1 John 5:3 makes a provocative statement that at first glance seems out of touch with reality: “And [God’s] commandments are not burdensome.” Commandments not burdensome? For real? If this is your first reaction (like it was mine), then you probably see commands as almost inherently burdensome. That’s the whole point of commands, isn’t it? To constrain those commanded? So, how can John say this? On what basis are God’s commands not burdensome? In meditating on this, I came up with ten reasons (though there are likely far more) that God’s commands are not burdensome. 

1. God’s commands are in line with how he created the world. If God created everything (Genesis 1), if he sustains everything (Hebrews 1:3), if he knows where true satisfaction and joy are found (Psalm 16:11), if he is a good God (Psalm 100:5), then he knows (and created!) how this world is intended to operate. And His commands are in keeping with how he created everything. Imagine trying to operate an MRI machine without any operator’s manual. You need the manual full of instructions (commands) so that you know how it is intended to work. So it is with God’s commands. His commands are not burdensome because they are given to us so that life can flourish in the world he created.

2. God’s commands are for our good. When a parent commands a child not to touch a stove top or not to poke a paper clip into an electrical outlet, the parent is not intending to burden the child. In fact, the exact opposite is happening: the parent is trying to save the child from significant burdens that would otherwise swiftly come. Life in a fallen world is full of these kinds of burdens. God’s commands similarly graciously guard his children from significant burdens that come from living life outside of the boundaries that he has given. If you want to see a burdensome life, then live life outside of God’s commands. His commands are not a burden because they guard us from self-inflicted burdens of life in a fallen world.

3. God’s commands are simple. The religious leaders in Jesus’ day developed a complex list of commands to follow. Some of the commands were ones that they themselves designed to help them keep the commands that God had given. They were commands for the sake of the commands. And there were lots of them. Sometimes people look at the Old Testament and view it as a complex list of commands. And yet when Jesus was asked about the greatest commandment in the Law, his answer was strikingly simple: “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment. And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets” (Matthew 22:37-40). Two. That’s it. The entirety of God’s commands summed up in two: love God and love your neighbor. It’s that simple. God’s commands are not a burden because his commands are not complex.

4. God’s commands are not the means by which his approval is gained. The beauty of the gospel is that acceptance with God does not come from my perfect obedience to God’s law or through my performing some level of penance that will earn back God’s favor. Approval in God’s sight comes through union with the only one to perfectly obey God’s commands: Jesus. This means that God’s commands take on a distinct role in the life of a Christian. They are no longer the means by which we are condemned as by a judge but rather the means by which we are instructed/taught as by a Father. His commands are not burdensome because our obedience is the fruit (not the root) of our salvation.

5. God enables what he commands. God does not merely give his children commands. Rather, by the power of the Spirit, God works in his children that which he commands them. He empowers what he demands. He promised this when Jeremiah prophesied of a new covenant: “For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, declares the LORD: I will put my laws within them, and I will write it on their hearts. And I will be their God, and they shall be my people” (Jeremiah 31:33). God’s commands are not burdensome because he promises to produce in us that which he requires of us (Philippians 1:6).

6. God commands us, not just me. God did not leave us to follow him alone. He gave us the gift of a family called the local church. In this family we have pastors who teach us and friends who exhort us, encourage us, and support us. This gospel-motivated community called the local church is ready to help me follow God’s commands no matter the situation: “Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep. Live in harmony with one another” (Romans 12:15-16). “And we urge you, brothers, admonish the idle, encourage the fainthearted, help the weak, be patient with them all” (1 Thessalonians 5:14). God’s commands are not burdensome because he gives his commands in the context of a loving community.

7. God commands, yet God forgives. Commands imply obedience. Commands are given to be obeyed. Yet this is why they are so often burdensome. Commands induce guilt because they are often not obeyed. But because of Jesus’ work on the cross, we are told this: “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:9). Then, just a couple verses later: “I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin. But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous” (1 John 2:1). When you feel burdened by God’s commands, remember the gospel of God’s forgiveness in Christ. God is not only faithful to forgive sins, he is just to forgive sins because the sins have already been paid for in Jesus. God’s commands are not burdensome because he faithfully and justly forgives us in Christ whenever we come to him in repentance.

8. God’s commands are not his only word. If the only thing God spoke were commands, then his commands would likely feel burdensome. However, God’s commands are not the only words that he has spoken. In fact, much of the Bible is filled with words from God other than commands. Much of the Bible explains the story of how God has continually pursued dwelling with his chosen people, as seen in the Garden of Eden, the Tabernacle, the Temple, the incarnation of Jesus, the indwelling Holy Spirit, the church, and the new heavens and new earth. God does not just command. He speaks words of promise, covenant promises grounded in his steadfast love. God’s commands are not burdensome because his commands flow out of his committed covenant relationship with his people.

9. God’s commands are worth singing about! We tend to sing about the things that we love or the things that move our affections most significantly. It’s significant, then, that in the Bible’s song book (Psalms) there are many songs that celebrate God’s commands. Maybe the two most significant are Psalm 19 and 119, where we read (or sing!) phrases like, “More to be desired are [your commands] than gold, even much fine gold; sweeter also than honey and drippings of the honeycomb” (Psalm 19:10) or “Your testimonies are my delight; they are my counselors” (Psalm 119:24). When I’m viewing God’s commands rightly, I’m energized to sing about them. God’s commands are not burdensome because rightly understood, they are sweet, satisfying, and song-worthy.

10. God’s commands do not change. One of the burdensome things about commands in our world is that they change. People change, policies change, presidents change. Employers change their procedures, friends change their views, parents change their minds. This changing of what’s expected of us in so many different contexts can be quite burdensome! But God does not change (Numbers 23:19). His character and His word are consistent for all eternity (Matthew 24:35). God’s commands are not burdensome because they are consistent, unchanging.

There are certainly many other reasons that God’s commands are not burdensome. As I was working through these, I thought of the fact that God’s commands point us to where true hope and satisfaction is found, as in his command to “seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God” (Colossians 3:1). Or how his commands guard us from wasting our resources in this life: “lay up treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal” (Matthew 6:19-21). What other examples can you think of?

Here’s the point. There are countless reasons for us to believe that this statement from 1 John 5:3 is not an empty phrase thrown out there to make us feel better about the fact that there are a lot of commands in the Bible. 1 John 5:3 is true and powerful and defensible in numerous ways. Ultimately, may this brief meditation lead us to rejoice in God’s commands, as does the songwriter at the end of the longest Psalm: “I long for your salvation, O Lord, and your law is my delight. Let my soul live and praise you, and let your rules help me. I have gone astray like a lost sheep; seek your servant, for I do not forget your commandments” (Psalm 119:174-176).

Prayer. We all know we should do it. But most of us feel guilty when the topic is brought up because we just don’t do it. One of the reasons that we don’t do it is that there’s not enough time, or at least we say. “Prayer takes time,” we say to ourselves. Long periods of time. There’s too much to pray for. The task seems overwhelming. So we just don’t do it.

My purpose in this post is not to give a comprehensive theology of prayer, nor is it to speak of every aspect of prayer possible. Instead, I hope that one specific Bible passage on prayer will show us how Jesus teaches us to pray in a simple and “doable way." So if you feel overwhelmed at the mention of prayer, I hope this post will encourage you to pray more prayers that are short, meaningful, and specific.

Many of us know Matthew 5-7 as the Sermon on the Mount. Jesus is teaching his followers about following him, meanwhile angering the religious leaders of the day by overturning many of their Old Testament interpretations along with some of their religious practices. During this teaching to his followers, he talks about prayer.

As we zoom in on 6:7-13, let’s remind ourselves of what we said at the beginning regarding one of the reasons we don’t pray: “We are too busy. The task is big and overwhelming. It takes a long time to pray.” Check out what Jesus says in 6:7: “And when you pray, do not heap up empty phrases as the Gentiles do, for they think that they will be heard for their many words.” Notice two things about this verse. First, Jesus points out that there are such things in prayers as “empty phrases.” These are words and phrases that add length to our prayers but are spoken without thought or purpose. The most frequent empty phrase is probably, “Dear God, thank you for this day…,” the common opener in most prayers. It’s not that this phrase is a bad thing to pray. Rather, prayer is a meaningful thing. We don’t pile up empty phrases in conversations with a close friend. Neither should we with our Father. Say only what you mean. Second, somehow we got the idea that longer prayers are better (“for they think that they will be heard for their many words” 6:7). For some reason we easily get this urge to keep our prayers going, even if we have nothing more to say. We haven’t yet reached the minimum time for a decent prayer; so, we pile on empty phrases as we think of something to say next. But Jesus is saying that longer prayer isn’t better prayer. In fact, it’s often full of purposeless phrases.

Notice the reason that Jesus gives for not piling up empty phrases in prayers: “Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him” (6:8). The length of your prayer isn’t what makes it “work.” God doesn’t even need us to explain all of our situations to him. He already knows what we need. Prayer from our perspective is an expression of our dependence upon God. We need him. So we pray to him, expressing our faith in his control over and care of our lives. So, from Jesus’ teaching here, we learn this important truth: meaningful prayer does not have to do with the length of prayer.

Jesus presses this point even further in the very next verses. After teaching his followers that meaningful prayer doesn’t have to do with the length, he goes on to give an example of what meaningful prayer looks like in 6:9-13 by praying a short prayer himself. He starts off by saying, “Pray then like this” (6:9). In other words, here is an example of the kind of prayer that is meaningful. He says ten short phrases that are to the point and lack any amount of clutter or empty phrases. It takes about 20 seconds to speak through Jesus’ exemplary prayer.

So, brothers and sisters who desire to pray more often, be encouraged! The value or meaning of your prayers is not wrapped up in their length or verbiage. In fact, when Jesus said to pray “like this,” he packed meaning and truth into a mere twenty seconds.  God wants to hear from you. And you do have time. When you hear about a request from a friend, take 10 seconds to pray for it right then. When you wake up in the morning, take 10 seconds to pray for God’s help today. When you walk outside and are overwhelmed by the beauty of creation, take 10 seconds to praise and thank God. Pray short, meaningful prayers all throughout your day. And leave out the empty phrases. Jesus’ teaching and example show us how to pray constantly, meaningfully, and specifically.

This is the second of two articles on the Women’s Ministry Director transition at HPBC. You can read the first, where we say “thank you” to Theresa Bixby, here.

Women have always been an integral part of the ministry of Hampton Park Baptist Church. They are an indispensable part of the church family, uniquely gifted by God in particular ways to serve others. As of  July 1,  Jennifer Martin, an HPBC “lifer,” has stepped into the role of Director of Women’s Ministry. Jennifer is passionate about seeing women connect with other women for mutual support, encouragement, and care, and she has been exemplary in her involvement at HPBC over the years.

As we say “welcome” to Jennifer as she enters into this role, we thought it would be fun to ask her a few questions that would give us additional insight into the Women’s Ministry Director role and her heart as she steps into it.

When did you first start attending HPBC?

I’ve been attending HPBC since 1982 when I began as a faithful member of the nursery. 🙂

What are one or two ways that the ministry of women at HPBC has shaped you?

When I think about the women that have had the most impact on my life spiritually, they have all been a part of Hampton Park at some point. Just the genuine care and concern for me through prayers or showing love by meeting tangible needs has been such a blessing.

What most excites you about being in this role? 

I think being even more involved with the women at HP is what excites me the most about this role. I love getting to know people, so I’m looking forward to getting to know some ladies better than I already do and can’t wait to meet and get to know others for the first time. 

What is a goal that you have for this first year or even beyond the first year?

One goal of mine is to be able to put a name with every woman’s face that is a member at Hampton Park.  While that seems like an easy task for someone who has been in the church “forever,” I’m amazed at how many ladies I don’t know at all because of how many people that have joined over the recent years. 

Is there anything that makes you nervous about this role?

I’m not sure if “nervous” is the word I would use, but I’m definitely requesting prayer as I learn to navigate and balance life as a wife, a mom, and ministry director. 

If someone were to ask you, “What’s the best thing about women’s ministry at HPBC,” how would you respond? 

There are so many women who truly want to love others and are eager to help in any way they can.

What would be a 2-3 sentence encouragement you would give to all of our HPBC member ladies?

Get involved in as many ways as you can, and don’t be afraid to ask for help. You won’t regret getting to know ladies with all kinds of different backgrounds in various stages of life. Find opportunities to be a blessing and let others be a blessing to you!

Welcome, Jennifer! We are grateful to God in leading you to serve the women of HPBC in this way, and we look forward to serving alongside you for the glory of God in our church and community.

For more than a decade, Hampton Park Baptist Church’s Women’s Ministries have been led by Theresa Bixby. On June 30, 2021, she will finish serving in this role (in an official capacity) and begin serving God and the church through her retirement years. Theresa and I (Ben) have met together most weeks over the past 2-3 years to share ministry needs and burdens. Throughout that time, I have come to appreciate her compassionate heart, unshaking conviction, and joyful spirit.

As we say “thank you” to Theresa for her many years of faithful service here at HPBC, we thought it would be fun to ask her a few questions that would give us additional insight into the Women’s Ministry Director role and her heart as she served in it.

How long have you been the Women’s Ministry Director at HPBC?

I love my church and count it a privilege to have served the ladies of HPBC for over 12 ½ years. I was doing my dream job and it gave me great joy.

What most excited you about the role when you first started?

I was completely surprised when I was asked to consider this job.  I already loved and respected the ladies of our church, but I was energized by the thought of getting to know more of them, learning their names and finding out their heart throbs and their needs.  I longed to encourage them to grow in their likeness to Christ, no matter where they were on their spiritual journey.

What will you miss the most once you are not in this role anymore? 

I will miss the contact with the staff members whom I have come to love and appreciate.  I will miss feeling “responsible” for the well-being of the HPBC ladies. 

What was challenging about working in this role?

I was the first one in this role.  While I had a job description, the nuts and bolts of the job were left up to me. I am not necessarily a person who thinks out of the box, but I do have a certain degree of creativity and God-given leadership skills.  I am thankful for the many friends who encouraged me, pushed me and prayed for me.  I am thankful for those who gave suggestions and were understanding when we could not do their project.  I am thankful for God’s wisdom and for the support of the pastors. 

I wanted to make sure we were meeting the needs of our ladies and started a few new ministries.  Some worked and some did not.  The death of a dream is always disappointing. 

What is one or two unexpected blessings of working in this role?

I found so many ladies in our church who were serving God faithfully.  They didn’t need the lime light or organization.  They were using their time, skills, money and energy investing in the lives of others for God’s glory. 

I have enjoyed and been blessed by the cross-generational look of many of our women’s ministries. 

What are your plans once you retire? 

We do not have any plans set in stone yet (Paul is retiring also).  Depending on the pandemic, we may be involved in a mission trip in the fall. We hope to see our kids more often.  Our list of things to do around the house and in the yard is extensive and has been neglected for way too long.

Can we expect to still see you involved in ministry to women at HPBC?

Of course! That is who I am!  God willing, we are not moving for a long time.  Paul and I will continue our involvement in the Spanish ministry.  I want to be faithful in attendance at the ladies’ events—Women for Missions, luncheons, retreats, etc.  At least for this fall, I will be teaching at Ladies’ Bible Study.  I have become a funeral meal team leader.  I have told Jennifer that I want to be her best cheerleader and supporter.  I want to help her when she needs me and step back and hide in the shadows when she needs me to do that.  I am delighted that God has called her to this position and I’m sure she will do a great job.

Thank you, Theresa, for your faithfulness over the past 12 ½ years. We are thankful that you will still be around HPBC and look forward to continuing to serve alongside you.

Why attend a Members’ Meeting? This is a great question. Maybe your thought is: “with all the stuff that we already do on Sundays, why give up another hour to observe a meeting that doesn’t even include any singing or preaching?” Or maybe you feel like Members’ Meetings are boring. Or maybe you feel awkward about Members’ Meetings because you think that these kinds of meetings mean people are going to argue and disagree with each other.

This article is an attempt to briefly give you a different vision of Members’ Meetings. Let me step back for a moment. Have you ever wondered what it means to be a member of a church? We try to summarize what it means in our Member Covenant, which is the very first thing you see when you look at our church Bylaws. Our Member Covenant is what we’ve each agreed to as members of our church, and we remind ourselves of these commitments by reciting it at the beginning of each Members’ Meeting. In our Member Covenant, we say this:

“We will promote the spiritual growth of one another by participating in the worship, ordinances, and discipline of our church, by scripturally testing the teachings of our church, and by giving generously of our resources to meet the needs of our body and spread the gospel to all nations.”

This paragraph gets at some of the importance of Members’ Meetings. Let me give you three reasons to attend them.

1. Attend Members’ Meetings because you love the members of our church.

I think that the most important thing we do at Members’ Meetings is add and remove members. After all, what is the church? The church is people. Not just any people. But people who have a genuine faith in Jesus Christ. As a church, we need to know who we are (who is new here, who has left and connected with another local church, etc.).

And further, as a church, we need to guard the gospel. One of the primary ways we guard the gospel is by making sure that those entering our church have a genuine profession of faith and a life that would agree with their profession. At Members’ Meetings, you get to hear about the professions of faith of those entering our congregation and see their faces so that you can get to know them better in the future.

And further, Members’ Meetings are where we handle church discipline situations. We are all accountable to one another. You as members of this church should be holding me accountable to my profession of faith and vice versa. In other words, I hope that if I walk away from my faith into a life of sin, that you will love me enough to walk through the process of church discipline in hope that God will use the process to draw me back to repentance and faith in Jesus. The church discipline process is to restore a brother/sister who is walking away from the faith. Additionally, the process serves as a warning to each of us to guard our faith. We participate in this church discipline process, in part, during Members’ Meetings. This is part of your role as a member.

2. Attend Members’ Meetings because you love the purity of gospel truth.

In Galatians 1, when Paul is about to confront the Galatian church for turning to another gospel, notice whom he addresses. He does not address the elders. He addresses the church as a whole. In fact, he says to the church, “If we or an angel from heaven should preach to you a gospel contrary to the one we preached to you, let him be accursed.” And he says it again a verse later: “If anyone is preaching to you a gospel contrary to the one you received, let him be accursed.”

One of your greatest responsibilities as a member of this church is to know the gospel and to help guard the gospel. This is why any adjustments to our statement of faith (in particular) and even our Bylaws (in general) can only happen by vote of the members of the church in a Members’ Meeting. Why is that? Because we as members are called to guard gospel truth in the church. This doesn’t mean we won’t ever adjust the Bylaws or even the Statement of Faith. They are not Scripture, and so at times they can better align with Scripture. What this does mean is that you should be an active part of the process so that you are doing your job of guarding gospel truth in this local church.

You might think that it’s the leadership’s job to guard gospel purity in the church. That’s true, in part. But what if the leadership moves away from gospel purity? Remember what Paul said to the Galatians? “If we or an angel from heaven should preach to you a gospel contrary to the one we preached to you, let him be accursed.” More than one church has been led astray by false teaching. You as members need to know the gospel and participate in guarding it. One of the primary ways you participate in this is by nominating and electing gifted and qualified men to lead the church in gospel purity. This electing of men to serve on the Pastoral Body happens in Members’ Meetings.

3. Attend Members’ Meetings because you love the mission of the church.

One of the most important things we do every year in our Members’ Meetings is vote on how we will invest the dollars that we collectively give as a church. Giving to God’s work through the church is a wise investment. And you as a member get to participate in the process of determining how these funds are used and in helping to make sure they are used wisely. So, take this responsibility seriously. Know the mission of the church. And help us make sure that our finances are always being spent both here and around the world in support of that mission.

Finally, let me finish by giving you three encouragements that flow out of the reasons I’ve already given to attend Members’ Meetings.

1. Attend, If at All Possible

There may be reasons you are not able to attend. You may be out of town. You may need to watch your children at home so that your spouse can attend. Maybe your health does not enable you to attend. But if at all possible, be faithful in attending these. This isn’t about boosting Members’ Meeting numbers. We don’t track those, that I know of. But it is about taking seriously your responsibility as a member of the church! If you attend these regularly, you may be surprised at how much more connected you feel to everything that God is doing through our local church. You’ll begin to feel more a part of it yourself.

2. Participate Inside of the Meeting

Sometimes there’s a “sense” that when we ask for questions, we’re hoping no one will ask any questions. Maybe that is the hope of some. But that’s certainly not the hope of those leading our Members’ Meetings. We have nothing to hide, and therefore we are happy to answer questions. Maybe the difference is between those who are asking questions and those who are doing what we might call “grand-standing.” It’s possible that we are hoping that no one does that. But we certainly want to help bring clarity where it is needed so that you can confidently participate in any votes or other follow-up that is asked of you. So, please participate in meetings as opportunity is given.

3. Participate Outside of the Meeting

Sometimes information is sent to you ahead of meetings. In the past couple of years, we’ve sent a lot more information about the budget ahead of time so you can have a clear picture of how the money you invest here is being used to support God’s work here and around the world. Please look over this kind of information before a meeting and even ask questions ahead of time! Sometimes we ask you to pray for a particular member who is living in unrepentant sin or even to reach out to a member if you know him or her. Please do this, participating in the process of restoration that God has given us. Sometimes you may be in a conversation with a member of our church who does not view Members’ Meetings as very important. Kindly converse with and encourage him or her with the various reasons that we have to view these as significant and important in our personal lives and in the life of the church as a whole.

I hope I’ve given you some things to think about. Ultimately, I hope you continue to take your membership seriously, including attending all of the Members’ Meetings you are able. When we announce one, go ahead and put it in your calendar. Being with us for these meetings on a regular basis will further root yourself in the knowledge of who we are as a church and in your participation in what we are doing as a church. I hope to see you at one soon!