Growing pains, Dr. Phil and you

Today: Ephesians 4-6

Growing up is hard to do...

Sounds like a song doesn't it? I think the song is actually "Breaking up is hard to do," but whatever. :) Both statements are true.

In this passage, Paul...and God, actually...are really encouraging Christians to grow up. I can almost picture the apostle Paul writing this as a Dr. Phil-like character, telling it "like it is" throughout this passage (though perhaps with more hair, no accent and a bit more edge).

Actually, he encourages the readers to "tell the whole truth" here, too:

God wants us to grow up,

to know the whole truth and tell it in love—

like Christ in everything.

We take our lead from Christ,

who is the source of everything we do.

He keeps us in step with each other.

His very breath and blood flow through us,

nourishing us so that we will grow up healthy in God,

robust in love.

All right--sounds good. But...how? The rest of the passage outlines a lot of things. I'll include some of the verses and my own short version (in bold) of eight ways to grow up, too (trust me, I'm still working on them, too!):

1. Don't follow a crowd who doesn't follow Christ. They don't know where they're going.

And so I insist—and God backs me up on this—

that there be no going along with the crowd,

the empty-headed, mindless crowd.

They've refused for so long to deal with God

that they've lost touch not only with God

but with reality itself.

They can't think straight anymore.

Feeling no pain, they let themselves go

in sexual obsession,

addicted to every sort of perversion.

But that's no life for you.

2. Learn Christ and His ways. He's truth itself and can transform your life, so that it feels brand new.

You learned Christ!

My assumption is that you have paid careful attention to him,

been well instructed in the truth precisely as we have it in Jesus.

Since, then, we do not have the excuse of ignorance,

everything—and I do mean everything—

connected with that old way of life has to go.

It's rotten through and through.

Get rid of it!

And then take on an entirely new way of life—

a God-fashioned life,

a life renewed from the inside

and working itself into your conduct

as God accurately reproduces his character in you.

3. Tell the truth without phony pretense, just as you'd want others to tell it to you.

What this adds up to, then, is this:

no more lies, no more pretense.

Tell your neighbor the truth.

In Christ's body we're all connected to each other,
after all.

When you lie to others, you end up lying to yourself.

4. It's okay to be angry...for a little while. If you let it last, it can destroy you.

Go ahead and be angry.

You do well to be angry—

but don't use your anger as fuel for revenge.

And don't stay angry.

Don't go to bed angry.

Don't give the Devil that kind of foothold in your life.

5. Don't steal--work, so you can help others.

Did you use to make ends meet by stealing?

Well, no more!

Get an honest job so that you can help others who can't work.

6. Speak life and encouragement. Words matter to God and people.

Watch the way you talk.

Let nothing foul or dirty come out of your mouth.

Say only what helps, each word a gift...

Make a clean break with all cutting, backbiting, profane talk.

Be gentle with one another, sensitive.

Forgive one another as quickly and thoroughly

as God in Christ forgave you.

7. Be conscious of your conscience. "Gut instinct" could be God at work inside you (as long as it's in line with the Bible, of course!).

Don't grieve God.

Don't break his heart.

His Holy Spirit, moving and breathing in you,

is the most intimate part of your life,

making you fit for himself.

Don't take such a gift for granted.

8. Imitate God: Love.

Watch what God does,

and then you do it,

like children who learn proper behavior from their parents.

Mostly what God does is love you.

Tomorrow: Philippians

What stood out most to you?

Today: Matthew 27-28

"What stood out most to you?" is probably one of the best questions for starting a discussion. (Try it some time after a movie, art exhibit, vacation or at a small group meeting).

After I read today's passage, I asked myself that question. I can't think of a specific theme today, so this will be a somewhat random collection of things that stood out:

• What would it be like to be infamous--marked by history as part of something evil? I'll admit--this is a really odd question. But I thought of it after reading about how the Pharisees purchased a field with the money Judas was paid to betray Jesus. Their actions were prophesied by Jeremiah--but a priest part of the situation probably felt like he was just "part of the crowd."
  
  
• The actions of one generation impact the next...and beyond. The people who demanded Jesus' death pleaded with Pilate to crucify Him. They said, ""We'll take the blame, we and our children after us." What kind of actions are we taking today that will impact the next generation?
  
  
• The patient love of Jesus. It baffles my mind to think of what He endured--unjustly--on the cross. He was beaten, mocked, misunderstood, and tortured by people who just didn't see Him for who He is. Yet through it all, He remained strong, kind, compassionate and determined. Wow.
  
  
• Something I never noticed before--people who came to life as Jesus died. This was an interesting thing to discover. What would it have felt like to be one of those people or one of their family members? What would be like to suddenly come to life again because someone else lost His? How would your life be changed?
  
  
• The resurrected Jesus first appeared to women. This is kind of interesting to me because of the culture at the time--women were second-class citizens. Why would God in the flesh show up first to them? Why would He entrust the message of His resurrection to them? Maybe it's just because they were there and they were faithful. I honestly don't know--but I think it's interesting.
  
  
• Some of the disciples missed out on seeing and worshipping Jesus after He came to life. I never really noticed this before, either. It says, "Some, though, held back, not sure about worship, about risking themselves totally." Hmm...this reminds me of the "What kind of investor is God?" post from a few days ago. All of Jesus' friends and followers weren't ready to go "all in" or live "all out" for Him.
  
  Can you imagine being one of those people...a few days or a few years later? I think I would have always wondered, "What would have happened if I would have been there? What if I could have seen Jesus one more time? What if I had lived on the edge and worshipped Him?"
  
  
• Before He left for heaven, Jesus made a promise. When I started reading Matthew, one of my first posts was about how God keeps promises...and how the writer of Matthew continually reminded us of them. It's interesting that as Jesus left the earth, His last recorded words in Matthew are a promise to us, "I'll be with you...day after day after day, right up to the end of the age."
  

Tomorrow: Mark 1-3