Either/Or

Blog »  Either/Or|

Friday, August 30, 2013 Nick Cirino

For Paul there is no in between. It’s either/or.  

I count 5 times in the book of Ephesians where Paul reminds us of who we were and who we are. The contrast is stunning. Read through Ephesians quickly and note every time Paul makes this contrast.  

The change that happened inside of us was no superficial, throw-a-band-aid-on-it type of change. It was as contrary to nature as the dead coming to life. We were not sick, we were dead (Eph. 2:1). We were not dim, we were darkness (v. 8)—darkened in our understanding, with calloused hearts, and ruled by deceitful lusts (4:17-22). Most chilling of all, we were not just distant from God, we were without God and without hope in the world (2:12). Paul is far from flattering us.  

Why does Paul harp on this issue?  

Maybe—and I don’t claim to know the thoughts of Paul—he wanted to make sure we diagnose our problem properly. If we think we are sick, we think we need some touch-ups. If we are dead, we need nothing short of resurrection.  

What hope does a person like Paul describe have? Certainly not salvation by self-effort. The only hope for a person like that—like me—is the death and resurrection of Christ.  

And it’s either/or. Either I am trusting in Christ or I’m trusting in something else. Either I’m dead or alive. Either I’m light or darkness.  

Christian, no matter how much we struggle to put off the old man and put on the new (Eph 4:22-24), we are light in the Lord. So walk as a child of the light. Don’t get discouraged by sin in your life. You are not an in-between Christian, some sort of half-breed hybrid of Christ and the world. If you are in Christ, you are his alone and he will keep you till the end.

 

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Wisdom

Blog »  Wisdom|

Thursday, August 29, 2013 Nick Cirino

I have to cut a lot by Thursday. That’s usually the day of the week that I realize that there is way more in the passage I’m writing a sermon on than one sermon can handle. It’s always a little sad to cut out so much that is so important! It reminds me of how deep God’s word is.  

Here’s a section fresh off the chopping block:  

Let’s take this section one verse at a time. First, let’s look at Ephesians 5:15. “Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise, but as wise.” When we think of wisdom we thinking of aptly applied knowledge. Someone who is wise understands how people and situations work and is able to discern what the best course of action is in a given situation. I’m going to argue that wisdom in the Bible isn’t less than this, but it is so much more.  

Wisdom has to do first and foremost with God. Proverbs 9:10 says “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom.” Wisdom is recognizing that God exists, the he rules the universe. True wisdom starts there. True wisdom is knowing how to live in God’s world.  

Foolishness, or being unwise then is also fundamentally a God-ward category. Psalm 14:1 says, “The fool says in his heart, ‘There is no God.’” That means that no matter how much you know, and how good you are at discerning how life works—if you don’t start with the recognition that God is the one running everything, you are ultimately a fool. You won’t figure out life because the point of life is to live for God.

So when Paul says here, “walk as a wise man”—he is thinking about living life in light of God existence and everything that entails.

 

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You Can't Be Someone Else

Blog »  You Can’t be Someone Else

Wednesday, August 28, 2013   Jeff Lampl

"As a prisoner for the Lord, then, I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received" Ephesians 4:1 (NIV)

The Apostle Paul is under house arrest in Rome.   Rather than bemoaning his fate, rather than complaining to God, “Lord, I’ve been faithful, I’ve served you for thirty years, I’ve suffered for you, and where are you now?”, Paul has instead spent three chapters fully of gratitude and praise for the life God has given him to live.   Paul was on the fast track to the equivalent of becoming partner in the most prestigious law firm with a shot at being on the supreme court.   Instead he’s in prison awaiting probable death.    

He then urges his readers to “life a life worthy of the calling you have received”  

You are not the apostle Paul.    His calling was his calling.   Your calling is your calling.   You can only become the best you can become.   You can’t succeed at serving God, praying, reading scripture, by trying to those things in the same way as others.   You must find your own way.  

BUT you do have a calling.   God has given you a purpose to live for his sake and that purpose encompasses every aspect of your life.   And when you accept that calling, take it seriously, realize that the whole of your life is to be lived for God and for others, then you will experience suffering.    

Suffering is a small price to pay for the fullness of life that is offered to those who willing enter into God’s high calling for their lives. 

 

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Half

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Tuesday, August 27, 2013 Nick Cirino

             "I therefore, a prisoner for the Lord, urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the
            calling to which you have been called,"         (Eph 4:1 ESV)  

If “calling” refers to my call to be a Christian (see last blog), what does it mean to walk in a manner worthy of that call?  

It means living a life that lines up with what God has done in me.  

I was once dead in my sins. Not dying. Dead. But God made me alive together with Christ. I have been made alive! (Eph. 2:1-9). What should that mean for my life that I now walk in new life? The answer comes in chapter 4-6. 

I was once separated from God and alienated from God’s people and without hope in the world (Eph 2:11). But now, by the blood of Christ, I have been brought near! (Eph 2:13). How should that effect my everyday life? Why does that matter to me? Chapters 4-6 bring that out.  

God has made those who weren’t his people—the Gentiles—to be fellow heirs with the people of God. We partake in Jesus, the savior promised to the Jews, through the gospel (Eph 3:4-6). How should I live my life now that I belong to God? Paul explains that in chapters 4-6, especially 4:17-24.  

This is critical to see: everything that Paul commands us to do in Ephesians 4-6 is based on what God has already done in chapters 1-3. It isn’t the way we earn a spot in God’s kingdom; it is how we should act because we are already in God’s kingdom. We can live a life glorifying to God because God works in our hearts and gives us the strength to do so. We live because we were made alive with Christ. It is based on grace.  

Does this give you hope? I hope it does!

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Half

Blog » Half|

Monday, August 26, 2013 Nick Cirino

Ephesians can be divided roughly in half. It may be overly simplistic, but we could call chapters 1-3 “theology” and chapters 4-6 “application.” The reality is though, all of Paul’s “theology” is application, and all of his “application” is theology. Maybe it would be better to call Eph. 1-3 theology seen and Eph. 4-6 theology lived out.  

In between these two halves of the letter comes one very important verse that ties the whole book together: Eph. 4:1, it says, 

        "I therefore, a prisoner for the Lord, urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling
         to which you have been called, (Eph. 4:1 ESV)  

The phrase “calling with which you have been called” harkens back to everything Paul has said in chapters 1-3. This verse is often misunderstood. Calling in this verse doesn’t refer to vocation. Paul is not saying, walk worthy of your calling to be a businessman, or a pastor, or a mom, or a small group leader, or whatever.  

Instead he means God called us from death to life (Eph. 2:1-10), from being outsiders to being insiders (Eph. 2:11-21). It is the intention he had to bring us to himself through the death of Christ (Eph. 1:3-8). It is the call to believe in Jesus Christ and be a Christian.  

Where am I getting this idea? From looking at how Paul uses the word calling in other places. Here is one example:

        ·          (1Cor. 7:20-21 ESV) Each one should remain in the condition in which he was
                   called. Were you a bondservant when called? Do not be concerned about it.
                    (But if you can gain your freedom, avail yourself of the opportunity.)

Paul here is talking about conversion, not vocation. He is talking about when God called me out and I believed in Jesus.  

We’ll talk about why this matters in the next blog.  

Other uses of “calling” in the New Testament: Rom. 11:29, 1 Co. 1:26, 1 Co. 7:20, Eph. 1:18, Eph. 4:4, Phil. 3:14, 2 Thess. 1:11, 2 Tim. 1:9, Heb. 3:1, 2 Pet. 1:10  

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How to Pray

Blog »  How to Pray  

Friday, August 23, 2013    Jeff Lampl

"And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints."
Ephesians 6:18 (NIV)

“in the spirit” . . . .  When a believer prays,  the spirit within connects with the Spirit of God (1 Cor. 2:9-16).   Even when you don’t know what to say or you think your prayers and powerless or even stupid, they are not (Romans 8:9, 26-27).   The point is this:  believe.  Believe that God is at work, that God listens, that God acts and that for some reason and in some way God has chosen to act in relation to the prayers of believers.   Pay attention to your thoughts and actions after praying.   It is often true that prayers  for whatever are answered through God’s directing you to be the answer in some way.  

“on all occasions”. . . .   Pray in the morning, throughout the day, and before bed.  Be attentive,, “be alert” to God constantly.   Listening is actually more important than talking.  

“all kinds of prayers”  I’m not sure that there is anything too minor to pray about.  

“for all the saints”  This means for other believers.   We must of course pray for non-believers, but Jesus and the New Testament as a whole put a premium on the love believers have for one another.

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How to do Spiritual Warfare

Blog »  How to do Spiritual Warfare

Thursday, August 22, 2013   Jeff Lampl

"Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness  in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the
gospel of peace.   In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can
extinguish all the flaming arrows of  the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation
and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God."
Ephesians 6:14-17 (NIV)

While writing or dictating his letter to the church in Ephesus Paul suddenly sees a ready-made picture.   While in Rome he was chained by the wrist to a Roman soldier. Night and day a soldier was there to ensure that he would not escape. Knowing Paul, it is beyond doubt that he had talked often to the soldiers who were compelled to watch him.  As he writes, the soldier's  armor suggests to him a picture which he uses as metaphor in chapter 6 of his letter.   The Christian too has his armor; and part by part Paul takes the armor of the Roman soldier and translates it into Christian terms.

The armor is for defensive purposes.   Soldiers don’t back down, neither do Christians.  Believers stand on their standing before God (Holy and Righteous before the creation of the world 1:4).   It is a Gospel of peace with which we stand ready, which means that we are built to be peacemakers.   Christians are not obnoxious.   We listen, care, believe, tell the truth honestly but with kindness and see the good in others.   We stand firm.  We don’t initiate battles, we defuse them.    

I like especially how Paul takes the one offensive weapon, the sword, and re-imagines it as the Holy Spirit.  Beautiful.  

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Are People Our Problem?

Blog »  Are People Our Problem?

Wednesday, August 21, 2013   Jeff Lampl

"Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand  your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand."
Ephesians 6:13 (NIV)

The Bible tells us that believers will be opposed by spiritual forces of darkness and evil in heavenly places.   Some people think that statements like these are simply unsophisticated holdovers from a primitive worldview that we in the 21^st century would be naïve to accept.  

However, if the biblical worldview is correct, we must then somehow respond to that reality.

I find it interesting that most people do believe in the existence of evil, but when they attempt to explain its existence apart from the biblical worldview they flounder.   There appears to an admission that there exists a power of evil that transcends simple survival of the fittest if one is an atheist, or simple self serving sin if one is a Christian.   It is also true, it seems to me, that neither atheism nor Christianity cleansed from belief in objective evil has any power to deal with evil.   Neither of those two worldviews has been successful in muting it’s power.  

Therefore  verse 13 implies that in order to stand strong against evil  we need help.  Our weapons are not our will, our best efforts at trying to be good, better education, a stronger military or better laws, rather they are practices which connect us to God, whose power subdues the power of darkness.   These “weapons” include the simplest and most powerful of things: bible reading, obedience, daily reliance on Christ rather than myself, prayer, knowing and believing the Gospel, trust, faith, and staying tuned into and obedient to God’s “spiritual GPS”. 

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Are People Our Problem?

Blog »  Are People Our Problem?

Tuesday, August 20, 2013     Jeff Lampl

"For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against

the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the

spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.."    
Ephesians 6:12 (NIV)

One of the explanations for the existence of evil is that Satan is a fallen angel and he has taken many angels with him and together they wage war against the things of God.   The angles who follow satan are sometimes referred to as demons.   This explanation is often based on the passages in Isaiah 14 and Ezekiel 28.   Satan and his demons are then the "rulers," "authorities," "cosmic powers," and "spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places" Paul refers to here and in 1:21.  

These spiritual beings have limited power yet seek to coopt human beings into their vision of how they want the world to be, a world with autonomy from God. It is very interesting to note verses 5:22-6:9 where Paul gives a beautiful and uplifting picture of peaceful Christian homes and happy Christian relationships.  One implication we can take from this is that even these things will not be achieved without conflict.    It seems that that the victories of the Christian Life are to be achieved by a relentless and lifelong struggle against evil.  And even then they are realized only to the extent  that we avail ourselves of God’s armor listed in verses 13ff.  

God’s plan is to create a new society with the dividing walls of race and cultures torn down.   Since that’s God’s plan we can expect the forces of evil to oppose that at every turn.  

It seems to me that it would be very wise for us to view others as God’s beloved sons and daughters (potentially or actually) on whose behalf God is constantly at work.  Paul seems to be warning us.   Our enemy is not first and foremost other people.

 

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Evil, Satan, Demons and the Gospel

Blog »  Evil, Satan, Demons and the Gospel

Monday, August 19, 2013     Jeff Lampl

"As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins,
 in which you used to live when you followed the ways of this world and of the ruler of
the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient."    
Ephesians 2:1-2 (NIV)

My Junior High nephew emails questions to me about God.   His most recent question dealt with evil, demons, possession, exorcism and demonic powers occupying physical spaces.   Following is my response to him.  

“First of all I do believe that there exists an evil force in the world that goes beyond human beings’ sinfulness.    What exactly this evil power in the world is and how it got there is hotly debated, but the basic thing is that it is there.  It exists.   It appears to be some kind of a supernatural force out to destroy everything that is good.   The bible calls this force a variety of things including Satan and the Devil.    It is important to remember that this evil power is not a power that is equal to God.   Instead God is over all things including this evil power but for reasons we cannot fully understand, God allows this evil power some degree of freedom to carry out its evil.  

So,  now what about your question.   This evil power appears to have many forms including what the bible calls demons, which are local forces of evil that can influence people to do bad things and can even make evil things look good and natural.   People can become directed by evil and can be” taken over” by these evil powers which sort of take control of the mind by means of evil’s twisted logic and reasoning.   Each of us can be deceived.  Remember that that those who are deceived don’t know it which is why we need the bible and the church so that we have sources of God’s wisdom coming from outside of ourselves.  So we all must be careful.    This is what the TV series “Breaking Bad” is about.  

So it is possible that an evil power (demons) can rule a person’s mind.    I’m not sure whether or not it is correct to call that “possession” or what.   But I do believe that these evil powers can be so powerful that a person can be completely controlled by evil that they can’t see that they are controlled and they can be so controlled that they can’t escape.  Therefore I have come to the conclusion that exorcisms do happen on relatively rare occasions and that they occur through tremendous faith and prayer by those doing the praying and counseling.  Another way of putting this is that it is God removing the evil power over the person and the those who pray and give biblical information to the affected person are simply relying on God to do the work of exorcism.   I a great book on this is by M Scott Peck and it is called People of the Lie.

Can a demon possess a house or a room?   My short answer is that I don’t know.   Part of me is skeptical about that because the powers of evil can only exist because good exists.  Evil cannot exist on its own, whereas good does exist on its own, just God exists on his own but satan cannot exist without God.   Therefore evil, satan, the devil, demons, are parasites.   They can only exist as the feed off good.    Can that happen with inanimate things like a room or a house?   Some think they can inhabit buildings.  Some think they can’t.   One thing I’m certain of is that we do know about the power of God in Jesus.  We do know that His death forgave all sin, and that his resurrection “one upped” the power of evil.   Evil can’t win in the end.  

Sometimes the forces of evil, satan and the devil, are referred to as the powers of darkness.   So, what do you do when you’re in the dark?   You turn on the light!    Jesus is called the light of the world.   I think the best way to fight the powers of darkness, to avoid the influence of the evil one, is to always, always, always head to toward the light, which means always be in the process of getting to know Jesus better by reading the Bible, , following him as a well as you can, talking and listening to him daily (prayer), and being an active part of his Body which is the church.  

Two really great prayer that the apostle Paul prayed for us are found in Ephesians 1:15-23 and 3:14-21”

 

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Five Reasons to Go to Church #5

Blog »  Five Reasons to Go to Church  

Friday, August 16, 2013     Jeff Lampl

Reason #5 

“until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature,  attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ.  Then we will no
longer be infants, tossed  back and forth by the waves, and blown here and there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning  and craftiness of men in their deceitful scheming.   Instead, speaking the truth in love,  we will in all things grow up into him
who is the Head, that is, Christ”. 
Ephesians 4:13-15

We grow up only when we show up.  

God’s primary means of growing us up is His putting us among other people.    It is in relationships where we laugh and cry, hurt and get hurt, find friends and make enemies.    It’s easy to stay home from the family gathering because you are on bad terms with one of your family members.   It’s hard to show up and make things right.   

It is in community where we learn what it means to grow up. We must keep showing up.  If we do we will learn to forgive and be forgiven, get grace and give grace, serve and be served, love and be loved, care and be cared for, and ultimately learn the meaning and power and joy of living beyond our own selfish desires.

This is part of what it means to be the church.   

In his simple but powerful book, Life Together, Dietrich Bonhoeffer wrote, “he who loves the idea of community more than community itself is a destroyer of community”.     I take this to mean that the person who stands apart, who judges from the outside in, rather than participating from the inside out, not only misses community, but also damages it by his judgment of it.    Alternatively the one who is in community and stays, this is one who grows up, who transcends his selfishness and self centeredness.  

I suspect that this is one of the great powers of biblical community which only happens when I am part of the church on at least a weekly basis – the church when it makes me an actual participant becomes God’s agent of change in my life.   I need the church more than it needs me.

 

“you are members of God’s very own family, citizens of God’s country, and you belong in God’s household with every other Christian."
Ephesians 2:19 (TLB)

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Five Reasons to Go to Church #4

Blog »  Five Reasons to Go to Church  

Thursday, August 15, 2013     Jeff Lampl

                                                      Reason #4

 "For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus,
so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago."
Ephesians 2:10 (NLT) 

“What we believe about God and what we do for God have a way of getting broken apart in our lives. The moment the unity of belief and behavior is damaged in any way, we are incapable of living out the full humanity for which we were created”       Eugene Peterson  

Ephesians puts belief and behavior back together.   It teaches us that . . .

     ·         I am chosen by God to be holy and blameless.
     ·         God has preemptively forgiven all my past, current and future sin and failure.
     ·         God has adopted me at a great cost to Him.
     ·         God has empowered me with the Power and GPS of His Spirit.
     ·         God has given me his Word (the Bible) so that we can know him better.
     ·         I am told that I can talk to Him and He will listen and act (prayer).
     ·         I am told that I will live forever and that there’s nothing I can do to prevent that.
     ·         I am told God is my Father and that He will never quit on me.
     ·         I am told that He is working for my good at every moment of my life.
     ·         I am told that I am a member of His Body, the Church, part of His forever family.  

The question then becomes why? Is all of that just for me?  What do I do with all of this?  

In chapter 2, verse 10 I learn that am created for a purpose, one that precedes my actual birth.  There is a huge implication here.  It is this:   if I am unwilling to live out God’s purpose for me then I will be living a disjointed, conflicted and misdirected life, one which may bear some fruit because God uses even the unwilling,  but one which will have missed the mark for which it was created.   AND one which will miss the joy of it’s salvation.  

It is in church with my brothers and sisters in Christ, worshipping God, being taught His Word, where I have my weekly reminder of who and what I am created to be and to do.

“you are members of God’s very own family, citizens of God’s country, and you belong in
God’s household with every other Christian."
Ephesians 2:19 (TLB)

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Five Reasons to Go to Church #3

Blog »  Five Reasons to Go to Church  

Wednesday, August 14, 2013     Jeff Lampl

Reason #3

 

"This plan, which God will complete when the time is right, is to bring all creation together, everything in heaven and on earth, with Christ as head."             

Ephesians 1:10 (TEV)  

"(so that there) are no longer foreigners and aliens, but fellow citizens with God's people
and members of God's family"       Ephesians 2:19 TEV

“Attending church”   is a really bad phrase.   Showing up on Sunday morning is in reality showing up at your weekly family gathering with your brothers and sisters in Christ and with friends you have invited in.   While there you get some Bible instruction on how to live this new kind of life in your new family geared toward growing your family so large that everyone is included, none excluded.  

That’s God’s plan;   to unite the whole world under the loving, generous, leadership of Jesus Christ.    In fact this plan can’t not be completed.   It is what will be completed when Jesus returns.  

There are only two options for all human beings:  to have gladly accepted God’s invitation to His forever family or to have received the invitation and turned it down, either with blatant refusal or by passively ignoring it.    In the end all who end up with God in the New Creation are there by invitation and by Grace and those who end up outside of it are there because they chose to opt out (Jesus called this destiny the “outer darkness” where each, having chosen to be captain of his own ship finds that everyone else in the outer darkness is also captain of his own ship and therefore each is sailing further and further apart into their own lonely self contained world – no community, no fellowship, no other).  

God’s plan is togetherness, family, unity, community with God, Christ, Spirit and each other.   He’s done all necessary that none must be excluded.    Yet, it seems, that God in all his Grace and Love, will not violate our free will.  

The question becomes, since this is ultimate reality, now what?   It’s a weight on the shoulders of believers that they/we must be in the daily business of inviting “outsiders” to be “insiders” so that God’s family gathering is full.

“ you are members of God’s very own family, citizens of God’s country, and you belong in God’s household with every other Christian."
Ephesians 2:19 (TLB)

 

 

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