Can life-contentment be attained in the ongoing absence of ultimate human intimacy?
1 Corinthians 7:7 I wish that all men were as I am. (content and engaged in life’s purpose, without having my pursuit of holiness sabotaged by the distress of longing for sexual intimacy.) But each man has his own gift from God; one has this gift, another has that.
Paul is almost-undoubtedly single again - and satisfied. He is living independent of a sexual relationship and happy, even enviable and wishes we could all be just like him. But alas, that is impossible.
Paul states that the pursuit of a particular marital status should be determined by giftedness and not be seen as a matter of spiritual attainment. Paul wishes everyone could receive from God what is required to cheerfully lay aside the human sex-drive and be single and satisfied as opposed to being dependent upon regular holy sex in order to avoid immorality. However, part of the pursuit of holy joy for those who have not received this spiritual gift of sexless satisfaction, will include marriage.
1 Corinthians 7:5 Do not deprive each other of sexual relations, unless you both agree to refrain from sexual intimacy for a limited time so you can give yourselves more completely to prayer. Afterward, you should come together again so that Satan won’t be able to tempt you because of your lack of self-control.
If you don’t have the gift of satisfied celibacy, you will suffer the results of unfulfilled desire, if and when you are not being satisfied by your spouse. Some of our relational needs God satisfies directly and some he satisfies by the use of means and when those means are removed, we will suffer. Suffering includes not being able to find or create a comfortable conclusion. It means wrestling and struggling with unmet desire. It brings us back to Christ and requires growth in our theology of suffering with-and-for Him.
1 Pe 4:13 But rejoice that you participate in the sufferings of Christ, so that you may be overjoyed when his glory is revealed.
Ro 5:2 …we rejoice in the hope of the glory of God. 3 Not only so, but we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; 4 perseverance, character; and character, hope. 5 And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us.
1Pe 1:6 for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. 7 These have come so that your faith—of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire—may be proved genuine and may result in praise, glory and honour when Jesus Christ is revealed. 8 Though you have not seen him, you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy, 9 for you are receiving the goal of your faith, the salvation of your souls.
Can, or could the “all-satisfying” relationship with Christ subdue the sex drive? Can a human being attain this single and satisfied state by becoming more spiritual? In this world where things are not as they should be (James 3:10) the answer is. No. Knowing this will rescue us from the unrealistic guilt of “not being spiritual enough”. It should also cause us to know that without God’s provision of a spiritual gift, or a spouse, we will suffer. The fight for God-glorifying joy, requires choosing to suffer, when we must, with and for Christ.
Monday, December 21, 2009
Tuesday, December 15, 2009
I Don’t Believe In This World Anymore
Coming to the place where one experientially loses faith in this world as the source from which our desire for joy will be met, may sound like pessimism and a loss of hope and in some sense it is, though it is justified. This loss of faith in this world is the starting place for the fullness of our hope to be placed in that which cannot disappoint.
Jonathan Edwards prayed: Lord, grant that from hence, I may learn to withdraw my thoughts, affections, desires and expectations entirely from the world, and may fix them upon the heavenly state, where there is fullness of joy; where reigns sweet, calm and delightful love without alloy; where there are continually the dearest expressions of this love; where there is enjoyment of this love without ever parting; and where those persons who appear so lovely in this world, will be inexpressibly more lovely, and full of love to us. How sweetly will those, who mutually love, join together in singing the praises of God and the Lamb. How full will it fill us with joy to think that this enjoyment, these sweet exercises, will never cease or come to an end, but will last to all eternity.
Paul said: Galatians 6:14 The world has been crucified to me, and I to the world…
15 what counts is a new creation.
Jonathan Edwards prayed: Lord, grant that from hence, I may learn to withdraw my thoughts, affections, desires and expectations entirely from the world, and may fix them upon the heavenly state, where there is fullness of joy; where reigns sweet, calm and delightful love without alloy; where there are continually the dearest expressions of this love; where there is enjoyment of this love without ever parting; and where those persons who appear so lovely in this world, will be inexpressibly more lovely, and full of love to us. How sweetly will those, who mutually love, join together in singing the praises of God and the Lamb. How full will it fill us with joy to think that this enjoyment, these sweet exercises, will never cease or come to an end, but will last to all eternity.
Paul said: Galatians 6:14 The world has been crucified to me, and I to the world…
15 what counts is a new creation.
Tuesday, December 1, 2009
A Theology of Breasts
I apologize in advance to my readers if this entry makes you feel vulnerable or exposed. My goal is not that women would feel ogled or exploited, but rather properly esteemed and honored.
Our society has been said to be “breast-obsessed” and a biblical response is required. Breasts are used to promote and sell and seduce with great effectiveness and at great cost to both genders.
Proverbs 5:19 She is a loving deer, a graceful doe. Let her breasts satisfy you always. May you always be captivated by her love.
Breasts are intended for the sensual satisfaction of a husband. They are given to the wife as a gift she may share with her husband, that he might be captivated, enthralled, mesmerized, have every other thought flooded out of his head, except the overwhelming desire and satisfaction found in embracing his wife.
That which satisfies sexual desire is meant to remain between a man and his wife for their exclusive, mutual enjoyment which is a crucial element of love.
Proverbs 5:16 Should your springs overflow in the streets, your streams of water in the public squares?
Song of Solomon 1:13 My lover is like a sachet of myrrh lying between my breasts.
It is here that a man may feel accepted and delighted and at home. Here are the words of a man so comforted and enthralled all at the same time.
Song of Solomon 4:5 Your breasts are like two fawns, twin fawns of a gazelle grazing among the lilies.
If you were on a bus full of tourists and the driver of the bus came upon twin fawns, grazing among lilies, he would stop and point and everyone would take pictures. This is the attention, the joy and wonder, breasts are designed to attract. Here we see a picture of the beauty they are meant to provide to a husband. To abuse that purpose for any other gain; a flattering look from a stranger in order to boost self-esteem, political manipulation at the office, or to sell beer, is to distort and depreciate the good God intends. Our society has valued breasts, women, love too little.
Modesty and privacy and purity and sanctity promote holy joy between a husband and a wife. Properly valuing that experience of mutual pleasure helps us to understand the shared joy we may and must pursue with Christ. Satan knows just how to pervert and cheapen what God has made beautiful and our culture falls for his lies in droves.
Our society has been said to be “breast-obsessed” and a biblical response is required. Breasts are used to promote and sell and seduce with great effectiveness and at great cost to both genders.
Proverbs 5:19 She is a loving deer, a graceful doe. Let her breasts satisfy you always. May you always be captivated by her love.
Breasts are intended for the sensual satisfaction of a husband. They are given to the wife as a gift she may share with her husband, that he might be captivated, enthralled, mesmerized, have every other thought flooded out of his head, except the overwhelming desire and satisfaction found in embracing his wife.
That which satisfies sexual desire is meant to remain between a man and his wife for their exclusive, mutual enjoyment which is a crucial element of love.
Proverbs 5:16 Should your springs overflow in the streets, your streams of water in the public squares?
Song of Solomon 1:13 My lover is like a sachet of myrrh lying between my breasts.
It is here that a man may feel accepted and delighted and at home. Here are the words of a man so comforted and enthralled all at the same time.
Song of Solomon 4:5 Your breasts are like two fawns, twin fawns of a gazelle grazing among the lilies.
If you were on a bus full of tourists and the driver of the bus came upon twin fawns, grazing among lilies, he would stop and point and everyone would take pictures. This is the attention, the joy and wonder, breasts are designed to attract. Here we see a picture of the beauty they are meant to provide to a husband. To abuse that purpose for any other gain; a flattering look from a stranger in order to boost self-esteem, political manipulation at the office, or to sell beer, is to distort and depreciate the good God intends. Our society has valued breasts, women, love too little.
Modesty and privacy and purity and sanctity promote holy joy between a husband and a wife. Properly valuing that experience of mutual pleasure helps us to understand the shared joy we may and must pursue with Christ. Satan knows just how to pervert and cheapen what God has made beautiful and our culture falls for his lies in droves.
Tuesday, November 10, 2009
Set My Desires On You and Satisfy Them
Proverbs 21:1 The king’s heart is like a stream of water directed by the LORD; he guides it wherever he pleases.
Ezra 7:27 Praise the LORD, the God of our ancestors, who made the king want to beautify the Temple of the LORD in Jerusalem!
Philippians 2:13 For God is working in you, giving you the desire and the power to do what pleases him.
1 Chronicles 29:18 “O LORD, the God of our ancestors Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, make your people always want to obey you. See to it that their love for you never changes.
Ezra 7:27 Praise the LORD, the God of our ancestors, who made the king want to beautify the Temple of the LORD in Jerusalem!
Philippians 2:13 For God is working in you, giving you the desire and the power to do what pleases him.
1 Chronicles 29:18 “O LORD, the God of our ancestors Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, make your people always want to obey you. See to it that their love for you never changes.
Friday, October 16, 2009
Bring Joy to Yourself in the Bible
A partial definition of the urgent command to “delight yourself in the lord” is to delight yourself in the Bible.
Psalm 37:3 Trust in the LORD and do good; dwell in the land and enjoy safe pasture.
4 Delight yourself in the LORD and he will give you the desires of your heart.
5 Commit your way to the LORD; trust in him and he will do this:
6 He will make your righteousness shine like the dawn, the justice of your cause like the noonday sun.
There is safety and satisfaction and joy to be found in his word.
Ps 119:16 I delight in your decrees; I will not neglect your word.
Very practically let me say how this works: If I am not, on a regular basis, finding truth that satisfies and fortifies my soul so much that I cannot help but share that truth when I am in conversation with friends and family, then I need to be engaging one question and one prayer…
What is wrong with my soul and how can I fix it?
God, would you retrain my eyes on your word and satisfy my soul with things so good that I hear myself sharing them in conversation and pondering them when alone with my thoughts.
This is a measure of how much joy I have “in the lord” and it is a more important diagnostic tool than any test administered at the hospital.
Pr 18:14 The human spirit can endure a sick body, but who can bear a crushed spirit?
Psalm 37:3 Trust in the LORD and do good; dwell in the land and enjoy safe pasture.
4 Delight yourself in the LORD and he will give you the desires of your heart.
5 Commit your way to the LORD; trust in him and he will do this:
6 He will make your righteousness shine like the dawn, the justice of your cause like the noonday sun.
There is safety and satisfaction and joy to be found in his word.
Ps 119:16 I delight in your decrees; I will not neglect your word.
Very practically let me say how this works: If I am not, on a regular basis, finding truth that satisfies and fortifies my soul so much that I cannot help but share that truth when I am in conversation with friends and family, then I need to be engaging one question and one prayer…
What is wrong with my soul and how can I fix it?
God, would you retrain my eyes on your word and satisfy my soul with things so good that I hear myself sharing them in conversation and pondering them when alone with my thoughts.
This is a measure of how much joy I have “in the lord” and it is a more important diagnostic tool than any test administered at the hospital.
Pr 18:14 The human spirit can endure a sick body, but who can bear a crushed spirit?
Saturday, October 10, 2009
The Sovereignty of Satan
Two extremes to be avoided
1. That Satan is an equal to God able to frustrate and foil God’s plan.
2. That God is directly blameworthy for the evil that we suffer.
When we ask, “What is going on?!”, we need to know, we have a real enemy, with real power and should not be surprised.
1Pe 4:12 Dear friends, do not be surprised at the painful trial you are suffering,
Satan is afforded a degree of limited freedom to carry out his predictable malicious intent which is designed to destroy the work of God, specifically the sanctifying work of the Spirit.
Jesus Prayer is John 17:17 Sanctify them by the truth; your word is truth.
Satan’s prayer is Job 1:11 But stretch out your hand and strike everything he has, and he will surely curse you to your face."
God’s response to Satan is Job 1:12 The LORD said to Satan, "Very well, then, everything he has is in your hands, but on the man himself do not lay a finger."
Every human being suffers from this freedom that Satan enjoys, but His time is limited.
Re 12:12 Woe to the earth and the sea, because the devil has gone down to you! He is filled with fury, because he knows that his time is short."
Job was technically right in his response, but hugely, woefully, inadequate, when he said, Job 1:21 and said: “The LORD gave and the LORD has taken away…"
God does not hide behind Satan’s skirts, letting Satan take the blame. God claims over-all sovereignty but the rest of the book of Job is necessary to point out the huge hole in Job’s simple view of direct sovereignty. Though Job’s simple answer was technically correct, its insufficiency leads to questioning God’s goodness and justice and blaming God for evil.
It is necessary to understand that God allows his believer to experience the malice of Satan for a time in a limited way in order to produce the saints of heaven. Satan is a hateful bastard whom we are free to abhor with all our hearts, but God is a good loving heavenly father whom we are rightly commanded to love with all our hearts.
God allows Satan a limited degree of sovereignty, letting him to do as he wishes that evil and good may be known. God is perfectly able to predict the results in our lives which are pain and purity.
We may respond this way to Satan Ge 50:20 You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of [my soul]
Our sanctification is the ongoing work of God saving of our souls and is brought about as we suffer the malice of Satan that God allows for our good.
2Co 12:7 There was given me a thorn in my flesh, a messenger of Satan, to torment me.
2Co 12: 8 Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me.
9 But he said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness."
Ro 8:28 and we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.
There is much more to say here concerning the sovereignty of man in all of this; how we fit in, what our freedom is and what we are responsible for. I am tempted to preach on this in 2 weeks. The response to this blog will determine that decision for me.
1. That Satan is an equal to God able to frustrate and foil God’s plan.
2. That God is directly blameworthy for the evil that we suffer.
When we ask, “What is going on?!”, we need to know, we have a real enemy, with real power and should not be surprised.
1Pe 4:12 Dear friends, do not be surprised at the painful trial you are suffering,
Satan is afforded a degree of limited freedom to carry out his predictable malicious intent which is designed to destroy the work of God, specifically the sanctifying work of the Spirit.
Jesus Prayer is John 17:17 Sanctify them by the truth; your word is truth.
Satan’s prayer is Job 1:11 But stretch out your hand and strike everything he has, and he will surely curse you to your face."
God’s response to Satan is Job 1:12 The LORD said to Satan, "Very well, then, everything he has is in your hands, but on the man himself do not lay a finger."
Every human being suffers from this freedom that Satan enjoys, but His time is limited.
Re 12:12 Woe to the earth and the sea, because the devil has gone down to you! He is filled with fury, because he knows that his time is short."
Job was technically right in his response, but hugely, woefully, inadequate, when he said, Job 1:21 and said: “The LORD gave and the LORD has taken away…"
God does not hide behind Satan’s skirts, letting Satan take the blame. God claims over-all sovereignty but the rest of the book of Job is necessary to point out the huge hole in Job’s simple view of direct sovereignty. Though Job’s simple answer was technically correct, its insufficiency leads to questioning God’s goodness and justice and blaming God for evil.
It is necessary to understand that God allows his believer to experience the malice of Satan for a time in a limited way in order to produce the saints of heaven. Satan is a hateful bastard whom we are free to abhor with all our hearts, but God is a good loving heavenly father whom we are rightly commanded to love with all our hearts.
God allows Satan a limited degree of sovereignty, letting him to do as he wishes that evil and good may be known. God is perfectly able to predict the results in our lives which are pain and purity.
We may respond this way to Satan Ge 50:20 You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of [my soul]
Our sanctification is the ongoing work of God saving of our souls and is brought about as we suffer the malice of Satan that God allows for our good.
2Co 12:7 There was given me a thorn in my flesh, a messenger of Satan, to torment me.
2Co 12: 8 Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me.
9 But he said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness."
Ro 8:28 and we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.
There is much more to say here concerning the sovereignty of man in all of this; how we fit in, what our freedom is and what we are responsible for. I am tempted to preach on this in 2 weeks. The response to this blog will determine that decision for me.
Monday, October 5, 2009
What is my life producing this very moment?
Matthew 21:19 and he noticed a fig tree beside the road. He went over to see if there were any figs, but there were only leaves. Then he said to it, “May you never bear fruit again!” And immediately the fig tree withered up.
Matthew 13:22 The one who received the seed that fell among the thorns is the man who hears the word, but the worries of this life and the deceitfulness of wealth choke it, making it unfruitful.
"unfruitful." Thomas Magister says, Trees, which are "eukarpa of good fruit," are those, the fruit of which is useful to men for food; those akarpa, "without fruit" on the other hand, are those, the fruit of which men do not use for food: but akarpon never means "having no fruit at all," in any ancient writer. Bengel 1.187
Ephesians 5:11 Have nothing to do with the fruitless deeds of darkness, but rather expose them.
Galatians 5:19 The acts of the sinful nature are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; 20 idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions 21 and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God. 22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness and self-control.
What our lives are producing can be monitored moment by moment. A meditation on scriptural truth and hope in the life to come produces the fruit of joy in all its various forms which is useful and good. Obsessing about the concerns of this life and putting our hope in money produces only leaves that are useless and worthy of condemnation. What our lives are producing will tell us where our thoughts are focused and this can be adjusted.
Matthew 13:22 The one who received the seed that fell among the thorns is the man who hears the word, but the worries of this life and the deceitfulness of wealth choke it, making it unfruitful.
"unfruitful." Thomas Magister says, Trees, which are "eukarpa of good fruit," are those, the fruit of which is useful to men for food; those akarpa, "without fruit" on the other hand, are those, the fruit of which men do not use for food: but akarpon never means "having no fruit at all," in any ancient writer. Bengel 1.187
Ephesians 5:11 Have nothing to do with the fruitless deeds of darkness, but rather expose them.
Galatians 5:19 The acts of the sinful nature are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; 20 idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions 21 and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God. 22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness and self-control.
What our lives are producing can be monitored moment by moment. A meditation on scriptural truth and hope in the life to come produces the fruit of joy in all its various forms which is useful and good. Obsessing about the concerns of this life and putting our hope in money produces only leaves that are useless and worthy of condemnation. What our lives are producing will tell us where our thoughts are focused and this can be adjusted.
Saturday, October 3, 2009
Plan for Holiness
Proverbs 4
23 Above all else, guard your heart, for it is the wellspring of life.
24 Put away perversity from your mouth; keep corrupt talk far from your lips.
25 Let your eyes look straight ahead, fix your gaze directly before you.
26 Make level paths for your feet and take only ways that are firm.
27 Do not swerve to the right or the left; keep your foot from evil.
The bottom line here is that protecting the heart in order to benefit your life means planning for righteousness and sticking to that plan for the day. During morning devotions we can ask, “What work needs to be addressed? What social engagements are planned? What leisure opportunities are available to me?" and then, "How will I pursue purity in all these things? How will I avoid the temptation towards evil that lies in every good?"
As I plan my work I can imagine it without anger but filled with thanksgiving to the one who has blessed me with ability.
1Th 5:18 give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.
Jas 1:20 for man’s anger does not bring about the righteous life that God desires.
As I imagine my social conduct, I can picture myself saying only those things that build others up.
1Th 5:11 therefore encourage one another and build each other up, just as in fact you are doing.
2Co 12:20b I fear that there may be quarrelling, jealousy, outbursts of anger, factions, slander, gossip, arrogance and disorder.
I can imagine myself patient and attentive while driving, wholesome in my entertainment and loving toward my family and then carry that picture with me all day.
Planning and executing righteousness can imitate the same thinking process that accompanies any project that calls upon our efforts in areas where we are not experts. We imagine the process and refine it in our heads long before we head out to the hardware store to buy materials and tools.
Holiness requires planning an intentional course for the day.
How will you start tomorrow?
23 Above all else, guard your heart, for it is the wellspring of life.
24 Put away perversity from your mouth; keep corrupt talk far from your lips.
25 Let your eyes look straight ahead, fix your gaze directly before you.
26 Make level paths for your feet and take only ways that are firm.
27 Do not swerve to the right or the left; keep your foot from evil.
The bottom line here is that protecting the heart in order to benefit your life means planning for righteousness and sticking to that plan for the day. During morning devotions we can ask, “What work needs to be addressed? What social engagements are planned? What leisure opportunities are available to me?" and then, "How will I pursue purity in all these things? How will I avoid the temptation towards evil that lies in every good?"
As I plan my work I can imagine it without anger but filled with thanksgiving to the one who has blessed me with ability.
1Th 5:18 give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.
Jas 1:20 for man’s anger does not bring about the righteous life that God desires.
As I imagine my social conduct, I can picture myself saying only those things that build others up.
1Th 5:11 therefore encourage one another and build each other up, just as in fact you are doing.
2Co 12:20b I fear that there may be quarrelling, jealousy, outbursts of anger, factions, slander, gossip, arrogance and disorder.
I can imagine myself patient and attentive while driving, wholesome in my entertainment and loving toward my family and then carry that picture with me all day.
Planning and executing righteousness can imitate the same thinking process that accompanies any project that calls upon our efforts in areas where we are not experts. We imagine the process and refine it in our heads long before we head out to the hardware store to buy materials and tools.
Holiness requires planning an intentional course for the day.
How will you start tomorrow?
Saturday, September 5, 2009
Compelling Character
Titus 2:9 Teach slaves to be subject to their masters in everything, to try to please them, not to talk back to them, 10 and not to steal from them, but to show that they can be fully trusted, so that in every way they will make the teaching about God our Saviour attractive.
Trustworthiness makes the faith attractive. A belief system that produces this universally valued commodity displays the merit of those ideas and proves them worthy of further investigation.
Many things would make a believer seem untrustworthy; immorality, emotional- imbalance, lack of love, misplaced priorities, lack of humility, unwillingness to listen and learn and change, but his character is meant to bring veracity to his claims.
2Ti 3:14 But you must remain faithful to the things you have been taught. You know they are true, for you know you can trust those who taught you.
Trustworthiness makes the faith attractive. A belief system that produces this universally valued commodity displays the merit of those ideas and proves them worthy of further investigation.
Many things would make a believer seem untrustworthy; immorality, emotional- imbalance, lack of love, misplaced priorities, lack of humility, unwillingness to listen and learn and change, but his character is meant to bring veracity to his claims.
2Ti 3:14 But you must remain faithful to the things you have been taught. You know they are true, for you know you can trust those who taught you.
Wednesday, September 2, 2009
The Difference Between Being Needed and Being Loved
In our language, being needed is almost synonymous with being loved. If someone were to say, I don’t need you.” We would take it as a strong indication that we were not wanted, not loved, that we had lost our place of belonging and that we should consider leaving.
If someone were to say, “I love you, but I do not need you.” it could change the entire dynamic of the relationship. Rather than feeling necessary, but sometimes used, drained and discarded like an empty container, we could feel valued, wanted, even enjoyed, which frees one to love in the same way. The relationship becomes more mutual, more communal and in fact our place of belonging becomes that much more secure.
What if God did not need us but loved us? What if that were the model relationship that was intended to set precedent in the church? What if love were to replace neediness in all of our relationships? Would it convert selfishness to generosity? Would the reciprocity enhance and strengthen relationship and belonging as opposed to eroding it? Could we find security in love as opposed to anxiously making ourselves merely necessary?
Psalm 50:9 But I do not need the bulls from your barns or the goats from your pens.
10 for every animal of the forest is mine, and the cattle on a thousand hills.
11 I know every bird in the mountains, and the creatures of the field are mine.
12 If I were hungry I would not tell you, for the world is mine, and all that is in it.
John 13:34 So now I am giving you a new commandment: Love each other. Just as I have loved you, you should love each other.
1Peter 1:22 You were cleansed from your sins when you obeyed the truth, so now you must show sincere love to each other as brothers and sisters. Love each other deeply with all your heart.
If someone were to say, “I love you, but I do not need you.” it could change the entire dynamic of the relationship. Rather than feeling necessary, but sometimes used, drained and discarded like an empty container, we could feel valued, wanted, even enjoyed, which frees one to love in the same way. The relationship becomes more mutual, more communal and in fact our place of belonging becomes that much more secure.
What if God did not need us but loved us? What if that were the model relationship that was intended to set precedent in the church? What if love were to replace neediness in all of our relationships? Would it convert selfishness to generosity? Would the reciprocity enhance and strengthen relationship and belonging as opposed to eroding it? Could we find security in love as opposed to anxiously making ourselves merely necessary?
Psalm 50:9 But I do not need the bulls from your barns or the goats from your pens.
10 for every animal of the forest is mine, and the cattle on a thousand hills.
11 I know every bird in the mountains, and the creatures of the field are mine.
12 If I were hungry I would not tell you, for the world is mine, and all that is in it.
John 13:34 So now I am giving you a new commandment: Love each other. Just as I have loved you, you should love each other.
1Peter 1:22 You were cleansed from your sins when you obeyed the truth, so now you must show sincere love to each other as brothers and sisters. Love each other deeply with all your heart.
Saturday, August 29, 2009
Do you love God or just love people?
Do you love God or just love people?
Really Loving Christians is the proof.
1Jo 4:20 If anyone says, "I love God," yet hates his brother, he is a liar.
The Key point is this: Real love for Christians stems from our love of God, not our love of people.
1Jo 5:2 This is how we know that we love the children of God: by loving God and carrying out his commands.
So ask yourself…
1. Do you love the God of the Bible who ordered genocide?
De 20:16 In those towns that the LORD your God is giving you as a special possession, destroy every living thing. 17 You must completely destroy the Hittites, Amorites, Canaanites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites, just as the LORD your God has commanded you.
2. Do you love the God of the Bible who is sovereign over unspeakable suffering?
2Kings 6:24 Some time later, however, King Ben–hadad of Aram mustered his entire army and besieged Samaria. 25 As a result, there was a great famine in the city. The siege lasted so long that a donkey’s head sold for eighty pieces of silver, and a cup of dove’s dung sold for five pieces of silver. 26 One day as the king of Israel was walking along the wall of the city, a woman called to him, “Please help me, my lord the king!”
27 He answered, “If the LORD doesn’t help you, what can I do? I have neither food from the threshing floor nor wine from the press to give you.”
28 But then the king asked, “What is the matter?” She replied, “This woman said to me: ‘Come on, let's eat your son today, then we will eat my son tomorrow.' 29 So we cooked my son and ate him. Then the next day I said to her, ‘Kill your son so we can eat him,' but she has hidden her son.”
30 When the king heard this, he tore his clothes in despair.
3. Do you love the God of the Bible who condemns people to eternal judgment and suffering who have never even heard of Jesus?
Ac 4:12 Salvation is found in no-one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved."
Ro 10:14 How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them?
Ro 1:18 But God shows his anger from heaven against all sinful, wicked people who suppress the truth by their wickedness. 19 They know the truth about God because he has made it obvious to them. 20 For ever since the world was created, people have seen the earth and sky. Through everything God made, they can clearly see his invisible qualities––his eternal power and divine nature. So they have no excuse for not knowing God.
4. Do you love the God of the Bible who ordained His innocent son to suffer and die to pay for the sins of the world?
Ac 2:23 This man was handed over to you by God’s set purpose and foreknowledge; and you, with the help of wicked men, put him to death by nailing him to the cross.
Acts 4: 27 Indeed Herod and Pontius Pilate met together with the Gentiles and the people of Israel in this city to conspire against your holy servant Jesus, whom you anointed. 28 They did what your power and will had decided beforehand should happen.
5. Do you love the God of the Bible who chooses only a relative few to enjoy the eternal consequences of Christ’s sacrifice.
Mt 22:14 "For many are invited, but few are chosen."
6. Do you love the God of the Bible who dispenses his mercy exclusively based on his own pleasure?
Isa 46:10 My purpose will stand, and I will do all that I please.
Ro 9:16 It (Being divinely considered and treated as a child of God) does not, therefore, depend on man’s desire or effort, but on God’s mercy.
7. Do you love the God of the Bile who sent his son with you in mind to personally redeem you from humanly unstoppable sin and the eternal separation from him that logically follows.
Ro 5:8 But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
Ep 1:4 Even before he made the world, God loved us and chose us in Christ to be holy and without fault in his eyes. 5 God decided in advance to adopt us into his own family by bringing us to himself through Jesus Christ. This is what he wanted to do, and it gave him great pleasure.
Jo 5:24 "I tell you the truth, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life and will not be condemned; he has crossed over from death to life.
1Jo 5:13 I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God so that you may know that you have eternal life.
8. Do you love the God of the Bible and trust him to manage everything in such a way that he receives recognition as the supreme, righteous, perfect, beautiful One?
Because it is the love we have for God that distinguishes a Christian from a humanist. It is our supreme love for God that distinguishes us from those who have a supreme love for humanity.
The difference between being wonderful, funny, big-hearted, loving, loveable people who view God as a means of comforting others, and actually being in an unbreakable eternal relationship with God… is a supreme love for God - with all heart and soul and mind and strength and yet-unresolved questions. In doubt, we turn to our experience of his love for us in Christ and trust in his love.
1Jo 4:16 And so we KNOW and RELY ON the love God has for us.
Real love for others stems from our love for God, not our love of people.
1Jo 5:2 This is how we know that we love the children of God: by loving God and carrying out his commands.
1Jo 5:21 Dear children, keep away from anything (including humanism) that might take God’s place in your hearts.
Can I say at the end of it all, “God what lands in your court, is a lot of stuff I find gross and disturbing and objectionable, but what lands in my court is a bewildering quantity and quality of love, the experience of which so overwhelms any sense of doubt that I cannot help but love you.
1Jo 3: How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we (sinners) should be called children of God! And that is what we are!
Really Loving Christians is the proof.
1Jo 4:20 If anyone says, "I love God," yet hates his brother, he is a liar.
The Key point is this: Real love for Christians stems from our love of God, not our love of people.
1Jo 5:2 This is how we know that we love the children of God: by loving God and carrying out his commands.
So ask yourself…
1. Do you love the God of the Bible who ordered genocide?
De 20:16 In those towns that the LORD your God is giving you as a special possession, destroy every living thing. 17 You must completely destroy the Hittites, Amorites, Canaanites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites, just as the LORD your God has commanded you.
2. Do you love the God of the Bible who is sovereign over unspeakable suffering?
2Kings 6:24 Some time later, however, King Ben–hadad of Aram mustered his entire army and besieged Samaria. 25 As a result, there was a great famine in the city. The siege lasted so long that a donkey’s head sold for eighty pieces of silver, and a cup of dove’s dung sold for five pieces of silver. 26 One day as the king of Israel was walking along the wall of the city, a woman called to him, “Please help me, my lord the king!”
27 He answered, “If the LORD doesn’t help you, what can I do? I have neither food from the threshing floor nor wine from the press to give you.”
28 But then the king asked, “What is the matter?” She replied, “This woman said to me: ‘Come on, let's eat your son today, then we will eat my son tomorrow.' 29 So we cooked my son and ate him. Then the next day I said to her, ‘Kill your son so we can eat him,' but she has hidden her son.”
30 When the king heard this, he tore his clothes in despair.
3. Do you love the God of the Bible who condemns people to eternal judgment and suffering who have never even heard of Jesus?
Ac 4:12 Salvation is found in no-one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved."
Ro 10:14 How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them?
Ro 1:18 But God shows his anger from heaven against all sinful, wicked people who suppress the truth by their wickedness. 19 They know the truth about God because he has made it obvious to them. 20 For ever since the world was created, people have seen the earth and sky. Through everything God made, they can clearly see his invisible qualities––his eternal power and divine nature. So they have no excuse for not knowing God.
4. Do you love the God of the Bible who ordained His innocent son to suffer and die to pay for the sins of the world?
Ac 2:23 This man was handed over to you by God’s set purpose and foreknowledge; and you, with the help of wicked men, put him to death by nailing him to the cross.
Acts 4: 27 Indeed Herod and Pontius Pilate met together with the Gentiles and the people of Israel in this city to conspire against your holy servant Jesus, whom you anointed. 28 They did what your power and will had decided beforehand should happen.
5. Do you love the God of the Bible who chooses only a relative few to enjoy the eternal consequences of Christ’s sacrifice.
Mt 22:14 "For many are invited, but few are chosen."
6. Do you love the God of the Bible who dispenses his mercy exclusively based on his own pleasure?
Isa 46:10 My purpose will stand, and I will do all that I please.
Ro 9:16 It (Being divinely considered and treated as a child of God) does not, therefore, depend on man’s desire or effort, but on God’s mercy.
7. Do you love the God of the Bile who sent his son with you in mind to personally redeem you from humanly unstoppable sin and the eternal separation from him that logically follows.
Ro 5:8 But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
Ep 1:4 Even before he made the world, God loved us and chose us in Christ to be holy and without fault in his eyes. 5 God decided in advance to adopt us into his own family by bringing us to himself through Jesus Christ. This is what he wanted to do, and it gave him great pleasure.
Jo 5:24 "I tell you the truth, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life and will not be condemned; he has crossed over from death to life.
1Jo 5:13 I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God so that you may know that you have eternal life.
8. Do you love the God of the Bible and trust him to manage everything in such a way that he receives recognition as the supreme, righteous, perfect, beautiful One?
Because it is the love we have for God that distinguishes a Christian from a humanist. It is our supreme love for God that distinguishes us from those who have a supreme love for humanity.
The difference between being wonderful, funny, big-hearted, loving, loveable people who view God as a means of comforting others, and actually being in an unbreakable eternal relationship with God… is a supreme love for God - with all heart and soul and mind and strength and yet-unresolved questions. In doubt, we turn to our experience of his love for us in Christ and trust in his love.
1Jo 4:16 And so we KNOW and RELY ON the love God has for us.
Real love for others stems from our love for God, not our love of people.
1Jo 5:2 This is how we know that we love the children of God: by loving God and carrying out his commands.
1Jo 5:21 Dear children, keep away from anything (including humanism) that might take God’s place in your hearts.
Can I say at the end of it all, “God what lands in your court, is a lot of stuff I find gross and disturbing and objectionable, but what lands in my court is a bewildering quantity and quality of love, the experience of which so overwhelms any sense of doubt that I cannot help but love you.
1Jo 3: How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we (sinners) should be called children of God! And that is what we are!
Friday, August 7, 2009
Listening In Loss
Joy in loss is that internal evidence that God is real and aware and in control and good and for us and near and all-pervading.
In uncertainty, joy feels like peace.
Php 4:7 …the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
Isa 26:3 You will keep in perfect peace all who trust in you, all whose thoughts are fixed on you!
In fearfulness, joy translates into confidence.
Jer 17:7 “But blessed (happily receiving invisible support and sustenance from God) are those who trust in the LORD and have made the LORD their hope and confidence.
In loss, joy is trust.
Ps 9:10 Those who know your name will trust in you, for you, LORD, have never forsaken those who seek you.
1Ch 29:12 You are the ruler of all things.
Ps 145:17 The LORD is righteous in everything he does; he is filled with kindness.
In waiting, joy becomes patience
Ps 27:14 Wait for the LORD; be strong and take heart and wait for the LORD.
Ps 40:1 I waited patiently for the LORD to help me, and he turned to me and heard my cry.
In grief, joy remembers our consolation
Heb 6:18 We who have fled to him for refuge can have great confidence (consolation KJV) as we hold to the hope that lies before us.
In suffering joy sees what cannot be lost.
2Ti 1:12 I know whom I have believed, and am convinced that he is able to guard what I have entrusted to him for that day.
Ro 8:39 neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
In weakness joy abides in us as strength
Ne 8:10 the joy of the LORD is your strength."
2Ti 1:8 With the strength God gives you, be ready to suffer…
And suffer we will. May God make us ready to face loss and suffer with him and for him. May we hope in him alone and be filled to overflowing with joy.
In uncertainty, joy feels like peace.
Php 4:7 …the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
Isa 26:3 You will keep in perfect peace all who trust in you, all whose thoughts are fixed on you!
In fearfulness, joy translates into confidence.
Jer 17:7 “But blessed (happily receiving invisible support and sustenance from God) are those who trust in the LORD and have made the LORD their hope and confidence.
In loss, joy is trust.
Ps 9:10 Those who know your name will trust in you, for you, LORD, have never forsaken those who seek you.
1Ch 29:12 You are the ruler of all things.
Ps 145:17 The LORD is righteous in everything he does; he is filled with kindness.
In waiting, joy becomes patience
Ps 27:14 Wait for the LORD; be strong and take heart and wait for the LORD.
Ps 40:1 I waited patiently for the LORD to help me, and he turned to me and heard my cry.
In grief, joy remembers our consolation
Heb 6:18 We who have fled to him for refuge can have great confidence (consolation KJV) as we hold to the hope that lies before us.
In suffering joy sees what cannot be lost.
2Ti 1:12 I know whom I have believed, and am convinced that he is able to guard what I have entrusted to him for that day.
Ro 8:39 neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
In weakness joy abides in us as strength
Ne 8:10 the joy of the LORD is your strength."
2Ti 1:8 With the strength God gives you, be ready to suffer…
And suffer we will. May God make us ready to face loss and suffer with him and for him. May we hope in him alone and be filled to overflowing with joy.
Wednesday, July 8, 2009
Spending Money on Pleasure - Part 2
How much can I spend on my pleasure and how can I justify it to myself so I can sleep at night?
This is not the right question. The right question sounds more like, “How could I possibly give more to mission?” or, “How could I learn to be content with less so that the kingdom may advance more rapidly?” or “Could I eat out less, so I could do more to feed the hungry?”
Those are the right questions. I’m not sure they are the questions we are asking… yet. We are asking something more like, “How much do I have to give in order to ease my conscience concerning spending the rest on pleasure, comfort, security and status for myself and those who are an extension of myself, my family?”
After some reflection, here is a glib summary-statement of what quiets my conscience in this matter. “If it feels good do it.”
This is God’s advice with our giving toward the poor and the church and I think it can apply across the board.
2Co 9:7 Each man should give what he has decided in his heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.
This divine mandate establishes a budget priority for God’s people.
As our giving is to be calculated to produce joy and not stress…
2Co 8:13 Our desire is not that others might be relieved while you are hard pressed, but that there might be equality.
…so all our spending should fall into line behind this priority. This is a “feeling” issue, but it is a feeling born out of hard facts. This of course begs for a family budget as an expression of long-term, joy-producing priorities.
The more accurate your budget, the more you will be able to enjoy generosity and meaningful contribution as well as pleasure-spending, within the confines of your income. A budget is meant to serve you in the production of joy and the reduction of guilt and anxiety.
Ac 20:35 It is more blessed to give than to receive.
Hudson Taylor discovered this and called it his “Spiritual Secret”. He learned to live with the absolute least, in order to give as much as he could. He found that the more he gave, the more joy he received. This is how he proved his faith and God’s sufficiency all at once. His story is compelling.
And this is, at least in part, the reward referred to in the verse that precedes the encouragement to give cheerfully: (2Co 9:6) Remember this: Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will also reap generously.
Try this. Take ten minutes (or more depending on the state of your financial records) and calculate what you spend on pure pleasure in a month or a year.
Look at your credit card and bank statement and ask, “What did I spend on myself and my family for pure pleasure?” These things are not evil, but more joy will be produced when you keep in mind your annual pleasure budget and weigh it against your annual giving budget. In accordance with true hedonism ask, “What brings maximum joy?”
By this you will discern priorities and see where change is necessary in order to live out joyful submission to God in his continual presence rather than intentionally forgetting him every time you are considering purchasing pleasure and living with a vague sense of remorse and insecurity afterward.
With all the facts in mind and priorities that lie open before the lord, each of us can make unique decisions that maximize our joy in the financial department of our lives.
So the process of how to enjoy when spending looks like this:
1. Analyze & justify before the lord.
Does this square with a budget designed to maximize my joy considering my long-term (eternal) priorities?
2. Enjoy the planning stage
3. Enjoy what you have planned and stop analyzing.(for now)
Unexpected expenses and community needs will always produce situational challenges, but even these can be made more joyful if we have left some breathing room in our budget. Knowing these things will come along.
Could my money afford more joy than I am receiving from the pleasure, convenience, security and status I am currently considering?
Could I be richer toward God? (Luke 12:21)
Could He receive more glory, the kingdom be further advanced, the church more assuredly built up, treasure more certainly stored where loss does not occur, if I scrutinized and calculated my pleasure spending with the same forethought I use when calculating my offering and charity?
Is there a balance between my pleasure spending and my giving that produces in me a shared joy with God and others as opposed to selfish temporary escapism that leaves doubt?
There are more questions to ask, but I will stop here for now.
This is not the right question. The right question sounds more like, “How could I possibly give more to mission?” or, “How could I learn to be content with less so that the kingdom may advance more rapidly?” or “Could I eat out less, so I could do more to feed the hungry?”
Those are the right questions. I’m not sure they are the questions we are asking… yet. We are asking something more like, “How much do I have to give in order to ease my conscience concerning spending the rest on pleasure, comfort, security and status for myself and those who are an extension of myself, my family?”
After some reflection, here is a glib summary-statement of what quiets my conscience in this matter. “If it feels good do it.”
This is God’s advice with our giving toward the poor and the church and I think it can apply across the board.
2Co 9:7 Each man should give what he has decided in his heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.
This divine mandate establishes a budget priority for God’s people.
As our giving is to be calculated to produce joy and not stress…
2Co 8:13 Our desire is not that others might be relieved while you are hard pressed, but that there might be equality.
…so all our spending should fall into line behind this priority. This is a “feeling” issue, but it is a feeling born out of hard facts. This of course begs for a family budget as an expression of long-term, joy-producing priorities.
The more accurate your budget, the more you will be able to enjoy generosity and meaningful contribution as well as pleasure-spending, within the confines of your income. A budget is meant to serve you in the production of joy and the reduction of guilt and anxiety.
Ac 20:35 It is more blessed to give than to receive.
Hudson Taylor discovered this and called it his “Spiritual Secret”. He learned to live with the absolute least, in order to give as much as he could. He found that the more he gave, the more joy he received. This is how he proved his faith and God’s sufficiency all at once. His story is compelling.
And this is, at least in part, the reward referred to in the verse that precedes the encouragement to give cheerfully: (2Co 9:6) Remember this: Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will also reap generously.
Try this. Take ten minutes (or more depending on the state of your financial records) and calculate what you spend on pure pleasure in a month or a year.
Look at your credit card and bank statement and ask, “What did I spend on myself and my family for pure pleasure?” These things are not evil, but more joy will be produced when you keep in mind your annual pleasure budget and weigh it against your annual giving budget. In accordance with true hedonism ask, “What brings maximum joy?”
By this you will discern priorities and see where change is necessary in order to live out joyful submission to God in his continual presence rather than intentionally forgetting him every time you are considering purchasing pleasure and living with a vague sense of remorse and insecurity afterward.
With all the facts in mind and priorities that lie open before the lord, each of us can make unique decisions that maximize our joy in the financial department of our lives.
So the process of how to enjoy when spending looks like this:
1. Analyze & justify before the lord.
Does this square with a budget designed to maximize my joy considering my long-term (eternal) priorities?
2. Enjoy the planning stage
3. Enjoy what you have planned and stop analyzing.(for now)
Unexpected expenses and community needs will always produce situational challenges, but even these can be made more joyful if we have left some breathing room in our budget. Knowing these things will come along.
Could my money afford more joy than I am receiving from the pleasure, convenience, security and status I am currently considering?
Could I be richer toward God? (Luke 12:21)
Could He receive more glory, the kingdom be further advanced, the church more assuredly built up, treasure more certainly stored where loss does not occur, if I scrutinized and calculated my pleasure spending with the same forethought I use when calculating my offering and charity?
Is there a balance between my pleasure spending and my giving that produces in me a shared joy with God and others as opposed to selfish temporary escapism that leaves doubt?
There are more questions to ask, but I will stop here for now.
Saturday, June 27, 2009
Spending Money on Pleasure - Part 1
James 4:3 When you ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, that you may spend what you get on your pleasures.
It appears from this verse that it is categorically wrong to desire more money so that we might afford more pleasure. Pleasure-seeking is a wrong reason to ask God for more money and the reason he withholds money.
Is it therefore always wrong to spend money on pleasure? Is there legitimate pleasure, despite its financial expense, that we should be purchasing? Can pleasure afforded with money, lead to holiness or does it always detract? Where do we get our answers? Do we simply compare ourselves with others, justify our spending with private answers, or is there a biblical answer? In order to have confidence and peace before God in this issue, we need a Consumer-Theology.
Is there a right amount, a justifiable percentage, a dollar figure that God wants me to spend on my pleasure? Is pleasure that requires spending always wrong? If not, what verses would I point to?
1Ti 6:17 Teach those who are rich in this world not to be proud and not to trust in their money, which is so unreliable. Their trust should be in God, who richly gives us all we need for our enjoyment.
In this verse, God recognizes our “need” for enjoyment and meets it. And if God gives “all” we need to enjoy, surely this points away from material wealth and towards the “all” that comes with Christ as in Ro 8:32 “He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all—how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things?
The “all things” we have to enjoy and anticipate here are divine forgiveness, acceptance, and love. We have the Church, the Kingdom, holiness, the sure hope of a perfectly happy eternity, but these things are not afforded with money, so how do we really decide how much money a believer is entitled to spend on his pleasure? Are we prepared to listen to God on this point?
If the best things in life are free, how much does God want us to spend on making life a little better? If the believer learned to authentically enjoy Christ, would it free up money for mission? How can I look at my own habits without being condemning of others?
It appears from this verse that it is categorically wrong to desire more money so that we might afford more pleasure. Pleasure-seeking is a wrong reason to ask God for more money and the reason he withholds money.
Is it therefore always wrong to spend money on pleasure? Is there legitimate pleasure, despite its financial expense, that we should be purchasing? Can pleasure afforded with money, lead to holiness or does it always detract? Where do we get our answers? Do we simply compare ourselves with others, justify our spending with private answers, or is there a biblical answer? In order to have confidence and peace before God in this issue, we need a Consumer-Theology.
Is there a right amount, a justifiable percentage, a dollar figure that God wants me to spend on my pleasure? Is pleasure that requires spending always wrong? If not, what verses would I point to?
1Ti 6:17 Teach those who are rich in this world not to be proud and not to trust in their money, which is so unreliable. Their trust should be in God, who richly gives us all we need for our enjoyment.
In this verse, God recognizes our “need” for enjoyment and meets it. And if God gives “all” we need to enjoy, surely this points away from material wealth and towards the “all” that comes with Christ as in Ro 8:32 “He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all—how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things?
The “all things” we have to enjoy and anticipate here are divine forgiveness, acceptance, and love. We have the Church, the Kingdom, holiness, the sure hope of a perfectly happy eternity, but these things are not afforded with money, so how do we really decide how much money a believer is entitled to spend on his pleasure? Are we prepared to listen to God on this point?
If the best things in life are free, how much does God want us to spend on making life a little better? If the believer learned to authentically enjoy Christ, would it free up money for mission? How can I look at my own habits without being condemning of others?
Thursday, June 18, 2009
Repentance: A Gift from God Part 2
Isa 55:11 …my word that goes out from my mouth… will not return to me empty, but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it.
God intends and brings about the repentance of his chosen-ones, by making certain the comprehension of his word, which communicates the reasonableness and desirableness of repentance. Once a person is informed and convinced, repentance is freely embraced.
The Bible’s reasonableness and truthfulness and unapologetic authority are used by God to light up the beauty of, “Repent and turn to God.” (Ac 26:20) But that beauty is not seen by all. All are not chosen, purposed, intended to see it.
Acts 9:22 Saul’s preaching became more and more powerful, and the Jews in Damascus couldn’t refute his proofs that Jesus was indeed the Messiah. 23 After a while some of the Jews plotted together to kill him.
C.S. Lewis in “The Screwtape Letters” explains, “You see, God doesn’t wish to overwhelm us. He’s put us in a position where our will can go in either direction. We are responsible for our decision. It’s what we choose to see that matters. In order for us to have that choice, God leaves things so that we have to seek them.”
This is at best a slice of truth; an occasional explanation of God’s seeming-lack of involvement. This could only be said of those whom God allows to freely reject him, to those, whose eternity is determined by their choice rather than God’s choice.
Those God purposes, intends, chooses to repent, to those he grants the gift of repentance, “overwhelming” is exactly what he does. Consider Paul’s reason for choosing to repent.
Acts 9:3 As he was approaching Damascus on this mission, a light from heaven suddenly shone down around him. 4 He fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to him, “Saul! Saul! Why are you persecuting me?” 5 “Who are you, lord?” Saul asked. And the voice replied, “I am Jesus, the one you are persecuting! 6 Now get up and go into the city, and you will be told what you must do.” 7 The men traveling with Saul stood there speechless; they heard the sound but did not see anyone. 8 Saul got up from the ground, but when he opened his eyes he could see nothing. So they led him by the hand into Damascus.
It is reasonable to say from this text that God “overwhelmed” Paul, so that Paul might see repentance as the best (and only logical) course of action. This devastating combination of inescapable accountability and conviction and despair and alarm and hopelessness and dread and obvious need for mercy and new willingness to cling to the mercy of God, is the force God uses to necessarily and certainly produce repentance in the hearts of those he purposes to transform through repentance.
Those God intends to justify and sanctify and glorify are brought initially and then, again and again to a certainty of the benefits of repentance, sometimes overwhelmingly so.
By his word, he continually convinces, by small measures and by large, that there is nothing better that we could do than to turn from our sin and turn to God.
God intends and brings about the repentance of his chosen-ones, by making certain the comprehension of his word, which communicates the reasonableness and desirableness of repentance. Once a person is informed and convinced, repentance is freely embraced.
The Bible’s reasonableness and truthfulness and unapologetic authority are used by God to light up the beauty of, “Repent and turn to God.” (Ac 26:20) But that beauty is not seen by all. All are not chosen, purposed, intended to see it.
Acts 9:22 Saul’s preaching became more and more powerful, and the Jews in Damascus couldn’t refute his proofs that Jesus was indeed the Messiah. 23 After a while some of the Jews plotted together to kill him.
C.S. Lewis in “The Screwtape Letters” explains, “You see, God doesn’t wish to overwhelm us. He’s put us in a position where our will can go in either direction. We are responsible for our decision. It’s what we choose to see that matters. In order for us to have that choice, God leaves things so that we have to seek them.”
This is at best a slice of truth; an occasional explanation of God’s seeming-lack of involvement. This could only be said of those whom God allows to freely reject him, to those, whose eternity is determined by their choice rather than God’s choice.
Those God purposes, intends, chooses to repent, to those he grants the gift of repentance, “overwhelming” is exactly what he does. Consider Paul’s reason for choosing to repent.
Acts 9:3 As he was approaching Damascus on this mission, a light from heaven suddenly shone down around him. 4 He fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to him, “Saul! Saul! Why are you persecuting me?” 5 “Who are you, lord?” Saul asked. And the voice replied, “I am Jesus, the one you are persecuting! 6 Now get up and go into the city, and you will be told what you must do.” 7 The men traveling with Saul stood there speechless; they heard the sound but did not see anyone. 8 Saul got up from the ground, but when he opened his eyes he could see nothing. So they led him by the hand into Damascus.
It is reasonable to say from this text that God “overwhelmed” Paul, so that Paul might see repentance as the best (and only logical) course of action. This devastating combination of inescapable accountability and conviction and despair and alarm and hopelessness and dread and obvious need for mercy and new willingness to cling to the mercy of God, is the force God uses to necessarily and certainly produce repentance in the hearts of those he purposes to transform through repentance.
Those God intends to justify and sanctify and glorify are brought initially and then, again and again to a certainty of the benefits of repentance, sometimes overwhelmingly so.
By his word, he continually convinces, by small measures and by large, that there is nothing better that we could do than to turn from our sin and turn to God.
Tuesday, June 16, 2009
Repentance: A Gift from God Part 1
1Sa 2:25 Eli’s sons wouldn’t listen to their father, for (because) the LORD was already planning to put them to death.
The reason given for their unwillingness to listen to a life-giving rebuke was because of something already determined in the heart of God.
1Sa 3:11 The LORD said to Samuel… 14 “I have vowed that the sins of Eli and his sons will never be forgiven by sacrifices or offerings.”
1Sa 4:11 The ark of God was captured, and Eli’s two sons, Hophni and Phinehas, died.
It is God who grants repentance, allowing his chosen ones to see how detestable our sins are, providing also the power and the will do violence to them.
The conclusion of those who heard Peter’s account of the Spirit’s coming upon Gentiles was this, (Ac 11:18) “We can see that God has also given the Gentiles the privilege of repenting of their sins and receiving eternal life.”
This is our prayer for those who refuse to listen and for our own stubborn hearts that cherish long-held sin. (2Ti 2:25) “That God will grant them (us) repentance leading them (us)to a knowledge of the truth, 26 and that they (we) will come to their (our) senses…”
Sovereign God, grant us repentant hearts that see the horror of our sin in the light of the beauty of your holiness. Give us the determination and the perseverance to walk away, to really change and be all for you.
The reason given for their unwillingness to listen to a life-giving rebuke was because of something already determined in the heart of God.
1Sa 3:11 The LORD said to Samuel… 14 “I have vowed that the sins of Eli and his sons will never be forgiven by sacrifices or offerings.”
1Sa 4:11 The ark of God was captured, and Eli’s two sons, Hophni and Phinehas, died.
It is God who grants repentance, allowing his chosen ones to see how detestable our sins are, providing also the power and the will do violence to them.
The conclusion of those who heard Peter’s account of the Spirit’s coming upon Gentiles was this, (Ac 11:18) “We can see that God has also given the Gentiles the privilege of repenting of their sins and receiving eternal life.”
This is our prayer for those who refuse to listen and for our own stubborn hearts that cherish long-held sin. (2Ti 2:25) “That God will grant them (us) repentance leading them (us)to a knowledge of the truth, 26 and that they (we) will come to their (our) senses…”
Sovereign God, grant us repentant hearts that see the horror of our sin in the light of the beauty of your holiness. Give us the determination and the perseverance to walk away, to really change and be all for you.
Monday, June 8, 2009
Looking AT the “Glass Darkly”
We sing. Open the Eyes of My Heart Lord. I Want to See You!
Our demand / desire is no different from those quoted below…
John 12:21 "Sir," they said, "we would like to see Jesus."
John 14:8 Philip said, “Lord, show us the Father, and we will be satisfied.”
And this is Jesus joy…
John 17:26 I have made you known to them, and will continue to make you known in order that the love you have for me may be in them and that I myself may be in them."
John 17:3 Now this is eternal life: that they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent.
Though for us there is some frustration, some impatience.
1Co 13:12 Now we see things imperfectly as in a cloudy mirror…
It only takes a small, self-righteous adjustment of focus to look at the surface of the mirror and its imperfections instead of looking at the likeness it is meant to display.
Our pleasures, our family members, our churches. All are fraught with shortcomings that leave us less than satisfied, less than joyous. Even the Bible provides only a partial experience of God, but then, all is meant to be looked through, looked beyond to see something else: the One to whom everything refers.
Ro 11:36 For everything comes from him and exists by his power and is intended for his glory. All glory to him forever! Amen.
We want to see perfection. We will. Just not yet.
1Co 13:12 Now we see but a poor reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face.
Our demand / desire is no different from those quoted below…
John 12:21 "Sir," they said, "we would like to see Jesus."
John 14:8 Philip said, “Lord, show us the Father, and we will be satisfied.”
And this is Jesus joy…
John 17:26 I have made you known to them, and will continue to make you known in order that the love you have for me may be in them and that I myself may be in them."
John 17:3 Now this is eternal life: that they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent.
Though for us there is some frustration, some impatience.
1Co 13:12 Now we see things imperfectly as in a cloudy mirror…
It only takes a small, self-righteous adjustment of focus to look at the surface of the mirror and its imperfections instead of looking at the likeness it is meant to display.
Our pleasures, our family members, our churches. All are fraught with shortcomings that leave us less than satisfied, less than joyous. Even the Bible provides only a partial experience of God, but then, all is meant to be looked through, looked beyond to see something else: the One to whom everything refers.
Ro 11:36 For everything comes from him and exists by his power and is intended for his glory. All glory to him forever! Amen.
We want to see perfection. We will. Just not yet.
1Co 13:12 Now we see but a poor reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face.
Wednesday, June 3, 2009
Speak, O Lord
There is a beautiful prayer set to music that begins this way,
“Speak, O Lord, as we come to You
To receive the food of Your Holy Word.
Take Your truth, plant it deep in us;
Shape and fashion us in Your likeness,
I imagine this as the assuredly answered, waking prayer of my every day.
It is impossible to describe the utter bleakness and barrenness, darkness and despair from which I first uttered such a prayer at age 19. Certain I was hell-bound and in desperate need of God, I begged relentlessly, sleeplessly for a word from him, though I had no idea how he would speak until I remembered my Gideon’s Bible. And He spoke.
Now I live the antithesis of that deprivation. Now God is never silent. He never stops speaking his word to me.
Psalm 1:1-2
Oh, the joys of those who... delight in the law of the LORD, meditating on it day and night.
Psalm 19:1-2 The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands. Day after day they pour forth speech; night after night they display knowledge.
Psalm 139:7 Where can I go from your Spirit? Where can I flee from your presence?
8 If I go up to the heavens, you are there; if I make my bed in the depths, you are there. 9 If I rise on the wings of the dawn, if I settle on the far side of the sea,
10 even there your hand will guide me, your right hand will hold me fast.
Psalm 119:105 Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light for my path.
For those who choose to listen, who have been chosen to hear, God never stops talking.
“Speak, O Lord, as we come to You
To receive the food of Your Holy Word.
Take Your truth, plant it deep in us;
Shape and fashion us in Your likeness,
I imagine this as the assuredly answered, waking prayer of my every day.
It is impossible to describe the utter bleakness and barrenness, darkness and despair from which I first uttered such a prayer at age 19. Certain I was hell-bound and in desperate need of God, I begged relentlessly, sleeplessly for a word from him, though I had no idea how he would speak until I remembered my Gideon’s Bible. And He spoke.
Now I live the antithesis of that deprivation. Now God is never silent. He never stops speaking his word to me.
Psalm 1:1-2
Oh, the joys of those who... delight in the law of the LORD, meditating on it day and night.
Psalm 19:1-2 The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands. Day after day they pour forth speech; night after night they display knowledge.
Psalm 139:7 Where can I go from your Spirit? Where can I flee from your presence?
8 If I go up to the heavens, you are there; if I make my bed in the depths, you are there. 9 If I rise on the wings of the dawn, if I settle on the far side of the sea,
10 even there your hand will guide me, your right hand will hold me fast.
Psalm 119:105 Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light for my path.
For those who choose to listen, who have been chosen to hear, God never stops talking.
Monday, June 1, 2009
Wealth and Joy Beyond Measure
Today is the first of solitude and study on this three month sabbatical I have been granted to enjoy. I feel as though I have walked into a room filled with something greater than treasure.
Spurgeon writes concerning the, “fullness and richness of the Bible… it is inexhaustible…. A long life will only suffice us to skirt the shores of this great continent of light. In the forty years of my own ministry, I have only touched the hem of the garment of divine truth; but what virtue has flowed out of it. The word is like its Author, infinite, immeasurable, without end. If you were ordained to be a preacher throughout eternity, you would have before you a theme equal to everlasting demands.” Pg 23-24 “The Greatest Fight in the World” C.H. Spurgeon
John 16
12 “There is so much more I want to tell you, but you can’t bear it now.
13 When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all truth. He will not speak on his own but will tell you what he has heard. He will tell you about the future. 14 He will bring me glory by telling you whatever he receives from me. 15 All that belongs to the Father is mine; this is why I said, ‘The Spirit will tell you whatever he receives from me.'
Spurgeon writes concerning the, “fullness and richness of the Bible… it is inexhaustible…. A long life will only suffice us to skirt the shores of this great continent of light. In the forty years of my own ministry, I have only touched the hem of the garment of divine truth; but what virtue has flowed out of it. The word is like its Author, infinite, immeasurable, without end. If you were ordained to be a preacher throughout eternity, you would have before you a theme equal to everlasting demands.” Pg 23-24 “The Greatest Fight in the World” C.H. Spurgeon
John 16
12 “There is so much more I want to tell you, but you can’t bear it now.
13 When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all truth. He will not speak on his own but will tell you what he has heard. He will tell you about the future. 14 He will bring me glory by telling you whatever he receives from me. 15 All that belongs to the Father is mine; this is why I said, ‘The Spirit will tell you whatever he receives from me.'
Wednesday, May 13, 2009
Determining Your Offering
Two questions can be asked when trying to determine how much money you should give to support the Kingdom, the Church and the Poor.
One is biblical. The other is greedy.
Q1. How much can I give without placing excessive strain on my family?
2Co 8:12 Whatever you give is acceptable if you give it eagerly. And give according to what you have, not what you don’t have. 13 Of course, I don’t mean your giving should make life easy for others and hard for yourselves. I only mean that there should be some equality.
1Ti 5:8 But those who won’t care for their relatives, especially those in their own household, have denied the true faith. Such people are worse than unbelievers.
Php 4:6 Do not be anxious about anything…
Q2. How much do I have to give to the church in order to justify lavishly spending on myself and my family?
James 4:3 …your motives are all wrong––you want only what will give YOU pleasure.
When we seek to justify our own exclusive pleasure rather than what is mutually pleasurable with God we will lack the joy that Hudson Taylor claimed as his “Spiritual Secret”, which is simply this: “The more I give, the more joy I have.”
Be responsible. Be joyful. God bless.
One is biblical. The other is greedy.
Q1. How much can I give without placing excessive strain on my family?
2Co 8:12 Whatever you give is acceptable if you give it eagerly. And give according to what you have, not what you don’t have. 13 Of course, I don’t mean your giving should make life easy for others and hard for yourselves. I only mean that there should be some equality.
1Ti 5:8 But those who won’t care for their relatives, especially those in their own household, have denied the true faith. Such people are worse than unbelievers.
Php 4:6 Do not be anxious about anything…
Q2. How much do I have to give to the church in order to justify lavishly spending on myself and my family?
James 4:3 …your motives are all wrong––you want only what will give YOU pleasure.
When we seek to justify our own exclusive pleasure rather than what is mutually pleasurable with God we will lack the joy that Hudson Taylor claimed as his “Spiritual Secret”, which is simply this: “The more I give, the more joy I have.”
Be responsible. Be joyful. God bless.
Tuesday, May 12, 2009
So! You’ve Decided To Leave The Church Part II
This is an email conversation that I post with permission that stems from the Monday, March 30, 2009 blog entitled, “So! You’ve Decided To Leave The Church”
Sent: Tuesday, March 31, 2009 12:40 PM
In response to your blog about leaving the church.... I didn't feel comfortable writing on the comments...
Wow, those are some harsh words! Where did this come from? Although I agree with what is written, I can't help but also point out the other side of "leaving a church." We have left a church that we spent many years at, to come to BCC. We found that the teaching/theology had shifted and we were not in agreement anymore. I have heard of others who have left previous churches because they felt "worn out" from ministry involvement and didn't know how else to "take a break". For others, their children had friends at other churches and being a mother of teens, I don't blame them for finding any way possible to encourage your children to be fed the word even if it means moving to a new church. This kind of falls into "finding a church that better meets their needs." I don't know if I am just too sensitive and that is why I found that blog rather harsh or if maybe it was meant to be a reprimand! Do you feel it is wrong to leave a church? If so, how come you explained that [situation regarding a family who left the church] like it was perfectly fine? Sorry for all the questions. You can ask ---, I ALWAYS need to understand things thoroughly and completely, it's just my nature.
Hey Sue
Great questions! And I'm glad you ask them.
I have also had to leave churches, as we all do from time to time.
I have always left with either a celebration or a sober talk with the leadership.
I have no problem with people leaving a church because of distance or changing family needs or some shift in church philosophy or teaching.
My only problem is with people who secretly pull out, without telling a soul so they can test the church to see if it was really loving or not. People then use their test-results to justify their departure to anyone who will listen.
"That church never really loved me anyway!"
I don't think this helps anyone. In my years in ministry I have spent a lot of time and emotional energy tracking down people to do an exit-interview who simply quit after years of attendance without saying a word. After 10 years of ministry here and having seen my share typical sin patterns showing up here I feel it is time to address some of them.
There are a few more to go. I don't want to be unnecessarily harsh, but in this case when people use the sheep rather than love the sheep, I feel compelled to protect the sheep even if it means being a little harsh. I say all of this as prevention, with no particular victim in mind. I say it as I evaluate us after 10 years and before I go on sabbatical.
Let me know what you think, if I'm still being a too harsh...
I hope it could be understood as a passion for the welfare of the people at BCC.
(Lu 10:29) But he wanted to justify himself, so he asked Jesus, "And who is my neighbor?"
Andy,
Thank you for responding so quickly. Yes, I believe I have a better understanding of your blog now. As far as harshness, I am just a very sensitive sort ( I prefer to refer to it as my princess nature!) I can't even watch the news without it disturbing my sleep. I'm sure the majority of people would not have taken the blog the way I understood it. Thanks for clearing things up. Susan
Sent: Tuesday, March 31, 2009 12:40 PM
In response to your blog about leaving the church.... I didn't feel comfortable writing on the comments...
Wow, those are some harsh words! Where did this come from? Although I agree with what is written, I can't help but also point out the other side of "leaving a church." We have left a church that we spent many years at, to come to BCC. We found that the teaching/theology had shifted and we were not in agreement anymore. I have heard of others who have left previous churches because they felt "worn out" from ministry involvement and didn't know how else to "take a break". For others, their children had friends at other churches and being a mother of teens, I don't blame them for finding any way possible to encourage your children to be fed the word even if it means moving to a new church. This kind of falls into "finding a church that better meets their needs." I don't know if I am just too sensitive and that is why I found that blog rather harsh or if maybe it was meant to be a reprimand! Do you feel it is wrong to leave a church? If so, how come you explained that [situation regarding a family who left the church] like it was perfectly fine? Sorry for all the questions. You can ask ---, I ALWAYS need to understand things thoroughly and completely, it's just my nature.
Hey Sue
Great questions! And I'm glad you ask them.
I have also had to leave churches, as we all do from time to time.
I have always left with either a celebration or a sober talk with the leadership.
I have no problem with people leaving a church because of distance or changing family needs or some shift in church philosophy or teaching.
My only problem is with people who secretly pull out, without telling a soul so they can test the church to see if it was really loving or not. People then use their test-results to justify their departure to anyone who will listen.
"That church never really loved me anyway!"
I don't think this helps anyone. In my years in ministry I have spent a lot of time and emotional energy tracking down people to do an exit-interview who simply quit after years of attendance without saying a word. After 10 years of ministry here and having seen my share typical sin patterns showing up here I feel it is time to address some of them.
There are a few more to go. I don't want to be unnecessarily harsh, but in this case when people use the sheep rather than love the sheep, I feel compelled to protect the sheep even if it means being a little harsh. I say all of this as prevention, with no particular victim in mind. I say it as I evaluate us after 10 years and before I go on sabbatical.
Let me know what you think, if I'm still being a too harsh...
I hope it could be understood as a passion for the welfare of the people at BCC.
(Lu 10:29) But he wanted to justify himself, so he asked Jesus, "And who is my neighbor?"
Andy,
Thank you for responding so quickly. Yes, I believe I have a better understanding of your blog now. As far as harshness, I am just a very sensitive sort ( I prefer to refer to it as my princess nature!) I can't even watch the news without it disturbing my sleep. I'm sure the majority of people would not have taken the blog the way I understood it. Thanks for clearing things up. Susan
Thursday, April 23, 2009
Jesus' Death Our Death
Punishment for temporal sin is never eternal.
"Propitiation means satisfaction or appeasement, specifically towards God. Propitiation is the work of Jesus Christ on the cross by which He appeases the wrath of God who would otherwise be offended by our sin and demand that we pay the penalty for it. The concept of propitiation is often associated with the idea of a substitutionary atonement."
Theopedia
1. Payment for sin was made on the cross, by the cross. Punishment for temporal sin is not eternal. It is temporary. The reason man stays in hell is that he is punished and then continues to be punished and held at bay for ongoing sin.
2. There was no secretive, invisible, extra, outpouring of God's wrath on Jesus on the cross. Simply the non-intervention of the father in the life of a heavenly prince who had never known the Father's refusal or lack of love.
1Pe 2:24 He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness; by his wounds you have been healed.
1Pe 3:18 For Christ died for sins once for all, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to God. He was put to death in the body but made alive by the Spirit,
Php2:8 he humbled himself in obedience to God and died a criminal’s death on a cross. 9 Therefore, God elevated him to the place of highest honor and gave him the name above all other names,
Isa 53:5 But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon him, and by his wounds we are healed.
“Jesus did not and could not experience a quick and painless death because that would not have been sufficient. It took all the beating and whipping and scourging; it took all that blood and pain. God hates sin so much that He truly and fully punishes those who sin, and thus Jesus, if He was going to fully bear the punishment for the sins of all mankind, He truly had to experience the full and very severe wrath of God! You see, it wasn't really the Jews and the Romans who beat and killed Jesus; it was God Himself pouring out His wrath upon the sins of the whole world!
It was not just the death of Christ that saves us; it was also the beating and the scourging, and it was all really at the hand of God Himself.”
Bob Williams
Azalea City Church of Christ
Jesus died brutally, physically, temporally for our sins. Worse than all, what caused him to cry out, was the non-intervention of the father. This prince of heaven experienced what we are so used to and yet continually surprised by. God lets us die.
Our grace is that the saint is not abandoned to it, but comforted in it, though Jesus was not. 2Co 5:21 God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.
He became sin. The Father's emotion was one of anger towards Christ in his death. Hence Jesus cry, “Why have you forsaken Me?!” A question the Whole New Testament goes on to answer. He is our only substitute.
God does not express anger towards his saints though he chooses not to intervene in our deaths. God’s allowing nature to take it’s course in our lives, is not anger. His expression and body-language communicates his compassion toward us.
Ps 116:15 Precious in the sight of the LORD is the death of his saints.
Ps 23:4 Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me.
Lu 23:43 "I tell you the truth, today you will be with me in paradise."
"Propitiation means satisfaction or appeasement, specifically towards God. Propitiation is the work of Jesus Christ on the cross by which He appeases the wrath of God who would otherwise be offended by our sin and demand that we pay the penalty for it. The concept of propitiation is often associated with the idea of a substitutionary atonement."
Theopedia
1. Payment for sin was made on the cross, by the cross. Punishment for temporal sin is not eternal. It is temporary. The reason man stays in hell is that he is punished and then continues to be punished and held at bay for ongoing sin.
2. There was no secretive, invisible, extra, outpouring of God's wrath on Jesus on the cross. Simply the non-intervention of the father in the life of a heavenly prince who had never known the Father's refusal or lack of love.
1Pe 2:24 He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness; by his wounds you have been healed.
1Pe 3:18 For Christ died for sins once for all, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to God. He was put to death in the body but made alive by the Spirit,
Php2:8 he humbled himself in obedience to God and died a criminal’s death on a cross. 9 Therefore, God elevated him to the place of highest honor and gave him the name above all other names,
Isa 53:5 But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon him, and by his wounds we are healed.
“Jesus did not and could not experience a quick and painless death because that would not have been sufficient. It took all the beating and whipping and scourging; it took all that blood and pain. God hates sin so much that He truly and fully punishes those who sin, and thus Jesus, if He was going to fully bear the punishment for the sins of all mankind, He truly had to experience the full and very severe wrath of God! You see, it wasn't really the Jews and the Romans who beat and killed Jesus; it was God Himself pouring out His wrath upon the sins of the whole world!
It was not just the death of Christ that saves us; it was also the beating and the scourging, and it was all really at the hand of God Himself.”
Bob Williams
Azalea City Church of Christ
Jesus died brutally, physically, temporally for our sins. Worse than all, what caused him to cry out, was the non-intervention of the father. This prince of heaven experienced what we are so used to and yet continually surprised by. God lets us die.
Our grace is that the saint is not abandoned to it, but comforted in it, though Jesus was not. 2Co 5:21 God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.
He became sin. The Father's emotion was one of anger towards Christ in his death. Hence Jesus cry, “Why have you forsaken Me?!” A question the Whole New Testament goes on to answer. He is our only substitute.
God does not express anger towards his saints though he chooses not to intervene in our deaths. God’s allowing nature to take it’s course in our lives, is not anger. His expression and body-language communicates his compassion toward us.
Ps 116:15 Precious in the sight of the LORD is the death of his saints.
Ps 23:4 Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me.
Lu 23:43 "I tell you the truth, today you will be with me in paradise."
Tuesday, April 14, 2009
Glimpses of Joy
I Will Strike The Shepherd
This quote belongs to Jesus from Matthew 26:31 and Mark 14:27 as he prepares his disciples for his coming demise at the hand of His father. It is God who will crucify the Christ.
Zechariah 13:7 "Awake, O sword, against my shepherd, against the man who is close to me!" declares the LORD Almighty. "Strike the shepherd, and the sheep will be scattered, and I will turn my hand against the little ones. 8 In the whole land," declares the LORD, "two-thirds will be struck down and perish; yet one-third will be left in it. 9 This third I will bring into the fire; I will refine them like silver and test them like gold. They will call on my name and I will answer them; I will say, ‘They are my people,’ and they will say, ‘The LORD is our God.’"
I have stopped believing that in any way God promises to protect us from harm or provide for us what I / we would typically consider “best” in this world. I think this notion is a concoction of wishful thinking and homemade religion that we naturally resort to when scripture does not provide the type of comfort we long for.
We ought to listen carefully to the inner voice of self-deception that says, “God’s going to make my circumstances work out just fine.” That is not God’s voice, nor it is it his in this world. Though he is the one who can calm storms, his real goal is to get you to walk on water.
God has one ambition in mind for his believers, and that is to sanctify us. He protects us only from the condemnation that results from moral evil, not from it’s sting nor the deception and doubt that accompany it. Every day we are led into temptation. Every day we sin. Every day we die. My hope, any hope for this world, has all but dried up.
So what am I to do that would be healthier than simply trying to put a roof over my head while I am waiting to die, waiting to go to a place we were actually designed for, because we sure weren’t designed for this.
We’re sinning when we don’t even know it, being set up for loss the moment we think we have profited with any earthly gain. It seems the only happiness and mental-health to be found is that which is spawned from either self-deception or, or, or, entirely and only in the life to come, the joy of which we are afforded rare glimpses in whatever fleeting joys God allows us to briefly taste in the here and now. Whether it be in furniture, family or gazing at a cloud, which may, one day transport the saviour.
Truth is not necessarily healthy….
Ecclesiastes 1:18 For with much wisdom comes much sorrow; the more knowledge, the more grief.
Not necessarily happy. Not necessarily popular. Not necessarily productive, helpful, constructive. Perhaps at times we can do nothing better than …
Ecclesiastes 2:24 …than to enjoy food and drink and to find satisfaction in work. Then I realized that these pleasures are from the hand of God.
Ecclesiastes 3:13 People should eat and drink and enjoy the fruits of their labor, for these are gifts from God.
Ecclesiastes 5:18 Even so, I have noticed one thing, at least, that is good. It is good for people to eat, drink, and enjoy their work under the sun during the short life God has given them, and to accept their lot in life.
1 Timothy 6:17 God, richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment.
Life and its pleasures and the enjoyment they afford in this temporariness, are gifts from God.. They can be traced back to one who delights to do us good..
Jeremiah 32
38 They will be my people, and I will be their God. 39 I will give them singleness of heart and action, so that they will always fear me for their own good and the good of their children after them.
40 I will make an everlasting covenant with them: I will never stop doing good to them, and I will inspire them to fear me, so that they will never turn away from me. 41 I will rejoice in doing them good and will assuredly plant them in this land with all my heart and soul.
In the calm of even the worst storm, whatever loss has befallen you, take whatever pleasure he offers you, whatever legitimate reward he sanctions and savor it. Slowly! Thank him for it even if it only lasts a moment and know, one day, one day we will savor joy, savor him, uninterrupted, forever.
This quote belongs to Jesus from Matthew 26:31 and Mark 14:27 as he prepares his disciples for his coming demise at the hand of His father. It is God who will crucify the Christ.
Zechariah 13:7 "Awake, O sword, against my shepherd, against the man who is close to me!" declares the LORD Almighty. "Strike the shepherd, and the sheep will be scattered, and I will turn my hand against the little ones. 8 In the whole land," declares the LORD, "two-thirds will be struck down and perish; yet one-third will be left in it. 9 This third I will bring into the fire; I will refine them like silver and test them like gold. They will call on my name and I will answer them; I will say, ‘They are my people,’ and they will say, ‘The LORD is our God.’"
I have stopped believing that in any way God promises to protect us from harm or provide for us what I / we would typically consider “best” in this world. I think this notion is a concoction of wishful thinking and homemade religion that we naturally resort to when scripture does not provide the type of comfort we long for.
We ought to listen carefully to the inner voice of self-deception that says, “God’s going to make my circumstances work out just fine.” That is not God’s voice, nor it is it his in this world. Though he is the one who can calm storms, his real goal is to get you to walk on water.
God has one ambition in mind for his believers, and that is to sanctify us. He protects us only from the condemnation that results from moral evil, not from it’s sting nor the deception and doubt that accompany it. Every day we are led into temptation. Every day we sin. Every day we die. My hope, any hope for this world, has all but dried up.
So what am I to do that would be healthier than simply trying to put a roof over my head while I am waiting to die, waiting to go to a place we were actually designed for, because we sure weren’t designed for this.
We’re sinning when we don’t even know it, being set up for loss the moment we think we have profited with any earthly gain. It seems the only happiness and mental-health to be found is that which is spawned from either self-deception or, or, or, entirely and only in the life to come, the joy of which we are afforded rare glimpses in whatever fleeting joys God allows us to briefly taste in the here and now. Whether it be in furniture, family or gazing at a cloud, which may, one day transport the saviour.
Truth is not necessarily healthy….
Ecclesiastes 1:18 For with much wisdom comes much sorrow; the more knowledge, the more grief.
Not necessarily happy. Not necessarily popular. Not necessarily productive, helpful, constructive. Perhaps at times we can do nothing better than …
Ecclesiastes 2:24 …than to enjoy food and drink and to find satisfaction in work. Then I realized that these pleasures are from the hand of God.
Ecclesiastes 3:13 People should eat and drink and enjoy the fruits of their labor, for these are gifts from God.
Ecclesiastes 5:18 Even so, I have noticed one thing, at least, that is good. It is good for people to eat, drink, and enjoy their work under the sun during the short life God has given them, and to accept their lot in life.
1 Timothy 6:17 God, richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment.
Life and its pleasures and the enjoyment they afford in this temporariness, are gifts from God.. They can be traced back to one who delights to do us good..
Jeremiah 32
38 They will be my people, and I will be their God. 39 I will give them singleness of heart and action, so that they will always fear me for their own good and the good of their children after them.
40 I will make an everlasting covenant with them: I will never stop doing good to them, and I will inspire them to fear me, so that they will never turn away from me. 41 I will rejoice in doing them good and will assuredly plant them in this land with all my heart and soul.
In the calm of even the worst storm, whatever loss has befallen you, take whatever pleasure he offers you, whatever legitimate reward he sanctions and savor it. Slowly! Thank him for it even if it only lasts a moment and know, one day, one day we will savor joy, savor him, uninterrupted, forever.
Tuesday, April 7, 2009
The Discomfort of Questions
John 15:15 “I have told you everything the Father told me.”
John 16:12 “I have much more to say to you…”
John 16:18 They kept asking, "What does he mean…”
It was customary, even for those who walked with Jesus to have persistent and puzzling questions. Jesus intention, at times, was to induce such questioning to fully engage the heart in the quest to know him. This is part of the learning, transforming process: coming to perplexity, searching diligently, finding answers, being filled with wonder.
Luke 2:47 All who heard him were amazed at his understanding and his answers.
Luke 4:32 There, too, the people were amazed at his teaching, for he spoke with authority.
Luke 5:26 Everyone was gripped with great wonder and awe, and they praised God, exclaiming, “We have seen amazing things today!”
This is worship.
John 16:12 “I have much more to say to you…”
John 16:18 They kept asking, "What does he mean…”
It was customary, even for those who walked with Jesus to have persistent and puzzling questions. Jesus intention, at times, was to induce such questioning to fully engage the heart in the quest to know him. This is part of the learning, transforming process: coming to perplexity, searching diligently, finding answers, being filled with wonder.
Luke 2:47 All who heard him were amazed at his understanding and his answers.
Luke 4:32 There, too, the people were amazed at his teaching, for he spoke with authority.
Luke 5:26 Everyone was gripped with great wonder and awe, and they praised God, exclaiming, “We have seen amazing things today!”
This is worship.
Monday, April 6, 2009
A Nation of Miracle-Workers
Mt 21:19 Seeing a fig-tree by the road, he went up to it but found nothing on it except leaves. Then he said to it, "May you never bear fruit again!" Immediately the tree withered. 20 When the disciples saw this, they were amazed. "How did the fig-tree wither so quickly?" they asked. 21 Jesus replied, "I tell you the truth, if you have faith and do not doubt, not only can you do what was done to the fig-tree, but also you can say to this mountain, ‘Go, throw yourself into the sea,’ and it will be done. 22 If you believe, you will receive whatever you ask for in prayer."…
43 I tell you, the Kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a nation that will produce the proper fruit.
Being able to curse a tree and have it wither instantly would be a pretty cool trick, but Jesus said we would do greater things than this.
As a sign, the withered tree was important. God would curse and kill the naturalistic Jews of that generation. They would miss the saviour and spend eternity in hell because they sinned and refused to recognize the time of God’s coming to them.
As a trick, cursing a tree was trivial compared to the miracles we will be able to perform by the power of God in our own lives and the lives of others.
Believers identify and condemn sin on a monumental scale in our own souls. In spiritual revival and the pursuit of holiness, we will see huge permanent sin in our lives joyfully removed and disappear into an ocean of grace and mercy.
In fulfillment we will stand and judge the world’s sin with God and urge him on in judgment as he makes level paths for his feet by casting an actual mountain into an actual sea as a final sign of the removal of sin in preparation for the arrival of perfect righteousness.
1Co 6:2 Don’t you realize that someday we believers will judge the world?
Re 8:8 Then the second angel blew his trumpet, and a great mountain of fire was thrown into the sea. One–third of the water in the sea became blood,
Mr 1:3 He is a voice shouting in the wilderness, ‘Prepare the way for the LORD’s coming! Clear the road for him!’”
By his power, we can do this now in our own lives.
No body cares about mountains and trees in the new world. God cares about the miraculous work of transforming the morality of the godless into godliness. That is all that will matter for all eternity. That he chose us, changed us, empowered us to do miracles of transformation in repentance and faith, turning to him and continuously finding him as the source of new life again and again and again for ever.
Pr 4:26 Make level paths for your feet and take only ways that are firm. 27 Do not swerve to the right or the left; keep your foot from evil.
Ps 143:10 Teach me to do your will, for you are my God. May your gracious Spirit lead me forward on a firm footing.
Isa 26:7 But for those who are righteous, the way is not steep and rough. You are a God who does what is right, and you smooth out the path ahead of them.
Isa 40:4 Every valley shall be raised up, every mountain and hill made low; the rough ground shall become level, the rugged places a plain. 5 And the glory of the LORD will be revealed, and all mankind together will see it. For the mouth of the LORD has spoken."
Heb 12: 12 Therefore, strengthen your feeble arms and weak knees! 13 "Make level paths for your feet," so that the lame may not be disabled, but rather healed. 14 Make every effort to live in peace with all men and to be holy; without holiness no-one will see the Lord.
Col 1:29 That’s why I work and struggle so hard, depending on Christ’s mighty power that works within me.
Joh 14:12 I tell you the truth, anyone who has faith in me will do what I have been doing. He will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father.
We are miracle-workers. And the miracles we perform are of greater and more eternal significance than any material, any earthly matter. By the power of God, we are human-nature changers and we will live forever.
43 I tell you, the Kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a nation that will produce the proper fruit.
Being able to curse a tree and have it wither instantly would be a pretty cool trick, but Jesus said we would do greater things than this.
As a sign, the withered tree was important. God would curse and kill the naturalistic Jews of that generation. They would miss the saviour and spend eternity in hell because they sinned and refused to recognize the time of God’s coming to them.
As a trick, cursing a tree was trivial compared to the miracles we will be able to perform by the power of God in our own lives and the lives of others.
Believers identify and condemn sin on a monumental scale in our own souls. In spiritual revival and the pursuit of holiness, we will see huge permanent sin in our lives joyfully removed and disappear into an ocean of grace and mercy.
In fulfillment we will stand and judge the world’s sin with God and urge him on in judgment as he makes level paths for his feet by casting an actual mountain into an actual sea as a final sign of the removal of sin in preparation for the arrival of perfect righteousness.
1Co 6:2 Don’t you realize that someday we believers will judge the world?
Re 8:8 Then the second angel blew his trumpet, and a great mountain of fire was thrown into the sea. One–third of the water in the sea became blood,
Mr 1:3 He is a voice shouting in the wilderness, ‘Prepare the way for the LORD’s coming! Clear the road for him!’”
By his power, we can do this now in our own lives.
No body cares about mountains and trees in the new world. God cares about the miraculous work of transforming the morality of the godless into godliness. That is all that will matter for all eternity. That he chose us, changed us, empowered us to do miracles of transformation in repentance and faith, turning to him and continuously finding him as the source of new life again and again and again for ever.
Pr 4:26 Make level paths for your feet and take only ways that are firm. 27 Do not swerve to the right or the left; keep your foot from evil.
Ps 143:10 Teach me to do your will, for you are my God. May your gracious Spirit lead me forward on a firm footing.
Isa 26:7 But for those who are righteous, the way is not steep and rough. You are a God who does what is right, and you smooth out the path ahead of them.
Isa 40:4 Every valley shall be raised up, every mountain and hill made low; the rough ground shall become level, the rugged places a plain. 5 And the glory of the LORD will be revealed, and all mankind together will see it. For the mouth of the LORD has spoken."
Heb 12: 12 Therefore, strengthen your feeble arms and weak knees! 13 "Make level paths for your feet," so that the lame may not be disabled, but rather healed. 14 Make every effort to live in peace with all men and to be holy; without holiness no-one will see the Lord.
Col 1:29 That’s why I work and struggle so hard, depending on Christ’s mighty power that works within me.
Joh 14:12 I tell you the truth, anyone who has faith in me will do what I have been doing. He will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father.
We are miracle-workers. And the miracles we perform are of greater and more eternal significance than any material, any earthly matter. By the power of God, we are human-nature changers and we will live forever.
Wednesday, April 1, 2009
Christi-Sanity
Mr 5:15 NIV
When they came to Jesus, they saw the man who had been possessed by the legion of demons, sitting there, dressed and in his right mind; (NLT perfectly sane)…
Notice the desire and action that defines the character of this “perfectly sane” individual.
Mr 5:18 As Jesus was getting into the boat, the man who had been demon possessed begged to go with him.
Mr 5:20 So the man started off to visit the Ten Towns of that region and began to proclaim the great things Jesus had done for him; and everyone was amazed at what he told them.
Wanting to be with Jesus and excitedly, convincingly telling others about Jesus, is the picture of perfect sanity.
How would you, or God, define the state of mental health belonging to those who do the complete opposite?
Mr 5:15 they were all afraid.
Mr 5:17 And the crowd began pleading with Jesus to go away and leave them alone.
Anxiety and denial of reality and self-delusion are the norm.
Devotion to Christ is the only sane choice. We are not aiming at normal. We are aiming at truth and health, no matter how fearful or objectionable that picture may seem to “the crowd”.
When they came to Jesus, they saw the man who had been possessed by the legion of demons, sitting there, dressed and in his right mind; (NLT perfectly sane)…
Notice the desire and action that defines the character of this “perfectly sane” individual.
Mr 5:18 As Jesus was getting into the boat, the man who had been demon possessed begged to go with him.
Mr 5:20 So the man started off to visit the Ten Towns of that region and began to proclaim the great things Jesus had done for him; and everyone was amazed at what he told them.
Wanting to be with Jesus and excitedly, convincingly telling others about Jesus, is the picture of perfect sanity.
How would you, or God, define the state of mental health belonging to those who do the complete opposite?
Mr 5:15 they were all afraid.
Mr 5:17 And the crowd began pleading with Jesus to go away and leave them alone.
Anxiety and denial of reality and self-delusion are the norm.
Devotion to Christ is the only sane choice. We are not aiming at normal. We are aiming at truth and health, no matter how fearful or objectionable that picture may seem to “the crowd”.
Monday, March 30, 2009
So! You’ve Decided To Leave The Church.
There is a recurring sin in our church (and others I’m sure) that flies in the face of the command found in 1Peter 1:22 love one another deeply, from the heart.
I am speaking of the idea people get when they have decided that their church has become disposable and that they are deserving of one that will do a better job of meeting their needs.
What many choose to do once their church has become expendable like this, is to use the departure experience as a means of determining how loved or lovable they really are.
Some people decide to use church-members as guinea-pigs to see how long it takes for someone to realize they are missing and just what kind of affection they will demonstrate once they do realize. 2-3 weeks says I’m pretty important. 6-7 weeks says Nobody likes me, I think I’ll continue my search for a better church.
If you are contemplating this self-pitying, people-using experiment, there are a couple of questions you ought to ask yourself first…
1. Do you love theses people that you are deserting, deeply from the heart?
2. Is this how love treats people, abandoning them to see what kind of distress can be caused?
3. Is this how you generally treat relationships that matter to you?
4. Have you then, actually loved? (ever?)
5. If you have not loved, how is it then, that you expect a group of people who struggle with self-centeredness as much as you do, to come flocking to you in your absence?
6. If you have not loved by calling people that were absent, how is it then that you expect everyone else to excel where you have failed?
7. If you have not served, committed, how is it that you could ever expect anyone to notice you were gone?
8. And if you have loved, served, committed and left, how fearful do you think those you left behind are going to be? When your immaturity and inability to communicate with grown-up words comes to the fore, how willing do you think people are going to be to confront that quivering lower lip of yours?
In short: Who do you think you are?
In shorter: Please don’t treat the people of this church with such loveless contempt.
In shortest: Grow up!
Try rather, obeying. Try rather, loving and if you a have to leave, consider Paul’s example in church relationships.
Eph 1:16 I have not stopped giving thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers.
Php 4:1 my brothers, you whom I love and long for, my joy and crown… dear friends!
1Th 2:8 We loved you so much that we were delighted to share with you not only the gospel of God but our lives as well, because you had become so dear to us.
1Th 2:17 brothers, when we were torn away from you for a short time (in person, not in thought), out of our intense longing we made every effort to see you.
Love... one another... deeply... from the heart.
I am speaking of the idea people get when they have decided that their church has become disposable and that they are deserving of one that will do a better job of meeting their needs.
What many choose to do once their church has become expendable like this, is to use the departure experience as a means of determining how loved or lovable they really are.
Some people decide to use church-members as guinea-pigs to see how long it takes for someone to realize they are missing and just what kind of affection they will demonstrate once they do realize. 2-3 weeks says I’m pretty important. 6-7 weeks says Nobody likes me, I think I’ll continue my search for a better church.
If you are contemplating this self-pitying, people-using experiment, there are a couple of questions you ought to ask yourself first…
1. Do you love theses people that you are deserting, deeply from the heart?
2. Is this how love treats people, abandoning them to see what kind of distress can be caused?
3. Is this how you generally treat relationships that matter to you?
4. Have you then, actually loved? (ever?)
5. If you have not loved, how is it then, that you expect a group of people who struggle with self-centeredness as much as you do, to come flocking to you in your absence?
6. If you have not loved by calling people that were absent, how is it then that you expect everyone else to excel where you have failed?
7. If you have not served, committed, how is it that you could ever expect anyone to notice you were gone?
8. And if you have loved, served, committed and left, how fearful do you think those you left behind are going to be? When your immaturity and inability to communicate with grown-up words comes to the fore, how willing do you think people are going to be to confront that quivering lower lip of yours?
In short: Who do you think you are?
In shorter: Please don’t treat the people of this church with such loveless contempt.
In shortest: Grow up!
Try rather, obeying. Try rather, loving and if you a have to leave, consider Paul’s example in church relationships.
Eph 1:16 I have not stopped giving thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers.
Php 4:1 my brothers, you whom I love and long for, my joy and crown… dear friends!
1Th 2:8 We loved you so much that we were delighted to share with you not only the gospel of God but our lives as well, because you had become so dear to us.
1Th 2:17 brothers, when we were torn away from you for a short time (in person, not in thought), out of our intense longing we made every effort to see you.
Love... one another... deeply... from the heart.
Thursday, March 26, 2009
Eagerness Crosses the Line into Anxiety
Paul who wrote...
Php 4:6 Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. 7 And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
Also confessed in the same letter...
Php 2:28 Therefore I am all the more eager to send him, so that when you see him again you may be glad and I may have less anxiety.
If Paul fought for joy in this arena, we will too.
Php 4:6 Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. 7 And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
Also confessed in the same letter...
Php 2:28 Therefore I am all the more eager to send him, so that when you see him again you may be glad and I may have less anxiety.
If Paul fought for joy in this arena, we will too.
Wednesday, March 25, 2009
Fasting’s Effect on the Mind at Prayer
One of the functions of fasting is to flood the brain with messages from the body which say, “I have an idea, let’s eat.” And “Oh! Here’s another thought: How ’bout we eat now?” And then “I know… let’s eat something!” And on it goes.
The creative idea receptor in the brain gets so flooded with these messages (which are then willfully converted to spiritual desire for Christ) that it is in a sense, dulled to any other creativity. It can think of nothing better to solve it’s basic predicament and so, mental energy towards other dilemmas is diluted as well.
What fasting does then is to muffle the creative problem solving center of the brain ( or even crash it) and lull us into a sense of utter dependence. Prayer in this state of reliance flows much more easily and naturally. It is more comfortable to be on our knees (whether in mind or body or both) humbled before our provider-sustainer, begging him again and again for the things we need, the things we want, that only he can manage, only he can supply.
I challenge you if you have not fasted before, to try a 24-hour fast.
Eat breakfast and then have only water until the next breakfast meal.
Convert every hunger pang into a prayer of request to your creator-sustainer.
Wait on him. Pray with others who may have joined you in this fast and then …
Mt 6:17 But when you fast, comb your hair and wash your face.
18 Then no one will notice that you are fasting, except your Father, who knows what you do in private. And your Father, who sees everything, will reward you.
As individuals and as a church, we are in need of much favor from God right now.
Let me encourage you to do everything you can to pray well. Think about joining us at Bev’s on the 31st . Think about learning how to pray by praying with us, Sunday mornings at our drop-in prayer meeting from 9-9:45
The creative idea receptor in the brain gets so flooded with these messages (which are then willfully converted to spiritual desire for Christ) that it is in a sense, dulled to any other creativity. It can think of nothing better to solve it’s basic predicament and so, mental energy towards other dilemmas is diluted as well.
What fasting does then is to muffle the creative problem solving center of the brain ( or even crash it) and lull us into a sense of utter dependence. Prayer in this state of reliance flows much more easily and naturally. It is more comfortable to be on our knees (whether in mind or body or both) humbled before our provider-sustainer, begging him again and again for the things we need, the things we want, that only he can manage, only he can supply.
I challenge you if you have not fasted before, to try a 24-hour fast.
Eat breakfast and then have only water until the next breakfast meal.
Convert every hunger pang into a prayer of request to your creator-sustainer.
Wait on him. Pray with others who may have joined you in this fast and then …
Mt 6:17 But when you fast, comb your hair and wash your face.
18 Then no one will notice that you are fasting, except your Father, who knows what you do in private. And your Father, who sees everything, will reward you.
As individuals and as a church, we are in need of much favor from God right now.
Let me encourage you to do everything you can to pray well. Think about joining us at Bev’s on the 31st . Think about learning how to pray by praying with us, Sunday mornings at our drop-in prayer meeting from 9-9:45
Monday, March 23, 2009
WHAT GOD ALLOWS HIS PEOPLE TO SUFFER
...for His glory, by our joy.
Here are some verses to consider as we continue to ask the question this coming weekend,
“Is it possible that God would allow his church to go through the Great Tribulation?”
Joh 16:33 "These things I have spoken to you, so that IN ME you may have peace.
In the world you have tribulation, but take courage; I have overcome the world."
(This may or may not include the “Great Tribulation”, none the less God allows his people to suffer for him)
Joh 17:15 My prayer is not that you take them out of the world but that you protect them from the evil one.
(It is our souls, not necessarily our bodies, that God is concerned with)
Mt 23:34 Therefore I am sending you prophets and wise men and teachers. Some of them you will kill and crucify; others you will flog in your synagogues and pursue from town to town.
Hebrews 11:35 b (People who lived by faith) were tortured, refusing to turn from God in order to be set free. They placed their hope in a better life after the resurrection. 36 Some were jeered at, and their backs were cut open with whips. Others were chained in prisons. 37 Some died by stoning, some were sawed in half, and others were killed with the sword. Some went about wearing skins of sheep and goats, destitute and oppressed and mistreated. 38 They were too good for this world, wandering over deserts and mountains, hiding in caves and holes in the ground. 39 All these people earned a good reputation because of their faith,
Re 13:17 so that no-one could buy or sell unless he had the mark, which is the name of the beast or the number of his name.
Mark 13:19 because those will be days of distress unequalled from the beginning, when God created the world, until now—and never to be equaled again. 20 If the Lord had not cut short those days, no-one would survive. But for the sake of the elect, whom he has chosen, he has shortened them.
Revelation 7:13 Then one of the elders asked me, "These in white robes— who are they, and where did they come from?" 14 I answered, "Sir, you know." And he said, "These are they who have come out of the great tribulation; they have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. 15 Therefore, "they are before the throne of God and serve him day and night in his temple; and he who sits on the throne will spread his tent over them. 16 Never again will they hunger; never again will they thirst. The sun will not beat upon them, nor any scorching heat.
Both Pre-Tribulation Rapture speculators (like Reg Sr.) and Post or Mid-Tribulation speculators like myself (Andy) believe that Holy-Spirit filled Christians will go through “The Great Tribulation”
The question is this: Will these people be members of the church or will the church have been caught up and these new saints scattered around the world, left to suffer persecution that the rest of us have been spared?
And if we can’t be certain of that answer, should we not be at least prepared to suffer along with the tribulation saints as one of them? Can we draw a distinctive line between church and tribulation-saints and if we think we can, what if we are wrong?
Consider the freedom of being prepared to die for Christ and know that it is only by the development of this component of faith that you are truly free to live for him.
Here are some verses to consider as we continue to ask the question this coming weekend,
“Is it possible that God would allow his church to go through the Great Tribulation?”
Joh 16:33 "These things I have spoken to you, so that IN ME you may have peace.
In the world you have tribulation, but take courage; I have overcome the world."
(This may or may not include the “Great Tribulation”, none the less God allows his people to suffer for him)
Joh 17:15 My prayer is not that you take them out of the world but that you protect them from the evil one.
(It is our souls, not necessarily our bodies, that God is concerned with)
Mt 23:34 Therefore I am sending you prophets and wise men and teachers. Some of them you will kill and crucify; others you will flog in your synagogues and pursue from town to town.
Hebrews 11:35 b (People who lived by faith) were tortured, refusing to turn from God in order to be set free. They placed their hope in a better life after the resurrection. 36 Some were jeered at, and their backs were cut open with whips. Others were chained in prisons. 37 Some died by stoning, some were sawed in half, and others were killed with the sword. Some went about wearing skins of sheep and goats, destitute and oppressed and mistreated. 38 They were too good for this world, wandering over deserts and mountains, hiding in caves and holes in the ground. 39 All these people earned a good reputation because of their faith,
Re 13:17 so that no-one could buy or sell unless he had the mark, which is the name of the beast or the number of his name.
Mark 13:19 because those will be days of distress unequalled from the beginning, when God created the world, until now—and never to be equaled again. 20 If the Lord had not cut short those days, no-one would survive. But for the sake of the elect, whom he has chosen, he has shortened them.
Revelation 7:13 Then one of the elders asked me, "These in white robes— who are they, and where did they come from?" 14 I answered, "Sir, you know." And he said, "These are they who have come out of the great tribulation; they have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. 15 Therefore, "they are before the throne of God and serve him day and night in his temple; and he who sits on the throne will spread his tent over them. 16 Never again will they hunger; never again will they thirst. The sun will not beat upon them, nor any scorching heat.
Both Pre-Tribulation Rapture speculators (like Reg Sr.) and Post or Mid-Tribulation speculators like myself (Andy) believe that Holy-Spirit filled Christians will go through “The Great Tribulation”
The question is this: Will these people be members of the church or will the church have been caught up and these new saints scattered around the world, left to suffer persecution that the rest of us have been spared?
And if we can’t be certain of that answer, should we not be at least prepared to suffer along with the tribulation saints as one of them? Can we draw a distinctive line between church and tribulation-saints and if we think we can, what if we are wrong?
Consider the freedom of being prepared to die for Christ and know that it is only by the development of this component of faith that you are truly free to live for him.
Tuesday, March 17, 2009
Peter’s Recipe for Suffering With Jesus and For Jesus
1 Peter 5:1 I appeal as… a witness of Christ’s sufferings and one who also will share in the glory to be revealed:
1 Peter 2:21 to this (suffering for doing good) you were called, because Christ suffered for you, leaving you an example, that you should follow in his steps.
1 Peter 4:16 if you suffer as a Christian, do not be ashamed, but praise God that you bear that name. 1 Peter 4:12 Do not be surprised at the painful trial you are suffering, as though something strange were happening to you. 13 But rejoice that you participate in the sufferings of Christ, so that you may be overjoyed when his glory is revealed.
1 Peter 1:6 In this (living hope of soon-coming glorification) you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. 1 Peter 2:19 for it is commendable if a man bears up under the pain of unjust suffering because he is conscious of God. 1 Peter 2:20 If you suffer for doing good and you endure it, this is commendable before God.
1Peter 3:14 But even if you should suffer for what is right, you are blessed (rewarded by God’s pleasure in you and therefore happy together with God). "Do not fear what they fear; do not be frightened." 1 Peter 3:17 It is better, if it is God’s will, to suffer for doing good than for doing evil.
1 Peter 4:15 If you suffer, it should not be as a murderer or thief or any other kind of criminal, or even as a meddler.
1 Peter 4:19 so then, those who suffer according to God’s will should commit themselves to their faithful Creator and continue to do good. 1 Peter 5:9 Resist him, (the one who tempts you to be anxious so that he can destroy you with worry) standing firm in the faith, because you know that your brothers throughout the world are undergoing the same kind of sufferings.
To sum up…
When you, a Christian, suffer, (whether persecution or illness or loss) fight against feeling shocked, afraid, anxious, ashamed, or singled out. (Our natural temptations)
In faith, fight for joy by fixing your mind on fellowship with Jesus in suffering making it your will / desire, because it seems to be his will for you.
Then decide to hope in glorification with Christ, a time when the desert-experience of this life is over and we enter our promised-land with him. Keep doing these right things, maintaining this right perspective even if it still hurts.
1 Peter 2:21 to this (suffering for doing good) you were called, because Christ suffered for you, leaving you an example, that you should follow in his steps.
1 Peter 4:16 if you suffer as a Christian, do not be ashamed, but praise God that you bear that name. 1 Peter 4:12 Do not be surprised at the painful trial you are suffering, as though something strange were happening to you. 13 But rejoice that you participate in the sufferings of Christ, so that you may be overjoyed when his glory is revealed.
1 Peter 1:6 In this (living hope of soon-coming glorification) you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. 1 Peter 2:19 for it is commendable if a man bears up under the pain of unjust suffering because he is conscious of God. 1 Peter 2:20 If you suffer for doing good and you endure it, this is commendable before God.
1Peter 3:14 But even if you should suffer for what is right, you are blessed (rewarded by God’s pleasure in you and therefore happy together with God). "Do not fear what they fear; do not be frightened." 1 Peter 3:17 It is better, if it is God’s will, to suffer for doing good than for doing evil.
1 Peter 4:15 If you suffer, it should not be as a murderer or thief or any other kind of criminal, or even as a meddler.
1 Peter 4:19 so then, those who suffer according to God’s will should commit themselves to their faithful Creator and continue to do good. 1 Peter 5:9 Resist him, (the one who tempts you to be anxious so that he can destroy you with worry) standing firm in the faith, because you know that your brothers throughout the world are undergoing the same kind of sufferings.
To sum up…
When you, a Christian, suffer, (whether persecution or illness or loss) fight against feeling shocked, afraid, anxious, ashamed, or singled out. (Our natural temptations)
In faith, fight for joy by fixing your mind on fellowship with Jesus in suffering making it your will / desire, because it seems to be his will for you.
Then decide to hope in glorification with Christ, a time when the desert-experience of this life is over and we enter our promised-land with him. Keep doing these right things, maintaining this right perspective even if it still hurts.
Thursday, March 5, 2009
Tuesday, March 3, 2009
Anti-evangelism
Ecclesiastes 3:1 There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under heaven:
7b a time to be silent and a time to speak,
I have been begging, reasoning with, explaining to, warning, praying for, and loving my brother for 25 years to no avail. His heart is as hard as ever despite what he has seen in my life. Perhaps part of the problem is that I don’t know when to just shut up.
John 10:16 I have other sheep that are not of this sheep pen. I must bring them also. THEY too WILL LISTEN to my voice, and there shall be one flock and one shepherd.
“They will listen!”, Those who are not his sheep, will not. What then do I do?
Mt 7:6 “Don’t waste what is holy on people who are unholy. Don’t throw your pearls to pigs! They will trample the pearls, then turn and attack you.
Mt 8:22 But Jesus told him, “Follow me now. Let the spiritually dead bury their own dead.”
Mt 10:14 If anyone will not welcome you or listen to your words, shake the dust off your feet when you leave that home or town.
1Peter 3:1 Wives, in the same way be submissive to your husbands so that, if any of them do not believe the word, they may be won over without words by the behaviour of their wives,
A whole theology of anti-evangelism could be established. The question is simply this, will I ever trust God enough to just shut up and know that he is God? (Ps 46:10)
Not that I have to stop loving or praying, just stop talking and giving books and offering advice and quoting scripture waiting for this moment to come along…
1Peter 3:15 But in your hearts set apart Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer TO EVERYONE WHO ASKS you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect.
Most books on evangelism do not tell us when to stop and trust and wait. Most apologetics books should come with this warning: There is a time to be silent!
7b a time to be silent and a time to speak,
I have been begging, reasoning with, explaining to, warning, praying for, and loving my brother for 25 years to no avail. His heart is as hard as ever despite what he has seen in my life. Perhaps part of the problem is that I don’t know when to just shut up.
John 10:16 I have other sheep that are not of this sheep pen. I must bring them also. THEY too WILL LISTEN to my voice, and there shall be one flock and one shepherd.
“They will listen!”, Those who are not his sheep, will not. What then do I do?
Mt 7:6 “Don’t waste what is holy on people who are unholy. Don’t throw your pearls to pigs! They will trample the pearls, then turn and attack you.
Mt 8:22 But Jesus told him, “Follow me now. Let the spiritually dead bury their own dead.”
Mt 10:14 If anyone will not welcome you or listen to your words, shake the dust off your feet when you leave that home or town.
1Peter 3:1 Wives, in the same way be submissive to your husbands so that, if any of them do not believe the word, they may be won over without words by the behaviour of their wives,
A whole theology of anti-evangelism could be established. The question is simply this, will I ever trust God enough to just shut up and know that he is God? (Ps 46:10)
Not that I have to stop loving or praying, just stop talking and giving books and offering advice and quoting scripture waiting for this moment to come along…
1Peter 3:15 But in your hearts set apart Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer TO EVERYONE WHO ASKS you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect.
Most books on evangelism do not tell us when to stop and trust and wait. Most apologetics books should come with this warning: There is a time to be silent!
Monday, March 2, 2009
Divine Sovereignty & Human Free-Will
Reflections on Matthew 24:14
“And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come.”
Consider what is going on as you look out the window and notice that your bird feeder is getting low. You want to continue to enjoy the beauty of these creatures in your back yard so, with out much thought, you refill the feeder.
Looking hopefully out the window, you wait for return of the Cedar Waxwings and the Blue Jays and the Juncos, as they discover this new bounty that you have provided.
You enjoy the spectacle of color and see something of the mind of God in their beauty and variety and their differing natures. You like to feed the birds. You do it freely of your own volition and then you remember…
Matthew 6:26 “Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they?”
And you think, “When I feed the birds, am I usurping God, replacing God, assisting God, supplementing what God is doing, or am I in fact, of my own free will, carrying out the sovereign plan of God?
Is God feeding the birds through me? Was this his plan? Is this how, at least in part, God sovereignly feeds his birds? Would they not have eaten as well today had it not been for me?
On a grander scale, consider the witness, the evidence you embody and communicate, even sometimes unwittingly, that testifies to the existence and nature of God.God displays his glory through your words and actions and attitudes. He planned it long ago as the vital means he would use to spread his gospel.
Your desire to serve him, to see people saved, is your own will, sovereignly employed by his plan, to make his fame spread and his grace to sinners known.
That God feeds the birds, needs to be clearly perceived while I am happily filling the feeder. What I must also come to see is that the gospel will be preached in the whole world.
And WE will joyfully pursue that goal, partnered with Him and it will be accomplished and then the end will come.God will sovereignly accomplish his will, in part, through our free will and effort. And in the end every people-group will have heard.
Revelation 14:6 Then I saw another angel flying in mid-air, and he had the eternal gospel to proclaim to those who live on the earth—to every nation, tribe, language and people. 7 He said in a loud voice, "Fear God and give him glory, because the hour of his judgment has come. Worship him who made the heavens, the earth, the sea and the springs of water."
“And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come.”
Consider what is going on as you look out the window and notice that your bird feeder is getting low. You want to continue to enjoy the beauty of these creatures in your back yard so, with out much thought, you refill the feeder.
Looking hopefully out the window, you wait for return of the Cedar Waxwings and the Blue Jays and the Juncos, as they discover this new bounty that you have provided.
You enjoy the spectacle of color and see something of the mind of God in their beauty and variety and their differing natures. You like to feed the birds. You do it freely of your own volition and then you remember…
Matthew 6:26 “Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they?”
And you think, “When I feed the birds, am I usurping God, replacing God, assisting God, supplementing what God is doing, or am I in fact, of my own free will, carrying out the sovereign plan of God?
Is God feeding the birds through me? Was this his plan? Is this how, at least in part, God sovereignly feeds his birds? Would they not have eaten as well today had it not been for me?
On a grander scale, consider the witness, the evidence you embody and communicate, even sometimes unwittingly, that testifies to the existence and nature of God.God displays his glory through your words and actions and attitudes. He planned it long ago as the vital means he would use to spread his gospel.
Your desire to serve him, to see people saved, is your own will, sovereignly employed by his plan, to make his fame spread and his grace to sinners known.
That God feeds the birds, needs to be clearly perceived while I am happily filling the feeder. What I must also come to see is that the gospel will be preached in the whole world.
And WE will joyfully pursue that goal, partnered with Him and it will be accomplished and then the end will come.God will sovereignly accomplish his will, in part, through our free will and effort. And in the end every people-group will have heard.
Revelation 14:6 Then I saw another angel flying in mid-air, and he had the eternal gospel to proclaim to those who live on the earth—to every nation, tribe, language and people. 7 He said in a loud voice, "Fear God and give him glory, because the hour of his judgment has come. Worship him who made the heavens, the earth, the sea and the springs of water."
Tuesday, February 24, 2009
Paper Jesus (confessions of a tough-guy)
The light and warmth of a small camp-fire keeps Jesus and his disciples in close and comforting proximity. Peter with his back supported by the smooth flat side of an olive tree leans noticeably to one side and farts like only Peter can.
James whose head had been tilted back, receiving the stream of wine from a skin, half swallows, chokes and then blasts a spray or red. Now on all fours, coughing, laughing, drooling. A rumble of laughter rolls over the fire-lit faces. A near-state of exhaustion, the late hour and a little wine has made them corporately giddy.
Thaddaeus rolls over and wakes from a slumber and stares in childlike query. Jesus, sitting on the ground by the fire lowers his head, wags it in mock disapproval, able, just, to prevent a smile from becoming a laugh, says to Peter… “Your mother would be proud.”
Did this moment happen? Or a similar one? What we are handed in the pages of scripture is a “paper” Jesus. We are delivered highlights of his mission and ministry, his teaching, his compacted, condensed, agenda-driven moments that the Spirit vivifies and uses to lead and feed his followers.
One thing I learned a long time ago was never to take a paper author at face value and compare my life to what I imagine his life to be, based solely on his writing. I was in the middle of reading “Ordering Your Private World”, one of my all-time favorite books, when the author Gordon McDonald confessed to being involved in an long-term, adulterous affair. It took me 20 years to finally forgive him and start respecting his writing again. Shame on me, perhaps, but I’m only human.
I’m not at all suggesting that Jesus ever sinned or would disappoint, quite the opposite. I’m suggesting that there were non-agenda driven moments that we can only imagine. What tear did he let fall on his mothers shoulder as he comforted her after the death of Joseph? What laughter did he share with James when making smiley faces at the table with a mouth full of fish?
What moments of comfort and joy and acceptance and friendship and love are lost between the pages that we could only imagine and seek to experience as we fill in the gaps of the story. What love and acceptance and compassion and rest must we offer, as we seek to emulate Jesus, with only “What would Jesus do?” to go on?
John tells us that, “Jesus did many other things as well. If every one of them were written down, I suppose that even the whole world would not have room for the books that would be written.” (John 21:25)
Is it possible that some of the counter productive sternness and argumentativeness that develops in some seasoned saints comes from simply imagining that this “paper Jesus” is the complete Jesus. Was he always on task, always arguing in public, never personally congenial, affable? What did he talk about sitting with tax-collectors and prostitutes around a table? Did he ever just listen and love with his presence? Did he ever simply comfort with a touch and not add a single word. Did he ever forgive, just by pursing his lips and nodding his head to one side? Did he ever show acceptance that changed a life with a smile of his eyes?
We could only (and must) imagine if we are ever to live with more than a paper-Jesus. We must live with and reveal the present, living Christ. We must be disciples of more than paper. We must incarnate, demonstrate… him to the people around us. The people we love, the people in whose presence we fart.
James whose head had been tilted back, receiving the stream of wine from a skin, half swallows, chokes and then blasts a spray or red. Now on all fours, coughing, laughing, drooling. A rumble of laughter rolls over the fire-lit faces. A near-state of exhaustion, the late hour and a little wine has made them corporately giddy.
Thaddaeus rolls over and wakes from a slumber and stares in childlike query. Jesus, sitting on the ground by the fire lowers his head, wags it in mock disapproval, able, just, to prevent a smile from becoming a laugh, says to Peter… “Your mother would be proud.”
Did this moment happen? Or a similar one? What we are handed in the pages of scripture is a “paper” Jesus. We are delivered highlights of his mission and ministry, his teaching, his compacted, condensed, agenda-driven moments that the Spirit vivifies and uses to lead and feed his followers.
One thing I learned a long time ago was never to take a paper author at face value and compare my life to what I imagine his life to be, based solely on his writing. I was in the middle of reading “Ordering Your Private World”, one of my all-time favorite books, when the author Gordon McDonald confessed to being involved in an long-term, adulterous affair. It took me 20 years to finally forgive him and start respecting his writing again. Shame on me, perhaps, but I’m only human.
I’m not at all suggesting that Jesus ever sinned or would disappoint, quite the opposite. I’m suggesting that there were non-agenda driven moments that we can only imagine. What tear did he let fall on his mothers shoulder as he comforted her after the death of Joseph? What laughter did he share with James when making smiley faces at the table with a mouth full of fish?
What moments of comfort and joy and acceptance and friendship and love are lost between the pages that we could only imagine and seek to experience as we fill in the gaps of the story. What love and acceptance and compassion and rest must we offer, as we seek to emulate Jesus, with only “What would Jesus do?” to go on?
John tells us that, “Jesus did many other things as well. If every one of them were written down, I suppose that even the whole world would not have room for the books that would be written.” (John 21:25)
Is it possible that some of the counter productive sternness and argumentativeness that develops in some seasoned saints comes from simply imagining that this “paper Jesus” is the complete Jesus. Was he always on task, always arguing in public, never personally congenial, affable? What did he talk about sitting with tax-collectors and prostitutes around a table? Did he ever just listen and love with his presence? Did he ever simply comfort with a touch and not add a single word. Did he ever forgive, just by pursing his lips and nodding his head to one side? Did he ever show acceptance that changed a life with a smile of his eyes?
We could only (and must) imagine if we are ever to live with more than a paper-Jesus. We must live with and reveal the present, living Christ. We must be disciples of more than paper. We must incarnate, demonstrate… him to the people around us. The people we love, the people in whose presence we fart.
Wednesday, February 18, 2009
How Should a Christian Fear the Lord?
This is from John Piper's book “The Pleasures of God”
and is too good not to share.
To summarize, the fear of the lord is not nervousness or anxiety or uncertainty, but confident awe and wonder and amazement from a place of safety, a place you want to stay.
Piper writes:
FEAR AND HOPE AT THE SAME TIME
Does it strike you as strange that we should be encouraged to fear and hope at the same time and in the same person? "The LORD takes pleasure in those who fear him, in those who hope in his steadfast love." (Ps 147:11)
Do you hope in the one you fear and fear the one you hope in? It's usually the other way around: if we fear a person, we hope that someone else will come and help us. But here we are supposed to fear the one we hope in and hope in the one we fear. What does this mean?
I think it means that we should let the experience of hope penetrate and transform the experience of fear. In other words, the kind of fear that we should have toward God is whatever is left of fear when we have a sure hope in the midst of it.
GREENLAND GLACIER
Suppose you were exploring an unknown glacier in the north of Green-land in the dead of winter. Just as you reach a sheer cliff with a spectacular view of miles and miles of jagged ice and mountains of snow, a terrible storm breaks in. The wind is so strong that the fear rises in your heart that it might blow you over the cliff. But in the midst of the storm you discover a cleft in the ice where you can hide. Here you feel secure. But, even though secure, the awesome might of the storm rages on, and you watch it with a kind of trembling pleasure as it surges out across the distant glaciers.
At first there was the fear that this terrible storm and awesome terrain might claim your life. But then you found a refuge and gained the hope that you would be safe. But not everything in the feeling called fear vanished from your heart. Only the life-threatening part. There remained the trembling, the awe, the wonder, the feeling that you would never want to tangle with such a storm or be the adversary of such a power.
And so it is with God. In the same Psalm we read, "He gives snow like wool; he scatters hoarfrost like ashes. He casts forth his ice like morsels; who can stand before his cold?" (vv. 16-17). The cold of God is a fearful thing—who can stand against it! And verses 4–5 point to the same power of God in nature: "He determines the number of the stars, he gives to all of them their names. Great is our LORD, and abundant in power; his understanding is beyond measure."
In other words, God's greatness is greater than the universe of stars, and his power is behind the unendurable cold of arctic storms. Yet he cups his hand around us and says, "Take refuge in my love and let the terrors of my power become the awesome fireworks of your happy night-sky."
The fear of God is what is left of the storm when you have a safe place to watch right in the middle of it. And in that place of refuge we say, "This is amazing, this is terrible, this is incredible power; Oh, the thrill of being here in the center of the awful power of God, yet protected by God himself! Oh, what a terrible thing to fall into the hands of the living God without hope, without a Savior! Better to have a millstone tied around my neck and be thrown into the depths of the sea than to offend against this God! What a wonderful privilege to know the favor of this God in the midst of his power!"
And so we get an idea of how we feel both hope and fear at the same time. Hope turns fear into a trembling and peaceful wonder; and fear takes everything trivial out of hope and makes it earnest and profound. The terrors of God make the pleasures of his people intense. The fireside fellow-ship is all the sweeter when the storm is howling outside the cottage.
Now why does God delight in those who experience him in this way—in people who fear him and hope in his love? Surely it is because our fear reflects the greatness of his power and our hope reflects the bounty of his grace. God delights in those responses which mirror his magnificence.
This is just what we would have expected from a God who is all-sufficient in himself and has no need of us—a God who will never give up the glory of being the fountain of all joy, who will never surrender the honor of being the source of all safety, who will never abdicate the throne of sovereign grace. God has pleasure in those who hope in his love because that hope highlights the freedom of his grace. When I cry out, "God is my only hope, my rock, my refuge!" I am turning from myself and calling all attention to the boundless resources of God.
and is too good not to share.
To summarize, the fear of the lord is not nervousness or anxiety or uncertainty, but confident awe and wonder and amazement from a place of safety, a place you want to stay.
Piper writes:
FEAR AND HOPE AT THE SAME TIME
Does it strike you as strange that we should be encouraged to fear and hope at the same time and in the same person? "The LORD takes pleasure in those who fear him, in those who hope in his steadfast love." (Ps 147:11)
Do you hope in the one you fear and fear the one you hope in? It's usually the other way around: if we fear a person, we hope that someone else will come and help us. But here we are supposed to fear the one we hope in and hope in the one we fear. What does this mean?
I think it means that we should let the experience of hope penetrate and transform the experience of fear. In other words, the kind of fear that we should have toward God is whatever is left of fear when we have a sure hope in the midst of it.
GREENLAND GLACIER
Suppose you were exploring an unknown glacier in the north of Green-land in the dead of winter. Just as you reach a sheer cliff with a spectacular view of miles and miles of jagged ice and mountains of snow, a terrible storm breaks in. The wind is so strong that the fear rises in your heart that it might blow you over the cliff. But in the midst of the storm you discover a cleft in the ice where you can hide. Here you feel secure. But, even though secure, the awesome might of the storm rages on, and you watch it with a kind of trembling pleasure as it surges out across the distant glaciers.
At first there was the fear that this terrible storm and awesome terrain might claim your life. But then you found a refuge and gained the hope that you would be safe. But not everything in the feeling called fear vanished from your heart. Only the life-threatening part. There remained the trembling, the awe, the wonder, the feeling that you would never want to tangle with such a storm or be the adversary of such a power.
And so it is with God. In the same Psalm we read, "He gives snow like wool; he scatters hoarfrost like ashes. He casts forth his ice like morsels; who can stand before his cold?" (vv. 16-17). The cold of God is a fearful thing—who can stand against it! And verses 4–5 point to the same power of God in nature: "He determines the number of the stars, he gives to all of them their names. Great is our LORD, and abundant in power; his understanding is beyond measure."
In other words, God's greatness is greater than the universe of stars, and his power is behind the unendurable cold of arctic storms. Yet he cups his hand around us and says, "Take refuge in my love and let the terrors of my power become the awesome fireworks of your happy night-sky."
The fear of God is what is left of the storm when you have a safe place to watch right in the middle of it. And in that place of refuge we say, "This is amazing, this is terrible, this is incredible power; Oh, the thrill of being here in the center of the awful power of God, yet protected by God himself! Oh, what a terrible thing to fall into the hands of the living God without hope, without a Savior! Better to have a millstone tied around my neck and be thrown into the depths of the sea than to offend against this God! What a wonderful privilege to know the favor of this God in the midst of his power!"
And so we get an idea of how we feel both hope and fear at the same time. Hope turns fear into a trembling and peaceful wonder; and fear takes everything trivial out of hope and makes it earnest and profound. The terrors of God make the pleasures of his people intense. The fireside fellow-ship is all the sweeter when the storm is howling outside the cottage.
Now why does God delight in those who experience him in this way—in people who fear him and hope in his love? Surely it is because our fear reflects the greatness of his power and our hope reflects the bounty of his grace. God delights in those responses which mirror his magnificence.
This is just what we would have expected from a God who is all-sufficient in himself and has no need of us—a God who will never give up the glory of being the fountain of all joy, who will never surrender the honor of being the source of all safety, who will never abdicate the throne of sovereign grace. God has pleasure in those who hope in his love because that hope highlights the freedom of his grace. When I cry out, "God is my only hope, my rock, my refuge!" I am turning from myself and calling all attention to the boundless resources of God.
Tuesday, February 17, 2009
How To Kill An Evil Desire
First of all, the rules of fight or flight apply.
You don’t have to kill what you can run from.
2 Timothy 2:22
Flee the evil desires of youth, and pursue righteousness, faith, love and peace, along with those who call on the Lord out of a pure heart.
I had a close encounter with a prostitute this morning at the Salvation Army while dropping off a donation. She was attractive and available.
So long as I do not go back looking for her and refuse to entertain any immoral thought of her…
2 Corinthians 10:5 …bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ;
…but perhaps even pray for her soul, being willing to be used to present the gospel to her… If I am honest with myself in this respect and accountable if need be, then I have fled any desire aroused by her seductive, though perhaps survivalist, intent.
But if I am unsuccessful and some desire attaches itself to my heart and like a leach begins to thrive off my heart, becomes indistinguishable from the rest of my heart and so begins to define my interior thought and motives, even though I may never fulfill this desire, have no plan to fulfill it, but enjoy the satisfaction of musing what it would be like to enjoy it – then – then I have something, "someone" to kill.
You need 4 things for a “righteous” kill.
1. Compelling Desire
2. Unconditional Permission
3. A Specific Target
4. A List of Methods At Your Disposal
Though I was successful fleeing evil desire this morning, let me use this example as a model to illustrate what I am saying. I will personify this imaginary desire to make this as biblically graphic as possible.
1. Desire
You don’t assonate someone unless you really want to. The only real and compelling reason I would forgo the private pleasure of entertaining an evil desire in my thought-life is for the superior pleasure I find in entertaining God.
If I had to choose between companionship with God or a fantasy, who would it be? If God, then why not fellowship with God now in reality as opposed to any mental dealings I might enjoy with an imaginary prostitute. I cannot do both.
Lust whether acted upon or not is sin. I cannot delight in sin and in God at the same time. If this desire is allowed to live, even if only in desire form… God is displeased and disposed to discipline.
Ephesians 4:30 And do not bring sorrow to God’s Holy Spirit by the way you live.
Hebrews 12:10 God disciplines us for our good, that we may share in his holiness.
James 1:14 Each one is tempted when, by his own evil desire, he is dragged away and enticed. 15 Then, after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death. 16 Don’t be deceived, my dear brothers.
1 John 1:9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.
Proverbs 20:30 Blows and wounds cleanse away evil, and beatings purge the inmost being.
John 15:2 He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful.
Jn 15:10 If you obey my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have obeyed my Father’s commands and remain in his love. 11 I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete.
1Co 9:26 So I run with purpose in every step. I am not just shadowboxing.
27 I discipline my body like an athlete, training it to do what it should. Otherwise, I fear that after preaching to others I myself might be disqualified.
Do you want the joy of God that comes through obedience, or the pleasure of sinful fantasy that results in grief and anxiety that He will eventually, painfully purge away? Be motivated by what holds the best, long-term, mutual joy for you and God.
2. Permission – A License To Kill
Colossians 3:5 Put to death, therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly nature: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires and greed, which is idolatry.
Romans 8:13 For if you live according to the sinful nature, you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the misdeeds of the body, you will live.
3. A Specified Target
Galatians 5: 24 Those who belong to Christ Jesus have nailed the passions and desires of their sinful nature to his cross and crucified them there.
25 Since we are living by the Spirit, let us follow the Spirit’s leading in every part of our lives.
Do what the Bible says. Personify YOUR sinful desire, give it a name and a face if necessary, take it to the cross of Christ and crucify it there. Kill it! You have permission to be absolutely brutal with this target of assassination that lives within you.
With everyone else’s sin, you must be loving and gentle and humble and gracious and forgiving and if necessary, stern and protective and disciplinary,
Luke 17:3 So watch yourselves. "If your brother sins, rebuke him, and if he repents, forgive him.
…but with your own sinful passions and desires, with your own covetousness and greed and demandingness… Be merciless!
4. The Method
I suggest you pray, fast and meditate, confess, journal and any other discipline you can engage, but understand that there are a million means and methods to kill a cunning leach, once you have identified it, defined it, disengaged it and even given it a pet name… Once you have reached a point of desperation, the “I’ll do anything!” with tears, “Lord if you will not kill this desire then take my life… moment… Once you have consolidated and focused your desire, then any method will do.
Confess the truth to God that at times you would rather have fellowship with your fantasy than with him and that you want that evil craving to die.
Then set out to analyze it to death. Stop the Mary-go-round and get off and ask, “Are we having fun yet?” Is this really what I want to be doing with my life before God?
Where will it lead me? What are the long-term consequences? Will I be satisfied, joyful to overflowing or will I be left disappointed, disillusioned? If I’m going to repent some day, why not now?
If I wrote down my thoughts what would they look like? If I confessed these thoughts to a friend and maybe I should, what would he/she say? What grace and what warning would be offered?
What desire for God could reside where this evil desire now does? What would it feel like to long for God this way and have him continuously and increasingly, joyfully satisfy that desire?
John 4:10 Jesus answered her, "If you knew the gift of God and who it is that asks you for a drink, you would have asked him and he would have given you living water."
John 4:14 but whoever drinks the water I give him will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life."
John 7:38 Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, streams of living water will flow from within him." 39 By this he meant the Spirit.
Romans 15:13 May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.
2 Corinthians 4:15 All this is for your benefit, so that the grace that is reaching more and more people may cause thanksgiving to overflow to the glory of God.
Philippians 1:26 so that through my being with you again your joy in Christ Jesus will overflow on account of me.
1 Thessalonians 3:12 May the Lord make your love increase and overflow for each other and for everyone else, just as ours does for you.
Be honest and listen to the justifications you use to permit yourself to engage in mental fantasy and desire, whether it is regarding wealth or food or sex or the companionship of someone God does not permit.
Analyze your pleasure and ask, “With what do I want to overflow? Failure and shame and regret, or the personally satisfying relational joy to be had between me and the Spirit of God living in me?” Decide and then Kill the desire you don’t want to keep. You can't keep both.
As John Owens says in his work, “The Mortification of Sin in Believers”…
“Be killing sin or it will be killing you”
And
“The Holy Spirit is the author of this work in us so that although it is our duty, it is his grace and strength whereby it is preformed.”
And
“Believers who are freed from the condemning power of sin ought to make it their business to kill the indwelling power of sin
And
If we are not always mortifying sin, we are lost creatures.
I’ll stop there.
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You don’t have to kill what you can run from.
2 Timothy 2:22
Flee the evil desires of youth, and pursue righteousness, faith, love and peace, along with those who call on the Lord out of a pure heart.
I had a close encounter with a prostitute this morning at the Salvation Army while dropping off a donation. She was attractive and available.
So long as I do not go back looking for her and refuse to entertain any immoral thought of her…
2 Corinthians 10:5 …bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ;
…but perhaps even pray for her soul, being willing to be used to present the gospel to her… If I am honest with myself in this respect and accountable if need be, then I have fled any desire aroused by her seductive, though perhaps survivalist, intent.
But if I am unsuccessful and some desire attaches itself to my heart and like a leach begins to thrive off my heart, becomes indistinguishable from the rest of my heart and so begins to define my interior thought and motives, even though I may never fulfill this desire, have no plan to fulfill it, but enjoy the satisfaction of musing what it would be like to enjoy it – then – then I have something, "someone" to kill.
You need 4 things for a “righteous” kill.
1. Compelling Desire
2. Unconditional Permission
3. A Specific Target
4. A List of Methods At Your Disposal
Though I was successful fleeing evil desire this morning, let me use this example as a model to illustrate what I am saying. I will personify this imaginary desire to make this as biblically graphic as possible.
1. Desire
You don’t assonate someone unless you really want to. The only real and compelling reason I would forgo the private pleasure of entertaining an evil desire in my thought-life is for the superior pleasure I find in entertaining God.
If I had to choose between companionship with God or a fantasy, who would it be? If God, then why not fellowship with God now in reality as opposed to any mental dealings I might enjoy with an imaginary prostitute. I cannot do both.
Lust whether acted upon or not is sin. I cannot delight in sin and in God at the same time. If this desire is allowed to live, even if only in desire form… God is displeased and disposed to discipline.
Ephesians 4:30 And do not bring sorrow to God’s Holy Spirit by the way you live.
Hebrews 12:10 God disciplines us for our good, that we may share in his holiness.
James 1:14 Each one is tempted when, by his own evil desire, he is dragged away and enticed. 15 Then, after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death. 16 Don’t be deceived, my dear brothers.
1 John 1:9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.
Proverbs 20:30 Blows and wounds cleanse away evil, and beatings purge the inmost being.
John 15:2 He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful.
Jn 15:10 If you obey my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have obeyed my Father’s commands and remain in his love. 11 I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete.
1Co 9:26 So I run with purpose in every step. I am not just shadowboxing.
27 I discipline my body like an athlete, training it to do what it should. Otherwise, I fear that after preaching to others I myself might be disqualified.
Do you want the joy of God that comes through obedience, or the pleasure of sinful fantasy that results in grief and anxiety that He will eventually, painfully purge away? Be motivated by what holds the best, long-term, mutual joy for you and God.
2. Permission – A License To Kill
Colossians 3:5 Put to death, therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly nature: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires and greed, which is idolatry.
Romans 8:13 For if you live according to the sinful nature, you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the misdeeds of the body, you will live.
3. A Specified Target
Galatians 5: 24 Those who belong to Christ Jesus have nailed the passions and desires of their sinful nature to his cross and crucified them there.
25 Since we are living by the Spirit, let us follow the Spirit’s leading in every part of our lives.
Do what the Bible says. Personify YOUR sinful desire, give it a name and a face if necessary, take it to the cross of Christ and crucify it there. Kill it! You have permission to be absolutely brutal with this target of assassination that lives within you.
With everyone else’s sin, you must be loving and gentle and humble and gracious and forgiving and if necessary, stern and protective and disciplinary,
Luke 17:3 So watch yourselves. "If your brother sins, rebuke him, and if he repents, forgive him.
…but with your own sinful passions and desires, with your own covetousness and greed and demandingness… Be merciless!
4. The Method
I suggest you pray, fast and meditate, confess, journal and any other discipline you can engage, but understand that there are a million means and methods to kill a cunning leach, once you have identified it, defined it, disengaged it and even given it a pet name… Once you have reached a point of desperation, the “I’ll do anything!” with tears, “Lord if you will not kill this desire then take my life… moment… Once you have consolidated and focused your desire, then any method will do.
Confess the truth to God that at times you would rather have fellowship with your fantasy than with him and that you want that evil craving to die.
Then set out to analyze it to death. Stop the Mary-go-round and get off and ask, “Are we having fun yet?” Is this really what I want to be doing with my life before God?
Where will it lead me? What are the long-term consequences? Will I be satisfied, joyful to overflowing or will I be left disappointed, disillusioned? If I’m going to repent some day, why not now?
If I wrote down my thoughts what would they look like? If I confessed these thoughts to a friend and maybe I should, what would he/she say? What grace and what warning would be offered?
What desire for God could reside where this evil desire now does? What would it feel like to long for God this way and have him continuously and increasingly, joyfully satisfy that desire?
John 4:10 Jesus answered her, "If you knew the gift of God and who it is that asks you for a drink, you would have asked him and he would have given you living water."
John 4:14 but whoever drinks the water I give him will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life."
John 7:38 Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, streams of living water will flow from within him." 39 By this he meant the Spirit.
Romans 15:13 May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.
2 Corinthians 4:15 All this is for your benefit, so that the grace that is reaching more and more people may cause thanksgiving to overflow to the glory of God.
Philippians 1:26 so that through my being with you again your joy in Christ Jesus will overflow on account of me.
1 Thessalonians 3:12 May the Lord make your love increase and overflow for each other and for everyone else, just as ours does for you.
Be honest and listen to the justifications you use to permit yourself to engage in mental fantasy and desire, whether it is regarding wealth or food or sex or the companionship of someone God does not permit.
Analyze your pleasure and ask, “With what do I want to overflow? Failure and shame and regret, or the personally satisfying relational joy to be had between me and the Spirit of God living in me?” Decide and then Kill the desire you don’t want to keep. You can't keep both.
As John Owens says in his work, “The Mortification of Sin in Believers”…
“Be killing sin or it will be killing you”
And
“The Holy Spirit is the author of this work in us so that although it is our duty, it is his grace and strength whereby it is preformed.”
And
“Believers who are freed from the condemning power of sin ought to make it their business to kill the indwelling power of sin
And
If we are not always mortifying sin, we are lost creatures.
I’ll stop there.
You can leave an anonymous comment by
1. Clicking on "comments" just below
2. Type something in the box marked “Leave Your Comment”
3. Type in the word you see in “Word Verification”
4. Under “Choose An Identity” click “Anonymous” or some other option
Saturday, February 14, 2009
3 Reasons Why My Heart Is Smitten
Smitten: thrilled, captivated, consumed, delighted, infatuated, gripped.
1. I am freed by the command to love, delight in, rejoice in, be over-flowingly happy in God, my God, the very one I have longed for since my earliest child-hood memories.
Lu 10:27 Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind’; and, Love your neighbour as yourself.
Ps 37:4 Delight yourself in the LORD and he will give you the desires of your heart.
Php 4:4 Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice!
2. To know that in proper, respectful and trusting obedience that He, God… delights in me, is almost too overwhelming to bear contemplation.
1John 3:1 How great is the [kind of] love the Father has lavished on us, that we (sinners) should be called children of God! And that is what we are!
Ps 147:11 the LORD delights in those who fear him, who put their hope in his unfailing love.
Zep 3:17 The LORD your God is with you, he is mighty to save. He will take great delight in you, he will quiet you with his love, he will rejoice over you with singing."
3. To witness in Scripture the perfect, joyous, love and delight God has for his son, one for whom he has never had, and never will have to apply grace or mercy or forgiveness. Just perfect boundless eternal love. One limitless Divine loving another and another: The Spirit.
And that I am invited into that circle of love, into that family, that clique of friendship. This is staggering, weakening, too good for eternity to ever exhaust the enjoyment of that love. And I enjoy it… today. And He will never let me go.
1Peter 1:17 For he received honour and glory from God the Father when the voice came to him from the Majestic Glory, saying, "This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased." 18 We ourselves heard this voice that came from heaven when we were with him on the sacred mountain.
John 17: 20 "My prayer is not for them alone. I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message, 21 that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me.
22 I have given them the glory that you gave me, that they may be one as we are one:
23 I in them and you in me. May they be brought to complete unity to let the world know that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me. 24 "Father, I want those you have given me to be with me where I am, and to see my glory, the glory you have given me because you loved me before the creation of the world. 25 "Righteous Father, though the world does not know you, I know you, and they know that you have sent me. 26 I have made you known to them, and will continue to make you known in order that the love you have for me may be in them and that I myself may be in them."
Heb 13:5 God has said, “I will never fail you. I will never abandon you.”
1. I am freed by the command to love, delight in, rejoice in, be over-flowingly happy in God, my God, the very one I have longed for since my earliest child-hood memories.
Lu 10:27 Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind’; and, Love your neighbour as yourself.
Ps 37:4 Delight yourself in the LORD and he will give you the desires of your heart.
Php 4:4 Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice!
2. To know that in proper, respectful and trusting obedience that He, God… delights in me, is almost too overwhelming to bear contemplation.
1John 3:1 How great is the [kind of] love the Father has lavished on us, that we (sinners) should be called children of God! And that is what we are!
Ps 147:11 the LORD delights in those who fear him, who put their hope in his unfailing love.
Zep 3:17 The LORD your God is with you, he is mighty to save. He will take great delight in you, he will quiet you with his love, he will rejoice over you with singing."
3. To witness in Scripture the perfect, joyous, love and delight God has for his son, one for whom he has never had, and never will have to apply grace or mercy or forgiveness. Just perfect boundless eternal love. One limitless Divine loving another and another: The Spirit.
And that I am invited into that circle of love, into that family, that clique of friendship. This is staggering, weakening, too good for eternity to ever exhaust the enjoyment of that love. And I enjoy it… today. And He will never let me go.
1Peter 1:17 For he received honour and glory from God the Father when the voice came to him from the Majestic Glory, saying, "This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased." 18 We ourselves heard this voice that came from heaven when we were with him on the sacred mountain.
John 17: 20 "My prayer is not for them alone. I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message, 21 that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me.
22 I have given them the glory that you gave me, that they may be one as we are one:
23 I in them and you in me. May they be brought to complete unity to let the world know that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me. 24 "Father, I want those you have given me to be with me where I am, and to see my glory, the glory you have given me because you loved me before the creation of the world. 25 "Righteous Father, though the world does not know you, I know you, and they know that you have sent me. 26 I have made you known to them, and will continue to make you known in order that the love you have for me may be in them and that I myself may be in them."
Heb 13:5 God has said, “I will never fail you. I will never abandon you.”
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