Tag: Jesus

On Christian Community

On By Dr. Casey LewisIn Church Life, Devotionals, Discipleship, QuotesLeave a comment

How can God entrust great things to one who will not thankfully receive from Him the little things?

To the Congregation

If we do not give thanks daily for the Christian fellowship in which we have been placed, even where there is no great experience, no discoverable riches, but much weakness, small faith, and difficulty; if on the contrary, we only keep complaining to God that everything is so paltry and petty, so far from what we expected, then we hinder God from letting our fellowship grow according to the measure and riches which are there for us all in Jesus Christ.

To Pastor’s and Zealous Members

This applies in a special way to the complaints often heard from pastors and zealous members about their congregations. A pastor should not complain about his congregation, certainly never to other people, but also not to God. A congregation has not been entrusted to him in order that he should become its accuser before God and men.

When a person becomes alienated from a Christian community in which he has been placed and begins to raise complaints about it, he had better examine himself first to see whether the trouble is not due to his wish dream that should be shattered by God; and if this be the case, let him thank God for leading him into this predicament.

But if not, let him nevertheless guard against ever becoming an accuser of the congregation before God. Let him rather accuse himself for his unbelief. Let him pray God for an understanding of his own failure and his particular sin, and pray that he may not wrong his brethren. Let him, in the consciousness of his own guilt, make intercession for his brethren. Let him do what he is committed to do, and thank God.

A Gift of God

Christian community is like the Christian’s sanctification. It is a gift of God which we cannot claim. Only God knows the real state of our fellowship, of our sanctification. What may appear weak and trifling to us may be great and glorious to God. Just as the Christian should not be constantly feeling his spiritual pulse, so, too, the Christian community has not been given to us by God for us to be constantly taking its temperature. The more thankfully we daily receive what is given to us, the more surely and steadily will fellowship increase and grow from day to day as God pleases.

In Christ Alone

Christian brotherhood is not an ideal which we must realize; it is rather a reality created by God in Christ in which we may participate. The more clearly we learn to recognize that the ground and strength and promise of all our fellowship is in Jesus Christ alone, the more serenely shall we think of our fellowship and pray and hope for it.

Questions for Reflection

  1. How do you think of your own congregation (Christian Community)?
  2. Are you guilty of wishing your congregation (Christian Community) was different?
  3. Do you recognize God’s sovereign placement of you in your particular congregation (Christian Community)?
  4. Do you believe Christian Community is a Gift of God that can only be experienced through and in Jesus?

Resources

Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Life Together, 29-31. (Note: Text is Bonhoeffer’s, headings are mine.)

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Don’t Waste Your Life

On By Dr. Casey LewisIn Devotionals2 Comments


 

Reading James Hamilton’s commentary on Revelation, I came across these lyrics by Lecrae from Don’t Waste Your Life. You can watch the full video above. What Lecrae has to say is powerful. It is something we should all consider. 

Don’t Waste Your Life

Your money your singleness marriage talent and time
They were loaned to you to show the world that Christ is Divine
That’s why it’s Christ in my rhymes
That’s why it’s Christ all the time
See my whole world is built around him
He’s the life in my lines I refuse to waste my life
He’s too true to chase that ice
Here’s my gifts and time
Cause I’m constantly trying
To be used to praise the Christ

Questions for Reflection

  1. Are you wasting your life?
  2. Do you see a life not lived for Christ as a wasted life?

Resource

Lecrae, “Don’t Waste Your Life,” from the album Rebel, Central South District, 2008.

Jesus Among Our Other gods

On By Dr. Casey LewisIn Devotionals2 Comments

Idolatry

When my schedule allows, I attend a local Pastor’s luncheon. It’s purpose is to encourage, pray for, and minister to pastors in Wise County. We usually gather at a local pastor’s church, have lunch, and hear a word of encouragement from a member of the group.

A Trip to India

Yesterday, we heard from two pastors who just returned from India. Through their preaching many were saved, challenged, and taught. There are many things I could share with you about their trip, but one thing that stuck out was the Hindu idea of many gods.

As they ministered to the people, they quickly realized there was an openness to hearing about Jesus. Not only was there an openness to hear about Him, but there was an openness to worshipping Him. Sounds like a win, and it was, until they realized the people weren’t turning from their gods. They were just adding Jesus to the long list of gods they currently worshipped.

Their message then shifted slightly. They began to explicitly denounce the Hindu idea of worshipping multiple gods and told the people to turn from their gods to Jesus. People listened and acted. They turned from idol worship to Jesus. Many families removed idols from their house, smashing them at the local church. For the first time, these people were truly worshipping Jesus. Praise God!

The American Church

The American church is similar to Hinduism. Just like they are willing to add Jesus to their list of gods, we are also willing to add Jesus to our list of gods. The only difference is that we are not as open about it.

We, in America, are fine with Jesus as long as we don’t have to give up anything. For that reason, we have placed Jesus right alongside our other gods. Pornography, sexual satisfaction, drugs, drunkenness, materialism, power, status, acceptance, approval, family, and sports are some of the gods we worship. As long as we can add Jesus to the mix, we are fine saying we are a Christian.

Exclusive Worship

Jesus, however, demands our exclusive worship. In Exodus 20:3, we read,

You shall have no other gods before me.

If we are going to turn to Jesus, we must turn away from other gods. We must give them up.

Conclusion

So then, the message these pastors preached to those in India is also a message needed in America. We need to quit putting Jesus among our other gods and worship Him exclusively.

Question for Reflection

  1. Are you putting Jesus among other gods, or are you worshipping Him exclusively?

Resource

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Why Should We Put Our Faith In Jesus?

On By Dr. Casey LewisIn Devotionals5 Comments

Faith

Lately, I have been writing about the characteristics of True Faith (Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4). Reading those posts, you might think: Why should we put our faith in Jesus? That’s an honest question that deserves an honest answer.

Why Should We Put Our Faith In Jesus?

(1) He is the God sent Savior.

It was prophesied in Isaiah 35 that the blind, deaf, lame, and mute would be healed when God came to save His people. Scripture is fulfilled in Matthew 15 when Jesus heals the crowd because the blind see, the deaf hear, the lame walk, and the mute speak. These miracles point to Jesus being the God sent Savior.

We should confidently put our faith in the One God sent to save the world.

(2) He is Compassionate. 

For three days Jesus ministered to the crowd. Providing healing for the sick and hurting. When it was time for them to go home, Jesus realized many had not eaten for several days. He didn’t want to send them home with their supplies depleted and stomachs empty for fear they wouldn’t make it.

What does He do?

He throws a Divine Picnic where He feeds four thousand men, not including women and children.

Jesus’ actions teach us that He provides. Not only does He provide for our spiritual needs but also our physical needs.

Jesus’ as our Provider doesn’t mean we will be rich or nothing bad will happen to us. It does mean, however, He will provide what we need. We can trust He will provide because He is compassionate – He cares for and loves us.

Since Jesus is compassionate, taking care of our needs, we should confidently put our faith in Him.

(3) He is the All Sovereign and Powerful God of the Universe. 

Jesus’ provision – healing the sick and hurting, and feeding the hungry – point to His power and sovereignty over all things.

Since Jesus is sovereign and all powerful, and able to work out His plan. A plan that involves the defeat of sin, Satan, and death. We should confidently put our faith in Him.

Conclusion

Jesus’ healing of the Gentile crowd and feeding of the four thousand from Matthew 15 gives us the confidence we need to put our faith in Jesus. It’s there we learn

Jesus is the compassionate all sovereign and powerful God sent Savior.

Questions for Reflection

  1. Do you recognize Jesus as the compassionate all sovereign and powerful God sent Savior?
  2. Do these characteristics encourage you to place your faith in Jesus?

Resources

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Post developed from my sermon The Faith of the Canaanite Crowd

What is True Faith? | Part 4

On By Dr. Casey LewisIn Practical1 Comment

Faith

What is true faith? We talk about faith all the time. When we call someone to follow Jesus, we tell them to have faith in Him. When someone is struggling, we encourage them to exercise faith. We use salvation and faith interchangeable. Faith is a word we use all the time, but what does it mean? For the next few weeks I will answer that question.

The Faith of the Canaanite Woman

The Canaanite woman in Matthew 15:21-28 serves as an excellent example of faith. Over the next few days we will glean four things faith is from her story.

(4) True Faith is Dependent

The Canaanite woman knew she needed Jesus. She couldn’t help her child. Nor could anyone else help her. She knew only Jesus could heal her.

Those who exercise true faith, know they need Jesus as well. They know they can’t do it on their own. They humbly recognize they are sinners who need Jesus.

They, however, not only depend on Jesus for their righteous, but also for everything they have in life. They recognize everything is given by Jesus.

The Content of True Faith

Continuing to build our definition of true faith, we see:

  • True faith believes – It specifically believes Jesus is Lord and the Son of David. He is our authority and the only way to a reconciled relationship with the Father.
  • True faith is persistent – It continues to go after Jesus not allowing anything to dissuade it or act as a barrier.
  • True faith is humble – It recognizes its place realizing we are sinners who deserve God’s punishment not His grace.
  • True faith is dependent – It not only depends on Jesus for salvation but for everything in life as well.

Question for Reflection

  1. Do you recognize everything you have including your salvation is given by Jesus?
  2. Are you dependent on Jesus in every area of your life?

Resources

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Post adapted from my most recent sermon The Faith of a Canaanite Woman

What is True Faith? | Part 3

On By Dr. Casey LewisIn Devotionals4 Comments

Faith

What is true faith? We talk about faith all the time. When we call someone to follow Jesus, we tell them to have faith in Him. When someone is struggling, we encourage them to exercise faith. We use salvation and faith interchangeable. Faith is a word we use all the time, but what does it mean? For the next few weeks I will answer that question.

The Faith of the Canaanite Woman

The Canaanite woman in Matthew 15:21-28 serves as an excellent example of faith. Over the next few days we will glean four things faith is from her story.

(3) True Faith is Humble

The woman in our story is humble. She knows her place. She knows she doesn’t have the right to sit at the table. When Jesus ignores her and tells her she is not apart of His mission, she doesn’t bite back in pride. She doesn’t get mad. She doesn’t claim special privilege or tell Jesus He isn’t fair. Instead she is humble and recognizes her place.

If we would claim faith in Jesus, we too must be humble. We must recognize our place. We must recognize we are unworthy sinners who deserve God’s punishment.

We don’t come to God in pride and say, “Hey God, do you know who I am? Do you know how good I am? Do you know how many people I have helped?” No, those who have true faith are humble. They recognize their place. They recognize who they are – sinners who deserve God’s punishment. Recognizing those things, they come to Jesus humbly.

The Content of True Faith

Continuing to build our definition of true faith, we see:

  • True faith believes – It specifically believes Jesus is Lord and the Son of David. He is our authority and the only way to a reconciled relationship with the Father.
  • True faith is persistent – It continues to go after Jesus not allowing anything to dissuade it or act as a barrier.
  • True faith is humble – It recognizes its place realizing we are sinners who deserve God’s punishment not His grace.

Question for Reflection

  1. Do you agree you are a sinner who deserves God’s punishment?

Resources

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Post adapted from my most recent sermon The Faith of a Canaanite Woman