Wednesday September 3, 2008

Ephesians 1:3-13

“3. Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ, 4. just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we would be holy and blameless before Him. In love 5. He predestined us to adoption as sons through Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the kind intention of His will, 6. to the praise of the glory of His grace, which He freely bestowed on us in the Beloved. 7. In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of His grace 8. which He lavished on us. In all wisdom and insight 9. He made known to us the mystery of His will, according to His kind intention which He purposed in Him 10. with a view to an administration suitable to the fullness of the times, that is, the summing up of all things in Christ, things in the heavens and things on the earth. In Him 11. also we have obtained an inheritance, having been predestined according to His purpose who works all things after the counsel of His will, 12. to the end that we who were the first to hope in Christ would be to the praise of His glory. (NASB)

Yesterday we spent our devotion time considering our blessing to God. The same verse that speaks of blessing God also speaks to His blessings upon us. There is a slight distinction in the original language of the two words translated as blessing in English. They are from the same root word yet with a major difference. The first is to speak well of someone based on what they have done, this is how we bless God. The second is to speak something into someone’s life that will come to pass. This is the way that God blesses believers.

After preaching the final service of a revival meeting some years ago, the pastor came to me and said, “Brother Gary, our church wants to bless you with this offering.” Their blessing was not merely verbalized but became tangible by giving me something. God’s blessing to us works in similar manner. He has blessed us with spiritual things that make a difference both in the here and now and in the future. As you read through the Scripture above, make a list of the supernatural blessings God has spoken into your life. If you are reading this through our web blog, please post a comment as we have an open discussion.

Tuesday September 2, 2008

Ephesians 1:3

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

Several people have been a great help to me as I have grown from a child to an adolescent and then to early adulthood and now to one whose nest is empty. My parents are right there at the top. They raised me with a continuous exposure to the Gospel of Jesus Christ, were great encouragers, and taught me useful disciplines such as a strong work ethic and financial responsibilities. I speak well of them today. I also speak well of my high school coach because he used the medium of sports to help me develop an abiding sense of hope and in perseverance. These two characteristics have served me well all of my adult life. There are others such as the man who first gave me a job, a Sunday school teacher who was a great model and friend, and several pastors who challenged me to grow in Christ. There is a sense in which my speaking well of them is blessing. To say God is blessed is to speak well of God.

Are you blessing God today? By that question, I do not mean to ask if you are doing things for God. What I do mean to ask is are you taking a little time to remember all He has done for you and in turn speak those things? How do you bless God? You can bless God by singing songs with lyrics that testify of what God has done. You can bless God by continually talking with your family of what God is doing in your life. This week I spoke with a man whose business is seeing prosperous times. He was quick to bless God. Foremost on his mind was the fact that God is the source of his prosperity.

Why not spend the next few minutes blessing God who is worthy of praise. If you are reading this on our blog site, feel free to post some comments listing the blessings you give to God. If you are reading by way of the printed page, then why not make a list of ways that you can speak well of God.

Monday September 1, 2008

Together in Christ

Ephesians 1:1-2

“1. Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God, to the saints who are at Ephesus and who are faithful in Christ Jesus. 2. Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.” (NASB)

Over the next 12 weeks, we at First Baptist Church of Diana will be seeking the Lord through a study of Ephesians in our LIFE Group ministry. On this blog you will find devotionals that can be considered daily to assist in study and meditation on the great truths God has given us through this blessed book of the New Testament. If you are not a member of FBC but have stumbled onto this website, we welcome you to take this journey with us and believe that God will bless your study in the ministries of the church where you faithfully serve.

My intentions in these devotions are to address one particular theme each day from the section of Ephesians under study in a particular week. We will also have a memory verse each week to serve as a reminder of what God is teaching us through His Word. I invite and encourage you to join in this study as we discover what God wants to do in our lives during these days.

The first two verses of Ephesians clearly identify this literary work as a letter from Paul to believers in the city of Ephesus. Although we are not in Ephesus, I believe we can receive the teachings and admonitions as though he were writing them to us this very day. Upon that foundational understanding of the New Testament, let us consider the title he gives to believers here, “saints.” Paul calls them saints and gives a further description as “faithful in Christ Jesus.” Paul liked to identify Christians as in Christ and spoke about walking “in the spirit.” John preferred to use the term “abiding in Christ” as is found in John 15. Paul was certainly speaking to men and women who had placed their faith in the Lord Jesus Christ.

If you have placed your faith in Jesus Christ, you also qualify for the title saint. A saint by definition is “one who has been set apart.” When a person is saved by Jesus Christ, he is literally set apart from the world. The implication is that this person set apart is more than he was before. There is something special about this person labeled as saint. Some would have you believe a saint is one that has lived some supernatural life and earned the title of saint. The New Testament teaches it is a title bestowed because of the supernatural work Jesus has done in salvation. No one earns the title saint through good living but receives the title through an action of the Living God.

Rejoice in your blessing of sainthood given through the grace and mercy of Almighty God. Rejoice today in the blessing of being set apart through the love of Jesus Christ. Rejoice in the supernatural work that God has done in your life to bring salvation and the freedom that follows.

What Kind of Steward Will You Be?

Headlines lately have been probing the intended recipients of a tax rebate to consider what they will do with the money. Some have vowed to spend it immediately, others are going the savings route, some are paying down credit card debt, and others are investing in stocks. How about this for an investment, how about giving it away? There are loads of charities and needy who could use the money more than some folks. Some in our church have committed to give it to help retire the mortgage on our education building. Wouldn't it be great to see it go to some special fund in your church, the missions offering of your denomination, a food and clothing shelter in your city, or even simply to pass it on to a needy family in your own neighborhood? Investments in others are investments in the Kingdom.

How to Call a Meeting

Some weeks ago I read something complimenting President Carter about knowing how to call a meeting. The kudos went out over calling a national meeting that received nationwide press coverage and invited tens of thousands. It noted the speakers that were committed to come, President Carter himself, President Clinton, and Vice President Al Gore to name the most popular. Of course there were other political leaders and activist along with a few well known preachers such as Joel Gregory and Tony Campolo. All total, it looks as if 15,000 registered for the national event.

If this meeting means that President Carter really knows how to call a meeting, Don Cass is to be highly commended. Don is the director of evangelism for the Southern Baptist of Texas Convention and each year calls a meeting called an Evangelism Conference. This year the theme was When Time is No More and included various sermons dealing with themes around the second coming of Jesus and the end of the earth. As I search for news articles I am coming up short. Evidently Don didn’t know that you should publicize a Baptist meeting via the secular media. I have seen no reports of attendance but I do know the numbers were several thousand. Having attended for the last three years, it was easy to see the crowd this year exceeded previous crowds. The time has come to move to a larger venue. The facilities of First Baptist Church of Euless have been outgrown.

Imagine this; a meeting publicized within Baptist circles and not reported in the secular media drew several thousand perhaps 4000 or more. The SBTC today reports 2002 churches as cooperating. Let me see, that is close to 2 from each church based on pure guesses. Even if the attendance was half the 4000 it would still be 1 from each cooperating church. The NBC meeting boasted 30 Baptist Conventions as participating and it is plain that they did not draw any where close to one person from each church. As a matter of fact, the BGCT lists over 5000 churches and one from each of their churches would have likely doubled the attendance in many of the NBC meetings. Who knows how to call a Baptist meeting? I think Don Cass knows how to call a meeting.

Already Don is calling another meeting for next year. Having outgrown FBC Euless, the new home will be in the Tarrant County Convention Center. It will be exciting to see the list of speakers who come together to preach on the subject of the Holy Spirit. Now what do I choose? Do I choose to encourage the members of the church where God has allowed me to serve to attend a meeting about the environment or one that encourages evangelism? Well, if I believe the answer to man’s problems on earth can be solved by science I will go to hear Al Gore, if I want to see the souls of men saved in my community and the moral pollution cured, I think I will go to Fort Worth on Monday after the third Sunday in February of 2008.

Confused

I am confused. Nothing new here. I have been reading some of the news reports published by the New Baptist Covenant and they are either confusing or humorous. President Carter practically begs those in attendance not to speak critically of others. Now don’t get me wrong, those words are usually appropriate any time two humans get together whether they are Baptist or not. It is what he did not say that confuses me. Note this quote from their web site:
“For the first time in more than 160 years, we are convening a major gathering of Baptists throughout an entire continent, without any threat to our unity caused by differences of our race or politics or geography or the legalistic interpretation of Scripture," said Carter, who co-chaired the gathering with Mercer University President Bill Underwood.

President Carter raises some worthy issues, division caused by race, politics, geography and the legalistic interpretation of Scripture. Now pardon my bias, but some of the division has been caused by a liberal and unbelieving interpretation of Scripture. Speaking of politics and interpretations of Scripture, I believe it was Carter who walked away from the SBC over his disagreements.

I can not help but wonder; as I read the reports intended to promote the idea that the meeting was in unity, who was Campolo preaching to? Did he see some BMW’s in the parking lot when he drove in? What plane did Gore use to get to the meeting? Can you live in a mansion like Gore and fall into the classification Campolo placed those who drive BMW’s. Tony rarely pulls punches because of his audience and so perhaps he wasn’t preaching to those in were not in attendance but those who were in attendance. Yes he was preaching to most all of us in our lack of helping others.

Clinton’s reaching out to Southern Baptists was interesting. Was he sincere or hoping to pick up a few votes for Hillary? We will no know until his works are judged at the judgment seat of Christ as we won’t know even about some of our own until that day. His bias also came out:
Baptists who gained control of the SBC focused on "works" related to issues such as opposition to abortion, the Equal Rights Amendment and gay rights, he noted, while "more progressive Baptists" focused on fighting poverty, protecting the environment and providing housing for poor people, he said.
"I say this in good conscience: We all believe we are doing what we can. But so do they. They read the obligations of Scripture in a different way," he noted.
Calling for humility and respect, Clinton urged, "We should not let our response to the people who disagree with us be dictated by what they say about us or even how they treat people we care for. If there is any chance that this covenant can become an embracing one, that there can be a whole community, then there has to be a chance that we can find love."

You did catch the bias didn’t you? If you are not a Baptist Democrat, you do not care about the poor, protecting the environment of providing housing for poor people. President Carter knows better than this because even Republican Baptists have helped his poster organization, Habitat for Humanity.

“Grisham offered Baptists three suggestions for seeking unity: Restore their good name by respecting diversity, stay out of politics and ‘spend as much time out on the streets in ministry as in the church."

This was the most humorous of all. Grisham blasted anyone who would hold to a literal interpretation of Scripture while calling for respecting diversity. His funniest line in light of the other speakers was stay out of politics. If Gore is successful in his creation campaign it will be political. Marian Edleman is always political. The highlighted speakers come from political backgrounds.

Conclusion: When you are for something you are automatically against its antithesis. Baptists have never wanted to keep themselves out of politics. Leland would strongly object. Without the Baptist of the early colonies, we might not even have Bill of Rights. We just don’t want the government running the church. Baptists are not showing disrespect for diversity when they politically propose a moral agenda that departs from Grisham’s agenda.

We do know what the leaders of this meeting are against, at least from the press reports.
1. The war in Iraq
2. Tax Cuts
3. Literal and legalistic interpretations of Scripture.
4. Private Health Care
5. Poverty
6. Hungry Children
7. An overpopulated earth
8. Materialism
9. Consumerism


After the meeting, many went to a nice restaurant and ate an expensive meal, flew home on airplane emitting carbons, some drove BMW’s, Cadillac’s, Hummers, Lincoln’s, a few from Texas drove pickups, slept in expensive motel rooms just a few blocks from some homeless hungry on the street, and felt good about the call to save the environment and reduce poverty. I am amused and confused.