their arms, their hearts, and their prayers. Especially their prayers. The people held me steady, and even a few days without their influence found me struggling against debilitating depression.

Last year, at this time, I was less than two months away from the day I handed my knife to my counselor, and promised to quit planning ways to take my own life. I did not give it to her because I thought I could actually keep such a promise. I gave it to her because the woman who listened in our sessions had looked me in the eye and said,

"She needs to hear you make the decision to live...and so do I."

She was almost in tears. Knowing someone cared that much gave me the courage to look hard at what she was asking of me - and the reasons I was resisting.

It was not an easy decision to make. Even though I had knelt at the foot of the cross and accepted Jesus Christ as the first, final, and only sacrifice for sin, had felt His cleansing blood wash away the black tar of sin that covered my soul, and experienced His joy flooding my being, I was still afraid to give up my only way out when life became unbearable.

But because of the love in my friend's eyes, because of the pleading in my counselor's eyes, because there were two women in my life who desperately wanted me to live, I stepped out in my baby faith, and made the decision they were asking for - but only if they promised to walk through the hard times with me.

I have SEVERE DEPRESSIVE DISORDER. It's written just like that, in all caps, across all my medical records. Did they have to do it in all caps? I mean, it's a little embarrassing. They put it there because almost two years ago, I was a slender thread away from committing suicide. I had the tool, I had the plan...but my conscience would not quite let me leave my children.

Today, I still have moments of severe depression, but suicide is no longer an option. Really. The truth is, such an act would accomplish nothing except to cause incredible damage to my family - and the people who love me. I belong to Christ. I have a solid foundation in my life. I have people who pray for me all the time. And I know depression for what it is - an emotional headache triggered by lies I tell myself. I can't always control the emotion of depression, but I can usually keep it at bay by countering the lies with truth.

This year, going a few weeks without Bible Study Fellowship is no big deal. It just gives me some time to work on my other studies. I rarely see my counselor, and I have no fear of what might happen if I'm separated from church for some reason. And while I still spiral into severe depression at times, my spirals have a bottom.

I know the depression is not me.

Two weeks ago, I had one of those horrible episodes when I ended up hiding in my room. More specifically, hiding under a blanket in my room, shaking. But something was different: while the depression crushed me under a terrible weight of worthlessness and failure, there was no guilt. It's gone. With the guilt gone, so was the anger - the intense urge to punish myself was simply nonexistent. Jesus already took my punishment. What could I add to His sacrifice?

Even better, with the anger at myself gone, so was the danger of lashing out at my children.

This is a huge change from two years ago. I used to have to lock myself in my room, with noise blaring to keep me from thinking, so I would quit hitting myself, and if my children disturbed me, I would find myself screaming at them. They learned to stay away from me during those times.

This time, when my littlest disturbed me, I didn't push him away. I hugged him. When another child asked a question, I crawled out from under my blanket to answer him. And I found once I started moving, I could keep moving, even if slowly. So I cleaned the girls' room. One. Object. At. A. Time. It was all I could do, but it kept that unbearable weight of depression from crushing me.

It took me a few days to get back on my feet and start thinking clearly again, but when I did, I was able to see the differences in how I reacted. I may still have to fight depression, but God has done an incredible work in my life. Even during my worst episodes, I am stronger than I was.

I did not get here by myself. God used people. Because that's what God does. That's what He has always done. God could have taken the animals through the Flood by leading them to a really high mountain - but he chose to lead them into an ark built by a man. This time of year, we are reminded that God could have sent His Son to earth as a full grown man - but He chose to send Him as a tiny baby completely reliant on frail humans to nurture, protect, teach, and raise Him to the adult Who could be our Savior.

Nearly two years ago, God used my sister to drag my hopeless self off my couch and insist David take me to a doctor. God used a doctor to diagnose me and get me the medical help I needed. God used a woman at church who saw me crying, and took me to someone who could show me Christ. And when that wasn't enough, God used a counselor  to make me face my fears and teach me how to counter them with truth. God used a total stranger who came and listened at those counseling sessions to show me His unconditional love.

Except for the doctor, I met all of these people at a church. Along with a woman who barely knew me, but prayed for me for four years, and another who insisted I go to the Ladies Retreat where I found, for the first time, people I could be myself with. The person who insisted I go didn't make it, but God had two others standing by to give me a ride and make sure I didn't feel awkward around so many people I didn't know.

God used the simple sharing of another's tragedy to point me to where I could find help. God used the heart-wrenching journey of a debilitating disease that left behind a wife and two children to show me how He holds those who are His, no matter what circumstances come their way.

The list goes on.

Each of these people are a gift from God to me. And I would have met none of them had I refused to go to church. I need these people.

I know I'm an extreme case. There's a theory going around that church is just for babies in the Lord who aren't strong enough to stand on their own, and don't know enough Bible to teach themselves. While at one time, I thought this idea might have some validity, I could not make it on my own. My belief in this idea led to the belief that Jesus was angry with me because I failed to be strong enough to stand on my own.

The truth is, I was never meant to stand alone. None of us were. The Bible is very clear on this subject:

"And let us consider one another to provoke unto love and to good works: Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching."  Heb 10:24-25

This is not a law to control people, but a way of fulfilling the command given by Jesus: 

 "A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another. By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another."  John 13:34-35

"Love" is a verb - it requires action. We are not left to figure it out on our own, but the Scriptures define what love looks like: 

"And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ's sake hath forgiven you."  Ephesians 4:32

"Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom; teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord."  
Colossians 3:16

and

"Wherefore comfort yourselves together, and edify one another, even as also ye do."
I Thessalonians 5:11

But my personal favorite, putting it very simply, is

"Bear ye one another's burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ."
Galatians 6:2  

How do you keep this command when you either don't go to church at all, or refuse to build relationships with those in the church you attend? Yes, the church is the people, not the building or the services, but you meet the people by going to the building for the services. You find out about their lives and their needs by talking to them after those services. And, yes, they find out about yours.

And because they found out about mine, people have stepped up and borne my burdens for the past year. I no longer have to be carried, but I still appreciate their continual support, encouragement and prayers.

Sometimes I can even give back...if only just a bit. My heart bleeds for the widow who lost her husband recently. I don't have the words of wisdom to give her and only see her occasionally, but I can give my love and certainly my prayers. And I watch with gratitude to our Lord when I see others who know her better gather around and support her and her family.

If we are not part of a church family, how can we possibly pray for and support those who are grieving? We may think our relationship with God is so strong we don't need anybody else, and we may even get away with that kind of thinking for a time. But are we then withholding the gift of our strength from a weaker brother or sister who needs us?

What happens when tragedy strikes our home? When I am the one with a husband that's suffering, I want someone to come around, to pray with me, to sit with me in the hospital, to give me hugs and remind me that no matter how bad it gets, God is still in control, and He will bring me through.

No one gets through life without a few hard times. Are you rejecting the gift of people God would use to bless you?

Lord Jesus, please break down the walls of pride that keep me from accepting the people you place in my life. Give me the grace to accept strength and counsel from those you send me for that purpose, and the wisdom to give strength and counsel to those who need what you've already given me. Amen.



Jules

Have We Forgotten Our Roots?

Fourscore minus one years ago*, Bro. William Sowders brought forth on this continent a new work of God, conceived in liberty and dedicated to the proposition that all Christians are created equal.

Now we are engaged in a great Amorite** war testing whether that work or any work so conceived and so dedicated can long endure.

We are met on a great battlefield of that war.

Around us is destruction and chaos and a complete forgetfulness of why this work was begun.

Those brave men who struggled in the early days of this work were dedicated to the knowledge that truth could be found in any denomination, and that the only way for the truth of the Word of God to truly be found was for men of differing Christian opinions to come together and share what they had and where they found it in the Bible.

Because of their dedication, many battles were fought, some even bloody.  Yet, through it all some precious truths were gleaned.

It was at this point that we closed our doors.  We said, "Wow!  It worked! We found something precious! We are now better than everyone else.  We will no longer listen to any teachings but our own.  All others must come to us."

The threshing ceased ('though not all the arguments), as did the battles; but at what cost?  The men of God whom Bro. Sowders called equal brothers under God, we now call Babylon and the beast system.  Not only did we cease to share our treasures so that God's truth could be spread throughout Christendom, but we also refused to hear anything new.  Thus, we quit growing in the Lord.

Our assemblies, once thriving, filled with youth and energy and growth, have become complacent.  Instead of growing, we are fading.  Our youth is leaving.  In many places, the thrill and joy in the Lord has been replaced by blind waiting for the rapture (although we do not call it that).

The hope of our salvation has been replaced by our hope that the end times will finally come. Then the people with whom we refuse to share God's truth outside of our buildings will miraculously come pounding on our doors begging for it.

We quote the scripture, "Many are called but few are chosen" to excuse the dwindling state of our assemblies.  We quote, "The Lord added to the church daily such as should be saved," to excuse hiding inside the walls of our churches and refusing to share the truth with those around us.

We hide our light and do our best to blend in and not make waves under the guise of "letting the Lord shine through our lives".

We say we want to be like the Early Church, but we completely ignore how the Early Church functioned.

The Early Church did not put out a sign and hope people would show up.  Nor did they hide in homes and trust in meeting enough neighbors to grow the work of God.

They preached on the streets, in the synagogues, in the public markets.  They were NEVER silent.

And as people came in, knowing nothing of the scriptures and needing to be taught, they set up elders -  Godly men, not politicians - to teach them.  These men had lives that proclaimed Jesus as Lord.  Their job was to teach and settle disputes.  Not to rule.  Their goal was to help people grow up.  Not to keep them children.

We need to go back to our foundations.  Back to letting Jesus be Lord of our churches and remember that it was not the son who knew his father's will that pleased his father... it was the son who DID his father's will.

Matthew 21:28-31

²⁸ But what think ye? A certain man had two sons; and he came to the first, and said, Son, go work to day in my vineyard.
²⁹ He answered and said, I will not: but afterward he repented, and went.
³⁰ And he came to the second, and said likewise. And he answered and said, I go, sir: and went not.
³¹ Whether of them twain did the will of his father? They say unto him, The first. Jesus saith unto them, Verily I say unto you, That the publicans and the harlots go into the kingdom of God before you.


Interesting, reading that story again, I found I missed something.  It ends with a warning, lest those we despise enter the kingdom of heaven before us...or instead of us.

In short, Bro. Sowders despised no man, in his fellowship or not.  What gives us the right to do so?  It was his inclusion of those we despise that led us to the truths we now treasure.

How many truths/treasures are we missing now that we have cut off those not in our fellowship?  How many "truths" have we twisted because we have not allowed others to challenge them?  How often is our walk with God based solely on what we know, while we ignore (or type and shadow away) what we are asked to do? 

Complacency & pride are a dangerous combination.







*(The date at the beginning of this blog is based on the start up of the Campground at Shepherdsville Hill in 1935.  Bro. Sowders actually had his first campground meeting, from what I understand, in 1914, exactly one hundred years ago this year.  If my dates are incorrect, I apologize.)

** (Amorites were a picture of pride in the Bible.)