with Bob Condly
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hope

The Heart of a Shepherd

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One of my favorite Christian musicians is John Michael Talbot. For decades his songs have enriched my dedication to Jesus and deepened my worship of the Lord. I realize I’m not the only one; his ministry has blessed millions.

One of his many outstanding albums is Heart of the Shepherd. Most of its songs are passages from the letters of Paul. Talbot said he made this album to bring attention to the pastoral side of the apostle. Paul traveled the Roman Empire spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ. He made disciples and trained many of them to become leaders. Paul endured resistance from false teachers and government officials. His life wasn’t easy.

But he never lost his concern for the wellbeing of fellow Christians. He wanted their faith to thrive even (especially) if they encountered similar difficulties. These songs illustrate Paul’s shepherd heart.

And I could say something similar about other apostles like Peter, John, and James. Driving the theology of their writings is a pastoral motivation. They care about the spiritual welfare of Christ’s flock.

Let’s add to this list the writer of the letter to the Hebrews. One problem: we know who received the epistle–Jewish Christians–but we don’t know who wrote it. And while I can’t settle the matter, I can assert that this writer possessed the heart of a shepherd.

I say this because of a verse that leaped out at me. It amazed me how well it expressed loving care.

Here is the full passage in the New International Version:

“God is not unjust; he will not forget your work and the love you have shown him as you have helped his people and continue to help them. 11We want each of you to show this same diligence to the very end, so that what you hope for may be fully realized. 12We do not want you to become lazy, but to imitate those who through faith and patience inherit what has been promised.” – Hebrews 6:10-12

What got my attention was verse 11 in the New Living Translation:

“Our great desire is that you will keep on loving others as long as life lasts, in order to make certain that what you hope for will come true.”

To learn what it means to have the heart of a shepherd, let’s unpack this verse phrase by phrase.

“Our great desire is that”

This is how leaders think about their charge. God gives them a deep longing for the welfare of those whom they serve. Without that heart, church leaders are apt to regard their responsibilities as burdens. But when they live from the heart of Jesus, they identify with people and seek to bring them closer to the Lord.Nothing less than the realization of the will of God will please wise shepherds.

Whether you see yourself as a leader or not, it’s worth pondering how you view others. Are they a delight or a distraction? What motivates you to make a difference in the lives of others?

“You will keep on loving others”

This is what believers do and must continue to do, even when it gets hard. The recipients of this letter suffered rejection and persecution because of their allegiance to Jesus. When the world turned its back on them, the Christians had to turn to each other for support. Who else would help?

Loving other Christians is easy on paper but in real life, not so much! Yet Jesus models patience and commitment toward us. How then can we fail to extend the same treatment toward others? We can’t! God’s lovingkindness for us compels us to treat our brothers and sisters in Christ with the same love and mercy. When they struggle, we step in to help. When they suffer, we defend them and bandage their wounds.

What can you do to contribute to the ways people show love in your church? What is cluttering the flow of love in your life? What facilitates your expression of love?

“As long as life lasts”

If God already has you on the path of love, great! Don’t quit; love as long as you live. There will always be needs; wherever you look, you will find people who need a hand. As long as you’re here, you can change someone’s life; you can make a difference that will outlast your life.

That’s the beauty of serving the Lord. What we do outlives us. Our days on earth end, but we can fill them with the presence of the Spirit so we’re busy with the Father’s business. Then, when He calls us home, our labor ends but the effects continue. So now’s the time to invest ourselves. Empowered by God’s love, we can enrich the lives of all those around us. And Christian leaders who adopt this mindset do their churches a real favor!

“In order”

The writer of Hebrews is about to introduce a purpose for his exhortation. Blessing others and showing them love are wonderful; but God has something else in store for us. It’s okay to have a purpose that supplements or transcends blessing fellow believers. We don’t want to reduce people to means to achieve our goals. They have inherent value and true Christians, including good pastors, know this. But as God’s plans are broad, so we can expect Him to do more in and through us than we assume.

As you learn how to walk in love, where do you believe the Lord is leading you? What has He shown you about His plans for your life?

“To make certain”

It’s hard to do anything long-term, especially loving for a lifetime, if we’re not sure of the reason for doing it. Of course, if we’re afraid of God punishing us, we’ll do what we’re told! But that’s not how Jesus operates with His own, and neither do leaders who have His heart. Rather than pushing us into something we despise, the Lord draws us forward. He invites us to move into a fuller realization of His kingdom in our midst.

The enemies of our soul–the world, the flesh, and the devil–will try to discourage. They don’t have to do all the work; they sow seeds of doubt and let them grow. We then do the rest! The aim of the enemy is to make us uncertain about God’s will and skeptical about His good plans. Hence the need for a loving community that encourages everyone to push ahead.

What has God made certain in your life? What are you convinced of that you can share as a blessing with others? Who do you know is down and needs a positive word?

“That what you hope for”

What do we hope for? The Christian life looks back to the cross of Christ and His resurrection. The Christian life explores the present day and how we can live out our faith in Jesus by the power of His Spirit. And the Christian life peers toward the future. We’re headed somewhere and pastors have the privilege of helping us clarify the destination.

What do you hope for? What do you yearn for the Lord to achieve in your life? How will this glorify Jesus? How will it bless you? How will it bless the church?

“Will come true”

It may take a lifetime, but God will fulfill our desires. We have His promise, and those with shepherd hearts communicate this assurance to us. They care that we do not succumb to discouragement or abandon our confidence in Christ.

In the world, hope is dangerous because so often it sets people up for disappointment. Better not to hope, that way you can’t get hurt! But the Lord has a better way for you to live. It’s daring because it will call for you to hope in God in ways that will stretch you. Are you prepared to trust God to the ultimate extent? If so, how can you inspire the faith of a brother or sister in Christ? What steps are you taking toward the realization of God’s will in your life?

Conclusion

Jesus identifies Himself as our Good Shepherd (see John 10:11, 14). And He’s given us shepherds who care for our growth in faith, hope, and love. We have the support we need to discover and fulfill the will of God. Life in His kingdom has so many blessings; let’s not fail to receive them or share them.

What the Bible Teaches About Enlightenment

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When your home suffers a power outage, do you find yourself jiggling the light switch? It could be a burnt out bulb, but if all the other rooms are dark, the bulb’s not the problem. There’s no power. The electricity exists somewhere, but it’s not flowing into your home. So for a while–who knows how long?–you’ll have to wait.

But sometimes we can’t afford the delay. If we have projects piling up or a test tomorrow or it’s past dinnertime, we hop in the car and drive to a place with the lights on. No need to inquire–if we see the lights burning, the establishment has electricity and our problem is over. At least for the moment.

Our reliance on electric lights has diminished our sensitivity to nighttime. We can work all night in rooms that are brighter than a summer day. Our eyes don’t tell us if it’s late; clocks do.

Artificial lights inhibit us from recognizing when it’s daytime and when it’s night. This is true in the spiritual realm, too.

The Bible declares that “God is light; in him is no darkness at all” (1 John 1:5). But people fabricate substitutes for Him, artificial replacements that are more acceptable to them. Idols take God’s place and they seem to deliver. But when crises hit, idols prove inadequate. When there’s a power shortage or light bulbs break, we can no longer see. And when idols fail people, they can no longer rely on them.

The Lord delights to illumine the obscurity that seeks to envelop us. Here’s what He offers us.

Hope

“But now for a brief moment grace has been shown from the LORD our God, to leave us an escaped remnant and to give us a peg in His holy place, that our God may enlighten our eyes and grant us a little reviving in our bondage.” – Ezra 9:8 (NASB)

When we’re down in the dumps and can’t find our way out of the predicament, a little hope can do wonders. We get a twinkle in our eyes; your problem may still exist, but we don’t feel stuck; we envision a future of freedom. God offers us a way forward and that sense of possibility energizes and encourages our souls.

Life

“Behold, God does all these oftentimes with men, 30to bring back his soul from the pit, that he may be enlightened with the light of life.” – Job 33:29-30 (NASB)

“Consider and answer me, O LORD my God; enlighten my eyes, or I will sleep the sleep of death.” – Psalm 13:3

It doesn’t get more basic that this! When God enlightens us, He keeps us alive. The Lord guards us from hidden dangers and He allows us to see the blessings He provides. Without His light, we’ll stumble over the traps of this world and we’ll miss out on His bounty. So God grants us His light that we would behold and enjoy His care.

Wisdom

“The precepts of the LORD are right, rejoicing the heart; the commandment of the LORD is pure, enlightening the eyes.” – Psalm 19:8 (NASB)

“Whom did the LORD consult to enlighten him, and who taught him the right way? Who was it that taught him knowledge, or showed him the path of understanding?” – Isaiah 40:14

The ways of the Lord suffer mockery, but God is no fool. His wisdom is deep and His decisions are just. If we follow Him, we develop our character and learn how to handle the problems that confront us. By obeying His Word, we fill our lives with meaning.

Spiritual Awareness

“There was the true Light which, coming into the world, enlightens every man.” – John 1:9 (NASB)

Ideas are like light bulbs; some people have more than others, some notions are brighter than others, and some beliefs are broken. By contrast, the light of the sun is universal. It makes no difference if our homes have incandescent, fluorescent, or LED bulbs; we all need sunshine.

And through Jesus Christ, God has blessed everyone with spiritual light. To extend the analogy, we could say that God is the sun and Jesus is the light that emanates from the sun. He enables us to see; without Christ, our world would be dark. As C. S. Lewis wrote, “I believe in Christianity as I believe that the Sun has risen, not only because I see it but because by it, I see everything else.” Through Jesus, we begin to understand ourselves, the world, and God. His light helps us to see reality as it is, not as we wish it to be.

Salvation

“It is impossible for those who have once been enlightened, who have tasted the heavenly gift, who have shared in the Holy Spirit, 5who have tasted the goodness of the word of God and the powers of the coming age 6and who have fallen away, to be brought back to repentance. To their loss they are crucifying the Son of God all over again and subjecting him to public disgrace.” – Hebrews 6:4-6

“But remember the former days, when, after being enlightened, you endured a great conflict of sufferings.” – Hebrews 10:32 (NASB)

The light of the gospel of Jesus Christ reveals to us the truth about God, others, and ourselves. The Lord enlightens us that we would see our need and His grace and that we would turn to Him. We also discover that salvation is a gift; rather than trying to earn it, we need only receive it. Jesus has paid the price for us.

But the gospel draws opposition. The writer to the Hebrews reminds his readers that although God’s grace is free, trusting in Christ exacts a high price. We encounter hostility from the world which rejects Him. But we also find ourselves tempted to abandon Him in favor of an easier path.

Yet we have hope. The light of Christ which draws us to God will show us how our faith is being tested and how we’re to respond. Jesus doesn’t abandon His disciples; He knows what we need.

Sanctification

“I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in his holy people.” – Ephesians 1:18

This verse combines all the elements we’ve discussed about enlightenment: hope, life, wisdom, and salvation. And it does so by directing us toward what theologians call sanctification or holiness. God saves us to grow us. Our relationship with Him is a precious gift that will take all eternity to unfold. Each day represents an opportunity for us to know the Lord better, to serve Him with our whole hearts, and to honor Him in everything we say and do.

As accustomed as we are to light bulbs, they cannot take the place of sunlight. So also in matters of the spirit–the resources of this world pale in comparison to what God has invested in us.

“For God, who said, ‘Let light shine out of darkness,’ made his light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of God’s glory displayed in the face of Christ.” – 2 Corinthians 4:6

Shine the light of Jesus!

with Bob Condly

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