Quit living as if the purpose of life is to arrive safely at death. Set God-sized goals. Pursue God-ordained passions. Go after a dream that is destined to fail without divine intervention. Stop pointing out problems and become part of the solution. Stop criticizing and start creating. Stop playing it safe and start taking risks. Expand your horizons. Accumulate experiences. Consider the lilacs. Find every excuse you can to celebrate everything you can. Don't let what's wrong with you keep you from worshipping what's right with God. Burn sinful bridges. Laugh at yourself. Keep making mistakes. Worry less about what people think and more about what God thinks. Don't try to be who you're not. Be yourself. Quit holding out. Quit holding back. Quit running away. And remember: if God is for us who can be against us?
Chase the lion!
Wednesday, February 28, 2007
Tuesday, February 27, 2007
Chain Gang
THE CHAIN GANG
For some there was the slight semblance of the synchophonic sound of church bells. But it was, instead, the clanging of chains synchophonas the prisoners performed their duties.
Their day began with roll-call, responding to their assigned identification number. Then, dressed in the dreary uniformity that dissipates individuality, and manacled together in bondage, they marched out to perform their monotonous tasks. The obligatory service having been performed under the watchful eye of the taskmaster, the prisoners filed back into the vaulted dungeon to be fed a bland diet and to engage in the socialization of their chants. They were psyching themselves up for another day of the same regimen on the chain-gang. Each day as they labored, a crusader on a nearby hill repetitively proclaimed, “Let my people go!” “Let my people go!” “What you are doing to my people is contrary to justice; it is cruel and unusual punishment.” “I have come to set you free!” “Exercise your right to walk out in freedom with me.” This sounded like good news to the prisoners, yet there was little hope that such freedom could be effected until their sentence had been served. Whatever hope these men had was long-term and futuristic, for these men been were “lifers.” Meanwhile, the law-enforcement officers who guarded them made every effort to keep the prisoners from hearing the daily proclamations of the rabblerouser on the hill. They knew that what he was saying was true. Very few exercised the right to walk away unto freedom. They were held not by the manacles of chains but by the captivity of their own minds.
For some there was the slight semblance of the synchophonic sound of church bells. But it was, instead, the clanging of chains synchophonas the prisoners performed their duties.
Their day began with roll-call, responding to their assigned identification number. Then, dressed in the dreary uniformity that dissipates individuality, and manacled together in bondage, they marched out to perform their monotonous tasks. The obligatory service having been performed under the watchful eye of the taskmaster, the prisoners filed back into the vaulted dungeon to be fed a bland diet and to engage in the socialization of their chants. They were psyching themselves up for another day of the same regimen on the chain-gang. Each day as they labored, a crusader on a nearby hill repetitively proclaimed, “Let my people go!” “Let my people go!” “What you are doing to my people is contrary to justice; it is cruel and unusual punishment.” “I have come to set you free!” “Exercise your right to walk out in freedom with me.” This sounded like good news to the prisoners, yet there was little hope that such freedom could be effected until their sentence had been served. Whatever hope these men had was long-term and futuristic, for these men been were “lifers.” Meanwhile, the law-enforcement officers who guarded them made every effort to keep the prisoners from hearing the daily proclamations of the rabblerouser on the hill. They knew that what he was saying was true. Very few exercised the right to walk away unto freedom. They were held not by the manacles of chains but by the captivity of their own minds.
There was an initial enactment of this scenario when the Israelites were enslaved in Egypt. Moses was the designated leader to “set the people free.” A great exodus ensued, though few ever Iraelites found their way to the land of freedom.
Today God’s people are enslaved in the bondage of religion. Individuality is dissipated; conformity is dictated. Attendance is mandated; performance is regulated. The roll is taken as we file back into our vaulted cathedrals to be “fed” a bland diet, and to engage in what we have been conditioned to call “worship.”
Jesus Christ, by His Spirit, still stands
on Calvary hill, calling, “Let My people go!”
“You shall know the truth, and the truth
shall make you free” (John 8:32). “I am the
truth” (John 14:6). “I came that you might
have life, and might have it abundantly”
(John 10:10). “I am the life (John 14:6).
Few there are who leave the bondage
of religion for the freedom of Christ’s life.
on Calvary hill, calling, “Let My people go!”
“You shall know the truth, and the truth
shall make you free” (John 8:32). “I am the
truth” (John 14:6). “I came that you might
have life, and might have it abundantly”
(John 10:10). “I am the life (John 14:6).
Few there are who leave the bondage
of religion for the freedom of Christ’s life.
~Author - Jim Fowler
Parables and Parodies
On most occasions Jesus did not provide any explanation of
His parables, leaving them like “dangling modifiers” in His teaching. They served as “pictorial ponderables” which could implode within one’s thinking and explode misconceptions. They were puzzling and problematic; veiled with hidden meaning which was concealed in order to reveal. The parables of Jesus had a “back-handed impact” which “upset the apple-cart” of traditional religious thinking. What Jesus was advocating was 180 degrees opposite of the typical religious practice. With a subtle, dry humor, Jesus illustrates that “God’s thoughts are not our thoughts, nor our ways,His ways” (Isa. 55:8,9). Eventually the Palestinian religionists realized that Jesus was talking about them (Matt. 21:45), often making parodies of their piety, and they sought to silence Him.
What is a parody? A parody is a comic caricature, a ludicrous likeness, an absurd analogy, a ridiculous representation which exposes a particular reality by comparing it to another of a different order. Parodies can be a very useful verbal or literary tool to exposes the “red herrings” of diversions which distract attention from real issues; to expose “hobby horses” whereby men keep reverting back to repetitive over-emphases without critical thought; to expose inane traditions which become familiar ruts wherein we fail to recognize the absence d’esprit. By the use of parody one can be direct yet subtle at the same time. Blaise Pascal exposed the Jesuits by showing the absurdity of their thinking in analogical constructs. Soren Kierkegaard utilized and parables and allegory to reveal pompous and fallacious activities in the Church of Denmark. Both were criticized for irreverence, but their writings exist to this day as valid examples of courageous men who stood up for veracity, integrity and genuine spirituality. Sometimes this means “stomping through the tulips.”
In his Provincial Letters, Blaise Pascal noted that “there is a vast difference between laughing at Christianity and laughing at those who profane it by their extravagant opinions. It were impiety to laugh-be wanting in respect for the verities which the Spirit of God has revealed;but it were no less impiety of another sort to be wanting in contempt for the falsities which the spirit of man opposes to them.”
“There are many things which deserve to be held up to ridicule and
mockery, lest, by a serious refutation, we should attach a weight to them which they do not deserve.”
“...what is more fitted to raise a laugh than to see a matter so grave as that of Christianity decked out with fancies so grotesque...”
“...it is impossible to refrain from laughing.”
In documentation of his point Pascal quotes from Tertullian.
“...to treat them seriously would be to sanction them.”
“Can anything be more justly due to the vanity and weakness of these opinions than laughter?”
“Whether ought we to laugh at their folly, or deplore their blindness?”
There comes a time when we need to stand before the mirror to engage in some ecclesiastical self-examination. Those who are not willing to do so “deceive themselves,” and “their religion is worthless” (James 1:22-26). If we cannot or will not engage in self-criticism, we become very in-grown and unhealthy. The body-religious today seems to be in a state of “denial,” unwilling to admit or deal with their “ingrown toenails.” Such a situation is an unhealthy situation that hobbles our effectiveness. The ecclesiastical community today is so myopic that it cannot detach itself from the extraneous criteria of self-image in order to be objective about its munity condition. Perhaps we need to follow Jesus’ advice to “take the log out of our own eye, before we seek to take the speck out of another’s eye” (Matt. 7:3-5).
Hopefully parodies will allow us to “see ourselves as others see us,” and thus to be freed from some of our “foolish notions” and “blunders.”
“Charity may sometimes oblige us to ridicule the errors of men, that they may be induced to laugh at them in their turn, and renounce them.” ~Augustine
His parables, leaving them like “dangling modifiers” in His teaching. They served as “pictorial ponderables” which could implode within one’s thinking and explode misconceptions. They were puzzling and problematic; veiled with hidden meaning which was concealed in order to reveal. The parables of Jesus had a “back-handed impact” which “upset the apple-cart” of traditional religious thinking. What Jesus was advocating was 180 degrees opposite of the typical religious practice. With a subtle, dry humor, Jesus illustrates that “God’s thoughts are not our thoughts, nor our ways,His ways” (Isa. 55:8,9). Eventually the Palestinian religionists realized that Jesus was talking about them (Matt. 21:45), often making parodies of their piety, and they sought to silence Him.
What is a parody? A parody is a comic caricature, a ludicrous likeness, an absurd analogy, a ridiculous representation which exposes a particular reality by comparing it to another of a different order. Parodies can be a very useful verbal or literary tool to exposes the “red herrings” of diversions which distract attention from real issues; to expose “hobby horses” whereby men keep reverting back to repetitive over-emphases without critical thought; to expose inane traditions which become familiar ruts wherein we fail to recognize the absence d’esprit. By the use of parody one can be direct yet subtle at the same time. Blaise Pascal exposed the Jesuits by showing the absurdity of their thinking in analogical constructs. Soren Kierkegaard utilized and parables and allegory to reveal pompous and fallacious activities in the Church of Denmark. Both were criticized for irreverence, but their writings exist to this day as valid examples of courageous men who stood up for veracity, integrity and genuine spirituality. Sometimes this means “stomping through the tulips.”
In his Provincial Letters, Blaise Pascal noted that “there is a vast difference between laughing at Christianity and laughing at those who profane it by their extravagant opinions. It were impiety to laugh-be wanting in respect for the verities which the Spirit of God has revealed;but it were no less impiety of another sort to be wanting in contempt for the falsities which the spirit of man opposes to them.”
“There are many things which deserve to be held up to ridicule and
mockery, lest, by a serious refutation, we should attach a weight to them which they do not deserve.”
“...what is more fitted to raise a laugh than to see a matter so grave as that of Christianity decked out with fancies so grotesque...”
“...it is impossible to refrain from laughing.”
In documentation of his point Pascal quotes from Tertullian.
“...to treat them seriously would be to sanction them.”
“Can anything be more justly due to the vanity and weakness of these opinions than laughter?”
“Whether ought we to laugh at their folly, or deplore their blindness?”
There comes a time when we need to stand before the mirror to engage in some ecclesiastical self-examination. Those who are not willing to do so “deceive themselves,” and “their religion is worthless” (James 1:22-26). If we cannot or will not engage in self-criticism, we become very in-grown and unhealthy. The body-religious today seems to be in a state of “denial,” unwilling to admit or deal with their “ingrown toenails.” Such a situation is an unhealthy situation that hobbles our effectiveness. The ecclesiastical community today is so myopic that it cannot detach itself from the extraneous criteria of self-image in order to be objective about its munity condition. Perhaps we need to follow Jesus’ advice to “take the log out of our own eye, before we seek to take the speck out of another’s eye” (Matt. 7:3-5).
Hopefully parodies will allow us to “see ourselves as others see us,” and thus to be freed from some of our “foolish notions” and “blunders.”
“Charity may sometimes oblige us to ridicule the errors of men, that they may be induced to laugh at them in their turn, and renounce them.” ~Augustine
Monday, February 26, 2007
Whom Should Christians Turn to in Times of Trouble?
The Bible says nothing about professional help for Christians in turmoil, but it does say that Spirit-filled believers are to minister to such people. I think part of the reason people go outside the church for help is that many churches have failed to gently restore fallen believers and lovingly bear their burdens (Gal. 6:1 2).
When Christians fall into traps of despair, discouragement, depression, immorality, and substance abuse, the church should function as a healing community to such people. Spiritual believers have the responsibility of helping to restore them.
True biblical counseling to Christians in need is the process by which a Spirit controlled Christian leads another believer to spirituality through prayer and the Word. There's no fleshly way to accomplish that. It's a spiritual ministry. In addition, I believe that although certain people are wonderfully gifted counselors, the restoration of sinning Christians is a ministry of the whole congregation rather than just one individual.
One writer drew a helpful analogy that illustrates the point: "Do not let discouragement drench your spirit, or fear flood your soul. Despite the howling winds of circumstance and the undercurrents of the enemy, press on in the power of the Holy Spirit as you hold firmly to the rudder of faith. Scan your horizons for a fleet of like-minded ships: vessels who adore and serve their King, the Lord Jesus. Once you find them, forsake your isolated wanderings for their protection, fellowship and instruction:
* The old ships will teach you reverence.
* Battered vessels are a practicum in compassion.
* Fast clippers, leading the fleet under Christ, instill obedience.
* Slow barges instruct you in patience and kindness, for they often bear the heaviest burdens.
* Front line battleships evoke respect and humility.
* A broken boat will enlarge your heart for meeting needs.
* And even a collision with another freighter will alert each member to stay on course and faithfully follow love."
No one person be he pastor or counselor can teach all that. But when the church functions in the power of the Holy Spirit, all those ministries take place. That dynamic stimulates each believer toward spiritual growth.
One of the tragedies of our day is that many Christians have drifted away from depending on the Spirit because they get in the habit of depending on themselves. When they finally discover their own inadequacies, they turn to the world for solutions rather than seeking God's provisions through the Spirit and through fellow believers. Whom do you turn to in times of trouble?
Because the Spirit ministers to us through other believers, we must never cut ourselves off from that vital source of stimulation and accountability. Unfortunately some Christians can attend church or Bible study week after week and make little or no contribution to the lives of other believers and receive little or nothing from them. Others spend time with Christians but the topic of conversation may not be of any spiritual significance. Be sure to make the most of the Spirit's ministry through other believers!
~John MacArthur
When Christians fall into traps of despair, discouragement, depression, immorality, and substance abuse, the church should function as a healing community to such people. Spiritual believers have the responsibility of helping to restore them.
True biblical counseling to Christians in need is the process by which a Spirit controlled Christian leads another believer to spirituality through prayer and the Word. There's no fleshly way to accomplish that. It's a spiritual ministry. In addition, I believe that although certain people are wonderfully gifted counselors, the restoration of sinning Christians is a ministry of the whole congregation rather than just one individual.
One writer drew a helpful analogy that illustrates the point: "Do not let discouragement drench your spirit, or fear flood your soul. Despite the howling winds of circumstance and the undercurrents of the enemy, press on in the power of the Holy Spirit as you hold firmly to the rudder of faith. Scan your horizons for a fleet of like-minded ships: vessels who adore and serve their King, the Lord Jesus. Once you find them, forsake your isolated wanderings for their protection, fellowship and instruction:
* The old ships will teach you reverence.
* Battered vessels are a practicum in compassion.
* Fast clippers, leading the fleet under Christ, instill obedience.
* Slow barges instruct you in patience and kindness, for they often bear the heaviest burdens.
* Front line battleships evoke respect and humility.
* A broken boat will enlarge your heart for meeting needs.
* And even a collision with another freighter will alert each member to stay on course and faithfully follow love."
No one person be he pastor or counselor can teach all that. But when the church functions in the power of the Holy Spirit, all those ministries take place. That dynamic stimulates each believer toward spiritual growth.
One of the tragedies of our day is that many Christians have drifted away from depending on the Spirit because they get in the habit of depending on themselves. When they finally discover their own inadequacies, they turn to the world for solutions rather than seeking God's provisions through the Spirit and through fellow believers. Whom do you turn to in times of trouble?
Because the Spirit ministers to us through other believers, we must never cut ourselves off from that vital source of stimulation and accountability. Unfortunately some Christians can attend church or Bible study week after week and make little or no contribution to the lives of other believers and receive little or nothing from them. Others spend time with Christians but the topic of conversation may not be of any spiritual significance. Be sure to make the most of the Spirit's ministry through other believers!
~John MacArthur
Bondslave
"I, Paul, the prisoner of the Lord, implore you..." (Ephesians 4:1a).
To be the prisoner of the Lord means that we accept the sentence of death and are resigned to our fate. We are not the Lord's prisoner if we are still protesting our innocence. If we do not agree with the Lord that Self is worthy of death then we unnecessarily delay the inevitable. If we must take up the Cross and be crucified, it is better to submit ourselves to it as Christ did, giving up our spirit into the Father's hands, and bowing our head in peace. So let us drink the Cup that the Father gives us. If we struggle and protest, like the two thieves, then we only prolong our agony, and the soldiers must come and break our legs. Either way, the Cross means death. The sooner we surrender to it the sooner we find Resurrection.
Feast of Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Teacher, Martyr, 1945
During the last year or so, I have come to appreciate the "worldliness" of Christianity as never before. The Christian is not a homo religiosus but a man, pure and simple, just as Jesus became man... It is only by living completely in this world that one learns to believe. One must abandon every attempt to make something of oneself, whether it be a saint, a converted sinner, a churchman, a righteous man, or an unrighteous one, a sick man or a healthy one... This is what I mean by worldliness -- taking life in one's stride, with all its duties and problems, its successes and failures, its experiences and helplessness... How can success make us arrogant or failure lead us astray, when we participate in the sufferings of God by living in this world?
To be the prisoner of the Lord means that we accept the sentence of death and are resigned to our fate. We are not the Lord's prisoner if we are still protesting our innocence. If we do not agree with the Lord that Self is worthy of death then we unnecessarily delay the inevitable. If we must take up the Cross and be crucified, it is better to submit ourselves to it as Christ did, giving up our spirit into the Father's hands, and bowing our head in peace. So let us drink the Cup that the Father gives us. If we struggle and protest, like the two thieves, then we only prolong our agony, and the soldiers must come and break our legs. Either way, the Cross means death. The sooner we surrender to it the sooner we find Resurrection.
Feast of Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Teacher, Martyr, 1945
During the last year or so, I have come to appreciate the "worldliness" of Christianity as never before. The Christian is not a homo religiosus but a man, pure and simple, just as Jesus became man... It is only by living completely in this world that one learns to believe. One must abandon every attempt to make something of oneself, whether it be a saint, a converted sinner, a churchman, a righteous man, or an unrighteous one, a sick man or a healthy one... This is what I mean by worldliness -- taking life in one's stride, with all its duties and problems, its successes and failures, its experiences and helplessness... How can success make us arrogant or failure lead us astray, when we participate in the sufferings of God by living in this world?
Friday, February 23, 2007
Content to be..
Its been a long time since I posted something more personal. Im not a great writer and generally I can find things that people have written that say things I feel or want to express. Sometimes its good to write my own personal thoughts down so here goes:
Do you ever mix up who you are with what you do? Or who you are with your gifting? I remember managing a restaurant in my twenties and deciding I needed a change from that kind of work. I had been in the position for a number of years. Soon after my job change, I began to experience a kind of withdrawl. I realized that I needed to separate my identity from what I did and my giftings. It was very difficult as I seem to attach myself to this very easily without even knowing it. Anyway, the Lord challenged me on this again the other day.
Lord I want to find my identity in you alone. I thought I had, but here I am again. Its so easy to fall into the flesh and begin striving, thinking that I have to perform somehow or try to please you with all my doing. I release all that to you and am, content to be your child. You can give or take away; either way I will bless your Name. I give you who I am so that I can be found in you; more of you and less of me. Forgive and cleanse me of pride. I lay down all that you have given me, including gifts, talents, ambitions, hopes and plans. Make me your bondservant, chained only to you.. AMEN.
A Man of Great Wisdom Turns to Idolatry
This is perhaps one of the most tragic stories in the Bible... the story of Solomon, a man who came to the throne in great humility, and built a temple for the name of God... and later turned to idolatry. (See 1 Kgs 11:5,6). God knows the subtlety of the human heart far better than we do. And may we pray earnestly, "O Lord, Thou who alone knowest the hearts of all men, search me and know me, try me and know my thoughts, see if there be any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting". God warned Israel what would happen when they came into Canaan, the land of fruitfulness and abundance. "Beware", He said, lest when you become rich and prosperous, "Then thine heart be lifted up, and thou forget the LORD thy God" (See Deut 8:14). I am not talking merely about natural prosperity. There is a spiritual prosperity that the Church is boasting about these days, and God looks down and sees the utmost spiritual poverty. God will reveal in the Day of the LORD, in the Day of His fire, whether our works have brought glory to His Name, how much of it is "gold, silver, and precious stones" and how much is "wood, hay, and stubble". We thank the Lord for every good and perfect gift that He bestows upon us; but let not our prayers stop there. We must find the grace to lay it all down at His feet, in loving self-sacrifice unto Him. For unless we do that, we cannot be His disciples (Lk 14:33). ~ George Warnock (Templebuilders)
How Deep the Father's Love
How deep the Father's love for us
How vast beyond all measure
That He should give His only son
To make a wretch His treasure
How great the pain of searing loss
The Father turned His face away
As wounds which mar the Chosen One
Bring many sons to glory
Behold the man upon a cross!
My sin upon His shoulders
Ashamed, I hear my mocking voice
Call out among the scoffers
It was my sin that held Him there
Until it was accomplished
His dying breath has brought me life;
I know that it is finished
I will not boast in anything:
No gifts, no power, no wisdom
But I will boast in Jesus Christ;
His death and resurrection
Why should I gain from His reward?
I cannot give an answer
But this I know with all my heart:
His wounds have paid my ransom
Do you ever mix up who you are with what you do? Or who you are with your gifting? I remember managing a restaurant in my twenties and deciding I needed a change from that kind of work. I had been in the position for a number of years. Soon after my job change, I began to experience a kind of withdrawl. I realized that I needed to separate my identity from what I did and my giftings. It was very difficult as I seem to attach myself to this very easily without even knowing it. Anyway, the Lord challenged me on this again the other day.
Lord I want to find my identity in you alone. I thought I had, but here I am again. Its so easy to fall into the flesh and begin striving, thinking that I have to perform somehow or try to please you with all my doing. I release all that to you and am, content to be your child. You can give or take away; either way I will bless your Name. I give you who I am so that I can be found in you; more of you and less of me. Forgive and cleanse me of pride. I lay down all that you have given me, including gifts, talents, ambitions, hopes and plans. Make me your bondservant, chained only to you.. AMEN.
A Man of Great Wisdom Turns to Idolatry
This is perhaps one of the most tragic stories in the Bible... the story of Solomon, a man who came to the throne in great humility, and built a temple for the name of God... and later turned to idolatry. (See 1 Kgs 11:5,6). God knows the subtlety of the human heart far better than we do. And may we pray earnestly, "O Lord, Thou who alone knowest the hearts of all men, search me and know me, try me and know my thoughts, see if there be any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting". God warned Israel what would happen when they came into Canaan, the land of fruitfulness and abundance. "Beware", He said, lest when you become rich and prosperous, "Then thine heart be lifted up, and thou forget the LORD thy God" (See Deut 8:14). I am not talking merely about natural prosperity. There is a spiritual prosperity that the Church is boasting about these days, and God looks down and sees the utmost spiritual poverty. God will reveal in the Day of the LORD, in the Day of His fire, whether our works have brought glory to His Name, how much of it is "gold, silver, and precious stones" and how much is "wood, hay, and stubble". We thank the Lord for every good and perfect gift that He bestows upon us; but let not our prayers stop there. We must find the grace to lay it all down at His feet, in loving self-sacrifice unto Him. For unless we do that, we cannot be His disciples (Lk 14:33). ~ George Warnock (Templebuilders)
How Deep the Father's Love
How deep the Father's love for us
How vast beyond all measure
That He should give His only son
To make a wretch His treasure
How great the pain of searing loss
The Father turned His face away
As wounds which mar the Chosen One
Bring many sons to glory
Behold the man upon a cross!
My sin upon His shoulders
Ashamed, I hear my mocking voice
Call out among the scoffers
It was my sin that held Him there
Until it was accomplished
His dying breath has brought me life;
I know that it is finished
I will not boast in anything:
No gifts, no power, no wisdom
But I will boast in Jesus Christ;
His death and resurrection
Why should I gain from His reward?
I cannot give an answer
But this I know with all my heart:
His wounds have paid my ransom
Thursday, February 22, 2007
That I might Gain Christ..
Over a hundred years ago Horatius Bonar, the Scottish pastor and hymn-writer wrote a little book called Night of Weeping, or, "When God's Children Suffer." In it he said his goal was, "to minister to the saints . . . to seek to bear their burdens, to bind up their wounds, and to dry up at least some of their many tears." It is a tender and deep and wise book. So it's not surprising to hear him say,
It is written by one who is seeking himself to profit by trial, and trembles lest it should pass by as the wind over the rock, leaving it as hard as ever; by one who would in every sorrow draw near to God that he may know Him more, and who is not unwilling to confess that as yet he knows but little."
Bridges and Bonar show us that suffering is a path deep into the heart of God. God has special revelations of his glory for his suffering children.
After months of suffering, Job finally says to God, "I had heard of thee by the hearing of the ear, but now my eye sees thee" (Job 42:5). Job had been a godly and upright man, pleasing to God, but the difference between what he knew of God in prosperity and what he knew of him through adversity was the difference between hearing about and seeing.
When Stephen was arrested and put on trial for his faith and given a chance to preach, the upshot was that the religious leaders were enraged and ground their teeth at him. They were just about to drag him out of the city and kill him. At just that moment, Luke tells us, that "Stephen was full of the Holy Spirit and gazed into heaven and saw the glory of God and Jesus standing at the right hand of God" (Acts 7:55). There is a special revelation, a special intimacy, prepared for those who suffer with Christ.
Peter put it this way, "If you are reproached for the name of Christ, you are blessed, because the Spirit of glory and of God rests upon you" (1 Peter 4:14). In other words God reserves a special coming and resting of his Spirit and his glory on his children who suffer for his name.
So the focus of today's message is on this intimacy factor in suffering. One of the purposes of the suffering of the saints is that their relationship with God might become less formal and less artificial and less distant, and become more personal and more real and more intimate and close and deep.
In our text (Philippians 3:5-11) I want us to see at least three things:
First, Paul's preparation to suffer by reversing his values;
Second, Paul's experience of suffering and loss as the cost of his obedience to Christ;
Third, Paul's aim in all of this, namely, to gain Christ: to know him and be in him and fellowship with more intimacy and reality than he knew with his best friends Barnabas and Silas.
Paul's preparation to suffer
In verses 5 and 6 Paul lists the distinctives he enjoyed before he became a Christian. He gives his ethnic pedigree as a thoroughbred child of Abraham, a Hebrew of Hebrews. This brought him great gain, a great sense of significance and assurance. He was an Israelite. Then he mentions three things that go right to the heart of Paul's life before he was a Christian (at the end of verse 5): "as to the Law, a Pharisee; as to zeal, a persecutor of the church; as to the righteousness which is in the Law, found blameless."
This was Paul's life. This was what gave him meaning and significance. This was his gain, his fortune, his joy. Different strokes for different folks--and Paul's was that he belonged to the upper-echelon of law keepers, the Pharisees, and that among them he was so zealous that he led the way in persecuting the enemies of God, the church of Jesus, and that he kept the law meticulously. He got strokes from belonging, he got strokes from excelling, he got strokes from God--or so he thought--for his blameless lawkeeping.
And then he met Christ, the Son of the living God, on the Damascus road. Christ told him how much he would have to suffer (Acts 9:16). And Paul prepared himself.
The way he prepared himself is described in verse 7. "But whatever things were gain to me, those things I have counted as loss for the sake of Christ." Paul looks at his standing in the upper-echelons of religious society, the Pharisees; he looks at the glory of being at the very top of that group with all its strokes and applause; he looks at the rigor of his lawkeeping and the sense of moral pride he enjoyed; and he prepares to suffer by taking his whole world and turning it upside down, by reversing his values: "Whatever things were gain to me (that's verses 5-6), those things I have counted as loss."
Before he was a Christian he had a ledger with two columns: one that said: gains and another that said: losses. On the gain side was the human glory of verses 5-6. On the loss side was the terrible prospect that this Jesus movement might get out of hand and Jesus prove real and win the day. When he met the living Christ on the Damascus road Paul took a big red pencil and wrote "LOSS" in big red letters across his gains column. And he wrote "GAIN" in big letters over the loss column that only had one name in it: Christ.
And not only that, the more Paul thought about the relative values of life in the world and the greatness of Christ, he moved beyond the few things mentioned in verses 5-6 and put everything but Christ in that first column: Verse 8: "More than that, I count all things to be loss in view of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord." He started by counting his most precious accomplishments as loss, and he ended by counting everything as loss, except Christ.
That's what it meant for Paul to become a Christian. And lest anyone of us think he was unique or peculiar, notice that in verse 17 he says with his full apostolic authority, "Brethren, join in following my example." This is normal Christianity.
What Paul is doing here is showing how the teaching of Jesus is to be lived out. For example, Jesus said, "The kingdom of heaven is like a treasure hidden in a field, which a man found and hid; and from joy over it he goes and sells all that he has, and buys that field" (Matthew 13:44). Becoming a Christian means discovering that Christ (the King) is a Treasure Chest of holy joy and writing "LOSS" over everything else in the world in order to gain him. "He sold all that he had to buy that field."
Or again in Luke 14:33 Jesus said, "No one of you can be my disciple who does not take leave of all his own possessions." In other words, becoming a disciple of Jesus means writing "LOSS" in big red letters over all your possessions--and everything else this world offers.
Now what does that mean practically? I think it means four things:
1. It means that whenever I am called upon to choose between anything in this world and Christ, I choose Christ.
2. It means that I will deal with the things of this world in ways that draw me nearer to Christ so that I gain more of Christ and enjoy more of him by the way I use the world.
3. It means that I will always deal with the things of this world in ways that show that they are not my treasure, but rather show that Christ is my treasure.
4. It means that if I lose any or all the things this world can offer, I will not lose my joy or my treasure or my life, because Christ is all.
Now that was the reckoning that Paul reckoned in his soul (v. 8): "I count all things to be loss in view of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord." Christ is all and all else is loss.
Now let's stand back a minute and get our bearings. I am still dealing with the first point: namely, that this is Paul's way of preparing to suffer. Why do I say that? Why is becoming a Christian, and writing "LOSS" across everything in your life but Christ a way of preparing to suffer?
The answer is that suffering is nothing more than the taking away of bad things or good things that the world offers for our enjoyment--reputation, esteem among peers, job, money, spouse, sexual life, children, friends, health, strength, sight, hearing, success, etc. When these things are taken away (by force or by circumstance or by choice), we suffer. But if we have followed Paul and the teaching of Jesus and have already counted them as loss for the surpassing value of gaining Christ, then we are prepared to suffer.
If when you become a Christian you write a big red "LOSS" across all the things in the world except Christ, then when Christ calls you to forfeit some of those things, it is not strange or unexpected. The pain and the sorrow may be great. The tears may be many, as they were for Jesus in Gethsemane. But we will be prepared. We will know that the value of Christ surpasses all the things the world can offer and that in losing them we gain more of Christ.
So in the second half of verse 8 Paul moves from preparing for suffering to actual suffering. He moves from counting all things as loss in the first half of verse 8 to actually suffering the loss of all things in the second half of the verse. " . . . for whom (that is, Christ) I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them as rubbish in order that I might gain Christ." We are going to see this next week: Paul had experienced so much actual loss of the normal benefits and comforts of the world that he could say that he was not merely counting things loss; he was suffering loss. He had prepared by turning his values upside down, and now he was being tested. Did he value Christ above all?
So let me close by riveting our attention on Paul's goal and God's purpose in this suffering. Why did God ordain and Paul accept the losses that it meant for him to be a Christian?
Paul gives the answer again and again in these verses so that we cannot miss the point. He is not passive in this suffering loss. He is purposive. And his purpose is to gain Christ.
Verse 7: "I counted them loss for the sake of Christ."
Verse 8a: "I count all things to be loss for the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord."
Verse 8b: "For him I have suffered the loss of all things."
Verse 8c: "And I count them but rubbish in order that I may gain Christ . . ."
Verse 9: ". . .and that I may be found in him (so as to have God's righteousness, not my own) . . ."
Verse 10a: (still giving his aim in accepting the loss of all things) ". . . that I may know him"
Verses 10b-11: (followed by four specifics of what it means to know Christ)
". . . 1) (to know) the power of his resurrection; and
2) the fellowship of his sufferings;
3) being conformed to his death;
4) in order that I may attain to the resurrection from the dead."
In other words, what sustains Paul in suffering the loss of all things is the confidence that in his losing precious things in the world he is gaining something more precious --Christ.
And two times that gaining is called a knowing--verse 8a: ". . . in view of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord." Verse 10: "That I might know him." This is the intimacy factor in suffering. Do we want to know him? Do we want to be more personal with him and deep with him and real with him and intimate with him--so much so that we count everything as loss to gain this greatest of all treasures?
If we do we will be ready to suffer. If we don't it will take us by surprise and we will rebel. May the Lord open our eyes to the surpassing worth of knowing Christ!
Copyright 1992 John Piper
It is written by one who is seeking himself to profit by trial, and trembles lest it should pass by as the wind over the rock, leaving it as hard as ever; by one who would in every sorrow draw near to God that he may know Him more, and who is not unwilling to confess that as yet he knows but little."
Bridges and Bonar show us that suffering is a path deep into the heart of God. God has special revelations of his glory for his suffering children.
After months of suffering, Job finally says to God, "I had heard of thee by the hearing of the ear, but now my eye sees thee" (Job 42:5). Job had been a godly and upright man, pleasing to God, but the difference between what he knew of God in prosperity and what he knew of him through adversity was the difference between hearing about and seeing.
When Stephen was arrested and put on trial for his faith and given a chance to preach, the upshot was that the religious leaders were enraged and ground their teeth at him. They were just about to drag him out of the city and kill him. At just that moment, Luke tells us, that "Stephen was full of the Holy Spirit and gazed into heaven and saw the glory of God and Jesus standing at the right hand of God" (Acts 7:55). There is a special revelation, a special intimacy, prepared for those who suffer with Christ.
Peter put it this way, "If you are reproached for the name of Christ, you are blessed, because the Spirit of glory and of God rests upon you" (1 Peter 4:14). In other words God reserves a special coming and resting of his Spirit and his glory on his children who suffer for his name.
So the focus of today's message is on this intimacy factor in suffering. One of the purposes of the suffering of the saints is that their relationship with God might become less formal and less artificial and less distant, and become more personal and more real and more intimate and close and deep.
In our text (Philippians 3:5-11) I want us to see at least three things:
First, Paul's preparation to suffer by reversing his values;
Second, Paul's experience of suffering and loss as the cost of his obedience to Christ;
Third, Paul's aim in all of this, namely, to gain Christ: to know him and be in him and fellowship with more intimacy and reality than he knew with his best friends Barnabas and Silas.
Paul's preparation to suffer
In verses 5 and 6 Paul lists the distinctives he enjoyed before he became a Christian. He gives his ethnic pedigree as a thoroughbred child of Abraham, a Hebrew of Hebrews. This brought him great gain, a great sense of significance and assurance. He was an Israelite. Then he mentions three things that go right to the heart of Paul's life before he was a Christian (at the end of verse 5): "as to the Law, a Pharisee; as to zeal, a persecutor of the church; as to the righteousness which is in the Law, found blameless."
This was Paul's life. This was what gave him meaning and significance. This was his gain, his fortune, his joy. Different strokes for different folks--and Paul's was that he belonged to the upper-echelon of law keepers, the Pharisees, and that among them he was so zealous that he led the way in persecuting the enemies of God, the church of Jesus, and that he kept the law meticulously. He got strokes from belonging, he got strokes from excelling, he got strokes from God--or so he thought--for his blameless lawkeeping.
And then he met Christ, the Son of the living God, on the Damascus road. Christ told him how much he would have to suffer (Acts 9:16). And Paul prepared himself.
The way he prepared himself is described in verse 7. "But whatever things were gain to me, those things I have counted as loss for the sake of Christ." Paul looks at his standing in the upper-echelons of religious society, the Pharisees; he looks at the glory of being at the very top of that group with all its strokes and applause; he looks at the rigor of his lawkeeping and the sense of moral pride he enjoyed; and he prepares to suffer by taking his whole world and turning it upside down, by reversing his values: "Whatever things were gain to me (that's verses 5-6), those things I have counted as loss."
Before he was a Christian he had a ledger with two columns: one that said: gains and another that said: losses. On the gain side was the human glory of verses 5-6. On the loss side was the terrible prospect that this Jesus movement might get out of hand and Jesus prove real and win the day. When he met the living Christ on the Damascus road Paul took a big red pencil and wrote "LOSS" in big red letters across his gains column. And he wrote "GAIN" in big letters over the loss column that only had one name in it: Christ.
And not only that, the more Paul thought about the relative values of life in the world and the greatness of Christ, he moved beyond the few things mentioned in verses 5-6 and put everything but Christ in that first column: Verse 8: "More than that, I count all things to be loss in view of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord." He started by counting his most precious accomplishments as loss, and he ended by counting everything as loss, except Christ.
That's what it meant for Paul to become a Christian. And lest anyone of us think he was unique or peculiar, notice that in verse 17 he says with his full apostolic authority, "Brethren, join in following my example." This is normal Christianity.
What Paul is doing here is showing how the teaching of Jesus is to be lived out. For example, Jesus said, "The kingdom of heaven is like a treasure hidden in a field, which a man found and hid; and from joy over it he goes and sells all that he has, and buys that field" (Matthew 13:44). Becoming a Christian means discovering that Christ (the King) is a Treasure Chest of holy joy and writing "LOSS" over everything else in the world in order to gain him. "He sold all that he had to buy that field."
Or again in Luke 14:33 Jesus said, "No one of you can be my disciple who does not take leave of all his own possessions." In other words, becoming a disciple of Jesus means writing "LOSS" in big red letters over all your possessions--and everything else this world offers.
Now what does that mean practically? I think it means four things:
1. It means that whenever I am called upon to choose between anything in this world and Christ, I choose Christ.
2. It means that I will deal with the things of this world in ways that draw me nearer to Christ so that I gain more of Christ and enjoy more of him by the way I use the world.
3. It means that I will always deal with the things of this world in ways that show that they are not my treasure, but rather show that Christ is my treasure.
4. It means that if I lose any or all the things this world can offer, I will not lose my joy or my treasure or my life, because Christ is all.
Now that was the reckoning that Paul reckoned in his soul (v. 8): "I count all things to be loss in view of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord." Christ is all and all else is loss.
Now let's stand back a minute and get our bearings. I am still dealing with the first point: namely, that this is Paul's way of preparing to suffer. Why do I say that? Why is becoming a Christian, and writing "LOSS" across everything in your life but Christ a way of preparing to suffer?
The answer is that suffering is nothing more than the taking away of bad things or good things that the world offers for our enjoyment--reputation, esteem among peers, job, money, spouse, sexual life, children, friends, health, strength, sight, hearing, success, etc. When these things are taken away (by force or by circumstance or by choice), we suffer. But if we have followed Paul and the teaching of Jesus and have already counted them as loss for the surpassing value of gaining Christ, then we are prepared to suffer.
If when you become a Christian you write a big red "LOSS" across all the things in the world except Christ, then when Christ calls you to forfeit some of those things, it is not strange or unexpected. The pain and the sorrow may be great. The tears may be many, as they were for Jesus in Gethsemane. But we will be prepared. We will know that the value of Christ surpasses all the things the world can offer and that in losing them we gain more of Christ.
So in the second half of verse 8 Paul moves from preparing for suffering to actual suffering. He moves from counting all things as loss in the first half of verse 8 to actually suffering the loss of all things in the second half of the verse. " . . . for whom (that is, Christ) I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them as rubbish in order that I might gain Christ." We are going to see this next week: Paul had experienced so much actual loss of the normal benefits and comforts of the world that he could say that he was not merely counting things loss; he was suffering loss. He had prepared by turning his values upside down, and now he was being tested. Did he value Christ above all?
So let me close by riveting our attention on Paul's goal and God's purpose in this suffering. Why did God ordain and Paul accept the losses that it meant for him to be a Christian?
Paul gives the answer again and again in these verses so that we cannot miss the point. He is not passive in this suffering loss. He is purposive. And his purpose is to gain Christ.
Verse 7: "I counted them loss for the sake of Christ."
Verse 8a: "I count all things to be loss for the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord."
Verse 8b: "For him I have suffered the loss of all things."
Verse 8c: "And I count them but rubbish in order that I may gain Christ . . ."
Verse 9: ". . .and that I may be found in him (so as to have God's righteousness, not my own) . . ."
Verse 10a: (still giving his aim in accepting the loss of all things) ". . . that I may know him"
Verses 10b-11: (followed by four specifics of what it means to know Christ)
". . . 1) (to know) the power of his resurrection; and
2) the fellowship of his sufferings;
3) being conformed to his death;
4) in order that I may attain to the resurrection from the dead."
In other words, what sustains Paul in suffering the loss of all things is the confidence that in his losing precious things in the world he is gaining something more precious --Christ.
And two times that gaining is called a knowing--verse 8a: ". . . in view of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord." Verse 10: "That I might know him." This is the intimacy factor in suffering. Do we want to know him? Do we want to be more personal with him and deep with him and real with him and intimate with him--so much so that we count everything as loss to gain this greatest of all treasures?
If we do we will be ready to suffer. If we don't it will take us by surprise and we will rebel. May the Lord open our eyes to the surpassing worth of knowing Christ!
Copyright 1992 John Piper
Tuesday, February 20, 2007
Psalm 36
I love this in the Message version:
The God-rebel tunes in to sedition— all ears, eager to sin.
He has no regard for God,
he stands insolent before him.
He has smooth-talked himself
into believing
That his evil
will never be noticed.
Words gutter from his mouth,
dishwater dirty.
Can't remember when he
did anything decent.
Every time he goes to bed,
he fathers another evil plot.
When he's loose on the streets,
nobody's safe.
He plays with fire
and doesn't care who gets burned.
God's love is meteoric,
his loyalty astronomic,
His purpose titanic,
his verdicts oceanic.
Yet in his largeness
nothing gets lost;
Not a man, not a mouse,
slips through the cracks.
How exquisite your love, O God!
How eager we are to run under your wings,
To eat our fill at the banquet you spread
as you fill our tankards with Eden spring water.
You're a fountain of cascading light,
and you open our eyes to light.
Keep on loving your friends;
do your work in welcoming hearts.
Don't let the bullies kick me around,
the moral midgets slap me down.
Send the upstarts sprawling
flat on their faces in the mud.
The God-rebel tunes in to sedition— all ears, eager to sin.
He has no regard for God,
he stands insolent before him.
He has smooth-talked himself
into believing
That his evil
will never be noticed.
Words gutter from his mouth,
dishwater dirty.
Can't remember when he
did anything decent.
Every time he goes to bed,
he fathers another evil plot.
When he's loose on the streets,
nobody's safe.
He plays with fire
and doesn't care who gets burned.
God's love is meteoric,
his loyalty astronomic,
His purpose titanic,
his verdicts oceanic.
Yet in his largeness
nothing gets lost;
Not a man, not a mouse,
slips through the cracks.
How exquisite your love, O God!
How eager we are to run under your wings,
To eat our fill at the banquet you spread
as you fill our tankards with Eden spring water.
You're a fountain of cascading light,
and you open our eyes to light.
Keep on loving your friends;
do your work in welcoming hearts.
Don't let the bullies kick me around,
the moral midgets slap me down.
Send the upstarts sprawling
flat on their faces in the mud.
Email from intercessor friend..
Dear friends ,
I hope you are doing good. Somehow i feel in my spirit that things are coming together very quickly. God is getting the last pieces in order and getting ready to raise up from His throne ......one last time!!! We will see an ultimate breakthrough - Revival. Its time to get ready for the harvest. But as the Jesus said that the harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few (Luke 10:2), i dont know whether we can see the need and urgency to answer God's call.
My friends please dont slack off in answering His call. God is more than our daily devotions. Please dont put Him in a box. If we think that God is our genie we are in big trouble. He is not the means to the end but He is our end. He is not there to just tuck us in our beds. He has greater desire for your life and mine. His people are perishing and crying for hope. Can we stand in the gap and cry out for them.
I want to give you the call that Moses gave when He came down the mountain with those 10 commandments. He came down and saw the nation of Israel caught in revelry ,sin and Idol worship. He gave a cry out to his people and said ' WHO IS ON THE LORD'S SIDE'. I want to ask you the same. Are you on the Lord's side ???? Choose this day whom you want to serve. We want to serve ourselves and selfishness or do we want to serve our God and His will.
May God be glorified at our expense. ... Time is running out so choose what you want to do with it.
Then he sends me this - hard to believe but the Scriptures are clear that this will happen and to beware:
I hope you are doing good. Somehow i feel in my spirit that things are coming together very quickly. God is getting the last pieces in order and getting ready to raise up from His throne ......one last time!!! We will see an ultimate breakthrough - Revival. Its time to get ready for the harvest. But as the Jesus said that the harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few (Luke 10:2), i dont know whether we can see the need and urgency to answer God's call.
My friends please dont slack off in answering His call. God is more than our daily devotions. Please dont put Him in a box. If we think that God is our genie we are in big trouble. He is not the means to the end but He is our end. He is not there to just tuck us in our beds. He has greater desire for your life and mine. His people are perishing and crying for hope. Can we stand in the gap and cry out for them.
I want to give you the call that Moses gave when He came down the mountain with those 10 commandments. He came down and saw the nation of Israel caught in revelry ,sin and Idol worship. He gave a cry out to his people and said ' WHO IS ON THE LORD'S SIDE'. I want to ask you the same. Are you on the Lord's side ???? Choose this day whom you want to serve. We want to serve ourselves and selfishness or do we want to serve our God and His will.
May God be glorified at our expense. ... Time is running out so choose what you want to do with it.
Then he sends me this - hard to believe but the Scriptures are clear that this will happen and to beware:
Sunday, February 18, 2007
Fear No Man
Our desire for promotion, compensation or appreciation will inevitably lead us to compromise, tone down, whitewash, filter, edit, distort, or make more palatable the message we bring. If we are promoting ourselves, then let us do all we can to push our names to the top and be pleased with any recognition we may receive. But if it is God's Word we speak, let God see to the promotion of His Word as well as His servant. Better to have a small circle of influence with freedom to speak as we are led to speak than to have a large circle of influence obtained through a message deemed "safe for public consumption".
In order to rid us of the fear of man, the Lord will prepare a path for us strewn with misunderstanding. Finances will dry up. We will be placed on a shelf for many days, until we no longer look to people as our source. To overcome the fear of man we must be wholly GOD'S and no one else's. A man or a woman who does not need to be appreciated or understood; who does not desire compensation, material or otherwise; who does not desire a large ministry but a faithful one; this individual is free to be the SERVANT of all without being ENSLAVED to all.
In order to rid us of the fear of man, the Lord will prepare a path for us strewn with misunderstanding. Finances will dry up. We will be placed on a shelf for many days, until we no longer look to people as our source. To overcome the fear of man we must be wholly GOD'S and no one else's. A man or a woman who does not need to be appreciated or understood; who does not desire compensation, material or otherwise; who does not desire a large ministry but a faithful one; this individual is free to be the SERVANT of all without being ENSLAVED to all.
Friday, February 16, 2007
Submission..
Scripture admonishes us that we are not to be ignorant of the schemes of the devil, otherwise he will take advantage of us (2 Corinthians 2:11). Instead of ignoring him, James 4:7 tells us to submit to the will of God and resist the devil and he will flee from us. If we are not surrendering to the will of God, we can resist Satan until the end of time. He will not cease to buffet us. When we do submit to God and Satan continues to buffet us, we know two things. One, we are to remain submitted to God and continue to resist the devil. Two, if the devil does not flee, God is most assuredly working on something in our lives. In this case He is more than likely working on something of which we are unaware (2 Corinthians 12:7-9).
Our fallen nature makes us blame. We either blame Satan, ourselves or someone else for everything bad that happens. Sometimes we blame God. The blame game keeps our hearts off of the real issue . . . submitting to God and what He wants to do in our own hearts regardless of the source of our problems.
Also, our carnal nature makes us think that we are ok as we are as long as we do "good" things and that we don't need to be tested and tried. Not so. God is more interested in our character than He is in our outward behavior. The fires of trials and testings shape our character. His promises are not as much for what He will do FOR us as what He will do IN us. The latter is His priority.
Our fallen nature makes us blame. We either blame Satan, ourselves or someone else for everything bad that happens. Sometimes we blame God. The blame game keeps our hearts off of the real issue . . . submitting to God and what He wants to do in our own hearts regardless of the source of our problems.
Also, our carnal nature makes us think that we are ok as we are as long as we do "good" things and that we don't need to be tested and tried. Not so. God is more interested in our character than He is in our outward behavior. The fires of trials and testings shape our character. His promises are not as much for what He will do FOR us as what He will do IN us. The latter is His priority.
Your God is Too Safe
Mark Buchanan wrote in his book Your God is Too Safe, that there is one soil that usually withers pride. It is brokenness. He goes on to write that broken- ness "molds our character closer to the character of God than anything else. To experience defeat, disappointment, loss—the raw ingredients of broken- ness—moves us closer to being like God than victory and gain and fulfillment ever can."
J. C. Philpot wrote over 150 years ago that "There is much presumption, pride, hypocrisy, deceit, delusion, formality, superstition and self-righteousness to be purged out of the heart of God's child.
"But all these things keep him low, mar his pride, crush his self-righteousness, cut the locks of his presumption, stain his self conceit, stop his boasting, preserve him from despising others, make him take the lowest room, teach him to esteem others better than himself, drive him to earnest prayer, fit him as an object of mercy, break to pieces his free will, and lay him low at the feet of the Redeemer, as one to be saved by sovereign grace alone!"
The catalysts for brokenness don’t have to be huge, tragic or devastating, though sometimes they are. Suffering comes in all sizes and shapes every day of our lives. And when it comes, we often bury the pain of it somewhere deep inside us where it simmers and stews and gnaws away at our peace, faith and health, turning our hearts even stonier, compounding our pride and unbroken- ness layer by layer.
J. C. Philpot wrote over 150 years ago that "There is much presumption, pride, hypocrisy, deceit, delusion, formality, superstition and self-righteousness to be purged out of the heart of God's child.
"But all these things keep him low, mar his pride, crush his self-righteousness, cut the locks of his presumption, stain his self conceit, stop his boasting, preserve him from despising others, make him take the lowest room, teach him to esteem others better than himself, drive him to earnest prayer, fit him as an object of mercy, break to pieces his free will, and lay him low at the feet of the Redeemer, as one to be saved by sovereign grace alone!"
The catalysts for brokenness don’t have to be huge, tragic or devastating, though sometimes they are. Suffering comes in all sizes and shapes every day of our lives. And when it comes, we often bury the pain of it somewhere deep inside us where it simmers and stews and gnaws away at our peace, faith and health, turning our hearts even stonier, compounding our pride and unbroken- ness layer by layer.
Thursday, February 15, 2007
2Ki 19:8-19
Hezekiah receives an answer of peace.
Hezekiah discovered deep concern at the dishonour done to God by Rabshakeh's blasphemy. Those who speak from God to us, we should in a particular manner desire to speak to God for us. The great Prophet is the great Intercessor. Those are likely to prevail with God, who lift up their hearts in prayer. Man's extremity is God's opportunity. While his servants can speak nothing but terror to the profane, the proud, and the hypocritical, they have comfortable words for the discouraged believer.
Hezekiah discovered deep concern at the dishonour done to God by Rabshakeh's blasphemy. Those who speak from God to us, we should in a particular manner desire to speak to God for us. The great Prophet is the great Intercessor. Those are likely to prevail with God, who lift up their hearts in prayer. Man's extremity is God's opportunity. While his servants can speak nothing but terror to the profane, the proud, and the hypocritical, they have comfortable words for the discouraged believer.
Tuesday, February 13, 2007
What is idolatry?
II. At the beginning of the 10 Commandments is the sin of idolatry. This is the "sin of sins" for once begun man's understanding is forever befuddled; the Truth of God is polluted; all is lost! Idolatry remains man's greatest threat!
1. Modern man will not become an idolater in the sense of the pagan mythologies of the Greeks, Romans, and Norse. These bowed down to a material image crafted with hands from precious metals or sacred wood/rocks. Modern man is too far "advanced" for this.
2. Modern man's lure into idolatry is much more subtle and this is where it is much more deadly. This danger is succinctly stated: "The essence of idolatry is the entertainment of thoughts about God that are unworthy of Him. It begins in the mind ... The idolater simply imagines things about God and acts as if they were true" (A.W. Tozer, The Knowledge of the Holy, 5).
3. Satan's evil scheme is not to get us to say there is no God but to say there is a DIFFERENT God than what the Bible teaches. This scheme begins in our minds (2 Co 10:5).
4. The success of this evil scheme is repeatedly found in Scripture and has subtly invaded our modern society. In fact, it is alarming to see just how successful Satan's scheme has been.
5. The idolater today is not one who bows down before some image, but is one who has mentally modified the God of the Scriptures so that He is now more attractive, more tolerant, more permissive, more loving, less denouncing, less damning, and less restrictive. Modern idolatry accepts biblical religion and the biblical God, BUT first modifies each to suit personal tastes. The result, a religion of convenience but no conviction; a god who is personal and up close but not the sovereign Lord; adherents who follow feelings rather than faith. In summary -- it is a religion, a god, and a group of adherents who are totally different from that which you read in the Bible! And it ALL results from idolatry!
1. Modern man will not become an idolater in the sense of the pagan mythologies of the Greeks, Romans, and Norse. These bowed down to a material image crafted with hands from precious metals or sacred wood/rocks. Modern man is too far "advanced" for this.
2. Modern man's lure into idolatry is much more subtle and this is where it is much more deadly. This danger is succinctly stated: "The essence of idolatry is the entertainment of thoughts about God that are unworthy of Him. It begins in the mind ... The idolater simply imagines things about God and acts as if they were true" (A.W. Tozer, The Knowledge of the Holy, 5).
3. Satan's evil scheme is not to get us to say there is no God but to say there is a DIFFERENT God than what the Bible teaches. This scheme begins in our minds (2 Co 10:5).
4. The success of this evil scheme is repeatedly found in Scripture and has subtly invaded our modern society. In fact, it is alarming to see just how successful Satan's scheme has been.
5. The idolater today is not one who bows down before some image, but is one who has mentally modified the God of the Scriptures so that He is now more attractive, more tolerant, more permissive, more loving, less denouncing, less damning, and less restrictive. Modern idolatry accepts biblical religion and the biblical God, BUT first modifies each to suit personal tastes. The result, a religion of convenience but no conviction; a god who is personal and up close but not the sovereign Lord; adherents who follow feelings rather than faith. In summary -- it is a religion, a god, and a group of adherents who are totally different from that which you read in the Bible! And it ALL results from idolatry!
Sunday, February 11, 2007
1 Timothy 1:3-17
Watch For False Teachers
When I left for the country of Macedonia, I asked you to stay in the city of Ephesus. I wanted you to stay there so you could tell those who are teaching what is not true to stop. They should not listen to stories that are not true. It is foolish for them to try to learn more about their early fathers. These only bring more questions to their minds and do not make their faith in God stronger. We want to see our teaching help you have a true love that comes from a pure heart. Such love comes from a heart that says we are not guilty and from a faith that does not pretend. But some have turned away from these things. They have turned to foolish talking. Some of them want to be teachers of the Law. But they do not know what they are talking about even if they act as if they do.
The Law Is Good
We know the Law is good when it is used the way God meant it to be used. We must remember the Law is not for the person who is right with God. It is for those who do not obey anybody or anything. It is for the sinners who hate God and speak against Him. It is for those who kill their fathers and mothers and for those who kill other people. It is for those who do sex sins and for people who do sex sins with their own sex. It is for people who steal other people and for those who lie and for those who promise not to lie, but do. It is for everything that is against right teaching. The great Good News of our honored God is right teaching. God has trusted me to preach this Good News.
When I left for the country of Macedonia, I asked you to stay in the city of Ephesus. I wanted you to stay there so you could tell those who are teaching what is not true to stop. They should not listen to stories that are not true. It is foolish for them to try to learn more about their early fathers. These only bring more questions to their minds and do not make their faith in God stronger. We want to see our teaching help you have a true love that comes from a pure heart. Such love comes from a heart that says we are not guilty and from a faith that does not pretend. But some have turned away from these things. They have turned to foolish talking. Some of them want to be teachers of the Law. But they do not know what they are talking about even if they act as if they do.
The Law Is Good
We know the Law is good when it is used the way God meant it to be used. We must remember the Law is not for the person who is right with God. It is for those who do not obey anybody or anything. It is for the sinners who hate God and speak against Him. It is for those who kill their fathers and mothers and for those who kill other people. It is for those who do sex sins and for people who do sex sins with their own sex. It is for people who steal other people and for those who lie and for those who promise not to lie, but do. It is for everything that is against right teaching. The great Good News of our honored God is right teaching. God has trusted me to preach this Good News.
From Personal Redemption by Starr Daily
Love in action - this is the way that leads to redemption.
Not only belief; but belief plus behavior.
Not only concept, but concept plus conduct.
Not only creed, but creed plus deed.
Not only belief; but belief plus behavior.
Not only concept, but concept plus conduct.
Not only creed, but creed plus deed.
Food for Thought..
On many occasions the Lord has drawn my attention to the fact that He requires us to preach the gospel, cast out demons and heal the sick. I wonder if the gospel is really being preached and if so, why are more people not being delivered and healed? Perhaps we are preaching as Paul says "another gospel"..or "another Jesus".. what is the gospel that was "first delivered to the saints"? How is our gospel today different from that? Has the real gospel been perverted?
1 John 2:3-11
And by this we know that we have come to know him, if we keep his commandments. Whoever says “I know him” but does not keep his commandments is a liar, and the truth is not in him, but whoever keeps his word, in him truly the love of God is perfected. By this we may know that we are in him: whoever says he abides in him ought to walk in the same way in which he walked.
1 John 2:3-11
And by this we know that we have come to know him, if we keep his commandments. Whoever says “I know him” but does not keep his commandments is a liar, and the truth is not in him, but whoever keeps his word, in him truly the love of God is perfected. By this we may know that we are in him: whoever says he abides in him ought to walk in the same way in which he walked.
Thursday, February 08, 2007
BEEN THINKING ABOUT: The Road to Realism
Someone has noticed that, “Optimists think the glass is half full. Pessimists think it’s half empty. Realists know that if they stay around long enough they’re going to have to wash the glass.”
In art, realists paint life with blemishes, wrinkles, and scars. Idealists paint a subject as they imagine it could or should be.
On the road of life, both are important. Ideals give us direction. Realism gives us traction.
Both, however, have their downsides. Realism can cost us our dreams. Idealism can consume our days in a futile search for the perfect marriage, employment, or happiness.
Idealism and realism also show up in matters of faith. Some think of God as an obsessive, demanding parent who cannot be pleased. Others think of Him as an indulgent grandparent who is so endearing and compassionate that there is no reason to fear Him.
What do we think? Is God a realist or an idealist? It’s a question that brings us to a busy intersection of ideas. If we aren’t careful, we will run into traffic coming at us from either the right hand or the left.
The danger of these crossroads, however, is worth the risk of getting past them. While looking both ways and proceeding with caution, many have found a God who is good enough to inspire us with His ideals, merciful enough to accept us as we are, and too loving to leave us there. This, it seems, is the story of the Bible.
In a perfect world, we would live forever. That’s how the drama of the Bible begins and ends. Within the opening chapters, however, our first parents lose their innocence and immortality. Their first son kills his younger brother and a succession of good days and bad days take turns raising hopes and ruining them.
The realism of a beautiful world stalked by conflict and death, however, is not what makes the Bible an all-time bestseller. What makes this Book so compelling is that its rugged realism offers strength for the journey with a vision for a better world at the end of the road. Someday, according to the prophet Isaiah, weapons of war will be recycled into tools of agriculture (2:4) and even a defenseless lamb will eat safely at the side of a wolf (65:25). In the end, those who make peace with God now will find perfect peace forever.
Yet, the idealism of the Bible is not just about the future. Both Testaments also call us to love God with all our heart and to love our neighbor as ourselves. Both emphasize not only the moral rule of “love,” but also the virtues of “joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, [and] self-control” (Galatians 5:22-23).
No society passes laws against such ideals. Yet, no one consistently lives up to them either. So how do we come to terms with our imperfection?
In a real world of human weakness, first-century Judaism had an answer for moral limitation. Some rabbis taught that a person who observes any important commandment, such as forsaking idolatry, is equal to him who keeps the whole law.
Interestingly, a New Testament author by the name of James takes a different approach. He writes, “Whoever shall keep the whole law, and yet stumble in one point, he is guilty of all” (James 2:10).
At first look, the rabbis who focus on the law we keep rather than on the one we break seem more realistic. James, on the other hand, seems to be setting a trap of perfectionism. Break one law, he says, and you break them all.
On second look, will a “Keep one, and you keep them all” approach allow us to sleep any better? Who has loved our neighbor as ourselves? Who, when the heart of idolatry is understood, has forsaken all false gods? Who has not coveted?
Interestingly, James is not the idealist that 2:10 seems to suggest. When he presses the logic of law, he does so only to get the attention of self-righteous persons who refuse to receive or show mercy (vv.12-13). He writes as a follower of Christ (1:1), and believes that his faith in Christ compels him to pursue neighbor love in the most realistic and down-to-earth ways (1:26–2:8).
The people James has a problem with are those who talk as if they are friends of both idealism and realism—without honoring either.
Dangerous drivers —The religious leaders who called for Christ’s death had the law of God in their minds, but not in their hearts. Publicly they were experts in the Law. Privately they created legal loopholes that allowed them to ignore the compliance they required of others.
Publicly they argued the moral ideals and logic of the slippery slope. They made laws around laws, like fences around fences to keep less thoughtful people from trespassing the boundaries of Moses. Privately they were realistic enough to know that they had to break their own laws to get rid of the rabbi from Nazareth who was making them look like hypocrites.
Merging from the right and left —Jesus was kind to people that other religious leaders avoided. He ate and drank with people that other religious leaders wouldn’t be caught dead with. He touched lepers, talked respectfully with women, and loved noisy children.
The most inspiring idealism comes together with the most rugged realism in Jesus. Nowhere do we find a better picture of what it means to be faithful to the highest principles while offering mercy to the most broken people.
When Jesus pressed the logic of moral idealism, He did so in order to lovingly humble self-righteous people (Matthew 5:20-48). When He offered mercy instead of morality, He did so to show that He had come not to condemn but to rescue (John 3:17; 12:47).
Father in heaven, thank You for showing us through Your Son that there is no conflict between the heights of Your ideals and the depths of Your mercy. We will be eternally grateful that You have loved us enough to accept us as we are and loved us too much to leave us where You found us. Please help us to extend both to others as You have given them to us. —Mark De Haan
(I just wanted to add, that tolerance should never be confused with mercy. Tolerance is looking the other way - ignoring, minimizing or winking at sin; grace is honestly acknowledging and grieving the sin itself and its results, knowing its cost, while at the same time, walking in a spirit of forgiveness.)
In art, realists paint life with blemishes, wrinkles, and scars. Idealists paint a subject as they imagine it could or should be.
On the road of life, both are important. Ideals give us direction. Realism gives us traction.
Both, however, have their downsides. Realism can cost us our dreams. Idealism can consume our days in a futile search for the perfect marriage, employment, or happiness.
Idealism and realism also show up in matters of faith. Some think of God as an obsessive, demanding parent who cannot be pleased. Others think of Him as an indulgent grandparent who is so endearing and compassionate that there is no reason to fear Him.
What do we think? Is God a realist or an idealist? It’s a question that brings us to a busy intersection of ideas. If we aren’t careful, we will run into traffic coming at us from either the right hand or the left.
The danger of these crossroads, however, is worth the risk of getting past them. While looking both ways and proceeding with caution, many have found a God who is good enough to inspire us with His ideals, merciful enough to accept us as we are, and too loving to leave us there. This, it seems, is the story of the Bible.
In a perfect world, we would live forever. That’s how the drama of the Bible begins and ends. Within the opening chapters, however, our first parents lose their innocence and immortality. Their first son kills his younger brother and a succession of good days and bad days take turns raising hopes and ruining them.
The realism of a beautiful world stalked by conflict and death, however, is not what makes the Bible an all-time bestseller. What makes this Book so compelling is that its rugged realism offers strength for the journey with a vision for a better world at the end of the road. Someday, according to the prophet Isaiah, weapons of war will be recycled into tools of agriculture (2:4) and even a defenseless lamb will eat safely at the side of a wolf (65:25). In the end, those who make peace with God now will find perfect peace forever.
Yet, the idealism of the Bible is not just about the future. Both Testaments also call us to love God with all our heart and to love our neighbor as ourselves. Both emphasize not only the moral rule of “love,” but also the virtues of “joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, [and] self-control” (Galatians 5:22-23).
No society passes laws against such ideals. Yet, no one consistently lives up to them either. So how do we come to terms with our imperfection?
In a real world of human weakness, first-century Judaism had an answer for moral limitation. Some rabbis taught that a person who observes any important commandment, such as forsaking idolatry, is equal to him who keeps the whole law.
Interestingly, a New Testament author by the name of James takes a different approach. He writes, “Whoever shall keep the whole law, and yet stumble in one point, he is guilty of all” (James 2:10).
At first look, the rabbis who focus on the law we keep rather than on the one we break seem more realistic. James, on the other hand, seems to be setting a trap of perfectionism. Break one law, he says, and you break them all.
On second look, will a “Keep one, and you keep them all” approach allow us to sleep any better? Who has loved our neighbor as ourselves? Who, when the heart of idolatry is understood, has forsaken all false gods? Who has not coveted?
Interestingly, James is not the idealist that 2:10 seems to suggest. When he presses the logic of law, he does so only to get the attention of self-righteous persons who refuse to receive or show mercy (vv.12-13). He writes as a follower of Christ (1:1), and believes that his faith in Christ compels him to pursue neighbor love in the most realistic and down-to-earth ways (1:26–2:8).
The people James has a problem with are those who talk as if they are friends of both idealism and realism—without honoring either.
Dangerous drivers —The religious leaders who called for Christ’s death had the law of God in their minds, but not in their hearts. Publicly they were experts in the Law. Privately they created legal loopholes that allowed them to ignore the compliance they required of others.
Publicly they argued the moral ideals and logic of the slippery slope. They made laws around laws, like fences around fences to keep less thoughtful people from trespassing the boundaries of Moses. Privately they were realistic enough to know that they had to break their own laws to get rid of the rabbi from Nazareth who was making them look like hypocrites.
Merging from the right and left —Jesus was kind to people that other religious leaders avoided. He ate and drank with people that other religious leaders wouldn’t be caught dead with. He touched lepers, talked respectfully with women, and loved noisy children.
The most inspiring idealism comes together with the most rugged realism in Jesus. Nowhere do we find a better picture of what it means to be faithful to the highest principles while offering mercy to the most broken people.
When Jesus pressed the logic of moral idealism, He did so in order to lovingly humble self-righteous people (Matthew 5:20-48). When He offered mercy instead of morality, He did so to show that He had come not to condemn but to rescue (John 3:17; 12:47).
Father in heaven, thank You for showing us through Your Son that there is no conflict between the heights of Your ideals and the depths of Your mercy. We will be eternally grateful that You have loved us enough to accept us as we are and loved us too much to leave us where You found us. Please help us to extend both to others as You have given them to us. —Mark De Haan
(I just wanted to add, that tolerance should never be confused with mercy. Tolerance is looking the other way - ignoring, minimizing or winking at sin; grace is honestly acknowledging and grieving the sin itself and its results, knowing its cost, while at the same time, walking in a spirit of forgiveness.)
Wednesday, February 07, 2007
Ignoring God Leads to a Downward Spiral
Romans 1:21 (The Message)But God's angry displeasure erupts as acts of human mistrust and wrongdoing and lying accumulate, as people try to put a shroud over truth. But the basic reality of God is plain enough. Open your eyes and there it is! By taking a long and thoughtful look at what God has created, people have always been able to see what their eyes as such can't see: eternal power, for instance, and the mystery of his divine being. So nobody has a good excuse. What happened was this: People knew God perfectly well, but when they didn't treat him like God, refusing to worship him, they trivialized themselves into silliness and confusion so that there was neither sense nor direction left in their lives. They pretended to know it all, but were illiterate regarding life. They traded the glory of God who holds the whole world in his hands for cheap figurines you can buy at any roadside stand.
Saturday, February 03, 2007
Risky Business
The gospel is a summons to radical obedience and, if need be, danger. Throughout the Bible, the people of God are called to intrepid lives as evidenced by the tumultuous lives of the Patriarchs and Esther. Time and again, faith is inextricably linked with action. As Bonhoeffer said, “Unless he obeys, a man cannot believe.” One cannot serve the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob without action in the midst of uncertainty. Christianity is not a religion that can be enjoyed without risk.
Friday, February 02, 2007
Apostasy
by Wayne Blank
Apostasy, from the Greek word apostasia, meaning withdrawl or defection, is the defiant falling away from the Lord by someone who had been a converted member of the faith. Apostasy is a deliberate, unrepentant rejection of the Truth by someone who became fully aware of it.
Apostasy, or rather, never committing it, is a very serious matter. Once one knows better, he or she is expected to do better. Of all of the sins that there are to commit, apostasy is The Unpardonable Sin
What does The Bible have to say about apostasy? What does Bible Prophecy say about it in the end-time?
"In Later Times"
"Now the Spirit expressly says that in later times some will depart from the faith by giving heed to deceitful spirits and doctrines of demons, through the pretensions of liars whose consciences are seared, who forbid marriage and enjoin abstinence from foods which God created to be received with thanksgiving by those who believe and know the truth. For everything created by God is good, and nothing is to be rejected if it is received with thanksgiving; for then it is consecrated by the word of God and prayer." (1 Timothy 4:1-5 RSV)
"But understand this, that in the last days there will come times of stress. For men will be lovers of self, lovers of money, proud, arrogant, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, inhuman, implacable, slanderers, profligates, fierce, haters of good, treacherous, reckless, swollen with conceit, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, holding the form of religion but denying the power of it. Avoid such people." (2 Timothy 3:1-5 RSV)
"Thorns and Thistles"
"For it is impossible to restore again to repentance those who have once been enlightened, who have tasted the heavenly gift, and have become partakers of the Holy Spirit, and have tasted the goodness of the word of God and the powers of the age to come, if they then commit apostasy, since they crucify the Son of God on their own account and hold him up to contempt. For land which has drunk the rain that often falls upon it, and brings forth vegetation useful to those for whose sake it is cultivated, receives a blessing from God. But if it bears thorns and thistles, it is worthless and near to being cursed; its end is to be burned." (Hebrews 6:4-8 RSV)
Apostasy, from the Greek word apostasia, meaning withdrawl or defection, is the defiant falling away from the Lord by someone who had been a converted member of the faith. Apostasy is a deliberate, unrepentant rejection of the Truth by someone who became fully aware of it.
Apostasy, or rather, never committing it, is a very serious matter. Once one knows better, he or she is expected to do better. Of all of the sins that there are to commit, apostasy is The Unpardonable Sin
What does The Bible have to say about apostasy? What does Bible Prophecy say about it in the end-time?
"In Later Times"
"Now the Spirit expressly says that in later times some will depart from the faith by giving heed to deceitful spirits and doctrines of demons, through the pretensions of liars whose consciences are seared, who forbid marriage and enjoin abstinence from foods which God created to be received with thanksgiving by those who believe and know the truth. For everything created by God is good, and nothing is to be rejected if it is received with thanksgiving; for then it is consecrated by the word of God and prayer." (1 Timothy 4:1-5 RSV)
"But understand this, that in the last days there will come times of stress. For men will be lovers of self, lovers of money, proud, arrogant, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, inhuman, implacable, slanderers, profligates, fierce, haters of good, treacherous, reckless, swollen with conceit, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, holding the form of religion but denying the power of it. Avoid such people." (2 Timothy 3:1-5 RSV)
"Thorns and Thistles"
"For it is impossible to restore again to repentance those who have once been enlightened, who have tasted the heavenly gift, and have become partakers of the Holy Spirit, and have tasted the goodness of the word of God and the powers of the age to come, if they then commit apostasy, since they crucify the Son of God on their own account and hold him up to contempt. For land which has drunk the rain that often falls upon it, and brings forth vegetation useful to those for whose sake it is cultivated, receives a blessing from God. But if it bears thorns and thistles, it is worthless and near to being cursed; its end is to be burned." (Hebrews 6:4-8 RSV)
Thursday, February 01, 2007
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