From The Resurgence...
A Greasy Spoon at 3AM
Tony Campolo tells of a time when he was speaking in Honolulu, Hawaii. Campolo lives on the east coast of the United States so his body was six hours ahead of Hawaiian time. At three o-clock in the morning it felt like nine o-clock to him. Awake and hungry for breakfast, he found himself in a "greasy spoon" café in the small hours of the morning. As he bit into his doughnut, eight or nine prostitutes walked in. They had just finished for the night. Their talk was loud and crude, and it was difficult to avoid listening in. He heard one tell the others it was her birthday the following day. "What do want from me? A birthday cake?" was the sarcastic reply. "Why be so mean?" she replied, "I was just telling you. I don’t expect anything. I’ve never had a birthday party. I’m not expecting to have one now." When Campolo heard this he made a decision.
When the women left, he went over to the café owner, a guy called Harry. "Do they always come in here?" "Yes," said Harry. "Including the one who sat next to me?" "Yes, that’s Agnes. Why do you want to know?" "Because I heard her say it’s her birthday tomorrow and I thought we might throw her a party." Pause. Then a smile grew across Harry’s lips. "That’d be a great idea." A moment later his wife was in on the plot.
What Happens Next
Half past two the next morning. Campolo had brought decorations and Harry had baked a cake. Word had got out and it seemed as if every prostitute in Honolulu was in the café – plus Campolo, a preacher. When Agnes entered with her friends, she was flabbergasted. Her mouth fell open and her knees wobbled. As she sat on a stool, everyone sang "Happy Birthday". "Blow out the candles," people shouted, but in the end Harry had to do it for her. Then he handed her a knife. "Cut the cake, Agnes, so we can all have some." She looked at the cake. Then slowly said, "Is it alright … would you mind … if I wait a little longer … if we didn’t eat it straight away?" "Sure. It’s okay," said Harry. "Take it home if you want"’ "Can I?" she said, "Can I take it home now? I’ll be back in a few minutes." And with that she left, carrying her precious cake out the café.
What Kind of Church?
There was a stunned silence. So Campolo said, "What do you say we pray?" And they did. Campolo lead a group of prostitutes in prayer at 3:30 in the morning. When they were done, Harry said, "Hey! You never told me you were some kind of preacher. What kind of church do you belong to?" Campolo answered, "I belong to a church that throws birthday parties for prostitutes at 3:30 in the morning." Harry waited for a moment. Then he kind of sneered, "No you don’t. There’s no church like that. If there was, I’d join it. I’d join a church like that." Campolo comments:
Wouldn’t we all? Wouldn’t we all love to join a church that throws birthday parties for prostitutes at 3:30 in the morning?... But anybody who reads the New Testament will discover a Jesus who loved to party with prostitutes and with all kinds of left-out people. The tax collectors and "sinners" loved him because he partied with them. The lepers of society found in him someone who would eat and drink with them. And while the solemnly pious people could not relate to what he was about, those lonely people who usually didn’t get invited to parties took to him with excitement.
Friday, July 22, 2011
Sunday, July 10, 2011
The Gospel Follow-Up
"Do not look to your faith to save you. Look to the object of your faith to save you."
"If you believe strongly in the absolute truth of the Gospel...it will only serve to drain you of superiority and self-righteousness." - Tim Keller
One of the most powerful temptations that Christians endure is the lie that although justification is about Christ's work on the cross, sanctification is ultimately about improvements in our behavior. While it is true that being born again of the Spirit should bring about new desires and our lives should bear fruit,
http://thisoughtabegood.blogspot.com/2011/01/where-good-works-and-salvation-meet.html
we can easily fall into the trap of thinking that our response to what Christ has done for us ultimately takes precedence. I have had concerns in my life over habitual sin and whether or not that means I am truly born again, i.e. saved. After all, if I am a new creation, shouldn't I be acting more like it? God has changed my perspective on that - from using my behavior as a barometer of my salvation to resting securely in God's grace and forgiveness and letting that promise transform my heart, desires and actions. In other words, God reminds me that the saving work of the Gospel is His and not mine.
The following is from Mark Galli and I think it is spot on...
The good news is that our salvation is not dependent on our success at making right choices, even the right choice of faith. In fact, the Bible regularly reminds us that we cannot consistently make good choices with our corrupt wills. As Paul puts it, “I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out. For what I do is not the good I want to do; no, the evil I do not want to do — this I keep on doing.” (Romans 7:18-19, NIV) Instead of relying on an autonomous free will to remind us to make right choices, we are called to simply trust what Christ has done for us on the cross and through his resurrection.
But isn’t that a choice, to trust in Christ? Yes and no. It is not even a possibility without God’s intervention. We can’t even recognize who Christ is, what he has done for us, and sense his invitation to respond in faith without the work of the Holy Spirit. The very fact that we can apprehend all this is a gift right from the start.
Furthermore, to trust in Christ means that it is not my trust that reconciles God to me or me to God. It is the death and resurrection of Christ that reconciles God to me and the faith empowered by the Holy Spirit that reconciles me to God.
This is why the Gospel is such good news. There are times when even the most dedicated Christian will recognize that his or her life is still in shambles, still driven by selfishness, still filled with doubt and confusion about God. At such times, panic can set in. Am I really a Christian? Is God working in my life to bring me into deeper fellowship with him? Has God given me the gift of grace? Will I enjoy the fellowship of heaven? Do I believe enough to be saved? The very fact that these sorts of questions bother us at such times shows that the Holy Spirit is, in fact, working in our lives. One of the Holy Spirit’s jobs is to convict the world of sin and guilt (see John 16:8). So the paradox is that when we’re troubled like this, it’s the very sign of God working in our lives to bring us into deeper fellowship with him.
And of course, we do not believe enough to be saved. Of course, selfishness rules our hearts in too many ways. Of course, we have doubts and confusion about God. It’s called sin. But the gospel calls us to stop looking at ourselves — at our doubts, our sins, and our choices. The Gospel says look to Christ. Don’t trust in your ability to choose right or even to trust perfectly. Look to Christ, who died for sinners. Faith is recognizing the reality of our situation and the deeper reality of our Savior. Faith is the drowning man grasping the outstretched arm of his rescuer. Faith includes a response, but our response is not the main thing. Christ is.
"If you believe strongly in the absolute truth of the Gospel...it will only serve to drain you of superiority and self-righteousness." - Tim Keller
One of the most powerful temptations that Christians endure is the lie that although justification is about Christ's work on the cross, sanctification is ultimately about improvements in our behavior. While it is true that being born again of the Spirit should bring about new desires and our lives should bear fruit,
http://thisoughtabegood.blogspot.com/2011/01/where-good-works-and-salvation-meet.html
we can easily fall into the trap of thinking that our response to what Christ has done for us ultimately takes precedence. I have had concerns in my life over habitual sin and whether or not that means I am truly born again, i.e. saved. After all, if I am a new creation, shouldn't I be acting more like it? God has changed my perspective on that - from using my behavior as a barometer of my salvation to resting securely in God's grace and forgiveness and letting that promise transform my heart, desires and actions. In other words, God reminds me that the saving work of the Gospel is His and not mine.
The following is from Mark Galli and I think it is spot on...
The good news is that our salvation is not dependent on our success at making right choices, even the right choice of faith. In fact, the Bible regularly reminds us that we cannot consistently make good choices with our corrupt wills. As Paul puts it, “I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out. For what I do is not the good I want to do; no, the evil I do not want to do — this I keep on doing.” (Romans 7:18-19, NIV) Instead of relying on an autonomous free will to remind us to make right choices, we are called to simply trust what Christ has done for us on the cross and through his resurrection.
But isn’t that a choice, to trust in Christ? Yes and no. It is not even a possibility without God’s intervention. We can’t even recognize who Christ is, what he has done for us, and sense his invitation to respond in faith without the work of the Holy Spirit. The very fact that we can apprehend all this is a gift right from the start.
Furthermore, to trust in Christ means that it is not my trust that reconciles God to me or me to God. It is the death and resurrection of Christ that reconciles God to me and the faith empowered by the Holy Spirit that reconciles me to God.
This is why the Gospel is such good news. There are times when even the most dedicated Christian will recognize that his or her life is still in shambles, still driven by selfishness, still filled with doubt and confusion about God. At such times, panic can set in. Am I really a Christian? Is God working in my life to bring me into deeper fellowship with him? Has God given me the gift of grace? Will I enjoy the fellowship of heaven? Do I believe enough to be saved? The very fact that these sorts of questions bother us at such times shows that the Holy Spirit is, in fact, working in our lives. One of the Holy Spirit’s jobs is to convict the world of sin and guilt (see John 16:8). So the paradox is that when we’re troubled like this, it’s the very sign of God working in our lives to bring us into deeper fellowship with him.
And of course, we do not believe enough to be saved. Of course, selfishness rules our hearts in too many ways. Of course, we have doubts and confusion about God. It’s called sin. But the gospel calls us to stop looking at ourselves — at our doubts, our sins, and our choices. The Gospel says look to Christ. Don’t trust in your ability to choose right or even to trust perfectly. Look to Christ, who died for sinners. Faith is recognizing the reality of our situation and the deeper reality of our Savior. Faith is the drowning man grasping the outstretched arm of his rescuer. Faith includes a response, but our response is not the main thing. Christ is.
Saturday, July 9, 2011
The Gospel
"We are deconstructed and reconstructed by the Gospel." - Tim Keller
"The Gospel frees you from the pressure of having to make something out of yourself. Because Jesus was Someone, we're free to be no one." - Pastor Tullian
I wanted to write a follow up to my last post on idolatry. Why are idols such a problem for us Christians? Yes, we are sinners and we are naturally pulled toward the things of this world. But I think that is only part of the equation. Aren't we supposed to be freed from sin, no longer a slave to it? Why do we so easily heed its beck and call? Could it be that we have failed to truly grasp the Gospel and instead turned it into an idol? And when it doesn't come through for us the way we think it should we simply turn to other sources that appear to offer something better and more attainable? I think Matt Chandler hits the nail on the head in this video. We have made the Gospel about us rather than the One who saved us causing us to miss the beautiful message of hope and freedom within.
"No wonder that a recent study by Lifeway Research found that 70% of young Protestant adults between the ages of 18-22 have stopped attending church. If you “accepted” Jesus into your heart years ago but besetting problems persist, and some circumstances even appear to get worse, if the Gospel is subjective, is it still true? Does it have the same power? That someone would walk away from the whole business is a foregone conclusion. For the remotely self-aware person, a Gospel based on personal sanctification is no Gospel at all. It produces refugees." - David Zahl/Jacob Smith
The Gospel is objective. It happened 2000 years ago on a cross on Calvary where Jesus took my sin and gave me His righteousness. That is freedom. That cannot be taken away from us. It cannot be diminished. It cannot be overshadowed. Unless...we allow it to be by using our happiness as the barometer of whether or not the Gospel is true in our lives. I think this is where I got into trouble. Because I remember being "the good kid" in high school. The message that I should be a good kid not only came from my parents, teachers, coaches, etc., but it came from my church. I think that message drowned out the Gospel. I think it was greatly assumed that we knew Jesus died for us and ACTUALLY UNDERSTOOD what that really meant so let's move on and talk about other things.
If the question we are asking ourselves is, "Has my life changed for the better?" in regards to whether or not the Gospel is working for us then we have missed everything. This is how I got to the point of believing that God somehow owed me because I had been diligent in obeying Him. The Gospel became subjective in my life, based on my behavior rather than my behavior being a natural outflow of the Gospel being the foundation of my life. Do you get what it means to find your identity in what Christ has done for you? It changes EVERYTHING! The Gospel destroys your selfishness and desperate seeking for relevance inside of yourself and in the world. It replaces it with the deepest possible peace that your worth is priceless and has already been secured.
It no longer matters whether others approve of you. God approves of you and if God is for you who can be against you?!? It no longer matters whether you have control. God is in control. It no longer matters whether you have comfort. You find your rest in God and your reward lies above. There is power in weakness because you have turned from saviors that will always turn on you. Instead, you turn to the Savior who has ALREADY saved you.
We don’t start with our behavior and try to go in and change our hearts. We start with our hearts. So motivated by the Gospel, as we see it, as we believe, as we hear it, as we embrace it with our hearts more and more, we transfer our trust from these other saviors onto Jesus Christ. So there is a believing the Gospel that leads us to repentance, which is us transferring our trust from this thing or this person onto the person of Jesus Christ. According to pastor Tullian Tchividjian, the Gospel essentially gives us all things that we’re looking to these other
saviors to give us. It actually does give us what they can’t ever give us. He says, “The gospel is the good news that, in His life, by His death and with His resurrection, Jesus Christ secured for sinners all the approval, justification, affection, achievement, freedom, meaning, righteousness, rescue, purpose and protection that we are longing for.” All these things that we’re longing for are found in Jesus Christ. And if we want to displace the idols, even the deep idols that are in our heart, Jesus Christ has to become more beautiful to us, more hope-giving to us than these other things.
The Gospel calls us to what is eternal rather than temporal...to what has infinite value over what is ultimately worthless to what is true and pure over what is false and tainted.
This is too good not to post again...a very unique and powerful Gospel presentation:
G.O.S.P.E.L. from Humble Beast Records on Vimeo.
"Self-centeredness makes everything else a means to an end." - Tim Keller
God is the end and the means to that end. Keep your eyes fixed on Him.
On that day, you will need more than pragmatism:
http://www.ligonier.org/learn/articles/gospel-and-oncology-waiting-room/
http://dailykeller.com/what-is-the-gospel/
http://kellerquotes.com/the-gospel-in-a-nutshell/
https://www.ligonier.org/blog/what-gospel/
"The Gospel frees you from the pressure of having to make something out of yourself. Because Jesus was Someone, we're free to be no one." - Pastor Tullian
I wanted to write a follow up to my last post on idolatry. Why are idols such a problem for us Christians? Yes, we are sinners and we are naturally pulled toward the things of this world. But I think that is only part of the equation. Aren't we supposed to be freed from sin, no longer a slave to it? Why do we so easily heed its beck and call? Could it be that we have failed to truly grasp the Gospel and instead turned it into an idol? And when it doesn't come through for us the way we think it should we simply turn to other sources that appear to offer something better and more attainable? I think Matt Chandler hits the nail on the head in this video. We have made the Gospel about us rather than the One who saved us causing us to miss the beautiful message of hope and freedom within.
"No wonder that a recent study by Lifeway Research found that 70% of young Protestant adults between the ages of 18-22 have stopped attending church. If you “accepted” Jesus into your heart years ago but besetting problems persist, and some circumstances even appear to get worse, if the Gospel is subjective, is it still true? Does it have the same power? That someone would walk away from the whole business is a foregone conclusion. For the remotely self-aware person, a Gospel based on personal sanctification is no Gospel at all. It produces refugees." - David Zahl/Jacob Smith
The Gospel is objective. It happened 2000 years ago on a cross on Calvary where Jesus took my sin and gave me His righteousness. That is freedom. That cannot be taken away from us. It cannot be diminished. It cannot be overshadowed. Unless...we allow it to be by using our happiness as the barometer of whether or not the Gospel is true in our lives. I think this is where I got into trouble. Because I remember being "the good kid" in high school. The message that I should be a good kid not only came from my parents, teachers, coaches, etc., but it came from my church. I think that message drowned out the Gospel. I think it was greatly assumed that we knew Jesus died for us and ACTUALLY UNDERSTOOD what that really meant so let's move on and talk about other things.
If the question we are asking ourselves is, "Has my life changed for the better?" in regards to whether or not the Gospel is working for us then we have missed everything. This is how I got to the point of believing that God somehow owed me because I had been diligent in obeying Him. The Gospel became subjective in my life, based on my behavior rather than my behavior being a natural outflow of the Gospel being the foundation of my life. Do you get what it means to find your identity in what Christ has done for you? It changes EVERYTHING! The Gospel destroys your selfishness and desperate seeking for relevance inside of yourself and in the world. It replaces it with the deepest possible peace that your worth is priceless and has already been secured.
It no longer matters whether others approve of you. God approves of you and if God is for you who can be against you?!? It no longer matters whether you have control. God is in control. It no longer matters whether you have comfort. You find your rest in God and your reward lies above. There is power in weakness because you have turned from saviors that will always turn on you. Instead, you turn to the Savior who has ALREADY saved you.
We don’t start with our behavior and try to go in and change our hearts. We start with our hearts. So motivated by the Gospel, as we see it, as we believe, as we hear it, as we embrace it with our hearts more and more, we transfer our trust from these other saviors onto Jesus Christ. So there is a believing the Gospel that leads us to repentance, which is us transferring our trust from this thing or this person onto the person of Jesus Christ. According to pastor Tullian Tchividjian, the Gospel essentially gives us all things that we’re looking to these other
saviors to give us. It actually does give us what they can’t ever give us. He says, “The gospel is the good news that, in His life, by His death and with His resurrection, Jesus Christ secured for sinners all the approval, justification, affection, achievement, freedom, meaning, righteousness, rescue, purpose and protection that we are longing for.” All these things that we’re longing for are found in Jesus Christ. And if we want to displace the idols, even the deep idols that are in our heart, Jesus Christ has to become more beautiful to us, more hope-giving to us than these other things.
The Gospel calls us to what is eternal rather than temporal...to what has infinite value over what is ultimately worthless to what is true and pure over what is false and tainted.
This is too good not to post again...a very unique and powerful Gospel presentation:
G.O.S.P.E.L. from Humble Beast Records on Vimeo.
"Self-centeredness makes everything else a means to an end." - Tim Keller
God is the end and the means to that end. Keep your eyes fixed on Him.
On that day, you will need more than pragmatism:
http://www.ligonier.org/learn/articles/gospel-and-oncology-waiting-room/
http://dailykeller.com/what-is-the-gospel/
http://kellerquotes.com/the-gospel-in-a-nutshell/
https://www.ligonier.org/blog/what-gospel/
Monday, July 4, 2011
Idolatry
"And we know that the Son of God has come and has given us understanding, so that we may know Him who is true; and we are in Him who is true, in his Son Jesus Christ. He is the true God and eternal life. Little children, keep yourselves from idols." - 1 John 5:20-21 (ESV)
“An idol is anything in my life that occupies a place that should be occupied by God alone. An idol is something that holds such a controlling position in my life that it moves and rouses and attracts me so easily that I give my time, attention and money to it effortlessly.” - Dr. Martin Lloyd-Jones
"Human history is the long terrible story of man trying to find something other than God which will make him happy." - C.S. Lewis
"You've distorted your deepest wish by trying to make it into your savior, and now that you finally have it, it's turned on you." - Tim Keller
I have always known I have idols. The First Commandment is hard to miss. But it wasn't until the past couple of years that I have realized just how deeply embedded idolatry is in my life. As my faith has grown and matured the Holy Spirit has brought about new conviction and enlightenment when it comes to objects of my heart's affection. All of us have readily identifiable idols. These are things that Tim Keller calls "visible surface idols". They include things like money, career, relationships, health, sex and food. We know that in their originally intended form they are good things. But we also have a pretty good idea that when our sinful desires twist their purpose and their place they begin to control us and become a poison in our lives. As Matt Chandler says, "We have made good things into ultimate things."
The deeper idols in our lives are not as simple to discern but they are the disease that produces the surface idols. They include things such as power, control, approval and comfort. This is where God has really been working on me. Two of the biggest deep idols in my life are my desire for approval and control.
The first one should have been obvious to me long ago but it wasn't. I was the high school valedictorian and voted "Most Intelligent" and "Most Likely to Succeed". Those were nice things but the price was being continually ridiculed by many of my classmates for a majority of my junior high and high school lives. My identity was being "the smart kid" so I consciously vowed to not let that define me in college and beyond. Although I removed the surface idol, I didn't realize it remained deep inside. So, as I got into my career and began meeting more failures than successes despite hard work, I began to experience depression. My intelligence had turned into my own "little savior". I still knew I was smart and that meant I could have power, and ultimately comfort, because I could make myself be successful. Even more than that, I felt I was entitled to some measure of success. My identity and self-worth had gotten tied up in what I could do for myself. Britt Merrick's words ring so true at this moment:
"Christian, define yourself exclusively and radically as one beloved of God. Every other identity is an illusion and is false."
The second deep idol really caught me by surprise. It's really the idol of control. The Holy Spirit spoke to me through Tim Keller's "The Prodigal God". In that book, he talks about why the elder brother was so upset at his father's unbridled joy upon the return of his youngest son. The older brother felt that his father owed him for his loyalty, hard work and devotion. What he felt he was owed was being freely given to a child who, in his brother's eyes, deserved nothing but scorn and disdain. I realized there was a deep part of me that felt like God owed me when I was doing good things. Of course, the flip side of the coin was also true. I felt like bad things should happen when I sinned. Yes, I thought I understood the concept of grace but my relationship with God was actually works-based under the surface. I wasn't loving God simply for who He was but rather what He could do for me, and at the same time, basing God's love for me on what I could do for Him. So when things in my life went poorly despite my best efforts to please my Lord, it left me with confusion and despair.
Both of these idols have one thing in common. They are about me. Even though we were made to worship One who is infinitely greater than us, it seems that our ultimate idol is ultimately us. That leads to some disturbing questions. Why do I place more faith in myself than I do in God? Why do I trust my heart more than God's heart? Why do I think I know better than God regarding what is best for me?
I can only draw one conclusion. I simply don't trust that God has my best interests at heart. The world teaches us to look out for ourselves first because we can be assured that we have our best interests at heart but we can't be certain that anyone else really does. We have all been let down in our earthly relationships. I think I have extrapolated those messages and disappointments into the implicit belief that God will let me down as well. Yes, a ridiculous conclusion given the cross and all the blessings in my life, but we can so easily and subtly make agreements with ourselves that have no basis in reality.
So when the Bible says God is love my initial response is "Yes...but". I don't live in a world of absolutes so my knee jerk reaction is to say, "OK, I believe that is true but there has to be more to the story. What am I not being told?" Yet, the more we study the Bible and the more we mature in our faith, the more God shows Himself to be a loving and gracious Father again and again. This eventually changes my response to the Bible's declarations of God's goodness to, "Yes...and". There is more to the story (holiness, for example) but whatever is next will not offset or detract from God's heart toward me.
If we want to displace these deep idols in our heart, if God is gracious, He might rip them out of our hands. He may do that if He’s merciful. If He’s not merciful like we read in Romans 1, He just lets you continue to chase them. The other way we can displace these idols is if we come to see Jesus Christ as infinitely more beautiful, infinitely more valuable, infinitely more hope giving and worthy of our affections than whatever it is right now for you that’s your savior that you’re looking for it to give you only what Jesus Christ could do. So it’s only when Jesus Christ becomes the predominant affection of your heart that the other things that your heart is giving affection and attention to will be uprooted and replaced. Whatever you’ve been looking to for significance, whatever you’ve been trusting in to make you somebody, whoever you’ve been depending on to make life worth living, look away from that and look to Jesus Christ.(1)
If we aren't willing to sacrifice relationships, careers, finances, or possessions to do God's will, they will become idols. Our pursuit should be joy rather than happiness. The former endures while the latter comes and goes in an instant. Joy is a fruit of the Spirit that can't be taken from us while earthly happiness can be snatched in a heartbeat. Let us pursue treasures beyond this world and keep our eyes fixed on the Author and Perfector of our faith.
"If you want to get warm you move near the fire. If you want joy, peace, eternal life, you must get close to what has them." - C.S. Lewis
“Our hearts are restless until we find our rest in God.” - Saint Augustine
And when the day is closing in like the stars in the night
I am falling into the pull of the earth and its affections
In me, O Lord, can You create a pure heart
Because I'm afraid that I just might run back
To the things I hate
Satisfy me, Lord, oh
Satisfy me, Lord, oh
Yeah I'm begging You, to help me see
You're all I want, You're what I need
Oh satisfy me, Lord - Tenth Avenue North, "Satisfy"
(1)- Paragraph taken from "Deep Idols" sermon by Beau Hughes at The Village Church, 3/6/11
http://sukofamily.org/?p=3048
http://thegospelcoalition.org/blogs/gospeldrivenchurch/2014/06/18/the-everythingness-of-grace/
http://www.bloggingtheologically.com/2011/02/02/the-greatest-gifts-can-become-deadly-substitutes-for-god/
“An idol is anything in my life that occupies a place that should be occupied by God alone. An idol is something that holds such a controlling position in my life that it moves and rouses and attracts me so easily that I give my time, attention and money to it effortlessly.” - Dr. Martin Lloyd-Jones
"Human history is the long terrible story of man trying to find something other than God which will make him happy." - C.S. Lewis
"You've distorted your deepest wish by trying to make it into your savior, and now that you finally have it, it's turned on you." - Tim Keller
I have always known I have idols. The First Commandment is hard to miss. But it wasn't until the past couple of years that I have realized just how deeply embedded idolatry is in my life. As my faith has grown and matured the Holy Spirit has brought about new conviction and enlightenment when it comes to objects of my heart's affection. All of us have readily identifiable idols. These are things that Tim Keller calls "visible surface idols". They include things like money, career, relationships, health, sex and food. We know that in their originally intended form they are good things. But we also have a pretty good idea that when our sinful desires twist their purpose and their place they begin to control us and become a poison in our lives. As Matt Chandler says, "We have made good things into ultimate things."
The deeper idols in our lives are not as simple to discern but they are the disease that produces the surface idols. They include things such as power, control, approval and comfort. This is where God has really been working on me. Two of the biggest deep idols in my life are my desire for approval and control.
The first one should have been obvious to me long ago but it wasn't. I was the high school valedictorian and voted "Most Intelligent" and "Most Likely to Succeed". Those were nice things but the price was being continually ridiculed by many of my classmates for a majority of my junior high and high school lives. My identity was being "the smart kid" so I consciously vowed to not let that define me in college and beyond. Although I removed the surface idol, I didn't realize it remained deep inside. So, as I got into my career and began meeting more failures than successes despite hard work, I began to experience depression. My intelligence had turned into my own "little savior". I still knew I was smart and that meant I could have power, and ultimately comfort, because I could make myself be successful. Even more than that, I felt I was entitled to some measure of success. My identity and self-worth had gotten tied up in what I could do for myself. Britt Merrick's words ring so true at this moment:
"Christian, define yourself exclusively and radically as one beloved of God. Every other identity is an illusion and is false."
The second deep idol really caught me by surprise. It's really the idol of control. The Holy Spirit spoke to me through Tim Keller's "The Prodigal God". In that book, he talks about why the elder brother was so upset at his father's unbridled joy upon the return of his youngest son. The older brother felt that his father owed him for his loyalty, hard work and devotion. What he felt he was owed was being freely given to a child who, in his brother's eyes, deserved nothing but scorn and disdain. I realized there was a deep part of me that felt like God owed me when I was doing good things. Of course, the flip side of the coin was also true. I felt like bad things should happen when I sinned. Yes, I thought I understood the concept of grace but my relationship with God was actually works-based under the surface. I wasn't loving God simply for who He was but rather what He could do for me, and at the same time, basing God's love for me on what I could do for Him. So when things in my life went poorly despite my best efforts to please my Lord, it left me with confusion and despair.
Both of these idols have one thing in common. They are about me. Even though we were made to worship One who is infinitely greater than us, it seems that our ultimate idol is ultimately us. That leads to some disturbing questions. Why do I place more faith in myself than I do in God? Why do I trust my heart more than God's heart? Why do I think I know better than God regarding what is best for me?
I can only draw one conclusion. I simply don't trust that God has my best interests at heart. The world teaches us to look out for ourselves first because we can be assured that we have our best interests at heart but we can't be certain that anyone else really does. We have all been let down in our earthly relationships. I think I have extrapolated those messages and disappointments into the implicit belief that God will let me down as well. Yes, a ridiculous conclusion given the cross and all the blessings in my life, but we can so easily and subtly make agreements with ourselves that have no basis in reality.
So when the Bible says God is love my initial response is "Yes...but". I don't live in a world of absolutes so my knee jerk reaction is to say, "OK, I believe that is true but there has to be more to the story. What am I not being told?" Yet, the more we study the Bible and the more we mature in our faith, the more God shows Himself to be a loving and gracious Father again and again. This eventually changes my response to the Bible's declarations of God's goodness to, "Yes...and". There is more to the story (holiness, for example) but whatever is next will not offset or detract from God's heart toward me.
If we want to displace these deep idols in our heart, if God is gracious, He might rip them out of our hands. He may do that if He’s merciful. If He’s not merciful like we read in Romans 1, He just lets you continue to chase them. The other way we can displace these idols is if we come to see Jesus Christ as infinitely more beautiful, infinitely more valuable, infinitely more hope giving and worthy of our affections than whatever it is right now for you that’s your savior that you’re looking for it to give you only what Jesus Christ could do. So it’s only when Jesus Christ becomes the predominant affection of your heart that the other things that your heart is giving affection and attention to will be uprooted and replaced. Whatever you’ve been looking to for significance, whatever you’ve been trusting in to make you somebody, whoever you’ve been depending on to make life worth living, look away from that and look to Jesus Christ.(1)
If we aren't willing to sacrifice relationships, careers, finances, or possessions to do God's will, they will become idols. Our pursuit should be joy rather than happiness. The former endures while the latter comes and goes in an instant. Joy is a fruit of the Spirit that can't be taken from us while earthly happiness can be snatched in a heartbeat. Let us pursue treasures beyond this world and keep our eyes fixed on the Author and Perfector of our faith.
"If you want to get warm you move near the fire. If you want joy, peace, eternal life, you must get close to what has them." - C.S. Lewis
“Our hearts are restless until we find our rest in God.” - Saint Augustine
And when the day is closing in like the stars in the night
I am falling into the pull of the earth and its affections
In me, O Lord, can You create a pure heart
Because I'm afraid that I just might run back
To the things I hate
Satisfy me, Lord, oh
Satisfy me, Lord, oh
Yeah I'm begging You, to help me see
You're all I want, You're what I need
Oh satisfy me, Lord - Tenth Avenue North, "Satisfy"
(1)- Paragraph taken from "Deep Idols" sermon by Beau Hughes at The Village Church, 3/6/11
http://sukofamily.org/?p=3048
http://thegospelcoalition.org/blogs/gospeldrivenchurch/2014/06/18/the-everythingness-of-grace/
http://www.bloggingtheologically.com/2011/02/02/the-greatest-gifts-can-become-deadly-substitutes-for-god/
Tuesday, June 21, 2011
Grace...Again
"To those who are proud and self-righteous, Jesus' grace is the bitterest of medicines."
It doesn't matter who you are, what you have done or who you have wronged...God can and will save you if you simply ask Jesus into your heart and life.
You can't do anything to earn God's love. You just have to turn to Him and accept the free gift of Himself.
http://thegospelcoalition.org/blogs/tullian/2011/09/02/grace-and-peace/
http://thegospelcoalition.org/blogs/tullian/2013/09/02/grace-and-personal-identity/
It doesn't matter who you are, what you have done or who you have wronged...God can and will save you if you simply ask Jesus into your heart and life.
You can't do anything to earn God's love. You just have to turn to Him and accept the free gift of Himself.
http://thegospelcoalition.org/blogs/tullian/2011/09/02/grace-and-peace/
http://thegospelcoalition.org/blogs/tullian/2013/09/02/grace-and-personal-identity/
Sunday, June 19, 2011
Father's Day
"I will be a father to you, and you shall be sons and daughters to me, says the Lord Almighty.” - 2 Corinthians 6:18
“Fear not, little flock, for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom.” - Luke 12:32 Shepherd. Father. King.
My Dad didn't have a very good role model for a father. He very much had to learn how to be a good Dad on the job. He was and is blessed to have a loving Christian wife who certainly encouraged him to be the best father he could be. Most importantly, his relationship with his heavenly Father strengthened and grew over the years. God is indeed the best role model any earthly father could hope for. My Dad's heart was transformed and his ability to connect and love unconditionally deepened. My Dad continues to pursue his Lord and Savior and the fruit he now bears is evidence of a changed spirit and life.
That fruit is now reflected in a more patient and gracious father. No parent is ever perfect but the best ones strive to become better. My Dad has done that and succeeded. His desire to love his wife and children better combined with the strength and wisdom of the Holy Spirit have resulted in a man that I proudly call Dad. Many others are also blessed by my Dad now through his leadership and teaching positions at church, his teaching at the jail and detention center and his willingness to mentor young men who desperately need a Christian man to look up to.
Is my Dad personal? Yes.
Is my Dad loving? Yes.
Is my Dad good? Yes.
Does my Dad know me? Yes.
Does my Dad pursue me? Yes.
Can I trust my Dad? Yes.
Does my Dad do good for me? Yes.
And God is sovereign and in charge over our relationship.
The best fathers not only give us life, they teach us how to live.
Thank you Dad for becoming a Godly example in my life. I love you. Happy Father's Day.
http://theresurgence.com/books/pastor_dad
6/26/11: "If you're a dad, and are doing a good job, I congratulate and respect you. We all know a real man is someone who can give love he never got." - Garry Shandling
“Fear not, little flock, for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom.” - Luke 12:32 Shepherd. Father. King.
My Dad didn't have a very good role model for a father. He very much had to learn how to be a good Dad on the job. He was and is blessed to have a loving Christian wife who certainly encouraged him to be the best father he could be. Most importantly, his relationship with his heavenly Father strengthened and grew over the years. God is indeed the best role model any earthly father could hope for. My Dad's heart was transformed and his ability to connect and love unconditionally deepened. My Dad continues to pursue his Lord and Savior and the fruit he now bears is evidence of a changed spirit and life.
That fruit is now reflected in a more patient and gracious father. No parent is ever perfect but the best ones strive to become better. My Dad has done that and succeeded. His desire to love his wife and children better combined with the strength and wisdom of the Holy Spirit have resulted in a man that I proudly call Dad. Many others are also blessed by my Dad now through his leadership and teaching positions at church, his teaching at the jail and detention center and his willingness to mentor young men who desperately need a Christian man to look up to.
Is my Dad personal? Yes.
Is my Dad loving? Yes.
Is my Dad good? Yes.
Does my Dad know me? Yes.
Does my Dad pursue me? Yes.
Can I trust my Dad? Yes.
Does my Dad do good for me? Yes.
And God is sovereign and in charge over our relationship.
The best fathers not only give us life, they teach us how to live.
Thank you Dad for becoming a Godly example in my life. I love you. Happy Father's Day.
http://theresurgence.com/books/pastor_dad
6/26/11: "If you're a dad, and are doing a good job, I congratulate and respect you. We all know a real man is someone who can give love he never got." - Garry Shandling
Saturday, June 18, 2011
To Bless or To Be Blessed?
"The only way to be blessed is to be a blessing and to be a blessing we must leave our comfort." - Tim Keller
Today I started my new volunteering gig at Sunshine Ministries in downtown St. Louis. I wasn't entirely sure what to expect but simply prayed yesterday for grace, love and wisdom for the men I encountered.
The spiritual battle started even before I got out of bed. A big thunderstorm hit around 6 AM which cut my night of sleep short. As I laid there hoping to fall back asleep in a dark room with the rain falling outside, the temptation to simply stay in bed was strong. It had been a tough week where things hadn't gone the way I had hoped. Part of me really wanted to simply shut off the alarm and hibernate for the day.
But I also know spiritual warfare when I see it...especially this morning. I knew God couldn't use me to serve others for Him when I was lying in bed. I also knew that I had told many people I was volunteering this morning and I want to live a life of accountability and integrity. But most of all, I have learned, and continue to learn, that life is best lived when it is ultimately lived out of love for God and for others. To be self-centered is to miss God's purpose for my life.
So I got out of bed and made it on time. There wasn't a lot to it. About a dozen guys from the community come every 3rd Saturday for a time of Biblical teaching, as well as food and clothing. My job was to help check in the guys and give them their name tag and then help them with their shopping. They were all friendly and appreciative. It really didn't even feel like I was serving all that much. It was certainly a more relaxed job than the Hope Ministries' volunteering I do with my family in Des Moines every Christmas. So, of course, Satan's word for me as I was driving home, was that being there didn't make much of a difference because there wasn't that much for me to do. So predictable.
We are starting a book in my men's care group entitled "It's Your Call: What Are You Doing Here?" by Gary Barkalow. One of the most persistent questions I have heard from Christians surrounds the lack of clarity they feel from God on what they are supposed to do with their lives. Some don't even want to really know because then they will feel forced to abandon their plans and follow God. To better understand God's purpose for our lives would mean to live each day with greater meaning and intent. That would certainly entail an even greater focus on God and others at the expense of ourselves.
But the truth is that there is no greater blessing than to know that the Creator of the universe has chosen you and I to help advance the Kingdom of God. We may not know exactly how to do that all the time. However, you can always start by blessing others for the glory of God. Take a step in faith and leave your comfort zone behind. The blessing you receive will not be found in wealth or health. It will be found in knowing that your will is aligned with God's will and that you are catching a glimpse of why God created you in the first place. There is no greater blessing than that.
"Trying to be happy without a sense of God's presence is like trying to have a bright day without the sun." - A.W. Tozer
Today I started my new volunteering gig at Sunshine Ministries in downtown St. Louis. I wasn't entirely sure what to expect but simply prayed yesterday for grace, love and wisdom for the men I encountered.
The spiritual battle started even before I got out of bed. A big thunderstorm hit around 6 AM which cut my night of sleep short. As I laid there hoping to fall back asleep in a dark room with the rain falling outside, the temptation to simply stay in bed was strong. It had been a tough week where things hadn't gone the way I had hoped. Part of me really wanted to simply shut off the alarm and hibernate for the day.
But I also know spiritual warfare when I see it...especially this morning. I knew God couldn't use me to serve others for Him when I was lying in bed. I also knew that I had told many people I was volunteering this morning and I want to live a life of accountability and integrity. But most of all, I have learned, and continue to learn, that life is best lived when it is ultimately lived out of love for God and for others. To be self-centered is to miss God's purpose for my life.
So I got out of bed and made it on time. There wasn't a lot to it. About a dozen guys from the community come every 3rd Saturday for a time of Biblical teaching, as well as food and clothing. My job was to help check in the guys and give them their name tag and then help them with their shopping. They were all friendly and appreciative. It really didn't even feel like I was serving all that much. It was certainly a more relaxed job than the Hope Ministries' volunteering I do with my family in Des Moines every Christmas. So, of course, Satan's word for me as I was driving home, was that being there didn't make much of a difference because there wasn't that much for me to do. So predictable.
We are starting a book in my men's care group entitled "It's Your Call: What Are You Doing Here?" by Gary Barkalow. One of the most persistent questions I have heard from Christians surrounds the lack of clarity they feel from God on what they are supposed to do with their lives. Some don't even want to really know because then they will feel forced to abandon their plans and follow God. To better understand God's purpose for our lives would mean to live each day with greater meaning and intent. That would certainly entail an even greater focus on God and others at the expense of ourselves.
But the truth is that there is no greater blessing than to know that the Creator of the universe has chosen you and I to help advance the Kingdom of God. We may not know exactly how to do that all the time. However, you can always start by blessing others for the glory of God. Take a step in faith and leave your comfort zone behind. The blessing you receive will not be found in wealth or health. It will be found in knowing that your will is aligned with God's will and that you are catching a glimpse of why God created you in the first place. There is no greater blessing than that.
"Trying to be happy without a sense of God's presence is like trying to have a bright day without the sun." - A.W. Tozer
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