The Holy Trinity
Devotional
Pause Before The Pulpit
Personal Reflections For Pastors On The Lectionary Readings
John 3:1-17
Nicodemus was certainly in a tough spot. He seemed to be struggling with the tension between faithfulness to the doctrines, traditions, and teachings of the Jewish religion, and a growing sense that Jesus might be speaking God's truth. How troubling it is to have our beliefs turned upside down and proven false.
Nicodemus, along with the rest of the Pharisees, had been watching Jesus. They had witnessed his miracles, they heard him teach, they saw how the crowds of people who were following him were growing by the day. Perhaps he wondered out loud with others, "Is this just another false prophet? Will his following last? Does he even know what he is talking about?" But where other Pharisees had written Jesus off as a fraud who need to be silenced, Nicodemus went secretly to him and encouraged conversation. He wanted to know more about what Jesus was teaching, for he seemed to be wondering if it was true. The quandary he faced was, if Jesus was right, then he and his colleagues were wrong; and that was a serious situation, not only for themselves, but for the countless people they were misleading.
Have you ever been in a similar situation? Perhaps your denomination was (or is) taking positions on things that conflict with the teachings of Christ or other portions of scripture. Maybe you even voted for some of the new resolutions, amendments, or by-laws, but now, like Nicodemus, you are having second thoughts. You are wondering if possibly your church body, which you have been with for years and have trusted, appreciated, and supported, is in the wrong.
To be in such a situation is enough to make a person physically sick. You don't dare to talk about it with other pastors in your church body, for fear of what they will say or think of you. You surely don't dare to talk to the church leaders, for you fear that they certainly won't understand. Perhaps you fear that your ministry could be in jeopardy if people knew to what extent you are questioning and doubting. If you could, you would go to Jesus at night to see what he thinks about the whole situation. But you can't, so what do you do? You go to Jesus in the privacy of your study.
Jesus wants us to ask him hard questions. He doesn't want us to be blindly led by others without thinking about what we believe. He gave all of us a brain to think with, a heart to believe with, and a tongue with which to discuss hard issues with him and those we trust. I urge you, if you are currently finding yourself in a similar situation to that of Nicodemus, to run to Jesus and start asking some hard questions. Where will the answers come from and how will they come? They come primarily through his word, and they are revealed to us as we read it, ponder it, pray over it, and sit quietly before him so that he can "speak" to us in the stillness of time alone with him. He will make Bible passages suddenly stand out to you like never before. He will help you see things in the context of scripture that you've never seen before. He will help you wrestle with difficult texts that you have avoided in the past for fear of controversy. He will help you make adjustments to beliefs and convictions that you thought were just fine until you were challenged in some way about those convictions. He may prompt you to develop new convictions on issues and doctrines that you never thought of before.
This work of the Holy Spirit was happening in Nicodemus' life and he didn't even know it. He was just asking the hard questions and listening to Jesus' answers.
Allow those to whom you minister to also ask hard questions. Don't shoot them down because you are concerned about what they believe, or you don't understand where they are coming from, or you are trying to avoid a conflict. Let them ask and, together, study God's Word to see if he will provide the answers.
A Pastor's Prayer:
Dear Lord,
If I'm more like Nicodemus than I am like a disciple, please be patient with me and help me understand your word. Where the things your word says differ with what my church believes, help me to know what to do. Thank you. Amen.
Romans 8:12-17
Our text is from a larger passage comprised of verses 1-17. In this larger passage, Paul distinguished between the person who lives according to the flesh and the person who lives according to the Spirit of God. There is a huge difference between the two.
Those who live according to the flesh are hostile to God; they do not submit to God's law -- nor can they do so. In addition, those who live according the flesh cannot please God. Paul pointed out that such people have their minds set on the things of the flesh and their end result is death.
On the other hand, those who live according to the Spirit do so because the Spirit of Christ dwells in them. Due to the redeeming work of Christ, the just requirement[s] of the law [are] fulfilled in those who have the Spirit. Such people have set their minds on the Spirit, and in so doing they experience life and peace, now and for all eternity.
The question we all need to ask ourselves is: "Upon what am I setting my mind?" In the daily routine of ministry, the one thing that pastors use the most is their minds. We spend hours thinking upon God's Word in preparation for Bible studies, sermons, devotionals, homilies, and so on. We sit at our desks, thinking about people -- both those who are a joy to us and those who are a grief to us. We think about how to minister to them, how to comfort them, how to counsel them, and, in some cases, how to discipline them. In addition to this, we are required to devote hours every week to thinking on administrative details and making decisions.
Our thoughts are not limited to ministry, however. There are the emotionally draining thoughts about ourselves and our loved ones. When we think of ourselves, we often think of our sins, our failures, and our shortcomings -- and that brings sorrow. Yet we also think about who God made us to be and how he redeemed us through the blood of Jesus -- that gives us joy! When we think of our loved ones, we think of their love for us and how much we love them; that also brings us joy. On the other hand, we think about their unhappiness with our long days of ministry and the tensions that can develop between us, and that brings sorrow.
We ask, "Upon what am I setting my mind?" How we think makes all the difference in the world as to our attitudes, our words, our actions, and our overall reputation. Our thinking shapes the kind of spouses we are, the kind of parents we are, and the kind of pastors we are. It determines our effectiveness in and out of the pulpit, for the pastor who thinks upon, and lives according to the flesh, will be fighting an uphill battle with God and people. They will not be able to please God and their ministries will die. But the pastor who thinks upon, and lives according to, the Spirit of God, will be in harmony with God and his people. They will have good consciences and speak the Word of God boldly. They will be experiencing life and peace, and it will be evident to all to whom they minister.
Having considered all this, we read again what Paul wrote in verse 12: So then, brothers and sisters, we are debtors, not to the flesh, [but to the Spirit, to live according to it]. We owe an enormous debt to Christ for what he has done for us and, consequently, who he has made us to be; children of God. God would have us live out that indebtedness through an obedient life that reflects his character. To do so, we must begin by setting our minds on the Spirit. May that become a daily discipline for each of us at the start of our day, before we say or do anything else.
A Pastor's Prayer:
Dear Lord,
Thank you for fulfilling the just requirements of the law through the sacrifice of your Son and his indwelling Holy Spirit. Help me today to set my mind on you; that all I say and do would be of you and reflect your righteous character, for your honor and glory. Amen.
Nicodemus was certainly in a tough spot. He seemed to be struggling with the tension between faithfulness to the doctrines, traditions, and teachings of the Jewish religion, and a growing sense that Jesus might be speaking God's truth. How troubling it is to have our beliefs turned upside down and proven false.
Nicodemus, along with the rest of the Pharisees, had been watching Jesus. They had witnessed his miracles, they heard him teach, they saw how the crowds of people who were following him were growing by the day. Perhaps he wondered out loud with others, "Is this just another false prophet? Will his following last? Does he even know what he is talking about?" But where other Pharisees had written Jesus off as a fraud who need to be silenced, Nicodemus went secretly to him and encouraged conversation. He wanted to know more about what Jesus was teaching, for he seemed to be wondering if it was true. The quandary he faced was, if Jesus was right, then he and his colleagues were wrong; and that was a serious situation, not only for themselves, but for the countless people they were misleading.
Have you ever been in a similar situation? Perhaps your denomination was (or is) taking positions on things that conflict with the teachings of Christ or other portions of scripture. Maybe you even voted for some of the new resolutions, amendments, or by-laws, but now, like Nicodemus, you are having second thoughts. You are wondering if possibly your church body, which you have been with for years and have trusted, appreciated, and supported, is in the wrong.
To be in such a situation is enough to make a person physically sick. You don't dare to talk about it with other pastors in your church body, for fear of what they will say or think of you. You surely don't dare to talk to the church leaders, for you fear that they certainly won't understand. Perhaps you fear that your ministry could be in jeopardy if people knew to what extent you are questioning and doubting. If you could, you would go to Jesus at night to see what he thinks about the whole situation. But you can't, so what do you do? You go to Jesus in the privacy of your study.
Jesus wants us to ask him hard questions. He doesn't want us to be blindly led by others without thinking about what we believe. He gave all of us a brain to think with, a heart to believe with, and a tongue with which to discuss hard issues with him and those we trust. I urge you, if you are currently finding yourself in a similar situation to that of Nicodemus, to run to Jesus and start asking some hard questions. Where will the answers come from and how will they come? They come primarily through his word, and they are revealed to us as we read it, ponder it, pray over it, and sit quietly before him so that he can "speak" to us in the stillness of time alone with him. He will make Bible passages suddenly stand out to you like never before. He will help you see things in the context of scripture that you've never seen before. He will help you wrestle with difficult texts that you have avoided in the past for fear of controversy. He will help you make adjustments to beliefs and convictions that you thought were just fine until you were challenged in some way about those convictions. He may prompt you to develop new convictions on issues and doctrines that you never thought of before.
This work of the Holy Spirit was happening in Nicodemus' life and he didn't even know it. He was just asking the hard questions and listening to Jesus' answers.
Allow those to whom you minister to also ask hard questions. Don't shoot them down because you are concerned about what they believe, or you don't understand where they are coming from, or you are trying to avoid a conflict. Let them ask and, together, study God's Word to see if he will provide the answers.
A Pastor's Prayer:
Dear Lord,
If I'm more like Nicodemus than I am like a disciple, please be patient with me and help me understand your word. Where the things your word says differ with what my church believes, help me to know what to do. Thank you. Amen.
Romans 8:12-17
Our text is from a larger passage comprised of verses 1-17. In this larger passage, Paul distinguished between the person who lives according to the flesh and the person who lives according to the Spirit of God. There is a huge difference between the two.
Those who live according to the flesh are hostile to God; they do not submit to God's law -- nor can they do so. In addition, those who live according the flesh cannot please God. Paul pointed out that such people have their minds set on the things of the flesh and their end result is death.
On the other hand, those who live according to the Spirit do so because the Spirit of Christ dwells in them. Due to the redeeming work of Christ, the just requirement[s] of the law [are] fulfilled in those who have the Spirit. Such people have set their minds on the Spirit, and in so doing they experience life and peace, now and for all eternity.
The question we all need to ask ourselves is: "Upon what am I setting my mind?" In the daily routine of ministry, the one thing that pastors use the most is their minds. We spend hours thinking upon God's Word in preparation for Bible studies, sermons, devotionals, homilies, and so on. We sit at our desks, thinking about people -- both those who are a joy to us and those who are a grief to us. We think about how to minister to them, how to comfort them, how to counsel them, and, in some cases, how to discipline them. In addition to this, we are required to devote hours every week to thinking on administrative details and making decisions.
Our thoughts are not limited to ministry, however. There are the emotionally draining thoughts about ourselves and our loved ones. When we think of ourselves, we often think of our sins, our failures, and our shortcomings -- and that brings sorrow. Yet we also think about who God made us to be and how he redeemed us through the blood of Jesus -- that gives us joy! When we think of our loved ones, we think of their love for us and how much we love them; that also brings us joy. On the other hand, we think about their unhappiness with our long days of ministry and the tensions that can develop between us, and that brings sorrow.
We ask, "Upon what am I setting my mind?" How we think makes all the difference in the world as to our attitudes, our words, our actions, and our overall reputation. Our thinking shapes the kind of spouses we are, the kind of parents we are, and the kind of pastors we are. It determines our effectiveness in and out of the pulpit, for the pastor who thinks upon, and lives according to the flesh, will be fighting an uphill battle with God and people. They will not be able to please God and their ministries will die. But the pastor who thinks upon, and lives according to, the Spirit of God, will be in harmony with God and his people. They will have good consciences and speak the Word of God boldly. They will be experiencing life and peace, and it will be evident to all to whom they minister.
Having considered all this, we read again what Paul wrote in verse 12: So then, brothers and sisters, we are debtors, not to the flesh, [but to the Spirit, to live according to it]. We owe an enormous debt to Christ for what he has done for us and, consequently, who he has made us to be; children of God. God would have us live out that indebtedness through an obedient life that reflects his character. To do so, we must begin by setting our minds on the Spirit. May that become a daily discipline for each of us at the start of our day, before we say or do anything else.
A Pastor's Prayer:
Dear Lord,
Thank you for fulfilling the just requirements of the law through the sacrifice of your Son and his indwelling Holy Spirit. Help me today to set my mind on you; that all I say and do would be of you and reflect your righteous character, for your honor and glory. Amen.
