Last school year I had the privilege of attending a class trip to Sacramento with my oldest son, Zed. The focus of the trip was the California Gold Rush and we visited Sutter's Mill where gold was seen lying on the surface of the ground. I don't know if you've ever been chaperon to a group of six fourth grade boys with gold fever, but I spent a lot of my time trying to subdue their enthusiasm. We'd be driving on a bridge over water and some would shout, "I see huge gold nuggets in the river!" No, I'd tell them. If there were gold nuggets the size of basketballs lying in plain sight in the stream, the Forty-Niners would never have left. At least there would be a huge active gold mine, not a quaint little settlement living off the tourist trade. Undeterred, these kids continued to shout about the fortunes they would walk away with after a couple of easy minutes picking up nuggets off the ground.
We were taught by the camp staff how to pan for gold. Troughs were set up filled with sand which had been "salted" with tiny gold flakes. The kids and adults alike were given pans to "pan" for gold with instructions on how to efficiently use them. Within minutes, the most exuberant prospector in my group began whining like a spoiled three year old with entitlement issues. "I can't find any goooold." If you have ever prospected or taken up metal detecting as a hobby, you understand that it is a slow process that requires much patience. Because detecting or panning doesn't guarantee "finding, much fun derived from the activity can be from the companionship of friends rather than what is actually found. Within a few minutes many from the group chimed in. "There aren't any nuggets here...we want to go to the river. We saw the gold! We saw it from the bus!" I reasoned with the boys: the troughs have real gold salted in them. We know for a fact there is gold in the troughs. We don't know where the gold is in the river. And besides, I reasoned, if gold was just laying around the professional prospectors wouldn't have moved on! "There's gold in the river," said the whiny one. "I saaawww it!"
After much discussion and vain attempts to logically convince the kids real gold flakes are better than no gold, they would not be denied. I took my crew down to the river and we joined the hordes of energetic youngsters who were seemingly more interested in getting wet than finding gold. Me and a few of the industrious ones began panning. In the troughs I was finding gold in every pan. Using the same techniques in the sand of the river, after half an hour I found nothing. I needed a shovel to go deeper, but I kept at it. True to form, five minutes had not passed before the chorus of whines came up from those who had seen nuggets from the bridge: "We haven't found anything...I know I saw it from the bus." The kids promptly gave up search and played with a dead crayfish. Of all the kids, the one who was so sure he knew where the gold was had the least. When he realized it was work to find gold, the lure of fulfilling the dream was not as strong a draw as whining, complaining, and giving up.
This is an object lesson in finding the golden wisdom and truth contained in the pages of the Bible. So many professing Christians have never tapped into the truths of scripture. They do not know the Bible because they have not studied the Bible. When I took an inductive Bible study class we were told, "Surface study only yields surface results." No one becomes a successful miner without some training, even if the gold is in salted troughs! No one can study the Bible effectively and efficiently by themselves: we must be taught and led by the Holy Spirit. Even the best leadership is inadequate if we are unwilling to pay the price in sweat and toil. Bible study can be laborious, but there is nothing more rewarding. Effective study of God's word does not only increase a man's knowledge, but results in changes in perspective and daily living. Psalm 119:11 says, "Your word I have hidden in my heart, that I might not sin against You!" Psalm 119:105 states, "Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path." Jesus was not a proponent of rote memorization as much as life transformation. He does the inner work and enables us to walk in that light.
Jesus says in John 9:4: "I must work the works of Him who sent Me while it is day; the night is coming when no one can work." Our work is to believe on Christ Jesus and become masters not of the facts and figures of scriptures, but living out the truths and exhortations contained within. We must not keep this wisdom to ourselves, but share it with all who will listen! Why spend most of our reading moments prodding the equivalent of dead shellfish with fiction books when we have the living, invaluable Word which brings life to the dead? May God bless you as you dig deep in His Word which is food indeed!
31 January 2010
28 January 2010
Good News from a Far Land
"As cold water to a weary soul, so is good news from a far country."
Proverbs 25:25
I've been watching "The War," a 15-hour World War II documentary which aired on PBS some years ago. I bought my dad the DVD box set and my mom and I have been catching a little here and there when time permits. One thing infantrymen and soldiers of the cross have in common is the great value they place on news from loved ones. Almost more valuable are the letters written by the soldiers and sent back home! Periodically throughout the film, letters are read with a voice-over written by a soldier named "Babe." Every letter was dated and treasured by the family members who received them.
Most every day I check my e-mail. Often I'm like Ralphie in "The Christmas Story," who looks into the mailbox every day for his Little Orphan Annie decoder ring only to find an empty mailbox. But some days I open my e-mail inbox and read a message which refreshes me with encouragement. Today was one of those days. It was like cold water to a weary soul. The American infantrymen interviewed after World War II said they learned how to sleep while marching, like walking in a coma. That's how a lot of us go through each day at times, churning through day after day, grinding on and on. Sometimes a little good news from friends or the Word of God snaps us from our slumber.
In my devotions this morning, I came across Genesis 4:26: "And as for Seth, to him also a son was born; and he named him Enosh. Then men began to call on the name of the Lord." Before church, worship music, Sunday School, Communion services, baptisms, church traditions, home fellowships, missionaries, apostles, prophets, or gifts of the Holy Spirit are mentioned in the Bible, there was prayer. Man fell and then men prayed. I wonder: when we are in the midst of the desert spiritually, do our prayers to God bring as much refreshment to Him as good news from a far country does to us? Whether we have rebelled or drifted far from God, He is pleased to hear us direct our hearts toward Him in prayer. He is the God who leaves the 99 to pursue the one who is lost. God's love never sits still. God speaks as the beloved in Song of Solomon 2:10: "My beloved spoke, and said to me: "Rise up, my love, my fair one, and come away." How important is it for you to come away and spend time with God - not for you, but for Him?
As I saw the horror and catastrophic loss of life through the documentary, it is evident heaven is not to be found on this sin-soaked blood-stained earth. But we have a risen Savior who stands at the right hand of the Father, living to interceede on our behalf. He has granted us the Holy Spirit who indwells us and teaches us according to God's perfect will. We can hear from heaven, my friends. It is not the rustling of angel's wings or the chorus of cherubim: it is the Good News from a distant land that refreshes the soul with Living Water. The Gospel truth rings lound and clear and resonates in the heart of all who trust in Jesus as Savior and LORD. There is a God in the heavens who has come down to earth to save sinful flesh. There is hope for the hopeless, restoration and redemption for the damned. John 3:16-17 says, "For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. [17] For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved."
26 January 2010
Used and Abused
While watching TV this weekend during a football game, I saw a promo for the Super Bowl halftime show that will feature "The Who." The commercial had clips of the band performing with guitarist Pete Townshend sliding on his knees. Then the band is shown smashing their equipment on stage: the drums were torn apart, and the neck of the guitar was shoved into an amp speaker. I can only describe their actions as the overall destruction of their expensive, quality equipment they just used to play songs that made them a famous household name. Ironic, I thought. To buy quality gear and then destroy it just doesn't make much sense, even if the fans do eat it up.
Watching the band tear everything apart reminded me of other rock groups I've seen do the same. Jimi Hendrix squirted fuel on his guitar and set it on fire, and Marilyn Manson trashed the stage using a mic stand as a club. I don't know what drives a person to break perfectly good things. But the way these rock stars use and abuse their equipment is the same way the devil destroys those who becomes his tools. He will deceive and use whoever will respond to his manipulation. Then suddenly Satan will break without remedy those who have become his slaves. You see, a rock star has money to buy new guitars and amps. Companies even sponsor them to exclusively use their gear. Smashing and breaking is what rock stars are known to do, and Satan does the same. John 10:10 sums up the intentions of Satan contrasted with Jesus Christ: "The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly."
We have the opportunity to be clay molded by the hands of the good Potter or an instrument in the hands of the enemy of our souls. Those who trust in Jesus Christ have the glory of God in an earthen vessel, a body fashioned from the dust of the ground so the credit will go to God, not us. What a tragedy that rock stars, construction workers, doctors, teachers, and people from all walks of life choose be instruments of iniquity for the temporary praises of men! Praise God that He can heal and restore even those who for their whole lives have been in the clutches of the devil. In a moment everything can change and be made new. It is not easy being made a new creation and setting your soul at war with the carnal desires of the flesh, but there is nothing more rewarding and satisfying.
What is impossible with man is possible with God. In the nursery rhyme Humpty Dumpty had a great fall and no one could put him back together again, yet God heals broken hearts and lives. Mankind has not only fallen but has intentionally run away and rebelled from the salvation, healing, and forgivness offered by Jesus Christ. God pursues us to restore because He loves sinners and is able. Praise Him!
Watching the band tear everything apart reminded me of other rock groups I've seen do the same. Jimi Hendrix squirted fuel on his guitar and set it on fire, and Marilyn Manson trashed the stage using a mic stand as a club. I don't know what drives a person to break perfectly good things. But the way these rock stars use and abuse their equipment is the same way the devil destroys those who becomes his tools. He will deceive and use whoever will respond to his manipulation. Then suddenly Satan will break without remedy those who have become his slaves. You see, a rock star has money to buy new guitars and amps. Companies even sponsor them to exclusively use their gear. Smashing and breaking is what rock stars are known to do, and Satan does the same. John 10:10 sums up the intentions of Satan contrasted with Jesus Christ: "The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly."
We have the opportunity to be clay molded by the hands of the good Potter or an instrument in the hands of the enemy of our souls. Those who trust in Jesus Christ have the glory of God in an earthen vessel, a body fashioned from the dust of the ground so the credit will go to God, not us. What a tragedy that rock stars, construction workers, doctors, teachers, and people from all walks of life choose be instruments of iniquity for the temporary praises of men! Praise God that He can heal and restore even those who for their whole lives have been in the clutches of the devil. In a moment everything can change and be made new. It is not easy being made a new creation and setting your soul at war with the carnal desires of the flesh, but there is nothing more rewarding and satisfying.
What is impossible with man is possible with God. In the nursery rhyme Humpty Dumpty had a great fall and no one could put him back together again, yet God heals broken hearts and lives. Mankind has not only fallen but has intentionally run away and rebelled from the salvation, healing, and forgivness offered by Jesus Christ. God pursues us to restore because He loves sinners and is able. Praise Him!
22 January 2010
Be a Berean
Culture is an interesting dynamic that affects the way we see the world and interact with others. Depending on ethnicity, family heritage, tradition, and religious beliefs, culture has an infinite amount of variables. The same can be said about a particular fellowship, what people would commonly call "church." All the born-again Christians in the world make up the Body of Christ, of which He is the Head. For example, there are many Baptist churches in the United States and they all have distinct cultures which have been cultivated over the years. One church is highly involved in foreign missions while another church participates in "Adopt-a-Block" every Saturday. Many fellowships have a liturgical style of worship with organ and hymns only, and others have a more contemporary feel with electric guitar, bass, and drums. Some pastors preach in robes while others wear a shirt and tie. It is likely that whatever "church" you regularly attend, you do so because it suits your doctrinal views, vision for ministry, and supplies godly fellowship.
Like culture influences the way a person perceives, the culture of a church fellowship affects the way people see other churches, the Bible, and God. When Jesus dictated letters to the seven churches in Asia, they were not all lumped together. Each church was seen as distinct with different strengths and weaknesses. Today there are countless church denominations where born-again believers in Jesus Christ fellowship. Most members of a church believe their fellowship has the correct doctrinal balance and is teaching the truth. One primary danger of being part of one church fellowship is the growing assumption that whatever is taught at my church is right: the way we worship is right, the way we teach is right, our church structure is right, our interpretations are right, our style is right - and every other group that varies from us are not quite right and in many ways are quite wrong!
How important it is that our denomination or group not trump the authority of scripture! Most people today are like those from Thessalonica, not Berea. It is written in Acts 17:10-11: "Then the brethren immediately sent Paul and Silas away by night to Berea. When they arrived, they went into the synagogue of the Jews. [11] These were more fair-minded than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness, and searched the Scriptures daily to find out whether these things were so." The people from the church in Thessalonica did not receive the word (likely because their hearts were not prepared, for good seed will always grow in good soil) with readiness. The Bereans distinguished themselves not only by receiving the word, but daily searching the scriptures to validate the truth of what Paul and Silas taught. I once asked a co-worker what he believed concerning a Biblical doctrine. He quickly retorted, "I'm not sure, but I'll ask my priest what the church position is." Friends, this will never do!
No matter what Bible-teaching fellowship you attend, this is a danger that must be avoided. Allow me to share an example. From my childhood until now I have regularly attended a particular church. I was always taught there are several Greek words translated as "love" in English. For example, "phileo," a word translated as "love" means "to be a friend, to have affection towards." There is another word translated as "love" which denotes God's kind of love, "agapao" or "agape" (a great description of this love is found in 1st Corinthians 13). If I could choose a catchword how God's agape love was always summed up to me it would be "unconditional." I thought "agape" and "unconditional" were synonymous, one never without the other. I received quite a shock a few years ago when I was putting together a study on God's love. I went to the Strong's concordance, expecting to see "unconditional" leap off the page. It wasn't to be seen. I went to Wuest's word studies who explains agapao love this way: "a love which is awakened by a sense of value…a love of esteem…God’s love for a sinful and lost race springs from his heart in response to the high value He places upon each human soul.” (Word Studies, Vol. 3, pgs. 60-61) Not one mention of the word "unconditional." Before too long I was pulling out every commentary I had, not for the purpose of learning how to describe God's agape love, but trying to find the word "unconditional" which I had always been told was the primary descriptor of God's love. I sat in my chair staring at the books piled up all around me when I realized I had been a Thessalonian and not a Berean. I believed it because people had said it and my church had taught it, but not because the Bible or original languages say so.
God's love is an active love. The Expository Dictionary of New Testament Words says, "Love can be known only from the actions it prompts...In respect of agapao as used of God, it expresses the deep and constant love and interest of a perfect Being towards entirely unworthy objects, producing and fostering a reverential love in them towards the Giver, and a practical love towards those who are partakers of the same, and a desire to help others to seek the Giver." There is a big difference between "active" love and "unconditional" love. Active love is always unconditional while unconditional love is not always active. God's love is unconditional, in that His love is constant toward all people without fail. But that is simply a facet of God's love, one minor part of the whole. Now if this was simply an issue of me being misinformed, I could have shrugged the whole thing off. But in this aspect, I believe God was robbed of glory and His love sold short by summing up the love of God only as "unconditional." It is far more than unconditional: it is a pursuing, relentless love. It is a love displayed by Jesus Christ dying on a cross for the sins of mankind.
I know people who are not Christians but love unconditionally: they love their sports teams win or lose; they love a particular brand of beer no matter the cost. Sinners love their sin unconditionally, drinking iniquity like water! Yet I do not know a single sports fan who would willingly die for their sports team. Romans 5:6-8 says, "For when we were still without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly. [7] For scarcely for a righteous man will one die; yet perhaps for a good man someone would even dare to die. [8] But God demonstrates His own love [agape] toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us." God's love cannot be adequately described or quantified but is demonstrated through the life of Jesus Christ. The Bible says that the world will know we are Christians because of the love of Jesus being displayed through us. God's love is always reaching out, arms wide open to all who will come. His love is heartfelt and sincere, desiring us to willingly trust and take shelter in it. God is not content to have affections toward His creation: He is constantly showing us His great love for us so we might love Him back.
No matter your church affiliation or denomination, be sure to be a Berean. You are responsible for what you believe and teach. If we simply repeat what we have been told, we have as much credibility as celebrity tabloids. We must search the scriptures daily to confirm what we have heard is true. It is possible to go to church every week and remain ignorant of spiritual truth. Looking at food does not satisfy hunger, and reading words off the pages of a Bible does not mean you are receiving spiritual sustanence! We must be empowered by the Holy Spirit to understand the Word and break us free from the modern culture of Christianity which drowns many in legalism, judgmental attitudes, and self-righteousness. Is the active love of Jesus Christ at work in you towards all people? May it be so, LORD Jesus!
Like culture influences the way a person perceives, the culture of a church fellowship affects the way people see other churches, the Bible, and God. When Jesus dictated letters to the seven churches in Asia, they were not all lumped together. Each church was seen as distinct with different strengths and weaknesses. Today there are countless church denominations where born-again believers in Jesus Christ fellowship. Most members of a church believe their fellowship has the correct doctrinal balance and is teaching the truth. One primary danger of being part of one church fellowship is the growing assumption that whatever is taught at my church is right: the way we worship is right, the way we teach is right, our church structure is right, our interpretations are right, our style is right - and every other group that varies from us are not quite right and in many ways are quite wrong!
How important it is that our denomination or group not trump the authority of scripture! Most people today are like those from Thessalonica, not Berea. It is written in Acts 17:10-11: "Then the brethren immediately sent Paul and Silas away by night to Berea. When they arrived, they went into the synagogue of the Jews. [11] These were more fair-minded than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness, and searched the Scriptures daily to find out whether these things were so." The people from the church in Thessalonica did not receive the word (likely because their hearts were not prepared, for good seed will always grow in good soil) with readiness. The Bereans distinguished themselves not only by receiving the word, but daily searching the scriptures to validate the truth of what Paul and Silas taught. I once asked a co-worker what he believed concerning a Biblical doctrine. He quickly retorted, "I'm not sure, but I'll ask my priest what the church position is." Friends, this will never do!
No matter what Bible-teaching fellowship you attend, this is a danger that must be avoided. Allow me to share an example. From my childhood until now I have regularly attended a particular church. I was always taught there are several Greek words translated as "love" in English. For example, "phileo," a word translated as "love" means "to be a friend, to have affection towards." There is another word translated as "love" which denotes God's kind of love, "agapao" or "agape" (a great description of this love is found in 1st Corinthians 13). If I could choose a catchword how God's agape love was always summed up to me it would be "unconditional." I thought "agape" and "unconditional" were synonymous, one never without the other. I received quite a shock a few years ago when I was putting together a study on God's love. I went to the Strong's concordance, expecting to see "unconditional" leap off the page. It wasn't to be seen. I went to Wuest's word studies who explains agapao love this way: "a love which is awakened by a sense of value…a love of esteem…God’s love for a sinful and lost race springs from his heart in response to the high value He places upon each human soul.” (Word Studies, Vol. 3, pgs. 60-61) Not one mention of the word "unconditional." Before too long I was pulling out every commentary I had, not for the purpose of learning how to describe God's agape love, but trying to find the word "unconditional" which I had always been told was the primary descriptor of God's love. I sat in my chair staring at the books piled up all around me when I realized I had been a Thessalonian and not a Berean. I believed it because people had said it and my church had taught it, but not because the Bible or original languages say so.
God's love is an active love. The Expository Dictionary of New Testament Words says, "Love can be known only from the actions it prompts...In respect of agapao as used of God, it expresses the deep and constant love and interest of a perfect Being towards entirely unworthy objects, producing and fostering a reverential love in them towards the Giver, and a practical love towards those who are partakers of the same, and a desire to help others to seek the Giver." There is a big difference between "active" love and "unconditional" love. Active love is always unconditional while unconditional love is not always active. God's love is unconditional, in that His love is constant toward all people without fail. But that is simply a facet of God's love, one minor part of the whole. Now if this was simply an issue of me being misinformed, I could have shrugged the whole thing off. But in this aspect, I believe God was robbed of glory and His love sold short by summing up the love of God only as "unconditional." It is far more than unconditional: it is a pursuing, relentless love. It is a love displayed by Jesus Christ dying on a cross for the sins of mankind.
I know people who are not Christians but love unconditionally: they love their sports teams win or lose; they love a particular brand of beer no matter the cost. Sinners love their sin unconditionally, drinking iniquity like water! Yet I do not know a single sports fan who would willingly die for their sports team. Romans 5:6-8 says, "For when we were still without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly. [7] For scarcely for a righteous man will one die; yet perhaps for a good man someone would even dare to die. [8] But God demonstrates His own love [agape] toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us." God's love cannot be adequately described or quantified but is demonstrated through the life of Jesus Christ. The Bible says that the world will know we are Christians because of the love of Jesus being displayed through us. God's love is always reaching out, arms wide open to all who will come. His love is heartfelt and sincere, desiring us to willingly trust and take shelter in it. God is not content to have affections toward His creation: He is constantly showing us His great love for us so we might love Him back.
No matter your church affiliation or denomination, be sure to be a Berean. You are responsible for what you believe and teach. If we simply repeat what we have been told, we have as much credibility as celebrity tabloids. We must search the scriptures daily to confirm what we have heard is true. It is possible to go to church every week and remain ignorant of spiritual truth. Looking at food does not satisfy hunger, and reading words off the pages of a Bible does not mean you are receiving spiritual sustanence! We must be empowered by the Holy Spirit to understand the Word and break us free from the modern culture of Christianity which drowns many in legalism, judgmental attitudes, and self-righteousness. Is the active love of Jesus Christ at work in you towards all people? May it be so, LORD Jesus!
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