The Bobosphere - Bob's Blog

Thanksgiving: A Season of Mobilization, part 4

2011-11-18T07:00:00.001-06:00

[be sure and read the previous posts HERE]

What can be done? At the very least we can lift up our voices to others and we can lift up our voices to God. We MUST begin to pray for solutions.

We may not know what to do, but our eyes can be upon the LORD. We are called to pray for governors and those in authority, that
they do right. We are called to pray for rain like Elijah prayed. We are called to act to help people in famine like Joseph did. We are called to bless our enemies and pray for them. We are called to pray for the Church, that she rise up and become a blessing to the nations.

In 2 Chronicles 20, King Jehoshaphat of Judah is in a tight spot. The enemies of Judah are aligning against her. The king is afraid, so he calls the people to seek the LORD in prayer. In 2 Chronicles 20:6-12 we read one of the most beautiful and effective prayers in Scripture. Jehoshaphat ends his prayer with these words: “For we are powerless against this great horde that is coming against us. We do not know what to do, but our eyes are on you.”

It’s time to celebrate Thanksgiving in a new way: “Three times a year all your males shall appear before the LORD your God at the place that he will choose: at the Feast of Unleavened Bread, at the Feast of Weeks, and at the Feast of Booths. They shall not appear before the LORD empty-handed.”

What will YOU appear before the LORD with this Thanksgiving?

This season, let’s mobilize.

Thanksgiving: A Season of Mobilization, part 3

2011-11-17T07:00:00.001-06:00

[be sure and read the previous posts HERE]

In Isaiah 59:14-16, we are told of a day when justice was turned back, when righteousness stood far away, when truth stumbled in the public squares, when uprightness couldn’t enter a town, and God was amazed that there was no one to intercede...so His Own Arm worked deliverance! Is today that day! God is sovereign... we are responsible. We need God’s Own Arm to work deliverance...but WE must do all in our power to usher in justice and righteousness and truth and uprightness!

Jesus, obviously, had the oppressed, distressed and downcast on His heart as well.

In Matthew 25:31-40 we read: “When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit
on his glorious throne. Before him will be gathered all the nations, and he will separate people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. And he will place the sheep on his right, but the goats on the left. Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave Me food, I was thirsty and you gave Me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed Me, I was naked and you clothed Me, I was sick and you visited Me, I was in prison and you came to Me.’ Then the righteous will answer him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry and feed You, or thirsty and give You drink? And when did we see You a stranger and welcome You, or naked and clothe You? And when did we see You sick or in prison and visit You?’ And the King will answer them, ‘Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these My brothers, you did it to Me.’

A season of Harvest Preparation gives us the opportunity to practice these words. We MUST find a way!
In John 17:21 Jesus prayed that we might be one. We are called to love one another. We are called to pray for one another. We are called to suffer with one another...

1n 1 Corinthians 12:26 the apostle Paul writes: “If one member suffers, all suffer together.”

There is a rare condition called anhidrosis, or CIPA, a genetic disorder that makes people unable to feel pain. It is a very dangerous condition. Pain serves an important function to preserve health...and life. If we don’t feel pain, we could die of internal injuries and not even know we are hurt.

I wonder, does the contemporary church have spiritual anhidrosis? Are we able to feel the pain of the Body? If I hit my thumb with a hammer, my whole body knows it...and it springs into action to DO something about it. My other hand reaches for anti-bacterial ointment, or a band-aid...or my legs take me to a car where I drive to the Emergency Room.

Part of the Body is suffering in the Horn of Africa.

Do we feel the pain?

Are we doing something about it?

If we don’t feel the pain, something is wrong. Very wrong.

Is it out of sight, out of mind? Are we so self-absorbed, we are unaware unless it impacts us?

Am I My Brother's Keeper?

2011-11-14T11:17:00.006-06:00

"All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing." Edmund Burke, Irish philosopher and politician

As I continue to process the recent events at my Alma Mater, I have been struck by the many comments related to the belief that more should have been done. If THAT isn't the master understatement! The Penn State Graduate Assistant who witnessed the sexual abuse of a child should have stepped in. And Penn State coach Joe Paterno should have done more as well...even according to his own words, in hindsight. Everyone is stepping up saying that if it was them, they would have said/done more. Good.

However, it sure is easy to SAY we would have acted differently...after all, we weren't in the situation. Again, as I've said in another blog: it's easy to SAY I wouldn't have denied I knew Christ (like Peter did) as He was being abused; it's easy to SAY I would have spoken up if I was in Adam's shoes in the Garden and told the serpent to "beat it" and encouraged my wife to not eat the fruit. And...it's easy to SAY I would have entered the shower and rescued that child from his alleged abuser. Talk is cheap. How do we forge a character that does the right thing at the right time? We need to be prepared in advance!

I was sent an editorial that ran several years ago, written by a dear sister in Christ in our church family. We would all do well to read it with the Penn State scandal in mind.

"My heart aches for the young generation who watches the suicide of a teen without considering responsibility to rescue. Upon reading the Nov 22, 2008 article by Rasha Madkour, AP “Teen Commits Suicide before Web Audience,” I immediately gathered my teenage sons and spoke to them, urging courage into their lives to step forward when something seems wrong. I committed to be there to help them seek the help that is needed. I assured them that if they see something happening, they ARE involved. Aren’t we all? I took a good hard look at the Levite, the priest and the Samaritan in “The Good Samaritan” of the Bible. I revisited the behavior of on-lookers in New Bedford, MA at Big Dan’s Tavern that birthed the “Duty-To-Rescue” laws. Do I wait for someone else to act? Did Oskar Schindler or Mother Teresa wait for “someone else?” Was it easy for Dr. Martin Luther King to be the “someone else?”

As humans, there is an innate ownership of one another that we carry in our hearts. We all felt it after 9/11. Involvement is messy and inconvenient, sometimes sacrificial. Have we done the same thing these viewers did to the Miami college student who committed suicide… signed off from fellow humans, assuring ourselves that someone else - authority, government, agencies –will rescue...? Possibly the young man, Abraham Biggs, would be alive today receiving the help he so desperately needed if more web-viewers had stepped forward and chosen to become their brother’s keeper."

Well said!

We need to meet with each other, eyeball to eyeball, and commit to each other and to abuse victims and say now, before the situation arises: "No matter what the cost; no matter who is involved; no matter the awkwardness or tension that may arise; I WILL speak up! I WILL act!"

The Apostle Paul Attends Penn State

2011-11-11T10:55:00.003-06:00

When the Apostle Paul wrote a letter to a group of Christ-followers in Rome, he made a point of telling them: “Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good” (Romans 12:21). Paul would say the same thing today if he visited Penn State...or your home!

What has allegedly transpired at Penn State can be faced in one of two ways: we can be overcome by evil; OR, we can work toward overcoming evil with good! How do we overcome the evil of child sexual abuse?

On a website called Darkness2Light.org I found a section called “7 Steps to Protecting Our Children from Sexual Abuse.”

Step 1: Learn the Facts and Understand the Risks
It is estimated that 1 in 4 girls and 1 in 6 boys are sexually abused before they turn 18! In almost 90% of the cases, the child AND the child’s family know and trust the abuser! “People who abuse children LOOK and ACT just like everyone else.”

Step 2: Minimize the Opportunity
“If you eliminate or reduce one-adult/one-child situations, you’ll dramatically lower the risk of sexual abuse for children.” It is estimated that more than 80% of abuse takes place in situations where one child is left alone with one person. Think about THAT!!

Step 3: Talk about it.
Most abused children do NOT talk about their abuse. Learn WHY children are afraid to talk. Learn HOW children communicate. Know WHAT can break down the barriers of talking openly. “One survey showed that fewer than 30% of parents ever discussed sexual abuse with their children.”

Step 4: Stay Alert.
Do NOT expect obvious signs when a child is being sexually abused. LEARN the signs! Emotional or behavioral signs are often more common than the physical signs.

Step 5: Make a Plan
“Learn WHERE to go, WHOM to call and HOW to react.”
As hard as this sounds…try not to PANIC or OVER-react. Offer support. Seek professional counsel and guidance. REPORT or take action in ALL cases of suspected abuse (see www.childwelfare.gov).

Step 6: Act on Suspicions
“Very few reported incidents are false.” Err on the side of caution. “By acting on suspicions of child abuse, you will save not only one child, but perhaps countless others.” Make use of Child Abuse Helplines: Darkness to Light—1-866-FOR-LIGHT; Childhelp USA National Child Abuse Hotline: 1-800-4-A-CHILD; National Children’s Alliance at www.nca-online.org or 1-800-239-9950.

Step 7: GET INVOLVED
“Volunteer and financially support organizations that fight the tragedy of child sexual abuse.”

As we read on the Darkness2Light.org website: “A child’s safety is an ADULT’s job…we make children wear seat belts. We walk them across busy streets. We store toxic household cleaners out of reach. Why then, would we leave the job of preventing child sexual abuse solely to children?”

YOU are the man!

2011-11-10T08:58:00.003-06:00

After King David committed adultery with Bathsheba and tried to cover it up, the prophet Nathan came to him and told him a story about a rich shepherd who stole a poor shepherd's one sole lamb. David was irate over the actions of the rich shepherd and immediately called for swift and firm justice. And then Nathan revealed to David that he himself was that very man. We can all become so angry and self-righteous over another's sin and be guilty ourselves of the same sin yet fail to see it.

I am appalled at what is unfolding at my alma mater, Penn State, in the very town where I was raised. I am so angry and disgusted by the alleged actions of a past assistant coach. And if Joe Paterno knew what had happened and didn't do enough, I am disappointed in him as well AND I actually believe, as much as I respect the man, that the Board of Trustees was right in firing him.

I am ALSO appalled at the moral and spiritual blindness of many, of those weighing in on the issue. I am not at all appalled that people are irate and disgusted over what has allegedly transpired...I am shocked at the spiritual and moral blindness I sense as people point fingers WITHOUT considering how they are guilty of similar transgressions. What has happened at Penn State ought to humble every single one of us...we are free to voice our anger and disgust, but we MUST look within our own hearts as well.Hear me: I am not in any way throwing a rescue rope to Paterno...I am simply asking all of us to look within our own hearts.

I think about Peter. He stood silently by and watched the Son of God be abused by the Romans. Actually, he was worse than silent. He positively denied he even knew the Man. I think about Adam. He stood silently by and watched the serpent tempt his wife and then positively rebelled against the command of God...and that's why we face the kind of world we face today. Outside of Scripture, I think about a nation, Germany, which had citizens, many of whom were silent and did nothing in the face of one of the greatest atrocities performed upon human beings (I say "one of the greatest atrocities" because what Stalin did in Russia was numerically even worse.)

I think about my own heart...how often have I been guilty of the sin of silence...or of doing nothing...or at least of not doing enough. I think about the fact that every day of my life I have been entrusted with the Good News of the Gospel...the ONLY message of hope for a broken world, the ONLY message of LIGHT for people lost in a dark world, the ONLY message of eternal life for all doomed for eternal torment and abuse apart from Christ...And. I. Am. Often. Silent.

Do we have a right to be angry over what has happened to these children? You bet! We better be angry at sin and our hearts better break for those children and their families. Do we have a right to be angry if it is indeed true that Paterno should have done more? You bet we do! But I sure hope we don't express our anger before we express our prayers for the children. And I sure hope we actually DO something about sexual abuse in our world and not just express anger about what has happened at Penn State.

But we better be just as angry and heart-broken and humbled over our own sins of omission and sins of silence and sins of not doing enough in our daily lives.

After all, as Nathan would say: YOU. Are. The. Man...or Woman.

Thanksgiving: A Season of Mobilization, Part 2

2011-11-10T07:00:00.001-06:00

[be sure and read the previous posts HERE]

I think we should add a preparation time called Harvest before Thanksgiving, just like we have preparation times called Advent and Lent before Christmas and Easter, respectively. I think we should prepare our hearts to celebrate Thanksgiving by considering “going before the Lord” with an offering of praise and faith. We, too, can add to our Thanksgiving festival by making sure we don’t “appear before the Lord empty-handed.” Everyone in the Old Testament could participate in this Festival. If you were able, you could bring a lamb; if you were too poor, you could bring a bird. People were to bring what they were able; it wasn’t the size of the gift but the condition of the heart before the Lord. So...if you’ve stuck with me so far, how can we begin this new holiday/Holy Day tradition of preparing for Thanksgiving through a season of Harvest?

Well, since Thanksgiving involves expressing gratitude for God’s gracious provision in our lives, especially the provision of crops and food in general, why not celebrate Harvest each year by focusing on a spot in the world where crops, food and other provision is not as plentiful as it is for us? I would suggest that this year’s Harvest Season be engaged in by considering Somalia and the Horn of Africa. One of the greatest droughts in decades has destroyed crops and prevented harvest. In addition, the drought has turned into a full-fledge famine because of religious and political turmoil in the area.

Tens of thousands have died in recent months. Experts believe the drought could continue through first quarter of 2012, and possibly until August of ’12! It is estimated that up to 750,000 could die in coming months. During the summer months of 2011 it is estimated that over 29,000 children under the age of 5 have perished due to starvation. We are told that another 640,000 children are malnourished suggesting the death toll could dramatically increase. I’ll never forget watching the movie, “Hotel Rwanda.” When I saw the film I was outraged. I was shocked. I was embarrassed...I had noticed just a little of what was going on from watching the news, but I was embarrassed that I had no clue as to what was really happening. The Rwandan Genocide was the 1994 mass murder of an estimated 800,000 Tutsi’s by the Hutu population.

Well, my own face is red...again. It is only through some dear friends at ONE that I was made more fully aware of
all that is happening in Somalia. It is, admittedly, a VERY complicated situation. There are certainly issues of governance, transparency and accountability regarding local leadership, but also centuries of back story we are only beginning to comprehend. There are also long-term problems that are agricultural: developing drought-resistant seed, proper fertilizers and early warning systems for coming droughts. There are short-term problems like increasing awareness and providing safe passage and delivery of aid to where it’s most desperately needed. There is also a need to ensure that aid is not “hijacked” and then sold at prices the desperately needy and impoverished can’t afford.

Recently, on CNN’s Anderson Cooper 360, Bono spoke to this horribly complex situation: “It’s hard to believe that
this is the 21st century and you know, we mustn’t let the complexity of the situation absolve us from responsibility to act. That’s really the message...when you hear stories...of women leaving the dead children on the road to come beg for food; [women having] to choose between children...’Inward’ I have to leave this one (he looks the weakest or she looks the weakest), I’ll take this one.’

This is outrageous!...And it’s not our intentions, it’s our actions...it’s our priorities that define us. This is a defining moment.”
What would it be like for YOU to have to choose which child you will feed and therefore which one you chose to let die?!
If we begin to put into practice the Harvest Season preparation for Thanksgiving, there are a couple extremes we must seek to avoid: the one extreme is sticking our heads in the sand and remaining ignorant; the other extreme is seeing so much evil and complication that we get overwhelmed and paralyzed; so discouraged and depressed that we are immobilized; so cynical that we consider any option as meaningless.

Hundreds of thousands with no voice in places of power need our voice. They need our voices to tell others who remain in ignorance about what is happening. They need our voices to keep telling our governing officials that something must be done. They need our voices to be lifted up to God that He Himself might intervene by His great mercy and grace. Imagine a child falling into a pit, crying out, but no one comes. Imagine a girl being abused sexually, wondering where help is, where daddy is, where God is. Imagine 640,000 Somali children facing starvation. How are these children any different?

Not-So Happy Valley

2011-11-08T15:56:00.003-06:00

As a State College native, a Penn State grad and a pastor, I've been asked by many, many people over the past couple days about recent events in Happy Valley. Here's what I've said:

First: the safety and protection of children is more important than an institution or even an icon.

Second: we don't know all the facts...yet.

Third: If people knew more, even if it was JoePa, and they didn't do EVERYTHING possible to protect the children and warn their families, no matter how much good he's done, he was wrong. VERY wrong.

Fourth: as if we need reminding...there is only ONE Hero, His Name is Jesus; and there is only ONE Team, His Church. EVERYTHING else is just a small part of a Much Larger Story.

Fifth: we live in a broken world.

Sixth: pray for the victims and their families.

Seventh: fight against all forms of oppression and sexual abuse.

Eighth...and I'm sure I'll get flack for this...pray for the abusers and those who would engage in cover-up. We are all really big sinners and are ALL in need of a REALLY BIG SAVIOR! As offensive as it may seem to us, Christ came for even the chief among all sinners (among whom the Apostle Paul considered himself the worst).

Thanksgiving: A Season of Mobilization

2011-11-03T08:10:00.000-05:00

Many Americans celebrate the Thanksgiving Holiday. It may be debated whether it was started by the Pilgrims in Massachusetts with the help of Native Americans, or whether it started in Virginia or in Florida, but there is no question it began somewhere at sometime in North America because we celebrate it! Other important holidays, like Christmas and Easter for instance, are anticipated by the more traditional (or more serious) by times of preparation.

Advent is a time for preparing hearts to celebrate the Birth of Messiah, as well as a time of reflection preparing for the Second Coming of Christ. Lent is a time for preparing hearts to celebrate the Death, Burial and Resurrection of Jesus. Lent often involves a time of fasting, a symbol of mourning over our own brokenness and sin that sent Jesus to the Cross. I wonder...what would we call a Preparation Season for Thanksgiving? Some have called it Harvest

I like that. Advent...Lent...Harvest. A time to prepare our hearts for... what? Thanksgiving

How much prep work does that take? Perhaps more than we may think. “Thanksgiving” was practiced by the Jews under the leadership of Moses long before the Europeans ever thought of the concept. The Jews celebrated the Feast of the Harvest or the Feast of Weeks in May/June every year. It was one of only THREE annual festivals celebrated by the people of God in the Old Testament. In Deuteronomy 16:16, Moses records, “Three times a year all your males shall appear before the LORD your God at the place that he will choose: at the Feast of Unleavened Bread, at the Feast of Weeks, and at the Feast of Booths. They shall not appear before the LORD empty-handed.”

Americans celebrate Thanksgiving by, well, supposedly giving thanks...usually around a dinner table set with turkey, gravy, mashed-potatoes, sweet-potato casserole, corn, eggs, dressing (or stuffing if you’re a Yankee like me), cranberry sauce, cheese soufflé, green beans...and who knows what else! Family...friends...food...and let’s not forget... football. I know, it sounds so...trite. It is.

Notice that when the people of God in the Old Testament celebrated the Feast of Harvest (a time to thank God for the crops that were able to be planted by His grace, that grew by His tender mercies, that survived by His providence, that were harvested by His kindness), they didn’t just “return thanks” but would not dare “appear before the LORD empty- handed.” What does THAT mean?!
It means that when the people thanked God for the Harvest, when THEY celebrated Thanksgiving, things were different...more different than just celebrating at what we call Pentecost while we celebrate in November. Celebration involved participation. Gratitude involved engagement.

Thanksgiving involved mobilization.

The people of God were to go before the Lord at the Feast of Harvest/Weeks with a SACRIFICE. A SACRIFICE of Thanksgiving. A SACRIFICE of Praise. A SACRIFICE that was not only expressing gratitude for the Lord’s provision in the past; but also an offering of faith expressed by giving God hard-earned and desperately needed sustenance that revealed trust that God would provide in the future, so a gift could be given with all confidence and peace.
I think we should try that.

The Delightful, Advantageous, Full-Blown Will of God

2011-08-05T07:22:00.003-05:00

Intimacy with Christ is only possible as we surrender ourselves completely and totally to the purposes of God. But to do THAT, we must believe that God's heart toward us is good and that whatever He calls us to let go of or to embrace is good. I've been meditating on Romans 12:2 to help me get to that place of trust.

Here's how I would paraphrase it:

Don't be pressed into the mold of the world or the spirit of the age. Don't adopt their perspective of this life. Don't buy into the world's blueprint for fulfillment, security or significance. Rather, like a caterpillar in a cocoon, be metamorphisized, changed, transformed by the renewal of your mind, by a fresh approach to thinking patterns; get rid of all those old tapes and upgrade to a new sound system, and start listening to new songs with better lyrics; with this new approach to your thought life and the new melodies and lyrics coursing through your brain, prove to yourself both experientially and existentially that God's ways, methods, plans, purposes and all His sovereignly ordained circumstances for our lives (both His revealed will in Scripture with all its promises and commands; as well as His secret, mysterious will that just happens) are good, beneficial, advantageous, acceptable, well-pleasing, delightful and perfect and complete (nothing could be added or subtracted to make it better!). Embrace this perspective and world-view by faith in God's character!

How do we "see" God?

2011-05-29T08:57:00.003-05:00

At our Officer's Meeting the other night we reviewed our church's position paper on the roles of men and women in the church. It was a healthy reminder of our need for one another. We need each other to reveal and reflect God's image to one another in the church and through the church!

http://www.oakmountainchurch.org/Websites/ompc/Blog/855105/WRWeb.pdf

Sounds Like a Squirrel

2011-02-18T08:47:00.002-06:00

You've heard the old Sunday School joke. The teacher comes in to a class of 4th graders and asks,"What is gray and furry, climbs in trees, has a bushy tail and likes to eat nuts?' The class was silent for a few moments when one brave little girl said, "Well, teacher, it sounds to me like a squirrel, but since this is Sunday School, I'm going to be safe and say the answer is Jesus!"

Why is it that the Church thinks that the answer to everything has to be reduced to the simplistic answer of "Jesus"? The evangelical community seems to believe that unless any book, movie, song and conversation mentions the actual Name Jesus, it's not really Christ-centered. Nothing could be further from the truth.

I'll never forget that when sweet, little Amy Grant, just coming out of Vanderbilt University and have already released albums that were focused on praise, worship and love songs mentioning the Name of Jesus, decided to become a little more "subtle" and write songs about redemptive love or other redemptive themes that unbelievers could relate to or songs with a positive message without mentioning the Name jesus, received a very cool response from the evangelical community. It's like she was turning her back on her Christian faith and compromising in the minds of many.

I have a friend that I've known since college, a fraternity brother, who leads an organization that seeks to build bridges between thoughtful Christianity and culture. The name of the organization is The Clapham Group. On his web site, http://claphamgroup.com/, we read that the Clapham Group "is committed to promoting the good, true and beautiful in the public arenas of politics, policy and pop culture."

In a recent post, my friend Mark quoted CS Lewis when he said, "What we want is not more little books about Christianity, but more little books by Christians on other subjects - with their Christianity latent." We have reduced conversations about squirrels to artificial conversations about Jesus. Believers are to seek to speak thoughtfully and in a relevant fashion about all areas of life and we're to bring a Biblical world and life view perspective into the conversation...or song, or film, or book, or essay...and we might not ever mention the name Jesus. Jesus is the Way and the Truth and the Life...to speak true truth is to speak Jesus.

Now, are there times when we need to bring the truths of the Gospel to peoples' hearts so that they can see their need for the cross? Of course...but so much of what needs to happen in our day is really "pre-evangelism." In addition, Christ is in fact exalted when we speak about beauty, goodness and truth and never mention the name Jesus.

I was listening to XM radio 32, The Message, yesterday. There were two songs in a row...one by the popular singer and ex-American Idol star Daughtry...it didn't mention the name Jesus, but it was truth and it was redemtive in focus...I thought it was great. It was followed up by a song by JJ Heller entitled Who Will Love Me for Me...again, no mention of Jesus, but it was filled with the gospel. It seems that some people are starting to "get it."

I hope my friend Mark doesn't mind me quoting him some more, but he shares about a conversation he had some time back with Bono from U2 and his frustration with the expectations of the super-spirituality of Jesus songs by Christian artists instead of just allowing them to "preach truth."

Mark writes: "In preparation of a meeting with contemporary Christian music (CCM) artists to talk about global AIDS, he wrote me a note: "If the truth sets us free and it does ... Why aren't Christian singers allowed to ring true?" What Bono meant, of course, is that the Church often stifles the creativity and voice of an artist to conform to its own sense of propriety and (in our American context) "family friendly" fare.

The questions is a good one. Do we let the truth shape us and our culture, or do we let our culture shape us and the truth?

Later at the meeting, Bono remarked to the group that they probably couldn't put Song of Solomon (one of only two books of the Bible which does not reference God) to song and sell it in a Christian bookstore. Why? Not enough Jesus' per minute. Too sensual. Not "on message."

So, next time someone asks you, "What is gray and furry, climbs in trees, has a bushy tail and likes to eat nuts?' Tell the truth! It's a squirrel! After all, Jesus would look funny with a tail!

Christian Meets Oscar

2011-02-15T07:42:00.007-06:00

The Academy Awards show is Sunday night, February 27. The Oscars will be given out to actors, actresses, directors, producers, photographers, fashion designers, etc. The biggest night in Hollywood. What should a Christian's response to the Oscars be? I'm a firm believer that the Gospel calls us to find ways to BUILD bridges with our culture rather than constantly looking for excuses to BURN them! That's why I'm really excited about one of the small groups in our church. One of our small groups has come up with a beautiful plan for their meeting that week.

Their discussion that night is going to be about why movies matter for those in our culture who are seeking, sharing and showing grace (our church Mission Statement). What would your brief response be if someone asked you, as a Christian, "Why do movies matter?" Here's my very brief response...

First, it connects us with what is going on in culture. Usually art and film are WAAAAY ahead of the curve of the general population...the film industry tends to SET philosophy, not react to it. The "person on the street" can think they are coming up with their own opinions all they want...the fact is that the educators, the philosophers, the "intelligentsia" are constantly influencing the world-views of others. The next group to process the world-views of the intellectuals, also the group that begins to "popularize" such world-views...are the artists...those leading the way in music, film and literature. The people on Hollywood Boulevard are constantly influencing the people on Main Street.

I am always surprised to discover that most people really don't understand that few artists aren't absolutely intentional about what they are doing. Almost all art, film and literature is presented precisely to make a point...to influence world-view. Christians who thoughtfully watch and process films can learn a lot...and then think through a Christian response.

Second, most POPULAR films are record-breakers precisely because they touch a nerve of the human soul...popular films are usually popular because they are simply an echo of the Larger Story of God's plan of redemption. So, movies matter to thoughtful Christians because we are reminded of the Plan of Redemption...not just our redemption in Christ but our role in being agents of redemption in all of life and culture. Heroes in the great films usually bring redemption to those in need. Villains in the stories remind us of the great battles we face in life and that evil is real, not imaginary. Those who go about doing great good call out that which is in us by God's grace.

Third, knowledge and awareness of popular films enable us to engage our neighbors, friends, work associates in conversation. There are many themes of "Creation, Fall, Redemption, Consummation" that can lead to Christ-centered discussions.

Few things get me processing the gospel like a good movie. I love Oscar time. My bets are on The King's Speech. A GREAT story with many echoes of the Larger Story. I'm excited about the great time that small group in our church is going to have that Sunday night...may their tribe increase!

The Gospel Pipeline Creativity Challenge!

2011-01-22T11:16:00.006-06:00

The Gospel Pipeline is a tool we've developed that helps us flow, as CS Lewis wrote in the Chronicles of Narnia, "Further Up and Further In" to Christ and His amazing grace! It's sort of a spiritual GPS that helps us discern our location in the Gospel by presenting the typical flow to Growth in Grace. What I want to present you with is the Gospel Pipeline Creativity Challenge. Before I issue the challenge, however, we need to understand more of the Pipeline itself...

Here is an Executive Summary of the Gospel Pipeline using verses from our key passage: Titus 2:11-3:8 (one of the most balanced, integrated passages on grace in all of Scripture!):

1. Gospel Conversion
Titus 2:11; Titus 3:5--Supernatural Grace regenerates the heart
Grace for the entire Christian life is defined by grace at the start!

2. Gospel Diversion
Titus 2:12, 14—The “Basics” often divert the emphasis from Christ to behaviors
There is a tendency to “leave” the Gospel of Christ and focus on efforts of man

3. Gospel Perversion
Titus 3:1-2—focus on behaviors often lead to a performance paradigm
We look to Christ for heaven but look to self for daily status/standing

4. Gospel Reversion
Titus 3:7—grace leads us to revert back to focus on Union with Christ
We revert to the TRUE Basics of the Christian life--Identity in Christ

5. Gospel Aversion
Titus 3:8—our flesh resists grace on many levels
We’ve a built-in aversion to looking to Christ alone for spiritual growth

6. Gospel Insertion
Titus 3:8—insistence upon grace leads to an internalization of grace
Grace overcomes our resistance and we eventually adopt a grace paradigm

7. Gospel Immersion
Titus 3:4—soaking in the truth of God’s love leads to the “Hot Tub”
“Getting used” to grace becomes comfortable…sometimes TOO comfortable

8. Gospel Incursion
Titus 2:11-12—grace leads to a hostile invasion against sin by “Waltzing”
We discover grace is not merely unconditional love but transforming power

9. Gospel Emersion
Titus 2:14—A Gospel lifestyle begins to truly emerge from right motives
Grace leads us to make full use of the Gospel Pipelines/Disciplines

10. Gospel Dispersion
Titus 2:14--The Gospel begins to flow outside ourselves toward others
Grace leads us to mission: we share grace with the Least and the Lost

11. Gospel Assertion
Titus 2:13; 14—grace leads us to assert that the ultimate aim is God’s glory
Grace, ultimately, is not about me or even mission, but the honor of Christ

12. Gospel Recursion
Titus 2:12-13—grace teaches us we never “arrive” in this life
Grace is how broken people with broken lives live in a broken world

OK, here's the Gospel Pipeline Creativity Challenge: I have a dear friend who took each of the phases of the Pipeline (God's 12 Step Program to recovery!!) and picked a song that reminded her of what each phase represents. I would like to enlist the universal creativity of The Church to help us all understand and remember the Gospel Pipeline better.

What I would like us to do is find our OWN songs that come to mind when we think upon each phase of the Pipeline, and share the results with one another. IN ADDITION, why not consider movie clips that would fit each phase, or paintings, or literary works or Broadway plays, etc...anything in the creative arts that would further give us a picture of what each phase of the Pipeline is and help us better remember it.

Here's my friends list to get you started in your thinking:

Gospel Conversion--Beautiful Things by Gungor (emphasizing the power of regeneration)
Gospel Diversion--Eye of the Tiger by Survivor (emphasizing how we turn to determination to grow instead of to Christ)
Gospel Perversion--Get On Your Boots by U2 (emphasizing how we develop a performance paradigm and try to pull ourselves up by our own bootstraps!)
Gospel Reversion--In Christ Alone by the Oak Mountain Worship Team (emphasizing Christ from first to last)
Gospel Aversion--It's My Life by Bon Jovi (emphasizing our lust for independence and doing things My Way--another option for a song!)
Gospel Insertion--Grace upon Grace by Sandra McCracken (emphasizing internalizing our need for continual grace)
Gospel Immersion--Be Okay by Ingrid Michaelson (emphasizing we often just want to feel ok and sit and soak in the Hot Tub of Grace)
Gospel Incursion--Hip-Hop Waltz in G Flat Minor by Young Mozart (emphasizing attacking sin by the 3-step Dance with Christ consisting of Repent! Believe! Fight!)
Gospel Emersion--The Power of Love by Huey Lewis and the News (emphasizing that the power of grace transforms us, enabling us to live in godliness)
Gospel Dispersion--Arise by Third Day (emphasizing that Grace leads us to die to self, get out and serve in mission)
Gospel Assertion--Glorious by Paul Baloche (emphasizing that grace is ultimately about the glory of God, not about my own personal growth or even mission, but the honor of Christ)
Gospel Recursion--Dancing in the Minefields by Andrew Peterson (emphasizing we never arrive but will always be battling the world, the flesh and the devil until we go home or Christ returns)

Maybe the best way to go about this is by creating a Note and posting it on Facebook, tagging me...then we'll all have access to your "creation!"

Be creative! Have fun! Serve the Body!

Advent and World AIDS Day

2010-12-01T08:31:00.001-06:00

Advent, from the Latin meaning “coming,” is the season of the church year leading up to Christmas. Throughout church history Advent has given the people of God an opportunity to engage in prayer, meditation and sometimes even fasting in order to seek God for a spirit of repentance in preparation for the celebration of the Incarnation.

Advent isn’t entirely somber, however, and also calls the church to joyfully celebrate the most world-changing event in history: The King of Kings and the Lord of Lords, God Himself, being born as a Man. Advent, historically has also involved anticipating and preparing for the Second Advent, the Return of Christ to set up the New Heavens and the New Earth when all of salvation will be revealed in the consummation.

The Incarnation inaugurated the Coming of the Kingdom of God as the God-Man, Jesus Christ, was inserted into our fallen world to accomplish the work, as C.S. Lewis put it, of causing death to work backwards. This turning back of death not only involves spiritual death which is turned back by the obedient life of Christ through which He succeeded where the First Adam failed. Nor does this turning back of death only involve the death of the Incarnate God hanging on the cross as a substitute for His people, offering propitiation for their sins.

The Incarnation also inaugurated a Kingdom where the rule and reign of Christ and His grace and love is unleashed upon planet earth in every conceivable arena of life. There are many passages that speak to this redemptive power released upon the earth through the Incarnation.

One of the more well-known and most encouraging passages along these lines are found in Luke 4:18, which quotes Isaiah 61:1: “The Spirit of the LORD God is upon Me, because the LORD has anointed Me to bring Good News to the poor; He has sent Me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to those who are bound.”

Isaiah 61:2 goes on to read: “to proclaim the year of the LORD’s favor and the Day of Vengeance of our God; to comfort all who mourn.”

Advent is a time for God’s people to not only meditate upon the realities and ramifications of the Incarnation…it is also a time for us as the Church to recommit to live incarnational lives wherever we find opportunity.

Along these lines, it is significant the World AIDS Day falls during the first week of Advent. World AIDS Day is all about “increasing awareness, fighting prejudice and improving education” related to AIDS. Statistics reveal that there are close to 33 million people living with HIV, “incuding 2.1 million children.”

Part of approaching the AIDS problem with a redemptive mindset involves recognizing that Jesus calls us to “love our neighbor as we love ourselves.” Over and over in the Gospels, Jesus makes it clear that our neighbor is anyone in need, friend or foe. Whether or not the people in trouble love Jesus or mock Him, living redemptively requires us to pursue the poor, the brokenhearted, the captives, those in prison (of any kind) and all who mourn.

There are many reasons AIDS spreads among the population: some reasons are in fact due to what Scripture would call a sinful lifestyle; but there are many other AIDS cases where no personal moral lapse was involved at all. However, even where sin is involved, Christians are called to live incarnationally and bring hope and healing to the world. After all, Jesus came to offer redemption to all of His people who are prisoners to sin because of personal choice. The Christian, more than anyone else, knows the reality of being an undeserving object of Divine Grace. As a matter of fact, grace has no real substance or definition unless it is love shown toward the undeserving!

Advent is a time when we recall the Gospel teaches: “In this the love of God was made manifest among us, that God sent his only Son into the world, so that we might live through him (1 John 4:9).”

Advent is a time when we remember that love has been made manifest among us. It is also a time when God calls us to continue to manifest His love in the world by serving the Least and the Lost.

In one sense, World AIDS Day couldn’t occur during a more appropriate time. May we as those who have been shown grace, both celebrate grace and show grace this Advent Season. Let’s find ways to manifest the love of God by leading our churches and all of God’s people to show kindness and compassion to the distressed, downcast, rejected and reviled. For we, too, were once, and often still are, such people ourselves.

As We Consider Stewardship

2010-11-02T10:31:00.001-05:00

I came across this quote by Thomas Manton, an English Pastor of the 1600's...seems the more things change, the more they stay the same! "There is not a vice which more effectually contracts and deadens the feelings, which more completely makes a man's affections centre in himself, and excludes all others from partaking in them, than the desire of accumulating possessions. When the desire has once gotten hold of the heart, it shuts out all other considerations but such as may promote its views. In its zeal for the attainment of its end, it is not delicate in the choice of means. As it closes the heart, so it clouds the understanding. It cannot discern between right and wrong. It takes evil for good and it calls darkness light and light, darkness. Beware, then, of the beginnings of covetousness, for you know not where it will end."

2010 Favorite Reads...so far

2010-10-06T08:30:00.003-05:00

My three favorite reads so far this year: Run with the Horses by Eugene Peterson; The Prayer of Jehoshaphat by Stanley Gale; A Million Miles in a Thousand Years by Donald Miller

Run with the Horses is a running, devotional commentary on the Book of Jeremiah. It's a book that calls us, by grace, to "go for broke" in every arena of life...to take risks, to take Christ at His word that He came that we might have life and might have it ABUNDANTLY! Peterson challenges us to consider why many of us live dull, boring lives without adventure and with so little fulfillment. He calls us to fresh surrender, fresh faith and to leave our comfort zones and live a dangerous life.

The Prayer of Jehoshaphat is finally a book on prayer that truly SPOKE to me. I'm not saying there aren't other good books on prayer...but this one reached deep down into my soul. I feel better prepared on why to pray, how to pray, what to pray. I was so encouraged TO pray because of how the author presents God's heart of grace toward us in Christ. I was encouraged to not be distracted by what seems to be an "experience" that contradicts the promises of God and to keep focusing on those promises and God's character. I was encouraged to pray expectantly and to pray big prayers again.

A Million Miles in a Thousand Years is all about the reality that God is writing our stories. He is at work in us, through us and around us. God is calling us to look for where He is at work...and He is at work around us all the time. God is calling us to participate in the Great Story...our part has been written, yet at the same time we participate truly and really in the story...the Great Story is no place for fatalists! We have a responsible part to play in the working out of God's narrative for our lives. And Miller reminds us that no matter how many times we fail...each day is a new opportunity to make a fresh start...to begin a new chapter.

Above ALL else, GUARD your heart!

2010-09-28T07:05:00.005-05:00

Proverbs 4:23--"Above all else, guard your heart, for it is the wellspring of life."

I've been meditating on Proverbs 4:23 lately because of a discipleship process I've become involved with.

Meditation...ruminating on a verse...letting your soul marinade in the words of a verse...making observations on each and every word and upon their connections with each other...thinking through relevant applications to your daily life...Meditation...a lost art in our day.

As I meditate on Proverbs 4:23, here are some things that come to mind:

"above all else"--there is NOTHING more important than this: that I guard my heart. It is my number one priority as I get out of bed each and every morning. It is my number one task as I live through each and every minute of each and every day!

"guard your heart"--I have to ask: what is my heart? My heart is the totality of my being, the very core of who I am. My heart is my intellect, my emotions, my will, my motivations, my joys, my priorities, the openness of my life to God and His truth and much, much more! I have a lot to guard...

"guard your heart"--hmmm, that must mean my heart is under attack! Constantly! I need to guard my heart from the lies of the enemy. I need to guard my heart from the mentality of the world. I need to guard my heart from the fallen pull of my own flesh. I need to guard my heart from living out of the pain of past woundedness. I need to guard my heart against living out of self-protection, self-preservation or self-indulgence.

"above all else, guard your heart"--sounds like a command, to me. It is a Gospel Responsibility given to ME! It is my highest responsibility to guard my heart; to watch over it; to protect it; to keep it from harm. I must think through ways I am to guard my heart (that's a BLOG for another day!).

"guard your heart for IT is the wellspring of life"--everything in my life, all my words, actions, attitudes...they all flow from my heart. My mission, my love for others, my roles and responsibilities in life...they all flow from what it going on in my heart. My heart is a fountain...if my heart is attacked, unprotected and assaulted, then what flows forth from my life will likely be polluted...and others will be impacted.

"it is the wellspring of life"--I have been created by God and re-created in Christ to be a source, a wellspring, a fountain of life, to all those I come into contact with throughout the day. The life I am able to offer is directly proportional to the life in my own heart...life received from Christ, and His Word and His community. My heart is to be a wellspring of life for others and I need others to refresh my own heart as well.

Meditation...it's hard work...like mining for gold...but well worth the time and effort.

Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in Your sight, O LORD, my Rock and my Redeemer.

A Fresh Look at Faithfulness

2010-09-22T08:50:00.007-05:00

I was reading Matthew 25:14-30 this morning...the Parable of the Talents as it is often called. It's ultimately a parable about "faithfulness," right? Just like the Parable of the Prodigal Son is all about a young man who squandered his life in loose living, right?

Well, actually, the Parable of the Prodigal Son is more about a Father's love for younger and older prodigal sons. But I digress...sort of...

The Parable of the Talents...is it REALLY about "faithfulness?" Or, perhaps, is it ultimately about the FOUNDATION or SPRINGBOARD of all faithfulness?...A gracious Father!

The only steward in the story who is "unfaithful" or, more accurately perhaps, "unfruitful," is the one who expressly reveals that he saw his master as a "hard man" (ESV) or, as we read in The Message, a master who makes "no allowances for error." What is revealed in the parable, then, is that people who have a view of God as stern or harsh are often paralyzed by fear. Again, The Message: "I was afraid I might disappoint you."

If we have a view of God as stern or harsh, we will opt for safe, cautious living. Such a view of God leads to risk-averse lives. Such a view of the Father leads people to "play to not lose, rather than aggressively playing to win."

I saw one of the gutsiest coaching calls in years the other night during the Michigan State/Notre Dame football game. It was in OT and Michigan State needed a field goal to tie the game and go into a second overtime period. Amazingly, the coach called a fake field goal and the holder, an ex-quarterback, threw the ball down the field. It was a relatively high-risk pass..it had to be a strike, right on the money. It was. And the Michigan State player caught it for a touchdown...and a win! Wow! What a way to live!

I have no clue about the spiritual state of Coach Dantonio, but he certainly isn't risk-averse! But for believers in Christ, it is those who know God as the Father of love, mercy, goodness, patience, kindness and grace that are most free to "roll the dice," to "go out on a limb," to live lives of "holy recklessness."

Those are sad words for me to write...because I'm so often a man who tends to play it safe...who is fairly risk-averse...a guy who is often quite afraid of making mistakes and of failure. Wonder what that tells me about my view of God?

Hmmm, and I used to think the point of the Parable of the Talents was: "You'd better be faithful!"

Guess I need a fresh look at faithfulness. How about you?

The Grammar of Classical Christianity

2010-09-21T14:15:00.001-05:00

People have asked for some memory verses to keep them focused on the "Grammar of Gospel Christianity" or the TRUE "Basics" of the Christian life. Here's a start:

Keep Reverting Back to Gospel Goodness
Ex 33:19
Numbers 10:29
Joshua 23:14
Psalm 16:11
Psalm 34:8-10/1 Pet 2:3
Psalm 107:1-9
Psalm 145:9, 14-20
Nahum 1:7
Romans 2:4
Ro 8:28

Keep Reverting Back to Gospel Love
Deut 7:6-8
Jeremiah 31:3
Lam 3:22-23
Zeph 3:17
Rom 5:5
Eph 3:14-20
Jude 20-21
1 Jn 4:8, 16-18

Keep Reverting Back to Gospel Justification
Gen 15:6
Is 53:4-6
Is 61:10
Rom 3:28
Rom 4:5
Romans 5:1, 15-21
Romans 8:1, 33
Gal 2:16
Phil 3:7-9

Keep Reverting Back to Gospel Adoption
Matt 3:17
John 1:12
John 17:23-24
John 20:17
Ro 8:15
Gal 4:4-7
1 Jn 3:1-2

Keep Reverting Back to Gospel Sanctification
Ps 46:10
Isaiah 30:15-21
Ezek 20:12
John 6:28-29
Acts 20:32
Rom 6:1-14
1 Cor 1:30
2 Cor 3:17-18
Gal 3:5
Eph 2:10
1 Thess 5:23-24
2 Thess 2:13
Titus 2:11-12
Heb 13:9
Jude 24-25
1 Pet 1:3-5
2 Pet 1:3-11
1 Jn 1:9

I Know I'll Go Crazy if...

2010-09-08T09:05:00.005-05:00

I've been challenged recently to consider the "Voice" of the Father in affirming, encouraging and validating me as a man created in His image and being restored in Christ to all He means for me to become. Deep stuff, I know. But we ALL need encouragement and affirmation.

Think about it: Jesus was the Son of God...God in the flesh; as regards His human nature, sinless. Yet the Father validated, affirmed and encouraged Jesus constantly...

In Matthew 3:17, at His baptism, the Father's Voice spoke over Jesus: "This is My Beloved Son, with Whom I am well pleased." Think of the encouragement that filled the soul of Jesus as He heard these words of affirmation. By the way, the greek tense of the verb signals that the delight of God in the Son is timeless: The NIV Study Bible notes: "God has always been and always will be "well pleased" with His Son."

Then, later, in Matthew 17:5, while Jesus is on the Mount of Transfiguration, the Father's Voice spoke again: "This is My Son, Whom I love; with Him I am well pleased."

What is amazing is that through faith in Christ, by the power of the Spirit, a believer in Christ is baptized into union with Christ, so that all that is true of Christ becomes true of the believer...so...the Father's validation, affirmation and encouragement spoken over the Son is now spoken over all those whose lives are hidden IN the Son!

We may be terrible at hearing the Father's Voice, but He is constantly speaking over us: "You are My son/daughter! Whom I love! With you I am well pleased!" I know, it seems too good to be true...and all the contrary "voices" seek to drown out the Father's voice...there's so much noise from the crowd, we have a hard time hearing...but listen...listen closely....

"The Lord your God is with you...a Might One to save...He will rejoice over you with gladness...He will quiet you by His love...He will exalt over you with LOUD singing." (Zephaniah 3:17)

We need encouragement...life is hard! The Christian life is hard. As Bono of U2 sings in the song, "I'll Go Crazy If I Don't Go Crazy Tonight"..."It's not a hill, it's a mountain as you start out the climb. Do you believe me or are you doubting? We're gonna make it all the way to the Light."

It is God's Voice that encourages us that we are going to make it...but like Bono, we must also learn to speak the "echo" of the Father's encouragement and affirmation TO one another as well.

Listen for the Father's affirming voice...listen for it through the Word, through His Spirit, through His Body, the Community of Faith...and then remember to SPEAK words of affirmation and encouragement to those around you today!

Fifteen Influential Albums

2010-09-03T09:05:00.002-05:00

A friend inspired me by his own list...so here's mine...probably not a typical list according to many peoples' view of pastors...but then again, those who know me know I'm not the typical pastor! So...here goes...

1. U2--How To Dismantle an Atomic Bomb (U2 could take up my entire list!)
2. The Beatles--Abbey Road
3. Bob Dylan--Slow Train Coming
4. Switchfoot--The Beautiful Letdown
5. Les Miserables--The Complete Symphonic Recording
6. Steely Dan--Can't Buy a Thrill
7. Jackson Browne--The Pretender
8. Creedence Clearwater Revival--Cosmo's Factory
9. Electric Light Orchestra--Out of the Blue
10. Chicago--Chicago Transit Authority
11. Boston--Boston
12. Cold Play--X&Y
13. Kansas--Leftoverture
14. Barenaked Ladies--Disc One
15. Pink Floyd--Dark Side of the Moon (I know, hard to believe, huh?)

Highs, Lows...and Glory!

2010-08-31T08:55:00.001-05:00

For my devotional this morning, I was in Matthew 16:13-17:5. An up and down passage for Peter...highs and lows...and highs.

First, Jesus pointed out Peter's "glory and honor" as a man blessed by God and as an image-bearer. Jesus greatly honored Peter for his confession of faith in Christ as the Son of God. Calling out or pointing out others' glory and honor gives people great encouragement and strength in life. Such encouragement reminds us who God longs for us to be and also reminds us that by grace we are being restored to the image of Christ.

But, Jesus also let Peter know when he was living as less of a man than he was meant to be. When Peter had a wrong view of the suffering and crucifixion of Jesus, Jesus rebukes him, even saying "Get behind Me, Satan!" Ouch! BUT, what Jesus was really wanting Peter to see, was that he was a better man than he was living and acting out at that moment! Jesus was saying, in effect, "Peter, you're a better man than this! Keep being and becoming the man you were meant to be in grace! Don't fall into the "smaller story" of living a lie! Trust Me and honor Me and expect more from My grace in you!" Jesus was calling forth even more "glory" from Peter.

Now, this is tricky, because, on the one hand, we need to encourage one another. We need to offer each other strength, and the opportunity for life and growth. We need to point out where we see the image of Christ in one another and how we see each other living as we were meant to live. On the other hand, we also need to let people face the possibility of DIScouragement from time to time, when they must realize they are thinking LESS of themselves than God means them to. When we are not living out of the "glory" God has given us in Christ, we need to encourage each other that we are "better men" or better people than how we are acting.

However, when it was all said and done, Jesus again "lifts Peter up" and encourages him once more by honoring Peter through inviting him to join Him on the Mount of Transfiguration.

Of course, the process of repentance and faith continues as Peter acts as less than his glory in Christ again, by saying something stupid about building tents for Jesus and Moses and Elijah! So now, God the Father speaks and says to Peter, in effect, "Shooosh! Be silent! Listen!"

God is ALWAYS calling us to a higher place...to live more and more out of the glory He has shared with us in Christ.

Encouragement. Failure. Rebuke. Repentance. Faith.
Encouragement. Failure. Rebuke. Repentance. Faith....etc

That IS the process of growth in grace.

Live out of your glory...and call others to do the same!

The Gospel Pipeline Graphic Takes Shape

2010-08-20T08:41:00.002-05:00

I know that for many looking at this graphic, you're thinking, "What????" Please be patient...it will become clear over the next several Sundays of messages...or, over the next several MONTHS of Sundays!

What exactly IS the Gospel Pipeline?

2010-08-19T07:45:00.004-05:00

In 2 Peter 3:18, Peter concludes his letter by encouraging us to keep growing in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. In C.S. Lewis' Chronicles of Narnia, The Last Battle, Aslan, the Great Lion, the King (the Christ figure of the stories) encourages His people to go "Further Up and Further In" to Narnia...the "Promised Land" of His love, grace and salvation. The Gospel Pipeline gives us a picture of how the "flow" Further Up and Further In often occurs in a Christian's life.

What follows is the Gospel Pipeline Overview:

Gospel Pipeline Overview

1. Gospel Conversion
Titus 2:11; Titus 3:5--Supernatural Grace regenerates the heart
Grace for the entire Christian life is defined by grace at the start!

2. Gospel Diversion
Titus 2:12, 14—The “Basics” often divert the emphasis from Christ to behaviors
There is a tendency to “leave” the Gospel of Christ and focus on the efforts of man

3. Gospel Perversion
Titus 3:1-2—focus on behaviors often lead to a performance paradigm
We live as if God's delight in us is merited or maintained by our performance rather than through Christ

4. Gospel Reversion
Titus 3:7—grace leads us to revert back to focus on Union with Christ
We revert to the TRUE Basics of the Christian life-Identity in Christ

5. Gospel Aversion
Titus 3:8—our flesh resists grace on many levels
We’ve a built-in aversion to looking to Christ alone for spiritual growth

6. Gospel Insertion
Titus 3:8—insistence upon grace leads to an internalization of grace
Grace overcomes our resistance and we eventually adopt a grace paradigm

7. Gospel Immersion
Titus 3:4—soaking in the truth of God’s love leads to the “Hot Tub”
“Getting used” to grace becomes comfortable…sometimes TOO comfortable

8. Gospel Incursion
Titus 2:11-12—grace leads to a hostile invasion against sin by “Waltzing”
We discover grace is not merely unconditional love but transforming power

9. Gospel Emersion
Titus 2:14—A Gospel lifestyle begins to truly emerge from right motives
Grace leads us to make full use of the Gospel Means of Grace

10. Gospel Dispersion
Titus 2:14--The Gospel begins to flow outside ourselves toward others
Grace leads us to mission: we share grace with the Least and the Lost

11. Gospel Assertion
Titus 2:13; 14—grace leads us to assert that the ultimate aim is God’s glory
Grace, ultimately, is not about me or even mission, but the honor of Christ

12. Gospel Recursion
Titus 2:12-13—grace teaches us we never “arrive” in this life
Grace is how broken people with broken lives live in a broken world

I'm Not Trying to Hurt You, I'm trying to Help You!

2010-08-18T09:06:00.004-05:00

In John 8:36, Christ says, "So, if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed." In Galatians 5:1, Paul writes, "For freedom Christ has set us free." The Gospel frees us FROM guilt, shame, self-condemnation and frees us FOR the abundant life! God has a Father's heart toward us that only desires our good...so why do so many followers of Christ see God as a stern Task-Master and the Christian life as oppressive?

God seems "bewildered," if it were possible, by our thoughts and feelings of oppression: In Jeremiah He says, "Why then do my people say, 'We are free, we will come no more to You?'" (Jer 2:31). God is "grieved" and "bewildered" that His people would rejoice in being "freed" from Him and His ways!

When we see God as oppressive or a Task-Master, it is as if, as Paul writes in Galatians 3:1, that someone has cast a hex on us, or put us under a spell. If we forget the good news of the Gospel of grace, we may misinterpret God's heart in His commands and prohibitions: we may feel as if God is some sort of Cosmic Killjoy. But if we keep the Beauty of Christ and God's Fatherly heart always before our eyes, we will remember that ALL God's commands are an invitation to our highest pleasure; and ALL His prohibitions a warning against our worst nightmares.

Any parent who has ever grieved the foolishness of their own children as they make poor decisions leading to painful consequences, can have great insight into the true heart of our Father in heaven.

I'm reminded of the scene in the Lord of the Rings, when Gandalf is warning Bilbo that he must give up the ring...but the ring exerts its evil influence over Bilbo and he goes a little "mad" and accuses Gandalf of only wanting the ring for himself. Gandalf reveals a little of his "glory" and grows "loud" and thunders, "I'm not trying to hurt you, I'm trying to help you!" Bilbo is brought back to reality and runs into Gandalf's arms...that is the picture we must have of our Father in heaven. His heart toward us is good...all the time.

If the Christian life has become oppressive, we've lost focus of the Fatherly heart of God. If the Son sets you FREE, you are FREE indeed!!

Cheap Grace??

2010-07-16T07:24:00.004-05:00

It is vital that we distinguish between Biblical grace and what is known as CHEAP grace. Cheap grace carries the perspective that since God is a God of grace and mercy and love, and since we are righteous in Christ and accepted in the Beloved, it doesn't matter how we live. We can sin all we want, or at least treat sin lightly because we are secure in Christ. Notice how the heresy dances on the edges of truth! This is precisely why Paul was accused of teaching cheap grace (Romans 6:1)!!

What we emphasize at Oak Mountain is the two-fold wonder of grace that helps us avoid Cheap Grace: We talk about:
1) Grace as Unconditional Love
2) Grace as Transforming Power

Both elements of grace find their source in the Work of Christ.

Grace as Unconditional Love finds its source in the Imputed Righteousness of Christ to us. The righteous life and substitutionary death of Christ and all their merits are credited to our account. This leads to a believer's justification: God accepting me and delighting in me IN CHRIST just-as-if-I'd never sinned and just-as-if-I'd done everything perfectly my entire life! This is the Christian's confidence and joy and peace in Christ.

Grace as Transforming Power finds its source in Christ as well, but is the result of IMPARTED righteousness. There was the PAST work of Christ which involved His perfect active obedience as He walked this earth and His perfect passive obedience as He submitted Himself to suffering death on the cross and embraced the wrath of God on behalf of His people.

BUT, there is also a PRESENT Work of Christ that involves Him sharing with us, through the power of the Holy Spirit, His actual righteousness...a continual work of grace in us that conforms us more and more to His image. We are renewed daily by grace (as we WALTZ--the 3-step Dance with Christ of Repent, Believe, Fight!) and His righteousness is imparted to us so that we put to death, by the Spirit, that which is sinful in us and we are SUPERNATURALLY renewed moment by moment as Christ shares His resurrection life with us. It is NOT the result of human effort or striving (Gal 3:1-5!).

BUT, and this is KEY: BOTH imputed AND imparted righteousness are experienced by grace through FAITH...by believing the Gospel Promises and hoping continually in the finished work of Christ. Imputed righteousness is GRANTED ONCE, at conversion, but is to be looked back upon over and over as we feel the weight of our daily sin and failure. Imparted righteousness is granted continually as we look to Christ in faith to change us by His grace at our places of repentance!

Both the imputed and imparted righteousness of Christ form the "breastplate of righteousness" that we are to put on as part of the armor of God in our battle with the devil. The devil seeks to discourage us that we are not loved and that we are powerless failures. Christ calls us to place no confidence in self or any of our own works, but continual confidence in His righteousness...both imputed and imparted.

May your heart be filled with encouragement over these words!!!

Losing Your Life or Finding Your Life?

2010-07-14T08:02:00.002-05:00

In Matthew 10:34-39, Jesus says some hard things. Strong medicine...challenges our "soft" culture is not used to. Marine-like stuff...He's still looking for a "few good men" (women too!).

Jesus says that if anyone loves father or mother more than Him, he/she is not worthy of Him. Or if anyone loves son or daughter more than Him, he/she is not worthy of Him...WOW!! Put THAT in our child-centered idolatrous culture "pipe" and smoke it!

He says that if we don't take up a lifestyle of dying to self, of crucifixion of selfish desires and agendas and temporal priorities, we are not worthy of Him.

Then, at the end of His "sermon" He says, "Whoever finds his life will lose it and whoever loses his life for My sake will find it." He said similar things quite often apparently...

Later in Matthew 16:24-25 He says, "If anyone would come after Me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow Me. For whoever WOULD save his life, will lose it; but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it."

Tough words.

But words that actually end on a positive note.

It's that positive element that I so easily miss. All the time.

I have realized lately that I am a pain-avoider. I've bought into the American paradigm that the worst circumstance possible in this life is to be in a place of suffering. Suffering is the ONE thing that Americans fear above all else...and it's killing the church! Neutralizing it, actually.

...and needlessly...

What God has been teaching me is that I have been so focused and fearful of the "losing your life" element that I have minimized the promise that AS we lose our lives for Christ's sake and the sake of the Kingdom, we will actually FIND our lives!

I have so often read these verses and left them with the taste of oppression and aversion in my mouth.

Why?

Is my view of God, my Heavenly Father, really so pathetic as THAT?

Apparently...it is.

Maybe your view of God is that pathetic...hopefully not.

Here's the deal: If the One who GAVE UP HIS LIFE says that losing our lives for His sake leads to finding them...why would we focus on the "losing" part and not emphasize the "finding" part more?!

I'll tell you why...

Lies. Lies!

I...perhaps we...listen to the lies of the enemy...lies like...if you are willing to surrender to Christ, if you're REALLY willing to lose your life, it's really gonna hurt...gonna be painful...gonna be miserable...as a matter of fact, you're gonna resent it 'cause it will never be worth it.

Hmmm...what's the TRUTH say: "For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us." (Rom 8:18). And, "For this light, momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison" (2 Cor 4:17).

So, when Jesus challenges us to LOSE our lives in order to FIND them...He's telling us how to really experience LIFE.

Don't miss that...'cause so often, I have.

LOST Souls Changed

2010-04-16T06:46:00.005-05:00

Aright...I'll admit it...I am one of the millions who have been sucked into the TV show, "LOST." It actually all started on a mission trip where the missionaries my daughter and I were staying with had the first season on DVD...man, series on DVD are hazardous to your sleep patterns!

During the latest episode last Tuesday night, we heard one of the main characters, Jack, a doctor, verbalize what we've all been able to see this season...he's changed. I guess the change started some time ago, but we've never heard it so clearly stated.

Jack, as a doctor, had been the Leader among the plane crash victims on the island for some time. He was sort of a shepherd/warrior for the survivors (huh, come to think of it, his name IS Jack SHEPHERD!). Jack has always been the "man of science" on the show, not really the man of faith. But over time, faith has begun to form in his soul...mainly because he has come to realize that his compulsivity of control has not delivered the results he's so desperately desired.

So, we've seen Jack give up control for the most part this season. We've seen him learn to rest and avoid his compulsive tendency to try to fix everything and everyone. And in Tuesday's episode he actually verbalizes to Hugo that he's learned how to let go of his need to control and fix situations. You can tell Jack is different...he seems so much more at peace.

Now, why all these words on a glorified Soap Opera? Well, in all honesty, a lot of us are LOST souls like Jack. There are MANY of us who live under the illusion that we are actually in control. We obsessively and compulsively try to fix things as well as seek to control our circumstances so as to achieve a pain-free life. Some people stay LOST their entire lives. They never learn the reality that, try as we might, we are NOT in control.

The Christ-follower must learn, sooner or later, that God is the only Person Who is in control in this Universe. He is the Creator and Sustainer of everything. He is the Warrior/SHEPHERD in the Universe and only He can be trusted with everything that concerns us.

Don't get me wrong...I'm being far from simplistic here...and I'm certainly not condoning fatalism. You see, there ARE folk out there, perhaps even reading this, who use God's Existence as an excuse for laziness and irresponsibility (hey, I can only deal with one issue at a time, OK?). The fact is, God is absolutely sovereign and we are completely responsible. It's called mystery...and those who are able to navigate through the tension of this mystery live the most fulfilled and satisfied and peaceful lives.

God is absolutely sovereign...He is the Orchestra Conductor of all the music of our lives...He is the Great Author of our Stories, but sometimes we don't understand where the Story is going. We ARE called to LIVE: we are NOT lifeless sticks floating down some current in a river with nothing to do; so, we must learn when to move and when to wait. We must learn when to rest and when to strive. It's not always easy...which is why an intimate walk with God through reading and applying the Scriptures is so vital. It's also why living in community with others who know both us and God well is so helpful...I mean, after all, You Don't Know What You Don't Know...but often times, others DO know what WE don't!

If you've not done so lately...read through the Psalms. Notice how many times we are called to "Wait" for the LORD! Let me help you out here a bit: Ps 25:3,5,21; Ps 27:14 (actually the Psalm I was reading this morning that got this whole BLOG thing started today!); Ps 31:24; Ps 37:7,9,34; Ps 38:15; Ps 52:9; Ps 62:5; Ps 130:5.

Go ahead...read those portions of the Bible...it won't take long...

Now, ask yourself...are you an "old Jack," obsessively and compulsively trying to control your own life, and the lives of others (i.e. your spouse, your children...) to maintain some semblance of order and comfort that is actually driving you (and others!) to near neuroses? Or, are you learning, by God's grace and through His Spirit, by prayer and faith, Scripture and Community, to give up control and starting, even if they are "baby steps," to "wait for the LORD?"

It's a pretty clear choice actually....trust yourself: a fallen, finite human being with limited resources; OR, trust your Father in Heaven Who is infinite in wisdom, love, goodness, mercy and righteousness and possesses unlimited power and resources. What's it gonna be?

And of course, it's a daily battle...none of us succeed all the time...or even most of the time. That's why we need Christ so desperately.

The temptation is always there to re-take control. During the episode Tuesday night, Hugo responds to Jack and says, "How do you know that you giving up control isn't going to lead to all of us being killed?" Hmmmm.

As soon as you start to wrestle with resting and trusting, there will always be someone or something to start the obsessive/compulsive desire to control to spin up to speed again.

Resist it, firm in your faith...and Wait for the Lord!

By the way...were you able to tell that I MYSELF am a Recovering Control Freak??

The Final Four and The Christian Life

2010-04-08T10:31:00.009-05:00

2010 was one of the best "March Madness's" ever! For those of you who don't follow college hoops, the NCAA Tourny this year was filled with upsets and underdogs...and little Butler (David) almost defeated Big Duke (Goliath)...a last second shot from half-court almost went in to give Butler the victory...but it was not to be... HOWEVER, the defeat was definitely NOT due to lack of hustle on Butler's part.

I have played and coached basketball for most of my life...some games you win and some games you lose. But nothing ticks a coach off more than his/her team being "out-hustled." There's just no excuse for lack of effort; anything less than all-out effort is unacceptable! It's no less true in the Christian life.

Sure, the Christian life is by grace from start to finish. Of course the unconditional love and favor of God is our motivation...but grace is also transforming power. Grace is what enables us and empowers us to show hustle! An understanding and apprehension of grace that doesn't lead to "hustle" is very immature.

It kills me when I see the world "out-hustling" the Church...and sometimes because of a MIS-understanding and erroneous application of grace!

Paul tells us in Ephesians 2:10 that grace (Ephesians 2:8-9) leads to walking in good works, hustling in deeds of mercy and love, that God has actually prepared in advance for us to do!

Paul tells us in Titus 2:11-3:8 that grace trains us to hustle in our battle with ungodliness and trains us to hustle in our aim for godliness!

God, as the Ultimate Coach, even calls us to hustle to add all kinds of effort to our faith in grace: 2 Peter 1:3-11.

I saw a piece on the TODAY Show this morning about the founder of TOMS shoes. A young entrepreneur came up with the idea of giving away one pair of shoes for every pair he sold. The original name of the shoes was to be TOMORROWS, but it wouldn't fit on the back of the shoe! For any pair of shoes TOMS sells today, the promise is that a pair of shoes will be given to people, especially children, unable to live a normal life because they lack shoes. There are children around the world, for example, that can't go to school unless they wear shoes; they were shoeless, but now TOMS has delivered shoes and children are going to school!

That is hustle! Church...where's our hustle?!

How could the "world" possibly EVER out-hustle the Church for great ideas on how to help the poor, shoe the shoeless, feed the hungry, show mercy to the sick? (By the way, I'm not saying the founder of TOMS is not a Christ-follower...fact is I know nothing about his faith or lack thereof). But there is no question that there are people who DO, in fact, often out-hustle the Church in carrying out Kingdom principles even though faith in Christ is lacking in their personal lives.

So often it seems the Church is just a step slower than the world in creating ways to make a sustained difference for life on this planet...and sometimes it's all because the Church uses grace as excuse for poor effort. Don't get me wrong...this isn't a jealousy thing...I am thrilled when anyone of any creed makes a positive difference in the world.

On the one hand, unbelievers are still "Image-bearers" of God, so we ought not to be surprised that even non-Christians show hustle and make a difference in the world. On the other hand, God may sometimes "plant" difference-making ideas in unbeliever's minds to challenge the Church...

Are we getting out-hustled?

How can YOU make a difference in the world today?

What's the first choice that has to be made for it to happen? Do it!

Hustle!

Prayer, Preaching and Preachers

2010-04-06T09:16:00.003-05:00

I can be really thick-headed...really. Just ask my wife. On second thought, please don't ask my wife...or my children. Just take it on faith...I can be really thick-headed. Today's blog is going to be a bit different...I'm going to get really transparent about my job. I think it's important for a "lay person" to get into the head and heart of a preacher from time to time...so here goes...

One of the things I've been so slow to really learn is that preaching is a work of God before it is a work of man. I LOVE my job. I LOVE preaching. Don't get me wrong...preaching, like any vocation, has been deeply impacted by the Fall of humanity into sin. The curse on ALL work revealed in Genesis 3:17-18 applies as equally as anywhere to the preacher...

"Cursed is the ground because of you; in pain you shall eat of it all the days of your life; thorns and thistles it shall bring forth for you...by the sweat of your face you shall eat bread..."

What that means is that every vocation will face great difficulties...like weeds constantly growing in a garden or animals that constantly come to eat what is planted, the workplace will be an environment of continual frustration...things will go wrong; things will break; MURPHY will always be present with all of his LAWS at the office!

And it applies to preaching. I get a kick out of folk who think, "What's a preacher do anyway? He only works a few hours on Sunday morning, right?!" Uh...yeah...sure. Yikes, hope that didn't sound too defensive! Oh well, I DID say I was going to be transparent.

Let me make one thing very clear...I'm not writing this for pity...I'm writing this for PRAYER! Every vocation needs to be bathed in prayer...and perhaps no vocation needs to be more bathed in prayer than preaching.

Preaching will fall on deaf ears and hard hearts and no sustained spiritual transformation will occur in listeners' lives unless preaching is a work of God before it is a work of man. And THAT is exactly where I get so thick-headed. Like everything else in my life, I've always "believed" and acted from a world-view or paradigm that says "hard work" is the difference maker in all we attempt in life. Fact is, I LOVE the hard work connected to my vocation.

I've never given birth...obviously...but I've been with my bride during all three of our children's births...ladies, please don't be offended by this, but the best illustration I can give to help you understand what sermon preparation is like every week is giving birth. Before I knew anything about giving birth, I thought the child actually being finally delivered was the pain of childbirth. It didn't take long to realize how wrong I was...it is the LABOR PAINS OF childbirth that are so painful. Sermon prep is the LABOR of preaching...delivery on Sunday morning is really a piece of cake.

But here's the deal: the delivery will give birth to the wind unless God is in the House! God must LIVE and BREATHE in the message, in the messenger, and in those who receive the message.

I could be the greatest student in the world; I could find the most riveting illustrations available; I could make the Word of God come alive in relevance to your daily life; I could preach with passion and energy and conviction...but if God's Spirit does not come upon me with an anointing that only He can supernaturally grant...and if God's Spirit does not fall upon the listeners with a similar supernatural anointing...people might be impressed; they might be emotionally moved; they might leave with a desire to work on some behavioral change...but they will not be brought into life-changing contact with the Living God.

So...pray for your preacher. Pray every day for the anointing of God's Spirit to fall on him. Pray every day for your own heart to be prepared for the Word of God proclaimed in the church. Pray every day for the Spirit of God to fall upon the congregation. It's the only way life transformation will occur. The Christian life is supernatural...

And by the way...all this is more relevant to your own vocation, whether home-maker or "butcher or baker or candle-stick maker," than you realize. The Fall has affected every vocation...weeds, thorns, thistles grow wherever we work, whatever we do. So pray for the work of the Spirit to be upon your vocation, your daily work as well.

One more thing...and this is key...and this is controversial (not to me, but to others)--none of this is very relevant if you are not attending a church where the preacher actually believes the Bible is the very word of God! If you are going to a church where the preacher thinks the Bible is just a human book, is filled with error, and he only uses it to tell stories that lead to some moralistic platitude at the end...leave that church...it's a waste of your time.

I try to be a gracious man...but a preacher who doesn't believe the Bible is God's word is the greatest oxymoron of human existence.

So remember...pray for your preacher!

Events of Holy Week Part 8--Resurrection Sunday

2010-04-04T06:03:00.005-05:00

What can you say about Easter Sunday that hasn't already been said...it is quite simply the event that has changed history...His Story...no event has had a greater impact upon this planet than the resurrection...it is the entire, sole foundation of the Christian faith...remove it, take it away, and the entire Christian World-view falls to the ground.

I can never quite "get" people who say, "Well, even if it's not true, living a Christian life is the best life one can live while on earth." Paul says, "That's crazy!"...well, he didn't REALLY say it like that...but he did say that if Christ be not raised than we,we Christians, we believers, we Christ-followers, of ALL people on the planet, are MOST to be PITIED!

Paul was an absolute realist about the resurrection...if it happened, then Jesus was who He said He was...God in the Flesh...the Messiah, the ONLY Savior of the World and the King of Kings and Lord of Lords and the One worthy of our whole hearts...no, even more, the One who Commands that we love Him with all our heart, soul, mind and strength and live our lives for His glory and His honor alone! BUT...if the resurrection didn't occur, Jesus was a fraud and his disciples, worse.

But in fact, Christ HAS been raised from the dead. People have tried to disprove it for 2000 years.

Just a few thoughts here: why would a small group of people who were part of the most religious people on the planet (Jews), suddenly change their day of worship from Saturday to Sunday? These were a people that took God's Law as unchanging...yet all over the world Christian Churches (Christianity began among the Jews, remember) meet on Sunday...the only explanation...Jesus was raised on the First Day of the Week.

Secondly, we know that ALL the disciples met a martyr's death (well, except for John...he was boiled in oil and then exiled on the island of Patmos). Do you honestly think that these man (and many others, would die for something they KNEW to be a lie? There have been many attempts at foisting a lie upon others, and it always unravels (think of Watergate...there was every reason in the world for those involved to maintain the lie to protect themselves, the President, the nation and to stay out of jail...yet eventually they cracked and the lie was exposed and the truth came out!).

There is nothing like it in all of history...men and women dying for something they knew to be a lie? The early church was persecuted and people were paraded to violent deaths proclaiming that Jesus, in fact, was raised from the dead.

Then there is the fact that no one ever produced the Body of Jesus. That's all that had to be done...just produce the Body...and to think the disciples stole it? The cowardly bunch? And again, if they did, they all died for a lie? It takes more "blind faith" to NOT believe the resurrection occurred!

There are so many reasons to believe that Easter is based on fact...it's no myth. It happened in time and space. There are scores of books that spend more time than I have...if you REALLY have questions...check them out.

The Resurrection of Christ from the dead is one of the most historically defensible events ever...but it's not just that is historically and truly true that is important...its what it means for us.

The resurrection of Christ from the dead means that God has accepted the finished work of Christ as being completely sufficient to remove the stain and guilt of our sin. It means that those who hope in Christ are adopted and sons and daughters of God, being given the same exact standing and status before the Holy God of the universe that Jesus Himself has...it's what the Bible means when it says we are justified by grace through faith in the promises of God in the Gospel...justified...God treats us, declares us to be a justified people..."just-as-if-I'd" never sinned and "just-as-if-I'd" done everything He ever commanded with absolute perfection...the resurrection says that God accepts Christ's work as absolutely sufficient.

U2's song, Window in the Skies, is all about how God cut a hole, a window, in the skies, that His love might fall upon the planet through Christ...and that humanity might see into heaven...and eventually live there. The words of the song talk all about the resurrection of Christ and our response to it. Bono's response to such love and grace is to "rhapsodize," to sing. What is YOUR response?

Many of the words are so critical to Easter I have to include them as well as a video...

Bono begins by singing, “The shackles are undone, the bullet’s quit the gun.” He is singing of the amazing truth that through grace the shackles of slavery to sin and death have been undone. So have the shackles of self-condemnation and self-absorption!

"The bullet's quit the gun." The punishment at the Hand of a Just Judge has been taken away by a Substitute…thus, the bullets are taken away…for those in Christ, wrath is shooting blanks! We are led away from the firing squad to live throughout all eternity in complete safety and security before God!

Then, “the heat that’s in the sun (hear “Son”) will keep us when there’s none…when the coldness of the world and the freeze of a broken planet come upon us, there’s the Son filled with the warmth of His love!

“The Rule has been disproved.” The rule of law that says unless you are perfect, you will die, both physically and spiritually has been disproved...disarmed. The rule of law is more like the rule of karma—you get what you deserve. Grace disproves the rule of The Law which condemns us to judgment. Grace in Christ grants us what we don’t deserve...favor where we deserve rejection.

“The Stone, it has been moved.” On the first Easter, the Stone was rolled away, revealing that the Crucified Lord had been raised from the dead! So, as a result of the hope of the resurrection…

“The grave is now a groove.” The grave, for the believer, is simply a seemless groove into a God-filled eternity…no more crying, no more pain, no more sorrow, now more sin. Death has been defeated! No more need to fear death.

“All debts are removed.” The debt we owe an infinitely holy and just God because of our failure has been paid in full by the One who came to live the life we couldn’t live and die the death we couldn’t die…

“Oh can’t you see what LOVE has done?...Love left a window in the skies.” There is NOW a way we can look into the heavens and SEE our Creator! We can look in upon God and He looks down upon us in Christ with favor, delight and care!

"I've got no shame," Bono sings out, because the finished work of Christ on the cross has removed shame for the believer.

Bono has been struck by a Love that undoes shackles and overcomes "karma" through grace. Bono sings confidently of the Love that left an undeniable witness...a "stone" that has been removed, leaving nothing but an Empty Grave. Bono sings joyfully of the Love that removes all debts, brings hate to its knees and enables him to "rhapsodize," the entire reason Bono gives for his singing is as a response of love to the Love that made a Window in the Skies...oh, and one more thing...notice how many times Bono raises his hands in praise...might be a good thing for us to do today as well...

Events of Holy Week Part 7--Silent Saturday

2010-04-03T11:16:00.003-05:00

Silence is hard for me. It's awkward. I'm one of those guys who always seeks to fill those empty moments with something...anything...often to my own regret. Silence in conversations with others in one thing...sensing nothing but silence from above is another thing altogether.

Imagine what the disciples were thinking on this Jewish Sabbath: "What were we thinking? What have we done with the past three years of our lives? What are we going to do now? Do I still remember how to fish?"

There are only a couple of things we know about this day. In Luke 23:56 we read that "they rested according to the commandment." Yeah right. I'm sure the actually DID "rest" according to the Law...that is, they did no work...but how much "rest of the heart" did they experience?

It's ironic, actually. The entire history of the Jewish Sabbath actually pointed to Easter Weekend...the whole point of God's people resting from actual work one day a week was a symbol of the Gospel Truth that Christ would do ALL the work required for us to be made right with God so that we could rest from our own works/efforts/performances that seek to merit God's acceptance, blessing, love and favor. How little the disciples understood that this Silent Saturday, this Sabbath between Good Friday and Resurrection Sunday was the inauguration of the truest celebration of the Sabbath in all of history!

Another application of their obedience to the commandment to rest on this Sabbath has to do with how we normally react when things get out of control. So often in Scripture we are told to "WAIT" for the Lord; so often we are commanded to "stand still and watch the salvation of God." Yet is in the tightest spots that call for the greatest trust that we tend to rely upon human effort, human ingenuity and natural resources to get us out of the predicament. To rest and wait for the Lord and His supernatural resources is the hardest calling of the Christian...especially when the refrain of the world is "Don't just sit there, do something." I'm not lessening the call to human responsibility (trust me, I can be one of the most self-disciplined, self-reliant, self-sufficient people on the planet--I say that to my own shame, not to boast)...I'm simply emphasizing the call to rest in the Lord and wait for Him to work when things are tough.

The other element of Silent Saturday referenced in Scripture is found in Matthew 27:62-66--the chief priests and the Pharisees went to Pilate and told him that while alive, Jesus had told His disciples repeatedly that He would rise from the dead after three days. So, they persuaded Pilate to make the tomb secure with a Roman seal and to have a guard of soldiers stationed at the tomb.

The world will try all they can to stop the truth of the Gospel from getting out...all to no avail. I'm often disappointed by how often I hear Christ-followers speaking to one another with such despair and panic in their voices over what is happening in the world...how atheists are getting more organized or how Christians are having more liberties threatened...didn't Jesus say "the gates of hell will not prevail against the church?" "If God is for us who can be against us?" "We are more than conquerors." The world can no more slow down the progress of the gospel than a silly Roman seal and several Roman soldiers could prevent Christ from rising from the dead! Come on, Church, show some faith!

But let's not minimize how hard of a day this must have been for the disciples...confused...afraid...disillusioned...despairing... depressed...they must have felt a little "stuck." They were unsure what to do. They had met Jesus and He had changed everything...they couldn't go back. But He was gone. Dead. What would it mean to try to go forward...they were stuck...stuck in a moment.

We all get stuck from time to time...stuck in fear; stuck in despair; stuck in depression; stuck in confusion...Silent Saturday is a good day to pull out a U2 fave..."Stuck in a Moment"...and remember, as Bono sings, "that if you're way should falter, it's just a moment...it's just a moment...it's just a moment...it's just a moment...and this time shall pass..."

(by the way, this was U2 at Croke Park in Dublin on July 24, 2009 and, yep, I was at this very performance!)

Events of Holy Week Part 6--Good Friday

2010-04-02T06:35:00.011-05:00

Good Friday? Hmmm. What a strange name for a day of such horror...what can be good about a day that is known for the greatest travesty of true justice in all of history? How can it be good that an innocent Man be found guilty through false testimony and rail-roaded to a verdict of guilty?

The answer is this: it's Good Friday because of the good that Man accomplished on behalf of His people! It's Good Friday because the "punishment that brought us peace was upon Him, and by His wounds we are healed (Read Isaiah 53 today sometime).

I've already shared the timeline...a timeline which, of course, is known precisely. In Mark 15:25 we learn that Christ was placed upon the cross at 9am local time (Jerusalem time). Jerusalem is 8 hours ahead of the Central Time zone...so Christ was actually placed upon the cross at 1am Friday morning, central time. Then we know from Luke 23:44-48 that darkness covered the land from noon until 3pm local time (4am-7am central time). The 7am hour in Birmingham, Alabama is approaching as I type these words...the minutes almost feel more holy...the approaching change of the hour takes on new significance.

The real wonder of the Christian faith is that it is entirely rooted in history...in time and in space. You could hop on a plane and in a matter of hours visit spots where the very events recorded in the Gospels occurred. If you were there by 3pm Jerusalem time, you could spend a quiet moment reflecting that at that precise hour Jesus yielded His Spirit and said, "It is finished."

What was finished? Redemption! Salvation! It's called Good Friday because though it is true that "we ALL like sheep have gone astray...and EACH of us have turned to our own way...it is ALSO true that the LORD has laid on HIM the iniquity of us all (Isaiah 53:6).

Think about that...and you'll know afresh why it's called GOOD Friday. There IS a Creator...One to Whom we ARE accountable. Why do we feel guilt? Much of the time because we KNOW we ARE guilty!

Where did the conscience come from? Is it some cosmic joke...something that just appeared after billions of years of evolution? Did the impersonal universe plus time plus chance suddenly thrust the "human animal" outside of the helpful realities of his/her own existence? Did we suddenly evolve a conscience so that we have a sense of right and wrong that is merely illusionary? Did we suddenly evolve a thirst for meaning and significance that is unfulfillable because we are really just a cosmic accident?

I love talking to the unchurched...and the de-churched...I love to make people think...why do we deal with guilt...and shame...and self-condemnation...why? Because we know deeply within our own souls that we don't even live up to our OWN standards...let alone the standards of a Holy Creator God. Sin is real...it may not be popular to say...but that doesn't change the reality. Sin is real. Guilt is real. Judgment is real. Hell is real. Christ is Coming Back.

Good Friday is the day on which all those realities were faced...and a particular day on which WE are forced to grapple with what we believe about eternal realities.

So...what are YOU going to do about Good Friday? It's not "good" automatically? All the benefits of the day are not just magically applied to every person on the planet.

It's Decision Time folks.

Who are you ultimately looking to in order to deal with the reality of your guilt, shame and self-condemnation? It's a black or white question...EITHER you are ultimately looking to yourself and your own efforts to build some kind of record of righteousness that you hope will win God's approval and merit His forgiveness OR you are choosing to trust in and rest in and hope in the obedient life Christ lived and the substitutionary death He died to GIVE you forgiveness as a matter of free grace...no matter what you've done...no matter where you've been.

But Good Friday isn't a day that merely offers people "Fire Insurance (from hell)" from above...trusting Christ is an all or nothing proposition...He calls for all of you (and me)...all the time...for the rest of your life. There is nothing half-hearted about following this God-Man who hung on a cross...there is no turning to Jesus as Savior and refusing to bow the knee to Him as Lord.

Listen...none of us who follow Christ, follow Him perfectly...that's the WHOLE point of Good Friday! It is NOT my capacity to "make Christ Lord/Master/Boss" of my life that gives me God's approval...that favor, blessing and forgiveness was purchased by Christ and Christ alone...however, grace that saves a person ALWAYS changes a person.

ALWAYS.

I'll never forget my "first" Easter...it was 1980...the first time Easter got personal...it was just a few months prior that I gave my life to trust and follow Christ...and nothing has been the same since. Maybe this year can be YOUR first Easter. Trust Him.

Maybe some of us have had our FIRST Easter years ago...but have lost our "first Love." What a time to renew your allegiance...to recommit your life...to surrender afresh...to offer every nook and cranny of your heart to Christ...don't expect perfection, simply trust and surrender afresh...it is CHRIST who makes us new and renews us daily.

Huh...I just looked at the clock on my Mac...it is exactly 7am! Guess I'm finished.

Now...as far as a U2 clip...I wish I had their song "White as Snow" from their latest album, "No Line on the Horizon." It could possibly be the most blatent Christ-centered song they've ever performed. I can't find a place where they've performed it in front of anyone...so here are the lyrics...

(however, there is a home-made video of the song on You Tube if you're interested--just copy and paste in your browser)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p1tFa9e9rJA

Where I came from there were no hills at all
The land was flat, the highways straight and wide
My brother and I would drive for hours
Like years instead of days
Our faces as pale as the dirty snow

Once I knew there was a love divine
Then came a time I thought it knew me not
Who can forgive forgiveness where forgiveness is not
Only the Lamb as white as snow

And the water, it was icy
As it washed over me
And the moon shone above me

Now this dry ground it bears no fruit at all
Only poppies laugh under the crescent moon
The road refuses strangers
The land the seeds we sow
Where might we find the Lamb as white as snow

As boys we would go hunting in the woods
To sleep the night shooting out the stars
Now the wolves are every passing stranger
Every face we cannot know
If only a heart could be as white as snow
If only a heart could be as white as snow

Of course, what Bono is trying to get us to think about is obvious...if only? If ONLY? Ha! It CAN be!

Events of Holy Week Part 5--Holy Thursday/Maundy Thursday

2010-04-01T08:23:00.007-05:00

(Be sure and check out the rest of the series - which I started on Palm Sunday).

When our children were small we'd love to read them the book entitled Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day...a day when everything went wrong in one young boy named Alexander's day. Well, Thursday and the dark hours of early Friday of Holy Week could be called PETER and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day.

Certainly Good Friday was roughest on Jesus as He endured so much suffering, pain and eventually death on the cross...but for Peter, things were pretty bad.

First of all, during the Last Supper, in front of all his friends, Jesus tells Peter that he will deny Him 3 times (Luke 22:34). Ouch!

Then, after the Last Supper, Jesus goes to the Garden of Gethsemane on the Mount of Olives to pray...He specifically asks Peter and James and John to pray for Him. In Mark 14:37 Jesus specifically asks Peter..."Are you asleep? Could you not watch for one hour?" Ouch...again!

Next, when Judas comes with the crowd to betray Jesus, Peter (John 18:10) takes up a sword and cuts off one of the servants' ears...and then Jesus has to rebuke Peter, again, in essence, telling him that he is setting his sights on the things of men and not the things of God...the very rebuke Christ gave to Peter when he tried to rebuke Jesus after He told them He was going to die (Matthew 16:23).

Finally, and of course this is really more very early Friday than part of Thursday, but it fits with the flow of the worst 24 hours of Peter's life, he does in fact end up denying Christ 3 times...eventually even calling curses upon himself if it would be possible that he is lying about not knowing Jesus...then, of course, the cock crows...and think about it...every day for the rest of his life, Peter was awakened wherever he was by the crowing of the rooster...how'd YOU like to be reminded every day of your worst failure?!

You'll recall that in Matthew 16, Peter before anyone else gets to it, confesses the truth that Jesus is God; that He is Messiah; that He is the Son of the Living God. And when Peter makes that confession, Jesus says upon that confession He will build His church...Jesus did NOT mean that upon PETER He would build the church...Peter is NOT the first POPE! But Jesus does say He will give the leaders of those who make the confession of Christ as Savior and Lord "the keys of the Kingdom."

Imagine what a failure Peter thought he was after the events of late Thursday/early Friday! Could he ever be restored? And here's where the different between regret and repentance show up so clearly. Judas failed too...but he was only filled with regret...remorse without hope. Peter failed, but was filled with repentance...honest acknowledgement of failure, but filled with a hope of forgiveness, love and restoration. When you fail, are filled with regret...or repentance.

U2 sings a song called "The First Time." For the first time, I feel love. Bono goes through all three Persons of the Trinity. Now I know some of you will freak out because Bono refers to the Holy Spirit in feminine terms (as does William Young in The Shack). But the fact is, there are times in Scripture when God allows Himself to be described in terms of a loving mother, though certainly it is ultimately orthodox to refer to the Holy Spirit as He...don't let Bono's poetic license freak you out so you miss the beauty of the song.

Imagine Peter, thinking about his confession of Christ as God, remembering the promise of receiving the keys of the Kingdom...and then considering all that in light of the horrible, no good, very bad day he has today...imagine his doubts, his struggles to feel hope and love and forgiveness...imagine...Peter, the apostle, going through the same things we go through when we fail.

Listen VERY carefully to this Song...the Holy Spirit helps, Jesus is a Brother when we're in need and though we are so often running away, He runs after us. The Father has a mansion with many rooms (Gospel of John), He has a rich man's cloak (Parable of the Prodigal Son--Luke 15)...and Peter feels as though he has left through the back door of the mansion and thrown away the key...he is broken...

...but Jesus raises from the dead and specifically shows up and restores Peter...as He will us if we live in repentance and not merely regret.

If you can't understand EACH and EVERY word of the song...look up the lyrics...you do NOT want to miss this one.

There's always hope!

Events of Holy Week Part 4--Holy, but Dark, Wednesday

2010-03-31T08:21:00.007-05:00

We come now to a day of Holy Week for which we have little information. We do read in Mark 14:1 that the Passover was only "two days away." The Jewish calendar always looked at days inclusively and treated even a part of a day as a whole day...so Passover was on Thursday, but since the meal was eaten in the evening, both Wednesday AND Thursday were treated as whole days so that Passover was, in fact, according to how they looked at time, 2 days away, not just "the next day" as we would normally say.

This makes more sense, then, of how the Bible could say that Jesus was in the tomb 3 days...because Friday night was counted as a whole day, Saturday of course was, and Sunday from mid-night on until He rose was also counted as a whole day.

Anyway, this Holy Wednesday is also called "Dark Wednesday" or "Spy Wednesday" because it is on this day that Judas decides to betray Jesus. In Mark 14:10-11 Judas agrees to look for an opportunity to betray Jesus (see also Luke 22:2-5)...he is "spying out" the right time. It is a Dark Day, both in Judas' life and for Jesus as well.

As you think of Judas as a disciple and betrayer, be aware of one thing...none of the disciples suspected for a moment that Judas could be the betrayer. Even around the Table at Passover when Jesus says clearly that one of the disciples will betray Him, they all wondered who it might be...there was NOTHING about the outward life of Judas that revealed he would be the one...and THAT is scary.

There are many in the church who CALL themselves Christians, and who OUTWARDLY seem to live the Christian life, who end up being exposed as frauds...may we pray for each other that we would be, by God's grace, the "real deal." But let Judas' life also be a warning to all of us...Jesus says it is the one who perseveres to the end who will be saved. The Christian life can't be lived on past laurels or experiences. Daily Continuance is evidence of a grace-filled heart. There is a need for us to guard our hearts and to examine ourselves regularly to see whether or not we are in the faith.

I don't say this to upset your faith...but to get us all to realize how desperately we need grace on a daily basis. We need community to keep us on the straight and narrow, both in belief and behavior.

One possible cause of Judas "snapping" could be what we read of in Mark 14:3-9 (Matt 26:6-13). A woman who had lived a sinful life (a euphemism for prostitute) anointed Jesus' head with very expensive perfume...as a matter of fact it was worth an entire year's wages!

On Monday we learned that Jesus drove out the money changers and merchants in the Temple courts because they were gouging the poor...from a rational perspective it DOES seem a bit inconsistent that Jesus would care about the poor and yet a year's worth wage of perfume be dumped on his head...on the surface, the disciples had a point...it could have been sold and the money given to the poor.

As inexplicable as it seems, sometimes God wants us to be extravagant toward the Kingdom...sometimes money should be spent in a way that honors Christ in a way different than through taking care of the poor. Judas apparently couldn't handle the tension and it seemed to be the straw that broke the camel's back...he lost faith in Jesus as the One who could deliver them from Roman oppression...so he agrees to betray Him.

On another level, how might you have opportunity to show extravagance toward Christ and toward the Kingdom of God that would be an unusual use of finances? It's something to consider during this Holy Week.

As far as our U2 connection today...the choice is obvious...they song "Until the End of the World" is all about Judas' betrayal. Even though it doesn't occur until tomorrow, since it was planned today, I'm including in this devotional...plus, there are other songs that fit with the events of Passover Thursday.

Events of Holy Week Part 3--Holy Tuesday

2010-03-30T07:22:00.009-05:00

We're trying to follow, as best we are able to guess, how the events of Holy Week occurred. We're pretty sure from the Gospel of Mark that we have some confidence of the chronology we've followed so far. In Mark 11:1-11 we read of Palm Sunday. Then in Mark 11:12, we're told about "the next day" which would be Holy Monday when He cursed the fig tree and then drove out the money changers and merchants who were gouging the poor by overcharging for Passover sacrificial animals (see the past few days blogs for all this).

It is now Holy Tuesday because we are told in Mark 11:20 that Jesus and the disciples went along "in the morning," after they had left the city the previous night following Christ cleansing the Temple.

So on Holy Tuesday, we discover these events:

First, Jesus wasn't afraid of a fight. In Mark 11:27-33 the chief priests and elders (the conservative RELIGIOUS folk!) came to Jesus and challenged His authority to teach and to do what He was teaching and doing. Jesus could see past their trap and asked THEM about the authority of John the Baptist...He caught them in a no-win situation, and they left Him alone. Then in Mark 12:18-27, other religious leaders, this time the liberals, try to trap Him. The liberals didn't believe in a resurrection, but tried to trap Jesus in a question dealing with a woman who had married seven brothers because each one had died after marrying her, one after another. Jesus ends up rebuking the liberals who refuse to believe what the Bible teaches.

The application for us is obvious: we must avoid both extremes of dead conservativism and worthless liberalism. We must seek grace to avoid becoming either legalistic, self-righteous, self-reliant Pharisees on the one hand, or cheap grace, subjective, relativistic, truth-denying liberal Sadducees on the other hand...and, like Jesus, we ought to be willing to graciously pick of fight with any of them!

Second, Jesus took the opportunity on this final Tuesday of His earthly life to teach the people. He teaches again about His impending death and teaches boldly that He is the Stone that the builders reject and becomes the Cornerstone of God's Redemptive, Restorative plan for the cosmos.

He also teaches on the role of Christians in, as Augustine wrote, the City of God and the City of Man...we're to give to the civil government the honor they require and we are to give to God the honor He requires.

Then Jesus teaches, this just a few days before His death, His greatest commandment...to love the Lord our God with ALL our heart, soul, mind and strength...and He gives the second great commandment too...to love our neighbor as ourselves (Mark 12:28-34). May God give us His grace to love well!

We read that the widow's offering, two small coins that were all she had, occurred on this Holy Tuesday...are we sacrificial in our giving to the Kingdom of God?

Finally, Jesus teaches a lot on this Holy Tuesday about His Return and the End of the World. He talks about the separation of all humanity into the sheep and the goats; the former going to inhabit the New Earth and the latter suffering eternity apart from the Presence of God (Matt 25:31-46).

Now, we know that one is only rescued from hell and made a citizen of the New Earth by grace through faith in the finished work of Christ alone...but we also know that conversion is the supernatural work of the Spirit...a work that creates a new heart, a new nature...and therefore, a new lifestyle. Jesus makes it clear that those with new hearts, those who are sheep, who are destined to be inhabitants in the New Jerusalem, will take care of the hungry, the thirsty, the naked, the rejected and the imprisoned...how we doing there, Church?

Lastly, on Tuesday evening, most likely, Jesus teaches about the destruction of Jerusalem that would occur in 70AD. We know from Matthew 26:1-2 that Passover is still "two days away" so it's still Holy Tuesday. We read in Luke 21:5-36 that Jesus teaches on the signs of the End of the Age...wars, revolutions, EARTHQUAKES, famines, diseases and other fearful events.

This isn't fiction...this is history....and it is also prophecy. We were made for another world...a world that is quickly approaching. We are to live as those already citizens of the New Earth and we are to bring the restoring power of that New Earth to bear in all our activities, responsibilities and relationships every day. May we practice New World living on this Holy Tuesday.

Now, as far as the U2 connection for today's events on Holy Tuesday...since Jesus spoke so much on this day of the World to Come, it's only appropriate that we use what is perhaps U2's greatest song, the song of heaven, of the New Jerusalem, Where the Streets Have No Name.

Notice Bono on his knees in prayer quoting Psalm 116:12-14 from The Message translation of the Bible: "What can I give back to God for the blessings He's poured out on me? What can I give back to God for the blessings He's poured out on me? I'll lift high the cup of salvation as a toast to our God...to follow through on a promise I made to You...from the heart."

Think about this place where there is "no sorrow and no shame..."

Events of Holy Week Part 2--Holy Monday

2010-03-29T08:21:00.004-05:00

We read in Luke 19:45-46 that Jesus sees merchants at the Temple selling animals for sacrifices for Passover. Jesus, even as He is facing His coming suffering is still concerned primarily with the unjust suffering and oppression of others. We must realize that Jews came from all over the world to Jerusalem for Passover and they were commanded to offer sacrifices. Since many traveled many, many miles, there we thousands who couldn't bring sacrificial animals with them.

Since they had to offer sacrifices, yet had none, many, especially the poor, were at the mercy of oppressive merchants who could charge outrageous amounts of money for sacrificial animals. Few things upset Jesus more than injustice...and His righteous anger against such oppression was kindled. Imagine the scene...Jesus, the meek One, turning over tables, throwing boxes of money. In Mark 11:15-17 we're told he threw the chairs of those selling pigeons...pigeons were the Passover sacrifices of the most impoverished...those who couldn't afford anything "nicer" like a lamb.

Christ came to not merely pay for our sins and bring us eternal life...Christ came to bring freedom to the oppressed...and He came to set us free from our own self-absorption so we too would fight against injustice. During this Holy Week, perhaps even on this Holy Monday...what tables and chairs can you "throw around" and "overturn" on behalf of the oppressed?

The other event that occurred on this Holy Monday is Jesus' cursing of the fig tree that didn't provide the fruit He desired (Matt 21:18-22). He uses it to teach the disciples on the power of prayer.

Do we believe the promises Christ gives us concerning prayer? Do we believe that if we ask in His Name and do not doubt we shall receive what we've asked of Him? And what DO we ask for? What is the CONTENT of our praying? Is it focused on self and all our little dreams for ourselves? Or, do we pray BIG prayers...KINGDOM prayers...that the rule and reign of Jesus and the restoration of the cosmos that He promises would come in power?

U2 has written a song called "Crumbs from Your Table." Its a song about how the poor and oppressed of the world are just looking for some crumbs from the tables of Christ-followers to help them overcome oppression and disease and poverty in their worlds. Christians talk about revival in terms of "signs and wonders" and "miracles" when the greatest sign of Christ is often revealed in the Church taking care of orphans, widows and other disenfranchised people. It fits will with Jesus overturning the tables of the money changers in the Temple...and it certainly gives us something to pray for on this Holy Monday.

Here are the lyrics:
From the brightest star
Comes the blackest hole
You had so much to offer
Why did you offer your soul?
I was there for you baby
When you needed my help
Would you deny for others
What you demand for yourself?

Cool down mama, cool off
Cool down mama, cool off

You speak of signs and wonders
I need something other
I would believe if I was able
But I'm waiting on the crumbs from your table

You were pretty as a picture
It was all there to see
Then your face caught up with your psychology
With a mouth full of teeth
You ate all your friends
And you broke every heart thinking every heart mends

You speak of signs and wonders
But I need something other
I would believe if I was able
But I'm waiting on the crumbs from your table

Where you live should not decide
Whether you live or whether you die
Three to a bed
Sister Ann, she said
Dignity passes by

And you speak of signs and wonders
But I need something other
I would believe if I was able
I'm waiting on the crumbs from your table

Events of Holy Week Part 1--Palm Sunday

2010-03-28T08:21:00.008-05:00

Palm Sunday is one of the better known elements of Holy Week...it involved the "Triumphal Entry" of Christ into Jerusalem. The Jewish people were looking for a Deliverer to free them from the oppressive rule and bondage of Rome. They were looking for the One who would lead them to the Golden Age of Prosperity, Safety and Security...what Jesus brought as King was even more than they could have ever imagined!

Our cruelest oppressors are not people who threaten us with injustice or somehow seem to keep us from prosperity....our cruelest oppressor is the condemnation of the Law of God and sin that enslaves us to our worst nightmares. Christ entered Jerusalem as the King Who would conquer sin, satan and death. Jesus is the King of Kings who brings us the spiritual freedom we all long for, but most of the time, don't even realize we're longing for.

And this Palm Sunday, think about this: Jesus didn't merely come to conquer our enemies of sin and satan and death...He came to conquer our own hearts as well! Is every area of your heart surrendered to Him today? Is He YOUR King and are you following Him as YOUR Lord and Master? Is there any area of your life that you are keeping from the King today? Offer it to Him as a gift this Palm Sunday. Let revival come to you today by His grace!

Read The Triumphal Entry in Luke 19:28-40--Are YOU shouting out His praise for all He has done in freeing you from condemnation and shame? Are you singing His glory for the freedom from the rule and reign of sin He has promised those who hope in Him?

Bono and U2 had an album in 1981 that Rolling Stone actually called a "Christian album." It's called October. On the album is a song called "Gloria." It uses the latin phrase "Gloria, in te Domine; Gloria...exultate; Gloria...Gloria" which translates, according to Wikipedia: "Glory in you, Lord / Glory, exalt [him]" with "exalt" in the imperative mood, a reference to Psalm 30:2 (in te Domine, speravi). The song also contains references to Colossians 2:9-10 ("Only in You I'm complete")"...similar to what the people lining the streets into Jerusalem sang and shouted as Jesus, the King, entered the city....read the words and watch the 1981 video...

I try to sing this song
I...I try to stand up
But I can't find my feet
I try, I try to speak up
But only in You I'm complete

Gloria...in te Domine
Gloria...exultate
Gloria...Gloria
Oh Lord, loosen my lips

I try to sing this song
I...I try to get in
But I can't find the door
The door is open
You're standing there
You let me in

Gloria...in te domine
Gloria...exultate
Oh Lord, if I had anything
Anything at all
I'd give it to You
I'd give it to You

Gloria...Gloria...

Another element of this day is Jesus weeping over Jerusalem...Luke 19:41--as you approach Holy Week...ask God for the gift of tears...ask God to put people on your heart who don't have the passion of singing and shouting praise to King Jesus. Ask God to break your heart over the plight of people who live without the life of Christ flowing into their souls.

Finally, remember this: this same crowd that on Palm Sunday shouted praise to King Jesus, several days later changed their cries to "Crucify Him!" We are such a fickle people...filled with faith one minute, doubt and unbelief the next...may God grant us grace to persevere and to fight the good fight of faith!

Chronology of Holy Week with a U2 Twist

2010-03-27T11:45:00.004-05:00

I began to wonder, with all the spirituality of Bono and U2's lyrics, could I find a way to mesh some of their more "blatent" Christ-centered songs with the days of Holy Week.

Today is Saturday...the last Sabbath Jesus was alive before His crucifixion...a day of worship...what was going through His mind as He read and heard Scripture all pointing to Him...all pointing to the events of this week?

Though the song "Magnificent" is Bono's autobiography and his call to sing to the Lord...it fits with the song of Christ's life as well.

A Likely Chronology of Holy Week

2010-03-27T11:16:00.003-05:00

I had some time because of the Palm Sunday Worship Program tomorrow to think about Holy Week. I have been amazed that there is so little out there on any kind of chronology of the days. So, here's my attempt...may it lead you devotionally this week to love Christ more and overflow with gratitude for the love and grace of God...

Sabbath before Palm Sunday
John 12:1-8—worship, teaching, fellowship meal, Mary anoints Jesus

Palm Sunday
Luke 19:28-40--The Triumphal Entry
Luke 19:41-44—Jesus Weeps over Jerusalem

Monday (b/c of Matt 21:18-19 and Mark 11:12)
Matt 21:18-19—Jesus curses the fig tree
Luke 19:45-46—Jesus cleanses the Temple; anger at injustice
Mark 11:19—evening they went out of the city

Tuesday
Mark 11:20-26—in the morning—teaches on faith and prayer
Luke 19:47-48—Jesus teaches in the Temple and chief priests plot
(Mt 21:23-22:46)
Luke 20:1-8—chief priests question His authority; John the Baptist
Mt 26:1-2--Olivet Discourse—Late Tuesday Evening

Wednesday
Luke 22:3-5 (called “Dark Wednesday” or “Spy Wednesday”)

Thursday
Luke 22:7-38—Last Supper (lamb slaughtered around noon, then prep)
Luke 22:39-46—Prayer in Garden of Gethsemene
Luke 22:47-53—Judas’ Betrayal

Friday
Luke 22:54-62—Peter’s Denial
Luke 22:63-65—Jesus mocked
Luke 22:66-71—at daybreak, Jesus’ “trial”
Luke 23:1-5—Jesus before Pilate
Mt 27:3-10—Judas hangs himself
Luke 23:6-12—Jesus before Herod
Luke 23:13-25—Jesus scourged and sent to crucifixion (Mt 27:26)
Luke 23:26-32—the walk to Golgotha
Mark 15:25—it was the third hour when they crucified Him
Third hour=9am
Luke 23:44-48—from the 6th hour until 9th hour—darkness
Noon until 3pm
Seven Words of Christ on the Cross
Father, forgive them . . . (Luke 23:34) 
This day you will be with me in paradise (Luke 23:43) 
Woman, behold your son . . .(John 19:26-27) 
My God, my God . . . (Matthew 27:46, Mark 15:34) 
I thirst. (John 19:28) 
It is finished! (John 19:30) 
Father into your hands . . . (Luke 23:46)
Luke 23:46—Jesus breathed His last
John 19:30—It is Finished
Mark 15:42—when evening had come, body taken
Luke 23:50-56—Joseph of Arimathea—tomb

Saturday
Luke 23:56—on the Sabbath they rested according to the commandment
Matt 27:62-66—A Roman guard set up to protect the tomb

Sunday
Luke 24:1-12—on the first day of the week, at early dawn
Jn 20:3-8—this happened in the early morning
Mary goes to tomb, stone rolled away, she runs and tells Ptr/Jn
Confusion; believed, but w/o complete understanding
Jn 20:10—peter/john then went back to their homes—stunned
What’s it all mean? But apparently separate for day
Jn 20:11—Mary stays, angels appear to Mary but not Jesus yet
Jn 20:14—now Jesus appears, but again, she doesn’t recognize Him
Doubts can only ultimately dealt w/ by supernatural grace
God can and does use secondary means, but not intell probl ult
Jn 20:18—Mary went and announced…still early morning—Lk 24:9
Only not told in Lk24 that Jesus appeared to Mary after angels
Matt 28:8-9—get more of the same picture here
Mark 16:8—before Jesus appr’d to Mary, only filled w/ fear
No boldness in witness; silence—said nothing to anyone
Lk 24:11-12—it wasn’t just Thomas…ALL the disciples thot idle tale
The women were told by the angels, no one seen Jesus yet
and it STILL isn’t JUST Thomas who doubts
here again we read Peter ran to see, went home marveling
Lk 24:13-24—told story a/b morning, but Him they did not see vv23-24
EVERYONE is foolish and slow to believe—all wrestle w/ doubt
Doubt is not talked a/b enuf in the Church…
It’s talked a/b PLENTY in the Scriptures
Even John the Baptist had his doubts
Lk 24:29—Jesus explains Scripture, getting toward evening
Breaks bread, their eyes are opened—mystery of sacrament!
v31—their eyes were opened—takes supernatural power
Lk 24:33—went to find disciples…who are NOW gathered together
As day wore on, realized wild things are happening
Lk 24:34—at some point, while Peter marveling, Jesus appears to him
1 Cor 15—He appeared to Peter
Luke 24:38—Jesus appears, yet doubts arise in their hearts
Luke 24:41—they disbelieved for joy and were marveling
Luke 24:39-43—Xp goes to great lengths to diffuse their doubts
Disbelieved for joy?? Too good to be true?
Lk 24:45—He opened their minds, just as He HAD to do on Emmaus
Lk 24:47—b/c of what we know, must proclaim, manifest Xp thru gospl
Doubt leads to weak witnss; convictn leads to boldness in missn
BUT we need pwr from on high…filling of Holy Spirit
John 20:19—at evening Jesus appeared and showed them His hands and side
He didn’t really give them time to doubt…He addressed them
Thomas only asked for him to experience what the others given by grace

Imagine the gladness, the wonder, the joy...the responsbility...to whom much is given, much is required

What time is Worship?

2010-03-12T07:07:00.002-06:00

God clearly calls His people to worship Him...and clearly He calls every follower of Christ to unite with a local congregation and to be regularly in attendance...Church Attendance is a means of grace...it's the place where Christ is uniquely Present (1 Corinthians 5:4); it is the place we are told to never avoid but to seek out constantly (Hebrews 10:25)...the Church is where we receive the means of grace of prayer, the anointed teaching of the Scriptures, prayer and the sacraments.

Having said all that, we can ALSO worship anytime, anywhere...not as a SUBSTITUTE for sabbath celebration, but in ADDITION to!

I've joked with people many times that one of the places I have worshiped almost as well as in church has been at U2 concerts...you wouldn't believe the looks I get!

But Bono himself has been known to say in the midst of a concert, not arrogantly, but humbly, sensitively, "God is in the house!"

Join the concert...see if you can worship along...and seek to worship God today...wherever you are!

I, (State your name), am a recovering orphan, Part IV

2010-03-05T11:04:00.003-06:00

The final in my four-part series. If you missed yesterday's post, check it here

If you think about…all of our sin, failure and foolishness can ultimately be traced to "giving in" to an orphan mentality…the thought that we’re all alone in the world and there is no One Above Who loves us, cares for us and Who has a plan for our lives to be part of a Family and to live in a Home in a place of safety and strength.

I find it so amazing, interesting, even intriguing, that Jesus, near the time of going to the cross…near the time when the disciples would enter a season of great confusion, actually said to them, “I will NOT leave you…as ORPHANS” (John 14:18). Hmmmm.

It’s like…He knew.

He does.

We have this Deep Desire to hear the same words Jesus heard at His baptism: “You are My Beloved Son (or Daughter); with you I am well-pleased!” You are loved. You have a home. You are safe. You need not fear. You can be yourself. You don’t need to run. You no longer need to hide.

Come…join the family. Take your seat at the table.

Romans 8:15—You did not receive the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear; but you have received the Spirit of adoption as sons (and daughthers), by Whom we cry, “Abba! Father!”

Orphans tend to be self-consumed; they’ve rarely felt the love, affection, care, acceptance, or the sense of family they long for. Orphans who are adopted, however, eventually begin to be freed from self-absorption, through the process of love and care and a sense of belonging.

We’ll never love others unconditionally, we’ll never enter the risk of love, we’ll never be willing to give up our “rights” or be willing to truly sacrifice for others until we’re secure…and we’ll never truly be secure until we begin to plumb the depths of the reality of our adoption in Christ.

Part of our calling as image-bearers of the God Who created us is to seek to provide the safe place in our relationships where people have a home. Part of our calling as Christ-followers is to work to make our churches the New Garden, a place of safety and strength…a place others will feel at home…like Annie visiting “Daddy Warbuck’s” place at Christmas. We are to begin working now to re-make this world into the New Jerusalem...

Part of our calling as humans is to be the echo of the Voice of God to one another that says through the finished work of Christ…

“I will not leave you as orphans.”

Good news indeed.

I, (State your name), am a recovering orphan, Part III

2010-03-04T08:01:00.003-06:00

Be sure to check yesterday's post for Part II

I’m reminded of one of my favorite movies…The Martian Child. I’ll never forget the scene when Dennis (the orphan John Cusack’s character, David, is seeking to adopt), accidentally breaks something on Cusack’s desk. Dennis gets REALLY upset and asks “David” if he is going to send him back…”because he was bad.”

Hmmmm, sounds similar to my friend’s story (the story from yesterday's Blog...it's a Blog Mini-series...sorry!)

Actually, sounds similar to a LOT of my friends’ stories…not my “friends that have adopted children” stories…but my FRIENDS’ stories…

Actually, sounds similar to MY story…

One of the tragedies of the Fall of humanity into sin is that we adopted (ironic word I know) an orphan mentality. What’s an orphan mentality? Let me try to explain by referencing yet another movie…

In the movie “Millions” a young boy, Damien, finds lots of cash hidden by thieves. Somehow they discover Damien has the money and they ransack his house. When he and his dad come home one night Damien tells his dad about the money…which the thieves never found. Damien’s dad is planning on keeping the money, especially since his house has been ransacked. Damien tells his dad it’s wrong…Damien’s dad disagrees that it is wrong to keep the money, then delivers a key line as to why he thinks this way:

Damien’s dad says, “There’s no one looking out for us, Damien, so we’re going to look out for ourselves.”

Wow…now THAT is an orphan mentality.

And THAT is often my mentality.

I have a Father in heaven who loves me, cares for me and promises me all I need…but when I refuse to believe that…I act and live as an orphan.

And it affects EVERYTHING.

How I feel. How I react to circumstances. How I respond to others…EVERYTHING.

Some of us get easily defensive…it is our orphan mentality fearing exposure, rejection.

Some of us are very demanding…it is our orphan mentality fearing scarcity…there’s not enough to go around, there’s no one looking out for me, so I need to look out for myself…after all, it’s a dog-eat-dog world.

Some of us are filled with coping mechanisms of self-protection…it is our orphan mentality telling us, “leave them before they leave you…don’t allow yourself to get into a situation where you might experience loss.”

Some of us are afraid to risk…it is our orphan mentality leading us to fear losing the love and respect of our “family.”

Some of us are performers…it is our orphan mentality telling us the only reason we’re accepted and have a “family” is because we are coming through for others…if we fail, we’ll be rejected and alone. Show no weakness, or else…

Some of us are control freaks…it is our orphan mentality telling us that there is no one we can trust but ourselves.

Some of us are approval-addicts or people-pleasers…we are virtual chameleons, adapting to our environment, becoming whatever and whomever we sense the people around us want us to be…it is our orphan mentality telling us that if we want to belong, we can’t be ourselves, we can’t be real, we can’t be transparent.

Again...this "orphan mentality" is clearly a result of our brokenness, fallenness...and it's such an issue that God addresses it continually in the New Testament through all the Biblical teaching on "adoption." Do a word study, word search...you'll be amazed...but just for today...Read Ephesians 1 and Romans 8.

...One more thing...try to live as a beloved son/daughter IN Christ today.

I, (State your name), am a recovering orphan, Part II

2010-03-03T10:45:00.001-06:00

Yesterday I began a short blog-series on being a recovering orphan. Make sure to click here and read part I, or search in the label list to the right for "recovering orphan."

Because of the brokenness of life, unfortunately, just like with Annie, the “memory” of Miss Hannigan is never far away.

Amazingly, however, we have a “Daddy Warbucks.” In Christ, we have a Father in Heaven who pursues us and has fought the Enemy on our behalf and has adopted us by grace through faith into His own family.

Even still, there is this haunting, “old voice” of Miss Hannigan ringing in our ears.

I have a close friend who, along with his wife and other children, made a family decision to adopt a young girl from China. It’s been a beautiful thing to see. A couple weeks ago the family decided to take their “new” daughter to a Chinese parade celebrating the Chinese New Year. The thought was it might make her feel good to see some “familiar” faces after being brought into a brand new world of Caucasians…somehow, it didn’t work as planned…Their little girl became unexpectedly agitated after what had been a season of absolute peace and calm since entering our country and living in my friend’s home.

The only explanation that makes any sense is she panicked, thinking that perhaps she was going to be “rejected” or “given back” to the place she had lived for all her life, a place where she had no father or mother or brothers or sisters…I mean look at it from her perspective…seeing people that looked like her just reminded her of her “old life” as an orphan. What was she thinking? Did I do something wrong? Am I not really loved by these people? Will I ever be truly accepted?

We run into circumstances like that as well…even as adults, we face situations that seem to bring the fears of being all alone, rejected and uncared for to the front of our minds. We will battle slipping back into an orphan mentality all our days...and that's why God tells us often in the New Testament about our adoption in Christ.

A List of Some Favorite Reads

2010-03-03T07:49:00.001-06:00

People ask me all the time about some of my favorite books...usually meaning, books that helped me understand, process and internalize the Doctrines of Grace.

So....here SOME of them are....(not listed in any particular order)

1. The Institutes of the Christian Religion (ed by McNeill) by John Calvin

2. True Spirituality by Francis Schaeffer

3. Renewal as a Way of Life by Richard Lovelace

4. The Enemy Within by Kris Lungaard

5. Engaging God's World by Cornelius Plantinga, Jr.

6. The Gospel Mystery of Sanctification by Walter Marshall.

7. The God Who is There by Francis Schaeffer

8. The Sovereignty of God by A.W. Pink

9. Sin and Temptation by John Owen

10. Pilgrim's Progress by John Bunyan

11. The Marrow of Modern Divinity by Edward Fisher (notes by Thomas Boston)

12. The Return of the Prodigal Son by Henri Nouwen

13. The Ragamuffin Gospel by Brennan Manning

14. Instruments in the Redeemer’s Hands by Paul David Tripp

15. A Million Miles in a Thousand Years by Donald Miller

16. The Discipline of Grace by Jerry Bridges

17. Knowing God by J.I. Packer

18. Holiness by Grace by Bryan Chapell

19. The Key to Holiness by Charles Spurgeon

20. Life Together by Dietrich Bonhoeffer

(Of course, one way to cheat would be to read my Doctoral Dissertation: Gospel-Centered Mentoring, 2001 Covenant Theological Seminary, where I have an entire section summarizing and analyzing most of these works!)

I, (State your name), am a recovering orphan, part I

2010-03-02T11:00:00.001-06:00

Our school is putting on the play, “Annie,” later this month. You know the story…in the midst of the Great Depression an young orphaned girl with personality and determination is forced to live in an orphanage run by a mean, overbearing, drunk; a woman named Miss Hannigan. But Annie’s seemingly hopeless situation all changes when she’s invited to spend some time during Christmas at the home of a very wealthy businessman…Oliver Warbucks.
Eventually Warbuck’s heart is warmed by this little girl and he offers a reward to find her parents…which opens up a whole can of worms as people pretend to be Annie’s parents to get the money (We ultimately learn that Annie’s parents have died). As I’m sure you know, there’s a beautifully redemptive ending to the story as “Daddy” Warbucks adopts Annie himself.
This may come as a surprise…or not…
Annie’s story is EVERYONE’S story…in one way or another.
In Genesis 3, through the moral and spiritual failure of our common ancestors, we all inherited the spirit of “runaways.” When Adam and Eve sinned, they ran away from God and hid…they became “street children”…in a word, they, and we, became orphans.
…and this orphan mentality is hard-wired into our Operating System…we’re all looking for love and acceptance; we all have a deep desire for a home, a place to belong, a safe place where we no longer fear rejection. Whether we’re willing to admit it or not, we want to get back into the Garden where we can be honest, naked (real, transparent, authentic), unashamed and safe.

How to Be Un-Dragoned

2010-02-26T11:28:00.001-06:00

CS Lewis in his Chronicles of Narnia, Volume 6, The Voyage of the Dawn Treader (pp106-110) tells of one of the adventures of a stubborn, rather unhappy child named Eustace. By the way, this is more of my own paraphrase than directly quoting the book:

Eustace is tired of taking orders from the other children and sneaks off to get away and have his own adventure.

Along the way, Eustace sees a dying dragon go into its cave, and he follows it to get out of the rain. Once he sees the dragon die, he looks around and discovers all this treasure. Thinking if he had treasure the other children would listen to him and follow his orders, he packs his pockets and then falls asleep.

When he awakens, he senses movement and looks to his right and sees a dragon hand. Filled with fear that the dragon must not have really died, he runs out of cave, he runs and runs until he comes to a lake. Quite thirsty from running, he dips face to the water to drink, but as he looks at the water he sees the reflection of a dragon. Suddenly the horror hits him...With dragonish thoughts in his heart he had become a dragon!

Eustace then becomes quite sorry for the "monster" he had been to his cousins. Thankfully, the other children eventually find him and try to help him, but nothing can change him back into a boy. He was so miserable that he actually became nice. He helped the other children, but was still very sad.

One night, he saw a great lion walking toward him. Even as a dragon, Eustace said he was more afraid than he had ever been in his life. He followed the Great Lion to a great well. The Lion told him to undress and go down into thewater. But then it occurred to Eustace that he was a dragon; he couldn't undress. But perhaps he could shed his skin. He started scratching himself and the scales began to fall off. Eventually the entire dragon skin came off and it looked really ugly just sitting there.

Eustace began to walk down the steps into the water when he realized his skin was still scaly. He wasn't too upset, he just thought he had another skin under his first skin that needed to be pealed off as well. So he scratched and tore and this skin came off. He started to the water again, but again realized there was just more dragon skin underneath.

Finally, Aslan spoke. You will have to let Me undress you. Eustace was afraid of His claws, but he was desparate now, and willing to have the Lion do anything to save him. 'The very first tear he made was so deep that I thought it had gone right into my heart. And when he began pulling the skin off, it hurt worse than anything I've ever felt. The only thing that made it bearable was just the pleasure of feeling the stuff peel off.'

When he was finished, there was my skin lying on the grass, only very much thikcer, darker and uglier than when I had taken it off myself. Then the Lion threw me into the water, and I became a boy again.

What a picture of the Gospel...because of the Fall, we all wrestle with dragon-ish hearts, thoughts, behaviors, attitudes...and no matter how hard we try, we can't un-dragon ourselves. Our only hope is running to Christ daily so He will remove all that is dragon-like within us...and turn us more and more into the glory of His image day by day.

A Friend's Thoughts on This Broken World

2010-02-25T10:02:00.000-06:00

I was thinking about blogging something CS Lewis-ish on what happened yesterday in Orlando--a trainer killed by Tilly, a 12,000 pound Orca (Killer Whale). There's something so tragically "Narnia-ish" in this story...like when the whole country of Narnia was under the power of the white witch...many of the animals wild and dangerous when that's not the way it was supposed to be in Narnia. Lewis really had a grasp on the "glorious ruins" we are as humans and the "glorious ruin" this world is in every arena of life.

Of course, with Aslan giving his life, "the stone table (of the law of death, danger and disaster because of evil and rebellion) broke and death itself began working backwards (one of my most favorite quotes in all of the Chronicles)." Winter began to thaw in Narnia and Aslan was on the move! What a picture of the hope of the Gospel! Death working backwards in all of life...in the entire cosmos...yet we do not now entirely see all things subject to Christ...but we will...we will.

It is so very tragic that an animal, also affected by the fall, would turn on its trainer. Like I said, I was going to blog myself on this, but my dear friend Scotty Smith from Nashville did the same thing this morning...and as usual, Scotty puts things better than I could have anyway...

so here are Scotty's words (hope he doesn't mind)...

"Then I heard every creature in heaven and on earth and under the earth and on the sea, and all that is in them, singing: "To him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb be praise and honor and glory and power, forever and ever!" Revelation 5:13

Dear Lord Jesus, I cannot imagine the horror and trauma of those who witnessed the death of an Orca trainer yesterday at Sea World. We pray, especially for the children who were present… bring your healing hand and loving heart to bear. By whatever means you choose, we pray for your redeeming presence in this tragedy.

Jesus, gut-numbing events like this fuel my intense longing for the Day when “every creature in heaven and on earth and under the earth and on the sea, and all that is in them,” will sing your praise forever in the new heaven and new earth. What Isaiah whispered (Isaiah 11:6-9; 65:17-25) and John envisioned (Revelation 21:1-5), we will enjoy with them—this very world redeemed and restored by you, Lord Jesus—the one who is making all things new.

The very fact that Orca are better known as “Killer Whales” just underscores the fact that nothing in this broken world is the way it’s meant to be. Orca were meant to sing and play, not attack and devour. The odious stench of sin, decay and death permeate every sphere of your creation. In fact, it’s far more incomprehensible to realize that over half of the world’s families exist for a whole month on the price of one Sea World ticket. Have mercy, Lord Jesus, have mercy… I know that you have, and I know that you will."

Well said, Scotty...well said.

Even so, "Come quickly, Lord Jesus!"

Do You Have What it Takes?

2010-02-24T06:00:00.001-06:00

I only watch 2 television shows...well, that is, if all sports programs don't count (because, hey, they're not a series!). Anyway, the two shows I watch are 24 and LOST...LOST pierced my soul last night...wasn't really fair, 'cause I wasn't ready for it.

I am not EVEN going to try to tell you what LOST is about (though I will say it's like Back to the Future on steroids...but completely different!).

There is this one character, Jack, sort of the leader of a group of people who plane-crashed on a mysterious island. Jack is a doctor, a man of science who struggles with matters of faith. He had a rocky relationship with his dad...a man he could never quite please. Apparently, one day, Jack's dad looked straight at him and said "You don't have what it takes."

Now I'm sure in his own sick way, Jack's dad thought it might motivate Jack to succeed...what a stupid man.

It marked Jack for his entire life.

Imagine that.

A man with all his gifts, talents, abilities...living with the Echo in his mind every moment of every day..."You don't have what it takes." So sad.

I know something sadder...

Every human being, in one way or another, hears the same evil echo..."You don't have what it takes."

"You don't have what it takes" to make it in your marriage; You don't have what it takes to make it in your career; You don't have what it takes to be a good parent; You don't have what it takes to make it through adolescence; You don't have what it takes to make it as a Christ-follower; You don't have what it takes to....

Well, you get the picture.

Unfortunately, it's what theologians call a result of "the Fall." When humanity fell into rebellion, something broke in the human soul that has been passed on to all of us...and I mean ALL of us!

So, here I am last night, sitting next to our youngest son, and this scene begins in the middle of LOST. Jack is with HIS son; it's "his weekend" if you get what I mean. You can tell their relationship is strained. Jack has to leave for a bit and when he returns home, his son is gone. Jack is worried. He really loves his son...He longs for a relationship with his son...but he doesn't know where his son is and he doesn't know why things are so hard and difficult between him and his son.

He runs over to his "ex's" house to see if his son is there...he's not. But there's a message on the answering machine...Jack listens. It's some music conservatory talking about a scholarship performance that his son is to play that evening. Jack looks at his watch...it's scheduled to take place in just a few minutes. He rushes to the conservatory just in time to listen to his beloved son play, practically flalwlessly a very difficult piano piece by Chopin.

Jack is moved to tears.

After the performance, his son rushes outside to get back to Jack's place...and Jack meets him. Jack asks him why he never told him he was still playing the piano and why he didn't tell him about the conservatory performance. This is where it gets dicey...at least for me...

His son looked into his dad's eyes and answers...

"I didn't tell you...because I didn't want you to see me fail."

Jack's eyes fill with tears...again...only this time...so do mine.

Jack looks at his son and tells him something that changes their relationship. "One time when I was about your age, my dad, your grand-father looked at me and said words I'll never forget...he said, "You don't have what it takes." Jack, again moved to tears, looks into his boy's eyes and says, "I NEVER want you to fear that you might be a failure in my eyes...and there is nothing that you could ever do that would ever cause me to stop loving you. I will ALWAYS love you...all I want is a relationship with you."

Now his son is moved...and now...I am moved to tears...again.

What was going on in me? The brokenness of the Fall hit my consciousness. I, like Jack, often hear the echo of the Fall: "You don't have what it takes." Sure, we all have family issues I guess...but my dad NEVER said anything like that to me...nope...I was hard-wired that way. We're ALL hard-wired some kind of way that is broken. Mine has always been, "You don't have what it takes."

But here's the amazing thing...the things Jack said to his son...those are the things our Father in Heaven says to us through Christ...

"I NEVER want you to fear that you might be a failure in My eyes...and there is nothing that you could ever do that would ever cause Me to stop loving you. I will ALWAYS love you...all I want is a relationship with you."

Not only that, but God is constantly whispering to our hearts, "You DO have what it takes! Because I've promised to give you in Christ all that you would ever need!"

2 Peter 1:3--His divine power has granted to us ALL THINGS pertaining to life and godliness! Read those words again...slowly...believing the Gospel...ALL things...You and I, in Christ, DO HAVE WHAT IT TAKES!!

Hebrews 13:21 basically says that God Himself promises to bless us and equip us with everything good, with everything we need to do His will...He promises to bless us by actually working into us everything we need to live a life pleasing to Him!! You and I, in Christ, DO HAVE WHAT IT TAKES!!!

And we are to remind each other of this every day.

God is out to replace the old tapes of the Fall with a new Echo...the Echo of His validation/affirmation/love...just like He called out to Jesus at His baptism: "This is My Beloved Son, with Whom I am well pleased." THAT is the new echo that the Father wants sounding about in our hearts and minds!

As I sat on the couch with my youngest son...I wondered (and this was part of the tears)...what message have I sent him? What messages have I sent my other two children? What messages have I sent my wife? My friends? My church? Are people "afraid to fail" in my eyes? Do I somehow, sometimes, send the message, "You don't have what it takes?"

I want to be a man that leaves every believer I come into contact with thinking, feeling, knowing, "You have what it takes!"

If you're reading this...and you know Christ...you DO...you REALLY do...You DO have what it takes!

So...Go For It!

Bound or Free?

2010-02-23T07:32:00.001-06:00

In John 11:38-44 we read the amazing account of Jesus' good friend Lazarus being raised from the dead. Besides being an amazing miracle that displays once more the divinity of Christ and His Messiahship, it is also a beautiful picture of what Jesus came to do for ALL who trust and follow Him.

Jesus not only gives life to the dead, granting us new hearts and making us new creations through faith in His finished work...He is also beginning, even in THIS life, the process of "unbinding" us, of liberating us, from "old grave clothes"...of "linen strips and cloths" that bind us and blind us.

We are born-again by the power of the Spirit through grace alone by faith alone in Christ alone--our sins are forgiven, we are granted a new standing/status before God as beloved sons and daughters...He declares us to be as perfect as His One Eternal Son, Jesus! I'll never get tired of writing or reading those words!!

As those who hope in Christ alone, the reign and rule of sin is broken, but it's presence is not eradicated...yet. For some reason, in God's wisdom, He allows indwelling sin, a defeated enemy, to continue to have a presence in our souls...We are in fact raised from the dead...but there are still some old "grave clothes" that need to be removed and replaced with a new wardrobe.

These grave clothes with which we arise out of the tomb of the Old Man Adam, are strongholds of sin and evil which Christ intends to free us from...just as He commanded Lazarus to be unbound...just picture Lazarus, alive, somehow shuffled from the tomb, but looking somewhat like a "mummy," waiting for total freedom!

The "linen strips and cloths" that bind us and blind us could be pains and wounds from past sin (our own, or from being sinned against), stubborn sin patterns we have chosen in a desperate attempt to escape brokenness in our own efforts, even strongholds of evil that seek to pull us back into the grave.

BUT CHRIST...He is the Resurrection AND the Life! Jesus is the Resurrection--He raises us from the dead, He gives us new life, He makes us into new creations. Yet, though we are genuinely new, we are not yet completely new...not until the New Heavens and New Earth.

BUT CHRIST...is ALSO the Life! He is the Author/Giver/Perfecter of the Abundant Life...a life now on this planet with the hope of being increasingly "unbound" from our own grave clothes.

Christ is at work daily, by His Spirit, replacing linen strips of sin and cloths of blindness and brokenness with a new wardrobe! Not only does He give us at conversion a Robe of IMPUTED Righteousness...His OWN righteousness that gives us and grants us the Perfect Standing and Status before the Holy Father; Christ is also daily fitting us with a new wardrobe of IMPARTED Righteousness...actually working His own righteousness and holiness and freedom into our hearts!

And, as in John 11, Jesus most often uses friends, the Fellowship, The Body, to unbind and free us.

As He spoke in Luke 4:18--The Spirit of the LORD is upon Me, because He has anointed Me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent Me to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed.

As a good friend of mine says constantly: Outside of Christ, people are constantly struggling to be free; In Christ, as we walk in grace, we are free to struggle...until the wardrobe change is complete.

May you walk this day, more and more in the freedom of life in Christ!

The Thon at Penn State

2010-02-21T15:53:00.000-06:00

Penn State Dance Marathon (The Thon) 48 hours straight of dancing that raises money for helping battle childhood cancer. Here's what one sorority girl had to say about her experience some years ago...

"By hour 30, my head falls; gravity has won. A sob begins deep in my gut, pushes up thru my chest, briefly catches in my throat and finally forces itself thru my lips. My head lowered, I clench my eyes and fists angrily, fighting to stop the tears.

After a few seconds, I release my fingers and slowly open my eyes, only to see two little red Nike sneakers touching the tips of my worn-out aerobic shoes...Blinking quickly, I focus to see two deep, brown eyes staring up at me. Clad in worn Toughskins and a huge yellow T-shirt that is hanging below his knees, a wide-eyed boy studies me intently.

I immediately notice that all of his hair is somehow tucked under a faded Phillies baseball cap. With a second glance, however, I see that there is not hair on his head to tuck under. His cheeks are swollen slightly and dotted with a red rash. But his physical features are swallowed by a look of concern in his eyes.

'Hi. Are you Okay?' he asks. Before I can attempt an answer, a heavy-set woman comes to his side, gently takes his hand and smiles at me. 'You're Stacie?' she asks. As I nod my head slowly, she embraces her son and holds him closer to me, almost as if to give me a better look. 'Thank you for giving me more time with my son.' With that, she drops to her knees and begins massaging my calves."

That's what it's all about, folks. Love your neighbor as yourself.

There's Some Good in the World

2010-02-19T12:55:00.001-06:00

From LOTR--Samwise to Frodo--“It's like in the great stories Mr. Frodo, the ones that really mattered. Full of darkness and danger they were, and sometimes you didn't want to know the end because how could the end be happy? How could the world go back to the way it was when so much bad had happened? But in the end it's only a passing thing, this shadow, even darkness must pass. A new day will come, and when the sun shines it'll shine out the clearer. Those were the stories that stayed with you, that meant something even if you were too small to understand why. But I think Mr. Frodo, I do understand; I know now folk in those stories had lots of chances of turning back, only they didn't. They kept going because they were holding on to something. That there's some good in the world....and it's worth fighting for"…are we fighting for good today?

How a Prince Can Screw Up the World...and How a Prince Can Save It

2010-02-16T08:12:00.002-06:00

The first "preliminary screw up" in "10 Books that Screwed Up the World" is The Prince, by Niccolo Machiavelli. That book had such an impact upon culture we have a character adjective in our vocab that people use...people smarter than me, I guess, because though I know the word, I'm not sure I've ever used it...at least correctly.

Anyway, the word is "Machiavellian" and it means, according to the dictionary.com entry--living according to principles in which "political expediency is placed above morality and the use of craft and deceit to maintain the authority and carry out the policies of a ruler is described...characterized by subtle or unscrupulous cunning, deception, expediency, or dishonesty."

The scariest and most evil principle Machiavelli puts forth in The Prince is that "the whole idea of being good...is rather naive," and that what is important is not "being good, but appearing good." Another principle is that you can get away with anything if you are able to "appear religious." Machiavelli asserts that if you can "appear" religious then people are more likely to trust you and think you are moral and good and it is then easier to deceive them so you can get what you want.

Machiavelli puts forth the idea that evil can be used to accomplish things one thinks are beneficial...in other words, he is one of the first people who truly popularized the idea that "the ends justify the means." It's interesting that the author points out that The Prince was one of Lenin's favorite books!

The problem of course is that evil truly exists, and if one begins to believe that evil may be used for good, it will eventually deteriorate into using evil for any reason at all, quite apart from thinking about the least possible benefit to humanity.

Machiavelli is also one of the first writers to popularize pragmatism as a world-view. Don't worry about whether something is good or beautiful or true...only live by what you think is most effective...do whatever you feel is necessary and forget about whether the world thinks it is right or wrong (let alone whether an infinitely Personal Creator God has Written absolutes into our existence!)

Machiavelli rejects the Christian world view and despises it by saying that Christians will think of heaven and it makes people ineffective in working in the world. He also wrote that Christianity "ties our hands" by limiting what we want to do with all kinds of rules.

There's the summary...but here's the scary part...how do Machiavellian principles dwell within my own heart? First, how often am I more concerned about appearances than the actual condition of my soul? How often do I set up my posing self in oder to appear moral or good or righteous before others? How am I often one person in public and another completely different person when no one else is around? How often do I put forth the appearance of "loving God" when my heart is cold? How often do I walk into Church on Sunday mornings as nothing but a poser?

How often am I a complete pragmatist? How often am I thinking about how I can control my life, my circumstances, even people in my life to "get what I want" in the most effective and necessary way and fail to consider the way of the Gospel which is loving God with all my heart, soul, mind and strength and loving my neighbor as myself? Let's be honest...love is not often very pragmatic...and it's never easy.

You see, the same evil that lurked within Machiavelli's heart is not so far from mine...nor your's. This is why we need to flee to Christ continually...only the power of His death and resurrection and the sin-defeating might of His amazing grace can rid my own heart of Machiavellian leanings.

The saddest thing of all, perhaps, is that Machiavelli completely missed the point of the Christian life...we're not to be so heavenly-minded that we're no earthly good! The hope and vision of heaven is to be in our sites so that we work toward bringing the Kingdom of God into reality on this planet NOW! Certainly many, many Christ-followers miss this, but the Christian is not only concerned about the eternal destiny of the souls of people. We are concerned primarily about the glory of God...and God is glorified as suffering is alleviated, evil oppression is eradicated, people are educated, widows and orphans are taken care of, and yes, even nature is cared for...in addition to being concerned that all the nations hear the Gospel!

The Christ-follower who truly knows Christ and His word knows that the end NEVER justifies the means, that love must always win over pragmatism and that we are to work with all our strength to bring the reality of the Kingdom of God, in all it's beauty and goodness, to bear upon this planet in our every sphere of influence, including all our vocations and all our relationships.

So, the only answer to books that have screwed up the world is The Book that tells us how the world got so screwed up, why there are screwed up books and how Christ, the TRUE PRINCE, the King of Kings and Lord of Lords, is ruling to change the world...and invites us to join Him.

The U2 Concert at the Y This Morning

2010-02-13T15:12:00.001-06:00

Many of you, I'm sure, are incredulous that it’s been weeks since I’ve blogged on a U2 song. See, I really do have other interests! But working out this morning, to U2 of course, during the shuffle on my iPhone, a song called “Always” came on. I’ve heard it before, of course, lots of times…but it hit me differently this time.

As usual, Bono is not shy about bringing his spirituality (in my opinion, clearly Christian spirituality) and in this song seems to be singing on the brevity of life.

The first stanza is this:

Here today
And gone tomorrow
Crack the bone, get to the marrow
To be the bee
And the flower
Before the sweetness turns to sour

The line clearly points to the book of James 4:14—“you do not know what tomorrow will bring; What isyour life? For you are a mist that appears for a little time then vanishes.” This is a Biblical truth repeated often throughout the Scriptures. In 1 Corinthians 7:29 Paul reminds us that the time is short, so to make the most of the time we have (an idea repeated in Ephesians 5:16, that we should make the best use of the time because the days are evil. See also Isaiah 40:6-8).

Bono is reminding us that our days on the earth are short…so live life to the fullest. Suck the marrow out of life…a common expression written by Henry David Thoreau in Walden meaning to seize the day, get all you can from life. Of ALL people on the planet, Christ-followers like Bono, recognize the call from God to suck the marrow from life; we’re to be like bees flying to the flowers of life so that we might enjoy the nectar…not that we’re to be hedonists…that would be entirely self-centered…but we can honor God by responsibly enjoying to the fullest the creation He has provided for us. And Bono warns us not to allow fear or apathy to tempt us to wait to long or hold back…because sweetness can turn sour.

Another stanza that hit me this morning during leg curls of all things, was this verse:

Get down off your holy cloud... always
God will not deal with the proud... always
Well if you dream then dream out loud... always
Eternally yours... always

Again, in the book of James 4:6, we read that “God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble.” Interesting, yet another verse that appears repeatedly throughout Scripture (eg, 1 Pet 5:5). Beware of self-righteousness. Beware of spiritual pride getting in the way of your walk with Christ. We can have big dreams for our lives and honoring God, dream big...but recognize your need for God to be in the dreams and His grace to be what brings them to pass...not your gift package...and then remember that the big dreams are not about you or me and our glory...but His glory alone.

Grace—God’s undeserved, unmerited favor, kindness, mercy, love, goodness toward sinners. There is an interesting issue arising from the verse in James, however…grace, it seems, while unmerited and undeserved, is actually NOT unconditional. It seems the condition is that we are not proud, but humble…funny, its actually an anti-condition…a non-condition. It’s not something we need to be good at to received grace…it’s actually realizing that the only thing, ultimately, we have to offer God is our failure and need.

We see Bono crying out in desperate need for his God in the repeated lines:

I want you
I want you
I want you

May that be the cry of our souls continually...Father, I want you; Lord Jesus, I want you. Holy Spirit, I want you. Bono is too good of a poet, and too smart to not be intentional about repeating the cry three times corresponding to the Three Persons of the Trinity!

The last line I’ll comment on is near the end of the song:

Turn each song into a prayer... always

Bono gets it…all of life can be lived out as a prayer to God. All we do can be considered worship as we live for Him. It’s surprising to me how many fanatical U2 followers love their music but miss their passion…Bono and the boys in fact do what they sing in that line…they DO, in fact, “turn each song into a prayer…always.”
Listen to their music…listen with ears in tune with the Spirit…Always!

Comfort or Confusion?

2010-02-12T08:25:00.001-06:00

I was asked by a dear friend recently about the topic of the Sovereignty of God. Light conversation, I know. Just to be clear, the doctrine of sovereignty has to do with God foreordaining whatsoever comes to pass...yet in such a way that He is never the Author of Evil...This is a profound mystery...a mystery beyond our ability to figure out...how's that for just throwing a grenade into the room and running?

I think when it comes to thinking about the sovereignty of God we need to keep in mind the "wills" of God. First, there is the REVEALED will of God...Scripture...and we are called to respond to that Word in obedience out of gratitude for God's love for us in Christ. We are to obey God's Word out of a love response toward Him because He first loved us.

Second, there is what we call God's sovereign or mysterious will that we don't DISCOVER through investigation...it is simply what happens...whatsoever comes to pass. However, we can never, obviously, excuse our disobedience to God's REVEALED will, His Scripture, and just say, "Oh well, its obviously God's sovereign will, since I did it..."

There is a mystery here that is WAAAAY beyond our comprehension because we are first, finite, and second, fallen. What we DO matters and what we CHOOSE to do matters, and sovereignty can never be an excuse to minimize the enormous importance of our choices, actions...or even inactions. One of the temptations of Jesus by the devil was exactly this: IF You ARE the Son of God, throw Yourself down from the Temple and He will send His angels to protect you...and Christ responded, Do not put the Lord to the test. God is absolutely sovereign and mankind is completely responsible. Hmmmmm. Brain freeze!

However, and this is REALLY important, God teaches us about His absolute sovereignty in Scripture in order to lead us to freedom (as well as submission, but I'm going to focus on the freedom part here)! Because of the fall of humanity into sin, we all have a tendency to be control freaks...just ask my wife and kids about my idol of control...but it's all an illusion...we are NOT in control...even though we are absolutely responsible! Think of all the ways people seek to protect their jobs, work hard, only to have some unforseen lay-offs occur. Think about people who are obsessive hand-washers, only to get sick from a bad hamburger...

If we don't learn to live with this tension that no matter how responsible we try to be, we're still not really in control, trust me, we'll end up in a rubber room surrounded by nice people in white jackets. This tendency to seek to control every detail of our lives is what leads people to be neurotic!

We spend WAAAAY too much emotional and intellectual energy trying to FIGURE out God's will...God's will is not some needle in a haystack that we need to find...the best way to be "in God's will" 5 years from now is to respond in faith and obedience to the REVEALED will of God that we are aware of over the next 5 minutes! The real issue is seeking Christ and His wisdom, not investigating "chicken guts" seeking to divine our way to a decision.

So, as my basketball coaches used to tell me: Play loose. Enjoy the game. Use your gifts. Play smart...and Play to win!

10 Books That Have Screwed Up the World

2010-02-10T07:19:00.002-06:00

One of my elders told me he was listening to a book on CD that caught my attention by the title alone: "10 Books that Screwed Up the World (And 5 Others That Didn't Help)" by Benjamin Wiker, Ph.D.

By the way...the solution is NOT to burn these books (as many, in my humble opinion, "whacko" Christians have done over the years)...but for intelligent, articulate, mature Christ-followers to READ them (or, as in my case, at least become familiar with them...though I'm not sure I fit the "intelligent, articulate, mature" description!), critique them, discover how the very falsehoods contained in them reside in our own hearts and seek to restore our broken world to wholeness and truth...The point is not censorship of bad books as much as striving to make the truth more attractive and more winsome and to gently point out the internal inconsistencies of error.

Here are the books he covers:

Preliminary Screw Ups
--The Prince by Niccolo Machiavelli (1513)
--Discourse on Method by Rene Descartes (1637)
--Leviathan by Thomas Hobbes (1651)
--Discourse on the Origin and Foundations of Inequality Among Men by Jean-Jacques Rousseau (1755)

10 Big Screw Ups
1. The Communist Manifesto by Marx and Engels (1848)
2. Utilitarianism by John Stuart Mill (1863)
3. The Descent of Man by Charles Darwin (1871)
4. Beyond Good and Evil by Friedrich Nietzsche ((1886)
5. The State and Revolution by Vladimir Lenin (1917)
6. The Pivot of Civilization by Margaret Sanger (1922)
7. Mein Kampf by Adolf Hitler (1925)
8. The Future of an Illusion by Sigmund Freud (1927)
9. Coming of Age in Samoa by Margaret Mead (1928)
10.Sexual Behavior in the Human Male by Alfred Kinsey ((1948)

And finally, one Dishonorable Mention
--The Feminine Mystique by Betty Friedan (1963)

I hope to blog briefly on each of these over the next several weeks.

Gospel Armor Against Temptation

2010-02-02T06:32:00.000-06:00

Just before celebrating the Lord's Supper last month I shared some words that others have asked me to post. The words were these: Those Christ-followers who are covered up with guilt and shame and self-condemnation are most open to giving in to temptation. Conversely, those Christ-followers who are most willing to receive and hope in the wondrous grace of God are most strengthened against temptation.

When we are wrestling with shame and guilt, the pain of the defeat and condemnation is so intense that we'll look for anything that will numb the pain...the narcotics of choice, then, are often the pleasures of the world that we are deceived into believing will get rid of the pain. But that just creates a downward spiral of more guilt and shame and the pain multiplies. Guilty and condemned Christians will always be desperately looking for relief from their pain...and temptation to seek that relief in sin is very alluring.

However, Christians who are convinced of the hope of forgiveness and live in the grace of God are less trapped by feelings of shame and guilt, experience more joy, and are therefore more strengthened in the battle against sin...we still will be tempted by the so-called "pleasures" of the world, but equipped with the peace of forgiveness and the joy of grace, even when we blow it, we will be quick to repent and experience afresh the wonders of God's love...thus entering into the Spirit-filled upward cycle of forgiveness and joy and strength.

There is no one who does not sin...daily...it's what we choose to do with that sin that makes all the difference. If we beat ourselves up and live in self-condemnation...we will be more open to looking for relief from the pain and will be less equipped to fight against temptation. If we acknowledge afresh our need for amazing grace, we'll experience forgiveness and will be gripped again by the love of the Father...and we'll be more equipped to say no to sin and yes to righteousness.

This is why the sacrament of the Lord's Supper is so vital to Christian health...there's no need to beat ourselves up over sin because Christ's Body was broken for us; and there's no need to live with guilt and shame because His blood was shed to grant us full and total forgiveness.

How BIG is Your World?

2010-02-01T08:19:00.000-06:00

Yesterday during worship we sang Matt Redman's popular and powerful song, You Never Let Go. It was Global Mission's Sunday at Oak Mountain Church, and before the Pastoral Prayer I commented that Redman's song really does have a strong tie to Global Missions. The point of the song is that we, as Christ-followers, no matter where we go or what we face, we need not fear any evil because our God is near us, He is for us and He will never let us go. If we fail to believe those great truths however, we will end up living like orphans in this life...

Think about how an orphan lives...as if there is no one to depend upon except themselves...self-protective mechanisms shift into high gear...the size of the world shrinks so that the only world that matters is the world of self...it becomes a dog-eat-dog world...get all you can for yourself because no one else cares about you.

When I fail to believe that the God of Heaven is favorably disposed toward me and pours forth all of His goodness and power toward me even when I am in difficulty, then I don't really have the energy to care about the rest of the world...the fate of the nations isn't really on my radar screen.

However, as I rest in the Father's love and care for me as an adopted child in His family, I can become progressively freed from my orphan mentality and not be so self-absorbed or self-consumed. I can become freed from self-concern and begin to be concerned about others...my world grows...my soul's "radio station" is no longer tuned to "WBOB...All Bob ALL the Time!" but instead I can actually begin to care about the nations.

So...sometime today, listen to Matt Redman's song...let the truths wash over your orphan soul...and ask God to increase the size of the world you live in...a world bigger than my 6 foot 1 inch frame...a world that encompasses all the nations of the earth! Because the fact is, there are billions who long to know the promises rehearsed in the song, "You Never Let Go!"

Latest News from Oak Mtn Church Missionary in Haiti

2010-01-22T08:41:00.002-06:00

This is the latest update from PMH (Presbyterian Mission in Haiti) and our missionary, Charles Amicy...

Dear Presbyterian Mission in Haiti (PMH) Friends,

Forgive me for the delay in getting a new update to you.

It has been 9 intense days since the earthquake for our brothers and sisters at PMH and for the people of Haiti. While Pastor Amicy and Dr. Gathercoal's team of Flying Doctors of America are putting in 20-hour days amidst unspeakable physical and psychological trauma, those of us on the PMH Board, the Lespwa Worldwide team, the Flying Doctors team and many of our close advisors have been working intensely to re-supply our friends at PMH with the people and the tools they need to continue ministering in the name of Christ.

Our brothers and sisters at PMH are truly exhausted. They have seen patients die, lose limbs, and cry out in despair. They have prepared meals for 150 or more people a day. They have courageously gone into P-a-P to find more patients that are not receiving care by anyone. They have had to scramble for food and fuel and medical supplies while tons of supplies merely sit on pallets waiting to be distributed. They are tired and exhausted.

And yet when I talk to Pastor Amicy and Dr. Gathercoal, I do not hear despair or cynicism. I do not hear any anger or fear. Rather, I hear determination and commitment. I hear hope and compassion. I hear their sense of humor and laughter. But mostly, I hear love and joy. Love for the people of Haiti. Joy in serving the Lord Jesus Christ. And finally, a desire to keep pressing on with the Lord's work in Haiti. Through it all, we are seeing the sovereign power, wisdom, and love of the Living and True God at work through our feeble and exhausting efforts. To Him be the glory! Amen!

Carlens Delfils

The surgery on his right hand went very well. Please check out the links to the Wilmington, NC newspapers and TV station. What a great testimony! In addition, Mrs. Mary Delfils found her passport/visa in the rubble of their house and will soon join Octavius, Carlens, and Farah in Wilmington.

Food, Fuel, and Supplies for PMH

The Lord had some suprises for us the last two days. Mission of Hope Haiti (www.missionofhopehaiti.org) donated some food to PMH. We don't know yet how much, but it should get PMH by for a few more days. We thank the Lespwa team and Jeff Hulbert for making requests for us. Charles and Dr. Gathercoal met someone at the P-a-P airport with a relief agency that was leaving the country. They had a few supplies and a bit food left over and so they gave it to PMH. Every little bit counts. Thank you Lord!

Don't ask me how, but Charles and Dr. Gathercoal also managed to get about 60 gallons of diesel fuel which was badly needed for the truck, bus, and generator. Of all places, they received some from the US Army. But more than that, we thank God that the local Cabaret Police Department donated the lion's share to PMH. They are so grateful for what Pastor Amicy is doing at PMH for the community.

Medical supplies such as guaze, pediatric medicines, and surgical drapes/sheets have been running low. However, they are in decent shape for adult pain meds and antibiotics for now. Dr. Gathercoal told me that John Garvin with Medical Assistance Programs Int'l visited PMH yesterday to see what was needed. He was out of most everything except a little guaze, and was still waiting on MAP's shipment to arrive in Haiti. It arrived today, and I got an email saying Mr. Garvin was heading to PMH with supplies. Don't know the details of what Mr. Garvin brought, but we praise the Lord for his kindness!

Two more doctors and two more nurses arrived yesterday (Wednesday, 20th). That provided some relief to the first FDOA team that has been there since Sunday, 17th. Another team is arriving this Saturday, 23rd, and then more teams next Wednesday, 27th and Saturday, 30th. Many of our PMH friends in the medical profession are coming on these teams. Dr. Billy Alexander's team is coming on Wed, 27th. Praise the Lord! Continue to contact Allen Hord with Flying Doctors of America (www.fdoamerica.org) to get on a team if you are interested.

Campus Pastor to the Aid-Givers and All-Around Administrative Assistant

Due to the overwhelming nature of the work at PMH, Charles, the PMH staff, and the FDOA medical teams are close to hitting the wall. The PMH Board agreed to send PMH Board member, Bob Bradbury to comfort and encourage the aid-givers at PMH. He has been to PMH many times, is a life-long pastor, and well-trained and experienced as a disaster response team member through MTW's program (www.mtw.org). He will arrive next Tuesday on an MFI flight accompanied by Allison Davis, a "tough cookie" according to Ann Klein, who is a business owner and more than capable to become an all-around administrative assistant to Charles by keeping track of the busy schedule, answering the phones, checking emails, and probably much, much more. We intend to send more PMH friends to help in these roles in the weeks ahead, so please contact me if you are interested in a rotation. Bob and Allison can only stay a week or so. Again, praise the Lord for this!

Operation RE-SUPPLY

As you know by now, it is critical that we re-supply the PMH campus with provisions that will be scarce in Haiti until the constipated UN, US Military, and other large relief agencies get their systems flowing into the NGO's all over Haiti. Until then, we do what we must to take care of our own and to serve those we can serve. We are encouraged by reports that commercial airlines such as Spirit Air and American Airlines will resume flights into P-a-P as early as next Wednesday, and that the port of P-a-P may be reopening tomorrow. Short-term teams here we come! Containers of supplies here we come! Praise the Lord!

Meanwhile, to address the current and pressing needs of PMH, the Lespwa Worldwide team (www.lespwaworldwide.com) and the Mission to Haiti Canada team (www.mthcanada.org) are on the ground in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic. Lord willing they will be sending enough supplies over to PMH by Saturday morning, 23rd. Please pray for the success of this effort. The Lord has already proved Himself faithful and wise since they arrived there on Wednesday. They have made good contacts at the UN and the US Embassy / USAID, which, I know is hard to believe, but it is true. There are people there that really want to help us. Praise the Lord! In addition, our teams met some Baptist brothers in the Lord that have experience with convoys to Haiti. They are surrounding our teams with incredible love and helpfulness, running around gathering provisions to fill up the trucks, etc. Amazing! In addition to that, Bernie van Eyk (PMH Board member) and I were talking late last night and decided to ask a man in Bernie's church who is bi-lingual and from the D.R. to fly down to meet our teams today and help them out. We conferenced him in and he said "Sure!" His name is Emanuel, or Mannie for short, and he has many Christian family members and friends in Santo Domingo. Mannie is there with Jay and Bill's team, serving as a translator, and surrounding our guys with the Body of Christ.

So, Lord willing, these provisions will arrive at PMH by Saturday morning. Please pray for this effort! We know you already are. We see the Lord's hand in our efforts. We feel like we are groping in the dark at times (a lot of times), but we know and we see that He is sovereignly orchestrating every detail according to His good wisdom and purpose.

Outpouring of Support

So many of our PMH friends have contacted me over the last 9 days. It is so encouraging to us. Thank you for your generous outpouring of support - prayers, financial contributions, volunteering to go to PMH when it is possible. All of this is tremendously encouraging. We thank you for helping us to press on.

Is it Safe to be in Haiti?

While we do seriously ponder the news stories about gangs running the streets of P-a-P, the government and police force of P-a-P disappearing, the chances of conditions deteriorating in Haiti such that the people get desperate and violent, and so forth, we are very positive about the general stability of the country. There is an ever growing presence of the international community in Haiti. The airlines and ports are beginning to function again. Supplies and basic necessities will start flowing again soon. Furthermore, PMH has the benefit of a friendly local police department and a secure campus. These are good signs and we are thankful.

In addition, we feel strongly about supporting Pastor Charles, Leon, and Octavius, their families, the orphans at PMH, the medical team, and the survivors of this devastating earthquake. We cannot abandon them. We must do what we can to re-supply them, to send in more medical teams, and to send in other PMH friends to encourage them and relieve them of their heavy burdens.

One might say that Haiti is never particularly safe. It is Haiti. But we love the people there, and we see no compelling, seriously life-threatening reasons to stay away. So, lets press on together with the courage God supplies us.

In the Lord,

Scott Clark
Secretary of the PMH Board
Missions Committee member of WRPC
864-335-9640 (home)
864-483-1512 (cell)
tscottclark2000@yahoo.com
www.presbyterianmissioninhaiti.org
www.woodruffroad.com

Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of His might. --Ephesians 6:10

Are you ready for some...thing more than football?

2009-11-11T14:46:00.001-06:00

If you're a football fan at all, you know the theme song of Monday Night Football that Hank William, Jr sings...Are you ready for some football?!! I'm a football fan...love it as a matter of fact. But there are lots of things we should be longing for and preparing for ahead of some football...like the sacrament of the Lord's Supper.

We are celebrating the sacrament of Communion this week in church. We have, on our web site, a tab you can click that takes you from the Home page to Resource...one of the Resources we offer are Communion questions. Unfortunately, very few know that we offer these questions, so I thought I'd offer them on my blog today...

First, take time in advance to prepare by reading 1 Corinthians 10:16-17: What are some things we need to prepare for? “Is my heart prepared as far as faith in the promises related to the sacrament? Am I really understanding that Christ is offered to me—His body, His blood, His life—that my organic union is strengthened through the sacrament? Am I prepared to believe that as I eat and as I drink? Am I acknowledging my need for the life of Christ to flow into me in deeper measure? Am I guilty of not preparing adequately for the sacrament?” Do I come to the Table believing I participate in the Supernatural? After all, if, as we learn in 1 Corinthians 11:29-30, coming in an unbelieving, unrepentant manner to the Table can cause sickness or worse, how much more are we to expect that if we come humbly, confessing our need and believing in God's goodness shall we we expect supernatural help for life and Spirit-empowered transformation?!

Second category of questions: “Am I believing the Gospel promises and living in light of them daily?” In other words, “Am I truly understanding the wonder of my justification? Do I really have an illumined heart that understands what it means to be treated just as if I’d never sinned, and just as if I’d done everything right? The promise of the life of Christ is offered in the sacrament to enliven that grace and to illumine my mind and heart to that doctrine. Am I believing that through union with Christ, I’m dead to sin, but alive to righteousness?” Another way to look at it, “Where am I living in self-reliance? Where am I using the sacrament as an opportunity for self-reformation rather than trusting the life of Christ to transform me?”

Third group of questions: “Am I ready to receive the life of Christ specifically, according to particular needs in my life?” In other words, “Where do I perceive in my life the beginning of hardness of heart? What areas of a sin am I giving in to more and more, and not really that repentant over? That is where I need the life of Christ to be strengthened in me. Where do I perceive that I’m sorely tempted, that I’m particularly tempted, and I need the life and blood of Christ to enliven me against that temptation? Where is my repentance shallow? Where am I sorry because I feel guilty and not sorry because I offended God’s holiness? Where am I not truly hating and despising my sinfulness?”

Fourth category: “What particular sins have I committed this past week that need repenting of? What sins of omission? What have I not done that I was supposed to do? What sins of commission? What have I done that I wasn’t supposed to do? What needs to be repented of that needs the life of Christ to transform me over? What idols are thee in my life that I’m trying to suck life and joy from, rather than getting life from the life of Christ Himself?”

Fifth category: With respect to the communion of the saints, “Am I living in light of my communion with others? See, if I’m organically united with Christ, and you’re organically united with Christ, then we’re united to each other. Am I living in light of that? Am I deeply concerned for the spiritual well being of Christians around me? Am I willing to forgive those Christians who have wronged me in any way? Am I concerned for those yet to be converted, that they would become converted? Looking at the Supper as an installment of the final supper, am I desiring the return of Christ, or am I too at home in this life?

Then lastly, am I willing to rest in the work of Christ, in the work of the Holy Spirit, even if I don’t experience anything? Am I willing to wait on the experience of the power of Christ, even though I may not feel it?”

One of the great tragedies of the contemporary church is that we have a tendency to de-supernaturalize the Christian life. We tend to deny the power of the Risen Christ in our midst when Paul reminds us clearly in 1 Corinthians 5:4, that as we assemble in the Name of the Lord Jesus that the Power of our Lord Jesus is present! Christ is spiritually and supernaturally present with the Church, especially in the Sacrament of Communion...are you ready?!

Henri Nouwen and the Mission of Oak Mountain

2009-11-03T08:31:00.001-06:00

I posted a link of an article by Henri Nouwen the other day entitled “Moving from Solitude to Community to Ministry.” It is a fantastic article…but it was also very encouraging to me with regard to the ministry of our church.

Read the article by clicking here.

Our Mission Statement reads as follows: “To glorify Jesus Christ by equipping every member to:
Seek Grace from God
Share Grace in Community
Show Grace to All.

What excited me is that our Mission Statement and Nouwen’s article fit “hand-in-glove!” Seeking Grace from God involves us seeking transforming grace from God through public and private worship…and parallels Nouwen’s emphasis on hearing the Father’s rejoicing over us (Zeph 3:17) through Solitude. Before we will move out in strength and love toward others, we need to be confident that we are loved and cared for—that we are NOT orphans! Apart from this element of “Seeking Grace from God” we will be trying to prove ourselves worthy or giving in to the lies of the world, the flesh and the devil that we don’t have what it takes to move out in strength and love toward others.

Sharing Grace in Community is parallel to Nouwen’s emphasis on Community where we experience “forgiveness and celebration.” Community is the place where the truth of God’s love for us and the hope of His transforming grace in us is spoken to us with strength. The Christian life involves solitude and Seeking Grace from God, but the Christian life, contrary to much popular opinion is NOT primarily about “privatized spirituality!” In the context of community we are affirmed as children of God, created by Him and re-created in Christ to represent and reflect God to others. The Community of the Church is where we experience the tangible expressions of the Father’s love…we are healed and restored to wholeness in the context of community.

Finally, as we experience the Father’s love through Solitude and Seeking Grace from God in public and private worship; and as we experience restoration through Community (and also contribute to other peoples’ restoration), it leads us outside ourselves in ever greater measure and we are propelled into ministry. In order for us to engage in ministry, we are called to exercise a radical trust in God, that He will, by the Holy Spirit, powerfully minister to others through our feeble attempts at service. We are to “weep with those who weep, and rejoice with those who rejoice.” We are not to give in to the lies that we don’t have what it takes to bring restoration and wholeness to others…rather we are to believe that God can use “cracked pots” (or “crackpots”…whichever you prefer), to transform lives.

I’m so thankful that God has affirmed our Mission Statement through such a fantastic article. Let’s trust God for the grace to go from theory to implementation!

How Can You Stand Next to the Truth and Not See It?

2009-10-28T07:15:00.001-05:00

One of the lines from U2's current hit, "I Know I'll Go Crazy if I Don't Go Crazy Tonight" is "How can you stand next to the truth and not see it...change of heart comes slow." As I look back on my Christian life, I can give my "Amen!" to the truth of that verse. It is a sad Amen, however...because much pain results from change coming so slowly.

I began my Christian life shooing out of the gate like a rocket...or so I thought! It was something new that I could pour myself into...as I had done with swimming and basketball and academics throughout my life. It wasn't too long into the Christian-life-thing that I realized it was different. No matter how hard I tried, I couldn't seem to maintain a sense of peace before God based on my performance and effort...as a matter of fact, the harder I tried, often the more defeated I felt!!

It was years before I realized that I had never visited the truths of the Gospel that must lay the foundation of Christian living...above all, the truth of justification by grace through faith...the promise of the Gospel of grace that through hope in Christ, God looks at me "just-as-if-I'd" never sinned and "just-as-if-I'd" perfectly obeyed His commands (see the Heidelberg Catechism Question #60!).

When I began to be gripped by such a gospel, my spiritual life changed, and it was as if for the first time, as Francis Schaeffer wrote in True Spirituality, "the sun came out and the song came!"

My first thought was, "If THIS is the Gospel, then how come I haven't heard it before?" I soon learned that lessons of grace had been all around me, I just didn't have the eyes to see or the ears to hear...I stood "next to the truth" and did not see it! Here's one example: as a new believer in Christ I read Oswald Chambers' devotional, "My Utmost for His Highest." Just this morning my sweet bride sent me this morning's devotional from that classic work...read it slowly, especially in light of what I've just written:

"I realize I am saved by believing. It isnot repentance that saves me, repentance is the sign that I realize what God has done in Christ Jesus. The danger is to put the emphasis on the effect instead of on the cause. It is my obedience that puts me right with God, my consecration. Never! I am put right with God because prior to all, Christ died.

When I turn to God and by belief accept what God reveals I can accept, instantly the stupendous Atonement of Jesus Christ rushes me into a right relationship with God; and by the supernatural miracle of God's grace I stand justified, not because I am sorry for my sin, not because I have repented, but because of what Jesus has done. The Spirit of God brings it with a breaking, all-over light, and I know, though I do not know how, that I am saved.

The salvation of God does not stand on human logic, it stands on the sacrificial Death of Jesus. We can be born again because of the Atonement of Our Lord. Sinful men and women can be changed into new creatures, not by their repentance or their belief, but by the marvellous work of God in Christ Jesus which is prior to all experience. The impregnable safety of justification and sanctification is God Himself. We have not to work out these things ourselves; they have been worked out by the Atonement. The supernatural becomes natural by the miracle of God; there is the realization of what Jesus Christ has already done - "It is finished.""

I had read that devotional as a young believer...probably multiple times! It went right over my head...it slipped right off my "teflon" heart!

So, how can you stand next to the truth and not see it...easily...VERY easily....

Water Cannons

2009-10-26T08:02:00.001-05:00

There are worship wars in the church today...what style is Biblical, what instruments should be used, should only hymns be sung or only contemporary music used? What is more relevant, etc. Thankfully at Oak Mountain we have been spared such battles. However, water wars are another matter altogether. By God's providence, Oak Mountain is a Presbyterian Church placed smack-dab in the middle of one of the most staunchly Baptist strong-holds in the country...not that there's anything wrong with that! For the most part evangelical Baptists and evangelical Presbyterians agree on most things.

One of the things that is hotly debated, however, is baptism...the mode and the subjects of baptism. Baptists assert that the only subjects of Baptism are people who profess faith in Jesus Christ and the only Biblical mode is immersion. Presbyterians believe that people who profess faith in Jesus Christ AND THEIR CHILDREN are the proper subjects of baptism and the truly Biblical mode is sprinkling.

Let me say that no one's eternal destiny depends on where you come down on this issue. Let me also say, however, that I do believe there are huge practical implications and even "blessings of grace" involved in where we stand on this doctrine. The only thing that I really get bothered by in this discussion is thoughtless blather that doesn't even take the debate to Scripture. Tradition alone is not where the debate should take place...for any Christ-follower the discussion must take place at a Biblical/Theological level.

So, for those of you who are desiring some real substance to the debate, let me offer what I feel are some important passages to consider:

I would always begin with Colossians 2:11-12 where Paul basically equates circumcision and baptism (which then begs the question of who the proper subjects of baptism are because circumcision was applied to 8 day old male infants as well as adult men who would convert to Judaism);

Then I would turn to Acts 2:38-39, where ALL the Jews at Pentecost understood the Covenant language of baptism as referring to Abraham and circumcision and children of believers; children Peter even expressly refers to. No Jew present could fail to make the connection between Genesis 17 and the baptism that Peter is talking about in Acts 2; Genesis 17, which alongside Romans 4:11, answers the Baptist objection that baptism is an outward sign of an already inwardly present faith. We know that saving faith that brings a right relationship with God could NOT be present when circumcision was applied to an infant...yet it WAS still the sign of faith and the righteousness that comes by faith...and was commanded by God to be applied to the infant!

Then I would refer you to Ezekiel 36:24-32 as a passage that brings the symbolism of both circumcision and baptism together.

Finally, I would also say that the mode of SPRINKLING is present in the statements made in Hebews 9:13,19,21, Hebrews 10:22, Hebrews 11:28, Hebrews 12:24 and 1 Peter 1:2.

In my mind, especially in light of Acts 2:38-39, NO LONGER INCLUDING CHILDREN OF BELIEVERS IN THE COVENANT SIGN OF THE RIGHTEOUSNESS THAT COMES BY FAITH would be a change among God's people so incredibly dramatic, that a change of such magnitude would have to be PLAINLY AND CLEARLY taught. It is NOT clearly taught in the New Testament. Therefore, apart from such clear teaching, the evidence is clearly on the side of infant baptism continuing the Biblical tradition of infants of believers being recipients of the sign of grace. I would say to my Baptistic friends (and they ARE friends and fellow family members in Christ!), I don't need to show you where infant baptism is taught in a verse; rather, you would need to show me clearly that the covenant sign applied to children of believers has ceased.

Happy studying!

Who is FIRST?

2009-10-19T07:48:00.000-05:00

Two of the best quarterbacks in college football...Sam Bradford, he plays for Oklahoma...he won the Heisman Trophy as the best player in college football last year. If he would have gone pro early, before graduation, he would have been offered millions and millions of dollars. He came back to play another year...and he got hurt. He recently he did this video with Colt McCoy, the quarterback of Texas, archrival to Oklahoma. After being hurt earlier in the year, Sam came back and played on Saturday, against Texas and Colt McCoy...he got hurt again...probably resulting in the loss of millions of dollars. He believes God has a plan for him and he is willing, along with Colt McCoy, to be SECOND, with the Lord first. After he got hurt on Saturday, ESPN interviewed him briefly...obviously he had no prep time to develop a thoughtful answer...he spoke in the same terms he uses in this video...God has a plan...I'll trust Him! Wow! Are you willing to say Christ is first, I am second?! Cry out for grace!

http://www.iamsecond.com/#/seconds/Colt_Sam/

The Clock is Running

2009-10-06T08:41:00.002-05:00

I had the privilege of seeing U2 perform in Dublin at Croke Park on July 24. The local papers summed up my own assessment...perhaps one of the greatest U2 gigs ever! Now I get the chance to see them again in Atlanta tonight...with my youngest son.

One of the things that struck me during the concert in Croke Park was how many times the screens flashed a countdown; a stopwatch-like clock running down. I wondered during the concert what it meant, and I've thought about it several times since. I'm looking forward to seeing it all again tonight!

But what does it mean? Last night, I was reading Psalm 90, A Prayer of Moses, the man of God. In verses 12-13, Moses writes these words:

So teach us to number our days

that we may get a heart of wisdom.

Return, O LORD! How long?

The clock is ticking…so we must number our days…We only have so many days. Do we live in light of that reality?

We are to live in light of the fact that we only have so many hours to make a difference in this life. The more we live in light of our mortality, often the more wisely we live out our days. When we realize the clock is ticking, we more easily focus on what is important.

The clock is ticking.

Notice the line that we see several times in U2 lyrics: “How long?” In Sunday Bloody Sunday, in 40, we sing along with U2, “How long? How long to sing this song?” The clock is ticking...the Return of Christ is nearer today than it was yesterday. Moses prays: Return, O LORD! How long?

Perhaps U2 is calling us all to think about numbering our days. The time is short. Live in such a way to maximize your minutes. Make a difference! Live with purpose! Don't just exist…live!

If you’re going to the concert (or have already been), notice the emphasis on time. Even if you are NOT going to the concert…Time is winding down.

Time is running out…will you number your days?

See 1 Corinthians 7:29-31!

The clock is ticking...

Cheers!

2009-10-05T10:40:00.001-05:00

Because of the Fall, because of our brokenness, we are all thirsty in this life. We may not even recognize our thirst, but it's there. It's built into our souls. We ARE a thirsty people. What we thirst for, ultimately, is Christ. The heart demands a drink that only Jesus can serve up. That drink is Himself, poured into our hearts by His Spirit (see John 7:38).

We can drink deeply of Christ, free of charge, without cost (see Isaiah 55:1-2). However, if we fail to drink of Christ, we will STILL drink...we will always live in such a way as to attempt to quench our thirst. If we don't drink of Christ and the promises of grace contained in the Gospel, we will seek drink elsewhere.

We are a people that so easily ignore the Gospel and go after other wells (see Jeremiah 2:13). Those "other wells" are also called idols. An idol is not a statue of wood or gold in our day. An idol is simply anything we pursue in an attempt to secure a pain-free life. An idol is any "drink" we pour ourselves in an attempt to cope with life apart from Christ. Think through a list of all the idols you are tempted to pursue.

Throughout the day today, we WILL drink...and we will constantly be on the look out for things to quench our thirst. The question is, will we drink of Him Who Satisfies; or will we drink of that which is like a mouthful of salt-water...drinks that just magnify and increase our thirst, leaving us frustrated?

Cheers!

Daniel's Priorities, My Priorities??

2009-09-29T09:56:00.002-05:00

I've been reading through Daniel...what a book! What a man! Ultimately, of course, what a GOD behind the man!! Daniel 9 reveals the means of grace through which God grabbed Daniel's heart: Daniel 9:1-2--He read and understood the Scriptures. It's interesting that Daniel knew Jeremiah's words were Scripture just as Peter knew Paul's words were Scripture. If we want to experience the power of grace, we must spend time in the Word!

Daniel 9:3-19--Daniel was a man of prayer.

The Word of God and prayer--the means of grace that God uses to change our lives.

Daniel 6--Daniel was so committed to the necessity and importance of prayer that he risked his life to engage in it! How come I struggle to risk even re-arranging 30 minutes of my day to engage in it?!

May we all seek grace from God that we might be a people of the Word and prayer...hmmm, interesting that the early church sought to follow the same priorities--Acts 2:42!

And to Love I Rhapsodize

2009-09-03T11:25:00.002-05:00

I have had U2's song, "Window in the Skies" stuck in my head for the past couple weeks. The more I listen, the more I love it all over again! And the more I listen...the more I learn. What a song of Hope, Faith and Love (to borrow a line from U2's song, Stand Up Comedy). What a song of joy...and from that perspective I'm reminded of their song, "Magnificent." Bono has given back his voice to the One who "left a window in the skies," to sing whatever He wants him to; "Love left a window in the skies, and to Love I rhapsodize."

Bono has been struck by a Love that undoes shackles and overcomes "karma" through grace. Bono sings confidently of the Love that left an undeniable witness...a "stone" that has been removed, leaving nothing but an Empty Grave. Bono sings joyfully of the Love that removes all debts, brings hate to its knees and enables him to cry out, "I've got no shame," because the finished work of Christ on the cross has removed shame for the believer.

In response to such love, in giving back his voice to the One Who loves, Who made a window in the skies, Bono tells everyone who will listen: "to Love I rhapsodize." Bono's response to the Love that gave His Only Son, is that he will sing, rhapsodize." "Justified, til we die, you and I will magnify, The Magnificent."

I see a double meaning in the line: first, to show love in response to being loved, Bono sings/rhapsodizes. Again, from Breathe, finding the courage to love, to walk out, into the streets, arms out, with a love you can't defeat." Second, it is TO Love, To the God and Father of Jesus of Nazareth, Bono rhapsodizes.

Bono is unashamed to sing out the Gospel, singing out the truth that "to every broken heart, for every heart that cries, Love left a window in the skies." From "I'll Go Crazy:" "How can you stand next to the truth and not see it?"

Bono is struck by what Love is doing in his own life...again I'm reminded of songs from NLOTH--"every day he dies again and again he's reborn" from Breathe...this is what Love is doing in his life, and in every life willing to bend the knee and bow the heart to the Savior.

"Love makes love where love may please, the soul and its striptease..." again we are reminded of a line from Breathe where the band in his head is playing a striptease. Bono loves to poetically reveal the Gospel as that which brings us our highest delight and greatest pleasure...so much pleasure in the Gospel that it can almost be put in terms of sensuality. At God's right hand are pleasures evermore...true pleasure of soul.

"Please don't ever let me out of here." Bono is singing that he is "in the sound," the sound of amazing grace. Again, from Breathe, "I found grace inside a sound, I found grace, it's all that I found...and I can breathe; Breathe now." It's the sound he's crying for in Get On Your Boots..."Let me in the sound." Its the sound that we hear in Fez-Being Born..."let me in the sound." It's the sound of the Lamb who makes a heart as "White as Snow." "Please don't ever let me out of You." Never fear, Bono, those whom Christ justifies He also glorifies...we are secure.

We do everything to forfeit the love of God...we "hurt each other," we do "everything but murder you and I...but love left a Window in the Skies..." Nothing shall be able to separate us from the Love of God in Christ.

"Oh can't you see what love has done? Oh can't you see what love has done? Oh can't you see what love has done...and what it's doing to me?"

No wonder Bono walks out on stage during the 360 tour and says each night..."I surrender." We all have that Moment of Surrender point in time...every day.

Love Left a Window in the Skies

2009-08-29T18:18:00.001-05:00

So far the encores for U2's 360Tour have been the same: Ultra Violet, With or Without You and Moment of Surrender. That was the encore when I saw U2 in Croke Park on July 24 and I’d like to hear those three songs again in Atlanta on October 6…plus one…Window in the Skies.

You can listen to U2 songs over and over, and often, a song you’ve heard a hundred times “speaks to you.” That happened to me this week as my iPhone, on shuffle, played “Window in the Skies” from U218 Singles. What a great song…and what a great song to play as an encore, which at U2 concerts are always meant to send us away with a message ringing in our ears...and hearts.

Bono begins by singing, “The shackles are undone, the bullet’s quit the gun.” He is singing of the amazing truth that through grace the shackles of slavery to sin and death have been removed. So have the shackles of self-condemnation and self-absorption! The punishment at the Hand of a Just Judge has been taken away by a Substitute…thus, the bullets are taken away…for those in Christ, wrath is shooting blanks!

Then, “the heat that’s in the sun (hear “Son”) will keep us when there’s none…when the coldness of the world and the freeze of a broken planet come upon us, there’s the Son filled with the warmth of His love!

“The Rule has been disproved.” The rule of law that says unless you are perfect, you will die, both physically and spiritually. The rule of law is more like the rule of karma—you get what you deserve. Grace disproves the rule of The Law which condemns us to judgment. Grace in Christ grants us what we don’t deserve...favor where we deserve rejection.

I’m fairly confident I’m interpreting the lyrics properly, because the next line is too obvious to miss (how can you stand next to the truth and not see it?!)…

“The Stone, it has been removed.” On the first Easter, the Stone was rolled away, revealing that the Crucified Lord had been raised from the dead! So, as a result of the hope of the resurrection…

“The grave is now a groove.” The grave, for the believer, is simply a seemless groove into a God-filled eternity…no more crying, no more pain, no more sorrow, now more sin. Death has been defeated!

“All debts are removed.” The debt we owe an infinitely holy and just God because of our failure has been paid in full by the One who came to live the life we couldn’t live and die the death we couldn’t die…

“Oh can’t you see what LOVE has done?...Love left a window in the skies.” There is NOW a way we can look into the heavens and SEE our Creator! We can look in upon God and He looks down upon us in Christ with favor, delight and care!

More tomorrow on this great song…would love to hear it in Atlanta!!So far the encores for the 360Tour have been the same: Ultra Violet, With or Without You and Moment of Surrender. That was the encore when I saw U2 in Croke Park on July 24 and I’d like to hear those three songs again in Atlanta on October 6…plus one…Window in the Skies.

I’m sure you’ve listened to U2 songs over and over, as I have, but sometimes a song you’ve heard a hundred times “speaks to you.” That happened to me this week as my iPhone, on shuffle, played “Window in the Skies” from U218 Singles. What a great song…and what a great song to play as an encore, which at U2 concerts are always meant to send us away with a message ringing in our ears...and hearts.

I’m fairly confident I’m interpreting the lyrics properly, because the next line is too obvious to miss (how can you stand next to the truth and not see it?!)…

More tomorrow on this great song…would love to hear it in Atlanta!!

U2 Croke Park, Steve Stockman Review

2009-07-28T07:47:00.001-05:00

My friend, Steve Stockman, who has written a book on the spirituality of U2's music, Walk On, has a blog called Soul Surmise. He was at the same concert myself and a few other OMPC folk were at in Dublin on July 24. It was amazing. Here are Steve's thoughts from his blog and his review:

"Perhaps my most quoted quote to my students is Frederick Buechner’s definition of vocation; “The place where your deepest gladness and the world’s greatest hunger meet.” I spend a lot of time pastoring students to that point where they find out what they were created to be and how that can penetrate the needs of the social order. Four songs into U2’s first of three homecoming Croke Park gigs Bono is singing about how he was born to sing and was given songs to sing. Nearing the end of Magnificent the fourth song in a row from the new album No Line On The Horizon, Bono stand arms open and declares “I surrender.” It is a surrendering to his God; it is a surrendering to the people (the fans) whose hard earned money put him on this stage, in one of the biggest stadiums in Europe, literally one or two miles from where he grew up; it is a surrendering to his place in the world, where with three chords and the truth, as he once said, he could meet some of the world’s deepest hunger. And as I watch I am thinking that this is where I hope all of my students get to, because that man and his three mates are without doubt right on the vortex of their place in the cosmos.

There is a deepest gladness about this particular gig. Is there some relief that the first of three 82,000 capacity gigs is jammered? Is there relief that after the criticisms about their music and even tax decisions they are back in the arms of their own; their families and fans and familiar streets of home? Is it that they are just happy in their own skin, doing what they do best? Whatever there is a looseness, even in the tightest of sounds, that makes the gig seem all the more uplifting; yes, a trademark but sharper than ever. The first half hour is just full on rock n roll of a stadium shrinking kind that perhaps only Springsteen could hope to emulate. As I said the splendid Breathe kicks off into four more from the new record. No Line On The Horizon is rockier than on the album and Get On Your Boots finally proves itself as a U2 banker, all hard core Edge riff and communal chant. After Magnificent it is Beautiful Day and Elevation and you wonder how these almost fifty year olds can keep it up.

The first breather gives the band a chance to shake it up. On acoustic guitar Desire seems more alive than in years and then the reinvigorated Stuck in A Moment gets served up with American grit. A wee shout out to a gloomy recession hit Ireland was full of pride and inspiration as well as a welcome to the hordes of visitors who had come to see U2 where U2 need to be experienced. An impromptu stab at Brendan Behan’s classic Irish folk song The Auld Triangle was stumbled over with some fun and laughter and a band in their very deepest gladness enjoying the night as much as the crowd.

They weren’t finished with the new arrangements. One got an Adam Clayton bass groove that prevented any danger of diminishing returns but most surprising of all was the complete reinvention of I’ll Go Crazy If I Don’t Go Crazy Tonight with Larry out front with a drum round his neck and Bono interweaving the party and spiritual side of the song to maximum effect. Unforgettable Fire sounded refreshingly familiar and its inclusion along with MLK and a set ending Bad, as well as of course the mainstay Pride, might suggest a commercial eye on the Remaster Edition due for release in October but whatever the reason the effect was brilliant. Likewise Ultraviolet as the first encore was another reminder of the goodness of songs not tried for years.

All of it was a rat-a-tat-tat of great tunes from band holding the crowd in the palm of their hand for two hours and twenty four songs. The sense of celebration and Beuchner’s gladness was palpable. Opening act Damien Dempsey had said how great it was to be alive and I thought about his words as I simply revelled in the spiritual celebration that this band was giving out. If you want a great rock n roll show no one gets close but if you are looking for another dimension the theology is deep and poetic.

Of course as well as deep gladness these guys also meet the world’s deep hunger and tonight the build up from Bloody Sunday to Pride brought us to a Martin Luther King for 2009 and Burmese activist Aung San Suu Kyi in house arrest for almost twenty years. MLK was a prayer sent up for her and of course Walk On was originally about her anyway so at the crescendo of that there was a parade of people on stage wearing Suu Kyi masks in solidarity, to keep her face in the conscience of the world. Later Bono handed over to the Archbishop of the U2360 Tour and a film preach by Desmond Tutu encouraged us to keep children suffering from AIDS and Malaria alive so that they would become doctors, teachers and scientists. This is not just good music but music that is trying to be good for something.

You can’t help but wonder if that person in U2’s Christian fellowship way back in 1981 who told them that God had said they should give the music up because it was not spiritually useful was in Croke Park? If so, what would they have thought? Had U2 believed them and become teachers and whatever they might have become would these four men have affected the world in anywhere near the way that they have? And what about within themselves? Would they be doing whatever with the same deep gladness and celebration that you could see tonight? Thank God they ignored it and found their vocation.

To the end and a stroke of typical confidence and courage had U2 close the night with Moment of Surrender, a seven minute slow burner from the new, critically and commercially questioned, record. U2 have never said goodnight with a throwaway hit. From 40 to Yahweh there has been a spiritual blessing before the journey home and this is their theological masterpiece. Of course we are back to that endless theme in their catalogue and that moment at the outset of this show – surrender. As we watch on those big screens these four men, just four ordinary looking men, leave the stage you become aware how incredible it is that they can achieve the astounding impact that they have just made. And we are back to finding that place where deep gladness and world hunger meet. These men are perfectly in their reason for existence. They say they have found grace inside a sound and you simply want them to let you into that sound. They are a force of nature !"

Bad Doctors

2009-06-26T08:17:00.001-05:00

I turn 50 this summer…it had to happen eventually. I go in this morning to hear the results of my half-a-century physical! I hope the news is good. But what if there is something wrong? What if it turns out I have a diseased liver or diminished kidney function? What if I have high blood pressure or cholesterol that is off the charts? And…what if the doctor, knowing these issues, simply ignores them or looks me in the eye and says, “Eh, its no big deal”? What a poor physician that would be!

I fear that at times pastors and leaders (and parents and friends?) in our day are poor physicians of the soul. I fear that in our evangelical sub-culture, we at times see cancer and just ignore it…or, at the very least, fail to treat it. Imagine that. Imagine someone being eaten up with cancer and the doctor, though knowing about it, failing to aggressively treat it.

Our Lord Jesus is the Great Physician. The Apostle Paul was a good Intern…as was the Apostle Peter. They were good shepherds.

In Spurgeon’s Morning and Evening for today, both devotionals deal aggressively with the possibility of cancer of the soul. I find it very interesting that the devotionals for today are right in line with where we are in our study of 1 Corinthians.

Last Sunday’s message on 1 Cor 10:1-3 was an “oil checker” for sure. As in Hebrews 6:4-6, we learn just how much grace we can be exposed to and still not be saved. There is a common grace at work in the Church that can lead to all kinds of “enlightening” but does not save. There can be profession of faith without possession of faith. As in Israel, where all passed through the Red Sea and received water from a rock and manna from heaven, we can be WITH Christ and not be IN Christ! Are YOU in Christ?

Read Spurgeon’s devotions today! If you’ve already read them…read them again! They are the “check-up” for your soul this day! Read the gifted way Spurgeon, as a good doctor, communicates the seriousness of the possibility of cancer of the soul!

As Jesus says in Matthew 7:21-23: “Not everyone who SAYS to Me, “Lord, Lord!” will enter the kingdom of heaven.” Notice: some will have cast out demons in the Name of the Lord. Some will have worked miracles even, in the Name of Christ. Still others will have prophesied…and yet Jesus, on that Final Day, will say, “Depart from Me…I NEVER knew you.”

Picture the doomed in hell pointing their fiery fingers and shouting: “There is one! One who professed faith. One who thought by good deeds or a passable Christian lifestyle, that they were in the Ark of Christ and would escape the Flood of Wrath.” “There is one who was a hypocrite on earth and now will be a citizen of hell…forever!”

Read again Spurgeon’s words: “No greater eagerness will ever be seen among satanic tormentors, than in that day when devils drag the hypocrite’s soul down to eternal damnation.” Strong medicine these words are! Stronger than most of the medicine delivered in many grace-driven churches.

The Power of grace enables physicians of the soul to speak so forcefully against spiritual cancer. Gospel Physicians know that grace is no mere sentimentality of divine love, but instead is Divine Power poured out upon a human soul…and if poured out and received, grace MUST have it’s work! Grace will and must change a life.

Spurgeon ends the Evening Devotional as I have ended many sermons: “…there can not be faith in the heart unless there is holiness in the life.” Now, obviously that holiness is incomplete, and even ebbs and flows through seasons of life, but…

That is NOT works salvation! That is exalting the wonder and beauty of grace! Grace is not mere “fire insurance” against the flames of hell. Grace is God’s love poured out in transforming power.

Any healthy soul at THIS POINT, should be aware of areas of the life that are not pleasing to God. Any healthy soul at this point should be more concerned than they were at the beginning of this devotional, over the condition of their spiritual life. Any healthy soul MUST be running to the Cross right now and crying out, “Oh Christ! Have mercy!” Any healthy soul must be laboring right now to be found in Christ and in His righteousness alone. Any healthy soul right now must be humbled by existing sin in the life and hoping afresh in the work of Christ that makes clean and justifies in the sight of God. EVERY healthy soul at Oak Mountain should surely be WALTZING right now! The Three-Step Dance of GRACE with our Loving Partner, Jesus. Repent! Believe! Fight!

It is the UNHEALTHY soul that is thinking: “Ah, good for you, Bob! There are many out there who need to read such a devotional. Thankfully MY OWN soul is not in need of such examination, but I need to make sure so-and-so gets this one.” The unhealthy soul never imagines the possibility of being one who on the last day hears, “Depart from Me, I NEVER knew you.”

Let’s face it…the bar of spirituality in the Church today is not as high as it has been in the past. We need REVIVAL! Revival starts with a work of the Spirit leading us to fresh repentance. Revival starts with a fresh work of grace which reveals how desperately we need a fresh work of grace!

Revival begins with souls who have been given the grace to read devotionals like Spurgeon writes today, and after reading, cry out: “Oh Christ! Have mercy upon me! Change me! Restore me to my First Love…and do it NOW!”

Enough with examinations and check-ups that only look for visibly diseased limbs and exteriors! We need some real lab work sent off! Is kindness growing in my soul? Do I love money and possessions too much? Is there a fire in my belly for the word of God and the Church of God and the people of God? Am I burdened that Christ be believed upon and exalted and glorified and honored in the world?

Am I repenting and grieving over my self-righteousness as much as my self-indulgence? Am I repenting over my religiosity as much as my irreligiosity?

Am I as repentant over my lack of concern for the poor and diseased as I am over my lack of concern for the unborn? Am I as concerned over my problem with gossip as I am with the culture’s problem with gambling? Am I as burdened over the sins of the “Right” as I am over the sins of the “Left?”

Am I as grieved by personal, private sins which I see in myself as I am by public sins I see in others? Is Christ my First Love? Is it Him and Him only that I must have in life and nothing else matters?!

Now REMEMBER: the therapy recommended by Scripture is NOT to “turn over a new leaf;” it is NOT to “turn your life around.” The prescription for cancer of the soul is running to Christ in helpless dependence. It is despairing of any solution within and hoping afresh in Gospel Grace.
If we are, in fact, in Christ, remember the Promises:

“There is therefore, now, no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.” Romans 8:1

And, “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to FORGIVE us our sins AND to CLEANSE us from all unrighteousness.” 1 John 1:9

I, for one, NEED to be forgiven; AND, I NEED to be cleansed, changed, transformed! I both NEED and WANT revival! How about you?!

I Can't Get No...Satisfaction

2009-06-25T06:56:00.002-05:00

Ok…I’ll admit it…I love listening to the Rolling Stones! Their lives might be a mess, but they’ve made some sweet music. Who can’t get into their classic hit, “I Can’t Get No Satisfaction”? It seems that even Charles Spurgeon might have liked to blog on that one…

In his Evening Devotion for today, Spurgeon uses one verse from the Flood account. As the waters were receding, Noah sent out, first a raven…if flew around, found some trash in the world that could satisfy it’s hunger for garbage, and stayed away from the Ark, never to return.

Then, Noah sent out a dove…a bird with higher standards apparently, and because it could NOT find a suitable place to rest in the broken and judged world, it returned to the Ark. Seven days later, Noah set it loose again…this time after flying around it found an olive tree…yet it returned to the Ark and rested there once more, having brought a newly plucked olive leaf in its mouth. Finally, after waiting another seven days, Noah released the dove once more…and this time the dove did not return.

Spurgeon uses the Ark as a symbol of Christ and salvation from the wrath to be unleashed upon the world. Spurgeon reminds us this morning that the world is a place of destruction and brokenness and trash and garbage (though this is the point of the devotional, we also know that in many ways, though, the world is a glorious ruin, still revealing much of the goodness of God). So….here’s the deal…are you more like a raven or a dove?...

Can your soul find delight in the ruins and trash of this world? Or, are you dissatisfied with anything the world can offer and recognize you possess as soul that is only ever ultimately possessed by the joy and hope of being in Jesus…the Ark of your life?!

Spurgeon says that we will be known by our delights…ravens can feed on things of which the dove simply will not partake. The dove does not find any place to rest in the broken world. The dove realizes that the only pleasures in life are to be found in the Ark!

As Spurgeon writes, if you feel you can stretch out and rest comfortably in the world, it is not a good sign of the condition of your soul. But if you find yourself singing along with Mick Jagger, applying it to this world, and are crying out, “I Can’t Get NO…Satisfaction” then the condition of your soul is rather healthy indeed.

If you find your own estimation of your spiritual life is one of struggling, yet realize you find no rest in sin, no real joy in the things of the world, no satisfaction in “the lust of the eyes and the lust of the flesh and the boastful pride of life,” be encouraged…there is the sign of true spiritual life within you.

The Christian simply can find no rest in the muck and the mire, the runny soot of this world. The Christian recognizes that only the lush green of True Life will satisfy. The True Christian will keep flying until it finds The One Who is Life Indeed. The True Christian understands that it is only at God’s Right Hand there are pleasures forever more.

The True Believer in Christ knows, sometimes more clearly than others for sure, that this World of Muck is, as Spurgeon writes, “Meaningless, Meaningless, Everything is Meaningless” divorced from an intimate, saving, Spirit-filled relationship with Christ.

So…what are you this morning…a raven…or a dove? Will you fly back to the Ark…to your Savior…and ask that He might continue the work of transformation? Will you ask Him this morning to rid you of your raven-like characteristics and to form you into the dove…according to the Nature of His Own Spirit?

When it comes to the things of the world, may the song of our soul be: “I Can’t Get No…Satisfaction!”

May your song be that of the Psalmist: My soul…find REST in God alone! Ps 62:1, 5

Are You a Half-baked Believer?

2009-06-23T09:16:00.001-05:00

In this Morning’s devotional in Spurgeon, he cites Hosea 7:8—“Ephraim is a flat cake not turned over.” Ephraim was another name for the people of God. It is possible to be a child of God and be similar to a pancake that is “half-baked.” Are you a “half-baked” believer? Do you go off “half-baked” in your doctrine and behavior? Is your faith only “half-baked?”

If the flame or heat of the “burner” is the heat of God’s love and grace, what portions of your heart and life have been untouched because you have never been “turned over”?

What are the areas of “half-baked” obedience in your life? Or, put another way, how does being half-baked in grace lead to the continuous practice of partial DISobedience?! What areas of rebellion are still yet to be purged through the heat of God’s love? We cook things thoroughly to make sure bacteria is destroyed…how has our half-baked spiritual life led to the bacteria of sin remaining untouched in certain areas of our lives?

Is grace doing a complete work in your soul? What portions of your relationships, your behaviors, your attitudes, your conversation, your convictions, your recreations, your priorities are still left untouched by the heat of God’s grace?

Remember, the heat of grace doesn’t merely purge the “bacteria” of sins of commission, but must cook away the sins of omission as well. To focus only on stopping negative thoughts, words and behaviors is still to remain “half-baked.” We must cry out for grace that warms the soul toward positively engaging in thoughts words and behaviors which pleasing to God which we tend to ignore.

We will never be completely spiritually “cooked through” until we die or Christ returns. Yet we must always keep in mind that there is no area of life which the heat of grace is not to touch. We must seek to bring both the private and public life to the heat of grace.

Spurgeon also points out that a pancake “half-baked” and “unturned” tends to burn on one side. At Oak Mountain we talk about being “well done” or “heavy-footed” in one of the steps of the Waltz. Some of us are “over-done” in the Repent step; others in the Believe step; still others in the Fight step. We must allow grace to do it’s work so that we would be evenly cooked and dance the entire Waltz.

If the heat of grace is limited to only certain beliefs and behaviors and doesn’t touch other areas of life, we can become too “hot” about certain issues. We can become people with Christian “hobby-horses” or believers who only ever sound one note. We can minimize the wonder of God’s infinite nature by reducing His interests to only those things that capture our hearts. There is nothing wrong with pursuing passions and burdens, but we must remember that our passions and burdens are not supposed to be EVERYONE’S passion and burden. That is the beauty of the Body of Christ.

If we remain “half-baked” we can become self-righteous and Pharisaical about our own passions and begin to judge others who don’t share the same heat. Or, we can actually fail to see that such an intensely “focused” holiness can leave vast areas of our hearts untouched by gospel righteousness. We can begin to think that the God of infinite passion only shares the singular passion of our own lives. We then become Zealots rather than people with integrated, balanced lives. Food that is “half-baked” is not very tasty…and Christian lives with narrowly focused passions are often not very tasty in the sight of the world either.

So, what to do? Cry out to God to “turn you over!” Don’t fear the heat…it is only ever the heat of love. Ask God today, right now, to take those areas of your life that are seemingly little touched by the heat of grace and cry out to feel “the sacred glow!” Let those areas of life that are “over heating” cool a little. Allow yourself to feel the weakness of the flesh and the danger of the “bacteria” not yet killed by the heat of the Spirit. Cry out that you would know the inconsistency of your spiritual life…hot on some things, cold on others.

What turns us over? Community for one thing. We all "bake" at different temperatures and have different ingredients...we need to be around each other so that the "uncooked" elements of our hearts are exposed. Consistent time in the Word is another way we get "turned over." Think of some other ways the Spatula of God can flip you over!!

Ephraim was like a flat cake, not turned over…how are you like Ephraim this morning? Where are you in need of a more even heat of grace?

Why Were You Born?

2009-06-17T09:18:00.002-05:00

In the song Magnificent on U2's new album (No Line on the Horizon), Bono cries out that he was born to sing for Someone. Many might think this is a song to all U2 fans...and I guess at one level you can take it that way....but what the song is really about is Bono's acknowledgement that he was born to sing for the Magnificent...for Christ. What I want us to consider today is the fact that the song's lyrics are really true for ALL of us. Every human being was created to Sing for God. We may not have Bono's voice, but we are made to sing!

In Numbers 21:17 we meet up with the Israelites singing a song of praise to God because He had graciously promised to give them water for their journey in the wilderness.

One interesting side note is that this passage follows closely on the heels of one of my favorite gospel passage in Scripture. In Numbers 21:4-9 God had sent fiery serpents to bite the people because they were grumbling and complaining in the desert. They were helpless to save themselves from the fatal venom...all they could do is cry out to God and look in faith to the bronze serpent that God had commanded Moses to lift up on a pole. In John 3 we learn that this incident was a prefiguring of Christ: as the serpent was lifted up, so Christ was lifted up, that whoever looks to Him in faith will be saved from sin. However, we must be reminded that it is also the picture of sanctification and life change...whenever we recognize and acknowledge the venom of sin coursing through the "veins of our souls" afresh, we have no other recourse but to look to Christ again in fresh faith that the transforming power of the blood might "neutralize" the venom of sin and we may be changed.

It is AFTER this rebellion of grumbling and complaining and whining that God then shows great grace by providing undeserved water to quench the thirst of His people. How amazing that even after our rebellion, God still graciously provides what is more than sufficient for our needs!

As God's people hear that He is going to provide water, they break out in praise to God for the well. Each Sunday, Each Lord's Day, we are given the privilege to praise God for the past week's provision of grace and praise in anticipation of future grace in the coming days. I'm reminded of how often in the Psalms that we as God's people are COMMANDED to "Sing!" We were born to Sing for Him!

The fact of the matter is that our hearts ought to be so full of wonder at God's grace, there would be no need to be commanded to praise...it would be the supernatural, spontaneous overflow of our hearts. However, because of our sin and cold-heartedness, because of our distraction and our pride, we still must hear the COMMAND to sing praises to God. In the Psalms alone we hear the command or the determination to sing in at lest 61 verses!! Singing praise to God is not a matter of temperament or giftedness; it is a matter of the heart!

When I was converted as a sophomore at Penn State over 29 years ago, there were three changes God brought about in my life over which I exercised no will, exertion or effort. First, whereas I had never owned nor opened a Bible, within days of my conversion I had an insatiable hunger for God's Word...I literally could not put it down. Second, my language had been "colorful" as a "gym rat," cursing whenever I missed a shot on the basketball court. Within days of my conversion, my language had cleaned up without me even focusing on it! Third, I began to sing! I can still remember singing Christmas carols my first Christmas as a true believer. I had been in churches where carols were sung when I was a non-Christian over the years, but I had never sung...I mouthed the words without singing. When I was converted, I began to sing.

I know that personality does have SOME bearing on singing...but if you read the Psalms, God doesn't deal with temperaments....we are COMMANDED to sing!! But again, the real issue is not that we are commanded to sing; the real issue is this: what is going on in our hearts that we would refrain from singing? Even if we feel we have a terrible voice, that is a heart issue of pride and self-absorption. Even if we feel shy and self-conscious, that too is a matter of pride in the heart. If we just don't feel like singing, that is giving into emotions, or a lack thereof and allowing our emotions to rule our lives rather than using our renewed wills to whip our emotions into shape.

The question this morning is this: are you singing God's praises on Sunday mornings? If not, why not? I know we all sing alone with U2 blaring on our stereos...singing is a matter of delight, not temperament! We are ALL born to sing for Him!

Things I Wish I had Known as a New Christian

2009-06-15T08:28:00.001-05:00

We had such a great discussion in our mentoring group this morning studying True Spirituality by Francis Schaeffer Chapter 6, and it is so packed with nuggets, I thought I'd summarize in writing what we covered...as much for myself as for y'all!! I wish I had known this as a new believer and not until so many years after conversion!! I would have been spared a LOT of pain and confusion....

1. Because of the Fall we wake up each morning in an ABNORMAL world. We shouldn't be surprised when we face "thorns and thistles and weeds" in our relationships and tasks.

2. The victory over sin has already been decisively achieved, though we don't see the full extent of the results yet. We are to live to bring the reality of the victory and the power of the Kingdom into our day TODAY! Eternal life is not some far off place of another time, it begins at our conversion is to reform and redeem all of the spheres of influence we walk in.

3. The Christian life is not only true but supernatural. We touch the supernatural and are transformed by the supernatural as we live by faith. Christ is formed in us the same way the Physical Christ was formed in the Virgin Mary...as we believe the Word, the Promise, of God. Luke 1:38: Be it done TO me according to Your word. When we face sin we are to feel as helpless as Mary in conceiving her Child on her own...she could not do it...it was a HUMAN IMPOSSIBILITY...but what is impossible with man is possible with God. He calls into being that which was not, like He did at creation, by the Word of His Power...that is HOW the Christian life works! He calls into being spiritual fruit and supernatural change that we can not bring about by all our efforts and strategies.

4. A critical element to faith is latching hold continually to the promise of JUSTIFICATION. We are to live moment-by-moment in the reality of our justified standing: God, sitting behind the Legal Bench, is both Judge, Jury and Prosecutor. We ARE ALL guilty, both through Adam's sin and our own sins. We have no defense of our own. We are hopeless. Christ enters the courtroom as our Defense Attorney and pleads His own obedient life and death as our Proxy and Substitute. God then bangs the gavel and DECLARES us not guilty. But more than that, The Father does what no earthly judge can ever do: He not only declares us NOT GUILTY, He declares us PERFECT, SPOTLESS, BLAMELESS and HOLY in His sight. We are declared as PERFECTLY RIGHTEOUS as Jesus Himself. Christ's perfect RECORD of obedience legally becomes OUR VERY OWN record before God! See the Heidelburg Catechism Question 60.

5. A second critical element for faith to cling to is the promise of ADOPTION. Christ is uniquely The Son of God. He is the Second Person of the Trinity...He is God Himself. Yet, through union with Christ by Spirit baptism by grace through faith, EVERY believer becomes a child of God, an adopted son or daughter...with ALL the same rights, privilege, standing before the Father AS CHRIST HIMSELF. Because of union with Christ, the baptismal pronouncement over Christ, "This is My Beloved Son, in Whom I am well pleased," becomes the Father's declaration over every believer in Christ!!

6. As we BELIEVE in Christ and the Gospel Promises of JUSTIFICATION and ADOPTION, we are transformed supernaturally by the Spirit of God. It is by GRACE experienced through FAITH in the Gospel Promises that the Holy Spirit transforms our lives. When we believe God's promise of our justification and adoption when we FEEL we LEAST DESERVE to believe it, that is precisely when the power of the Spirit most fully falls upon our lives. Again, keep in mind Luke 1:38--"Be it done TO me according to Your Word."

7. A third critical element for faith to cling to is the promise of REGENERATION. We are born again by God's Spirit. According to the Old Testament promise in Ezekiel 36:25-29, God will cleanse us from all our idols, He will sprinkle clean water on us (symbolized by New Testament baptism) He will give us a new heart and put a new spirit within us. He will removed from us the heart of stone (symbolized by Old Testament circumcision) and give us a soft heart toward Him. He will put His Spirit within us and CAUSE us to walk in His commands!! That is regeneration....the supernatural removal of the Old Man in Adam and making us new creations, new creatures in Christ. With new natures, new hearts and a New Spirit, we are now ABLE to say no to sin and yes to righteousness...as we walk by faith in the Gospel Promises. We are now responsible...response-able.

8. Sanctification occurs much the same way conversion happens...by grace through faith. Even our Doctrinal Standards teach this: See the Westminster Shorter Catechism Question 35, Larger Catechism 75. The Holy Spirit applies the benefits of the life and death of Christ to our hearts in ever increasing fashion resulting in the supernatural transformation of our lives. One difference between justification and sanctification is that sanctification occurs in varying degrees while there are no degrees to justification...we are fully justified from the moment we believe, but we are progressively sanctified each day as we walk in repentance and faith.

9. Sanctification occurs as we believe the Gospel (Galatians 3:1-5, Colossians 2:6, John 6:29, Isaiah 30:15, etc). Sanctification occurs as we learn to WALTZ--the spiritual "3-step" dance with Christ of "Repent! Believe! Fight!" There are ups and downs, ebbs and flows to the spiritual life. Growth begins with repentance: acknowledging our sin and helplessness before God. We can no more change ourselves by sheer effort and discipline than we could save ourselves by sheer effort and discipline. But we must not stop at repentance or we will wallow in despair. Repentance must lead to fresh faith. We are to BELIEVE the Gospel Promises afresh that our standing before God never changes because of our sin. Through union with Christ we are unchangeably justified before God and eternally adopted sons and daughters. We can do nothing to cause God to love us more than He already does in Christ; and we can do nothing that would ever cause God to love us any less than He loves Christ Himself (John 17:23!!). It is AS we BELIEVE these promises that the Power of the Spirit is unleashed in our lives (Galatians 3:5). This is what it means to ABIDE in Christ--we abide by faith...grace apprehended by faith strengthens our union with the Branch, Christ, so that His life-giving "sap" courses through our lives with transforming power. We are to BELIEVE that just as there is a "converting" power to the blood of Christ that saves us from hell, so there is a transforming power of the blood that delivers us progressively from the power of sin. As the old hymn, Rock of Ages, reminds us: the blood of Christ provides the DOUBLE CURE: it cleanses us from both sin's guilt AND power! Then, equipped with fresh faith and reminded of reality of our regeneration, we are to FIGHT the good fight and WAR against the world the flesh and the devil. We are to renounce the flesh and present our lives to righteousness. Then, if/when we fail, we continue waltzing!

10. We Do NOT arrive this side of eternity. There is NO ARRIVALISM, NO TRIUMPHALISM. Waltzing doesn't FIX us! Waltzing is how broken, limping sinners saved by grace are progressively becoming whole and healthy...but we are not completely healed until the Return of Christ. Grace enables us, empowers us and motivates us to persevere in faith so that grace by the Power of the Holy Spirit will continually transform us.

"Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in BELIEVING, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may about in hope!"
Romans 15:13

Streams in the Summer Desert Challenge

2009-06-12T08:32:00.001-05:00

In Charles Spurgeon's Classic Devotional, Morning and Evening, this Morning's Devotional challenges us to a more contemplative life (U2's Unknown Caller issues a similar challenge!). Too often we read the Bible to tick off a "to do" so that we can think we are good little Christians. Too often we read the Bible intellectually for head knowledge rather than as an opportunity to listen to fresh WALTZ music.

The Waltz is a Three-Step Dance with Christ by the Power of the Holy Spirit that leads us to Spiritual Growth--Repent! Believe! Fight! Scripture is like a Holy Spirit REMIX every time we prayerfully approach Christ through it that presents us with fresh Waltz music.

U2 has some songs on their Medium, Rare and Remastered release that are "re-mixes." Old songs re-mixed to different styles of music. Same lyrics, different music. That's what we should expect from the Holy Spirit as we read Scripture...same lyrics, different music...different WALTZ music. Different sins exposed that we must REPENT of. Promises brought to light in fresh ways that we need to BELIEVE. Commands and prohibitions that have fresh application to our lives and circumstances which require us to FIGHT to obey.

We must read Scripture PERSONALLY. Read Scripture for APPLICATION more than for head KNOWLEDGE. Read Scripture as a conversation with God...a discipleship appointment with the Father. If you read the Bible and find yourself thinking, "I know this already. I've read this passage or heard it taught 100 times!", you are not reading the Bible for all its worth! Change your approach to Scripture and you will be more hungry and motivated to read it!

Let me give you the Streams in the Summer Desert Challenge. One of the greatest Psalms in the Bible, and certainly the longest Psalm in the Bible, is Psalm 119. It is made up of 22 stanzas of 8 verses each. It is made up of 22 stanzas because that is how many letters there are in the Hebrew alphabet.

Each line of each stanza begins with the same letter...in English it would be like each of the verses in stanza one, Psalm 119:1-8, beginning with the letter "A." Then stanza two, verses 9-16 would start each verse with the letter "B," etc. It was crafted this way was so it could be more easily memorized! Feeling like a light-weight right about now? 176 verses make up the Psalm...when is the last time you memorized 176 verses??

So, here's the Streams in the Desert Summer Challenge: Over the next 22 days, read one stanza of Psalm 119 CONTEMPLATIVELY! The entire Psalm is about the riches of reading, learning, meditating upon, obeying and applying God's Word. WALTZ through each stanza over the next 22 days. Ask God for a hunger for His Word. Cry out for a heart that would understand and apply His Word. Confess any lack of hunger or thirst for Scripture. Make the Psalmist's words YOUR words. Pray slowly and intentionally through each word in each line if that's what it takes...and watch your hunger and heart for Scripture be transformed by God's Spirit.

Eat well!

Spurgeon--We Love Because He First Loved Us

2009-06-11T08:27:00.001-05:00

In this morning's Spurgeon, the text used is 1 John 4:19: "We love because He first loved us." First of all this is a statement of fact regarding SUPERNATURAL consequences.

It is not mere emotionalism that causes us or compels us to love Christ and His kingdom. The love of God grants us new hearts as well as the Presence and Power of the Holy Spirit; and the Holy Spirit, working in the New Nature, creates a love for God. This is just as supernatural as Day One of Creation when the universe was formless and void and God simply spoke, "Let there be!" and there was! We love because He first loved us! As Spurgeon writes, this is no mere admiration that bubbles up from naturalistic causes. Cry out to the Father for such a love to be spread abroad in your heart right now!!

This is also a statement of fact regarding NECESSARY consequences.

It is not possible that anyone born again by the Spirit of God lacks a love for God in return. Sometimes that love may be dull and passion may wane and there may be seasons where the relationship seems cool from our side...but don't let that hide the truth: if anyone is truly born again by the supernatural grace of God, love for God and His Kingdom is a NECESSARY consequence of God's love. If you have lost your first love, cry out for grace that would rekindle that love in the furnace of your soul right now!

We love because He first loved us is, thirdly, a statement of fact regarding ORDERLY consequences.

It is not that God loves us BECAUSE we love Him. God loves us unconditionally. He loves us first. We don't take the first step, He does. Then we take the second step...and as we grow in grace, we even begin to realize that it is God's love that enables us to take that second step and all the other steps to love God and His creation. Don't give in to the temptation to put the cart before the horse. It is Christ and His grace that creates a love for God; it is NOT your goodness and effort and love for God that creates any love in Him toward you.

This is, fourthly, a statement of fact regarding UNDESERVED consequences.

Spurgeon is clear that we don't deserve to be first loved by God. And even AFTER we have been loved by God, our response is so cool so often, that we deserve to have that love removed...and yet He will never leave us nor forsake us.

And then, finally, "We love because He first loved us" is a statement of fact regarding CONTINUOUS consequences.

As Spurgeon writes, this seed of love implanted in our souls by Divine Grace must be divinely nourished continually. This love must be watered. This love must be weeded. This love must receive nutrients. This love must receive Son-light! As Francis Schaeffer says over and over...we are not lifeless sticks floating down a current, doing nothing; we are human beings. As human beings, God has given us the dignity of being co-laborers with Him in creating a New Cosmos. We do play a role even in seeing that the Seed of Divine Love within our own souls is nourished by Divine Grace.

How do we do this? The simple answer is through the Means of Grace. We Read, Memorize and Meditate upon the Word of God on a daily basis. We learn to WALTZ through the Word, by Repenting of sin exposed as we read; by believing promises that grip us as we read; by choosing to go into the world fighting to obey the commands we read. We Pray through the Scripture that we read. We engage regularly in Worship and Fellowship. Engaging in these means of grace will not cause God to love us any more than He already does...but without them our awareness of His love for us will wane and grow dim...and unless we are feeding on God's love for us, our love for Him will also wane and grow dim.

We water the seed of Love supernaturally implanted in our souls most, however, by BELIEVING IN and RESTING IN His love for us!! As we believe and hope in His unconditional love for us, supernatural power rains upon us from on high, and increases our love response toward Him. The single most important work of God is this...that we believe (John 6:29!). God fills us with His Spirit and works the miracle of love for Him in us as we BELIEVE what we have heard in the Gospel (Galatians 3:5!).

We love because He first loved us...Is there a love for God in your soul today? Do you love what He loves because He loved you first? Are you taking your dignity as a human being seriously by engaging faithfully in the Means of Grace which are the conduit of even deeper measures of His love being poured into your soul so that supernaturally, you will LOVE HIM more?

Eat at Apollo's

2009-06-08T09:36:00.001-05:00

There were many questions arising out of my message about meat offered to idols from 1 Corinthians 8. You can listen to the sermon from June 7, 2009 by clicking here or by visiting iTunes. The problem in 1 Cor 8 is that there are two terms that present difficult interpretive challenges.

In 1 Cor 8:11, "Brother" normally means a convert; yet “destroyed” almost always means eternal destruction. To make it more interesting, with both those issues, Paul also calls this person “a brother for whom Christ died.”...so it almost seems to set up a no win situation! The key, of course, is to seek to take everything in a "whole-Bible" context and to let the "clear" passages interpret the "unclear."

It seems to me that even within the letter of 1 Corinthians, Paul teaches that there are people who are called brothers who are not...for instance, in 1 Cor 5:9-11 Paul talks about not associating with anyone who "bears the name of brother" but is practicing unrepentant sin. So, it seems clear that Paul is talking about people in the visible, local church who are accepted as brothers, perhaps by a profession of faith, and yet may not be Christians at all...only time will tell. But in the meantime, other Christians are not to associate with them that the unrepentant brothers may see their sin and repent.

Another key reason I'm convinced that Paul is talking about our actions toward those with an unformed faith is what he says in 1 Corinthians 9. Specifically, in 1 Cor 9:19-22, Paul is clearly emphasizing that he is willing to give up his rights and liberties so that by all means he might win/save as many as possible. Paul is not talking about ticky-tack differences with respect to "gray areas" among Christians...he is talking about actions that might keep those with an unformed faith from coming to the cross. Our actions toward others matter in the grand plan of God regarding the spiritual lives of others!

As far as "the brother for whom Christ died," not being a Christian, what does this say about the atoning work of Christ? There are other passages that present that difficulty as well. For instance, 1 Tim 4:10 mentions that Christ is the Savior of ALL people, especially of those who believe. Just as there were universal, cosmic consequences to the First Adam’s sin (Gen 3:17-19), so there are universal, cosmic consequences to the Second Adam’s Righteousness (Rom 8:19-23). So, my take on both 1 Tim 4:10 and 1 Cor 8:11 is that there is a sense in which Christ lived, died and rose for ALL, but not in a salvific way (only the elect have Christ as Savior in a salvific way (Rom 9), thus He is ESPECIALLY their Savior.

There is a sense that we are called to remember the dignity and worth of every human being, that we recall that they are all image bearers and that since we don't know who the elect are, it MAY be that Christ died even salvifically for such a "brother" with a still unformed faith, and our actions have an impact on people. God is sovereign and we are absolutely responsible…as Paul mentions in Acts 20:26 (likely referring to Ezek 3:18!).

There is obviously a lot of mystery in these verses...things we just don't know that we must try to grapple with. Bottom line, 1 Cor 8 seems to be dealing with those in the visible, local church who perhaps have made a profession of faith, but who are not yet converted and through our wrong use of knowledge and liberty are drawn back into idolatry, away from the Church, never to return, and are lost forever...Hebrew 6:4-8 seems to address a similar group of people as does Hebrews 10:26-39. They may be non-elect, but we are still responsible for our witness to them…we are NOT hyper-Calvinists!!

It seems that God wants His children to hope in the doctrine of eternal security, but also wants us to never feel we can become complacent and presumptuous about salvation. He gives us assurance...and also gives us real warnings! We, and others, may be "called" brothers...and if we are we are TRULY brothers and sisters in Christ, we will persevere to the end because of God's grace...but if we get drawn back into idolatry and unrepentant sin, and leave, we were never really in Christ...and John addresses this issue in 1 John 2:19.

Fun stuff, eh?...study to show yourself approved...a workman who handles accurately the word of truth--2 Tim 2:15; and as Peter reminds us in 2 Peter 3:16, there are some things in Scripture that are hard to understand!!

Light My Way

2009-06-05T17:24:00.001-05:00

Signs are pointing to a set list for U2 360 involving some old classics or even some "B" sides. In listening to everything from Boy to No Line on the Horizon, some of my own old favorites are sounding new all over again. One of the songs I can't stop listening to right now is Ultraviolet (Light My Way) from Achtung Baby.

The song, like most U2 creations, can be taken in different ways. On one level it is a love song, perhaps of Bono's love for Ali and his need for her help, even rescue. It could also be about a child's gratitude and need for a parent's love (the "opera" line perhaps referring to Bono's father, as it does in Sometimes You Can't Make it on Your Own). And like many U2 songs, it could also have a spiritual meaning as it relates to knowing the love and grace of God. Even in Scripture the love between a man and a woman is an illustration of the love Christ has for His Church and the need the Church has for Christ to light its Way (Ephesians 5:21-31 and also the Old Testament Book of the Song of Solomon). I'll let others discuss the first two layers...it's been my practice in these blogs to mine the spiritual vein.

The song begins with honesty, transparency and reality...a truly spiritual Christian understands the reality of this fallen world and the temptations of the flesh that pull us toward "getting it wrong." Sometimes we are so tired of fighting against evil that we get tired...we just feel like "checkin' out" and we realize that we "can't always be strong." God delights in such honesty. Our heavenly Father doesn't expect us to have it all together...what He deeply desires is our honesty and vulnerability. In Isaiah 57:15 we learn that God can not resist the one who is contrite, humble, broken-hearted. In James 4:6 we read that God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble.

There is the realization in the song that "the day is as dark as the night is long." There are times when we walk in darkness even as we walk with God. In Isaiah 50:10 we learn that when we walk in darkness and have no light, we are to trust in the Name of the LORD and rely upon our God. When we feel like we are "in the black, can't see or be seen" that is the time for faith in the Light of the World (John 8:12). The Son of God is the Light of the World, the Sun of Righteousness (Malachi 4:2: But for you who fear My Name, the Sun of Righteousness shall rise with healing in its wings)...Baby, Baby, Baby, Light my way! Ultraviolet.

Sometimes it is our own sin that puts us in a place of darkness...and we can "feel like trash." But Christ can wash us "White as Snow" and "You can make me feel clean."

"You bury Your treasure where it can't be found." In the Gospels, the Good News of the love of God in Christ is illustrated as a treasure hidden in a field (Matthew 13:44). Also, all during the mission of Christ, He told people to keep His True Identity a secret, commanding those He healed not to talk about it (Mark 7:36; Luke 5:14; Luke 8:56). He even told the disciples not to tell others when they figured out He was the Christ, the Son of the Living God (Matthew 16:20). In many ways, Bono and U2 hide the treasure of the Gospel in many of their songs. It's buried treasure where only those who really want to find it, will. As Bono says elsewhere, they are being very smart and just sort of drawing their fish in the sand, as the early Christians did with Ixthus.

Bono sings of the "price of love, I know it's not cheap." The price of God's love was the infinite price of the cost of the Blood of the Lamb...precious blood. There is no such thing as "cheap grace;" there are only people who treat the grace of God cheaply. But if we hope in the Love of God brought to us through Christ, there will be Light and Peace. There really is a "silence that comes to a house where no one can sleep" if that house puts it's hope in Christ. Life can be filled with difficulty, but if we fix our eyes on Christ, there will be a peace that surpasses all understanding. The silence and stillness of peace and comfort from the Light of the World can come even in the midst of troubles that steal sleep from our eyes. "Baby, baby, baby, Light my way...Oh Ultraviolet."

There is an ebb and flow to faith...and doubt. There are times when we can "sleep on stones (Genesis 28:18)." There are times even when life is hard and rough, that our hope in God's love is secure...and we can sleep in peace. There are times when we feel and sense God's love so thoroughly that our faith seems indestructible. There are other times, however, when all we can manage to do is "lie together in whispers and moans." Prayer barely audible, faith barely existing...as we moan through pain, suffering and disappointment (Romans 8:22-26). Times when we are "all messed up and I had an opera in my head." Life can feel like an opera at times...like a tragic story when all the songs are in minor keys...when it seems like the song will end, not in life but with death. Yet at those times, "Your love was a Lightbulb, hanging over my bed...Baby, baby, baby, Light my way...Ultraviolet."

Using his poetic license as a song writer, Bono could be treating the Spirit, as he often says, "as a feminine sort of thing." So, to cry out to God's Spirit with the prayer, "Baby, baby, baby, Light my way" is in no way irreverent, but Bono's normal poetic means of referring to the Spirit.

We all face times/seasons of darkness...and in those times, Who lights your way? Ultraviolet? The Sun of Righteousness?

"Oh sugar, don't you cry; Oh child, wipe the tears from your eyes."

Rock and Roll Reads Ecclesiastes

2009-05-30T10:45:00.002-05:00

I came across this video of U2 performing The Wanderer on YouTube. I would love to hear this on the set list for the upcoming tour!

The song reminds me of the Book of Ecclesiastes. The Teacher wants to go everywhere, try everything in a search for meaning...he tries seeking wisdom, engaging in pleasure, riches, sex, being a work-a-holic, marriage, poverty, foolishness, gluttony, drunkenness...he tries everything "before he repents." But where he ends up is to fear God and keep His commandments.

All is vanity...meaninglessness apart from a personal relationship with God. We were created for purpose...for significance...as Pascal said, "Our hearts are restless until they find their rest in You." And as Pascal said on another occasion: Each of us is filled with a cross-shaped hole in our hearts; yet we try to fill that hole with anything other than Christ...but hopefully, by grace, we are brought to repentance.

When Will the Pain Stop?

2009-05-27T09:40:00.001-05:00

Moment of Surrender, on U2's new album, No Line on the Horizon, is one of my favorite U2 songs of all time. What’s it about? It could be about a drug addict finally coming to the place of surrender as described in the Twelve Step program. It might also be about surrendering to God…as Bono sings about “falling to my knees.”

In many U2 songs, prayer is referred to as kneeling (She Moves in Mysterious Ways—“on your knees, boy;” Vertigo—“You’re love is teaching me how to kneel;” City of Blinding Lights—“Blessings are not just for the ones who kneel...luckily;” and many others!).

There are other Christian symbols in Moment of Surrender that lead me to believe Bono is singing about surrender to Christ…the Lamb as White as Snow. The last verse appears on U2.com/discography as follows:

I was speeding on the subway
Through the stations of the cross
Every eye looking every other way
Counting down 'til the Pentecost

The last line is significant. On the released version of the song, Bono seems to clearly sing: “counting down ‘til the pain would stop.” What is interesting is that on my iTunes download of the album which is accompanied by a Digital Booklet, the lyric appears as in U2.com's Discography section…“Counting down ‘til the Pentecost.”

This coming Sunday, May 31, 2009 is Pentecost Sunday. Pentecost is the Day the Church celebrates the outpouring of the Holy Spirit upon the early believers, 10 days after the ascension of Christ…and 50 days after Easter (thus the name, Pentecost).

Pentecost was also an Old Testament Feast Day—called the Feast of Weeks. It is also called the Feast of the Harvest or the Feast of Firstfruits. This Jewish feast celebrated the LORD as the Provider of all crops, all fruitfulness. The symbol in the Old Testament is the LORD as the Provider of material fruitfulness and Pentecost continues the theme of Provision as the Holy Spirit is poured out upon the Church as the Provider of all spiritual fruitfulness...Levitate!!! (One of the songs on U2's "B-side" releases called "Medium, Rare and Remastered," clearly a song about crying out for the power of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is presented in John 14-16 as the Helper, the Comforter...thus, the One who helps our pain to stop.

In Moment of Surrender, Bono sings of going through the “Stations of the Cross” which is what the church meditates upon during Holy Week and Good Friday. But after the crucifixion and resurrection, there is Pentecost! It is one thing to be forgiven, to have a heart made White as Snow…it is another thing to be given the Power and Provision of the Holy Spirit...Levitate!!!

A drug addict or any other kind of addict (we’re ALL addicts of some kind!) can be forgiven and be released from shame and guilt through the Lamb as White as Snow. But we need more than forgiveness…we need power to live different lives! We need the ability to say no to the addictions of this world that can kill us and harm all our relationships. We need the Spirit Who Alone can empower us to go out into the world with our arms outstretched to serve and love and bring peace and kindness. We need the Spirit to fill us with compassion for the suffering. We need the Spirit to fill us with love for our enemies...Levitate!!!

We need the Spirit to fill our lives in this in-between time, this in-between life in this broken world, as we pack our suitcases for a place none of us have ever been…a place that has to be believed to be seen. We need the Spirit to fill us with courage and hope as we count down ‘til the pain will stop…we need the Spirit to fill us with faith as we continually cry out, “How Long?...to sing this song!!

This week, I’m joining Bono…and I’m counting down ‘til the Pentecost. Care to join me? Levitate!!!

When God Speaks

2009-05-27T08:55:00.001-05:00

I've been reading "The Spiritual Secrets of George Muller." He was an amazing man of prayer in the 1800's in England. He started an orphanage and only ever prayed for God's provision without ever asking people for anything. He is known for being a man of prayer, yet read what he said about the Bible: "When we pray to God, we speak to God; but when we read the Scriptures, God speaks to us; and THIS is what we so much need."

It is the Bible that is the living word of God and supernatural as it works in our hearts.

Here are two tools I would encourage you to consider. 1) A Bible reading plan that gets you in the OT, Gospels, Epistles and Psalms/Proverbs every day. 2) Waltzing in the Word--a plan for how to APPLY what you read.

http://www.navpress.com/product/9781576839744/The-Discipleship-Journal-Bible-Reading-Plan-Discipleship

WALTZING THROUGH THE WORD
Repent:
Is the Spirit exposing a heart attitude through the text that I need to repent of?

Is the Spirit exposing a wrong behavior through the passage that I must confess?

Is there something wrong that I’ve thought, said, done that is revealed in the text?

Is there something that I’ve left unsaid or undone that is revealed by the passage?

Is there some area of unbelief that is being pointed out by the Spirit?

Is there a heart-change and/or life-change God is calling me to make I’m resisting?

Is there a “fruit” sin exposed that is leading me to acknowledge a “root” sin in life?

Believe:
Is there some element of the work of Christ revealed in the text I must believe?

Is there a present value of the blood of Christ revealed that I must apply to my heart?

Is there a promise of God related to the gospel which I need to appropriate?

Is there a work of the Spirit revealed which I need to hope more fully in?

Is there a revelation of grace that I need to relish revealed by the text?

Is God’s love revealed to me in a fresh way that I need to rest in?

Is there a goodness, kindness or mercy of God that I need to thank Him for?

Is there a revelation of the law as my highest delight that I need to embrace?

Is there a prohibition that I need to acknowledge as a warning against a nightmare?

Fight:
After appropriating the power of the blood, is there a command that I need to obey?

After appropriating the power of the blood, is there a prohibition that I need to heed?

Is there a means of grace that I need to engage in?

Is there a ministry activity that I need to carry out?

Is there an act of love or mercy that I need to follow through on?

Is there a temptation that I need to struggle hard against to overcome?

Is there a battle wit h the world, the flesh or the devil I need to take more seriously?

Is there something revealed about my life for which I need to be held accountable?

Levitate...Lift me Up!

2009-05-21T15:33:00.001-05:00

There are some REALLY GREAT SONGS on U2's special release, Medium, Rare & Remastered. U2's aim to intelligently and subtlely weave their Christian faith into lyrics actually loses some of the subtlety on several songs. Levitate is one of those songs.

"It's in your voice, I can feel it, I can tell. It's in your voice, Has me ringing me like a bell"--it seems quite likely that Bono is singing about the Holy Spirit...and getting in tune with the Spirit so that we hear His voice. the voice of the Lord is a common theme in Scripture.

In Genesis 22 Abraham is told that he will be blessed because he listened to the voice of the Lord. In Exodus 15 God calls His people to listen to His voice. In 1 Samuel 15:22 we learn that the Lord takes great delight in those who obey His voice. All through the Psalms we sing of the voice o the LORD--Ps 29:4--The voice of the LORD is poweful; the voice of the LORD is full of majesty; and in the next verse, in a tie-in with the new album, No Line on the Horizon, the Voice of the LORD breaks the Cedars of Lebanon! In the Song of Solomon, the great LOVE SONG of Scripture, the one loved hears the voice of the Beloved...and the poetic language there somewhat parallels Bono's lyrics that the voice has him ringing like a bell.

The same theme continues in the New Testament: In John chapter 10 Christ talks about being the Good Shepherd and the sheep hear His voice and follow Him.

As we listen to the voice of the LORD, there will be peace: Bono continues: "Peace of mind; Peace comes dropping slow; I'm in the mind to let go of control." Romans 8:6--The mind set on the Spirit is life and peace! In Galatians 5:22 we learn that one element of the fruit of the Spirit is peace...peace dropping upon us because the Spirit is from above. We receive that peace as we yield ourselves up to God (Romans 6:13ff); as we let go of control and allow the Spirit to fill us (Ephesians 5:18).

Spirit come on down, No I'm not coming down--This could be taken two ways: 1) As Bono prays for the Spirit to fall upon him, he has the Spirit saying "No, I'm not coming down..." meaning, the Spirit is wanting Bono and us to know that the Spirit's intention is to lift us up with Him, not for Him to come down to us...thus, LEVITATE!

But a second option is that Bono is believing so firmly that the Spirit WILL come on down that the subject of the second line is Bono (and every believer) and there is confidence that since the Spirit is coming down as promised, we can say to our enemies, no matter what you do or what I face, "No, I'm not coming down." An interesting side note here is that on NLOTH, on the song Moment of Surrender, during the verse involving riding on the subway "through the stations of the cross" the official lyrics say the next line is "counting down to the Pentecost." Pentecost, of course, being the time when the Holy Spirit fell upon the disciples as they waiting in Jerusalem for the Gift Jesus said He would send...and the church became filled with a love that was unstoppable...and it turned the Roman Empire right-side-up!

In the chorus: Who can stop us now, It's much too late; Can't slow us down, We can't hesitate. I want a love that's hard, As hard as hate...Levitate. Once Christ-followers are filled with the Spirit, they can not be stopped. As Jesus taught, "the gates of hell will not prevail against the church" (Matthew 16:18). Also in Romans 8, a chapter filled with thoughts about walking in the Spirit, the chapter is filled with thoughts of victory! No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord!

Then the line--"I want a love that's hard, As hard as hate. Levitate!" When people hate, that hate is so deep, so passionate, so uncompromising...it's all-pervasive. Bono says he wants a love that has those same qualities. Only the Spirit of God can grant such a love...so Levitate! Bring us into the love of the Trinity...the love shared between Father, Son and Holy Ghost! Jesus said that the world would know we are Christians by our love for one another. As we hear the Voice of the Spirit and our hearts resonate with His voice, we will be filled with a love that can change the world and NOTHING AND NO ONE can stop us!

In the last verse we see a line that Bono has used on How to Dismantle and Atomic Bomb, in Miracle Drug:"Freedom has a scent/Like the top of a newborn baby's head." Here in Levitate, Bono sings: When freedom comes, Freedom has a scent; It's like the top of a new born baby's head. On NLOTH there is the theme of being born and reborn...Bono knows that the work of the Spirit is to renew us after the character of Christ on a daily basis...Christ being the new born Baby that brings freedom; but also, the Spirit is the Spirit of freedom (2 Corinthians 3:17-18) and makes us reborn daily by His grace and power.

Who can stop us now, Who could make us wait; Who could slow us down, Make us hesitate. I want a love that's hard, As hard as hate. Levitate! Lift me up!

So, we are to sing out in prayer to be filled with the Spirit, the Spirit of love and peace. We are to yield ourselves and our lives over to the Lord so that He lifts us up out of our brokenness and self-absorption and we will be released to go into the world, "arms stretched out" to serve and love the world in which we live! Who can stop us now!

The Exciting Adventure of a Supernatural Life

2009-05-13T09:00:00.001-05:00

I try to cry out constantly that the Christian life REALLY IS supernatural! As we battle the world, the flesh and the devil, however, we are constantly having to face the temptation to de-supernaturalize the Christian life...or, at least, to minimize the supernatural nature of our daily lives as Christ-followers. If we truly believed every moment was lived in touch with the supernatural, we would love God enough, as Francis Schaeffer says in True Spirituality, to say "Thank You" even in the difficult times and we would love each other enough to not envy.

In the account of the Mount of Transfiguration (Matt 17), we are reminded that the supernatural we often do not see is entwined with the natural that we see. At any moment the veil could be lifted and we can see the supernatural "break in upon" what we perceive as merely the natural. The Supernatural is not some "far-off" place...it is where we are, even though we don't often "see" it.

If we "buy into" the supernatural view of life, then seeing Christ bear fruit through us (John 15--abiding), or understanding Numbers 21 and the "look to the cross" that releases transforming grace, is no longer a problem. Understanding Luke 1:38 and Christ being formed in us as we believe and saying "Be it done TO me according to Your Word" is no longer hard to grasp in a supernatural framework. The issue is not merely understanding this concept, but living in light of it on a daily, moment by moment basis.

Too often we get so caught up in the moment, we live as though the supernatural were not there. In a word, we all struggle with unbelief. We resort to human effort rather than believing the gospel (Galatians 3:1-5). Schaeffer gives a GREAT illustration in True Spirituality, chapter 5, when he writes about the place called Mahanaim from Genesis 32:1-2 (p59). Mahanaim means "two camps" and it was the meeting place of the natural and the supernatural for Jacob...WE TOO live in Mahanaim...the junction of the natural and the supernatural. We perceive the natural world; the supernatural world is just as real, just as valid, just as near at hand.

In 2 Kings 6:16-17 we learn through Elisha's servant that the supernatural world IS NEAR, but we just don't see it...we are to believe that the supernatural is present even if we don't see it or feel it. Faith doesn't MAKE it there...it is ALREADY there and we are to believe it is there and LIVE in the reality of its presence.

The Spirit-filled life, the life of transforming grace through faith is supernatural...LIVE that way TODAY!!

The Spirit-filled Life

2009-05-09T09:51:00.001-05:00

I'm studying one of my all-time favorite works with my men's group: True Spirituality, by Francis Schaeffer. This week we are in Chapter 4--In the Spirit's Power.

What Schaeffer writes about in this chapter is what Oak Mtn is ALL about! When we talk about the Waltz (the Three Step Dance with Christ--Repent! Believe! Fight!...see other Blog Posts on the Waltz), we are really talking about the HOW of the Spirit-filled life. The terms are interchangeable.

Whether you go to John 15 and read about Abiding in Christ; or you go to Romans 8 and read about the Spirit-filled life; Or whether you go to Numbers 21 and read about Looking to Christ in faith...they are ALL the same thing as the WALTZ. We are talking about the Christian life as it is meant to be lived...the Christian life where the primary issue is continued FAITH in Christ...

The reason many believers and churches have lost their first love and have grown stale is because what began as a life of faith has morphed into a life of performance and moralism. True Spirituality is God, through the Spirit, raising the dead in us on a daily basis as we go to Him in repentance and faith. We become aware of sin, we go honestly, humbly, helplessly to Christ and we trust the Blood of Christ to crucify us to that sin...we trust the power of the Spirit to mortify/crucify/kill that sin in us.

As Schaeffer puts it, We ARE BEING "Transfigured" on a daily basis by faith~ It's not make-believe...it is grounded in the time and space in which we live!

True Spirituality is NOT picking ourselves up by our own bootstraps...it is entering into the Promised Land of the Gospel by appropriating land that is ours, but must be taken by faith! We are changed the same way we were converted...by looking to Christ and the promises of the Gospel to do for us and in us what we can not do ourselves...

We can no more change ourselves than Mary could produce the Child of Promise in her own womb...our only recourse is to believe the promises the EXACT SAME way Mary did (Luke 1:38)...and the SAME CHRIST will be formed within us...not in a womb given to men, but in our hearts!!

WOW! WOW! WOW! If you're not smiling right now...check your pulse...you may be dead!

Grace for the Religious AND the Irreligious

2009-05-07T11:22:00.001-05:00

This is an email that was just sent to me by one of my elders. Man, I am so glad I have men surrounding me and leading our church who are gripped by the truth of the Gospel!!

Jerry Bridges, The Discipline of Grace (p. 19):

Your worst days are never so bad that you are beyond the reach of God’s grace.

And your best days are never so good that you are beyond the need of God’s grace.

And from pp. 22-23:
Pharisee-type believers unconsciously think they have earned God’s blessing through their behavior.

Guilt-laden believers are quite sure they have forfeited God’s blessing through their lack of discipline or their disobedience.

Both have forgotten the meaning of grace because they have moved away from the gospel and have slipped into a performance relationship with God

Your True and Best Friend

2009-05-07T07:25:00.001-05:00

I was forwarded an email the other day that focused upon one of the greatest issues in the Church today...how much emphasis to give to the Third Use of the Law...the Use that informs Christians of what God means by calling us to an obedient and holy life. It is an important use of the law, for sure...but is THAT what is primarily wrong with the Church today...I personally do NOT think so.

What follows is a letter from Jack Miller, Westminster Seminary professor and founder of World Harvest Mission. It is found in a book of his letters, called Servant Leaders...pp 59-60. It is a letter from June of 1988 to a friend (named Richard) in which he (Dr. Jack Miller) was talking about how vital faith dried up in the English Puritan tradition...

"Your sharing about your (Richard's) burden for the church helps me (Dr. Miller) to pray for you. I'm glad for what God enabled you to emphasize - that God has a gracious heart toward us in our sins and that sanctification as well as justification is of grace. You would think that would be self-evident, wouldn't you? But obviously the response you received to your emphasis in the 'long-range plan (of the gospel)', indicates that something is awry in Reformed circles.

One irony that strikes me is that so often people who emphasize the third use of the law are really not great law-keepers themselves. For example, I have noted that sometimes church members given heavy doses of the third use of the law have little idea of the inner nature of the law as a delighting in God. I have also noted a tendency to exclude the tongue and a critical spirit from consideration as well, so that you can get the irony of believers defending the law with a harshness that itself breaks the law! What sinners we can be!

But I do think that the Heidelberg Catechism and the Belgic Confession have an excellent emphasis on faith and sanctification. It is also interesting to see that (as best I can recall) the Larger Catechism (of the Westminster Confession) speaks of the third use of the law and relates its role to breaking us and driving us to Christ. Add that emphasis, and grace follows.

Anyway I suspect that Reformed people, especially in the English Puritan tradition, have been especially prone to nomism. You know, I have often wondered why English Presbyterianism died so quickly in the 17th century, and maybe this was a factor. I am thinking of excellent men like Richard Baxter (who wrote the Reformed Pastor). Baxter drifted in an Arminian and nomist direction in his later life.

For what it is worth, here is how I see the theological emphasis of English Puritanism. 1. Know your enemy - sin, the flesh, the devil; 2. Know your personal limitations - your own particular fleshly characteristics and habits; 3. Know your Friend - the grace of God in Christ and the Holy Spirit.

Personally I cannot deny that sometimes churches need that order and such an emphasis has led to revival. Still, I find myself overwhelmed when I pick up a 320 page book by John Owen and find 308 pages devoted to points 1 and 2, and only 12 pages given to point 3, grace and gospel. Owen, of course, doesn't always do this, but it seems pretty typical.

My own heart likes this order better: 1. Know your Friend; 2. Know your enemy; 3. Know your personal limitations. And I would keep the controlling theme of point 1 even when talking about points 2 and 3.

At the same time I do not think that an emphasis on grace leads to a soft ministry on sin and the severe demands of the law. Actually, it seems to me that such grace teaching makes it possible for sinners like us to hear the hardest things said about our sin patterns, and that can lead into a healthy sorrow which then leads back to sanity, i.e., repentance."

The Right to Appear Ridiculous

2009-05-02T10:26:00.001-05:00

On U2's new album, No Line on the Horizon, in the song "I'll Go Crazy If I Don't Go Crazy Tonight" we hear Bono sing the lyric: "The right to appear ridiculous is something I hold dear."

I find it farily significant that the line follows the lyric: "Is it true that perfect love drives out all fear," a line that is pulled from the New Testament Scriptures, where the Apostle John, in his First Letter to the Church, writes: "There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear. For fear has to do with punishment and whoever fears has not been perfected in love" (1 John 4:18).

John is writing to weak-kneed believers who need to, as Bono sings in Stand Up Comedy, "get out from under their beds." Bono, like John, is saying, "Come on, ye people, stand up for your Love." Stop being afraid of what others think, stop being enslaved to the approval of others, and be willing to appear ridiculous.

The fact is, Christ-followers will always appear ridiculous to those who exercise their freedom to not believe. It's ALWAYS been this way. I'm reminded of a story of King David when the Ark of the Covenant was being brought to Jerusalem. We read in 2 Samuel 6 that as the Ark came into the city, King David was leaping and dancing before the LORD. We also read that his wife, Michal, saw David doing this and she despised him for it. When David returned home, Michal disgustingly told David that he made a fool of himself...he appeared ridiculous!

Christ-followers will always appear ridiculous in the eyes of those who exercise their freedom to not believe. It is foolish in their eyes to put our hope in the words and promises of a book that is thousands of years old...it is foolish in their eyes to believe that One Man born supposedly 2000 years ago was the Very Creator of the Universe come to live in the flesh as a human being...it is foolish in their eyes to believe that all humanity will one day give an account to the One True God based solely on what they did with the claims of Christ...and on and on.

As a fellow Christ-follower, I think I know what Bono means when he sings, "Is it true that perfect love drives out all fear? The right to appear ridiculous is something I hold dear."

Of course, the right to appear ridiculous applies, at times, equally before the Church as well as before the unbelieving world...for many in the Church have created their own particular brand of following Christ, which, if one ignores, one is considered ridiculous by them as well. So...what to do?

Allow perfect love, God's perfect, never-ending, never diminishing, never-changing unconditional love to you in Christ to drive out all fear...and be willing to be considered ridiculous...as a matter of fact, hold that right dearly! It was a right that the Apostle Paul held dearly...In 1 Corinthias 4:10, Paul writes to people who thought him to be ridiculous, "We are fools for Christ's sake."

Some years ago I was on the staff of a well-known campus ministry. The leader of the organization was though to be foolish by many people for his commitment and vision. One day he was even told by another: "You are a fool!" Without missing a beat this Christian leader said, "Ok, I'm a fool...but if I'm going to be a fool, I'd rather be Christ's fool...who's fool are you?"

"...it's not a hill, it's a mountain as you start out the climb...but listen for me, I'll be shouting...we're GONNA make it all the way to the Light."

Oh, but a change of heart comes slow.

Raising the Dead in Me

2009-05-01T09:19:00.002-05:00

I'm reading through Charles Spurgeon's GREAT devotional, Morning and Evening with a group of men in the church. On April 28 we are reminded of the need to be men of promise...but NOT necessarily in the popular idea floating around out there.

Truth be told, I had some issues with the Promise Keepers movement when it got popular...it sounded a lot like sola bootstrapsa to my mind (not to say that God didn't use it in men's lives); the focus to me seemed it could go very wrong, very quickly.

The real issue is not that WE are Promise Keepers but that we hope in the TRUE Promise Keeper, who is God! True Spirituality takes off like a rocket when we begin to see our Father as THE Promise Keeper. This is another reason we need to waltz our way to consistency in our devotional lives. One of the elements of a devotional life is mining the word for God's Promises...Promises to us in our temptation, promises to us in our ministry/call/vocation; promises to us about our marriage, our parenting, etc. And one of the greatest promises of all is that God promises to raise us from the dead...not just at the end of history, but on a daily basis!

Another thing we are doing in this men's group is studying Francis Schaeffer's True Spirituality...one of my top 5 books I've ever read as a believer.

Schaeffer calls us to keep the focus on our union with Christ in His resurrection...we know that His resurrection occurred in time and space and WE who hope in Christ have experienced a TRUE resurrection in time and space as well. Through the mysterious work of the Holy Spirit, He supernaturally baptized us into the life, death, resurrection and ascension of Christ at our conversion. This is mind-blowing mystery, but we are to believe the truth of it.

We are NOT the same people we were when we were born physically. We truly have become NEW creations! We have new hearts, new abilities, new loves...AND we have the Holy Spirit!! We died to the rule and reign of sin and now we are alive to a NEW Master...whether we are in touch with it or not, and the very core of our being we are now lovers of Christ. Sometimes we can squelch it, but it IS INDEED there.

What we must remember, however, is that our experience of the supernatural, resurrection life occurs in the mundane of daily activities. God raises us from the dead in the normalcy of everyday life.

If you like rock music, an incredible band that is a cross-over (played just as much, if not more on secular stations than Christian radio) is a group called Switchfoot. Outside of U2 and Coldplay, probably one of my most favorite groups. On one of their albums they have a song called Twenty-Four...take some time to read the lyrics...it fits with this chapter in True Spirituality on resurrection.

here's the song...incredible gospel-driven, grace-centered lyrics...DEATH...THEN resurrection!! If we're unwilling to admit our need for death, we'll never experience resurrection on a daily basis.

Twenty-four oceans
Twenty-four skies
Twenty-four failures
And twenty-four tries
Twenty-four finds me
In twenty-fourth place
With twenty-four drop outs
At the end of the day

Life is not what I thought it was
Twenty-four hours ago
Still I'm singing 'Spirit,
take me up in arms with You'
And I'm not who I thought I was
Twenty-four hours ago
Still I'm singing 'Spirit,
take me up in arms with You'

There's twenty-four reasons
To admit that I'm wrong
With all my excuses
Still twenty-four strong

See, I'm not copping out
Not copping out
Not copping out
When you're raising the dead in me

Oh, oh
I am the second man
Oh, oh
I am the second man now
Oh, I am the second man now
And you're raising these...

Twenty-four voices
With twenty-four hearts
All of my symphonies
In twenty-four parts
But I want to be one today
Centered and true
I'm singing 'Spirit take me up in arms with You'
You're raising the dead in me

Oh, oh
I am the second man
Oh, oh
I am the second man now
Oh
I am the second man now
And you're raising the dead in me
Yeah

I wanna see miracles
To see the world change
Wrestled the angel for more than a name
For more than a feeling
For more than a cause
I'm singing 'Spirit, take me up in arms with You'
And you're raising the dead in me

Twenty-four oceans
With twenty-four hearts
All of my symphonies
With twenty-four parts
Life is not what I thought it was
Twenty-four hours ago
Still I'm singing 'Spirit,
take me up in arms with You'
I'm not copping out
Not copping out

3:33 When the Numbers Fell Off the Clockface

2009-04-29T23:28:00.001-05:00

On U2's new album, in the song Unknown Caller, Bono says it's 3:33 when the numbers fell off the clock-face. I just had a pretty interesting experience...and it happened at 3:33 the morning of April 28. It was pre-dawn, the day of my Silver Anniversary...25 years of marriage to my sweetheart.

Let me preface my comments today by saying these thoughts struck me in light of some interaction on the U2.com message board related to the topic of truth. I've found that as long as things can remain in the theoretical realm, people can hold to all kinds of beliefs. But what I've discovered in life is that when people face trial, trouble or tragedy, there are few atheists "in a foxhole." When the chips are down, there just aren't many people that don't turn to "God" in a crisis.

My wife and I are trying to sustain a dog-breeding business...beautiful dogs...English Goldens. We've had our share of struggles with it. You'd think breeding would be like falling off a log, but more can go wrong than you might think. The other night, one of our dogs went into labor...and there were complications...the first two pups, wonderfully developed and gorgeous, were, sadly, stillborn. My wife decided to take our dog to an emergency vet clinic. I got my wife and the dog all loaded up and I stayed home with the children. When I went back to my bedroom...you guessed it...3:33 on the clock face! No joke...I wouldn't lie about this.

I spent the next hour in prayer, thinking about our circumstances, but also thinking about Unknown Caller. I was reminded that we can talk belief systems all we want, but in times of crisis, prayer is an almost universal response. Where does such a response originate? It is the common response in crisis in every culture under the sun...and for one simple reason...the God of the Universe created us for relationship with Him.

The night didn't turn out too well...5 of the 7 pups were born dead...and we have no idea why. Some would say, "See, your prayers did no good at all." I would beg to differ. The purpose of prayer to God is not that I would twist His arm to do as I please...He is no Cosmic Genie. The REAL purpose of prayer is to allow me to "shush" in the Presence of the Almighty. The real purpose of prayer, as Bono sings, is to hear God; part of the wonder and beauty of prayer is the opportunity for me to cease to speak that God might speak.

Prayer gives me the opportunity to "force quit" my anxious thoughts, my racing brain, my worry, take it all, and "move to trash." My prayers that had begun at "3:33" had brought me to a place where, regardless of the life or death of pups, I was "free to go" and to "shout for joy."

Jeremiah 33:3--Call to me and I will answer you. I’ll tell you marvelous and wondrous things that you could never figure out on your own.

One of the great joys of being a Christ-follower is that I can KNOW that I have confidence before the Creator when I pray...and it's not because I've been especially good or holy. Rather, it's because Jesus, my Redeemer, was good and holy and righteous on my behalf and shares with me His Right Standing with the Father. I can come in the Name of Jesus, in the very place of Jesus Himself, before the Father. I can know that as the Father is favorably disposed toward Jesus, He will be similarly favorable toward me because of my relationship to Christ.

So, you can debate the historicity of Christ, the accuracy of the Bible (and I'll debate with you all day long!). But in the final analysis, at 3:33, at the scene of the accident...you're going to cry out...and you're going to hope there is Someone listening...Christians know...and rest secure, leaning on the Everlasting Arms.

Getting Over Certainty

2009-04-24T10:10:00.001-05:00

This particular blog post is the result of some discussions that have taken place in the message board forums on U2.com. From what I'm reading there, I think there is a lot of confusion as to what "faith" is and its relationship to reason, logic and certainty.

There are at least 2 places on NLOTH where Bono sings about certainty. In Stand Up Comedy--I can stand up for hope, faith, love; But while I'm getting over certainty, Stop helping God across the road like a little old lady. And in Moment of Surrender--Two souls too cool to be In the realm of certainty, Even on our wedding day.

It seems to me that these lyrics are a blast from the past, as if revisiting the pain and longing of "I still haven't found what I'm looking for." We don't know why God moves in such mysterious ways. We don't know why Peace on Earth doesn't seem to rhyme with hope and history. We don't know why orphans and other oppressed people are just waiting for some Crumbs from our table. We don't know why the Gospel promises so much and yet at times seems to deliver so little. There is so much about the life of a Christ-follower that is filled with mystery. There is so much about daily life and our future that lies outside of the realm of certainty. There are many questions that we just can't be certain we have the answer to...and I think Bono is singing, that as he has matured, he's ok with not having all the answers, he's ok with uncertainty in some areas.

Having said all that, we must make sure we don't go too far with the lyrics. Only Bono knows for sure what he means, but I can tell you from a Biblical perspective what it would mean if Bono is singing within the bounds of the historic Christian faith. It may be easier to explain what historic Christianity would NOT say from lyrics such as are found in Stand Up Comedy and Moment of Surrender.

Historic Christianity would NOT say that "getting over certainty" means that faith is divorced from fact or history or reason. Many in the world today think faith and reason live in separate universes. Biblical, historic Christianity would say faith utilitizes reason, it doesn't operate outside of it.

I'm not sure where the idea arose that faith and logic, or faith and facts, don't mix, but it didn't originate with the Bible (Actually I DO know where the idea arose, but that would take too much time to explain...if you're interested pick up a book by Francis Schaeffer called "The God Who is There"). So many people think science uses facts and religion uses faith and the two are completely different. I completely disagree. Science uses as much faith as religion and religion better use as many facts as science!

Some might want Christians to prove with 100% certainty that Jesus lived, died and rose again. Well, that can't be done...but, neither can we prove with 100% certainty that Luther did something significant in 1517. What we CAN do is compile research so that we can say with GREAT confidence that it is highly likely that in fact, Luther did nail the 95 theses to the door in Wittenberg at the end of October in 1517, and using similar research theories we are also able to say with GREAT confidence that Jesus lived, died, rose again in the first century.

Faith is not believing in something in spite of the facts...faith is trusting in something that is backed up by facts and reason. Biblical faith is not believing in spite of the lack of evidence that Jesus lived, died and rose to forgive peoples' sins. Biblical faith is putting our hope in the work of Christ for forgiveness and eternal life.

Or maybe this will help: Let's say we can use reason, logic, personal experience, history, etc to build a case for Christ, and we are able to arrive at a 95% probability that Christianity is true...some would say faith is bridging the 5% of the uncertain (though many moderns might think that evidence points to 1% certainty based on facts, so faith is a 99% blind leap in the dark of complete uncertainty). I don't believe that is what Bono is singing about in these lines.

It would be more accurate to say that evidence enables us to say with a high degree of confidence that we are certain Jesus existed and the evidence also points to His resurrection and that faith has to do with resting on His finished work for forgiveness and eternal life and has nothing at all to do with bridging a gap in the facts.

I highly doubt that Bono is singing that he is forgetting all about any evidential or reasonable foundation for faith. Just a few years ago in the book "Bono: In Conversation", Bono quotes a lot of evidence often used by CS Lewis which builds the case for Jesus as Messiah.

So, in these "getting over certainty" lines, I think Bono's still singing what he's been singing for almost 30 years...as we look around the world, even though we know we believe You broke the bonds, And You loosed the chains, Carried the cross of my shame, Oh my shame, you know I believe it. But I still haven't found What I'm looking for. But I still haven't found What I'm looking for.

Getting over certainty means Christians allowing for mystery and holding answers to the problems of the world humbly...it means not being so self-righteous that we've got it all figured out on how every single element of life works and thinking that every problem has an easy answer. Getting over certainty means that even Christ followers don't always clearly perceive the will of God or understand all He wants us to do.

But getting over certainty does NOT mean that all world-views are equally valid or that faith has no relationship to facts. One thing's for sure...we're ALL One Step Closer to Knowing.

The Forgotten Elixir

2009-04-23T08:20:00.001-05:00

I often pull Morning and Evening by Charles Spurgeon off the shelf for some devotional reading. I think he is much more grace-oriented than most devotional writers who fail to really point me to Christ. Many devotionals seem to exhort me to pull myself up by my own bootstraps by trying harder instead of encouraging my soul in my Redeemer.

The April 23 Morning reading by Spurgeon is as about as spot on as anything you'll ever come across when it comes to how to deal with sin on a daily basis...he offers the True Solution, the Forgotten Elixir...the solution that is often hard to come by in today's moralistic evangelicalism. Read....and enjoy...and believe afresh in the Savior, rejoicing in your salvation!

"No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him that loved us."—Romans 8:37.

E go to Christ for forgiveness, and then too often look to the law for power to fight our sins. Paul thus rebukes us, "O foolish Galatians, who hath bewitched you, that ye should not obey the truth? This only would I learn of you, Received ye the Spirit by the works of the law, or by the hearing of faith? are ye so foolish? having begun in the Spirit, are ye now made perfect by the flesh?"

Take your sins to Christ's cross, for the old man can only be crucified there: we are crucified with Him. The only weapon to fight sin with is the spear which pierced the side of Jesus. To give an illustration—you want to overcome an angry temper, how do you go to work? It is very possible you have never tried the right way of going to Jesus with it. How did I get salvation? I came to Jesus just as I was, and I trusted Him to save me. I must kill my angry temper in the same way? It is the only way in which I can ever kill it. I must go to the cross with it, and say to Jesus, "Lord, I trust Thee to deliver me from it." This is the only way to give it a death-blow.

Are you covetous? Do you feel the world entangle you? You may struggle against this evil so long as you please, but if it be your besetting sin, you will never be delivered from it in any way but by the blood of Jesus. Take it to Christ. Tell Him, "Lord, I have trusted Thee, and Thy name is Jesus, for Thou dost save Thy people from their sins; Lord, this is one of my sins; save me from it!"

Ordinances are nothing without Christ as a means of mortification. Your prayers, and your repentances, and your tears—the whole of them put together—are worth nothing apart from Him. "None but Jesus can do helpless sinners good;" or helpless saints either. You must be conquerors through Him who hath loved you, if conquerors at all. Our laurels must grow among His olives in Gethsemane.

Amen!