Reason to Raise a Question

Every once in a while I come across people who are prepared to excuse their bad choices on the simple fact that they cannot help themselves.  The argumentation runs like this:

I have an urge or a desire for _____

I am a good person

A Good person cannot have bad urges

Therefore, whatever I want is a good thing and I should go for it.

Let us consider each of these statements that lead to the conclusion, as well as some of their variations.

I have an urge or desire for ___

There is no question that we have urges and desires.  These are driven from a variety of sources, but typically from perceived or real lacks/hungers that often times may be quite legitimate.  A person who is hungry may have a sudden urge to see a cake as he walks past a bakery.  A person who is short on cash may have a desire to take a twenty dollar bill he sees on the floor.  Some of these urges may be able to be fulfilled in a socially honorable way, and some may not.  For those of us who accept that there is a God and that He is a judge, we must consider, whether or not an urge may be proper in society, is it proper under the oversight of a God of judgment. 

If we are truly honest with ourselves, often times the perception of a hunger or desire may be misinterpreted as we look at a potential object for its fulfillment.  We may look at the cake feeling hungry, and feel that might be a good way to fill it.  But what is that we are really hungering for?  How does this cake fulfill it?  Can we not agree that sometimes a person feeling anxious sometimes will use cake as an excuse, claiming to be hungry, when actually what they are hunger for is comfort?  We should at least question whether the urge we are feeling is a true urge or whether it is a cover for a deeper hunger/urge that might be very different.

We can certainly agree that part of our current experience as humans is to hunger: for friendship, love, food, warmth, peace, happiness, or for any number of other things.  It is likely that we can all agree that we can have legitimate hunger but find illegitimate ways to fill it.  The aforementioned cake will not serve a diabetic as a good or safe choice to fill his hunger.  But this leads to the discussion of the next assertion.

I am a good person.

Most of us as human beings like to give ourselves the benefit of the doubt.  We have a tendency to pick and choose systems of ethics which make ourselves look good, ignore the things in the system that are unflattering, and then favorably compare ourselves to others who seem despicable in order to convince ourselves that we really are in the upper 50% on the great bell curve of goodness in life. 

“After all, I have not murdered anybody.”

“I let people do what they want, and don’t judge others.”

“I give to charity regularly.”

“I used to go to church as a kid.”

The list goes on.  We pick and choose according to what we think is important, and “wonder of wonders” we find that we are good!

This is a notion to which that Christians are certainly not immune.  We conveniently forget that we have a God who saves us from our depravity which had doomed us to Hell.  We conveniently forget that we tend to live with 1 John 1:9 as our most frequently used verse.  

The question of human goodness, however, abundantly disproven by both scripture and experience.  It has been said “The most scientifically proven doctrine of the Bible is the doctrine of human depravity.”  Our own experience shows that people fully versed in the  scriptures are capable of great wrong.  The Bible itself tells us that our hearts are desperately wicked (Jeremiah 17:9).  Paul writes that if we were capable of being good enough to attain heaven on our own, there would have been no need for Christ to die (Galatians 2:21).   This premise is therefore, quite false.

A Good person cannot have bad urges

It follows then, in the mind of such folks that if you believe that are good, and that your goodness is proven, then when you have an urge or a desire, it must be okay.  Most people in our culture float in a medium of ethical and moral neutrality, so such issues as goodness or badness of the urges are not really in question.  

For such, the only real question is “Is it convenient?”  Most will go into a cost/benefits analysis on the question of fulfilling the urge rather than considering “Is this right or wrong.”  Their own personal answer to the question of whether or not they are good or bad has rendered moot the question of good or bad urges or choices.  It is beyond questioning.  

The question for them is, “How much will cost me in economically, or socially, or legally if I fulfill this urge?”

Christians are not immune to thinking which leads to the same kinds of choices.  Some will claim the verse 2 Corinthians 5:17, “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!” as a statement of carte blanche that what we now think and feel surely cannot be influenced by depravity.

We further these ideas when we teach people that “God made you and he makes no mistakes.”  This is poor doctrine.  It is not livable and excuses many into making horrible decisions.  “It feels right, so it must be right.”

 I have heard Christians argue that they no longer have illegitimate hungers, and that any desire is okay with God.  Therefore, its okay to go out and get it.  I have also personally known Christians who imitate the culture we live in and simply go straight to “costs/benefits” analysis.  They may not question “Is this the right thing to do.”

We must also return to the item discussed under premise one: Is this urge I am feeling the real urge or is there something driving it down below?  Consider the stereotypical middle aged male, who suddenly feels the urge to make a major purchase of a sports car.  He makes the purchase without even consulting his wife.  He wanted it, he feels he’s earned it, so he gets it.  After all, he has always wanted to have a hobby car.  He’s a good guy.  He’s got the money (i.e. its a somewhat affordable payment). 

Was the urge really about fulfilling a lifelong dream?  Or was it about his struggles with aging and respect?  Was it about finding a new hobby, or was it about control?  

We certainly have great reason to question this premise.  We can agree that sometimes the presenting urge is much more complicated than we may realize on the surface.

Therefore, whatever I want is a good thing and I should go for it.

A person who, for whatever reason, is convinced that he is morally good (not bankrupt) and that there is no wrong, or he can do no wrong is capable of the worst sorts of evils.  A person who believes that what he wants is beyond question will tend to act on those which are in his power and are not inconvenient.  He will seek to fulfill those hungers and desires by the means that are at his disposal.  If the cost can be minimized, deferred or ignored and their is a benefit to be reaped, he will act on that urge.

People who do great evils often do so knowing that there is a potential cost to be paid, or an ethical system they are violating.  They may know its wrong to kidnap and murder, but they do so in the belief that they can get away with it, or hope they won’t.  Even people with a defective internal moral guide know that society will punish them for the wrong they commit, so they conceal the act.  A child who torments animals will hide the actions from his parents.  A man who misuses small children hides the actions from his neighbors.  A religious fanatic who believes a god will excuse his murders will still hide his plans from his neighbors.  All the while, they are convinced of an unassailable rightness of their actions or motivations.  They may not perceive it that way, or state it that way.  But fundamentally, at the least they will understand their own superiority justifies the choices which are made in those situations.  

I would suggest that, by contrast, we should offer an argument like this: 

Old Argument

I have an urge or a desire for _____

I am a good person

A Good person cannot have bad urges

Therefore, whatever I want is a good thing and I should go for it.

New Argument

I experience an urge or a hunger that may be real or a presenting hunger that masks a different need

I have reason, by experience and Scripture, to show that I am not a good person, but rather am moral and ethically bankrupt

My urges and desires may be founded on things that come from my moral and ethical bankruptcy, and are not beyond question.

Therefore, when I have a desire/hunger I should exercise caution on how I go about or whether I ought to fulfill it.

My next Blog entry will address why refuting the “Old Argument” is so important in light of an important cultural change taking place in the Western World.

Mr. Williams and the Only Answer to Suicide

What do we do with suicide?

The recent suicide of Robin Williams has brought this question again to our cultural conscience.  He came to a place in his life, struggling with substance abuse, financial and interpersonal problems, where he suddenly believed that there was no hope.  He apparently used a belt to end his life by hanging.

We have thrown lots of money and research at this problem.  There are no shortage of help lines and psychiatrists.  There are therapeutic drugs and retreats.  Yet we still have people committing suicide.  Worse yet, given the lauding the Mr. Williams has received, many have raised concerns that this may spawn a wave of copy cats, all of whom may end their lives saying, “Maybe now they will appreciate me” or some such.

Does it mean that a person has automatically gone to Hell?

Some people have dealt with the problem by decreeing that the suicide always goes straight to Hell.  Certainly, if a person really does believe that there is a Hell, and can be convinced that there is an automatic “Go straight to Hell, do not pass go” after suicide, such an idea could be a powerful deterrent.  At the very least, when someone is considering suicide, its fair game to raise the question: “Are you sure that this act will end your suffering?”  After all many cultures do believe, not to mention the tradition of our own, that there is a place of suffering in the after life.  We can and should ask, “Yes, its bad for you right now, but what makes you believe that what comes after isn’t worse?”  

But is it true that Suicide is an automatic ticket to Hell?

Isn’t it a form of murder?

While we can argue that it is a form of murder, the Bible never seems to use the act this way.  Murder is an act of hate (1 John 3:15) in the Bible, whereas the primary motivation for Suicide seems to be despair, though as we shall see, perhaps not always (see below)..  Its root cause is different.

The scriptures are less clear than we might like.  We moderns want a “spelled out” systematic theology for everything.  In scripture, there are no itineraries for suicide.  There are no classifications, or splitting of hairs.  No formal denunciations, despite the fact that there were several high profile examples of them.

Many cultures in the ancient middle east did consider suicide, at times, to be a noble option. Curiously, the Bible makes no statements for or against it, but does show examples of people who did it, most notably Saul and his armor bearer, and Judas.  There was a traitor general named Zimri, who got caught in a seige, and there was also Ahithophel, who hung himself.  For Saul, Zimri and Ahithophel, these suicides were primarily motivated by the fact that they could see a horrible end coming for themselves soon that might very well involve torment.  For Judas, it was a crushing psychological remorse.  Yet there is no statement associated with these acts that shows what came next for them, nor is there even a denunciation.  For Ahithophel, one almost gets the feel that it was as natural an act as setting his affairs in order!  Its really hard to say.  

For Saul, the scripture shows that Saul compared suicide as preferable to capture and torture.  I certainly hope I am never faced with a difficult choice of suicide or torture! We also have Samuel’s statement in 1 Samuel 18:29:  “The LORD will hand over both Israel and you to the Philistines, and tomorrow you and your sons will be with me. The LORD will also hand over the army of Israel to the Philistines (NIV).” 

Some assumptions must be made then, as to what Samuel meant here.  Did he mean “With me in the grave?” Unlikely, but possible, especially given that Saul would not be buried right away.  Did he mean “Hades in general,” as a holding place for the dead?  Many Bible commentators think that there were two compartments in Hades, one for the righteous and one for the unrighteous dead.  So if they were in different compartments, presumably with Samuel in the righteous side, both could still have been “together in the realm of the dead,” yet experiencing very different levels of (dis)comfort!!

I am inclined, though I would not want anyone to base their destiny on my inclination, that Samuel meant that they would be in the abode of the righteous dead.  Saul did many wrong things, yet he had been a bearer of the Spirit of God and a man of faith for a period of time.  The question of what happened to Saul argue against the notion that we can have clarity on the eternal destiny of suicides, but should make us cautious about any declarations regarding the final resting place of a suicide.

We also have the early church history.  There are a number of accounts of Christians who chose suicide for themselves rather than be slowly tortured to death by the Romans.  Even in the immediate post apostolic period, we have records of Christians cornered on roof tops of buildings and choosing to jump to their deaths rather than be slowly tormented to death by demon enraged Roman persecutors.  

Thirdly, its my belief that a person who is truly saved can never lose his salvation.  This despite the fact that he continues to sin even until the day he/she dies.  Since there is no sin that can cause a person to lose that, it follows that suicide cannot cause a person to lose their salvation.  One can, quite fairly respond that suicide is evidence that they never really believed in God anyway.  But that is a rabbit trail for a different day.  The root cause of and dealing with suicide needs a different, clearer way, and these facts make claiming that suicide an automatic ticket to Hell a dubious proposition. 

People often commit suicide because they have no hope

Where is the hope?  Our world is not a hope producing world.  It promises much but it renders little in return.  It keeps us chained to itself by tantalizing our hungers but only gives enough to keep you wanting more and more.  We have a void in our lives, and we cannot find anything here in this world-system that can fill that void.  Since the vast majority of times a person commits suicide have to do with despair, then this is where we should look for an answer to the problem.  Let’s leave behind the question of suicide as an alternative to torture.

Robin Williams is a by-product of the secularist world view that he espoused.  As far as the evidence shows, he seemed to be fairly hostile to Christianity.  He sought refuge through pleasurable experiences with drugs, and by the accolades he received from his audiences and peers.  Certainly he also enjoyed his family, and loved his children.  Loving your children and enjoying their love is good and right. Enjoying the applause of others for a job well done is not wrong.  But they do not make a firm foundation for life.  Mr. Williams’ own life shows that even the love of others can be taken from you, and replaced with despair producing rejection.  He also apparently felt guilt over experiencing the pleasures of drugs, which ended up by contrast killing his close friend John Belushi.  Mr. Williams was facing the loss of many things he had worked hard for, decreasing demand for his talents, and continuous running battle with addiction (along with the spiritual element that drugs introduce into the life).  He came to a place where, as Gandalf, in the Lord of the Rings, would say,  “He could see the end beyond all doubt,” and it was a bad end indeed.  

Did he HAVE to have a bad end?  No.  But depression, despondency and despair warp our view of reality. Having had suicidal thoughts in my past, I am aware of the emotion of despair and the warped view of reality that comes with it.  For Mr. Williams, he "saw" a bad end.  And so, he gave up.

But...There is always reason for hope.  

Jesus Christ is the Reason for Hope

Jesus Christ was sent as an act of the Holy Trinity to be the living statement that God has not discarded mankind.  Jesus Christ, as an act of love, took despair producing Sin and crucified it on the cross.  Jesus’s cross shows us that even things that look like they are an end really are not.  If he can overcome the cross, than through Him we can overcome the difficult, despair producing things we face.  

Jesus’ resurrection shows us that there is an afterlife, with the reward of friendship with God forever and ever.  It shows us that there really is a “happily ever after.”  The resurrection shows us that our hard work, done for God, in life, will always have its reward. Jesus freely offers us meaningfulness that goes beyond the grave.  There is always a reason to go on, and to persevere in the now.  Paul observed: “To me, to live, Christ; to die, gain.”  By that, he meant that continuing to live allows him to experience the power of Christ, and growing Christlikeness this side of glory.  Becoming like Jesus is a great reason to live.

Psalm 139 tells us that God has written our days in his book, before one of them came to be.  He always has a plan, and is using our circumstances for our good…we just have trust him that he knows best; hard as that can be some days.  Is He good? Yes.  All the time? Yes.  That means I need to trust him in my circumstances even when my view of reality, distorted by despair, says something different.

Persevere.  It produces Godliness (2 peter 1:6).

Persevere.  It brings a reward: “Blessed is the man who perseveres under trial, because when he has stood the test, he will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love him (James 1:12, NIV).”

Are Your "Concerns" Getting You Off Center?

I have wrestled over the years with how I talk about fellow Christians.  We are commanded not to gossip. That’s plain enough.  Yet, I do find myself in conversations where a particular Christian comes up “with a concern about a fellow Christian.” It can be horribly tempting to weigh in on decisions that they have made, or on actions they have taken.

What do we do with it when we are offered such opportunities from others?  What guidance can we find from scripture?  We know we must not gossip, which is, in a technical sense, a command of negation: “Don’t do this.” Yet we tend to find ourselves justifying our speaking against fellow Christians, by saying “I am sharing a concern, and therefore its not really gossip.”  In our mind then, it is not gossip….

Commence eye rolls.  

But are there more things we can see in scripture that can grant us clarity and close what we perceive are loopholes?

1 Thessalonians 5:14 has some good advice.  “Be patient with everyone.”  That’s a good place to start.  We are all at different places on our journey toward Christ likeness.  Give people a chance to grow in their understanding, and let God train them in their life and choices.  You may find yourself wishing at some point where you struggle for others to be patient with you, right?  Let’s hope that we have shown graceful patience toward others as they grow, that they may show grace to us when we need it most!

Here is another from 2 Thessalonians 3: “We hear that some among you are idle.  They are not busy; they are busybodies (NIV).”  Busybodies.  Hmm.  The Greek word is periergazomai.  Literally it means, “to work around the edge.” Another translation for this word is “Meddlers.”  Isn’t that a great picture?  Instead of doing what they are supposed to be doing, they are off to the side taking shots at others! Busybodies and Meddlers.  Instead of being where the work is, their energy is spent “off center.”  When we decide we are going to talk about others, are we being a busybody?  Are we meddling in things that are not our business? Isn’t that really being “off center” and not where Christ wants us to be?

A person said recently, “When something happens that’s really none of my business, and I didn’t get asked about it beforehand, then I need to understand that I won’t be held accountable for that.”  In other words, he was saying first, “Its none of my business,” and second, “I will just leave that alone.”  That keeps you from meddling, for sure!  Do we, as Christians, really have to have an opinion on everything?

In the end, being patient with others, restraining a critical spirit, and avoiding meddling really are simply applying the law of love, which for us has two parts: “Love your neighbor as your love yourself;” “Love one another as I have loved you.”  Doesn't it say some where in scripture that "Love builds up?"  And doesn't it say that "Love keeps no records of wrongs?  Aren't we all called to love our fellow man and to do good to all, ESPECIALLY the household of believers.  Let us all try to lead by example in this area and speak well of each other.

Are You Thin on the Oil?

I took my car in for maintenance today.  I have been putting it off.  Not a good idea with a car with over 100000 miles on it.  I can’t afford a new one, and thanks to some debt restructuring I did a few months ago I owe a fair bit on it!  So its a good idea if I stay on top of those things.  And even if I did not owe on it, what a shabby way to treat what God has given me if I don’t properly maintenance it.  Am I really being grateful?  If He can’t really trust me in this little thing, can He trust me in much?

But I don’t.  I let things go longer than I should on the car.  I don’t take it in for every flashing sensor.  I don’t have it in at 3 months 3 thousand miles.  In fact I went 6000 miles this time.  Its really rather dirty inside too, which produces interior wear.  I don’t wash the bird doo off often enough, which means I am damaging the exterior.  I follow other cars too close sometimes which makes me susceptible to flying rocks.  I can’t remember the last time I had it in for a full service, or a coolant change.  I don’t faithfully check the air in my tires or regularly check the oil level.  

I know some of the guys out there have skins that are just crawling right now.  Hearing stuff like that is like having finger nails dragged across a chalk board.  You know that I am putting not only my car at stake with my dereliction of duty but actually others as well.  An improperly maintenance car may actually put other people’s life and health at risk.  “Shame on you, Pastor!” you may actually be thinking. Many of the effects of poor maintenance result in a slow degrade that is simply not reversible except at great expense.  And that degrade is usually quite invisible!

Just so you know, I DID take it in for an oil change today, and they did the “20 point check” on it.  So that is something right?  Yeah, I know some of you guys are still shaking your heads.

But guess what?  This is the blog of your “Spiritual Doctor.”  So now that I have you roped in real nice, it is time to lower the boom on you.  How are you doing on your “Soul maintenance?”

Regular maintenance on your car deals often time with a lot of “invisible” things that a person won’t notice until perhaps its too late.  Soul maintenance is dealing with things that really are very much invisible, and the effect of poor maintenance is often far from overt.  In fact it will be quite invisible to you, though others will probably notice the erosion first.  And failure to do soul maintenance WILL result in catastrophic damage to yourself and to others around you.  

Jackie can tell if I have not had a quiet time recently.  I will get nasty (she might say, “Nastier”) and testy (the kids say “testier”).  If I go a couple of days without soul maintenance, watch out!  Usually by then, as obtuse as I am, I even begin to notice it.  That usually happens at the end of the day as I am sitting haunted by the things which I have said and done.  

An oil change is easy to forget because it happens once every few months.  The disciplines of Bible reading, prayer and confession, service and worship are things that ought to be a part of our regular rhythm of life.  Guys, you were unhappy with me “sinning against my car” by not maintenancing it. But are you daily reading the word and checking your life against it?  Are you asking to be filled with the Holy Spirit, daily, and confessing your sins to God?  Are you being God’s hands to others that desperately need His love?  Are you making personal worship a daily habit and corporate worship a weekly practice?  If not, watch out!  Your soul might be running a little thin on the oil!

New Sermon!

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The Purpose of the Christian Life: Christ

To live is Christ and to die is gain.

I have had the privilege of reading this for a few folks who are in the hospital.  Some of you may find this an odd text.  Normally you would expect a psalm or a passage that gives some kind of bigger picture for your suffering.  You want a passage that is going to give you hope or promise you healing. Usually I will read such a passage.  But for some I do not.

Where I am convinced that a person has a saving faith, and there is great doubt about the outcome, I read Philippians 1:21.  Where I believe the person has a solid understanding about God’s real plan for life, and is soaked in the word I read: "To live- Christ; to die- gain."   

You see, Paul was on trial for his life.  He knew that outcome, as far as human understanding goes was in doubt.  He did believe he would probably be saved from death, because he could see and believe that he still had a role to fulfill.  To remain alive, he knew, was Christ.  “To live- Christ” means that he understands the real goal of life is to become like Jesus.  Becoming like Jesus means that you begin to reflect his character.  You show his love, grace and mercy.  You are patient with people, and walk humbly with your God.  Life, if we live with the right attitude can make you better or it can make you bitter.  The difference is your perception of the purpose of life. 

Most of us live life like this:  "To live is gain, and to die, Christ."  

Do you see the reversal? That’s backwards from the real verse.  Yes its good to go and be with the Lord.  But what we seem to  really want (for all practical purposes) in our prayers and theology is gain.  It comes out in the frustrations I hear people express:  “I thought God wants me to be healthy wealthy and happy.”  No, thats the bad theology that the false teachers are giving on the TV set.  Its a lie.  They have never even read their Bibles.  

Peter did not spend his life healthy, wealthy and happy.  He died upside down on the cross.  If the "Name it and claim it" crowd is right, I guess he must have been sinning when before he died, because that’s the way lapsed believers die.  God wants us healthy, wealthy and happy.

Paul didn’t spend his life healthy, wealthy and happy.  He spent it on the run, getting beaten, stoned to death, and ship wrecked.  He apparently had some type of eye conditioned that remained with him throughout his ministry years.  He ended his life poor cold, sick and wretched, then ushered to an executioners block.  I guess he forgot to name and claim a better life for himself.  Or he didn’t really believe when he tried to speak it into existence.

I guess Peter got his theology messed up in 1Peter.  He keeps talking about suffering in that book.  That’s not really God’s plan if we are to be healthy wealthy and happy.  Peter was just in error I guess.

John was on the “Rock” of Patmos.  He forgot to name and claim his way to wealth out there I guess.  He must have been a lapsed Christian.

Of course all this is just baloney.  Peter, Paul and John weren’t lapsed.  These false teachers don’t read their Bibles and then hope that you don’t either.  They hope you send them “seed money” so they can buy fancy cars, theme parks, and dodge taxes.  They promise that if you do, you’ll be rich too….if you have enough faith.

Gain.

We have bought into a lie of the world that says, “if you take on a Patron, whether a god or a corporation, it should be ‘I’ll scratch your back and you’ll scratch mine.’” That’s what we have come to believe God is for.  We are here for gain.  We are here for God to please us and serve us and do right by us.  We will scratch your back God, if you will scratch ours. And that means gain.   "That’s your job God!"

“God is good” if he stops a few bullets with a pocket bible.  “God is good” when I get a deal on a car repair.  “God is good” if he keeps the secular bullies off my back.  “God is good” when he keeps some cash in my wallet.   We’ve sure got it backwards.

Life is suffering.  That’s what Peter taught in 1 Peter 4:12: “Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery ordeal among you, which comes upon you for your testing, as though some strange thing were happening to you.”  In other words, it should be “normal” for us to experience trials, and not a surprise.  Paul taught this world was the domain of Satan, and that those who “live godly in Christ will suffer persecution” (2Tim 3:12).  Jesus taught that to love the world is to be at enmity with the father and that wealth rusts, and clothes rot.

Paint

I don’t know if this is really significant or not.  But I think there HAS to be an illustration here someplace.  So a little stream of consciousness here, but let’s see if we can come up with something…

A year ago I painted two walls of my house.  A year later, portions of one of the wall need to be repainted.  Yes they were washed.  Yes they were scraped.  Not all the wall, mind you.  Just one portion.  This produces frustration obviously.  Its money and time to paint.  Its not something I enjoy.  And I don’t like getting my clothes covered with paints spots and streaks.  Its inevitable. It will always happen.

And it always happens that so  me times I would come home from the church, still dressed in something “decent,” and I would try to paint.  After all, “I will be REALLY careful THIS time.” 

Haha.

So I started changing into clothes that were more work type clothes.  But I still splash on them.  And pretty soon I look like some renegade from a clown nuthouse.  So not only is there a time investment in painting, and a money investment, but there is also an investment in extra shampoo (for getting it out of my hair)  and clothing and shoes which can never be worn for anything except other paint jobs.

I am sloppy with paint.  I spill it.  A year ago I was painting in the church and spilled some outside of it.  And wouldn’t you know it, that paint is still there.  Not peeling.  Not flaking or chipping.  Not washing away.  If deliberately put it on my walls, it will peel.  Spill it on the pavement, and its NEVER going away.

A few years back I was painting the garage at the church...just touching up a couple of bare spots.  White paint.  Some little kid (I don’t remember who) came by, got his/her hands and feet in it, and walked across the old school yard in the back.  Even after walking across the yard, he/she was still leaving prints on the sidewalk and the road...ON THE OTHER SIDE OF THE GREEN AREA!!!

At that point, he/she dropped down, and put some nice hand prints on what then was a brand new sidewalk laid down by our fine public works man, Tom B.

The hand prints are still there and look like they were put down yesterday.

There are still foot prints out there.  Not as strong as the hand prints.  But still there.  But put the paint on my house (or for that matter on the church garage) and there she goes.  I think there is a layer of teflon on my garage and house that does not exist on sidewalks.  Maybe they should spray it on them.  “No stick sidewalks.”

Here are some spiritual applications.

1) We leave a mark where ever we go.  What kind of mark are you leaving behind?  Do you want a mark that leaves a fond memory of you?  Or are you leaving the kind that people want to scrape away when you are gone?

2) No matter how careful we are, we will find that there will be “mistakes.” When Jesus comes into our lives, he scrapes off the old paint mess, and paints us up in Him.  His paint does not chip, soil or fade.  The Father sees us in Him, and deals with us gently as sons.  He will never call us out based on the old paint job.   And no matter how careful we are, we will get the paint dirty.  But Jesus will clean us up if we ask Him to do so.

3)There is a really cool product out right now.  Its called 3M paint protection film.  It goes on your car, and keeps the rocks and other things that can come at you as you are driving, and keeps your paint safe.  Its even self repairing to an extent.  

Jesus is like that for our lives.  He covers us.  He keeps us safe.  He fixes the chips.  And He WILL present you complete and whole in Him when He comes in His glory.

A Case for the Small Church

One of the great heartaches of ministering in a small rural church is seeing people leave over the limited number of “amenities” a small congregation can provide.  It happens when young people grow up and discover there are other churches out there that have youth groups or ministries that cater specifically to them and provide them with opportunities for fun.  It happens when young adults decide they want to get married, and want to look at other churches because they offer dating programs, or ministries for “college and career.”  It happens when parents look around and want more services for themselves or their kids.  Consumerism comes to Christianity.  

The small rural churches are left with a greying congregation, and the people who leave say “There was something wrong with that church.”

I would like to submit that such people have it the wrong way around. They were the problem all along.

We had another family stop (dare I say “Shop”) into our church not long ago.  They abandoned the home church they had been attending for years because the youth group was not big enough at the previous church.  I bumped into one of the members of that family not long ago.  They were now attending a budding mega church not far away; they found a bigger buffet.

I don’t blame the larger churches for offering such opportunities.  I do blame them for not discouraging transfer growth on these flimsy excuses alone.  Such Pastors and ministry leaders ought to be telling such people, “Go back to your home church and start a ministry there.”  Yeah, I may as well wish for a million dollars while I am at it.

When I first saw this family, I have to admit that I was willing to contribute to the problem.  Yes, I began to try to sell them on the “amenities” my church offers.  Shame on me.  I was just another shill for faith based services.  Contrary to my typical practice, I was inviting them to come to youth group and talking about all the ministries our church offers.  

Of course there are people that do leave churches for very legitimate reasons.  Sometimes they leave because of error in the pulpit.  Sometimes they leave because of abuse in the church, or  because they were systematically shut out of the inner circle, and not welcomed into ministry.  If a church does not preach the word of God, or if they won’t let you use your giftedness, or they shun you, etc., then that’s different. We have some such people here in our church.  There really are legit reasons to leave.   I find that most people who leave churches don’t have such things in mind.  Moving to a new church because you changed addresses?  Legit.  Moving to a new church because the music isn’t moving you? Not legit.

Now, normally, if a person is church shopping, and they are leaving another local church to do it,  usually I try to be a little more discerning.  I have even discouraged some folks from coming to our church i the reasons are flimsy and at the least I tell them that in order to come to our church they have to at least contact, by letter if necessary,  their old Pastor and church to tell them Biblical reasons why they are leaving.  Needless to say, I have not seen much transfer growth for flimsy reasons here at BCC.  But I really don’t want someone else’s problem here at this church.  

This one particular family did not come back again.  At first I was really disappointed.  But I remember this last week God tapping me on the shoulder and whispering to me, “You didn’t want them here anyway.”

There may be a variety of reasons God would say that to me.  But certainly the fact that they would leave a church because their youth group was not big enough says that the problem was really with the family, not the church.

Congregations ought not to exist or be enticing because of the smorgasbord of activities they provide. They ought to exist to preach the word and make disciples.  Disciples are made when they take up the Word and start serving on their own.  Churches ought to be enticing because of the practice of love they show across the generations.  They ought to be places to go where I,..me, myself and I have an opportunity to use my spiritual gifts and become a disciple.  If all the ministry is handled by professionals, and I don’t do anything but soak it up, you are not really at the church. You are at the theater.  You are not a disciple; you are a mere consumer of religious goods.

If you are feeling like moving on to some other church because they don’t offer enough programming, the problem isn’t the church.  Its you.  You are the one called to stay and make a difference.  Stay.  Get plugged in.  Build the congregation.  Use your gifts.  YOU go and make that ministry that you feel your church is lacking.  You won’t get the opportunity to influence others for Christ at the mega church like you will at your small home church.  

Or are you just another Consumer of Faith based products like most people in our culture?

To the Pastors who sell their churches on the basis of “Amenities” rather than disciple making  I will tell you that you will never know the joy of watching someone grow from a baby Christian to being a passionate Bible Student or Sunday School Teacher or mission trip participant.  You will always have to be worried that you need to offer more or better “amenities” than the big church in the town next door.  If they start something new, then you’ll have to as well.  If they add one screen you will have to add two.   I’d rather make disciples, thanks.

Number 5: Noah

Hero Number 5: Noah

The fifth person I want to meet in heaven is Noah.  But there is a different dynamic at play in this meeting than meeting with the other Biblical people I have already mentioned.  The reason: he’s my ancestor. 

Certainly there are things that I want to ask him about that are questions meant to fill up my gaps in understanding of the accounts we have in the Bible.  Perhaps most of these will have been answered if and when God the Father holds his “History 101” class for us all.  There certainly is that hunger to know what life was like as he lived and dealt with the critters we know of today as Dinosaurs.  How did he build the ark?  What exactly is “gopher” wood?  How close was he to the other patriarchs that he knew as his ancestors? What are his perspectives on parenting?  What’s the deal with that “Curse on Canaan” thing;  His perspective on the epic of Gilgamesh, and if Nimrod and Gilgamesh were one and the same.

Yet the approach to such a person must be different than an approach to the other people I mentioned.  He is a forbear, THE Progenitor.  From him, all humanity after the flood are descended.  Would he be deal with me in a Fatherly sort of way?  

My ancestor would be Japheth.  What was he like as a kid and a young man?  How old were they before they weren’t a “kid” anymore in that culture?  What stories does he have about “dad?” 

He is also the archetype of the preacher who preached and did not get any results. What did his preaching message look like?  How did the crowds respond? Anger? Laughter? Poor Noah.  If he was a preacher in a lot of our churches today, he would probably be fired.  Yet the results he got certainly were not his fault!  How does a man preach for 120 years to repent and “get into the boat” and not get discouraged?  What was his secret?

Most of all there is just the enigma that this man is.  For a short time, all of human history hung on the thin thread of his life.  Yet we really know so little about him!  There are legends that he eventually moved to what we know today as Lebanon but returned to the area of Urartu (Ararat) to be buried.  The name of the city is Nakhchivan, a name which is even derived from its association with Noah. 

So set me up for my appointment!  I am ready to meet Noah!

Youtube!

I have uploaded a new sermon for my Youtube channel.  If you don't like your J-O-B perhaps this sermon will help to light your fire, and feel differently about it in the future!

Edit: I also added another one today!  May God bless you!

Hero #4 Baruch the son of Neriah

Baruch is another man who I really want to meet when I get to heaven.

You may not remember Baruch.  He is very much a secondary, though very important, figure in the life of Jeremiah the Prophet.  Indeed, we might not have Jeremiah’s prophecy without his work as a scribe!

Baruch was a man destined for stardom.  Being a scribe, he had important skills which would get him noticed, and hired, by important people.  He was educated and well connected.  He held an important role in King Zedekiah’s palace.  For him, there was great opportunity, great responsibility, and a chance to become quite wealthy.  A seal was found in Jerusalem a few years ago with his name on it.  It is an amazing find because it is tied to this biblical character.  Its a doubly amazing find because it also preserves a finger print, likely his, which is found on the upper left of the seal.

Then he met Jeremiah.

Baruch was not an ordinary man.  He was not an ordinary skilled man.  He was not an ordinary man of his day.  He was a man of faith and devotion to the one true God.  But he also lived with the common wants and desires that every man has.  He wanted to make money, put some away, make purchases, have the material goods of this world, and experience success.  He looked forward to a life one day in retirement, perhaps even working as a scholar.

In his working and dealing, somehow, he and Jeremiah became linked.  He was the prophets junior by several years.  Perhaps he was fresh from scribe school when they became acquainted.  He was charged with the task of writing down the words of the prophet.  They were not “happy words.”  They were not words which would bring comfort.  Rather, they were words that spoke anything but confirmation of Baruch’s bright hopes for his future.  One could say, Jeremiah told Baruch things that “wrecked his life and dreams.”  This is what Jeremiah said, when he listened to and wrote the words that Jeremiah dictated to him: “Ah, woe is me! For the LORD has added sorrow to my pain; I am weary with my groaning and have found no rest (Jeremiah 45:3).”

How would you respond if a prophet revealed to you that the next 18 years of your life would see the destruction of pretty much all you loved?  How would you react if you were told all the life you had dreamed of would all go up in smoke, and that you would be hated and hunted for standing with the one true God?  Baruch’s reaction, as much as it reflected disappointment, is a reaction born out of faith.  He believed God!  He did not discount God’s words through Jeremiah, as most did.  He did not become angry, threaten or leave God’s spokesman.  He believed.  And God promised the reward to Baruch that he was giving to all those who were faithful:  his life would be preserved wherever he went.

I sympathized with Baruch even as a high school student.  I thought of myself then as a young hot shot.  I had big dreams and big ideas.  Study of scripture convinced me, however, that I will probably see Jesus’ return in my life time.  His return “interfered” with my big plans.  Like Baruch, God was telling me:

 “Behold, what I have built I am about to tear down, and what I have planted I am about to uproot, that is, the whole land.”  5  ‘But you, are you seeking great things for yourself? Do not seek [them]; for behold, I am going to bring disaster on all flesh,’ declares the LORD… (Jeremiah 45:4-5).”

He would read God’s prophecy in public to a people who did not want to hear messages of doom and gloom, and rejected it.  He would be forced to run and hide from a king who refused to believe.

He is regarded as a hero of Judaism to this day.  It was a hard message, but he believed, and embraced the message and the messenger.  He became a support to his friend, the prophet.  According to tradition, he later went to Babylon from Egypt, where he delivered the book of Jeremiah to others.  His work would be read by Daniel to cause him to pray for his people (Daniel 9) resulting in one of the most important visions in all of the Old Testament.  

#3 Paul

The third person that I want to meet when I go to heaven is Paul.  

Now as I am sure you can guess by now, one reason why I might like to meet Paul is because I want to clear up some things which, to my mind, are not clear enough for me in my thinking as a western philosopher/theologian, or just details which I am not sure really sure of.  For example, that “thorn in the flesh” that he refers to in 2 Corinthians.  What exactly was that?

Many of the theological examples of “unclarity” may already be cleared up by the time I meet with Paul.  I certainly do hope that God holds a “Theology 101” class, taught by Himself, where He teaches “how it really is.”  But whether God has or has not, it certainly will be interesting to get Paul’s views of other things, like our formulation of the doctrine of inspiration, or the Calvinist/Arminian controversy.  

I don’t know how those things will work, when we get to heaven.  I do know that we will be having fellowship with each other and praising and worshiping God.  I am sure a big part of that will be listening to testimonies.  And I want to hear Paul tell and describe Jesus’ visit with him on the Damascus road.  I want to hear about his visit to heaven, and what he heard on that visit that he could not tell about.  I want to know what the “Bodily ailment” he suffered was when he saw the Galatian people.  

I also want to listen to him as a thinker.  What does he pounder, and how?  How much of his theology was he taught from God, and how much of it did he come to realize by his Holy Spirit enlightened intellect.  How much did he engage with the Greek Philosphers, like Socrates and Plato, and his thoughts on what they wrote.  I hope that he will also be able to show me the world as he saw it through his own eyes.  And if we have the opportunity, visit some of the ruins of the world of his day, gain his impressions of them, and also see if he will show us where he walked, and where he stood when he appeared before Gallio, and of his visits to the various agoras; agoras that you can still see the fallen columns and stones today.

He was a thinker, and a man of great passion.  I would ask him “How do those things work together while still living in a sinful body?”  

#2 The Man Born Blind: John 9

Here are my five Bible heroes that I want to meet when I get to heaven.  The first, scroll down, that I wrote about was Joshua.  The next is the nameless blind man from John 9.

The Man born blind

In His travels, Jesus comes upon a man who is likely to be begging.  He was blind.  There were no government resources for people with Handicaps in Jesus’ day, and money was tight for everyone.  It was considered a religious obligation to give to people with such needs in order that they might live.  But for the most part, they were shut out of society.

Bad things have always happened to people both good and bad.  But majority opinion in Jesus’ day was that if something bad had happened to you, it was generally because someone sinned.  Jesus and his disciples were aware that this was a man who was born blind. Unlike many that become blind, even at an early age, this person was born completely without the ability to see.  For this, fault must be assigned.  There were two possibilities: The parents sinned and this was their punishment; the child had sinned in the womb.

Can you imagine the kind of pressures this brought this family?  The pain?  The soul searching and sorrow?  

Unless you have been raised in a family that is long on blame and short on grace, you probably can’t really enter into that kind of sympathetic feeling.  And, here there really was no one at fault!  Jesus gave the final definitive “no” to those ideas.  There are other reasons why people have disaster fall on them.  Here was one of them:  It was for the demonstration of the glory of God.

God’s glory.  Some might thing that seems hard.  Yet this man, because of what he went through, brings great glory to Jesus Christ and to His Father for what he experienced.  He experienced the power of God to restore his sight.  He experienced the grace of Christ who welcomed him as a disciple.  Bear in mind that the man was a sinner, deserving of Hell, just like you and me.  But he got double grace: a healing of the body and of the soul.  But that’s not all.  He is a trophy of God’s greatness.  But this man is yet more.

Keep this in mind: to cross the leadership of your town/village was basically to cause yourself to be out cast in your community.  And they had already made it known that to identify yourself with this prophet from Nazareth was to be “put out of the synagogue.”  That meant that you were cut off from good community, from your business ties, from good people who gave alms, etc.  You were alone.

This man, when called to account for the healing (just think about that for a moment) testified to what he experienced with the Christ.  He stuck with it.  There was a powerful incentive to not own Christ. The pharisees themselves give him an opening to deny Christ.  They ask him, “What do you say about him?”  The man could have said “I don’t know” as apparently another man (the one healed by Siloam) Jesus healed did. He said, “He is a prophet.”

He simply follows reason:

I was blind

Now I see

I don’t know if this man (Jesus) is a sinner or not

God does not listen to sinners

God listens to godly men

Nobody has ever opened a man’s eyes who was born blind

He must be from God or he could not do it.

Therefore: He’s a holy man/ prophet.

Today, we might quibble a bit on who God can or does listen to. It does not matter.  He follows the assumptions he has been taught by these same men all of his life.  The inescapable conclusion is that Jesus is a holy man and a prophet.

He tells this boldly to these men who by now in this process have become very hostile.  Its so strange to see this hostility!  The Blind man has done nothing!  He was the recipient of a benefit, and that’s it.  Instead of questioning their own assumptions about God and their doctrine, they accuse him of wrong on the basis of the assumption about the connection between sin and his blindness.  They throw him out.

This is a brave man.  He is my hero.  I have stood with my knees shaking when people have begun talking about faith in God, and questioning my faith.  I have felt the doubts and fears I think everyone experiences when confronted about what I believe.  Here is a man who has only met Jesus once apparently, has not been grounded in his faith, and he is so firm in his conviction about what he has seen and heard that he cannot be induced to lie about it...even to the point that he is cast out of the synagogue.  And community life.

He is a brave man. He is a warrior in the soul.  

I don’t know why he remains nameless.  Perhaps he dies soon after this incident. Perhaps John seeks to protect the family of the man.  I don’t know.  All I know is that this guy is incredibly brave.  I look forward to meeting him in heaven.

Bible People I want to Meet in Heaven

Consider some Bible personalities that would like to meet when you get to heaven.  Since in our culture we often like lists of a top 5, make out said list, but don’t feel constrained to put them in some kind of order.  Who did you choose and why do you find them fascinating?

There are a few things which I noted were important to me on my list of personages.

I noted that when I made my list, I included some names because they have answers to questions I ask, and I know they can take care of them.  I am not one of those who believe that God will make us “omniscient” as He is when we get to heaven.  I do believe that our minds and eyes will be opened to make it easier for us to discover truth, and our capacity to remember and learn will be greatly increased.  But I do believe that part of life with God will also include an endless journey of discovery of his greatness and goodness that will last forever.

Joshua

Joshua is one of the few Biblical Heroes that we don’t see had massive glaring weaknesses.  Samson, Saul, David all had big weaknesses of character.  Samuel was a poor father, as were Isaac and Jacob.  Abraham, not the best father himself, could be rather deceptive, as was his grandson.  The list goes on, with the scriptures being very honest about the failure of its characters.  That’s good.  If they were all Joshuas and did not fail, we would feel that that there would be no hope for us, right?  I don’t admire Joshua because he’s like me.  I have more of David, Abraham, Hezekiah and Jacob in myself than I do of Joshua.  

But that’s one reason why I really like reading about this man.  He’s so humble, with a heart for serving the people of Israel.  He’s a lot like our own George Washington who turned down an opportunity to be King after the revolution.  Joshua was only concerned fulfilling his commission to bring Israel into the promised land.  He was not after being a king.  He was not after self aggrandizement.  When it was all over, the only thing he wanted to do was retire to the country and lead his family in serving God.  Like Cincinnatus of the Romans, he was simply one of the citizens of the (heavenly) kingdom, and took up his call without desire to hold it after it was completed.  

Such figures are compelling to us today most of us feel like we entitled to certain benefits and honors if we have success.  “To the victor goes the spoils” is the rally cry of businessmen, generals and politicians.  We have deeply imbibed these sentiments in our culture.  

Washington, Cincinnatus and Joshua all understood that there is such a thing as duty, humbly performed and closed when completed.  Washington would not be king, and only kept accepted presidency for two terms in a day when he could have had three terms. He returned home to retirement.  Cincinnatus was the “Anti-Caesar,” holding the office of Dictator through a war crisis, and resigning it when it was over.   Joshua held a status as a respected elder of the community, but he did not crown himself king of God’s people.   What a model!

I also would like to hear from Joshua about his experiences in Egypt and about the historical circumstances of his life.  I am a diehard and lifelong fan of ancient history.  I would like to question him as a Western style thinker about the details of what he had seen.  Simple questions about things like “who was the pharaoh of your day,” to details about how he wrote and what he wrote, and how he learned to write.  What was his childhood like? What about his faith experience?  How did he develop such a conviction about what God was going to do, when so many people who saw the same things he had did not?  What was the road of the Exodus? Jebel Musa or Jebel El Lawz? And it goes on..

Being that his writings are not intended to be a historical work, but rather a diary of how God revealed himself in bringing his people into the land, it does not have these details which so fascinate and concern the western mind.

There is also the whole “manly” warrior archetype thing that I would like to hear from him. 

You know what I mean…  Warrior’s tales.

I would like to hear from him his views on Pharaoh’s army and fighting him.  How he trained his warriors and how they fought (Skirmishers, shock troopers, order of battle, communications, etc.).  What were the great individual combats he saw, and who were his heroes, and why.  Did he have a fitness routine, and what did it look like (yes, seriously).  What about the whole giant thing, and how big they really were?  Were they skinny skeezicks or were they tall and broad like an old oak tree?  Did he like a sword best over spear?  What battle was he most honored to have participated in?  Did he ever deal with PTSD?  If in heaven there is wargaming would he like to play one with me, and his views on how the game reflects reality or does not?

You may be scratching your head over such questions.  Yet they are important, as the scriptures deal with real human beings in circumstances that may differ in detail but remain analogous to things we face today.  They are prominent by their absence in many ways, and in others provide important color that bring the sacred texts to life. 

There is also the manner of his “clean living.”  The only real error we see him complicit in was the matter of the city of Gibeon.  He just did not take time to consult God about these people who had come to make peace with Israel.  I think that if he had taken time, he would have found out, but God’s intent was to spare them any way.  God was just teaching them a lesson that they needed to ask Him about every step, and nothing was too trivial that they could not take time to “bother God” about it.  Otherwise we see character traits that speak of a bright faith, consuming passion for God and for Holiness, deep humility, and powerful confident bravery that stood firmly on that cornerstone of conviction- a conviction that knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that the Israeli’s were going to take that land and that he was God’s man to do it.  I wonder if many Pastors even have the strong of a conviction about their calling.  I know many, including myself, that have struggled at times with that.

In the end, yes, I do like to read about the man.  But I also really want to find out about the man himself and what made him tick.   I look forward in hope that I will be able to have that opportunity.  Its not like we will be rushed for time or anything.