SouldOut

I think we tend to forget this universal truth… Whether it was the disciples, the rich young ruler or you and me today- “It is impossible to follow Jesus and not be led away from something.” The implications for this are pretty staggering  when you think about the disciples leaving their jobs and families to follow Jesus and the young ruler walking away from Jesus. The disciples had joy and the young ruler “went away sad”. You really have to ask yourself “To whom shall we go?” Take your choice, but choose wisely. Check out this Slice of Infinity-

After this many of his disciples turned back and no longer walked with him.   So Jesus said to the Twelve, “Do you want to go away as well?”  Simon Peter answered him, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life,  and we have believed, and have come to know, that you are the Holy One of God.” (John 6:66-69)

Thinking Man

From Tozer’s “The Knowledge of the Holy”-  “As nothing is more easy than to think,” says Thomas Traherne, “so nothing is more difficult than to think well.” If we ever think well, it should be when we think of God.

I seriously doubt that most people give much thought to what they think about or how they think. Perhaps the biggest problem in the contemporary church today is the lack of serious thought about the great doctrines of Christianity. JI Packer once commented that Christianity in America “is a mile wide and an inch deep”.  One reason for this is that with the last several generations brought up on a steady diet of banal television, it is hard to get people to unplug from the world and be quiet long enough to have an original thought or to even think about God. Add to that the fact that the very medium of TV is designed to entertain and amuse, and you have a recipe for brain mush soup.

If you do a word search in any Bible software using the work “think” you will find that most of the verses are pointing out that people think wrongly about God and themselves- they think what everyone else is thinking and they think they are right. But to think with the masses is a dangerous thing- even in the church. We are easily deceived and self-deceit is the stuff parables are made of. In the parable of the sower, Jesus points out that what you hear and think about will have profound effects on your life-   “Take care then how you hear, for to the one who has, more will be given, and from the one who has not, even what he thinks that he has will be taken away.” (Luke 8:18)

I dare you to leave the TV off all weekend and think for yourself. Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things. (Philippians 4:8)

I had a long discussion with my brother the other day about the lack of real life change in most churches and we agreed that the American corporate church model of programs and large group events is not an effective way to grow mature Christians. The Acts church model is much more organic than what we typically do. Big is not always bad, but there is a huge difference between “big and fat” and “big and strong”.  So, I think there needs to be a top to bottom layered emphasis on disciple making for the church to thrive and be everything God intended. I don’t think discipleship is hard, it is just time consuming and messy. That is probably why most churches don’t do it- we want instant results (another American trait) and discipling people takes time and effort. The analogy that comes to mind is building cathedrals. There will never be another cathedral built in America (or probably the world) because we do not think the result is worth the time and money. But if you want the permanence and beauty of something that is built for the glory of God, you have to pay the price. There are certain things that can only happen one way and Biblical, Jesus style discipleship is how disciples are made. So, pray about who you can invest your life in. There is undoubtedly someone waiting…

From the 2-16-10 Slice of Infinity at RZIM

This excerpt just reminds me of the inevitable nature of life and how we as Christians should view it.

Following the downward path of Jesus can lead to a renewed, hopeful, and restored vision of life. For as we embrace our inevitable deaths and declines, as we embrace the downward path, we have the opportunity to let go of the false things we think make up our lives. We let go of thinking that the accumulation of wealth, power, and resources make up a good life; we let go of thinking that busyness makes us important; we let go of thinking that our personal safety and security are to be preserved at all cost. And as we let go, we can embrace those who make life fullest, we can put others’ interests before our own, and exist for the sake of others. And what is done on behalf of others for the sake of Christ will indeed endure beyond our deaths.

Great quote from John Piper in his forward to CJ Mahaney’s book- “Worldliness- Resisting the Seduction of a Fallen World“.

“The gospel makes all the difference between whether you are merely conservative or whether you are conquering worldliness in the power of the Spirit for the glory of Christ.”

Mark Dever says “Worldliness is normally invisible to us, like water to a fish. That’s one of the reasons why it’s so dangerous to us.”

It is worth spending some time thinking about how you view worldliness and what John meant when he wrote- “Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world- the desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes and pride in possessions- is not from the Father but is from the world. And the world is passing away along with its desires, but whoever does the will of God abides forever.” (1 John 2:15-17)

Piper slammed it out of the park yesterday in his talk on the life, theology and philosophy of CS Lewis. Well worth your time to watch or, if you want to download the audio you can get it here.

William Cowper

I’ve never really studied poetry other than in a freshman English class or something like that. But I’ve always been fascinated by the Psalms and many of the classic hymns. They take the human pathos and put theology behind it.  In my church, we are much more likely to sing a Chris Tomlin song than one of the old hymns, but even Tomlin sees the genius and depth that many of these hymns have and he incorporates some of them into his music. So, that said, here is a great hymn (poetry) by William Cowper that might just be what your soul needs…

God moves in a mysterious way
His wonders to perform;
He plants his footsteps in the sea,
And rides upon the storm.

Deep in unfathomable mines
Of never failing skill,
He treasures up his bright designs
And works his sovereign will.

Ye fearful saints, fresh courage take,
The clouds ye so much dread
Are big with mercy, and shall break
In blessings on your head.

Judge not the lord by feeble sense,
But trust him for his grace;
behind a frowning providence
He hides a smiling face.

His purpose will ripen fast,
Unfolding every hour;
the bud may have bitter taste,
But sweet will be the flower.

Blind unbelief is sure to err,
And scan his work in vain:
God is his own interpreter,
And He will make it plain.

I’ve been going through Richard Foster’s “Celebration of Discipline” with a couple of guys I meet with on Sunday nights and we are looking at the chapter on “Study” as a personal discipline this week. He ends the chapter with these wise words that we should spend some time thinking about-

We would do well to study institutions and cultures and the forces that shape them. Also, we should ponder the events of our time, noting first, with a spirit of discernment, what things our culture lifts up as “great events.” Let’s look at the values of the culture—not what people say they are, but what they actually are.

Let’s learn to ask questions. What are the assets and liabilities of a technological society? What has the fast-food industry done to the tradition of a family gathering for dinner? Why do we find it difficult in our culture to have time to develop relationships? Is Western individualism beneficial or destructive? What in our culture is in harmony with the gospel and what is at odds with it? One of the most important functions of Christian prophets in our day is the ability to perceive the consequences of various forces in our culture and make value judgments upon them.

Looking at the “great events” of American culture (Super Bowl, award shows, etc) and what it says about our values is depressing to me. Our almost complete obsession with celebrity, sports and entertainment speaks volumes about our values. The fact that at any major university the football and basketball coaches make at least 4x what the president makes (and maybe 10-20x what a professor makes) speaks loudly about what we value in this country. But what really worries me is how the church and most people who consider themselves followers of Christ are as obsessed with sports and entertainment as the pagans are.  It’s not that I don’t enjoy sports, movies or other forms of entertainment- I do. They play an important role in society. But when a culture elevates sports and entertainment to the level it has in America, I believe that culture is in danger. When Christians buy into that level of idol worship, I believe that the church is in danger.

There are of course, many things in our culture that are not in harmony with the gospel but it is really dangerous when the values of the church are not in harmony with the teachings of Jesus. Jesus’ last instructions were to “go and make disciples” and to teach them to observe all that He commanded- not entertain them in the hope that they will “accept” Him. I believe in excellence in all that we do in the church because God is worthy of our best efforts- not because we need to compete with the world. The church will never be able to compete with Dubai World and if we try, we waste valuable time and resources.

So I wonder where the modern day prophets are who “perceive the consequences of various forces in our culture and make value judgments upon them”?

So, I am reading through the Bible in chronological (historical) order since I have never read it that way, and I’ve been struck anew by how bizarre some of this stuff is. Today I read this and all I could think was “wow, that’s really bizarre”- God setting up the 12 tribes of Israel Jerry Springer style.

In the days of wheat harvest Reuben went and found mandrakes in the field and brought them to his mother Leah. Then Rachel said to Leah, “Please give me some of your son’s mandrakes.” 15 But she said to her, “Is it a small matter that you have taken away my husband? Would you take away my son’s mandrakes also?” Rachel said, “Then he may lie with you tonight in exchange for your son’s mandrakes.” 16 When Jacob came from the field in the evening, Leah went out to meet him and said, “You must come in to me, for I have hired you with my son’s mandrakes.” So he lay with her that night. 17 And God listened to Leah, and she conceived and bore Jacob a fifth son. 18 Leah said, “God has given me my wages because I gave my servant to my husband.” So she called his name Issachar. Gen 30:14-17

If you want to read through the Bible in a year in chronological order, here is a good link- If you read 2 per day you will be caught up pretty quick. http://www.gnpcb.org/esv/devotions/chronological/?date=2010-01-01

I really can’t add much to this quote from AW Tozer, but I just wanted to post it as a reminder to everyone of how subtle sin can be- especially if we have grown up in a culture that not only accepts but also condones it. In America and I’m sure around the world, our lust for continuous amusement and entertainment needs to be added to Tozer’s list.

A great preacher, now deceased, to whom I used often to listen with profit and delight, would sometimes shout dramatically, “God never classifies sin.”

His words were intended as a protest against a careless attitude toward certain forms of sin, and in their context I agree with them. Nevertheless God does classify sin and so does the law of the land, and so does the conscience of every man.

As various serpents differ from each other in their power to kill, so various sins carry different kinds of venom, all bad, but not all equally bad, their power to injure depending upon the high or low concentration of iniquity they carry in them.

Within the precincts of religion are sometimes found certain sins which I want here to mention. These may be classified under three heads: Sins committed out of weakness, respectable sins more or less allowed by everyone, and sins that have been woven into the religious fabric until they have become a necessary part of it.

No sin is to be excused. Every sin carries its own penalty. But the sin committed on impulse or the sin committed out of weakness over the protests of the heart surely does not carry the same deadly charge as those done with brazen deliberation. From such a sin there is complete deliverance by the power of Christ; and from such there is more likely to be, since it is a grief to those who commit it.

Sins of the second category are those that exist with the sanction of or at least the connivance of the church, such as pride, vanity, self-centeredness, levity, worldliness, gluttony, the telling of “white” lies, borderline dishonesty, lack of compassion for the unfortunate, complacency, absorption in the affairs of this life, love of pleasure, the holding of grudges, stinginess, gossiping and various dirty habits not expressly forbidden by name in the Scriptures.

These sins are so common that they have been accepted as normal by the average church and are either not mentioned at all or referred to in smiling half-humor by the clergy. While not as spectacular as a roaring weekend drunk or as dramatic as a violent explosion of temper, they are in the long run more deadly than either, for they are seldom recognized as sin and are practically never repented of. They remain year after year to grieve the Spirit and sap the life of the church, while everyone continues to speak the words of the true faith and go through the motions of perfunctory godliness, not knowing that there is anything wrong.