2 Corinthians 11:23 - 12:4 I have worked much harder, been in prison more frequently, been flogged more severely, and been exposed to death again and again. 24 Five times I received from the Jews the forty lashes minus one. 25 Three times I was beaten with rods, once I was stoned, three times I was shipwrecked, I spent a night and a day in the open sea, 26 I have been constantly on the move. I have been in danger from rivers, in danger from bandits, in danger from my own countrymen, in danger from Gentiles; in danger in the city, in danger in the country, in danger at sea; and in danger from false brothers. 27 I have labored and toiled and have often gone without sleep; I have known hunger and thirst and have often gone without food; I have been cold and naked. 28 Besides everything else, I face daily the pressure of my concern for all the churches. 29 Who is weak, and I do not feel weak? Who is led into sin, and I do not inwardly burn? 30 If I must boast, I will boast of the things that show my weakness. 31 The God and Father of the Lord Jesus, who is to be praised forever, knows that I am not lying. 32 In Damascus the governor under King Aretas had the city of the Damascenes guarded in order to arrest me. 33 But I was lowered in a basket from a window in the wall and slipped through his hands. NIV 2 Corinthians 12:1 I must go on boasting. Although there is nothing to be gained, I will go on to visions and revelations from the Lord. 2 I know a man in Christ who fourteen years ago was caught up to the third heaven. Whether it was in the body or out of the body I do not know-- God knows. 3 And I know that this man-- whether in the body or apart from the body I do not know, but God knows-- 4 was caught up to paradise. He heard inexpressible things, things that man is not permitted to tell.
Philippians 1:21-24 21 For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain. 22 If I am to go on living in the body, this will mean fruitful labor for me. Yet what shall I choose? I do not know! 23 I am torn between the two: I desire to depart and be with Christ, which is better by far; 24 but it is more necessary for you that I remain in the body.
In Pastor Ryan’s blog entry Friday morning, he passed on a proverb that reminds of our mortality:
“Live each day as if it were your last, because one day it will be.”
I thought about it for a while after reading it before God showed me the meaning of the application. Living every moment of every day in pursuit of the glory of God means I am living every moment in anticipation of going home to be with my Father and my family of faith for all eternity. Like a soldier fighting a war overseas who writes letters to his family, looks at pictures of his wife and kids, knowing the fighting and hardship is temporary, looks forward with eager anticipation of going home to them.
Since I was eighteen, I have been enamored by the testimonies of missionaries, many of them giving their lives for the sake of their calling. I have wanted to develop the faith and passion for God and for the urgency of sharing the gospel that would result in the ability to give my life willingly should it be required. I have quoted Philippians 1:21 over and over again as the purpose for my existence. In all this time, I have failed to give much attention to what is waiting for me after death. Heaven has only been an idea and an ideal to me rather than a pending reality. Wow have I missed out!
Paul met and saw Jesus on the road to Damascus, thus qualifying him as an apostle of Jesus Christ. The suffering he endured, described in the passage above, was tolerated due to the certainty beyond doubt not only of the truth to which he bore witness, but also to the eternal reward that was waiting for him. From his suffering was born hope of deliverance not on earth, but in heaven. The reality of his destination was grounded by the reality of having seen Jesus face to face and continued intimacy with the almighty God as he daily met with him in his quiet place and saw his influence all around him.
Jesus told Thomas, the disciple who insisted on seeing Jesus and touching his wounds before he would believe he had risen from the dead "Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed." (John 20:29) Despite the fact we cannot see God and have very little tangible evidence of our eternal destination, they are real; as real as what we can see and touch. The blessing of knowing their reality comes by the revelation of faith, “. . .where knowledge meets experience, where knowing about God becomes knowing God.” (The Common Thread, “Faith Realized”). Like John, the author of Revelation, I find it difficult to describe my new vision of my future home. For lack of a more potent word, it is beautiful!
Friday, June 27, 2008
Thursday, June 26, 2008
Friend or Foe?
Pastor Ryan Whitley told a familiar story during his sermon a few weeks ago illustrating the constant internal conflict intrinsic to every Christian. The story goes a missionary led a Native American chief to faith in Christ which subsequently led to the conversion of the whole tribe. Some time later, the chief told the missionary he was aware of a struggle within himself that felt like two dogs viciously fighting. He said one was a white dog, which represented his new faith in Christ. The other was a black dog, representing the sinful nature constantly fighting in opposition to his faith. The missionary asked, “Which one is winning?” The chief replied, “The one I am feeding the most.”
To surrender to the lordship of Christ is to enlist as a soldier in his army against the forces of darkness. The hard reality every new recruit has to accept is the battle is fought hardest within them and never ends until they are delivered from this meeting place between heaven and hell called earth by their earthly death and heavenly homecoming. Every Christian is both friend and enemy, good and bad, capable of exhibiting both the identity of a saint and the identity of a devil.
Those who are captive to the enemy and the unclaimed are not blind to the duplicitous nature of those who flaunt the title of Christian. I heard a quote on one of my music CDs that describes the tragic result of Christians who demonstrate their flesh is winning the battle against their spirit: “The single greatest cause of atheism in the world today is Christians, who acknowledge Jesus with their lips but walk out the door and deny him by their lifestyles. That is what an unbelieving world simply finds unbelievable.” What credibility can the body of Christ give for the good news it proclaims if there is no evidence of spiritual change within it? Christians who look and act more like unbelievers than “little-Christs” end up serving the greater purpose of the enemy in the battle being waged on the eternal realm.
To win the battle within you, you must decide who you are, friend or foe:
Joshua 24:15 15 But if serving the LORD seems undesirable to you, then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your forefathers served beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you are living. But as for me and my household, we will serve the LORD."
To choose your identity in Christ is to crucify your flesh; starve it until it is captured, bound, tortured and killed:
Galatians 5:24 24 Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the sinful nature with its passions and desires.
Determining the food necessary for a healthy spiritual diet begins by asking the right question, literally. Most of us when evaluating a choice approach it from the angle, “What’s wrong with it?” By asking the question, we've already demonstrated which nature within us is strongest. Instead, we should be asking, “What’s right about it?” The mother of protestant reformer John Calvin prudently fashioned his understanding of the right question by branding these words on his heart:
“Whatever weakens your reasoning, impairs the tenderness of your conscience, obscures your sense of God, or takes away your relish for spiritual things; in short, if anything increases the authority and power of the flesh over the Spirit, then that to you becomes sin, however good it is in itself.”
Choosing spiritually nourishing food means believing God’s law is one of love, not bondage. Confession of sin means believing the promise of redemption and grace. Hunger for righteousness means believing the promise of power for doing what we cannot do ourselves. Looking like a Christian means evidence of spiritual victory, shining as one who has been in the presence of God where sin cannot abide. If you claim the title of Christian, look in the mirror of God’s word and presence on your knees and he will show you your reflection. You may find you need to change sides.
To surrender to the lordship of Christ is to enlist as a soldier in his army against the forces of darkness. The hard reality every new recruit has to accept is the battle is fought hardest within them and never ends until they are delivered from this meeting place between heaven and hell called earth by their earthly death and heavenly homecoming. Every Christian is both friend and enemy, good and bad, capable of exhibiting both the identity of a saint and the identity of a devil.
Those who are captive to the enemy and the unclaimed are not blind to the duplicitous nature of those who flaunt the title of Christian. I heard a quote on one of my music CDs that describes the tragic result of Christians who demonstrate their flesh is winning the battle against their spirit: “The single greatest cause of atheism in the world today is Christians, who acknowledge Jesus with their lips but walk out the door and deny him by their lifestyles. That is what an unbelieving world simply finds unbelievable.” What credibility can the body of Christ give for the good news it proclaims if there is no evidence of spiritual change within it? Christians who look and act more like unbelievers than “little-Christs” end up serving the greater purpose of the enemy in the battle being waged on the eternal realm.
To win the battle within you, you must decide who you are, friend or foe:
Joshua 24:15 15 But if serving the LORD seems undesirable to you, then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your forefathers served beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you are living. But as for me and my household, we will serve the LORD."
To choose your identity in Christ is to crucify your flesh; starve it until it is captured, bound, tortured and killed:
Galatians 5:24 24 Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the sinful nature with its passions and desires.
Determining the food necessary for a healthy spiritual diet begins by asking the right question, literally. Most of us when evaluating a choice approach it from the angle, “What’s wrong with it?” By asking the question, we've already demonstrated which nature within us is strongest. Instead, we should be asking, “What’s right about it?” The mother of protestant reformer John Calvin prudently fashioned his understanding of the right question by branding these words on his heart:
“Whatever weakens your reasoning, impairs the tenderness of your conscience, obscures your sense of God, or takes away your relish for spiritual things; in short, if anything increases the authority and power of the flesh over the Spirit, then that to you becomes sin, however good it is in itself.”
Choosing spiritually nourishing food means believing God’s law is one of love, not bondage. Confession of sin means believing the promise of redemption and grace. Hunger for righteousness means believing the promise of power for doing what we cannot do ourselves. Looking like a Christian means evidence of spiritual victory, shining as one who has been in the presence of God where sin cannot abide. If you claim the title of Christian, look in the mirror of God’s word and presence on your knees and he will show you your reflection. You may find you need to change sides.
Tuesday, June 24, 2008
Doormat Theology
Below is today's article from "A Slice of Infinity." I'm adding "doormat theology" to my theological vocabulary.
06/24/08
Doormat Theology
Margaret Manning
Many times over the years, I have heard it taught in church sermons, Sunday school classes, or bible studies that while we are called to serve others, we should never be doormats. In other words, we should never let people walk over us, or take advantage of us. To do so is at best undignified, and at worst it infringes upon “our rights.”
Psychologists have added to this understanding by defining individuals who allow others to consistently take advantage of them as co-dependent. Co-dependence, though clinicians have not agreed on a precise definition, is defined in part by the compulsive sacrifice of one’s own values or preferences.(1) Clearly, when this is done out of fear, as a result of abuse, or because of a low-nurturance upbringing, we can understand how this might not be a desirable pattern in relating to others.
Yet most of us, if we are honest, are averse to service of any kind that asks more of us than we are willing to give. We measure out our service as we would our sugar and cream for coffee. If service cuts into our time, or our convenience or comfort, then it must be making us doormats to others, and surely that is not what Jesus meant by calling us to serve one another. Surely Jesus couldn’t have really meant that his followers should “not resist him who is evil; but whoever slaps you on your right cheek, turn to him the other also. And if anyone wants to sue you, and take your shirt, let him have your coat also. And whoever shall force you to go one mile, go with him two. Give to him who asks of you, and do not turn away from him who wants to borrow from you” (Matthew 5:38-42). If that is not a call to be taken advantage of, then I’m not sure what is!
But this is not the advantage of the co-dependent. Rather, it is the freely chosen offering of oneself in service to God, just as Jesus offered himself in service.
Indeed, the apostle Paul looks back to the life of Jesus as he implores the believers at Philippi to “do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit, but with humility of mind let each of you regard one another as more important than himself; do not merely look out for your own personal interests, but also for the interests of others...have this attitude in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus, who although he existed in the form of God, did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped” (Philippians 2:3-6). The life of a Christ-follower is to be marked by putting the interests of others on par with our own interests. Moreover, our lives are to be marked by viewing others as more important than ourselves. More important than ourselves. If we seek to follow Jesus in this way, we can expect for others to take advantage of our willingness to serve. Indeed, in calling us to offer our lives for others, we are called to practice “doormat theology”--the willing practice of laying down our lives on behalf of others--even when that service is abused or misused.
Many in our Christian world today bristle at such a suggestion. Surely, this kind of theology leads to low self-esteem and reduced self-image, they argue. Yet, a doormat theology doesn’t lead to a diminished sense of self. On the contrary, it leads to our deepened identity in Christ. James Loder adds, “Christian self-understanding drives toward the goal of giving love sacrificially with integrity after the pattern of Christ. This means the willing breaking of one’s wholeness potential for the sake of another, a free choice that has nothing to do with oppression because it is an act of integrity and everything to do with Christ’s free choice to go to the cross as an act of love.”(2) Indeed, if Jesus found his mission and calling in laying down his own life so that we could take advantage of the grace offered on our behalf, how can we do otherwise? The laying down of our lives provides the opportunity for others to walk over us, across us, and through us to the one who first laid down his life for us.
Margaret Manning is associate writer at Ravi Zacharias International Ministries in Atlanta, Georgia.
(1) http://sfhelp.org/pop2/codep.htm.
(2) James Loder, The Logic of the Spirit: Human Development in Theological Perspective (San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 1998), 308.
06/24/08
Doormat Theology
Margaret Manning
Many times over the years, I have heard it taught in church sermons, Sunday school classes, or bible studies that while we are called to serve others, we should never be doormats. In other words, we should never let people walk over us, or take advantage of us. To do so is at best undignified, and at worst it infringes upon “our rights.”
Psychologists have added to this understanding by defining individuals who allow others to consistently take advantage of them as co-dependent. Co-dependence, though clinicians have not agreed on a precise definition, is defined in part by the compulsive sacrifice of one’s own values or preferences.(1) Clearly, when this is done out of fear, as a result of abuse, or because of a low-nurturance upbringing, we can understand how this might not be a desirable pattern in relating to others.
Yet most of us, if we are honest, are averse to service of any kind that asks more of us than we are willing to give. We measure out our service as we would our sugar and cream for coffee. If service cuts into our time, or our convenience or comfort, then it must be making us doormats to others, and surely that is not what Jesus meant by calling us to serve one another. Surely Jesus couldn’t have really meant that his followers should “not resist him who is evil; but whoever slaps you on your right cheek, turn to him the other also. And if anyone wants to sue you, and take your shirt, let him have your coat also. And whoever shall force you to go one mile, go with him two. Give to him who asks of you, and do not turn away from him who wants to borrow from you” (Matthew 5:38-42). If that is not a call to be taken advantage of, then I’m not sure what is!
But this is not the advantage of the co-dependent. Rather, it is the freely chosen offering of oneself in service to God, just as Jesus offered himself in service.
Indeed, the apostle Paul looks back to the life of Jesus as he implores the believers at Philippi to “do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit, but with humility of mind let each of you regard one another as more important than himself; do not merely look out for your own personal interests, but also for the interests of others...have this attitude in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus, who although he existed in the form of God, did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped” (Philippians 2:3-6). The life of a Christ-follower is to be marked by putting the interests of others on par with our own interests. Moreover, our lives are to be marked by viewing others as more important than ourselves. More important than ourselves. If we seek to follow Jesus in this way, we can expect for others to take advantage of our willingness to serve. Indeed, in calling us to offer our lives for others, we are called to practice “doormat theology”--the willing practice of laying down our lives on behalf of others--even when that service is abused or misused.
Many in our Christian world today bristle at such a suggestion. Surely, this kind of theology leads to low self-esteem and reduced self-image, they argue. Yet, a doormat theology doesn’t lead to a diminished sense of self. On the contrary, it leads to our deepened identity in Christ. James Loder adds, “Christian self-understanding drives toward the goal of giving love sacrificially with integrity after the pattern of Christ. This means the willing breaking of one’s wholeness potential for the sake of another, a free choice that has nothing to do with oppression because it is an act of integrity and everything to do with Christ’s free choice to go to the cross as an act of love.”(2) Indeed, if Jesus found his mission and calling in laying down his own life so that we could take advantage of the grace offered on our behalf, how can we do otherwise? The laying down of our lives provides the opportunity for others to walk over us, across us, and through us to the one who first laid down his life for us.
Margaret Manning is associate writer at Ravi Zacharias International Ministries in Atlanta, Georgia.
(1) http://sfhelp.org/pop2/codep.htm.
(2) James Loder, The Logic of the Spirit: Human Development in Theological Perspective (San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 1998), 308.
Monday, June 23, 2008
Shock and Awe
God’s creation is one of the most tangible testimonies to the indescribable power, passionate beauty, harmonious diversity, unfathomable imagination, and impenetrable mystery of God, only to name a few qualities to which nature gives evidence. I have seen some of the most notably awe inspiring natural wonders in the world and experienced the common reaction that makes these sights so notable: I felt my skin tingle, my breath leave me, and my senses seize due to the overwhelming sensuality of the view. I felt wonder, awe, joy, bliss, and most of all, reverence. I have heard it often repeated how anyone could witness any natural wonder and deny the evidence of God.
In the first book of The Chronicles of Narnia, The Magician’s Nephew, the young man Digory along with several other characters in the story witnessed the creation of Narnia by Aslan, symbol of Jesus Christ and the Word:
“In the darkness something was happening at last. A voice had begun to sing. It was very far away and Digory found it hard to decide from what direction it was coming. Sometimes it seemed to come from all directions at once. Sometimes he almost thought it was coming out of the earth beneath them. Its lower notes were deep enough to be the voice of the earth herself. There were no words. There was hardly even a tune. But it was, beyond comparison, the most beautiful noise he had ever heard. It was so beautiful he could hardly bear it.” (The Chronicles of Narnia: The Magician’s Nephew, C. S. Lewis).
In contrast to Digory’s observation, an evil witch and Digory’s despicable uncle who also witnessed the divine event found the voice terrible and uncomfortable, wishing it would stop, hating the one who’s singing was creating life from death, bringing light to darkness. The same is true for anyone who has seen the light but chooses to remain in darkness.
Worship in spirit and truth ushers us into the presence of the same God to whom his creation bears witness. If misdirected, worship loses its value. Respect and honor is lost as well, trivializing our most worthy Creator. Conclusively, the end result is loss of meaning.
Jesus promises that those who seek him will find him (Mat. 7:7). Trust this promise and you will find God. When you find him, you will understand worship. Like those who have found the evidence of him in his creation, you will wonder how anyone could fail to see the splendor of his majesty and not tremble.
O Lord my God, When I in awesome wonder,
Consider all the worlds Thy Hands have made;
I see the stars, I hear the rolling thunder,
Thy power throughout the universe displayed.
When through the woods, and forest glades I wander,
And hear the birds sing sweetly in the trees.
When I look down, from lofty mountain grandeur
And see the brook, and feel the gentle breeze.
And when I think, that God, His Son not sparing;
Sent Him to die, I scarce can take it in;
That on the Cross, my burden gladly bearing,
He bled and died to take away my sin.
When Christ shall come, with shout of acclamation,
And take me home, what joy shall fill my heart.
Then I shall bow, in humble adoration,
And then proclaim: "My God, how great Thou art!"
Then sings my soul, My Saviour God, to Thee,
How great Thou art, How great Thou art.
Then sings my soul, My Saviour God, to Thee,
How great Thou art, How great Thou art!
"How Great Thou Art"
words & music by Carl G. Boberg and R.J. Hughes
In the first book of The Chronicles of Narnia, The Magician’s Nephew, the young man Digory along with several other characters in the story witnessed the creation of Narnia by Aslan, symbol of Jesus Christ and the Word:
“In the darkness something was happening at last. A voice had begun to sing. It was very far away and Digory found it hard to decide from what direction it was coming. Sometimes it seemed to come from all directions at once. Sometimes he almost thought it was coming out of the earth beneath them. Its lower notes were deep enough to be the voice of the earth herself. There were no words. There was hardly even a tune. But it was, beyond comparison, the most beautiful noise he had ever heard. It was so beautiful he could hardly bear it.” (The Chronicles of Narnia: The Magician’s Nephew, C. S. Lewis).
In contrast to Digory’s observation, an evil witch and Digory’s despicable uncle who also witnessed the divine event found the voice terrible and uncomfortable, wishing it would stop, hating the one who’s singing was creating life from death, bringing light to darkness. The same is true for anyone who has seen the light but chooses to remain in darkness.
Worship in spirit and truth ushers us into the presence of the same God to whom his creation bears witness. If misdirected, worship loses its value. Respect and honor is lost as well, trivializing our most worthy Creator. Conclusively, the end result is loss of meaning.
Jesus promises that those who seek him will find him (Mat. 7:7). Trust this promise and you will find God. When you find him, you will understand worship. Like those who have found the evidence of him in his creation, you will wonder how anyone could fail to see the splendor of his majesty and not tremble.
O Lord my God, When I in awesome wonder,
Consider all the worlds Thy Hands have made;
I see the stars, I hear the rolling thunder,
Thy power throughout the universe displayed.
When through the woods, and forest glades I wander,
And hear the birds sing sweetly in the trees.
When I look down, from lofty mountain grandeur
And see the brook, and feel the gentle breeze.
And when I think, that God, His Son not sparing;
Sent Him to die, I scarce can take it in;
That on the Cross, my burden gladly bearing,
He bled and died to take away my sin.
When Christ shall come, with shout of acclamation,
And take me home, what joy shall fill my heart.
Then I shall bow, in humble adoration,
And then proclaim: "My God, how great Thou art!"
Then sings my soul, My Saviour God, to Thee,
How great Thou art, How great Thou art.
Then sings my soul, My Saviour God, to Thee,
How great Thou art, How great Thou art!
"How Great Thou Art"
words & music by Carl G. Boberg and R.J. Hughes
Friday, June 20, 2008
Being Emotional
“You know, somewhere in the world of philosophy, we made a huge blunder across the centuries, when we lost contact with the reality of our emotions and made human beings purely cerebral. Then in the 1960’s, the existentialist philosophers became so popular focusing on emotion, focusing on passion, focusing on experience, and swung the pendulum to the other side to where rationality was not as important as much as acting for the passion of the moment. Somewhere in the middle is the balance. God has given us our emotions for a reason, just as he has given us sensitivities to touch. When you put your hand on something that burns, you pull it away. The reason you pull it away is because you know if you leave it there it will burn the rest of your body. Emotions are supposed to be indicators of reality, not fabricators, or framers of reality.”
Remember the entry from May, “Common Sense.” It is imperative Christians understand the beliefs that are producing their emotions. Emotions cannot define reality: I feel therefore I am. Emotions do not (and should not) define your identity nor should they be used to define your decisions nor should they define your sense of “normalcy.” Emotions are to be identified then evaluated as to the root beliefs that are producing them. By doing so, we can then evaluate those beliefs against objective truth and change those beliefs that are culturally derived rather than Biblically defined. This process needs to take place in our quiet place, every day before we start the day.
Ravi Zacharias also said in another sermon that if we do not spend these moments with God first thing in the morning, we will be overcome by our emotions by noon. The fruit of self-control is only possible by having been informed by the truth and filled by God’s Holy Spirit during a worship encounter at the beginning of our day. Of course, worship begins in the quite place. It continues throughout the rest of the day as we pray without ceasing, evaluating ourselves and our environment by truth and prayer. Having met with God at the beginning of our day, we are focused enough on him to recognize him later. Likewise, we have been equipped with the armor of God which enables us to fight the spiritual battles and challenges we are sure to face.
Be honest with God as you spend time with him in your quiet place. He knows what you feel so you do not have to hide feelings like anger and frustration that are uncomfortable to share. Pursue understanding the intricate depth of his mystery, diligently working through the tedious task of finding words that express your feelings and his identity even though no adequate words exist. You will come to find words you have heard before take on new meaning.
Finally, make singing and/or reading Psalms a part of your time with him. Praise him and thank him even and especially for the challenges and pain you are dealing with. God inhabits our praise and hope is born of suffering. Both involve emotion:
“You cannot worship without emotion. There is that bond of love. There is that relationship of love. When we are stirred in worship, the voice is giving vent not just to an idea, but to an emotion.”
Understanding the role of emotions in worship is essential for knowing how to worship him in spirit and in truth. True of any relationship, you must relate to God emotionally in order to know love and be loved, thus equipping you to rightly love other people.
Psalm 51:1-13 Have mercy on me, O God, according to your unfailing love; according to your great compassion blot out my transgressions. 2 Wash away all my iniquity and cleanse me from my sin. 3 For I know my transgressions, and my sin is always before me. 4 Against you, you only, have I sinned and done what is evil in your sight, so that you are proved right when you speak and justified when you judge. 5 Surely I was sinful at birth, sinful from the time my mother conceived me. 6 Surely you desire truth in the inner parts; you teach me wisdom in the inmost place. 7 Cleanse me with hyssop, and I will be clean; wash me, and I will be whiter than snow. 8 Let me hear joy and gladness; let the bones you have crushed rejoice. 9 Hide your face from my sins and blot out all my iniquity. 10 Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me. 11 Do not cast me from your presence or take your Holy Spirit from me. 12 Restore to me the joy of your salvation and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me. 13 Then I will teach transgressors your ways, and sinners will turn back to you.
Remember the entry from May, “Common Sense.” It is imperative Christians understand the beliefs that are producing their emotions. Emotions cannot define reality: I feel therefore I am. Emotions do not (and should not) define your identity nor should they be used to define your decisions nor should they define your sense of “normalcy.” Emotions are to be identified then evaluated as to the root beliefs that are producing them. By doing so, we can then evaluate those beliefs against objective truth and change those beliefs that are culturally derived rather than Biblically defined. This process needs to take place in our quiet place, every day before we start the day.
Ravi Zacharias also said in another sermon that if we do not spend these moments with God first thing in the morning, we will be overcome by our emotions by noon. The fruit of self-control is only possible by having been informed by the truth and filled by God’s Holy Spirit during a worship encounter at the beginning of our day. Of course, worship begins in the quite place. It continues throughout the rest of the day as we pray without ceasing, evaluating ourselves and our environment by truth and prayer. Having met with God at the beginning of our day, we are focused enough on him to recognize him later. Likewise, we have been equipped with the armor of God which enables us to fight the spiritual battles and challenges we are sure to face.
Be honest with God as you spend time with him in your quiet place. He knows what you feel so you do not have to hide feelings like anger and frustration that are uncomfortable to share. Pursue understanding the intricate depth of his mystery, diligently working through the tedious task of finding words that express your feelings and his identity even though no adequate words exist. You will come to find words you have heard before take on new meaning.
Finally, make singing and/or reading Psalms a part of your time with him. Praise him and thank him even and especially for the challenges and pain you are dealing with. God inhabits our praise and hope is born of suffering. Both involve emotion:
“You cannot worship without emotion. There is that bond of love. There is that relationship of love. When we are stirred in worship, the voice is giving vent not just to an idea, but to an emotion.”
Understanding the role of emotions in worship is essential for knowing how to worship him in spirit and in truth. True of any relationship, you must relate to God emotionally in order to know love and be loved, thus equipping you to rightly love other people.
Psalm 51:1-13 Have mercy on me, O God, according to your unfailing love; according to your great compassion blot out my transgressions. 2 Wash away all my iniquity and cleanse me from my sin. 3 For I know my transgressions, and my sin is always before me. 4 Against you, you only, have I sinned and done what is evil in your sight, so that you are proved right when you speak and justified when you judge. 5 Surely I was sinful at birth, sinful from the time my mother conceived me. 6 Surely you desire truth in the inner parts; you teach me wisdom in the inmost place. 7 Cleanse me with hyssop, and I will be clean; wash me, and I will be whiter than snow. 8 Let me hear joy and gladness; let the bones you have crushed rejoice. 9 Hide your face from my sins and blot out all my iniquity. 10 Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me. 11 Do not cast me from your presence or take your Holy Spirit from me. 12 Restore to me the joy of your salvation and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me. 13 Then I will teach transgressors your ways, and sinners will turn back to you.
Wednesday, June 18, 2008
Joy is at the Heart
“The most precious time of every day to me is that early morning hours, when the word is opened, when the hymn book is opened, when strains go through the heart to think of His grandeur, when Truth enters the mind. Make this the greatest pursuit of your life.”
“Joy is central to the life of a Christian and sorrow is peripheral. For the unbeliever, sorrow is central and joy is peripheral. This is because the central questions for a skeptic can’t be answered, only the peripheral questions can be answered.”
“Joy, which was the small publicity for the pagan, is the gigantic secret of the Christian, and as I close this chaotic volume, and I open again this strange, small book from which all Christianity came, I am again haunted by a strange kind of confirmation. This tremendous figure, which fills the gospels, towers in this respect as in every other above all the thinkers who ever thought themselves tall. His pathos was natural, almost casual. The stoics ancient and modern were proud of concealing their tears. He never concealed his tears; he showed them plainly on his open face at any daily site, such as the far sight of his native city. Yet he concealed something. Solemn supermen and imperial diplomatists are proud of restraining their anger. He did not restrain his anger. He flung furniture down the front steps of the temple and asked men how they expected to escape the damnation of hell. Yet he restrained something. I say it with reverence. There was something in that shattering personality, a thread that must be called shyness. There was something that he hid from all men, when he went up to a mountain alone to pray. There was something that he covered constantly by abrupt silence, or impetuous isolation. There was some, one thing, that was too great for God to show us when he walked upon our earth and I have sometimes fancied that it was his mirth (the laughter of God). And I fancy, that someday when we are in his presence, it will all be opened up in a way for which there was no earthly analogy to do justice to. And I believe worship is that clue that takes us into that mirth of God.” (G. K. Chesterton, Orthodoxy).
“Joy is central to the life of a Christian and sorrow is peripheral. For the unbeliever, sorrow is central and joy is peripheral. This is because the central questions for a skeptic can’t be answered, only the peripheral questions can be answered.”
“Joy, which was the small publicity for the pagan, is the gigantic secret of the Christian, and as I close this chaotic volume, and I open again this strange, small book from which all Christianity came, I am again haunted by a strange kind of confirmation. This tremendous figure, which fills the gospels, towers in this respect as in every other above all the thinkers who ever thought themselves tall. His pathos was natural, almost casual. The stoics ancient and modern were proud of concealing their tears. He never concealed his tears; he showed them plainly on his open face at any daily site, such as the far sight of his native city. Yet he concealed something. Solemn supermen and imperial diplomatists are proud of restraining their anger. He did not restrain his anger. He flung furniture down the front steps of the temple and asked men how they expected to escape the damnation of hell. Yet he restrained something. I say it with reverence. There was something in that shattering personality, a thread that must be called shyness. There was something that he hid from all men, when he went up to a mountain alone to pray. There was something that he covered constantly by abrupt silence, or impetuous isolation. There was some, one thing, that was too great for God to show us when he walked upon our earth and I have sometimes fancied that it was his mirth (the laughter of God). And I fancy, that someday when we are in his presence, it will all be opened up in a way for which there was no earthly analogy to do justice to. And I believe worship is that clue that takes us into that mirth of God.” (G. K. Chesterton, Orthodoxy).
Bored to Tears
(My internet service was gone again yesterday but back again today. Job 1:21b . . .The LORD gave, and the LORD has taken away; blessed be the name of the LORD.)
I am using a sermon by Ravi Zacharias called “Worship: A Clue to Meaning in Life” as a guide for the next few entries on worship. I would really like to simply chop up a transcript of the sermon since it is all so meaningful but the need for brevity and continuity will not allow it.
The following text opens the book of Malachi, the last book of the Old Testament and the beginning of the inter-testamental period leading to the coming of Christ. The book is a prophetic message for the people of Israel after about 1000 year period during which nothing notably good or bad happened. The people were unchallenged and apathetic. In Hosea, the people were compared to the prostitute Hosea was ordered to marry. In Ezekiel, being called a prostitute “. . . would have been flattering,” told they were paying their lovers to lie with them. (Ezekiel 16:33-34). During the book of Malachi, they forgot all God had done for them and had become bored:
Malachi 1:2 2 "I have loved you," says the LORD. "But you ask, 'How have you loved us?' "Was not Esau Jacob's brother?" the LORD says. . .
6 ". . .A son honors his father, and a servant his master. If I am a father, where is the honor due me? If I am a master, where is the respect due me?" says the LORD Almighty. "It is you, O priests, who show contempt for my name. "But you ask, 'How have we shown contempt for your name?' 7 "You place defiled food on my altar. "But you ask, 'How have we defiled you?' "By saying that the LORD's table is contemptible. 8 When you bring blind animals for sacrifice, is that not wrong? When you sacrifice crippled or diseased animals, is that not wrong? Try offering them to your governor! Would he be pleased with you? Would he accept you?" says the LORD Almighty.
10 ". . . Oh, that one of you would shut the temple doors, so that you would not light useless fires on my altar! I am not pleased with you," says the LORD Almighty, "and I will accept no offering from your hands. 11 My name will be great among the nations, from the rising to the setting of the sun. In every place incense and pure offerings will be brought to my name, because my name will be great among the nations," says the LORD Almighty. 12 "But you profane it by saying of the Lord's table, 'It is defiled,' and of its food, 'It is contemptible.' 13 And you say, 'What a burden!' and you sniff at it contemptuously," says the LORD Almighty. "When you bring injured, crippled or diseased animals and offer them as sacrifices, should I accept them from your hands?" says the LORD.
“What an opening message for a closing book. . . . God had actually become a boring entity. . . . that is the end result when worship loses its worth.”
"If you do not know how to worship him in spirit and in truth even God will disappoint you, because you will end up using Him. You will end up not really coming on his terms."
I am using a sermon by Ravi Zacharias called “Worship: A Clue to Meaning in Life” as a guide for the next few entries on worship. I would really like to simply chop up a transcript of the sermon since it is all so meaningful but the need for brevity and continuity will not allow it.
The following text opens the book of Malachi, the last book of the Old Testament and the beginning of the inter-testamental period leading to the coming of Christ. The book is a prophetic message for the people of Israel after about 1000 year period during which nothing notably good or bad happened. The people were unchallenged and apathetic. In Hosea, the people were compared to the prostitute Hosea was ordered to marry. In Ezekiel, being called a prostitute “. . . would have been flattering,” told they were paying their lovers to lie with them. (Ezekiel 16:33-34). During the book of Malachi, they forgot all God had done for them and had become bored:
Malachi 1:2 2 "I have loved you," says the LORD. "But you ask, 'How have you loved us?' "Was not Esau Jacob's brother?" the LORD says. . .
6 ". . .A son honors his father, and a servant his master. If I am a father, where is the honor due me? If I am a master, where is the respect due me?" says the LORD Almighty. "It is you, O priests, who show contempt for my name. "But you ask, 'How have we shown contempt for your name?' 7 "You place defiled food on my altar. "But you ask, 'How have we defiled you?' "By saying that the LORD's table is contemptible. 8 When you bring blind animals for sacrifice, is that not wrong? When you sacrifice crippled or diseased animals, is that not wrong? Try offering them to your governor! Would he be pleased with you? Would he accept you?" says the LORD Almighty.
10 ". . . Oh, that one of you would shut the temple doors, so that you would not light useless fires on my altar! I am not pleased with you," says the LORD Almighty, "and I will accept no offering from your hands. 11 My name will be great among the nations, from the rising to the setting of the sun. In every place incense and pure offerings will be brought to my name, because my name will be great among the nations," says the LORD Almighty. 12 "But you profane it by saying of the Lord's table, 'It is defiled,' and of its food, 'It is contemptible.' 13 And you say, 'What a burden!' and you sniff at it contemptuously," says the LORD Almighty. "When you bring injured, crippled or diseased animals and offer them as sacrifices, should I accept them from your hands?" says the LORD.
“What an opening message for a closing book. . . . God had actually become a boring entity. . . . that is the end result when worship loses its worth.”
"If you do not know how to worship him in spirit and in truth even God will disappoint you, because you will end up using Him. You will end up not really coming on his terms."
Monday, June 16, 2008
Oh Be Careful Little Mouth What You Say
(I apologize for the tardiness of today’s entry. I have been without internet access since Thursday night. Thanks be to God I came in this morning to find it had “fixed itself.” God is good!)
Proverbs 16:23-30 3 A wise man's heart guides his mouth, and his lips promote instruction. 24 Pleasant words are a honeycomb, sweet to the soul and healing to the bones. 25 There is a way that seems right to a man, but in the end it leads to death. 26 The laborer's appetite works for him; his hunger drives him on. 27 A scoundrel plots evil, and his speech is like a scorching fire. 28 A perverse man stirs up dissension, and a gossip separates close friends. 29 A violent man entices his neighbor and leads him down a path that is not good. 30 He who winks with his eye is plotting perversity; he who purses his lips is bent on evil.
Matthew 12:34 34 You brood of vipers, how can you who are evil say anything good? For out of the overflow of the heart the mouth speaks.
It is easy to assume out heart is right with God when we are seemingly doing the right things and when we seem to have the right theology. Of course, it is only easy when doing and believing are outside of the context of worship. There is no way to come before God other than through naked confession. The light of his presence is like that of a nuclear blast, both exposing and incinerating all of our wickedness. That is why there is no way to come away from his presence other than with humility, having seen your dirty sinfulness but blissfully coming away pure white.
It is also easy to determine when our time alone with God is lacking. Listen to what you are saying. What do you talk about most? How do you speak to other people? Even more, how do you speak about other people? How do you use your time? What occupies your mind? What is your experience when you meet with other believers in and out of church?
Worship is a word often associated with what takes place corporately within the body of Christ to the exclusion of what takes place when we are alone. The result of individuals who have been meeting alone with God all week coming together for corporate worship is revival; it is the body of Christ. The result of individuals coming together who have not been meeting alone with God during the week is a body who is bored/stagnant, self-absorbed, judgmental, and selfish, to the embarrassment of the body of Christ.
This week I am going to be focusing on the elements of personal worship. Learning this truth has literally changed my world.
Proverbs 16:23-30 3 A wise man's heart guides his mouth, and his lips promote instruction. 24 Pleasant words are a honeycomb, sweet to the soul and healing to the bones. 25 There is a way that seems right to a man, but in the end it leads to death. 26 The laborer's appetite works for him; his hunger drives him on. 27 A scoundrel plots evil, and his speech is like a scorching fire. 28 A perverse man stirs up dissension, and a gossip separates close friends. 29 A violent man entices his neighbor and leads him down a path that is not good. 30 He who winks with his eye is plotting perversity; he who purses his lips is bent on evil.
Matthew 12:34 34 You brood of vipers, how can you who are evil say anything good? For out of the overflow of the heart the mouth speaks.
It is easy to assume out heart is right with God when we are seemingly doing the right things and when we seem to have the right theology. Of course, it is only easy when doing and believing are outside of the context of worship. There is no way to come before God other than through naked confession. The light of his presence is like that of a nuclear blast, both exposing and incinerating all of our wickedness. That is why there is no way to come away from his presence other than with humility, having seen your dirty sinfulness but blissfully coming away pure white.
It is also easy to determine when our time alone with God is lacking. Listen to what you are saying. What do you talk about most? How do you speak to other people? Even more, how do you speak about other people? How do you use your time? What occupies your mind? What is your experience when you meet with other believers in and out of church?
Worship is a word often associated with what takes place corporately within the body of Christ to the exclusion of what takes place when we are alone. The result of individuals who have been meeting alone with God all week coming together for corporate worship is revival; it is the body of Christ. The result of individuals coming together who have not been meeting alone with God during the week is a body who is bored/stagnant, self-absorbed, judgmental, and selfish, to the embarrassment of the body of Christ.
This week I am going to be focusing on the elements of personal worship. Learning this truth has literally changed my world.
Friday, June 13, 2008
Faith Realized
I think all Christians would agree with me if I said that though Christianity seems at the first to be all about morality, all about duties and rules and guilt and virtue, it leads you on, out of all that, into something beyond. (Mere Christianity, C. S. Lewis “Faith”)
James 2:14-20 4 What good is it, my brothers, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can that faith save him? 15 If a brother or sister is poorly clothed and lacking in daily food, 16 and one of you says to them, "Go in peace, be warmed and filled," without giving them the things needed for the body, what good is that? 17 So also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead. 18 But someone will say, "You have faith and I have works." Show me your faith apart from your works, and I will show you my faith by my works. 19 You believe that God is one; you do well. Even the demons believe- and shudder! 20 Do you want to be shown, you foolish person, that faith apart from works is useless?
Faith is realized, not explained. That is why there has been so much debate over the passage from James shown above – the two (faith and works) are inseparable. Faith can’t be defined, only shown. Faith can’t be produced, only experienced and then informed, but informed by experience (faith is never blind). Testimony of faith can only give affirmation to another faith already realized.
For me, I know faith is not mine to claim because I did not produce it. It is an in between place, where knowledge meets experience, where knowing about God becomes knowing God. It is that place where I have flapped my arms so hard and so long I can no longer lift them, but try anyway, then find that I’m flying. I don’t stay in the air, but having been there, I know I’ll be lifted up again. I also believe beyond all doubt the promise that one day falling and doubting will stop and I’ll fly forever, higher than I can see or even dream. I am assured of this when I see others who are flying higher than I am and higher than I thought anyone could go. Having flown, though, I know how far I had to fall to get as high as I have and I’ve seen how much further those above me had to fall to get where they are. I’m not sure I want to fall that far but I do want to be that high. I’m especially not sure when I’m falling, but sure enough to know that falling only lasts a while – flying is forever. You know what I mean?
Hebrews 10:35 - 11:1 35 Therefore do not throw away your confidence, which has a great reward. 36 For you have need of endurance, so that when you have done the will of God you may receive what is promised. 37 For, "Yet a little while, and the coming one will come and will not delay; 38 but my righteous one shall live by faith, and if he shrinks back, my soul has no pleasure in him." 39 But we are not of those who shrink back and are destroyed, but of those who have faith and preserve their souls. 1Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.
Send Me
My heart is ablaze
My mind is on fire
My altitude is high
My burden is heavy
My soul has awakened
My eyes are now seeing
My light is now shining
Lord, send me into the darkness
(Lee Johnson, 6-13-08)
James 2:14-20 4 What good is it, my brothers, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can that faith save him? 15 If a brother or sister is poorly clothed and lacking in daily food, 16 and one of you says to them, "Go in peace, be warmed and filled," without giving them the things needed for the body, what good is that? 17 So also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead. 18 But someone will say, "You have faith and I have works." Show me your faith apart from your works, and I will show you my faith by my works. 19 You believe that God is one; you do well. Even the demons believe- and shudder! 20 Do you want to be shown, you foolish person, that faith apart from works is useless?
Faith is realized, not explained. That is why there has been so much debate over the passage from James shown above – the two (faith and works) are inseparable. Faith can’t be defined, only shown. Faith can’t be produced, only experienced and then informed, but informed by experience (faith is never blind). Testimony of faith can only give affirmation to another faith already realized.
For me, I know faith is not mine to claim because I did not produce it. It is an in between place, where knowledge meets experience, where knowing about God becomes knowing God. It is that place where I have flapped my arms so hard and so long I can no longer lift them, but try anyway, then find that I’m flying. I don’t stay in the air, but having been there, I know I’ll be lifted up again. I also believe beyond all doubt the promise that one day falling and doubting will stop and I’ll fly forever, higher than I can see or even dream. I am assured of this when I see others who are flying higher than I am and higher than I thought anyone could go. Having flown, though, I know how far I had to fall to get as high as I have and I’ve seen how much further those above me had to fall to get where they are. I’m not sure I want to fall that far but I do want to be that high. I’m especially not sure when I’m falling, but sure enough to know that falling only lasts a while – flying is forever. You know what I mean?
Hebrews 10:35 - 11:1 35 Therefore do not throw away your confidence, which has a great reward. 36 For you have need of endurance, so that when you have done the will of God you may receive what is promised. 37 For, "Yet a little while, and the coming one will come and will not delay; 38 but my righteous one shall live by faith, and if he shrinks back, my soul has no pleasure in him." 39 But we are not of those who shrink back and are destroyed, but of those who have faith and preserve their souls. 1Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.
Send Me
My heart is ablaze
My mind is on fire
My altitude is high
My burden is heavy
My soul has awakened
My eyes are now seeing
My light is now shining
Lord, send me into the darkness
(Lee Johnson, 6-13-08)
Thursday, June 12, 2008
The Pursuit of Hapiness
I have discovered a startling resemblance in perception concerning the definitions of happiness and suffering between most Christians I have met and the modern atheist. In his book The End of Reason, Christian apologist Ravi Zacharias responded to a book called Letter to a Christian Nation, written by the modern atheist Sam Harris. Zacharias pointed out one of the greatest weaknesses in Harris’ worldview is the stipulation life is meaningless because of the extent of human suffering. Following are some points Zacharias made in response:
“The famed twentieth-century British journalist Malcolm Muggeridge once said that all news is old things happening to new people. From the naturalist Scottish philosopher David Hume to the existentialist Jean-Paul Sartre, the list of grievances resulting from the problem of pain in the world has been stated over and over. I suggest they have missed the point.
“. . . (Sam Harris) seems to harp on how God acts like such a criminal and how we live such precarious lives that even one tragedy should shatter our tranquility. The experience of pain in this world proves to him the meaninglessness of life.
“. . . Author and satirist G. K. Chesterton remarked that meaninglessness does not come from being wary of pain but from being weary of pleasure. Pleasure, not pain, is the death knell of meaning. This is the lonely planet problem of Sam Harris’s worldview – the belief that because each of us is alone in the universe our personal joys and sorrows have no effect or impact on anyone else. In other words, it’s all about me. We have all come to know that our problem is not that pain has produced emptiness in our lives; the real problem is that even pleasure ultimately leaves us empty and unfulfilled. When the pleasure button is pressed incessantly, we are left feeling bewilderingly empty and betrayed. (The End of Reason, Ravi Zacharias, pg. 40)
It is no wonder the world finds an absence of hope in Christianity given so many Christians profess the same disillusionment and hopelessness common to the world. In America especially, Christian theology has been muddled with the American idealism that happiness is found in material gain and a “comfortable” lifestyle. Like the Pharisees rebuked by Jesus, many modern day Christians still attribute material prosperity and comfort with “blessing” and suffering with “punishment.” This belief is not Biblical nor is it realistic.
(A)s Christians, we need to realize that this abundant life is lived in a real world filled with pain, rejection and failure. Therefore, experiencing the abundant life God intends for us does not mean that our lives will be problem-free. On the contrary, life itself is a series of problems that often act as obstacles to our search for significance, and the abundant life is the experience of God’s love, forgiveness and power in the midst of these problems. The Scriptures warn us that we live within a warfare that can destroy our faith, lower our self-esteem, and lead us into depression. In his letter to the Ephesians, Paul instructs us to put on the armor of God so that we can be equipped for spiritual battle. However, it often seems that unsuspecting believers are the last to know this battle is occurring, and they don’t know that Christ has ultimately won the war. They are surprised and confused by difficulties, thinking that the Christian life is a playground, not a battlefield. (The Search for Significance, Robert S. McGee, pg. 10)
Learning the true meanings of suffering and happiness is essential for the establishment of a foundation on which to build faith. Without it, a house of faith is no more stable than a house of cards.
Romans 5:1-5ESV Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. 2 Through him we have also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in hope of the glory of God. 3 More than that, we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, 4 and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, 5 and hope does not put us to shame, because God's love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.
1 Peter 5:6-11 6 Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time he may exalt you, 7 casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you. 8 Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. 9 Resist him, firm in your faith, knowing that the same kinds of suffering are being experienced by your brotherhood throughout the world. 10 And after you have suffered a little while, the God of all grace, who has called you to his eternal glory in Christ, will himself restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you. 11 To him be the dominion forever and ever. Amen.
“The famed twentieth-century British journalist Malcolm Muggeridge once said that all news is old things happening to new people. From the naturalist Scottish philosopher David Hume to the existentialist Jean-Paul Sartre, the list of grievances resulting from the problem of pain in the world has been stated over and over. I suggest they have missed the point.
“. . . (Sam Harris) seems to harp on how God acts like such a criminal and how we live such precarious lives that even one tragedy should shatter our tranquility. The experience of pain in this world proves to him the meaninglessness of life.
“. . . Author and satirist G. K. Chesterton remarked that meaninglessness does not come from being wary of pain but from being weary of pleasure. Pleasure, not pain, is the death knell of meaning. This is the lonely planet problem of Sam Harris’s worldview – the belief that because each of us is alone in the universe our personal joys and sorrows have no effect or impact on anyone else. In other words, it’s all about me. We have all come to know that our problem is not that pain has produced emptiness in our lives; the real problem is that even pleasure ultimately leaves us empty and unfulfilled. When the pleasure button is pressed incessantly, we are left feeling bewilderingly empty and betrayed. (The End of Reason, Ravi Zacharias, pg. 40)
It is no wonder the world finds an absence of hope in Christianity given so many Christians profess the same disillusionment and hopelessness common to the world. In America especially, Christian theology has been muddled with the American idealism that happiness is found in material gain and a “comfortable” lifestyle. Like the Pharisees rebuked by Jesus, many modern day Christians still attribute material prosperity and comfort with “blessing” and suffering with “punishment.” This belief is not Biblical nor is it realistic.
(A)s Christians, we need to realize that this abundant life is lived in a real world filled with pain, rejection and failure. Therefore, experiencing the abundant life God intends for us does not mean that our lives will be problem-free. On the contrary, life itself is a series of problems that often act as obstacles to our search for significance, and the abundant life is the experience of God’s love, forgiveness and power in the midst of these problems. The Scriptures warn us that we live within a warfare that can destroy our faith, lower our self-esteem, and lead us into depression. In his letter to the Ephesians, Paul instructs us to put on the armor of God so that we can be equipped for spiritual battle. However, it often seems that unsuspecting believers are the last to know this battle is occurring, and they don’t know that Christ has ultimately won the war. They are surprised and confused by difficulties, thinking that the Christian life is a playground, not a battlefield. (The Search for Significance, Robert S. McGee, pg. 10)
Learning the true meanings of suffering and happiness is essential for the establishment of a foundation on which to build faith. Without it, a house of faith is no more stable than a house of cards.
Romans 5:1-5ESV Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. 2 Through him we have also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in hope of the glory of God. 3 More than that, we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, 4 and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, 5 and hope does not put us to shame, because God's love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.
1 Peter 5:6-11 6 Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time he may exalt you, 7 casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you. 8 Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. 9 Resist him, firm in your faith, knowing that the same kinds of suffering are being experienced by your brotherhood throughout the world. 10 And after you have suffered a little while, the God of all grace, who has called you to his eternal glory in Christ, will himself restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you. 11 To him be the dominion forever and ever. Amen.
Wednesday, June 11, 2008
Falling
According to C. S. Lewis, the greatest and most common sin is pride:
1. “There is no fault which makes a man more unpopular, and no fault which we are more unconscious of in ourselves. And the more we have it ourselves, the more we dislike it in others.
2. “According to Christian teachers, it is the essential vice, the utmost evil.
3. “It was through Pride that the devil became the devil: Pride leads to every other vice: it is the complete anti-God state of mind.
4. “Each person’s pride is in competition with everyone else’s pride.
5. “Pride gets no pleasure out of having something, only out of having more of it than the next man. . . it is the comparison that makes you proud: the pleasure of being above the rest. Once the element of competition is gone, pride has gone.
6. “In God, you come up against something which is in every respect immeasurably superior to yourself. Unless you know God as that – and, therefore, know yourself as nothing in comparison – you do not know God at all.
7. “Whenever we find that our religious life is making us feel that we are good – above all that we are better than someone else – I think we may be sure that we are being acted on, not by God, but by the devil. The real test of being in the presence of God is, that you either forget about yourself altogether or see yourself as a small, dirty object. It is better to forget about yourself altogether.
8. “Pride is spiritual cancer: it eats up the very possibility of love, or contentment, or even common sense.
9. “Pleasure in being praised is not Pride. . . . the pleasure lies not in what you are but in the fact that you have pleased someone you wanted (and rightly wanted) to please. . . . You value other people enough to want them to look at you. You are, in fact, still human. The real black, diabolical Pride, comes when you look down on others so much that you do not care what they think of you. Of course, it is very right, and often our duty, not to care what people think of us, if we do so for the right reason; namely because we care so incomparably more what God thinks. . . . the devil loves ‘curing’ a small fault by giving you a great one. We must try not to be vain, but we must never call in our Pride to cure our vanity.
10. “. . . if you really get into any kind of touch with (God) you will, in fact, be humble – delightedly humble, feeling the infinite relief of having for once got rid of all the silly nonsense about your own dignity which has made you restless and unhappy all your life.
11. “Do not imagine that if you meet a really humble man he will be what most people call ‘humble’. . . . Probably all you will think about him is that he seemed a cheerful, intelligent chap who took a real interest in what you said to him. If you do dislike him, it will be because you feel a little envious of anyone who seems to enjoy life so easily. He will not be thinking about humility: he will not be thinking about himself at all.
12. The first step is to realize that one is proud. And a biggish step, too. At least, nothing whatever can be done before it. If you think you are not conceited, it means you are very conceited indeed. (C. S. Lewis, Mere Christianity, “The Greatest Sin”)
Proverbs 16:18 18 Pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall.
James 4:6-10 6 But he gives more grace. Therefore it says, "God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble.” 7 Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. 8 Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded. 9 Be wretched and mourn and weep. Let your laughter be turned to mourning and your joy to gloom. 10 Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will exalt you.
1. “There is no fault which makes a man more unpopular, and no fault which we are more unconscious of in ourselves. And the more we have it ourselves, the more we dislike it in others.
2. “According to Christian teachers, it is the essential vice, the utmost evil.
3. “It was through Pride that the devil became the devil: Pride leads to every other vice: it is the complete anti-God state of mind.
4. “Each person’s pride is in competition with everyone else’s pride.
5. “Pride gets no pleasure out of having something, only out of having more of it than the next man. . . it is the comparison that makes you proud: the pleasure of being above the rest. Once the element of competition is gone, pride has gone.
6. “In God, you come up against something which is in every respect immeasurably superior to yourself. Unless you know God as that – and, therefore, know yourself as nothing in comparison – you do not know God at all.
7. “Whenever we find that our religious life is making us feel that we are good – above all that we are better than someone else – I think we may be sure that we are being acted on, not by God, but by the devil. The real test of being in the presence of God is, that you either forget about yourself altogether or see yourself as a small, dirty object. It is better to forget about yourself altogether.
8. “Pride is spiritual cancer: it eats up the very possibility of love, or contentment, or even common sense.
9. “Pleasure in being praised is not Pride. . . . the pleasure lies not in what you are but in the fact that you have pleased someone you wanted (and rightly wanted) to please. . . . You value other people enough to want them to look at you. You are, in fact, still human. The real black, diabolical Pride, comes when you look down on others so much that you do not care what they think of you. Of course, it is very right, and often our duty, not to care what people think of us, if we do so for the right reason; namely because we care so incomparably more what God thinks. . . . the devil loves ‘curing’ a small fault by giving you a great one. We must try not to be vain, but we must never call in our Pride to cure our vanity.
10. “. . . if you really get into any kind of touch with (God) you will, in fact, be humble – delightedly humble, feeling the infinite relief of having for once got rid of all the silly nonsense about your own dignity which has made you restless and unhappy all your life.
11. “Do not imagine that if you meet a really humble man he will be what most people call ‘humble’. . . . Probably all you will think about him is that he seemed a cheerful, intelligent chap who took a real interest in what you said to him. If you do dislike him, it will be because you feel a little envious of anyone who seems to enjoy life so easily. He will not be thinking about humility: he will not be thinking about himself at all.
12. The first step is to realize that one is proud. And a biggish step, too. At least, nothing whatever can be done before it. If you think you are not conceited, it means you are very conceited indeed. (C. S. Lewis, Mere Christianity, “The Greatest Sin”)
Proverbs 16:18 18 Pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall.
James 4:6-10 6 But he gives more grace. Therefore it says, "God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble.” 7 Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. 8 Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded. 9 Be wretched and mourn and weep. Let your laughter be turned to mourning and your joy to gloom. 10 Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will exalt you.
Tuesday, June 10, 2008
Loss for Gain
Matthew 10:38-39 38 ESV And whoever does not take his cross and follow me is not worthy of me. 39 Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.
“As long as your own personality is what you are bothering about you are not going to Him at all. The very first step is to try to forget about the self altogether. Your real, new self (which is Christ’s and also yours, and yours because it is His) will not come as long as you are looking for it. It will come when you are looking for Him. Does that sound strange? The same principle holds, you know, for more everyday matters. Even in social life, you will never make a good impression on other people until you stop thinking about what sort of impression you are making. Even in literature and art, no man who bothers about originality will ever be original: whereas if you simply try to tell the truth (without caring twopence how often it has been told before) you will, nine times out of ten, become original without ever having noticed it. The principle runs through all life from top to bottom. Give up yourself, and you will find your real self. Lose your life and you will save it. Submit to death, death of your ambitions and favourite wishes every day and death of your whole body in the end: submit with every fibre of your being, and you will find eternal life. Keep back nothing. Nothing that you have not given away is really yours. Nothing in you that has not died will ever be raised from the dead. Look for yourself, and you will find in the long run only hatred, loneliness, despair, rage, ruin, and decay. But look for Christ and you will find Him, and with Him, everything else thrown in.”
C. S. Lewis. Mere Christianity, “The New Men.”
“As long as your own personality is what you are bothering about you are not going to Him at all. The very first step is to try to forget about the self altogether. Your real, new self (which is Christ’s and also yours, and yours because it is His) will not come as long as you are looking for it. It will come when you are looking for Him. Does that sound strange? The same principle holds, you know, for more everyday matters. Even in social life, you will never make a good impression on other people until you stop thinking about what sort of impression you are making. Even in literature and art, no man who bothers about originality will ever be original: whereas if you simply try to tell the truth (without caring twopence how often it has been told before) you will, nine times out of ten, become original without ever having noticed it. The principle runs through all life from top to bottom. Give up yourself, and you will find your real self. Lose your life and you will save it. Submit to death, death of your ambitions and favourite wishes every day and death of your whole body in the end: submit with every fibre of your being, and you will find eternal life. Keep back nothing. Nothing that you have not given away is really yours. Nothing in you that has not died will ever be raised from the dead. Look for yourself, and you will find in the long run only hatred, loneliness, despair, rage, ruin, and decay. But look for Christ and you will find Him, and with Him, everything else thrown in.”
C. S. Lewis. Mere Christianity, “The New Men.”
Saturday, June 7, 2008
Being a Christian
It has been two weeks since the last edition but it has been time well spent. I have been reading a lot, looking for and waiting on direction from God. I have it now.
Believe it or not, I am left speechless after trying to find the words to describe what I have experienced this week while reading Mere Christianity by C. S. Lewis. So, here is a quote to introduce many more to follow as I meditate on and internalize what I have read:
After very creatively and effectively describing the theology of the Trinity, Lewis wrote:
"And now, what does it all matter? It matters more than anything else in the world. The whole dance, or drama, or pattern of this three-Personal life is to be played out in each one of us: or (putting it the other way round) each one of us has got to enter that pattern, take his place in the dance. There is no other way to the happiness for which we were made. Good things as well as bad, you know, are caught by a kind of infection. If you want to get warm you must stand near the fire: if you want to be wet you must get into the water. If you want joy, power, peace, eternal life, you must get close to, even into, the thing that has them. They are not a sort of prize which God could, if He chose, just hand out to anyone. They are a great fountain of energy and beauty spurting up at the very centre of reality. If you are close to it, the spray will wet you: if you are not, you will remain dry. Once a man is united to God, how could he not live forever? Once a man is separated from God, what can he do but wither and die?
"But how is he to be united to God? How is it possible for us to be taken into the three-Personal life?
". . .We are not begotten by God, we are only made by Him: in our natural state we are not sons of God, only (so to speak) statues. We have not got Zoe or spiritual life: only Bios or biological life which is presently going to run down and die. Now the whole offer which Christianity makes is this: that we can, if we let God have His way, come to share in the life of Christ. If we do, we shall then be sharing a life which was begotten, not made, which always has existed and always will exist. Christ is the Son of God. If we share in this kind of life we also shall be sons of God. We shall love the Father as He does and the Holy Ghost will arise in us. He came to this world and became a man in order to spread to other men the kind of life He has - by what I call 'good infection.' Every Christian is to become a little Christ. The whole purpose of becoming a Christian is simply nothing else."
WOW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Believe it or not, I am left speechless after trying to find the words to describe what I have experienced this week while reading Mere Christianity by C. S. Lewis. So, here is a quote to introduce many more to follow as I meditate on and internalize what I have read:
After very creatively and effectively describing the theology of the Trinity, Lewis wrote:
"And now, what does it all matter? It matters more than anything else in the world. The whole dance, or drama, or pattern of this three-Personal life is to be played out in each one of us: or (putting it the other way round) each one of us has got to enter that pattern, take his place in the dance. There is no other way to the happiness for which we were made. Good things as well as bad, you know, are caught by a kind of infection. If you want to get warm you must stand near the fire: if you want to be wet you must get into the water. If you want joy, power, peace, eternal life, you must get close to, even into, the thing that has them. They are not a sort of prize which God could, if He chose, just hand out to anyone. They are a great fountain of energy and beauty spurting up at the very centre of reality. If you are close to it, the spray will wet you: if you are not, you will remain dry. Once a man is united to God, how could he not live forever? Once a man is separated from God, what can he do but wither and die?
"But how is he to be united to God? How is it possible for us to be taken into the three-Personal life?
". . .We are not begotten by God, we are only made by Him: in our natural state we are not sons of God, only (so to speak) statues. We have not got Zoe or spiritual life: only Bios or biological life which is presently going to run down and die. Now the whole offer which Christianity makes is this: that we can, if we let God have His way, come to share in the life of Christ. If we do, we shall then be sharing a life which was begotten, not made, which always has existed and always will exist. Christ is the Son of God. If we share in this kind of life we also shall be sons of God. We shall love the Father as He does and the Holy Ghost will arise in us. He came to this world and became a man in order to spread to other men the kind of life He has - by what I call 'good infection.' Every Christian is to become a little Christ. The whole purpose of becoming a Christian is simply nothing else."
WOW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)