I go where I am looking . . .

Every time my Christian friend went out, her spouse told her, “Now remember who you are.” He referred to her status as a child of God, perhaps to boost her confidence or to help her behave in such a manner that represented Jesus Christ.

It is a good reminder. When I am in a new situation and even in a familiar place with people that I know, thinking about who I am in Jesus makes a great deal of difference to my attitude and actions. John’s letter has these verses that give the basics of how this focus should affect God’s people . . .

And now, little children, abide in him, so that when he appears we may have confidence and not shrink from him in shame at his coming. If you know that he is righteous, you may be sure that everyone who practices righteousness has been born of him. See what kind of love the Father has given to us, that we should be called children of God; and so we are. The reason why the world does not know us is that it did not know him. Beloved, we are God’s children now, and what we will be has not yet appeared; but we know that when he appears we shall be like him, because we shall see him as he is. And everyone who thus hopes in him purifies himself as he is pure. (1 John 2:28–3:3)

Actually, this is more about who Jesus is than who I am because of Him. I need to focus on Jesus and the above passage tells me several reasons why. First, relying on Him changes the way I act and keeps me from saying or doing things that might make me blush when I see Him face-to-face. I know that sounds a bit like that Christmas ditty that begins, “You better watch out, you better be nice . . . .” but it isn’t a threat. His presence right now is a reality. If I walked into any situation with Jesus as my escort, holding my hand and opening doors for me as a physical presence, I would have an entirely different demeaner than being totally alone. This is not hard to imagine — but why is it so hard to remember!

Second, anyone who knows that Jesus is righteous will assume that when I talk and behave in a righteous manner that I am His child! This evidence of being a Christian will affect other people.

John reminds me that I am a child of God but some will not recognize me as His child, just as some did not recognize Jesus as God’s Son. I’m not to be surprised by that but remember that when He appears, I will be exactly like Him, a reflection of who He is. Thinking this way changes my ambitions. Instead of wanting to be popular, famous, an achiever, or gain any other temporary status, I am set on being pure. This word means faultless, not in the sense of selfish perfectionism (which is a flaw) but in the sense of being holy, sincere, a person of integrity, like Jesus. This ambition for purity is not to produce arrogance or flow from a superiority complex. Those are also flaws. Instead, it is a combination of humility (for I’ve nothing that earns or deserves it) and confidence in Jesus Christ.

At this point in my life, no one reminds me to, “Remember who you are” but the Holy Spirit can do that when I need to hear it.

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Lord Jesus, I also realize that focusing on You is not mainly about what it does for me. In Your motivation, it might be but on my side of it, I’m not to have any hint of “what’s in this for me” because selfishness ruins the focus on You! I’m to glorify You, not me. To be changed into Your likeness is to bring You glory. Certainly these reasons reveal why this is so difficult to do and to remember; it is far easier for sinful me to want all of this for myself.

Today’s thankful list . . .

- many reminders today of God’s grace in my life.

- visits with friends and those I’ve not met before today.

- seeing the excitement of a friend who needed a new car and God supplied it so quick that we are shaking our heads in wonder.

- Spring in November — aka 10 degrees C. at 8:00 pm

- an afternoon of rest before a big dinner out to celebrate two birthdays.

- Baked Alaska!

Transformed lives is still the norm!

In the beginning of the church, God displayed to the known world what happens to people who are forgiven and redeemed, saved from the bondage of sin. Acts is Luke’s eye-witness account. From it I know about that dramatic change wrought by God to those who believe in Jesus Christ and gave their lives to Him.

And they devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers. And awe came upon every soul, and many wonders and signs were being done through the apostles. And all who believed were together and had all things in common. And they were selling their possessions and belongings and distributing the proceeds to all, as any had need. And day by day, attending the temple together and breaking bread in their homes, they received their food with glad and generous hearts, praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to their number day by day those who were being saved. (Acts 2:42–47)

Is this the norm? Does this still happen? Some people say that the church today should be more like the early church with a greater demonstration of the power of God in their lives. If these verses describe what they mean, it would be wonderful, yet church history has brought issues that have changed things. I don’t offer those changes as excuses, only explanations.

In North America, life’s pressures have Christians busy with work, family and all sorts of activities that pull them away from Bible study, fellowship that includes eating together, and prayer. In many other parts of the world, these activities have stopped or gone underground because governments have made them illegal.

Signs and wonders have fallen into question. Many theologians teach that these served a purpose then but are no longer part of God’s plan. Many Christians think that miracles have ceased, and without them, awe for God’s power has also faded. Adding to this is the tendency of media to bypass stories that glorify God or draw favorable attention to God’s people. Living for Christ seldom gets any press.

Believers are still willing to share. The stories of their generosity also seldom hit the news. As one reporter told me, if it bleeds, it leads and good news does not bleed, usually. Besides that, government has taken over the role of caring for the needy. We now rely on unemployment insurance and a host of other resources. Christian people offer soup kitchens but so do others. We no longer rate high in helping one another or the poor, and even if we did, it would not reach the press.

Over the centuries, the Spirit of God has prompted revivals where the church experiences renewal and people are drawn from ignoring God to salvation. I’ve heard that in some revivals the change in Christians was so dramatic that when they walked down the street, the Spirit touched others on the other side of the street and brought them to their knees before God in repentance and faith.

Perhaps that is the desire in our hearts when we say we should be like the early church. We want to be effective in our witness so that when we share our stories and our lives with each other, the world sees it and people are drawn to the Lord Jesus. As I read the above passage, I see that it is not that simple. If we want to be like those first Christians, we must devote ourselves to being together, to Bible study and prayer, having all things in common, selling our stuff and using the money to meet needs. This is not a description of Sunday church attendance, but a day by day focus on the things of God.

There is no mention in Acts of those new Christians having hobbies or spare time. It does not say anything about their employment because it was not the most important thing, nor does it mention themselves or their children being enrolled in lessons, sports, or other activities. These people were glad to eat together and generous of heart, praising God and not interested in awards or rewards. Could modern-day believers in our culture actually live like that? Could the persecuted church in other parts of the world enjoy that kind of togetherness without fear of being arrested or worse?

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Jesus, I cannot answer my own questions. I know You can do whatever You want with us. The changes in the first century were instigated and sustained by the Holy Spirit. We are called to live for You in a totally different setting and challenged by many issues that did not exist at the time covered by Luke when he wrote Acts. As it has been said, every generation must work out its own theology and how to live it in the time in which we live. They had their challenges and so do we. All I can ask is that You enable me to obey Your will today in my world in ways that bring You glory.

Impressionable?

I’ve heard that everyone we meet makes an impression on us. It might be very small or huge, short or long term, but one-on-one encounters shape our lives. This seems true because . . .

In John’s Gospel are narratives about people brought into contact with Jesus and the changes that followed. In every case, they are never the same. Either they believe and follow Him or the turn away in unbelief. This draws my attention to the power of Jesus’ personality and words and makes me think about the people that have had a powerful influence on my life.

My parents are obviously near the top of the list as are several friends, even people I’ve heard at conferences, particularly writers who said things that stuck with me. However, like the people John wrote about, Jesus has had the greatest influence. As the Bible says, the more I gaze at Him and read about His life, the more He transforms my life.

Jesus made an big impression on a man named Andrew who wound up bringing others to Him. The first was his brother Simon:

One of the two who heard John speak and followed Jesus was Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother. He first found his own brother Simon and said to him, “We have found the Messiah” (which means Christ). He brought him to Jesus. Jesus looked at him and said, “You are Simon the son of John. You shall be called Cephas” (which means Peter). (John 1:40–42)

The next was a young boy:

Lifting up his eyes, then, and seeing that a large crowd was coming toward him, Jesus said to Philip, “Where are we to buy bread, so that these people may eat?” He said this to test him, for he himself knew what he would do. Philip answered him, “Two hundred denarii worth of bread would not be enough for each of them to get a little.” One of his disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, said to him, “There is a boy here who has five barley loaves and two fish, but what are they for so many?” (John 6:5–9)

He may have mentioned the boy’s lunch with hesitation, but that small offering wound up being a huge feast as Jesus used it to feed a multitude.

Later Andrew brought some visitors in Jerusalem to Jesus:

Now among those who went up to worship at the feast were some Greeks. So these came to Philip, who was from Bethsaida in Galilee, and asked him, “Sir, we wish to see Jesus.” Philip went and told Andrew; Andrew and Philip went and told Jesus. (John 12:20–22)

Andrew met Jesus and was transformed. Because of him, others were also greatly influenced. The most obvious was his brother whose life was changed and who became a powerful leader in the early church. However, the little boy who gave up his lunch was changed too. I cannot imagine how he reacted to seeing how his small offering fed over five thousand people. In today’s world, many missions and service groups tell of the importance of the smallest donation. Jesus has proved that He can multiply just a little to serve many!

As for the Greek visitors, Andrew showed two things. One was the value of knowing the Old Testament and obeying its ideals:

“Likewise, when a foreigner, who is not of your people Israel, comes from a far country for your name’s sake (for they shall hear of your great name and your mighty hand, and of your outstretched arm), when he comes and prays toward this house, hear in heaven your dwelling place and do according to all for which the foreigner calls to you, in order that all the peoples of the earth may know your name and fear you, as do your people Israel, and that they may know that this house that I have built is called by your name. (1 Kings 8:41–43)

This is from a prayer of Solomon as the temple was dedicated. It is prophetic in nature and may have been Andrew’s basis for doing what the Greeks asked showing them hospitality. These gentiles were not on the best of terms with the Jews yet the world was changed because the Gospel included all people.

The other was Andrew’s wisdom in team-work. Philip told him about these Greeks and the two of them went to see Jesus, taking this opportunity to Him rather than spurning them as others might have done.

Andrew’s life was changed. As Simon Peter’s brother, he’d likely been a fisherman but became a disciple who had influence on his brother and others. He was willing to meet needs without many resources of his own and help people find Jesus, people he didn’t have any relationship with.

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Jesus, I’m not Andrew, but there are lessons to be learned from observing his life and having the same heart toward You and toward those in need as he did. As I ponder this, I know You also expect me to live by the changes You have made in my life. I want to be as sensitive to the Holy Spirit and to the needs around me as Andrew was, and always as willing to bring others to You, offering even the smallest of resources that You might use to bless them, and willing to direct anyone to You, even people I might otherwise consider outsiders.