Tim Euler

Last week I shared my desire to make sure that my salvation will be evident in all I am and all I do in 2018.  This will become a reality when I follow Paul’s admonition in Philippians 2 where he writes that we must work out your salvation with fear and trembling.  But how can I do this?  What are the steps?  I believe that God’s Word provides us with a process for making our salvation something that not only changes our lives but also allows us to impact the culture.

The first step in working out ones salvation is to work out what God has done in our hearts to impact our minds.  Romans 12:2 says that we must avoid being conformed to the ways of this world by renewing our minds.  This isn’t something that comes naturally.  In 2 Corinthians 10:3-5, Paul explains how the effort to renew one’s mind can be best described as entering into spiritual warfare.

The human mind is the center that drives our decisions and actions in life.  Because we are born with a sin nature, our minds have to be renewed if we are going to live lives that reflect the work of salvation that takes place in our hearts.  The key to success is bringing all of our thoughts in line with God’s Word.  This is what Paul meant when he wrote that we must bring every thought captive to the obedience of Christ.  In essence, Paul says we must think biblically about every area of life.  Christians must develop a strong biblical worldview.  Kyle Idleman explained this in his book, Gods at War.  He wrote,

It is time to choose a worldview and let it remake you.

This leads us to the next step.  A renewed mind will remake us and will result in us developing Christ-like character.  Christ-like character is the mark of a transformed life.  As Christians develop Christ-like character, we will also see entire families being transformed.  Our families will become kingdom-focused and parents will follow biblical principles in all areas of their parenting responsibilities, including how they educate their children.

Finally, when Christians work out their salvation in these areas, we will see culture influenced.  BJ Press recently released  a new textbook, Biblical Worldview.  In this book the authors explain how a worldview is a set of basic beliefs, assumptions and values about life and the world.  The book goes on to explain that a worldview produces individual and group action which results in human culture.

Today’s culture is a result of individual and group actions that are based on our society’s dominant worldview.  This worldview is man-centered and completely secular in nature.  If Christians are ever going to influence the culture, they will have to change their beliefs and their actions to be in line with the truth of Scripture.   This is why we must work out our salvation with fear and trembling in 2018.  Our children’s future depends on it.

In my last post I shared with readers how God had spoken to me during the Aleph Tav Conference that I attended a few weeks ago.  It was at the conference that I saw a picture of Jesus like I had not seen before.  Based on the words of Paul in Philippians 2:5-11, Pastor James McMenis talked about the incarnation, humiliation, exaltation and adoration of Christ.  My salvation became more real and precious to me each night of Aleph Tav 2017.

Since the conference I have been praying about what my focus needs to be in 2018.  I have been asking myself the question I ask my students every time I teach my philosophy of education class at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary.  At the end the week-long class I have the students write a paper that is simply titled, So What?   I want to learn from the students how, if any, the class has impacted their lives.  So I have been asking myself this question.  So What?

I found my answer to this question and what I want to focus on in 2018 by reading what Paul wrote in the rest of the second chapter of Philippians.  Philippians 2:12-13 reads:

Wherefore, my brethren…work out your own salvation with fear and trembling for it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of His good pleasure.

My focus for 2018 is to diligently work out my salvation with fear and trembling.  I know that some have taken this passage to try and prove that salvation is based on one’s good works but that is not what this verse is talking about.

As a biology major in college, I marveled at the magnificent design of the human body’s circulatory system.  We all know that man’s physical heart is the center of this system.  The heart is located in the center of the body and is responsible to pump life-giving blood throughout one’s body.

It is critical that blood gets to every extremity of the body.  Improper or blocked circulation can lead to a member of the body losing its function and could even cause death.  The same is true for us spiritually.   My salvation took place in my heart.  It brought me new life in Christ.  I am told that everything was made new when I became a Christian.

However, that new life needs to be circulated throughout my life.  It must be worked out from my spiritual heart to every part of my being just like physical blood must be worked out from my physical heart to every part of my body.

Because I have seen afresh the incarnation, humiliation, exaltation and adoration of Jesus, this understanding of my salvation must be evident in every aspect of my life.  As I reflect on what Christ did for me when He left the glory of Heaven and became a man who suffered throughout His life and finally gave His life for me, it is supposed to change everything about me.  So I am asking myself some key questions at the start of 2018.  As I work out my salvation, how will it affect:

• the things I set my eyes on?
• the things I listen to?
• my thoughts?
• the words I say?
• the attitudes I display?
• my view of others?
• what I do with my life?
• my parenting?
• my marriage?
• the use of my time, talent and treasure?

I can go on and on listing how my life needs to reflect not only the work God did in my heart when I became a Christian as a 9 year-old boy but also the fresh work He did in my life during the Aleph Tav Conference.  This must be my focus throughout this year and any other years He sees fit to give me here on earth.

Most of us are aware of the importance of having a good diet and proper exercise in order to remain healthy.  If we eat the wrong foods and sit around and not get some exercise, our arteries can be affected.  A poor diet and no physical exercise can cause arteries to become restricted or even blocked.  This does not allow blood to get to the parts of the body that need it to survive.  If this goes undetected, it may even lead to death.

The same is true for our spiritual lives.  Nothing much will happen in 2018 if I just “say” I need to work out the work that God has done in my life.  This is going to require a proper diet and a good exercise plan in order for good circulation to take place.  I have made a commitment to read through the Bible again in 2018.  If I don’t feed regularly on God’s Word, I won’t have the needed knowledge and wisdom to keep the work that God has done and wants to do in my heart flowing through all aspects of my life and ministry.  The same is true for the other spiritual disciplines that need to be a daily part of my life throughout this year.

I am thankful for what God did in my life at Aleph Tav 2017.  However, I don’t want what happened at this event to be just something I attended and have a few nice memories about.  I want it to continue shaping my life and my ministry.  I am excited about what God is going to do in the days ahead.  Are you?

This past week my wife and I attended the Aleph Tav 2017 (AT17) Conference in Shreveport, LA. Aleph and Tav are the first and last letters of the Hebrew language and it is the theme of the preaching ministry of James McMenis, pastor at Word of God Ministries.

The theme for every Aleph Tav conference is, and always will be, It is all about Jesus. Each night of AT17 was based on Paul’s writings found in Philippians 2:5-11. McMenis opened up God’s Word and gave those in attendance an image of Jesus that is far different from the one that many Christians have formed in their minds of who Christ is. The image of Jesus I saw at AT17 was not based on a church’s or a denomination’s or even a pastor’s image of Jesus. I saw the Jesus of the Bible in a fresh and revelatory way that changed my life forever.

Night #1: The Incarnation of Jesus.

At AT17 I saw afresh how the One who thought it not robbery to be equal with God took on human flesh and came to earth as a man. I realized that the God of creation decided that because man would not walk with God after the Fall, God would come to earth and walk with man. The incarnation of Christ did not happen by Jesus coming in the glory of the King of kings and being born in a palace. Instead he was born in the smallest of towns and took His first breath in a trough where animals ate and drank from.

When God announced the birth of His Son, He did not send the announcement to the rulers of the land or to the religious leaders of the time. Instead, God announced the birth of Jesus to shepherds. These were men who were looked down upon and despised by the average citizen. Smelly, dirty shepherds were the only ones who came to celebrate the birth of Jesus.

The incarnation of Jesus caused me to see that Jesus is one who can relate to anyone – rich or poor, black or white, educated or uneducated, free or imprisoned. His incarnation was in the manner that would mark His entire life here on earth.

Night #2: The Humiliation of Jesus

I don’t remember ever hearing a message that broke my heart more than the one on the second night of AT17. I always knew how Jesus suffered on the cross to pay my sin debt. But I never saw how the Bible portrayed the entire life of Jesus here on earth as one of humiliation. From the day of His birth until He took His last breath and said, It is finished, the Son of God suffered rejection, persecution and betrayal.

The Bible does not present Jesus as a man who goes through life doing good and having everyone like Him. I saw through the Scriptures Jesus as one that:

• The religious leaders despised and criticized
• His own family discredited and rejected
• His own home town tried to throw Him off of a cliff
• John the Baptist, the very person who baptized Jesus and heard God declare that Jesus was His Son, questioned Him about being the Messiah and asked Him should he look for someone else
• When a woman tried to honor Him by anointing His feet with expensive perfume, His own disciples said that this was a waste of something that could’ve been sold and the money given to the poor
• Didn’t have a home that He could go to and find safety, acceptance and rest
• Was betrayed by a kiss
• Denied by a friend
• Abandoned by His closest companions
• Beaten and mocked by political, legal and religious leaders
• Was stripped of the only thing He owned, His robe, and stretched out on a cross, naked before the whole world
• When He became my sin, His own Father turned His back and darkness engulfed Him and caused Him to cry out, My Father, Why Have You Forsaken Me?

The next morning I saw a tweet by Paul David Tripp. It summed up what I had heard the night before.

We complain about so many little things, but no complaint came out of the Jesus’ mouth, even though He suffered every day from birth to death. (emphasis mine)

A couple of days later Tim Keller tweeted the following.

There’s no other religion that says God has suffered, that God had to be courageous that he knows what it is like to be abandoned by friends, to be crushed by injustice, to be tortured and die. Christmas shows he knows what you’re going through. When you talk to him, he understands. (emphasis mine)

Even though it was painful to see the humiliation of Christ, it is absolutely necessary that we understand His suffering. His humiliation means that Christ can relate to every person who has ever lived. No one has ever or will ever suffer more than Christ. Therefore, Jesus is the only One who can relate to one’s hurts and is the only One who can bring healing to a wounded heart.

Night #3: The exaltation of Christ 

When I saw the schedule for AT17 and after being broken by seeing the humiliation of Jesus, I thought that night three would be a night of simply praising the name of Jesus. However, I saw that the exaltation of Christ was much more than Him having a name that is higher than any other name.

The message focused on the reality that God has exalted His Son above everyone and everything. Jesus has been given a name that will cause every knee to bow and every tongue to confess that Jesus is Lord. Of course, I already knew this. I had been taught that there is coming a day when every being in heaven, on earth and beneath the earth will bow the knee and confess with their mouths that Jesus is Lord.

However, the exaltation of Jesus is not just for some day in the distant future. It is for today! It is because of the humiliation of Jesus that the name of Jesus has power like no other name TODAY! God has exalted Jesus so that at the name of Jesus – in any country around the world, in any community, palace, government office, business, or home – has the power to save.

I saw the Jesus of the Bible as the One who was beaten with my sin, was mocked with my sin, was nailed to a cross with my sin, was suspended between heaven and earth as judgment for my sin. McMenis pointed out that just like Moses had to beat some brass (symbol of judgment) into the form of a serpent and lifted up for the people to look at so the Son of Man had to be beaten into the form of man’s sin and be lifted up for all men to look at.

The Israelites were dying from the bites of serpents so the serpent had to be judged to bring life and healing to the people. We are dying in our sin so Jesus had to be beaten into the form of our sin and lifted up in judgment for our sin. That is why there is salvation in only one name – the name of Jesus. The name of Jesus is the only name with power to heal, it is the only name that has power to save, it is the only name that can change our lives and our destiny.

I have to get to the point that I am sick of my sin, my bondage, my addictions, my hurts and pain, that my only hope is to look at Jesus lifted up and call on the name of Jesus. Whenever I hear the name of Jesus, I will never see Him the same!

Night #4: The Adoration of Jesus

The final night moved from the CenturyLink Arena to Independence Stadium. Thousands of people streamed into the stadium, gathering together under an open heaven with temperatures hovering in the low 40s. The entire night focused on the adoration of Jesus. After being led in worship by Bethel Music, McMenis preached a simple message. Because of the incarnation, the humiliation, and the exaltation there is only logical response from us. All of our lives are to worship the Savior at all times.

My first Aleph Tav Conference won’t be my last. I gained a fresh, biblical image of Jesus Christ through the teaching I received these four nights. As I said at the beginning of this article, I will never look at Jesus the same!

Over the past several weeks we have been focusing our attention on the essentials that must be at the foundation of the education we provide our children and youth.  So far, we have discussed three essentials.  These three essentials are based on two biblical principles.  The principles are:

The education of children and youth must have as its primary focus the increase in the knowledge of God.  John 17:3; Romans 1:20; Romans 11:33-36; Psalm 19:1-6; Ephesians 1:16-19; 3:15-19; 4:13; Philippians 1:9; 3:8-10, 13-14; Colossians 1:9-10; 2:2-3; 2 Peter 3:18; Proverbs 2:5; Hosea 4:1; 6:6; and 2 Corinthians 10:3-5

 The education of children and youth results in performing work in fulfillment of God’s will for their lives.  Genesis 1: 26; Matthew 6:10, 33; Ephesians 5:17; Hebrews 10:36; 13:20-21; Colossians 1:9-10; 12:1-2; Proverbs 3:5-6; 20:24

From these two biblical principles on how God wants us to educate our children, we can discover three essential aspects that must drive our educational efforts at home, church and school.  These essentials are:

1. Know God
2. Discover God’s Call
3. Equip to Do God’s Will

Today I want to share with you what I believe is a fourth essential that must be a major part of the education a child receives at home, church and/or school.  This essential can be stated as:

Pursue Excellence for God’s Glory

The concept of excellence has been dealt with in several earlier blog posts. However, it is important to emphasize that one’s pursuit of excellence must be based on a biblical model for excellence rather than on a secular one.  The world’s concept of excellence is all about performance and achievement.  Excellence is measured by the compare and compete mindset.  Other individuals or institutions or teams become the standard for defining excellence.  One can claim excellence as long as he or the organization is better or defeats the other person or group.

This horizontal view of excellence was condemned in Paul’s letter to the church at Corinth.  Paul warned these Christians not to put themselves in the category of people who measure themselves by themselves or compare themselves with themselves.  Whenever we pursue this type of excellence, Paul says we are not wise.

As we provide our children with an education that constantly challenges them to pursue excellence, we must be sure that we teach them what biblical excellence is.  Biblical excellence does not begin with a horizontal perspective but with a vertical one.  Our standard for excellence isn’t other people or organizations.  Our standard for excellence is God, Himself.

When God is our standard for excellence then we realize that the focus of true excellence is not on performance but on character.  God challenges every Christian to be holy for I am holy.  God always desires His children to be like Christ which means that they must develop Christlike character.

Out of this pursuit of godly character, one’s performance becomes an extension of his character.  Because our desire is to be like Christ, we, therefore, strive to do our best according to the gifts and abilities God has created in us.  As we strive to perform to our potential, we do so for only one goal — to bring glory to God.

The educational essential of pursuing excellence for God’s glory can be fully captured in another biblical principle of education.

The education of children and youth must be characterized by the pursuit of biblical excellence based on godly character resulting in competent performance for God’s glory.  2 Corinthians 8:7, 10:12; Philippians 1:9-10, 4:8; 1 Timothy 6:11; Psalm 8:1; Ecclesiastes 9:10

Since there is so much attention put on education in today’s world, we must make sure that we are addressing these four essentials of a biblical education.  We must assess the education we are providing our children at home, church, and at the schools that they attend in light of these key essentials of education.  We must constantly be asking ourselves a few questions.

1. Does the education our children receive at home, church and school have a major focus on them increasing in the knowledge of God?
2. Are our children being guided in understanding how God created them in His image and, from that understanding, developing the discernment to discover God’s call on their lives?
3. Is our children’s education equipping them to be able to accomplish God’s will for their lives as they pursue their vocations?
4. Is the home, church and school challenging our children to pursue biblical excellence that focuses on character that leads them to perform to their best ability for God’s glory alone?

These are challenging questions to answer in light of today’s emphasis on performance in order to get the better job and chase after the American Dream.  However, an even more daunting question must be answered.  This question is:

If the education we are providing our children at home, church and school is not addressing these four essentials, what are we going to do about it?

Life Just Isn’t Fair!

Have you ever found yourself wondering if all that you are doing is accomplishing anything and if it is worth the effort?  I know I have found myself in that state of mind on more than one occasion.  In retrospect, I know that this usually happened when I was extremely busy and found myself on my third page of a “to do” list.

Fatigue sets in and I become overwhelmed and cynical about life in general and ministry specifically.  When I get to this condition, I begin to think that others have it much better than I do.  In fact, if I am not careful, I can find myself thinking life just isn’t fair.  I am convinced that the enemy loves to see Christians overworked and fatigued.  He knows when this happens we can easily feel like simply giving up and going with the flow of the culture.

The Psalmist, Asaph, found himself in this exact situation when he penned the 73rd Psalm.  He was at a point in ministry where he:

• came very close to giving up (verse 2)
• actually envied wicked people (verses 3-12)
• began to pity himself for trying to live a righteous life (verses 13-14)
• came close to teaching the next generation that living for God wasn’t worth it (verse 15)
• couldn’t even think about this because of the pain he was experiencing (verse 16)

You might be thinking to yourself, I know just how Asaph felt.  In fact I am right there right now.  It seems like those who do as they please are prospering to the point that they almost brag about being above the law.  All we have to do is look at what is going on with politicians in our country right now to see this apparant double standard.

Asaph’s problem was the same problem that plagues me whenever I find myself nearing exhaustion.  Asaph had stopped having a grateful heart.  Instead of being thankful for everything that God had done in and through his life, he became critical and cynical.  All I can say is — been there, done that, and have the t-shirt!

But Asaph’s envious, unthankful attitude was just a symptom of the real problem he was facing.  It was the root of the problem that was bringing him so much pain as it is with us when find ourselves in this same condition.  Asaph had become so busy in his ministry that he was not faithful in spending time with the Lord.  This is why Satan wants to keep us running through life at a frenetic pace so we don’t have time to be still and be with the Lord.

In The Presence of God

When Asaph recognized what the root of the problem was, he came to his senses and came into the sanctuary of the Lord (verse 17).  Everything changed when he put the brakes on and entered a time of quietness before God.  When we realize that it is time to stop, pull off to the side and be with God by being in the Word and prayer, we gain a proper perspective about everything — just like what happened with Asaph.

When Asaph spent time with God, he:

• began to know afresh the power and glory of God
• realized that worldly prosperity is but for a fleeting moment and destruction was the final destination for the wicked
• recognized that God’s wisdom and strength was more precious than silver or gold

What was the result in Asaph’s life when he took time to be with the Lord?  He once again went from being cynical to being thankful.  When this takes place in our lives, God moves in and blesses us in unbelievable ways.

Be Thankful!

All across the USA Christians will be observing the Thanksgiving holiday this week.  The question is will this be a time when we are overwhelmed with a grateful spirit or will we continue to be critical and cynical in a world spinning out of control.  We won’t be thankful if we continue our hectic lifestyles so that we can get more stuff done.

The enemy knows how to keep us from being thankful by simply keeping us busy spending more time on social media, rushing to that one more “bargain” on Black Friday or simply not taking time to enter into the sanctuary of God.  However, if we stop and spend time with the Lord, I am convinced we can say with Asaph:

Surely God is good to those who are pure in heart…the nearness of God is my good; I have made the Lord God my refuge, that I may tell of all Your works.

May each of you have a blessed Thanksgiving!