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Life Saving Narrow Mindedness

5×5×5 Bible Plan

Read: II Corinthians 6
Meditation: II Corinthians 6:14-16

“Do not be yoked together with unbelievers. For what do righteousness and wickedness have in common? Or what fellowship can light have with darkness? What harmony is there between Christ and Satan? What does a believer have in common with an unbeliever? What agreement is there between the temple of God and idols? For we are the temple of the living God.

Shift Your Focus… This is one of Christianity’s most difficult teachings. Not because we don’t understand it—Paul’s meaning is pretty obvious. This is a hard teaching because it is so challenging to actually live out in the practicality of our everyday lives. After all, though we are not of the world, we are certainly in it. Unless we are going to enter into communal living, we are pretty much required to live next to unbelievers, work for unbelievers, go to school with unbelievers, and buy, sell or trade among unbelievers.

So how do we keep separate from unbelievers when we can’t keep totally separate from them? The answer:

Very carefully!

We need to be very cautious and alert when entering into any kind of close and ongoing relationship with an unbeliever where influence will be exchanged. And we need to be very realistic about that influence factor. So many Christians believe that they will be able to influence an unbeliever to faith in these kinds of relationships, but sadly, the outcome is far too often the exact opposite.

That’s why a Christian young person should not get into a serious dating relationship with an unbeliever. I would go so far as to say they shouldn’t date one at all. For sure, a believer should never marry an unbeliever! College students ought to think twice about where they live—the “Greek” life—fraternities and sororities—has swallowed many a Christian young person. Christian business people ought to be extremely reluctant about a business partnership with anybody other than a believer. Christian people should be very cautious about social circles that don’t have Christ as the common bond.

Obviously, that is very challenging to pull off, and you even may find that what I am suggesting seems unfair, exclusive, judgmental and intolerant. I agree! It does seem that way—but it is God’s Word, not mine.

In some ways, God’s Word calls us to be narrow-minded, for our own good. Being “narrow” is now one of the worst cultural sins that you can commit in America, but narrow just might save your life and preserve your destiny. Narrow isn’t always bad. A runway is narrow, too, but it is the only way to get an airplane safely to its destination. I don’t have all the answers to the questions Paul’s teaching evoke. I can’t tell you exactly how you should apply this to each of your relationships, but I do hope you will give some serious thought to what the Holy Spirit inspired Paul to say.

The narrow-mindedness God’s Word calls for will get you safely to heaven some day, so pay attention to it!

“I can tell you plainly…if you are at home in the world; if the things of time and sense are your element; if you feel one with the company of the world, the maxims of the world, the fashions of the world, the principles of the world, grace has not reached your heart—the faith of God’s elect does not dwell in your bosom.” ~J.C. Philpot

Prayer… Father, the people of faith we read about in your Word and in Christian history always felt like strangers and pilgrims on this planet. People of faith have always considered themselves to just be passing through, headed for a better home. They refused to get too earthbound. They lived with their bags packed, ready to go at a moment’s notice. My generation has lost that sojourner’s sense. Remind me through a fresh baptism of your grace that though I am in the world, I am not of it.

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A Lopsided Transaction

5×5×5 Bible Plan

Read: II Corinthians 5
Meditation: II Corinthians 5:21

“God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.”

Shift Your Focus… What an amazing exchange that took place when Jesus hung on the cross as the sacrifice for sin!

Jesus became sin so that I could become saved.

Jesus was abandoned and I was embraced.

Jesus received God’s wrath and I received God’s righteousness.

Jesus got what he didn’t deserve and I got what I didn’t deserve.

Jesus didn’t get what he deserved and I didn’t get what I deserved.

Jesus got what I deserved and I got what Jesus deserved.

Jesus went through hell so that I could go to heaven.

Jesus endured hatred and I was showered with love.

Jesus died so that I could live.

Redemption is such a lopsided transaction, but such is the love of God. I got the far better deal in this exchange, and for that I will never cease to be grateful.

“At the heart of the story stands the cross of Christ where evil did its worst and met its match.”  ~John W. Wenham

Prayer…  Lord Jesus, all I can say in response is “thank you!”  And all I can do to pay you back is to offer the rest of my life as one big thank you—and that I will gladly do.

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Light and Momentary Troubles

5×5×5 Bible Plan

Read: II Corinthians 4
Meditation: II Corinthians 4:16-18

“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.”

Shift Your Focus… One of Satan’s chief tools is to discourage us by making our lives difficult. Through trying times, the Enemy tempts us to doubt God’s goodness and sufficiency. When we are hurting, it is not uncommon for us to wonder if God really loves us at all. And unfortunately, as we have all witnessed, discouragement has led some to even abandon their trust in God.

Since discouragement is common to all believers, has God provided a way to break free from its powerful currents? How do you pull out of the whirlpool of doubt? Paul gives the key in these verses. He says it is to live with what I would call an eternal perspective.

You have to develop an eternal perspective. You have to exercise the spiritual discipline of seeing life through God’s eyes, of filtering everything through the lens of Scripture. The only real answer to discouragement and doubt is to penetrate the fog of your present circumstances with spiritual vision that focuses clearly and steadfastly into the unfailing character and covenant faithfulness of God.

God has promised that your troubles here in this world are only momentary. Furthermore, they are not only ephemeral, they are purposeful—they are achieving in you something eternal. And in the light of eternity, your troubles now are nothing compared to the glory you will experience then. Your present troubles are the raw material for future glory. Therefore, Paul says, fix your gaze on the glory.

Now I don’t mean to minimize the pain that we have to endure in this life. It is never fun, and I wouldn’t wish pain on you or me for all the tea in China, even knowing the eternal glory that it is achieving. Yet Paul’s advice remains the same: Keep your eye on the prize, because if you endure, glory awaits. Just remember, what Satan means for harm, God uses for good. In fact, let’s not forget that God uses problems and pain in our lives to do some of his best work, not just for the life to come, but for the here and now. James 1:2-4 says,

“Whenever trouble comes your way, let it be an opportunity for joy. For when your faith is tested, your endurance has a chance to grow. So let it grow, for when your endurance is fully developed, you will be strong in character and ready for anything.”

In your light and momentary afflictions, God is producing good for now and glory for later! That truth reminds me of a story I came across several years ago of a man who lost his job, a sizable fortune, and his beautiful home.  To add to his sorrow, his wife died.  Yet he tenaciously held on to his faith, the only thing he had left.

One day when he was out walking in search of a job, he stopped to watch some men who were doing stonework on a large church.  One of them was chiseling a triangular piece of rock. So he asked, “Where are you going to put that?”

The workman said, “Do you see that little opening up there near the spire?  Well, I’m shaping this stone down here so that it will fit up there.”

Tears filled the man’s eyes as he walked away because the lesson was suddenly clear: God was chiseling his life down here so it would fit up there.

If you are going through the chiseling of “light and momentary afflictions”, hang in there! God is getting you ready for some eternal glory. And “up there,” it is going to be a great fit!

“Many men owe the grandeur of their lives to their tremendous difficulties.” ~Charles Spurgeon

Prayer…  Father, it is an awesome thing to be under your expert care.  No matter what I am going through here and now, you are chiseling me for glory there and then.  Help me to keep that perspective in every circumstance. Help me to remember at all times that my pain is nothing compared to the gain of being the object of your eternal love.

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A Living Resume For Our Loving Redeemer

5×5×5 Bible Plan

Read: II Corinthians 3
Meditation: II Corinthians 3:3

“Your very lives are a letter that anyone can read by just looking at you. Christ himself wrote it—not with ink, but with God’s living Spirit; not chiseled into stone, but carved into human lives—and we publish it.”

Shift Your Focus… Having a great job or getting into an upper tier college in America these days requires having an impressive resume.  You will also need a list of personal references who will stand up for you and your abilities with letters of recommendation that make you look like a cross between Albert Einstein and Mother Teresa. People want proof that you are who you claim to be and that you can do what you say you can do.

Did you realize that you, yourself, are somebody’s resume? That’s what Paul says here in II Corinthians 3. When so many other ministers were bragging about themselves and getting letters of reference sent on their behalf, all Paul had to do was point to the people he was shepherding and say, “Take a look at their lives. They’ll tell you a lot about the depth of my character and the quality of my ministry.”

What was true for Paul is true for your shepherd, or your spiritual mentor, or the person who led you to Christ so many years ago. Now if that is the case, what does their resume look like? What kind of letter of recommendation do you provide for them? If they were applying for a job based on the spiritual fruit in your life, would they be hired?

Every Christian is a living resume for a spiritual leader. We just cannot escape that fact. We give the ministry under which we are shepherded credibility—or not. We are a walking advertisement for the fellowship to which we belong—for good or for bad. Most importantly, we are a living resume for our loving Redeemer—making Jesus attractive or repulsive.

May we so live our lives each and every day that others will want to follow Christ because they see the real deal in us!  Jesus said it like this in Matthew 5:16

“Let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven.”

So let your little light shine, friend!

“Character in a saint means the disposition of Jesus Christ persistently manifested.” ~Oswald Chambers

Prayer… Father, my greatest desire is that I will make the Gospel of Jesus Christ appealing by my spiritual fruit. Help me this day, and every day, to be your living letter, drawing people to you by the compelling story told by my life.

 

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Why We Suffer

5×5×5 Bible Plan

Read: II Corinthians 1
Meditation: II Corinthians 1:3-4

“Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves have received from God.”

Shift Your Focus… Why do we suffer? The easy, theological answer is that we live in a world broken by sin, and the sad fruit of sin is suffering. However, suffering was not a part of God’s original plan for human beings, nor will it be permitted in the glorious age to come. But in the meantime, since sin entered the human race through Adam’s sin, suffering will be a part of the human story until the Day of Redemption ushers in that eternal age.

At a personal level, however, quick and easy answers do not salve the pain of suffering. When pain hits close to home, all of those nice, neatly packaged theological explanations go out the window. For sure, they are still true, but they don’t take away our heartache. When there is a tragic death, or a disheartening diagnosis, or a rebellious child, or the unexpected loss of a job and our heart cries out, “Why God? Where are you in all of this?” the last thing we need to hear is, “Well, because Adam sinned, sin entered the human race and now suffering is just the natural part of being human…blah, blah, blah.” We hurt, and at that moment, life stinks!

Yet in hindsight, our experience of suffering reminds us that a depth of character and a quality of life have been produced in us that would not have been otherwise possible. Through our disappointment and pain, we have gained some priceless treasures. One of those priceless treasures that Paul speaks of in these verses is the discovery of a wonderful dimension of God that cannot be experienced apart from pain: “the God of all comfort.” How would we know what his comfort is unless we really needed his comforting?

That has certainly been true for me. My deepest trials have produced my deepest experiences in God. I have learned more about God when slogging through the valley than singing on the mountaintops. I prefer the peaks, mind you, but in hindsight, I would not trade the “valley of the shadow of death” for anything in the world. It is there that I have found “the God of all comfort who comforts me in all my troubles.”

Another of these priceless treasures that Paul mentions here is a greater understanding and empathy for fellow sufferers. The ministry of care and counsel to which each of us has been called is incomplete until we ourselves have found God in our grief.

As I have discovered deeper dimensions of God in painful times, there has also been the forging of a greater ability to understand the pain of others who are going through their own valley. Out of my pain and suffering, I am now able to come alongside them, not as a theologian, but as an empathetic friend and fellow sufferer. I am able to give counsel, comfort and encouragement not from what I learned in a seminary textbook, but from the school of hard knocks. I am able to give aid and comfort with “the same comfort I myself have received from God.”

Why do I suffer? That is not really the best question, is it? The better question is, “how can I find purpose in my suffering?” For the child of God, at the heart of every pain is a purpose. Finding that redemptive purpose requires that I trust him patiently and cooperate with his plan completely. When I find God’s purpose in my pain, I have found a pearl of great price.

Did you know that a beautiful pearl is formed when a grain of sand embeds itself in the wall of an oyster? In its pain and suffering, the oyster secretes a milky substance that coats the grain of sand and makes it bearable. The substance then hardens and there you have a beautiful pearl. You might say that at the heart of every pearl is a pain.

At the heart of your suffering is a pearl of invaluable worth. It is painful to get there, but allow your trust in God and your patience with his sovereign plan to make it bearable, and one day you’ll be truly able to thank God for your suffering.

“No pain, no palm; no thorns, no throne; no gall, no glory; no cross, no crown.”  ~William Penn

Prayer…  Dear Father, thank you for working everything out for my good and for your glory.  I don’t like everything that I go through, but I like what you are producing in me.  I’d rather have your perfect plan fulfilled in my life than avoiding the pain that is sometimes a part of that plan.  So I will embrace my suffering and lean into you as you develop yet another pearl of great price in my life.

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An Open Door To Spiritual Opposition

5×5×5 Bible Plan

Read: I Corinthians 16
Meditation: I Corinthians 16:9

“A great door for effective work has opened to me, and there are many who oppose me.”

Shift Your Focus… We are accustomed to associating open doors and effective work with freedom from opposition, but such is not the case.  In fact, every open door will be strongly opposed by Satan. Effectiveness in our work only invites resistance from our Enemy. Rather than rolling over and playing dead, Satan resists every good work of God, and the more successful that work is, the fiercer the fight he will put up.

If you have stepped out in faith to do something for God, opposition will come. Wear it as a badge of honor. Take it as a sign that you are on the right track. Use it as motivation to press into God for more grace. The more you are opposed, the more you should ramp up your commitment to carry through on what you have been called to do. And whatever else you might do because of opposition, do not give up!  It is very likely that the greatest opposition Satan will throw at you will come right before your breakthrough moment.

Have you taken a step to share your faith with an unbeliever?  Don’t be surprised if they suddenly appear disinterested or get distracted. Don’t give up! Are you praying for an unbelieving spouse or family member? Don’t get discouraged if conviction is accompanied by sudden grouchiness. Don’t back off! Have you taken a step to tithe your income to the Lord? It is quite possible that a financial test will be thrown your way.  Press in with your commitment! Have you taken on a new ministry? Be prepared for various kinds of opposition. Don’t quit! Have you taken steps to move closer to God? It should come as no shock that your quiet time will get interrupted early and often. Don’t let it!

Satan doesn’t want you doing anything for God.  And the greater the faith, the greater the obedience, the greater the potential impact, the greater the effective work and open door you have before you, the greater the Satanic opposition you will face.

But greater is he that is within you than he that is within the world opposing you! (I John 4:4).  So go with the Greater!

“Satan, the Hinderer, may build a barrier about us, but he can never roof us in, so that we cannot look up.”  ~J. Hudson Taylor

Prayer… Lord, teach me to embrace opposition as opportunity for greater kingdom impact.