Thanks for You

Some thoughts from my devotions in Ephesians,

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Passage: Ephesians 1:15-16
"For this reason, because I have heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love toward all the saints, I do not cease to give thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers,"

Thoughts:

Notice the simplicity of what is going on in these two verses -

Paul responds in TWO ways, because of TWO things he sees in the believers.

Because Paul heard of their 1) faith in Christ, and 2) love for the saints; Paul responds with 1) thankfulness for them, and 2) prayers for them.

Application:

There are so many ways to go with this, but for the sake of brevity, let me just leave you with a couple of things to consider.

Isn't it sometimes difficult for us to do what Paul did? Sometimes, when I think of people who have faith in Christ and love for the saints, I'll focus on some minor issue and think to myself, "They're not doing their music right." or "They only use a certain Bible version." or "I can't believe they're SO Calvinistic." or "That would never happen at my church." or "They aren't the same denomination"

Obviously, a complete and healthy Christian experience goes beyond these two things Paul lists here. But, when I see someone who genuinely has 1) faith in Christ, and 2) love for the saints - why can't my initial response be, "God, thank you for this fellow believer, I pray that you would strengthen them in their walk with You."?

Sadly, my first response is sometimes,
"Dear God,
Why do I have to put up with these idiots. Why can't everyone just be perfect like me.
- Amen."

~Jason

Pro-Life Ad? This Joke was on Us

Apparently the definition of "Pro-Life" has been expanded to include anyone who uses the words "miracle" and "baby" in the same sentence. THIS is what all the hub-bub was about?

I kind of feel like Charlie Brown in this classic Peanuts cartoon. EVERYBODY was hyped up about this commercial. If you were pro-life then you just had to support this ad, I mean you just had to. It seemed as if Tim Tebow became a household name almost overnight.





















If you were pro-choice, you let the expletives fly about that big bad wolf - Focus on the Family. How dare those women-demeaning, gay-hating, fundamentalists try to shove 30 seconds of "politics" down our throat.

Larry King was having panel discussions with all the "experts", watchful Facebook members dutifully created Tim Tebow fan pages, and even the gay rights folks got a little air time.

And then...Lucy pulled the football away. We all, for the first time, actually saw the ad in it's entirety. Epic fail. If you didn't know the back story, the ad would have left you scratching your head. (Actually, I knew the back story and I was still scratching my head.)

Whether it was a genius marketing ploy by Focus on the Family to draw attention to the issues, or the most expensive way to show a son tackling his mother on TV - this joke, was on us.

Invisible People

Butch from InvisiblePeople.tv on Vimeo.

After watching this video (and many others), I'm torn between two responses. One response blames me and rest of society for not doing more. The other response (I'm afraid to actually say it) blames the homeless person. I think to myself, "Why should I be blamed when this all could be the fault of the homeless person?"

Is finger pointing the point? Here's a guy who's lived on the street for 40 years, and I'm debating who's to blame! Is that what Christ would expect of me? I'm glad Christ did something for me when I was in need. By the way, speaking for myself, I was clearly to blame.

Romans 5:8
"But God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us."

Certainly Not: Part Five

The best way to respond to Theological Fallibility, is not blanket uncertainty, or passive humility, or perpetual openness. The best way to respond to Theological Fallibility is, conversation.

I mentioned in my last post that the response of conversation is a sort of "modified openness". To me, the risk of openness is that it lacks a solid foundation. However, the risk of being close-minded is that it leaves the foundation unexamined for large periods of time. Allow me to use an analogy.

I recently purchased a house (actually, the bank purchased a house, and I am now their slave for 30 years). Obviously, my house has a foundation. It's a solid stone/brick foundation with no major cracks, and it passed inspection with flying colors. The foundation of my house is completely sealed off except for a small access door on the south side of the house. Now, I would be an IDIOT if I said to myself, "I've got a good foundation, it's passed inspection, and I don't see any problems, so, I think I'll seal off the access door." Imagine what would happen to my home if I was unable to access the underbelly of my home for 30 years! What a tragedy!

Even though I'm glad my house has a solid foundation, I've already been down there to check things out a half-dozen times since we moved in. Why? Because good houses need maintenance. I know that the "fallibility" of a home requires constant action on my part.

Do you see the connection between houses and Theology? Someone who is perpetually open minded shoots themselves in the foot because they refuse to build a solid foundation on which they may build a house. Someone who is close minded is like the person who seals off the access door to the foundation of their house, thus leaving their foundation to rot. The position of conversation tries to build a foundation (and a good one too), but leaves an access door. This person is willing to go down with a flashlight and perform maintenance on their foundation. Make no mistake, this person has a foundation, they just know that the harsh reality of life requires constant tweaking and improving.
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Part Six of this series will look at the practical outworking of a person who responds to Theological Fallibility with "conversation".

Passing the Baton

I began reading, "The Story of Christianity: Volume 1" today, and was particularly impacted by the following excerpt from the introduction.

Justo Gonzalez comments,
"There are episodes in the course of...history where it is difficult to see the action of the Holy Spirit...it will appear to many of us that the church has forsaken the biblical faith, and some will even doubt that such a church can be truly called "Christian." At such point in our narrative, it may be well to remember two things.

The first of these is that, while this narrative is the history of the deeds of the Spirit, it is the history of those deeds through sinners such as us...

The second is that it has been through those sinners and that church - and only through them - that the biblical message has come to us. Even in the darkest times of the life of the church there were those Christians who loved, studied, kept, and copied the Scriptures, and thus bequeathed them to us." (Page xvi, bold text mine)

I am very humbled at the reminder of the faithfulness of those who, shortcomings aside, so loved the Scriptures that they dedicated their life to passing it on to the next generation. During my brief, yet (and I don't say this arrogantly) significant life, I hope to be counted among those doing the "passing".

Don't Judge Me: Part 4 of 4

Continued from, Don’t Judge Me: Part 3 of 4

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If we aren’t even allowed to interpret the law, how could we hold a conviction about anything? I wouldn't be able to write this post, because I'm "passing judgment" about what James/Matthew/Paul are teaching.

If we are supposed to be a doer of the law, this automatically involves a certain amount of interpretation and application. Thus, we can approach a brother with our interpretation of the law, and try to "restore" him/her. However, if the accused won't yield, all we can do is treat them as an unbeliever.

Even in doing so however, we must remember that we aren't the one who is the lawgiver and judge. We aren't the one who is able to save and destroy. We must always be open to the fact that perhaps, we are the ones who have been interpreting the law/scripture incorrectly.

It is a wise person indeed who has the diligence to interpret the law, the courage to obey it, and the honesty to admit that he isn't the final Judge.

Don't Judge Me: Part 3 of 4

Continued from, Don’t Judge Me: Part Two

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James’ main point? "Who are you to judge your neighbor?" A difficulty arises when we try to reconcile this passage of Scripture with those that outline how to confront a fellow believer about their sin (Matthew 18:15; Galatians 6:1).

In Matthew 18:15-17, the accuser first confronts the accused one-on-one with the hopes of "regaining the brother". If that doesn't work, the accuser brings with him two or three witnesses. If the issue still isn't resolved, the issue is brought before the church. It is a thoughtfully long, and painful process, which, if unsuccessful, ends with the accused being viewed as "a Gentile or a tax collector".

In Galatians 6:1, the spiritually mature are instructed to "restore" the one "discovered in some sin". But, even the "spiritual" person is warned to confront in a "spirit of gentleness" and to "pay attention to yourselves, so that you are not tempted too." Again, this process is a humble one, with the goal of restoring Christ-likeness.

Both of these passages have a sense of inherit humility in the confrontation process. The million dollar question is, are the views of James and Matthew(Jesus)/Paul exclusive of one another? Can you follow both, or are you going to have to pick sides? If you took a both/and approach to this dilemma, the principle that emerges seems to be,

"Though we often must interpret the law (and thus make decisions, and even confront based upon it), we are not, and should not function as/pretend to be, the final judge."

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Part Four of this series will attempt to expand on the above principle.

Don't Judge Me: Part 2 of 4

Continued from, Don’t Judge Me: Part 1 of 4

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According to James 4:11-12, we shouldn't pass judgment upon a fellow believer because....

...you are judging the law.
James makes the point that if you are judging your believer, you are really judging the law. Thus, you aren't really "doing" the law, you're "judging" it. According to BDAG, the Greek word used here for "judge" means, "pass an unfavorable judgment upon, criticize, find fault with, condemn". James goes on to explain a second reason that this placing of oneself above the law is a big deal.

...there is only One who is Lawgiver and Judge.
James never explicitly states who this "one" is that both gives the law, and is it's judge. Hint: It isn't Judge Judy. Obviously, God is in view here, particularly because this "one" is also able to "save and destroy". In other words, there is only one who can give and enforce laws.

...who are you to judge your neighbor?
In light of the above facts, (there is only one lawgiver and judge) - what's the point of trying to pass judgment? We didn't give the law, and we can't enforce it either - so why act like we can? James also seems to be implying that, since we are all sinners, there is a certain amount of hypocrisy that goes along with passing judgment on your neighbor.

All of this seems straightforward enough, but how can James' teaching be reconciled with other passages of Scripture that outline how to confront a fellow believer about their sin? (See: Matthew 18:15; Galatians 6:1)

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Part three of this series will talk about the tension between this passage and others in scripture.

Don't Judge Me: Part 1 of 4

“Do not judge so that you will not be judged.” This phrase, spoken by Jesus in Matthew 7:1, seems to be thrown around quite a bit in Christian circles. Here, Jesus is making a case against the hypocrite who tries to “remove the speck” from his brother’s eye, without seeing the “beam” in his own. Jesus warns that “by the standard you judge you will be judged”, thus taking away some of the gusto with which we so gleefully condemn our own friends.

So what’s the big deal with judging, anyway? What does it mean to judge someone? In what manner should we judge those around us? Should we even be judging those around us? Before I offer an answer to the above questions, I'd like to take a look at a passage in James.

James 4:11-12 says,
"Do not speak against one another, brothers and sisters. He who speaks against a fellow believer or judges a fellow believer speaks against the law and judges the laws. But if you judge the law, you are not a doer of the law but its judge. (12) But there is only one who is lawgiver and judge - the one who is able to save and destroy. On the other hand, who are you to judge your neighbor?"

James begins this section with an imperative - "Do not speak against one another." He quickly expands this thought into the idea of one who "speaks against" and "judges" a fellow believer. James then goes on to list several reasons as to why this passing of judgment isn't such a good idea.

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Part two of this series will take a look at the reasons James lists as to why we are not to "speak against one another".

Night Light Reading

If you're in need of a good read-a-short-chapter-once-a-day-before-I-doze-off-to-sleep book, you've come to the right place. I have read this book three times, and it truly is a great read. It was originally published in 2004 as "The Passion of Jesus Christ", it was then re-published in 2006 under the title, "50 Reasons Why Jesus Came to Die". This book by John Piper is intellectually/spiritually stimulating regardless of how long you've been a Christian (or even if Christ means nothing to you).

Every chapter presents a reason why Christ came to die (...to absorb the wrath of God; ...to secure our resurrection from the dead; ...to show that the worst evil is meant by God for good), is only two pages long, and includes one or more scripture passages followed by an insightful commentary.

Here is an excerpt from chapter 28 entitled, "Christ suffered and died...to free us from the futility of our ancestry."

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"You were ransomed from the futile ways inherited form your forefathers, not with perishable things such as silver or gold, but with the precious blood of Christ, like that of a lamb without blemish or spot."

I Peter 1:18-19

Secular people in the West, and more primitive people in animistic tribes, have this in common: They believe in the power of ancestral bondage. They call it by different names. Animistic people may speak in terms of ancestral spirits and the transmission of curses. Secular people may speak of genetic influence or the wounding of abusive, codependent, emotionally distant parents. In both cases there is a sense of fatalism that we are bound to live with the curse or the wounds from our ancestry. The future seems futile and void of happiness....

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Change Has Come Today

“Some things never change.” Usually this phrase is accompanied with a knowing chuckle after crazy Uncle Bob tells that same joke, or exhibits that all-too-familiar idiosyncrasy for the hundredth time. All joking aside however, do people change? Or, perhaps more importantly, can people change? Before you get married, people will tell you, “You can’t assume that your spouse is going to change. You have to be willing to marry them, warts and all!”

A couple of months ago, I heard a radio host say something like, “I used to think I could change people…I don’t think that anymore. I don’t try to change people, because, you are what you are. “ The latter part of that quote is rather bold - “You are what you are.” Convert it to first person and you get, “I am what I am.” Seems like somebody said that once…and it wasn’t crazy Uncle Bob. (Hint: It was God - Exodus 3:14)

You see, I’ve got to believe that people can change. If I didn’t, I'd go crazy. It’s that hope, the hope for transformed lives through Christ, that keeps me moving forward.

Comfortable?

"Blessed is the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles so that we may be able to comfort those experiencing any trouble with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God."
2 Corinthians 1:3-4

I used to think of these verses strictly in terms of the so-called "problem of evil". That is, I used to think that this passage only gave a reason for our "troubles", namely, so that we can help others "experiencing any trouble". I no longer view these verses in only this context, and hope to walk you through a whole new way of looking at this Pauline teaching.

Ok, here we go...

Paul begins this section with a brief, straightforward doxology, "Blessed is the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ". He then focuses on a particular aspect of God's character, saying, "the Father of mercies and God of all comfort". Notice that comfort is attached to God (and again at the end of v. 4). In the Greek, the word "comfort" could be taken as a genitive of content, and would read "God is full of all comfort".

Keep that in mind because Paul is going to describe an "interaction" of comfort between God and man. Paul says that God is the one "who comforts us in all our troubles". Notice, God comforts man. But, Paul doesn't stop here, he describes another "interaction" of comfort, "so that we may be able to comfort those experiencing any trouble" This time, man comforts man.

Here's where it gets interesting, Paul says that we comfort each other, "with the comfort with which we ourselves were comforted by God." What an incredible concept. First, God comforts man, then man takes that same comfort, and comforts other men.

The implications are startling, God allows us to, how can I say this without sounding heretical, function as God towards those around us. What a humbling thought, that God would choose to use fallen human vessels for His service. Analogous to How God reveals His glory through the heavens (Psalm 19), God actually chooses to reveal Himself through the agency of human beings as well.

My question to you is this, "Can people see God in you?" When someone needs comforting, do you show them the comfort of God Himself? You might be the channel through whom God expresses his comfort. The people around you have the chance to catch a small glimpse of God's comfort through, don't miss this, you! The God of the universe, who had the bright of idea of 'comfort' in the first place, chooses to, at times, give comfort to His creation, through His creation. Amazing.

The Standard in All things Human

If I had to pick one thing that bothers me about Christians/the Church/Christendom today, it's our lack of drive to be the absolute best. We ought to strive for nothing less than excellence in all of our endeavours. We are a reflection of the God we serve, and looking around at God's reflectors here in America, God seems pretty, well, lousy.

Jesus asks us to function as lights to society, so that they can "see our good deeds and give honor to our Father in heaven." Furthermore, in I Corinthians Paul said that we should do everything for God's glory.

If God is really so great (not to mention real) why aren't His followers great? Why aren't we producing the most talented music, running the most successful businesses, building the most efficient houses, writing the most brilliant books, developing the most advanced technology, and altogether running circles around the competition?

To make matters worse, we hypocritically condemn the "secular" pursuits of the world, only to capitalize on their developments. We use cell phones, drive cars, shop at stores, watch TV, take medication, live in houses, and enjoy other such "worldly" creations. Basically, we mooch off of society's advancements, all the while touting an I-only-pursue-God-and-I-don't-waste-my-time-on-temporary-pleasures-because-I-am-so-spiritual attitude.

We tell ourselves that anything other than Bible study and prayer is somehow un-spiritual, and so we don't pursue our interests with excellence (i.e. we aren't good "contributors to society"). If it's worth doing, it's worth doing well. If you think it would be a waste of time to perform something you do with anything short of excellence, you are wasting your time. God has given us dominion over this world, and has asked us to bring honor and glory to His reputation. We are supposed to be making God famous. People should watch what we do, and see the glory of God. God has saved us from an old life of bondage to sin, and brought us into a new life of bondage to Him. We have been brought from death to life. We should want to please God, by doing our absolute best for Him. Anything else damages the reputation of God.

The problem comes when I look in the mirror. Am I an excellent writer? researcher? assistant manager? citizen? church member? husband? Do I contribute something worthwhile to others, or just leach off of other's accomplishments?

Truth is, I'm a pretty mediocre guy. Maybe the problem isn't other Christians. Maybe the problem is me.

No Harm, No Foul

I think we underestimate the tremendous impact the consequences of an action have on our judgment of the morality of that action. If we do something stupid, we quickly whip out our “Consequence Meter” and begin to gauge just how stupid said action really was in the first place. Let me offer a couple of illustrations in order to try and clarify my point.

Several months ago, I was driving through a section of downtown Chattanooga with which I was fairly unfamiliar. I was busy checking road signs, trying to get into the correct lane, and undoubtedly, (though I don’t completely remember) adjusting the radio. Suddenly, I became under the distinct impression that something wasn’t quite right. It was at this point I realized, while blowing through a busy intersection in broad daylight without a care in the world, the light - my light - was red!

Amazingly, I didn’t get into an accident, or get a ticket (I didn’t even get a ticket in the mail a few weeks later from those intersection camera thingamajigs). The only significant consequence of this bone-headed move on my part was that my heart rate increased for a few minutes. Other than that, it was business as usual for the rest of the day, and I felt very, very little guilt for running the red light. However, can you imagine if I had struck a car, and killed someone? What if I had killed a whole family? I would still be feeling absorbed with guilt, even to this day. I would have forever regretted not paying attention on that could-have-been-fateful day. The odd thing is, in either scenario (getting off scot-free vs. killing a family of five) I made the EXACT SAME MISTAKE - I ran a red-light. My evaluation of the mistake however, boiled down to the significance of the consequences.

Allow me to give a second illustration to complete the point. How many times have you said something to someone, only to wonder if maybe whatever it was you said would have been better left, well, unsaid. Confused? The other day I said something I shouldn’t have. (I’m sure that comes as a shock to all of you) I said something rude/embarrassing/insulting to a friend of mine. When I said it, I was afraid I had hurt his feelings so I asked him, “Are you mad at me? Did I hurt your feelings?” Why did I ask him that? Because I was going to judge the morality of what I said based on his response. If he had laughed it off, I would have been tempted to continue in my rude/embarrassing/insulting ways. If he had become upset or hurt, I would have felt terrible about what I had said, and judged what I had said to be wrong. In other words, I didn’t so much care whether or not I had said something rude, I only cared if HE cared. I was judging my behavior based on the consequences. (I am fully aware that in some instances, other people’s sensitivities/culture should guide what we say, that’s not what I’m talking about here).

So what’s the point? My point is, pay attention to how often you judge morality based on the consequences. There is a good deal of temporary injustice in this sin cursed world. Chances are, you might do something dreadfully bad and (don’t miss this) get away with it. Or, you might do something heroically good, only to draw the short straw.

News Flash: Sometimes good things happen to bad people. Truly mind-blowing. It’s so counter-intuitive to how we think. We think that if you’re doing the right thing, then people will respect you, you’ll have money in the bank, your boss will notice you, your friends will be loyal to you, and you’ll have a massive impact. Being a God-pleaser doesn’t always mean cake and ice-cream. At least not now. But, don’t be deceived. God is not mocked, whatever a man sows, that will he also reap. (Galatians 6:7)

Not Guilty

Ten things (in no particular order) I feel guilty about.... (I got this idea from my sister-in-law's blog, Ceaseless Praise)


1. When I get more than 7 hours of sleep on a weeknight. I just hate the thought of sleeping away 1\3 of my life.

2. If I'm a poor testimony at work. It is so hard to maintain a good testimony for 40 hours each week. Which is really sad, because I'm supposed to be a good testimony 168 hours a week.

3. For the people in my life during my high school and college days that I treated like a jerk. I'm not proud of some of the ways I've treated people...I wish I could somehow make it up to them.

4. When I raise my voice at my wife. I still don't think I realize the full impact my harsh words have on her.

5. When I watch TV, play games, or surf the web instead of getting work done. This probably happens way more than I realize.

6. When I'm selfish in conversations, and don't ask people about their day\how they are doing. I do this a lot.

7. For leaving my friends in Ohio. This is one of those bizarre things that still comes back and bothers me. I know I left Ohio to go college, but I still just feel guilty about leaving.

8. When I don't listen very well to my wife when she tells me about her day. For guys, their day was either, "Good" or "Not Bad".

9. When I miss\don't create an opportunity to share with someone about my Savior, Jesus Christ. There's no excuse for this.

10. For being judgemental and not loving people like I should. I wonder how many people I have written off just because, "They rubbed me the wrong way." Imagine how many good friendships I've missed out on, because I was selfish and proud.
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I'm not trying to wallow in guilt, just some honest reflection. I'm so grateful my sins are forgiven through Christ (though not every one of these is a moral issue), but I don't want to keep sinning so that grace may abound!

Moral Vacuum

Like it or not, actions have consequences. Sometimes, we only think of this statement within the context of our own little world - "My actions affect me." While that statement is true, it's incomplete. In reality, "My actions affect myself AND others." As hard as we may try to escape from the world, 99% of the time, we can't. To complicate matters, it's often hard to predict the ripple-affect our actions are going to have, and sometimes we don't even fully see or realize the full impact of our decisions.

For example, take the conflict going on right now in the Gaza strip between Israel and Hamas. While this not-so-little skirmish is technically going on between only two parties (Israel and Hamas), MANY different parties have been affected. Civilians have lost their lives, the safety of reporters has been put in jeopardy, the attempted relief efforts of the U.N. have been hindered, international relations within the middle east have been strained (even more than normal) - and those are just a few of the ones we can readily see. Imagine how long this list would become if we had infinite knowledge? When one party sins against another, other parties are inevitably affected. Interestingly, the negative affect a divorce has on the children (Party C) is talked about just as much as (if not more than) the negative affect divorce has on the couple (Parties A and B)!

To expand the illustration, think about the inter-connectedness within the Body of Christ, the Church. When one member strays from the Lord, it adversely affects a specific part of the Body, which in turns affects the whole. Truth be told, I am not acting very loving towards my fellow brothers and sisters in Christ when I sin against God. What a humbling thought. I'd like to live as though my sin is my problem, something that I'll deal with in the privacy of my own world. I'd like to live as though my sin is no one's business but my own. What a sad, selfish (not to mention - incorrect) way of thinking. As much as it pains me to admit it, my sin is other people's business. Kind of puts the concept of accountability in a whole new light, doesn't it?