Dear Abby

You remember “Dear Abby” Ann Landers don’t you? These syndicated advice columns were written by twin sisters Pauline and Esther Friedman. Every day they gave common sense advice to those who had shared their stories and questions with them. “Dear Abby” continues to be written by Pauline’s daughter Jeanne Phillips and is read by more people than any other newspaper column in the world.

You’ve got questions you would like answers to don’t you. Everyday we face problems that need fixing in one way or another. It might be at home, work, school or anywhere in between. I once tried writing an ask the pastor column in the local paper called “Word on the Street.” Like the Friedman sisters it was set up in a questions/answer format. While all the questions were real to life with biblical answers, they were just my invention because no one ever wrote to ask about their issues. “Dear Abby” your job is safe.

The apostle Paul got some questions from the church in Corinth that he gave godly counsel to in response. Some of the questions we might think would be better talked about by the likes of “Dear Abby” than a preacher like Paul. I can imagine their question being something like this:

Dear Paul, I miss going to visit the temple prostitutes to honor the goddess Venus. I know she isn’t really a god but we sure had fun up on the hill. What’s a guy or a girl to do?

Alright their question may not have been quite like that, but take a look at Paul’s answer. He tells it to us straight.

• [2] . . . It's good for a man to have a wife, and for a woman to have a husband. Sexual drives are strong, but marriage is strong enough to contain them and provide for a balanced and fulfilling sexual life in a world of sexual disorder. [3] The marriage bed must be a place of mutuality—the husband seeking to satisfy his wife, the wife seeking to satisfy her husband. [4] Marriage is not a place to "stand up for your rights." Marriage is a decision to serve the other, whether in bed or out.
  1 Corinthians 7:2-4 (MsgB)

So do you think your ‘problems’ are too personal for the Bible to offer any answers? Is there anything more personal than sex? Don’t just look to “Dear Abby” or common sense for advice. Look to God’s word for answers and direction in all areas of life. Who knows, you might even want to ask the pastor! What do you think?

FASHION SHOWS AND POPULARITY CONTEST

The General Council of the Assemblies of God will be electing a new General Superintendent in two weeks. The process is simple enough. All ordained ministers in the AG are eligible to be considered as there is not a nominating committee. Therefore all the delegates at Council cast a nominating ballot. After that ballot only those nominated may be considered for election. If someone receives two-thirds of the votes on the nominating ballot they are declared elected. If no one is elected the first elective ballot follows from those nominated. Once the votes have been counted we will consider only the top 15 candidates on the second ballot and then only the top 3 until someone receives the necessary two-thirds.

Our prayer is that the election does not just end up being a popularity contest among those with name recognition. It’s one thing to know someone’s name and another to know the person. Nevertheless Paul warns us about how we judge one another as servants of Christ.

• So don't get ahead of the Master and jump to conclusions with your judgments before all the evidence is in. When he comes, he will bring out in the open and place in evidence all kinds of things we never even dreamed of—inner motives and purposes and prayers. Only then will any one of us get to hear the "Well done!" of God.
  1 Corinthians 4:5 (MsgB)

The Corinthian church was debating who the super-apostles were. Paul, Apollos and Cephas were the top three vote getters. Paul put a stop to the popularity contest. He reminded the Corinthians and us as well that God has set a day of judgment. The Lord knows the hearts of His servants and will make our motives known. Those filled with pride and self-achievement will be exposed. Those who humbly serve the Master will be rewarded.

Let’s not make the mistake of thinking one minister is better than another, or for that matter one Christian over another. We are all just servants.

Yes there is a place to judge one another in regard to sin (see 1 Corinthians 5:12-13), but judgment is not about choosing favorites. We are all equal before God. What do you think?

BABY BABIES

We recently brought a new baby into our family . . . a baby Dachshund that is. Oscar is as cute as ever and of course wants to bite everything. This includes Lucy our twelve year old Dachshund. Lucy has been her good natured self and plays along with Oscar from time to time, but with a stern bark Lucy will also let the puppy know when to quit nipping at her heals.

I happened to think, what if Lucy were still like Oscar? What if she were a ball of none stop energy, chewing everything, getting under foot, leaving puppy surprises everywhere (only bigger), cried all night and woke me up early each morning? Lucy would have been in the dog house years ago! You accept puppy behavior from a puppy.

Like Lucy’s bark at Oscar, Paul had to direct some stern words to the Corinthian church.

• Brothers and sisters, I couldn't talk to you as spiritual people but as people still influenced by your corrupt nature. You were infants in your faith in Christ.
  1 Corinthians 3:1 (GW)

The believers in Corinth were still acting like babies. They were immature in their faith and not fully developed spiritually. Paul said they were still influenced by their “corrupt nature.” The word Paul used was “sarkikos” an adjective form of the Greek word for flesh. Literally Paul was telling the Corinthians that they were still motivated by carnal or fleshly desires. In other words they were still self-centered.

Paul pointed out one of their “baby messes.” He said they were jealous and quarrelling with each other (see verse 3). This was not the kind of behavior you expect from those who have grown up. Enough was enough. It was time for them to begin to act like the people that they were. As believers they were “God’s temple” and the Holy Spirit lived in them (see verse 16). It was time to stop living for their own desires and start letting God’s desires be what motivated them.

Do you know anyone who still only thinks of themselves? How much influence do our desires have in our day to day lives? Have we made God’s desires our desires? Are we still acting like infants in our faith? It’s one thing to baby babies, but its time that some Christians grew up. Let’s go look in the mirror. Are you or I one of them that needs to stop being so self-centered living only for our fleshly desires? What do you think?

THE SECRET

“Shhh! It’s a secret.” We like to be in on knowing a secret. What we know is not to be openly shared with just anyone. You can pass your secret on to some people, but others can’t be told because they just don’t know how to keep a secret. And of course some people should not be told about a secret because it concerns them.

Do you remember how you felt the last time you had a secret that wasn’t a secret anymore? Someone let the secret out of the bag and now the surprise is ruined, or worse someone has been hurt by hearing the secret from the wrong person.

We recently involved everyone at the church in the secret gift for Pastor George and his family. The excitement was building as the big day approached. Unfortunately when the day came a couple of little voices blurted out, “We’ve got a surprise for you today!” Ahhh! You’re not supposed to tell someone about their surprise—that’s part of the secret!

So can I let you in on a secret? It’s God’s secret wisdom.

• God's wisdom is something mysterious that goes deep into the interior of his purposes. You don't find it lying around on the surface. It's not the latest message, but more like the oldest—what God determined as the way to bring out his best in us, long before we ever arrived on the scene.
  1 Corinthians 2:7 (MsgB)

God’s secret was His plan of salvation for all people. It was God’s idea right from the very beginning, so it’s not anything new. Salvation was the secret in God’s heart from day one. God did not want sin to separate us from Him, so in His love He planned for His only Son, Jesus, to die in our place. Jesus’ death on the cross for our sins makes it possible for us to be forgiven, to be friends of God.

God kept His secret well. Oh He dropped some hints about what His plan was through the prophets, but no one fully understood exactly what God had in mind. Paul goes on to say that if the rulers of this world had known what God was going to do they would never have nailed Jesus to the cross. They had no idea the cross was part of God’s plan (see verse 8).

Now the secret is out. When Jesus rose from the dead God’s secret of salvation was revealed. Surprise! Now, what will you do with God’s secret? Will you keep it to yourself, or will you tell somebody about it? What do you think?

Hold onto the towel!

From time to time we all feel discouraged. We feel like throwing in the towel and just giving up. What’s the use of persevering?

Perhaps you are feeling that way even today. Maybe you want to give up on your marriage. Perhaps your adult children have turned away from God, or you have a teenager in the midst of rebellion. Maybe you find yourself at a financial dead end. Or it could be that the doctors have not given you a favorable report. You want to escape but none can be found.

In the midst of all our trials and the shortcomings of life we sometimes even want to give up on God. Why are these things happening to us? Does God even care? We withdraw from going to church; we stop praying and reading our Bibles. It seems that hope is lost, and our faith is fading fast.

What should we do in moments like these? How should we respond to the speed bumps of life that stop us cold? With only a mustard seed of faith, look to God.

• [8] He will keep you strong to the end, so that you will be blameless on the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. [9] God, who has called you into fellowship with his Son Jesus Christ our Lord, is faithful.
  1 Corinthians 1:8-9 (NIV)

The Lord will strengthen those who are weak, so don’t try to make it in your own strength. But that’s not all! God will also keep you from sin. We can know that with God’s help we will one day stand before the Lord blameless and pure. Though we feel like giving up, God never will. The Lord is faithful.

Stop and reflect on the goodness of the Lord. Don’t dwell on the negative thoughts that so easily fill your mind. Push them aside and choose to remember what God has done for you. As you do let praise begin to fill your heart and overflow. Even if you don’t feel like it begin to praise the Lord and give Him thanks that He is faithful to the very end. God will never give up on you.

• To all who mourn . . . [or just feel like giving up], he will give beauty for ashes, joy instead of mourning, praise instead of despair.
  Isaiah 61:3 (NLT)

So you don’t feel like praising the Lord. Act on faith and let the Lord fill your mouth. He will keep you strong to the very end and help you overcome. Hold onto the towel. As a matter of fact wave it as a victor's flag with the sound of praise. What do you think?

Looking Deeper

What happens to a person when they become a Christian by faith in Christ? As believers, you and I would all give testimony of a changed life, but what exactly happened when we were saved? How should this change be described?

Talking to Nicodemus, Jesus referred to a necessary transformation that would have to occur in order to inherit the kingdom of God. Jesus said the believer must be “born again” or literally born from above. Nicodemus wondered how this new birth would take place. A grown man could not re-enter his mother’s womb to be born again. Jesus answered Nicodemus’ question by saying a person must be born of “water and the Spirit” (John 3:5). Jesus added:

• Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit.
  John 3:6 (NIV)

What does Jesus mean here by flesh? The context would indicate that Jesus is referring to the human body; in other words, through natural childbirth human always gives birth to human. But is it possible that Jesus has more in mind than just the human body? Could it be that Jesus wants us to understand that the human nature gives birth to itself; in other words it is impossible for us to be born again through human effort or strength. Only the Spirit can bring about the new birth that Jesus is talking about.

Jesus’ statement that an individual must be born of “water and the Spirit” is curious. As a religious leader Nicodemus would have most likely been familiar with Ezekiel 36:25-26 which speaks of the cleansing of the Spirit and the renewal of life that God will bring to those whose hope is in Him. “I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you will be clean; I will cleanse you from all your impurities and from all your idols. I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh” (NIV).

If by water Jesus means natural birth then He has perhaps overstated the obvious. A person must be born, that is a living human being in order to then be born again of the Spirit. But if Jesus has in mind the cleansing of the human nature by the Spirit through the rebirth, then it seems likely that flesh could refer to the human nature and not simply the body. What do you think?

The Flesh

Ponder this: “there are different kinds of flesh.” This is my understatement of the day. I’ve spent the better part of the day studying what the word “flesh” or as the in the Greek “sarx” means. I’m tempted to say, “It’s all Greek to me” (I guess I said it didn’t’ I).

Paul said, “All flesh is not the same: Men have one kind of flesh, animals have another, birds another and fish another” (1 Corinthians 15:39 NIV). The meaning of flesh here is obvious; it is the body or tissue of a living creature. Yet all “sarx” is not the same!

In the New Testament (and especially in Paul’s epistles) flesh or “sarx” is defined four different ways: [1] bodily flesh or tissue, [2] human decent or relationship, [3] mankind or the human race, and [4] human nature. It’s that last meaning that is hard to get a handle on (well at least for me). In many modern translations “sarx” is translated as sinful nature (that’s what gives me a problem that I’m trying to figure out).

The flesh as human nature can be thought of in three ways: [1] weak human nature, [2] the human nature of Christ, and [3] unregenerate humanity. Just where does flesh as “sinful nature” in so many of our English Bibles fit in? Obviously it would not apply to the human nature of Christ. Jesus took on the “likeness of sinful flesh” but was free from sin (Romans 8:3 KJV).

But how might “sinful nature” apply to the flesh that is unregenerate humanity or the flesh that is the weak human nature? I can accept that a non-Christian the unregenerate has a sinful nature, but does the believer still have a “sinful nature” or is it just the weakness of the flesh? Think about this:

• [16] So from now on we regard no one from a worldly point of view [“sarx”-the flesh]. Though we once regarded Christ in this way [“sarx”-the flesh again], we do so no longer. [17] Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!
  2 Corinthians 5:16-17 (NIV)

Paul had a transformation in his way of thinking about people, and especially about how he thought about Jesus. Why? In Christ he became a new creation; the old way of thinking according to the flesh was gone and a new way of thinking (by the Spirit) had taken its place. Being in Christ dramatically changed the way Paul thought, but did it also change his flesh? That is did Paul cease to have a “sinful nature” because of his relationship with Christ? How had Paul’s conversion (and in turn our own) changed him because he no longer lived according to the flesh but by the Spirit (see Romans 8:4-5)?

I want to invite you to take a journey and ponder with me this week about the change that has taken place within our lives. Has our sinful nature been done away with or is it still there trying to regain control of our lives? Together let’s try to unravel what it means to live in a body of flesh and blood, no longer controlled by the flesh but by the Spirit. What do you think?