a disciplemaker's passion

For now we live, if you are standing fast in the Lord.
1 Thessalonians 3:8

This is Paul's ministry heart hanging out on his sleeve for all the world to see. He longed to hear back a report on the Thessalonian church. He wanted to know how they were doing in their Christian maturity. The passion of a disciplemaker is bound up in the progress of those to whom he is called to help toward maturity in Christ. Paul finally sends Timothy on a mission to Thessalonica to find out the status of the young church.

And Paul is thrilled with the report that comes back to him. Timothy brings back news of the church's continued success even in the midst of persecution and difficulty. This is the sort of joyous message that Paul has been hoping to hear. His hopes are realized. His prayers are answered. His hard work is confirmed to him. And rejoicing fills his heart.

And Paul communicated his joy back to the church. He encouraged them by letting them know how much their commitment and growth encouraged his heart. There is a cycle of joyful encouragement going on in this little account that looks something like this:

The Word at work

And we also thank God constantly for this, that when you received the word of God, which you heard from us, you accepted it not as the word of men but as what it really is, the word of God, which is at work in you believers.
1 Thessalonians 2:13

Paul details the process of evangelism and church building by telling the story of the Thessalonian church. He describes the hard work of his apostolic ministry among them. They responded to the gospel as Paul and his team shared it in tender relationship with them. Paul spends quite a bit of time explaining why the close relationship was necessary. There is a tremendous tenderness expressed in the gospel ministry that is very compelling.

And in the end, conversion happened and a church was born, not because of the word of just a human being. Their lives were changed by the power of the gospel which the Thessalonians accepted as the Word of God. In ministry humans do the caring labor, but it is the Word of God that brings the powerful changes. Paul rejoiced that these people believed that message for what it really was, the Word of God. And that is what is really at work in them.

I have the privilege of being able to identify with the process that Paul details here. My vocation is the exercise of tender, faithful ministry. And there is great joy in that experience. It is hard work to have that call to the tender care of believers. And it is often a tough calling to be faithful in proclaiming and teaching the gospel of God. But when God does His work with His Word... watch out! Lives are changed. It is a powerful and personally exciting experience. Nothing can compare to the work that God's Word does in believers.

Thank You, Lord, that Your Word works in Your people. And thank You, Lord, that when we are faithful to obey it, great changes are made in our lives as Your glory is demonstrated. Help us to be believers who let Your Word live in us for Your great glory!
Amen.

real change... real hope.

For they themselves report concerning us the kind of reception we had among you, and how you turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God, and to wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead, Jesus who delivers us from the wrath to come.
1 Thessalonians 1:9-10

This is a report of mass conversion. The Christians at the city of Thessalonica were believers who noticeably changed as a result of coming to Christ. And the cites around them took notice. Their conversion had regional impact. In Paul's remarks we see the unique fingerprints of genuine conversion.

The first mark was a visible turn to God. They heard the gospel message and responded to it. The necessary second mark of their conversion involved turning from their idolatrous past. There was a clean break from pagan idolatry and a clear turn to authentic Christianity. There was no messy syncretism. It was a "truth vs. falsehood" moment of distinction. And the truth was found in the gospel of Jesus Christ.

The third mark of their conversion is found in what they turned to God to do: they turned to serve the living and true God. Their conversion was a new allegiance that was backed up by a lifestyle that was eager to serve the Lord. They were saved to serve, and that naturally showed up in their actions. They were unmistakably visibly Christian in their outward service to God.

The final mark of their conversion showed up in a patient faith. They put their hope in "waiting for His Son". It seems unusual to us today to make a new eschatological hope essential to the mark of a Christian testimony. And that is a sign of our own doctrinal laziness! Real hope is an outcome of real faith. And the hope of the second coming of Jesus ought to follow in the hearts of those who are genuinely converted. It makes sense. Jesus takes care of my past sin, He sent His Spirit to help me in my present to serve Him, and He is my hope for the future. He thus fills my every concept of time as I come to Him by faith. That is the gospel hope in all of its fullness! And I am happy to be reminded of it as I spend time in Paul's first letter to the Thessalonian church. May that kind of hope and change be really what the gospel brings to me and to all those that I know!

Who am I?

But who am I, and what is my people, that we should be able thus to offer willingly? For all things come from you, and of your own have we given you. For we are strangers before you and sojourners, as all our fathers were. Our days on the earth are like a shadow, and there is no abiding.
1 Chronicles 29:14-15

Who am I? by Casting Crowns

Who am I, that the Lord of all the earth
Would care to know my name
Would care to feel my hurt
Who am I, that the Bright and Morning Star
Would choose to light the way
For my ever wandering heart

Not because of who I am
But because of what You've done
Not because of what I've done
But because of who You are

I am a flower quickly fading
Here today and gone tomorrow
A wave tossed in the ocean
Vapor in the wind
Still You hear me when I'm calling
Lord, You catch me when I'm falling
And You've told me who I am
I am Yours, I am Yours

Who am I, that the eyes that see my sin
Would look on me with love and watch me rise again
Who am I, that the voice that calmed the sea
Would call out through the rain
And calm the storm in me

Not because of who I am
But because of what You've done
Not because of what I've done
But because of who You are

I am a flower quickly fading
Here today and gone tomorrow
A wave tossed in the ocean
Vapor in the wind
Still You hear me when I'm calling
Lord, You catch me when I'm falling
And You've told me who I am
I am Yours

Not because of who I am
But because of what You've done
Not because of what I've done
But because of who You are

I am a flower quickly fading
Here today and gone tomorrow
A wave tossed in the ocean
Vapor in the wind
Still You hear me when I'm calling
Lord, You catch me when I'm falling
And You've told me who I am
I am Yours

I am Yours
Whom shall I fear
Whom shall I fear
'Cause I am Yours
I am Yours

from father to son

Then David said to Solomon his son, "Be strong and courageous and do it. Do not be afraid and do not be dismayed, for the LORD God, even my God, is with you. He will not leave you or forsake you, until all the work for the service of the house of the LORD is finished."
1 Chronicles 28:20

David's passion to build a temple for the worship of the Lord in Jerusalem is passed on to his son Solomon with this charge. And the building of the temple would be Solomon's great work. Once completed, it would define the worship of the Lord for the Jews for centuries. Even though it no longer stands, it is still a focal point for the worship of the LORD among devout Jews. David's passion is still something talked about in the world today!

The charge to Solomon is a call to fearless service. It was a daunting task to take the materials provided by David, and the architectural drawings given to Solomon by his father, and turn them into an actual temple of stone, wood, bronze, and gold. That is why David's encouragement to his son included the reminder that God's presence and power would be with him in the work of building the temple. Solomon could do this because God would do it through him.

When we are willing to be used by God, there is no limit to what God can do to bring glory for Himself. When we insist on gaining notice solely for self, that's when the difficulties really come. Solomon's life was amazingly powerful when he followed the words of his father's charge to him. He failed miserably when he switched his focus to his own fame as king. The wisdom of David's words proved sadly true in the life of his son.

close inner circle

Ahithophel was the king's counselor, and Hushai the Archite was the king's friend. Ahithophel was succeeded by Jehoiada the son of Benaiah, and Abiathar. Joab was commander of the king's army.
1 Chronicles 27:33-34

There is not a lot of deep spiritual insight to be found in a chapter that lists out the names of army divisional commanders and royal officials. It is a mundane list. But the careful listing does grow as it describes the level of closeness to king David. These two verses get us into David's closest inner circle. And they show us just a little about his person, character, and method of leadership.

David enlisted those closest to him as royal advisors. These people were entrusted with the most power and the most access to the king. These positions consisted of advisors, friends, and commanders. They were his inner circle. David did not lead alone, but in the company of advisors and trusted relationships. These men had influence in Israel because they were close to the king.

Every person needs that inner circle of relationships to help them navigate life's road. These might be made up of certain family members. These might include trusted friends whose common sense and camaraderie have combined to help us in times of need. Even the most gregarious of personalities must have some people around who are the closest of trusted friends. And any person who has no "advisors" or "counselors" in his life will find frustration and lonely choices ahead of him. In the abundance of friendships and counselors who advise us, there is safety for all of us. David set an example of the wisdom of living that way.

Treasurers

This Shelomoth and his brothers were in charge of all the treasuries of the dedicated gifts that David the king and the heads of the fathers' houses and the officers of the thousands and the hundreds and the commanders of the army had dedicated. From spoil won in battles they dedicated gifts for the maintenance of the house of the LORD.
1 Chronicles 26:26-27

Someone had to be entrusted with the care and maintenance of the valuable gifts that were stored in the treasury of the Lord's house in Jerusalem. David commissioned gifted financial accountants with the security duty involving these gifts which came from the spoils of war. So the Jerusalem temple eventually had treasuries that were sort of vaults and sort of museums that held the rarest of articles captured in battle by Israel's defensive forces. From the spoils of war, the best and the rarest treasures were sent to Jerusalem from the commanders of the army to be used to maintain the worship of the Lord on the Jerusalem temple site. It was a kind of giving prompted by gratitude.

Again, the administrative genius of King David's later years shines through. He creates an entirely new classification of service for the Lord: treasurer. And he picks the finest financial workers and security personnel in the land to guard the treasure and administer funds for the maintenance of the worship of the Lord. He created the system that would run the finances of the vast temple complex with its hundreds of Levites and priestly workers... the complex Solomon would later build. And Solomon would fill its treasuries with even more unbelievable riches and art.

God deserves the best we can give Him. The national treasures of Israel under David and Solomon were kept in the temple where God was worshiped. And the gifts given for His worship needed protection and wise administration. What Israel valued most was relationship and worship of God. It literally showed in what the nation treasured and where they treasured it. And the way that David set the example made it clear that God was the most important leader in the life of the nation. Those visible values made a difference. And just where are my visible values? The answers will be shown in what is seen in my life.