Tag: Lord

To Live is Christ and To Die is Gain

On By Dr. Casey LewisIn Devotionals5 Comments

In Philippians 1:18-21, we learn Paul was able to face persecution and possible death joyfully because of the prayer of the Philippians and the supply of the Spirit. In addition, he was able to face these circumstances joyfully because he knew he would be vindicated and would gain ultimate salvation. Furthermore, his ultimate joy came from knowing that Christ would be proclaimed and the Gospel advanced even if it meant he had to die. This attitude and certain belief causes him to say, “For me to live is Christ, and to die is gain.”

To Live is Christ

With Paul’s statement, “To live is Christ”, we encounter a man who had a singular focus in life, which was to glorify Christ. He lived in such a way that he saw everything he did and every circumstance he faced as a means of pointing other to Christ. He did not care if he was ridiculed, beaten, jailed, shipwrecked, or even killed because he had a singular focus, to proclaim the Gospel of Jesus Christ to the Jews first and then the Gentiles.

Paul lived a life radically different than most Christians today, not because he thought it would earn him salvation, but because he desired to see Christ glorified and understood the promises of God, which is revealed in his next statement, “to die is gain.”

To Die is Gain

Paul believed death was gain because he knew he would be with his Lord and Savior, the one he proclaimed to all people. He also knew the advantage the next world held over this one. A life free from persecution, sickness, disease, and injustice awaited him. For Paul, death was gain, which allowed him to “live for Christ.”

Application

Paul believed death was gain,which was the reason he could live for Christ. He shared his attitude with the Philippians because he wanted them to see death as gain, so they too could live for Christ. He wanted them to take up his purpose for life, which was to glorify Christ in every decision and circumstance, living as if death is victory, not caring if men could destroy their body, but ever seeking to glorify Christ in life or death.

This means Paul’s letter to the Philippians was not written just to tell them what he thought about life, it was to challenge and encourage them to think and live the same way. Likewise, the reason this text has been preserved for 2,000 years was not just so Paul could tell us what he thought about life, it was preserved because God desires we live like Paul. God desires we say with Paul, “To live is Christ, and to die is gain.”

Image: bela_kiefer / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Christian Meditation: What is it and what does it involve?

On By Dr. Casey LewisIn Discipleship, Practical7 Comments

About a month ago, I had the opportunity to talk with one of my good friends about our time with the Lord. During our discussion we attempted to answer the question: What does it mean to commune with the Lord? As we came to an answer, we opened the door to a second question dealing with meditation in the Christian life.

After thinking and reading about Christian Meditation for the last month, I finally am at a place where I want to share my thoughts, but first lets answer our original question – What does it mean to commune with the Lord? – before moving on to an in-depth look at Christian Meditation.

Communing with the Lord occurs:

(1) When we spend time reading His Word

(2) When we spend time in prayer

(3) When we spend time meditating on God’s Word

It is on this last point that I would like to focus because I am afraid we do not understand what it means to meditate on Scripture, nor do we understand the benefits and purpose. As a result, I would like to provide you with a definition of Christian meditation, its scriptural warrant, a guide to meditation, and the advantages of meditating on God’s Word.

Chewing the Cud

Chewing the cud is a process that takes time and effort. In order for a cow to digest his meal, he must chew on it for an extended period. Swallow it, allow for digestion to occur, then bring it back up and chew on it some more. This process is repeated until it is able to be fully digested.

I believe we should take this same approach with Scripture. Like chewing the cud, meditation takes time and effort. It is a focused time where we chew on a small part of Scripture for an extended period to come to a place where we understand God’s Word more deeply with the purpose of obedience, repentance, sanctification, and increased heavenly affections.

Scripture

This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success. (Joshua 1:8)

What Does It Mean To Meditate on God’s Word?

Meditation, in a Christian sense, can be defined as “an holy exercise of the mind, whereby we bring the truths of God to remembrance, and do seriously ponder upon them, and apply them to ourselves” (Thomas Watson Heaven Taken By Storm, 42).

Watson’s definition can be broken down into three parts:

(1) Remember God’s truths

(2) Think deeply upon God’s truths

(3) Apply God’s truths to our lives

How to Practice Meditation

Meditation is not the process of clearing your mind, so the universe can come in. It does not involve chants, postures, or New Age music. Meditation is active, and it has content, namely, God’s Word. In order to meditate properly, you need to:

First, separate yourself physically from the World. Meditating on Scripture at Starbucks is not going to work. You need to free yourself of all distractions and get alone somewhere.

Second, read Scripture, or repeat a verse you have recently memorized so your mind is saturated with God’s Word.

Third, gather your thoughts and remember the truths about God you just read. The purpose is to begin to think deeply about God’s Word. A singular focus on Scripture is what we should be after.

Fourth, examine your life to discover how the truths about God, sin, humanity, and salvation apply.

Fifth, pray and ask God to help you apply the truths of Scripture to your life through the work of the Holy Spirit. Without the Holy Spirit working in your life, you have no hope of knowing where you need to change.

Finally, change must occur. Meditation “is not just about seeing where [you] lack or what [you] need to change;” it must include actual change in your lives (Neimeyer, 172).

The outcome should be a recognition of your sin, a willingness to repent, a deeper understanding of God’s provisions and holiness, along with increased affections for your Savior.

Meditation Allows One to Progress in the Christian Life By

(1) Motivating one to repent from sin

As the sin in your life becomes more vivid, and your understanding of the gospel becomes more ingrained, you will be motivated to repent of your sin.

(2) Causing one to grow in holiness

As you repent of your sins, you will grow in holiness becoming more like your Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.

(3) Improving one’s relationship with others

By thinking on Christ’s love for you, your love for others will grow.

Meditation Enhances

(1) Your Prayer Life

(2) Your Personal Reading of the Word

(3) Your Hearing The Word Preached

Conclusion

Given all the benefits of Meditation – a deeper understanding of God’s Word, a clearer realization of your sin, a more vivid picture of the Gospel, increased repentance, a greater love for others, a deeper prayer life, and increased affections for your Lord and Savior – we should be spending the effort to meditate on God’s Word more regularly.

Resource

This post was developed from an article in the Puritan Reformed Journal from January 2010 Vol 2, Num 1. Written by Jennifer C. Neimeyer and is Entitled: Thomas Watson: The Necessity of Meditation found on pages 166-181.

Is God a Reality or Concept in Your Life?

On By Dr. Casey LewisIn Practical4 Comments

This weekend I visited my brother and sister-in-law in Allen, where I attended my nieces baby dedication. On the drive back home, I listen to a sermon by Tim Keller. The sermon was entitled: The Gospel and Your Self. You can access it by clicking here.

In his sermon, Tim Keller asks the question:

Is God a REALITY or a CONCEPT in your life?

Your answer to this question will make all the difference, and it will have eternal consequences. Before I tell you how you can know that God is a reality or concept in your life, I want to define for you the two words at hand.

Definitions

Reality: Something that exists independently of all other things or ideas concerning it. It is something that exists outside of your mind, and it has the power to influence you.

Concept: A general notion or idea. Meaning it is something that exists in the mind and is not independent of your mind.

How do you know if God is a reality or a concept?

(1) You know God is a reality in your life when you allow Him to change your beliefs and actions.

When you quit saying things like: I like that God is loving and merciful, but I don’t like that God has a wrathful side. I don’t think it is wrong to have pre-marital sex if someone is in love. I don’t believe racism is wrong, even though the Bible condemns it. I believe the Bible is true, but I don’t think God is right about homosexuality, even though the Bible clearly speaks against it.

Unless you allow God to change your beliefs and affect the way you act, then God is a concept to you. He is not real, and He is not your Savior or the Lord of your life. God is just someone who you believe can help you live a better life. Someone you can get something from, but you are not willing to give things up for.

(2) You know God is a reality when you realize you are a sinner.

God is still a concept to you, if you do not realize your own sinfulness and need of a Savior. When God is a reality, you understand how holy He is and how sinful you are. If God is just a concept to you, then you think you are alright, you’re not that sinful, you are not so bad.

Why do you not see your sinfulness when God is a concept to you? Because you have constructed a God that does not push against, or reveal, your sinfulness. He does not challenge your ideas, or actions because you have constructed Him to fit neatly into your world. When you construct a God in your mind, you are not going to construct a God who is going to tell you that you need to change. Rather, you are going to construct a God who tells you that you are alright. However, when your God does not cause you to realize you are a sinner, you do not have a real God; rather, you have a God who is a figment of your imagination.

(3) You know God is a reality when you are willing to go on Mission for God.

God is not a reality for you unless you are willing to tell others about Him and the life He has given you through Jesus Christ. If you have no desire to present the Gospel to others, or even live in a way that reflects God’s work in your life, then God is a concept to you. He has not affected your life, and He is not your Savior or Lord.

Getting Real

I know, pretty weighty and bold words to say that God is not someone’s Savior and Lord, but if God is just a concept, then He is not your Savior and Lord. You have not accepted the reality that God exists, for if you had, then you would allow Him to change your beliefs and actions; you would see yourself for who you really are, a sinner; and you would be willing to tell others about Him. Until these things happen, God is nothing more than a concept for you, someone you have constructed in your own imagination to make yourself feel better. He is someone who fits into your agenda, rather than someone who sets your agenda.

Hope

There is hope and it is in the Gospel, the saving power of Jesus Christ, which has the power to change your life. It has the ability to make God a reality in your life. And you don’t have to clean yourself up in order for that to happen. All you have to do is trust in Jesus Christ as your Savior and allow Him to control every aspect of your life. When you admit that you need a Savior, God has become a reality to you, rather than a concept, or construct of your imagination.

Image: nattavut / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

God and Christians, What is Their Relationship Like?

On By Dr. Casey LewisIn Practical2 Comments

Have you every wondered what type of fellowship Christians have with God on the basis of Christ’s sacrifice? Have you been looking for motivation to pray throughout the day?

I have been reading a book entitled Taking Hold of God: Reformed and Puritan Perspectives on Prayer. This weekend I came across a list by Matthew Henry explaining the availability of God to the Christian, which occurs on the basis of Christ’s atoning sacrifice.

Read along as we explore the nature of the relationship Christians have with God through Christ.

Christians enjoy:

(1) A companion ready in all their solitudes, so that they are never less alone than when alone. Do we need better society than fellowship with the Father?

(2) A counsellor ready in all their doubts,…a guide (Ps. 73:24), who has promised to direct with his eye, to lead us in the way wherein we should go.

(3) A comforter ready in all their sorrows…[to] support sinking spirits, and be the strength of a fainting heart.

(4) A supply ready in all their wants. They that have access to God have access to a full fountain, an inexhaustible treasure, a rich mine.

(5) A support ready under all their burdens. They have access to him as Adonai [my Lord], my stay and the strength of my heart (Ps. 73:26).

(6) A shelter ready in all their dangers, a city of refuge near at hand. The name of the Lord is a strong tower (Prov. 18:10).

(7) Strength ready for all their performances in doing work, fighting work. He is their arm every morning (Isa. 33:2).

(8) Salvation insured by a sweet and undeceiving earnest…If he thus guides us by his counsel he will receive us to glory.

Application

As you can see, God is fully available to us as Christians. God’s availability and the nature of our relationship with Him should drive us to pray to Him. We should go to God everyday, seeking His strength, shelter, support, supply, comfort, counsel, and companionship.

Resource

Joel R. Beeke and Brian Najapfour, Taking Hold of God: Reformed and Puritan Perspectives on Prayer, 143-44.