Concrete & Sand... [2]

So what is behind the lunacy of my suggestion to make a life goal of following God in the sand rather than in concrete? Well, simply stated, life. And the Bible, and sin, and our weakness, and God’s faithfulness, and our power to choose.

Let’s be honest; life is difficult. The Bible does not hide this fact. Life is difficult because sin has done a number on us – far greater a number than we all too often realize I fear. We must also be clear, we are weak. And not only is this OK to admit, it is necessary if you are to follow God. Yet while we are weak, God is faithful. And when we acknowledge our weakness we can exercise our power to choose – and choose Him.

A reason I am suggesting a life goal of following God be made in the sand is because (and please recall the analogy disclaimer of yesterday) if you “draw a line in the sand,” so to say (or place your handprint and initials in sand, to keep with the concrete analogy of yesterday), and you want it to stay there (meaning you mean it), you have to revisit it daily. If your decision to follow God is made in concrete, you can mistakenly think that commitment will stand the test of time – no matter if you revisit it or not. Make no mistake about it, if you are going to resolutely follow God throughout your life, it is a commitment you will have to daily revisit.

A way of revisiting this commitment is through thanksgiving. In fact, I am becoming convinced that thanksgiving is the most fundamental thing we must do in following God. When you revisit your “line in the sand,” you further etch it as you recall what God has done for you. Yet in giving God thanks you dare not stop with what He has done for only you. You must also thank God for what He has done for others, for what He has done throughout history, and for what He has done to advance His Kingdom. Thanksgiving is tantamount to trust in God. And trust in God (or faith) is a prerequisite to following God. 

Another reason I am suggesting a life goal of following God be made in the sand is because your “line in the sand” will be met with challenges. We will call them the “storms of life.” What happens to a line in the sand during a storm? Yep, it gets washed away. At the least it becomes less noticeable. Have you ever been guilty of running away from God when things got difficult in your life? If you have not then congratulations, you and Jesus are the only ones to have never done that! In other words, of course you have. Yet if you know your commitment to follow God is in the sand, you know this commitment is susceptible and in danger of being washed away and forgotten when times get hard.

Let’s face it, pretty much all growth in life is through difficulty. Ever watch a baby learn to walk? It is humorous for us...but can be painful and frustrating for them. Ever watch world-class athletes? The grace and power and skill mask countless hours of grueling workouts and sacrifice. Ever watch a skilled laborer do their part in making a house? Have you ever considered their skills have come through hours of learning as well as having made many mistakes? The list of examples is endless. 

I think a reason why so many followers of Jesus are struggling and practically infants in their faith is because they do not embrace difficulty. When “life happens” and things get hard, they turn to a variety of things rather than to God (just to be clear, we have all done this). And all the while their line in the sand is beaten and all but washed away. Tragically, in place of the commitment to follow God (which includes relying on and trusting in Him), in deceptive ways mind you, comes a commitment to whatever they turned to in the time of difficulty (shopping, TV, giving into whatever thoughts enter their mind, eating, cutting, being busy, etc.). Yes, to keep our line in the sand – our commitment to follow God – we must revisit it daily. Indeed, often we need to revisit it multiple times a day, especially when the storms of life come. And let’s be honest, what day is totally “storm free” in your life?  

There are other reasons why I am suggesting a life goal of following God be made in the sand, but those will have to wait for another time.

Concrete & Sand... [1]

Some rather common wisdom concerning goals and achieving them is that you set your goal in concrete and make your plans in sand. Behind this thinking is the reality of life. Situations will arise, so how you plan to accomplish a given goal may have to change. It is obviously easier to change something in the sand than it is to change something etched in concrete. Furthermore, a goal made in concrete connotes a sense of permanence and stability.

Yet when it comes to following God, I am inviting you to consider with me the value of placing this life goal in the sand and leaving concrete out of the picture all together. Why would you even suggest this? Just read along please. Haven’t you ever read about the foolish and wise builders Jesus talked about? Which ones, those in Matthew 7 or those in Luke 14?  

Have you ever made (or seen) handprints in concrete? Examples with which I am familiar are agrarian (perhaps because not many children want to ‘immortalize’ their handprint with a name in the city limits). When the pad was poured for whatever (floor of a shop, approach to building, a sidewalk, etc.), a place was reserved for handprints in the concrete accompanied with initials (sometimes full names) and a date. It is kind of cool really. Yet, how often are those memorials (which is what they seem to be) forgotten? Oh to be sure, a person can revisit a site from their childhood and “remember when” if you will. Yet how often do the events of “remember when” come back to their mind without revisiting the site?   

Let the reader understand, this is an analogy. Analogies do not prove truth, they illustrate truth. Furthermore, all analogies will eventually break down at some point. So, let this be what it is – an analogy.

There are many who have “made a goal in concrete,” if you will, and have not revisited that goal in any substantial way for years. The intention is good: “I will be faithful to you as my wife/husband” or “I will follow God whole-heartedly” or “I am convicted, I will no longer ______”. A concrete resolve is made, with good intentions, but over time it is ignored. Granted, something might spur the person to “remember when,” but what follows the trip down memory lane is not set in concrete. Indeed, the trip can go a few ways. For some, it will embolden the person and they will recommit to their initial goal in concrete. After all, they meant what they said. For others, it will lead to the person being disheartened and defeated as they think, “Wow, a lot of good that commitment did me…just like a lot of other things in my life – F.A.I.L.U.R.E. – I may as well give up.” Yet they meant what they said as well... 

The above is not only unfortunate. It is also tragic. Worse yet, it is also reality day after day after day. What is the divorce rate in our culture? [And no, I am not saying a lack of commitment is behind all divorces – there are many factors] How many people have initially decided to follow God only to, at the least, wane in that commitment if not fall away? How many have been convicted that “this is the last time” only to return to it, or have it return – with a vengeance?

What if the goal was made in sand?  I realize I involved some other goals above, but I will now return to the life goal of following God – you can make the application for other life goals easy enough. Yet...Made in sand? What, like something that takes hardly any effort? Like something that can be easily washed away or eroded? To those inquiries I answer “No” and “Yes.” We will explore why next time… 

I Am Convinced...

I am sure you noticed the title for this post did not end with a period (.), but rather with an ellipsis (…). This is because I have been pondering a thought for quite some time now, and I believe it is now time to hesitantly share it…while leaving some room for modification (hence the ellipsis). Here is the statement; it is harder to live for Jesus here in our culture than it is in other cultures. Of this reality I am convinced… 

Another reason I use an ellipsis instead of a period, is because my experience is in this culture. I have only read about following Jesus in other cultures; I have not experienced it. So allow me to cut to the chase again, phrased a bit differently, following Jesus is harder in our culture than in other cultures…

I have pondered this statement for a while for a variety of reasons. One reason is that it is one thing to ponder something, but it is another to put it out there for consumption. Quite often in my mind I think if my life does not reflect what I put out there, then what is my basis for making the statement? In other words; “practice what you preach”.

Granted, I am all for practicing what I preach. Yet we need to understand something; if someone highlights an issue or a problem, and for some reason their life does not match up to “the solution,” this does not mean the issue or problem is false or irrelevant. E.g., around 26,000 children will die today (and tomorrow, and the next day) from a lack of food or some other poverty-related issue. However, just because I am going to likely eat more than the bare minimum needed for survival on most days, and drive a car rather than walk to work, does not negate the reality that 26,000 children are going to die of preventable causes. In other words, just because I have not reduced the “stuff” in my life to what seems to be drastic measures (by our standards), this does not negate the truth of poverty devouring life on this earth. Truthfully, I think far too many Christians play the “Well yeah, but what are you doing about it?” card in order to somehow justify their lack of doing anything. Let us call that for what it is – sin.

OK, now back to why I am convinced it is harder to follow Jesus here than in other cultures. Simply stated, it is easy to know following Jesus is costly if a gun is pointed to your head for your professed belief (or a machete is being repeatedly lowered on your leg, or your house is being bombed, or your children are being targeted for death because the persecutors know they can no longer keep you silent by threatening merely your life), as you are given an option to repent. On the other hand, it is not so easy to tell following Jesus is costly when we are faced with upgrading to a nicer automobile (or home, or cable package, or brand of clothes) when what we have is honestly, and quite often, more than enough. 

On one hand, the above examples of “it is easy to tell” and “it is not so easy to tell” can easily be expounded. Yet on the other hand, we must not be fooled into thinking this applies only in the realm of materialism. However we cannot deny Jesus bluntly states “the deceitfulness of riches and the desires for other things choke the word, and it proves unfruitful” (Mk4:19). No wonder Jesus told a guy to sell all he had and give it to the poor (Mk10:21). 

If you are still reading, let me briefly expand this difficulty in following Jesus in our culture beyond the realm of materialism. For example, in a culture where your very life depends on unity and harmony in the body it is likely “easier” to reconcile and forgive an offense. Yet in our culture, where one can just leave one church and go to the next, or choose not to talk and reconcile with someone because the stakes for unity and harmony do not seem so obvious, well then forgiveness and reconciliation are easily viewed as an option. Similarly, it is perhaps “easier” to be blinded to the reality of how our actions impact others here as well. Yet I recall Paul saying something about protecting the Unity the Spirit has gifted to The Church (Eph4:3), and Jesus saying the world will know we are His disciples by how we love one another (Jn13:34-35; cf. Jn17:20-23). Those do not sound like optional aspects of following Jesus. Indeed, they are not; we are only deceived into thinking they are. Let us again call that for what it is – sin.

We live in a culture that teaches us to be self-centered, not self-denying. We live in a culture that teaches us to be independent, not dependent on God for everything. We live in a culture that teaches us things are disposable, not a resource to be leveraged for the Kingdom. We live in a culture that tells us relationships are replaceable, not valuable and worth fighting to preserve. We live in a culture that tells us unity is important so long as it does not cost us anything, not to go to extreme measures to protect it. We live in a culture that teaches us to consume will bring ultimate happiness and fulfillment, not that it leads to addiction and emptiness. We live in a culture that teaches us so many things contrary to God’s desires are acceptable, the norm, or just the way our culture is so we may as well accept it.

I think many people seeking to follow Jesus struggle with things in this post…yet sadly I think many have been placated into at least a partial resignation to the way things are. Yeah, it is harder to follow Jesus here than in other cultures, of this I am more convinced… 

 

So, I turn to God in prayer; thankful for His grace...yet expressing my desire to respond to It more fully. I realize this is a battle I cannot win on my own; of that I am convinced.

 

Honesty With God

Every now and then I make some rather audacious statements concerning Christianity. I suppose making these types of statements, for me, is a natural out flowing of seeking to be faithful to God.

I made one such audacious statement in a sermon the last Sunday of 2012. I sought to brace the people of New Life so it would not catch them completely off guard. I warned them that some would not like what I was about to say…but I was OK with that. However, I did relay my hope that they would ponder and pray about the statement and hopefully come to a point of agreeing with it in the near future. I went on to say that God knows what He is doing.

I kept going for a bit, but it seemed my point was missed, so I let them know I had made my audacious statement – God knows what He is doing. This promptly drew a few chuckles and not a few puzzled looks. So I added that we ought to give the Creator of everything the benefit of the doubt – He knows what He is doing.

I was serious when I said it then, and am serious while writing about it now. We, the finite creation, need to give the Infinite Creator of EVERYTHING the benefit of the doubt and trust He knows what He is doing. 

Well, this may sound nice, but what difference does it actually make? Is there any impact for my life you may ask. Yes, there is. The benefits that come from being honest with God are immense.

Think back to when you were a kid. Did you ever get in trouble? If you did not please feel free to stop reading right now. Better yet, call your parents and ask them (if you still have contact with them that is).

Anyway, did you ever try and deny what you did, while not knowing your parents knew what you did, and therefore receive a more harsh punishment? Conversely, did you ever confess what you did and get a bit lighter punishment?  Some may be able to relate to this analogy, others may not. Regardless, it is a way to understand something about God. Namely, honesty with God is a good thing. When we are honest with Him there is forgiveness and empowerment. Yet when we are dishonest with Him there is bondage and misery. 

A lot of God’s people need to be honest with Him and confess a variety of things. Think of all the problems in The Church right now. A lack of forgiveness leads to people leaving churches, and worse yet, splitting churches. Materialism is out of control, which leads to next-to-nothing giving (on the overall scale) and needs being unnecessarily unmet all around us – and the world.  A lack of prayer leads to people not seeking God’s guidance and will for their lives; simultaneously they go about living their lives as if they have no need for God. This is further shown by a lack of reading in God’s Word while making time for newspapers, magazines, TV shows, recreation, etc.

I realize all of those can have their justifications. For lack of time I will not mention any, only to provide what I hope to be a future link. Yet justifications are not confession…and they will keep people in bondage to the habits, and whatever else, is influencing them. 

So, what is one to do? Well, in light the audacious thought of “God knows what He is doing,” how about doing the following. Find Scripture that addresses a certain issue with which you struggle, read it, be honest with God, and ask for help. It would look something like this…

If you struggle with forgiveness read Matthew 5:43-48 (where Jesus tell us to love our enemies), you might also read Matthew 18:21-35 (a parable about unforgiveness). Then say something like, “God, I am not there right now…I can’t forgive this person…what is more, I don’t really even want to forgive this person…yet I know Your word tells me I must forgive them…God, please help me…please give me a desire to forgive because right now I do not even have it…and honestly, I don’t even want that desire…BUT I trust You more than I trust me.”

That may sound foolish, but I assure you, it is not. It is not because of a few things: 1) you are in God’s word, 2) you are praying to (communicating with) God, 3) you are being honest with God, and 4) it opens the door for God to do what only He can do. Seriously, do you think He is unaware of your lack of a desire to forgive someone? Do you really want to continue to feel bad for not reading or praying? Do you really want to live in disobedience while being deceived by the evil one?

I did not think so.

I challenge you to try this method with whatever issue you are facing in your life. For some, it may need to start by reading 2 Corinthians 4:4 (Satan blinding eyes), 2 Corinthians 10:4-6 (taking thoughts captive), and Matthew 4:9 (showing Satan’s ownership of this world). Satan (though defeated and bound) is alive and well enough to cause havoc in the lives of anyone – including those seeking to follow God. Maybe we all need to beg God to be merciful and reveal where we are being deceived by the evil one.

None of us are above that…and after all, honesty with God is a good thing. 

Give and you will be _____

I am perplexed. In “KJV bible-ese” I may be getting close to “undone” (cf. Isaiah 6:5). We are currently doing a series on stewardship at New Life. I do not know if it is because…well I just do not know – but I was not looking forward to it.

It is not that I am against talking about money (a while back in a sermon I suggested with a Kingdom perspective we do things differently: like seeking to live on less in order to support a “missionary” or if both spouses work seriously consider giving a salary away to help the “least of these” – or to meet needs and then give it away, etc.). I suppose what I do not like is how quite often the way giving is talked about within the church rubs me wrong. In typing that please understand I am seeking to be humble because I realize the way I go about things may rub people the wrong way as well. I want to learn from others and humbly offer some reflections for others to ponder.

With all of that said, in reading, praying, and studying for this past Sunday’s sermon I became – well I am not sure what I became. If you are still with me I am not trying to be confusing. I suppose my hem-hawing around is due to how my eyes are continually being opened by God’s Word…and sometimes I do not like what I see. Perhaps more accurately that last statement should be what I see both excites and disturbs me.

I cannot recount the number of times I have heard Malachi 3:10 utilized when encouraging people to “tithe”. Last week I read and re-read Malachi several times (a good principle for Bible study). I do not know how many times I had read Malachi last week before I realized what verse 10 said. The plea is for there to be “food” in God’s house.
(Disclaimer: this sermon did not focus solely on Malachi; at the beginning of the week I had a thought of looking at Malachi 3:10 at some point in the sermon…so during the week I read and re-read the book several times. I mention this disclaimer to state it is possible I am wrong…BUT PLEASE if I am, help me by showing me – just be gentle as I am seeking to be). Please note, I try to keep these somewhat brief so they are read in their entirety…so please either a) stick with me or b) look at the cliff notes at the bottom of the post (if I remember them).

Malachi 3:10 says, Bring the full tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. And thereby put me to the test, says the Lord of hosts, if I will not open the windows of heaven for you and pour down for you a blessing until there is no more need.

Every verse has a larger context within a pericope, chapter, book, Bible. With this in mind if we quickly back up to 3:6 we read, “For I the LORD do not change; therefore you, O children of Jacob, are not consumed.” Another way of translating the end of verse six is “…O children of Jacob, have not ceased” or “…have not ceased to be the sons of Jacob” (Baldwin, Haggai, Zechariah, Malachi: TOTC). We must remember Jacob’s name meant he was a deceiver (cf. stealing Esau’s birthright). So basically YHWH (the LORD) is consistent, but so too are the “children of Jacob”. In other words, God is consistent in showing mercy and grace while His people are consistent in rebelling against Him. Ouch!! (Did I mention Malachi was a prophet? Also, 47 of the 55 verses in Malachi are in 1st person form directed at Israel as a collective whole – this last from Hill & Walton, A Survey of the OT.)

Yet I am sure you noticed v6 starts with “for”. In the Hebrew text this is a ki-clause, which is very important for understanding what is taking place. Basically it gives a reason for something (e.g., Malachi 1:14 says YHWH deserves the best when it comes to offerings “for” He is a great King).

So, we need to back up a bit further – for the sake of time we will only go to Malachi 3:5, “Then I will draw near to you for judgment. I will be a swift witness against the sorcerers, against the adulterers, against those who swear falsely, against those who oppress the hired worker in his wages, the widow and the fatherless, against those who thrust aside the sojourner, and do not fear me, says the LORD of hosts.” The last part of verse five speaks loudly to issues of social justice. A casual reading of the Bible clearly shows God is concerned for “the least of these” – those who are in need and totally dependent on others for help.

So, we see God upset at the people of Israel for covenant unfaithfulness (e.g., Mal1:6ff; 2:10) which leads to (among other things) the oppression of people (e.g., Mal3:5). Not long after that we have God say (paraphrased) remember, all you have is Mine anyway…but if you bring in just the small portion of what I ask for…test Me…

Why does YHWH want the “full tithe”? Why does He say “test Me”? Is He promising a bigger blessing in that if you “tithe” He will materially bless your socks off to the point you are overwhelmed? This is often what is practically said (if not blatantly taught) with this verse – at least in my limited experience. Yet read Malachi 3:10 again, Bring the full tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. And thereby put me to the test, says the LORD of hosts, if I will not open the windows of heaven for you and pour down for you a blessing UNTIL THERE IS NO MORE NEED.

I put the last few words in caps to emphasize them ;). Firstly, “until” is a temporal conjunction – meaning it is “time-bound”. In other words, God will do something until something else is achieved; in this case when there is no more need. This raises an obvious question, what is the need? Secondly, remember why he wants the “full tithe” – for there to be food, period. Remember the “oppressed” back in 3:5?

At this point I will mention how Deuteronomy 14:28-29 states every three years the tithe will be used to feed the Levite, the sojourner, the fatherless, and the widow (and more other gracious acts were intended along the way). Hmmm…the last three of those are identical to Malachi 3:5. In fact, I think it is fascinating how the two sets form a chiasm (but I will not press the issue because these are two separate books…BUT it is really cool). Why did God say that in Deuteronomy? That YHWH may “bless you in all the work of your hands that you do.” This in turn obviously means the needs of people will be met. What does He promise in Malachi when the full tithe is brought into the storehouse? He promises to “open the windows of heaven” until there is no more need. Whose need? My needs so I can have what I want? No. The needs of the oppressed are clearly the focus.

For the sake of length I will begin to wrap up. I would say this is “part one” – but sadly I have yet to do “part two” of an earlier post (it is not that I do not want to…well, I suppose stewardship plays a part in it). So, what does Malachi 3:10 teach us? God wants us to give back to Him (and I did not even go into “the tithe” concept – that is another issue…) not so He can ipso facto (by that very fact) give back all the more to us (He may do so…in fact it seems often He does – He is serious about needs being met). No, He wants us to give back to Him so that the needs of others are met.

While it is not popular in our culture, the Biblical principle seems to be “no one has too much and no one does without…or has too little” (e.g., Proverbs 30:7-9). This raises an obvious question, “What is too much and too little?” That is not the issue of this post. The issue is there are real needs in our culture and around the world. I cannot remember where I first read/heard it, but 26,500 children die EVERY DAY due to poverty related issues. This saddens me – but not as much as it should I am afraid…

What is The Church’s responsibility in that? Well, those 26,500 children fit squarely into the groupings of Deuteronomy 14:29 and Malachi 3:5. Look at our church buildings. Look at our cars. Look at our clothes. More and more I am becoming a man “undone”…


Cliff Notes:
1. Typical ways of talking about finances “in church” bother me…
a. I realize what I do may bother others – there is grace for all (thank God)

2. Malachi 3:10 – a personal promise to “give a little and gain a lot” or a command to give back to God what is His (the portion for which He asked in the OT) so needs can be met?
a. The focus is on physical needs of people being met.

3. We live in an affluent culture that will never say “enough”.
a. This is a hard teaching for me…

Do We Really Believe in the God of the Bible?

I realize this title may strike some of us as a bit odd. Yet it is a legitimate question. Now, I am not going to delve into issues of hermeneutics (studying the Bible / interpreting Scripture) and applying those findings to life. Well, not too much anyway...because any reading of the Bible automatically makes one an interpreter [and Theologian :)]. What I mean by not delving into issues of hermeneutics is I am not going to get into caricatures we make of God (e.g., a “Calvinistic” God or an “Armenian” God or a "Prosperity" God or any other “Type” of God we like to put into a Theological box…it seems He busts all of those).


What I mean by “do we really believe” is – do we believe He owns everything? It seems Revelation 4:8b and 4:11 are clear. God is Eternal (Rev4:8b) and has Created Everything (Rev4:11). Translation, God owns everything (e.g., Psalm 24:1; 50:10-11). This means we are stewards. Therefore, we have been entrusted with what is His to do with it as we please. EENNT!! I am sorry, that is incorrect.

God has not entrusted us with what is His to do with it as please (although humanity often does). God entrusted us with what is His with the hope of us doing as He pleases. Just what exactly is His? Everything. We are to be good stewards of our time…friends…material things…finances…thoughts… you name it, it fits into the blank.

So a basic question. With what do you struggle the most in being a good steward?

Been Too Long...

Hi everyone, sorry it has been too long since I've posted. I have so many thoughts and things I would like to post - but at times (most of the time) I do not make the time to do so, or I shy away from them...

With that said I should have been posting regularly during the last sermon series I did at New Life; it was from the psalms and titled "When God is NOWHERE". The obvious implication of the last word is your perspective...is God a) NOW-here or b) NO-where.

During the series some of the psalms at which we looked were lament psalms (i.e., a song written during a time of hardship in which the author is crying out to One (i.e., God) who can indeed change their situation). I know if I made a more regular practice of reading the psalms, and especially writing my own laments, I would be helped immensely. So, I encouraged us all to write our own laments. A pattern can be found by clicking on http://www.nlccoe.com/resources/devotional-guides-for-sermons/when-god-is-nowhere/ and then selecting the "Devotional Guide" titled "Why..." on 7/4/10.

I may revisit the psalms in some future posts...and even post some laments I wrote (as well as those written by others with their permission). If you would like to write your own lament please feel free to "comment" and do so.

Also please note this is not a vanity thing of "listen to my sermons" (I know I am not the best preacher)...BUT it is a plea to utilize God's Word for our continued sanctification. I believe the psalms can be a great help in this. And just maybe something you hear or read (by way of the Devotional Guides) may be of help. One thing we must do is realize we can be honest with God...and we need to be too.