Our Assignments

I write to you because I love you, I value your opinions and thoughts, and I seek to share what I feel God puts on my heart on occasion. I would love to share with you what God puts on your heart…through these posts or other personal inspirations of yours.

Tonight I have been thinking about the Holy Spirit in each of us—the same Spirit, yet each has different duties or parts to one body (Ephesians 4:1-16, 1 Corinthians 12, Romans 12:3-8, and many more). I suddenly realized how immaterial it is that I have the specific talents and abilities that I do. And how immaterial that I have the limitations that I do—the things that I’m not as “gifted” at. Think about yourself—who are you? When I first answer this question, at some point I begin to focus on and list the things that I do well and the things I don’t. Who I am as the sum of my abilities and limitations. Then I realized how obviously different that could be, or could have been. Why should I be good at this, and you good at that? It could have just as easily been the other way. I tend to give way to the common thought that God will take me, my abilities and limitations, and in His flexibility somehow use me for His purpose, according the ability I happen to have. This is established by observation—but don’t be misled. Although the observation is true—that God is using me as exactly who I am and where I am, and He will always do the same with you and anyone willing to be used—the original statement is incorrect because it indicates causality that is the converse of reality.

The epiphany is that many of us have it backwards. Why are you just exactly as you are? Were you made and developed in a certain way, and then assigned to be a specific part of the Body of Christ because of it? Not exactly. I believe we were first assigned, and then equipped. I was not equipped and then therefore assigned to duty based upon my limitations or abilities—“Well, how can I use this man? He can’t do this, but he can do that, so I’ll have him do that.” Incorrect. I think it’s more, “[Your Name], I have chosen to use you for this, so I will equip you for it.” My limitations and abilities are nothing in themselves—they are not the cause or the driver for what I can and am to do for God. Rather, they are the result of what God has assigned me to do. 1 Cor 12:13 says that the same single Spirit gives gifts to all, “distributing to each one individually as He wills.” As He wills. I have nothing God hasn’t already given me, and the things He has given me He has willed according to His perfect plan.

Who I am when I think of my talents and abilities is not who I am at all: Does a mechanic think of himself as a wrench or as a ratchet? No, he is a mechanic with specific tools for the job. He does not say one day, “I have this wrench, how can I use it?” Then suddenly become a mechanic. No, he becomes a mechanic and then is given the wrench to do his job. I think God has made us “mechanics,” etc. for His Kingdom, then having done that He has said, “Here is a wrench and the tools you’ll need to do this for me.” Shall I brag, “Look at my wrench! It is shiny and new, it is strong and useful!” No, for it is useless in of itself unless used for its intended purpose. And shall I brag when I have done the Master’s work with that tool? Moreso than for the wrench itself, but not because I have done it—I have done nothing that the Master couldn’t have done Himself or through another of my peers with the training I received and the tools I was given. We were once interchangeable, in theory, for we know that God formed us Himself in our mothers’ wombs (Jer 1:5, Isaiah 49:5, Psalm 139:13-16). We could have been anyone or anything, yet with the specific duty we’ve been entrusted and the necessary tools with which we’ve been equipped as a result, by God Himself, we now have a specific purpose and must set out to diligently work with God towards that purpose. If I boast, I boast in the master plan and the Master Planner, and in that alone (1 Cor 1:26-30). I myself, am nothing. A thought of joy is acknowledging that I am nothing on my own, but by God’s love for me, He has included me in His work and has equipped me to do His very own purpose! Joy is sharing that purpose with God, not finding out how God’s purpose fits into what I believe to be my own.

Now, back to the question, “I have this wrench. How can I use it?” That may very well be the attitude we need to take in order to first work toward our assignment. The distinction is that the tool did not dictate the job—the job dictated the tool. Our abilities and limitations do not dictate our roles in the Kingdom. Our roles in the Kingdom dictate the tools we are blessed with—the spiritual gifts we have been given, or more aptly, permanently loaned.

The act of using those gifts for Him is as much or more of His preferred will for our lives as the individual activities that we will engage in. We often think of life and God’s will as the next thing or things we should do—but I believe engaging in behavior that uses our gifts of the Spirit for His purpose is His will. The distinction is this: what if we stop trying to figure out which specific tasks we should do next and instead dedicate ourselves to using our gifts in the tasks and opportunities laid before us this very day? I have a feeling that soon enough, we’ll be right in the place God wants to use us. If we “blindly” dedicate ourselves to represent God and exercise the gifts he’s given us every day, then we will be His influence and ambassador to those around us before we even realize it. If we try to see the way and make logical decisions based upon our limited human foresight, we have likely ceased using our gifts at all times and are trying to choose where to use them and where not to. What if we let God choose? What if we commit our lives to daily work for Him and let God do the planning? If our concern is being who and where we are supposed to be when we are supposed to be there—then this approach is actually the most effective way. It is the way to the most joyful realization of our purpose for God—it is the way of putting ourselves last, as God’s gifts and purpose become first.

Thoughts on Jesus' Physical Death

The other night I was reading in Hebrews as part of the BSF study of John (cross-referencing). I found the 7th and 9th chapters to be very enriching spiritually…I know I must have read these chapters before, but I feel like I’m reading them for the first time again. The way that Paul discusses Jesus’ death and our salvation is wonderful to me. It has always been a bit of a mystery to me, and I know that it will always be at least somewhat mysterious. In fact, even Paul talks of the union between Christ and the Church as a “great mystery.” (Eph 6:32) However, there is some clarity to be had between my past understanding of the cross and our understanding as we continue to discover the depths of God’s nature.

We hear things like “living sacrifice” or “perfect sacrifice,” but do we really grasp their meaning? I still have much to discover, but tonight I feel a small step closer to appreciating the wonder of the crucifixion, its impact on us, and why it was needed in the way that it happened. I think it is easier to accept Jesus as perfect, sinless, and blameless Son of God, than to understand why He had to die as a man to save us. So my thoughts come from the perspective of acceptance of His perfect deity and as a result, focusing on the role of the physical aspect of the sacrifice.

The motivation came from Heb 9:11-15 and Heb 7:23-25. Two things stuck out to me. Heb 9:13-15 says,

“For if the blood of bulls and goats and the ashes of a heifer, sprinkling the unclean, sanctifies for the purifying of the flesh, how much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered Himself without spot to God, cleanse your conscience from dead words to serve the living God? And for this reason He is the Mediator of the new covenant, by means of death, for the redemption of the transgressors under the first covenant, that those who are called may receive the promise of eternal inheritance.”

And Heb 7:23-25 says,

“Also there were many priests, because they were prevented by death from continuing. But He, because He continues forever, has an unchangeable priesthood. Therefore He is also able to save to the uttermost those who come to God through Him, since He always lives to make intercession for them.”

What strikes me are the parallels and stark contrast between human priests and animal sacrifices to Jesus as Priest and his human and spiritual sacrifice. In addition, one phrase sticks inside me: “He always lives to make intercession for them."

Jesus is an active sacrifice, a living sacrifice. Bulls, goats, rams and such were one-time, lifeless sacrifices. After their sacrifice, they were used up and even burned up. This is one way Jesus is different. Not only is He perfect and the Son of God and the only perfect sacrifice to be offered, but He still lives! He was fully dead and fully sacrificed, yet He is fully alive. He was tested under spiritual fire, yet not consumed…He was fully sacrificed, yet fully and perfectly preserved and remains in that state to this day and forever. No other sacrifice can make this claim or meet this requirement. It is the source of the new covenant that Jesus Christ is active. That means the instant we realize our sin and repent, we are instantaneously cleansed by Jesus’ immediate living sacrifice. He is available to all mankind in a new way that He wasn’t before. The Holy Spirit calls out to Him and communes with Him. We have the Spirit inside and are never off His radar. His eyes are trained on us, He sees all, and is ready to pounce on evil and cleanse us of sins if we’ll only call on Him. He is immediately and ever-presently on call to plead our case to the Father and reclaim us as His. “He lives to make intercession” for us! It’s as if, in the human understanding bound by time, Jesus spends every waking moment of His days and nights living for the “opportunity” to present Himself as the living sacrifice all over again for any sin we repent of today. I say “opportunity” not from the perspective of right before a sin is committed, but from the perspective of after a sin has been committed, due to the inherent weakness of our flesh…at that point I increasingly believe that Jesus experiences great joy in our turning to Him, and He to the Father, asking for our forgiveness, and He leaps at the opportunity to cleanse and rescue the sincere, feeble, human heart crying out to Him. I think He loves us like that, and “lives to make intercession.”

2 Chronicles 16:9 is one of my favorites and says, “For the eyes of the Lord run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to show Himself strong on behalf of those whose heart is loyal to Him.” And that was in the old covenant, before Jesus' human death and resurrection to save us. I believe there may be no greater strength than the salvation of our souls, once captive in a sinful body--I say that because it takes what was separated by God through sin, and restores us to Him--that is a supernatural spiritual strength unparalleled by anything I have ever comprehended...it is well beyond any physical strength. I wonder if the new covenant might further articulate 2 Chronicles 16:9, highlighting that Jesus’ eyes run to and fro throughout the earth, to show Himself strong as the Living Sacrifice to redeem those whose heart is loyal to Him. That is a wonderful picture of my loving God to me.

I have a suspicion that each of you has inquisitively studied the crucifixion before and marveled at it. I would love to hear your thoughts, questions, and conclusions if you have any.

The Wealthy

I started writing down all of the ways that I am rich. This stemmed from the realization that I am so rich in so many ways. Our Life Group very briefly mentioned needs the other day. I got to thinking about what my true needs are—they are relatively few. When I wrote down a need, I asked “why do I need that?” Then after thinking about the answer I asked myself, “why is that a need?” Why, why, why, until I boiled down what I thought was a need into either want, or the true need…there are very few true physical needs. The spiritual needs list is actually much longer. Then I realized how extravagantly rich I am…so I was inspired to list all of the ways I am rich, and as a follow up, all of the ways I am poor. My rich list is long. If you’re like me, you’ll have a very hard time listing many things at all that you are truly physically poor in. I have heard it reported that if you own a car, you are in something like the top 5% of wealth in the world. If you own a house, you’re well within the top 1%. I don’t know the actual percentages, but a study by Branko Milanovic (World Bank research lead economist) in 2000 reported that the average American with an income in the bottom 10% of the U.S. population “is better off than 2/3 of the world population.” The gist of the message is this—if you’re reading this, you’re rich. Instead, to find any way that I am poor, I have to turn to my attitudes and weaknesses—if I am poor, it is spiritually. But even spiritually I have lived an advantaged life. Think about it—let’s make the analogy of spiritual wealth to monetary wealth. I grew up in a Christian home and went to church my entire life. I accepted Jesus and was baptized at 6 years old. I am the spoiled rich kid, spiritually. The one who did nothing on his own, but just grew up rich and didn’t appreciate it—I grew up introduced to God all around me…and I haven’t appreciated it. Going further, those spoiled rich kids are often the ones that end up not amounting to much, except that hopefully they won’t squander their father’s wealth too quickly—they don’t know how to make money themselves. Are we numb to God’s presence in our lives? Do we even realize how abundant He is in our lives, like a spoiled rich kid? Who are the men whom we admire, concerning riches? They are certainly not those who have inherited their wealth. No, they are the men who were raised in poverty, worked toward their goals, and became very respectable, hard-working, appreciative rich men…men of transformation. Is it not the same for God’s leaders? Don’t you admire those such as Paul or C.S. Lewis, who came from the poorest of spiritual backgrounds—one a chief persecutor of Christians and one an Atheist? Don’t we admire what God did through them, the choice they made for God? They changed their life directions…just as the poor man, turned successful business man.

I don’t want to be a spoiled, rich, church kid. There are those who grew up wealthy, who paid attention to their fathers, mothers, and mentors…and continued to do great things with their wealth. “To whom much is given, much is required.” I tell you, anyone who grew up a Christian in America has been given very much—and very much is therefore required! Lose your numbness! Appreciate what you have! For there are many in this world who have not yet heard the good news of Jesus Christ—they are poor, if not monetarily, certainly spiritually. But even worse, there are those who have had ingrained in them morals and beliefs opposite those of God. Just as we are to share our monetary wealth, we are to share our spiritual wealth. We have much to share. Look at those who had no spiritual advantages and what they have done with their newfound faith—do we not have the opportunity to do that, too? We do, and we have even greater opportunity. Unfortunately, many of us have settled into a life of wealth squandering—we are used to just sitting around churches and a Christian nation, content to progress our relationship with God no further. I say we must take the investment of our forefathers and the saints, and continue their work to do even more with it! This means a shift in the way we live, for those anything like me. What will you do with your wealth?

Our Work Here - Tested by Fire

From Paul to the church in Corinth, 1 Corinthians 3:4-15 --

"4 For when one says, "I am of Paul," and another, "I am of Apollos," are you not mere men? 5 What then is Apollos? And what is Paul? Servants through whom you believed, even as the Lord gave opportunity to each one.
6 I planted, Apollos watered, but God was causing the growth. 7 So then neither the one who plants nor the one who waters is anything, but God who causes the growth.
8 Now he who plants and he who waters are one; but each will receive his own reward according to his own labor.
9 For we are God's fellow workers; you are God's field, God's building.
10 According to the grace of God which was given to me, like a wise master builder I laid a foundation, and another is building on it. But each man must be careful how he builds on it.
11 For no man can lay a foundation other than the one which is laid, which is Jesus Christ.
12 Now if any man builds on the foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw, 13 each man's work will become evident; for the day will show it because it is to be revealed with fire, and the fire itself will test the quality of each man's work.
14 If any man's work which he has built on it remains, he will receive a reward.
15 If any man's work is burned up, he will suffer loss; but he himself will be saved, yet so as through fire."

Verses 4-9 are truth. And I am convicted by verses 10-15. Verse 15 is a comfort — as Christ followers we are saved, yes, that is not in question. Even if what I do fails to save others and have an eternal impact, I know that I, myself, and saved. That is comforting...but what is the work that we are doing? Verse 10 says we must be careful what we build on our foundation of Jesus Christ. And verse 13 says that our work will be revealed through fire. It’s now that I wonder how much of my work will endure into Heaven…through the test of spiritual fire. The answer is “not much to this point," and if the same is true for you, I hope we are both determined to change that. I am convinced that what we do every day will be measured by its eternal impact. What is the fruit of our work every day? Are we building lives and legacies of houses, entertainment, reputations or anything else that can be measured in this world alone? It will be burned away — it will not remain. The entirety of my life — reduced to nothing, except that which brought glory to God and saved others. It is a terrible thought that your entire life could be reduced to smoldering ash…so we must change what we’re working for, and it must be eternal, it must be of highest quality…we don't have to know immediately how, but it must be our new goal, and we must pursue it to completion.

The verses here are simple, yet profound. It makes me think, “today, what am I putting on the foundation of God? Will it burn away like wood, or will it remain, like a precious gem? Today, did I help to build the eternal house or just an illusion of one? What will I do tomorrow?”

What will you do today that will endure into Heaven?

Thought for the day...

What if you lived as though you were the face of Christianity to those you encounter every day? As though they knew nothing of Jesus Christ, God the Father, and the Holy Spirit. Would they be convicted to follow the god that they see you “following,” as shown by your behaviors? What if you were the example that would draw them to God or push them away? Because the fact is—you are that person. To many—most you don’t even realize—you are the face of Christianity, the most real example of a Christian and how one behaves. Are you representing God or misrepresenting Him? We are not perfect, but it would be better not to be known as a Christian than to confuse others by calling ourselves Christians yet behaving otherwise—by claiming Christianity and not living it. But it’s more than just not misrepresenting God—it’s a supreme opportunity to represent Him and have an eternal impact on a human in need. Once you call yourself a Christian, there is only one choice and obligation—live that choice and show Christ to the world so that they may not be confused, but would experience our true God of love, grace, forgiveness, compassion, and pure righteousness. They will feel a natural pull toward an unknown God—you can help them know who He is. If you’re not helping, you’re hurting…Jesus said, “He who is not for me is against me.” (Matt 12:30)

As I read Brother Andrew’s words about Muslims in the book Secret Believers, I am struck with conviction of how our immoral society is perceived by the Muslim world (and others). The Muslim world, though misguided, is predominantly a very moral world—they stand strong on many moral ideals that are good in themselves. Furthermore, they don’t recognize a difference between church and state—whatever they see in the media, TV, and movies about “the West” they consider to be representative of Christians…but that is such a terrible picture to paint. And even those of us who separate ourselves from traditional American immoral activity—what are we doing to show true Christianity? Because just abstaining from immoral activity isn’t enough if our stand is not seen by non-believers. And the Bible says that we are not to have “even a hint of sexual immorality, or any kind of impurity, or of greed, because these are improper for God’s holy people.” (Eph 5:3). Can you say that you don’t have even a hint of that? I cannot. So I have work to do…and it grieves me that every single day Muslims, Atheists, and many others are driven even further away by the behaviors of this nation…behaviors sometimes seen in me. It has to change. I have to change…we have to change.

What will we do with this conviction? Will we do anything, or just sit on the sidelines another day, another week, another month, another year…our entire lifetimes? Every day, over 25,000 people die in China alone (verified). Over 150,000 people die all over the world every day, including nations where Christianity is banned—how many of them were Christians? We can’t waste one day…

Hello

Hello everyone,

This is my first experience with my own blog. I have decided to start a blog in order to share the thoughts and inspirations that strike me often these days. Anything I write is from the perspective of a novice in theology and Bible study. I am a Christian, was born and raised in a Christian home, and baptized at 6 years old. Any thoughts included in this blog are my opinion, conviction, and inspiration, for which I have a passion to share. I believe that some of these thoughts are inspired by God, given that their origination is from Bible study. My prayer is that these thoughts might inspire you and help lead you closer to God...that is all that matters.

Thank you!

-Will