Tag: christian

God Works Through Others to Refine Us

On By Dr. Casey LewisIn PastoralLeave a comment

God not only works through circumstances, but He also works through others to get our attention.

I distinctly remember one time when this happened in my life. It was when I was in college. When I moved off to the University of Georgia, I got involved in the party scene. One night in particular I was sitting at the bar with a friend and we were talking about religion. He was an atheist, so I was telling him why he should believe in Jesus. In the course of conversation, I remember him looking at me and saying,

“You know, you’re telling me about Jesus. How He is supposed to change your life and all, but I don’t see a difference between you and I. We pretty much do the same thing, live the same life.”

While I’d like to tell you things changed that night, I can’t. But what I can tell you is that God did get my attention with that conversation and it was the catalyst for future change in my life.

God may be speaking to you through someone else right now.

It might be a friend, it might be a spouse, it might be a church member or someone in the community.
God will use a number of different people to speak into our lives. We need others to speak into our lives. We need everyday relationships with other church members who can hold us accountable and are willing to speak to the truth of God’s Word into our life.

Listen when others speak

When others speak, we need to be willing to listen and then do the hard work of assessing whether what they are saying is right or not, and then make the necessary changes if it is.

When you are assessing whether the person is right or not, don’t do it in the moment of that conversation. Our first reaction to others confronting us with something we are doing against God’s will or loving more than God is almost always to be defensive, so don’t assess right then, unless you are convicted. Instead, assess later when you are out of the moment. Spend some time afterward in personal reflection and prayer. Maybe even ask others you know if they see that in you as well.

God will use others along with circumstances to convict and teach us.

When the gospel is faithfully preached, taught, and lived, its your affections that restrict you

On By Dr. Casey LewisIn DevotionalsLeave a comment

“You are not restricted by us, but you are restricted in your own affections.” (2 Cor 6:12)

When the gospel is faithfully proclaimed, taught, and lived it’s not the person proclaiming, teaching, and living that restricts others from following God’s Word. Instead, it is the person’s affections that restrict them from turning to the Lord.

Affections refer to what we love. They determine what we are drawn to and what captures our attention. When we refuse to turn to the Lord, our affections are captured by something or someone else.

If we claim to be Christian, we must allow Jesus and Jesus alone to capture our attention. We shouldn’t be drawn to anyone or anything else but Him.

When the gospel is being faithfully proclaimed, taught, and lived, that which restricts someone from coming to Christ or following Him in obedience is their own affections. To what are your affections given? Are they given to the world? Are they given to something or someone more than to Jesus? God desires our heart, our affections, our love.

You are God’s Fellow Worker

On By Dr. Casey LewisIn DevotionalsLeave a comment

“For we are God’s fellow workers. You are God’s field, God’s building.” (1 Cor 3:9)

What a privilege it is to be called God’s fellow workers. As believers, we have not only experienced salvation but we are also used as God’s instruments to bring others to faith in Christ as well as to help others grow as disciples of Christ. We are His fellow workers.

If God thinks of us as His fellow workers, we must think of ourselves in the same way. We must not shrink back from Jesus’ command to make disciple-making disciples. We must get to work.

While we must get to work, seeking to accomplish the mission Jesus has set before us, as God’s fellow workers, we don’t work alone. The God of the universe, the All-Sovereign, Creator, and Sustainer of all things works alongside us as we seek to work for Him. We work with the power provided us by God Himself.

Do you recognize you are counted as God’s fellow worker? Do you trust God to empower you for the task of making disciple-making disciples?

Are you a responsible and accurate theologian?

On By Dr. Casey LewisIn Devotionals, PracticalLeave a comment

“About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the prisoners were listening to them,” (Acts 16:25)

What strikes me about the apostles is there rejoicing in the midst of persecution. Paul and Silas found themselves in prison for helping a poor innocent girl. She was being used and abused for profit by local business men. Possessed by a demon she was able to reveal the fortunes of others. They were content to allow her to continue in this state of darkness for their own gain. Paul and Silas were not. They exercised the demon, freeing her from bondage.

Once these men realized their cash cow was gone, they lied about and slandered Paul and Silas to the local authorities. They had them beaten and thrown into prison. Even though they were wounded and shackled in the inner prison, they prayed and sung hymns to the Lord. Not to themselves but openingly so that all the other prisoners could hear.

  • Would we rejoice in the Lord openly in a situation like they were facing?
  • Would we praise God even as we were being persecuted by Him?
  • Would we continue to be a witness for him as we were being punished by the local authorities for following the Lord?

These are tough questions. Ones we won’t know the answer to until we are in the situation.

That, however, doesn’t mean we can’t prepare for the situation. I believe Paul, Silas, and others rejoiced in the Lord because they knew the Lord. They didn’t just know of Him, but they knew Him. Their relationship with Him was real and intimate. As well as they knew His character and His actions. They were theologians. We should be theologians as well.

No, you don’t need to go to seminary to be a theologian. Everyone is a theologian because everyone has an opinion about God, which means right now, no matter what degree you have or don’t have, you are a theologian.

The question is: Are you a responsible and accurate theologian?

If we are going to stand firm for Christ in the midst of persecution we must be responsible and accurate theologians because what we know about God will determine how we respond to difficult situations.

The Blessing of God’s Word

On By Dr. Casey LewisIn DevotionalsLeave a comment

Blessed is the man whom you discipline, O LORD, and whom you teach out of your law,

Psalm 94:12

Paul, in the New Testament, echoes the Psalmist when he tells Timothy to stick with God’s Word, not to move on from it or add anything alongside it. He tells Timothy to stick with the sacred writings (Scripture) because God’s Word is given to teach, reprove, correct, and train in righteousness (2 Tim 3:16-17).

With Paul’s thought in mind, if we return to the Psalmist, we learn that we are blessed for being taught and even disciplined by God’s Word. Certainly, Paul might have had this Scripture in mind when he penned his words to Timothy.

Why are we blessed when taught and disciplined by the Word of God?

We are blessed because God’s Word points us to God’s will and design for how we are to live in the world in which He created. When we live according to God’s will not pressing against the fabric of His design but flowing with it, things go well for us. The book of Proverbs is an excellent example. Following the wisdom of the world is folly, but following the wisdom of God is righteousness.

Of course, it is Proverbs, you have to balance it out with Ecclesiastes, which teaches us the righteous don’t always succeed in this world. But even if the righteous don’t succeed, they can experience joy even in the midst of trial if they are seeking God’s will in His Word (see James 1:2-4).

Church, allow God’s Word to teach, reprove, correct, and train you. It may be painful at times, but it is what is best. For God’s discipline through His Word is a blessing.

A Christian View of Social Justice

On By Dr. Casey LewisIn Devotionals12 Comments

Social Justice is a word we hear often. From discussions with our neighbors at our local coffee house, to the nightly news, to the political arena, social justice seems to be a common topic of discussion and debate. But what is meant by the term social justice? Is it biblical? Should Christians participate in acts of social justice?

Two Predominate Views of Social Justice

(1) Unconstrained view – This view is based on everyone getting their fair share. As we are all aware, every society has a finite amount of resources to go around. This view holds that everyone should have their fair share of those resources. It is unjust to allow some to hold onto a greater portion of those resources. We should, then, do all we can to see that those resources are shared equally.

(2) Constrained view – This view is based on the fair treatment of all peoples, and it is not concerned with everyone having their fair share of the total resources in a given society. In this view, it’s not unjust for people to hold onto wealth. People are entitled to what they have earned. Instead of putting energy into the redistribution of wealth, we should put our energy into seeing that everyone is treated fairly.

Which View is Biblical?

Let’s look at a few verses on social justice from the Bible:

  • Exodus 21:1-11 provides laws regarding the fair treatment of slaves.
  • In Deuteronomy 15:1-18, especially 7-11 and 13-15, rules are given concerning meeting the needs of the poor.
  • Psalms 72:12-15 and Psalm 103:6-7 tells of God redeeming the oppressed and persecuted from their oppressors, working righteousness and justice for them.
  • Proverbs 31:8-9 tells us to judge righteously and to defend the rights of the poor and needy.

By far these are not all the verses in the Bible on social justice, but they give us an idea of which view the Bible is upholding. I believe that is the second view, the Constrained View.

God’s Word does not command us to redistribute our wealth to neighbors, so that we all have equal access to the total resources of the society in which they live. Differing classes and a distribution of wealth does not constitute injustice [1].

A biblical view of Social Justice holds that we are not to show partiality, not to steal, not to swindle others, not to take advantage of the weak because they are uninformed or unable to stop us. 

Rather than saying we need to redistribute our resources, so that we are all on equal footing, the Bible tells us that we are to care for the oppressed and seek to stop others from oppressing them. We are to speak up for those who are being persecuted. We are to work for laws that stand for the fair treatment of all peoples regardless of race or nationality.

Christians are to Work for Social Justice

If we believe part of God’s mission is to redeem the oppressed and persecuted, to make sure the poor are cared for and the helpless are not taken advantage, and if we believe we are a part of that mission, then we are to do the same. Christians are to work for social justice in their cities.

Questions for Reflection

  1. Do you agree that the constrained view represents the biblical view of social justice?
  2. How does your church care for the needy, oppressed, and persecuted?

Resources

Gilbert and DeYoung, What is the Mission of the Church?, 176, 180-183.

[1] I do not believe the churches actions in Acts are meant to be prescriptive. Rather, I see their actions as being descriptive of what took place in that city.

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