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Category: Romans (Page 16 of 28)

Totally in Control

December 4, 2014 / / 0 Comments

God caused the great tragedies to Job and his family, right? You know that, right? God did it. Scripture is plain that God had been protecting Job from evil and suffering. The devil couldn’t do anything bad to Job because God had put this fence around him. Satan knows if he’s going to inflict disaster on Job, God has to act. God has to remove his protection. And he asks God to do just that.

“Stretch out your hand and strike everything he has!” the devil says to God in Job 1:11. And God agrees to hand the keys over to Satan. “Very well then, everything he has is in your hands, but on the man himself do not lay a finger.” (1:12)

God is definitely responsible for what happens to Job. God had to act to allow all the death and destruction to happen. The devil and God and Job himself all acknowledge that God is in control of everything happening to this faithful servant. God gave the devil the power and the permission to torment this righteous man. But God never for a second gave up control. He places strict limits on the devil. Satan doesn’t lay a finger on Job himself because he can’t. God’s not allowing it. Later on, God allowed even some physical suffering for Job but told the tormenter he couldn’t kill him. And he didn’t. Because he couldn’t. God was totally in control.

Please note that suffering for Job began only when God allowed it. And the trouble for Job ended the moment God decided to end it. God was always totally in control of Job’s whole situation.

I think it should be a great comfort to us to know that God is in control of our suffering. God reigns supreme over all of your troubles. He’s totally in charge of what’s happening to you right now. Now, if God were a malicious tyrant, that would be scary. But he’s not. He loves you, remember?

So… if he loves me, why does he allow me to suffer so much?

Well, God has a goal for his people. He has an eternal plan for you. His plan for all of us is communion with him. And our earthly happiness isn’t necessarily a part of that goal. God is much more interested in our faith than our pleasure. He’s committed to sharing holy community with us forever. That’s his intent. That’s what he’s doing. And if God is totally sovereign over everything — if nothing happens without God’s permission — then every single thing that happens serves his goal. And if our temporary pains and struggles serve God’s eternal goals, then he uses it.

“And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the likeness of his Son.” ~Romans 8:28-29

We’re all being transformed into the likeness of Jesus. That’s the purpose, that’s the goal. We’re being changed, we’re being saved. And God uses everything that happens to us — all things — for this goal of holiness, for this purpose of being made into the image of Christ.

Romans 8 doesn’t say, “Yes, you may have lost your job, but you’re going to get an even better one soon because all things work out for good.” It doesn’t say, “Don’t be upset that your girlfriend broke up with you; God must have an even better girl, your future wife, waiting for you just around the corner!” When we interpret “works for the good” that way, it’s very narrow and often materialistic. It’s a worldly application. From God’s perspective, “good” has to be defined spiritually, eternally. The ultimate “good” is your saving relationship with him. So Romans 8 doesn’t say every difficult experience is going to lead to something good in this life. The “good” God may have in mind might involve the next life entirely. God uses suffering to build Christian character to conform us to Christ and to prepare us for that final glory. Knowing our God is in control of our sufferings and that he uses those sufferings should shape our view of those sufferings more into God’s perspective.

“We rejoice in our sufferings because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not disappoint us because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us.” ~Romans 5:3-5

Hope tells us that our suffering is not in vain. It’s not pointless. God is in total control of everything happening to you right now and he’s using it to his glory and to his eternal purposes for you and for his world.

Peace,

Allan

Thanksgiving in Christ

November 26, 2014 / / 0 Comments

In good times and bad, we have much for which to be thankful. Much. Odds are that you personally rank in the top ten percent of the wealthiest people in the world. And, yes, we are thankful. We are thankful for all the wonderful blessings of our lives: our families, our children, our friends, our jobs and houses, our cars and money. And that’s good. It’s very good to acknowledge God as the giver of all good gifts. Everything you have is a gift from God. We thank him for every good thing we see.

But beyond that — way, way, way beyond that — we enjoy the blessings of a righteous relationship with God through our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Everything we’ve been given, all our possessions, every blessing you could possibly count this week finds more significance because of Christ. Every blessing is richer, it’s better, it’s deeper, it’s more significant, it’s more meaningful because of Christ. In fact, all thanksgiving is because of, related to, and in the name of Jesus.

The things the Scriptures long for, the blessings the psalms yearn for, the promises the Bible begs to be delivered are all fulfilled for us in Christ Jesus. He is our righteousness, our holiness, and our redemption.

So, you’re thankful today? “Thanks be to God — through Jesus Christ our Lord!” (Romans 7:25)

You’re thankful for a particular person today? “I always thank God for you, because of his grace given you in Christ Jesus!” (1 Corinthians 1:4)

You’re thankful today even in tough times? “Give thanks in all circumstances for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus!” (1 Thessalonians 5:18)

You’re thankful for salvation? “Thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ!” (1 Corinthians 15:57)

In Ephesians 5:20, Paul tells us to give thanks to God “for everything in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.”

We have a whole lot for which to be thankful today. Let’s be reminded that all thanksgiving — all of it — finds its source and its meaning in our Savior and Lord.

Peace,

Allan

4 Amarillo at ACU Summit

September 22, 2014 / / 0 Comments

The early church astonished the world because of the way these dedicated disciples of Jesus refused to be identified by the social barriers of the day. The church astonished the world because it encouraged Jews and Gentiles to meet and eat together. It encouraged men and women to both worship and serve in the same houses. It gave slaves and masters, rich and poor, the well-connected and the barely-functioning the same seats at the same table, the same status in the same living Body of our Lord.

4 Amarillo, I suppose, is sort of doing the same thing. Presbyterians and Baptists worshiping and working together generates big news. The Church of Christ cooperating with anybody on anything seems to elicit surprised gasps of shock. So, I think, that’s how I wound up presenting three class sessions at this year’s ACU Summit. What we’re doing together in our little city is apparently fairly big news. And I’m so honored and blessed to be doing this.

This morning I laid out the theology for Christian unity among different denominations and traditions from our Lord’s beautiful — and loaded! — prayer in John 17, bolstered by Paul’s arguments in Romans 14-15 and Ephesians 4. Wednesday morning, I’ll wrap up the series by looking at how a commitment to this kind of unity is good for your church and the people in your church and how it probably would fit right in with most of the things your church is already doing anyway. But tomorrow, I’m especially looking forward to having all three of my co-downtown pastors join me here at ACU for a panel discussion regarding the origins of our 4 Amarillo partnership and the impact it’s having on our community for the sake of God’s Kingdom.

Howard, Burt, Howie, and I will discuss how this whole thing started long before any of us arrived on the scene, how God brought us four together to form an unshakable alliance of friends and partners in the Gospel, how we first presented the idea of 4 Amarillo to our four churches and church leadership groups, and the many ways God is using this cooperative effort to reach the downtown Amarillo area with his good news of salvation through Jesus Christ. The other three guys will spend a little time at the end telling all us CofCers everything we need to know about their churches and their people if we have any hopes of engaging them in any cooperative worship and/or ministry together. And then we’ll stay for audience participation and Q & A for as long as anybody wants to keep talking.

This morning’s session went well. The room was packed to the walls, a few people were forced to sit and listen from out in the hallway, everyone seemed to be tracking with the theology, the logic, and the heart of what we’re doing with 4 Amarillo, and the conversations afterward were rich with curiosity and grace. A lot of grace.

I’m very grateful that my friends in downtown Amarillo would agree to drive down to Abilene to do this with me. They don’t have a clue as to what we’re dealing with in the Churches of Christ as far as our rigid sectarian past and, sadly, still in a lot of cases, our present. Wait. Maybe Howie gets it. Every now and then when I’m making some apology about our CofC history, the long-time pastor of First Baptist Amarillo leans in to me and says, “Allan, you guys aren’t the only ones.”

Grace. See, grace is the only way you were accepted by God as his child. Grace is the only thing that makes your relationship with God possible. Grace. And it’s the very thing that’s demanded of us to extend to others. Grace.

May our God be glorified through these sessions this week at ACU Summit. May he be given all the glory and praise. And may our cooperative efforts, our Christian unity, be used by him as he works to redeem all of creation back to himself.

Peace,

Allan

 

True Giving

July 31, 2014 / / 0 Comments

“We have different gifts according to the grace given us. If a man’s gift is… contributing to the needs of others, let him give generously.” ~Romans 12:6-8

We superficially assume that Paul’s command to be generous is meant only for those who have lots of money. No. Sadly, that misunderstanding causes lots of us to miss out on the terrific blessings of being generous.

Remember, these gifts listed in the middle of Romans 12 are gifts of God’s grace. God’s grace is the source of and the basis for these gifts. And it’s divine grace that guides us in the use of the gifts. A person gifted with generosity gives liberally not because he or she has tons of money, but because that individual has a grace-based understanding of possessions and their importance. His or her priorities are straight, in line with a gospel grasp of what our God has given to us.

And — this is just as important — let’s not limit this gift of generosity to our money and financial resources. Paul doesn’t; neither should we. The Scripture here is calling for an attitude of heart within the Christian community that says, “What’s mine is yours.” So many times your money is not the best thing you could give. More urgently, those in need could sometimes use your mechanical expertise or your plumbing skills or your time to just sit and listen.

Paul’s talking about an attitude. An open heart produces open checkbooks, open refrigerators, and open calendars.

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One of the great joys of working at the church building during the summers is the invaluable interaction with all the kids. (There’s a reason I keep two jars of Jolly Ranchers in my office at all times, and it’s not so I can see more of Matthew or Greg.) At any given time on any given day during the summer, our work is likely to be interrupted by the sound of relay races around the concourse, Nerf rocket launchers down the hall, or some form of zombie tag in the chapel. Yesterday, I was the grateful recipient of chocolate chip cookies and a glass of milk delivered by a mess of middle schoolers. Today, I was ambushed in my office by a group of church ninjas who were not as sneaky as they wanted to be and a whole lot funnier than they intended.

Our Lord says the Kingdom of God belongs to people just like these little church ninjas. I know why. Who can resist? Their great joy. Their creativity. Their vulnerability. Their tremendous capacity to forgive and their eagerness to love. The carefree laughing. The unashamed singing and dancing. God has called all of us to be just like them minus, maybe, the t-shirts over the heads. Or maybe with the t-shirts over the heads; I need to give that more thought. Thank you, God, for surrounding me with these little reminders of what you want for all of us.

Peace,

Allan

True Encouragement

July 28, 2014 / / 0 Comments

“We have different gifts according to the grace given us. If a man’s gift is… encouraging, let him encourage.” ~Romans 12:6-8

When brothers or sisters in our community of faith are hurting, the greatest grace we can offer is comfort or encouragement in the middle of whatever it is they are suffering. A person doesn’t need advice or correction or rebuke in the middle of pain. And he doesn’t need empty words. What he needs is the freedom you give him to crawl inside a hug and feel the embrace of our God. When we’re in pain, we need others to just listen, to just be present. We need friends and family to listen to our grief and fears, to help us sort everything out, and to encourage us not to lose hope.

Think today about the people who have touched your life with this gift of grace. Maybe you’ve experienced some special comforting lately. Perhaps today is a good day to thank them for the wonderful ways they’ve been a vessel of God’s mercy and care.

Or maybe this is one of your stronger spiritual gifts. Maybe today is the perfect day to assess the needs of the people around you. Take a few minutes today to discover who might need your encouragement in their struggles. And then bless them with the mercies of their heavenly Father who lavishly pours out his gifts on his children.

Peace,

Allan

True Teaching

July 26, 2014 / / 0 Comments

“We have different gifts according to the grace given us. If a man’s gift is… teaching, let him teach.” ~Romans 12:6-7

Those who are gifted to teach in the Church are called by Scripture to teach the truth. Obviously, teaching won’t bear fruit, regardless of the skills and abilities of the teacher, if the content of the efforts is false. This reminder is especially needed today when it seems more and more people in and out of the Church are much more interested in having their ears tickled than in being challenged by the radical call of God’s Word.

Secondly, teachers are responsible to prepare as well as they can to give their students as much substance as possible. The styles of teachers will vary, of course. But each teacher must be accountable to the community of faith for his or her best. Christian teaching is no place for flying by the seat of your pants. We are called to diligence in our studies.

Third, we use our teaching gifts from God best when we are genuine about how we teach. We must walk the talk. We have to be for real. We have no right to talk about the Scriptures unless we are personally willing to be confronted by them and to invest our whole beings into doing what they say. The impact of our teaching should be that others want to put God’s truth into practice. And we all know the best way for people to learn is through the examples of those who teach them.

God’s Holy Scriptures are such a treasure — bursting at the seams, exploding off the pages with new things to discover about God’s love and our place in his story. And we are all, to some extent, teachers. Parents and grandparents are constantly teaching. Bible class teachers and Gospel preachers qualify. Whenever another person is watching our modeling of our faith, we are teaching. We are teachers. It’s a gift that is to be nurtured by faith in God and in faithfulness to our Christian community.

Peace,

Allan

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