Tag: character

Remember… (1 Thessalonians 2:9-13)

On By Tim EhrhardtIn Christian Spirituality Blog, Daily Bible Reading Blog, Year ALeave a comment
St. Paul writing to the Thessalonians, by Jan Lievens, c.1629

Surely you remember, brothers and sisters, our toil and hardship; we worked night and day in order not to be a burden to anyone while we preached the gospel of God to you. You are witnesses, and so is God, of how holy, righteous and blameless we were among you who believed. For you know that we dealt with each of you as a father deals with his own children, encouraging, comforting and urging you to live lives worthy of God, who calls you into his kingdom and glory.

And we also thank God continually because, when you received the word of God, which you heard from us, you accepted it not as a human word, but as it actually is, the word of God, which is indeed at work in you who believe. (New International Version)

The Christian believers in Thessalonica were becoming discouraged. The church sincerely believed that Jesus was coming soon… any day he could show up!

But as time went on, and Jesus was still nowhere to be seen…

the Thessalonians began losing their spiritual resolve…

started wondering if they had missed out on something…

began doubting if it was all real…

started slipping spiritually.

Missed expectations can be difficult to deal with. Maybe we have been praying for someone or something for so long that we wonder if it will really happen; or secretly question if something is wrong with us. Yet, maybe God simply wants us to wait… to be patient and to persevere… maybe the answer is closer than we think.

Since the church was becoming discouraged, the Apostle Paul reminisced with them. He wanted them to remember and not forget about what God had done in their lives. The Thessalonians desperately needed a faith for the long haul.

Remembering is a prominent theme in Scripture. Well over a hundred times we are told to remember:

  • God’s covenant and actions on behalf of people
  • Those less fortunate than us
  • Important people in our lives who influenced us in our journey of faith

In order to steel the church for a faith that lasts a lifetime, Paul reminded them of his own example, his own character, his ministry among them, and how they initially came to faith.

Remember my example among you

Paul was trying to inspire the believers with his own model of faithfulness, so that they would persevere in their Christian lives and not give up. He reminded them of his hard work in order to preach the gospel to them. The picture that Paul painted for them is having done whatever it took to make the good news of Jesus Christ known to the Thessalonians. 

Who were the people in your life that went out of their way to communicate the gospel to you both with words and with actions? 

Who were those persons who labored behind the scenes in prayer so that you and others would know Jesus? 

If any of those persons are still around, and you know where they are, remember them. Drop them a note. Express to them a simple thank you for their influence in your life. In doing so, you will not only encourage that person, but it will help you remember and re-engage with something in your life that you may have forgotten or taken for granted.

Remember my character with you

Paul was not shy about reminding the Thessalonians concerning the way in which he interacted with them. He did this not because he was trying to illicit some praise for himself, but because he wanted the church to emulate his character. 

That particular character is described as holy, righteous, and blameless. And we are to emulate Paul in these character qualities. These three words refer to the full range of relationships we encounter on a daily basis: with God, the church, and the community. 

Holiness in our relationship with God means that we have been set apart completely in Christ, so that we say and do nothing impure. 

Righteousness in our interactions with fellow believers in Jesus means we are in right relationship with them, so that there is nothing that hinders or stands between us. 

Blamelessness in our relations with the world means that the ways we live and work among outsiders are ethical and consistent with being a Christian.

Remember my ministry among you 

Paul described his ministry as one of encouraging, comforting, and urging the believers to live lives worthy of God. He expected the Thessalonians to live into their callings as believers in Jesus. 

Encouragement refers to the ministry of coming alongside others and telling them what they need to do both in teaching and by example. Comfort refers to consoling others with the gospel. The word “urge” in the NIV is the word for “witnessing” which is a reference to the reality that Paul was constantly living his life in such a way that proclaimed Jesus to others.

Remember what God has done for you 

The Thessalonians had received the Word of God; and this was an occasion to thank God for it. Each time we recall and remember what God has done for us through others and through God’s Word, we need to offer thanks. God’s Word is implanted within us, then takes root, grows, and produces a harvest of righteousness for those who have been disciplined by it.

We must remember those who brought us the Word of God; and to remember how they treated us, and what they did for us. Then, we must be obedient to what we learn. 

There are several needs we have as followers of Christ: 

  • intimate relationships in the church
  • to be mentored, and mentor others, in the faith
  • the power of God’s Word
  • our callings as Christians 

We forget these needs too easily – which is why repetition is a good thing. For example, each time we celebrate a baptism, it causes us to remember our own baptisms, and to live into our callings as Christians. Or when we move through the worship liturgy, we remember our sinfulness, God’s forgiveness, and our responsibility to live according to God’s Word. 

Our lives, our work, and our worship might seem plain and ordinary. However, the majority of life is lived in the mundane. The tangible reminders we can put in front of us are important, so that we never forget the spiritual experiences God has given us. (i.e. Deuteronomy 27:2-3)

We are meant to live our Christian lives in a vital connection with Christ and other believers. We will continue to persevere and thrive in the faith, when we remember those who have gone before us, and allow those here in the present to journey with us along this road of faith.

Blessed God, continue the good work begun in me; that increasing daily in wholeness and strength, I may rejoice in your goodness; and so order my life always to think and do that which pleases you, through Jesus Christ our Redeemer. Amen.

Be Real, Not Fake (Titus 1:5-16)

On By Tim EhrhardtIn Christian Spirituality Blog, Daily Bible Reading Blog, Exploring Church Ministry Blog, Year ALeave a comment

The reason I left you in Crete was that you might put in order what was left unfinished and appoint elders in every town, as I directed you. 

An elder must be blameless, faithful to his wife, a man whose children believe and are not open to the charge of being wild and disobedient.Since an overseer manages God’s household, he must be blameless—not overbearing, not quick-tempered, not given to drunkenness, not violent, not pursuing dishonest gain. 

Rather, he must be hospitable, one who loves what is good, who is self-controlled, upright, holy and disciplined. He must hold firmly to the trustworthy message as it has been taught, so that he can encourage others by sound doctrine and refute those who oppose it.

For there are many rebellious people, full of meaningless talk and deception, especially those of the circumcision group. They must be silenced, because they are disrupting whole households by teaching things they ought not to teach—and that for the sake of dishonest gain. One of Crete’s own prophets has said it: “Cretans are always liars, evil brutes, lazy gluttons.” This saying is true.

Therefore rebuke them sharply, so that they will be sound in the faith and will pay no attention to Jewish myths or to the merely human commands of those who reject the truth. To the pure, all things are pure, but to those who are corrupted and do not believe, nothing is pure. In fact, both their minds and consciences are corrupted. They claim to know God, but by their actions they deny him. They are detestable, disobedient and unfit for doing anything good. (New International Version)

Everything in life needs some decency and order – including the church. The bulk of the Apostle Paul’s letter to Titus gives needed instructions about structuring the life of the church, along with some warnings about those who would attempt to disrupt that good order.

One of the most important aspects of church life and organization is to appoint competent persons with good character and sound doctrine to oversee and serve the congregation. The leaders of the church are to be mature, unselfish, concerned for the common good of all the parishioners, and able to handle Holy Scripture by strengthening the faithful and rebuking the faithless.

It takes solidly worthy leaders to counter people who are opposed to doing and believing things that are inconsistent with apostolic teaching. Paul had neither the tolerance nor the patience for rebellious folk who sought to deceive the faithful. So, he told Titus to silence, rebuke, and put a stop to such persons.

Orthodox icon of St. Titus the Apostle, the first Bishop of Crete

The rebellious persons, however, were not so easy to spot for many in the church – which is why Paul instructed Titus to deal with false teachers forcefully. They were not the real article, but came across as genuine.

Sometimes, you cannot tell a fake by the external appearance. In Christianity, and within the church, a person might give a good outward performance, but actually not be the real deal because they are full of bitterness and death on the inside with a heart far from God.

A sobering reality for devoted believers in God is that the church and Christianity can have people who are religious on the outside but not really Christ followers on the inside. Claiming to know God isn’t the same as actually knowing the Lord. It’s like putting perfume in a vase – it might smell like flowers but the flowers aren’t really there.  

The Apostle was pointed about how to handle those of the “circumcision group” because they were legalists who put heavy spiritual loads on people and were unwilling to help them carry those burdens. Paul, following the example of the Lord Jesus, was always laboring and challenging people into a genuine, real righteousness from the heart that would submit to God’s kingdom. 

And, much like Jesus before him, Paul kept having the Judaizers in the church undermining him, talking behind his back, and stirring up resentment against him. 

The rebellious people of the circumcision group were not helping believers know God better through active service, but only tried to talk a good line. Paul pointed them out to Titus because such persons were not strengthening the faith of others and enabling them to live a sound spiritual life.

The Judaizers did not practice what they preached – and even what they taught was neither gentle, nor had any grace. People need one another in the church to truly live for God; but if there are double standards, then heavy loads aren’t getting carried because some individuals think they are above helping, or think too little of themselves and believe God could not use them. 

In both cases the person declares, “Someone should do something!” Someone should give, someone should pray, someone should visit, someone should tell that person about Christ, someone should help. To which Paul (and Jesus) would say that someone is you.

We may believe we are genuine and think we are being helpful when we really are not. Whenever we plaster on fake smiles, only obey and serve when others are looking, and/or pretend like everything is just peachy keen when we are dying inside, then we are in the same category as the Judaizers. We have become in need of putting aside how we look to others and ask the God of grace to have mercy on us. 

It’s possible to be so obsessed about the right thing to say that we never say what is really on the inside because we think it isn’t spiritual enough and we fear looking bad. We then put up a spiritual façade, live into a false self, thereby and eventually becoming a false teacher.

The rebellious in the church are those who seek power, status, authority, and prestige. Respect and honor from others is everything to them, so they want the positions of prominence and insist on being recognized for whatever they say or do in the church.

But facades will not work for Christianity. The church is about integrity, mission, worship, and service – and not about acting with the spectator in mind, and seeking to elicit praise and respect from others. For such persons, it does not matter what’s on the inside as long as the outside looks good. 

Instead of being a liar (one whose outward actions and inner dispositions don’t match) and an evil brute (not acting with anyone else’s needs in mind or at heart) and a lazy glutton (always receiving but never giving) instead be a servant of others with a good character, a basic understanding of Holy Scripture, and a heart to know and love God. 

If there is a job that no one wants to do, I’ll do that job.

If there’s a lonely person, I’ll be with them.

If there’s a parking space up close, I’ll park in the back of the lot.

If there’s a need is someone’s life, I’ll meet that need.

If there’s a hardship someone has to endure, I’ll help carry that hardship.

If there’s a sacrifice to be made, I’ll make that sacrifice. Amen.

Imitate the Right Use of Power (1 Corinthians 4:14-20)

On By Tim EhrhardtIn Christian Spirituality Blog, Daily Bible Reading Blog, Year ALeave a comment

I am writing this not to shame you but to warn you as my dear children. Even if you had ten thousand guardians in Christ, you do not have many fathers, for in Christ Jesus I became your father through the gospel. Therefore I urge you to imitate me. For this reason I have sent to you Timothy, my son whom I love, who is faithful in the Lord. He will remind you of my way of life in Christ Jesus, which agrees with what I teach everywhere in every church.

Some of you have become arrogant, as if I were not coming to you. But I will come to you very soon, if the Lord is willing, and then I will find out not only how these arrogant people are talking, but what power they have. For the kingdom of God is not a matter of talk but of power. (New International Version)

We need to talk about power.

And we need solid sacred examples of how to wield power rightly and justly.

Power is a lot like sex. Everyone wants it, but not everyone respects it and uses it well.

Humanity was created by God to exercise power. True human power has always been intended by our Creator as a means of giving love to others. Wherever you find love being extended by people in power to the powerless, there you will see that it works.

Yet, here’s the rub for many of us: This godly use of power may not (and likely will not) achieve instant results. That’s probably why we so often associate humanity’s possession of power with threats, bullying, and violence – because they usually work to get the immediate results of obtaining power and keeping others in subservience to that power.

The right use of power rarely gets rolled out smoothy without any wrinkles to it. Instead, wielding power through love makes its way by means of suffering. It comes from the humble servants like Mother Teresa, and from those who could throw their weight around, but instead choose to use their influence for self-giving love.

This sort of just and right authority is realized when we are aware of our own weaknesses and failures. Believing that “might=right” is merely a prescription for working out our own complexes on other people; it will only result in extending hate, not love, when others resist our authority.

The ones who hold true power are those who know they are unworthy of it, and incapable of using it without humility and divine help. Real power is like a shepherd looking after a flock of sheep – and not like pulling out a sword to kill the bad guys when they come to challenge authority.

Believers everywhere need awareness that the Christian message offers a profound reversal of what we think we know about power. All signs of real power lead us to the foot of the cross. National governments seems to think that power must be both achieved and sustained by the threat of violence. But the power of God’s kingdom is exercised through giving, serving, and loving.

And it is that sort of power which transforms the world in ways that probably won’t make headlines on the nightly news. The power of Christ is passed on throughout the generations of believers – learned by imitating people, like the Apostle Paul, who demonstrated humble service, instead of arrogant authority.

Faith is passed from person to person; and not just handed down from individuals reading their bibles in seclusion. Power and authority are given to those who are capable of handling it with justice and righteousness.

“You have heard me teach things that have been confirmed by many reliable witnesses. Now teach these truths to other trustworthy people who will be able to pass them on to others.”

The Apostle Paul to his protégé Timothy (2 Timothy 2:2, NLT)

Christians learn from leaders how the faith is lived out, and how power is used, by imitating what they see and hear. Therefore, an important question is this: Who do I imitate?

“Dear brothers and sisters, pattern your lives after mine, and learn from those who follow our example.”

The Apostle Paul to the Philippian Church (Philippians 3:17, NLT)

Our great desire is that you will keep on loving others as long as life lasts, in order to make certain that what you hope for will come true. Then you will not become spiritually dull and indifferent. Instead, you will follow the example of those who are going to inherit God’s promises because of their faith and endurance. (Hebrews 6:11-12, NLT)

Remember your leaders who taught you the word of God. Think of all the good that has come from their lives, and follow the example of their faith. (Hebrews 13:7, NLT)

Those who hold authority and power in the Christian Church must exemplify a proven character of persevering love in the face of pain and suffering. Such persons, having shown humility through it all, are worthy to imitate.

This does not necessarily mean that we emulate those who eruditely speak the Word of God, have superior gifts and abilities, and enjoy success in ministry. It does mean that we ought to imitate, and have as mentors, those persons who imitate Christ and are not self-promoting peacocks who go after being admired and praised.

A cocky Christian leader who has not focused on suffering love, and who has not experienced the purgative fiery trials of this life, may easily become seduced by their own importance. However, leaders who have seen their share of hard circumstances, pain, and suffering, and have come through it loving God and serving others out of grace and humility, are leaders worth imitating. 

Character shapes power, and never the other way around.

God of unchangeable and unending power: Look with mercy on your Church everywhere, and carry out your good and loving purposes through us your people. We trust that your power and love will have it’s way in this old fallen world – and that your plan of salvation shall be carried out, through Jesus Christ our Lord, in the strength of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Develop a Virtuous Ethic (Matthew 7:15-20)

On By Tim EhrhardtIn Christian Spirituality Blog, Daily Bible Reading Blog, Year ALeave a comment

“Beware of false prophets who come disguised as harmless sheep but are really vicious wolves. You can identify them by their fruit, that is, by the way they act. Can you pick grapes from thornbushes, or figs from thistles? A good tree produces good fruit, and a bad tree produces bad fruit. A good tree can’t produce bad fruit, and a bad tree can’t produce good fruit. So every tree that does not produce good fruit is chopped down and thrown into the fire. Yes, just as you can identify a tree by its fruit, so you can identify people by their actions.” (New Living Translation)

God has always been concerned for ethical virtue. And Jesus was always careful to take that ethic and help others identify it and apply it.

Virtuous ethics was well-known in the ancient world, especially thanks to the Greeks and Aristotle – who espoused that a person’s character is the determinative factor in discerning the extent to which that person is a good person.

For Aristotle, ethics includes moral virtues such as courage, temperance, compassion, generosity, honesty, and justice. The person in whom these moral virtues are to be found as steadfast dispositions can be relied on to exhibit a good character, and therefore, is able to make morally correct actions in moral decision-making situations.

For Jesus, religious legalism was a clear outward sign of the lack of inward moral virtue. Bad religion was a result of bad character. Therefore, everyone ought to beware of the religious leaders who exhibited stifling religious legalism.

Nothing can choke the heart and soul out of a person’s true spirituality, and hinder the development of virtue, like the legalist who teaches a precise extra-biblical list of do’s and don’ts.

For many folks, it seems easier to live by the list than to pursue the harder road of developing the character qualities needed for a solid and virtuous religious ethic. Christian discipleship involves growing into spiritual maturity and allowing a seasoned character to shape how we make decisions. 

To do so, we must patiently and consistently follow in the way of Jesus, which is the way of grace and of life.

Today’s Gospel lesson is Christ’s conclusion to his Sermon on the Mount. It is a sermon that sets forth the values of God’s kingdom and devalues the core of legalistic thought. 

I define legalism as a compulsion to spell out, in great detail, how everyone is to live a godly life; purposely going beyond the stated commands of Holy Scripture so that all persons can know exactly what they are supposed to do in any situation.

The problem with this approach to the Christian life is that godliness is merely an outward expression of our ability to hold to the list. It really has nothing to do with cultivating a virtuous ethic of life.

“Do not do what they do, for they do not practice what they preach. They tie up heavy, cumbersome loads and put them on other people’s shoulders, but they themselves are not willing to lift a finger to move them. Everything they do is done for people to see.”

Jesus on the legalist (Matthew 23:3-5, NIV)

The legalistic way of life and religion feeds human pride and boasting; it goes against the inner heart values of humility and meekness in Christ’s Beatitudes. The teaching of Jesus ends up getting lost in trying to do everything right or perfect.

Jesus, through the Sermon on the Mount, led the crowd to a point of decision, letting them know they are at a crossroads. There are two alternatives: Choose the way of life as expressed in Christ’s teaching, or else choose the way of destruction through the legalistic list. In order to press the crowd toward the necessity of choosing wisely, Jesus used metaphors to make his point.

False teaching in the form of legalism is like a wolf in sheep’s clothing. Be wary of people who seem pious and sincere, yet who do not quite pass the smell test. After all, Satan himself, the Apostle Paul once said, masquerades as an angel of light, appearing righteous, yet, is intent on deceiving many. (2 Corinthians 11:13-15)

So, how do we recognize a wolf who spiritually and emotionally devours people, and has no intention of helping but harming? Look at the fruit of the tree. 

Jesus is the good tree. Christ advocates for a searching of the heart. This leads to the result of righteous fruit. The bad tree is also seen by its fruit. Anyone who fails to live the Beatitudes of Jesus will be seen by the rotten fruit of boasting and pride.

False teachers tend to believe they are above others. After all, they are experts at keeping the list of do’s and don’ts! Yet, a false disciple will always be shown by their profound lack of grace, gentleness, and genuine humility. They inevitably advocate for holding to their brand of religion and keeping the unscriptural list. The absence of true righteousness and justice in their lives eventually results in their being cut down and thrown into the fire.

For Jesus, there is no riding the fence between the two alternatives presented – and it is a matter for him of life and death. The way of Jesus leads to life, good fruit, entrance into the kingdom of heaven, and stability. The other alternative ends in destruction, bad fruit and fire, exclusion from the kingdom, and being ruined.

The sobering reality of Christ’s teaching is that many people can be deceived with a devil’s bargain: “Take the nice handy legalistic list and you will become godly. Here are twelve principles to change your life. Follow these rules, pray this prayer, give your money to this, and all will be well.” It is, however, a highway to the grave.

The false teacher proclaims himself a “fruit inspector” and then goes on to judge everyone by his own contrived legalistic list. So then, there is a need to repent of religious lists, political agendas, and teachings which ignore and demean Christ’s Sermon on the Mount.

One of the telltale signs of holding to a conjured list is when we are not honest with one another about our struggles. The bald fact of list-living is that we cannot fulfill it. So, when we know we are not measuring up to the list, the temptation is to keep up appearances as if we are doing just fine. 

List-living eschews showing any weakness or imperfection:

  • I cannot admit my sin to anyone because the list pronounces me a failure if I do. 
  • I cannot enter a deep and prolonged grief over my loss because the list says I need to stay strong. 
  • I cannot profess my doubts about God because the list says if I doubt, I am not a real Christian.

My response and recommendation to legalistic list-living is this: To hell with the list! 

Instead, give praise to Jesus Christ who has given us the way of grace! For it is grace which transforms hearts, turns lives around, and provides genuine joy and satisfaction. If grace is not the answer, we are not asking the right question. The tree of life has an abundant supply of gracious fruit.

The greatest anti-legalistic prayer we can pray is the tried and true ancient prayer of the Church: “Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me a sinner.”