Life has been hectic, today I began my final overview reading of 1 Timothy. The commentaries have been read and put away, notes have been taken; now it is simply me, the Bible, and whatever God decides to show me after all of that.
Today I'm amazed by the simplicity of this. Paul begins his letter with the point, "But the goal of our instruction is love from a pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere faith." (1 Timothy 1.5). The goal is love, and it comes from a pure heart, from a heart that has been cleansed from sin. We show love in relationships with others and those relationships come with a good conscience, a life that has nothing to hide and is in good standing with people. Love, the source of love is God, and we receive love with a sincere faith. Through a relationship with God we know what love is and we are able to share love. Love is the point, and it's through relationships that we achieve the goal.
We had the law, but the law isn't the point. The law is there for those who are not in relationship with God. The law is for people who live in broken relationships with others, as the list of verses 9-10 shows. The law is there to show them what sin is, it is there to show them their need for God. When we enter into a relationship with Jesus we are set free from the law and empowered to live by love. In love relationships are healed and restored.
And then there is the best part, verse 12, "I thank Christ Jesus our Lord, who has strengthened me, because He considered me faithful, putting me into service". Christ is the one who has put me into His service. He has strengthened me to do it, and He considers me faithful for His work. It's all about Him, it's all dependant upon Him. I'm just a tool He decided to pick up and use for this part of the project, His weapon of choice for this phase of the battle. What is His work? Love and love in relationships.
This is so important that Paul says to Timothy, "fight the good fight , keeping the faith and a good conscience," He says fight for the relationships. First fight for the relationship you have with God. Get it, and don't ever let it go, because in that you have love. Fight for the relationships with others. Show love to them, even those who are unlovable. Fight for love, fight for relationships. That is the good fight. The work of Christ is to spread the Gospel, and we can only share it with those we know.
The goal is relationships, first with God then with others. In relationships there is love. Love is the message of the Gospel.
Peace be with you
Tuesday, August 2, 2011
Saturday, July 30, 2011
Scars
Thursday I got a phone call from one of the ladies at church. She was asking me about a situation that someone had been talking to her about. She had been asked why we remember the past events of our life even after we've prayed to God about them.
This has been something I've been working through recently. As humans we haven't been gifted with the ability to erase our memories of past failures and hurts. God can, and does, Hebrews 8.12, "For I will be merciful to their iniquities,and I will remember their sins no more.", and Hebrews 10.17, "And their sins and their lawless deeds I will remember no more.” God forgets our sins when He forgives us. He doesn't remember them and never holds them against us. If we have confessed to Him we need to accept His forgiveness, and we need to in turn forgive ourselves.
But why can't we forget? I don't think we should. If we forget the things of the past, how do we keep from doing them again? The issue isn't in the forgetting, but in the failure to receive forgiveness, in the failure to realize that God has forgiven us.
Think of it as a wound. Every time we sin it's as if we get a cut. We can try to cover it with a band aid as we try to just pretend it's not there, but it isn't until we go to God for some stitches that the wound is really to the point where it can heal.
I need to say this to avoid confusion and heresy, the moment we ask for forgiveness, God instantaneously gives it, in His mind it is taken care of and dealt with, He forgets about it. A doctor stitches up a wound and then moves on to the next patient. The issue comes when we keep staring at the stitches, we keep playing with them and the wound never heals, it never becomes a scar.
When a wound heals it leaves a scar, and we carry the scars for the rest of our lives. Some people think they are ugly, but honestly, scars are an incredibly beautiful thing. Scars are a sign of healing. It shows where a wound was, it's a reminder of that wound, but it is a wound no more. The wound used to hurt, but a scar doesn't. It serves as a reminder of pain, but the pain is gone.
The scar means the wound is healed, it means the pain is gone, but the scar is still there. Here's the point, scars come with a story. Find any seven year old boy and look at his arms and legs, I guarantee there are some scars. I can almost promise, that if you point to one and say, "How'd you get that?" you'll hear the story. Sometimes you don't even have to ask, you'll just get it. My eight year old cousin loves to tell me about his bike accidents. Scars have a story.
We remember the wound and the pain, that should make us wiser so we don't do that thing again, or we learn how to do it properly. This is why we don't forget for our benefit. But again, scars come with a story, and the story is what God uses to help others.
In church we're working through the Gospel of John, I've been reading about John the Baptist and am hoping to do some in depth study this week. But I said last week how God has a job for each of us, and that our lives are preparation for that job. There are no wasted experiences in life. Some of them are horrible, and God doesn't desire some of them to happen, but because we live in a fallen world they do. But none of them are wasted if God has stitched up the wound. Once it scars there is a story, we call it a testimony, and a testimony needs to be shared.
This is a side note, I think we put too much emphasis on the guy who God saved from drugs. It seems we all want that testimony. We all seem to wish we had been crack addicts who God rescued from that destructive lifestyle. God is incredible and He saves them all the time. Their stories tell of how great the grace and mercy of God are, but what about the person who never went through that? What about the person who gave their life to Jesus as a five year old, and faithfully served Him for seventy years? Why don't we say, "I wish that was my testimony!" That's the testimony God wants for all of us. He doesn't love you less if you were the crack addict, and His grace yearns to be given to you, God loves you.
Scars remind us of the wound, but they are a sign that it has been healed. Scars remind us of the pain, but they don't hurt anymore. Scars have a story, tell it. Don't be ashamed, and don't be afraid to show off your beautiful scars. The healing has occurred. Glorify God who brought the healing, and tell others that healing is possible. God will stitch it up and leave you the reminder. Don't forget, and don't hide it. Show it off, they are beautiful.
Peace be with you.
This has been something I've been working through recently. As humans we haven't been gifted with the ability to erase our memories of past failures and hurts. God can, and does, Hebrews 8.12, "For I will be merciful to their iniquities,and I will remember their sins no more.", and Hebrews 10.17, "And their sins and their lawless deeds I will remember no more.” God forgets our sins when He forgives us. He doesn't remember them and never holds them against us. If we have confessed to Him we need to accept His forgiveness, and we need to in turn forgive ourselves.
But why can't we forget? I don't think we should. If we forget the things of the past, how do we keep from doing them again? The issue isn't in the forgetting, but in the failure to receive forgiveness, in the failure to realize that God has forgiven us.
Think of it as a wound. Every time we sin it's as if we get a cut. We can try to cover it with a band aid as we try to just pretend it's not there, but it isn't until we go to God for some stitches that the wound is really to the point where it can heal.
I need to say this to avoid confusion and heresy, the moment we ask for forgiveness, God instantaneously gives it, in His mind it is taken care of and dealt with, He forgets about it. A doctor stitches up a wound and then moves on to the next patient. The issue comes when we keep staring at the stitches, we keep playing with them and the wound never heals, it never becomes a scar.
When a wound heals it leaves a scar, and we carry the scars for the rest of our lives. Some people think they are ugly, but honestly, scars are an incredibly beautiful thing. Scars are a sign of healing. It shows where a wound was, it's a reminder of that wound, but it is a wound no more. The wound used to hurt, but a scar doesn't. It serves as a reminder of pain, but the pain is gone.
The scar means the wound is healed, it means the pain is gone, but the scar is still there. Here's the point, scars come with a story. Find any seven year old boy and look at his arms and legs, I guarantee there are some scars. I can almost promise, that if you point to one and say, "How'd you get that?" you'll hear the story. Sometimes you don't even have to ask, you'll just get it. My eight year old cousin loves to tell me about his bike accidents. Scars have a story.
We remember the wound and the pain, that should make us wiser so we don't do that thing again, or we learn how to do it properly. This is why we don't forget for our benefit. But again, scars come with a story, and the story is what God uses to help others.
In church we're working through the Gospel of John, I've been reading about John the Baptist and am hoping to do some in depth study this week. But I said last week how God has a job for each of us, and that our lives are preparation for that job. There are no wasted experiences in life. Some of them are horrible, and God doesn't desire some of them to happen, but because we live in a fallen world they do. But none of them are wasted if God has stitched up the wound. Once it scars there is a story, we call it a testimony, and a testimony needs to be shared.
This is a side note, I think we put too much emphasis on the guy who God saved from drugs. It seems we all want that testimony. We all seem to wish we had been crack addicts who God rescued from that destructive lifestyle. God is incredible and He saves them all the time. Their stories tell of how great the grace and mercy of God are, but what about the person who never went through that? What about the person who gave their life to Jesus as a five year old, and faithfully served Him for seventy years? Why don't we say, "I wish that was my testimony!" That's the testimony God wants for all of us. He doesn't love you less if you were the crack addict, and His grace yearns to be given to you, God loves you.
Scars remind us of the wound, but they are a sign that it has been healed. Scars remind us of the pain, but they don't hurt anymore. Scars have a story, tell it. Don't be ashamed, and don't be afraid to show off your beautiful scars. The healing has occurred. Glorify God who brought the healing, and tell others that healing is possible. God will stitch it up and leave you the reminder. Don't forget, and don't hide it. Show it off, they are beautiful.
Peace be with you.
Thursday, July 28, 2011
Church
I heard a quote from Francis Chan a while ago where he said, "As I studied the Scriptures I realized that God doesn't want me to do this by myself, that's why He created church, the Church." Yesterday I met with my mentor for breakfast and as we talked I told him about how I was feeling alone.
He challenged me to get out of the office and out into the community. This has been something that I've been planning to do, I just haven't yet, not sure why. But he reminded me, "You can't save people you don't know. Matthew 9, 'Jesus was going through all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom, and healing every kind of disease and every kind of sickness.' He went where the people where." You know when a mentor is good because he can correct you without making you feel like you've failed.
Then we began to talk about prayer. He said that probably every believer prays individually, but the big thing missing is corporate prayer. He told me the different things he's been doing to make sure he's doing this.
We weren't created to do this alone. In the very beginning, when the world was perfect, God said, "It is not good for the man to be alone; I will make him a helper suitable for him." Back before the fall it was not good for us to exist in isolation, how much more crucial is it now for us to have community?
We must pray in community. My mentor said "Prayer most of the time isn't us impressing upon God, that is part of it, but a lot of it needs to be God impressing upon us. It needs to be us asking God to open our eyes to what He is already doing." When we as a church can ask God to show us what He is already doing, to open our eyes to how He is already working, then we can get on board with it. It might start with an individual. As the leader of a church, it must start with me, I have to be inviting God to work in me, to open my eyes to what He is doing before I can lead the people in that.
The people of the church must gather to pray. The early church believed that in prayer we had to be an army that would pray to God. Will we be that army? One man can do something, a group of men can do something more, a church can do more still, The Church could do something incredible. We simply need to ask God to open our eyes to what He is already doing, and then we need to get on board with Him.
Peace be with you
He challenged me to get out of the office and out into the community. This has been something that I've been planning to do, I just haven't yet, not sure why. But he reminded me, "You can't save people you don't know. Matthew 9, 'Jesus was going through all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom, and healing every kind of disease and every kind of sickness.' He went where the people where." You know when a mentor is good because he can correct you without making you feel like you've failed.
Then we began to talk about prayer. He said that probably every believer prays individually, but the big thing missing is corporate prayer. He told me the different things he's been doing to make sure he's doing this.
We weren't created to do this alone. In the very beginning, when the world was perfect, God said, "It is not good for the man to be alone; I will make him a helper suitable for him." Back before the fall it was not good for us to exist in isolation, how much more crucial is it now for us to have community?
We must pray in community. My mentor said "Prayer most of the time isn't us impressing upon God, that is part of it, but a lot of it needs to be God impressing upon us. It needs to be us asking God to open our eyes to what He is already doing." When we as a church can ask God to show us what He is already doing, to open our eyes to how He is already working, then we can get on board with it. It might start with an individual. As the leader of a church, it must start with me, I have to be inviting God to work in me, to open my eyes to what He is doing before I can lead the people in that.
The people of the church must gather to pray. The early church believed that in prayer we had to be an army that would pray to God. Will we be that army? One man can do something, a group of men can do something more, a church can do more still, The Church could do something incredible. We simply need to ask God to open our eyes to what He is already doing, and then we need to get on board with Him.
Peace be with you
Tuesday, July 26, 2011
Prayer
For a few weeks now I've been thinking about something I realized during a conversation with God. Sunday I shared that prayer is the most important part of our relationship with God. Prayer is how we communicate with God. Above everything else, Satan wants to keep us from prayer. I blogged a few weeks ago, Satan will fill your prayer time with Bible reading if that is what he has to do to keep you from praying, because it doesn't matter that we know a lot about God through reading His word. What matters is that we know God through conversing with Him.
I know prayer is crucial, and I know Satan will do whatever he can to keep me from prayer. And I know it is my job to pray. Acts 6.4, "But we will devote ourselves to prayer and to the ministry of the word." See the order, prayer is first, they will devote themselves to prayer before they focus on the Bible. I must be the same way.
I've been thinking about this so much since Sunday, and I know that I need to spend more time in prayer. I need to fight for that time. I remember back in college, when life was simple, how easy it was to pray. We would meet every Sunday night as a group. We had a prayer room set up on campus and we did sessions of 24 hour prayer. There was the Chapel on campus, an absolutely beautiful room where I could escape and be alone before God. It was so easy then.
For almost two years now I've been involved in professional ministry. And for those two years I've spent a lot of time on my own. In Michigan I spent a majority of time by myself. There weren't many people I felt safe enough around to share my heart with. Those I did know I could trust were involved in their own ministries and we had little time to pray together. Now, once again I'm alone a lot. I'm at the church by myself and then I go home to an empty house. It sounds like the perfect situation for someone longing for more prayer, but honestly I find it harder than ever, and now I need prayer more than ever.
I find the need to fill the silence more and more. It never used to be like that. I never needed noise in the background, I loved and longed for the silence. But I think having so much time alone leaves you needing to hear something besides your own voice and your thoughts. I've been longing for the prayer life I had back in college for over a year now, and I haven't been able to get it back.
I really had no idea that this post would go in this direction, I was simply planning on sharing the verse from Acts to help us all be aware that we must fight for our prayer time, and that we must not replace the best option with a good option. I am in no way saying to stop reading the Bible, it tells us about God and through studying it we learn about His heart and are able to pray better. What I am saying is that we must guard our communication with God as we would guard our communication with a spouse.
That was my intention, but instead I've shared part of my heart.
Peace be with you
I know prayer is crucial, and I know Satan will do whatever he can to keep me from prayer. And I know it is my job to pray. Acts 6.4, "But we will devote ourselves to prayer and to the ministry of the word." See the order, prayer is first, they will devote themselves to prayer before they focus on the Bible. I must be the same way.
I've been thinking about this so much since Sunday, and I know that I need to spend more time in prayer. I need to fight for that time. I remember back in college, when life was simple, how easy it was to pray. We would meet every Sunday night as a group. We had a prayer room set up on campus and we did sessions of 24 hour prayer. There was the Chapel on campus, an absolutely beautiful room where I could escape and be alone before God. It was so easy then.
For almost two years now I've been involved in professional ministry. And for those two years I've spent a lot of time on my own. In Michigan I spent a majority of time by myself. There weren't many people I felt safe enough around to share my heart with. Those I did know I could trust were involved in their own ministries and we had little time to pray together. Now, once again I'm alone a lot. I'm at the church by myself and then I go home to an empty house. It sounds like the perfect situation for someone longing for more prayer, but honestly I find it harder than ever, and now I need prayer more than ever.
I find the need to fill the silence more and more. It never used to be like that. I never needed noise in the background, I loved and longed for the silence. But I think having so much time alone leaves you needing to hear something besides your own voice and your thoughts. I've been longing for the prayer life I had back in college for over a year now, and I haven't been able to get it back.
I really had no idea that this post would go in this direction, I was simply planning on sharing the verse from Acts to help us all be aware that we must fight for our prayer time, and that we must not replace the best option with a good option. I am in no way saying to stop reading the Bible, it tells us about God and through studying it we learn about His heart and are able to pray better. What I am saying is that we must guard our communication with God as we would guard our communication with a spouse.
That was my intention, but instead I've shared part of my heart.
Peace be with you
Monday, July 25, 2011
Do we want it?
"A Christian society is not going to arrive until most of us really want it: and we are not going to want it until we become fully Christian. I may repeat 'Do as you would be done by' til I am black in the face, but I cannot really carry it out til I love my neighbour as myself: and I cannot learn to love my neighbor as myself til I learn to love God: and I cannot learn to love God except by learning to obey Him."
-C.S. Lewis, Mere Christianity, Book three Christian Behaviour, Chapter 3 Social Morality
I'm reading this book with one of my brothers, and I've been thinking about this chapter, particularly this quote, a lot since last week. He sent me a text message yesterday saying how awesome the chapter was. I actually ended up using the chapter, and again mainly this quote, for discussion last night at church. The chapter on Social Morality is absolutely incredible, and Lewis ends the chapter with this quote.
Until most of us want a Christian society is won't come. But we can't want it until we understand it. Lewis talks about how we all want bits of it, we're attracted to bits of it. The parts that are easy, that make us feel good, that don't require much, those are the parts we like.
"Most of us are not really approaching the subject in order to find out what Christianity says: we are approaching it in the hope of finding support from Christianity for the views of our own party. We are looking for an ally where we are offered either a Master or -a Judge."
Christianity is not my idea of how I relate to God, it is the relationship God offers with Him to me. It is on God's terms not on mine. In order to have a Christian society we, as a group of people, must understand what Christianity says. Once we know what it says we can learn to obey the one who offers us the relationship. As Lewis says once I learn to obey Him I can begin to love Him. Once I learn to love Him, and I can take the love I have for Him and from Him, and give that same love to others. Once I love others I will do to them as I would have them do to me.
Jesus said, "YOU SHALL LOVE THE LORD YOUR GOD WITH ALL YOUR HEART, AND WITH ALL YOUR SOUL, AND WITH ALL YOUR MIND.’ This is the great and foremost commandment. The second is like it, ‘YOU SHALL LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF.’ On these two commandments depend the whole Law and the Prophets.” (Matthew 22.37b-40)
That's really what it's all about. In a Christian society there would be no need for laws, because love would guide us. That is how God created it to be. The question is, do we want it? Are we willing to sacrifice and accept God's terms? Are we willing to find out what Christianity really says, and are we willing to follow it? Until we are, a Christian society will remain a dream.
Peace be with you
-C.S. Lewis, Mere Christianity, Book three Christian Behaviour, Chapter 3 Social Morality
I'm reading this book with one of my brothers, and I've been thinking about this chapter, particularly this quote, a lot since last week. He sent me a text message yesterday saying how awesome the chapter was. I actually ended up using the chapter, and again mainly this quote, for discussion last night at church. The chapter on Social Morality is absolutely incredible, and Lewis ends the chapter with this quote.
Until most of us want a Christian society is won't come. But we can't want it until we understand it. Lewis talks about how we all want bits of it, we're attracted to bits of it. The parts that are easy, that make us feel good, that don't require much, those are the parts we like.
"Most of us are not really approaching the subject in order to find out what Christianity says: we are approaching it in the hope of finding support from Christianity for the views of our own party. We are looking for an ally where we are offered either a Master or -a Judge."
Christianity is not my idea of how I relate to God, it is the relationship God offers with Him to me. It is on God's terms not on mine. In order to have a Christian society we, as a group of people, must understand what Christianity says. Once we know what it says we can learn to obey the one who offers us the relationship. As Lewis says once I learn to obey Him I can begin to love Him. Once I learn to love Him, and I can take the love I have for Him and from Him, and give that same love to others. Once I love others I will do to them as I would have them do to me.
Jesus said, "YOU SHALL LOVE THE LORD YOUR GOD WITH ALL YOUR HEART, AND WITH ALL YOUR SOUL, AND WITH ALL YOUR MIND.’ This is the great and foremost commandment. The second is like it, ‘YOU SHALL LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF.’ On these two commandments depend the whole Law and the Prophets.” (Matthew 22.37b-40)
That's really what it's all about. In a Christian society there would be no need for laws, because love would guide us. That is how God created it to be. The question is, do we want it? Are we willing to sacrifice and accept God's terms? Are we willing to find out what Christianity really says, and are we willing to follow it? Until we are, a Christian society will remain a dream.
Peace be with you
Wednesday, July 20, 2011
A Root of All Evil
Yesterday was day 51 in my 1 Timothy study. Due to how busy life has been my study has been limited to the days I'm in the office, so it's taking a little longer than I had initially thought. But yesterday the section was 1 Timothy 6.3-10. While I was reading William Hendriksen's thoughts I noticed something for the first time.
I've heard a quote many times, I've said it several times, and yesterday I found out that I've heard and said the wrong thing. The quote is actually a misquotation of 1 Timothy 6.10. "The love of money is the root of all evil." If you're using the King James Bible or the New Living Translation, that would be the correct quotation. But if we look at the New American Standard Bible, the New International Version, the English Standard Version, several other translations, and most importantly, the original text we see the correct translation, "For a root of all evils is the love of money" (directly from the Greek text). "For the love of money is a root of all sorts of evil," (NASB).
I have been wanting to blog about this verse for a while now, but every time God wouldn't give me peace about it, so I held off. I now see why, I hadn't noticed "a root" in the text. Honestly, I think it's because I was so used to hearing "the root" that my mind put a "the" in there instead of the "a". I don't know how many times I have read this passage, but I never caught it until I went to the commentary.
So what do we do with this? We now see that loving money is not the only source of evil, but simply one of them. However it is crucial to note that money in itself is not evil, the love of money is. C.S. Lewis talks about this in Mere Christianity.
"But in real life people are cruel for one of two reasons - either because they are sadists, that is because they have a sexual perversion which makes cruelty a cause of sensual pleasure to them, or else for the sake of something they are going to get out of it - money, or power, or safety. But pleasure, money, power, and safety are all, as far as they go, good things. The badness consists in pursuing them by the wrong method, or in the wrong way, or too much... I do mean that wickedness, when you examine it, turns out to be the pursuit of some good in the wrong way." (Book Two, What Christians Believe; Chapter 2, The Invasion
Money in itself is not evil, it is the love of money, the drive to have more, the yearning that is never satisfied, which is evil. We must learn to be content in what God has given us. We must learn generosity with what we have been given. By serving we stay humble, by giving we stay generous. Generosity will keep us from the love of money, which will keep us, in that aspect, away from evil.
In the words of John Wesley, "Make all you can, save all you can, give all you can."
Peace be with you
I've heard a quote many times, I've said it several times, and yesterday I found out that I've heard and said the wrong thing. The quote is actually a misquotation of 1 Timothy 6.10. "The love of money is the root of all evil." If you're using the King James Bible or the New Living Translation, that would be the correct quotation. But if we look at the New American Standard Bible, the New International Version, the English Standard Version, several other translations, and most importantly, the original text we see the correct translation, "For a root of all evils is the love of money" (directly from the Greek text). "For the love of money is a root of all sorts of evil," (NASB).
I have been wanting to blog about this verse for a while now, but every time God wouldn't give me peace about it, so I held off. I now see why, I hadn't noticed "a root" in the text. Honestly, I think it's because I was so used to hearing "the root" that my mind put a "the" in there instead of the "a". I don't know how many times I have read this passage, but I never caught it until I went to the commentary.
So what do we do with this? We now see that loving money is not the only source of evil, but simply one of them. However it is crucial to note that money in itself is not evil, the love of money is. C.S. Lewis talks about this in Mere Christianity.
"But in real life people are cruel for one of two reasons - either because they are sadists, that is because they have a sexual perversion which makes cruelty a cause of sensual pleasure to them, or else for the sake of something they are going to get out of it - money, or power, or safety. But pleasure, money, power, and safety are all, as far as they go, good things. The badness consists in pursuing them by the wrong method, or in the wrong way, or too much... I do mean that wickedness, when you examine it, turns out to be the pursuit of some good in the wrong way." (Book Two, What Christians Believe; Chapter 2, The Invasion
Money in itself is not evil, it is the love of money, the drive to have more, the yearning that is never satisfied, which is evil. We must learn to be content in what God has given us. We must learn generosity with what we have been given. By serving we stay humble, by giving we stay generous. Generosity will keep us from the love of money, which will keep us, in that aspect, away from evil.
In the words of John Wesley, "Make all you can, save all you can, give all you can."
Peace be with you
Tuesday, July 19, 2011
Don't Debate, Discuss
In his book, Mere Christianity, author C.S. Lewis says, "If you are a Christian you do not have to believe that all the other religions are simply wrong all through... If you are a Christian, you are free to think that all those religions, even the queerest ones, contain at least some hint of the truth... when I became a Christian I was able to take a more liberal view. But, of course, being a Christian does mean thinking that where Christianity differs from other religions, Christianity is right and they are wrong."
Liberal here does not have anything to do with a political stand point, but simply means being open minded. Christianity frees us to be open minded. One of my professors said once, "If you are firm in your faith, don't be afraid to read the Book of Mormon, don't be afraid to read the Koran." He's right. I know the truth, I am rooted in the truth that I have found in Christianity. Because of this, that which is not truth will not shake me.
I am able to take a more open minded view, not looking for how the differences in belief between Christianity and Islam, or Buddhism, or Hinduism are ok and all have the same end result, but I can look at each religion and see the elements of truth in each one. I have not yet read the Koran, and I have been meaning to begin my study of the religions of the world. All of it is academic. I am not searching for proof that my belief is correct, I am not exploring to see if these other religions are the Truth, but I am searching for the elements of truth, showing that really everything comes back to Jehovah. All truth is God's truth, and so any truth anywhere points back to God.
1 Timothy 1.5, "But the goal of our instruction is love from a pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere faith."
As a Christ follower, my motivation is love, 1 Corinthians 16.14, "Let all that you do be done in love." The goal is love. Jesus said, “Love God, love your neighbor.” The whole purpose of Christianity is to produce love. Love will always save us. It saves us from destructive thinking and speaking. It saves us from arrogant and condescending thoughts. It saves us from condemning things we don’t agree with or understand. It saves us from expressing our views in a way that hurts others. We are motivated by love, not legalism.
1 Peter 3.15, "but sanctify Christ as Lord in your hearts, always being ready to make a defense to everyone who asks you to give an account for the hope that is in you, yet with gentleness and reverence;" I must know what I believe and why I believe it. When I am asked, I must be ready to share it. But I am to do it with gentleness and reverence. I am to give my reasons for my faith in love.
The goal is a pure heart. The word pure means without any contaminating impurity. My motives are pure and unmixed. There is no need to prove myself; the only desire is to lead others nearer to God by sharing the truth in love. This is why I hate debating; this is why I refuse to debate. In a debate it’s two people trying to prove their intelligence to win an argument. I won’t do that. I’ll discuss a topic with people, discussion is a good thing, debating isn’t. Through calm rational discussion we can show the truth of God.
A good conscience comes from living a life without shame. It gives us the right to say what we say, because it is backed up by a life that lives out what its saying.
Sincere faith is faith with no hypocrisy. We simply desire to know truth and to share it. This is the simple life that Christ has freed us to have. It isn’t a life worried about keeping the rules, because it isn’t under the law. It’s freed from the law; it’s freed from worry and anxiety, and is able to focus fully on living for God.
Debating does nothing, it accomplishes nothing, and therefore it is a dangerous tool. In a debate people are close minded, they have fixed themselves to a belief, and they refuse to even listen to anything contrary, except to be able to refute it with an argument supporting their thought process. Nothing is accomplished through this type of stubbornness except building walls and creating chasms. Instead of debating, let's discuss.
As Christians let us know what we believe, let us know why, let us make our faith our own. Let's be motivated by love. May our hearts be pure and our motives unmixed. May our lives be lived above reproach, may we show what true Christians are, and may we not be the group that Gandhi mentions in his quote, "I like your Christ, I do not like your Christians. They are so unlike your Christ." Let us have a sincere faith that simply desires truth. A faith that seeks the goal of Christlikenss in our own lives and strives to fulfill the purpose of helping others become Christlike.
Let's be willing to discuss, to listen. We cannot and will not compromise on our beliefs, but that doesn't mean we cannot talk with people whose beliefs are different. We must earn the right to talk, we must earn the right to share. Look again at the verse from 1 Peter, "but sanctify Christ as Lord in your hearts, always being ready to make a defense to everyone who asks you to give an account for the hope that is in you, yet with gentleness and reverence;" When we are asked, earn the right to talk. We must live lives of love and when people ask, "Where does this come from? Why are you different?" we have done what Jesus has told us to do. We have earned the right to talk by living like Christ.
When the time comes to share, don't do it in a way that says you're right and everyone else is wrong, that completely goes against and destroys everything you've built up to this point. Share the truth in love, do it with gentleness, meeting them where they are, that's how Lewis wrote Mere Christianity. Do it with respect.
My mentor has told me countless times, "No one ever become a follower of Christ because they lost an argument. People become followers of Christ because they are shown love." That is the goal of our instruction, love.
Peace be with you
Liberal here does not have anything to do with a political stand point, but simply means being open minded. Christianity frees us to be open minded. One of my professors said once, "If you are firm in your faith, don't be afraid to read the Book of Mormon, don't be afraid to read the Koran." He's right. I know the truth, I am rooted in the truth that I have found in Christianity. Because of this, that which is not truth will not shake me.
I am able to take a more open minded view, not looking for how the differences in belief between Christianity and Islam, or Buddhism, or Hinduism are ok and all have the same end result, but I can look at each religion and see the elements of truth in each one. I have not yet read the Koran, and I have been meaning to begin my study of the religions of the world. All of it is academic. I am not searching for proof that my belief is correct, I am not exploring to see if these other religions are the Truth, but I am searching for the elements of truth, showing that really everything comes back to Jehovah. All truth is God's truth, and so any truth anywhere points back to God.
1 Timothy 1.5, "But the goal of our instruction is love from a pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere faith."
As a Christ follower, my motivation is love, 1 Corinthians 16.14, "Let all that you do be done in love." The goal is love. Jesus said, “Love God, love your neighbor.” The whole purpose of Christianity is to produce love. Love will always save us. It saves us from destructive thinking and speaking. It saves us from arrogant and condescending thoughts. It saves us from condemning things we don’t agree with or understand. It saves us from expressing our views in a way that hurts others. We are motivated by love, not legalism.
1 Peter 3.15, "but sanctify Christ as Lord in your hearts, always being ready to make a defense to everyone who asks you to give an account for the hope that is in you, yet with gentleness and reverence;" I must know what I believe and why I believe it. When I am asked, I must be ready to share it. But I am to do it with gentleness and reverence. I am to give my reasons for my faith in love.
The goal is a pure heart. The word pure means without any contaminating impurity. My motives are pure and unmixed. There is no need to prove myself; the only desire is to lead others nearer to God by sharing the truth in love. This is why I hate debating; this is why I refuse to debate. In a debate it’s two people trying to prove their intelligence to win an argument. I won’t do that. I’ll discuss a topic with people, discussion is a good thing, debating isn’t. Through calm rational discussion we can show the truth of God.
A good conscience comes from living a life without shame. It gives us the right to say what we say, because it is backed up by a life that lives out what its saying.
Sincere faith is faith with no hypocrisy. We simply desire to know truth and to share it. This is the simple life that Christ has freed us to have. It isn’t a life worried about keeping the rules, because it isn’t under the law. It’s freed from the law; it’s freed from worry and anxiety, and is able to focus fully on living for God.
Debating does nothing, it accomplishes nothing, and therefore it is a dangerous tool. In a debate people are close minded, they have fixed themselves to a belief, and they refuse to even listen to anything contrary, except to be able to refute it with an argument supporting their thought process. Nothing is accomplished through this type of stubbornness except building walls and creating chasms. Instead of debating, let's discuss.
As Christians let us know what we believe, let us know why, let us make our faith our own. Let's be motivated by love. May our hearts be pure and our motives unmixed. May our lives be lived above reproach, may we show what true Christians are, and may we not be the group that Gandhi mentions in his quote, "I like your Christ, I do not like your Christians. They are so unlike your Christ." Let us have a sincere faith that simply desires truth. A faith that seeks the goal of Christlikenss in our own lives and strives to fulfill the purpose of helping others become Christlike.
Let's be willing to discuss, to listen. We cannot and will not compromise on our beliefs, but that doesn't mean we cannot talk with people whose beliefs are different. We must earn the right to talk, we must earn the right to share. Look again at the verse from 1 Peter, "but sanctify Christ as Lord in your hearts, always being ready to make a defense to everyone who asks you to give an account for the hope that is in you, yet with gentleness and reverence;" When we are asked, earn the right to talk. We must live lives of love and when people ask, "Where does this come from? Why are you different?" we have done what Jesus has told us to do. We have earned the right to talk by living like Christ.
When the time comes to share, don't do it in a way that says you're right and everyone else is wrong, that completely goes against and destroys everything you've built up to this point. Share the truth in love, do it with gentleness, meeting them where they are, that's how Lewis wrote Mere Christianity. Do it with respect.
My mentor has told me countless times, "No one ever become a follower of Christ because they lost an argument. People become followers of Christ because they are shown love." That is the goal of our instruction, love.
Peace be with you
Monday, July 18, 2011
Freedom in Christ
Yesterday we finished up an eleven week series on the Fruit of the Spirit. I recapped that this is fruit, it takes time for it to grow and mature in our lives. It takes time and effort. This fruit is of the Spirit, so God is the one who produces it. These are dependant upon God. And finally, the text says "fruit is" not "fruits are" so this is an indivisible list, not a pick and choose.
These all build on each other like the floors of a house. You can't have the higher ones without the lower ones. You need the foundation of God before you can even begin construction. The Fruit of the Spirit is for believers, it's for those who have died to sin and self. Fruit can only grow in ground that has been cleared and plowed. For this fruit to be produced we can't have the weeds of sin in the garden of our hearts.
Once we remove sin there is a void that must be filled, because Jesus said, "“When the unclean spirit goes out of a man, it passes through waterless places seeking rest, and not finding any, it says, ‘I will return to my house from which I came.’ And when it comes, it finds it swept and put in order. Then it goes and takes along seven other spirits more evil than itself, and they go in and live there; and the last state of that man becomes worse than the first.” (Luke 11.24-26).
We fill that space with Christ, and then this fruit is produced. This fruit brings freedom. Galatians 5.1, "It was for freedom that Christ set us free; therefore keep standing firm and do not be subject again to a yoke of slavery." Christ has set us free to for freedom, and that is why Paul ends verse 23 with, "against such things there is no law."
The law is not the point. For the Jews it was, but for Christians it isn't. The law gives no freedom, the law rules our lives. The religious leaders of the Bible were so legalistic that in order to protect the people from breaking the law they made over 300 additional rules so that if was practically impossible to touch any of the Ten Commandments. But there is no life in legalism. Christ didn't die so that we could follow the rules, He died so that we could live with Love.
Love frees us. And in love we are able to have true live and true freedom. Jesus said to love God and love others, and on these two hangs every other law. It's true. If I love God I won't take His name in vane, I won't worship an idol, I will place nothing above Him, and I will keep His day holy. If I love people I won't steal, murder, lie, covet, violate a marriage, and I will honor my parents. Love is what we live by, not the law. And that is freedom in Christ.
The law is good, because the law is from God. We need the law. Paul says in Romans 7 that if we didn't have the law we wouldn't know what sin is. If we didn't have the law we wouldn't know that certain things were wrong. But the law cannot save us, all it can do is condemn. It simply shows us how sinful we are, it shows us how far we fall short. The law, the Ten Commandments are not the goal we strive for, they are the foundation we begin with.
"Not that I have already obtained it or have already become perfect, but I press on so that I may lay hold of that for which also I was laid hold of by Christ Jesus. Brethren, I do not regard myself as having laid hold of it yet; but one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and reaching forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus." Philippians 3.12-14, he isn't striving to keep the rules, but for Christlikness. That is the goal, to become like Christ. Our purpose is to help others become like Christ. The Fruit of the Spirit frees us and empowers us to strive for that.
Love, Joy, Peace, Patience, Kindness, Goodness, Faithfulness, Gentleness, Self-Control, these nine characteristics are to mark the life of the Christ follower. These nine gifts come from God, and these nine attributes help us to become like Christ.
Peace be with you
These all build on each other like the floors of a house. You can't have the higher ones without the lower ones. You need the foundation of God before you can even begin construction. The Fruit of the Spirit is for believers, it's for those who have died to sin and self. Fruit can only grow in ground that has been cleared and plowed. For this fruit to be produced we can't have the weeds of sin in the garden of our hearts.
Once we remove sin there is a void that must be filled, because Jesus said, "“When the unclean spirit goes out of a man, it passes through waterless places seeking rest, and not finding any, it says, ‘I will return to my house from which I came.’ And when it comes, it finds it swept and put in order. Then it goes and takes along seven other spirits more evil than itself, and they go in and live there; and the last state of that man becomes worse than the first.” (Luke 11.24-26).
We fill that space with Christ, and then this fruit is produced. This fruit brings freedom. Galatians 5.1, "It was for freedom that Christ set us free; therefore keep standing firm and do not be subject again to a yoke of slavery." Christ has set us free to for freedom, and that is why Paul ends verse 23 with, "against such things there is no law."
The law is not the point. For the Jews it was, but for Christians it isn't. The law gives no freedom, the law rules our lives. The religious leaders of the Bible were so legalistic that in order to protect the people from breaking the law they made over 300 additional rules so that if was practically impossible to touch any of the Ten Commandments. But there is no life in legalism. Christ didn't die so that we could follow the rules, He died so that we could live with Love.
Love frees us. And in love we are able to have true live and true freedom. Jesus said to love God and love others, and on these two hangs every other law. It's true. If I love God I won't take His name in vane, I won't worship an idol, I will place nothing above Him, and I will keep His day holy. If I love people I won't steal, murder, lie, covet, violate a marriage, and I will honor my parents. Love is what we live by, not the law. And that is freedom in Christ.
The law is good, because the law is from God. We need the law. Paul says in Romans 7 that if we didn't have the law we wouldn't know what sin is. If we didn't have the law we wouldn't know that certain things were wrong. But the law cannot save us, all it can do is condemn. It simply shows us how sinful we are, it shows us how far we fall short. The law, the Ten Commandments are not the goal we strive for, they are the foundation we begin with.
"Not that I have already obtained it or have already become perfect, but I press on so that I may lay hold of that for which also I was laid hold of by Christ Jesus. Brethren, I do not regard myself as having laid hold of it yet; but one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and reaching forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus." Philippians 3.12-14, he isn't striving to keep the rules, but for Christlikness. That is the goal, to become like Christ. Our purpose is to help others become like Christ. The Fruit of the Spirit frees us and empowers us to strive for that.
Love, Joy, Peace, Patience, Kindness, Goodness, Faithfulness, Gentleness, Self-Control, these nine characteristics are to mark the life of the Christ follower. These nine gifts come from God, and these nine attributes help us to become like Christ.
Peace be with you
Sunday, July 17, 2011
Real Needs
Janette and I were at a movie with some friends Friday and before the previews started there was an add from Sprint. They have a new program set up where you can text to a certain number to lower the cost of movie tickets.
Now I agree, the cost of a movie today is ridiculous. Normally Janette and I go to the first showing so it's only $5, or we'll wait and go to the dollar theater. Lower movie ticket prices should happen, but honestly do we need a texting program set up to make it happen? This shows yet again how our society is dependant upon entertainment.
Instead of sending a text to lower the price of movie tickets, why doesn't someone set up a texting program to help end world hunger? Why doesn't someone set up a texting program to end poverty? I heard a statistic a few years ago that said if every person who professes to be a Christian would tithe ten percent, we could end poverty.
America, we need to get our priorities in order. Church, we need to get our priorities in order. Why will we repeatedly spend $10 or more, now that there are 3D showings that cost way too much, to see a movie, but we won't give a dollar to help out the various charitable promotions stores do and ask you to support when you check out?
Church, why won't we give God the small amount that He asks for? It's all His and He could demand it all, but He says "All I want is 10%, you can use the rest." Do we simply not trust Him enough to handle our finances? This is God who parted the Red Sea, who saved people from the Lions den and the fiery furnace, the God who raised the dead, the God who spoke everything into existence. Why don't we trust Him with our finances?
There are real needs in the world, needs much greater than a cheaper movie ticket. When are we going to focus on the real needs and start meeting them?
Peace be with you
Now I agree, the cost of a movie today is ridiculous. Normally Janette and I go to the first showing so it's only $5, or we'll wait and go to the dollar theater. Lower movie ticket prices should happen, but honestly do we need a texting program set up to make it happen? This shows yet again how our society is dependant upon entertainment.
Instead of sending a text to lower the price of movie tickets, why doesn't someone set up a texting program to help end world hunger? Why doesn't someone set up a texting program to end poverty? I heard a statistic a few years ago that said if every person who professes to be a Christian would tithe ten percent, we could end poverty.
America, we need to get our priorities in order. Church, we need to get our priorities in order. Why will we repeatedly spend $10 or more, now that there are 3D showings that cost way too much, to see a movie, but we won't give a dollar to help out the various charitable promotions stores do and ask you to support when you check out?
Church, why won't we give God the small amount that He asks for? It's all His and He could demand it all, but He says "All I want is 10%, you can use the rest." Do we simply not trust Him enough to handle our finances? This is God who parted the Red Sea, who saved people from the Lions den and the fiery furnace, the God who raised the dead, the God who spoke everything into existence. Why don't we trust Him with our finances?
There are real needs in the world, needs much greater than a cheaper movie ticket. When are we going to focus on the real needs and start meeting them?
Peace be with you
Wednesday, July 13, 2011
Created to be Creative
Today I feel like talking about the Universe, it is something that constantly fascinates me. I have a very limited understanding of it. Basically I know it's really big, so big in fact, that we don't even know how big. Scientists believe there are hundreds of billions of galaxies out there. Our own galaxy, the Milky Way has an estimated 100 billion to 400 billion stars, depending on your source. And God spoke it all into existence.
There are so many wonders out there that we haven't even discovered yet. There are some we may never see. But God made them all. Part of me wonders if the reason we still find new things is because God is still creating new things. God is a creative God. Look at the stuff we have right here on Earth. Then look up.
The unique thing about Earth is that we are in the perfect position in our Galaxy to observe everything else. The Milky Way is a spiral galaxy, and our solar system is located near the edge of one of the spiral arms and above the equatorial plane of the galaxy. The one planet we know of that contains intelligent life is ideally placed to view the rest of the galaxy, what are the chances that this happened randomly?
The God who made all of this made us in His image. He is creative, and He made us to be creative. He created us with the ability to create telescopes to observe the universe from our unique position in the galaxy. He made us with the ability to create satellites and space ships to to venture into the final frontier and discover the vastness of space.
If Heaven has free time and we are allowed and enabled to do whatever we want I would opt to travel across the universe and see the wonders that are out there. To see everything that my Creator has created. My second choice we be to travel through time. I'd see the world before the fall of man, see it in it's infant perfection. I'd go to each civilization during the peak of their cultures. See ancient Egypt in it's prime. Spend time in ancient Greece when it was all new. Explore Israel throughout the Bible times. Visit the Roman Empire. I'd want to see all of it.
I'm drawn to that because I'm drawn to the creativity of the image of God. I've shared this before, "The glory of God is man fully alive." When are we more alive then when we are creating something? God made us to be creative. Let's never stop.
Peace be with you
There are so many wonders out there that we haven't even discovered yet. There are some we may never see. But God made them all. Part of me wonders if the reason we still find new things is because God is still creating new things. God is a creative God. Look at the stuff we have right here on Earth. Then look up.
The unique thing about Earth is that we are in the perfect position in our Galaxy to observe everything else. The Milky Way is a spiral galaxy, and our solar system is located near the edge of one of the spiral arms and above the equatorial plane of the galaxy. The one planet we know of that contains intelligent life is ideally placed to view the rest of the galaxy, what are the chances that this happened randomly?
The God who made all of this made us in His image. He is creative, and He made us to be creative. He created us with the ability to create telescopes to observe the universe from our unique position in the galaxy. He made us with the ability to create satellites and space ships to to venture into the final frontier and discover the vastness of space.
If Heaven has free time and we are allowed and enabled to do whatever we want I would opt to travel across the universe and see the wonders that are out there. To see everything that my Creator has created. My second choice we be to travel through time. I'd see the world before the fall of man, see it in it's infant perfection. I'd go to each civilization during the peak of their cultures. See ancient Egypt in it's prime. Spend time in ancient Greece when it was all new. Explore Israel throughout the Bible times. Visit the Roman Empire. I'd want to see all of it.
I'm drawn to that because I'm drawn to the creativity of the image of God. I've shared this before, "The glory of God is man fully alive." When are we more alive then when we are creating something? God made us to be creative. Let's never stop.
Peace be with you
Tuesday, July 12, 2011
The Enemy
Last night I was finishing Return of the Jedi. Normally I'll put in a movie, and finish it three or four days later because I end up falling asleep. So last night I was watching the final battle between Luke Skywalker and Darth Vader.
Luke defeats his enemy after their second fierce battle. After being attacked by the Emperor and then saved by Vader, who is Luke's father, Vader is mortally wounded. They are on a large space station that is about to be destroyed and so Luke now grabs his dying father and drags him to a space ship to get them off of the station.
As they prepare to board the ship Vader asks Luke to remove his mask. When the intimidating face of Darth Vader is removed we see a very pale, bald man, with scars on his head. There is nothing intimidating about him at all.
We have a real enemy, just like Darth Vader. The devil is real. The Bible says in 1 Peter 5.8, "Be of sober spirit, be on the alert. Your adversary, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour." He prowls around like a roaring lion seeking someone to devour. He is real, and he is dangerous. C.S. Lewis said, "The mistake Christan's make in talking about Satan are that we either joke about him or we ignore him." We can't afford to do that. Luke couldn't ignore Darth Vader or joke about him not taking him seriously, if he had, he would have been killed. The same is true of us.
We have a real enemy who would like nothing more than to devour us because we are servants of his number one enemy, God. We cannot ignore him and pretend he doesn't exist, if we drop our guard even for a moment, we will be taken out. We are told to be alert, to be ready for battle. If we stand firm in battle, we will be victorious.
Twice the Bible tells us to resist Satan. Here in 1 Peter is says to resist him and that, "After you have suffered for a little while, the God of all grace, who called you to His eternal glory in Christ, will Himself perfect, confirm, strengthen and establish you." (1 Peter 5.10) In James 4.7 it says, "Submit therefore to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you."
It is not our resistance that makes us victorious, but our submission to the power of God. 1 Peter 5.6-7 says, "Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you at the proper time, casting all your anxiety on Him, because He cares for you." It is not us or our abilities that Satan fears, but God's. God has already defeated Satan.
Because of the cross of the Savior and the empty tomb of the risen Lord, the mask of Darth Vader has been removed from Satan to revel a pale old man. Jesus has won the battle; Jesus has defeated Satan. When we submit to His power and stand firm in His victory, Satan must flee from us, because Satan cannot stand before the power of Christ.
Be on the alert, stand ready for battle, we do this by submitting to God and surrendering to His victorious power. Satan cannot stand before the warrior of God and must flee. Be that warrior.
Peace be with you
Luke defeats his enemy after their second fierce battle. After being attacked by the Emperor and then saved by Vader, who is Luke's father, Vader is mortally wounded. They are on a large space station that is about to be destroyed and so Luke now grabs his dying father and drags him to a space ship to get them off of the station.
As they prepare to board the ship Vader asks Luke to remove his mask. When the intimidating face of Darth Vader is removed we see a very pale, bald man, with scars on his head. There is nothing intimidating about him at all.
We have a real enemy, just like Darth Vader. The devil is real. The Bible says in 1 Peter 5.8, "Be of sober spirit, be on the alert. Your adversary, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour." He prowls around like a roaring lion seeking someone to devour. He is real, and he is dangerous. C.S. Lewis said, "The mistake Christan's make in talking about Satan are that we either joke about him or we ignore him." We can't afford to do that. Luke couldn't ignore Darth Vader or joke about him not taking him seriously, if he had, he would have been killed. The same is true of us.
We have a real enemy who would like nothing more than to devour us because we are servants of his number one enemy, God. We cannot ignore him and pretend he doesn't exist, if we drop our guard even for a moment, we will be taken out. We are told to be alert, to be ready for battle. If we stand firm in battle, we will be victorious.
Twice the Bible tells us to resist Satan. Here in 1 Peter is says to resist him and that, "After you have suffered for a little while, the God of all grace, who called you to His eternal glory in Christ, will Himself perfect, confirm, strengthen and establish you." (1 Peter 5.10) In James 4.7 it says, "Submit therefore to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you."
It is not our resistance that makes us victorious, but our submission to the power of God. 1 Peter 5.6-7 says, "Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you at the proper time, casting all your anxiety on Him, because He cares for you." It is not us or our abilities that Satan fears, but God's. God has already defeated Satan.
Because of the cross of the Savior and the empty tomb of the risen Lord, the mask of Darth Vader has been removed from Satan to revel a pale old man. Jesus has won the battle; Jesus has defeated Satan. When we submit to His power and stand firm in His victory, Satan must flee from us, because Satan cannot stand before the power of Christ.
Be on the alert, stand ready for battle, we do this by submitting to God and surrendering to His victorious power. Satan cannot stand before the warrior of God and must flee. Be that warrior.
Peace be with you
Monday, July 11, 2011
Spirit-Control
Yesterday I preached sermon 10 of 11 in our Fruit of the Spirit series. We talked about Self-Control. As I've preached these messages I've begun the sermon writing process with the blogs I wrote last year, and the notes I have from the teen lessons from last spring/summer, and my original notes from a year and a half ago.
As I've been doing this series I came to a deeper understanding about the Fruit of the Spirit, but my thinking wasn't really that radically transformed until this past week. I started on self-control thinking I knew what it was about, then God showed up.
I said in the sermon,"This seems to be the one people struggle with the most. This seems to be the one that people have the most trouble with." When I first studied this topic with a group, the adults of the church wanted to know about self-control. From my initial study I found the word, egkrateia, to be simple and straightforward. But then I read something that I had read before, it just hadn't started to sink in yet.
"the various powers bestowed by God upon man are capable of abuse; the right use demands the controlling power of the Spirit of God;"
Galatians 5.22-23, "But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law."
I think the reason people struggle with this one so much is because we put too much emphasis on the "Self" listed here, and not enough on the "of the Spirit" at the beginning. This is the Fruit of the Spirit. It's fruit so it takes time to grow, but the Spirit is the one producing it. These nine characteristics are all Fruit of the Spirit, so we can substitute any one of them for the word fruit at the beginning. It would be, "Love of the Spirit" "Joy of the Spirit" so therefore it would be "Self-Control of the Spirit".
These characteristics are dependant upon God. So really, it isn't self-control, but Spirit control of the self. The Spirit empowers us to be self-controlled, and to use the gifts God has given us properly, it is dependant upon Him. Spirit-Control.
Peace be with you
As I've been doing this series I came to a deeper understanding about the Fruit of the Spirit, but my thinking wasn't really that radically transformed until this past week. I started on self-control thinking I knew what it was about, then God showed up.
I said in the sermon,"This seems to be the one people struggle with the most. This seems to be the one that people have the most trouble with." When I first studied this topic with a group, the adults of the church wanted to know about self-control. From my initial study I found the word, egkrateia, to be simple and straightforward. But then I read something that I had read before, it just hadn't started to sink in yet.
"the various powers bestowed by God upon man are capable of abuse; the right use demands the controlling power of the Spirit of God;"
Galatians 5.22-23, "But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law."
I think the reason people struggle with this one so much is because we put too much emphasis on the "Self" listed here, and not enough on the "of the Spirit" at the beginning. This is the Fruit of the Spirit. It's fruit so it takes time to grow, but the Spirit is the one producing it. These nine characteristics are all Fruit of the Spirit, so we can substitute any one of them for the word fruit at the beginning. It would be, "Love of the Spirit" "Joy of the Spirit" so therefore it would be "Self-Control of the Spirit".
These characteristics are dependant upon God. So really, it isn't self-control, but Spirit control of the self. The Spirit empowers us to be self-controlled, and to use the gifts God has given us properly, it is dependant upon Him. Spirit-Control.
Peace be with you
Thursday, July 7, 2011
Brokenness
Over the last few months I've been more exposed to the brokenness of this world more then ever, and there is still so much of it I haven't seen. People share stories about their pasts, and it's incredible to see where God has delivered them from, but the part that is the worst, is that God had to deliver them.
How did this happen? "In the beginning God created the heaven's and the earth." Genesis 1.1. "God saw all that He had made, and behold, it was very good." Genesis 1.31. God, who is morally excellent and perfect, makes a world that is also morally excellent and perfect. From someone Good, comes something Good.
Genesis 3, we have the fall of man. Eve is deceived, Adam fails to protect her, and the world is cursed. Sin enters due to pride, and do to a failure to live out our God given roles.
Genesis 6-10, we have the flood and the descendants of Noah. Every wicked person is destroyed, and we are left with Noah, a man who is righteous, and his sons. From them come all the people of the world. Noah followed God, Noah would have passed God on to his sons. Who rejected Him? When? Why?
And now it's 2011, and the world is full of brokenness. In it we see how ugly sin is. Look at what it has done. Sin takes something so good, something made by God and given to us by God, and perverts it. Look at sex. God gave this incredible gift to husbands and wives. It is a seal of the covenant of marriage, it is that one thing that they share in their relationship. It gives enjoyment and life. Yet look at what it has become.
Women are told that unless they look and act a certain way they are not desirable. Women are used for the pleasure of a man who has no concern for the consequences she might face because of his selfishness.
Men are sucked into pornography. Sin has taken something as beautiful as a woman and made her an object of lust. Men get sucked into it because it's "safe". There is no fear of rejection with porn. It will never tell you "no". It will never say "stop". It will never tell you to slow down. There is no risk with it as there is in a relationship. Porn is easy, as is all sin, and that's why men get pulled into it.
Look at any sin, and we see how it has taken something God made good, pure, and beautiful and twisted it. Marriage, we have single moms all around the world. This is why women don't feel beautiful, they don't grow up with a dad telling them that society is full of lies. They don't grow up with a dad showing them that they are worth fighting for and that the deserve to be treated like the princess they are. This is why boys get sucked into porn and never grow into men. There isn't a dad around to show them what a man is. There isn't a dad to show them that men live with integrity, that men take the risk of rejection, that men fight the battles for the heart of the princess.
Life, God has given this incredible gift. Life is an amazing thing, we have the opportunity to experience the beauty of creation. The sights, the smells, the tastes, and the sounds. Yet we waste it. We indulge in meaningless, unsatisfying pleasures that leave us empty. We squander time on pointless activities instead of investing it in relationships. We have idolized success at the expense of life, our own and those of friends and family. "The glory of God is man fully alive." How many of us can honestly say we are fully alive?
Why do we choose to live in a way that doesn't satisfy and that causes pain and more brokenness? Why have we let sin reign in the world? As I said, it's easy. It is always easier to sin than to do what is right. It's easier to go through the motions than to live fully alive. But honestly, a life that is fully alive is well worth the price that has to be paid. A life that is fully alive is never broken. There is pain, there are struggles, but there is God. There is His peace, and His life.
John 10.10, "The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly." The thief, Satan, came to steal what God has given. He came to kill and to destroy the perfection that God created. Jesus came to stop Him, to give life, and life abundantly. Satan came to bring brokenness, Jesus came to put the pieces back together, to weld them and make them stronger. When are we going to let Him?
Let us be the change that we want to see. Let us be the hands of Jesus that bring healing and restoration. Let us say that enough is enough. Let us boldly stand in the shadow of the cross, in the light of the empty tomb, surrounded by the blood of Christ, dressed in the armour of God, together as the Body of Christ, and let us take back from Satan what has been given to us by God.
Let us live life fully alive to the glory of God.
Peace be with you
How did this happen? "In the beginning God created the heaven's and the earth." Genesis 1.1. "God saw all that He had made, and behold, it was very good." Genesis 1.31. God, who is morally excellent and perfect, makes a world that is also morally excellent and perfect. From someone Good, comes something Good.
Genesis 3, we have the fall of man. Eve is deceived, Adam fails to protect her, and the world is cursed. Sin enters due to pride, and do to a failure to live out our God given roles.
Genesis 6-10, we have the flood and the descendants of Noah. Every wicked person is destroyed, and we are left with Noah, a man who is righteous, and his sons. From them come all the people of the world. Noah followed God, Noah would have passed God on to his sons. Who rejected Him? When? Why?
And now it's 2011, and the world is full of brokenness. In it we see how ugly sin is. Look at what it has done. Sin takes something so good, something made by God and given to us by God, and perverts it. Look at sex. God gave this incredible gift to husbands and wives. It is a seal of the covenant of marriage, it is that one thing that they share in their relationship. It gives enjoyment and life. Yet look at what it has become.
Women are told that unless they look and act a certain way they are not desirable. Women are used for the pleasure of a man who has no concern for the consequences she might face because of his selfishness.
Men are sucked into pornography. Sin has taken something as beautiful as a woman and made her an object of lust. Men get sucked into it because it's "safe". There is no fear of rejection with porn. It will never tell you "no". It will never say "stop". It will never tell you to slow down. There is no risk with it as there is in a relationship. Porn is easy, as is all sin, and that's why men get pulled into it.
Look at any sin, and we see how it has taken something God made good, pure, and beautiful and twisted it. Marriage, we have single moms all around the world. This is why women don't feel beautiful, they don't grow up with a dad telling them that society is full of lies. They don't grow up with a dad showing them that they are worth fighting for and that the deserve to be treated like the princess they are. This is why boys get sucked into porn and never grow into men. There isn't a dad around to show them what a man is. There isn't a dad to show them that men live with integrity, that men take the risk of rejection, that men fight the battles for the heart of the princess.
Life, God has given this incredible gift. Life is an amazing thing, we have the opportunity to experience the beauty of creation. The sights, the smells, the tastes, and the sounds. Yet we waste it. We indulge in meaningless, unsatisfying pleasures that leave us empty. We squander time on pointless activities instead of investing it in relationships. We have idolized success at the expense of life, our own and those of friends and family. "The glory of God is man fully alive." How many of us can honestly say we are fully alive?
Why do we choose to live in a way that doesn't satisfy and that causes pain and more brokenness? Why have we let sin reign in the world? As I said, it's easy. It is always easier to sin than to do what is right. It's easier to go through the motions than to live fully alive. But honestly, a life that is fully alive is well worth the price that has to be paid. A life that is fully alive is never broken. There is pain, there are struggles, but there is God. There is His peace, and His life.
John 10.10, "The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly." The thief, Satan, came to steal what God has given. He came to kill and to destroy the perfection that God created. Jesus came to stop Him, to give life, and life abundantly. Satan came to bring brokenness, Jesus came to put the pieces back together, to weld them and make them stronger. When are we going to let Him?
Let us be the change that we want to see. Let us be the hands of Jesus that bring healing and restoration. Let us say that enough is enough. Let us boldly stand in the shadow of the cross, in the light of the empty tomb, surrounded by the blood of Christ, dressed in the armour of God, together as the Body of Christ, and let us take back from Satan what has been given to us by God.
Let us live life fully alive to the glory of God.
Peace be with you
Tuesday, July 5, 2011
Denominations
One of my Proverbs 18.24 brothers and I were talking this weekend. He's been serving at a church but recently God has really started to lead him in another direction. He called me to talk about something for my upcoming wedding, but then the conversation shifted to his future.
He asked me a very big question, denomination or non-denominational. In the year 2011, non-denominational has become a denomination, but the idea is an independent church not affiliated with an over arching church governmental system. He's trying to figure out which way to go.
This is a question that I wrestled with during college. I served in a church for a year and half early in my collegiate career, and I saw a lot of things I really hated, and had no desire to be associated with if the denomination put up with pastors like that. I talked with a few professors about the idea of going to a different denomination or possibly even going non-denominational. Some of my peers had similar concerns, and their response was, "We'll just leave and form our own denomination." Those comments made me realize that you don't fix something by leaving and starting something new, you stick with it and re-focus it on the Biblical foundation it started with.
The last thing we need is another denomination. The church doesn't need any more division. Jesus said, "Any kingdom divided against itself is laid waste; and a house divided against itself falls." (Luke 11.17b) The church is no exception to this. The Kingdom of God cannot fall. It is God's Kingdom, and so it will endure, it will be victorious, and it will be established for all eternity because it is of God. But if the church refuses to unify and rally behind the Kingdom, then God will advance His Kingdom some other way.
Denominations are going to exist for the rest of time. There is no way around them. As long as you have people, there will be different thoughts about the interpretation of scripture, different styles of church service, different emphasis put on life. The key though is not to focus on the things that make us different, rather on the central thing that unifies us, Christ.
Who cares if you believe in once saved always saved and I believe that you can reject your salvation. Does that really matter? Who cares if the Catholic church does infant baptism and others believe it should be adult baptism by choice. Is it really a big issue. These things in the light of eternity don't matter, they are only an issue now because of people's traditions and preferences.
Honestly people, let's set ourselves aside and unite behind the purpose of advancing the Kingdom. Let's set aside our pride so that we can be able to say, "Do you believe that Jesus is the Son of God, and that only through His blood can a person get to Heaven? Awesome, let's work together to build the Kingdom." Lets set aside our differences, because they don't matter, and let's unify around Christ, for the Glory of God.
Peace be with you
He asked me a very big question, denomination or non-denominational. In the year 2011, non-denominational has become a denomination, but the idea is an independent church not affiliated with an over arching church governmental system. He's trying to figure out which way to go.
This is a question that I wrestled with during college. I served in a church for a year and half early in my collegiate career, and I saw a lot of things I really hated, and had no desire to be associated with if the denomination put up with pastors like that. I talked with a few professors about the idea of going to a different denomination or possibly even going non-denominational. Some of my peers had similar concerns, and their response was, "We'll just leave and form our own denomination." Those comments made me realize that you don't fix something by leaving and starting something new, you stick with it and re-focus it on the Biblical foundation it started with.
The last thing we need is another denomination. The church doesn't need any more division. Jesus said, "Any kingdom divided against itself is laid waste; and a house divided against itself falls." (Luke 11.17b) The church is no exception to this. The Kingdom of God cannot fall. It is God's Kingdom, and so it will endure, it will be victorious, and it will be established for all eternity because it is of God. But if the church refuses to unify and rally behind the Kingdom, then God will advance His Kingdom some other way.
Denominations are going to exist for the rest of time. There is no way around them. As long as you have people, there will be different thoughts about the interpretation of scripture, different styles of church service, different emphasis put on life. The key though is not to focus on the things that make us different, rather on the central thing that unifies us, Christ.
Who cares if you believe in once saved always saved and I believe that you can reject your salvation. Does that really matter? Who cares if the Catholic church does infant baptism and others believe it should be adult baptism by choice. Is it really a big issue. These things in the light of eternity don't matter, they are only an issue now because of people's traditions and preferences.
Honestly people, let's set ourselves aside and unite behind the purpose of advancing the Kingdom. Let's set aside our pride so that we can be able to say, "Do you believe that Jesus is the Son of God, and that only through His blood can a person get to Heaven? Awesome, let's work together to build the Kingdom." Lets set aside our differences, because they don't matter, and let's unify around Christ, for the Glory of God.
Peace be with you
Wednesday, June 29, 2011
God given roles
Repeatedly I find myself saying, completely sarcastically, "Wow it's like God knew what He was doing!" As my studies in 1 Timothy continue I've once again found occasion for such a statement, this time with a little less sarcasm.
1 Timothy 2.13-14, "For it was Adam who was first created, and then Eve. And it was not Adam who was deceived, but the woman being deceived, fell into transgression."
This is the end of a section on the role of women in public worship. William Hendriksen offered many insights on the section, 1 Timothy 2.8-15, but this is what stood out to me the most. He says that the role of women in public worship is "based not on temporary or contemporary conditions or circumstances but on two facts that have meaning for all time, namely, the fact of creation and the fact of the entrance into sin."
If we look back in Genesis, we see that man was made first, then Eve. If we look at the text of Genesis 2 we see that Eve was made for Adam, to be his helper. Simply in the way God created man and woman, it is natural for the man to lead and for the woman to follow. Hendriksen says, "The tendency to follow was embedded in Eve's very soul as she came forth from the hand of her creator. Hence, it would not be right to reverse this order in connection with public worship. Why should a woman be encouraged to do things that are contrary to her nature?"
He also mentions the entrance into sin. Hendriksen states, "Eve's fall occurred when she ignored her divinely ordained position. Instead of following she chose to lead." Now I will add something that Hendriksen doesn't state, the fall into sin occurred because Adam also ignored his divinely ordained position, instead of leading, he chose to follow. Adam should have lead her in the path of righteousness, instead of following her in the way of sin. Instead they fell into sin because they stepped off of the path of obedience.
God has given both men and women a divine role to fulfill. We see the result of ignoring that, why do we continue to let history repeat itself? Men, why do we continue to follow instead of taking up our God given role as leaders? Why do we have women who insist on leading, who refuse to follow? Why do we ignore the roles God assigned to us? You could even go as far as to say, why do we continue to sin by ignoring the God given order? If we ignore the way God designed it to be, that is disobedience, disobedience is sin.
Part of the problem is that men won't be men, men won't take up the role of leadership, so women have to. Part of it is that we don't live in a society where men can be men. But at the same time, part of it is that men refuse to take responsibility. Until we as men step up and act like men, nothing will change.
I leave you with the words of the Apostle Paul in 1 Corinthians 16.13, "Be on the alert, stand firm in the faith, ACT LIKE MEN, be strong."
Peace be with you
1 Timothy 2.13-14, "For it was Adam who was first created, and then Eve. And it was not Adam who was deceived, but the woman being deceived, fell into transgression."
This is the end of a section on the role of women in public worship. William Hendriksen offered many insights on the section, 1 Timothy 2.8-15, but this is what stood out to me the most. He says that the role of women in public worship is "based not on temporary or contemporary conditions or circumstances but on two facts that have meaning for all time, namely, the fact of creation and the fact of the entrance into sin."
If we look back in Genesis, we see that man was made first, then Eve. If we look at the text of Genesis 2 we see that Eve was made for Adam, to be his helper. Simply in the way God created man and woman, it is natural for the man to lead and for the woman to follow. Hendriksen says, "The tendency to follow was embedded in Eve's very soul as she came forth from the hand of her creator. Hence, it would not be right to reverse this order in connection with public worship. Why should a woman be encouraged to do things that are contrary to her nature?"
He also mentions the entrance into sin. Hendriksen states, "Eve's fall occurred when she ignored her divinely ordained position. Instead of following she chose to lead." Now I will add something that Hendriksen doesn't state, the fall into sin occurred because Adam also ignored his divinely ordained position, instead of leading, he chose to follow. Adam should have lead her in the path of righteousness, instead of following her in the way of sin. Instead they fell into sin because they stepped off of the path of obedience.
God has given both men and women a divine role to fulfill. We see the result of ignoring that, why do we continue to let history repeat itself? Men, why do we continue to follow instead of taking up our God given role as leaders? Why do we have women who insist on leading, who refuse to follow? Why do we ignore the roles God assigned to us? You could even go as far as to say, why do we continue to sin by ignoring the God given order? If we ignore the way God designed it to be, that is disobedience, disobedience is sin.
Part of the problem is that men won't be men, men won't take up the role of leadership, so women have to. Part of it is that we don't live in a society where men can be men. But at the same time, part of it is that men refuse to take responsibility. Until we as men step up and act like men, nothing will change.
I leave you with the words of the Apostle Paul in 1 Corinthians 16.13, "Be on the alert, stand firm in the faith, ACT LIKE MEN, be strong."
Peace be with you
Monday, June 27, 2011
The results of faithfulness
We're working through the Fruit of the Spirit, and yesterday I preached on faithfulness. I looked at three examples, Joseph, from Genesis, Daniel, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego, and then King David from 2 Samuel 11-12. You can read more about what Faithfulness is in the August 2010 blog. Today I want to talk about the result of faithfulness.
In the lives of Joseph and the four men from Daniel, we see a few results. In the life of Joseph we see that God has blessed him as a slave. He works hard, and everything he does prospers because God is with him. He is put in charge of all of his master's house. When tempted to sleep with his master's wife he refuses. Once she grabs his coat trying to force herself upon him, he leaves it in her hands and runs. This turns into evidence against him, and he is falsely accused and thrown into prison for his faithfulness.
But faithfulness isn't something we're supposed to have only when things are going well. Even in prison he remains faithful to God, and again, God blesses him, and Joseph is put in charge of the prison. After years there, God delivers him, and because he has remained faithful, he is promoted to number two in Egypt, making him one of the most powerful men in the world. From this position he is able to save his family from starvation when they come to Egypt for food during a seven year famine.
These are results that are seen, but there are larger results of faithfulness that there is no way Joseph could have known about. Joseph was one of twelve sons of Jacob, or Israel, as he was renamed by God in Genesis 32.28. From him come the twelve tribes of Israel. One of his sons is named Judah, and it is from his line that Jesus the Lion of Judah (Revelation 5.5) is born.
Joseph's faithfulness did not simply result in the salvation of his family from starvation, but it led to the salvation of the world in Jesus Christ. Faithfulness has results that we can never see, and it reaches farther than we will ever know until we all get to Heaven.
In the lives of Daniel, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego, we see another result of faithfulness. Initially when they are brought to Babylon, they refuse to violate Jewish law by eating the food that the king has provided. They request vegetables and water. God blesses them for this. The Bible says, "As for these four youths, God gave them knowledge and intelligence in every branch of literature and wisdom; Daniel even understood all kinds of visions and dreams" (Daniel 1.17). My thought is that Daniel is given the ability to understand dreams and visions because he is the one who spoke up. God blesses him additionally because he took the initiative. God blesses all of them because the remained faithful.
They all grow up and face other trials of faithfulness. Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego are thrown into the fiery furnace because they refuse to bow to an idol. Daniel is thrown into the lions den because he refuses to cease praying to God. They stand firm in the face of death. I love the response of Shadrach, Mesahach, and Abed-nego in Daniel 3.17-18, "If it be so, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the furnace of blazing fire; and He will deliver us out of your hand, O king. But even if He does not, let it be known to you, O king, that we are not going to serve your gods or worship the golden image that you have set up.”
He can save us, but even if He doesn't we will stand firm for Him. Daniel, as recorded in the Bible, says nothing in his own defense, but I think it's safe to assume that he goes into the lion's den with the same attitude. The result of the faithfulness of these four men is that God is glorified and exalted among men.
Daniel 3.28-29, "Nebuchadnezzar responded and said, 'Blessed be the God of Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-nego, who has sent His angel and delivered His servants who put their trust in Him, violating the king’s command, and yielded up their bodies so as not to serve or worship any god except their own God. Therefore I make a decree that any people, nation or tongue that speaks anything offensive against the God of Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-nego shall be torn limb from limb and their houses reduced to a rubbish heap, inasmuch as there is no other god who is able to deliver in this way.'”
Daniel 6.25-27, "Then Darius the king wrote to all the peoples, nations and men of every language who were living in all the land: 'May your peace abound! I make a decree that in all the dominion of my kingdom men are to fear and tremble before the God of Daniel; for He is the living God and enduring forever, and His kingdom is one which will not be destroyed, and His dominion will be forever. He delivers and rescues and performs signs and wonders in heaven and on earth, Who has also delivered Daniel from the power of the lions.'”
God is exalted in faithfulness. This makes me think of Psalm 46.10, “Cease striving and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth.” In our faithfulness God is exalted.
We never know how far our faithfulness will reach. We know that the God we serve is able to deliver us from all things. Do we believe that? I've been taking a leadership class, and I had to listen to a message by Francis Chan talking about how God worked in the people of the Bible. That same God is the God that we serve, and His best days are not behind Him. God is still in the business of rescuing people from fiery furnaces, and closing the mouths of lions. But for Him to do that in our lives, we need to have the faith that these men possessed. We need to believe like they believed, and we need to pray like they prayed.
The results of faithfulness are limited only by how faithful we are. Do you believe God is able to deliver you from whatever your furnace or lion's den is? But the follow up question, even if he doesn't will you still remain faithful? Had God not delivered them, their faithfulness would have brought them before His thrown and they would have heard the words "Well done, good and FAITHFUL servant, come share in your master's joy."
We must know that God can, we must believe that God will, but we must remain faithful even if He doesn't.
Peace be with you
In the lives of Joseph and the four men from Daniel, we see a few results. In the life of Joseph we see that God has blessed him as a slave. He works hard, and everything he does prospers because God is with him. He is put in charge of all of his master's house. When tempted to sleep with his master's wife he refuses. Once she grabs his coat trying to force herself upon him, he leaves it in her hands and runs. This turns into evidence against him, and he is falsely accused and thrown into prison for his faithfulness.
But faithfulness isn't something we're supposed to have only when things are going well. Even in prison he remains faithful to God, and again, God blesses him, and Joseph is put in charge of the prison. After years there, God delivers him, and because he has remained faithful, he is promoted to number two in Egypt, making him one of the most powerful men in the world. From this position he is able to save his family from starvation when they come to Egypt for food during a seven year famine.
These are results that are seen, but there are larger results of faithfulness that there is no way Joseph could have known about. Joseph was one of twelve sons of Jacob, or Israel, as he was renamed by God in Genesis 32.28. From him come the twelve tribes of Israel. One of his sons is named Judah, and it is from his line that Jesus the Lion of Judah (Revelation 5.5) is born.
Joseph's faithfulness did not simply result in the salvation of his family from starvation, but it led to the salvation of the world in Jesus Christ. Faithfulness has results that we can never see, and it reaches farther than we will ever know until we all get to Heaven.
In the lives of Daniel, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego, we see another result of faithfulness. Initially when they are brought to Babylon, they refuse to violate Jewish law by eating the food that the king has provided. They request vegetables and water. God blesses them for this. The Bible says, "As for these four youths, God gave them knowledge and intelligence in every branch of literature and wisdom; Daniel even understood all kinds of visions and dreams" (Daniel 1.17). My thought is that Daniel is given the ability to understand dreams and visions because he is the one who spoke up. God blesses him additionally because he took the initiative. God blesses all of them because the remained faithful.
They all grow up and face other trials of faithfulness. Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego are thrown into the fiery furnace because they refuse to bow to an idol. Daniel is thrown into the lions den because he refuses to cease praying to God. They stand firm in the face of death. I love the response of Shadrach, Mesahach, and Abed-nego in Daniel 3.17-18, "If it be so, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the furnace of blazing fire; and He will deliver us out of your hand, O king. But even if He does not, let it be known to you, O king, that we are not going to serve your gods or worship the golden image that you have set up.”
He can save us, but even if He doesn't we will stand firm for Him. Daniel, as recorded in the Bible, says nothing in his own defense, but I think it's safe to assume that he goes into the lion's den with the same attitude. The result of the faithfulness of these four men is that God is glorified and exalted among men.
Daniel 3.28-29, "Nebuchadnezzar responded and said, 'Blessed be the God of Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-nego, who has sent His angel and delivered His servants who put their trust in Him, violating the king’s command, and yielded up their bodies so as not to serve or worship any god except their own God. Therefore I make a decree that any people, nation or tongue that speaks anything offensive against the God of Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-nego shall be torn limb from limb and their houses reduced to a rubbish heap, inasmuch as there is no other god who is able to deliver in this way.'”
Daniel 6.25-27, "Then Darius the king wrote to all the peoples, nations and men of every language who were living in all the land: 'May your peace abound! I make a decree that in all the dominion of my kingdom men are to fear and tremble before the God of Daniel; for He is the living God and enduring forever, and His kingdom is one which will not be destroyed, and His dominion will be forever. He delivers and rescues and performs signs and wonders in heaven and on earth, Who has also delivered Daniel from the power of the lions.'”
God is exalted in faithfulness. This makes me think of Psalm 46.10, “Cease striving and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth.” In our faithfulness God is exalted.
We never know how far our faithfulness will reach. We know that the God we serve is able to deliver us from all things. Do we believe that? I've been taking a leadership class, and I had to listen to a message by Francis Chan talking about how God worked in the people of the Bible. That same God is the God that we serve, and His best days are not behind Him. God is still in the business of rescuing people from fiery furnaces, and closing the mouths of lions. But for Him to do that in our lives, we need to have the faith that these men possessed. We need to believe like they believed, and we need to pray like they prayed.
The results of faithfulness are limited only by how faithful we are. Do you believe God is able to deliver you from whatever your furnace or lion's den is? But the follow up question, even if he doesn't will you still remain faithful? Had God not delivered them, their faithfulness would have brought them before His thrown and they would have heard the words "Well done, good and FAITHFUL servant, come share in your master's joy."
We must know that God can, we must believe that God will, but we must remain faithful even if He doesn't.
Peace be with you
Thursday, June 23, 2011
Just like Jesus
I'm getting ready for Sunday, preaching on faithfulness. I'm looking at a few Old Testament stories to illustrate this part of the Fruit of the Spirit. One that I'm using is Daniel and the lion's den.
As I was reading Daniel 6 I noticed something that I hadn't seen before. Daniel 6.10-17 (NASB)
10 Now when Daniel knew that the document was signed, he entered his house (now in his roof chamber he had windows open toward Jerusalem); and he continued kneeling on his knees three times a day, praying and giving thanks before his God, as he had been doing previously. 11 Then these men came by agreement and found Daniel making petition and supplication before his God. 12 Then they approached and spoke before the king about the king’s injunction, “Did you not sign an injunction that any man who makes a petition to any god or man besides you, O king, for thirty days, is to be cast into the lions’ den?” The king replied, “The statement is true, according to the law of the Medes and Persians, which may not be revoked.” 13 Then they answered and spoke before the king, “Daniel, who is one of the exiles from Judah, pays no attention to you, O king, or to the injunction which you signed, but keeps making his petition three times a day.”
14 Then, as soon as the king heard this statement, he was deeply distressed and set his mind on delivering Daniel; and even until sunset he kept exerting himself to rescue him. 15 Then these men came by agreement to the king and said to the king, “Recognize, O king, that it is a law of the Medes and Persians that no injunction or statute which the king establishes may be changed.”
16 Then the king gave orders, and Daniel was brought in and cast into the lions’ den. The king spoke and said to Daniel, “Your God whom you constantly serve will Himself deliver you.” 17 A stone was brought and laid over the mouth of the den; and the king sealed it with his own signet ring and with the signet rings of his nobles, so that nothing would be changed in regard to Daniel.
Do you notice what's missing? Look at Matthew 26.62-63, Mark 14.60-61, and Luke 23.8-10,
" 62 Then the high priest stood up and said to Jesus, “Are you not going to answer? What is this testimony that these men are bringing against you?” 63 But Jesus remained silent."
"60 Then the high priest stood up before them and asked Jesus, “Are you not going to answer? What is this testimony that these men are bringing against you?” 61 But Jesus remained silent and gave no answer."
"8 Now Herod was very glad when he saw Jesus; for he had wanted to see Him for a long time, because he had been hearing about Him and was hoping to see some sign performed by Him. 9 And he questioned Him at some length; but He answered him nothing. 10 And the chief priests and the scribes were standing there, accusing Him vehemently."
Do you see it now? Daniel, like Jesus, makes no defense against the accusations. Both men had no fault that could be found in them. Both of them were only guilty for how faithful they were to God. They let the lives they lived speak for them.
I wonder, could we do the same thing? Could our lives speak for us? If people tried to accuse us would the only thing they would be able to accuse us of be living for God too much? What would happen if we lived lives like this? Lives just like Jesus?
Peace be with you
As I was reading Daniel 6 I noticed something that I hadn't seen before. Daniel 6.10-17 (NASB)
10 Now when Daniel knew that the document was signed, he entered his house (now in his roof chamber he had windows open toward Jerusalem); and he continued kneeling on his knees three times a day, praying and giving thanks before his God, as he had been doing previously. 11 Then these men came by agreement and found Daniel making petition and supplication before his God. 12 Then they approached and spoke before the king about the king’s injunction, “Did you not sign an injunction that any man who makes a petition to any god or man besides you, O king, for thirty days, is to be cast into the lions’ den?” The king replied, “The statement is true, according to the law of the Medes and Persians, which may not be revoked.” 13 Then they answered and spoke before the king, “Daniel, who is one of the exiles from Judah, pays no attention to you, O king, or to the injunction which you signed, but keeps making his petition three times a day.”
14 Then, as soon as the king heard this statement, he was deeply distressed and set his mind on delivering Daniel; and even until sunset he kept exerting himself to rescue him. 15 Then these men came by agreement to the king and said to the king, “Recognize, O king, that it is a law of the Medes and Persians that no injunction or statute which the king establishes may be changed.”
16 Then the king gave orders, and Daniel was brought in and cast into the lions’ den. The king spoke and said to Daniel, “Your God whom you constantly serve will Himself deliver you.” 17 A stone was brought and laid over the mouth of the den; and the king sealed it with his own signet ring and with the signet rings of his nobles, so that nothing would be changed in regard to Daniel.
Do you notice what's missing? Look at Matthew 26.62-63, Mark 14.60-61, and Luke 23.8-10,
" 62 Then the high priest stood up and said to Jesus, “Are you not going to answer? What is this testimony that these men are bringing against you?” 63 But Jesus remained silent."
"60 Then the high priest stood up before them and asked Jesus, “Are you not going to answer? What is this testimony that these men are bringing against you?” 61 But Jesus remained silent and gave no answer."
"8 Now Herod was very glad when he saw Jesus; for he had wanted to see Him for a long time, because he had been hearing about Him and was hoping to see some sign performed by Him. 9 And he questioned Him at some length; but He answered him nothing. 10 And the chief priests and the scribes were standing there, accusing Him vehemently."
Do you see it now? Daniel, like Jesus, makes no defense against the accusations. Both men had no fault that could be found in them. Both of them were only guilty for how faithful they were to God. They let the lives they lived speak for them.
I wonder, could we do the same thing? Could our lives speak for us? If people tried to accuse us would the only thing they would be able to accuse us of be living for God too much? What would happen if we lived lives like this? Lives just like Jesus?
Peace be with you
One God, One Mediator
Today I am in 1 Timothy 2.1-7, working through the last leg of commentaries before finishing with a final reading overview. In all it will be 66 days in 1 Timothy. For this section I'm reading a commentary by William Hendriksen. The verse that has really stood out to me is 1 Timothy 2.5, "For there is one God, and one mediator also between God and men, the man Christ Jesus,"
Verses 1-4 talk about prayer for all men, including those in authority, regardless of their actions, or policies. These prayers are good in the sight of God because He desires for all men to be saved. And then we get to verse 5. "For there is one God, and one mediator also between God and men, the man Christ Jesus,"
God desires all men to be saved, not just the Jews, not just Americans, not just protestants, but all men. Why? Because there is One God. There is not a God for America, and another God for Israel, and another God for Afghanistan, and another God for China, there is one God for all the nations. There is not one God for those in power and another God for those without power. There is not one God for the rich and another God for the poor. There is One God for all people.
Not only is there one God, but there is only "one mediator between God an men, the man Christ Jesus." The word man here is not intended to take away from the deity of Christ, rather it shows that Jesus is for all men. According to Hendriksen, had Jesus come only for the Jews it would read, "the Jew Christ Jesus." The fact that is says, "the man" shows that Christ came for men in general. Christ came for all of humanity, and now Christ sits at the right hand of God interceding for us.
There is one God, Christ, the object of our faith and worship, mediates between us and God. "For there is one God, and one mediator also between God and men, the man Christ Jesus,". God is for all people, and He desires that all men will be saved. Christ Jesus came to bring salvation to all the world. One God, one mediator, for all men.
Peace be with you
Verses 1-4 talk about prayer for all men, including those in authority, regardless of their actions, or policies. These prayers are good in the sight of God because He desires for all men to be saved. And then we get to verse 5. "For there is one God, and one mediator also between God and men, the man Christ Jesus,"
God desires all men to be saved, not just the Jews, not just Americans, not just protestants, but all men. Why? Because there is One God. There is not a God for America, and another God for Israel, and another God for Afghanistan, and another God for China, there is one God for all the nations. There is not one God for those in power and another God for those without power. There is not one God for the rich and another God for the poor. There is One God for all people.
Not only is there one God, but there is only "one mediator between God an men, the man Christ Jesus." The word man here is not intended to take away from the deity of Christ, rather it shows that Jesus is for all men. According to Hendriksen, had Jesus come only for the Jews it would read, "the Jew Christ Jesus." The fact that is says, "the man" shows that Christ came for men in general. Christ came for all of humanity, and now Christ sits at the right hand of God interceding for us.
There is one God, Christ, the object of our faith and worship, mediates between us and God. "For there is one God, and one mediator also between God and men, the man Christ Jesus,". God is for all people, and He desires that all men will be saved. Christ Jesus came to bring salvation to all the world. One God, one mediator, for all men.
Peace be with you
Tuesday, June 21, 2011
Prayer
I've been thinking a lot recently trying to figure out stuff for church. Trying to figure out how to get the congregation involved, how to reach the community, how to disciple people. All the stuff that goes with being a senior pastor. Last night I was laying on the couch, and I was reminded of something one of my professors told me at the begining of my last semester of college.
Going into the Spring of 2009 I had what many students claim to have. Senioritis. For those of you freshman, sophomores, and juniors, who think you have it, even to you high school seniors, wait until you get to the last semester of college, then you'll find out what senioritis really is. I had it. I was totally unmotivated. I remember turning in a test early in the semester and my professor asked how I thought it went, I remember telling him, "I honestly don't care." He laughed, knowing how I was feeling.
It wasn't just with school though that I was apathetic, it was life in general. I had been "in training" for almost four years, and I was ready to get to the battle. I remember that my biggest concern though was that I wasn't even motivated to read the Bible. I was a pastoral ministries major, and I didn't want to read the Bible for my own personal growth. It almost felt like homework.
I met with a few of my professors just to talk to them about it and get their wisdom. Doc Sanders said something I'll never forget. "There are going to be times like that, you're going to go through them, and it's ok. Just keep praying. As long as you're praying you'll be fine." He wasn't saying that it was ok to ignore the Bible for life, he was saying that prayer is the most important thing. And honestly, I believe he's right.
In prayer we communicate with God. We talk with Him. We praise Him, open our hearts to Him, present our hurts and requests, and ultimatley seek His will for our lives. He gives us guidance and encouragement. Sometimes in prayer, we just need to sit in silence and listen, saying nothing at all, simply sitting in the presence of God. You know a relationship is good when you can simply be content sitting in the presence of the other person, and it's true of our relationship with God, simply His presence is enough at times.
In my own life recently I've noticed that prayer has been lacking. My Bible study time is doing well, I'm studying 1 Timothy and working from Genesis-Revelation looking at the heart and character of God. Honestly, I've been like, "I'm studying the Bible, that's enough." But it isn't. I don't feel like I'm getting everything out of it that I could be, why? Because it isn't supported by constant prayer. Reading the Bible isn't enough, it has to go with prayer.
Without prayer nothing happens. Without prayer we miss out on so much. I have a post-it on my computer at work. It has Acts 6.4 on it, "But we will devote ourselves to prayer and to the ministry of the Word." Prayer is listed first, why? Because it's the more important of the two.
Jesus prayed constantly, and He was God. That means I need to pray just as often as He did, more so if I can. The thing I've realized recently is that I can't buy into the lie that reading the Bible is enough. The enemy will do anything to keep us from praying, even if it is filling our prayer time with Bible reading! In prayer our relationship with God grows deeper and more intamite. Bible reading does this too, but not the same way as prayer.
Read the Bible, I'm not saying to stop. Pour your heart and energy into it's pages, find strength and encouragement from it's stories and promises. But don't neglect prayer. Don't "let your praying knees get lazy" as a country song says. 1 Thessalonians 5.17, "pray without ceasing"
Peace be with you
Going into the Spring of 2009 I had what many students claim to have. Senioritis. For those of you freshman, sophomores, and juniors, who think you have it, even to you high school seniors, wait until you get to the last semester of college, then you'll find out what senioritis really is. I had it. I was totally unmotivated. I remember turning in a test early in the semester and my professor asked how I thought it went, I remember telling him, "I honestly don't care." He laughed, knowing how I was feeling.
It wasn't just with school though that I was apathetic, it was life in general. I had been "in training" for almost four years, and I was ready to get to the battle. I remember that my biggest concern though was that I wasn't even motivated to read the Bible. I was a pastoral ministries major, and I didn't want to read the Bible for my own personal growth. It almost felt like homework.
I met with a few of my professors just to talk to them about it and get their wisdom. Doc Sanders said something I'll never forget. "There are going to be times like that, you're going to go through them, and it's ok. Just keep praying. As long as you're praying you'll be fine." He wasn't saying that it was ok to ignore the Bible for life, he was saying that prayer is the most important thing. And honestly, I believe he's right.
In prayer we communicate with God. We talk with Him. We praise Him, open our hearts to Him, present our hurts and requests, and ultimatley seek His will for our lives. He gives us guidance and encouragement. Sometimes in prayer, we just need to sit in silence and listen, saying nothing at all, simply sitting in the presence of God. You know a relationship is good when you can simply be content sitting in the presence of the other person, and it's true of our relationship with God, simply His presence is enough at times.
In my own life recently I've noticed that prayer has been lacking. My Bible study time is doing well, I'm studying 1 Timothy and working from Genesis-Revelation looking at the heart and character of God. Honestly, I've been like, "I'm studying the Bible, that's enough." But it isn't. I don't feel like I'm getting everything out of it that I could be, why? Because it isn't supported by constant prayer. Reading the Bible isn't enough, it has to go with prayer.
Without prayer nothing happens. Without prayer we miss out on so much. I have a post-it on my computer at work. It has Acts 6.4 on it, "But we will devote ourselves to prayer and to the ministry of the Word." Prayer is listed first, why? Because it's the more important of the two.
Jesus prayed constantly, and He was God. That means I need to pray just as often as He did, more so if I can. The thing I've realized recently is that I can't buy into the lie that reading the Bible is enough. The enemy will do anything to keep us from praying, even if it is filling our prayer time with Bible reading! In prayer our relationship with God grows deeper and more intamite. Bible reading does this too, but not the same way as prayer.
Read the Bible, I'm not saying to stop. Pour your heart and energy into it's pages, find strength and encouragement from it's stories and promises. But don't neglect prayer. Don't "let your praying knees get lazy" as a country song says. 1 Thessalonians 5.17, "pray without ceasing"
Peace be with you
Monday, June 20, 2011
Praise vs. Worship
Music is a big issue in a lot of churches. The older generation loves the hymns and will die to keep them. The younger generation is bored by the slow music and archaic words and doesn't come because of them. Churches split over music, the family of God is divided over something as ridiculous as music.
Two weeks ago at the East Ohio District Camp meeting Rev. Steven Manley said something that stood out to me in terms of this idea of praise vs. worship. He said, "Praise is talking about God. Worship is talking to God. You can knock the contemporary music all you want, but they have this worship idea down." I've thought about that a lot over the last two weeks.
Each Sunday at the church I'm currently serving has hymns. And the more I look at these words, I see a lot of praise. So many of the hymns are full of what God has done, they are full of messages about His character and who He is. They focus on talking about Him, His holiness, and His deeds. But not many really talk to God. The hymns are full of praise.
Honestly I feel that the biggest thing missing, not just here, but in many churches across America, is worship. How much do we talk to God? Do we really know God? Anyone can offer praise, it's easy to talk about someone. In America we do it all the time with professional athletes, actors, and musicians. We talk about the thing they did on the athletic field, in a movie, or the song they've written. We praise them. And honestly, in some churches that's how we treat God, like a professional athlete who has done amazing things, but we don't really worship Him.
Praise is essential, I'm not trying to say we praise God too much, because that isn't possible. We have to praise God, the Bible tells us to. Psalm 9.1-2, "I will give thanks to the LORD with all my heart; I will tell of all Your wonders. I will be glad and exult in You; I will sing praise to Your name, O Most High." Verse 11, "Sing praises to the LORD, who dwells in Zion; Declare among the peoples His deeds." Verse 14, "That I may tell of all Your praises, that in the gates of the daughter of Zion." It is good to praise the Lord.
But we must also worship Him. Worship requires a relationship. You can't talk to someone without a relationship. Honestly, I believe God would rather have our worship than our praise. God would rather have a relationship with all of us than the praise of everyone on Earth. When we worship we talk to God, we talk with God. I've shared before what one of my college professors taught us about worship, "Worship is a trusting obedient response to the word of God." To be able to respond to the word of God, I must first hear what God is saying. God says that if we ask we shall receive (Matthew 7.7-10), God says that He will be found by us if we seek Him (Jeremiah 29.13). To hear from God we simply need to ask. We simply need to worship.
What is keeping you from worship? Maybe we are simply confused as to what it is, and we've thought praise is worship. Maybe we aren't being led in worship. My professor said that pastors are the lead worshiper, it is up to us to show our flocks how and what worship is. Maybe it's that we don't have a real relationship with Jesus, or we do, but something has gotten in the way, something is distracting us.
Worship is essential, we were made to worship, we were made for a relationship with God. Let us learn to talk with God again, may we as pastors take our role as lead worshiper seriously and lead our people to the thrown of God. My our lives exhibit true worship. May we never cease to praise God, but may the worship of God never lose it's prominence in our lives.
Back to music, we need both styles. We need the ones that remind us of who God is, we must remember what God has done, and we must continue to pass it on. We need the ones that help us talk to God, the ones that help us open our hearts before Him and communicate with Him heart to heart. Gradually the hymns are being updated, the music is being re-written for a new generation, but the message is remaining the same.
We must praise God because He is worthy, but we must worship God because it is what He created us to do. Praise God, tell of His greatness, proclaim what He has done. Worship God, talk with Him, listen to Him. Respond in trust and obedience.
Peace be with you
Two weeks ago at the East Ohio District Camp meeting Rev. Steven Manley said something that stood out to me in terms of this idea of praise vs. worship. He said, "Praise is talking about God. Worship is talking to God. You can knock the contemporary music all you want, but they have this worship idea down." I've thought about that a lot over the last two weeks.
Each Sunday at the church I'm currently serving has hymns. And the more I look at these words, I see a lot of praise. So many of the hymns are full of what God has done, they are full of messages about His character and who He is. They focus on talking about Him, His holiness, and His deeds. But not many really talk to God. The hymns are full of praise.
Honestly I feel that the biggest thing missing, not just here, but in many churches across America, is worship. How much do we talk to God? Do we really know God? Anyone can offer praise, it's easy to talk about someone. In America we do it all the time with professional athletes, actors, and musicians. We talk about the thing they did on the athletic field, in a movie, or the song they've written. We praise them. And honestly, in some churches that's how we treat God, like a professional athlete who has done amazing things, but we don't really worship Him.
Praise is essential, I'm not trying to say we praise God too much, because that isn't possible. We have to praise God, the Bible tells us to. Psalm 9.1-2, "I will give thanks to the LORD with all my heart; I will tell of all Your wonders. I will be glad and exult in You; I will sing praise to Your name, O Most High." Verse 11, "Sing praises to the LORD, who dwells in Zion; Declare among the peoples His deeds." Verse 14, "That I may tell of all Your praises, that in the gates of the daughter of Zion." It is good to praise the Lord.
But we must also worship Him. Worship requires a relationship. You can't talk to someone without a relationship. Honestly, I believe God would rather have our worship than our praise. God would rather have a relationship with all of us than the praise of everyone on Earth. When we worship we talk to God, we talk with God. I've shared before what one of my college professors taught us about worship, "Worship is a trusting obedient response to the word of God." To be able to respond to the word of God, I must first hear what God is saying. God says that if we ask we shall receive (Matthew 7.7-10), God says that He will be found by us if we seek Him (Jeremiah 29.13). To hear from God we simply need to ask. We simply need to worship.
What is keeping you from worship? Maybe we are simply confused as to what it is, and we've thought praise is worship. Maybe we aren't being led in worship. My professor said that pastors are the lead worshiper, it is up to us to show our flocks how and what worship is. Maybe it's that we don't have a real relationship with Jesus, or we do, but something has gotten in the way, something is distracting us.
Worship is essential, we were made to worship, we were made for a relationship with God. Let us learn to talk with God again, may we as pastors take our role as lead worshiper seriously and lead our people to the thrown of God. My our lives exhibit true worship. May we never cease to praise God, but may the worship of God never lose it's prominence in our lives.
Back to music, we need both styles. We need the ones that remind us of who God is, we must remember what God has done, and we must continue to pass it on. We need the ones that help us talk to God, the ones that help us open our hearts before Him and communicate with Him heart to heart. Gradually the hymns are being updated, the music is being re-written for a new generation, but the message is remaining the same.
We must praise God because He is worthy, but we must worship God because it is what He created us to do. Praise God, tell of His greatness, proclaim what He has done. Worship God, talk with Him, listen to Him. Respond in trust and obedience.
Peace be with you
Thursday, June 16, 2011
A Few Good Men
Last week I was at camp meeting. The first night the song evangelist sang a song I had never heard before.
A Few Good Men
What this dying world could use is a willing Man of God
Who dares to go against the grain and works without applause;
A man who'll raise the shield of Faith, protecting what is pure;
Whose love is tough and gentle; a man whose word is sure.
God doesn't need an Orator who knows what just to say;
He doesn't need authorities to reason Him away;
He doesn't need an army to guarantee a win;
He just needs a Few Good Men.
Men full of Compassion, who Laugh and Love and Cry-
Men who'll face Eternity and aren't afraid to die-
Men who'll fight for Freedom and Honor once again-
He just needs a Few Good Men.
He calls the broken derelict whose life has been renewed;
He calls the one who has the strength to stand up for the Truth.
Enlistment lines are open and He wants you to come in-
He just needs a Few Good Men.
Men full of Compassion, who Laugh and Love and Cry-
Men who'll face Eternity and aren't afraid to die-
Men who'll fight for Freedom and Honor once again-
He just needs a Few Good Men.
Men full of Compassion, who Laugh and Love and Cry-
Men who'll face Eternity and aren't afraid to die-
Men who'll fight for Freedom and Honor once again-
He just needs a Few Good Men.
Men full of Compassion, who Laugh and Love and Cry-
Men who'll face Eternity and aren't afraid to die-
Men who'll fight for Freedom and Honor once again-
He just needs a Few Good Men.
He just needs a Few Good Men.
He just needs a Few Good Men.
As Father's Day approaches, and I'm preparing for Sunday this song has been playing over and over on my computer. I've been working through the Fruit of the Spirit again, taking it a little deeper since I have more time to work with each time. It's truly been a God thing after seeing how the characteristics have fallen. Love was on Mother's Day, Peace ended up being Memorial Day weekend, this week, Father's Day, is Goodness.
Jesus said in Mark 10.18, that no one is good but God alone. The Greek word for good is "agathos", the root of the word for goodness "agathosune", which means morally excellent. It is absolute perfection, with no flaws or impurities. This is clearly only true of God. But Paul tells us in Galatians 5.22, that goodness is part of the Fruit of the Spirit, so goodness, or we could say, "Godliness" is to be evident in our lives. You can read more about goodness in the blog from August 2010.
God created men to be men. His design is that men will be leaders, examples of Godliness, and defenders of truth. That was what He created us to be. Why have we let women take over this? Look at the church, who does most of the work? Who are the majority of attenders? Women. Look at our society, how many single moms are there? How many children don't have a daddy to go home to. (I use the word daddy because everyone has a father, without one you wouldn't be alive. But not everyone has a daddy, not everyone has that man in their lives who loved and protected them.) Where have all the men gone?
Honestly, I don't think society values men. Look at TV sitcoms, usually the husband is a weak, immature little boy, and the wife is the one who has to order him around. The woman has to be the leader because the man refuses to be. We live in a society, as Brad Paisley said in his song "I'm still a Guy", where "It's hip now to be feminized." We're in a society where boys aren't allowed to be boys, and if boys can't be boys, men can't be men, because boys can't become men. Part of it is that they don't have men to show them how to be men. It's been left to single moms to raise these boys into manhood, which is impossible.
I'm not trying to take anything away from the single mothers. Thank you for the sacrifices you make for your children, for the long hours and multiple jobs you work to support your children and give them the best life possible. One day I hope to be in a church that is able to provide a ministry to help you, I just wish it could be right now.
God simply needs a few good men who will step up and say, "We will be the men that God designed us to be. We will stand for truth, we will protect purity, we will fight for freedom. We will initiate boys into manhood." We need men who will take up the leadership in their families and in the church. Men who make God a priority and will be examples of Godliness. Until that happens, I honestly don't believe the American society will change at all.
There are two books I recommend to all boys and men, Wild at Heart, and The Way of the Wild Heart, both by John Eldredge. These are the two best books I have ever read. Wild at Heart talks about the heart of a man. It talks about who God created us to be as men. The Way of the Wild Heart is a book about how a boy becomes a man, and how a man knows he is one. Both of them talk heavily about what God intended for a man to be using Scriptural support for all of it.
This Father's Day, may it be a day that men decide to be men. May Father's Day in a sense begin a new year for men. May we seize the responsibility that God has created us for. May we be the few good men that God needs.
Peace be with you
A Few Good Men
What this dying world could use is a willing Man of God
Who dares to go against the grain and works without applause;
A man who'll raise the shield of Faith, protecting what is pure;
Whose love is tough and gentle; a man whose word is sure.
God doesn't need an Orator who knows what just to say;
He doesn't need authorities to reason Him away;
He doesn't need an army to guarantee a win;
He just needs a Few Good Men.
Men full of Compassion, who Laugh and Love and Cry-
Men who'll face Eternity and aren't afraid to die-
Men who'll fight for Freedom and Honor once again-
He just needs a Few Good Men.
He calls the broken derelict whose life has been renewed;
He calls the one who has the strength to stand up for the Truth.
Enlistment lines are open and He wants you to come in-
He just needs a Few Good Men.
Men full of Compassion, who Laugh and Love and Cry-
Men who'll face Eternity and aren't afraid to die-
Men who'll fight for Freedom and Honor once again-
He just needs a Few Good Men.
Men full of Compassion, who Laugh and Love and Cry-
Men who'll face Eternity and aren't afraid to die-
Men who'll fight for Freedom and Honor once again-
He just needs a Few Good Men.
Men full of Compassion, who Laugh and Love and Cry-
Men who'll face Eternity and aren't afraid to die-
Men who'll fight for Freedom and Honor once again-
He just needs a Few Good Men.
He just needs a Few Good Men.
He just needs a Few Good Men.
As Father's Day approaches, and I'm preparing for Sunday this song has been playing over and over on my computer. I've been working through the Fruit of the Spirit again, taking it a little deeper since I have more time to work with each time. It's truly been a God thing after seeing how the characteristics have fallen. Love was on Mother's Day, Peace ended up being Memorial Day weekend, this week, Father's Day, is Goodness.
Jesus said in Mark 10.18, that no one is good but God alone. The Greek word for good is "agathos", the root of the word for goodness "agathosune", which means morally excellent. It is absolute perfection, with no flaws or impurities. This is clearly only true of God. But Paul tells us in Galatians 5.22, that goodness is part of the Fruit of the Spirit, so goodness, or we could say, "Godliness" is to be evident in our lives. You can read more about goodness in the blog from August 2010.
God created men to be men. His design is that men will be leaders, examples of Godliness, and defenders of truth. That was what He created us to be. Why have we let women take over this? Look at the church, who does most of the work? Who are the majority of attenders? Women. Look at our society, how many single moms are there? How many children don't have a daddy to go home to. (I use the word daddy because everyone has a father, without one you wouldn't be alive. But not everyone has a daddy, not everyone has that man in their lives who loved and protected them.) Where have all the men gone?
Honestly, I don't think society values men. Look at TV sitcoms, usually the husband is a weak, immature little boy, and the wife is the one who has to order him around. The woman has to be the leader because the man refuses to be. We live in a society, as Brad Paisley said in his song "I'm still a Guy", where "It's hip now to be feminized." We're in a society where boys aren't allowed to be boys, and if boys can't be boys, men can't be men, because boys can't become men. Part of it is that they don't have men to show them how to be men. It's been left to single moms to raise these boys into manhood, which is impossible.
I'm not trying to take anything away from the single mothers. Thank you for the sacrifices you make for your children, for the long hours and multiple jobs you work to support your children and give them the best life possible. One day I hope to be in a church that is able to provide a ministry to help you, I just wish it could be right now.
God simply needs a few good men who will step up and say, "We will be the men that God designed us to be. We will stand for truth, we will protect purity, we will fight for freedom. We will initiate boys into manhood." We need men who will take up the leadership in their families and in the church. Men who make God a priority and will be examples of Godliness. Until that happens, I honestly don't believe the American society will change at all.
There are two books I recommend to all boys and men, Wild at Heart, and The Way of the Wild Heart, both by John Eldredge. These are the two best books I have ever read. Wild at Heart talks about the heart of a man. It talks about who God created us to be as men. The Way of the Wild Heart is a book about how a boy becomes a man, and how a man knows he is one. Both of them talk heavily about what God intended for a man to be using Scriptural support for all of it.
This Father's Day, may it be a day that men decide to be men. May Father's Day in a sense begin a new year for men. May we seize the responsibility that God has created us for. May we be the few good men that God needs.
Peace be with you
Monday, June 13, 2011
Last days
I missed a few days of my 1 Timothy study, so today I'm trying to get caught up. I'm on day 32 right now, which is reading 1 Timothy 4, and using Holman's New Testament commentary as a resource.
1 Timothy 4.1 says, "But the Spirit explicitly says that in later times some will fall away from the faith, paying attention to deceitful spirits and doctrines of demons," based on the title, you can probably guess that I want to focus on the words, "later times".
According to my source, this phrase does not refer to some coming event, but the whole time from Christ's ascension to His second coming. It covers every moment for the last 1,982 years. (I get this number from the traditional thought that Jesus was born around 4 BC, and then adding 33, His age at the time of His death, resurrection, and ascension, putting those events in 29 AD, and then subtracting 29 from 2011, the current year)
A few weeks ago there was a prediction that the world would end, May 21, 2011 was supposed to be the end of the world. The man, Harold Camping, has now said that May 21 was a spiritual coming which has ushered in the last five months of time and now says that October 21, 2011 will be the final day. If any are concerned, I simply point you to Scripture, "But of that day or hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but the Father alone." (Mark 13.32).
I'll be honest, I felt strange May 22. I didn't believe the world was going to end because of the verse from Mark 13, but it suddenly hit me, "Jesus could have come back." It put it in a fresh light, almost as if the reality of the situation was finally sinking in. Jesus is coming back some day.
As I said, we have been in the last days for almost 2,000 years. How close we are to the second coming I don't know. I'll illustrate with the line below.
Ascension--*--------------------*--------------------*--Return
The * represent where we could be on this line. We could be anywhere. It could happen in a few hours, or a few millennium. All we can know for sure is that today we are one day closer. So how should we live? For this I turn to the words of Billy Graham. "Live every day like Christ will return today, but live everyday like we have to plan for the next thousand years." I think that's the way God would have it. Be ready, Jesus could come back any moment. So be ready, make sure your life is righteous before God. Confess your sin, and be redeemed by God. Let Him take over as the Lord of your life.
But at the same time live your life to the fullest. Don't put your life on hold. St. Irenaeus said, "The glory of God is man fully alive." Live your life, don't wait in fear for His returning, this isn't how we were created to live. Build relationships with people, do things as a family, discover who you are, have adventures, find your passions and exercise them, live life. As you live, become more like Christ, and through relationships help others become like Christ. Prepare the next generation to take over the leadership of the world. Let's work to make it a place where people can live together in peace.
Jesus could return today, and He might not be returning for a thousand years. Live both ways. Become like Christ, help others become like Christ, live fully alive.
Peace be with you
1 Timothy 4.1 says, "But the Spirit explicitly says that in later times some will fall away from the faith, paying attention to deceitful spirits and doctrines of demons," based on the title, you can probably guess that I want to focus on the words, "later times".
According to my source, this phrase does not refer to some coming event, but the whole time from Christ's ascension to His second coming. It covers every moment for the last 1,982 years. (I get this number from the traditional thought that Jesus was born around 4 BC, and then adding 33, His age at the time of His death, resurrection, and ascension, putting those events in 29 AD, and then subtracting 29 from 2011, the current year)
A few weeks ago there was a prediction that the world would end, May 21, 2011 was supposed to be the end of the world. The man, Harold Camping, has now said that May 21 was a spiritual coming which has ushered in the last five months of time and now says that October 21, 2011 will be the final day. If any are concerned, I simply point you to Scripture, "But of that day or hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but the Father alone." (Mark 13.32).
I'll be honest, I felt strange May 22. I didn't believe the world was going to end because of the verse from Mark 13, but it suddenly hit me, "Jesus could have come back." It put it in a fresh light, almost as if the reality of the situation was finally sinking in. Jesus is coming back some day.
As I said, we have been in the last days for almost 2,000 years. How close we are to the second coming I don't know. I'll illustrate with the line below.
Ascension--*--------------------*--------------------*--Return
The * represent where we could be on this line. We could be anywhere. It could happen in a few hours, or a few millennium. All we can know for sure is that today we are one day closer. So how should we live? For this I turn to the words of Billy Graham. "Live every day like Christ will return today, but live everyday like we have to plan for the next thousand years." I think that's the way God would have it. Be ready, Jesus could come back any moment. So be ready, make sure your life is righteous before God. Confess your sin, and be redeemed by God. Let Him take over as the Lord of your life.
But at the same time live your life to the fullest. Don't put your life on hold. St. Irenaeus said, "The glory of God is man fully alive." Live your life, don't wait in fear for His returning, this isn't how we were created to live. Build relationships with people, do things as a family, discover who you are, have adventures, find your passions and exercise them, live life. As you live, become more like Christ, and through relationships help others become like Christ. Prepare the next generation to take over the leadership of the world. Let's work to make it a place where people can live together in peace.
Jesus could return today, and He might not be returning for a thousand years. Live both ways. Become like Christ, help others become like Christ, live fully alive.
Peace be with you
$13.55
Thursday I was headed out to campmeeting, but first I had to stop at Borders. I needed a journal. As I mentioned last week, I'm on a journey to discover the heart of God. Every journey needs some way to keep records and record memories. I looked at a few and found a large black one, I bought two.
I had a 20% coupon, and they were already at a discounted price, so the total for the two ended up being $13.55 after tax. Currently they are sitting on my coffee tabel, the first page will be marked today. But over the weekend I began to think, "I paid $13.55 for two journals. When I get finished, they will be priceless."
It isn't because I'm the one writing in them that gives it an immersurable value, I mean honestly, who am I to have people read my opinions. I'm amazed and truly humbled at the readership this blog has gotten. My words on the pages do nothing for the value, but the subject matter does.
The pages will be filled with the heart, nature, and character of God. This is my attempt to learn, as much as any human can, who He is. As He reveals Himself to me through the pages of Scripture, I will fill the pages of these journals.
This is not a journey that will end once these journals are filled, it is one that has been going on in the lives of people since the begining of time. In my own life for the past 24 years, and will continue for the rest of my days, and in the lives of future followers until the end of time.
We can not, in this current state, fully comprehend God. But the Bible says to us in Proverbs 25.2, "It is the glory of God to conceal a matter, But the glory of kings is to search out a matter." But the biggest thing, God desires for us to search for Him, and to understand who He is.
"You will seek Me and find Me when you search for Me with all your heart." (Jeremiah 29.13) The key here though is not simply to seek God, the key is how we seek Him. It must be with all our heart. God paid the highest price so that we would be able to get to know Him, so that we could have a realtionship with Him. We must be willing to pay an equally high price to know Him.
The life of a Christ follower is not one that can be done half-heartedly, it can't be a life that simply goes through the motions. One of my high school teachers once told us in class, "If your faith isn't costing you something you need to really look and see if it's real."
To know God, we must search for Him. He tells us that if we search for Him with all our hearts that we will find Him. God desires for us to find Him. He desires for us to know Him. It's amazing, the God who spoke the universe into existance desires for us to know Him, and He made it possible for us to know Him. Why would we ever pass up the opprotunity?
Today, the pages will become priceless as they begin to be filled with who God is. Father, reveal yourself to me, and to all who seek to know you.
Peace be with you
I had a 20% coupon, and they were already at a discounted price, so the total for the two ended up being $13.55 after tax. Currently they are sitting on my coffee tabel, the first page will be marked today. But over the weekend I began to think, "I paid $13.55 for two journals. When I get finished, they will be priceless."
It isn't because I'm the one writing in them that gives it an immersurable value, I mean honestly, who am I to have people read my opinions. I'm amazed and truly humbled at the readership this blog has gotten. My words on the pages do nothing for the value, but the subject matter does.
The pages will be filled with the heart, nature, and character of God. This is my attempt to learn, as much as any human can, who He is. As He reveals Himself to me through the pages of Scripture, I will fill the pages of these journals.
This is not a journey that will end once these journals are filled, it is one that has been going on in the lives of people since the begining of time. In my own life for the past 24 years, and will continue for the rest of my days, and in the lives of future followers until the end of time.
We can not, in this current state, fully comprehend God. But the Bible says to us in Proverbs 25.2, "It is the glory of God to conceal a matter, But the glory of kings is to search out a matter." But the biggest thing, God desires for us to search for Him, and to understand who He is.
"You will seek Me and find Me when you search for Me with all your heart." (Jeremiah 29.13) The key here though is not simply to seek God, the key is how we seek Him. It must be with all our heart. God paid the highest price so that we would be able to get to know Him, so that we could have a realtionship with Him. We must be willing to pay an equally high price to know Him.
The life of a Christ follower is not one that can be done half-heartedly, it can't be a life that simply goes through the motions. One of my high school teachers once told us in class, "If your faith isn't costing you something you need to really look and see if it's real."
To know God, we must search for Him. He tells us that if we search for Him with all our hearts that we will find Him. God desires for us to find Him. He desires for us to know Him. It's amazing, the God who spoke the universe into existance desires for us to know Him, and He made it possible for us to know Him. Why would we ever pass up the opprotunity?
Today, the pages will become priceless as they begin to be filled with who God is. Father, reveal yourself to me, and to all who seek to know you.
Peace be with you
Wednesday, June 8, 2011
The Journey Has Begun
This week on the East Ohio District we have District Assembly and camp meeting. Monday was the ordination service, and I got to be part of the ministers choir since I'm now a minister. It was an incredible feeling singing with these men, you really feel connected to a team.
Last night was the first night of camp meeting. Rev. Steven Manley is our evangelist for the week. His preaching style isn't one that captivates my attention, but his message spoke to me. He used Acts 2.25, "For David says of Him, 'I SAW THE LORD ALWAYS IN MY PRESENCE; FOR HE IS AT MY RIGHT HAND, SO THAT I WILL NOT BE SHAKEN."
He used many other portions of scripture to explain the verse, and what it comes down to is this. The word "presence" is not in the original text. It is directly translated, "I saw the Lord before me". Rev. Manley went on to explain how it literally means, God is in my face, my eye, God is all I can see. God is the lens through which we see everything else.
It isn't about business, administration, ministry, but God. It isn't me living my life for Jesus, but Jesus living His life through me. It isn't me serving Jesus, but Jesus serving through me. It isn't about me at all, it's about Him. Everything I do is done to seek Him, the PERSON of God.
I wrote a sermon about his idea close to a year ago, the idea is in the blog called "Hand or Face?" Everything I do needs to be about growing closer to God. Everything needs to be done so that I can know God better, more personally, more intimately. God is all I see in this relationship. That is where we're supposed to be. The thing is, I was there.
My junior year of college I began to move that direction. The distractions, the priorities that took God's place in my eye, I got rid of. He became my soul focus, as Paul said in Philippians 3,
"But whatever things were gain to me, those things I have counted as loss for the sake of Christ. More than that, I count all things to be loss in view of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them but rubbish so that I may gain Christ, and may be found in Him, not having a righteousness of my own derived from the Law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which comes from God on the basis of faith, that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death; in order that I may attain to the resurrection from the dead. Not that I have already obtained it or have already become perfect, but I press on so that I may lay hold of that for which also I was laid hold of by Christ Jesus. Brethren, I do not regard myself as having laid hold of it yet; but one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and reaching forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus."
Those were my verses, that was how I lived. For the next three years that was me. God was in my eye, God was all I saw. Then something happened.
This Friday is June 10, and it marks the one year anniversary of the change. This is really the first time I've talked about this, I've only shared it with Janette and two or three other pastors. I was in a Sunday School board meeting, I'm not going to go into details, but the pastor had told me he had my back, and during that meeting left me with my head sticking out to get cut off. In that moment I felt something leave me. The will to fight, the fire and passion for ministry. I had no desire to be there any more, but I had made a one year commitment and I had to stick it out for the teens and young adults I was serving.
That meeting changed me, and over the past year I've been trying to get back to where I was, I've been trying to get God in my eye again. I've been taking a leadership class, and in one of the podcasts I listened to Rev. Mark Driscoll said, "God cannot use you greatly, until you have been wounded deeply." I knew my time in Michigan had been a wound, but what I hadn't realized is that the wound had simply had a band aid placed over it, it hadn't been stitched up, and so it hadn't healed.
I'm in the process of pulling the band aid off, not just of that wound, but of all of them. I'm looking back at my life, at every wound I've ever been given, and writing them out. I'm writing about the lessons I learned from them, and the people who were beside me through the process helping me.
After the service I went to talk to Rev. Manley for a few minutes. I briefly shared what had happened just to hear his advice. He told me to look at that time as a blessing. I agree, I know I had to go to Michigan, God had things to teach me there. But my real question for Rev. Manley was how do I get back there? How do I get God back in my eye? That is honestly my only desire.
I've found when I seek advice I'm looking for something profound, answers that only older men with decades of ministry behind them can give me. Do you know what he said? He quoted part of my Hand or Face sermon to me! "Seek Him, seek the person of God. Seek Him through prayer and the word."
That's all there is to it, simply seek His face, seek the Person of God. I'm on a journey, a journey of healing, and a journey back to the very heart of God. I'm stitching up my wounds, looking at each one, taking the lesson from them, and then stitching them so they scar. Scars remind you of pain but they no longer hurt. Scars have a story, they have a lesson that was learned. And scars are a sign of healing. So let the healing begin, let the pain serve to make my heart compassionate for other ministers and people going through situations I've been through. Let the stories serve as encouragement and may the lessons help others avoid the painful experiences. May I proudly show off my scars and testify to what God has done in my life, may that testimony be an encouragement to others.
To get back to the heart of God, I'm going back to the beginning. Genesis 1 to Revelation 22. Searching the Scriptures for who God is, looking for His character, for His person. Getting back to prayer, real prayer. Heart felt surrender and desperation, a little boy curled up in his Daddy's lap.
I don't know how long this journey will take, all I know is that at the end God will have made me the man he created me to be. At the end of the journey, God will be all I see.
I invite you to join me. Look at your wounds and stitch them up. Dive into the Scriptures with me, and let's learn the character of God together. Whose up for the adventure of a life time?
As Paul said in Philippians 3.13-14, "Brethren, I do not regard myself as having laid hold of it yet; but one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and reaching forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus."
Let's go!
Peace be with you
Last night was the first night of camp meeting. Rev. Steven Manley is our evangelist for the week. His preaching style isn't one that captivates my attention, but his message spoke to me. He used Acts 2.25, "For David says of Him, 'I SAW THE LORD ALWAYS IN MY PRESENCE; FOR HE IS AT MY RIGHT HAND, SO THAT I WILL NOT BE SHAKEN."
He used many other portions of scripture to explain the verse, and what it comes down to is this. The word "presence" is not in the original text. It is directly translated, "I saw the Lord before me". Rev. Manley went on to explain how it literally means, God is in my face, my eye, God is all I can see. God is the lens through which we see everything else.
It isn't about business, administration, ministry, but God. It isn't me living my life for Jesus, but Jesus living His life through me. It isn't me serving Jesus, but Jesus serving through me. It isn't about me at all, it's about Him. Everything I do is done to seek Him, the PERSON of God.
I wrote a sermon about his idea close to a year ago, the idea is in the blog called "Hand or Face?" Everything I do needs to be about growing closer to God. Everything needs to be done so that I can know God better, more personally, more intimately. God is all I see in this relationship. That is where we're supposed to be. The thing is, I was there.
My junior year of college I began to move that direction. The distractions, the priorities that took God's place in my eye, I got rid of. He became my soul focus, as Paul said in Philippians 3,
"But whatever things were gain to me, those things I have counted as loss for the sake of Christ. More than that, I count all things to be loss in view of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them but rubbish so that I may gain Christ, and may be found in Him, not having a righteousness of my own derived from the Law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which comes from God on the basis of faith, that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death; in order that I may attain to the resurrection from the dead. Not that I have already obtained it or have already become perfect, but I press on so that I may lay hold of that for which also I was laid hold of by Christ Jesus. Brethren, I do not regard myself as having laid hold of it yet; but one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and reaching forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus."
Those were my verses, that was how I lived. For the next three years that was me. God was in my eye, God was all I saw. Then something happened.
This Friday is June 10, and it marks the one year anniversary of the change. This is really the first time I've talked about this, I've only shared it with Janette and two or three other pastors. I was in a Sunday School board meeting, I'm not going to go into details, but the pastor had told me he had my back, and during that meeting left me with my head sticking out to get cut off. In that moment I felt something leave me. The will to fight, the fire and passion for ministry. I had no desire to be there any more, but I had made a one year commitment and I had to stick it out for the teens and young adults I was serving.
That meeting changed me, and over the past year I've been trying to get back to where I was, I've been trying to get God in my eye again. I've been taking a leadership class, and in one of the podcasts I listened to Rev. Mark Driscoll said, "God cannot use you greatly, until you have been wounded deeply." I knew my time in Michigan had been a wound, but what I hadn't realized is that the wound had simply had a band aid placed over it, it hadn't been stitched up, and so it hadn't healed.
I'm in the process of pulling the band aid off, not just of that wound, but of all of them. I'm looking back at my life, at every wound I've ever been given, and writing them out. I'm writing about the lessons I learned from them, and the people who were beside me through the process helping me.
After the service I went to talk to Rev. Manley for a few minutes. I briefly shared what had happened just to hear his advice. He told me to look at that time as a blessing. I agree, I know I had to go to Michigan, God had things to teach me there. But my real question for Rev. Manley was how do I get back there? How do I get God back in my eye? That is honestly my only desire.
I've found when I seek advice I'm looking for something profound, answers that only older men with decades of ministry behind them can give me. Do you know what he said? He quoted part of my Hand or Face sermon to me! "Seek Him, seek the person of God. Seek Him through prayer and the word."
That's all there is to it, simply seek His face, seek the Person of God. I'm on a journey, a journey of healing, and a journey back to the very heart of God. I'm stitching up my wounds, looking at each one, taking the lesson from them, and then stitching them so they scar. Scars remind you of pain but they no longer hurt. Scars have a story, they have a lesson that was learned. And scars are a sign of healing. So let the healing begin, let the pain serve to make my heart compassionate for other ministers and people going through situations I've been through. Let the stories serve as encouragement and may the lessons help others avoid the painful experiences. May I proudly show off my scars and testify to what God has done in my life, may that testimony be an encouragement to others.
To get back to the heart of God, I'm going back to the beginning. Genesis 1 to Revelation 22. Searching the Scriptures for who God is, looking for His character, for His person. Getting back to prayer, real prayer. Heart felt surrender and desperation, a little boy curled up in his Daddy's lap.
I don't know how long this journey will take, all I know is that at the end God will have made me the man he created me to be. At the end of the journey, God will be all I see.
I invite you to join me. Look at your wounds and stitch them up. Dive into the Scriptures with me, and let's learn the character of God together. Whose up for the adventure of a life time?
As Paul said in Philippians 3.13-14, "Brethren, I do not regard myself as having laid hold of it yet; but one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and reaching forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus."
Let's go!
Peace be with you
Friday, June 3, 2011
Contentment
Yesterday was day 24 in 1 Timothy. I've revised it a little so really it was day 30, I forgot to include my initial overview reading. The section I studied was 1 Timothy 6.6-8, "But godliness actually is a means of great gain when accompanied by contentment. For we have brought nothing into the world, so we cannot take anything out of it either. If we have food and covering, with these we shall be content." Again, I must share what I found in William Barclay's insights.
What is contentment according to the Bible? The Greek word is autarkeia (ow-tar-kia). This word is free of all outward things. It is free of possessions. It is the secret of happiness within itself. Contentment never comes from the things we own, the junk we acquire, but from the attitude we live with.
Possessions don't have the power to make us happy. There is nothing I own that cheers me up when I've had a rough day. But do you know what does? Time with Janette. Time with one of my brothers. Time with people I love. The key to happiness is in relationships.
Happiness comes from friendship and love. These things come from people, not stuff. It comes from things that last. Our focus needs to be on things that are permanent.
Barclay says that there are only two things we can take before God, ourselves, and the relationship we have with Him. That relationship with God that Jesus Christ made possible through His death and resurrection, is the greatest of all the personal relationships we could have. Again, thank you Mr. Barclay for your insights.
Contentment lies in knowing that I am loved by God. It comes from knowing that nothing can separate me from His love, Romans 8.38-39. It comes from realizing that the God who spoke creation into existence knows my name, and not only knows my name, but He desires a personal relationship with me (Galatians 4.9, John 3.16-17). That is a big deal.
Why would I not be content in that? Why do I let temporary things get in the way? Why do I focus on things that don't matter at all?
May all of us find true contentment and happiness in the permanent things of life. May our time be invested into relationships that will last a lifetime. May our lives be spent in relationship with the One who designed relationships and made the ultimate relationship possible.
Peace be with you
What is contentment according to the Bible? The Greek word is autarkeia (ow-tar-kia). This word is free of all outward things. It is free of possessions. It is the secret of happiness within itself. Contentment never comes from the things we own, the junk we acquire, but from the attitude we live with.
Possessions don't have the power to make us happy. There is nothing I own that cheers me up when I've had a rough day. But do you know what does? Time with Janette. Time with one of my brothers. Time with people I love. The key to happiness is in relationships.
Happiness comes from friendship and love. These things come from people, not stuff. It comes from things that last. Our focus needs to be on things that are permanent.
Barclay says that there are only two things we can take before God, ourselves, and the relationship we have with Him. That relationship with God that Jesus Christ made possible through His death and resurrection, is the greatest of all the personal relationships we could have. Again, thank you Mr. Barclay for your insights.
Contentment lies in knowing that I am loved by God. It comes from knowing that nothing can separate me from His love, Romans 8.38-39. It comes from realizing that the God who spoke creation into existence knows my name, and not only knows my name, but He desires a personal relationship with me (Galatians 4.9, John 3.16-17). That is a big deal.
Why would I not be content in that? Why do I let temporary things get in the way? Why do I focus on things that don't matter at all?
May all of us find true contentment and happiness in the permanent things of life. May our time be invested into relationships that will last a lifetime. May our lives be spent in relationship with the One who designed relationships and made the ultimate relationship possible.
Peace be with you
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