*Clearly, Luther, in agreement with the Scriptures sees that anything that we put our trust in more than we do in the God revealed in the Bible, is a superstition. This includes our own tainted reason."The entire law is summed up in a single command: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.'"Galatians 5:14
After having heard and accepted the true teaching about faith, the apostle Paul seriously admonishes Christians to practice genuine good works. This is because remnants of sin remain in those who are justified. These remnants resist faith and divert us from doing true good works. Human reason and the sinful nature resist the Spirit in believers and control unbelievers. Reason is naturally inclined toward hypocritical superstition. It wants to measure God according to its own thoughts rather than according to his Word. It does works of its own choosing more enthusiastically than the ones God commanded. That's why faithful teachers must teach and impress on people true love and true good works just as much as they teach faith.
No one should think they fully understand this command: "Love your neighbor." Certainly this command is very short and very easy as far as the words are concerned. But where are the teachers and learners who actually practice this in life? These words, "Serve one another humbly in love," and "Love your neighbor as yourself," are eternal words. No one can think about, urge, and practice them enough.
It's remarkable that believers will immediately have troubled consciences if they fail to do something trivial. But these same people feel nothing at all when they neglect love and when their hearts aren't sincere and affectionate toward their neighbor. Unfortunately, this happens every day. For they don't regard God's command to love as highly as their own superstitions.*
Friday, October 22, 2010
Martin Luther on 'Loving Our Neighbors'
Yesterday's installment of Faith Alone: A Daily Devotional, extracted from many of Martin Luther's sermons, essays, and table talks, struck me both personally and as a commentary on trends in both the Church and in society:
Thursday, October 21, 2010
Tuesday, October 19, 2010
Two little words...
in Aramaic, no less, and what they might teach us about how the earliest Christians viewed Jesus as not just a human being, but also as God in the flesh. Mark D. Roberts explains.
Monday, October 18, 2010
"God can use you if you're willing"
Here. Every Christian has at least one ministry.
But each of us was given grace according to the measure of Christ’s gift. 8Therefore it is said, “When he ascended on high he made captivity itself a captive; he gave gifts to his people.” 9(When it says, “He ascended,” what does it mean but that he had also descended into the lower parts of the earth? 10He who descended is the same one who ascended far above all the heavens, so that he might fill all things.) 11The gifts he gave were that some would be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, some pastors and teachers, 12to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, 13until all of us come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to maturity, to the measure of the full stature of Christ. (Ephesians 4:7-13)
Let God Decide Whether Your Worries Are Big Enough to Bother Him About
Who are we to decide if our worries are big enough or too small to tell God about? Just give your worries to God and let God decide.
Sunday, October 17, 2010
Living in the Power of the Word of God
[This was shared during worship with the people of Saint Matthew Lutheran Church in Logan, Ohio, earlier today.]
2 Timothy 3:14-4:5
One thing I’ve observed through the years is that while the New Testament may sometimes confuse us, the Old Testament often frightens us.
The apostle Paul was neither confused nor frightened by the Old Testament, though. In fact, in 64AD, when the New Testament didn’t yet exist, he reminded the young pastor Timothy that from Timothy’s childhood (in fact, the original text says literally from Timothy's infancy), through his grandmother and mother, “you have known the sacred writings [that’s the books of the Old Testament] that are able to instruct you for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus.”
Those are curious words to us who are prone to see big differences between the two testaments of the Bible. But Paul understood that while Jesus’ Name is never used in the Old Testament, Jesus bore the very “image of the invisible God” revealed in the Old Testament.
The God Who, through no merit on Abraham's or Sarah's parts, made them the parents of God’s people, is the same God Who, through no merit of on our parts, sent Jesus so that all who believe in Him will not perish, but live with God forever.
The God Whose anger burned fiercely against the people who betrayed Him and turned to other gods is the same God Who, in Jesus, issued warnings to cities that refused to acknowledge Him as Lord and Messiah.
I believe that the reason Jesus’ Name is never used in the Old Testament is that once God entered the world in Jesus, He wanted people to come to faith in Him by the witness of actions consistent with the character, will, and personality of God revealed in Old Testament times, and not by the force of His Name.
Paul tells Timothy in our second lesson today that if Timothy would take the time to study the Old Testament, he would see the God of the Old Testament in the Word made flesh, in Jesus.
This is a good launching point for looking at our second lesson in more detail. If you would, please pull out the Celebrate inserts, look at the second lesson, and read along silently with me starting at chapter 3, verse 16: “All scripture is inspired by God and is useful for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness…”
When Paul speaks of “all scripture” here, he’s talking about the Old Testament, of course. But through the centuries, the Church, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, has come to add the 27 books of the New Testament to the 39 books of the Old Testament, to complete scripture in what we know as the Bible.
Paul says that all scripture “is inspired by God.” In the original Greek of the New Testament, the word translated as inspired in our lesson is theopneustos, literally God-breathed. That means that the Bible is filled with the breath or Spirit or life of God, something we may not notice if the Bible is just a book collecting dust on our shelves or is an unused app on our iPods.
If you’ve been tempted to think of the Bible as the remnant of ancient civilizations, think again. God inhabits the Bible and if you will take its truths, especially the truth about Jesus, the Savior of the world, as the foundation of your life, God’s Word will inhabit your life.
Now, in verse 17 of our lesson, we come to two important words: “So that.” Circle those words on your Celebrate inserts, if you would. Those two words indicate purpose, God's purpose.
Paul is saying that God gives us the Word not to entertain us and not just to comfort us, but for a reason: to be a tool for living.
Read the whole verse: “So that everyone who belongs to God may be proficient, equipped for every good work.” God gives His Word so that those who believe in Jesus will be ready to do all the good that God calls us to do. God’s Word makes us proficient for a new way of life. To be proficient is to be competent, capable, qualified. Through God’s Word, we can become qualified to do every good work God has in mind for us—from witnessing to others about Jesus to serving our neighbors in Jesus’ Name or teaching Sunday School.
Starting at chapter 4, verse 1, Paul turns very serious. He underscores his seriousness by calling on God the Father and Jesus Christ, the same Jesus Christ Who will judge every human being when He reappears at the end of history, to witness to five responsibilities Paul entrusts to this young pastor Timothy. These five responsibilities belong, in fact, to all who confess Jesus as their Savior, something we’ll do again in a few moments through the words of the Nicene Creed. They’re our five responsibilities, too.
Paul says:
(1) “Proclaim the message.” We’re to tell the people we live with, work with, and go to school with, that they can have new life when they repent of sin and entrust their lives to Jesus Christ.
(2) “Be persistent whether the time is favorable or unfavorable.” In loving, considerate ways, tell the truth about what God’s Word says whether the world likes it or not. Tell people that their sins killed Jesus, but that Jesus’ death and resurrection can bring them forgiveness and eternity with God.
There are lots of false teachers these days, as there were in Paul’s day, who try to make God more acceptable to people by leaving out chunks of the Bible’s truth about God.
Some of these false teachers are perfectly coiffed TV preachers who never mention sin, repentance, or the cross. They only tell people to believe that God is going to give them bigger incomes and to believe in themselves.
Other false teachers uphold political correctness by insisting, despite what God’s Word tells us, that people can be right with God whether they repent for sin or not, choose to acknowledge some sin as sin or not, or whether they believe that Jesus is humanity’s one and only Savior or not.
Folks, when we Jesus confronts us at the ends of our lives, He will not be interested in how popular or successful we were, but only in how faithful we were, whether we persisted in following Jesus, and whether, as repentant sinners communicating with our fellow sinners, we told the truth about God’s Word. As Mother Teresa once said, "God has not called me to be successful; He has called me to be faithful."
(3) “Convince.” Use every means God makes available to you to lovingly persuade others to follow Jesus and so gain the life that only Jesus gives.
(4) “Rebuke.” Don’t be afraid to set those you love straight. A friend of mine, a Christian, was in the constant habit of using God’s Name as a punctuation mark in his sentences. He wasn't cursing, just inserting God's Name as an exclamation. He meant nothing by it, which is exactly what God is talking about when He tells us not to use His Name in vain. I didn’t have the gumption to do it, but another friend approached this fellow and asked, “Why do you do that? That’s not what God gave you His Name for.” To his credit, my first friend stopped using God’s Name vainly. He actually thanked my other friend for helping him to clean up his act.
(5) “And encourage, with the utmost patience…” Sometimes, when I grow frustrated with other Christians, I take a look in the mirror and think, “Exactly how patient is God with all your sins and childishness, Mark? Maybe you should extend that same patience to others as you share God’s Word with them.”
Now, please look at verses 3 and 4: “For the time is coming when people will not put up with sound doctrine, but having itching ears, they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own desires, and will turn away from listening to the truth and wander away to myths.”
The phrase translated in our lesson as sound doctrine, in the original Greek is literally healthy teaching. Some don’t want to hear “healthy teaching,” teaching that accords with the revealed Word and will of God. They don’t want to hear that they need to repent for their sins and trust in Jesus alone. They want to follow gurus and quacks. They want to call themselves gods or say there is no god. They want to claim that science or experience has taught them that what the Bible says is right or wrong really isn’t valid. They get itching ears, wanting to hear an easier message.
All of these inclinations are unhealthy because false teaching takes us away from the life-giving Word of God.
Recently, I spoke with a man who, like me, is a heart patient. He refuses to eat what the doctors tell him to eat. And he claims that he gets enough exercise at work not to need any additional walking or time in the gym. He just wants the doctor to give him medicine so that he can go on living the way he wants to live. That man may survive me. But his desire to do what he wants to do rather than following his doctors’ strong advice puts his health at jeopardy.
Paul says that we put our spiritual health and our eternal lives at jeopardy when we refuse to stand under the authority of God’s Word and, instead, wander into humanly-created myths. Life comes from the Bible’s Word about Jesus and nowhere else.
Finally, Paul says in verse 5: “As for you, always be sober, endure suffering, do the work of an evangelist, carry out your ministry fully.”
Merlin Hoops was one of my professors in seminary. One class I took from him dealt with 1 Peter, the New Testament letter to churches in Asia Minor whose members faced persecution and shunning for their faith in Christ. One day, Dr. Hoops looked at us all and said, “I shudder when I think of the adversity and pain some of you will endure because of your faith in Christ.”
Every Christian has a ministry, an area of service in which Christ calls us to share the Word of God with others. And every Christian is to be an evangelist, which means a person who shares the good news about Jesus.
If we strive to be faithful to Christ by doing our individual ministries, by sharing the good news, we will experience great highs:
Keep on doing your ministry, anyway! Keep on being faithful to Christ anyway!
You see, in the end, we don’t follow Jesus to get others to like us, or have others be dependent on us, or to win awards and accolades.
We follow Jesus simply to thank God for Jesus and for the new life He has given to us and, out of simple Christian love for our neighbor, to give others what we already enjoy through Christ: a life with God that has already started and will stretch for an eternity when this world and all of its troubles are but a faint memory, an eternity when God’s Word in all its power will fill us with a life that never ends.
2 Timothy 3:14-4:5
One thing I’ve observed through the years is that while the New Testament may sometimes confuse us, the Old Testament often frightens us.
The apostle Paul was neither confused nor frightened by the Old Testament, though. In fact, in 64AD, when the New Testament didn’t yet exist, he reminded the young pastor Timothy that from Timothy’s childhood (in fact, the original text says literally from Timothy's infancy), through his grandmother and mother, “you have known the sacred writings [that’s the books of the Old Testament] that are able to instruct you for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus.”
Those are curious words to us who are prone to see big differences between the two testaments of the Bible. But Paul understood that while Jesus’ Name is never used in the Old Testament, Jesus bore the very “image of the invisible God” revealed in the Old Testament.
The God Who, through no merit on Abraham's or Sarah's parts, made them the parents of God’s people, is the same God Who, through no merit of on our parts, sent Jesus so that all who believe in Him will not perish, but live with God forever.
The God Whose anger burned fiercely against the people who betrayed Him and turned to other gods is the same God Who, in Jesus, issued warnings to cities that refused to acknowledge Him as Lord and Messiah.
I believe that the reason Jesus’ Name is never used in the Old Testament is that once God entered the world in Jesus, He wanted people to come to faith in Him by the witness of actions consistent with the character, will, and personality of God revealed in Old Testament times, and not by the force of His Name.
Paul tells Timothy in our second lesson today that if Timothy would take the time to study the Old Testament, he would see the God of the Old Testament in the Word made flesh, in Jesus.
This is a good launching point for looking at our second lesson in more detail. If you would, please pull out the Celebrate inserts, look at the second lesson, and read along silently with me starting at chapter 3, verse 16: “All scripture is inspired by God and is useful for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness…”
When Paul speaks of “all scripture” here, he’s talking about the Old Testament, of course. But through the centuries, the Church, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, has come to add the 27 books of the New Testament to the 39 books of the Old Testament, to complete scripture in what we know as the Bible.
Paul says that all scripture “is inspired by God.” In the original Greek of the New Testament, the word translated as inspired in our lesson is theopneustos, literally God-breathed. That means that the Bible is filled with the breath or Spirit or life of God, something we may not notice if the Bible is just a book collecting dust on our shelves or is an unused app on our iPods.
If you’ve been tempted to think of the Bible as the remnant of ancient civilizations, think again. God inhabits the Bible and if you will take its truths, especially the truth about Jesus, the Savior of the world, as the foundation of your life, God’s Word will inhabit your life.
Now, in verse 17 of our lesson, we come to two important words: “So that.” Circle those words on your Celebrate inserts, if you would. Those two words indicate purpose, God's purpose.
Paul is saying that God gives us the Word not to entertain us and not just to comfort us, but for a reason: to be a tool for living.
Read the whole verse: “So that everyone who belongs to God may be proficient, equipped for every good work.” God gives His Word so that those who believe in Jesus will be ready to do all the good that God calls us to do. God’s Word makes us proficient for a new way of life. To be proficient is to be competent, capable, qualified. Through God’s Word, we can become qualified to do every good work God has in mind for us—from witnessing to others about Jesus to serving our neighbors in Jesus’ Name or teaching Sunday School.
Starting at chapter 4, verse 1, Paul turns very serious. He underscores his seriousness by calling on God the Father and Jesus Christ, the same Jesus Christ Who will judge every human being when He reappears at the end of history, to witness to five responsibilities Paul entrusts to this young pastor Timothy. These five responsibilities belong, in fact, to all who confess Jesus as their Savior, something we’ll do again in a few moments through the words of the Nicene Creed. They’re our five responsibilities, too.
Paul says:
(1) “Proclaim the message.” We’re to tell the people we live with, work with, and go to school with, that they can have new life when they repent of sin and entrust their lives to Jesus Christ.
(2) “Be persistent whether the time is favorable or unfavorable.” In loving, considerate ways, tell the truth about what God’s Word says whether the world likes it or not. Tell people that their sins killed Jesus, but that Jesus’ death and resurrection can bring them forgiveness and eternity with God.
There are lots of false teachers these days, as there were in Paul’s day, who try to make God more acceptable to people by leaving out chunks of the Bible’s truth about God.
Some of these false teachers are perfectly coiffed TV preachers who never mention sin, repentance, or the cross. They only tell people to believe that God is going to give them bigger incomes and to believe in themselves.
Other false teachers uphold political correctness by insisting, despite what God’s Word tells us, that people can be right with God whether they repent for sin or not, choose to acknowledge some sin as sin or not, or whether they believe that Jesus is humanity’s one and only Savior or not.
Folks, when we Jesus confronts us at the ends of our lives, He will not be interested in how popular or successful we were, but only in how faithful we were, whether we persisted in following Jesus, and whether, as repentant sinners communicating with our fellow sinners, we told the truth about God’s Word. As Mother Teresa once said, "God has not called me to be successful; He has called me to be faithful."
(3) “Convince.” Use every means God makes available to you to lovingly persuade others to follow Jesus and so gain the life that only Jesus gives.
(4) “Rebuke.” Don’t be afraid to set those you love straight. A friend of mine, a Christian, was in the constant habit of using God’s Name as a punctuation mark in his sentences. He wasn't cursing, just inserting God's Name as an exclamation. He meant nothing by it, which is exactly what God is talking about when He tells us not to use His Name in vain. I didn’t have the gumption to do it, but another friend approached this fellow and asked, “Why do you do that? That’s not what God gave you His Name for.” To his credit, my first friend stopped using God’s Name vainly. He actually thanked my other friend for helping him to clean up his act.
(5) “And encourage, with the utmost patience…” Sometimes, when I grow frustrated with other Christians, I take a look in the mirror and think, “Exactly how patient is God with all your sins and childishness, Mark? Maybe you should extend that same patience to others as you share God’s Word with them.”
Now, please look at verses 3 and 4: “For the time is coming when people will not put up with sound doctrine, but having itching ears, they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own desires, and will turn away from listening to the truth and wander away to myths.”
The phrase translated in our lesson as sound doctrine, in the original Greek is literally healthy teaching. Some don’t want to hear “healthy teaching,” teaching that accords with the revealed Word and will of God. They don’t want to hear that they need to repent for their sins and trust in Jesus alone. They want to follow gurus and quacks. They want to call themselves gods or say there is no god. They want to claim that science or experience has taught them that what the Bible says is right or wrong really isn’t valid. They get itching ears, wanting to hear an easier message.
All of these inclinations are unhealthy because false teaching takes us away from the life-giving Word of God.
Recently, I spoke with a man who, like me, is a heart patient. He refuses to eat what the doctors tell him to eat. And he claims that he gets enough exercise at work not to need any additional walking or time in the gym. He just wants the doctor to give him medicine so that he can go on living the way he wants to live. That man may survive me. But his desire to do what he wants to do rather than following his doctors’ strong advice puts his health at jeopardy.
Paul says that we put our spiritual health and our eternal lives at jeopardy when we refuse to stand under the authority of God’s Word and, instead, wander into humanly-created myths. Life comes from the Bible’s Word about Jesus and nowhere else.
Finally, Paul says in verse 5: “As for you, always be sober, endure suffering, do the work of an evangelist, carry out your ministry fully.”
Merlin Hoops was one of my professors in seminary. One class I took from him dealt with 1 Peter, the New Testament letter to churches in Asia Minor whose members faced persecution and shunning for their faith in Christ. One day, Dr. Hoops looked at us all and said, “I shudder when I think of the adversity and pain some of you will endure because of your faith in Christ.”
Every Christian has a ministry, an area of service in which Christ calls us to share the Word of God with others. And every Christian is to be an evangelist, which means a person who shares the good news about Jesus.
If we strive to be faithful to Christ by doing our individual ministries, by sharing the good news, we will experience great highs:
- We’ll see friends and family enter eternity by faith in Christ.
- We’ll see impoverished families helped.
- We’ll see people’s burdens lightened by the help Christ enables us to give to them.
- Trusted Christian friends will turn on us.
- Others will take advantage of us.
- Most will remain untouched by our enthusiasm for Jesus.
Keep on doing your ministry, anyway! Keep on being faithful to Christ anyway!
You see, in the end, we don’t follow Jesus to get others to like us, or have others be dependent on us, or to win awards and accolades.
We follow Jesus simply to thank God for Jesus and for the new life He has given to us and, out of simple Christian love for our neighbor, to give others what we already enjoy through Christ: a life with God that has already started and will stretch for an eternity when this world and all of its troubles are but a faint memory, an eternity when God’s Word in all its power will fill us with a life that never ends.
Ah, Nuts!
My Buckeyes lost to the Badgers on Saturday night.
It's tough to spot a team as good as Wisconsin 21 points at their home field and have any chance of coming back. That was what the Buckeyes faced in trying to salvage this game last evening.
While the Buckeyes' play in the third and the start of the fourth quarters revived hopes for getting the win and retaining the Number 1 ranking conferred on the team after Alabama's loss just last Saturday, Ohio State's defense broke down on a key Wisconsin offensive drive in the fourth.
Some of the Buckeyes' flaws visible throughout the year showed themselves and proved costly. OSU's special teams gave up a touchdown on the first kickoff return twelve seconds into the game. The defensive line was repeatedly blown off the line of scrimmage throughout much of the game.
But there were bright spots. Terrelle Pryor showed his maturity as a quarterback by repeatedly making good decisions with his reads. Dan Herron showed real toughness and, I think, played a very good game. He is now indisputably the Buckeyes' #1 running back. The comeback bid made by Ohio State in the third quarter is a tribute to the ability of Coach Jim Tressel and his staff to calm and refocus the team.
At this point, it's tough to even see how this season can end with a Big Ten title for the Buckeyes. Michigan State appears to be poised to run the table and the Buckeyes and Spartans don't meet this season.
But we will see. There's still a lot of season to be played. Go, Buckeyes!
It's tough to spot a team as good as Wisconsin 21 points at their home field and have any chance of coming back. That was what the Buckeyes faced in trying to salvage this game last evening.
While the Buckeyes' play in the third and the start of the fourth quarters revived hopes for getting the win and retaining the Number 1 ranking conferred on the team after Alabama's loss just last Saturday, Ohio State's defense broke down on a key Wisconsin offensive drive in the fourth.
Some of the Buckeyes' flaws visible throughout the year showed themselves and proved costly. OSU's special teams gave up a touchdown on the first kickoff return twelve seconds into the game. The defensive line was repeatedly blown off the line of scrimmage throughout much of the game.
But there were bright spots. Terrelle Pryor showed his maturity as a quarterback by repeatedly making good decisions with his reads. Dan Herron showed real toughness and, I think, played a very good game. He is now indisputably the Buckeyes' #1 running back. The comeback bid made by Ohio State in the third quarter is a tribute to the ability of Coach Jim Tressel and his staff to calm and refocus the team.
At this point, it's tough to even see how this season can end with a Big Ten title for the Buckeyes. Michigan State appears to be poised to run the table and the Buckeyes and Spartans don't meet this season.
But we will see. There's still a lot of season to be played. Go, Buckeyes!
Saturday, October 16, 2010
Things Look Rosey for the Reds in 2011
I can't wait for pitchers and catchers to report to Spring Training!
For twenty years, Reds fans have been saying, "We need pitching!" No more!
Pitchers and catchers report on February 13.
For twenty years, Reds fans have been saying, "We need pitching!" No more!
This is a roster that should remain largely intact and poised to make another run, especially in a National League Central division that doesn't appear to be super strong heading into 2011.And there's a similar surfeit of riches among position players:
The Reds have rarely had a deeper rotation and will head into next season with more quality starting pitchers than available spots. Arroyo, Edinson Volquez, Johnny Cueto, Travis Wood, Mike Leake and Homer Bailey are all back and Sam LeCure and Matt Maloney will be trying to get their way in.
Aroldis Chapman made a huge splash as a reliever late this season but the club hasn't determined if he'll be a starter next year. If he does, it could be the development of a future ace.
In the bullpen, closer Francisco Cordero, setup man Nick Masset and Logan Ondrusek are among those coming back.
Among position players, Joey Votto will be coming off of his MVP caliber season and a huge bump in salary. He's first-time arbitration eligible and work will be done to sign him to a multiyear contract. Brandon Phillips and Scott Rolen are already signed for next season. Jay Bruce, who hit 25 home runs, is also a possible arbitration guy as a Super 2.Read the whole thing...and if you're a Reds fan, savor!
Pitchers and catchers report on February 13.
Friday, October 15, 2010
The Separation of Church and State
Whenever we drive out of town, my wife, Ann, and I have the same routine: She drives and I read to her. The custom began when we realized early in our relationship that she liked driving long distances more than I do and that, unlike her, I can read in the car without getting sick.
Some might call it kismet. I just call it a good deal. Ann and I both get to do what we enjoy doing while driving and, together, we "read" a bonus book beyond whatever we may individually be reading at the time.
We started out reading magazine and newspaper articles. But in recent years, we've switched to reading books. With frequent visits to see our family members, who are an hour's drive from where we live these days, we've been able to work our ways more quickly through some great books. We just finished T.J. Stiles' biography of Cornelius Vanderbilt, The First Tycoon, and have just moved onto Nathaniel Philbrick's Mayflower: A Story of Courage, Community, and War.
Philbrick attempts to revise the revisionists' take on the Pilgrim settlers of Massachusetts. He tries to move beyond the simplistic interpretations that have prevailed in the past: first, the virtuous and religious Pilgrims who got along well with the Native Americans they encountered and with whom they celebrated the first Thanksgiving; then, the rapacious, bloodthirsty Europeans who viewed the Native Americans as subhuman obstacles. Neither version of events fits with the facts, Philbrick says, though each contains elements of the more complicated truth.
I may write in more detail about the book later. But for now, I'd like to share a few lines that really caught my attention as we read Mayflower on the way back from a workout and grocery shopping foray this evening. Philbrick is discussing the Mayflower Compact, the famed document about which every elementary school student learns--or at least, learned for years and should still be learning today, if we intend to turn out citizens actually capable of making sound decisions when they vote or watch the television news. The Compact was the first governing document produced by European settlers in the Americas. Along with the US Constitution and the Declaration of Independence, it is among the most important political document produced here.
Just over half the Mayflower settlers were Pilgrims, meaning that in a vote by males (the only ones who got a vote in this seventeenth century outpost), they could get their way. But their pastor, who remained in Holland as a large portion of his flock headed for the New World, had emphasized the importance of working together with those who didn't share the Pilgrims' faith. Pastor John Robinson's advice, codified in the Compact signed by forty-one male colonists (nine did not sign, many probably owing to illness), acted, in a way, as a model for subsequent developments. Robinson, in a farewell letter written to the Pilgrims from their exile home in Leiden, Holland, where they had lived for some years following emigration from England, did not envisage a theocracy, but a civil government, separated from the Church.
But, take a look at Philbrick's interesting account and reflections:
Before they landed, it was essential that they all sign a formal and binding agreement of some sort. Over the course of the next day, they hammered out what has come to be known as the Mayflower Compact.What Robinson foresaw as he said goodbye to his congregants is that while his flock might well remain separated from others in belief, societies in which not all share those beliefs must find ways to function together in a civil society.
It is deeply ironic that the document many consider to mark the beginning of what would one day become the United States came from a people who had more in common with a cult than a democratic society. It was true that Pastor Robinson had been elected by the congregation. But once he'd been chosen, Robinson's power and position had never been in doubt. More a benevolent dictator than a democratically elected official, Robinson had shrewdly and compassionately nurtured the spiritual well-being of his congregation. And yet, even though they had existed in a theocratic bubble of their own devising, the Pilgrims recognized the dangers of mixing temporal and spiritual authority. One of the reasons they had been forced to leave England was that King James had used the ecclesiastical courts to impose his own religious beliefs. In Holland, they had enjoyed the benefits of a society in which the division between church and state had been, for the most part, rigorously maintained. They could not help but absorb some decidedly Dutch ways of looking at the world...
...it was John Robinson who pointed [the Pilgrims in Massachusetts] in the direction they ultimately followed. In his farewell letter, Robinson had anticipated the need to create a government based on civil consent rather than divine decree. With so many Strangers [the term the Separatists like the Pilgrims used for those who didn't share their beliefs] in their midst, there was no other way. They must "become a body politic, using amongst yourselves civil government," i.e., they must all agree to submit to the laws drawn up by their duly elected officials. Just as a spiritual covenant had marked the beginning of their congregation in Leiden, a civil covenant would provide the basis for a secular government in America...
Many Christians in American today call for the revival of the United States as a "Christian nation." But even a look at this small slice of US history demonstrates that the Pilgrims' idea of what constituted a Christian community or society differs from what many in the modern US would identify as "Christian." In other words, when you go back to American beginnings, you find that the Pilgrims, among the first European Christians to settle here, didn't want to force their faith down others' throats. The Pilgrims were Biblically pious and utterly intent on following God as they saw fit. And yet, contrary to the laws that prevailed in England, they decided to establish a secular government in which all (at least all white males at that time) could be involved. Like the Dutch among whom they had lived before coming to America, they even made marriage a civil, rather than a religious, ceremony.
I'm a Lutheran Christian filled with an evangelical passion. Evangelical comes from a word found in the Greek in which the New Testament was written, euangelion. It means good news, also rendered in English as gospel. As a follower of Jesus Christ, I want to share the good news about God so loving the world that God the Father gave Jesus, God the Son. to die and rise for fallen humanity and so that all who believe in Jesus will not die, but live with God for eternity.
I want to share my faith in Jesus through words and actions. I want to care for my neighbor, pray for my neighbor, and, when the times present themselves, ask my neighbor to join me in following Jesus. But like Jesus, I have no desire to impose the Christian good news or my faith in Jesus on others. Like Jesus, I want to persuade others of Jesus' Lordship, doing so, as a Christian, in the confidence that my meager efforts will only bear fruit if God the Holy Spirit is involved. True faith comes not through civil coercion (which is why state churches, such as those that exist in Europe, are disastrous for the witness and ministries of the Church), but through Spirit-powered persuasion.
Like the Pilgrims, I want to work and live together in communities and in a country where there are people who disagree with me. And like the Pilgrims, I have no desire to impose the beliefs that flow from my faith onto the laws of our country. My faith will inevitably inform my internal deliberations over public issues, but I want to live in a civil society. The separation of Church and State has largely served the inhabitants of this continent well for centuries now. It has also given evangelical Christians like me the freedom to share the Christian faith and so to see millions persuaded by reason, compassion, and prayer to follow Christ.
Pastor Robinson's advice may have been rooted in pure pragmatism. But, it turns out that the separation of Church and State is a win for both Church and State.
Thursday, October 14, 2010
"Honey Hush"
I love this early-2000s cover of a song from the 50s by Paul McCartney. David Gilmour of Pink Floyd is on guitar. The song appears on McCartney's Run, Devil, Run collection, composed of songs that were important to him in the 50s, along with tunes of a similar style which Macca wrote just for the project. My guess is that this was a very therapeutic endeavor for McCartney, going back to his musical roots shortly after the death of his first wife, Linda.
The outrageous misogyny of Honey Hush takes on a particular amusing irony when performed by McCartney, whose marriage to Linda McCartney was, by nearly all accounts I've read, a happy and sane one.
The outrageous misogyny of Honey Hush takes on a particular amusing irony when performed by McCartney, whose marriage to Linda McCartney was, by nearly all accounts I've read, a happy and sane one.
The Forgotten Christians
They're Palestinians.
(Thanks to my son for alerting me to this piece by linking to it over on Facebook.)
It is presumably because all organized Christian activity among Palestinians is non-political and non-violent that the community hardly ever hits the Western headlines; suicide bombers sell more copy than people who congregate for Bible study...Read the whole thing. I don't agree with everything in the article. But it presents food for thought, prayer, and perhaps, action.
...Christians find themselves under the hammer of the Israeli occupation to no less an extent than Muslims, yet America—supposedly a Christian country—stands idly by because its most politically influential Christians have decided that Palestinian Christians are acceptable collateral damage in their apocalyptic quest. “To be a Christian from the land of Christ is an honor,” says Abbas, a Palestinian Christian whose family lived in Jerusalem for many generations until the purge of 1948. “To be expelled from that land is an injury, and these Zionist Christians in America add insult.” Abbas is one of the handful of Palestinian Christians that could be described as Evangelical, belonging to a group that appears to be distantly related to the Plymouth Brethren. Cherishing the role of devil’s advocate, I had to ask him, “Is the State of Israel not in fact the fulfillment of God’s promise and a necessary step in the second coming of Christ?” Abbas looked at me briefly and laughed. “You’re kidding, right? You know what they do to our people and our land. If I thought that was part of God’s plan, I’d be an atheist in a second.”
(Thanks to my son for alerting me to this piece by linking to it over on Facebook.)
Wednesday, October 13, 2010
UP to Christ, OUT to Our Neighbors
This morning, thought of this from my quote file. It's one of my favorites:
How can I say that?
Did you notice a simple three-word phrase? The phrase, "in order that"? We are "a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation," Peter says, "IN ORDER THAT." Those three words tell us what God's purpose in making us part of "God's own people": "in order that you may proclaim the mighty acts of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light."
The status that Christians enjoy with God is pure gift, something we never could earn, attain, achieve, or bargain for. God has acted for the human race in Christ. In response to God's grace, Christians repudiate their sin and believe in Christ and, as a consequence, our status before God and the human race is transformed. BUT GOD DOESN'T WORK THAT TRANSFORMATION FOR US ALONE!
The Church, or as the Bible also calls it, "the body of Christ," is an organization that does not exist primarily for its members. Its members already confess that we have received benefits beyond all imagining: We confess that God died on a cross and then God rose from the dead again to buy us out of slavery to sin and death. All who believe in Christ and are baptized have those eternal privileges! Our possession of them has nothing to do with our intrinsic value, beyond the value that an omnipotent, righteous, infinite God has placed on us.
God doesn't call Christians to our privileged position to sit back smugly on our "blessed assurance."
God has given us our privileged status "in order that":
In Christ, we know that God has our back. God has taken care of us. Now the God Who gave Himself "for you," has commissioned us to live a "for you" life for those outside the fellowship of the Church, those outside of a relationship with Christ, those who desperately need to know the will of God, the power of God, and the incredible grace of God.
May God help us to live in such constant certainty of His provision for us that we can focus where God frees us to focus:
“The Church is the only organization in the world that exists primarily for the benefit of those who are not its members.” ~ Archbishop William Temple.One of Martin Luther's favorite passages of Scripture, a building block of his important ideas on "the priesthood of all believers," says this to all Christians:
"...you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s own people, in order that you may proclaim the mighty acts of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light" (1 Peter 2:9).I love this passage! In it, Peter says that through Christ, Christians are blessed to be "a chosen race, a royal priesthood, God's own people..." But the exalted status that list describes is not about being better than others or having some sort of cosmic bragging rights! Christians are saints and sinners at the same time, saved from sin and death only by the grace of God that comes to us through faith in Jesus Christ. And so, there isn't a scintilla of arrogance in the status Peter claims that Christians enjoy.
How can I say that?
Did you notice a simple three-word phrase? The phrase, "in order that"? We are "a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation," Peter says, "IN ORDER THAT." Those three words tell us what God's purpose in making us part of "God's own people": "in order that you may proclaim the mighty acts of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light."
The status that Christians enjoy with God is pure gift, something we never could earn, attain, achieve, or bargain for. God has acted for the human race in Christ. In response to God's grace, Christians repudiate their sin and believe in Christ and, as a consequence, our status before God and the human race is transformed. BUT GOD DOESN'T WORK THAT TRANSFORMATION FOR US ALONE!
The Church, or as the Bible also calls it, "the body of Christ," is an organization that does not exist primarily for its members. Its members already confess that we have received benefits beyond all imagining: We confess that God died on a cross and then God rose from the dead again to buy us out of slavery to sin and death. All who believe in Christ and are baptized have those eternal privileges! Our possession of them has nothing to do with our intrinsic value, beyond the value that an omnipotent, righteous, infinite God has placed on us.
God doesn't call Christians to our privileged position to sit back smugly on our "blessed assurance."
God has given us our privileged status "in order that":
- We will tell others about Jesus
- We will serve others in Jesus' Name
- We will advocate justice for the hurting and despised in Jesus' Name
- We will make disciples of all nations
- We will teach others all that Christ has taught
- We will call the world to repent--to turn from sin and futility--and to believe in Jesus--to receive forgiveness, life, purpose, and joy
In Christ, we know that God has our back. God has taken care of us. Now the God Who gave Himself "for you," has commissioned us to live a "for you" life for those outside the fellowship of the Church, those outside of a relationship with Christ, those who desperately need to know the will of God, the power of God, and the incredible grace of God.
May God help us to live in such constant certainty of His provision for us that we can focus where God frees us to focus:
UP to Christ“The Church is the only organization in the world that exists primarily for the benefit of those who are not its members.”
OUT to our neighbor
Monday, October 11, 2010
Should Church-Affliated Institutions Repudiate Christ, the Bible, and the Truth About Sin, Repentance, Faith, and Grace?
Leaving out for now any concern regarding the specific sin of intimate same-sex relationships, the video below is disturbing.
Taken from a presentation held during freshman orientation at a college of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), Gustavus Adolphus College, both atheism and sexual intimacy outside of marriage are commended. Both notions, of course, are contrary to the teaching of Scripture.
It also conveys the curious idea that we human beings are the hapless victims of sexuality, the idea that our biology must inevitably force us to express our particular sexual impulses.
Really? We're animals driven by instinctive forces and not human beings with the capacity to make decisions?
Are Christians then mere automatons, rather than Spirit-filled people given the power to God to live as loving, responsible human beings? If we're instinct-driven automatons, then what's that whole confession of sin thing about?
Granted, not all students who choose to attend a Christian college or university are Christians. But if non-Christians do come to such Christian institutions, they should be forewarned that those institutions are built on the Gospel, the teachings of Scripture, and the Lordship of Jesus. It should be made clear to them that those building blocks will inform every course, every administrative decision, and the total social life of the institution.
While the Gustavus Adolphus orientation presentation commendably attempts to address the horrors of bigotry and name-calling, it also commends sinful behavior and, in the case of atheism, spiritually dangerous behavior.
It conveys the notion that sexual promiscuity of all types and atheism are intrinsic impulses we cannot and should not resist. I agree that faith doesn't come naturally to us as human beings. Adhering to God's will doesn't either. But, God's words to Cain in the Old Testament, apply to us as well: "...Sin is lurking at the door; its desire is for you, but you must master it." The orientation doesn't commend mastery of sin and its temptations, but acquiescence to whatever impulses may be driving us, irrespective of the will of God.
Sin isn't to be commended; it is to be mastered. Of course, we can't do this on our own. We are born into sin, each of us born with common sinful inclinations and some that may be more peculiar to ourselves, what I call our "sins of specialization." Some may be tempted by the inclination to get rich at others' expense, for example, while others aren't even be moved by such inclinations. Some may have to battle to resist the temptation to take God's Name in vain, while others find the appeal of cursing and the general misuse of the gift of language indecipherable. It appears that we human beings then, have sins which we, either by heredity or socialization, find more appealing than others. Our peculiarities in this regard are something we all appear to have in common.
But as we humbly appeal to the power and goodness of the God we know in Jesus Christ, sin can be mastered. Temptation can be resisted. Jesus relied on God and God's Word during His wilderness temptations. We can rely on God and God's Word, too.
In today's edition of Our Daily Bread, Joe Stowell tells the story of a man who was tempted by (and often fell into the sin of) looking at online pornography (remember that teaches that lust for persons to whom we are not covenanted in marriage is as sinful as fornication or adultery itself):
But those who sin unrepentantly are telling God to go away, a request that God will respectfully fulfill.
And those who turn God down are throwing away their lives, severing themselves from the God Who gives life and meaning to this life.
God loves us and wants to give us life. God makes that life available to all people through repentance for sin and faith in Jesus Christ.
That teaching may be suppressed, repressed, or ignored at other academic institutions, of course. All people and institutions have the freedom to ignore Christ and the Bible.
But at a Christian institution, it seems to me, even while respecting the beliefs of others and not expecting acquiescence from its student body to Christian belief, that the Lordship of Jesus and the teachings of Scripture will always be held up.
Church-affiliated institutions should be unapologetic in their advocacy of the Lordship of Christ, the authority of Scripture, the necessity of Christ for salvation, the truth about sin and God's grace for sinners, and belief in the existence of God.
Lutherans love to sing, "Lift high the cross!" Why should Lutheran colleges and universities then, put the cross away and instead commend the life style of, "Lift high whatever boat you want to float"?
Does the important principle of academic freedom mandate that the teachings of Scripture be dissed and condemned at a church-related college?
Does this example of political correctness and heedlessness of Scripture's teachings cause any ELCA member to think twice about support ELCA-related colleges and universities in any way?
At the very least, I think, it should incite all ELCA Lutherans like me, who love the Church and want what's best for it, to redouble their efforts to reform the Church, to stand firm for the Lordship of Jesus, the authority of Scripture and the truth of the Lutheran Confessions, and above all, to pray without ceasing that God will spiritually renew the Church, turning it from all its errors and heresies.
The world needs the God revealed in Jesus. It should be a given that at least Christians and the Church would realize that.
Taken from a presentation held during freshman orientation at a college of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), Gustavus Adolphus College, both atheism and sexual intimacy outside of marriage are commended. Both notions, of course, are contrary to the teaching of Scripture.
It also conveys the curious idea that we human beings are the hapless victims of sexuality, the idea that our biology must inevitably force us to express our particular sexual impulses.
Really? We're animals driven by instinctive forces and not human beings with the capacity to make decisions?
Are Christians then mere automatons, rather than Spirit-filled people given the power to God to live as loving, responsible human beings? If we're instinct-driven automatons, then what's that whole confession of sin thing about?
Granted, not all students who choose to attend a Christian college or university are Christians. But if non-Christians do come to such Christian institutions, they should be forewarned that those institutions are built on the Gospel, the teachings of Scripture, and the Lordship of Jesus. It should be made clear to them that those building blocks will inform every course, every administrative decision, and the total social life of the institution.
While the Gustavus Adolphus orientation presentation commendably attempts to address the horrors of bigotry and name-calling, it also commends sinful behavior and, in the case of atheism, spiritually dangerous behavior.
It conveys the notion that sexual promiscuity of all types and atheism are intrinsic impulses we cannot and should not resist. I agree that faith doesn't come naturally to us as human beings. Adhering to God's will doesn't either. But, God's words to Cain in the Old Testament, apply to us as well: "...Sin is lurking at the door; its desire is for you, but you must master it." The orientation doesn't commend mastery of sin and its temptations, but acquiescence to whatever impulses may be driving us, irrespective of the will of God.
Sin isn't to be commended; it is to be mastered. Of course, we can't do this on our own. We are born into sin, each of us born with common sinful inclinations and some that may be more peculiar to ourselves, what I call our "sins of specialization." Some may be tempted by the inclination to get rich at others' expense, for example, while others aren't even be moved by such inclinations. Some may have to battle to resist the temptation to take God's Name in vain, while others find the appeal of cursing and the general misuse of the gift of language indecipherable. It appears that we human beings then, have sins which we, either by heredity or socialization, find more appealing than others. Our peculiarities in this regard are something we all appear to have in common.
But as we humbly appeal to the power and goodness of the God we know in Jesus Christ, sin can be mastered. Temptation can be resisted. Jesus relied on God and God's Word during His wilderness temptations. We can rely on God and God's Word, too.
In today's edition of Our Daily Bread, Joe Stowell tells the story of a man who was tempted by (and often fell into the sin of) looking at online pornography (remember that teaches that lust for persons to whom we are not covenanted in marriage is as sinful as fornication or adultery itself):
A man once wrote to me about his lengthy battle with pornography—a disheartening cycle that punctuated seasons of victory with crushing forays back into an online world of empty lust. Finally, he found that putting a visible reminder of Jesus in the corner of his computer screen helped him achieve lasting victory. That constant reminder of the One who set him free caused the offensive Web sites to lose their appeal. The man wasn’t tapping into some gigabyte good-luck charm. He was giving himself a simple reminder of the teaching of Colossians 3 where Paul says, “put to death . . . fornication, uncleanness, passion, evil desire, and covetousness” (v.5).In Galatians 5:19-25, the Bible says:
When we turn our eyes toward Jesus, He becomes a powerful reminder that our old life “died, and [our] life is hidden with Christ in God” (v.3).
Now the works of the flesh are obvious: fornication, impurity, licentiousness, 20idolatry, sorcery, enmities, strife, jealousy, anger, quarrels, dissensions, factions, 21envy, drunkenness, carousing, and things like these. I am warning you, as I warned you before: those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God. 22By contrast, the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, 23gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against such things. 24And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. 25If we live by the Spirit, let us also be guided by the Spirit.None of us is perfect. Christians sin. That's why we repent. That's why I repent daily...often hourly...for my sins. The Holy Spirit comes to those who lay their lives before Christ enables Jesus Followers to fight temptation each day, not to surrender to our temptations.
But those who sin unrepentantly are telling God to go away, a request that God will respectfully fulfill.
And those who turn God down are throwing away their lives, severing themselves from the God Who gives life and meaning to this life.
God loves us and wants to give us life. God makes that life available to all people through repentance for sin and faith in Jesus Christ.
That teaching may be suppressed, repressed, or ignored at other academic institutions, of course. All people and institutions have the freedom to ignore Christ and the Bible.
But at a Christian institution, it seems to me, even while respecting the beliefs of others and not expecting acquiescence from its student body to Christian belief, that the Lordship of Jesus and the teachings of Scripture will always be held up.
Church-affiliated institutions should be unapologetic in their advocacy of the Lordship of Christ, the authority of Scripture, the necessity of Christ for salvation, the truth about sin and God's grace for sinners, and belief in the existence of God.
Lutherans love to sing, "Lift high the cross!" Why should Lutheran colleges and universities then, put the cross away and instead commend the life style of, "Lift high whatever boat you want to float"?
Does the important principle of academic freedom mandate that the teachings of Scripture be dissed and condemned at a church-related college?
Does this example of political correctness and heedlessness of Scripture's teachings cause any ELCA member to think twice about support ELCA-related colleges and universities in any way?
At the very least, I think, it should incite all ELCA Lutherans like me, who love the Church and want what's best for it, to redouble their efforts to reform the Church, to stand firm for the Lordship of Jesus, the authority of Scripture and the truth of the Lutheran Confessions, and above all, to pray without ceasing that God will spiritually renew the Church, turning it from all its errors and heresies.
The world needs the God revealed in Jesus. It should be a given that at least Christians and the Church would realize that.
Sunday, October 10, 2010
In Christ, We Can Always Be Thankful!
[This was shared during worship with the people and guests of Saint Matthew Lutheran Church in Logan, Ohio, earlier today.]
2 Timothy 2:8-15
This past week, my wife, Ann learned, that a good friend of hers passed away suddenly. Cindy and Ann were part of a group of five women who worked together at an elementary school in our former community. Even after one friend, Nancy, retired, Cindy moved, and later, Ann moved, the five still got together regularly for dinner, conversation, and lots of laughter.
We went to the funeral visitation on Friday. Ann and another member of the group, Janie, approached Cindy’s family—her mother, her sons and her son's wives, her in-laws, and finally, Cindy’s husband. They all knew about the group of five which was symbolized by a flower arrangement at the funeral home: four red roses and a single white one in the middle. Cindy’s husband, Tom, grabbed hold of Ann and Janie, and they wept together. Tom acknowledged that he’d wished he could have had Cindy with him longer here. But then he said, “She’s with Jesus now and she has no more pain.” Then he asked Janie and Ann individually, “You do know that, don’t you?”
Christians grieve. But they also understand something that the apostle Paul says in 1 Thessalonians 4:13-14. You can find the passage on page 684 of the pew Bibles. Please read it along with me silently:
With that in mind, please pull out the Celebrate inserts for today and look at our second lesson, 2 Timothy 2:8-14.
As we pointed out last Sunday, the book from which the lesson comes is a letter written by the apostle Paul, who was imprisoned, to a young pastor named Timothy. Paul was imprisoned for confessing that Jesus is the King of kings and the only God of the universe. Paul starts out with these words:
But no matter what we’re dealing with, God’s Word—the Word that reveals God’s will for human beings and the Word about Jesus, the Word made flesh, Who died and rose so that all who trust in Him will live with God forever—that Word of God has never been chained!
In Isaiah 55, God tells the people of Israel (and us):
One of my favorite incidents in the Bible happens when the Israelites, God’s people, are in the wilderness between Egypt and the land God promised them. The people are whining about not having any meat to eat. Moses goes to God and asks for meat. God says that He’ll give this whiny bunch so much meat that they’ll get sick of the stuff. But Moses is skeptical. God angrily asks Moses, “Is the Lord’s power limited? Now you shall see whether my word will come true for you or not.” We can be thankful that God’s Word is unchained, bringing us blessings even when our faith is weak.
Our second lesson continues with a series of sayings that were apparently well known to, maybe even sung by, the early Church. Let’s quickly look at each phrase, starting at verse 11.
“If we have died with him, we will also live with him.” The Word of God calls for all of us to die—that is, to allow the life of sin into which we are born to no longer be in control of us. We let that old life die so that Christ can give us new lives that begin in this world and will be perfected in eternity. This is an ongoing process that begins when we are baptized. Each day, the Christian is called to submit the old self living inside of us to God in daily repentance and renewal, so that each day the new self—the person Jesus died and rose to make us—can rise to a life made ever new by God’s love and power. This is another reason to thank God every day.
The first part of verse 12 says, “If we endure, we will also reign with him…” Jesus has promised that His followers will reign with Him over eternity. But only if we endure: only if we keep trusting when the world has turned away from Christ; only if we keep repenting when we fall into sin; only if we keep trusting that Jesus’ death on the cross was even for us. Eternity belongs to those who keep fighting the good fight of faith, who keep trusting in Jesus. This is another reason to thank God.
The second part of verse 12 says, “If we deny him, he will also deny us.” Since Jesus is God, He could easily force us to trust in Him and follow Him, making us little machines that have no choice in the matter. But as the only of God’s creatures made in God’s image, we are the only beings in creation who have the right to tell God, “No, we would rather be our own gods, thank you very much.” God gives us this freedom because it’s only when we have the freedom to say no to His love that our saying the yes of faith has any meaning. But Jesus has issued a solemn warning, “I tell you, everyone who acknowledges me before others, the Son of Man also will acknowledge before the angels of God and whoever denies me before others will be denied before the angels of God.” We can also thank God that, in spite of our sins and imperfections, Jesus gives us access to the blessings God wants to give to everyone, but forces on no one.
In verse 13, Paul says, “If we are faithless, he remains faithful— for he cannot deny himself.” To me, this is the thing for which you and I can be most thankful. Faith—trust—in the God we cannot see does not come naturally to us. Our old selves don’t die without a fight. Even people who believe in Jesus deeply sometimes find themselves believing in other things more than they believe in Jesus—whether it’s in their common sense, their impulse to go along to get along, their desire for security, the push of their emotions, the pull of their biology, the influence of friends and culture. God understands. God is faithful even when we are faithless. God is faithful even when our doubts are shouts and our faith in Christ is a mere whisper in our hearts.
When faith becomes too hard, some people give up. Behind one of the 6000+ doors on which I knocked back when we were getting my former church started, was a man who had stopped attending worship anywhere, although he had grown up in a church. I asked him why that was. “I love the Lord,” he told me. “But right now, other things are more important to me.” This man was consciously extinguishing his own weakened faith by cutting himself off from the only fellowship created by Jesus Christ to foster and sustain a relationship with Him.
A better model for us is the man who asked Jesus to heal his demon-possessed boy. Jesus told him that all things can be done for the one who believes. “I believe,” the desperate father replied, “help my unbelief.” Jesus answered the man’s prayers because God is faithful even when our faith is running on empty. We can thank God for that, too!
Years ago, I read the story of a missionary couple who had retired. They headed home to the States from Africa on a big passenger liner. Also onboard was a famous military hero. Through the whole trip, the missionary husband felt a little sorry for himself. As they boarded the ship, the military hero received accolades, while the missionary couple was ignored. That continued through the whole trip. Every night, there were banquets and toasts for the military hero; but the missionary couple who had given most of their lives in service to Christ and to the people of a small African village were ignored. The missionary husband consoled himself with the thought that when they arrived home, they would be appreciated for their faithfulness to Christ.
But when they docked in New York Harbor, there were a boisterous welcome and a key to the city for the military hero. No one even met the missionary couple. The man was discouraged. But his wife, knowing what was going on in her husband’s mind, looked at him and reminded him, “It’s okay, sweetheart; we’re not home yet.”
Life can be tough. It can be even tougher for those with faith in Christ. The devil and much of the world target the faithful for temptations, tests, and unkindness. The tragedies of life can seem to put everything we believe about the goodness and power of God under suspicion. But, we’re not home yet; heaven is our real home.
Until we reach that place, we who follow Christ can be thankful for so many things:
2 Timothy 2:8-15
This past week, my wife, Ann learned, that a good friend of hers passed away suddenly. Cindy and Ann were part of a group of five women who worked together at an elementary school in our former community. Even after one friend, Nancy, retired, Cindy moved, and later, Ann moved, the five still got together regularly for dinner, conversation, and lots of laughter.
We went to the funeral visitation on Friday. Ann and another member of the group, Janie, approached Cindy’s family—her mother, her sons and her son's wives, her in-laws, and finally, Cindy’s husband. They all knew about the group of five which was symbolized by a flower arrangement at the funeral home: four red roses and a single white one in the middle. Cindy’s husband, Tom, grabbed hold of Ann and Janie, and they wept together. Tom acknowledged that he’d wished he could have had Cindy with him longer here. But then he said, “She’s with Jesus now and she has no more pain.” Then he asked Janie and Ann individually, “You do know that, don’t you?”
Christians grieve. But they also understand something that the apostle Paul says in 1 Thessalonians 4:13-14. You can find the passage on page 684 of the pew Bibles. Please read it along with me silently:
But I do not want you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning those who have fallen asleep [Paul is talking about those Christians who have died], lest you sorrow as others who have no hope. For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so God will bring with Him those who sleep in Jesus.For the person with faith in Jesus Christ, it’s possible to honestly mourn, yet still be grateful to God for all of God’s blessings, especially for the hope of life beyond death. That’s why Paul says this just a few verses later, in 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18:
Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, in everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.When our trust is in Jesus Christ, we always have reason to be thankful.
With that in mind, please pull out the Celebrate inserts for today and look at our second lesson, 2 Timothy 2:8-14.
As we pointed out last Sunday, the book from which the lesson comes is a letter written by the apostle Paul, who was imprisoned, to a young pastor named Timothy. Paul was imprisoned for confessing that Jesus is the King of kings and the only God of the universe. Paul starts out with these words:
Remember Jesus Christ, raised from the dead, a descendant of David—that is my gospel, for which I suffer hardship, even to the point of being chained like a criminal. But the word of God is not chained. Therefore I endure everything for the sake of the elect, so that they may also obtain the salvation that is in Christ Jesus, with eternal glory.We may be chained by many things in life—scorned for trusting in Jesus Christ above all things, tortured by disease, spurned or bullied by classmates, hounded by debt, hurt as a consequence of past decisions we’ve made, subjected to economic reversals, dogged by feelings of inferiority, encumbered by the reality of our own sins.
But no matter what we’re dealing with, God’s Word—the Word that reveals God’s will for human beings and the Word about Jesus, the Word made flesh, Who died and rose so that all who trust in Him will live with God forever—that Word of God has never been chained!
In Isaiah 55, God tells the people of Israel (and us):
…as the rain and the snow come down from heaven, and do not return there until they have watered the earth…so shall My Word that goes forth from My mouth; it shall not return to me empty, but it shall accomplish that which I purpose, and succeed in the thing for which I sent it.God’s Word is perfect and powerful and cannot be constrained, held down, or limited by anybody or anything.
One of my favorite incidents in the Bible happens when the Israelites, God’s people, are in the wilderness between Egypt and the land God promised them. The people are whining about not having any meat to eat. Moses goes to God and asks for meat. God says that He’ll give this whiny bunch so much meat that they’ll get sick of the stuff. But Moses is skeptical. God angrily asks Moses, “Is the Lord’s power limited? Now you shall see whether my word will come true for you or not.” We can be thankful that God’s Word is unchained, bringing us blessings even when our faith is weak.
Our second lesson continues with a series of sayings that were apparently well known to, maybe even sung by, the early Church. Let’s quickly look at each phrase, starting at verse 11.
“If we have died with him, we will also live with him.” The Word of God calls for all of us to die—that is, to allow the life of sin into which we are born to no longer be in control of us. We let that old life die so that Christ can give us new lives that begin in this world and will be perfected in eternity. This is an ongoing process that begins when we are baptized. Each day, the Christian is called to submit the old self living inside of us to God in daily repentance and renewal, so that each day the new self—the person Jesus died and rose to make us—can rise to a life made ever new by God’s love and power. This is another reason to thank God every day.
The first part of verse 12 says, “If we endure, we will also reign with him…” Jesus has promised that His followers will reign with Him over eternity. But only if we endure: only if we keep trusting when the world has turned away from Christ; only if we keep repenting when we fall into sin; only if we keep trusting that Jesus’ death on the cross was even for us. Eternity belongs to those who keep fighting the good fight of faith, who keep trusting in Jesus. This is another reason to thank God.
The second part of verse 12 says, “If we deny him, he will also deny us.” Since Jesus is God, He could easily force us to trust in Him and follow Him, making us little machines that have no choice in the matter. But as the only of God’s creatures made in God’s image, we are the only beings in creation who have the right to tell God, “No, we would rather be our own gods, thank you very much.” God gives us this freedom because it’s only when we have the freedom to say no to His love that our saying the yes of faith has any meaning. But Jesus has issued a solemn warning, “I tell you, everyone who acknowledges me before others, the Son of Man also will acknowledge before the angels of God and whoever denies me before others will be denied before the angels of God.” We can also thank God that, in spite of our sins and imperfections, Jesus gives us access to the blessings God wants to give to everyone, but forces on no one.
In verse 13, Paul says, “If we are faithless, he remains faithful— for he cannot deny himself.” To me, this is the thing for which you and I can be most thankful. Faith—trust—in the God we cannot see does not come naturally to us. Our old selves don’t die without a fight. Even people who believe in Jesus deeply sometimes find themselves believing in other things more than they believe in Jesus—whether it’s in their common sense, their impulse to go along to get along, their desire for security, the push of their emotions, the pull of their biology, the influence of friends and culture. God understands. God is faithful even when we are faithless. God is faithful even when our doubts are shouts and our faith in Christ is a mere whisper in our hearts.
When faith becomes too hard, some people give up. Behind one of the 6000+ doors on which I knocked back when we were getting my former church started, was a man who had stopped attending worship anywhere, although he had grown up in a church. I asked him why that was. “I love the Lord,” he told me. “But right now, other things are more important to me.” This man was consciously extinguishing his own weakened faith by cutting himself off from the only fellowship created by Jesus Christ to foster and sustain a relationship with Him.
A better model for us is the man who asked Jesus to heal his demon-possessed boy. Jesus told him that all things can be done for the one who believes. “I believe,” the desperate father replied, “help my unbelief.” Jesus answered the man’s prayers because God is faithful even when our faith is running on empty. We can thank God for that, too!
Years ago, I read the story of a missionary couple who had retired. They headed home to the States from Africa on a big passenger liner. Also onboard was a famous military hero. Through the whole trip, the missionary husband felt a little sorry for himself. As they boarded the ship, the military hero received accolades, while the missionary couple was ignored. That continued through the whole trip. Every night, there were banquets and toasts for the military hero; but the missionary couple who had given most of their lives in service to Christ and to the people of a small African village were ignored. The missionary husband consoled himself with the thought that when they arrived home, they would be appreciated for their faithfulness to Christ.
But when they docked in New York Harbor, there were a boisterous welcome and a key to the city for the military hero. No one even met the missionary couple. The man was discouraged. But his wife, knowing what was going on in her husband’s mind, looked at him and reminded him, “It’s okay, sweetheart; we’re not home yet.”
Life can be tough. It can be even tougher for those with faith in Christ. The devil and much of the world target the faithful for temptations, tests, and unkindness. The tragedies of life can seem to put everything we believe about the goodness and power of God under suspicion. But, we’re not home yet; heaven is our real home.
Until we reach that place, we who follow Christ can be thankful for so many things:
- forgiven sin,
- the promise of eternity,
- the rewards God gives to enduring faith,
- the willingness of Christ to claim us in spite of our imperfections, and
- the character of God Who will always be faithful to us, even when we are faithless.
Friday, October 08, 2010
A Great Time with Great Friends!
Ann and I (pictured below) had a great time yesterday with two friends from high school days, Sandy and Susie. Sandy came to Lancaster from Troy and Susie came from Columbus.
We climbed to the beautiful overlook at Lancaster's Rising Park (named for a person, not the terrain, by the way). Later, we had lunch at The Four Reasons, for only Ann's and my second visit there since we moved to the Hocking Valley thirty-five months ago. (I had an excellent salad and a great veggie burger.)
Later, we visited a consignment shop, a paperback book exchange, and an antique mall (where I picked up a book containing five unabridged Dashiell Hammet mysteries!). Through it all, there was lots of good conversation. New friendships are wonderful, blessings that display God's continuing provision and love for us. But friends who have known you since your early years are incredible blessings.
(OK, other high school friends, when are we going to get together, too?)
Below are (from l-to-r): Sandy, me, my honey Ann, and Sue. Some of Lancaster can be seen behind us from the overlook at Rising Park.
We climbed to the beautiful overlook at Lancaster's Rising Park (named for a person, not the terrain, by the way). Later, we had lunch at The Four Reasons, for only Ann's and my second visit there since we moved to the Hocking Valley thirty-five months ago. (I had an excellent salad and a great veggie burger.)
Later, we visited a consignment shop, a paperback book exchange, and an antique mall (where I picked up a book containing five unabridged Dashiell Hammet mysteries!). Through it all, there was lots of good conversation. New friendships are wonderful, blessings that display God's continuing provision and love for us. But friends who have known you since your early years are incredible blessings.
(OK, other high school friends, when are we going to get together, too?)
Below are (from l-to-r): Sandy, me, my honey Ann, and Sue. Some of Lancaster can be seen behind us from the overlook at Rising Park.
Why Do Some Songs Fade Out at The End?
No one seems to know how that pop music convention began. But my favorite explanation is that the fade is a great solution for artists or arrangers who can't come up with an ending to their songs.
I always thought that the fade created the illusion of a live celebration that the listener has cut in on and is simply continuing after we've cut out.
Or maybe the fade is a marketing tool devised to plant the hook line in listeners' brains.
Or maybe the fade is a marketing tool devised to plant the hook line in listeners' brains.
Or maybe the fade is a marketing tool devised to plant...
I always thought that the fade created the illusion of a live celebration that the listener has cut in on and is simply continuing after we've cut out.
Or maybe the fade is a marketing tool devised to plant the hook line in listeners' brains.
Or maybe the fade is a marketing tool devised to plant the hook line in listeners' brains.
Or maybe the fade is a marketing tool devised to plant...
It's a place beyond all imagining...
...and Christ has prepared it for all who trust in Him.
So, I remind myself each day, there is no reason for anxiety. That's what Jesus tried to tell His disciples just before His arrest and execution (and subsequent resurrection from the dead):
So, I remind myself each day, there is no reason for anxiety. That's what Jesus tried to tell His disciples just before His arrest and execution (and subsequent resurrection from the dead):
[Jesus said:] “Do not let your hearts be troubled. Believe in God, believe also in me. 2In my Father’s house there are many dwelling places. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you? 3And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, so that where I am, there you may be also.Secure about eternity, Christians are set free to live this life with joyful, fierce freedom, a life of love for God and neighbor. It's a freedom that, before I came to faith in Christ, I could hardly have imagined and a life which, each day, I ask God to, in the face of daily tasks and challenges, help me to remember.
4
"And you know the way to the place where I am going.” 5Thomas said to him, “Lord, we do not know where you are going. How can we know the way?” 6Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me." (John 14:1-6)
Thursday, October 07, 2010
Check Out Mark Roberts' Posts on the Divinity of Jesus
A common notion among some today, among both those within the Church and outside of it, is that the teaching that Jesus was both human and divine (or, as Martin Luther's Small Catechism puts it, "true God, Son of the Father from eternity, and true man, born of the Virgin Mary"[see below]) was a later development. This notion, its proponents feel, buttresses their own belief that Jesus was not and is not God.
Scholar and pastor Mark D. Roberts, in the opening installment of a new series of blog articles, argues that while the first followers of Jesus could have been wrong in asserting the deity of Jesus, they clearly did believe that Jesus was human and divine. Mark is an accessible writer with three degrees from Harvard (Bachelor's, Master's, and Doctorate). Check out the introduction to his new series, Was Jesus Divine? Early Christian Perspectives and the first installment, Popular Theories About Why Early Christians Considered Jesus Divine, Part 1.
Scholar and pastor Mark D. Roberts, in the opening installment of a new series of blog articles, argues that while the first followers of Jesus could have been wrong in asserting the deity of Jesus, they clearly did believe that Jesus was human and divine. Mark is an accessible writer with three degrees from Harvard (Bachelor's, Master's, and Doctorate). Check out the introduction to his new series, Was Jesus Divine? Early Christian Perspectives and the first installment, Popular Theories About Why Early Christians Considered Jesus Divine, Part 1.
Monday, October 04, 2010
The Tyler Clementi Tragedy: Moments Matter
Moments matter.
That's the first of many lessons we are likely to derive from the suicide of Rutgers student Tyler Clementi this past September 22.
If allegations made by local law enforcement officials are correct, Clementi's tragic death followed the filming and webcasting of a sexual encounter involving Clementi and another person in a college dorm room. It's alleged that two Rutgers students, Dharun Ravi, Clementi's roommate, and Molly Wei, had a moment when they made a horrible decision, with apparently tragic consequences.
Actually, there were several moments of decision for the two students. The first was the moment when they decided whether or not to violate Clementi's privacy by filming his sexual encounter. The other came when they decided to exponentially escalate this violation by posting the footage on the Internet.
There's no way of knowing whether Ravi and Wei--again if the allegations are true--would either have filmed Clementi's encounter or posted it on the web had Clementi's sexual partner been a woman instead of a man. But people so heedless of another person's humanity as to display that person's intimate acts on the Internet likely wouldn't care whether the filmed intimacies were heterosexual or homosexual.
What does appear to be true though, is that, at some level Clementi felt shamed by the brutal video outing to which he was subjected. No one can force another person to take the tragic decision to end their own life, of course. But who can know what agony Clementi felt after his sexual encounter was made accessible to the whole wired world? Who of us, but for a few exhibitionists, would want our sexual encounters made public, even if those encounters took place within the sanctioned bounds of holy matrimony?
Clementi's agony is something that the alleged filmers and posters of Clementi's encounter can be blamed for causing. No matter what happens in the criminal proceedings that ensue, New Jersey Governor Chris Christie is right in saying that Clementi's suicide is a memory with which Ravi and Wei will live for the rest of their lives.
And all of these events were triggered by a few moments, moments when one student might have said to the other, "Should we film this guy having sex? Should we put it on the Internet?" They were moments when one or the other might have said, "No. Not such a good idea." But, if the allegations are true, that isn't how their conversation went.
Instead, it seems, they found the possibilities too delicious to avoid. Rudimentary ethics appear to have been lost on them.
In their moments of decision, they might, for example, have recalled hearing somewhere from somebody, "Do unto others as you would have them do unto you."*
They might have recalled that simply because a person has the power to do something--and the Internet has put enormous power to boost or destroy the reputations of other human beings into the hands of individual people--doesn't mean that it has to be done.
They could have thought to show restraint. They could have considered demonstrating some charity and compassion.
But, if the allegations are true, none of these thoughts or impulses seemed to cross the minds or enter the discussions of Ravi and Wei. Of course, the two of them are old enough to make informed decisions about their actions. They're not juveniles. But it makes one wonder what ethics the two were taught at home.
It makes one wonder, too, how all of us are helping young people to prepare for handling the power of the Internet.
It makes one wonder if our culture, or significant pieces of it, teaches all of us to regard others as bit players in our lives, in our stories, if our "pursuit of happiness" society teaches us to see other people as props to be used by us and then, disposed of at will.
It's possible that Ravi and Wei really did have such a thoughtless view of Clementi--as simply disposable and of no consequence, not because of his sexuality, but because of their own narcissism. Beyond Clementi's death, it's this possibility that I find most chilling in this whole parade of sad, pathetic, consequential moments.
Ravi and Wei may have brought no moral compass to their moments of decision, no values, no respect for other human beings, however different from themselves they may have thought Clementi to be. All they brought were a webcam, an Internet connection, and a pair of psychic mirrors in which they could, like Narcissus, watch themselves and, in this case, see themselves laughing at someone else's expense.
Whatever moral deficiencies Ravi and Wei may have brought to their moments of decision, the laughing has ended now. So has the life of Tyler Clementi.
Moments matter. They matter a lot.
*Every major religious system in the world contains this notion as articulated by Jesus. Christians, of course, contend that it wasn't unique teaching that distinguished Jesus, but instead, among other things, His death on the cross for human sin and His resurrection from the dead as confirmation of His power over death and His power to give life to those with faith in Him.
That's the first of many lessons we are likely to derive from the suicide of Rutgers student Tyler Clementi this past September 22.
If allegations made by local law enforcement officials are correct, Clementi's tragic death followed the filming and webcasting of a sexual encounter involving Clementi and another person in a college dorm room. It's alleged that two Rutgers students, Dharun Ravi, Clementi's roommate, and Molly Wei, had a moment when they made a horrible decision, with apparently tragic consequences.
Actually, there were several moments of decision for the two students. The first was the moment when they decided whether or not to violate Clementi's privacy by filming his sexual encounter. The other came when they decided to exponentially escalate this violation by posting the footage on the Internet.
There's no way of knowing whether Ravi and Wei--again if the allegations are true--would either have filmed Clementi's encounter or posted it on the web had Clementi's sexual partner been a woman instead of a man. But people so heedless of another person's humanity as to display that person's intimate acts on the Internet likely wouldn't care whether the filmed intimacies were heterosexual or homosexual.
What does appear to be true though, is that, at some level Clementi felt shamed by the brutal video outing to which he was subjected. No one can force another person to take the tragic decision to end their own life, of course. But who can know what agony Clementi felt after his sexual encounter was made accessible to the whole wired world? Who of us, but for a few exhibitionists, would want our sexual encounters made public, even if those encounters took place within the sanctioned bounds of holy matrimony?
Clementi's agony is something that the alleged filmers and posters of Clementi's encounter can be blamed for causing. No matter what happens in the criminal proceedings that ensue, New Jersey Governor Chris Christie is right in saying that Clementi's suicide is a memory with which Ravi and Wei will live for the rest of their lives.
And all of these events were triggered by a few moments, moments when one student might have said to the other, "Should we film this guy having sex? Should we put it on the Internet?" They were moments when one or the other might have said, "No. Not such a good idea." But, if the allegations are true, that isn't how their conversation went.
Instead, it seems, they found the possibilities too delicious to avoid. Rudimentary ethics appear to have been lost on them.
In their moments of decision, they might, for example, have recalled hearing somewhere from somebody, "Do unto others as you would have them do unto you."*
They might have recalled that simply because a person has the power to do something--and the Internet has put enormous power to boost or destroy the reputations of other human beings into the hands of individual people--doesn't mean that it has to be done.
They could have thought to show restraint. They could have considered demonstrating some charity and compassion.
But, if the allegations are true, none of these thoughts or impulses seemed to cross the minds or enter the discussions of Ravi and Wei. Of course, the two of them are old enough to make informed decisions about their actions. They're not juveniles. But it makes one wonder what ethics the two were taught at home.
It makes one wonder, too, how all of us are helping young people to prepare for handling the power of the Internet.
It makes one wonder if our culture, or significant pieces of it, teaches all of us to regard others as bit players in our lives, in our stories, if our "pursuit of happiness" society teaches us to see other people as props to be used by us and then, disposed of at will.
It's possible that Ravi and Wei really did have such a thoughtless view of Clementi--as simply disposable and of no consequence, not because of his sexuality, but because of their own narcissism. Beyond Clementi's death, it's this possibility that I find most chilling in this whole parade of sad, pathetic, consequential moments.
Ravi and Wei may have brought no moral compass to their moments of decision, no values, no respect for other human beings, however different from themselves they may have thought Clementi to be. All they brought were a webcam, an Internet connection, and a pair of psychic mirrors in which they could, like Narcissus, watch themselves and, in this case, see themselves laughing at someone else's expense.
Whatever moral deficiencies Ravi and Wei may have brought to their moments of decision, the laughing has ended now. So has the life of Tyler Clementi.
Moments matter. They matter a lot.
*Every major religious system in the world contains this notion as articulated by Jesus. Christians, of course, contend that it wasn't unique teaching that distinguished Jesus, but instead, among other things, His death on the cross for human sin and His resurrection from the dead as confirmation of His power over death and His power to give life to those with faith in Him.
Sunday, October 03, 2010
Never Ashamed of THE Message That Can Change Everything!
[This was shared during worship with the people of Saint Matthew Lutheran Church in Logan, Ohio, this morning.]
2 Timothy 1:1-14 (NRSV)
This morning, I want to share with you a dream for our community which God has been inciting me to pray for and work for.
Sharing it with you frightens me a little. Not even preachers want to be seen as religious kooks.
But, in our second lesson for today, Paul says: “God did not give us a spirit of cowardice, but rather a spirit of power and of love and of self-discipline.” So, here’s the dream: Starting with the people of Saint Matthew, all of us praying in repentance and belief in Jesus, I dream that God will bring every person in Logan and Hocking County into a vibrant, life-changing, relationship with Jesus Christ.
I don’t know how far-fetched that dream may be. I don’t know how long it might take for it to come to pass. But I dream of a time when every woman, man, girl, and boy in Saint Matthew and in our community will be totally surrendered to Jesus Christ.
This dream goes way beyond a vision of packing church buildings with bodies. It looks to a time when all of us who call Hocking County home take hold of the life with God offered only through the crucified and risen Jesus. This dream takes seriously a promise that God gave to His Old Testament people, one that belongs to all who today dare to follow God-in-the-Flesh, Jesus Christ. You can find it in 2 Chronicles 7:14. Please read that passage from our pew Bibles with me now:
Isn’t it time we threw off the palls of spiritual lukewarmness, of going along to get along, of prayerlessness, of purposelessness, of being nice rather than being Christian, and instead, embraced the spirit of power, love, and self-discipline that God wants to give to every person for whom Jesus Christ died and rose?
Isn’t it time we invited Christ to transform our lives, businesses, schools, sports, marriages, and homes?
Second Chronicles 7:14 is a blank check which God desperately wants churches like Saint Matthew and individual Christians like you and me to cash.
God wants to transform our lives. He wants us to experience God’s presence, love, and power even in the challenges and tragedies that come to us in this imperfect world. He wants the same thing for all our neighbors and friends and family members.
It was to encourage the young pastor Timothy be a prayerful, repentant agent of God’s transforming power that Paul wrote 2 Timothy, the Bible letter from which today’s second lesson comes.
When Paul wrote it, he was imprisoned for the crime of claiming that Jesus was the King of the world. This notion didn’t set well in an empire where the Roman emperor was seen as both the king and as a god.
In spite of his imprisonment, Paul tells Timothy to never be ashamed to share the Christian message. Jesus offers what no one and nothing else can offer: New and everlasting life with God.
Folks: Never be ashamed of that message! Never water it down! Never mix it in with the prevailing religious attitudes of the culture or with whatever the police of political correctness may, at any given time, be pushing!
Stand firm in confessing what Jesus taught, that He is the way and the truth and the life and that no one comes to God the Father but through Him!
Money won’t give life.
Drugs won’t give life.
Buddha won’t give life.
Allah won't give life.
Nor will science, or psychology, or warfare, or nationalism, or a nice house, or religion.
Many of these things may have their places. But only one God can save us: the God made known to the world in Jesus. Stand firm in the truth of Jesus, Paul says, because Jesus has not given us a spirit of cowardice, but a spirit of power and love and self-discipline!
In a world in which the devil orchestrates a confusing array of little gods meant to pull us away from Jesus, it can be hard to hold onto Jesus and the gifts only He can give. In 1996, Marissa Cunningham, a native of Panama, was a law student at Rutgers University. She had just been through a divorce and was raising her daughter alone. Her future was threatened by her seeming inability to find a summer internship that would allow her to graduate. More than that, Marissa Cunningham felt empty, oppressed by a deep gloom. At times, she considered suicide.
One day, while walking down a street in Brooklyn, she saw a sign on a storefront: BOTANICA. Marissa knew that Botanica was a kind of fortune telling based on a form of Caribbean witchcraft called Santeria.
Desperate, this brilliant young woman entered the building and arranged an appointment with the curandero, a witch doctor. She saw him several days later. He told Marissa all sorts of things about her past, all of it true.
(This shouldn’t surprise us, by the way. The devil cannot know our futures, because the devil is not God. But as an unseen spiritual being who observes us and wants to take control of us, the devil does know all about our past. Those under the devil’s power, like the witch doctor are able to use our current circumstances to leverage us away from faith in God. This is exactly what the devil tried to do to Jesus during Jesus’ wilderness temptations, you’ll remember.)
Marissa was understandably impressed by the witch doctor’s knowledge. So, she agreed to come back two days later…with $90. The witch doctor would then sacrifice a chicken for her and bury it at a cemetery. That, he said, would get rid of all Marissa’s problems. As crazy as it sounded, Marissa was willing to try anything.
Yet, she wondered if she was doing the right thing. She decided to stop by the office of a church the next day. She asked to see a pastor. None of the pastors on staff were in. But, a staff member who had grown up in Haiti and knew about Santeria—Isn’t it funny how God puts coincidences together like that sometimes?—spoke with Marissa. She invited Marissa to a Bible study happening that night.
Marissa was wary. She had grown up in a church and didn’t think that Christianity had anything to offer. She went to the study anyway, arriving late, forced to sit in the only chair left, next to a character who Marissa, the social climber, would ordinarily have avoided. During a break, Marissa and this man, John, struck up a conversation. John showed empathy for Marissa and then pointed her to a passage in Ephesians 6. It said, “For our struggle [and that includes all the struggles you and I might have brought with us this very morning. Our struggle] is not against enemies of blood and flesh, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers of this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil…”
John told Marissa that the blood of a chicken couldn’t help her through her darkness. Only Jesus, Who shed His blood on the cross and rose to reclaim life for sinful human beings, could give her the day-in-, day-out hope she craved.
After that, Marissa skipped her appointment with the witch doctor and embraced Christ as her God. The things that caused Marissa to be afraid didn’t suddenly go away, of course. But Jesus took her fears off of her back and took them onto Himself, setting her free to live. “God did not give us a spirit of cowardice, but rather a spirit of power and of love and of self-discipline.” That’s what Marissa experienced in Jesus!
Folks, we are surrounded by Marissas, people without hope, imprisoned by sin, by addictions, by depression, by loneliness. We live among people searching for better lives.
And sometimes, we are Marissas ourselves.
All of us in our community and in Saint Matthew need to know two truths. First, we need to know the truth about sin, as revealed in the Ten Commandments:
The first truth tells us that we don’t deserve eternity with God. The second truth though, tells us that God gives as a free gift the very thing we don’t deserve and can never earn.
God lifts all who receive His forgiveness and who trust in Christ into a never-ending relationship with the God Who made us and loves us.
Only the Church—that’s you and me--is entrusted with seeing that the world hears, knows, and experiences these two transforming truths.
They aren't easy to share, which is why most Christians never get around to telling their spiritually-disconnected friends about Jesus. It seems that we’re more afraid of having the world dislike us than we are of not honoring the God Who created us and went to a cross for us.
But Paul says that we must not be ashamed. We must not be afraid to experience others’ displeasure with God’s truth. God is looking for Christians who are willing to be disliked—even hated—for their faith in Christ, so that all have a chance to know and experience God’s love.
My daily prayer is that God will fill the entire Saint Matthew family with God’s “spirit of power and of love and of self-discipline,” so that we can do what Jesus has charged us to do.
Paul tells us today that God has entrusted a great treasure to us—the treasure of God’s truth, the truth of new life for all who repent and believe in Jesus Christ. May we open that treasure for ourselves and for our neighbors so that the dream of a Logan and Hocking County made new by Jesus Christ can start to happen.
God says: “If My people who are called by My Name will humble themselves, and pray and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land.”
Starting today. Starting this moment, let’s all dare to pray that God’s forgiveness and healing will come to us personally, to Saint Matthew, and to our community.
And may we be bold in telling the truest story the world has ever known, the story of Jesus, our crucified and risen King!
*These are among the concerns of the First through Third Commandments.
**These are concerns associated with the Fourth, Fifth, and Tenth Commandments.
***This is the concern of the Sixth Commandment.
****This is a concern of the Seventh and Ninth Commandments.
*****This is a concern of the Eighth Commandment.
For a great discussion of the Ten Commandments and meaning of each, see Martin Luther's Small Catechism, one translation of which can be found here.
2 Timothy 1:1-14 (NRSV)
This morning, I want to share with you a dream for our community which God has been inciting me to pray for and work for.
Sharing it with you frightens me a little. Not even preachers want to be seen as religious kooks.
But, in our second lesson for today, Paul says: “God did not give us a spirit of cowardice, but rather a spirit of power and of love and of self-discipline.” So, here’s the dream: Starting with the people of Saint Matthew, all of us praying in repentance and belief in Jesus, I dream that God will bring every person in Logan and Hocking County into a vibrant, life-changing, relationship with Jesus Christ.
I don’t know how far-fetched that dream may be. I don’t know how long it might take for it to come to pass. But I dream of a time when every woman, man, girl, and boy in Saint Matthew and in our community will be totally surrendered to Jesus Christ.
This dream goes way beyond a vision of packing church buildings with bodies. It looks to a time when all of us who call Hocking County home take hold of the life with God offered only through the crucified and risen Jesus. This dream takes seriously a promise that God gave to His Old Testament people, one that belongs to all who today dare to follow God-in-the-Flesh, Jesus Christ. You can find it in 2 Chronicles 7:14. Please read that passage from our pew Bibles with me now:
“If My people who are called by My Name will humble themselves, and pray and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land.”(NKJV)Isn’t it time we experienced those blessings in our community?
Isn’t it time we threw off the palls of spiritual lukewarmness, of going along to get along, of prayerlessness, of purposelessness, of being nice rather than being Christian, and instead, embraced the spirit of power, love, and self-discipline that God wants to give to every person for whom Jesus Christ died and rose?
Isn’t it time we invited Christ to transform our lives, businesses, schools, sports, marriages, and homes?
Second Chronicles 7:14 is a blank check which God desperately wants churches like Saint Matthew and individual Christians like you and me to cash.
God wants to transform our lives. He wants us to experience God’s presence, love, and power even in the challenges and tragedies that come to us in this imperfect world. He wants the same thing for all our neighbors and friends and family members.
It was to encourage the young pastor Timothy be a prayerful, repentant agent of God’s transforming power that Paul wrote 2 Timothy, the Bible letter from which today’s second lesson comes.
When Paul wrote it, he was imprisoned for the crime of claiming that Jesus was the King of the world. This notion didn’t set well in an empire where the Roman emperor was seen as both the king and as a god.
In spite of his imprisonment, Paul tells Timothy to never be ashamed to share the Christian message. Jesus offers what no one and nothing else can offer: New and everlasting life with God.
Folks: Never be ashamed of that message! Never water it down! Never mix it in with the prevailing religious attitudes of the culture or with whatever the police of political correctness may, at any given time, be pushing!
Stand firm in confessing what Jesus taught, that He is the way and the truth and the life and that no one comes to God the Father but through Him!
Money won’t give life.
Drugs won’t give life.
Buddha won’t give life.
Allah won't give life.
Nor will science, or psychology, or warfare, or nationalism, or a nice house, or religion.
Many of these things may have their places. But only one God can save us: the God made known to the world in Jesus. Stand firm in the truth of Jesus, Paul says, because Jesus has not given us a spirit of cowardice, but a spirit of power and love and self-discipline!
In a world in which the devil orchestrates a confusing array of little gods meant to pull us away from Jesus, it can be hard to hold onto Jesus and the gifts only He can give. In 1996, Marissa Cunningham, a native of Panama, was a law student at Rutgers University. She had just been through a divorce and was raising her daughter alone. Her future was threatened by her seeming inability to find a summer internship that would allow her to graduate. More than that, Marissa Cunningham felt empty, oppressed by a deep gloom. At times, she considered suicide.
One day, while walking down a street in Brooklyn, she saw a sign on a storefront: BOTANICA. Marissa knew that Botanica was a kind of fortune telling based on a form of Caribbean witchcraft called Santeria.
Desperate, this brilliant young woman entered the building and arranged an appointment with the curandero, a witch doctor. She saw him several days later. He told Marissa all sorts of things about her past, all of it true.
(This shouldn’t surprise us, by the way. The devil cannot know our futures, because the devil is not God. But as an unseen spiritual being who observes us and wants to take control of us, the devil does know all about our past. Those under the devil’s power, like the witch doctor are able to use our current circumstances to leverage us away from faith in God. This is exactly what the devil tried to do to Jesus during Jesus’ wilderness temptations, you’ll remember.)
Marissa was understandably impressed by the witch doctor’s knowledge. So, she agreed to come back two days later…with $90. The witch doctor would then sacrifice a chicken for her and bury it at a cemetery. That, he said, would get rid of all Marissa’s problems. As crazy as it sounded, Marissa was willing to try anything.
Yet, she wondered if she was doing the right thing. She decided to stop by the office of a church the next day. She asked to see a pastor. None of the pastors on staff were in. But, a staff member who had grown up in Haiti and knew about Santeria—Isn’t it funny how God puts coincidences together like that sometimes?—spoke with Marissa. She invited Marissa to a Bible study happening that night.
Marissa was wary. She had grown up in a church and didn’t think that Christianity had anything to offer. She went to the study anyway, arriving late, forced to sit in the only chair left, next to a character who Marissa, the social climber, would ordinarily have avoided. During a break, Marissa and this man, John, struck up a conversation. John showed empathy for Marissa and then pointed her to a passage in Ephesians 6. It said, “For our struggle [and that includes all the struggles you and I might have brought with us this very morning. Our struggle] is not against enemies of blood and flesh, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers of this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil…”
John told Marissa that the blood of a chicken couldn’t help her through her darkness. Only Jesus, Who shed His blood on the cross and rose to reclaim life for sinful human beings, could give her the day-in-, day-out hope she craved.
After that, Marissa skipped her appointment with the witch doctor and embraced Christ as her God. The things that caused Marissa to be afraid didn’t suddenly go away, of course. But Jesus took her fears off of her back and took them onto Himself, setting her free to live. “God did not give us a spirit of cowardice, but rather a spirit of power and of love and of self-discipline.” That’s what Marissa experienced in Jesus!
Folks, we are surrounded by Marissas, people without hope, imprisoned by sin, by addictions, by depression, by loneliness. We live among people searching for better lives.
And sometimes, we are Marissas ourselves.
All of us in our community and in Saint Matthew need to know two truths. First, we need to know the truth about sin, as revealed in the Ten Commandments:
- that God alone is God and that God’s Name is holy*;
- that life is precious, including the lives of our parents, children, spouses, and neighbors and we must honor God’s gift of life**;
- that sexual intimacy is a gift from God to be opened only by those engaged in a marriage of a woman and a man***;
- that we are to honor the property of others****;
- that we are to help our neighbors keep their good names*****.
The first truth tells us that we don’t deserve eternity with God. The second truth though, tells us that God gives as a free gift the very thing we don’t deserve and can never earn.
God lifts all who receive His forgiveness and who trust in Christ into a never-ending relationship with the God Who made us and loves us.
Only the Church—that’s you and me--is entrusted with seeing that the world hears, knows, and experiences these two transforming truths.
They aren't easy to share, which is why most Christians never get around to telling their spiritually-disconnected friends about Jesus. It seems that we’re more afraid of having the world dislike us than we are of not honoring the God Who created us and went to a cross for us.
But Paul says that we must not be ashamed. We must not be afraid to experience others’ displeasure with God’s truth. God is looking for Christians who are willing to be disliked—even hated—for their faith in Christ, so that all have a chance to know and experience God’s love.
My daily prayer is that God will fill the entire Saint Matthew family with God’s “spirit of power and of love and of self-discipline,” so that we can do what Jesus has charged us to do.
Paul tells us today that God has entrusted a great treasure to us—the treasure of God’s truth, the truth of new life for all who repent and believe in Jesus Christ. May we open that treasure for ourselves and for our neighbors so that the dream of a Logan and Hocking County made new by Jesus Christ can start to happen.
God says: “If My people who are called by My Name will humble themselves, and pray and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land.”
Starting today. Starting this moment, let’s all dare to pray that God’s forgiveness and healing will come to us personally, to Saint Matthew, and to our community.
And may we be bold in telling the truest story the world has ever known, the story of Jesus, our crucified and risen King!
*These are among the concerns of the First through Third Commandments.
**These are concerns associated with the Fourth, Fifth, and Tenth Commandments.
***This is the concern of the Sixth Commandment.
****This is a concern of the Seventh and Ninth Commandments.
*****This is a concern of the Eighth Commandment.
For a great discussion of the Ten Commandments and meaning of each, see Martin Luther's Small Catechism, one translation of which can be found here.
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