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A Prayer for a Gospel-Saturated Penance-Free Lent
Posted 11 years agofrom Scotty Smith of Christ Community Church, Franklin, TN.
And Jesus said to them, “Can the wedding guests fast while the bridegroom is with them? As long as they have the bridegroom with them, they cannot fast. But days will come when the bridegroom is taken away from them, and then they will fast in that day.” - Mark 2:19-20
Dear Lord Jesus, tomorrow will be Ash Wednesday, the beginning of the season of Lent. For the next forty days we’ll have the privilege of surveying your all-sufficient cross and acknowledging our present need, as we worship our way towards Easter Sunday—Resurrection Day, the foundation of our hope and the fountain of eternal joy.
For your glory and our growth, we ask you to inundate us with fresh grace in the coming weeks. We don’t want an ordinary Lenten season, Lord Jesus. Saturate it with the gospel. It’s all about you, Jesus. It is all about you what you’ve done for us, not what we’ll promise to do for you.
Sadly, I used to dread Lent like late summer football practice—a lot of striving and sweat mixed in with much uncertainty and fear. “What’s the coach thinking about my performance? Am I doomed to sit on the bench? Will I even make the team this year?” What a misuse of the season of Lent. What a complete misrepresentation of the gospel. What a dismal way to live the Christian life. We’re your betrothed Bride, not beleaguered waifs.
Indeed, Lord Jesus, we begin Lent tomorrow anticipating our wedding, not our funeral, for you’re the loving Bridegroom who died to make us your cherished Bride. The work’s already done; the dowry’s been paid in full; the wedding dress of your righteousness is already ours; the invitations have been sent out; the date has been secured; you’ll not change your mind! Hallelujah! Hallelujah! Hallelujah!
Over these next forty days intensify our hunger, our assurance, and our longing for the day of your return—the Day of consummate joy—the wedding feast of the Lamb. In light of that coming banquet, we choose to deny ourselves (fast from) certain pleasures for this brief season. But we’re not looking to get one thing from you, Jesus—just more of you.
Fill our hearts with your beauty and bounty, that we might freely confess and gladly repent of the ways we contradict the gospel—with our thoughts, words and deeds. So very Amen we pray, in your holy and loving name.
And Jesus said to them, “Can the wedding guests fast while the bridegroom is with them? As long as they have the bridegroom with them, they cannot fast. But days will come when the bridegroom is taken away from them, and then they will fast in that day.” - Mark 2:19-20
Dear Lord Jesus, tomorrow will be Ash Wednesday, the beginning of the season of Lent. For the next forty days we’ll have the privilege of surveying your all-sufficient cross and acknowledging our present need, as we worship our way towards Easter Sunday—Resurrection Day, the foundation of our hope and the fountain of eternal joy.
For your glory and our growth, we ask you to inundate us with fresh grace in the coming weeks. We don’t want an ordinary Lenten season, Lord Jesus. Saturate it with the gospel. It’s all about you, Jesus. It is all about you what you’ve done for us, not what we’ll promise to do for you.
Sadly, I used to dread Lent like late summer football practice—a lot of striving and sweat mixed in with much uncertainty and fear. “What’s the coach thinking about my performance? Am I doomed to sit on the bench? Will I even make the team this year?” What a misuse of the season of Lent. What a complete misrepresentation of the gospel. What a dismal way to live the Christian life. We’re your betrothed Bride, not beleaguered waifs.
Indeed, Lord Jesus, we begin Lent tomorrow anticipating our wedding, not our funeral, for you’re the loving Bridegroom who died to make us your cherished Bride. The work’s already done; the dowry’s been paid in full; the wedding dress of your righteousness is already ours; the invitations have been sent out; the date has been secured; you’ll not change your mind! Hallelujah! Hallelujah! Hallelujah!
Over these next forty days intensify our hunger, our assurance, and our longing for the day of your return—the Day of consummate joy—the wedding feast of the Lamb. In light of that coming banquet, we choose to deny ourselves (fast from) certain pleasures for this brief season. But we’re not looking to get one thing from you, Jesus—just more of you.
Fill our hearts with your beauty and bounty, that we might freely confess and gladly repent of the ways we contradict the gospel—with our thoughts, words and deeds. So very Amen we pray, in your holy and loving name.
So what do we have to say about about being gay?
Posted 11 years agoJude here!
Homosexuality is a topic that swirls, rises and abates in our current world like few others. In the midst of the furry fandom, the likelihood that someone you know or are friends with is gay is pretty much overwhelming (probably a leftover from the early years when the gender balance was completely off).
The "official" stance here at CFF mimics my own: The Bible unambiguously condemns gay practice - that is, gay sex. But when it comes to orientation, it's somewhat silent directly, only touching upon the issue indirectly and through theological inference and Biblical study. What does this mean practically?
No sexual activity, unless or until you are in a relationship that God views as a marriage (and He's pretty clear about that too.) But if you're not sinning sexually, and aren't actively setting yourself up so that gay sex is the goal, feel free to love deeply, love intensely and love passionately, giving yourself and your life to those you have committed yourself to.
Which is the exactly the same command/direction/guidance that God gives everyone who loves and follows Him obediently.
I'm personally not sure yet if celibacy always means being single (and to be honest, I'd hope that it doesn't), but I do know that if one is obedient to Christ in this matter, you can start seeing a new broader vision of what family and friends really mean (and what God has been trying to share to us since forever).
For those Christians that are interested in this somewhat new (but actually very ancient) movement among same-sex attracted there are a few resources I can suggest:
Washed and Waiting, by Wes Hill (and no, I'm not just suggesting it because I'm still infatuated with a Wes myself). Wes Hill is a gay Christian, a graduate from Wheaton College and was perhaps the initial sounding voice that made this "celibate gay Christian" movement more visible. He blogs several places on the internet, always with words of grace and candor but a great place to see a nexus of ideas about celibacy is Spiritual Friendship a multi-authored blog he helped to found. SF a good place for everyone, but is geared if you are Roman Catholic or appreciate the high-church denominations in Christianity (Hill himself is an Anglican now, I think). The blog of Julie Rodgers is also a good place to start. Also if anyone has any questions or concerns, feel free to send me a note here at CFF or to me directly at
judetherat
Homosexuality is a topic that swirls, rises and abates in our current world like few others. In the midst of the furry fandom, the likelihood that someone you know or are friends with is gay is pretty much overwhelming (probably a leftover from the early years when the gender balance was completely off).
The "official" stance here at CFF mimics my own: The Bible unambiguously condemns gay practice - that is, gay sex. But when it comes to orientation, it's somewhat silent directly, only touching upon the issue indirectly and through theological inference and Biblical study. What does this mean practically?
No sexual activity, unless or until you are in a relationship that God views as a marriage (and He's pretty clear about that too.) But if you're not sinning sexually, and aren't actively setting yourself up so that gay sex is the goal, feel free to love deeply, love intensely and love passionately, giving yourself and your life to those you have committed yourself to.
Which is the exactly the same command/direction/guidance that God gives everyone who loves and follows Him obediently.
I'm personally not sure yet if celibacy always means being single (and to be honest, I'd hope that it doesn't), but I do know that if one is obedient to Christ in this matter, you can start seeing a new broader vision of what family and friends really mean (and what God has been trying to share to us since forever).
For those Christians that are interested in this somewhat new (but actually very ancient) movement among same-sex attracted there are a few resources I can suggest:
Washed and Waiting, by Wes Hill (and no, I'm not just suggesting it because I'm still infatuated with a Wes myself). Wes Hill is a gay Christian, a graduate from Wheaton College and was perhaps the initial sounding voice that made this "celibate gay Christian" movement more visible. He blogs several places on the internet, always with words of grace and candor but a great place to see a nexus of ideas about celibacy is Spiritual Friendship a multi-authored blog he helped to found. SF a good place for everyone, but is geared if you are Roman Catholic or appreciate the high-church denominations in Christianity (Hill himself is an Anglican now, I think). The blog of Julie Rodgers is also a good place to start. Also if anyone has any questions or concerns, feel free to send me a note here at CFF or to me directly at
judetheratSince Jesus Ate With Sinners...
Posted 11 years agoSince Jesus Ate With Sinners, Do I Have to Eat at the Strip Club's Buffet?
by Joe Carter of the Gospel Coalition
[ Jude's note: While it becomes clear that Mr. Carter is writing directly toward another cultural issue, the general message of the piece is very much an important lesson we can value. Whatever your views are, at a look at the larger picture, the holiness and ethics that gird a broader set of circumstances. ]
Originally posted here
Do you know that strip club down by the airport? You've probably never been in there. You likely have no interest in going in there. The only reason you even know about it is because your uncle, the one you have to pick up from the airport every Thanksgiving, makes a joke about the sign that says they have an all-you-can-eat buffet. (It's a lame joke made lamer by the fact that he tells it the same way every year.)
disgusting-food-on-theThere's something you probably don't know about that buffet: Jesus would have no qualms about sitting at the bar eating scrambled eggs. In fact, Jesus probably wants you to go in there and join the patrons eating cold bacon.
You might be thinking to yourself, "Um . . . what?" Yeah, I was surprised too. But that is the argument many Christians have been making lately. Oh, they don't make that argument directly. But that is the implication of their argument (whose logic they often fail to follow to its conclusion).
Their argument, in enthymematic form, is:
Since Jesus [had dinner with/partied with/hung out with] sinners in the places where they congregated, we should do so too.
The problem with this argument is not that it is wholly false but that it is partially true. If it were false, we could rebut it and move on. But because it contains a kernel of truth we have an obligation to try to salvage it and fashion it into a respectable and biblically sound form.
The first way we can fix the argument is by adding an obvious clause:
Since Jesus [had dinner with/partied with/hung out with] sinners in the places where they congregated, we should do so too when they are not engaging in sin . . .
As the Apostle Paul said, in order to avoid associating with unrepentant sinners we "would need to go out of the world" (1 Cor. 5:9). We therefore don't need to be concerned about eating, partying, or hanging out with unbelievers in a place where no sin is occurring (at least openly).
We could have made that argument without needing Jesus as an example. But what happens when we consider how using Jesus as a model affects the claim?
Let's first examine how adding Jesus can make the argument, in one sense, completely true. As God, Jesus is always immanent in spirit everywhere in the world. There are no hidden places in which sin and evil is being committed where Jesus in not present with the unredeemed. So too should we be present with Jesus—in spirit—through prayer for unrepentant sinners. While we may never lean against the railing in the strip club down by the airport, it is covered with fingerprints of broken people who need our prayers.
Spiritual presence, however, is not usually what is meant. The argument implies that since Jesus was physically present with sinners, that we should also be physically present with the unrepentant. For several reasons, this claim is much more problematic.
The first problem is that we don't know whether it's true. While it's likely Jesus sat down to eat with sinners, there's no evidence he ever rose from a table with anyone remaining unrepentant. It's possible, even likely, that some who ate with Jesus (such as during the feeding of the 5,000) left as unrepentant sinners. But, if so, it was not for lack of effort on the part of Jesus.
In Luke 15, we find the oft-quoted claim made about Jesus by the Pharisees: "This man receives sinners and eats with them." What is often left out is the lengthy reply Jesus gave in response. After hearing their charges, Jesus tells three parables—about Lost Sheep, a Lost Coin, and a Prodigal Son—each with the same theme: rejoicing over the repentance of sinners. There is no evidence that Jesus ever ate with sinners and did not call them to repentance.
So we can update our problematic enthymeme with our second addition:
Since Jesus [had dinner with/partied with/hung out with] sinners in the places where they congregated, we should do so too when (1) they are not engaging in sin and/or (2) when we do so for the purpose of calling them to repentance . . .
But even this is not sufficient. The Bible says that Jesus ate with sinners and called them to repentance. There is no place in Scripture, however, that says Jesus was uncritically present when sin was occurring or when an action that mocked God was taking place. In fact, in the most famous example of Jesus being in the presence of an act where sin was taking place and God was being mocked—a scene recorded in all four Gospels—he made a whip of cords and drove sinners from the temple. Do we really think this same Jesus would "bake a cake" to celebrate a sinful union he himself considered an "abomination" (Lev. 20:13)?
We can therefore update our problematic enthymeme with our second helpful addition:
Since Jesus [had dinner with/partied with/hung out with] sinners in the places where they congregated, we should do so too when (1) they are not engaging in sin, (2) when we do so for the purpose of calling them to repentance, and/or when our presence does not condone sin or the mocking of God . . .
While this would appear to be sufficient to fix the argument, there is one more, rather peculiar, addition we have to make. In 1 Corinthians 5, the apostle Paul commands us to separate ourselves from fellow Christians who are engaged in sin:
But now I am writing to you not to associate with anyone who bears the name of brother if he is guilty of sexual immorality or greed, or is an idolater, reviler, drunkard, or swindler—not even to eat with such a one.
This is truly a hard saying. Our culture has conditioned us to believe that "loving our neighbor" requires accepting them as they are. We now excuse all manner of behavior that our holy God finds abhorrent simply because someone we know—friend, family, coworker—is engaged in such openly sinful behavior. We don't want to appear intolerant or judgmental or "unloving" by separating ourselves from their presence. But Paul makes it clear that if the person engaged in sin is a believer we shouldn't even eat with them.
Now we can complete the problematic enthymeme in way that makes it Biblically sound:
Since Jesus [had dinner with/partied with/hung out with] sinners in the places where they congregated, we should do so too when: (1) they are not engaging in sin, (2) we do so for the purpose of calling them to repentance, (3) when our presence does not condone sin or the mocking of God, and/or (4) when the sinners are not our fellow believers.
Hopefully, this form of the argument is something that all believers can agree on. But for those who do not, cannot, or simply will not accept this formulation, I leave you with this final plea.
Please stop arguing that Christians should be forced to violate their conscience unless you are willing to be consistent in its application. On this issue, what our culture accepts cannot be used as the standard. Fifty years ago, racism was tolerated while sexual sins were publicly denounced. Today, the situation is reversed. Many Christians (surprisingly, even some Anabaptists) are now willing to argue (or at least imply) that the state should be able to force Christians to serve at celebrations of sexual sin. Yet, these same people will likely balk at claiming that we should be forced to serve celebrations of racial sin.
If, like the Pharisees, you want to bind the conscience of all believers to a standard that is difficult, if not impossible, to support by Scripture, the least you can do is to argue for its broad application. Tell us that the white baker is not only obligated to serve a same-sex wedding but that the African-American florist is obligated to bake a cake for the Aryan Nation's national convention.
If you want us to follow your legalistic argument, then at least have the courage to follow it to all its logical implications.
by Joe Carter of the Gospel Coalition
[ Jude's note: While it becomes clear that Mr. Carter is writing directly toward another cultural issue, the general message of the piece is very much an important lesson we can value. Whatever your views are, at a look at the larger picture, the holiness and ethics that gird a broader set of circumstances. ]
Originally posted here
Do you know that strip club down by the airport? You've probably never been in there. You likely have no interest in going in there. The only reason you even know about it is because your uncle, the one you have to pick up from the airport every Thanksgiving, makes a joke about the sign that says they have an all-you-can-eat buffet. (It's a lame joke made lamer by the fact that he tells it the same way every year.)
disgusting-food-on-theThere's something you probably don't know about that buffet: Jesus would have no qualms about sitting at the bar eating scrambled eggs. In fact, Jesus probably wants you to go in there and join the patrons eating cold bacon.
You might be thinking to yourself, "Um . . . what?" Yeah, I was surprised too. But that is the argument many Christians have been making lately. Oh, they don't make that argument directly. But that is the implication of their argument (whose logic they often fail to follow to its conclusion).
Their argument, in enthymematic form, is:
Since Jesus [had dinner with/partied with/hung out with] sinners in the places where they congregated, we should do so too.
The problem with this argument is not that it is wholly false but that it is partially true. If it were false, we could rebut it and move on. But because it contains a kernel of truth we have an obligation to try to salvage it and fashion it into a respectable and biblically sound form.
The first way we can fix the argument is by adding an obvious clause:
Since Jesus [had dinner with/partied with/hung out with] sinners in the places where they congregated, we should do so too when they are not engaging in sin . . .
As the Apostle Paul said, in order to avoid associating with unrepentant sinners we "would need to go out of the world" (1 Cor. 5:9). We therefore don't need to be concerned about eating, partying, or hanging out with unbelievers in a place where no sin is occurring (at least openly).
We could have made that argument without needing Jesus as an example. But what happens when we consider how using Jesus as a model affects the claim?
Let's first examine how adding Jesus can make the argument, in one sense, completely true. As God, Jesus is always immanent in spirit everywhere in the world. There are no hidden places in which sin and evil is being committed where Jesus in not present with the unredeemed. So too should we be present with Jesus—in spirit—through prayer for unrepentant sinners. While we may never lean against the railing in the strip club down by the airport, it is covered with fingerprints of broken people who need our prayers.
Spiritual presence, however, is not usually what is meant. The argument implies that since Jesus was physically present with sinners, that we should also be physically present with the unrepentant. For several reasons, this claim is much more problematic.
The first problem is that we don't know whether it's true. While it's likely Jesus sat down to eat with sinners, there's no evidence he ever rose from a table with anyone remaining unrepentant. It's possible, even likely, that some who ate with Jesus (such as during the feeding of the 5,000) left as unrepentant sinners. But, if so, it was not for lack of effort on the part of Jesus.
In Luke 15, we find the oft-quoted claim made about Jesus by the Pharisees: "This man receives sinners and eats with them." What is often left out is the lengthy reply Jesus gave in response. After hearing their charges, Jesus tells three parables—about Lost Sheep, a Lost Coin, and a Prodigal Son—each with the same theme: rejoicing over the repentance of sinners. There is no evidence that Jesus ever ate with sinners and did not call them to repentance.
So we can update our problematic enthymeme with our second addition:
Since Jesus [had dinner with/partied with/hung out with] sinners in the places where they congregated, we should do so too when (1) they are not engaging in sin and/or (2) when we do so for the purpose of calling them to repentance . . .
But even this is not sufficient. The Bible says that Jesus ate with sinners and called them to repentance. There is no place in Scripture, however, that says Jesus was uncritically present when sin was occurring or when an action that mocked God was taking place. In fact, in the most famous example of Jesus being in the presence of an act where sin was taking place and God was being mocked—a scene recorded in all four Gospels—he made a whip of cords and drove sinners from the temple. Do we really think this same Jesus would "bake a cake" to celebrate a sinful union he himself considered an "abomination" (Lev. 20:13)?
We can therefore update our problematic enthymeme with our second helpful addition:
Since Jesus [had dinner with/partied with/hung out with] sinners in the places where they congregated, we should do so too when (1) they are not engaging in sin, (2) when we do so for the purpose of calling them to repentance, and/or when our presence does not condone sin or the mocking of God . . .
While this would appear to be sufficient to fix the argument, there is one more, rather peculiar, addition we have to make. In 1 Corinthians 5, the apostle Paul commands us to separate ourselves from fellow Christians who are engaged in sin:
But now I am writing to you not to associate with anyone who bears the name of brother if he is guilty of sexual immorality or greed, or is an idolater, reviler, drunkard, or swindler—not even to eat with such a one.
This is truly a hard saying. Our culture has conditioned us to believe that "loving our neighbor" requires accepting them as they are. We now excuse all manner of behavior that our holy God finds abhorrent simply because someone we know—friend, family, coworker—is engaged in such openly sinful behavior. We don't want to appear intolerant or judgmental or "unloving" by separating ourselves from their presence. But Paul makes it clear that if the person engaged in sin is a believer we shouldn't even eat with them.
Now we can complete the problematic enthymeme in way that makes it Biblically sound:
Since Jesus [had dinner with/partied with/hung out with] sinners in the places where they congregated, we should do so too when: (1) they are not engaging in sin, (2) we do so for the purpose of calling them to repentance, (3) when our presence does not condone sin or the mocking of God, and/or (4) when the sinners are not our fellow believers.
Hopefully, this form of the argument is something that all believers can agree on. But for those who do not, cannot, or simply will not accept this formulation, I leave you with this final plea.
Please stop arguing that Christians should be forced to violate their conscience unless you are willing to be consistent in its application. On this issue, what our culture accepts cannot be used as the standard. Fifty years ago, racism was tolerated while sexual sins were publicly denounced. Today, the situation is reversed. Many Christians (surprisingly, even some Anabaptists) are now willing to argue (or at least imply) that the state should be able to force Christians to serve at celebrations of sexual sin. Yet, these same people will likely balk at claiming that we should be forced to serve celebrations of racial sin.
If, like the Pharisees, you want to bind the conscience of all believers to a standard that is difficult, if not impossible, to support by Scripture, the least you can do is to argue for its broad application. Tell us that the white baker is not only obligated to serve a same-sex wedding but that the African-American florist is obligated to bake a cake for the Aryan Nation's national convention.
If you want us to follow your legalistic argument, then at least have the courage to follow it to all its logical implications.
Did you know...?
Posted 12 years agoDid you know... you're a theologian? Theology is merely the study of God. Or let me put it even simpler: theology what you know, feel or believe about God.
You may not ever be asked to compile your Theology into a textbook or into a confession, that doesn't make your theology any less real.
But there's something that's very important as well: What you think, feel or believe about God influences /every single/ aspect of your life. So you can't pit theology against love any more than you can ask a yolk and an egg to fight against each other.
Often our deepest "theological foundations" come out in ways that aren't always fully conscious. We act a certain way, because our worldview, our "theology," shapes our perspective.
Do you believe that God doesn't care about who you have sex with? That's theology. You are making a statement about God, his intents and expectations. This one in particular doesn't match reality (where God has made it plain that He /does/ care about our love and sex lives) but it still is a theology. If God doesn't care, then He'll never hold you accountable and you are bound to do whatever and whenever you want.
Do you believe that God has your best interests at heart? Then you'll find that obedience and trusting him is one of the easiest things to do, even when life is painful and difficult, or when obeying seems counter-intuitive to your own happiness.
Do you not trust that God will take care of your needs? Then you could either move toward a life of workaholic stress since if you can't trust God to care for you, then you yourself would have to care for your every need. Or you'd drift toward apathy or fatalistic complacence.
I could go on and on. If we don't believe that God gave us the Bible, then nothing it says to us will be authoratitive and binding. If we consider God to be involved with the conception and birth of every human being, then human life becomes immensely valuable. If we neglect Jesus and run to Thor or to Buddha or anywhere else, we then we can ignore his claims to deity.
Also, don't let anyone try to divorce "theology" from the "real world" of loving people. It's just not going to happen. In fact, the truest theologies will produce a love for people that's real, tangible and undeniable. If you love (true) theology, then you'll find yourself loving people in ways you never thought possible before.
(Don't confuse loving people with always being sentimental, passive and nonthreatening. Jesus' love for the ancient Hebrews moved Him to declare war on the Egyptian gods and their pagan devotees. The Lord's love for His people both in the Old Testament and in the New prompted him to call them out on their sin - calling them vipers and snakes and bullies - so that they could wake up and turn back to Him. God's love for us convicts us of our sin and makes our hearts come alive to Christ for the same reason.)
Here are a few examples straight from God's Word Himself.
John 13.35 "By this [obeying Jesus' commands] all people will know that you are My disciples [this is theology, Jesus was an itinerant Jewish rabbi, a teacher of God and His ways so he was summing up all he'd taught them] if you have love for one another.”
James 1.27 "Pure and undefiled religion before our God and Father is this [in other words, theology that is true and accurately reflects reality]: to look after orphans and widows in their distress [this is love] and to keep oneself unstained by the world [this is obedience to God doing what he says].
So true religion - true theological concepts - gives birth to truly loving people.
Matthew 26.36-40
36 “Teacher, which command in the law is the greatest?” [a theological question: what does God want from us?]
37 He said to him, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind. 38 This is the greatest and most important command. 39 The second is like it: Love your neighbor as yourself. 40 All the Law and the Prophets depend on these two commands.” [and the theological answer: Love]
The great commandment is a statement about God. What does God expect and desire from human beings? To love Him with all our hearts and to love people almost just as much.
We love God by obeying Him. We love people by serving them.
Any theology that fails to do this, that fails to produce a love for people and a love for God is a false one.
So theology isn't this monster meant to be reviled, or an ogre against whom we take up arms and fight. No, theology, as God sees it, is our friend, a confidante and guide, often a face of our Lord God Himself.
You may not ever be asked to compile your Theology into a textbook or into a confession, that doesn't make your theology any less real.
But there's something that's very important as well: What you think, feel or believe about God influences /every single/ aspect of your life. So you can't pit theology against love any more than you can ask a yolk and an egg to fight against each other.
Often our deepest "theological foundations" come out in ways that aren't always fully conscious. We act a certain way, because our worldview, our "theology," shapes our perspective.
Do you believe that God doesn't care about who you have sex with? That's theology. You are making a statement about God, his intents and expectations. This one in particular doesn't match reality (where God has made it plain that He /does/ care about our love and sex lives) but it still is a theology. If God doesn't care, then He'll never hold you accountable and you are bound to do whatever and whenever you want.
Do you believe that God has your best interests at heart? Then you'll find that obedience and trusting him is one of the easiest things to do, even when life is painful and difficult, or when obeying seems counter-intuitive to your own happiness.
Do you not trust that God will take care of your needs? Then you could either move toward a life of workaholic stress since if you can't trust God to care for you, then you yourself would have to care for your every need. Or you'd drift toward apathy or fatalistic complacence.
I could go on and on. If we don't believe that God gave us the Bible, then nothing it says to us will be authoratitive and binding. If we consider God to be involved with the conception and birth of every human being, then human life becomes immensely valuable. If we neglect Jesus and run to Thor or to Buddha or anywhere else, we then we can ignore his claims to deity.
Also, don't let anyone try to divorce "theology" from the "real world" of loving people. It's just not going to happen. In fact, the truest theologies will produce a love for people that's real, tangible and undeniable. If you love (true) theology, then you'll find yourself loving people in ways you never thought possible before.
(Don't confuse loving people with always being sentimental, passive and nonthreatening. Jesus' love for the ancient Hebrews moved Him to declare war on the Egyptian gods and their pagan devotees. The Lord's love for His people both in the Old Testament and in the New prompted him to call them out on their sin - calling them vipers and snakes and bullies - so that they could wake up and turn back to Him. God's love for us convicts us of our sin and makes our hearts come alive to Christ for the same reason.)
Here are a few examples straight from God's Word Himself.
John 13.35 "By this [obeying Jesus' commands] all people will know that you are My disciples [this is theology, Jesus was an itinerant Jewish rabbi, a teacher of God and His ways so he was summing up all he'd taught them] if you have love for one another.”
James 1.27 "Pure and undefiled religion before our God and Father is this [in other words, theology that is true and accurately reflects reality]: to look after orphans and widows in their distress [this is love] and to keep oneself unstained by the world [this is obedience to God doing what he says].
So true religion - true theological concepts - gives birth to truly loving people.
Matthew 26.36-40
36 “Teacher, which command in the law is the greatest?” [a theological question: what does God want from us?]
37 He said to him, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind. 38 This is the greatest and most important command. 39 The second is like it: Love your neighbor as yourself. 40 All the Law and the Prophets depend on these two commands.” [and the theological answer: Love]
The great commandment is a statement about God. What does God expect and desire from human beings? To love Him with all our hearts and to love people almost just as much.
We love God by obeying Him. We love people by serving them.
Any theology that fails to do this, that fails to produce a love for people and a love for God is a false one.
So theology isn't this monster meant to be reviled, or an ogre against whom we take up arms and fight. No, theology, as God sees it, is our friend, a confidante and guide, often a face of our Lord God Himself.
A Church of Pure Imagination
Posted 12 years agoBy Matt Jones over at SpiritualFriendship.org, a blog examining love, life, spirituality and relationships from a gay Christian perspective. (I can tell you that it's not what you think, no matter what you may be thinking now.)
I’ve been asked multiple times in the past month why I am still side-B, why I am still pursuing celibacy as a gay 23 year-old in these United States of America. What is interesting to me is how, with each inquiring friend, it was implied that we weren’t discussing theology or the interpretation of certain notorious texts. The “why” was really more of a “how.”
It’s a refreshing change.
One of the more frustrating things about the current conversation is how it so easily gets sucked into the myopic quicksand of “what the Bible says.” Please don’t get me wrong, I’m a big fan of the authority of scripture and the importance of right interpretation, and I probably wouldn’t be celibate if I didn’t think the Bible taught it, but there is a dangerous attitude of “the Bible says it, I believe it, and that settles it” running rampant in many churches.
The idea that the conversation straight up ends with interpretation is, honestly, lethal to true religion, strangling the imagination out of faith and poisoning the endlessly complex “how then shall we live” of the Christian life. I think the rate at which gay Christians are abandoning celibacy is a pretty good indicator of that fact; though not always the case, the majority of people I know who have made the switch do so not because they’ve been convinced by “affirming” theology but because celibacy and an abundant life seem mutually exclusive, which, I need to add, is a kind of theological reason in its own right.
I think what this is revealing about conservative American churches, and perhaps churches in general, is that they are deeply mired in a failure of imagination.
When churches neglect to preach and model the good of singleness and celibacy, when they glut themselves on the opium of romance or oversell marriage to the detriment of both married and single people, they aren’t just straying from the truth of the Bible – they are corroding and constricting the imaginations of those in the congregation. What the men and women and children sitting in the pews can or cannot imagine as possible or good is greatly affected by what the church speaks of as possible or good.
At its redemptive best, this imaginative proclamation allows aching and isolated people to believe that there is a God who loves and desires them and that they can know his transformative grace and be welcomed into a community of hospitality and passion. But, tragically, that proclamation is often drowned in a flood of toxic sentiment, leaving many unsure of their worth and unable to form healthy relationships with other people or even God. The callousness I have seen some church-goers display in response to this pain is incomprehensible.
So I am no longer surprised when a friend of mine “switches sides,” and I am beyond tired of the way some Christians demonize them as simply weak or selfish or histrionic.* Do I find my friends’ reasons for switching entirely satisfactory? Rarely. But I also don’t find most churches’ reasons for not switching satisfactory, either. Unless a community is seriously modeling a commitment to hospitality and grace for all stages of life, its sexual ethic, no matter how “orthodox” it may sound, will never seem viable or good in any meaningful way. This imaginative failure is also a moral failure, with churches leaving their gay members with little to no ability to actually live – or god forbid thrive – within the rich tradition of church teaching.
So when I am asked why I’m side-B, my first thought has little to do with how I interpret Romans 1. Instead, I think about how I was surrounded by a loving group of friends who gave me the space and freedom to process through the initial fear and confusion of realizing I wasn’t just “temporarily-not-straight;”
I think about how I was blessed with mentors and counselors who were constantly feeding me and challenging me and supporting me and blowing my mind with the truth of the gospel, who called out the lies that had been choking me for most of my life;
I think about the months I spent working in a drug rehab center in South Africa or an orphanage in Guatemala and how unbearably full and alive I felt, how enmeshed I became in those vibrant communities that taught me so much about hospitality and service.
I think about how all these experiences enabled me to imagine a future of abundant life as a celibate person.
For most of my college career I was haunted by a singular image that I thought would define the entirety of my existence: When I closed my eyes I saw, I felt, myself closing the door to a cold and dark apartment, entirely empty, devoid of anyone who would witness my life and show me that I was known and loved. The frozen silence of it all was terrifying.
That I thought this was my inescapable future after a lifetime of sermons and biblical education is unequivocally depressing. That this vision is hardly unique to me is even more so.
But then two years ago, while coming out to some of my closest friends as we prepared for graduation and all that lay beyond, that image of despair was finally replaced. As I finished up my story one of my friends looked at me and said, “You know, Matt, as you were talking I just had this picture in my head of you surrounded by laughing children, and you were so happy. Maybe that means something.”
That was a gift of imagination, my brothers and sisters joining with me to envision a better future, an abundant future, one that has empowered me to live more joyfully and passionately in the present.
But I’m one of the lucky ones. The number of stories where loneliness and isolation remain the dominant themes, where the message of the church is bound up with shame and hopelessness, is staggering. More truthfully, it is infuriating.
So I’m praying that churches would rediscover their blessed ecclesial witness. I’m praying that, in my own journey, I can do justice to the vision of abundant life the gospel and my community have helped me believe is possible. I’m praying that we would really listen to the numerous testimonies of pain, that we would repent, that we would learn to love better, and that together – because we can only do this together – we would become the kind of people that Jesus imagined we could be when he lived and died and rose again for all.**
--
* If you have come to find your capacity to feel hope and joy oppressive, take a peek at the comments section of any number of Christian publications about homosexuality and let the sweet, sweet darkness sweep over you.
** I am not saying that if everyone had my experiences they would have come to the same conclusions I did, nor am I saying that my anecdotal evidence can be applied even close to uniformly for every LGB Christian. But this imaginative chasm between “celibate” and “happy” is incredibly prevalent – evident in the number of times people say to me, “You’re celibate? But… you seem so happy…”
I’ve been asked multiple times in the past month why I am still side-B, why I am still pursuing celibacy as a gay 23 year-old in these United States of America. What is interesting to me is how, with each inquiring friend, it was implied that we weren’t discussing theology or the interpretation of certain notorious texts. The “why” was really more of a “how.”
It’s a refreshing change.
One of the more frustrating things about the current conversation is how it so easily gets sucked into the myopic quicksand of “what the Bible says.” Please don’t get me wrong, I’m a big fan of the authority of scripture and the importance of right interpretation, and I probably wouldn’t be celibate if I didn’t think the Bible taught it, but there is a dangerous attitude of “the Bible says it, I believe it, and that settles it” running rampant in many churches.
The idea that the conversation straight up ends with interpretation is, honestly, lethal to true religion, strangling the imagination out of faith and poisoning the endlessly complex “how then shall we live” of the Christian life. I think the rate at which gay Christians are abandoning celibacy is a pretty good indicator of that fact; though not always the case, the majority of people I know who have made the switch do so not because they’ve been convinced by “affirming” theology but because celibacy and an abundant life seem mutually exclusive, which, I need to add, is a kind of theological reason in its own right.
I think what this is revealing about conservative American churches, and perhaps churches in general, is that they are deeply mired in a failure of imagination.
When churches neglect to preach and model the good of singleness and celibacy, when they glut themselves on the opium of romance or oversell marriage to the detriment of both married and single people, they aren’t just straying from the truth of the Bible – they are corroding and constricting the imaginations of those in the congregation. What the men and women and children sitting in the pews can or cannot imagine as possible or good is greatly affected by what the church speaks of as possible or good.
At its redemptive best, this imaginative proclamation allows aching and isolated people to believe that there is a God who loves and desires them and that they can know his transformative grace and be welcomed into a community of hospitality and passion. But, tragically, that proclamation is often drowned in a flood of toxic sentiment, leaving many unsure of their worth and unable to form healthy relationships with other people or even God. The callousness I have seen some church-goers display in response to this pain is incomprehensible.
So I am no longer surprised when a friend of mine “switches sides,” and I am beyond tired of the way some Christians demonize them as simply weak or selfish or histrionic.* Do I find my friends’ reasons for switching entirely satisfactory? Rarely. But I also don’t find most churches’ reasons for not switching satisfactory, either. Unless a community is seriously modeling a commitment to hospitality and grace for all stages of life, its sexual ethic, no matter how “orthodox” it may sound, will never seem viable or good in any meaningful way. This imaginative failure is also a moral failure, with churches leaving their gay members with little to no ability to actually live – or god forbid thrive – within the rich tradition of church teaching.
So when I am asked why I’m side-B, my first thought has little to do with how I interpret Romans 1. Instead, I think about how I was surrounded by a loving group of friends who gave me the space and freedom to process through the initial fear and confusion of realizing I wasn’t just “temporarily-not-straight;”
I think about how I was blessed with mentors and counselors who were constantly feeding me and challenging me and supporting me and blowing my mind with the truth of the gospel, who called out the lies that had been choking me for most of my life;
I think about the months I spent working in a drug rehab center in South Africa or an orphanage in Guatemala and how unbearably full and alive I felt, how enmeshed I became in those vibrant communities that taught me so much about hospitality and service.
I think about how all these experiences enabled me to imagine a future of abundant life as a celibate person.
For most of my college career I was haunted by a singular image that I thought would define the entirety of my existence: When I closed my eyes I saw, I felt, myself closing the door to a cold and dark apartment, entirely empty, devoid of anyone who would witness my life and show me that I was known and loved. The frozen silence of it all was terrifying.
That I thought this was my inescapable future after a lifetime of sermons and biblical education is unequivocally depressing. That this vision is hardly unique to me is even more so.
But then two years ago, while coming out to some of my closest friends as we prepared for graduation and all that lay beyond, that image of despair was finally replaced. As I finished up my story one of my friends looked at me and said, “You know, Matt, as you were talking I just had this picture in my head of you surrounded by laughing children, and you were so happy. Maybe that means something.”
That was a gift of imagination, my brothers and sisters joining with me to envision a better future, an abundant future, one that has empowered me to live more joyfully and passionately in the present.
But I’m one of the lucky ones. The number of stories where loneliness and isolation remain the dominant themes, where the message of the church is bound up with shame and hopelessness, is staggering. More truthfully, it is infuriating.
So I’m praying that churches would rediscover their blessed ecclesial witness. I’m praying that, in my own journey, I can do justice to the vision of abundant life the gospel and my community have helped me believe is possible. I’m praying that we would really listen to the numerous testimonies of pain, that we would repent, that we would learn to love better, and that together – because we can only do this together – we would become the kind of people that Jesus imagined we could be when he lived and died and rose again for all.**
--
* If you have come to find your capacity to feel hope and joy oppressive, take a peek at the comments section of any number of Christian publications about homosexuality and let the sweet, sweet darkness sweep over you.
** I am not saying that if everyone had my experiences they would have come to the same conclusions I did, nor am I saying that my anecdotal evidence can be applied even close to uniformly for every LGB Christian. But this imaginative chasm between “celibate” and “happy” is incredibly prevalent – evident in the number of times people say to me, “You’re celibate? But… you seem so happy…”
How the Gospel Overcame God
Posted 12 years agoHow the Gospel Overcame God comes to us from Byron Yawn of The Cripplegate ministry. You can read the original here.
---
When we are first converted our explanations of salvation are simple, passionate, unadorned and basic. It’s as if – having just been given eyes to see – we are sent into the Louvre, or the Orsay museum for fifteen minutes. Only fifteen. Once out on the street we are immediately asked to describe the contents therein. All that comes out is “Wow!” But “Wow!” makes total sense. Such beauty is overwhelming to any set of new eyes.
In the same way, when first introduced to our salvation we say things like “I was saved.” Or, “my sins were forgiven.” Or, something along these lines. While there’s a lot of detail missing in these pithy descriptions, they are not inaccurate. It’s what happens when a priceless work of Grace is beheld by new eyes. Maybe these types of explanations are to be preferred over against some treatise on infralapsarianism. There is something about the sincerity of a new convert which seems to be missing in the barnacled spirituality of those have been saved long enough to cover our brokenness with too much information. Some of us have been Christians long enough to forget what it feels like to have become a Christian.
But – back to the point – even the most knowledgeable among us struggles to capture the sovereign grace of God with sufficient words. It’s impossible – even with an eternity to roam its halls in heaven – to become a curator of grace. Honestly, none of us has a sufficient grasp on what’s happened to us in Christ. We’re all reduced down to pithiness before the infinite grace of God. It’s all “wow.” I was blind, but now I see. We’ve no idea how infinite an accomplishment our salvation is. Nor will we ever. The Christian life (in part) is exactly about finding out what happened to us – over and over. As we grow in our faith we fill in the details. We move from the simple to the complex. From the horizontal reality to more of the vertical angle of our salvation. Our answers take on color and brush stroke. Our answers get bigger. But, they’re all very limited in scope.
If you ask Christians, even those who’ve been saved for some time, a very basic question, “From what were you saved?” they will generally answer, “I was saved from my sin.” Probably, most of us would answer similarly. And we would not be wrong. Question. “From what were you saved?” Answer. “I was saved from my sin.” Or, with a little more insight, “I was saved from the penalty of my sin.” Do we not describe the Gospel as the good news that God forgives sin? For certain there was something in us which had to be overcome – sin. Sin is a systemic problem. It must be dealt with. So, that’s not a wrong answer. It’s right on many levels and biblical. But, I’d like to suggest it’s not the final answer, or the fullest one. It is just the tip of the iceberg of our salvation. A starting point for discovering the depth of our redemption which leads into the cavernous grace of God. There’s a bigger answer. And deep.
Let’s say you had cancer. (God forbid) And an aggressive sort of cancer at that. Terminal. And let’s say after months of unsuccessful treatments and little hope for beating the blasted disease, you go in for a final prognosis with your oncologist. You expect to hear, “There’s nothing more we can do,” but what you actually hear blows a hole clean through your despair. “The cancer is gone.” A miracle. Somewhere a pathologist is staring at a Petri dish mumbling to himself, “Where did it go?” You, obviously, are without words. A very recently re-committed supernaturalist. You went into the appointment with a death sentence and came out with a lease on life.
Now, let’s say just moments after receiving this news you are walking up the sidewalk towards your car. I spot you. I notice tears. I would not assume these are tears of joy. Knowing of your condition and from whence you came, I ask, “How are you?” And in reply you say to me, “I’m feeling much better. Thanks.” This reply is not untrue. It’s certainly part of it. But, it’s wrong on other levels. It robs the answer of its glory. It is not nearly commensurate with the reality of what’s just happened and the news you’ve received. There is a bigger answer. People who recover from colds “feel better.” Those who have cancer disappear live. The reason you feel better far surpasses a head cold. “I’ve been healed! It’s a miracle! My cancer is cured! It’s gone!” What would be my reply? Tears. Of joy.
In a similar way, when we answer “saved from sins” and are correct in doing so, there is still a bigger answer. One commensurate with the weight of what’s happened to us. (Or, did not happen to us.) Not merely a tip, but a whole. A depth and fullness. There’s a bigger answer. “I’ve been saved from God.” Ultimately, God is the real depth of our problem and not sin. After all, it’s His holiness which gives sin its lethal consequence. There is no offense of sin without the nature and existence of God. It is our Creator God who must hold us responsible for it. In this sense, God was the greatest “obstacle” in our salvation. Not us. We are the tip. God is the whole.
Much more then, having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from the wrath of God through Him. (Romans 5:9)
What God overcame in the Gospel was God and not man, or his sin per se. The dilemma God faced was not how to deal with sin. This is not a dilemma. There is only judgment towards sin. This was not something which the nature of God intended to circumvent, or could. The real issue was how a Holy God – who must deal with sin – could forgive sinners. The only response possible by God toward sin is judgment. There’s no way around that. Sin must be judged. Therefore, the “problem” is clear. How can a God whose judgment against sin is fixed forgive humans who are sinners? The problem lies in the nature of God and not in man. Again Paul explains this,
being justified as a gift by His grace through the redemption which is in Christ Jesus; whom God displayed publicly as a propitiation in His blood through faith. This was to demonstrate His righteousness, because in the forbearance of God He passed over the sins previously committed; for the demonstration, I say, of His righteousness at the present time, that He might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus. (Romans 3:24-26)
In a sense, God’s righteousness stood in God’s way of God’s Mercy. (Not really… mind you. The unity of God will not allow such divisions in God’s nature) God is righteous and He can be nothing other. A righteous God must punish unrighteousness. There is no way to pour out judgment on sinners and forgive them at the same time. The only possible way that could happen would be through a substitute. If some perfectly righteous human being stepped in and perfectly obeyed the demands of God and offered his righteous life on behalf of the unrighteous – then God could punish the sin and set the sinner free and remain righteous. Or, as Paul puts it, “He could be just and the justifier.” The only problem is that no human being fits that description. The only one who possesses such righteousness is God himself. Which means God would have to become a human being and offer himself for us. Which is exactly what happened in Christ.
Since then the children share in flesh and blood, He Himself likewise also partook of the same, that through death He might render powerless him who had the power of death, that is, the devil; and might deliver those who through fear of death were subject to slavery all their lives. For assuredly He does not give help to angels, but He gives help to the descendant of Abraham. Therefore, He had to be made like His brethren in all things, that He might become a merciful and faithful high priest in things pertaining to God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people. For since He Himself was tempted in that which He has suffered, He is able to come to the aid of those who are tempted. (Hebrews 2:14 -3:1)
This leads to one of the more profound insights about our redemption. A bigger reply. The righteousness which required our punishment was the very same righteousness which took on our punishment and set us free. Your sinfulness is the tip and God is the iceberg. The Gospel is about how God overcame God.
A Few Takeaways
The Sheer Grandeur of God’s Love Comes Into View
God’s love for sinners overwhelms. Grace is the iceberg beneath the surface of the discussion of our salvation. You come to realize how immeasurably large God’s love towards us is. Moved by nothing but love, God satisfied the requirement of his righteousness. He moved heaven and earth to demonstrate the glory of His grace. What makes grace most amazing is not what it overcame in us, but what it overcame in God. Our real problem was not chiefly our sin. Our real problem as sinners was our God.
For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result of works, that no one should boast. (Ephesians 2:8-9)
By this the love of God was manifested in us, that God has sent His only begotten Son into the world so that we might live through Him. In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins. (1 John 4:9-10)
God’s Greatness Makes Salvation More & More Remarkable
Our reverence for salvation is commensurate with our understanding of the greatness of God. The greater He is in our minds (and Holy) the greater the accomplishment of the cross. Our response to salvation never loses its edge if God is transcendent and great in our hearts and minds.
We Get the Gospel Right(er)
It makes salvation less about reforming humanity and more about saving humanity. Men have found all kind of clever ways to minimize the dilemma of sin – morality, personal reformation, religion, etc. But, no one can dismiss the holy requirements of God. Not even God. The Gospel is about how God reconciles sinners to himself.
Evangelism Takes on a Greater Urgency
We aren’t trying to save people from an unhappy life, but God. God’s righteousness is fixed. We evangelize out of a sincere heart of compassion and love.
---
When we are first converted our explanations of salvation are simple, passionate, unadorned and basic. It’s as if – having just been given eyes to see – we are sent into the Louvre, or the Orsay museum for fifteen minutes. Only fifteen. Once out on the street we are immediately asked to describe the contents therein. All that comes out is “Wow!” But “Wow!” makes total sense. Such beauty is overwhelming to any set of new eyes.
In the same way, when first introduced to our salvation we say things like “I was saved.” Or, “my sins were forgiven.” Or, something along these lines. While there’s a lot of detail missing in these pithy descriptions, they are not inaccurate. It’s what happens when a priceless work of Grace is beheld by new eyes. Maybe these types of explanations are to be preferred over against some treatise on infralapsarianism. There is something about the sincerity of a new convert which seems to be missing in the barnacled spirituality of those have been saved long enough to cover our brokenness with too much information. Some of us have been Christians long enough to forget what it feels like to have become a Christian.
But – back to the point – even the most knowledgeable among us struggles to capture the sovereign grace of God with sufficient words. It’s impossible – even with an eternity to roam its halls in heaven – to become a curator of grace. Honestly, none of us has a sufficient grasp on what’s happened to us in Christ. We’re all reduced down to pithiness before the infinite grace of God. It’s all “wow.” I was blind, but now I see. We’ve no idea how infinite an accomplishment our salvation is. Nor will we ever. The Christian life (in part) is exactly about finding out what happened to us – over and over. As we grow in our faith we fill in the details. We move from the simple to the complex. From the horizontal reality to more of the vertical angle of our salvation. Our answers take on color and brush stroke. Our answers get bigger. But, they’re all very limited in scope.
If you ask Christians, even those who’ve been saved for some time, a very basic question, “From what were you saved?” they will generally answer, “I was saved from my sin.” Probably, most of us would answer similarly. And we would not be wrong. Question. “From what were you saved?” Answer. “I was saved from my sin.” Or, with a little more insight, “I was saved from the penalty of my sin.” Do we not describe the Gospel as the good news that God forgives sin? For certain there was something in us which had to be overcome – sin. Sin is a systemic problem. It must be dealt with. So, that’s not a wrong answer. It’s right on many levels and biblical. But, I’d like to suggest it’s not the final answer, or the fullest one. It is just the tip of the iceberg of our salvation. A starting point for discovering the depth of our redemption which leads into the cavernous grace of God. There’s a bigger answer. And deep.
Let’s say you had cancer. (God forbid) And an aggressive sort of cancer at that. Terminal. And let’s say after months of unsuccessful treatments and little hope for beating the blasted disease, you go in for a final prognosis with your oncologist. You expect to hear, “There’s nothing more we can do,” but what you actually hear blows a hole clean through your despair. “The cancer is gone.” A miracle. Somewhere a pathologist is staring at a Petri dish mumbling to himself, “Where did it go?” You, obviously, are without words. A very recently re-committed supernaturalist. You went into the appointment with a death sentence and came out with a lease on life.
Now, let’s say just moments after receiving this news you are walking up the sidewalk towards your car. I spot you. I notice tears. I would not assume these are tears of joy. Knowing of your condition and from whence you came, I ask, “How are you?” And in reply you say to me, “I’m feeling much better. Thanks.” This reply is not untrue. It’s certainly part of it. But, it’s wrong on other levels. It robs the answer of its glory. It is not nearly commensurate with the reality of what’s just happened and the news you’ve received. There is a bigger answer. People who recover from colds “feel better.” Those who have cancer disappear live. The reason you feel better far surpasses a head cold. “I’ve been healed! It’s a miracle! My cancer is cured! It’s gone!” What would be my reply? Tears. Of joy.
In a similar way, when we answer “saved from sins” and are correct in doing so, there is still a bigger answer. One commensurate with the weight of what’s happened to us. (Or, did not happen to us.) Not merely a tip, but a whole. A depth and fullness. There’s a bigger answer. “I’ve been saved from God.” Ultimately, God is the real depth of our problem and not sin. After all, it’s His holiness which gives sin its lethal consequence. There is no offense of sin without the nature and existence of God. It is our Creator God who must hold us responsible for it. In this sense, God was the greatest “obstacle” in our salvation. Not us. We are the tip. God is the whole.
Much more then, having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from the wrath of God through Him. (Romans 5:9)
What God overcame in the Gospel was God and not man, or his sin per se. The dilemma God faced was not how to deal with sin. This is not a dilemma. There is only judgment towards sin. This was not something which the nature of God intended to circumvent, or could. The real issue was how a Holy God – who must deal with sin – could forgive sinners. The only response possible by God toward sin is judgment. There’s no way around that. Sin must be judged. Therefore, the “problem” is clear. How can a God whose judgment against sin is fixed forgive humans who are sinners? The problem lies in the nature of God and not in man. Again Paul explains this,
being justified as a gift by His grace through the redemption which is in Christ Jesus; whom God displayed publicly as a propitiation in His blood through faith. This was to demonstrate His righteousness, because in the forbearance of God He passed over the sins previously committed; for the demonstration, I say, of His righteousness at the present time, that He might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus. (Romans 3:24-26)
In a sense, God’s righteousness stood in God’s way of God’s Mercy. (Not really… mind you. The unity of God will not allow such divisions in God’s nature) God is righteous and He can be nothing other. A righteous God must punish unrighteousness. There is no way to pour out judgment on sinners and forgive them at the same time. The only possible way that could happen would be through a substitute. If some perfectly righteous human being stepped in and perfectly obeyed the demands of God and offered his righteous life on behalf of the unrighteous – then God could punish the sin and set the sinner free and remain righteous. Or, as Paul puts it, “He could be just and the justifier.” The only problem is that no human being fits that description. The only one who possesses such righteousness is God himself. Which means God would have to become a human being and offer himself for us. Which is exactly what happened in Christ.
Since then the children share in flesh and blood, He Himself likewise also partook of the same, that through death He might render powerless him who had the power of death, that is, the devil; and might deliver those who through fear of death were subject to slavery all their lives. For assuredly He does not give help to angels, but He gives help to the descendant of Abraham. Therefore, He had to be made like His brethren in all things, that He might become a merciful and faithful high priest in things pertaining to God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people. For since He Himself was tempted in that which He has suffered, He is able to come to the aid of those who are tempted. (Hebrews 2:14 -3:1)
This leads to one of the more profound insights about our redemption. A bigger reply. The righteousness which required our punishment was the very same righteousness which took on our punishment and set us free. Your sinfulness is the tip and God is the iceberg. The Gospel is about how God overcame God.
A Few Takeaways
The Sheer Grandeur of God’s Love Comes Into View
God’s love for sinners overwhelms. Grace is the iceberg beneath the surface of the discussion of our salvation. You come to realize how immeasurably large God’s love towards us is. Moved by nothing but love, God satisfied the requirement of his righteousness. He moved heaven and earth to demonstrate the glory of His grace. What makes grace most amazing is not what it overcame in us, but what it overcame in God. Our real problem was not chiefly our sin. Our real problem as sinners was our God.
For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result of works, that no one should boast. (Ephesians 2:8-9)
By this the love of God was manifested in us, that God has sent His only begotten Son into the world so that we might live through Him. In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins. (1 John 4:9-10)
God’s Greatness Makes Salvation More & More Remarkable
Our reverence for salvation is commensurate with our understanding of the greatness of God. The greater He is in our minds (and Holy) the greater the accomplishment of the cross. Our response to salvation never loses its edge if God is transcendent and great in our hearts and minds.
We Get the Gospel Right(er)
It makes salvation less about reforming humanity and more about saving humanity. Men have found all kind of clever ways to minimize the dilemma of sin – morality, personal reformation, religion, etc. But, no one can dismiss the holy requirements of God. Not even God. The Gospel is about how God reconciles sinners to himself.
Evangelism Takes on a Greater Urgency
We aren’t trying to save people from an unhappy life, but God. God’s righteousness is fixed. We evangelize out of a sincere heart of compassion and love.
Is Recreational Marijuana Use a Sin?
Posted 12 years agoJoe Carter over at The Gospel Coalition tackles this subject with grace, intellect and a lot of thoughtful dialog. If you'd like to read this article over at TGC, follow this link. Otherwise, the entire article is copy-pasted here for your reading pleasure and spiritual building up.
Is Recreational Marijuana Use a Sin?
Last November, citizens of Colorado voted on Amendment 64, an amendment to their state's constitution that would allow the "personal use and regulation of marijuana" for adults 21 and over, as well as commercial cultivation, manufacture, and sale, effectively regulating cannabis in a manner similar to alcohol. The first stores selling marijuana for recreational use officially opened on January 1, 2014.
A marijuana leaf is displayed at Canna Pi medical marijuana dispensary in SeattleWhile the new legislation applies only to Colorado (Washington state passed a similar measure, though marijuana is still illegal in all other states and at the federal level), Americans across the nation are beginning to examine questions related to the use of marijuana. For Christians, one of the most pertinent questions is whether the recreational use of marijuana is sinful.
Although many Christians consider the answer to the question to be rather straightforward, it can be helpful to examine the reasoning process that allows us to determine how biblical principles can be applied to this issue.
What does the Bible say about marijuana?
Like abortion, nuclear weapons, and many other modern controversies, the Bible does not specifically mention marijuana. However, some defenders of marijuana do appeal to the Bible—indeed, to the very first chapter—to make their case:
And God said, "Behold, I have given you every plant yielding seed that is on the face of all the earth, and every tree with seed in its fruit. You shall have them for food. (Gen. 1:29)
Since marijuana is indeed a seed-bearing plant we can legitimately consider whether God gave it to us for "food." Before we do that, though, we should note how this claim undercuts the most popular form of recreational marijuana use: smoking. There are no other foods—even smoked salmon—that we consume by smoking them. So this defense can only apply to using marijuana that can be constituted as food and consumed in an edible.
Presumably, no one adds marijuana to brownies because it improves their flavor. The reason to add this particular plant to foodstuffs is because of its effect on senses other than taste. However, let's assume that someone really does enjoy and gain some nourishment from eating marijuana leaves. Would that be a sin?
Analogical Reasoning and the Bible
To provide an answer rooted in Scripture and Christian ethics we must use analogical reasoning. In his essay "The Place of Scripture in Christian Ethics," James Gustafson states the commonly accepted method of scriptural analogy:
Those actions of persons and groups are to be judged morally wrong which are similar to actions that are judged to be wrong or against God's will under similar circumstances in Scripture, or are discordant with actions judged to be right or in accord with God's will in Scripture.
While this may seem rather obvious, it raises the question of how we determine whether an action or circumstance is similar to an action judged to be wrong in Scripture. Legal scholar Cass Sunstein explains how we apply analogical reasoning:
This kind of thinking has a simple structure: (1) A has characteristic X; (2) B shares that characteristic; (3) A also has characteristic Y; (4) Because A and B share characteristic X, we conclude what is not yet known, that B shares characteristic Y as well.
Is there an analogical action that is judged to be wrong or against God's will that similar to the recreational use of marijuana? Indeed, there is a clear example that is mentioned frequently in the Bible: drunkenness. (At the end of this article are several scriptural references to drunkenness and sobriety.) Drunkenness in the Bible is the state of being intoxicated by alcohol.
A (Intoxication by alcohol ingestion) has characteristic X (produces a psychoactive affect, that is, affects brain function, resulting in alterations in perception, mood, consciousness, cognition, and behavior.)
B (Intoxication by marijuana ingestion) shares that characteristic;
Because A and B share characteristic X, we conclude what is not yet known, that B shares characteristic Y (is an action that is judged to be against God's will, i.e., is sinful).
Reasoning by analogy, we can determine that since it is sinful to become intoxicated by alcohol, it is sinful to become intoxicated by marijuana.
What Constitutes Intoxication?
The analogical argument against recreational marijuana use appears rather incontrovertible. However, the Bible prohibits drunkenness, it does not prohibit all uses of alcohol—even those for recreational purposes. A person can consume small quantities of alcohol without any intention of becoming intoxicated. Can a person consume small quantities of marijuana without any intention of becoming intoxicated?
To answer the question we must determine the average quantity of the drug—alcohol or marijuana—needed to produce the impaired state.
For alcohol, the unit of measure is the "standard drink," that is any drink that contains about 14 grams of pure alcohol (about 0.6 fluid ounces or 1.2 tablespoons). A standard drink is conventionally defined as the alcohol content of 12 ounces of 5 percent-alcohol beer or 5 ounces of 12 percent-alcohol wine or an ounce and half (a shot) of 40 percent-alcohol (80-proof) spirits (hard liquor). In most U.S. states, the legally defined level of intoxication typically occurs, depending on pacing, after four drinks for an average-sized woman or five for an average-sized man.
For marijuana, however, a much lower dosage is needed to induce a state of intoxication. Studies show that intoxication occurs at the ingestion of less than 7 mg of THC (the psychoactive ingredient in marijuana). That is approximately the equivalent to four puffs of a marijuana cigarette.
If the purpose of consuming the marijuana was for nourishment and taste, we would need to eat only an amount that would not cause the intoxicating effect - about 200 mg of marijuana leaves. In theory, then, it could be possible to ingest marijuana with no sinful intentions. But of course, in almost all cases, the recreational use of marijuana is done with the intention of achieving some level of intoxication. And if the intent of the recreational use of marijuana is to achieve some level of intoxication, then it is clearly a sinful motive and action.
A sampling of Bible verses related to drunkenness and sobriety:
Ephesians 5:18 -- "And do not get drunk with wine, for that is debauchery, but be filled with the Spirit, . . ."
Galatians 5:21 -- "Envy, drunkenness, orgies, and things like these. I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God."
1 Peter 5:8 -- "Be sober-minded; be watchful."
1 Corinthians 6:10 -- "Nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God."
Proverbs 23:20-21 -- "Be not among drunkards or among gluttonous eaters of meat, for the drunkard and the glutton will come to poverty, and slumber will clothe them with rags."
Proverbs 23:29-35 -- "Who has woe? Who has sorrow? Who has strife? Who has complaining? Who has wounds without cause? Who has redness of eyes? Those who tarry long over wine; those who go to try mixed wine. Do not look at wine when it is red, when it sparkles in the cup and goes down smoothly. In the end it bites like a serpent and stings like an adder. Your eyes will see strange things, and your heart utter perverse things."
Isaiah 5:11 -- "Woe to those who rise early in the morning, that they may run after strong drink, who tarry late into the evening as wine inflames them!"
Hosea 4:11 -- "Whoredom, wine, and new wine, which take away the understanding."
1 Corinthians 5:11 -- "But now I am writing to you not to associate with anyone who bears the name of brother if he is guilty of sexual immorality or greed, or is an idolater, reviler, drunkard, or swindler—not even to eat with such a one."
Isaiah 28:7 -- "These also reel with wine and stagger with strong drink; the priest and the prophet reel with strong drink, they are swallowed by wine, they stagger with strong drink, they reel in vision, they stumble in giving judgment."
Matthew 24:48-49 -- "But if that wicked servant says to himself, 'My master is delayed,' and begins to beat his fellow servants and eats and drinks with drunkards . . ."
Is Recreational Marijuana Use a Sin?
Last November, citizens of Colorado voted on Amendment 64, an amendment to their state's constitution that would allow the "personal use and regulation of marijuana" for adults 21 and over, as well as commercial cultivation, manufacture, and sale, effectively regulating cannabis in a manner similar to alcohol. The first stores selling marijuana for recreational use officially opened on January 1, 2014.
A marijuana leaf is displayed at Canna Pi medical marijuana dispensary in SeattleWhile the new legislation applies only to Colorado (Washington state passed a similar measure, though marijuana is still illegal in all other states and at the federal level), Americans across the nation are beginning to examine questions related to the use of marijuana. For Christians, one of the most pertinent questions is whether the recreational use of marijuana is sinful.
Although many Christians consider the answer to the question to be rather straightforward, it can be helpful to examine the reasoning process that allows us to determine how biblical principles can be applied to this issue.
What does the Bible say about marijuana?
Like abortion, nuclear weapons, and many other modern controversies, the Bible does not specifically mention marijuana. However, some defenders of marijuana do appeal to the Bible—indeed, to the very first chapter—to make their case:
And God said, "Behold, I have given you every plant yielding seed that is on the face of all the earth, and every tree with seed in its fruit. You shall have them for food. (Gen. 1:29)
Since marijuana is indeed a seed-bearing plant we can legitimately consider whether God gave it to us for "food." Before we do that, though, we should note how this claim undercuts the most popular form of recreational marijuana use: smoking. There are no other foods—even smoked salmon—that we consume by smoking them. So this defense can only apply to using marijuana that can be constituted as food and consumed in an edible.
Presumably, no one adds marijuana to brownies because it improves their flavor. The reason to add this particular plant to foodstuffs is because of its effect on senses other than taste. However, let's assume that someone really does enjoy and gain some nourishment from eating marijuana leaves. Would that be a sin?
Analogical Reasoning and the Bible
To provide an answer rooted in Scripture and Christian ethics we must use analogical reasoning. In his essay "The Place of Scripture in Christian Ethics," James Gustafson states the commonly accepted method of scriptural analogy:
Those actions of persons and groups are to be judged morally wrong which are similar to actions that are judged to be wrong or against God's will under similar circumstances in Scripture, or are discordant with actions judged to be right or in accord with God's will in Scripture.
While this may seem rather obvious, it raises the question of how we determine whether an action or circumstance is similar to an action judged to be wrong in Scripture. Legal scholar Cass Sunstein explains how we apply analogical reasoning:
This kind of thinking has a simple structure: (1) A has characteristic X; (2) B shares that characteristic; (3) A also has characteristic Y; (4) Because A and B share characteristic X, we conclude what is not yet known, that B shares characteristic Y as well.
Is there an analogical action that is judged to be wrong or against God's will that similar to the recreational use of marijuana? Indeed, there is a clear example that is mentioned frequently in the Bible: drunkenness. (At the end of this article are several scriptural references to drunkenness and sobriety.) Drunkenness in the Bible is the state of being intoxicated by alcohol.
A (Intoxication by alcohol ingestion) has characteristic X (produces a psychoactive affect, that is, affects brain function, resulting in alterations in perception, mood, consciousness, cognition, and behavior.)
B (Intoxication by marijuana ingestion) shares that characteristic;
Because A and B share characteristic X, we conclude what is not yet known, that B shares characteristic Y (is an action that is judged to be against God's will, i.e., is sinful).
Reasoning by analogy, we can determine that since it is sinful to become intoxicated by alcohol, it is sinful to become intoxicated by marijuana.
What Constitutes Intoxication?
The analogical argument against recreational marijuana use appears rather incontrovertible. However, the Bible prohibits drunkenness, it does not prohibit all uses of alcohol—even those for recreational purposes. A person can consume small quantities of alcohol without any intention of becoming intoxicated. Can a person consume small quantities of marijuana without any intention of becoming intoxicated?
To answer the question we must determine the average quantity of the drug—alcohol or marijuana—needed to produce the impaired state.
For alcohol, the unit of measure is the "standard drink," that is any drink that contains about 14 grams of pure alcohol (about 0.6 fluid ounces or 1.2 tablespoons). A standard drink is conventionally defined as the alcohol content of 12 ounces of 5 percent-alcohol beer or 5 ounces of 12 percent-alcohol wine or an ounce and half (a shot) of 40 percent-alcohol (80-proof) spirits (hard liquor). In most U.S. states, the legally defined level of intoxication typically occurs, depending on pacing, after four drinks for an average-sized woman or five for an average-sized man.
For marijuana, however, a much lower dosage is needed to induce a state of intoxication. Studies show that intoxication occurs at the ingestion of less than 7 mg of THC (the psychoactive ingredient in marijuana). That is approximately the equivalent to four puffs of a marijuana cigarette.
If the purpose of consuming the marijuana was for nourishment and taste, we would need to eat only an amount that would not cause the intoxicating effect - about 200 mg of marijuana leaves. In theory, then, it could be possible to ingest marijuana with no sinful intentions. But of course, in almost all cases, the recreational use of marijuana is done with the intention of achieving some level of intoxication. And if the intent of the recreational use of marijuana is to achieve some level of intoxication, then it is clearly a sinful motive and action.
A sampling of Bible verses related to drunkenness and sobriety:
Ephesians 5:18 -- "And do not get drunk with wine, for that is debauchery, but be filled with the Spirit, . . ."
Galatians 5:21 -- "Envy, drunkenness, orgies, and things like these. I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God."
1 Peter 5:8 -- "Be sober-minded; be watchful."
1 Corinthians 6:10 -- "Nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God."
Proverbs 23:20-21 -- "Be not among drunkards or among gluttonous eaters of meat, for the drunkard and the glutton will come to poverty, and slumber will clothe them with rags."
Proverbs 23:29-35 -- "Who has woe? Who has sorrow? Who has strife? Who has complaining? Who has wounds without cause? Who has redness of eyes? Those who tarry long over wine; those who go to try mixed wine. Do not look at wine when it is red, when it sparkles in the cup and goes down smoothly. In the end it bites like a serpent and stings like an adder. Your eyes will see strange things, and your heart utter perverse things."
Isaiah 5:11 -- "Woe to those who rise early in the morning, that they may run after strong drink, who tarry late into the evening as wine inflames them!"
Hosea 4:11 -- "Whoredom, wine, and new wine, which take away the understanding."
1 Corinthians 5:11 -- "But now I am writing to you not to associate with anyone who bears the name of brother if he is guilty of sexual immorality or greed, or is an idolater, reviler, drunkard, or swindler—not even to eat with such a one."
Isaiah 28:7 -- "These also reel with wine and stagger with strong drink; the priest and the prophet reel with strong drink, they are swallowed by wine, they stagger with strong drink, they reel in vision, they stumble in giving judgment."
Matthew 24:48-49 -- "But if that wicked servant says to himself, 'My master is delayed,' and begins to beat his fellow servants and eats and drinks with drunkards . . ."
All I Have Is Christ
Posted 12 years ago"All I Have Is Christ" by Jordan Kauflin. Sung by Devon Kauflin.
Your Most Courageous Resolution for 2014
Posted 12 years agoby Jon Bloom of Desiring God Ministries
http://www.desiringgod.org/blog/pos.....ution-for-2014
Pursue love. (1 Corinthians 14:1)
Resolutions are good things. They’re biblical: “may [God] fulfill every resolve for good” (2 Thessalonians 1:11). And I think developing New Year’s resolutions is a very good idea. A year is a defined timeframe long enough to make progress on difficult things and short enough to provide some incentive to keep moving.
A resolve is not a vague intention, like “one of these days I’m going to get that garage cleaned” or “I’m going to read the Bible through this year,” but without any clear plan to do it. Resolves are intentions with strategies attached to them. You don’t just hope something is going to happen; you are planning to make it happen. To be resolved is to be determined.
Make Love Your Aim
But resolves can either be rooted in our selfish ambitions or in the love of God. We must think them through carefully. So as we make our resolutions for 2014, God wants them to all serve this one great end: “pursue love” (1 Corinthians 14:1).
“Pursue” is a very purposeful word. The Greek verb has an intensity to it. It means to “seek after eagerly,” like a runner in a race seeks eagerly to win a prize.
The RSV’s translation of this phrase is clearer: “Make love your aim.” It has a sense of single-minded focus to it. The NIV falls short: “Follow the way of love.” It has no edge to it. It sounds like a platitude that the most polite company could smile and nod to without feeling unnerved. It does not capture Paul’s intensity.
No, this is an aggressive verb. In fact, it can mean to “pursue with hostile intent.” That’s why in the New Testament, it is frequently used to mean persecuting or harassing someone.
That sounds like Paul, the former persecutor who became the persecuted. What he is saying to us is that we should pursue love with no less fervency and determination that he once pursued Christians to Damascus — only our aim is not to stop love, but to unleash it and be captured by it, or, I should say, by Him (1 John 4:8).
Plan to Make Love Your Aim
Let this be the year that we pursue love. Let this be the year that we stop talking about love, that we do less regretful moaning about how little we love and how much we need to grow in love and actually be determined to love more the way Jesus loved (John 15:12). Let this be the year we actually put into place some strategies to help us love.
Each person’s situation is so unique that we can’t craft strategies for each other to grow in love. It’s something that we must each do with God, though some feedback and counsel from those who know us best are helpful.
But here are some of the Bible’s great love texts to soak in during 2014 that can help loving strategies emerge:
* 1 Corinthians 13: soak in or memorize it and let each “love is . . .” statement in verses 4–7 search your heart. With whom can you show greater patience, kindness, and more?
* John chapters 13–15: soak in or memorize them. Ninety-five verses are very doable. You can memorize them in 3–6 months and be transformed.
* The First Epistle of John: Soak in or memorize it. You can do it! Forcing yourself to say the verses over and over will yield insights you’ve never seen before.
* Take 2–4 weeks and simply meditate on the two greatest commandments according to Jesus (Matthew 22, Mark 12, Luke 10). Look and look at them and pray and pray over them. You will be surprised at what the Lord shows you.
* Read Hebrews 13:1–7, take one verse per day and prayerfully meditate on what you might put into place to grow in each area of loving obedience. It may be one thing or ten things.
You get the idea. We don’t need all our strategies in place by January 1st. But we can make 2014 a year where we pursue love with more intentionality than we ever have before. And as we meditate, letting the word of Christ dwell in us richly (Colossians 3:16), the Holy Spirit will guide us in creating the strategies we should use.
The Most Courageous Resolution
But let’s also be clear: making love our aim in 2014 will demand more courage and faith than any other resolution we can make. Nothing exposes the depth of our sin like really seeking to love God with our entire being and loving our neighbors as ourselves (Luke 10:27).
So we must let our pursuit of love drive us to the gospel. None of us has ever perfectly kept either of the two great commandments. Ever. Our very best efforts have been polluted by our prideful sin. And we have rarely been at our very best.
We can only love because God first loved us (1 John 4:19) and sent his Son to become sin for us so that we could become the righteousness of God in him (2 Corinthians 5:21). Christ has kept the greatest commandments (and the rest) perfectly for us! So we are forgiven of our constant failure to love as we ought and are given grace to grow in the grace of love. And because of Jesus, someday we will love perfectly just as we have been loved.
So let’s make our resolution to pursue love this year more than we ever have, knowing that we have been loved with an everlasting love (Psalm 103:17).
http://www.desiringgod.org/blog/pos.....ution-for-2014
Pursue love. (1 Corinthians 14:1)
Resolutions are good things. They’re biblical: “may [God] fulfill every resolve for good” (2 Thessalonians 1:11). And I think developing New Year’s resolutions is a very good idea. A year is a defined timeframe long enough to make progress on difficult things and short enough to provide some incentive to keep moving.
A resolve is not a vague intention, like “one of these days I’m going to get that garage cleaned” or “I’m going to read the Bible through this year,” but without any clear plan to do it. Resolves are intentions with strategies attached to them. You don’t just hope something is going to happen; you are planning to make it happen. To be resolved is to be determined.
Make Love Your Aim
But resolves can either be rooted in our selfish ambitions or in the love of God. We must think them through carefully. So as we make our resolutions for 2014, God wants them to all serve this one great end: “pursue love” (1 Corinthians 14:1).
“Pursue” is a very purposeful word. The Greek verb has an intensity to it. It means to “seek after eagerly,” like a runner in a race seeks eagerly to win a prize.
The RSV’s translation of this phrase is clearer: “Make love your aim.” It has a sense of single-minded focus to it. The NIV falls short: “Follow the way of love.” It has no edge to it. It sounds like a platitude that the most polite company could smile and nod to without feeling unnerved. It does not capture Paul’s intensity.
No, this is an aggressive verb. In fact, it can mean to “pursue with hostile intent.” That’s why in the New Testament, it is frequently used to mean persecuting or harassing someone.
That sounds like Paul, the former persecutor who became the persecuted. What he is saying to us is that we should pursue love with no less fervency and determination that he once pursued Christians to Damascus — only our aim is not to stop love, but to unleash it and be captured by it, or, I should say, by Him (1 John 4:8).
Plan to Make Love Your Aim
Let this be the year that we pursue love. Let this be the year that we stop talking about love, that we do less regretful moaning about how little we love and how much we need to grow in love and actually be determined to love more the way Jesus loved (John 15:12). Let this be the year we actually put into place some strategies to help us love.
Each person’s situation is so unique that we can’t craft strategies for each other to grow in love. It’s something that we must each do with God, though some feedback and counsel from those who know us best are helpful.
But here are some of the Bible’s great love texts to soak in during 2014 that can help loving strategies emerge:
* 1 Corinthians 13: soak in or memorize it and let each “love is . . .” statement in verses 4–7 search your heart. With whom can you show greater patience, kindness, and more?
* John chapters 13–15: soak in or memorize them. Ninety-five verses are very doable. You can memorize them in 3–6 months and be transformed.
* The First Epistle of John: Soak in or memorize it. You can do it! Forcing yourself to say the verses over and over will yield insights you’ve never seen before.
* Take 2–4 weeks and simply meditate on the two greatest commandments according to Jesus (Matthew 22, Mark 12, Luke 10). Look and look at them and pray and pray over them. You will be surprised at what the Lord shows you.
* Read Hebrews 13:1–7, take one verse per day and prayerfully meditate on what you might put into place to grow in each area of loving obedience. It may be one thing or ten things.
You get the idea. We don’t need all our strategies in place by January 1st. But we can make 2014 a year where we pursue love with more intentionality than we ever have before. And as we meditate, letting the word of Christ dwell in us richly (Colossians 3:16), the Holy Spirit will guide us in creating the strategies we should use.
The Most Courageous Resolution
But let’s also be clear: making love our aim in 2014 will demand more courage and faith than any other resolution we can make. Nothing exposes the depth of our sin like really seeking to love God with our entire being and loving our neighbors as ourselves (Luke 10:27).
So we must let our pursuit of love drive us to the gospel. None of us has ever perfectly kept either of the two great commandments. Ever. Our very best efforts have been polluted by our prideful sin. And we have rarely been at our very best.
We can only love because God first loved us (1 John 4:19) and sent his Son to become sin for us so that we could become the righteousness of God in him (2 Corinthians 5:21). Christ has kept the greatest commandments (and the rest) perfectly for us! So we are forgiven of our constant failure to love as we ought and are given grace to grow in the grace of love. And because of Jesus, someday we will love perfectly just as we have been loved.
So let’s make our resolution to pursue love this year more than we ever have, knowing that we have been loved with an everlasting love (Psalm 103:17).
Merry Christmas!
Posted 12 years ago"For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace." Isaiah 9:6 NIV
In those days Caesar Augustus issued a decree that a census should be taken of the entire Roman world. (This was the first census that took place while Quirinius was governor of Syria.) And everyone went to their own town to register.
So Joseph also went up from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to Bethlehem the town of David, because he belonged to the house and line of David. He went there to register with Mary, who was pledged to be married to him and was expecting a child. While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born, and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no guest room available for them.
And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord. This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.”
Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying,
“Glory to God in the highest heaven,
and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests.”
When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let’s go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about.”
So they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby, who was lying in the manger. When they had seen him, they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child, and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them. But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart. The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things they had heard and seen, which were just as they had been told. Luke 2.1-20
In those days Caesar Augustus issued a decree that a census should be taken of the entire Roman world. (This was the first census that took place while Quirinius was governor of Syria.) And everyone went to their own town to register.
So Joseph also went up from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to Bethlehem the town of David, because he belonged to the house and line of David. He went there to register with Mary, who was pledged to be married to him and was expecting a child. While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born, and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no guest room available for them.
And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord. This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.”
Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying,
“Glory to God in the highest heaven,
and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests.”
When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let’s go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about.”
So they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby, who was lying in the manger. When they had seen him, they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child, and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them. But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart. The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things they had heard and seen, which were just as they had been told. Luke 2.1-20
Advent - The Christmas Season - Hope
Posted 12 years agoI know this is a little late, and so I'm having to double up somewhat this week, but I hope you enjoy.
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First Sunday of Advent - Hope
God's People, from the beginning have always been folks who remember. Of course, this is the basis of faith, looking back at what God has done, seeing how faithful and trustworthy he is, and using that renewed, or newly found, confidence, we believe Him when he makes promises to us.
You can't truly understand the gift of life and salvation that Christ has given you without an understanding of who God is and what He's done.
That's why, when Christianity was still in its earlier years, the shepherd and leaders that God placed to lead and guide the others saw it fit to divide the church year into sections of remembrance. This way there would always been an occasion to look forward to some new facet of God's faithfulness, or look back at some fulfilment of this same faithfulness. And in doing these, we would be motivated and encouraged to greater love, faithfulness and virtue ourselves.
The time of year surrounding the birth of our Lord Jesus is one of these sections, and it's during this time that we take our own time out to marvel at God's gift of his Son for us. The mystery of the Incarnation, the readily evident love of God for us, the grace that He's poured out on a world thoroughly undeserving is something that makes this time of year special in our minds.
The Christmas season, or Advent (which means "coming" or "arrival"), is marked by having each weekend in December leading up to Christmas represent some joy or some gift that God has given to us.
The first week of Advent we celebrate Hope.
Now the modern concept of hope is a far cry from what the Ancients or even those a few centuries past, thought of hope. Hope for us, is something like a dubious expectation of the future, full of uncertainty. As anyone from the Bible though, and they'd let you know that hope is something full of certainty, full of confident, faithful expection that the one who made the promise will fulfill it.
The hope that we have in Christ is nothing less than our faith that He has come into the world to save his people.
In the past, God gave us his first promise of a savior apparently moments after our First Parents were found out. From there, God seemed to be adding more and more to the promise, through Noah, through Abraham and the patriarchs, through King David and his lineage. Even to the Exiles he added to this promise.
But God wasn't just blowing smoke. You'll see that in each and every circumstance, he was providing for, taking care of and completely being there for His people in the meantime. He gave his people reason to trust him, long before making promises to them.
This is Advent, a season of a promised hope and of a realized hope. Let's took to Jesus, our true Hope, not just for the blessings that he has promised, but let's look to Him for giving us and promising us the best most lasting Gift of All, Himself.
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First Sunday of Advent - Hope
God's People, from the beginning have always been folks who remember. Of course, this is the basis of faith, looking back at what God has done, seeing how faithful and trustworthy he is, and using that renewed, or newly found, confidence, we believe Him when he makes promises to us.
You can't truly understand the gift of life and salvation that Christ has given you without an understanding of who God is and what He's done.
That's why, when Christianity was still in its earlier years, the shepherd and leaders that God placed to lead and guide the others saw it fit to divide the church year into sections of remembrance. This way there would always been an occasion to look forward to some new facet of God's faithfulness, or look back at some fulfilment of this same faithfulness. And in doing these, we would be motivated and encouraged to greater love, faithfulness and virtue ourselves.
The time of year surrounding the birth of our Lord Jesus is one of these sections, and it's during this time that we take our own time out to marvel at God's gift of his Son for us. The mystery of the Incarnation, the readily evident love of God for us, the grace that He's poured out on a world thoroughly undeserving is something that makes this time of year special in our minds.
The Christmas season, or Advent (which means "coming" or "arrival"), is marked by having each weekend in December leading up to Christmas represent some joy or some gift that God has given to us.
The first week of Advent we celebrate Hope.
Now the modern concept of hope is a far cry from what the Ancients or even those a few centuries past, thought of hope. Hope for us, is something like a dubious expectation of the future, full of uncertainty. As anyone from the Bible though, and they'd let you know that hope is something full of certainty, full of confident, faithful expection that the one who made the promise will fulfill it.
The hope that we have in Christ is nothing less than our faith that He has come into the world to save his people.
In the past, God gave us his first promise of a savior apparently moments after our First Parents were found out. From there, God seemed to be adding more and more to the promise, through Noah, through Abraham and the patriarchs, through King David and his lineage. Even to the Exiles he added to this promise.
But God wasn't just blowing smoke. You'll see that in each and every circumstance, he was providing for, taking care of and completely being there for His people in the meantime. He gave his people reason to trust him, long before making promises to them.
This is Advent, a season of a promised hope and of a realized hope. Let's took to Jesus, our true Hope, not just for the blessings that he has promised, but let's look to Him for giving us and promising us the best most lasting Gift of All, Himself.
Happy Thanksgiving! What are you thankful for?
Posted 12 years agoThanksgiving is one of those staunchly American holidays, where we come together with friends, family and loved ones, enjoying good food and good company, thankful for the blessings that we've been given.
But thankful to whom?
Perhaps because this is an American holiday, and we Americans are known for our independence and love of autonomy, many people are subtly, perhaps unconsciously patting themselves on the back, thankful for their own ingenuity or resourcefulness, grateful to their own determination and hard work in making their lives as bountiful as they are.
Or perhaps people are thankful to the government for providing the infrastructure and institutions that keep our society running smoothly and with few real disruptions to our cultural sense of security.
But to the Christian, Thanksgiving Day is (or at least should) have a deeper, significance. We show our gratitude to our Lord and Savior, to our God and King, Jesus Christ, the Eternal Son of God.
The Scriptures make it clear what sort of problem we're actually looking at here.
People are sinners. That means more than just the drunk-druggie-alcoholic triangle of substance abuse. That means more than the condemning pharisee or the loose-living pervert.
In fact, we were so deep in our plight, that we couldn't even see it as a plight, so rebellious, that our rebellion seemed as plain and as proper as breathing. So even though God in his love and grace provided us rebels a beautiful world to live in, with the blessings of a common goodness that touches all things, we would rather ignore him than be grateful. In fact, one of the biggest condemnations of all Sin in the Bible starts out with a very simple phrase:
For although they knew God, they neither glorified him as God nor gave thanks to Him...
Romans 1.21a
From that seemingly innocuous start, Jesus (through Paul) lists a compounding snowball of sinful actions, behaviors and attitudes that get worse and more intense as the list goes on. But it all starts with ingratitude.
That's the root of all sin.
Adam and Eve could have given thanks to God for the entire Garden of Eden, but instead they snubbed his glory and wanted the one thing they weren't given.
Being a sinner means, ultimately, that we refuse and we neglect to glorify God and give Him our thanks. When we think we know better than God, we refuse and neglect to give him thanks.
The self-righteous religious person forgets God's commands and instructions to genuinely love others. He refuses to thank God.
The soccer mom who's a good moral person may look to the gifts of her family and her children for happiness and fulfilment rather than the Gift Giver.
The druggie who is looking for his next fix is more thankful for the immediate relief and escape rather that thankful to the God who calls him to simply and actively trust Him.
The liberal Christian feels that God can only act in ways that bring immediate human comfort and pleasure. He refuses to thank a transcendent God who's vastly more involved and loving than to always make sense.
We often just take so many things in this world for granted. Our health, our food. The stability of our civic life. Our education or even our capacity to learn.
None of these things, and a whole lot more besides, are ours by right or by privilege, but are graciously given by our loving God in heaven. The Eternal God is not bound by any external duty, especially not to folks who would rather see Him dead by their hands. But he gives and gives to us, out of the infinite resources of His love. And while it's not His sole or prime concern, God really does want to see the flourishing of humanity.
And that's why God gave us His Son, to live the perfect life, to die in our place, and to be raised again as a promise to us. This gift of Jesus is the greatest gift that God's given to us, and the one where our gratitude, or ingratitude, demonstrates where our hearts lie: either with God in repentance and faith, or against God in sinning rebellion.
God invites you even know, turn from your sins, and turn to Jesus. Thank him for his gift of salvation-rescue and glorify Him with your life of faith.
This thanksgiving, don't forget to enjoy yourself and let your heart turn toward God with every bite, every bit of good conversation and every moment spent with loved ones.
But thankful to whom?
Perhaps because this is an American holiday, and we Americans are known for our independence and love of autonomy, many people are subtly, perhaps unconsciously patting themselves on the back, thankful for their own ingenuity or resourcefulness, grateful to their own determination and hard work in making their lives as bountiful as they are.
Or perhaps people are thankful to the government for providing the infrastructure and institutions that keep our society running smoothly and with few real disruptions to our cultural sense of security.
But to the Christian, Thanksgiving Day is (or at least should) have a deeper, significance. We show our gratitude to our Lord and Savior, to our God and King, Jesus Christ, the Eternal Son of God.
The Scriptures make it clear what sort of problem we're actually looking at here.
People are sinners. That means more than just the drunk-druggie-alcoholic triangle of substance abuse. That means more than the condemning pharisee or the loose-living pervert.
In fact, we were so deep in our plight, that we couldn't even see it as a plight, so rebellious, that our rebellion seemed as plain and as proper as breathing. So even though God in his love and grace provided us rebels a beautiful world to live in, with the blessings of a common goodness that touches all things, we would rather ignore him than be grateful. In fact, one of the biggest condemnations of all Sin in the Bible starts out with a very simple phrase:
For although they knew God, they neither glorified him as God nor gave thanks to Him...
Romans 1.21a
From that seemingly innocuous start, Jesus (through Paul) lists a compounding snowball of sinful actions, behaviors and attitudes that get worse and more intense as the list goes on. But it all starts with ingratitude.
That's the root of all sin.
Adam and Eve could have given thanks to God for the entire Garden of Eden, but instead they snubbed his glory and wanted the one thing they weren't given.
Being a sinner means, ultimately, that we refuse and we neglect to glorify God and give Him our thanks. When we think we know better than God, we refuse and neglect to give him thanks.
The self-righteous religious person forgets God's commands and instructions to genuinely love others. He refuses to thank God.
The soccer mom who's a good moral person may look to the gifts of her family and her children for happiness and fulfilment rather than the Gift Giver.
The druggie who is looking for his next fix is more thankful for the immediate relief and escape rather that thankful to the God who calls him to simply and actively trust Him.
The liberal Christian feels that God can only act in ways that bring immediate human comfort and pleasure. He refuses to thank a transcendent God who's vastly more involved and loving than to always make sense.
We often just take so many things in this world for granted. Our health, our food. The stability of our civic life. Our education or even our capacity to learn.
None of these things, and a whole lot more besides, are ours by right or by privilege, but are graciously given by our loving God in heaven. The Eternal God is not bound by any external duty, especially not to folks who would rather see Him dead by their hands. But he gives and gives to us, out of the infinite resources of His love. And while it's not His sole or prime concern, God really does want to see the flourishing of humanity.
And that's why God gave us His Son, to live the perfect life, to die in our place, and to be raised again as a promise to us. This gift of Jesus is the greatest gift that God's given to us, and the one where our gratitude, or ingratitude, demonstrates where our hearts lie: either with God in repentance and faith, or against God in sinning rebellion.
God invites you even know, turn from your sins, and turn to Jesus. Thank him for his gift of salvation-rescue and glorify Him with your life of faith.
This thanksgiving, don't forget to enjoy yourself and let your heart turn toward God with every bite, every bit of good conversation and every moment spent with loved ones.
Happy Reformation Day!
Posted 12 years agoToday is the day we celebrate (or at the very least observe) what people consider the start of the second major division to occur in the organized Christian faith, the Reformation. October 31st is when Martin Luther nailed his 95 theses to the door of Wittenburg Chapel. This was pretty much how people made "blog posts" back then. If they wanted something to be read, understood and acted on, they'd write them down and post them somewhere relatively public.
To be historically honest, the Holy Spirit started stirring God's people to re-examine themselves, their corporate faith and the traditions that had built up centuries before with the testimonies and lives of priests and monks like John Hoss and Girolamo Savonarola, and merchants and philosophers like Peter Waldo and John Wycliffe.
Martin Luther himself was great man, but did have his flaws and missteps. He was a rough German, possessed legendary flatulence, a gruff lawyer, and not known to be all that gentle. Not everything borne out of the Reformation was immediately positive either. But with his re-discovery of justification by grace through faith, and his own love of God's Law, he set the stage for a massive public reawakening of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. It's the good news that even though we are enemies of God and have willfully cut ourselves off from him, God himself did everything necessary to remove that hostility between us and him. The life, death and resurrection of Jesus, and becoming joined to Him in faith is all that God requires so that we can be fully accepted by him. Our good works may be necessary and meaningful, but they don't determine our eternal fate or our standing with God.
So ultimately, a celebration of the Reformation is a celebration of our Lord Jesus, a festival of love and of learning more about Him and His ways, with our eyes opened by his grace to see his grace.
To be historically honest, the Holy Spirit started stirring God's people to re-examine themselves, their corporate faith and the traditions that had built up centuries before with the testimonies and lives of priests and monks like John Hoss and Girolamo Savonarola, and merchants and philosophers like Peter Waldo and John Wycliffe.
Martin Luther himself was great man, but did have his flaws and missteps. He was a rough German, possessed legendary flatulence, a gruff lawyer, and not known to be all that gentle. Not everything borne out of the Reformation was immediately positive either. But with his re-discovery of justification by grace through faith, and his own love of God's Law, he set the stage for a massive public reawakening of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. It's the good news that even though we are enemies of God and have willfully cut ourselves off from him, God himself did everything necessary to remove that hostility between us and him. The life, death and resurrection of Jesus, and becoming joined to Him in faith is all that God requires so that we can be fully accepted by him. Our good works may be necessary and meaningful, but they don't determine our eternal fate or our standing with God.
So ultimately, a celebration of the Reformation is a celebration of our Lord Jesus, a festival of love and of learning more about Him and His ways, with our eyes opened by his grace to see his grace.
Big Announcement!
Posted 12 years agoDid you know that in the past CFF had a service on Saturdays, something like a mini-church service. Music, fellowship and most importantly, the Gospel of Jesus offered to everyone who attended, all through the text-based simplicity of IRC.
Because of difficulties between people, and the encroachment of "real life," it's been some time since we had a real Saturday service. But the hiatus is about to come to close, because I'm proud to announce that we are starting them back up Saturday, November 2nd. Spread the word, and then come on down to our IRC channel on foxnet in about two weeks.
We're still looking for some extra hands to volunteer in setting a few things up for then, so send us an FA note if you feel you can lend your skills to the Lord's work here in the fandom.
Everyone is welcome, so we hope to see you there!
Because of difficulties between people, and the encroachment of "real life," it's been some time since we had a real Saturday service. But the hiatus is about to come to close, because I'm proud to announce that we are starting them back up Saturday, November 2nd. Spread the word, and then come on down to our IRC channel on foxnet in about two weeks.
We're still looking for some extra hands to volunteer in setting a few things up for then, so send us an FA note if you feel you can lend your skills to the Lord's work here in the fandom.
Everyone is welcome, so we hope to see you there!
These are Written...
Posted 12 years agoWe were given the Scriptures not so we can have some inspiring stories to whip up moral fortitude and virtue within our hearts; but by knowing who Jesus is, and what He's done, His Person and character, we can look to Him in faith, believe Him and receive eternal life and joy from Him.
Being vulnerable: Fears
Posted 12 years ago judetherat here, I hope you'll indulge a page from my spiritual journal tonight.My main spiritual problem right now is that I don't believe that Jesus is good.
Yes, I know he's good, and I know that everything He does and allows in our lives is out of His loving care and passion to see His people happy in His holiness.
But for me, somewhere along the line, I lost that sense of God's being there for me, that his goodness extends even to my circumstances.
As a result I've become afraid of almost everything to some regard, unable to take real risks (since that would involve confidence and trust and faith). In addition, I've developed green eyes of jealousy, since there's nothing more delicious to a coveting heart than comparing one situation with another and complaining about the contrast.
Without realizing it, my entire life has been turned into a collection of fearful exercises.
I'm afraid of talking with people, in general. I'm afraid of making mistakes and taking risks. I'm afraid that I don't measure up to the Lord standards, or that I'm not truly sincere in my faith and therefore not saved at all.
I've always been afraid of dying alone and forgotten, but I'm afraid of connecting with an honest, genuine intimacy (because I'm apparently prone to "falling in love" which I've been told I'm scared of) I'm afraid that I'm codependent, but I'm also afraid of being independent. I'm scared of being laughed at or pitied. I'm scared of being repulsive.
I'm afraid that I've ruined my life so spectacularly that I can never recover. But oddly, I'm scared of success too. I'm afraid of not being good enough to deserve the friends and community that I long for.
I'm scared of my parents, that through all their manly mistakes and failures in raising me and my siblings, will be granted an open door to heavenly bliss while I'm locked out because I'm not doing one or two things perfectly right. I'm scared they'd put me out on the street. I'm scared of being a coward.
I fear that with all these fears and lack of faith I'm disqualified from serving the Lord in full time ministry like I've been trying to work towards.
And with all these mounting fears God has quietly and subtly set me down besides Joshua 1, or maybe the One True Joshua, if we go by typology and later symbolism.
No less than four times does the Lord remind his new champion for Israel to be "strong and courageous. Don't be afraid!"
"Be strong and courageous, because you will lead..." Joshua 1.6
"Be strong and courageous. Be careful to obey..." Joshua 1.7
"Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go." Joshua 1.9
"...Be strong and courageous!" Joshua 1.18
It feels something like running into a spiritual brick wall or being punched in the gut, really. Here I am either running around like a chicken with its head cut off, or like an old tired dog flopping down on the side of the road, resigning himself to death, and God is saying, "Don't be afraid." It's scary in a way - here I go resorting to fear again - because God very clearly says that it's a command, it's something that I, as one of His people, am obliged to follow. So being timid and fearful of everything isn't just unattractive, it's downright rebellious against God, too. Why would I do that?
But the other thing that really made me see that God was sitting me down and giving me a Grace Smack, was His words in verse 5:
"As I was with Moses, so I will be with you; I will never leave you nor forsake you."
Now anyone who's been a follower of Jesus for an extended period of time knows exactly what that sounds like. Even though the only instance I can find of "never leave you or forsake you" in the New Testament was in Hebrews 13, and even then it was quoting the parallel in Deuteronomy 31. But I suppose that only makes the impact stronger.
The so-called "vengeful," "mean" God of the Old Testament is making the singular tender promise that we often hear misquoted as being part of Jesus's message in the Gospels. (Not that it makes it any less true of Jesus.)
There's nothing that inspires a person to bravery or valor more than that subtle hand squeeze or that quiet whisper to let the loved one know that he's not alone. This is one such "hand squeeze" (and it's even the first mentioned in the Bible), and there are numerous numerous other times too.
Can you really think of anything else that might encourage those of us who are counted among His Friends? God takes your hand in His, even squeezing it slightly, looks you in the eyes, and smiling beckons you to join Him.
I guess I look at everything I'm scared of an see that this fear is a waste. It doesn't make it all disappear at once, of course. I still have to deal with that deeper problem of not being confident in God at all, and failing to believe what He says, before this problem resolves itself, but I think I'm at a good starting place.
Learning from a Lesbian Visitor to Your Church
Posted 12 years agoFrom Trevin Wax - original found here.
A few weeks ago, I had lunch with a church planter from New England. On a regular basis, people call the church and ask him if they are “welcoming.” He told me the conversation usually goes like this:
Pastor: We welcome everyone to join us in worship.
Caller: Are you welcoming to gays and lesbians?
Pastor: Yes, anyone and everyone is welcome.
Caller: What I mean is, are you welcoming and affirming? I’m a lesbian and I want to know if I will be expected to change in order to come to your church.
Pastor: Anyone is welcome to come to our church. But when we meet Jesus—really experience him—we change. No one gets an opt-out of that. No one comes to Jesus and gets to stay the same.
Caller: Would I have to change my sexuality?
Pastor: Jesus is in the business of changing everything about us – our sexuality, our relationship to others, our money, our desires, and just about any aspect you can think of. So yes, coming to Jesus means change – not just for you, but for all of us.
Caller: Well, then this church isn’t for me.
My friend said the conversation is usually over once the caller realizes the church holds to traditional teaching regarding sexuality. He told me he always shakes his head and thinks, Who do we think we are, that we can come to God and tell Him what we will and will not change?
You and I are like the lesbian caller.
Thinking about that phone call and the demands that were made before she would come to church led me to reflect on the nature of repentance and the ways – even if we don’t want to admit it – we are all like the lesbian caller. We want to be affirmed as we are.
If I join your church, will I be expected to change my prejudice and bigotry toward those of different races? I want a church where people look and think like me.
If I join your church, will I be expected to change my living arrangements? I know cohabitation isn’t best, but I don’t want the church prying into my personal life.
If I join your church, will I be expected to reach out to lost people with the gospel? I don’t want a church that’s always harping on evangelism.
If I join your church, will I be expected to give generously? I don’t want a church that talks about money too much.
If I join your church, will I be expected to serve? I’ve got a lot going on, and aside from a few hours a week, my schedule is off limits.
The list could go on. At the heart of this conversation is repentance. Can I come to Jesus on my own terms? Or will I have to change?
So many of us think of the lesbian caller and unknowingly respond like the Pharisee going to the temple to pray: “I thank you, God, that I’m not like that.” Meanwhile, we cling tenaciously to the sinful attitudes and actions that characterize our lives. And then we go home unjustified… and unchanged.
A few weeks ago, I had lunch with a church planter from New England. On a regular basis, people call the church and ask him if they are “welcoming.” He told me the conversation usually goes like this:
Pastor: We welcome everyone to join us in worship.
Caller: Are you welcoming to gays and lesbians?
Pastor: Yes, anyone and everyone is welcome.
Caller: What I mean is, are you welcoming and affirming? I’m a lesbian and I want to know if I will be expected to change in order to come to your church.
Pastor: Anyone is welcome to come to our church. But when we meet Jesus—really experience him—we change. No one gets an opt-out of that. No one comes to Jesus and gets to stay the same.
Caller: Would I have to change my sexuality?
Pastor: Jesus is in the business of changing everything about us – our sexuality, our relationship to others, our money, our desires, and just about any aspect you can think of. So yes, coming to Jesus means change – not just for you, but for all of us.
Caller: Well, then this church isn’t for me.
My friend said the conversation is usually over once the caller realizes the church holds to traditional teaching regarding sexuality. He told me he always shakes his head and thinks, Who do we think we are, that we can come to God and tell Him what we will and will not change?
You and I are like the lesbian caller.
Thinking about that phone call and the demands that were made before she would come to church led me to reflect on the nature of repentance and the ways – even if we don’t want to admit it – we are all like the lesbian caller. We want to be affirmed as we are.
If I join your church, will I be expected to change my prejudice and bigotry toward those of different races? I want a church where people look and think like me.
If I join your church, will I be expected to change my living arrangements? I know cohabitation isn’t best, but I don’t want the church prying into my personal life.
If I join your church, will I be expected to reach out to lost people with the gospel? I don’t want a church that’s always harping on evangelism.
If I join your church, will I be expected to give generously? I don’t want a church that talks about money too much.
If I join your church, will I be expected to serve? I’ve got a lot going on, and aside from a few hours a week, my schedule is off limits.
The list could go on. At the heart of this conversation is repentance. Can I come to Jesus on my own terms? Or will I have to change?
So many of us think of the lesbian caller and unknowingly respond like the Pharisee going to the temple to pray: “I thank you, God, that I’m not like that.” Meanwhile, we cling tenaciously to the sinful attitudes and actions that characterize our lives. And then we go home unjustified… and unchanged.
Can I Tell You About My Friend Jesus?
Posted 12 years agoFrom Jared Wilson of the Gospel Coalition
http://thegospelcoalition.org/blogs.....-friend-jesus/
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A while back I began a series of tweets over several days reflecting on my friendship with Jesus. The response was heartwarming, as many seemed to indicate they found the updates helpful and encouraging. Somebody suggested I write a book on the subject, but I hope you will settle for a blog post. Here are the tweets about my friend Jesus. I hope he is your friend too.
I love my friend Jesus because he knows everything I’ve ever thought and still doesn’t cross the street to avoid me when he sees me coming.
I love my friend Jesus because the blood of his sacrifice speaks a better word than the sweat of my effort, and he shouts it triumphantly.
I love my friend Jesus because he chased after me when I ran away and he didn’t stop til I was found and tackled.
My friend Jesus? He’s a storm-hushing, tomb-busting, dragon-crushing brother.
I love my friend Jesus because he took my death, even though he had plenty of time to think it over and every reason to say no.
I love my friend Jesus because he’s never left me and won’t ever leave me, even when I’m most leave-able.
I love my friend Jesus because even when he’s laughing at me, he’s laughing with me. There is no guile in him, no mockery.
I love my friend Jesus because even when he calls me on my bull he doesn’t nag or shame me.
I love my friend Jesus because he never checks his watch while I’m talking to him.
I love my friend Jesus because he never brings up my old stuff.
I love my friend Jesus because, while the crowd gathers with their stones on that side, he stands on this side of the line with me.
I love my friend Jesus because he keeps the devil on a leash like a dog but will throw him into the lake of fire like he’s a cat. #dogperson
I love my friend Jesus because he doesn’t nitpick.
I love my friend Jesus because he never leaves me behind.
I love my friend Jesus because he waits unhurried with me.
I love my friend Jesus because when I enter the room, he doesn’t shake his head & mutter “This guy” but smiles and shouts “This guy!”
I love my friend Jesus because, though he has every right to be, he is nevertheless not ashamed to call me his brother.
I love my friend Jesus because he doesn’t “get upset” with me.
I love my friend Jesus because he is forgiver, healer, conqueror, king, God.
I love my friend Jesus because he uses the dirt of my sermons to open blind eyes. What a powerful, gracious friend.
I love my friend Jesus because he doesn’t just erase the records against me, he burns the record book and scatters the ashes to nothing.
I love my friend Jesus because when he sees me shuffling in, tail between my legs, he runs to meet me in welcome.
I love my friend Jesus because he doesn’t pass on false reports about me but is glad to be my eternal advocate.
I love my friend Jesus because he upholds the universe by the word of his power. I am in good with the boss of existence.
I love my friend Jesus because he just straight-up — no hesitations, no qualifications, no ifs ands or buts — loves me.
I love my friend Jesus because while many give me trouble, he gives me rest.
I love my friend Jesus because when all around my soul gives way, he is all my hope and stay.
I love my friend Jesus because he always lives to intercede for me.
I love my friend Jesus because I can just be myself with him.
I love my friend Jesus because he is infinitely rich with grace and a big spender.
I love my friend Jesus because he makes me feel like a conqueror but he does it without feeding my ego.
http://thegospelcoalition.org/blogs.....-friend-jesus/
---
A while back I began a series of tweets over several days reflecting on my friendship with Jesus. The response was heartwarming, as many seemed to indicate they found the updates helpful and encouraging. Somebody suggested I write a book on the subject, but I hope you will settle for a blog post. Here are the tweets about my friend Jesus. I hope he is your friend too.
I love my friend Jesus because he knows everything I’ve ever thought and still doesn’t cross the street to avoid me when he sees me coming.
I love my friend Jesus because the blood of his sacrifice speaks a better word than the sweat of my effort, and he shouts it triumphantly.
I love my friend Jesus because he chased after me when I ran away and he didn’t stop til I was found and tackled.
My friend Jesus? He’s a storm-hushing, tomb-busting, dragon-crushing brother.
I love my friend Jesus because he took my death, even though he had plenty of time to think it over and every reason to say no.
I love my friend Jesus because he’s never left me and won’t ever leave me, even when I’m most leave-able.
I love my friend Jesus because even when he’s laughing at me, he’s laughing with me. There is no guile in him, no mockery.
I love my friend Jesus because even when he calls me on my bull he doesn’t nag or shame me.
I love my friend Jesus because he never checks his watch while I’m talking to him.
I love my friend Jesus because he never brings up my old stuff.
I love my friend Jesus because, while the crowd gathers with their stones on that side, he stands on this side of the line with me.
I love my friend Jesus because he keeps the devil on a leash like a dog but will throw him into the lake of fire like he’s a cat. #dogperson
I love my friend Jesus because he doesn’t nitpick.
I love my friend Jesus because he never leaves me behind.
I love my friend Jesus because he waits unhurried with me.
I love my friend Jesus because when I enter the room, he doesn’t shake his head & mutter “This guy” but smiles and shouts “This guy!”
I love my friend Jesus because, though he has every right to be, he is nevertheless not ashamed to call me his brother.
I love my friend Jesus because he doesn’t “get upset” with me.
I love my friend Jesus because he is forgiver, healer, conqueror, king, God.
I love my friend Jesus because he uses the dirt of my sermons to open blind eyes. What a powerful, gracious friend.
I love my friend Jesus because he doesn’t just erase the records against me, he burns the record book and scatters the ashes to nothing.
I love my friend Jesus because when he sees me shuffling in, tail between my legs, he runs to meet me in welcome.
I love my friend Jesus because he doesn’t pass on false reports about me but is glad to be my eternal advocate.
I love my friend Jesus because he upholds the universe by the word of his power. I am in good with the boss of existence.
I love my friend Jesus because he just straight-up — no hesitations, no qualifications, no ifs ands or buts — loves me.
I love my friend Jesus because while many give me trouble, he gives me rest.
I love my friend Jesus because when all around my soul gives way, he is all my hope and stay.
I love my friend Jesus because he always lives to intercede for me.
I love my friend Jesus because I can just be myself with him.
I love my friend Jesus because he is infinitely rich with grace and a big spender.
I love my friend Jesus because he makes me feel like a conqueror but he does it without feeding my ego.
Announcement~!
Posted 12 years agoWhile the Message of God's love for sinful, rebellious people, and His provision in Jesus Christ His Son, will never change, the method by which we communicate that message is fluid and dynamic, always ready to adapt to the world and the culture that it's being spoken into.
That's why I'm happy to announce that CFF now has a facebook page! Feel free to stop on by, leave prayer requests and let us know how we can help you know more about Jesus, the fandom or those of us in the fandom who obey and love Jesus ourselves.
https://www.facebook.com/ChristianFurryFellowship
Don't forget to "like" us and to tell your friends!
That's why I'm happy to announce that CFF now has a facebook page! Feel free to stop on by, leave prayer requests and let us know how we can help you know more about Jesus, the fandom or those of us in the fandom who obey and love Jesus ourselves.
https://www.facebook.com/ChristianFurryFellowship
Don't forget to "like" us and to tell your friends!
Welcome to CFF!
Posted 12 years agoI'd like to give a happy welcome to the new faces we have following CFF.
Remember, you're always welcome to hang out on the IRC channel, and if you need prayer or advice, you can always seek out either me, judetherat or 
rukhwhitefang It's part of our pledge to the Furry fandom to always provide a gracious, non-critical ear to listen. Also, if you should want, we'll do our best to present clear, Scriptural advice to help you with what you need. And of course, any problems you may have will immediately become part of prayer livelihood.
If there's anything we can do to help you out let us know! We'll do our best to work toward a solution.
Remember, you're always welcome to hang out on the IRC channel, and if you need prayer or advice, you can always seek out either me,
judetherat or 
rukhwhitefang It's part of our pledge to the Furry fandom to always provide a gracious, non-critical ear to listen. Also, if you should want, we'll do our best to present clear, Scriptural advice to help you with what you need. And of course, any problems you may have will immediately become part of prayer livelihood.If there's anything we can do to help you out let us know! We'll do our best to work toward a solution.
CFF Prayer Journal
Posted 12 years agoHow's your prayer life going everyone?
Depending on how long you've been a Christian (or even were you live in the US), it may seem cliche to mention that a large true part Christianity is a personal relationship with God. One of the things that makes being a Christian so difficult sometimes is that we don't have a list of rules to keep; instead, we have a relationship - a friendship - with Jesus Christ. When you have a set of "Do"s and "Do Not"s it's a fairly simple matter of doing what you ought, not doing what you ought not, but it doesn't take any faith, or love or even much thought.
Anyone can tell you that deepening a relationship - whether it's a friend, a significant other, or any other joining together of two people - is a lot more difficult. You have to listen, communicate, interact and just spend time with them. Sometimes you have to compromise and yield, and even in the good times, a relationship can feel like a punch in face. But they're worth it! Even if they take massive amounts of faith, love and thought, (and courage, and valor and virtue etc) and effort are why they are more difficult.
God does not ultimately view those in his Kingdom as a homogenous set of Rule Keepers, but He sees us warmly as individuals who love him, who are part of his family. We are friends of God, and we have a relationship with him to cultivate and make more real (the old theologians called things that did so the "means of grace").
Prayer is an important way we connect with God, not just to tell him what we want or to ask for stuff, but as a way to talk with him. He knows everything, but he wants us to share our days with Him, our highs and our lows, our struggles and victories in life. God's given us the gift of talking with him in prayer, to help us realize that He really is always here for us.
Even if we don't have any specific prayer requests for this week, keep thinking and moving towards Jesus in all you do. It's not easy, but it's worth it.
~~ Jude
Depending on how long you've been a Christian (or even were you live in the US), it may seem cliche to mention that a large true part Christianity is a personal relationship with God. One of the things that makes being a Christian so difficult sometimes is that we don't have a list of rules to keep; instead, we have a relationship - a friendship - with Jesus Christ. When you have a set of "Do"s and "Do Not"s it's a fairly simple matter of doing what you ought, not doing what you ought not, but it doesn't take any faith, or love or even much thought.
Anyone can tell you that deepening a relationship - whether it's a friend, a significant other, or any other joining together of two people - is a lot more difficult. You have to listen, communicate, interact and just spend time with them. Sometimes you have to compromise and yield, and even in the good times, a relationship can feel like a punch in face. But they're worth it! Even if they take massive amounts of faith, love and thought, (and courage, and valor and virtue etc) and effort are why they are more difficult.
God does not ultimately view those in his Kingdom as a homogenous set of Rule Keepers, but He sees us warmly as individuals who love him, who are part of his family. We are friends of God, and we have a relationship with him to cultivate and make more real (the old theologians called things that did so the "means of grace").
Prayer is an important way we connect with God, not just to tell him what we want or to ask for stuff, but as a way to talk with him. He knows everything, but he wants us to share our days with Him, our highs and our lows, our struggles and victories in life. God's given us the gift of talking with him in prayer, to help us realize that He really is always here for us.
Even if we don't have any specific prayer requests for this week, keep thinking and moving towards Jesus in all you do. It's not easy, but it's worth it.
~~ Jude
A Question for Tuesday: Why did they cruficy Jesus?
Posted 12 years agoWhat was it about Jesus that ultimately lead to the Roman and Jewish officials executing Him as a criminal?
Let's strike up some discussion! Either leave a comment here, or the at the thread over on Christian Furs.
Let's strike up some discussion! Either leave a comment here, or the at the thread over on Christian Furs.
Hey everyone out there!
Posted 12 years agoDon't forget to serve God, enjoy the weekend and let your life brag about the goodness of Jesus!
The Kingdom of Heaven has come; God is in the midst of directing the world into his holy and good purposes. Don't forget that He loves you, and while His plan may not be "wonderful" right now, when you stand before Throne, looking back at your life you'll see that He does all things well - even the bad times are being used to make you into a person full of love, joy, passion, fully in control of one's self and emotions and completely happy in yourself. In other words, you'll be just like Jesus.
You'll be just like Jesus! Let that sink in.
If you're in God's family, joined to Him by faith, Jesus already calls you a brother or sister by adoption. But one day, we'll be fully his brothers and sisters by "blood."
Just like Jesus. So don't give up in following Him. Don't give up on serving Him. Don't give up on loving Him.
The Kingdom of Heaven has come; God is in the midst of directing the world into his holy and good purposes. Don't forget that He loves you, and while His plan may not be "wonderful" right now, when you stand before Throne, looking back at your life you'll see that He does all things well - even the bad times are being used to make you into a person full of love, joy, passion, fully in control of one's self and emotions and completely happy in yourself. In other words, you'll be just like Jesus.
You'll be just like Jesus! Let that sink in.
If you're in God's family, joined to Him by faith, Jesus already calls you a brother or sister by adoption. But one day, we'll be fully his brothers and sisters by "blood."
Just like Jesus. So don't give up in following Him. Don't give up on serving Him. Don't give up on loving Him.
CFF Prayer Journal - July 18
Posted 12 years agoThe most urgent prayer request just came to me in a text.
"Pray for this wolf. Got into a fight, to put it mildly i.e. maimed. Had surgery on forearm but have no use of right forepaw. The hand surgeon is flexing muscle and is trying to get me into a specialist in Denver who is the US expert on reattaching hand nerves." Please pray for Mikhail
Also Eli has arrived at his new place in Washington, but still needs prayers as he settles into a healthy pattern of life.
To update on other past requests:
"J" is still praying for a boyfriend, but life has apparently taken a turn for the worse in other ways.
"C" (who tried suicide) is doing better, but is unsure about his future, since God wants him to live, but he's not sure how to move on.
"Pray for this wolf. Got into a fight, to put it mildly i.e. maimed. Had surgery on forearm but have no use of right forepaw. The hand surgeon is flexing muscle and is trying to get me into a specialist in Denver who is the US expert on reattaching hand nerves." Please pray for Mikhail
Also Eli has arrived at his new place in Washington, but still needs prayers as he settles into a healthy pattern of life.
To update on other past requests:
"J" is still praying for a boyfriend, but life has apparently taken a turn for the worse in other ways.
"C" (who tried suicide) is doing better, but is unsure about his future, since God wants him to live, but he's not sure how to move on.
Happy Birthday to John Calvin!
Posted 12 years agoHappy birthday to John Calvin! Today is the 540th anniversary of his birth. A giant of Christianity and of the Reformation, it's not all that well-known that he fought with insecurity and esteem issues his entire life. This would be a good opportunity to get to know him as a mentor and as a friend through his writing and life.
If only we all could be as humble, loving and faithfully productive servants of our Master Jesus Christ as he was.
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We also have five unspoken prayer requests from last night, so please be sure to mark those down in your prayer journals. God knows our hearts, minds and knows what needs to happen even when we do not, so unspoken prayer requests aren't a problem for Him at all.
Until next time, grace and peace!
If only we all could be as humble, loving and faithfully productive servants of our Master Jesus Christ as he was.
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We also have five unspoken prayer requests from last night, so please be sure to mark those down in your prayer journals. God knows our hearts, minds and knows what needs to happen even when we do not, so unspoken prayer requests aren't a problem for Him at all.
Until next time, grace and peace!
