Musings from the road less traveled…

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An additional thought on being a fundamentalist…

July 23, 2008 · No Comments

After reading my previous post, a friend forwarded the following from John Piper’s blog, Desiring God:

20 Reasons I Don’t Take Potshots at Fundamentalists

1. They are humble and respectful and courteous and even funny (the ones I’ve met).

2. They believe in truth.

3. They believe that truth really matters.

4. They believe that the Bible is true, all of it.

5. They know that the Bible calls for some kind of separation from the world.

6. They have backbone and are not prone to compromise principle.

7. They put obedience to Jesus above the approval of man (even though they fall short, like others).

8. They believe in hell and are loving enough to warn people about it.

9. They believe in heaven and sing about how good it will be to go there.

10. Their “social action” is helping the person next door (like Jesus), which doesn’t usually get written up in the newspaper.

11. They tend to raise law-abiding, chaste children, in spite of the fact that Barna says evangelical kids in general don’t have any better track record than non-Christians.

12. They resist trendiness.

13. They don’t think too much is gained by sounding hip.

14. They may not be hip, but they don’t go so far as to drive buggies or insist on typewriters.

15. They still sing hymns.

16. They are not breathless about being accepted in the scholarly guild.

17. They give some contemporary plausibility to New Testament claim that the church is the “pillar and bulwark of the truth.”

18. They are good for the rest of evangelicals because of all this.

19. My dad was one.

20. Everybody to my left thinks I am one. And there are a lot of people to my left.

——————

It sounds good to me. Amen? (Thanks, “d”!)

 

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Uncomfortable Truths…

June 20, 2008 · 1 Comment

None of us likes to offend people. Of all people, it may be Christians who like being offensive the least, since we are under command from the Lord to love our enemies, do good to those who hate us and to suffer wrong contentedly. Nevertheless, we also have been commanded to go into the world and preach the gospel. To do that faithfully, we must tell people the truth—the truth about their condition as fallen humanity and the truth about their need of salvation.

For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God…. —Rom. 3:23

 However, we are so intellectually and emotionally immature, so hypersensitive, and so deceived in our understanding of love that we shy away from telling people the truth. Especially sinners. We don’t even want to call them sinners! We invent new euphemisms instead: seekers and those distant from God are currently popular. The New Testament is less polite:

 And you were dead in the trespasses and sins in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience—among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind. —Eph. 2:1–3

 There is a reason we preach the gospel. Yet it looks as though we have forgotten it. Perhaps because somewhere we decided to minister out of our feelings rather than speak from God’s Word. The Word tells us that there is a standard from which humanity has fallen and all of our best efforts cannot help us:

 For whoever keeps the whole law but fails in one point has become accountable for all of it. —James 2:10

 When we break God’s law, we sin. We don’t like that word, so we try to call it other things—problems, challenges, even personal issues. But sin is sin, and it produces death:

 For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. —Rom. 6:23

 There is judgment coming to the sinner. God’s wrath will be poured out on the last day:

 But because of your hard and impenitent heart you are storing up wrath for yourself on the day of wrath when God’s righteous judgment will be revealed. —Rom. 2:5

 God’s wrath has been levied against fallen humanity. Unless sinners repent and turn to Jesus in faith, God’s wrath towards them is unavoidable:

 Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life; whoever does not obey the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God remains on him. —John 3:36

 Sadly, in today’s church evangelism has been made about increasing church attendance—not convicting sinners of their sin and their need of Christ. When will we recover a proper understanding of our need to proclaim the gospel to the lost?

 And if anyone’s name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire. —Rev. 20:15

 I shudder to think of the final destiny of sinners. But I also shudder when I think of the displeasure we might face if we persist in rejecting God’s Word and magnifying our thoughts and feelings over that Word. No matter how we might want to sanitize it, the gospel is an offense to fallen humanity. It contains uncomfortable truths. We must get over ourselves, trust God and preach the Truth.

 

Categories: Bible · Christianity · Church · Word · discipleship
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The Truth Project…

June 4, 2008 · No Comments

Last October, the USA Today newspaper reported on the results of a Gallup poll that questioned people about their beliefs concerning the origins of humanity. The paper noted that 66% of those questioned agreed that the statement “the idea that God created humans in their present form within the past 10,000 years” was either definitely or probably true. Yet in the same poll, 53% of those questioned indicated that they believed that “the idea that humans evolved from less-advanced life forms over millions of years” was also either probably or definitely true! Houston—we have a problem! It sounds like America is profoundly confused!

 A recent survey conducted by the Pew Forum found that over 75% of the United States identifies itself as Christian. Yet as this USA Today/Gallup survey indicates, there is an obvious disconnect between what people believe in church and what they believe in society. As one fellow put it, people today have “Christian hearts and pagan heads.” No wonder our society is in the state it is; we seem unable to allow biblical truth to affect our view of the world.

 A variety of ministries are awakening to this issue; recently there has been an explosion of academic and popular treatments on Christian worldview education. One of the most substantial and solid treatments has been produced by Focus on the Family, entitled The Truth Project. This is an excellent discussion of biblical truth and how it relates to life in society.

 The Truth Project is designed for small groups. It would be a tremendous contribution to our churches, schools and neighborhoods, if we could encourage one another to allow the truths that we believe to actually govern the way we think about things in our culture and society. Imagine how our faith would come alive if we genuinely discovered how relevant and applicable Christian beliefs are to the life we live in this earth! We could strengthen our churches immeasurably, and perhaps bring some sanity back to our civil society.

 Focus on the Family is conducting a nationwide training seminar by satellite on September 27, 2008. Registration fees include the day’s instruction plus the complete 12-lesson Truth Project Curriculum on DVD. You will also receive access to Focus’s learning and support site to help you in any area of your presentation of the series.

 I am honored to serve on a committee overseeing the presentation of this seminar in the Hampton Roads area of Virginia. If you are interested in helping us administer and execute our seminar, email our director Robert Wallace. For additional information, and to attend the seminar, both in Hampton Roads or elsewhere in America, visit the Truth Project web site and register for the meeting in your locale.

God has laid a burden on my heart for a return to committed discipleship within the Church. He has charged me with teaching not only the theology necessary, but also the practical life habits involved in becoming disciples. One of the greatest needs we have, however, is basic, common sense instruction in how what we believe should affect every area of our life—political, social, financial, and cultural. It does us no good to learn the disciplines of prayer and meditation, and come to understand the theology of redemption and the Christian life, if we persist in living life as practical pagans. Christianity is not about church attendance but about the Kingdom of God in this world. I encourage you to investigate this project and pursue its instruction. May our efforts bring glory and honor to the Almighty!

 

  

 

Categories: Bible · Christianity · Church · discipleship
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A response to Deacon Usher…

June 3, 2008 · No Comments

[On May 31st, “deaconandusher” left an interesting comment to my post entitled Stability. The remarks resonated with me, and provoked these thoughts in response.]

 Dear deaconandusher,

Thank you for your comments. I understand and appreciate your views and I want to affirm you in many of them. I sense a tangible hurt and anger in your words; I recognize those feelings because I too have experienced them. Much of the enterprise that passes for church today—including the charlatans and hirelings leading it—is deeply heartrending. But that is no reason for abandoning the Church. The Church is God’s idea; it exists for His glory, and is intended to mirror His divine image in the earth today. Like all of the gifts of God, it is administered through the agency of human beings, and unfortunately, like all things of humanity, it frequently falls far from perfect.

 I make a distinction between the visible church—the institutions of brick and mortar with the people and leaders within, called or not—and the invisible church, made up of the elect of God, called according to His purpose and destined for final glory. You err if you think me an apologist for the institutional (visible) church, and I erred if I left you with the impression that our only recourse of worship is to be found in an institutional church. My aim was not to magnify the institutional church, but to highlight our tendency to find fault in everybody and every thing other than ourselves. At the end of the day, people drift between churches because everything is about them—about what they like, what they want, what they need. It has little to do with the church itself. Instead, these church migrants are not willing to surrender anything so that another may be blessed; they refuse to tolerate anything that does not satisfy their own desires. They balk at what genuine Christianity demands—the death of one’s own life, necessitating the death of one’s own wants, needs and preferences. The genuine Christian is one raised with Christ to live a new life for others—without thought of self. However, these church-(s)hoppers won’t surrender themselves. Sadly, after wandering from church to church, many ultimately end up alone, rehearsing a litany of complaints against the church to any who are unfortunate enough to have to listen. I fear that one day they will hear the voice of Christ, even as Saul heard it—questioning them with the words, “Why are you persecuting me?” If and when that moment comes, I pray God will have mercy on their souls.

 No matter how corrupt the institutional church may become, we as Christians will never be exempted from the journey of Christian discipleship walked out in submission and in community, in the Church. That does not mean you are confined to the local mega-church, or even the small church down the lane that can be equally as corrupt or misguided. In fact, I would agree with you, Deacon Usher, that the time may well be coming when the last place any true disciple of Christ should find themselves is in an institutional church! Thank God, though, I am persuaded that we are not at that point just yet. So for now we must continue to seek out community, for genuine Christian discipleship will not result from sitting by one’s self in front of the TV or the computer!

 Concomitant with a disciple’s need of community is their need of submission. We delude ourselves if we think Christianity an egalitarian democracy, where we shepherd ourselves and have neither need nor use of ministers. The form in which we worship these days may move away from the institutional church toward small(er) home-groups or house-churches. Yet even there we will require pastors and teachers, prophets and evangelists. We in the body of Christ need to submit to their ministries, even as we submit to one another in love and mutual edification.

 Stop and think for a moment, Deacon Usher, on the many times throughout history when the church has been corrupt and rotten. Yet through it all, God never abandoned His plan to be glorified in His people, the Church. Time and again, God raised up men and women to go and rebuild His church—not “push it into the landfill.” He has never given up on the Church and neither should we.

I wish I could console you in the anguish you feel about the horrible things that men have done to the body of Christ, the Church. They crucified Him when He walked the land, so is it any surprise that they pollute His body today? But be of good cheer—He overcame the world, and He will overcome the mess men are making of the church today. The day is coming when His Church will be seen as His spotless Bride—when the fetid dross of human corruption is removed by a total infusion of the Holy Spirit—and the Church is revealed in the stature of the fullness of Christ. Until that day, we must look upon her with the eyes of faith, and humbly stay in faith.

Given the perverse condition of many institutional churches, we must be sure we are in the place God intends for us. This demands that we take the time to discern God’s calling. He may have me in an established church with a congregation of 1,000; he may have you in a home church of 15. Our task is not to look at each other in judgment, but to look at God in faith where we are.

I don’t know if these thoughts will mitigate the pain and anger you feel, but I pray that you will find a place of peace in your walk with God. Thank you again for reading and commenting.     

 

 

Categories: Christianity · Church · Jesus · discipleship · faith
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We are not alone…

May 8, 2008 · No Comments

“And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”

 Where are you right now? Do you realize that right now, right where you are—God is right there with you? Are you a Christian? Have you repented from your own efforts to make yourself right and turned to God in absolute dependence upon His grace and mercy? Have you obeyed the Gospel, the word of faith that you heard preached? Then God is there with you:

 “Whoever has my commandments and keeps them, he it is who loves me. And he who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I will love him and manifest myself to him.” Judas (not Iscariot) said to him, “Lord, how is it that you will manifest yourself to us, and not to the world?” Jesus answered him, “If anyone loves me, he will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him.” —John 14:21–23

 God lives with you. He lives in you. Now pause for a moment and consider that. God is there; you are not alone. The Father and the Son are in you, in the person of the Holy Spirit:

 “I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Helper, to be with you forever, even the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him. You know him, for he dwells with you and will be in you. I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you.” —John 14:16–18

 Many people experience a nearly intolerable loneliness. Life parts families and friends: parents reside miles from children and grandchildren; business separates families for hours, even days at a time. People grow so busy they crave “alone time,” and yet are so alone—even in crowds—that they feel frightened and forgotten.

 But we are not alone: God lives in us; He lives with us. As we find our way in this world, we need to strengthen our consciousness of God’s continuous indwelling presence. That is an awareness built on faith, not an experience prompted by feeling. He is there, even when it doesn’t feel like He is. He is there—because Jesus said He would be. We are not alone.

 This song speaks directly to this truth, that we Christians are not alone. It is by the SoundForth Singers & Orchestra, on their album, A Quiet Heart. You can find it here: SacredAudio.com

We-are-not-alone 

We need to step outside ourselves and intentionally develop community, to create new relationships of friends and family. The perfect place to start is in our local church: these are our new brothers and sisters, mothers and fathers. Yet we must always remember that in Christ, we are never alone. God is with us. Hallelujah!  

 

Categories: Christianity · faith · life
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Our greatest week begins…

March 17, 2008 · No Comments

With this celebration of Palm Sunday, we begin the remembrance of our Lord’s Passion. The thought of his triumphant entry into Jerusalem is thrilling. And yet, as the words of this hymn capture, it was as an approaching sacrifice rather than exalted king that Jesus came into the city. What a wondrous, hidden truth! I encourage you to reflect on the words of this hymn written by Henry H. Milman in 1820. Like all old hymns, it has been fit to different tunes. Some of you may recognize it. It is called Ride on, ride on in majesty!

Ride on, ride on, in majesty!

Hark! all the tribes Hosanna cry;

O Savior meek, pursue Thy road

With palms and scattered garments strowed.

Ride on, ride on, in majesty!

In lowly pomp ride on to die!

O Christ! Thy triumph now begin

Over captive death and conquered sin.

Ride on, ride on, in majesty!

The wingèd squadrons of the sky

Look down with sad and wondering eyes

To see the approaching sacrifice.

Ride on, ride on, in majesty!

Thy last and fiercest strife is nigh;

The Father, on His sapphire throne,

Expects His own anointed Son.

Ride on, ride on, in majesty!

In lowly pomp ride on to die;

Bow Thy meek head to mortal pain,

Then take, O God, Thy power, and reign.

I pray that we would enter in to this resurrection season mindful of Jesus’ great sacrifice on behalf of all of humanity, and grateful for the new life he died to obtain for us. And may we rejoice at the expectation of our own resurrection at the Last Day!

Categories: Christianity · Church · church; life
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Purpose…

March 11, 2008 · No Comments

There are many people today who are in search of their purpose. Many are looking for direction, wondering what it is that they are called to do. Yet the answer for Christians is blessedly clear. The Westminster Shorter Catechism provides the answer to any question a believer might have concerning her purpose or vocation: “What is the chief end of man? Man’s chief end is to glorify God, and to enjoy Him for ever.”Each and every day is a gift to a Christian, providing a new opportunity to experience God and glorify His Name. How do we bring glory to God? We do it by keeping His Word:

And Samuel said, “Has the LORD as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the LORD? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to listen than the fat of rams.”   —1 Sam. 15:22.

Our willing obedience—in the form of a humble submission to the authority and commands of His Word—demonstrates that we love and trust God more than we love or trust ourselves. It is in our surrender to His Word that we reveal our relationship to God:

“If you love me, you will keep my commandments. … Whoever has my commandments and keeps them, he it is who loves me. And he who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I will love him and manifest myself to him.”   —John 14:15, 21

All of our responsibilities—all of our tasks and duties—need to be sifted through the grid of obedience to God’s Word. Anything that might conflict with His commands must be avoided; anything that might lead us away from Him must be laid aside. Our focus must be on glorifying Him, not pleasing ourselves. Regardless of what the world might tell us, our relationship with God must take first place in our lives:

Now all has been heard; here is the conclusion of the matter: Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the whole [duty] of man.   —Eccl. 12:13

This is not a call to legalism or works righteousness; we well know that our relationship to God is based not on what we have done but on what Christ has done for us. This is love. This is respect. This is appreciation. This is covenant relationship with Christ:

“You are my friends if you do what I command you.”    —John 15:14

Obedience begins with knowledge. If we want to obey God, to honor Him and bring Him glory, we must know His Word:

This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success.   —Josh. 1:8

The only way that we will obey God’s commands is by having His Word written on our heart. God sent His Spirit to dwell in us to enable us to walk in His Word. But we must get the Word off the page and onto our heart:

Wherewithal shall a young man cleanse his way? by taking heed thereto according to thy word. With my whole heart have I sought thee: O let me not wander from thy commandments. Thy word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against thee.   —Ps. 119:9–11 (KJV)

We must cooperate with the Holy Spirit and set ourselves in position to receive the Word with meekness. But this will demand that we stir ourselves up anew and afresh to hunger for God’s Word more than the tales of men:

I have esteemed the words of his mouth more than my necessary food.   — Job 23:12

Live in line with your purpose; do what you have been called and equipped to do: obey God. Find His commands in His Word. In this we demonstrate our love for God and our true worship. And we will find the answer to the fundamental questions of existence.

Categories: Bible · Christianity · life

How to know Him…

February 26, 2008 · No Comments

Often when we think about knowing God, the first questions that pop into our mind concern classes and instruction. “Is there a book I might read? … A course I could take? … A retreat I should attend?” This is the way we’ve been trained to think in our time. But it is not the way one becomes a disciple.

The study of the Word produces much learning about God, and communion with God is experienced in the disciplined practice of contemplative prayer and meditation. There is a revelation of God to be found in the face of the poor and an experience of God obtained in corporate praise and worship. All these activities can—and do—teach us about God. But to know Him demands something other than study. To know Him we must be with Him. Jesus calls his disciples to be with Him. This means that we must be joined to Him—or, to use the language of a by-gone agricultural era—we must be yoked to Him.

Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light. —Matt. 11:29–30 

To know God we must be yoked to Him. A yoke is a tool of repression; it inhibits the wearer from pursuing his own direction, and compels him to follow the master’s direction. A yoke trains its wearer to be obedient. And what was the yoke that Jesus wore? It was a yoke of suffering:

Although he was a son, he learned obedience through what he suffered. —Heb. 5:8 

To know God—to genuinely and intimately know Him—we must yield under His yoke and learn obedience. We must surrender our own way and participate in His suffering. It is in a resistance to the things of this world that we come to know God more. We will suffer when we resist sin and temptation, yet we will learn how He satisfies our every need. We will suffer when we crucify our self-will and swallow our pride, but we will know Him in His tender provision and care. We come to know Him when we walk with Him in obedience together to the will of God. And obedience is born of suffering.

… that I may know him and the power of his resurrection, and may share his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, that by any means possible I may attain the resurrection from the dead. — Phil. 3:10–11 

We will not come to know Him by attending yet another service or by completing another course. Those events may help us know more about Him, but they cannot help us know Him. And this one thing alone is needful: that we know Him. In knowing Him we at last become His disciples. So let us come to Him and take His yoke upon our necks. Let us walk with Him on the difficult path of obedience. We may suffer, but we will know Him.

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Knowing God…

February 14, 2008 · No Comments

“All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way….”

We live in difficult times. Foundations are shaking; the rate of change outstrips our ability to forecast. It is a time of deception, a season of peril. There is a great spiritual hunger in the land among people who know no God and among people who name the name of God. In spite of the explosive growth of churches—small neighborhood assemblies and so-called “cathedral” churches—this hunger is not slaked. Have we turned away from God?

“For My people are foolish,
They have not known Me.
They are silly children,
And they have no understanding.
They are wise to do evil,
But to do good they have no knowledge.”

It is time for us to come to God. We must repent of following our own desires and plans and begin anew to seek the face of God. The decision must begin with us, since these days it may be that the blind are leading the blind…

“The priests did not say, “Where is the LORD?’
And those who handle the law did not know Me;
The rulers also transgressed against Me;
The prophets prophesied by Baal,
And walked after things that do not profit.”

The church has slipped into the miasma of the world. She has adopted the language of business and psychology; her ministers pursue careers and enterprise. Desiring numerical church growth, they employ the metaphors of marketing and marginalize the Word. Starving people are left to chew on the fodder of false spiritualities and errant teaching. God’s people are destroyed, and the church is rendered irrelevant and weak, with no message for the world.

Faith begins where God is known. Let us come and sit before Him. We do not see because we have not been looking; we do not hear because we have not listened. Let us wait on Him in patient, obedient silence. Let us begin again to read His Word to hear His voice. We must know Him to survive the times in which we live.

“Then I will give them a heart to know Me, that I am the LORD; and they shall be My people, and I will be their God, for they shall return to Me with their whole heart.” 

References, in order: Is. 53:6; Jer. 4:22; Jer. 2:8; Jer. 24:7

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Finding God where we are…

January 15, 2008 · 1 Comment

We spend a lot of time walking down paths on which God seems distant. This sense of separation from God can grow and continue. Days become weeks, weeks turn into months, and months become years. And in all of it we can live without any tangible sense that God is present. In that hard, empty loneliness of time, we can grow to despise life and location. But if we genuinely believe that God is eternal, omniscient and omnipresent, shouldn’t we know that there is absolutely no place where we are ever apart from God? David was a man like us, experiencing trials like us. But he had the good sense to confess,        

“Where shall I go from your Spirit? Or where shall I flee from your presence? If I ascend to heaven, you are there! If I make my bed in Sheol, you are there! If I take the wings of the morning and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea, even there your hand shall lead me, and your right hand shall hold me.”  (Ps. 139:7–10)

 Wherever we are, however we feel, God is right there. But the temptation we face in the hard time is that if we would just go somewhere else—Tulsa, New York, this church, that monastery, wherever—then things would change and we would find God. We think that if we were just different, that if we changed jobs, spouses, houses, schools, careers, that then we would find intimacy with God. But these temptations are lies. God is here, there, wherever we are, right now.

 Our challenge is to find God where we are—in the place we live, in the family or community in which we reside, in the church we attend, in the work we do, in the time we spend. God does not walk together with open sin, but He is as near as a cry of repentance. If there is sin, repent. Otherwise, He is there.

 To find God where we are we must intentionally look for Him and expect to see Him; we must listen and expect to hear. We must take our eyes off the distractions of self and unplug from the cacophony of the world, but we need not move or change our church, life or location. He is there!

 Stop, turn, and look. Behold the smallest of things; He is there. Look at the majesty overhead; He is there. Look at the people surrounding you; He is there. Look at what you set your hands to; He is there. Let us find Him in our lives, where we are. He is there!

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