Faith = Faithfulness

I heard this great sermon this morning and thought that I should write down some of the precious things I learned. The sermon was on faithfulness - one of the items of the fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22-23). I had always considered myself as a faithful person. What I meant was that I valued being faithful to my promises as an important virtue for my identity. I even considered being faithful as a true mark of a Christian. My family just celebrated my 64th birthday yesterday and I felt good about myself having been faithful to my wife and my three children all these years. I hoped that they too felt that I had been a faithful husband and father.

The first thing I learned was that the words faith and faithfulness were the same word in the original language: aman in Hebrew and pistis in Greek. Using the Mounce interlinear translation I began to discover that these familiar passages all showed the various English translations of the same Greek word!
Galatians 5:22

Ephesians 2:8

James 2:18

The best definition of faithfulness is this:  "Faithfulness is the repeated choice to continue in the direction of faith." "The word “faith,” as used in Scripture, is used both as a noun (pistis) and as a verb (pisteo).  What is of interest here is that mere belief as denoted by the noun is not sufficient to tap into God’s grace, as the devil also believes in God.  What is imperative is that our faith-action follows our belief in God!  This action requires courage and tenacity, particularly when times get tough." (taken from Radical Christianity - page 52) So there will be days when I have doubts about my Christian faith. So I choose to continue to walk in faith - i.e. believing that Jesus was a historical figure and that He really died on the cross for my sins,  and that The Holy Spirit is active in my inner life.

The second thing I learned (I knew this before but there was a fresh understanding): "God is faithful, so I can trust him". God is God and He could very well do anything He chooses. But He has demonstrated through history that He had chosen to first make promises and then He would fulfill them - to show human that we can trust Him. This is huge! That means whenever I have doubts I can look back to how God fulfilled all His promises - the promised Jesus the Savior and the promised coming of the Holy Spirit. Now I can look forward to the establishment of God's kingdom on earth and Jesus second coming! He has promised to be with me along this journey on earth, no matter what challenges that will face me. God's faithfulness is described by the Hebrew word "HESED" which can mean all these things: "love as loyalty, faithfulness, stick-to-it-iveness; the love of promises kept; the love of covenant; love that won't let go". (see also Discover the Word: The Old Testament word “hesed,” and the profound meaning it has for us today)
"Will the Lord be pleased with thousands of rams,
    with ten thousand rivers of olive oil?
Shall I offer my firstborn for my transgression,
    the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul?
8 He has shown you, O mortal, what is good.
    And what does the Lord require of you?
To act justly and to love [AHAVA] mercy [HESED]
    and to walk humbly with your God." (Micah 6:7-8)

With HESED these verses take on fresh meaning:
"May God himself, the God of peace, sanctify you through and through. May your whole spirit, soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. The one who calls you is faithful, and he will do it." (1 Thessalonians 5:23-24)

So whatever I am proud of myself as being faithful, I am able to do it because God is the faithful One who is enabling me to do it. PRAISE GOD!

Learning from King Josiah

When my children were small we used to love the Donut Man music. Whenever I read about King Josiah (as in this morning's reading 2 King 22-23) I was reminded of this song by the Donut Man (pick no 6 from the song list here). It reminded me a few important things about this king:

• He was only 8 years old when he became king of Judah.
• He was known for his zeal to clear out the idols among the people of his kingdom.

This is a song that encourages children that even though they may be young but they can still do great things for God:
"Let no one despise you for your youth, but set the believers an example in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith, in purity." (1 Timothy 4:12)

But there is more to Josiah! In 2 King 23:25 the bible describes him as:
"Neither before nor after Josiah was there a king like him who turned to the LORD as he did--with all his heart and with all his soul and with all his strength, in accordance with all the Law of Moses."


Wait a minute, when you read this description of a king you would think of King David, or even King Solomon. But this honor is reserved for King Josiah. So what exactly set him apart from the rest of kings in history?

When I read this text more closely, it says three things about him:

1. He turned to the Lord.
2. With all his heart, soul and strength.
3. In accordance with all the Law of Moses.

Josiah, like many kings before him, was described as a king who "did what was right in the eyes of the Lord and walked in all the way of David his father, and he did not turn aside to the right or to the left." (2 King 22:2). But the real change came when he "heard the words of the Book of the Law" (2 King 22:11). The high priest Hilkiah found the Book of the Law while repairing the temple. This happened after 55 years of reign by two very bad kings (Manasseh and Amon) who practically destroyed the Jewish religion. When Josiah heard the Book of the Law read to him, he responded by tearing his clothes in mourning and in grief, and in repentance for the sins of his people (see GotQuestions.org's explanation on "What did it mean to tear one’s clothes in the Bible?"). It is this "turning to the Lord" which distinguishes him from all the other kings in history.

He also followed the Law of Moses which gave him this commandment: "Love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength." (Deuteronomy 6:5)

Also in following the Law of Moses he kept these other commandments, testimonies, and statues:

• He removed all the idols from his kingdom. (2 King 23:4-22)
• He celebrated the Passover for the first time after almost 400 years! "For no such Passover had been kept since the days of the judges who judged Israel, or during all the days of the kings of Israel or of the kings of Judah. But in the eighteenth year of King Josiah this Passover was kept to the Lord in Jerusalem."(2 King 23:22-23)

These are the lessons I learned from King Josiah today:

• Listen and learn from God's faithful people. Josiah had the high priest Hilkiah. I have my church community.
• When I hear God's word spoken - respond! (Hebrews 3:15)
• Clear out the idols of my life - is it my career, fame and money, even my own family? Do I only want good jobs for my children? Their marriages? "Seek ye first the Kingdom of God..." (Matthew 6:33)
• Celebrate Passover - remembering his salvation on a regular basis. God has set me free from the bondage of sin through the sacrifice of the Lamb of God - His Son! (Biblestudy.org has a good explanation of the Passover for the new testament Christians)

Peace and Patience and the Wrath of God

Today is my birthday! I had the most glorious time walking around the streets of Vancouver West Side looking at flowers in full bloom and the perfect spring air filling my lungs! What a perfect birthday gift! Here I am sitting outside a Starbucks enjoying a grande latte and writing my blog a day earlier because tomorrow will be a busy day at the conference.  I was listening to the scripture read to me via my phone while I was walking. A recurrent theme both from the Old Testament reading and the New Testament reading was about God's way of punishing people. It brought to my attention something I heard from the sermon this past Sunday. The sermon continued on the theme of the Fruit of the Holy Spirit (Galatians 5:22-23), focusing this time on the two aspects of the life of a Christian who has the indwelling Spirit: peace and patience. Concerning peace - someone asked at the end of the sermon whether Jesus' driving out the traders at the temple (John 2:13-17, Luke 19:45-46, Mark:11:15-17, Matthews 21:12-13) demonstrated that there was such thing as "righteous anger". The pastor gave this reply which I summarize here: "Love is a bigger motivator for justice. Anger is on the sin list (Galatians 5:19-21) but not on the fruit list (Galatians 5:22-23). The example of Jesus clearing the temple was to demonstrate the wrath of God."

So the wrath of God and righteous anger was on my mind this whole week. The story I read this morning concerned the Lord's judgement on King Ahaziah in 2 Kings 1. It can be seen as a picture of God's righteous judgement on a King who despite a long history of God's redemption of the people of Israel, looked to an idol god (Baal-Zebub, the god of Ekron) for direction and support. The New Testament passage concerning the wrath of God came from John 3:31-36:
"The one who comes from above is above all; the one who is from the earth belongs to the earth, and speaks as one from the earth. The one who comes from heaven is above all. He testifies to what he has seen and heard, but no one accepts his testimony. Whoever has accepted it has certified that God is truthful. For the one whom God has sent speaks the words of God, for God gives the Spirit without limit. The Father loves the Son and has placed everything in his hands. Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life, but whoever rejects the Son will not see life, for God’s wrath remains on them."

"The one who comes from above" referred to Jesus. Here John the Baptist was telling his disciples that God's redemptive plan was finally fulfilled in the person of Jesus, who was from God and spoke the words of God. As wonderful as God's great promise of John 3:16 (For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.) there is also judgement awaiting for those who would reject Him. The wrath of God is the natural end for those whose sin (the acts of the flesh - Galatians 5:19-21) would prevent them to inherit the kingdom of God. But praise be to God, for He promised: "Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit. Let us not become conceited, provoking and envying each other." (Galatians 5:24-26)

There is no room for pride. Salvation comes from God and by His Spirit we live in peace with all men and are patient (long-suffering) to wait for the final redemption when God will be the judge.

"Love must be sincere. Hate what is evil; cling to what is good. Be devoted to one another in love. Honor one another above yourselves. Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord. Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer. Share with the Lord’s people who are in need. Practice hospitality. Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse. Rejoice with those who rejoice; mourn with those who mourn. Live in harmony with one another. Do not be proud, but be willing to associate with people of low position. Do not be conceited. Do not repay anyone evil for evil. Be careful to do what is right in the eyes of everyone. If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone. Do not take revenge, my dear friends, but leave room for God’s wrath, for it is written: “It is mine to avenge; I will repay,” says the Lord. On the contrary:

“If your enemy is hungry, feed him;
    if he is thirsty, give him something to drink.
In doing this, you will heap burning coals on his head.”

Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good." (Romans 12:9-21)

Logos - the Reason for Life

I was looking for a topic to write this morning. I thought I would continue with the theme of the church's current sermon series (The Look of Love), which is based on the Fruit of the (Holy) Spirit (Galatians 5:22-23), and in particular, the aspect of Joy as an expression of Love. What does Joy look like? Does it look differently when I am in Love? Who am I in love with?

But then I checked my Facebook this morning and a preacher friend posted a sermon by Tim Keller - one of my favorite preachers (who says Facebook is a waste of time?). The title of this sermon is "A Reason for Living". Tim Keller as usual argued brilliantly that life is not meaningless. He quoted a number of brilliant philosophers who concluded that if our aim in life was to have total freedom, then we must conclude that life was meaningless. He contrasted this view with that of the apostle John, whose opening statement in his gospel (with the original Greek in brackets):
"In the beginning was the Word (logos), and the Word (logos) was with God (theos), and the Word (logos) was God (theos)." (John 1:1)

Tim Keller explained that the meaning of the word Logos was derived from the root word for "logic", which should really be translated as "the reason for life". During the time of John, the Jews were under Roman rule. The religious leaders taught the people that their life had no purpose until the Messiah came. John was to announce that "the reason for life" has arrived!

So I use what I learned this morning to look at what I learned from the sermon again and came up with these practical ideas for my life ahead:

(1) Joy flows from our relationship with Jesus through the Holy Spirit. I am glad this is the first point on the sermon. I should learn to focus (with the help of the Holy Spirit) on giving praise to God for His Son Jesus Christ, through good times and bad:
I will praise the Lord, who counsels me; even at night my heart instructs me. (Psalm 16:7)

I should follow Jesus' example:
At that time Jesus, full of joy through the Holy Spirit, said, “I praise you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have hidden these things from the wise and learned, and revealed them to little children. Yes, Father, for this is what you were pleased to do. (Luke 10:21)

And practice and practice:
Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! (Philippians 4:4)

(2) Joy is bigger, better, and more beautiful than happiness. This should govern many of the choices I make. Is it for more comfort and temporary happiness? Does it invest in the eternal? I should practice making more other-centered decisions. In times of difficulties all the more I should learn from Jesus:
Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider him who endured such opposition from sinners, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart. (Hebrews 12:1-3)

(3) As an expression of love, joy is good for you, and good for others around you. YES!
 In the midst of a very severe trial, their overflowing joy and their extreme poverty welled up in rich generosity. (2 Corinthians 8:2)

(4) Joy is cultivated through gratitude. So practice giving thanks always, continually, and in all circumstances!
Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus. (1 Thessalonians 5:16-18)

(5) Gratitude (which leads to joy) is cultivated through an intentional focus. Beware of negative thoughts and re-focus quickly. Practice positive thoughts, like this verse admonishes us to do:
Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things. (Philippians 4:8)

Say this to myself everyday:
Jesus is my reason for living! Love Him and obey Him. In doing so I will find meaning and purpose for the rest of this life and the life to come. And JOY will invariably come.

I learned this in my early days as a Christian. It came from the study of the Book of Philippians at a conference. The secret to JOY is this:
Jesus
Others, then
You

A lesson on prayer

In my early days as a Christian, I was very interested in learning to pray. I was particularly helped by a classic book on prayers by Andrew Murray called "With Christ in the School of Prayer". One word has been stuck in my head till this day. The word is "importunity". The word is found in the King James Translation of the 11th chapter of Luke where Jesus was teaching his disciples to pray. First He taught them the Lord's prayer (vs 2-4). Then He told them this parable:
"And he said unto them, Which of you shall have a friend, and shall go unto him at midnight, and say unto him, Friend, lend me three loaves; For a friend of mine in his journey is come to me, and I have nothing to set before him? And he from within shall answer and say, Trouble me not: the door is now shut, and my children are with me in bed; I cannot rise and give thee. I say unto you, Though he will not rise and give him, because he is his friend, yet because of his importunity he will rise and give him as many as he needeth." (vs 5-8 KJV)

Andrew Murray explained this parable in chapter eight of his book, which he titled "Because of his importunity" or, "The Boldness of God's Friends". He explained,
"The parable is a perfect storehouse of instruction in regard to true intercession. There is, first, the love which seeks to help the needy around us: 'my friend is come to me'. Then the need which urges to the cry 'I have nothing to set before him'. Then follows the confidence that help is to be had: 'which of you shall have a friend, and say, Friend, lend me three loaves'. Then comes the unexpected refusal: 'I cannot rise and give you'. Then again the perseverance that takes no refusal: 'because of his importunity'. And lastly, the reward of such prayer: 'he will give him as many as he needs'. A wonderful setting forth of the way of prayer and faith in which the blessing of God has so often been sought and found."

So the word importunity encompasses all these components - loving our neighbors, bringing the need to the only One who can provide, asking with confidence, asking with perseverance, and expecting the reward.

The Message translated verse 8 this way: "But let me tell you, even if he won’t get up because he’s a friend, if you stand your ground, knocking and waking all the neighbors, he’ll finally get up and get you whatever you need."
NIV translation gives a slightly different flavor: "I tell you, even though he will not get up and give you the bread because of friendship, yet because of your shameless audacity [Or yet to preserve his good name] he will surely get up and give you as much as you need."

I think the NIV is closest to the original Greek: "I say to you, even though he will not get up and give him anything because he is his friend (philos), yet because of the prospect (anaideia) of being put to shame he will get up and give him as much as he needs."

So today I learned something new. The word "importunity" is just a KJV translation of a concept that is a little different from what I had in mind for a long time. The secret of answered prayer has less to do with just "nagging" God by praying over and over again like a broken record. It has to do with the fact that God is concerned about His good name! He will answer our prayers for His name sake. And His name has to do with justice and love. When my prayer is based on my love for my neighbor, He will answer so that His name will be glorified.

"For the sake of his great name the Lord will not reject his people, because the Lord was pleased to make you his own." (1 Samuel 12:22)

"he refreshes my soul. He guides me along the right paths for his name’s sake." (Psalm 23:3)

"But for the sake of my name, I brought them out of Egypt. I did it to keep my name from being profaned in the eyes of the nations among whom they lived and in whose sight I had revealed myself to the Israelites." (Ezekiel 20:9)

"Through him we received grace and apostleship to call all the Gentiles to the obedience that comes from faith for his name’s sake." (Romans 1:5)

The Parable of the Great Banquet

In Luke 14:15-24 Jesus told his disciples this parable of the Great Banquet. This was in response to a comment someone made at a banquet to which he was invited:
“Blessed is the one who will eat at the feast in the kingdom of God.” (v.15)

The banquet took place at the house of a prominent Pharisee. There was no mention of who the Pharisee was. All we are told is that Jesus was being watched carefully (v.1), from the seat he picked at the table, to the healing of a man with abnormal swelling in his body. There were in the company other Pharisees and experts in the Law. This took place during a Sabbath.

Now Sabbath was (and still is) the most important day of every single week among the Jewish people (an interesting read on the Jewish perspective of Shabbat). It was celebrated in accordance to the fourth commandment of the Ten Commandments (Exodus 20):
"Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy. Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is a sabbath to the Lord your God. On it you shall not do any work, neither you, nor your son or daughter, nor your male or female servant, nor your animals, nor any foreigner residing in your towns. For in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, but he rested on the seventh day. Therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy." (Exodus 20:8-11)

It seems to me that the original intention of a Sabbath was to remember and to celebrate that God was the creator of the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all the creatures we find in them. God set apart (the meaning of holiness) a day each week to bless His people on it. I don't think God needed rest. God blesses us on the Sabbath day when we learn to rest in Him because ultimately all good things come from Him - all the works of our labor will produce enough for our sustenance and more in order that we can make sacrifice to Him by sharing what we have received with our fellow men.

Sabbath is always celebrated with a meal, or a banquet if we do this with invited guests. I had been invited to a Jewish home to celebrate the Sabbath. It was a solemn event. The rituals of reading of the Scripture and Prayers served to point us to God on this special day.

So it is no surprised that Jesus used the Sabbath Banquet in a parable. There are a number of lessons in this parable:
(1) The future great banquet at the end of time will include not just the Jews. This is clear because the parable was about answering the comment on v15. This is also clearly understood in the vision of the apostle John concerning the great heavenly gathering:
After this I looked, and there before me was a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, tribe, people and language, standing before the throne and before the Lamb. They were wearing white robes and were holding palm branches in their hands. And they cried out in a loud voice:
“Salvation belongs to our God,
who sits on the throne,
and to the Lamb.” (Revelation 7:9-10)
(2) All three excuses in the parable revealed insincerity on the part of those invited. The interpretation was that the Jews of Jesus’ day had no valid excuse for spurning Jesus’ message; in fact, they had every reason to accept Him as their Messiah. (see Gotquestions.org) There is plenty of evidence for us today that Jesus is the Savior of this world but there will be plenty who will reject this.
(3) The invitation was then opened up to society’s maimed and downtrodden. These were the types of people that the Pharisees considered “unclean” and under God’s curse (cf. John 9:1-2, 34). Jesus, however, taught that the kingdom was available even to those considered “unclean” (cf. Acts 10). His involvement with tax collectors and sinners brought condemnation from the Pharisees, yet it showed the extent of God’s grace (Matthew 9:10-11). The fact that the master in the parable sends the servant far afield to persuade everyone to come indicates that the offer of salvation would be extended to the Gentiles and “to the ends of the earth” (Acts 1:8). “Rejoice, O Gentiles, with his people” (Romans 15:10).

I am heading off to volunteer in a Refugee clinic. I am looking forward to it. I do feel privileged to represent Christ to those who have been rejected by their own society, to offer the love and kindness that God has for them. May He bless my work. This is my Sabbath Day!

Rejoice that your names are written in heaven

I recently finished reading the book "Surprised by Hope" by NT Wright. The subtext of the title of the book says "Rethinking Heaven, the Resurrection, and the Mission of the Church". The most important message I got from this book was found on page 294:

"When the apostle Paul wrote his great resurrection chapter, 1 Corinthians 15, he didn't end by saying, "So let's celebrate the great future life that awaits us." He ended by saying, "So get on with your work because you know that in the Lord it won't go to waste." When the final resurrection occurs, as the centerpiece of God's new creation, we will discover that everything done in the present world in the power of Jesus's own resurrection will be celebrated and included, appropriately transformed."

Wright was of course quoting the verse from 1 Corinthians 15:58:
"Therefore, my dear brothers and sisters, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain."

It speaks of the importance of our current life on earth which is part of God's plan to bring His heaven on earth. That is why Jesus taught us to pray this prayer in Matthews 6:9-13:
"Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name,
your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us today our daily bread.
And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.
And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one."

So through Jesus's death and resurrection (which we just celebrated last Easter Sunday), God's Kingdom of justice and love will begin with each of the believer in Christ Jesus. As we labour on this earth, not only will our work not be wasted, but will all be remembered in future when the final day arrives.

Today I read in Luke 10 where Jesus told His disciples, following their joyous return from their mission trip and reported back “Lord, even the demons submit to us in your name.” (verse 17):

“I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven. I have given you authority to trample on snakes and scorpions and to overcome all the power of the enemy; nothing will harm you. However, do not rejoice that the spirits submit to you, but rejoice that your names are written in heaven.” (verses 18-20)

So again we might see huge success while we are serving others in Jesus's name now, but the best is yet to come! What does it mean to have my name written in heaven?

It seems that throughout the bible, there is reference to a book in heaven, like a guest book which contains a list of the invited guests. It's often referred to the Book of Life. For example,

Daniel 12:1
At that time Michael, the great prince who protects your people, will arise. There will be a time of distress such as has not happened from the beginning of nations until then. But at that time your people--everyone whose name is found written in the book--will be delivered.

Psalm 69:28
May they be blotted out of the book of life and not be listed with the righteous.

Philippians 4:3

Yes, and I ask you, my true companion, help these women since they have contended at my side in the cause of the gospel, along with Clement and the rest of my co-workers, whose names are in the book of life.

Revelation 20:12

And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Another book was opened, which is the book of life. The dead were judged according to what they had done as recorded in the books.

I read a number of commentaries on this passage. Basically the contrast of earthly success (even in doing God's business) must be tempered by the perspective that I have been saved by grace, by the blood of the sacrificial lamb (Jesus), who is the author of this book of life, which already contains my name in it!

"For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— not by works, so that no one can boast. For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do." (Ephesians 2:8-10)