#shininglightmatters On Sunday night, July 10th, a protest involving thousands of people from Memphis flooded onto the Hernando Desoto Bridge which spans the Mississippi River. That protest was organized by those who felt something had to be done to address the loss of black lives in confrontations with the police. The group that marched that night was frustrated, angry, and outraged over what they perceived to be the injustice they see and have experienced over the years. It was a situation that could have easily escalated into violence, which most likely would have spread throughout the city of Memphis. But that night we were reminded what true leadership looks like – and how a godly leader can both de-escalate a dangerous situation, offer hope to those who feel so misunderstood, and even lead with strength and restraint when such leadership is needed. Police Director Mike Rallings showed us, by example, what we needs to be done to step up in the crisis that is growing in regard to racial relations. At great risk to himself he walked out on that bridge and sought to be a “bridge” himself. He chose to have a conversation with the protestors. He chose not to become angry and frustrated when he was disrespected. He chose to speak peace and act peacefully to help diffuse a very difficult situation. But what truly impressed me was that this police Director was involved in looking for answers long before this protest started. In an effort to present something we can DO in this crisis, I would like to write a little about what Police Director Mike Rallings said at a meeting called, “Healing the Broken Village” back at the beginning of 2016. He suggested that if more of the 2,000 churches in Memphis focused on their neighborhoods, it could make a significant dent in the number of arrests in the city. He offered the suggestion that churches help provide ministry that offers alternatives to kids after school hours, which is the time of day when they are the most likely to get into trouble. Another public servant at that conference said this, “Take back that corner. What if every church drew a 1,000 yard radius around itself and took the time to get to know every child in that circle?” What an amazing thing to consider in the midst of this crisis. These men, along with other men and women who were at the conference, reached a consensus and said as a group, “We cannot arrest our way out of this problem.” They were right - law enforcement alone will not solve these problems. There must be a choice made by the church at this critical juncture to be the light, Instead of raging at the darkness. We are called by our Lord to shine the light of the gospel by our actions and with our words. Like our Lord we must be willing to enter into our world and build sacrificial, loving, gospel-sharing relationships. We have opportunities to step out and get to know our neighbors BEFORE a protest begins. We have the opportunity to build trust with them by caring before a crisis. There are random groups of young men who play basketball on our outdoor court almost every day, with whom we could build relationships. We could foster better understanding with these guys in an effort to genuinely love them – and eventually to share the gospel of Jesus with them. We can be involved in the life of a few young men or women – and seek to see their lives head in a different direction. We can endeavor to make disciples in our surrounding area so that the gospel can turn our community upside down – or maybe better said in our current crisis – right side up. The fact of the matter is that I do not live in Dallas, Louisiana, or Minneapolis/St. Paul. I live in Jonesboro, Arkansas. Few if any of us will be able to have a direct affect on the areas of our country where tensions are running the highest. But we CAN do something to address the tension in our own community. We can get involved in ministering to those in our neighborhood – in our city who feel disenfranchised, who feel frustrated, who feel angry at what is happening. The way we do this is by building a relationship with one person who is not like us. We can do this by choosing to love and reach out – rather than give in to frustration and anger and put up a wall towards those around us who say that black lives matter. We can SHOW we know that they matter by taking back our own corner through the love of Christ. We can show we know they matter by befriending one person – listening to one person – loving one person. We can show they matter by listening to them – even when they are angry and frustrated. The Lord Jesus said to us that we are to let our light shine in such a way that those around us may see our good works and glorify our Father Who is in heaven. At the risk of sounding too trite I want to suggest that those of us who love the Lord Jesus Christ – and who know that the ultimate answer is the gospel consider a hash tag of our own. The hash tag I am suggesting is this, #shininglightmatters. Maybe it will remind US what to DO in these difficult days. Maybe it will turn us from being caught up in the midst of the anger, frustration, and growing misunderstanding of one another. Maybe it will help us turn to love in action – to active deeds where we allow our light to shine so that God is glorified. Maybe it will help us to remember that we have hope – and that hope is the gospel of Jesus Christ. Maybe it will remind us that the church needs to rise up and be the source of ultimate hope, healing, and restoration as we seek to touch lives one at a time through the love of God. This is what that brave police director showed us by his actions. This is what our Lord lived as He came and dwelt among us when we were far from God. This is what Jesus modeled as He even loved those who hated Him and died for their sins. This is what we can do. This is who we should be. This is who God, who gave us life through the new birth, made us to be.
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Once Lot separated from Abraham he moved near Sodom. He moved near those who were sinners exceedingly against the Lord - and did so for the wealth and supposed blessing of their area. But one cannot move closer to sin and not have it affect you negatively. By the time the battle of the kings takes place in Genesis 14, Lot had moved into Sodom. He soon learned that becoming a part of that community had far different results than being with godly Abraham.
Sodom and Gomorrah, we learn at the beginning of this chapter, are in bondage. What an interesting thing to learn - that they are in bondage to a king named Chedorlaomer. They had been serving him (most likely with payments of money as well) for 5 years - but decided to rebel against their bondage. They quickly learned that they did not have the power to break free from this bondage. Their lesson - a battle where they were soundly defeated - where they were taken captive - where they lost all their possessions - and where even their food supply was taken from them. The picture painted here is bleak - but it is also fascinating. Think with me for a few moments about what this meant for Sodom and its newest inhabitant, Lot. They were in bondage from which they could not deliver themselves. Their physical situation mirrored their spiritual one. They were also sinners exceedingly against the Lord - and couldn't break from that bondage either. When they tried to become free, they did not have the power to break that bondage - the same was true of their sinful condition. They lived defeated lives - hiding from their enemy - even while the enemy pillaged them. They lost everything in their defeat - all their goods and even their families. Then finally, even their daily food supply was gone as their enemy took it and left them starving and unable to respond with any viable counter-attack that promised any deliverance. Without a deliverer to come to their aid - they were dead. And in verse 12 we read these words about Lot's situation: "They also took Lot, Abram’s nephew, and his possessions and departed, for he was living in Sodom." There is a lot we can learn from Lot in all this. When you locate yourself near sin - and then move in with sin - your lot in life (no pun intended) will be the same as theirs. Regardless of all the years he followed Abraham - now Lot's future was identical to those with whom he identified. What happened to sinful Sodom - was now happening to Lot. He was in bondage. He was unable to free himself. He was defeated. He was subject to losing everything. He was now destitute. He was robbed of everything. He was facing death and slavery unless someone came to deliver him. So - before we move on to the deliverance - we should ask a few questions. Where have you moved in your life? Have you moved away from following the Lord and toward sin? Are you identifying with this world more than you are God? Are you finding that your lot in life is changing because of your new affinity with sin? You will be in the same bondage - the same slavery - the same defeat - the same loss - the same destitute condition - and even in the same death spiral with none to save. For the true Christian - to find our hearts far from the Lord - and our condition more in line with the judgment of the world has to be a shock when we finally realize it. We are children of the King and sons of the Father - and yet here we are living in a pig pen longing to eat the scraps and leftovers the pigs are eating. Oh that we would awaken by the grace of God to see our condition and realize even our Father's slaves are better off that this. Oh that repentance would overwhelm us - and we would return to our Father rather than remain shut up with the pigs any longer. Moving away from a heart for God and choosing the pig sty of this world is so very foolish. It may begin with promise of immediate gratification and a valley of abundance - but it ends in bondage, defeat, and spiritual starvation. Who will deliver us from such a fate - from our cruel bondage to the Cruel one? This must have been the thought of Lot as he stood among the captive slaves. But even as hope slipped away from him - word had reached his uncle about his situation. In a glorious type of Christ - Abraham sprung to action and gathered the all who were with him and moved to deliver his nephew. Abraham attacked Chedorlaomer and defeated him decisively - not only destroying him, but also delivering all those enslaved to him. This is what Christ Jesus does for us. We are unable to deliver ourselves from slavery to sin - but He comes and wins the victory defeating our enemy and delivering us from bondage to him. But what would be Lot's response to this wonderful deliverance? How would he respond to seeing the radical difference between the godly Abraham and the ungodly king of Sodom? Would he turn from living near the ungodly - indeed living with them - to return to the influence and nearness of the man of God? Once this whole event was over - Lot returned to Sodom and lived among them. He didn't see the incredible contrast between living among the godly and living among the ungodly. The whole deliverance was lost on him. In our next visit with him - we will see that he has not just moved near Sodom - he is settled among them. He has so identified with them that he lives among them - chooses his daughter's future husbands among them - and allows his wife to so identify with them that leaving the lifestyle and company of Sodom seems horrific to her. Oh precious saints of God - there is MUCH we should learn in a warning from Lot. There is much for us to see - and in seeing fear God and learn to hate sin as He hates it. There is nothing for us by moving closer to sin. What is promised as abundance and pleasure is only the disguise of the chains that will one day bind us and enslave us. Come out from the midst of them and be separate. Embrace holiness and shun a relationship with the sinful world. Turn from an identification with them and their lifestyles - and embrace a relationship with God that involves mortification, mercy, and ministry. Mortification as we die to sin and its lure of us away from the Lord. Mercy as we have compassion on those still entrapped and in bondage to it. Ministry as we go to them, love them, and share the only One Who can deliver them from it. A Lot to learn in 2016 part 2 - Decisions Lot looked around and saw that the whole plain of the Jordan toward Zoar was well watered, like the garden of the Lord, like the land of Egypt. (This was before the Lord destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah.) 11 So Lot chose for himself the whole plain of the Jordan and set out toward the east. The two men parted company: 12 Abram lived in the land of Canaan, while Lot lived among the cities of the plain and pitched his tents near Sodom. 13 Now the people of Sodom were wicked and were sinning greatly against the Lord. Genesis 13:10-13 Lot had a problem. He did not have his own walk with the Lord. Abraham interacted with God - both hearing and speaking to Him - and Lot just followed Abraham. There is a problem with this kind of living. Eventually you will have to walk on your own. What will happen then? How will you know, follow, and experience an interactive relationship with God? What will counteract your heart - which according to Scripture is deceitful and wicked. This was Lot’s problem - and as we will see in this part of, “A Lot to Learn in 2016,” it does not go well for those who follow in Lot’s steps. Abraham and his nephew Lot were both in the business of raising livestock. When you prosper in this endeavor you will eventually have problems - and they did. Their herdsmen began go quarrel over pasture land. Rather than have a growing enmity between their servants, Abraham proposed that they separate from each other so that enough pasture land would be available for their herds. This was the moment where Lot would have to make his own decisions - and the first one is indicative of a man who does not know how to follow God himself - but who relies on other people to hear God for him. Abram offers him any of the land that was before them. Lot got first choice. What he chose was the land near Sodom and Gomorrah. He chooses a place where the people were wicked and sinning greatly against the Lord. He chose on the basis of what "he" saw. Scripture says that he looked and saw that this land was “like the land of Egypt” and therefore he chose it. In Scripture, Egypt is not considered a good place to be. In addition to this - we also learn from the passage that the place Lot chooses is “near” Sodom. The problem here is that we also learn that the men of Sodom were considered “wicked exceedingly and sinners against Jehovah.” Lot’s first choice was to live by what his eyes saw and what his selfish desires wanted. He didn’t consider that by doing this he was moving closer and closer to sin. He did not consider that he would be taking his family into a place where there would no longer be Abraham’s godly influence - but the influence of exceedingly wicked sinners. Lot moved his tents as far as Sodom. The phrase used here in Hebrew means he moved “near” Sodom. There was enough in Lot to know he shouldn’t go into Sodom - so he did the next best thing - he moved near it. Here is a lesson we need to learn from Lot. What you move toward in your life - is likely what you are going to become. Having followed a godly man (Abraham) Lot now was going to have as his strongest influence, ungodly, exceedingly wicked men. If Lot had his own relationship with God he may have done this to influence those men - but we know that what he saw was their prosperity - and the “good life” and place they lived. There is going to be more - much more to this in our next installment. But . . . before we go there let’s consider something in our journey together. There is a “Lot” to learn even at this point. What drives your decisions in life? If our decisions are made with what we see with our eyes as our primary information - we will wind up in a mess. If we are seeking “the good life” as defined by the world around us - we will once again wind up in a mess. If we joyfully grab first choice in things (and don’t consider others better than ourselves - Philippians 2:1-3) and want first place - we will surely wind up in a mess. Lot’s decisions were driven by the (1) Lust of his eyes; (2) the lust of his flesh; and (3) the boastful pride of life. By the way, these three things are all defined as sin and worldliness in 1 John 2:15-17. Lot made a choice that increased the worldliness in his life - and then deceived himself by thinking that only by moving “near” sin he would be fine. These kind of choices don’t bring blessing - except in the immediate gratification of our fleshly lusts. The long-term results of these kind of decisions - are disastrous in our lives. Let me state this positively though - so you will have something to do on when making decisions. First - make decisions by wisdom, which is defined as seeing life from God’s perspective. We look at things through His Word, His Spirit, and the wisdom that comes from spiritual sight. Don’t just seek an answer - seek Him and ask Him to give you His eternal perspective on your choices. Second - make decisions in light of long-term (honestly - eternal) joy and delight. Ask yourself, what is going to last? What is going to be an eternal blessing? What will benefit me spiritually - so that I can take it with me when I leave this world? Lastly, make decisions that move away from sin - not toward it. Consider the sins of your past - and the sins God wants to deliver you from in life. Don’t move toward those things - and especially don’t think you can get nearer to them without them influencing you. If God wants you to minister to someone or minister somewhere that is one thing - because that doesn’t move you closer to sin - it moves you closer to sinners - but only for God’s purposes of leading them to Christ and influencing them for godliness and the gospel. A parallel question to this might be, “Am I moving toward influencing others - or being influenced by them?” You can move toward sinners or sinful situations if the first is true - your seeking TO influence them. But if you are going to BE INFLUENCED - you need to move toward godliness and be sure that their influence brings you closer to God. May God help us to make good, godly decisions. May we be wise and seek and desire His perspective in all things. May we be seeking eternal benefit in life rather than a quick fix high. And may we truly learn from Lot in this situation (as well as in any we face this year) that there are much better ways of decision making than the ones he chose. "Genesis 12:4 - So Abram went forth as the LORD had spoken to him; and Lot went with him.
One man heard and knew intimacy with God and one did not. One man walked with God and one man did not. One man knew an amazing level of blessing in his life and one did not. One man experienced immediate satisfaction of his desires and one did not. One man was directed by himself and his wants and one was not. One man eventually lost just about everything in his life and one did not. One man had a legacy of godly descendants and one did not. Such is the history of Abram and Lot. And if you will pardon the pun - there is a "Lot" we can learn in 2016 from this man , Lot, and his choices. I hope you will join me for several posts as we seek to learn a "Lot" that will benefit us in this coming year. This passage begins with a man who walked with God and responded to Him when God initiated in his life. Abram was a man drawn, led, and blessed by the grace of God. God started this relationship - and Abram followed as he gave himself to God and the plans He had for him. He "went forth as the LORD had spoken to him." God spoke to Abram and he immediately obeyed and went with the LORD. Abram was not a picture of perfect obedience - but rather of a man who entered into a relationship with God and embraced submission to God's will. Whether it led to immediate obedience or at times to an eventual obedience colored with discipline on the edges, Abram 's desire was to hear God and go forth in a direction led by Him. Lot's introduction is that he was a man who "went with Abram." What we see in Lot is that he was willing to tag along with the man of God - but he himself was not walking with the Lord. Thus, there was a measure of blessing because of his nearness to a man who was following God. The problem though was that Lot was not building his own walk with the Lord - and eventually the abundance of our heart is going to be expressed in our lifestyle and our choices. Please understand that the blessing of following God is that you get God - not that you get blessed. You do get blessed, but even that is tempered by the reality that your blessing is what God considers as blessing - not what you want at the time. Lot was along for the ride with Abram, but what would happen if a situation arose where he no longer was around him? That is actually what we will learn before these articles are over. So . . . how goes it with you? I know many who have little or no relationship with God in their lives. They either have a man or woman of God whom they tag along with in life - or they are living off the spirituality of their teachers - whether they be a pastor, a Sunday School or Community Group teacher - or even a favorite radio or TV preacher or podcast. Will they be blessed - yes, in a measure, but what happens when that influence is no longer around? What happens when more and more the manifest state of their heart or inner man is expressed through their life? How much of life is truly us "following" the Lord, hearing Him and and going where He leads - and how much is that I've either heard or seen a man of God hear from God and I come along for the ride. Lord, help us to have a genuine experience with You this year. Please deliver us from Lot's error, and just tag along with others who have genuinely walked with You and sought You. We want to experience You ourselves - and walk and teach as one who has an intimate knowledge of the God of Whom we speak. This past Sunday I was in Nashville and Murfreesboro visiting my children for Thanksgiving. This meant that rather than being the one responsible for what happened on a Sunday morning, I was simply someone attending a church service. That is a rare situation for me - and I want to share something with you about it. I want to offer a warning about the beginning of this article. It will be filled with what may seem like complaints about church this past Sunday. Stick with me though until the end of the article and I hope you will be blessed and challenged. It is not often that I get to be a visitor and just another saint in the congregation when I go to church. I am a pastor and as such, I am usually responsible for seeking God and putting together what we hope God will use to minister to those who come to Calvary Chapel. These are some of the things I noticed as I entered into the service. First of all it was a little warm in the room (which may have been more due to me being in a sweater - as I always am this time of year - rather than due to the heat being turned too high). Nevertheless, I was very warm in the services. As we began to sing, I only knew one of the four songs we sang. Since I don’t honestly have a style I prefer in church, I didn’t mind the style of the music, but I only knew the song, “10,000 Reasons” during the set. As they did the set of music I could tell that the mix of the sound made it difficult to hear the guitars playing. Then the pastor came up and shared with us from Acts 12. He was young - about 33-35 - and at times he was a little more relevant than reverent for my personal tastes. I did notice these things for a moment or two as I attended the services - but only for a moment. Now, from the paragraph above it sounds like I had plenty to complain about in this service. I did notice these things because - well because I am a pastor and I tend to notice such things every week if they happen in the services that I lead. But, as I said earlier, I only noticed these things briefly. The reason for this is because something else was dominating my mind, thinking, and attitude that morning. You see, when Sherie and I left for church that morning it was with the intent of experiencing God at the services we we're going to attend. That was my longing as I went to church. I don’t get to go to church and not be responsible for the service. Therefore what I wanted more than anything else was to experience and meet with God. Let me explain to you the way I truly experienced the services outside of a few things I noticed for a moment. I met friendly people who greeted me and took joy in meeting other saints who knew Jesus and wanted to join with me in seeking the face and heart of God. As we began the worship through music I enjoyed reading the song lyrics which blessed my heart - and I attempted to sing them when I could. I thoroughly enjoyed singing the song “10,000 Reasons” to the Lord with all my heart. I also thought about asking the praise leader where they got their music because it evidently was from a source I didn’t know and might be able to benefit from in the future. When I couldn’t sing due to not knowing the songs, I loved listening to the saints singing to the Lord and entered into their worship as I read along from the words projected on the screen. As the pastor spoke I listened to the Word of God taught - and was blessed greatly as God spoke to me from the Word. There were so many little nugget of truth that I enjoyed very much. During the invitation I was seated praying because of what God had revealed to me that morning. He was working mightily in my heart through what had been shared - and honestly - through some things He brought up in my heart at that time. After the service I stood with Elisha and met some of the people he knew - and loved getting to see Sweat (who is on staff at MTSU with Campus Outreach) for the first time in a long time. I walked away from the service having been truly blessed. Now, from what I’ve written today I want to share something with all of you. It would have been the easiest thing to allow all that I didn’t personally like about the service to dominate my mind. I could have gone to lunch with my family grousing about how the temp was off - and they didn’t play enough or played too many songs I didn’t like. I could have complained about what I didn’t like about the pastor’s style. Here is why I didn’t. To be perfectly honest with you - I didn’t go to church that morning to see the praise team - or to sing my favorite songs. I didn’t go to make sure that the grounds team kept the auditorium at a good temperature (which being defined means a temperature I like). I didn’t even go to listen to the pastor - or hear a sermon that was put together in a biblically sound but wonderfully creative way. I went to meet with God - to seek His face - to spend time with Him among the saints of God. I went to hear what He had to say - to sing to and adore Him. I went to know His heart and His Word. AND - I went to meet with a group of imperfect saints - who have an imperfect grounds team - an imperfect praise team - an imperfect sound person - an imperfect pastor - and to marvel that God could take all these imperfect people - and minister in a perfect way that my heart needed on November 29th in Murfreesboro, Tennessee. And do you know what happened? I was blessed so very much! Precious saints of God . . . please hear me. I hope to labor to bring a service where the temperature is right - where we play music that glorifies and honors God - where we mix sound so that you can hear all the various instruments and voices properly - where we sing songs we know and can actively participate in singing - where your pastor labors in study and prayer so that I bring as close to what God wants to be said as is possible on this earth. But - even if we brought you the perfect service every week (which I hope we can all honestly admit is not the case - especially that whole pastor part at the end) - that is not what will bless you. If you come expecting God - wanting Him - and desiring that He speak to you (albeit with imperfect instruments), you will experience Him and be wonderfully blessed. But if you are coming to church wanting the perfect church experience - you will go home most weeks disappointed. Let’s come this and every Sunday seeking the face of God! Let’s come with a longing to both see and hear Him. Let’s come knowing that we will be attending an imperfect church with imperfect leaders and imperfect people - BUT - let’s come knowing that our perfect and glorious God can use all of it to speak - to minister - to bless - and to draw us into His wonderful work in our hearts. And if anything - let’s glory in the fact that He does not need everything to be perfect in order to bless us weekly. We will still labor to offer Him something worthy of His glory every week - I can promise you that the hearts of those who lead us weekly beat in that way. But - let’s come to experience Him! Greetings in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. May the Lord remind us that our words affect people - no matter how they are shared. May we then speak words that build up rather than tear down. First of all, my heart goes out to those in Oregon at the community college that was the site of the recent rampage that killed 9 students. As was the case with every shooting like this, I have a special place of empathy and sympathy for those involved. Having been one of the pastors who helped pick up the pieces in the aftermath of the Westside school shooting, I know what it is like to be a community living in the aftermath of these kind of horrors. Long after the news trucks and politicians have milked what they can from the situation, those locally are the ones who put things back together for months and years afterward. No knee-jerk reaction by either those on the political or journalistic right or left solves anything. And after thinking about this for the past several days - ANY knee-jerk reaction in the midst of the pain and horror will probably do more harm than good. It is better for wiser, less power-motivated people to think through things and come up with truly wise decisions. That being said - I do want to weigh in on a matter that currently is breaking my heart as I read about this event. I read several articles online about this wickedness, and in seeking to be informed, was shocked at the kind of rhetoric that is dominating the conversation. There was one news report that tried its best to stick to the facts on the incident - but the others quickly descended into pejorative and incendiary remarks that broke my heart. You can actually look at the source of the articles and pretty much predict whether it is going to be a rant from the right of the left before you even read the article. One rants about gun violence - the other gun control. Some rant about this being a hate crime - others that it is senseless violence. But if you truly want to be shocked, read the comments below the articles. The pure unadulterated vitriol and verbal poison spewed there blows my mind. It is as if we are unable to react to the tragedy and horror of what the people in Oregon are going through without immediately indicting the political right or left for what has happened. If you read enough of it - you will find yourself inexorably drawn into it - with the subsequent raising of your blood pressure and temptation to join in the verbal barrage from one vantage point or the other. After reading all this and thinking about it, I’d like to take a great risk and seek to insert some Scripture into our understanding of Oregon, Charleston, Fort Hood, Ferguson, Columbine, and even Westside. “Let no unwholesome word proceed from your mouth, but only such a word as is good for edification according to the need of the moment, so that it will give grace to those who hear. 30 Do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. 31 Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice. 32 Be kind to one another, tender-hearted, forgiving each other, just as God in Christ also has forgiven you.” Ephesians 4:29-32 I’ve actually walked up to a school that was shot up and smelled of death. I have sat and talked with people who were in shock after they endured an attack like this. They need comfort, prayer, and a shoulder to cry on. They need “edifying” words spoken - words which give them grace as they hear them. They do NOT need anyone from either side of the political aisle to politicize their suffering and grief. Paul said it best when he said we need to be kind and tender-hearted - steering clear of bitter, angry, clamoring, slanderous words that try to assign blame to someone other than the evil man who murdered 9 people at the community college where this happened. It is unconscionable in any of these horrific situations to take the pain or others and turn it into a platform for political action - and to do so before the sun even goes down on the blood of those who have lost their lives. What we did at Westside for days was sit and listen and cry and pray and comfort real, living, hurting people. Where are we as a nation when even our most tragic moments cannot elicit from us comfort and compassion without it degenerating to a political shouting match within hours? I was in shock as I read how people posted online the most horrible statements about each other and about various groups that either support or oppose gun control. Both sides should be ashamed of themselves for using this event for their own ends. Before we have even buried one of the dead - the rhetorical “long-knives” have come out and the battle has ensued for who can claim the moral high ground. The truth is both sides are patently immoral for their words and actions that seek to use this situation for their own benefit - rather than respond with grief, compassion for those killed and their families, and prayer and support for the community that needs it right now. Let me ask a few questions as I close this article. Rather than get caught up in the political rhetorical barrages that are being loosed by both sides, can we consider the following course of action instead? Will we use our words to build up others according to the NEED of this moment? Will we consider how to insert GRACE (especially the grace of God in the gospel) into the conversation? Will we make a decided choice NOT to respond with bitter statements and anger toward the wrong people or groups? Will we choose to reject what the Scriptures call “clamor”? (the word here is “krauge” and it spoke of a public outcry or public controversy - think seriously about the political people using this for THEIR advantage right now) Will we reject the temptation to slander others by stating that this shooting is their fault because they did or didn’t support “insert your issue of choice”. The fact is that this shooting is the fault of the lawless, ungodly actions of one man who chose to act wickedly! Here is the truth folks! We can use our words right now to build up or to tear down. The choice is ours. May God so work in the hearts of His saints, that especially in this situation, we look and talk radically different than the rest of the world. Greetings in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. May God bless you this week with a heart that truly engages God in worship.
This past Sunday I mentioned our need to truly worship God. In a day when the word “worship” is often confused with singing certain kinds of songs, I feel the need this week to describe and define what I mean when I refer to worship. As you may have already noted, I used the word engage when referring to worship. You see worship refers to an entire lifestyle rather than just 20-30 minutes on a Sunday morning while the band is playing and we are singing. I was reminded this week that the first occurrence of the word worship in in Genesis when God asked Abraham to sacrifice Isaac on Mount Moriah. Abraham said to his servant that he and the boy were going to worship God and then return. Here we get the idea that worship means obedience – even when that obedience requires great sacrifice and dedication. In Romans 12:1 we read that presenting our bodies as living, holy sacrifices to God is our logical and reasonable service of worship to God. In neither of these two references is singing or music even remotely a part of the worship God received. What He did receive though was a complete dedication and surrender of someone to Him. Romans makes it clear that such a total surrender is the logical and reasonable thing to do – if we are thinking rightly. So how does a Sunday morning worship service work into a proper view of worship. First of all I would have to say that just worshipping on a Sunday morning is contrary to Biblical worship. If we are not worshipping God all during the week, what we do on a Sunday morning can do more harm that good in our lives. Now I know that last sentence may have shocked some people. How can this be true? But this really does have everything to do with a Biblical definition of worship rather than a religiously cultural one. If worship is to be a lifestyle – then all we do every day can and should be worship unto God. If worship is to be a lifestyle – our whole lives should be spent seeking to honor and glorify God. This should show in how we surrender ourselves to God – and how we seek to live before Him no matter what we do. For the person who views worship merely as something we do as we sing on Sunday or when we hear “worship music” – worship becomes something divorced from an every day, every choice lifestyle. There is another Biblical word for that kind of “music-only-worship” . . . hypocrisy. You see when we do not live for the glory of God in all we do – all week long – and then show up on Sunday and sing emotionally charged songs to God – we are simply being emotionally driven hypocrites. True worship flows from all of life – not from the emotions we feel when really cool worship songs start to play – or – when we feel wonderful hymns move us in our hearts. When I pray that we will engage with God in worship – it means that we will truly turn to Him every moment of every day. If this has not been happening during the week – the best thing we can do on a Sunday morning is start the worship service by getting on our knees and engaging God in repentance and confession of sin. That will do more to incite true worship than any song in any style that plays. We desire to meet with God – to engage Him as we give our lives to Him. Out of that flows true worship. There are times when we begin singing that I am not in a position to engage with God through singing, praise, and adoration. I need to engage in admission of sin and confession of the same. Other times I need to engage in seeing the worldliness and deadness of my own heart – and cry for mercy and for His gracious reviving in my spirit. Some times I am in pain emotionally and need to cry out to Him to give me hope and heal my broken heart. And – to be painfully honest – some Sundays, I need to choose to sing praises – to honor – to adore – to magnify Him - as a sacrifice because I don’t have any emotion or excitement at all. It is a matter of choosing to do what is right – what is Scriptural as I offer up a sacrifice of praise simply because He is worthy of it. Precious saints of God, worship is not a matter of exciting or moving songs in the midst of a spiritually supercharged moment. Worship is a matter of choice – and that choice is one we make moment by moment. It is doing all that we do – whether we eat, drink, sing, work, play, or any other activity – and doing it to the glory of God! It is something we do every day of the week – every time of day – and every moment we live. What we experience on a Sunday often is just a culmination of how we’ve been worshipping all week long. So with that in mind – my prayer for you and for me is that we live a life of worship all week long – and that such a life culminates in a wonderful experience of worship corporately as we engage God on Sunday in a similar way that we’ve engaged Him every other day this week. Here’s to a lifestyle of worship to His glory. How do we as Christians deal with the way in which the world is speaking about us in the public square? What I mean by this is that there is a growing level of bitterness and vitriol that is being expressed by those either in the media, or by those whom the media interview when it comes to the views of those who hold to Biblical morality. Early on we were referred to as intolerant and narrow-minded, but stronger rhetoric and more hated titles are being used as the world is calling us names for our moral stances. After spending time looking on the internet at a examples of this I suddenly realized that I would not be able to put most of them in this article – they are too filled with profanity for me to do so. Where once we were referred to as bigots and homophobes – now we are being more and more referred to as ISIS, the Talaban, idiots, fools, morons, and a list that is honestly too long to reproduce. What is even more disturbing is that name calling that was once reserved to blogs and “comment” sections is now bleeding over into the mainstream. So how to we respond to these kind of attacks as believers? Our first response should be to reserve any kind of response until we’ve examined Scripture – and I regret to say – at times our own past. Let me begin with Scripture first. Peter wrote to believers who were going through a fiery ordeal for their faith. Even though things are not great at the moment – and are probably going to get worse – I do not think we are to the point of being in a fiery ordeal yet. Here is what Peter said to those saints who faced difficult times. 1 Peter 4:12-16 Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery ordeal among you, which comes upon you for your testing, as though some strange thing were happening to you; but to the degree that you share the sufferings of Christ, keep on rejoicing, so that also at the revelation of His glory you may rejoice with exultation. If you are reviled for the name of Christ, you are blessed, because the Spirit of glory and of God rests on you. Make sure that none of you suffers as a murderer, or thief, or evildoer, or a troublesome meddler; but if anyone suffers as a Christian, he is not to be ashamed, but is to glorify God in this name. We should not be surprised at such things in a world that is turning from God and from what God has done through Jesus Christ. Jesus Himself warned that we were going to face what He faced if we were His disciples. We will be reviled for being named with Jesus – and with Biblical morality. Earlier in Peter’s letter he said to the saints that people would malign us because we would not run with them into the same excess of dissipation they ran into in life. What excess was this? Sensuality, lusts, drunkenness, carousing, drinking parties, and abominable idolatries are on that list. Stand for righteousness – and you will be persecuted. That is what Jesus promised in the Beatitudes in Matthew 5. So first off, we should not be shocked this is happening. Second, we should make sure that we are not suffering because we ourselves tout one aspect of righteousness – yet tolerate open sin in other areas of our lives. Translation: If you’ve been or are currently a name-caller when it comes to other people’s sin (by this I am not saying calling sin what God calls it) then you have some repentance that needs to take place first. We are called to love those who hate us – and we are called to love sinners. Engaging in a heart or mindset that insults others is NOT love. Oh how we need to be so careful about this especially in regard to names we use to refer to those who engage in sin. Be truthful, but in every way you can be respectful too. Third, our response should be to rejoice. Most of us are not expecting that one. I don’t know about you – but at times I would prefer reading some imprecatory psalms instead of rejoicing that I are reviled for the name of Christ. By the way – that means I am sinning and need to repent. When the first disciples were beaten for their faith – and for continuing to preach the gospel of Jesus Christ – they rejoiced that they were counted worthy to suffer for His name. The reproach and insult is not against us – and if we take it personally – it will not go well for us in our hearts (and honestly – it won’t go well for us in how we act or what we say either). The reproach is against Jesus Christ – and we should glory in being put in any association with Him. Lastly, I would like to remind you that it is in moments like these that we have our greatest possibilities as those who preach the gospel. We have the opportunity to love when we are hated – to bless when we are cursed – to be kind when others are unkind to us. This is the essence of what Jesus did when He gave Himself on the cross. Oh that people would say, “You know, he’s the nicest, most loving, kind bigot I know.” Or someone would say, “For a guy who’s like ISIS, I am amazed that the only weapon he uses against me is kindness.” We are to react with love, forgiveness, kindness, mercy, and compassion – even on those who lack it in their dealings with us. Oh, and one more thing – when they want to know WHY we act this way – we share the gospel and point to the One Who did it best when He was treated the exact same way. Weakness is not something most people want in their lives. But that is because they think themselves strong - or at least want to think that way. Our problem with understanding the blessing of embracing weakness has to do with perspective. God's Word tells us that when we examine ourselves amongst ourselves and measure ourselves against one another, we deceive ourselves as to the truth about ourselves. In that context and with that perspective weakness is relative to who you are versus whoever it is to whom you compare yourself. Men and women have all kinds of contests by which they measure their own comparative weakness against each other to ascertain who is the strongest. But in the end - it is only comparing weakness against weakness. We may walk away with a victory - even a trophy or medal - but it only tells us that we are stronger than another human being. Man has fancied himself strong for centuries. Early on man thought earth to be the center of all things - only to learn as man caught up to the knowledge of God - that we are only a tiny little insignificant ball of dirt on the outskirts of our own galaxy. When compared with other stars in our galaxy, we come to learn that even our mighty sun is pretty much a fairly small star that pales into insignificance compared to others around us. If one started from the center of the universe doing a random search for earth - it would take millions of centuries to randomly come to our tiny blue orb on the outer edges of the Milky Way. Job understood true strength - as he moved from a position of having everything to one of losing everything. He lived in moments of plenty - of great health - and of a life of relative ease and comfort prior to one of the most breathtaking devastations in all of Scripture. He grasped, as few others ever have, just how precarious our supposed strength is. It was in such a moment that he turned to God and grasped "real strength." Read his own words as he contemplated standing before God and being right with Him. " . . . how can a man be in the right before God? If one wished to dispute with Him, He could not answer Him once in a thousand times. Wise in heart and mighty in strength, Who has defied Him without harm? It is God who removes the mountains, they know not how, When He overturns them in His anger; Who shakes the earth out of its place, and its pillars tremble; Who commands the sun not to shine, and sets a seal upon the stars; Who alone stretches out the heavens and tramples down the waves of the sea; Who makes the Bear, Orion and the Pleiades, and the chambers of the south; Who does great things, unfathomable, and wondrous works without number. Were He to pass by me, I would not see Him; Were He to move past me, I would not perceive Him. Were He to snatch away, who could restrain Him? Who could say to Him, ‘What are You doing?' God will not turn back His anger; Beneath Him crouch the helpers of Rahab. How then can I answer Him and choose my words before Him? For though I were right, I could not answer; I would have to implore the mercy of my Judge." Job 9:2-15 According to what Job had learned there are some things that tell us of God's absolute power and strength. These things also helped Job to grasp just how weak he truly was - and how He needed to cry out for God's mercy for true strength to be given to him. First - no man can dispute with God and prove Him wrong. If we tried, we would be unable to answer God even 1 in a 1000 times. God is the wise one - God is the mighty one - and for us to defy Him and debate with Him is only to harm ourselves. We do not have any wisdom that we can claim on our own. If we have any wisdom - it is because we have learned it from God by His mercy. Second, no one can "impress" God with what they can do. All we have to do is look at Job's description of God's resume and we are rendered speechless. He removes mountains and shakes the earth so that the very pillars of the earth tremble. He can command our sun not to shine. He is the One who stretches out the heavens - so that our expanding universe seems to grow ever larger in terms that dwarf our understanding. In the end Job puts it like this, "Who does great things, unfathomable, and wondrous works without number." For us to boast of our meager achievements (even if they dwarf those of the rest of humanity) is laughable in the sight of the strength and power and wisdom of Almighty God. Third, we cannot even perceive God unless He graciously allows it by revealing Himself to us. God is Spirit and is beyond us and our understanding. We would not even have a clue as to His existence or presence except that He chooses to manifest Himself in ways that our little pea-sized brains can understand. Our own strength and ability fall infinitely short of "getting" God. Fourth, we can do nothing to deliver ourselves from His hand or ultimate purposes. Listen to these terrifying words Job says about God's power over us, "Were He to snatch away, who could restrain Him? Who could say to Him, ‘What are You doing?" God's power is absolute. If God so chooses to snatch us away we can do nothing to stop it. Even a protest on our part would mean nothing. Though men question His works and purposes - there really is no one who can call God to account to where God has to given some sort of answer. Within this statement is the doctrine of God's ultimate goodness and perfection. He cannot do wrong - and whatever it is that He wills - it is always what is right. Thus in the moment we decide to question Him and call Him to account - we are already wrong. Finally, we can do nothing to alter God's righteous judgment. Here is a terrifying reality. God will judge and destroy the wicked. There is absolutely nothing they can do to render God's judgment null and void. I see fools wearing shirts and making statements that, "Only God can judge me." This is not meant to be a statement honoring God - for those who parade such things do so while living lifestyles that mock His Word and the righteousness He reveals in it. But what they do not know is that God has already judged sin. Thanks be to His graciousness that ultimately He has done this at the cross - and granted forgiveness to those who respond to the gospel with repentance and faith. In the end Job says that his only play - is to implore the mercy of his Judge. So - how strong are we feeling now? How apt are we to tout our own abilities in light of God's revelation of Himself to Job - who went from everything to nothing within moments? The truth is we ARE weak - maybe not in comparison with others around us - but when we stand in the light of God's revelation of Who He is. Wisdom, dearest saints of God, is turning to God regularly for mercy. Wisdom, precious ones, is to regularly remember and embrace humility in His glorious, infinite presence. Wisdom is to bow before Him - lay ourselves at His feet - and rejoice in His most amazing condescension to us in the gospel of Jesus Christ. For it is only in such moments that we truly "get it" and are granted grace to move from weakness to strength by His mercies alone. Be strong in Him and in the power of His Spirit! Whenever you begin to explore what God does to bring us to embrace weakness, you first need to start with “why” this is necessary. One of the difficulties we face is coming to grips with just how weak we truly are when it comes to the things of God in our lives. That is because we have a tendency to think we are not all that weak. According to God’s estimation of things (which, by the way, is always spot on in everything He takes the time to comment on in His revelation to us) the sinful human race is without strength when it comes to spiritual matters. If you are wondering where such a comment originates, it is from Ephesians 2:1. All those in the human race are, “dead in our transgressions and sins.” On a scale of ability – the dead do not do well. That is because they are – well – they are dead. They have no ability – except to stink things up after a short while. Because we are dead in our sins – we are without strength prior to the working of the grace of God. We don’t even have the strength to respond to anything spiritual unless God draws and enables it. But things don’t stop there. Even after salvation – we are unable to deliver ourselves from sin – or enable our own spiritual growth. The testimony of God is that the only way we are able is through Christ. Paul said, “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.” (Philippians 4:13) When you state this verse in the negative you get this, “I can do nothing through me who strengthens me.” Sin entered the human race because we believed the lie that we were better at determining good and evil for ourselves rather than turning to God and His wisdom about such matters. We also have the problem of thinking, “We can handle it,” when it comes to living our lives as God desires. The truth – we can’t handle it unless God’s grace is active in our lives. Some may balk at all this talk of weakness in our lives. They may even take to referring to how we can do all kinds of things every day. But what we are referring to is not the strength to get up and start our day – the strength to eat breakfast and walk or drive to work – and to work throughout the day. We refer to being able to live in a way that pleases and honors God. Since the fall we have been unable to live so as to glorify God. That should be abundantly obvious to anyone who takes a good look at the world around them. To the wise it is super-abundantly apparent when they look at their heart within themselves. Speaking of the heart, Jeremiah prophesied in 17:9 that the heart is more deceitful than all else and is desperately sick. The question from God was then this, “Who can understand it?” The answer is that no one can fully plumb the depths of his or her own sinfulness and selfishness. We have an astounding ability to deceive ourselves by either defining sin downward – or – by comparing ourselves among ourselves rather than to the Lord to whom we are accountable. This alone requires strength and ability we do not have on our own. Add to this the fact that we become bound in our sin – often being enslaved by and to our own lusts and desires – and we have a combination that truly leaves us without moral or spiritual strength. What is fascinating is the way that we are also deceived when we think we DO have high morals – or biblical standards to which we adhere. I have not only met people like this – I’ve met them in the reflection of mirrors before which I’ve stood. Here is the rub on those with high standards. They come with high views of self as well. The Pharisees had the highest biblical morals of their day – and yet this did not lead to either a humility or mercy on their part. They were neither humble (Lord, I thank You that I am not like other men) nor were they merciful (dragging the woman before Jesus demanding that she be stoned for her adultery – still wonder where the guy was from that situation). Since the fall of man into sin – we cannot even handle success without ruining ourselves with pride, arrogance, and merciless attitudes about others around us. Hopefully all of these examples are helping you embrace your place humbly before God – calling out for mercy, grace, and strength to live to the glory of God. This is the good place we find ourselves if we believe the testimony of God about mankind. The truly amazing thing is that when we freely admit to our spiritual and moral bankruptcy we find ourselves in a very good place. Jesus stated this in the first beatitude in Matthew 5, “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” The word “poor” means someone who does not even have a penny to his name. He is “beggarly poor” and has nothing. He is in a position of absolute need. That, dear saints, is our position before God. We are needy in an infinite measure. What is wonderful is that God, who knows our every weakness, knows this as well. He has made provision for us in Christ Jesus. Once we confess and own our weakness – He states that the kingdom of God is at our disposal as we seek to live for the glory of God. Knowing weakness is not exactly fun. It goes against our flesh to admit this – but it is the first step in knowing God’s strength. May God gives us an accurate view of ourselves in our sin so that out of that devastating position – we can know His grace and mercy – and – His gracious strength for all we need. |
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