Remembering God, Part 5: In Fellowship
In our introduction I began by laying out four things we risk when we do not remember who God is and all that He has done. These were:
- Falling into idolatry/trusting ourselves or our possessions (Deut. 8:13-14)
- Never growing in trust of/faith in God (Isa. 40:20-21)
- Stumbling into sin and suffering the Father’s discipline (Deut. 8:19)
- Forfeiting a generation to the enemy (Judges 2:10-11)
So how do we, as parents, make sure that our family is all about remembering God? So far we’ve looked at remembering Himin the Word, in song, and in prayer. This week, I’d like us to look at how the people of God remember him in their fellowship.
What comes to mind when we think of fellowship? Is it Christian friends gathered around a game of monopoly and a bowl of chips and salsa, having little more than small talk?
Please don’t misunderstand. There is nothing wrong with monopoly and salsa, of course. In fact, I think salsa is one of the greatest inventions in history. However, that is not the kind of fellowship that the Scriptures are speaking of. So what is and how can Biblical fellowship serve to help us remember God? Let’s look at what Biblical fellowship consists of and I think we’ll find our answer.
We proclaim to you what we have seen and heard, so that you also may have fellowship with us. And our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son, Jesus Christ. (1 John 1:3)
What then shall we say, brothers? When you come together, everyone has a hymn, or a word of instruction, a revelation, a tongue or an interpretation. (1 Corinthians 14:26)
When Paul and John spoke of the fellowship of believers, I think they envisioned the kind of fellowship shared by Jesus’ closest friends. A group of the faithful gathered around the person of Jesus. They shared with one another what God had done (1 John 1:3), prayed together, worshiped together, and broke bread in communion together. If you are host to this kind of fellowship in your home then you are blessing your children more than you know. If you are not then I strongly encourage you to seek it out like a thirsty man seeks water. Like the ancients before us, gathered round the campfire telling the stories of our great God in action, we need to remember, together in fellowship, everything that God is and has done.
And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds. 25Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching. (Hebrews 10:24-25)
As Christmas approaches, next time we’ll look at remembering God through our traditions and memorials.
Remembering God, Part 4: In Prayer
In our introduction I began by laying out four things we risk when we do not remember who God is and all that He has done. These were:
- Falling into idolatry/trusting ourselves or our possessions (Deut. 8:13-14)
- Never growing in trust of/faith in God (Isa. 40:20-21)
- Stumbling into sin and suffering the Father’s discipline (Deut. 8:19)
- Forfeiting a generation to the enemy (Judges 2:10-11)
So how do we, as parents, make sure that our family is all about remembering God? So far we’ve looked at remembering Him in the Word and remembering God in song. This post, I’d like us to look at how the people of God remember him in prayer.
How do we teach our children to pray? I know that all too often I fall into the pattern of thanking God for the day’s blessings, asking forgiveness, and making requests. These are all biblical and worthy topics for prayer. But when it comes to remembering God for who He is and all He has done, we want to have something more than short-term memory.
In the book of Nehemiah we find a beautiful example of prayer that truly remembers God in all His glory. In the ninth chapter of Nehemiah the priestly Levites are leading a gathering of the people in worship after the wall has been rebuilt and many of the remnant of Israel have returned. In verse five, they call on the people to stand. Then there begins a rather lengthy prayer.
I think that in this prayer we can find a model for remembering God. First God is recognized for who He is. “Blessed be your glorious name,” they begin. “You alone are Lord.” Many of God’s attributes are then declared in prayer. He is praised as the creator of all things seen and unseen. Immediately following this they begin recounting to God the history of His interaction with them beginning with Abraham. Miracle by miracle, grace by grace, blessing by blessing, they revisit God’s hand at work among them and their own failings throughout the relationship. Wow! It is based on this detailed memory that they are able to cry out to God in the end and say, we know we have failed, we have sinned, but You are compassionate and forgiving and we are turning back to You. How sad it would be if no one present could remember any of it? Where would that have left them?
When it comes to remembering God for who he is and all he has done we want to have something more than short-term memory.
So how might our family emulate this example of memorable prayer? Here are two ideas for you to consider.
- Sit down as a family and record your family’s spiritual history. Include when people were saved, God provided in a different or special way, answers to prayer, etc. Go back as far as you can. Hearing about how grandpa or grandma came to Christ is exciting and interesting for your children. Include the failings as well, where age appropriate, but focus on how God worked through and in these struggles.
- Pick a time when the family can gather for prayer and worship. During your prayer time pray through your recorded history to God. Remember back to Him, as the priests in Nehemiah, who He is, all that He has done in your relationship, and acknowledge Him. Try to do this with some regularity, whether it’s once a month thing or something you do at a specific time of year. You will also need to keep the story updated as God continues to work in and through your family.
Tune in next time when we talk about remembering God through fellowship.
Remembering God, Part 3: In Song
In our introduction I began by laying out four things we risk when we do not remember who God is and all that He has done. These were:
- Falling into idolatry/trusting ourselves or our possessions (Deut. 8:13-14)
- Never growing in trust of/faith in God (Isa. 40:20-21)
- Stumbling into sin and suffering the Father’s discipline (Deut. 8:19)
- Forfeiting a generation to the enemy (Judges 2:10-11)
So how do we, as parents, make sure that our family is all about remembering God? So far we’ve looked at remembering Him in the Word. This week I’d like us to look at the how and why of remembering God in song.
We learn in the book of Job that God our Maker “gives songs in the night.” The Psalmist reminds us over and over that God IS our song. In Nehemiah we see that choirs were assigned to sing at the dedication of the wall around Jerusalem. In Ephesians we are commanded to speak to one another in psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs. As the Israelites came up from the Red Sea their first response was to sing. So the evidence is overwhelming. We are to remember God in song. But why? Why not just the written or spoken word? Here are a few thoughts on why the Lord gave us music.
How many of you still sing your ABC’s? Who among us can recite the states and their capitals only in song? How many of us can easily recall a favorite song from our youth, word for word? If you are answering “no” to all of these then I’d like to know what planet you’ve been living on. Our Maker knows that music helps us remember. Imagine that.
Music goes beyond just a simple memory tool. It does something to us. It affects the way we respond to words.
If I were to read to you the lyrics of The Star Spangled Banner, it would probably not illicit much in the way of a physical or emotional response. Imagine now that I played for you a recording of Whitney Houston singing it at the Super Bowl. Goose bumps, teary eyes, and an overwhelming patriotic feeling, anyone? How about these lyrics from the song “Amazing Love” – ‘amazing love how can it be that you my King would die for me?’ When I read that, my mind understands the words but my heart is not engaged fully. Add music and a couple of hundred of us singing on a Sunday morning and I can’t get through the first verse without being choked up with awe and gratitude. Of course our Creator knows us perfectly and He knows that music has the unique ability to connect our minds to our spirits. For this reason music is a powerful way to meditate with ones whole being on the greatness of our God, His deeds, our salvation, His promises, and so much more. I encourage you to help your children take the example of the Apostle Paul when he said, “I will sing with my spirit, but I will also sing with my mind.”
Here are two practical ideas for helping your family remember God in song:
- When you are singing along to your favorite song, praise chorus, or hymn in the car or at home, take a minute to ask your children what they think the song means and where in scripture the words or ideas came from? Don’t let a teachable moment get away.
- Search out music that teaches, that recalls the greatness of God and the joy that we have in Him, that sings scripture, and fill your lives with it. The songs they learn now they will carry with them for their lifetime. Let it be a lifetime of remembering God in song.
Tune in next time when we talk about remembering God in our prayers.
Remembering God, Part 2: In His Word
In our introduction I began by laying out four things we risk when we do not remember who God is and all that He has done. These were:
- Falling into idolatry/trusting ourselves or our possessions (Deut. 8:13-14)
- Never growing in trust of/faith in God (Isa. 40:20-21)
- Stumbling into sin and suffering the Father’s discipline (Deut. 8:19)
- Forfeiting a generation to the enemy (Judges 2:10-11)
In our exploration of remembering God, we’ll begin with his written revelation. God’s Word is our primary means of remembering who He is and all that He has done throughout history. As parents our most important duty in the kingdom is to take the words of God and, “Teach them to your children. Talk about them when you are at home. Talk about them when you walk along the road. Speak about them when you go to bed. And speak about them when you get up” (Deuteronomy 11:19).
God’s Word is our primary means of remembering who He is and all that He has done throughout history.
When Josiah, the child-king who reigned in Jerusalem for thirty-one years, was twenty-six years old, an amazing discovery was made during repairs to the temple. You can find the account in 2 Kings 22-23. Hilkiah, the high priest, found the Book of the Law in the Temple. There are a couple of interesting things to note here. First, the Book was “found” which means it had come into disuse, it was “lost,” it was not being read and proclaimed to the people. When the Book is given to Josiah he had apparently been unaware of its existence or what was written in it. At this time in Jerusalem the very Temple was filled with statues dedicated to other gods. On every high hill in the country there were altars to foreign gods where the people of Israel would sacrifice even their own children. This was a culture that had forgotten God’s Word, forgotten his covenant promises, forgotten who He was and what He had done to make them his people, and as a result, had fallen into the deepest, darkest pits of demonic idolatry. The second point of interest is Josiah’s reaction upon being exposed to the Holy Scriptures for the first time.
When the king heard the words of the Book of the Law, he tore his robes. He gave these orders to Hilkiah the priest, … “Go and inquire of the Lord for me and for the people and for all Judah about what is written in this book that has been found. Great is the Lord’s anger that burns against us because those who have gone before us have not obeyed the words of this book; they have not acted in accordance with all that is written there concerning us.”
Josiah’s response is one of repentance and a newfound zeal for the Lord. His heart was turned from idolatry and he was spared the discipline that the Lord would eventually bring on Judah.
There is a lesson to be learned here. God’s Word must hold an active and prominent place in our family life and in our homes. We cannot let it lapse into disuse because, if we do, inevitably something else will come in to fill that vacuum as it did in Jerusalem. It must be ever before us as a reminder. We are the spiritual descendants of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, of Peter, Paul, and John. Children need to know where they came from if they are to understand where they fit into the bigger picture and where they are going. They need to have a sense of history and their place in it. They must understand where they fit in to God’s redemptive plan.
So how can we be a family of the Book? Every family is different but here are two ways straight out of the good Book itself that any of us can employ right away and to great affect (Deuteronomy 6:6-9).
- Place the written word of God in strategic places throughout your home. These can be anything from a plaque over the door to the artwork on the wall to a white board by the breakfast table with a verse of the day. Select a verse that speaks to you about each of your children and place that prominently in their bedroom. Use notecards or sticky notes on the bathroom mirror or in their lunchbox. Whatever form it takes, fill your home with His Word.
- Make reading of the Word aloud part of your family routine. This could be as simple as having a new verse or passage to read at the dinner table each evening. If you have readers, allow them a chance to do the reading. Then give the family some time as you break bread together to discuss it. Even with pre-readers this can be a precious time and generate some great questions.
The most important thing we can do is lead by example. Show them how to approach God’s Word with respect, in prayer, and with the expectation that God will speak to you through it. Even if you think you are weak in this area you’d be surprised what your children are picking up on and how far a little faithfulness on your part will go.
Tune in next time when we talk about “Remembering God in Song.”
Remembering God, Part 1: Introduction
Why is it that God spends so much time in the Bible telling His children to “remember” Him?
I’d like to venture four reasons I believe are grounded in scripture and then, over the next several weeks, give you five practical and biblical ways to remember the Lord as a family. When we fail to remember God we risk…
- …Falling into idolatry/trusting ourselves or our possessions (Deut. 8:13-14)
- …Never growing in trust of/faith in God (Isa. 40:20-21)
- …Stumbling into sin and suffering the Father’s discipline (Deut. 8:19)
- …Forfeiting a generation to the enemy (Judges 2:10-11)
So how can we be a family that is all about remembering God? As we head toward Thanksgiving and Christmas, two big “reminders” built into our culture, I want to take some time to discuss each of the five ways, listed below, that God has ordained for us to remember Him, who He is, and all that He has done. I’ll also include some practical ways for us to incorporate these into family life.
- In His Word – God’s Word is our primary means of remembering who He is and all that He has done throughout history. As parents our most important duty in the kingdom is to take the words of God and, “Teach them to your children. Talk about them when you are at home. Talk about them when you walk along the road. Speak about them when you go to bed. And speak about them when you get up” (Deuteronomy 11:19).
- In song – Remembering God in song is a theme we see in scripture over and over again. How wonderful it is that our Creator gave us music, knowing the power it has to help us remember as well as to connect our heads to our hearts and emotions.
- In prayer – Prayer should not only be about asking for help but about remembering to God all that He has done. When we thank God in our prayers we are “remembering” that God alone is responsible for providing our every need. (Nehemiah 9)
- In true Christian fellowship – Fellowship is much more than potluck dinners or bowling night. It is about gathering together to remember God to one another. (1 Corinthians 14:26)
- In traditions and memorials – Traditions and memorials are things that we, in the bible church movement have largely banished from the life of the church. While a healthy dose of caution about tradition becoming idolatry is warranted, the Bible is also clear that God has given us tradition and memorial to help us “remember” who He is and all that He has done. (Joshua 4:4-7, Luke 22:19)
I hope that these “reminders” will serve you well in making your home, for this holiday season and throughout the year, a place where you are remembering God for who He is and what He’s done. Tune in next time when we’ll look at what it means to remember God in his Word.
TRAIL GUIDE: Static on the Line
The “Trail Guide” devotional is used by our adult leaders of grade school groups in Quest as a way to prepare their hearts and minds for the topics we will be covering with the children on the weekend. We have made them available here to help our parents of grade-schoolers engage with their children around the topics we are discussing and also for anyone else that might be blessed by following along.
FIVE BY FIVE*, LESSON 4: God answers prayer.
When our Internet connection or phone connection quality takes a dive, we typically begin a process of troubleshooting. We might start by rebooting. We then move to check all of our connections to confirm they are firmly in place. Then we confirm our settings and passwords. When that doesn’t work we’ll find a way to contact our service provider and pursue a solution until our connection is restored. What is our troubleshooting process when we sense that God is not hearing (by hearing, I mean in the active sense of hearing and responding) our prayers?
Our owners’ manual gives us some things to check on. In Psalm 66:18-19, the psalmist gives us the first and easiest place to look for trouble. “If I had cherished sin in my heart, the Lord would not have listened; but God has surely listened and has heard my prayer.” Is there some area of my life that I have intentionally held on to and not surrendered to Christ? Do I have some “pet sin” that I am trying to hang on to? Maybe that’s not the problem. Perhaps I have some unresolved issue with a brother or sister in Christ? According to Matthew 5:24 we should first reconcile ourselves to our brothers before we come into communion with the Lord. Another place to look for trouble is in the heart behind the prayer. James the brother of Jesus tells us that sometimes we don’t receive what we have asked of the Lord because our motives are wrong. Why are we praying the way we are praying? Are we really praying in keeping with God’s will or for some other purpose?
If all of these things check out, we need to remember what God promises in regard to prayer. He promises an answer (yes, no, or wait) and He promises peace. In Philippians 4:7, He says that when we present our requests to Him in thanksgiving we will receive his peace regardless of the answer. Where God’s sovereignty and the prayers of his people meet and work together is a mystery, but of this we can be sure, prayer molds our relationship with God, prayer moves God to action and prayer changes things. This is the great privilege of the believer, to enter in to the presence of God and participate in the eternal purposes of God in prayer. “So let us keep on coming boldly to the throne of grace, so that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.” – Hebrews 4:16
The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective.. -James 5:16
MEDITATING ON THE WORD:
Philippians 4:6-7
Matthew 5:24
Psalm 66:18-19
James 4:3, 5:16
*What does “5 by 5” mean? In spoken communication over two-way radios, a transmitting station may request a report on the quality of signal they are broadcasting. “Five by five” means a signal that has excellent strength and perfect clarity — the most understandable signal possible.
The Missing Peace: Q & A, Part 3
This is the third and final Q & A post from The Missing Peace teaching series. The first Q & A post is here. The second post is here. Thanks again to all who submitted questions for this series! We pray it has been helpful and encouraging as you walk with Jesus
– Jason VanDorsten & Jason Goetz
Can you elaborate on what Jesus meant when he said he did not come to bring peace, but a sword?
Jason VanDorsten – I figured that some us may be thinking back to week one, when Goetz touched on that fact that Jesus, the Prince of Peace said that he did not actually come to bring peace, but a sword. This is from Matthew 10:34-36: “Do not think that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I have not come to bring peace, but a sword. For I have come to set a man against his father, and a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law. And a person’s enemies will be those of his own household.”
I remember reading those verses for the first time as a very young Christian and thinking something along the lines of “…WHAAAAAT?!” I was so confused. How is it that the Prince of Peace brings a sword for war and divides people who should love each other?
I would say that the sword Jesus brings is not a physical one. In fact, when Peter draws a physical sword on behalf of Jesus in Matthew 26, Jesus rebukes him, telling him to put it away because “all who draw the sword will die by the sword.” Instead of a physical sword, the sword Jesus refers to here is a spiritual one, one that will divide and sever broken human relationships that are resistant to a reconciled relationship with the living God.
Jesus is making the point that although he brings real peace with God (and we as peacemakers offer real peace with God in Christ to others), it will bring relational division, conflict and even war. As we’ve said, we tend to think of peace in terms of absence – no pain, no conflict, no noise. Maybe we think of peace in terms of people shutting up – parents, a boss, a teacher, those guys on stage at church while Pastor Mike is gone (bless their hearts!) Out of our fallen natures and the residual “old self” that resides within even regenerated believers (see Romans 6-7), we all lean toward some form of personal “peace” that basically asserts, LET ME DO WHAT I WANT TO DO, LET ME BE FILLED WITH WHAT I WANT TO FILL MY LIFE WITH, LET ME ESTABLISH MY OWN KINGDOM WITH MY OWN RULES. Anything that gets in the way of the kingdom we are trying to set up for ourselves disturbs our version of peace, whatever that may look like for each of us.
I think Jesus is saying here in Matthew 10:34-36 that he didn’t come for that. He did not live and die and rise again for our tiny little definition of peace. He did not come to establish our kingdom, but His Father’s kingdom.
As we’ve said throughout the series, true peace – shalom – is not the kind of peace that man naturally wants or desires. Our human definitions of peace are too narrow, our goals fall too short. So when we come to the table with the gospel, declaring God’s terms of surrender found in repentance, God’s terms of believing the gospel of Christ, we find a violent opposition – sometimes from within, sometimes from without.
Why this opposition? Because I do not naturally want to surrender to the truth of the gospel as it involves acknowledging Jesus Christ as Lord & King of all – including all of me. The gospel is a call to submit to Someone other than myself and the idols I set up as I build my own little kingdom. So there is a violent opposition between God’s terms of peace in Christ and the terms of peace we want. Therefore until repentance comes in man’s heart, by God’s grace, there will be no peace. And that gets back to the light/darkness topic addressed in the first Q & A session, under the question “Why would peacemakers be persecuted?”
Being a light in dark places will make enemies even of those even in your own household if they love the darkness.
How can we make peace with a fallen world – Is this even possible?
Jason Goetz – Unfortunately, it is not possible to make true shalom peace with individuals who have not accepted Jesus as their Lord. It is only possible to make shalom peace when both parties hold to the same standard – the Gospel. Without both parties acknowledging Jesus as Lord and desiring to honor Him, you’ll always have one side that is pursuing a counterfeit peace. This counterfeit peace may appear to be shalom, but it is always full of their own desires (Isaiah 64:6) – the desire to avoid conflict, the desire to be liked, the desire for others to “return the favor”, etc. Though we cannot make true shalom peace with those that don’t follow Jesus, we are called to bring, reflect, model true shalom peace to them (Jn 20:21, Mt 28:19) in the hopes that they will accept Christ.
JVD – In addition to Goetz’s answer above, I’d say for peace in terms of interpersonal relationships, refer back to the principles in the response to the question “How do I make peace with a non-Christian?” In regards to world peace, or general peace in the world system, check out the answer to the question “If shalom means the way things were meant to be and there is sin in the world, can we ever really have true shalom here on earth?”
If only Christians have true peace, can only Christians bring true peace?
JVD – It stands to reason that no one can bring to others that which the do not possess. So in that sense, only Christians can bring the true peace of Christ to others. While people can know about God through what is called general revelation (see Romans 1:20 and Psalm 19:1-4 for examples), general revelation does not communicate the explicit truth of salvation through Jesus Christ – the gospel. Faith in Jesus Christ is the only way to be saved from the penalty of sin, and thus the only way to true peace. So how can people know the true peace from the gospel? Romans 10:14-15 says, “How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them? And how can anyone preach unless they are sent? As it is written: ‘How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!’” God’s people – true, believing, regenerated Christians, saved by His Son, moving in the power of His Spirit, directed by His Word – are His chosen vessel for the good news of peace with God through Jesus (Matthew 28:19–20; Acts 1:8).
How can I know if my peace is really in Jesus or if it’s just circumstantial?
JG – This is a natural question and common to all Jesus followers. It exists as part of the ongoing tension we will face during this lifetime. Shalom peace is the direct result of accepting the truth of the Gospel – admitting that I am a sinful person, accepting that I cannot earn God’s forgiveness or favor, repenting of my wrongdoings, and trusting that God sent His Son Jesus to pay the penalty that I deserve. Put differently, we often wonder (to varying degrees) whether we have shalom peace with God. We need to rest in the fact that our decision to follow Jesus is eternal (John 10:28).
That being said, we don’t even consider this question during the moment-by-moment occasions when circumstances are perceived as neutral – things happen the way we expect them to happen (we are healthy, our car starts when we turn the key, we still have a job, etc.) In a truly introspective moment after something good happens to us, we may occasional ask ourself, “Does my peace come from Jesus or this really good thing?” But most of the time, we tend to ask ourselves this question regarding circumstances that we view as negative. We begin to doubt our faith and consider whether our perceived peace was only present because life was going well.
We are called to live our lives as a living sacrifice for Jesus (Romans 12:1). We are also commanded to rejoice and give thanks in all situations (1 Thes 5:16-18), regardless of the circumstances.
In a practical way, we can ask ourselves the question – “Would I still be joyful (have peace) if this doesn’t turn out the way I want?”
JVD – Diagnostic questions like Goetz’s above very helpful to me when considering this question. Personally, I think the answer to this ultimately lies deeply in the theme of idolatry. By idolatry, I don’t mean little wooden men that I set up and bow down to… but spiritual idolatry. I’ve heard idolatry defined as taking a good thing and making it an ultimate thing. What or whom do I esteem, value, or worship more than God? What or whom do I tend to escape to when times are difficult? Is it Jesus? Or something (or someone) else? What thing or relationship, if taken out of my life, would leave me completely, hopelessly devastated? What do I fear? What do I seek? What do I feel is missing from my life? What one thing or relationship would make me truly happy if I had it (or didn’t have it)? What disappoints me or makes me angry? What do I expect and how do I respond when those expectations aren’t met?
While these questions are helpful in a preemptive way, I find more often than not that it is the unexpected and difficult circumstance itself that often reveals what I really believe about Jesus – and I always feel like I come up short. We will feel the hurt even more keenly when a painful situation shows us we have been trusting less in Jesus than we dare believe. But He is far more gracious, kind and faithful than we dare hope. He does not leave us, but walks with us during those seasons. Like a good Father would, our Lord is kind to take the idols from our hands and turn our faces back toward Him. For most of us, as Goetz indicated, we are probably already trusting more in our circumstances than in our Lord. I think that’s going to be unavoidable to a large degree. But when I have those realizations, I don’t want to sweep them under the rug or wallow in self-pity, but allow God to use those times to push me deeper into all we have in Christ.
What are some practical ways we can “make every effort” (Romans 14:19)? What does doing something with “all” of yourself look like?
JG – I would say that this comes down to a struggle with idolatry, much like JVD outlined in the response to the previous question. We are struggle with this to some degree. Ask yourself the question – Is there something in my life that I am more committed to than Jesus? This might be in life overall or during a given season. Whatever that thing is is holding you back from an all-out pursuit of God. Pursuing God with the same tenacity that we pursue that idol would model what we see in Mark 12:30-31 – “And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength…You shall love your neighbor as yourself.”
However, we are still sinful individuals and it isn’t going to go perfectly for us in this. We will turn away and desire something less, just like the nation of Israel. But the more we know God and recognize His unconditional love for us, the more we are drawn to Him and committed to serving Him.
JVD – One of the folks who sent a version of this question preempted it with this statement: “My observation in life is that we (myself included) seldom do things to the best of our ability; we tend to do things to the best of our willingness.” Not a bad observation. I think “making every effort” is not just muscling through, but has a lot to do with God changing my desires so that they align with His. What my heart desires, my will is going to pursue. Making every effort to toward peace, or loving God and others with all we have, is work – but work that we do as a result of our faith in Christ (James 2:20). On a practical level, if we are just going through religious motions, I think we’ve missed the mark. I need the Spirit of God and the Word of God leading, guiding, directing me to from within to accomplish what God is calling me to do as one who is to love with “all.” In a very real sense, in order for me to give my all or make every effort, Jesus “must become greater; I must become less” (John 3:30). He must direct my desires, and I must surrender my will to His.
Why is peace so elusive when it is one of Jesus’ promises? Saying it is a broken world is not sufficient to answer this question.
JG – I think even more important than the broken world is the broken man. Shalom is so elusive because we really don’t want it. At our core, we don’t want to be right with the one true God…..we want to be God (Gen 3). Peace (from a sanctification perspective) is always there for the Christ follower, but our sinful nature draws us away from experiencing it. Paul articulates this so well in Romans 7:15-20: I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do.And if I do what I do not want to do, I agree that the law is good. As it is, it is no longer I myself who do it, but it is sin living in me. For I know that good itself does not dwell in me, that is, in my sinful nature. For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out. For I do not do the good I want to do, but the evil I do not want to do—this I keep on doing. Now if I do what I do not want to do, it is no longer I who do it, but it is sin living in me that does it.
JVD – Despite the protest that came with this question, I think that saying it is a broken world is in many ways a very sufficient answer. We may not like that answer, but you can dig down pretty deep there. That said, I’d have to agree with Goetz regarding broken man. Christian or not, most people can quote John 3:16 – “For God so loved the world that He have His only Son…” One of the amazing things about that verse is not just that God would give His Son to save something so BIG as the world, but also that He would save something so BAD as the world – a world in which no one meets the holy standards of God and not one seeks God (Romans 3:11). Broken people in a broken world make for elusive peace.
Does this mean failure on Christ’s part to deliver on His promise? Not at all. His promise is both for now and for eternity. If I am broken and Jesus is not, I have to consider that the elusiveness of peace in the present is not a failure on His part to deliver, but a failure on my part to perceive. You can refer to our answer to the question “If shalom means the way things were meant to be and there is sin in the world can we ever really have true shalom here on earth?” in this post. Though our salvation in Christ is secure in the eternal sense, our present realities are still lining up with our eternal status. I think this often plays into the question of elusive peace, as well as the pull toward circumstantial peace discussed (in this post, above) in response to the question “How can I know if my peace is really in Jesus, or if it’s just circumstantial?”
How do I stay at peace when there is no peace from something (abuse, chronic illness, ongoing conflict, divorce, etc.)?
JG – We sympathize with those of you that are in these types of situations. The reality is that difficult circumstances may never fully go away. It’s during difficult times like these when it is critically important to circle back to the point at which we got peace – the Gospel. With that in mind, we need to rely on the Gospel truths that we find in God’s Word:
- You are God’s child and nothing can change that (John 10:28)
- God is there to protect you (Proverbs 18:10)
- God is your strength (Ephesians 6:10)
I think the responses to the question of circumstantial peace (above, in this post) can also be helpful in thinking through this question.
JVD – Before I jump in to this question, we would be clear and quick to say that in cases of abuse please do not assume that making peace and pursuing peace means continually submitting yourself to the evils of abuse. In no way would we want to imply that remaining in an abusive situation is somehow the most spiritual or godly thing to do. If you are being abused in some way – including, but certainly not limited to psychological, spiritual, physical or sexual abuse – get out and seek help.
To the question, I think we would certainly reiterate the distinction between shalom and circumstantial/situational peace. And absolutely, we must circle back around the the Gospel, as Goetz points out. Does this mean that the Gospel specifically tell us what to do in every single circumstance or situation? No, not explicitly. But the Gospel does tell us all we need to know about who God is, who we are, how God sees us, how God sees others, and how things turn out in the end. While it does not make every situation and circumstance easy and well, the Gospel is the lens through which we must view and navigate the individual circumstances and situations we face. We have the tendency to judge God through the lens of our situation – i.e., This situation is _______(difficult, painful, disappointing, etc.), therefore God is________ (distant, angry, apathetic, etc.) We must go back again and again to the Gospel in order to do precisely the opposite – instead of passing judgement on God because of our situation, view our situation through the lens who God has shown Himself to be.
We have to understand that there will be circumstances and situations that will not change this side of eternity, so we will not experience that kind of peace we want in them. In reviewing our series with some of the staff, someone said, “Conflict is our address. It’s where we live.” Meaning – we will not be free from difficulty and pain until Jesus comes back. If you dealing with heavy, ongoing difficult circumstances, I would recommend some time before the Lord meditating on, working out and praying through Philippians 4:4-9 – a great promise from God that begins with rejoicing not in a situation, but rejoicing in God despite situations:
“Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice. Let your reasonableness be known to everyone. The Lord is at hand; do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things. What you have learned and received and heard and seen in me—practice these things, and the God of peace will be with you.”
If I’m reading this correctly, God will guard my heart with His peace – not because the situation gets better and not because I understand all the whys and hows and whens – but because I walk with Him in thankful prayer with a rejoicing spirit. May He give us the grace to do just that.
TRAIL GUIDE: Confident Prayer
The “Trail Guide” devotional is used by our adult leaders of grade school groups in Quest as a way to prepare their hearts and minds for the topics we will be covering with the children on the weekend. We have made them available here to help our parents of grade-schoolers engage with their children around the topics we are discussing and also for anyone else that might be blessed by following along.
FIVE BY FIVE*, LESSON 3: God answers prayer.
Confident prayer flows from a personal, experiential trust in the character of God. Trusting that God will answer your prayers, and always in the very best way possible, begins with the knowledge of the revealed character of God in scripture. “As for God, his way is perfect: The LORD’s word is flawless; he shields all who take refuge in him.” (2 Sam. 22:31)
Scripture is clear; God answers the prayers of his people when they turn their hearts toward him. But how does He answer? What can we expect?
Consider these questions as you prepare your heart this week to lead your students. Would our God be good if He gave us what we asked for even if it was not the best? Would He be a loving Father if He gave us that which would, in the end, do us harm or send us on a detour from His perfect plan?
While the answers to these questions seem clear theoretically, we still struggle with them in practice. Especially when what we’ve asked for seems good and right to us. The truth is that what we ask for may in fact be good and right but not best and not God’s will in that circumstance.
Accepting the fact that God is more interested in our character than He is in our comfort, and believing in His goodness even when it doesn’t seem good to us, is a very real part of the Christian walk, a critical feature of a Christian worldview, and one that we must teach the children early before the storms of life come to shake their faith.
This is the confidence we have in approaching God… -1 John 5:14a
MEDITATING ON THE WORD:
Jeremiah 33:3
Ephesians 3:20
Matthew 7:11
James 1:17
Isaiah 55:9
*What does “5 by 5” mean? In spoken communication over two-way radios, a transmitting station may request a report on the quality of signal they are broadcasting. “Five by five” means a signal that has excellent strength and perfect clarity — the most understandable signal possible.
TRAIL GUIDE: In Jesus’ Name
The “Trail Guide” devotional is used by our adult leaders of grade school groups in Quest as a way to prepare their hearts and minds for the topics we will be covering with the children on the weekend. We have made them available here to help our parents of grade-schoolers engage with their children around the topics we are discussing and also for anyone else that might be blessed by following along.
FIVE BY FIVE*, LESSON 2: God answers prayer.
“…In Jesus’ name…” We throw those words on to the end of our prayers as though they were a postage stamp or magical phrase that will result in our prayers being answered. I am as guilty as the next guy in this regard. “In Jesus’ name” has become just as rote as saying, “amen” at the end of a prayer. It is interesting to consider that “in Jesus’ name” does not appear at the end of any prayers in the Bible. So what does it mean to pray, “in Jesus’ name,” and why is it the key to answered prayer?
Thinking about the answer to this question brought to mind an incident that occurred some years ago. I was suffering with a kidney stone. Those of you who have had one will attest to the agony. I went to a hospital where I sat (or rather, writhed) in pain while the receptionist asked me about my address, my insurance, and my medical history. She then informed me that I had to wait for admittance even though there were apparently no other patients in the waiting area in as much pain. I asked her to reconsider, but to no avail. Then something happened. A good friend of mine, who also happened to be a doctor – and, at the time, the Mayor of the city we were in – came through the front door. When he saw me there, doubled over on the floor, he took my hand, told the receptionist he was taking me into the attending room and admitting me immediately in his name. The receptionist just nodded in disbelief as I was whisked past her and into the hospital where I was attended to quickly and courteously all at the direction of my friend, the Mayor. It pays to know people in places of authority, and as Christ-followers we have access to the highest of all authority. To pray “in Jesus’ name” is to come before the Father in the authority of the Son. This is not a little authority either. Jesus said that, “all authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.” All authority is just that – all.
We will be exploring with the children this week what it means to pray in the authority of Jesus and the importance of the “will” of God in those prayers. As you meditate on our passages and theme for this week consider how you might communicate these truths from your own life stories.
This is the confidence we have in approaching God… -1 John 5:14a
MEDITATING ON THE WORD:
John 15:7
1 John 5:14-15
Matthew 26:36-42
*What does “5 by 5” mean? In spoken communication over two-way radios, a transmitting station may request a report on the quality of signal they are broadcasting. “Five by five” means a signal that has excellent strength and perfect clarity — the most understandable signal possible.
The Missing Peace: Q & A, Part 2
This is the second Q & A post from The Missing Peace series. The first Q & A post is here. Again, we’ve combined some of the similar questions and are posting our answers here in hopes that they are helpful and encouraging as you have peace, make peace and bring peace in Christ.
Many of the questions in this post were answered in a live session in the third week of the series. You can watch or listen here.
How do I make peace with a non-Christian?
Jason VanDorsten – As we talked about in week two, I think this has to back to the Gospel. I’m assuming that this question – for the most part – is from an evangelistic standpoint, not just interpersonal. Either way, the answer is still the Gospel – and I mean the Gospel not just as a presentation, but living the Gospel out before others.
Pastor Rick Warren makes the great point that our culture has generally accepted 2 specific lies – we operate under these false assumptions, and they play into how we live out the Gospel before others. The first lie is that if we disagree with someone else’s viewpoint or lifestyle, then we surely must hate and fear them. The second lie is that to love someone means we have to be totally on board with every little thing they say or do. Both of those are nonsense. We can be – we must be – deeply compassionate toward others without compromising the convictions and mandates of the Gospel that are at odds with others’ lifestyles.
But I think those cultural lies have lead us as Christians to be polarized in our interactions with people who are not like us. We tend toward peacebreaking (just smashing people with the truth at the expense of love) or we tend toward peacefaking (caring for people and loving them, but at the expense of truth.) We have to depend on God and His Spirit to lead us toward peace with right measures of grace and truth as we live the gospel out in our daily lives.
Prayer is an essential component – in living the Gospel out, we are to live in such a way that shows our peace lies in One greater than ourselves. We need God to empower us in that. And in the end, regardless of how well or how poorly you approach peace with a non-Christian, it is God who must ultimately capture the heart. So if we have ongoing relationships with non-Christians and we want them to see the light of Christ, we must pray for God to intercede and do that work. It may be through us or through some other means – but we should spend no small amount of time in prayer for that.
Beyond prayer? I would say obedience, love, and stewardship. Obedience – God has sent us out, so we are to move forward in obedience to Him in reaching others with His terms for peace, the gospel. Love – we know the greatest commandment is the love God with all we are, and the second is like it; to love others. Stewardship – we must be good stewards of the relationships and opportunities that God give us. I realize that’s really general, and in considering this question, I would love a “here’s 10 steps to relational peace” type of answer. I think there are guiding principles, but I’m not sure there’s a magic bullet that will work with the dynamics of every relationship – relationships are not formulaic. So I can’t really give a “follow these 10 steps” kind of answer. In the end, to have peace with a non-Christian, we are calling them to follow Jesus. “Follow Jesus” is a hard sell, because it’s not an invitation to an easy life – it’s a summons to give up your life. It’s a call to peace, but not the kind of peace people naturally want. So prayer, obedience, love and good stewardship are essential.
For good practical ways of doing that, I highly recommend a book called The Peacemaker by Ken Sande – extremely practical and helpful book.
Jason Goetz – I’d like to add a quick point here as well. In a very practical way, we need to be honest with ourselves over responsibility. We need to recognize what we are in control of and what we aren’t. In so many relationships, whether peacemaking or not, I see people taking responsibility for something outside of their control. “I can’t believe she said this, I can’t believe he did that,” etc. You can only control that which is in your control. I have this dialogue with my kids all the time because this isn’t natural and it needs to be taught.
How can I have peace between me and my unbelieving spouse?
JG – First, I’d like to acknowledge that this is a very difficult situation and we appreciate those of you hat shared so openly in your questions. We empathize with you and commit to praying for the situations that you find yourself within. If you are in the situation of being married to an unbelieving spouse, you entered this arena likely in one of two ways. The first scenario is one where you entered into marriage with an individual that didn’t acknowledge Jesus as Lord. The second scenario is one where you & your spouse got married as unbelievers, but the Lord graciously revealed Himself to you. Now you are in a position of accepting Jesus as your Savior, but your spouse isn’t there yet. Bridget and I entered marriage as unbelievers, but the Lord’s plan was to reveal Himself to us during the same season. This may not be the case for you.
To begin, I’d like to build off of what what has already been said. First, we need to recognize what is within our control and what is not. We cannot lead our spouse to Jesus or control if / when they recognize Christ’s gift to us on the Cross. We must recognize that our spouse’s salvation rests within God’s sovereign plan. However, as Jason said, we are called to prayer, obedience, love, stewardship within these situations. I love that God doesn’t leave us hanging on difficult matters like this, but He speaks to them directly. In this case, the Lord gives specific instructions to both women and men that find themselves in this scenario.
For wives with unsaved husbands, we read this in 1 Peter 3:1-2: Likewise, wives, be subject to your own husbands, so that even if some do not obey the word, they may be won without a word by the conduct of their wives, when they see your respectful and pure conduct.
Wives are reminded to be subject to (or respectful of) their husbands. In this case, we’re told that “even some” of those husbands “do not obey the word” – that is, the Word of God, which gives us the instruction to accept Jesus as our Savior. In other words, these are men that haven’t accepted the truth of the Gospel. However, there is hope! These men may be “won without a word” – they may accept the good news of Jesus Christ without a Gospel tract or even a single word. How? Peter tells us that some of these men are won over to the truth of the Gospel “by the conduct of their wives.” When these husbands see the “respectful and pure conduct” of their wives, literally, an unsaved husband may witness the love of Jesus pouring out to him through his wife and be drawn to Jesus.
For husbands with unsaved wives, we have a similar instruction to that found in 1 Peter. But this instruction is for all husbands with Christ-following wives and those with wives that haven’t trusted in Christ. We find this instruction in Ephesians 5:25, which reads: “Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her…”
We, as husbands, are called to love our wives in the same way that Christ loved His church. How or in what way did Jesus love the church? Jesus loved His church enough to come to earth as a human, humbling Himself, to live a perfect life that we cannot live, to die a death that we cannot die, and to rise from the grave on our behalf. In short, Jesus modeled for us unconditional love and forgiveness. Are we going to be perfect in our marriages and in our homes? Absolutely not – I know for sure that I’m not. But to model the gospel within the home is huge. To tee up the fact that with wife that you, aren’t going to be perfect, to not hold her to the unattainable standard of perfection, and to confess sin when we commit it and seek forgiveness. This speaks volumes to our wives and is so drastically different from what they see around them. Not to LEAN ON your wife to accept the gospel, but to LEAD ON in your marriage and your home toward Jesus is critical. You show me a man that is loving his unbelieving wife in this way – unconditionally, like Christ loved His church, and I’ll show you a woman that wants to find out what makes that man tick.
JVD – I would also throw in briefly that I wouldn’t want anyone in this situation to feel the pressure of “try harder, do better.” That’s not what we’re saying – that you should just buckle down and be perfect, or your spouse is never going to come to Christ and it’s all your fault. While Goetz emphasized not “leaning on” your spouse to pressure them into a decision, you should – you must – lean into Christ. Let Him be at work in you. Let Him be at work in your spouse. Trust Him through the process, and don’t succumb to the pressure that this somehow all rests on you. Lean into Jesus and let Him do what only He can do – redeem and restore.
Is shalom something that you learn as you get to know God more or something that God gives as a gift if you ask for it?
JG – Yes! It’s not an either/or, but actually both. I’ll answer the second part first. If you remember – we said that there was complete shalom in the Garden between God and man (Adam & Eve). This shalom was broken when man turned away from God and sinned. The restoration of that initial relational shalom is offered by Jesus as a gift to restore the broken relationship between God and man. As I mentioned earlier, we need to choose to step over the line and pass from Darkness (no Jesus) to Light (Jesus). When we accept Christ, we restore that core, central relationship to shalom, to the way it was intended to be.
But the first part is much more challenging to explain – total shalom (outside of that central relationship) is ALSO something that you learn as you get to know God. When the initial relational shalom was broken between Adam & Eve and God, it caused a ripple effect that went out into the world – causing evil, war, sickness, tragedy, suffering, pain, injustice, guilt, lust, and even death. As our shalom with Christ goes out, it collides with the rough waters – the lack of shalom, the negativity of the world in which we live, etc. – that’s already there.
As we grow and mature in our relationship with Christ, shalom starts to spread, impacting these areas of collision. Not because of anything that we’re doing, but because of what Christ is doing in us. The best verse that I can think of that speaks to this is in Paul’s letter to the Romans. In the beginning of Chapter 12, Paul tells the young church filled with young believers (new peacemakers), “in view of God’s mercy, offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship. Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.”
When we offer our body as a living sacrifice, when we turn our lives over to Christ, He changes us from within and renews our mind – literally causing us to think differently. We progressively move from wanting God to change the way He acts to wanting God to change the way we think. These new believers Paul is addressing (and us) will be able to test and approve, to understand, God’s perfect will and the ways that He is moving. We begin to have peace in the job loss, the miscarriage, the illness, the passing of a loved one. We also begin to get relational peace in the progress (or the lack of progress) and the persecution we face when bring peace to a person that desperately needs Jesus.
If shalom means the way things were meant to be and there is sin in the world can we ever really have true shalom here on earth?
JVD – In terms of world peace, or worldwide peace – I’m going to say definitely no. Worldwide peace is a beautiful ideal, but it is not one that will be realized until the return of Christ. In Matthew 24, Jesus is teaching – and it’s this dark, apocalyptic teaching on the end of the age, or the end times – and He says that until the day of His coming, there will be “wars and rumors of wars” and that “nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom” “famines and earthquakes” – believers will be put to death and hated for the sake of Jesus’ name. It’s dark, but that’s the way the world will be until Jesus returns for those who are His. No shalom in the created order, in the natural world. No shalom among nations. No shalom among people of opposing kingdoms.
So will there be overarching, lasting shalom on earth? Not until Jesus returns.
Can we experience true shalom until then? I think we certainly can catch glimpses of it. In John 14:27, Jesus says “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid.” Colossians 3:15 says that we are to let the peace of God rule in our hearts. Galatians 5 says that peace is one of the fruits of the Spirit. Scripture opens with peace in the garden, closes with peace when Christ comes back to rule, and everything inbetween seems to point to peace with God through Jesus Christ – so I have to say, that yes, we can experience pockets of shalom.
Do we have shalom with God? Yes – I believe that by faith, because the Scriptures tell me I do. The gospel assures me of a final, eternal shalom with God. I can live from that now. It is certainly a promise for later, but it is also a promise for now. Do we experience that shalom on this earth all the time? No. Not only do we live in a broken world – which is a major factor – we also live in a spiritual tension of being holy, yet being made holy.
I think of Hebrews 10:14 – For by a single offering He has perfected for all time those who are being sanctified. Being sanctified, or sanctification, is the process of being made holy, of being perfected. This verse says that God has perfected (past tense) those who are being perfected (present tense). It is as if God says, “I have done what I am doing.” In this process we call sanctification, our present realities are still lining up with our eternal status.
Experientially, personally, I feel like I catch glimpses here and there – times of wholeness, fullness, rightness. This is a stupid analogy, but it’s like golf for me – I play maybe once a year, and I am horrible. But there’s almost always that ONE SHOT that makes me believe this is a viable game. It’s just enough of a glimpse of what it should be like to keep me coming back.
So while we are perfect in the eternal sense and being perfected in the intermediary, we are able to see dim glimpses of something greater that will not be fully, consistently experienced until Christ returns. We live in the tension of I Corinthians 13:12 – “For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I have been fully known.”
Why does Paul start all his letters out with grace and peace to you? How are grace and peace related?
JVD – Paul often repeats that phrase, “grace & peace be with you.” He sometimes also uses the phrase “grace and mercy and peace be with you.” Briefly, I would say that peace is ultimately the result of grace and mercy. If grace and mercy are the foundation, peace is the house built upon them. A quick definition of mercy is not getting what we deserve (we deserve punishment, but God extends mercy and does not punish). In grace, we get what we do not deserve (God extending to us all the good things that we have no inherent right to).
As a result of God’s stance toward us in Jesus – mercy and grace – we have peace. I think when Paul says grace & peace (or grace, mercy & peace) be with you – he does this often in the epistles, those books of the BIble that were originally letters to local church congregations – it’s like a mini-sermon. It’s this tiny encapsulation of the gospel, reminding us that we are sustained by the faithfulness of God; it’s not by how good or bad we’re doing as we struggle through life – it’s the active grace and mercy of God that holds us, keeps us. Therefore, in light of His mercy and grace, we have peace because God made peace with us. We’re prone to forget, so Paul – like a good shepherd and a faithful apostle – is reminding us of the wonders of grace, mercy and peace we have in Christ.