Laid Bare

For the word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart. Nothing in all creation is hidden from God's sight. Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of him to whom we must give account.

Hebrews 4:12-13 

God’s Word is living and active. It doesn’t just lie there. It has power to accomplish God’s purposes. 

God’s Word is like a double-edged sword, so sharp that it can cut through the most minute dividing lines. It can divide joints and marrow. It can even divide soul and spirit, two things which we often think are the same. So, God’s Word is like the sharpest and most exacting of blades.

The passage goes on to say that “everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of Him to whom we must give account.” That phrase “laid bare” is really interesting, and it’s a beautiful picture of what happens to you and I when we come face to face with the power of God’s Word. Laid bare is the same word that was used of animals when they were sacrificed. It describes an animal being led to the slaughter with its head thrown back and its neck (the most vulnerable part of its body with the largest arteries) exposed before the sword of the slaughterer.

Now, that’s not a very endearing metaphor is it? But the truth it drives home is this... we all lie fully exposed and vulnerable before the greatness of our God and His powerful word. God’s Word is living and active and it overpowers us and it cuts us like a double edged sword, but we serve a good and loving Father who puts us in that position of vulnerability not to harm us but to heal us. Like a surgeon with His scalpel, God cuts us to heal us. He uses His Word to cut the cancer of sin out of our hearts. But in order for Him to do that we must be “laid bare” before him completely exposed and vulnerable.

So if you are tired of being overrun by sin and if you are willing to climb on the surgeon's table, then get more of God's Word in your life. Here's a link to the Bible Reading Plan my church is doing in 2021. Why don't you join us? 

My Pastor Can Beat up Your Pastor (W.o.W. Rewind)

I appeal to you, brothers and sisters, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree with one another in what you say and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be perfectly united in mind and thought. My brothers and sisters, some from Chloe’s household have informed me that there are quarrels among you. What I mean is this: One of you says, “I follow Paul”; another, “I follow Apollos”; another, “I follow Cephas”; still another, “I follow Christ.” Is Christ divided? Was Paul crucified for you? Were you baptized in the name of Paul?

I Corinthians 1:10-13

“My dad can beat up your dad!” 

“Nuh-uh! My dad could totally beat up your dad!!!”

It wasn’t uncommon to hear exchanges like this on the playground when I was a kid. In fact, I remember taking part in arguments just like this myself. It’s funny how we can take something as wonderful as being proud of our dad and turn it into a competition that leads to division and conflict. But the Bible tells us that this can happen in our churches just as easily. Christians can associate so closely with different pastors or Christian personalities that they begin to identify with them more than with Christ Himself. Many of you have heard people say, “I go to pastor So-and-So’s church.” We love to namedrop don’t we? Like it somehow makes us more important because our preacher published a book! Have you ever noticed how many people leave a church when the pastor changes? 

In 1 Corinthians, Paul warns the church about this danger and reminds us that our worth as believers is founded on who Christ is, not on who our pastor is. In this way all believers are on equal footing. We are all in Christ and therefore all one in Him. There is no need for division or conflict over these other admirable men in the church. They're nothing more than Christ’s servants. Christ is what counts, and nothing else. 

What, after all, is Apollos? And what is Paul? Only servants, through whom you came to believe—as the Lord has assigned to each his task. I planted the seed, Apollos watered it, but God has been making it grow. So neither the one who plants nor the one who waters is anything, but only God, who makes things grow. The one who plants and the one who waters have one purpose, and they will each be rewarded according to their own labor. (I Cor. 3:5-8)

Paul drives his point home in verses 21-23: "So then, no more boasting about human leaders! All things are yours, whether Paul or Apollos or Cephas or the world or life or death or the present or the future—all are yours, and you are of Christ, and Christ is of God." Quit boasting about men! I might add to quit boasting about numbers and buildings and programs and budgets. These things are not the end goal of the kingdom! When we boast in these things we're like a farmer boasting that he has the most beautiful tiller in the county. The goal isn't to have the most beautiful tiller! The goal is a fruitful harvest. We should be boasting in God and in Him alone, not in our pastor and not in our accomplishments as a church. Boast in the Lord and what He is accomplishing in the lives of the people in your church and in your own heart! Christ is our joy. He is our all in all, and He is our greatest boast. 

So be careful not to get caught up in conflict over Christian personalities. Be careful not to take pride in things that matter a lot in your church but not at all in the kingdom. Instead, stay close to Christ and remind yourself daily that nothing compares to this precious truth: Christ loved you and died for you so that you might be adopted as God’s own child. May we be so dumbfounded by this truth that no other boast ever crosses our lips again.

For further reading...

• Read I Corinthians 1-4:7

The Providence of Christmas

This is how the birth of Jesus the Messiah came about: His mother Mary was pledged to be married to Joseph, but before they came together, she was found to be pregnant through the Holy Spirit. 

Matthew 1:18

Over and over again the gospel accounts of Jesus' birth go out of their way to impress upon us that Jesus’ birth happened in the fullness of time, according to plan, to fulfill God’s promises. Nowhere is this more clear than in the gospel of Matthew. From the very first verse, Matthew takes great pains to tie Jesus’ birth back to the ancient promises of God. In the first two chapters of his book, Matthew points to four different Old Testament prophecies to show how God providentially ordered all the details of Jesus’ birth in accord with His plan. 

So when you think of all the details of the Christmas story that God worked out to fulfill prophecy... when you think of Jesus being born of a virgin, in Bethlehem, of the line of David in keeping with God's promises, be reminded that God is provident. Be reminded that God is in control and He works all things out according with His plan.

So as we begin to prepare for Christmas this year, let the Christmas story remind you that God has a plan and a purpose that He is working out, not only for our lives but for all of human history. History isn’t careening out of control. The circumstances of your life aren’t wholly random. God is in control and He is directing everything toward His desired end. 

Doesn’t it make you feel better to know that you serve a God who knows the end of the story? Isn’t it comforting in 2020 to be reminded that God is in control of all the madness going on? So, as you celebrate Christmas this year celebrate that God knows how the story ends. Celebrate that the world isn’t out of control. Celebrate that God is working all things out according to His plan and moving us toward His end for His purposes.

Be Somebody's Barnabas

When [Saul] came to Jerusalem, he tried to join the disciples, but they were all afraid of him, not believing that he really was a disciple. But Barnabas took him and brought him to the apostles. He told them how Saul on his journey had seen the Lord and that the Lord had spoken to him, and how in Damascus he had preached fearlessly in the name of Jesus. So Saul stayed with them and moved about freely in Jerusalem, speaking boldly in the name of the Lord.

Acts 9:26-28

You may remember that Saul had been a Pharisee and was an eager persecutor of the church. He had gone to Damascus to arrest Christians, but on the way there the risen Lord Jesus had appeared to him and changed his life forever. Saul became a Christian. Eventually he was run out of Damascus narrowly escaping with his life. But when he came to the church in Jerusalem, he wasn’t welcomed with open arms. He was met with suspicion.

You see the last time the Christians in Jerusalem had encountered Saul he was one of their most ardent persecutors, so they didn’t trust him. They thought that perhaps this was a trick. They couldn’t risk letting a wolf in amongst the sheep. So Saul was left isolated and alone. This new believer and powerful preacher had no one to pray with, no one to worship with, no one to study Scripture with, no real friend or brother in Christ. He was rejected by everyone, until Barnabas found him. 

Where others saw an enemy, Barnabas saw a brother. Where others saw potential for evil, Barnabas saw potential for good. When every other Christian in Jerusalem saw only the worst in Saul, Barnabas saw the best in him. Barnabas came alongside Saul and nurtured and encouraged him. He took him under his wing. He took him to the apostles and personally vouched for him. Think about this, Barnabas introduced the apostles to the man who would write half the New Testament! And because the apostles knew and trusted Barnabas, Saul was welcomed into the church in Jerusalem. It says “he stayed with them and he moved about freely in Jerusalem and spoke boldly of Jesus.” 

Who knows how many Saul’s there are in our churches right now? How many future preachers, future missionaries, music ministers, youth ministers, deacons and Sunday School teachers are in our churches right now and all they need is for someone to come alongside them, for someone to encourage them and nurture them and give them a chance. You’ll never know the difference a little encouragement can make in someone’s life... a little belief in their abilities... a little nurturing of their talents... a little grace for their failures. You will never know what kind of impact you can have on somebody until you come alongside and encourage them.

 

Be like Barnabas! Where others saw risk, he saw potential. Where everyone else saw the worst, Barnabas saw the best. Who do you need to encourage today? It might be your spouse or a child. It might be someone who is isolated and alone like Saul was. Someone who needs a friend, a brother in Christ to come alongside them and encourage them. Will you be that brother or sister in Christ? Will you be that friend? Be somebody's Barnabas today.