Monday, February 23, 2009
OMG!!!???
I feel like I am seeing this statement more and more recently and I have to be honest...IT IS DRIVING ME CRAZY!!! Why is it so easy for us to casually and flipantly throw the Lord's name around so irreverantly? Do we not have any concept of what we are actually saying? I regularly hear people saying, "Oh my God". I think I read it even more on blogs and facebook. Most of the time it is not really even used in a very dramatic context. I can't see where God has anything to do with what they are talking about. I find myself dying to just ask them, "What does god have to do with this?", and see if they even realize what they have said. How do we so easily disassociate this statement with the 3rd commandment in Exodus 20 which very clearly says "You shall not take the name of the LORD your God in vain, for the LORD will not hold him guiltless who takes his name in vain." How have we become so desensitized to this? I am quite certain we are all creative enough to come up with a better way for expressing ourselves. At least I hope so!
Saturday, February 21, 2009
Why Are We Not Suffering
I have spent a great deal of time over the past days, weeks and even months thinking about the whole idea of suffering. I am coming to believe, more and more, that this is a topic that Christians do not have an appropriate perspective of...especially Christians in America. As I read through God's Word, I find very few, if any, examples of people who go through a life devoted to Christ Jesus and experience a very easy, comfortable, and cushy life, with no suffering or persecution. On the other hand I find example after example of people who suffer through tremendous pain, heartache, and even death for their devotion to Christ. That seems to be a major pattern in Scripture. Are we Christians today experiencing the same things? Do we experience that same pain and heartache and even death because of our claim to Christianity? I don't think so. At least not to the same degree. Yes, we deal with pain such as disease and the deaths of friends and family, which is natural to all people, but are we experiencing any hardship that is the direct result of being a follower of Christ? Not really in this country. We might occasionally have to deal with someone making fun of our beliefs or calling us a name (not to make light of this kind of persecution), but we do not really have to worry about being beaten, jailed, or even killed for our beliefs (though that day may be around the corner). There are believers around the world who truly do know what it means to "share in His suffering". Are we missing something when we do not really experience any persecution in our lives? I think it is a question that is at least worth asking.
Why would God want us to experience suffering on His behalf? In some ways that seems totally contradictory to what we think God should do. God is supposed to be about love and mercy and compassion and grace. How do those things jive with suffering? That is so hard for us to understand. However, God's Word is very clear that God uses suffering to groom us and teach us things like obedience (Hebrews 5:8) and perseverance (Romans 5:3). Can our faith really grow and develop in a lifestyle of comfort and security? Are we really forced to turn to Him and totally depend on Him as our Sustainer? It does not seem very likely to me. I can't help but believe that the Apostle Paul's intimacy with Christ was grown to a whole different level as he was chained in prison, beaten and alone. I can't help but believe that Peter's devotion to Christ was proven to be far greater than my own, when he was hanging upside down on a crucifix because of his bold stand for Jesus. I wonder if I am missing something when I hear stories about believers in places like Vietnam, China, and Iran who know that they will suffer intensely when people find out that they are a Christians. And yet I can sit here and openly write this blog, never thinking of any physical consequence that could come my way because of it. Do I have that kind of faith to stand so strongly for Him? I hope so...but I have never been tested on that level to know. Part of me wants to thank God for protecting me from that, but part of me can't help but wonder if that is just an indication of how weak and infantile my faith in Him is. Had I been jailed or beaten because of my faith in Jesus, I think that my reliance upon, and trust in Jesus, would be far stronger than what they currently are.
Should we be praying for God to send us some suffering? Would that be a prayer that would honor Him? Part of me really thinks it would. I think suffering may be what we need, not only to sift out the phony Christians in our churches, but also to cause our own faith and love for Christ to grow exponentially. Suffering seems to be something that people of the New Testament not only expected, but actually rejoiced over, because it was a sign that they truly were associated with Jesus Christ (Acts 5:41). Much of the church in America today verbalizes an association with Christ. Is our lack of suffering an indication that Christ does not recognize that association, because it is actually just a head knowledge and not a heart knowledge? If we are truly indwelt by Him, we should expect His sufferings to overflow into us (2 Corinthians 1:5). Ultimately that forces us to ask the question, "Do I truly want to be associated with Him?"
Why would God want us to experience suffering on His behalf? In some ways that seems totally contradictory to what we think God should do. God is supposed to be about love and mercy and compassion and grace. How do those things jive with suffering? That is so hard for us to understand. However, God's Word is very clear that God uses suffering to groom us and teach us things like obedience (Hebrews 5:8) and perseverance (Romans 5:3). Can our faith really grow and develop in a lifestyle of comfort and security? Are we really forced to turn to Him and totally depend on Him as our Sustainer? It does not seem very likely to me. I can't help but believe that the Apostle Paul's intimacy with Christ was grown to a whole different level as he was chained in prison, beaten and alone. I can't help but believe that Peter's devotion to Christ was proven to be far greater than my own, when he was hanging upside down on a crucifix because of his bold stand for Jesus. I wonder if I am missing something when I hear stories about believers in places like Vietnam, China, and Iran who know that they will suffer intensely when people find out that they are a Christians. And yet I can sit here and openly write this blog, never thinking of any physical consequence that could come my way because of it. Do I have that kind of faith to stand so strongly for Him? I hope so...but I have never been tested on that level to know. Part of me wants to thank God for protecting me from that, but part of me can't help but wonder if that is just an indication of how weak and infantile my faith in Him is. Had I been jailed or beaten because of my faith in Jesus, I think that my reliance upon, and trust in Jesus, would be far stronger than what they currently are.
Should we be praying for God to send us some suffering? Would that be a prayer that would honor Him? Part of me really thinks it would. I think suffering may be what we need, not only to sift out the phony Christians in our churches, but also to cause our own faith and love for Christ to grow exponentially. Suffering seems to be something that people of the New Testament not only expected, but actually rejoiced over, because it was a sign that they truly were associated with Jesus Christ (Acts 5:41). Much of the church in America today verbalizes an association with Christ. Is our lack of suffering an indication that Christ does not recognize that association, because it is actually just a head knowledge and not a heart knowledge? If we are truly indwelt by Him, we should expect His sufferings to overflow into us (2 Corinthians 1:5). Ultimately that forces us to ask the question, "Do I truly want to be associated with Him?"
Thursday, February 12, 2009
Are You Going to be Green?
It seems like every time I turn around I hear something else about "green". It seems like everyone in our world today is into this whole thing. I can't watch TV, listen to the radio, or even go to the mailbox without being bombarded with something about being "green". Just yesterday I saw a bank and cell phone company using "green" as their advertising gimmick. Is that really what I am looking for in a bank...that they are green? Right now I just want a bank that is not going to go under anytime soon.
This has caused me over recent months and weeks to really put some thought into this whole concept. I actually spent the last few weeks doing a series in BNX on some of the conclusions that I have come to. Just as I have shared with the students I work with, my point in writing this is not to say that it is either right or wrong to "go green", but rather to understand your basis for that belief from a Biblical position and not because of what the world is telling us. Here are a few things I have found as I have researched this.
-Anything that the world is overwhelmingly supportive of we, as Christians, should immediately be concerned about. We know from God's Word that Satan is the ruler of this world (Matthew 4:8-9, I John 5:19), that he is the father of lies (John 8:44), and wants nothing more than to deceive the whole world (Revelation 12:9). Therefore, I think we need to seriously question anything that is so supported by the world around us. Now, that does not necessarily mean we should not support the green movement...only that we should be skeptical and do some praying and research.
-The motivation behind the overwhelming majority of environmental organizations is to basically stop and reverse the effects that humans are having and have had on planet earth. Go checkout the mission statements of any environmental organization and see if that is not true. This idea is one that I think very much goes against specific Biblical doctrine. Let me explain...In Genesis 3 we read the account of the "temptation and fall of man". Part of that account involves the judgement from God for the sins that were committed. We read, in some detail, what was cursed and affected by sin. In verse 17 we see that not only was man cursed and condemned to death (physical and spiritual), but so was the rest of creation. This seems to me to indicate that we can't "stop or reverse" the decaying and death of this world as our environmental groups suggest they want to do. Now, I also believe that we should not needlessly expedite that process either (the key word here being needlessly).
-We have all heard, from our friends like Mr. Al Gore, the doomsday timescales of when we will destroy our own planet if we do not stop living the way we are now. This thinking, I believe, is also very UNBiblical. If we read Romans 8:18-22 we again see references to Genesis 3 where creation was cursed to death and futility, just as man was. We also see that creation is "eagerly awaiting" the second coming of Christ (vs 19) where it can also be delivered from it's "bondage to decay" (New International Version). We can trust then, that before we as humans completely destroy and obliterate this world as so many environmentalist suggest we are doing, Christ WILL come back to deliver us...and creation! There will be no "Doomsday" (at least not for true believers and creation).
-My biggest concern with this movement lies in the shear enormity of it. It is an incredibly vast movement. I fear that this whole issue is rapidly becoming one of idolatry, where we are becoming more concerned about what we are doing every day to destroy the earth, than what we are doing every day to passionately know, love, and worship our God, Creator, and Lord Jesus Christ. For many of us it is easier and more important in our daily lives to recycle an aluminum can and minimize our carbon footprint, than it is to open our Bible and spend some intimate alone time with Jesus our Savior.
-Some might say, "But how can that many people be wrong?". I would first point back to my previous point from John 8:44. I would also remind people of what Romans 12:2 teaches us. We should not be conformed to this world. The NIV says the "patterns of this world". I think this movement may be just that...a "pattern" of this world that maybe we should not be conforming to, at least not for the reasons that this world gives us. Instead we should be "transformed" (which I think means we should look at least a little different???) by the renewing of our minds. Maybe we need to research this movement a bit, and see if we are just conforming or if we need a little transforming.
-I also do believe that we are called to stewardship as one component of our worship to God. In Genesis 1 we are given authority and responsibility over all of creation as we are set apart and created in God's own image. This is something that I think all Christians need to put some serious thought and prayer into, and one area that I think most of us are lacking in. If God leads you through sincere prayer and study of scripture, as part of your worship through stewardship, to recycle, drive a hybrid, or pay for a carbon offset, then by all means do it. Do it to the Glory of Jesus Christ. And if by the same method you are lead to throw away your trash, drive an SUV and hunt deer, then by all means, fire away (hunters, by the way, were some of the first conservationists and naturalists). I think we, as Christians, also have a responsibility not to judge each other's decisions on this issue, when they are legitimately founded in prayer, scripture study and comprehensive information research. The last thing in the world we want is to do something just because the world says it is right or good!
This has caused me over recent months and weeks to really put some thought into this whole concept. I actually spent the last few weeks doing a series in BNX on some of the conclusions that I have come to. Just as I have shared with the students I work with, my point in writing this is not to say that it is either right or wrong to "go green", but rather to understand your basis for that belief from a Biblical position and not because of what the world is telling us. Here are a few things I have found as I have researched this.
-Anything that the world is overwhelmingly supportive of we, as Christians, should immediately be concerned about. We know from God's Word that Satan is the ruler of this world (Matthew 4:8-9, I John 5:19), that he is the father of lies (John 8:44), and wants nothing more than to deceive the whole world (Revelation 12:9). Therefore, I think we need to seriously question anything that is so supported by the world around us. Now, that does not necessarily mean we should not support the green movement...only that we should be skeptical and do some praying and research.
-The motivation behind the overwhelming majority of environmental organizations is to basically stop and reverse the effects that humans are having and have had on planet earth. Go checkout the mission statements of any environmental organization and see if that is not true. This idea is one that I think very much goes against specific Biblical doctrine. Let me explain...In Genesis 3 we read the account of the "temptation and fall of man". Part of that account involves the judgement from God for the sins that were committed. We read, in some detail, what was cursed and affected by sin. In verse 17 we see that not only was man cursed and condemned to death (physical and spiritual), but so was the rest of creation. This seems to me to indicate that we can't "stop or reverse" the decaying and death of this world as our environmental groups suggest they want to do. Now, I also believe that we should not needlessly expedite that process either (the key word here being needlessly).
-We have all heard, from our friends like Mr. Al Gore, the doomsday timescales of when we will destroy our own planet if we do not stop living the way we are now. This thinking, I believe, is also very UNBiblical. If we read Romans 8:18-22 we again see references to Genesis 3 where creation was cursed to death and futility, just as man was. We also see that creation is "eagerly awaiting" the second coming of Christ (vs 19) where it can also be delivered from it's "bondage to decay" (New International Version). We can trust then, that before we as humans completely destroy and obliterate this world as so many environmentalist suggest we are doing, Christ WILL come back to deliver us...and creation! There will be no "Doomsday" (at least not for true believers and creation).
-My biggest concern with this movement lies in the shear enormity of it. It is an incredibly vast movement. I fear that this whole issue is rapidly becoming one of idolatry, where we are becoming more concerned about what we are doing every day to destroy the earth, than what we are doing every day to passionately know, love, and worship our God, Creator, and Lord Jesus Christ. For many of us it is easier and more important in our daily lives to recycle an aluminum can and minimize our carbon footprint, than it is to open our Bible and spend some intimate alone time with Jesus our Savior.
-Some might say, "But how can that many people be wrong?". I would first point back to my previous point from John 8:44. I would also remind people of what Romans 12:2 teaches us. We should not be conformed to this world. The NIV says the "patterns of this world". I think this movement may be just that...a "pattern" of this world that maybe we should not be conforming to, at least not for the reasons that this world gives us. Instead we should be "transformed" (which I think means we should look at least a little different???) by the renewing of our minds. Maybe we need to research this movement a bit, and see if we are just conforming or if we need a little transforming.
-I also do believe that we are called to stewardship as one component of our worship to God. In Genesis 1 we are given authority and responsibility over all of creation as we are set apart and created in God's own image. This is something that I think all Christians need to put some serious thought and prayer into, and one area that I think most of us are lacking in. If God leads you through sincere prayer and study of scripture, as part of your worship through stewardship, to recycle, drive a hybrid, or pay for a carbon offset, then by all means do it. Do it to the Glory of Jesus Christ. And if by the same method you are lead to throw away your trash, drive an SUV and hunt deer, then by all means, fire away (hunters, by the way, were some of the first conservationists and naturalists). I think we, as Christians, also have a responsibility not to judge each other's decisions on this issue, when they are legitimately founded in prayer, scripture study and comprehensive information research. The last thing in the world we want is to do something just because the world says it is right or good!
Monday, February 9, 2009
Rethinking Things
This is sort of a theme in my life right now... "rethinking things". So why not carry it over into this blog. I know most of you thought that I was completely done with this blog thing since I have not done anything with it in so long...but hah...you are wrong! I am back! I am moving back into the blogosphere once again.
Here is the deal..1st of all, where have I been in my time away from blogland? Well basically I have used this blog in the past to post pictures and stories of different events (mostly youth related stuff). But that is no longer needed. For the past few months we have been working on a new website for all of that kind of stuff. Go check it out and let us know what you think about it. www.bnxyouth.org. So that explains where I have been, but now I want to explain where I want to go. My game plan for the future of this blog site is to just simply use it to blog. Makes sense I think...a blog site to blog on! I do not intend to put up pictures or videos on here like I have in the past (again, checkout the website for that). I just want to share some of what is going on in my head. I know, I know...that is the one place that most people who know me don't want to go, but we will see how it goes. I want to also try to periodically share summaries of things I have recently been teaching on. Sooooo..parents take a look sometime and see if you can use some of this stuff to start conversations with your kids. I am curious to get feedback on some of these thoughts so let me know what you think. I hope you enjoy the new direction. Thanks JD
Here is the deal..1st of all, where have I been in my time away from blogland? Well basically I have used this blog in the past to post pictures and stories of different events (mostly youth related stuff). But that is no longer needed. For the past few months we have been working on a new website for all of that kind of stuff. Go check it out and let us know what you think about it. www.bnxyouth.org. So that explains where I have been, but now I want to explain where I want to go. My game plan for the future of this blog site is to just simply use it to blog. Makes sense I think...a blog site to blog on! I do not intend to put up pictures or videos on here like I have in the past (again, checkout the website for that). I just want to share some of what is going on in my head. I know, I know...that is the one place that most people who know me don't want to go, but we will see how it goes. I want to also try to periodically share summaries of things I have recently been teaching on. Sooooo..parents take a look sometime and see if you can use some of this stuff to start conversations with your kids. I am curious to get feedback on some of these thoughts so let me know what you think. I hope you enjoy the new direction. Thanks JD
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