Has the church lost its power?

So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the cornerstone, in whom the whole structure, being joined together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord. (Ephesians 2:19–21)

I read yesterday that the Gospel turned the world “upside down” because it is “upside down” good news. Humanity expects that pleasing God means pulling ourselves up to His level; the Gospel says He came down to our level. Humanity thinks we must be good enough; the Gospel says Jesus died for us “while we were yet sinners” and that He became poor for our sakes that we might become rich. The Gospel is not what we would assume nor invent. It makes no sense for a holy God to declare sinners righteous without any merit on our part. But even faith is a gift from Him.

So when the disciples began telling their world this good news, the people latched onto them and dragged them before the city authorities, shouting, “These men who have turned the world upside down have come here also . . .” (Acts 17:6)

The Spirit of God did this. The church is made up of ordinary people. We are from all walks of life, all ages, and all cultures. Most of us are weak in that we have nothing remarkable about us. We are not world-changers even if we wanted to be. Instead, we are helpless and dependent on God, which is how it should be.

Jesus gives us our start. He said, “You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit and that your fruit should abide, so that whatever you ask the Father in my name, he may give it to you.” (John 15:16) This is incredible. God picks sinners to produce results that last, world-changing results. He also gives us the remarkable privilege of being able to ask Him for whatever we need to do it.

If that is shocking, so also is the power that He gives us through the person of the Holy Spirit to tell others the good news about Jesus Christ, the Gospel. He said, “You will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.” (Acts 1:8)

This good news is not always well-received. When the first Christians were speaking to the people, “The priests and the captain of the temple and the Sadducees came upon them, greatly annoyed because they were teaching the people and proclaiming in Jesus the resurrection from the dead. And they arrested them and put them in custody . . . .”

Yet the power of the Holy Spirit prevailed. At that time, “many of those who had heard the word believed, and the number of the men came to about five thousand.” This shook up the rulers, elders and scribes gathered together in Jerusalem. Annas the high priest and Caiaphas and John and Alexander, and all who were of the high-priestly family latched onto the disciples and confronted them saying, “By what power or by what name did you do this?”

Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them, “Rulers of the people and elders . . . let it be known to all of you and to all the people of Israel that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead—by him this (miracle happened). This Jesus is the stone that was rejected by you, the builders, which has become the cornerstone. And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.”

These world-changers prevailed. As the leaders of the people “saw the boldness of Peter and John, and perceived that they were uneducated, common men, they were astonished . . . and recognized that they had been with Jesus.” (Acts 4:1–13)

I will not make excuses for the seeming lack of power in the church today, except to say from my own observation and experience, I am powerless when I do not spend time with Jesus. I cannot do anything of any significance if I am not filled with the Holy Spirit. He may bestow on His people all His gifts and power, but if we neglect this wonder to do other things besides what He asks us to do, then we are just uneducated, common people without any ability to change anything.

Priorities

The past two days have left me feeling overtired and subnormal. While prayer has been good, I’ve not been able to complete other things started, or accomplish normal chores. I’ve been busy, but feel like I’ve been spinning my wheels and getting nowhere. 

Today’s devotional reading at first seemed pointless, but as I look at it and various comments about it, God has something to say to my situation. The scene is a conversation between two lovers. The man, likely Solomon, is asking his beloved to go with him, perhaps a walk in the garden. He praises her virtues and speaks loving words to her. Then one of them, it is not clear who, says this strange line,

Catch the foxes for us, the little foxes that spoil the vineyards, for our vineyards are in blossom. (Song of Solomon 2:15)

Foxes or jackals often came into the vineyards and ate the grapes. In this case, the vines were in bloom only, but the inference is to make sure the foxes are gone before the grapes appear. Either she is asking him to do it for them both, or he is asking her to do it since this may have been her responsibility prior to their relationship.

This verse has many interpretations. Is this literal, perhaps a suggestion that since she had failed somehow before (1:6), she needed to be more zealous to take care of their vineyards? Or is it less literal and more about tending to any subtle sins that might spoil their blossoming relationship?

From the latter idea, several commentaries suggest that readers apply this to their own spiritual lives. That is, take care of the small things that destroy the work of God in our lives. This could be the first thoughts of actual sin, or any hindrances that keep us from doing what is right. It could refer to any little thing that ruins our judgment, muddies our conscience, perplexes our thinking or discourages our inclination to virtue.

Some theologians suggest these little foxes could also be whispers of false teaching that obstruct the progress of the gospel. These also must be tamed, restrained, or destroyed before they ruin our witness.

I can think of all sorts of examples in both these interpretations. In personal relationships, any problems can become wedges if not addressed. A small doubt leads to mistrust and that can separate two people. A small disagreement can grow into a large feud. Lack of forgiveness can become bitterness and turn our focus from God to self-pity. Attraction to worldly pleasures can start small and eventually turn Christian workers from their primary purpose to share Christ and glorify God.

One writer thinks that despite the endless variety of interpretations, this verse does not represent anything. Instead, this man is inviting the woman to join in some sort of childlike play that young lovers often do. Yet even that has application for those who work all the time and never take a rest from their labors. As another writer says, this could even be her excuse for not going with her young lover —she has work to do in the vineyard. 

This “non-interpretation” suggests to me that I’ve made my to-do list more important than it should be. At my age, and with this heart problem, I’ve been somewhat driven to finish things and get my half-done projects off the table. They have lined up and backed up, and are getting too heavy on my mind. I sense from these verses that my ambitions have become more than little foxes and that the Lord is inviting me to do something different. It could be spending more time with Him or chilling out with family and friends. In either case, I need to deal with those foxes.

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Lord, I’m from a family that values accomplishment. I know that there is nothing wrong with being busy or getting things done — unless it interferes with the ripening of the spiritual fruit You desire in my life. Work, work, work can keep me from listening to You, from deepening relationships with others, and from getting the rest that my body needs. I need to find a picture of some little foxes and attach it to my chore list as a reminder to not let those things happen. I need to remember that putting a check in all those little boxes is not nearly as important as going for a walk in the garden with You.

Getting an Early Start

When my to-do list is long, I’ve learned that if I want to accomplish most of it, I need to do first the most important or challenging item. With that out of the way, the rest seem easy and gets finished more readily. 

Not that spending time with God is always challenging, but I’ve also learned that this needs to be first thing in the day because it is the most important. Hearing from God and getting my spiritual life in order sets the tone for the rest of the day. If I skip that or even procrastinate by doing other things, my attitude suffers. Being out of sorts can even make my family suffer.

There is plenty of evidence in the Bible that meeting God in the morning is a solid principle. Many vital events happened at that time of day, including the first mention of morning: “God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And there was evening and there was morning, the first day.” (Genesis 1:5) 

A quick word search showed more than 230 repeats of just the word “morning” and most of them involved profound events, or commands, or obedience to commands. For instance, when Abraham was told to sacrifice his son, he “rose early in the morning” in obedience to this test of faith. (God stopped the act and this man passed the test.) Other passages include this one from the experience of Moses receiving the Ten Commandments. God told him to,

Be ready by the morning, and come up in the morning to Mount Sinai, and present yourself there to me on the top of the mountain. (Exodus 34:2)

Other examples abound throughout the Old Testament and into the New. Perhaps the most significant concerns the example of Jesus Christ. Before a busy day of ministry, He rose “very early in the morning, while it was still dark” and left the others, going “to a desolate place, and there He prayed.” (Mark 1:35) 

As I’ve been rereading my spiritual journals, I’ve noted that I put the time of day on some of them. It was early in the morning, much earlier than I now get up for the day. While I can use the excuses that I’m older, or that I’ve had health problems, in reality, I could go to bed earlier and rise “very early in the morning.” Certainly, the days that does happen are marked. Meeting God and giving Him full attention before all else is an expression of an attitude toward His importance in my life and makes a significant impact on my day.

The last place “morning” is mentioned in the Bible is in Revelation. It isn’t about a time of day though, but give a name to the Person that I meet with each day.

“I, Jesus, have sent my angel to testify to you about these things for the churches. I am the root and the descendant of David, the bright morning star.” (Revelation 22:16)

Perhaps this last use of the word “morning” suggests why this is the best part of the day to meet with God.

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Lord, I’ve been thinking about setting my alarm a little earlier for a few reasons, but this is the best reason. I know that meeting with You can happen later and You are certainly available to talk with any time of the day. However, if I have made sleeping or doing anything else more important than You, then I need to rise up earlier as a spiritual discipline. It is a great way to make sure that my priorities are right and also to let You rightly set the tone for the rest of the day.

Why I should not cling to Jesus

This morning’s devotional reading from Ears from Harvested Sheaves points to a verse that has been a puzzle to me. As I try to find out what it means, I discover that it is a puzzle to others as well.

The verse describes the third day after the death of Christ. Peter and John have come to the tomb and found it empty. Then Mary Magdalene goes there and sees two angels. She is weeping and they ask here why she weeps. She tells them that “they have taken away my Lord. . . .” and then she turns around to see Jesus.

At first she does not recognize Him, but thinks He is the gardener. Then He says her name and she knows this is Jesus. He says to her, “Do not cling to Me, for I have not yet ascended to My Father; but go to My brethren and say to them, ‘I am ascending to My Father and your Father, and to My God and your God.’ ”

Commentaries differ widely on what was going on here. Those who consider the tenses of the Greek verbs say that when He said this, she was already holding on to Him (perhaps His feet) in a desire to either to assure herself this was really Him or to somehow express her desire that He never leave again.

Jesus could be telling her that He would be temporarily with them and although she desperately wanted Him to stay, He could not. Or He could be saying she didn’t need to continue to touch Him since He had not yet ascended to the Father and was actually there with her. He also could be saying that she must not try to restrict him because He would soon ascend to the Father.

Some think that Jesus was telling her that physical contact would not the way He would relate now to the church, and that a new relationship would begin after His Ascension when the Holy Spirit came.

One thing is clear. Mary was given the responsibility of testifying to the disciples. He told her to tell them that He was already in that process of leaving this earth and ascending to His Father. They needed to understand that His work on earth was finished and His relationship with them was no longer a physical one.

One commentary makes a note that struck me. It says that “public service ought to be preferred before private satisfaction.” Mary wanted to stay and be with Jesus, but He wanted her to go and tell the others.

My first thought about that is not that one activity is preferred over the other, but that public service cannot happen without first spending time with Jesus. However, Jesus may have sensed that Mary never wanted to leave. She wanted to be with Him from this point forward, but He had work for her and she must not stay with Him.

I can relate to this. Spending time with Jesus is sweet. Spending time with other Christians can be great too. However, there are other things that Jesus wants me to do. I’m challenged to “go into all the world” and to “make disciples” and to “visit widows and orphans” and to “be hospitable” and to do a host of other activities that take me away from spending time at His feet.

On another occasion, another woman named Mary was commended for sitting at His feet while her sister Martha anxiously bustled about in service. The implication of what Jesus told this Mary is that sitting at His feet or even clinging to Him is not wrong, but “the most important thing.” It only becomes a problem if that is all I want to do.

Sinful hearts can make selfish indulgence out of something so spiritual as spending time with Jesus. I’ve often said that I can use my to-do list as an excuse not to have devotions, but I can also use devotions as an excuse to not get at my to-do list. If I get nothing else from this verse, I do hear Jesus saying, “Get to work.”