This is the last post in a series on Christians and sin.
The first post in this series was: My Favourite Commandment
http://makarios-makarios.blogspot.com/2010/01/my-favourite-commandment.html
The second: My Favourite sin
http://makarios-makarios.blogspot.com/2010/01/my-favourite-sin.html
The third: I yam what I yam
http://makarios-makarios.blogspot.com/2010/01/i-yam-what-i-yam.html
The fourth: The Big Lie
http://makarios-makarios.blogspot.com/2010/01/big-lie.html
The fifth: Let’s be Honest
http://makarios-makarios.blogspot.com/2010/01/pharisee-in-me.html
The sixth: The Pharisee in Me
http://makarios-makarios.blogspot.com/2010/01/pharisee-in-me.html
Those outside the Church many times express shock and outrage when Christians disobey the One they claim to follow. As I’ve stated in this series, far too many Christians react in a similar manner. My question for both groups is, why? Is there anything in the Bible to suggest that God uses “good” people to accomplish His plan for Creation?
Do you not remember Lot and his daughters? Noah and his drunken stupor? Solomon and his wives and concubines? David killing his “lover’s” husband? The murderer Moses? Samson who loved his prostitutes. The wickedness of Eli’s sons? The liar Jacob? The denial of Peter? The doubting of Thomas? The murderer Saul?
Abraham, as with those who trust Jesus for salvation was COUNTED AS RIGHTEOUS. Anyone who knows the account of Abraham’s life knows that “righteous” cannot mean that he was perfect, or even good. Abraham, like every human alive was at the very least a liar and a deceiver. We do not become righteous in a behavioural sense. Based upon our acceptance of Jesus’ offer of forgiveness, we are COUNTED as righteous.
The only reason that God uses spiritual failures is because that is the only kind of human beings that He has to work with.
To a person, we humans are hypocrites, liars, cheats and bigots.
To a person, we humans are selfish and self-centred and rebellious to the core.
Both Kierkegaard and Lewis say something similar in regard to sin and forgiveness.
Lewis said, “No one knows how bad he is until he’s tried really hard to be good.”
Kierkegaard said that the way to become authentically Christian is to take any one of Jesus’ teachings and try to keep it.
These men are not saying that following any one teaching of Jesus would make us better Christians. What they mean is that if we try to follow Christ’s teaching, we’ll be driven to an awareness of our own sinfulness and the need for continual forgiveness.
As Kierkegaard said, “It’s a consoling idea that we are always in the wrong and we can do nothing to remedy the situation.” I couldn’t agree more. It’s a concept somewhat similar to the freedom that comes with accepting that “The only person I can change is myself.” Many refuse to accept the truth of either statement and both they and those around them suffer accordingly.
God takes those of us who are lost, and weak and who are like sheep without a shepherd and He makes us forgiven and faithful - faithful in our desire, NOT our success, but our desire to serve the One who made it possible for us to live in a forgiven relationship with our Creator.
Those on the outside use the witness of our imperfections as an excuse for a continued rejection of Jesus’ offer of salvation.
Let us, who know the goodness of our Saviour and Creator use our imperfections as a reminder that everyday we need forgiveness. Let us, who know the goodness and mercy and grace of our Creator "come boldly and with confidence to the throne of grace where we can receive mercy and find grace in our time of need." Amen and Amen.
Showing posts with label Christians. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Christians. Show all posts
Friday, January 15, 2010
Wednesday, January 13, 2010
I yam what I yam
Ginx asked me to do a post on Christians who sin. He did so because some Christians wear expensive suits and this really irritates him. Because we Christians sin so persistently, one post just won’t do.
The first post in this series was: “My Favourite Commandment”
http://makarios-makarios.blogspot.com/2010/01/my-favourite-commandment.html
The second post: “My Favourite Sin”
http://makarios-makarios.blogspot.com/2010/01/my-favourite-sin.html
One of the things about becoming a Christian is that it is God who draws us to Jesus Jn.6:44. Atheists would like to use this as “See! I told you there wasn’t freewill.” Wrong, wrong, wrong yet again.
God draws to Jesus those He ALREADY knows will accept His offer of salvation.
God draws to Jesus those He ALREADY knows will exercise their freewill to stop rejecting their Creator and instead they will CHOOSE to accept the forgiveness being offered.
God does this drawing in by means of two primary methods.
.One, is through an awareness of God’s love and patience and mercy and grace.
.The other method of drawing in is through opening our eyes to our desperate need for forgiveness, i.e., opening our eyes to our sinful and corrupt nature.
Often these two methods of contact are used in combination.
I’m a really good example of Christians who sin. I don’t own any expensive suits, Ginx, but . . .
Anyhow, there’s another guy who is very similar to me. The apostle Paul described himself as the “worst of sinners.” That’s really something for a Pharisee to say. You have to understand that Pharisees believe that they can be “good” people, just based on their behaviours. Now, this guy Paul? The guy killed and tortured people so, you know, he was pretty bad. On the other hand, Paul justified his killing because he was doing it for a good reason - to get rid of Christians.
The thing is, I’m just as bad. If motives and thoughts count, Paul’s got nothin on me.
Some people might say,
“That’s stupid. If we go by what we think, then all of us would fail.”
Now you’re getting it. :-)
Our thoughts determine what we do.
Pure thoughts > pure actions.
Evil thoughts > evil actions.
“For from within, out of men's hearts, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, greed, malice, deceit, lewdness, envy, slander, arrogance and folly. All these evils come from inside and make a man unclean." Mark 7:21-23
This was written, I might add, several thousand years before psychologists “discovered” the same.
Without God’s standard, without the objective morals, values and obligations that exist BECAUSE God exists, we all invent a moral code that ensures that we pass. Without God’s objective standard of right and wrong we judge others by their behaviours while judging ourselves by our intentions. Like the Pharisees of Jesus time, many today judge one’s righteousness by outward appearance. For many, our goodness is dependent on what we can get away with. Not so in God’s world. God judges by who we really are and we really are desperately wicked.
The process that takes us from thinking that we’re good people, to accepting reality is shown in Acts 9:18. Prior to meeting Jesus, Paul thought that he was a good person. He thought in fact that by killing Christians, he was doing God a favour. After his encounter with the risen Jesus, Paul’s physical and spiritual transformation from blindness to sight was described as “Something like scales falling from his eyes.”
When God reveals our sinfulness to us, we go from self-righteousness (thinking that we are good in and of ourselves) to realising we have no righteousness apart from that given to us by Jesus. When God reveals our sinfulness to us, we go from finding fault with others (Paul persecuting Christians) to realising that those who we’re condemning are loved by God. God loves atheists and when I condemn atheists as opposed to atheISM, I am fighting against God Himself. When I condemn atheists as opposed to atheISM, I am working against what God is doing in their lives. Not a good situation.
I am what I am and what I am is a sinner in desperate need of forgiveness.
So, if I’m “saved” aren’t I supposed to be a good person? Now that I’m a Christian, aren’t I supposed to be perfect? That’s what many people seem to think. That’s the standard to which they hold us. Actually, that’s just a smokescreen. For example:
1. People demand that Christianity make Christians perfect
2. People see that Christians aren’t perfect
3. People use that as an excuse for not becoming a Christian
Don’t get me wrong. I’m not blaming atheists or anyone else for thinking that Christians are supposed to be these really good people.
That’s a lie that we ourselves project and in some cases, we even believe it ourselves. More on that in the next post.
The first post in this series was: “My Favourite Commandment”
http://makarios-makarios.blogspot.com/2010/01/my-favourite-commandment.html
The second post: “My Favourite Sin”
http://makarios-makarios.blogspot.com/2010/01/my-favourite-sin.html
One of the things about becoming a Christian is that it is God who draws us to Jesus Jn.6:44. Atheists would like to use this as “See! I told you there wasn’t freewill.” Wrong, wrong, wrong yet again.
God draws to Jesus those He ALREADY knows will accept His offer of salvation.
God draws to Jesus those He ALREADY knows will exercise their freewill to stop rejecting their Creator and instead they will CHOOSE to accept the forgiveness being offered.
God does this drawing in by means of two primary methods.
.One, is through an awareness of God’s love and patience and mercy and grace.
.The other method of drawing in is through opening our eyes to our desperate need for forgiveness, i.e., opening our eyes to our sinful and corrupt nature.
Often these two methods of contact are used in combination.
I’m a really good example of Christians who sin. I don’t own any expensive suits, Ginx, but . . .
Anyhow, there’s another guy who is very similar to me. The apostle Paul described himself as the “worst of sinners.” That’s really something for a Pharisee to say. You have to understand that Pharisees believe that they can be “good” people, just based on their behaviours. Now, this guy Paul? The guy killed and tortured people so, you know, he was pretty bad. On the other hand, Paul justified his killing because he was doing it for a good reason - to get rid of Christians.
The thing is, I’m just as bad. If motives and thoughts count, Paul’s got nothin on me.
Some people might say,
“That’s stupid. If we go by what we think, then all of us would fail.”
Now you’re getting it. :-)
Our thoughts determine what we do.
Pure thoughts > pure actions.
Evil thoughts > evil actions.
“For from within, out of men's hearts, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, greed, malice, deceit, lewdness, envy, slander, arrogance and folly. All these evils come from inside and make a man unclean." Mark 7:21-23
This was written, I might add, several thousand years before psychologists “discovered” the same.
Without God’s standard, without the objective morals, values and obligations that exist BECAUSE God exists, we all invent a moral code that ensures that we pass. Without God’s objective standard of right and wrong we judge others by their behaviours while judging ourselves by our intentions. Like the Pharisees of Jesus time, many today judge one’s righteousness by outward appearance. For many, our goodness is dependent on what we can get away with. Not so in God’s world. God judges by who we really are and we really are desperately wicked.
The process that takes us from thinking that we’re good people, to accepting reality is shown in Acts 9:18. Prior to meeting Jesus, Paul thought that he was a good person. He thought in fact that by killing Christians, he was doing God a favour. After his encounter with the risen Jesus, Paul’s physical and spiritual transformation from blindness to sight was described as “Something like scales falling from his eyes.”
When God reveals our sinfulness to us, we go from self-righteousness (thinking that we are good in and of ourselves) to realising we have no righteousness apart from that given to us by Jesus. When God reveals our sinfulness to us, we go from finding fault with others (Paul persecuting Christians) to realising that those who we’re condemning are loved by God. God loves atheists and when I condemn atheists as opposed to atheISM, I am fighting against God Himself. When I condemn atheists as opposed to atheISM, I am working against what God is doing in their lives. Not a good situation.
I am what I am and what I am is a sinner in desperate need of forgiveness.
So, if I’m “saved” aren’t I supposed to be a good person? Now that I’m a Christian, aren’t I supposed to be perfect? That’s what many people seem to think. That’s the standard to which they hold us. Actually, that’s just a smokescreen. For example:
1. People demand that Christianity make Christians perfect
2. People see that Christians aren’t perfect
3. People use that as an excuse for not becoming a Christian
Don’t get me wrong. I’m not blaming atheists or anyone else for thinking that Christians are supposed to be these really good people.
That’s a lie that we ourselves project and in some cases, we even believe it ourselves. More on that in the next post.
Monday, January 11, 2010
My Favourite Commandment
Ginx thinks that I should do a post on Christians who sin. He thinks that I should do this because some Christian men wear expensive suits.
Because I have a lot to say, and because we Christians sin so persistently, one post will not do. Therefore this will be a series.
First of all, what is “sin” or “sinning”? As I define it, sin is anything that contradicts or goes against the will of our Creator. In order to let us know His will, we have been given guidelines.
To help with clarity, if this was regarding the guidelines that come with your vehicle, it would be a sin to rev your engine to 6,500 rpms and hold it there for five minutes. Manufacturer’s guidelines, whether for your vehicle or for you are meant to protect the product from damage.
Stripped down to the bottom line, OUR Manufacturer’s guidelines say, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, all your mind, and all your strength and Love your neighbour as yourself.” These two guidelines encompass all the others. Another way of putting it is, “Treat others the way you would want others to treat you.” Examples of what that might look like are, don’t murder, don’t take what doesn’t belong to you, don’t tell lies, etc. etc. Most people reading this are quite familiar with these guidelines as they are found in the “Ten Commandments.”
All Christians have at least one favourite commandment. The favourite is usually the one(s) that we find easiest to obey. You can tell which commandment is someone's favourite because that's the one that is commented on when other people AREN’T obeying it. This isn’t just a Christian behaviour. Most people love making up rules for themselves and others. And most people love pointing out when others aren’t keeping the rules. In fact we have whole programs called The News that give us the details of how people haven’t kept the rules. Rules are one of the easiest ways of keeping score. Rules tell us Who’s good. Who’s bad. Who’s in. Who’s out. Some people have jobs to ensure that other people keep the rules. Others, often Christians, take it upon themselves, on a voluntary basis, to make sure that other people are keeping the rules. If this type of behaviour is kept within the confines of one’s home, usually the negative impact on society is kept to a minimum.
Unfortunately, enforcing “rule keeping” (aka proper or acceptable behaviour) takes a special kind of personality. That’s why the Bible has guidelines about how the “Spiritual Leader” of the home should go about guiding his family in rule keeping / obey God’s law / not sinning.
NOTE: The role of Spiritual Leader should not be confused with any other type of leadership role in the home.
I can tell that Ginx is getting anxious to hear about Christians who sin so I’ll get to that straight away.
I can’t tell you how many Christian husbands I’ve worked with who believe they are doing a good job of being the Spiritual Leader of their homes. Instead they’re spiritual bullies or tyrants.
From the perspective of the counselling that I do, a Spiritual Leader models for the family what it means to:
Submit
Forgive
Be a servant-leader
Display mercy and grace and tenderness and gentleness to the members of his family.
So very many of the men with whom I work display none or at least very few of those characteristics - BUT - at least no one in the family is allowed to go to a movie on Sunday.
In homes with Spiritual bullies, it’s not always the Sabbath rule that’s the favourite, but there will be some rule or set of rules that this leader is forcing on his family as a means of keeping track of how good he / they are doing in their relationship with Jesus. Their kids might hate them and their wives might want to leave them, but they're very good at making sure their kids do not wear jeans to Church, thereby proving in their own minds how close they are to the Lord.
One guy in particular stands out. Pastors are especially prone to neglecting their families while “doing God’s work.” It’s a notoriously difficult profession in which to find balance. At any rate, this Pastor would tell me, session after session how he was praying in tongues and having these profound visions and his church was growing by leaps and bounds (we must not forget that God’s blessings are not necessarily a sign of our good standing). Yet, like the cases mentioned above, his kids hated him, and this, his third wife wanted to leave him. When I moved him toward the above picture of Spiritual Leadership - servant leadership - he became very agitated, moved to the edge of his chair and with his index finger stabbing the air this Pastor said, “I am NOT going to be the suffering servant in this relationship!” And with that, ended his third marriage. The congregation split. A couple people left Christianity for good.
Whenever we put rules and appearance ahead of loving people, the results are tragic.
The Pharisees of Jesus’ day had their favourite commandments as well. Interestingly, and for no obvious reason, their most favourite was the Sabbath. Don’t do ANYTHING on the Sabbath. Like modern day spiritual tyrants, the Pharisees had found their identity in keeping rules. While “Keeping the Sabbath” originally meant, ceasing from your normal routine (an incredibly psychologically and physically healthy thing to do) the Pharisees had established thirty-nine CATEGORIES of things you could not do on the Sabbath. Pharisees - then and now - live by the saying, If anything is worth doing, it’s worth doing to the extreme.
Jesus said, “Love the Lord your God with all you heart, with all your soul, with all your mind and with all your strength, and Love your neighbour as yourself. Keep only these two commands and you will be keeping all the rest as well.
. Without the help of our Creator, consistently loving God and loving others as we love ourselves is impossible. That’s because loving others requires that we put others before ourselves.
. We’re usually pretty good at keeping rules that make us look good in the eyes of others. Unfortunately for us, God said, “I don’t want your sacrifices. I want you to show mercy.”
Loving others / Keeping rules.
Guess which we choose as a means of showing to ourselves and others our degree of holiness?
God’s laws were meant to be a means of blessing us, of protecting us from the inherent human tendency toward self-destructive behaviours. Rather than being blessed by these guidelines, this inherent human tendency toward self-destructive behaviours causes us to take these very same rules and create for ourselves and others an impossible burden of keeping score.
The more that people’s lives feel out of control, the more rules they are likely to add to their daily routine.
What a dreadful mess we’re in. Who can save us from ourselves? Thank God that it’s already been done. While we were still His enemies, Jesus died for us, setting us free from the power of sin. Inner freedom is at our finger tips. All we have to do is reach out and take hold of His offer.
Because I have a lot to say, and because we Christians sin so persistently, one post will not do. Therefore this will be a series.
First of all, what is “sin” or “sinning”? As I define it, sin is anything that contradicts or goes against the will of our Creator. In order to let us know His will, we have been given guidelines.
To help with clarity, if this was regarding the guidelines that come with your vehicle, it would be a sin to rev your engine to 6,500 rpms and hold it there for five minutes. Manufacturer’s guidelines, whether for your vehicle or for you are meant to protect the product from damage.
Stripped down to the bottom line, OUR Manufacturer’s guidelines say, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, all your mind, and all your strength and Love your neighbour as yourself.” These two guidelines encompass all the others. Another way of putting it is, “Treat others the way you would want others to treat you.” Examples of what that might look like are, don’t murder, don’t take what doesn’t belong to you, don’t tell lies, etc. etc. Most people reading this are quite familiar with these guidelines as they are found in the “Ten Commandments.”
All Christians have at least one favourite commandment. The favourite is usually the one(s) that we find easiest to obey. You can tell which commandment is someone's favourite because that's the one that is commented on when other people AREN’T obeying it. This isn’t just a Christian behaviour. Most people love making up rules for themselves and others. And most people love pointing out when others aren’t keeping the rules. In fact we have whole programs called The News that give us the details of how people haven’t kept the rules. Rules are one of the easiest ways of keeping score. Rules tell us Who’s good. Who’s bad. Who’s in. Who’s out. Some people have jobs to ensure that other people keep the rules. Others, often Christians, take it upon themselves, on a voluntary basis, to make sure that other people are keeping the rules. If this type of behaviour is kept within the confines of one’s home, usually the negative impact on society is kept to a minimum.
Unfortunately, enforcing “rule keeping” (aka proper or acceptable behaviour) takes a special kind of personality. That’s why the Bible has guidelines about how the “Spiritual Leader” of the home should go about guiding his family in rule keeping / obey God’s law / not sinning.
NOTE: The role of Spiritual Leader should not be confused with any other type of leadership role in the home.
I can tell that Ginx is getting anxious to hear about Christians who sin so I’ll get to that straight away.
I can’t tell you how many Christian husbands I’ve worked with who believe they are doing a good job of being the Spiritual Leader of their homes. Instead they’re spiritual bullies or tyrants.
From the perspective of the counselling that I do, a Spiritual Leader models for the family what it means to:
Submit
Forgive
Be a servant-leader
Display mercy and grace and tenderness and gentleness to the members of his family.
So very many of the men with whom I work display none or at least very few of those characteristics - BUT - at least no one in the family is allowed to go to a movie on Sunday.
In homes with Spiritual bullies, it’s not always the Sabbath rule that’s the favourite, but there will be some rule or set of rules that this leader is forcing on his family as a means of keeping track of how good he / they are doing in their relationship with Jesus. Their kids might hate them and their wives might want to leave them, but they're very good at making sure their kids do not wear jeans to Church, thereby proving in their own minds how close they are to the Lord.
One guy in particular stands out. Pastors are especially prone to neglecting their families while “doing God’s work.” It’s a notoriously difficult profession in which to find balance. At any rate, this Pastor would tell me, session after session how he was praying in tongues and having these profound visions and his church was growing by leaps and bounds (we must not forget that God’s blessings are not necessarily a sign of our good standing). Yet, like the cases mentioned above, his kids hated him, and this, his third wife wanted to leave him. When I moved him toward the above picture of Spiritual Leadership - servant leadership - he became very agitated, moved to the edge of his chair and with his index finger stabbing the air this Pastor said, “I am NOT going to be the suffering servant in this relationship!” And with that, ended his third marriage. The congregation split. A couple people left Christianity for good.
Whenever we put rules and appearance ahead of loving people, the results are tragic.
The Pharisees of Jesus’ day had their favourite commandments as well. Interestingly, and for no obvious reason, their most favourite was the Sabbath. Don’t do ANYTHING on the Sabbath. Like modern day spiritual tyrants, the Pharisees had found their identity in keeping rules. While “Keeping the Sabbath” originally meant, ceasing from your normal routine (an incredibly psychologically and physically healthy thing to do) the Pharisees had established thirty-nine CATEGORIES of things you could not do on the Sabbath. Pharisees - then and now - live by the saying, If anything is worth doing, it’s worth doing to the extreme.
Jesus said, “Love the Lord your God with all you heart, with all your soul, with all your mind and with all your strength, and Love your neighbour as yourself. Keep only these two commands and you will be keeping all the rest as well.
. Without the help of our Creator, consistently loving God and loving others as we love ourselves is impossible. That’s because loving others requires that we put others before ourselves.
. We’re usually pretty good at keeping rules that make us look good in the eyes of others. Unfortunately for us, God said, “I don’t want your sacrifices. I want you to show mercy.”
Loving others / Keeping rules.
Guess which we choose as a means of showing to ourselves and others our degree of holiness?
God’s laws were meant to be a means of blessing us, of protecting us from the inherent human tendency toward self-destructive behaviours. Rather than being blessed by these guidelines, this inherent human tendency toward self-destructive behaviours causes us to take these very same rules and create for ourselves and others an impossible burden of keeping score.
The more that people’s lives feel out of control, the more rules they are likely to add to their daily routine.
What a dreadful mess we’re in. Who can save us from ourselves? Thank God that it’s already been done. While we were still His enemies, Jesus died for us, setting us free from the power of sin. Inner freedom is at our finger tips. All we have to do is reach out and take hold of His offer.
Wednesday, December 23, 2009
Life Is Funny That Way
I can’t remember who it was but some guy commented on how adoption just wouldn’t be something that he could do.
Me neither.
My wife and I didn’t become Christians until 5 - 6 years into our marriage. Like many non-believers, I didn’t want to have ANY children (who could bring a kid into this rotten world ya-da ya-da). My real reason was I didn’t want to have other people take chunks of my life away from me - i.e., I was profoundly selfish.
Well, life has a way of changing.
As I could see one of these changes coming down the road, and no way to avoid it (not if I wanted to be able to look at myself in the mirror) I remember sitting out in the backyard and saying to God, “Father, if you want me to take these children, I need you to change me because my attitude stinks.”
In the blink of an eye it was done.
Atheists will say this was some psychological manipulation. I say it wasn’t. I know psychological manipulation. Psychological manipulation requires time and effort. It requires work to challenge our "wrong" thoughts and replace them with "correct" thoughts. I’ve used psychological manipulation and taught it to many hundreds if not over a thousand people before that incident and since. I know what it looks like, sounds like, feels like. This was something completely different.
In the blink of an eye my attitude went from practically everything negative to anticipation, joy, excitement and something I can’t quite explain. I’m not one to put any credence in feelings. I gag when Christians wait for a sense of peace in decision making. Some of the most important and correct decisions we will ever make will involve anything and everything except a sense of peace. In my counselling I’m prone to advise people to avoid making any decisions based on feelings of peace or otherwise. Our feelings lie and they lie frequently.
But this - well - like I said, this was different and my life has never been better ever since. At one point I didn’t want any kids and now I’m going to wind up raising seven of them. And I’m loving it.
Life is funny that way.
Happy Holy Days - and may the comfort of His presence allow for you to experience a Merry and Joyous Christmas
Me neither.
My wife and I didn’t become Christians until 5 - 6 years into our marriage. Like many non-believers, I didn’t want to have ANY children (who could bring a kid into this rotten world ya-da ya-da). My real reason was I didn’t want to have other people take chunks of my life away from me - i.e., I was profoundly selfish.
Well, life has a way of changing.
As I could see one of these changes coming down the road, and no way to avoid it (not if I wanted to be able to look at myself in the mirror) I remember sitting out in the backyard and saying to God, “Father, if you want me to take these children, I need you to change me because my attitude stinks.”
In the blink of an eye it was done.
Atheists will say this was some psychological manipulation. I say it wasn’t. I know psychological manipulation. Psychological manipulation requires time and effort. It requires work to challenge our "wrong" thoughts and replace them with "correct" thoughts. I’ve used psychological manipulation and taught it to many hundreds if not over a thousand people before that incident and since. I know what it looks like, sounds like, feels like. This was something completely different.
In the blink of an eye my attitude went from practically everything negative to anticipation, joy, excitement and something I can’t quite explain. I’m not one to put any credence in feelings. I gag when Christians wait for a sense of peace in decision making. Some of the most important and correct decisions we will ever make will involve anything and everything except a sense of peace. In my counselling I’m prone to advise people to avoid making any decisions based on feelings of peace or otherwise. Our feelings lie and they lie frequently.
But this - well - like I said, this was different and my life has never been better ever since. At one point I didn’t want any kids and now I’m going to wind up raising seven of them. And I’m loving it.
Life is funny that way.
Happy Holy Days - and may the comfort of His presence allow for you to experience a Merry and Joyous Christmas
Tuesday, October 20, 2009
Atheists Get It Right Again
Over the years I’ve noticed that atheists, from time to time express a more accurate understanding of Creator God than do many Christians. For example, asking the question, “How can a loving God allow suffering in the world,” is not just a question, it’s one of the most important questions ever. This morning it just dawned on me that atheists have got it right again. As it turns out, atheists also draw attention to the correct amount of horror, fear and dread regarding Creator God.
I used to think that the term “fear of the Lord” meant respect; like having respect for fire. At the very least that’s what it means. I’m not so sure anymore that's all that it means. In fact that kind of attitude might just be another example of the human condition. Our pride keeps us from experiencing a sense of awe when contemplating our Creator, and we’re too arrogant to experience the terror that is appropriate in the presence of a Being who is capable of sending us to eternal death.
Atheists at least get the latter issue. They are shocked that any God could, and worse, would keep them from entering heaven. Yet we can’t deny the fact that if the Bible is a revelation from God, to us, about Himself, fear is one of the emotions that He wishes to evoke in us. And, if what the Bible teaches about heaven and hell is correct, then fear is an appropriate response for those who choose to remain enemies of their Creator.
Now, here is where Christians part ways with the atheist. For Christians we will never experience the wrath of God; the wrath that we are told to fear. For atheists on the other hand, the future looks grim. The horror and the terror they attribute to this “monster” will be fully realised at the end of the atheist's short, short time on earth.
I used to think that the term “fear of the Lord” meant respect; like having respect for fire. At the very least that’s what it means. I’m not so sure anymore that's all that it means. In fact that kind of attitude might just be another example of the human condition. Our pride keeps us from experiencing a sense of awe when contemplating our Creator, and we’re too arrogant to experience the terror that is appropriate in the presence of a Being who is capable of sending us to eternal death.
Atheists at least get the latter issue. They are shocked that any God could, and worse, would keep them from entering heaven. Yet we can’t deny the fact that if the Bible is a revelation from God, to us, about Himself, fear is one of the emotions that He wishes to evoke in us. And, if what the Bible teaches about heaven and hell is correct, then fear is an appropriate response for those who choose to remain enemies of their Creator.
Now, here is where Christians part ways with the atheist. For Christians we will never experience the wrath of God; the wrath that we are told to fear. For atheists on the other hand, the future looks grim. The horror and the terror they attribute to this “monster” will be fully realised at the end of the atheist's short, short time on earth.
Monday, September 21, 2009
Freedom In or From Christ?
“In every country and in every age, the priest has been hostile to liberty.
(Thomas Jefferson, letter to Horatio G. Spafford, March 17, 1814)
It’s true. But why? We who have been born of love, set free from the law, breathing the clean air of forgiveness, how is it that we so soon turn back to rules? And how is it that we attempt to force non Christians to live by OUR guidelines?
Living life without Christ Jesus is punishment enough. Broken relationships, friendships that require layers of self-protection. Unfulfilled desires and longings. Meandering from one world-view to the next. No, non Christians don’t need us to help them to have a crappy life. They can do that all on their own. But why do we so quickly return to hunkering down under the mantle of rule-making, rule-obeying, ruling others with rules and rules and more rules?
Jesus set us free, free to enjoy life, free to know the difference between life-enhancing and life-destroying behaviours. I say, let the people go. While we do need members of government who are Christians, the last thing we need is a Christian government.
(Thomas Jefferson, letter to Horatio G. Spafford, March 17, 1814)
It’s true. But why? We who have been born of love, set free from the law, breathing the clean air of forgiveness, how is it that we so soon turn back to rules? And how is it that we attempt to force non Christians to live by OUR guidelines?
Living life without Christ Jesus is punishment enough. Broken relationships, friendships that require layers of self-protection. Unfulfilled desires and longings. Meandering from one world-view to the next. No, non Christians don’t need us to help them to have a crappy life. They can do that all on their own. But why do we so quickly return to hunkering down under the mantle of rule-making, rule-obeying, ruling others with rules and rules and more rules?
Jesus set us free, free to enjoy life, free to know the difference between life-enhancing and life-destroying behaviours. I say, let the people go. While we do need members of government who are Christians, the last thing we need is a Christian government.
Saturday, April 25, 2009
God’s Wrath for Christians? Mmm, Nope
THE BAD NEWS IS
Romans 1:18
The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of people who suppress the truth by their wickedness,
Romans 2:5
But because of your stubbornness and your unrepentant heart, you are storing up wrath against yourself for the day of God's wrath, when his righteous judgment will be revealed.
Romans 2:8
But for those who are self-seeking and who reject the truth and follow evil, there will be wrath and anger.
While these verses talk about what is in store for those who reject Jesus' salvation, reality is we all deserve God's wrath. We allow a world where children starve to death, Where children live as orphans, Where children are sold into sexual slavery. We allow a world where our tragic, defiled and hopeless inner-self is allowed to rule unchecked as we wage wars both secular and religious. We discriminate and marginalise. We judge and ridicule and mock. To a person we're hypocrites, liars, bigots, cheaters and adulterers. Yet our Creator God has provided a way to not get the eternal destruction that we deserve. Through faith in Jesus the Christ, who is God, there is good news.
THE GOOD NEWS IS
Romans 5:9
Since we have now been justified by his blood, how much more shall we be saved from God's wrath through him!
1 Thessalonians 5:9
For God did not appoint us to suffer wrath but to receive salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ.
We, as Christians do not need to fear that God is angry with us. When we fall away or disobey, He is saddened and longs for us to return to a life of peace which can only come through obedience. His anger is a non-issue for us because He sees us through the ‘lens’ of Jesus. We can relax. We can lean back into His arms and experience the warmth of His enormous love for us. Every single morning we can start the day by putting on the breastplate of God’s approval (righteousness).
For that, we owe Jesus our allegiance, our trust, our obedience.
Romans 1:18
The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of people who suppress the truth by their wickedness,
Romans 2:5
But because of your stubbornness and your unrepentant heart, you are storing up wrath against yourself for the day of God's wrath, when his righteous judgment will be revealed.
Romans 2:8
But for those who are self-seeking and who reject the truth and follow evil, there will be wrath and anger.
While these verses talk about what is in store for those who reject Jesus' salvation, reality is we all deserve God's wrath. We allow a world where children starve to death, Where children live as orphans, Where children are sold into sexual slavery. We allow a world where our tragic, defiled and hopeless inner-self is allowed to rule unchecked as we wage wars both secular and religious. We discriminate and marginalise. We judge and ridicule and mock. To a person we're hypocrites, liars, bigots, cheaters and adulterers. Yet our Creator God has provided a way to not get the eternal destruction that we deserve. Through faith in Jesus the Christ, who is God, there is good news.
THE GOOD NEWS IS
Romans 5:9
Since we have now been justified by his blood, how much more shall we be saved from God's wrath through him!
1 Thessalonians 5:9
For God did not appoint us to suffer wrath but to receive salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ.
We, as Christians do not need to fear that God is angry with us. When we fall away or disobey, He is saddened and longs for us to return to a life of peace which can only come through obedience. His anger is a non-issue for us because He sees us through the ‘lens’ of Jesus. We can relax. We can lean back into His arms and experience the warmth of His enormous love for us. Every single morning we can start the day by putting on the breastplate of God’s approval (righteousness).
For that, we owe Jesus our allegiance, our trust, our obedience.
Monday, April 13, 2009
You’re Invited!
I wrote a bit ago about how, even according to the Bible, we who are Christians really don’t amount to much, at least according to the world’s standards. It was the same with the first disciples.
If you were a male living in Jesus’ time, you would attend religious instruction until the age of 13. At that time, the best and the brightest would be chosen from among your peers to continue with their studies under the tutelage of a rabbi. The rest of us would go and find work wherever we could, be it a carpenter or a fisherman or day labourer or selling oneself as a slave / servant, or selling out to the Romans to collect taxes for them.
That’s who Jesus chose to be among His closest confidants. The losers. The dropouts. The manual labourers. Those who really weren’t going to amount to much in the eyes of the worldly wise.
Jesus said, “I haven’t come to save those who already think they’re righteous. I’ve come to save those who know they are lost.”
This is something that atheists simply cannot stand. Atheists are some of the most judgemental people on the face of the earth. They look down on and judge as having less value those who lack education or intelligence. That's sad but it should be expected. Atheists have nothing outside of themselves from which to draw their value, worth and sense of security.
So be glad! Rejoice! Jesus has chosen you to be part of His family.
If you were a male living in Jesus’ time, you would attend religious instruction until the age of 13. At that time, the best and the brightest would be chosen from among your peers to continue with their studies under the tutelage of a rabbi. The rest of us would go and find work wherever we could, be it a carpenter or a fisherman or day labourer or selling oneself as a slave / servant, or selling out to the Romans to collect taxes for them.
That’s who Jesus chose to be among His closest confidants. The losers. The dropouts. The manual labourers. Those who really weren’t going to amount to much in the eyes of the worldly wise.
Jesus said, “I haven’t come to save those who already think they’re righteous. I’ve come to save those who know they are lost.”
This is something that atheists simply cannot stand. Atheists are some of the most judgemental people on the face of the earth. They look down on and judge as having less value those who lack education or intelligence. That's sad but it should be expected. Atheists have nothing outside of themselves from which to draw their value, worth and sense of security.
So be glad! Rejoice! Jesus has chosen you to be part of His family.
Monday, July 16, 2007
The devil Made Me Do It!
“Can satan read our minds?” someone once asked. “It sure feels like it,” was my reply.
Yes. It certainly feels like it. Virtually every Christian knows the feeling, but Paul corrects that type of thinking. He begins in Romans 7:7. There Paul explains that the Law, the Commandments, the Rules to which we are exposed not only show us what we should and should not be doing. They also trigger in us a strong desire to do what we’re told to NOT do. As everyone knows, there is nothing like being told to not do something to make us really want to do it.
Why is that? Some people excuse their behaviours by saying, “The devil made me do it.” Paul points us somewhere else for the answer. He continues in verses 14 - 25 -
"I know that all God's commands are spiritual, but I'm not. Isn't this also your experience?" Yes. I'm full of myself - after all, I've spent a long time in sin's prison. What I don't understand about myself is that I decide one way, but then I act another, doing things I absolutely despise. So if I can't be trusted to figure out what is best for myself and then do it, it becomes obvious that God's command is necessary. But I need something more! For if I know the law but still can't keep it, and if the power of sin within me keeps sabotaging my best intentions, I obviously need help! I realize that I don't have what it takes. I can will it, but I can't do it. I decide to do good, but I don't really do it; I decide not to do bad, but then I do it anyway. My decisions, such as they are, don't result in actions. Something has gone wrong deep within me and gets the better of me every time. It happens so regularly that it's predictable. The moment I decide to do good, sin is there to trip me up. I truly delight in God's commands, but it's pretty obvious that not all of me joins in that delight. Parts of me covertly rebel, and just when I least expect it, they take charge. I've tried everything and nothing helps. I'm at the end of my rope. Is there no one who can do anything for me? Isn't that the real question? The answer, thank God, is that Jesus Christ can and does. He acted to set things right in this life of contradictions where I want to serve God with all my heart and mind, but am pulled by the influence of sin to do something totally different.”
Did you notice? Nowhere in these verses is satan mentioned as the origin of our temptation. Nowhere is he blamed for putting wrong thoughts into our heads. Why? Because in this case, satan isn’t the problem. When evil and vile thoughts spring to mind, it isn’t satan’s fault. When good intentions are challenged in our minds by doubts, it isn’t satan that’s mucking about in our heads. When you pray for forgiveness and another voice says that you don’t deserve it, that’s not satan.
Are we changed as Christians? No doubt. Are we free from slavery to sin? Absolutely. Are we free from our sinful nature drawing us or tempting us to sin? Sadly no. We don’t need to blame others for our faults. Nor do we need to pretend that satan is putting wrong thoughts into our heads. We are hardwired to do that all on our own. It’s our nature. It’s the character type into which we were all born. That is why Jesus came on a rescue mission to earth. We are hopelessly lost and unable to pull ourselves out of the crevasse of sin into which we’ve fallen. Jesus came to give His life so that we could be brought safely home. Jesus brought us freedom from sin, Freedom from guilt, Freedom to live in paradise with our Creator. God is great and God is good.
Yes. It certainly feels like it. Virtually every Christian knows the feeling, but Paul corrects that type of thinking. He begins in Romans 7:7. There Paul explains that the Law, the Commandments, the Rules to which we are exposed not only show us what we should and should not be doing. They also trigger in us a strong desire to do what we’re told to NOT do. As everyone knows, there is nothing like being told to not do something to make us really want to do it.
Why is that? Some people excuse their behaviours by saying, “The devil made me do it.” Paul points us somewhere else for the answer. He continues in verses 14 - 25 -
"I know that all God's commands are spiritual, but I'm not. Isn't this also your experience?" Yes. I'm full of myself - after all, I've spent a long time in sin's prison. What I don't understand about myself is that I decide one way, but then I act another, doing things I absolutely despise. So if I can't be trusted to figure out what is best for myself and then do it, it becomes obvious that God's command is necessary. But I need something more! For if I know the law but still can't keep it, and if the power of sin within me keeps sabotaging my best intentions, I obviously need help! I realize that I don't have what it takes. I can will it, but I can't do it. I decide to do good, but I don't really do it; I decide not to do bad, but then I do it anyway. My decisions, such as they are, don't result in actions. Something has gone wrong deep within me and gets the better of me every time. It happens so regularly that it's predictable. The moment I decide to do good, sin is there to trip me up. I truly delight in God's commands, but it's pretty obvious that not all of me joins in that delight. Parts of me covertly rebel, and just when I least expect it, they take charge. I've tried everything and nothing helps. I'm at the end of my rope. Is there no one who can do anything for me? Isn't that the real question? The answer, thank God, is that Jesus Christ can and does. He acted to set things right in this life of contradictions where I want to serve God with all my heart and mind, but am pulled by the influence of sin to do something totally different.”
Did you notice? Nowhere in these verses is satan mentioned as the origin of our temptation. Nowhere is he blamed for putting wrong thoughts into our heads. Why? Because in this case, satan isn’t the problem. When evil and vile thoughts spring to mind, it isn’t satan’s fault. When good intentions are challenged in our minds by doubts, it isn’t satan that’s mucking about in our heads. When you pray for forgiveness and another voice says that you don’t deserve it, that’s not satan.
Are we changed as Christians? No doubt. Are we free from slavery to sin? Absolutely. Are we free from our sinful nature drawing us or tempting us to sin? Sadly no. We don’t need to blame others for our faults. Nor do we need to pretend that satan is putting wrong thoughts into our heads. We are hardwired to do that all on our own. It’s our nature. It’s the character type into which we were all born. That is why Jesus came on a rescue mission to earth. We are hopelessly lost and unable to pull ourselves out of the crevasse of sin into which we’ve fallen. Jesus came to give His life so that we could be brought safely home. Jesus brought us freedom from sin, Freedom from guilt, Freedom to live in paradise with our Creator. God is great and God is good.
Friday, December 1, 2006
God's Mercy
Isn’t mercy a wonderful thing? Before we’re Christians, we think that the reason God shows Himself to us and the reason that He seems to be pursuing us is so He can catch us doing something wrong and then punish us. In reality, and this is something that we only find out after asking Jesus to become Lord of our lives, God pursues us so relentlessly because He loves us so much. He wants to pour out His love, and His blessings on us and He can’t do that to the degree that He wants when we’re busy running from Him. In fact, any punishment that we receive in this life comes to us during the act of running from God. The ultimate gift comes from allowing ourselves to be caught and the ultimate punishment comes from running all the way to hell in an attempt to avoid a relationship with our Creator.
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