Worship as a Weapon

Dr. Jimmy Young      

We, the staff, are constantly talking about you, the congregation.  Don't worry, it's usually good.  What we often talk about is how we can do our job better, i.e. how we can be more effective in aiding you in the spiritual maturation process.  

One conclusion we have come to lately is that we need to reemphasize the need for worship, both corporate and private.  With that in mind I ran across this quote from Ed Clowney:  

"Worship is evoked by the presence of God; a response, not a self-initiated creative activity on our part It is adoration, the most selfless emotion of which our nature is capable, and therefore the chief remedy for that self-centeredness which is our primary sin and the source of all actual sins."  

Should you ever wonder about the value of worship, realize this: Among the numerous reasons given by God in His Word and in His Person to worship, one is that it attacks our self-centeredness.  That alone should excite us.  We all hate that ugly side of us that causes such strife among all of our relationships.  We know that we are selfish slobs.  So, here is one way to begin to attack that: WORSHIP.

Submission to Authority

Chris Leuck      

You don’t have to look too far or think very hard to discover the fact that there are good bosses and bad bosses, good husbands and bad husbands, good and bad parents, good and bad Presidents… you get the picture. There are good authority figures and bad authority figures. However, we often find bad authority figures in a good authority structure.

It is vital that we Christians understand the distinction between authority structures and the figures operating within those structures, because as Christians we are called to unconditionally respect those that God has placed in authority over us, even if they are ignorant, foolish, or unjust... even if you are angrily mocked or threatened… yes, even if they are disobedient to the word of God (1 Peter 2:13-3:7).

We should be subject for the Lord’s sake to every human institution that God has ordained for people (1 Peter 2:13). This includes:

• governing authorities (1 Peter 2:13-17; Romans 13:1-7)
• workplace authorities (1 Peter 2:18)
• and family authorities (1 Peter 3:1-7; Ephesians 5-6)

We are not only talking about a way of thinking, but also a way of doing. Yes, you should think of yourself as subordinate to the authorities that God has put in your life, but you should also act in subordination. 

So, what does that mean? How should we act? HONOR and RESPECT.

Regarding your relationship to the governing authorities: Be subject to them. Think of yourself as subordinate to them and act in subordination. Honor them. Respect them, even if they are not worthy of your respect. For this is the will of God, that by doing good you should put to silence the ignorance of foolish people (1 Peter 3:15).

Does this mean that you shouldn’t stand up for righteousness? Does this mean that you should cower from and compromise the truth? It most certainly does not. But it DOES mean that all of your opinions, positions, and criticisms should honor the authority structure that God has put in place. They should be communicated respectfully, or not communicated at all. After all, there is no authority except that which has come from God (Romans 13)… so who are you really mad at?

These things also apply to your relationship with the workplace authorities: Be subject to them with all respect, not only to the gentle but also to the unjust (1 Peter 3:18). “What!? On what basis!?” you say… On the basis of Jesus Christ. God has given Him as our example in these matters. You WILL suffer for doing what is good and right. Follow Christ… He suffered unjustly at the hands of sinful men. When he was mocked, he did not mock or threaten in return. No, instead He continued to entrust Himself to the One who judges justly, our Father in heaven (1 Peter 3:18-25).

How about those authorities that God has put in place within our families? Indeed, God HAS instituted authority structures for our family relationships and we should be subject to those authorities for the Lord’s sake…

*Children, honor your father and mother that it may go well with you (Ephesians 6:2-3). You might be put off by their rules around the house. You might be ready to be on your own. If you are newly married and trying to effectively leave and cleave to your spouse, or if you are taking care of your parents as they are aging… young or old, you never again have to question how you should act toward your parents. Honor and respect them. It will go well with you.

*Wives, be subject/submit to your own husbands. It is important to note that this IS NOT a blanket command for women to be subordinate to men. This is the way that a woman should act with HER husband… respect him unconditionally (1 Peter 3:1-2; Ephesians 5:22-24; 33). Even if they are disobedient to the word of God, win them without a word. Win them by your respectful and pure conduct (3:1-2).

*Husbands, we are all to be subject to every human institution for the Lord’s sake, including governing authorities and workplace authorities… in the same way, you should show honor and respect to your wife in everything. She is an heir of God’s grace with you (1 Peter 3:7). You never again have to question the way that you should act towards your wife in EVERY situation… Honor her. Respect her. Give yourself up for her (Ephesians  5:25).

There are good authority figures and bad authority figures operating in God’s authority structures, which are very good. Be subject for the Lord’s sake to every human institution. If they are foolish, silence their ignorance by doing good. If they are unjust, continue to entrust yourself to the one who judges justly. If you are mocked, do not mock or threaten in return. Christ is your authority and example in these things. Follow Him.

Toxic Charity – A Book Recommendation

Johnathan Todd      

Giving money away is easy. Giving money away wisely is difficult. One suggestion to encourage wisdom in giving decisions is to read the book Toxic Charity by Robert Lupton. Lupton has spent four decades ministering in the inner city of Atlanta and has seen firsthand how good intentions often have dire consequences. He offers insight and suggestions for charity to be given in a manner which encourages and builds instead of destroying.

Here at Grace Evan, the Grace Venture Strategy Committee works hard to investigate and steer our giving to be wise, not toxic. The committee has implemented a vetting process which seeks to capitalize on the wisdom gained from men like Robert Lupton. So know that as you follow the Grace Venture Lifestyle (Live More Simply, Give More Sacrificially, Accomplish the Great Commission), a group of your peers works hard to make sure our charitable giving is done wisely.

Teaching at Fall Creek Falls

Johnathan Todd

This past week, I engaged with 100+ Jr. High students at the Fall Creek Falls camp and challenged them with the question from Jesus: “…but who do you say that I am?” (Mark 8:29) 

Who do you say that Jesus is? This question is of the utmost importance and one that every human will answer. I aided the students in answering this question by looking at four passages from the Gospel of Mark; let me encourage you to do the same.

We find that Jesus is God in human form in Mark 2:1-12.

We find that Jesus’ perspective is eternal in Mark 4:35-41.

We find that Jesus is the keystone…he makes everything work…in Mark 9:2-8.

We find that Jesus is a suffering savior in Mark 8:31-33.

Who do you say that Jesus is? If you are a parent, how are you instructing your child to answer this question?

Christina’s World (And Ours)

John Ottley        

Our daughter gave us a poster of Christina’s World by Andrew Wyeth. We finally had it framed and I hung it the other day. Wyeth painted the original in 1948. “Christina” was Anna Christina Olson (1893-1968), a friend of Andrew and Betsy Wyeth in Cushing, Maine. That’s her home in the painting. She lived there her whole life with her brother, Alvaro. 

Christina had a degenerative muscular disorder that left her crippled. Rather than use crutches or a wheelchair, she crawled around the house and grounds. Wyeth saw her “crawling like a crab on a New England shore” and was inspired. "The challenge to me,” Wyeth said, “was to do justice to her extraordinary conquest of a life which most people would consider hopeless."

Here’s a broken woman. She’s alone in the middle of a field. She’s dragging herself along on the ground by her hands. “Crawling like a crab on a New England shore.” She’s gaunt and bony. Not much to look at. A cripple.

Some of the women I know best are broken. Maybe all women are broken. Bob Dylan wrote, “Ain’t no use jivin’ / Ain’t no use jokin’ / Everything’s broken.” Some women are alone. Many feel lonely. Anita Lustrea, host of a popular radio show and author of What Women Tell Me, wrote, “I sense that loneliness is epidemic among women, especially Christian women, even those who go to church every Sunday.”

The woman in the painting is crawling home. Where has she been? Maybe she spent the morning with her friend. Maybe they drank coffee and played Bridge. Maybe they prayed and laughed together. She may be gaunt and crippled but she’s strong. Nobody’s carrying her. And she’s been somewhere. How long has it taken her? Do her shoulders ache? 

There’s real beauty here. And strength in weakness. Maybe even grace. That’s what I like about the painting. It reminds me that God’s grace can make brokenness beautiful. It portrays the attitude of Paul who had learned “the secret of being content in any and every situation through Him who gives me strength.” (Philippians 4:11-13)

Understanding Yourself

Dr. Jimmy Young        

Understanding other people is a real art form.  But understanding myself is next to impossible.  The Bible helps me understand myself.  Numerous are the times when I get an insight to my own heart just by reading the Bible.  

A case in point is in Exodus 32.  After Moses had been away for several days, the people get antsy and want to “get on with it.”  So, they approach Aaron about making for them an idol.  He obliges and verse 4 tells us that he took their gold and “fashioned” a golden calf.  However, when Moses does finally get back, not in a very good mood, he approaches Aaron and basically asks him to explain himself.  In verse 24, Aaron describes his actions this way:  “…and I threw it (the gold) into the fire and out came this calf.”  That’s not what he did!  He fashioned the thing himself.  But when caught, he’s looking for some explanation that will allow him to look less bad than he ought to.  

I am a master of that same strategy.  I so want you to think highly of me that lying seems better than owning my sin.  But now my sin has been complicated by more sin.  “Oh what tangled webs we weave.”  And I think the motive underneath so much of my subterfuge is that I can’t stand you knowing what a doofus I am.  

The only remedy is to return to my identity in Christ.  My worth is due to my belonging to Him.  And though my behavior is sometimes regrettable, my standing is unchanged.

Corner Pillars

Kim Killebrew      

May our sons in their youth
be like plants full grown,
our daughters like corner pillars
cut for the structure of a palace...     
(Psalm 144:12)

Did you hear it?  Were you there Sunday?  Did you hear our senior pastor take us to that verse in Psalm 144?  If you didn’t, listen to it here.  “A blessed culture” is one where the strength, stability, and weight-bearing is carried out by the women!  That’s pretty exciting to me.

As I looked around the sanctuary, I saw women who I know are corner pillars.  Women whose feet are immovable and whose hearts are strong even when the worst of circumstances surround them.  When I consider the role of a pillar and what that may look like as I seek to live it out, I’m reminded of another verse - 1 Corinthians 15:58: “Therefore, my beloved brothers, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord your labor is not in vain.”  Being the weight-bearing, godly women we are designed to be is not easy when we have not been entirely freed from our sinful nature.  I know my feet grow restless and my heart sick and sore.  But the comfort, freedom, and peace comes in knowing that this role is not a circumstantial result of sin.  It is the design and purpose that a holy God has assigned to me.  And if he has deemed it good and necessary, he will give me the strength I need to continue.

Last week, I received a blog post from Desiring God Ministries (video below).  Johnathan Todd also shared it with us on GOL, so you may have already seen it.  But I have been so moved by this story of Ian and Larissa.  There is no doubt that this precious woman knows her design.  I have been humbled and mystified by the conscious decision this young, darling, energetic woman has made to display the glory of God in her life and in her marriage.  I want you to see them.  The video is beautiful... dreamy.  But poke around and read the letters that Larissa shares.  Larissa is living in a real, broken world but with the purpose of stability, strength, and hope.  Only in Jesus.

Truly, not every woman has a physical child in this world.  However, every woman was equipped to be a nurturer, and we are all mothering all the time through our relationships with one another.  I do not know Larissa Murphy personally, and I am older than she is.  But she has mothered me by pointing me to the cross and encouraging me to embrace my design as a “corner pillar cut for the structure of a palace.”

May the Lord raise up our women to act and function as corner pillars.  And may he give us the wisdom to encourage each other to keep our feet firmly planted in our God. 

*The Story of Ian and Larissa (video w/ remarks by John Piper)

*Follow-up articles from Larissa:

• Part 1: Why We Got Married
• Part 2: Learning Contentment in Suffering
• Part 3: A Daily Disabled Life

Hidden Service

John Ottley      

When we set out on a consciously chosen course of action that accents the good of others and is for the most part a hidden work, a deep change occurs in our spirit. Nothing disciplines the inordinate desires of the flesh like service, and nothing transforms the desires of the flesh like serving in hiddenness. The flesh whines against service but screams against hidden service. It strains and pulls for honor and recognition.  It will devise subtle, religiously acceptable means to call attention to the service rendered. If we stoutly refuse to give in to this lust of the flesh, we crucify it. (Richard Foster, Celebration of Discipline, p. 114)

Stephanie is a nurse and a member of Grace Evan. She wanted to be able to explain the Gospel to her patients, so she listened to the Grace Evan Scripture Songs to help her memorize some key verses. As she chats with her patients, she tries to turn the conversation to the spiritual side of life, if they’re willing. Usually they are. If they’re interested, she tells them what the Bible says about eternal life in Christ.

One of her patients was a scientist and an expert on light.  He also had a condition that rendered him unresponsive at times. Sometimes he’s “on” and sometimes he’s “off.” When he’s “off” he appears to be asleep but he’s not. When Stephanie first met him he was “off” so she just started talking and sharing the verses she learned. Turns out Dr. G heard everything she said. Stephanie was startled when Dr. G said, “I’ve heard these things but never believed them. Now I want to believe.” He trusted Christ and poured out his heart to God and to Stephanie. As he confessed his sins, Stephanie said, “God can forgive that… God can forgive that too…” And “there’s enough grace for that…” On and on. God’s glory and the two of them hidden away in a hospital room.

Dr. G wanted more. Stephanie often returned to his room after work to read and explain God’s Word. She started with the Gospel of John. There’s a lot about “light” in John. “The light shines in the darkness.” Jesus said, “I am the light of the world.” This made a big impact on a scientist who had studied light. Coincidence?  Hardly. The nurse was letting her light shine.

She read Genesis (“Let there be light…”)... Luke... Ephesians... Philippians. He loved it. He drank it in like a deer panting for water (Psalm 42). He couldn’t get enough. Plus, he was lonely. He wondered if Stephanie had other friends who would be willing to come and read God’s Word to him. Stephanie mentioned this to Dr. Young during a recent Wednesday night supper. Dr. Young told her to talk to Roger. Roger and others came up to Dr. G’s room to read God’s Word. Roger set up a schedule to keep track of what had been read. Hidden service.

One day, before Roger learned about Dr. G’s “on/off” condition, he was reading Genesis. He thought Dr. G had fallen asleep so he stopped reading. Dr. G, with eyes still closed, yelled, “DON’T STOP!” It shocked Roger. He’d never heard Dr. G raise his voice like that. He kept reading!

Dr. G spent his last days listening to the reading of the Word of God. Two people hidden away in a hospital room. One in a bed listening. The other beside him in a chair reading. Hidden service. Dr. G died Monday morning.

The true light, which gives light to everyone…was in the world… He came to his own, and his own people did not receive him. But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God, who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God. (John 1:9-13)

Cut It Off!

Brent Wilkins      

In Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount, he tells his disciples that sin must be dealt with drastically because of its deadly effects. He goes as far as to say, “if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away, for it is better that you lose one of your members than that your whole body go into hell” (Matthew 5:30).

Jesus was not advocating self-mutilation. Cutting off your hand does not solve the problem of sin because sin lies in the heart of man. But Jesus is saying that we must abhor sin and take extreme measures to not mess around with those things which can tempt us to sin. If a part of the body is gangrenous, it endangers the whole body. If something is causing you to sin, then get rid of it! It would be more profitable to lose a member of one’s own body than to bear the eternal consequences of the guilt from such a sin.

Maybe you’ve heard of Aron Ralston, the young man who while canyoneering in Utah’s Blue John Canyon became pinned to the canyon wall by a shifting boulder. He spent the next six days trapped with his hand pinned under an 800-pound rock. In the end he cut off his arm to free himself and he survived to tell the story.

I still have the September 2004 issue of Outside magazine where Aron’s account of survival was first published. Since then, a book (Between a Rock and a Hard Place) has been published and a movie created (127 Hours) to tell the terrifying story. In the Outside account… day 6… Aron is near death and prepares to do the unthinkable. In order to live, he realizes he must amputate his arm. He describes the moment he realized “it” must be done in order to live [Rated R]:

“Out of curiosity, I poke my thumb with my knife blade twice. On the second prodding, the blade punctures the epidermis, like it is dipping into a stick of room-temperature butter, and releases a telltale hissing. Escaping decomposition gases are not good; the rot has advanced more quickly than I guessed. Though the smell is faint to my desensitized nose, it is abjectly unpleasant, the stench of a far-off carcass.

I lash out in fury, trying to yank my arm straight out from under the sandstone handcuff, never wanting more than I do right now to simply rid myself of any connection to this rotting appendage.

I don't want it.

It's not a part of me.

It's garbage.

Throw it away, Aron. Be rid of it.”

Friends, sin will destroy you. It will ensnare your heart! Flee from it. You don’t want it. It’s not a part of you. It’s garbage. Throw away the rotting appendage and be rid of it. Rely on the Holy Spirit who enables you to say no to temptation and strengthens you to be obedient.

Life Is Mundane

Johnathan Todd      

We are set up. We long for and are encouraged to experience grand, big, exciting, fascinating lives. Yet most of life is actually quite mundane…

…wake up so I can go to bed again that night.

…wash dishes so I can dirty them again.

…take a shower so I can get dirty again.

…eat, only to find myself hungry again.

Sadly, we discount all of this mundane part of life when in fact, we should treat it worshipfully. Huh? Let scripture speak here…

      1 Corinthians 10:31

      So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the 

      glory of God.

      Philippians 4:4

      Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, Rejoice.

      Romans 12:1

      I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of 

      God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and 

      acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship.

      1 Thessalonians 5:18

      Give thanks in all circumstances.

So, as you go about those mundane parts of life, you can either be frustrated and disappointed because it isn’t the “exciting” you were hoping for, or you can choose - even in the mundane - to glorify God, rejoice, give thanks, and present your life as a living sacrifice.