"There Is But A Step"

Matthew 6:9-10 After this manner therefore pray ye: Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name.

10 Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven.

The 19th century Baptist pastor Charles Spurgeon said of this transition, “This prayer begins where all true prayer must commence, with the spirit of adoption, "Our Father." There is no acceptable prayer until we can say, 'I will arise, and go unto my Father.' This child-like spirit soon perceives the grandeur of the Father 'in heaven,' and ascends to devout adoration, 'Hallowed be thy name.' The child lisping, 'Abba, Father,' grows into the cherub crying, 'Holy, Holy, Holy.' There is but a step from rapturous worship to the glowing missionary spirit, which is a sure outgrowth of filial love and reverent adoration-'Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.'"

Living in God’s household after you’ve lived in the hovel of this life without Him, makes you know how great a Father He really is… and how wonderful His family. We wonder how people can live without Him. How complicated and unsettled that life seems in comparison to living in His family. We then want the world to know and experience His Home. Come Home. The entrance is the Gospel.

3rd Person Reciprocity: A Christian Obligation

Matthew 18:32-33 Then his lord, after that he had called him, said unto him, O thou wicked servant, I forgave thee all that debt, because thou desiredst me:

33 Shouldest not thou also have had compassion on thy fellowservant, even as I had pity on thee?

Third person reciprocity became better known through the movie Pay It Forward which was based on a book of the same name. The movie poster has this sentence, “When someone does you a big favor, don’t pay it back… pay it forward.” This is third person reciprocity put in more simple terms.

Reciprocity in general is an ancient economic system. Simply put it means if someone does something for you then you are obligated to do something equally valuable for them. If a wheat farmer needs fruit he will give a fruit farmer wheat after harvest expecting the fruit farmer to reciprocate with an equal value of fruit after the fruit is harvested.

In the case of third person reciprocity the wheat farmer would freely give his wheat to the fruit farmer as a gift to help the fruit farmer. The fruit farmer would then give fruit to someone else who needed help. There is an understood obligation to help others when someone has helped us. 

This is the teaching in the passage above. Read the story surrounding these verses and remember that this is Jesus' illustration of the Christian practice of third person reciprocity. We are obligated to give what Jesus has so freely given to us to others who are in need as we once were.

In a broader sense third person reciprocity is required of all people by God, because He has showered us all with His gifts of grace. This teaching is not just in the New Testament, it is all through the Bible. Deuteronomy 24:17-22 and Exodus 22:21-27 detail this requirement in the Mosaic Covenant. We who have received benefit from God in the past, even in our ancestors, must return the same to people in our present who are in need of it.  

Light Rich Light Poor

Matthew 5:16 Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.

When many first world people read this passage they take a modern, generally incorrect, interpretation of the verse. That's because we live in a light rich world. Our light is generally fixed and switched. What I mean by that is most buildings and homes in our country have lights built into the structure which are controlled by switches. There is little to no maintenance or preparation for light to brighten the darkness in our world. If a light bulb is out we simply replace it with another bulb.

In the ancient world it was not that way. Lights were not often fixed and were never switched. Lights were fuel intensive, more scarce, and portable. There was planning, maintenance, and labor involved in piercing the darkness, and if the light shined bright and clear it was a testimony to the person responsible for the light. But if a light didn't shine it was a clear indication that the person who had responsibility for the light had failed in their duties. And a great failure it would be for the people who depended on the light. The longer and brighter a lamp burned the more work and maintenance it required.

This is how some ancients would have interpreted this passage. The “good works” would have been the planning, maintenance, and labor that were obvious when the light shined bright. The reason “the Father which is in heaven” would receive the glory is because he provided the materials and fuel for the light and also trained and maintained the light servant... so it is really His light.

The application then is obvious to all Christians. We are the light servants and have been commissioned by our master to give the light of truth to the world. If our light shines bright it is clear we have planned, maintained, and worked hard so the light would pierce the darkness and our Master, who is also our Father, would receive praise for the light. But what shame will be ours if the light doesn't shine bright.

A Borderless World

Acts 1:8 But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.

Most of Old Testament history is about a specific place in the world: Israel, a specific people: Jews, and one city: Jerusalem. Now for the first time in Biblical history this focus, led by the Spirit of God, was radically changing.

The earthly government of God would be moved from a central government with a single location to a worldwide mission without any boundaries or capital. It was mobile and led directly by Jesus through His Holy Spirit.

Jesus' ministry moved from a nation with borders to no borders. His government on earth remains border-less today. His ministry moved from a specific race of people who depended heavily on their lineage, to every race regardless of their heredity. There is now no racial identity to the Government of Christ, and no multi-generational structure or dynasty. And its language is every language, God’s truth in every language… wow...

Throughout history since this radical change there have been multiple regular attempts to centralize the government of Christ or place its identity on a particular nation, government, party, or system. When radical nationalism creeps into the vocabulary and thinking of professing Christians it is always a corruption. Those who use the identity of Christ's government to attempt to heal the ills of their national government will always find they have only deepened the corruption by producing a poisonous hybrid. Christ's earthly government will remain free... no borders, no earthly capital, no single language, no exclusive race, and no dynastic structure.

All Men Seek Him

Mark 1:37 And when they had found him, they said unto him, All men seek for thee.

Seek… what a glorious word! It is among my favorites. I consider myself to be a seeker… this means I spend much of my time seeking. So what exactly am I doing when I seek?

Well... the first principle is I must know there is something I don’t know. This knowledge of ignorance usually comes from asking questions about what I think I do know. To know that I don’t know is vital to learning and living.

The second principle is the recognition of my need of this knowledge or answer. If I see no need or value I will not move to the third principle which is:

I am willing to expend time, energy, and wealth to find what I do not now possess. This is the calculation of life. What am I willing to sacrifice to get the answers I need.

The forth principle is that I do it… I sacrifice what I must to gain what I don’t possess. I get up and do what I need to do… Only then am I seeking.

These people were seeking the greatest of all objectives: Jesus! What is there in this life that is right for us to seek which cannot be found in or provided by Him?

Is it correct to say that “all men” seek Him? In one sense I think so... He is the treasure-chest of all things right. He is or He holds the answer to every reasonable question. If we seek those things that are exclusively found in Him then it can be said we are seeking Him even if we don't know that the answer resides in Him.

But those seekers the disciples speak of in this verse already knew Jesus held the answers... that He was the answer... now they were seeking a personal relationship with Him. What a blissful day it is when I move from not knowing the source of an answer to knowing the source and moving toward it. It is like moving from darkness to light, from being lost to being found.

There are billions each day in this world who seek answers that only He can provide.

Second-Guessing Jesus

John 4:3 He left Judaea, and departed again into Galilee. 4 And he must needs go through Samaria.

The disciples of Jesus looked to Him for leadership. Without His guidance they would have had no notion of what to do or where to go. Jesus had the plan and knew what He was doing. He walked in the light, so those who walked with Him, following His plan, also walked in His light.

When He said he was going through Samaria, some of His disciples may have thought His light had dimmed. We are quick to judge His commands based on our own comfort levels. The Samaritans and Jews were not on friendly terms, and had not been for centuries. In fact, Pilate was removed from Palestine by the Roman authorities because of his mafia-like tactics in dealing with their ongoing feud. Jews had been killed just traveling though Samaria. But Jesus said go, so they went. He was in full control of His Government. He controls it still.

It became clear, after the fact, what Jesus' purpose was in going that way. It has been my experience that it is often only afterward that His motives become visible. Sometimes His purpose is never made visible to us. I guess that's what faith is all about. His purpose was to preach the Gospel to the Samaritans. And that is just what He did.

Jesus’ authority has not withered away with time. He still commands His forces and accomplishes His plans in an organized purposeful way. He leads His disciples where He wants them to go, and He uses them to accomplish His plan. It is wise to walk in His light.

A Bridge To Clarity

Romans 15:20 Yea, so have I strived to preach the gospel, not where Christ was named,

The Apostle Paul, the writer of this verse, was chosen by God for a special kind of work. He was the first pioneer missionary. This means he was sent to work with people who had never heard the name of Jesus Christ, and had no cultural context or influence from Christianity.

Because Paul was a pioneer missionary his books take on a special value to modern Christ followers. They were written to first generation churches. So Paul's writings are a bridge to clarity unburdened by centuries of tradition. If there is a form of Christianity which doesn’t look like this record then we can be fairly sure it is loaded down with traditions not found in the churches started by Paul.

Paul also had to work through the complex merger of two types of people in some of these early churches: Jews, who had a long history of customs and traditions, and non-Jews, who had no knowledge of ancient Jewish customs. So in Paul's letters we have a record of this cultural clash. Because of this clash the writings of this missionary Apostle give us a clear guide to resolving differences between the New Covenant and the Old. His writings are also a guide to handling the traditional, cultural, and doctrinal differences between people who serve the same Lord.

The Bible becomes a bridge over the chasm of the centuries. We can cross that bridge to Paul's writings and bring a purity back with us into today. An uncluttered reality. And for those who are not willing to cross that bridge, we have guidance on how to structure and maintain a vibrant relationship with them.

This Apostle has become a dear friend and counselor to me through the years. His writings have changed my life and thinking in so many ways. I have a list of Paul's confirmed writings below:

Romans

1 & 2 Corinthians

Galatians

Ephesians

Philippians

Colossians

1 & 2 Thessalonians

1 & 2 Timothy

Titus

Philemon

Workfellow

Romans 16:21 Timotheus my workfellow, and Lucius, and Jason, and Sosipater, my kinsmen, salute you.

This word workfellow was used almost exclusively by Paul in the New Testament. It gives us insight into Paul’s thinking concerning the methods he used to advance Christ's kingdom. This is a work culture word. What I mean by that is the use of this word gives us insight into the culture Paul created in the teams he worked with in ministry.

Some groups are authority centered in their work culture while others are task centered. Each group has a vocabulary that flows from their culture. Paul was definitely a task centered leader. Don’t get me wrong, it was clear that Paul had the authority of Christ, but that authority was directly related to the tasks Christ ordained him to fulfill. He built teams around tasks not himself. This is one of the reasons the work continued when he moved to another town.

Workfellow is a task centered word. The Language Scholar Thayer captured the full meaning of the term as used in this verse when he said, “one who labors with another in furthering the cause of Christ.” Someone can own a title, but without a meaningful task the title is worthless. The terms “my workfellow” have great complimentary value for task centered Christ followers.

Lord, please give me the heart of a workfellow in your kingdom. One who cares not what title I hold, but only what tasks our team can accomplish for you and your kingdom.

Jesus May Have Something Only You Can Do

Mark 1:44 And saith unto him, See thou say nothing to any man: but go thy way, shew thyself to the priest, and offer for thy cleansing those things which Moses commanded, for a testimony unto them.

This is a rather strange command. Jesus had just healed this man of leprosy, and then He instructed him not to say anything about it to anyone but the priests. It’s strange only until we consider Jesus' motive found at the end of the verse: “for a testimony unto them.”

Why the priests? Well, they were the persons who were, by law, responsible for declaring a leper free from the disease. But they also lived somewhat separated from the rest of society, and were unreachable by the normal Jew. There is little record of Jesus personally interacting with the priests until facing the chief priests just before His crucifixion.

There will always be segments of any society which are closed to the direct communication of Christ's message. They are practically unreachable... until Jesus touches the life of someone who can reach them. Think of it... there may be only one person who can reach a whole community for Christ. One person who can carry the Word of Life to untouched lives.

When the priests asked the former leper what happened, he had to point them to Jesus. And there is evidence that the message reached the priests. John 11:47 Then later a large number of priests became believers. Acts 6:7

Perhaps there is a community Jesus has chosen only you to reach. Have you thought about it? Your testimony of what Christ has done in your life could be the key to a formerly unreachable community becoming “obedient to the faith.” Look for someone only you can reach, prepare yourself to reach them, and then go... let them know what Jesus has done for you.

Conspiracy

Mark 3:6 And the Pharisees went forth, and straightway took counsel with the Herodians against him, how they might destroy him.

The more I have read this verse the more I am astounded by it. It is the open blatant expression of religious conspiracy. A conspiracy in which sometime political enemies participated because they had the same goal: destroy Jesus. The saddest meeting in human history...

The Herodians were the political supporters of Herod the Great and his descendants. You know the ones… they killed all children below 2 years old just to rid the world of the baby Jesus. They were willing to do anything to keep political power. The Pharisees... you know them too, they were also willing to do anything to keep religious/political power.

In every country today there are those who, like them, will do anything to keep power. And the missionaries of Jesus are working in those countries.

This Greek word translated “counsel” in the Gospels tracks the conspiracy to destroy the altogether lovely one, Jesus. The word culminates at the conspiracy to keep Jesus in the grave. Follow the trail: Mark 3:6, Matthew 12:14, 22:15, 27:1, Mark 15:1, Matthew 28:12. And… they believed they were right...

How many “counsels” will meet today to stop the ministry of Jesus? Will you pause now and pray for those who carry on the ministry of Jesus while in harms way? Missionaries who serve in Islamic countries. Missionaries serving in countries who are unfriendly to the Gospel of Christ. Missionaries who work among the tribes and in the regions beyond. These are amazing people who are worthy of our support and prayer. Know we have prayed for you today.

What do world missions and Easter have in common?

For he must reign, till he hath put all enemies under his feet. I Corinthians 15:25

What do world missions and Easter have in common? Everything! Without the resurrection there is no purpose... no strength… no hope. All our efforts are dependent upon a risen Christ. “If Christ be not risen, then is our preaching vain, and your faith is also vain.”

Religion for many is a connection to a mystical force. It is a power or principle available to be tapped by using special techniques. This is not Christianity. Christianity is led by a man, God incarnate, not a power.

The pre and post-resurrection ministry of this man, Jesus Christ, is recorded in the New Testament. This resurrected Jesus is aggressively active in this world today. He is the authority and intellect behind every true church, and every mission effort.

Christian World Missions is simply disciples who are involved in the will and work of their risen Savior. They are doing what He is doing in the world. Jesus is alive and working today! Get involved with Him...

When Will They Get Their Bibles?

The picture to the right is of two words from a Greek New Testament manuscript over 1000 years old. The text is John 1:1. Can you read it? No. Well… let me transliterate it for you: “o logos”. How’s that? Can you understand it now? No. Well… let me translate it for you: “the Word”.

It is easy to forget that the Bible was written originally in Hebrew, Greek, and Aramaic not English. It had to be translated for English readers. Many Christians lost their lives in this translation work because it was often illegal. Our English Bible was delivered to us by the hands of martyrs…

What about the rest of the world’s 6,912 languages? Do they have the Bible?

It is reported that only 429 world language groups have the whole Bible in the language they understand best. There are 2,251 languages spoken by 193 million people who don’t have any of the Bible translated into their language. They have never read John 3:16 in their language because it’s not available.

How will the Bible be translated into their languages? By Christians who are willing to give their lives to prepare and go to these people. We are thankful to sponsor a missionary family, the Rogers, who are committed to this endeavor and are now preparing themselves for this great work.