A Dangerous Presumption

A lot of us tend to live in this lingering cloud of presumption. We have been taught from very early ages that Jesus loves us "just the way we are." But, isn't there a problem with this, whenever we're constantly bowing to the World and worshiping other gods? Does God love it whenever we put our jobs, money, sports, material possessions or (gasp) even kids and family in front of Him? I beg to say that, although these are all great blessings and show God as being our ultimate Provider, He does not like the fact that the majority of us tend to put these things in front of our worship of and walk with Him. Jesus doesn't love us just the way we are when we're committing idolatry. In fact, He's beating down the walls of the World that we are content to be penned in by. Like a bunch of cattle penned in a trodden, dry, corral (ripe with our own droppings), Christ breaks down the posts and leads us to the lush pastures of the Kingdom.

This really struck me as I was reading through Psalm 19, this morning. The very last verse says this, "Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in your sight, O Lord, my rock and my redeemer." King David does not live under the presumption that his words and meditations are already in accordance with the things of God. No, far from it. David knows what truly lies in a man's heart... sin and death. Our natural inclination is not one of love towards the Almighty, because we are hell-bent on doing things our way. A lot of us fall into presuming that, because we're Believers, that every single time we open our mouths or think about God, that we're just super-spiritual people and that we are always a pleasing aroma. The fact is that a lot of us are still content with the putridness of the World.

King David prays that his words and meditation WILL BE acceptable in the sight of the Lord. Not that they are already. Not that he already knows that his prayers will be pleasing. Essentially, he is praying that the Lord might put the words into his mouth and guide his heart to the correct meditations; he doesn't presume that he's already arrived at that point.

In a world where far too many of us live under the dangerous presumption that we're just such great people and that we're always blessing the Name of the Lord in all that we do, it is wise for us to step back and continually be in prayer that what we do in the future tense will be pleasing to the Lord. "Pride goeth before the fall." This is true in the spiritual life especially. Let us repent of pridefully thinking that we have already arrived at a spiritual stopping point and pray, beg God to continue to mold us, refine us, and hammer us into vessels that continually praise Him in all areas of life!

What We Deserve (Entitlement)

I really do like the taste of Market Street breakfast burritos (bacon, egg and cheese, if you're thinking about getting me one) and a cold Red Bull in the morning. Maybe once a week, I treat myself to this delicious and far-from-healthy breakfast on my way up to the church offices. 

Last week, as I walked out of the store, burrito in hand, sipping a new drink (at least new to Lubbock) called Bebe Kaffe (a very good "fizzy" espresso drink from Italy), I was almost run down in the parking lot by a lady driving her super-sized Lexus SUV, zooming to get the closest parking spot to the door, which  just so happened to be the one that is reserved for "Expecting or New Mothers." As she jerked to a stop in the spot, only feet from making me a human speed bump, yammering away on her BlueTooth headset, she paused, momentarily, long enough to look up at the sign that marked the spot as reserved. With a shrug, she sauntered off into the store for her morning shot o' caffeine. I would have understood a little more if she were just a snooty mom-to-be, but the "Proud Aggie Grandmother" sticker on the back windshield of her car let me know she wasn't a recent mom, nor would she be expecting kids anytime soon... 

This got me thinking about how much we, as both Christians and Americans, think we're entitled to. As I got to my office, typed on my notebook computer, sipped my espresso and my reverse-osmosis water, and went through my devotional time for the morning, I became extremely convicted. My reading for the morning... a brief passage in Acts.

In chapter 5, we see yet another example of how the early church and its leaders were persecuted as it really began to grown. The Jewish leadership was livid that the disciples had been teaching the people about Jesus Christ, since they could see that their power and influence would be greatly detracted from by this teaching. In fact, they had already begun to lose power in their spheres of influence. Angry at what had begun, they made a plan to arrest those who were teaching about Jesus. One of the Jewish council, though, a man named Gamaliel, told them that if the teachings were of men, then everything that they were teaching would come to pass and no longer hold value; but, if their teaching truly was of God, then nothing they (the Sandhedrin) would ever try would overturn what the men were teaching about Jesus (this makes me wonder if, later on in life, Gamaliel was converted to the Faith). The council then proceeded to call in the disciples and beat them with 39 lashes (evidently, 40 was considered inhumane) and told them not to teach about Jesus anymore.

The most challenging part of the passage, though, is what happened when the disciples left the presence of the council. "Then they left the presence of the council, rejoicing that they were counted worthy to suffer dishonor for the Name." Wow... they considered it an honor to suffer? How often do I consider it an honor to suffer for the Name?

The vast majority of us need to look at our lives and what we think we're "entitled" to. Am I mad if I don't get my morning coffee, have my Pandora radio on the internet, or if I have to pay a little extra for gas, oil, etc.? When someone pops off about religion (take the "New Atheists" (Richard Dawkins, Christopher Hitchens, and company), for example), do I get all huffy? How do I react when God doesn't give me that which I thought I was supposed to get, from the job promotion to the perfect little family? Do I count it as worth to suffer, in any way, for the most glorious and great Name in the universe, Jesus Christ?

May we all look less to the things that we arrogantly think we're entitled to, and more to the grace that is given us in Christ Jesus. What we deserve is death. What we have received is life. Where's our focus? May it forever be on the One who has given us all riches of the universe in Himself, and may we get beyond our human, selfish entitlements. What those disciples were so willing to suffer for, has still not been overturned by any efforts of man.

No more coffee for me this morning... 

Inmate, Mercenary, or Fulfillment? (Pt.2)

In continuing last week's post, the three areas of Deuteronomy 6v.5 need to be looked at in much further depth. We are told to love the Lord our God with all of our hearts, all of our souls and all of our might. These three different aspects of human life show the three different ways in which we are to love God, and that our love to God is an all-enveloping one. Far too many of us who proclaim we're Believers attempt to love God in a certain compartment, then do our own thing in others. I remember having this realization when I learned about old "Daddy Rockefeller," an oil magnate who also taught Sunday school classes. This was a little strange to me, to hear about his cut-throat business tactics as he built up a huge petroleum empire, while separating it from his Sunday morning endeavors. Roughly 92% of this man's time was consumed with buying out other companies in the oil market and making money while the other 8% was spent teaching the Bible. To many, this would seem like a noble action. I mean, at least he actually spent time teaching Sunday school. But then, you look at the very un-Christlike way in which he conducted his business empire... The question remains, though, are we any different? Do we love God in any sort of an all-enveloping way?

"Love the Lord your God with all your heart..."

The heart carries so much weight in our lives. For starters, the very lifeblood of our lives is moved throughout our body by this amazing muscle. The heart is used to convey emotions and even rational. So, the importance of the heart is seen in that we love God with all of our emotions and thoughts. Every single bit of emotion we have in these shallow human lives, and every single thought that could ever jump between brain synapses are for God's glory, and His glory alone. This is heady stuff, when we think that love is simply an emotion. 

"...with all your soul..."

Every bit of our spiritual lives should be focused on serving and, therefore, glorifying the Lord, Jesus Christ. In the world that we live in, we so weakly attempt to be politically correct and say that "all world religions have some validity...", which is simply not true. They all have points where they say we all need to get along and treat others well, but if you're calling that validity, then a three year-old's imaginary friends who all get along and play nicely together are just as valid. It seems that so many of us American Believers want to just play nice with the World, as though we're way too timid and scared to take a stand and say that Jesus truly is "the way, the Truth and the life." Do we honestly believe that no one goes to the Father except through Him? We like to think that incorporating a little Zen Buddhism here, maybe a little bit of a "spiritual practice" like yoga (yes, this is a Hindu spiritual exercise), makes us extremely spiritual people, and therefore better in the world's eyes. I don't have anything against stretching and breathing, but don't attempt to mix in the Hindu nature of worship with the walk you are on with Christ. There's no room for it, and you certainly aren't loving God with all of your soul.

"...and with all your might."

This is lost on many of us. As I explained to a bunch of youth kids on Sunday morning, every single thing we physically do, from sleeping to eating to hanging out with our friends to making a bone-crunching tackle on the football field or rugby pitch to playing a musical instrument, writing a poem, or painting a picture, should be done with the idea in our heads that it is glorifying God. Not us, not our families, not our schools, but our Saviour. Every single ounce of anything we do is designed to glorify the One who gave us the ability to do it. Anything else is idolatry.

As Christians, we need to come to a better understanding that in order to truly love God, there is no room for anything else. We worship God through that which He has graciously given... our families, our jobs, our hobbies, financial blessings and futures. We do not worship those THINGS. We are called to love God completely, with every aspect of our lives. We must come to the point like Job, where, despite losing everything, our lives are still complete because we have Christ, and that is enough.

Inmate, Mercenary, or Fulfillment?

"Is love containable?" The professor of the philosophy class posed the question like a dagger, waiting to jab it into the unsuspecting heart of some hapless freshman. The real question, in this class, was whether or not love was real, but the majority of the class didn't know this. I happened to glance up from my crossword just long enough to see the redness start to creep onto the man's face, since no one seemed to want to answer the question at 8:00am on a Monday morning. This post-modernist had one thing to say as he ventured onward with his rehearsed speech: "Love is, quite simply, whatever you want to make it. Whether or not it's even real is up to you." That earned him a look from many, and a snide remark from a particular guy who really didn't want to be there and was still trying to figure out a ten-letter word for wildly funny (36 Across). It just so happened to be "hysterical," which is what this class was quickly becoming with its mind-numbing excursions into all things post-modern and "the deeper things of life," as the professor would say. 

The truth of the matter is that we live in a society where most people want to believe this. We like the idea of creating things for ourselves because it makes us feel like we're in control of something. From our spiritual lives to love, absolute truth to God, we like to think that we have the power to control things. It's like a tiny ant shaking its fist and saying "You can't do this, I don't even believe in you!" before the little boy mindlessly puts the beam of the magnifying glass on him.

Even as Christians, we like to come up with our own definitions for things. We like to have our own "personal spirituality," to be incredibly PC, to be looked at as being no different from the world. Unfortunately, far too many of us succeed in this arena. We ever so slyly develop our own ideas on the ways in which we should love God. We love God when He really blesses us with that new job or with that peace amidst the family strife, only to be completely out of church, fellowship and communion shortly thereafter. We depend on God for our food, but not our families... that's our kids' "choice" to make, since we think that our 14 year old is at the ripe age for great decisions. We try to separate the "spiritual" from the "secular" even if only in our heads, attempting to look like America's atheistic "separation of Church and State." How many of us really seek to love God in the way that He commanded to be loved?

In Thomas Watson's book "All Things for Good," the 17th Century Puritan pastor takes a long look at love. He devotes an entire chapter of this theological gem to God's people loving Him. Evidently, Watson faced many of the same things back then that we still see today.

The first of these is the idea of "compartmentalization." Dr. Wood did a sermon on this a while back with drawers and a hope chest, but Watson really hit home with his brief chapter. In it, he says, "God will not be an inmate, to have only one room in the heart, and all the other rooms let out to sin. It [the Christian's love to God] must be an entire love." Far too many of us who claim to follow the Lord do this very thing. We keep our walk in its compartment until Sunday or Wednesday, or if we need to look "spiritual" by saying a prayer at dinner time or when a friend is having a rough go at it. We attempt to lock God away and do our own thing until we really need Him.

The second idea is the idea that God's love is mercenary. We all like to think that "if I just do this, God will show His grace on my life and bless me!" There were several churches a few years ago who were teaching a revamped version of the "Prosperity Movement" with a particular book where if you just say the right prayer, then God is going to make sure that you're prosperous in all the ways of your heart. "Here's my prayer, Lord, now where's my money and my car and my nice new 2500 sq. ft. house?" We like to think that God's love and blessing is mercenary. "Many love God because He gives them corn and wine, and not for His intrinsic excellencies. We must love God more for what He is, than for what He bestows. True love is not mercenary." God is the Almighty, the Creator, the Author of Life, the Prince of Peace, the Lord of Lords... and we're going to love Him because he gave us that 4Runner, rather than for being those things? We're going to withhold our love of our Redeemer until He gives us that relationship that we think completes us?

A very simple, yet deep, definition of the way in which we should love God is found in Deuteronomy 6v.5. Many of us have heard it, yet many of us have never even really thought about the way in which we should be loving God: "Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your might." Our love for God must be fully-encompassing. Our heart (emotions and thoughts), our soul (spiritual life), and our might (all physical aspects of our lives) are to be focused on one thing - glorifying God. 

Many of us need to re-evaluate how we define love. With February, the "month of love," already here, let us take the time to look at love in our own lives, from the people around us to the God we worship, and see if we are keeping them prisoner, loving them just for what they give us, or giving our all in love. Let's make sure that the philosophy professor inside of all of us has nothing more to do with the ways in which we love others. Love God, love people, love the Church; and do all of it with every ounce of your heart, soul, and might.

Facing Up

For a couple of years, now, I've been an avid fan of a guy who many find to be a bit, well, crazy. His name is Bear Grylls, main-man of the Discovery Channel's hit series "Man vs. Wild," a devout Christian, and former SAS serviceman. If you don't know much about Grylls, let's just say that he shows people how they can survive if put in a life-threatening situation in nature (although I'm sure he knows how to defend himself, since he was SAS, his show is about surviving on your own, in the wild). He does this by showing people what plants and animals are edible (often raw), how to build shelter, how to navigate and all sorts of other survival techniques. Just a week or so ago, some boys who fell through an ice-covered pond up north survived by copying what they had seen Grylls do after he was soaked in frigid water on a Patagonian glacier. They probably wouldn't have survived otherwise.

Many people don't know that Grylls is the author of a couple of books. He has written two books about his adventures, thus far, one called "Facing the Frozen Ocean" and the other called "Facing Up." I have just gotten done reading this particular book. Its main focus is on the harrowing adventure Grylls and a few of his comrades had as they scaled Everest in 1998. Upon completing this feat, Grylls, then 23, became the youngest Briton to scale the world's tallest mountain. It's a great adventure book, but, rather than being entirely focused on the physical aspect of his time on the mountain, the spiritual side continually shines through.

One of my favorite quotes from the book is one that Grylls has actually used on his show. It actually came from Grylls' father, who taught him how to climb from the time that Bear was a small boy. 

"You can never know how steep something is until you rub noses with it."

Life is often compared to being a mountain. Christ tells us that with faith we can move mountains. Mountains are places of beauty, serenity, and magic. Mountains bring rejuvenation. Do we catch a theme here?

How often do people simply sit back and whine about how "hard" their lives are? We are all guilty of acting as though life could just not get any worse, yet, if life is a mountain, how often do we really "rub noses" with it? How often do we get right up to it and see the steepness of it... whether it's a gently rolling hill or a sheer granite wall? Many of us mistake the cliffs for the dales and plains.

I know that, in my life and in my marriage, Carrie and I are about to face a new part of our climb. As we prepare for parenthood, there are many times that I can feel a bit overwhelmed and as though I'm scaling some massive mountain's face. But, when I realize, yet again, that God is the One who is leading us through this great adventure called life, it is not all that steep. Even the places that are tricky, He guides us through. As we prepare for a next step (no pun intended) with missions, the future can look greatly daunting, yet He has us in His hands! As we look to the future, and moving to Asia, buying homes, raising Christ-glorifying kids who will make His Name great among the nations, it can look like such an impossible task... and then I'm reminded. 

It's something that Bear Grylls took great hope and peace in as he climbed to the top of Everest.

It's something that we often sing worship songs about.

It's something that God's people, from King David to Believers in Burma today have held on to through all things this World can throw at us, even death.

Remembering that life is a mountain, the Psalmist speaks fresh spirit into our walks with Christ:

"I lift my eyes up to the mountains. From where does my help come? My help comes from the Lord, who made heaven and earth." (Psalm 121v.1-2)

The same One who created the heaven and earth, is the same One who is walking with His children up the mountains of their lives, of which He has created, seen us through, and rejoices in, with us. I cannot wait to dance on this mountaintop when all is said and done, joyfully giving praise to the One who was with me through the entire climb.

Hunger

"Man, I'm hungry!" I thought as I wrapped up my morning studies and planning. The granola I had eaten for breakfast had evidently run its course. I quickly made my way out to the van, all the time mentally running through the foods that sound best for keeping one going through a Monday afternoon.

"Taco Bell? Nah..."

"Subway? I don't think so."

"Arby's? Had it the other day..."

"Sandwich at home? Still need to get stuff done at the office, don't want to get side-tracked!"

"Barbecue sandwich? Bingo, barbecue sandwich at Market Street."

I jumped in the van and put the key in the ignition... nothing. I tried again; same result. Not being one to admit to insanity (doing the same thing, over and over, expecting different results), I had two options: a. wait for Carrie to get done with her Beth Moore Bible study and have her pick me up something on the way back to the office (while getting some stuff done in there myself) or b. take a hike. Although it's a little bit chilly and I'm in sandaled feed, I opted for option B.

We live in a society that seems to forget that it even has feet. As spread out as things are, especially here in Texas, it's incredible, to us, when we see someone walking. I would look at the people as they drove by me... I got every look from the soccer mom's "Oh, that poor guy, he's got to walk somewhere..." to an older man in his Mercedes talking on his cell phone who looked at me as though I were a transient on my way to his house to steal his cigar collection, precious stones, and little fluffy lap dog.

On my way to Market Street, though, I kept thinking about the Beatitudes, where Jesus is talking about those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, because, in Him, they will be satisfied. I was hungry enough to walk through the loose sand, rocks, and weeds (not to mention encounter several bad Lubbock drivers on cell phones) in order to get my barbecue sandwich and Dr. Pepper. How much am I willing to endure for righteousness?

Far too many of us never even think about being hungry spiritually. We're so set in our ways when it comes to our "walks": go to church on Sunday mornings, worship for sure, maybe Sunday School (it just depends what activities the family has for the afternoon how long we stay); have a quiet time hopefully five times a week, but more like twice; make it to Wednesday night meal and worship twice a month; talk about Jesus to a couple of co-workers. We're set, or so it seems. The vast majority of us need to take a harder look at our lives and determine if we're really hungering and thirsting for the Lord. Do we need the nourishment of diving into His Word daily, or is it just some spiritual thing to check off our morality "to-do" list? When we worship, are we wanting to praise and have communion with the Father, or are we doing it because that's just "what we do" before Pastor Andy gets up there and preaches? I know, for me, I too often don't even think about the very real, very needed sustenance I get from my time with my Saviour. It can just become that thing that I do as a pastor.

We all need to take time out to remember what it is to hunger after the Lord. This may be just a time to meditate on what hunger really is, it may mean taking a day or two (or even a week... GASP!) to fast and take into ourselves hunger. It may even take us going to the nations on a mission trip to truly see hunger, firsthand, both in a physical and spiritual sense of the word.

What do you hunger for? The things of the World, like a sugar-high that makes us feel so good for a little while before letting us crash back down; or, the all-satisfying nourishment that is the Word and fellowship with the One who wrote it, that spurs us on those extra miles until we arrive home?

New Wine

As of 12:00am on Tuesday morning, a new leaf was turned over around the world... New Year's day was ushered in from the Christmas Islands to Honolulu, from Lubbock to Moscow, Khoa Koa Kao to Vienna. Around the globe, people adopted new resolutions and made new beginnings, some for the tenth time in as many years. It seems that even the World can get into the idea of new birth when it comes to New Year's, almost acting as though the previous year has no further consequences of anything else to affect us.

For the first time in quite a while, I myself made some resolutions, although I choose to call them "New Year's Resolute Goals." I say this because it's so easy to get into the mindset that resolutions are made to be broken, and these are things that I want to carry throughout the whole year. In fact, I made lists and printed them out so that I can have them in my office, on my bathroom mirror at home, and even in my wallet... constant reminders of those things that I hope to achieve and simply do better in 2008.

With all of the "new beginnings" happening around, I thought about the spiritual aspects of new beginnings. How often do we need to repent and, essentially, have yet another "new beginning" when it comes to our personal walk with Christ? I'm not saying that we "get saved again," but I am saying that each time we repent from where we're stepping, it is a sort of new beginning; a coming back to Christ. We should all know that the ultimate new beginning comes when a person truly accepts Jesus Christ as their Saviour. But, there are also a plethora of new beginnings  that we all make, as humans, from a new diet to making new friends to starting a new school or college, moving, getting a new job, getting married, having a baby, etc. but they simply don't carry the same weight as when a person becomes a Christian.

When it comes to new beginnings, Jesus used a great analogy in the book of Matthew. In chapther 9, verse 17, Jesus uses the analogy of placing old wine in new wineskins. The entire passage (v.14-17) is talking about fasting and why Jesus' disciples weren't fasting like the Pharisees and the disciples of John the Baptist, but it is definitely talking about new beginnings. But how relevant this particular verse is to this time of the year for us! As we think about what, exactly, an old wineskin might look like, and what it might be filled with, we get a good picture of what our former lives, before we came to know Christ as Saviour and Lord, must look like. The bags are darkened with oils and sugars from what they held. The wine, inside, has long gone past its "good year" status and has become a nasty smelling and tasting vinegar. No one would like a sip of the vileness inside of the wineskin, yet it sits there anyway, continuing to fill the skin with its putrid smells. There is no life in the wineskin. Our lives, without Christ, are filled with the nastiness and toxic tastes, smells, and looks of sin. There is no life-giving liquid within us, without Christ, and no one truly wants to take a draught of what we've got on the inside, because it's nothing but death.

On the other hand, we see the new wineskin. It is fresh and filled with new wine; wine that gives life and sustenance to a person. In the same way, we are crafted anew when we come to know Christ as Lord and Saviour, becoming that new wineskin that is ripe to accept the sweet drops of new wine, which is the Holy Spirit. Ours has become a skin that the world over wants to take long drinks from to be filled by that which gives life. The wine, the Spirit, that we've been filled with, is the only thing that can give life to a world that is in the clutches of death. This gives new meaning to the Eucharist / communion / Lord's Supper, as we see that being wineskins, and wine symbolizing blood, we essentially take into our own bodies Christ's blood, becoming very one with Him. It is a very beautiful thing to see what God begins for us anew, as we walk through life with Him!

When it comes to our lives, as Believers, there are certainly many instances where we're going to go through changes and realize that the point we're at is actually a new beginning that is about to transpire. Sometimes, when we are on these thresholds, it can be extremely scary, while at other times, it is one of the most exhilarating and exciting things we could ever endeavor. Often times, it is a strange combination of both!

The thing about new beginnings, though, is that God is always in control of them. He is the one who directs them and sees them through; they are never done in or of our own prideful power.

With the new year being here, there are many of us who are looking for a new beginning, whether that's in school, in some friendship or relationship, or even with God. Take the time to think about new beginnings, and the point, in your life, where you might need one (or several!). You, a Believer in the Lord Jesus Christ, are a wineskin that God has crafted to hold the best wine this world has ever seen. Don't continue to settle for being some grungy old sack of vinegar hanging in the back. Be the cask that is full of the sweetness of the Lord, whose fragrance fills up the room and whose wonderful taste affects all who come in contact with you! As one of my favorite bands sings, "God is the wine, I am the wineglass." We are vessels meant to be broken for other people.