But understand this, that in the last days there will come times of difficulty. For people will be ... lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, having the appearance of godliness, but denying its power. Avoid such people. 2 Tim 3:1-2,4-5
My opinion and approach to Halloween, as a believer in Christ, has been one of distant tolerance and simple avoidance. This has stemmed the tide, for the most part and has allowed our family to navigate the school years without incident.
However, over the last few years, I have sensed a growing cultural push toward "legitimizing" Halloween as a holiday. It may never achieve legal status, but culturally it is certainly on an ascending path. And, as I was recently talking to someone about the sadness of Hinduism, with its multiplicity of gods, I began to realize, that is what Halloween is becoming to us.
So, without writing a full blown critique, I wanted to share two concerns thoughtful disciples of Christ may want to consider as they evaluate Halloween and what they teach their children about it. And, as I enter into these comments, please know I am a firm, robust supporter of our freedoms in Christ. But as Paul told the Corinthian church, "Everything is lawful to me, but not everything is helpful".
My first concern is that Halloween is transparently evil. This, of course, is not new. I remember haunted houses back in my high school days. But what used to be portrayed as extreme or gruesome is now being portrayed as normative and even worshipful. There are lawn displays that could easily evoke a Christmas spirit were it not for the blood and disembodied heads laying on the ground. And all of this leads not to Christ, not to our creator God, but to the one who is leading the rebellion against them both.
My second concern is that Halloween is not, and probably never was, a frontal assault on the supremacy and sufficiency of Christ. Instead it is the synchrotistic, back-door approach that seems to work so well, especially in our 21st, undiscerning culture. For a church or a person who is not locked in on the truth of God's Word, Halloween can cause a very slow and subtle, yet very deliberate erosion of our complete and utter devotion to Christ.
So, what do we do? First (and always!) pray, then observe, then respond. Think of Paul in Athens. (Acts 17) How did he know the city was full of idols? How did he know what cultural message to address when given the chance. He was soaked in who Christ was, so when he saw how much Jesus was not part of the Athenian culture, his heart broke. Yet when given the chance to speak he turned the very thing that grieved his spirit into an opportunity to proclaim the truth.
To God Alone be the Glory
Monday, October 31, 2011
Three Lessons from the Cross
From the pen of John Stott:
“There are three lessons which I have learned from the cross.
1) I learned that my sin is foul beyond words. If there were no way for our sins to be cleansed and forgiven but that the Son of God should die for them, then our sins must be sinful indeed.
2) I learned that God’s love is great beyond all understanding. He could have abandoned us to perish in our sins. But He didn’t. He loved us and He pursued us even to the desolate agony of the cross.
3) I learned that salvation is a free gift. I do not deserve it. I cannot earn it. I do not need to attempt to procure it by my own merit or effort. Jesus on the cross had done everything that was necessary for us to be forgiven. He has borne our sin and curse.
What, then, must we do? Nothing! Nothing but fall on our knees in penitence and faith, and stretch out an open, empty hand to receive salvation as a gift that is entirely free”
To God Alone be the Glory
“There are three lessons which I have learned from the cross.
1) I learned that my sin is foul beyond words. If there were no way for our sins to be cleansed and forgiven but that the Son of God should die for them, then our sins must be sinful indeed.
2) I learned that God’s love is great beyond all understanding. He could have abandoned us to perish in our sins. But He didn’t. He loved us and He pursued us even to the desolate agony of the cross.
3) I learned that salvation is a free gift. I do not deserve it. I cannot earn it. I do not need to attempt to procure it by my own merit or effort. Jesus on the cross had done everything that was necessary for us to be forgiven. He has borne our sin and curse.
What, then, must we do? Nothing! Nothing but fall on our knees in penitence and faith, and stretch out an open, empty hand to receive salvation as a gift that is entirely free”
To God Alone be the Glory
Sunday, October 30, 2011
The Word of God is not Bound!
Remember Jesus Christ, risen from the dead, the offspring of David, as preached in my gospel, for which I am suffering, bound with chains as a criminal. But the word of God is not bound! (2 Tim 2:8-9)
Whether you are reading this before or after (or in lieu of) church today, consider the awesome reality that God's Word is not bound!
To God Alone be the Glory!
Whether you are reading this before or after (or in lieu of) church today, consider the awesome reality that God's Word is not bound!
- It is not bound by prison walls. That is the immediate context of 2 Tim. In this same vein, God's Word is not bound by any human institution. Let us remember that when fretting over U.S. elections or a foreign country's power struggles. The Word of God is not bound!
- It is not bound by the length of our lives. This is also part of the setting of 2 Tim. Paul is at the end of his life. He has "finished the race". Yet he knows the One whom he serves and the message he proclaims will continue long after his part in the story is over. The Word of God is not bound!
- It is not bound by our abilities. Nothing in the Bible indicates that God's success is dependent on the skills and talents of his messengers. In fact, God usually goes out of His way to pick messengers who are lacking in some way. And, if we're honest, we wouldn't have it any other way. This is God's message to God's people for God's glory. The Word of God is not bound!
- It is not bound by opposition. This is not just human opposition, but spiritual opposition. God's message of grace and forgiveness is not the only message in the universe, but it is the only one that saves and satisfies all who trust in it. But the authors of the other messages cannot tolerate the purity and the simplicity and God-exalting nature of the gospel. But they are powerless to stop it. The Word of God is not bound!
- It is not bound by time. This may be the most glorious reality of all that I've considered. The same message proclaimed to Adam, the same message proclaimed to Moses and Isaiah. The same message proclaimed to Nicodemus and the demon possessed man. The same message proclaimed to Jews and Gentiles, to rich and to poor, to men and to women, is the same message proclaimed to us. And one day soon, either by Christ's return or our own deaths, we will see God face to face. And, as we fall in true worship for the first time, we will finally, fully realize that the Word of God is not Bound!
To God Alone be the Glory!
Friday, October 28, 2011
A Fire In My Bones
"If I say, 'I will not mention him, or speak any more in his name,' there is in my heart as it were a burning fire shut up in my bones, and I am weary with holding it in, and I cannot." Jer 20:9
What do you do if a verse like Jer 20:9 attaches itself to your mind and heart like an insatiable animal and any thought that turns Godward is filtered and framed by this thought?
What do you do when verses like Rom 8:18 & 23 or 2 Cor 5:2-4 press on you and ask you "why are you so content?"
What do you do if a verse like Ezk 22:30 cuts to your heart and the Spirit asks where were you?
What do you say when your Savior says “Do you want to go away as well?” (Jn 6:67)
I ask these questions not from a place of despair, but from a place of hope and promise. God is pressing on me (isn't He always) to ask these and other reformational questions. Not the Luther, Calvin, et. al. reformation, but the personal, don't drift away, always be growing in Christ reformation. I am finding more and more that my soul is a wasteland and yet the oasis of the gospel is slowly and steadily irrigating and cultivating it for the glory of God.
By the way, these may be your questions, but you may have others. Don't run from them. Embrace them in the power of the Spirit. God is not afraid of your questions and His Word, if we choose to hear what it says, has the answers that will bring us closer to Him.
I do have one warning though. If there are no questions, if God is not drawing you closer by challenging you in your walk with Christ, if you don't see the thousand ways you fall short each day, you should be concerned. Stop and pray and ask God to peel back the scales that have formed over your eyes. Ask Christ to show you again the beauty and the majesty of His grace and mercy and love. Ask the Spirit to push and to prod so that your life, both internally and externally grows in conformity with Christ. And hang on!
To God Alone be the Glory
What do you do if a verse like Jer 20:9 attaches itself to your mind and heart like an insatiable animal and any thought that turns Godward is filtered and framed by this thought?
What do you do when verses like Rom 8:18 & 23 or 2 Cor 5:2-4 press on you and ask you "why are you so content?"
What do you do if a verse like Ezk 22:30 cuts to your heart and the Spirit asks where were you?
What do you say when your Savior says “Do you want to go away as well?” (Jn 6:67)
I ask these questions not from a place of despair, but from a place of hope and promise. God is pressing on me (isn't He always) to ask these and other reformational questions. Not the Luther, Calvin, et. al. reformation, but the personal, don't drift away, always be growing in Christ reformation. I am finding more and more that my soul is a wasteland and yet the oasis of the gospel is slowly and steadily irrigating and cultivating it for the glory of God.
By the way, these may be your questions, but you may have others. Don't run from them. Embrace them in the power of the Spirit. God is not afraid of your questions and His Word, if we choose to hear what it says, has the answers that will bring us closer to Him.
I do have one warning though. If there are no questions, if God is not drawing you closer by challenging you in your walk with Christ, if you don't see the thousand ways you fall short each day, you should be concerned. Stop and pray and ask God to peel back the scales that have formed over your eyes. Ask Christ to show you again the beauty and the majesty of His grace and mercy and love. Ask the Spirit to push and to prod so that your life, both internally and externally grows in conformity with Christ. And hang on!
To God Alone be the Glory
Thursday, October 27, 2011
Immerse Yourself
Practice these things, immerse yourself in them, so that all may see your progress. Keep a close watch on yourself and on the teaching. Persist in this, for by so doing you will save both yourself and your hearers. 1 Tim 4:15-16
Why is it so easy to forget that Christianity isn't something we possess or something we do and that the Church isn't something we attend or even join? Instead Christianity is an identity; its who we are, and the Church is truly a body created by God from those whose identities are now bound up in Christ.
So much of my distraction and lukewarmness can be attributed to not fully grasping these two realities. Think about it. If you are married, that is an identity that affects how you communicate with one special person. There is a deeper, fuller, more personal, more frequent, more intuitive communication with your spouse than with the person at the mall. The same is true of God. If you are a believer in Christ, your identity has changed. Your relationship with God is different, deeper, fuller, more personal. God is no longer "out there". He is "in here". His presence changes everything.
For most life threatening illnesses, the treatment usually includes medicine and / or surgery. Both of those remedies involve deep, internal changes. So it is with Christ. He is not a figurine to put on a shelf. Nor is He a figurehead to followed at a distance. Instead, He is the surgeon and the surgery and the medicine and the healing balm. But what was taken out, has been replaced by something new and it changes who we are.
As we gather, men and women with new identities, we do not gather as a collection of people who could just as easily meet at the cafe or at the game. Rather we meet because we cannot fully do what God has called us to do alone. We all are called to do amazing, radical things for Christ, but few of them can be done fully without the body of Christ. Think about the hand. It can do some incredible things, but nourishing itself is not one of them. Consider the eye. It is truly amazing yet it cannot transport itself very well. How about the heart and lungs. Indispensable to life, yet they cannot protect themselves, actively or even passively. All of this is that same for the body of Christ. Read through 1 Cor 12. All gifts are not given to all people. We need each other. Christ has set up His kingdom to be an interdependent, Spirit dependent kingdom. Alone, we might accomplish a little, but it will probably be surface level, and localized. Together, God will use us to change the world.
I read all of this into Paul's words to Timothy. We need to immerse ourselves, not just wash, not just bathe. We need to be soaked to the bone in the truth of the gospel and be ready to do what God is calling us to do both individually and corporately.
To God Alone be the Glory
Why is it so easy to forget that Christianity isn't something we possess or something we do and that the Church isn't something we attend or even join? Instead Christianity is an identity; its who we are, and the Church is truly a body created by God from those whose identities are now bound up in Christ.
So much of my distraction and lukewarmness can be attributed to not fully grasping these two realities. Think about it. If you are married, that is an identity that affects how you communicate with one special person. There is a deeper, fuller, more personal, more frequent, more intuitive communication with your spouse than with the person at the mall. The same is true of God. If you are a believer in Christ, your identity has changed. Your relationship with God is different, deeper, fuller, more personal. God is no longer "out there". He is "in here". His presence changes everything.
For most life threatening illnesses, the treatment usually includes medicine and / or surgery. Both of those remedies involve deep, internal changes. So it is with Christ. He is not a figurine to put on a shelf. Nor is He a figurehead to followed at a distance. Instead, He is the surgeon and the surgery and the medicine and the healing balm. But what was taken out, has been replaced by something new and it changes who we are.
As we gather, men and women with new identities, we do not gather as a collection of people who could just as easily meet at the cafe or at the game. Rather we meet because we cannot fully do what God has called us to do alone. We all are called to do amazing, radical things for Christ, but few of them can be done fully without the body of Christ. Think about the hand. It can do some incredible things, but nourishing itself is not one of them. Consider the eye. It is truly amazing yet it cannot transport itself very well. How about the heart and lungs. Indispensable to life, yet they cannot protect themselves, actively or even passively. All of this is that same for the body of Christ. Read through 1 Cor 12. All gifts are not given to all people. We need each other. Christ has set up His kingdom to be an interdependent, Spirit dependent kingdom. Alone, we might accomplish a little, but it will probably be surface level, and localized. Together, God will use us to change the world.
I read all of this into Paul's words to Timothy. We need to immerse ourselves, not just wash, not just bathe. We need to be soaked to the bone in the truth of the gospel and be ready to do what God is calling us to do both individually and corporately.
To God Alone be the Glory
Tuesday, October 25, 2011
Open our eyes
“Do not be afraid, for those who are with us are more than those who are with them.” 2 Kings 6:16
In very brief snippet from the life of Elisha, 2 Kings 6 recounts Elisha being surrounded by a contingent from the Syrian army. When they arrived Elisha had no fear, although the younger prophets did. The reason for Elisha's confidence? He could see that "those who are with us are more than those who are with them."
Maybe our prayer today should be Elisha's prayer for his fellow prophets: "O LORD, please open his eyes that he may see." There is so much in that prayer.
I could (and probably should for my own soul) go on. My ache today, in reading 2 Kings 6 is that we are very 1 dimensional in our hearts and minds. Sometimes, we break through and see things in 2 dimensions. But God, according to Eph 3:10 is multifaceted. He has more dimensions than we can count. Oh, that we could just get glimpse of that today.
To God Alone be the Glory
In very brief snippet from the life of Elisha, 2 Kings 6 recounts Elisha being surrounded by a contingent from the Syrian army. When they arrived Elisha had no fear, although the younger prophets did. The reason for Elisha's confidence? He could see that "those who are with us are more than those who are with them."
Maybe our prayer today should be Elisha's prayer for his fellow prophets: "O LORD, please open his eyes that he may see." There is so much in that prayer.
- For adversity, can we see God's loving hand?
- For direction, can we see God's sovereign will?
- For faith, can we see God's steadfast goodness?
- For provision, can we see God's fatherly care?
- For salvation, can we see God's merciful sacrifice?
I could (and probably should for my own soul) go on. My ache today, in reading 2 Kings 6 is that we are very 1 dimensional in our hearts and minds. Sometimes, we break through and see things in 2 dimensions. But God, according to Eph 3:10 is multifaceted. He has more dimensions than we can count. Oh, that we could just get glimpse of that today.
To God Alone be the Glory
Monday, October 24, 2011
Then I turned my face to the Lord God
O Lord, hear; O Lord, forgive. O Lord, pay attention and act. Delay not, for your own sake, O my God, because your city and your people are called by your name. - Dan 9:19
Daniel (the man, not the book) always blows me away. Here is a man thousands of miles away from home, a captive in a foreign culture and yet he takes his faith and lives it out in a transparent and obvious way. Yet, with each success, he gives glory to God and dives in for more.
The witness of Daniel's life and the prayer recorded in chapter 9, prompt in me two questions:
1) What would my prayers be like if I could honestly, openly pray like Daniel out of the overflow of my heart?
2) What would my life be like if I could live in the same dependent, trusting, reverent-fear driven faith that Daniel had?
I have don't have the answers. Maybe God, by his grace, will reveal a portion to me in due course. I do have some Scripture based musings that may lead me back to praying more deeply and depending more fully.
Daniel's prayer is borne out of a life of devotion to God and to his word. Daniel candidly admits when he and his people failed God. Yet in spite of that reality, he pleads with God to continue to be faithful and fulfill His promises. I think this is where I often drop the ball, somehow thinking God knows what I need, so He will just do what is best. Yet, He commands us to pray and has given us tremendous models, both inside and outside of Scripture. God will act, but He often chooses to act in response to prayer.
If Daniel's prayers are the pinnacles that draw us to him and point us beyond him to God, how much more does his life of faithfulness show us what true devotion and reverent fear look like in the life of the believer? Please don't hear me say that we all need to live like Daniel. Rather, hear me say: look to Daniel's faith. Look to the awe he had for God. And most importantly look to God himself. See what Daniel saw. Hear what Daniel heard. Trust completely in the One Daniel trusted in completely.
To God Alone be the Glory
Daniel (the man, not the book) always blows me away. Here is a man thousands of miles away from home, a captive in a foreign culture and yet he takes his faith and lives it out in a transparent and obvious way. Yet, with each success, he gives glory to God and dives in for more.
The witness of Daniel's life and the prayer recorded in chapter 9, prompt in me two questions:
1) What would my prayers be like if I could honestly, openly pray like Daniel out of the overflow of my heart?
2) What would my life be like if I could live in the same dependent, trusting, reverent-fear driven faith that Daniel had?
I have don't have the answers. Maybe God, by his grace, will reveal a portion to me in due course. I do have some Scripture based musings that may lead me back to praying more deeply and depending more fully.
Daniel's prayer is borne out of a life of devotion to God and to his word. Daniel candidly admits when he and his people failed God. Yet in spite of that reality, he pleads with God to continue to be faithful and fulfill His promises. I think this is where I often drop the ball, somehow thinking God knows what I need, so He will just do what is best. Yet, He commands us to pray and has given us tremendous models, both inside and outside of Scripture. God will act, but He often chooses to act in response to prayer.
If Daniel's prayers are the pinnacles that draw us to him and point us beyond him to God, how much more does his life of faithfulness show us what true devotion and reverent fear look like in the life of the believer? Please don't hear me say that we all need to live like Daniel. Rather, hear me say: look to Daniel's faith. Look to the awe he had for God. And most importantly look to God himself. See what Daniel saw. Hear what Daniel heard. Trust completely in the One Daniel trusted in completely.
To God Alone be the Glory
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