Ephesians 1:3-12

This was a delightful mistake. I accidentally flipped a page in my Bible and ended up in Ephesians instead of Galatians. I was reading through the verses and found them strikingly relevant and became confused. I thought, "How did I miss this when I was studying this chapter? How could I look over this." No, it isn't Galatians, but I want to touch on it just the same.

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ: according as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love: having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his will, to the praise of the glory of his grace, wherein he hath made us accepted in the beloved. In whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace; wherein he hath abounded toward us in all wisdom and prudence; having made known unto us the mystery of his will, according to his good pleasure which he hath purposed in himself: that in the dispensation of the fulness of times he might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven, and which are on earth; even in him: in whom also we have obtained an inheritance , being predestinated according to the purpose of him who worketh all things after the counsel of his own will: that we should be to the praise of his glory, who first trusted in Christ.

First off, do you realize how focused this chapter is on God. Over and over again it mentions what He has done, what He has given us. It speaks of all of the actions God takes on our behalf.

But wait. Is it on our behalf? Yes, He bestows blessing upon blessing upon us. We have salvation. We have forgiveness. We have grace, but why? For Him. It was according to His good pleasure for His glory.

Newsflash to us: our lives are not for us! The fact that He even chooses to tolerate us should be enough to humble us, yet we waltz around acting like He owes us something. Like we deserve grace or glory. We certainly deserve none. He is working in our lives. He has bestowed grace on us so that we can glorify Him. That blows my mind. Think of a potter planning his next masterpiece. Think of how you would react if he reached out and grabbed a broken, dirty, discarded pot to use. It certainly wouldn't be my first choice, but that is exactly what He does. He has a plan for every single one of us. A plan that He has had since the beginning of time. A plan that does not and will not change. A plan that involves pulling us out of the trash heap and placing us on His wheel. After hours of turning and twisting, He will make us what He has always intended us to be- vessels for His glory and grace.

Yet, we feel we deserve it. When we are all fixed up, we march up to the highest shelf in the shop and say "AH HA! Look at me, I'm so amazing!" We 'church it up' and do all the motions, and chip away. Forget the fact that were it not for grace we would still be in that trash heap. Were it not for Calvary, were it not for grace, you my friend, would still be broken, and worthless lying in that heap of trash. But He has bigger plans for you. Not so you can be glorified, but so HE can be glorified, through you. What a wonderful Maker.

Thoughts

I'll get back to Galatians.
I've been thinking alot lately. Thinking is a good thing. What I've been thinking about has puzzled me but has driven the roots of my faith deeper into the soil. Again, I find myself fumbling through the recesses, attempting to connect these dots into the picture that God is trying to show me. They are related...somehow.

Love

This is a fun one. Lessons are evidencing themselves in various ways. I have myself tangled up in a debate over the gift of singleness. The debate starter is convinced that being single is better than being married. I do not agree.

My beloved youth leaders are attempting to "hook me up." :-p People at work are trying to 'hook me up.' My brothers and sister are trying to hook me up. I am trying not to scream ;-)

I recently finished a book about marriage, absolutely revolutionary ideas.

When it all boils down to it though, our ultimate fulfillment is found in Christ. The times in my life when I feel most discontent I realize that I have 'forgotten' to love Christ. Love is a choice, a selfless choice made by my selfish heart to pour out my adoration and affection on someone or something. I wish that all of the time that were poured on Christ. Truth is, most of the time, it is poured out elsewhere.

The love that God has shown to us is absolutely revolutionary. There can be no comparison found here on earth. Doesn't matter how amazing he is, my 'knight' will still have chinks in his armor but never my Savior. An undying, sacrificial, unconditional love. Love that pierces the deepest parts of my being, that knows all, sees all and still chose to love me and continues to love me. That's probably what makes this next thing so hard.

Failure

In general, we hate failing. Messing up is not on the top 10 list of things to do today, but it can be fairly certain it will be done unless we hide under the covers all day with no access to the outside world. At some point today, I will let someone down. When that someone is someone I care about, that hurts.

I know it discourages me when I fail, especially when I fail God. I've done quite a bit of that recently. Amazing how easily we fall back into the wilderness of the Israelites. God does something miraculous and in five minutes it becomes yesterday's news. It boggles my mind and breaks God's heart, of that I am sure.

This morning I was reminded of the verse that led me to Christ. As I pushed play on my CD player this morning the song "Mercy Came Running" played. For those of you that don't know, that is 'my song.' The day I came to Christ I played that song to remind me of the fact that salvation is nothing I earned. It is nothing I pursued. God pursued me. Part of the song goes as follows:

"Once there was a broken heart, way too human from the start. All the years left it torn apart, hopeless and afraid. Walls I never meant to build, left this prisoner unfulfilled. Freedom called but even still, it seemed so far away. I was bound by the chains from the wages of my sin, and just when I felt like giving in mercy came a runnin'...Sometimes I, still feel so far. So far from where I really should be. He gently calls to my heart, just to remind me. Mercy came a runnin like a prisoner set free, past all my failures to the point of my need. When the sin that I had carried was all I could see, and when I could not reach mercy, mercy came a runnin' to me."

The verse: Romans 5:8 "But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. "

Before I ever knew Him. Before I ever sought Him. Before I ever even was able to love Him, He loved me. If that was then, how much more is that grace afforded to me now as His child? Even now, it is nothing I can do. Nothing I can do could ever repay. Even now, I fall...I look forward to the day when I am truly free, unable to break His heart anymore. For now, I battle with this body of sin, wrapped in His love.

Fear of... > Galatians 1: 9-11

Picking up Paul's intro in verse 9, he repeats his charge from verse 8.

"As we said before, so say I now again, If any man preach any other gospel unto you than that ye have received, let him be accursed."

Paul is an intriguing writer. I would have loved to have known him if only for his personality. For me this sentence would be breathed out heavily, maybe with a sigh. "I told you before, but just in case you didn't get it, let me say it one more time." Repetition stresses a point. He wants them to get this, to really really get this.

So, what's the big deal? Well what you have to remember is that Paul is preaching the Gospel to the Gentiles . This is nothing new for us; most of us grew up with it our entire lives, but at this time, it was revolutionary. For years, the worship of God had been according to the law. There were set rules, set offerings, set rituals that 'defined' being one of 'His people.' And here's Paul, flipping the world upside down by saying that all of that doesn't matter anymore. Devout Jews were ticked! More than likely they were following him trying to preach a salvation, part grace part works. Allowing for the grace of the cross but requiring the tradition as well.

I can imagine that the charge leveled by these false teachers at Paul is that he is a people-pleaser. They accuse him of twisting the Gospel around to make the Gentiles happy. Paul's rebuke is strong and solid.

"For do I now persuade men, or God? or do I seek to please men? for if I yet pleased men, I should not be the servant of Christ. But I certify you, brethren, that the gospel which was preached of me is not after man." (v.10-11)

Basically his response is, "Who am I working for now? Am I not working for God? If I worked to please men, to make men happy, I would no longer be serving Christ."

The classic case of Fear of God vs. Fear of Man. Personally, I struggle with this one alot. If I had a list of weaknesses in my faith, this would most likely be number 2, right behind my prayer life. It is a big struggle and it effects many areas of my own faith most prominent being my readiness to evangelize.

I have met some people who certainly have a gift for sharing the Gospel. In college, one young man told me of how he went to the mall and pretty much flat out asked the cashier if he knew Christ. Turns out he was homosexual and didn't want to have anything to do with God. The cashier looked Jeremy square in the face and said, "You think I'm going to Hell, don't you." Jeremy's response, "Before I met, Christ, so was I." Jeremy, my friend, was able to share the Gospel with this clerk. Me? I would have thanked him kindly for ringing my purchase, and walk away.

Within five minutes of meeting my grandfather, you will hear his testimony and have the Gospel presented. He has no fear, and I love him for it. Telemarketers, I'm sure, want to add him to the 'Do-Not Call' list because calling him gives you the Gospel and sells him nothing. Any conversation, and I mean any conversation, he can turn into an opportunity to share the Gospel. He always carries a bunch of tracts in his pocket as well as invitations to church.

At times, I admit (much to my shame) it can be embarrassing. As he starts off on his usually tract, "Well, let me tell you about the day that changed my life..." in my mind, I think, "Oh no! Not again, can't we just leave? Why do I have to be standing here?" What is that? Fear of man, fear of association.

But who better to be associated with??!?! I am a child of the King, joint-heir with Christ, beloved, forgiven, bought with a price. Yet, somehow, it is still a struggle.

For most of us, sharing the Gospel does not come easily. For some it is like second nature. I long to not be ashamed, to buck the norm and declare God's grace with love. But, I fear man more than I fear God, that is basically what it comes down to. And when you think about who God is and who men are...that's a big thing to say, that somehow I fear puny, finite men to the Almighty, Holy, King of Glory.

Who do you fear?

Definite Truth >Galatians 1:1-8

I love how Paul's opening comments are a sermon all in their own. He is not a writer that beats around the bush. He cuts right to the chase and starts building whatever case he is making from the beginning.

From a quick reading of all 6 chapters, one can tell that, apparently, the church of Galatia was having a difficult time with sticking with the Gospel. False teachers have moved in after Paul and are preaching a works-oriented salvation. Paul is writing this letter to refute that, plain and simple.

Paul, an apostle, (not of men, neither by man, but by Jesus Christ, and God the Father, who raised him from the dead;) and all the brethren which are with me, unto the churches of Galatia: grace be to you and peace from God the Father, and from our Lord Jesus Christ, who gave himself for our sins, that he might deliver us from this present evil world, according to the will of God and our Father: to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen.
I marvel that ye are so soon removed from him that called you into the grace of Christ unto another gospel: which is not another; but there be some that trouble you, and would pervert the gospel of Christ. But though we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel unto you than that which we have preached unto you, let him be accursed.

In the first 5 verses Paul spells out the foundation for his apostleship (Christ) and gives the core of the Gospel (who gave himself for our sins, that he might deliver us from this present world.) Verse 6 begins his reprimand.

He is amazed that this church has so quickly been swayed in what they have called truth. They have so quickly claimed a new shepherd and forsaken the grace of God. People ask about the two uses of 'another,' one in verse 6 and one in verse 7. They are two different Greek words translated into the same English word. The first use of another carries the idea of being something completely different while the second carries the idea of a different presentation of the same truth. Paul is basically saying, "You have chosen to follow a completely different Gospel, not a different presentation of the true Gospel but a different Gospel altogether! A perverted Gospel."

In verse 8, he levels his charge. He instructs these wayward believers that unless an angel, the brethren with him or he, himself gives them a different Gospel, that they should not believe it. Anyone that preaches a different Gospel should be anathema.

People might interpret this attitude as being one of haughtiness, a 'holier than thou' position. Not so. Paul knew he had the truth. There was not a single doubt in his mind at all. He was passionate about the truth and was willing to take a bold and daring stand for it. In the next few verses you see why, but for right now, I leave you with this challenge.

Every day, the Gospel we know is challenged. We are faced with compromise. Asked to water down the cross, to magnify the grace, to downplay the holiness and to steal the glory. There is only one truth.

Are you standing for it?

A 10 Ton Elephant

...is sitting on my hand. :-) That's how I feel when I have writer's block. I know it has been a while since I have written here. Situations of life have been in turmoil :-p There just hasn't seemed to be any time. No excuse, I know. I am starting a verse by verse in Galatians and looking forward to it. With any discipline, I'll be posting those little tidbits daily soon.