I wanted to share something that I am reading which I was blessed and challenged by. Jonathan Edwards, a well known pastor and great man of the faith from the 1700's, developed a set of seventy resolutions as standards for his own life. He desired to read them once a week and constantly commit his life to them. They are taken from Edward's book "Life and Diary of David Brainerd". Here are a few of them that stood out to me and I also want to live my life by. I hope they bless you.
5. Never to lose one moment of time, but to improve it in the most profitable way I possibly can.
6. To live with all my might while I do live.
7. Never to do anything which I should be afraid to do, if it were the last hour of my life.
8. To act, in all respects, both speaking and doing, as if nobody had been so vile as I, and as if I had committed the same sins, or had the same infirmities or failings as others; and that I will let the knowledge of their failings promote nothing but shame in myself, and prove only an occasion of my confessing my own sins and misery to God.
9. To think much, on all occasions, of my own dying, and of the common circumstances which attend death.
10. When I feel pain, to think of the pains of martyrdom and hell.
17. That I will live so, as I shall wish I had done when I come to die.
20. To maintain the strictest temperance in eating and drinking.
22. To endeavor to obtain for myself as much happiness in the other world, as I possibly can, with all the might, power, vigor, and vehemence, yea, violence, I am capable of, or can bring myself to exert, in any way...
37. To inquire every night, as I am going to bed, wherein I have been negligent; what sin I have committed; and wherein I have denied myself.
55. To endeavor, to my utmost, so to act as I can think I should do, if I had already seen the happiness of heaven, and hell torments.
58. Not only to refrain from an air of dislike, fretfulness, and anger in conversation; but to exhibit an air of love, cheerfulness, and benignity.
61. That I will not give way to that listlessness which I find unbends and relaxes my mind from being fully and fixedly set on religion, whatevre excuse I may have for it.
63. On the supposition that there never was to be but one individual in the world at any one time who was properly a complete Christian... to act just as I would do, if I strove with all my might to be that one, who should live in my time.
Thursday, December 10, 2009
Sunday, October 25, 2009
More thoughts on belief....
So I have been wrestling a lot with the concept of belief, and here are some of my latest thoughts...
At Cornerstone we have been reading through 1 Peter on our own, and a passage really stood out to me. Here is 1 Peter 1:3-9:
"Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade—kept in heaven for you, who through faith are shielded by God's power until the coming of the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time. In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. These have come so that your faith—of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire—may be proved genuine and may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed. Though you have not seen him, you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy, for you are receiving the goal of your faith, the salvation of your souls."
Please take a moment, or hopefully more than a moment, to really meditate on this passage. We really need to hear Peter. He speaks of "the salvation that is ready to be revealed", or the second coming of Christ and His ultimate salvation. He says we should rejoice in that greatly, or like he says in v.13, "fix your hope completely on the grace to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ." It is clear that he is imploring his readers to focus Heavenward, a future oriented hope.
He then goes on to say that "trials... come so that your faith... may be proved genuine." Wait, what? Why would faith need to be proved genuine? Well it seems that Peter is implying that some claims of faith are disingenuous, those that would not continue to hope in Christ's salvation in the midst of trials.
So then the question for you and I is this: how do we know that our faith is genuine? Just claiming to believe is not proof. And I'm not saying we need to prove it to anyone or to God, but I mean more so for ourselves to know if our faith is genuine, if we are really saved and will be in Heaven. It seems that is Peter's focus.
Well why would trials be the way that we see if our faith is genuine? I think the answer to that is within the context of the passage which we discussed already, Peter's imploring them to set their hope fully on the future salvation. Trials force us to let go of our hope in this world. Rejoicing in trials and suffering is predicated on a hope in something greater, something better to come. If I truly believe in Christ and His promises bought for me on the cross for the future salvation, then I will gladly endure trials because of what I know is coming. If I don't really believe in Christ and His promises, then I will continue to place my hope in this world and this life, and my so called "faith" will start to crumble and reveal itself as disingenuous during trials. As Peter alludes to, trials will "refine" and test what is really there, if anything.
Hebrews 11 gets at a very similar idea, as the writer speaks of faith and says that all of the great men and women of the faith in times past saw themselves as "strangers and aliens on earth" (v.13) and "were longing for a better country - a heavenly one" (v.16). The author implores us to do the same, to long for the heavenly Kingdom.
It is in this that we find faith to be genuine. Jesus speaks of it like this: "For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will find it." The person who is willing to give up this life for the promise of a much greater one to come is a person who really believes in the promise. The person who is unwilling to give it up doesn't really believe. I think this is why Jesus makes the cost so high, so that faith would be proved either genuine or disingenuous.
We better be careful in our avoidance of trials and suffering. The culture in which we live trains us to avoid any type of suffering at all cost and instead seek comfort, which is quite possibly a big reason that the church is doing so poorly in America. We are a people who claim to believe in future glory and satisfaction, but so many self professing Christians in America are in direct contradiction of that claim by living for temporary glory and satisfaction. As Americans we are people who live for instant satisfaction, and it is just that which cripples our openness to the true gospel. Our avoidance of trials and suffering could very well be an indication that many (vast majority?) of the self-proclaimed belief in America is not real, and that so many of us are not really saved. At least we can say this: when are lives are filled with comfort and little suffering/trials, it is very hard for us to know if we are truly saved.
It is easy for me to say that my hope is fully "on the grace to be brought to (me) at the revelation of Jesus Christ" when my life is going great. It is another thing when I am called to suffer for this hope. I pray that my faith may be proved genuine in time... I don't think it has been yet... This doesn't mean that my faith isn't real, rather it means that it hasn't been fully proven yet. It could very well be real, and I feel strongly that it is, but I want it to be proved genuine as I undergo trials and suffering in this life. It will force me to see where my hope truly lies.
At Cornerstone we have been reading through 1 Peter on our own, and a passage really stood out to me. Here is 1 Peter 1:3-9:
"Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade—kept in heaven for you, who through faith are shielded by God's power until the coming of the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time. In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. These have come so that your faith—of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire—may be proved genuine and may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed. Though you have not seen him, you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy, for you are receiving the goal of your faith, the salvation of your souls."
Please take a moment, or hopefully more than a moment, to really meditate on this passage. We really need to hear Peter. He speaks of "the salvation that is ready to be revealed", or the second coming of Christ and His ultimate salvation. He says we should rejoice in that greatly, or like he says in v.13, "fix your hope completely on the grace to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ." It is clear that he is imploring his readers to focus Heavenward, a future oriented hope.
He then goes on to say that "trials... come so that your faith... may be proved genuine." Wait, what? Why would faith need to be proved genuine? Well it seems that Peter is implying that some claims of faith are disingenuous, those that would not continue to hope in Christ's salvation in the midst of trials.
So then the question for you and I is this: how do we know that our faith is genuine? Just claiming to believe is not proof. And I'm not saying we need to prove it to anyone or to God, but I mean more so for ourselves to know if our faith is genuine, if we are really saved and will be in Heaven. It seems that is Peter's focus.
Well why would trials be the way that we see if our faith is genuine? I think the answer to that is within the context of the passage which we discussed already, Peter's imploring them to set their hope fully on the future salvation. Trials force us to let go of our hope in this world. Rejoicing in trials and suffering is predicated on a hope in something greater, something better to come. If I truly believe in Christ and His promises bought for me on the cross for the future salvation, then I will gladly endure trials because of what I know is coming. If I don't really believe in Christ and His promises, then I will continue to place my hope in this world and this life, and my so called "faith" will start to crumble and reveal itself as disingenuous during trials. As Peter alludes to, trials will "refine" and test what is really there, if anything.
Hebrews 11 gets at a very similar idea, as the writer speaks of faith and says that all of the great men and women of the faith in times past saw themselves as "strangers and aliens on earth" (v.13) and "were longing for a better country - a heavenly one" (v.16). The author implores us to do the same, to long for the heavenly Kingdom.
It is in this that we find faith to be genuine. Jesus speaks of it like this: "For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will find it." The person who is willing to give up this life for the promise of a much greater one to come is a person who really believes in the promise. The person who is unwilling to give it up doesn't really believe. I think this is why Jesus makes the cost so high, so that faith would be proved either genuine or disingenuous.
We better be careful in our avoidance of trials and suffering. The culture in which we live trains us to avoid any type of suffering at all cost and instead seek comfort, which is quite possibly a big reason that the church is doing so poorly in America. We are a people who claim to believe in future glory and satisfaction, but so many self professing Christians in America are in direct contradiction of that claim by living for temporary glory and satisfaction. As Americans we are people who live for instant satisfaction, and it is just that which cripples our openness to the true gospel. Our avoidance of trials and suffering could very well be an indication that many (vast majority?) of the self-proclaimed belief in America is not real, and that so many of us are not really saved. At least we can say this: when are lives are filled with comfort and little suffering/trials, it is very hard for us to know if we are truly saved.
It is easy for me to say that my hope is fully "on the grace to be brought to (me) at the revelation of Jesus Christ" when my life is going great. It is another thing when I am called to suffer for this hope. I pray that my faith may be proved genuine in time... I don't think it has been yet... This doesn't mean that my faith isn't real, rather it means that it hasn't been fully proven yet. It could very well be real, and I feel strongly that it is, but I want it to be proved genuine as I undergo trials and suffering in this life. It will force me to see where my hope truly lies.
Tuesday, October 6, 2009
Monopoly
Have you ever played a good game of Monopoly with friends? You sit down with four other people who you are close with, and know that you will be spending the next 3+ hours with them competing for the coveted crown of best Monopoly player.
Now if you are anything like me, a competitive person, you start getting a little too much into the game. In your first few roles you land on "Chance", then "In Jail: Just Visiting", and then "Community Chest". You find yourself with $10 extra from finishing second place in a beauty contest, but meanwhile your competitors each have one or two properties. You can already see yourself falling behind, and even though you know it is just a game for fun, you start getting anxious and even maybe a bit frustrated.
Things start to change for you as you snag St. James Place, Indiana Ave, Pacific Ave, and Boardwalk in your next four roles. You are now the envy of everyone sitting around the table, and you feel pretty good about yourself, as though you were more valuable of a person because two little squares dropped out of your hand and stopped in a certain way by mere chance. You start eyeing victory and thinking that you surely are headed towards victory.
Eventually your one friend Jack, who is not quite as competitive or competent, makes a trade with your savvy friend Chris. The trade was very one-sided in Chris' favor. Poor Jack is now probably going to lose, but you can't help but feel bitterness towards him because of his poor decision. You convince yourself that you are frustrated because you feel bad for Jack, but really it is because now Chris is more powerful than you. Chris playfully teases you about it, but you don't find it funny and tell him to hurry up and roll because it is his turn.
You start looking around the table looking for one of your friends that you could possibly take advantage of, giving them Water Works for a property that would give you another monopoly. Maybe if you are nice enough, or argue well enough, you can convince them to do it.
You look at the clock and it reads 12:36am. It is down to you, Chris, and Sarah. Chris has his head in his hand, and Sarah yawns real loud as she stretches her arms out wide. She then comments, "Hey, would you guys be OK with stopping here and going to bed?" Quickly you respond, "No way, we are so close to someone winning." Chris agrees with Sarah though saying, "Yea man, I'm tired too. It's just a game. I need sleep for work in the morning." But they don't get it. It isn't just a game. You put too much time into acquiring all of these properties and money; you can't just stop now when you are so close to winning!
You probably think this is silly, and are saying to yourself, "Sean, maybe you are this competitive and crazy, but there is no way I would get so consumed and involved with something that is so temporary and unimportant in the long run." But isn't that what you are doing with your life?
Your life is this monopoly game.
Can't we see that our lives are but a short game or scene in the whole big picture of eternity? Yet why are we so wrapped up in it? Why do we get so much identity in how much stuff we have, how much pleasure we can get from it, how many friends we can have, how many people we can get to like us?
All these things, these accomplishments, these things for you to boast in, are less to your credit than rolling an 11 to get on Boardwalk. You were GIVEN a body, the ability to breathe/talk/walk, parents who care for you, and so many other essentials and pre-requisits to any of your so called "accomplishments". You don't get any of the credit, and have no more reason for pride than you would in your Monopoly game for having the dice fall the right way. After all, why are you here in America with tons of opportunity and priviledge when so many are suffering and hopeless in India, Africa, and other places?
Pretend someone walked into your monopoly game and offered to match all of your money and properties with real money and property. The choice would be obvious to sell him everything you have in exchange for the real stuff, even though you know you wouldn't be able to use real money and property in the Monopoly game. At that point, you see the huge gain that you would receive for tomorrow when you step back into reality and out of the artifical circumstance created by the game.
So if we believe that in less than 80 years all of us will have to pack up the game and put our piece, our money, our properties, and our houses/hotels back into the box, why are we so consumed with winning (being happy, succesful, pleasured, popular, etc.) here? We must realize that eternity (or "real life") is approaching very quickly, and we would be wise to invest as much as we can in that rather than this silly, little game. We also owe it to those playing the game with us to help them see the same thing, that Jesus Christ has offered to buy their pathetic lives and give them new, eternal life.
But here is the key: We gotta take the deal. We gotta sell it all. Please friend, I implore you with tears, sell it.
Almost everyone is consumed with this game called life, but please see beyond the board and pieces; cash out. Then spend the rest of your time going around the board telling others to do the same, even if they throw you in jail or force you to pay rent when you don't have the money. They will think you are crazy because in Monopoly world you appear to have so little, but you know that once the game is over you are going to experience true prosperity and they will be beggars for all of eternity.
Now if you are anything like me, a competitive person, you start getting a little too much into the game. In your first few roles you land on "Chance", then "In Jail: Just Visiting", and then "Community Chest". You find yourself with $10 extra from finishing second place in a beauty contest, but meanwhile your competitors each have one or two properties. You can already see yourself falling behind, and even though you know it is just a game for fun, you start getting anxious and even maybe a bit frustrated.
Things start to change for you as you snag St. James Place, Indiana Ave, Pacific Ave, and Boardwalk in your next four roles. You are now the envy of everyone sitting around the table, and you feel pretty good about yourself, as though you were more valuable of a person because two little squares dropped out of your hand and stopped in a certain way by mere chance. You start eyeing victory and thinking that you surely are headed towards victory.
Eventually your one friend Jack, who is not quite as competitive or competent, makes a trade with your savvy friend Chris. The trade was very one-sided in Chris' favor. Poor Jack is now probably going to lose, but you can't help but feel bitterness towards him because of his poor decision. You convince yourself that you are frustrated because you feel bad for Jack, but really it is because now Chris is more powerful than you. Chris playfully teases you about it, but you don't find it funny and tell him to hurry up and roll because it is his turn.
You start looking around the table looking for one of your friends that you could possibly take advantage of, giving them Water Works for a property that would give you another monopoly. Maybe if you are nice enough, or argue well enough, you can convince them to do it.
You look at the clock and it reads 12:36am. It is down to you, Chris, and Sarah. Chris has his head in his hand, and Sarah yawns real loud as she stretches her arms out wide. She then comments, "Hey, would you guys be OK with stopping here and going to bed?" Quickly you respond, "No way, we are so close to someone winning." Chris agrees with Sarah though saying, "Yea man, I'm tired too. It's just a game. I need sleep for work in the morning." But they don't get it. It isn't just a game. You put too much time into acquiring all of these properties and money; you can't just stop now when you are so close to winning!
You probably think this is silly, and are saying to yourself, "Sean, maybe you are this competitive and crazy, but there is no way I would get so consumed and involved with something that is so temporary and unimportant in the long run." But isn't that what you are doing with your life?
Your life is this monopoly game.
Can't we see that our lives are but a short game or scene in the whole big picture of eternity? Yet why are we so wrapped up in it? Why do we get so much identity in how much stuff we have, how much pleasure we can get from it, how many friends we can have, how many people we can get to like us?
All these things, these accomplishments, these things for you to boast in, are less to your credit than rolling an 11 to get on Boardwalk. You were GIVEN a body, the ability to breathe/talk/walk, parents who care for you, and so many other essentials and pre-requisits to any of your so called "accomplishments". You don't get any of the credit, and have no more reason for pride than you would in your Monopoly game for having the dice fall the right way. After all, why are you here in America with tons of opportunity and priviledge when so many are suffering and hopeless in India, Africa, and other places?
Pretend someone walked into your monopoly game and offered to match all of your money and properties with real money and property. The choice would be obvious to sell him everything you have in exchange for the real stuff, even though you know you wouldn't be able to use real money and property in the Monopoly game. At that point, you see the huge gain that you would receive for tomorrow when you step back into reality and out of the artifical circumstance created by the game.
So if we believe that in less than 80 years all of us will have to pack up the game and put our piece, our money, our properties, and our houses/hotels back into the box, why are we so consumed with winning (being happy, succesful, pleasured, popular, etc.) here? We must realize that eternity (or "real life") is approaching very quickly, and we would be wise to invest as much as we can in that rather than this silly, little game. We also owe it to those playing the game with us to help them see the same thing, that Jesus Christ has offered to buy their pathetic lives and give them new, eternal life.
But here is the key: We gotta take the deal. We gotta sell it all. Please friend, I implore you with tears, sell it.
Almost everyone is consumed with this game called life, but please see beyond the board and pieces; cash out. Then spend the rest of your time going around the board telling others to do the same, even if they throw you in jail or force you to pay rent when you don't have the money. They will think you are crazy because in Monopoly world you appear to have so little, but you know that once the game is over you are going to experience true prosperity and they will be beggars for all of eternity.
Sunday, September 27, 2009
How Much Do You Really Believe?
So many of us flippantly say that we believe in Jesus. Some of us do; many of us don't. And of the ones that do, I would argue that we all struggle with practical doubt/disbelief. I'm sure when people read that they maybe get nervous, and say "no I don't doubt Jesus, I believe it fully!"
Let me use this as an example:
If you are a follower of Jesus, I have a few questions for you. You believe that being reconciled to and adopted by the Father is by far the most important thing for anyone right? OK, good. You believe that you are called to love your neighbor as yourself, seeking their ultimate good right? OK, good. You believe that most of the people around you are heading towards a very real eternity in torment an anguish, with just a few heading to Heaven (Matthew 7)? OK, good.
So now if you answered yes to each of these three questions, then surely you are CONSTANTLY praying for the lost and seeking to share with them about Jesus. I am positive, based on what you said you believe, that your greatest desire in life, and even your obsession if you will, is to lead people to know who Jesus is and walk with them in discipleship (Matthew 28). Surely, if you know Jesus and are spending eternity with Him, you wouldn't be worried about money, security, fame, being liked, etc. when the vast majority of people around you are on their way to spend eternity in Hell, right?? And especially so if we understood how much God loves those people and wants them for His own possession and glory.
On top of that, as we already established that you are supposed to love your neighbor as yourself, your heart must be breaking for those who are suffering as sex-trafficed slaves, those starving, those without clean water, those hopelessly lost without hearing the Gospel, right? I mean I am sure that you are constantly praying for these people and giving of all your time and money possible to help right?
See here is what I see in my life: a disconnect between what I PROFESS to believe and what I actually DO with my life, which directly flows out of what I ACTUALLY believe. And my friend, if you see similar patterns in your life, I suggest that you join me in seeking a deeper belief in Christ and that what He says is true. Deitrich Bonhoeffer put it well when he said: "Understanding Christ means taking Him seriously." I'm so tired of not taking him serious enough.
So hear me say that I do believe in Jesus. I trust that through placing my faith in Christ, I am saved and adopted. But my battle for believing in Him is still going today because I want a deeper faith than the superficial garbage we are presented with in the vast majority of American Christianity.
How is deep belief in Jesus going to change your life? Is it scary to you? Does it mean you will spend way less on yourself, and live only on what you need so that others might live and hear the Gospel? Does it mean that you will talk about Jesus more, seek out non-believers, have people think you are weird, or possibly even get in trouble for the sake of their eternity and God's glory? Does it mean you will spend hours in the Word and prayer to beg and plead with God to save those around you, trusting that He wants to do it and will answer your prayers? Does it mean you will turn from your comfortable ways (t.v., video games, laziness, safety, internet, etc.) and go do the things you don't want to because you love God and others?
So what do you believe in? Please, please, prove it as well as seek deeper belief, even as I myself strive for it as well. We don't have time to be messing around. It is getting late and getting serious. Eternity is casting it's shadow upon us, and we cannot ignore it any longer.
Let me use this as an example:
If you are a follower of Jesus, I have a few questions for you. You believe that being reconciled to and adopted by the Father is by far the most important thing for anyone right? OK, good. You believe that you are called to love your neighbor as yourself, seeking their ultimate good right? OK, good. You believe that most of the people around you are heading towards a very real eternity in torment an anguish, with just a few heading to Heaven (Matthew 7)? OK, good.
So now if you answered yes to each of these three questions, then surely you are CONSTANTLY praying for the lost and seeking to share with them about Jesus. I am positive, based on what you said you believe, that your greatest desire in life, and even your obsession if you will, is to lead people to know who Jesus is and walk with them in discipleship (Matthew 28). Surely, if you know Jesus and are spending eternity with Him, you wouldn't be worried about money, security, fame, being liked, etc. when the vast majority of people around you are on their way to spend eternity in Hell, right?? And especially so if we understood how much God loves those people and wants them for His own possession and glory.
On top of that, as we already established that you are supposed to love your neighbor as yourself, your heart must be breaking for those who are suffering as sex-trafficed slaves, those starving, those without clean water, those hopelessly lost without hearing the Gospel, right? I mean I am sure that you are constantly praying for these people and giving of all your time and money possible to help right?
See here is what I see in my life: a disconnect between what I PROFESS to believe and what I actually DO with my life, which directly flows out of what I ACTUALLY believe. And my friend, if you see similar patterns in your life, I suggest that you join me in seeking a deeper belief in Christ and that what He says is true. Deitrich Bonhoeffer put it well when he said: "Understanding Christ means taking Him seriously." I'm so tired of not taking him serious enough.
So hear me say that I do believe in Jesus. I trust that through placing my faith in Christ, I am saved and adopted. But my battle for believing in Him is still going today because I want a deeper faith than the superficial garbage we are presented with in the vast majority of American Christianity.
How is deep belief in Jesus going to change your life? Is it scary to you? Does it mean you will spend way less on yourself, and live only on what you need so that others might live and hear the Gospel? Does it mean that you will talk about Jesus more, seek out non-believers, have people think you are weird, or possibly even get in trouble for the sake of their eternity and God's glory? Does it mean you will spend hours in the Word and prayer to beg and plead with God to save those around you, trusting that He wants to do it and will answer your prayers? Does it mean you will turn from your comfortable ways (t.v., video games, laziness, safety, internet, etc.) and go do the things you don't want to because you love God and others?
So what do you believe in? Please, please, prove it as well as seek deeper belief, even as I myself strive for it as well. We don't have time to be messing around. It is getting late and getting serious. Eternity is casting it's shadow upon us, and we cannot ignore it any longer.
Sunday, September 13, 2009
Playing Roulette
"Anxiety, misplaced shame, indifference, regret, covetousness, envy, lust, bitterness, impatience, despondency, pride—these are all sprouts from the root of unbelief in the promises of God."
- John Piper
So recently I have felt myself crying out "increase (my) faith", much like the apostles in Luke 17:5 as I, much like them, realize more and more the cost and call of Christ on my life. As I see more of what I am required to do (giving up my life, dying to self, fighting sin, living sacrificially, loving selflessly) I cry out for more faith.
It is kind of like this: I feel like my life is a big roulette game and I have a million dollars, which represents my time, love, and worship. Roulette is a game with a big wheel in which you place your money in one or more pockets guessing that a little ball will finally land in your pocket at the end and then you would win. If it doesn't land in your pocket, you lose all that you put in.
Before I was a Christian, I had all of my million dollars split up among different pockets titled "money", "popularity", "security", "success", "women", "basketball", "self", and a few others. Once I realized that these pockets were losing me money and I became a Christian, I took about $10,000 off of each of those and put it on Jesus, so I had about $100,000 on Christ. I was still unwilling to take ALL of my money off of these other things and put it on Jesus. That is just too risky, I thought, because what if Jesus didn't come through or wasn't real? I didn't realize that I thought this at the time, but I was definitly (and still am) doubting Jesus. If I wasn't doubting Him, then why wouldn't I happily put it all on Him?
Now I am realizing that I can't "hedge my bets". For so long I would leave some money on all of those different pockets just to make sure that I didn't lose big, but even though this is what the vast majority of American church-goers give, it isn't the faith Jesus calls for and quite possibly isn't saving faith. He calls us to "pick up our cross and follow Him", to lose our very lives for His sake. There is no part way, or half committed aspect to Christianity. But the more that I take my money off all of these different things and get closer to having everything riding on Jesus, the scarier it gets for me, because if you have all of your money riding on one thing, you have a greater chance of losing big.
Jesus' response to the apostles when they ask for more faith is very interesting in Luke 17. First He tells them that if they have faith like a mustard seed there will be nothing impossible for God to do in them. Then He goes on to tell a small parable:
7"Suppose one of you had a servant plowing or looking after the sheep. Would he say to the servant when he comes in from the field, 'Come along now and sit down to eat'? 8Would he not rather say, 'Prepare my supper, get yourself ready and wait on me while I eat and drink; after that you may eat and drink'? 9Would he thank the servant because he did what he was told to do? 10So you also, when you have done everything you were told to do, should say, 'We are unworthy servants; we have only done our duty.' "
This wasn't the answer I was looking for from Jesus, but it was exactly what I needed to hear. The point is that I am not following Jesus to make sure that I get my reward in the end, even though there is that promise of reward. The point of me following Jesus is BECAUSE HE IS WORTHY OF BEING FOLLOWED. He is God, my creator, my savior. I didn't create myself, and on top of that I have rebelled against God's standards constantly and become evil. I am not worthy of my life. He not only created me, but died to save me. Therefore He deserves EVERYTHING from me. He deserves all of my worship and love based merely on what He did, whether He does anything for me or not.
Now I totally agree with Piper when he says "God is most glorified in me when I am most satisfied in Him", but my motivation can't be just to be satisfied, otherwise that is selfish. My motivation should be to glorify Him and give Him what He deserves, and in so doing I am supremely satisfied in His love and care. I want to enjoy Him as a wife enjoys her husband, but I don't want to just be using Him to get what I want.
God I want this kind of faith and worship. "Increase my faith!"
"You don't get justified by believing that Jesus died for sinners and rose again. You get justified by banking your hope on the promises that God secured and guaranteed for you through the death and resurrection of his Son. The faith by which God justifies us, forgives all our sins, reckons us righteous, is the experience of being satisfied that God will come through for you according to all his promises."
- John Piper
"This battle of faith, or battling against unbelief, is a life-long battle. When you become a Christian by banking your hope on the promises on God secured on the work of Jesus Christ, the battle has begun, not ended."
- John Piper
- John Piper
So recently I have felt myself crying out "increase (my) faith", much like the apostles in Luke 17:5 as I, much like them, realize more and more the cost and call of Christ on my life. As I see more of what I am required to do (giving up my life, dying to self, fighting sin, living sacrificially, loving selflessly) I cry out for more faith.
It is kind of like this: I feel like my life is a big roulette game and I have a million dollars, which represents my time, love, and worship. Roulette is a game with a big wheel in which you place your money in one or more pockets guessing that a little ball will finally land in your pocket at the end and then you would win. If it doesn't land in your pocket, you lose all that you put in.
Before I was a Christian, I had all of my million dollars split up among different pockets titled "money", "popularity", "security", "success", "women", "basketball", "self", and a few others. Once I realized that these pockets were losing me money and I became a Christian, I took about $10,000 off of each of those and put it on Jesus, so I had about $100,000 on Christ. I was still unwilling to take ALL of my money off of these other things and put it on Jesus. That is just too risky, I thought, because what if Jesus didn't come through or wasn't real? I didn't realize that I thought this at the time, but I was definitly (and still am) doubting Jesus. If I wasn't doubting Him, then why wouldn't I happily put it all on Him?
Now I am realizing that I can't "hedge my bets". For so long I would leave some money on all of those different pockets just to make sure that I didn't lose big, but even though this is what the vast majority of American church-goers give, it isn't the faith Jesus calls for and quite possibly isn't saving faith. He calls us to "pick up our cross and follow Him", to lose our very lives for His sake. There is no part way, or half committed aspect to Christianity. But the more that I take my money off all of these different things and get closer to having everything riding on Jesus, the scarier it gets for me, because if you have all of your money riding on one thing, you have a greater chance of losing big.
Jesus' response to the apostles when they ask for more faith is very interesting in Luke 17. First He tells them that if they have faith like a mustard seed there will be nothing impossible for God to do in them. Then He goes on to tell a small parable:
7"Suppose one of you had a servant plowing or looking after the sheep. Would he say to the servant when he comes in from the field, 'Come along now and sit down to eat'? 8Would he not rather say, 'Prepare my supper, get yourself ready and wait on me while I eat and drink; after that you may eat and drink'? 9Would he thank the servant because he did what he was told to do? 10So you also, when you have done everything you were told to do, should say, 'We are unworthy servants; we have only done our duty.' "
This wasn't the answer I was looking for from Jesus, but it was exactly what I needed to hear. The point is that I am not following Jesus to make sure that I get my reward in the end, even though there is that promise of reward. The point of me following Jesus is BECAUSE HE IS WORTHY OF BEING FOLLOWED. He is God, my creator, my savior. I didn't create myself, and on top of that I have rebelled against God's standards constantly and become evil. I am not worthy of my life. He not only created me, but died to save me. Therefore He deserves EVERYTHING from me. He deserves all of my worship and love based merely on what He did, whether He does anything for me or not.
Now I totally agree with Piper when he says "God is most glorified in me when I am most satisfied in Him", but my motivation can't be just to be satisfied, otherwise that is selfish. My motivation should be to glorify Him and give Him what He deserves, and in so doing I am supremely satisfied in His love and care. I want to enjoy Him as a wife enjoys her husband, but I don't want to just be using Him to get what I want.
God I want this kind of faith and worship. "Increase my faith!"
"You don't get justified by believing that Jesus died for sinners and rose again. You get justified by banking your hope on the promises that God secured and guaranteed for you through the death and resurrection of his Son. The faith by which God justifies us, forgives all our sins, reckons us righteous, is the experience of being satisfied that God will come through for you according to all his promises."
- John Piper
"This battle of faith, or battling against unbelief, is a life-long battle. When you become a Christian by banking your hope on the promises on God secured on the work of Jesus Christ, the battle has begun, not ended."
- John Piper
Tuesday, September 1, 2009
Let's Emphasize what the Bible Emphasizes!!!!
"The sufficiency of Scripture reminds us that in our doctrinal and ethical teaching we should emphasize what Scripture emphasizes and be content with what God has told us in Scripture. There are some subjects about which God has told us little or nothing in the Bible. We must remember that 'The secret things belong to the Lord our God' (Deut 29:29) and that God has revealed to us in Scripture exactly what He deemed right for us. We must accept this and not think that Scripture is something less than it should be, or begin to wish that God had given us much more information about subjects on which there are very few scriptural references."
- Grudem. Systematic Theology. 134.
So I was reading for my Theology I class last night, and this punched me in the face for two reasons.
1) If I look at my life right now, like honestly look at my life, it is plainly clear that my life (my actions, thoughts, feelings) do not hold the same emphasis, or focus, on the things that the Bible emphasizes or focuses on.
Here is an example with some arbitrary numbers: let's say that 7% of my life has been focused on romantic relationships with women. Well how much emphasis does God put on romantic relationships between people in the Bible? It is less than 7% for sure. Or here is another one: let's say that for 12% of my life I have either been playing, watching, thinking, or talking sports. Does this compute with Scripture? Definitly not. Does God care about human romantic relationships and sports? Of course! But my point is that my attention or focus put on it is out of proportion with the heart of God and His word. Or how about the amount of focus I put on people liking me, or being funny, or finding security in this life, or money, or worldly power, or worldly succes?
I could go down the line again and again with things that I emphasize in my life that don't match up with what God emphasizes in the Bible. If I were to really start getting in line with Scripture, it would mean more than just saying I believe a few things from it, but I would need to live my life 100% about the mission of God because the Bible is 100% about the mission of God. That is what God is about! So if I desire to be like Christ and have the mind of Christ, shouldn't I focus my life (actions, thoughts, feelings) on what Christ does?
This also has big implications for how I do ministry and disciple people. I probably spend way too much time talking about the things that God is not as focused on. My conversations should be soaked in scripture both in the sense of quoting it but also in the sense we are discussing here: that it is consistent in the emphasis or focus. I find myself all the time talking about romantic relationships, sports, and just other dumb stuff with other Christians. Man, I just think we need to get our minds off of these distractions and focus them on what God focuses on.
2) We as a church seem to emphasize topics that are relatively unemphasized in Scripture almost as a though we were intentionally trying to create disunity. Why else would we care so much about issues like church order of woship, musical style, the exact nature of Christ's presence in the Lord's supper, the exact way that Jesus is going to come back, the exact way that someone should be baptised, etc.? It is as if we defend these minor doctrinal points in order to make our denomination or church better/different than others. Is this desire not coming from our own pride, whether it be an attempt at self-justification or being able to tell other people they are wrong and thus wield influence and power?
THESE THINGS DON'T MATTER THAT MUCH in comparison to the bigger issues of the Scriptures: God's faithfulness to His people, the necessity and unexplainable value of Christ's death on the cross, God's glory, our need for Him, caring for the poor, preaching the gospel, our sin/depravity and the need for repentance, loving God and loving others, etc. Don't get me wrong, all that is in Scripture and all of life is valuable in His eyes, even the less significant issues, but God does not focus on clarifying them as extensively as we seem to desire. So what do we do? We try to do it ourselves, or fill in the supposed gaps that God seems to have mistakenly left in His word. Wouldn't it make sense that if it mattered so much, for example, whether or not it is actually Jesus' body and blood or just a representation when we take communion, that God would have clarified it in the Scriptures for us? He doesn't though, so shouldn't that tell us to stop focusing on that so much?
If we would just focus on what God focuses on in the Bible, it would be so much easier to have unity in the church without compromising at all. I'm not saying we should care less about doctrine, but I am saying that we should care less about the doctrine that God cares less about and care more about the doctrine that God cares more about. This doesn't mean we move to the popular "co-exist" movement that reeks of humanism and moves away from Jesus and the cross. This simply means we live Biblically, not pridefully.
I probably could have said all of this better...but I just kinda wanted to put these thoughts on here and see what people think. So please share thoughts, because as always I need help working through this stuff and need other perspectives.
- Grudem. Systematic Theology. 134.
So I was reading for my Theology I class last night, and this punched me in the face for two reasons.
1) If I look at my life right now, like honestly look at my life, it is plainly clear that my life (my actions, thoughts, feelings) do not hold the same emphasis, or focus, on the things that the Bible emphasizes or focuses on.
Here is an example with some arbitrary numbers: let's say that 7% of my life has been focused on romantic relationships with women. Well how much emphasis does God put on romantic relationships between people in the Bible? It is less than 7% for sure. Or here is another one: let's say that for 12% of my life I have either been playing, watching, thinking, or talking sports. Does this compute with Scripture? Definitly not. Does God care about human romantic relationships and sports? Of course! But my point is that my attention or focus put on it is out of proportion with the heart of God and His word. Or how about the amount of focus I put on people liking me, or being funny, or finding security in this life, or money, or worldly power, or worldly succes?
I could go down the line again and again with things that I emphasize in my life that don't match up with what God emphasizes in the Bible. If I were to really start getting in line with Scripture, it would mean more than just saying I believe a few things from it, but I would need to live my life 100% about the mission of God because the Bible is 100% about the mission of God. That is what God is about! So if I desire to be like Christ and have the mind of Christ, shouldn't I focus my life (actions, thoughts, feelings) on what Christ does?
This also has big implications for how I do ministry and disciple people. I probably spend way too much time talking about the things that God is not as focused on. My conversations should be soaked in scripture both in the sense of quoting it but also in the sense we are discussing here: that it is consistent in the emphasis or focus. I find myself all the time talking about romantic relationships, sports, and just other dumb stuff with other Christians. Man, I just think we need to get our minds off of these distractions and focus them on what God focuses on.
2) We as a church seem to emphasize topics that are relatively unemphasized in Scripture almost as a though we were intentionally trying to create disunity. Why else would we care so much about issues like church order of woship, musical style, the exact nature of Christ's presence in the Lord's supper, the exact way that Jesus is going to come back, the exact way that someone should be baptised, etc.? It is as if we defend these minor doctrinal points in order to make our denomination or church better/different than others. Is this desire not coming from our own pride, whether it be an attempt at self-justification or being able to tell other people they are wrong and thus wield influence and power?
THESE THINGS DON'T MATTER THAT MUCH in comparison to the bigger issues of the Scriptures: God's faithfulness to His people, the necessity and unexplainable value of Christ's death on the cross, God's glory, our need for Him, caring for the poor, preaching the gospel, our sin/depravity and the need for repentance, loving God and loving others, etc. Don't get me wrong, all that is in Scripture and all of life is valuable in His eyes, even the less significant issues, but God does not focus on clarifying them as extensively as we seem to desire. So what do we do? We try to do it ourselves, or fill in the supposed gaps that God seems to have mistakenly left in His word. Wouldn't it make sense that if it mattered so much, for example, whether or not it is actually Jesus' body and blood or just a representation when we take communion, that God would have clarified it in the Scriptures for us? He doesn't though, so shouldn't that tell us to stop focusing on that so much?
If we would just focus on what God focuses on in the Bible, it would be so much easier to have unity in the church without compromising at all. I'm not saying we should care less about doctrine, but I am saying that we should care less about the doctrine that God cares less about and care more about the doctrine that God cares more about. This doesn't mean we move to the popular "co-exist" movement that reeks of humanism and moves away from Jesus and the cross. This simply means we live Biblically, not pridefully.
I probably could have said all of this better...but I just kinda wanted to put these thoughts on here and see what people think. So please share thoughts, because as always I need help working through this stuff and need other perspectives.
Saturday, August 29, 2009
Change and Responsibility
Donald Miller, in Through Painted Deserts, writes "I could not have know then that everybody, every person, has to leave, has to change like seasons; they have to or they die. The seasons remind me that I must keep changing, and I want to change because it is God's way."
"I want to keep walking away from the person I was a moment ago, because a mind was made to figure things out, not to read the same page recurrently. Only the good stories have the characters different at the end than they were at the beginning."
"It might be time for you to go. It might be time to change, to shine out. I want to repeat one word for you: Leave."
I have to change or I will die. The temptation to slip into mediocrity, or to be OK with the mundane, or to be satisfied with average... is a strong one. But I must resist. I must continue to change, and change I will.
We seem to construct responsibilities, whether they are self-imposed, culture imposed, legitimate, or superficial. We then go on to convince ourselves that it is what life is about. But we should only feel responsible to responsibilities when they are fulfilling their responsibility.
School exists to prepare us to live a meaningful life, but what if leaving school fulfilled that in a greater way?
Work exists to give us a way to contribute to society and honor God, but what if leaving our career fulfilled that in a greater way?
Friendship exists to model the love of Christ and for ministry, but what if leaving those friends allows us to model His love and do ministry in a greater way?
Marriage exists to assist us in the ministry of Christ and model God's love relationship here, but what if staying single allows us to do it better for the time being?
Have we merely slipped into doing school, work, friendships, marriage, family and all other things in life simply because it is what we are "supposed to do"? I don't like doing what I am "supposed to do". Or maybe I should put it this way: I question whether or not all of this stuff, and by stuff I mean what our culture and even Christian culture expects us to do to be a responsible person, is what I am really "supposed to do". Let's be willing to be radical for the Gospel; not radical for radicals sake, but because we are called to follow a homeless, poor, rejected, unpredictable, controversial, and "unresponsible" man named Jesus.
"I want to keep walking away from the person I was a moment ago, because a mind was made to figure things out, not to read the same page recurrently. Only the good stories have the characters different at the end than they were at the beginning."
"It might be time for you to go. It might be time to change, to shine out. I want to repeat one word for you: Leave."
I have to change or I will die. The temptation to slip into mediocrity, or to be OK with the mundane, or to be satisfied with average... is a strong one. But I must resist. I must continue to change, and change I will.
We seem to construct responsibilities, whether they are self-imposed, culture imposed, legitimate, or superficial. We then go on to convince ourselves that it is what life is about. But we should only feel responsible to responsibilities when they are fulfilling their responsibility.
School exists to prepare us to live a meaningful life, but what if leaving school fulfilled that in a greater way?
Work exists to give us a way to contribute to society and honor God, but what if leaving our career fulfilled that in a greater way?
Friendship exists to model the love of Christ and for ministry, but what if leaving those friends allows us to model His love and do ministry in a greater way?
Marriage exists to assist us in the ministry of Christ and model God's love relationship here, but what if staying single allows us to do it better for the time being?
Have we merely slipped into doing school, work, friendships, marriage, family and all other things in life simply because it is what we are "supposed to do"? I don't like doing what I am "supposed to do". Or maybe I should put it this way: I question whether or not all of this stuff, and by stuff I mean what our culture and even Christian culture expects us to do to be a responsible person, is what I am really "supposed to do". Let's be willing to be radical for the Gospel; not radical for radicals sake, but because we are called to follow a homeless, poor, rejected, unpredictable, controversial, and "unresponsible" man named Jesus.
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