We like our rules and our rituals – it seems to be endemic to the human condition. The entire book of Galatians was written to address this problem, and, indeed, it is a problem. And it’s not just Galatians (or Hebrews that we read just before Galatians). Look what Paul wrote in Colossians:

If with Christ you died to the elemental spirits of the world, why, as if you were still alive in the world, do you submit to regulations—“Do not handle, Do not taste, Do not touch” (referring to things that all perish as they are used)—according to human precepts and teachings? These have indeed an appearance of wisdom in promoting self-made religion and asceticism and severity to the body, but they are of no value in stopping the indulgence of the flesh. (Colossians 2.20 – 23, ESV)

“No value in stopping the indulgence of the flesh.” Bible teacher Dave Wyrtzen wrote recently about an experience he had a number of years ago trying to order pizza with another pastor. They couldn’t agree on what kind of pizza to order because the other pastor had committed himself to keep the Old Testament dietary laws. The sad ending to the story is that Dave heard later that a few years after the pizza incident, the fellow had left his wife and run off with his secretary. Indeed, eating kosher had not prevented the indulgence of the flesh.

Maybe that’s why Paul wrote twice in Galatians some very startling words:

For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision counts for anything, but only faith working through love. (Galatians 5.6, ESV)

For neither circumcision counts for anything, nor uncircumcision, but a new creation. (Galatians 6.15, ESV)

“Neither circumcision nor uncircumcision counts for anything.” What does count, Paul?

• Faith working through love
• A new creation

For the love of Christ compels us, because we judge thus: that if One died for all, then all died; and He died for all, that those who live should live no longer for themselves, but for Him who died for them and rose again…Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new. (2 Corinthians 5.14, 15, 17, NKJV)

I should share good news whenever I find it, and the fact that there are nice people willing to go out of their way to help a stranger is good news.

I was on my way to church Sunday when the car began to sound funny. I determined it wasn’t the engine so I thought maybe it was a tire. I pulled over at the first opportunity, still in my neighborhood, less than two miles from home.

I can’t even call it a flat tire. It was shredded. Half the sidewall was completely gone. So I pulled my spare tire (the temporary donut type) and jack out of the trunk. I remembered to loosen the lug nuts first, and I’m glad I did. They were VERY tight. If I had tried to loosen them while the car was elevated on the jack, I’m sure I would have knocked it off. I squeezed the jack under the car (not much clearance with no tire) and began to raise the car.

I was having a hard time because the jack was so low to the ground and it took many turns to get even a little movement. After two knee replacements, my knees don’t fold under me like they used to. So I decided I would call AAA. The first recording explained that they were understaffed (isn’t everyone?), and it would take a while to get someone to the phone. “Why don’t you try our website?”

So I’m on hold and trying to report my need on the website, but the website reporting system bogged down. In the meantime, a fellow approached on foot and said, “Do you need help?” I said, “Well, I’m on hold with AAA. The jack is working, but I can’t work it.” He got right down on his knees and started making progress with the jack. By the time AAA came on the phone, we were nearly finished so I canceled AAA.

I was parked next to a church, and he had parked in the church’s parking lot. He quipped, “I hope they don’t mind my parking there. If they say something, I’ll remind them of the story of the Good Samaritan.” He told me he lived right near where I was stopped, and he actually passed me twice. The first time, he thought, “He’s OK. He’s on the phone getting some help.” Then he had to go back home to get something he forgot, and when he passed me again he saw I was still on the phone. That’s when he decided to stop.

So I am grateful to Walt Moore, retired environmental impact engineer, now filling his time making and teaching pottery! My neighbor in every sense of the word.

“Which of these three, do you think, proved to be a neighbor to the man who fell among the robbers?” He said, “The one who showed him mercy.” And Jesus said to him, “You go, and do likewise.” (Luke 10.36, 37, ESV)

P.S. I’m very thankful that if I have to have a blowout, it happened in the neighborhood at low speed, not out on the highway.

God has people everywhere.

Saturday’s blog on Will Smith told how actor Denzel Washington counseled Will and helped him get control of himself:

After the altercation at the Oscars, actor Denzel Washington counseled Smith, “At your highest moment, be careful—that’s when the devil comes for you.”

My son Mark passed on this story from a 2017 NFL game between the Carolina Panthers and the Atlanta Falcons. Falcon receiver Julio Jones had not dropped a pass in the end zone in five years, but he dropped this one on a 4th down play. At that point the defender, Kurt Coleman, went over to talk to Jones. You can see (but not hear) the exchange. What did Coleman say? Here’s the story as reported by Stephen Igoe, on November 6, 2017:

When it came to Julio Jones’ critical dropped touchdown on fourth down in the fourth quarter of Carolina’s 20-17 win over the Falcons on Sunday, the Panthers safety could have rubbed it in a little bit more to the rival wide receiver, or even just walked away without saying anything. But Coleman chose to embrace Jones and pick him up with some words of encouragement.

“He’s a very spiritual guy,” Jones said after the game. “He said some spiritual things to me. That was it.”

Coleman, who’s called the “Bishop” by star quarterback Cam Newton, lived up to the name. Here were the words Coleman told Jones:

“‘Glory to God,’” Coleman said. “I think sometimes we want to glorify Him in the good times. Sometimes you’ve got to glorify Him in the bad times.”

As I said, God has people everywhere.

All the saints greet you, especially those of Caesar’s household. (Philippians 4.22, ESV)

Soon afterward [Jesus] went on through cities and villages, proclaiming and bringing the good news of the kingdom of God. And the twelve were with him, …and Joanna, the wife of Chuza, Herod’s household manager, and Susanna, and many others, who provided for them out of their means. (Luke 8.1 – 3, ESV)

I had two conversations with two different pastors within a 24-hour period, completely different people, different conversations, and the same topic came up in both. That’s worth thinking about!

• Pastor Bill said something like, “I’m a huge fan of Richard Foster (Celebration of Discipline). I always wanted his level of discipline and contemplation. One day I realized that I’m not Richard Foster, and that was very freeing to me.”
• Pastor Joe said something like, “I’m a huge fan of Andy Stanley. My wife and I watch him preach every Sunday morning [even when Joe is going to be preaching somewhere himself!]. One day I realized that I’m not Andy Stanley. I will be satisfied preaching the way I preach.”

We all aspire to be better at our craft, whatever it is, and we all want to be effective disciples, but we have to do whatever we do within the person God made us to be. And we have to help others be the best people God made them to be.

Robert Gelinas, a pastor in Aurora, CO, has written a book Discipled by Jesus, in which he makes the point that we’re not trying to help people look like us. We’re trying to connect people to Jesus so that he can make them look like him.

For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them. (Ephesians 2.10, ESV)

…my little children, for whom I am again in the anguish of childbirth until Christ is formed in you! (Galatians 4.19, ESV)

Let’s follow yesterday’s negative blog about Will Smith’s Oscar outburst with something positive…

Coach Mike Krzyzewski ended his 42-year coaching stint at Duke Saturday night when arch-rival University of North Carolina won the NCAA semi-final game. The game was close throughout. 

As a Clemson guy, I tend to root for Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) teams in basketball, including UNC and Duke (Clemson rarely fields a decent basketball team). My youngest son, David, especially is a lifelong Duke fan since all three of my sons and I watched the famous Duke-Kentucky NCAA tournament game, March 28, 1992. David would have been 12 years old at the time. That game ended with “the shot” by Christian Laettner after a nearly full-court pass by Grant Hill. (The shot was great, but routine, in my opinion. It was “the pass” that made it possible!)

Duke went on to win the tournament, defeating Coach K’s former mentor, Indiana Coach Bobby Knight, in the semi-finals in Knight’s last final-four appearance. Ironically, the final score in Knight’s losing last final four appearance, 81 – 78, is remarkably close to the final score in Coach K’s losing last final four appearance, 81 – 77. I guess what goes around comes around!

The ESPN article on Coach K’s post-game interview summarizes his career:

In June, Krzyzewski announced that the 2021-22 season would be his last and assistant Jon Scheyer would replace him. With 1,202 wins, 13 ACC championships and five national titles, he is generally viewed as the greatest coach in college basketball history along with John Wooden, the legendary UCLA leader who won 10 national titles during a 12-year stretch.

In the interview, Coach K did not wish to talk about himself or his legacy, choosing instead to focus on the players. He did close with this poignant statement:

I’ll be fine. I’ve been blessed to be in the arena. And when you’re in the arena, you’re either going to come out feeling great or you’re going to feel agony, but you always will feel great about being in the arena. And I’m sure that’s the thing, when I look back, that I’ll miss. I won’t be in the arena anymore. But, damn, I was in the arena for a long time. And these kids made my last time in the arena an amazing one. – Coach Mike Krzyzewski, after his last game, April 2, 2022

“In the arena” reminds one of the famous Teddy Roosevelt paragraph in the middle of a speech called Citizenship in a Republic, delivered in Paris in 1910:

It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat. – Teddy Roosevelt, emphasis mine

Coach K reminds me to be “in the arena.” I’m in a situation right now where I’m tempted to criticize and walk away. But there are “no points” for being a critic.

But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. (James 1.22, ESV)

Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one receives the prize? So run that you may obtain it. (1 Corinthians 9.24, ESV)

But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. Let those of us who are mature think this way… (Philippians 3.13 – 15, ESV)

I don’t normally watch the Oscars, so I missed seeing the exchange between Chris Rock and Will Smith in real time. Here’s the way Jerry Brower, writing in an editorial published by World Magazine describes it:

First, host Chris Rock told a cruel joke about Jada Pinkett Smith’s medical hair loss. Next, her husband, mega-celebrity Will Smith, strode up to the stage, slapped Rock, and then let loose with a string of obscenity-ridden rage-fueled invectives.

The Chris Rock / Will Smith exchange is a perfect illustration of Galatians 5.16 – 25.

Here’s the bad list, verses 19 – 21:

Now the works of the flesh are evident:

• sexual immorality,
• impurity,
• sensuality,
• idolatry,
• sorcery,
• enmity,
• strife,
• jealousy,
• fits of anger,
• rivalries,
• dissensions,
• divisions,
• envy,
• drunkenness,
• orgies, and things like these.

I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God. (Galatians 5.19 – 21, ESV, bulleted for clarity)

Will Smith is right in the middle of the bad list. And Chris Rock violated the good list:

But the fruit of the Spirit is

• love,
• joy,
• peace,
• patience,
• kindness,
• goodness,
• faithfulness,
• gentleness,
• self-control;

against such things there is no law. (Galatians 5.22, 23, ESV, bulleted for clarity)

Was Chris loving Will Smith’s wife when he made a joke at her expense? Was he practicing kindness and goodness? Of course, Will Smith could have used a little gentleness and self-control.

People can blow off the Bible and the way of life it advocates, but it’s funny that they know when that way of life is violated. It’s possible that more has been written and said this week about those 30 seconds or so of the Oscars than the whole rest of the awards ceremony.

In addition to the lesson from Galatians 5, Jerry Brower also rightly points out it’s a perfect illustration from the next book in our 5x5x5 reading plan: James.

So also the tongue is a small member, yet it boasts of great things. How great a forest is set ablaze by such a small fire! And the tongue is a fire, a world of unrighteousness. The tongue is set among our members, staining the whole body, setting on fire the entire course of life, and set on fire by hell. For every kind of beast and bird, of reptile and sea creature, can be tamed and has been tamed by mankind, but no human being can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison. (James 3.5 – 8, ESV)

Jerry writes:

After the altercation at the Oscars, actor Denzel Washington counseled Smith, “At your highest moment, be careful—that’s when the devil comes for you.” That was a rare moment of wisdom in a world of iniquity, and it also aligns with James, “Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.” (James 4.7) It’s as simple and as difficult as that. The only answer to a social contagion of toxic speech is a contagious outbreak of resistance to the devil. This starts with acknowledging the Biblical truth that words matter. Control of speech is not just etiquette, nor is it merely private. Like a forest fire, it takes on a life of its own.

Jesus spoke to the issue as well:

You have heard that it was said to those of old, “You shall not murder; and whoever murders will be liable to judgment.” But I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother will be liable to judgment; whoever insults his brother will be liable to the council; and whoever says, “You fool!” will be liable to the hell of fire. (Matthew 5.21, 22, ESV)

We’re going through Galatians in our 5x5x5 Reading Program, and there’s a “skip over it” verse in chapter 3:

O foolish Galatians! Who has bewitched you? It was before your eyes that Jesus Christ was publicly portrayed as crucified. Let me ask you only this: Did you receive the Spirit by works of the law or by hearing with faith? Are you so foolish? Having begun by the Spirit, are you now being perfected by the flesh? Did you suffer so many things in vain—if indeed it was in vain? Does he who supplies the Spirit to you and works miracles among you do so by works of the law, or by hearing with faith—just as Abraham “believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness”? (Galatians 3.1 – 6, ESV)

Did you see it? “Does he who supplies the Spirit to you and works miracles among you do so by works of the law or by hearing with faith…” I say a “skip over it” verse because that’s what I and most of the teachers in my tradition do. It’s a cardinal rule of teaching: “If you don’t understand something, skip it.”

We spent a lot of time in Acts looking at manifestations of the Spirit’s POWER – I wrote a retrospective on March 10. And the subject keeps coming back. Paul just mentions miracles matter-of-factly as he’s trying to make an argument against legalism. I’m trying to take it more seriously. A few days ago I visited a friend with stage 4 pancreatic cancer – not a good diagnosis. He’s getting chemo, and he remains upbeat, using every opportunity to share the gospel with friends and family. He expects to be healed, and he would rather it be by God’s miraculous intervention.

I prayed to that effect. I put my hand on his body where the tumors were and asked God to cast them out – “They don’t belong here.” We’ll see what happens. For sure, it can’t hurt to ask. Miracles do happen.

Is anyone among you sick? Let him call for the elders of the church, and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord. And the prayer of faith will save the one who is sick, and the Lord will raise him up. And if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven. Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working. Elijah was a man with a nature like ours, and he prayed fervently that it might not rain, and for three years and six months it did not rain on the earth. Then he prayed again, and heaven gave rain, and the earth bore its fruit. (James 5.14 – 18, ESV)

Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened. (Matthew 7.7, 8, ESV)

We went to Estes Park last week as we often do in March – but, truth be told, next March, it might be Arizona! Temps were below freezing the first few days, and we arrived in snow. Anyway, it’s always nice to be in the mountains, and on Friday we decided to take an “easy” hike around Sprague Lake, near where we were staying. It’s only a mile, perfectly flat, gorgeous mountain views, what could go wrong?

We didn’t know that over half the trail was still snow-covered! Well over a foot in some places.

No problem, we have snowshoes and poles, right? Well, yes and no. The poles were in the cabin. After all, who needs poles on a flat hike? The snowshoes were in the car, and we didn’t go back for them.

We were equipped…but not equipped. Equipment doesn’t do any good if you don’t use it! Robert Lewis wrote in The Church of Irresistible Influence, that his members were asking, “Equipped for what?” That’s when they decided to be more active in the community.  

And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds and teachers, to equip the saints for the work of ministry… (Ephesians 4.11, 12, ESV, emphasis mine)

Now may the God of peace who brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus, the great shepherd of the sheep, by the blood of the eternal covenant, equip you with everything good that you may do his will, working in us that which is pleasing in his sight, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen. (Hebrews 13.20, 21, ESV, emphasis mine)

God uses [the Word] to prepare and equip his people to do every good work. (2 Timothy 3.17, NLT, emphasis mine) 

Paul’s sharing his history with the Galatians contains this intriguing paragraph:

On the contrary, when they saw that I had been entrusted with the gospel to the uncircumcised, just as Peter had been entrusted with the gospel to the circumcised (for he who worked through Peter for his apostolic ministry to the circumcised worked also through me for mine to the Gentiles), and when James and (Peter) and John, who seemed to be pillars, perceived the grace that was given to me, they gave the right hand of fellowship to Barnabas and me, that we should go to the Gentiles and they to the circumcised. (Galatians 2.7 – 9, ESV) 

Some people are better with religious insiders, others with religious outsiders. We don’t know why Peter should consider his ministry as being only to Jews. God sent him to the Roman centurion Cornelius in Acts 10. On the other hand, Paul was highly trained in Judaism (see Acts 22.3), but he was chosen to go to Gentiles (see Acts 22.21).

God can and does send anyone anywhere. Consider David Wilkerson, a small-town pastor in Pennsylvania, who went to New York City in 1958 to preach to Puerto Rican street gangs. From the Teen Challenge official history:

Led by incredible faith, David Wilkerson made a seemingly bizarre step from his country pulpit in 1958 to the streets of New York City, where a murder trial of seven teenage boys churned society’s antipathy toward them. Even Wilkerson was bewildered by his sense of compassion but, in spite of doubt, he followed the Spirit’s prompting to help the boys.

Wilkerson’s outreach to gangs in New York led to the development of Teen Challenge. From our simple beginnings, Teen Challenge has grown to over 200 locations in the US and over 1000 around the world. The explosive growth of Teen Challenge continues to be a true move of God.

Amazing.

What part of Acts 1.8 do we not understand? That said, here is Peter, going to Jews, primarily, while Paul goes to Gentiles, primarily.  I have been more effective working with church people. Friends of mine are more effective with complete religious outsiders.  

God arranged the members in the body, each one of them, as he chose. (1 Corinthians 12.18, ESV)

We are starting Galatians in our 5x5x5 reading plan. Galatians is another “Jesus and” book – this time focused purely on Jewish laws including circumcision. Paul jumps right into it. Anything different from what he preached to them is “another gospel,” and if you’re touting it, to hell with you. 

Let me be blunt: If one of us—even if an angel from heaven!—were to preach something other than what we preached originally, let him be cursed. I said it once; I’ll say it again: If anyone, regardless of reputation or credentials, preaches something other than what you received originally, let him be cursed. (Galatians 1.8, 9, MSG)

Preference is one thing. If we’re going to sing, a music style is required, and yours might be different from mine. Dress codes vary from culture to culture and from one historical era to another. No problem. Just don’t make a requirement out of any of it. 

In telling his history, he reveals something about religion: it is something you can competitively advance in:

For you have heard of my former life in Judaism, how I persecuted the church of God violently and tried to destroy it. And I was advancing in Judaism beyond many of my own age among my people, so extremely zealous was I for the traditions of my fathers. (Galatians 1.13, 14, ESV)

But “relationship” is not a competitive sport as Paul makes clear in Philippians (writing about the same topic – the Law):

…circumcised on the eighth day, of the people of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews; as to the law, a Pharisee; as to zeal, a persecutor of the church; as to righteousness under the law, blameless. But whatever gain I had, I counted as loss for the sake of Christ. Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God that depends on faith. (Philippians 3.5 – 9, ESV)