Editor’s Note: This article was previously published on March 17, 2019.

The rope was so tight around sixteen-year-old Patricius’ wrists that they’d bitten into the flesh. He no longer felt the sting of the saltwater from the wind-tossed waves splashing over the side of the boat headed back to the home of his Irish captors. They’d nabbed him during a raid on the west coast of Britain, where he lived with his Romano-British noble family.

Patrick recounts little of his six years as a slave except to say he was a swine-herd who regularly knew hunger, thirst, and isolation. The loneliness moved him to seek the God of his Christian parents. God answered.

At twenty-two, Patrick heard a voice telling him to fast in preparation for a return home. A short time later, the voice spoke again: “Behold! Your ship is prepared.” He struck out for the coast, 200 miles away. When he arrived and informed the captain he was supposed to board, the captain recognized him as a runaway and refused. Now fearful of being turned in, Patrick began to move away. He made it no further than the other end of the ship when one of the crew shouted at him to hurry up and board. They were short-handed and thought to use him as a novice seaman, paying his fare by the hard work of a lowly deckhand.

After a short foray in Northern France, Patrick finally made it back to his home in Britain.

Try as he might to settle down, he sensed God’s Spirit calling him to back to the land of his captivity. But he regarded himself as ill-prepared and sought theological training and ordination. Once obtained. He set sail for the Green Isle.

How Patrick evangelized Ireland is an important case study because it opens to us the minds of Christian missionaries during this period. It also helps us understand the troubling religious syncretism that infected the medieval Church.

The native religion of Ireland at that time was dominated by the Druids, who held near complete control over the Irish, a control enforced by abject terror. Human sacrifice was a regular practice. Patrick’s plan was to confront the Druids on their turf. He understood the only way to make headway among the Irish was by freeing them from their fear. To do that, he’d need to look to the power of God to trump any demonstrations of demonic power the Druids conjured up.

Patrick’s medieval biographers take this kernel of truth and spin elaborate yarns about his confrontations. Many of those stories are likely fictional, while a few are based on real events. The larger lesson for us to glean is Patrick’s method of evangelism.

The idea had grown among theologians of that time that pagan religions weren’t so much anti-Christian as pre-Christian.

Patrick, and those who followed after, looked for how to bring the truth of Christ to the lost by using whatever elements of their native faith they could, converting it to the truth of Christ.

Patrick in no way approved of paganism or considered it an acceptable variant of the Gospel. He believed there were supernatural beings behind the idols and ideals of paganism, demons who kept people in spiritual bondage. He believed miracles and magic did occur. After all, Pharaoh’s magicians used supernatural power. But—and here’s the key to Patrick’s methodology: The God of Moses was more powerful and used His power to bring good while demonic power served only to promote ruin.

So when Patrick arrived with the Gospel, the druids moved swiftly to kill him. They found it harder than they thought. None of their plots worked. It was as if a supernatural wall protected him. While trusting himself to the protection of God, he also took practical measures to gain allies among the Irish by building amiable relationships with them. These allies kept him informed of the various plots.

A turning point in Patrick’s mission came when an Irish chieftain named Laoghaire came to faith.

This chieftain had a group of powerful Druids who advised him but were unable to defeat Patrick in demonstrations of supernatural power. When a couple of those Druids fell ill, Laoghaire was convinced of the superiority of Patrick’s God and professed faith in Christ. As was common to that culture, with his conversion, the people of his clan also came to faith. Their alliance with other clans opened the doors for the Gospel.

This then was Patrick’s method of evangelism as he made his way across Ireland. He confronted the Druids head-on, showing the superiority of God’s power, breaking their monopoly on the minds of the Irish first, then going after their hearts with the Grace of God in the Gospel of Christ.

Another turning point was the conversion of some of the Druids themselves.

Patrick was driven to bring the Gospel to Ireland because it was considered the end of the world, and Jesus had said the Gospel would be preached to the ends of the Earth, then the end would come. Patrick thought he was hastening Christ’s return. In his writings, he repeatedly mentions he was in “the last days” and quotes Matthew 24:14. He wrote, “It has been fulfilled. Behold! We are witnesses to the fact that the Gospel has been preached out to beyond where anyone lives.”

Patrick was less concerned with planting churches as he was in making converts and was tireless in his journeys back and forth across the island. Following the pattern of the time, he considered the ascetic life of the monastery as the purest form of the faith and encouraged his converts to be monks and nuns. This led to the building of dozens of monasteries and nunneries in Ireland. The rural nature of the island also encourage this form of the Church. Without major urban centers, large churches overseen by bishops were rare.

So, Irish Christianity was centered on communal monastic life.

Patrick died of natural causes on March 17, 493. Today, he’s one of the most famous figures from the 5th century. Like so many others of the past who accomplished great things, we’d probably not even know of him were it not for the dynamic missions outreach that came from Ireland. Patrick, the patron saint of Ireland, was British. And the faith he transplanted across the Irish Sea eventually came back to Britain.

In his book How the Irish Saved Civilization, Thomas Cahill says of Patrick:

“The Irish gave Patrick more than a home—they gave him a role, a meaning to his life. For only this former slave had the right instincts to impart to the Irish a New Story, one that made new sense of all their old stories and brought them a peace they had never known before.”

Each year many Christians are faced with the decision of what to do about the holidays. Can they celebrate with everyone else or should they refrain because of the pagan origins of some of the practices associated with this time of year? For some, this is no minor dilemma. What follows is offered in a hope we may find the balance essential to a healthy Christian life.

While the chronology is debated, the best evidence says believers began celebrating Jesus’ birth in the 4th Century. There was uncertainty over the correct date so they picked December 25, a day already being used to celebrate the pagan holiday of Saturnalia. As converts from paganism, they desired to distance themselves from their past. What better way to do that than to turn their love and devotion to the Savior while their neighbors were caught up in the error of their empty faith?

In those early centuries, Christmas commemorated more than Jesus’ first coming as a babe to Bethlehem. It anticipated His Second Coming as King of Creation. Believers looked backward with thanksgiving while looking forward in anticipation. This forward-looking aspect of Christmas is seen in the observance of Advent, a four-week period preceding Christmas when we pause to remember the meaning of the coming of the Savior.¹

What poses a difficulty for many Christians today is the realization that many of the rituals of Christmas are a carry-over, not from the Christian traditions of Christmas, but pagan religious holidays. The Christmas tree, exchanging gifts, the Yule log, as well as a host of other practices, come from pagan sources.

The question immediately arises, “If these things are pagan in origin, ought we engage in them?”

Some are convinced they should not. Following the Apostle Paul’s guidance in Romans 14, if one’s conscience is violated, then certainly, they should not observe these things. But let me suggest another way to look at Christmas and its rituals.

The observance of holidays is something God-ordained and commanded in the Old Testament. He instructed Israel to set aside special days as a time of remembrance of the great acts of redemption He’d worked in their history. Each year they were to cease from other activity and remember His great salvation. Passover, Tabernacles, Pentecost, the Day of Atonement; all these point to what God had done, as well as what He had promised yet to do. Celebration on special days commemorating God’s promises was to be a regular and annual part of the life of faith.

One of the commands God gave about these holy days was that when the children asked their parents what the day meant, the parents were to tell the children about God’s mighty grace and how He works in the lives of those who call on Him. At the Passover table, filled as it was with so many strange dishes, it was only natural for children to ask why they ate those particular foods. Parents then explained how each item represented their unique covenant with God. At the celebration of Tabernacles, the entire nation moved outdoors to lean-to shacks made of palm branches. In this way, they commemorated the wilderness wanderings and living in tents. While fun for the kids, it raised their curiosity and provided a teachable moment; a way to ensure the past was not forgotten.

So holidays had a two-fold purpose:

. To regularly remind adults that God works in human affairs.
. To train up the children in the knowledge and heritage of faith in God.

The early church was mainly comprised of converted Jews. As we read the book of Acts, we see that they continued celebrating the holidays of Israel. But now, these special days were infused with new meaning and relevance. Those first Christians could see these special days as not merely a looking back to what God had done but to what God did in giving His only begotten Son, and in what He had promised He would do in the future.

While the Jews have several major feast days, Christians concentrate their attention on two great times of rejoicing: Christmas and Easter. These two holidays are memorials to God’s faithfulness and love. It’s only right we follow on in the tradition of faith by setting aside special days to remember and reflect on the greatness of God and our New Covenant with Him.

The problem is that we find no specific instructions in the Bible on how to celebrate Christmas.

Where such instruction is lacking, we may use sanctified common sense. This means we must avoid sin and walk wisely. We must also consider the dictates of our conscience. But let us each ensure our conscience is informed by truth.

While it is true that most of the rituals of Christmas observed today have their origin in pagan practices, they do not have those associations today. People do not worship their Christmas tree. (Although, they may worship what’s under it!) The dilemma we must address is this: Just what DO the rituals of this season mean? Why do we put a tree in our living room? Why do we decorate it? Why do we give presents, and what is the meaning of the stocking? Who is Santa, and how can he come down that chimney if he has cookies and milk at every house?

While these things don’t have pagan meanings for us, there’s still a problem. The problem is that they have NO meaning. They’re empty of content. Consequently, they’re pointless, vain practices for most. Empty rituals make for a lifeless faith. Jesus was quite hard on the religious leaders of his day precisely on this point. They went through the motions of religion, without any real meaning in their rituals. He didn’t call them to stop their practices but rather to do them with hearts in tune with what they meant (Matthew 23:23).

Rather than cast off the traditions of Christmas, why not re-infuse them with meaning so they become living object lessons of what this season is all about?

When our children were young, this is the way we went about it in our home. On Christmas Eve, we gathered the children around as we sat by the tree and told them the Christmas story. The lights on the tree are a reminder of the stars that lit the field where the shepherds watched their flocks. Then angels appeared to declare the birth of Christ. The star on the top of the tree reminds us of the star that guided the Magi. We tell our children that truly wise people still seek out Christ. The round ornaments remind us that Jesus came because God loves the whole world. The colors of the ornaments: gold, silver, red and such speak of the richness of God’s gift and how Jesus came to shed His blood for our sins. The tree itself is a reminder that Jesus came, not to rule, but to serve and to give His life a ransom for many on the cross of Calvary. (But when He comes again, He comes as King.) The evergreen reminds us that the love and promises of God are everlasting.

We give gifts to one another as a reminder of the greatest of all gifts—Jesus. The stocking which was empty the night before Christmas is filled on Christmas morn, reminding us that when we were empty, Christ filled us with good things. We set out an extra stocking each year. This is Jesus’ stocking. On Christmas morning, before we do any gift opening, we each put a hand into the stocking and pray, offering ourselves to God.

Some people are leery of the whole idea of Santa Claus and as he is presented today, there is a need for concern. But history tells us of a man named Nicholas who was so infused with the love and grace of God he gave hand-made toys to underprivileged children in the name of Jesus. This hero of the faith is worthy of recognition and emulation as we seek to spread the grace of God to those less privileged than ourselves. We can use the symbol of Santa, not as an icon of greed and getting, but as a godly example of grace and giving.

These are some of the ways we’ve infused the real meaning of Christmas into the traditions of the holiday.

If you’re inspired by them, you’re welcome to use them as you wish. Come up with your own as well and share them with your friends so that their experience of Christmas can be enriched.

When it comes to the celebration of Christmas, let these words of the Apostle Paul guide you: “One person esteems one day above another; another esteems every day alike. Let each be fully convinced in his own mind” (Romans 14:5).

Notes:

¹ Dowley, Tim, A Lion Handbook of the History of Christianity Lion: Oxford. 31.

On Thursday, October 10, in what was billed as CNN’s Equality Town Hall, then-presidential candidate Beto O’Rourke suggested churches and other nonprofit organizations ought to lose their tax-exempt status if they opposed same-sex marriage. Though O’Rourke has withdrawn his candidacy, his statement broached a subject that’s been garnering increasing attention: Should the tax-exempt status of religious groups be revoked? Atheists have long called for it. Adding fuel to the flame of debate is the Equality Act, which many traditional religious groups oppose.

In arguing the 2015 Obergefell decision legalizing same-sex marriage, Solicitor General Donald B. Verrilli, Jr., conceded in questioning before the Supreme Court that colleges and universities that oppose same-sex marriage could lose their tax-exempt status. “It is going to be an issue,” he acknowledged. Judging the winds of political change as now favorable, Beto O’Rourke made the revoking of tax-exempt status for churches and other religious organizations a part of his campaign.

If the Equality Act passes, the contest between the sexual revolution and religious liberty that’s run since the 60s will be over. The sexual revolution will have won, and religious liberty will be a thing of the past in the United States.

This won’t be the first time Christians are marginalized in the society in which they live. Historically speaking, the freedoms believers have enjoyed in the United States for the past couple hundred years is an anomaly. Even during the centuries in Europe when Church and State were joined hip and thigh, it was only a preferred sect that was accepted. Other groups were persona non grata. Religious liberty was something only enjoyed by those who towed the party (denominational) line.

Excuse me for getting personal, but a challenge we must address is this: If churches lose their tax-exempt status, will you continue to give? It’s best to ponder this question now.

Let’s be honest. Some give because of the tax break it yields. If that break were to disappear, they’d no longer give. Others give with dual motives. They know they ought to give to support the work of the church but also because of the handy deduction it provides. These may continue to give if that tax advantage were to go away, but not as much or as often. Still, others give with little thought to the deduction it affords. They may claim it on their returns; they may not. It’s a moot point to them. They give as an act of worship and will continue to do so whatever the IRS does.

Pondering what we’ll do if the tax-exempt status of our church is revoked due to its faithfulness to a Biblical morality of sex is an important consideration because it helps sort out the motive of our current giving. Knowing why we give now is important. We ought to give as an act of worship and obedience, obedience shaped by love for the One Who gave all for us. That we are able to write off donations to nonprofit organizations is a plus. It ought not to factor into when, where or how much we give.

_{CalvaryChapel.com does not necessarily endorse or agree with every message or perspective in the diverse web links shared. By including these links, we hope to help you stay informed of important events and conversations taking place in the world that are relevant to the Christian faith.}

At the end of one of the episodes of the TV miniseries, Band of Brothers, as Easy Company was marching into the Ardennes Forest, for what turned out to be “The Battle of the Bulge,” the soldiers passing warned Easy that they were about to be surrounded by the enemy. Easy Company’s CO, Captain Winters, replied, “We’re Airborne. We’re supposed to be surrounded.”

The next month in the dead of winter was a grueling test of endurance as American troops went without winter clothing, subsistence rations, limited ammunition and constant shelling that decimated their ranks. No one who endured the month-long siege came out unscathed, physically and emotionally.

I recently remembered Captain Winters’ comment while listening to a news commentary podcast lamenting Christianity’s expulsion from the public square.

Christians are supposed to be surrounded. Jesus said as much.

“Behold, I send you out as sheep in the midst of wolves. Therefore be wise as serpents and harmless as doves” (Matthew 10:16).

“In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world” (John 16:33).

For the first three centuries of its existence, the Church faced persecution, yet thrived. During the Middle Ages, the Church emerged from the catacombs to rise in prestige till it became a kingmaker, commanding armies and vast wealth. It also became horribly corrupt.

Yes, there were seasons and places where the Church maintained a modicum of faithfulness. But by and large, when Christianity is the favored worldview of the society it finds itself in, accommodation and compromise tends to blunt its edge as an advocate for the Gospel. Church leaders play politics and vie for power. Local congregations compete with each other rather than work together for the good of the Kingdom. When culture is hostile to the Faith, churches have to pull together to survive.

It’s no secret contemporary American and European society has shifted from a historical Christian worldview to a thorough-going secular worldview, increasingly hostile to Christianity.

While it’s easy to lament this turn and the harmful results we’re already seeing, followers of Jesus must remember this is where the Church started, in a hostile culture that hated it. In the end, hate always bows to love.

The rope was so tight round sixteen-year-old Patricius’ wrists they’d bitten into the flesh. He no longer felt the sting of the saltwater from the wind-tossed waves splashing over the side of the boat headed back to the home of his Irish captors. They’d nabbed him during a raid on the west coast of Britain where he lived with his Romano-British noble family.

Patrick recounts little of his six years as a slave except to say he was a swine-herd who regularly knew hunger, thirst and isolation. The loneliness moved him to seek the God of his Christian parents. God answered.

At twenty-two, Patrick heard a voice telling him to fast in preparation for a return home. A short time later the voice spoke again: “Behold! Your ship is prepared.” He struck out for the coast, 200 miles away. When he arrived and informed the captain he was supposed to board, the captain recognized him as a runaway and refused. Now fearful of being turned in, Patrick began to move away. He made it no further than the other end of the ship when one of the crew shouted at him to hurry up and board. They were short-handed and thought to use him as a novice seaman, paying his fare by the hard work of a lowly deckhand.

After a short foray in Northern France, Patrick finally made it back to his home in Britain.

Try as he might to settle down, he sensed God’s Spirit calling him to back to the land of his captivity. But he regarded himself as ill-prepared and sought theological training and ordination. Once obtained. He set sail for the Green Isle.

How Patrick evangelized Ireland is an important case study because it opens to us the mind of Christian missionaries during this period. It also helps us understand the troubling religious syncretism that infected the medieval church.

The native religion of Ireland at that time was dominated by the Druids who held near complete control over the Irish, a control enforced by abject terror. Human sacrifice was a regular practice. Patrick’s plan was to confront the Druids on their own turf. He understood the only way to make headway among the Irish was by freeing them from their fear. To do that, he’d need to look to the power of God to trump any demonstrations of demonic power the Druids conjured up.

Patrick’s medieval biographers take this kernel of truth and spin elaborate yarns about his confrontations. Many of those stories are likely fictional while a few are based on real events. The larger lesson for us to glean is Patrick’s method of evangelism.

The idea had grown among theologians of that time that pagan religions weren’t so much anti-Christian as they were pre-Christian.

Patrick and those who followed after looked for how to bring the truth of Christ to the lost by using whatever elements of their native faith they could, converting it to the truth of Christ.

Patrick in no way approved of paganism or considered it an acceptable variant of the Gospel. He believed there were supernatural beings behind the idols and ideals of paganism; demons who kept people in spiritual bondage. He believed miracles and magic did occur. After all, Pharaoh’s magicians used supernatural power. But—and here’s the key to Patrick’s methodology; the God of Moses was more powerful, and used His power to bring good while demonic power served only to promote ruin.

So when Patrick arrived with the Gospel, the druids moved swiftly to kill him. They found it harder than they thought. None of their plots worked. It was as if a supernatural wall protected him. While trusting himself to the protection of God, he also took practical measures to gain allies among the Irish by building amiable relationships with them. These allies kept him informed of the various plots.

A turning point in Patrick’s mission came when an Irish chieftain named Laoghaire came to faith.

This chieftain had a group of powerful druids who advised him but who were unable to defeat Patrick in demonstrations of supernatural power. When a couple of those Druids fell ill, Laoghaire was convinced of the superiority of Patrick’s God and professed faith in Christ. As was common to that culture, with his conversion, the people of His clan also came to faith. Their alliance with other clans opened the doors for the Gospel.

This then was Patrick’s method of evangelism as he made his way across Ireland. He confronted the Druids head on, showing the superiority of God’s power, breaking their monopoly on the minds of the Irish first, then going after their hearts with the Grace of God in the Gospel of Christ.

Another turning point was the conversion of some of the Druids themselves.

Patrick was driven to bring the Gospel to Ireland because it was considered the end of the World and Jesus had said the Gospel would be preached to the ends of the Earth, then the end would come. Patrick thought he was hastening Christ’s return. In his writings, he repeatedly mentions he was in ‘the last days’, and quoted Matthew 24:14. He wrote, “It has been fulfilled. Behold! We are witnesses to the fact that the Gospel has been preached out to beyond where anyone lives.’

Patrick was less concerned with planting churches as he was in making converts and was tireless in his journeys back and forth across the island. Following the pattern of the time, he considered the ascetic life of the monastery as the purest form of the Faith and encouraged his converts to be monks and nuns. This led to the building of dozens of monasteries and nunneries in Ireland. The rural nature of the island also encourage this form of the Church. Without major urban centers, large churches overseen by bishops were rare.

So Irish Christianity was centered in communal monastic life.

Patrick died of natural causes on March 17th, 493. Today, he’s one of the most famous figures from the 5th C. Like so many others of the past who accomplished great things, we’d probably not even know of him were it not for the dynamic missions outreach that came from Ireland. Patrick, the patron saint of Ireland was British. And the Faith he transplanted across the Irish Sea eventually came back to Britain.

In his book How the Irish Saved Civilization, Thomas Cahill says of Patrick:

“The Irish gave Patrick more than a home—they gave him a role, a meaning to his life. For only this former slave had the right instincts to impart to the Irish a New Story, one that made new sense of all their old stories and brought them a peace they had never known before.”

This is painful.

I’m about to share something personal. It’s a lesson I learned years ago. I share it because it illustrates what I believe to be a crucial truth. It seems many mature believers “get stuck” at some point in their walk. They’ve made good progress, then stall. They may stay there for months, sometimes for years. As many Christians know—If you’re not making progress, you’re inevitably slipping back.

When we first come to faith in Christ, the Holy Spirit helps us set aside obvious vices, the so-called “sins of the flesh.”

Our change in behavior sets us at odds with the people we used to hang out with. Since we’re not doing what we did, while they continue to, we find new peers who encourage our walk with Christ. Chapter two in our journey is when the Holy Spirit moves beyond the sins of the flesh to the sins of the soul. It isn’t just behaviors that are challenged; its thoughts, opinions, attitudes. The struggle in dealing with these is that they are wrapped around our identity.

The sins of the flesh were just things we did. The sins of the soul are tied to who we are. The Holy Spirit challenges us to set aside our “old man,” as the New Testament calls our old identity, and embrace our “new man” who we really are now in Christ. (Romans 6:5-14; Ephesians 4:20-24; 2 Corinthians 5:17). Because these are deeper changes that profoundly affect how we see ourselves and place in the world, they’re a far greater challenge than the sins of the flesh. Many balk at the prospect of setting aside the familiar for the unknown. They may not like what the Spirit has revealed, but at least it’s known. The identity God calls them into is for many, an unknown too scary to brave.

For years I struggled with anger.

I’d have moments of rage that exploded in punching walls, throwing things or verbal abuse. Fortunately, the violence was never directed at people. After each outburst, I regretted my behavior but made no progress in shutting it down. I eventually realized why—It worked! My outbursts were usually at work where I was a manager. When I blew up, it made the employees “tow the line” and get back to work.

Then I got married and had a child. When my son failed to comply with some command, I blew up. When I saw the fear on his little face, I realized how out of control I was and the damage I was doing. I’d prayed about my rage before but now I was desperate to change. But—Nothing happened. The rage continued.

One day, after yet another regrettable outburst, as I pleaded with God to change me, I sensed the Spirit say, “Your rage is a symptom.”

My reply: “Of what?”

Spirit: “I can’t show you.”

Me: “Why?”

Spirit: “It would ruin you.”

Me: “Why?”

Spirit: “You’re not ready. If I showed you the root cause, you’d despair.”

Me: “Then I’ll never change. I have to change. Please show me.”

Spirit: “I will–when you’re ready.”

As anyone who’s had that kind of moment with the Holy Spirit knows, the entire exchange took place in no more than a couple seconds. A profound peace came as I realized God was going to do a work in me to bring me to the place where He could show me what the cause of my anger was. Once I knew, I could repent and experience healing. Little did I know when it was revealed, it would be so painful.

Over the next months, my walk with God became more secure as I began to better understand His grace. He proved Himself faithful time and again. I realized how wise and powerful He is. It wasn’t till later that I could see all that was part of what I needed to know so the change could come. So that a part of the “old Lance” could be intentionally put away and my new identity installed.

Then one day, in a setting similar to the previous encounter, I sensed the Spirit ask, “Are you ready?”

My reply: “If you’re asking, it means I am.” That was followed by a kind of pause in which I sensed the Spirit was giving me the opportunity to compose myself. “Okay,” I thought, “Big reveal coming. Get ready.” Then it came.

“Lance, your anger is rooted in your need to be in control. You give lip service to Me being Lord, but you haven’t surrendered to Me. You’ve taken Me as Savior, but not as GOD. YOU sit on your throne. So when things aren’t going as you want, you blow up because it intimidates people and makes them comply. It puts you ‘in charge.’ But it also harms your relationships with them. I’m God! Get off your throne and yield it to Me.”

As before, all this came in the space of a couple seconds. And as warned, it was a revelation so deep and disturbing, I was barely able to handle it. Undone! There’s no other way to describe how I felt. I seemed the world’s biggest traitor because I had betrayed myself without knowing it. I realized how comfortable I’d been living a lie. In fervent prayer, I admitted my sin, asked forgiveness, and the work of truth and grace to surrender utterly to God as God, to take control of me and help me stay off my throne.

He did. The next months saw a remarkable change. When anger stirred, I quietly reminded myself Who was in control. What a delight to watch the fire of hostility die instead of flare up. There were a couple moments in the next years when the rage spun up, but it was quickly repented of. It’s been many years since the last outburst.

Note: This was the cause of my anger problem. I’m not suggesting it’s someone else’s. Their brokenness may lie elsewhere.

That wasn’t the end of the Spirit’s work. He’s gone on to deal with other things in me. Because I’m not in Heaven yet, there’s more brokenness to be made whole, more sin to repent of, more holes in my soul that grace and truth need to fill.

2 Corinthians 5:17 is a key truth in pressing into spiritual maturity. “If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.” Faith in Jesus unites us to His death and resurrection. The Cross puts an end to what we were while the resurrection births us as a new creation. Walking in the Spirit means learning to “put off the old man and put on the new.”

Are you stuck?

Is there something you plead with God to change but seem to make no headway in? Does anger often get the best of you? Are you locked in bitterness? Does envy squeeze you? It may be the reason you still struggle with something is that it’s rooted in your old identity. If you have repeatedly asked God to “fix” something still broken, it’s time to ask why. Ask the Spirit to bring you to the place where you can see the cause.

Because the reality is, if we’re not growing, if we’re not moving forward in our walk with God, we’re inevitably drifting backward. We simply must press on.

Roses are red. Violets are blue.
Stuff about Valentine,
We wish we knew.

All we can say for sure is that there was indeed a pastor named Valentine who became a martyr around AD 270. Beyond that, it’s legend and conjecture. But where facts are thin, people feel free to provide their own. That seems to be the case with Valentine and the day associated with him.

The Legend

The legend connected with Valentine casts him as a champion of marriage at a time when it was banned. Though there’s little evidence to support it, it’s claimed the Roman Emperor Claudius needed to boost enrollment in the legions to reinforce Rome’s hegemony in the North and East. When enlistment lagged, Claudius banned marriage, blaming young Italian men’s desire for a wife and family as competition to a military career. Bishop Valentine ignored the ban and agreed to marry couples who came to him secretly.

Discovered and arrested, Valentine appeared before the Emperor himself. Claudius was impressed with Valentine’s courage and learning, and tried to convert him to Paganism. Valentine returned the favor, attempting to convert Claudius to Christianity. That was a little too much for Claudius to bear. Defying the Emperor on principle in support of an ancient and respected tradition like marriage was one thing. Telling him his religion was wrong and that he ought to convert to what Romans considered a novelty was altogether different. Valentine was sentenced to death.

While in prison awaiting execution, so the legend goes, the elderly bishop befriended the jailor’s blind daughter. Though it lasted just a few days, their friendship was genuine and a source of great joy to the daughter. When Valentine prayed for her, her blindness was cured. That led to the conversion of the jailor and his entire household.

The last night in his cell, Valentine composed a letter of encouragement to the daughter, urging her to continue in the faith. He signed it, “Your Valentine.” The next day, February 14, he was led from his cell to the executioner’s block along the Flaminian Way and beheaded. He was buried nearby.

As typical for some martyrs, his tomb became a shrine, the day of his martyrdom became a memorial, Saint Valentine’s Day.

Martyrs were heroes to the Church of the early centuries. When being a Christian was risky, the stalwart faith of those who refused to renounce Christ at peril of death became a comfort to the pressed and an example to aspire to. If their lives, prior to execution, maybe hadn’t been all that exciting, their story was embellished to make it more compelling.

There was indeed a Bishop Valentine executed around AD 270. Why? Well, beyond the fact he was a pastor who refused to renounce Christ, we don’t know. The story of his interview with Claudius and his friendship with the jailor’s daughter may be true. They were attributed to him as early as a couple hundred years after his death.

How Valentine became associated with romantic love seems to date to the late 5th Century when Pope Gelasius co-opted a fading Roman fashion known as Lupercalia, the pagan festival of love which was held near St. Valentine’s Day. Part of the Lupercalia celebrations included young women putting their names in a box. Young men would then draw out a name and the young couple would pair off for a time of amorous attention. The Church rightly frowned on such youthful indulgence and sought to curb Lupercalia’s immorality by replacing it with a more wholesome expression of romantic love via love letters and thoughtful gifts.

Then along came greeting card companies, and the rest is history.

What to Learn

Pope Gelasius’ replacing a pagan festival with a more wholesome celebration was a frequent practice of the post-apostolic Imperial Church. Substituting themes consistent with the Gospel for pagan practices was a way for the Church to communicate with the culture in which it found itself. The idea was, “Why omit these special days people enjoy from the calendar? Their lives are already hard enough. The holidays allow a little joy into an otherwise grinding existence. Why not turn those days instead to communicate the goodness and grace of God?”

Many Christians today are concerned when they discover the pagan origins of some of their annual holidays. They worry about dishonoring God if they observe something that began so far from God. It may help to realize the Church intentionally turned the old days into new days. They saw something like St. Valentine’s Day replacing Lupercalia as the triumph of the Gospel over Paganism, the victory of light over darkness.

In the current social context made fragile by growing tension between men and women, with all the talk about “toxic masculinity” and the #metoo movement, a Biblical view of love and romance is desperately needed. Rather than casting off St. Valentine’s Day as a silly day rooted in immoral paganism, we can use it for the purpose it was first set apart – to cherish the beauty and power of romantic love – realized most perfectly in the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

I decided to run for a seat on the Oxnard City Council in the recent midterm elections, after it became clear that was what God’s Spirit was telling me to do. I have to admit, it’s not what I wanted, and it took a while to comply. The nudge to run began a couple of years ago with a mild awareness it was something I needed to pray about. I didn’t. And I didn’t because I was concerned God would tell me to run. The subject kept coming up at various times in diverse conversations. I waved them off.

After a while, what made them difficult to wave off was the recurring delays our church experienced in the city’s issuing us permits to build out our new facility. Our church has outgrown its current facility and purchased the building next door as a new sanctuary and offices. A process that ought to have taken no more than four months took six times that long: two full years! These delays were due to a Byzantine permit process that discourages business. Without a healthy business environment, a community cannot prosper.

Then, at a pastors conference, one speaker after another made remarks that were hard not to interpret as confirmations I was to run. A chance encounter with a close friend and his wife saw words spoken that were clear and certain confirmation. I realized and repented of the error of resisting God and “gave in.” I thought it best to wait till 2020 to run. When I learned the new district structure in Oxnard meant the district where I live would not come up again until 2022, I decided now was the time and filed papers.

The Campaign

Having never run for office, I had a steep learning curve. Knowledgeable friends both old and new came to my aid and quickly brought me up to speed. I never did appoint a campaign manager because all the assistance I had made it unnecessary. Though I did not win, we ran a good campaign. We knocked a lot of doors, made a lot of calls, took out adds, used a heavy dose of social media and attended events to get the message out. Despite this, we lost by a handy margin.

The winner was the well-respected incumbent who carries significant name-recognition and is her party’s scion in a community where that party holds a 21% lead. That party’s candidates won all the seats.

What I Learned

God made it clear to me, despite my attempts to ignore it, that I was to run, not necessarily to win. I never sensed a win was certain, only possible. And of course, I ran to win. It would have been disingenuous to conduct the campaign any other way. I discreetly shared this with a few during the lead up to the election. I did so because, by that time, I realized I’d already gained three specific benefits the outcome of the election, whatever it was, couldn’t take away. Those three benefits are:

. Those I Met .

I met people in the course of the campaign I would never have otherwise. I got a chance to meet with city leaders in various departments and civic works and realized our community has amazing potential. I got to meet residents who have no official title but are concerned about Oxnard and committed to its wellbeing. And I learned this: People we disagree with on civic issues think their views are best for the community. Contrary to the echo chamber most people live in where their views are endlessly reinforced, and they never engage a living person with a different view; the fact is, we ALL want what’s best for our city. We just disagree on the best way to what’s best.

Politics is the art and science of compromise. Those who refuse to compromise aren’t politicians; they’re tyrants. People in politics must be willing to give a little to meet others in a middle that sheds the incidentals to embrace the necessities. Give a little to get more. All that begins with healthy relationships.

During the campaign, I learned while it’s easy for demagogues to sit on the sidelines and snipe, those tasked with governing come into a room that has 27 poles on top of which spin 27 plates. They have to run around but not into each other to keep those plates spinning. Without agreement and negotiation, it’s all going to come crashing down.

Though I wasn’t elected, I’ll be following up on the contacts I made, aiming to deepen the relationships and influence the decision makers. Just because I wasn’t elected doesn’t change my call to be a blessing to my city.

. What I Learned about City Matters .

I came into the campaign knowing little about the specific needs of my city. I had what might be called the “fly-over” view. The campaign immersed me to my neck in it. The result is that I now know my community and its needs much better. That’s important in my role as a pastor. Whether on the council or as a resident, my concern and call to serve remains the same because it’s based in my calling before God.

Knowing Oxnard’s specific needs fuels my prayers with greater precision. It also sharpens my focus as I seek to influence decision makers because I know what I’m talking about and what they are dealing with.

Regardless of the outcome of my campaign, a secondary intention in running was to encourage other Christians to enter the civic arena, especially pastors. Here are people accustomed to public speaking, called by God to be a blessing to their community. The very salt and light of God’s Kingdom – let loose in a dark and needy world. Next to leading a church, what better way to bless their community than to run for office and bring the influence of God’s Grace and Truth to the public square?

Knowing my city better can’t help but make me a better pastor because this is the time and place God’s called me to lead His flock.

. What I Learned About Me .

Last is what the campaign taught me about myself. The revelation was simple but embarrassing to share. I was lazy. Maybe that’s not the best word. Productive is better. I wasn’t productive. The form my laziness took is that I avoided the productive work I ought to have been doing with easy work that accomplished little.

As a full-time pastor, I was busy. I had a full calendar and kept a steady pace. Anyone who knew me knew I was busy. How many times a week did I hear, “I know you’re busy, but …”? And to all appearances, I was. People asked me at the outset of the campaign where I was going to find the time. I didn’t know and fretted about it. But guess what, I found the time. No, better—I made the time. I arranged my schedule more efficiently and for two months was both a full-time pastor and ran a campaign for city council. None of my responsibilities were left undone. No one complained that the quality of the pulpit at CCO diminished. On the contrary, several remarked it seemed even more effective.

Only a month into the campaign, I realized how much I was getting done without feeling overworked. I’d mismanaged my time before, filling it up with busy but unproductive work. I came to realize busy and faithful aren’t the same thing. Good stewardship isn’t marked by what you’re doing so much as what you’re producing. I didn’t have a lot to show for all the time I spent. It turned out to be time wasted, not invested. I was busy, but lazy because I occupied myself with easy work that distracted me from harder but more productive work.

I won’t be returning to the old way of busy but unproductive work. Though I didn’t get a seat on the city council, as a pastor, I’m still called to serve my city.

“A rash of school shootings” has people scratching their heads wondering why. Many locate the problem primarily in America’s love of guns. Each new campus tragedy becomes a rallying point in the call for gun control legislation. Gun owners and Second Amendment advocates push back. The debate degenerates into name calling and useless vitriol.

Now we hear of an emerging epidemic of suicide. While a number of experts have been calling attention to the problem for a while, the recent deaths of two celebrities, Anthony Bourdain and Kate Spade, has moved the issue to center stage.

I don’t think the increasing frequency of school shootings and suicides are disconnected.

I believe they find their origin in the same cause. Are guns the problem, as many propose? A little online sleuthing does indeed indicate the USA has the highest per capita gun ownership by a wide margin over most other countries. But that rate hasn’t increased markedly over the last 40 years. Yes, there are a lot more guns. But there are also a lot more people. So, per capita fire arm ownership hasn’t increased significantly. A remarkable statistic asserts only 3% of the entire population owns half of all fire arms! Of that 3% a statistically insignificant fraction are involved in mass shootings, such as took place in 2017 at the Route 91 Music Festival in Las Vegas. Yet school and mass shooting incidents were unheard of 40 years ago, though per capita gun ownership was virtually identical to today.

So, what changed?

Secular pundits look for causes in economics, politics and sociological trends. They ignore the spiritual dimension, because it’s regarded as a non-starter. Religion is neglected as a viable paradigm for consideration in social trends in the modern world. It’s only place of relevance for secular moderns is as a curiosity of ancient history and a handicapping hiccup to the advance of enlightened progressivism.

In order to cure a malady, the right diagnosis is required. As long as sociologists and policy makers ignore the spiritual nature of humans, they’ll miss an important ingredient that shapes society. They’ve done so in understanding the root cause of both mass shootings and the rising tide of suicide.

I propose what’s changed over the last half century is a hollowing out of the transcendent in modern society.

The State-sponsored public school system from kindergarten through university has promulgated a materialistic worldview that’s told people they are little more than grown up germs. Mistakes. Pure chance. The fortuitous combination of chemical reactions that produced self-replicating organic machines. But there is no real purpose to their existence, no significance to their 80 or so years. The best they can hope for is to feel alive. So, do whatever you want, because—well, why not? No one’s ultimately going to judge you, because molecules can’t be right or wrong; they just are.

Is it any wonder people shaped by such ideas slip a noose around their neck or swallow a bottle of pills when their pain seems inescapable?

Deep inside, something irresistibly human, something originally God-imaged, rises up against such materialistic notions. It says, “No! I reject that. I mean something.” It’s that inner voice that prompts many to live as though they are significant and that their life does matter. They strive to achieve something lasting, something worthwhile. But in some, that voice turns dark. It rages against the injustice of feeling significant when the system’s worldview tells them they aren’t. They rebel against the convenient contradiction of modern society: “You’re the product of mindless evolution. So get a degree and make something of yourself.” Their inner turmoil boils over into lashing out at the system. They are in pain and want others to feel it. Since no one seems to care about them, they’ll attack others to spread their misery.

What’s changed is the core worldview that shapes modern society.

The Judeo-Christian worldview that framed Western Civilization was replaced by a secular and materialistic worldview a century ago following the horrors of the First World War. It took several decades for the forward momentum of the Judeo-Christian worldview to slow. World War II brought it to a halt. It’s last fumes are now spent and secularism prevails.

The remedy is found in something I shared in my last article. What’s needed is a wholesale return to God and His Word. But that’s not something any church or group can engineer. It requires a mighty, soul-shaking, life-transforming move of God’s Spirit bringing revival.

While Evangelical Progressives applaud recent cultural changes, those of the Conservative branch are concerned as traditional values are thrown over in favor of the Moral Revolution. What they need to remember is that this is the way it’s been since the beginning.

In Genesis 2:17, God warned Adam and Eve if they ate of the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil, they would die. As warned, when Adam ate, death insinuated itself into creation. It’s wrapped it’s pale fingers around the throat of our world. Everything decays and dies, even stars. The Second Law of Thermodynamics is an inexorable rule; everything goes from order to disorder, unless energy is intelligently put into it.

What’s true of the physical realm, is true also of the spiritual.

History is the tale of how, left to themselves, human beings go from bad to worse. If that course isn’t interrupted, the worse they go to ends in ruin. But the interruptions, rare as they are, effect a reversal that allows a Golden Age, a bright shining moment in time when people see what could be if they’d just do things God’s way.

All major civilizations of history enjoyed their period of ascendancy precisely because they honored the eternity God planted in their hearts (Ecclesiastes 3:11). That was a work of His grace, staying the deleterious effects of the Fall, in a reversal of a kind of spiritual Second Law of Thermodynamics, one in which moral order falls into disorder.

As the followers of Jesus, let’s not forget we live in a fallen world that, precisely because it is fallen, will keep falling further into moral decay and chaos.

The best we can do is be salt to slow that decay and light to offer a refuge for those individuals who want out. But salt can’t reverse decay. And our light at best shines in the darkness. Only the Daystar can bring the Day.

Churches err when they think to effect social transformation through political action and social justice campaigns. History proves sweeping cultural renewal is a sovereign work of God’s Spirit bringing revival.

Let’s be salt and light by learning and living God’s Word. And let’s pray earnestly for a sovereign and mighty move of God’s Spirit birthing a new season of culture-transforming revival.

When Protestants broke with Rome in the 15th Century, Rome countered the Protestant departure with a claim to Apostolic succession: “Look,” they said, “Our leaders go all the way back to the original Apostles in an unbroken line of succession. Today’s Pope is the spiritual successor of Christ Himself. He appointed Peter, whose role as Bishop of Rome flows right down to today in an unbroken line of spiritual authority.”

That argument compelled many to keep unity with Rome. Others weren’t convinced and left to swell the ever enlarging ranks of Protestant churches.

From then till now, scholars from both sides rally support in the debate over Apostolic Succession.

There were some early church leaders who proposed the idea of succession. The first century church father Ignatius stood out as probably the clearest voice arguing for a single bishop as the leader of a local church, his office secured by his ability to draw a relational link back to the original Apostles.

The second century Father Irenaeus was also used as a support for Apostolic succession. But a close look at his writings in this regard places the principle of succession, not in some spiritual dynastic lineage; as if having an older bishop laying his hands on a younger man conferred special grace that bestowed the authority of Peter, James and John.

Irenaeus said succession consisted in a bishop’s adherence to the faith of the Apostles. It was a matter of doctrine, of Gospel-centered values and the mission of the original Apostles, passed on to their followers, from one generation to the next. Church leaders obtained authority only to the degree they were loyal to the foundation the Apostles laid. Their authority was derived directly from their adherence to what was already given; it did not originate with them or the office they held. It was certainly not passed along merely by the laying on of hands.

There are many quotes from Irenaeus to share in this regard. One of the most poignant is from his epic work Against Heresies III:24:1.

“[I have proved] that the preaching of the Church is everywhere consistent, continues in an even course, and receives testimony from the prophets, the apostles, and all the disciples through [those in] the beginning, the middle, the end, and through the entire dispensation of God. And that well-grounded system which tends to man’s salvation, namely, our faith, which we have received from the Church, we do preserve, and [that faith] always, by the Spirit of God, renews its youth, as if it were some precious deposit in an excellent vessel, and causes the vessel itself containing it to renew its youth also. For this gift of God has been entrusted to the Church, as breath was to the first created man, for this purpose, that all the members may receive it and live.”

In another place Irenaeus says:

“Therefore it is necessary to obey the elders who are in the Church; those who-as I have shown-possess the succession from the apostles. [They], together with the succession of the episcopate [bishops], have received the certain gift of truth, according to the good pleasure of the Father. And [it is necessary] to hold in suspicion others who depart from the primitive succession, and assemble themselves together in any place whatsoever. [Consider them] either as heretics of perverse minds, or as schismatics puffed up and self-pleasing, or again as hypocrites, acting this way for the sake of money and pride. For all these have fallen from the truth.”

The “heretics” and “schismatics” Irenaeus mentioned here were Gnostics, about whom Against Heresies was written. He refers often to the apostolic “tradition” precisely because Gnostics claimed to possess an original tradition; a secret teaching handed down by Jesus to the Apostles and communicated to only the Gnostic leaders. For the right fee, those leaders and teachers would pass it along to those who desired to be enlightened. Irenaeus countered by showing that Jesus’ teaching had never been secret. His life and work were and open book for all to read. The Apostles faithfully transmitted that, at first in an oral tradition, then in a written tradition, as embodied in the books of the New Testament, the Church was soon to form into the canon.

Irenaeus’ entire argument was that a genuine church existed wherever church leaders (elders, bishops) remained faithful to this oral and written “tradition.” Irenaeus did give a nod to a local church’s ability to list its lineage back to the apostles, but only insofar as they reliably adhered to the tradition of the Apostles’ teaching.

Nowhere do we see Irenaeus establish an innate spiritual dynastic line where one man hands the “keys of the kingdom” to another. And for church leaders to later in history claim special authority due to “tradition,” using Irenaeus’ work as justification for doing so is, is an egregious misuse of what he meant by tradition. For Irenaeus, tradition meant nothing if it wasn’t drawn from a faithful adherence to Scripture.

Modern church leaders would do well to remember this when they’re pressed to compromise on moral and spiritual issues.

The authority of pastors and church leaders comes from one place: God. It does not adhere to their office. A title means nothing, no matter how big the hat or fancy the label. God gives authority to fulfill His calling and mission for that person. When they step outside that role, they possess no real authority. The authority of the minister is derived from and directly proportional to their loyalty to the Apostolic message and mission.

Let’s remember there’s power in the Gospel to save the lost and transform our world. We do no service by watering it down or fudging its truth. Those who curse us today for sharing the undiluted message of the Cross, are the same ones who will thank us tomorrow for loving them enough to tell it like it is.

In Deuteronomy 1, Moses spoke to a new generation about to enter the Promised Land. He gave them both a history lesson and reminded them of the terms of their covenant with God. He wanted to make sure they didn’t repeat the error of their parents, who 38 years before failed to enter the land out of fear of the Canaanites.

That fear was wholly unreasonable in light of all they’d seen over the previous year and a half, proving God’s love and power. Moses was dumbfounded that people who’d witnessed so much would balk at a relatively minor challenge of Canaan.

In verse 34, Moses says God heard the people and was angry. We go back to verse 27 to see what God heard and when. There we read, “You complained in you tents, and said, ‘Because the Lord hates us, He has brought us out of the land of Egypt to deliver us into the hand of the Amorites, to destroy us.'” I paraphrase: “God wants to destroy us because He hates us.” That’s more than outrageous; it’s blasphemous. It makes God into a devil for it’s he who seeks to destroy while God wants us to flourish (John 10:10).

God’s anger was due to their thoughts about Him were so utterly undeserved and kept them from enjoying the blessing His love intended.

That tips us off to the origin of this thought. It’s ever the accuser (Satan’s) strategy to defame God.

We see it back in Eden when he suggested to Eve God was holding out on her, that God did not have hers and Adam’s best interest in mind. That lie worked well then, so he’s used it ever since.

Take note of where the people were when they said this, in their tents. Their grousing was in private. They complained in their homes. Men to wives, wives to husbands. Mothers to daughter, and brother to brother, they complained about the raw deal God made with them. Though they thought they spoke in secret, God heard them. We ought to pay close attention to our inner monolog, that conversation we all have with ourselves all day and night.

Set a watch on your thoughts.

Some have their origin in the counsels of hell. The Holy Spirit is a marvelous referee in discerning our thought life. It’s crucial we pay attention to our inner monolog because it’s the seedbed from which our speech comes. And what we say reveals what we believe about God. As Jesus said, it’s out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaks (Matthew 12:34).

Your mind is the battlefield where the Holy Spirit wars with the world, flesh and devil. The Apostle Paul puts it this way in 2 Corinthians 10:4-5, “The weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds, casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ.”

The world is again in the grip of yet another realization that it’s ways are bankrupt. The sexual revolution of the 60s has born more bitter fruit in the ever-growing sexual harassment scandals rocking one industry and institution after another. Like falling dominoes, leaders, athletes and celebrities face career-ending accusations.

In the midst of scandal, the Gospel offers an attractive option.

While secular society has objectified women, the community of Christ is called to honor them with dignity as joint heirs of glory and spiritual sisters.

This difference is seen in God’s commands to ancient Israel. In Deuteronomy 21, a policy was laid down for how a Jewish man was to treat a female captive. The act of sex was already limited to marriage, so rape of captives was prohibited. Any Jewish man who wanted to marry a foreign captive couldn’t just “take” her. There was a process that aimed to help him realize her dignity as a human being. Before he could marry her, she was to shave her head and cut her nails, exchange her clothes for modest wear and mourn her family for a month. It was only after all that, if the man still wanted her, that he could make her his wife. If he declined, she was to be set free, not sold off as a slave, as compensation for the humbling she’d endured over the previous month.

The culture of that time accounted a woman’s hair as a major part of her physical beauty. Her hair also served as a sign of being under the authority of her father or husband. She wore a veil over her head and only exposed her hair to her husband in private. By shaving her head, the captive removed a significant source of her sensual appeal. Her captor was now faced with why he wanted to marry her. Was his motive purely sensual? With a shaved head, he was moved to look past her physical beauty to see the person he’d be marrying. And with a shaved head, the message was clear: She was under no authority and had no protection. That put her captor in the position of having to continually watch out for her. He began to realize the ongoing role he’d bear as her husband. All of this aimed to make that man realize he was taking a person, not a plaything, into his life. That person possessed dignity he was to honor. She was someone he owed respect to. That month of mourning for her family reminded him he’d taken her out of her life and was installing her in his. He was to recognize what it all cost her.

A similar idea lies behind the Apostle Paul’s instructions to the church at Corinth in his instructions about head coverings. They served as symbols of authority and offered protection for women in a culture where sexual predation was rampant. Some pagan women eschewed such coverings in a bid for self-determination. The trend had influenced some ladies in the Corinthian fellowship. But going out in public without covering was inviting unwelcome attention; it was dangerous. Paul didn’t enforce a rule of head coverings to subject women to a tyrannical patriarchy. He encouraged the entire fellowship at Corinth to make the protection of women a priority. Men and women both were to realize the dignity inherent in being children of God and behave in a way consistent with that dignity.

Far from the Bible being a manual on misogyny as its critics often paint it, it begins by declaring both male and female bear God’s image.

While different physically and having different roles in the various spheres of life, they are equal as image bearers of the divine and ought to honor each other as such. Sin shattered God’s original plan, but the Gospel of Christ restores it. As the Redeemed and a redeeming community, we must offer an alternative to the world’s dehumanizing of women by relegating them to mere objects of prurient desire.

A practical way to do that is found in 1 Timothy 5. Paul says older women are to be regarded as mothers while young women are to be esteemed as sisters. In Christ, we’re family.

Men can protect women by treating them with respect and dignity as daughters of God. That protection begins by turning the “lure of lust to a hankering for holiness.” They can also stand guard by keeping an eye out for wolves. Mature women of faith can encourage new believers and those struggling with the world’s ways to more helpful habits that yield the beauty of genuine femininity rather than the world’s cheap counterfeit. While shaming has a long history in church discipline, it’s not a means of either the grace or truth we’re to operate in. The Spirit alone brings conviction from within. We’re not to shame from without. Rather, we encourage and exhort one another to walk in holiness and humility.

As we do, we show the world a better way, where one-time victims and victimizers are saved out of their past into the dignity and honor we, and they, were created for.

While all God’s Word is inspired and profitable ( 2 Timothy 3:16), most Christians have favorite passages. Sometimes we talk about our “life verse” by which we mean something especially relevant to our entire lives. Then there are seasons in which different verses are especially poignant. They’re a kind of “spiritual flashlight” to help us find our way or provide a handle that brings perspective.

A passage I’ve found especially helpful the last few years is John 10:10, where Jesus says He came for life.

It’s interesting how He phrases it. “I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.” Jesus didn’t just come for life; He came for that life to be “more abundant.” That word means, “…pertaining to a quantity so abundant as to be considerably more than what one would expect or anticipate—that which is more than, more than enough, beyond the norm, abundantly, superfluous.”¹

Jesus could have said, “I’ve come that you’d have abundant life.” He didn’t. He said it the way He did to make clear He didn’t just come for life. He came for MORE of it. Christian, however much life God’s grace and Spirit have brought about in you, there’s more! And when you’ve enjoyed that measure of more, there’s more still.

Surely that’s what the Apostle Paul had in mind when he invited the Philippians to adopt his mindset toward spiritual growth.

“Therefore let us, as many as are mature, have this mind; and if in anything you think otherwise, God will reveal even this to you. Nevertheless, to the degree that we have already attained, let us walk by the same rule, let us be of the same mind. Brethren, join in following my example, and note those who so walk, as you have us for a pattern” (Philippians 3:15–17, NKJV).

In verse 16, when Paul says, “to the degree that we have already attained, let us walk by the same rule” he calls us to double our current spiritual standing and maturity. It’s as though he’s said, “All you Christians who’ve got some miles behind you in your spiritual walk, look back at how far you’ve come. Now, look ahead and determine to double it.” Paul could to issue that invitation because he knew Jesus came that we’d have ever more life.

I like the term “flourishing” as a way to capture the essence of all this.

God wants us to flourish.

The Gospel is the message of how Jesus rescued us from sin and death and made it possible for us to flourish. All God’s ways aim at promoting life and ensuring we’d flourish. And that’s why the first part of John 10:10 is an important reminder. Jesus spoke of His mission to promote our flourishing as a contrast to Satan’s objective, “The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy.”

Sin has a goal, and it’s not the promise it makes when we’re tempted. Sin promises good but ultimately ends in ruin. Whatever momentary gain sin may acquire is always more than paid for by an enduring and greater loss. It’s no zero-sum gain, but it is a negative-sum loss.

Because God wants us to flourish, He gives us His Word and commands. Each provide insight into where a life of flourishing lies. God’s commands are never power trips on His part, as though He’s some kind of insecure deity needing to prove His authority by ordering us around. Rather, every command is guidance in how to flourish.

As we follow Jesus, it’s wise for us to keep all this in mind as we watch the world chart new paths for how to live. The devil aims to ruin us; Jesus wants us to flourish.

¹Louw, J. P. & Nida, E. A. (1996). Greek-English lexicon of the New Testament: Based on semantic domains (electronic ed. of the 2nd edition., Vol. 1, pp. 598–599). New York: United Bible Societies.

The Thomas Fire has been roaring to life in the hills near Santa Paula. High winds drove it relentlessly toward Ventura where it burned hundreds of homes, including three of our members and many friends. The faith of our members is a beauty to behold. All three families were in service Sunday and gave testimony to God’s sustaining grace.

We’ve already heard dozens of stories of small ways God has evidenced His mercy amid tragic loss.

The months to come will reveal more. But something became clear yesterday as I listened to the stories of those who lost their homes. It marks a major advantage the spirit-filled follower of Jesus possesses. It’s this: When we’re walking in the Spirit, our thoughts are directed to consider things we’ll soon face. I’ll share one example to illustrate this.

One of the ladies who lost her home is a mature saint who’s been instrumental in the lives of dozens of others. She’s respected by her peers as a source of tremendous spiritual wisdom and is a mentor to many younger women. She’s been asked to step in to relational crisis situations and has been instrumental in bringing redemption in bleak circumstances. Having a regular time of focused devotion to the spiritual disciplines of reading and prayer is a part of her routine, not out of duty, but because she loves to nurture her relationship with Jesus. When it comes to her walk with God, she’s the “real-deal” as they say. So it’s no surprise that instead of falling apart at the loss of her home, she’s confident it’s all going to be okay, and that ultimately, God is going to redeem the loss.

Three weeks ago, as she was investing in her relationship with God, meditating on Him, letting the Spirit direct her thoughts, she pondered the question of what items she’d need to secure if a fire ever threatened their house. She settled on a few items before her thoughts turned to something else. A week ago, all that bore fruit when the Thomas Fire took their home. They had little time to either make a plan or carry it out. Had she not already considered what items had priority, they’d have been lost.

What gleaned from her story is this . . .

We don’t know the future, but our God does.

He knows what’s coming. As the believer meditates and prays, the Holy Spirit is freer to direct our thoughts into paths that will prepare us for what’s coming. We don’t have to wait to be in the teeth of a crisis to know what to do. The Spirit can counsel us ahead of time on the course to take, what decisions to make. It’s unlikely such thoughts will occur to us if we neglect time to prayerfully seek God’s wisdom or if the world’s ways have eclipsed the Spirit.

Take advantage of this most precious resource, the Spirit’s directing of your thoughts toward the challenges before you.