DownshoreDrift

New Year's Resolution to Read the Bible Every Day

Did you know that only arround 16% of Christians claim to read the Bible every day?  I saw that in a poll last year. I know that we are to hide the Word of God in our heart and that God doesn't love us less if we don't actually read the Bible everyday, but apart from rationalizing away spending time with God and in His Word, there is really no real reason as to why Christians don't make an attempt to meditate on Scripture every day. With all of the technology and resources that we have, it is more convenient now than ever to be shaped and formed by God's truth.  When you also consider that the average American is bombarded with approximately 3,000 advertising messages a day trying to get you to buy merchandise and shape your identity according to the marketplace, immersing yourself in Scripture is more important now than ever for those who want to be spiritually formed into the image of Christ.

So, here are a few resources for spending time in God's Word every day:

http://www.biblegateway.com has a host of Bible reading plans. Most of these reading plans are similar, but you can choose between multiple options on the length of the plan and even have updates emailed to you. Here is a good link:  http://www.biblegateway.com/resources/readingplans/

http://wwww.crosswalk.com has a lot of devotionals, articles, and Bible study tools related to the spiritual life. It is always changing and updating and I use their site for Bible study regularly.  Check it out at http://www.biblestudytools.com/.

One Year Bible Online has a quite a few Bible reading plans and devotional helps. If you want to read through the Bible in a year or a few months, you can choose options that aid you in this. Sometimes it is hard to stick with something like this, but that is why it is a discipline that needs to be cultivated. One Year Bible Blog is full of commentary on each of the One Year Bible Readings and is a great companion FULL of information on every Scripture passage that you will read throughout the year. I highly recommend it!

If you want to memorize Scripture, my friend, Tim Brister has developed a way to memorize the book of Philippians between today and Easter Sunday.  If you would like to join them, he gives instructions on how to do this. Check out his post that gets everyone started today with the words of Jesus in John 15:1-8.  Timmy also has a PDF that breaks down Philippians into daily readings with tips for memorizing the whole thing.  Many of us don't spend time memorizing Scripture anymore and this would be a great discipline to get the Word into our hearts.

So, no matter what your situation, you can make a decision to interact more deeply with the Bible every day in 2011. How do you think your life would be different if you positioned yourself to live in a more God-centered way?  It all starts with a devotion to the Word of God and an obedience to what it says.  The foundationo of a Godly life staring with combining the reading of the Word with daily prayer and dependence on God and His power.

What if THAT was your first resolution for the New Year? 

 

 

 

"When you give a banquet . . ."

Luke 14:12-14:  ¹² Then Jesus said to his host, “When you give a luncheon or dinner, do not invite your friends, your brothers or sisters, your relatives, or your rich neighbors; if you do, they may invite you back and so you will be repaid. ¹³ But when you give a banquet, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind, ¹⁴ and you will be blessed. Although they cannot repay you, you will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous.”

Do we do this?  Our church is having a Thanksgiving Dinner this Sunday evening. Are we inviting anyone?  I thought of this passage this afternoon and wonder if we, as Christians, think about who we invite to stuff.  Do we invite the people that we think we can benefit from?  Do we only give to those who can or will give back?  What about investing in those that might never give a return?  That might never reinvest in your ministry or your life?  That might never be your friend, increase your standing, or make your life better.  Do we give our time and energy to those that we will never see a return from, or are we motivated to help those who will repay in some way, maybe not financially, but with a return of the favor.

Giving thanks to God means that we understand that everything we have comes from Him and we don't need to get our needs met from others. God will meet all of our needs. This frees us up to give freely to others since we have received freely from God (Matt. 10:8).  Why do we try and protect ourselves through our relationships?  Why do we only love those who love us back?

Helping the poor, the crippled, the lame, and the blind might not always be to our immediate, realized benefit as we understand it. As a matter of fact, it will always require sacrifice of time, energy, and resources. The poor, crippled, lame, and blind might be people who are that way emotionally or spiritually. They might be people who seem to be bad soil. But, when we invite them anyway, we are saying less about them and more about us - how we see God and people. We are confessing that our reward comes from the Lord and not from other people or from what we can scratch out of this life.

"Although they cannot repay you, you will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous."

Hmmm.

 

Bringing Our Gifts to the King

The tradition of giving gifts at Christmas time dates back to St. Nicholas in 4th century Turkey. Beyond that, it goes back to the three Wise Men who presented the gifts of gold, frankenscence, and myrrh to Jesus shortly after his birth (Matthew 2:1-12). Whatever the origins, gift giving has become one of the most cherished traditions of our Christmas celebrations.  Yesterday during our morning worship service, quite a few people presented their gifts and talents before the Lord in worship to Him and it was beautiful. The whole service consisted of children and adults singing songs, performing dances, playing instruments, and coming together in choirs to give praise to Jesus. It was really beautiful and demonstrates how God has gifted us with amazing talent in our church.

As I was thinking about this, it occurred to me that whether in song, art, dance, music, poetry/writing, speaking, serving, working, or making things with our hands, God has gifted us to give praise to Him. The first way that we do that is with our lives. God has blessed us with life, strength, imaginations, talents, experiences, and resources.  Will we present them back to Him as gifts or will we use them for ourselves?  Christmas should be a time to worship Jesus for what He has given to us - Himself.  How do we give ourselves back to Him and back to others, even to the point of sacrifice?

What gifts will we give to Jesus this year?  How might we lay our lives down before Him and serve Him with gratitude and thanksgiving?  What can we give to Him and to others?  What would it cost us to truly serve God and serve others?  If He is the Giver of Every Good and Perfect Gift, then whatever we give to Him and others came from Him in the first place.  How can we excel in the "grace of giving"? 

I think that if Christians truly excelled in the grace of giving (time, energy, resources, talents, etc.), it would be the best way to demonstrate the person and work of Jesus, the greatest giver of all. As we give presents to one another this year, could we think about what Jesus has given to us and how we can respond to Him by giving our lives back to Him and in turn, to others?  

What would 2010 look like if we truly lived with open hands, giving as we have received?  

Putting Away the Sunday School Jesus

Russel Moore has a good review of the movie Where the Wild Things Are. He says that the problem with it is not that it is too wild or dark, but that it is not wild enough and is not as good as the book because it does not properly deal with the existence of evil. He says that Christians are upset by the movie and are saying that it is not appropriate for kids because it is too scary, but Moore says that it is not scary enough. Evil is real and kids know it and they want something done about it. I haven't read the book or seen the movie, so I can't really comment on that, but there is something that he said that I think is important that we can all reflect upon. He compares what was done with the book to what we do with the Bible for children by saying:

Too many of our Bible study curricula for children declaw the Bible, excising all the snakes and dragons and wildness. We reduce the Bible to a set of ethical guidelines and a text on how gentle and kind Jesus is. The problem is, our kids know there are monsters out there. God put that awareness in them. They’re looking for a sheep-herding dragon-slayer, the One who can put all the wild things under His feet.

A couple of months ago a few of us went to hear Alan Hirsch in Mobile, Alabama and he said the same thing. He was talking about our different false images of Jesus and how they keep us from encountering the true Jesus. One of the images that he took on was the Sunday School Jesus. This Jesus is sugary sweet and is not a threat to anyone. He calls all the little children to come to him and he is just an overall nice guy. He was crucified for being a nice guy and if we believe in him, we can be really nice people too. The church is nice and everyone is nice. I think that it is wonderful to be nice, but that is a very incomplete version of who Jesus is. Yet, we do this with many of our Bible stories that we adapt for children.

A lady (who works with children) spoke up and opposed what Hirsch was saying. She said that it was important to have Bible stories for children and that many of them, like Daniel and the Lion's Den, were appropriate for children. Hirsch was not against telling children Bible stories, but he said that we needed to be careful to not sanitize everything so that the real story is lost. I agree.

Let's look at what REALLY happened in some of the Bible stories that we reserve for children:

• Adam and Eve? No, we don't tell that story too often. They are naked.
• Noah's Ark:  Usually a nice story about animals going two by two onto a big boat. It even has a rainbow! But, we often leave out the fact that the entire human race (save one family) along with every other animal drowned and died a horrible death. I'm not saying that you have to go into great detail here, but you can't leave out God's judgment on sin and stay true to the story.
• Joseph's Coat of Many Colors: Joseph was betrayed by his brothers and sold into slavery. Kind of scary.
• The Parting of the Red Sea (Exodus): The first born in Egypt died and the whole Egyptian army drowned.
• Giving of the Ten Commandments: 3,000 people were killed by Levites wielding swords after the Golden Calf incident (more than died in 9/11).
• David and Goliath: David cut off Goliath's head and held it up for everyone to see. Kind of gory.
• Daniel and the Lion's Den: Daniel was saved because he trusted God, but his false accusers were thrown into the Lion's Den along with their wives and children and they were dead before they hit the floor. The Lions were hungry.

It goes on and on. Even the birth of Jesus was attended to by filthy shepherds and pagan astrologers and was accompanied by the slaughter of all of boys under two years old in and around Bethlehem. The Bible is not exactly a book for kids, at least the way that we think about what a proper book for kids is. It is filled with violence, death, and human struggle. Sin is real, as is suffering, disappointment, rejection, and loss. When we sanitize it, we strip judgment, pain, and death out of Scripture and we learn to not fear God. We see God as the one who makes everything better all the time. It is wonderful that we provide comfort and safety for children, but should we do so by creating a false understanding? Does the fact that we have done this with children for the past couple of generations have anything to do with lack of fear of God that we currently have as adults? Or, the unbiblical views of God that affect us so deeply? Perhaps.

Hear me: I am not saying that we should fill our Bible stories for children with blood, gore, and horror. But, I am saying that we need to find ways to tell the stories as realistically as possible so that our children can see that evil is real, that God judges sin, and that Jesus' coming meant something more than he was nice and kind. We do not do our children or ourselves favors when we sanitize everything to the point that we make a baby nursery out of scenes from the almost total extermination of life on the planet because of judgment over vile sin (Noah's Ark) and we fail to consider what we are doing and the story that we are telling.  Without understanding, at least on some level, judgment for sin, it is impossible to understand and appreciate the redemption that we have in Jesus. 

As best we can, we need to read and tell the stories of the Bible rightly. Do our children need to hear everything when they are 4 years old? No. But, they need to hear that God is good and holy and that sin has consequences and that there is evil in the world, but God delivers us and protects us when cry out to Him. These were the stories that the Hebrew people told their children and these stories inspired courage and confidence in their God. May we do the same.

 

Rejoice In the Lord Anyway

I preached through Philippians 4:4-9 last Sunday and I have to say that it is one of my favorite passages of Scripture. By nature, I am an analyzer. I am pretty good at picking out what is going wrong with something and in giving recommendations for how to fix it. I might not always be right, but I am always thinking about how to improve things and address problems. Sometimes people think that I am being negative, but I really am able to engage in this most of the time with a light spirit and joy in my life. In other words, I can focus on what is going wrong without being obsessed by it.

Most of the time.

But, sometimes, I can drift into just being critical. I can become negative. I can be overwhelmed by problems and not see a way out. I know this about myself and when that happens I find that I have taken my focus off of Christ and I am staring straight at the problem. I can go blind with it, just about. So, this is why a continual reminder to rejoice in the Lord is exactly what I need. We are not told to rejoice in our circumstances. Sometimes our circumstances stink. Sometimes things are not working out the way that we want them to at all. But, God never changes. He never stops working. We can rejoice in Him even when everything else around us is falling apart. He is above all of it and faith helps us see that.

Rejoicing in the Lord does not mean that you put on a smiley face that covers the twitch you have developed because your nerves are shot. Rather, it means that you can stare massive problems in the face and praise God anyway because you recognize that He is bigger than your problems and He is more than able to handle whatever you are going through. You actually begin to look past your problems and look to the God who is more than able to deliver you. And, even if things don't work out, God is not surprised and He is still working, still redeeming, and still holding you close to Himself. We are going to have trouble in this life. Jesus told us that. But, he also said that he would overcome the world.

Since I started this blog it has been my desire to chronicle where I see God working in the world around me. Sometimes, I focus on problems. God works through problems. Other times, I focus on really good things. God works in that too.  God works for the good in all things for those who love Him and are called according to His purpose. The Bible says that. So, we can know that no matter what we are going through, God is still worthy of our praise. Knowing that and actually believing it changes things.

Rejoice in the Lord all the time. No matter what. Always. Easier said than done sometimes, but just a moment in real worship of God changes everything and you see that He is more than able to carry your burdens.

Defending the Cause of the Fatherless, the Poor, the Widow, and the Oppressed

"Defend the cause of the weak and fatherless; maintain the rights of the poor and oppressed. Rescue the weak and needy; deliver them from the hand of the wicked." Psalm 82:3-4                          

"Seek justice, encourage the oppressed. Defend the cause of the fatheless, plead the case of the widow." Isaiah 1:17       

"He (the Lord) defends the cause of the fatherless and the widow, and loves the alien, giving him food and clothing." Deuteronomy 10:18                       

"Woe to those who make unjust laws, to those who issue oppressive decrees, to deprive the poor of their rights and withhold justice from the oppressed of my people, making widows their prey and robbing the fatherless." Isaiah 10:2                             

Those are just a few of the verses that tell us how God sees the weak, poor, and fatherless. How do we see them? There is an epidemic of fatherlessness in America. 40 percent of children were born to unwed mothers last year in America. Holiness requires that our hearts turn to the fatherless because that is where God's heart is turned. How can we do less?

We have lost two generations since the Great Evangelical Retreat began 50 years ago. It is time for us to turn and face the wreckage that we have left behind and begin to bring healing though sacrificial love. How can our hearts be different from God's and we still claim to walk with Him?

Questions that I am pondering today in prayer. God help us to join you in your work of redemption.

Good Friday Thoughts - Looking Upon Christ's Sufferings

The Crucifixion and Death of Jesus hangs over us today as Christians. While many are running about and enjoying the day, the contemplative Christian gives thought to the fact that this is the day that the Church celebrates the sacrficial death of our Lord. If Good Friday had never happened, Easter would have never been possible. Our church has a Good Friday service every year. We will have it tonight, starting with silent prayer and meditation on the Cross at 6pm and worship, community Bible study, and Communion at 7pm. Our Easter service will be packed but our Good Friday service usually has about half the attendance. I've always wondered about that.  If your church has a Good Friday service, what are you doing if you are not there?  Are you going to the movies?  How does Fast and Furious, the Hannah Montana movie, or Monsters vs. Aliens sit with you on the day that Jesus suffered and died for your sins?  Are you home watching television? Are you giving any thought at all to what Jesus did and how it impacts your life?  I am not trying to bang on people here. Maybe you are engaged in private observances (although, I always think that gathering with the community of faith is better). I know that sometimes people have to work, they are traveling, or there are other things that occur that are legitimate. I am not talking about that. I am talking about the Christian who goes through this entire day and doesn't give a thought to what Jesus did for him, yet gets dressed up for Easter Sunday and attends church. Sometimes, our biggest problem is that we just don't think about things the way we should.  We want the glory without the cross and that leaves a skewed view of the Christian life in our minds and our practice.

We love the Resurrection because it is when the victory over death, sin, Satan, and hell was consummated. "He is risen!"  "He is risen indeed!"  But, we tend to turn away from the Crucifixion. We can't look at it. We don't like the tomb. It is too lonely, too inactive. The truth is, He suffered. He bled. He was mocked, beaten, persecuted, and abandoned. He took all of our sins upon Himself. "God made him who had no sin to be sin for us so that in him we might become the righteousness of God" ~ 2 Cor. 5:21. The perfect Son of God became sin for us so that we might become the righteousness of God.  Turn off the TV for a minute today and think about that. Worship Him. Bow before Him. He is worthy.

We don't meditate on the sufferings of Christ because we know that He rose from the dead and that is the part that we like best. The victory was won. Why meditate on the bad parts? That is over and done with, we say. Jesus suffered so that we would not have to, right? He took all our pain and suffering. Jesus paid the price so that we could have a great life, right? Uh, actually, we are called to join in the sufferings of Christ. When we meditate on Good Friday, we see how Jesus dealt with sin as our substitute, how he bridged our separation from God, and how He brought redemption. Then, we are called to live the same way. I am not saying that we'll be nailed to a cross (literally), but the Bible does say that we will suffer with Jesus if we really know Him. Think about this:

"And anyone who does not carry his cross and follow me cannot be my disciple." Luke 14:27

"All men will hate you because of me, but he who stands firm to the end will be saved." Matthew 10:22

"Anyone who does not take his cross and follow me is not worthy of me. Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it." Matthew 10:38-39

"Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven." Matthew 5:10

"Then you will be handed over to be persecuted and put to death, and you will be hated by all nations because of me."  Matthew 24:9

"But the Lord said to Ananias, 'Go! This man (Paul) is my chosen instrument to carry my name to the Gentiles and their kings and before the people of Israel. I will show him how much he must suffer for my name."  Acts 9:15-16

"I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of sharing in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, and so, somehow, to attain to the resurrection of the dead." Philippians 3:10-11.

"Now I rejoice in what was suffered for you, and I fill up in my flesh what is still lacking in regard to Christ's afflictions, for the sake of his body, which is the church." Colossians 1:24

That is just the tip of the Biblical iceberg, so to speak. When we want the glory and not the cross, we fall into a false view of what God has done for us that actually leads us into the bondage of legalism. We think that Jesus' Resurrection guarantees us a good, happy, prosperous life. Some even go so far as to say that the Atonement took care of all of our sickness, poverty, and any struggle that we might face. That is just not true. As long as we are in this body, we will have certain struggles and will be limited in certain ways.

¹⁶Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. ¹⁷For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. ¹⁸So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal. 2 Corinthians 4:16-18. 

Yes, God heals. Yes, He gives us victory. Yes, He restores and makes whole and gives us incredible peace and joy. But, all of this is incomplete. Currently, we hope for the salvation that is to be revealed in us. The trials and troubles that we go through today actually have a redemptive work of preparing us for eternity by stripping from us our desire for the things of this world so that we will look to Jesus. Good Friday causes us to meditate on the awful price that Jesus paid for our salvation so that as we hope in this body and suffer alongside Him in this life, we do not lose heart at the trial that we are currently experiencing as though this life was all there was.  Our suffering causes us to look to Christ. Meditating on how Jesus suffered for us actually causes us to cling to Him all the more and it strengthens us in our faith. This is the whole purpose of partaking of the Lord's Supper as partaking of the bread and the cup reminds us of what Christ has done as it also reminds us of our joining with Him by faith:

²Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. ³Consider him who endured such opposition from sinful men, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.  ⁴In your struggle against sin, you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding your blood. ~ Hebrews 12:2-4. 

Finally, if we read Isaiah 53 we do see the amazing truth that because Jesus suffered as a substitute for us, when we suffer we know that we have an Advocate. We have a victorious Savior who went before us and took our pain and suffering upon Himself. When we face difficulties, trials, temptations, and sin, we think of the One who took all of that, bore the rejection for us, died, and rose again victorious, conqureing death, the powers and principalities, and taking God's wrath against sin for us as our substitute. We will suffer. We will be rejected for Christ. We will face hard times. But, Jesus has gone before us to bring us to God and sanctify us, body, soul, and spirit.

So, here are some questions for us to reflect on:

• What does the suffering of Jesus on the Cross mean to you? Why did He suffer and die?
• How does the suffering of Jesus impact your life today? What difference does it make that Jesus suffered for you when you face difficulties in your own life?
• Jesus suffered for the purpose of bringing sinners to God. We are told to join Him in His sufferings. Are you suffering because you aren't getting what you want out of life and it is upsetting to you, or are you suffering to bring the gospel to those who do not know Christ?
• In light of the Cross, how might you view your current sufferings?  How can they bring you to Jesus?

I pray that each of you meet with the Lord today, either with your local church, or if you are separated from them, then in some other way. If you are traveling, find some Christians to pray with. If you are with your family, turn your eyes to Jesus today. Don't wait for Sunday. Look to the Cross and let it do its work in your heart. 

 

The Weakness of a Privatized, Individualistic Gospel: Moving Toward a Southern Missiology , Part 2

In my last post, I asked readers what they thought a missiology for the South might look like.  I appreciate the comments, Mike, Bob, Les, and Rick. I was hoping for a little more discussion, but, let's face it, I'm not talking about the latest political brouhaha amongst Southern Baptists or anything exciting like that. I'm just talking about the future of the church in the South over the next generation. Relatively meaningless, I know.  :)

At any rate, as I have been researching the theological weaknesses behind the evils of racism and segregation in the Southern Baptist South of the 1950's and 60's and how those weaknesses continue to affect us today (all for a book that I am trying to write), I have stumbled across an unexpected culprit that has caused me to raise my eyebrows a bit. In my reading, interviewing, studying, and praying, I have come to believe that a major reason that people could fill churches all across the South on Sunday and then treat others horribly just because of the color of their skin without feeling conviction was because of the gospel that was preached and believed. If your view of the "gospel" is that it is mostly a set of propositions that you agree with so that you can go to heaven when you die (i.e., eternal life) and salvation cannot be lost no matter what you do, then the commands of Scripture about loving others will be ignored when they bump up against a culture that ultimately gives you your identity, especially when that culture tells you that the "other" is inferior to you. What is there to fear? You're going to heaven. Of course, fear came in when you committed really bad sins like drinking alcohol, dancing, or broke any sexual taboos. So, belief and lifestyle were connected on some issues but not others, even though those other issues were just as biblical, if not moreso in some cases. This hypocrisy became a major theological problem and it is still embedded in the "gospel" we preach and the theology that we believe. We've never dealt with it adequately. We still face a theological separation between belief and behavior because we desire and offer heaven without the cross. Unfortunately, this separation has weakened our churches to the point of impotence when it comes to standing against the world. This weak, cheap gospel of personal, individualistic salvation without discipleship is what allowed Southerners to be racists while they filled Southern Baptist churches.  It is what allowed the Lutheran church in Germany to turn away from the Nazi brutalities toward the Jews and even accept them as necessary. It is also what allows us today to say that we believe one thing and live a completely different way and feel no shame or conviction.  Isn't hypocrisy a great part of what the baby boomers rebelled against in the 60's? Didn't the church have a stake in that regarding how we treated others while claiming to follow Christ?  

David Fitch in The Great Giveaway says, 

In our doctrine of salvation then, evangelicals must avoid commoditizing salvation into an individualist consumerist transaction, something we have been prone to. There is a reason why it sounds intrusive to ask a stranger the question "Do you know Jesus as personal savior?" We have privatized the relationship with Jesus so as to make him into a gnosticized faith that seems isolated from everyday life. We must un-privatize our faith in Christ and reconnect our relationship with God through Christ to a way of life that we can invite people into and a movement of God in history. Then we can ask, "Do you have a place where you can ask questions about life?" "Do you know a story that can make sense of your life?" When we do this, we focus away from scaring people out of hell to inviting people into a compelling way of life. We realize that making salvation about being saved from hell irrespective of being saved to new life cheapens it into a piece of individualist knowledge, bordering on Gnositicism, that does not take root in embodied lives.

In postmodernity, truth is about character. Religious truth can no longer be relegated to the realm of private feeling or preference. This is because modern science, which pushed it there originally, no longer reigns supreme. Truth is in the living. Any evangelism therefore that separates one's renewed legal status before God from the new life we have in Christ strips the gospel of its power for a postmodern evangelism. For the postmodern world, justification cannot be separated from sanctification and sanctification cannot be separated from a living people of God. The basis for a compelling Christian account of salvation in postmodernity is a changed life among a living community of Christ. (58-59).

Baptist Identity and the Witness of the Church, pt. 1

Last Friday I posted an essay that was asking questions about the Baptist position on closed vs. open communion.  Based on the evidence that I have seen, I am leaning toward an open position, which would mean that we should share communion with anyone who has professed faith in Jesus Christ as their Savior, even if their baptism is different from ours. I am still questioning this however, because there is an argument for both positions. But, that is where I am leaning. Fortunately for me, if I end up in this position, there are many Southern Baptists who would agree with me and their numbers are growing. Some estimate that a majority, or at least a healthy minority of SBC churches, practice open communion among believers in Christ. 

A comment on that post got me thinking, though. It was by Robin Foster, a pastor from Oklahoma who is an advocate of a theological position called Baptist Identity. Robin has a sincere love for Christ and I have known him for a couple of years now. But, I can't help but take his comments to their logical conclusion and wonder what effect they would have. He says:

Which View of Communion Best Reflects Our Spiritual Unity In Christ?

Over the past few months, there has been a great deal of debate in the Baptist Blogosphere on the issue of Communion. Who can take Communion in Baptist churches? What does the Baptist Faith & Message (BF&M) say about this? Concerning Baptism, it says,

Being a church ordinance, it is prerequisite to the privileges of church membership and to the Lord's Supper.

Of course, for Baptists, this means that baptism by immersion is a prerequisite to church membership and to partaking of the Lord's Supper.  This would be the view of Close or Closed Communion. Open Communion would declare that any confessing believer in Jesus Christ can take Communion in a Baptist church, although they would not be allowed to join the church until they were baptized by immersion. The more that I study Scripture, the more that I am leaning to the open position, although I am very willing to be persuaded to the "close" or "closed" position. I have written this post to present my questions and emerging position on this subject and to ask for input from others. 

Family Worship and Devotion

This is NOT a post about how spiritual we are or how perfect our kids are. Far from it. I am tempted to not even write this because it could appear that I am trying to say, "Look what we're doing! Look what we're doing!"  Again, that is not the case. Please hear my heart in this. This is also not a post about worshiping the family in case the title is confusing. May it never be.

Fellow bloggers Joe Thorn and Steve McCoy have written about this for some time. I just saw a post by Dr. Jim Hamilton on Russell Moore's blog about this as well and I wanted to point to it: http://www.russellmoore.com/index.php/2009/01/06/family-worship-in-2009/ .

If you have kids, I would really encourage you to take some time each morning and/or evening to spend with them in the Word of God and in prayer. We have always prayed with our kids every morning and night and the 20 minutes that I take them to school has been a time of talking through issues, prayer, and listening to a message together on the radio. We also do a ton of "as you go" type instruction during the day. Lately, we have also started going through a book of family devotions by Josh McDowell each evening.  The kids are loving it and can't wait to do it each evening. Kieran, my 5 year old is in charge of the book and he always runs and gets it. It is a very approachable book and it has a scripture passage, a story to illustrate the passage, discussion questions, and a prayer. We adapt it and have great discussions around the scriptures and the topic. God has really been moving in the life of my family through this and I am seeing a greater spiritual sensitivity and desire to know and obey the Lord in my children. Kieran asked about salvation a couple of weeks ago and after some discussion, he prayed to receive Christ. He was incredibly sincere about it and really seems to understand. 

I honestly do not know a busier family than my own. We try and limit activities, but being the pastor of a church of around 250 with no other full time staff and being the father of four kids has me out doing something just about every night of the week. We hit the ground running early every morning, go all day, and have something just about every night, whether it is getting together with another family, going to an event with the church, attending a school function, or, well, fill in the blank. It never ends. Still, we really make spending time together a top priority. We watch no television before the kids go to bed in the evenings. That really helps. And of course, we also have to put them to bed each night, so inserting this time together the 20 minutes or so before they go to bed has been no problem at all. It has been a huge blessing, actually.

I am still learning how to do this. I make huge mistakes. I am not trying to say that we are some type of an example in perfect discipline when it comes to this. Life is busy and we are always running and there are many families that I can point to that are likely more efficient in how they do this. But, I will tell you that doing this has been a huge blessing and it is something that I am glad is a part of my life. ANY family can take the time together to focus on the Lord and pray for one another no matter how busy you are. Turning off the television is the first step. Being intentional about time spent together is the next step. Honestly, I have the greatest kids and wife that I can imagine, and they are incredibly easy to encourage in this area. God has been good to me.

I guess that I am just writing this to encourage other dads and families to take time to go before the Lord together with your children. Whether it is in prayer, Bible study, and/or discussion, take time to go before the Lord together. Yeah, I said that twice. It bears repeating. You don't have to be a spiritual giant to do it. Just make yourself available. God will bless you in amazing ways when you do!

Our Identity In Christ

I have been really thinking about spiritual formation over the past several months and how we can be formed into the image of Christ. The Church's main job is to make disciples of Jesus. We often focus most heavily on everything else and we leave the disciplemaking to parachurch organizations if we think about it at all. But, God wants each of us to reflect Christ.  This starts with knowing who God is and knowing our identity in Christ.  If we know who Jesus is and who He has made us to be, we have the start that we need in living for Him. Who we are dictates how we act. We must be transformed by the renewing of our minds and we must live from the life of Christ within us, not from our own resources.

Here is a list of verses that deal with our identity in Christ that I found HERE. Read over them and ask God to help you live from the reality that He provides us. This is also helpful to use in discipling others.

 The Word of God Says in Jesus Christ...

I am faithful (Ephesians 1:1)

I am God's child (John 1:12)

I have been justified (Romans 5:1)

I am Christ's friend (John 15:15)

I belong to God (1 Corinthians 6:20)

I am a member of Christ's Body (1 Corinthians 12:27)

I am assured all things work together for good (Romans 8:28)

I have been established, anointed and sealed by God (2 Corinthians 1:21-22)

I am confident that God will perfect the work He has begun in me (Philippians 1:6)

I am a citizen of heaven (Philippians 3:20)

I am hidden with Christ in God (Colossians 3:3)

I have not been given a spirit of fear, but of power, love and self-discipline (2 Timothy 1:7)

I am born of God and the evil one cannot touch me (1 John 5:18)

I am blessed in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing (Ephesians 1:3)

I am chosen before the creation of the world (Ephesians 1:4, 11)

I am holy and blameless (Ephesians 1:4)

I am adopted as his child (Ephesians 1:5)

I am given God's glorious grace lavishly and without restriction (Ephesians 1:5,8)

I am in Him (Ephesians 1:7; 1 Corinthians 1:30)

I have redemption (Ephesians 1:8)

I am forgiven (Ephesians 1:8; Colossians 1:14)

I have purpose (Ephesians 1:9 & 3:11)

I have hope (Ephesians 1:12)

I am included (Ephesians 1:13)

I am sealed with the promised Holy Spirit (Ephesians 1:13)

I am a saint (Ephesians 1:18)

I am salt and light of the earth (Matfthew 5:13-14)

I have been chosen and God desires me to bear fruit (John 15:1,5)

I am a personal witness of Jesus Christ (Acts 1:8)

I am God's coworker (2 Corinthians 6:1)

I am a minister of reconciliation (2 Corinthians 5:17-20)

I am alive with Christ (Ephesians 2:5)

I am raised up with Christ (Ephesians 2:6; Colossians 2:12)

I am seated with Christ in the heavenly realms (Ephesians 2:6)

I have been shown the incomparable riches of God's grace (Ephesians 2:7)

God has expressed His kindness to me (Ephesians 2:7)

I am God's workmanship (Ephesians 2:10)

I have been brought near to God through Christ's blood (Ephesians 2:13)

I have peace (Ephesians 2:14)

I have access to the Father (Ephesians 2:18)

I am a member of God's household (Ephesians 2:19)

I am secure (Ephesians 2:20)

I am a holy temple (Ephesians 2:21; 1 Corinthians 6:19)

I am a dwelling for the Holy Spirit (Ephesians 2:22)

I share in the promise of Christ Jesus (Ephesians 3:6)

God's power works through me (Ephesians 3:7)

I can approach God with freedom and confidence (Ephesians 3:12)

I know there is a purpose for my sufferings (Ephesians 3:13)

I can grasp how wide, long, high and deep Christ's love is (Ephesians 3:18)

I am completed by God (Ephesians 3:19)

I can bring glory to God (Ephesians 3:21)

I have been called (Ephesians 4:1; 2 Timothy 1:9)

I can be humble, gentle, patient and lovingly tolerant of others (Ephesians 4:2)

I can mature spiritually (Ephesians 4:15)

I can be certain of God's truths and the lifestyle which He has called me to (Ephesians 4:17)

I can have a new attitude and a new lifestyle (Ephesians 4:21-32)

I can be kind and compassionate to others (Ephesians 4:32)

I can forgive others (Ephesians 4:32)

I am a light to others, and can exhibit goodness, righteousness and truth (Ephesians 5:8-9)

I can understand what God's will is (Ephesians 5:17)

I can give thanks for everything (Ephesians 5:20)

I don't have to always have my own agenda (Ephesians 5:21)

I can honor God through marriage (Ephesians 5:22-33)

I can parent my children with composure (Ephesians 6:4)

I can be strong (Ephesians 6:10)

I have God's power (Ephesians 6:10)

I can stand firm in the day of evil (Ephesians 6:13)

I am dead to sin (Romans 1:12)

I am not alone (Hebrews 13:5)

I am growing (Colossians 2:7)

I am His disciple (John 13:15)

I am prayed for by Jesus Christ (John 17:20-23)

I am united with other believers (John 17:20-23)

I am not in want (Philippians 4:19)

I possess the mind of Christ (I Corinthians 2:16)

I am promised eternal life (John 6:47)

I am promised a full life (John 10:10)

I am victorious (I John 5:4)

My heart and mind is protected with God's peace (Philippians 4:7)

I am chosen and dearly loved (Colossians 3:12)

I am blameless (I Corinthians 1:8)

I am set free (Romans 8:2; John 8:32)

I am crucified with Christ (Galatians 2:20)

I am a light in the world (Matthew 5:14)

I am more than a conqueror (Romans 8:37)

I am the righteousness of God (2 Corinthians 5:21)

I am safe (I John 5:18)

I am part of God's kingdom (Revelation 1:6)

I am healed from sin (I Peter 2:24)

I am no longer condemned (Romans 8:1, 2)

I am not helpless (Philippians 4:13)

I am overcoming (I John 4:4)

I am persevering (Philippians 3:14)

I am protected (John 10:28)

I am born again (I Peter 1:23)

I am a new creation (2 Corinthians 5:17)

I am delivered (Colossians 1:13)

I am redeemed from the curse of the Law (Galatians 3:13)

I am qualified to share in His inheritance (Colossians 1:12)

I am victorious (1 Corinthians 15:57)

Here is another good teaching on this subject if you want to go deeper.

The Gospel of the Kingdom for Everyone

Darrow Miller, Bob Moffitt, and Scott Allen have put together a series of Bible studies on the Kingdom of God. They are primarily for small groups, but I am perusing them as a reference for my study on Wednesday nights this summer. Here is a passage from their study, God's Unshakable Kingdom:

In the second century a devastating smallpox epidemic swept through the Roman Empire. The epidemic was so severe that over the next fifteen years a quarter to a third of the Empire's population died from smallpox, including the famous Roman emperor, Marcus Aurelius.

According to Dionysius, Bishop of Alexandria, the typical Roman response to the illness was to flee from it. "At the first onset of the disease, [the non-believing Romans] pushed the sufferers away and fled from their dearest, throwing them into the roads before they were dead. [They] treated unburied corpses as dirt." Even Galen, the famous physician, left Rome quickly once the epidemic began, departing fo rhis country estate in Asia Minor until the danger receded.

In contrast, wrote Dionysius, "Most of our Christian brothers showed unbounded love and loyalty, never sparing themselves and thinking only of one another. Heedless of danger, they took charge of the sick, attending to their every need and ministering to them in Christ . . . drawing on themselves the sickness of their neighbors and cheerfully accepting their pains. Many, in nursing and caring for others, transferred their death to themselves and died in their stead.

This perspective is amazing to me and explains why the early church exploded in growth and turned the Roman world upside down.  Where did the early believers derive this type of love and self sacrifice? Many Christians today live this way, although it is not exactly something that has become a part of our normal discipleship in American Christianity.  But, I'll save that for another day.

Here's a thought: Colossians 1:19-20 says, "For God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in him, and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through his blood, shed on the cross."  These verses are not teaching that everyone and everything will be saved. There are lots of passages that speak against that idea. Rather, this passage is saying that Jesus has made it possible for all things to be reconciled to Himself. Eventually, everyone will bow the knee to Jesus. Eventually, all of creation will be redeemed. But for now, we know that there is no sin too large, no family too estranged, no community too divided, and no nation too evil that Jesus cannot bring back to Himself. The Cross is sufficient to bring all men back to Him. It is also sufficient to restore the entire created order.  Somehow, I think that the early church understood this. When they laid their lives down to bring the love of Christ to the sick and the dying, they were just doing the work of the gospel by reconciling the world back to God through the sacrificial love displayed through the Cross.

So, when I see evil, sickness, death, and despair around me, I should not run away in fear.  When I see people enslaved to sin and living in wickedness, I should not pull back and condemn them. Instead, I should go into those situations in the confidence that Jesus has already won the victory and everyone and everything can bow before Jesus because of what He has done on the Cross and through the Resurrection.  Jesus is our hope. Somehow, I think that the early church understood this. That is why they were able to lay their lives down and care for the sick, even at great danger to themselves. They were compelled by love. They did not look at people from a worldly point of view. They knew that they were given the message of reconciliation because God was reconciling the world to Himself through Jesus.  How could they do any different as His ambassadors?  (2 Corinthians 5:14-21). 

How could we?

The Gospel of the Kingdom - Shalom

Last night, I continued on with our study on Jesus and the In-Breaking Kingdom of God. I was really excited to talk about the concept of Shalom, or peace, as it is related to the reign and rule of God in Christ. Many of us think of peace as a pleasant emotion or a state of stress free living. We think of peace in an individualistic or internal sense.  Or, we think of it as the absence of conflict. But, the Biblical idea of Shalom is much more holistic than that. The New Bible Dictionary says,

Basically, the Old Testament word for peace, shalom, means ‘completeness’, ‘soundness’, ‘well-being’. It is used when one asks of or prays for the welfare of another, when one is in harmony or concord with another, when one seeks the good of a city or country.  It may mean material prosperity or physical safety. But also it may mean spiritual well-being. Such peace is the associate of righteousness and truth, but not of wickedness.                                          

                                                                        

Because of the world’s chaos through man’s sin, and because peace comes only as God’s gift, the messianic hope was an age of peace (Isaiah 2:2-4; 9:1-7), or of the advent of the Prince of Peace.  The New Testament shows the fulfillment of this hope. In Christ peace has come (Luke 2:14, 29-32). By Him it is bestowed (Mark 5:30-34; John 20:19-22; 26), and His disciples are its messengers (Luke 10:5-12; Acts 10:36).

                                                         

In classical Greek eirene had a primarily negative force; but by way of the LXX (Septuagint), the word in the New Testament has the full content of the Old Testament Shalom, and nearly always carries a spiritual connotation. The breadth of its meaning is especially apparent from its linking with such key words as grace, life, righteousness, and from its use in benedictions such as 1 Thess. 5:23 and Hebrews 13:20-21.

                                                                     

For sinful man there must first be peace with God, the removal of sin’s enmity through the sacrifice of Christ (Romans 5:1; Colossians 1:20). Then inward peace can follow (Phil. 4:7), unhindered by the world’s strife (John 14:27; 16:33). Peace between man and man is part of the purpose for which Christ died (Eph. 2:11-18) and of the Spirit’s work (Gal. 5:22); but man must also be active to promote it (Eph. 4:3; Hebrews 12:14), not merely as the elimination of discord, but as the harmony and true functioning of the Body of Christ (Romans 14:19; 1 Cor. 14:33).

                                                                                        

If this definition is true, then we have a shortsighted view of what “peace” means. Like so many other things in the spiritual life, we have personalized it and made it all about us. It has become all about our current state of mind. But, the Biblical idea of peace, or shalom, is consistent with the idea of the establishment of the reign and rule of God through the coming of the Kingdom. We are to come under God’s authority where He brings peace with God, peace in our lives and families, and peace between one another.

                                                                                                                                             

The Hebrew people understood that when Jesus said that the Kingdom of God is at hand, that it meant that the messianic reign had come. This was the time where God would set right all that had gone wrong. When Jesus said that He gave us peace, it meant that He gave us soundness, completeness, wholeness. All of this was to be found in Him. Peace, or shalom, is to come upon our homes. It is to come upon our churches and our communities. It is to transform our nation. We are to live complete, sound, and whole. It can all be found in Christ. Jesus Himself is our peace. He tears down the dividing walls between warring factions and groups that are at enmity. He brings them into prosperous, healthy, and mutually beneficial relationships. Not only do we gain peace with God, but we also gain peace within ourselves and between one another. The gospel is the gospel of peace. We are messengers of peace and we are to be peacemakers in the lives of others. The peace that we experience and share is not just a nice feeling or a lack of conflict, but it is all that derives from our union with God as He gives us healthy relationships with our families and through community with one another.

To each of you today, I say, Shalom. Peace be with you.

When we stop reducing the wonders of the gospel to a private devotion life with Jesus, we begin to understand what He really has in store for us. Jesus puts His life in us and that life transforms the world. He gives us peace that is different from what the world gives. It lasts, spreads, and transforms.

The Gospel of the Kingdom

I am starting a 7 week Summer Bible Study on Wednesday nights called, Jesus and the In-Breaking Kingdom of God.  I have come to believe that the gospel that we have been preaching in much of the Western Church is too small. Many people believe that the gospel is just the good news of the forgiveness of sins. They are to turn from their sins, ask for forgiveness, and believe that their sins are forgiven. Then, they are to stop sinning, or at least try real hard. But, that is a gospel that is all about sin. Sure, sin is what keeps us from God and solving our sin problem is essential to having a relationship with God and to having eternal life. But, somehow I don't think that Jesus saved us just so we could continue a life long focus on sin. Jesus saved us so that we would be a people unto Himself. He saved us so that we could participate in His Kingdom. The gospel of the Kingdom is much bigger than just having our sins forgiven. Through the gospel of the Kingdom, we participate in the reign and rule of God. We live our lives for Him. We love others sacrificially. We put the needs of others above our own. We humble ourselves. We give up all to pursue the Kingdom of God. It has direct results on how we live our lives now. The Gospel of the Kingdom is more than just forgiveness of sins, although that message is central. It affects our whole life and the lives of others, both near and far.

I am beginning to believe that the some of the weaknesses in our churches may stem from a lack of preaching and living out the Gospel of the Kingdom. Instead, we are often preaching and living an individualistic substitute that makes the work of God in space-time all about us, when in reality, it is all about Him and His glory. God wants to catch us up in what He is doing because He loves us and He wants us to co-labor with Him.

Any thoughts on what the Kingdom of God is and how it might make a difference that we believe the full-orbed Gospel of the Kingdom instead of just the message of forgiveness?

Do We Read the Bible Correctly? The Message and the Mission Are Connected

When I was in seminary at Golden Gate back in the late 90's, I was highly impacted by the teachings of Dr. Thom Wolf. He, along with Dr. Stanley Nelson, my systematic theology professor, gave me a lens through which to interpret Scripture. I began to see the Bible as a whole, not just a random collection of books, sayings, and unrelated chapters. I began to see that the Bible was about the mission of God through the sending of God's Son, Jesus Christ, to rescue the human race from sin and death for God's own glory and because of His redeeming love for us. As I began to read the Bible as an unfolding message of God's wooing and rescue of the human race with Jesus as the Hinge of History, all of the side doctrines that had created so much confusion began to slide into place. Jesus is central. He was sent by God and He redeems us and calls us to Himself, gathers us together, and then sends us out with His power to proclaim His salvation. His gospel is our message. The gospel is the Gospel of the Kingdom announcing God's reign and rule through the person and work of Jesus. He is calling people everywhere to Himself through the proclamation of the gospel. Jesus is our focus.  His mission is the mission and purpose of the church.

One of the passages that Bro. Thom unfolded for us was Luke 24:45-49.  It says,

45Then he opened their minds so they could understand the Scriptures. 46He told them, "This is what is written: The Christ will suffer and rise from the dead on the third day, 47and repentance and forgiveness of sins will be preached in his name to all nations, beginning at Jerusalem. 48You are witnesses of these things. 49I am going to send you what my Father has promised; but stay in the city until you have been clothed with power from on high."

The Message:  The Christ will suffer and rise from the dead on the third day.

The Mission:  Repentance and forgiveness of sins will be preached in his name to all nations.

The Message and the Mission are connected. One flows from the other. We have wrongly separated the two and have said that we need to accept the message and then maybe if you become spiritual enough and receive a special "call," then you can take part in the mission. Wrong. When you receive the gospel, you receive a redemptive spiritual virus that is meant to be spread to others. I really wonder if those who have no desire to share the gospel or see others come to Christ have really encountered what the gospel is about. As Bro. Thom used to say, "the gospel that has come to you must now go through you."  If we are just sitting on the gospel, then we don't really understand it. It is like people who claim to receive grace yet they continue to sin. If you really understood grace, then you would not continue to sin. Grace provides forgiveness AND it brings change in our lives.

Recently, David Phillips reviewed Christopher Wright's book, The Mission of God. In his review, he quotes Wright and says,

In Chapter one of this book, Christopher Wright begins to lay out the search for a missional hermeneutic. We need to move past the search for a biblical basis of missions, but to see the Bible through a missional lens.

Drawing from Luke 24, Wright begins to express his basis for a missional hermeneutic. He believes that beyond a messianic centering of the Old Testament there is a missional thrust as well. Luke 24:45-47 states:

45 Then he opened their minds to understand the Scriptures, 46 and said to them, “Thus it is written, that the Christ should suffer and on the third day rise from the dead, 47 and that repentance and forgiveness of sins should be proclaimed in his name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem. (ESV)

In this, “He seems to be saying that the whole of scripture (which we know as the Old Testament) finds its focus and fulfillment both in the life and death and resurrection of Israel’s Messiah, and in the mission to all nations, which flows from that event.” Thus the proper way for disciples of Christ to read the Bible is both messianically and missionally.

In doing this, we need to move past trying to express a “Biblical Foundation for Missions.” We need to see the Bible not as containing several verses about being on mission (ie Matthew 28:19-20), but to see everything through a messianic and missional framework.

Yes, Jesus is my personal Savior and I am to know Him personally. But, He also came as the Savior of the World to seek and save the lost. If I have believe His message, I am also to be caught up in that mission. There was never meant to be a dichotomy between what Jesus said and what He did. In the same way, there is to be no separation between the message of the gospel and the mission of bringing that gospel to the world. Why have we created such a distinction? Why have we unduly separated what God has joined together?  How can we say that we are being faithful to Christ and that we are walking with God if we are not taking part in His mission to bring salvation to the ends of the earth?  We cannot, and the fact that we have created a faith that gives us the option shows how we have effectively shelved the implications of the gospel and have replaced it with a message of personal piety and satisfaction.

Michael Frost expounds upon the idea of the missional nature of the church.  He says that mission is the organizing principle of the church. If we see the church through the lens of mission and we organize ourselves around the purpose of lifting up Jesus in a lost culture, then we are seeing the church rightly and we are reading the Bible as we should.  The entire Bible is the record of God in search of man to call a people to Himself. God is a sent God, a missional God. It is His nature and His character. God sent His Son, and the Father and Son now send us. Spirituality is tied to our "sentness." Please take a few minutes to watch this. I hope to do a further review on this message and will repost it again later.

May we open our hearts and read the Bible rightly.

For Anyone Struggling With Fear or Sickness

Emily Hunter McGowin, a theology student at Baylor that I have become familiar with through her postings on SBCOutpost, has published an incredible message on Romans 8:28-39. She writes about how God works in our lives even when we are going through incredible hardship and suffering. As I read her words, I was reminded of what we have seen God do in our lives through our son, Caelan. Today, we can rejoice in Caelan's birthday and that he is healthy and has turned two, but our real joy comes in knowing that God is always for us, is always working circumstances for our good, and is laboring to conform us to the image of Christ. Thanks for the reminder, Emily.

All of Life is Repentance

Tim Keller, pastor of Redeemer Presbyterian Church in NYC says that. I think that he's right.

I've been asked by a couple of people over the past week about repentance - what it is and how you do it. I preached about it on Sunday as I happened to be at that point in the Book of Acts - Acts 3:19-20, which says, "Repent, then, and turn to God, so that your sins may be wiped out, that times of refreshing may come from the Lord, and that he may send the Christ, who has been appointed for you—even Jesus."

Now ultimately, Biblical repentance is about salvation. It is about turning AWAY from your sin and rebellion and turning to God through faith in Jesus Christ. Too many people make repentance into something like, "stop doing bad and start doing good." But, there's no power in that. True repentance means that we turn AWAY from sin and turn TO faith in Jesus.

Repentance means to turn around. A man might say, "I was headed for a cliff, but I repented. I turned around and went the other way and lived."

Repentance is more than just being sorry. It means that we turn around - we forsake our sinful thoughts and activities. It is not a burdensome thing, but rather, it is extremely lifegiving. When we repent, we step into who God has truly made us to be as we place our faith in Jesus.

Who needs to repent? Paul, in Acts 17:30 says that repentance is for everyone: "he (God) commands all people everywhere to repent." We all need to repent because we have all sinned and fall short of God's glory. And, repentance is not just a one time thing. Jesus told the church in Ephesus in Rev. 2:5 that was doing so much right, to "Remember the height from which you have fallen! Repent and do the things you did at first. If you do not repent, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place."  Turn around from the direction you were going and turn to Christ. Even Christians.

So, I thought that I would list some steps to repentance. Repentance, for the Christian, renews our relationship with God and puts us back on the right path. It involves a looking away from and forsaking past behavior and attitudes and a looking to Christ. It seems that many do not know how to repent. Here are some thoughts:

1. Ask God to search your heart (Pslam 139:23-24). We are all pretty subjective. If it is my job to search my heart, I will often rationalize attitudes and actions that God would get rid of if I would just submit to Him. When asking Him to search my heart, it is helpful to read the Bible and focus on passages like Colossians 3.  What from that passage do I need to believe and incorporate into my life? What do I need to deal with?
2. When God shows you the areas that you need to deal with, confess them to God. Confession is basically agreement with God that we have sinned (1 John 1:9). When we agree with God about our sin, we admit that He is holy and that His character is in tact. We confess our sin and claim His forgiveness. We agree with God about what we have done, give it to Him, and begin to receive His forgiveness. This enables us to walk with Him. Amos 3:3 says, "Do two walk together unless they have agreed to do so?"
3. When you confess your sin, forsake it. Turn away from it. "Put off the old" (Eph. 4:22).
4. Turn to Christ in faith. It is not enough to just try and stop doing/thinking negative things. We must additionally turn to Christ. He makes us "new in the attitude of our minds" (Eph. 4:23). In this, we receive His unlimited forgiveness and mercy.
5. We must put move on. We put on the new self and enter into times of refreshing (Eph. 4:24).

Repentance has gotten a bad rap. It has this image of being this guilt induced experience that makes us feel awful and very ashamed. That is not so! Biblical repentance is liberating and it leads to life! It is a way that God has given us to throw off our sin and turn to Jesus to find true life! It is an avenue to wholeness, because we are only truly whole when we walk with Him. We all need to be in an attitude of repentance all the time. We never become so holy or perfect that we do not need to continually realign ourselves with God's work, will, and purposes taking place around us. Who do we think we are?

I am not talking about feeling bad all the time. But, I am talking about having a basic understanding that I need to realign myself to what God is doing and His holiness and not the other way around. I need to turn around from the direction that I was headed, and by faith, turn to God. It seems that we make repentance too hard on people and they miss an incredible blessing of laying down their will to take up the yoke of Christ. We have made another blessed means of knowing God more deeply into a shameful and legalistic exercise that is only for "really bad sinners."

Well, I am here to confess that I need continual repentance. I need to consistently realign my life with God's will and purposes. I am not ashamed to admit that, because that is a place that I find refreshing, life giving, living water from Jesus. Sometimes it is difficult for us to admit that we need to keep turning our lives over to God, but it is true. And, there is life in recognizing the we still need a Savior each and every day.

May we engage in true heartfelt repentance this week. May we confess our sins and our desperate need for Christ and also the victory that He has for all who believe in Him. Then, by faith, may we receive the incredible grace that God lavishes upon all who call upon Him and move on into the path that God truly wants us to walk - a walk in agreement with Him.

The Fruit of the Spirit, Pt. 4: Love Without Restraint

Romans 5:8 says, "But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us."

Vacation was WONDERFUL!!! My family and I spent a week at the beach and it was great. I have a ton of pictures that I will be putting up later this week. The time away was much needed.

Here and there I was able to peruse some of the reaction from the SBC Annual Meeting. Let me just say that I am more than glad that I have decided to bow out of all of this. I will be limiting my involvement in SBC issues to being a contributing writer for the new SBCOutpost, which will be a group blog effort. Other than that, further participation appears to be pointless.

So, all of that brings me back to the point of my writing: to try and lift up the name of Jesus and to point out where I see God at work in the world around me. I have continued to think about the Fruit of the Spirit, so I wanted to start the week off with some further reflections on Love. We know that God is love. In Romans 5:8 listed above, we see how God demonstrates His love for us by having Christ die for us while we were still sinners. Before we had ever done anything good and while we were still completely stinking with sin, Jesus died for you and for me. It is hard for us to fully grasp that, because we become so convinced of our goodness and righteousness and we begin to feel that we somehow merit the merit of Christ. This is never more true than when we are judging others. Let me tell you a story to illustrate my point.

In the late 1990's, I was a young seminary student at Golden Gate Baptist Theological Seminary in the San Francisco Bay Area. My wife and I joined First Baptist Church, San Francisco, and from there started a ministry to homeless people. We used to meet with a team of other folks in their 20's on Sunday mornings really early. We started going to the Civic Center park, which bore the popular name of "Crack Park" for obvious reasons. Each Sunday morning, we would pass out sweet rolls, orange juice, and clean socks (homeless people love clean socks) to those who were just waking up on benches or under trees. This was right in the shadow of City Hall and the police and city leadership turned a blind eye to the wide stretch of homeless people laying in the plaza. We were their Sunday morning wake up call, and we would share breakfast with them, offer them prayer, and invite them over to a central place where we would share the Word of God with them. We saw several come to Christ through this and we began discipling them. It was a powerful time.

One Sunday morning I was walking around the park and I was trying to give away the food and bless people through prayer and/or friendliness. Then, I saw the most disgusting sight I had ever seen in a human being. Before me lay a black man who was a homeless transvestite. He had partial make up on with a half grown beard. He was a mess and could not keep himself up. He had his shoes off and his feet were swollen and were oozing pus from open sores. From his body emanated a stench that was nauseating. Actually, I found myself gagging at the sight of this "man", rejected by both the straight and gay community. He was a complete horror show. As I gagged from the sight, smell, and aura of this he/she who was clearly very ill, I knew that I could not turn away. I was being overwhelmed by my own precious sensibilities and I wanted to run, but I knew that was wrong. I wish that I could say that I was just SO compassionate. But, I wasn't. I didn't know what to do.

So, in that moment, I decided that prayer was the answer. I cried out to God and I asked Him to let me see that man the way that He saw him. Immediately, I was flooded with love and warmth. Tears came to my eyes and my heart broke for the man. I saw him as a child of God, broken and bent, but still bearing God's image upon himself. I was overcome by the love of God for him. I don't know if I remember a prayer ever being answered so quickly. I realized that God loved this man so much, that while he was still in his sin, Christ died for him. Love flowed out of me as well. I walked over to the man, offered him something to eat, told him that Jesus loved him and died for him, and then I hugged him. The man was receptive and opened up to me. I wish I could report some miracle regarding the man, but the real miracle happened in my heart. As I experienced God's love for this man who was filthy with sin, my own heart was changed and I felt myself experience brokenness over his alienation from God. I was overwhelmed with God's grace that was available for this man. I was overwhelmed with God's love.

What kind of God do we serve who could love sinners? What kind of God is it that demonstrates His love by dying for us while we are still lost in our sin? If God has forgiven us this way, then who are we to not forgive others? How can we push someone else aside when God has given all to bring us back to Himself? And, having experienced this for ourselves, how can we not extend it to others?

Ephesians 3:17-19 "And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God."

The Fruit of the Spirit, Pt. 3: What the World Needs Now . . .

LOVE

The first fruit of the Spirit listed in Galatians 5 is LOVE. I am just going to list some relevant Scripture. Considering all that has been going on and the Convention coming up in the SBC next week, this should be self explanatory:

1 Corinthians 13

1If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. 2If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. 3If I give all I possess to the poor and surrender my body to the flames, but have not love, I gain nothing.

4Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. 5It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. 6Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. 7It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.

8Love never fails. But where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are tongues, they will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away. 9For we know in part and we prophesy in part, 10but when perfection comes, the imperfect disappears. 11When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put childish ways behind me. 12Now we see but a poor reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known.

13And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.

Romans 5:8

8But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

1 John 4:7-21

7Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. 8Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love. 9This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him. 10This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. 11Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. 12No one has ever seen God; but if we love one another, God lives in us and his love is made complete in us.

13We know that we live in him and he in us, because he has given us of his Spirit. 14And we have seen and testify that the Father has sent his Son to be the Savior of the world. 15If anyone acknowledges that Jesus is the Son of God, God lives in him and he in God. 16And so we know and rely on the love God has for us.
      God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in him. 17In this way, love is made complete among us so that we will have confidence on the day of judgment, because in this world we are like him. 18There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love.

19We love because he first loved us. 20If anyone says, "I love God," yet hates his brother, he is a liar. For anyone who does not love his brother, whom he has seen, cannot love God, whom he has not seen. 21And he has given us this command: Whoever loves God must also love his brother.

Most will probably not read this far because the Scriptures are familiar and this is not controversial enough to draw out interest. But, it is pretty important. If we have everything and have not love, we are not good for anything at all. Also, love is not just a disposition of the heart, but it is always carried out in action. "Peter, do you love me? Then feed my sheep." Jesus showed us true world changing love by laying His life down for us. How can we lay our lives down for those around us?

I have been very frustrated with the events of the past weeks leading up to the Convention in San Antonio.  I am going and praying for change. But, I know that if I go angry and looking for a fight, my spirit will be empty and I will only live out of the desires of the flesh. We all need to be filled with the Holy Spirit. May we never become so focused on what we can accomplish that we forget that our first priority is to love God and love one another - sacrificially. I pray that that attitude overtakes all of us in every aspect of our lives.