Posts
First, I hope all my readers had a wonderful Thanksgiving holiday. Personally, Thanksgiving has always been one of my favorite holidays as it is always so nice to get together with family and friends and enjoy good conversation and delicious food.
Of course, I have to admit that I did watch some football on Thanksgiving. I know none of you are surprised by this but I did want to touch on an interesting comment I heard from Jim Harbaugh, the head coach of the San Francisco 49ers whose team was playing against the Baltimore Ravens. Jim’s brother John is the head coach of the Ravens who beat the 49ers on Thanksgiving night. After losing the game to his brother’s team, Jim had this to say during his post-game press conference, “There's a saying that says ‘as iron sharpens iron, so does one man sharpen another.’ And let's say my brother, John, is the sharpest iron I've ever encountered.”
Jim Harbaugh didn’t realize that he was not quoting just some saying but the Bible itself. We find the quote in Proverbs 27:17, “As iron sharpens iron, so a man sharpens the countenance of his friend.”
The book of Proverbs was written by King Solomon, who when he first became king of Israel was visited by God in a dream. God said to Solomon that he could ask of Him anything he wanted and God would grant his request. Solomon asked God for “an understanding heart to judge Your people that I might discern between good and evil” (I Kings 3:9). This request pleased God so much that He said, “Because you have asked for this thing and have not asked for long life for yourself….behold, I have done according to your words, see I have given you a wise and understanding heart, so that there has not been anyone like you before you, nor shall any like you arise after you” (I Kings 3:11-12).
The Book of Proverbs is a collection of wise sayings that were penned by Solomon himself, the wisest man to ever live. They pass on a core of knowledge and experience that God says we must have if we are to live successfully. The proverbs are not mere old sayings that concern people in far-off lands, but universal principles that apply to all people of all times. Of course, we know this is true as Jim Harbaugh used this one in a football setting which I am sure was the furthest thing from Solomon’s mind when he wrote Proverbs 27.
In Proverbs there are many, many statements about how important it is for men and women to have companions. The most significant one is Proverbs 27:17 which Harbaugh quoted as it is basically saying that men help men. They increase their effectiveness and as indicated in this verse they even increase their satisfaction as it shows up on their countenance or facial appearance.
These kinds of thoughts are traced throughout the Bible. For example in the Book of Ecclesiastes, also written by King Solomon, chapter 4 verse 9 states, “Two are better than one because they have a good reward for their labor.” In other words, two can work harder and earn more than one. And verse 10 of the same chapter says, “If they fall the one will lift up his fellow, but woe to him that is alone when he falls for he has not another to help him up.” Again, if someone falls and has no companion to help him, he is in trouble.
It is important to remember that true wisdom does not come from educational institutions or old age but from God, “If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him” (James 1:5). God offers wisdom to anyone that asks Him. That is a powerful thought to allow to penetrate our minds and shape our walk.
I Corinthians 1:25 tells us, “For the foolishness of God is wiser than man's wisdom, and the weakness of God is stronger than man's strength.” God’s Word contains His mind and heart. The more we know His Word, the more we will know Him. Might I encourage you to spend some time this holiday weekend getting to know the One who is the source of all wisdom.
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"God has many ways that He might use to achieve His ends, but His wisdom determined the best way to accomplish them."
- Samuel Willard
Saturday, November 26, 2011
Saturday, November 12, 2011
When Evil Triumphs
As I have continued to listen to the media coverage of the Penn State child abuse scandal, I was reminded of the famous quote, “All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing.”
This certainly appears to be the case as Jerry Sandusky, the architect of the “Linebacker U” defense for the Penn State football team, was charged last weekend with sexually abusing eight boys over 15 years. The athletic director and a university vice president were charged with perjury and failure to report a 2002 allegation to police, and Head Coach Joe Paterno was fired following mounting fury that he did not do more about the 2002 allegation when it was brought to his attention. President Graham Spanier also was fired for similar reasons.
As I begin to research this story, I found an amazing sermon on “The Forum Terrace” that addresses how sin is able to proliferate through a society that does not address evil practices. I willl share a portion of it here.
The Bible tells us in James 4:17, “Therefore, to him who knows to do good and does not do it, to him it is sin.” Unlike sins of commission, such as, adultery, murder, stealing, and idolatry, sins of omission are the sins of doing nothing. Sin is not just doing bad as many think. People assume they are good, simply because they have done no evil. They forget that goodness is a positive quality; not merely the absence of doing evil. Sin is more than just a transgression of the law (1 John 3:4). Sin is also a failure to do the law.
Sin can also be defined as a failure to do as you ought to do. For example, the one-talent man in Jesus’ parable in the Gospel of Matthew (chapter 25:14-30) did not do anything outwardly sinful. Yet, it is affirmed that he was “wicked” (Matt. 25:26). He could have defended himself by protesting, “Wait just a minute there. I will have you know that I am not an embezzler, I did not squander the money through riotous living like the prodigal son, in no way was I dishonest, never have I been a drunkard, murderer, fornicator or thief of any kind. I was entrusted with a talent, and it is a talent I have returned.” He was still condemned a wicked man because he failed to do as he was commanded.
R.V.G. Tasker wrote, “It is probably true to say that we more often leave undone that things we ought to have done than do the things we ought not to have done.”
God did not create mankind just to avoid doing bad things. We are not Christians just because we shun evil practices. We were created in Christ to do good works (Eph. 2:10). We live the Christian life in order to do those good deeds which please God (Col. 1:10). No one persecutes us just because we do not murder and steal. Christians suffer for doing good in the name of Christ (1 Peter 3:17). By suffering persecution for doing good, we confirm and promote Christianity before the world (1 Peter. 2:13-15). God has equipped all Christians for doing good (2 Tim. 3:16, 17). He rewards us for doing good (Rom. 2:6-8). Doing good as we have been commanded brings us happiness (John 13:17) and others as well.
What is tragic about the Penn State scandal is that it could have been stopped NINE years ago. I suppose it is easy to look at that university and point fingers but in reality as Tasker said, how many things do we leave undone that we ought to do?
The founding pastor of my church used to say that so many of the issues and problems we face in life would be avoided if we just lived more of what the Bible says. The wisdom literature books – Psalms, Proverbs, and Ecclesiastes – provide practical wisdom to enable a person to live a skillful life before God and men. It would do us well to daily read portions of these books in order to equip our minds with the wisdom and knowledge of God.
Let’s also pray for the victims of these crimes as they begin to try to heal and piece their lives together and let’s also pray for Penn State, especially the football team who are unfortunate victims of this tragedy and yet still have to suit up and play football each weekend.
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"A person's character is accurately measured by his reaction to life's inequities."
- Author unknown
This certainly appears to be the case as Jerry Sandusky, the architect of the “Linebacker U” defense for the Penn State football team, was charged last weekend with sexually abusing eight boys over 15 years. The athletic director and a university vice president were charged with perjury and failure to report a 2002 allegation to police, and Head Coach Joe Paterno was fired following mounting fury that he did not do more about the 2002 allegation when it was brought to his attention. President Graham Spanier also was fired for similar reasons.
As I begin to research this story, I found an amazing sermon on “The Forum Terrace” that addresses how sin is able to proliferate through a society that does not address evil practices. I willl share a portion of it here.
The Bible tells us in James 4:17, “Therefore, to him who knows to do good and does not do it, to him it is sin.” Unlike sins of commission, such as, adultery, murder, stealing, and idolatry, sins of omission are the sins of doing nothing. Sin is not just doing bad as many think. People assume they are good, simply because they have done no evil. They forget that goodness is a positive quality; not merely the absence of doing evil. Sin is more than just a transgression of the law (1 John 3:4). Sin is also a failure to do the law.
Sin can also be defined as a failure to do as you ought to do. For example, the one-talent man in Jesus’ parable in the Gospel of Matthew (chapter 25:14-30) did not do anything outwardly sinful. Yet, it is affirmed that he was “wicked” (Matt. 25:26). He could have defended himself by protesting, “Wait just a minute there. I will have you know that I am not an embezzler, I did not squander the money through riotous living like the prodigal son, in no way was I dishonest, never have I been a drunkard, murderer, fornicator or thief of any kind. I was entrusted with a talent, and it is a talent I have returned.” He was still condemned a wicked man because he failed to do as he was commanded.
R.V.G. Tasker wrote, “It is probably true to say that we more often leave undone that things we ought to have done than do the things we ought not to have done.”
God did not create mankind just to avoid doing bad things. We are not Christians just because we shun evil practices. We were created in Christ to do good works (Eph. 2:10). We live the Christian life in order to do those good deeds which please God (Col. 1:10). No one persecutes us just because we do not murder and steal. Christians suffer for doing good in the name of Christ (1 Peter 3:17). By suffering persecution for doing good, we confirm and promote Christianity before the world (1 Peter. 2:13-15). God has equipped all Christians for doing good (2 Tim. 3:16, 17). He rewards us for doing good (Rom. 2:6-8). Doing good as we have been commanded brings us happiness (John 13:17) and others as well.
What is tragic about the Penn State scandal is that it could have been stopped NINE years ago. I suppose it is easy to look at that university and point fingers but in reality as Tasker said, how many things do we leave undone that we ought to do?
The founding pastor of my church used to say that so many of the issues and problems we face in life would be avoided if we just lived more of what the Bible says. The wisdom literature books – Psalms, Proverbs, and Ecclesiastes – provide practical wisdom to enable a person to live a skillful life before God and men. It would do us well to daily read portions of these books in order to equip our minds with the wisdom and knowledge of God.
Let’s also pray for the victims of these crimes as they begin to try to heal and piece their lives together and let’s also pray for Penn State, especially the football team who are unfortunate victims of this tragedy and yet still have to suit up and play football each weekend.
*********************************************************
"A person's character is accurately measured by his reaction to life's inequities."
- Author unknown
Friday, October 14, 2011
I Call You Friends
In the Gospel of John 15:15, Jesus says, “No longer do I call you servants, for a servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all things that I heard from My Father I have made known to you.”
How often do you think of Jesus as your friend? I have to admit that I do not often think of Him in those terms. I think of Him as my Lord, my Savior, my Advocate, my Redeemer but not as my friend. Yet, He tells us that he calls us His friends.
A Franciscan gentleman had this insightful thought about the Jesus/friend relationship:
“Do you ever reflect upon the fact that Jesus feels proud of you? Proud that you accepted the faith which He offered you? Proud that after He chose you, you chose Him for a friend and Lord? Proud that you haven’t given up? Proud that you believe in Him enough to try again and again? Proud that you trust that He can help you? Do you ever think that Jesus appreciates you for wanting Him, for waning to say no to so many things that would separate you from Him? Do you ever think that Jesus is grateful to you for pausing to smile and comfort one of His children who has great need to see a smile, to feel a touch? Do you ever think of Jesus being grateful to you for learning more about Him so you can speak to others more deeply and truly about Him? Do you ever think that Jesus can be angry or disappointed in you for not believing that He has forgiven you totally? Because Jesus calls us His friends, there is the possibility of every feeling and emotion which can exist between friends to exist here and now between Jesus and you.”
Perhaps we never stop to contemplate Jesus being proud and grateful for us because we are always trying to earn His favor by our works, our actions, our words instead of just abiding in Him and His love as He tells us to do.
I have often found in my own walk that I am always stationed somewhere between pride and self-pity. There is always that toggle going on internally and truth be told, Jesus does not want us on either end of the spectrum. He wants us right in the middle where we are neither prideful nor loathing ourselves but resting in Him. I do not pretend that this is easy as we deal with the ups and downs of our own spiritual successes and shortcomings but maybe, just maybe Jesus expects more failure from us than we do of ourselves. I am reminded of Peter who after denying the Lord three times went back to fishing. He was done. He had given up the faith. He was a failure. And then the Lord met him on the shore, made him breakfast and asked him three times if He loved Him. Three times to show Peter that his thrice denial was forgiven and in the past and that what truly was in Peter’s heart was love.
And so too with us. The Lord knows we are frail and but dust, yet He loves us and urges us to feed His sheep, knowing that He who has begun a good work in us, WILL finish it.
As the old praise hymn goes:
"What a friend we have in Jesus,
All our sins and griefs to bear!
What a privilege to carry
Everything to God in prayer!
Oh, what peace we often forfeit,
Oh, what needless pain we bear,
All because we do not carry
Everything to God in prayer!"
Jesus wants to carry us as His friends. Let’s take everything to Him in prayer today.
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"It is when we notice the dirt that God is most present in us."
- C.S. Lewis
How often do you think of Jesus as your friend? I have to admit that I do not often think of Him in those terms. I think of Him as my Lord, my Savior, my Advocate, my Redeemer but not as my friend. Yet, He tells us that he calls us His friends.
A Franciscan gentleman had this insightful thought about the Jesus/friend relationship:
“Do you ever reflect upon the fact that Jesus feels proud of you? Proud that you accepted the faith which He offered you? Proud that after He chose you, you chose Him for a friend and Lord? Proud that you haven’t given up? Proud that you believe in Him enough to try again and again? Proud that you trust that He can help you? Do you ever think that Jesus appreciates you for wanting Him, for waning to say no to so many things that would separate you from Him? Do you ever think that Jesus is grateful to you for pausing to smile and comfort one of His children who has great need to see a smile, to feel a touch? Do you ever think of Jesus being grateful to you for learning more about Him so you can speak to others more deeply and truly about Him? Do you ever think that Jesus can be angry or disappointed in you for not believing that He has forgiven you totally? Because Jesus calls us His friends, there is the possibility of every feeling and emotion which can exist between friends to exist here and now between Jesus and you.”
Perhaps we never stop to contemplate Jesus being proud and grateful for us because we are always trying to earn His favor by our works, our actions, our words instead of just abiding in Him and His love as He tells us to do.
I have often found in my own walk that I am always stationed somewhere between pride and self-pity. There is always that toggle going on internally and truth be told, Jesus does not want us on either end of the spectrum. He wants us right in the middle where we are neither prideful nor loathing ourselves but resting in Him. I do not pretend that this is easy as we deal with the ups and downs of our own spiritual successes and shortcomings but maybe, just maybe Jesus expects more failure from us than we do of ourselves. I am reminded of Peter who after denying the Lord three times went back to fishing. He was done. He had given up the faith. He was a failure. And then the Lord met him on the shore, made him breakfast and asked him three times if He loved Him. Three times to show Peter that his thrice denial was forgiven and in the past and that what truly was in Peter’s heart was love.
And so too with us. The Lord knows we are frail and but dust, yet He loves us and urges us to feed His sheep, knowing that He who has begun a good work in us, WILL finish it.
As the old praise hymn goes:
"What a friend we have in Jesus,
All our sins and griefs to bear!
What a privilege to carry
Everything to God in prayer!
Oh, what peace we often forfeit,
Oh, what needless pain we bear,
All because we do not carry
Everything to God in prayer!"
Jesus wants to carry us as His friends. Let’s take everything to Him in prayer today.
********************************************************
"It is when we notice the dirt that God is most present in us."
- C.S. Lewis
Saturday, October 1, 2011
The Storyteller
When you hear the word “theology” what comes to your mind first?
Most likely you first think of theology as the study of God. You may also have the image of a gray-haired professor writing on a chalkboard about the attributes of God and how He interacts with mankind. I often think of the numerous Christian literature books I have read that methodically extract the hidden truths contained in the Word of God.
When Jesus sought to teach about God and His kingdom he did not use a chalkboard, a flow chart, or pass out a stack of Theology 101 textbooks. He told stories. Many stories. The majority of Jesus' stories or parables refer to simple everyday things, such as a woman baking bread (parable of the Leaven Bread), a man knocking on his neighbor's door at night (parable of the Friend at Night), or the aftermath of a roadside mugging (parable of the Good Samaritan); yet they deal with major religious themes, such as the growth of the Kingdom of God, the importance of prayer, and the meaning of love.
One notable author states, “To move through the language and imagery of Jesus’ parables offers some fascinating insights into His sensibilities. Webster’s dictionary defines an iconoclast as ‘one who makes attacks on cherished beliefs and institutions, one who destroys or opposes the veneration of religious images.’ Jesus, the master storyteller, was clearly an iconoclast. His parables expressed in words what His actions demonstrated. He shattered idols and blew away preconceived ideas of who God is what men and women are meant to be.”
Upon reading Jesus’ parables, I have often found myself scratching my head at God’s sense of justice and mercy. Why did the prodigal son receive such preferential treatment from his father over his hard working, loyal brother? Why did the king so willingly pardon the unpayable debt from a servant who boasted before him that he would repay him in full? And why on earth did the guys that only worked one hour in the field get the same pay as the guys that worked all day?
The Storyteller unsettles us. Jesus’ parables are an affront to our traditional beliefs about God, justice, and how we are to respond to others. But yet Jesus stands by His stories and urges us, as He did His Jewish audience two thousand years ago, to trust Him. As one writer so eloquently stated when discussing why Jesus taught using parables, “Because, above all, Jesus knew what God was like, so good to the poor, so glad when the lost are found, so overflowing with a father’s love for the returning child, so merciful to the despairing, the helpless and the needy.” This is the God we serve. A God who tells us so tenderly in Romans 5:8 that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. And that all the angels rejoice when ONE sinner repents.
Quite simply, I believe Jesus told us stories because He knew that was the most effective communication vehicle for conveying the love of God to us. Perhaps we would not have understood Him if He just simply stated the truths about who God is and how He loves us in a bunch of declarative sentences. I also believe He taught this way because stories are memorable. The images of His stories are burned in our minds as we think of the father running toward the wayward son and kissing him, the beaten man being bandaged on the side of the road by his sworn enemy, the beggar Lazarus being carried to Abraham’s bosom. These are the pictures that the Lord Jesus left us to provide a glimpse into the heart of God. Over and over again, Jesus reminds us that God does not love the way we do - based on conditions, status, or favor. He accepts us unconditionally regardless of our position in life and regardless of how we will respond in return. All of us are equal at the cross. And His expectation is that we, who call ourselves His disciples, will love others the same. Let’s begin today.
Most likely you first think of theology as the study of God. You may also have the image of a gray-haired professor writing on a chalkboard about the attributes of God and how He interacts with mankind. I often think of the numerous Christian literature books I have read that methodically extract the hidden truths contained in the Word of God.
When Jesus sought to teach about God and His kingdom he did not use a chalkboard, a flow chart, or pass out a stack of Theology 101 textbooks. He told stories. Many stories. The majority of Jesus' stories or parables refer to simple everyday things, such as a woman baking bread (parable of the Leaven Bread), a man knocking on his neighbor's door at night (parable of the Friend at Night), or the aftermath of a roadside mugging (parable of the Good Samaritan); yet they deal with major religious themes, such as the growth of the Kingdom of God, the importance of prayer, and the meaning of love.
One notable author states, “To move through the language and imagery of Jesus’ parables offers some fascinating insights into His sensibilities. Webster’s dictionary defines an iconoclast as ‘one who makes attacks on cherished beliefs and institutions, one who destroys or opposes the veneration of religious images.’ Jesus, the master storyteller, was clearly an iconoclast. His parables expressed in words what His actions demonstrated. He shattered idols and blew away preconceived ideas of who God is what men and women are meant to be.”
Upon reading Jesus’ parables, I have often found myself scratching my head at God’s sense of justice and mercy. Why did the prodigal son receive such preferential treatment from his father over his hard working, loyal brother? Why did the king so willingly pardon the unpayable debt from a servant who boasted before him that he would repay him in full? And why on earth did the guys that only worked one hour in the field get the same pay as the guys that worked all day?
The Storyteller unsettles us. Jesus’ parables are an affront to our traditional beliefs about God, justice, and how we are to respond to others. But yet Jesus stands by His stories and urges us, as He did His Jewish audience two thousand years ago, to trust Him. As one writer so eloquently stated when discussing why Jesus taught using parables, “Because, above all, Jesus knew what God was like, so good to the poor, so glad when the lost are found, so overflowing with a father’s love for the returning child, so merciful to the despairing, the helpless and the needy.” This is the God we serve. A God who tells us so tenderly in Romans 5:8 that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. And that all the angels rejoice when ONE sinner repents.
Quite simply, I believe Jesus told us stories because He knew that was the most effective communication vehicle for conveying the love of God to us. Perhaps we would not have understood Him if He just simply stated the truths about who God is and how He loves us in a bunch of declarative sentences. I also believe He taught this way because stories are memorable. The images of His stories are burned in our minds as we think of the father running toward the wayward son and kissing him, the beaten man being bandaged on the side of the road by his sworn enemy, the beggar Lazarus being carried to Abraham’s bosom. These are the pictures that the Lord Jesus left us to provide a glimpse into the heart of God. Over and over again, Jesus reminds us that God does not love the way we do - based on conditions, status, or favor. He accepts us unconditionally regardless of our position in life and regardless of how we will respond in return. All of us are equal at the cross. And His expectation is that we, who call ourselves His disciples, will love others the same. Let’s begin today.
Monday, September 12, 2011
A Man Worth Emulating
Football season kicked off this past weekend as the lockout finally came to an end just a few weeks ago. On ESPN’s Mike and Mike radio show, the hosts Mike Greenberg and Mike Golic were discussing a news story about the college of Notre Dame enforcing stricter rules regarding the use of obscene language by its head football coach. Apparently, because Notre Dame is a Catholic college, the administration of the school feels the football coach should not be screaming obscenities at his players when the team is on national television.
Mike and Mike discussed this story at length. Mike Golic, who was a former defensive end in the NFL, felt that the idea of trying to police foul language was a joke because all of the coaches use curse words frequently and repeatedly when coaching their teams. He went on to say that not only is foul language part of the fabric of the NFL, he said it is also a part of the college game as well.
At this point, the hosts brought on Mark Schlereth, a former offensive lineman in the NFL. Schlereth agreed wholeheartedly that it would be near impossible to police foul language but then he went on to say something even more shocking. He said in the five seasons that he played football for the Washington Redskins, he never heard his head coach, Joe Gibbs EVER utter a single curse word. It is also worth noting that the Redskins won a Super Bowl during this timeframe. Just a few minutes after Schlereth mentioned this, Kyle Busch, the NASCAR driver for Joe Gibbs’ racing team, came on the show to talk about his recent win. Busch echoed Schlereth’s observation of Gibbs and said that he too, during all his years of driving, has never heard Gibbs utter a single curse word. He also remarked that it is very rare in the sport of car racing to not hear obscenities as pretty much every other word out of the management team is a curse word.
I mention this because Joe Gibbs is a professed Christian. He often talks about his faith when he is interviewed. He has also been one of the most successful football coaches and race car managers in the history of both sports. But what I find most interesting is the fact that his former player and current car racing driver did not mention his professional success but his character when coaching them. Gibbs has been a part of two professional sports that are synonymous with foul language, lewd jokes, and infantile behavior, and yet he has never taken part in any of it and that stood out more to Schlereth and Busch than all the titles he has won.
When Jesus tells us to be salt and light this is what He means. Joe Gibbs said more about his faith and his relationship to God by refraining from using language that is accepted in his profession and even, at times, encouraged than anything he ever accomplished on the football field or the race track. He actually understands that in the end he is not going to be judged by Super Bowl rings and race car trophies but by how he obeyed Jesus Christ. And this is our litmus test too. If Joe Gibbs, with all of his public success, can maintain such an impeccable character than we should strive to do the same.
People are watching us. They are noticing what we do and what we don’t do. Even when they shove us off and tell us to stop talking about God. They are still watching. They are still trying to figure out if this Jesus thing is real. Our life speaks louder than our words. I am sure when Joe Gibbs was told of Schlereth’s and Busch’s comments, he just smiled and thought their sentiments were worth more than all his titles. And truly, they are.
************************************************************
"You have the ability, with your words, to make a person stronger. Your words are to their soul what a vitamin is to their body."
- Max Lucado
Mike and Mike discussed this story at length. Mike Golic, who was a former defensive end in the NFL, felt that the idea of trying to police foul language was a joke because all of the coaches use curse words frequently and repeatedly when coaching their teams. He went on to say that not only is foul language part of the fabric of the NFL, he said it is also a part of the college game as well.
At this point, the hosts brought on Mark Schlereth, a former offensive lineman in the NFL. Schlereth agreed wholeheartedly that it would be near impossible to police foul language but then he went on to say something even more shocking. He said in the five seasons that he played football for the Washington Redskins, he never heard his head coach, Joe Gibbs EVER utter a single curse word. It is also worth noting that the Redskins won a Super Bowl during this timeframe. Just a few minutes after Schlereth mentioned this, Kyle Busch, the NASCAR driver for Joe Gibbs’ racing team, came on the show to talk about his recent win. Busch echoed Schlereth’s observation of Gibbs and said that he too, during all his years of driving, has never heard Gibbs utter a single curse word. He also remarked that it is very rare in the sport of car racing to not hear obscenities as pretty much every other word out of the management team is a curse word.
I mention this because Joe Gibbs is a professed Christian. He often talks about his faith when he is interviewed. He has also been one of the most successful football coaches and race car managers in the history of both sports. But what I find most interesting is the fact that his former player and current car racing driver did not mention his professional success but his character when coaching them. Gibbs has been a part of two professional sports that are synonymous with foul language, lewd jokes, and infantile behavior, and yet he has never taken part in any of it and that stood out more to Schlereth and Busch than all the titles he has won.
When Jesus tells us to be salt and light this is what He means. Joe Gibbs said more about his faith and his relationship to God by refraining from using language that is accepted in his profession and even, at times, encouraged than anything he ever accomplished on the football field or the race track. He actually understands that in the end he is not going to be judged by Super Bowl rings and race car trophies but by how he obeyed Jesus Christ. And this is our litmus test too. If Joe Gibbs, with all of his public success, can maintain such an impeccable character than we should strive to do the same.
People are watching us. They are noticing what we do and what we don’t do. Even when they shove us off and tell us to stop talking about God. They are still watching. They are still trying to figure out if this Jesus thing is real. Our life speaks louder than our words. I am sure when Joe Gibbs was told of Schlereth’s and Busch’s comments, he just smiled and thought their sentiments were worth more than all his titles. And truly, they are.
************************************************************
"You have the ability, with your words, to make a person stronger. Your words are to their soul what a vitamin is to their body."
- Max Lucado
Monday, August 22, 2011
Heaven Under Our Feet
This past week I had the opportunity to travel with a church group to Costa Rica and visit the Lighthouse Children's Home. Its founder is Larry Neff, who was an orphan himself at age three. Larry felt the call early in his Christian life to build Christian orphanages to help homeless and needy children. The first home he built was in Mississippi in 1978. The second home he opened was in Costa Rica and he has since opened additional homes in Panama, Mexico, and India.
I have to admit that I was nervous and anxious on the flight down as I wondered about the living conditions and how the children would react to bunch of “gringos” invading their home.
A tour guide described the area where the orphanage is located as the armpit of Costa Rica with broken down squatter homes, guard dogs, and lots of bars to keep the thieves out. As we arrived, I would say that was a pretty apt description of the outside, but what lay on the inside contained the jewels and treasures of heaven. For you see, the Lighthouse home is comprised of 23 children who are there for a myriad of reasons. Most are there because their parents have either abandoned them or could not afford to care for them. Tragic, I know, but when you meet these children you would never guess that their backgrounds were so broken. Larry and his wife Paula, and Sally the “house mother” and her husband Terry have literally poured the love of God into these children.
Mother Teresa used to say that a person’s greatest need is not food and water but to be loved. These children are well fed, well clothed, and have a Christian school on the premises, but you quickly realize that it is not these things that enable them to exude such peace and happiness. It is the love and acceptance they receive every day. It is not hyperbole when I say that our church group had the privilege of being in the presence of living epistles.
These children with such difficult and tragic beginnings welcomed all of us with open arms, smiling faces, and a sense of love that I have never felt before anywhere. The language barrier (the primary language is Spanish) soon faded as we gathered every night to share testimonies, Bible devotions, and songs. During the day we dug holes, poured cement, mowed lawns, washed and painted school walls, cooked meals, and helped teach the school-aged children. Each day we marveled at how each child had his/her role in the home and did his/her chores without complaining.
On the plane ride home, I sat next to a man from Miami who had traveled to Costa Rica on business. When I shared with him that we were there on a mission’s trip, he asked if my husband used his vacation time to go on the trip. When I replied yes, he remarked, “Really? He used his own time to live in a place like that and dig holes and mow lawns every day?” I suppose that is a fair assessment as on the surface it seems ludicrous to spend your vacation time in the armpit of Costa Rica digging ditches and washing walls but, in reality, God gave us a taste of heaven.
In so many ways the whole experience reminds me of all the paradoxes that are contained in Christianity – you have to die to live, lose your life to find it, have faith the size of a mustard seed to move a mountain, go to a Costa Rican orphanage to find the Sermon on the Mount being lived out every day.
A woman named Patricia who can only be described as a woman completely in love with the Lord, was our tour guide for a day as we visited the Rain Forest. At one point during dinner she commented that Jesus never taught His disciples how to preach, but rather how to pray. As I reflect on the trip, I realize perhaps more than ever that the gospel is not contained in great orators but in great hearts that seek to obey the Lord at any cost. What a privilege to have seen the gospel up close at the Lighthouse Children’s home. I am already planning my return visit.
**********************************************************
"Our life of poverty is as necessary as the work itself. Only in heaven will we see how much we owe to the poor for helping us to love God better because of them." - Mother Teresa
I have to admit that I was nervous and anxious on the flight down as I wondered about the living conditions and how the children would react to bunch of “gringos” invading their home.
A tour guide described the area where the orphanage is located as the armpit of Costa Rica with broken down squatter homes, guard dogs, and lots of bars to keep the thieves out. As we arrived, I would say that was a pretty apt description of the outside, but what lay on the inside contained the jewels and treasures of heaven. For you see, the Lighthouse home is comprised of 23 children who are there for a myriad of reasons. Most are there because their parents have either abandoned them or could not afford to care for them. Tragic, I know, but when you meet these children you would never guess that their backgrounds were so broken. Larry and his wife Paula, and Sally the “house mother” and her husband Terry have literally poured the love of God into these children.
Mother Teresa used to say that a person’s greatest need is not food and water but to be loved. These children are well fed, well clothed, and have a Christian school on the premises, but you quickly realize that it is not these things that enable them to exude such peace and happiness. It is the love and acceptance they receive every day. It is not hyperbole when I say that our church group had the privilege of being in the presence of living epistles.
These children with such difficult and tragic beginnings welcomed all of us with open arms, smiling faces, and a sense of love that I have never felt before anywhere. The language barrier (the primary language is Spanish) soon faded as we gathered every night to share testimonies, Bible devotions, and songs. During the day we dug holes, poured cement, mowed lawns, washed and painted school walls, cooked meals, and helped teach the school-aged children. Each day we marveled at how each child had his/her role in the home and did his/her chores without complaining.
On the plane ride home, I sat next to a man from Miami who had traveled to Costa Rica on business. When I shared with him that we were there on a mission’s trip, he asked if my husband used his vacation time to go on the trip. When I replied yes, he remarked, “Really? He used his own time to live in a place like that and dig holes and mow lawns every day?” I suppose that is a fair assessment as on the surface it seems ludicrous to spend your vacation time in the armpit of Costa Rica digging ditches and washing walls but, in reality, God gave us a taste of heaven.
In so many ways the whole experience reminds me of all the paradoxes that are contained in Christianity – you have to die to live, lose your life to find it, have faith the size of a mustard seed to move a mountain, go to a Costa Rican orphanage to find the Sermon on the Mount being lived out every day.
A woman named Patricia who can only be described as a woman completely in love with the Lord, was our tour guide for a day as we visited the Rain Forest. At one point during dinner she commented that Jesus never taught His disciples how to preach, but rather how to pray. As I reflect on the trip, I realize perhaps more than ever that the gospel is not contained in great orators but in great hearts that seek to obey the Lord at any cost. What a privilege to have seen the gospel up close at the Lighthouse Children’s home. I am already planning my return visit.
**********************************************************
"Our life of poverty is as necessary as the work itself. Only in heaven will we see how much we owe to the poor for helping us to love God better because of them." - Mother Teresa
Friday, August 5, 2011
When God Shows Up
Ever have a moment when you really sensed God’s presence? As if He was orchestrating the very moments in a particular situation in your life? God tells us in His Word that He is always working in our lives and that He even knows the hairs on our head but often we long to sense Him, feel Him, know Him. I believe we fail to see Him in the way we desire because so often we are in disobedience or failing to confess sin. But when we are truly serving others, ministering with our heart and soul, He is there and He makes His presence known.
In the Gospel of John chapter 20, Thomas told his co-disciples that he would not believe that Jesus had resurrected unless he was able to see and touch His wounds. And when Jesus showed up and allowed Thomas to feel His nail prints and touch His sword-pierced side, Thomas cried out that he believed. Jesus then poignantly reminded him and us that he only believed because he saw Jesus in the flesh and then announced to everyone in the room “blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.”
Perhaps maybe the hardest thing God asks any of us to do on the other side of the cross is to believe that Jesus did exist and that He was who He claimed to be – the Son of God in the flesh that came to save sinners.
2,000 years is a long time and yet God tells us that 1,000 years is as one day to Him. For many of our modern scientists and philosophers it is easy to explain God away in the theories of evolution because surely if we were made in God’s image as Genesis states, God would be readily apparent. Of course, Romans 1:20-23 tells us, “For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead, so that they are without excuse, because, although they knew God, they did not glorify Him as God, nor were thankful, but became futile in their thoughts, and their foolish hearts were darkened. Professing to be wise, they became fools, and changed the glory of the incorruptible God into an image made like corruptible man—and birds and four-footed animals and creeping things.”
There may be no other passage in the Bible other than this one that perfectly encapsulates the world’s view of God in the 21st century. We would rather worship the creation than the creator. Yet God tells us that his very essence and power are revealed in creation. But if we fail to acknowledge God here than how can we ever come to His Word and see Him there in His special revelation? The answer is we can’t. Our God really is not all that mysterious. He is not a genie in a lamp that requires some sort of magic password to grant us access to him. He is a God that inspired 40 men over a period of 1,500 years to write 66 books that all contain the same message – Jesus Christ! Jesus Christ! Jesus Christ!
Every one of us that claims to be a Christian is a testimony to the resurrection of Jesus Christ. For you see, He lives inside us and it is through us that the world knows what Thomas found out - Jesus is real. The world can see us, touch us, watch us and by so doing it is as if Jesus is standing in front of them all over again telling them to touch his wounds. We are His testament. We are His voice. We are His heart. What a privledge.
In the Gospel of John chapter 20, Thomas told his co-disciples that he would not believe that Jesus had resurrected unless he was able to see and touch His wounds. And when Jesus showed up and allowed Thomas to feel His nail prints and touch His sword-pierced side, Thomas cried out that he believed. Jesus then poignantly reminded him and us that he only believed because he saw Jesus in the flesh and then announced to everyone in the room “blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.”
Perhaps maybe the hardest thing God asks any of us to do on the other side of the cross is to believe that Jesus did exist and that He was who He claimed to be – the Son of God in the flesh that came to save sinners.
2,000 years is a long time and yet God tells us that 1,000 years is as one day to Him. For many of our modern scientists and philosophers it is easy to explain God away in the theories of evolution because surely if we were made in God’s image as Genesis states, God would be readily apparent. Of course, Romans 1:20-23 tells us, “For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead, so that they are without excuse, because, although they knew God, they did not glorify Him as God, nor were thankful, but became futile in their thoughts, and their foolish hearts were darkened. Professing to be wise, they became fools, and changed the glory of the incorruptible God into an image made like corruptible man—and birds and four-footed animals and creeping things.”
There may be no other passage in the Bible other than this one that perfectly encapsulates the world’s view of God in the 21st century. We would rather worship the creation than the creator. Yet God tells us that his very essence and power are revealed in creation. But if we fail to acknowledge God here than how can we ever come to His Word and see Him there in His special revelation? The answer is we can’t. Our God really is not all that mysterious. He is not a genie in a lamp that requires some sort of magic password to grant us access to him. He is a God that inspired 40 men over a period of 1,500 years to write 66 books that all contain the same message – Jesus Christ! Jesus Christ! Jesus Christ!
Every one of us that claims to be a Christian is a testimony to the resurrection of Jesus Christ. For you see, He lives inside us and it is through us that the world knows what Thomas found out - Jesus is real. The world can see us, touch us, watch us and by so doing it is as if Jesus is standing in front of them all over again telling them to touch his wounds. We are His testament. We are His voice. We are His heart. What a privledge.
Monday, July 25, 2011
Acts of Love Are Worth Much and Cost Little
Proverbs 25:11 tell us that “a word fitly spoken is like apples of gold in settings of silver.” This is perhaps one of the most apt descriptions of how a word of encouragement is received by someone who is depressed, discouraged, or feeling a sense of hopelessness. And I think if we are all honest with ourselves, all of us have been there at one time or another and have appreciated a word of encouragement from a friend or family member.
Jesus told us in John 13:35 that we would know His disciples by their love one toward the other. This was the only mark Jesus ever gave for a person who claims to be a Christian or a “little Christ.” And I suppose if you think about it, no other mark is needed as our love for one another demonstrates the gospel to its fullest capacity.
Many of the churches today fail to bring light to their dark communities because visitors sense no love among the members. Perhaps Marion Jacobsen put her finger on this missing component best when she said:
“If any group of Christians who claims to believe and practice all God has said in His Book will face up to their personal responsibility within the family of Christ, and to the real needs of Christians around them, their church will impress its community with the shining goodness of God’s love – to them AND among them. Such a transformation probably would do more to attract others to Jesus Christ than any house-to-house canvas, evangelistic campaign, or new church facility. People are hungry for acceptance, love, and friends, and unless they find them in the church, they may not stay there long enough to become personally related to Jesus Christ.
People are not persuaded, they are attracted. We must be able to communicate far more by what we are than by what we say.”
Mother Teresa offered a similar perspective on what ails the Western world:
“The greatest disease in the West today is not TB or leprosy; it is being unwanted, unloved, and uncared for. We can cure physical diseases with medicine, but the only cure for loneliness, despair, and hopelessness is love. There are many in the world who are dying for a piece of bread but there are many more dying for a little love. The poverty in the West is a different kind of poverty -- it is not only a poverty of loneliness but also of spirituality. There's a hunger for love, as there is a hunger for God.”
John C. Maxwell once said, “People don’t care how much you know, until they know how much you care.” The gospel message we proclaim is so much more than just quoting John 3:16 to someone. It is showing them the hands, feet, and heart of Jesus Christ. For you see, we are His representatives here and remain an example to a lost world that He truly did resurrect more than 2,000 years ago. The founding pastor of my church used to often say that you may be the only Bible anyone ever reads. I realize that it is a daunting statement but its burden in no way invalidates its reality.
Small acts done with great love are the core ingredients of the gospel. These acts provide a platform for sharing the gospel as the act itself IS the gospel in action. If you find yourself asking God to provide opportunities for you to share the gospel, start by meeting the needs of others and the door will swing wide open.
********************************************************
"Biblical love is not emotions or feelings, but attitudes and actions that seek the best interests of the other person."
- Jeff Bridges in The Practice of Godliness
Jesus told us in John 13:35 that we would know His disciples by their love one toward the other. This was the only mark Jesus ever gave for a person who claims to be a Christian or a “little Christ.” And I suppose if you think about it, no other mark is needed as our love for one another demonstrates the gospel to its fullest capacity.
Many of the churches today fail to bring light to their dark communities because visitors sense no love among the members. Perhaps Marion Jacobsen put her finger on this missing component best when she said:
“If any group of Christians who claims to believe and practice all God has said in His Book will face up to their personal responsibility within the family of Christ, and to the real needs of Christians around them, their church will impress its community with the shining goodness of God’s love – to them AND among them. Such a transformation probably would do more to attract others to Jesus Christ than any house-to-house canvas, evangelistic campaign, or new church facility. People are hungry for acceptance, love, and friends, and unless they find them in the church, they may not stay there long enough to become personally related to Jesus Christ.
People are not persuaded, they are attracted. We must be able to communicate far more by what we are than by what we say.”
Mother Teresa offered a similar perspective on what ails the Western world:
“The greatest disease in the West today is not TB or leprosy; it is being unwanted, unloved, and uncared for. We can cure physical diseases with medicine, but the only cure for loneliness, despair, and hopelessness is love. There are many in the world who are dying for a piece of bread but there are many more dying for a little love. The poverty in the West is a different kind of poverty -- it is not only a poverty of loneliness but also of spirituality. There's a hunger for love, as there is a hunger for God.”
John C. Maxwell once said, “People don’t care how much you know, until they know how much you care.” The gospel message we proclaim is so much more than just quoting John 3:16 to someone. It is showing them the hands, feet, and heart of Jesus Christ. For you see, we are His representatives here and remain an example to a lost world that He truly did resurrect more than 2,000 years ago. The founding pastor of my church used to often say that you may be the only Bible anyone ever reads. I realize that it is a daunting statement but its burden in no way invalidates its reality.
Small acts done with great love are the core ingredients of the gospel. These acts provide a platform for sharing the gospel as the act itself IS the gospel in action. If you find yourself asking God to provide opportunities for you to share the gospel, start by meeting the needs of others and the door will swing wide open.
********************************************************
"Biblical love is not emotions or feelings, but attitudes and actions that seek the best interests of the other person."
- Jeff Bridges in The Practice of Godliness
Friday, July 8, 2011
What Are You Going to Do with Jesus?
Recently, I have spoken with several people who have told me they do not attend church because they see so many hypocrites go to church and yet continue to lead lives that are morally corrupt. In other words, they live life like the devil and then pretend they are angels by going to church and participating in religious activities.
I suppose on the surface this seems like a logical decision. Why go to church if you believe everyone there is a hypocrite? Of course, you have to come to terms with the fact that you are letting people you perceive to be hypocrites rule your spiritual life. But even more important is the fact that this type of mindset precludes you from figuring out what you are going to do wtih Jesus Christ. And at some point, all of us have to to come terms with Jesus Christ on a personal level, separate from others.
Jesus took off his God-hood and became man for one simple purpose – to save sinners (Philippians 2:5-11). He makes no pretension about who He is or what He is offering. He is the Son of God and He alone has the power to forgive sins.
In his book Mere Christianity , C.S. Lewis, the great Christian apologist, acutely summarizes the work and mission of Jesus, “I am trying to prevent anyone saying the really foolish thing that people often say about Him [Jesus]: ‘I am ready to accept Jesus as a great teacher, but I don’t accept his claim to be God.’ That is the one thing we must not say. A man, who was merely a man and said the sort of things Jesus said would not be a great moral teacher. He would either be a lunatic – on a level with the man who says he is a poached egg – or else he would be the Devil of Hell. You must make your choice. Either this man was, and is, the Son of God or else a madman or something worse. You can shut Him up for a fool; you can spit at Him and kill Him as a demon; or you can fall at His feet and call Him Lord and God. But let us not come with any patronizing nonsense about His being a great human teacher. He has not left that open to us. He did not intend to.”
The truth of the matter is we are all hypocrites. Romans 3:23 tells us that all of us have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. The law of God constantly reminds us that we can never keep it. Any of it. That is why Jesus came – to offer us life that we may have it more abundantly in Him. (John 10:10)
It is always easy I suppose to look at others and their failures and shortcomings and feel pretty good about ourselves. Much like the parable of the Pharisee and the Publican that Jesus told in Luke chapter 18, we beat our chests and say to God, “Thank you, that I am not like the rest of men, extortioners, unrighteous, adulterers…” The only issue is God does not see us like that. And that really is the beauty of Christianity. It is a personal relationship. Jesus never compares us with others and tells us repeatedly not to do the same.
All of us one day will be judged by God and His measuring stick will not be how we stacked up against others as so many presuppose, it will be His Word, “He who rejects Me, and does not receive My words, has that which judges him—the word that I have spoken will judge him in the last day.” (John 12:48)
I urge you not to put off getting to know Jesus because of others. His offer of salvation is too great to pass over and all that will matter in the end as you stand before Him will be if He knows you.
*************************************************************
"The seeming peace a sinner has is not from the knowledge of his happiness but from the ignorance of his danger."
-Thomas Watson, Puritan
I suppose on the surface this seems like a logical decision. Why go to church if you believe everyone there is a hypocrite? Of course, you have to come to terms with the fact that you are letting people you perceive to be hypocrites rule your spiritual life. But even more important is the fact that this type of mindset precludes you from figuring out what you are going to do wtih Jesus Christ. And at some point, all of us have to to come terms with Jesus Christ on a personal level, separate from others.
Jesus took off his God-hood and became man for one simple purpose – to save sinners (Philippians 2:5-11). He makes no pretension about who He is or what He is offering. He is the Son of God and He alone has the power to forgive sins.
In his book Mere Christianity , C.S. Lewis, the great Christian apologist, acutely summarizes the work and mission of Jesus, “I am trying to prevent anyone saying the really foolish thing that people often say about Him [Jesus]: ‘I am ready to accept Jesus as a great teacher, but I don’t accept his claim to be God.’ That is the one thing we must not say. A man, who was merely a man and said the sort of things Jesus said would not be a great moral teacher. He would either be a lunatic – on a level with the man who says he is a poached egg – or else he would be the Devil of Hell. You must make your choice. Either this man was, and is, the Son of God or else a madman or something worse. You can shut Him up for a fool; you can spit at Him and kill Him as a demon; or you can fall at His feet and call Him Lord and God. But let us not come with any patronizing nonsense about His being a great human teacher. He has not left that open to us. He did not intend to.”
The truth of the matter is we are all hypocrites. Romans 3:23 tells us that all of us have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. The law of God constantly reminds us that we can never keep it. Any of it. That is why Jesus came – to offer us life that we may have it more abundantly in Him. (John 10:10)
It is always easy I suppose to look at others and their failures and shortcomings and feel pretty good about ourselves. Much like the parable of the Pharisee and the Publican that Jesus told in Luke chapter 18, we beat our chests and say to God, “Thank you, that I am not like the rest of men, extortioners, unrighteous, adulterers…” The only issue is God does not see us like that. And that really is the beauty of Christianity. It is a personal relationship. Jesus never compares us with others and tells us repeatedly not to do the same.
All of us one day will be judged by God and His measuring stick will not be how we stacked up against others as so many presuppose, it will be His Word, “He who rejects Me, and does not receive My words, has that which judges him—the word that I have spoken will judge him in the last day.” (John 12:48)
I urge you not to put off getting to know Jesus because of others. His offer of salvation is too great to pass over and all that will matter in the end as you stand before Him will be if He knows you.
*************************************************************
"The seeming peace a sinner has is not from the knowledge of his happiness but from the ignorance of his danger."
-Thomas Watson, Puritan
Wednesday, June 22, 2011
Family Under Siege
During the past week, a couple of prominent New York Giants football players came out in support and opposition to gay marriage. Michael Strahan, who was one of the best defensive ends for the Giants in the 90’s and 00’s was in favor of gay marriage while one of his former teammates, David Tyree, who you may remember as the receiver that made the miracle catch in Super Bowl 42 to help the Giants beat the undefeated New England Patriots, was opposed to it. As I listened to both men’s arguments for and against gay marriage, I began to think about the state of the family in the United States over the past few decades and how the sanctity of marriage has eroded on all fronts and left in its wake broken homes, broken hearts, and broken bank accounts.
In the 1960’s, we had the sexual revolution which was typified by a dramatic shift in traditional values related to sex, and sexuality. Sex became more socially acceptable outside the strict boundaries of heterosexual marriage. Studies have shown that between 1965 and 1975, the number of women who had had sexual intercourse prior to marriage increased significantly, and as a result, the nation for the first time in its history had to deal with a high volume of unwanted pregnancies.
To solve this issue, the Supreme Court in 1973 ruled in the case of Roe vs. Wade, that it was a woman’s right to have an abortion. Just over 700,000 abortions in the United States were performed in 1973 as a result of this decision. This year, it is estimated that 1.5 million abortions will be performed in the United States and 75 million worldwide. It has become over the past two decades, one of the most common surgical procedures.
At the same time as the sexual revolution was gaining steam, Feminism emerged and was largely concerned with issues of equality other than suffrage. The champions of this movement told women that they were on par with men and that they should not just be regulated to child bearers in the home. This propelled women into the workforce and by the early 1980’s women were told they could have it all – a husband, career, and children and the “supermom” motto emerged. On its heels, however, came rising divorce rates as husbands and wives tried to figure out how to coexist in the new model family where mom went to work and the kids went to day-care.
So, it should really come as no surprise to any of us that gay marriage is now on the table and is passing acceptance across the nation at a rapid rate, despite the overwhelming data that shows what is best for children is a mother and a father who are the parents of that child, raising that child in a stable, married relationship.
We began as a nation destroying the sanctity of marriage and the family structure more than five decades ago and every generation it seems since then has taken more steps to ruin the one union that was instituted by God and actually pictures the relationship of Jesus Christ and the Church (see, Ephesians 5:22-33).
If the United States as a nation has any hopes of regaining its lost prosperity, it will not be found as President Obama thinks in American ingenuity but in American integrity. We have lost the very underpinning of any successful society - the family unit - because we have forgotten God and no civilization, anywhere can hope to prosper that does not have as its foundation the sanctity of marriage, life, and the sacredness of God.
In the 1960’s, we had the sexual revolution which was typified by a dramatic shift in traditional values related to sex, and sexuality. Sex became more socially acceptable outside the strict boundaries of heterosexual marriage. Studies have shown that between 1965 and 1975, the number of women who had had sexual intercourse prior to marriage increased significantly, and as a result, the nation for the first time in its history had to deal with a high volume of unwanted pregnancies.
To solve this issue, the Supreme Court in 1973 ruled in the case of Roe vs. Wade, that it was a woman’s right to have an abortion. Just over 700,000 abortions in the United States were performed in 1973 as a result of this decision. This year, it is estimated that 1.5 million abortions will be performed in the United States and 75 million worldwide. It has become over the past two decades, one of the most common surgical procedures.
At the same time as the sexual revolution was gaining steam, Feminism emerged and was largely concerned with issues of equality other than suffrage. The champions of this movement told women that they were on par with men and that they should not just be regulated to child bearers in the home. This propelled women into the workforce and by the early 1980’s women were told they could have it all – a husband, career, and children and the “supermom” motto emerged. On its heels, however, came rising divorce rates as husbands and wives tried to figure out how to coexist in the new model family where mom went to work and the kids went to day-care.
So, it should really come as no surprise to any of us that gay marriage is now on the table and is passing acceptance across the nation at a rapid rate, despite the overwhelming data that shows what is best for children is a mother and a father who are the parents of that child, raising that child in a stable, married relationship.
We began as a nation destroying the sanctity of marriage and the family structure more than five decades ago and every generation it seems since then has taken more steps to ruin the one union that was instituted by God and actually pictures the relationship of Jesus Christ and the Church (see, Ephesians 5:22-33).
If the United States as a nation has any hopes of regaining its lost prosperity, it will not be found as President Obama thinks in American ingenuity but in American integrity. We have lost the very underpinning of any successful society - the family unit - because we have forgotten God and no civilization, anywhere can hope to prosper that does not have as its foundation the sanctity of marriage, life, and the sacredness of God.
Friday, June 10, 2011
Defining the Abundant Life
In John 10:10, Jesus said, “The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.” Throughout Scripture we find Jesus often speaking about the abundant life that He offers to all who follow Him. But this begs the question, what exactly is the abundant life? Is it more money? More possessions? More vacations? More status?
Just last night I was speaking to my brother about the Lord and he was saying that the world tells you to go to school, get a good paying job, save your money for retirement and then retire. But what about after retirement? What do you do then? The world never discusses life after death and what we should do to prepare. Of course, this is based largely on the fact that the world does not know God and is not concerned with the things of God (Romans 1). But this still does not change the fact that the one thing all of us are going to experience regardless of age, stature, or success is death. Yet, we spend so little time preparing. So much of Jesus’ teachings were based on the kingdom of God and designed to get men and women thinking about things of eternal value versus temporal value. God tells us in Ecclesiastes 3:11 that He has set eternity in the hearts of men. But, so often we push the things of eternal value to the back burner even as Christians, don’t we?
When Jesus gave His most profound sermon in Matthew chapter 5, He spoke of a way of life that was counter intuitive to the world’s system. The selfless principles He outlined that pictured the kingdom of God were too difficult for many to comprehend as He begins each point by naming a group of people normally thought to be unblessable and pronounces them blessed because of the presence and availability of the abundant life in God's kingdom to everyone, everywhere, regardless of status, circumstances, or condition. And this is the key. It is not based on what you have or don’t have or who your parents are but on a person – Jesus Christ. To further underscore this critical spiritual reality, Jesus told us in John 14:6 that He is “the Way, the Truth, and the Life and that no one comes to the Father but by Him.”
The abundant life Jesus is offering is attained on the inside not the outside. He is extending to us an internal peace that it is not found anywhere else. This is why the Christian is able to live above his/her circumstances because the focus is on the One who has overcome the world and ensures us we will too (John 16:33). Man is preoccupied with circumstances, God is preoccupied with character. And it is within the person of Jesus Christ that we are able to cast off the old man and put on the new man in Christ. (2 Corinthians 5:17)
Eternal life as opposed to this life is not determined by duration but by a relationship with God. This is why the Scripture tell us that once a person accepts Jesus as their Lord and personal Savior that he/she possesses eternal life already (1 John 5:11-13), though not, of course, in its fullness. For you see a Christian's life revolves around “growing in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ” (2 Peter 3:18). This teaches us that the abundant life is a continual process of learning, practicing, and maturing, as well as failing, recovering, adjusting, enduring, and overcoming, because, in our present state, “we see but a poor reflection as in a mirror” (1 Corinthians 13:12). One day we will see God face to face, and we will know Him completely as we will be known completely (1 Corinthians 13:12). We will no longer struggle with sin and doubt. This will be the ultimately fulfilled abundant life.
The true abundant life will display the fruits produced by the Holy Spirit - love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control (Galatians 5:22-23), not an abundance of “stuff.” It consists of life that is eternal, and, therefore, our interest is in the eternal, not the temporal.
If you do not know the Lord, it is my hope and prayer that you will spend some time exploring the abundant life that Jesus is offering right now. His Word tells us that “today is the day of salvation.” (2 Corinthians 6:2) And Romans 10:9-10 tells us how to be saved, “If you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.”
Just last night I was speaking to my brother about the Lord and he was saying that the world tells you to go to school, get a good paying job, save your money for retirement and then retire. But what about after retirement? What do you do then? The world never discusses life after death and what we should do to prepare. Of course, this is based largely on the fact that the world does not know God and is not concerned with the things of God (Romans 1). But this still does not change the fact that the one thing all of us are going to experience regardless of age, stature, or success is death. Yet, we spend so little time preparing. So much of Jesus’ teachings were based on the kingdom of God and designed to get men and women thinking about things of eternal value versus temporal value. God tells us in Ecclesiastes 3:11 that He has set eternity in the hearts of men. But, so often we push the things of eternal value to the back burner even as Christians, don’t we?
When Jesus gave His most profound sermon in Matthew chapter 5, He spoke of a way of life that was counter intuitive to the world’s system. The selfless principles He outlined that pictured the kingdom of God were too difficult for many to comprehend as He begins each point by naming a group of people normally thought to be unblessable and pronounces them blessed because of the presence and availability of the abundant life in God's kingdom to everyone, everywhere, regardless of status, circumstances, or condition. And this is the key. It is not based on what you have or don’t have or who your parents are but on a person – Jesus Christ. To further underscore this critical spiritual reality, Jesus told us in John 14:6 that He is “the Way, the Truth, and the Life and that no one comes to the Father but by Him.”
The abundant life Jesus is offering is attained on the inside not the outside. He is extending to us an internal peace that it is not found anywhere else. This is why the Christian is able to live above his/her circumstances because the focus is on the One who has overcome the world and ensures us we will too (John 16:33). Man is preoccupied with circumstances, God is preoccupied with character. And it is within the person of Jesus Christ that we are able to cast off the old man and put on the new man in Christ. (2 Corinthians 5:17)
Eternal life as opposed to this life is not determined by duration but by a relationship with God. This is why the Scripture tell us that once a person accepts Jesus as their Lord and personal Savior that he/she possesses eternal life already (1 John 5:11-13), though not, of course, in its fullness. For you see a Christian's life revolves around “growing in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ” (2 Peter 3:18). This teaches us that the abundant life is a continual process of learning, practicing, and maturing, as well as failing, recovering, adjusting, enduring, and overcoming, because, in our present state, “we see but a poor reflection as in a mirror” (1 Corinthians 13:12). One day we will see God face to face, and we will know Him completely as we will be known completely (1 Corinthians 13:12). We will no longer struggle with sin and doubt. This will be the ultimately fulfilled abundant life.
The true abundant life will display the fruits produced by the Holy Spirit - love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control (Galatians 5:22-23), not an abundance of “stuff.” It consists of life that is eternal, and, therefore, our interest is in the eternal, not the temporal.
If you do not know the Lord, it is my hope and prayer that you will spend some time exploring the abundant life that Jesus is offering right now. His Word tells us that “today is the day of salvation.” (2 Corinthians 6:2) And Romans 10:9-10 tells us how to be saved, “If you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.”
Friday, May 27, 2011
Do Unto Others as Christ Has Done Unto You
I have been a Christian for more than 20 years and have come to realize through my walk with the Lord and all the peaks and valleys that spiritual growth is tied most closely to one thing – our ability to forgive others. The world tells us to “do unto others as you would have them do unto you” which sounds nice on the surface but the biblical standard is much higher. The Bible tells us to “do unto others as Christ has done unto you.” Our forgiveness is to be like Christ’s and mirror the total forgiveness that Christ exercised on our behalf.
C.S. Lewis describes Christian forgiveness this way, “To be a Christian means to forgive the inexcusable, because God has forgiven the inexcusable in you. This is hard…how can we do it? Only, I think, by remembering where we stand, by meaning our words when we say in our prayers each night, ‘forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us.’ We are offered forgiveness on no other terms. To refuse it means to refuse God’s mercy for ourselves.”
I must admit that it is hard for me to contemplate the love that the Lord has for me as I realize my own sin and shortcomings. Why does He forgive me so much? How is it that He is able to say to me and you that “as far as the east is from the west, so far has He removed our transgressions from us.” (Psalm 103:12).
I think what can be overwhelming as we contemplate forgiveness is to realize that it is not something that happens in a day or in a moment. I truly believe forgiveness is a process and a spiritual battle. We have to be diligent to continue to forgive as we are offended or as thoughts of someone who has offended us pop into our heads. It is always through the process that God works in us. He has the result in hand but the journey to the result is what conforms us into the image of Jesus Christ. The Christian life is a transformation that happens day by day. The big "a-ha" moments that we experience are really just a composite of our continual yielding to the Holy Spirit as “God works in us both to will and to do for His good pleasure.” (Philippians 2:13)
I also believe unforgiveness, which eventually turns into bitterness, is one of the devil’s greatest strategies for nullifying our service. It is impossible to serve the Lord and have a fruitful ministry with seeds of unforgiveness in our hearts. But so often we feel justified in our anger and hurt but those feelings are only turned into forgiveness as we come to the cross. At the core a Christian is a lover of Christ and His cross. This fact alone is generally repulsive to the world who comprehend the meaning of the cross in a variety of ways. Some see it as a symbol of a humiliating execution. Others view it as a picture of a pitiful man who claimed to be God but died as a criminal. For others it represents a denial of all the sensual pleasures they enjoy in life. And some simply perceive it as a piece of jewelry to be displayed around one’s neck. For the Christian, however, the cross is not only the symbol of our salvation, it is the blueprint for our lives. It is at the cross that we understand unconditional love, the true cost of sin, and its ultimate defeat. It is here, at the foot of Calvary, where the ground is level at everyone’s feet that we find the grace to forgive others and nowhere else.
Martyn Lloyd-Jones, the Welsh Protestant minister, preacher, and medical doctor who was influential in the reformed wing of the British evangelical movement in the 20th century, acutely understood this reciprocal nature of forgiveness when he stated, “I say to the glory of God and in utter humility that whenever I see myself before God and realize even something of what my blessed Lord has done for me, I am ready to forgive anybody anything.”
Let this be our mindset also.
C.S. Lewis describes Christian forgiveness this way, “To be a Christian means to forgive the inexcusable, because God has forgiven the inexcusable in you. This is hard…how can we do it? Only, I think, by remembering where we stand, by meaning our words when we say in our prayers each night, ‘forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us.’ We are offered forgiveness on no other terms. To refuse it means to refuse God’s mercy for ourselves.”
I must admit that it is hard for me to contemplate the love that the Lord has for me as I realize my own sin and shortcomings. Why does He forgive me so much? How is it that He is able to say to me and you that “as far as the east is from the west, so far has He removed our transgressions from us.” (Psalm 103:12).
I think what can be overwhelming as we contemplate forgiveness is to realize that it is not something that happens in a day or in a moment. I truly believe forgiveness is a process and a spiritual battle. We have to be diligent to continue to forgive as we are offended or as thoughts of someone who has offended us pop into our heads. It is always through the process that God works in us. He has the result in hand but the journey to the result is what conforms us into the image of Jesus Christ. The Christian life is a transformation that happens day by day. The big "a-ha" moments that we experience are really just a composite of our continual yielding to the Holy Spirit as “God works in us both to will and to do for His good pleasure.” (Philippians 2:13)
I also believe unforgiveness, which eventually turns into bitterness, is one of the devil’s greatest strategies for nullifying our service. It is impossible to serve the Lord and have a fruitful ministry with seeds of unforgiveness in our hearts. But so often we feel justified in our anger and hurt but those feelings are only turned into forgiveness as we come to the cross. At the core a Christian is a lover of Christ and His cross. This fact alone is generally repulsive to the world who comprehend the meaning of the cross in a variety of ways. Some see it as a symbol of a humiliating execution. Others view it as a picture of a pitiful man who claimed to be God but died as a criminal. For others it represents a denial of all the sensual pleasures they enjoy in life. And some simply perceive it as a piece of jewelry to be displayed around one’s neck. For the Christian, however, the cross is not only the symbol of our salvation, it is the blueprint for our lives. It is at the cross that we understand unconditional love, the true cost of sin, and its ultimate defeat. It is here, at the foot of Calvary, where the ground is level at everyone’s feet that we find the grace to forgive others and nowhere else.
Martyn Lloyd-Jones, the Welsh Protestant minister, preacher, and medical doctor who was influential in the reformed wing of the British evangelical movement in the 20th century, acutely understood this reciprocal nature of forgiveness when he stated, “I say to the glory of God and in utter humility that whenever I see myself before God and realize even something of what my blessed Lord has done for me, I am ready to forgive anybody anything.”
Let this be our mindset also.
Friday, May 20, 2011
Date Setters
It has been hard the last couple of weeks to avoid all the hoopla surrounding May 21, the supposed date for the end of the world to take place according to Christian radio broadcaster Harold Camping. If you are not aware, Camping is the president of Family Radio, a California-based religious broadcasting network that spans more than 150 outlets in the United States as well as a website. Camping uses Bible-based numerology to predict dates for the end of the world. His current end times prediction is that the Rapture will be on May 21, 2011 and that God will completely destroy the Earth and the universe five months later on October 21. He had previously predicted that the Rapture would occur in September 1994.
I am not sure if Camping actually believes what he is propagating or if he is just looking for 15 minutes of fame but the Bible clearly states in Mark 13:32 that no man, not the angels, and not even the Lord Jesus Himself knows the return of God to Earth. Only the Father knows the date.
Of course date setting is nothing new. Many people over the course of history have predicted the Lord’s return to the earth and all of them have been wrong. This is not surprising in lieu of the fact that the Apostle Paul told the Thessalonians in 1 Thessalonians 5:2-3 that the Lord’s return would be sudden, “For you yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so comes as a thief in the night. For when they say, “Peace and safety!” then sudden destruction comes upon them, as labor pains upon a pregnant woman.” When I read this verse I often think of 9/11 and how that event happened on a random Tuesday morning with no one expecting it or ever thinking it would happen. I believe that is how the Lord’s return will take place.
But I think when people, or more importantly Christians, get caught up with date setting and begin spending hours trying to decipher Bible numerology, they miss the true message of Christianity. The Lord Jesus told us when He departed to preach the gospel to every creature. This is the great commission. The message of the cross has always been and will always be the most important message we ever proclaim. It is the cross that saves, it is the cross that forgives, and it is at the cross that we find mercy and grace.
One day the Lord will indeed judge the earth but right now He is in the business of saving the world. When the Lord does return we do not want to be like the Jews during the period of the great prophet Jeremiah and say, “The harvest is past, The summer is ended, And we are not saved!”
Jesus told us in the Gospel of John to not delay in bringing people to the knowledge of the gospel, “Do you not say, ‘There are still four months and then comes the harvest?’ Behold, I say to you, lift up your eyes and look at the fields, for they are already white for harvest!”
This is our mission. This is our only mission. As the Lord continues to tarry there is still time to share the gospel with others and affect eternal destinies. While I do long for the appearing of the Lord and look forward with hope toward that day when I will see Him face to face, I cannot let that thought distract me from my true purpose as His child.
In many ways, I hope Camping is right and the Lord does appear tomorrow and if He should that still leaves us with 24 hours to proclaim the gospel to others. Live today like the Lord will return tomorrow and share the gospel with others in love. Time is short and the Lord could return at any moment.
"If you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation." (Romans 10:9-10)
I am not sure if Camping actually believes what he is propagating or if he is just looking for 15 minutes of fame but the Bible clearly states in Mark 13:32 that no man, not the angels, and not even the Lord Jesus Himself knows the return of God to Earth. Only the Father knows the date.
Of course date setting is nothing new. Many people over the course of history have predicted the Lord’s return to the earth and all of them have been wrong. This is not surprising in lieu of the fact that the Apostle Paul told the Thessalonians in 1 Thessalonians 5:2-3 that the Lord’s return would be sudden, “For you yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so comes as a thief in the night. For when they say, “Peace and safety!” then sudden destruction comes upon them, as labor pains upon a pregnant woman.” When I read this verse I often think of 9/11 and how that event happened on a random Tuesday morning with no one expecting it or ever thinking it would happen. I believe that is how the Lord’s return will take place.
But I think when people, or more importantly Christians, get caught up with date setting and begin spending hours trying to decipher Bible numerology, they miss the true message of Christianity. The Lord Jesus told us when He departed to preach the gospel to every creature. This is the great commission. The message of the cross has always been and will always be the most important message we ever proclaim. It is the cross that saves, it is the cross that forgives, and it is at the cross that we find mercy and grace.
One day the Lord will indeed judge the earth but right now He is in the business of saving the world. When the Lord does return we do not want to be like the Jews during the period of the great prophet Jeremiah and say, “The harvest is past, The summer is ended, And we are not saved!”
Jesus told us in the Gospel of John to not delay in bringing people to the knowledge of the gospel, “Do you not say, ‘There are still four months and then comes the harvest?’ Behold, I say to you, lift up your eyes and look at the fields, for they are already white for harvest!”
This is our mission. This is our only mission. As the Lord continues to tarry there is still time to share the gospel with others and affect eternal destinies. While I do long for the appearing of the Lord and look forward with hope toward that day when I will see Him face to face, I cannot let that thought distract me from my true purpose as His child.
In many ways, I hope Camping is right and the Lord does appear tomorrow and if He should that still leaves us with 24 hours to proclaim the gospel to others. Live today like the Lord will return tomorrow and share the gospel with others in love. Time is short and the Lord could return at any moment.
"If you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation." (Romans 10:9-10)
Thursday, May 5, 2011
Divine Justice Questioned
This past week I had the chance to read Rob Bell’s latest book called Love Wins. You can probably infer from the title alone that Bell is a universalist as well as a humanist. His latest book dispels the idea that there is an eternal hell among other things. In a nutshell, it is a declaration that God's love will melt all hearts eventually, and all will be saved. If you want more explicit details on the book I suggest you go to Amazon and read through the 300 plus reviews.
Needless to say, his book has caused quite a stir similar to other his works. But then again, I suppose any book that questions the authenticity of Scripture tends to rustle some feathers. I always find it interesting when an author has such issue with hell because he/she feels the penalty is just too harsh and that a loving God would never put a person in eternal torment. Of course, Jesus spoke more about hell than any other topic and the subject of hell is addressed 162 times in the New Testament alone. Jesus Himself references it 70 times or roughly half of all the times it is mentioned.
What is it exactly that causes us to bristle at the subject of hell? After all, earlier this week, the entire nation celebrated the death of Osama Bin Laden, the founder of al-Qaeda, a militant Qutbist Sunni Islamic organization responsible for the September 11 attacks on the United States and numerous other mass-casualty attacks against civilian and military targets. Americans at baseball games and basketball games cheered and chanted “U.S.A.!” “U.S.A.!” In our hearts we felt justice had been served and indeed it was against a man who was on the American Federal Bureau of Investigation's lists of Ten Most Wanted Fugitives and Most Wanted Terrorists for his involvement in bombings and other such atrocities over the years.
As a people, we never have an issue with national justice, civil justice, or personal justice but we do take issue with divine justice, don’t we? Mr. Bell is not alone in his inability to fathom a God that not only demands justice but requires it be satisfied in full. Of course, he has missed the whole message of the cross because it is there that God’s justice and mercy meet in the person of Jesus Christ. It is Jesus Himself that satisfied God’s justice on the cross so that men could be saved, “And He Himself [Jesus] is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the whole world.” (1 John 2:2)
That word “propitiation” is an interesting word as it is somewhat antiquated in today’s world. It is most often translated “substitute” but as I studied the word further, I found this Biblical definition regarding its use throughout Scripture:
“Propitiation is the means that is consistent with God’s character and government to pardon and bless the sinner. The propitiation does not procure God’s love or make Him loving; it only renders it consistent for him to exercise his love toward sinners. In Romans 3:25 and Hebrews 9:5 the word is translated “mercy-seat.” It is the Greek word hilasterion. It is the word employed by the LXX translators in Ex. 25:17 and elsewhere as the equivalent for the Hebrew word kapporeth which means “covering” and is used of the lid of the ark of the covenant (Ex. 25:21; 30:6). This Greek word (hilasterion) came to denote not only the mercy-seat or lid of the ark, but also propitiation or reconciliation by blood. On the great Day of Atonement the high priest carried the blood of the sacrifice he offered for all the people within the veil and sprinkled with it the “mercy-seat,” and so made propitiation. In 1 John 2:2; 4:10, Christ is called the “propitiation for our sins.” Here a different Greek word is used (hilasmos). Christ is “the propitiation,” because by his becoming our substitute and assuming our obligations he expiated our guilt, covered it, by the vicarious punishment which he endured.”
After reading this, the awfulness that is hell melts away in the person of Jesus Christ. Perhaps that is why He taught so much on the subject of hell – to ensure people did not go there. God’s desire as stated in 1 Timothy chapter 2 is that all men would be saved and come to the knowledge of the truth.
Unfortunately for Mr. Bell, he likes to interpret Scripture as pliable and versatile (his words) which is what causes his angst and makes him more of a philosopher than a pastor. What is even more tragic is that he causes his readers to miss the magnificence of the gospel message that Jesus Himself so clearly articulated and embodied.
Needless to say, his book has caused quite a stir similar to other his works. But then again, I suppose any book that questions the authenticity of Scripture tends to rustle some feathers. I always find it interesting when an author has such issue with hell because he/she feels the penalty is just too harsh and that a loving God would never put a person in eternal torment. Of course, Jesus spoke more about hell than any other topic and the subject of hell is addressed 162 times in the New Testament alone. Jesus Himself references it 70 times or roughly half of all the times it is mentioned.
What is it exactly that causes us to bristle at the subject of hell? After all, earlier this week, the entire nation celebrated the death of Osama Bin Laden, the founder of al-Qaeda, a militant Qutbist Sunni Islamic organization responsible for the September 11 attacks on the United States and numerous other mass-casualty attacks against civilian and military targets. Americans at baseball games and basketball games cheered and chanted “U.S.A.!” “U.S.A.!” In our hearts we felt justice had been served and indeed it was against a man who was on the American Federal Bureau of Investigation's lists of Ten Most Wanted Fugitives and Most Wanted Terrorists for his involvement in bombings and other such atrocities over the years.
As a people, we never have an issue with national justice, civil justice, or personal justice but we do take issue with divine justice, don’t we? Mr. Bell is not alone in his inability to fathom a God that not only demands justice but requires it be satisfied in full. Of course, he has missed the whole message of the cross because it is there that God’s justice and mercy meet in the person of Jesus Christ. It is Jesus Himself that satisfied God’s justice on the cross so that men could be saved, “And He Himself [Jesus] is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the whole world.” (1 John 2:2)
That word “propitiation” is an interesting word as it is somewhat antiquated in today’s world. It is most often translated “substitute” but as I studied the word further, I found this Biblical definition regarding its use throughout Scripture:
“Propitiation is the means that is consistent with God’s character and government to pardon and bless the sinner. The propitiation does not procure God’s love or make Him loving; it only renders it consistent for him to exercise his love toward sinners. In Romans 3:25 and Hebrews 9:5 the word is translated “mercy-seat.” It is the Greek word hilasterion. It is the word employed by the LXX translators in Ex. 25:17 and elsewhere as the equivalent for the Hebrew word kapporeth which means “covering” and is used of the lid of the ark of the covenant (Ex. 25:21; 30:6). This Greek word (hilasterion) came to denote not only the mercy-seat or lid of the ark, but also propitiation or reconciliation by blood. On the great Day of Atonement the high priest carried the blood of the sacrifice he offered for all the people within the veil and sprinkled with it the “mercy-seat,” and so made propitiation. In 1 John 2:2; 4:10, Christ is called the “propitiation for our sins.” Here a different Greek word is used (hilasmos). Christ is “the propitiation,” because by his becoming our substitute and assuming our obligations he expiated our guilt, covered it, by the vicarious punishment which he endured.”
After reading this, the awfulness that is hell melts away in the person of Jesus Christ. Perhaps that is why He taught so much on the subject of hell – to ensure people did not go there. God’s desire as stated in 1 Timothy chapter 2 is that all men would be saved and come to the knowledge of the truth.
Unfortunately for Mr. Bell, he likes to interpret Scripture as pliable and versatile (his words) which is what causes his angst and makes him more of a philosopher than a pastor. What is even more tragic is that he causes his readers to miss the magnificence of the gospel message that Jesus Himself so clearly articulated and embodied.
Wednesday, April 20, 2011
The Christmas Story….Completed
In just a few days we will celebrate Easter Sunday, more than 2,000 years since the first Easter Sunday was observed by the disciples and more than 500 other witnesses. It is this event, the resurrection of our Lord and Savior that is the pinnacle of the Christian faith. It is also this event that makes the birth of the Savior significant for without the resurrection His birth, life, ministry, and death are all rendered meaningless. In fact, the Apostle Paul tells us in 1 Corinthians chapter 15 that “if Christ is not risen, then our preaching is empty and your faith is also empty…we are of all men the most pitiable.”
Perhaps no truer words of the significance of the resurrection were ever spoken. Even the harshest critics of the resurrection of Christ have to admit that if He did indeed rise than death truly holds no power for those that put their faith and trust in Christ for the forgiveness of their sins. In fact, no other world religion offers a Living God. All of their gods are dead in their graves with no power to help their followers either here on earth or in the life to come.
Not too long ago I saw a television program on the rise of the Muslim religion across the world. At one point, they interviewed a Muslim man about the difference between his religion and Christianity. The man said that the two religions are very different not so much in their practice but in their belief regarding salvation. He said that Islam does not offer a personal Savior like Christianity that forgives men for their sins with no effort on their part. He said it is on this basis alone (human achievement vs. grace of God) that the two religions differ greatly. And I would also add that it is this fact that elevates the work of Christ above everyone else.
The Bible tells us the God loved us and died for us, “while we were yet sinners.” (Romans 5:8) Did you catch that? God loved us while we were sinners and at enmity toward Him. I often think that the first question I will ask God when I see Him is, “Why did you love us so much?” It is this very love that compelled him to take off His God-hood (Philippians 2:5-8) and become man in order to provide redemption for mankind – something we could not do on our own.
So, as we approach Easter Sunday and contemplate the resurrection of Jesus, let’s make it a point to share this Good News with others. I just heard the other day that there is talk of changing the name of “Easter” to something else because it is too Christian sounding. Very sad indeed, but not surprising given the state of our nation these days. But no matter the name, we as believers in the One who resurrected know its significance, so go out and proclaim it boldly, always sharing it with others in love.
Perhaps no truer words of the significance of the resurrection were ever spoken. Even the harshest critics of the resurrection of Christ have to admit that if He did indeed rise than death truly holds no power for those that put their faith and trust in Christ for the forgiveness of their sins. In fact, no other world religion offers a Living God. All of their gods are dead in their graves with no power to help their followers either here on earth or in the life to come.
Not too long ago I saw a television program on the rise of the Muslim religion across the world. At one point, they interviewed a Muslim man about the difference between his religion and Christianity. The man said that the two religions are very different not so much in their practice but in their belief regarding salvation. He said that Islam does not offer a personal Savior like Christianity that forgives men for their sins with no effort on their part. He said it is on this basis alone (human achievement vs. grace of God) that the two religions differ greatly. And I would also add that it is this fact that elevates the work of Christ above everyone else.
The Bible tells us the God loved us and died for us, “while we were yet sinners.” (Romans 5:8) Did you catch that? God loved us while we were sinners and at enmity toward Him. I often think that the first question I will ask God when I see Him is, “Why did you love us so much?” It is this very love that compelled him to take off His God-hood (Philippians 2:5-8) and become man in order to provide redemption for mankind – something we could not do on our own.
So, as we approach Easter Sunday and contemplate the resurrection of Jesus, let’s make it a point to share this Good News with others. I just heard the other day that there is talk of changing the name of “Easter” to something else because it is too Christian sounding. Very sad indeed, but not surprising given the state of our nation these days. But no matter the name, we as believers in the One who resurrected know its significance, so go out and proclaim it boldly, always sharing it with others in love.
Friday, April 8, 2011
A Different Perspective on Divorce
This past week I was reading a sermon online and came across an insightful quote on marriage from an issue of Newsweek Magazine dated June 11th, 1979. I wanted to share this quote as more than 30 years later, the sentiments still ring true as we try to deal with the rising rate of divorce not just among society at large, but also among professing Christians. The article segment is called, “My Turn,” and its author is Suzanne Britt Jordan:
“My friends after 18 years of marriage are getting a civilized divorce. I object. I think people should be upset about so serious a thing as divorce. There is a redeeming quality in the honest screech and howl that I miss in our psychoanalyzed together generation. My friend says that they are more like friends or brother and sister than husband and wife and she says the marriage has no spark and no oomph. She's very much interested in the spark business.
Perhaps I was in the kitchen slinging hash when the decree went out that marriages in the 20th century required pizzazz, romance, thrills. Perhaps I've got old fashioned notions about this once venerable but now crumbling institution. But my insides tell me that what everybody else is doing is not necessarily right, and what folks have dumped on marriage in the way of expectations, selfish interests and kinky kicks needs prompt removal before the marriage fortress is crushed by the barbarians.
Marriage is nothing more or less than a permanent promise between two consenting adults and often but not always under God, to cling to each other until death. It sounds pretty grim I know, but then we have a perfect model in our children and relatives for how marriage should be viewed. I cannot at any time send my children back to some other womb for a fresh start. I've got a few cousins and aunts and uncles, nieces and nephews with whom I might like to deny kinship but I can't, any more than I can change the color of my eyes. My parents are my parents whether I speak to them or not, in the same way the husband and wife are one flesh forever. If I divorced my husband I am in effect cutting off part of myself. I think we have forgotten the fundamental basis of marriage, a notion that has nothing to do with moonlight and roses and my own personal wishes.
Marriage is a partnership far more than a perpetual honeymoon and anybody who stays married can tell you that, it may be made in heaven but it's lived on earth. And because earth is the way it is marriage is often irritation, alliaceous, unsatisfying, boring and shaky. I myself as a human being am not always a prize. (Ha) Some days I wouldn't have me on a silver platter. But, those seekers after the perfect marriage are convinced that the spouse will display perfection, the perfect mate, despite what Cosmopolitan says, does not exist no matter how many of those tests you take.
We have all sorts of convenient excuses for not staying married these days. We are informed that marriage should be a place where we can grow, find ourselves, and be ourselves. Interestingly we cannot be entirely ourselves even with our best friends, some decorum, some courtesy, some selflessness are demanded.
As for finding myself I think I already know where I am, I'm grown up, I have responsibilities, I am in the middle of a lifelong marriage. I'm hanging in there sometimes enduring and sometimes enjoying. My original objection was primarily to the flippancy with which we say good-bye to a mediocre or a poor marriage. We are so selfish we want our fun and we want it now. We value pleasure above fidelity, loyalty, generosity, and duty. My friends might have remained married if they had stopped clutching greedily at pleasure. The spark might have returned if they had gently fanned the fire, and even if the spark never returned they might nevertheless have lived lovingly and patiently and kindly together. There are worse fates not the least of which is finding another even less satisfactory second mate.”
I was only five years old when this article was written so it was somewhat sad for me to read that people in 1979 were throwing away their marriages as carelessly as we are today. I suppose this should not surprise me given the decade that preceded the 1970’s was a watershed moment in the history of the United States as the young people of the 1960’s began to revolt against the conservative norms of the time, thereby, creating a social revolution of epic proportions. It was also during this time that Feminism began to rise and women were told that they should leave the home to pursue the workforce.
While it would be easy to blame all our economic, marital, and family issues on one generation, the depressing fact remains that we are in this predicament because as a nation we have forgotten God and really everything hinges on this decision. Once a society decides that God’s Word is no longer satisfactory in governing life than we are left to do it ourselves and that never presents us with a fair or equitable solution to life’s most pressing issues as the Psalmist so eloquently reminds us in Psalm 119:104-105, "Through Your precepts I get understanding; Therefore I hate every false way. Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path."
I hope in the coming weeks to discuss this topic in more depth. But for now, let me say there are few individuals like Ms. Jordan in any generation. I do not know whether she is or was a Christian, but many of her thoughts are in line with the Word of God when it comes to the sanctity and purpose of marriage as after all, God invented the institution even if today’s politicians pretend He didn’t. But in terms of Ms. Jordan, people of her ilk are rare; the ones that step up to the plate and say what needs to be said in the face of fierce opposition. As people that profess to know Christ as their Savior, we should be this mindful to never compromise the Bible as it is within its pages that we find the abundant life contained in the birth, ministry, death, and resurrection of our Savior. Live it proudly, speak it boldly, and always share it in love.
“My friends after 18 years of marriage are getting a civilized divorce. I object. I think people should be upset about so serious a thing as divorce. There is a redeeming quality in the honest screech and howl that I miss in our psychoanalyzed together generation. My friend says that they are more like friends or brother and sister than husband and wife and she says the marriage has no spark and no oomph. She's very much interested in the spark business.
Perhaps I was in the kitchen slinging hash when the decree went out that marriages in the 20th century required pizzazz, romance, thrills. Perhaps I've got old fashioned notions about this once venerable but now crumbling institution. But my insides tell me that what everybody else is doing is not necessarily right, and what folks have dumped on marriage in the way of expectations, selfish interests and kinky kicks needs prompt removal before the marriage fortress is crushed by the barbarians.
Marriage is nothing more or less than a permanent promise between two consenting adults and often but not always under God, to cling to each other until death. It sounds pretty grim I know, but then we have a perfect model in our children and relatives for how marriage should be viewed. I cannot at any time send my children back to some other womb for a fresh start. I've got a few cousins and aunts and uncles, nieces and nephews with whom I might like to deny kinship but I can't, any more than I can change the color of my eyes. My parents are my parents whether I speak to them or not, in the same way the husband and wife are one flesh forever. If I divorced my husband I am in effect cutting off part of myself. I think we have forgotten the fundamental basis of marriage, a notion that has nothing to do with moonlight and roses and my own personal wishes.
Marriage is a partnership far more than a perpetual honeymoon and anybody who stays married can tell you that, it may be made in heaven but it's lived on earth. And because earth is the way it is marriage is often irritation, alliaceous, unsatisfying, boring and shaky. I myself as a human being am not always a prize. (Ha) Some days I wouldn't have me on a silver platter. But, those seekers after the perfect marriage are convinced that the spouse will display perfection, the perfect mate, despite what Cosmopolitan says, does not exist no matter how many of those tests you take.
We have all sorts of convenient excuses for not staying married these days. We are informed that marriage should be a place where we can grow, find ourselves, and be ourselves. Interestingly we cannot be entirely ourselves even with our best friends, some decorum, some courtesy, some selflessness are demanded.
As for finding myself I think I already know where I am, I'm grown up, I have responsibilities, I am in the middle of a lifelong marriage. I'm hanging in there sometimes enduring and sometimes enjoying. My original objection was primarily to the flippancy with which we say good-bye to a mediocre or a poor marriage. We are so selfish we want our fun and we want it now. We value pleasure above fidelity, loyalty, generosity, and duty. My friends might have remained married if they had stopped clutching greedily at pleasure. The spark might have returned if they had gently fanned the fire, and even if the spark never returned they might nevertheless have lived lovingly and patiently and kindly together. There are worse fates not the least of which is finding another even less satisfactory second mate.”
I was only five years old when this article was written so it was somewhat sad for me to read that people in 1979 were throwing away their marriages as carelessly as we are today. I suppose this should not surprise me given the decade that preceded the 1970’s was a watershed moment in the history of the United States as the young people of the 1960’s began to revolt against the conservative norms of the time, thereby, creating a social revolution of epic proportions. It was also during this time that Feminism began to rise and women were told that they should leave the home to pursue the workforce.
While it would be easy to blame all our economic, marital, and family issues on one generation, the depressing fact remains that we are in this predicament because as a nation we have forgotten God and really everything hinges on this decision. Once a society decides that God’s Word is no longer satisfactory in governing life than we are left to do it ourselves and that never presents us with a fair or equitable solution to life’s most pressing issues as the Psalmist so eloquently reminds us in Psalm 119:104-105, "Through Your precepts I get understanding; Therefore I hate every false way. Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path."
I hope in the coming weeks to discuss this topic in more depth. But for now, let me say there are few individuals like Ms. Jordan in any generation. I do not know whether she is or was a Christian, but many of her thoughts are in line with the Word of God when it comes to the sanctity and purpose of marriage as after all, God invented the institution even if today’s politicians pretend He didn’t. But in terms of Ms. Jordan, people of her ilk are rare; the ones that step up to the plate and say what needs to be said in the face of fierce opposition. As people that profess to know Christ as their Savior, we should be this mindful to never compromise the Bible as it is within its pages that we find the abundant life contained in the birth, ministry, death, and resurrection of our Savior. Live it proudly, speak it boldly, and always share it in love.
Friday, March 25, 2011
The Heart of the Issue
The NFL has been in the midst of a labor dispute for months now. Just a couple of weeks ago, the owners locked out the players and the players union decertified in an effort to get a judge to overrule the lockout next month. The media has been covering both sides of this debate ad nauseam since the football season ended in early February. What I wanted to focus on though is the larger implications of this dispute from a Biblical perspective.
As I read the quotes from the owners and the players, I keep seeing the same phrase repeatedly over and over again, “This is a business.” This phrase usually comes on the heels of an owner or player asserting their case and then trying to apologize for sounding like a kid in a candy store by quicklly declaring, “this is just part of the business” as if that magic phrase makes their "me first" diatribe acceptable. What they are really saying is, “I want what is mine.” And this really is the heart of the issue as the heart of the matter is always the heart.
Jesus said all the issues of life spring up from the heart. Jeremiah 17:9 tell us, “The heart is deceitful above all things, And desperately wicked; Who can know it?” The NFL labor situation is really just a microcosm of society. That is why people are always so quick to want to take sides. You have some people who look at the owners as filthy billionaires who are trying to cheat the players out of their money and then you have the other group of people who say the players should just keep quiet and be thankful that they make millions of dollars to play football.
God has something much different to say on the subject. He tells us to not put our trust in riches of this world for “riches certainly make themselves wings; They fly away like an eagle toward heaven” (Proverbs 23:5).
For many years I worked in corporate America and was shocked and often saddened to see the type of deceit and cruel behavior that took place as companies scrambled to get their piece of the pie. What they failed to understand then and now is that the pie is not reality. The pie will be gone one day as we all stand before God and give an account for our lives. Only one thing will matter on that day, did we put our faith and trust in Jesus for the forgiveness of our sins. For those of us that have already trusted the Lord, the Bible tells us that our works will be tried by fire and we will be rewarded or lose reward accordingly (1 Corinthians 3:11-15).
I have also found in my own life that the riches of this world really do not bring the happiness and contentment that people expect. Just listen to some of the wealthiest people of their day:
- "The care of $200 million is enough to kill everyone. There is no pleasure in it." - W.H. Vanderbilt
- "I am the most miserable man on earth." - John Jacob Astor
- "I have made many millions, but they have brought me no happiness." - John D. Rockefeller
- "Millionaries seldom smile." - Andrew Carnegie
- "I was happier doing a mechanic's job." - Henry Ford
When our Savior preached the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew chapter 5 many thought He was insane. The selfless principles he outlined that pictured the kingdom of God were too difficult for many to comprehend. It is easy to see why upon hearing this sermon, His listeners were shocked. Jesus begins each point by naming a group of people normally thought to be unblessed or unblessable and pronounces them blessed because of the presence and availability of the abundant life in God's kingdom to everyone, everywhere, regardless of status, circumstances, or condition.
In other words, Jesus’ sermon was the antithesis of the culture 2,000 years ago. Not much has changed today. I recently read how the market has been flooded with New England Patriot championship rings from the early part of this decade when the team won three championships in four years. Apparently, the hard economic times has forced many players to sell their rings to pawn shops for ten percent of what the ring is actually worth.
Jesus is offering something much more valuable today than a championship ring or an executive promotion or a new house. He is offering Himself and within that offer comes the abundant life. For you see the abundant life that everyone is pursuing on Wall Street and within corporate America and on the sports field is a mirage. It offers nothing lasting, nothing of eternal value in this life or the next. The true abundant life exists within the life, ministry, crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus Christ. It is here at the cross of Calvary that you find what you have been looking for – unconditional love, forgiveness, and self-worth. It is Jesus Christ who is the key to all that fulfills and truly satisfies. If you do not know Him, I pray you come to know the Savior today, Romans 10:9-10.
As I read the quotes from the owners and the players, I keep seeing the same phrase repeatedly over and over again, “This is a business.” This phrase usually comes on the heels of an owner or player asserting their case and then trying to apologize for sounding like a kid in a candy store by quicklly declaring, “this is just part of the business” as if that magic phrase makes their "me first" diatribe acceptable. What they are really saying is, “I want what is mine.” And this really is the heart of the issue as the heart of the matter is always the heart.
Jesus said all the issues of life spring up from the heart. Jeremiah 17:9 tell us, “The heart is deceitful above all things, And desperately wicked; Who can know it?” The NFL labor situation is really just a microcosm of society. That is why people are always so quick to want to take sides. You have some people who look at the owners as filthy billionaires who are trying to cheat the players out of their money and then you have the other group of people who say the players should just keep quiet and be thankful that they make millions of dollars to play football.
God has something much different to say on the subject. He tells us to not put our trust in riches of this world for “riches certainly make themselves wings; They fly away like an eagle toward heaven” (Proverbs 23:5).
For many years I worked in corporate America and was shocked and often saddened to see the type of deceit and cruel behavior that took place as companies scrambled to get their piece of the pie. What they failed to understand then and now is that the pie is not reality. The pie will be gone one day as we all stand before God and give an account for our lives. Only one thing will matter on that day, did we put our faith and trust in Jesus for the forgiveness of our sins. For those of us that have already trusted the Lord, the Bible tells us that our works will be tried by fire and we will be rewarded or lose reward accordingly (1 Corinthians 3:11-15).
I have also found in my own life that the riches of this world really do not bring the happiness and contentment that people expect. Just listen to some of the wealthiest people of their day:
- "The care of $200 million is enough to kill everyone. There is no pleasure in it." - W.H. Vanderbilt
- "I am the most miserable man on earth." - John Jacob Astor
- "I have made many millions, but they have brought me no happiness." - John D. Rockefeller
- "Millionaries seldom smile." - Andrew Carnegie
- "I was happier doing a mechanic's job." - Henry Ford
When our Savior preached the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew chapter 5 many thought He was insane. The selfless principles he outlined that pictured the kingdom of God were too difficult for many to comprehend. It is easy to see why upon hearing this sermon, His listeners were shocked. Jesus begins each point by naming a group of people normally thought to be unblessed or unblessable and pronounces them blessed because of the presence and availability of the abundant life in God's kingdom to everyone, everywhere, regardless of status, circumstances, or condition.
In other words, Jesus’ sermon was the antithesis of the culture 2,000 years ago. Not much has changed today. I recently read how the market has been flooded with New England Patriot championship rings from the early part of this decade when the team won three championships in four years. Apparently, the hard economic times has forced many players to sell their rings to pawn shops for ten percent of what the ring is actually worth.
Jesus is offering something much more valuable today than a championship ring or an executive promotion or a new house. He is offering Himself and within that offer comes the abundant life. For you see the abundant life that everyone is pursuing on Wall Street and within corporate America and on the sports field is a mirage. It offers nothing lasting, nothing of eternal value in this life or the next. The true abundant life exists within the life, ministry, crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus Christ. It is here at the cross of Calvary that you find what you have been looking for – unconditional love, forgiveness, and self-worth. It is Jesus Christ who is the key to all that fulfills and truly satisfies. If you do not know Him, I pray you come to know the Savior today, Romans 10:9-10.
Sunday, March 13, 2011
The Poor Rich Church
This past week I had spent some time contemplating suffering and its purpose. While the Scripture discusses at length why believers suffer and also speaks of suffering as part of God’s will, I found myself drawn to the Book of Revelation chapter two and the little church of Smyrna. If you not familiar with this church, you may recall that the second and third chapters of Revelation include the seven letters to the seven churches of Asia Minor. Smyrna is the second church that is mentioned and the following passage is all we know of this church and its relationship to the Lord:
“And to the angel, or the messenger, from the church in Smyrna write: the First and the Last who was dead and has come to life says this: I know your tribulation and your poverty but you are rich and the blasphemy by those who say they are Jews and are not but are a synagogue of Satan, do not fear what you are about to suffer. Behold, the devil is about to cast some of you into prison that you may be tested and you will have tribulation ten days. Be faithful until death and I will give you the crown of life. He who has an ear let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches, he who overcomes shall not be hurt by the second death.”
Only four sentences, but yet so deep in spiritual truth and application. It is important to remember that Smyrna, like the other six churches, is a literal place and these letters were given by the Lord Jesus Christ through the pen of the Apostle John on the isle of Patmos about 96 A.D. We can gather that life for this little church was dangerous for a number of reasons, not the least of which was if you failed to acknowledge Caesar as Lord, you could lose your life. They were also surrounded by pagan worship of many different kinds. But their main source of suffering came from the Jews who were persecuting them for their faith. Jesus actually calls these Jews, “the synagogue of Satan.” Pretty powerful statement. These Jews were persecuting the Christians much the same way the Apostle Paul was before his conversion on the Damascus road.
According to John MacArthur, the Jews had many reasons to inflict punishment on the Christians, “they slandered them for cannibalism, saying they eat flesh and drink blood. They slandered them for lust and immorality because they greeted one another with a holy kiss and held love feasts. They slandered them for home wrecking because one member of a home became a Christian and it brought a sword into the household. They slandered them for atheism because they rejected the worship of emperors and the deities of Rome. They slandered them for rebellion and political disloyalty because they said this is tantamount to mutiny. And the Jews wanting to destroy Christian faith went to the Romans to report the Christians, that they might lose their lives.”
So here you have this picture of a church that is being attacked from all sides by the government and the religious groups around them but the Lord has such precious words for them, doesn’t He? He tells them that He knows them. He knows them! And he sees their tribulation and although they are poor and have been ravaged by these Jewish persecutors, he calls them rich. Why? Because they are so rich spiritually. They have not lost their first love like the church at Ephesus; they are not lukewarm like the Laodiceans. They are the poor rich church because they have what is most important – a right relationship to Christ in the midst of such intense suffering. They had holiness, they had love, they had unity, they had peace and most of all they had a sympathetic Savior telling them that He has seen their suffering and their response and He is ready to reward them with the crown of life.
So what does he tell them after all this? They will suffer more. My first reaction after reading this is why? Haven’t they suffered enough? But Satan is always trying to destroy saving faith. And God is always proving to him and to us that saving faith cannot be destroyed. For whatever reason as a race of people, we seem to listen best and trust the most when we are suffering. I think God often says you will suffer so you can see the power of the One that you have trusted in.
This begs the question, are we overcomers? What is our response to suffering? What is our true relationship to our Lord and Savior? The answers to these questions have eternal consequences.
“And to the angel, or the messenger, from the church in Smyrna write: the First and the Last who was dead and has come to life says this: I know your tribulation and your poverty but you are rich and the blasphemy by those who say they are Jews and are not but are a synagogue of Satan, do not fear what you are about to suffer. Behold, the devil is about to cast some of you into prison that you may be tested and you will have tribulation ten days. Be faithful until death and I will give you the crown of life. He who has an ear let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches, he who overcomes shall not be hurt by the second death.”
Only four sentences, but yet so deep in spiritual truth and application. It is important to remember that Smyrna, like the other six churches, is a literal place and these letters were given by the Lord Jesus Christ through the pen of the Apostle John on the isle of Patmos about 96 A.D. We can gather that life for this little church was dangerous for a number of reasons, not the least of which was if you failed to acknowledge Caesar as Lord, you could lose your life. They were also surrounded by pagan worship of many different kinds. But their main source of suffering came from the Jews who were persecuting them for their faith. Jesus actually calls these Jews, “the synagogue of Satan.” Pretty powerful statement. These Jews were persecuting the Christians much the same way the Apostle Paul was before his conversion on the Damascus road.
According to John MacArthur, the Jews had many reasons to inflict punishment on the Christians, “they slandered them for cannibalism, saying they eat flesh and drink blood. They slandered them for lust and immorality because they greeted one another with a holy kiss and held love feasts. They slandered them for home wrecking because one member of a home became a Christian and it brought a sword into the household. They slandered them for atheism because they rejected the worship of emperors and the deities of Rome. They slandered them for rebellion and political disloyalty because they said this is tantamount to mutiny. And the Jews wanting to destroy Christian faith went to the Romans to report the Christians, that they might lose their lives.”
So here you have this picture of a church that is being attacked from all sides by the government and the religious groups around them but the Lord has such precious words for them, doesn’t He? He tells them that He knows them. He knows them! And he sees their tribulation and although they are poor and have been ravaged by these Jewish persecutors, he calls them rich. Why? Because they are so rich spiritually. They have not lost their first love like the church at Ephesus; they are not lukewarm like the Laodiceans. They are the poor rich church because they have what is most important – a right relationship to Christ in the midst of such intense suffering. They had holiness, they had love, they had unity, they had peace and most of all they had a sympathetic Savior telling them that He has seen their suffering and their response and He is ready to reward them with the crown of life.
So what does he tell them after all this? They will suffer more. My first reaction after reading this is why? Haven’t they suffered enough? But Satan is always trying to destroy saving faith. And God is always proving to him and to us that saving faith cannot be destroyed. For whatever reason as a race of people, we seem to listen best and trust the most when we are suffering. I think God often says you will suffer so you can see the power of the One that you have trusted in.
This begs the question, are we overcomers? What is our response to suffering? What is our true relationship to our Lord and Savior? The answers to these questions have eternal consequences.
Friday, March 4, 2011
The Safety of the Faithful
This past week I have been studying Psalm 4. It was written by David and it speaks of the reality of finding such peace in God’s presence that even when torn by physical and emotional pain, a person may still have restful sleep.
As I pondered this concept, I was reminded of a statement that Kay Arthur wrote in one of her books that dealt with the topic of why Christians suffer. She had said that Christians would do well to have the word “eternity” stamped on the inside of their eyelids in order to keep the proper perspective of life and all of its trials and tribulations. In reading Psalm 4, David sees past the temporal, past his enemies, past those that love only the good the world has to offer, and he rests in His God who makes him dwell in safety. What a marvelous spiritual truth to allow to captivate our lives and thoughts.
It is also worth pointing out that throughout the Psalm David repeatedly refers to the righteousness and holiness of God. In verse 3 he states, “But know that the Lord has set apart for Himself him who is godly; The Lord will hear when I call to Him.” Many people call out to God for help, especially during difficult trials but notice that God hears those that are righteousness. This calls to mind James 5:16, “The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much.”
God hears those that have made a decision to follow Him and forsake sin. And this really gets to the heart of the issue. God is first and foremost concerned with our sin not our circumstances. On the cross, Jesus defeated sin and its power to have dominion in our lives. God expects His people before they even call out to Him, to be leading lives separate from the world. This does not mean we are perfect by any means, but as John MacArthur likes to say, “It is the direction of our lives not the perfection.” If our lives show a pattern of worldliness in thought, deed, and action than how can God work His goodness and blessing into our lives?
David was able to pillow his head at night and say, “I will both lie down in peace, and sleep; For You alone, O Lord, make me dwell in safety” because in his life he was “offering sacrifices of righteousness to the Lord.” In fact, it was David in Psalm 51 who said about God, “For You do not desire sacrifice, or else I would give it; You do not delight in burnt offering. The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit, A broken and a contrite heart - These, O God, You will not despise.”
I think often as Christians, we can come to God with our requests and expect Him to fulfill them based on our terms. I try to remind myself that every time when I begin to pray to first confess sin and asked to be cleansed because if we are not seeking to be holy first than all else really does not matter. We serve a holy and just God who tells us in Matthew 5:48 that He is perfect and His desire is for His people to be perfect.
God wants us saved, sanctified, and filled with His Spirit. The circumstances of life are a distant second to this objective. This is not to say that God is not interested in our day-to-day lives and struggles. On the contrary, He tells us to bring our requests to Him, but if we are not seeking to become like Him than why would we expect Him to hear us?
"For to be carnally minded is death, but to be spiritually minded is life and peace." (Romans 8:6)
As I pondered this concept, I was reminded of a statement that Kay Arthur wrote in one of her books that dealt with the topic of why Christians suffer. She had said that Christians would do well to have the word “eternity” stamped on the inside of their eyelids in order to keep the proper perspective of life and all of its trials and tribulations. In reading Psalm 4, David sees past the temporal, past his enemies, past those that love only the good the world has to offer, and he rests in His God who makes him dwell in safety. What a marvelous spiritual truth to allow to captivate our lives and thoughts.
It is also worth pointing out that throughout the Psalm David repeatedly refers to the righteousness and holiness of God. In verse 3 he states, “But know that the Lord has set apart for Himself him who is godly; The Lord will hear when I call to Him.” Many people call out to God for help, especially during difficult trials but notice that God hears those that are righteousness. This calls to mind James 5:16, “The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much.”
God hears those that have made a decision to follow Him and forsake sin. And this really gets to the heart of the issue. God is first and foremost concerned with our sin not our circumstances. On the cross, Jesus defeated sin and its power to have dominion in our lives. God expects His people before they even call out to Him, to be leading lives separate from the world. This does not mean we are perfect by any means, but as John MacArthur likes to say, “It is the direction of our lives not the perfection.” If our lives show a pattern of worldliness in thought, deed, and action than how can God work His goodness and blessing into our lives?
David was able to pillow his head at night and say, “I will both lie down in peace, and sleep; For You alone, O Lord, make me dwell in safety” because in his life he was “offering sacrifices of righteousness to the Lord.” In fact, it was David in Psalm 51 who said about God, “For You do not desire sacrifice, or else I would give it; You do not delight in burnt offering. The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit, A broken and a contrite heart - These, O God, You will not despise.”
I think often as Christians, we can come to God with our requests and expect Him to fulfill them based on our terms. I try to remind myself that every time when I begin to pray to first confess sin and asked to be cleansed because if we are not seeking to be holy first than all else really does not matter. We serve a holy and just God who tells us in Matthew 5:48 that He is perfect and His desire is for His people to be perfect.
God wants us saved, sanctified, and filled with His Spirit. The circumstances of life are a distant second to this objective. This is not to say that God is not interested in our day-to-day lives and struggles. On the contrary, He tells us to bring our requests to Him, but if we are not seeking to become like Him than why would we expect Him to hear us?
"For to be carnally minded is death, but to be spiritually minded is life and peace." (Romans 8:6)
Friday, February 18, 2011
Christianity Characterized in a Word
During this past week I have been studying Biblical love. Most people know 1 John 4:8 “God is love” and the fact that Jesus commanded us to love our enemies. In addition, many people are familiar with portions of 1 Corinthians chapter 13, also known as the great love chapter of the Bible, as it is often quoted during marriage ceremonies.
But what does Biblical love look like in action?
I believe one of the best examples in Scripture that pictures the type of love Jesus has for His children is found in the life of the Disciple John. He is referred to as the disciple Jesus loved and it is said of him that he loved Jesus. This of course begs the question - did the other disciples not love Jesus? Or did John simply love him more?
According to John MacArthur, when we read John’s gospel account, “we enter into the most sacred holy place of all, the holy of holies and we see God in person, God in flesh. And so the fourth gospel is the gospel of all gospels. It is the holy of holies of the New Testament. It is almost as if we ought to take off our shoes for we stand on holy ground as we approach this gospel because it presents in the most magnificent glory the deity of Jesus Christ. It talks about His humanity, it talks about His servant hood, it talks about His kingship, but it presents primarily His deity. It is behold your God that John is trying to get across.”
It would seem based on John’s writings that he had an intimate knowledge of Jesus unlike anyone else. Of course, John was the only disciple at the cross. Even Peter who when told that Jesus would suffer many things and be killed, bolded declared, “Far be it from You, Lord; this shall not happen to You!” (Matthew 16:22) We also remember that when the Lord was carrying His cross to Calvary, Peter was busy denying Him three times.
But John was there, wasn’t he? He was at the cross as Jesus told him to take care of His mother. John, unlike the other disciples, was not fearful of losing his life or ashamed to be associated with Jesus because he loved him. Because he LOVED Him. Love compelled John to follow the Savior anywhere – even to the cross. And as a result of this great love, when John was isolated on the island of Patmos for his faith, cut off from civilization on that small, deserted island. Shut off from everyone. He was shut up to God and there received the most extensive revelation of future events ever shown to any writer in the New Testament.
Unfortunately in today’s word, love is associated with a feeling or an emotion. The Greek language, which is the language of the New Testament, uses two different words to describe and define love. The most commonly used Greek word translated “love” in the New Testament is “agape.” This love is represented by God's love for us. It is a non-partial, sacrificial love probably best exemplified by God's provision for our rebellion as found, by no coincidence, in the Gospel of John chapter three, verse 16, “For God so loved (agape) the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish, but have eternal life.”
In contrast, our love is usually conditional and based upon how other people behave toward us. The Greek word “phileo” defines this kind of love, often translated “brotherly love.” Phileo is an emotional kind of love. It is something that can be experienced by both believers and non-believers. This is in contrast to agape, which is love extended through the Holy Spirit and requires a relationship with God through Jesus Christ. This kind of love gives and sacrifices expecting nothing back in return.
As we walk with the Lord and become conformed to His image, agape love should be apparent in our life. It is this type of love that makes the world sit up and take notice because it is only possessed by believers. It is agape love in action that magnifies the message of the gospel for it is the very center of it – God loving us while we were yet sinners! It is a statement we should never get over. It is a love we should never get over. And it should compel us to follow the Savior, as it did John, all the way to the cross.
"Every Christian would agree that a man's spiritual health is exactly proportional to his love for God." - C. S. Lewis
But what does Biblical love look like in action?
I believe one of the best examples in Scripture that pictures the type of love Jesus has for His children is found in the life of the Disciple John. He is referred to as the disciple Jesus loved and it is said of him that he loved Jesus. This of course begs the question - did the other disciples not love Jesus? Or did John simply love him more?
According to John MacArthur, when we read John’s gospel account, “we enter into the most sacred holy place of all, the holy of holies and we see God in person, God in flesh. And so the fourth gospel is the gospel of all gospels. It is the holy of holies of the New Testament. It is almost as if we ought to take off our shoes for we stand on holy ground as we approach this gospel because it presents in the most magnificent glory the deity of Jesus Christ. It talks about His humanity, it talks about His servant hood, it talks about His kingship, but it presents primarily His deity. It is behold your God that John is trying to get across.”
It would seem based on John’s writings that he had an intimate knowledge of Jesus unlike anyone else. Of course, John was the only disciple at the cross. Even Peter who when told that Jesus would suffer many things and be killed, bolded declared, “Far be it from You, Lord; this shall not happen to You!” (Matthew 16:22) We also remember that when the Lord was carrying His cross to Calvary, Peter was busy denying Him three times.
But John was there, wasn’t he? He was at the cross as Jesus told him to take care of His mother. John, unlike the other disciples, was not fearful of losing his life or ashamed to be associated with Jesus because he loved him. Because he LOVED Him. Love compelled John to follow the Savior anywhere – even to the cross. And as a result of this great love, when John was isolated on the island of Patmos for his faith, cut off from civilization on that small, deserted island. Shut off from everyone. He was shut up to God and there received the most extensive revelation of future events ever shown to any writer in the New Testament.
Unfortunately in today’s word, love is associated with a feeling or an emotion. The Greek language, which is the language of the New Testament, uses two different words to describe and define love. The most commonly used Greek word translated “love” in the New Testament is “agape.” This love is represented by God's love for us. It is a non-partial, sacrificial love probably best exemplified by God's provision for our rebellion as found, by no coincidence, in the Gospel of John chapter three, verse 16, “For God so loved (agape) the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish, but have eternal life.”
In contrast, our love is usually conditional and based upon how other people behave toward us. The Greek word “phileo” defines this kind of love, often translated “brotherly love.” Phileo is an emotional kind of love. It is something that can be experienced by both believers and non-believers. This is in contrast to agape, which is love extended through the Holy Spirit and requires a relationship with God through Jesus Christ. This kind of love gives and sacrifices expecting nothing back in return.
As we walk with the Lord and become conformed to His image, agape love should be apparent in our life. It is this type of love that makes the world sit up and take notice because it is only possessed by believers. It is agape love in action that magnifies the message of the gospel for it is the very center of it – God loving us while we were yet sinners! It is a statement we should never get over. It is a love we should never get over. And it should compel us to follow the Savior, as it did John, all the way to the cross.
"Every Christian would agree that a man's spiritual health is exactly proportional to his love for God." - C. S. Lewis
Friday, February 11, 2011
The Marriage/Jesus Relationship
Last week I had written a blog about humility as the Lord has been teaching me quite a bit on this subject recently. In fact, just the other day I heard John MacArthur say on the radio that the only people that are able to forgive are humble people. This statement could not be any truer. Forgiveness is impossible if a heart is full of pride. Actually, I would go as far as to say that it is impossible to please God in our daily walk if humility does not permeate our lives and attitude.
With that being said, David Jeremiah has been preaching a series of messages on the Book Song of Solomon. His main theme is marriage, love, and sex as you might suspect if you have ever read the Song of Solomon.
As a quick overview, Song of Solomon has two primary characters or narrators. There is a woman called the Shulamite and a man who is King Solomon. It is a poem that moves the reader from the couple’s courtship to marriage to consummation. Its imagery is powerful and its lyrical content is beautiful.
While there are many wonderful spiritual jewels contained in this short book on marriage and love, I wanted to focus on the one thing that I think makes a marriage all that it is intended to be from God’s point of view. This critical aspect is the relationship of the wife and husband to Jesus Christ. I realize this may seem elementary but as I look at my own marriage, I have come to realize over the years that the most important facet to my overall happiness and contentment is based upon my relationship to the Lord and my husband’s relationship to the Lord. For you see if either my relationship or my husband’s relationship with the Lord is not where it should be then we will not treat each other as the Lord has intended and the Lord says our prayers will be hindered as a result (1 Peter 3:7).
As I mentioned previously, humility is the foundation for all other virtues to flourish in the life of the believer and this is also true in marriage and all of life’s relationships. It is so easy to be offended, isn’t it? Whether it is our spouse, our kids, a co-worker, or a friend. I have found in my own walk that the closer I am to the Lord, the less offenses bother me and the more I am able to focus on the things that the Lord says are most important – loving Him with my heart, mind, and soul and loving my neighbor as myself. It is within the servant’s attitude that we find the abundant life, but so often it is hard to not put ourselves first in everything.
Marriage by nature puts us into subjection to another person as 1 Corinthians 7:4 states, “The wife does not have authority over her own body, but the husband does. And likewise the husband does not have authority over his own body, but the wife does.” Pretty powerful text. But if we are to truly live it then we need to be at the cross daily, realizing who we are before Christ. Otherwise our marriage will begin to come apart at the seams.
It is staggering to think that we have such power when it comes to our spouses but we do. We can either use that inherit power to build them up or tear them down. On this note, a couple of years ago, I heard a speaker at a marriage conference say that God has given us our spouses in order to mold us into the image of His Son. He said this in reference to all the annoying things that we dislike about our spouses that we wish they would change. While the audience chuckled, his point was valid in that the Lord always has the same purpose for us in life as His children and that is to bring us into greater conformity to His Son. What better person to use to accomplish this task than our spouse whom we live with and interact with every day?
My hope and prayer is that my own testimony before the Lord would be an encouragement to my husband in His walk and vice versa. Please feel free to comment to let me know how the Lord is shaping you into a picture of His Son in your relationships.
With that being said, David Jeremiah has been preaching a series of messages on the Book Song of Solomon. His main theme is marriage, love, and sex as you might suspect if you have ever read the Song of Solomon.
As a quick overview, Song of Solomon has two primary characters or narrators. There is a woman called the Shulamite and a man who is King Solomon. It is a poem that moves the reader from the couple’s courtship to marriage to consummation. Its imagery is powerful and its lyrical content is beautiful.
While there are many wonderful spiritual jewels contained in this short book on marriage and love, I wanted to focus on the one thing that I think makes a marriage all that it is intended to be from God’s point of view. This critical aspect is the relationship of the wife and husband to Jesus Christ. I realize this may seem elementary but as I look at my own marriage, I have come to realize over the years that the most important facet to my overall happiness and contentment is based upon my relationship to the Lord and my husband’s relationship to the Lord. For you see if either my relationship or my husband’s relationship with the Lord is not where it should be then we will not treat each other as the Lord has intended and the Lord says our prayers will be hindered as a result (1 Peter 3:7).
As I mentioned previously, humility is the foundation for all other virtues to flourish in the life of the believer and this is also true in marriage and all of life’s relationships. It is so easy to be offended, isn’t it? Whether it is our spouse, our kids, a co-worker, or a friend. I have found in my own walk that the closer I am to the Lord, the less offenses bother me and the more I am able to focus on the things that the Lord says are most important – loving Him with my heart, mind, and soul and loving my neighbor as myself. It is within the servant’s attitude that we find the abundant life, but so often it is hard to not put ourselves first in everything.
Marriage by nature puts us into subjection to another person as 1 Corinthians 7:4 states, “The wife does not have authority over her own body, but the husband does. And likewise the husband does not have authority over his own body, but the wife does.” Pretty powerful text. But if we are to truly live it then we need to be at the cross daily, realizing who we are before Christ. Otherwise our marriage will begin to come apart at the seams.
It is staggering to think that we have such power when it comes to our spouses but we do. We can either use that inherit power to build them up or tear them down. On this note, a couple of years ago, I heard a speaker at a marriage conference say that God has given us our spouses in order to mold us into the image of His Son. He said this in reference to all the annoying things that we dislike about our spouses that we wish they would change. While the audience chuckled, his point was valid in that the Lord always has the same purpose for us in life as His children and that is to bring us into greater conformity to His Son. What better person to use to accomplish this task than our spouse whom we live with and interact with every day?
My hope and prayer is that my own testimony before the Lord would be an encouragement to my husband in His walk and vice versa. Please feel free to comment to let me know how the Lord is shaping you into a picture of His Son in your relationships.
Wednesday, February 2, 2011
Humility 101
I hope this blog post finds everyone well. I have not been able to update my blog in a few weeks due to a bad case of the flu which has run rampant through my family. I can’t remember the last time I was that sick but I am on the mend now and happy to be back writing.
Over the past several weeks, the Lord has been teaching me much about humility and harmony. I read a book by Andrew Murray called Humility: The Beauty of Holiness that was a little gem. In it Murray explains that the one characteristic that dominated the life of Christ was humility. He goes on to say that humility is the foundation for all other virtues to flourish in the life of the believer. This makes sense when you think about the insidious nature of pride and how it can ruin a life.
As I thought about humility and all that it encompasses, I came quickly to realize that there may be no harder lesson to learn or virtue to possess than humility. Ben Franklin, who spent most of his life exploring the role of civic and personal virtue, had this to say about humility, “In reality, there is, perhaps, no one of our natural passions so hard to subdue as pride. Disguise it, struggle with it, beat it down, stifle it, mortify it as much as one pleases, it is still alive, and will every now and then peep out and show itself; you will see it, perhaps, often in this history; for, even if I could conceive that I had completely overcome it, I should probably be proud of my humility.”
So, how does one actually attain humility? It certainly cannot be found in text books or within the walls of our most learned institutions. It can only be found in the schools of Christ. It is only as we allow ourselves to be captivated at the foot of the cross and realize who we are before Christ that the seeds of humility are firmly planted. For you see humility does not consist of thinking meanly of ourselves as some believe, but in not thinking of ourselves at all. If humility speaks of itself, it is gone.
It was this aspect of not thinking of Himself at all that enabled Christ to fulfill his earthly mission. He was completely and totally satisfied with the Father and as a result was completely obedient all the way to the cross.
Once we are able to subtract ourselves out of the equation than we become vessels perfectly suited for the Mater’s work. This is not easy and I do not pretend that it is. I need not look any further than my own life to realize how much pride creeps at the door of my heart almost constantly. It takes much discipline to bring myself to the cross not just daily but many times daily to be cleansed and fitted for God’s purpose.
As with any virtue we seek to see demonstrated in our lives, we must feed on the Word of God in order to see it manifested. The Word is the life blood of the soul and the fuel to conquer sin, the world, the devil, and our own flesh. If you have some time this week, read Psalm 119. It is referred to in Hebrew by its opening words, "Ashrei temimei derech" ("happy are those whose way is perfect"). It is the prayer of one who delights in and lives by the Word of God, the sacred law. What makes Psalm 119 unique is the way that these requests are continually and explicitly grounded in the gift of the Law and the psalmist's loyalty to it.
I hope to continue to write more blogs on the subject of humility in the coming weeks as the Lord leads. Until then, God Bless and please feel free to comment and let me know what God is teaching you.
Over the past several weeks, the Lord has been teaching me much about humility and harmony. I read a book by Andrew Murray called Humility: The Beauty of Holiness that was a little gem. In it Murray explains that the one characteristic that dominated the life of Christ was humility. He goes on to say that humility is the foundation for all other virtues to flourish in the life of the believer. This makes sense when you think about the insidious nature of pride and how it can ruin a life.
As I thought about humility and all that it encompasses, I came quickly to realize that there may be no harder lesson to learn or virtue to possess than humility. Ben Franklin, who spent most of his life exploring the role of civic and personal virtue, had this to say about humility, “In reality, there is, perhaps, no one of our natural passions so hard to subdue as pride. Disguise it, struggle with it, beat it down, stifle it, mortify it as much as one pleases, it is still alive, and will every now and then peep out and show itself; you will see it, perhaps, often in this history; for, even if I could conceive that I had completely overcome it, I should probably be proud of my humility.”
So, how does one actually attain humility? It certainly cannot be found in text books or within the walls of our most learned institutions. It can only be found in the schools of Christ. It is only as we allow ourselves to be captivated at the foot of the cross and realize who we are before Christ that the seeds of humility are firmly planted. For you see humility does not consist of thinking meanly of ourselves as some believe, but in not thinking of ourselves at all. If humility speaks of itself, it is gone.
It was this aspect of not thinking of Himself at all that enabled Christ to fulfill his earthly mission. He was completely and totally satisfied with the Father and as a result was completely obedient all the way to the cross.
Once we are able to subtract ourselves out of the equation than we become vessels perfectly suited for the Mater’s work. This is not easy and I do not pretend that it is. I need not look any further than my own life to realize how much pride creeps at the door of my heart almost constantly. It takes much discipline to bring myself to the cross not just daily but many times daily to be cleansed and fitted for God’s purpose.
As with any virtue we seek to see demonstrated in our lives, we must feed on the Word of God in order to see it manifested. The Word is the life blood of the soul and the fuel to conquer sin, the world, the devil, and our own flesh. If you have some time this week, read Psalm 119. It is referred to in Hebrew by its opening words, "Ashrei temimei derech" ("happy are those whose way is perfect"). It is the prayer of one who delights in and lives by the Word of God, the sacred law. What makes Psalm 119 unique is the way that these requests are continually and explicitly grounded in the gift of the Law and the psalmist's loyalty to it.
I hope to continue to write more blogs on the subject of humility in the coming weeks as the Lord leads. Until then, God Bless and please feel free to comment and let me know what God is teaching you.
Friday, January 14, 2011
A Life Lost in Christ
This past Sunday the pastor of my church preached a message on how God builds advantages from life’s adverse circumstances. His text was Philippians 1:12-18. During his sermon he illustrated how God can take a life that would appear to be broken and worthless and use it for His glory. He referenced the classic poem “The Touch of the Masters Hand” by Myra Brooks Welch to further illustrate his point.
Although I had heard of the poem, I had never read it and was so moved by its message that I decided to do some research on Welch and her writings. Welch was a prolific poet who had three volumes of her poetry published by the Brethren Publishing House. She was called “The poet with the singing soul.” Her faith and courageous optimism, as reflected in her poetry, are not shallow and untested phases of a life outlook. She achieved them despite or rather perhaps in part because of severe arthritis that confined her to a wheel chair for twenty years. Writing from her own personal experience and faith, she brought inspiration and courage to thousands of people.
Welch came from a very musical family and as a young woman, her special love was playing the organ. In 1921, she heard a speaker address a group of students. She said she became filled with light, and her most famous poem “Touch of the Master's Hand” wrote itself in just 30 minutes! She sent it anonymously to her church news bulletin. She felt it was a gift from God, and didn't need her name on it. Its popularity spread like magic. Finally, several years later, the poem was read at a religious international convention and it was announced that the author was unknown. A young man stood up and said, “I know the author, and it's time the world did too. It was written by my mother, Myra Welch.” Then her name, as well her other beautiful works of poetry became known worldwide.
All of her poetry relfected her own rejoicing because of God's great love. What the world did not see, was the woman who created these masterpieces: Myra in her wheelchair, battered and scarred from the severe arthritis, which had taken away her ability to make music. Instead, her musical soul spoke through her poetry. She took one pencil in each of her badly deformed hands. Using the eraser end, she would slowly type the words, the joy of them outweighing the pain of her efforts. Her words, a joyous expression of the wonders of life, as seen by a singing soul that was touched by the Master’s Hand. It has been said that when a friend one day turned to leave her home, Myra patted the arm of her wheelchair and said, “And I thank God for this!” Imagine being grateful for a wheelchair. But her talent lay undiscovered prior to her wheelchair days. Rather than becoming bitter, she chose a new path in life through her writing and a wonderful door opened allowing her to glorify God in an unexpected way.
So, without further delay, here is “The Touch of the Master’s Hand” in its entirety. I hope it blesses you as much as it did me.
The Touch of the Master's Hand
It was battered and scarred,
And the auctioneer thought it
hardly worth his while
To waste his time on the old violin,
but he held it up with a smile.
"What am I bid, good people", he cried,
"Who starts the bidding for me?"
"One dollar, one dollar, Do I hear two?"
"Two dollars, who makes it three?"
"Three dollars once, three dollars twice, going for three,"
But, No,
From the room far back a gray bearded man
Came forward and picked up the bow,
Then wiping the dust from the old violin
And tightening up the strings,
He played a melody, pure and sweet
As sweet as the angel sings.
The music ceased and the auctioneer
With a voice that was quiet and low,
Said "What now am I bid for this old violin?"
As he held it aloft with its' bow.
"One thousand, one thousand, Do I hear two?"
"Two thousand, Who makes it three?"
"Three thousand once, three thousand twice,
Going and gone", said he.
The audience cheered,
But some of them cried,
"We just don't understand."
"What changed its' worth?"
Swift came the reply.
"The Touch of the Masters Hand."
And many a man with life out of tune
All battered with bourbon and gin
Is auctioned cheap to a thoughtless crowd
Much like that old violin
A mess of pottage, a glass of wine,
A game and he travels on.
He is going once, he is going twice,
He is going and almost gone.
But the Master comes,
And the foolish crowd never can quite understand,
The worth of a soul and the change that is wrought
By the Touch of the Masters' Hand.
- Myra Brooks Welch
Although I had heard of the poem, I had never read it and was so moved by its message that I decided to do some research on Welch and her writings. Welch was a prolific poet who had three volumes of her poetry published by the Brethren Publishing House. She was called “The poet with the singing soul.” Her faith and courageous optimism, as reflected in her poetry, are not shallow and untested phases of a life outlook. She achieved them despite or rather perhaps in part because of severe arthritis that confined her to a wheel chair for twenty years. Writing from her own personal experience and faith, she brought inspiration and courage to thousands of people.
Welch came from a very musical family and as a young woman, her special love was playing the organ. In 1921, she heard a speaker address a group of students. She said she became filled with light, and her most famous poem “Touch of the Master's Hand” wrote itself in just 30 minutes! She sent it anonymously to her church news bulletin. She felt it was a gift from God, and didn't need her name on it. Its popularity spread like magic. Finally, several years later, the poem was read at a religious international convention and it was announced that the author was unknown. A young man stood up and said, “I know the author, and it's time the world did too. It was written by my mother, Myra Welch.” Then her name, as well her other beautiful works of poetry became known worldwide.
All of her poetry relfected her own rejoicing because of God's great love. What the world did not see, was the woman who created these masterpieces: Myra in her wheelchair, battered and scarred from the severe arthritis, which had taken away her ability to make music. Instead, her musical soul spoke through her poetry. She took one pencil in each of her badly deformed hands. Using the eraser end, she would slowly type the words, the joy of them outweighing the pain of her efforts. Her words, a joyous expression of the wonders of life, as seen by a singing soul that was touched by the Master’s Hand. It has been said that when a friend one day turned to leave her home, Myra patted the arm of her wheelchair and said, “And I thank God for this!” Imagine being grateful for a wheelchair. But her talent lay undiscovered prior to her wheelchair days. Rather than becoming bitter, she chose a new path in life through her writing and a wonderful door opened allowing her to glorify God in an unexpected way.
So, without further delay, here is “The Touch of the Master’s Hand” in its entirety. I hope it blesses you as much as it did me.
The Touch of the Master's Hand
It was battered and scarred,
And the auctioneer thought it
hardly worth his while
To waste his time on the old violin,
but he held it up with a smile.
"What am I bid, good people", he cried,
"Who starts the bidding for me?"
"One dollar, one dollar, Do I hear two?"
"Two dollars, who makes it three?"
"Three dollars once, three dollars twice, going for three,"
But, No,
From the room far back a gray bearded man
Came forward and picked up the bow,
Then wiping the dust from the old violin
And tightening up the strings,
He played a melody, pure and sweet
As sweet as the angel sings.
The music ceased and the auctioneer
With a voice that was quiet and low,
Said "What now am I bid for this old violin?"
As he held it aloft with its' bow.
"One thousand, one thousand, Do I hear two?"
"Two thousand, Who makes it three?"
"Three thousand once, three thousand twice,
Going and gone", said he.
The audience cheered,
But some of them cried,
"We just don't understand."
"What changed its' worth?"
Swift came the reply.
"The Touch of the Masters Hand."
And many a man with life out of tune
All battered with bourbon and gin
Is auctioned cheap to a thoughtless crowd
Much like that old violin
A mess of pottage, a glass of wine,
A game and he travels on.
He is going once, he is going twice,
He is going and almost gone.
But the Master comes,
And the foolish crowd never can quite understand,
The worth of a soul and the change that is wrought
By the Touch of the Masters' Hand.
- Myra Brooks Welch
Friday, January 7, 2011
Misplaced Priorities
I was watching HBO’s “Real Sports” television program last night and Bryant Gumbel and his panel of reporters were recapping the biggest sports stories of 2010. There was one story in particular that caught my attention and it was about Lane Kiffin, the former football coach of the University of Tennessee who abruptly quit his job in January in order to coach the USC Trojans. The story garnered national attention because his departure upset many students and fans of the University of Tennessee. As a result, hundreds of students rioted on campus causing the Knoxville police and fire department to be summoned after students blocked the exit from the Neyland Thompson Sports Center and started several small fires.
While I could spend the next several paragraphs detailing the less than admirable actions of Kiffin who has quite a history of poor behavior, I wanted to talk about the powerful reaction of the students instead. This is a college football program and while Kiffin’s decision to leave and coach another school would understandably cause ill feelings, the actions of the students speaks of a generation of young people who have their priorities sorely misplaced.
One of the panel members on the show said he was amazed the students rioted in such a manner over Kiffin’s departure, and yet there was not so much as even a small demonstration when the US went to war. It used to be that the younger generations were passionate about the things that affected their country and their future. This is sadly no longer the case as apparently who is coaching the football team trumps all else.
America at heart is a sports crazed nation and has been for a long time, but with the emergence of lucrative contracts, million dollar endorsements, and Internet exposure, not to mention Sports Center running 24x7, the fixation is at a fever pitch. As a result, priorities shift and values are recalculated in the wrong direction, leaving us with college kids rioting over the departure of a football coach.
Of course, the Lord warned us that His return would be near during an age of great apostasy and general lawlessness (2 Thessalonians chapter 2) and it would certainly appear that we are in that time today. America as a nation began to step away from God in the 1960’s and has continued to move further away as each generation passes. Given this, it should be of no surprise that sports teams are now more important to Americans than the state of the nation, foreign policy, and moral issues.
No one sees America’s political and economic decay tied to its moral decay and yet God says the two are inextricably linked. You can’t serve God and mammon at the same time. When a nation promotes hedonism, greed, and self-rights above the good of society, the results are disastrous.
As Alexis de Tocqueville, a French political thinker and historian once said, "America is great because she is good. If America ceases to be good, America will cease to be great." Tocqueville lived during the 1800’s and he made it his personal mission to figure out why America had risen to such prominence during the 19th century. In his quest, he had researched American’s government, schools, and homes but did not find America’s greatness there. It was only when he went to America’s churches that he understood the root of her greatness and made his famous quote.
I am still hopeful as God continues to delay his judgment that we can turn back and save our nation. This will become a reality only if we as His people put into action 2 Chronicles 7:14, “If My people who are called by My name will humble themselves, and pray and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land.”
While I could spend the next several paragraphs detailing the less than admirable actions of Kiffin who has quite a history of poor behavior, I wanted to talk about the powerful reaction of the students instead. This is a college football program and while Kiffin’s decision to leave and coach another school would understandably cause ill feelings, the actions of the students speaks of a generation of young people who have their priorities sorely misplaced.
One of the panel members on the show said he was amazed the students rioted in such a manner over Kiffin’s departure, and yet there was not so much as even a small demonstration when the US went to war. It used to be that the younger generations were passionate about the things that affected their country and their future. This is sadly no longer the case as apparently who is coaching the football team trumps all else.
America at heart is a sports crazed nation and has been for a long time, but with the emergence of lucrative contracts, million dollar endorsements, and Internet exposure, not to mention Sports Center running 24x7, the fixation is at a fever pitch. As a result, priorities shift and values are recalculated in the wrong direction, leaving us with college kids rioting over the departure of a football coach.
Of course, the Lord warned us that His return would be near during an age of great apostasy and general lawlessness (2 Thessalonians chapter 2) and it would certainly appear that we are in that time today. America as a nation began to step away from God in the 1960’s and has continued to move further away as each generation passes. Given this, it should be of no surprise that sports teams are now more important to Americans than the state of the nation, foreign policy, and moral issues.
No one sees America’s political and economic decay tied to its moral decay and yet God says the two are inextricably linked. You can’t serve God and mammon at the same time. When a nation promotes hedonism, greed, and self-rights above the good of society, the results are disastrous.
As Alexis de Tocqueville, a French political thinker and historian once said, "America is great because she is good. If America ceases to be good, America will cease to be great." Tocqueville lived during the 1800’s and he made it his personal mission to figure out why America had risen to such prominence during the 19th century. In his quest, he had researched American’s government, schools, and homes but did not find America’s greatness there. It was only when he went to America’s churches that he understood the root of her greatness and made his famous quote.
I am still hopeful as God continues to delay his judgment that we can turn back and save our nation. This will become a reality only if we as His people put into action 2 Chronicles 7:14, “If My people who are called by My name will humble themselves, and pray and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land.”
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