Devotional: Read Psalm 22
As I stated in my last post, it's an obvious reaction to withdraw your finances in these times of economic distress. Pull everything out so you don't lose it all. However this action also forces the economy even deeper into the hole.
We do the same thing in times of personal depression and distress. If you've ever been in ministry for any length of time, you'll know that there are certain people who are constantly withdrawing and pulling resources from the body. In their times of distress (which for some seems to be their way of life) they become like black holes, bringing everything and everyone into their gravitational field and not even allowing any light to emerge from the depths of their constant pain.
Then I think of Jesus, on the cross, suffering in total humiliation. He's been beaten and insulted. He's been dared to come down. He's openly exposed to friends and family, and probably has lost control of all bodily functions and has defecated on Himself. Yet almost every word is an extended hand to someone who is hurting. "John, take care of My mother." "Father, don't hold this against them." "It is finished." "Today you will be with Me in paradise."
I believe that even the phrase, "My God, My God, why have you forsaken Me?" is a word of encouragement to those around Him. In those days, psalms were not referenced by numbers, but by their opening line. When He cried out those words, I believe that He was leading all those around Him to Psalm 22. They would know it by heart, and they would know where it leads. Read the entire psalm and you'll see what I'm talking about.
Then read verse 24: "For He has not despised or disdained the suffering of the afflicted one; He has not hidden His face from Him, but has listened to His cry for help."
Every Jew standing around Him would know that this is where the psalm leads - that God does not hide His face from those in distress. That God DID NOT hide His face when Christ was covered in our sin. I believe that Jesus is saying the exact opposite of what we commonly believe happened here: God did not turn His face FROM Jesus, but TO Jesus. He has not hidden His face from Him. These last words are not a discouraged Christ wondering where God is, but an encouraging Christ, still thinking about those around Him, letting them know that God will never leave them so they can always press forward even in their darkest hours.
What does this mean for us? It means that Christ has set the example. In Christ's darkest hour, God does not withdraw from Him, He turns to Him. In His darkest hour, Christ did not withdraw from the hurting people, He turned to them. As His hands were literally extended by the nails in the cross, so were they spiritually extended to those in true chains.
So we are to do the same. As we face times of distress and persecution, we are not to withdraw, but to extend. Take a moment and read Psalm 22 and I believe that you will agree. It's a song of victory that emerges from the fire.
Thursday, February 26, 2009
Tuesday, February 24, 2009
Early Withdrawal - My, My, My
Luke 12:18 "This is what I'll do. I will tear down my barns and build bigger ones, and then I will store all my grain and my goods."
One of the dilemmas of the recession (depression?) is that the worse the news gets, the more people withdraw their money, creating even worse news . . . and so on. It's a vicious cycle of self-protection that ends up destroying the community.
In the parable of the rich fool we see the same thing. When faced with his situation ( in his case abundance), he withdraws instead of advancing the kingdom. We need to use our resources to extend, not curl up tighter. The more we have the more we 'withdraw' in the sense that we hoard and protect. When we release what we have, then if my math is correct, we have less. And if we have less, then there is less holding us in and we are able to be free from the fear that Satan tries to impose upon us. But many of us are living in fear, and fear can kill. Literally.
I read about a 79-year old woman in North Carolina who died of fear. A man broke into her home, and though he never touched her, she had a heart attack and died. The man is now being charged with felony murder: for scaring her to death.
It's not just because she was old: in Mexico City a young woman died when a man pulled a gun on her at a street light. In NH, a young boy died when a bear approached him. Though it never actually touched him, he was also in a sense scared to death. The scientific explanation is that the body will create more adrenaline and send it to areas for self-protection, but in the process it will shut down in less vital areas during extreme stress. If it's severe enough, it can overload the system and kill the body!
There is a sense of fear in these tough times, a fear that can cause us to do what the human body does - engage in self-protection and cut off the 'less vital' areas. But this can kill the body. If everyone withdraws their resources, their adrenaline, their energy in a time of trial, the body can die.
We cannot withdraw our of fear in this difficult economic trial. I can feel the pull myself: circle the wagons, strengthen my barns, protect my own. But there is a lack of trust in this thought. God wants us to use every circumstance, good or bad, to advance His kingdom, never to withdraw. We are never to be living in fear. Fear can paralyze and kill the body.
The challenge in this time is for Christians to continue to extend their arms to the poor and weak - to the less 'vital' organs - not to retreat into our barns saying, "My, my, my." Because this speaks to our true perspective and understanding of the Truth. I believe that we are tempted to disengage and self-protect because we are not truly convinced that God will take care of us and that if we empty out the barns we leave ourselves too vulnerable.
We must be willing to be left vulnerable, and follow the example of Christ who emptied Himself out for us when we were dead in our sins, unable to lift our arms to Him for help. You can really stand out in these times if you step out while everyone is withdrawing.
One of the dilemmas of the recession (depression?) is that the worse the news gets, the more people withdraw their money, creating even worse news . . . and so on. It's a vicious cycle of self-protection that ends up destroying the community.
In the parable of the rich fool we see the same thing. When faced with his situation ( in his case abundance), he withdraws instead of advancing the kingdom. We need to use our resources to extend, not curl up tighter. The more we have the more we 'withdraw' in the sense that we hoard and protect. When we release what we have, then if my math is correct, we have less. And if we have less, then there is less holding us in and we are able to be free from the fear that Satan tries to impose upon us. But many of us are living in fear, and fear can kill. Literally.
I read about a 79-year old woman in North Carolina who died of fear. A man broke into her home, and though he never touched her, she had a heart attack and died. The man is now being charged with felony murder: for scaring her to death.
It's not just because she was old: in Mexico City a young woman died when a man pulled a gun on her at a street light. In NH, a young boy died when a bear approached him. Though it never actually touched him, he was also in a sense scared to death. The scientific explanation is that the body will create more adrenaline and send it to areas for self-protection, but in the process it will shut down in less vital areas during extreme stress. If it's severe enough, it can overload the system and kill the body!
There is a sense of fear in these tough times, a fear that can cause us to do what the human body does - engage in self-protection and cut off the 'less vital' areas. But this can kill the body. If everyone withdraws their resources, their adrenaline, their energy in a time of trial, the body can die.
We cannot withdraw our of fear in this difficult economic trial. I can feel the pull myself: circle the wagons, strengthen my barns, protect my own. But there is a lack of trust in this thought. God wants us to use every circumstance, good or bad, to advance His kingdom, never to withdraw. We are never to be living in fear. Fear can paralyze and kill the body.
The challenge in this time is for Christians to continue to extend their arms to the poor and weak - to the less 'vital' organs - not to retreat into our barns saying, "My, my, my." Because this speaks to our true perspective and understanding of the Truth. I believe that we are tempted to disengage and self-protect because we are not truly convinced that God will take care of us and that if we empty out the barns we leave ourselves too vulnerable.
We must be willing to be left vulnerable, and follow the example of Christ who emptied Himself out for us when we were dead in our sins, unable to lift our arms to Him for help. You can really stand out in these times if you step out while everyone is withdrawing.
Sunday, February 22, 2009
First Things First
If you teach high school and college long enough you start to notice a pattern in the questions that kids have as they start to emerge from the cocoon of their upbringing. (And I think the cocoon is very important.)
Two questions invariably arise:
1. Is Jesus the only way to salvation?
2. Can you lose your salvation?
Both have one question that has to be answered first: What do you mean by "salvation?"
I've asked this question in groups before and I get many different answers. Saved from hell. Saved to heaven. Saved from my sins. Eternal life. Communion with God. Rest. Hope. Peace. A new creation. The right to be called a son of God.
While personally I think Isaiah 53:4-6 gives the best definition, I have to agree with these answers. Salvation is all of the above.
So when I'm asked if you can lose your salvation I say, "Yes and no." I personally don't believe we can lose our standing as a son, (sealed with the Spirit in Ephesians 1:13,14) but I do believe we can lose so many of the things listed that are just as important parts of salvation. We can lose communion, victory, peace, rest, usefulness to the Kingdom . . . And if we lose these things we've lost a lot. If anyone has been truly "saved" they would understand that this loss is brutal. It is basically the absence of God - which is the definition of hell.
So yes, you can lose parts of your salvation and reap hell on earth. As for the afterlife? That's a different post for a different day.
Two questions invariably arise:
1. Is Jesus the only way to salvation?
2. Can you lose your salvation?
Both have one question that has to be answered first: What do you mean by "salvation?"
I've asked this question in groups before and I get many different answers. Saved from hell. Saved to heaven. Saved from my sins. Eternal life. Communion with God. Rest. Hope. Peace. A new creation. The right to be called a son of God.
While personally I think Isaiah 53:4-6 gives the best definition, I have to agree with these answers. Salvation is all of the above.
So when I'm asked if you can lose your salvation I say, "Yes and no." I personally don't believe we can lose our standing as a son, (sealed with the Spirit in Ephesians 1:13,14) but I do believe we can lose so many of the things listed that are just as important parts of salvation. We can lose communion, victory, peace, rest, usefulness to the Kingdom . . . And if we lose these things we've lost a lot. If anyone has been truly "saved" they would understand that this loss is brutal. It is basically the absence of God - which is the definition of hell.
So yes, you can lose parts of your salvation and reap hell on earth. As for the afterlife? That's a different post for a different day.
Monday, February 16, 2009
Taken
I saw the movie "Taken" the other day. It's basically about a father who moves heaven and earth to rescue his kidnapped daughter. It made me want to do something like that to prove my love for my own kids. Be a hero in an amazing and dramatic way.
Isn't that what we want to do as Christians? Invade every area with the kingdom of God - advancing into regions far and wide? Be a hero?
In Judges 10 I was reading about Jair. He was a hero, but not to all of Israel. (Some of the judges were of regions, not the nations). And I realized that's what God calls me to do, at least as a start. Be a hero in my region. That may mean one person. It may mean to my family, not to all the families of the the world. If nothing else, I can at least be a hero in my little region and advance God's kingdom in my family and in my circle of friends.
Today - that's my goal. Advance God's kingdom - in this little place He's put me.
Isn't that what we want to do as Christians? Invade every area with the kingdom of God - advancing into regions far and wide? Be a hero?
In Judges 10 I was reading about Jair. He was a hero, but not to all of Israel. (Some of the judges were of regions, not the nations). And I realized that's what God calls me to do, at least as a start. Be a hero in my region. That may mean one person. It may mean to my family, not to all the families of the the world. If nothing else, I can at least be a hero in my little region and advance God's kingdom in my family and in my circle of friends.
Today - that's my goal. Advance God's kingdom - in this little place He's put me.
Sunday, February 15, 2009
Rambling Church
I've always had a little trouble with hearing things like this: "My car broke down the other night, but God was so good because it happened right under a street light." Not to be heretical, but wouldn't He have been even better if your car had not broken down at all?
When you're standing around the burial of the family cat, your wife won't find it funny if you grab the back of her ankle and yell, "Meow." Trust me on this one.
Christians have it both ways. If things are going tough, we claim that this is what Christ told us to expect when we were doing His will. If they're going good, well . . . . God blesses His own! Does the world realize this is what they're fighting?
I was walking by a room that was having a prayer meeting in it and I saw a sign on the door that cited Isaiah 65:24 "Before they call I will answer, while they are still speaking I will hear" and it almost made me not want to pray. Why bother? Then I went back to my room and read the text and saw it was out of context and I breathed (prayed) easier.
There's a guy in my church who pulls you in for a hug whenever you shake hands with him. That's what prayer is like. You go in for a handshake and God pulls you into a bear hug.
I love the story of the prodigal son but it should not be my continuing life's testimony.
I also love how God uses my mistakes to grow me. But this also shouldn't be the continuing pattern of my life because each mistake hurts someone and it would be somewhat self-centered to leave a wake of hurting people behind in the name of personal growth.
The world is tough and God wants us to advance His kingdom in it. He must be tougher.
I pulled a mat off my cat Calvin yesterday and I realized that this is how sin is: it grows into your skin and is very uncomfortable but if you put up with it long enough it eventually becomes a part of you and you learn to live with it.
Speaking of Calvin, I was looking out the window and he was trying to "go to the bathroom" in the deep snow, when it caved in. I thought to myself, "Hmmm, this is going to be awkward." Then he climbed out and looked at me and we both had an uncomfortable moment of silence, so I looked away. (That's one mat I'm not pulling off.)
When you're standing around the burial of the family cat, your wife won't find it funny if you grab the back of her ankle and yell, "Meow." Trust me on this one.
Christians have it both ways. If things are going tough, we claim that this is what Christ told us to expect when we were doing His will. If they're going good, well . . . . God blesses His own! Does the world realize this is what they're fighting?
I was walking by a room that was having a prayer meeting in it and I saw a sign on the door that cited Isaiah 65:24 "Before they call I will answer, while they are still speaking I will hear" and it almost made me not want to pray. Why bother? Then I went back to my room and read the text and saw it was out of context and I breathed (prayed) easier.
There's a guy in my church who pulls you in for a hug whenever you shake hands with him. That's what prayer is like. You go in for a handshake and God pulls you into a bear hug.
I love the story of the prodigal son but it should not be my continuing life's testimony.
I also love how God uses my mistakes to grow me. But this also shouldn't be the continuing pattern of my life because each mistake hurts someone and it would be somewhat self-centered to leave a wake of hurting people behind in the name of personal growth.
The world is tough and God wants us to advance His kingdom in it. He must be tougher.
I pulled a mat off my cat Calvin yesterday and I realized that this is how sin is: it grows into your skin and is very uncomfortable but if you put up with it long enough it eventually becomes a part of you and you learn to live with it.
Speaking of Calvin, I was looking out the window and he was trying to "go to the bathroom" in the deep snow, when it caved in. I thought to myself, "Hmmm, this is going to be awkward." Then he climbed out and looked at me and we both had an uncomfortable moment of silence, so I looked away. (That's one mat I'm not pulling off.)
Friday, February 13, 2009
Tightly Wound
I’m trying to write a book. I'm not bragging about this – I think most of us have something deep inside of us that if we could ever flesh out would be meaningful. Mine is about the return in 538 BC to rebuild the Temple, and I've created characters who are coming back from Babylon, their lives being restored as the Temple is being restored. (I know: wake me up when it's over).
It’s taken a long time - five years - and I think I'm just about done. But here's the thing: because it's taken so long, I've had stretches where I haven't written anything, and then when I picked it back up it was extremely difficult to keep it consistent. The more I wrote over extended periods of time, the more contradictions started to take place - ones that had to be pointed out to me by my wife as she read it. Characters inexplicably changed character traits, they disappeared and reappeared in strange places. One of them even changed his name! This has been over about a five year period, so I guess this is to be expected.
Going through this process makes the Bible even more amazing to me. One of the things that I've noticed as I've continued to read through it from Genesis to Revelation (a discipline I highly encourage) is that there is an inherent consistency that strengthens the more you read it. Any other novel, the more you read it the more the threads start to break down a bit. Not the Bible - these threads actually gets stronger through each reading. One would expect that given enough readings it would eventually collapse under the weight of the numerous authors over thousands of years. I consider myself (somewhat) intelligent and edumacated, but I could barely keep consistency over five years.
The thread of the Temple. The thread of the Sabbath. Of God's redemptive plan. Of Christ. These strands grow stronger and stronger and more coherent and meaningful with each reading. The more you peel off layers the more intricate and consistent it becomes. I have a feeling that if given enough time I would get to an inner core that is perfect.
Think about this: What book has been more scrutinized by the finest minds of each generation, with the express purpose of pulling it apart and proving it false than the Bible? Yet here it stands after thousands of years, as true and pure as the moment each word was set down.
All I'm saying is this - from my experience, in writing on my own and in reading through God's Word - I am amazed beyond belief at this Book. There's something different about it.
Friday, February 6, 2009
Advancing Through Community
Luke 11: 2 "Father, hallowed be Your name, Your kingdom come. Give us each day our daily bread. Forgive us our sins, for we also forgive everyone who sins against us. And lead us not into temptation."
The more I read the Bible the more I realize that we are to be in "community" - that there is real power in the entire body of believers. From the "least" to the "greatest" - which of course is only defined through our eyes anyway! Isolation is a common train of thought for the one who is seeking God with everything they've got as they feel like they must leave the less-inclined behind them. Reluctantly, of course, wishing that some would desire to travel the path with them, but recognizing that in some sense, the deeper you go the fewer there are with you. For the true saint, they won't feel a Pharisaical arrogance about this, but a sense of loss and humility that God is drawing them deeper into Him.
We were built for community and in fellowship we do grow deeper, but that may mean humbly accepting people who you don't feel are totally "with" you or "get it" like you do. Can you imagine the frustration of Jesus? Every time He wants to talk spiritually His disciples take Him literally. Bread, water, being born-again, the Temple, eating His flesh and drinking His blood. He desires to be able to commune with them on a deep spiritual level but their minds are stuck in the physical world.
But He sticks with them, and even finds fellowship with them, because He knows the value of a body of believers, of community. So while He may cry out once in awhile, "O unbelieving and perverse generation, how long shall I stay with you? How long shall I put up with you? (Matt. 17:17)," He never gives up on the desire to gather us like sheep without a shepherd and form us into His community.
Therefore, the prayer that He gives us is a communal prayer. Everything is about the body: "Forgive us our sins." "Give us our bread." Lead us not into temptation." American Christianity tends toward isolation and individualism and therefore by self-advancement. What can this church bring to me? Worship must be done in a way that is pleasing to me. I will give if I can see something that will fall back into my lap, bringing me health or some sort of material advancement. If I can't see how it affects me personally, I won't get involved. And if my needs are not being met to my personal satisfaction, I will go to Church X down the street because ultimately it is about me and not any particular body of believers.
This is inherently immature and it defines American Christianity. As the true follower of Christ gets deeper into Him, he may find himself becoming a little disconnected from those who aren't coming in as deep with him, but he will gain a greater sense of the value of the rest of the body, and that if the entire body doesn't advance, the Kingdom really isn't advancing as powerfully as it should.
The more I read the Bible the more I realize that we are to be in "community" - that there is real power in the entire body of believers. From the "least" to the "greatest" - which of course is only defined through our eyes anyway! Isolation is a common train of thought for the one who is seeking God with everything they've got as they feel like they must leave the less-inclined behind them. Reluctantly, of course, wishing that some would desire to travel the path with them, but recognizing that in some sense, the deeper you go the fewer there are with you. For the true saint, they won't feel a Pharisaical arrogance about this, but a sense of loss and humility that God is drawing them deeper into Him.
We were built for community and in fellowship we do grow deeper, but that may mean humbly accepting people who you don't feel are totally "with" you or "get it" like you do. Can you imagine the frustration of Jesus? Every time He wants to talk spiritually His disciples take Him literally. Bread, water, being born-again, the Temple, eating His flesh and drinking His blood. He desires to be able to commune with them on a deep spiritual level but their minds are stuck in the physical world.
But He sticks with them, and even finds fellowship with them, because He knows the value of a body of believers, of community. So while He may cry out once in awhile, "O unbelieving and perverse generation, how long shall I stay with you? How long shall I put up with you? (Matt. 17:17)," He never gives up on the desire to gather us like sheep without a shepherd and form us into His community.
Therefore, the prayer that He gives us is a communal prayer. Everything is about the body: "Forgive us our sins." "Give us our bread." Lead us not into temptation." American Christianity tends toward isolation and individualism and therefore by self-advancement. What can this church bring to me? Worship must be done in a way that is pleasing to me. I will give if I can see something that will fall back into my lap, bringing me health or some sort of material advancement. If I can't see how it affects me personally, I won't get involved. And if my needs are not being met to my personal satisfaction, I will go to Church X down the street because ultimately it is about me and not any particular body of believers.
This is inherently immature and it defines American Christianity. As the true follower of Christ gets deeper into Him, he may find himself becoming a little disconnected from those who aren't coming in as deep with him, but he will gain a greater sense of the value of the rest of the body, and that if the entire body doesn't advance, the Kingdom really isn't advancing as powerfully as it should.
Tuesday, February 3, 2009
Breathing Easier or a Nagging Widow
I was walking by a room that was having a prayer meeting in it and I saw a sign on the door that cited Isaiah 65:24 "Before they call I will answer, while they are still speaking I will hear" and it almost did the opposite for me in what it intended - it almost made me not want to pray. Why bother?
Then I went back to my room and read the text and saw it was out of context - speaking of a future time when our communion with God will be perfect - and I breathed (prayed) easier.
I am wrestling mightily with the process and the point of prayer. I'm more and more convinced that God is drawing me into Himself, and that prayer does this. But then I read the story of the persistent widow and I question whether prayer is like a nagging old woman. Isn't that what He likens it to? I must confess, I really don't like that parable much - probably because I don't understand fully what He is saying. Or probably because I DO understand what He is saying and am not willing to submit to that level of persistence.
Then I went back to my room and read the text and saw it was out of context - speaking of a future time when our communion with God will be perfect - and I breathed (prayed) easier.
I am wrestling mightily with the process and the point of prayer. I'm more and more convinced that God is drawing me into Himself, and that prayer does this. But then I read the story of the persistent widow and I question whether prayer is like a nagging old woman. Isn't that what He likens it to? I must confess, I really don't like that parable much - probably because I don't understand fully what He is saying. Or probably because I DO understand what He is saying and am not willing to submit to that level of persistence.
Looking for an IN
There are so many "churched" kids that grow up looking for an "out." They look to find hypocrisy or falsehoods or contradictions so that they can get out at the first opening and do their thing with complete justification.
But when I was growing up, I was just the opposite. I wasn't looking for the lies, I was looking for the truth. I wasn't looking for the hypocrites, I was looking for Christian lives being lived out honestly. I was looking for an "in."
I could sense the ultimate truth that was in the Word and in Christianity from an early age, so I tried to sidestep the wrong and focus on the right.
Not all church kids are looking to get out. Some of them are asking the hard questions because they feel in the core of their being the truth, and they want all of it, in its purest form.
To be sure, many are just looking for an excuse to get out - and no one is forced through the Gate. But there are some who say, as Peter did, "To whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life. We believe and know that You are the Holy One of God." (Jn 6:68)
Once you truly grasp the reality of who Christ is, you will no longer look to man to give you a reason to leave.
But when I was growing up, I was just the opposite. I wasn't looking for the lies, I was looking for the truth. I wasn't looking for the hypocrites, I was looking for Christian lives being lived out honestly. I was looking for an "in."
I could sense the ultimate truth that was in the Word and in Christianity from an early age, so I tried to sidestep the wrong and focus on the right.
Not all church kids are looking to get out. Some of them are asking the hard questions because they feel in the core of their being the truth, and they want all of it, in its purest form.
To be sure, many are just looking for an excuse to get out - and no one is forced through the Gate. But there are some who say, as Peter did, "To whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life. We believe and know that You are the Holy One of God." (Jn 6:68)
Once you truly grasp the reality of who Christ is, you will no longer look to man to give you a reason to leave.
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