Category: Christian life

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The Truth Hurts?

Last night I saw a church sign which read, “If the truth hurts, it must be working.” Well, maybe. It is true that there are times when the truth does hurt in order to work, times when hard changes need to be made in our lives. We can all think of times when truth was spoken to us, causing us pain that, in turn, caused us to change.

Unfortunately, many times the truth is used as a club. Some have an idea that they know God’s truth and that it is their responsibility to make sure everyone knows it. They claim to be “speaking the truth in love,” saying that they are showing love simply by speaking the truth, no matter how harshly the message is proclaimed. Of course, sometimes the “truth” that they loudly speak is nothing more than their interpretation.

There is also truth that does not hurt. The message of God’s grace and mercy is one example. The promise of resurrection is another. And while it is true that we all struggle with sin, it is also true that the Father loves us unconditionally, has given us the Holy Spirit to work in us, and is forming us into the likeness of Jesus Christ.

The reality is that truth transforms as the Spirit takes it and uses it in the life of the Christ-follower. It may hurt, but then again it may feel wonderful.

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Wish-Dreams

Last Sunday, the discussion centered around the death of “wish-dreams.” Wish-dreams are those things that we want to happen, and we all have them. We can have them in any area of our lives. A man can marry a woman and believe that she is going to meet his every need and be the perfect wife. A woman can believe that the man she marries will be her knight in shining armor and make everything right. Parents have wish-dreams for their children. You can see this by looking at the adults at any sporting event their child is a part of. Leaders and members of churches also have certain things that they expect to see in those churches. These are their wish-dreams.

The problem with wish-dreams is that they usually do not come true. Often they crash and burn with disastrous results. Marriages break up when a spouse doesn’t match the ideal and one partner cannot change the other. Young athletes burn out because of the pressure put on them by parents trying to live vicariously through their children. People bounce from church to church trying to find that ideal congregation that will be heaven on earth.

Wish-dreams die. Sometimes God kills them. We can either continue to pursue them and become disillusioned and bitter, or we can give them up and allow the Father to take us where he wants us. I have been through the process of watching dreams crumble and die. While painful, it is a necessary part of our growth as followers of Jesus. As we give up our dreams, God can replace them with his dreams for us.

I was originally going to write about the relationship between wish-dreams and unity, but I’ll give your eyes a rest by continuing this tomorrow. (Plus, I’ve always wanted to post a “series”) 🙂

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Light

Sunday morning we were talking about 1 John 1:5 , where John declares that God is light. That verse is one of the few times where Scripture says God is something. It’s hard for me to imagine pure light with no darkness at all. God is light, and that light is so pure that it is impossible for one of us to see God and live. Maybe taking the idea of staring at the sun and multiplying it by infinity might approach the idea of God being light, but probably not.

Now think of Adam and Eve in the Garden before the Fall, spending their time in God’s presence. They walked and talked with their Creator. Were they pure enough to be able to see the glory of God and still live? I think that they were, even though I can’t wrap my tiny brain around that. Unfortunately, that purity and close relationship was broken by sin, and people could no longer stand to see God. Moses only saw the afterglow of God’s presence and had to put a veil on because the people couldn’t even stand to look on that reflection of God’s glory.

Then along comes Jesus, the One called the Light of the world. He revealed the Father to us and abolished the barrier between us and God by his death, burial, and resurrection. Now we are the light of the world. Think about what that means. If people are to see the glory of God, they will see it in those of us who follow Jesus. Jesus said that people don’t take a light and hide it, but rather allow it’s light to shine. In the same way, we are not to hide the light of God that is in us, but we are to live our lives in such a way that people see God in us.

I believe that we let our light shine by taking it where the darkness is. If you light a candle outside on a sunny day, there is not much light seen from that candle. In the same way, if the only time we shine is when we are with other followers of Jesus, our light is not going to be as bright. We also can’t sit behind walls and lob “truth grenades” at those outside and expect any light to be seen. We need to shine where those living in darkness can see God’s light in us.

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Obedience Leads To Freedom…

…or does it? I was listening to Steve Brown the other day. He was speaking about a teaching that I had heard all my life and fully believed, until about a year or so ago. This was the idea that obedience leads to freedom. I heard the story about how the fence around the yard allowed the little dog the freedom of running around the whole yard and protected it from the big dogs outside the fence. I also remember preachers talking about how the train tracks allow the train the freedom to run without wrecking. All of this was to emphasize how we need rules and regulations in our lives and how obedience led to freedom.

Now, it is true that rules do allow many things, including our lives , to run smoother in a lot of ways. Sporting events run much smoother with rules, and obeying those rules does bring freedom as you compete. The problem with applying this to our spiritual lives is that is just not true. The Pharisees rigidly obeyed the Law. They even came up with rules to keep people from even coming close to breaking the rules. They not only had no freedom, they didn’t realize they were in bondage. We all know people who obeyed all the rules while they were growing up and rejected the faith as soon as they got out on their own. Many of us also know folks who obey and stay in church, yet are obviously not free. Of course, that brings up the question of whether they are obeying God’s commands or man’s rules, but that’s another topic.

We aren’t free because we obey. We obey because we are free. Because God has been gracious to us, and has set us free, we can now obey him. Because we are free, we can also choose to disobey. But, because God has given us his Spirit, he works in us to make us more and more like Jesus. That is not to say that we have no responsibility to learn and be a disciple, but rather to say that the strength to do that comes from God and the motivation to do that arises out of gratitude and love. God puts in us the desire to obey. We often fail miserably, but the desire to do what is right and become more like Jesus is from our Father.

It is good for us to realize that it is not our own effort that brings freedom. We are free because of what Christ has done for us. As we sink deeper and deeper into the love the Father has for us, and seek to be more like the Master, we will more naturally do what God wants us to do.

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What Kind of Questions?

Last week fr’nklin posted this quote: “Apologetics is answering the questions raised by our lives.” This is a brilliant statement, and a much better way of looking at apologetics than I had ever heard before.

As we talked about this, we wondered about the kinds of questions currently being asked about the church. Questions like, “Why does the church hate gays?” How about, “Why can’t people in the church get along?” Maybe you’ve heard, “Why is the church always asking for money?” Then there’s, “Why do churches need those big buildings?” When these questions are asked, the answers that are given usually have little to do with the teachings of Jesus.

What if people began to ask, “Why do those people share their things with others?” What if, instead of asking why we’re against certain people, folks asked why we showed love to everyone, even those who were hostile to us. When the religious leaders in Jerusalem were questioning the disciples, they wondered about the fact that they were unschooled, but then took note of the fact that those men had been with Jesus. Imagine the questions this raised in those leaders’ minds.

When those around us see our lives, what kinds of questions do they ask? Do they take note that we have been with this religious group or that church, or do they see that we have been with Jesus?

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Christian, follower, or…

I’ve been reading The Great Omission by Dallas Willard, and some thoughts have been stirred. I became a Christian at an early age, so you could say that I grew up Christian. In the circles I was a part of the definition of “Christian” was someone who had prayed a prayer to ask Jesus into their heart and who assented to a particular set of beliefs. Those who had not said “the prayer” or didn’t believe as we did were seen as not Christian, or at the most, not a very good one. We were taught that America was “a Christian nation,” and that some folks wanted to deny our Christian heritage and take it away from us. Our job as Christians was to live a good moral life, and stay away from those who didn’t. At the same time we were to be a “good witness” to those we were staying away from. We were to tell them that they were sinners and that if they said the prayer, they too could become Christians and live good moral lives and then go to heaven when they die.

As I grew into young adulthood, I slowly began to realize that others beside fundamental Baptists could be Christians as well. They still had to assent to a set of beliefs, but my definition of those beliefs narrowed a bit. I still saw salvation as a moment in time and the Gospel as only a way to get into heaven without it necessarily affecting your life very much. The interesting thing about this is that while I still held to many of the ideas of my childhood teaching regarding God and the Bible, many areas of my life would give some people reason to doubt my own Christianity. I had succumbed to the idea that having a home in heaven when I died was the only thing that mattered, so how I lived here in this life wasn’t really important. Of course, I tried to make sure that certain people didn’t find out certain things. After all, I had a reputation as a Christian to protect.

The term “Christian” has come to mean something far different from what it originally meant. Depending on who you talk to, “Christian” can mean a politically conservative American, or someone who leans to the left. It can mean someone who is not Jewish, Muslim, Buddhist, Hindu, or atheist. Many hear the term and think of a person who is mean spirited, narrow minded, and arrogant. Many who call themselves Christian are simply part of the culture of Christendom that has grown in the West over the past few hundred years. So, to separate from that mindset, I have been calling myself a follower of Jesus.

While I still like the term “follower of Jesus,” especially as opposed to “Christian,” I’m beginning to think that even that is not descriptive enough of what I am, or at least what I am trying to be. Dallas Willard writes about how the concept of discipleship has been ignored by the Church, or at best relegated to a group of super spiritual folks who want to “go deeper.” Willard makes the point that the Great Commission given by Jesus is a call to make disciples. In first century Palestine a disciple was one who apprenticed himself to a rabbi. The disciple made a commitment to learn from the rabbi and had a goal to relate to God in the same way the rabbi did. It was more than just learning information. It was being with the rabbi and watching him, how he dealt with people and situations. It was becoming like the rabbi, not just learning about the rabbi. A saying from that time was, “Follow the rabbi. Drink in his words, and cover yourself with the dust of his feet.” The idea was to be so close to the rabbi that when people saw the disciple they saw the rabbi.

That is what I want. I want to to learn from Jesus, to spend time with him and see how he relates to God. I want to obey what he teaches, and follow him so closely that folks see him through me. I want people to see the hope that is in me, so I can tell them about Jesus. I want to be like Jesus. I’ve got a long way to go, but that is my desire.

So, just call me a disciple of Jesus.

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Hi. My Names’s Fred and I’m a…

…recovering Pharisee. There should be a group named P.A. (Pharisees Anonymous). I would join. Growing up in fundamentalism, I was taught that the only ones who were right were independent fundamental Baptist. I fully believed that. I can remember being judgemental of those that used the RSV as their Bible. After all, they left out some things that were in the King James, which we knew was the only correct interpretation. Those who baptized infants, learned catechisms, venerated saints, or believed in the “social gospel” were somewhat lesser Christians than we were, if they were Christians at all. Even in the midst of my teenage rebellion, I still believed that I had been taught THE TRUTH, and everyone who disagreed with that was wrong. The attitude persisted through Bible college and I graduated fully ready to defend the Faith.

Fast forward twenty or thirty years. Through those years God has been working in me and teaching me that many of the things I had been taught were either not Biblical at all, distinctives of a particular group, or simply cultural. I began to experience real grace for the first time as I learned that the Father loves me no matter what. He is pleased with me and there is nothing I can do to make him any more or any less pleased with me. I desire to follow Jesus out of a heart full of gratitude and love rather than a need to “stay right with God” (I did a lousy job of that).

The problem is that I still struggle with being a Pharisee. I still have a tendency to judge people. The difference is that now I am not judging liberals or any of the ones I used to judge. Now, I tend to be judgemental of other people who are judgemental. I tend to look at fundamentalists, especially independent Baptists with a much too critical eye. I am realizing more and more that this attitude is nothing less than it was when I was younger. It’s sin. I am no better than those I criticize for being critical.

I read an interview in which Brain McLaren was asked about those who criticize him and call him heretic, etc. His response was that he believed that those critics loved Jesus and were trying to follow him the best they could, and that he simply disagreed with their methods as well as some of their theology. It was one of the most gracious responses I’ve ever seen. He did not condemn them, but accepted them as brothers, even though they disagree. That’s the kind of response I want to have in my life toward those who are critical. May God grant that to all of us.

My name’s Fred and I’m try to leave Phariseeism behind.

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Two Natures

I’ve been thinking about something I was taught as a youngster about the Christian having two natures, the old sin nature and the new nature in Christ. I believed it and taught it. I even used the illustration of the Indian (no, not “Bowels no move”!). The one where the Indian tries to explain the two natures by saying it’s like having two dogs inside – a good dog and a bad dog. The person asks, “Which dog wins?”, and the Indian replies, “Whichever one I feed.” So, I was taught to “feed” the new nature by reading the Bible, praying, going to church, etc. I was also told to avoid certain things that would feed the old nature.

The more I think about the concept of the Gospel being about us becoming a new creation and of Jesus restoring creation and oneness with God, the less I believe that there are two natures inside the Christian. The classic passage in Romans 7 is used as a basis for this doctrine. Is it possible that Paul is not writing about the struggle that goes on in the believer between two natures? Could he be talking about the state of a person who tries to earn favor with God by keeping the Law and the despondency that would drive him to. Paul asks, “Who will deliver me from this body of death?” and then answers his own question by giving thanks to God for his deliverance. In the first verse of the next chapter, Paul goes on to say that there is now now longer any condemnation for those who are in Christ. That seems to me to be saying that when we become a follower of Jesus we have a new Spirit-filled nature and are being made into the image of Christ. It takes a lifetime, but it is not a case of us “feeding” one nature or the other.

What do you all think?

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The Presence of God

Have you ever been in a church service and heard someone pray and thank God for the chance to come into his house and worship in his presence? Or maybe you’ve prayed that yourself? I have. Or maybe you’ve sung the hymn, “In the Garden.” You know, the one that talks about meeting Jesus in a particular place at a particular time and then going out on your own into the world outside the “garden.” I think songs like “In the Garden,” and prayers that speak of “coming into” God’s presence have unwittingly helped foster a dualistic way of looking at the world.

Growing up, I was always taught that it was important to have a time and place set aside to “meet with God”, to spend some time reading the Bible and praying in order to be able to face the challenges of the day. We were told that first thing in the morning was the best. On top of that we should attend church services on Sunday morning and Sunday night to be prepared for the week ahead, and also show up on Wednesday night in order to refresh your faith for the second half of the week. Behind it all was the idea that if you weren’t in church three or more times a week and having your own devotional time, you weren’t spending enough time with God.

Don’t misunderstand me. I am NOT saying that setting aside a regular amount of time to read Scripture and pray is a bad thing. I am NOT saying that a time of corporate worship and instruction is a bad thing. I AM saying that we fall short of the life that Jesus came to give us when we act as if those are the only times we are in the presence of God.

I see this in the theology that teaches that salvation is only spiritual and guarantees that one day we will escape this old world of sin and misery and go to our home in heaven. I believe that if we see heaven as “somewhere beyond the blue”, it makes sense to believe that God isn’t really with us in our day-to-day, and that it is essential that we go to church a lot and carve out a special time to “meet” with God. While folks may protest that they don’t believe that, I think the evidence in their lives shows that they really do. Having said that, I know that there are people who use the words of this theology because that is what they grew up with, yet live as if they are always in the presence of God.

If we believe that God fills all of creation and that he is not limited to a particular place, then we can realize that heaven is all around us and that God is making all things new right now, and will finally restore his creation when Jesus returns. If we really believe that, then while we may set aside a certain time and place to focus on the Father, we will live in our day-to-day aware that we are continually in God’s presence and don’t have to rely on whether or not we had our “devotions that morning. We have the Spirit in us to guide us and reveal to us what God wants us to know and do.

Yes, we need to read and know the Bible. Yes, we need to pray. But we should never think that a certain time of the day or day of the week is the only time we are in God’s presence. As the Psalmist asked, where can we go where God is not there?

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Being Like Jesus

The other night in our emergent cohort meeting, we were discussing what it means to be like Jesus Christ, and if, in fact, we can ever be like Christ. For what it’s worth, here are my thoughts.

I believe that there is a sense in which we can never be like Jesus. He is God, we are not and never will be. On the other hand, Paul tells us that the good that God works for us in all things is becoming like Jesus. To the first century Jew, discipleship meant being like the rabbi, learning to relate to God the way the rabbi did. So, how do we become like Jesus?

I think part of the answer lies in the concept of the disciple becoming like the rabbi in the way he related to God. Jesus relationship with God was a relationship of love and oneness. In the Garden of Eden the relationship between God and Adam and Eve was a relationship of love and oneness. Sin broke that relationship. Jesus came to restore that oneness. His sacrifice on the cross removed the barrier between us and God. Now, we can have a relationship of love and oneness with the Father. As we learn to follow our Rabbi closer, and grow in our faith and trust in him, we learn how to relate to the Father the same way Jesus does. The more we relate to God in love and oneness, the more we relate to those around us in the same way. In this way we fulfill the two greatest commands: love God and love others. So, we are formed into the image of Christ.

Thoughts?