Are there any parts of your personality that you wish were different but you feel that you have to settle with them? "That's just the way I am!" Do you worry, lust, complain, get cranky, doubt? Do you find yourself cynical or overly critical about everything and everyone? I know - I have had problems with all the above. But these stones can be removed. You do not have to live with them!
Referring to Israel, God's beloved vineyard, Isaiah wrote: "My loved One had a vineyard on a fertile hillside. He dug it up and cleared it of stones and planted it with the choicest of vines." (Isaiah 5) God is in the business of removing these things that you think you have to live with.
I met a lady the other night that reminded me of this fact and her testimony encouraged me to keep going. She's 85 years old and she told me that a long time ago God touched her in a wonderful way when she was out in the woods praying and everything changed. She couldn't explain it, but a joy came upon her that hasn't left over the past 50 years, despite hard and lean times. The thing that struck me is that people say to her, "Well, you're just naturally nice." She told me that this isn't true - that before her touch from heaven, she was not like that in any way. She was a Christian, but a joyless one. God changed her personality! His touch made her into the person she is - it isn't her natural state!
I am so encouraged by this and I hope you are too. We don't have to settle for "That's just the way I am" anymore. We need to pray pressing prayer that allows God to change us and take away our cynicism, our war-like Christianity, our competitive Christianity, our lack of peace and contentment. Our 'personality rocks' will be removed when we ask for daily bread.
Remember this key, life-changing verse: "Which of you, if his son asks for bread, will give him a stone?" (Matthew 7:9) Those are the words of Christ, promising us that He is in the stone-removal business. This is a verse that promises His Spirit upon all those that will ask in faith and press into the deeper life with Him. He will change you.
Tuesday, May 27, 2008
Wednesday, May 21, 2008
The Unity Distinctive
John 17: 23 "May they be brought to complete unity to let the world know that You sent Me and have loved them even as You have loved Me."
Just to hit this point one more time:
1. Those who are promoting unity over doctrine are often using this as an excuse for not being intimately involved with the Scriptures.
2. Those who are promoting doctrine over unity are often using this as an excuse for not being intimately involved with the Savior.
Here's my thought: A love of the Savior will bring about a love of the Scripture which will bring about clear(er) doctrinal understanding and a greater (not less) desire for unity in the church which (according to Christ) will bring about a greater awareness of the world for God's love for them and that He sent Christ as His expression of this love.
I know that may sound convoluted, but it makes sense to me when I think about this progression. For now, I'll call it the Unity Distinctive - as Christ states that the unity among believers is what will reveal this love to the world.
Just to hit this point one more time:
1. Those who are promoting unity over doctrine are often using this as an excuse for not being intimately involved with the Scriptures.
2. Those who are promoting doctrine over unity are often using this as an excuse for not being intimately involved with the Savior.
Here's my thought: A love of the Savior will bring about a love of the Scripture which will bring about clear(er) doctrinal understanding and a greater (not less) desire for unity in the church which (according to Christ) will bring about a greater awareness of the world for God's love for them and that He sent Christ as His expression of this love.
I know that may sound convoluted, but it makes sense to me when I think about this progression. For now, I'll call it the Unity Distinctive - as Christ states that the unity among believers is what will reveal this love to the world.
Tuesday, May 20, 2008
Unity is the Distinctive Mark of the Church
Lately it seems I've been talking a lot about doctrine and the fight over the ins and outs of Scriptural points and theology. I feel strongly that we should not be dividing over these issues. Christ's final call to the church, His plea to God, was that we would be as one. (John 17:23) It's very important what He says here: "May they be brought to complete unity to let the world know that You sent Me and have loved them even as You have loved Me."
Think upon this verse. Just before He leaves, John 17:20-25 is His prayer for the coming Church - for us. It must be extremely important - last words always are. So really think about what He's saying. He's asking God to make the church united - - - FOR THE SAKE OF THE WORLD. Not for our sake, so that we may be happily getting along. He desires it for the lost, that they may know that Jesus is the one sent by God and that God loves them dearly. Somehow, someway, our unity will reveal that to the world. As usual, it's not about us, it's about the lost.
Clearly Christ is stating that the distinction in the world, the contrast, the aroma, the salt, the light, whatever we are to be in this world - is our unity as believers. Again, I'm not 100% sure how that brings about His plan to them, how it sheds His light upon them, how it opens their eyes to His love - but I do believe Him. And that's what He said. Our unity is the distinctive mark to the world that a) God loves them and b) Jesus is the Way. That is exactly what John 17:23 states.
An important thing to remember, however, is that unity is based on doctrinal understanding. So those who want to throw out doctrine for the sake of unity are just as off-base as those who want to divide over some of the minor points. What is the balance? I think it's pretty obvious: 1. Seek God, and 2. Know your Scripture, from Genesis to Revelation.
I've been reading about the church in China and how it survived years of persecution, and one thing stands out: These men and women knew and loved their Scripture. A Christ-filled understanding of doctrine allowed for them to be united in the face of severe persecution. Feelings come and go. Experiences are great but are like sand. Sound doctrinal understanding brings about the unity that is the distinctive mark of Christ in a dark world.
Wang Mingdao read through the Bible 6 times during a 62-day retreat into the wilderness. John Sung was put in an asylum for 193 days and read through the Bible 40 times. These were two of the most powerful and loving evangelists of 20th century China. Watchman Nee, one of my favorite writers, also lived during this time and was convinced that the disunity and superficiality of the church was caused by lack of Scriptural knowledge and practice.
I am really challenged to pursue the Unity Distinctive that Christ calls for in John 17 - and to do this I must know my Scriptures better and I must know my Savior better. These two will go hand in hand to eliminating the need for dividing over the points of Scripture while standing firm on the Rock of Scripture. I don't believe in Scripture-worship, which is a very real danger, but I do believe in the power of the Word. I fear that many in the current church age are lacking in knowledge and love of the Word. So here's a summer challenge: Put away all the books, essays, authors, videos - and read His Word from start to finish. Multiple times, if possible, without commentary. Disunity will melt away as a love for God, His church and the lost will overwhelm any desires to be arrogantly divisive in your theological circles. You will be hollowed out by His Word.
The reason for this challenge is that too often I have found that many Christians promoting unity over doctrine are simply using the unity argument as an excuse for not studying and knowing the Scriptures. Again - a thorough, humble, Spirit-led immersion into the Scriptures will knock out the irrelevant issues and bring you to a greater sense of unity, not division.
(Please note: I'm talking about Christian / Christian disunity. Any true Christians have already been spiritually separated from the world. That's an automatic division that takes place upon salvation. Christ was praying about the Christian/Christian factions. He wanted us in the world, but knew that we were no longer of the world.)
Think upon this verse. Just before He leaves, John 17:20-25 is His prayer for the coming Church - for us. It must be extremely important - last words always are. So really think about what He's saying. He's asking God to make the church united - - - FOR THE SAKE OF THE WORLD. Not for our sake, so that we may be happily getting along. He desires it for the lost, that they may know that Jesus is the one sent by God and that God loves them dearly. Somehow, someway, our unity will reveal that to the world. As usual, it's not about us, it's about the lost.
Clearly Christ is stating that the distinction in the world, the contrast, the aroma, the salt, the light, whatever we are to be in this world - is our unity as believers. Again, I'm not 100% sure how that brings about His plan to them, how it sheds His light upon them, how it opens their eyes to His love - but I do believe Him. And that's what He said. Our unity is the distinctive mark to the world that a) God loves them and b) Jesus is the Way. That is exactly what John 17:23 states.
An important thing to remember, however, is that unity is based on doctrinal understanding. So those who want to throw out doctrine for the sake of unity are just as off-base as those who want to divide over some of the minor points. What is the balance? I think it's pretty obvious: 1. Seek God, and 2. Know your Scripture, from Genesis to Revelation.
I've been reading about the church in China and how it survived years of persecution, and one thing stands out: These men and women knew and loved their Scripture. A Christ-filled understanding of doctrine allowed for them to be united in the face of severe persecution. Feelings come and go. Experiences are great but are like sand. Sound doctrinal understanding brings about the unity that is the distinctive mark of Christ in a dark world.
Wang Mingdao read through the Bible 6 times during a 62-day retreat into the wilderness. John Sung was put in an asylum for 193 days and read through the Bible 40 times. These were two of the most powerful and loving evangelists of 20th century China. Watchman Nee, one of my favorite writers, also lived during this time and was convinced that the disunity and superficiality of the church was caused by lack of Scriptural knowledge and practice.
I am really challenged to pursue the Unity Distinctive that Christ calls for in John 17 - and to do this I must know my Scriptures better and I must know my Savior better. These two will go hand in hand to eliminating the need for dividing over the points of Scripture while standing firm on the Rock of Scripture. I don't believe in Scripture-worship, which is a very real danger, but I do believe in the power of the Word. I fear that many in the current church age are lacking in knowledge and love of the Word. So here's a summer challenge: Put away all the books, essays, authors, videos - and read His Word from start to finish. Multiple times, if possible, without commentary. Disunity will melt away as a love for God, His church and the lost will overwhelm any desires to be arrogantly divisive in your theological circles. You will be hollowed out by His Word.
The reason for this challenge is that too often I have found that many Christians promoting unity over doctrine are simply using the unity argument as an excuse for not studying and knowing the Scriptures. Again - a thorough, humble, Spirit-led immersion into the Scriptures will knock out the irrelevant issues and bring you to a greater sense of unity, not division.
(Please note: I'm talking about Christian / Christian disunity. Any true Christians have already been spiritually separated from the world. That's an automatic division that takes place upon salvation. Christ was praying about the Christian/Christian factions. He wanted us in the world, but knew that we were no longer of the world.)
Thursday, May 15, 2008
Anger Management
In Acts 23, when Paul was given a chance to address the wrongs committed against him, he did not take the opportunity to slam the government or personally attack his accusers. What he did was very selfless - he attacked the heart of Felix, the governor who was trying him. This is a breath of fresh air in our current age of Spiritual Bullying - where our guiding attitudes tend to be aggression and anger. He spoke to Felix about 'righteousness and self-control' - not control and self-righteousness.
Felix didn't believe the Word, so Paul sought to win him over by the powerful testimony of Christ actively working in his life. He didn't fight anger with more anger. His ammunition was the spiritual change in his own heart. In a spiritual sense, he went white on red.
I have never heard of a situation where a picket sign won anyone to Christ. I have never heard of a person who was ground into dust by someone's anger over their position on an issue and then recreated as a Christian. I've never heard of a sinner who was obliterated by the theological wisdom of an 'evangelist' and fell on his knees in repentance and tears.
I guess all I'm really saying is this: I'm tired of the loveless and lifeless pursuit of doctrinal perfection that simply blends in with the rest of the world. I love doctrine, my life is built upon the truths of the Word and I will defend them by the power of His Spirit. But why are there so many people defending it who are so arrogant and condescending and joyless? I mean come on - joyless? What in the world would ever cause a redeemed sinner to feel anything but pure joy, knowing that the God of the universe is indwelling them? And why do they feel like they need to take everyone out at the knees and look like they're loving every moment of it. There is no joy in the destruction of another person.
That's not Christians outliving the world, that's Christians out killing the world. It's not anger management, but management by anger. It is not the Way of Christ.
Felix didn't believe the Word, so Paul sought to win him over by the powerful testimony of Christ actively working in his life. He didn't fight anger with more anger. His ammunition was the spiritual change in his own heart. In a spiritual sense, he went white on red.
Red on red – or white on red? That’s the choice of the Christian. The aggressive Christian is not going to show the contrast of Christ. The angry Christian simply blends into the anger of the world. Our task is to 'outlive them,' to show the difference. The force of a blameless Christian life in this world is more powerful than any political agenda. Holiness in the Christian walk will be the distinction. Peace. Love. Unity. Integrity.
Integrity gives no foothold to the world, nothing that they can grasp and then use against you when arguing against Christ.
I Peter3:1-4 "Wives, in the same way be submissive to your husbands so that, if any of them do not believe the word, they may be won over without words by the behavior of their wives, when they see the purity and reverence of your lives. Your beauty should not come from outward adornment, such as braided hair and the wearing of gold jewelry and fine clothes. Instead, it should be that of your inner self, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is of great worth in God's sight."
We, the church, are the bride of Christ. We are the 'wives' that have been placed in a world that is unbelieving and unloving. Our charge is to win them over by our life, our behavior, our inner beauty. It's not that words don't matter in evangelism or apologetics. Of course they do, Peter and Paul were eloquent defenders of the faith. I'm not saying that we shouldn't be able to give a reasoned, impassioned defense of the Gospel. Peter says that our appeal should be through the truth of the Word. However, the attitude is what is at the heart of our evangelism.I have never heard of a situation where a picket sign won anyone to Christ. I have never heard of a person who was ground into dust by someone's anger over their position on an issue and then recreated as a Christian. I've never heard of a sinner who was obliterated by the theological wisdom of an 'evangelist' and fell on his knees in repentance and tears.
I guess all I'm really saying is this: I'm tired of the loveless and lifeless pursuit of doctrinal perfection that simply blends in with the rest of the world. I love doctrine, my life is built upon the truths of the Word and I will defend them by the power of His Spirit. But why are there so many people defending it who are so arrogant and condescending and joyless? I mean come on - joyless? What in the world would ever cause a redeemed sinner to feel anything but pure joy, knowing that the God of the universe is indwelling them? And why do they feel like they need to take everyone out at the knees and look like they're loving every moment of it. There is no joy in the destruction of another person.
That's not Christians outliving the world, that's Christians out killing the world. It's not anger management, but management by anger. It is not the Way of Christ.
Tuesday, May 13, 2008
Christian Evolution
Okay - enough about evolution and the Christian. How about the evolution of the Christian? This is when the rough edges are smoothed out and the Christian is transformed from hostile to peaceful, from aggressive to loving, never the other way around. I have a friend who embraces elements of pacifism in his Christian walk, and he doesn't realize it but he is slowly bringing me around to his way of thinking. Why? Because that's the evolution I see in Scripture and in the Christian way of life. We don't see it going from peace to violence, we see it going from violence to peace.
In the OT, which I have studied intensively, I am getting a greater sense of "the plan." I can see an explosion of the new birth with all the violence that accompanies it (have you ever seen a delivery - ouch!). As the plan unravels, as He draws humanity back into His arms though the heart of Christ, peace (the original plan) is restored. It's not as if He's drawn up something new, it's because of man's sin that He must violently bring us back to Him. Free will allows for no other way. Robots could simply be reprogrammed, but the human race is wired differently and I've come to understand and even appreciate what God did in the OT. I no longer have to try to reconcile it with the NT. Violent removals are the natural predecessors to peace.
To those who struggle with it, I simply say: Live now in the revelation of peace that we have through Christ. You don't live in those times! You live in the power of Christ and He is always working to a higher plane of peace and love. As Christ said, let the dead bury the dead. Let the violence of the OT speak for itself and move onto the teachings of Christ. They do not have to be mutually exclusive.
I believe that this applies to the Christian walk as well. As we mature in Him and are slowly scraped clean and transformed, we become more peaceful and less spiritually violent. I think that there is a huge misunderstanding in today's Christian culture which embraces and uplifts the confrontational, political, angry, aggressive Christian. They mistake allowing Christ to invade the world through us for the Christian invading the world under his own agenda (and power). It is all backwards. As we become more mature, we become more peaceful which is in turn more effective because it contrasts so clearly against the mindset of the world. Think: As I raise my children, do I take their natural selfish and violent tendencies and enhance them - or do I try to refine them and smooth these things out?
How can we be seen as ambassadors to something different if we're the same as the way of the world - if we've never grown beyond the childish attitude of aggressive self-centeredness? There must be a 'distinction' in the notes, and that distinction is the love and peace that we bring into a violent and unloving world. Paul talks about this in I Corinthians 14 when he tells the church to make sure that tongues don't cause such a confusion that the lost can't see Christ. He says: "Even in the case of lifeless things that make sounds, such as the flute or harp, how will anyone know what tune is being played unless there is a distinction in the notes?" (I Cor. 14:7) Well guess what the distinction is? It's certainly not violence - that's the backdrop we live in. Violence upon violence is simply more white noise. The distinction is the peace of Christ.
In my own walk I have experienced the frustration of this misconception. By nature I am sharp-edged and opinionated and confrontational - believe it or not. I like to let people know when they're wrong (and when I'm right). I've prayed through this for years and God has been transforming me into a less aggressive person who is able to refrain from slamming someone on the spot for infractions against my idea of what an intelligent thought or decision should be. I hated this in myself and prayed through it to a more accepting and peaceable frame of mind.
But here's the problem: because the Christian culture embraces violence (in the form of confrontation in all areas), this smoothing of my rough edges is perceived as weakness. It frustrates me, because I know in my nature I could easily put down another Christian in confrontation. Obliterate them. I'm not saying this in pride, I'm saying this to my shame. Inwardly I'm glad that God has caused me to evolve into a more peaceful Christian, one less likely to climb all over another person for any foolish reason. But this "type" doesn't fit into today's Christian model, so it's called weakness. This is a major disconnect - when a transformed life is perceived as a weak life.
Peace, loving your enemy, reaching for the fringe, turning the other cheek, walking the extra mile, giving the second coat, praying for those who persecute you, keeping quiet while they strike you - these are the fruit of a more mature Christian. Christ said so and lived so. As we argue though the Evolution/Creation debate - let's not forget a more important fact: the current Christian organism seems to be devolving into a less peaceful and less forgiving body. That's a more dangerous evolution than anything taught in the science books - because it makes us less distinct, which makes us less useful. When Christ found the Temple in the same state, He condemned it and it was eventually destroyed. It had lost it's distinctive flavor. It was not a place of peace anymore, but a place of personal gain, of compromise and of violence.
Let's not lose our distinction - let's keep 'evolving' as Christians into what Christ Himself lived out - radical peace in a violent world.
In the OT, which I have studied intensively, I am getting a greater sense of "the plan." I can see an explosion of the new birth with all the violence that accompanies it (have you ever seen a delivery - ouch!). As the plan unravels, as He draws humanity back into His arms though the heart of Christ, peace (the original plan) is restored. It's not as if He's drawn up something new, it's because of man's sin that He must violently bring us back to Him. Free will allows for no other way. Robots could simply be reprogrammed, but the human race is wired differently and I've come to understand and even appreciate what God did in the OT. I no longer have to try to reconcile it with the NT. Violent removals are the natural predecessors to peace.
To those who struggle with it, I simply say: Live now in the revelation of peace that we have through Christ. You don't live in those times! You live in the power of Christ and He is always working to a higher plane of peace and love. As Christ said, let the dead bury the dead. Let the violence of the OT speak for itself and move onto the teachings of Christ. They do not have to be mutually exclusive.
I believe that this applies to the Christian walk as well. As we mature in Him and are slowly scraped clean and transformed, we become more peaceful and less spiritually violent. I think that there is a huge misunderstanding in today's Christian culture which embraces and uplifts the confrontational, political, angry, aggressive Christian. They mistake allowing Christ to invade the world through us for the Christian invading the world under his own agenda (and power). It is all backwards. As we become more mature, we become more peaceful which is in turn more effective because it contrasts so clearly against the mindset of the world. Think: As I raise my children, do I take their natural selfish and violent tendencies and enhance them - or do I try to refine them and smooth these things out?
How can we be seen as ambassadors to something different if we're the same as the way of the world - if we've never grown beyond the childish attitude of aggressive self-centeredness? There must be a 'distinction' in the notes, and that distinction is the love and peace that we bring into a violent and unloving world. Paul talks about this in I Corinthians 14 when he tells the church to make sure that tongues don't cause such a confusion that the lost can't see Christ. He says: "Even in the case of lifeless things that make sounds, such as the flute or harp, how will anyone know what tune is being played unless there is a distinction in the notes?" (I Cor. 14:7) Well guess what the distinction is? It's certainly not violence - that's the backdrop we live in. Violence upon violence is simply more white noise. The distinction is the peace of Christ.
In my own walk I have experienced the frustration of this misconception. By nature I am sharp-edged and opinionated and confrontational - believe it or not. I like to let people know when they're wrong (and when I'm right). I've prayed through this for years and God has been transforming me into a less aggressive person who is able to refrain from slamming someone on the spot for infractions against my idea of what an intelligent thought or decision should be. I hated this in myself and prayed through it to a more accepting and peaceable frame of mind.
But here's the problem: because the Christian culture embraces violence (in the form of confrontation in all areas), this smoothing of my rough edges is perceived as weakness. It frustrates me, because I know in my nature I could easily put down another Christian in confrontation. Obliterate them. I'm not saying this in pride, I'm saying this to my shame. Inwardly I'm glad that God has caused me to evolve into a more peaceful Christian, one less likely to climb all over another person for any foolish reason. But this "type" doesn't fit into today's Christian model, so it's called weakness. This is a major disconnect - when a transformed life is perceived as a weak life.
Peace, loving your enemy, reaching for the fringe, turning the other cheek, walking the extra mile, giving the second coat, praying for those who persecute you, keeping quiet while they strike you - these are the fruit of a more mature Christian. Christ said so and lived so. As we argue though the Evolution/Creation debate - let's not forget a more important fact: the current Christian organism seems to be devolving into a less peaceful and less forgiving body. That's a more dangerous evolution than anything taught in the science books - because it makes us less distinct, which makes us less useful. When Christ found the Temple in the same state, He condemned it and it was eventually destroyed. It had lost it's distinctive flavor. It was not a place of peace anymore, but a place of personal gain, of compromise and of violence.
Let's not lose our distinction - let's keep 'evolving' as Christians into what Christ Himself lived out - radical peace in a violent world.
A Word From the Father
I was sitting on my couch this morning. Just praying to God. I had read Oswald Chamber's devotional this morning (read it: http://www.rbc.org/utmost/index.php) and I wanted that "clear conscience" to serve God that he was talking about. So I sat on my couch and prayed: "Father, carve me out!"
He said, "Tom, move in My direction." So clearly and so clear. Quit sitting there waiting for the lightning bolt of cleansing. Move. Get in the Word, pray, be actively pursuing Him. I knew exactly what He meant. The mountain of evidence behind me is sufficient proof for me to take a step forward in faith. I don't need the flash from heaven - I need to get up and move in His direction. All the garbage will fall off in the process.
Also read Numbers 13,14. When Caleb and the other spies went into the Promised Land, they said that the land would devour them. But Caleb said no, we will swallow them up, "for their protection is gone." That's two distinctly opposite viewpoints of the Christian in the world. If we will move forward, the inability of the world to stand in the way of the Kingdom of Christ will be revealed. If we sit there waiting, we will never find that out.
"Move in My direction." That's a pretty good word from the Father today.
He said, "Tom, move in My direction." So clearly and so clear. Quit sitting there waiting for the lightning bolt of cleansing. Move. Get in the Word, pray, be actively pursuing Him. I knew exactly what He meant. The mountain of evidence behind me is sufficient proof for me to take a step forward in faith. I don't need the flash from heaven - I need to get up and move in His direction. All the garbage will fall off in the process.
Also read Numbers 13,14. When Caleb and the other spies went into the Promised Land, they said that the land would devour them. But Caleb said no, we will swallow them up, "for their protection is gone." That's two distinctly opposite viewpoints of the Christian in the world. If we will move forward, the inability of the world to stand in the way of the Kingdom of Christ will be revealed. If we sit there waiting, we will never find that out.
"Move in My direction." That's a pretty good word from the Father today.
Saturday, May 10, 2008
Creation: The Finger of God
Exodus 8: 16-19 Then the LORD said to Moses, "Tell Aaron, 'Stretch out your staff and strike the dust of the ground,' and throughout the land of Egypt the dust will become gnats." They did this, and when Aaron stretched out his hand with the staff and struck the dust of the ground, gnats came upon men and animals. All the dust throughout the land of Egypt became gnats. But when the magicians tried to produce gnats by their secret arts, they could not. And the gnats were on men and animals.
The magicians said to Pharaoh, "This is the finger of God."
Let's not lose something in our debates over evolution/creation and all that lies in between: The continual creative power of God is what allows us to defeat Satan on an ever-definitive basis.
Satan cannot produce life. If he could, we would see signs of this all over the place. This is seen clearly in the plagues of Egypt, as the magicians were able to copy the first three signs, but on the fourth one, the creation of life from dust, they were powerless. The creation of gnats from dust - of life - put them into such a place of defeat that they were unable to reproduce another plague after this. This is a classic example of Satan denied. Even the magicians themselves recognized this fact, calling creation from dust "the finger of God." The limitations of Satan were thus exposed and it was the beginning of the end of Israel's bondage in Egypt.
It is imperative in our debates over various beliefs on the beginning that we don't lose sight of this fact: Only God can create life. When we grasp this fully in faith, we are able to remain in Him, being constantly renewed because He can continually create life within us. This denies Satan, he simply cannot keep up with this, and his influence in our lives dies out as we continue to be recreated into the image of Christ.
My greatest victories are when I simply allow God's creative energy to outlast Satan's mimicry. Too many times I don't allow this to happen, and I fall victim to discouragement or semi-abandonment of the faith. It's when I just keep going and trusting God to be renewing me day by day that I find my greatest triumphs. This is "the finger of God" in my life, creating life out of the dust of my heart, soul and mind.
Isaiah 26:3 " You will keep in perfect peace him whose mind is steadfast, because he trusts in you."
Be steadfast. Stay in God and outlast Satan.
The magicians said to Pharaoh, "This is the finger of God."
Let's not lose something in our debates over evolution/creation and all that lies in between: The continual creative power of God is what allows us to defeat Satan on an ever-definitive basis.
Satan cannot produce life. If he could, we would see signs of this all over the place. This is seen clearly in the plagues of Egypt, as the magicians were able to copy the first three signs, but on the fourth one, the creation of life from dust, they were powerless. The creation of gnats from dust - of life - put them into such a place of defeat that they were unable to reproduce another plague after this. This is a classic example of Satan denied. Even the magicians themselves recognized this fact, calling creation from dust "the finger of God." The limitations of Satan were thus exposed and it was the beginning of the end of Israel's bondage in Egypt.
It is imperative in our debates over various beliefs on the beginning that we don't lose sight of this fact: Only God can create life. When we grasp this fully in faith, we are able to remain in Him, being constantly renewed because He can continually create life within us. This denies Satan, he simply cannot keep up with this, and his influence in our lives dies out as we continue to be recreated into the image of Christ.
My greatest victories are when I simply allow God's creative energy to outlast Satan's mimicry. Too many times I don't allow this to happen, and I fall victim to discouragement or semi-abandonment of the faith. It's when I just keep going and trusting God to be renewing me day by day that I find my greatest triumphs. This is "the finger of God" in my life, creating life out of the dust of my heart, soul and mind.
Isaiah 26:3 " You will keep in perfect peace him whose mind is steadfast, because he trusts in you."
Be steadfast. Stay in God and outlast Satan.
Friday, May 9, 2008
Remember and Be Fruitful: The Point of Creation
Back to evolution. As I've stated, one of the main problems I have with theistic evolution (and I know that there are many strands within it) is the "point of creation." By that I mean two things:
1. When is the actual 'point' of creation. When was man - as we know him, not a version 1.0, 2.0 or whatever, but the actual man that we know - when was he created? Was it on a timeline or was there an actual point. What is the defining moment of man? Does it even exist? I think for man to have a purpose, he must be defined.
2. What is the 'point' of creation. If there is evolution to the current state, then there must be continual evolution to a future state. In other words, if this present state is still just a transition on the eternal evolutionary timeline - is there an eternal point to the man that I am right now? Or am I simply a part of a procession of continual creation.
If man as he exists right now is the finished product, then that doesn't gibe with the whole premise of evolution, which is always moving on to something else. Has there been one permanent man, one defining moment that stamps forever who he is? This is crucial. There has to be a permanent definition of man, not a nebulous, ever-shifting concept of who he is and who he was and who he is becoming. The definition brings the purpose and pushes 'the plan' into action.
These two points matter to me. It is very important for me to know that I am a special creation of God. I think losing this has caused the Evolution Generation to become somewhat lost in the larger scheme of things, and the resulting insignificance has played out extremely chaotic, as evolution tends to be.
We need to know that there is a point to our existence, and for that to happen, we need to know that our beginning was a significant event. I constantly remind my children that they were created by a loving God and two parents who dearly love them. Their beginning was divinely ordained.
"Before I formed you in the womb I knew you." (Jeremiah 1:5)
"My frame was not hidden from You when I was made in the secret place. When I was woven together in the depths of the earth, Your eyes saw my unformed body. All the days ordained for me were written in Your book before one of them came to be. (Psalm 139:15,16)
You have no idea how important this is to a child. It's no accident that the children of dysfunctional families have the most likelihood of problems down the road, and of continuing the cycle. They don't have a sense of divine origin. They are the product of random chaos.
Does that sound familiar? It's the basis of evolutionary thought: You are the product of random chaos. It's the ultimate dysfunctional family planning and it's "children" bear witness to this. The insignificance of life is evident in the mindset of this generation.
We must be able to look back to our wonderful, planned creation to move forward and bear fruit.
Psalm 100:3 "Know that the Lord is God. It is He who made us, and we are His; we are His people, the sheep of His pasture."
In Psalm 104 we read of how all creation looks to Him. Verse 30 "When You send Your Spirit they are created, and You renew the face of the earth."
Psalm 136 is an entire song of remembrance, of praising Him for His creation and His sustaining power.
These are just a few of the passages in which Israel looks back to their special creation in Abraham and deliverance out of Egypt. It was very important for them to know this, so when the deep waters surrounded them they were able to have hope. If you take that away, I can't tell you how overwhelmingly sad that would be. If you take away my special creation, then you cannot imagine how depressed I would become. My ability to know and remember that man as a whole is a special creation and that this includes me personally is crucial to my understanding of the whole plan of our redemption through Christ.
It's true about our re-creation in Christ as well. Three times Paul's testimony is given in Acts. Three times! (9, 22, 26) He looked back to that moment, when God spiritually created him out of dust, as the defining point in his life, and he referred back to it over and over in times of trouble. I believe this to be true in the physical sense as well. We need to know that there was a defining point in our creation, when we were physically created ex nihilo, out of the dust into God's loving arms.
So all I ask of those who believe in theistic evolution is this: Consider the two points. When was the point of man - and what is the point of man. If you can't look back and remember, then you will have trouble moving forward and being fruitful.
1. When is the actual 'point' of creation. When was man - as we know him, not a version 1.0, 2.0 or whatever, but the actual man that we know - when was he created? Was it on a timeline or was there an actual point. What is the defining moment of man? Does it even exist? I think for man to have a purpose, he must be defined.
2. What is the 'point' of creation. If there is evolution to the current state, then there must be continual evolution to a future state. In other words, if this present state is still just a transition on the eternal evolutionary timeline - is there an eternal point to the man that I am right now? Or am I simply a part of a procession of continual creation.
If man as he exists right now is the finished product, then that doesn't gibe with the whole premise of evolution, which is always moving on to something else. Has there been one permanent man, one defining moment that stamps forever who he is? This is crucial. There has to be a permanent definition of man, not a nebulous, ever-shifting concept of who he is and who he was and who he is becoming. The definition brings the purpose and pushes 'the plan' into action.
These two points matter to me. It is very important for me to know that I am a special creation of God. I think losing this has caused the Evolution Generation to become somewhat lost in the larger scheme of things, and the resulting insignificance has played out extremely chaotic, as evolution tends to be.
We need to know that there is a point to our existence, and for that to happen, we need to know that our beginning was a significant event. I constantly remind my children that they were created by a loving God and two parents who dearly love them. Their beginning was divinely ordained.
"Before I formed you in the womb I knew you." (Jeremiah 1:5)
"My frame was not hidden from You when I was made in the secret place. When I was woven together in the depths of the earth, Your eyes saw my unformed body. All the days ordained for me were written in Your book before one of them came to be. (Psalm 139:15,16)
You have no idea how important this is to a child. It's no accident that the children of dysfunctional families have the most likelihood of problems down the road, and of continuing the cycle. They don't have a sense of divine origin. They are the product of random chaos.
Does that sound familiar? It's the basis of evolutionary thought: You are the product of random chaos. It's the ultimate dysfunctional family planning and it's "children" bear witness to this. The insignificance of life is evident in the mindset of this generation.
We must be able to look back to our wonderful, planned creation to move forward and bear fruit.
Psalm 100:3 "Know that the Lord is God. It is He who made us, and we are His; we are His people, the sheep of His pasture."
In Psalm 104 we read of how all creation looks to Him. Verse 30 "When You send Your Spirit they are created, and You renew the face of the earth."
Psalm 136 is an entire song of remembrance, of praising Him for His creation and His sustaining power.
These are just a few of the passages in which Israel looks back to their special creation in Abraham and deliverance out of Egypt. It was very important for them to know this, so when the deep waters surrounded them they were able to have hope. If you take that away, I can't tell you how overwhelmingly sad that would be. If you take away my special creation, then you cannot imagine how depressed I would become. My ability to know and remember that man as a whole is a special creation and that this includes me personally is crucial to my understanding of the whole plan of our redemption through Christ.
It's true about our re-creation in Christ as well. Three times Paul's testimony is given in Acts. Three times! (9, 22, 26) He looked back to that moment, when God spiritually created him out of dust, as the defining point in his life, and he referred back to it over and over in times of trouble. I believe this to be true in the physical sense as well. We need to know that there was a defining point in our creation, when we were physically created ex nihilo, out of the dust into God's loving arms.
So all I ask of those who believe in theistic evolution is this: Consider the two points. When was the point of man - and what is the point of man. If you can't look back and remember, then you will have trouble moving forward and being fruitful.
Forget and Be Fruitful
Genesis 41: 51,52 "Joseph named his firstborn Manasseh and said, "It is because God has made me forget all my trouble and all my father's household." The second son he named Ephraim and said, "It is because God has made me fruitful in the land of my suffering."
Joseph was a man who understood how to move on. When he was brought low, it would have been easy to sit in the bitterness and resentment of the circumstances that brought him there. When he was elevated it would have been easy to use it as a time to nurse a spiteful, vengeful heart. But the naming of his two boys revealed that the time in prison and the time in the palace did not destroy his heart.
Manasseh = 'Forget'
Ephraim = 'Twice Fruitful'
I know I've been beating this drum for awhile, but I think I have to keep doing it until it gets through to me. We must be able to forget before we can become twice fruitful. If we hold onto to anything - good or bad - it is too hard to move on. Many of us are being destroyed by resentment because of our time in the prison. A health issue, a relationship gone awry, a bad mistake that we made that caused hurt, someone who has hurt us - we all have them. We have also had palaces, times that we've been elevated beyond what we deserve, and these can kill us as well.
The key is to be like Joseph (and Paul in Philippians 3:7) and allow God to give us the ability to forget, and then press forward for something greater and more fruitful, even in 'the land of our suffering.' We think it's only in good times that we produce fruit, but the seed is germinating in these prisons.
Joseph was a man who understood how to move on. When he was brought low, it would have been easy to sit in the bitterness and resentment of the circumstances that brought him there. When he was elevated it would have been easy to use it as a time to nurse a spiteful, vengeful heart. But the naming of his two boys revealed that the time in prison and the time in the palace did not destroy his heart.
Manasseh = 'Forget'
Ephraim = 'Twice Fruitful'
I know I've been beating this drum for awhile, but I think I have to keep doing it until it gets through to me. We must be able to forget before we can become twice fruitful. If we hold onto to anything - good or bad - it is too hard to move on. Many of us are being destroyed by resentment because of our time in the prison. A health issue, a relationship gone awry, a bad mistake that we made that caused hurt, someone who has hurt us - we all have them. We have also had palaces, times that we've been elevated beyond what we deserve, and these can kill us as well.
The key is to be like Joseph (and Paul in Philippians 3:7) and allow God to give us the ability to forget, and then press forward for something greater and more fruitful, even in 'the land of our suffering.' We think it's only in good times that we produce fruit, but the seed is germinating in these prisons.
Monday, May 5, 2008
The "E" Word
So - where does Evolution stand in today's Christianity? I know that a huge divide is forming that is threatening to overtake current issues such as poverty and war and politics. Why? Is the so-called "Battle for the Beginning" the most pressing concern that we as Christians have today? Is it even worth debating?
On the one hand, you have Bible 'literalists' who believe that 6 days means 6 days, and any deviation in that understanding will bring you to a slippery slope that could even wipe out the work of Christ.
On the other hand, you have the 'fossil record' and those who have been educated in evolution-as-fact, and anyone who deviates from that is merely simplistic and naive.
How in the world do you ever bring these two together? (Note: I'm not talking Christian/secularist - I'm talking Christian/Christian.) Can they be brought together? Is it worth even trying?
If you lose the beginning, have you lost it all? I think there is some validity to that thought. I think that's why often the Israelites went back to their formation as a nation when they were discouraged - they knew that they were divinely created, so they found the strength to continue despite failures. The fact that I know that I was divinely created from a divinely created species in Adam brings me great comfort in my trials. Throw in my new creation, and I can hurdle any wall that Satan throws in my path. The beginning does matter.
But what also matter is right now. If all we do is debate the beginning, we miss the present. And the present is where the hurting are, where the lost are, where the hungry are. Too much thought of yesterday causes us to lose today. I don't want to lose this moment, because it is within this moment that people are reaching out for help. They don't have the luxury of waiting for me to have my arguments about yesterday.
On the one hand, you have Bible 'literalists' who believe that 6 days means 6 days, and any deviation in that understanding will bring you to a slippery slope that could even wipe out the work of Christ.
On the other hand, you have the 'fossil record' and those who have been educated in evolution-as-fact, and anyone who deviates from that is merely simplistic and naive.
How in the world do you ever bring these two together? (Note: I'm not talking Christian/secularist - I'm talking Christian/Christian.) Can they be brought together? Is it worth even trying?
If you lose the beginning, have you lost it all? I think there is some validity to that thought. I think that's why often the Israelites went back to their formation as a nation when they were discouraged - they knew that they were divinely created, so they found the strength to continue despite failures. The fact that I know that I was divinely created from a divinely created species in Adam brings me great comfort in my trials. Throw in my new creation, and I can hurdle any wall that Satan throws in my path. The beginning does matter.
But what also matter is right now. If all we do is debate the beginning, we miss the present. And the present is where the hurting are, where the lost are, where the hungry are. Too much thought of yesterday causes us to lose today. I don't want to lose this moment, because it is within this moment that people are reaching out for help. They don't have the luxury of waiting for me to have my arguments about yesterday.
Friday, May 2, 2008
Hard Prayer vs Easy Prey
Jeremiah 2:23-25
"How can you say, 'I am not defiled; I have not run after the Baals'? See how you behaved in the valley; consider what you have done. You are a swift she-camel running here and there, a wild donkey accustomed to the desert, sniffing the wind in her craving— in her heat who can restrain her? Any males that pursue her need not tire themselves; at mating time they will find her. Do not run until your feet are bare and your throat is dry. But you said, 'It's no use! I love foreign gods, and I must go after them.'
We are such easy marks for the things of this world. Satan barely has to try half the time because we are out there, sniffing like a deer in heat at all the things. We open ourselves up to the things of the world and are then ripped apart so easily.
I'm tired of being 'easy.' I think the problem is that we've grown "accustomed to the desert" when we should be out of it by now. We're satisfied there. It's okay to be dry - it's normal to live an empty, defeated life. But it's not okay, it's not the normal life to be settled in the desert. The Promised Land is available and it is a place of water, of fruit - of life.
This will take deep faith and hard prayer to keep us from being such easy prey for the world. We have to at least make them try. It's only when you resist do you find out the full strength of an enemy. Quick capitulation only reveals how weak you are, not how strong they are. But when you resist and fight, the enemy is forced to fight, and then the extent of their power is revealed. Only then will you find out that there are limitations to them, that truly greater is He that is in you than He that is in the world.
Here's the challenge from Jeremiah 2:25: If you find that you have to force yourself away from the world, if the draw to Egypt is stronger than the draw to Christ - then I think you may have to rethink your relationship with Him. If you are an easy mark for the world, then that's where your heart really is and you may have to examine whether you are truly born again, into the new nature. Christians can struggle with the world, but the difference is they know it. Even though they struggle with it, in their heart of hearts they desire Christ more. If you say, "It's no use, I love foreign gods, I must go after them," then you are dead already.
"How can you say, 'I am not defiled; I have not run after the Baals'? See how you behaved in the valley; consider what you have done. You are a swift she-camel running here and there, a wild donkey accustomed to the desert, sniffing the wind in her craving— in her heat who can restrain her? Any males that pursue her need not tire themselves; at mating time they will find her. Do not run until your feet are bare and your throat is dry. But you said, 'It's no use! I love foreign gods, and I must go after them.'
We are such easy marks for the things of this world. Satan barely has to try half the time because we are out there, sniffing like a deer in heat at all the things. We open ourselves up to the things of the world and are then ripped apart so easily.
I'm tired of being 'easy.' I think the problem is that we've grown "accustomed to the desert" when we should be out of it by now. We're satisfied there. It's okay to be dry - it's normal to live an empty, defeated life. But it's not okay, it's not the normal life to be settled in the desert. The Promised Land is available and it is a place of water, of fruit - of life.
This will take deep faith and hard prayer to keep us from being such easy prey for the world. We have to at least make them try. It's only when you resist do you find out the full strength of an enemy. Quick capitulation only reveals how weak you are, not how strong they are. But when you resist and fight, the enemy is forced to fight, and then the extent of their power is revealed. Only then will you find out that there are limitations to them, that truly greater is He that is in you than He that is in the world.
Here's the challenge from Jeremiah 2:25: If you find that you have to force yourself away from the world, if the draw to Egypt is stronger than the draw to Christ - then I think you may have to rethink your relationship with Him. If you are an easy mark for the world, then that's where your heart really is and you may have to examine whether you are truly born again, into the new nature. Christians can struggle with the world, but the difference is they know it. Even though they struggle with it, in their heart of hearts they desire Christ more. If you say, "It's no use, I love foreign gods, I must go after them," then you are dead already.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)