Bible, Devotional Reading, Gospel Spirituality, Jesus

Are You the Older Brother?

(25)Now his older son was in the field, and as he came and drew near to the house, he heard music and dancing. (26) And he called one of the servants and asked what these things meant. (27) And he said to him, ‘Your brother has come, and your father has killed the fattened calf, because he has received him back safe and sound.’ (28) But he was angry and refused to go in. His father came out and entreated him, (29) but he answered his father, ‘Look, these many years I have served you, and I never disobeyed your command, yet you never gave me a young goat, that I might celebrate with my friends. (30) But when this son of yours came, who has devoured your property with prostitutes, you killed the fattened calf for him!’ (31) And he said to him, ‘Son, you are always with me, and all that is mine is yours.” (Luke 15:25-31)

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Most call this story found in Luke 15:11-31 the “Parable of the Prodigal Son.” However, most also think the story ends at verse 15:24, but Jesus provides more to this story. Remember this story is about two brothers, not just one.

We all know the younger brother didn’t have love for his father…but just wanted his stuff. Out of this selfish unloving heart bore a reckless hedonistic life that resulted in brokenness. Now we see the older religious son. But sadly we don’t see a happy man…but an angry man. This son is described by Jesus as angry and he is refusing to go in and commune with his younger wild brother. Unlike the father, he doesn’t yearn for him or have compassion on him or embrace him or kiss him or restore him or be reconciled with him. Unlike the father, the older religious brother condemns him.

The older brother is angry with him, and we understand why…right? Wouldn’t you be angry?  Think of all the shame the wild younger brother caused this family. Think of the financial impact this had on this older brother and the family as a whole. Think of all the grief and the sorrow that he saw on his poor father’s face each and every day.

Deep in the corners of his heart, when he reflected on his wild younger brother, he compared himself. The anger he felt towards his brother birthed self-righteousness. Every time his blood boiled over his brother, he soothed it with the thoughts, “I am not going to be like him” and “I am better than him.” His anger birthed pride.

His religious pride went to entitlement. “He went off and had his fun but in the end I’m going to be better off because I remained faithful. I deserve better because I am better.” Is that you today? Have you ever said those words? Have you ever thought those thoughts? Have you ever felt those feelings?

Has your religious faithfulness simply produced a self-righteous judgmental heart? Has the free grace of the gospel birthed a heart that feels good about itself because it is more faithful than the poor soul that is struggling? Has the cross of Jesus only bought pride for you? Are you an older brother?

But the father also has a message for older brothers. If you are angry and self-righteous and entitled and judgmental, he is faithful to convict you, but he is also faithful to draw you back to your first love. He is faithful to draw you back to Jesus. You see, this glorious faithful loving father has a message for us too. The father says to him, “Son, you are always with me” (15:31). Being with the Father was the older brother’s blessing! Repent and return to your first love…Jesus…not his stuff!

Do some heart work today. What stuff do you care more about than getting to know the Father better? Whose opinion do you care about more than Jesus’? Ask God to soften your heart to Him and make that stuff and those people taste like mudpies compared to the glory of Christ. Thank God for the fact that he loves you so much that he will convict you of your sin, even your self-righteous pride. Confess to a close friend or your spouse how your religion has produced pride in your heart and ask them to ask you about the condition of your heart every few days.

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Bible, Gospel Spirituality, Jesus

Paul’s Apostolic Authority Still Matters?!

Paul, an apostle— not from men nor through man, but through Jesus Christ and God the Father, who raised him from the dead— and all the brothers who are with me” (Galatians 1:1-2).

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Paul opens his letter to the Galatians by describing himself as an “apostle.” What in the world is an “apostle”?! The root meaning of the word is a “sent one.” It is similar to a Hebrew term used for a delegate or a lawyer who was empowered by someone to share a message or do a job in their place. The Greek term used here was also a naval term for an emissary who was sent on a vessel for a particular authoritative errand. The idea is that an “apostle” is someone who has been given authority by a greater power in order to deliver a message.

Paul is actually referring to what we would label an office or maybe a title. Paul was an Apostle (with a capital “A”). I don’t believe there are still Apostles today, but rather it was a unique office given to a group of men who actually saw Jesus and were selected by him to share his gospel message. I believe their primary role was to share Jesus’ message by writing the New Testament. Paul was not one of the original twelve Disciples, but if you remember from Acts 9, Paul was dramatically converted to Jesus on the Road to Damascus when Jesus appeared to him.

But, it is also important who made Paul an Apostle. Paul was not voted into his Apostolic office by a group of men. He says in the opening verse that he is an apostle “not from men nor through man, but through Jesus Christ and God the Father.” God Himself made Paul an Apostle.

The Bible goes further by going back to the cross and describing the type of God that has made Paul an Apostle. It is the God “who raised him from the dead.” This is a God who has power over life and death. He is the creator of all things. Even though he is holy and perfect, this God chose to satisfy His own wrath by dying a brutal death on the cross as an atonement for our sins. Jesus’ resurrection then defeated death and became the good work we can trust for our salvation. We don’t have to try and earn our salvation through many good works, but we can trust in his one good work for our salvation. So, not only is he a powerful God, he is also a good God. That is the God who made Paul an Apostle.

So what?! Maybe we understand why this was important to the original readers in Paul’s day, but what is the significance for us?

GENERALLY, Paul’s Apostleship is important because we live in a day that is prone to discounting Paul by pitting him against Jesus. Many people (even in the church) do this all the time. I have even stepped into heated debates with other pastors who reject a portion of Paul’s teaching on the grounds that Jesus didn’t speak into that issue?! Many people create a caricature of Jesus as loving and focused on relationships, while Paul is more harsh and only focusing on doctrine not people. They claim that doctrine divides and that Paul only cares about doctrine and doesn’t pastorally care about people. Please hear me, those popular caricatures are simply false.

First, many of Jesus’ parables and teachings take a direct in-your-face approach. Do you remember him cleansing the temple with a whip…Indiana Jones style? We also see tender even heart-broken words from Paul in his Epistles. Second, all of the Bible is equally God’s Word. The gospels are not more important or more truthful than Leviticus or Revelation or Jude. All of it is the inspired inerrant Word of God. That truth is partially based upon the fact that Jesus himself appointed Paul as his Apostle with the message he shared in books like Galatians and Ephesians and Colossians. Third, the purpose of the Epistles are to look back at the Gospels and explain what happened. The very nature of the Epistles demands that they will go further in depth on different issues.

As a rule we can’t pit Paul against Jesus. Paul is relational, just like Jesus. Jesus is doctrinal, just like Paul. The Bible doesn’t view doctrine as divisive, but rather the basis for our relationships. The words God gave us through Paul in Galatians are ultimately God’s Word for us. Again, you can’t pit Paul against Jesus.

SPECIFICALLY, we are to accept the message of Galatians as God’s authoritative Word. Paul makes a link between his Apostleship and the message he is going to share in this book. His Apostolic office is the credibility of his gospel message. So in Galatians when Paul calls us to daily lean on the gospel versus keeping religious rules or operating out of our own self-righteous strength, it is authoritative truth for us! If you want to argue back at Paul, you are actually arguing back at God! These words are God’s Words coming like a ship bringing us life saving news!

Do some heart work today. Are you viewing all the Bible as from God? Are you viewing the Bible as the ultimate authority in your life? Do you need to change your thinking or attitude about the Bible? Ask God to help you see attitudes and habits that need to change in order to align yourself with the truth of God’s Word. Thank God today for not leaving us in the dark, but rather giving us His Word so we can know have to find salvation and joy. Finally, select a Bible verse to memorize this week.

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Bible, Gospel Spirituality, Jesus

Wholeness for the Hollow

For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened.” (Romans 1:21)

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I once heard an old pastor explain, “you have lose them before you can save them.” Romans 1:21 is the beginning point of lostness. A heart that looks like Romans 1:21 is what leads God to pour out his just wrath upon us. Paul described this type of heart as “futile” or hollow or vain or pointless.

Notice that Paul explained all humans have an innate or inherent or natural knowledge of God. This is not a saving knowledge of God, but an understanding that we have a creator. Atheistic philosophical positions can be reasonable and logical, yet false. Humans can reason away God, but that doesn’t mean God is dead or never existed. Rather, it means that humans can convince ourselves that God does not exist. This verse, as well as the human experience teach that we all have a commonsense innate knowledge of God.

However, our problem is that all people suppress (v18) these innate truths and distort (v21-23) these natural understandings, thus we are all guilty and God’s wrath is justifiable. So the question arises, “what should we do with this natural knowledge that there is a creator God?” Romans 1:21 explains we should honor and thank him.  Because there is a Creator-God and He created us, we should honor and thank Him. We should be thankful worshipers. Becoming thankful worshipers is Paul’s answer to hollowness.

Honor is about making much of someone. We should make much of our Creator-God. 1 Corinthians 10:31 teaches that no matter what we are doing we should glorify God. We should worship Him. There is none like Him, He is our Creator, and we should make much of him, and less of ourselves. But, is that what we do? No, we actually dishonor God. We degrade Him, cheapen Him, and lower Him. We declare Him dead, we ignore Him, we glorify ourselves, we worship ourselves.

Further, we should also thank Him. We should recognize who He is, give Him credit, have gratitude, and thank Him. In fact, just like 1 Corinthians 10:31 and the lifestyle of glorifying and honor God, we should also have a lifestyle of thankfulness. But, is thankfulness a theme of your life? For most it isn’t. Most people’s lives are marked by complaining, by ingratitude, and by grumbling. Most express dissatisfaction, not thankfulness, for their circumstances. Most express annoyance or irritation throughout their day, not gratitude. Honoring Jesus and thanking him is how we move from hollowness to wholeness.

Do some heart work today. What area of your life have you quarantined from Jesus? Are you glorifying Jesus in how you work, live with you spouse, treat your friends, and parent? Take a moment and ask God to reveal where you are not honoring him. Further, take a moment to pray for a thankful heart. Are you giving Him credit for the blessings in your life? Are you grumbling and complaining about something these days? Thank Him for who he is and what He has done for you! Finally, communicate honor and thanksgiving. Honor Jesus today by telling someone that you are thankful to God for them and why.

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Bible, Gospel Spirituality, Jesus

Focus When Suffering

(14) And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, (15) that whoever believes in him may have eternal life.“ (John 3:14-15)

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John 3:14-15 helps us gain focus and perspective when suffering. Some have been abused and want the Bible to give hope that their abuser will go to jail for his crimes. Some have been deeply and painfully betrayed and want the Bible to give hope that their friend will repent and seek reconciliation and all will be made right again. Some have lost fortunes and want the Bible to give hope that they will be prosperous again. Some are dying and want the Bible to give hope that they have years left on this earth.

But the truth is we are hoping in the wrong things. I can’t promise he will face jail time. I can’t promise your spouse or friend will repent and return. I can’t promise faithfulness leads to riches. I can’t promise you healthy years. But, if those are your ultimate hopes, you are hoping in the wrong things.

But, what I can promise you is that Jesus will be exalted. If you are a Christian, that is enough. The pathway to peace and happiness is not through finding justice, reconciliation, wealth, and health on this earth. Rather, joy is found in the depths of your soul not in your outer circumstances. Might sound odd, but God-the-Father and God-the-Spirit found happiness in God-the-Son. Their pleasure was found in lifting Jesus up?!

John Pitman was committed to get Jesus up, even when suffering. Pitman was a Revolutionary War hero who got converted and became a Reformed Baptist pastor in Massachusetts and Rhode Island. Pitman’s life was marked by many forms of suffering. He survived a violent war. He buried his wife and young daughter on the same day. He faced financial ruin, losing his business and livelihood. He longed to be in ministry but the door really didn’t open for him till late in life.

At the end of his life he became very ill and knew the end was near. Jesus was Pitman’s desire, and as he neared the end he wrote:

“Let us adore the rich grace of God in calling us in early life, in keeping us by his power through faith unto the present time, in still making us his care, in enabling us to bear testimony to the truth and its glorious effects in old age, and in all circumstances…Should we have a hard battle with the last enemy that is to be destroyed, it will be very short, and then we shall be more than conquerors through him that loved us, and enjoyed his presence forever…It is a blessing to be tried, a blessing to be delivered, a blessing to have a grateful heart for both.”

Then, on the day he died, he wrote:

“In a short time our glass will be out, and the sands run low; not far distant is the change to which all other changes were directed, and the afflicting portion of them will add an eternal weight of glory to the soul.  Let these things animate us to run with patience the race set before us, looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who, for the joy that was set before him, endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of God, whose intercession is prevalent for all that love and obey him.”

Friends, we don’t need earthly justice, we don’t need need all things to be made right here and now, we don’t need wealth, and we don’t need long healthy years. But, what we do need is to see Jesus exalted. Today, as you pray, confess to Jesus areas of your life where you are not seeking to exalt Jesus. Confess if he is not your greatest desire. Believe again that there is nothing, and I mean nothing, greater than him. Believe again that your greatest joys will be found as you lift him up in your heart and life.

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