Tag: faith

Advent Series 2012, Pt. 2 | Who Doesn’t Like Baby Jesus?

Where has 2012 gone? Another year almost in the record books, but we still have one more month to go. December is an amazingly busy time around the church. There is a lot going on, but one of the realities my mind turns to around this time of year is the fact that Jesus, our Lord and Savior, was born in the home of ordinary and humble people. I think that we take for granted that there was not anything overly remarkable about Jesus earthly parents. I don’t know if Mary and Joseph fully understood what it meant that the baby born in the stable that first Christmas night would be the Messiah. I am not fully convinced that they fully could comprehend what God was going to do through their faithful obedience. What they did know was that this little, precious bundle of joy was going to change their lives forever! I think every parent understands this even if they are not sure how.

The mystery of Advent (what us church nerds call this time of the year) is that God became like one of us. The technical term for this is “Incarnation.” When we talk about Jesus coming into the world as a baby we are saying that Jesus, the second person of the Trinity, took upon himself something that he did not have before the moment of conception! The Trinity existed as spirit. But, after Jesus descended into the womb of Mary he no longer exists in this way. The great miracle and mystery of this truth is that Jesus voluntarily confined himself to the body of a human being so that we can enter into fellowship with the Father.

Continue reading “Advent Series 2012, Pt. 2 | Who Doesn’t Like Baby Jesus?”

Reflections on a Motion Picture | “Out Of Bed You Daisy Head”

The movie Sister Act is a great movie. I know there maybe some who would not agree. And that would be alright. I have watched the movie many times over the last few years. There are a couple of scenes in particular that really speak to me as it relates to faith and the living out of faith. Continue reading “Reflections on a Motion Picture | “Out Of Bed You Daisy Head””

UPDATED: How Long Is Long Enough?

This post was updated on June 13

Pray Hard

This past week my pastor continued teaching on prayer in the The Circle Maker Series. The subject of this weeks message was “Praying Hard.” The story that he used was that of the persistent widow in Luke 18. The story tells how a widow seeking justice pestered a judge until he caved into the requests of the woman, just to get her off his back. It is an interesting story because she did not wait until her appointed court day. She continued to seek after the judge. The twist in the story is that this is not seen as inappropriate. Jesus seems to imply that God desires this kind of tenacity and stubbornness. Continue reading “UPDATED: How Long Is Long Enough?”

Ten Questions That May Change Your Life, Pt. 2

These are the other five questions from Donald Whitney’s book. We look at the first five questions in a previous post.

6. Do you delight in the Bride of Christ?

This was one of those questions that did not seem to fit in with the rest of the questions. My first reaction was this, “What does this have to do with my ‘personal’ faith journey?” And, fundamentally, that was part of the problem. When I create a scenario where my faith is all about “me” and my faith is not a part of the greater “we,” (i.e., the church), then I have set myself up to no longer need anybody else. In order to avoid this we have to see the faith as something that we come into rather than as something that belongs to me. I just bought shares in the Kingdom of God. That is not how it works.

“So one of the best tests of whether we belong to Christ is whether we delight in His delight, namely, the people who comprise His church.” (Kindle Location, 754)

This is a wonderful reflection of what is missing in many areas of the church. There are places where members of the same congregation have not spoken to each other in years, maybe even decades. This is not a good witness to the world about the love of God in us, for them. If I do not or cannot delight in the company of the other believers, heaven will not be as blissful as many have imagined. This next statement and question helped me to clearly understand what this idea of delighting in the Bride of Christ meant.

“The truth of Scripture is better expressed by a congregation confessing, ‘We are the bride of Christ,’ than by a solitary Christian saying, ‘I am the bride of Christ.’ Therefore, do you delight in the church, that is, in the gathering of believers, their corporate experiences and labor?” (Kindle Location, 772)

7. Are the spiritual disciplines increasingly important to you?

My first reaction was, “No.” I have not participated in spiritual disciplines like I should. The primary reason is that I was unaware that there were a variety that could be practiced. After reading Whitney I have discovered that the spiritual disciplines must move from the category of “could be done” and become “should be done.” There are several statements made by Whitney in this chapter that are worth highlighting.

“Remember also that the spiritual disciplines found in Christian Scripture are sufficient.” (Kindle Location, 876)

“All the Christian spiritual disciplines are important and singularly beneficial. A discipline neglected is a blessing unclaimed.” (Kindle Location, 879)

This final example reveals the goal of the disciples life. To learn and grow and foster a consistent witness and a growing faith. We shouldn’t want to be a flash of fervor followed by nothing.

“Perhaps you are like a Christian woman I know who sometimes wonders if she is still growing spiritually, because the original God-kindled blaze of eternal life that once illuminated the darkness of her life so suddenly, seldom flames up as dramatically as when she was first converted. But what is true for the woodstove is true in this case for the Christian heart as well: just because the beginning of the combustion may briefly be more spectacular than at present doesn’t mean the fire isn’t growing. The initial burst of spiritual flame may be more dazzling, but the heartfire’s greatest effectiveness occurs as it burns into consistency.” (Kindle Location, 861)

8. Do you still grieve over sin?

My first reaction to this was, “I am not even sure people would understand this question.” As I read through the chapter it was just amazing to me how easy it is to become prideful in having received God’s grace. The wonderful words of God’s love are supposed to make us for full of ourselves. We should be moved to become more full of Him. Grieve over my sin changes how I look at everything, or at least it should.

“The closer you get to Christ, the more you will hate sin; for nothing is more unlike Christ than sin. Because Jesus hates sin, the more like Him you grow the more you will grow to hate sin. And the more you hate sin, the more you will grieve whenever you realize that you have embraced that which killed your Savior.” Kindle Location, 956)

Whitney’s clear description of what it means to draw closer to Jesus is important. Sin is darkness. It is everything that God is not and will never be. Therefore, if we are drawing closer to the eternal life of the Son of God the must necessarily be change occurring in our lives. This understanding of drawing close and the quote from Thomas D. Bernard, was also very revealing.

“The closer you come to the light of Christ, the more sins His holy light will expose in you. In the words of nineteenth century Bible scholar Thomas D. Bernard, ‘Our sense of sin is in proportion to our nearness to God.'” (Kindle Location, 971)

Finally, I was struck by the unshakable reality that grieving over sin will actually have the opposite effect than what I anticipated. Whitney says that

“Godly sorrow in the growing Christian makes him a thousand times more aware of his pride than his humility.” (Kindle Location, 1013)

9. Are you a quicker forgiver?

As I mentioned in Part 1, these questions are so simple and direct the longer you look at them the more you realize how important the answers are. This question in particular, has that effect. Let the two following passages sink in for a moment.

“Repenters toward God are forgivers toward others. Those who find themselves unable to forgive reveal that they’ve never experienced the transforming forgiveness of God.” (Kindle Location, 1084)

“The one who announces forgiveness where it hasn’t been sought not only discounts the importance of repentance, he also misunderstands the requirement of Scripture. But the one who is not willing to forgive is contradicting the Scripture, and for the moment at least, is putting the reality of his salvation to the test.” (Kindle Location, 1106)

I do not think that Whitney was off the mark here. Not only is our testimony questionable when we fail to forgive, but we should be concerned about where we stand before. When we are unable or unwilling to extend forgiveness to others after we have experienced it for ourselves, something is terribly wrong.

10. Do you yearn for heaven and to be with Jesus?

We have all heard that there are some people who are “So heavenly minded that they are no earthly good.” Well, the truth may actually be the opposite. What if we are not heavenly minded enough? What if we have failed to truly consider the wonder and joy of heaven? What if, because we do not appreciate what is to come, we have sold ourselves and those around us short of God’s best?

The twist that Whitney provides here is that the yearning for heaven that all Christian’s should have is at its heart a longer for the completion of God’s work of making us totally holy. When the work of Salvation that Jesus ratified on the cross is completed, we will be able to enjoy God’s company forever. But, only a holy people can enjoy that. That is why a yearning for heaven is a desire to holy. This was last statement is just a striking truth.

“Jonathan Edwards put it this way: “But neither a … longing to be in Heaven, nor longing to die, are in any measure so distinguishing marks of true saints, as longing after a more holy heart.”‘” (Kindle Location, 1198)

“Paul wrote like a man who had not only tasted and seen that the Lord is good (Psalm 34:8), but like one who has found the holiness of the Lord eternally and irresistibly addictive.” (Kindle Location, 1229)

The single best sermon I have EVER heard on what heaven will be like was given by Dr. Sam Storms in 2003 at the Desiring God National Conference. It was called “Joy’s Eternal Increase: Edwards on the Beauty of Heaven”. You can listen online or download the video here.

Conclusion

These ten question have the potential to provide a major course correction in your faith journey. But, they could also end up doing nothing to take you deeper into God’s plan and purposes for your life. The choice is yours.

Are We “Pro-Jesus” or With Jesus?

Our pastor has been preaching a series of sermons on the difference between being a fan and a follower of Jesus. This Sunday we looked at the difference between having a knowledge of Jesus and have an intimate relationship with Jesus. While you need to have a knowledge of Jesus in order to have an intimate relationship, you can have knowledge of Jesus and completely miss the intimacy. The Scripture reference was the story of the Sinful Woman that came and washed Jesus feet with her tears and hair. This is a powerful story. (Read it here.)

As Pastor David preached he said something that was funny at first glance, but after I gave it more thought really made me think. Am I “Pro-Jesus” or am I with Jesus? I will be splitting the proverbial hair here, but it just struck me odd after thinking about it. It can be so easy to be satisfied with being around Jesus, being near Jesus, being close to Jesus that we never push forward to being with Jesus. The idea is that we can be in the same room, but never engage in the conversation.

I don’t want to just be someone who is known for liking what Jesus stood for. Or knowing everything there is to know about Jesus. I want to be known by him. This is the idea that Paul is getting after when he says that there will come a moment when all of this will change.

12 Now we see things imperfectly, like puzzling reflections in a mirror, but then we will see everything with perfect clarity. All that I know now is partial and incomplete, but then I will know everything completely, just as God now knows me completely. (1 Corinthians 13:12, NLT)

There it is. God’s way of knowing will becoming my way of knowing. That is going to be a glorious day. When we are “Pro-Jesus” we are only interested in the exterior. How does this look? What do other people think? This was the problem with the man who invited Jesus to have a meal with him. He invited Jesus, failed to pay customary courtesy and then becomes indignant when another, the sinful woman, outshines the host, even when it was completely inappropriate. Simon the Pharisee missed out on the greatest opportunity of his life, and for what? He missed it because he was looking at the wrong person.

The sin of religious piety and of false humility will always lead to a skewed perspective of how things ought to be. As soon as the woman came in and began to worship Jesus, because that is what we have to call it, the “holiest” man in the room had this thought, “If this man [Jesus] were a prophet, he would have known who and what sort of woman this is who is touching him, for she is a sinner” (Luke 7: 39b, ESV). And, as if on cue, Jesus answers the mans thoughts and puts him in his place.

The bottom line is that we should never be satisfied with being mere acquaintances with Jesus. We should be willing to go the ends of the earth for Jesus. Even if, or better still, especially when it costs us our dignity and self-respect. The sad reality is that for many of us who claim to be Christians, if Jesus asks us to give up our dignity and self-respect, we would rather have him move along until he comes to his senses.

We can know how deeply our commitment is rooted when we consider how far we are willing to go to show our devotion and faithfulness to God and his Son. Until we know how far we will go, we will not truly know or understand how valuable Jesus is in our lives.

Only Jesus Can Make Sense of Disease and Pain

I came across this video of Kari Jobe singing “Healer” to a young girl who, from the video, is obviously suffering from something. I don’t know what it is. I don’t need to know. What I know is that only Jesus can make sense of this.

There are many reasons, now after 13 years of dedicated service to Jesus, that I believe that Jesus and the faith that he calls us to is the one true faith available to all mankind. Christianity is the only religion that calls us to accept and trust the dying and humiliated prophet INTO death as the means of passing through from this expression of life to the next.

Probably the most remarkable conversion story related in the bible is found in Luke 23. Why do I say this? I say it because the man that “accepted” Jesus couldn’t have made a bigger mistake. It had to have been the most irrational decision he could have made. Look at it for yourself.

39One of the criminals who were hanged railed at him, saying, “Are you not the Christ? Save yourself and us!” 40But the other rebuked him, saying, “Do you not fear God, since you are under the same sentence of condemnation? 41And we indeed justly, for we are receiving the due reward of our deeds; but this man has done nothing wrong.” 42And he said, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.” 43And he said to him, “Truly, I say to you, today you will be with me in Paradise.” (Luke 23:39-43, ESV)

Where was the man when he placed his faith in Jesus? He was on the cross right next to Jesus’ cross. The image that must have been before him was not an inspiring one. As graphic as Mel Gibson’s The Passion of the Christ was, it did no justice to the reality that the robber witnessed. The idealized images of Jesus are not what converted this man. It wasn’t even the hope of resurrection that motivated the wish of redemption (it could hardly be categorized as hope).

This is the same criminal who earlier had joined in with the crowd to make fun and mock Jesus!

44And the robbers who were crucified with him also reviled him in the same way. (Matthew 27:44, ESV)

I am getting to place where I am running out of clever arguments for why someone should believe in Jesus or that God exists. I am starting to understand why the cross is foolishness to some.

20Where is the one who is wise? Where is the scribe? Where is the debater of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world? 21For since, in the wisdom of God, the world did not know God through wisdom, it pleased God through the folly of what we preach to save those who believe. 22For Jews demand signs and Greeks seek wisdom, 23but we preach Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and folly to Gentiles, 24but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. 25 For the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men. (1 Corinthians 1:20-25, ESV)

I am more convinced that only Jesus can make sense of the insensible. And I have made some peace with the fact that I will never fully understand all that takes place on this earth. As a matter of fact, I am growing to enjoy the fact that I don’t know everything and that everything doesn’t need to be explained to me.

“Faith Is…”: Investigating What It Means To Believe

Over the next several weeks we will look at what faith is. But before we can get there we have to make sure that we understand what faith is not. There are three specific and important truths we have to understand about faith. We will talk about them in this introduction.

Faith is NOT blind Trust

One of the most common definitions of faith is that it is trusting or believing something that you cannot know for sure. It is often described as a blind leap, or just a leap of faith. But, there is one fundamental problem with this approach. It is not based on anything found in scripture. Faith, the faith that the bible describes, is grounded in something very real and more certain than our very lives. Biblical faith is undeniably tied to the character and nature of God.

The writer of Hebrews makes this statement when describing what God did to give Abraham confidence in what He was going to do.

13 For when God made a promise to Abraham, since he had no one greater by whom to swear, he swore by himself… (Hebrews 6:13, ESV)

When oaths were made during Abraham’s time the object you swore by was an object that was greater than you. So, If I wanted prove my commitment I would say something like, “I swear by Mt. Everest that I will fulfill my part of the deal.” But, what does God swear by? Well, there is nothing greater than Him so he swore by Himself. His character would serve as the basis for Abraham’s confidence. Abraham’s faith in God was not a blind trust in something unknown. Abraham’s trust and our trust is based on someone who is sure and that we can have confidence in.

Faith is NOT an occasional practice

My faith, your faith, is not something I DO. My faith is someone I AM. The difference between these two positions cannot be exaggerated or over-stated. Until we make this switch in the way that we think about what it means to have faith we will fail to understand why our faith “doesn’t work.”

Paul made this incredible claim about what it means to live a totally committed life for God in Christ. He says it in his letter to the Galatian church.

20 I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. (Galatians 2:20, ESV)

Who’s life was Paul living? When was he living that life? Only on Sundays? I don’t think so. Life is lived EVERY day. The life I now live… is not an occasional life. If my faith is going to be what the bible describes I have to see that my life has been replaced with His. And, Jesus is not interested in only living through us once a week.

Faith is NOT produced from within

What I mean by this is that faith is not something that exists independent of an object of faith. I can’t just walk around having faith. Faith is always aimed at something outside of me. When we talk about faith we are talking about having faith “in” something.

6 In this you rejoice, though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by various trials, 7 so that the tested genuineness of your faith—more precious than gold that perishes though it is tested by fire—may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ. 8 Though you have not seen him, you love him. Though you do not now see him, you believe in him and rejoice with joy that is inexpressible and filled with glory, 9 obtaining the outcome of your faith, the salvation of your souls. (1 Peter 1:6-9, ESV)

Peter helps us to understand that faith, if it’s going to be properly called faith, must have an object. What is the “outcome of your faith”?  It is salvation. But, the question that we have to answer is what is that faith holding onto? Peter tells us in verse 8. The faith that results in our salvation comes because we trust the one we “have not seen” and yet love. Jesus is the object of our faith.

Everything that Jesus did, said and continues to do through His disciples become the reason that we are compelled to consider Jesus. We are acted upon by God’s grace, God’s people and God’s word. And, as these and other expressions of God’s goodness in my life are seen and felt I am drawn to God.

If we are going to know what faith is we have to know what it is not. As we journey together over the next several weeks remember that faith is more than you ever imagined, not less.

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Romans Series (Pt. 24) – Romans 5:15-17

The Nature of Christ’s Gift (5:15-17)
Paul is bridging the gap between verses 14 and 15 when he goes on to explain that the effect of Adam’s sin was so damaging that it sent the whole of humanity into condemnation. Paul makes the inference that it took just one sin to send humanity into the tailspin of sin.  Why just one?  The problem of sin must be viewed in its proper light if we are to understand the seriousness of it.
An individual’s view of God will affect in kind that same individual’s view of sin and vice versa. Millard Erickson provides a framework for how this basic argument should be understood. If the view of God is high, so that He is seen as a God who is holy and perfect and worthy of worship, then any deviation from that reality will demonstrate the gravity of sin.  If the view of God however is not high, then what is the problem in offending him?  Millard Erickson’s discussion is quite good because it helps us to understand that the seriousness of the offense is based not on the offense itself, but on the virtue and worth of the one offended. (See Millard J. Erickson, Christian Theology, 580).  When you see sin this light we begin to understand that the value of God, as the offended one, was what necessitated the imputation of Adam’s sin on the whole race.  But Erickson provides two alternative views to that of Federal and Natural headship.

The first alternative is where the sin of Adam is ratified when an individual sins for the first time (See Millard J. Erickson, Christian Theology, 656). Erickson sees this as a legitimate alternative, but posits the second as more in line with the testimony of scripture regarding what happens to the human race in both Adam and Christ. The second alternative, the one that Erickson appears to prefer, is that:

“we become responsible and guilty when we accept or approve of our corrupt nature.  There is a time in the life of each one of us when we become aware of our own tendency toward sin.  At that point we may abhor the sinful nature that has been there all the time…But if we acquiesce in that sinful nature, we are in effect saying that it is good. By placing our tacit approval upon the corruption, we are also approving our concurring in the action in the Garden of Eden so long ago.  We become guilty of that sin without having committed any sin of our own” (See Millard J. Erickson, Christian Theology, 656).

When one sees that Paul places the discussion of sin within the framework of idolatry, the reason for God’s contempt toward sin can be better understood (Colossians 3:5, c.f., Exodus 20:3-6).  Even John in his first epistle ends with this simple admonition, “Little children, keep yourselves from idols” (1 John 5:1).  God is holy and perfect and to therefore exchange His glory for anything else is to replace God from God’s proper place in the universe.  This is the very definition of idolatry.

Paul contrasts the trespass of Adam with the free gift of Jesus Christ which is able to cover a multitude of trespasses. This is why the “gift is not like the trespass.” The grace of God is so powerful that it is able to cover, not just multiple screw ups, but the eternal offense of human sin against His very nature. This is why the free gift is not like the result of one man’s sin. The grace of God is able to withstand the continuous assault of multiple trespasses.  The fall of Adam could be understood as an act of “unfaith”.  If Adam and Eve had continued to trust in the God’s provision in the Garden they would have remained under God’s care.  But, by succumbing to the temptation of the serpent they were cast out.  That is why faith is the necessary condition of salvation because it is an attempt at restoring the order that was disrupted in Eden.  When we place our faith in Jesus we are returning to the intended order of relationship that God desired to exist between Father and Child.

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