One morning I drove down the beach in a pretty melancholy state. To be honest, I had been pretty dead for a while. Something was playing on the radio and I was not really paying attention to the water or the sky when suddenly I looked up to see God shining a beautiful, distinct circle of light beaming through the dark clouds. I immediately remembered God and wanted to hear something beautiful to accompany this beautiful scene. I reached over for the CD case and it fell open in my hand the page of the exact CD that had run through my mind when I saw God’s open window. I listened and wept as God reminded me that He was still walking with me. Even on a cloudy day.
Come broken and weary. Come battered and bruised.
My Jesus makes all things new, all things new.
Come lost and abandoned. Come blown by the wind.
He’ll bring you back home again, home again.
Rise up, oh you sleeper, awake, the light of the dawn is upon you.
Rise up, oh you sleeper, awake, he makes all things new.
Come frozen with shame. Come burning with guilt.
My Jesus, he loves you still, he loves you still.
*Lyrics from Andrew Peterson’s “All Things New” on Resurrection Letters, Vol. II.
Monday, October 26, 2009
Thursday, October 22, 2009
Church/State
In my Christian Ethics class at the seminary, I had to read about and write a position paper on the separation of church and state. My professor was somewhat shocked when I wrote my paper on the position held, most famously, by the Quakers. (I guess I didn't look much like a Quaker to him)
This week, as he reads the news of Obama's new spins on "faith-based" government funding rules, I think my professor may by a bit more sympathetic to the Quaker position of strict separation.
Throughout church history, the Baptists have been on the bad side of church/state relations. The more closely a government aligns itself with a particular religion or denomination, the more dangerous it becomes to those who disagree. Many baptists have lost their lives because the government didn't approve of baptizing adults instead of babies. We should remember this when we call on the government to choose our side in the religion debate. I think we should, instead, call on them to choose no side.
Recently, President Obama has expanded the "faith-based initiatives" that George Bush initiated. In my view, Obama has just taken one step closer on the path Bush started toward the fire of persecution. Here is what I mean...
Bush wanted the government to help fund programs run by "faith-based institutions" (churches, mosques, synagogues, etc.) in order to provide social services to people in need. He believed these institutions should be able to hire people of similar beliefs to staff the services. Obama believes the same thing, only he wants to enforce strict non-discrimination policies for hiring.
In other words, if a church receives funds from the government for any social ministry, that church must be willing to hire muslims and mormons if they apply and are qualified. To this proposal, I say, "thanks, but no thanks."
All of us learned as teenagers, "as long as you live under my roof, you will follow my rules." Obama is saying the same thing here. "As long as you take our dollars, you will spend them the way we tell you to."
The Quakers get this.
I am not proposing that we trade in our SUVs for the horse and buggy, but I do think we should follow the Quakers example and keep government dollars out of our offering plates.
This week, as he reads the news of Obama's new spins on "faith-based" government funding rules, I think my professor may by a bit more sympathetic to the Quaker position of strict separation.
Throughout church history, the Baptists have been on the bad side of church/state relations. The more closely a government aligns itself with a particular religion or denomination, the more dangerous it becomes to those who disagree. Many baptists have lost their lives because the government didn't approve of baptizing adults instead of babies. We should remember this when we call on the government to choose our side in the religion debate. I think we should, instead, call on them to choose no side.
Recently, President Obama has expanded the "faith-based initiatives" that George Bush initiated. In my view, Obama has just taken one step closer on the path Bush started toward the fire of persecution. Here is what I mean...
Bush wanted the government to help fund programs run by "faith-based institutions" (churches, mosques, synagogues, etc.) in order to provide social services to people in need. He believed these institutions should be able to hire people of similar beliefs to staff the services. Obama believes the same thing, only he wants to enforce strict non-discrimination policies for hiring.
In other words, if a church receives funds from the government for any social ministry, that church must be willing to hire muslims and mormons if they apply and are qualified. To this proposal, I say, "thanks, but no thanks."
All of us learned as teenagers, "as long as you live under my roof, you will follow my rules." Obama is saying the same thing here. "As long as you take our dollars, you will spend them the way we tell you to."
The Quakers get this.
I am not proposing that we trade in our SUVs for the horse and buggy, but I do think we should follow the Quakers example and keep government dollars out of our offering plates.
Don't strain the gnat
One of the mistakes Christians commonly make when trying to be a witness to non-Christians has deep theological roots.
Galatians 2:16 says: "...we know that a person is not justified by works of the law but through faith in Jesus Christ, so we also have believed in Christ Jesus, in order to be justified by faith in Christ and not by works of the law, because by works of the law no one will be justified."
As Christians, we know this is true...at least we think we do.
I wonder how many of us blow our opportunities to be strong witnesses because we show people law by our words and attitude instead of showing Christ.
Here is what I mean.
If you have a co-worker or family member who smells like Budweiser, curses like a golfer in a sand trap, and laughs about the things that God hates, you have a perfect specimen to test yourself with.
Do you spend your time trying to get them to stop cussing? Or do you love and accept them and treat them like Jesus?
Do you display an attitude of contempt toward their ungodliness? Or do you love and accept them and treat them like Jesus?
Are you more concerned with their drinking, cussing, and mocking God than you are their souls?
The problem that we have with non-Christians is really a theological problem. We think we can save people by getting them to "act right" when they really need transformation. Law never saved anyone. Grace, however, does save.
As you relate to the people in your life this week who don't show fruits of being in Christ, consider the Jesus approach. It is not "good behavior" that they need. They need a new heart.
Remember, it is grace that is able to create a new heart...not law.
Let's make sure we get our theology straight. Otherwise, we are not offering Good News. We are just offering news.
Galatians 2:16 says: "...we know that a person is not justified by works of the law but through faith in Jesus Christ, so we also have believed in Christ Jesus, in order to be justified by faith in Christ and not by works of the law, because by works of the law no one will be justified."
As Christians, we know this is true...at least we think we do.
I wonder how many of us blow our opportunities to be strong witnesses because we show people law by our words and attitude instead of showing Christ.
Here is what I mean.
If you have a co-worker or family member who smells like Budweiser, curses like a golfer in a sand trap, and laughs about the things that God hates, you have a perfect specimen to test yourself with.
Do you spend your time trying to get them to stop cussing? Or do you love and accept them and treat them like Jesus?
Do you display an attitude of contempt toward their ungodliness? Or do you love and accept them and treat them like Jesus?
Are you more concerned with their drinking, cussing, and mocking God than you are their souls?
The problem that we have with non-Christians is really a theological problem. We think we can save people by getting them to "act right" when they really need transformation. Law never saved anyone. Grace, however, does save.
As you relate to the people in your life this week who don't show fruits of being in Christ, consider the Jesus approach. It is not "good behavior" that they need. They need a new heart.
Remember, it is grace that is able to create a new heart...not law.
Let's make sure we get our theology straight. Otherwise, we are not offering Good News. We are just offering news.
You better start swimin'
Culture is constantly changing. I am constantly reminded of this when I look at current styles of music, clothing, and even language that is used in our nation and city.
This is challenging to our churches that have remained, for the most part, culturally unchanged for decades past.
For this reason, church services have become a sort of "refuge" for those of us who like the way culture used to but I am starting to feel like this is a form of selfishness.
When Jesus left heaven and became a man, He did so because he wanted to reach man. It would have been more comfortable for him to stay in heaven and not become like us, but he didn't. He came into culture because he wanted to save people, putting to death his own preferences.
He chose mission over comfort.
The more the news becomes doom and gloom about the future of the church in America, the more I wonder if we might need to change our game plan. Maybe we should try the "Jesus method."
Had Jesus not become a man just like us, we would not have listened to his message.
I wonder if the culture around us is not hearing our message because we do not look and sound like them.
What if our churches decided to modify its culture in order to look more like the culture around us for the sake of winning the people who don't currently look and sound like us?
If it worked for Jesus, I think it would work for us, too. Jesus didn't change his message. He just adjusted his methods for sharing his message.
I believe the time is coming and is at hand for us to put our own preferences aside for the sake of reaching the lost of our culture.
I believe the future of the church and the salvation of souls depends on it.
This is challenging to our churches that have remained, for the most part, culturally unchanged for decades past.
For this reason, church services have become a sort of "refuge" for those of us who like the way culture used to but I am starting to feel like this is a form of selfishness.
When Jesus left heaven and became a man, He did so because he wanted to reach man. It would have been more comfortable for him to stay in heaven and not become like us, but he didn't. He came into culture because he wanted to save people, putting to death his own preferences.
He chose mission over comfort.
The more the news becomes doom and gloom about the future of the church in America, the more I wonder if we might need to change our game plan. Maybe we should try the "Jesus method."
Had Jesus not become a man just like us, we would not have listened to his message.
I wonder if the culture around us is not hearing our message because we do not look and sound like them.
What if our churches decided to modify its culture in order to look more like the culture around us for the sake of winning the people who don't currently look and sound like us?
If it worked for Jesus, I think it would work for us, too. Jesus didn't change his message. He just adjusted his methods for sharing his message.
I believe the time is coming and is at hand for us to put our own preferences aside for the sake of reaching the lost of our culture.
I believe the future of the church and the salvation of souls depends on it.
Wednesday, October 21, 2009
On Marriage
I have spent a lot of time lately thinking about marriage and how to have a "godly marriage."
I believe, with all of my heart, that most of the problems in our country, schools, churches and even Christian families can be traced back to the lack of "godly marriages."
I don't have room here to explain everything that I mean by that, but I would like to offer a word of advise.
We can call ourselves "Christian families" but, for most of us, that just means that we are involved in church and we try to work toward a healthy relationship with God as individuals. But being a Christian individually and being married to a Christian individual does not necessarily mean that you will have a "godly marriage."
Here is the way I think this works for us:
-Dad does his own thing (bible reading, prayer, etc.) and keeps it mostly to himself...
-Mom does the same thing...and keeps it mostly to herself
-The kids may or may not see this going on, but they know that they are expected to go to church, so that is where they are
encouraged to pursue their own personal relationship with God.
But what if we quit doing all of this individually and started doing it together?
Jess and I don't have kids (yet) but we struggled for the longest time with living completely separate spiritual lives. Praying together was awkward. Bible reading together seemed forced. It just didn't feel natural. So we just didn't do it.
But then we started realizing that we weren't connecting spiritually. We weren't pursuing God together. We were on two separate journeys, headed down two separate paths (even though they were heading in the same direction). And our marriage was starting to suffer for it. So we decided to bite the bullett...and just start doing it!
We WILL pray together and read a devotion together every night EVEN IF IT IS AWKWARD FOR AWHILE!!!
We have been doing this for some time now and it is no longer awkward or forced. It is just what we do every night. And it has made a world of difference in our marriage and spiritual lives.
I want to challenge you couples out there who are not doing something similar to MAKE IT HAPPEN! You don't have to follow our method, but you need to be doing something.
You may be shocked at how many of the problems you have having in your marriage and family could be solved with 15 minutes together with the Lord every night. (Not to mention the impact it would have on your kids) It's done wonders for our marriage and I think it would for yours, too.
I believe, with all of my heart, that most of the problems in our country, schools, churches and even Christian families can be traced back to the lack of "godly marriages."
I don't have room here to explain everything that I mean by that, but I would like to offer a word of advise.
We can call ourselves "Christian families" but, for most of us, that just means that we are involved in church and we try to work toward a healthy relationship with God as individuals. But being a Christian individually and being married to a Christian individual does not necessarily mean that you will have a "godly marriage."
Here is the way I think this works for us:
-Dad does his own thing (bible reading, prayer, etc.) and keeps it mostly to himself...
-Mom does the same thing...and keeps it mostly to herself
-The kids may or may not see this going on, but they know that they are expected to go to church, so that is where they are
encouraged to pursue their own personal relationship with God.
But what if we quit doing all of this individually and started doing it together?
Jess and I don't have kids (yet) but we struggled for the longest time with living completely separate spiritual lives. Praying together was awkward. Bible reading together seemed forced. It just didn't feel natural. So we just didn't do it.
But then we started realizing that we weren't connecting spiritually. We weren't pursuing God together. We were on two separate journeys, headed down two separate paths (even though they were heading in the same direction). And our marriage was starting to suffer for it. So we decided to bite the bullett...and just start doing it!
We WILL pray together and read a devotion together every night EVEN IF IT IS AWKWARD FOR AWHILE!!!
We have been doing this for some time now and it is no longer awkward or forced. It is just what we do every night. And it has made a world of difference in our marriage and spiritual lives.
I want to challenge you couples out there who are not doing something similar to MAKE IT HAPPEN! You don't have to follow our method, but you need to be doing something.
You may be shocked at how many of the problems you have having in your marriage and family could be solved with 15 minutes together with the Lord every night. (Not to mention the impact it would have on your kids) It's done wonders for our marriage and I think it would for yours, too.
On Sundays
How do Sunday mornings start at your house?
I ask this question because I believe Sunday morning, before the organ has warmed up or the Sunday school doors have been unlocked, the Lord keeping a close eye on the homes of His people. He sees the coffee pot come on. He hears those showers running. He visits in and listens for the hearts of his worshippers...
Sunday mornings are different for different people...
Some say Sunday is a great day for fishing...
Some believe it is the best of days to catch up on sleep...
Those who have tasted and seen that the Lord is good, say with the Psalmist:
"O Lord, I love the habitation of your house
and the place where your glory dwells!
"My foot stands on level ground;
in the great assembly, I will bless the Lord." (Psalm 27)
As the brew drips in the coffee pot and those first chills of ice cold waters shout from the showers, the heart of the redeemed should turn his heart unto the Lord and rush to the place where the people of God gather to sing of the rescue that is called Immanuel.
Don't let worship start for you when you drive into the parking lot at church. Grow in anticipation as soon as the Lord gently wakes you. Let your heart begin to be stirred. Wake your family up with peace and rejoicing. And crave like a starving and thirsty man for the body and blood that awaits you in the assembly of God's redeemed.
I ask this question because I believe Sunday morning, before the organ has warmed up or the Sunday school doors have been unlocked, the Lord keeping a close eye on the homes of His people. He sees the coffee pot come on. He hears those showers running. He visits in and listens for the hearts of his worshippers...
Sunday mornings are different for different people...
Some say Sunday is a great day for fishing...
Some believe it is the best of days to catch up on sleep...
Those who have tasted and seen that the Lord is good, say with the Psalmist:
"O Lord, I love the habitation of your house
and the place where your glory dwells!
"My foot stands on level ground;
in the great assembly, I will bless the Lord." (Psalm 27)
As the brew drips in the coffee pot and those first chills of ice cold waters shout from the showers, the heart of the redeemed should turn his heart unto the Lord and rush to the place where the people of God gather to sing of the rescue that is called Immanuel.
Don't let worship start for you when you drive into the parking lot at church. Grow in anticipation as soon as the Lord gently wakes you. Let your heart begin to be stirred. Wake your family up with peace and rejoicing. And crave like a starving and thirsty man for the body and blood that awaits you in the assembly of God's redeemed.
How to be wise and young
There is no substitute for experience.
The more I live, the more I realize the wisdom of those who have gone before me. I am grateful for the "old guys" that are willing to sit down with me and share their perspectives on our world, our God, and the people we interact with daily. It is funny to me how a young man will sit down and read a book about something, thinking he understands. If he is wise, he will sit with someone with experience and talk the subject over. If he is a fool, he will disregard experience.
What a great teacher experience is!
I am fearful that we don't take full advantage of this in our churches. Age draws lines between generations and the younger folks are left ignorant and the older folks feel ignored. This is a horrible tragedy. If we want to move into the future and have any lasting success, we must combine the instinct of the young with the wisdom of ages. One without the other either becomes stagnated or foolish.
Throughout the scriptures, we are mandated to learn and teach. This doesn't just happen in Sunday school rooms. This happens when we "sit in our houses...walk by the way...lie down...rise up" (Deut. 6:6). The classroom of life is where our greatest lessons are learned.
If you are not in fellowship with folks from another generation in our church, you are absent from one of the most fundamental, life giving aspects of being in Christ.
I would encourage you all to pour yourself into others. And don't let age create iron barriers that interrupt the flow of wisdom.
The more I live, the more I realize the wisdom of those who have gone before me. I am grateful for the "old guys" that are willing to sit down with me and share their perspectives on our world, our God, and the people we interact with daily. It is funny to me how a young man will sit down and read a book about something, thinking he understands. If he is wise, he will sit with someone with experience and talk the subject over. If he is a fool, he will disregard experience.
What a great teacher experience is!
I am fearful that we don't take full advantage of this in our churches. Age draws lines between generations and the younger folks are left ignorant and the older folks feel ignored. This is a horrible tragedy. If we want to move into the future and have any lasting success, we must combine the instinct of the young with the wisdom of ages. One without the other either becomes stagnated or foolish.
Throughout the scriptures, we are mandated to learn and teach. This doesn't just happen in Sunday school rooms. This happens when we "sit in our houses...walk by the way...lie down...rise up" (Deut. 6:6). The classroom of life is where our greatest lessons are learned.
If you are not in fellowship with folks from another generation in our church, you are absent from one of the most fundamental, life giving aspects of being in Christ.
I would encourage you all to pour yourself into others. And don't let age create iron barriers that interrupt the flow of wisdom.
Mind on the Flesh
Without truth, the world is a confusing place to live. I think this is why the New Testament puts such great emphasis on setting our minds on things of the Spirit rather than the flesh (Romans 8:5). "The flesh" is one of the most misunderstood concepts in Scripture. We usually associate "Flesh" with sinful passions and corrupt appetites for fleshly desires. "The flesh" includes that, but the idea is much bigger than that.
A mind set on the flesh is a mind set on all that we see and know to be the world we live in. Here is what I mean. If you took a picture of the front of your house or a busy street, you would see a picture of "the world" or, to put it another way, "the flesh." This meaning becomes clear when you contrast "the flesh" with "the Spirit" from Romans 8:5. The Spirit includes the things that God is interested in.
God doesn't care about bricks and floors. He cares about your home. The family that lives there.
God doesn't care about your job. He cares about your diligence at work and that you strive to provide and give.
God doesn't care about our church buildings. He cares about who we reach and how well we take care of one another.
Living by the Spirit, based on the truth revealed in Scripture eliminates a lot of confusion. I propose that we take those pictures of our houses and streets and tear them into pieces. Or maybe we should adjust our attention from the world we see at eye level and turn our gaze upward, to the King of Kings who commands us to take up His cause. When our minds are set on things of the Spirit, our priorities find their proper place. Home before house. Generosity before job. Kingdom before church building. Christ before self.
As we seek to have our minds renewed and set on things of the Spirit, remember that it is "this world" that is competing for your affections. If we are tricked into thinking that our enemy is merely sinful temptations, the battle has already been lost.
A mind set on the flesh is a mind set on all that we see and know to be the world we live in. Here is what I mean. If you took a picture of the front of your house or a busy street, you would see a picture of "the world" or, to put it another way, "the flesh." This meaning becomes clear when you contrast "the flesh" with "the Spirit" from Romans 8:5. The Spirit includes the things that God is interested in.
God doesn't care about bricks and floors. He cares about your home. The family that lives there.
God doesn't care about your job. He cares about your diligence at work and that you strive to provide and give.
God doesn't care about our church buildings. He cares about who we reach and how well we take care of one another.
Living by the Spirit, based on the truth revealed in Scripture eliminates a lot of confusion. I propose that we take those pictures of our houses and streets and tear them into pieces. Or maybe we should adjust our attention from the world we see at eye level and turn our gaze upward, to the King of Kings who commands us to take up His cause. When our minds are set on things of the Spirit, our priorities find their proper place. Home before house. Generosity before job. Kingdom before church building. Christ before self.
As we seek to have our minds renewed and set on things of the Spirit, remember that it is "this world" that is competing for your affections. If we are tricked into thinking that our enemy is merely sinful temptations, the battle has already been lost.
Anti-Trinity
The American tendency to isolate is reaking havoc on our Trinitarian Communities.
At the very heart of our faith is the unchanging Trinity...a model for everything we do relationally. We lean on each other, compliment each other, work side by side with each other, and love each other. We naturally do this because of our "Image Bearing" status and our close ties with the God who made us.
In our day, American culture runs contrary to this. We buy a house nice enough to hide in and only head out to "brave the world" when we need groceries or entertainment. This has created a vacuum that television has capitalized on. We don't know the person who lives next door, but we know which guy we like for Jillian on "The Bachelorette." We feel closer to politicians and professional athletes than we do our own extended families...or church families!
We crave community so deeply that we will find it wherever we can. It is just easier to to have a comfortable relationship with a character that doesn't talk back than one with emotions, opinions, and responses to our opinions of them.
Could it be that we have traded each other in for a TV?
I pray not. Fantasy relationships may be easier, but they are paper thin and, in the end, you are still alone on the couch.
As the Trinitarian people of God, let's be careful to stay in each other's faces. Let's hug and shake hands and laugh and cry with each other. We were made to live together. Let's not let Cable One become our closest friend.
At the very heart of our faith is the unchanging Trinity...a model for everything we do relationally. We lean on each other, compliment each other, work side by side with each other, and love each other. We naturally do this because of our "Image Bearing" status and our close ties with the God who made us.
In our day, American culture runs contrary to this. We buy a house nice enough to hide in and only head out to "brave the world" when we need groceries or entertainment. This has created a vacuum that television has capitalized on. We don't know the person who lives next door, but we know which guy we like for Jillian on "The Bachelorette." We feel closer to politicians and professional athletes than we do our own extended families...or church families!
We crave community so deeply that we will find it wherever we can. It is just easier to to have a comfortable relationship with a character that doesn't talk back than one with emotions, opinions, and responses to our opinions of them.
Could it be that we have traded each other in for a TV?
I pray not. Fantasy relationships may be easier, but they are paper thin and, in the end, you are still alone on the couch.
As the Trinitarian people of God, let's be careful to stay in each other's faces. Let's hug and shake hands and laugh and cry with each other. We were made to live together. Let's not let Cable One become our closest friend.
Money
Our flesh, our enemy, and our world would like nothing more than to have us believing that life is a never ending chase for the dollar.
We work all week to pay for the houses we sleep in, the food we eat to keep strong, the clothes we wear to stay warm, and the cars we drive to work to make it all happen. If we are not careful, we will start to believe that those things are what our lives are about, when nothing could be farther from the truth.
2 CLARIFYING TRUTHS:
1. We work because God commands us to and it is good for us (Gen. 2:15; 2 Thess. 3:10).
2. We are provided for because God has promised to do so (Luke 12:26-28; Matthew 6:11).
If these two truths are to be believed, where is room for anxiety over finances? Did God not consider OUR financial situation when He made those promises? Did He not know about September 2009's bills? Did our house insurance bill slip His mind?
No.
Financial pressure is not an opportunity for anxiety. Financial pressure is an opportunity for faith.
Are you working?
Are you being wise with what God has given you?
Then why are you worrying?
Let's stop talking about the goodness of God and start believing. Consider the lilies of the field...
We work all week to pay for the houses we sleep in, the food we eat to keep strong, the clothes we wear to stay warm, and the cars we drive to work to make it all happen. If we are not careful, we will start to believe that those things are what our lives are about, when nothing could be farther from the truth.
2 CLARIFYING TRUTHS:
1. We work because God commands us to and it is good for us (Gen. 2:15; 2 Thess. 3:10).
2. We are provided for because God has promised to do so (Luke 12:26-28; Matthew 6:11).
If these two truths are to be believed, where is room for anxiety over finances? Did God not consider OUR financial situation when He made those promises? Did He not know about September 2009's bills? Did our house insurance bill slip His mind?
No.
Financial pressure is not an opportunity for anxiety. Financial pressure is an opportunity for faith.
Are you working?
Are you being wise with what God has given you?
Then why are you worrying?
Let's stop talking about the goodness of God and start believing. Consider the lilies of the field...
Always Humility
Based on the account of Jesus washing feet in John 13, I have a few words of advise for difficult situations:
1. If a family member is grating your nerves, what should you do?
-Find ways to serve the people you live with in humility.
2. If your job is becoming meaningless, what should you do?
-Find ways to serve people at work in humility.
3. If your spouse is withholding love from you or not showing attention, what should you do?
-Find way to serve your spouse in humility.
4. If you have a long standing argument with someone you once were friends with, what should you do?
-Find a way to serve your old friend in humility.
I think you see the pattern here. Most of life's problems are not that complicated to figure out. Humility and pride are the two roads you can choose. And the humble foot washer has lots of friends.
1. If a family member is grating your nerves, what should you do?
-Find ways to serve the people you live with in humility.
2. If your job is becoming meaningless, what should you do?
-Find ways to serve people at work in humility.
3. If your spouse is withholding love from you or not showing attention, what should you do?
-Find way to serve your spouse in humility.
4. If you have a long standing argument with someone you once were friends with, what should you do?
-Find a way to serve your old friend in humility.
I think you see the pattern here. Most of life's problems are not that complicated to figure out. Humility and pride are the two roads you can choose. And the humble foot washer has lots of friends.
Garden Memories
In our distant ancestoral memory is a perfect and beautiful garden. Our joy was to work it, enhance it's beauty and find ourselves at peace when we sit and observe it's details.
It is that memory that calls to us and tells us to find our place outside in nature. The mountains are beautiful. The plains are beautiful. Even the desert is a sight to behold. Here in south Mississippi, though, are some of the most amazing views and get-aways in our country. Watching the shadows of the Cyprus trees lay quietly on the glassy rivers or watching the cranes skim the surface of the Gulf are as beautiul as anything ive seen.
If you've forgotten what those scenes look like, it may be time to go take another look.
Find a place to sit with the creation this Fall. It remains one of God's greatest gifts to us.
It is that memory that calls to us and tells us to find our place outside in nature. The mountains are beautiful. The plains are beautiful. Even the desert is a sight to behold. Here in south Mississippi, though, are some of the most amazing views and get-aways in our country. Watching the shadows of the Cyprus trees lay quietly on the glassy rivers or watching the cranes skim the surface of the Gulf are as beautiul as anything ive seen.
If you've forgotten what those scenes look like, it may be time to go take another look.
Find a place to sit with the creation this Fall. It remains one of God's greatest gifts to us.
To Sunday School teachers
The unsung heroes of the Kingdom of God are often lowly Sunday School teacher. Nobody knows what they do. Nobody knows how much work goes into the lesson. Half-awake church members pile into the class and listen as the teacher works to unfold God to His children.
If you teach Sunday school, you have some decisions to make.
You can learn just enough to get by this next Sunday, or you can go deep with God in preparation this week.
Getting by will keep us moving forward.
Going deep will give us God.
You can repeat the lesson in the sunday school book, or you can look deeper and find out what the lesson may have missed.
Repeating the lesson teach your people to do the same in their personal bible study time.
Digging will make your students diggers.
The decisions are many and their effects are as far reaching as the Holy Spirit makes them. If you are a Sunday School teacher, know that I am praying for you every week because you are the person who is telling our people who God is. If you are a member of a Sunday School and you are not praying for your teacher every week, you are probably getting what you prayed for.
Let's not be arrogant and think that our current understanding of God is sufficient. If God is small enough for you and me to understand fully, we should find a bigger God.
If you teach Sunday school, you have some decisions to make.
You can learn just enough to get by this next Sunday, or you can go deep with God in preparation this week.
Getting by will keep us moving forward.
Going deep will give us God.
You can repeat the lesson in the sunday school book, or you can look deeper and find out what the lesson may have missed.
Repeating the lesson teach your people to do the same in their personal bible study time.
Digging will make your students diggers.
The decisions are many and their effects are as far reaching as the Holy Spirit makes them. If you are a Sunday School teacher, know that I am praying for you every week because you are the person who is telling our people who God is. If you are a member of a Sunday School and you are not praying for your teacher every week, you are probably getting what you prayed for.
Let's not be arrogant and think that our current understanding of God is sufficient. If God is small enough for you and me to understand fully, we should find a bigger God.
Advise to Parents
One of the most difficult challenges a Christian faces is the struggle to share and live out the gospel in front of family members who are not in Christ. The challenge is so great because the burden is so personal and the consequences of unbelief are so serious. So what do we do?
As a recovering wayward child, I have a few points of advise for parents who may be struggling with this issue.
First, you must pray. You must beg God. You must plead with God. In John 3, we learn that the rebirth of an individual is the work of God alone. So instead of growing more and more frustrated with your son or daughter, grow more and more steadfast in prayer for your son or daughter. Remember, the things of God are foolishness to those who do not believe (1 Cor. 1:18). God is the only one who is able to make the blind see.
Second, you must learn to accept a healthy level of tension. You want to communicate to your son or daughter that your love for them is unconditional and that you accept them the way that God accepts us. However, you must not downplay your concern for their souls. This tension is difficult to maintain but necessary. If you are a Christian you represent Christ to your children. If Christ is not willing to ignore your child's need for new birth then you shouldn't be either.
Third, you must keep the big picture in mind. Don't spend all of your time disgusted by your child's addiction to cigarettes or alcohol or use of bad language. The gospel call is not a call to morality. Morality comes with faith and repentance, but not before. What does it profit a man to rid himself of bad habits only to forfeit his soul? What your child needs is a new heart. Anything short of a new heart amounts to nothing in eternity.
Fourth, you must continually expose your child to the gospel. The preached word is the power of God unto salvation. It may be that you are not the person God is going to use to bring your child to faith. It may be your preacher. It may be a youth leader. Whoever God uses, it will be the gospel that penetrates the heart. Expose your children to as many Christian people as you can. You never know which friend God will use to bring your child home to Christ. Work hard to point the thirsty to the source of living water.
If this list were 1,000 pages long and you did them all, you still would be unable to give your child a new heart. God must do that. This morning, as I type this, I am praying for wayward children in our church family. If you happen to be reading this and you know that your heart is not right with God, I pray that you would give Him another chance. The love and concern a parent feels for a wayward child is nothing compared to the love and concern God has for that person.
Let's do all we can and never never never give up hope that God can change your child's heart. Trust me when I say that no one is beyond the reach of the mercy of God.
As a recovering wayward child, I have a few points of advise for parents who may be struggling with this issue.
First, you must pray. You must beg God. You must plead with God. In John 3, we learn that the rebirth of an individual is the work of God alone. So instead of growing more and more frustrated with your son or daughter, grow more and more steadfast in prayer for your son or daughter. Remember, the things of God are foolishness to those who do not believe (1 Cor. 1:18). God is the only one who is able to make the blind see.
Second, you must learn to accept a healthy level of tension. You want to communicate to your son or daughter that your love for them is unconditional and that you accept them the way that God accepts us. However, you must not downplay your concern for their souls. This tension is difficult to maintain but necessary. If you are a Christian you represent Christ to your children. If Christ is not willing to ignore your child's need for new birth then you shouldn't be either.
Third, you must keep the big picture in mind. Don't spend all of your time disgusted by your child's addiction to cigarettes or alcohol or use of bad language. The gospel call is not a call to morality. Morality comes with faith and repentance, but not before. What does it profit a man to rid himself of bad habits only to forfeit his soul? What your child needs is a new heart. Anything short of a new heart amounts to nothing in eternity.
Fourth, you must continually expose your child to the gospel. The preached word is the power of God unto salvation. It may be that you are not the person God is going to use to bring your child to faith. It may be your preacher. It may be a youth leader. Whoever God uses, it will be the gospel that penetrates the heart. Expose your children to as many Christian people as you can. You never know which friend God will use to bring your child home to Christ. Work hard to point the thirsty to the source of living water.
If this list were 1,000 pages long and you did them all, you still would be unable to give your child a new heart. God must do that. This morning, as I type this, I am praying for wayward children in our church family. If you happen to be reading this and you know that your heart is not right with God, I pray that you would give Him another chance. The love and concern a parent feels for a wayward child is nothing compared to the love and concern God has for that person.
Let's do all we can and never never never give up hope that God can change your child's heart. Trust me when I say that no one is beyond the reach of the mercy of God.
A word of advise...
For anyone interested in receiving advice (which doesn't include me most of the time), I have some to offer.
The message of the Bible is as deep as it is wide. It answers questions about the human condition that we haven't even thought to ask yet.
However, with all of its stories and all of its wisdom, the Bible has one basic word of advise for all of us living in God's world: Walk humbly before Him.
No mistake has cost man more heartache and trouble than letting one's head get too big or one's stride get too proud before a holy God.
The one thing I try to remember, when all else about me has soured, is to let my eyes, walk, and tongue always tell the story of a God who opposes the proud and gives grace to the humble.
The message of the Bible is as deep as it is wide. It answers questions about the human condition that we haven't even thought to ask yet.
However, with all of its stories and all of its wisdom, the Bible has one basic word of advise for all of us living in God's world: Walk humbly before Him.
No mistake has cost man more heartache and trouble than letting one's head get too big or one's stride get too proud before a holy God.
The one thing I try to remember, when all else about me has soured, is to let my eyes, walk, and tongue always tell the story of a God who opposes the proud and gives grace to the humble.
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