Week 2 of 52-week Ephesians Quiet Times Series entitled “Living As One New Man”…

“Lift Up Your Eyes”

Living As One New Man #2

Read Ephesians 1:3

When you think of all the blessings given to you by God, what comes to your mind?  I am instantly filled with thoughts of my marriage to Karla, my family, our friends, our job, finances, investments, health, a great golf swing (well, not so much), a roof over our heads, and much more.  For sure, all of these are gifts for which I need to be very grateful.  However, they are material blessings, and not what Paul had in mind here.

Paul reminds us that God deserves our praise for blessing us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly realms.  That phrase “heavenly realms” occurs five times in Ephesians (1:3, 20, 2:6, 3:10, 6:12).  What does that really mean?  According to F.F. Bruce, the heavenly realm is that place where Christ resides.  It means, “even if they (Christians) live on earth in mortal bodies, they can enter into the good of their heavenly inheritance here and now through the ministry of the Spirit.”  The blessings we receive in Christ include being chosen in Him a long time ago, being adopted by God as His sons and daughters, redemption, forgiveness of our sins, the gift of the Spirit, and hope and glory forever!  Did you get all that?  I will talk more about those things in the coming weeks, but for now, it is enough to think about the reality that we live here on earth, but have a vital existence right now in the heavenly realms.  It is where our calling really is, where we find real security, where our hope really resides, and where our hearts really belong.

I have been so blessed by God with earthly riches.  But, I have to be very careful to not let anything I have or lack here on earth really affect me. This earth and everything in it is temporary and fleeting.  It may seem solid, but it will pass away before I know it.  This is why the Bible reminds us to keep lifting our eyes to heaven and focusing on the spiritual, eternal realms (Phil. 3:19-21, Col. 3:1-4).

The lure of Satan is to get us distracted and consumed with everything in this world, so much so that we forget that to be really effective for God, we have to live here in the world, but intentionally set our minds on things above.  For us, it literally is a matter of life and death.  As C.S. Lewis said, “The Christians who did most for the present world were precisely those who thought most of the next. It is since Christians have begun thinking less of the other world that they have become so ineffective in this. Aim at heaven and you get earth thrown in; aim at earth and you get neither.”  I couldn’t have said it better myself.

Reflections

1.  How often do you think of things in the spiritual realms?  Are you more grateful for earthly or spiritual blessings?  What can you do to lift your eyes and set your heart on things above?

I have written an Ephesians Quiet Time Series entitle “Living As One New Man.”  I will post a new lesson each Monday morning through 2012, as we walk through one of the richest books in the Bible – ENJOY!

“A God-Centered Faith”

Living As One New Man #1

Read Ephesians 1:1-3

     “Keep your eyes on God!”  I can’t tell you how many times I’ve heard that as a Christian.  I suppose that’s because it’s right.  It sounds so easy, until you humbly consider how often we get it wrong.

     Paul starts the book of Ephesians with the challenge to praise God for the abundance of blessings he has heaped upon us.  We will talk at length about the blessings we have in Christ, but unless we begin with the proper object of our praise, the rest of the book (or even our faith) will be distorted.  To “praise” means to give someone proper admiration and commendation – when it comes to our faith, it clearly ALL belongs to God.  In fact, the Bible is radically God-centered.  It begins and ends with God, not us.  To take it further, the only reason we have any hope at all is because God first decided to bless us.  This is the essence of the gospel.

     Martyn Lloyd-Jones observes, “Much of the trouble in the Church today is due to the fact that we are so subjective, so interested in ourselves, so egocentric. That is the peculiar error of this present century…We must not start by examining ourselves and our needs microscopically; we must start with God, and forget ourselves.” 

     Like I said, easier said than done!  It takes us a nanosecond to put our own needs first, to get our eyes fixed on our own problems or needs, to put a leader on a pedestal (where nobody but God belongs), to give someone in the church the keys to our happiness, to believe we make all the difference as a leader, to believe our own efforts create or undo success in the church, or to believe our persuasive words matter more than the scriptures.  Sadly, we believe we matter more than we actually do.  In fact, it even can even influence how we lead others to salvation in Christ.  We start with a “Seeking God” study, which can easily put the focus on what we are/are not doing to pursue a relationship with God.  Perhaps we need to start with a “Seeking Man” study, and put the emphasis where it rightly belongs – on a totally selfless, sacrificial, loving God who, from time immemorial, has relentlessly and painfully (for him) pursued us! 

     As hard as it may be, let us always remember that the ONLY reason we have what he do is because God decided to bless us.  What is the proper response to that?  To give him all praise and glory, and steadfastly remind ourselves to put God at the center of all we do!

Reflections

1.  How easy is it for you to put someone/something at the center of your faith?  How does it affect you?  Does it change you view of God’s blessings?  Consider ways that you can constantly remind yourself to keep God at the center of your Christian life!

The Herbsts in Zurich

Here’s a picture of Christian and Sabine Herbst in Zurich.  Below it is a pic of me and Danny Chow in Beijing.

Lynne and I are actually in China and Hong Kong for a week, returning January 6 to the new year in Seattle.  In two more days we will have reconnected to precious friends from all over China, having spend New Year’s in Guanzhou for their 20 year anniversary.  Hard to believe it was in 1991 that a few intrepid souls moved there to start God’s work anew.

In June, we’ll be teaching at the European Bible School–we’ll get to see Berlin folks, including the Herbsts, who we’ve known for over 20 years.  They were young disciples with the Marks’ in Munich back in the day.

Not everyone gets a chance to see these wonderful parts of our family, so I’m being a “Blessings Witness” to tell you about them.

Danny and Me in China's capital

Such an amazing blessing that in fact, we are connected to brothers and sisters all over the world!

I was so inspired by Alex’s blog yesterday, and completely agree with him that the zeal and faith of the younger people in our church is so inspiring!  It made me think of another group in our church – the older people!  Yeah, I’m talking about anyone over 35 or so, especially those folks that have been around awhile, seen the ups and downs of the Christian life.  I’m talking about the people who have read the Bible cover to cover multiple times, heard thousands of sermons, been a part of many different ministries, and seen several leaders.  They’ve raised their families in the church, studied the Bible with all kinds of folks, and even seen some of them leave the faith.  It is their zeal and faith that inspires me and calls me higher.

Last week we had the pleasure of spending an evening with Mack and Zoe Strong, two people in the thick of life.  They have two wonderful young boys, Zoe is in the thick of a graduate program, and Mack is busy with his football analyst career.  Despite all of that, they serve as deacons, Bible Talk Leaders, study the Bible with people all the time, and basically serve in any way asked of them…awesome.

I just got an email from Ellen Soter, who makes sure the Eastside announcements are sent out every Wednesday evening.  Actually, that is just a SMALL part of what she does over here.  We’ve known the Soters for years, and it seems that with each passing year they seem to be serving more and more…wow.

Last night we had dinner with Mike and Laura Fouts, whom we’ve known for about 15 years.  We actually served in the ministry with them years ago, and it’s so good to be reunited with them!  It was so awesome to sit and talk with them about life, the ministry, family and so much more.  As always, Mike filled me in on the people he is studying the Bible with…incredible.

Today we are having Greg and Lisa Brumley and their family over to watch the Huskies win the Alamo Bowl.  They are another couple we’ve known for years, and are thrilled to be building a close friendship with them.  They have been Christians since the Ice Age (sorry guys), been in many different churches, been a part of about a hundred Bible Talks.  I’m not sure they hear anything “new” these days, but their faith is so contagious and they love the church so much…amazing.

We are so grateful to serve on the eastside with such faithful people.  Sure, we are older, balder, and many are getting pretty gray!  However, in an era where too many people seem to lose their idealism as they get older, our church is full of people who continue to grow in their faith, no matter what life throws their way.  People like the Tachers, Pflaumers, Storz’, Johnsons, Fawcetts, Stirrets, Brumleys (all of them!), Webbs, Gammons, and so many more.

Thank you for your faith and inspiration – we are all blessed because of it!

Daren

Here is a picture of one of “my” quiet time benches at Jack Block Park in West Seattle looking across Elliott Bay toward downtown.

A blessings that I cherish tremendously is the ability to spend time with God in a beautiful setting, a place to read my bible and walk and talk with him and admire his creative power. What an inspiring artist God is. Seattle has so many such places. I have had the privilege of living in many extraordinary places around the country: New York, Boston, Denver, Boulder, Redondo Beach/LA and now Seattle for the last 14 years. Carol and I are so happy in Seattle that we can’t imagine ever leaving. I have a long list of special places to pray and keep finding new spots all over the city.

My wish for all of us in 2012 is that we will be devoted to intimacy in our prayer life and walk with God in a new and empowering way. I hope that our consistent connections with him bring him great joy and give us the strength we need to answer his callings for our daily lives.

“Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus. Do not put out the Spirit’s fire; do not treat prophecies with contempt. Test everything. Hold on to the good. Avoid every find of evil. May God himself, the God of peace, sanctify you through and through.” I Thess. 5:16-23

My Mom, Stephen, and Lynne's Mom

Here’s a picture of Stephen’s Washington University graduation day with his two grandmothers.  The holidays, among other meanings, say “family” to most of us, and I’ve been reminded this week about the blessing of a wonderful, spiritual family heritage. Where would Seattle Greens be without these grandparents/parents?  Without my mother and father’s faith, would I have even had the chance to respond to the gospel?  Without their love and nurture, would I have been capable of a reasonable degree of confidence?  Without their longsuffering support, could I have even been educated, let alone been in a place to see and understand the world?

While it’s true that a few among us have survived abusive or dysfunctional families-or-origin, most of us have been lucky–BLESSED–to have parents, and grandparents who have helped us find our feet, our faith, our character, and our calling.

It’s Christmas morning, and it seems appropriate to think about all I have that makes life meaningful.

Second chances. A real purpose.  Deep friendships.  Complete forgiveness for my sins.  Unconditional love.  A tremendous family. A supportive church.  A roof over my head.  A future to look forward to….where did it all come from?  JESUS.

God bless you all on this Christmas day, as we celebrate the birth of our savior.

Daren

When I was a boy we went to St. Paul the Apostle Catholic Church on the corner of 59th street and 9th avenue.   I always loved attending church for Christmas.  There was something so special about the way the service seemed to honor the birth of Jesus.  With a giant organ playing in the background, I grounded my faith in the birth of Christ and the stood in awe of Emmanuel, God with us.

At times in my faith, I’ve longed to connect with those feelings again, to have a special service without main points or spiritual direction. Sometimes it it just fine to be still and know that Jesus is Lord and God is God.   Today my family is all dressed up and enjoying a grade a meal cooked by my wife.  We are going to Church, to sit together, pray together and sing together.   We don’t have the pipe organ working yet, but we do have a grand piano and plenty of talented musicians and narrators.   Thank you Jay Kelly, for your inspiring leadership and insight into our needs.  Thank you to the Seattle Church for it’s continual reliance on God and not man.   And what a blessing it is to worship God on Christmas eve and celebrate the birth of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.