“God Protects His People”

Living As One New Man #5

Read Ephesians 1:11-14

A recurring theme in Ephesians is the magnificence of God’s plan for man’s salvation.  Paul mentions here that the Jews were the first to share in the plan of salvation, followed by the Gentiles.  Through Christ (and only through him), the whole world has access to an incredible, rich relationship with the God of the universe!  It makes me so grateful to think that I am included in this, and very hopeful to know that as His child, I am His treasured possession!  No matter who we are, if we belong to Him, God has placed his seal of ownership on us, marking us as His own.  Why is that so significant?  Well, there are too many reasons to list, let me illustrate one.

Not long ago, we made the choice to put our house in Tacoma up for rent.  When we relocated to Seattle’s eastside, we believed it would sell quickly.  As it turns out, it sat for a long time, forcing us to make some tough decisions.  The rental market is good, so we had no doubt we could find a renter.  The thing is, I know from experience that renters feel differently about their house than owners do.  Those who own a house generally take care of it and protect it better than those who don’t…just sayin’!

Paul says that we belong to God.  He marks us and He owns us.  He says that the Holy Spirit represents a seal, signifying that while we are here on earth, we are His property, when we die He has reserved for us a special place in heaven with Him!  Of course He allows us to go through tough times, and lets us make decisions that may affect our lives in may ways.  However, the Bible teaches that God fiercely (not just sort of) protects His people.  In the end, no matter what we may experience, He will take care of us.  Consider the following scriptures:

Joshua 1:5 – He’s there for us our entire lives

Psalm 18:2 – He is our protector, shield of refuge

Psalm 56:9 – He sticks up for us against our enemies!

Psalm 57:1 – He protects us in times of trouble and uncertainty

Psalm 91:3-7 – He is our help in times of danger…we shouldn’t worry

Psalm 121:1-8 – He’s always there, not just sometimes

Psalm 124:1-5 – We need God’s protection for any chance of real victory

Isaiah 41:10 – His protection relieves us of fear

John 10:28-30 – His protection is powerful and solid, not precarious

1 Cor. 10:13 – He protects us during times of temptations…we are not alone!

2 Tim. 4:17-18 – His protection provides strength when we are weak

2 Thess. 3:3 – He protects us from Satan…we are never alone in the fight!

Reflections

Meditate on being a fiercely protected possession of God – let it strengthen you!

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“God’s Greatest Desire”

Living As One New Man #4

Read Ephesians 1:5-10

A person’s greatest desire is what drives them.  When we feel strongly about something, it influences everything we do – our thoughts, attitudes and actions reflect whatever it is.  If you want to see what really motivates a person, look at where they spend their time and energy.  There you will find the desire of their heart.  In this passage, one of the richest in the Bible, we learn that God’s greatest desire is to transform sinful people into His holy and blameless children!

Paul tells us that he chose us a long time ago, and put the most beautiful plan into action.  That plan was from his own “pleasure and will,” his glorious grace was “lavished on us with all wisdom and understanding.”  Why?  So ALL things in heaven and on earth can be brought together into perfect unity through Christ!  I just wrote all that, but I’m positive I don’t fully understand all of it.  It’s simply remarkable, inspiring, unbelievable and hard to fathom.

The term “reconciliation” means to bring together parties who are estranged from each other.  God’s greatest desire is total reconciliation of sinners, and his plan, repeated all through the Bible, involves three main steps.

First, He reconciles US to Him.  This is the process of conversion, because our lives are “converted” from sinful, alienated people into a relationship with Him.  I remember studying the Bible, working through my sin, apologizing to people and God, and doing the hard work of bringing my life into His Lordship.  I was lost, He found me, now I can stand before Him as His son, reconciled (not perfect) in my relationship with Him – very humbling indeed.

Second, He reconciles US to EACH OTHER.  It makes sense that our own conversion has to precede this, for without the wisdom and power of the cross, we have no idea how to forgive each other, work things out, and be truly unified in our relationships.  In the New Testament church, the reconciliation of Jews and Gentiles was a very powerful display of what can happen when God changes people’s hearts. This simply cannot be accomplished by men.

Third, God reconciles US ALL into His creation called the church – an assembly of reconciled sinners.  Sorry to break it to you, but the church is NOT a man-made institution (although man tries mightily to change it!).  It is God’s creation, and His purpose was to provide the world with a tangible display of His greatness and wisdom.  The church is the culmination of His plan, and one of the many tools He uses to bring more sinners in for more reconciliation.

I believe this is what drives God.  He is consumed by it…are we?

Reflections

1.  How do you fit into God’s grand plan?  Is your relationship with God what drives you?  Further, are you highly motivated to help others get reconciled?

2.  How do you view the church?  To God, it’s a BIG deal – what about to you?

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Today there are 13 brothers and sisters at SPU (and 16 in their two bible talks), thanks to a series of little miracles that helped us see a restoration of biblical relationships and faith lived out there.

The first miracle was that we had children that grew up in our group of churches, who decide to attend school there: Ali Winje, Audrey Hoffner and Fabricio Turcious were among the first.  Ali Winje was the first disciple to start attending classes at SPU.  With a scholarship to play soccer, she was all alone her Freshman year and really fought hard to stay faithful, having to attend a UW Bible Talk and be a part of a ministry on the other side of Montlake.  The next year, Audrey Hoffner enrolled at SPU.  Fabricio enrolled the folllowing year, and brought a lot of faith and a strong desire to start a ministry.   With Fabricio, Ali and Audrey together, the 3 of them formed a cohesive core group that made the Bible Talk attractive to other students.  Along with Jake Tacher and Hannah Templer, who attended different schools, we finally had enough students to start an SPU Bible Talk.  And if one of those pieces was missing, I doubt it would have worked.

The second miracle was the City Region purchasing the Queen Anne building.  Situated less than a half mile up the hill from SPU, the Queen Anne Church building provides a very inviting and welcoming place for SPU students to worship.  I think the stability and permanence of the building has made evangelism at that school a little easier because students come and see something familiar, a permanent place to worship and grow in their faith.  The Queen Anne building is a place where they can have events, watch movies, hold dances, pray all night and of course, worship on Sundays.  The city region of the Seattle Church sacrificed in dollars, and the SPU ministry is reaping in souls being saved.

The final miracle was the conversion of strong spiritual men: Aaron Badilla, Jens Brenestead and Brian Fisher were the first three brothers converted there, and they have all grown into faithful, spiritual leaders who have helped convert other strong men of character.  They use their talents by leading Bible talks and small groups on that campus, outreach, and even singing and performing on Sundays. Those brothers have provided a sense of stability and maturity beyond their years and have opened a door that has made it safe for other students to follow.

Fabricio, Josh and Jens

This past week, in sub freezing temperatures, Josh Heinke was baptized into Christ at Golden Gardens.  Josh was the 16th SPU baptism in the past 2 years!  The whole moment was pretty overwhelming for me, so I stayed afterward and prayed.  When I closed my eyes, all I could think of was Jesus’ words to his disciples, “Blessed are the eyes that see what you see.” Luke 1O. So many of us have longed to see something like this, a vibrant ministry at SPU. I believe that SPU is one of the largest campus ministries at a faith based school in our movement of churches. What an incredible blessing for us to see God working like this, and I pray that the miracles happening here can inspire faith in students on other difficult and hard to reach campuses.

“He Chose Me!”

Living As One New Man #3

Read Ephesians 1:4

Why does it feel so great to be chosen?  I’m not exactly sure, it just does.  Imagine how you would if your spouse, reflecting back on their decision to be married to you, said “you know, I dated a lot of people, and actually had a list of people I really wanted to marry, but in the end, I had to settle for you”!  Or imagine going to a final job interview and the employer said, “we searched high and low for the best candidate, but in the end, they were all gone so we came back to you – you’re hired”!  You may have a spouse and a job, but you wouldn’t have the extreme joy of knowing they chose you because YOU are the one they desired.  It just feels different when we are pursued relentlessly out of love.

After telling us that God has blessed us with “every spiritual blessing in Christ,” Paul says God chose us before the creation of this world, to be set apart as His righteous, holy people.  He has actually “adopted” us as His own sons and daughters – we are His!  We are not children he had to settle for, His best workable option, or just happened to be at the end of a short list of ways to affect a lost world.  We were always a vital part of His plan, and He has always relentlessly and stubbornly pursued us out of a love so intense that we couldn’t really fathom it if we tried!  That’s the truth about our relationship with Him as disciples.

It’s interesting – to be adopted you have to be available.  Most of the time, children who are available for adoption have been abandoned by someone.  They were given up on or disappointed by someone, until they were sought out and chosen by parents who desire to give them a life and a real chance at success.  Paul tells us this is what God has done for us.  The world promised us hope and fulfillment, success, fame or satisfaction.  Instead of delivering that, the world miserably abandoned us – it always does.  If that were the end of the story, what a sad and tragic tale it would be.  However, when we respond to God’s love as he dramatically swoops in to rescue us, the story gets rewritten.  We now belong to the God of the universe.  We have real hope and lasting significance.  More than that, we have the extreme joy of knowing He has desired us from the very start!  We are HIS CHOSEN SONS AND DAUGHTERS!

Reflections

1.  Do you realize how badly God has always wanted a relationship with you?  What stops you from feeling the joy of being HIS CHOSEN POSESSION?

2.  For further study and encouragement, read the following passages: Romans 8:29-30, Colossians 3:12, 1 Thess. 1:4, and 2 Thess. 2:13.