All for One?
"All the believers were together and had everything in common. Selling their possessions and goods, they gave to anyone as he had need." (Acts 2:44-45)My two younger brothers sometimes like to get really close to me and just stand there -- or randomly touch me for no apparent reason. Why? Because they know it drives me crazy. I've got what some people call "space bubble" issues. I like to get close to people as long as we all understand the boundaries. I'm either a regular old introvert or a selfish control freak -- or a little of both -- but I love me my personal space.
That's why these descriptions of the early Christians make me a little nervous. You? I mean I'm all for the church being close, being a family, being there for each other -- as long as we all go home to our separate houses and watch our own TV shows and stay out of each others' business when not invited.
Instead, these first churchies apparently erased a lot of those cultural boundary lines we all take for granted. They cashed out and put all their personal money in the same account. They didn't just put some of their paycheck in the plate; they sold the stuff in their houses to pay each others' rent and medical bills and groceries. (I'd be more willing to do that for someone else than to have them do it for me, you know?)
We don't naturally understand that kind of no-boundaries mutual commitment. At least, I don't. But in a way, it sounds kind of wonderful to be so connected to a group of people -- because of our mutual love for God and each other -- that the boundaries get blurry. Guess I'm going to need to keep shrinking my space bubble.
Think: Does it make you nervous to think about being that deeply integrated with a group of people -- or do you wish your church was more like this today? Why?
Pray: Ask God to help you be willing to go beyond the boundaries to meet the needs of other Christians -- and to have them do the same for you.
Do: Ask someone in leadership at your church for some examples of ways your church has come together to help out people in real need. (You might be surprised how generous your fellow churchies can be.)
Filled with Awe?
"Everyone was filled with awe, and many wonders and miraculous signs were done by the apostles." (Acts 2:43)What does it take to impress you? Are you skeptical, sarcastic, cynical, a hard sell? Yeah, me too, sometimes. I think most of us learn to put up some kind of wall against being too easily impressed because we live in the advertising age. Too many people want us to get fired up about too many worthless things.
But people still get plenty excited about what matters to them. If you caught any of the coverage of Comic-Con '09 in San Diego last week, you likely saw some fanboys (and fangirls) that were "filled with awe" by photo ops with movie stars and scoops from directors about their favorite shows and films. Part of being in a group is getting excited about the same things together.
Church people get excited about God together. Of course, it would have been impressive to see the miracles performed by Jesus' supernaturally empowered apostles in the early days. But God's power is still at work, still on display through His Spirit in the lives of His people. His creation still boggles the mind; His sacrificial love still overwhelms the emotions.
Feelings of awe come and go. Our relationship with God through Jesus isn't defined by emotion. But if we never feel any enthusiasm about God when we're together with Christians -- if we never get a little fanboy thrill about moving closer to Him -- we might be missing out on part of what it means to belong to the church.
Think: Does it bother you when a roomful of Christians "doing church" feels completely lifeless? Does it bother you when a roomful of Christians seems to be trying so hard to be excited that it feels fake? What does it mean to you to be "filled with awe" with other Christians in a way that is real and meaningful?
Pray: Ask God to help you to be able to be impressed by who He is and what He has done, is doing, and will do.
Do: Notice this week anyone in your church who seems to be genuinely filled with awe by some aspect of God or His Word.
Are You Devoted?
"They devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer." (Acts 2:42)Once the New Testament church had been launched, what did they do with themselves? That's the question we'll spend the rest of the week and weekend answering from the end of Acts 2.
The first thing they did is the one thing Christian churches still focus on most clearly: They tuned into the apostles' teaching. The apostles were those guys who had been trained by Jesus and specifically chosen to teach the church how to walk after Him. A couple of millennia later, we're still devoting ourselves to their teaching in the pages of the New Testament.
The church then, like yours today hopefully, was all about spending time together, as in "all for one and one for all." That meant eating and praying together became the norm for this growing family of brothers and sisters in Christ.
Membership in the church was never meant to be an online-only kind of thing that you went off an did by yourself. God intended us to be a family, learning about Christ and following after Him together, asking Him for help because it's hard to follow Him, and "breaking bread" together (for Communion or "the Lord's Supper") to remember what He did and what He will do.
Think: How does your church do in these areas? How do you do at participating in each of these things with the people in your church? Do you think you place enough value on participating in church life?
Pray: Ask God to help you to devote yourself, along with other Christians, to studying God's Word and to the fellowship of believers by breaking bread and praying together.
Do: Write down a number from 1 to 10 (with 10 being high), rating your opinion of how your church does at each of these areas: being devoted to the Bible's teaching, eating and/or sharing Communion together, and praying together. Then write down a number rating how you do at contributing to these areas in your church.
Escape!
"With many other words he warned them; and he pleaded with them, 'Save yourselves from this corrupt generation.' Those who accepted his message were baptized, and about three thousand were added to their number that day." (Acts 2:40-41)We're continuing our snapshot look at the birth of the New Testament church. In a way, you could call Pentecost the church's grand opening. That's the day the Holy Spirit came and filled the new believers, the day Peter fearlessly preached the truth about Jesus right out loud in public, the day 3,000 became Christians.
They responded to his pleading: "Save yourselves form this corrupt generation." He was likely talking about the generation of Israelites responsible for rejecting Jesus as Messiah. But it would be fair to call every generation corrupt, I guess. Yours is, too. The majority of your peers have rejected Jesus and operate according to a system that is all about searching for meaning in pleasure, possessions, and status -- and coming up short. Coming up doomed, in fact, to a hopeless eternity.
The only escape from that system, from that fate -- from the path of your generation -- is through faith in Jesus into the family of God. In other words, the church is collection of escapees freed from a failed worldview and finally headed in the only direction that makes any sense -- toward our home with Christ. It's not the easy way right now, but it's easier when we all head that way together.
Are you an escapee? If so, who are you running with?
Think: If you've escaped a failed worldview (and hell) by putting your faith in Jesus instead of self (or anything else), are you doing anything to help anyone else make it over the wall? What could you do?
Pray: If you're a Christian, thank God for helping you to escape from unbelief and into a relationship with Him through faith in Christ. Thank Him for all the others who have escaped since the day of Pentecost.
Do: Get all of your friends together and wear prison-style orange jumpsuits to church next week, explaining to everyone that you are escapees from your unbelieving generation. Okay, we both know you won't really do that. But it's fun to think about.
The Promise is for You
"Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. The promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off—for all whom the Lord our God will call." (Acts 2:38-39)For the next few days, we're going to drop in on the first days of the church. The word "church" has a lot of different meanings to people. What we mean this week is a group made up of all Christians everywhere -- and also the members of that group that come together to "do church" in a certain town or neighborhood.
Today's passage is the invitation from Peter at the end of his sermon just after the Holy Spirit had come to fill up all the believers in Jesus. This is after Jesus' resurrection and after He had gone back up into heaven. The arrival of the Spirit drew a huge crowd because it was loud and it involved supernatural sights ("fire tongues" above people's heads) and sounds (people speaking fluently in languages they didn't know so all could understand).
Peter's testimony was that this display of spiritual power was evidence that Jesus -- the one that had just been crucified and resurrected -- is "both Christ and Lord." Convicted, the people wanted to know what they could do. Today's verse was Peter's answer -- and 2,000 years later we still offer Jesus as the answer to all who want to know what to do to be forgiven for their sins and receive the gift of Holy Spirit themselves.
Think: How would you put into your own words the basic message we, the church, hold out to everyone who does not yet know Jesus as "Christ and Lord"?
Pray: If you're a Christian, thank God for forgiving your sins through your faith in Jesus and for giving you the gift of the Holy Spirit.
Do: Read Acts 2 to catch the entire story of this amazing day known as Pentecost.
Because You Did Not Trust Me
"But the LORD said to Moses and Aaron, 'Because you did not trust in me enough to honor me as holy in the sight of the Israelites, you will not bring this community into the land I give them.' " (Numbers 20:12)Two things about disobeying God:
1) It always brings a negative consequence. For Moses and Aaron, the result was obvious, and I'm sure it was painful. For us as believers, Jesus paid the ultimate price for our disobedience to God -- whatever form that takes. Our sin is forgiven eternally, but the fallout of ignoring God's instruction not to ram your head into walls is that you get hurt in this life -- because you rammed your head into a wall.
2) Obeying God is, above everything else, a trust issue. Someone might say, "I trust God. Really! I just don't want to do what He told me to do." That's false. Trusting God means doing what He tells us to do -- even if it doesn't makes sense to us. Even if we don't want to do it. Trust means being willfully convinced that He is right and His way is best.
So He said to Moses and Aaron: "Because you did not trust me enough . . ."
Think: Are you ever tempted to think that your disobedience doesn't hurt anyone because your sins are forgiven? Why is that not true? Is it possible to trust God and disobey Him at the same time?
Pray: Ask God to help you to trust and obey Him because He is a trustworthy Father who would never steer you in the wrong direction.
Do: Next time you're tempted to disobey God, notice in your heart whether you are doubting that He is right or that He loves you or that He is powerful enough to provide for you.
Hitting the Rock
"Then Moses raised his arm and struck the rock twice with his staff. Water gushed out, and the community and their livestock drank." (Numbers 20:11)Yesterday, we saw the Moses' crucial mistake had two parts. First, apparently angry with the people for their rebellion, Moses seems to take credit for bringing the water from the rock. Next, he doesn't do what God told him to -- talk to the rock. Instead, he hits it. Twice.
We could spend a lot of time looking at why Moses did it his way instead of God's. His sister had just died. He was fed up with the people. God had, in fact, had him use the staff for hitting the rock 40 years earlier. Was Moses tired? Confused? Was it a crime of passion?
I think it tells us something that the passage tells us nothing about why Moses did it. He just did it. He just disobeyed. Period. And God held him responsible. Too often, I think, we let ourselves off the hook for disobedience because we think the reason for our wrong behavior was understandable -- as if understanding the circumstances should maybe relieve us of the responsibility.
Moses was God's most trusted servant, but his disobedience was not overlooked. And neither is ours.
Think: Do you sometimes excuse your wrong behavior because of the circumstances? As Christians, our sins are forgiven in Christ, but does that mean those sins don't matter? Should we take them seriously? Does God?
Pray: Ask God to help you to be honest with yourself about what is sin in your life, even when you can see how the circumstances contributed to you choice.
Do: Notice this week how people deflect responsibility for sinful choices by blaming their circumstances.
Listen You Rebels!
"So Moses took the staff from the LORD's presence, just as he commanded him. He and Aaron gathered the assembly together in front of the rock and Moses said to them, 'Listen, you rebels, must we bring you water out of this rock?' " (Numbers 20:9-10)Moses sounds mad, angry, ticked off. He had been shepherding the Israelites around the wilderness for 40 years, and they never really seemed to stop questioning everything he did. God had made him their leader, but they almost always found a reason to doubt him -- and to doubt God. It probably didn't help that Moses' sister Miriam had just recently died.
So with the power of God in his hands in the form of that holy staff, Moses tells them off for a change, calling them rebels. His anger would be understandable, but he made a critical error. He allowed his feelings to derail his trust in God.
His first mistake seems to be that he's about to take credit for giving the people water, even though that's obviously something only God could do. Having taken their abuse and blame for the lack of water -- something beyond his control, as well -- he apparently wanted to take credit for giving them water (while pointing out that, as "rebels," they didn't deserve it).
Think: Has your justifiable anger over someone else's wrong actions or attitude ever caused you to sin, as well? Why does anger make us vulnerable to making foolish choices? What do you do to try to control your anger and keep from sinning?
Pray: Ask God to help you not to allow your anger to lead you into foolish and sinful choices.
Do: Read what Paul wrote about anger and sin in Ephesians 4:26-27.
God Provides
"The LORD said to Moses,'Take the staff, and you and your brother Aaron gather the assembly together. Speak to that rock before their eyes and it will pour out its water. You will bring water out of the rock for the community so they and their livestock can drink.' " (Numbers 20:7-8)If you've been following along in Numbers 20 this week, here's a question? Did the Israelites earn a miraculous salvation from God? Did they deserve for Him to give them water out of a rock? Remember how they responded to the crisis of dryness? They panicked, blamed, complained, wished they were dead, and told off their leaders (indirectly telling off God Himself).
As a group, they had responded that way before, sometimes resulting in harsh consequences or even death. This time, though, God apparently responds to the nation at large only with mercy. Moses and Aaron came to Him in humility, and He promised to provide. He would save His people.
Why? Because that's who God is. He is patient. He is merciful. He does not easily turn away even His rebellious children when they need Him. He loves to give good gifts to His own. And He longs to show us why we should keep trusting Him.
Of course, sometimes He lets us follow our rebellion to our own pain. Sometimes, He answers our faithlessness with discipline. But His heart is for His people. He finds joy in providing what we need, especially as we learn to trust Him more. His grace toward us reveals His true heart: He loves us even when we don't deserve it.
Think: Have you ever been aware that God came through for you even when you didn't deserve it? Do you think of God as someone who owes you something or someone who has given far more than you could ever pay back?
Pray: Thank God for giving you mercy and grace in spite of your wrong choices and lack of trust in Him.
Do: Read what Jesus said about the Father who gives good gifts in Matthew 7:7-12.
Fall Face Down
"Moses and Aaron went from the assembly to the entrance to the Tent of Meeting and fell facedown, and the glory of the LORD appeared to them. The LORD said to Moses, 'Take the staff, and you and your brother Aaron gather the assembly together. Speak to that rock before their eyes and it will pour out its water. You will bring water out of the rock for the community so they and their livestock can drink.' " (Number 20:6-8)So what should you do when disaster happens -- or even just when you're having another lousy day? The Israelites complained, wished they were dead, told off the guys in charge. Moses and Aaron made a more productive, more logical choice: They went to God for help.
It's not that they weren't scared. We'll see in the next few days that Moses was really angry, even. They didn't pretend like this life-threatening catastrophe of having no water didn't matter to them. They just went to the Person who could do something about it -- and fell face down in front of Him.
And God did what God does: He promised to help His needy children, the ones willing to turn to Him, to trust Him. That's what He wants from us. That's why James said to call it joy when stuff goes wrong -- because it sends us back to the God who fixes stuff and loves to have us lean on Him.
Think: Do you get closer to God when things are going well or when they're not? Why do you think it takes a problem to turn our attention fully on Him?
Pray: Ask God to help you to turn to Him for help first when things go wrong.
Do: Read James 1:2-8 and notice what James says is the benefit of hard times.
Which List Will You Make?
"Why did you bring the LORD's community into this desert, that we and our livestock should die here? Why did you bring us up out of Egypt to this terrible place? It has no grain or figs, grapevines or pomegranates. And there is no water to drink!" (Numbers 20:4-5)With no water to drink, people get scared. Unless something changes, they're about to die -- or, at the least, to suffer a huge economic loss when all the livestock die. It's hard to blame them for being frightened.
It's easy, though, to blame them for doing what we all so often do -- making the wrong list. When faced with a disaster -- or even just a lousy day -- we always have a choice about what list to make. On the one hand, we can make the "last straw" list in which we itemize how this new bad thing fits along with all the other bad things in our lives.
For example: "I've got no car. My mom is mad at me. I just flunked that English test. And now I get dumped! Great! That's the last straw, God. I give up!"
Or we can make the other list, the one where we remember how God has provided for us so often before. That's the list the Israelites chose to ignore at this point: "God has always provided water and food when we needed it. Our shoes have never worn out. As kids, we saw Him part the Red Sea to save us from the Egyptians! Our God is good. Let's ask Him for water again."
Think: When faced with something bad, which list do you usually start to make? How hard is it to stop thinking about one list and start thinking about the other?
Pray: Ask God to help you to remember how He has provided for you and proved His love for you, especially when the next thing goes wrong in your life.
Do: Make your own quick list of five examples of God's love and goodness in your life.
Better Off Dead?
"Now there was no water for the community, and the people gathered in opposition to Moses and Aaron. They quarreled with Moses and said, 'If only we had died when our brothers fell dead before the LORD!' " (Numbers 20:2-3)We're going to spend a few days with the ancient Israelites in a place called Kadesh. It's been 40 years since this community escaped from Egypt. When they had the chance to go straight into the Promised Land, they did not believe God could pull it off. In spite of seeing Him part the Red Sea and send those scary plagues on Egypt, they didn't believe He was strong enough to help them conquer the Land.
Remember their penalty? God sent them back into the wilderness to wander around for 40 years until everyone 20 and older died off. Now, 39 years later, it's almost time for their grown-up kids to finally enter the Promised Land. But -- like all of us -- they still have issues with trusting God.
When things went bad, they threw a fit. There was a well-known spring at Kadesh which provided much-need water. They'd been there before. When they showed up this time, though, it was dry. They panicked, apparently, and got mad at Moses and Aaron, both well over 100 years old: "We'd be better off dead than here and now with you and God," they might as well have said.
Think: How do you react when things go wrong? Do you look for someone in charge to blame? When you get scared or find yourself in a potentially dangerous situation, are you more or less likely to trust God? Why?
Pray: Ask God to help you to make the choice to trust Him more, not less, when things go wrong. Ask Him to give you the wisdom and faith not to look for someone to blame but to wait for Him to provide.
Do: Notice this week how you and others react when things don't go according to plan.
Sex Week: Who Owns You?
"Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your body." (1 Corinthians 6:19-20)Paul wraps up his case against sexual immorality, which we might define as "participating in any sexual experience with anyone you're not married to." His last two points have to do with occupation and ownership.
Occupation: If you're a Christian, God's Spirit lives in your body. So when we sin sexually, we take Him along for the experience. In one sense, we are actively defiling His residence.
Ownership: Even harder to take for some of us is the idea that God owns us. He bought us, paid for us with the blood of Jesus. We belong to Him. Thus, He has the right to tell us what to do with our bodies. The question we must ask ourselves, then, is: How can I use my body to honor God? Or, reversed, what use of my body will dishonor God?
Think: How often do you think about the ideas that God's Spirit lives in your body and that you are owned by God? How does being aware of those ideas change the way you think about sex and your body?
Pray: Ask God to help you to honor Him with you body. Thank Him for giving you the Spirit to live in you and for paying the debt you could not pay to purchase you for Himself.
Do: Read 1 Corinthians 7 to find out what Paul says next about marriage and sex and being single.
Sex Week: Run Away!
"Flee from sexual immorality. All other sins a man commits are outside his body, but he who sins sexually sins against his own body." (1 Corinthians 6:18)I was one of those guys in high school who spent way too much time watching "Monty Python and the Holy Grail" with my friends. I'm not recommending it, exactly. It's a film that tends to be funnier to quote together than to actually watch, for some reason, especially for those who haven't seen it before.
Anyway, one of my favorite scenes is the one where King Arthur and his men come upon the dreaded lair of an evil creature that destroys all who approach it. When it turns out to be a fluffy, white bunny, they all laugh it off. But when the bunny quickly (and comically) kills two or three of them in close combat, they're left with only one option: "Run away! Run away!" (That's the line that's fun to quote.)
Paul didn't offer the Corinthians a three-step plan for dealing with sexual temptation. No secret strategies. Just this: "Run away!" Sexual sin might seem harmless at first glance, but it leads to disaster. It's one of the sins that ends up hurting you personally, not just other people. Don't try to fight it. Don't try to outthink it. Just man up and hit the road fast.
Think: Have you ever seen anyone (or yourself) actually flee from sexual immorality? What's the danger of not running away, of trying to get closer to sexual immorality without crossing "the line"? Why do so many people try to dance around immorality instead of getting out of its way?
Pray: Ask God to help you to have the courage to run away for sexual immorality.
Do: Joseph ran away. Look for new details from his example in Genesis 39:1-23. (Notice that he paid a price for running.)
Sex Week: One in Spirit
"But he who unites himself with the Lord is one with him in spirit." (1 Corinthians 6:17)We don't get it. At least, I don't. It's tough to carry around in my mind the reality of what really happened to me, for me, at the moment God welcomed me into His family -- because I trusted in Jesus. I can write three-paragrpah devotionals about it, but how do we live with our heads in that place?
It's one of the reasons we keep flirting with sexual experiences outside of marriage. We don't think of ourselves -- our real, everyday selves -- as being united with Christ. Paul described our current reality this way: "For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God." (Colossians 3:3)
So he yells at the Corinthians: "Wake up! Remember who you are!" He understood that they lived in a culture where going to a prostitute was as normalized for some of them as going to Starbucks is for us. But he also knew they didn't fit into "normal" in that culture any more. They were new, different, changed, "one with the Lord in spirit."
Once you get who you are in Christ, he said, don't take Jesus to a prostitute! Don't "hook up" you/Him with someone you're not married to. You're different. Live like who you are now.
Think: On a scale from 1 to 10, how difficult is it for you to live in the reality that, as a Christian, you are united with Christ right now? What could you do to make accepting that reality easier?
Pray: Thank God that by His grace and through faith you have been united with Christ. Ask Him to help you live with the awareness of that fact.
Do: Notice in Colossians 1:27 what is the "hope of glory."
Sex Week: One Flesh
"Do you not know that he who unites himself with a prostitute is one with her in body? For it is said, 'The two will become one flesh.' " (1 Corinthians 6:16)The Bible seems to teach that when two people have sex, some kind of significant connection is formed, that it's more than just a physical, biological act. To make that point, Paul quotes from all the way back at the beginning of the Bible in Genesis 2:24: "For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and they will become one flesh."
Jesus quoted the same passage when He was teaching about divorce in Mark 10: "So they are no longer two, but one. Therefore what God has joined together, let man not separate."
God made sex -- something I'm really glad He did. But He intended for it to be a physical connection uniting two married people in a way that you do not connect with anyone else. Sex is supposed to be a kind of super glue for marriage. When we "become one" with a prostitute (or anyone else we're not married to), we're missing the point of both sex and marriage -- and the negative consequences from that can be painful and long-lasting.
Think: What would you say are some of the negative consequences of using sexuality outside of marriage? How does that lessen the positive impact of both sex and marriage?
Pray: Ask God to help you to understand His intentions for both sex and marriage -- and to follow them.
Do: Read what Jesus says about marriage, divorce, and sex in Mark 10:1-12.
Sex Week: Christians and Prostitutes?
"By his power God raised the Lord from the dead, and he will raise us also. Do you not know that your bodies are members of Christ himself? Shall I then take the members of Christ and unite them with a prostitute? Never!" (1 Corinthians 6:14-15)Jesus walked around on the earth after His resurrection from the dead in a body, a physical human body that had been "glorified." He could apparently walk through locked doors with it, as well as appearing and vanishing at will. He could also do normal things like cooking and eating. He was real. Thomas touched his hands and side.
Later in this letter, Paul will tell the Corinthians (and us) that as Christians we, too, will walk around in glorified bodies after our own resurrection from the dead. Before that, Paul will describe how we all are parts of Christ's "body," also known as the church.
All this body talk to make the point: What you as a believer do with your body sexually cannot be separated from who you are in Christ. If you have sex with a prostitute (or a girlfriend/boyfriend), you are involving Christ in that activity. You are also involving yourself -- body, mind, spirit -- the self God has eternal plans for.
Think: Should we really worry that what we do with our bodies sexually also involves Christ in that activity?
Pray: Ask God to help you not to use your body for anything that would involve Christ in something inappropriate.
Do: Read Paul's description of the resurrection body in 1 Corinthians 15:35-58.
Sex Week: What’s a Body For?
" 'Food for the stomach and the stomach for food'—but God will destroy them both. The body is not meant for sexual immorality, but for the Lord, and the Lord for the body." (1 Corinthians 6:13)Sex is just an appetite. When you're hungry, you eat. Sex should be the same. When you feel like it, you should do it. It's just a physical thing. It's just bodies and nature. Why make a fuss? Why does it have to be a big emotional, spiritual deal?
That's the case some of the people in Corinth were making, especially those new to Christianity who wanted to keep having sex with prostitutes like everyone else did. And it's still a popular argument among those looking for ways to justify sex outside of a committed marriage relationship. Paul told his Christian readers, "No, you're missing the point."
He's about to make the case that believers have been changed. We belong to Christ, now, and not just in a spiritual sense. God has a plan and a purpose even for our physical selves, for our bodies. And that plan doesn't include "sexual immorality." It matters what we do with our bodies because we belong to God and we are not the same people we once were.
Think: Do you tend to think of your body as disposable or eternal? Do you think of yourself as having a responsibility for your body for God's sake? Do you think of your body as being "meant for the Lord"? Why or why not?
Pray: Ask God to help you not to misuse your body for sexual immorality. Thank Him that your body is "meant for the Lord."
Do: Notice this week if you hear anyone making a claim of ownership for his or her own body
Sex Week: Want What’s Best
" 'Everything is permissible for me'—but not everything is beneficial. 'Everything is permissible for me'—but I will not be mastered by anything." (1 Corinthians 6:12)In an effort to confuse Google, we're labeling our online Bible study for the next few days "sex week." We're going to break down the end of 1 Corinthians 6, where Paul explains to a group of Christians why casual sex is a bad idea.
The Corinthians were confused. Paul himself had explained that they weren't bound by the Old Testament Law; "everything was permissible" for them. So why should they not have sex with whomever they wanted? Even prostitutes? There were no "rules" against it in this new covenant with Christ, right?
Not right. Paul will show them that the problem isn't in the rules, it's in them. Christians have become different people with a different purpose. Our bodies, he will say, are now part of Christ. Having sex is more than just scratching a biological itch. It is using our bodies to form a kind of spiritual bond. To do so outside of the marriage commitment -- with bodies made for the Lord, he will write -- is not "beneficial."
In other words, it doesn't help. It hurts Him and us. More tomorrow.
Think: Why do you think so many people become mastered by sexuality even though that leads to so many problems?
Pray: Ask God to help you to want His best for you and for Him. Ask Him to help you not to be mastered or controlled by anything except Him.
Do: Notice the messages you hear this week from friends and media that suggest sex is just a physical act and not a big deal between willing participants. What's wrong with that perspective?
What Jesus Said: Do As You’d Like Done
"So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets." (Matthew 7:12)What a simple idea! I'm sure the religious leaders resisted this statement. Their power and authority came from being masters of the specifics: "How much am I required to give? How often am I required to forgive? How exactly must I wash my hands?"
Jesus moved past all the specifics to get to the point of the law. In another passage, He said the greatest commands were to love God (with everything) and love all of our neighbors as ourselves. Here it's even easier: Do what you'd like done to you.
How would you like someone to respond when you're being a jerk? What would you like someone to say when you've make a mistake? How when you like someone to notice when you've made an effort to look good? How would you want your friend to treat you when she's had a terrible day?
Jesus' golden rule is genius. Don't focus on the rules. Focus on being the person you'd like to have for a friend.
Think: Think back over the last week: Were there a couple of times when you did not "do to others what you would have had them do to you"? How could you handle that differently next time?
Pray: Ask God to help you to do to others what you would have them do to you.
Do: Ask a good friend or sibling how he or she would have liked to have been treated during your last fight.
What Jesus Said: God Gives Good Gifts
"Which of you, if his son asks for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a snake? If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him! (Matthew 7:9-11)When was the last time you heard a five year old say something like this? "I'm really struggling in my conversation life with my dad. I'm not sure if I'm talking to him in the right way. I feel so gulity asking him for things all the time."
Kids don't think that way. They ask their dads for what they want. And because even flawed human dads like to give good things to their kids, it works out.
God does not want us to think of Him as a religous system or theological idea. He doesn't want us to work on our "prayer life" or use all the right church words when we pray. He just wants us to talk to him like a dad. To tell Him what we're thinking, ask for what we want, and say thanks for what He gives.
He likes His kids. He likes giving us good things. He holds back things that will hurt us. He's a good dad.
Think: Do you think we tend to make our relationship with God more complicated than it needs to be? Why do you think it's tough for us to think of Him as a dad who likes us?
Pray: Thank your Father that He likes to give you good gifts.
Do: If you can, ask your dad how he feels when you ask him for good things -- even if he can't always give them to you.
What Jesus Said: God Answers
"Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened." (Matthew 7:7-8)Yesterday, we heard Jesus say not to toss your pearls to the swine, seemingly pointing out the great value of the message that we can belong to God. We can be of Him. Those who reject that message don't realize how costly it is.
Today, He tells us to ask, seek, and knock. What would you ask for? What would you seek? Well, since He is God with all of the power in the universe, hopefully you'll ask for something of great value, something like pearls, something like the opportunity to belong to God or to be restored to closer fellowship with Him.
God responds to those who seek Him. He is discoverable; He finds those who look for Him. He welcomes those who trust in the message of Jesus; He offers them a place in His family by His grace through their faith.
Why? Because good dads like to give good things to their kids. Come back tomorrow.
Think: What have you asked God for? How have you looked for Him? What has He given you? What have you found?
Pray: Thank God that He answers those who ask, seek, and knock.
Do: As briefly as possible, write down the incredibly valuable message of how someone can be included in the family of God.
What Jesus Said: No Pearls for Pigs
"Do not give dogs what is sacred; do not throw your pearls to pigs. If you do, they may trample them under their feet, and then turn and tear you to pieces." (Matthew 7:6)In Jewish culture, to call someone a dog or a pig was harsh language. Usually, it was reserved for enemies of Israel or those who worshipped pagan gods. Jesus seems to be saying that we should only go so far in offering God's truth to those stuck in sin.
The most valuable things we have to offer to anyone -- Christian or not -- is the message of the gospel, the good news that God will forgive sin, that He loves us, and that we can be redeemed and/or restored to fellowship with Him.
Don't waste your time, Jesus says, trying to help pigs understand the value of pearls. Don't squander your hours explaining the grace and glory of God to someone who refuses to care, to someone who is blind to the truth. Let them go.
Think: Is it hard to let people go when they openly reject the message of Jesus? Is it freeing to you to realize that you are not responsible for how people respond to God's offer of grace and forgiveness?
Pray: Ask God to help you not too "throw your pearls to pigs" by trying too hard to convince those who reject Him of the truth. Then ask Him to help you to be available to talk to anyone who is interested about the enormously valuable message of the cross.
Do: Ask your youth leader if he has ever had to make a choice to stop "chasing" a student who clearly had no interest in God's offer of forgiveness through faith in Jesus.
What Jesus Said: Be a Speckectomist
"You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother's eye." (Matthew 7:5)It would be so much easier just stop with the verse before this one. I'd be way more comfortable with a philosophy of life that said, "Don't ever worry about what anyone else is doing wrong; live and let live. That's between them and God, not me." It's what our culture often means by "tolerance," and it sounds so right and clean, doesn't it?
But Jesus kept going: Once you've rejected hypocrisy and have removed that log from your eye, then jump in there and help your brother remove the speck from his own eye. Yes, don't become a judgmental hypocrite. But, also yes, do confront each other about sin with the willingness to help each other overcome it.
Jesus' half-brother James was talking about a lot more than "specks" when he wrote this at the very end of his famous letter: "My brothers, if one of you should wander from the truth and someone should bring him back, remember this: Whoever turns a sinner from the error of his way will save him from death and cover over a multitude of sins." (James 5:19-20)
God isn't looking for volunteer judges, but He does call us as His children to get into each other's business, to keep pointing each other back to the path of Jesus.
Think: Which is harder for you -- not to judge or to lovingly help a Christian friend to deal with sin? Why?
Pray: Ask God to help you to be willing to be available to help your Christian friends deal with sin -- with wisdom, grace, and kindness.
Do: Notice how these ideas fit with Hebrews 10:24-25.
What Jesus Said: Plank Eye!
"Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother's eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? How can you say to your brother, 'Let me take the speck out of your eye,' when all the time there is a plank in your own eye?" (Matthew 7:3-5)Jesus uses such great word pictures. You can almost see this as a Monty Python or "Saturday Night Live" sketch as the clueless-but-official-sounding "doctor" keeps whacking his patient in the head with the plank sticking out of his eye as he tries in vain to pick the other guy's speck out with a pair of tweezers. Before it was over, they'd both be blind.
And that's the point! Volunteer judges love to walk around with tweezers looking for small infractions to point out and attempt to fix in their siblings. They carry a list of rules around with them -- whatever list they've decided is the most important one -- so they can pull it out and show it to each other and argue about exactly where the lines are that must. not. be crossed.
Meanwhile, Jesus said, they are literally blind to a giant, obvious sin in their own lives. These hypocrites -- and we've all been there -- are like murderers banging the gavel at a jaywalking trial. They are the last people who should be "fixing" other believers.
So none of us should ever point out sin in another person's life, right? Wrong! Come back tomorrow.
Think: Has anyone ever approached you about sin your life? Did they do it judgmentally and hypocritically? Have you ever been told you have a plank-sized sin that you had previously been blind to? Who do you trust that you could ask about any obvious problem areas in your life that you might be missing?
Pray: Ask God to help you not to become a hypocritical judge of other people's sin while being blind to even more obvious sin in your own life.
Do: Think about asking someone you trust to tell you honestly and kindly if they have noticed any obvious sin in your life that you may not have seen. (Be willing to hear what they say and really think about it, even if you don't agree completely, at first. And refuse to get mad and punish them for telling you what they really think.)
What Jesus Said: Don’t Judge
"Do not judge, or you too will be judged. For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you." (Matthew 7:1-2)This might be one of the most often quoted verses in the New Testament by people who don't often read the New Testament. We're dropping in on the middle of Jesus' famous "Sermon on the Mount" this week, kicking off with a verse many of us have attempted to use like a "get out of jail free" card when we've been caught in sin.
"Hey! You're not supposed to judge me for killing kittens! Jesus said so! What is wrong with you? Don't you ever read your own Bible? Now leave me alone; I've got a lot of kittens to get through before supper time." It goes something like that.
Of course, if you read on to the next verse, Jesus is not saying we should never have an opinion about what is right and what it wrong -- or even that we should not lovingly correct each other. He does seem to be saying one of two things. One: It is God's job to be the judge, not yours. If you try to do His job, you'll receive from Him the same judgement that you try to pronounce on others.
Or, two, He might be making a wisdom statement about human nature: We all tend to feel and act judgmentally toward people who are judging us. And we tend to give more grace toward those who show us grace and mercy. Either way: If you don't want to be judged, don't volunteer to judge others.
Think: Why do we sometimes feel so compelled to judge people who are obviously doing something wrong? How do you decide when it is right to confront a friend about sin and when it is right not to?
Pray: Ask God to help you not to wrongfully judge others and for the wisdom to know when it is right to offer loving and helpful correction to a friend or family member who is sinning.
Do: Think about this verse in light of what you read in James 5:19-20.
Plant Peace
"Peacemakers who sow in peace raise a harvest of righteousness." (James 3:18)One of the bottom-line differences between the world's wisdom and the wisdom of heaven is this: The world's wisdom leads to conflict. Heaven's wisdom leads to peace.
The world's wisdom says, "You've got to be willing to fight to get what's yours. If you don't compete to promote yourself, nobody else will. If you want something, you've got to compete for it on the battlefield of sports or academics or business or war or relationships. You've got to take it. Nobody is going to give it to you."
Heaven's wisdom says, "God will give you whatever you need and many amazing things you didn't even know you wanted. You won't have to fight for them. You can do the hard work He calls you to and trust Him to provide. You can join Him in doing good things for people, finding new ways to make peace. People who love making peace ending up doing what's right."
Think: Does heaven's wisdom appeal to you? Why or why not? What does that say about us that sometimes we'd rather fight than make peace?
Pray: Ask God to help you to be a peacemaker who sows in peace and raises a harvest of righteousness.
Do: Read James 4:1-12 to hear more about the conflict that comes from living by the world's wisdom.
Keeping It Real, Yo
"But the wisdom that comes from heaven is first of all pure; then peace-loving, considerate, submissive, full of mercy and good fruit, impartial and sincere." (James 3:17)God's wisdom always keeps it real. It doesn't have a hidden agenda. It doesn't do nice things for you with a secret motive to get something from you afterwards.
Why? Because those living on God's wisdom are "impartial," a word that here means "not uncertain" or "not doubting." We are wisely convinced that living for God is the best possible path for us and that He will meet all of our needs (and many of our wants).
So we don't have to try to manipulate each other to get what we want. In His wisdom, I understand that I don't need anything from anyone except Him. I am free to be completely sincere, completely who I am in Christ. I don't need to fudge the truth or threaten or turn on my sales tactics. I can afford to do the best thing for you and let God worry about your response to me.
Think: Why does living by the world's self-serving version of wisdom require us to avoid being sincere, to become hypocrites when we pretend to be motivated by doing good for others?
Pray: Ask God to help you to live in His pure, peace-loving, considerate, submissive, merciful, fruitful, convinced, sincere wisdom.
Do: Make a quick list of words that are the opposites of those wisdom characteristics mentioned in today's verse: pure (e.g., "impure" or "diluted"), peace-loving, considerate, submissive, merciful, fruitful, impartial, sincere. Notice how those opposite character qualities lead to unwise living in your life.
Wisdom from Heaven
"But the wisdom that comes from heaven is first of all pure; then peace-loving, considerate, submissive, full of mercy and good fruit, impartial and sincere." (James 3:17)Had enough of the world's brand of self-serving wisdom? Want to define success differently in your life? James turns the focus on God's version of wisdom. Notice that it's not so much about getting my way.
First, this wisdom is pure. That means it's not some of one thing and some of another. God's wisdom is all one thing all the way through. It is all about God from start to finish. It's all about His view of the universe and His view of my life. Those living on God's wisdom will always be moving in the same direction -- the one He chooses.
With this wisdom, I am so confident God will have His way I can quit fighting to get my own way. This wisdom tells me I'd rather have His way, anyway. So I can work to make peace. I can spare the time to look at things from your point of view and be willing to have my mind changed. I can afford to show mercy and make choices that cause good things to happen for everyone.
With God's wisdom, I'm not trying to beat you to build myself up. I'm trying to serve you because I know He will build me up when the time is right.
Think: Do the consequences of living by God's wisdom -- purity, peace, thoughtfulness, etc. -- appeal to you? What keeps people who live by God's wisdom from getting walked on by everyone else?
Pray: Ask God to give you the desire and courage to live by His wisdom in your world.
Do: Write down each of the attributes of heavenly wisdom listed in today's verse. Rate each one on a scale from 1 to 10 (with 10 being high) by how much of that thing you notice in your own life, lately. (E.g., peace-loving: 6; considerate: 4; ect.)
Disorder More Evil
"For where you have envy and selfish ambition, there you find disorder and every evil practice." (James 3:16)Do you have a picture in your head now of what worldly "wisdom" is, what worldliness is? We've looked at how James describes it -- envy and selfish ambition. Put another way, this "wisdom" is about defining success by getting what I want most out of life.
One reason that fails is the same reason a basketball team fails when the players are more interested in their own stats than they are in winning the game. Nobody passes. Nobody plays defense. Everybody shoots the ball every time they get it. That is disorder. And that team loses the game almost every time, even if one or two players "succeed" in getting high scores.
The other problem with defining success by getting my way is that I'm more and more willing to do "whatever it takes" to get my way. If the choice is between hurting you and succeeding by getting what I want, I can get used to the idea of hurting you. I can get used to the idea of all kinds of evil if the other option is "losing" at life.
Think: Can you think of any examples of disorder and evil in our world that seem to come from a worldly definition of success? What would be the opposite of this definition of success?
Pray: Ask God to help you not to live according to the world's definition of self-serving success.
Do: Write down a number between 1 (low) and 10 (high) describing how committed you are to getting what you want out of life. Then write a number rating how committed you are to accomplishing what God wants with your life.
Earthbound Unspiritual Demonic
"Such 'wisdom' does not come down from heaven but is earthly, unspiritual, of the devil." (James 3:15)The world's wisdom fails, even though it sounds like a pretty good worldview to us most of the time. Again, we're talking about a plan of deciding what you want by looking at what other people have ("bitter envy") and finding a way to get it in order to try to make yourself happy ("selfish ambition").
It sounds good to us, because it's the way we've always looked at the world. It's the operating system installed in our sinful hearts. James describes three problems with it.
First, it's earthly, meaning this wisdom can't provide a "bird's eye view" perspective on life. Next, it is unspiritual, limited in understanding to only what the senses can perceive. And it was written by demonic sources.
So the serve-self-first view of life is earthbound, spiritually blind, and demonic. Yikes!
Think: What's wrong with these three characteristics of worldly wisdom? What would be the advantage of wisdom that was heavenly, spiritual, and NOT of the devil?
Pray: Ask God to give you the desire and the courage to reject the serve-self-first wisdom of the world.
Do: Read John's definition of everything in "the world" in 1 John 2:16.
