Some of my favorite reminders of being rooted and established in God's love and grace.
Heb 13:9 (NKJV)
Do not be carried about with various and strange doctrines. For it is good that the heart be established by grace, not with foods [read: laws] which have not profited those who have been occupied with them.
2 Peter 3:18 (KJV)
But grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. To him be glory both now and for ever. Amen.
Col 2:6-7 (NKJV)
As you therefore have received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in Him, rooted and built up in Him and established in the faith, as you have been taught, abounding in it with thanksgiving.
Col 2:7 (NLT)
Let your roots grow down into him and draw up nourishment from him, so you will grow in faith, strong and vigorous in the truth you were taught. Let your lives overflow with thanksgiving for all he has done.
Ps 92:12-15 (NKJV)
12 The righteous shall flourish like a palm tree,
He shall grow like a cedar in Lebanon.
13 Those who are planted in the house of the LORD
Shall flourish in the courts of our God.
14 They shall still bear fruit in old age;
They shall be fresh and flourishing,
15 To declare that the LORD is upright;
He is my rock, and there is no unrighteousness in Him.
Grace Roots Blog
Showing posts with label heart. Show all posts
Showing posts with label heart. Show all posts
Thursday, May 07, 2009
Monday, August 25, 2008
Book?
Hi friends,
I've shared with a few people over the years that the Lord has given me a desire to write a book. I've also been encouraged by a few of you to do such a thing. I've been seeking the Lord and praying about this for some time now, waiting for the right time.
I'm at a point now where it may be the right time. I've grown a lot in the past few years, and I've become pretty solid on what the concept of the potential book would be. That was never fully the case before. Anyway, through a series of events I've come to where I've arrived now, thinking I'd really like to get started on this. A lot of the busyness of summer is over, and the kids are back in school. I don't go to work until 1pm everyday, so I have my mornings 'free.' I say 'free' loosely, because with my wife and I both working full time, I do my share of things around the house, such as laundry, dishes, etc. My mornings are also generally a time when I'm more able to communicate with the friends who live in my computer! :)
But anyway, without all the noise and the distractions of "dad, dad!" all morning long (which I do miss right now - you don't know what you've got till it's gone!), I've been thinking that this is an opportune time to try to get focused.
And so I bring to you these prayer requests!
I love writing - but I'm not a very disciplined writer unless I force myself to be. I blog kind of haphazardly - which is really ok with me because I'm not trying to be deeply intellectual or deeply theological. I'm just sharing what's on my heart. If it appears intellectual or theological, it's generally by mistake... LOL... or simply because it's what's truly on my heart at the time.
However, in writing a book, I don't want to be so haphazard. Yes, I want to share my heart, but I also want it to be something that will stand the test of time. I want it to flow, and to be an easy read, and to not be "too" theological or doctrinal, while at the same time not neglecting the truth of scripture for even an instant.
I also have to say that I have always written at my best when I've been under pressure. That is, when I've had a deadline. Whether that's good or bad, I don't know! I always got A's and B's on writing assignments in school - but I always waited until the very last possible moment to begin writing. For example, I took a Human Dynamics college course about a decade ago. At the beginning of the quarter, we received an assignment that would be due at the end of the quarter. A pretty big assignment. Well, it was the Friday before the Monday that it was due, and I hadn't so much as started working on it! I worked on it the entire weekend, and I got an A! Of course, at the time we had no kids and no other major responsibilities in life like we do now, so I'm sure that helped. ;)
Like I said, I'm not a disciplined writer unless I have to be! In writing 20 monthly articles for my church between 2005 and 2007, I worked well when I knew the articles were due. I say all this to say that as of right now, I don't have a "deadline" for writing a book. So... it's very easy for me, if I'm not feeling disciplined to write or concentrate for a length of time, to put it off till another time.
Also, one major difference between blogging and writing a book is that blogging generally involves one "topic" at a time. Same with writing an article. That makes it pretty easy for me to do. But with writing a book, there's a "bigger picture" involved, and all the individual paragraphs and chapters need to sort of flow to make up the big picture. Like I said, I have the big picture in mind, but breaking it down into sections and chapters, especially ones that make some sort of sense when they're put together, seems kind of overwhelming to me. My thought, and something my brother suggested to me a couple of months ago, is to come up with some sort general description of the book, and then a brief outline that breaks it all into sections/chapters.
I'm sure that will be of great help. I'll just say that I've always hated outlines! I see their purpose and benefit, but I hate doing them!
I think what I'm trying to say is that writing a full book involves a lot of planning and thinking... and of course, work, and I'm asking for your prayers in putting all of this together! Throughout all of this, I'm keeping in the forefront of my mind and heart that this is Father's work, not mine. It involves the physical and mental work and concentration of my body and mind, but it's Father who's doing it in and through me.
I would also ask that if anyone has any experience, advice, tips or suggestions that might help in this process, feel free to share them with me, either in the comments section or through email (my email address is on the side of the blog).
Thanks so much! The message of God's grace has obviously forever changed my life. I've learned a great deal, and I'm always continuing to learn, and my hope is to keep passing on the message of truth and grace that sets people free.
I've shared with a few people over the years that the Lord has given me a desire to write a book. I've also been encouraged by a few of you to do such a thing. I've been seeking the Lord and praying about this for some time now, waiting for the right time.
I'm at a point now where it may be the right time. I've grown a lot in the past few years, and I've become pretty solid on what the concept of the potential book would be. That was never fully the case before. Anyway, through a series of events I've come to where I've arrived now, thinking I'd really like to get started on this. A lot of the busyness of summer is over, and the kids are back in school. I don't go to work until 1pm everyday, so I have my mornings 'free.' I say 'free' loosely, because with my wife and I both working full time, I do my share of things around the house, such as laundry, dishes, etc. My mornings are also generally a time when I'm more able to communicate with the friends who live in my computer! :)
But anyway, without all the noise and the distractions of "dad, dad!" all morning long (which I do miss right now - you don't know what you've got till it's gone!), I've been thinking that this is an opportune time to try to get focused.
And so I bring to you these prayer requests!
I love writing - but I'm not a very disciplined writer unless I force myself to be. I blog kind of haphazardly - which is really ok with me because I'm not trying to be deeply intellectual or deeply theological. I'm just sharing what's on my heart. If it appears intellectual or theological, it's generally by mistake... LOL... or simply because it's what's truly on my heart at the time.
However, in writing a book, I don't want to be so haphazard. Yes, I want to share my heart, but I also want it to be something that will stand the test of time. I want it to flow, and to be an easy read, and to not be "too" theological or doctrinal, while at the same time not neglecting the truth of scripture for even an instant.
I also have to say that I have always written at my best when I've been under pressure. That is, when I've had a deadline. Whether that's good or bad, I don't know! I always got A's and B's on writing assignments in school - but I always waited until the very last possible moment to begin writing. For example, I took a Human Dynamics college course about a decade ago. At the beginning of the quarter, we received an assignment that would be due at the end of the quarter. A pretty big assignment. Well, it was the Friday before the Monday that it was due, and I hadn't so much as started working on it! I worked on it the entire weekend, and I got an A! Of course, at the time we had no kids and no other major responsibilities in life like we do now, so I'm sure that helped. ;)
Like I said, I'm not a disciplined writer unless I have to be! In writing 20 monthly articles for my church between 2005 and 2007, I worked well when I knew the articles were due. I say all this to say that as of right now, I don't have a "deadline" for writing a book. So... it's very easy for me, if I'm not feeling disciplined to write or concentrate for a length of time, to put it off till another time.
Also, one major difference between blogging and writing a book is that blogging generally involves one "topic" at a time. Same with writing an article. That makes it pretty easy for me to do. But with writing a book, there's a "bigger picture" involved, and all the individual paragraphs and chapters need to sort of flow to make up the big picture. Like I said, I have the big picture in mind, but breaking it down into sections and chapters, especially ones that make some sort of sense when they're put together, seems kind of overwhelming to me. My thought, and something my brother suggested to me a couple of months ago, is to come up with some sort general description of the book, and then a brief outline that breaks it all into sections/chapters.
I'm sure that will be of great help. I'll just say that I've always hated outlines! I see their purpose and benefit, but I hate doing them!
I think what I'm trying to say is that writing a full book involves a lot of planning and thinking... and of course, work, and I'm asking for your prayers in putting all of this together! Throughout all of this, I'm keeping in the forefront of my mind and heart that this is Father's work, not mine. It involves the physical and mental work and concentration of my body and mind, but it's Father who's doing it in and through me.
I would also ask that if anyone has any experience, advice, tips or suggestions that might help in this process, feel free to share them with me, either in the comments section or through email (my email address is on the side of the blog).
Thanks so much! The message of God's grace has obviously forever changed my life. I've learned a great deal, and I'm always continuing to learn, and my hope is to keep passing on the message of truth and grace that sets people free.
Sunday, July 27, 2008
The Heart and The Scriptures
I have really been enjoying hearing what others have had to say about "the heart" lately. For example, understanding that in Christ we have been given a new heart. In the Old Testament, it was said that "the heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked." (Jer 17:9). But God's promise for the New Covenant was, "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." We have a new heart that is indwelled by the Holy Spirit, and that is not deceitful. Aida recently linked to a website that talks about the heart, and while I've yet to fully look it over I've at least found a few neat things on it. One thing is this post.
On that post, something very key stood out to me:
This is why I'm thankful that we have the Scriptures. The sad thing is that I see many "heart" people getting defensive when the Bible is put on the table! To trust God with our new heart is a great and wonderful thing, but how do we even know about the old heart/new heart apart from what the Scriptures say? How do we know many, many wonderful truths apart from the Bible?
I'll be the first to say... because I've said it before... that most people who have ever lived have never had access to a Bible, and yet God's word has been true and has been revealed to mankind since the beginning. But here's the thing that I've seen, if only a little, in some of the "heart" teachings I've heard: A disregard for the truth that we do have in the Scriptures. Sometimes (although rarely) it's even been almost to the point of animosity against studying the Scriptures. And a little more often the teachings have, in my opinion, been contrary to what the Scriptures do reveal as New Covenant truth. I'll be honest and say all of this concerns me.
Truth be told, we don't all agree on the interpretation of all the Scriptures. That's not what I'm addressing here. I'm talking about people's feelings, logic, emotions, gut reactions, etc, that they regard as "truth" when the Scriptures reveal something to the contrary. Again, God does indeed reveal Himself to us in our spirits, often through the avenue of our minds, feelings and emotions. But also again, our thoughts, feelings and emotions can deceive us.
Here are a couple of examples.
1) A man comes to Jesus by faith alone, trusting solely in the truth of the gospel. Then his thoughts and feelings begin to make him wonder if the gospel is really that good, and if maybe God is angry with Him for falling short, and he begins struggling and striving to maintain his righteousness in an effort to stay right with God - all because his mind and emotions tell him something contrary to what the Scriptures really say.
2) A woman comes to Jesus by faith alone, and then becomes emotionally connected with a man who is not her husband. She begins having deep feelings for him, and in her "heart" she really feels that God wants her to be with this man, so she divorces her husband and marries the other man.
In both cases, the people really did believe something about God and about themselves that wasn't true. They believed their hearts were telling them something, but it wasn't really their new heart (spirit). It was their minds, feelings and emotions. They were truly deceived.
That's the point of all this. We can believe some really "good" stuff about who God is and who we are, or some really "legalistic" stuff about who God is and who we are - or anything inbetween - that may not really be the truth. The whole point here is that we can easily be led in our minds, thoughts and emotions by things that seem to be true, but yet the Scriptures tell us otherwise.
Some other examples include the ideas that hell is just a fictitious place, and that everybody is saved. I've heard people say, "how could a loving God put people in hell, never mind creating it?" (A recent comment by Matthew in another post reminded me of this). Or, "It's just not logical that God wouldn't save everyone." It's supposedly the new heart from which people have gotten these doctrines - but it's really their own thoughts, logic, emotions, feelings, etc. It doesn't line up with what the Scriptures say.
When helping Timothy to understand God and the gospel, Paul didn't tell Timothy, "just follow what your heart is telling you." He reminded him about the Scriptures, "which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus." He told him, "All scripture is God-breathed and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness..." The Scriptures he was referring to were, of course, the Old Testament. How wonderful that we now also have all of the New Testament to learn from as well! There is a TON of truth about who God is (and who we are) that we can be assured of through our studying of the Scriptures. Life is most certainly not about living by doctrines and theology. But if we're going to teach or share with each other things about who God is and who we are, and since we do have the Scriptures, which do indeed contain the truth about God and us, then let's not disregard the them as we learn to walk according to our hearts.
On that post, something very key stood out to me:
Contrary to popular culture’s view, the heart is not the emotional or feeling side of us. Popular culture tends to think of the heart as the sentimental part of us. (Think of Hallmark cards.) Biblically speaking, our feelings can express what is going on in our hearts, but the heart is much more than feelings.I very much appreciate many of the teachings I've heard lately that talk about us being able to trust our hearts... because they're new hearts that are indwelled by the Holy Spirit. I think it's a good thing to understand this. However, I still think it's very possible (and sadly common) for Christians to mistake their feelings, emotions, logic, gut sense, etc, for the true heart. While our true heart (spirit) is fully in line with God, and can indeed express itself through our minds, feelings and emotions, at the same time our minds, feelings and emotions can express things that are not true... that are not of the Spirit... and I think it's very important to grow in our understanding of the difference. Otherwise, we may mistake anything we think or feel for truth, when really our minds, feelings and emotions can still deceive us and take us away from the truth.
This is why I'm thankful that we have the Scriptures. The sad thing is that I see many "heart" people getting defensive when the Bible is put on the table! To trust God with our new heart is a great and wonderful thing, but how do we even know about the old heart/new heart apart from what the Scriptures say? How do we know many, many wonderful truths apart from the Bible?
I'll be the first to say... because I've said it before... that most people who have ever lived have never had access to a Bible, and yet God's word has been true and has been revealed to mankind since the beginning. But here's the thing that I've seen, if only a little, in some of the "heart" teachings I've heard: A disregard for the truth that we do have in the Scriptures. Sometimes (although rarely) it's even been almost to the point of animosity against studying the Scriptures. And a little more often the teachings have, in my opinion, been contrary to what the Scriptures do reveal as New Covenant truth. I'll be honest and say all of this concerns me.
Truth be told, we don't all agree on the interpretation of all the Scriptures. That's not what I'm addressing here. I'm talking about people's feelings, logic, emotions, gut reactions, etc, that they regard as "truth" when the Scriptures reveal something to the contrary. Again, God does indeed reveal Himself to us in our spirits, often through the avenue of our minds, feelings and emotions. But also again, our thoughts, feelings and emotions can deceive us.
Here are a couple of examples.
1) A man comes to Jesus by faith alone, trusting solely in the truth of the gospel. Then his thoughts and feelings begin to make him wonder if the gospel is really that good, and if maybe God is angry with Him for falling short, and he begins struggling and striving to maintain his righteousness in an effort to stay right with God - all because his mind and emotions tell him something contrary to what the Scriptures really say.
2) A woman comes to Jesus by faith alone, and then becomes emotionally connected with a man who is not her husband. She begins having deep feelings for him, and in her "heart" she really feels that God wants her to be with this man, so she divorces her husband and marries the other man.
In both cases, the people really did believe something about God and about themselves that wasn't true. They believed their hearts were telling them something, but it wasn't really their new heart (spirit). It was their minds, feelings and emotions. They were truly deceived.
That's the point of all this. We can believe some really "good" stuff about who God is and who we are, or some really "legalistic" stuff about who God is and who we are - or anything inbetween - that may not really be the truth. The whole point here is that we can easily be led in our minds, thoughts and emotions by things that seem to be true, but yet the Scriptures tell us otherwise.
Some other examples include the ideas that hell is just a fictitious place, and that everybody is saved. I've heard people say, "how could a loving God put people in hell, never mind creating it?" (A recent comment by Matthew in another post reminded me of this). Or, "It's just not logical that God wouldn't save everyone." It's supposedly the new heart from which people have gotten these doctrines - but it's really their own thoughts, logic, emotions, feelings, etc. It doesn't line up with what the Scriptures say.
When helping Timothy to understand God and the gospel, Paul didn't tell Timothy, "just follow what your heart is telling you." He reminded him about the Scriptures, "which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus." He told him, "All scripture is God-breathed and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness..." The Scriptures he was referring to were, of course, the Old Testament. How wonderful that we now also have all of the New Testament to learn from as well! There is a TON of truth about who God is (and who we are) that we can be assured of through our studying of the Scriptures. Life is most certainly not about living by doctrines and theology. But if we're going to teach or share with each other things about who God is and who we are, and since we do have the Scriptures, which do indeed contain the truth about God and us, then let's not disregard the them as we learn to walk according to our hearts.
Saturday, June 07, 2008
Joyful living and joyful giving - Part 2 of 2
In Part 1, I left off by saying that there was more to the stories about joyless giving that I had briefly mentioned. Check out that post to see the stories.
In story number one, the host of the program made things worse for the woman, in my opinion. It was obvious to me that he was a supporter of Christian tithing, and so instead of addressing the fact that tithing is a non-Christian principle (again, stay tuned and I'll eventually lay out a series of posts, showing how tithing is not a New Covenant principle by any means), and freeing the woman up to simply give freely from her heart as she determined to do on her own, which would by nature involve nothing less than cheerful giving, he gave her a list of rules and principles she could try to follow in order to have more joy in her life.
This is the type of thing in which I tend to have more verbal communication with my radio than I otherwise would have. ;)
And worse yet, in story number two the woman and her husband were commended by the host for what they did. I will mention that the woman said that she and her husband were very happy with what they had done and that they were thankful that they were in a position to be giving to something that they really wanted to give to. If they were truly changing their lifestyle because in their hearts they had decided that this was a way to give, and they did it cheerfully, then I can't argue with that.
But yet the whole story seems to me to be based more on legalism and religion - and not just a small wiff of it. This couple did feel obliged to "pay a tithe" to their local church. It didn't seem like they thought they had a choice in the matter. The root of their actions, it seems to me, was obligation, not giving freely.
When it comes to both joyful living (an overall life of joy) and joyful giving, the root can never be obligation. It can never be religion. It can never be rules. It can never be law. Christ came to set us FREE from all of that! I think that many Christians are living joyless lives, or at least seem to have very little joy, because they are mixing either a little or a lot of law and Old Covenant principles into their Christian lives. It only takes a little leaven of the law and religion to leaven the whole lump (see Gal 5:1-9).
Someone (well, ok, a LOT of people) might want to take some New Testament words and make "rules and principles" out of them. I'm thinking of words such as Peter's words, "What kind of people ought you to be? You ought to live holy and godly lives..." (2 Peter 3:9). I recently heard an entire sermon on the radio based upon this passage. It basically turned out to be a list of do's and don'ts for the Christian life.
But the more I find out about my freedom in Christ, I find that the "oughts" of the Christian life are rooted in something much deeper. We can't simply yank passages out of the Bible and make rules out of them. Peter, in the above passage, continues with words that are often overlooked. "...as you look forward to the day of God and speed its coming." This "ought" was rooted in joyful expectation of the coming of the Lord. It wasn't rooted in any kind of obligation to "be a better Christian" by following the rules. Joy wasn't going to come as a result of trying to live by "oughts."
Rather, the types of lives we live are rooted in the fact that in Christ we have freedom and we have joy. We have a wonderful Savior and Friend, and as we get to know Him intimately and freely, not through rules and oughts, but through His grace and love, then we won't be obliged to change our lifestyles in order to try to do better for Him. Instead, our growing process will be much more natural, over a period of time, as we rest in Him. It deeply saddens me that for many, the Christian life is not much more than futile attempts at rules and oughts.
As you read through other New Testament epistles, note how Paul and the others lay a foundation of life, love, grace, etc. And much more than a foundation, life, love and grace are also the makeup of the entire Christian life. And the actions of the Christian life, such as giving, kindness, love, holiness, etc, are not the root of the Christian life. They are the legitimate fruit of being grounded firmly and deeply in God's love and grace!
In story number one, the host of the program made things worse for the woman, in my opinion. It was obvious to me that he was a supporter of Christian tithing, and so instead of addressing the fact that tithing is a non-Christian principle (again, stay tuned and I'll eventually lay out a series of posts, showing how tithing is not a New Covenant principle by any means), and freeing the woman up to simply give freely from her heart as she determined to do on her own, which would by nature involve nothing less than cheerful giving, he gave her a list of rules and principles she could try to follow in order to have more joy in her life.
This is the type of thing in which I tend to have more verbal communication with my radio than I otherwise would have. ;)
And worse yet, in story number two the woman and her husband were commended by the host for what they did. I will mention that the woman said that she and her husband were very happy with what they had done and that they were thankful that they were in a position to be giving to something that they really wanted to give to. If they were truly changing their lifestyle because in their hearts they had decided that this was a way to give, and they did it cheerfully, then I can't argue with that.
But yet the whole story seems to me to be based more on legalism and religion - and not just a small wiff of it. This couple did feel obliged to "pay a tithe" to their local church. It didn't seem like they thought they had a choice in the matter. The root of their actions, it seems to me, was obligation, not giving freely.
When it comes to both joyful living (an overall life of joy) and joyful giving, the root can never be obligation. It can never be religion. It can never be rules. It can never be law. Christ came to set us FREE from all of that! I think that many Christians are living joyless lives, or at least seem to have very little joy, because they are mixing either a little or a lot of law and Old Covenant principles into their Christian lives. It only takes a little leaven of the law and religion to leaven the whole lump (see Gal 5:1-9).
Someone (well, ok, a LOT of people) might want to take some New Testament words and make "rules and principles" out of them. I'm thinking of words such as Peter's words, "What kind of people ought you to be? You ought to live holy and godly lives..." (2 Peter 3:9). I recently heard an entire sermon on the radio based upon this passage. It basically turned out to be a list of do's and don'ts for the Christian life.
But the more I find out about my freedom in Christ, I find that the "oughts" of the Christian life are rooted in something much deeper. We can't simply yank passages out of the Bible and make rules out of them. Peter, in the above passage, continues with words that are often overlooked. "...as you look forward to the day of God and speed its coming." This "ought" was rooted in joyful expectation of the coming of the Lord. It wasn't rooted in any kind of obligation to "be a better Christian" by following the rules. Joy wasn't going to come as a result of trying to live by "oughts."
Rather, the types of lives we live are rooted in the fact that in Christ we have freedom and we have joy. We have a wonderful Savior and Friend, and as we get to know Him intimately and freely, not through rules and oughts, but through His grace and love, then we won't be obliged to change our lifestyles in order to try to do better for Him. Instead, our growing process will be much more natural, over a period of time, as we rest in Him. It deeply saddens me that for many, the Christian life is not much more than futile attempts at rules and oughts.
As you read through other New Testament epistles, note how Paul and the others lay a foundation of life, love, grace, etc. And much more than a foundation, life, love and grace are also the makeup of the entire Christian life. And the actions of the Christian life, such as giving, kindness, love, holiness, etc, are not the root of the Christian life. They are the legitimate fruit of being grounded firmly and deeply in God's love and grace!
Joyful living and joyful giving - Part 1 of 2
I don't quite understand it (ha ha), but for some reason churches seem to make a priority of teaching on the topic of giving. And many of the teachings I've heard on this topic just make me sad. This is stuff I've heard all throughout my church life but I can't say that I ever get any happier when I hear it.
Here are two sad stories I've heard lately that I believe are direct results of how giving is taught in churches today.
1. On a Christian radio talk show, a woman called in with a problem. The gist of her problem is that she gives money to the church but she just can't seem to do it joyfully. She said something like, "We do pay our tithe to our church, but it just isn't a joyful thing for us."
2. Another woman called into a Christian talk show (I can't remember if it was the same program) and said that there was a time when she and her husband couldn't afford to pay their tithe to their church, because they wouldn't have enough money left over for other necessary things, but they felt guilty about it. So what did they end up doing? They SOLD their house, and in her own words, they took a huge loss on it. But, she says, now they are in a smaller house that costs less and they can now afford to "pay their tithe" to their church.
OH
MY.
Why do things like this surprise me? It probably happens far more than we can imagine.
But the point is... what has the Christian religion done to us??? We take Old Covenant laws and practices that served specific purposes for Old Covenant times, we stretch them and manipulate them to fit into the ways we've devised to do things in the church, and we call it "Christianity." I've written full commentaries on "the tithe" in the past and I've shared bits and pieces of my thoughts in various newgroups, and even more recently on other blogs, and I have in mind to do a full series here on "the tithe."
But for now I'll just say that I'll bet there are many similar stories to the ones I shared above, with people dealing with joyless giving, changing their lifestyles so they can "pay a tithe" to a church, and other problems rooted in legalism, and this is one of the areas of modern day legalistic Christianity that really gets under my skin.
The stories above didn't end where I left off. I'll pick up where I left off in Part 2.
Here are two sad stories I've heard lately that I believe are direct results of how giving is taught in churches today.
1. On a Christian radio talk show, a woman called in with a problem. The gist of her problem is that she gives money to the church but she just can't seem to do it joyfully. She said something like, "We do pay our tithe to our church, but it just isn't a joyful thing for us."
2. Another woman called into a Christian talk show (I can't remember if it was the same program) and said that there was a time when she and her husband couldn't afford to pay their tithe to their church, because they wouldn't have enough money left over for other necessary things, but they felt guilty about it. So what did they end up doing? They SOLD their house, and in her own words, they took a huge loss on it. But, she says, now they are in a smaller house that costs less and they can now afford to "pay their tithe" to their church.
OH
MY.
Why do things like this surprise me? It probably happens far more than we can imagine.
But the point is... what has the Christian religion done to us??? We take Old Covenant laws and practices that served specific purposes for Old Covenant times, we stretch them and manipulate them to fit into the ways we've devised to do things in the church, and we call it "Christianity." I've written full commentaries on "the tithe" in the past and I've shared bits and pieces of my thoughts in various newgroups, and even more recently on other blogs, and I have in mind to do a full series here on "the tithe."
But for now I'll just say that I'll bet there are many similar stories to the ones I shared above, with people dealing with joyless giving, changing their lifestyles so they can "pay a tithe" to a church, and other problems rooted in legalism, and this is one of the areas of modern day legalistic Christianity that really gets under my skin.
The stories above didn't end where I left off. I'll pick up where I left off in Part 2.
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?
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!
Saturday, October 06, 2007
Established and growing in grace
If I don't mention these Bible passages enough, I'm sorry. If I mention them too much... well that's just too bad!
Heb 13:9 (NKJV)
Do not be carried about with various and strange doctrines. For it is good that the heart be established by grace, not with foods [read: laws] which have not profited those who have been occupied with them.
2 Peter 3:18 (KJV)
But grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. To him be glory both now and for ever. Amen.
Col 2:6-7 (NKJV)
As you therefore have received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in Him, rooted and built up in Him and established in the faith, as you have been taught, abounding in it with thanksgiving.
Col 2:7 (NLT)
Let your roots grow down into him and draw up nourishment from him, so you will grow in faith, strong and vigorous in the truth you were taught. Let your lives overflow with thanksgiving for all he has done.
Ps 92:12-15 (NKJV)
12 The righteous shall flourish like a palm tree,
He shall grow like a cedar in Lebanon.
13 Those who are planted in the house of the LORD
Shall flourish in the courts of our God.
14 They shall still bear fruit in old age;
They shall be fresh and flourishing,
15 To declare that the LORD is upright;
He is my rock, and there is no unrighteousness in Him.
Heb 13:9 (NKJV)
Do not be carried about with various and strange doctrines. For it is good that the heart be established by grace, not with foods [read: laws] which have not profited those who have been occupied with them.
2 Peter 3:18 (KJV)
But grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. To him be glory both now and for ever. Amen.
Col 2:6-7 (NKJV)
As you therefore have received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in Him, rooted and built up in Him and established in the faith, as you have been taught, abounding in it with thanksgiving.
Col 2:7 (NLT)
Let your roots grow down into him and draw up nourishment from him, so you will grow in faith, strong and vigorous in the truth you were taught. Let your lives overflow with thanksgiving for all he has done.
Ps 92:12-15 (NKJV)
12 The righteous shall flourish like a palm tree,
He shall grow like a cedar in Lebanon.
13 Those who are planted in the house of the LORD
Shall flourish in the courts of our God.
14 They shall still bear fruit in old age;
They shall be fresh and flourishing,
15 To declare that the LORD is upright;
He is my rock, and there is no unrighteousness in Him.
Friday, March 23, 2007
But the label is GREEN!
Well, I went to the doctor Wednesday because I've had several issues I've been dealing with, including a little bit of chest pain, my heart fluttering from time to time, and MAJOR pressure in my head, unlike anything I've ever had. You know when you're under a lot of stress, or are angry at the kids, and there's pressure in your head. It was that type of pressure. Almost kind of hard to concentrate on things. Thing is, I am under no stress and I'm far from angry at anyone or anything! I generally live a virtually stress-free life. But yet I've been sort of restless for a week or two, and this pressure has been pretty intense for almost a week.
So I was worried, thinking I had some sort of heart or cardiovascular problem, or blood clot. You know how the mind works. Long story short, the doc told me it could be a sinus infection, and to just let it run its course. If it doesn't go away, get checked out again. He didn't really say anything about the chest pain. Come on doc, you're supposed to FIX me!
Well, no worries. Yesterday I found some relief! And this is where it gets a little embarrassing, although I've been sharing it with everyone I see, so I guess it's more funny (at least to me) than anything.
A brief setup: I'm practically like a fish who lives in coffee, not water. I drink a lot of coffee. But I don't like all the caffeine so I usually mix about 3 scoops of decaf with 1 scoop of caffeinated coffee. So I really don't drink a whole lot of caffeine. I don't drink coffee for the caffeine. It's one of those "acquired tastes," and I would drink decaf exclusively if it had a bolder flavor. Well about a month ago I asked my wife to get me some decaf coffee at Walmart, since I was almost out. She brought home a green tin, and I continued mixing my 3:1 ratio of decaf/caf. About a week ago, I was thinking more about how decaf isn't as "strong" as the real stuff, so I started adding an extra scoop of decaf without adding more water. After doing that I thought, "Wow, this stuff tastes AMAZING! I'm gonna keep doing this! Decaf isn't so bad when you just add an extra scoop!"
So there I was yesterday morning, grabbing my green "decaf" tin and my blue "regular" tin. I looked at the label of the green tin. It said "premium coffee." So at first I thought, "OH, maybe that's why it's been tasting so good; I'll have to keep getting this 'premium' decaffeinated coffee." But then I kept looking, and looking and looking all over the tin for the word "decaffeinated." Huh, they forgot to put the word on the label! NOPE.
You probably figured out where I was going before I got to the punchline. Isn't this pathetic! I don't know which is more pathetic - that a company would sell "regular" coffee in a GREEN tin or that I didn't look at the label to make sure what I was drinking! My wife said that the shelf said "Decaffeinated" right where this stuff was. The store clerk probably thought it was decaf. A GREEN coffee label is SUPPOSED to mean DECAF, right???
So this explains EVERYTHING that I've gone through in the past few weeks, especially the past few days. Not only have I been mixing green regular coffee with regular regular coffee, but I've been adding an extra scoop! You know, I even thought about going skydiving one day - and now I know why! Just kidding. But man, simple tasks like reading a simple email had been the hardest thing during the past week. I would catch myself with my eyebrows raised and my forehead in its "stressed out" position, and I would think to myself, "What's going on??? I'm under no pressure here, I'm not stressed about anything!" So I would take a deep breath and sit back and relax, but I just couldn't get this pressure out of my head!
Now I know why! And now I know I'm going to check the labels more closely.
So I was worried, thinking I had some sort of heart or cardiovascular problem, or blood clot. You know how the mind works. Long story short, the doc told me it could be a sinus infection, and to just let it run its course. If it doesn't go away, get checked out again. He didn't really say anything about the chest pain. Come on doc, you're supposed to FIX me!
Well, no worries. Yesterday I found some relief! And this is where it gets a little embarrassing, although I've been sharing it with everyone I see, so I guess it's more funny (at least to me) than anything.
A brief setup: I'm practically like a fish who lives in coffee, not water. I drink a lot of coffee. But I don't like all the caffeine so I usually mix about 3 scoops of decaf with 1 scoop of caffeinated coffee. So I really don't drink a whole lot of caffeine. I don't drink coffee for the caffeine. It's one of those "acquired tastes," and I would drink decaf exclusively if it had a bolder flavor. Well about a month ago I asked my wife to get me some decaf coffee at Walmart, since I was almost out. She brought home a green tin, and I continued mixing my 3:1 ratio of decaf/caf. About a week ago, I was thinking more about how decaf isn't as "strong" as the real stuff, so I started adding an extra scoop of decaf without adding more water. After doing that I thought, "Wow, this stuff tastes AMAZING! I'm gonna keep doing this! Decaf isn't so bad when you just add an extra scoop!"
So there I was yesterday morning, grabbing my green "decaf" tin and my blue "regular" tin. I looked at the label of the green tin. It said "premium coffee." So at first I thought, "OH, maybe that's why it's been tasting so good; I'll have to keep getting this 'premium' decaffeinated coffee." But then I kept looking, and looking and looking all over the tin for the word "decaffeinated." Huh, they forgot to put the word on the label! NOPE.
You probably figured out where I was going before I got to the punchline. Isn't this pathetic! I don't know which is more pathetic - that a company would sell "regular" coffee in a GREEN tin or that I didn't look at the label to make sure what I was drinking! My wife said that the shelf said "Decaffeinated" right where this stuff was. The store clerk probably thought it was decaf. A GREEN coffee label is SUPPOSED to mean DECAF, right???
So this explains EVERYTHING that I've gone through in the past few weeks, especially the past few days. Not only have I been mixing green regular coffee with regular regular coffee, but I've been adding an extra scoop! You know, I even thought about going skydiving one day - and now I know why! Just kidding. But man, simple tasks like reading a simple email had been the hardest thing during the past week. I would catch myself with my eyebrows raised and my forehead in its "stressed out" position, and I would think to myself, "What's going on??? I'm under no pressure here, I'm not stressed about anything!" So I would take a deep breath and sit back and relax, but I just couldn't get this pressure out of my head!
Now I know why! And now I know I'm going to check the labels more closely.
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