Do not lose heart

II Corinthians 4:16-18 (NIV)

Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal. 

Paul wrote these verses after describing the fact that he was facing death every day.  He is making an appeal that the way you ultimately conquer death, the way you ultimately triumph in the face of death, the way you ultimately do not lose heart in facing death is to see it not from a physical perspective, but from a spiritual one. The Bible tells us in Hebrews 2 that Satan holds men bondage to the "fear of death" all their life long.  When you come to the place where you have conquered that fear, you have conquered the ultimate enemy.  Spiritual growth involves the gradual transformation from viewing life from a temporal perspective to viewing life from an eternal perspective.  It is the perspective of the sincere and mature Christian to see beyond what is visible to the eye and perceive the great spiritual reality. 

True Christians do not lose heart after the death of a Christian loved one or in facing our own deaths because we do not look at what is temporal.  People tend to put too much emphasis on the temporal rather than the eternal.  We spend too much time on things that don’t last.  We work at jobs 60+ hours a week and work at ministry a few hours or less.  From an eternal perspective it should be the opposite.  It is interesting that funerals, for a believer, focus on relationships, not on accomplishments.  Very little is said about a litany of achievement in the life of a Christian.  Perhaps at the funeral of an unbeliever, where accomplishment has been the focus rather than relationships, that’s all you can talk about.  However, the only real reward that matters is that which we did through our ministries for God in his kingdom.  May you figure out how to fix your eyes on what is unseen and has eternal value in this life.

 

Rick Warren writes that your life on earth is only a temporary assignment[1].  Life on earth is just passing through as you aim for your eternal destiny. In order for you not to become too attached to earth, God allows you to feel a significant amount of discontent and dissatisfaction in this life….longings that will never be fulfilled on this side of eternity.  You are not completely happy here because you’re not supposed to be.  Your life in your perishable body on this perishable land is not your final home; you have been created for something much better.

May you rejoice and thank God for this wonderful life He has given you and for the assurance you have as a believer in Jesus Christ, that glory without comparison is ahead for you.  And if you are not a believer, all you have to do to become a believer is to confess your sins and invite Jesus to take over your life and serve Him as your Savior and Lord. 

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[1] Taken from Purpose Driven Life , pp. 47-50 by Rick Warren. Copyright © 2002 by Zondervan.  Use by permission of Zondervan. www.zondervan.com

To whom much is given, much is required in return

Luke 12:48 (NLT)

“When someone has been given much, much will be required in return; and when someone has been entrusted with much, even more will be required.”

My family was one of 27 families who planted a new church in Greenwood, IN.  The church’s (New Hope Church) founding pastor, Darrel Riley, preached his first sermon in the new church building on January 3, 1988.  He declared that this verse would be the theme of the church.  Indeed, New Hope Church was located in a relatively affluent community and Pastor Riley challenged his flock with this principle.  The more you have, the more is required from you in return.  With privilege comes responsibility.   

If you go back and start with Luke 12:15, Jesus warns “against every form of greed” and then gives the parable of the rich fool.  You are a rich fool if you don’t share your riches with others (12:21).  He again speaks of being free from the grasp of money and materialism in verse 33, concluding in verse 34 with “For where your treasure is, there will be your heart also”.  Then He talks about being prepared when the master (Himself) returns with the faithful steward being prepared while others carouse and are unprepared.  There is terrible judgment for those who claim to be believers (“knew their master’s will), yet did not treat others with love and acted foolishly with their carousing. 

From this context Jesus speaks of the principle of privilege and responsibility.  If you have been given much then much is required in return; in fact, even more will be required in return.  This is an expectation of God for those who believe in Him.  This passage does not speak of rewards to those who meet this expectation (other passages do such as Matthew 16:27, I Corinthians 3:11-15), but it does speak about those who do not.  Luke 12:47 and the first part of Luke 12:48 describe degrees of punishment (presumably in hell) depending whether a person knew or did not know his master’s will.

As a believer in the Lord you have been blessed with intelligence, abilities, gifts, and all kinds of physical and spiritual resources.  You are responsible—actually accountable—to use all that God has given you for His glory and honor.  If you are in a position of leadership in your church, business, and/or other organization, you must carry out your responsibilities with the idea of returning much to the Lord.  You will be judged harshly if you do not, if you live and lead selfishly and self-servingly.  Keep in mind too that the Lord is always available to help you meet/exceed His expectations (read Philippians 4:13, John 10:10b, John 15:5b, Ephesians 3:20, etc.). 

What has God given you?  How much have you been entrusted with?  What are you doing for God with what He has entrusted to you?  You are accountable because of what you have been given and blessed with.  Someday you will need to give an account of your stewardship (service/giving) to God (Luke 16:1-13).  You will not be asked about others nor can others help you, it will be between you and God.  Will you be ready? 

Always be ready to explain why you are a believer

I Peter 3:15-16 (NLT)

And if someone asks about your Christian hope, always be ready to explain it. But do this in a gentle  and respectful way.

Have you ever been asked, perhaps challenged by someone trying to embarrass you or refute your belief, to explain why you believe in Jesus Christ as your Savior (your Christian hope)?  Maybe some of you have been confronted many times.     I have been asked to explain my faith only a few times.  However, whether many times or just a few, each of us must be prepared to give an answer in a convincing manner why we believe what we believe.

Have you ever seen the movie “Inherit the Wind”?  It tells the story of the Scopes “Monkey Trial”, one of the most famous battles in history between evolution and creationism. In 1925 in Dayton, Tennessee, public schoolteacher John Scopes was taken to court for teaching evolution, which had earlier been banned by the state of Tennessee. The ensuing court battle pitted two famous men at the time as defense and prosecutor lawyers.  The defense lawyer was William Jennings Bryan, a former Democratic presidential candidate.  The prosecuting lawyer was Clarence Darrow.  The movie depicts Bryan as a fundamentalist Christian with blind faith who cannot answer basic questions logically about his faith.  The movie puts Christianity in a bad light because of the bumbling failures of Mr. Bryan to defend adequately why he believed what he believed.  Sadly, Bryan’s failures depict the status of the majority of Christians today who also cannot defend why they believe what they believe.  

How can you be prepared to respond to someone who asks you why you believe in Jesus as your Savior, especially when that someone is challenging why you believe?  Sooner or later, if you are being a faithful witness about your faith (others in your life know clearly that you are a Christian), you will be strongly challenged to defend why you are a Christian, why you believe the way you do.  Those who do not believe in Jesus Christ as their Savior typically have these characteristics:

·                Do not believe that the Bible is the inspired Word of God.

·                Do not believe that Christ died a substitutionary death on the cross for the sins of mankind.

·                Do not believe that mankind is morally corrupt and sinful.

·                Do not believe that God is sovereign

·                View God in some false way, not the way God is taught in the Bible

So you need to be prepared to respond to questions related to these characteristics of the non-believer. 

Did you know that if you are a Christian, it is your duty to be an apologist? The term “apologist” or “apologetics” refers to the reasoned defense of the Christian faith.  This is what I Peter 3:15 is saying.  In fact, the word “explain” (or other translations use the phrase “make a defense”) comes from the Greek word “apologia”.  The Word here is saying that you need to be ready to defend your faith, to give rational and reasoned explanations to doubters about why you believe they way you do and why you believe in Jesus Christ as your Savior and Lord.

You need not only to be ready to defend your faith, but also you need to know what you are defending and be comfortable with your position.  Examples of how Paul did this are found in Acts 14, 17, and 19.  Note that he reasoned with doubters and critics because he knew his Bible (the Old Testament).  For you today, the main key in defending your faith is that you must know your Bible, at least to some extent.  You must have solid knowledge of the faith you profess.  It’s also a good idea to have some knowledge about other religions.  For example have you ever interacted with a Mormon or a Jew or someone of another religion who not only could clear articulate what their beliefs were, but also knew the basics of Christianity?  You can be made to look really bad if you are not equally prepared.

The best way to be prepared to defend your faith, especially against someone who thinks that you’ve been ‘brainwashed’ or you are not being intellectual or you are being a ‘prude’, is to declare that you simply believe that you were a sinner, but Christ died for your sins, you believe that this is true and that His Spirit lives in you because you confessed your sinful nature and gave your life over to His authority.  Your basic defense is the gospel and your story in describing what the gospel has done to change your life.  A few basic Bible verses memorized—the famous ones like John 3:16 and John 14:6 go a long way in helping you defend your faith. 

In your defense of your beliefs, I Peter 3:16 also says that you should be gentle and respectful.  You do not need to get into a shouting match.  You should not put down others for what they believe or don’t believe.  You should be calm, cool, and collected in your demeanor where it is obvious that your faith is strong and deep and allow others to see that your actions back up your words.  Perhaps our church and all other churches of those reading this devotional should periodically teach their flocks how to defend the basics of their faith. 

Hearts burning

Luke 24:32 (NASB)

They said to one another, “Were not our hearts burning within us while He was speaking to us on the road, while He was explaining the Scriptures to us?”

Luke 24:13-35 describes the Emmaus walk, Emmaus being an ancient town halfway between Jerusalem and Tel Aviv.  The site today is part of Canada Park, a Jewish national park.  Luke tells the story of two disciples walking on the first Easter Sunday afternoon when the risen Christ appeared to them.  The United Methodist Church established a ministry called “The Walk to Emmaus” where I am quoting from one of their websites[1]: “The Walk to Emmaus®” is a spiritual renewal program intended to strengthen the local church through the development of Christian disciples and leaders.  The model for the program is Christ’s servanthood and encourages Christ’s disciples to act in ways appropriate to being ‘a servant of all’. The Emmaus® walk usually begins on Thursday evenings and concludes on Sunday evenings with men and women attending on separate weekends.”  You may be someone who has participated in this program.  I have not, but everyone I know who has participated raves and marvels at the experience. 

The key word in verse 32 is “burning”.  The Greek word used is “kaio” that simply means “set on fire”.  It also can mean “to bring light”.  This word describes the reaction of people who hear (“speaking to us”) and understand (“He was explaining”) the words of Jesus.  You may be thinking to yourself, “Well, sure, if the person of Jesus Christ was walking with me and teaching me the Scriptures, of course my heart would be burning too!”  Yet, did you not know that one of the primary roles of the Holy Spirit within the hearts of every Christian person is to do the same thing?  Jesus said in John 16:13 that the Holy Spirit will “guide you into all the truth” and the same Spirit will “bear witness of Me” (John 15:26).  Therefore, if the Holy Spirit is alive in you, if you have not quenched Him through unconfessed sin and/or apathy (I Thessalonians 5:19), He will explain the Scriptures to you just like Jesus did in person to the disciples. 

It is a fantastic experience to be part of a Bible study where you can feel, enjoy, and benefit from a burning heart.  Has not the following been your experience when engaging in a group Bible study?  The start was somewhat slow because you all were transitioning from secular life experiences (just the daily routines of life).  Even when the Bible verses were read, your heart was still more connected with the secular than spiritual world.  Then the transformation occurred.  As people started discussing their observations and interpretations of the Scriptures and as a master teacher facilitated these discussions, the conversations became really interesting and stimulating.  Often, because of time limits and the discussions needed to cease, you were disappointed that they had to end.  That’s because your heart was burning because of the power of the Scriptures.  That’s what the disciples were describing on their walk to Emmaus.

Does your heart burn with zeal when you open and study the Scriptures?  Are you convinced of the truth of God’s Word and desire to believe and do what it says?  Or, are you casual about the Bible and can take it or leave it?  Is your Bible study real fellowship, authentic sharing and passionate discussion, or is it going through the motions, routine, and shallow? What will it take for your heart to burn again when reading, studying, and discussing the teachings of the Bible?

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[1] http://www.upperroom.org/programs