The Economy of Grace

Faith & Work

2013-04-12T05:28:00.003-04:00

Earlier this week I was at The Gospel Coalition conference. I most enjoyed the post-conference portion which was led by Tim Keller and on Faith & Work. Here are the notes I took:

Your work will make no sense to you unless it is a part of God's story.

Creation, Fall, Redemption, Restoration.

Creator of all things, everything created is good.
Sin distorts every area of life
you are a new creation
God is not simply taking us into spiritual nether world but restoring this world. Shows goodness of work and future of work.

Faith gives you an inner ballast without which work could destroy you. your identity etc. can be wrapped up in your work.

used to be work a means to an end. problems with that. In western culture, work is an end in itself. "you can be anything you want to be."
IF work is identity - success then it goes to your head. Failure then it goes to your heart.
you need to have deep identity and sense of your worth not in work but in Christ.

Faith gives you concept of dignity and worth of all work, even simple work, without which, work could bore you.

All work is God's work and way of God caring for his creation. God's way of "strengthening the bars of your gates." The way to do work as a Christian is to do it well. - Luther Ex. what does it mean to be a Christian airline pilot? fly the plane well. Don't over think how to "be a Christian" in what you do. Ministry of competence: just be the best at aha you're doing.

Faith gives you a moral compass, without which work could corrupt you.

So much pressure for profitability, to stay alive. So tremendous pressure to cut corners.
strong inner moral compass will protect you from making wrong sin. honesty, integrity, etc.

Faith gives you a world and life you that shapes character of your work, without which work could master and use you.

how your Christian worldview will distinctively shape your work.

Faith fives you hope, without which you will lose heart and despair.

because of fall you can work for years and only ever get "one leaf out" (Tolkien story of man painting tree).

Focus on managing and developing creation value not on creating economic value.

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**how to be a Christian at work (or in life)

--SIMPLY do all that Christ and the apostles commanded! Find your identity in Christ, do all things without grumbling and complaining, repent and ask for forgiveness, etc. etc.

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Calvin - work is creative, reshapes the world. (i.e. producing something new, like this blogpost)

Luther - work is caring for creation (cleaning/maintaining something that already exists, like proof reading and editing this blog post)

Adam was put into the Garden to work it and keep it

***Work isn't a calling unless someone has called you to do it. Christians have the raw material for calling. Thus, even menial chores are God's work!

What work takes priority in our lives?

-Calling. See how God answers prayer, guides you and gives wisdom and let that help you prioritize. Look at needs around you, what you're equipped with, and do you feel called to do.

Jeremiah 29 and common good.

Calvin - look inside at what you are gifted in

Luther - look out there and see what needs to be done.

-to find your calling, start with your one and go to the other, or vice versa.

Churches need to train people in wisdom, because there will be times when you are called to do things you don't feel called to or that you aren't passionate about.

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Teach Business Leaders to:

Depend on God
Integrate spiritual life and work life.
Teach prioritization

teach the basics, time with God, family, etc.

Encourage us to be in accountability relationships.
Understand that work is a calling
The 9 to 5 window is just as important as the 1040 window
Be generous. Sacrificial giving for business leaders is often very very different than the typical person in the pew. Give until it feels good!

we will be judged for our faithfulness in the workplace.

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Business leaders want:

Our leaders need a robust theology that informs their work.

Dorothy Sayers: "The only Christian work is good work well done."

our leaders need a rich, compelling, liturgical regularity that affirms their work.

take into account how we craft congregational worship.
PSALM 90:17

a respectful relationship that applauds their work.

Be in tune with their Monday world. People do not understand at any level the complex and stress they often face.
take a sincere interest in leaders of all vocations.
read things from their world
visit their workplaces
be creative and thoughtful at finding simple ways to encourage market place leaders. (call, write note)
pray for them

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The Christian Life is the Easier Life

2013-03-16T04:30:00.000-04:00

We often hear it said that the life of the Christian is one fraught with suffering and difficulty. It is hard and the cost of discipleship is high. These are all true depending on one's perspective. It depends on what you treasure and love and how much.

To the degree that one treasures Jesus, his promises, and abiding in Him greater than other, temporal things, then the coming and going of temporal things will hardly make things difficult for that person. Not that he won't ever have hard choices or experience physical or emotional anguish. He likely will. But amidst all that, he will be abiding in Jesus and thus he will have a perfect peace in his soul that nothing else can offer. Here is an ease that cannot be had any other way.

Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”
(Matthew 11:28-30 ESV)

To live life apart from Jesus one has a choice of two roads to take: legalism or license. Believers can, for a time, live apart from Jesus as well. Perhaps this will be in certain situations or stages of growth for them or a time when they simply are avoiding God.

To walk the road of legalism is hard and heavy. No matter what kind of set of rules one tries to follow it will be hard, even impossible and it is a yoke that crushes the spirit. The rules could ones that are self made and self-imposed, or rules that are placed from the outside like from a church or religion, or perhaps simply living to look good or a certain way in front of others. Jesus addresses this when he says "My yoke is easy, and my burden is light." If we abide in Jesus we've no need to be legalists any more, following a set of rules to make ourselves feel better or to perform.

To walk the road of license is tiring and exhausting. It never satisfies. License is "freedom to behave as one wishes, especially in a way that results in excessive or unacceptable behavior." In short, one is seeking pleasurable feelings and experiences as a way to be satisfied in and with life. The rest people are seeking is never found which is why they keep going back for more - must watch another sitcom or episode to feel better, must go to the explicit website again, must eat that food item again, etc. When it looks like others (or ourselves!) are having a good time, we may actually be having a restless and empty time and it is sad, no matter how big the smiles or cheerful the face. Inside, deep down, the heart is yearning for something more. Jesus address this when he says "you will find rest for your souls." If we abide in Jesus, we've no need to be licentious seeking emotional or bodily pleasure or satisfaction.

The Christian life indeed is easier if we truly embrace it because only in Jesus can we have peace that surpasses all understanding and only he offers us a yoke that is easy and a light burden.

Can a Christian have too much Discipline?

2013-03-14T15:27:00.002-04:00

Only in the sense that one could have too much joy or peace, patience or kindness.

Self-control, which I think is synonymous with discipline cannot be had in too great an amount and in the Christian life should always be increasing. This means all Christians would be bores and have no fun, right (as if that is what matters.)?! Well, only if you call the rest of the fruit of the Spirit boring and lifeless.

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.
(Galatians 5:22-24 ESV)

Why is discipline, or self-control, so important for the Christian? Because it is how they rule over (instead of submitting to, or being ruled by) the passions or desires of the flesh. A "desire of the flesh" isn't always something overtly or grossly sinful, like say satisfying one's sexual cravings outside of marriage. It simply is what it is: a desire of the flesh (that is usually against what we were intended for): more sleep, less work, more recreation, experiencing pleasure, watching a movie, experiencing good tasting food, etc. These things can feel/look/taste good to our physical body. But are they always truly good for us? When something isn't truly good but only feels good is when we need to rule over our body and exercise self-control.

Does this mean eating brownies is always bad? Not at all. But it does mean that the person who always gives in to their urge to have a brownie, cannot say no, or worse, goes out of their way to get some is not exercising self-control but is being controlled. Proverbs says such people are like a city without walls. (Proverbs 25:28)

Indeed, love and self-control are the bookends for the fruit of the Spirit, and not on accident. How can one love if he does not have self-control? Love is others oriented and love can only happen or can only happen to the degree that one is not focused on satisfying their own fleshly desires but instead wants to serve the wants and needs of others.

Indications of Idolatry

2013-02-27T05:00:00.000-05:00

The past few months in my small group we've been working through Tim Keller's small group study on Galatians. The emphasis in it is on legalism and idolatry in general. We had a very good discussion the other night on what good indicators are to us as individuals that there may be an idol lurking somewhere in our heart that we ought to root out and replace with trust in and adoration of God.

1) If you are angry/fearful/anxious about something or someone, there is likely an idol of yours that is threatened or that you are trying to protect. This is not always the case but a very good indicator. If a lion jumps out at you and you run in fright, you are simply wise, not idolatrously protecting your life. If the economy takes a turn for the worse and you become fearful for your financial well-being or that of others, you are not wise at all. Since it is foolish not to trust God whatever our circumstances our. [This doesn't mean that we shouldn't act, do our part, to still steward and plan well as best we can. But that's where it stops. We do the best we can and as led by the Lord and leave the rest of - or, in more dramatic terms, "cast" - our cares on the Lord.] He will provide for all our needs according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus.

2) If you are preoccupied with something that is not God then there is likely an idol you want to protect. You are at work all day, but all you can think about is how the game, or the event, or whatever will turn out. Or you are at the ________ but all you can think about is work. God does not call us to anxiously think about the future or to be preoccupied with events, people, and things out of our control. He does call us to, every single moment of our lives, live in obedience to him, trust him, and be present wherever we are, entrusting even the trips we will take to other cities in the future to his care (and he does care, even when it doesn't necessarily feel like it. If there comes a point where it doesn't feel like God cares for us because of an event, see the first point above, this is probably an indication that we have something on the throne of our hearts where God alone belongs.).

3) What you think about when your mind is in "neutral" may indicate what is an idol for you. What do you think about when in the shower? What comes to your mind when first waking up? What is running through your mind as you go to sleep? Etc... What are the thoughts and emotions there? God has an interest in every second of our lives and every ounce of energy we have. Likewise, if he is truly our king, we ought to give him every moment of our lives and make every thought and desire subject to him and his will. Now, this doesn't mean that every thought needs to be about Jesus or about Heaven or about theology (though those are certainly good thoughts to have in our downtime!), but every thought should follow God's desire presented for us here: " Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things."
(Philippians 4:8 ESV)" If all I am thinking about when in "neutral" is work, then I should probably examine whether work is an idol for me. Or perhaps all I am thinking about is politics or an election or my bitterness about something or against someone then there is likely an idol I am worshipping.

There is much more than can be said about idols and idolatry (e.g. we become like our idols, our idols will always ultimately fail us, our idols will drain us of true life, etc.) but these are some decent indicators we can use to examine our hearts. And this is key - the issue is our hearts. If all we do is adjust our behavior, we have not actually worked with The Spirit to address what really needs fixing.

Here is a case in point from my own life. I've been told before that I lacked thoughtfulness in some situations. An immediate indicator of an idol is that I was hurt that didn't feel recognized for how good I thought I actually was! My pride was hurt! A wrong response would be to simply try to be more thoughtful, or to try to be serve others more, etc. Why? Because then I could simply be turning my own good behavior or thoughtfulness into an idol, so that I could get more compliments or feel good about myself or whatever. Point is, I would be a slave, serving something else other than God. Or I could be turning other persons into an idol, serving them primarily, and not God! Sure, I may be thought of as a more thoughtful person for a time but that is all I gain (which isn't much in an eternal perspective).

The right response is to go to the Spirit and have him examine my heart, while recognizing that I certainly can be more thoughtful and eager to be more thoughtful, with the right motives (out of service to God alone!). Go straight to the heart! Find the idols that are perhaps there and instead of replacing them with another idol, replace it with God. The results will follow. Instead of focusing more on how I can be more thoughtful (simply behavior, and serving something else) I, with the help of the Spirit pray more for Him to work in my heart, set more of my thoughts on God, set more of my thoughts on esteeming others of more significance than myself. The fruit will follow from this, without me even having to think of how I will go about "producing" it on my own! (I don't mean to say that acting charitably or thinking well does not require forethought or planning. The question is where does one turn to ultimately fix the issue: the heart, or just surface behavior?)

By the way, here is Keller's Galatians Study. I heartily recommend it.

A Marvelous Liberty

2013-02-26T06:00:00.000-05:00

I've been thinking a lot lately about the unshakeable peace I have in God. (And not just thinking about it, but really enjoying the peace too!) This peace can only come by, as noted below, not submitting to a "yoke of slavery." Here, this slavery can be of two kinds: either indulgence or idolatry. This is the narrow road we walk as Christians - tempted on one side to indulge with the freedom in Christ we now have, and on the other side, tempted to serve and worship something that is not God, be it legalism, or our appearance, etc. To avoid these pitfalls, particularly the temptation towards idolatries (be it a morally good looking one, like that of the Galatians, or one that isn't so good looking, like materialism or control) we trust in the promises and work of God. This brings perfect peace to our soul.

Tonight in d-group someone read from a superb passage of Luther's commentary on Galatians as we talked about the meaning of Galatians 5:1. It's posted below. Note the the repeated emphasis on the thought life - how important it is that we continually think on (and subsequently appreciate) the work of Christ for us. As we do this, as we think on God's promises and what has done and will do for us, our thoughts and feelings that have not been taken captive to Christ will soon vanish, being crowded out by inestimable delight and many thoughts on the greatness of our good God. (Bolding is my own).

On Galatians 5:1, "For freedom Christ has set us free; stand firm therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery", Martin Luther says:

Paul is speaking of a far better liberty, the liberty "wherewith Christ hath made us free," not from material bonds, not from the Babylonian captivity, not from the tyranny of the Turks, but from the eternal wrath of God.

Where is this liberty?

In the conscience.

Our conscience is free and quiet because it no longer has to fear the wrath of God. This is real liberty, compared with which every other kind of liberty is not worth mentioning. Who can adequately express the boon that comes to a person when he has the heart-assurance that God will nevermore be angry with him, but will forever be merciful to him for Christ's sake? This is indeed a marvelous liberty, to have the sovereign God for our Friend and Father who will defend, maintain, and save us in this life and in the life to come.

As an outgrowth of this liberty, we are at the same time free from the Law, sin, death, the power of the devil, hell, etc. Since the wrath of God has been assuaged by Christ no Law, sin, or death may now accuse and condemn us. These foes of ours will continue to frighten us, but not too much. The worth of our Christian liberty cannot be exaggerated.

Our conscience must he trained to fall back on the freedom purchased for us by Christ. Though the fears of the Law, the terrors of sin, the horror of death assail us occasionally, we know that these feelings shall not endure, because the prophet quotes God as saying: "In a little wrath I hid my face from thee for a moment: but with everlasting kindness will I have mercy on thee." (Isa. 54:8.)

We shall appreciate this liberty all the more when we bear in mind that it was Jesus Christ, the Son of God, who purchased it with His own blood. Hence, Christ's liberty is given us not by the Law, or for our own righteousness, but freely for Christ's sake. In the eighth chapter of the Gospel of St. John, Jesus declares: "If the Son shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed." He only stands between us and the evils which trouble and afflict us and which He has overcome for us.

Reason cannot properly evaluate this gift. Who can fully appreciate the blessing of the forgiveness of sins and of everlasting life? Our opponents claim that they also possess this liberty. But they do not. When they are put to the test all their self-confidence slips from them. What else can they expect when they trust in works and not in the Word of God?
Our liberty is founded on Christ Himself, who sits at the right hand of God and intercedes for us. Therefore our liberty is sure and valid as long as we believe in Christ. As long as we cling to Him with a steadfast faith we possess His priceless gifts. But if we are careless and indifferent we shall lose them. It is not without good reason that Paul urges us to watch and to stand fast. He knew that the devil delights in taking this liberty away from us.

Holiness is Proactively Doing Good

2013-02-01T05:15:00.000-05:00

Matt Perman:

Biblical holiness is not simply about avoiding evil, though that is important; it is about proactively doing good. The call of the Scriptures is that we are to be eager and creative and proactive in doing all the positive good we can — and doing it in humble reliance on God’s power. That is the essence of a holy life.We are to “do justice, love mercy, and walk humbly with God,” not simply “stay squeaky clean by avoiding evil.” In fact, if the essence of your Christian ethic is what you don’t do, you’ve failed to grasp that you’ve not succeded in avoiding evil at all — for the greatest of all evils is right in your heart, in your refusal to proactively take action on behalf of others, “loving your neighbor as yourself.”

His entire post is good, the main thrust being that to live a purposeful, intentional live, making the most of our time (proactively doing good), is the practical outworking of holy living before God.

Should Christians Own Guns?

2013-01-31T07:10:00.001-05:00

Doug Wilson addresses this and other questions relevant to our time:

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What's the Difference Between Confidence and Presumption When It Comes to Taking Risks for God?

2013-01-28T09:05:00.002-05:00

This is a good video by Piper.

My own thought is that this has much to do with following the leading of The Spirit. Many cultures have different levels of awareness and worry about certain things (such as time, tasks, and risks, etc.). We should be careful that we allow the cultural way of thinking about things to dictate our way of thinking about things as we live in the Kingdom of God. Is Time orientation better or Event orientation better? Well, neither. It will depend on the circumstance and the revealed will of God, as well as following the prompting of the Spirit. The same thinking applies to taking risks.

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Jonathan Edwards on Holiness

2012-10-02T05:00:00.000-04:00

Last weekend I attended the Desiring God conference in Minneapolis. The fellowship with others and the messages were all tremendous blessings. Sunday morning, John Piper started his message by quoting Edwards on Holiness. Since it's a beautiful quote I've placed it below. O to be have a God entranced vision of all things like Edwards!

Holiness is a most beautiful and lovely thing. We drink in strange notions of holiness from our childhood, as if it were a melancholy, morose, sour, and unpleasant thing; but there is nothing in it but what is sweet and ravishingly lovely. ‘Tis the highest beauty and amiableness, vastly above all other beauties. ‘Tis a divine beauty, makes the soul heavenly and far purer than anything here on earth... ‘Tis of a sweet, pleasant, charming, lovely, amiable, delightful, serene, calm, and still nature. ‘Tis almost too high a beauty for any creatures to be adorned with; it makes the soul a little, sweet, and delightful image of the blessed Jehovah.

Oh, how may angels stand, with pleased, delighted, and charmed eyes, and look and look, with smiles of pleasure upon their lips, upon that soul that is holy; how may they hover over such a soul, to delight to behold such loveliness!...What a sweet calmness, what a calm ecstasy, doth it bring to the soul! How doth it make the soul love itself; how doth it make the pure invisible world love it; yea, how doth God love it and delight in it; how do even the whole creation, the sun, the fields, and trees love a humble holiness; how doth all the world congratulate, embrace, and sing to a sanctified soul!...

It makes the soul like a delightful field or garden planted by God...where the sun is Jesus Christ; the blessed beams and calm breeze, the Holy Spirit; the sweet and delightful flowers, and the pleasant shrill music of the little birds, are the Christian graces.

Or like the little white flower: pure, unspotted, and undefiled, low and humble, pleasing and harmless; receiving the beams, the pleasant beams of the serene sun, gently moved and a little shaken by a sweet breeze, rejoicing as it were in a calm rapture, diffusing around [a] most delightful fragrancy, standing most peacefully and lovingly in the midst of the other like flowers round about. How calm and serene is the heaven overhead! How free is the world from noise and disturbance! How, if one were but holy enough, would they of themselves [and] as it were naturally ascend from the earth in delight, to enjoy God as Enoch did!

the Miscellanies; on Holiness

Graveyard

2012-09-23T05:00:00.000-04:00

A couple weeks ago my girlfriend surprised me by taking me to an old cemetery in Rome, GA. I suppose that wouldn't really do it for some people but I happen to really enjoy walking or jogging through old cemeteries. Here are a couple pictures. Note to self: When in Rome...bring your real camera.

Grammy is there!

2012-09-21T05:00:00.000-04:00

The other night while I was working Abi came outside to "give me some company." Very thoughtful of her!

(That's Zelda the monkey, and please excuse the graininess as it was getting dark)

She said something profound and blogworhty...hence this post. Somehow we got on the subject of "Grammy's" house. She mentioned she really likes going to Grammy's house. I then asked her to give a detailed explanation of her reasoning. Just kidding. I said, "Why do you like going to Grammy's house?"

I was expecting an answer to the effect of: "Because she has lots of toys", or "Because she takes us to restaurants." (I don't know the validity of either.)

However, instead, she said, "Because Grammy is there!" That's quite a compliment to Grammy and the way Abi's learned to enjoy the person as an end and not a means to an end.

This instantly reminded me of the Spiritual parallel. The reason we ought to desire God, and desire heaven is because of God himself. (As John Piper says, "God is the Gospel".) If other things are our motive for heaven or what we imagine we will desire and enjoy when there we have just devalued God, putting something much lesser than Him in His rightful place.

Why do you e could say, because loved ones will be there, I will never be sick again, I will play golf or go hiking for years on end. However, when in heaven those things likely will be in the back of our minds as we are taken by the beauty of Christ and the infinite greatness of God.

This is not to say we shouldn't look forward to the many fabulous things we'll have in heaven we don't have here (glorified bodies, sinless living, absence of all evils, etc.), or that we shouldn't enjoy the many physical and spiritual blessings God has given us to enjoy here on earth. It is to say we should be careful though that we always see enjoying God as an end in and of itself, and not a means to other things that we actually value more than God.

Way to go Abi on reminding me of that!

How to know if you and others are Christ-like

2012-09-19T05:00:00.000-04:00

I suppose there are a number of ways, but on my mind now are: Peace and Confidence. Or perhaps we could say, "a confident peace."

If someone has a confident peace, they are like Jesus.

Alan Jackson has a song called "Livin' on Love". It's a bit farfetched given that his concept of love is more worldly than Biblical but it's a cool tune. More important than living on love is living on grace. How 'bout a song about that?

If someone has a confident peace they are trusting in God and not themselves. There are many other things we could live on, and most popular are: our own goodness, our own strength and abilities, our own knowledge, and so on. But it's living on these things that take away our confidence and peace. Of course, our own abilities and know-how is inadequate for even the most mundane of days (to say nothing of life's most complicated and difficult situations!).

Back to the original prompt: as you approach the future - be it the day, coming week, or particular situations ahead - are you calm and confident about things even though you don't know the outcomes and know you are ill-prepared to confront them well? Do you see others, as they talk about things, confident or full of anxiety and self-deprecation?

The anxiety is a result of not trusting God, living as if we can't and don't cast all our cares on Him (because he cares for us!). Fear and doubt result from not living on God's grace. Of course we are inadequate, and outcomes may be undesirable or hard. Yet is not God's grace sufficient? Will he not give us daily, and "hourly" grace? Do we not have in Him riches of wisdom if we only ask?

Just as it is a parent's joy to give to, guide, protect, and teach their children, God joyfully does the same for his children. We only need accept it, stop trying to guide ourselves, teach ourselves, protect ourselves.

The Christ-like person walks through life with peace and confidence because he trusts his all-knowing, all powerful, all-loving, and ever-present Father completely.

    The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want.
        He makes me lie down in green pastures.
    He leads me beside still waters.
        He restores my soul.
    He leads me in paths of righteousness
        for his name's sake.
    Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,
        I will fear no evil,
    for you are with me;
        your rod and your staff,
        they comfort me.
    You prepare a table before me
        in the presence of my enemies;
    you anoint my head with oil;
        my cup overflows.
    Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me
        all the days of my life,
    and I shall dwell in the house of the LORD
        forever.
(Psalm 23 ESV)

Truly living and believing this Psalm is abundant life and those who choose it will be markedly different than most professing Christians. More than for the occasional funeral, this Psalm is for all the days of your life. A life filled with the fulness of God.

Are you up to it?

2012-09-17T05:00:00.000-04:00

As you think about the future, you may wonder about and expect challenges that will certainly be harder than any others you've encountered. And you could ask the question, am I up to the challenge(s)?

Or you could ask yourself:

Do I know who to look to and who to call upon when I find all around me waves that toss and churn?

On your own, you will never be up to the challenge. If you are and have been, you're likely not taking life seriously enough.

Jesus has ability in our inability, and his strength is in our weakness. It would be off to say, "He is up to the challenge." More than that, he designed the challenge, designed you, and offers you ever increasing bounties of grace and wisdom.

Only by receiving his grace and wisdom and living out of them can we in both our challenges and ease proclaim the Gospel to others and the powers of darkness who would like discredit all Truth through us.

the rock that is higher than I

2012-09-14T05:00:00.000-04:00

Heavy the weight and dark the road,
Foggy our sight and poor our heart,
O but look! he lightens our load,
how rich in care, Lord thou art!

Who are you calling blessed?

2012-09-13T05:00:00.000-04:00

Learning about the sermon on them mount, the Kingdom of God, and the beatitudes have been a way to drink deeply from the river of His delights in the past few months for me.

Jesus tells us who are blessed in his Kingdom.

This morning I went through an exercise where I made two lists: according to the world or society, who is blessed and who is cursed? I'd encourage you to do the same simply because it can be so eyeopening to see how easy it is to irrationally think someone is blessed when truly, they aren't. Or to think someone is cursed when they truly aren't.

My lists are not conclusive or final but simply a first draft at my thoughts on what the dominant narrative from our antichrist culture says regarding who is blessed and who is not.

Blessed:

Financial overflow or "a lot" of money
Job Success (climbing the ladder, getting raises)
Education (four year degree, graduate degree, smarts)
Good health / attractive physical body
Respected or popular (by many others)
Owning nice possessions
Trophy wife
Supporting Democrat or Republican / "serving the country"
Sharp dresser

Cursed:

Disciples of Jesus
Financially impoverished
Mentally and physically handicapped
Those with a lowly job
Those with a different skin color
Those from a different or particular country of origin
Orphans
Conservatives/Libertarians.
Families with lots of kids

Where to learn about love and marriage:

2012-09-11T09:56:00.001-04:00

Society has lots of ideas and will even sing to us that "All we need is love". Great! Now give me some sitcoms and chic flicks to show me how.

Hollywood and the large, black rectangle on our walls is probably the last place to go for an accurate picture and model.

The Gospels and the Epistles are the best place to go. To the degree one intimately knows Jesus is the degree to which one can and will truly love. And to the degree one digests the narratives of those who want nothing to do with King Jesus one will think, feel, and live based on the scripts of those false narratives.

Six reasons why prayerlessness is sin

2012-08-30T11:50:00.003-04:00

From Studying Prayer:

1. Prayerlessness is sin because the Bible calls it sin.

2. Prayerlessness is sin because it is failing to obey God’s prayer commands.

3. Prayerlessness is sin because it is failing to follow Biblical examples of prayer.

4. Prayerlessness is sin because it is a rejection of His grace.

5. Prayerlessness is sin because it is a rejection of His work.

6. Prayerlessness is sin because it is a rejection of God’s protection.

An Inconvenient Community

2012-08-28T09:22:00.001-04:00

Christian community will be inconvenient. It takes hard work and intentionality. Forgiveness is inconvenient; it is much easier to be angry. Reconciliation is inconvenient; it is much faster to give up on the relationship. But it is a wonderful joy to live with people who will inconvenience themselves because of the ways in which Christ inconvenienced himself for us.

That's from Garland Vance, as he discusses and recommends principles and practices for those in ministry. I would add that (so far) these principles and practices are applicable to all, regardless of one's station in life. To the extent they are followed is the extent to which one is walking in fellowship with the Lord.

Not taking things personally a sign of emotional maturity

2012-08-19T20:22:00.002-04:00

An emotionally mature person is someone who has self-control. They take responsibility for themselves. They can take in something that’s said to them and not ‘bow up’ or ‘blow up’. They’ve developed a “buffer”…a file that allows them to download data and look at it and then respond. They consider not only what they’re about to say, but how it’s going to affect the person who’s going to hear it.

What I’m talking about here is controlling the behavior that flows from your emotions, not being emotionless. Controlling what you say and do out of your emotions rather than letting your emotions control you. Not having yourself “at risk” all the time…that’s emotional maturity.
There’s one thing we can do to develop emotional maturity. And it’s huge.

Stop taking things personally.

Most of the time, what “sets me off” is something that’s said that wasn’t meant toward me personally. I just took it that way. My emotional level goes up, my functioning level goes down and I say something mean in return. I start a fight…. all because I thought I was attacked. When I really wasn’t.

I’m not talking about detaching here. Nor am I talking about “controlling your emotions”. God made us to feel things. People who don’t “feel” are worse off than the emotionally immature. The Buddists say “Not flattered by praise, not hurt by blame.” That’s detachment, not emotional maturity.

I’m talking about being a ‘thermostat’ instead of a ‘thermometer’.

A thermometer goes up or down in reaction to the environment it’s in. Hot temp instantly reads hot. Cold air drops the thermometer in lock-step. No buffer. Its reading is completely in reaction to its surroundings.

But a thermostat responds. It sets the climate. It takes the reading from the thermometer and manages its reaction. Through its response, it creates a safe, comfortable environment for everyone around.

From Radical Mentoring, here.

By Whom was David Taught; William Cowper

2012-08-13T13:10:00.004-04:00

By whom was David taught
To aim the deadly blow,
When he Goliath fought,
And laid the Gittite low?
Nor sword nor spear the stripling took,
But chose a pebble from the brook.

’Twas Israel’s God and King
Who sent him to the fight;
Who gave him strength to fling,
And skill to aim aright.
Ye feeble saints, your strength endures,
Because young David’s God is yours.

Who ordered Gideon forth,
To storm th’invaders’ camp
With arms of little worth,
A pitcher and a lamp?
The trumpets made His coming known
And all the host was overthrown.

Oh! I have seen the day,
When with a single word,
God helping me to say,
“My trust is in the Lord,”
My soul hath quelled a thousand foes
Fearless of all that could oppose.

But unbelief, self will,
Self righteousness, and pride,
How often do they steal
My weapon from my side!
Yet David’s Lord, and Gideon’s Friend,
Will help His servant to the end.

William Cowper, 1731-1800

Prayer is a gift from God

2012-08-06T05:00:00.000-04:00

How will you use it today?

Brian Zahnd on the Beatitudes

2012-08-05T16:16:00.000-04:00

"The Beatitudes pose a direct challenge to the way the world is run. The Beatitudes are a subversive manifesto at odds with superpower agendas. As a result, the Beatitudes (when liberated from sentimental patronizing) elicit differing responses depending on who the hearer is. There are those who are blessed by the Beatitudes and hear them as a clarion call for welcome change. Others feel threatened by the radical revolution the Beatitudes appear to embody. Those who tend to feel the most threatened by the Beatitudes are those for whom the present arrangement is most advantageous. In other words, if you are a citizen of a modern-day superpower and generally like the way the world is arranged, you’re probably going to initially feel more challenged than blessed by the Beatitudes."

The Beatitudes are the antithetical ethos to the superpower mantra of “we’re number one!” The Beatitudes are deliberately designed to shock us. If we’re not shocked by the Beatitudes, it’s only because we have tamed them with a patronizing sentimentality—and being sentimental about Jesus is the religious way of ignoring Jesus! Too often the Beatitudes are set aside into the category of “nice things that Jesus said that I don’t really understand.”

"We have not been formed by the values of the Beatitudes; we have been raised on the received text of a superpower. (The notion that the received text of a superpower and the sacred text of the Sermon on the Mount can be made to fit together nicely is lunacy!) Contemporary Americans are scripted in a way that is completely counter to the values of the Beatitudes. We certainly don’t bless poverty or sorrow or meekness or hunger or persecution—yet it is the poor and sorrowful and meek and hungry and persecuted that we find Jesus blessing in the Beatitudes. At the very least, this should perplex us."

-Brian Zahnd, Beauty will save the world

embracing forgiveness as the radical alternative to violence.

2012-08-04T16:14:00.000-04:00

"When Jesus was born, the ruler of the world was Caesar Augustus, and among his imperial titles borne on Roman coins were the designations “Prince of Peace” and “Bringer of World Peace.” And in a sense it was true. The Roman Empire did bring a kind of peace, but it was a peace founded on violence and the brutal quashing of all dissent. It was the peace achieved by the Roman cross as an instrument of violence. Jesus would bring the world a new kind of peace through a radical reenvisioning of the same Roman cross. Less than twelve hours before his crucifixion, Jesus said, “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. I do not give to you as the world gives.” (John 14:27) Perhaps we can understand Jesus as saying something like this: “In my death I am leaving you a new way to peace. I am giving you my peace, but not in the way the world gives peace.” How did the Roman world give peace? Through violence. The Pax Romana was achieved by identifying others as enemies and fighting against them until they could no longer fight back. And how did Christ give the world peace? By forgiveness. The Pax Christus achieves peace by forgiving enemies and embracing them as friends. The peace the world attempts to give (without lasting success) is through violence; Christ gives peace through forgiveness. As disciples of Christ, we are called to embrace forgiveness as the radical alternative to violence."

-Brian Zahnd, Beauty will save the world

The grace of Christ is perfected in weakness and poverty

2012-08-03T16:11:00.000-04:00

"The Beatitudes are the antithetical ethos to the superpower mantra of “we’re number one!” The Beatitudes are deliberately designed to shock us. If we’re not shocked by the Beatitudes, it’s only because we have tamed them with a patronizing sentimentality—and being sentimental about Jesus is the religious way of ignoring Jesus! Too often the Beatitudes are set aside into the category of “nice things that Jesus said that I don’t really understand.”

"We have not been formed by the values of the Beatitudes; we have been raised on the received text of a superpower. (The notion that the received text of a superpower and the sacred text of the Sermon on the Mount can be made to fit together nicely is lunacy!) Contemporary Americans are scripted in a way that is completely counter to the values of the Beatitudes. We certainly don’t bless poverty or sorrow or meekness or hunger or persecution—yet it is the poor and sorrowful and meek and hungry and persecuted that we find Jesus blessing in the Beatitudes. At the very least, this should perplex us."

"If we want to position ourselves to receive Christ’s blessing, we must identify an area of need and cry out for grace from there. If we think we have no area of weakness, need, or poverty, we essentially have no need for Jesus. This is why in the Book of Revelation Jesus condemns the people in the church of Laodicea for arrogantly confessing, “I am rich, I have prospered, and I need nothing.” They were essentially saying, “Thank you very much, Jesus, but I really don’t need you right now because I’m not poor.” So be it. Jesus has no blessing for them. The grace of Christ is perfected in weakness and poverty, not in strength and wealth."

-Brian Zahnd, Beauty will save the world

has the gospel become old hat?

2012-08-02T16:06:00.000-04:00

"...we have precious little astonishment in our gospel. We’re familiar with it. It’s become old hat. It’s in danger of degenerating into cliché. It’s anything but astonishing. It has only the faux astonishment of a late-night infomercial. For only $19.95! But wait, there’s more! Call now! Operators are standing by! We yawn and change the channel. I’m afraid that’s how our gospel is too often heard. But consider how the gospel sounded upon its first hearing in the first century. A Galilean Jew named Jesus was executed by crucifixion for alleged crimes against the state by the Roman government; three days later God raised him from the dead, and he is now the world’s new emperor. That’s the gospel! It’s not an explanation; it’s an announcement. It’s the surprising announcement that a crucified Galilean Jew has risen from the dead and is now the world’s new ruler! It may sound absurd, but it’s certainly not cliché."

"In our modern sophistication and over-familiarity with the gospel, we have removed astonishment from the gospel. We have replaced astonishment with something a bit tamer. We have made the gospel reasonable, sensible, and practical. We explain the gospel in cogent terms like “the plan of salvation” and “spiritual laws”—as if it is simply the most rational thing in the world. The gospel is no longer astonishing; it is now commonsense, logical, and, most of all, “useful.” We have no use for astonishment because, well, we have no use for astonishment. Astonishment is not something we can use—it’s not something pragmatic that we can utilize to further our self-concocted and self-oriented agendas. So instead of announcing an astonishing gospel, we find ourselves trying to sell a useful gospel."

"To respond to the gospel story (and it is a story, not a set of propositions) with calmly asked utilitarian questions is completely inappropriate—as if one were kicking the tires on a used car. What if the three women at the tomb on the first Easter had calmly responded to the angel with a series of consumerist questions like this: “What do I do with this?” “How do I use it?” “How can I make this practical in my life?”—as if the angel had just presented them a business plan. No! The first response must be astonishment and stunned silence. The gospel properly proclaimed and properly heard is a mystery evoking awe—not a prospectus eliciting calculation."

"Mystery is an irreplaceable factor in the equation of love. Just let a scientist try to explain love in terms of biological necessity and utilitarian function, and see what his explanation does to love—it destroys it. Authentic Christianity does not do this. Christianity is not a science; it is a faith—the faith. Christianity is a confession, not an explanation. We confess Christ; we don’t explain Christ. We confess the Trinity, the Incarnation, the Resurrection, and the Ascension, though we cannot fully explain these mysteries. We leave room for mystery. We honor the mystery. We recognize the beauty in the mystery."

"Nothing about the essential creeds and central confessions of orthodox Christianity readily lend themselves to pragmatic self-improvement programs. Asking, “How do I apply the Trinity to my life so as to make it practical?,” is simply asking the wrong kind of question. Once you approach the sacred mysteries of the Christian faith with a utilitarian agenda, you are never going to get a satisfactory response. It would be like asking the custodians of the Barcelona Cathedral, “How do I apply this to my life?” They wouldn’t even understand the question."

-Brian Zahnd, Beauty will save the world