Wise Counsel

1 Corinthians 6:1-11

"When one of you has a grievance against another, does he dare go to law before the unrighteous instead of the saints? Or do you not know that the saints will judge the world? And if the world is to be judged by you, are you incompetent to try trivial cases? Do you not know that we are to judge angels? How much more, then, matters pertaining to this life! So if you have such cases, why do you lay them before those who have no standing in the church? I say this to your shame. Can it be that there is no one among you wise enough to settle a dispute between the brothers, but brother goes to law against brother, and that before unbelievers? To have lawsuits at all with one another is already a defeat for you. Why not rather suffer wrong? Why not rather be defrauded? But you yourselves wrong and defraud—even your own brothers! Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor men who practice homosexuality, nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God. And such were some of you. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God"

I read this passage for weeks, thinking and thinking about what I wanted to say on it, and I came back to one work: WISDOM. As saints, we are blessed with salvation throughout the person and work and Jesus Christ. What's more (yes! incredibly there is more) God also grants us the gift of the Holy Spirit. In Ephesians the Spirit is called a deposit. An evidence of the promise from God to keep and purify us until we are with Him in glory. The Spirit is our helper, our guide, our friend, ever present in times of need. And, the Spirit produces fruit in our lives. We can live a life that honors the Lord because He has given us the ability to do so. WISDOM is one of the characteristics of the Spirit within us. Paul tells the church that they will judge the world and angels and are able to judge each other. The WISDOM to do so does not come from their natural understanding (Paul told them already that none of them are inherently wise) but from the presence of the Spirit within them. 

I was considering how the passage applies to my life. I have no need to sue anyone. I don't desire to take any of my friends court. I don't need retribution for wrongs or the need for someone to deliver to me what they owe me.  But often I find myself in need of guidance.  There are so many times that I could use WISDOM on practical matters. Things like how should I respond to my friend? or Jake and I can't decide how to handle this matter in our marriage... or maybe someday it will be how do I discipline my child in this area? 

First and foremost the scriptures makes it clear that we should take these questions to the Lord. Ephesians 6: 18 tells us to "pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests".  We do have the Holy Spirit within us and have the ability to hear from Him on these matters. BUT I believe it is also important to seek the counsel of others. "The way of the fool seems right but a wise man listens to advice" Proverbs 12:15. The question that this passage in 1 Corinthians addresses so clearly is one of where to seek counsel from. As a proud and stubborn woman, I am guilty of going to the first person who I think will agree with me. Believer or not, I just want someone to take my side. But  Paul asks here "Can it be that there is no one among you wise enough to settle a dispute between the brothers?"  There is a body of believers who are also full of the Spirit of God. Could it be that one of them has been granted by the Spirit wisdom I need in any given area of my life? 

My prayer for myself is that I would turn first to the Lord, and then to His people. That would trust the working of the Holy Spirit in the lives of others. They may be able to see clearly where I can not. And may these actions bring about in the body of Christ a unity through His Spirit that will work in this world for our good and His glory. 

My Big Sister

This is my big sister. And today is her birthday. And let me tell you, you all wish you had a big sister like her. 

I have plenty of stories about Anna. Stories about her hate of spiders, stories about her impeccable fashion sense, stories about driving with her, stories about the epic battles we fought both against and alongside each other. There is the time she got in trouble because I decided to run away. The time she left me in that dark hallway all by myself so that the ghosts would get me while she was safe in the bathroom. I love the one about how she took me down to San Diego when I started college. And I will never forget  that she called me up and surprised me the day after I got engaged. She drove 4+ hours just for the chance to celebrate a new a chapter in my life for an evening. We are have not always been the best of friends, but I can tell you, I have learned so much from being Anna Thomson's little sister. (I use the name Thomson because for the majority of our sisterhood we were Thomsons. She is now Quinn and I, Wilhelm. But we are united in the family Thomson) 

In tribute to one of the greatest teachers God has given me, I will pass on some of the knowledge that life with Anna imparted.... 

Things I learned from Anna: 

1) Going Second is Always Simpler.

you get the chance to see someone else do it first. you follow in their footsteps or take an easier path. i would not have lead the life i did had i been the first born. anna, i am forever in your debt.

2) Just Adore Her

you may not always understand why someone is the way they are. but love them. see the good. give grace to the bad. anna has always accepted me the way i am. even when it makes things harder for her. i have never wondered if she loved me. i know she adores me. the love of someone near to you can give you so much confidence in life. just adore them and watch how they will soar. 

3) "Let Your Level of Intimacy Match Your Level of Commitment"

i remember the moment i heard anna say this. laying in bed as we talked about boys. but i carry it with me still. don't give more of your heart than you have committed to that person. or they have committed to you. relationships take time to gain depth. allow that time. 

4) You've Kinda Gotta Roll with the Crazy

life does some insane things. goes places you didn't know it would. it can be beautiful. it can also be hard. very hard. sometimes you go crazy along with it. i have watched my big sister go through some amazing things. she has so much grace for others. i love when she has grace for herself. she lets go and rolls with the punches. crazy looks good on her. and i'm proud of the woman she is. 

5) We're Quite Entertaining

if nothing else, i love to laugh with my sisters. i mostly just watch them be entertaining. this kind of goes with the crazy thing. they are nuts. but they are so much fun to be around. i am glad i never experienced one day of my life without my sister anna. she make it so fun! the A-Team would have been lost with out the ring-leader of our circus.

Anna, 
Happy Birthday! I love you so much! Thanks for being my sister. For being one step ahead. Showing me the way. For all you've taught me. For loving me. For laughing with me (and at me). You're pretty much the coolest person I know. 
Love, 
Abigail  

A Hard Conversation

1 Corinthians 5:1-12

"It is actually reported that there is sexual immorality among you, and of a kind that is not tolerated even among pagans, for a man has his father's wife. And you are arrogant! Ought you not rather to mourn? Let him who has done this be removed from among you. For though absent in body, I am present in spirit; and as if present, I have already pronounced judgment on the one who did such a thing. When you are assembled in the name of the Lord Jesus and my spirit is present, with the power of our Lord Jesus, you are to deliver this man to Satan for the destruction of the flesh, so that his spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord. Your boasting is not good. Do you not know that a little leaven leavens the whole lump? Cleanse out the old leaven that you may be a new lump, as you really are unleavened. For Christ, our Passover lamb, has been sacrificed. Let us therefore celebrate the festival, not with the old leaven, the leaven of malice and evil, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth. I wrote to you in my letter not to associate with sexually immoral people— not at all meaning the sexually immoral of this world, or the greedy and swindlers, or idolaters, since then you would need to go out of the world. But now I am writing to you not to associate with anyone who bears the name of brother if he is guilty of sexual immorality or greed, or is an idolater, reviler, drunkard, or swindler—not even to eat with such a one. For what have I to do with judging outsiders? Is it not those inside the church whom you are to judge?"

Have you ever had a hard conversation coming with a person and you put it off and put it off and avoided them because you just had no idea what you were going to say? That as been me with this post. I'm sitting down to a conversation with my readers about church discipline. A conversation I have stayed away from because this passage really kicked me in the pants. Even now, as I begin to write, I'm not really sure where this is going to go. But it is getting in the way of moving on. So here we go:

I think that it is very hard to ignore the practical application of this passage in corporate worship. What I mean it that, though some churches do not touch this with a thirty-foot-pole, when you read this there is not doubt that a person who is unrepentant of their sin should no longer be allowed to worship as part of the family. Some churches, like the Corinthians, do not like this idea. They would rather love everyone. They would rather be accepting and not judge. They don't want to seem closed minded so they they close their eyes instead. But, I was reminded in a sermon by John Piper that, Christ is not divided. Titus 2:13-14 tell us that "[Jesus] gave himself for us to redeem us from all lawlessness and to purify for himself a people for his own possession who are zealous for good works."  You can not separate the pardoning of Christ from the His purifying. 

Now for the hard part. Let's apply our personal life today. In a world of cell phones and social media. Where you don't have to see a person daily to call them friend. You don't have to attend church with them to be aware that they claim to know Christ. You don't have to take communion with them to be their brother. How does this play out? Do we personally cut off association with them, loving them enough to say may God open your eyes? Or do we love them from afar, preaching the gospel when possible as often as possible, hoping the Spirit moves? I don't know. I don't have an answer. I sit here and my heart is like a pendulum. Back and forth. Back and forth. I'm a part of the global church, but how do you carry this out without a local body? I will continue to be in prayer on this one. Maybe I'll have an encouraging update to it soon.... May the Lord reveal His will on this one. For our good and His glory. 

I love you California

I want to make it perfectly clear that I am overjoyed with my Arizona life. God has blessed me here with a good husband, a godly church, and a wonderful family. I find myself throughout my day looking around and wondering how I got so lucky. And I am so grateful for the way the Lord has made our simple life here in Tucson such a joy to lead.

All that to say, today my heart is aching for California. I am happy to jump head long into this life here in AZ provided that I am allowed to leave that not-so-little CA shaped piece of my heart on the coast. A few weeks ago, my big sister, Anna,  and her husband came to stay at the Wilhelm home. It was such a pleasure having them here. I love my big sister. She is my hero and always has been. I look up to her because (as I have told many people on multiple occasions) she is basically the coolest person I know. Anna married David. He graduated from USC. Jake loves the U of A. So of course they came out to visit on the weekend USC and U of A football faced off. We went. Arizona won. It was a blast!

Here, you can see what should have been a harsh rivalry between my sister and I. All morning I stayed true to my husband. I bought the Arizona shirt. I wore it proudly. And for the first quarter of the game I rooted whole heartedly for the home team. Then, USC began to fall behind. The team my family cheered for my whole life was in trouble. And as the U of A running back began to gain some ground, 2 yards... then 5 yards...  now 10... heading for 15, I felt my fists clench, my breath caught in my chest and out of my mouth, whispers betrayed me. "Get him... Take him down!". These words came out under my breath, too quiet to be noticed. But Jake doesn't miss a thing. He looked at me as if I were uttering heresies. And, it was at that moment, that we both knew my blood was not blue, but cardinal and gold. GO USC! The rest of the game I tried to straddle the line and cheer both teams on, but I was defeated when Arizona won. My heart belongs to Southern California, it's in my blood. 

I tell this story because today as I sit in my home and I look at pictures and posts of my friends and family getting ready to celebrate Christmas in Cali, I am tearing up. It's not that I want to go back. Or that I wish I was not in AZ. It is simply that I miss you all. I don't think I can ever stop being  a California girl. And to my family in Santa Clarita (and Simi) and my friends in San Diego, to the beach, to the sun that shines different over CA, to the food, to the fast pace, and even to the freeways, today I have you on my mind. So, simply put, in truth, I love you California. 

The Power of the Cross

1 Corinthians 4:14-21

"I do not write these things to make you ashamed, but to admonish you as my beloved children. For though you have countless guides in Christ, you do not have many fathers. For I became you father in Christ Jesus through the gospel. I urge you, then, be imitators of me. That is why I sent you Timothy, my beloved and faithful child in the Lord, to remind you of my ways in Christ, as I teach them everywhere in even church. Some are arrogant, as thought I were not coming to you. But I will come to you soon, if the Lord wills and I will find out not the talk of these arrogant people but their power. For the kingdom of God does not consist in talk but in power. What do you wish? Shall I come to you with a rod, or with love in a spirit of gentleness?"

It has been a long time since I've written. I've had family visiting for the past two weeks. And on top of that the Lord has been doing some work in my heart. (you can read more about that in the update of Conquering: Revisited) So, in light of the absence, I want to give a quick recap of where the Lord has brought me so far in 1 Corinthians. The majority of these first four chapters have been about opening the eyes of the Corinthians to the divisions they were  creating in their church body. These divisions had been caused, mainly, by the peoples' pride. They wanted to make themselves something special by associating with "the best" teacher. So Paul, Apollos, Cephas, even the name of Christ became banners that they tried to raise higher than all the rest. Paul as been reminding them of the need for unity in Christ. He has also been showing them again and again how it is their insignificance that unites them. Not one of us is special. We are all wretched and in need of the same Savior, Christ, so no one can boast. 

Now, we pick up in Chapter 4 Verses 14-21. Paul, is about to get really practical with the church but first he wants them to know what the last four chapters have been for. His goal i s not to shame the church but rather he calls them "beloved children." Paul wants them to know that he writes out of love. And we also know that he writes in love because he continues to point them to the place of change. The Cross. Paul only has the authority to speak to the Corinthians "in Christ Jesus through the gospel". That is the place all our power comes from. Paul says when he comes back to the church he will find out what the arrogant really have to say. In other words, do they just talk or do they have the power to back up their pride. 

I love to read Oswald Chambers "My Utmost for His Highest". Today's devotion reminded me of this verse. He said:

 "We have to concentrate on the great point of spiritual energy- the Cross, to keep in contact with that center where all the power lies, and the energy will be let loose." 

Even in the Christian world, we are so likely to be full of arrogant or empty talk. We talk about living good lives, lives that are happy, lives are holy, lives that are free. But if we are not talking about the Cross we have no power to live by. No hope to see change. No joy or blessings. Because it's just talk. "For the Kingdom of God does not consist in talk but in power." May we know the power of the Cross daily, and may it change our lives. For our good and His glory. 

What makes you so special?

1 Corinthians 4:6-13

"I have applied all these things to myself and Apollos for your benefit, brothers, that you may learn by us not to go beyond what is written, that none of you may be puffed up in favor of one against another.  For who sees anything different in you? What do you have that you did not receive? If then you received it, why do you boast as if you did not receive it? Already you have all you want! Already you have become rich! Without us you have become kings! And would that you did reign, so that we might share the rule with you! For I think that God has exhibited us apostles as last of all, like men sentenced to death, because we have become a spectacle to the world, to angels, and to men. We are fools for Christ's sake, but you are wise in Christ. We are weak, but you are strong. You are held in honor, but we in disrepute. To the present hour we hunger and thirst, we are poorly dressed and buffeted and homeless, and we labor, working with our own hands. When reviled, we bless; when persecuted, we endure; when slandered, we entreat. We have become, and are still, like the scum of the world, the refuse of all things."

Let's talk about something we ALL deal with. Pride. At first read, you may not understand that pride is what Paul is getting at. I mean, as I first read it, I was really confused. Where was the switch? When did Paul begin to envy the Corinthians? Wasn't he calling them babies a few chapters ago? And now they are wise? Nope! Don't worry. Paul isn't changing his mind. He is just being sarcastic. Or, as Bible commentators call it... ironic. The truth is, Paul is putting the Corinthians on major blast. He is calling them out for walking around like they are the coolest thing ever. Like they have it all together. Like they are kings. 

Paul uses himself and Apollos as examples. Saying that if the Corinthian church really looked at the Word of God and followed the example of the leaders they themselves were elevating, they would not put on such airs. Paul asks them "who sees anything different in you?" This isn't a challenge to be set apart from the world, it's the Greek way of saying "what makes you so special?!" In the next passage we are reminded of the love God has for us. But for now, what I really want us to get is that nothing we have is by our own merit. "What do you have that you did not receive?" 

Again, in my study this week, I listened to a message by Alistair Begg. He admonished his listeners to see themselves in light of who God is. God is everything. We are nothing. The more we love who He is, the more we know how little we have. The more we recognize that without His grace we fall so flat. We don't even fall, because we never made it off the ground to fall back to. "We have become, and are still, the scum of the world". No one likes being called scum. But take a moment to contemplate the perfect holiness, the vast power, the complete justice, the immovable faithfulness, the unconditional love, and the infinite being of God. Now... tell me... what makes you so special? We are nothing. All we have have been given by grace. Next week I'm so excited to talk about where we get grace. At the cross by the love and power of God. That we would live to praise Him because He is worthy!  But today, I am striving to let go of my love of self, for my good and His glory. 

"Accordingly, two cities have been formed by two loves: the earthly by the love of self, even to the contempt of God; the heavenly by the love of God, even to the contempt of self" 

~ Saint Augustine The City of God

Judging the Faithful

1 Corinthians 4:1-5

"This is how one should regard us, as servants of Christ and stewards of the mysteries of God. Moreover, it is required of stewards that they be found faithful. But with me it is a very small thing that I should be judged by you or any human court. In fact, I do not even judge myself. For I am not aware of anything against myself, but I am not thereby acquitted. It is the Lord who judges me. Therefore do not pronounce judgment before the time, before the Lord comes, who will bring to light the things now hidden in the darkness and will disclose the purposes of the heart. Then each one will receive his commendation from God." 

Hopefully, if you are believer, you are in regular attendance at a church. How did you choose your church? Have you gone there since you were little? Did you check over the doctrinal statement before you came back? Maybe you like the music, or the kids programs, or the  stain glass behind the pulpit. Or is it the potluck after each service? Or the coffee in the lobby before? Maybe you like multiple of these things. But I would bet that you could love all of this, but if you did not approve the pastor, you would be gone. Sometimes we're put off by how he speaks, his style, his language, or the length of his messages. Sometimes it's the things he says. I wouldn't have emphasized that verse. I would have said more not that topic. I wish he hadn't used that term to describe that sin. 

I've talked before about being in college and judging the speakers who came to chapel. There were those who were misinformed (to put it nicely) concerning some major biblical truths. But for the most part, I was just judgmental. I thought I had the right to judge whether or not that speaker (usually a local pastor) should be at the pulpit. Maybe I should have studied this passage before I opened my mouth. 

Paul makes it clear here that the leaders of the church are accountable for their actions. He calls them "stewards" and calls them to be "faithful". He says that they are "of Christ" which more accurately is "belonging to Christ". They have been called to a task by God to handle wisely the "mysteries of God".  Not just the gospel but other things that are hidden to the wisdom of man (for example: the mystery of marriage). These men are servants sent to serve the Church. But I love what Alistair Begg said, these men are servants but the church is not their master. Christ is. and Paul reminds us, "It is the Lord who judges me". 

This does not mean that there shouldn't be checks on the pastors of a church. Sin and false doctrine threaten the life of a church and they need to be addressed. But Paul was writing to a church who were divided over teachers. They picked their favorites and raised them up while judging and putting down others. This kind of habitual judging breaks apart the unity God intended for His body. Let's strive to uplift those that Lord has given to us to impart His wisdom. 

The last verse of this passage reads "each one will receive his commendation from God." Other translations read "his praise from God." When we think of the judgment seat, many of us picture people (and pastors) we take issue with standing before God and the Lord making everyone aware of all the flaws we've noticed in them for so long. But this verse left me wondering, "what praise will God give to the people I've judged so harshly? before the entirety of creation won't He commend them for being a faithful servant?" Those who love the Lord and seek to shepherd His people will not be perfect, but praise God that they strive to faithfully steward His word our good and His glory. 

Some things I loved while studying this week: 

Before You Criticize Your Pastor - Post by Josh Reich from Revolution Tucson

The Call of Ministry - Sermon by Alistair Begg from Truth for Life