Christ Is The Foundation

1 Corinthians 3:10-15 is an analogy of salvation and the Christian life. True Christianity and salvation is built on one foundation; Christ. And we build on that foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw, each being tested by fire when Christ returns. If it survives the fire, you will receive a reward.if it burns up, you will suffer loss, though you will be saved.

So I really just re-wrote the analogy, I didn't clarify it. So here goes. After we are saved by the faith in Christ's saving grace, we have a duty to live as saved people, changed by the understanding of grace. We are not saved by our changed lives, but we are responsible for living differently. Sin is going to still be our lives, but it shouldn't BE our lives. We build on our salvation with different levels of Christian living. Some things we do are great and further the kingdom of God. And some things are not good at all, and we add to the confusion about salvation. These things we do, after becoming a Christian, will be tested at the day of judgement. If they are good things the will be stand the test. If they are not, they will fail. Gold, silver, and precious stones will not burn. Wood, hay, and straw will.

This passage ends with Paul restating that these works don't earn someone salvation. Salvation comes from Jesus Christ and Him crucified. Once we believe this, we are saved. Our lives from that point on need to be lived as though we understand the grace we've been given. Ephesians 2:8-9,"For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast."

The Spirit's Interceding...God's Calling

This is going to be fast and this passage (Romans 8:26-30) has a lot in it so I may need to break it up. Although the suffering is nothing compared to the glory to be revealed, we still need help through this time on earth. The Spirit is our help "in our weakness." The Spirit provides direction in what to pray, He intercedes on our behalf with God, and works with our conscience to help us discern. "...the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God."

All things will work for good for those who love God, "for those who are called according to His purpose." Again Paul talks about calling, just as he did in Ephesians. Paul lays out the process here. Verse 29-30 "For those whom He foreknew He also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that He might be the first born among many brothers. And those whom He predestined He also called, and those whom He called He also justified, and those whom He justified He also glorified." In layman's terms, those God decided He would save before they even existed He called with an irresistible calling. After calling them to Himself He justified them through the death of Christ on the cross and soon they will be glorified in Heaven with Him.

Praise God for His Spirit.
Praise God for His calling, justifying, and glorifying.

The Ephesians Sign-off

Ephesians 6:21-24 is Paul's closing the the people of Ephesus. He tells them he's sending Tychicus to tell them about how Paul and his ministry are going, and so he can encourage them. Paul then concludes with "Peace be to the brothers, and love with faith, from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Grace be with all who love out Lord Jesus Christ with love incorruptible."

We have no idea of the battles Paul and the early church faced. We have the freedom worship God. We have established churches where we can go together and corporately gather to learn from God's word, praise God with fellow believers, and grow in faith. Paul offers comforting words to the church at Ephesus to encourage them to continue in their faith. He offers them peace and love with faith from Jesus. He reminds them of the grace that comes from the love of Jesus and how incorruptible that love is.

Praise God for His Son.
Praise God for His Grace.

The Armor of God

The armor of God is one of those "christian summer camp" things that I remember learning from Ephesians 6:13-20. We had to memorize the different pieces of armor and why Paul paired certain piece of armor with the specific attribute of God's strength. We learned that most of these pieces were defensive pieces except the sword which has become synonymous for the Word of God. In a list here are the parts:

Belt of Truth
Breastplate of Righteousness
Shoes of the Gospel of Peace
Shield of Faith
Helmet of Salvation
Sword of the Spirit

The interesting thing that I don't remember from this passage is verse 18-20 which continue from the same thought in my Bible's translation. It says, "praying at all times in the Spirit, with all prayer and supplications. To that end keep alert with all perseverance, making supplication for all the saints, and also for me (Paul), that words may be given to me in opening my mouth boldly to proclaim the mystery of the gospel, for which I am an ambassador in chains, that I may declare it boldly, as I out to speak." Part of the armor to "withstand in the evil day" is prayer; prayers for our needs, for the words to say, for boldness to proclaim the truth of God.

And now I'm out of time. Darn.

Praise God for His Armor, the protection we need from Satan and the evil day.

Be Strong in the Lord, in the Strength of His Might

I actually spoke to a friend yesterday about how I felt like God did hear my cries for help lately. He reminded me that I can't allow feelings to run my life or my relationship with God. I have to rely on truth and knowledge. How true. Feelings are easily affected by situations or circumstances. And Satan would love for us to be easily persuaded to feel like God wasn't listening to our prayers.

Today, I returned to my study in Ephesians and I picked up right where I left off in chapter 6. Verse 10-11 start, "Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of His might. Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil." Verse 12 goes on to tell us we don't wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, authorities, powers over this present darkness, against spiritual forces of evil.

We are fighting something that is so powerful that the Bible calls it the ruler and authority over this present darkness. But we have the strength in the Lord our God. The schemes of the devil can only be thwarted by the strength of our God. 2 Corinthians 10:4-5 says, "For the weapons of out warfare are not of the flesh but have divine power to destroy strongholds. We destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive to obey Christ, being ready to punish every disobedience, when your obedience is complete."

Praise God for His Word.
Praise God for the knowledge gained from His Word.

Work As Though It's For God

Ephesians 6:5-9 is quickly summed up by saying, "work hard at your job." I feel like I do that. I've always been known as a hard worker, a good employee. But I think there is a level I don't work at that this passage points to. I work to "please people." I work to please my bosses and the customers. I don't work as a "servant of Christ, doing the will of God from the heart, rendering service with a good will as to the Lord."

We need to be working as though we are working and serving God. Our mind set need to be that we are doing our best for God not man. Work hard. But work for God. Don't work to please man so you can get that raise or promotion. Work to please God and glorify Him with your hard work and great performance.

Praise God for His Leadership.

I Want to be a Good Dad and Son

As a parent and a son, the next section of Ephesians takes on two meanings for me. The relationship of parents and children is a unique picture of our relationship with God. At face value Ephesians 6:1-4 is mainly about the human relationship. Children are to obey and honor their parents. And Fathers are to bring their children up in discipline and instruction of the Lord without provoking them to anger. But there is more.

God makes a promise to us that if we honor our parents we will live long and prosper (Sorry, I worded it that way because I'm a huge Star Trek fan, which I actually watched all the time with my dad). God also instructs fathers to raise their children with discipline in a Godly home. But, this is really a picture of the rewards of being a child of God. By living a life of obedience to God we will understand and live a life of joy and happiness based on the understanding that all we do and go through and experience is for His glory and the furtherance of His kingdom. There is nothing better than obeying God and honoring Him with our lives.

I do want to mention my dad. After all, I mentioned my mom in a past entry and it seems only fair to mention my dad. He is a quiet person; slow to anger and quick to listen. Although my sister and I did make him mad at times and we were disciplined, I NEVER thought he reacted out of anger. I always knew that his discipline was deserved and necessary for the wrong we'd done. I was spanked for things and I had things taken away or suspended, but it was always explained to me in love and patience and concern for my life. My dad raised my sister and I to understand our responsibility as Christians and as adults participating in life. We both still call him for advice and help in times of struggle, and we know he will listen and always turn us back to the Word of God. I actually find it amazing how much of the Bible he knows by memory and understands to explain and apply to any situation. He also set a good example for us in how to glorify God in the things we do. Sometimes I still wish I could be under his rule and guidance more. I often feel I was held more accountable for my actions and I was less likely to make bad choices. I know that he would say God is always watching and the Spirit is guiding, but I do love my parents and the way they brought us up.

Praise God for My Parents.
Praise God our Father.

Husbands, Love Your Wives, as Christ Loved the Church

Again with the commands that seem impossible. Ephesians 5:25-33 is a long discription of how Christ is the ultimate example for husbands in how to love their wives. Not that I don't want to love my wife this much, but I don't think humans have the capacity for the amount of love shown by Christ. Although, I'd say I would die for my wife, I'm not sure it translates the same as the saving sacrifice Christ made for His chosen. How about an easier seen failure as an example...

There are times my wife wants to do something or go somewhere I don't want to. I make "sacrifices" of my own plans to participate in the things she wants. I don't; however, do this without grumbling and complaining. I whine about it; sometimes behind her back to my friends. That is not loving or respectful. That is not the love Christ lavishes on us. But, I'm commanded to love my wife.

Christ (God's Son, God as man) came to earth, lowering himself to the level of a man, releasing some of his Godly powers and abilities, to save men from sin. He was mocked, beaten, and killed on a cross for us. That is love. That is sacrifice for His bride. What are we as husbands doing to sanctify, cleanse, and prepare our wives to be presented before God in all His glory? That is love. Christ prepares us for presentation before the mighty God. We must do the same for our wives.

Praise God for Him Example.
Praise God for His Love.
Praise God for my wife.

Head of the House...Too Much for Me

Well, I almost skipped these next verses, not wanting to be considered a sexist or a womanizer. But hey, its in the Bible so it's important. Ephesians 5:22-24 tells wives to "submit to your husbands, as to the Lord." Now if the passage ended there, men could really take advantage of this passage. But it doesn't.

Verse 23 says, "For the husband is the head of the wife even as Christ is the head of the church, the body, and is himself its Savior." As a husband I look at my role from the perspective of this verse. I'm to lead by the example of Christ. Christ came to earth, lived a perfect sinless life, glorified God as His sole purpose, and then died for sinners. So as a husband I'm to live a life without sin, glorifying God in all I do, and sacrifice even my life to help my wife. Sounds like too hard a job for me alone.

As the wife submits to the husband, like the church submits to Christ, she should be willing and understanding of the importance of that duty. I remember my mom saying once that it was easier for her to submit and follow my dad's decisions because she knew that it was how God designed, and God would protect the decisions they made if they were done according to God's design. She also took comfort in knowing if the decision was not the appropriate one, God would still bless her life for submitting to my dad. Ultimately, my mom and dad worked together to make the decisions in my family but my mom was such a respectful woman. And even when my dad did things she did not agree with, there was NEVER a fight or loud argument. She knew the decision would be blessed by God if she submitted to God's will and under the authority given to my father as the husband.

I hope that in my marriage, Lisa and I can work together on everything. I am overwhelmed by the responsibility God gives to the husband. I pray that I lead my family by example. I want them to see a man who's number one desire is to glorify God in everything I do. I pray that out of that desire stems a life without sin and a love for people and a desire to fulfill my responsibility to spread the good news of God's gift of grace.

Praise God for His Son, the ultimate example of a leader.

Give Thanks and Submit to One Another

Ephesians 5:20-21 tell us to give "thanks always and for everything to God the Father in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, submitting to one another out of reverence for Christ." Sometimes it's hard to find things to be thankful for. I'm still sad about losing my job with the sheriff's office. But right here this passage is saying to always and for everything give thanks. And if I think hard enough about it, I do have things to be thankful for in this situation. I have a new job, one I know and understand, in a market where people are having trouble finding jobs. I have a family I love. I have bills I've been able to pay. And Sunday, I went to a church service that I truly enjoyed. The music was a good mix of hymns and songs, the pastor was well spoken and explained the text very well, and I felt like I was able to corporately worship God again.

Sure there are negative things in life too, but we need to find God's purpose for placing those things in our lives. We need to find ways to turn them into ways to glorify God. I think someone like me, who tends to be arrogant and dominating, faces these negative times more often. And after reading verse 21 and seeing we all need to be submissive, I believe God puts these hurdles in my life to bring me back to a place of submission. God works all thinks for His glory.

I want to live a thankful life and a submissive life style for God's glory. God is the ruler of all things. I will strive to glorify Him in all I do.

Praise God for All Things.
Praise God the Ruler and King.

Know the Word, Address One Another with It

"Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise, making the best use of time, because the days are evil." Don't be foolish. Understand what the will of the Lord is. Don't be drunk with wine, it's debauchery, but be filled with the Spirit.

That's a quick summary of Ephesians 5:15-18. I really wanted to get to verse 19. We are to "address one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody to the Lord with all your heart..." The Word of God should be so abundant in our lives that we can just start gushing it when we talk to each other. Just like the Word of God should fill any worship service through the singing, preaching, reading, and praying; our lives should be fill with the Word of God. It is the only source and authority over our lives. It is the key to understanding the character of God and what he demands from us. It is God's words for us to read and live and know. As Hebrews 4:12 says, "For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart." The word of God will reveal the sin in our lives and direct us in the way God would have us go.

Praise God for His Word.

Expose Unfruitful Works of Darkness

It seems like time speeds up in the mornings. Even if I wake up 30 minutes earlier, I seem to run out of time to blog my devotions. I have read this passage a few times and feel like it really does ring true in my own life. I work with a lot of non-Christians who all seem to have "drama" in their lives. Ephesians 5:11-14 seems to be a sort of reminder to me to stay away from the "drama" or conversations about it. This passage tells us to "take no part in unfruitful works of darkness, but instead expose them."

There are opportunities for me to get wrapped up in unfruitful works of darkness every day. But God's Word tells me to expose them. By exposing them, they become visible. And when they are visible, they become light. They are light because they are now knowledge of unfruitful works of darkness, avoidable as sin.

What I'm trying to say with all the distractions from all the people in my house right now, is that exposing sin can free you from that sin. If you are involved in sin, and you confront the sin, you become aware of the sin and the Holy Spirit works with your conscience to help you flee that sin in the future. If you are involved in sin, confront the sin, expose the sin, know that it is sin. Then turn from the sin, remove yourself from the temptation, flee from the sin.

The Holy Spirit is our guide. God provided a helper at salvation; the Holy Spirit works in conjunction with our conscience to help reveal sin. God does not want us to sin, and He provided a way of escape.

Praise God for His Holy Spirit.

The Olympics

Sometimes family is important. This morning my wife and I caught up on some of the swimming events of the Olympics. And we are really into it. Michael Phelps is really an amazing swimmer.

What is Acceptable to the Lord?

Ephesians 5:10 is the next verse, and I can't quite decide where to go with it. I wish I had included it with yesterday's section because it seems to fit better with those verses. I'm not sure why I didn't. It's a continuation of the sentence in verse 9. 10 says, "and try to discern what is pleasing to the Lord." We are told to walk as children of the light and then to try to discern what is pleasing to the Lord. The word try seems like it gives us an out. But, after 20 minutes of re-reading the verses around this one and trying to discern its meaning, I turned to my John MacArthur study Bible for some help.

My daily Bible is the ESV translation, and the JMac is New King James Version. The NKJV says, "finding out what is acceptable to the Lord." And the commentary notes explain it well. It says, ""Finding out" carries the idea of testing or proving to learn by clear and convincing evidence what is truly honoring to God," and "as believers walk in the light of the truth, knowledge of the Lord's will becomes clear."

Well, I can't say it any better than that. It's funny to think of one verse causing me such an issue, but having such a great meaning. It is good to know that as we live our lives according to our calling, we will gain the knowledge of the will of God.

Praise God for His Will.

I Wanna Be in the Light

Back in 1998 DC Talk had a song called "In The Light." I was helping the Youth Group at First Baptist Church in Auburn under Kirk Welch. We planned a "summer camp" with the Jr. High Group in Monterey, CA, where there was a Christian concert event called "Spirit West Coast." Our theme was developed around living in the light.

Now, 10 years later I sit hear and read Paul's letter to the Ephesians and I'm reminded that I need to be living in the light, as a child of the light. According to Ephesians 5:8-9 we were "at one time...darkness, but now (we) are light in the Lord. Walk as children of the light..." The next part of verse 9 is what struck me today. it says, "for the fruit of light is found in all that is good and right and true." What is good and right and true in my life? What about yours? We have an opportunity to be lights in our daily lives. I have a Christian boss who I see being a light in her work. I know she spends time every morning in the Word and praying for the people she works with. And she is a light at work.

I want to be in the light that God called me into. I want to be part of everything that is good and right and true. I don't want there to ever be any doubt that I am different and set apart from the world. I want to be a light shining out of the darkness of the sin that surrounds us. I want to stand out from the rest of my co-workers and make known the grace of God to all of the people I come into contact with everyday. I pray that the truth of grace and our desperate need for a Savior is so evident in my life. I want walk as a child of the light.

Praise God for His Light.
Praise God for all that is good and right and true.

Lectio Continua Bible Reading

An essay by my uncle Terry L. Johnson on reading the whole Bible here.

Also, check out more about his church in Savannah, GA here.

A Primer on Reformed Worship Part 1

Today for church, we listened to Part 1 of a series by Terry L. Johnson called "A Primer on Reformed Worship." Terry happens to be my uncle as well, but he is a published writer and the senior pastor at Independent Presbyterian Church in Savannah, Georgia.

Part 1 of this 3 part series was more a background of his studies and how he came to believe the way he does. A quick overview of his philosophy of worship, from this first part of the series is to Sing the Word, Preach the Word, Read the Word, Pray the Word, and Administer the visible word – Communion. The focus being on worship of God through the Bible. It is such a simple plan with such a deep and powerful outcome. What better way to worship God than to use the living and active Word of God?

Again, this was part 1 of the series and was a background of how my uncle came to believe this is such a powerful way to worship God. Having first learned of the reformation in a Reformation History class at USC and reading such great books as J.I. Packer's "Knowing God", Terry decided to go to Trinity College in England to study under Packer and his faculty. During his college years, Terry also went to Scotland. He learned a great deal about the history of the reformation and Covenantal theology.

He watched and learned how churches in both England and Scotland were using the Bible in all parts of their worship services. One church sang from a book of Psalms which were rhymed and metered back in the 1650s. It was the whole book of Psalms but to music. They were singing the Word.

At one point in his studies he learned under John MacArthur at Grace Community Church in Southern California. John taught verse by verse through the Bible, also known as expository preaching. Terry said it was powerful and he felt like a new person every time he left one of John's sermons. John preached the Word.

Another time while in England, Terry attended a church where scripture was read during the service. Not part of the preaching, but it was a different passage of scripture read in a slow and deliberate manner. The comparison between lectio selecta vs. lectio continua was made, meaning the practice of selecting passages vs. reading verse by verse through the whole of scripture. Terry found this to be much more powerful and said, the whole Bible is the whole character of God. They were reading the Word.

Finally, Terry attended a prayer meeting were he was impacted by the deep and powerful prayer meeting he was part of in Scotland (I think). He said the prayers of these men were God centered, God dependent, scripture rich prayers. Use scripture in prayers. The language of scripture is God's centered, God glorifying, and more powerful than anything man could ever say on his own. These men Prayed the Word.

Sing the Word, Preach the Word, Read the Word, and Pray the Word. This is the method to a God centered worship service, rather than a man centered service. The church services I've been to lately are not God centered. They are man centered and can not be called worship services. The fact that the Word of God is not the center focus of a church worship service is a frightening thing in what is called the church today.

Even in my own life, I see myself looking for a church that has all the things I want. Instead, I should be looking for a church that has what God desires/demands from our lives. We are here to worship God, to glorify Him. That is our purpose and our design. Church should NEVER be about what we are getting out of it, but what we are giving God through it. Church should be a place to publicly and corporately worship God.

Praise God for His Word.
Sing the Word. Preach the Word. Read the Word. Pray the Word.

Don't Let It Be Named Among You

Okay so here we go with too little time and way to much to write about. Ephesians 5:3-6 strikes right at the heart of my life for the past year. I'm not going to be able to go into great detail as to why I feel these verses apply to me so strongly, but the jail was a rough place, with foul language, crude conversation, and filthy talk. I did, for my first year, stand out from the group. They all knew I didn't cuss or participate in the joking and dirty talk. Things like, "Hold on, Burch is here and won't want to hear this one," were said a lot my first year. Then I started to let my guard down. The second year I started to laugh at the jokes and even started adding to conversations I should not have been part of.

Fast forward to now, a new job with new people and a kind of "redo" for me. Since I didn't do what verse 7 tells me to do and "not associate with them" (the people involved in this filthiness) God removed me from the jail. But even in this business professional environment, there are still opportunities for me to fail God in these ways. The scariest part is that people involved in this sin have "no inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and God." We have to flee from this. Things mentioned in this passage that we need to flee from are sexual immorality, all impurity, COVETOUSNESS (dang, I want a lot of "stuff" people have), filthiness, foolish talk, crude joking (darn sense of humor crossing the line too often). These are all things we all struggle with but we need to STOP!!!!!!!! If we are still struggling with these sins, we need to take a good hard look at our relationship with God.

Do you have a relationship with God? Are you working on improving it every day? The Word of God is so important. Like the reformers of the 16th century, we need to be reading the Word, praying the Word, singing the Word, preaching the Word. And then we need to apply the Word to our daily lives.

Praise God for His Word.



***I had other issues with this post so please don't concern yourself with errors in grammar or formatting. Sometimes the Internet is a beast. (not the beast, LOL)

Be Imitators of God

Ephesians 5 starts with a task that is really impossible for us as sinful beings. We are called to "be imitators of God, as beloved children." Verse 2 goes on to tell us to "walk in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us." Now I say these things are impossible but the Bible is telling me to do it. So how do I?

Well, with the Holy Spirit, God's promised helper, we can. With God's help we can. It has absolutely NOTHING to do with our own ability to be successful in this. It will take the help of God. But, if we are not imitating God and loving like Christ, we are not following the command set forth here in Ephesians, and therefore we are not doing the will of God.

Check out Jarrett's blog about change. It's great. And here's another Blog for your readers. Jarrett Tonn is a good friend of mine, who has a really great ability to write about God's truths. Casey and Jay Hobbs also write on the blog. Check out Reckless Raging Fury.

Just a Quick Update for Excuse Sake

I got promoted at the bank and I'm responsible for all of the daily operations of the branch. Lots of work, earlier start time, and a complete lack of time management are my current excuses for why the blog has been neglected the last few weeks.

Lame, I know.