"Give us this day our daily bread."
When I get stuck in prayer - which is quite a bit - I go straight to the blueprint and start working through the Lord's Prayer. I've written quite extensively on that, and some day I'm going to do a blog a day on the phrases, starting right off the bat with the self-releasing "Our."
The phrase that nailed me today is "this day." Jesus wants us to have great expectations for today. Fresh bread for today. Too many people live off of yesterday's bread. We hear the same testimonies from year's past. I do this and it always makes me wonder: but what has He done for me today?
God is always working, always active. He is the present-tense God - the God of Now - the I AM. If I would just stop, right now, and allow Him to actively work through me, pulse through my veins, course through my entire being, allow Him to take over every thought, then I would find that wonderful things would be happening in me RIGHT NOW.
I hope you're not still chewing on yesterday's manna. There was a reason in the OT that the day-old manna became maggot-infested. We are not to be living on it. I challenge you right now: stop what you are doing for 3 minutes and ask God to take over. Tell Him that you want fresh bread this day, this moment. As soon as I finish typing, it's what I'm going to do. Quit chewing on what you did yesterday or what someone said to you the day before or some stumble from last week. That's old news.
Our expectations are too low. Ask Him right now for exactly what you want. When the blind man cried out to Jesus, He turned and said, "What do you want Me to do for you?" The blind man gave a specific response: "I want to see." Now. Tell Him right now what your desires are and be specific. Mine are the same as this blind man. I want to see . . . more of Him. I'm not satisfied with where I am in my understanding and experience of Him. I want fresh bread and living water.
I was reading through John 4 where Christ met the woman at the well and told her that she could have living water. She said that the well was deep and He had nothing to draw with. Her expectations of Him were too low, as if He couldn't supply what He promised. Don't put Him in that box. The well is deep - He is deeper. Expect more in your prayers - right now.
Friday, February 29, 2008
Thursday, February 28, 2008
Fear and Separation
In the previous blog I stated that I don't think we should embrace the culture of the lost to the point that we dwell in it - but there is another reaction to it that is just as wrong. This is when people become so fearful of the thoughts, beliefs and actions of certain groups that they recoil and separate. You know these people, our churches are full of them. They despise the philosophies and mindsets of the lost so much that they dismiss them as demonic and evil and refuse to have anything to do with them but condemnation from afar.
This is not how Paul ever treated the culture of the world. In Acts 17 he not only knows the writings of several Greeks philosophers, he uses them in a positive way! Then he takes their writings as a stepping-stone to introduce the one true God. If people understand that there is a holy God, then the idea of judgment, repentance, and a savior will make sense to them, and that is what he does at the end of his Mars Hill discourse. He doesn't just recoil at their idolatry and wipe the dust off his feet. The filth of the world and their hopeless worship of their self-created idols should cause us to despair - but not to disengage and separate.
A fearful separation is just as useless in Kingdom Advancement as full immersion. Paul was horrified by their idol worship (Acts 17:16), but he kept his mouth shut and went to work, using their culture as a means to bring them to God. He lifted up Christ to the lost, using their own words. How cool - and challenging - is that?
This is not how Paul ever treated the culture of the world. In Acts 17 he not only knows the writings of several Greeks philosophers, he uses them in a positive way! Then he takes their writings as a stepping-stone to introduce the one true God. If people understand that there is a holy God, then the idea of judgment, repentance, and a savior will make sense to them, and that is what he does at the end of his Mars Hill discourse. He doesn't just recoil at their idolatry and wipe the dust off his feet. The filth of the world and their hopeless worship of their self-created idols should cause us to despair - but not to disengage and separate.
A fearful separation is just as useless in Kingdom Advancement as full immersion. Paul was horrified by their idol worship (Acts 17:16), but he kept his mouth shut and went to work, using their culture as a means to bring them to God. He lifted up Christ to the lost, using their own words. How cool - and challenging - is that?
Wednesday, February 27, 2008
Rules of Engagment
So, are there rules for cultural engagement? If so, who has them and where can I find them - because right now it seems like everyone has an opinion on the matter. Personally, I have a gut feeling that we deceive ourselves with the things we watch and read and listen to. I am guilty as charged. But I also want to be able to reach the lost at the point that they are at, so I need to have some sense of that point. Where do I draw the line?
Do I have to see every movie, hear every song, read every book to intelligently engage my culture in relevant dialogue (to use the language of the day)? When I read how Paul approaches the lost in Acts, it's clear that he knows their philosophies well enough to use them (note: the Mars Hill debate of Acts 17) . However we never read anything about his immersion in their cultural activities. I don't think that's what he means by being all things to all people in order to win the lost. (I Corinthians 9) I may be wrong, but I don't think we would have found him in the front row of too many pagan plays.
Sometimes I think we use "knowing their world - to save them" as an excuse for an engagement with the world. If we are honest, we would acknowledge that we get involved so that we can "enjoy" the same things that they are enjoying. Why should we get left behind in these things? But if we use it as a reason for engagement with the lost - that's something different. Do we truly want to discuss these things intelligently in order to win them to Christ? As with everything, it is the motive that matters. We need to answer it honestly.
Does our heart bleed so deeply for the lost that we will be willing to enter into some things that are repulsive to us to win them - or do we love these things of the world and we want to find a nice theological reason for indulging our fleshly desires.
Let’s take movies, which I love. I don't go by the rating system of the world, because they don't have the same spiritual bent that I (hopefully) have. For example, Braveheart, rated R, has some of the most intense spiritual themes of loyalty and faith I've ever watched, whereas The Little Mermaid, rated G, rewards a young teen for rebellion against her father by giving her her heart's desires. I'm not trying to be a stick-in-the-mud, but the Hollywood rating system doesn't take into consideration mindsets - which are far more important to me than a severed head! I mean, who doesn't love a good dismemberment once in a while?
So I don't necessarily make my decisions on their rating system, though it is a good general guideline. But, again, where do I draw the line? As I've said before, I have to trust the "Ick Factor." The deeper I get into God, into His holy light, the more the sickness of the world is a stench in my nostrils. I should not want to engage in this sickness. It should cause my stomach to turn.
Let's not kid ourselves. As Proverbs 26:22 says, "The words of a gossip are like choice morsels; they go down to a man's inmost parts." Listening to gossip is fun - but be warned - it seeps into your inmost parts, becoming who you are. The same with the sick things of the world's culture. Do not be deceived - unless you are Christ - you can't digest these things without some form of corruption entering into your system.
When I first began thinking of this line of thought, I didn't want to write it. I didn't want to be a kill-joy. Then I realized that if your joy is found in these sick things of the world, you are in the wrong place spiritually anyway. (I include myself here).
Deeper holiness does not mean a separation from the world - but it should mean that you can recognize filth when it is before you.
Do I have to see every movie, hear every song, read every book to intelligently engage my culture in relevant dialogue (to use the language of the day)? When I read how Paul approaches the lost in Acts, it's clear that he knows their philosophies well enough to use them (note: the Mars Hill debate of Acts 17) . However we never read anything about his immersion in their cultural activities. I don't think that's what he means by being all things to all people in order to win the lost. (I Corinthians 9) I may be wrong, but I don't think we would have found him in the front row of too many pagan plays.
Sometimes I think we use "knowing their world - to save them" as an excuse for an engagement with the world. If we are honest, we would acknowledge that we get involved so that we can "enjoy" the same things that they are enjoying. Why should we get left behind in these things? But if we use it as a reason for engagement with the lost - that's something different. Do we truly want to discuss these things intelligently in order to win them to Christ? As with everything, it is the motive that matters. We need to answer it honestly.
Does our heart bleed so deeply for the lost that we will be willing to enter into some things that are repulsive to us to win them - or do we love these things of the world and we want to find a nice theological reason for indulging our fleshly desires.
Let’s take movies, which I love. I don't go by the rating system of the world, because they don't have the same spiritual bent that I (hopefully) have. For example, Braveheart, rated R, has some of the most intense spiritual themes of loyalty and faith I've ever watched, whereas The Little Mermaid, rated G, rewards a young teen for rebellion against her father by giving her her heart's desires. I'm not trying to be a stick-in-the-mud, but the Hollywood rating system doesn't take into consideration mindsets - which are far more important to me than a severed head! I mean, who doesn't love a good dismemberment once in a while?
So I don't necessarily make my decisions on their rating system, though it is a good general guideline. But, again, where do I draw the line? As I've said before, I have to trust the "Ick Factor." The deeper I get into God, into His holy light, the more the sickness of the world is a stench in my nostrils. I should not want to engage in this sickness. It should cause my stomach to turn.
Let's not kid ourselves. As Proverbs 26:22 says, "The words of a gossip are like choice morsels; they go down to a man's inmost parts." Listening to gossip is fun - but be warned - it seeps into your inmost parts, becoming who you are. The same with the sick things of the world's culture. Do not be deceived - unless you are Christ - you can't digest these things without some form of corruption entering into your system.
When I first began thinking of this line of thought, I didn't want to write it. I didn't want to be a kill-joy. Then I realized that if your joy is found in these sick things of the world, you are in the wrong place spiritually anyway. (I include myself here).
Deeper holiness does not mean a separation from the world - but it should mean that you can recognize filth when it is before you.
Give it a Rest
Psalm 131 "My heart is not proud, O Lord, my eyes are not haughty; I do not concern myself with great matters, or things too wonderful for me. But I have stilled and quieted my soul; like a weaned child with its mother, like a weaned child is my soul within me."
I have been reading the maze of blogs that are somehow connected through this blog. Wonderful musings and struggles from 'young' Christians working their way through God and to Him. It's an important part of your faith - the struggle through hard teachings, doctrines and personal feelings. I mean this honestly - I commend you for your pilgrimage. I've been there and in many ways am still there.
But if there is one piece of advice I could give you it's this: To find rest, sometimes you have to give it a rest. I know that sounds simplistic, but even David, the deepest thinker in Scripture, had to take moments where he sat like a child.
I found this by reading Psalm 131 one night. In the struggle of the soul through the teachings that appear to be unsearchable and overwhelming, God reminded me that once in awhile you just have to say, "Okay, God, I believe you. I will take hold of this teaching with the faith of a child and just rest in You." What a burden is lifted when you do that! It doesn't mean you stop searching and working through things, it means every now and then you need to place a stake in the ground. You need to gain a foothold that you can build upon. I hope that you can do that.
Deuteronomy 29:29 "The secret things belong to the Lord our God, but the things revealed belong to us and to our children forever, that we may follow all the words of this law."
You'll go crazy and you'll never grow up as a Christian if all you ponder are the secret things that belong to Him. You will find rest in the revealed.
I have been reading the maze of blogs that are somehow connected through this blog. Wonderful musings and struggles from 'young' Christians working their way through God and to Him. It's an important part of your faith - the struggle through hard teachings, doctrines and personal feelings. I mean this honestly - I commend you for your pilgrimage. I've been there and in many ways am still there.
But if there is one piece of advice I could give you it's this: To find rest, sometimes you have to give it a rest. I know that sounds simplistic, but even David, the deepest thinker in Scripture, had to take moments where he sat like a child.
I found this by reading Psalm 131 one night. In the struggle of the soul through the teachings that appear to be unsearchable and overwhelming, God reminded me that once in awhile you just have to say, "Okay, God, I believe you. I will take hold of this teaching with the faith of a child and just rest in You." What a burden is lifted when you do that! It doesn't mean you stop searching and working through things, it means every now and then you need to place a stake in the ground. You need to gain a foothold that you can build upon. I hope that you can do that.
Deuteronomy 29:29 "The secret things belong to the Lord our God, but the things revealed belong to us and to our children forever, that we may follow all the words of this law."
You'll go crazy and you'll never grow up as a Christian if all you ponder are the secret things that belong to Him. You will find rest in the revealed.
Tuesday, February 26, 2008
There Will Be Blood
I've been thinking all night about this question of "cultural immersion." I've read and reread Acts 17, which I will be preaching upon this Sunday. In Thessalonica, Paul approaches the Jews and reasons from Scripture with them - because that was their foundation. In Athens, he reasons from nature, from their philosophers, and from their way of debate and discussion (using the Socratic Method). He adapts his style to the audience.
But he never adapts the message. Two things are consistent: the inevitable judgment of God, and the atoning cross of Christ. In other words - one way or another - there will be blood. It will be the blood of judgment upon your sins, or the blood of Christ upon your sins. Paul uses whatever means necessary to get THAT message to the lost. But make no mistake - he always gets to that point.
So while we discuss the merits of using the culture of man to bring in the culture of God, never forget that it must always be brought to the cross. If you fail to do that, you are not preaching the Gospel. You may sound good, you may look good, you may be culturally relevant, you may be very very cool. But you are as useless as the rest of the philosophies of the world.
I don't mean to sound harsh - but what people really need is a direct intersection with the cross of Christ. First for the judgment it delivers without partiality, and then for the mercy it delivers without condition. I'm convinced that we're on the verge of a breakthrough in our church and I know it won't mean anything unless the cross is lifted up.
But he never adapts the message. Two things are consistent: the inevitable judgment of God, and the atoning cross of Christ. In other words - one way or another - there will be blood. It will be the blood of judgment upon your sins, or the blood of Christ upon your sins. Paul uses whatever means necessary to get THAT message to the lost. But make no mistake - he always gets to that point.
So while we discuss the merits of using the culture of man to bring in the culture of God, never forget that it must always be brought to the cross. If you fail to do that, you are not preaching the Gospel. You may sound good, you may look good, you may be culturally relevant, you may be very very cool. But you are as useless as the rest of the philosophies of the world.
I don't mean to sound harsh - but what people really need is a direct intersection with the cross of Christ. First for the judgment it delivers without partiality, and then for the mercy it delivers without condition. I'm convinced that we're on the verge of a breakthrough in our church and I know it won't mean anything unless the cross is lifted up.
Monday, February 25, 2008
Teflon Christianity versus the "Ick" Factor
I just got back from a special chapel we had this morning. It was pretty good - this guy, I can't remember his name, has written a book about Christians and movie-watching. He was talking with the kids about how Hollywood tries to manipulate us through films. He wasn't saying this as a negative thing -I mean, what art form doesn't strive for some form of manipulation? Any sculptor, singer, painter, movie-maker should be trying to work our emotions. That's the whole point. He was simply trying to make the kids aware that this was going on and to watch responsibly and with discernment.
He did talk about something that I would like to throw out there: He was saying that we need, to some degree, watch these movies so that we can intelligently engage the people around us who are immersed in this culture. He mentioned Silence of the Lambs and No Country for Old Men as examples of films that help us see the depravity of man. I understand his point and agree with it to some extent. But it raised a question in my mind - here it is:
As we cycle deeper and deeper into God and into His holiness, do we start automatically peeling these "culturally artistic" things out of our life or are we more capable of being in there without being spiritually harmed? Do we gain a greater freedom in this culture, like a Teflon Christian, fully engaged with nothing sticking to us. Or - for lack of a better term - does the 'ick' factor become such a stench in our nostrils that we can't stand to be listening, watching or reading the works of the world?
The strange thing is that I'm preaching through Acts and I've reached chapter 17, where Paul uses the culture of the Athenians on Mars Hill to preach the Gospel to them. Paul obviously has some familiarity with the culture of his age, as he quotes philosophers and books of the day, and he uses it to evangelize. So I clearly see this side of the argument.
However, I also am challenged by Isaiah 6, where the prophet is brought into the glorious Light of the Lord and immediately is disgusted by the filth that is upon him and upon those around him. The closer he got to the Lord, the greater the 'ick factor.'
So - any thoughts?
He did talk about something that I would like to throw out there: He was saying that we need, to some degree, watch these movies so that we can intelligently engage the people around us who are immersed in this culture. He mentioned Silence of the Lambs and No Country for Old Men as examples of films that help us see the depravity of man. I understand his point and agree with it to some extent. But it raised a question in my mind - here it is:
As we cycle deeper and deeper into God and into His holiness, do we start automatically peeling these "culturally artistic" things out of our life or are we more capable of being in there without being spiritually harmed? Do we gain a greater freedom in this culture, like a Teflon Christian, fully engaged with nothing sticking to us. Or - for lack of a better term - does the 'ick' factor become such a stench in our nostrils that we can't stand to be listening, watching or reading the works of the world?
The strange thing is that I'm preaching through Acts and I've reached chapter 17, where Paul uses the culture of the Athenians on Mars Hill to preach the Gospel to them. Paul obviously has some familiarity with the culture of his age, as he quotes philosophers and books of the day, and he uses it to evangelize. So I clearly see this side of the argument.
However, I also am challenged by Isaiah 6, where the prophet is brought into the glorious Light of the Lord and immediately is disgusted by the filth that is upon him and upon those around him. The closer he got to the Lord, the greater the 'ick factor.'
So - any thoughts?
Friday, February 22, 2008
Life on the Verge
I have a very strong feeling that a spiritual breakthrough is in the air - I really believe that those who are seeking Him are going to find Him in a very real way. Press forward into Him - do not be satisfied with the feeling that you are constantly on the verge of a deeper understanding of God, of a more fully realized experience with Jesus Christ.
One of my problems has always been an inability to push through when I felt like I was ready to breakthrough in my experience with God. I would have wonderful moments of enlightenment with Him, and then just as I could feel it all coming together - I would pull back. Consciously or subconsciously, I don't know. It was almost like a self-defeating move that I would make. Was I afraid of what a fully surrendered life would look like? What a life that had been consumed by God would be? Probably. I don't know.
Not anymore. I have come to the conclusion that this life offers very little without God. I'm tired of partial victories. I'm tired of living a life on the verge.
Here is a Scripture to chew on: Hosea 6: 1 - 3
"Come, let us return to the Lord. He has torn us to pieces but He will heal us; He has injured us but He will bind up our wounds. After two days he will revive us; on the third day he will restore us, that we may live in His presence. Let us acknowledge the Lord, let us press on to acknowledge Him. As surely as the sun rises, He will appear; He will come to us like the winter rains, like the spring rains that water the earth."
There is something mystical about that third day. Let us press through to it - it is where the Risen Christ abides. The verge is no place to abide. It's a place of mediocrity and compromise. Press through in your prayers and in your devotional life and in your absolute surrender to God. To the reality of His presence in your life.
One of my problems has always been an inability to push through when I felt like I was ready to breakthrough in my experience with God. I would have wonderful moments of enlightenment with Him, and then just as I could feel it all coming together - I would pull back. Consciously or subconsciously, I don't know. It was almost like a self-defeating move that I would make. Was I afraid of what a fully surrendered life would look like? What a life that had been consumed by God would be? Probably. I don't know.
Not anymore. I have come to the conclusion that this life offers very little without God. I'm tired of partial victories. I'm tired of living a life on the verge.
Here is a Scripture to chew on: Hosea 6: 1 - 3
"Come, let us return to the Lord. He has torn us to pieces but He will heal us; He has injured us but He will bind up our wounds. After two days he will revive us; on the third day he will restore us, that we may live in His presence. Let us acknowledge the Lord, let us press on to acknowledge Him. As surely as the sun rises, He will appear; He will come to us like the winter rains, like the spring rains that water the earth."
There is something mystical about that third day. Let us press through to it - it is where the Risen Christ abides. The verge is no place to abide. It's a place of mediocrity and compromise. Press through in your prayers and in your devotional life and in your absolute surrender to God. To the reality of His presence in your life.
Tuesday, February 19, 2008
Calvin
There's a certain guy who rents out our apartment. For the sake of anonymity, let's call him . . . . I don't know . . . . Dave. Well, anyway, this "Dave" is allergic to cats, and as I mentioned in my last post, we have a cat named Calvin. Dave likes Calvin, but can't live with him. You see, in large doses, Calvin makes Dave sick. If left together for an extended period of time, Calvin would kill Dave. Every once in awhile you hear the door to their apartment open and Calvin comes flying out - how he gets in there I don't know. I certainly don't force Calvin upon Dave.
I like Calvin - in small doses. Hey, I didn't even choose him! I live with him and I lift him up every now and then, but I am constantly reminded by his claws that he is not easy to live with. There are parts to him that are great, but there are other parts to him that are very disagreeable. Again, Calvin is just a cat - another one of God's created beings. He will live, he will make his mark (on my furniture) and he will die. And when he does, I will bury him in my back yard and plant a tulip on his grave.
Some people like cats. Some love cats. Some crazy people are obsessed with cats- building little monuments to them when they die. Some people even build their doctrines upon the ways of a cat. But I will not revolve my life around a created being of God. I have vowed that I will always and only lift up Christ - because I really do love Him, and because He told me that if I did that, He would draw all men unto Himself. And THAT is where I want men - drawn to Christ - not to a cat, no matter how cool he is.
One thing that "Dave" and I are learning together is that we may have different opinions about Calvin, but we both know how to put him in perspective. He is just a cat. And cats, no matter how deep their "mews"ings - should never come between brothers.
Now as for my pet fish Luther, well, that's a whole other story. . . .
I like Calvin - in small doses. Hey, I didn't even choose him! I live with him and I lift him up every now and then, but I am constantly reminded by his claws that he is not easy to live with. There are parts to him that are great, but there are other parts to him that are very disagreeable. Again, Calvin is just a cat - another one of God's created beings. He will live, he will make his mark (on my furniture) and he will die. And when he does, I will bury him in my back yard and plant a tulip on his grave.
Some people like cats. Some love cats. Some crazy people are obsessed with cats- building little monuments to them when they die. Some people even build their doctrines upon the ways of a cat. But I will not revolve my life around a created being of God. I have vowed that I will always and only lift up Christ - because I really do love Him, and because He told me that if I did that, He would draw all men unto Himself. And THAT is where I want men - drawn to Christ - not to a cat, no matter how cool he is.
One thing that "Dave" and I are learning together is that we may have different opinions about Calvin, but we both know how to put him in perspective. He is just a cat. And cats, no matter how deep their "mews"ings - should never come between brothers.
Now as for my pet fish Luther, well, that's a whole other story. . . .
Saturday, February 16, 2008
Calvin Killed Bob
A couple of months ago, my daughter Olivia got a hamster named Bob. Bob was incredibly cute. Calvin, our cat, thought so, too. He knocked his cage off of Olivia's bureau and by the time we got there, Bob had somehow managed to get his head caught in the side of the cage and was hanging - dead. Whether he got caught accidently, or killed himself, we'll never know. Either way, it's Calvin's fault.
But I really can't complain about Calvin. You see, he's very good at catching mice. He has rid the yard, the shed and everywhere else of mice, rats and moles. I can't have it both ways - I can't complain when he kills the family rodent and then turn around and praise him when he kills the rodents in the yard. It's his nature to do both. It's what he does. Why? Because he's a CAT! It's what cats do.
The nature of a beast will not change. It is what it is. Your old nature will not change. It is a beast and you can't modify it, you can't transform it, you can't teach it and you can't train it. It is bent on sin and if left unattended it will destroy every part of your life that's in it's path. And like Calvin, you really can't complain -it's who it is.
So what do you do with this old nature? It must be crucified every morning. Read Romans 6 and you'll know what I'm talking about. You can't play with it and then complain that you're in a place of life you don't want to be in. It's time to stop making excuses. Your old nature is not going to change - you must either live with it or make a decision to have victory over it by the power of the Cross. You must bring it to the Cross every day and crucify it, along with all of its lusts and passions. Otherwise . . . well, just look at what happened to Bob.
No more excuses.
But I really can't complain about Calvin. You see, he's very good at catching mice. He has rid the yard, the shed and everywhere else of mice, rats and moles. I can't have it both ways - I can't complain when he kills the family rodent and then turn around and praise him when he kills the rodents in the yard. It's his nature to do both. It's what he does. Why? Because he's a CAT! It's what cats do.
The nature of a beast will not change. It is what it is. Your old nature will not change. It is a beast and you can't modify it, you can't transform it, you can't teach it and you can't train it. It is bent on sin and if left unattended it will destroy every part of your life that's in it's path. And like Calvin, you really can't complain -it's who it is.
So what do you do with this old nature? It must be crucified every morning. Read Romans 6 and you'll know what I'm talking about. You can't play with it and then complain that you're in a place of life you don't want to be in. It's time to stop making excuses. Your old nature is not going to change - you must either live with it or make a decision to have victory over it by the power of the Cross. You must bring it to the Cross every day and crucify it, along with all of its lusts and passions. Otherwise . . . well, just look at what happened to Bob.
No more excuses.
Friday, February 15, 2008
Church Social - The Daze of Man
Warning: I am about to vent. Again. Vent and Repent seems to be my blogging style!
Here's what happens: I get grief from people at church when I forget if it's Veteran's Day, or Memorial Day, or Mother's Day, or MLK Day, or Flag Day - or Fill-In-The-Blank Day. I don't do it purposely - it's just not why I come to church. This stuff isn't even on my mind. I come to worship God and to fellowship with His people. Not to honor the Days of Man. I don't get it! But so many treat church as their 'Social Place' that these Days have to be brought in as integral parts of the service.
I'm not going to go cynical or critical here. God is working that out of my system. I just get frustrated when the other stuff is interspersed with worship to the point where you can't see any separation. I love my country - but I don't go to church for that reason. I love what others have done before me, and at appropriate times I remember them and it's meaningful. I just don't want to have these days defined for the church to the point that if we miss them we are chastised for not having our priorities in order. Priorities? The things of man are not my priorities.
Jesus says "Lift Me up!" and in the process to lift up our brothers and sisters in prayer. That's it. I'm not going to lift up days or countries or the agendas of man. I'm just not going to do it.
So there.
Here's what happens: I get grief from people at church when I forget if it's Veteran's Day, or Memorial Day, or Mother's Day, or MLK Day, or Flag Day - or Fill-In-The-Blank Day. I don't do it purposely - it's just not why I come to church. This stuff isn't even on my mind. I come to worship God and to fellowship with His people. Not to honor the Days of Man. I don't get it! But so many treat church as their 'Social Place' that these Days have to be brought in as integral parts of the service.
I'm not going to go cynical or critical here. God is working that out of my system. I just get frustrated when the other stuff is interspersed with worship to the point where you can't see any separation. I love my country - but I don't go to church for that reason. I love what others have done before me, and at appropriate times I remember them and it's meaningful. I just don't want to have these days defined for the church to the point that if we miss them we are chastised for not having our priorities in order. Priorities? The things of man are not my priorities.
Jesus says "Lift Me up!" and in the process to lift up our brothers and sisters in prayer. That's it. I'm not going to lift up days or countries or the agendas of man. I'm just not going to do it.
So there.
The Trigger of Love
Acts 16: 28 - 30 But Paul shouted, "Don't harm yourself! We are all here." The jailer called for lights, rushed in and fell trembling before Paul and Silas. He then brought them out and asked, "Sirs, what must I do to be saved?"
What is the trigger in a conversion? This question is working through me because I really want to know. What causes a person to rush in and say "What must I do to be saved?" The trigger for the jailer seems to be the fact that Paul and Silas were still sitting there. The songs in the night, the testimony, the grace under pressure - they were all important - but they didn't cause him to fall on his knees. As a matter of fact, when you read the story, the jailer was asleep when the earthquake hit. The songs didn't cause him to be saved, they caused him to fall asleep! They were certainly part of the process - but something else triggered the conversion.
It was the love that Paul and Silas showed him - their willingness to give up their own path to freedom to save his life - that was what caused him to fall on his knees and be saved.
Our Christ-like love for others, going the extra mile, giving them our cloak, loving them when they hate us, praying for them when they persecute us, sitting with them when they are trying to enslave us - that is one of the most important things that will cause a person to move towards Christ.
Paul and Silas put a Roman jailer's life before their own personal freedom. That is one of the ultimate examples of truly understanding what really matters in this life. Are we willing to give up some of our freedoms so that a 'jailer' will come to Christ? Or are your 'rights' so important to you that you'll sacrifice the jailer's life so that you can continue in your freedom.
Salvation is nothing without the forgiveness of sins. But it is also so much more than that.
What is the trigger in a conversion? This question is working through me because I really want to know. What causes a person to rush in and say "What must I do to be saved?" The trigger for the jailer seems to be the fact that Paul and Silas were still sitting there. The songs in the night, the testimony, the grace under pressure - they were all important - but they didn't cause him to fall on his knees. As a matter of fact, when you read the story, the jailer was asleep when the earthquake hit. The songs didn't cause him to be saved, they caused him to fall asleep! They were certainly part of the process - but something else triggered the conversion.
It was the love that Paul and Silas showed him - their willingness to give up their own path to freedom to save his life - that was what caused him to fall on his knees and be saved.
Our Christ-like love for others, going the extra mile, giving them our cloak, loving them when they hate us, praying for them when they persecute us, sitting with them when they are trying to enslave us - that is one of the most important things that will cause a person to move towards Christ.
Paul and Silas put a Roman jailer's life before their own personal freedom. That is one of the ultimate examples of truly understanding what really matters in this life. Are we willing to give up some of our freedoms so that a 'jailer' will come to Christ? Or are your 'rights' so important to you that you'll sacrifice the jailer's life so that you can continue in your freedom.
Salvation is nothing without the forgiveness of sins. But it is also so much more than that.
Thursday, February 14, 2008
I Lied At My Ordination
Yes - I lied at my ordination. I hope this doesn't invalidate all the weddings and funerals I've done. (Although I don't necessarily know what would happen if a funeral were invalidated!). Anyway - here's what happened: The council of pastors asked me when I got saved. I didn't know - sometime when I was young. But they kept pushing for a date, a moment in time. I recognized that this was what they were looking for - so I made up a date when I was about 10. Gave the month, the day, the year. They all wrote it down on their notepads and the process continued on. I remember thinking What the heck was that all about?
Anyway - I'm still working through the salvation process (Not my own - I am saved - so back off.). I'm working through how others come to the Lord. It's everything, isn't it? Anyway - I don't have a date and I don't think I need one.
Let's put it this way - I'm in love with Ruth (my wife). I know I am - no doubt. But we kind of grew up together and I can't remember the moment. It just happened. Does that make it any less real? I don't think so.
Sometimes I wish I had that moment - but what really matters is that right now I know my standing in Christ is real.
Just some more thoughts on the Salvation Road I'm traveling. . . .And if I married any of you - sorry about the potential legal snafu. (Unless of course, this is the out you're looking for!)
Anyway - I'm still working through the salvation process (Not my own - I am saved - so back off.). I'm working through how others come to the Lord. It's everything, isn't it? Anyway - I don't have a date and I don't think I need one.
Let's put it this way - I'm in love with Ruth (my wife). I know I am - no doubt. But we kind of grew up together and I can't remember the moment. It just happened. Does that make it any less real? I don't think so.
Sometimes I wish I had that moment - but what really matters is that right now I know my standing in Christ is real.
Just some more thoughts on the Salvation Road I'm traveling. . . .And if I married any of you - sorry about the potential legal snafu. (Unless of course, this is the out you're looking for!)
A Hardening of the Bloggeries
I have just been spiritually compelled to write this down. You see - it really hit me as I started linking through Christian blogs to other blogs - we all know the web you can get caught up in - going deeper and deeper into other Christians and their writings. What I found struck me hard - I kept hitting the recurring theme of discontent with the Christian culture. Then I realized my last entry was of the same ilk - basically a tongue-lashing of Christians and Christianity. I find it in the current Christian music as well - artists lamenting over the sorry state of Christianity. It's easy to get caught up in this mindset - everything is all wrong - and for that I repent.
My favorite psalm is # 84. It's a description of the pilgrimage through life - beginning with a man so in love with God that he's envious of the sparrows who are able to build a nest near the altar. They're able to live at the holy place - a place that he wants to continually dwell. He then goes on to describe the Christian life as one of a pilgrim who makes every place he goes a better place. The Valley of Baca - one of the driest spots on earth - becomes a place of refreshing springs. He goes from "strength to strength." In the up and down world of a Christian walk, his is one of continual strengths. The ups and the downs are strengths because God is in them. I know too many people who go from crisis to crisis - and to be honest - they are a very wearying group.
Which brings me to my point: You (we) bloggers out there are getting caught up in the depressing cycle of continually venting on the problems. Internal and external. There is definitely a place for that - but it is fast becoming a dwelling place. Trust me - you do not want to dwell in the inner cell of cynicism. It is a very lonely place - by the nature of the beast there can be no cell-mate. But that is not the pilgrimage of Psalm 84. Read it - right now. Take a moment, take a deep breath - and read it. Decide if that is the kind of life you want to live or if you want to die in your analysis of all that is wrong.
True Christianity is a lightness of being - and I feel a heaviness in your writings - a hardening of the bloggeries, so to speak. I am guilty as charged, and for that I apologize to my precious Savior. Jesus died so I could be free - not internally bound again by my own chains. I do Him a complete disservice when I return to the darkness.
My favorite psalm is # 84. It's a description of the pilgrimage through life - beginning with a man so in love with God that he's envious of the sparrows who are able to build a nest near the altar. They're able to live at the holy place - a place that he wants to continually dwell. He then goes on to describe the Christian life as one of a pilgrim who makes every place he goes a better place. The Valley of Baca - one of the driest spots on earth - becomes a place of refreshing springs. He goes from "strength to strength." In the up and down world of a Christian walk, his is one of continual strengths. The ups and the downs are strengths because God is in them. I know too many people who go from crisis to crisis - and to be honest - they are a very wearying group.
Which brings me to my point: You (we) bloggers out there are getting caught up in the depressing cycle of continually venting on the problems. Internal and external. There is definitely a place for that - but it is fast becoming a dwelling place. Trust me - you do not want to dwell in the inner cell of cynicism. It is a very lonely place - by the nature of the beast there can be no cell-mate. But that is not the pilgrimage of Psalm 84. Read it - right now. Take a moment, take a deep breath - and read it. Decide if that is the kind of life you want to live or if you want to die in your analysis of all that is wrong.
True Christianity is a lightness of being - and I feel a heaviness in your writings - a hardening of the bloggeries, so to speak. I am guilty as charged, and for that I apologize to my precious Savior. Jesus died so I could be free - not internally bound again by my own chains. I do Him a complete disservice when I return to the darkness.
Saved
I'm preaching through Acts and I've come upon the passage in chapter 16 where the Philippian jailer calls for lights and finds Paul and Silas still sitting there, although their chains have fallen off - and he falls on his knees and cries, "What must I do to be saved?"
I can't get this picture out of my head. He can't possibly understand all implications of sin and "The Plan of Redemption" - he simply wants what they have. He is really asking, "What must I do to have THAT." Whatever would cause two men to sit in a prison cell when they could just walk out - to think of him and not themselves. To save his life. THAT is what he wants. Meditating on this has really affected my understanding of the lost coming to Christ - and what they're coming for.
Don't get me wrong - I fully believe that Christ came to save 'sinners' - He makes that statement Himself. If my sin is not atoned for, it doesn't matter how much of the other stuff is added to my life. If I'm dead in my sins - I'm fully dead. I understand that and I know that is ultimately what the world needs to reconcile in their hearts. But the process - getting to that point - is not the same for everyone.
This jailer simply wanted to know what could cause two men to sing hymns of praise while they were in chains that were designed by the Romans to make them as uncomfortable as possible. He wanted to know what would cause two strangers to care about him - their enemy - so much that they would remain in that inner cell to save his life. He probably didn't understand sin and salvation the way we do. He wanted to be saved TO what they had, not necessarily FROM what he was. Coals had been heaped upon his head and melted him down.
I can't get this picture out of my head. He can't possibly understand all implications of sin and "The Plan of Redemption" - he simply wants what they have. He is really asking, "What must I do to have THAT." Whatever would cause two men to sit in a prison cell when they could just walk out - to think of him and not themselves. To save his life. THAT is what he wants. Meditating on this has really affected my understanding of the lost coming to Christ - and what they're coming for.
Don't get me wrong - I fully believe that Christ came to save 'sinners' - He makes that statement Himself. If my sin is not atoned for, it doesn't matter how much of the other stuff is added to my life. If I'm dead in my sins - I'm fully dead. I understand that and I know that is ultimately what the world needs to reconcile in their hearts. But the process - getting to that point - is not the same for everyone.
This jailer simply wanted to know what could cause two men to sing hymns of praise while they were in chains that were designed by the Romans to make them as uncomfortable as possible. He wanted to know what would cause two strangers to care about him - their enemy - so much that they would remain in that inner cell to save his life. He probably didn't understand sin and salvation the way we do. He wanted to be saved TO what they had, not necessarily FROM what he was. Coals had been heaped upon his head and melted him down.
Whatever it was – it was a positive thing he was seeking. Paul and Silas preached the real Gospel, which is good news.
I’m not sure we always preach that Gospel. We tend to preach one that is harsh. Judgmental. Divisive. Hypocritical. Life-sucking instead of life-giving. The "Not-Good-News-For-You" Gospel. The "Hah!- I’m Going to Heaven- And You’re Not" Gospel. The "Come Be Miserable With Me" Gospel.
Let's remember (and live out) this simple fact: The Gospel is good news.
Friday, February 8, 2008
The Ever-Narrowing Gate
Matthew 7:13 "Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate that leads to life, and only a few find it."
In Acts 15 the Judaizers came to Antioch and tried to force another condition upon salvation. They wanted the Gentile believers to be circumcised and to follow the law of Moses. They made a preferential issue a theological one - a condition of salvation.
We fight tooth and nail against those who try to make the gate broader. But there are those who try to narrow it down - and they are just as dangerous. They try to turn personal issues into principles of the faith. Usually it is an issue that they themselves have struggled over or have put themselves under the slavery of - therefore they can't imagine it not being a necessary part of the faith.
I think of an older Christian friend of mine, who has passed away. Before he was saved, he was caught deep into a destructive alcoholism. After he was saved, he spent much of his time trying to convince others that drinking was not a choice - that anyone who drank alcohol couldn't possibly be a Christian. He was saved - I believe that with all my heart - but he was making the mistake of narrowing the gate to include a yoke that he couldn't bear.
Don't make the Gate narrower than Christ made it. In doing so, you have taken His grace and mercy and put restrictions on it. This is just as dangerous as those who try to broaden His grace and say that everyone gets in. Be very careful about taking a personal issue - one that may have tremendous value in your own life - and making it a theological one. You have every right to have convictions on things such as drinking and music and styles, etc. Just don't make them conditions and yokes upon everyone else.
As Peter said to these Judaizers: "Why do you try to test God by putting on the necks of the disciples a yoke that neither we nor our fathers have been able to bear? No! We believe that it is through the grace of our Lord Jesus that we are saved, just as they are." (Acts 15:10,11)
I like other people. If it were up to me - MORE would get in. I don't want to see anyone perish. But the Way is what the Way is. According to Jesus, only a few are finding the Narrow Gate anyway - do you dislike your fellow humans so much that you want to cut even more out?
In Acts 15 the Judaizers came to Antioch and tried to force another condition upon salvation. They wanted the Gentile believers to be circumcised and to follow the law of Moses. They made a preferential issue a theological one - a condition of salvation.
We fight tooth and nail against those who try to make the gate broader. But there are those who try to narrow it down - and they are just as dangerous. They try to turn personal issues into principles of the faith. Usually it is an issue that they themselves have struggled over or have put themselves under the slavery of - therefore they can't imagine it not being a necessary part of the faith.
I think of an older Christian friend of mine, who has passed away. Before he was saved, he was caught deep into a destructive alcoholism. After he was saved, he spent much of his time trying to convince others that drinking was not a choice - that anyone who drank alcohol couldn't possibly be a Christian. He was saved - I believe that with all my heart - but he was making the mistake of narrowing the gate to include a yoke that he couldn't bear.
Don't make the Gate narrower than Christ made it. In doing so, you have taken His grace and mercy and put restrictions on it. This is just as dangerous as those who try to broaden His grace and say that everyone gets in. Be very careful about taking a personal issue - one that may have tremendous value in your own life - and making it a theological one. You have every right to have convictions on things such as drinking and music and styles, etc. Just don't make them conditions and yokes upon everyone else.
As Peter said to these Judaizers: "Why do you try to test God by putting on the necks of the disciples a yoke that neither we nor our fathers have been able to bear? No! We believe that it is through the grace of our Lord Jesus that we are saved, just as they are." (Acts 15:10,11)
I like other people. If it were up to me - MORE would get in. I don't want to see anyone perish. But the Way is what the Way is. According to Jesus, only a few are finding the Narrow Gate anyway - do you dislike your fellow humans so much that you want to cut even more out?
Thursday, February 7, 2008
Blowing Off the Stink
The Israelites had it right and they didn't even know it. They had the Tabernacle, wandering through the wilderness, picking up and then settling as 'church' wherever and whenever they stopped. That's perfect - church on the go. Every place becomes holy ground. Every day is a holy day. Just pick up and ramble on - even though you're in a desert, you're always on holy ground and living out a holy day. A rambling church.
We should be like that - rambling through life - every place a holy place. Every time a holy time. Churching it up wherever we are. Our lives are being lived out in the desert wilderness of this world. The cesspool of a society that has no regard for God or His holiness. But that's not the issue - the issue is how do we live it out. We try to carve out this one hour of holiness on a Sunday morning, but just as the Tabernacle was movable holy ground, so our Sabbaths should be movable holy time. That's what the Sabbath was anyway - a Tabernacle of Time - just as the tent itself was a Tabernacle of Space. God is giving us holiness in all dimensions and we only settle for pre-planned times and places. We've settled and grown fat.
It's time to break free and start to stretch our legs. It's time to ramble a little bit. Get this church moving. When I was younger my mother would say to me: "Why don't you go outside and blow the stink off." She was right. It's time to get the church outside and blow the stink off.
We should be like that - rambling through life - every place a holy place. Every time a holy time. Churching it up wherever we are. Our lives are being lived out in the desert wilderness of this world. The cesspool of a society that has no regard for God or His holiness. But that's not the issue - the issue is how do we live it out. We try to carve out this one hour of holiness on a Sunday morning, but just as the Tabernacle was movable holy ground, so our Sabbaths should be movable holy time. That's what the Sabbath was anyway - a Tabernacle of Time - just as the tent itself was a Tabernacle of Space. God is giving us holiness in all dimensions and we only settle for pre-planned times and places. We've settled and grown fat.
It's time to break free and start to stretch our legs. It's time to ramble a little bit. Get this church moving. When I was younger my mother would say to me: "Why don't you go outside and blow the stink off." She was right. It's time to get the church outside and blow the stink off.
Ball Hog
I coach a 3rd/4th grade basketball team, and one thing I notice is that no one - NO ONE - wants to pass the ball. It's not their fault really, because when you start playing b-ball, you're told to keep dribbling, keep shooting on your own. The ball is always in your hands when you practice. So when game time comes, you're still in that mentality. You want the ball in your hands. It takes practice and discipline to learn how to be a good passer. Passing the ball does not come naturally to kids. Anyone else who has it is a 'ball hog.'
One of the true marks of spiritual maturity is when you come to a place where you quit acting like everything has to be done to your satisfaction and at your pace. The ball doesn't always need to be in your hands.
Our churches are full of immature Christians who think 'church' has to revolve around them - and that anyone else is a 'ball hog.' We need to get to a place where we set our needs and agendas aside for the greater good of the church. It's not about getting people on 'our side' - it's about getting people into the Kingdom.
One of the true marks of spiritual maturity is when you come to a place where you quit acting like everything has to be done to your satisfaction and at your pace. The ball doesn't always need to be in your hands.
Our churches are full of immature Christians who think 'church' has to revolve around them - and that anyone else is a 'ball hog.' We need to get to a place where we set our needs and agendas aside for the greater good of the church. It's not about getting people on 'our side' - it's about getting people into the Kingdom.
When someone is saved, he isn’t saved to be a part of your church. He is saved to be a part of the Church. It would serve us all well to remember that. We need to have the church competition removed from evangelism – the desire to make them “one of us.” To go to our church. To look like us. To sing like us. To think theologically like us. To be on our side. Honestly - it's like watching 3rd graders play basketball, with everyone screaming constantly: "I'm open! Pass me the ball!"
Tuesday, February 5, 2008
Rambling Church
I've been thinking and praying a lot lately about 'church.' Not my church, or other churches in the area - but the whole concept of church. I have many things to write about this - but for now I'll just say this one thing: Church should be a place/time of rest, of blessing, of peace - we should eagerly anticipate it.
It should not be a place where you're wondering if you're doing things 'right' - whatever that even means. I shouldn't have to be worrying about anything but worship. Is the music right? Is this person happy? Is that person okay with the lighting, the seating arrangement, the tie I'm wearing (or not), the food in (or out) of the sanctuary, the technology or lack thereof, etc. Does his/her spiritual happiness depend on me getting that all straight? Does their salvation depend upon the lighting, for crying out loud?
It should be believers getting together and singing, giving testimony to the power of Christ in their lives, sharing hurts and joys, helping, receiving help, opening the Word together. There should be no sense of wondering (is everything just right), only a sense of wonder (HE is just and right). That's what I want more than anything. To come and focus on Him and nothing else.
I hate pulling into the church parking lot, taking a deep breath, and saying, "Okay - get ready for what's coming." I want to pull in, take a deep spiritual breath and say, "All right! Get ready for what's coming!" Why can't it be like that?
I'm going to post a sign on the door: "Drop your agendas as you enter."
Honestly - I'm ready to walk away and just have church all the time in the homes of my friends and family. Every chance possible. Singing if we feel like it. Or not. Talking about what God is doing NOW in our lives. Or not. Praying for spiritual things, not just Aunt Millie's arthritis and Uncle Harry's swollen big toe. I'm tired of 'doing church.' I'm ready to 'be' church.
I'm just rambling - but I've come to believe that church should be a constant rambling through life. Not simply 'the perfect hour' on Sunday morning.
It should not be a place where you're wondering if you're doing things 'right' - whatever that even means. I shouldn't have to be worrying about anything but worship. Is the music right? Is this person happy? Is that person okay with the lighting, the seating arrangement, the tie I'm wearing (or not), the food in (or out) of the sanctuary, the technology or lack thereof, etc. Does his/her spiritual happiness depend on me getting that all straight? Does their salvation depend upon the lighting, for crying out loud?
It should be believers getting together and singing, giving testimony to the power of Christ in their lives, sharing hurts and joys, helping, receiving help, opening the Word together. There should be no sense of wondering (is everything just right), only a sense of wonder (HE is just and right). That's what I want more than anything. To come and focus on Him and nothing else.
I hate pulling into the church parking lot, taking a deep breath, and saying, "Okay - get ready for what's coming." I want to pull in, take a deep spiritual breath and say, "All right! Get ready for what's coming!" Why can't it be like that?
I'm going to post a sign on the door: "Drop your agendas as you enter."
Honestly - I'm ready to walk away and just have church all the time in the homes of my friends and family. Every chance possible. Singing if we feel like it. Or not. Talking about what God is doing NOW in our lives. Or not. Praying for spiritual things, not just Aunt Millie's arthritis and Uncle Harry's swollen big toe. I'm tired of 'doing church.' I'm ready to 'be' church.
I'm just rambling - but I've come to believe that church should be a constant rambling through life. Not simply 'the perfect hour' on Sunday morning.
Monday, February 4, 2008
Don't Betray the Children
Last night's Superbowl really was depressing - but I learned a good lesson from it - how to be a better Dad - and a more mature Christian.
My 9-year-old son Luke watches everything I do during the game - he scopes my mood. If I'm nervous, he's nervous. If I'm confident, he's confident. If I'm upset at the end - he's upset at the end. So I reminded myself of one of my favorite verses. It's Psalm 73:15 "If I had said, 'I will speak thus,' I would have betrayed Your children."
The psalmist had been going through a period of struggling with the 'success' of man versus the 'failure' of spending a life devoted to God (from man's perspective). Note: this is a great psalm against the prosperity gospel. But he was wise enough not to voice all of these doubts out loud - knowing that in doing so, he would have been causing the younger believers to begin to have doubts. He would have betrayed the children - God's children.
Doubts and questions are common - and we should work through them. But be very careful - we shouldn't be taking down the weaker brothers in the process. They're watching us closely. We don't always have to voice everything we're going through. We don't always have to 'speak thus.'
So I told Luke I was okay with them losing - and it really eased his little mind. And guess what - it eased mine as well. God has an amazing tendency to lift you up when you look out for the younger believers.
But man - if only Asante Samuel had made that interception . . . . . .
My 9-year-old son Luke watches everything I do during the game - he scopes my mood. If I'm nervous, he's nervous. If I'm confident, he's confident. If I'm upset at the end - he's upset at the end. So I reminded myself of one of my favorite verses. It's Psalm 73:15 "If I had said, 'I will speak thus,' I would have betrayed Your children."
The psalmist had been going through a period of struggling with the 'success' of man versus the 'failure' of spending a life devoted to God (from man's perspective). Note: this is a great psalm against the prosperity gospel. But he was wise enough not to voice all of these doubts out loud - knowing that in doing so, he would have been causing the younger believers to begin to have doubts. He would have betrayed the children - God's children.
Doubts and questions are common - and we should work through them. But be very careful - we shouldn't be taking down the weaker brothers in the process. They're watching us closely. We don't always have to voice everything we're going through. We don't always have to 'speak thus.'
So I told Luke I was okay with them losing - and it really eased his little mind. And guess what - it eased mine as well. God has an amazing tendency to lift you up when you look out for the younger believers.
But man - if only Asante Samuel had made that interception . . . . . .
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