Speaking Of Life 2048 | Ministry With Jesus
Jeff Broadnax

Samuel Logan Brengle was an influential spiritual leader for the Salvation Army early in the 19th century. He was once asked, “What are the greatest temptations you face in ministry?”

After a moment of reflection, Brengle responded with this insight: “There is really only one temptation in ministry. If we succumb to it then it opens the door to all the others.” That one temptation, Brengle described, was the temptation to do something for God before spending time with God.

Whether you serve in a formal ministry capacity within the church, or if your ministry is carried out in the context of your daily routine; this is a temptation we all face. Especially in our busy, fast-pace society where task or doing can edge out relationship.

Maybe we should go one step further with Brengle’s insight. Not only should we place priority on spending time with God before doing ministry for God, but we should see ministry itself as another way of spending time with God.

This is how Jesus talked about ministry when he said,

Jesus gave them this answer: “Very truly I tell you, the Son can do nothing by himself; he can do only what he sees his Father doing, because whatever the Father does the Son also does. For the Father loves the Son and shows him all he does. Yes, and he will show him even greater works than these, so that you will be amazed. John 5:19-20

Jesus and his Father are still doing ministry today by the Spirit, and Jesus invites us to participate. He doesn’t need us to get some task done for the Father. Rather, he wants us to come to know the Father’s love as he knows it as we participate in his ministry. Like a friendship, we come to know the other best as we share life together. Ministry should not be a task that interferes with our relationship with the Father. Rather, it is another way of participating in that relationship where we come to know the Father’s love for us and the whole world.

What a difference it makes to move from doing ministry for Jesus to participating in ministry with Jesus.

I’m Jeff Broadnax, Speaking of Life.

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Speaking Of Life 2047 | Whose Likeness
Greg Williams

This is the coin in use around the time of Christ. Look closely at it and you see a major problem for the Jews of the day. The inscription reads: “Caesar Augustus Tiberius, son of the Divine Augustus.” This puts Caesar in a divine place, which—in the Jewish and Christian mind—could only be occupied by God. According to the scribes, to own and handle this coin was a violation of the first commandment.

The moneychangers in the famous temple cleansing were changing blasphemous Roman coins for those which would have been acceptable for use in the temple. When Jesus asked to see the coin in Matthew 22:19, he exposed the fact that they all carried the Roman coins on them because they had to.

He then asks his famous question as they look on the coin in verse 20: “Whose likeness and inscription is this?”. They answer that its Caesar’s and he diffuses the tense conversation: “Give to Caesar what is Caesar’s, and to God what is God’s.”

Matthew writes this with a wink toward Genesis 1:26, “Let us make humans in our likeness.” That Greek word for “likeness” is the same in both places.

The question behind the question is this: whose likeness is stamped on you? Whose image and likeness do you bear? So yes, we do “render to Caesar” our taxes; property tax, federal tax, state tax, sales tax, etc. but we are to give—or render—ourselves unto God, whose likeness we bear. What does that mean?

Part of that rendering or not rendering hinges on where we place our trust. Do we place our trust in Caesar—government—realizing there is no perfect, complete form of government—or anything or anyone—on earth? No, we know we cannot trust in a government to bring in “heaven on earth.”

Only God can forgive us, save us, redeem us, and shape us. His is the likeness we bear, and through the power of the Spirit, we are continuing to be transformed into his image.

I’m Greg Williams Speaking of Life.

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Speaking Of Life 2046 | Dissolving Disagreements
Cara Garrity

I have a friend with two small preschool boys, and because they’re so close in age, they have a tendency to fight over toys. To keep her sanity, she told them that if they can’t resolve their disagreement without fighting, they have to work on a 100-piece puzzle until they finish it. For two preschool boys, a 100-piece puzzle takes an eternity to finish. They have to work together, and by the time they’re done, they’ve forgotten what they were angry about.

This story reminds me of a reference in the Bible to two adults who were at odds. It appears in the letter to the Philippians where Paul writes,

I urge Euodia and Syntyche to be of the same mind in the Lord. Yes, and I ask you also, my loyal companion, help these women, for they have struggled beside me in the work of the gospel, together with Clement and the rest of my co-workers, whose names are in the book of life. Philippians 4:2-3 (NRSV)

The Bible is silent about what caused division between these two women, but it’s clear from the text that they had worked together well, even against difficulties, to promote the good news about Jesus and his love and acceptance. Their disagreement can make us pause when we think about holding grudges or having a negative attitude against others, particularly those who are believers.

While many things can cause disagreements in relationships, this passage presents a challenge to be “of the same mind in the Lord.” This shifts our perspective. It’s like the story I told about my friend’s little boys who were fighting over toys. When the little boys had the same goal in mind—finishing that puzzle—they remembered that they really loved each other, and their fight over the toys didn’t really seem that important anymore.

As believers, much of what we disagree about might be important to us, but probably isn’t a dealbreaker when it comes to whether or not we believe in Jesus’s acceptance and love for everybody. It’s our human tendency to focus on smaller issues. These might seem easier to control or judge in ourselves and others rather than holding on to the reality of Christ’s mind being in each of us through the Holy Spirit.

Paul’s correction to Euodia and Syntyche is to lift their eyes from their disagreement and see the goodness of God’s Spirit at work in them and through them. This is having “the same mind in the Lord.”

If we’re spectators to a disagreement, our role is like the “loyal companion” Paul addresses and encourages us to help those at odds to see each other in a different light. Rather than listening to complaints, we point to Christ and call one another up to be of one mind in him.

So, the next time you feel irritated at a brother or sister in Christ, you don’t need to do a 100-piece puzzle. Instead, look to Jesus and focus on the goodness of the Holy Spirit. Notice the same Spirit that is working in you is also working in them and through them. He is there; you just need the right mindset to see.  

Praying for you “to be of the same mind in the Lord,”

I’m Cara Garrity, Speaking of Life.

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Speaking Of Life 2045 | The Cornerstone Question
Greg Williams

I am no carpenter by the stretch of anyone’s imagination. Even though I did contract my own house in Fayetteville, North Carolina, I was there from the day we dug the footings until the locks were set on the front door.

In my construction experience, I crossed paths with many people in the building trade – framers, cabinet makers, brick masons, and others. A universal lesson I learned is that it is extremely difficult to get square corners and straight lines. And throw out the idea of ever building a perfect house.

In God’s self-revelation in the person of Jesus, the answer to square corners and straight lines is addressed.

Notice the metaphor Jesus uses in Matthew:

Jesus said to them, “Have you never read in the Scriptures: ‘The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone; this was the Lord’s doing, and it is marvelous in our eyes’?  Matthew 21:42 (ESV)

When the stonemasons looked through the quarries, they looked for the cornerstone which had the exact lines, weight, and shape to hold a whole structure together. They might use rejected or misshapen stones somewhere else in a building, but the cornerstone had to be flawless and fit the gap exactly or the whole structure falls.

This is how we might frame the question of Christ in our own minds and in our conversations with those who don’t know Jesus. Come at it from one direction, and it might seem absurd: an itinerant peasant preacher from nowhere is actually God? But if you see the gospel as the cornerstone—as that foundational starting piece that makes all the other pieces hold together, then the cornerstone—originally rejected because he didn’t seem to fit—holds up the whole structure.

The gospel doesn’t always make life easier, or even happier, or even more exciting, but it does enable life to make sense. That’s why Jesus is the answer to the cornerstone question.

And it is in him that you and I are fitly framed together and made strong. And it is him the perfect house is being constructed.

I’m Greg Williams, Speaking of Life.

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Speaking Of Life 2044 | Open Hands Close Eyes
Jeff Broadnax

If someone told you to “hold out your hands and close your eyes” what would you do?

I know what you might be thinking. “Well, it depends on who told me to hold out my hands and close my eyes.’” Right?

In fact, you may remember an experience of this in your past. Maybe you were that schoolgirl on the playground who was tricked into having a slimy toad placed in your hands by the schoolyard jokester. You probably didn’t find it very funny.

Or maybe after complying to this request someone took advantage of you by taking your wallet, or jumping in front of you in line. Again, not very funny!

Such jokes are hard to pull off twice. If they tried it again you probably responded with folded arms and eyes wide-opened.

Trust and obedience go hand-in-hand.

Fortunately, there are people in our lives that have proven over time that they love us, are for us and would never do anything to trick or harm us. If one of these persons told you to “Hold out your hands and close your eyes” you would jump to compliance—maybe with anticipation—knowing you are likely about to receive something wonderful.

Again, trust and obedience go hand-in-hand.

Now, ask yourself this question. What if God the Father told you to “hold out your hands and close your eyes?”

He’s asked it before. In fact, this is what the Father asked his own Son to do. On the cross, Jesus held out his hands to share his father’s love with the whole world.

Jesus had an eternal history with the Father. In that history, Jesus knew the Father to be good, trustworthy, and full of grace. Even in stretching his hands out on the cross and closing his eyes in death he knew his father would not trick him or leave him hanging. In the end, he knew he would receive something wonderful.

And he did. He received the Father’s own hand lifting him up in glory. And now in Jesus, the Father extends that same open hand to you, promising to lift you up in his Son to a wonderful glory beyond anything we could possibly imagine.

Here’s how one Psalm speaks of the faithfulness of the Father:

“You open your hand, satisfying the desire of every living thing. The Lord is just in all his ways, and kind in all his doings. The Lord is near to all who call on him, to all who call on him in truth. He fulfills the desire of all who fear him; he also hears their cry, and saves them.”

If you are searching for one to be faithfully near to you, might I suggest you simply open your hands and close your eyes and ask Jesus to show you his Father. He’ll hear your cry and save you.

I’m Jeff Broadnax, Speaking of Life.

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Speaking Of Life 2043 | Belly of the Whale
Greg Williams

In 1891, in the black, cold waters off the Falkland Islands, a whaling boat was attacked by a giant sperm whale. One of the sailors went missing. A day later—or a few days depending on who you ask—the whale was captured and its stomach cut open. Here’s a report from one of the sailors on deck: “Out came a boot on a trousered leg and there was James Bartley….” His skin was bleached white and he was nearly blinded by the digestive acids in the whale’s stomach. He went on to live another 18 years and now rests under a tombstone which reads, “James Bartley – a Modern Day Jonah.”

Well, whatever you might think of this fascinating story, it certainly sticks in your mind. There’s been plenty of doubt cast on it, as well as several retellings that don’t quite add up, and yet it’s still an image that stays with us. Almost everyone knows the story of Jonah and the whale—a story that should make us think and rethink about the way we look at God and the way we look at our place in the grand narrative of the world.

Jonah is unique because it is essentially a story of a story. Most prophet books are about the words the prophet brings. This book is about the prophet who brings the words. The wider context is important: Jonah was sent to Nineveh to tell them to repent. Nineveh was a sworn enemy of Israel. Jonah didn’t want to see them repent and be saved from destruction, so he fled to sea. When a violent storm arose, he told the sailors he was to blame and they should cast him overboard.

He was swallowed by a whale and regurgitated on land three days later. He fulfilled the mission he was given and then got angry when the city repented and God forgave them.

He screams out at God at the end of the book:

But it displeased Jonah exceedingly, and he was angry. And he prayed to the Lord and said, “O Lord, is not this what I said when I was yet in my country? That is why I made haste to flee to Tarshish; for I knew that you are a gracious God and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love, and relenting from disaster.
Jonah 4:1-2 (ESV)

Even after Jonah tried to commit suicide, God turns the whole thing on its head to get his merciful will done. The underlying message here is that God will use anything—even a lost whale with indigestion—to bring us, and others through us, to himself. That’s good news!

Have you ever been swallowed up? Spat back on the sand with your skin bleached white and your eyes nearly blinded? God can use every one of our belly-of-the-whale circumstances: addiction, challenging relationships, sickness, to meet us again and again. He can use anything to fulfill the purpose he has in you. So where and how is God meeting you?

I’m Greg Williams. Speaking of life.

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Speaking Of Life 2042 | Ripples in the World
Cara Garrity

Have you ever skipped stones across a body of water? If you do it just right, the stone jumps across the water a few times before it finally sinks. When it does sink, the stone sends ripples through the surface of the water.

I like to think about my words as stones that I’m throwing out into the world. In this day of social media, we can think about our words (or our posts) as stones that we are casting out into our communication world—both in and out of the social media “lake.” It might seem funny to start a lot of ripples with a witty judgmental post or two, especially if you’re feeling bored and out of touch. Or to spread some juicy gossip as some real-life cyber warfare. But the Bible encourages us to consider how offhand comments might be a form of judging others; and can certainly be interpreted as judgmental.

When the apostle Paul wrote to the church in Rome, they were struggling with judging each other based on what they were willing to eat. Some preferred vegetarianism and others would eat meat. Here’s how the apostle Paul addressed their issue with judging each other:

Welcome those who are weak in faith, but not for the purpose of quarreling over opinions. Some believe in eating anything, while the weak eat only vegetables. Those who eat must not despise those who abstain, and those who abstain must not pass judgment on those who eat; for God has welcomed them. Who are you to pass judgment on servants of another? It is before their own lord that they stand or fall. And they will be upheld, for the Lord is able to make them stand.
Romans 14:1-4 (NRSV)

Paul makes an important point that the issues we often tend to judge others on are not that important to God, and if they are important, the truth will be revealed to them in God’s time.

What type of ripples are you sending out into the world with your words—either spoken or written? Let’s consider the intent and impact of our words, and may we send out ripples of positive communication full of gentleness and joy, reflecting the great love of Jesus for all human beings everywhere.

I’m Cara Garrity, Speaking of Life.

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Speaking Of Life 2041 | Putting On Christ
Greg Williams

If you spend any time in the letters of Paul, you see a pastor’s heart. Paul spends long periods of time in all the places he went as a missionary—sometimes months, sometimes years—and then he spent more years discipling them through his letters.

His connection to the churches reminds me of the bonds I shared with the congregation I pastored for 15 years. When they were sending me off with an appreciation lunch one of the leaders said, “We are not only losing a pastor but a friend as well.”

Paul became their friend. And sometimes as their friend, Paul was the gentle guide, encouraging almost any amount of progress. Other times he was the football coach telling folks to lead, follow, or get out of the way! He sometimes used stern words to encourage these fledgling churches toward transformation.

In Romans 13, among several other places, he touches on this theme:

But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to gratify its desires.
Romans 13:14 (ESV)

Put on the Lord Jesus Christ. Put on the Lord Jesus’ thoughts. Put on his actions; put on his love. This was a constant theme for Paul: you are in Christ, nothing is going to change that, now BE who you already ARE.

It isn’t something you work up on your own power. It is saying yes to the one who first said yes to you. It is returning love to the one who first loved you.

Then Paul, through the presence and power of Jesus in him, coaches, encourages, prods, and pokes them to transform into the image of Christ by imitating Christ as they walk in relationship with him.

It reminds me of the scene in The Shack where Jesus and the main character, Mack, walk on water. At first, Mack is tentative, even holding onto Jesus, and then together they vigorously run across the lake. When they are preparing to return, Mack presses his foot against the water’s surface and Jesus glances over and says this powerful phrase “It always works better when we do it together, don’t you think?”

Later, Jesus adds to the conversation, “If you try to live this without me, without the ongoing dialogue of us sharing this journey together it will be like trying to walk on the water by yourself you can’t! And when you try, however well-intentioned, you’re going to sink.”

How can we continue the ongoing dialogue in our friendship with Jesus? How can we imitate him and begin to see transformation in our daily lives? Start by seeing others as God’s beloved and yield to the Spirit’s encouragement to always respond in love. Then watch a change happen in your own life. What habits, addictions, and unkind behavior are being healed as you “put on Christ”?

It is in the daily walk and relationship with Jesus in which we are formed. May you enjoy your walk with Jesus today and every day forward. And don’t try walking on water without him.

I’m Greg Williams, Speaking of Life.

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Speaking of Life 2040 | Stopping the Spin
Heber Ticas

The saying “the truth lies somewhere in the middle” is often used to explain how we each bring our own perspective about reality to any situation. If you have kids, you know this. A fight starts between siblings, and each one says, “He started it” or “She started it.” As a parent you know the truth is somewhere in the middle of those accusations.

Our interpretation of reality is partially defined by our unique life experiences and our temperament, and we find this is also true in how we think about our Christian lives.

We know that being human has its highs and lows. This is the reality of all of humanity and the Bible shares this reality. The Psalms, for example, are filled with hope and joy and encouragement, but they also sometimes have lots of anger and vengefulness. This is part of our human experience. These highs and lows can affect how we see God.

If we look at Psalm 105, we can see the psalmist is giving God glory for wonderful blessings poured out on the nation of Israel, but then the psalmist puts his own spin on Israel’s history:

The Lord made his people very fruitful;
he made them too numerous for their foes,
whose hearts he turned to hate his people,
to conspire against his servants.
Psalm 105:24-25

Notice how the psalmist blames God for the anger of the Israelites’ foes, saying “whose hearts he turned to hate his people.” Does a God of love really want people to hate each other? We can see that in passages like this one, the writer is playing on the human drama of the situation rather than speaking literally about how God behaves.  If we think about this in human terms, we parents can say that we would much prefer our children get along rather than fight.

Noticing our very human tendency to put our own spin on what we experience can help us when we start telling ourselves unhelpful and untrue stories about God. For example, when we’re faced with a job loss or a financial setback, do we think we’re being punished by God? If we face a serious illness, do we assume that we have sinned in some way, and this illness is our payback?

Noticing our tendency to interpret events as if God is against us can help us stop and gain perspective. We can consider what we know about God’s character, which is based on grace, and goodness. We can remember the kindness and love of Jesus in his dealings with people, and how Jesus said, “Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father” (John 14:9, NIV). We can think about the times that we felt God’s nearness and blessing, recalling those memories in all their detail. Positive actions like these can help us overcome the negative spin we sometimes put on difficult events in our lives.

Being human is hard, and challenges often crop up in our lives. Recognizing our tendency to blame God or others when we’re hurting can help us make different choices. We can “stop the spin” by remembering God’s love and kindness to us in our past.

Let us recognize and rest in the truth about God’s love for us today.

I’m Heber Ticas, Speaking of Life.

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Speaking of Life 2039 | Sing the Story Again
Greg Williams

For a decade of my life, I worked with Youth for Christ, a worldwide youth movement engaging young people around the world with God’s story. In fact, their model for describing evangelism was called “Three Story Evangelism.” Three Story is a relational style of sharing the gospel showing how my story, my friend’s story and God’s story all overlap, and especially so in how the Lord of the universe is pursuing humanity.

The Old Testament writers were well aware of how God’s presence intersected in their collective stories. Notice these words from the prophet Isaiah:

Listen to me, you that pursue righteousness, you that seek the LORD. Look to the rock from which you were hewn, and to the quarry from which you were dug. Look to Abraham your father and to Sarah who bore you; for he was but one when I called him, but I blessed him and made him many. Isaiah 51:1-2 (NRSV)

Isaiah’s words ring with a common biblical practice: memory. Remember who you are. Remember the quarry you were cut from, the story of Abraham and Sarah, the promise that they would outnumber the stars.

Throughout the Psalms, the poets retell the stories of the patriarchs and heroes to encourage the community. Or they sing through the truths of the faith to bring them back to mind. In many places, the psalmists sing praises for things God has brought them through. In other places, the psalmists encourage the community to hang on through hard times, knowing that God will show his faithfulness again.

When the early church met in homes, they told and re-told the stories of Jesus and read the letters of Paul and the other apostles. In a society in which only part of the people were literate, the stories would be memorized and recited to keep their new identity and new story in front of them.

And so, we meet today. We connect ourselves with the epic of gospel history as we meet to tell ourselves the great story. Then we encourage each other by sharing how God has entered our story in everything from mundane blessings to amazing red sea experiences in our lives. Telling and re-telling the story helps us to keep faith in focus.

How can we tell the story again today? How do we keep these truths in front of our mind’s eye? How can we, like the psalmist, look back to God’s goodness and look forward in trust?

Let’s sing the story of God’s goodness, again and again, until it becomes the theme and music of our entire lives.

I’m Greg Williams, Speaking of Life.

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