PepsiCo’s mission is to “create more smiles with every sip and every bite.” Microsoft’s mission is “to empower every person and every organization on the planet to achieve more.” And McDonald’s mission is “to make delicious feel-good moments easy for everyone.” These are three of the largest and most iconic companies ever. We’ve all consumed Pepsi products, used Microsoft Operating Systems, and eaten at McDonalds. But in the grand scheme of things, the missions of these companies just deal with temporary things: sugary drinks, computer software, and sometimes controversial burgers. The church has a mission too, but it’s on an entirely different level. Unlike those companies that were born from an initial idea and grew and adapted into what they are today, we were given a mission by our Lord–a mission that we are not free to adapt or change. The way we carry out the mission may change, but the mission itself stays the same. 

Simply put, the mission of the church is to make disciples of all nations. Jesus gave this mission to his followers shortly before his ascension in Matthew 28:28-20. He said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” 

The mission essentially boils down to making disciples of Jesus and then teaching and equipping those disciples. A disciple is one who follows Jesus, and the process begins when someone shows interest in the gospel. It continues when they put their trust in Jesus, turn from their sins, and are baptized into Christ. But baptism is not the end, it’s just the beginning. After their baptism, disciples must then be taught all the rest of the things that Jesus taught us so that they can continue to grow and mature in their discipleship to Christ. These disciples then go and make more disciples, and the cycle of disciples making disciples who make disciples continues endlessly until Jesus returns.

Where can you go this week, and who can you tell about Jesus? Our Lord’s mandate for us is to go and make disciples and we must be striving to do that, otherwise we are unfaithful to our mission. And remember, we must never say no for someone else. We may think that they will reject the gospel, but we dare not neglect to share the message with them because we think they will reject it. God may surprise us with the way some people respond. It’s not our job to decide if we think they will accept Jesus or not, it is our job to share the message of Jesus with accuracy and clarity to anyone and everyone, trusting the power of the word of God to do the rest.

The story of Jonah is one of our most beloved narratives from all of the Old Testament. It is such a memorable story, so unique among all the others we read in the Bible, and so full of easy-to-grasp lessons. All of which, of course, makes it the perfect Vacation Bible School story and lesson for kids. But it’s not just for kids—it’s for all of us. There is so much from the story of Jonah for us to learn and benefit from. Throughout the short book, we watch as the prophet goes from being reluctant to repentant to renewed to resentful* and the message for us is clear: don’t resent God’s grace that he shows to others, no matter how undeserving we think they are.

At first, Jonah was reluctant to obey the Lord. God told him to go to Nineveh but he ignored God. (Jonah 1:2). He tried to flee from the presence of the Lord (1:3), something that he would learn is impossible to do. While Jonah was fleeing he ironically said, “I fear the LORD, the God of heaven…” (1:9) when he was in fact actively running away from God. Then in chapter 2, Jonah was repentant. Apparently a few days in the stomach of a huge fish has a way of getting your attention and changing your perspective on life. In that gross environment, Jonah repented and prayed to God: “But I with the voice of thanksgiving will sacrifice to you; what I have vowed I will pay. Salvation belongs to the LORD” (2:9). After his repentance, Jonah was renewed in chapter 3 and given a second chance to obey. This time, he did as he was instructed. He went to Nineveh, preached the message that God gave him to preach, and witnessed an incredible change of heart among the wicked Ninevites who repented and humbled themselves before God.

Jonah got off to a rocky start but he repented of his reluctance and God used him to save many many people from destruction. But his story ends with a twist. In chapter 4 we see that Jonah, far from pleased with the repentance of the Ninevites, was actually resentful that they were spared the destruction he felt they deserved. Jonah was resentful that God was so gracious towards these wicked (but now repentant) people. The book closes with this rhetorical question from the Lord: “Should I not pity Nineveh, that great city, in which there are more than 120,000 persons…? (4:11).  If we resent God’s grace shown to other people, we have lost sight of souls. And when we lose sight of souls, we lose sight of God. This week, ask God to open your eyes to the souls around us who need the Lord. And may God help us, when they repent and find his grace, to remember that we need his grace just as much as they do.

(*I’m indebted to Bud Woodall for this outline of the book of Jonah)

One cloudy day last week, I was staring out the window, watching it rain. The skies were fairly overcast, but there was a thin spot in the clouds that appeared in front of the sun. I know you’re never supposed to look at the sun, but the clouds were just thick enough to prevent my eyes from being fried and just thin enough to let a bright patch of light through. There was just enough light beaming through to remind me of the powerful sun behind those clouds, and it came through the little tunnel-like hole in the clouds and pierced the dreary sky. I stared at it, captivated by the contrast of light and darkness.

In that moment a thought struck me: Is this what it will look like when Jesus returns? What will that moment be like when the whole world stops what it’s doing to look up at the sky and sees the glory of the Son of God piercing the sky? What will we think? What will we say? What will that trumpet sound like when it’s blown to signal the end of time and the dawn of eternity? What will each heart feel when the realization rushes in and floods each corner and crevice of your soul that the God of the universe has come to make himself unmistakably known? What will it be like to be arrested by the overwhelming sense of awe at the glory of the Son of God?

Then as quickly as it had formed the clouds shifted again, and just like that it was gone. The light vanished, and the skies were the usual grey that they are during rain showers. 

Make no mistake about it, the moment when Jesus returns will not come and go so inconsequentially as a thin spot in the clouds above the earth. That moment will change everything. It will signal that the time of testing and preparation is over. The thousands of years of God’s activity on earth—the calling of Abraham, the choosing of Moses, the formation of a people, the rise of a kingdom, the ministry of the prophets, the birth of a certain Jewish boy in the city of David, his ministry and self-sacrifice, the birth and establishment of a fledgling new faith community, years of worship and struggle and failure and renewal by generations of that community—it will all culminate in that moment when God completes the plan he formed before time began and invites his people into his very presence. “For the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a cry of command, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive, who are left, will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we will always be with the Lord. Therefore encourage one another with these words” (1 Thess. 4:16-18).

We spend a lot of time thinking about how to use the time we have. We plan out our day for tomorrow, we plan vacations for the future, we look forward to the weekend when we can hopefully slow down a little, and we look forward to retirement when we’ll have more time. Time, time, time. Time is one of the most precious things given to us, and how we use our time says a lot about us. Sometimes time flies, other times it drags, but always it marches on. My grandmother was fond of saying, “Time waits for no man.” So given that we only have so much time in this life, it’s all the more important to use it wisely.

What do you want to do with your time? I love the words from Psalm 84:10–11 that say “For a day in your courts is better than a thousand. I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God than dwell in the tents of wickedness. For the LORD God is a sun and shield; the LORD will give grace and glory; no good thing will he withhold from those who walk uprightly.” These verses remind us that where we spend our time is more important than any self-satisfaction we may derive from personal pursuits. In a world where status is coveted, we ought to intentionally step away from the noise occasionally to be still and to consider the fact that a day in the courts of God is better than a thousand—a thousand anywhere else, spent any other way. And to be a doorkeeper—the lowest of the low among His servants—is better than the highest honor among the tents of wickedness. Where would you rather be? How would you rather spend your time? Can you say with the Psalmist you would rather be a servant in His house? 

Hundreds of years after the Psalmist wrote these words, Paul told the Ephesians to be wise and thoughtful about how they conducted their lives, “making the best use of the time, because the days are evil” (Eph. 5:16). The best use of our time is any time spent in service of the Lord. Whether it’s having a Christlike attitude at work when you’d rather not, or making a meal for someone, or doing something kind for a stranger, any time that we use to serve the Lord by serving others is time well spent. 

How do you spend your time? Where do you spend your time? Let’s not spend our time among the tents of wickedness. Today, let’s commit to spending our time wisely, to live in His presence, and to come into his courts in prayer. As we do that, we can rest in his promise that he will not withhold any good thing.

This summer we started a small garden in our backyard. We have tomatoes, cucumber, zucchini, green beans, and carrots. Almost daily there are noticeable changes in the plants: new branches, new flowers, and even some itsy-bitsy zucchinis forming. There is a certain sense of mystery and wonder in the simple act of growing a garden. It is a fairly predictable process—put seeds/seedlings in soil, water regularly, weed, wait for harvest—but at the same time it is anything but ordinary. We actually have zero control over the amazing processes going on in those plants. All we can do is manipulate some of the conditions. We plant and water and tend, but that is only a partial explanation of the results. We provide the right conditions and seemingly magically, the little seeds that looked so lifeless become a living, growing thing. They take carbon from the air, and water and nutrients from the soil and produce delicious and nutritious things for us to eat. The plant life that God has created is nothing short of a miracle.

Paul used plant growth as an analogy for understanding spiritual growth of Christians. When he wrote to the Corinthians, he rebuked them for the way they were dividing into groups based on a preference for certain Christian leaders. They were saying things like, “I follow Paul,” or “I follow Apollos,” or “I follow Cephas” (1 Cor. 1:12). He told them that their behavior in this regard indicated that they were immature in their faith (1 Cor. 3:1). What they needed was to realize that it doesn’t make you more special than other people if a great Christian evangelist or teacher was the one who taught you the gospel. “What then is Apollos? What is Paul? Servants through whom you believed, as the Lord assigned to each. I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the growth. So neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God who gives the growth” (1 Cor. 3:5-7).

While we can and should honor Christian leaders for their work and faithfulness (1 Thess. 5:12), we must remember that it is God who ultimately gives the growth. The power is not in humans, it is in God and in his word. When you help others grow spiritually, remember that we just plant and water. God gives the increase. As a church, let us plant the seed of the word—deep in our own hearts and in the hearts of children and grandchildren, coworkers and neighbors, the mailman, the cashier, the barber, the hair stylist, and everyone else we know. Let us water it with prayer, meditation on the word, fasting, and worship. And let us trust that God will give the growth.

Each day is like a miniature lifetime. The sunrise each morning is a symbol of birth and new life. Birds begin singing to welcome the new day and some flowers, like the morning glory, open in the morning when the sun comes up. The morning is when we (hopefully!) feel rested and strong and ready for the day’s tasks. And the light that comes with the dawn of each new day is a reminder of God’s light that he has shone into our hearts. “For God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ” (2 Cor. 4:6). Without God’s grace revealed through Jesus Christ we would be stuck in the dark night of sin’s power. But through the grace of Jesus Christ, God gave his light to us and we are born again. “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead…” (1 Peter 1:3). Let each sunrise be a powerful reminder that God has given you new life in Christ Jesus our Lord. 

The sunset each evening is a symbol of the end of life. Morning glories close their petals, birds find their roost, and we feel tired from the day’s demands and activities. After dark we lie down and drift into unconscious rest. Nightfall is a daily reminder of the reality that we will all one day face death. With the advent of electricity, technology has mostly conquered the night, but remember that for most humans throughout history, there was very little they could do to change the thick darkness that nightfall brought—they had at most perhaps a small lamp that gave a little light. Even with our technology, the night still represents the unknown, something that we cannot see past. And night is all the more frightening if you must face it alone. It’s much better to have a friend with you. Let each nightfall then be a reminder that you dare not face death and eternity without Christ. And let it be a sweet reminder of Jesus’ promises and presence in your life, Christian. You know your Lord; you know your destiny.

One day, when we are with the Lord, there will be no more night. We will live with the Lord forever, in one eternal day. John tells us “And night will be no more. They will need no light of lamp or sun, for the Lord God will be their light, and they will reign forever and ever” (Rev. 22:5). But until then, each sunrise and each sunset is a lesson: a reminder of the new birth we have in Christ, and a reminder of the coming night that we no longer fear because we have Jesus with us.

In the market for some real estate? Looking for somewhere to call your new home? Let’s take a spin around town and see some of the best properties for sale. After a quick tour of the properties you can decide which one you’d like to call your new spiritual home. Let’s start our tour at the center of town where two roads meet. We’ll take the one on the right first—Love Street. The houses on this road are nice, spacious homes. They have very beautiful yards and the wide front porches look inviting. The homes are very attractive, but when you get out of the car and inspect the houses for yourself you begin to notice that something is not right with these homes. The walls are not straight, and the corners are not square. Light switches turn on lights in other rooms, and water faucets are not connected to the water. The oven and dishwasher are stacked where the washer and dryer should be, which are in the kitchen where the oven and dishwasher should be. You quickly realize these homes are beautiful, but not functional. 

We return to the town center and take the other road—Truth Avenue. You eagerly begin inspecting some of these homes to see if they are functional. To your delight, everything works properly and they are all built exactly to code. Everything is square, light switches and faucets work, and appliances are in the right place. But these homes have a different flaw. Clearly, no effort was made to make these houses beautiful. They look grey, cold, and lifeless. The yard is full of gravel, and the house is boxy and drab on the exterior.

You hurry back to the center of town, disappointed in the houses that are beautiful but not functional and functional but not beautiful. And there on the corner of Love Street and Truth Avenue, you see the perfect house. It is both functional and beautiful. It has the best qualities of each of the other houses without the flaws they suffered from. Clearly, this is a beautiful home that was built with much care and hard work.

As Christians, we must build our spiritual house on the corner of Love and Truth. It is possible to prioritize one to the exclusion of the other. If we accept a watered-down definition of love and de-emphasize truth, we are like the houses that are outwardly attractive but not built according to the proper standards. On the other hand, if we staunchly emphasize truth but forget to be loving, we’re like the other houses. Yes, they’re “built the right way”, but who’d want to live there? It’s not right to emphasize love to the exclusion of truth, but neither is it right to emphasize truth to the exclusion of love. Paul told the Ephesians that growing into Christian maturity involves “speaking the truth in love…” (Eph. 4:15). Never let go of truth and never let go of love. We need both.

To all the dads reading this, happy Father’s Day! One of the many things that the Bible teaches us about God is that he is our Father. As our Father, God does many things for us. Christian fathers strive each day to be more godly and provide for his family and his church the things that God provides to his children. Here are three things that God gives us and that Christian fathers strive to give to their family.

First, God provides protection. While he does not shield us from every harm or inconvenience, he is nevertheless a shield around us (Ps. 3:3). He surrounds his people (Ps. 125:1-2) and we have the assurance that nothing that happens to us was a result of any inability on God’s part to protect us. He allows us to experience difficulties that we can overcome with his help, but he never gives us more than we can handle with the help of his strength (1 Cor. 10:13). Fathers, you reflect God when you take steps to protect your family from harm–physical, emotional, and most importantly, spiritual harm. Be the watchdog for your family and be on the lookout for things that threaten the spiritual health of your home, your family, and your marriage. 

Second, God provides affection. It may sound trite, but it is true: God loves YOU. The greatest expression of his love for the people he created is seen in the fact that he sent his Son to die and bear the punishment for your sin so that you can be reconciled with God (John 3:16). He spares no expense in showering love on us. Fathers, you reflect God when you show affection to your family. Your wife, your kids (even grown children) and your grandchildren–they all need and want your affection. Let them know how loved they are. And remember, by the way you self-sacrificially love your family, you are teaching them something about God and his love for them.

Third, God provides direction. God teaches us in the Bible about things that matter eternally. He gives us guidance on how to live life in a way that is holy and wholesome and that pleases him. Fathers, you reflect God when you provide guidance for your family. You give this to them from your own life experience, but more importantly you give them guidance by bringing them in contact with the word of God to benefit directly from his wisdom.

Protection, affection, and direction: fathers, the more you give these things to your family, the more you resemble God, who is the best Father there is. Your wife, your kids, your grandkids, and your church need these things from you. Our world desperately needs godly fathers. Will you step up to the plate? Will you answer the call?

Wisdom is an elusive thing. We live in an information-saturated world and we have greater and faster access to knowledge and facts than ever before. But wisdom is not nearly so prevalent. Where should we look for wisdom? Prestigious schools? Engaging life-coaches? Motivational speakers? Social media? The Bible teaches us that there is ultimately only one source of wisdom—God himself. God offers to give us his wisdom and he promises that if we search for it diligently we will find it. 

In Proverbs 2:1–8, Solomon tells his son, “My son, if you receive my words and treasure up my commandments with you, making your ear attentive to wisdom and inclining your heart to understanding; yes, if you call out for insight and raise your voice for understanding, if you seek it like silver and search for it as for hidden treasures, then you will understand the fear of the LORD and find the knowledge of God. For the LORD gives wisdom; from his mouth come wisdom and understanding; he stores up sound wisdom for the upright; he is a shield to those who walk in integrity, guarding the paths of justice and watching over the way of his saints.”

Wisdom can be found if we seek it in the right manner and seek it from the right source. According to these words of Solomon, the correct way to seek wisdom is with diligence. Wisdom is more valuable than many riches (vs. 4) and must be sought as such. We should seek wisdom with the same earnestness and zeal that we would search for a hidden treasure or a deposit of gold. In our day and age, knowledge (information) comes so easily and with such little sacrifice that wisdom by comparison seems all the more difficult to find. But things worth having seldom come easily, and wisdom is no exception. As we go through life, let us be diligent about pursuing wisdom.

In addition to seeking wisdom in the right manner (diligently) we must also seek it from the right source. Ultimately, wisdom only comes from God (vs. 6). He delights in giving his wisdom to the upright, to those who walk in integrity (vs. 7) and he watches over their way (vs. 8). Many people are looking for wisdom everywhere except God and his word. God’s word doesn’t answer every question we’ll ever have, but it does give us wisdom. It teaches us how we should live lives that honor and glorify God. It keeps us from going through life unreflectively and forces us to come to terms with the things that matter most in life: our brokenness, our need for Jesus, our mortality, and eternity. Turn to God for his wisdom and diligently seek it in his word. His wisdom will guard us from many harms in this life and lead us to eternal joy in the next life.

“I will extol you, my God and King, and bless your name forever and ever. Every day I will bless you and praise your name forever and ever. Great is the LORD, and greatly to be praised, and his greatness is unsearchable.” (Psalm 145:1-3)

These are the opening lines to one of the greatest expressions of praise in all of Scripture. This Psalm is one long chorus of praise, a reflection on the greatness of our God. These opening three verses confront us with three truths about praising our God.

First, praise is personal. “I will extol you, my God and King…” When we praise God, we do not praise an impersonal force or Being. He is “my” God, and he is your God too. He is our God not in the sense that he belongs to us, but that we belong to him. He is our God in the same way that a man is a child’s father; not because the father belongs to the child but because the child belongs to the father who gave him life. In the same way, God brings us into existence and gives us life. We praise him as our personal God, to whom you and I belong. He is “my” God. He is your God. 

Second, praise is endless. Praise is not a one-and-done thing. It’s not something we do once as an initiation into the faith, after which we never praise again. We praise God “every day” and “forever and ever.” We wake up every morning to praise him with our words, our thoughts, and our actions. Praises for God should never be far from our thoughts and words. In the words of one hymn, “Every step we are breathing in Your grace; evermore we’ll be breathing out Your praise” (Never Once, Matt Redmon, 2012). May we constantly breathe out his praises.

Third, praise is inadequate. Somewhat ironically, praise can never fully express what it tries to describe: the greatness of God’s character and glory. He is “great” and “greatly to be praised” but his “greatness is unsearchable.” Nothing can ever fully or adequately praise God’s greatness. There is no human way to describe God’s greatness; it simply cannot be put into words. This is why praise is endless; we never finish praising God because we can never exhaustively describe his glory and splendor. Realizing that we can never fully praise God doesn’t discourage us and lead us to stop; it’s just one more reason to praise him all the more! If we could completely describe him, then we would be able to comprehend him and that would mean he is lesser than us. We praise him because he is great and his greatness is unsearchable. This week, use the words of Psalm 145 to give voice to your praise for God. Praise him personally and endlessly, rejoicing in the fact that our praise can never even begin to exhaust the greatness of our God.