My Bible Study Book is Complete!

Some of you who follow this blog may or may not know that the reason for the Blog came about because I was in the process of publishing a book.  I would like to share with you this journey and invite you to take a look at this book I wrote.  I still have trouble taking credit for the book (ask my publisher how many times I wanted my name to be less conspicuous on the cover!).  I feel like I was strongly led by the Holy Spirit, and followed His lead, He gets all the credit I was simply taken on quite a journey.

Several years ago I was studying the Bible and going through a study on the Covenants of the Bible.  Something did not sit well with my soul as I was learning about the New Covenant and that it was the covenant we were living under in today's church.  I studied and studied and about ran my teacher (Laurie) crazy with questions.  Something was forming in my mind that this was not right, but I had no idea why.  After talking with my parents and discussing with the group it was laid on my heart that the answer was in the Book of Acts.

In another study that I lead I made the choice that our group would study the Book of Acts next.  I really didn't have any idea where we would go or what we would learn, but I made the pages in the appendix of my book for that study and off we went.  Let me tell you, it was eye opening as we dug into this book and understood it in the context of the rest of the Bible.  Some themes emerged:  The Holy Spirit, Gentiles vs. Jews, Paul vs. Peter, and a mission mindset.  Many in the group remember this as a great time of learning for all of us.  Then we did a dispensational study, God's Clock of the Ages written by Charles Baker that brought the Bible into sharp focus for me.

My teacher Laurie could see that I had found something and asked if I would teach her what I had been learning.  I agreed and fine tuned my study into a chapter by chapter look at the Book of Acts.  We used the same appendix notes and started marking key words.  We had a great time of fellowship and it was a joy to open the Scripture to her in a meaningful way.  When we were done she shared that our study on Acts changed her life and the way she would look at Scripture in the future.  She looked and looked for a study she could use to share what she learned with others.  However, she never found a study, she found books and speakers, but no study.  She challenged me to write down the things we studied so that she could take this message forward.  I, of course laughed, refused and made excuses.  Then an interesting thing began to happen, God used other people who had no idea what was going on in my life to encourage me to write.  I am sure they don't even remember, but I do, because God was speaking to me constantly through them.  I went to a concert and had such a burning in my soul to take on this project that when we were leaving I mentioned it to my husband (thinking for sure he would think me crazy).  To my surprised he totally supported this cooky idea.  In my quiet time the next day I could not get away from it and by the end agreed to take on this writing project.  I have to admit, once I agreed to do this I was so excited.

I woke up at 5:00am every day for the next three months and the study basically wrote itself.  The Holy Spirit was my constant companion and guided every step.  Laurie proof read it as I wrote and it was done.  I challenged Laurie to teach it to a group and I would sit in and see how it went.  We got a group of ladies together who have a passion for the Word of God and they took on the job of pilot studying my book.  Much was learned and the feedback was good.  Now what.

I started to look for a publisher, pretty casually and before long I was signing a contract with Tate Publishing.  They have done a great job and caught the vision of my project.  If you have a burden to understand Scripture more clearly or teach others what you know.  I encourage you to take a look at my book.  If you see me regularly, I will have copies you can buy.  The purpose behind this book is to help everyone to understand the Bible clearly.  

For those who know the Bible speaker Les Feldick, he read my manuscript and said, “Just finished going through your study.  All I can say is, fabulous!”  If you read this blog and already understand these truths please consider leading a study using this book so that others can see the Bible clearly.   

http://www.tatepublishing.com/bookstore/book.php?w=9781620247662

How should the Body Behave?

This is maybe the most critical point of discussion.  I often think the church is not judged by what it believes, but how it behaves.  Unfortunately, many people in the church have the reputation of hypocritical behavior.  That is saying we believe one thing, but do another.  Saying we believe in unity and then branching off into so many denominations because we just can’t agree.  Saying we believe in love, but passing so much judgment and gossip towards a person that they think this place is not for me, I don’t need to put up with this abuse.  Saying we believe in being kind, but when a person comes to our church we don’t talk to them because we have more important friends that need our attention. 

If you have not experienced any of these scenarios I am glad.  Unfortunately, they are pretty common in many churches that cross denomination, location, and size.  You may think how can you know what all churches are doing?  I can’t, but I have spent time in many churches around this country and don’t feel I have overstepped any bound by putting out a few of these generalizations.   

Let’s get to the Bible to find out the things that the church should be doing.  I just had a thought that the most awesome testimony we could give the world is if we lived out these four truths.  The Bible is full of stuff and sometimes we skim the surface of lots of things, but never really focus on anything.  I want to focus on four ways we should act if we are part of the Body of Christ.  Next time, you go to your local place of worship why not try to apply these four Scriptures and see if you could make a difference. 

Let’s try to put down our jealousy, I Corinthians 12:12-15, 18-19, “The body is a unit, though it is made up of many parts; and though all its parts are many, they form one body.  So it is with Christ.  For we were all baptized by one Spirit into one body – whether Jews or Greeks, slave or free – and we were all given the one Spirit to drink.  Now the body is not made up of one part but of many.  If the foot should say, ‘Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body,’ it would not for that reason cease to be part of the body…But in fact God has arranged the parts in the body every one of them, just as He wanted them to be.  If they were all one part, where would the body be?”  How often do I hear people say that, “if only I could sing, or teach, or lead…but I only have the gift of hospitality…that doesn’t really matter.”  Our church is struggling because so many people wish they were doing something else and no one is doing anything.  Get out there and use your gift of hospitality to the best of your ability, throw a party, host a progressive dinner as a church mixer, start inviting new people to your house for dinner, host a potluck at church, plan a special event at your church for Christmas.  The Body of Christ needs your gift and if you begin doing what you are good at, you might be surprised where God will take you.

Let’s try to love those in our church, Ephesians 4:16, “From Him the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work.”  What if instead of criticizing the next new event, idea, sermon, teacher at church, we tried to build that person up in love.  Do you want to be that stubborn old goat who is always seeing the glass half empty or do you want to be someone people can look to for love and support.  Now, I can already hear some of you out there saying, “You don’t understand, I have the gift of discernment and if I think something is wrong, it is my duty to speak it.”  Ok, but how are you speaking and with whom are you speaking?  Are you speaking to any friend who has the unfortunate pleasure to cross your path on a Sunday morning?  Are you bringing your concern up as a prayer request at the Wednesday night prayer meeting (where if we were honest there is not much praying going on)?  Are you snapping at the Pastor with your best one-line zinger, so he can’t help to take notice of your objection?  Maybe you could focus on using your gift of discernment with a huge dose of love.  Why not state your concern once, to the right leader with a pinch of humility and a dose of love and then leave it in their capable hands to make a decision.

Let’s try to speak truth, Ephesians 4:23-25, “…to be made new in the attitude of your minds; and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness.  Therefore each of you must put off falsehood and speak truthfully to high neighbor, for we are all members of one body.”  I would encourage you to look at this entire section of Scripture going back to verse 17.  The truth it is referring to is contrasted to worldly lust and futility of thinking.  I have been in enough churches to know that worldly lust and futility of thinking has crept into many churches that have a cross on their steeple and pray to Jesus.  I have heard, “baptism is your ticket to heaven,”  “we were created to be homosexual and there is nothing wrong with that,” “the Bible’s teaching on premarital sex does not reflect the time in which we live.”  The truth of the Bible has been misinterpreted, watered down, and completely ignored.  Until the thing we go to on Sunday mornings is no longer a reflection of God.  Find a church that holds firm to truth, be a student of the Word so that when your church makes a compromise on truth you will recognize it and can challenge it.  However, in all this remember to be made new in the attitude of your mind.  Put on the attitude of Christ this was humility; so that while you are speaking the truth you are filled with love for those with whom you are speaking.

Let’s try to be kind, Ephesians 4:32, “Be ye kind one to another, tender hearted, forgiving one another, just as God in Christ has forgiven you.”  I believe this verse says it all!

This is by no means a comprehensive list on how the Body of Christ should act, but I think if we would focus on implementing these three things in our local congregation we could revolutionize our local as well as global Body of Christ.      

Reaching the Church with the Message of Grace

I was recently asked how can you share the message of Paul's gospel and rightly dividing Scripture with others who are Bible-studying Christians who don't know this truth.  I could go to a church who believes as I do, however, I choose to be amongst those who don't fully understand the truth of the mystery so that eventually I will have an opportunity to share it with them.  The following is part of my journey I am sharing so that I can encourage some of you who are in a similar position.

My story is a bit of a crooked path.  I heard the gospel from a young age (my parents were saved when I was five).  I gave my life to Christ when I was 13, to be my Lord and Savior.  I was raised going to a Grace Church, however, you would be surprised how poorely I understood this message.  Things like, "Who is written to, who is it written for," were thrown around without me understanding what that meant.   I remember this church as being dogmatic right fighters, exclusive and legalistic.  (As I understood more of the grace message this confused me even more.)  I remember that I didn't doubt my salvation, but I doubted how I saw it being lived out.  I moved around the country and went to more churches than I can even remember.  I was solid in my faith so this was a frustrating time as things just didn't sit right with me. 

I started studying the Bible more and more and got more and more conflicting information.  I knew God was a God who wanted to be known, however, why didn't more people know what the Bible was saying?  I knew the Bible held the answers, so I began to study inductively.  It was during a study on covenants that a lot of conflicting ideas began to surface.  I started to piece a lot of the puzzling Scriptures together and with the help of my parents, I began to finally understand the instruction of my youth and it's impact.  God convicted me that this revolutionary message about God's mysterious grace was meant to be shared.  So I "bloomed where I was planted" and remained in my study groups and teaching positions.  However, I knew that I didn't want to turn this awesome message of grace into legalism, right fighting or exclusivity.  I studied unity in the Bible and found that the attitude I was to have was to be one of humility and selflessness (Philippians 2:1-8).  So I remained and began slowly (as discussion allowed) to ask questions (mainly showing the discrepancy in Scripture).  I let these questions marinade, never forcing the issue.  I allowed myself to let a topic go unanswered or allowed people to leave without coming to my conclusions.  Slowly, a few faithful studiers of the word started to see and understand, but not fully.  These would come to me individually to ask questions.  Eventually I had the opportunity to do a few dispensational studies focusing on the Book of Acts with interested individuals after I built up a lot of trust.  These studies were well received to the point that they wanted the information I had so they could share it with others.  So, I wrote a book and a blog to give people a format to share the grace message. 

As far as your question about sharing this dispensation truth about the mystery of the age of grace with pastors, don't start there.  I have not yet had any success with pastors.  I try to respect their calling and not to use the church they lead as a format to teach ideas they would not fully be in agreement with.  If they have trusted me to teach something in the church, I follow the curriculum with humility and try to skip over things I am not fully in agreement.  Yes, there are times that a sermon is difficult, but I try to use those to challenge myself to defend my position and see if there is any application I can pull out.  There are other's in our church who understand and get frustrated, but I try to emphasize a spirit of unity and humility within the church. 

I hope this helps you!  I tried to be as concise as possible.  Thank you for your willing heart to take this message to a dry and thirsty land.  It is a high calling, but with the right attitude can be a very fruitful journey!  Please continue your journey, and let me know how it goes.
Natalie Smith   

Who is the Church?

Those who place their faith in Jesus Christ are the body.  Those who know that God loves them, they can see it through His creation, His Word, His church.  Those who know that they have fallen short of the standard of perfection and sinlessness that a Holy God sets are the church.  Those who believe that out of love God sent Jesus to this earth becoming fully God and fully man so that He could live up to God’s standard of sinlessness.  Those who believe that Jesus willingly hung on a cross and shed His sinless blood so that we could be saved are the church.  Those who place their faith in that shed blood as their only hope of ever crossing over from death to life.  Those who believe that Christ was buried in the ground for three days and because God saw His punishment as enough to forgive our sins He rose Him from the dead.  Those who believe He walked and talked among us for 40 days and then He was raised to heaven where He sits at the right hand of God waiting to come back for His body these are the church.

Just to be sure we understand, if we believe, there is no distinction between denomination, communion type, baptism, creed or color.  Ephesians, 2:13-16, “But now in Christ Jesus you who formerly were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ.  For He Himself is our peace, who made both groups into one, and broke down the barrier of the dividing wall, by abolishing in His flesh the enmity, which is the Law of commandments contained in ordinances, that in Himself He might make the two into one new man, thus establishing peace, and might reconcile them both in one body to God through the cross, by it having put to death the enmity.”  The body should be a unified, powerful extension of Christ himself.  Instead we weaken ourselves with petty differences of how a service should be run rather than focusing on the mystery of the gospel as Paul lays out in His epistles.  In the weeks to follow we will examine what this body should do, how it should act, but if we don’t understand what it is these will all be meaningless.

Galatians 3:28, “There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free man, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus.”  What a powerful verse especially if we would trade out some of the nouns.  There is neither traditional nor contemporary, there is neither young nor old, there is neither pretribulation nor midtribulation, there is neither infant nor immersion baptism; for you are all one in Christ Jesus if you believe!

What is the Church?

The church is the body of Christ.  What does that mean?  How does that look, and does it affect how we “do” church today?  As I pointed out in the previous blog, Ephesians has much to say about the relationship between Christ and the church.  Keeping in mind, Paul calls this relationship a mystery, so if you are not completely clear after this blog don’t feel alone.  When I think of Christ being the head, I think of the president of a company.  The president sets the vision, states the goals and the workers do their jobs to see to it that the goal is accomplished.  I think many people see Christ and the church in that way because a lot of churches structures look like corporations with boards, committees, budgets, and meetings.  While this might be a valid way to look at this relationship, I think we could go a few steps further. 

The head has the vision, sets the course, but the head can’t go anywhere without the body.  The two are forever tied together.  If you remove the head, the body is no more, if you remove the body, the head fails to work.  A president can fire workers or walk away completely, but Christ does not have this freedom.  Once you are in the body, there is no “being let go.”  It is a life decision you are forever a part of the body of Christ.  Now, you could totally go dormant in your relationship, but that does not mean you are gone.  However, if that is the case, now you go from someone who could contribute to someone the body has to carry along, dead weight.  Worse yet, you could make a choice to do things that bring distraction and a bad reputation to the body you belong to.  Now, instead of carrying you along, we have to over compensate for the reputation you left behind.  Don’t get me wrong; what I am talking about is not accidental.  This is sabotage, meant to damage.  Perhaps your expectations weren’t met in church, perhaps your feelings were hurt in church, or maybe choosing sin for a season is more appealing at this time.  Whatever your reason, you chose it and you hope the body gets hurt along the way.   

Christ is the head, but guess what, the head can’t go where the body won’t take it.  We have a huge responsibility as the body.  The head can’t turn without the neck moving.  The head can’t see without the eyes looking.  The head can’t hear without the ears listening.  Are you a part of the body of Christ?  Are you taking Christ where He needs to go?  Are you seeing and hearing the things He wants you to see?  Are you moving in the direction He wants to take?  Guess what, He has no other body and we have no other head.  One cannot be separated from the other.  Ephesians 4:15-16, “but speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in all aspects into Him, who is the head, even Christ, from whom the whole body, being fitted and held together by that which every joint supplies, according to the proper working of each individual part, causes the growth of the body for the building up of itself in love.”  What kind of member are you going to be?  Willing?  Dead?  Detrimental? 

Why bother with church?

Church.  Besides ‘Jesus and politics’, this one word has the ability to conjure up more opinions in people than much else.  I knew of a friend who had a shirt made that said, “I survived organized religion,” or the bumper sticker I saw the other day that said, “God protect me from your followers.”  I am sure that is not a ringing endorsement for the mystery of the church, the body of Christ that Paul is writing about in His epistles.  Think of your experiences; some good, some bad, some encouraging, some discouraging.  Bottom line, where imperfect, sinful people are involved, even the best ideas can sometimes go astray.   

Some people are passionate for church, some are passionate against church.  Most can point to a bad experience they have had in church.  Many have stories about Sunday School, cookies and juice, vacation Bible school, baptism, communion, comin’ forward and much more.  Church is intensely personal, and getting it right all the time seems near impossible.  So what is the true purpose of the church?  Is your church following the Biblical model that was put forward by Paul?  What is your role in the church? 

One of the parts of the mystery was that believers are united with Christ through the church.  This is what Paul calls in Ephesians 5:32 a great mystery, “This mystery is great; but I am speaking with reference to Christ and the church.” 

First, let’s learn all we can about the church from Ephesians 5:

23, “Christ also is the head of the church”

24, “the church is subject to Christ”

25, “Christ loved the church, and gave Himself up for her”

26, “sanctify her, having cleansed her”

27, “present Himself, the church in all her glory…that she should be holy and blameless”

29-30, “nourishes it, just as Christ also does the church because we are member of His body”

Colossians 1:25-26, “Of this church I was made a minister according to the stewardship from God bestowed on me for your benefit, that I might fully carry out the word of God, the mystery…”

Ephesians 1:22-23, “And He put all things in subjection under His feet, and gave Him as head over all things to the church, which is His body, the fullness of Him who fills all in all.”        

The Greek word for church as Paul uses it in the New Testament is Ekklesia.  This literally means to call out.  It can have a two-fold meaning, “all who call on Christ for their salvation…world wide” and “a local assembly of believers.”  Context provides the clues in each case.  When Paul used it in the above verses I believe he means the world wide church.  However, most of our experience with church will be local, and even if your local assembly gets things right all the time, think of how many national and international denominational rifts have risen in the last 2000+ years. 

In the following weeks I will look closely at the locally, called out assembly of believers as we try to, dive into the purpose, the composition, the product, how long it will last, and the behavior of the church.  I think if we can understand the essentials for the church, the body of Christ, we may be one step closer to understand God’s purposes and how we can be a part of them.  This is going to be quite a journey, but I know one I will learn much from.       

The seventh part of Paul's Mystery

7.  The seventh part of the mystery and possibly the most important is that the cross would bring salvation through faith alone.  Ephesians 6:19, “and pray on my behalf, that utterance may be given to me in the opening of my mouth, to make known with boldness the mystery of the gospel, for which I am an ambassador in chains; that in proclaiming it I may speak boldly, as I ought to speak.”

Ok, Paul once again takes ownership of this gospel calling himself its ambassador.  The word gospel involves the good news about our salvation.  Review I Corinthians 15: 1-4 if you are unsure what is meant by gospel.  Paul lays it out in its simplest form.  Christ came, died, was buried and rose again as the Scriptures foretold.  However, the mystery was that by putting your faith in Christ’s death, burial and resurrection all could be saved.  This was Paul’s gospel, it was so different from any salvation plan before.  Salvation previously always required one to do something external to show obedience.  For instance, one might need to, be circumcised, be baptized, keep certain customs and rituals to achieve salvation.  However, Paul is preaching a revolutionary new gospel that requires simple faith, adding nothing so that anyone who believes might be saved (Ephesians 2:8-9). 

If you are trying to work out your salvation through some external method (if I am good enough, attend church enough, give enough, take enough communion, or help the poor enough) you are not understanding Paul’s gospel.  If you are encouraging others to reach a prescribed level of obedience to reach salvation, please stop.  Hanging salvation over someone’s head until they reach some level of holiness is not the gospel.  This method of working out your salvation was tried under the Law and it showed how far short we, as humans, fall.  Galatians 3:22-26, "But the Scripture has shut up all men under sin, that the promise by faith in Jesus Christ might be given to those who believe.  But before faith came, we were kept in custody (protection) under the law, being shut up to the faith which was later to be revealed.  Therefore the Law has become our tutor to Christ, that we may be justified by faith.  But now that faith has come, we are no longer uner a tutuor.  For you are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus."   How blessed we are to live now when our salvation is through faith alone.

Check out I Timothy 3:19, this text is about our church leaders, “but holding to the mystery of the faith with a clear conscience.”  You see, our leaders are supposed to hold to the mystery of the faith which is that faith alone achieves salvation apart from works.  Why is it we always feel, as a church, we need to put rules and regulations on people?  Will chaos ensue if people know that their salvation is by faith alone?  Will the church lose all of its morality if it understands the simple gift of salvation taught by Paul?  If you think this is the case, you are under estimating the power of the Holy Spirit in the life of an individual who is saved by faith through grace.  You see, God has given us some amazing tools as believers.  We have the church (which I will go into more depth in future blogs), we have the Bible and we have the Holy Spirit.  The Holy Spirit has been more successful bringing about morality in a person’s life than any set of rules ever has.  Let go of your rules, your customs, your unbiblical standards and trust the Holy Spirit to work in a believer’s life.

The seventh part of Paul's mystery is maybe the most important.  Understanding how to achieve salvation should not be mysterious.  Paul used simple words, "Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and you shall be saved." (Acts 16:31)  Don't confuse people with Believe plus something, the gospel is simple by design, please don't add anything to it! 

Seven Parts of the Mystery Part 2

If you did not read last week’s post I recommend it before moving on to this week’s.  A lot of material I went over last week will be useful as you wade through the next 3 parts of Paul’s mystery.

4.  The fourth piece of the mystery is that Israel will be hardened for a time.  Romans 11:25, “For I do not want you, brethren to be uninformed of this mystery, lest you be wise in your own estimation, that a partial hardening has happened to Israel until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in.”  This truly is a mystery, I am not sure how this fits in with free will, but it is not the first time God has used this tactic to bring about His will (Exodus 7:3).  I also don’t know how many or how long it will take until the fullness of the Gentiles comes in.  However, God has not forgotten about the nation of Israel, despite her rejection and disobedience He will provide a way for her salvation (see Revelation).  

5.  The fifth part of the mystery is the rapture of the church.  I Corinthians 15:51-52, “Behold, I tell you a mystery; we shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet; for the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we shall be changed….”  Keep reading until the end of the chapter if you just need a little hope and encouragement.  Once again we see this is a mystery that was not revealed in ages past, but is now revealed to the church through Paul.  There are more details about the rapture in I Thessalonians.

6.  The sixth part of the mystery as taught by Paul is that believers are united with Christ through the church.  Ephesians 5: 29, 30, 32, “for no one ever hated his own flesh, but nourishes and cherishes it just as Christ also does the church, because we are members of His body.  This mystery is great; but I am speaking with reference to Christ and the church.”  This passage is about marriage, but there is a great mystery hidden in this context.  We are members of Christ’s body and united with Him through the church.  I plan to go into this mystery in much more detail in later blogs so I will let it rest for now. 

Number 7 is coming next week and it is a doozy.  Thanks for reading and studying your Bible it is a true encouragement to me.

Seven Parts of the Mystery

Over and over again Paul writes in his epistles about a mystery.  I wrote briefly about this mystery and what the word mystery means (Look at my posts from 2011).  However, I will give a brief recap.  The word Paul uses that is translated mystery means a completely new, unprophecied event.  This means that much of what Paul wrote, taught, and died for was not backed up by the Old Testament.  No wonder everyone was out to get Paul, he could show Jewish believers how the Scriptures pointed towards Jesus as Messiah, but he could not convince them of the truth of this mysterious gospel (Ephesians 6:19).  He especially had a hard time when he declared in Acts 13 that due to Israel’s stubborn rejection of Jesus as the Messiah, he would turn his attention to the Gentiles.

So what is this mystery that Paul was beaten, shipwrecked, hungry, poor and eventually died for?  It is a shame more people who study the Bible don’t know.  I have broken the mystery down into 7 parts.  Each part could be a sermon unto itself, but I don’t have the space (and you probably don’t have the patience), so I will put them down quick and easy.  Please understand that this is only the tip of the iceberg where each is concerned. 

1.  The first part of this mystery is that it was hidden by God and revealed by God .  Romans 16:25-26, “Now to Him who is able to establish you according to my gospel and the preaching of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery which has been kept secret for long ages past, but now is manifested, and by the Scriptures of the prophets, according to the commandment of the eternal God, has been made known to all the nations, leading to obedience of faith.”  This is a mouth full, but proves that Paul takes ownership of this gospel that is different from other methods of salvation in times before.  It also shows that this gospel was kept secret, but now is manifested to all the nations according to the commandment of God. 

2.  The second component of this mystery is that Gentiles are fellow heirs and members of the body.  Ephesians 3:6, “to be specific, that the Gentiles are fellow heirs and fellow members of the body, and fellow partakers of the promise in Christ Jesus through the gospel, of which I (Paul) am a minister.”  Once again we see Paul’s ownership of this gospel.  However, the rest is revolutionary.  Gentiles, who Jesus himself called dogs (Mark 7:26-29), are welcomed into the body as second class citizens.  No, coheirs!  In fact Romans 8:17 teaches that we are not even coheirs with Israel, but coheirs with Christ!  Who am I, not a dog any longer, but a coheir according to this gospel being taught by Paul.

3.  The third part of this mystery is that Christ dwells in believers.  Colossians 1:25-27, “I became a minister according to the stewardship from God bestowed on me for your benefit, that I might fully carry out the word of God, the mystery which has been hidden from the ages and generations; but has now been manifested to His saints, to whom God willed to make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.”  Paul has been given a ministry from God to reveal a mystery which was hidden and now is manifested.  This mystery is made known to Gentiles and includes the hope we have by the indwelling of Christ. 

Wow, time has flown, I will teach the 4-7 parts of the mystery next week.  Thanks for reading and please leave a comment if you need further clarification or explanation.  See you next week!

I am back, and I had a great summer!

Hello again, I am back writing after taking some time off for the summer.  Honestly, I have a few reasons for taking a break, but none was more important than I just didn’t have a clear direction of what to write about.  Every time I sit at the computer I ask God to show me what to write and I wasn’t hearing anything so I took God’s hint and took a needed break.  In that time I have been enjoying my family, friends and recreation. 

I have also been working with a publishing company to finish my book, From Prophecy to Mystery.  It will be available for purchase at the end of 2012.  They just finished the cover design, and I am trying to trust the experts to make my project the best it can be.  I am discovering that I am a bit of a control freak, but as this is my first venture into publication, I will have to trust. 

So, I am taking up the pen again and will attempt to post weekly until I am unsure again about direction or subject matter.  However, for now I feel I am to expound on the meaning of the word mystery in Paul’s writing and explain the parts of this mystery.  I will focus most of my attention on the mystery of the church as written by Paul.  I will lay out the parts of the church, the function of the church, the unique nature of the church.  I think this should be an interesting study and one that I will learn much from.   

Contentment part 6

In this series on contentment I hope you found a few nuggets to help you go forward living a more content life.  First, we established what our priorities revealed about ourselves and that we should place God at the center rather than ourselves to find true contentment.  Then, we talked about world views and what it takes to have a consistant world view.  We discussed stewardship and how to be a good steward of our time, talent and treasure.  Finally, we finished with some practical ways to start applying your new content attitude! 

As I look back over my life I realize that there were many times that I made a decision that was not God focused, but Natalie focused.  I am not saying that God could not redeem those situations, but as I look back I see that my motivation for my decision was not guided by God.

I finished college with my Environmental Biology degree and a wonderful husband.  I pondered, what is next for me, what am I supposed to do now.  I did not want to stay in Indiana, but I was not ready to go to Wisconsin.  I wanted to go off on another adventure.  So, because I had gone to Alabama before on spring break, I thought that would be a cool place to go.  I looked for graduate programs in that state and settled on forestry (after not researching forestry at all).  I said no to other programs, even though my husband was excited about them.  And off we went to Alabama for forestry...luckily my husband found a job he loved.  However, beyond his job we were miserable. 

Looking back at this decision I realize how self centered it was.  I was only thinking of myself, I didn't look to anyone for guidance, I basically told my husband what was going to happen.  We moved down there for good weather, and because I was not ready to give up being a student.  I did not consider what was important to God, I was discontent and I was motivated by the fear of not having anything to do.  So as you make decisions consider what God might want for you. 

I Corinthians 3:11-15, "For no man can lay a foundation other than the one which is laid, which is Jesus Chirst.  Now if any man builds on the foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw, each man's work will become evident; for the day will show it becuase it is to be revealved with first, and the fire itself will test the quality of eah man's work.  If any man's work which he has built on it remains, he will receive a reward.  If any man's work is burned up, he will suffer loss; but he himself will be saved, yet so as through fire." 

This verse is talking about God's judgement of the deeds of those who are His.  My move to Alabama was built on a foundation of straw and it will not stand up through the fire.  I built that decision on stuff that will not remain like good weather and fear.  However, if I had made that same decision considering where God wanted me, what my husband wanted, then this deicsion would have been built on a foundation of gold.  Make your decisions considering what is important to God and others in your life and this will remain and you will receive a reward. 

My challenge is to move myself from the center of the wheel.  With this information to remind me, I hope I will make my next big decision from a God-centered rather than a self-centered focus.    

Contentment part 5

Investing your time, talent and treasure wisely involves applying a few skills to your life.  Will you be perfect every time? Probably not, but the more you practice applying these principles, the better you will be.  Remember, practice makes perminant!

First, in order to invest wisely, you must continue to rehearse what is important to God.  The list I provided last week is not comprehensive, so feel you can add to it, as long as the things you add are supported by Scripture (preferably Paul’s writings).  Ultimately God loves people and He wants people to be in a right relationship with Him.  Remind yourself of what is important to God as much as possible.  Put a verse up in your bathroom or your car.  Before you make a big decision analyze how that decision fits into God’s priorities and if it will allow you to be a good steward.

Second, in order to invest wisely, you must be content with what you have.  Here is the challenge verse for today, Philippians 4:11-12.  “Not that I speak from want, for I have learned to be content in whatever circumstances I am.  I know to get along with humble means, and I also know how to live in prosperity; in any and every circumstance I have learned the secret of being filled and going hungry, both of having abundance and suffering need.”  How do you get here?  How can you be content in any circumstance?  Often we think, if I would just get this thing, or position, or relationship then I will be content.  However, God is suggesting that we can be content despite these external things. 

I am going to share a story that helped me to understand what it will take for me to be content.  This story happened when my oldest daughter, Lily, was about a year old and just learning how to stand.  One of her favorite things to do was to help me unload the silverware from the dishwasher.  Of course being a good mom I took out all the big knives and dangerous objects first.  Every time I took these things out she would begin crying and pointing, she wanted those big knives and dangerous things, after all they looked like the most fun.  Of course, being a good mom I didn’t cave and give her anything she could get hurt by.  She would eventually settle down and find contentment in handing me spoons and butter knives. 

One day as we went through this same routine for the hundredth time, I realized what I must put God through.  He is my good father and trying to protect me from harm, as he takes things away from me to keep me safe, I keep crying and pointing and begging through prayer for that very thing.  If I think I am a good mom, how much more is God a good father, trust me, he listens to our requests and knows what we want, but also wants to keep us from harm.  He is a good father and continues to say no to keep us safe, but we keep asking for the big shiny knife.  Contentment is trusting completely in God as a good father and to know He has our best interest at heart.  Contentment is to know that the things I have are from God, and the things I don’t have are also His decision, resting in His plan for you is the key.

The final concept you need to understand in order to invest wisely the way God would desire you to, is to be motivated by love, not by fear.  Are you afraid if you give to this organization or that friend that maybe you won’t have enough for yourself?  Are you afraid if you begin this commitment you won’t have time for another project you have going on?  Are you afraid if you try this new ministry in the church you won’t be talented enough to complete it?  Let’s look at Matthew 25: 24-25, “And the one also who had received the one talent came up and said, ‘Master, I knew you to be a hard man, reaping where you did not sow and gathering where you scattered no seed.  And I was afraid, and went away and hid your talent in the ground.  See, you have what is yours.’ ” If you know this story from the Bible at all, the Master was not happy with this servant.  Using fear as an excuse shows that you are not focused on the love.  Could you love that friend, organization, or church body more?  If love is your motivation nothing should stop you, what do you love?  What or Who do you need to develop love for?  Satan is the author of fear check out Hebrews 2:14-15, but Christ conquered death and delivered us from fear.  I John 4:18-19, “There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts our fear, because fear involves punishment, and the one who fears is not perfected in love.  We love, because He first loved us.”  Pray that God would give you a love for those things you know you should be giving to, then nothing will stop you from investing wisely.        

I hope you feel you have a few practical things you can do to feel more content in your life.  I will finish this series next week when I share an example from my life when I didn’t apply these principles.  Thanks for reading!

Contentment part 4

We are called to be stewards, but what in the world is a steward?  A good steward is someone who looks after the resources of another with their best interest at heart.  We have already established that everything we have in this world is ultimately from God.  However, it is not my job, in the name of Godly stewardship to manage my neighbor’s resources.  God gave me certain resources that I am to manage with the ultimate goal of having God’s interest at heart. 

So what is God interested in? 
The Body of Christ
Ephesians 5:25, “Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself up for her.”
The gospel
Romans 1:16, “For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek.”  
Others coming to Christ
2 Corinthians 5:20-21, “Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were entreating through us; we beg you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God.  He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.”
Healthy marriages and families
Colossians 3:18-21, “Wives, be subject to your husbands, as is fitting in the Lord.  Husbands, love your wives, and do not be embittered against them.  Children, be obedient to your parents in all things. For this is well-pleasing to the Lord.  Fathers, do not exasperate your children, that they may not lose heart.”

This is just to name a few.  Imagine how your life would be different if with everything you had, you sought out how you could use it to invest in the things God is interested in?  God, how do you want me to use my tax refund, my bonus, my home, my free time, my car?  Would anything in your life look different?  If so, maybe God is calling you to make these changes as His steward.  Here are a few resources we have that God wants a say in how we are using them. 

Are you a good steward of your time?
Ephesians 5:15-17, “Therefore be careful how you walk, not as unwise men but as wise, making the most of your time, because the days are evil.  So then do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is.”
Are you a good steward of your talent?
Ephesians 4:11, “And He gave some as apostles, and some as prophets, and some as evangelists, and some as pastors and teachers, for the equipping of the saints for the work of service, to the building up of the body of Christ.”
Are you a good steward of your treasure?
2 Corinthians 9:6, “Now this I say, he who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and he who sows bountifully will also reap bountifully.  Each one much do just as he has purposed in his heart, not grudgingly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.” 

So, are you a good steward?

Contentment (part 3)

So as I see it, if you can picture this with me.  God should be at the center on the wheel, each other area of your life should branch off from there like spokes, all supported by our spiritual beliefs.  So can I have “me” time?  Of course, but is it focused on God?  Just recently I had to get away for a few days, much of my alone time was spent getting my attitude and my perspective corrected.  I was not living a very content life.  I was searching and striving for each next thing to make me happy.  God showed me during my “me” time just how good I had it and if my situation never changed I could be content knowing I was just where God wanted me.  When I got home, nothing really changed, except my attitude about my life and isn’t that everything? 

So if we could see our work, our entertainment, our family, our finances through a God first lens, how would that change things?  Ultimately our time and our resources all come from God in the first place, look at Colossians 1: 15-17, “He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation.  For by Him all things were created, both in the heavens and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things have been created through Him and for Him.  He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together.”  Psalms 24:1 states, “The earth is the LORD’S, and all it contains, The world, and those who dwell in it.”

If we saw all that we had as God’s would that change the way you used your time, energy, resources, relationships?  Would you spend so much time watching TV?  Would you change the way you treated your spouse?  Would you spend so much money on your car or your vacation?  If your job ultimately came from God, have you been honoring God with how you are working? 

Often as I analyze my own life I am sad to see that I spent 2 hours watching TV, 1 hour reading a novel and 2 minutes reading my Bible and praying.  I am equally as challenged to use my time for God.  As I close I want to look at the Definition of Stewardship and next week I will talk about what exactly we are to be Stewards of.  The definition of Stewardship out of the Webster’s New 20^th Century Dictionary is: 1.  A person entrusted with the management of the house or estate of another; managing domestic affairs, servants, and finances  2.  One who acts as a supervisor or administrator, as of finances and property of another.

This is conveys the idea of the head servant of a manor, who takes care of all the master of the manor owns by delegating resources and time so the estate runs as it should.  If we picture the world as God’s, we are head servant over the things God has placed in our charge:  our job, family, marriage, free time, money.  Are you using these things for the betterment of His estate or are you selfishly using His resources to please yourself? 

Contentment (part 2) What is a Worldview?

Do you know what a world view is?  Do you know what your world view is?  Interestingly enough we all have a world view and most of us don’t even realize it.  This World view effects daily decisions we make and we usually don’t even realize we have one, this seems like a dangerous way to live to me. 

Word Net simply define World View as “A comprehensive view of the world and human life.”  Others have gotten much more specific.   The Center Leo Apostel for Interdisciplinary Studies gives these parts to a world view:
1.  An explanation of the world
2.  An explanation of the future, “Where are we heading?”
3.  An explanation of ethics, “What should we do?”
4.  An explanation of action, “How should we attain our goals?”
5.  An explanation of knowledge, “How do we determine true and false?” 
Most of you are now saying, oh sure, I can answer these questions.  However, what framework are you using to answer these and is it consistent between each area?  Whether you realize it or not you make determinations constantly based on your world view.  So, where can our world views come from? 
Science.  I know many people who feel all they know and need to know can come from applying the basics of science.  The scientific method provides a structure for thought, evolution explains the origin of our world, and physics provide an explanation for our future.  Science holds a lot of promise as a world view, if you look at everything through a lens of science and reasoning and make decisions on logic and proven fact then this may be the world view for you. 
Self.  This can be another world view that many choose to follow.  Our world is here to provide me with the things I need to be comfortable, I determine my own truth and act upon that truth to get me farther along in life, my future is only hindered by restrictions I place upon me.  Self can be a huge motivator and in our modern culture it is one that we hear about through most media outlets.  If it feels good to you, do it.  Don’t deny yourself anything.  You are the boss, and you can make it happen. 
Religion or Politics.  My view of the world is putting people in a box of good and bad and calling them good or bad based on my religious or political preferences.  Knowledge comes from my leader or pundit of choice.  I make decisions about my future based on forecasting and outlooks of the future by people within my trusted circle of influence.  This is usually a closed off group because good and bad are so clear to them. 
If you feel you don’t really fit into any of these or maybe you feel like you might be a mixture of all of them, you probably are.  In fact most people move between several world views throughout the day.  However, no part of one world view can be in opposition with the same person’s overall world view.  The idea here is that it has to make sense to us as an individual. 
For instance if you are a scientific thinker a religious view about seven days of creation may contradict your thoughts on the origin of the world.  So, you have to figure out a way that both could be true for instance you may say, I still believe in evolution but I am going to place God in the center of it and call it theistic evolution.  Or you may have a self world view, but hear at church that you are to take up a cross (suffer) and follow Jesus.  Suffering doesn’t quite go along with the self world view so you decide I can’t be suffering because then I can’t be a good parent or worker, I have to take care of myself.  These are just two examples of how people mix and match and talk themselves through all the contradictions that come across on a daily basis.
I am going to suggest to you that there may be one other world view that needs to be shared.  This is the Christ-centered world view (some call it Christian, but that sounds too religious for me).  This is the world view that says everything I think, do, plan for, and act on all have thoughts of Christ first.  The basis of this world view is the Bible which is the final authority.  So a thought about should I take this job, buy this car, take my family here are all done with Christ as the center of the decision. 
I am a Christ follower, a scientist, a member of the local church, a registered voter and a member of a very self driven society.  So how does this look?  I know that God is my final authority and I know that if something doesn’t make sense or I can’t figure it out from Scripture I need to keep looking.  I know that God wants me to know Him and that usually if I put the time in to search I find an answer.  I know that I am to vote, but not along criteria that any party or pundit tells me about, but along the lines of who agrees more with God.  I know the scientific evidence for evolution and I know what the Bible says and I know that if I search I can find an answer that will not directly contradict either.  The bottom line for the Christ-centered world view is to read your Bible and pray and slow down.  The hardest one for me is the self world view.  I hear all day long how I am supposed to do this and that for myself and how this product or that purchase will make my life better.  When I catch myself thinking about self first (which is often), I pray for the strength to get back to what is really important. 
So where are you?  Can you now answer my original questions?  What is a world view?  What is YOUR world view?  Are you happy with the way you look at the world and what your final authority is?  Thank you for taking the time to read this because as I continue to go into a series on Contentment and Stewardship the Christ-centered world view is going to be the backbone.  Keep reading, keep studying and keep Christ in the center.    

Contentment and Stewardship (part 1)

I am putting together a series that diverges a bit from the doctrine.  I don't know about you, but I could always stand to learn a little something about Contentment.  Hope you enjoy.

Go ahead and list the top five most time consuming things in the waking hours of your week. 

                Whether you realize it or not, these are your top five priorities.  This may be a little embarrassing for you to go back and look at your list of priorities.  Is entertainment high?  Do you spend a lot of time watching TV and movies, or playing video games?  Maybe you are not organized and spend way too much time managing your paperwork and other clutter around your house.  Or maybe you are feeling pretty good because you spend more time than you realized with your family or at church.  Where did you rank your “Me” time?  This is time that is exclusively for you, maybe it is working out, reading a book, taking a bubble bath or doing something else for your own relaxation and pleasure.  I have put the time I spend in these five categories.

1.  God – church, Bible Study, alone time, family devotions…

2.  Family – children, husband, parents, sisters, nieces, nephews… 

3.  Entertainment – movies, TV, vacations, camping, video games…

4.  Myself – diet, exercise, reading, haircuts…

5.  Work – boss, salary, success, recognition, cooking, cleaning, grocery shopping…

6.  Finances – managing possessions, worry about debt, checkbook…

Maybe you could add more or make this list fit your life.  Of course there is some cross-over most vacations include family; and reading could be considered entertainment. 

The world tells you that your life should be arranged like a wheel and the hub or center of all these things should be yourself and everything else should rotate around it.  I am sure if you have watched any TV you hear this over and over again.  These are a few quotes I got after watching very little daytime TV:  “After all, isn’t it all about you,”  “You deserve some Me time,” “If you don’t put yourself first, you won’t be able to take care of anything else,” "Let's celebrate You!"  you could probably add to this list.  In fact, if we are not careful we will buy into this because it makes some sense.  If we don't care about ourselves how can we care about anyone else...  There is a story in the Bible about a man who bought into this very self-centered way of thinking. 

Luke 12:

 ¹⁶And He (Jesus) told them a parable, saying, "The land of a rich man was very productive.    ¹⁷"And he began reasoning to himself, saying, 'What shall I do, since I have no place to store my crops?'   ¹⁸"Then he said, 'This is what I will do: I will tear down my barns and build larger ones, and there I will store all my grain and my goods.    ¹⁹'And I will say to my soul, "Soul, you have many goods laid up for many years to come; take your ease, eat, drink and be merry."'   

In many ways I can relate to this guy.  He is being responsible, he is making time for himself, he is using his resources wisely.  What is wrong with that?  Here is Jesus’ response to this man:  ²⁰"But God said to him, 'You fool! This very night your soul is required of you; and now who will own what you have prepared?'

This man is not seeing the big picture, he has his priorities out of order, he had bought into this world view that tells us to put ourselves in the center.  God wants to be placed at the center of the wheel with the other priorities orbiting around God.  Imagine how that would change everything that you do!  Would that mean you could no longer enjoy entertainment or enjoy watching your finances grow?  Not necessarily, but the way you look at these things will be different. 

For instance, instead of saying once my savings gets to be this big then I can finally buy a boat and spend every weekend relaxing on the lake.  You may say, once my savings gets this big I am going to help the church buy those new Bibles they needed, or help this missionary, or buy a boat that can be used at this camp or this youth group.  We need to see beyond the end of our nose. 

This is where a discussion about world views will pick up next week.

What to do with Peter, James and John?

So you are probably wondering what do I do with books that are not Paul’s writings.  I have addressed the Old Testament and the gospels, however, how should we handle the smaller New Testament epistles?  This is a great question.  One I hope I can answer in a consolidated manner. 

First, I hope you know now when you go to these other portions of Scripture to look at the audience.  James and 1 Peter are fairly clear in the first verses of the book that they are written to the dispersed nation of Israel.  This dispersion happened in Acts 8 when believing Jews were being threatened after the stoning of Stephen. 

So what about 2 Peter, and 1-3 John?  Well I believe an answer comes from Galatians 2:9, “And recognizing the grace that had been given to me, James and Peter and John, who were reputed to be pillars, gave to me (Paul) and Barnabas the right hand of fellowship, that we might go to the Gentiles, and they to the Circumcised.”  So Paul and Barnabas were to go to the Gentiles and Peter, James and John were to go to the Circumcised or the Jewish people.  Now after they agreed to this it probably would not have been the right thing for Peter, James and John to start writing letters to the Gentiles. 

So it is clear that the audience for these letters is not Gentile believers.  Does this mean that we throw these things away, cut them out of our Bible?  Of course not, for one, we can always learn things from these letters.  Just make sure if you are applying something it is backed up in Paul’s writings. 

Look at 1 John 2:2, “and He Himself is the propitiation for our sins; and not for ours only, but also for those of the whole world.”  Compare this to Romans 3:25, “whom God displayed publicly as a propitiation in His blood through faith.  This was to demonstrate His righteousness, because in the forbearance of God He passed over the sins previously committed.”  So we can know that Jesus was the propitiation for our sins. 

Look at I Peter 2:9, “But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a Holy nation, a people for God’s own possession that you may proclaim the excellencies of Him who has called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.”  Paul does not call us current followers of Christ priests.  He calls us God’s sons (Romans 8), but look at Isaiah 61:6, “but you will be called the priests of the Lord; You will be spoken of as ministers of our God…”  This was a promise to Israel, so why is it found in the New Testament?

I believe these epistles are written for people remaining after the rapture of the church (I Thess. 4:13-17).  Israel will have all the promises of God fulfilled after this time of the mystery is fulfilled.  They will need instruction and encouragement and that is what is so great about the Bible, it seamlessly rolls out God’s plan, His past, present and future plan. 

It would be crazy for me to get the map of some future construction project and start to begin to follow it even though it will not be complete for many years.  I am sure I would be off in a ditch somewhere and I definitely would not get where I was trying to go.  This is what it is like to take James, John and Peter and try to apply them to us now.  If we are not careful, we can end up frustrated, in a ditch and not getting to the Spiritual goals God has in mind for us.

I have seen many Christians become frustrated by this passage, James 5:14-16, “Is anyone among you sick?  Let him call for the elders of the church, and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord; and the prayer offered in faith will restore the one who is sick, and the Lord will raise him up, and if he has committed sins, they will be forgiven him.  Therefore, confess your sins to one another, and pray for one another, so that you may be healed.  The effective prayer of a righteous man can accomplish much.” 

Many people have done this over someone they cared very much about and there was no healing, no nothing.  I tell you what, this verse and that result would be enough for me to walk away from the faith.  However, if we know that this book is not written to us, but will be very useful to Jewish believers during the tribulation, can you see how that fits?  Can you see how God will go back to operating with Israel through signs and miracles like He has done all along (I Cor. 1:22). 

I hope this has been an encouragement to you and cleared up some very difficult portions of Scripture.  If you have questions please ask.