I had a sort of epiphany today and here it is, there is a connection between the new Star Wars movie and Christmas. It is more than just about connecting to galaxies (or cultures) from a long, long time ago, but it is about hype and our response to it. One needs to be living underneath a rock not to know that there is a new Star Wars movie coming out along with countless toys, collectables, commercials and parodies. This has been one of the most hyped movies I can remember in quite some time. Here is where Christmas, Star Wars and hype intersect. We get hyped up over these two things because they both promise finality/conclusion/explanation, anticipation, the remembering of a more simpler time, and the concept of good vs evil and that good will win.
I am the first to admit that I am not the biggest Star Wars fan, and the only one I have seen is the last prequel and I slept through most of it. But one of the talking points that the movie fans are making is that this movie can tie story lines together and explain them. As people, we tend to crave finality and having everything tied up nice with a bow tie and with no ambiguity. Why do you think that sitcoms are so popular, especially final seasons/episodes, because it puts things in proper order and we do not have to wonder what if. Christmas does the same thing, it brings a finality to our year, and it helps us put things in order and bring things to completion. For some, the last year has been a really hard one, for whatever reason and Christmas allows us to put things into place to put things to an end have some sort of finality. When one has finality on a situation, circumstance or year, it is a whole lot easier to move on.
The second connection that gets hyped with both things is this idea of anticipation. For the movie buffs, it is anticipating what the new story lines are going to be, the character development and are there going to be any new characters coming onto the scene or old ones going by the wayside. Christmas is the same, we anticipate God coming as both fully God and fully man and dwelling among us. We also anticipate what God is doing in our midst right now and how He is going to show up. We even are anticipating His return to set things right. With anticipation, there is a sense of hope, encouragement and that things will be set right. It is that hope that wrongs will be righted and that we have the presence of God walking with us now and in the future we will be face to face.
The third area where both things get over hyped is a remember of simpler times. We all like to remember those times when we didn't have to worry about a presidential candidate wanting to shut down the borders, religion phobia/extremism, to the more every day life of paying bills, relational conflicts, having a job and raising kits, because it takes us back to a time to where we either didn't have much responsibility or our responsibility looked totally different. Both Star Wars and Christmas gives us a small break from the toils of the every day struggle.
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The fourth hype is the idea of good versus evil. In Star Wars this battle is found in Luke Skywalker and Darth Vader. For Christmas it is Jesus coming to be the sacrifice so that sin may no long reign. I think people in general, but especially Americans love a good story where there good is pitted against evil. We all cheer for the good guys to win because the good guys (or girls) embody what we want to and desire to be. We also want the bad characters to get what they deserve, because often we often think that the bad people don't get what they truly deserve in this life or it takes way to long to show up. In essence, we want things to be set right and for everyone one to get what they truly deserve somewhere, sometime, because it doesn't happen a lot in this life.
To close out, there are three things that hype can lead to. The first one is that, it leads to a major let down. We build something up so big and it does not meet expectations, so how do we manage our expectations? The second issue with hype, we tend to think that something is better that what it really is, so how do we take a look at something without rose colored glasses? The third idea is that hype is more about flash than substances, so how do we become people who look for and become people of substance, and character instead of looks and trickery?
Wednesday, December 16, 2015
Thursday, October 22, 2015
Hospitality
I am working through a book right now called Making Room: Recovering Hospitality as a Christian Tradition by Christine Pohl and it is a really good book so far. One of the big premises of the book is that it differentiates between what hospitality and entertainment is. The book makes the argument that as Christians we think that hospitality is more about socializing in our homes among friends and family. As much as I think that there is a portion of hospitality in this, but this form of hospitality is more of entertainment. This is a good way connect with people and catch up, but one of the underlying reasons we do this form of entertainment is because we are either repaying someone back for their generosity or hoping to get noticed and be repaid in the future. There is nothing wrong with making your home open to friends and family, but hospitality calls us to something more.
The first thing that hospitality calls us to do is to check our motivation. Entertainment is about getting noticed or doing something that somehow benefits you. Entertainment is always looking to impress, or improve ones status. Hospitality is about serving the other person and is about their needs and not yours. When we display hospitality, we always put out more earthly treasure than we tend to get back, so our motivation has to be more than breaking even or getting ahead. Our motivation has to be one of an eternal value where we care more about another persons well being and future than what we get out of it.
The second aspect of hospitality is courage. Showing hospitality usually means we are interacting with people who are not like us. Whether it is a different skin color, economic status, personality, religion or any other difference, this is where hospitality is a must, because it takes courage to go outside of our comfort zone and to interact with people because they are not like us. We tend to look down on these individuals for any number of reasons. I work with two people who are universally disliked by everybody. When you bring up their names, no one has nothing nice to say about them. I have been convicted as of late to show some courage and treat them with respect and not to blow them off like everyone else. When we show courage, it often takes us out of our comfort zone and for us to see ourselves and others for who we truly are and most of the time that we are hurting and dysfunctional.
The third aspect of hospitality is the one of protection. How many people to we come into contact with on a daily basis our are hurting and vulnerable. Hospitality comes in and provides protection and is a stop gap for that person or group of people. I don't know if this is the best analogy, but they are like a animal that is hurting and the prey can smell the blood and are gathering around for the kill. How does a person come in and not only help fend of the predators, but help get that person back to health. The story of the Good Samaritan is good example of this. It is not about walking by or throwing money at the situation, but it is walking along side the person and journeying with them. If you have seen the movie A Few Good Men, at the very end of the movie, one of the Marines who were accused of killing a fellow Marine realizes that protecting those who can not defend themselves is more important than following orders.
The fourth aspect of hospitality is the issue of invitation. How often do we invite people to where they would not normally go and making them feel welcome. How do we make friends out of strangers and how do we do so without being to awkward. I think a big part of it is humility. Humility is realizing who we are nothing more and nothing less and it is also being comfortable in our own skin. I think some of our issues come out because we are not comfortable who we are, and it takes a little bit of humility to do some introspection and see ourselves as who we are. When we see ourselves as who we are, we tend to be at ease and we tend to make other people feel at ease because we are not trying to impress each other and we just value the relationship. I don't know if this fits, but when I was in grad school, group of us got together for dinner and I didn't know most of the people in the room, but it was one of my most favorite memories because after dinner we sat around and shared stories with each other and we were comfortable with each other. We checked our ego and pride at the door and we saw each other for who we were. The other cool thing is two of the people there were from Africa, and they shared about life back home and some of the cultural differences.
This is just the tip of the iceberg when talking about hospitality, and how do we apply it to such issues as illegal aliens and what is our personal responsibility, the governments role and does the church have a place in all of this. This will be a blog in the future
Friday, August 28, 2015
What is Good pt 1
I have noticed recently that a number of my friends of Facebook have made the comments that God is good without giving much of an explanation. A very cynical question comes to mind for me about the fifth time I have read the comment without any context or explanation. Is God good because all is good in my life and I feel happy. Or did He performed some miracle in my life or the life of a loved one. Or is God good because that is apart of His very nature and character in which who He is and how He conduct Himself. These statements often leads to a very churchy statement of God is good all the time and all the time God is good. I agree that God is always good, despite our circumstances we may find ourselves in sometimes, but it has me questioning what is good and how do we define it.
Throughout the Gospels, we are get a picture of that there are two very different definitions of good. One is based on what the Pharisees thought good was, and it is based on outward action or how it makes me feel. Here are some examples of what this kind of good looks like. The other is based on God's definition and we will look at that definition next time
I think our first example of good comes from us being hedonistic. If it makes me or others feel good, and if its pleasurable, it is good. A lot of this good is superficial and shallow, and at times very subjective. Whether it is eating a good meal, our favorite team winning, or the arch rival losing, often it is a very temporal thing and the basis for this goodness is \based on us being happy and not content. Happiness is based on our circumstances and how things benefits me in this moment in time. Being content is often based on things in spite of our current circumstances along with having faith in what’s to come along with looking at the big picture. There is nothing wrong with being happy, but when we stay there, we tend to become self centered and egotistical.
Another form of good is looking at the good of the whole. It might not benifit me or people I know, but is good for the whole of the society. An example of this would be having speed limits. Even though we have vehicles that can go really fast and urges that meet those fast vehicles, having speed limits helps get everyone on the same page and to keep our road ways safe for everyone who uses them. This form of good provides a sense of boundaries to keep people safe, consequences for those who break them and an aim to give people a sense of belonging. This form of good is dependant on what that group of people or society feels that is important and the morals they have set in place to live by.
The third example of what we may consider the definition of good is based on what we can or can not do. This is the heart of the Pharisees because this form of good is based on law and being legalistic. By me being good, I am following a set of rules to the letter of the law and not wondering from it. It also means that we avoid bad behaviors because the law says we can not do that. Some of these rules may come in as no drinking or dancing, showing up to every church event, to what we wear or don’t wear. This form of good takes out any form of relationship with God and others, because it is about what I can do and not about character development. We may look good on the outside, but in all reality , we become a white washed fence or tomb. Next time we will take a look at how God is good and how He defines it.
Throughout the Gospels, we are get a picture of that there are two very different definitions of good. One is based on what the Pharisees thought good was, and it is based on outward action or how it makes me feel. Here are some examples of what this kind of good looks like. The other is based on God's definition and we will look at that definition next time
I think our first example of good comes from us being hedonistic. If it makes me or others feel good, and if its pleasurable, it is good. A lot of this good is superficial and shallow, and at times very subjective. Whether it is eating a good meal, our favorite team winning, or the arch rival losing, often it is a very temporal thing and the basis for this goodness is \based on us being happy and not content. Happiness is based on our circumstances and how things benefits me in this moment in time. Being content is often based on things in spite of our current circumstances along with having faith in what’s to come along with looking at the big picture. There is nothing wrong with being happy, but when we stay there, we tend to become self centered and egotistical.
Another form of good is looking at the good of the whole. It might not benifit me or people I know, but is good for the whole of the society. An example of this would be having speed limits. Even though we have vehicles that can go really fast and urges that meet those fast vehicles, having speed limits helps get everyone on the same page and to keep our road ways safe for everyone who uses them. This form of good provides a sense of boundaries to keep people safe, consequences for those who break them and an aim to give people a sense of belonging. This form of good is dependant on what that group of people or society feels that is important and the morals they have set in place to live by.
The third example of what we may consider the definition of good is based on what we can or can not do. This is the heart of the Pharisees because this form of good is based on law and being legalistic. By me being good, I am following a set of rules to the letter of the law and not wondering from it. It also means that we avoid bad behaviors because the law says we can not do that. Some of these rules may come in as no drinking or dancing, showing up to every church event, to what we wear or don’t wear. This form of good takes out any form of relationship with God and others, because it is about what I can do and not about character development. We may look good on the outside, but in all reality , we become a white washed fence or tomb. Next time we will take a look at how God is good and how He defines it.
Wednesday, July 15, 2015
How our we suppose to remember?
One of the books I am reading by Mirslov Volf makes a profound statement and that is as people, and especially Westerners have a habit of remembering wrongs and making them out to be bigger than what they are. The author also notices that we also like to build memorials to how we were wronged. Whether it is something on a national, community or on personal level, we tend to erect things to help us remember and hold on to bitterness, anger and even helps us to plan out revenge. I think this leads to several dangerous habits and character issues.
The first character issue is that our remembering often makes the situation bigger or smaller than what it really is. How often to we accuse people of doing this and turning mole hills into mountains. One of the things that helps distort this reality is time. As we get farther from the event, our memory tends to get a little fuzzy and we make things out to be better or worse than what they really are. So do we just stop trusting our memories, or recall them with self awareness and integrity to the best of our ability.
The second character issue that could come up is when recalling memories, we often make ourselves one of three things. We either become the vilian, hero, or victim. Each one of these has serious issues when taken to the extreme, but more often than not, we tend to live in the victim or hero mindset. The victim mindset is that we have been wronged and we need to seek revenge. Another aspect of playing the victim card is that we have done nothing to provoke what was done to us, or if we did do something, the retaliation done to us for what we did was out of bounds. It would be like I taking your piece of chocolate and then you giving me a black eye. The victim mind set often makes us better than what we really are. If we play the hero, we tend to come in and either fix problems or try and fix everything and it actually makes things worse. This mind set thinks that we need to be in everyone’s business and that they need us. This is known as a Savior complex and it is not healthy or Godly.
The third character issue that I see is when we start building those memorials for how we were wronged, it can hinder the forgiveness and healing process. It is not that I am against such things as the Pearl Harbor Memorial or things like that, but when we build those type of memorials, it often turns into a us versus them mentality. Doing this can help us hold on to our hurts and hangups without moving on towards forgiveness. It gives us a reason to hold on to bitterness, hatred and it allows us to stay in the past without moving on. Completely forgetting these events is not healthy either. Making events smaller than what they are or forgetting abut them are just as dangerous as making mountains into mole hills because those events will not go away buy themselves and will often lead to some form of addiction or unhealthy attatchment. Here is a side note, time does not heal all wounds, only Jesus can do that. When we experience these things, we can heal, but we wont be the same. We can either wallow in our misery, or find ways where we can put things into their proper context and learn how to take responsibility for and seek forgiveness and give grace and forgiveness to those who both deserve and don’t deserve it in our eyes because thats what Jesus does for us?
The first character issue is that our remembering often makes the situation bigger or smaller than what it really is. How often to we accuse people of doing this and turning mole hills into mountains. One of the things that helps distort this reality is time. As we get farther from the event, our memory tends to get a little fuzzy and we make things out to be better or worse than what they really are. So do we just stop trusting our memories, or recall them with self awareness and integrity to the best of our ability.
The second character issue that could come up is when recalling memories, we often make ourselves one of three things. We either become the vilian, hero, or victim. Each one of these has serious issues when taken to the extreme, but more often than not, we tend to live in the victim or hero mindset. The victim mindset is that we have been wronged and we need to seek revenge. Another aspect of playing the victim card is that we have done nothing to provoke what was done to us, or if we did do something, the retaliation done to us for what we did was out of bounds. It would be like I taking your piece of chocolate and then you giving me a black eye. The victim mind set often makes us better than what we really are. If we play the hero, we tend to come in and either fix problems or try and fix everything and it actually makes things worse. This mind set thinks that we need to be in everyone’s business and that they need us. This is known as a Savior complex and it is not healthy or Godly.
The third character issue that I see is when we start building those memorials for how we were wronged, it can hinder the forgiveness and healing process. It is not that I am against such things as the Pearl Harbor Memorial or things like that, but when we build those type of memorials, it often turns into a us versus them mentality. Doing this can help us hold on to our hurts and hangups without moving on towards forgiveness. It gives us a reason to hold on to bitterness, hatred and it allows us to stay in the past without moving on. Completely forgetting these events is not healthy either. Making events smaller than what they are or forgetting abut them are just as dangerous as making mountains into mole hills because those events will not go away buy themselves and will often lead to some form of addiction or unhealthy attatchment. Here is a side note, time does not heal all wounds, only Jesus can do that. When we experience these things, we can heal, but we wont be the same. We can either wallow in our misery, or find ways where we can put things into their proper context and learn how to take responsibility for and seek forgiveness and give grace and forgiveness to those who both deserve and don’t deserve it in our eyes because thats what Jesus does for us?
Monday, June 22, 2015
Who is God?
I am helping a friend write some discipleship curriculum for a church he is starting out in Colorado and I get to help people explore the different forms of the Trinity and I figured I would share what I am writing here. I would like to start off with a question that Joan Osborne’s ask in one of her more famous songs and that’s "What if God was one of us?" Is God just as dysfunctional and a big of a slob as we are, or is God someone or something that is greater than we are who has the world at His fingertips. We can dive deeper into God becoming one of us more in depth when we talk about who Jesus is, but one of the essential questions that we need to answer as a Christian or looking into the Christian faith is that who is this God and is He someone who is almighty as He is billed to be, or just a fake and a crutch that people rely on just to get through life. If we really claim that God is who He says He is, lets take a look at some of the essential characteristics of who God is.
The first characteristic that wee need to look at is that God is love. This characteristic along with His holiness is the basis for everything who He is and everything that God does. If God is the beginning and the end, and the creator of all things (will be discussed next) what is Gods motivation for doing it and what do these characteristics say about who He is as a being. What does it mean that God is love? We see in 1 John that not only God is love, but love originates from Him. Love seeks to be in a relationship that is open and that hides nothing. Love also means that there are consequences for wrong actions. Consequences does not mean God hates me, but it is designed to bring us back into a full relationship with God and to rely on Him only?
The second characteristic of God is His holiness. What does holiness mean and does God sit in some ivory tower untouched? The basic meaning of holiness means that God is without sin and to be separate from sin. Sin is more than just having a blemished record, or doing a wrong action, but it is a character flaw. The character flaw is putting the created above the Creator. Gods holiness disallows Him from being around things or people who have this character flaw. This character flaw takes us out of a relationship with God and if not corrected, will lead to an eternal separation from God. To go along with holiness is this idea of transcendant. The most basic definition of this is that God is greater than we are and no matter how hard we try, we can never be God, because we can never be all knowing, all powerful, or everywhere at once. With God being holy and sinless, this makes Him the Judge of all things. With God having never sinned, this means His character is without blemish and can see for things as how they really are. This means that God judges everything based on His very character and intention and not our corrupt character and intentions that aim to lift us up.
The third characteristic that we need to look at is the concept that God is eternal. To put in basic terms, He has no beginning or no end. God. Outside of the Trinity, this is one of the more difficult things to wrap our heads around because how can something have no beginning or end, and will always be there. If God were to just randomly appear or be formed from something, that would not make Him God because it would mean that He is apart of the creation and not the Creator. The major take away that I want people to come away with is that God will always be there, long before the earth was ever created, and even if the world were to somehow cease to exist He would still be in existence.
The fourth characteristic that belongs to God and that ties into the first concept of being eternal is that He is the Creator of all things. How can something not be in existence and create, that would be a foolish idea. One of the big ideas of evolution is that everything evolved from some sort of cosmic stew or a big bang. If this was true, how did the cosmic stew get formed or who made the big bang go bang? One of the cool things about being God is that He can create things out of nothing. The big theological word for this is ex nihlo. As we see through the first few chapters of Genesis, God spoke and it came into being. With being God and having that type of authority, He doesn’t need to be wearing the white lab coat and being that crazy sciencetist hoping what is brewing in lab will work out. He speaks and it happens, and there is no questions asked.
The fifth characteristic that God is, is that He is a relational God. God did not create the earth to walk away and leave it alone to run itself into the ground (this is also known as dualism). God wants to be in relationship with us and this is why He sent His very Son to earth to take the punishment four our sin. Just as a parent wants to be in a good relationship with their children, so does God. He does not want anything to come between us, but He also will let us suffer the consequences of our actions.
Application
1. Define who God is in your life. Is He non existent, a defiant thug, or a loving Father?
2. Is our goal to reach God to be in relationship with Him, or to make ourselves look good?
3. If God’s goal is to be in relationship with us, what are the things in our lives that help or hinder with this process?
Discussion Questions
1. After reading 1 John 4, what does love God to do with it and is there anything that you wont do for love?
2. If God is holy and His character unblemished, can or should we strive for those things and are they obtainable?
3. After reading Genesis 1-3, what are your observations and some of the consequences of this passage?
The first characteristic that wee need to look at is that God is love. This characteristic along with His holiness is the basis for everything who He is and everything that God does. If God is the beginning and the end, and the creator of all things (will be discussed next) what is Gods motivation for doing it and what do these characteristics say about who He is as a being. What does it mean that God is love? We see in 1 John that not only God is love, but love originates from Him. Love seeks to be in a relationship that is open and that hides nothing. Love also means that there are consequences for wrong actions. Consequences does not mean God hates me, but it is designed to bring us back into a full relationship with God and to rely on Him only?
The second characteristic of God is His holiness. What does holiness mean and does God sit in some ivory tower untouched? The basic meaning of holiness means that God is without sin and to be separate from sin. Sin is more than just having a blemished record, or doing a wrong action, but it is a character flaw. The character flaw is putting the created above the Creator. Gods holiness disallows Him from being around things or people who have this character flaw. This character flaw takes us out of a relationship with God and if not corrected, will lead to an eternal separation from God. To go along with holiness is this idea of transcendant. The most basic definition of this is that God is greater than we are and no matter how hard we try, we can never be God, because we can never be all knowing, all powerful, or everywhere at once. With God being holy and sinless, this makes Him the Judge of all things. With God having never sinned, this means His character is without blemish and can see for things as how they really are. This means that God judges everything based on His very character and intention and not our corrupt character and intentions that aim to lift us up.
The third characteristic that we need to look at is the concept that God is eternal. To put in basic terms, He has no beginning or no end. God. Outside of the Trinity, this is one of the more difficult things to wrap our heads around because how can something have no beginning or end, and will always be there. If God were to just randomly appear or be formed from something, that would not make Him God because it would mean that He is apart of the creation and not the Creator. The major take away that I want people to come away with is that God will always be there, long before the earth was ever created, and even if the world were to somehow cease to exist He would still be in existence.
The fourth characteristic that belongs to God and that ties into the first concept of being eternal is that He is the Creator of all things. How can something not be in existence and create, that would be a foolish idea. One of the big ideas of evolution is that everything evolved from some sort of cosmic stew or a big bang. If this was true, how did the cosmic stew get formed or who made the big bang go bang? One of the cool things about being God is that He can create things out of nothing. The big theological word for this is ex nihlo. As we see through the first few chapters of Genesis, God spoke and it came into being. With being God and having that type of authority, He doesn’t need to be wearing the white lab coat and being that crazy sciencetist hoping what is brewing in lab will work out. He speaks and it happens, and there is no questions asked.
The fifth characteristic that God is, is that He is a relational God. God did not create the earth to walk away and leave it alone to run itself into the ground (this is also known as dualism). God wants to be in relationship with us and this is why He sent His very Son to earth to take the punishment four our sin. Just as a parent wants to be in a good relationship with their children, so does God. He does not want anything to come between us, but He also will let us suffer the consequences of our actions.
Application
1. Define who God is in your life. Is He non existent, a defiant thug, or a loving Father?
2. Is our goal to reach God to be in relationship with Him, or to make ourselves look good?
3. If God’s goal is to be in relationship with us, what are the things in our lives that help or hinder with this process?
Discussion Questions
1. After reading 1 John 4, what does love God to do with it and is there anything that you wont do for love?
2. If God is holy and His character unblemished, can or should we strive for those things and are they obtainable?
3. After reading Genesis 1-3, what are your observations and some of the consequences of this passage?
Tuesday, May 19, 2015
Livin on a Prayer
One of my favorite styles of music is hair band music, such as Guns N Roses to Bon Jovi, or even Scorpion. I am amazed that these bands have stood the test of time (or at least my time) and that parents and their adult children can still go to these concerts and sing along at the top of their lungs. One of the more popular hair songs out there is Livin on a Prayer by Bon Jovi. The crux of the song is a guy and his girlfriend are working two jobs, barely making ends meet and that they are actually living on prayer. As I heard this song again it hit me, this is a song of desperation and the people in the song have no where else to turn.
The first prayer I see in Scripture is a prayer of desperation. We are at the end of our rope with either a particular situation, or life in general, and we cry out to God. The Psalm is filled with desperation prayer. Whether it is King David or any of the other authors, they are pleading out to God in times of need. Whether it is for protection, or to kill an enemy, these are true prayers of desperation. Psalm 55 is a good example of this. How often in our own desperation, do we beg, plead, or even bargain with God to hear our pleas. My only problem with the desperation prayer is that we turn to God when we that is our only option left. If God is our last option, is He really the Lord of our life and do we really trust Him as much as we say we do. Turning to God should be our first and only option and not our last, because when He is our last, things are messy and there is more damage done than needed.
Another form of prayer is a lamenting prayer. I affectionately call this prayer the screw you God, you don’t know what you are doing or what is going on prayer. Essentially we are telling God He is number one and we are dropping the mic and walking away. The prophets of the Old Testament are filled with this style of prayers. The last several chapters of the book of Job deals with Job lamenting to God and God responding back to Job. There is even a whole book of lamenting and its called Lamentations. The prophet Jeremiah is lamenting to God about the nation of Israel’s disobedience, and the destruction that the city of Jerusalem is in. Here is the thing about lamenting prayers and lamenting in general, whether to God, or other people, we may feel better for a moment, but after our outburst, will the same frustrations return and does the situation change. True lamenting is taking a look at the situation and finding ways where we can either change it, or that we can change ourselves to make the situation better. This is hard work, but it is the only way things will get done. As the prophet Jeremiah writes, Great is Gods faithfulness and His mercies are new every morning. Anything else is that we are whining and playing the victim card.
A third form prayer is one of remembrance. This can also be called a prayer of thanksgiving. This is usually done a lot around Thanksgiving and Christmas. It is where we remember God’s faithfulness to us and how He has provided for His people. A prayer of remembrance is more than just remembering the good things, but also the struggles and the growth that has taken place in our lives. This prayer calls us to look back at what God has done, giving thanks and living life differently because of what God has done for us. Remembering the good things that God has done for us and not living differently causes us to miss out on other great gifts and it often leads us stunted spiritually, and emotionally. It is like that one person you meet up with at your 20th high school reunion and they still haven’t left high school.
The fourth form of prayer is one of forgiveness. This is when we realize our own humanity and sin in our life and we go to God to seek His grace. This prayer is more than saying "My Bad" God or any other half hearted apology. A true prayer of repentance is one that aims to not only restore ones relationship with God and others, but to make sure that it does not happen again. As David writes in Psalm 51, Create in me a clean heart O God, and renew a right spirit with in me. This form of prayer is seeking Gods forgiveness and power so that He can change our character. If our character doesn’t change, we will keep ending up in the same situations.
The fifth and final prayer we will mention today is the payer of healing. Even though all the prayers can and should be done as an individual and as a group, this prayer leans heavily on the group of believers. The book of James urges anyone who is sick to come to the church to be anointed with oil and prayed for by the church. This is a realization that God is the ultimate healer and the church is coming together in agreement on this. It is asking God to do what only He can do in the only way He can do it whether it is through divine intervention or through the medical community.
Now there are other forms of prayer and there are all ways to communicate with God and to have a relationship with Him. To paraphrase a C.S. Lewis puts it, "Prayer is not so we can change the mind of God, but so we can be changed by God." Maybe we shouldn't be a people who are livin on a prayer but livin on many prayers
The first prayer I see in Scripture is a prayer of desperation. We are at the end of our rope with either a particular situation, or life in general, and we cry out to God. The Psalm is filled with desperation prayer. Whether it is King David or any of the other authors, they are pleading out to God in times of need. Whether it is for protection, or to kill an enemy, these are true prayers of desperation. Psalm 55 is a good example of this. How often in our own desperation, do we beg, plead, or even bargain with God to hear our pleas. My only problem with the desperation prayer is that we turn to God when we that is our only option left. If God is our last option, is He really the Lord of our life and do we really trust Him as much as we say we do. Turning to God should be our first and only option and not our last, because when He is our last, things are messy and there is more damage done than needed.
Another form of prayer is a lamenting prayer. I affectionately call this prayer the screw you God, you don’t know what you are doing or what is going on prayer. Essentially we are telling God He is number one and we are dropping the mic and walking away. The prophets of the Old Testament are filled with this style of prayers. The last several chapters of the book of Job deals with Job lamenting to God and God responding back to Job. There is even a whole book of lamenting and its called Lamentations. The prophet Jeremiah is lamenting to God about the nation of Israel’s disobedience, and the destruction that the city of Jerusalem is in. Here is the thing about lamenting prayers and lamenting in general, whether to God, or other people, we may feel better for a moment, but after our outburst, will the same frustrations return and does the situation change. True lamenting is taking a look at the situation and finding ways where we can either change it, or that we can change ourselves to make the situation better. This is hard work, but it is the only way things will get done. As the prophet Jeremiah writes, Great is Gods faithfulness and His mercies are new every morning. Anything else is that we are whining and playing the victim card.
A third form prayer is one of remembrance. This can also be called a prayer of thanksgiving. This is usually done a lot around Thanksgiving and Christmas. It is where we remember God’s faithfulness to us and how He has provided for His people. A prayer of remembrance is more than just remembering the good things, but also the struggles and the growth that has taken place in our lives. This prayer calls us to look back at what God has done, giving thanks and living life differently because of what God has done for us. Remembering the good things that God has done for us and not living differently causes us to miss out on other great gifts and it often leads us stunted spiritually, and emotionally. It is like that one person you meet up with at your 20th high school reunion and they still haven’t left high school.
The fourth form of prayer is one of forgiveness. This is when we realize our own humanity and sin in our life and we go to God to seek His grace. This prayer is more than saying "My Bad" God or any other half hearted apology. A true prayer of repentance is one that aims to not only restore ones relationship with God and others, but to make sure that it does not happen again. As David writes in Psalm 51, Create in me a clean heart O God, and renew a right spirit with in me. This form of prayer is seeking Gods forgiveness and power so that He can change our character. If our character doesn’t change, we will keep ending up in the same situations.
The fifth and final prayer we will mention today is the payer of healing. Even though all the prayers can and should be done as an individual and as a group, this prayer leans heavily on the group of believers. The book of James urges anyone who is sick to come to the church to be anointed with oil and prayed for by the church. This is a realization that God is the ultimate healer and the church is coming together in agreement on this. It is asking God to do what only He can do in the only way He can do it whether it is through divine intervention or through the medical community.
Now there are other forms of prayer and there are all ways to communicate with God and to have a relationship with Him. To paraphrase a C.S. Lewis puts it, "Prayer is not so we can change the mind of God, but so we can be changed by God." Maybe we shouldn't be a people who are livin on a prayer but livin on many prayers
Sunday, April 19, 2015
Who shall we listen to?
I had the opportunity to preach at a local church this weekend and it is always a good experience. I chose I Samuel 8:1-20 as my passage and the theme of my message is who do we really listen too. Who we listen to and who we give authority in our lives is important. Here is the text of my sermon for those of want to continue on.
The first person or voice that we can give authority is ourselves. When we listen to ourselves, we tend to elevate ourselves to king or queen like status. Taking a look at one of the kings roles in the Old Testament is that they were charged to go out and conquer. The mentality is that they were either going to be conquered by a neighboring people, or one can go out and conquer them. Being conquered means one of two things, the first one is death and the second one is slavery and forced labor. Given the options, the first choice just might be the better choice. When we have the conquer or be conquered mentality, it gives us several personality traits that just are not healthy or Godly.
The first attitude is the attitude of greed. One of the unhealthy attitudes of greed is that it is all about what I want and fulfilling those compulsive needs. Often one of the reasons kings went out and conquered, is because someone else had something they wanted and there was nothing that was going to stop them until they obtained it. It could of been for land, gold, animals, or people to perform manual labor and to lord over them. Greed makes our rational thinking go out the window. Take a look at King David and Bathsheba. Instead of being content with what he had and walking away from the situation, he got Bathsheba pregnant and her husband killed. We are not much different today. There are things that we want and we are willing to tell lies, fudge numbers, and make things look better than they really are. Here is the thing about greed, we are never content with what we have or who God is and our life is often based on deception.
The second attitude that comes with listening to ourselves is an attitude of self reliance and perseverance. This make take several forms, but one of the most common attitudes is the one of needing to pull ourselves up by our own boat straps. Another way we can discern if we are depending on an attitude of self reliance is that we tend to want to control things, whether it is relationships, events or even what or how other people think. When we have the attitude of self reliance, the world often revolves around us and we often do not do things unless we can some how benefit from it now or in the future. People are nothing more than pawns in the game of life and we move them around to serve our needs, wants and desires. It is seeing people as slaves or objects instead of people created in the image of God. If we are all honest with ourselves, there is that one person that is in our life because of what they can do for us, and we take from them without giving much or nothing back and we all have pretty good self justifications for it to.
The third attitude that we develop when we listen to ourselves is that we do it to protect ourselves. We want to be the king of our own lives because we have been hurt before. Any time we enter into a relationship with someone else, it gets messy and there is a really good chance that our feelings will get hurt and we will be wrong some how. Instead of taking chances, learning how to forgive, and to be forgiven, we become an island of self preservation. When we become the king of our own castle, we often keep people at arms length so that no one will get hurt. Another scary attitude of this that I don’t want anything expected of me so I am not going to expect anything of anyone else. This really leads to an attitude of distrust and everyone lies.
Just as scary as it is to be the king of our own castle and to be the center of our won universe, there is another person or voice we can listen to is over valuing the voice of others. This attitude is the attitude of relying on what others think. In the first section, we could really care less of what others think, and now we are overly sensitive to what others think to the point of where it runs our lives. The first way we do this is through self image. Our culture has a lot to say about self image and how we look. Whether it is Meghan Trainor and her hit song All About the Bass to the opposite end of the spectrum when we look at the different magazines at the check out line. I know there has been a push culturally that is designed to help people to have more healthy body image and how they view themselves. I hear it every day at Wal Mart, because there is a make up ad that plays over and over stating that you are beautiful for who you are. I know the issues of self image, especially of body image is a whole topic unto itself, but here is my question for you, do you get your self image and worth from other people or from God. Cause if we get our self image and worth from others, it can be one of two extremes. The first one is that we are elevated to god like status or we are scum of the earth. Neither perspectives are healthy so why do we listen to them.
A second attitude we develop when we care too much of what others think is that we don’t ever have an opinion of our own. We stick others on such a high pedestal that they become a god like figure in our life where our actions, and attitudes are aimed to please them. In essence, we become a professional suck up. We are always running to different people to find out what to do and how to life our lives. One of the great dangers of being a professional suck up is that we often ask for advice and not take any of it. As the book of James puts it, we become double minded. We hear and say one thing, but we are doing something completely different. We often runs to what makes us feel good until we are challenged or it gets hard, we quit, and find something else that fills our needs until it doesn't.
The third thing is not so much an attitude, but a consequence is that when we live a life base on what other people think is that we still have to face consequences for our actions. No matter what we do or whose advice we don’t take or don’t take is that we are still accountable for our won actions. So not matter how good the idea seems at the time, we still have to face the music when the consequences come, no matter if they are good or bad consequences.
The fourth attitude is that we tend to live our lives in bondage to someone or something. In essence we are a slave to someone or something. Those people or things are ruling over us and control are every impulse. In essence they are living rent free in our head. Every thought, action are done or not done because of what we think of how they will care about it. We are always seeking someone’s approval and we can never do enough to obtain it because there is something else that we could always be doing to be better. When we seek out peoples approval, we end up getting burned out because it is never enough.
So what are the consequences of when our king is no long God Himself. This may sound a little more on the extreme side, but one of those consequences is death. Yes there is a physical death, but here is the thing, we all are going to die at some point unless Jesus comes back to take us home. There is a death that is scarier than a physical death and that is a spiritual death. When Samuel went to God pleading to Him and with some hurt feelings, God put it back into perspective. He told Samuel that it was him that the nation of Israel was overthrowing, it was God Himself. God realized He was being replaced, so He gave the crowd what they wanted and that was a king. To die spiritually essentially is that we are turning our back on God. We would rather either do our own thing, or more the more dangerous idea of looking like the world so we don’t go noticed. When we do this, we are making compromises that are not Godly. What we are saying is that we value what others think is not more important than what God thinks. It also means that we think that God has no power in our lives to guide us through whatever we face.
Another possible consequence of listening to our own voice or to the voices of others is that we can get some really questionable advice and life direction. Why would we take marriage advice from someone whose marriage is failing, or career advice from someone who can not keep a job. I feel we would rather take advice from Jerry Springer or Dr Phil than God Himself. If we take questionable advice from people whose lives arent the best, then the best we can hope for is questionable results in our lives. I am not saying we shouldn’t seek out others for Godly counsel, because God can and does speak through His people for our lives. There are people with the gifting of discernment that we can and should ask for advice. Are these people constantly in Gods word, do they practice what they preach, in essence do these people live a life of humility and Godliness. So are we listening to the advice of the magazines at the grocery check out lines, or are we turning to God along with His Word and the people He dwells in.
So, how do we put more of an effort to listen to God, especially since the voices of the world are so loud and in our face. The first idea that we choose to hear and follow God on a daily basis. Just as Joshua proclaimed to the Nation of Israel in Joshua 24, choose this day whom you will follow. God doesn’t like or take people who do things half heartedly. With God, it is all or nothing. Are we willing to draw a line in the sand to say I will not only follow God, He is the Lord of my life.
The second concept that we should put into place is that God often speaks in the still small voice. Just as the prophet Elijah asked for God to speak, and that God did not come in the storm, fire or any other grand spectacle, but it was in the quiet and calmness. So often we want God to speak through fireworks, email, Facebook post or billboards, but God doesn't always speak this way. Are we willing to slow down, turn off our electronic devices and just wait for God. Are we willing to spend time in prayer, meditation, Scripture reading and even silence to hear God. Within the Quaker tradition of church, they often don’t have music or even a sermon planned, but when they gather, they sit together, waiting for the leading of the Holy Spirit before something is said or done. Are we willing to sit in silence and wait for God to move.
The third big idea is are we putting into practice what God has revealed to us already. It doesn’t do much good if we ask God what He wants us to do when we aren't doing when we know what we should be doing. When we are faithful in what God has already commanded us to do, such as loving Him with everything we have and loving our neighbor as ourselves, God will reveal Himself to us when we are obedient in the simple things. Why should God trust us with something new if we can not handle what we already know.
The fourth idea is do we have people that can speak truth into our lives. We still make listening to God our number one priority, but God often confirms our time with Him through our relationship with other people. God created us to be relational people, and are we allowing Godly people to speak into our lives. We don’t let just anybody speak into our lives, but are they people who are growing in Gods grace and who has our best interest in mind no matter the situation.
So who are you listening to. Are you seeking the advice and direction that puts you on the throne and that eventually diminishes God to nothing. Are we really rejecting God so that we lead our own lives, and have it end up as a pile of rubble, or are we seeking God with everything we have and allowing Him to speak into and lead our lives. The prophet Isaiah tells us that not only can we seek God, but we can find Him and know Him. To top it off we can be His people and He our God.
The first person or voice that we can give authority is ourselves. When we listen to ourselves, we tend to elevate ourselves to king or queen like status. Taking a look at one of the kings roles in the Old Testament is that they were charged to go out and conquer. The mentality is that they were either going to be conquered by a neighboring people, or one can go out and conquer them. Being conquered means one of two things, the first one is death and the second one is slavery and forced labor. Given the options, the first choice just might be the better choice. When we have the conquer or be conquered mentality, it gives us several personality traits that just are not healthy or Godly.
The first attitude is the attitude of greed. One of the unhealthy attitudes of greed is that it is all about what I want and fulfilling those compulsive needs. Often one of the reasons kings went out and conquered, is because someone else had something they wanted and there was nothing that was going to stop them until they obtained it. It could of been for land, gold, animals, or people to perform manual labor and to lord over them. Greed makes our rational thinking go out the window. Take a look at King David and Bathsheba. Instead of being content with what he had and walking away from the situation, he got Bathsheba pregnant and her husband killed. We are not much different today. There are things that we want and we are willing to tell lies, fudge numbers, and make things look better than they really are. Here is the thing about greed, we are never content with what we have or who God is and our life is often based on deception.
The second attitude that comes with listening to ourselves is an attitude of self reliance and perseverance. This make take several forms, but one of the most common attitudes is the one of needing to pull ourselves up by our own boat straps. Another way we can discern if we are depending on an attitude of self reliance is that we tend to want to control things, whether it is relationships, events or even what or how other people think. When we have the attitude of self reliance, the world often revolves around us and we often do not do things unless we can some how benefit from it now or in the future. People are nothing more than pawns in the game of life and we move them around to serve our needs, wants and desires. It is seeing people as slaves or objects instead of people created in the image of God. If we are all honest with ourselves, there is that one person that is in our life because of what they can do for us, and we take from them without giving much or nothing back and we all have pretty good self justifications for it to.
The third attitude that we develop when we listen to ourselves is that we do it to protect ourselves. We want to be the king of our own lives because we have been hurt before. Any time we enter into a relationship with someone else, it gets messy and there is a really good chance that our feelings will get hurt and we will be wrong some how. Instead of taking chances, learning how to forgive, and to be forgiven, we become an island of self preservation. When we become the king of our own castle, we often keep people at arms length so that no one will get hurt. Another scary attitude of this that I don’t want anything expected of me so I am not going to expect anything of anyone else. This really leads to an attitude of distrust and everyone lies.
Just as scary as it is to be the king of our own castle and to be the center of our won universe, there is another person or voice we can listen to is over valuing the voice of others. This attitude is the attitude of relying on what others think. In the first section, we could really care less of what others think, and now we are overly sensitive to what others think to the point of where it runs our lives. The first way we do this is through self image. Our culture has a lot to say about self image and how we look. Whether it is Meghan Trainor and her hit song All About the Bass to the opposite end of the spectrum when we look at the different magazines at the check out line. I know there has been a push culturally that is designed to help people to have more healthy body image and how they view themselves. I hear it every day at Wal Mart, because there is a make up ad that plays over and over stating that you are beautiful for who you are. I know the issues of self image, especially of body image is a whole topic unto itself, but here is my question for you, do you get your self image and worth from other people or from God. Cause if we get our self image and worth from others, it can be one of two extremes. The first one is that we are elevated to god like status or we are scum of the earth. Neither perspectives are healthy so why do we listen to them.
A second attitude we develop when we care too much of what others think is that we don’t ever have an opinion of our own. We stick others on such a high pedestal that they become a god like figure in our life where our actions, and attitudes are aimed to please them. In essence, we become a professional suck up. We are always running to different people to find out what to do and how to life our lives. One of the great dangers of being a professional suck up is that we often ask for advice and not take any of it. As the book of James puts it, we become double minded. We hear and say one thing, but we are doing something completely different. We often runs to what makes us feel good until we are challenged or it gets hard, we quit, and find something else that fills our needs until it doesn't.
The third thing is not so much an attitude, but a consequence is that when we live a life base on what other people think is that we still have to face consequences for our actions. No matter what we do or whose advice we don’t take or don’t take is that we are still accountable for our won actions. So not matter how good the idea seems at the time, we still have to face the music when the consequences come, no matter if they are good or bad consequences.
The fourth attitude is that we tend to live our lives in bondage to someone or something. In essence we are a slave to someone or something. Those people or things are ruling over us and control are every impulse. In essence they are living rent free in our head. Every thought, action are done or not done because of what we think of how they will care about it. We are always seeking someone’s approval and we can never do enough to obtain it because there is something else that we could always be doing to be better. When we seek out peoples approval, we end up getting burned out because it is never enough.
So what are the consequences of when our king is no long God Himself. This may sound a little more on the extreme side, but one of those consequences is death. Yes there is a physical death, but here is the thing, we all are going to die at some point unless Jesus comes back to take us home. There is a death that is scarier than a physical death and that is a spiritual death. When Samuel went to God pleading to Him and with some hurt feelings, God put it back into perspective. He told Samuel that it was him that the nation of Israel was overthrowing, it was God Himself. God realized He was being replaced, so He gave the crowd what they wanted and that was a king. To die spiritually essentially is that we are turning our back on God. We would rather either do our own thing, or more the more dangerous idea of looking like the world so we don’t go noticed. When we do this, we are making compromises that are not Godly. What we are saying is that we value what others think is not more important than what God thinks. It also means that we think that God has no power in our lives to guide us through whatever we face.
Another possible consequence of listening to our own voice or to the voices of others is that we can get some really questionable advice and life direction. Why would we take marriage advice from someone whose marriage is failing, or career advice from someone who can not keep a job. I feel we would rather take advice from Jerry Springer or Dr Phil than God Himself. If we take questionable advice from people whose lives arent the best, then the best we can hope for is questionable results in our lives. I am not saying we shouldn’t seek out others for Godly counsel, because God can and does speak through His people for our lives. There are people with the gifting of discernment that we can and should ask for advice. Are these people constantly in Gods word, do they practice what they preach, in essence do these people live a life of humility and Godliness. So are we listening to the advice of the magazines at the grocery check out lines, or are we turning to God along with His Word and the people He dwells in.
So, how do we put more of an effort to listen to God, especially since the voices of the world are so loud and in our face. The first idea that we choose to hear and follow God on a daily basis. Just as Joshua proclaimed to the Nation of Israel in Joshua 24, choose this day whom you will follow. God doesn’t like or take people who do things half heartedly. With God, it is all or nothing. Are we willing to draw a line in the sand to say I will not only follow God, He is the Lord of my life.
The second concept that we should put into place is that God often speaks in the still small voice. Just as the prophet Elijah asked for God to speak, and that God did not come in the storm, fire or any other grand spectacle, but it was in the quiet and calmness. So often we want God to speak through fireworks, email, Facebook post or billboards, but God doesn't always speak this way. Are we willing to slow down, turn off our electronic devices and just wait for God. Are we willing to spend time in prayer, meditation, Scripture reading and even silence to hear God. Within the Quaker tradition of church, they often don’t have music or even a sermon planned, but when they gather, they sit together, waiting for the leading of the Holy Spirit before something is said or done. Are we willing to sit in silence and wait for God to move.
The third big idea is are we putting into practice what God has revealed to us already. It doesn’t do much good if we ask God what He wants us to do when we aren't doing when we know what we should be doing. When we are faithful in what God has already commanded us to do, such as loving Him with everything we have and loving our neighbor as ourselves, God will reveal Himself to us when we are obedient in the simple things. Why should God trust us with something new if we can not handle what we already know.
The fourth idea is do we have people that can speak truth into our lives. We still make listening to God our number one priority, but God often confirms our time with Him through our relationship with other people. God created us to be relational people, and are we allowing Godly people to speak into our lives. We don’t let just anybody speak into our lives, but are they people who are growing in Gods grace and who has our best interest in mind no matter the situation.
So who are you listening to. Are you seeking the advice and direction that puts you on the throne and that eventually diminishes God to nothing. Are we really rejecting God so that we lead our own lives, and have it end up as a pile of rubble, or are we seeking God with everything we have and allowing Him to speak into and lead our lives. The prophet Isaiah tells us that not only can we seek God, but we can find Him and know Him. To top it off we can be His people and He our God.
Friday, March 13, 2015
The power of teh cross is...
It is getting into the stretch run for the National Hockey League (NHL) and teams are jockeying for playoff spots and positions. The Minnesota Wild are trying to improve their playoff position. Paul Allen (Vikings VOX and KFAN radio personality) has come up with the a slogan to help get the Wild fans on board for the playoff push and it is "does the power of the Christmas colors compel you" (the Wilds colors are read and green). I think in essence what this statement is saying is how does this team and the team colors get you to root for a team and to help them get over the edge into the playoffs and to win Lords Stanleys Cup. I am a Wild fan and I listen to a lot of their games, but how does cheering for a hockey team suppose affect how I live my life and the lives around me. I think there is something greater that we should be compelled by and that is the cross. The Apostle Paul exhorts the church in Corinth and even us today about what or who we consider wise. I think there are several things we can learn from Paul's exhortation and the power of the cross.
The first one is that the cross unifies. In Paul's day, just as it is today, there was a fraction in the church based on who people listened to. Some People followed Paul, others Cephas and others Apollos, which created tension in the church on which one was the better preacher or even Christian. We have the same argument today, whether it is the debate between Reformed and Arminian theology, to the preachers we love to either love and listen too or vilify. Paul tells us that non of these ideas died and covered our transgressions, nor do they have the ability to. The only thing that can is the cross of Christ. The cross is not suppose to divide the people of God, but it is suppose to unify people together for a common goal. All things should be seen through the lens of not only a crucified Savior who died on that cross, but was raised from its death. It brings into focus what is important and not to make mole hills into mountains.
The second idea of the cross is that it equalizes. In essence, we are all equal at the foot of the cross. Instead of fighting over who is greater or dehumanizing certain groups of people, the cross puts us all on equal ground. In the Middle East, the terror group ISSIS have been terrorizing different groups of people and land marks. We are all outraged when the Christians are being attacked and killed for their faith, but when other groups of people are facing the same problems, are we making the same amount of noise at the inhumanity of the actions of ISSIS. As a Christian, there is no such thing as Greek or Jew, but we all are created in the image of God. The mark of a maturing Christian is not how they care for their own, but how they treat and care and treat people who are completely different then them and who is even their enemy.
The third thing that the cross does for us is that it provides the way for salvation. There is no other way to be saved and to have a right relationship with God except for the acceptance of Christ death on the cross. We may try to find different ways to get saved, and most of them are on the basis of what we can do, or not do. We often turn salvation into a works orientated adventure to see how good we are and to work our way into heaven. If we could become more enlightened and work our way into heaven, there would be no point for the cross and Jesus would of died a meaningless death. The cross is God drawing the line in the sand and providing a way for us to be saved. This is so that we can not get confused and think that our salvation and life is all about us.
The fourth thing that the cross does, is that it invites us to come and partake of it. This doesn't mean that we all need to carry a physical cross around or even have a literal death on a cross, but we are crucifying our will to Gods will. It is a realization that God knows what is best for us and has our best interest in mind. In order for us to be apart of God's plan, we need to put ours aside or even to death. As the popular saying goes, no one can serve to masters, because one will end up being hated and the other loved. When we serve those two masters, ourselves and God, we end up becoming whishy washy and we become luke warm. Becoming a mature Christian requires all of our attention, and the only way to do it is to participate in the death of Christ so that we may be raised with Him. It is coming the idea that its not about me anymore and its about God. A good practice to see what one we are living for, is to see which one we are feeing. Do we feed our own selfish desires, or do we feast on the Word of God. If you don't feed something, it will die from starvation. So how does the power of the cross compel you. Does it compel to lead a life lead by the Spirit and the power of God, or do we just scoff at it and call it pointless. There is no middle ground
The first one is that the cross unifies. In Paul's day, just as it is today, there was a fraction in the church based on who people listened to. Some People followed Paul, others Cephas and others Apollos, which created tension in the church on which one was the better preacher or even Christian. We have the same argument today, whether it is the debate between Reformed and Arminian theology, to the preachers we love to either love and listen too or vilify. Paul tells us that non of these ideas died and covered our transgressions, nor do they have the ability to. The only thing that can is the cross of Christ. The cross is not suppose to divide the people of God, but it is suppose to unify people together for a common goal. All things should be seen through the lens of not only a crucified Savior who died on that cross, but was raised from its death. It brings into focus what is important and not to make mole hills into mountains.
The second idea of the cross is that it equalizes. In essence, we are all equal at the foot of the cross. Instead of fighting over who is greater or dehumanizing certain groups of people, the cross puts us all on equal ground. In the Middle East, the terror group ISSIS have been terrorizing different groups of people and land marks. We are all outraged when the Christians are being attacked and killed for their faith, but when other groups of people are facing the same problems, are we making the same amount of noise at the inhumanity of the actions of ISSIS. As a Christian, there is no such thing as Greek or Jew, but we all are created in the image of God. The mark of a maturing Christian is not how they care for their own, but how they treat and care and treat people who are completely different then them and who is even their enemy.
The third thing that the cross does for us is that it provides the way for salvation. There is no other way to be saved and to have a right relationship with God except for the acceptance of Christ death on the cross. We may try to find different ways to get saved, and most of them are on the basis of what we can do, or not do. We often turn salvation into a works orientated adventure to see how good we are and to work our way into heaven. If we could become more enlightened and work our way into heaven, there would be no point for the cross and Jesus would of died a meaningless death. The cross is God drawing the line in the sand and providing a way for us to be saved. This is so that we can not get confused and think that our salvation and life is all about us.
The fourth thing that the cross does, is that it invites us to come and partake of it. This doesn't mean that we all need to carry a physical cross around or even have a literal death on a cross, but we are crucifying our will to Gods will. It is a realization that God knows what is best for us and has our best interest in mind. In order for us to be apart of God's plan, we need to put ours aside or even to death. As the popular saying goes, no one can serve to masters, because one will end up being hated and the other loved. When we serve those two masters, ourselves and God, we end up becoming whishy washy and we become luke warm. Becoming a mature Christian requires all of our attention, and the only way to do it is to participate in the death of Christ so that we may be raised with Him. It is coming the idea that its not about me anymore and its about God. A good practice to see what one we are living for, is to see which one we are feeing. Do we feed our own selfish desires, or do we feast on the Word of God. If you don't feed something, it will die from starvation. So how does the power of the cross compel you. Does it compel to lead a life lead by the Spirit and the power of God, or do we just scoff at it and call it pointless. There is no middle ground
Saturday, March 7, 2015
Go and Do
One of my favorite social media games to pay attention to is changing the title of songs to make something else. One example is taken the famous song Let it Go from the movie frozen and making it into, "what if Bella didn't let it go?" or the play on REM's famous song Loosing My Religion to what if the band didn't loose their religion. I feel like the changing of the song titles is a way that the artist or bands do not follow the advice of their own songs, not matter how great that advice might be. I came to the conclusion that we are no different, how often do we ask for advice and not take it, or the advice we give to others, we really need apply to our lives. Here is the troubling idea, how often do we do this with God. We ask God to show us the way and then we take it under advisement and either follow it half heartedly or avoid it all together. We tend to become enraged when people do this to us, so why do we do it to God? In essence, we are being double minded and the Bible has a few things to say about it.
The book of James states that people who are double minded are unstable. I think that being double minded does not mean we can not have doubts or question things, but it is our response to that advice from friends or what God is calling us to do. Here is my question, if we ask for direction or advice, and not follow it, we are really just trying to justify our own actions and to make ourselves feel better. Self justification is more about asking the question of how much can I get away with, with the least amount of consequences. Its taking the song from Bon Jovi "Its My Life" and making it ones personal anthem. Being double minded means that we are taking control of our lives and that we run from thing to thing that makes us happy and feels good for the moment.
The other aspect of being double minded is that we devalue others and God. One of the biggest ways we devalue God and others is that when we are given advice or direction from God, we take it under advisement, but we do nothing with it. In all reality, we don't care what others thing unless they are petting our ego, or the advice is something we want to hear. People and God become pawns in our lives that we use to get what we want. This form of knowledge gaining has no interest into putting it into practice, because that would take work, risk and faith. In essence we are being lazy because we want the knowledge without the experience. Wisdom is knowing who to listen to and what to do, while putting it into practice.
The other side of the coin is the issue of doubt. One side of the coin is that we consider it a badge of honor when we doubt and to question everything. This is good, but at some point we need faith and obedience. The other side is the phrase that bugs the tar out of me and it is "you just got to have faith." It leaves no room for questioning, reason, and growth. I also find this phrase to be disingenuous and it assumes that life should be full of roses. If one is always full of faith and gun ho, there is something that is wrong, along with someone who is always in doubt and questioning. God has given us a brain along with reason, we should and need to use it. I think there are two big takeaways here. God has promised us the Holy Spirit to comfort and to commune with. Are we taking time to communicate with God. It is not only speaking to God, but listening to Him also. Whether it is through Scripture reading, prayer, journaling, worship, or a host of any other ways, communication is key. The other is seeking out wise counsel. Having people in your life who know you and God well and loves the both of you is important. God often speaks through and provides comfort to His people by other people. The only way we can take the full advantage of this is if we are in full communion with God.
To sum it up, where we get our advice and who we get it from is very important. We also need use our God given intellect to figure things out. But here is where the rubber meets the road. in order to not be considered double minded, are we putting what we know to practice. There is an element of faith that is involved. Sometimes it is putting one foot in front of the other. Faith is trusting God and following His lead. We should stop asking what to do from God and others when we have no intentions of following it.
The book of James states that people who are double minded are unstable. I think that being double minded does not mean we can not have doubts or question things, but it is our response to that advice from friends or what God is calling us to do. Here is my question, if we ask for direction or advice, and not follow it, we are really just trying to justify our own actions and to make ourselves feel better. Self justification is more about asking the question of how much can I get away with, with the least amount of consequences. Its taking the song from Bon Jovi "Its My Life" and making it ones personal anthem. Being double minded means that we are taking control of our lives and that we run from thing to thing that makes us happy and feels good for the moment.
The other aspect of being double minded is that we devalue others and God. One of the biggest ways we devalue God and others is that when we are given advice or direction from God, we take it under advisement, but we do nothing with it. In all reality, we don't care what others thing unless they are petting our ego, or the advice is something we want to hear. People and God become pawns in our lives that we use to get what we want. This form of knowledge gaining has no interest into putting it into practice, because that would take work, risk and faith. In essence we are being lazy because we want the knowledge without the experience. Wisdom is knowing who to listen to and what to do, while putting it into practice.
The other side of the coin is the issue of doubt. One side of the coin is that we consider it a badge of honor when we doubt and to question everything. This is good, but at some point we need faith and obedience. The other side is the phrase that bugs the tar out of me and it is "you just got to have faith." It leaves no room for questioning, reason, and growth. I also find this phrase to be disingenuous and it assumes that life should be full of roses. If one is always full of faith and gun ho, there is something that is wrong, along with someone who is always in doubt and questioning. God has given us a brain along with reason, we should and need to use it. I think there are two big takeaways here. God has promised us the Holy Spirit to comfort and to commune with. Are we taking time to communicate with God. It is not only speaking to God, but listening to Him also. Whether it is through Scripture reading, prayer, journaling, worship, or a host of any other ways, communication is key. The other is seeking out wise counsel. Having people in your life who know you and God well and loves the both of you is important. God often speaks through and provides comfort to His people by other people. The only way we can take the full advantage of this is if we are in full communion with God.
To sum it up, where we get our advice and who we get it from is very important. We also need use our God given intellect to figure things out. But here is where the rubber meets the road. in order to not be considered double minded, are we putting what we know to practice. There is an element of faith that is involved. Sometimes it is putting one foot in front of the other. Faith is trusting God and following His lead. We should stop asking what to do from God and others when we have no intentions of following it.
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