QTVOTD: Dwell, Gaze, and Seek…

The passage today is a little deviation from my reading in 2 Corinthians but I just wanted to share a little bit about the opportunity I had today at Hope Community Church in South Everett this morning. Hope Community is a church plan of Canyon Hills Community Church in Bothell, the church at which I am an elder. This morning 2 new lay elders were installed at Hope Community and the elders at Canyon Hills were invited to come be a part of this process. It was such a great moment as it represents a milestone of growth for this new church. I was asked to pray as we commissioned these 2 men (Micah and Clint) as new elders. Below is what the Lord laid on my heart to share through my prayer.

4 One thing have I asked of the Lord, that will I seek, inquire for, and [insistently] require: that I may dwell in the house of the Lord [in His presence] all the days of my life, to behold and gaze upon the beauty [the sweet attractiveness and the delightful loveliness] of the Lord and to meditate, consider, and inquire [seek] in His temple. Psalms 27:4 [AMP]

I know this verse and following verse 5 by heart because they are Bella’s life verses. As I sat there praying about what the Lord would have me pray over these 2 men, this is the verse that came to mind. More importantly the 3 words that jump off the page as it relates to being elders the Lord calls us to be.

  • DWELL
  • GAZE
  • SEEK

2 Timothy 3:1-5 and Titus have a nontrivial number of qualifications called out for elders. Having been an elder for over 2 years now, the most effective elder is one who does not let his pride, position, or own feelings get in the way of what God is doing or wants. So, when I remembered this verse it just called out so well how to be this conduit of God’s will and purposes.

An elder must desire to DWELL in the house of the Lord forever. That this body is not his home, our heavenly hope in an eternity with Jesus is our home. We must dwell here on earth by living a life that is focused on our faith.

An elder must GAZE upon the face of God and Jesus as a representation of Who they should strive to be like. In some versions it says ‘gaze upon the beauty of the Lord’ as being this thing that a person desires from the Lord. It implies that when we look at Jesus or God, we see beauty and cannot take our eyes from it. Also, when we gaze at beauty, we are able to see that beauty in our minds when we look away; we can remember and stay true to that definition of beauty.

An elder must SEEK God in His temple. I interpret this for us here on earth to be a diligent search to understand God’s character, personhood, and heart desires for us through His Word and prayer. When a person is seeking, the hunt is not over until the object has been found so this implies a fervent search with purpose and intent.

So, all of these put together show that an elder is right where God can use him when he is DWELLING in the presence of God, GAZING on the TRUTH of Who God is, and SEEKING God’s word for His desires and will to be done through that elder.

QTVOTD: Confidence in Approach and Appropriate Status…

The work drama continues into the weekend. With all of the new commitments and challenges, it becomes a difficult planning game versus scheduling/resources. I will have to work more through the next couple of days but hopefully I can keep it segregated from the time I need to be spending with my family.

11 Therefore, being conscious of fearing the Lord with respect and reverence, we seek to win people over [to persuade them]. But what sort of persons we are is plainly recognized and thoroughly understood by God, and I hope that it is plainly recognized and thoroughly understood also by your consciences (your inborn discernment).
12 We are not commending ourselves to you again, but we are providing you with an occasion and incentive to be [rightfully] proud of us, so that you may have a reply for those who pride themselves on surface appearances [on the virtues they only appear to have], although their heart is devoid of them. 2 Corinthians 5:11-12 [AMP]

Today’s passage gives us a little deeper look into the perception struggles Paul dealt with in his ministry. Verse 11 can have 2 different meanings but when you look at Paul’s use of the Greek words he uses in this verse in other areas of writing, this is the definition that sticks out.

Verse 10 was talking about the Judgement seat we will all stand before when the Lord returns to launch the beginning of His forever Kingdom. In light of this eventual judgement, Paul feels led to ‘win people over’ or persuade them to ‘FEAR THE LORD’. What Paul is saying here is that his way of ‘winning’ or ‘persuading’ people is biblically supported and he has already denounced crafty and dishonest manipulation of God’s word…so this winning or persuading is God honor. The thinking is that this message was in his letter because there were detractors in the Corinthian church who were challenging and criticizing his approach. Paul is saying he has confidence in his approach because he has faith that this being wide open and visible to the Lord, is pleasing to Him.

This above interpretation is then supported by verse 12 where Paul is saying that those who are converts to Jesus that were led to their Salvation by Paul, can be proud of the ministry that brought them to that Salvation. Now he levies the target against those detractors by telling this church in Corinth to have pride in Paul’s ministry because it is God honoring; that the church can admonish those who pride themselves on ‘external appearances’ yet lack the pure heart which is God is really looking at.

QTVOTD: Keeping Sights on the Spirit…

I am so thankful for the Lord’s continued faithfulness in my life. I am so rundown from being sick, work craziness, and family drama. However, the Lord has been here with me every step of the way; giving me confidence and peace that He is in control and that I have nothing to worry about as I pursue Him.

6 So then, we are always full of good and hopeful and confident courage; we know that while we are at home in the body, we are abroad from the home with the Lord [that is promised us].
7 For we walk by faith [we regulate our lives and conduct ourselves by our conviction or belief respecting man’s relationship to God and divine things, with trust and holy fervor; thus we walk] not by sight or appearance.
8 [Yes] we have confident and hopeful courage and are pleased rather to be away from home out of the body and be at home with the Lord.
9 Therefore, whether we are at home [on earth away from Him] or away from home [and with Him], we are constantly ambitious and strive earnestly to be pleasing to Him.
10 For we must all appear and be revealed as we are before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may receive [his pay] according to what he has done in the body, whether good or evil [considering what his purpose and motive have been, and what he has achieved, been busy with, and given himself and his attention to accomplishing]. 2 Corinthians 5:6-10 [AMP]

Today’s reading reinforced the little blurb I said above. I am here in this earthly tent (earthly body) but I have a hope in the eternal one. While I am here on this earth I must walk by Faith, not by sight or appearance…otherwise, I will be tempted into discouragement, worry, or even depression. So, just as verse 6 says above, I remain hopeful with confident courage because even though I am here in this earthly body I realize that I am on a trip abroad from my real home with the Lord.

The plan to stay in this good state is clearly stated in verse 9, “Therefore, whether we are at home [on earth away from Him] or away from home [and with Him], we are constantly ambitious and strive earnestly to be pleasing to Him.” Even though we are away in body from the Lord, we are to be ambitious and striving to please God…earnestly.

EARNESTLY: with sincere and intense conviction; seriously

Paul then explains why this is so important -> even as Christians we will all stand before the judgement seat of Christ to hear the good and the bad of what we accomplished while here on earth. This amazing part of this part of the story is, when the ‘bad’ is totaled, it will be Jesus Himself Who steps forward and says “I have already paid the price for your sin which you received when you put your faith and trust in Me as your Savior. Welcome to my Kingdom!”

QTVOTD: God Fulfilling His Promise Through the Holy Spirit…

Work is really hard right now.

  • There is some really difficult planning going on.
  • I am writing two 40+ page documents that need to be reviewed by the Government next week. [on top of that, what I have to write is currently a contentious set of issues <sigh>]
  • I have to create a PowerPoint slide deck to present plans for the next 10 months to both the Microsoft program and Government leadership teams the week after next.

If you think of me, pray for wisdom, patience, and sharpness of mind as I navigate these waters in my job.

2 Here indeed, in this [present abode, body], we sigh and groan inwardly, because we yearn to be clothed over [we yearn to put on our celestial body like a garment, to be fitted out] with our heavenly dwelling,
3 So that by putting it on we may not be found naked (without a body).
4 For while we are still in this tent, we groan under the burden and sigh deeply (weighed down, depressed, oppressed)—not that we want to put off the body (the clothing of the spirit), but rather that we would be further clothed, so that what is mortal (our dying body) may be swallowed up by life [after the resurrection].
5 Now He Who has fashioned us [preparing and making us fit] for this very thing is God, Who also has given us the [Holy] Spirit as a guarantee [of the fulfillment of His promise]. 2 Corinthians 5:2-5 [AMP]

So, yesterday I stopped on verse 1 of Chapter 5 because it pretty much sets up these next 4 verses (really the next 9 verses). If we get our brains wrapped around the point that we are in failing bodies here on earth and get ‘Heavenly Bodies’ when this one deteriorates away, then the rest gets a little easier to talk through.

Here in verse 2 Paul is talking about how when he thinks of the body that awaits him in heaven, he essentially grumbles and yearns after this new body; to the extent that he talks about wishing he put that body on like clothes. The nakedness which Paul expects to avoid when he puts on the heavenly body is the nakedness of a disembodied soul. Paul, as a Jew, would regard existence as a disembodied soul as something to be avoided. The promised heavenly body will save him from that.

The last 2 verses here are super encouraging! Paul does not so much sigh with anxiety, as groan because he is weighed down by afflictions experienced in his body. Although the Paul groans, being burdened by sufferings and persecutions which afflict the body, he does not seek escape into a permanent disembodied state. He longs for a new and better embodiment. What he wants is described with the use of two metaphors. First, the metaphor of putting on extra clothing to cover that already being worn (we would be further clothed). Second, the metaphor of one thing being devoured by another so that the one ceases to exist as it was but is taken into and transformed in the other (what is mortal may be swallowed up by life). He then explains that all of this transition and process of living in one body here on earth and then being transformed into the new body in heaven, is all God. Not only that, but it is also through sanctification that God prepares us for that new life in the Heavenly body. If that were not enough, God has given us the Holy Spirit Who is IN us, consistently prodding us and giving us the knowledge we need to know, to further our faith and sanctification to ENSURE that transition to our Heavenly bodies.

Application:

Its ok to acknowledge this body that has been impacted by age due to the fall of man through sin. Sin has caused us to endure a life of progressively worsening bodies until the Lord takes us home. Some of us will suffer more than others but the real focus is to lean into the Promise of a Heavenly body by keeping voice of the Holy Spirit clear. I do this by continually confessing my sin and adhering to the instruction of the Holy Spirit as I learn more and more what it means to be a follower of God’s Son.

QTVOTD: Death to the Earthly Body Results in a Heavenly Dwelling…

​1 FOR WE know that if the tent which is our earthly home is destroyed (dissolved), we have from God a building, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens. 2 Corinthians 5:1 [AMP]

Today will be another shorter post as most of my time today was spent studying the ‘words’ of this verse to understand what is the ‘tent’ and what is the ‘house not made with hands’. Although there are several different schools of thought, the one that resonated with me most was that the earthly tent is our outer nature or earthly body. The building from God is the heavenly body we will receive when the earthly body is dead. What is interesting is that Paul used the condition ‘if the tent is destroyed’ we ‘have from God a building’ giving the impression that it is immediate.

There are more verses that follow 1 – 10 that expound on this aspect Paul is dwelling on in regard to this ‘momentary affliction’ he has that may ultimately result in the death of his body, so he seems to be having an inside voice and wrestle that is making it out into his letter.

More to come…

QTVOTD: Tempted to Accentuate What is Visible…

17 For our light, momentary affliction (this slight distress of the passing hour) is ever more and more abundantly preparing and producing and achieving for us an everlasting weight of glory [beyond all measure, excessively surpassing all comparisons and all calculations, a vast and transcendent glory and blessedness never to cease!],
18 Since we consider and look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen; for the things that are visible are temporal (brief and fleeting), but the things that are invisible are deathless and everlasting. 2 Corinthians 4:17-18 [AMP]

Little bit shorter quiet time today but I want to be consistent in my daily time with the Lord. Even when I spend just a few minutes with God in His Word, desiring to learn more about Him, He never fails to extend something to me that I can apply. His Word NEVER returns void.

These 2 verses ending Chapter 4 pack a punch. In verse 16 Paul was talking about how the outer body wastes away while our inner selves are ever being renewed as we progress in our sanctification. So, he follows the though here into verse 17 saying that the pain we might feel in aging and the afflictions we endure here on earth are a small momentary issue to withstand and that time is more and more preparing us for an everlasting glory in eternity. Even more, our puny brains cannot comprehend the glory we will receive as we spend an eternity with Jesus in Heaven. I once heard that if all there was to understand about Heaven, the Spiritual Realm, and what awaits us in eternity could only be captured in the vastness of the ocean; our minds can only hold a soda can full of comprehension of those things.

Paul then talks to the fact that everything we can see is falling away and will expire…but what is not seen will not pass away and will last forever. Once again, I see the Lord telling me to focus on what He has in store for me in the eternal Kingdom. He knows that it is far too easy to be overwhelmed and distracted by all the things I can see, hear, feel, smell, and taste. I can get caught up in the passing of time and the anxiousness and concern that can come with not knowing what is ahead in this life on the earth under the sun. I can also become far too caught up in the hope of earthly future gain or fleshly desires. I must not be tempted to have these things squelch out the glory in eternity to come. I must keep my focus on what have faith in based on the promises of an Almighty God.

Application:

I’ve said it above and if you have been reading my blog posts of late, you will see that there is a common theme to all of my takeaways from each day for the last week or so. I must shut out the carnival vendor of earthly life shouting at me to come pop the balloons with the darts, knock over the bottles with a baseball, or land a ping pong ball in a dish for goldfish. I must politely say “No Thank You” and stay on my way out of the worldly fair; focused on the work for the Lord that grows His Kingdom. It is the entrance to God’s Kingdom that I will find my true treasure and prizes that await me when I join my Savior in paradise.

QTVOTD: I Believe, Therefore I Speak…

13 Yet we have the same spirit of faith as he had who wrote, I have believed, and therefore have I spoken. We too believe, and therefore we speak,
14 Assured that He Who raised up the Lord Jesus will raise us up also with Jesus and bring us [along] with you into His presence.
15 For all [these] things are [taking place] for your sake, so that the more grace (divine favor and spiritual blessing) extends to more and more people and multiplies through the many, the more thanksgiving may increase [and redound] to the glory of God.
16 Therefore we do not become discouraged (utterly spiritless, exhausted, and wearied out through fear). Though our outer man is [progressively] decaying and wasting away, yet our inner self is being [progressively] renewed day after day. 2 Corinthians 4:13-16 [AMP]

There are a couple of really poignant things that jumped out at me today with this passage.

  1. The ‘one who had wrote” was the Psalmist of Psalms 116:10. Paul just adopts the aspect that because we believe, we speak…and we speak confidently knowing who our God is…the One who raised Jesus from the dead. With the power, what do we have to fear from man.
  2. Then Paul talks about the product or fruit of speaking and teaching is to extend the reach of God’s grace through the gift of His Son in the Gospel message all that will hear. Not only with grace be propagated but thankfulness and gratefulness, glorifying God, would also be increased.
  3. When Paul and his group receive is a perseverance when they see the fruit of their obedience and courage. They stay upbeat and without discouragement.
  4. Finally, Paul says something that all aging God following Christians can identify with; a deterioration of the fleshly body but a renewing and purification of our spirit through sanctification on the inside as we get older and grow in our knowledge of Him.

Application:

I have to keep all of these points Paul makes in the forefront of my mind. Looking for the opportunities to speak and extend the potential of God grace through spreading the Gospel. Regardless of my circumstances and situations, I must keep my eyes focused on the One Who raises people from the dead. Finally, continuing to learn more about the character and person of my Lord and King, Jesus; even when my body begins to fail.

QTVOTD: Eternal Light Carried in Temporal Earthen Vessels…

What a nice quiet morning! This morning I let Marianne sleep in, and I got up with the little ones. Throughout the week, Marianne is so faithful to get up, get the ‘Littles’ fed, dressed and off to school. She gives me the extra 15-30 minutes to sleep before I get up and take the ‘Bigs’ to school. I fixed the ‘Littles’ some oatmeal and toast, got their waters, gave them their vitamins, and then after breakfast read them a story from their picture bible (Do not suffer the little children to come to me). Even though the ‘Littles’ still have colds, they are so upbeat and pleasure to spend the morning with.

7 However, we possess this precious treasure [the divine Light of the Gospel] in [frail, human] vessels of earth, that the grandeur and exceeding greatness of the power may be shown to be from God and not from ourselves.
8 We are hedged in (pressed) on every side [troubled and oppressed in every way], but not cramped or crushed; we suffer embarrassments and are perplexed and unable to find a way out, but not driven to despair.
9 We are pursued (persecuted and hard driven), but not deserted [to stand alone]; we are struck down to the ground, but never struck out and destroyed.
10 Always carrying about in the body the liability and exposure to the same putting to death that the Lord Jesus suffered, so that the [resurrection] life of Jesus also may be shown forth by and in our bodies.
11 For we who live are constantly [experiencing] being handed over to death for Jesus’ sake, that the [resurrection] life of Jesus also may be evidenced through our flesh which is liable to death.
12 Thus death is actively at work in us, but [it is in order that our] life [may be actively at work] in you. 2 Corinthians 4:7-12 [AMP]

I know this passage above is longer than normal, but it conveys a particular message that is not easily split into pieces. Remember from yesterday that God said, “Let the light shine out of the darkness” and Paul saying that God has given us the “light of knowledge” of the Glory of God in the face of Jesus. What Paul is now admitting, is that this light of knowledge has been put in vessels of weakness to bear it. Because we are earthen vessels, it is obvious that the power and greatness that come from our message is not from us but from the Almighty God of creation.

This passage also talks about the immortality of our spiritual selves; that we can be hedged in from all sides by the oppression of what we face here on earth but we [our spiritual security] cannot be crushed. Our minds can be confused and embarrassed, but our hearts remain strong and not driven to despair. He goes on to say that we can even be pursued, persecuted, and struck down but we are not alone, and our spirit is never snuffed out or destroyed.

What is crazy is that then Paul likens our condition to that of Jesus and being susceptible to the death of the cross, a liability and potential to being put to death yet God pulls us through this adversity and emulates the resurrection of Jesus as we subject ourselves to these risks yet endure. On the one hand Paul is daily subject to forces which lead to death, but on the other he is continually upheld, caused to triumph, and made to be more than a conqueror by the experience of the risen life of Jesus in his mortal body.

Daily exposure to forces leading to death is Paul’s experience but accompanying that is a continual manifestation of the life of Jesus in the apostle, here not only to sustain him, but to work through him, bringing life to others.

Application:

Jesus came to this earth to live a human life [although a perfect one], be subject to the ridicule/persecution of this world, give himself in death, and then ultimately rose again to be forever in our hearts through the Holy Spirit and physically in Heaven at the right hand of the Throne of the Father interceding for us.

So, I need to think of this applied to my life. I should live in the way Jesus did, doing what needed to be done (teaching the gospel and growing God’s Kingdom) even though the risks are always present, and the dangers of persecution are always there. At the same time having an internal peace and confidence that either the Lord will resurrect me out of the situation or that if I should die proclaiming the Son the God, I will assuredly rise and return with Jesus when He comes back to claim the earth for Himself.

Simply put – My confidence is in the immortality of my Spirit which is secure in the hands of the Almighty God, Lord of lords, and King of kings. My work is in the proclamation of the gospel and the life of Jesus Christ my Savior no matter the earthly risk since my security is beyond the capability of this world to remove/destroy it.

QTVOTD: Jesus is the Point. and in Obedience to Him We Serve Others…

Well, if it’s not work life, it is personal life. Today was a day we needed to address a family issue within our home and that discussion ended up causing us to cancel a dinner with my cousin and his family that I was very much looking forward to. Lots of prayer covered what transpired and I am confident in the Lord that He is in control and as long as we are following Him and asking for His wisdom, I can trust that we will receive what we need, and He will see His will and purposes out in our lives and the lives of our family.

5 For what we proclaim is not ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord, with ourselves as your servants for Jesus' sake. 6 For God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. 2 Corinthians 4:5-6 [ESV]

I love this statement by Paul that what he and his posse have set out to do is not promote themselves but to promote Jesus Christ as Lord. In doing so they also position themselves as servants for the sake of the One they call King. Paul says he regards himself as the servant of those to whom he preaches. But this must not be misunderstood to mean that they are his masters. Paul acknowledges only one Lord, and it is in obedience to him that he serves humanity.

I really appreciate how Paul talks about how God has shown in his heart the light. I am going to directly quote something I read out of the Tyndale commentary on verse 6 -> “this [verse] appears to recall Genesis 1:3 (‘And God said, “Let there be light” ’), and if this is the case then Paul likens the revelation of the glory of God in Christ to the creative act of God whereby the darkness of the primeval world was banished by the light. Thus, the darkness of ignorance in which people are held by the god of this world is banished when, by a new creative act, God shines into their hearts the light of the gospel; an illumination which reveals the true nature of Christ as the one in whose face the glory of God is seen. Paul’s own conversion may well have prompted him to think in this way.” Isn’t that awesome?!?

Application:

I must consistently remember that Christ alone is the point and purpose of my life now. I was obedient in Baptism and in that act, I publicly stated that I had died with Christ and rose out of the water to walk a new life with Jesus as the object of that life. It is in that obedience that I must serve others; in serving others, I am serving Christ.

QTVOTD: Stay Strong, Stay True, Stay Consistent…

Last day of the week and it was a doozy…The work craziness is in full swing with influential people leaving and work piling up. I was on calls most of the day and not a lot of time to get my important writing done for a key document I own that needs to be presented to the Government later this month. Got my work cut out for me.

2 Corinthians 4:1-3 [AMP]
THEREFORE, SINCE we do hold and engage in this ministry by the mercy of God [granting us favor, benefits, opportunities, and especially salvation], we do not get discouraged (spiritless and despondent with fear) or become faint with weariness and exhaustion.
We have renounced disgraceful ways (secret thoughts, feelings, desires and underhandedness, the methods and arts that men hide through shame); we refuse to deal craftily (to practice trickery and cunning) or to adulterate or handle dishonestly the Word of God, but we state the truth openly (clearly and candidly). And so we commend ourselves in the sight and presence of God to every man’s conscience.
But even if our Gospel (the glad tidings) also be hidden (obscured and covered up with a veil that hinders the knowledge of God), it is hidden [only] to those who are perishing and obscured [only] to those who are spiritually dying and veiled [only] to those who are lost.

In verse 1 the main point that caught my attention was “we do not get discouraged or become faint with weariness and exhaustion.” In other words – “when we are weary and exhausted, we will not become faint or discouraged”. Weary and exhaustion will come but it is by the mercy of God granting me favor, benefits, opportunities, and my Salvation that I will not become faint or discouraged.

Verse 2 is crazy awesome. Paul is talking about the renouncing of the flesh that entices one to resort to ways of operating that are “crafty’, “underhanded”, or “disgraceful”. This probably reads to some as “no duh”; but, it is a way that people might feel a tendency to do which is to find biblical scripture to support a topic rather than letting God’s word simply instruct us through the prodding and wisdom of the Holy Spirit in us. There are a lot of churches and pastors I know that engage in “Topical Preaching”, taking a current event and finding scripture to support their views–this is called eisegesis which is putting thought into God’s word versus exegesis which is pulling out what God’s word is saying.

Eisegesis -> the interpretation of a text (as of the Bible) by reading into it one’s own ideas

Exegesis -> an explanation or critical interpretation of a text

Merriam-Webster

Finally, verse 3 is no less important. There have been so many times I have walked away from a situation where I have shared my faith only to feel like I have failed God in my delivery or coverage of the subject of His Gospel. There are two things that I have learned and give me confidence in sharing the gospel with others and not feeling either inadequate or guilty of poor delivery -> 1) God saves, we don’t. He calls people unto Himself and in some cases we get the privilege of being the vessel by which He pours out His gift to that person He is calling. 2) If God has not called someone to Himself then they will not hear the truth or be convicted of the truth of their sin and need for Jesus – the truth is hidden to those who are perishing and obscured to those who are spiritually dying and veiled to those who are lost. If I were to acknowledge a number 3) it would be that no person who sincerely desires to be a saved from their sin by acknowledging the perfect sacrifice of Jesus for that sin, will ever be denied Salvation.