Grace Roots Blog
Friday, February 29, 2008
The letter of the New Testament - Part 4 - Conclusion
I know I posted 3 fairly long posts on this already, and I pretty much figured that Part 3 was the final post on this subject, but I keep thinking of one of the underlying reasons that all of this means so much to me, and so I'll just go ahead and share it. I've posted my story before, so some of this won't be new to some of you.
I mentioned something in the comments of Lydia's "Spurring On" post that would probably shock a lot of people... but it's something that is true as true can be. I said, "My marriage was hurt... by Biblical marriage principles!"
Gasp!
I'll try to explain. It's not that the words about marriage in the New Testament are bad or wrong. It's just that I had unwittingly replaced Christ with marriage principles when it came to wanting to have a great marriage. See, there was a period in my marriage in which I thought I didn't love my wife. And the sad thing is that this all happened long after I had begun to be firmly established in grace. My problem was that grace and biblical principles had become letter to me, rather than me seeing them and understanding them in the light of life.
I saw many areas in my marriage in which I felt I was falling short. Well, actually, I was "doing" a lot of good things that a Christian husband "should" do, but in the long run it was really out of either "duty" or out of an attempt to try to be a good husband, whether it came from a heart of love or not. So much of this became duty and not delight, that I began to think that I didn't really love my wife. "I'm just faking it," I thought. "Sure, I want to do things to please my wife, but what good is any of it if all I'm really doing is going through the motions."
I was looking at things through the wrong eyes. My beautiful, loving wife - and my marriage as a whole - had become more of a "project" for me to work on, rather than the relationship and union that it's meant to be. Ok... not that marriage doesn't involve work! Any amen's? :D But instead of viewing my marriage through the eyes of grace, I was viewing it through the eyes of living by marriage principles.
Like I said, I was actually "doing" a lot of good things, at least as I saw it. However, something was festering beneath the surface and I didn't quite know what it was. No matter how much "good" I was doing, I always felt like I fell short. The reason, as I've come to now see it, is because of the constant preaching and teaching of biblical marriage principles! I would go to church and hear principles for Christian living. I would turn on Christian radio and I would hear principles. I would go to my small group and hear principles. I couldn't go anywhere without hearing "this is how a husband should treat his wife," and "husbands, we need to be doing this or doing that for our wives..." I can't say enough, it's all good stuff! But the constant preaching and teaching of it all was very overwhelming - especially when God's grace was only mentioned in passing, rather than being taught as the foundation for the Christian life that it is. I felt that just as I was achieving victory in a certain area, I'd find that I'm so far away in other areas from being this wonderful "biblical" husband that I want to be.
Finally, something happened that got the light of true victory shining again. We went to see a counselor who really helped me see my folly. I really had resisted going to a counselor, because I thought all I would hear would be more principles! But in short, this man listened a lot, and in the end he said one word to me that turned everything around and gave me the right perspective again.
That word was "identity." My whole problem was that rather than living out of my true Identity in Christ… the New Creation that I truly am, in which Christ is my life… I was trying to be all the things that I thought I was supposed to be for my wife! I can hear the gasps of legalists now. :) But all I can say is that it wasn't working and it never will work!
We may have a nice, shiny appearance on the outside that makes us look as if we're really doing well at "living the Christian life," but on the inside we're dying, because we're living by letter and not by Christ's life.
Grace is the essence of the Christian life. "Doing" is not the essence of the Christian life. Rather, "doing" is the fruit of resting in grace, and growing in grace! As Lydia says in her post that I linked to, we need to be constantly encouraged in grace. As we submerse ourselves into pure grace and into God's unconditional love, we will find that we don't have to "try" to live the Christian life, but that the life of Christ in us cannot help but overflow into our doing. Anytime we go back to "trying," we quench the Spirit of grace and we find ourselves going backwards and not forward.
I see my wife with such different eyes today. That day - the day when the counselor said "identity" - I knew things would be different forever! See, I had taught grace. I had lived a life of grace, to a big extent. I could share grace doctrine and I could encourage people in who they are in Christ. But in a big sense I had backslidden. I had fallen from grace in my marriage. To fall from grace means to start trying to live by law and rules again, rather than by grace! That day, I repented of "trying" and I began trusting again. I changed my mind about how this marriage was going to be lived out.
Can you understand how "marriage principles" hurt my marriage? They became New Testament letter to me and they did what letter does... "kill." Life has now replaced letter. The New Testament exhortations and commands are wonderful reminders to us of what Life in Christ looks like. But if our lives become a matter of simply studying them week after week, and trying to live by them, we can very easily miss out on real Life.
--------------------------------------------
Part 1 - Part 2 - Part 3 - Part 4
I mentioned something in the comments of Lydia's "Spurring On" post that would probably shock a lot of people... but it's something that is true as true can be. I said, "My marriage was hurt... by Biblical marriage principles!"
Gasp!
I'll try to explain. It's not that the words about marriage in the New Testament are bad or wrong. It's just that I had unwittingly replaced Christ with marriage principles when it came to wanting to have a great marriage. See, there was a period in my marriage in which I thought I didn't love my wife. And the sad thing is that this all happened long after I had begun to be firmly established in grace. My problem was that grace and biblical principles had become letter to me, rather than me seeing them and understanding them in the light of life.
I saw many areas in my marriage in which I felt I was falling short. Well, actually, I was "doing" a lot of good things that a Christian husband "should" do, but in the long run it was really out of either "duty" or out of an attempt to try to be a good husband, whether it came from a heart of love or not. So much of this became duty and not delight, that I began to think that I didn't really love my wife. "I'm just faking it," I thought. "Sure, I want to do things to please my wife, but what good is any of it if all I'm really doing is going through the motions."
I was looking at things through the wrong eyes. My beautiful, loving wife - and my marriage as a whole - had become more of a "project" for me to work on, rather than the relationship and union that it's meant to be. Ok... not that marriage doesn't involve work! Any amen's? :D But instead of viewing my marriage through the eyes of grace, I was viewing it through the eyes of living by marriage principles.
Like I said, I was actually "doing" a lot of good things, at least as I saw it. However, something was festering beneath the surface and I didn't quite know what it was. No matter how much "good" I was doing, I always felt like I fell short. The reason, as I've come to now see it, is because of the constant preaching and teaching of biblical marriage principles! I would go to church and hear principles for Christian living. I would turn on Christian radio and I would hear principles. I would go to my small group and hear principles. I couldn't go anywhere without hearing "this is how a husband should treat his wife," and "husbands, we need to be doing this or doing that for our wives..." I can't say enough, it's all good stuff! But the constant preaching and teaching of it all was very overwhelming - especially when God's grace was only mentioned in passing, rather than being taught as the foundation for the Christian life that it is. I felt that just as I was achieving victory in a certain area, I'd find that I'm so far away in other areas from being this wonderful "biblical" husband that I want to be.
Finally, something happened that got the light of true victory shining again. We went to see a counselor who really helped me see my folly. I really had resisted going to a counselor, because I thought all I would hear would be more principles! But in short, this man listened a lot, and in the end he said one word to me that turned everything around and gave me the right perspective again.
That word was "identity." My whole problem was that rather than living out of my true Identity in Christ… the New Creation that I truly am, in which Christ is my life… I was trying to be all the things that I thought I was supposed to be for my wife! I can hear the gasps of legalists now. :) But all I can say is that it wasn't working and it never will work!
We may have a nice, shiny appearance on the outside that makes us look as if we're really doing well at "living the Christian life," but on the inside we're dying, because we're living by letter and not by Christ's life.
Grace is the essence of the Christian life. "Doing" is not the essence of the Christian life. Rather, "doing" is the fruit of resting in grace, and growing in grace! As Lydia says in her post that I linked to, we need to be constantly encouraged in grace. As we submerse ourselves into pure grace and into God's unconditional love, we will find that we don't have to "try" to live the Christian life, but that the life of Christ in us cannot help but overflow into our doing. Anytime we go back to "trying," we quench the Spirit of grace and we find ourselves going backwards and not forward.
I see my wife with such different eyes today. That day - the day when the counselor said "identity" - I knew things would be different forever! See, I had taught grace. I had lived a life of grace, to a big extent. I could share grace doctrine and I could encourage people in who they are in Christ. But in a big sense I had backslidden. I had fallen from grace in my marriage. To fall from grace means to start trying to live by law and rules again, rather than by grace! That day, I repented of "trying" and I began trusting again. I changed my mind about how this marriage was going to be lived out.
Can you understand how "marriage principles" hurt my marriage? They became New Testament letter to me and they did what letter does... "kill." Life has now replaced letter. The New Testament exhortations and commands are wonderful reminders to us of what Life in Christ looks like. But if our lives become a matter of simply studying them week after week, and trying to live by them, we can very easily miss out on real Life.
--------------------------------------------
Part 1 - Part 2 - Part 3 - Part 4
Thursday, February 28, 2008
The letter of the New Testament - Part 3
Tell me something. Is the fruit of the Spirit meant to be a list of things that we work on in our lives in Christ? What do you think when you read these words from the Apostle Paul? "The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control." Do you zero in on perhaps one or two (or more) of the "fruits" that you think perhaps you are lacking in, and then determine to start working on making them a bigger part of your life in Christ? If so, it's my personal belief that you have missed the whole point! :) It would seem to me that your daily life in Christ is not really a matter of life, but a matter of letter.
I've heard of so many different Bible study groups that study these fruits as if they were rules that we need to follow or as if they are projects that we can work on in our lives to become better Christians. For example, I've heard people say things like, "I'm really working on patience right now." I've heard of nine-week study guides... with a focus on each different fruit every week. I've even listened to nine-week sermon series' with the same sort of focus.
By the way, did you ever stop to think that perhaps the fruit of the Spirit is so much more than a simple list of nine things??? These are nine wonderful things that the Spirit works out in our lives as we abide in Christ and walk in step with the Spirit, but God's fruit goes far beyond this little list!
The point is that so many of these things that are really a result of us abiding in Christ and allowing the Holy Spirit to work in and through us are turned into should's and shouldn'ts, and do's and don'ts. They become letter to us. They become things we shoot for or aim for, rather than things we trust the life-giving Spirit to produce in us as we rest in Christ.
I might turn a head or two with my next statement, but yet I think many of you "get" it. I think we can even turn grace into letter! How is it possible to turn grace into law? It's very easy! I've seen it done time after time.
Grace is God's power working in us as we rest in Christ. Grace is not a matter of "you should do this" or "you ought to do that." Grace is the source of holiness and godliness in us, but it never operates out of an insistence that life be lived a certain way, or else. Grace is not pushy. Grace is not manipulative. But man oh man, some people can use grace to be manipulative and pushy!
I heard a sermon on "giving" one time. (Actually, I've heard countless sermons on giving)! But this one sermon in particular pushed a few of my buttons because while grace was mentioned, I think it was misused. In the midst of this sermon on giving, Paul's words from 2 Cor 8:7 came up. "See that you also excel in this grace of giving." Not only was this tiny phrase taken out of context, but in the midst of this sermon on giving, giving became a "should." It became a rule for us to live by, rather than something we do cheerfully as we truly grow in grace. It got even worse, at least from my point of view, because the insistence that we grow in the grace of giving was topped off with what I believe was a manipulative invoking of the Holy Spirit. In short, the gist of it went something like this: "The Holy Spirit is in you. And if the Holy Spirit is in you, and if you are living by God's grace, then you 'should' be more generous and you 'should' start giving more!"
(By the way, this reminds me of something I've heard Paul Anderson-Walsh share at least a couple of times. This is not verbatim... it's from memory so forgive me if the details are fuzzy. I think Paul said he was visiting Bob George in Texas. He was going to be speaking, and a woman asked him what topic he was going to be speaking on (I think she wanted to put it in the bulletin?). He said the topic was going to be, "Don't Let Anybody Should On You." :) If you say that out loud, it might end up sounding like not such a nice topic to be talking about! I think the woman said something about not being able to print that (what she thought she heard). ;) Anyway, the point is clear: don't let anybody 'should' on you!)
So many things that were meant to be a representation of life are very easy to turn into letter. For example, we've had some great discussions on this blog and other blogs lately about the subject of "church." The matter of the assembling of the saints can very easily become letter to us if we make it into some sort of rule to follow rather than a wonderful part of our life in Christ in which we can freely come together to encourage one another and build one another up.
Even our "gifts and callings" can become letter. We may feel called to a certain function within the body, and at first we may gladly embrace what the Spirit is doing in and through us, but eventually it might become something we "must" or "should" do. It becomes a "rule" in our life in Christ rather than a joyful expression of His life in us.
And what about Bible study? What about prayer? What about "being a witness?" What about "go and make disciples?" All of these things are spoken of in one way or another in the New Testament, and sadly they've become letter rather than an expression of Life.
Can you think of other things that are meant to be life, but we (the church) have turned them into letter?
Why do I bring all of this up? It's most certainly not just to "complain!" I don't think complaining in and of itself will do a whole lot to help the problem. But I do bring it up because I believe all of this causes lots of problems in the church and I hope we can all encourage one another in the truth. The Spirit gives life but the letter kills. Now, our spirit will not actually die because of any of this! Our spirit remains one with God even if we don't fully realize or understand it all! But the part of us that can be "killed" by letter is our soul. Our joy, our peace, our understanding of God's unconditional love for us and His acceptance of us. Our overall desire and love for Christ can actually be quenched when we replace Christ with godly principles! That doesn't sound right, I know! But if you've tried living by "principles for Christian living" for any amount of time... I don't really think I need to try to convince you.
The substance of the Christian life is a Person. He has a name. Jesus. He is our life.
"We have died and the life we now live in the body we live by rules, instructions and principles?"
MAY IT NEVER BE! :)
The live we live in this New Creation life is not our life that we live. It's the life of Christ.
--------------------------------------------
Part 1 - Part 2 - Part 3 - Part 4
I've heard of so many different Bible study groups that study these fruits as if they were rules that we need to follow or as if they are projects that we can work on in our lives to become better Christians. For example, I've heard people say things like, "I'm really working on patience right now." I've heard of nine-week study guides... with a focus on each different fruit every week. I've even listened to nine-week sermon series' with the same sort of focus.
By the way, did you ever stop to think that perhaps the fruit of the Spirit is so much more than a simple list of nine things??? These are nine wonderful things that the Spirit works out in our lives as we abide in Christ and walk in step with the Spirit, but God's fruit goes far beyond this little list!
The point is that so many of these things that are really a result of us abiding in Christ and allowing the Holy Spirit to work in and through us are turned into should's and shouldn'ts, and do's and don'ts. They become letter to us. They become things we shoot for or aim for, rather than things we trust the life-giving Spirit to produce in us as we rest in Christ.
I might turn a head or two with my next statement, but yet I think many of you "get" it. I think we can even turn grace into letter! How is it possible to turn grace into law? It's very easy! I've seen it done time after time.
Grace is God's power working in us as we rest in Christ. Grace is not a matter of "you should do this" or "you ought to do that." Grace is the source of holiness and godliness in us, but it never operates out of an insistence that life be lived a certain way, or else. Grace is not pushy. Grace is not manipulative. But man oh man, some people can use grace to be manipulative and pushy!
I heard a sermon on "giving" one time. (Actually, I've heard countless sermons on giving)! But this one sermon in particular pushed a few of my buttons because while grace was mentioned, I think it was misused. In the midst of this sermon on giving, Paul's words from 2 Cor 8:7 came up. "See that you also excel in this grace of giving." Not only was this tiny phrase taken out of context, but in the midst of this sermon on giving, giving became a "should." It became a rule for us to live by, rather than something we do cheerfully as we truly grow in grace. It got even worse, at least from my point of view, because the insistence that we grow in the grace of giving was topped off with what I believe was a manipulative invoking of the Holy Spirit. In short, the gist of it went something like this: "The Holy Spirit is in you. And if the Holy Spirit is in you, and if you are living by God's grace, then you 'should' be more generous and you 'should' start giving more!"
(By the way, this reminds me of something I've heard Paul Anderson-Walsh share at least a couple of times. This is not verbatim... it's from memory so forgive me if the details are fuzzy. I think Paul said he was visiting Bob George in Texas. He was going to be speaking, and a woman asked him what topic he was going to be speaking on (I think she wanted to put it in the bulletin?). He said the topic was going to be, "Don't Let Anybody Should On You." :) If you say that out loud, it might end up sounding like not such a nice topic to be talking about! I think the woman said something about not being able to print that (what she thought she heard). ;) Anyway, the point is clear: don't let anybody 'should' on you!)
So many things that were meant to be a representation of life are very easy to turn into letter. For example, we've had some great discussions on this blog and other blogs lately about the subject of "church." The matter of the assembling of the saints can very easily become letter to us if we make it into some sort of rule to follow rather than a wonderful part of our life in Christ in which we can freely come together to encourage one another and build one another up.
Even our "gifts and callings" can become letter. We may feel called to a certain function within the body, and at first we may gladly embrace what the Spirit is doing in and through us, but eventually it might become something we "must" or "should" do. It becomes a "rule" in our life in Christ rather than a joyful expression of His life in us.
And what about Bible study? What about prayer? What about "being a witness?" What about "go and make disciples?" All of these things are spoken of in one way or another in the New Testament, and sadly they've become letter rather than an expression of Life.
Can you think of other things that are meant to be life, but we (the church) have turned them into letter?
Why do I bring all of this up? It's most certainly not just to "complain!" I don't think complaining in and of itself will do a whole lot to help the problem. But I do bring it up because I believe all of this causes lots of problems in the church and I hope we can all encourage one another in the truth. The Spirit gives life but the letter kills. Now, our spirit will not actually die because of any of this! Our spirit remains one with God even if we don't fully realize or understand it all! But the part of us that can be "killed" by letter is our soul. Our joy, our peace, our understanding of God's unconditional love for us and His acceptance of us. Our overall desire and love for Christ can actually be quenched when we replace Christ with godly principles! That doesn't sound right, I know! But if you've tried living by "principles for Christian living" for any amount of time... I don't really think I need to try to convince you.
The substance of the Christian life is a Person. He has a name. Jesus. He is our life.
"We have died and the life we now live in the body we live by rules, instructions and principles?"
MAY IT NEVER BE! :)
The live we live in this New Creation life is not our life that we live. It's the life of Christ.
--------------------------------------------
Part 1 - Part 2 - Part 3 - Part 4
Life in Christ summed up
My buddy Dave Lesniak sent me this video via Facebook. It's a quick video of his friend Joel Engle speaking about our life in Christ. No condemnation. It is no longer I who live but Christ lives in me. We've been set free from the law of sin and death. Etc.
Joel briefly talks about how many Christians live in fear, and lack intimacy with God because they don't trust God's love.
This is a quick summary of our lives in Christ, and I just thought I'd share it because it's always refreshing to hear the truth spoken like this!
Joel briefly talks about how many Christians live in fear, and lack intimacy with God because they don't trust God's love.
This is a quick summary of our lives in Christ, and I just thought I'd share it because it's always refreshing to hear the truth spoken like this!
Wednesday, February 27, 2008
The letter of the New Testament - Part 2
Not that we are sufficient of ourselves to think of anything as being from ourselves, but our sufficiency is from God, who also made us sufficient as ministers of the new covenant, not of the letter but of the Spirit; for the letter kills , but the Spirit gives life. (2 Cor 3:5-6 NKJV)
As I said in Part 1, the above passage is referring to the Law. The ministry of death and condemnation (the Law, the letter) kills, but the Spirit, through the Person of Jesus Christ, who came to dwell in us because of grace, gives life!
But is it only the "established" law that kills (the Ten Commandments and the other six hundred Old Testament laws and precepts)?
Really, any rule or regulation that takes the place of the PERSON of JESUS CHRIST, can bring us down. If we read the New Testament epistles with the mind that they are a matter of principles or instructions or rules for Christian living, they can quickly and easily become a matter of "letter" for us rather than LIFE.
Consider just a small sample of the "instructions" we find in the New Testament epistles:
Be kindly affectionate to one another with brotherly love... continuing steadfastly in prayer... distributing to the needs of the saints... repay no one evil for evil... flee from idolatry... do not think too highly of yourself... associate with the humble... husbands, love your wives as Christ loves the church... pursue love... desire spiritual gifts... forgive one another... confess your sins to one another... do not be unequally yoked with unbelievers... love one another... grow in the grace of giving... the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self control... be angry, and do not sin... let no corrupt word proceed out of your mouth, but what is good for necessary edification... children, obey your parents in the Lord... do all things without complaining and disputing... be anxious for nothing... put to death the deeds of the flesh... pray without ceasing... avoid sexual immorality... avoid every kind of evil... avoid the appearance of evil... do not neglect your gift... fan into flame the gift of God... fix your thoughts on Jesus... bear one another's burdens... add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; and to godliness, brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness, love...
I'm sure you have all those things covered, right? ;)
Ok, seriously, let me ask you... do you feel better about yourself after reading this list, or worse? And remember, this list is just the tip of the iceberg!
See, we can preach this stuff week after week after week after week... and all of this is really good stuff... I mean, who's going to argue that doing things without complaining is a bad thing? Or fleeing idolatry and sexual immorality? But the problem is that in preaching all of this good stuff, we preach it as "rules for Christian living," and in doing so we're trying to help people live like Christ, but in reality we're leaving Christ out of the picture! We can very easily turn New Testament words into "letter" rather than understanding that all of these words are the result, or fruit, of the life of the indwelling Christ.
Now, if you can honestly say that most or all of the words in the above passage are a true description of your life in Christ... then you know that it's not because you've worked them all out as a matter of following them as rules.
However, I would bet... and I'm not really much of a betting man, but I would bet a LOT on this... I would bet that if you're like most people who regularly attend a church that preaches all of those things week after week, then the above list made you feel a lot worse about yourself, and not good at all about your walk with Christ. I would bet that you've heard it all. You've been taught week after week "how to live the Christian life," based upon all of these New Testament "rules" and "principles," but in fact you're nowhere close to living these things out consistently.
The reason: They've subtly become "letter" to you, and no matter how many times you hear them preached, you find no power to actually live by them. In fact, at times, perhaps many times, you feel yourself stepping backwards and not forward. And the reason for that is because in all of this ongoing teaching of how to live the Christian life, Christ is missing. Christ has been replaced by principles for living for Christ! And you may not have even realized it! You may have figured that since you're trying to do all those things, and you're trying to apply all those New Testament principles week after week and day after day, then that shows that you're following Christ. But you have unknowingly and unwittingly replaced Christ with lists of should's and shouldn'ts, with lists of do's and don'ts and with lists of rules and principles for Christian living. The lists go on and on, and they very craftily disguise themselves as "Christ," but what they really are is a carry-over from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.
I'm not saying that all those things were inspired by God and written down for no reason! And I'm not saying that we should ignore them! What I am saying is that the substance of the Christian life is Christ Himself, living in and through us. The substance of the Christian life is a Person, not principles. We in the church have grown so accustomed to hearing principles, rules, instructions, etc, taught week after week after week, that we have been lulled to sleep. We've grown accustomed to pastors and teachers simply giving us rules and lists of things to do, and in doing so, we've missed Christ.
I can see this getting increasingly longer than I thought it would be, so I guess there will be a Part 3!
--------------------------------------------
Part 1 - Part 2 - Part 3 - Part 4
Tuesday, February 26, 2008
The letter of the New Testament - Part 1
Not that we are sufficient of ourselves to think of anything as being from ourselves, but our sufficiency is from God, who also made us sufficient as ministers of the new covenant, not of the letter but of the Spirit; for the letter kills , but the Spirit gives life. (2 Cor 3:5-6 NKJV)
I would most likely be preaching to the choir if I talked about how the Apostle Paul is referring to the Law in the above passage. In the verses that follow, Paul talks about "the ministry of death" and "the ministry of condemnation" - AKA "the Law." He contrasts this with "the ministry of the Spirit" and "the ministry of righteousness." Contrary to popular belief in modern Christian culture, the Law is not the ministry of the Spirit nor the ministry of righteousness! The Law is the ministry of death and condemnation! The ministry of the Spirit and of righteousness is all based upon Jesus Christ, not Law.
If you try to mix the two, you end up with the ministry of death and condemnation. Just say I had a glass of clean water and I offered it to you. But just before you drank it, I added a tiny little speck of cow manure. Are you still going to drink it?
That's what happens when you put even a tiny bit of Law in your Grace drink. It contaminates the whole thing!
So... we "get" the Law thing. Or at least I hope we do. The Christian life is not about living by the Law. Mixing the Law into the Christian life is like mixing cow dung into pure, clean drinking water.
But there is something else... something much more subtle... that can just as easily contaminate the Christian life, if not "applied" properly.
The New Testament.
Huh?
Yeah, the New Testament.
Before I get to my point, I do need to say that the true New Testament (or New Covenant - the Will of God), in and of itself, really is the basis for our life in Christ. The actual New Covenant does not contaminate us! The New Covenant is LIFE! The New Covenant is Christ-in-us.
However, we have these 27 books... Matthew through Revelation... that we call the "New Testament," and if we don't apply these written words correctly, they can very easily become "law" or "letter" to us. Indeed, the pure words that are meant to be LIFE can very easily become like pure water contaminated with cow excrement!
How? Why? What the...?"
Ok, I'll get to the point. In Part 2. :)
--------------------------------------------
Part 1 - Part 2 - Part 3 - Part 4
Monday, February 25, 2008
Larry Norman, 4/8/47 - 2/24/08
The "Grandfather of Christian Rock," Larry Norman, left his earthsuit early yesterday morning. He had had various health issues during the past few years, and I guess it was time to pack it up and move on to better things...
I think he was a great representative of someone who truly believed that "to live is Christ and to die is gain."
www.larrynorman.com
wikipedia
We saw him in concert probably about a decade ago. He was not a "rock star." He was himself! I posted a video of his a few months back (Why Should the Devil Have All the Good Music). I really just meant to post the video, but as I was introducing it I guess I went on a short rant about the "Christian" and "Secular" music labels. :)
I think he was a great representative of someone who truly believed that "to live is Christ and to die is gain."
www.larrynorman.com
wikipedia
We saw him in concert probably about a decade ago. He was not a "rock star." He was himself! I posted a video of his a few months back (Why Should the Devil Have All the Good Music). I really just meant to post the video, but as I was introducing it I guess I went on a short rant about the "Christian" and "Secular" music labels. :)
Friday, February 22, 2008
Idle musings on "church"
Earlier in the week, my God in the ordinary post was inspired by a blog post over at Idle musings of a bookseller. Another post there on Tuesday has also kept the attention of my thoughts this week. Simply entitled "Good Stuff," this post has some thoughts about "church," among other things that he quotes from other blogs.
The part that caught my attention:
By the way, I have been using the word "church" in quotes lately, not as a means of bashing "church," but as a means of emphasizing that I am questioning the modern, commonly held meanings of what "church" really is. That's all. :)
The part that caught my attention:
Tell me something... what if we've got it all wrong? The church thing I mean...
What if church is not supposed to be about "worship"? What then?
What if music is supposed to play a minor role and not a major one (excuse the pun).
What if God doesn't care for self-focussed, romantic lyrics sung to boomer, 1980s, soft pop music...
What if church is supposed to be less about music, monologue, lecture-style teaching in theatre style auditoriums and more about living life with people who share the same questions, struggles, joys and challenges that I do?...
By the way, I have been using the word "church" in quotes lately, not as a means of bashing "church," but as a means of emphasizing that I am questioning the modern, commonly held meanings of what "church" really is. That's all. :)
A few more thoughts on "church"
As I've previously mentioned a few times, I've been going through a process of rethinking many things for quite some time, including "church." I've found it wonderful that many of us are going through similar processes, and it's been great that we've been able to encourage one another and build one another up!
Here are some more thoughts from others about "church" that I've come across recently.
Aida has mentioned Darin Hufford, and she has a link to his MySpace on her blog. Through that link, I read some of his blog posts, including this one, entitled "The Church that Christ built." In this post he brings up some things that I have thought about from time to time, and he really brings some more substance to my thoughts and puts them together much more coherently.
Let me just quote a small part of his post that I'm referring to. This gives the gist of what he goes on to talk about, and if you want you can go read the rest. It gets much deeper than this.
Have you ever thought that way? I know I have, even if not exactly in the way describe above. I thought, for example, that a church had to have a pastor, elders, a "worship team," committees, and so on and so on, in order to have a true "church." The "5 fold ministry" that Darin speaks about is derived from Eph 4:11-14 (and beyond).
As Darin states, many churches feel that all five of these must be operating under one roof, or in in any one ministry. But he suggests... are not all these things operating throughout the worldwide church, rather than having to have at least one of each in any individual gathering of believers?
And I think it's the same with all kinds of gifts and works of the Holy Spirit in and through His people all around the world. For example, some people have a true, genuine focus on feeding the poor. Does each and every gathering of people need to have this same focus? Some people are gifted teachers. Can a body of believers be edified without a gifted teacher? I have been taught many times by people who are not gifted teachers!!! Does there have to be a pastor?! Does there have to be music? (See my next post).
Are all the "body parts" to be found in each and every local gathering of believers?
Here are some more thoughts from others about "church" that I've come across recently.
Aida has mentioned Darin Hufford, and she has a link to his MySpace on her blog. Through that link, I read some of his blog posts, including this one, entitled "The Church that Christ built." In this post he brings up some things that I have thought about from time to time, and he really brings some more substance to my thoughts and puts them together much more coherently.
Let me just quote a small part of his post that I'm referring to. This gives the gist of what he goes on to talk about, and if you want you can go read the rest. It gets much deeper than this.
I can recall studying the "5 fold ministry" while in Bible collage. At the time we were taught that those five ingredients are what make up the Church. Where Apostles, Prophets, Evangelists, Pastors and Teachers are functioning together; there is Church.
Rather than understand that particular verse to mean that these things will exist in the Body of Christ world wide, we have foolishly interpreted it to mean they must exist "underneath one roof".
Have you ever thought that way? I know I have, even if not exactly in the way describe above. I thought, for example, that a church had to have a pastor, elders, a "worship team," committees, and so on and so on, in order to have a true "church." The "5 fold ministry" that Darin speaks about is derived from Eph 4:11-14 (and beyond).
"And He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers, for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ, till we all come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ..."
As Darin states, many churches feel that all five of these must be operating under one roof, or in in any one ministry. But he suggests... are not all these things operating throughout the worldwide church, rather than having to have at least one of each in any individual gathering of believers?
And I think it's the same with all kinds of gifts and works of the Holy Spirit in and through His people all around the world. For example, some people have a true, genuine focus on feeding the poor. Does each and every gathering of people need to have this same focus? Some people are gifted teachers. Can a body of believers be edified without a gifted teacher? I have been taught many times by people who are not gifted teachers!!! Does there have to be a pastor?! Does there have to be music? (See my next post).
For as the body is one and has many members, but all the members of that one body, being many, are one body, so also is Christ. For by one Spirit we were all baptized into one body — whether Jews or Greeks, whether slaves or free — and have all been made to drink into one Spirit. For in fact the body is not one member but many. (1 Cor 12:12-14)
Are all the "body parts" to be found in each and every local gathering of believers?
The answer is always B - 2/22/08
Going back to the beginning of time, before dinosaurs, for this one. ;)
What's the correct wording of this passage from Genesis 2?
A. And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, "Of every tree of the garden you may freely eat; but of the tree of the knowledge of pure evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die."
B. And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, "Of every tree of the garden you may freely eat; but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die." (Gen 2:16-17 NKJV)
C. See no evil, hear no evil!
What's the correct wording of this passage from Genesis 2?
A. And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, "Of every tree of the garden you may freely eat; but of the tree of the knowledge of pure evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die."
B. And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, "Of every tree of the garden you may freely eat; but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die." (Gen 2:16-17 NKJV)
C. See no evil, hear no evil!
Featured on MyCCM again / Godcast 1000
For all you who know me, you know I don't "glory" in this type of thing, but I think it's great to see the various ways in which our Father is working through us. A few weeks ago I mentioned that myccm.org had me as their featured blogger, and through that I found a few new friends there, and hopefully I was able to encourage people with the grace of God. I'm still blogging there... I basically copy and paste my Blogger blogs over to MyCCM. (For those who don't know, I also do the same on MySpace. My blog posts originate here, and I copy them over to myccm and myspace).
Well this week, the Grace Walk Radio program that I record with my friend Mike Kapler - "Growing in Grace," which we also present as a podcast - is the featured podcast of the week over at myccm. The last featured podcast was the nationally known program "Lighten Up with Ken Davis" (you may have heard of that program), and this week it's lil ol' me and my friend. :) If you go to the myccm homepage, and scroll down just a bit, there it is right in the center column.
Also... you may have seen a little "banner ad" that I placed on the side of this blog for Godcast1000. A couple of months ago I submitted our podcast to this site. It's essentially a site that helps Christian podcasters find an audience, and that helps those looking for Christian podcasts to find podcasts.
There are over 1,000 podcasts that have been submitted to this site. During the first week that I submitted our podcast, I didn't see us anywhere in the rankings. Then, after about 10 days I saw Growing in Grace ranked right around number 50 on the site. Then during the following few days and weeks, we gradually moved up into the lower 30's. Today, I just looked, and we're ranked number 25, with an average of almost 40 hits per day!
Again, please understand that I don't glory in this... you all know me hopefully... me and Mike are nothing special... and our Father is working in and through a lot of people to make things like this happen as He gets His word out. And it is very cool to see that there is a hunger for growing in God's grace, amidst all the other religious and legalistic types of podcasts and teachings out there. Don't get me wrong, there are some other great podcasts listed on this site (not all based in legalism)! Take a look and see if there's anything that might interest you, if you're into listening to podcasts. And make sure to listen to Grace Walk Radio!
Well this week, the Grace Walk Radio program that I record with my friend Mike Kapler - "Growing in Grace," which we also present as a podcast - is the featured podcast of the week over at myccm. The last featured podcast was the nationally known program "Lighten Up with Ken Davis" (you may have heard of that program), and this week it's lil ol' me and my friend. :) If you go to the myccm homepage, and scroll down just a bit, there it is right in the center column.
Also... you may have seen a little "banner ad" that I placed on the side of this blog for Godcast1000. A couple of months ago I submitted our podcast to this site. It's essentially a site that helps Christian podcasters find an audience, and that helps those looking for Christian podcasts to find podcasts.
There are over 1,000 podcasts that have been submitted to this site. During the first week that I submitted our podcast, I didn't see us anywhere in the rankings. Then, after about 10 days I saw Growing in Grace ranked right around number 50 on the site. Then during the following few days and weeks, we gradually moved up into the lower 30's. Today, I just looked, and we're ranked number 25, with an average of almost 40 hits per day!
Again, please understand that I don't glory in this... you all know me hopefully... me and Mike are nothing special... and our Father is working in and through a lot of people to make things like this happen as He gets His word out. And it is very cool to see that there is a hunger for growing in God's grace, amidst all the other religious and legalistic types of podcasts and teachings out there. Don't get me wrong, there are some other great podcasts listed on this site (not all based in legalism)! Take a look and see if there's anything that might interest you, if you're into listening to podcasts. And make sure to listen to Grace Walk Radio!
More snow pics, just cuz
I took these pics later the same day (Tuesday) that I took the other pics I posted. These are from the highways and byways of northeast Iowa.
Traveling south. You can see that the road is still covered with ice and snow (the ice and snow storm was on Sunday). You can see that the snow is piled pretty high alongside the road!
Same road, different side.
Traveling east on a different highway. About every mile or half mile, I came across areas where only one lane was open. I missed a chance at taking a photo of a clean up crew that was going from one area to the next, removing the snow from the north lane.
Heading north again on a different highway; Snow drifts still covering certain sections of the road.
This is probably the biggest pile of snow I've ever come across after snow removal on the highways! It's at least twice as high as the minivan I was driving. This is not snow on a hillside! This is a normally FLAT shoulder. :)
Traveling south. You can see that the road is still covered with ice and snow (the ice and snow storm was on Sunday). You can see that the snow is piled pretty high alongside the road!
Same road, different side.
Traveling east on a different highway. About every mile or half mile, I came across areas where only one lane was open. I missed a chance at taking a photo of a clean up crew that was going from one area to the next, removing the snow from the north lane.
Heading north again on a different highway; Snow drifts still covering certain sections of the road.
This is probably the biggest pile of snow I've ever come across after snow removal on the highways! It's at least twice as high as the minivan I was driving. This is not snow on a hillside! This is a normally FLAT shoulder. :)
Tuesday, February 19, 2008
Big Time
Most of you will 'get' why I'm posting this (in regards to "big" church talk - and mind you, you have to think "sarcasm")! But other than making a sarcastic point (to those of you who get it), it's just a fun song!
Peter Gabriel - Big Time
Peter Gabriel - Big Time
"Snow had fallen, snow on snow, snow on snow..."
"...in the bleak midwinter, not so long ago..." :)
They say that on average we've had a major snow or ice storm once per week this winter since December 1. I don't believe them. It has to have been at least TWO per week! :)
And we're not just talking about a little snowfall here and a little there. These have been major systems that have moved in and out, seemingly constantly. Each time I keep thinking that I don't know where I'll be able to put the snow the next time I have to clear our driveway!
The view up my street
The view down my driveway
Part of my driveway and front porch area
They say that on average we've had a major snow or ice storm once per week this winter since December 1. I don't believe them. It has to have been at least TWO per week! :)
And we're not just talking about a little snowfall here and a little there. These have been major systems that have moved in and out, seemingly constantly. Each time I keep thinking that I don't know where I'll be able to put the snow the next time I have to clear our driveway!
The view up my street
The view down my driveway
Part of my driveway and front porch area
Monday, February 18, 2008
God in the ordinary
I saw this this morning on the Idle musings of a bookseller blog. From today's My Utmost for His Highest devotional:
I'll first say that I don't agree with every single specific jot and tittle in Oswald Chambers' devotional above. For example, the line that says, "He does not give us glorious visions." I do believe in visions. I believe in miracles. I believe in angels. I believe in all kinds of extraordinary manifestations of God in our lives!
However, the overall heart of the devotional lines up with my everyday experience of God - of the Holy Spirit - of Christ in me - which is most often experienced "in the ordinary." I was once so focused on wanting God to manifest Himself in extraordinary ways that I completely, or nearly completely, missed His presence in the entirety of my life!
I look around and I see so many Christians who on the outside appear as if everything is fine and dandy, but when you share a little bit of life with them and get into conversations with them, you find that they feel that something is greatly missing or lacking in their Christian lives, and they will only feel filled or complete if something "major" happens, such as a miraculous event or a highly visible or emotional experience or manifestation. In other words, it seems as if many are discontent or are longing for something more. But yet isn't the wholeness of God with us and manifested in us,even especially in the "ordinary."
Again, I love the deeply emotional, genuinely supernatural experiences I've had with God! But here's food for thought. If you want to truly interact with Jesus, consider verses such as the following (as one of many things to consider):
Please understand, this is not some legalistic talk to try to get people to "do stuff for Jesus" and it's not a "step" to take to get out of any boredom or lack of fulfillment you may have in your Christian life!
What I'm saying is... the Kingdom of God is within us. We don't have to go looking for it. Perhaps, if we think we're missing out on something, instead of seeking for blatantly obvious supernatural experiences, we can ask our Father to show us Himself in the everyday things of life. All of creation is His. All of our life is His! A lot of this world is tainted with the effects of sin - but Jesus has overcome the world, and His overcoming of the world is not always experienced through miraculous events, but rather His overcoming of the world is shown in and through us as we abide and trust in Him and simply go about our daily lives, and as His love pours out of our lives toward others.
When the Spirit of God comes to us, He does not give us glorious visions, but He tells us to do the most ordinary things imaginable. Depression tends to turn us away from the everyday things of God’s creation. But whenever God steps in, His inspiration is to do the most natural, simple things-things we would never have imagined God was in, but as we do them we find Him there. The inspiration that comes to us in this way is an initiative against depression. But we must take the first step and do it in the inspiration of God. If, however, we do something simply to overcome our depression, we will only deepen it. But when the Spirit of God leads us instinctively to do something, the moment we do it the depression is gone. As soon as we arise and obey, we enter a higher plane of life.
I'll first say that I don't agree with every single specific jot and tittle in Oswald Chambers' devotional above. For example, the line that says, "He does not give us glorious visions." I do believe in visions. I believe in miracles. I believe in angels. I believe in all kinds of extraordinary manifestations of God in our lives!
However, the overall heart of the devotional lines up with my everyday experience of God - of the Holy Spirit - of Christ in me - which is most often experienced "in the ordinary." I was once so focused on wanting God to manifest Himself in extraordinary ways that I completely, or nearly completely, missed His presence in the entirety of my life!
I look around and I see so many Christians who on the outside appear as if everything is fine and dandy, but when you share a little bit of life with them and get into conversations with them, you find that they feel that something is greatly missing or lacking in their Christian lives, and they will only feel filled or complete if something "major" happens, such as a miraculous event or a highly visible or emotional experience or manifestation. In other words, it seems as if many are discontent or are longing for something more. But yet isn't the wholeness of God with us and manifested in us,
Again, I love the deeply emotional, genuinely supernatural experiences I've had with God! But here's food for thought. If you want to truly interact with Jesus, consider verses such as the following (as one of many things to consider):
"Then the righteous will answer Him, saying, 'Lord, when did we see You hungry and feed You, or thirsty and give You drink? When did we see You a stranger and take You in, or naked and clothe You? Or when did we see You sick, or in prison, and come to You?' And the King will answer and say to them, 'Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these My brethren, you did it to Me.' Matt 25:37-40
Please understand, this is not some legalistic talk to try to get people to "do stuff for Jesus" and it's not a "step" to take to get out of any boredom or lack of fulfillment you may have in your Christian life!
What I'm saying is... the Kingdom of God is within us. We don't have to go looking for it. Perhaps, if we think we're missing out on something, instead of seeking for blatantly obvious supernatural experiences, we can ask our Father to show us Himself in the everyday things of life. All of creation is His. All of our life is His! A lot of this world is tainted with the effects of sin - but Jesus has overcome the world, and His overcoming of the world is not always experienced through miraculous events, but rather His overcoming of the world is shown in and through us as we abide and trust in Him and simply go about our daily lives, and as His love pours out of our lives toward others.
Saturday, February 16, 2008
The answer is always B - 2/16/08
Well, pick me up off the floor, I can't remember the correct wording of Galatians 5:4! Is it:
A. "You have become estranged from Christ, you who have committed too many sins; you have fallen from grace."
B. "You have become estranged from Christ, you who attempt to be justified by law; you have fallen from grace."
C. "I've fallen and I can't get up!"
A. "You have become estranged from Christ, you who have committed too many sins; you have fallen from grace."
B. "You have become estranged from Christ, you who attempt to be justified by law; you have fallen from grace."
C. "I've fallen and I can't get up!"
Friday, February 15, 2008
Too much emphasis on "church"
Once again the great comments from others (this time on my last post, What people are saying about "church") have led to another blog post!
Alvin's (Walking Church) comments, as well as Aida's follow-up, were similar to what I had in mind when I commented on Aida's Jesus is building His church post, but I lost track of my thoughts and didn't say it. Basically: I think it's true that for some people, especially today's younger generation, phoniness and dung (more specifically, that found in "church") can be smelled a mile away.
My only hope is that people who sense all of that stuff will not have been so turned off by "church" that they decide "to heck with it all," but rather that they would sort through it all, by the Holy Spirit, with a true desire to be a part of a true, living, vibrant community. Along with what Alvin says on his Blogger profile, I hope they don't throw out the gospel with the bath water.
I truly do think the internet is playing a huge part in connecting people together. Well, I don't 'think' it, I know it! I'm part of it, along with all of you. Not that a "gathering together" on the internet through websites, blogs, forums, etc, is the be-all-end-all by any means - but neither is a local gathering! In fact it's to the contrary, isn't it? (Please bear with me, as during the past year or two I've been sorting out all kinds of new thoughts. Well, some of them are new thoughts and some of them are thoughts I've had for a long time but I'm finally beginning to see them become more than thoughts).
On Alan Knox's "Assembling" blog, he wrote a post called "Gathering suggests dispersal," in which he suggests, in a nutshell, that "a gathering or an assembly, by its nature, suggests a dispersal." He goes on to say, "The people of God gather because, in general, they are not assembled - they are dispersed." Read the full post to see how Alan defines "church," as well as to get his thoughts on the purpose of the gathering, and even more importantly, the dispersal. (I should have included this as a link on my last post).
In our modern church culture we seem to focus too much on the gathering, in my opinion. The "worship," the service, the sermon, the programs. "Bring people HERE, to this place - to 'our church,' and we'll get 'em saved, delivered and healed."
The gathering is important, and it's not that a traditional church service can't include any of this! Man, I've seen a LOT of great, true, genuine LIFE happen in church services. In other words, I've seen Jesus express His life in other people and I've seen Jesus express His life through me, all within the context of a "church service" and through various "church programs."
But we place so much emphasis on the structure and timing of the gathering, and on planning what happens during the gathering, and on who's in charge during the gathering, and in finding our place to "serve" within the organized church structure, and in essentially making our gathering into a performance or a show, that I think we lose sight of true worship, true service, true community, true discipleship - all of which can and does happen outside of the context of an organized church / church structure.
The building of the church (the people of God) can be done without the building and the church (system, building, programs). It can be and is done anytime Jesus is the Life and Director and Pastor of whatever He is doing in His church!
I don't mean at all to knock legitimate fellowship and community that is taking place in traditional churches. Even 'contemporary' traditional churches. :) Jesus is alive and well wherever He is alive and well! My hope, if anything, is to point out how we seem to have become so focused and dependent upon man-made programs and systems (however well-intentioned), and we've complacently called that "church," and have lost who we truly are as a widespread body with a much larger mission than gathering, and recruiting people into our gathering, and having a great "gathering experience."
I'd say we're a body that much more resembles a starfish than a spider. :)
Alvin's (Walking Church) comments, as well as Aida's follow-up, were similar to what I had in mind when I commented on Aida's Jesus is building His church post, but I lost track of my thoughts and didn't say it. Basically: I think it's true that for some people, especially today's younger generation, phoniness and dung (more specifically, that found in "church") can be smelled a mile away.
My only hope is that people who sense all of that stuff will not have been so turned off by "church" that they decide "to heck with it all," but rather that they would sort through it all, by the Holy Spirit, with a true desire to be a part of a true, living, vibrant community. Along with what Alvin says on his Blogger profile, I hope they don't throw out the gospel with the bath water.
I truly do think the internet is playing a huge part in connecting people together. Well, I don't 'think' it, I know it! I'm part of it, along with all of you. Not that a "gathering together" on the internet through websites, blogs, forums, etc, is the be-all-end-all by any means - but neither is a local gathering! In fact it's to the contrary, isn't it? (Please bear with me, as during the past year or two I've been sorting out all kinds of new thoughts. Well, some of them are new thoughts and some of them are thoughts I've had for a long time but I'm finally beginning to see them become more than thoughts).
On Alan Knox's "Assembling" blog, he wrote a post called "Gathering suggests dispersal," in which he suggests, in a nutshell, that "a gathering or an assembly, by its nature, suggests a dispersal." He goes on to say, "The people of God gather because, in general, they are not assembled - they are dispersed." Read the full post to see how Alan defines "church," as well as to get his thoughts on the purpose of the gathering, and even more importantly, the dispersal. (I should have included this as a link on my last post).
In our modern church culture we seem to focus too much on the gathering, in my opinion. The "worship," the service, the sermon, the programs. "Bring people HERE, to this place - to 'our church,' and we'll get 'em saved, delivered and healed."
The gathering is important, and it's not that a traditional church service can't include any of this! Man, I've seen a LOT of great, true, genuine LIFE happen in church services. In other words, I've seen Jesus express His life in other people and I've seen Jesus express His life through me, all within the context of a "church service" and through various "church programs."
But we place so much emphasis on the structure and timing of the gathering, and on planning what happens during the gathering, and on who's in charge during the gathering, and in finding our place to "serve" within the organized church structure, and in essentially making our gathering into a performance or a show, that I think we lose sight of true worship, true service, true community, true discipleship - all of which can and does happen outside of the context of an organized church / church structure.
The building of the church (the people of God) can be done without the building and the church (system, building, programs). It can be and is done anytime Jesus is the Life and Director and Pastor of whatever He is doing in His church!
I don't mean at all to knock legitimate fellowship and community that is taking place in traditional churches. Even 'contemporary' traditional churches. :) Jesus is alive and well wherever He is alive and well! My hope, if anything, is to point out how we seem to have become so focused and dependent upon man-made programs and systems (however well-intentioned), and we've complacently called that "church," and have lost who we truly are as a widespread body with a much larger mission than gathering, and recruiting people into our gathering, and having a great "gathering experience."
I'd say we're a body that much more resembles a starfish than a spider. :)
Thursday, February 14, 2008
What people are saying about "church"
Wow...
I don't know why it is, but I seem to be reading and hearing a whole lot lately about "the church," and how it's not an institution or a building, but it's the people. I got to thinking that perhaps I could compile some of these resources together, and so you'll find a list below.
This is by no means an "anti-church" list. :) That is, I'm not attempting to make any points about what anyone should or shouldn't do in regards to how they view "church." I am, however, making a strong suggestion that many of us have perhaps simply gone along with the modern cultural view of "church," and perhaps there is a place for many of us to rethink things, or at least take a look at what God is doing in and through other people in regards to "church."
Throughout my Christian life, I've heard many people give lip service to phrases such as "the church is the people, not the building," but below I think you will find people who are truly following through with this idea in their hearts and in the ways they go about living life. I don't necessarily follow along with every single thought expressed in every single link, but in my mind they are all related to one common idea.
There would be a lot of reading/viewing involved if you were to click on each link so if any of this interests you, perhaps bookmark this particular blog post and come back to it from time to time. Also, feel free to provide other links if you have any.
In no particular order:
Three of Bino's recent posts:
Rethinking 'Church'
Rethinking 'Community'
Rethinking 'Worship'
Aida: Jesus is building His church
Grace in Flood: A Grace Church
Meeting of one: God's Perspective on the Church
Nicole's Godblog: What is Church?
Nightwatch: The Church - Relationship
Steve McVey
Lie #31 You Should Go To Church
Lie #36 Attending Church Will Keep You From Growing Spiritually Cold
The Assembling of the Church - Alan Knox
(the most comprehensive blog that I follow on this subject)
House Church Workshop series (six posts all linked together)
Should we use the word "church"?
The ekklesia and the kuriakon
The ekklesia of Josephus
The ekklesia in context
Ecclesiology FAQ (here Alan lists many of his posts on his study of the church)
Jake Colsen's book: So You Don't Want To Go To Church Anymore
Wayne Jacobsen: Why I Don't Go to Church Anymore!
I don't know why it is, but I seem to be reading and hearing a whole lot lately about "the church," and how it's not an institution or a building, but it's the people. I got to thinking that perhaps I could compile some of these resources together, and so you'll find a list below.
This is by no means an "anti-church" list. :) That is, I'm not attempting to make any points about what anyone should or shouldn't do in regards to how they view "church." I am, however, making a strong suggestion that many of us have perhaps simply gone along with the modern cultural view of "church," and perhaps there is a place for many of us to rethink things, or at least take a look at what God is doing in and through other people in regards to "church."
Throughout my Christian life, I've heard many people give lip service to phrases such as "the church is the people, not the building," but below I think you will find people who are truly following through with this idea in their hearts and in the ways they go about living life. I don't necessarily follow along with every single thought expressed in every single link, but in my mind they are all related to one common idea.
There would be a lot of reading/viewing involved if you were to click on each link so if any of this interests you, perhaps bookmark this particular blog post and come back to it from time to time. Also, feel free to provide other links if you have any.
In no particular order:
Three of Bino's recent posts:
Rethinking 'Church'
Rethinking 'Community'
Rethinking 'Worship'
Aida: Jesus is building His church
Grace in Flood: A Grace Church
Meeting of one: God's Perspective on the Church
Nicole's Godblog: What is Church?
Nightwatch: The Church - Relationship
Steve McVey
Lie #31 You Should Go To Church
Lie #36 Attending Church Will Keep You From Growing Spiritually Cold
The Assembling of the Church - Alan Knox
(the most comprehensive blog that I follow on this subject)
House Church Workshop series (six posts all linked together)
Should we use the word "church"?
The ekklesia and the kuriakon
The ekklesia of Josephus
The ekklesia in context
Ecclesiology FAQ (here Alan lists many of his posts on his study of the church)
Jake Colsen's book: So You Don't Want To Go To Church Anymore
Wayne Jacobsen: Why I Don't Go to Church Anymore!
Wednesday, February 13, 2008
More on "the heart"
Once again I was responding to someone's comments (this time Aida's comments on The heart post from earlier today), and I found my comments becoming longer than what I had planned. :) And that's a good thing, because this is some good stuff to be discussing. So anyway, again instead of typing it all in the comments of that post, my comments have become this new post.
Without getting too deep into definitions, I'll just say that my understanding is that "heart" can have more than one meaning, and our one word in English can come from more than one Hebrew word or Greek word.
But apart from looking at the original language, we can also see the meaning of each instance of the English word according to its context. I'm by no means an expert here, but I'll just break down two particular meanings of the word. One is "spiritual" and one is "soulful."
Spiritual
God says in Ezekiel 36:26, "I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; I will take the heart of stone out of your flesh and give you a heart of flesh." Also, both Hebrews 8:10 and 10:16 quote from Jeremiah 31, in which God says, "I will put My law in their minds, and write it on their hearts..."
In these cases, my understanding is that the "heart" here has to do with our spirits. One reason I think that is because Rom 2:29 says that "circumcision is that of the heart, in the Spirit, not in the letter" and 2 Cor 3:3 says, "clearly you are an epistle of Christ...written not with ink but by the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone but on tablets of flesh, that is, of the heart."
We have been given a new heart (in our spirit) that is a heart of flesh and not stone, and that has the law of God written on it. This is God's doing, obviously not a result of anything we've done, or do, or will do or not do. This "heart" doesn't fluctuate, but has the requirements of the law fulfilled in it, and loves the law of God, because this heart is holy and the law is holy. As opposed to the deceitfully wicked heart that we once had, this heart is pure and clean.
Soulful
There are many, many scriptures that speak of the "heart" in a different way than the above scriptures. I believe the above scriptures represent an entirely different meaning than the following instances of the word "heart."
Rom 9:2 "I tell the truth in Christ... that I have great sorrow and continual grief in my heart..." (Paul was grieving for his brethren, the Israelites).
2 Cor 4:16 "Therefore we do not lose heart. Even though our outward man is perishing, yet the inward man is being renewed day by day."
2 Cor 9:7 "So let each on give as he purposes in his heart, not grudgingly or of necessity, for God loves a cheerful giver."
One of my favorites, Heb 13:9 "For it is good that the heart be established by grace."
Do you notice the difference between the "spiritual" heart that is fully and completely established in God's Spirit (the heart referred to by "I will give you a new heart"), and the "soulful" heart that has feelings, thoughts and emotions that fluctuate and that needs to grow and become established in grace?
I hope this provides food for thought, and I know the process of processing the truth always continues in each of us! Thoughts anyone?
Without getting too deep into definitions, I'll just say that my understanding is that "heart" can have more than one meaning, and our one word in English can come from more than one Hebrew word or Greek word.
But apart from looking at the original language, we can also see the meaning of each instance of the English word according to its context. I'm by no means an expert here, but I'll just break down two particular meanings of the word. One is "spiritual" and one is "soulful."
Spiritual
God says in Ezekiel 36:26, "I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; I will take the heart of stone out of your flesh and give you a heart of flesh." Also, both Hebrews 8:10 and 10:16 quote from Jeremiah 31, in which God says, "I will put My law in their minds, and write it on their hearts..."
In these cases, my understanding is that the "heart" here has to do with our spirits. One reason I think that is because Rom 2:29 says that "circumcision is that of the heart, in the Spirit, not in the letter" and 2 Cor 3:3 says, "clearly you are an epistle of Christ...written not with ink but by the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone but on tablets of flesh, that is, of the heart."
We have been given a new heart (in our spirit) that is a heart of flesh and not stone, and that has the law of God written on it. This is God's doing, obviously not a result of anything we've done, or do, or will do or not do. This "heart" doesn't fluctuate, but has the requirements of the law fulfilled in it, and loves the law of God, because this heart is holy and the law is holy. As opposed to the deceitfully wicked heart that we once had, this heart is pure and clean.
Soulful
There are many, many scriptures that speak of the "heart" in a different way than the above scriptures. I believe the above scriptures represent an entirely different meaning than the following instances of the word "heart."
Rom 9:2 "I tell the truth in Christ... that I have great sorrow and continual grief in my heart..." (Paul was grieving for his brethren, the Israelites).
2 Cor 4:16 "Therefore we do not lose heart. Even though our outward man is perishing, yet the inward man is being renewed day by day."
2 Cor 9:7 "So let each on give as he purposes in his heart, not grudgingly or of necessity, for God loves a cheerful giver."
One of my favorites, Heb 13:9 "For it is good that the heart be established by grace."
Do you notice the difference between the "spiritual" heart that is fully and completely established in God's Spirit (the heart referred to by "I will give you a new heart"), and the "soulful" heart that has feelings, thoughts and emotions that fluctuate and that needs to grow and become established in grace?
I hope this provides food for thought, and I know the process of processing the truth always continues in each of us! Thoughts anyone?
Ain't that tuff enuff
All right, so I just couldn't help myself. :) It had been a few years since I'd heard this song but I heard it the other day on a radio flashback show and I just had to post some thoughts that I had about the song. It's a fun song from the 80's, and it's called "Tuff Enuff" by the Fabulous Thunderbirds. The song is about all the "tough" things a man would do for his woman. Climb the Empire State Building, fight Muhammad Ali, wrestle with a lion and a grizzly bear... and so on.
My formerly religious-stained mind is always seeing traces (and often huge chunks) of legalism in various things, even things that have nothing to do with Christian doctrine. LOL. It's not as if I seek these things out... they just come to me! Ha ha! And so in fun, but with a tinge of seriousness, I present this song to you from a different perspective than is intended by the song. Rather than a man acting tough for his woman, think of all the religious (read: legalistic) Christians out there for whom this song would be their mantra before God. "Look at all the things I'll do for You!" Or "Look at all the things I've done for You!" "Ain't that tough enough?"
And then thank God that we don't have to act tough in front of Him, and that His pleasure in us isn't based one bit on what we (think we can) do for Him!
I found a video for the song on youtube, but the audio quality wasn't all that great, plus it's more of a PG rated video than a G rated video (might be slightly offensive to some) so it's just as well. In lieu of that, then, I created playlist on playlist.com with just this one song! (See another playlist I created at the very bottom of this blog, with lots more songs). By the way, whoever is hosting this particular song on the internet incorrectly calls it "Tough Enough."
My formerly religious-stained mind is always seeing traces (and often huge chunks) of legalism in various things, even things that have nothing to do with Christian doctrine. LOL. It's not as if I seek these things out... they just come to me! Ha ha! And so in fun, but with a tinge of seriousness, I present this song to you from a different perspective than is intended by the song. Rather than a man acting tough for his woman, think of all the religious (read: legalistic) Christians out there for whom this song would be their mantra before God. "Look at all the things I'll do for You!" Or "Look at all the things I've done for You!" "Ain't that tough enough?"
And then thank God that we don't have to act tough in front of Him, and that His pleasure in us isn't based one bit on what we (think we can) do for Him!
I found a video for the song on youtube, but the audio quality wasn't all that great, plus it's more of a PG rated video than a G rated video (might be slightly offensive to some) so it's just as well. In lieu of that, then, I created playlist on playlist.com with just this one song! (See another playlist I created at the very bottom of this blog, with lots more songs). By the way, whoever is hosting this particular song on the internet incorrectly calls it "Tough Enough."
The heart
This blog post is by no means a deep, exegetical explanation of "the heart." I was responding to a comment made by Lydia in my last post (All of life is spiritual - Video blog), and I found my comment was getting longer than I thought it would, so I decided to just make it into its own blog post. This way, too, if anyone happens to have any comments on this particular issue, it can sort of have it's own section on this blog.
I think the heart is one of the many parts, or "attributes," of our soul. Speaking in generalities, we would say that the soul is made up of the mind, will and emotions. I would say that "the heart" is included in this. "Believe in your heart that God raised Jesus from the dead... for it is with your heart that you believe and are justified..." (from Rom 10:9-10).
So one thing the heart does is to believe. For example, with the heart we either believe or reject the truth. The heart can trust, or not trust. It is with the heart that we believe, and it is our spirit that then becomes a new creation.
The heart is the place where we as Christians need to be settled in truth that we are not condemned. The truth is that we are not condemned. However, look at what John says. "For if our heart condemns us, God is greater than our heart , and knows all things. Beloved, if our heart does not condemn us, we have confidence toward God." (1 John 3:20-21).
We can intellectually (with our mind) know what the Bible says ("there is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus"), but yet in our hearts, even though we intellectually know the truth, we may still wrestle with that truth. Our hearts may condemn us if our hearts are not settled in the truth of who we truly are in our spirits - born again, a new creation, one spirit with God, the righteousness of God, etc. Even though God does not condemn us at all, not even an ounce, if our confidence is not "toward God," then we may feel condemned in our hearts.
Again, this is not a deep study by any means. It's simply the thoughts that came to mind as I thought about Lydia's comments, and I welcome your thoughts!
I think the heart is one of the many parts, or "attributes," of our soul. Speaking in generalities, we would say that the soul is made up of the mind, will and emotions. I would say that "the heart" is included in this. "Believe in your heart that God raised Jesus from the dead... for it is with your heart that you believe and are justified..." (from Rom 10:9-10).
So one thing the heart does is to believe. For example, with the heart we either believe or reject the truth. The heart can trust, or not trust. It is with the heart that we believe, and it is our spirit that then becomes a new creation.
The heart is the place where we as Christians need to be settled in truth that we are not condemned. The truth is that we are not condemned. However, look at what John says. "For if our heart condemns us, God is greater than our heart , and knows all things. Beloved, if our heart does not condemn us, we have confidence toward God." (1 John 3:20-21).
We can intellectually (with our mind) know what the Bible says ("there is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus"), but yet in our hearts, even though we intellectually know the truth, we may still wrestle with that truth. Our hearts may condemn us if our hearts are not settled in the truth of who we truly are in our spirits - born again, a new creation, one spirit with God, the righteousness of God, etc. Even though God does not condemn us at all, not even an ounce, if our confidence is not "toward God," then we may feel condemned in our hearts.
Again, this is not a deep study by any means. It's simply the thoughts that came to mind as I thought about Lydia's comments, and I welcome your thoughts!
Tuesday, February 12, 2008
All of life is spiritual - Video Blog
I started on this post about 10 days ago (Feb 2), but I just couldn't quite get it right as I typed it out, so I thought I'd try something different... a video blog post! This went longer than I thought it would - the total is about 11 minutes. I didn't realize that youtube has a limit on the length of videos, so I broke it up into two parts. Lemme know what ya think.
Part 1
Part 2
Part 1
Part 2
The answer is always B - 2/12/08
Romans 5:1. The correct wording is:
(Vanna, I'd like a vowel and two consonants*)
A. "Therefore, having been justified by all the good things we've done, we have peace with God, as long as we keep doing all those good things."
B. "Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ..."
C. "Speak now or forever hold your peace." (But remember, forever is a mighty long time...)
*I once heard that many Wheel of Fortune contestants accidentally say "I'd like to vuy a bowel" rather than "I'd like to buy a vowel." I have no clue as to the validity of this claim.
(Vanna, I'd like a vowel and two consonants*)
A. "Therefore, having been justified by all the good things we've done, we have peace with God, as long as we keep doing all those good things."
B. "Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ..."
C. "Speak now or forever hold your peace." (But remember, forever is a mighty long time...)
*I once heard that many Wheel of Fortune contestants accidentally say "I'd like to vuy a bowel" rather than "I'd like to buy a vowel." I have no clue as to the validity of this claim.
Monday, February 11, 2008
Kirkwood shootings... In memory of Tommy
You have probably heard of the shootings that took place in a City Council meeting in Kirkwood, MO (near St. Louis) last Thursday. According to this news story, before being shot to death by police, suspect Charles Lee Thornton shot and killed two policemen, Tom Ballman and William Biggs, as well as council members Michael H.T. Lynch and Connie Karr, and the Director of Public Works Kenneth Yost. Mayor Mike Swoboda was also hospitalized with gunshot wounds.I was talking on the phone last night with my parents, who informed me that the first officer mentioned above, Tom Ballman, is the same "Tommy" Ballman who was a childhood friend of mine. His family attended my dad's church in south St. Louis County, and they lived in the same neighborhood as us. We weren't "best friends" or anything, but we did hang around the neighborhood with all the rest of the kids.
I have a very unique memory of Tommy, which I can be reminded of every time I look in the mirror or look at a photo of myself after the age of 7 or 8. Tommy was "practicing" karate on me one day, and he accidentally cut me in my upper left cheek! The two small cuts eventually healed, but yet two moles formed in their place. They've been with me ever since.
I left a memorial on "The Officer Down Memorial Page, Inc." and I couldn't help but shed some tears as I read all the things others had to say about him.
Sunday, February 10, 2008
The answer is always B - 2/10/08
Which is the correct wording of Paul's words in Philippians 1:6?
A. "...being confident in my devotion to the work of God, I have begun a good work for Him and I will be faithful to carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus."
B. "...being confident of this very thing, that He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ..." (NKJV)
C. ¯"I don't want to work. I just want to bang on the drum all day."¯
A. "...being confident in my devotion to the work of God, I have begun a good work for Him and I will be faithful to carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus."
B. "...being confident of this very thing, that He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ..." (NKJV)
C. ¯"I don't want to work. I just want to bang on the drum all day."¯
Saturday, February 09, 2008
The answer is always B - 2/9/08
Which is the correct wording of Romans 11:6?
A. And if by grace, then you must add some works; otherwise grace is not complete. But if it is of works, it is supplemental to grace; otherwise grace will no longer work.
B. And if by grace, then it is no longer of works; otherwise grace is no longer grace. But if it is of works, it is no longer grace; otherwise work is no longer work (NKJV).
C. And if by Grace, then it is no longer of Sally; otherwise Grace is no longer Grace. But if it is of Sally, it is no longer Grace; otherwise Sally is no longer Sally, and Sally is very confused about who she is.
A. And if by grace, then you must add some works; otherwise grace is not complete. But if it is of works, it is supplemental to grace; otherwise grace will no longer work.
B. And if by grace, then it is no longer of works; otherwise grace is no longer grace. But if it is of works, it is no longer grace; otherwise work is no longer work (NKJV).
C. And if by Grace, then it is no longer of Sally; otherwise Grace is no longer Grace. But if it is of Sally, it is no longer Grace; otherwise Sally is no longer Sally, and Sally is very confused about who she is.
Thursday, February 07, 2008
Big Difference 3 - Self righteousness vs. God's righteousness
(Or man's righteousness vs. God's righteousness)
How is it that man seeks to establish his own righteousness (self-righteousness)? By the Law. By his own works. By his own self effort. In seeking to establish his own righteousness by the things he does, he lives a life that is ignorant of God's righteousness! In seeking to establish his own righteousness, he has not submitted to God's righteousness. Is there not a big difference between man's righteousness and God's righteousness?
We cannot live up to God's righteousness by what we do. It's impossible. As James said (and as I pointed out in Big Difference 2), if you keep the whole blessed thing and stumble in just one point, you wind up being guilty of the whole thing because you are a transgressor and transgressors to not inherit the kingdom of heaven. You have fallen short of Jesus' words to "be perfect, as your Father in heaven is perfect." (Matt 5:48). You can even do all the things that Jesus commanded... and if you stumble in just one point, you have fallen short and you are guilty.
The good news is "the gospel!" In Romans 1:17, Paul is speaking of the gospel (see vs. 16) and he says, "For in it (the gospel) the righteousness of God is revealed..."
The gospel reveals God's righteousness, as opposed to man's righteousness that he tries to establish by what he does. The gospel replaces man's attempts at righteousness with the gift of righteousness.
*For an explanation of this Big Difference series, see the original post.*
For they being ignorant of God's righteousness, and seeking to establish their own righteousness, have not submitted to the righteousness of God. For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes.
Rom 10:3-4 NKJV (emphasis mine)
How is it that man seeks to establish his own righteousness (self-righteousness)? By the Law. By his own works. By his own self effort. In seeking to establish his own righteousness by the things he does, he lives a life that is ignorant of God's righteousness! In seeking to establish his own righteousness, he has not submitted to God's righteousness. Is there not a big difference between man's righteousness and God's righteousness?
We cannot live up to God's righteousness by what we do. It's impossible. As James said (and as I pointed out in Big Difference 2), if you keep the whole blessed thing and stumble in just one point, you wind up being guilty of the whole thing because you are a transgressor and transgressors to not inherit the kingdom of heaven. You have fallen short of Jesus' words to "be perfect, as your Father in heaven is perfect." (Matt 5:48). You can even do all the things that Jesus commanded... and if you stumble in just one point, you have fallen short and you are guilty.
The good news is "the gospel!" In Romans 1:17, Paul is speaking of the gospel (see vs. 16) and he says, "For in it (the gospel) the righteousness of God is revealed..."
The gospel reveals God's righteousness, as opposed to man's righteousness that he tries to establish by what he does. The gospel replaces man's attempts at righteousness with the gift of righteousness.
*For an explanation of this Big Difference series, see the original post.*
Tuesday, February 05, 2008
Enjoy your coffee
This was posted over at nightwatch. Since I love coffee and since I always want to promote life (or perhaps better said, "living life"), this is a cool story all around. :)
The writer is anonymous.
The writer is anonymous.
A group of alumni, highly established in their careers, got together to visit their old university professor. Conversation soon turned into complaints about stress in work and life.
Offering his guests coffee, the professor went to the kitchen and returned with a large pot of coffee and an assortment of cups - porcelain, plastic, glass, crystal, some plain looking, some expensive, some exquisite - telling them to help themselves to the coffee.
When all the students had a cup of coffee in hand, the professor said: 'If you noticed, all the nice looking expensive cups were taken up, leaving behind the plain and cheap ones. While it is normal for you to want only the best for yourselves, that is the source of your problems and stress.
Be assured that the cup itself adds no quality to the coffee. In most cases, it is just more expensive and in some cases even hides what we drink.
What all of you really wanted was coffee, not the cup, but you consciously went for the best cups... And then you began eyeing each other's cups.
Now consider this: Life is the coffee; the jobs, money and position in society are the cups. They are just tools to hold and contain Life, and the type of cup we have does not define, nor change the quality of Life we live.
Sometimes, by concentrating only on the cup, we fail to enjoy the coffee God has provided us.
God brews the coffee, not the cups.........
Enjoy your coffee!
Monday, February 04, 2008
Law or Love?
From my notes from 9/21/01:
Which is better?
To put a person in reins and hold the reins tightly to keep them from moving to the left or right - OR to let the person live in freedom, make mistakes, and eventually (possibly, but with no guarantee) learn of God's unconditional love and begin to love God and others, so their freedom keeps them walking a straight line?
So why do we try to control people with reins??? (Rules, Regulations, Laws, etc).
Which is better?
Bondage, fear and guilt - OR love.
The possibility that others will make mistakes or using grace as a license to sin will always be a legitimate concern - but it should never be used as a reason or excuse to refrain from preaching and teaching the pure gospel of grace.
Which is better?
To put a person in reins and hold the reins tightly to keep them from moving to the left or right - OR to let the person live in freedom, make mistakes, and eventually (possibly, but with no guarantee) learn of God's unconditional love and begin to love God and others, so their freedom keeps them walking a straight line?
So why do we try to control people with reins??? (Rules, Regulations, Laws, etc).
Which is better?
Bondage, fear and guilt - OR love.
The possibility that others will make mistakes or using grace as a license to sin will always be a legitimate concern - but it should never be used as a reason or excuse to refrain from preaching and teaching the pure gospel of grace.
What makes a person righteous
I was digging through some of my past notes and I came across this note from 5/20/01.
The law led people to Christ, but not by works of the law. The works of the Law never benefited anyone as far as righteousness is concerned. When a person sins after coming to Christ, they don’t go back to the law to lead them back to Christ. Sin doesn’t mean that you have left Christ (and therefore need to get back). Coming to Christ is a one time event. The law leads you to faith. You become “in Christ” by faith. Sin doesn’t get you “out” of Christ. It wasn’t your good works that got you “in Christ” in the first place.
Sin doesn’t mean rejection of faith or Christ. So you don’t need the Law to get you back to Christ. Once you’ve come to Christ, the law’s purpose is done and is never needed again. It led you to Christ. It doesn’t sustain you in Christ.
The law surely can show us what sin is (therefore it shows sinners, who haven't come to Christ, their need for righteousness). But the law doesn’t do anything to fix the problem.
In Christ, the problem is done away with. We have become the righteousness of God in Christ Jesus. Even when we sin, we are still the righteousness of God in Christ Jesus! Again, when we were sinners, our good works didn't make us righteous, and now that we're in Christ - and therefore no longer a sinner but rather a righteous person - our sin doesn't make us unrighteous.
The law led people to Christ, but not by works of the law. The works of the Law never benefited anyone as far as righteousness is concerned. When a person sins after coming to Christ, they don’t go back to the law to lead them back to Christ. Sin doesn’t mean that you have left Christ (and therefore need to get back). Coming to Christ is a one time event. The law leads you to faith. You become “in Christ” by faith. Sin doesn’t get you “out” of Christ. It wasn’t your good works that got you “in Christ” in the first place.
Sin doesn’t mean rejection of faith or Christ. So you don’t need the Law to get you back to Christ. Once you’ve come to Christ, the law’s purpose is done and is never needed again. It led you to Christ. It doesn’t sustain you in Christ.
The law surely can show us what sin is (therefore it shows sinners, who haven't come to Christ, their need for righteousness). But the law doesn’t do anything to fix the problem.
In Christ, the problem is done away with. We have become the righteousness of God in Christ Jesus. Even when we sin, we are still the righteousness of God in Christ Jesus! Again, when we were sinners, our good works didn't make us righteous, and now that we're in Christ - and therefore no longer a sinner but rather a righteous person - our sin doesn't make us unrighteous.
Sunday, February 03, 2008
What's everyone been doing this Sunday evening? (Yawn)
So it's like 10:10pm CST on Sunday evening, and I've been sitting here for a few hours doing our taxes. Oh boy has this been fun can you just feel the excitement in my monotone voice. Anyway, there was some football game or something on in the background that ended about 45 minutes ago or so. Something weird... I have almost 50 blogs that I keep track of in my feed reader. I was worried that while I was doing my taxes, my feed reader, which normally shows me at least 3 or 4 times every half hour that someone has posted a new blog, would distract me from my task at hand. But in the past 4 or 5 hours, NONE OF THE BLOGS HAVE BEEN UPDATED.
Hmmmm.... I just don't get it. What has everyone else been doing this evening? Surely not doing their taxes like me???
Hmmmm.... I just don't get it. What has everyone else been doing this evening? Surely not doing their taxes like me???
Saturday, February 02, 2008
When art becomes bigger than its subject
I have always loved writing, as far back as I can remember. I essentially had a reclusive disposition, and I found writing to be a very enjoyable and satisfying way to express myself. Of course, I didn't think about it like that back then. I simply wrote and I had great time doing it!
As a child I would write one or two paragraph stories. In high school, when it came to writing essays, I didn't necessarily enjoy writing about subjects that didn't interest me, but yet I was still good at it (at least I got good grades). And when it came time to pick my own subject or to write about a pre-chosen subject that interested me, I never had a hard time using my imagination to come up with material.
I've always enjoyed writing poetry and song lyrics (although I have no musical sense whatsoever, as far as writing music). One of my favorite things that I used to do all the time was to take existing songs and rewrite funny lyrics for them. That was the "Weird Al Yankovic" in me. :) I also remember being at parties in my late teenage years, and I would sometimes sit down and write a funny story or poem and end up passing it around and watching people get a kick out of it.
(By the way, I'm getting to something here... eventually...) ;)
I wrote both to amuse myself and to amuse others. I wrote for my own benefit - for the purpose of being able to express the "story" that I had going on in my heart - and also for the purpose of sharing that story with others.
Today, I still write for the same purposes, although the content of what I write has changed over the years. What I write is simply an overflow of what's in my heart. I love writing. I love sharing my heart with others through writing. I've got about 350 blog posts from the past year and a half if you need proof. ;) Not only that, but I used to spend hour upon hour in online chat rooms and forums, discussing things that were in my heart. And if you think any of this is too much, I've got notebook upon notebook with page upon page of stuff that I've written over the years that no one but me has ever seen. Not to mention all the Word documents on my computer. It's almost as if "I write, therefore I am." Haha!
Writing is my "art," so to speak. I didn't say I'm the world's best at my art! But someone who paints or someone who sings doesn't have to be the best at what they do in order for it to be their thing.
They just do it, and it just is.
What is your "art?" Dancing? Painting? Drawing? Speaking? Administration? Organizing? Giving? Encouraging others? Tenderness? Showing up to help? Being there for others? Any of a trillion other ways of expressing what's in your heart?
As someone who loves writing, writing is naturally where the overflow of my heart is often expressed. It's usually not a "performance-based" thing for me. I don't do it to please anybody or to prove anything to anybody. I don't do it so others will focus on me as a writer. I do it so that the story (whatever story happens to be in my heart) gets told.
But I readily admit that there is definitely a temptation - sometimes a very subtle one - to change the angle of the spotlight that I'm supposedly shining on the the subject of my art more towards myself. See, I don't want the telling of the story to outshine the subject of the story. Yesterday I read a very humbling blog post that was a great reminder to not fall into that very temptation of making the art (or the artist) bigger than its subject.
The blog post, entitled Why Do I write?, explains this temptation very well I think, and succinctly. It's written by one of my brand new MyCCM Peeps (similar to MySpace Friends), Mark Geil. He draws upon a section of the C.S. Lewis book The Great Divorce. I won't give it all away. Just read it! It's a great read - well worth it no matter what your particular "art" in life is. (Update: "MyCCM" is no longer available, and so the article is also no longer available).
By the way, I don't mean to downplay art at all. I don't mean to say that we shouldn't enjoy art nor the artist. The artist's own personal expression of the story - or subject matter - can be a great big part of the enjoyment of the story! Each person's unique personality can add a certain "flavor" to the story. And different people who behold the art may have different tastes and may enjoy the very same stories being told according to those different flavors. Does that make sense? Anyway, I'm just saying that as artists - and I can't repeat enough: whatever your particular art is - it's good to keep in mind that the very reason we're creating art, even in our own unique ways, is to shine the light on something else, not ourselves.
As a child I would write one or two paragraph stories. In high school, when it came to writing essays, I didn't necessarily enjoy writing about subjects that didn't interest me, but yet I was still good at it (at least I got good grades). And when it came time to pick my own subject or to write about a pre-chosen subject that interested me, I never had a hard time using my imagination to come up with material.
I've always enjoyed writing poetry and song lyrics (although I have no musical sense whatsoever, as far as writing music). One of my favorite things that I used to do all the time was to take existing songs and rewrite funny lyrics for them. That was the "Weird Al Yankovic" in me. :) I also remember being at parties in my late teenage years, and I would sometimes sit down and write a funny story or poem and end up passing it around and watching people get a kick out of it.
(By the way, I'm getting to something here... eventually...) ;)
I wrote both to amuse myself and to amuse others. I wrote for my own benefit - for the purpose of being able to express the "story" that I had going on in my heart - and also for the purpose of sharing that story with others.
Today, I still write for the same purposes, although the content of what I write has changed over the years. What I write is simply an overflow of what's in my heart. I love writing. I love sharing my heart with others through writing. I've got about 350 blog posts from the past year and a half if you need proof. ;) Not only that, but I used to spend hour upon hour in online chat rooms and forums, discussing things that were in my heart. And if you think any of this is too much, I've got notebook upon notebook with page upon page of stuff that I've written over the years that no one but me has ever seen. Not to mention all the Word documents on my computer. It's almost as if "I write, therefore I am." Haha!
Writing is my "art," so to speak. I didn't say I'm the world's best at my art! But someone who paints or someone who sings doesn't have to be the best at what they do in order for it to be their thing.
They just do it, and it just is.
What is your "art?" Dancing? Painting? Drawing? Speaking? Administration? Organizing? Giving? Encouraging others? Tenderness? Showing up to help? Being there for others? Any of a trillion other ways of expressing what's in your heart?
As someone who loves writing, writing is naturally where the overflow of my heart is often expressed. It's usually not a "performance-based" thing for me. I don't do it to please anybody or to prove anything to anybody. I don't do it so others will focus on me as a writer. I do it so that the story (whatever story happens to be in my heart) gets told.
But I readily admit that there is definitely a temptation - sometimes a very subtle one - to change the angle of the spotlight that I'm supposedly shining on the the subject of my art more towards myself. See, I don't want the telling of the story to outshine the subject of the story. Yesterday I read a very humbling blog post that was a great reminder to not fall into that very temptation of making the art (or the artist) bigger than its subject.
The blog post, entitled Why Do I write?, explains this temptation very well I think, and succinctly. It's written by one of my brand new MyCCM Peeps (similar to MySpace Friends), Mark Geil. He draws upon a section of the C.S. Lewis book The Great Divorce. I won't give it all away. Just read it! It's a great read - well worth it no matter what your particular "art" in life is. (Update: "MyCCM" is no longer available, and so the article is also no longer available).
By the way, I don't mean to downplay art at all. I don't mean to say that we shouldn't enjoy art nor the artist. The artist's own personal expression of the story - or subject matter - can be a great big part of the enjoyment of the story! Each person's unique personality can add a certain "flavor" to the story. And different people who behold the art may have different tastes and may enjoy the very same stories being told according to those different flavors. Does that make sense? Anyway, I'm just saying that as artists - and I can't repeat enough: whatever your particular art is - it's good to keep in mind that the very reason we're creating art, even in our own unique ways, is to shine the light on something else, not ourselves.
Everythingyousayyoudoyouareyouwantyouthinkyoufeel
"Everythingyousayyoudoyouareyouwantyouthinkyoufeel"
Those are the words sung very quickly in part of the "I Know Everything About You" video that I posted yesterday. :)
Those are the words sung very quickly in part of the "I Know Everything About You" video that I posted yesterday. :)
Friday, February 01, 2008
The Kry - I Know Everything About You
This song from Canadian band The Kry was a tremendous help and encouragement to me back in the days when I was really just beginning to learn about God's unconditional love.
Some of my favorite lines from the song include:
My own added thoughts... We humans do seem to feel the need to add "but" in front of God's unconditional "I love you." In other words, we picture God saying, "I know all the things you do, but I love you anyway." Believe it or not, I think this actually sells unconditional love short! I believe that with God, there is no "but." I don't think He loves us "in spite of" the things we do. His love has nothing to do with what we do or don't do.
Our Father loves us because He is love.
Some of my favorite lines from the song include:
Bought with a price
Nothing you've done
It's a gift to you
My love is unconditional
---
Each time you fall
Look to the sky
It won't change My love for you
It won't change My mind
Lift your head up
You will always be Mine
My grace for you
Will last until the end of time
---
And of course the chorus:
I know everything about you
I know what you say and do
But I still love you
I know everything about you
I know what you're thinking through
But I still love you
My own added thoughts... We humans do seem to feel the need to add "but" in front of God's unconditional "I love you." In other words, we picture God saying, "I know all the things you do, but I love you anyway." Believe it or not, I think this actually sells unconditional love short! I believe that with God, there is no "but." I don't think He loves us "in spite of" the things we do. His love has nothing to do with what we do or don't do.
Our Father loves us because He is love.
Big Difference 2 - Cursed vs. Redeemed and Blessed
For as many as are of the works of the law are under the curse; for it is written, "Cursed is everyone who does not continue in all things which are written in the book of the law, to do them." 11 But that no one is justified by the law in the sight of God is evident, for "the just shall live by faith." 12 Yet the law is not of faith, but "the man who does them shall live by them."
13 Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the law, having become a curse for us (for it is written, "Cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree"), 14 that the blessing of Abraham might come upon the Gentiles in Christ Jesus, that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith.
Gal 3:10-14
The big difference between living by the law and living by grace is the "BUT" in verse 11 above and the "YET in verse 12.
As many as are of the works of the law are under the curse. BUT... we are not under law! We are under grace (Rom 6:14)! Under grace, Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the law.
Under the law, if you keep the whole blessed thing and yet stumble in just one point, you are guilty of the whole thing, and you are cursed. But under grace, you've been redeemed from the curse, and you are FREE to walk in the abundance of the blessings of God! Under the law, people were cursed for their disobedience. Under grace, Jesus became a curse for us and people became the righteousness of God in Him! Don't tell me there's not a big difference there!
The just shall live by faith. YET the Law is not of faith.
Think about that!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)