It’s in the news again today (or maybe yesterday): another child idol behaving in a way that is questionable for a child to behave. This time it’s one that people are saying would never do things like she is doing because her parents are involved, etc...
Are you kidding me!?!?!? Do we really believe as Christians that there is ANYTHING that this culture is producing that is appropriate for our children to embrace in the way that the culture at large is embracing it? Why would we ever expect these things to end any way other than us trying to figure out how we have to explain things to our children? With the numbers the way they are, it seems like it is safe to say that they ALL go bad, and yet we seem to still be amazingly surprised and shocked when they do.
Why does it seem that every teen idol goes bad? The answer to this question is… it’s the only thing our culture and Hollywood is capable of producing. This culture isn’t going to produce a role model that is appropriate for us to put in front of our children to idolize, mimic and aspire to be.
This fact begs an even more difficult question. WHY DO WE CONTINUE TO ALLOW AND EVEN ENCOURAGE OUR KIDS TO DO IT? I don’t know the answer to this question. It’s baffling to me.
Have we forgotten that we are to raise our children in the fear of the Lord? Have we abandoned the Shemah? Do we not recognize the danger? Do we want our children to revere God or this culture (yes, I believe VERY STRONGLY that it’s either/or)? Do we think they can do both? Or, do we just not care? What gives?
This may sound extremely fundamentalist, but I really don’t care. God said, “come out from among them and be separate, says the Lord.” Jesus said we are to be salt and light. We are to be in the world, but not of the world. We are to be in the world and products of the work of the Spirit in our lives, not in the world and a product of the world and this culture.
How do we accomplish this in a spirit of grace and love? As parents and future parents, we need to find out.
Tuesday, April 29, 2008
Thursday, April 24, 2008
Lot, a standard of righteousness!?
2 Peter 2:7 NLT But God also rescued Lot out of Sodom because he was a righteous man who was sick of the shameful immorality of the wicked people around him. 8 Yes, Lot was a righteous man who was tormented in his soul by the wickedness he saw and heard day after day. 9 So you see, the Lord knows how to rescue godly people from their trials, even while keeping the wicked under punishment until the day of final judgment.
Sandy Wilson at 2PC up in Memphis was dealing with the final judgment in the AMEN bible study this morning (podcast on itunes), and he ran across this verse that has been quite troubling to me in the past, but something stood out to me that I haven't really paid attention to before.
It has troubled me in the past because it says that Lot was a righteous man. REALLY?!? This dude offered his daughters up (sexually) to the sodomites that were trying to molest the angels that had visited him to warn him about the impending doom of the city. Later, he got drunk and slept with the same two daughters and got them pregnant. Righteous?!? This same man chose to live in a town that is perhaps the most notoriously wicked place in the history of the world, and he wouldn't be welcomed in any of our homes or churches acting the way he did. Righteousness... It's a tough label to reconcile for me for Lot.
It leads me to a couple thoughts...
1. Righteousness has more to do with who we are than what we do. The long and short of it is that we are righteous because of who we are and we cannot be made righteous by our activities even though as righteous people we are required to live a certain way. The Bible declares that Lot was righteous; therefore, he was righteous in spite of his sinfulness and not because of his righteous activity. This is obviously true of other notorious righteous folk like King David and the person that you look at in the mirror every day.
2. Lot exhibited righteous activity that exceeds many of ours. The verse above tells us that Lot was grieved by the wickedness that surrounded him. Specifically, the shameful immorality that he saw everyday. There is an alarming trend that exists in the church today. It is a trend toward tolerance and acceptance of sin rather than grieving over it. Lot was grieved by the wickedness that he saw in his world. Are we? I think we've been infected by the spirit of this age and have bought into the lie that to be grieved by wickedness is to be mean-spirited, unloving and ungracious, and it certainly can be. But, there can be no real sense of love and grace if there has been no grievance. Is there any valor in loving those that we embrace? No. True grace and love can ONLY spring into action in the context of a grievance. So, the only way we can be deeply gracious is to be deeply grieved. Same is true for love. Jesus says that the greatest love is a love that would lay down it's life for an enemy. It's easy to "love" what we accept.
Righteousness and God likeness demand that we be grieved by the sin in our world and in ourselves. When we are deeply grieved, then and only then, can we exercise and experience the love and grace of God in the way that he has exercised them toward us.
In the past, I've been very judgmental of Lot and troubled by this verse. Is his sin any worse than mine? Is my hatred of sin as strong as his? How would I fare in Sodom?
Sandy Wilson at 2PC up in Memphis was dealing with the final judgment in the AMEN bible study this morning (podcast on itunes), and he ran across this verse that has been quite troubling to me in the past, but something stood out to me that I haven't really paid attention to before.
It has troubled me in the past because it says that Lot was a righteous man. REALLY?!? This dude offered his daughters up (sexually) to the sodomites that were trying to molest the angels that had visited him to warn him about the impending doom of the city. Later, he got drunk and slept with the same two daughters and got them pregnant. Righteous?!? This same man chose to live in a town that is perhaps the most notoriously wicked place in the history of the world, and he wouldn't be welcomed in any of our homes or churches acting the way he did. Righteousness... It's a tough label to reconcile for me for Lot.
It leads me to a couple thoughts...
1. Righteousness has more to do with who we are than what we do. The long and short of it is that we are righteous because of who we are and we cannot be made righteous by our activities even though as righteous people we are required to live a certain way. The Bible declares that Lot was righteous; therefore, he was righteous in spite of his sinfulness and not because of his righteous activity. This is obviously true of other notorious righteous folk like King David and the person that you look at in the mirror every day.
2. Lot exhibited righteous activity that exceeds many of ours. The verse above tells us that Lot was grieved by the wickedness that surrounded him. Specifically, the shameful immorality that he saw everyday. There is an alarming trend that exists in the church today. It is a trend toward tolerance and acceptance of sin rather than grieving over it. Lot was grieved by the wickedness that he saw in his world. Are we? I think we've been infected by the spirit of this age and have bought into the lie that to be grieved by wickedness is to be mean-spirited, unloving and ungracious, and it certainly can be. But, there can be no real sense of love and grace if there has been no grievance. Is there any valor in loving those that we embrace? No. True grace and love can ONLY spring into action in the context of a grievance. So, the only way we can be deeply gracious is to be deeply grieved. Same is true for love. Jesus says that the greatest love is a love that would lay down it's life for an enemy. It's easy to "love" what we accept.
Righteousness and God likeness demand that we be grieved by the sin in our world and in ourselves. When we are deeply grieved, then and only then, can we exercise and experience the love and grace of God in the way that he has exercised them toward us.
In the past, I've been very judgmental of Lot and troubled by this verse. Is his sin any worse than mine? Is my hatred of sin as strong as his? How would I fare in Sodom?
Saturday, April 19, 2008
My Son Jay
Some of my out of town friends have not had the priviledge of meeting my baby boy, Jay. He's a wonder-boy. Here are a few things that I really love about him...1. He's a GREAT baseball player. Very pretty natural swing with great follow-through and bat speed. It wouldn't surprise me to see him play in the majors someday.
2. He's very smart. He's learning to read a little bit these days, and he's already a numbers whiz which really makes me happy. He can count like a 
madman. It's a very entertaining passtime in the car these days. Last weekend on the way to church we counted to 200. He said the evens and I said the odds. Of course, I'm still working on his favorite number. Right now, he says his favorite number is 8, but Daddy still pays the bills.
3. He never stops asking questions. Sometimes this really drives me nuts, but I think it's a great quality that is going to take him a long way in life.
4. He loves to fish! I can't wait for the adventures we're going to have on the water.
5. He loves his mother! I love watching Sondra and Jay interact. It reminds me of how special the mother/son bond is. Kinda takes me back to my own childhood with my mom.
6. He's really learning to protect his baby sister. We went on a field trip and he just randomly reported to the class that "I protect my baby sister." They're really getting to be buddies these days.
7. He loves to play the drums. His singing is coming along a little bit, but I'm not super optimistic he will follow in Daddy's shoes on that one:) He does have a little rhythm and loves to hit the skins... Go Jay.8. He loves watching sports with me, especially football and baseball. He'll watch an entire game with me, or at least until I get tired of him asking me how tall everybody is. What gives on this? "How tall are his shoes dad?"
I could go on and on. There's NOTHING like being a dad to a baby boy. James Wade Hinton II is the man! Geaux Jay! I'm pretty sure he's going to be an outstanding man someday in spite of his dear old daddy.
Friday, April 18, 2008
Does legalism have a bad rep?
I hear the term "legalist" tossed around a good bit in reference to some Bible teachers and I had a conversation related to this with a good friend recently.
I honestly think that true legalism gets everything that it has coming to it and more, but I think that the term is used so loosely that "legalism" gets a bad rep.
Legalism is not any set of rules or prohibitions that Christians should adhere to. After all, there are many commands of scripture that Christians should obey and obey joyfully. Jesus went so far as to say that "if you love me, you WILL KEEP MY COMMANDMENTS." It is precisely this type of verbiage that often gets called legalism in the church today. This is NOT legalism. Christians should fervently adhere to the teachings and commands of Christ and pursue Holiness from a foundation of our love for him which must be based firmly in his love for us. Because he first loved us, we love him and we keep his commandments. Commandments kept in love aren't burdensome and that's why his yoke is easy and his burden is light. It's not easy and light because it's permissive. It's easy and light because its foundation is grace and love.
Scripture is very clear that there are activities that believers can participate in that are displeasing to God and there are activities that believers can participate in that are pleasing to God.
Legalism is any set of rules or prohibitions that Christians MUST adhere to in order to gain entrance into the Kingdom and/or maintain a certain status with God. These types of requirements stand against the clear teachings of scripture that assure us that Salvation is by grace alone through faith alone and not from any of our works. I think the difference is that legalism is usually fear-based and fear-driven rather than love-based. Legalism is geared toward avoiding the wrath of God rather than basking in the Love of God. Because Legalism is fear-driven and activity driven, it usually goes into extra-biblical commands. Do not taste, do not touch, etc... (Col 2) In the fear-driven performance-centered mindset, these extra biblical commands make sense, but as Colossians tells us, these extra-biblical commands lack ANY power in restraining the flesh.
So, believers should be diligent rule-keepers, and we should be diligent about knowing what Christ requires of us, but not out of a sense of fear or from the motivation of SO he will love us. We should be diligent about knowing and following his commands BECAUSE he loves us. There is a HUGE difference between these two approaches. One brings life and freedom, the other will leave us bound and dead.
As a believer, bask in the freedom that is found only in knowing and embracing the love of Christ for his church, and resist anything that is legalistic and man-centered. MOST importantly, learn to discern the difference.
I honestly think that true legalism gets everything that it has coming to it and more, but I think that the term is used so loosely that "legalism" gets a bad rep.
Legalism is not any set of rules or prohibitions that Christians should adhere to. After all, there are many commands of scripture that Christians should obey and obey joyfully. Jesus went so far as to say that "if you love me, you WILL KEEP MY COMMANDMENTS." It is precisely this type of verbiage that often gets called legalism in the church today. This is NOT legalism. Christians should fervently adhere to the teachings and commands of Christ and pursue Holiness from a foundation of our love for him which must be based firmly in his love for us. Because he first loved us, we love him and we keep his commandments. Commandments kept in love aren't burdensome and that's why his yoke is easy and his burden is light. It's not easy and light because it's permissive. It's easy and light because its foundation is grace and love.
Scripture is very clear that there are activities that believers can participate in that are displeasing to God and there are activities that believers can participate in that are pleasing to God.
Legalism is any set of rules or prohibitions that Christians MUST adhere to in order to gain entrance into the Kingdom and/or maintain a certain status with God. These types of requirements stand against the clear teachings of scripture that assure us that Salvation is by grace alone through faith alone and not from any of our works. I think the difference is that legalism is usually fear-based and fear-driven rather than love-based. Legalism is geared toward avoiding the wrath of God rather than basking in the Love of God. Because Legalism is fear-driven and activity driven, it usually goes into extra-biblical commands. Do not taste, do not touch, etc... (Col 2) In the fear-driven performance-centered mindset, these extra biblical commands make sense, but as Colossians tells us, these extra-biblical commands lack ANY power in restraining the flesh.
So, believers should be diligent rule-keepers, and we should be diligent about knowing what Christ requires of us, but not out of a sense of fear or from the motivation of SO he will love us. We should be diligent about knowing and following his commands BECAUSE he loves us. There is a HUGE difference between these two approaches. One brings life and freedom, the other will leave us bound and dead.
As a believer, bask in the freedom that is found only in knowing and embracing the love of Christ for his church, and resist anything that is legalistic and man-centered. MOST importantly, learn to discern the difference.
Tuesday, April 15, 2008
An environmental conundrum
This is a departure from my normal posts, but I sometimes think that environmentalists have forgotten that human beings are a species in the environment too.
What if the EPA, PETA, or some other green group (I'm pro-environment by the way) discovered that there were human practices that were causing Salmon to reproduce at a much lower rate? O wait, they have and they are on it. What if all of a sudden, the Bee population that is so vital to the pollination of our food crops was at risk and in a serious decline for mysterious reasons? O wait, it is and they are all over it.
So, where is the passion for protecting the human species? Why are bees, salmon, spotted owls, manatees, etc. worth crusading for, but if human life is crusaded for it's right-wing fundamentalism? I know that this isn't a new thought, but it's something that I've been thinking about a lot.
Here are some things that I believe are serious attacks on the Human Species that need to be crusaded against (in no particular order). These are threats to our species that would have environmentalists up in arms if they had even close to the same level of threat against snapping turtles.
1. Abortion
2. The Homosexual agenda
3. Redefinition of the family
I'm sure there are others, but these come to mind as serious threats to the perpetuation and long-term health of our species.
What if the EPA, PETA, or some other green group (I'm pro-environment by the way) discovered that there were human practices that were causing Salmon to reproduce at a much lower rate? O wait, they have and they are on it. What if all of a sudden, the Bee population that is so vital to the pollination of our food crops was at risk and in a serious decline for mysterious reasons? O wait, it is and they are all over it.
So, where is the passion for protecting the human species? Why are bees, salmon, spotted owls, manatees, etc. worth crusading for, but if human life is crusaded for it's right-wing fundamentalism? I know that this isn't a new thought, but it's something that I've been thinking about a lot.
Here are some things that I believe are serious attacks on the Human Species that need to be crusaded against (in no particular order). These are threats to our species that would have environmentalists up in arms if they had even close to the same level of threat against snapping turtles.
1. Abortion
2. The Homosexual agenda
3. Redefinition of the family
I'm sure there are others, but these come to mind as serious threats to the perpetuation and long-term health of our species.
Sunday, April 13, 2008
How Tall is God? Part 3 (final installment)
There was an excellent question raised in the second post related to how we should "choose" our experts. How should we filter through the talking heads to determine who is right and who is wrong in such a way that we aren't just gravitating toward those that are in agreement with what we have already decided is right and true?
I have a set of criteria that I have put together over the years that I think is objective and safe to accomplish the above.
Anyone that I choose to learn from must....
1. Recognize the innerancy, necessity, sufficiency, absolute authority, and holistic nature of the Scriptures. There is an article on this in Wayne Grudem's "Systematic Theology" that is excellent (minus the holistic thing). A correct view of the Scriptures is absolutely necessary. The trend of progressive revelation (from Part 1) would call into question each of these attributes of the scriptures.
2. Believe in the Sovereignty of the triune God in all matters of life. This translates to God-centeredness instead of man-centeredness in conversion and Christian living.
3. Have the correct views on the Person and work of Jesus Christ as taught in Scriptures. Specifically related to person hood, his deity and his sinless life (virgin birth is necessary here). Related to the work of Jesus Christ are his Atoning death without which there is NO hope for redemption, and his Imputed Righteousness without which we can achieve no favorable standing with God by our own efforts.
There are other things that are quite important that aren't on this list, but they generally will follow from these three.
I will read and research many other views and learn good stuff even from people that are border-line heretical, but I choose not to spend a whole lot of money and energy picking out the bones when there are countless experts from which to choose and learn from that are putting out nice boneless cuts of truth.
I'd go as far as to suggest that if your criteria is a new one, or if it's drastically different from this one that it will lead to heresy pretty quickly. The pillars of the faith are tested and true. Stand on them, question of them, and grow in the faith and knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.
I have a set of criteria that I have put together over the years that I think is objective and safe to accomplish the above.
Anyone that I choose to learn from must....
1. Recognize the innerancy, necessity, sufficiency, absolute authority, and holistic nature of the Scriptures. There is an article on this in Wayne Grudem's "Systematic Theology" that is excellent (minus the holistic thing). A correct view of the Scriptures is absolutely necessary. The trend of progressive revelation (from Part 1) would call into question each of these attributes of the scriptures.
2. Believe in the Sovereignty of the triune God in all matters of life. This translates to God-centeredness instead of man-centeredness in conversion and Christian living.
3. Have the correct views on the Person and work of Jesus Christ as taught in Scriptures. Specifically related to person hood, his deity and his sinless life (virgin birth is necessary here). Related to the work of Jesus Christ are his Atoning death without which there is NO hope for redemption, and his Imputed Righteousness without which we can achieve no favorable standing with God by our own efforts.
There are other things that are quite important that aren't on this list, but they generally will follow from these three.
I will read and research many other views and learn good stuff even from people that are border-line heretical, but I choose not to spend a whole lot of money and energy picking out the bones when there are countless experts from which to choose and learn from that are putting out nice boneless cuts of truth.
I'd go as far as to suggest that if your criteria is a new one, or if it's drastically different from this one that it will lead to heresy pretty quickly. The pillars of the faith are tested and true. Stand on them, question of them, and grow in the faith and knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Wednesday, April 9, 2008
How Tall is God?, Part 2
From Part 1... In many ways God is far simpler than the scientific fields because he can be known by even the simple minds of children. On the other hand, he truly is vast and immeasurable and far more complex than all of the scientific disciplines combined. So, why would we ever stop asking questions? How could we ever not think that we have WAY more to learn than we have already discovered? Why would we ever stop examining the Scriptures, reading and evaluating the "experts", and listening to great minds teach about him? I think that we have a tendency to get comfortable with where we are, what we know, and we don't really want to be challenged any more. We have God in our little box and that's where we want to keep him.
I have thought about this post a little more and I have decided that the paragraph above could use a little expansion. The reason being that it's important not just to evaluate, but to evaluate properly. There is a right way to study the scriptures and there are right "experts" and there are wrong "experts." So, ultimately, what makes them right and what makes them wrong and how do we determine this?
How can two people read the scriptures and walk away from them with opposing points of view both equally convinced that their views are correct with what they would consider to be sound biblical arguments? The answer to this question is that they are using different methods of studying the scriptures or bringing different agendas to the scriptures. The fancy shmancy theological answer is that they are using different hermeneutics.
A popular hermeneutic in our current Christian climate is a hermeneutic that I call "progressive revelation". I'm not sure if I heard this somewhere or not, or if there is a better label for it, but this one is pretty descriptive of what it is. This hermeneutic is espoused pretty heavily by some teachers in the emergent camps. In a nutshell it is very similar to the way many political liberals interpret the constitution of the US as a living document that has different meaning based on current cultural values. Right to bear arms is one of the victims of this type of interpretation. Freedom of speech is one that is victimized in the opposing direction.
Ordination of homosexuals and devaluation of roles within marriage are a couple of good examples that spring directly from this hermeneutic. To counteract this faulty hermeneutic, we must do a couple of things. First, we must be aware that it exists and that to some degree or another nearly everyone under the age of 40 has been infected by it. Secondly, we must hold on to the time-proven and tested teachings of the faith.
I heard a pastor once tell how he prepared for sermons (sorry can't remember who it was). He said that he would read the book of the Bible that he was going to teach on numerous times and make annotations on the book each time with thoughts and ideas about what the passage was saying. After this process, he would then finally search out the expert opinions of several commentaries on the book. Then, he would do something that I think is very wise. He would throw out any of his ideas about the meanings that weren't present in any of the commentaries that he studied.
Why do I think this is wise? While the fields of Science are expanding fields with new facts being discovered every day, Christianity is established, stable, true, and without the need or possibility of expansion. The church is built on the life, teachings, and sacrificial death of Jesus Christ, and the teachings of the apostles. These truths are all revealed in the Scriptures and contrary to current cultural forces today truth exists can be known.
So, our quest for truth and learning how to discover the truth that already exists should be the motivating force behind our questions. It's not just about asking the questions. It's about asking the right questions of the right people that will lead to the discovery of truth.
I have thought about this post a little more and I have decided that the paragraph above could use a little expansion. The reason being that it's important not just to evaluate, but to evaluate properly. There is a right way to study the scriptures and there are right "experts" and there are wrong "experts." So, ultimately, what makes them right and what makes them wrong and how do we determine this?
How can two people read the scriptures and walk away from them with opposing points of view both equally convinced that their views are correct with what they would consider to be sound biblical arguments? The answer to this question is that they are using different methods of studying the scriptures or bringing different agendas to the scriptures. The fancy shmancy theological answer is that they are using different hermeneutics.
A popular hermeneutic in our current Christian climate is a hermeneutic that I call "progressive revelation". I'm not sure if I heard this somewhere or not, or if there is a better label for it, but this one is pretty descriptive of what it is. This hermeneutic is espoused pretty heavily by some teachers in the emergent camps. In a nutshell it is very similar to the way many political liberals interpret the constitution of the US as a living document that has different meaning based on current cultural values. Right to bear arms is one of the victims of this type of interpretation. Freedom of speech is one that is victimized in the opposing direction.
Ordination of homosexuals and devaluation of roles within marriage are a couple of good examples that spring directly from this hermeneutic. To counteract this faulty hermeneutic, we must do a couple of things. First, we must be aware that it exists and that to some degree or another nearly everyone under the age of 40 has been infected by it. Secondly, we must hold on to the time-proven and tested teachings of the faith.
I heard a pastor once tell how he prepared for sermons (sorry can't remember who it was). He said that he would read the book of the Bible that he was going to teach on numerous times and make annotations on the book each time with thoughts and ideas about what the passage was saying. After this process, he would then finally search out the expert opinions of several commentaries on the book. Then, he would do something that I think is very wise. He would throw out any of his ideas about the meanings that weren't present in any of the commentaries that he studied.
Why do I think this is wise? While the fields of Science are expanding fields with new facts being discovered every day, Christianity is established, stable, true, and without the need or possibility of expansion. The church is built on the life, teachings, and sacrificial death of Jesus Christ, and the teachings of the apostles. These truths are all revealed in the Scriptures and contrary to current cultural forces today truth exists can be known.
So, our quest for truth and learning how to discover the truth that already exists should be the motivating force behind our questions. It's not just about asking the questions. It's about asking the right questions of the right people that will lead to the discovery of truth.
Sunday, April 6, 2008
How Tall is God?
This is my inquisitive son, Jay. I don't know if all 4-year-old boys are like him or not, but Jay asks about 1000 questions a day. Sometimes it seems more like 1000 questions a minute:) If we are watching TV, he wants to know who all the people are, who's the biggest, who's the littlest, why are they happy, why are they sad, where are they going? He asks so many questions that he doesn't even watch the show or hear what is going on. When we read a book in the evenings, it's the same scenario. I can hardly get through a sentence without being interupted. Question after question after question after...One of my favorite questions that he has asked is "How tall is God?" It was difficult to explain to Jay the concept that God has no size and that he is immesurable, but I made a nice effort. Immediately on the heels of my attempted answer came the next logical question, of course. "Dad, how tall is Jesus?" That one was a little easier to answer. I was able to explain to him that Jesus once walked the earth in a human body and that he was probably about 5.5' tall, and that now Jesus is in heaven and we're not real sure how tall he is now, but we'll find out some day.
Kids learn at warp speed because they know that they have a lot to learn and because they are SO inquisitive. As adults, we lose our speed of learning for the antithesis of these reasons. We think we no longer have a lot to learn so we stop asking questions.
I have a Master of Science degree in mathematics and it didn't take me long into the master's program to realize that getting an MS is really just designed to show you that everything you learned in your undergraduate degree was really just barely scratching the surface of the subject. There are worlds of things to be learned and even discovered in every scientific discipline and it doesn't take long to discover this. Every question that gets asked and answered opens up frontiers of new questions that have to be considered.
In many ways God is far simpler than the scientific fields because he can be known by even the simple minds of children. On the other hand, he truly is vast and immeasurable and far more complex than all of the scientific disciplines combined. So, why would we ever stop asking questions? How could we ever not think that we have WAY more to learn than we have already discovered? Why would we ever stop examining the Scriptures, reading and evaluating the "experts", and listening to great minds teach about him? I think that we have a tendency to get comfortable with where we are, what we know, and we don't really want to be challenged any more. We have God in our little box and that's where we want to keep him.
Destroy the Box!!! There's a false god in there.
If Jay stopped asking questions right now, he would stay socially and intellectually 4 yrs old. The same thing is true of many of us spiritually because we have stopped driving ourselves to know more of God and more about God. Question EVERYTHING, especially the foundations of the faith. Don't worry, it's true and it will withstand every question that you can throw at it, but there will be times when you get scared because you will realize that what you've thought, believed, and in same cases even taught others stands on the shaky ground of half-truth and false-hood.
Dig into the Scriptures and make your pastors and mentors shudder to see you coming knowing that you're about to ask them a question that they've never really put a lot of thought into. Make them think that you really believe there is still a vast world of knowledge out there and that the only way to attain it is to ask question after question after question...
I strongly recommend a guy named Ravi Zacharias (http://www.rzim.org/) in areas of apologetics. He has a great podcast on itunes and tons of resources on his website. Check him out and others as well.
How tall is God?
Saturday, April 5, 2008
Do we serve God for nothing?
I enjoy watching the series on the Travel channel that follows the adventures of two English guys named Mark and Olly as they visit primitive tribes and document their journeys. Mark is the adventurer type and Olly is a journalist that has a passion to document these rapidly disappearing cultures. This season's show had them going to the Mek tribe in West Papua. Last season they went to a similar tribe called the Kombai (sp?). PRIMITIVE is the operative word for these people. Grass huts, little or no clothing, very basic tools, etc... Their beliefs are equally primitive. Witch doctors, blood-sucking witches, flying people that eat your flesh called suangis. Strange, far out, unbelievable stuff that they passionately believe in. Oh, and Christianity.
At some point, missionaries came through the area and convinced these people that they should throw away their idols that they once looked to for protection and that they should trust in God to protect them, provide for them, etc. in place of their old idols. This is a great example of what I would call an incomplete conversion. This is perhaps for another post, but I'll touch it here. The church is guilty of flying through, doing a crash course, having a bonfire for the idols, giving them some western clothes and moving on. Jesus spent three years properly preparing a group of 12 men that were already well-versed in Judaism, and we think that a couple months or even a year is enough time to leave people to themselves that have no concept of monotheism and have never heard of Jesus, and have no written language. Incidentally, not a single mention of Jesus in any of the episodes that referenced Christianity. Olly viewed Christianity as a curse upon these people and missionaries as the worst kind of robbers of their beautiful culture.
Christianity for these people had just become another relic or idol that they relied on to make their crops grow and protect them from the vampires and witches. How different are we? Do we worship God because of his beauty and majesty, or do we worship Him because of what we perceive that he has/will do for us?
One of my favorite Pastors/Teachers is a guy named Tim Keller from Redeemer Presbyterian Church of NYC. In a sermon titled "the Betrayers", he briefly deals with the question that Satan posed to God about Job. "Does Job serve you for nothing?" Keller says that this is the key statement to understand what the book of Job is about. God said "yes, he does." Take all his stuff and he will still worship me. God was right:) Job served God for nothing. He didn't serve Him to get something in return or because of all the stuff that he already had. He served God "for nothing."
This is what I am striving for in my life. I want to see and know so much of God that all my agendas for God disappear into the sheer beauty of who He is. I don't want to be a user of God. I want to serve God for nothing! Don't you?
This sermon is worth the $2.50. check it out! http://sermons.redeemer.com/store/index.cfm?fuseaction=product.display&Product_ID=18602
At some point, missionaries came through the area and convinced these people that they should throw away their idols that they once looked to for protection and that they should trust in God to protect them, provide for them, etc. in place of their old idols. This is a great example of what I would call an incomplete conversion. This is perhaps for another post, but I'll touch it here. The church is guilty of flying through, doing a crash course, having a bonfire for the idols, giving them some western clothes and moving on. Jesus spent three years properly preparing a group of 12 men that were already well-versed in Judaism, and we think that a couple months or even a year is enough time to leave people to themselves that have no concept of monotheism and have never heard of Jesus, and have no written language. Incidentally, not a single mention of Jesus in any of the episodes that referenced Christianity. Olly viewed Christianity as a curse upon these people and missionaries as the worst kind of robbers of their beautiful culture.
Christianity for these people had just become another relic or idol that they relied on to make their crops grow and protect them from the vampires and witches. How different are we? Do we worship God because of his beauty and majesty, or do we worship Him because of what we perceive that he has/will do for us?
One of my favorite Pastors/Teachers is a guy named Tim Keller from Redeemer Presbyterian Church of NYC. In a sermon titled "the Betrayers", he briefly deals with the question that Satan posed to God about Job. "Does Job serve you for nothing?" Keller says that this is the key statement to understand what the book of Job is about. God said "yes, he does." Take all his stuff and he will still worship me. God was right:) Job served God for nothing. He didn't serve Him to get something in return or because of all the stuff that he already had. He served God "for nothing."
This is what I am striving for in my life. I want to see and know so much of God that all my agendas for God disappear into the sheer beauty of who He is. I don't want to be a user of God. I want to serve God for nothing! Don't you?
This sermon is worth the $2.50. check it out! http://sermons.redeemer.com/store/index.cfm?fuseaction=product.display&Product_ID=18602
Friday, April 4, 2008
Hudson Bradford
I was searching the internet tonight for old friends. From time to time, I google old friends and acquaintances to see where they are, what they are doing, etc. I had a buddy in College that I made fast friends with named Hudson Bradford. He was extremely talented. GREAT guitar player, song-writer, thinker. We spent a lot of time huddled in corners at college parties solving the world's problems.
I've googled him probably half a dozen times since I last saw him in 1998 in Athens, GA without any luck. Tonight I finally got a hit. Actually, it was more like a sledge hammer. I found a transcript for his Funeral Service! There were no details in the funeral service about how he died, but there were some hints that lead me to believe that he committed suicide.
How do people reach the place in their lives where they feel that the only solution is to end it? I'm not being condescending at all. Suicide is a common reality, so it's obviously not very difficult for people to plummet to these depths. Talented, smart, beautiful, successful people end their own lives every day. Hudson was all of these things.
Is it a loss of purpose, hope, faith, joy, love, all of the above? What!?
The worst thing about suicide is the long list of unanswered questions. I'm sad that I will never get to see Hudson again in this life. I'd love to ask him a few.
I've googled him probably half a dozen times since I last saw him in 1998 in Athens, GA without any luck. Tonight I finally got a hit. Actually, it was more like a sledge hammer. I found a transcript for his Funeral Service! There were no details in the funeral service about how he died, but there were some hints that lead me to believe that he committed suicide.
How do people reach the place in their lives where they feel that the only solution is to end it? I'm not being condescending at all. Suicide is a common reality, so it's obviously not very difficult for people to plummet to these depths. Talented, smart, beautiful, successful people end their own lives every day. Hudson was all of these things.
Is it a loss of purpose, hope, faith, joy, love, all of the above? What!?
The worst thing about suicide is the long list of unanswered questions. I'm sad that I will never get to see Hudson again in this life. I'd love to ask him a few.
Tuesday, April 1, 2008
1000 Baths
More often than not in the evenings it is usually my responsibility to bathe my two children. Since they were both babies, I found it a lot easier to just get in the bath tub with them, so most evenings around 7:30 or 8:00, we round up the kids and head to the bathtub. I get in the tub and bathe the kids and Sondra gets them out when they are done.
Tonight in the bath (bubble bath) it occurred to me that I have probably at this point in Jay's life (he's 4) given him over 1000 baths. We had a blast in the bubbles tonight because Josie and Jay both discovered that they could make me look like a snowman pretty easily. Jay also discovered that a washcloth wadded tightly and dipped in bubbles looks a lot like a snow ball. So, we had our own little version of a snowball fight in the tub.
My afterthoughts about this experience took me to how many baths have fallen into the mundane, boring, and (sorry to say) burdensome. These days are FLYING by, and yet I waste so many of them. There have probably been 1000 bath times in the tub with Jay. There will probably not be 1000 more with him, and because Josie is a girl, we may not even make it to 1000:(
May God help us all to find joy in the ordinary things with our children and make them extraordinary. How many things will we get to do with our kids 1000 times?
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
Posts
