To be continued...

If you thought Jurassic World was going to top this summer’s blockbuster movies, you’d better think again. Still to come during July and August we can look forward to Minions, Mr. Holmes, Ant-man, Fantastic Four and even a new Mission: Impossible.

 

Literally one of the best movie cliffhangers ever...

What’s the one constant that we can pretty much rely on through all of these films (hint - it's not Tom Cruise)?

A sequel.

With stand-alone films limiting studio profits and merchandising rights, we can almost guarantee that most of the top films this summer will end on a cliffhanger - something that whets our appetite for what's to come in the next installment.

The cliffhangers have been coming thick and fast through Esther too, with a particularly good example at the end of chapter 4. Here, the ball is in Esther's court; Mordecai requests that she reveal her identity and plead with the king to reverse his edict to destroy the Jews.  Will she or won’t she?

For Esther, it’s not a decision she takes lightly and she’s well aware of the consequences. Faced with the prospect of her own execution if the plan goes awry, for the first time we get to see Esther depending on the sovereignty of God. In asking Mordecai to call the Jews to prayer and fasting Esther is acknowledging the outcome of this situation is entirely dependent on the will and sovereignty of God.

But notice that doesn’t mean she sits back and does nothing, nor that she adopts a blasé and fatalistic attitude. She prepares by dressing to impress and giving Xerxes the beauty and finery that she knows grabs his attention, and observes the palace protocol by waiting for the king to summon her. Having earned her opportunity to speak to her King, isn’t her request a bit odd? “Come to lunch” she asks, in one of the shrewdest and most streetwise manoeuvres we’ve seen so far in this book. She’s got a huge confession to make and a big favour to ask, and she knew that she had to play this just right.

As we read the Bible there’s a danger of thinking that our actions don’t matter, and that as we’re not saved by works we can pretty much live as we please. Esther teaches us that’s not the case. Yes, God is sovereign, but God works sovereignly through the actions of people – through you, and through me. James picks up on this in the New Testament too. God’s sovereignty and human responsibility are complementary, not contradictory.

Esther trusts herself to God’s sovereignty but takes responsibility for her own actions. We pray and fast to seek God’s will, but there comes a time when we need to act. That’s not to say we steam in like bulls in china shops - prayer is preparation before action.

There are times when as Christians it seems like we're at the mercy of the proud and powerful, just like the Jews seemed to be at the mercy of Haman. Ask those who face it all the time – you won’t have to search far to find out how that’s being played out around the world, and here in the UK.

It was the same for Jesus. It appeared that he was at the mercy of the powerful and influential, but Acts 2:22-23 shows us that he was handed over with God's planning and foreknowledge. Through the evil actions of proud men God's sovereignty was at work to fulfil his plan to deal with the curse of sin. When Jesus died it looked like a hopeless and devastating defeat at the hands of his enemies, when in fact it was part of God’s plan to deal with our rebellion once and for all.

At the end of chapter 5 we’re left with another cliffhanger. The stage is set, and Haman’s pride looks set to exact revenge on Mordecai and the Jews.

To be continued…

Where's your line in the sand?

In Esther 3 we see some real trouble starting to brew for the Jews, and it all came about because of Mordecai's decision not to bow to Haman.

Why did he make this decision?  It wasn't anything to do with God's explicit command not to bow down to false Gods - what was being asked for was a public show of respect to Haman, not worship.

Mordecai wasn't just being a stubborn rebel against the state either - he's already shown his actions as a good citizen (in line with God's instructions to his exiled people) in chapter 2 when he intervenes to stop a royal assassination.

What seems to be behind Mordecai's refusal to bow is the fact that Haman is an Amalekite.  The Amalekite's had a longstanding opposition to God and his people the Israelites.  Haman was drawing a line in the sand and saying: 'I will be a good citizen as far as possible, but as God's man there are things that I will not do'.

We find ourselves living with the same tension.  We are to be good citizens and pray for our leaders (have you prayed for our new government yet?).  But at the same time as God's people we are going to encounter issues over which we have to take a stand. Take a look in any decent paper and you'll find examples of Christians facing difficulties and persecution - in the UK as well as oversees - for taking tough decisions in line with their faith.

We're not to be overly confrontational, or set out to be offensive or abrasive, but we are going to have to sometimes say: 'I, as a Christian, cannot and will not do this.  This is my line in the sand'.

The consequences for Mordecai were nearly catastrophic.  In a world that doesn't recognise God the consequences of our stands may cause us real problems.  Will we act in faith and trust to God for the future?

The morning after the night before

Last year 175,000 people visited the Glastonbury festival to enjoy an excellent line-up of acts from across the world spread across 100 stages, along with circus performers, comedians and other entertainers. It was a heck of a party. Now I wasn’t there, choosing instead to dip in to the TV coverage, and I accept that means I get a sanitised version of events. I didn’t get to see the state the farm was left in afterwards, which required a clean-up operation of nearly six weeks costing almost £1 million. That’s a lot of mess for just three days of partying.

In the second chapter of Esther King Xerxes wakes from a much bigger party with an even bigger headache. During a lavish and extended banquet to win the favour of his military leaders, he has managed to turn a drunken squabble with his wife into a national crisis by effectively banishing the queen; this PR crisis is a public embarrassment and amounts to a royal mess of epic proportions. Now  in chapter two he's sobered up and realised that in the aftermath of that terrible decision he’s got a clean-up operation of his own to carry out, and the same trusted advisors who encouraged him to alienate his wife come up with the perfect solution…a nationwide search for a new wife.

It’s into this aftermath that we’re introduced to Mordecai and Esther, who play their part in the bigger picture of this book: God leading his people into rest. If we left it there, you might be tempted to think that they did this by some superhuman feat, or perhaps, as this is an account we find in the Bible there might be a miracle or two involved. However, Esther is a story of how God works through ordinary people like you and me.

We have Mordecai, a Jew living in exile and caring for his orphaned cousin. He’s trying to be a good Jew living in a non-Jewish society. Even Esther herself, who appears to be the total package (brains and beauty) is part of a subjugated people living in a strange land. This takes us back to our studies in Ephesians, doesn’t it? God’s people are called to be set apart and live differently even now, while still engaging in the culture they live in.

Mordecai and Esther are ordinary people, doing what they need to survive, and in chapter two we see some strange decisions we perhaps don’t agree with. Mordecai doesn’t put up a fight to stop Esther being part of what was a pretty grubby state of affairs as a member of Xerxes’ harem; in fact he tells her to hide her identity. As for Esther, she doesn’t shy away from the process and plays to win. Yet when Mordecai overhears a plot to oust the king, he’s in the right place at the right time – and Esther’s speedy rise to royalty no longer seems like a simple ‘rags to riches’ tale of a very lucky girl with a pretty face. Esther is in the perfect position to protect her king and save her people.  

This book isn’t a parenting manual, or a guide for teenage girls on how to live for God. However, what it does show is how God works behind the scenes, not always with great drama, but in small ways, through ordinary people and their messy lives – our messy lives - for his glory and our good.

The epitome of control?

Hollywood taught me that King Xerxes, the Persian ruler who features so strongly in the story of Esther, was an eight-foot tall megalomaniac with an enormous all-conquering army who wore far too much jewellery to be practicable. It turns out that was only half true…


Accepting then, that my preconceptions of Xerxes were wrong, what do we know about him from the opening chapter of Esther?

He’s wealthy, famous, successful, and has a beautiful wife. He’d assembled the greatest army in the history of Persia, and plotted to secure their backing to commit to his war by wining and dining their leaders for six months, blinding them with bravado and the trappings of wealth and royalty, and blinding them with the beauty of his wife.  

This is one shrewd operator, and he’s in control. Or is he?

Ultimately, Xerxes controlled everyone around him, but he couldn’t control himself. After too much wine he gets flummoxed by his wife, who wasn’t happy to be ogled by his assembled guests, can’t make a decision for himself and accepts some strange advice that ultimately banishes her from the kingdom. Would he have acted so rashly if sober? Would he have been more in control?

Xerxes was proud and boastful, and here he's held up as a comparison to the real King. We’re deliberately shown the wow-factor of a flawed leader – Xerxes - in order to show the power of the almighty God and King.

Paul tells us that we have the Old Testament for our encouragement, endurance and hope, and ultimately to point us to Jesus – God’s anointed King, who is so majestic, and whose wow-factor is so great, that John can barely find words to describe him. Yes, Xerxes had awesome wealth which paid for a banquet lasting 180 days, but Paul tells us that pales into insignificance compared to Jesus’ riches in mercy and grace, wisdom and glory.

 

So for all of Xerxes’ displays of power he was a weak human just like us.  He thought he was in control, but he made mistakes and lived with the consequences in the same way we do.

Ultimately our efforts to take control of ourselves and our lives fail because of the self-destruct button we call ‘sin’. But God's blueprint is for us to live under his control and blessing. He knows that we get things wrong and reject him, but through Jesus he offers us true rest from our enemies of sin and Satan; he offers us forgiveness, and gives us the Holy Spirit to help us live a more controlled life.

So that’s our first impression of King Xerxes, but if we’re making comparisons, what’s your first impression of Jesus? He didn’t have the traditional trappings of a king but he had complete control over his life and death.

Remember the purpose of the author; this book is about how a covenant-keeping King brings rest to his people. Jesus is the king who will never lose control and he’s offering you rest today.

 

*That*, Detective, is the right question...

In the 2004 film I, Robot, Will Smith’s character Del Spooner becomes increasingly frustrated at the inability of robot Sonny to answer his questions. As he seeks to uncover the truth behind the apparent murder of a scientist, Sonny can simply reply “I’m sorry, my responses are limited. You must ask the right questions”.

We find ourselves in a similar predicament as we start to study the book of Esther. At first glance, it doesn’t appear to answer some of our most burning questions. We might like to know why God isn’t mentioned either by name, or as a noun. Alternatively we might seek greater insight into the motivations of the main characters. We might wonder why no-one prays, why there are no miracles, or why there’s nothing intrinsically Jewish about this book.

As we study, we need to ask the right questions.
Here are a few points to remember that should help to keep us on track as we work through the book together (both in our Sunday morning meetings and here on this blog):

·       The main purpose of the writer is to explain the origins of, and continue the celebration of the festival of Purim among the Jews (ch 9:28), which marked the start of a period of peace and is still celebrated today. Everything we find recorded here is to serve that purpose.

·       This book is a narrative recording real historical people in the context of a real culture and time period. At this point in history the Jews had been removed from Israel and taken into captivity in Babylon by King Nebuchadnezzar. Although many had now taken advantage of the opportunity to return to their own land offered by the Persian King Cyrus after he conquered Babylon, some still remained.

·       We’re looking at a very active period in history – Pericles, Sophocles, Confucius, Socrates and Pythagoras were among the more prominent thinkers of the age.

·         It’s not a biography of Esther or Mordecai. Nor is it a detailed history of Persian culture. We only find out enough about the people and the place to demonstrate how they helped to shape the origins of the festival.

·       Our ‘why?’ questions were not the concern of the author. That can be really annoying. Remember that this  is a Hebrew narrative, where character is often revealed by what people do and say - we can try and work out their motives from that, but they are not explicitly stated here.

Paul instructed the Church in Rome that what was written and recorded  was to teach us, build our endurance, encourage us and give us hope in Christ, so we’re looking forward to learning how to ask the right questions and grow together as we study Esther.
 

Don’t forget you can find a short summary of Esther here

You should have seen the one that got away...

It was 2am on Saturday morning, and I sat huddled under a giant umbrella on Dungeness beach. I’d been awake for 20 hours, the flask of coffee was empty, and I was freezing. Still, I watched the tip of my fishing rod in anticipation of that tell-tale sign that I’d caught something. It didn’t come.
It was a pretty awful trip, and that might be how some of Jesus’ disciples felt early on in the account we read of their fishing in John 21:1-14.



They’d travelled to Galilee in the hope of once again seeing Jesus, who’d conquered sin and death, and had risen from the grave. It wasn’t a whim – Jesus told they would see him again in Galilee, but they didn’t know exactly when or where. It was probably a tough four-day journey for them and they had no idea what to do when they got there, but they travelled full of hope and expectation. Well, most of them did…

Seven disciples had made the trip, but four didn’t. We don’t know why, but at some point they’d chosen to do something else instead. What happened to their excitement to meet again with Jesus? What was more important?  Would I have been with the seven who after a disappointing night had breakfast prepared for them by their Lord, or the four that missed out? 

The Bible tells us that we're waiting to meet the risen Jesus too, just like the disciples were. Is the excitement in our hearts like it was theirs? When Jesus returns will he find me waiting expectantly, or so wrapped up in other things that I’ve forgotten he’s coming back?

That’s not meant to be critical of the disciples’ decision to go fishing – they had to eat and make a living. However, on that night, they caught nothing. Perhaps they started to reminisce. After all, it wasn’t the first time they’d been on unsuccessful fishing trips.

On that last occasion, Jesus joined them and they caught more than their nets could cope with. They must have been overwhelmed with joy when it happened again here. In fact, we can see what it meant to Simon Peter, who, when the penny finally dropped that it was Jesus instructing them to fish on the other side of the boat, leapt into the lake and swam to shore to meet him.

As the others arrive the scene is set for breakfast and they ate together.  Jesus cooks them breakfast. He provided for their eternal futures through his life, death and resurrection, and now provides their morning meal.
 
Jesus was exalted to the highest place, but didn’t become distant and unapproachable. He came to meet his disciples, dispel their doubts, and was with them through the day-to-day ordinariness of breakfast so that they could be sure that he was with them. He does that for us too.

So it wasn’t such a blow-out of a fishing trip after all (for the disciples that is, mine was still rubbish). They met Jesus, and it was worth every bit of the effort it took to get there. That’s an opportunity that’s extended to us too – make sure you don’t miss out.

New study Series - Esther

In April 2015 we'll be starting a new Sunday morning Bible study series of the book of Esther.

Each week we'll be blogging a summary of what we've been learning here, but to give you a head start, check out this short video.

Don't forget to follow us on Facebook or Twitter for the latest updates!

Final Greetings

If you knew death  was near and had the opportunity to write one last letter, who would you write to and what would you say?

 

Ephesians was written towards the end of Paul's life while he was in prison in Rome. He didn't know how long he had left and captured the most important things he felt he needed to say to the Church at Ephesus, inspired by the Holy Spirit, in one short letter.

As we’ve studied Ephesians together we've been reminded of God's overarching purpose - for everything to be united under Christ. That's God's bigger picture here.  He chose people to be holy and blameless and adopted them into his family from the very beginning. We have a great hope because God accepts Jesus taking the death we deserve and makes us alive. Through Jesus’ death and resurrection he built one united people - our differences have been made secondary, because our primary identity is in Christ and to be known as his.

With that in mind, Paul reminds us about how we are to live differently. To be play our part in the local church, to reflect Christ in our important relationships, and to fight every day in a spiritual war that Christ has already won, equipped by God with everything we need to enjoy that victory.

All that in one letter!

It's still a wonderfully personal letter from a man who had a deep love and concern for those he's writing to. He wants to encourage them, but also requires their support. So what were Paul’s final instructions regarding unity in the Church?

Paul wanted them to pray, in all situations, for God’s people. Prayer for each other was to be a constant in their lives but Paul also wanted them to pray for him. Here we don’t find the severe and harsh Paul, or the almost-divine Paul that opposing camps sometimes claim him to be. Yes, he’s been chosen to serve God in a particular way, but he’s just a man and is as dependent on the Holy Spirit as any of us. If Paul needed the prayers of others then so do we, and so do the leaders of our Churches.

He also knew that we don’t do well on our own, and that as Christians we’re better together. Paul recognises that in isolation we’re likely to grow cold to the good news of Jesus. That goes for all of us. But it’s not just about what we gain. We’re to be united to serve each other in the Church and to serve. Church isn’t a consumer product – we don’t take it or leave it as and when it suits our needs. We’re committed to being a part, and playing our part in the life of the Christian community.

Finally, Paul’s biggest ambition for the Church at Ephesus was that they might know peace and love, through grace. A deep-centred peace  - the removal of conflict between ourselves and God.  It's a gift through faith in Jesus, which God gave when he chose us before creation. A gift we accepted when we were adopted into God's family solely through his underserved kindness towards us - not because we earned it.

Ephesians reminds us of immense blessings in Christ. Let's use all that we've learnt from this letter to ensure that our lives and this church reflect God's love and peace. That we will be equipped to stand firm, and reflect our undying love for Christ.

Standing firm

So far in Ephesians 4-6 Paul has encouraged us to no longer live like the world, but what difference has it made to us studying here in Rochester, or to you, reading this blog?

Because there’s no doubt about it, the Christian life is tough. Of course, we’ve always known that haven’t we? Or have we been so comfortably living like the world that the challenge of Paul’s words and the reality of living differently haven’t caused us any trouble at all?

But Paul knows it’s tough. Here in Ephesians 6:10-18 he reminds us that we’re in a battle; every Christian is serving on the frontline – it’s not just for a select few - and we are to stand firm.

In the middle of a spiritual warzone, Paul wants us to remember where our strength comes from. Ever thought the Bible was a self-help book? Walk into a bookshop and find me another self-help book that tells you that you’re in a mess, heading for disaster, and can’t do anything to save yourself. Paul is clear here that the power and strength to support us in this battle isn’t from us. As we try to protect unity in the Church, live wisely, retain sexual purity, and do all of the things Paul tells us should be setting us apart from the world, we do it through a lifetime of reliance on the risen and victorious Jesus.

Yes - the victorious Jesus – because the enemy (and make no mistake, there is an enemy) has already been defeated. However, even though Satan has lost, he’s trying to cause as much collateral damage on God’s people as possible, and he won’t give up.

That’s why it’s important that we wear our armour and fight. The armour of God is an enduring picture that’s stayed with me since childhood, but I probably thought it was a bit pick-and-mix. No, says Paul – you need it all. You need to put things on – clothe yourself with a knowledge of the truth of God, an attitude to live differently and a readiness to make peace. You need to take up a certainty that you can’t be separated from God, and to fill your mind with God and what he’s achieved through Jesus. And don’t forget your only weapon: the word of God that gave Jesus the answers he needed to rebuff Satan, and can do the same for us.

Slaves and Masters

Over the last couple of weeks we’ve looked at how Paul wants that ‘difference’ in our lives to impact on some of the closest relationships we have – the dynamics of family life as husband and wife, but also parents and children.

Now in Ephesians 6:5-9 he turns to a particular situation that was a normal part of life for the first-century church in Ephesus he was writing to: slavery.

Slavery in the Roman Empire at this time could be brutal: slaves were possessions, with few rights and no way out.  Some question why Paul didn’t attack the concept of slavery in his letter.  We need to remember that Christians at the time were a small group with no political or social clout – direct action was out of the question.  Instead, Paul is trying to give the Christians practical advice on how to live in, what was for them, the real world. 

Paul called for a bigger view of life – the need to see what when the slaves worked, they worked for God, and what they did was an offering of their best to Him, regardless of the situation they were in.  And the masters were to act in justice and fairness, knowing that God, who does not play favourites and does not care for social status, was watching.  God would reward the work and management that was done well.

This has a big impact on how we approach our work today – it’s the situation where we most closely face the actions of serving and management that would have been experienced by the slaves and masters.

As employees we often face harsh and unjust managers.  We need to remember that we work for God, and do our best accordingly.  This gives meaning to our work regardless of how it is treated by those further up the management chain.  And if we are in positions of management, we need to remember that God, who is just and fair, is watching our actions.  Are we happy with what he is seeing us do, how we are treating people?

Paul’s words to those early Christians brought God’s truth into a situation as repulsive as slavery, potentially transforming the everyday lives of those caught up in it by giving them a big view of the world as it truly is.  We need to embrace that same big view in our everyday lives here and now.

We could do cute...

click to zoom

Okilly-dokilly, let's look at parenting...

In our last post we looked at what Paul teaches about marriage, and specific instructions he gives to husbands and wives.
 

Now if there’s one thing that will rankle people more than taking instruction about marriage, it’s giving them advice on how to raise their kids, but Paul’s not shying away from that in Ephesians 6:1-4.

Remember Paul’s key theme through this latter part of his letter to the Ephesians, summed up in Ephesians 4:17 is that Christians should play their part in, and be part of the local Church, and that involves making changes in the way they live and behave which reflects the changes God has made in them.
 

If Paul’s advice last time was about marriage reflecting Christ, this time it’s about the family reflecting Christ.

What does that mean? When we look at a Christian family, are we looking for the real life Ned, Maude, Rod and Todd Flanders?

To a degree – yes - but before you panic and run screaming for the hills, let me explain.

Paul urges parents, in the way they choose to raise their kids, to identify what’s of primary importance and to let that shine through in the priorities and goals we set for ourselves. It starts with parents, because kids learn from what we teach them, but also how they see us live when we’re behind closed doors.

What's of primary importance? Paul gives us a hint by quoting directly from Deuteronomy 5:16, where the Israelites are ready to take possession of the promised land and Moses is teaching them about the land, the Lord, and the promise which was for generations to come.

Paul’s applying that to us today, living under God’s new promise that he’ll accept Jesus’ perfect life and blameless death on our behalf that we can be part of a grander promise that’s yet to come – the new heaven and earth that’s described in the last book of the Bible – Revelation.

If we follow Paul’s logic, the result of living in the light of this promise and all of the changes it makes to the way we think, speak and behave, is that children obey their parents because they recognise that their parents love them and want to help them understand that promise for themselves.

But, that happens when parents don’t exasperate their children, when we don’t put things in the way that prevent them from learning; when we’re not so full-on and dictatorial about every minute aspect of their lives that they zone out and stop listening when we try to talk about the importance of our life-changing saviour. And when I write parents, let’s make no bones about who Paul says has the primary responsibility here – Fathers, it’s you. It’s your job to teach your kids about God – not the Church, not youth leaders, not Sunday school teachers – you.

Thankfully there are some great resources to help us do that, and you can find some of them in our bookshop. But remember, teaching materials will say far less than your attitude, behaviour and priorities ever could.

So, back to good old Ned and Maude Flanders – a couple who wear their faith on their sleeve and live it out for the kids, and the world to see what Jesus means to them. Doesn’t sound so bad after all, does it?

Orson, you won't believe what they're saying about marriage...

I'm old enough to remember Mork and Mindy. Mork, an alien from the planet Ork has been assigned to observe human behaviour, by Orson - his mostly unseen and long-suffering superior.

(For the record my favourite alien growing up was Marvin the Martian, but his mission to blow up Earth because it blocked his view of Venus didn't quite fit the intro of this post).

How would Mork describe marriage?

In 2015 the likelihood is that his report would be confused, because we're bombarded with contradictory messages about it on an almost daily basis. Some people think it's great, so great in fact that the UK has redefined its laws so that more people can get married. Others think it's atrocious and waste of time and money - it's a piece of paper which is pretty meaningless and they can live without it. Somewhere in the middle are the people that think it's great, but enter into married life on the assumption that it won't last and 'protect' themselves against loss by entering into prenuptial agreements.

In Ephesians 5:22-33 Paul outlines God's view of marriage. Often taken out of context, Paul's description of marriage often comes in for a fair bit of criticism, and some brush it off as being culturally irrelevant and not something we need to concern ourselves with. Wives submitting to husbands? Husbands loving wives sacrificially? Come now Paul - it might have been acceptable nearly 2000 years ago but not now?

Zoom back a bit and put this passage into the context of Ephesians, where we're no longer to live like the world; where we're to stand out as careful, wise and filled with the Holy Spirit. Paul's encouraging us to follow God's blueprint for marriage - fixed and unchanging - a marked contrast from society at large.

But how do we square this idea of submission and sacrifice - surely that's not right for today?

Again, look at the bigger picture. Paul is describing two relationships here - husband and wife, and Christ and the church. The two relationships are totally interweaved and inseparable in this passage. Therefore, when we look at God's design for Christ and the church, we see what marriage should look like. Marriage, as a result, should reflect the relationship between Christ and the church. Rather than a societal tool to stop us getting lonely, the Bible presents marriage as a visual aid that puts the good news about Jesus on display for the world to see.

In that context, submission isn't a negative or emotive word - it's an expression of how the Church submits to the headship Christ. It's the order of things that God stamped on the world but it doesn't mean that wives are doormats; it doesn't give men a right to disregard the worth of their wives. The instruction to prevent that happening is right here in this passage too - a husband should love his wife as Christ loved the Church- perfectly, sacrificially, willingly putting her before himself. Jesus gave everything, including his very life, for the Church - that's the standard to which husbands must love their wives. And guys, remember that in God's order you don't just lead your and love your wife - one day God will call you to account for her, and for the quality and integrity of your family life, just like Adam was called to account for Eve. Still need convincing you need to take this seriously?

So God's design for marriage sets a challenge for both men and women, as they become "one flesh" - a complete union, but don't forget the bigger picture: since the start of this letter to the Ephesians Paul has honed in on the unity of the Church - and the perfect union the Church will have with Christ.

Care and attention in all the right places.

If you took a straw poll of your friends and family, would they describe you as a careful person? Would your colleagues say that you're 'risk averse'?  Are you one those people who strives to get things right first time? Do you take time to think through your options and their likely consequences? When you make a mistake, do you scrap what you've done and start again?

I'm that kind of person - you wouldn't believe how many times I've started trying to write this post!

Paul gives us a summary of everything he's written to the Ephesians so far in 5:15-21, so if you're new to these posts you might want to look back and track our progress through the letter. How does he pull it all together?

"Be careful to be wise". After all of the calls to live differently, to play our part in the Church, and to let the whole world see the wonderful gift that God gave to us in Jesus, Paul knows that for unity in the Church
we need to be careful to be wise.

What does that mean? Well, throughout chapters 4 and 5 we can see what God's expectations are of a living in a wise way. Among the examples we have, we need to be wise to live in truth (4:25), to resolve arguments (4:26), to speak positively (4:29) and to avoid sexual immorality (5:3). Now that's not going to be easy, especially when the days are evil (5:16), but we need to live a life that's strongly dovetailed to the will of God - we're not what we used to be and we're to be taking every opportunity (5:16) to make the most of our time.

We also need to be clear about God's will (v17). That doesn't mean using ourselves at the starting point and only thinking about how God's will relates to 'me'. This isn't about that moment of crisis or indecision when we look to God for answers. No, this is about being clear about God's blueprint for humanity - it involves 'me', but it's so much greater than that.

As mysterious as God's will is, Paul states quite clearly that ultimately it is to unite all things in heaven and earth under Christ (1:9). Now our part of that is to be part of a new and united people, together in a relationship with God under Jesus. God's will isn't about making our lives better - that can happen as a result of living according to his will, but it's not the primary purpose of it.

Paul urges us to be controlled by the Spirit (v18-21). We'll have to explore the nature and person of the Holy Spirit another time, but Paul's point here is that being filled with the Spirit helps us to submit to one another - to put others before ourselves, and the needs of others before our own, and to put ourselves to one side to build up others.

There's a lot to be said for being careful.

What are you most careful about? Think about your answer to that, because it reveals a lot about what you value the most.

There's a fly in my soup...

There’s nothing like a cheesy joke to start a blog post:

“Waiter – there’s a fly in my soup!

Keep it down sir, or everyone will want one.”

Now, I don’t propose for one minute that we have to dissect all jokes, but what does this one hang on? It’s the fact that there’s something in the soup that doesn’t belong there. The fly has absolutely no place in the soup. It’s not in the recipe, and if the chef put it there on purpose you’re eating in the wrong kind of restaurant...

During recent posts we’ve looked at what Paul is teaching us about being a functioning Church. We’ve looked at how every member must be the part, play their part, and be set apart. In Ephesians 5 Paul outlines something that has no part in the people of God. It’s like the fly in the soup; it should not be there and will do nothing but spoil the perfect body of Christ that the Church is called to be.
 
When we take God’s gift of sex (yes, ‘gift’ – something good given by God), ignore the context in which it was given to be enjoyed, and use it purely to meet our own selfish needs, that’s essentially what the Bible calls ‘sexual immorality’ (v3).  Paul warns very strongly that there must not even be a hint of it in the Church.

Following Paul’s argument, when we ignore the blueprints of God’s design for sex, it leads to impurity and greed (v). Again, we need to stress that the Bible does not teach that sex is wrong, but if our attitude and behaviour debases sex and twists it to suit ourselves, we essentially become impure and not fit for God to use. Our greed (or covetousness) twists our desires towards the things we don’t, or cannot have. Further, it leads to obscenity, foolish talk and coarse joking (v4), where God’s gift of sex becomes nothing more than gossip and cheap innuendo.

Paul wants us to take urgent action to surgically remove sexual immorality from the Church. Why?

Firstly, because it has no part in our Christian identity. We’ve covered this idea of identity in an earlier post, but let’s sum it up – we are not what we used to be, and our behaviour should not be what it used to be. We should be following “God’s example” (v1, sometimes translated as “Be imitators of God”) and living a life of love (v2) which mirrors the example Jesus set in his life and death. Christians cannot remain distinct from the world unless we cherish our new identity. How much do we value being dearly loved children (v1) of God? Does it show itself in the way we live?

Secondly, we need to deal with it because it has no part in God’s new kingdom. In verses 5-7 we see that the world promotes idolatry, promiscuity and the breaking of God’s law on the premise that it will make us happy or that it feels right. There’s no part for this in the Church. How many lives have been wrecked by that empty promise of fulfilment? In Revelation, John describes a vision from God which pictures the end of the world as we know it and tries to put it into words. God is making everything new, and will once again live among his people (as was his intention back in Genesis 1-3). There’s a perfect eternal kingdom coming, and there’s no part for sin in it. If we don’t deal with this, there’s no part for us either.

So what practically we can do about this? V7 encourages us to not be partners with those who try to mislead us or who don’t take Paul’s warning here seriously. We’re all sinners, and before Jesus ascended back to heaven he asked us to go out into the world and tell people about him. Paul’s instruction here isn’t to hole ourselves up in some remote village and disconnect from the world – that’s direct disobedience to what Jesus instructed and he’d be horrified at the thought.

We do need to re-sensitise ourselves though. We’re bombarded with messages every day that tell us that a liberal view of sex is okay. The Bible says it isn’t. Paul wants us to be ruthless, and we need to take a long hard look at ourselves. Where do you draw the line in what you think it’s okay to watch, write, listen to, or do? Paul doesn’t say ‘some of this is okay’ or ‘it’s not hurting anyone’. He says there’s no place for it here – not even a hint of it.

We all fall short of God’s standard. We’d be hypocrites if we suggested otherwise. We know we’ve messed up, but we trust in God’s provision to deal with our sin once and for all – Jesus’ perfect life credited to us, and his death on the cross in our place.

Body Maintenance and Repair

Do you have a personal trainer? The encouragement and motivation that they offer is fantastic, but it’s only part of the overall offer. They understand enough about the body and how it works to identify when something’s not working quite right. They can see when our bodies are overcompensating for a part that’s not working correctly. While on the surface everything might look like it’s running correctly, they can identify where corrective action is necessary.

Paul’s doing the same here in Ephesians 4:25-32. We’ve seen how he’s encouraged and motivated the Church by showing how effective it can be in serving and glorifying God if members can be the part, play the part, and be set apart. But like a great trainer, there are some things he needs to address and some guidance he needs to give where he observes parts of the body that aren’t functioning as they should.

For the relationship between a trainer and the trainee to work, it’s important that they share the same objective. When we’re on the same page as our trainer we can understand and respect the fact that occasionally they need to give us some tough lessons. So let’s remember Paul’s goal here – he wants the Church to be united so that the body of Christ may be built up (v12), and that as Christians we can become mature (v13). That’s our goal too. We want to able to say:

“I belong to Christ’s body, to build up, unite, and benefit that body”

If that’s our aim, we can respond to Paul’s challenge when he tells us that for the sake of unity and growth in the Church:

 ·         Don’t lie - speak truthfully, and don’t be desensitised into thinking that dishonesty in any form is okay (v25)

·         Don’t lose your temper – instead be righteous, and if there’s a disagreement get it settled quickly (v26-27)

·         Don’t steal – rather work, and give, to support each other as part of God’s community (v28)

·         Don’t use rotten talk – speak in a way that benefits and builds up others (v29)

·         Don’t be unkind – be compassionate, caring and forgiving, as Christ is to us (v32)

It’s easy to gloss over these isn’t it? To think that they’re written for someone else? To believe that the odd ‘white lie’ or harsh word doesn’t matter that much in the grander scheme of things? Paul doesn’t think so – he recognises that each of these things can destroy unity, and encourages us to address them head on.

How do we do it? We follow the example set by Jesus (v32), who sets the pattern, and standard of behaviour for his people and gives us the Holy Spirit to seal us for redemption (v30).

Maintaining unity in the Church and helping members to grow and mature together isn’t easy. The Bible gives us a lot of very practical steps to promote it, and highlights issues we need to tackle which could destroy it (watch this space as Paul's got more guidance for us in chapter 5...).

But thanks to God, in trying to achieve it we’re not left alone and rudderless.

Spot the Difference

Am I getting older, or is spot the difference getting harder? Sometimes the difference is obvious. Often it's subtle. Occasionally it's so minor that we hardly notice it at all.

In Ephesians 4: 17-24, Paul spells out very clearly that the difference between a Christian and a non-Christian should be plain for all to see.

He's writing to a relatively young Church, many of whom were "Gentiles by birth" and without God or hope. 'Gentiles' was an umbrella term for those who were far away from God, but the good news of Jesus that united the Church was that the distance from God could be closed; he who was far away could be brought near, exclusively through Jesus' perfect life, sacrificial death, and resurrection.

So Paul's not trying to be divisive by arguing that there differences between Christians and non-Christians. Instead he's encouraging those who have come near to God for forgiveness, acceptance into God's family and into an inheritance that guarantees their future, to stop behaving as if they remained far away.

So spot the difference for yourself.

When they, and we, were far away from God, Paul says:

• Our minds are darkened (v17),
• Our hearts are hardened (v18).
• Our sensitivity is dulled (v19).

It's a pretty sobering view of humanity isn't it? We can't make complete sense of our environment; we stop looking for God in the world, and stop finding him; we chase after things that just can't satisfy.

But, when God draws us near and we accept his grace, expressed in his gift of Jesus to us, Paul describes us as:

• Having taught minds (v20-21)
• Being made new (v22-23)
• Re-clothed (v24)

So instead of how we used to be, the truth has been revealed and we can see the point of our lives, what was rotten has been removed and replaced with something new, and it makes a difference in how people see us.

It's a marked contrast isn't it? That's why Paul wants the Church in Ephesus, and the Church today, to stop living like we used to. We're not like that anymore.

When we recognise somebody from their uniform, we have expectations about what they will be like and how they will behave. Paul is laying down those expectations for Christians here in Ephesians.

What do people expect when they see you?