Spiritual Ponderings

The gifts he gave were that some would be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, some pastors and teachers, to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, until all of us come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to maturity, to the measure of the full stature of Christ. We must no longer be children , (immature) tossed to and fro and blown about by every wind of doctrine , by people's trickery , by their craftiness in deceitful scheming . But speaking the truth in love , we must grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ, from whom the whole body, joined and knit together by every ligament with which it is equipped, as each part is working properly, promotes the body's growth in building itself up in love . (Ephesians 4:11-16) Not carried around by every wind of doctrine. But how can we know what doctrines are correct for they can sometimes all seem equally valid when ...

And there arose also a dispute among them as to which one of them was regarded to be greatest. And He said to them, "The kings of the Gentiles lord it over them; and those who have authority over them are called 'Benefactors.' But it is not this way with you , but the one who is the greatest among you must become like the youngest, and the leader like the servant. For who is greater, the one who reclines at the table or the one who serves? Is it not the one who reclines at the table? But I am among you as the one who serves." (Luke 22:24-27) There is a battle royal shaping up over not just the issue of ordaining women to public ministry within the church, but more fundamentally the definition and function of what is referred to as headship, both in the church and in the social structure of the family. These debates are sharpening and the rhetoric is heating up as both sides dig in their positions and even take them to extremes at times. I d...

Peace I leave with you; My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Do not let your heart be troubled, nor let it be fearful. (John 14:27) We usually imagine that we could enjoy peace if only the problems around us would just go away or be resolved. We believe that if only wars could just be stopped, if fighting would die away or arguments could be silenced, then we could have peace. This kind of thinking remains stuck in the realm of external living. Satan's system of life is externalism. With our heart dominated by the fallen operating system of selfishness, self-protection at the expense of others, we tend to see only a narrow band of options in most situations. When threatened we assume we have two options – fight back or run away. Even withdrawing within ourselves is a form of running away. But both of these options are in the external realm and are both rooted in selfishness, our natural state as fallen humans. What Jesus came to...