David Bahn – Reflections

I may not have been gentle—but at the time, I didn’t think it mattered.

A woman had purchased two concrete planters and set them at the entrance to the new building addition at the church I was serving. Each held a beautiful shrub. Then one morning, I arrived to find that the planters were gone—and the shrubs lay on the ground beside the doors. Someone had stolen them!

We replaced those planters, but before doing so I printed this verse on the replacements:

“Do not be deceived: God is not mocked, for whatever one sows, that will he also reap.” – Galatians 6:7

I was angry. My “warning label” was anything but gentle. But no one ever read it—and the new planters remained unmoved.

A friend of mine believes pride is the root of all sin. We’ve talked about this more than once. I’m not entirely convinced he’s right—but I’m not sure he’s wrong either. What I am convinced of is this: humility is absolutely essential to healthy relationships within the body of Christ.

Humility is also essential to faith itself. We must humble ourselves before God to repent of our sins and trust in his grace. It is the defining mark of Jesus’ own character—“who humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross” (Philippians 2:8).

So when I need correction, I must be humble enough to receive it. And when I’m called to help restore someone else, I must do so with gentleness and humility – one sinner guiding another back to the cross, where both stand on level ground.

The fruit of the Spirit adorns such confrontations and exhortations beautifully. Humility sparkles like the diamond it is when the light of love, joy, peace, patience, gentleness, and goodness all shine on it. Gentleness and humility are not only essential to Christian relationships, they reflect the grace of Christ, who restores us gently, forgives freely, and sows mercy in hearts that once were proud.

There have been times when sorely-tempted, people have given in and fallen into sin. There have been times when faced with the opportunity to do a great work of faith and faithfulness people have risen to the challenge and done extraordinary things.

But we who have been called by the Holy Spirit of God also know that we do not go all the way down the vortex of temptation and sin. We haul ourselves back before completely giving in to the point of death. The Holy Spirit prevents us from completely abandoning the faith – sinners though we are. And we also know what it is to propose some great act of sacrificial love, but to fail to give in fully to the point of death.

If we are free in Christ why is a life of faithfulness so difficult? Paul speaks of this here when he says, “For the desires of the flesh are against the Spirit, and the desires of the Spirit are against the flesh, for these are opposed to each other, to keep you from doing the things you want to do” (Galatians 5:17). We do not do what we want to do on either side. We don’t give in fully to temptation. Nor do we perfectly follow the lead of the Holy Spirit. 

There is a war going on. We are saint and sinner. And the struggle will continue until life’s end. But even as we struggle, we do not despair. We rely on the Holy Spirit’s power to fight temptation, and to restore us in repentance and faith when we stumble. And we pray that the fruit of the Spirit: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control would ever more control our hearts, minds, and hands. 

I can still recall the feeling of relief. The sweat chloride test resuIt was negative. As in good. As in no cystic fibrosis. It was as if a weight was lifted from my shoulders. There were so many positive implications to that news. No daily clapping to loosen phlegm. No expensive medications to administer. No phone calls to sisters with the grave news that since both of us were carriers of the dread disease, it was likely they were too. Just relief. I still sigh as I recall that day.

It’s one thing to say it’s not too late; that as long as there’s life, there’s hope. It’s quite another to see a complete reversal of fortune. The blind man seeing. Healed. The lost one found. The last one is first. The loser  becomes the winner.

This is the message of Isaiah 54. It is a reference to Sarah, who had been barren for many many years, who bore a son. And not just any son: the son of the promise. Through this child the seed of Abraham would be continued. And the promise to Abraham, “In you all the nations of the world will be blessed,” would continue to unfold.

So what do we do in the face of such good news? We praise God. We rejoice in his faithful work in and through us. But not only so. We expand the realm of our dwelling. We enlarge our influence and our testimony to God’s faithfulness, grace, goodness, and love.

This is the good news of God. This is the LORD’s doing. This is God’s redemption. His doing. For all this it is our duty to thank, praise, serve and obey him. Because of his redemption we may live under Christ in his kingdom and serve him eternally. This is not only for us, it is for all whom the Lord will call to himself. We enlarge God’s reign and rule of grace and faith because he has had compassion on us with  his everlasting love.

I will be taking the next 8 days as Sabbath rest. That means I won’t publish my blog for that period of time. I will, however, continue to follow the 149 Week Bible Challenge readings during that time. I hope you will also keep up that discipline.

Blessings!
David Bahn

I’ve had my share of friends. Some of them have been very good – supportive of God’s ways and values. Some have not had the same positive effect. Sadly, some tempted me to turn aside from God’s ways. Obviously I pray that my impact in people’s lives was to turn people toward God. But the ways of the world are not always obvious, evil, or blatant.

Satan is the accuser and father of the lie. He seeks to steal, kill, and destroy. Sometimes his attack is blatant and head-on. Take it! You won’t get caught! Other times he is far more subtle. You’re being wronged. You need to get revenge. You need to claim your rights. Don’t let them push you around.

Often, moreover, our sinful flesh plays right along with his ploys. We get angry, lose our temper, and lash out at those we love. We are caught in a low moment and give in to cravings that will never fill the soul, but provide brief respite. We think we’ve got it coming and do whatever is necessary to get our way.

James warns us against that in no uncertain terms. “Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God” (James 4:4). We must all admit that we have fallen prey to his schemes. 

Thankfully God loves sinners, and is constantly calling us back to himself. That is exactly what James is doing here. “Or do you suppose it is to no purpose that the Scripture says, ‘He yearns jealously over the spirit that he has made to dwell in us’? ⁶ But he gives more grace. Therefore it says, ‘God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble’” (James 4:5-6).

If you’ve made the wrong kind of friends, heed God’s call to return to him and embrace his grace, and delight in his love for you. He has given us life, and filled us with his Holy Spirit. He desires that we remain faithful to him and experience the fullness of his grace in Jesus Christ. Jesus is our truest friend.

“I think you would be a good pastor,” she said. Little did she know that one day she would be a pastor’s wife, my dear Diane!

“Maybe you’re just not smart enough to take a foreign language,” my sixth grade teacher said. Little did she know I would one day attain at least minimal proficiency in German and Greek, and an ability to read and slog my way through Hebrew.

Words have great power. The first example was so very edifying and encouraging. My teacher’s words hurt and stunted my academic progress for years. Truly, I may well not have been able to handle a foreign language at that time. But she could have said, “You might want to wait a year or two before tackling a foreign language.” That might not have stung so much!

James reminds us that words can hurt and words can heal. The tongue can set a destroying fire and destroy relationships. That same tongue can also praise God. “From the same mouth come blessing and cursing. My brothers, these things ought not to be so” (James 3:10). 

There are times when a strong word is needed. Paul tells Titus that a pastor, “must hold firm to the trustworthy word as taught, so that he may be able to give instruction in sound doctrine and also to rebuke those who contradict it.”

But recall James’ earlier words, “the anger of man does not produce the righteousness of God” (James 1:20). And Solomon says, “Gracious words are like a honeycomb, sweetness to the soul and health to the body” (Proverbs 16:24). Not only that, but he also says, “Whoever is slow to anger is better than the mighty, and he who rules his spirit than he who takes a city” (Proverbs 24:32).

Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in your sight,
O Lord, my rock and my redeemer (Psalm 19:14). That’s a good prayer for all of us – teachers and learners alike.

It was a cold rainy Tuesday night in Brooklyn, New York (no, this isn’t the beginning of a bad novel!). People stood outside of the Brooklyn Tabernacle waiting for the prayer service to begin. Pastor David Schultz and I were inside visiting with Jim Cymbala, the pastor of the amazing prayer-centered, God-honoring church. When the doors finally opened 2500 people found their way to their seats in the renovated former theater. When the service began people sang, listened, and prayed.

We stood together in groups of 4 or 5 people. Total strangers prayed for us and we for them. Then came the invitation to come forward for a special time of prayer. Pastor Cymbala had Pastor Schultz and me kneel on the steps in the front of the auditorium. People gathered around us and he prayed for us as pastors, and for many others as well. Others were praying during that time too.

It was a God-honoring experience. In fact, that was my complete assessment and impression of the night. God was being honored. He was being honored by people calling on his name, praying to him, praising him, pleading for loved ones’ salvation and for release from addictions of all kinds.

I am reminded of this when I see the phrase, “We do not know what to do, but our eyes are on you” (v.  2 Chronicles 20:12). On the one hand this is a act of repentance, an acknowledgement of our need for help beyond ourselves and beyond our strength. It could be an act merely of surrender. But it is more than that. It is an act of faith, and a confession that God has the answer to our needs.

That is true not only in times of urgent distress, and when we are aware of the need. God is the answer to our ultimate need for life, hope, healing, salvation, peace, and joy. When we are in distress, we look to Christ, God’s ultimate answer to our needs. When we are in times of peace and wellbeing, we look to Christ, the source of true peace and ultimate wellbeing. In any case, we do well to echo the prayer of Jehoshaphat, and keep our eyes on Jesus. 

I wish it wasn’t so easy to set up a straw man of religious zeal. They have an answer for every challenge. They stand on a street corner (or outside funerals, clinics, or public events) with angry signs, shouting judgment without pointing to the hope of forgiveness in Christ. Some justify acts of terror, persecution, or vandalism against people of another religion (or even against fellow Christians of another denomination).

I know these examples are few, extreme, and notorious. But then again, there are those who compromise the faith, dishonoring Christ and his suffering, death, and resurrection. Some want simply to get along without taking a stand for truth, life, and faithfulness to the Bible.

There are also those who ridicule people of faith, and mock sincere servants of Christ. They belittle the Bible, and make light of those who have sincerely-held convictions about truth, justice, mercy, and faithfulness. They dismiss religion as the opium of the people, to quote Marx.

To those who try to prove their faithfulness by extreme acts of zealotry, James says “Religion that is pure and undefiled before God the Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself unstained from the world.” That is true religion. It touches hearts and comforts souls. It emboldens faith and strengthens weak knees. 

I’m reminded of this, also, in light the previous truth James lifts up: “the anger of man does not produce the righteousness of God.” Extreme and notorious displays of religious fervor simply do not accomplish the righteous things God desires for us and for the world. 

Spirited and respectful debate is fine. Candor, intelligence, and good will is very often edifying. And the still small voice of God’s grace and truth centered in Jesus has the power to change lives and bring salvation to all people. That’s what true religion seeks to convey.