Tag: God

How Keeping The Speed Limit Keeps Me Sane

About one month ago I attended a men’s conference at one of my favorite outdoor camps, Snowbird Wilderness Outfitters. There are some good folks up there.

I am writing this because my wife noticed that I had started keeping the speed limit when I drove. When she asked I did not have a good answer for her. I still do not, but I have been thinking about it and wanted to share with her and with you some of my thoughts.

As I spent time away, reflecting and praying on a couple of decisions I had to make, something happened that I do not have a good explanation for. Nothing was said to make me think about the fact that most people speed when they drive. We talk about being good men, good fathers, good husbands. We talked about our devotional life with God. We talked about life and we ate good food. But, there was nothing said about the fact that most people in this country break the law every day. There was not any reference to this kind of behavior, but when I left the camp I was not speeding.

I like said, I am not sure why I am driving the speed limit consistently. I can not explain it, but what I know is the effect that it has had on my mind and heart. By obeying the speed limit I notice how many people are in a terrible hurry to get to the next place. I have noticed that people look at me like I’m the one that is strange. “Doesn’t he know that I have some place to be!” My fellow drivers just do not appear to understand why someone would NOT be in as big a hurry as them. It has been one of the most rewarding realities of my life. I was living a hurried life. And now, I do not have too.

Leaving five or ten minutes earlier is a better choice than trying to make up that five or ten minutes by driving recklessly. Most of our time on the road is less than an hour long. Driving five, ten or even fifteen miles an hour faster for that short a distance does not really improve driving time. What driving faster does is amplify the affects should (God forbid) an accident occur. This is a great website from Australia that helps validate this by providing stats on the effects of speeding on a possible accident. (I am pretty sure Australians have the same tendencies as we do. They are humans too.)

Here are some of the findings that they discovered. Driving over the speed limit:

  • increases your chances of being involved in a crash
  • means you have less time to react to avoid a crash
  • takes longer to stop the vehicle to avoid a crash
  • increases the severity of injury in a crash.

This is not the only interesting effect of keeping the speed limit. Keeping the speed limit has given me something to pray about as I drive. I find myself praying more as I drive. I just keep thinking of all the people who genuinely believe that if they do not speed all their plans will fall apart. I have realized that I do not want this to be my life.

I have learned that keeping the speed limit not only makes good practical sense, it makes good spiritual sense. I want to live a consistent life before God. I am not where I need to be, but I hope that I am making progress.

6 Reasons I’m Addicted to TV Talent Shows

Its after midnight and I am watching X-Factor UK auditions. I have to admit that I am addicted to watching X-Factor and the “Got Talent” shows on YouTube. There are a variety of reasons that I love these talent shows.

  1. There is so much talent in this world.
  2. Music has a way of touching your heart, mind and soul.
  3. Hearing different people’s story reminds you that you are not alone in your own journey.
  4. Life is too short. Go out and try something that just scares your out of your wits.
  5. The yearning of the human soul for acceptance, affirmation and validation is not isolated by culture. God put it there and its greatest satisfaction is found in Him.
  6. Did I mention that there is sooo much talent in this world that nobody even knows about?

Here are two YouTube channels that I am following.

Here are two examples of what I’m talking about. Enjoy.

Why Supporting Chick-Fil-A Does Not Equal Supporting Jesus

Chick-Fil-AOk. So here are my two cents for what it’s worth.

There are a large number of people who have decided to support Chick-Fil-A and Dan Cathy, the CEO of the company, today with a blitz of consumption. I will tell you that I agree with and support Mr. Cathy’s in support of “traditional” marriage. I put the word tradition marriage in quotations because it is ridiculous that we have now qualify what we are talking about!

That being said, let us move on to the purpose of this post. I have been reading some of the comments on Twitter, Facebook and the news and I have come to one very simple and yet profound conclusion. Here it is:

Supporting Chick-Fil-A does NOT equal supporting Jesus.

Some may be saying, “Well that is just ludicrous. Who would ever come to that conclusion?” I’ll tell you who. Every person who looks at the church and at Christian’s and sees this “Chick-Fil-A Appreciation Day” as another example of Christian’s banding together against something. I have already seen some of the insinuations in posts and tweets that I have read. I even jested in a tweet about “Christian Chicken.” What I have realized today is that supporting this company does not mean that we are advancing the cause of Christ. We, the church, has once again fallen for the oldest trick in the book. We are again fighting against everything we know is wrong, rather than standing for the one thing we know to be right–that Jesus is the only answer for a world lost in and to sin.

What this has become is the easy way for some (not for all) of these folks to say, “I did something because of what I believed. I stood up for truth, the bible, Jesus, the church.” Or whatever they think that this is going to accomplish. Let me tell you something, if God wanted Chick-Fil-A to crumble tomorrow, no number of customers would be great enough to save it.

Barnabas Piper called this move by supporters of the restaurant chain a “bold mistake.” He may be right, but for a different reason. Piper doesn’t see how this will help the church reach people who do not find the Gospel appealing or who may be searching. It probably will not. For me however, I think this may be a mistake because by supporting a company we have substituted the King of Kings with the King of chicken sandwiches.

Buy chicken sandwiches does not make (I don’t think) Jesus more beautiful, more rejoiced in, more adored than proclaiming the Gospel. We, as a church, have to get our priorities straight. If Jesus is the reason hearts, minds and souls are changed then let us get busy promoting him to our neighbors!

If people do not want to buy a chicken sandwich because of what the owner believes… that is on them. Just do me a favor, do not make it about Jesus. He’s never had a chicken sandwich and may not even like the Polynesian sauce.

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The Incarnation of Jesus Leads to Worship

This past weekend I not only spent some time with great friends serving college students, but I was once again brought face to face with the greatest truth and mystery of the Christian faith. Over the course of three-and-a-half days I celebrated The Lord’s Supper five times. It would be easy to think that doing something this regularly would have a negative effect in appreciating it. In fact, the opposite effect is felt.

One of the most poignant verses of scripture related to Communion is found in 1 Corinthians 11:26. While the Apostle Paul is trying to correct some of the errors and abuses that were happening in the Corinthian church.

For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes.

This truly is a wonderful mystery. Every time we participate in communion and celebrate The Lord’s Supper we are able to witness how God can dissolve the concept of time into one moment. Just take the time to consider how Paul does this in this verse.

For as often as you eat this bread and drink this cup (in the present),
you proclaim the Lord’s death (in the past)
until he comes (in the future).

During one of the moments of Communion was struck by the glorious truth of what we as Christian’s call the Incarnation. I do not believe it would be a stretch to say that the without the Incarnation there is no Christianity. This single teaching of the Christian church is so important that without it every hope is lost. The entire prospect of salvation hinges on whether or not God became like one of us. I have included my thoughts below. I offer it as a meditation on how the incarnation of Jesus leads to worship.

The glorious mystery of the incarnation reveals the utter majesty of our great God and King. He who is full of glory and with unquenchable power has entered into a broken world. He has come so that I, a wretched sinner might know the unhindered presence of grace. This is the offer of true grace. Nothing withheld. Nothing denied. Nothing lacking. Complete salvation. Once and for all delivered through the womb of a woman.

Oh mystery of mysteries. How could this be? How could God accomplish so much through what appears to be something so weak–a baby weeping? Only an all powerful God could use one of the weakest images of the human experience and accomplish the redemption of, not just one man or woman, but of all of them. Now and forever. God has come in the flesh.

What great love this is. What a demonstration of unbridled and wasteful grace. God has so much grace to give he gives and gives and is not bothered by the fact that it will not all be consumed.

How could I ever feel unsatisfied by the grace of God? Only if I have accepted a substitute. Only if I have allowed another Gospel, which is no gospel at all, to pollute my heart and mind with lies about Jesus.

The incarnation is a glorious mystery. I don’t understand it. But then again. I don’t really want to.

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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””

The Epistle of Joy and A Theology of Suffering

In the first chapter of Paul’s letter to the Philippians there is an interesting dichotomy developing. Paul gave thanks for what God was doing in his life and in the life of the believers in Philippi. He then turns his attention to what is happening to him. And what is that? He is in prison because of his preaching of the Gospel. He is doing exactly what God wants him to do and he gets thrown in jail.

There is no easy road to evangelism. It is paved with the rough stones of adversity. There is no beautiful scenery. There is only the destruction of sin and the carnage of willful disobedience. Jesus never promised that the task of communicating the message of salvation was going to be easy. Whenever we grumble that it isn’t we have not paid attention to what Jesus taught us on the matter.

There are several passages in the first chapter that truly reveal this paradox of faith. How can Paul write such encouragement when he is shackled to a wall or guard all day long? How can he rejoice because of his situation? I just doesn’t make sense. What are we missing that Paul seems to have understood?

Here are a few samples of what I mean.

7 It is right for me to feel this way about you all, because I hold you in my heart, for you are all partakers with me of grace, both in my imprisonment and in the defense and confirmation of the gospel.

12 I want you to know, brothers, that what has happened to me has really served to advance the gospel… 14 And most of the brothers, having become confident in the Lord by my imprisonment, are much more bold to speak the word without fear.

These three verses are Paul’s introduction to what he believed about his current state. He did not see being in jail and suffering as a concern. He was actually pleased at the effect that it was having on those around him. The entire guard had heard the Gospel, and many of the believers outside had been stirred to action as well. It really does challenge our modern, American sensibilities to think that going to jail for our faith is a good thing. But, Paul doesn’t stop there. He goes and says the following.

15  Some indeed preach Christ from envy and rivalry, but others from good will. 16 The latter do it out of love, knowing that I am put here for the defense of the gospel. 17 The former proclaim Christ out of selfish ambition, not sincerely but thinking to afflict me in my imprisonment.18 What then? Only that in every way, whether in pretense or in truth, Christ is proclaimed, and in that I rejoice.

Paul knew that there are some people preaching the Gospel for the wrong reasons. They were out there for profit, for acclaim or, as Paul writes, to make it more difficult on Paul! Can you image that. You are sitting in prison and someone dislikes you so much that they are intentionally trying to make things worse. And yet, Paul looks past all of that and says that the reason is irrelevant to him because the truth is being proclaimed. Now, those preaching for the wrong reason will be held accountable, but God is so good that he will even use these wrong motives to accomplish his ultimate purpose.

But again, this is not the end of what Paul said. He continues.

19 for I know that through your prayers and the help of the Spirit of Jesus Christ this will turn out for my deliverance,20 as it is my eager expectation and hope that I will not be at all ashamed, but that with full courage now as always Christ will be honored in my body, whether by life or by death. 21 For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain. 22 If I am to live in the flesh, that means fruitful labor for me. Yet which I shall choose I cannot tell. 23 I am hard pressed between the two. My desire is to depart and be with Christ, for that is far better. 

Really?! It is hard for you to decide whether you want to stay on earth or go to heaven? I sometimes wonder why we don’t talk like this? And then I realize that many of us are not willing to go where Paul went. Paul knew and understood something that many in the Western church have not learned to even acknowledge. I don’t know what it is exactly, but I believe that Paul’s commitment to the proclamation and spread of the Gospel had a lot to do with it. The power of evangelism to motivate and refocus the believer is largely lost in our day.

Here is Paul’s final salvo in the chapter 1.

29 For it has been granted to you that for the sake of Christ you should not only believe in him but also suffer for his sake, 30 engaged in the same conflict that you saw I had and now hear that I still have.

Paul really does lay out for us his theology here on the subject of suffering and the Gospel. There is a mysterious way in which our faith in Jesus will lead to some form of suffering. If we are not making any effort to spread the Gospel to those whom God sends along our journey, we will find no resistance. The intentional advancement of the Good News of Jesus is what causes friction between what we believe as followers of Jesus and what the world is leaning towards. We are not merely interested in propagating a religion. We want to produce fruit because of a relationship with Jesus the Savior.

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Leading vs. Being in Front

I was driving home from work about a week ago and a thought came to my mind.

“What is the difference between leading and being in front of a group of people?”

I know that there are probably many different ways of answering that question. And I am not about to pretend that I have the final answer on this question. To be honest I am not even sure why I had this thought come to mind other than to say that God put it in there. So, taking that for what it is, this is what I believe God’s answer to me was. The difference is purposefulness.

This is more specific than purpose because you can be out front choosing the direction, but that may not mean that there is an end in mind. We can become so used to the idea of enjoying the journey, that we fail to recognize that the journey does have an end. All of this will come to an end. There will be a moment in time when we will no longer be about “smelling roses” but will finally get to “pushing up daisies.”

Over the last several years I have tried to become more intentional about what I am doing in and for the kingdom of God. I am not here to just share some platitudes or make people more comfortable where they are. This does not mean that I am trying to be difficult. I want to be challenged to do more, to go further, than I have ever gone before. I want to see and be a part of great things. Not for my own sake, but for the sake of God and his glory.

By the grace of God he called me to be a pastor. I have not always appreciated what this meant. I have struggled to do it my way. I have made a mess of things because of this attitude, and I still do (I just hope lest frequently). In spite of my shortcomings, I have seen God do some amazing things. I have witnessed transformation and renewal.

As of late, however, I have realized that many of us in professional ministry have not taken ownership of what God is calling us to do. It is not enough to be out front. It is not enough to have the title without also taking hold of the responsibility. Another way of talking about this would be to ask a simple question:

What is the vision that God is asking you to fulfill?

What is it that God has put inside of you, that you need to see through to the end? I have been grappling this with this question. While it is possible that the ultimate vision is the same, the way that we accomplish it will be as varied and as unique as the ridges on our finger tips. God made us unique, and that uniqueness cannot be stripped from us as we go into the world.

I want to be a leader worth following. My heart yearns for the ability to help others find their way to Jesus. But, in order to do that I have to accept that fact that what God has put inside of me must find its way out of me. Leading is dangerous because there will be those that do not agree with what you are doing, how you are doing it, or why you are doing it. There are many who would not even venture into some of the places God has placed on your heart, but that should not matter. We go were the spirit leads. We go because that is where are hearts are being pulled.

Being a leader is not about popularity. Leaders go where no one else has gone. Leaders are usually alone because the risk can be too much for others. The risks of leadership are not careless or impulsive. Leaders should give careful thought to what they are doing. To chose a path is to own the effects and result, whether good or bad.

Which are you? Are you leading, cutting a new path? Or are you just in front glad to have a better view.

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The National Day of Prayer is Today

It can be so easy at times to forget that prayer is the duty of every believer and follower of Jesus. While I cannot say that I do this as I should, I understand that the leaders of this country need the prayers of the people, but not for the reasons that you might think. Many times our prayers descend into a kind of political jockeying with God. Here is the bottom line.

God is NOT interested in our politics.

As a matter of fact, God could care less about the political situations in this world. God is more interested in accomplishing his purposes through his people. Therefore, it is important for us, the children of God, to quit trying to get God to change the political situation due to some preference we might have. This could very easily descend into a rant, but I will keep myself from that!

My desire on this National Day of Prayer is this: That we as Christ followers would not pray for God to change the political situation or climate or whatever. I would like for us to pray that God would change the hearts of the politicians toward himself. I want my confidence to be in God, not in some man or woman that wants to represent “my interests.” The only one I trust with my interests is God.

And I want to leave it that way.

Prayer

Most Gracious God,

You are greater and more wonderful that any political system, philosophy, or candidate. I pray that we, your people, would spend more time trusting you, rather than some elected official.

Father, I pray, that as a follower of your Son, I would call out to you for the heart and soul of every member of Congress and every elected official. I ask that you would transform them and conform them into the image of your Son. Trusting in others for what only you can provide will lead us toward idolatry and hopelessness.

Help us to increase our trust in you. In Jesus’s name, Amen.

Book Review | “Where Do Babies Go When They Die?”

Summary

I acquired The Five Dilemmas of Calvinism by Craig R. Brown because it was free at the time. I have always tried to understand the Calvinistic system of theology and have studied it for many years now. There are many things that I like about reformed thought. Just look at the name of this blog. In many ways I am reformed. But, there are also several questions that the Reformed point of view does not answer for me. I do not think, for one moment, that I am the final word on these questions. It is just that the answers provided by the Calvinist camp tend to, at times, resort to a type of logical gymnastics when an answer is not readily available.

One of the major strengths of the book is that it frames the concerns that some have about Calvinism in very provocative questions. Questions that you might see yourself asking.

  1. If God is in complete control of everything, to the point of predetermining all human actions, how can a man be held accountable for what he does?
  2. If we are saved by grace and not by works, why shoudl we do anything good? What purpose do good works serve? Are there rewards in heaven for what do here on earth?

    3. Continue reading “Book Review | “Where Do Babies Go When They Die?””

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