Posts
Yesterday, I had the privilege of attending my best friend's baptism. It was a special time, as I watched my friend declare her unwavering allegiance to Christ, making a public declaration of her faith in Christ; that she is set-apart unto Him.
I've been thinking a bit about the symbolism of baptism and what it means, and the statement it makes. When you are being put under the water, it symbolizes your dying to self and to the world, and being brought back up symbolizes your being made alive in Christ. It is, as my friend did last night, a public declaration of your faith.
As I think about it baptism is a symbol of our lives and what they should look like: Dead to the world and the flesh and its desires, and alive to Christ, living for Him, being set apart for Him. We should live our lives as a declaration of what baptism symbolizes: That we are set-apart to Him. The world no longer has a grip on us. Unfortunately, in our modern church, we are very much in the grip of the world. This should not be. We need to be dead to the world.
John says this in 1 John 2:15-17: "Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. 16For everything in the world—the cravings of sinful man, the lust of his eyes and the boasting of what he has and does—comes not from the Father but from the world. 17The world and its desires pass away, but the man who does the will of God lives forever." (NIV)
We are called to a life of being dead to the world and alive to Christ. I know I've used this verse a lot, but I really like the depth of what it says: "I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me." (Galatians 2:20, NIV)
My friend's baptism is a great picture and symbol of this verse, and it is a great example of how we should all live. We need to be dead to the world and alive to Christ. When people see us, they should see that the world does not have a hold on us, but instead, that Christ lives in us. That is what baptism symbolizes, and that is what we should live. I challenge you (and myself as well!) to live a life that is a declaration that you are dead to the world and alive to Christ!
For Christ's Glory!
Monday, January 18, 2010
Wednesday, January 6, 2010
Overcoming...
I've been reading in Revelation recently for my devotions, and I just finished chapters 2-3 yesterday. I have been doing a chapter or so a day, which is unusual for me. I tend to have a voracious appetite for Scripture, 6-10 chapters a day. (which is not a bad thing, I think!) For Revelation (and here on out, if I can help it) I have really been spending a lot of time studying and meditating on each chapter. Why? Well, the introduction to the book reads like this:
"The revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave him to show his servants what must soon take place. He made it known by sending his angel to his servant John, 2who testifies to everything he saw—that is, the word of God and the testimony of Jesus Christ. 3Blessed is the one who reads the words of this prophecy, and blessed are those who hear it and take to heart what is written in it, because the time is near." (Scripture in NIV unless otherwise marked...)
When you read that, it becomes obvious that there is some important things to see and learn in this book. So, I have been spending a lot of time meditating on each chapter as I go.
All this to say is that as I read Revelation 2-3, one big theme really stuck out to me, and has been something that I have been spending some time thinking on, the idea of overcoming. In each letter to each of the churches in the two chapters, Christ closes the letter with a mention about "he who overcomes..." Take a look:
Rev 2:7: "He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To him who overcomes, I will give the right to eat from the tree of life, which is in the paradise of God."
Rev 2:11: "He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. He who overcomes will not be hurt at all by the second death."
Rev 2:17: "He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To him who overcomes, I will give some of the hidden manna. I will also give him a white stone with a new name written on it, known only to him who receives it."
Rev 2:26: "To him who overcomes and does my will to the end, I will give authority over the nations—"
Rev 3:5: "He who overcomes will, like them, be dressed in white. I will never blot out his name from the book of life, but will acknowledge his name before my Father and his angels."
Rev 3:12: "Him who overcomes I will make a pillar in the temple of my God. Never again will he leave it. I will write on him the name of my God and the name of the city of my God, the new Jerusalem, which is coming down out of heaven from my God; and I will also write on him my new name."
Rev 3:21: "To him who overcomes, I will give the right to sit with me on my throne, just as I overcame and sat down with my Father on his throne."
It doesn't take a Bible student to realize that there is a theme here! =) Obviously, overcoming is very important and there is great reward for those who do. The fact that this is repeated with each letter implies to me that this promise is applicable to everyone. The logical question, then, is:"What does it mean to overcome?"
Merriam-Webster Online defines "overcome" as : "to get the better of : surmount" A synonym is "conquer". It means to prevail. This brings the next question of "what are we overcoming or prevailing against?"
Romans 12:21 says this:"Be not overcome of evil, but overcome evil with good." (KJV) Elsewhere in 1 John 5:4-5, John says, "For everyone who has been born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world— our faith. 5Who is it that overcomes the world except the one who believes that Jesus is the Son of God?" (ESV) We are in a battle. A battle against temptations and sin, and a battle against ourselves, our flesh. The Christian life is not a walk in the park after we accept Christ! We need to "be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. 11Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil's schemes. 12For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. 13Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand." (Eph 6:10-13)
We are exhorted to overcome. But how? We are helpless to do it on our own. It is by His grace that we can overcome. He has already overcome the World, and is ready to give us strength to hold fast, to overcome.
We need to stand in Him, and overcome. It means we need to endure and hold strong to the end. Devote your life to Christ. Overcome your Flesh! Paul exhorts Timothy to "But you, be sober in all things, endure hardship, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry. 6For I am already being poured out as a drink offering, and the time of my departure has come. 7I have fought the good fight, I have finished the course, I have kept the faith" (2 Timothy 4:5-7, NASB) Paul was one who overcame, who endured, and he exhorted Timothy to do the same. We, too, need to hold on to the end, and overcome. Christ will come again. We need to remain strong in our fight. We need to endure in living the life He has set before us.
There is great reward for "he who overcomes", who endures to the end, who stays faithful.
Remember what 1 John 5:4-5 says, "For everyone who has been born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world— our faith. 5Who is it that overcomes the world except the one who believes that Jesus is the Son of God?" (ESV) If we endure in our faith, we will overcome.
Now, I doubt I've even scratched the surface of this grand topic, but it has given me a deep-seated desire to be one who overcomes, who remains faithful to the end, no matter what! Who will stand and overcome with me? I want to stand for my King.
For Christ's Glory!
"The revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave him to show his servants what must soon take place. He made it known by sending his angel to his servant John, 2who testifies to everything he saw—that is, the word of God and the testimony of Jesus Christ. 3Blessed is the one who reads the words of this prophecy, and blessed are those who hear it and take to heart what is written in it, because the time is near." (Scripture in NIV unless otherwise marked...)
When you read that, it becomes obvious that there is some important things to see and learn in this book. So, I have been spending a lot of time meditating on each chapter as I go.
All this to say is that as I read Revelation 2-3, one big theme really stuck out to me, and has been something that I have been spending some time thinking on, the idea of overcoming. In each letter to each of the churches in the two chapters, Christ closes the letter with a mention about "he who overcomes..." Take a look:
Rev 2:7: "He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To him who overcomes, I will give the right to eat from the tree of life, which is in the paradise of God."
Rev 2:11: "He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. He who overcomes will not be hurt at all by the second death."
Rev 2:17: "He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To him who overcomes, I will give some of the hidden manna. I will also give him a white stone with a new name written on it, known only to him who receives it."
Rev 2:26: "To him who overcomes and does my will to the end, I will give authority over the nations—"
Rev 3:5: "He who overcomes will, like them, be dressed in white. I will never blot out his name from the book of life, but will acknowledge his name before my Father and his angels."
Rev 3:12: "Him who overcomes I will make a pillar in the temple of my God. Never again will he leave it. I will write on him the name of my God and the name of the city of my God, the new Jerusalem, which is coming down out of heaven from my God; and I will also write on him my new name."
Rev 3:21: "To him who overcomes, I will give the right to sit with me on my throne, just as I overcame and sat down with my Father on his throne."
It doesn't take a Bible student to realize that there is a theme here! =) Obviously, overcoming is very important and there is great reward for those who do. The fact that this is repeated with each letter implies to me that this promise is applicable to everyone. The logical question, then, is:"What does it mean to overcome?"
Merriam-Webster Online defines "overcome" as : "to get the better of : surmount
Romans 12:21 says this:"Be not overcome of evil, but overcome evil with good." (KJV) Elsewhere in 1 John 5:4-5, John says, "For everyone who has been born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world— our faith. 5Who is it that overcomes the world except the one who believes that Jesus is the Son of God?" (ESV) We are in a battle. A battle against temptations and sin, and a battle against ourselves, our flesh. The Christian life is not a walk in the park after we accept Christ! We need to "be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. 11Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil's schemes. 12For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. 13Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand." (Eph 6:10-13)
We are exhorted to overcome. But how? We are helpless to do it on our own. It is by His grace that we can overcome. He has already overcome the World, and is ready to give us strength to hold fast, to overcome.
We need to stand in Him, and overcome. It means we need to endure and hold strong to the end. Devote your life to Christ. Overcome your Flesh! Paul exhorts Timothy to "But you, be sober in all things, endure hardship, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry. 6For I am already being poured out as a drink offering, and the time of my departure has come. 7I have fought the good fight, I have finished the course, I have kept the faith" (2 Timothy 4:5-7, NASB) Paul was one who overcame, who endured, and he exhorted Timothy to do the same. We, too, need to hold on to the end, and overcome. Christ will come again. We need to remain strong in our fight. We need to endure in living the life He has set before us.
There is great reward for "he who overcomes", who endures to the end, who stays faithful.
Remember what 1 John 5:4-5 says, "For everyone who has been born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world— our faith. 5Who is it that overcomes the world except the one who believes that Jesus is the Son of God?" (ESV) If we endure in our faith, we will overcome.
Now, I doubt I've even scratched the surface of this grand topic, but it has given me a deep-seated desire to be one who overcomes, who remains faithful to the end, no matter what! Who will stand and overcome with me? I want to stand for my King.
For Christ's Glory!
Monday, January 4, 2010
Life...
I've been doing some thinking, a lot, actually, about what kind of life I want to live. What do I want to characterize my life? I've seen what Americanized Christianity holds, and I don't want it. There is so much more than just going to church on Sundays, giving God 15 minutes of your time in devotions each day and praying over meals. I have been giving this a lot of thought, and yesterday at church, we were given a piece of paper to write some New Year's resolutions for our spiritual life. What I wrote turned out to be a bit more than just your average resolution. In fact it sums up how I want to live my life. Here is what I wrote
"This year (and the years to come as well.) I resolve to seek to know God more everyday, seeking to spend focused time with Him. I want to know Him more. I desire to live my whole life for Him, following where ever He leads. I don't want to go back to complacentcy or yielding to the flesh. I don't want to live a "normal" life. I desire to know Him more, and consequently, be a threat to Hell, yet unknown by the world, instead pointing all attention and glory to God. I am willing and ready to be a fool for Christ, despised and scorned, a spectacle if only to bring Him glory and point others to Him. I am His to use as He wants. I do not want to take pride in anything of me, but only to boast in suffering like Paul, to give the glory to God. It is not what I want, but what He wants. Whatever He wants to me to do, I will do it, for His glory."
This has been something that I have been realizing more and more. I want to say, as Paul did in Galatians 2:20, " I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me." I want to live a radical, poured out life for Christ. I don't want to get stuck in the rut of Americanized Christianity, where God is only a part of your life, and not everything. I want to pour out my life in following Him, living a life that overcomes, that isn't done in human strength or wisdom. I am willing to be different, ridiculed, and mocked. I want Him, and so I can say with Paul,
"But whatever was to my profit I now consider loss for the sake of Christ. 8What is more, I consider everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them rubbish, that I may gain Christ 9and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ—the righteousness that comes from God and is by faith. 10I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of sharing in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death,11and so, somehow, to attain to the resurrection from the dead." (Philippians 3:7-11)
He is the only thing that really matters in this life, and I want to pour out my life as an offering to Him, serving Him. It sounds crazy, and different, but I can't imagine a life any other way now! I believe that this kind of life is the only one worth living. Granted, it will look different for each of us. Some of us may go to some foreign country, risking it all to share the Gospel. Some may pour out their lives here in prayer and in quiet service. All I know is that I want to radically pursue Him, being a living sacrifice! This is how I want to spend my life, no matter how short or long it may be. He gave His life for us; how can we give Him any less? Who will join me in no longer living, but Him living through me, giving everything to Him?
For Christ's Glory!
"This year (and the years to come as well.) I resolve to seek to know God more everyday, seeking to spend focused time with Him. I want to know Him more. I desire to live my whole life for Him, following where ever He leads. I don't want to go back to complacentcy or yielding to the flesh. I don't want to live a "normal" life. I desire to know Him more, and consequently, be a threat to Hell, yet unknown by the world, instead pointing all attention and glory to God. I am willing and ready to be a fool for Christ, despised and scorned, a spectacle if only to bring Him glory and point others to Him. I am His to use as He wants. I do not want to take pride in anything of me, but only to boast in suffering like Paul, to give the glory to God. It is not what I want, but what He wants. Whatever He wants to me to do, I will do it, for His glory."
This has been something that I have been realizing more and more. I want to say, as Paul did in Galatians 2:20, " I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me." I want to live a radical, poured out life for Christ. I don't want to get stuck in the rut of Americanized Christianity, where God is only a part of your life, and not everything. I want to pour out my life in following Him, living a life that overcomes, that isn't done in human strength or wisdom. I am willing to be different, ridiculed, and mocked. I want Him, and so I can say with Paul,
"But whatever was to my profit I now consider loss for the sake of Christ. 8What is more, I consider everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them rubbish, that I may gain Christ 9and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ—the righteousness that comes from God and is by faith. 10I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of sharing in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death,11and so, somehow, to attain to the resurrection from the dead." (Philippians 3:7-11)
He is the only thing that really matters in this life, and I want to pour out my life as an offering to Him, serving Him. It sounds crazy, and different, but I can't imagine a life any other way now! I believe that this kind of life is the only one worth living. Granted, it will look different for each of us. Some of us may go to some foreign country, risking it all to share the Gospel. Some may pour out their lives here in prayer and in quiet service. All I know is that I want to radically pursue Him, being a living sacrifice! This is how I want to spend my life, no matter how short or long it may be. He gave His life for us; how can we give Him any less? Who will join me in no longer living, but Him living through me, giving everything to Him?
For Christ's Glory!
Monday, December 28, 2009
Love the LORD your God...
I wrote this as a follow up to "The Greatest Commandment" back on 10/18/09, but was unable to post it... Here it is now..may it challenge and encourage you!
Last time I blogged, I spoke on the greatest commandment, and how we can sometimes lose sight of our chief end, to love God. But, what does it mean; what does it look like?
This has been something that I have been discovering anew this week. Our relationship with Him must be first and foremost. We say that but do we make a conscious decision to actually do it? It has a bit of hard time for me being away from my family and friends at college, but it is helping me grow in my love toward God. My love for Him is, and should be, greater than my love for anyone else. Just as I want to honor, cherish and protect my future wife to the best of my ability, even more so do I need to love God and seek to honor Him and obey Him.
Our relationship with Christ must come first! If we want to truly love others we need to first love Him. "8Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love. 9This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son[b] into the world that we might live through him. 10This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for[c] our sins. 11Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. 12No one has ever seen God; but if we love one another, God lives in us and his love is made complete in us. " (1 John 4:8-12, NIV)
God loves us sooo much. How can we not love Him in return?
In Mark 12:30, we are told to "Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength." Let's take a look at this. Like I mentioned last time, that means to love God with every fiber of your being. We need to adopt this attitude! Every action we do need to bring Him glory and honor. Even our thoughts should be honoring Him! We need to take this seriously!
Marriage is intended to be a picture of our relationship with God. That kind of love and devotion we need to have even moreso for our King. I am keeping myself pure for my future wife and am devoted to her and our relationship; how much more so do we need to in our relationship with God? God doesn't want merely an abstinent bride; He wants one who is pure, set-apart. That kind of love, devotion, and commitment we need to have and more for God.
This past week, I have found myself falling even more deeper in love with God and it is amazing. When you seek to be intimate with your King, spending precious time with Him, seeking to honor Him in everything, it is so amazing, and fills you with such joy! We need to spend more time loving our King. If we truly love Him, we will be able to fully serve Him and be effective for Him. I can attest that it is rewarding to pursue Christ. This is the Poet part of being a Warrior Poet. We need to cultivate our relationship with our King.
However, the Warrior side also play into this. We need to guard our precious relationship with our King. Satan will try and distract you, draw you away, try get you to love the world (1 John 2:15). We need to guard against this, seeking our King in everything. Satan will try and do what ever he can to draw you away. We can get caught up over disputable matters or issues like I shared about last time.
This is the essence if being a Warrior Poet: Cultivating our precious relationship with our King, loving Him with all our being, and protecting that relationship, guarding against the attacks of Satan, and fighting our King's battles, motivated and driven out of love for Him. Who will join me in loving our great God with everything that we are?
This has been something that I have been discovering anew this week. Our relationship with Him must be first and foremost. We say that but do we make a conscious decision to actually do it? It has a bit of hard time for me being away from my family and friends at college, but it is helping me grow in my love toward God. My love for Him is, and should be, greater than my love for anyone else. Just as I want to honor, cherish and protect my future wife to the best of my ability, even more so do I need to love God and seek to honor Him and obey Him.
Our relationship with Christ must come first! If we want to truly love others we need to first love Him. "8Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love. 9This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son[b] into the world that we might live through him. 10This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for[c] our sins. 11Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. 12No one has ever seen God; but if we love one another, God lives in us and his love is made complete in us. " (1 John 4:8-12, NIV)
God loves us sooo much. How can we not love Him in return?
In Mark 12:30, we are told to "Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength." Let's take a look at this. Like I mentioned last time, that means to love God with every fiber of your being. We need to adopt this attitude! Every action we do need to bring Him glory and honor. Even our thoughts should be honoring Him! We need to take this seriously!
Marriage is intended to be a picture of our relationship with God. That kind of love and devotion we need to have even moreso for our King. I am keeping myself pure for my future wife and am devoted to her and our relationship; how much more so do we need to in our relationship with God? God doesn't want merely an abstinent bride; He wants one who is pure, set-apart. That kind of love, devotion, and commitment we need to have and more for God.
This past week, I have found myself falling even more deeper in love with God and it is amazing. When you seek to be intimate with your King, spending precious time with Him, seeking to honor Him in everything, it is so amazing, and fills you with such joy! We need to spend more time loving our King. If we truly love Him, we will be able to fully serve Him and be effective for Him. I can attest that it is rewarding to pursue Christ. This is the Poet part of being a Warrior Poet. We need to cultivate our relationship with our King.
However, the Warrior side also play into this. We need to guard our precious relationship with our King. Satan will try and distract you, draw you away, try get you to love the world (1 John 2:15). We need to guard against this, seeking our King in everything. Satan will try and do what ever he can to draw you away. We can get caught up over disputable matters or issues like I shared about last time.
This is the essence if being a Warrior Poet: Cultivating our precious relationship with our King, loving Him with all our being, and protecting that relationship, guarding against the attacks of Satan, and fighting our King's battles, motivated and driven out of love for Him. Who will join me in loving our great God with everything that we are?
For Christ's Glory!
Friday, December 18, 2009
Prayer Request...FINAL UPDATE
Hello Everyone,
FINAL UPDATE: Thanks Everyone for your prayers. My roommate made it in Sunday night! Thanks to everyone!
UPDATE: Well, thanks to a strong tail wind, I barely made it out of Pensacola in time to catch my flight in Atlanta and made it in before the snow. Unfortunately, my roommate who was traveling with me is currently stuck in Atlanta, and there is well over a foot of snow in DC were we were supposed to arrive, so he has a small chance of getting out of Atlanta tomorrow. Please pray that he and the others that are with him will be able to get out of Atlanta. He is not feeling well either. Please pray!
Thanks to all who have been praying. Please continue! It is hard knowing that he is stuck and I am not. We should have been able to arrive together. Please pray that he and the other students stuck can get out tomorrow.
Well, my first semester at college is officially over. As I write this, I am sitting in the airport, hoping that things will work out to get home. I guess my connecting flight to DC has been canceled, soooo I am sitting on standby for another flight(s). Can you, if you see this, please pray that I will be able to make it home? I appreciate it. Thanks!
Look for more blogs coming soon, now that I am on break!
For Christ's Glory!
FINAL UPDATE: Thanks Everyone for your prayers. My roommate made it in Sunday night! Thanks to everyone!
UPDATE: Well, thanks to a strong tail wind, I barely made it out of Pensacola in time to catch my flight in Atlanta and made it in before the snow. Unfortunately, my roommate who was traveling with me is currently stuck in Atlanta, and there is well over a foot of snow in DC were we were supposed to arrive, so he has a small chance of getting out of Atlanta tomorrow. Please pray that he and the others that are with him will be able to get out of Atlanta. He is not feeling well either. Please pray!
Thanks to all who have been praying. Please continue! It is hard knowing that he is stuck and I am not. We should have been able to arrive together. Please pray that he and the other students stuck can get out tomorrow.
Well, my first semester at college is officially over. As I write this, I am sitting in the airport, hoping that things will work out to get home. I guess my connecting flight to DC has been canceled, soooo I am sitting on standby for another flight(s). Can you, if you see this, please pray that I will be able to make it home? I appreciate it. Thanks!
Look for more blogs coming soon, now that I am on break!
For Christ's Glory!
Monday, October 12, 2009
The Greatest Commandment
We all are familiar with the greatest commandment, however, I believe that it would be of benefit for us to reacquaint ourselves with it.
"28 And one of the scribes came up and heard them disputing with one another, and seeing that he answered them well, asked him, "Which commandment is the most important of all?" 29Jesus answered, "The most important is, 'Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. 30And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.' 31 The second is this: 'You shall love your neighbor as yourself.' There is no other commandment greater than these." 32And the scribe said to him, "You are right, Teacher. You have truly said that he is one, and there is no other besides him. 33And to love him with all the heart and with all the understanding and with all the strength, and to love one’s neighbor as oneself, is much more than all whole burnt offerings and sacrifices." 34And when Jesus saw that he answered wisely, he said to him, "You are not far from the kingdom of God." And after that no one dared to ask him any more questions." (Mark 12:28-34, ESV)
To love is to give your all, selflessness. The attitude of love is set forth in 1 Corinthians 13. It implies absolute devotion and commitment, and obedience. Have we as the American church forgotten this? Is our services, and the way we act honoring God and showing our love for Him in every fiber in our being? Or, are we hypocrites, "loving" Him in Church with our words, but our hearts and our minds are far from Him.
After a month here, (at College), I have realized there are two predominate camps, so to speak, in Christianity, and honestly, I have problems with both. On one side is the Emergent church. They at least realize that American Christianity is dead, and is not working, and they realize that something needs to change. However, in that pursuit for change, they are trampling on Scripture. It is no longer regarded as absolute truth, and this new camp is marked with compromise, in that we want to just be real. We are open about our failings, but we never move on. We just trust that God loves us just the way we are, and we don't need to change anything.
On the other side is the "fundamentalists", though I hesitate to call them that. If the Emergent camp's call is for Change, this camp is calling for Tradition. Whereas the Emergent version is becoming more like the world, this camp is seeking to be different, and set apart, which is good. However, I have issues with them as well. The main problem is the reverence toward tradition. Tradition is not bad, but the problem is when it is held in such high regard that anything contrary or new is thrown out and avoided. This is the KJV only camp, the Hymns only camp. While the overall call for set-apartness is great, and to be different, and the sacredness of God's Word is upheld, I feel that man's traditions are held on almost the same reverence as Scripture. In away, they remind me of the Pharisees. Their motive was in the right place, but they elevated man's ideas to the status of God's word. They may not say as such, but their actions proclaim otherwise.
Now please don't misunderstand me. I am not out to get either camp. (although I have a big issue with the Emergent camp distorting and disregarding God's Word. It is absolute Truth!) However, I have noticed some things that, as a man of God, I can not let go unsaid. We have forgotten what the greatest commandment means for our lives!
32And the scribe said to him, "You are right, Teacher. You have truly said that he is one, and there is no other besides him. 33And to love him with all the heart and with all the understanding and with all the strength, and to love one’s neighbor as oneself, is much more than all whole burnt offerings and sacrifices."
To truly Love God, with every fiber of our being is the the number one commandment, and to love others as ourselves is the second, and as the scribe rightly noted, that is more important than burnt offerings, sacrifices. In other words, more important than rituals and traditions, more important than questionable teachings and debatable matters. These quarrels over different translations, over Hymns only or not, over such small matters need to stop. It is hurting more than harming. The traditionalists are more guilty in this, upholding man's traditions to almost the same reverence as scripture. Is it worth the fighting? Yes, being set apart and holy is very important, but is the focus on the rules and traditions all there is?
The Emergent group is not left out either. Yes, all this focus on tradition has made the church dead, and yes, we need a change, and yes God loves us the way we are, but He loves us too much to leave us the way we are. His Word is absolute. We can't just disregard it! The doctrine that has been coming from some of these leaders in this group has deeply saddened me. While I have read only excerpts of some of their work, and heard others on it, and have read other books inspired by this "new teaching", I have read enough to know that they are heading the church down the wrong way!
Please understand that I don't want to throw fuel to the fires of these controversies. Rather, I desire that our focus turns from things and ideas of Man to God alone! We need to love Him with all that we are, earnestly seeking Him! These squabbles within the Bride of Christ is not helping things. We need, to instead of being focused on new doctrine, and just being real, and tradition, and rules, we instead need to be focused on our King! Love the LORD your God with all that you are! Focus on Him, and seek to please Him.
Secondly, we need to love each other. Fighting in the church is not loving. Are we Christians? "10I appeal to you, brothers, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree with one another so that there may be no divisions among you and that you may be perfectly united in mind and thought." (1 Corinthians 1:10, NIV) We are not accomplishing anything with the wrong focuses.
Now, I realize I may have stepped on some toes, and I apologize. However, I feel this must be said. Please understand that I am not "against" either camp. In reality, we need some thoughts from both: The Church as we know it in America is dead, and we need a change, a revival. We also need to be set-apart, living for Him, not being like the World. God does love us the way we are, but He loves us too much to leave us that way.
Unfortunately, I feel both camps took some of what was good, and ran with it in the wrong direction. The sanctity of Scripture is to be protected. Man's rules are not the epitome of Christianity. This is where I feel they went wrong, and this is one thing that we can not yield on. Debates over versions or hymns or no hymns, the importance of "cultural relevance" are not. These are not worth fighting among the believers about. We need to stand united against the Devil! he is trying to turn us against ourselves, and it is working. This should not be!
Now, I mainly want this to be a call to stop our disputes, and turn our focus back where it belongs. We need to first and foremost, Love the LORD our God with all our heart, with all our soul and with all our mind - With every Fiber of our being! Secondly we need to not have disputes over small matters, but show Christ's love to each other. I think if we reacquainted ourselves with that, we would see the Church once more become powerful and effective. We can not live without Him. He is KING. We must love Him. If we do that, then He can work fully through us.
Consider this a call for unity and a right focus!
For His Glory!
Sunday, October 4, 2009
"Where's the fruit?"
I was reading in Mark 11-12 today for my quiet time, and I came across this and it really caused me to stop and think.
"And on the morrow, when they were come from Bethany, he was hungry: And seeing a fig tree afar off having leaves, he came, if haply he might find any thing thereon: and when he came to it, he found nothing but leaves; for the time of figs was not yet. And Jesus answered and said unto it, No man eat fruit of thee hereafter for ever. And his disciples heard it.
And they come to Jerusalem: and Jesus went into the temple, and began to cast out them that sold and bought in the temple, and overthrew the tables of the moneychangers, and the seats of them that sold doves; And would not suffer that any man should carry any vessel through the temple. And he taught, saying unto them, Is it not written, My house shall be called of all nations the house of prayer? but ye have made it a den of thieves.
And the scribes and chief priests heard it, and sought how they might destroy him: for they feared him, because all the people was astonished at his doctrine." (Mark 11:12-18, KJV)
Now, most of us are pretty familiar with the cleansing of the temple, but not so much with the first section. This part with the fig tree is, for the most part, overlooked. However, there is a message within that passage that is important to note. Let me explain.
Typically, fig trees produce fruit around the same time as it does its leaves, so a fig tree with leaves should have fruit. However, this one did not. It showed signs of fruit but there was none. How often is our "American Christianity" like this tree? We show signs of fruit, we may even talk about the fruit, and discuss how to produce it in our lives, but we don't actually have it. You have faith, but not works (James 2:17) We look healthy and fruitful but are, in reality, empty. We are hypocrites if we live like this. Jesus reaction to the fig tree shows His anger toward hypocrisy. He wants to see fruit in our lives ( the fruit of the Spirit, and doing what He calls us to do), and is very upset when we look like we are fruitful when in fact we not.
Now, this particular passage leads up to the next, with Jesus clearing the temple. The temple was supposed to be a sacred, set apart place, holy, and a place of worship. On the outside, it appeared to be so, but of course, as we know, it was filled with sin and disregard for holiness. When Jesus cleared the temple, it was because of the lack of fruit and the disregard of God's holiness, and the holiness of His temple. How about you or me? Are we fruitful? It grieves my LORD to have me not be fruitful and yet look so. May it never be in my life, or in yours. We are His temples. If there is any unclean thing, and that which in not fruit, it needs to be cleansed.
Now I realize that this is almost going into two separate points, but they are also connected. We need to be fruitful, and cleanse anything that is not from ourselves. We are His temple, so we must be holy, and bear fruit. He cleansed the Temple because there was no fruit; instead there was things that were wrong.
Here is what I am driving towards. We need to be Holy, and set apart, but we also need to have fruit. May we not be lacking in either! If there is anything, any sin or impure thing in our lives, we need to drive it out! We need Jesus to pick up a whip and drive it out of our lives. On the same note, we need to bear fruit, to live out our faith. May we bear fruit for our King, and lack not. May we not be giving the appearance of fruit, but not having it, being a hypocrite, talking the talk but not walking the walk.
So consider this a call, first of all to be Holy, and to cleanse your temple of any sin, and secondly, bear fruit. Don't be hypocrite. Don't be found lacking in fruit, or your temple unclean when Christ returns.
For His Glory!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)