I sat down at Starbucks this morning at 5:30. There was no other person around. It didn't take long, however, for the "serge" to happen. People, like me, needed their fix. They needed the bean juice to get their day comfortable and controllable - like yesterday.
As the people came pouring in, I had to put my headphones in my ears to concentrate. Voices, laughs, phone calls, and other types of communication rang throughout the store. It was loud. People were being people, communal, and relational. At times, I just sat and watched.
It was interesting to see how normal this was for everyone. They were all dressed for work. Some had sleep in their eyes. Some, their hair still wet. But this is normal for the morning - normal for people in the morning. The day needs starting. Coffee please.
Something was abnormal though. And he sat right next to me.
He was not normal. He was, in every sense of the word, strange. There were many chairs in the store. He chose the one across from me (its a big table with many chairs). He sat, with his hot tea, and watched.
He wore all black. His hair was wet, but it didn't look like "shower-wet." It looked more like "rain-wet." Only it hasn't rained in Minneapolis in weeks. Like I said, he was strange.
His glasses were thicker than normal. It looked as if he fixed them on the end of his nose; only, it was probably because they ran down their anyway. Why fight the inevitable?
His teeth were also strange. I never saw them, but only the way they made his mouth bulge.
He was truly unlike the other hundred people (or so) who walked in this store. Not only did he look different, he didn't communicate. He talked to no one but himself - at least for a moment. The movement of his mouth was enough to make me look up from my book.
His presence made me feel uneasy. I immediately looked at all of my possessions - my watch, my pens, my coffee cup, and my books. I made sure they were not in his space. I made room for him. But my motive was not so noble.
As I read about pastoring, I was convicted that this man sat next to me while I was completely uncommunicable. I had headphones in (is it ok to end that sentence with a preposition?). I was looking down, reading. I was less than inviting. So I took my headphones out in an effort to be more accessible.
Thirty minutes later, no words from this man. No words from me to this man. As he rose from his seat, I noticed his hand was deformed; curved under as if he was pointing toward his own elbow. And he walked with a noticeable limp. He was also noticeably alone.
This was probably common for him. He was probably used to talking to no one.
I wonder why he came to starbucks to sit so long. Why did he look so intently at others? Why did he come to a place where hundreds of people walked in and out, talking, drinking...relating?
Why did he sit across from me?
Why didn't I say anything to him?
I had just read about Christ touching a leper. But I didn't communicate anything at all to the obvious outcast who sat across from me.
By grace, never again.
Friday, September 28, 2012
Friday, September 21, 2012
Why We Don't Like Christ's Commandment to Love Our Neighbor
Jesus' command to love our neighbor is ambiguous for a reason. It lacks particularity in order to keep us from taking the reigns of his Kingdom. It keeps us off of his throne. In our sin, this command makes us uneasy and so we pass it off as impractical. We need something more.
And so we tend to respond to the command, not with obedience, but with another question, "Who [particularly] is my neighbor?"
The question, while religious and with a perceived willingness to follow, is less than obedient, and is ultimately an attempt to keep control over our own life. We all do it. It is man's rebellious, but polite, attempt to tell Jesus "No." It is the kiss on his cheek, while we betray him in our hearts.
Consider a few points while we take a closer look at the man in Luke 10 who responded to Jesus this way.
First, we see man's sinful hesitation after receiving a clear command. Should Christ have spoken this command and immediately ascended, the man would never have had the opportunity to respond. He (apparently) would have been left without clarification, and thus with an excuse to dismiss the command altogether.
This would leave the man guiltless, not having enough information to obey. His lack of love would be Christ's fault, not his. And so the verse goes, "But he, desiring to justify himself, said to Jesus, "And who is my neighbor?" (Luke 10:29).
Second, the desire for particularity turns Christian discipleship into a religious checklist, rather than a sacrificial lifestyle. You get the idea that, should Christ have responded, "That man over there is your neighbor", the man would have gone and done some good deed for him and considered his work done. As soon as the charity case seemed to have been freed from distress, the man would have considered himself freed from discipleship.
By then Christ would have been off to another town, and unable to physically give him another particular command. How convenient.
Third, Christ's command keeps Christ in control. Jesus, being the Sovereign Lord of the universe, who is in control, command, and who is always close (now by his Spirit in us), determines who our neighbor will be, when they will enter our lives, and how they will infect, inconvenience, and disturb us. It is almost as if he introduces them without us expecting or knowing. The man wanted to know who his neighbor was right then. Christ told him a story that left him feeling as if his life would be constantly threatened by the possibility of having to love.
The man would be completely dependent to know who to love, how to love, when to love, and why to love. He tried to trick Christ into submission. But Christ wrestled him down.
Fourth, Christ's command keeps us "not in control." Each and every one of us has neighbors. Those people are in our lives by his sovereign design. He chose them and their location, as he chose ours (Acts 17). They are the people we live around, work around, and do recreation around. They are also the people in need around us - the poor, the orphans, and the widows. Should we be left with our own imagination to determine a particular person to love, we would surely pick the easiest ones.
But Christ, being in control, places them in our lives. He knows who we need to love better than we do. And because the command is more ambiguous than we'd like, we are always dependent and at attention. We are always waiting the next neighborly introduction.
Fifth, the fact that this man [seemingly] didn't know who his neighbor was was indicative of his guilt, not an indication of his ignorant innocence. He should have known who his neighbor was. He was simply trying to remain innocent while unloving.
Similarly, if a particular person doesn't come to mind when we hear the word neighbor, we are in a dangerous situation. If we are not neighboring, we are not loving. If we are not loving, then we will ultimately be burning (John 15). The same goes with words like widow, orphan, and impoverished.
Finally, this command is the greatest blessing in our lives. Loving means dying. And in the Christian life, dying means truly living. As we go around frantically trying to save our lives, we are ultimately losing them. But, when we are at Christ's attention, loving those he places in our lives, we lose our life - and while this losing hurts, we know and feel that he has saved us.
And so we tend to respond to the command, not with obedience, but with another question, "Who [particularly] is my neighbor?"
The question, while religious and with a perceived willingness to follow, is less than obedient, and is ultimately an attempt to keep control over our own life. We all do it. It is man's rebellious, but polite, attempt to tell Jesus "No." It is the kiss on his cheek, while we betray him in our hearts.
Consider a few points while we take a closer look at the man in Luke 10 who responded to Jesus this way.
First, we see man's sinful hesitation after receiving a clear command. Should Christ have spoken this command and immediately ascended, the man would never have had the opportunity to respond. He (apparently) would have been left without clarification, and thus with an excuse to dismiss the command altogether.
This would leave the man guiltless, not having enough information to obey. His lack of love would be Christ's fault, not his. And so the verse goes, "But he, desiring to justify himself, said to Jesus, "And who is my neighbor?" (Luke 10:29).
Second, the desire for particularity turns Christian discipleship into a religious checklist, rather than a sacrificial lifestyle. You get the idea that, should Christ have responded, "That man over there is your neighbor", the man would have gone and done some good deed for him and considered his work done. As soon as the charity case seemed to have been freed from distress, the man would have considered himself freed from discipleship.
By then Christ would have been off to another town, and unable to physically give him another particular command. How convenient.
Third, Christ's command keeps Christ in control. Jesus, being the Sovereign Lord of the universe, who is in control, command, and who is always close (now by his Spirit in us), determines who our neighbor will be, when they will enter our lives, and how they will infect, inconvenience, and disturb us. It is almost as if he introduces them without us expecting or knowing. The man wanted to know who his neighbor was right then. Christ told him a story that left him feeling as if his life would be constantly threatened by the possibility of having to love.
The man would be completely dependent to know who to love, how to love, when to love, and why to love. He tried to trick Christ into submission. But Christ wrestled him down.
Fourth, Christ's command keeps us "not in control." Each and every one of us has neighbors. Those people are in our lives by his sovereign design. He chose them and their location, as he chose ours (Acts 17). They are the people we live around, work around, and do recreation around. They are also the people in need around us - the poor, the orphans, and the widows. Should we be left with our own imagination to determine a particular person to love, we would surely pick the easiest ones.
But Christ, being in control, places them in our lives. He knows who we need to love better than we do. And because the command is more ambiguous than we'd like, we are always dependent and at attention. We are always waiting the next neighborly introduction.
Fifth, the fact that this man [seemingly] didn't know who his neighbor was was indicative of his guilt, not an indication of his ignorant innocence. He should have known who his neighbor was. He was simply trying to remain innocent while unloving.
Similarly, if a particular person doesn't come to mind when we hear the word neighbor, we are in a dangerous situation. If we are not neighboring, we are not loving. If we are not loving, then we will ultimately be burning (John 15). The same goes with words like widow, orphan, and impoverished.
Finally, this command is the greatest blessing in our lives. Loving means dying. And in the Christian life, dying means truly living. As we go around frantically trying to save our lives, we are ultimately losing them. But, when we are at Christ's attention, loving those he places in our lives, we lose our life - and while this losing hurts, we know and feel that he has saved us.
Thursday, September 20, 2012
Children Bombarded by Porn While Watching Disney!
Whether an accident or not, it is absolutely unacceptable. Repairing what has just happened in these children's lives, in a matter of minutes, is beyond the abilities of any court, company, or counselor.
I remember images from when I was 9.
FOX Carolina 21
This should remind all of us to be in more diligent in protecting our children from adult content. There is probably nothing this mother could have done to protect hers. Sometimes evil is unavoidable, and we are simply left to handle its consequences.
You can read the full article here.
Pornography Harms is another great site that I frequent often for news, updates, and ways to be active in fighting against this wicked industry.
I remember images from when I was 9.
FOX Carolina 21
This should remind all of us to be in more diligent in protecting our children from adult content. There is probably nothing this mother could have done to protect hers. Sometimes evil is unavoidable, and we are simply left to handle its consequences.
You can read the full article here.
Pornography Harms is another great site that I frequent often for news, updates, and ways to be active in fighting against this wicked industry.
Tuesday, September 18, 2012
Why Does God Allow Sin to Remain After He Saves Us?
Why does God save us and allow us to remain sinful? There are few "problems" more relevant and significant than this in the Christian experience. A person sins and is immediately confronted with the question, "How can I say I love God when I obviously don't love him enough to stop sinning?"
Some then wonder why the Lord allows sin to linger. Some wonder if he actually exists. Some wonder if their faith actually exists; or, whether they will soon be lugging around the label associated with hypocritic Christianity.
In this post, I'd like to list some reasons why the Lord chooses to allow sin to remain in our lives.
The first two reasons come from John Owen (of course I will paraphrase and spare us both the sanctifying headache). Owen states that sin remains in our lives, as an ember of a flame, dwelling, but without its previous dominion. There are times when the Lord fans this flame to allow us to smell its stench, to get its smoke in our eyes, and to feel its burn in our lives.
This reminds us who we are and what we are capable of. It keeps us humble, dependent, and repentant.
This makes his sanctifying power more recognizable. David knew it well. At one time he could not keep himself from women. At another, he would not consider the virgin in his own bed. Likewise Abraham, who did not trust the Lord with his wife Sarah, later trusted the Lord with his most beloved son Isaac. This is the Lord's work of saving and sanctifying sinners.
To sum up the first two reasons: The Lord allows sin to dwell in order that we would regularly see our own weaknesses, as well as regularly see his strengths.
Another reason is that we continue to live (after we are saved) in a world with those who are still enslaved in sin. Lingering sin is the plank in our eye, in light of which we must view the moral specks in other eyes. There is something that happens when a person knows their sin well as they engage with others in redemptive conversation.
There is a humility about them. There are no walls around them. They know what it feels like to be gripped by wickedness. They know what it's like to be at war within themselves. They know what it's like to need Christ every hour.
This humility is necessary in evangelism. It is necessary for love, forgiveness, patience, and peace.
Without a constant reminder of our own need of Christ, we become self-reliant, judgmental, and less-than-relevant to the culture around us. Unfortunately, too many churches fail to see the plank in their own eye. They fail to recognize the flame that continues to burn within them. And people, being pretty darn smart, stay away. No one wants to be smacked in the head with a plank! No one wants to be burned by a self-righteous tongue.
The world knows what it feels like to wrestle with sin. This is why artists like Eminem and Lil' Wayne continue to top the charts. They fail, however, to identify the problem. In the words of Eminem, "I can't tell you what it really is, I can only tell you what it feels like..."
On the contrary, many Christians know what the problem is, but fail to admit they know what it feels like. And this is why most Christian media fails to reach, with any sort of significance, the dying world around us. We say, "I can tell you what it really is, but I can't tell you what it feels like."
The Lord allows sin to remain in us so that we can say to a dying person, "I can tell you what it really is, and I can tell you what it feels like. Let's walk through this difficult, but rewarding, life together."
Like it or not, the Lord uses sin in us to bring about his redemptive purposes.
Finally, he allows sin to linger so that we will continually long for heaven. We all must realize that sin will have its final day. This life is but a vapor. Our battle with sin is a short one. This world is obviously not our home. Soon and very soon, we will go and see the King. That glorious day will inaugurate endless years of sinless relationship with the Lord and others - without tears, without pain, without conflict, and without sorrow.
And he will get all the glory. Why? Because his name is Jesus, the King who saves struggling sinners still.
Some then wonder why the Lord allows sin to linger. Some wonder if he actually exists. Some wonder if their faith actually exists; or, whether they will soon be lugging around the label associated with hypocritic Christianity.
In this post, I'd like to list some reasons why the Lord chooses to allow sin to remain in our lives.
The first two reasons come from John Owen (of course I will paraphrase and spare us both the sanctifying headache). Owen states that sin remains in our lives, as an ember of a flame, dwelling, but without its previous dominion. There are times when the Lord fans this flame to allow us to smell its stench, to get its smoke in our eyes, and to feel its burn in our lives.
This reminds us who we are and what we are capable of. It keeps us humble, dependent, and repentant.
This makes his sanctifying power more recognizable. David knew it well. At one time he could not keep himself from women. At another, he would not consider the virgin in his own bed. Likewise Abraham, who did not trust the Lord with his wife Sarah, later trusted the Lord with his most beloved son Isaac. This is the Lord's work of saving and sanctifying sinners.
To sum up the first two reasons: The Lord allows sin to dwell in order that we would regularly see our own weaknesses, as well as regularly see his strengths.
Another reason is that we continue to live (after we are saved) in a world with those who are still enslaved in sin. Lingering sin is the plank in our eye, in light of which we must view the moral specks in other eyes. There is something that happens when a person knows their sin well as they engage with others in redemptive conversation.
There is a humility about them. There are no walls around them. They know what it feels like to be gripped by wickedness. They know what it's like to be at war within themselves. They know what it's like to need Christ every hour.
This humility is necessary in evangelism. It is necessary for love, forgiveness, patience, and peace.
Without a constant reminder of our own need of Christ, we become self-reliant, judgmental, and less-than-relevant to the culture around us. Unfortunately, too many churches fail to see the plank in their own eye. They fail to recognize the flame that continues to burn within them. And people, being pretty darn smart, stay away. No one wants to be smacked in the head with a plank! No one wants to be burned by a self-righteous tongue.
The world knows what it feels like to wrestle with sin. This is why artists like Eminem and Lil' Wayne continue to top the charts. They fail, however, to identify the problem. In the words of Eminem, "I can't tell you what it really is, I can only tell you what it feels like..."
On the contrary, many Christians know what the problem is, but fail to admit they know what it feels like. And this is why most Christian media fails to reach, with any sort of significance, the dying world around us. We say, "I can tell you what it really is, but I can't tell you what it feels like."
The Lord allows sin to remain in us so that we can say to a dying person, "I can tell you what it really is, and I can tell you what it feels like. Let's walk through this difficult, but rewarding, life together."
Like it or not, the Lord uses sin in us to bring about his redemptive purposes.
Finally, he allows sin to linger so that we will continually long for heaven. We all must realize that sin will have its final day. This life is but a vapor. Our battle with sin is a short one. This world is obviously not our home. Soon and very soon, we will go and see the King. That glorious day will inaugurate endless years of sinless relationship with the Lord and others - without tears, without pain, without conflict, and without sorrow.
And he will get all the glory. Why? Because his name is Jesus, the King who saves struggling sinners still.
Monday, September 17, 2012
The Good News that Amazon Can't Save You
If you are a Christian, there are undoubtedly times when you actually wonder if you are, in fact, a Christian. There are times when you really struggle with assurance of your salvation. Lingering sin in your life causes you to seriously consider whether your faith is genuine; whether you love Christ with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength.
When these considerations plague us, we tend to search diligently for evidence of salvation. We look for reasons to believe we are believers. We want so badly to "confirm our calling and election" (2Pet 1:10).
One of my concerns is that we look to less-than-valid evidences for confirmation. I fear we are more rationalistic than is helpful. I fear we have only modified the Cartesian creed under Christian pretense. Instead of saying, "I think, therefore I am," we say, "I think Christian, therefore I am Christian." Thus, to make our calling and election sure, we try to identify and develop certain [Christian] thoughts or intellectual practices in our life as evidence for our belief.
But there is a huge problem with this. Intellectual alignment with orthodoxy is not the best evidence for faith since it can be found in those who have no faith at all (cf. Matt 7:21). More than this, in the Christian life loving is more important than thinking. The heart is primary, while the mind is secondary. Please note that I did not say that thinking is not important; but that it is not primary.
Consider our own experience. How many times do we know what is right, but fail to love what is right? How many times does our heart contradict our mind? It is during these times we struggle with assurance the most. It is during these times when we know our mind isn't enough. And it is during these times when we despair of all our efforts to strengthen our intellect because it just doesn't work.
We look at the book about sexual addiction and shake our heads. We turn from our spouse in an argument only to find Keller's new book on marriage on the bed-side table. We read em both. What happened?!
This is what happened: Our minds, no matter how learned, have failed (again) to change our hearts.
I am thankful that the Scriptures steer us away from this sort of [Christian] rationalism. In them we learn that Christ directs his initial efforts at the human heart, from which his Spirit produces fruit in us (Ezek 36). It is this fruit that lets us know we are his disciples.
Consider (among many passages) John 15:2, 8, "Every branch in me that does not bear fruit he takes away, and every branch that does ear fruit he prunes, that it may bear more fruit...By this my Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit and so prove to be my disciples."
If these verses are true, we ought to be looking for fruit of the Spirit in our lives for proof that we are his disciples. All the knowledge in the world is useless if it is without love. We can memorize the catechism, but should we fail to see joy, peace, patience, kindness, faithfulness, etc., in our lives, we should have no assurance at all that we are in Christ.
And this is good news. When we see the Spirit work patience in us, we see change in the most significant place - in the heart. When we freely and joyfully forgive someone, we experience a satisfaction that surpasses our understanding, but that invades every part of our being. Sometimes our minds have to catch up to what we feel. Sometimes we have to really consider where the fruit came from because it certainly didn't come from our own intellectual efforts.
It's time to put the books down, at least for a moment, and consider our own foolishness in thinking that we can think our way to Christ. The feeling we get when we learn something new is not necessarily faith. The Spirit gives us something more sure. He produces fruit within us - especially when we are fools - to let us know he is there, that he loves us, and that he has saved us.
And, might I add, this should inflame our evangelistic efforts. For too long we have burdened the subjects of our proclamation with an extrabiblical rule - that they must become as learned as we in order to be saved. Destroying the stronghold of Christian rationalism frees us all from such tyranny. And it liberates, even the most unlearned "whosoever" to simply confess and believe in the Lord Jesus for salvation.
When these considerations plague us, we tend to search diligently for evidence of salvation. We look for reasons to believe we are believers. We want so badly to "confirm our calling and election" (2Pet 1:10).
One of my concerns is that we look to less-than-valid evidences for confirmation. I fear we are more rationalistic than is helpful. I fear we have only modified the Cartesian creed under Christian pretense. Instead of saying, "I think, therefore I am," we say, "I think Christian, therefore I am Christian." Thus, to make our calling and election sure, we try to identify and develop certain [Christian] thoughts or intellectual practices in our life as evidence for our belief.
But there is a huge problem with this. Intellectual alignment with orthodoxy is not the best evidence for faith since it can be found in those who have no faith at all (cf. Matt 7:21). More than this, in the Christian life loving is more important than thinking. The heart is primary, while the mind is secondary. Please note that I did not say that thinking is not important; but that it is not primary.
Consider our own experience. How many times do we know what is right, but fail to love what is right? How many times does our heart contradict our mind? It is during these times we struggle with assurance the most. It is during these times when we know our mind isn't enough. And it is during these times when we despair of all our efforts to strengthen our intellect because it just doesn't work.
We look at the book about sexual addiction and shake our heads. We turn from our spouse in an argument only to find Keller's new book on marriage on the bed-side table. We read em both. What happened?!
This is what happened: Our minds, no matter how learned, have failed (again) to change our hearts.
I am thankful that the Scriptures steer us away from this sort of [Christian] rationalism. In them we learn that Christ directs his initial efforts at the human heart, from which his Spirit produces fruit in us (Ezek 36). It is this fruit that lets us know we are his disciples.
Consider (among many passages) John 15:2, 8, "Every branch in me that does not bear fruit he takes away, and every branch that does ear fruit he prunes, that it may bear more fruit...By this my Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit and so prove to be my disciples."
If these verses are true, we ought to be looking for fruit of the Spirit in our lives for proof that we are his disciples. All the knowledge in the world is useless if it is without love. We can memorize the catechism, but should we fail to see joy, peace, patience, kindness, faithfulness, etc., in our lives, we should have no assurance at all that we are in Christ.
And this is good news. When we see the Spirit work patience in us, we see change in the most significant place - in the heart. When we freely and joyfully forgive someone, we experience a satisfaction that surpasses our understanding, but that invades every part of our being. Sometimes our minds have to catch up to what we feel. Sometimes we have to really consider where the fruit came from because it certainly didn't come from our own intellectual efforts.
It's time to put the books down, at least for a moment, and consider our own foolishness in thinking that we can think our way to Christ. The feeling we get when we learn something new is not necessarily faith. The Spirit gives us something more sure. He produces fruit within us - especially when we are fools - to let us know he is there, that he loves us, and that he has saved us.
And, might I add, this should inflame our evangelistic efforts. For too long we have burdened the subjects of our proclamation with an extrabiblical rule - that they must become as learned as we in order to be saved. Destroying the stronghold of Christian rationalism frees us all from such tyranny. And it liberates, even the most unlearned "whosoever" to simply confess and believe in the Lord Jesus for salvation.
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