Monthly Archives: June 2011

"By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out to a place which he was to receive as an inheritance; and he went out, not knowing where he was to go." Hebrews 11:8

I ran across a familiar phrase this past week: blind faith, as in "some things you just have to accept on blind faith." I do not believe a Christian ever faces a situation which must be accepted on blind faith.

The closest example we have in the Bible of someone having to act on blind faith is Abraham. When God called him to leave Haran, he did not tell him where he was going. We cannot be sure Abram, as he was known at the time, was even a worshiper of Yahweh when God first called him. He appears rather out of the blue in the last few verses of Genesis 11. As chapter 12 opens, God called him to leave everything familiar and go to an unknown place. His willingness to trust God makes him a fit candidate for the roll call of the faithful in Hebrews 11.

But did he really act on blind faith, without not even a hint of support or prior understanding? I doubt it. Someone has asked "why did God choose call Abraham?" The answer is "perhaps because he was the only one listening." God never forces Himself on people. He only calls those who make an effort to listen. Abram must have been listening, so his faith was not blind at all, but expectant. He knew Someone was there.

You may object that you have faced situations that have been far beyond anything you have ever encountered, and had to have faith to step out or to endure a new situation. Isn't that blind faith? Not at all. You perhaps have "marched off the map," of your previous experience, but all the ways God has blessed and guided you in the past prove to be a prelude to this new territory you must explore and embrace. That is not blind faith, it is simply your next step in faith.

You may be facing new and extraordinarily challenging circumstance, but God has used your life to this point to prepare you for this latest expression of His calling. Rather than asking you to act on blind faith, He is simply calling you to act on the evidence and experience at hand. That evidence comes in several forms.

Scripture. The Bible is uniquely sacramental in nature, for God communicates to us through it. Its guidance, wisdom, challenge, and comfort are unique and a sure mark of its inspiration. All of the Bible is at least nearly 2000 years old, and parts of it go back another full millennium. The fact that literature so ancient, coming to us through different languages and cultures, addresses so clearly the most important aspects of our lives is singularly remarkable.

We have many different kinds of ancient texts, but no one, that I know of, claims that the Enuma Elish inspires and guides them for life. Homer was brilliant, but neither the Iliad nor the Odyssey changes lives. The Bible does all these and more. The scripture has a ring of truth that inspires and encourages so that a Christian never faces any situation with blind faith.

God's presence. One of the clearest teachings in the scripture is that God is with you. You cannot ignore or even diminish the vital importance of this truth. Christ abides in you and you in Christ. The Father is with you and will never fail or forsake you. The Holy Spirit whispers to your soul and reminds you of your adoption by the Father.

We tend to be "practical" today, relying on evidence and that which can be felt and explained. The problem with this shallow practical approach is that faith is the assurance of things hoped for and the evidence of things not seen. God works quietly, often subtly, not to be evasive, but to drive us to deeper faith in Him. Trusting in God's presence, exploring and cultivating it, therefore, is actually more practical than simply relying on what we can see and touch. The true and deep wonders of God are far beyond what eye can see or ear hear (1 Cor. 2:9).

The fellowship of the faithful. The trials you face are "common to all," and in sharing your struggle with others you open up yourself to help from your brothers and sisters in Christ. You have not walked before the difficult path lying before you, but someone you know has, and God has a marvelous way of bringing those people to you.

You must never complain about a lack of direction from God. God is neither silent nor reluctant. In fact, in addition to not believing in blind faith, I also do not believe in unanswered prayers. God is not fickle. He listens and responds because He loves you. His answer may come in the form of an acquaintance who can guide and encourage you. Instead of accusing God of being silent you may need to confess that you are merely obtuse. Someone around you, of a more experienced faith, knows what you are facing and can help you through a hard time.

Without question we see through a glass darkly many times. Yes, we know in part, but that part means that we need never act with blind faith. God always provides enough light for you to take a step forward. Trust Him. Take the next step.

Grace,

Dr. Terry Ellis

June 26, 2011

"Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all encouragement, who encourages us in all our affliction so that we may be able to encourage those who are in any affliction." 2 Corinthians 1:3-4

The main purpose of GraceWaves is to encourage Christians by inviting them more deeply into God's grace. My eye, therefore, naturally gravitates to passages that depict God's grace being dispensed to struggling saints, and the Bible is full of such examples.

This past week as I read 2 Corinthians I paused at the verses above. The key word in the passage, encouragement, is transliterated as paraclesis. You probably recognize that word as the name Jesus gave to the Spirit, i.e. the Paraclete, in John 14:16 and 26. The word means one who comforts (so the Holy Spirit is referred to as The Comforter). Often translators use comfort in the 2 Corinthians passage, and I cannot fault that translation.

However, the word paraclesis, and its verbal forms, also has the meaning of encouragement and exhortation. It also has the nuance of beseeching. Comfort connotes tender compassion, and we certainly all need God to take us into His arms and comfort us. But God's aim is not merely to comfort. He encourages, exhorts, and beseeches us to return to the game, as it were. In fact, Paul's idea here is to gain encouragement from God so that we may seek out others with whom we share this encouragement. Encouragement has a goal beyond mere comfort, and that is why I prefer that translation.

Paul's letters to the Corinthians reflect both his need for encouragement and his commitment to encourage. He wrote from personal experience in which he faced discouragement in three main areas: circumstances, vocation, and relationships. These areas of discouragement can threaten to overwhelm any of us. Paul faced each one, and God taught him something important.

Circumstances. Paul wrote of a mysterious but harrowing experience in which he and his companions were so "utterly and unbearably crushed that we despaired of life itself" (2 Cor. 8). This occurred in Asia, and while we don't have the details, something happened so traumatic that he felt he had "received the sentence of death." Many of you know what it is like to despair of life itself. How you emerge on the other side of the events depends on you. For Paul he learned from a tragic circumstance "to rely not on ourselves, but on God who raises the dead" (2 Cor. 1:8-10). God encouraged him. Paul survived and returned to strengthen churches and write letters.

Vocation. In 2 Corinthians 4, Paul wrote about "this treasure" (v. 7) which was his calling and vocation as an apostle. He firmly believed God had called and gifted him to do what he was doing. But he was not always received well. He felt he had failed many times. As a result he felt "afflicted," "perplexed," "persecuted," and "struck down" (4:8-9). But for each challenge God provided encouragement so that Paul was "not crushed," "not driven to despair," "not forsaken," and "not destroyed." Once again he learned more deeply to rely on the transcendent power that belongs to God (v.7).

Relationships. Betrayal and rejection were consistent themes in Paul's correspondence with the Corinthians. He was not their favorite preacher (1 Cor. 1:12). Some said he could write well but not speak well, and that he was not very good looking! (2 Cor. 10:10). Others claimed he was not a "real apostle" and thus inferior (2 Cor. 11:5). I could cite many other passages to convince you that Paul had a very rough time with people he loved and depended on. People he counted on disappointed him, but in these weak moments of despair he learned that God's grace is perfected in weakness (2 Cor. 12:9).

You can relate to every area of discouragement cited. You might be in the middle of a difficult time in which you don't see a way forward, or have lost a job, or have needless struggles with people you thought you could trust and rely on. God encourages you. He will give you the comfort you need, but He also exhorts you to keep pushing ahead and use your gifts and opportunities.

As I write this on Father's Day, please indulge an illustration from this area of my life. When Gregory was about 4 or 5, I was putting decking in our attic. Of course, he wanted to help nail, so I set a few nails for him to work on while I continued in another area. Squatting down and swinging the hammer with two hands, he was making steady progress every third strike or so. On one backswing, however, he hit his forehead with the back of the hammer. He dropped it and ran to me, burying his face in my chest, crying, and rubbing the small bump forming right above his eyes.

I hugged him, and told him I had hit various parts of my body on countless occasions. As I continued to try and console him, he pushed away from me, went back and picked up the hammer, and finished driving the nail. He then came back to my embrace, again rubbing his head, and said, "I wasn't going to quit."

Comfort helps you to feel better. Encouragement helps you to do better. While God certainly does want to comfort us, I believe His main goal is to encourage us to reenter the fray. The affliction you face is common to all people, and God is with you to strengthen and console you. But He also wants you to get back to life. You have His encouragement. Now go and encourage someone else this week.

Grace,

Dr. Terry Ellis

June 19, 2011

"And the Lord said, 'If you had faith as a grain of mustard seed, you could say to this sycamine tree, 'be uprooted and planted in the sea,' and it would obey you.'" Luke 17:6

We find this saying in two places in the Gospels, and in Luke it comes in response to a request from the disciples: "increase our faith." We must look carefully at how this familiar teaching applies directly to this request.

Who among us would not ask God to increase our faith? We treat faith like a vitamin. A little faith, the grain of a mustard seed faith, is good. More must be better! Give me more! That is the disciples' logic, and it's ours. Thus many of the inspiring testimonies we hear revolve around what so and so did and what great faith it took to accomplish this or that. We love to hear about more faith, and we long for more faith.

Notice, however, that Jesus did not say "You have asked for more faith, and that is a good thing. God will surely give it!" No. Instead He underscored the incredible effectiveness of even the smallest amount of faith. Why?

Jesus' point here, and the point we often miss, is not the amount of faith you have, but what you do with the faith God has given you. Indisputably God has given the gift of faith to every person. We all have a will to believe. Something pulls us higher and leads us to believe in God. You have faith.

Now I say this gently, instead of whining for more faith why not act on the faith you have? You think it is too paltry? Jesus did not give you an excuse for having a tiny amount of faith. He taught you the possibilities of using that tiny amount of faith.

We see these possibilities in Jesus' life. In both Matthew and Mark we find this teaching after His entry into the Jerusalem, a week prior to His death. In fact, reading the story of His triumphal entry is what drew me to this passage. His imminent death was a tremendous challenge for Him, one that He even prayed to avoid. Yet after those prayers in the Garden, He rose with a resolve to go to the cross and lay down His life for you and me. Think about it. The Son, in His full humanity, relied on His faith to act. The cross was faith in action.

Goethe said that thought without action is a disease. I say faith without action is a fantasy. If you do not act on your faith, you will feel helpless and only plead for more faith. Your request is completely irrelevant. God's answer is that He has given you what you need. Now act. Use the faith He has given you. What is the task before you? By faith, take care of it! What is the burden you have borne alone? By faith, cast it upon God and leave it there. What impulse to serve have you too long ignored? By faith, get to it!

You believe you have only little faith? You probably do. We all do. But it is enough! You have what you need. Act on your little faith.

Grace,

Dr. Terry Ellis

June 13, 2011

"At once I was in the Spirit, and lo, a throne stood in heaven, with one seated upon the throne! And He who sat there appeared as jasper and carnelian, and around the throne was a rainbow that looked like an emerald." Revelation 4:2-3

Some of the fallout from yet another awkward end-of-the-world prediction is the question of the relevancy of the book of Revelation. Many people reduce it to a sideshow by attempting to equate it to WW II, Viet Nam, the latest Middle East dust-up, 9/11, etc. This has been going on since the first century and, in my confident opinion, the book's imagery makes abundant sense only if you stick to a first-century context.

Without question, Revelation has been a challenge even to devoted readers who are not into chart-making and date-setting. Many years ago in Baton Rouge, I visited dear little old lady whose eyesight was failing. She told me she had just finished reading the Bible through for the last time. I asked her if she would like me to read a passage for her and what her favorite book might be. She replied, "Oh, any of it would be fine, except Revelation. John must have had something bad to eat before he wrote that."

I understand her struggle and the church's struggle with Revelation, but I want to suggest two obvious themes in the book that clearly apply to any age and are critically needed by all Christians.

The first theme is God's sovereignty, and the verse for this week's GraceWaves takes us to the heart of a key part of John's vision. The first three chapters of the book contain an introduction and a vision of the exalted Christ speaking words of commendation and judgment for the church, His body. Chapter 4 opens with an angelic invitation to ascend to heaven, and there John beholds a throne. Only the King sits upon the throne, so this is God Himself.

The description is not physically detailed but radiantly colorful, for as the hymn writer put it: "only the splendor of light hideth Thee." God's brilliance indescribably pulses and radiates, creating a dazzling rainbow about Him. The vision is a sensory overload for the poor servant who hears peals of thunder from the throne (v. 5). The sea of glass (v. 6) might represent the distance between God and His creatures, or more likely, I believe, the infinite peace that emanates from God Almighty.

Once you understand some of the symbols, and it's really not that difficult, the meaning becomes clearer. The Roman Empire in all its power and glory is a paltry thing. It can shake the church, kill some leaders, exile John himself, but even its emperors changed every few years (John had seen 11). The Kingdom of Heaven knows no limits and its King never dies. The early persecuted readers of this vision would certainly have understood the enduring reminder that they are part of that Kingdom and are subjects of that all-powerful God.

Whatever you face this Monday, or whenever you read this, you are likely to face something less imposing than an empire. Whatever may shake you pales in comparison to a brilliant, glorious, omnipotent, omniscient, and omnipresent God. You too are part of His Kingdom. You are His. Whatever happens to you, never forget the King is still in residence and His flag still flies. Revelation reminds us of that.

The second theme from this now apparently very straightforward book, is found sprinkled throughout. We find it in Jesus' approving words for several churches who have demonstrated "patient endurance" (2:2, 2:19, 3:10), a word that implies a hopeful straining-forward-into-the- wind type of patience. We find the theme in His call to "be faithful" (2:10), and "hold fast my name" (2:13).

We hear the theme most clearly when the beasts appear (the Roman Empire and its prophet) and begin to do their worst: "Here is a call for the endurance of the saints" (13:10, 14:12). This invitation/exhortation applies when any beasts come prowling. The temptation to fling away from faith is often strong. Part of the function of the entire Bible, part of the function of the church is to extend a consistent call for endurance. Keep believing. No matter how difficult your way becomes, keep the faith and patiently endure. We all need to hear this call regularly.

These twin themes of Revelation, God's sovereignty and our need for patient endurance, are particularly important today. We need to recapture on a grand scale the truth of God's majesty, for we live in a coarse and common culture. Frankly much of what passes for worship today is so consumer-driven that we risk reducing God which is, of course, idolatry. God is God, and we should bow before Him no matter how we feel.

As for the call for endurance, no exhortation may be more important for a Christian in any age. Particularly today, however, the popularity of "deliverance preaching" produces a distorted theology that simply does not correspond to reality. By proclaiming an easy faith, one in which God does our bidding, we are producing disciples for a world that simply does not exist.

Life is hard, and so is faith. But the message of Revelation both assures and challenges us. God is great, and we endure no matter how difficult the way becomes.

Grace,

Dr. Terry Ellis

June 5, 2011