Bless You!

/ Peter Mead / Leave a comment

A simple Google search will yield hundreds of quotes about how we need to look within, seize each opportunity, and make what we want of our lives.  You might get a quote from Invictus, by William Henley, after he had his leg amputated – “I am the master of my fate, I am the captain of my soul.”  Or you might get a quote from Will Smith – “You can create whatever you want.  You just have to know what you want and take the opportunities that come your way.  We are who we choose to be!”  Whatever the quote might be, the sentiment is consistent – we need to find ourselves or make ourselves!

However, the Bible teaches us a different lesson.  Consider the story of Jacob, for instance.  One of the patriarchs, recipients of God’s great promise, and father to the nation of Israel.  When you read his story in the book of Genesis, it is striking just how many issues, sins, struggles, doubts, fears, and failures he experienced.  Jacob’s story is like a sheet of Velcro, covered in hooks that connect to the weak parts of our lives today.

Jacob’s whole life seems to involve him trying to find himself or make himself, and he never seems to succeed.  We are first introduced to Jacob in Genesis 25.  The first story is of his mother’s difficult pregnancy with two twin boys warring within.  God declared that the older would serve the younger (see v23).  The promised plan of God would move through the younger son.  And then immediately we read a quick account of Jacob buying his brother Esau’s birthright for a bowl of stew.  Esau the stomach-led man.  Jacob the trickster.

Genesis 26 gives us Isaac’s life summary, essentially underlining how Isaac recapitulated much of his father Abraham’s life story.  Then we come to Genesis 27 – the lengthy and strange account of Jacob going after his father’s blessing.  The lesson in this chapter was an important one for Jacob, and it is an important one for us today: you cannot find yourself or make yourself, you have to let God orchestrate the blessing in your life.  Indeed, we bring the brokenness, but God brings the blessing.

I. What is “The Blessing?”  The story begins with Isaac deciding to give his dying blessing to Esau (Gen. 27:1-4).  What is the blessing?  We have a weak conception of blessing in our language today.  We might say, “Bless you!” when someone sneezes (even though that sneeze is no longer the threat of a terrible plague).  We might use it as a vague prayer, “God, please bless all the missionaries and all the little children.”  Or we might use it as a vague reference to nice feelings, “Your encouragement has blessed my heart.”  But Jacob was going after something more significant than that!

The blessing was the life-shaping power of discerning words spoken by a key person at a critical moment.  We know how a throwaway comment from an important adult can mark a child for life.  Many live with the echo of a nasty comment resonating throughout their life.  Imagine, then, the power of the words of your father as he is preparing to die.  Jacob wanted to hear the blessing of the firstborn from his father’s lips!

II. We cannot bless ourselves.  Jacob craved the blessing, but he could not give it to himself (Gen. 27:5-17).  But instead of trusting God’s plan to be worked out, Rebekah led Jacob in a cunning ruse to confuse Isaac and steal that blessing.  So Jacob dressed up as Esau and went in with the food to deceive his father.

The story feels uncomfortable to read, but, perhaps, that is because we recognize our own human nature in it.  How often do we dress up as someone we are not in order to hear the affirmation that we crave?  It could be in our work that we pretend to be someone else, or else in our hobbies, in our relationships with others, or even in our church involvement.  After all, surely we will get the respect we crave if we “have it all together” and make sure we look spiritual, won’t we?

III. It is possible to steal the blessing.  Jacob deceived Isaac and got the blessing.  In Genesis 27:18-29, we read the halting and sense-filled account of Jacob’s deception.  Without sight, Isaac tries to rely on his senses of smell, taste, and touch.  He seems suspicious, and the attempt feels doomed to fail.  But Jacob succeeded.  He finally saw that look on his father’s face and heard the words from his lips.  However . . .

IV. A stolen blessing feels empty.  In Genesis 27:30-45, we see the fallout from Jacob’s heist. Everyone is hurt.  Isaac knows he tried to go against God and has a broken relationship with both of his sons.  Esau is so angry he is already plotting a murder.  Rebekah is losing her beloved son, never to see him again.  And Jacob is leaving as a fugitive, broke and fearful.   

What are we to make of this story on a human level?  It is clear that human identity is not something we can find for ourselves, manufacture, or effectively steal.  We need the blessing of key people who love us, know us, and can discerningly speak the truth of God’s design into our lives.  On the horizontal level, we have to recognize the power of our words.  The family home is a place where words really count.  If you have others in your family, then you can speak to them of God’s design and plan for them.  If you have daughters, tell them that they are beautiful and strong.  If you have sons, tell them they are powerful and strong.  Your words count.

The Christian community is a place where words really count.  Each week we are surrounded by others who have probably not heard too many meaningful statements of discernment and blessing.  And we are surrounded by others who have probably been marked by thoughtless or even cruel comments along the way.  Get to know some people well and speak to them about who God has made them to be.  It is powerful.

What are we to make of this story on the ultimate level?  But the ultimate blessing that we all need is not found in other people, but in God himself.  What does God say of me?  Praise God that his firstborn son chose to get dressed up in human flesh and take on the curse so that we could be given the blessing of the firstborn.  We don’t deserve it.  We cannot earn it.  We cannot fake it.  But by God’s grace, we are “the church of the firstborn” (Hebrews 12:23). 

In a world of people trying to find themselves, make themselves, and often, fake themselves, we have a God who is not holding back on speaking his blessing over us.  Let’s learn from Jacob’s example and choose instead to trust God.  What does God say about you?  What does it mean that there is now no condemnation? (Romans 8:1)  What does it mean that I am a child of God? (John 1:12)  What does it mean that we are sealed with the promised Spirit? (Ephesians 1:13)  What does it mean to be part of “the church of the firstborn?” (Hebrews 12:23) 

We bring our brokenness, and by God’s grace, God brings the blessing!

The Best Place to Hide in Evil Times

/ Peter Mead / 2 Comments

This world can be a sinister place.  I was recently on a missions team serving abroad, and we heard testimonies from several local believers.  One told of his times in prison – a place ordered more by the structure of the dangerous mafia than by any attempt at protecting human rights from the authorities.  Another told of his religious family – a home where this eleven-year-old boy was beaten up by his older brother every time he dared to go back to church, and that at the instruction of his parents.  Another told of his time in the military, where he discovered just how evil a totalitarian communist ideology can be in reality.

Whether it is by crime, religion, or ideology, the evil of this world is evident all around us.  If we scratch the surface of society, we will find all of this lurking today.  No country is free of crime, and the level of organization often goes way beyond what we can imagine.  Billions live under the threat of their religion, a threat that uses family members to beat any hint of turning, and ideologies that require everyone to think the same replace God with government and treat people as collateral damage in an ideological march towards utopia.  Well, they did not die out in 1990 – the same old ideas keep coming back dressed in new garb.

In Psalm 17, we find three cries to God from David’s mouth (see v1, v6, v13).  His cry was essentially: I am innocent, they are attacking me, but I am confident in God (see v1-5, v6-12, v13-15).  Let’s look at these three sections and see if this Psalm might stir us to cry out similarly.  After all, the same God is still the best refuge from wherever the threat comes!

Introduction (v1-5).  In the first verses of the Psalm, David’s cry is based on asserting his innocence.  We know from many other places that he knew of his guilt.  His cry was not for protection because he deserved it.  No, his vindication came from God’s presence, not from his own perfection.  Nevertheless, there is a place for recognizing that we may be innocent with respect to a specific threat, and it is right to cry out to God in the face of injustice.  Whether that be criminal activity, religious persecution, or ideological threats, we can and should cry out to God for his protection.

God protect me from the evil people (v6-12).  The description of the malicious threat is very vivid.  David doesn’t just say they are violent and threatening (v9); he goes on to give four descriptions.  Three descriptions use human body references; the fourth is from the animal kingdom.  Their heart lacks compassion, their mouth speaks with pride (v10), and their eyes are set on sinister plans (v11).  These verses could describe the mafia bosses running a prison, the religious family members intent on guarding family reputation, or a totalitarian regime marching towards its ideological utopia.  Whatever way evil dresses up, underneath lurks the same sinister roar – the lion.  David described his chief antagonist as a lion eager to tear.  Peter used the same imagery of Satan in 1 Peter 5:8.  There is great evil in this world, so we need a great God in whom to find refuge.

In Psalm 17, David described God in the preceding three verses.  He also uses three human body descriptions, followed by one from the animal kingdom.  Notice the description: your ear, right hand, and eye (v6-8).  As we draw near to our great God on the throne, we find him to be a wonderfully good God.  His ear inclines to hear even the weakest of whimpers.  His loving right hand has all the authority needed to protect us from every evil this world offers.  His eye is on us.  The phrase “apple of your eye” is an English figure of speech, but the original language refers to “the little person of your eye” – that tiny reflection in the pupil that reveals the whole focus of the eye.  What a gloriously intimate description – an inclined ear, the loving and full authority of the right hand, the attentive and affectionate eye.  Then the animal image?  We are hidden in the shadow of his wings!

Conclusion (v13-15).  David finishes the Psalm with one last call for God to act.  He desires deliverance.  Those who are against him are living for this world.  They want to gain power and wealth, to have something to pass on to the next generation.

In contrast, what matters to David?  His ultimate goal is not just victory but God’s visage (face).  It is not just about getting a response but about enjoying a relationship with God.  It is not about protecting his inheritance but about having intimacy with God.

God’s goodness can be celebrated in each of the three situations mentioned at the start of this article.  The prisoner may have lost the protection of the mafia leader he was close to. Still, he met a church pastor who came into the prison and told him about Jesus.  Today, he follows Jesus and visits two prisons he once occupied to tell others about Jesus too. 

The eleven-year-old boy never saw most of his family follow Jesus as he does.  Still, he pastors a church that reaches out to the marginalized of society.  He also enjoys telling others that the brother who beat him up for attending church is a believer and a missionary in a foreign land. 

The soldier serving in a communist military realized after three years just how evil the totalitarian regime was in reality.  But God allowed him to be tasked with listening to foreign radio stations to discover any plans to invade his country.  Instead, he heard the good news of Jesus broadcast in his language.  Today, he pastors a church and delights in telling others about the goodness of God!

Whatever evil is evident in your context or working away behind the scenes, seek refuge next to our good God’s throne.  When we see how good he is, we will want nothing else!

Our Great Guarantee

/ Peter Mead / Leave a comment

We have to be careful when we make guarantees from the Bible.  Sometimes it is better to speak of general principles because people may experience exceptions to an apparent scriptural guarantee that has been misunderstood.  For example, “Train up a child in the way he should go; even when he is old he will not depart from it” (Proverbs 22:6). That is wise advice, but it is not a guarantee.  However, there is a guarantee at the end of Mark 4.

Jesus was coaching his disciples.  His process of discipleship involved both taught content and practical experience.  When I was a child, my Dad explained how to ride a bicycle without training wheels (keep looking ahead and pedalling, etc.).  But then he also ran behind me, holding me steady as I pedalled.  Then when I spoke to him and got no reply, I realized he had let go, and I started to panic but remembered his words and kept looking forward and pedalling. They did not ride bicycles, but Jesus was a master teacher.

One evening, Jesus invited his disciples to cross the Sea of Galilee in a boat.  They set out.  Others did too.  It must have seemed like a good evening for sailing.  But then, a violent windstorm arose, and the boat began filling with water.  It was a desperate situation.  So the disciples woke Jesus, who was sleeping in the stern.  They rebuked him for not caring about their impending doom.  And then Jesus turned a storm into a famous story.  He rebuked the wind and the waves precisely as he had previously rebuked demons speaking out of turn.  (Some think the storm was a demonic attack on the boat.)  Immediately, calm was restored.  Then Jesus rebuked the disciples for their lack of faith, and they feared even more. (Mark 4:35-41)

We must be careful not to offer guarantees that the text does not yield.  For instance, the common idea is that if Jesus is in the boat of your life, you can smile at the storm.  Why?  Because whatever storm you are facing, Jesus’ presence guarantees a good outcome.  In an ultimate sense, this may be true.  But we must be careful with this line of thought.  Doctors do diagnose fatal diseases that end the lives of Christians.  Wars do take a terrifying toll on entire populations, including faithful followers of Jesus.  Actual storms hit land and devastate the homes of believers and unbelievers.  We must not give believers a false guarantee of safety because life has a habit of showing up our errors.

Recently, I preached this passage in a young church reaching out to marginalized people in an Albanian town.  With poverty, corruption, child kidnappings, and many more troubles swirling around, they would love to know that Jesus’ presence guarantees safe passage through life.  In an ultimate sense, of course, it does.  But they needed to know there are no temporal guarantees of happy outcomes.  However, they also needed to see the guarantee in the passage.

Remember that Jesus gave both taught content and practical experience.  The experience of the stilling of the storm occurred “on that day” (see Mark 4:35).  Which day?  The day when Jesus was teaching Mark 4:1-34.  There was classroom content before the school trip!

What had Jesus been teaching that day?  He had taught about the nature of the kingdom of God.  He used farming illustrations to make the point that the kingdom starts small and grows.  For instance, it is just like a farmer who scatters seed and has confidence that it will grow (Mark 4:26-29). Or like a mustard seed that starts so tiny but grows into a great plant, like the tree representing a great kingdom in Daniel 4 (Mark 4:30-32).  Jesus taught using many of these parables and explained everything to his disciples in private.  It was on that day that they then got into a boat to cross to the other side.

What was it the disciples had been learning?  The kingdom of God will start very small, but its growth is guaranteed.  Where was the kingdom of God at that point in time?  It was asleep in the boat, with the disciples all present.  Then the storm came.  Why should the disciples have had more faith than they showed in their panic?  Not because they were somehow supposed to stop the storm themselves.  Nor because it was no big deal (the experienced fishermen were in a panic too!).  They needed to learn the lesson that Jesus was teaching them. God’s plan for the kingdom in this world is a plan of growth, and it is a plan that the enemy cannot thwart.  Even if the pit of hell throws everything against it, it will keep growing.

The enemy has done everything for two thousand years to stop the spread of the Gospel and the church’s growth.  People have burned Bibles, imprisoned pastors, banned religion, martyred believers, and tried to corrupt the Christian message.  And yet, the Gospel keeps on marching forwards.  Whether we are marginalized young believers in Albania or faithful followers of Jesus elsewhere, we need to know the guarantee of this passage. 

The advance of major religions across the globe at the point of a sword, the secularization of society under the sharp edges of sophisticated educators, the totalitarian persecution of faith under communism – all of these threats never have, and never will, thwart the spread of the Gospel.  Mark 4 guarantees it. 

I may go the way of every other Christian for two thousand years – dying by disease, accident, or foul play.  I must entrust my life and eternity to God’s care and trust him with whatever he allows.  But I can be confident that the enemy will never stop the advance of the kingdom of God in this world.  No matter what happens, Jesus will build his church, and the gates of hell will not be able to stop it.  It was true in that vulnerable little boat and is still true today.

Jesus will build his church, a fact guaranteed in Mark 4:35-41.  In light of that guarantee, perhaps we can all be more “steadfast, immovable, always abounding the work of the Lord, knowing [it is guaranteed!] that in the Lord your labour is not in vain.”

Finishing Strong

/ Peter Mead / Leave a comment

Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount has undoubtedly stood the test of time.  It remains well-known in church circles and well-quoted even outside the church.  However, we might want to question how much it has been taken to heart and implemented.  Jesus knew there was no guarantee that his hearers (and subsequently, Matthew’s readers) would implement it.  That is why his conclusion is so firm.

Let’s consider the four parts of the conclusion:

1. Everyone must choose their path in light of Jesus’ exclusive claims.  (Matthew 7:13-14)  We live in a world that loves the idea of there being many roads and that they all lead up different sides of a mountain to the same lofty peak.  That is a nice sentiment, but it is not reality.  Jesus taught that there are only two.  There are two roads, two gates, two crowds, and two destinations.  To take the wide gate onto the broad road is easy.  No discernment is needed, no stand needs to be taken, the crowd is large, and affirmation flows freely.  That road leads to destruction.

C.S. Lewis reflected on the point in his education where he began to “broaden his mind.”  He wrote, “I was soon altering ‘I believe’ to ‘one does feel.’ And oh, the relief of it! . . . from the tyrannous noon of revelation, I passed into the cool evening of Higher Thought, where there was nothing to be obeyed and nothing to be believed except what was either comforting or exciting.”

It is easy to pass through a wide gate.  All baggage is acceptable, even our sins, self-righteousness, and pride.  But getting through a narrow gate requires us to pass through alone – without being propped up by others or weighed down by baggage.  Jesus is the only way to God.  That may be uncomfortable to hear in our contemporary culture. Still, it is no less valid or demanding than ever.

2. The narrow road requires vigilance. (Matthew 7:15-20)  There will be false prophets who seek to lead Jesus’ followers astray.  Two things are true of these false prophets.  They are both disguised and betrayed.  Disguised means they are not easy to spot – they are not cartoon villains!  But they will ultimately be betrayed by their fruit. 

Both the Old Testament and the New Testament carry warnings of false teachers and false prophets who will do harm to God’s people and lead them astray.  We live in a time when cults continue to prey on easy targets who may be exposed to the church but who do not have their roots in God’s Word and the church community.  We also live in a day of new pseudo-religions with their own holy story, original sin, required penance, and witch hunts.

We must ensure that we, and others in our church, know how to stay safe.  We need to swim in God’s Word so that his values and truth are familiar to us.  We need to study the truth and keep a curious and thinking mind.  We need to shelter in the security of a healthy local church where shepherds will protect the sheep.  We must soak in the church’s teaching (local and global).  And we must be stretched as we grow together in the community of God’s people, being teachable and open to input.

3. Jesus wants real relationships, not just words.  (Matthew 7:21-23)  These are some of the most sobering verses in the entire Bible!  Of course, saying the right words without any inner reality is possible.  Remember how Romans 10:9 combines words with reality: “confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord” and “believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead.” 

The profoundly sober warning here is also a precious gift – Jesus wants his hearers to recognize the danger before it is too late.  The reality he seeks is a real relationship with God the Father so that we want to do his will.  The goal he has made possible is to say on that day, “I know you!”

4. Jesus wants a real response, not just hearing.  (Matthew 7:24-27)  It is possible to hear Jesus’ words but not to apply them.  That is the point of this final parable.  Both builders listened to the words of Jesus, but the difference was whether they put them into practice.  The one who did this was like a builder building on a solid foundation – the one who didn’t put them into practice just built his house on shifting sands.

Again, Jesus offers a profoundly sober warning and a precious gift.  That day is coming, the day when the storm reveals inner reality.  It is better to know now.  Just as it is not enough to say the right words, nor is it enough to hear the right words.

First, let’s take to heart the strength of Jesus’ conclusion to his famous Sermon on the Mount for ourselves.  We need to ensure that these verses can detonate in our hearts and lives.  Second, let’s take his conclusion to heart for others.  The storm is coming, the day of revealing will arrive, and the people we minister to need to be sure that Jesus’ words have ignited profound transformation within.  Stern warnings are sometimes helpful.  Genuine transformation and contagious relationships always are.  Let’s start by joining the crowd that was amazed at Jesus’ teaching.  Then let’s pray for others in our church to be sensitized to these things!

Everyone Hides, But Where?

/ Peter Mead / Leave a comment

For several generations, some of us have lived with relative stability.  Yes, our cultures have shifted and changed.  And yes, we have seen our military forces participate in conflict.  But seismic shifts that rock our world have not been so familiar to many of us.  The past few years have changed that.  If the world can change so suddenly, then maybe we would do well to be ready for significant events.  Actually, if we are involved in church leadership, we should be both preparing our people for the future and preparing ourselves for major moments that will surely come.

Recently, my wife and I enjoyed another anniversary and took some time together in Psalm 46.  This is a great passage to soak in for your own benefit.  And it is a great passage to be ready to share with others both before and when the need arises.  It is a Psalm of healthy hiding.

When the constant stream of news is suddenly shattered by something genuinely significant, where can we go?  When the normal rhythm of daily tasks grinds to a halt because something huge is happening, how can we find safety?  And when we look beyond the normal news narrative and see such significant and terrible agendas at play, who can be trusted?  Psalm 46 points us to the answer.

Psalm 46 falls neatly into three stanzas, neatly demarcated by a Selah to give us the opportunity to contemplate.  The first stanza establishes a key thought that is then picked up in a refrain at the end of stanzas two and three.  It is a clear Psalm, easy to read, and probably well worth committing to memory!

Stanza 1 serves to establish a truth that will weave through the whole Psalm.  Our refuge and strength is God himself, and our God is always accessible to us.  The result is that we will not fear.  Four situations are described to underline how secure we are in our God.  Even an earthquake, even mountains being relocated, even raging seas, even the normal secure boundaries of creation trembling – even if the whole created order should revert to utter chaos, we will not fear.  The character of God is more trustworthy than the apparently permanent mountains and boundaries of the seas?  Yes.  Selah.

Despite appearances in the first three verses, I do not think the writer is really focused on natural disasters.  He seems to be using them as descriptions of having your world rocked.  Even a hypothetical upheaval that impacts everything considered permanent and stable would not undermine the reality of God being our ever-present refuge and strength.

In the second stanza, from verses 4-7, the writer zeroes in on the threat of war.  He begins with two verses describing the tranquil city of God, the place where he reigns and is present.  And then, just as our hearts calm to ponder the hope of one day experiencing life in that city, verse 6 breaks in with a reminder that in this world everything is going crazy!  The nations are raging and tottering, like mountains falling into the seas.  When geopolitical change crashes down around us, and we might add, when the ethical foundations of society are completely turned upside-down beneath us, then we find ourselves experiencing a seismic shift from the stability we have always known. 

But the truth of the first stanza is the anchor for us.  Our God is the LORD of hosts, he is with us, and the God of Jacob is our refuge.  Selah.

Let’s pause and ponder that refrain for a moment.  The LORD is the God who makes promises and keeps them; he is faithfully committed to following through on his plans and purposes, and he will continue to care for us.  He is also so very strong.  He is the LORD of hosts – the God of angel armies.  One angel killed 185,000 Assyrian warriors in one night – presumably powerful, intimidating, physically impressive, well-armed Assyrian warriors.  Imagine two angels.  How about ten?  What if there were 100?  Now try to picture a number so big that it could not be counted – that is the army of heavenly hosts.  Our God leads that army, and that God is with us.  And since that God is our refuge, we run to hide in him.

In light of that truth, the final stanza, from verses 8-11, invites us to come and consider what God has done.  Implicitly, then, we are also to consider what he will do in the future.  God ends wars, he topples powerful foes, and he will take away every weapon.  The armies of the world – whether they fight in military uniform, or with any other costume of control –will one day be commanded to stop!  To stand still.  To be quiet.  Hush.  Know that God is God.  Know that he will be exalted above all.

This world can generate raging nations, swelling armies, plotting despots, powerful dictators, destructive terrorists, and no end of new versions of evil.  But it can never generate anything or anyone that is more powerful than our God.  He is the God of angel armies, and he is with us.  He is our fortress, and we must run to hide in him.  The refrain repeats in verse 11.  This truth needs to repeat in our hearts and drive us to him whenever this world generates the slightest hint of fear in us.

When threats rise up, everyone hides.  One option is to run to God.  We know that he is bigger than anything in creation.  We know that he wins in the end.  And yet, we often struggle to believe that he is with us, or that he will do anything when we cry out to him.  What if I have to face more than discomfort for my faith and God does not immediately show up?  What if standing for what I know is true costs me pain and suffering – is he still a fortress even then?  Psalm 46 is an anchor to the truth that God can and must be trusted in the darkest of times.

The other option that many seem to choose is to hide their heads in the sand.  Just live life pretending there is no threat.  How often does the media reinforce the distraction of this perspective?  Stories get spun so that we think the threat is coming from the opposite direction.  When we have more information than ever before, are we actually growing more numb, and maybe more dumb, the more we watch our screens?  There could be a genocide taking place all around us, and yet we are trained to have our gaze redirected to Hollywood’s latest newsflash.  Our propensity to hide our heads in the sand is supercharged by the media we lean on so heavily.

When the news stirs fear in you, do not choose distraction and pretend all is well.  Instead, hide in a healthy way – running into the fortress that is our God.  That is, our God, the God of angel armies, the God who has chosen to be with us.

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Have you seen the ABCs of application?

Love, In the Church

/ Peter Mead / Leave a comment

The most famous literary description of love is surely 1 Corinthians 13.  It has been read aloud at countless weddings, and yet, it was not written for a wedding.  It was written for a church.  Actually, it was written for a struggling and divided church in Corinth.  This was a church that was splintered by factions, by immature Christians flaunting their supposed superiority, and by a whole host of interpersonal tensions and issues.  This was the church into which Paul unleashed “the love chapter!”

The chapter sits at the heart of a section addressing the right use of spiritual gifts in the church.  It begins by underlining the necessity of love (v 1-3) and ends with the never-ending reality of love (v 8-13).  And at the heart of the chapter, in verses 4-7, we find a familiar and poetic depiction of the nature of love.  In just four verses, Paul offers fifteen descriptions of love.

Their world, like ours, was a confusing melee of ideas when it came to love.  There was romance, passion (appropriately marital and many harmful alternatives), family, and friendship.  I don’t know whether they used “love” to speak of food and sport, quite like we do in English, but let’s not imagine their culture was any less confused than ours.  In the face of that confusion, Paul offered a confrontation with God’s kind of love.

What do we do with a list like this?  Our tendency is to see it as a behavioural checklist and to consider it as a suggestion for greater effort on our part.  The problem is, not only do we all fall short of God’s perfect love, but we are unable to self-generate genuine godly love.  We can only love, John tells us, because God first loved us (1 John 4:19).  So, while it may look like a list of descriptions, actually, Paul wrote it as a list of verbs.  This is love dressed up and going to work! 

So, as we consider this love in action, we should let it confront our own areas of lack, but also point us to the only one who perfectly lived out God’s love in this world.  Let this list point you to Jesus, and then let his love flow more freely in your local church setting.  As we look to Christ’s love, it will stir Christlike love in us.  And when the body of Christ starts to look like Christ, we can pray for the church to have an impact like Christ!

1. Paul begins with a basic foundation: Love gives.  He begins his list with two positive statements: love is patient and love is kind (v 4a).  Patience here speaks of having a long-fuse with other people, giving them space and time, instead of flaring up at the first opportunity.  Patience is partnered with kindness, which gives of our own usefulness for the higher good of the other.  A loving church is a place where grace infiltrates every relationship.  Grace for the weaknesses of others, and grace that gives of ourselves to build them up.  Love gives.

2. Paul zeroes in on the Corinthian core issue: Love is not selfish.  His list shifts into a sequence of nine points, most of which are negative.  The central thought in this list of nine points is like a summary of the whole section: love is not self-seeking (v 5b).  Ever since the Garden of Eden, we humans have been largely unaware of how self-oriented our hearts now are, by nature.  Our selfishness is built-in from birth, but it is only because our nature is fallen.  It seems so normal to seek our own good, but God’s design is love that is not self-seeking.  (Look at the Trinity for the greatest example of this: how consistently does the Father lovingly honour the Son, and vice versa?  Our God is a God who lovingly and selflessly lifts up the other, and the good news is that can even include us!)

Before and after that central thought, Paul offers two sets of four descriptions of love.  When there are differences between us, love does not self-elevate (v 4b-5a).  It does not envy what others have, longing for self to be satisfied by that salary, that house, that spouse, etc.  Neither does love boast, trying to make the other person long for my ability, possessions, or strengths.  Love is not arrogant, puffing up self to push others down.  And love does not disregard accepted standards of behaviour to elevate self and so disregard and dishonour others.  Some versions have “love is not rude” at this point.  That might bring to mind inappropriate vocabulary or noises at the dining table.  But Paul’s word goes beyond the odd little social faux pas.  It is the same word used for unnatural sexual relations in Romans 1.  It is that casting off of restraint and acceptable norms, because, well, because I want to . . . so I should.  Actually, love wouldn’t.

And when there are problems between us, love does not self-protect (v 5c-6).  Love is not easily angered, that is, it is not irritable and touchy.  If we take any of Paul’s negatives and pursue the opposite, we will discover a painful loneliness.  Now, there is a place in the Bible for legitimate provocation.  Jesus was provoked by death at Lazarus’ tomb, and Paul was provoked in spirit by the idols of Athens.  Luther was provoked by a false view of God and so launched the Reformation, and Wilberforce was so provoked he sought to end the slave trade.  Maybe today many of us have grown too nice before the provocations of society, but perhaps still too easily angered at little personal slights in church life.  Love is not easily angered in church fellowship.  When people say and do wrong things, love lets the grievances go instead of inscribing them in our internal memory ledger of grudges against others.  And when those people that grate on us turn out to be sinners in some way or other, love does not rejoice in their sin.  Rather, it rejoices in what is true – God’s love for them, their position in God’s family, their gifting, and their key role in our lives. 

3. Paul points them beyond any notion of personal ability because true love relies on God (v 7).  Undoubtedly, Paul is offering a literary flourish to complete the list.  The last four descriptions add the word “always” or “all things.”  It feels good to the ear, but if you consider it carefully, it feels impossible to the heart.  How can I always protect?  The idea is to cover, like the seal on a ship that keeps all water out.  One commentator describes the idea of “throwing a blanket of silence over the failings of others.”  Obviously, there are legal and moral exceptions to this.  But as a general rule, when I am annoyed, provoked, antagonized, and bothered, love will keep that sin hidden from others who do not need to know about it.  Paul points upwards to God – love always trusts and always hopes.  That is not easy.  And back to the struggles here below again, it always perseveres.  That kind of persistent endurance of inter-church tensions can easily take us beyond ourselves. 

Paul’s great list is a bit like the Law of Sinai.  A wonderful revelation of what is right and good, but beyond our ability to keep.  And so, let 1 Corinthians 13 not only confront your struggle to love like Jesus.  Let it also point you to Jesus.  We can only love at all because God has first loved us.  May our hearts be so captivated by his love that our churches increasingly look like the body of Christ!  We can only live this life in the flesh by faith in the Son of God, who loved us and gave himself for us.

4 Love is patient, love is kind.

~

It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. 5 It does not dishonor others,

it is not self-seeking,

it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. 6 Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth.

~

7 It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.

1 Corinthians 13:4–7 (NIV)

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If this playlist of videos about Bible study is helpful, please like, comment, share and subscribe – thanks!

Applicational Preaching

/ Peter Mead / Leave a comment

So many people seem to want to listen to preaching that is “applicational.” I understand the impulse. After all, who would want to listen to non-applicational preaching? That sounds like preaching that is not relevant to my life and will not make a difference.

Actually, if we are talking about preaching that is relevant to life and genuinely transformative, then I am completely on board with that desire. The problem is that when we talk about “applicational preaching” it can fall short of what we really need. Here are some of the potential weaknesses:

1. Applicational preaching can place emphasis on action points and to-do lists. Now, there is certainly a place for knowing what is expected of us at the end of a sermon. If a passage gives an instruction that applies to us, then we should certainly note it and look to obey it. However, is the Bible primarily an instruction list for life? Some sermons give that impression, but perhaps that is missing something of the richness and purposefulness of God’s revelation.

2. Applicational preaching can point the listener in the wrong direction. When our preaching emphasizes what we must do, then the focus will tend to move toward our own willpower. Sermons that point the listener to their own discipline, their own choices, their own efforts, etc., are not the best sermons. And I don’t just mean they are not the most theologically impressive sermons. I also mean they are not the most effective sermons. Lives are not transformed by to-do lists. They can help, but they remain mostly on the surface. God is in the business of transforming lives from the inside out.

In order to see the full potential of any preaching or teaching ministry, I would encourage you to think about the ABCs of Application. Here is a brief explanation:

Bible Study Mistakes

/ Peter Mead / Leave a comment

I have recently posted a series of videos on common Bible study mistakes. We have probably all made some, or all, of these mistakes. Please take a look and see if these are helpful to you, or to anyone else you know.

Mistake 1: Proof-Texting – It is just so convenient to find a line of text that says what we want to say. But the danger is that we will not see the richness of the text as it was intended to be understood. It seems obvious once you say it, but it is good to remember that what God made it say is always better than what we can make it say! Click here for this video.

Mistake 2: Collapsing Correlations – When you are reading and you see something that reminds you of something else . . . perhaps a saying of Jesus, or a different epistle, and then you collapse both passages in together, then you are collapsing your correlations together. Easily done, but what if that other passage doesn’t mean the same thing? Click here for the video.

Mistake 3: Ignoring Background – Sometimes it is just easier to read the passage and ignore whatever background may be relevant to your study. Who has the time to think about distant geography, ancient customs, and foreign politics? Well, if we want to understand the Bible, we need to make sure we don’t ignore the background. Click here for this video.

Mistake 4: Genre Override – Apart from sounding like a cool concept, what is genre override? It is when you take some of the rules of interpreting a genre and let those rules run roughshod over your interpretation of the passage. “Since this passage is apocalyptic literature…” is the start of many misleading sentences! Of course, we need to be sensitive to the genre, but that is always a support to our being sensitive to the passage. Click here to find out more.

Mistake 5: Imposing Meaning – Our goal in Bible study is exegesis, that is, drawing out the meaning of the text as intended by the author. But when we impose meaning, we are doing eisegesis. That is, reading into the text what we want to see there. God’s Word is better than yours, or mine! Click here for more.

Mistake 6: Isolationist Confidence – Bible study is something we may do on our own a lot of the time. But we must be wary of isolationist confidence. When it is just me and the Bible, I can easily become overconfident in my own opinion. I may be on the right track, but very superficial. Or I might be wandering off into new (therefore heretical) theological territory. We need to think about the role of the community in our Bible study! Click here for this video.

Mistake 7: Tone-Deaf Reading – The Bible is not just a data store that we are to mine for theological truths or applicational points. It is interpersonal communication and so we need to make sure we are sensitive to the writer’s tone as we seek to make sense of what is written. Here is the link to this video.

I will probably add a few more, in due course. As ever with these things, if you are able to like, share, comment or subscribe to the YouTube channel, it is all helpful in encouraging the algorithm to share this content. Thanks!

Here is the playlist that contains these videos, plus others that are all related!

What’s the Big Deal with Worship?

/ Peter Mead / Leave a comment

What does gathered worship do?  Sometimes it can make our souls soar.  Other times not so much.  It is easy to understand why non-believers scratch their heads at Christian worship.  If I saw a small group of people awkwardly singing, listening to someone talk about an old book, and sharing a tiny amount of bread and wine, I’d scratch my head too.

As I anticipate returning to Poland for the European Leadership Forum, I am reminded of the sacrifices made by so many during the Communist era.  Russian Baptist pastor, Yuri Sipko, remembers Christians who were sent to prison camps or lost their jobs or their children. “Without being willing to suffer, even die for Christ, it’s just hypocrisy.  It’s just a search for comfort.”  Challenging words, but ponder this thought: “You need to confess him and worship him in such a way that people can see this world is a lie.”

What does gathered worship do?  It declares that this world is a lie.

At the end of Revelation 3, we find that famous verse about Jesus standing at the door and knocking.  He was knocking on the door of the church at Laodicea, but would they open the door and let him in?  They thought they had everything they needed, but actually, they desperately needed Jesus.  As we turn to chapter 4 and John’s great vision from Jesus continues, we find the heavenly door is open for John to come up and participate in the ultimate worship gathering.

In Revelation chapters 4-5, we get to glimpse the ultimate worship gathering, and it reminds us what gathered worship does.  Here are five things that gathered worship does:

1. Worship centres us around God’s throne. (4:1-2)  In worship, we are invited, by Jesus, to gather at the throne of God.  In Eugene Peterson’s Reversed Thunder, he points out how we live in a world that feels like a storm-tossed sea.  We are thrown all over the place by every wind, every wave, every advert, every news story, every problem, and every threat.  But as Christians, we have an anchor that holds us firm, gives us a circumference, and centres us.  God is on the throne, so there can be a constant source of stability in my heart and life. Gathering with God’s people to sing his praise is an anchor point in the frenetic chaos of life.

2. Worship gathers God’s people around his throne. (4:3-11)  In this glorious vision, there is layer upon layer of rich meaning.  The vibrant colours seem to reflect God’s holiness and justice, as well as his life-giving nature as the Creator.  The 24 elders probably represent the twelve tribes of Israel and the twelve apostles of the Church (there is debate on all these details, of course).  Perhaps they represent God’s great work through the centuries to reveal his plan and rescue people for himself.  Then there are the four living creatures – a picture of God’s creation (noble, strong, wise, and swift), and some have seen here four glimpses into the person of Jesus Christ.  God’s people, God’s creation, all falling down and worshipping God on the throne.  In worship, we are united together, not only with one another but also with God himself, in the uniquely trinitarian worship we find in the Bible.

3. Worship points us to Christ and his payment. (5:1-7) At the start of chapter 5, John is struck by the disconnect between God’s greatness and the need of humanity.  The sealed scroll, Earth’s title deed, God’s plan of judgment – its existence underlines that no human is worthy to open the seals.  Even apart from the judgment context of Revelation, our gathered worship cannot be satisfied with just lauding God the Creator for his power and majesty.  Christian worship always points us to Christ and his payment.  John turned to see the Lion of the Tribe of Judah and was confronted by the slain Lamb.

4. The Lion/Lamb Redeemer stirs greater songs of worship. (5:8-13)  When God’s people encounter God’s goodness and grace, they sing.  Moses, Miriam, Deborah, David, Mary, Angels, Jesus and the Disciples, Paul and Silas – they all sang.  When we become aware of who he is and what he has done, then we will sing too.  In chapter four, there were two songs to the Creator (4:8, 4:11).  Now the singing swells as more voices join in and more richness is reflected in two songs to the Redeemer (5:9-10, 5:12).  Finally, there is one song to both the Creator and the Redeemer combined (5:13).

5. Worship finishes with a great Amen! – the ultimate reality of God’s person and plan is definitively affirmed!  (5:14)  If you think about it, we humans have a history of saying no to God.  We are all quite adept at saying no.  But Revelation 4-5 underlines that in the end God’s great yes will overcome every one of our noes.  In worship, we are confronted by the reality of God the Creator King on his throne, and of God the Redeeming Lion/Lamb, and we cry out, “Yes!”  When we worship together, we get a pre-taste of what is to come.  “Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.”  Gathered worship is like an anchor to both the future, when all our questions will be answered, and to the ultimate reality in the present – that God is on the throne and he has redeemed us.

So what does gathered worship do?  It declares that this world is a lie.  More than that, it centres us around the throne of God – for God is on the throne whatever we may be facing down here.  It gathers God’s people around his throne – for God is worthy of every note of praise that can be uttered by any part of his creation.  It points us to Christ and his payment – for we worship not only in response to the majesty on the throne but also to the scars on that Lamb.  It stirs us to sing greater songs of worship – for God the Creator and our Lion/Lamb Redeemer.  It definitively affirms the ultimate reality of God’s person and plan – for in the end we will cry out our great “Yes!” and “Amen!” to God.

Whether we are gathering in a great crowd at a Christian event, or with a handful of dear saints on a Sunday, let us appreciate the privilege of gathered worship and declare with joy that this world is a lie.

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Sipko quote from Live Not By Lies, by Rod Dreher, p185-6.

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