Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places,

- Ephesians 1:3

Spiritual blessings . . . They are what Paul blesses God for in his introduction to the book of Ephesians. What follows this statement is one of those classic Pauline run-on sentences that proceeds for 11 more verses. I love that, by the way.

This brings to mind a question: what are "spiritual" blessings? Paul describes them in the aforementioned run-on sentence (vv. 4-14). The spiritual blessings he lists include things like being chosen by God, being adopted as sons, being forgiven and redeemed, among many others.

The second question that will rise, unbidden perhaps, to one's mind is this: do I really want those? I mean really want them. Sometimes, if I take a look at my own life, I find that I spend a great deal of time chasing after physical blessings - the unholy trinity of treasure, pleasure and power.

Which fires me up more? Physical or Spiritual blessings? How about you?

David Guzik has this to say, in his commentary on Ephesians:

If we have no appreciation for spiritual blessing, then we live at the level of animals. Animals live only to eat, sleep, entertain themselves, and to reproduce. We are made in the image of God and He has something much higher for us, yet many choose to live at the level of animals. God wants us [to] know every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ.

In The Weight of Glory, C.S. Lewis writes:

Indeed, if we consider the unblushing promises of reward and the staggering nature of the rewards promised in the Gospels, it would seem that Our Lord finds our desires, not too strong, but too weak. We are half-hearted creatures, fooling about with drink and sex and ambition when infinite joy is offered us, like an ignorant child who wants to go on making mud pies in a slum because he cannot imagine what is meant by the offer of a holiday at the sea. We are far too easily pleased.

Far too easily pleased. Yes, that, often times, is a very apt description of me. Which is why I need to heed more urgently the words of Paul written here in the first chapter of Ephesians; the words of a man who had very little of the physical left (he was in prison at the time). Stripped of the baubles and trinkets of this world, the vibrant, towering, monumental spiritual blessings that are found in Christ alone held an even greater awe, wonder, and joy to this crusty, scarred apostle.

May I get a glimpse of that.

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places.

Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, to the saints who are in Ephesus, and are faithful in Christ Jesus.

- Ephesians 1:1

So Paul opens his letter to the Ephesians, and to our modern ears this would seem like a polite introduction before launching into the masterpiece that is this epistle. Yet there is something hidden (to us) in this introduction that was a blessing and a scandal to those who read it.

Paul uses the word "saints" to describe the Ephesians. For many of us, this word poses a problem due to modern baggage that has been applied to the word "saint". For many of us, the word conjures up a whiff of incense, or perhaps robes, martyrdom, cathedrals, or visions of medieval times. But to Paul's readers, be they Jewish or Gentile, this word communicated something entirely different, and far more revolutionary.

R. Kent Hughes, in his book Ephesians - The Mystery of the Body of Christ, puts it this way:

[I]n the Greek translation of the Old Testament the people of Israel, and sometimes even the angels, were given the honored title "saints." Therefore, as Marcus Barth explains, "By using the same designation . . . the author of Ephesians bestows upon all his pagan-born hearers a privilege formerly reserved for Israel, for special (especially priestly) servants of God, or for angels." Applying the privileged word "saints" to pagan Greeks was mind-boggling to those with a Jewish background. Hebrew detractors considered it a rape of sacred vocabulary. But from the Christian perspective it was a fitting word to celebrate the miracle of God's grace.

The word is hagios in the Greek, and it means "holy and called out ones". And here Paul is using this high word, in the past reserved only for God's chosen people, the people of Israel, to address formerly pagan Gentiles! As Hughes states above, to many Jewish people of the time, this was "mind-boggling".

The Gospel does this: it boggles the mind. We think of ourselves as being more tolerant than God, don't we? I know I do at times. And yet there He goes, welcoming into the Kingdom those that I would never have given a chance! And He doesn't distinguish levels of sainthood; He calls them saints too! Holy and called out ones, indeed, having been made holy by Christ's atonement and called out to a life of service to the King.

Saints. This word, if you take the time to look at how it is used in Scripture, will kill "Us and Them" Christianity.

If you've been rescued by Jesus, there is no "Them" when it comes to your fellow rescue-ees, regardless of background, ethnicity, political beliefs, denomination, class, social status, sin-background, family dysfunction, or any other division you can come up with.

In Christ, it's all "Us".

Take care, brothers, lest there be in any of you an evil, unbelieving heart, leading you to fall away from the living God. But exhort one another every day, as long as it is called “today,” that none of you may be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin. For we have come to share in Christ, if indeed we hold our original confidence firm to the end. As it is said,

“Today, if you hear his voice,
do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion.”

For who were those who heard and yet rebelled? Was it not all those who left Egypt led by Moses? And with whom was he provoked for forty years? Was it not with those who sinned, whose bodies fell in the wilderness? And to whom did he swear that they would not enter his rest, but to those who were disobedient? So we see that they were unable to enter because of unbelief.

- Hebrews 3:12-19

The words "original confidence" above bring back so many memories.

. . . if indeed we hold our original confidence firm to the end.

I remember my original confidence, when I first knew the Lord. I hope that I have held on to it and built on it over the years, but I also find myself wanting to reach back to those days sometimes. My original confidence sparkled with a childlike (and clumsy) faith that I have, in many ways, "grown out of", to my detriment.

And I know many - too many - people who had what appeared to be an original confidence in the Lord which now appears to be missing. Or at least it's not visible anymore. By appearances they have fallen into the trap the writer warns us about in Hebrews 2; that of neglecting so great a salvation.

For salvation is often neglected. We have so many other things to attend to, or so we think. I've learned that it doesn't take long for the crust to begin building up around our hearts. It can come in those difficult years when, weaned from the student ministry we grew up in, we find that this faith we call our own is suddenly a strange thing, and a thing that needs tending and diligence that we are no longer willing to give. Tending our faith is often something we never learned to do.

For others of us, other things have shoved their way in; jealous gods of this world who stand against the one true God. Almost without knowing it, we find ourselves once again at the pagan altar, offering strange fire to the gods of our own imagining.

. . . if indeed we hold our original confidence firm to the end.

The writer points us to the Israelites of the Exodus. The horror of their fate is a punch to the heart when you think of it. They all died, save for Joshua and Celeb, in the wilderness, never having gone to the promised land. And all because of one day, when they heard the call of God to take the land, but because of unbelief and fear they decided they weren't able.

They lost their original confidence in God on the day of decision. And the result was tragedy. If only they had kept their hearts soft, their eyes clear, and their confidence grounded in the Lord who had brought them through so much!

Today has an urgency to it. This may be the day of our calling, when our faith ceases to be something we keep in our back pockets for difficult situations, and itself becomes the driving force that hurls us, joyfully and with full confidence, into difficult situations that will unleash the terrifying, wonderful, joyous will of God upon us and those around us.

Sometimes every day for the rest of our lives depends on what we do, and Who we believe, today.

He put another parable before them, saying, “The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a man who sowed good seed in his field, but while his men were sleeping, his enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat and went away. So when the plants came up and bore grain, then the weeds appeared also. And the servants of the master of the house came and said to him, ‘Master, did you not sow good seed in your field? How then does it have weeds?’ He said to them, ‘An enemy has done this.’ So the servants said to him, ‘Then do you want us to go and gather them?’ But he said, ‘No, lest in gathering the weeds you root up the wheat along with them. Let both grow together until the harvest, and at harvest time I will tell the reapers, Gather the weeds first and bind them in bundles to be burned, but gather the wheat into my barn.’”

- Matthew 13:24-30

In studying this parable, I reached for a commentary (which is sometimes a bad habit of mine). It was interesting to me that the commentator didn't provide any commentary. He just noted that Jesus fully explains this parable a few verses later:

Then he left the crowds and went into the house. And his disciples came to him, saying, “Explain to us the parable of the weeds of the field.” He answered, “The one who sows the good seed is the Son of Man. The field is the world, and the good seed is the sons of the kingdom. The weeds are the sons of the evil one, and the enemy who sowed them is the devil. The harvest is the close of the age, and the reapers are angels. Just as the weeds are gathered and burned with fire, so will it be at the close of the age. The Son of Man will send his angels, and they will gather out of his kingdom all causes of sin and all law-breakers, and throw them into the fiery furnace. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father. He who has ears, let him hear.

- Matthew 13:36-43

We're not used to Jesus explaining the parables, so this full explanation comes as something of a shock! But a welcome one.

In thinking about this parable, several things hit me. First of all, I'm a bit ashamed. I have for years talked about this parable as if the "field" represented the church. Which, as Jesus points out, it doesn't (or not necessarily). The field represents the world.

And in this field an epic agricultural battle rages. The Son of Man has sown good seed, which is those who are his true children. His enemy comes up behind him and sows bad seed - called "weeds" or "tares". I've always been a bit intrigued by this. I know about wheat, having helped harvest it in the western panhandle of Nebraska as a teen. And I know about weeds, as anyone who's looked at my flowerbeds recently can attest. How could they be confused? If green weeds as I know them were taking over a field of wheat, it would seem straightforward to go in there and carefully pull the weeds.

The Complete Bible Commentary has this to say:

The enemy is satan and the tares (Gr zizanion, denoting "darnel." Iolium temulentum) are false converts. The darnel was a weed that resembled wheat but did not come to fruition.

Ah, darnel. From what I've read, it looks a whole lot like wheat when it's young, and it's also troublesome because it can be host to a poisonous fungus. In addition, it's roots tend to go deep and intertwine with wheat roots, which makes pulling darnel a dangerous business. And - most importantly - darnel doesn't produce wheat.

In Jesus' parables we often see this repeated theme of fruit-bearing. It is a sign and a characteristic of a true son or daughter of the Kingdom of God. Not perfection. But fruit.

And, really, when you think about it, bearing fruit should be natural to us. If we are a child of God, we are the "good seed" - we are the wheat. Stalks of wheat don't have to strive to bear their golden crowns of wheat kernels. It just happens. Naturally. That's what wheat does.

There's a lesson here. We're in a world (and, often, in a church) filled with our brother and sister wheat-stalks and also darnel. Lots and lots of darnel. Sometimes that gets us confused, doesn't it?

This parable has been wrongly used, I think, to teach that we are not to follow other Biblical commands to root out the darnel weeds in our midst (in the correct, Biblical way, of course), to purify the church. We are. But we can't forget that we will still always have weeds with us. And sometimes we won't even recognize them. Frighteningly, some of us may be darnel ourselves and not know it.

But in the end God will straighten it out. Our job is to bear fruit, to do what comes naturally to a child of God.

"Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father.
He who has ears, let him hear."


[Note: cross-posted over at HNW Gap Singles]

But solid food is for the mature, for those who have their powers of discernment trained by constant practice to distinguish good from evil.

- Hebrews 5:14 (ESV)

Recently I've been thinking a lot about maturity. From my perspective, maturity is not much valued in our culture. It is synonymous with "no fun", and when one thinks of maturity, the vision that presents itself is of a buttoned-down and proper dullness. We live in a culture that celebrates youth, celebrates success (however gained), and celebrates excess. Our televisions are rife with images of men behaving like boys and women fulfilling those boy's every fantasy. There are a lot fewer images of people who demonstrate maturity. You see, maturity lacks "spice".

But the image of maturity found in the Bible is anything but dull. The word translated "mature" in Hebrews 5:14 is the greek word Teleios, which signifies full development, completion. Teleios means readiness; something that is fully prepared to accomplish its purpose.

God's desire for you and I is that we be mature. And this is not a boring state. A person who is mature in God's eyes is someone who is battle-hardened; they are a useful weapon in God's hands, someone who has their powers of discernment honed through long training in the Word and who is thus able to distinguish good from evil. In my view, people who are mature in this way are rare. I certainly don't count myself among them (just follow me around on any given day and you'll know what I mean), but I hope to continue training and honing my God-given powers of discernment. So that I can be fully mature, complete for the task God has set before me, having the ability to digest and put into practice the solid, hearty food of God's Word, which is the sustenance that every warrior needs for the battle.

Maturity was certainly a calling Paul took seriously, both for himself and those he was charged with. As he writes in Colossians. "Him [Jesus] we proclaim, warning everyone and teaching everyone with all wisdom, that we may present everyone mature in Christ. For this I toil, struggling with all his energy that he powerfully works within me." - Colossians 1:28-29.

For Paul, maturity was worth the toil and the struggle he went through, with all the energy that God would supply. If you're a redeemed child of God, maturity is your destiny! You and I need to embrace that, and press on toward that goal.

"Therefore we must pay much closer attention to what we have heard, lest we drift away from it."

- Hebrews 2:1 (ESV)

We are drifters, every one of us, in our natural state. The writer of Hebrews here delivers an exhortation that I wish was written on the sky every morning. We must pay close attention to what we have heard, lest we drift away from it!

Have you ever been filled with the very joy and knowledge of God? Remember what you told yourself then: "I will never leave this! How could I ever leave this?" But, if you were not diligent to continue returning to the Lord, you most likely have discovered a great truth about this tribe, fallen humanity, that you are a part of: we leak.

We are leaky vessels, prone to wander, prone to leave the One we love. We are drifters, and but for the anchor of the solid rock of Christ we will be tossed to and fro, everyday swayed by whatever is on our minds.

I hope this Sunday morning finds you in a church where the Bible is taught, where the Body is active, and where the community of Christ is in unity. If you don't go to church anymore because you found that church is imperfect, (I say this carefully) please lower your standards. Because you might find in doing so that your standards are not God's standards, and that he really is working through his sometimes irritating, often clumsy, frequently disillusioning, yet ultimately beautiful Bride that we call the church. He loves the church and wants you to be part of it. Not just a seat-warmer, but actively part of his Kingdom.

If you call yourself his child you need to be with his people. Today. Because if not you might find yourself in a far country tomorrow, wondering how on earth you got there.

For we, you and I, are drifters.

And you, who once were alienated and hostile in mind, doing evil deeds, he has now reconciled in his body of flesh by his death, in order to present you holy and blameless and above reproach before him . . .

- Colossians 1:21-22 (ESV)

The straightforward drumbeat of truth from Colossians continues.

Notice how Paul points to the state of our minds when we were unsaved; alienated and hostile. Before I became a Christian I often wondered what it was that people who loved Jesus were getting at. I think I admired them, somewhat, but I didn't quite get what they were about, and I certainly didn't understand what Jesus was about. Something about a cross and "dying for my sins" (whatever that means, I would think to myself), but I didn't really understand.

I don't claim to fully understand now, but one of the most striking things about redemption is that when Jesus saved me I began to understand. It wouldn't be too dramatic to say that it was like blinders coming off my eyes. My mind, which had been alienated, separated, foreign to God, began to see him. And the wall of hostility and incomprehension toward the Dying Savior was demolished.

Now it seems that I can't understand why people who don't know Christ don't see the truth! It seems so plain . . .

Of course, redemption isn't a psychological exercise and Paul is writing here about more than our depraved and broken minds. The alienated and hostile mind that he describes produces evil deeds. And that's another thing I never knew before; I never realized that I was evil. But the moment I finally saw the truth of my own depravity was the moment I began to seek for Jesus.

We're all fallen and evil, by nature. In College my friends and I used to listen to a song called Am I Evil by the band Diamondhead. The chorus went like this:

Am I evil?
Yes I am.
Am I evil?
I am man.

Now there's some straightforward, spot-on theology in the lyrics of an (as far as I know) un-Christian band. But the symptoms and proof of our evil permeates our world; it is in every newscast, nearly every bit of entertainment, it languishes on the pages of our books, is the subtext of most of our conversations and dwells deep in our inner thoughts. Without the redemption of Christ we are hopelessly evil. And all through the sanctification process we still struggle with our fallenness.

At least I do. Daily.

Thank God for the gift of reconciliation through Christ that he has given us! Becoming a Christian isn't "turning over a new leaf". It is becoming a new leaf! And one finally, finally capable of bearing good fruit (to strain a metaphor a bit).

". . . he has now reconciled in his body of flesh by his death, in order to present you holy and blameless and above reproach before him . . ."

Examine that sentence fragment for a bit. Meditate on it. Notice the finality with which it is stated. He has now reconciled us in his body of flesh by his death.

He died for a specific reason. And the death of the only begotten Son of God is not something that God chose lightly. It was for a particular purpose: "in order to present you holy and blameless and above reproach before him".

I've struggled with shame most of my life. Whenever someone asks that classic ice-breaker question "So, what's your most embarrassing moment?" I often want to respond "um, all of them." I am, in my natural state, full of reproach, full of blame, full of shame.

But my destiny in Christ, and yours too if you are his child, is to be presented to the Father holy, and blameless, and above reproach!

That's why Christ died. To reconcile you to God through his death and to sanctify you and redeem you beyond what you can imagine. And, I'll hazard that for many of us the goal Christ has for us goes beyond our desires, because most of us desire to hold back some of what we call ourselves. But our destiny in him is to be fully and completely his. He died to redeem all of us, and he will settle for nothing less. He will make it so.

Holiness, no blame, no reproach . . . child of God, that is your destiny!

He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through him and for him. And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together. And he is the head of the body, the church. He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in everything he might be preeminent. For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of his cross.

- Colossians 1:15-20 (ESV)

Paul continues here his letter to the Colossians, comprised of more compact, powerful truth than would seem possible in just a few short verses. Here he affirms the deity of Christ in no uncertain terms. Jesus is "the image of the invisible God". By Jesus all things were created, both of the physical world we see and the unseens spiritual world that swirls all around us and is, I believe, far more solid than what we call reality. Jesus is the beginning, both the creator and the "firstborn of all creation", meaning not that he himself was created (how could he be? He is the Creator), but that in his incarnation he is the firstborn of a new kind of creation: the creation of redeemed sons and daughters of God in the Kingdom of God. If you know him you are not just his child but also his brother or sister.

And in him "all things hold together". This vast and elegant universe in its unimaginable complexity, the very cells of your body, our world, the seas, the lands, molecules, everything holds together in him. He is the Logos, the Word spoken by the Father that created and maintains all things and for which all things were made. "In him we live and move and have our being . . .".

In this humble carpenter from Nazareth God incarnated himself into this world. and in him all the fullness of God dwells, though it was veiled while he walked with us. The world sees this as foolishness, but in Jesus we have our King, the head of his church, and the very One who through his own sacrifice rescued us from death and has reconciled us (and, indeed, all things) to God.

I don't even know what all that means, fully. I just know the peace of the cross, and the joy of redemption, and the wonder of my King, who allowed himself to be humbled beyond words so that you and I could be redeemed beyond all understanding.

And so, from the day we heard, we have not ceased to pray for you, asking that you may be filled with the knowledge of his will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, so as to walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to him, bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God. May you be strengthened with all power, according to his glorious might, for all endurance and patience with joy, giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in light. He has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.

- Colossians 1:9-14 (ESV)

This is one of the best and most succinct examples in Scripture of the heart of a pastor for his people. How this must have encouraged the Colossians!

Take a moment to look at the attributes of Pauls prayer, as he describes it. The first thing you notice is that it was ceaseless. Do you know what it feels like to be prayed for always? I hope you do; it is a wonderful thing to have another believer lift you up to the Lord ceaselessly. And it's a wonderful thing to be the one doing the praying too.

And look at the things Paul was asking God to give them. The first request is that they be filled with knowledge of God's will and spiritual wisdom and understanding. Have you ever watched, helplessly, the life of a Christian who lacks wisdom? It's either like watching a slow-motion train wreck or it's just a further testament to God's amazing grace that the train wreck is averted. How we need wisdom today! So many times you or I will say "I wish I knew what God's will is". I like the way Paul puts it: the knowledge of God's will is something that we can be "filled" with. In other words, spiritual wisdom is not so much a checklist of truths as it is a living, active Presence in our lives, an overflow of the Spirit that guides our steps and deepens our knowledge of the Father's ways.

The result of wisdom is, of course, not just more brain activity. It is that high calling of every Christian: to walk in a manner worthy of our Lord, fully pleasing to him. A friend of mine once said "the smile of God is the goal of my life." So well said - the thought of being fully pleasing to God can seem far away from us when we are in the pit of sin, yet it is possible. It flows out of the filling of spiritual wisdom that God offers us, to point us in the way that is most pleasing to him.

The crescendo continues! Paul prays that the Colossians will be fully pleasing to God, bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God. In other words, as we live and walk in the spiritual wisdom God supplies, and live it out in obedience, the end-result is fruit that is pleasing to him and that results in a yet larger increase in the knowledge of God, and the blessed circle widens. For as we walk in his ways we become more and more like him.

Paul ends his pastoral prayer with a heartfelt blessing for these people that he loved so much. "May you be strengthened with all power, according to his glorious might, for all endurance and patience with joy, giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in light."

Strength, power, endurance, patience, joy, thankfulness. These are the marks of the blessed child of God, one who shares in the unfathomable inheritance of the saints in light.

If you are a redeemed citizen of the kingdom of Jesus, may the blessings Paul prayed for the Colossians also fill your life. Many Christians have gone deep in their relationship with the Lord, others of us have only scratched the surface. Yet none of us can fully comprehend the glories, the riches, and the wisdom, understanding, and incomparable love our Father offers us.

"He has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins."

May wisdom, understanding, obedience, fruit, and ever increasing patience, joy, endurance and thankfulness be yours today.

Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, and Timothy our brother,

To the saints and faithful brothers in Christ at Colossae:

Grace to you and peace from God our Father.

We always thank God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, when we pray for you, since we heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and of the love that you have for all the saints, because of the hope laid up for you in heaven. Of this you have heard before in the word of the truth, the gospel, which has come to you, as indeed in the whole world it is bearing fruit and growing—as it also does among you, since the day you heard it and understood the grace of God in truth, just as you learned it from Epaphras our beloved fellow servant. He is a faithful minister of Christ on your behalf and has made known to us your love in the Spirit.

- Colossians 1:1-8 (ESV)

"We always thank God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, when we pray for you . . ."

Is there anyone in your life that you thank God for every time you pray for them? This is an interesting kind of thankfulness; it is another way to worship God, when you think about it. For who else could turn a fallen human being into a vessel of grace producing thankfulness in others?

Notice the traits of the Colossians that Paul extols: their faith in Jesus and their love for the saints. And both of these springing up from hope. Faith, hope and love - these are the evidences of the Spirit in a person's life, and are the marks and reflection of Jesus. Do you know someone full of the Spirit and overflowing with faith, hope, and love? When I think of the people I know who are like this I can't help but worship God for them. Because it is through them that I get just a taste of the deep love God has for me.

I recommend that you often take a moment to think about and pray for those who have demonstrated faith, hope, and love to you, and thank God for them. It is through such as these that the gospel bears fruit throughout the whole world!

. . . as it is my eager expectation and hope that I will not be at all ashamed, but that with full courage now as always Christ will be honored in my body, whether by life or by death.

- Philippians 1:20 (ESV)

I've posted on this before, but I truly love this verse.

I love the phrase "eager expectation and hope". The word behind "eager expectation" (apokaradokia) is only used one other place in the NT (Romans 8:19). It's a word that surges, one that, according to Vines, gives the picture of someone watching with outstretched head (apo - from, kara - the head, dokia - to look, to watch). It is a "strained expectancy", an eager longing, and contains the idea of focus - the abstraction from anything else that might take our attentions.

Paul knew hope. Which is why he could speak of it so eloquently while chained to a Roman guard - most likely a thoroughly evangelized Roman guard! My guess is that the coterie of imperial guards who had "Paul duty" were a mixed bag vis-a-vis whether they enjoyed it or not. To some, Paul represented a hope beyond endless service to a pagan regime - contagious and enticing hope! To others he was, no doubt, just another misguided fool, gabbling on about his crucified god.

Paul didn't care. He had hope, and he eagerly awaited Christ's honoring of himself within Paul's body. Whether by Paul's life or death, well, it hardly mattered which to the old apostle. He strained forward, like a sleek and powerful horse straining at the starting gate in eager expectation. He couldn't wait!

I hope that you have hope today. As God's children we are not to live as those who have no hope. Thank God.

And I pray that God will glorify himself in you and me today.

Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

- Philippians 1:2 (ESV)

"Grace to you and peace"; this was the common epistolary greeting of Paul. I've blown through it many times, without realizing its importance.

Greetings in letters in those days held more importants than the greetings of our day - the greeting in most of my emails is "hey!", for instance. It was quite common for Greek letters of Paul's day to begin with the word charein, which means "rejoice", or "greetings". An example of this can be found in the beginning of the book of James.

Paul diverged from this custom by starting many of his letters with the word charis, or "grace". It is derived from the same root as charein but carries with it that central theme of the Gospel, the theme of unmerited favor. Grace! The favor of God, undeserved yet purchased for us by the willing shedding of the blood of Jesus.

The common greeting in a Hebrew letter of Paul's day was shalom, or "peace". Paul knew the source of peace, the "peace that passes all understanding". It is grace, from whose fountain peace flows into our lives. So Paul combined these two customs in one: charis umin kai eirene, "Grace to you and peace".

May you experience both today!

Put to death therefore what is earthly in you: sexual immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry. On account of these the wrath of God is coming. In these you too once walked, when you were living in them. But now you must put them all away: anger, wrath, malice, slander, and obscene talk from your mouth. Do not lie to one another, seeing that you have put off the old self with its practices and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge after the image of its creator. Here there is not Greek and Jew, circumcised and uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave, free; but Christ is all, and in all.

Put on then, as God's chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassion, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience, bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive. And above all these put on love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony. And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body. And be thankful.

- Colossians 3:5-15 (ESV)

There's so much in this passage. I can't do it justice. But there are some things that jump out at me:

Put to death therefore what is earthly in you . . . Whoa. Paul goes on to list some of the things that constitute "earthly". And it is, indeed, all very down to earth stuff. All the lusts, the wants, the desires that, unlike Godly desires, don't fill us with eager anticipation so much as they fill us with frustration and anger. All this is "earthly" and must be put to death. Not reformed, not "set right". There are no leaves to turn over here. We are to become new leaves.

We are to take the earthly in us out behind the barn and kill it with an axe.

It hits me: for someone who is not in Christ, all they have is earthly. It's impossible to put the earthly to death, as there is nothing there to replace it with, outside of Christ. But in Christ? Yes, behind the barn, with the axe. Now.

It would be easy for some of us to look at the things Paul listed, "sexual immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire", and perhaps feel a bit "safe", skipping over that unfortunate little clause about covetousness (that pesky forgotten tenth commandment!). But the list goes on: "anger, wrath, malice, slander, and obscene talk from your mouth. Do not lie to one another . . .", and, I don't know about you, but any leg I had to stand on has just been amputated, with extreme prejudice. These are all of the earth, they are foreign to Christ, and must be put away. For someone who is in Christ, these constitute all that is the "old self", which must be stripped off like muddy clothes after a romp in the swamp. The clothes stick; they have almost become part of me. They are heavy and slimy and stifling. And they must be removed. New clothing is called for:

"Put on then, as God's chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassion, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience, bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other . . ."

We are holy and beloved, and called with a calling that is high above "earthly". It is heavenly, and we are called to be heavenly bodies, shining as the stars. These traits that shine through us, compassion, kindness, humility, meekness, patience, forgiveness, and especially love, are not natural, just as royal raiment is foreign to one who has worn dirty rags all his life. But what more natural clothing is there, really, for a child of the King? Worn daily we will soon feel at home in these princely garments.

We've been chosen by God. Chosen for these new clothes!

And it is my prayer that your love may abound more and more, with knowledge and all discernment, so that you may approve what is excellent, and so be pure and blameless for the day of Christ, filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ, to the glory and praise of God.

- Philippians 1:9-11 (ESV)

Oh yeah!

Paul swings for the fences here. Because, when you break it down, what higher goal can a person have for those he has ministered to than what Paul is praying here?

Abounding more and more in love. That means a love that overflows, and keeps overflowing. Picture it.

With knowledge and discernment (for knowledge without discernment is a scary thing. When I come in contact with discernment-less knowledge, I run away as fast as I can!).

Able to approve what is excellent. The NIV puts it this way: "so that you may be able to discern what is best". Best! So many of us spend our Christian lives settling for "good", or even "ok".

For a brief time when I was in high school the word everyone used was "excellent". Yes, just like Wayne and Garth (it's scary how much I was like them when I was that age - heh). We would say "excellent" for everything. But few of us knew what excellence really was. To be honest, my idea of "excellence" at the time was to be the drummer for the rock band Rush. As good as they were (Wayne and Garth: "Excellent!") there's no way I'd trade a relationship with the Lord for all the riches and fame this world can offer. Because I've seen glimpses of what real "Excellent" looks like, in the beautiful spirits of some wonderful Christians I've known, and - rarely, and only for brief seconds - in my own heart as Christ has worked in me. But mostly, I've seen what excellence is as I've come to know Jesus better; for He is the only One who ever lived "Excellent" every day of His life.

Able to approve what is excellent! This is my prayer for those I love and long for, and for myself. Enough with trading God's gold for the world's wood and calling that "good". Do I know what excellence is, as God defines it? May I have that discernment, and be able to discern what is best. "OK" makes for easy, but, well, excellent prepares us for eternity. And we all need a lot of preparation.

For this prayer from Paul is really a prayer for Christ to do the work only He can do: to fill those Paul loved and longed for with the fruit of righteousness. And this righteousness only comes through Jesus. And this righteousness is the only kind that brings glory and praise to God.

Read this passage again. Is this your prayer, for yourself and for those that you love? It is becoming mine:

And it is my prayer
that your love may abound more and more,
with knowledge and all discernment,
so that you may approve what is excellent,
and so be pure and blameless for the day of Christ,
filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ,
to the glory and praise of God.

Excellent!

Immediately he made the disciples get into the boat and go before him to the other side, while he dismissed the crowds. And after he had dismissed the crowds, he went up on the mountain by himself to pray. When evening came, he was there alone, but the boat by this time was a long way from the land, beaten by the waves, for the wind was against them.

- Matthew 14:22-24 (ESV)

Interesting contrasts here: Jesus is alone on the mountain, praying in solitude and peace. Night is falling, and his followers find themselves out in the middle of the lake, beaten by the waves. The wind is against them. They were experienced fishermen and were no doubt used to situations such as this, but as night fell I would imagine they were feeling some anxiety. I personally would have been terrified. That wind! It had set itself against these men in their little boat, and it was blowing hard.

My guess is that they were wishing Jesus was with them. They had seen him take authority over the wind and the waves before.

But, even as far away as they thought he was, it’s not like this situation was beyond him.

And in the fourth watch of the night he came to them, walking on the sea. But when the disciples saw him walking on the sea, they were terrified, and said, “It is a ghost!�? and they cried out in fear. But immediately Jesus spoke to them, saying, “Take heart; it is I. Do not be afraid.�?

- Matthew 14:25-27 (ESV)

I love the disciples! First wind, then waves, and now . . . A GHOST!!! AAAAHHHHHH!!!!

What would it have been like to spend time with these guys? I can’t imagine! But I digress. The bit that really hits me is this:

“Take heart; it is I. Do not be afraid.�?Yes.

Don’t be afraid. Jesus is here. Notice that the wind and the waves were still blasting away. Take heart. Jesus is the rock, the cornerstone, the foundation. There is nothing stronger than him, least of all these wet, messy waves and this breeze on steroids.

And, all kidding aside, these men really were scared. They were crying out in fear – have you been in a situation like that before? I’m sure some of you have. Perhaps even now. You and I may not be panicking out loud, but behind our calm demeanors our hearts often cry out in fear. The winds of circumstance, the cursed ground we live on, and our own sin that follows us all have “set themselves against us.�? Sometimes I want to run screaming.

And Jesus says “Take heart; it is I. Do not be afraid.�?

Lord, I won’t be afraid, if you provide the courage. I have none on my own.

And Peter answered him, “Lord, if it is you, command me to come to you on the water.�? He said, “Come.�? So Peter got out of the boat and walked on the water and came to Jesus. But when he saw the wind, he was afraid, and beginning to sink he cried out, “Lord, save me.�? Jesus immediately reached out his hand and took hold of him, saying to him, “O you of little faith, why did you doubt?�? And when they got into the boat, the wind ceased. And those in the boat worshiped him, saying, “Truly you are the Son of God.�?

- Matthew 14:28-33 (ESV)

Yes, he is!

I love Peter. We ridicule him sometimes from our safe perches here in the 21st century, and, I might add, with a relationship with the Lord made “safe�? (we think) by the fact that we can’t see him or touch him. But I can’t help but love Peter. I don’t see a record here of any of the other disciples stepping out of the boat. Peter did it. If even for just a few seconds, he committed his all in faith to the Lord. And when he started to sink he didn’t act according to that famous pride we often (wrongly, I think) ascribe to him. He reached out to Jesus and called upon him for salvation, and there you have the only right answer to the central question of life. Peter, you get an “A�?. May I be more like you were, on my journey of becoming more like Jesus is. May I feel the electric thrill of faith in action as the soles of my feet touch onto the thrashing waves and my Lord fills all my vision.

Truly he is the Son of God!

In my previous post I talked about waiting on God. However, I realize that I may be presenting an incomplete picture. We do often wait on God, but we are not to be idle while we wait.

A common source of angst for Christians is the question "what is God's will for my life?" This query, prayed fervently and often desperately, spins continuously in the minds of many. This is not necessarily a bad thing; we are to seek God and His ways and His will, so we should certainly care what that might be! But I've seen (and lived) the paralysis of that question. The lie that creeps in: "I'm waiting on God's will for my life. I don't want to screw anything up, so I'll do nothing until I'm absolutely sure it's God's will."

Aside from some obvious problems with the unnecessary clause "for my life", it took me awhile to realize that this attitude is a thousand miles from anything resembling faith. Trust me, I've been there. I have often laughed inwardly at the fact that pretty much everything big God has done in my life is something I backed into. I simply wasn't looking for it to happen the way it did - how could I have foreseen what God would do? I'm just not that smart. So why spend all my useful days in useless puzzle-work? God has called me to live, to run the race, and to focus on Him.

Someone wise once made this point: too many of us, as we walk along life's path, expect to find GOD'S WILL wrapped up like a present, complete with our name on the tag. But, really, the path is God's will.

Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus . . .

- Hebrews 12:1-2a (ESV)

Notice that Paul is not encouraging us to carefully sit idly by as we wait for detailed instructions from our Coach (the instructions that we have, in fact, demanded as a condition of our running). No, the command is far more straightforward: lay aside our sin and distractions and run like crazy toward Jesus.

So beware the wait if it's really just a vacation from motion. For God will not, generally, lay out the plan for you all at once. At least He's never done so for me. But that's no excuse for standing still. There's a reason the Christian life is compared to a race. We are to be running, and running to win.

So what do you do while you are waiting on God? Learn His ways, seek His face, learn to listen to His voice. And do whatever it is that He has put before you. You never know; the next seemingly uninspiring or uninteresting task or ministry that presents itself may be a gateway into a life you never dreamed of. One of my favorite quotes is by a secular author, but it carries with it a profound spiritual truth:

"Everybody wants to save the earth; nobody wants to help Mom do the dishes."

- P. J. O'Rourke

We all want to lead epic lives, but sometimes in that quest we miss that one life that just brushed past us that desperately needs some love and an encouraging word. As we pray for God's mighty rain of revival to sweep us away we miss the fact that someone near us needs a cup of cold water. We want to love the whole earth and give ourselves to some mighty work, but we don't love our neighbor (or even know his name). For it's through the small things that come to us step by step on this path that God leads us toward the epic.

“One who is faithful in a very little is also faithful in much, and one who is dishonest in a very little is also dishonest in much.

- Luke 16:10 (ESV)

As you run, in obedience to the commands of God that you know well through reading HIs word, your motion and training will help prevent the other great sin we fall into: being so careful "waiting for God's will" that even when He lays it out straight for us we're too afraid to move.

Now the Lord said to Abram, “Go from your country and your kindred and your father's house to the land that I will show you. And I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and him who dishonors you I will curse, and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.�?

So Abram went, as the Lord had told him . . .

- Genesis 12:1-4a (ESV)

Because often times the next step God has for us may not be explained in as much detail as we would like. But as we grow more in love with Him and learn to hear His voice we'll learn to obey even the steps that don't make sense. So that when the command comes we, like Abraham, will simply go as the Lord has told us . . . because the Lord is really ahead of us, blazing the trail.

So while you and I are waiting to fly, we must continuously learn to run.

"My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me."

John 10:27

I read something today that reminded me that so many of us spend a lot of our time “between�? things. We are waiting – we’re ready to move on in life but circumstances and developments and just plain time haven’t progressed far enough for us to get moving. So we wait.

I remember specific times in the past when I was in life’s waiting room. I spent most of that time fretting about the thousand and one things that might end up going wrong and thwarting the plans I had for that future I was waiting for or, more commonly, fretting at myself for not having plans! I felt impatience and urgency at a time when patience was called for and urgency was premature. It is tough to wait. The cloud of the looming future follows you around and can darken even the brightest day and insert a depressing solemnity into the wonder and fun that is life.

It is during times of waiting that I often begged God to show me what He was doing. Now, having lived a while longer, I can look back and realize that what He was doing was preparing me and others for the plans He had. I regret that I didn't enjoy those times more. I didn’t like waiting, especially because I didn’t know what was going to happen. I wanted the musical score of my life to hit a climax right then, not realizing that I was on measure 8 and the master Conductor was even then preparing to swell the music, through various movements of beauty and awe, sadness and joy (and much that was to my ear mundane) toward His soaring and majestic triumph in measure 86! Everything has to be kept in time and working together, even if I want the tempo to snap it up a bit.

Thank God I’m not directing the orchestra.

Yes, He is perfectly capable.

To whom then will you compare me,
that I should be like him? says the Holy One.
Lift up your eyes on high and see:
who created these?
He who brings out their host by number,
calling them all by name,
by the greatness of his might,
and because he is strong in power
not one is missing.

- Isaiah 40:25-26 (ESV)

With eyes downcast we wonder if God’s even there. He asks us simply to look up. The more we learn about our universe, the work of His hands, the more we bow in awe. The starry host of heaven is his creation, and every one of these trillions He has called by name. �?The heavens declare the glory of God�? - yes they do, in all their mindblowing beauty and in the way our brains crumble at the attempted comprehension of the vast distances, forces, beauty and raw power of the controlled nuclear explosions we call stars and all the infinitesimal and (to me) bizarre quantum particles that make up this extraordinary place we call home.
He calls them all by name. But what of you? Does He know you?

Why do you say, O Jacob,
and speak, O Israel,
“My way is hidden from the Lord,
and my right is disregarded by my God�??
Have you not known? Have you not heard?
The Lord is the everlasting God,
the Creator of the ends of the earth.
He does not faint or grow weary;
his understanding is unsearchable.

- Isaiah 40:27-28 (ESV)

Yes, he does. And He knows you throughout eternity, from the foundation of the world. He’s not tired of you, and you don’t confuse Him. He “gets�? you. If you are His, you are His beloved child and of far more value than the stars.

He gives power to the faint,
and to him who has no might he increases strength.
Even youths shall faint and be weary,
and young men shall fall exhausted;
but they who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength;
they shall mount up with wings like eagles;
they shall run and not be weary;
they shall walk and not faint.
- Isaiah 40:29-31 (ESV)

And when your patience is thin and your strength is gone you can call on Him. He will teach you the joy of waiting, of being renewed, of walking, of running. . .

. . . and of flying!

Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words. And he who searches hearts knows what is the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God. And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.

- Romans 8:26-28 (ESV) [Emphasis mine]

I've had a bit of a no-fun week, but my mini-trib has been a pin-prick compared to what some of my friends are going through. My problems generally reside in my mind, and my circumstances rarely fall below "uncomfortable", but I've got friends going through real, live tribulation and trouble right now.

In thinking about this I am drawn to Romans 8:28. "And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.".

I can see some of you rolling your eyes now. Romans 8:28 has, for some, come to be considered a verse that is not to be quoted (let alone blogged about) when people are in tribulation. It all seems too easy, to "pat". I myself can recall times when someone tossed Romans 8:28 my way during a down time and I found it irritating.

I'm learning, however, that the problem then was me, not Romans 8:28 or its surrounding context.

Look at that verse. Too trite? Too simple? Look again. Think of the one who wrote it under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. Was Paul sitting on a stage in a three piece suit with coiffed hair and manicured fingernails? I think not. Paul was one tough hombre, and my expectation is that he was uglier than a stump to boot. He carried the scars of his devotion to Christ in his tough, weather-beaten hide. And he wrote this: "And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose."

Paul and those he ran with woke up most mornings knowing that there was a distinct chance of intense physical pain in their near future. They lived in a world that was, compared to what most of us know, barbaric and cruel. Stonings, beatings, cold, heat, hunger, thirst, prison. Welcome to the life of an evangelist for Christ in the first century AD. It was a world without safety nets. Sick and in pain? Hopefully you'll recover, but don't expect a warm bed, orange juice, or any pain meds. Broken leg? Hope it doesn't get infected and kill you. No money? Lotsa luck. Don't believe Caesar is god because you worship Jesus? Off with your head.

I'm beginning to understand. Romans 8:28 is a magnificent promise, one almost too good to believe, and that's its problem. Actually, it's our problem; our unbelief. Romans 8:28 towers over the desert of our tribulation, a solid rock to stand on, a spring of water unlooked for to one dying of thirst. It's for those who love God and are called according to His purpose. There is a plan. What we're going through is part of it. And the ending of all this will be the working together and miraculous harmony of a myriad of circumstances, and it will be good. If that seems impossible, it's only because we can't fathom or muster faith in the organizational and creative abilities of the Master of all circumstances, Almighty God.

In my life I've experienced little pinpricks of tribulation. Generally things work out. I've got it very, very easy. I haven't had to have much faith in God's great promise of Romans 8:28. Someday I know I will need that faith. I hope that I will not falter.

I hope I will remember the words of our Lord Jesus that He spoke to encourage eleven men who were about to embark on the most exhilarating, dangerous, revolutionary, and deadly adventure of their lives:

"I have said these things to you,
that in me you may have peace.
In the world you will have tribulation.
But take heart;

I have overcome the world."

- John 16:33 (ESV)

The ironsmith takes a cutting tool and works it over the coals. He fashions it with hammers and works it with his strong arm. He becomes hungry, and his strength fails; he drinks no water and is faint. The carpenter stretches a line; he marks it out with a pencil. He shapes it with planes and marks it with a compass. He shapes it into the figure of a man, with the beauty of a man, to dwell in a house. He cuts down cedars, or he chooses a cypress tree or an oak and lets it grow strong among the trees of the forest. He plants a cedar and the rain nourishes it. Then it becomes fuel for a man. He takes a part of it and warms himself; he kindles a fire and bakes bread. Also he makes a god and worships it; he makes it an idol and falls down before it. Half of it he burns in the fire. Over the half he eats meat; he roasts it and is satisfied. Also he warms himself and says, “Aha, I am warm, I have seen the fire!�? And the rest of it he makes into a god, his idol, and falls down to it and worships it. He prays to it and says, “Deliver me, for you are my god!�?

They know not, nor do they discern, for he has shut their eyes, so that they cannot see, and their hearts, so that they cannot understand. No one considers, nor is there knowledge or discernment to say, “Half of it I burned in the fire; I also baked bread on its coals; I roasted meat and have eaten. And shall I make the rest of it an abomination? Shall I fall down before a block of wood?�? He feeds on ashes; a deluded heart has led him astray, and he cannot deliver himself or say, “Is there not a lie in my right hand?�?

- Isaiah 44:12-20 (ESV)

Oh the gods we construct!

This short passage from Isaiah contains a decent amount of irony and even humor, doesn't it? It's easy to agree that we humans are often ridiculous creatures.

God has given us the earth to enjoy and to nurture. He has given us reason, language, music, the skill of our hands and the strength of our backs. We have minds that are able to think abstractly, to think ahead, to study and even begin to understand this amazing universe. We have the ability to think mythic and epic thoughts; to understand irony and tragedy. He has given us a sense of humor, and the ability to laugh at ourselves. We are able to gain truths through parables, through worlds "thrown alongside" our own world via story and metaphor. Many among us can plan and construct amazing works, both artistic and practical. We can peer into the deep corners of space and even venture beyond our world. We are amazing creatures, made amazing by our amazing Creator.

All these good and perfect gifts are to be presented back to the One who bestowed them, for His sake and for His glory. This can happen even when one of His creatures uses the gift to satisfy himself or make himself or others happy. I believe God takes great pleasure in the warm fellowship of Christian friends around a fire, or in the satisfying grunts of a blacksmith as he plies his trade with integrity and excellence. He takes pleasure in the love between friends and the purity and beauty of marital intimacy. Our Creator designed us to enjoy a good meal, a good song, laughter, the excitement of sport, the beauty of art, and a thousand other good pleasures besides.

Yet how easy it is for us, as creatures both animal and spiritual, to cross the line into idolatry. We are searching for gods to satisfy us every day when the one true God offers us eternal satisfaction, eternal security, and a life more abundant than we can imagine. I find myself setting up little gods around me; gods of my own accomplishment, or the small gods of the affirmation others give me, or of interests that crowd out more important things. Appetites run rampant; "their god is their belly" does not just refer to gluttony but to the insatiable and maddening desire we humans, and this human in particular, have to fill ourselves with all our eyes see while leaving God absent, to be called upon only when we're in dire straights. I've flung myself down before more blocks of wood than I care to recount.

Shall I fall down before a block of wood?�?
He feeds on ashes; a deluded heart has led him astray,
and he cannot deliver himself or say,
“Is there not a lie in my right hand?�?

Lord God, my King, teach me to be satisfied in You alone.

Thus says the Lord, the King of Israel
and his Redeemer, the Lord of hosts:
“I am the first and I am the last;
besides me there is no god.
Who is like me? Let him proclaim it.
Let him declare and set it before me,
since I appointed an ancient people.
Let them declare what is to come, and what will happen.
Fear not, nor be afraid;
have I not told you from of old and declared it?
And you are my witnesses!
Is there a God besides me?
There is no Rock; I know not any.�?

- Isaiah 44:6-8 (ESV)

And he was in the wilderness forty days, being tempted by Satan. And he was with the wild animals, and the angels were ministering to him.

- Mark 1:13 (ESV)

I wrote last week that Words are like evil spirits. By this I mean that words carry great power, and sometimes it is terrible power. They can truly "haunt forever".

We don't realize the power of our words. The other day Blake, my seven year old, told me about something mean some big kid said to him when he was three! He has remembered those words for four years.

I can remember hurtful things that were said to me twenty five years ago. How about you? Do you have a long memory for words? If so, welcome to the human race. Words can hurt, and they can even kill. How many suicides have words contributed to?

Words are a potent, precious gift that God has given uniquely to the human race. They carry great and terrible power.

As I considered these things the thought occurred to me that words can also be like ministering angels, pouring out healing on a wounded soul. The picture that comes to my mind is a picture of Jesus in the wilderness, famished and weary from his fasting and spiritually beset by the enemy. God sent his angels to minister to his Son.

Likewise, our words can be like ministering angels to those who are hurting.

A word fitly spoken is like apples of gold in a setting of silver.

- Proverbs 25:11 (ESV)

The word "fitly" in this proverb suggests to me not just a word used at the proper time, but also a word that "fits". We are not called to flattery, to false encouragement, to platitudes. We are called to speak the truth in love to those around us. And to do it in a timely fashion. The writer of Hebrews calls us to exhort or encourage one another daily, while it is called "today". And "exhort" is a good translation, I believe. Encouragement is not just saying "there, there, everything will be alright." Encouragement involves exhortation, speaking the truth to someone laid flat out on the battlefield, so that they might be set back on their feet to fight another day. Encouragement can be loud, it can be soft. At times it doesn't involve any words at all.

Have you ever felt like you should encourage someone but because of timidity or pride or some other reason you didn't? I certainly have. I'm learning to say words of encouragement, at the right time and in the right way. It takes practice. I can be clumsy with my words.

But a clumsy word is, I believe, far better than the deafening silence of an encouraging word that is never spoken. We all need encouragement. We want others to encourage us - not falsely but in truth and love. Jesus calls us to do to others what we want done to ourselves. An encouraging word spoken at the right time can be like an angel sent from God to strengthen and soothe a wounded soul. And to break through the lies of the enemy, to soften hearts, to knock down strongholds, to break the deceitfulness of sin. A word spoken rightly can be used by God to save a soul from ruin.

I speak thousands of words every day. I pray that mine can be used by God to bring healing, to instill courage, and to reveal his love and glory to others.

But exhort one another every day, as long as it is called “today,�? that none of you may be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin.

- Hebrews 3:13 (ESV)