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Always and Continually

Photo: prayer meeting © Adrian van Leen

Make sure that nobody pays back wrong for wrong, but always try to be kind to each other and to everyone else. Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus. Do not put out the Spirit's fire. -1 Thessalonians 5:15-19

Many times have we hear, read or listen to a sermon on being joyful and pray continually, and neglecting to read the verse before to give us the context of the passage. What keeps us from being joyful and pray continually? Resentments, wrongs, and wanting to pay others back for what they have done to us. This happens because our focus is what keeps us from our joy, so we continually think about who has wronged us.  The joy killers in our lives are the things which we choose to hold on too, and think about over and over. The small ones, like the driver who cut in front of us, the co-worker who talks about us behind our backs, or the friend who let you down. And the large ones, the spouse who cheated on you, the family member who abused you, or the friend who used you. The big and the small joy killers keep us focused on what happened, and we play them repeatedly in our mind, keeping us thinking about them continually. These are the things, which Paul is calling us to rise above and not act out on by paying others back, but to try to be kind to one another.

Who are you kind too? Who are you extending grace too in your life? We accept grace, but are we extending grace to others? Grace means unmerited favor, it means I cannot earn it, or work for grace. What do you do with the grace you have been given? Who do you extend unmerited favor too? Do you extend grace to those who treat you right, or do you extend grace to those who don't deserve it from you. By its definition, grace is to be given to those who don't deserve it, but we tend to give it to those who we believe deserve our grace. What are we teaching others by doing this, we are teaching others, if you treat me right, then I will extend grace to you. But if you treat me wrong, then you don't deserve my grace. If that is true then it is not real grace, because grace is unmerited. The deeper question is do we believe God acts the same way, does He despense His grace to us when we act right, and hold it back when we do wrong? If so, then it wouldn't be grace at all.

So how do we extend grace to those who don't deserve it from us? Extending grace to those people in our lives is hard, maybe impossible in our own strength. That is why we're called to pray continually. Our focus is not on what they have done, or on ourselves, by trying to extend grace in our strength, but it is an upward focus on Christ. We can extend grace to those who are hard to love by having an upward focus, by seeking God's grace so we can give it to others. Realizing that God is the judge, we are not the judge, jury and executioner.

Romans 12:14-21 state why, it says:

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 everybody. If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone. Do not take revenge, my 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.

We are to mourn with those who mourn, weep with those who weep, and rejoice with those who rejoice. Which one is harder? Mourning, and weeping with them, or rejoicing when good things happen to them? Each one is very difficult, but we can do it because we know that God is the judge, God will repay, and God has not forgotten what has happened; our task is to love them. We must have an upward focus, and an outward focus, upward by praying continually and outward by loving continually.

Finally, we are called not to put out the Spirit's fire. We can do this by keeping our focus on the wrongs that have been committed against us; in addition, by not praying continually for them. Our joy is created when we are led by the Spirit, we are led by the Spirit when we continually pray and depend upon Him. When we forgive others who have wronged us, forgiveness is lived out when we are kind to those who don't deserve our kindness. Just as we are not deserving of God's mercy and forgiveness, that is what grace is about, giving undeserving favor, grace is given to us, and for us to give to others. So pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances, so you don't put out the Spirit's fire. 

Here or Eternity

In Ecclesiastes 3:11 it is written, "He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the hearts of men; yet they cannot fathom what God has done from beginning to end." This begs the question, where are we looking for satisfaction, in this world or the next? Do we believe we will find fulfillment in this present lifetime, and seeing this world as the end all? Are we living for here, or eternity?

When we are not satisfied, we look to other things to fulfill us. If we aren't fulfilled in a relationship, we look for the problem in the other person. We look to be fulfilled in our work, and when that doesn't happen, we turn to other things. We may shop to feel better about ourselves, we may self medicate with drugs and alcohol, or over indulge in food to find satisfaction. We have plenty to choose from in this life. However, none of these things will help us. Then we turn to being good enough by serving God hoping this will bring us some peace in this life.

Do we believe we were created for this life, or for something more? 1 Peter 2:11 says, "Dear friends, I urge you, as aliens and strangers in the world, to abstain from sinful desires, which war against your soul." Peter reminds the reader that this world is not our home, this world is temporary, and that we have eternity to look forward too. It is a reminder to all of us who look for satisfaction in this present life, and come up disappointed. We need to say to ourselves, this is not my home. Colossians 3:1 says, "Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God." Where is your heart set on? This life, this world, this society, this relationship, this career, this... you fill in the blank. Or is it set on the things above, which are permanent, everlasting, and eternal. God never said we would have satisfaction in this present age, that we would have fulfillment in this world. We were created for more, that is why we yean, long, and desire something more. But when we look for this kind of satisfaction in this life, we will experience disappointment. And when we suffer we may become bitter because we have held on to the belief that this lifetime was to be all satisfying. Suffering shows us that life is missing something, and we have to ask ourselves, what am I living for, where is my heart set, for here, or eternity?

In Between the Manger and the Cross

Picture: Peace © Daniel Stege

We celebrate the birth of Christ by remembering the Christmas story. We read about the trials of Joseph and Mary, the birth of the Son of God in the manger in Bethlehem, the shepherds who came to visit Him and the travels of the wise men.  It is a story many people enjoy to hear, an account of Jesus that many will believe. The baby Jesus is easy to take in, a Jesus who is silent, who doesn't demand anything of us.

Another account of Jesus people can accept is the Christ on the cross. All of us want our sins forgiven, and we enjoy celebrating Easter. Jesus only spoke seven times when He was dying on the Cross. He said, “Father, forgive them; for they do not know what they are doing.” (Luke 23:34)  “Truly I say to you, today you shall be with Me in Paradise.” (Luke 23:43) “Woman, behold, your son!” Then He said to the disciple, “Behold, your mother!” (John 19:26-27)  “MY GOD, MY GOD, WHY HAVE YOU FORSAKEN ME?” (Matt. 27:46) “I am thirsty.” (John 19:28) “It is finished!” (John 19:30) “Father, INTO YOUR HANDS I COMMIT MY SPIRIT.” (Luke 23:46) When we think about what He said on the cross it doesn't call us to take action by His words alone.

The Jesus of the manger and the Jesus of the cross are easy to listen to because He doesn't make a claim on our lives. It is the baby Jesus and the Jesus who only says seven quotes on the Cross that makes Christmas and Easter easy for us, and for those who attend church on those two holidays. But Jesus isn't interested in us following Him only on Christmas and Easter. He wants us to take hold of the words He spoke in between the manger and the cross. Below are a few example of Jesus words that aren't popular because they call us to live as Jesus lived.

"You have heard that it was said to the people long ago, 'Do not murder, and anyone who murders will be subject to judgment.' But I tell you that anyone who is angry with his brother will be subject to judgment. Again, anyone who says to his brother, 'Raca,' is answerable to the Sanhedrin. But anyone who says, 'You fool!' will be in danger of the fire of hell.

(Matthew 5:21-22 NIV)

"You have heard that it was said, 'Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.' But I tell you: Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you,

(Matthew 5:43-44 NIV)

"He will reply, 'I tell you the truth, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.'  (Matthew 25:45  NIV)

And anyone who does not carry his cross and follow me cannot be my disciple.

(Luke 14:27 NIV)

Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.'

(Mark 12:30 NIV)

For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will save it. What good is it for a man to gain the whole world, and yet lose or forfeit his very self? If anyone is ashamed of me and my words, the Son of Man will be ashamed of him when he comes in his glory and in the glory of the Father and of the holy angels.

(Luke 9:24-26 NIV)

You should not be surprised at my saying, 'You must be born again.' The wind blows wherever it pleases. You hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going. So it is with everyone born of the Spirit."

(John 3:7-8 NIV)

Jesus heard that they had thrown him out, and when he found him, he said, "Do you believe in the Son of Man?" "Who is he, sir?" the man asked. "Tell me so that I may believe in him." Jesus said, "You have now seen him; in fact, he is the one speaking with you." Then the man said, "Lord, I believe," and he worshiped him.

(John 9:35-38 NIV)

After the resurrection Jesus gives us a command in Matthew 28:18-20, "Then Jesus came to them and said, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age." This section of Scripture isn't quoted at Easter services because these are words that give Jesus authority over us, and command us to live for Him.

The Jesus of the manger and the Jesus of the cross are easier to accept then the one who live in between these two events. If we only think of Jesus in these terms then we missing who He is, what He taught and whom we're called to follow. Who are you following today, a baby Jesus, a Jesus who spoke briefly from the cross, or are you following the Jesus portrayed in the gospel? Who has authority over heaven and of earth, which includes your life, and your daily choices?

Think about this question, are you seeking and serving the Jesus in the manger and on the cross but neglecting Him who is Lord of your life? A you wanting a Jesus who is comfortable and convenient, but missing the true Jesus; the One who has authority over all creation and is seeking a relationship with you today. So what is Christmas truly about for you? Is it time for you to move pass a cute and cuddly Jesus and start following the Jesus who is portrayed in Scripture, one who loves you enough to die for you, so you can spend eternity with Him.