Sometimes in our churches we find it hard to get along. People express surprise at this, but a church remains a roomful of sinful people saved only by grace. Sharp edges abound. It takes time and work and adherence to the Scriptures to find our way together.

Paul addressed a rowdy church in his writings to the Corinthians. At the end of his last letter to them, he gave this admonition: Finally, brothers, rejoice. Aim for restoration, comfort one another, agree with one another, live in peace; and the God of love and peace will be with you.

Along with the pep talk, Paul left them with this summary of the source of power found in this new way of living: The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all.

This trinitarian formula points out three truths for the church to embrace. The grace of Jesus Christ casts out self-seeking and self-promotion. The love of God overwhelms anger and jealousy. The Holy Spirit calms arguing, disperses cliques, and engenders true friendship and mutual support among believers.

Live in peace. That sounds pretty good right now. The path toward peace involves leaning into the Scriptures and allowing the Holy Spirit to foster community among one another. Pray to the Son, Father and Holy Spirit and let’s make the world a better place.

2 Corinthians 13:11-13

Photo by Aaron Burden

When my wife wants to throw out my old underwear because it has holes in it, I push back with, how can you toss out a “hole-y” garment? It’s a bad pun, but a good Dad joke. After a roll of her eyes my skivvies go in the trash. Time to break in a new pair.

Jeremiah used an undergarment to make a point to the people of Judah. The Lord told him to Go and buy a linen loincloth and put it around your waist, and do not dip it in water. After publicly wearing the loincloth for a time, God sent Jeremiah to hide it in the rocks by the river. After many days Jeremiah dug it up and sported the now ruined loincloth around town. The indignities of an Old Testament prophet never ceased.

Why this bizarre demonstration using nasty old underwear? The linen loincloth (think modern day boxer shorts) was originally fresh and clean, invoking God’s devotion when calling Israel out of Egypt. The Lord declared, For as the loincloth clings to the waist of a man, so I made the whole house of Israel and the whole house of Judah cling to me, that they might be for me a people, a name, a praise, and a glory, but they would not listen.

But instead of holding to the Lord, his people rejected the truth and embraced the religions of demons. God responded, This evil people, who refuse to hear my words, who stubbornly follow their own heart and have gone after other gods to serve them and worship them, shall be like this loincloth, which is good for nothing.

Good for nothing. A terrible indictment on the once proud people. Ruin massed on the horizon, and in a few years invaders overran Jerusalem and carried off her population as slaves. Lousy underwear proved the least of their worries.

Jesus grants those who follow him a privileged position. But like Jeremiah’s audience, I can disregard this intimacy and seek more immediate rewards. Never overlooked by the Lord, this behavior eventually leads to a ruinous outcome, one I hope to avoid. May my “hole-y” underwear remind me of the Lord’s encouragement to continually follow him.

Jeremiah 13:1-11

Photo by Maite Oñate

Lots of things look really good to me that by experience I know lead to false promises, bad decisions and painful consequences. You and I shouldn’t be surprised by this. Paul, in a warning about false teachers infecting several early churches, added this insight: even Satan disguises himself as an angel of light.

Satan still camouflages dreadful philosophies and lifestyles in bright, shiny packages. Anything to deflect you and me from the truth, and to keep our eyes turned away from what matters to the Lord.

I’m drawn to the latest tech gadgets, be it a new phone or faster, thinner computer. I live in Colorado and beefy SUVs catch my eye. I would savor life better behind the wheel of one. But that’s not true. I have an quality phone and a fast, thin computer. I drive a Jeep. But I want more. I believe the lie that I need more stuff to enjoy life. But the truth is that things are to be used, and people are to be enjoyed. I flip that to my detriment.

I like feeling secure. So I count on money and resources to make me happy and safe. Yet the Scriptures say that money is the root of all sorts of evil. Which is why a false angel sends me in that direction. Jesus said, what does it profit a man to gain the whole world and lose his soul? I can stay generous with the money in my hands. God has plenty and shares willingly.

Another virus infecting my thinking tells me that I’m the master of my own fate, the captain of my life. I sit upon the throne of my life. But the longer I’m in charge, the more I veer dangerously off course. Jesus is the way, and the truth, and the life—not me, and not the evil one in disguise.

Other lies entice me to cheat on the ways of God. What about you? How does Satan manipulate your heart? The tempter knows his business and continually throws up clever facades. Our only hope is to seek guidance from the Holy Scriptures and the Holy Spirit. Satan’s falsehoods flicker and go dark, but the light of Christ shines brighter the longer we seek it out.

2 Corinthians 11:14

Photo by Niklas Hamann

If I want advice on how to live my life, I simply need to head to a magazine stand, a bookstore, or scroll the internet. There I’ll find ways to exercise and get in shape, diets to maximize brain health, investment strategies to create wealth, and examples of how to influence people and win friends. All proven mechanisms to better myself.

While I indeed find many of these ideas helpful, a deeply flourishing life lies elsewhere. The fiery prophet Jeremiah pointed in the right direction:

Thus says the Lord: “Let not the wise man boast in his wisdom, let not the mighty man boast in his might, let not the rich man boast in his riches, but let him who boasts boast in this, that he understands and knows me, that I am the Lord who practices steadfast love, justice, and righteousness in the earth. For in these things I delight, declares the Lord.”

Intelligence, power and wealth make the world go around. What holds greater value in our society? Mix in good looks and you have it made. But Jeremiah shifts the target. How to create a life worth emulating? How to truly flourish? Invest in understanding and knowing the Lord. Open the Scriptures, read, listen, study and pray. Call on the Holy Spirit for guidance. Plow the fields of love, justice and righteousness, and reap the goodness of God.

Jeremiah wrote 2500 years ago, but I hear no better advice from all the chattering voices of our society today. Know the Lord and know life, that’s solid wisdom to build a life upon.

Jeremiah 9:23-24

Photo by Shiromani Kant