Connecting Points

by Nick Setterington

One of the (many) downsides of social media is how it trains our minds and affections to be in-the-know. How can we combat the temptation to follow every breaking news story or new life-update filling our phones and inboxes? We can battle the desire to know with the art of remembering.

Remember brothers and sisters in prayer. Paul says to Timothy, “I thank God whom I serve, as did my ancestors, with a clear conscience, as I remember you constantly in my prayers night and day” (2 Timothy 1:3). To the Ephesians he writes, “I do not cease to give thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers” (Ephesians 1:16). It’s so easy to get caught up in following the breaking news of our day. The irony is most of it wouldn’t have been newsworthy 50 years ago, and most of it will be forgotten next week, yet somehow we’re constantly being allured to follow the drama of our times. But there’s no lasting significance in gawking at our world’s gossip. Instead God gives us the privilege of seeking, initiating, and working divine plans through our prayers. An hour of useless scrolling pales in comparison to an hour of active prayer. If you think, “I don’t have time to pray,” I bet your iPhone log would say differently. We are constant in a lot of things; unfortunately prayer isn’t one of them. So next time you find yourself distracted with scrolling, divert your attention to praying. Who can you pray for today, remembering their work of faith, labor of love, and steadfastness of hope (1 Thess. 1:3)?

Remember the persecuted church. The author of Hebrews says, “Remember those who are in prison, as though in prison with them, and those who are mistreated, since you also are in the body” (Hebrews 13:3).  When one part of the body suffers, we all suffer together (1 Corinthians 12:26-27). No matter how bad our political problems may seem, they don’t compare to the persecution happening in China, Iran, Syria, and countless other places. How often do you pray for brothers and sisters who are imprisoned for their faith? How often do we plead with God to give us boldness to stand for the gospel in our context as they have courageously done in theirs? We can remember the persecuted church as we pray for it and learn from their example (Tim Keesee’s A Company of Heroes is a good place to start).

Remember the goal. The Christian life is a marathon that hasn’t timed out yet. The clock is still ticking. Some are in the first mile; others are in the final lap. But the race isn’t over, so as good athletes we press on toward the goal, which is the upward call of God in Christ Jesus (Philippians 3:14). In the book of Revelation, we see a description of the church in Sardis. They seemed alive on the outside, but inwardly they were dying. They still had work to do. Their race wasn’t finished, but apparently some had quit and gone their own way. Jesus says to them, “Wake up, and strengthen what remains and is about to die, for I have not found your works complete in the sight of my God. Remember, then, what you received and heard. Keep it, and repent” (Revelation 3:2-3). We all still have work to do! Let us wake up. Let us remember what we’ve received. In what ways do you need to press on in repentance from sin and growing in faith and knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ?

Remember the gospel. The gospel is the genesis and the generator of the Christian life, but like a lost sheep wandering from the fold, we are in constant danger of moving away from the very thing that gives us life. Paul reminds the Corinthians of the gospel (1 Corinthians 15), not because they forgot who Jesus was, but because their hearts and minds were fixed on other things. Paul commands Timothy, a young pastor, to “remember Jesus Christ, risen from the dead, the offspring of David, as preached in my gospel” (2 Timothy 2:8). Remembering the gospel is like mining a rich mineral deposit – the deeper you dig, the more riches you’ll uncover. The evil one is clever; he knows he can’t compete as long as the Christian stays in the gospel quarry. So his goal is to move us away, to get us into other mines. Sports, politics, careers and hobbies can easily become anti-gospel pits if we’re not careful. Ask yourself, “What issue or thing captures most of my attention and passion? Is it the gospel, or is it something that will soon be forgotten?” Remember the gospel. Let us be people who are marked and known by a love for the gospel above all other loves.

A life shaped by the art of remembering is a life that will spiritually flourish in troubled times. Let us be people who are committed to remembering.

by Allan Knapp

Proverbs 8:22–31…
“The LORD possessed me (wisdom) at the beginning of his work, the first of his acts of old.
Ages ago I was set up, at the first, before the beginning of the earth.
When there were no depths I was brought forth, 
when there were no springs abounding with water.
Before the mountains had been shaped, before the hills, I was brought forth,
before he had made the earth with its fields, or the first of the dust of the world.
When he established the heavens, I was there; when he drew a circle on the face of the deep,
when he made firm the skies above, when he established the fountains of the deep,
when he assigned to the sea its limit, so that the waters might not transgress his command,
when he marked out the foundations of the earth,
 then I was beside him, like a master workman, and I was daily his delight, rejoicing before him always, rejoicing in his inhabited world and delighting in the children of man.” 

God’s wisdom is one of the His characteristics identified in the Westminster Shorter catechism #4:

Q: What is God?

A: God is a Spirit, infinite, eternal, and unchangeable in his being, wisdom, power, holiness, justice, goodness, and truth.

Since all God’s attributes are inseparable, God’s wisdom is always powerful, holy, just, good, and true. God’s wisdom is unchangeable. This means that wisdom has been and will be in effect before, during, and after the existence of this planet we live on. Proverbs 8:30-31 tells us God’s wisdom was his delight in the creation of all things, including the children of man. Pause to consider the thrilling concept that all the features of the creation – rivers, gravity, oxygen, love, music, planets, and everything else – were all created and are imbued with God’s wisdom.

Unfortunately, although God and His wisdom are not changing, the Fall occurred.  Romans 8:19-23 tells us the creation, including mankind, “was subjected to futility,” needs to “be set free from its bondage to corruption,” and “has been groaning.” Our minds have been tainted; we cannot comprehend the wisdom all around us.

Fortunately, God’s wisdom is not completely hidden.  In Proverbs 8:17 Wisdom personified encouragingly tells us that those who seek wisdom diligently will find her. “Wisdom” extolls her positive characteristics throughout the chapter: prudence and sense (verse 5), noble things (6), truth (7), right and righteousness (6,8), knowledge (9), discretion (12), insight (14), strength(!), honor (18), justice (20), blessings (34), life (35).

The purpose of the book of Proverbs, laid out in the first seven verses of Chapter 1, is the purpose of the whole Bible – to align our hearts with what God loves.  Westminster Shorter Catechism #2 puts it this way: “The Scriptures principally teach what man is to believe concerning God and what duty God requires of man.”  Paul prays for his friends in Ephesus that “the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know Him better.”

Thus, finding and gaining true wisdom is another reason for studying and meditating on God’s Word and for prayer. May you enjoy both those activities today and hold on to a bit of God’s wisdom in so doing.

by Kevin Phipps

“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him.”  ~ John 3:16,17

Recently we were looking at this passage as a family, and my son had a concern about one word. Having already committed verse 16 to memory, he had a theological question about verse 17. The word that prompted his question was “might.” Does the word might in “that the world might be saved through him” mean that there would be those who believed but would not be saved? I explained to him that it doesn’t. The word might does not correspond to the effectiveness of the Father’s gift of the Son. Might reminds us that receiving requires believing. I explained to him that all sinners who believe will be saved but not all sinners will believe. Not all will receive the Father’s gift.

Every year we receive a Christmas gift catalog from an organization that specializes in ministering to impoverished children across the globe. For $18, you can give a mosquito net for malaria protection. For $40, you can give textbooks and learning materials. For $200, you can give a family some goats, so the parents can work towards becoming self-sufficient by raising and selling livestock.

The purpose of these gifts is not just to make this world a better place. According to their website, they believe they must do more than simply meet the physical needs of the poor. Every child who takes part in their program will learn about Jesus and hear the gospel. A summary of their approach to evangelism is “the good news is modeled and shared in age-appropriate and culturally relevant ways — never through coercion.”

This ministry knows that they can give a family a gift in Jesus’ name, but they can’t make someone receive the gift of Jesus. They can teach children about Jesus, but they can’t make them receive the gift of Jesus. The end goal of their mercy ministry is evangelism, but disciple making depends on the sovereign spiritual work of regeneration by the Holy Spirit (John 3:6-8). Without the Spirit’s working, none could believe. All of whom the Spirit works in are enabled to believe and receive the gift of Jesus.

Who do you know that needs to receive the gift of Jesus? What if this year you give gifts in Jesus’ name? Be intentional with the unbelievers in your world and share with them that we give because we have received so much from our Father, namely he has given us his only Son. It could be as simply as including a verse and God-glorifying gospel note in a Christmas card or including an invitation to attend or stream our Christmas Eve services with the Christmas cookies you deliver to your neighbors. Connect the gift you give with the Father’s gift and invite them to join you in worship one Sunday. You can’t coerce anyone into believing, but you can give a gift in Jesus’ name and gladly tell of the gift of Jesus this Christmas season.

By Matt Oomkes

Over the past few months I have found myself thinking a lot about the sovereignty of God. Because nothing is outside God’s control, we can completely trust that his promises and decrees will come to pass. If he says it will happen, then it will happen. Moreover, if something has happened, we must at least assert that God allowed it to happen. If something happened without God allowing it to happen then that thing would be outside of God’s control, and he would not be sovereign (and therefore not God).

As Christians, we tend to rejoice that God is sovereign when considering God’s promises of salvation and blessing to us, but balk when we consider it means that God has allowed for the things that have brought us pain and suffering. So is God being sovereign a good thing or a bad thing? Let’s look at portions of Psalm 62 to see why the psalmist thinks it is a good thing.

Psalm 6:5-8
For God alone, O my soul, wait in silence,
    for my hope is from him.
He only is my rock and my salvation,
    my fortress; I shall not be shaken.
On God rests my salvation and my glory;
    my mighty rock, my refuge is God.
Trust in him at all times, O people;
    pour out your heart before him;
    God is a refuge for us. Selah

In the midst of trial, the psalmist reminds himself to wait for God alone. Why? Because he recognizes that God is the only source of his ultimate hope, his salvation. Hope in anything else is a gamble, and certainly not a guarantee. If we place our hope in our jobs, our families, or even our health, those things are not guaranteed to last. God does not promise us these earthly blessings. But the hope of salvation that comes from God is certain for the Christian. God is our fortress, one that even the strongest enemy cannot overcome.

When things are going our way, this is easy to see and believe. The challenge for the Christian is to trust in God at all times, even when he allows us to suffer various hardships and trials. When earthly gifts are taken away or withheld it is easy for us to doubt God’s goodness, but if we do that we are forgetting that the greatest gift, the one that far surpasses all the rest, is still ours – that is, salvation. This does not mean we should not go to God with our pain and sorrow. Indeed, the psalmist instructs us to “pour out our heart before him”. But when trials come we should seek refuge in God as our fortress, so that we may not be shaken. Christians should never let hardships drive them to despair, for the Christian is never without hope.

 Verse 10 warns us of what is perhaps a greater danger for the Christian:

Put no trust in extortion;
set no vain hopes on robbery;
if riches increase, set not your heart on them.

There are two sides to this coin. We must trust in God when things are going poorly for us, but we must also trust in Him when we prosper. When God gives us good gifts there is the temptation to love the gifts more than the gift-giver. Ask yourself this question:  “If ____ was taken away, would I still trust that God is good?”

If riches increase, set not your heart on them, but on God. He is our fortress, our rock, our refuge. Trust in Him is never misplaced. God is sovereign, and our salvation and glory rest on Him alone.

by Dave Hinkley

Oliver Wendell Holmes (Sr), 19^th century poet and physician is quoted as saying: “some people are so heavenly minded that they are no earthly good.” This quote usually gets brought out by Christians who are frustrated by injustice in the world around us, and particularly frustrated by brothers and sisters who they feel aren’t doing enough about it.

The problem with this way of looking at the faith is that it flips the order of the two greatest commandments. The good of our fellow man is part of our purpose as God’s people, but it is our secondary, not primary purpose. Our primary purpose is to worship God. If Christ is not the reason for our love for our fellow man then we are not practicing true religion.

Of course we are to also be earthly minded. The Christian will be salt and light in the world – salt as a preservative and flavoring agent, and light as a prophetic and corrective agent. But the Christian’s hard work for the good of the world is only a byproduct of their devotion to Christ. It is precisely heavenly mindedness that makes a person salt and light. Indeed, the degree to which a person is salty and bright is the degree to which their mind dwells upon the excellencies of Christ and the glory of being united to him in the next life.

We are not those who place our hope or security in the stability or strength of the empires of this world. We work for (vote for, pray for, give toward, etc) the benefit of our society because we treasure the true King, who has left us here and will return. He expects us to do these things while we wait for him, but he also commands, for our own good, that we not plant our hope here on earth.

1 Thessalonians 5:2-4 says: For you yourselves are fully aware that the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night. While people are saying, “There is peace and security,” then sudden destruction will come upon them as labor pains come upon a pregnant woman, and they will not escape. But you are not in darkness, brothers, for that day to surprise you like a thief.

If peace and security on earth is the apple of our eye we end up blinded and not ready for Christ’s return. The people in this passage are surprised by sudden destruction because their worried eyes look first to what is around them and not first to Christ. They spend more time on cable news or twitter than in prayer. As the cultural pressures mount around us, let us not be distracted from the reality that Christ is coming back to earth and he is coming sooner than we know.

Verses 5-8 say: For you are all children of light, children of the day. We are not of the night or of the darkness. So then let us not sleep, as others do, but let us keep awake and be sober. For those who sleep, sleep at night, and those who get drunk, are drunk at night. But since we belong to the day, let us be sober, having put on the breastplate of faith and love, and for a helmet the hope of salvation.

The sleep here Paul is referring to is the same worldly mindedness that is only concerned with peace and security. However, believers in Jesus belong to the day; we are awake, not asleep. Thus, we fight to have a heavenly outlook on the events of the world, on our relationships, on all that we do. This fight requires equipment, and thankfully, we have love for God (and his people!) and faith in Christ to guard our hearts. We also have the hope of salvation, the hope of the second coming of Jesus Christ, to guard our minds.

How does the hope of Christ’s return guard your mind? What worry or disappointment can get through this steel: For God has not destined us for wrath, but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ, who died for us so that whether we are awake or asleep we might live with him. (v.9-10)?

Who is it who needs to know the comfort of the world to come? You, for sure; the lost, for sure; but don’t forget about your brothers and sisters in Jesus! They are going to get anxious and get over-occupied with earthly “peace and security.” You’re supposed to help them. Verse 11: Therefore encourage one another and build one another up, just as you are doing.

Holmes’ quote would lead us to believe that it was Martha and not Mary who chose the better portion. The truth is there is no earthly good without heavenly mindedness. When Christ comes again he will make all things new, and this is the security we should build our lives upon.

Download PDF copy of Session’s Update

November 19, 2020

To the saints at URC,

The Session of University Reformed Church wrote to you in May regarding the resumption of in-person corporate worship services. We outlined several guiding principles, including: glorifying the Lord and honoring His Word, loving our neighbors, upholding the importance of corporate worship, honoring and seeking to cooperate with government recommendations, respect for the conscience of brothers and sisters, and humility regarding our plans.

We must begin by praising God for his merciful protection over these last nine months, particularly as He has allowed us to gather together on Sunday mornings and evenings to hear the Word preached and return to the Lord’s table. Visitors are coming to URC, including college students and international scholars, and alongside our members they are hearing the gospel preached, being discipled, and growing in the knowledge of Christ. In fact, we have witnessed a handful coming to saving faith. This is cause for much rejoicing!

We are thankful that for several months, hospitalizations and deaths in Michigan overall, and Ingham County in particular, remained fairly low, even as COVID-19 cases increased. Unfortunately, we are now seeing a sustained rise in hospitalizations related to COVID-19 in Michigan, including Ingham County, and communication from hospital administrations that there could be a strain on health care systems. The Michigan Department of Health and Human Services order which took effect Wednesday was issued in response to this change. We are thankful that our worship services remain exempt from the restrictions and penalties outlined in the order. While not a requirement, the Session continues to believe that attempting to limit Coronavirus exposure and reduce spread is a way to show love to our neighbors and demonstrate care for the most at-risk members of our own congregation (Galatians 6:10).

For this reason, we write with several reminders and encouragements:

• We have a comprehensive COVID-19 strategy in place including socially distant seating, reduced service lengths, cleaning protocols, and adjustments to the HVAC system.

• Please wear a mask if you’re able (the 8:30 service will maintain “mask required” and the 10:00 and 11:30 services “masks encouraged”), particularly when close contact is unavoidable, such as entering and exiting the building.

• We encourage you to promptly exit the building at the end of the service and find an area away from the main entrance for fellowship. It’s also really important that we seek to be careful to social distance even as we’re fellowshipping outside.

• Thank you for not coming to services when you have fever, cough, shortness of breath, and other symptoms, or a known recent exposure to someone with COVID-19.

These are practical ways that we can honor and encourage one another and allow for continued corporate worship (1 Cor. 12:22-25, Hebrews 10:24-25).

Above all, we encourage you to pray. Pray for God’s protection over our bodies and souls. Pray for the vulnerable in our congregation and community. Pray for believers to live lives boldly declaring the truth of the gospel. Pray for those involved in providing medical care and those making difficult policy decisions.

Though we have many reasons to rejoice and be encouraged (many!), we are saddened to witness the divisive political and social climate of our culture impacting some relationships in our church. Beloved, let this not be so! There are myriad valid concerns regarding protection from COVID-19, the harms of government imposition, witness to community, and liberty. Let’s strive to be charitable in our interactions in person and online, not destroying our brother or sister for whom Christ died, but be “kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you” (Ephesians 4:32). We encourage you to review our Relational Commitment Booklet, particularly the section on Commitment to Peacemaking and Reconciliation.

In his book Bloodlines, which we are reading as a Session, John Piper writes: “The church is the assembly of those in whom the gospel has taken root. Therefore, it is the group where the reconciling power of the gospel will be seen — or not.” He is speaking about race and ethnicity, but the application to COVID-19 is the same. We’re living in a world that encourages division at every step. How we respond is a testimony to a watching world. Let us aim to walk in love, pursuing what makes for peace and mutual upbuilding (Romans 14, James 3:17-18). Remember the familiar but challenging words of Christ: “By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.” (John 13:35)

We are encouraged by your faith, your commitment to worship, and your love of fellowship. As we face this trial together, let us remember that there will be a day soon where the coronavirus will no longer mark our lives. We must strive for the peace and purity of the church, so that the faithful ministry of URC can be maintained for generations to come, being marked by love, harmony, and peace (Col 3:12-17). And let us look to Christ, whose reign and promised return grants us hope in all circumstances.

 

With love,

Brad Beals
Jason Helopoulos
Tim Herwaldt
David Hinkley
Allan Knapp
Peeter Lukas
Jeff McAlvey
Tim McCormick
Zane Meibeyer
Barry Peterson
Kevin Phipps
Josh Puuri
Nick Setterington
Chris Spencer

by Peeter Lukas

My mother-in-law, who will be 99 years old next month, is an impatient woman these days. She is ailing and bedridden. Ever so sharp of mind, but her flesh is weak. Why the impatience? She wants to go home to Glory. She doesn’t hesitate to tell family and friends, “Please pray that the Lord will take me soon!”

She’s near, but not as near as the exiled Apostle John on Patmos, whose vision of heaven begins in Revelation 4:1-3 – “After this I looked, and behold, a door standing open in heaven! And the first voice, which I had heard speaking to me like a trumpet, said, ‘Come up here, and I will show you what must take place after this.’ At once I was in the Spirit, and behold, a throne stood in heaven, with one seated on the throne. And he who sat there had the appearance of jasper and carnelian…” The chapter begins by centering upon God and His throne.

And there are concentric circles of worshippers looking at the throne. Their multi-layered praise is towards the center, to the Father’s throne: “Around the throne were twenty-four thrones,…” (v.4) “And around the throne, on each side of the throne, are four living creatures, full of eyes in front and behind…, and day and night they never cease to say, “Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord God Almighty, who was and is and is to come!” (v.6-8)

And in chapter 5:1-5 John “saw in the right hand of him who was seated on the throne a scroll written within and on the back, sealed with seven seals.” He saw “a mighty angel proclaiming with a loud voice, ‘Who is worthy to open the scroll and break its seals?’ And no one in heaven or on earth or under the earth was able to open the scroll or to look into it, and I began to weep loudly because no one was found worthy to open the scroll or to look into it. And one of the elders said to me, ‘Weep no more; behold, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has conquered, so that he can open the scroll and its seven seals.’”

What a vision God gives to John! One of the elders tells him that Christ is the victorious Lion of Judah, a triumphant, reigning monarch. But John also sees Him as a slain Lamb (5:6). His perfect life and lamb-like sacrificial death gives Christ the very highest honor in heaven. As one writer says it – “When Christ ascended to heaven He was invested with the authority and power to rule the world and the church in accordance with the divine decrees.“

Christ alone is worthy to take the scroll and open its seals because of His life and death and resurrection. And He is now at His Father’s right hand reigning in Glory.

And we first read of the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders: “And they sang a new song, saying, ‘Worthy are you to take the scroll and to open its seals, for you were slain, and by your blood you ransomed people for God from every tribe and language and people and nation.’”

And then John “heard around the throne and the living creatures and the elders the voice of many angels, numbering myriads of myriads and thousands of thousands, saying with a loud voice, “Worthy is the Lamb who was slain, to receive power and wealth and wisdom and might and honor and glory and blessing!” (5:11,12)

And finally John “heard every creature in heaven and on earth and under the earth and in the sea, and all that is in them, saying, ‘To him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb be blessing and honor and glory and might forever and ever!’ And the four living creatures said, ‘Amen!’ and the elders fell down and worshiped.”

My almost 99 year old mother-in-law is impatient these days. She wonders aloud where she will be seated in the heavenly circles of worship. We assured her that she wouldn’t have to elbow or jostle her way in. She’ll be perfectly satisfied wherever she sits. And we’ve asked what her first words will be to this Christ who reigns. She quickly replied, with glistening eyes, “Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.”

by Allan Knapp

Psalm 27:1
The LORD is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear?
The LORD is the stronghold of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?

2 Timothy 4:18
The Lord will rescue me from every evil deed and bring me safely into his heavenly kingdom. To him be the glory forever and ever. Amen.

Christ protects in many ways.  Here are five of them.

Christ’s common grace guards all living things on the earth because the natural laws He created are set up to support and feed his creatures, to give life and breath. The sinfulness of men deserves God’s wrath, but apocalyptic visions of the earth’s atmosphere getting sucked away or an asteroid destroying the planet are not going to happen because God is protecting it and us.  At least until the Day of Judgement, when all bets are off except that God’s people will be with Him.

For God’s people, the sanctification process is one of Christ’s protection mechanisms.  Once a person recognizes the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit as Lord of his life, the logic and goodness of God’s commandments are abundantly clear.  We can say with the Psalmist,

The law of the LORD is perfect, reviving the soul;
the testimony of the LORD is sure, making wise the simple;
the precepts of the LORD are right, rejoicing the heart;
the commandment of the LORD is pure, enlightening the eyes;
the fear of the LORD is clean, enduring forever;
the rules of the LORD are true, and righteous altogether. (Psalm 19:7-9)

We know many ways our lives are better and we are saved from foolish and stupid steps because we obey the commandments ordered by Him who created the universe; we often see otherwise in the lives of those who have not yet been saved.

Christ protects our prayers in at least two ways. First, Romans 8:26,27 and 34 tell us He and the Holy Spirit are interceding, making our prayers better by being in line with the will of God. Second, there is a lot to worry about if we only stare at the Truth and Hope Initiative prayers: election results, broad cultural discord, racial tension, COVID threats to health and liberty, the persecuted church around the world, and any number of personal problems. But when we let our requests be known to God, the peace of God will guard our hearts and minds in Christ Jesus (Philippians 4:6-7).

Christ will not lose any of his sheep. The souls of believers are guarded and will be with God in the new heaven and new earth. This is the Perseverance of the Saints part of the Doctrines of Grace and is echoed in the great phrase of Heidelberg Question Answer #1: “Christ, by his Holy Spirit, assures me of eternal life.”

Christ protects us by keeping His promises. He has proven Himself to be unchanging in His character, including being always powerful and good, merciful and just. We do not know what the future holds in this life but we do know we will continue to be sinners, and Jesus will be with us. It is indeed a great comfort to know that Christ keeps ALL his promise, including that he will protect us.

by Brad Beals

“…and from Jesus Christ the faithful witness, the firstborn of the dead, and the ruler of kings on earth. To him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by his blood and made us a kingdom, priests to his God and Father, to him be glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen.”
~ Revelation 1:5,6

Christ abides with his people, and that is a wonderful, terrible thing. The great truth of the Christian life is that Christ dwells in us. It is an assurance that should bring us both comfort as new believers and inexhaustible wonder as we walk with God through life. And yet our flesh constantly works against the truth of it. With our words we acknowledge that Christ dwells with us, but in our actions we live as though he were only a guest in the house – free to explore certain rooms – and not the owner of it.

The book of Revelation may seem a strange place for wisdom on Christ’s abiding with his people, but it actually tells us much because it tells us much about the risen Christ himself. Here we’re presented with some of the most symbolic imagery in all of the Bible, but parts of the book are very clear. In chapters two and three, for example, Jesus addresses the seven churches in Asia Minor (modern-day Turkey). There’s no reason to believe these churches are spiritualized or symbolic. These were real churches with real people and real problems. And Jesus had much to say to each of them.

He sees their faithfulness. The Ephesians endure patiently and hate the work of the Nicolaitans. Those in Smyrna are suffering tribulation and poverty, yet Jesus calls them rich. The church in Pergamum holds fast to his name and does not deny him. Thyatira’s works are genuine: love, faith, service, and patient endurance. And because Philadelphia has kept his word, they will be spared the coming hour of tribulation. Only Sardis and Laodicea have nothing in them that Christ commends.

He sees their lack of faithfulness too, and this is where it gets frightening. He tells the Ephesians to do the works they did at first or he will remove their lampstand. He warns those in Pergamum to repent of their sexual immorality or he will come and make war with them. Thyatira tolerates that woman Jezebel, who has not repented, and so Jesus will throw her on a sickbed and kill her children so that all of the churches will know that Christ is “he who searches mind and heart.” If Sardis doesn’t strengthen what little remains, he will come to them like a thief. And lukewarm Laodicea he will spit from his mouth. Only Smyrna and Philadelphia are spared admonition from Jesus.

As people of the Word we conform ourselves wholly to the Word. This is our lifetime’s work, our sanctification. In John 1, we read that Christ is the Word. In John 14, Jesus says, “I am the way, the truth, and the life.” Three chapters later, he says, “Sanctify them by the truth, your word is truth.” The Jesus that abides in us is the Truth, the very Word of God; and by his word and the Spirit who testifies to it and administers it to our hearts, we can know the mind of Christ who has all authority over Heaven and Earth.

In an age saturated with felt need psychology, it can be easy to forget that the victorious Christ, the reigning Christ of Revelation, is the Christ who abides with us. He both rules the nations and searches hearts and minds. The Christ who abides is not the soft man of the Sunday school flannelgraph but a warrior bent on conquest and a terror to those who do not hate what he hates, love what he loves, and think as he thinks. The five churches who are admonished had failed to have the mind of Christ, and we too can fail at it. Do you love what he loves? Hate what he hates? And follow his thoughts after him? If not, praise God, there is grace for us! His thoughts are not hidden or hard to discern. He tells us himself that his sheep know his voice (Jn 10:27). He tells us himself that we do have the mind of Christ (1Cor 2:16).

Jesus is our righteousness, our comfort, and our refuge. And he is the LORD, victorious over all. Every life, every nation, every human institution, and square inch of creation belong to Him. He is the owner of the house, and it is a wonderful, terrible thing that such a God would condescend to abide with us, but praise Him! He does!

by Steven Roskos

Do you fear that you will lose your faith? Do you struggle against a besetting sin? Are you uncertain that you can persevere through the suffering or temptation you are facing? Do you fear that our church, URC, won’t make it through the current crises? Or that the worldwide church is growing weaker, less faithful, and less effective?

The Apostle Paul feared for the church: “And, apart from other things, there is the daily pressure on me of my anxiety for all the churches” (2 Cor. 11:28). The New Testament church faced many challenges, not unlike us. Yet Paul did not lose heart. How? Paul was confident that Christ keeps the church. As he wrote in 2 Corinthians 4:14, “He who raised the Lord Jesus will raise us also with Jesus and bring us with you into his presence.” Paul was confident that the Corinthians would persevere in their faith until they died and were brought into God’s presence. Christ will keep us through this life and bring us safely home. How could he do otherwise?

We, the church, those who trust in Christ, are his beloved bride: “Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her, that he might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word, so that he might present the church to himself in splendor, without spot or wrinkle or any such thing, that she might be holy and without blemish.” (Ephesians 5:25). Christ is more committed to our holiness, unity, and perseverance than we are. He is confident that he will have a spotless bride to marry at the “marriage supper of the lamb” (Rev. 19:9). Jesus Christ “is able to keep you from stumbling and to present you blameless before the presence of his glory with great joy” (Jude 24). And Jesus is not uncertain about whether we are going to make it: “And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ” (Philippians 1:6).

How will this happen? How will Christ keep the church safe and bring us home in the end? By the ordinary means of grace.

As we read in Ephesians, he washes us with the water of the word. We read the word, both individually and with our family.  We listen to the word preached. It strengthens our faith and keeps us clinging to Jesus. The Spirit also helps us: “Likewise, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words” (Romans 8:26). Baptism and the Lord’s supper not only remind us of the Gospel, but in them we experience the goodness of God with our senses. Our brothers and sisters encourage us, so we gather with them: “Not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near” (Hebrews 10:25). We pray as we are able, not always as we ought to. And we confess our sins, to the Lord and to others. (1 John 1:9)

Though the world, our flesh (our sinful desires), and the devil are against us and threaten to overwhelm us, we need not lose heart. Christ keeps the church. Though our sin or suffering threaten to undo us, our Lord is faithful and strong and will keep us through the ordinary means of grace and bring us home to be with Him forever. Christ Keeps the Church

The soul that on Jesus has leaned for repose,
I will not, I will not desert to his foes;
That soul, though all hell should endeavor to shake,
I’ll never, no never, no never forsake.