.
"I don't want to control it, I want to get rid of it."
That's a line from the movie I saw last night - The Hulk. And he couldn't be more right.
Sermons are preached, books are written, videos are made - all with one goal in mind: to give us power over the things that consume us. These well-intentioned ideas are killing us off, one by one. Because we can't get to a place where we will ever have control over the thoughts that lead to the actions that lead to the spiritual deaths that are prevalent in our churches. (James 1) The frustration of failure that results from this mindset causes depression and defection from the faith. It's not simply a case of mind over matter, of willing yourself to victory.
We spend way too much time developing coping mechanisms. I don't want to learn how to cope with the hindering sins in my life - I want them eradicated. Gone. That's what Christ offers. Complete victory through annihilation, not a crutch that we can lean on so that we can survive. Settling for anything less is a denial of the power of the The Cross - which was a complete destruction of the power of sin, not simply a means of controlling it.
As usual, the Hulk is right. I don't want to control the beast within me, I want to get rid of it. Read Romans 6 and see if you don't find the same answer I found. Victory through annihilation.
Tuesday, June 24, 2008
He Ain't There
"Oh, for a man to arise in me, that the man I am might cease to be."
Tennyson
I used to have that quote written on the inside of my devotional book, waiting for the day that this 'better man' would arise out of the rubble of who I was. I was not satisfied with the things I thought, the things I said or the things that I did. I longed for that 'man' to emerge, the man that I wanted to be. This longing brought me to Shakespeare's Henry IV part I, which I read over and over. In this play, Prince Hal, spends his youth hanging with fools (Falstaff) and acting foolishly, all the while knowing that eventually he will emerge as the man he really is deep down. And he does, becoming a great king. I identified with Prince Hal, biding my time until this 'great man' arose from within the foolishness.
There was only one problem: This man is not there. There is no great man inside each one of us just waiting to come out. We are sinful to the core of our being and it isn't simply a matter of time and maturity: that man ain't there.
If you desire to be victorious, if you hate the man you are and like Tennyson long for a day when your foolishness and childishness is cast aside and you suddenly become the man that you desire to be, then you must come to a complete and utter end of yourself and be 'born again.' That's right, the phrase that makes most Christians recoil out of embarrassment is the only thing that will allow this man to exist. Because he is not just sitting inside of you waiting to come out.
You must be born again. The old nature must be crucified with Christ and you must be raised in a new nature, as a new man, not some modified version of your old man. The message that is often preached is that God will take you and bring you to a higher level of yourself. That is not salvation, my friends, that is a lie. It is not some higher level of yourself, it is an obliteration of everything that you are and the implementation of a new nature, from outside of yourself, into your being. You are a new creation, not a souped-up version of your old self.
The reason that this doesn't get preached enough is because in today's age of tolerance and humanism, we don't want to tell anyone that they are sinful to the core. That doesn't sell well. An add-on to who they are sounds better and less demeaning. But it is a lie and they will forever live in the body of death, never finding that 'new man' that they so desperately desire.
Do what I finally did: fall on your face, acknowledge that there is nothing good that lives within you, and receive the new nature that is promised by God. (I Corinthians 5). Be born again - because that man that you're waiting for to arise from within? He just ain't there.
Tennyson
I used to have that quote written on the inside of my devotional book, waiting for the day that this 'better man' would arise out of the rubble of who I was. I was not satisfied with the things I thought, the things I said or the things that I did. I longed for that 'man' to emerge, the man that I wanted to be. This longing brought me to Shakespeare's Henry IV part I, which I read over and over. In this play, Prince Hal, spends his youth hanging with fools (Falstaff) and acting foolishly, all the while knowing that eventually he will emerge as the man he really is deep down. And he does, becoming a great king. I identified with Prince Hal, biding my time until this 'great man' arose from within the foolishness.
There was only one problem: This man is not there. There is no great man inside each one of us just waiting to come out. We are sinful to the core of our being and it isn't simply a matter of time and maturity: that man ain't there.
If you desire to be victorious, if you hate the man you are and like Tennyson long for a day when your foolishness and childishness is cast aside and you suddenly become the man that you desire to be, then you must come to a complete and utter end of yourself and be 'born again.' That's right, the phrase that makes most Christians recoil out of embarrassment is the only thing that will allow this man to exist. Because he is not just sitting inside of you waiting to come out.
You must be born again. The old nature must be crucified with Christ and you must be raised in a new nature, as a new man, not some modified version of your old man. The message that is often preached is that God will take you and bring you to a higher level of yourself. That is not salvation, my friends, that is a lie. It is not some higher level of yourself, it is an obliteration of everything that you are and the implementation of a new nature, from outside of yourself, into your being. You are a new creation, not a souped-up version of your old self.
The reason that this doesn't get preached enough is because in today's age of tolerance and humanism, we don't want to tell anyone that they are sinful to the core. That doesn't sell well. An add-on to who they are sounds better and less demeaning. But it is a lie and they will forever live in the body of death, never finding that 'new man' that they so desperately desire.
Do what I finally did: fall on your face, acknowledge that there is nothing good that lives within you, and receive the new nature that is promised by God. (I Corinthians 5). Be born again - because that man that you're waiting for to arise from within? He just ain't there.
Sunday, June 22, 2008
So You Wanna Be Starting Something . . .
There are people in Christian circles who are never happy unless they are starting a ministry. The excitement of the new beginning, the potential for greatness - the high - is an ever-elusive carrot that they chase. If something doesn't work within a few months, it's off to the next new thing.
The problem is that true success in Christian ministry is very rarely achieved in the first few weeks or months. True success is a lifelong commitment to someone or a group of people. It takes years of working through the highs and the lows to truly have an eternal impact on their souls. Jesus knew this - He worked with His motley crew for three years, even losing one in the process. He knew that simply pulling them out into the desert for a fresh start ministry wasn't going to produce the type of men that would be needed to withstand the persecution and trials that they would be facing. He didn't toss them to the wind after half a year saying, "Well, I guess that didn't work."
The disciples didn't understand this. They wanted immediate results. John wanted thunder from heaven. Peter wanted the continual high of the Mount of Transfiguration. Judas wanted the overthrow of the Roman rule. Each time Jesus took these men back into the long, dark valley road of discipleship.
If you want to have a true impact on people, you have to be prepared to be in it for the long haul. Don't bail out if it isn't 'working' in the first few months. Sticking it out in the dry times is the true test of a mature Christian. Anyone can be 'high' on the emotional excitement of a new start. Everyone is thrilled on the honeymoon! But just as a marriage must be proven in the long-term, so must a ministry. Leviticus is basically a one-month marriage ceremony between God and the Israelites. But He lost them in the desert when the talk had to turn into a walk.
Please - don't be an 'upstart' Christian. Be willing to walk through the valley with the people of God and be willing to prove yourself in the down time - which may take years and years.
The problem is that true success in Christian ministry is very rarely achieved in the first few weeks or months. True success is a lifelong commitment to someone or a group of people. It takes years of working through the highs and the lows to truly have an eternal impact on their souls. Jesus knew this - He worked with His motley crew for three years, even losing one in the process. He knew that simply pulling them out into the desert for a fresh start ministry wasn't going to produce the type of men that would be needed to withstand the persecution and trials that they would be facing. He didn't toss them to the wind after half a year saying, "Well, I guess that didn't work."
The disciples didn't understand this. They wanted immediate results. John wanted thunder from heaven. Peter wanted the continual high of the Mount of Transfiguration. Judas wanted the overthrow of the Roman rule. Each time Jesus took these men back into the long, dark valley road of discipleship.
If you want to have a true impact on people, you have to be prepared to be in it for the long haul. Don't bail out if it isn't 'working' in the first few months. Sticking it out in the dry times is the true test of a mature Christian. Anyone can be 'high' on the emotional excitement of a new start. Everyone is thrilled on the honeymoon! But just as a marriage must be proven in the long-term, so must a ministry. Leviticus is basically a one-month marriage ceremony between God and the Israelites. But He lost them in the desert when the talk had to turn into a walk.
Please - don't be an 'upstart' Christian. Be willing to walk through the valley with the people of God and be willing to prove yourself in the down time - which may take years and years.
Saturday, June 14, 2008
Job Fair
One of the things that strikes me as unfair about the book of Job is this: we know his situation - he doesn't. He's scrambling in the wind for some meaning, some purpose behind the trauma in his life as we sit back and watch him react. The curtain has been drawn back for us and we know God loves him and that he is a man of integrity. Because of this most readers are very sympathetic to him , cutting him some slack as he gropes in the darkness.
His friends, who like him don't know the wherefores and the whys, are harsh and judgmental. That's the natural response when all you can see is the circumstances in someone's life. You are going to assume your own cause and effect and ultimately cast your own judgment upon them.
This is just a quick reminder to those of us who watch people fighting through particular events in their life: be very careful to cast judgment because unlike with the book of Job, you don't know the workings behind the scenes. Any criticism, without knowing the full story, is very unfair.
His friends, who like him don't know the wherefores and the whys, are harsh and judgmental. That's the natural response when all you can see is the circumstances in someone's life. You are going to assume your own cause and effect and ultimately cast your own judgment upon them.
This is just a quick reminder to those of us who watch people fighting through particular events in their life: be very careful to cast judgment because unlike with the book of Job, you don't know the workings behind the scenes. Any criticism, without knowing the full story, is very unfair.
Friday, June 13, 2008
The Battle for the Begotten
There is a funny thing that you see happen if you've been in Christian ministry long enough - it's a battle for the Great Begotten. Those who are already in churches, or youth groups, or small groups - connected already to some ministry - seem to be the targets of other churches, groups or ministries. You hear it all the time - "Hey, so-and-so is leaving that church, or going to this church, or maybe we can get them to come to our church." I don't understand this mentality. Why are we trying to get people who have already been gotten?
What seems to be forgotten in all this is the Great Forgotten. Trust me, there are plenty of them out there, people not connected in anyway to anything. They should be the targets. I have a Young Adults ministry that meets at my home, and I don't want those who are already in place somewhere else simply shifting over here. There are enough out there for a hundred more ministries like we have - there's no need to try to seek the unlost, to find the found, to get the gotten - fishing for those who are already in the tank.
I was talking to someone at a local church who was bothered: he said that their church had over 200 new people come for various reasons in the past couple of years giving them the reputation of an exploding church. But of that number, less than five (!) were new salvations. It was a regathering of the gathered. I don't want to call it a useless exercise, but in a sense it is.
The harvest is white - we need workers out there in the fields, not just reshuffling what's already in the barn. We can't simply "Begettin the Begotten."
What seems to be forgotten in all this is the Great Forgotten. Trust me, there are plenty of them out there, people not connected in anyway to anything. They should be the targets. I have a Young Adults ministry that meets at my home, and I don't want those who are already in place somewhere else simply shifting over here. There are enough out there for a hundred more ministries like we have - there's no need to try to seek the unlost, to find the found, to get the gotten - fishing for those who are already in the tank.
I was talking to someone at a local church who was bothered: he said that their church had over 200 new people come for various reasons in the past couple of years giving them the reputation of an exploding church. But of that number, less than five (!) were new salvations. It was a regathering of the gathered. I don't want to call it a useless exercise, but in a sense it is.
The harvest is white - we need workers out there in the fields, not just reshuffling what's already in the barn. We can't simply "Begettin the Begotten."
Wednesday, June 11, 2008
Reuben, Reuben, You've Been Thinking - Too Much
Judges 5:15, 16:
"The princes of Issachar were with Deborah;
yes, Issachar was with Barak,
rushing after him into the valley.
In the districts of Reuben
there was much searching of heart.
Why did you stay among the campfires
to hear the whistling for the flocks?
In the districts of Reuben
there was much searching of heart."
So, Reuben - just what were you guys talking about? You obviously had heard the battle cry, you knew the situation, and then you sat by the campfire discussing and debating whether to get involved. By the time you had made a decision, the troops were already coming home victoriously! Something tells me that you analyzed the situation for just a little too long, that you spent just a bit too much time 'searching your hearts.'
You know, I'm not against standing and looking and asking. I'm all for collecting information and counting the cost before making a decision. But I'm starting to worry that we've created a generation of Reubens - men and women who want to listen and talk and sit around the campfire searching their hearts, instead of throwing themselves into the fight. I fear that by the time this generation figures it all out, the battle will be over and the troops will be coming home. (Sorry about the war analogy, but that's the setting of Judges 5.)
We have a wonderful luxury in America, the luxury of time to study. Time to debate. Time to pick apart the finer points of theology, stripping them down to the bone, chewing on them until there's nothing left. We have wonderful campfires that we sit around.
Other cultures don't have this same opportunity - they're too busy fighting for survival. They're in the streets feeding the hungry, clothing the naked, bringing in the homeless, caring for the orphans. There are no campfires of discussion, there's no time for searching of hearts, there's no waiting for a more 'convenient time.' It's now or never for them.
Jeremiah 6:16 says:
`This is what the LORD says:
"Stand at the crossroads and look;
ask for the ancient paths,
ask where the good way is, and walk in it,
and you will find rest for your souls.
But you said, 'We will not walk in it.'
Stand. Look. Ask. But at some point you gotta take the walk or you'll never have rest. I don't believe that there was a lot of rest around those Reubenic Campfires, before or after their indecision. Indecision is not a very restful place. It's a place of discontent, and that's the most uncomfortable 'tent' in the world. So - get up from the campfire and get into the battle. The people that are in the world don't have the luxury of waiting for you in your time of indecision. They're dying for you right now.
Stand + Look + Ask + Walk = REST
You want the rest of the campfire story? Well, you'll have to get up to experience it. We need to be like Issachar - rushing after our commander into the valley. Not to the mountaintops, He lifts us up there when we need those moments. But into the valley, where Jesus is actively bringing people back to life. We need to rush in with Him. There we will find the REST of the story.
His Thoughts on Worship
I just got the final cd from Jon Foreman - the "Summer" session. I really like it - and not just because it has great music with great thoughts. I like it because in listening to it I've realized how much I've grown as a Christian.
I used to have a tendency to listen to music, read books, hear sermons that reflect on things I'm thinking about and get a little discouraged because they were writing down the things that I was going to write about!! The things God was working through me. Instead of enjoying them and letting God work through them, I would get jealous! I was going to preach that sermon!!!
This is a terrible mindset and it hit me hard a few years ago. I've been praying through it, feeling victories in it, and now listening to this cd I'm realizing that the victory has come. (You know - we should actually be winning some of these battles of the heart and mind.)
Now I rejoice when I hear a sermon or a song that reflects what God is working through me, because it shows the true movement of the Holy Spirit - which is not just through one person but throughout the entire church. It's encouraging instead of jealousy- making. It is validating that thought in my head as from God, not something I've conjured up on my own.
JF wrote a couple of songs about things I've been preaching on and thinking about - especially his attack on the false worship that's permeating the Christian church. Basically, it's a worship of their own worship. Aren't we awesome for singing these songs!! But the things that God finds worshipful are acts of righteousness, justice and mercy upon those who are weak. I hate the current culture of worship. Not the songs, not the styles, but the mentality. Honestly - most of the time I don't care what song I'm singing as long as the heart and hands are lifted to God and to the hurting. But most of the time I feel like it's a milquetoast offering of ourselves to the rest of the church, not to the Lord.
So I'm listening to these songs and enjoying them, enjoying the same Spirit that is working through Jon Foreman and through me and through thousands across the US that are beginning to feel the same way. Just because JF can write them better doesn't mean I should get jealous - it means I should thank the Lord that He is moving. I'm glad I've grown up in this thought - because the former mindset was another Christ-killer in my life.
I used to have a tendency to listen to music, read books, hear sermons that reflect on things I'm thinking about and get a little discouraged because they were writing down the things that I was going to write about!! The things God was working through me. Instead of enjoying them and letting God work through them, I would get jealous! I was going to preach that sermon!!!
This is a terrible mindset and it hit me hard a few years ago. I've been praying through it, feeling victories in it, and now listening to this cd I'm realizing that the victory has come. (You know - we should actually be winning some of these battles of the heart and mind.)
Now I rejoice when I hear a sermon or a song that reflects what God is working through me, because it shows the true movement of the Holy Spirit - which is not just through one person but throughout the entire church. It's encouraging instead of jealousy- making. It is validating that thought in my head as from God, not something I've conjured up on my own.
JF wrote a couple of songs about things I've been preaching on and thinking about - especially his attack on the false worship that's permeating the Christian church. Basically, it's a worship of their own worship. Aren't we awesome for singing these songs!! But the things that God finds worshipful are acts of righteousness, justice and mercy upon those who are weak. I hate the current culture of worship. Not the songs, not the styles, but the mentality. Honestly - most of the time I don't care what song I'm singing as long as the heart and hands are lifted to God and to the hurting. But most of the time I feel like it's a milquetoast offering of ourselves to the rest of the church, not to the Lord.
So I'm listening to these songs and enjoying them, enjoying the same Spirit that is working through Jon Foreman and through me and through thousands across the US that are beginning to feel the same way. Just because JF can write them better doesn't mean I should get jealous - it means I should thank the Lord that He is moving. I'm glad I've grown up in this thought - because the former mindset was another Christ-killer in my life.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)