Do Good, It's Not Against the Law

He said to them, “If any of you has a sheep and it falls into a pit on the Sabbath, will you not take hold of it and lift it out? How much more valuable is a person than a sheep! Therefore it is lawful to do good on the Sabbath.”

Matthew 12:11c-12 NIV

The image is still clear in my mind. I was in England at Capernwray Bible School. I sat down in my seat for class and the head of the school, Mr. Stracum, was at the podium and he just started quickly leafing through his Bible and every few seconds look up and sharply snap, "What does the Bible say? What does the Bible say?" 

We had just had a class on ethics the day before and the topics set off a barrage of verbal scrums usually only seen at the local pub when rival teams squared off for a championship match. 

Mr. Stracum reminded all of us that the Bible teaches about mercy, grace, forgiveness and redemption. Sometimes when we seek to follow Christ we get locked into legalism without even trying. Why? There's a lot of reasons, but, I think it's usually because we want to lock into  routine where we can just choose and act. We set a few guidelines that we inwardly make laws because we feel guilty if we don't do them. 

The point the Mr. Stracum made was that Jesus was more concerned about the person with the need than the rules and regulations added by the teachers of the day. We need to look at the person. Each person has an inherent value because they were created in the image of God, whether they know that or believe that to be true. 

I guess, in the end the point is: Do good in Jesus' Name and don't worry about what anyone else thinks.

Loving Actions and Assurance

This is how we know that we belong to the truth and how we set our hearts at rest in his presence: If our hearts condemn us, we know that God is greater than our hearts, and he knows everything. Dear friends, if our hearts do not condemn us, we have confidence before God and receive from him anything we ask, because we keep his commands and do what pleases him. And this is his command: to believe in the name of his Son, Jesus Christ, and to love one another as he commanded us. The one who keeps God’s commands lives in him, and he in them. And this is how we know that he lives in us: We know it by the Spirit he gave us.

1 John 3:19-24 (NIV)

I admit that I have watched the tryouts for American Idol and it is good trainwreck TV. The sad thing is that some people don't know that they can't sing. Some people don't know how good they really are. The deal is that you know you are a singer not because you feel like a singer but because you sing and sing well. Being a Christian is not about feelings, being a Christian is about being Christlike.

How often do we first look to how we feel to assure ourselves of our relationship with God in Christ? Remember, we love because he first loved us. Notice that the Bible does not say that we feel like loving others therefore we love others. Let's get real here. If my love for my wife is only attached to feelings, our marriage is in trouble. I have to love her in actual, tangible ways. 

Let's get down to the bottom line. When we see someone in need and we can help, help. We love by faith. Faith in Christ that he will use our actions to glorify himself. Remember that this is not about your good deeds equaling your salvation. Don't get caught up in that stuff. Just try to be giving. God will sort it all out in Christ. 

Father, help us to enjoy each opportunity to love in action. Praise be to you in us today!

ARE YOU A WISE GUY?

"Who is wise and understanding among you? Let him show it by his good life, by deeds done in the humility that comes from wisdom." James 3:13

James moves right from taming the tongue to showing how wise and understanding you are. Kind of like saying, "OK, you talk a good game, let's see you do it." 

At one school I worked at as a categorical program advisor (that means I did go-for work for the principal) there was one teacher that when I first listened to him sounded like a very polished educator. I thought that when I walked into his room I would find a finely tuned learning environment. When I did enter his class it was chaos. He talked a good game, but, his actual classroom management skills left a lot to be desired. 

We all should desire to be holy and to know Christ intimately. James refers to "deeds done in humility that comes from wisdom". Humility is knowing who you are in Christ and living accordingly. We love because he first loved us (I John 4:19). Remember that when Christ taught the disciples how to pray he made forgiveness mandatory (Matthew 6:14-15). When we understand forgiveness we must be humble because we realize our own sinfulness. If it wasn't for God's grace in Christ's death on the cross we would still be dead in our sins! None of us is such a good person that God had to save us. Wisdom is knowing this truth and living, as in treating others with the same grace and mercy God has shown you, accordingly. 

My hope today is not to "knock you down a notch" but to encourage you to remember the grace and mercy God has shown you in Christ. He died for you. Before the creation of the universe he chose to die for you, knowing all the sins you would commit (those before and after you would accept Christ). God is graciously Sovereign. 

Father, thank you for your grace and mercy to us. Open our eyes to see your grace and mercy in our lives. Help us to live in humility. Praise be to you in us today!

WHAT IS YOUR PLAN? / Titus 3:14

"Our people must learn to devote themselves to doing what is good, in order that they may provide for daily necessities and not live unproductive lives." Titus 3:14

If being good was easy, the whole world would be a different place. But, that pesky sinful nature, just doesn't want to go away. And, truth be told, to some extent, behavior is learned. That is why, Paul reminds Titus to teach the people to do good and he mentions it twice here at the end of the letter (3:8, & 14). 

Another way of saying this would be to be in the habit of setting in place the right or best things to do. When you are devoted to something, you make time for it. My neighbor is definitely a devoted Dodger fan. I know this because every time there is a Dodger game I can hear him cheering (then I check my ESPN app  and see that the Dodger just scored). The point is that he plans and makes time to watch the games. In the same way we should think about good works; plan them out, and execute them. 

Right now, think of one good work you can do today. Plan it and do it. 

* I would love to hear what you come up with. Please write it in the comments section below. Then come back and let us know how it went. 

Spirit of the living God, give us wisdom to plan and do good works. Praise be to you in us today!

Shhhhh! / Titus 3:1-2

"Remind the people to be subject to rulers and authorities, to be obedient, to be ready to do whatever is good, to slander no one, to be peaceable, and considerate, and to show true humility toward all men." Titus 3:1-2

The past few years have held a bit of a dilemma for me. A couple of people I worked with operated in a manner I just didn't agree with. I had to deal with them and the backlash of how they treated other people. The difficulty is not in telling the truth. The challenge of grace is to tell the truth in the spirit of grace and love. For me that has meant there were times when I had to bite my tongue and not interject a comment about them into some conversations. Sometimes, in the middle of a statement I could sense the Spirit convicting me that I was going over the line. Shhh!

Two interesting thoughts here. One, the word for slander in the Greek is where we get the word blaspheme. It also has a sense of to vilify. To be honest, I kind of look at these people as villains.  But, I don't need to go on and on about how bad they are. Frankly, their actions have spoken louder than anything I could say and their reputations are set in stone. My response is to be peaceable and considerate with a healthy dose of humility. Shhh!

I think it was the movie Jumanji where a character tries to cheat the game by rolling early and his penalty is to be turned into a monkey. Another character asks him if he cheated and he replied something like he just tried to get ahead and she said, "That would be cheating." Sometimes we want to say, "I just..." and the Spirit says, "That would be wrong. Shhh!"

Trust God to deal with others, you just do what is right. 

Father, help us to do what is right by faith and to do what is good. Praise be to you in us today!

ARE YOU READY? / Titus 3:1

"Remind the people to be subject to rulers and authorities, to be obedient, to be ready to do whatever is good." Titus 3:1

In sports there is the "ready position". You know, feet just a little more than shoulder width apart, knees bent, hands out, and ready to move which ever way is necessary to make the play. Spiritually speaking we need to be ready to make whatever play the Spirit of God puts before us. 

Ephesians 2:10 reminds us, "For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do." 

In I Peter 3:15 the Apostle says, "But in your hearts set apart Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect." 

Maybe this is why the saying, "What would Jesus do?" came about. I think that is always a good "stance" or mindset to be in. 

TIME TO OPEN THE GIFTS!: II Thessalonians 2"16-17

Who doesn't like opening a gift? Come on. Admit it. Everybody does. I even like opening stuff I buy on Ebay. As a parent I love to see my children's faces when they open a special gift. Or sometimes I bring home some chocolate for my wife and daughter. Apparently, the gift of chocolate never gets old. Now just think about some of the things God gives us.

"May our Lord Jesus Christ himself and God our Father, who loved  us and by his grace gave us eternal encouragement and good hope, encourage your hearts and strengthen you in every good deed and word." II Thessalonians 2:16-17

First of all, he just loves you. It isn't just that he loved the world. He loves you. The thing about God's love is the it is actually about action, not warm fuzzies. 

One of the gifts is his grace. Grace that gives eternal encouragement and good hope. Eternal encouragement. Think about that. Encouragement that just keeps going. And good hope. Not a false hope. Not a existential leap of faith hope, but a good hope. Who is good? God is good. God can not lie. God can not change. 

Another gift is being able to act (good deeds) and speaks on his behalf. You know. Serving God. Using the gifts that he has given you. God wants to encourage your heart and strengthen you as you step out in faith. 

Father, thank you for eternal encouragement, good hope, and strength that you graciously give to us. Help us to enjoy and use these gifts to know you and make you known. Praise be to you in us today!