5 posts tagged “bible”
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Psalm 104:24 (ESV)
O Lord, how manifold are your works!
In wisdom have you made them all;
the earth is full of your creatures.
Last week, the usual breakfast gang at La Bandera Molina was discussing a characteristically wide assortment of subjects. Though much of what we talked about could be called frivolous, if not harmlessly entertaining (sports, music, television, etc.), our conversation eventually turned toward more weighty thoughts. What is popular culture? How can and should Christians interact with it? What makes certain aspects of it so enjoyable?
Colossians 1:21-23 (ESV, emphasis added)
And you, who once were alienated and hostile in mind, doing evil deeds, he has now reconciled in his body of flesh by his death, in order to present you holy and blameless and above reproach before him, if indeed you continue in the faith, stable and steadfast, not shifting from the hope of the gospel that you heard, which has been proclaimed in all creation under heaven, and of which I, Paul, became a minister.
The "Buckshot" is a weekly collection of links I stumble across during, um, "work." The name of the post derives from my occasional penchant for being scatterbrained. Last week's entry came out on Friday, but I decided Thursday would be a better day for posting, because who is going to look at this stuff on the weekend anyway? (On the other hand, who's going to look at this at all, right?)
Anyway, to comment on this post, you can register for free at Vox.com. Alternatively, you can send comments here, and I'll post them below.
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- To both the immense delight and unspoken concern of Beatles aficionados everywhere, Apple Records has announced the release of "sonically upgraded reissues" of all of the band's British records. You know where I'll be September 9th.
- Sometimes, I really, really miss my internship at the American Enterprise Institute in DC. I had the incredible opportunity to attend conferences and presentations by some of the world's best policy experts on a regular basis. (I also miss the free three-course four-star lunch every day.) This week, AEI hosted a discussion of the new book God Is Back. If this discussion was anything like the one I attended three years ago, it was amazing.
- Two words: Giant Cheetos.
- The real problem behind the world's current financial woes, writes André Gluckman, lies in the global adoption of a postmodernist outlook.
- I love stuff like this. It takes guts to try and revamp a cherished movie franchise, especially one as avidly followed as Star Trek. It takes even more guts to hold a showing of the most beloved of the series, The Wrath of Khan, and instead show the new movie to a surprised audience.
- A solid and yet simple case for why 3D movies will never really catch on: they hurt your eyes.
- Spurs fans are distraught over the daunting task of pushing through a perilous postseason without Manu Ginobili, the emotional heart of the team. They could use a little cheering up.
- Once upon a time in 1979...
- I once heard it said that Christopher Hitchens, a noted atheist and author of God Is Not Great, was shocked at the notion that the Bible was not taught in school for its literary merits. For Christians, this might seem an odd value to place on a book we often associate with, well, boredom. It's not that the Bible is boring, necessarily; Christians simply take its value from its theological statements on morality and ethics. Hitchens, though, is not alone in his view, and there is a convincing case that Bible readers, including Christians, often miss out on another level of appreciation for the Good Book. (I should also note that there is an ESV Literary Study Bible in production, though I confess I have not seen anyone actually reading it.)
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My dad and I are on a Planet Earth kick now that we have an HD TV. The visuals are stunning, the colors vibrant, and the ability to just sit in awe at the beauty of God's creation is profound, even if it's happening through cable. About a week ago, we saw the “Jungle” episode, and of all the great scenes or parts, one stood way out. In the jungle, there is a type of fungus -- called cordyceps -- that will literally take over the insect it infects. Like some kind of evil genius parasite, this infection takes over the minds of the insects and manifests itself in bizarre protrusions as the insect slowly dies.
The scene we watched (which I found on YouTube and pasted above) stuck with me later in the week. At the last Tuesday night service for the College/Career ministry at my church, we were going over a passage in Colossians, and as I passed over one verse, the image of the ant dying from the inside returned to my mind.
Colossians 1:21-23 (NIV):
Once you were alienated from God and were enemies in your minds because of your evil behavior. But now he has reconciled you by Christ's physical body through death to present you holy in his sight, without blemish and free from accusation— if you continue in your faith, established and firm, not moved from the hope held out in the gospel. This is the gospel that you heard and that has been proclaimed to every creature under heaven, and of which I, Paul, have become a servant.
Enemies in your minds. Think about that for a second and your mind is drawn to an illustration of sin. There is something in us, in our nature, that leads us to disobey God. Like the ant above, we are taken over by our sin as it leads us further and further toward our demise. Grim stuff, indeed. We often think of the ant's existence as endless toil, working toward something greater, but this isn't so lowly a situation. We too are called to serve someone greater in all that we do here, yet something stops us. Something inherent keeps us from that service.
But unlike the ant, we explain it away. We reason that our sins can easily be wiped away, as if to say, “no matter, God will forgive.” But this is a dangerous pose for a Christian. To take God's love for granted is to misunderstand what experiencing that love truly entails. Proverbs 28:26 (ESV) says, “Whoever trusts his own mind is a fool, but he who walks in wisdom is delivered.” I was reading a devotional this morning from John Piper's Pierced by the Word, and I was really challenged by his analysis of forgiveness. We do not pursue forgiveness for emotional relief or for a free conscience. These things do happen with forgiveness from the Lord, but they are not the ends of salvation. They are means. We are forgiven so that we might truly experience the wonder of God, so that we can stand before Him in His glory unashamed. That is the goal of forgiveness, but that is not always how we pursue it.
So we are often like the ant -- double-minded -- professing our faith and excusing our ways. Proverbs 12 :8 (ESV) says, “A man is commended according to his good sense, but one of twisted mind is despised.” What we desire then is not just the cure for our ailments. What we desire is the removal of the obstruction to experiencing the ultimate satisfaction of God's love. A simplistic view of forgiveness misses this.
One of the most profound parts of the ant's story is the discovery that there is a unique strand of this bizarre, body-snatching fungus for nearly every insect in the jungle. How similar is our humanity! Lust, pride, greed, rage, sloth -- there is a sin for every man and woman on earth, one that pricks and pulls, nudging us in directions we wish to avoid. Sin specializes. Paul's description of his own sin in Romans is striking in its resemblance to the infected ant:
Romans 7:15-25 (ESV):
For I do not understand my own actions. For I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate. Now if I do what I do not want, I agree with the law, that it is good. So now it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells within me. For I know that nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh. For I have the desire to do what is right, but not the ability to carry it out. For I do not do the good I want, but the evil I do not want is what I keep on doing. Now if I do what I do not want, it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells within me. So I find it to be a law that when I want to do right, evil lies close at hand. For I delight in the law of God, in my inner being, but I see in my members another law waging war against the law of my mind and making me captive to the law of sin that dwells in my members. Wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death? Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, I myself serve the law of God with my mind, but with my flesh I serve the law of sin.
What Paul needs, what Paul desires, is to have a renewal of his mind (Rom. 12:2). He wants a deep transformation of his entire worldview. He wants to no longer conform but to fight, to move against the crowd of the sinful. This crowd concept is important, too. The ant in this jungle doesn't just die alone. He's removed from the entire colony because he also has the potential to infect others. Sin is the same way. We've all read Psalm 1, but return to it for a second.
Psalm 1:1-2 (ESV):
Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the wicked, nor stands in the way of sinners, nor sits in the seat of scoffers; but his delight is in the law of the Lord, and on his law he meditates day and night.
The wicked, the sinners, the scoffers -- in the first Psalm, they are not pictured keeping to themselves. These people, infected by their flesh, counsel others. They have a way. They even have assigned seating! And all of this is tempting to those near them. But blessed is the man who avoids their sin. James 4:7-8 (ESV) says, “Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded.”
And here's the most important part about avoiding our own cordyceps: it takes work. Submit, resist, draw near, cleanse, purify -- it takes action to receive forgiveness from the Lord. Proverbs 26:2 (ESV) says, “Prove me, O Lord, and try me; test my heart and my mind.” In Romans, it's clear that Paul wants a clear mind so that he might leave his “body of death” and experience the love and mercy of a perfect God. His conclusion: the only lasting mental clarity that can be found is in the law of God (Rom. 7:25). If we want to avoid the manifestations of our sin, to escape the slow death of the spirit as the flesh takes over, we have to follow His law. We cannot trust our “twisted minds.” The only refrain from this body-snatching is faith. Isaiah 26:3 (ESV) says, “You keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on you, because he trusts in you.” The promise of Colossians is our hope. It is our goal. To be present, "holy in his sight." Let that be our prayer as people of flawed flesh, of creatures with our own cordyceps. Let us focus our minds on His glory and trust in His law. Let us pray for forgiveness and clarity so that we might experience His perfect love.
But all this is beside the point of selecting "I'm Outta Time" for this week's song. I've been dealing with humility a lot lately. I've been getting ahead of myself in a lot of areas, struggling to overcome the anxiety that rears its ugly head whenever I try to "solve" my problems on my own. I put the word solve in quotation marks for obvious reasons. I cannot, nor have I ever been able to, fix my life. Realizing that has been difficult over the past couple weeks.
My life group is just about finished with Charles Swindoll's So, You Want to Be Like Christ?, an excellent study that breaks down eight essentials of Christ's example that, as Christians, we should work to replicate in our lives. The list, Swindoll admits, is by no means exhaustive, but it is entirely practical. I've been blessed to lead the discussions of each chapter ("Surrender" was my favorite), but of all the weeks I had to miss, "Humility" was one I'm glad I did. Not because I'm perfect. I am far, far, far from it. And that's exactly why I was glad I missed that life group. I got more out of the chapter when I finally read it this morning, because of the events of the past few days than I might have had I read it during finals week. This isn't an excuse, but it is an example of God's great power to bring all things in order, to plant seeds that only come to bear fruit when He deems it appropriate.
I got very, very angry with a friend of mine this week. I felt betrayed, and my reaction was to say things I felt were (and still are) justified, but in an angry, resentful tone. Even before this happened, I have been struggling to understand where God is taking me and where I will follow Him next. But I have been looking at the "problems" in my life in the wrong light. I really like Chuck Swindoll because he can present the Bible in plain terms, not dumbing it down but revealing the lessons of the text in a light I often miss. My girlfriend notes that I have a great habit of burying myself in studies but failing to exhibit common sense. This week, and indeed this month, have given me many examples of this.
Near the end of the chapter "Humility," Swindoll presents three "postures" we can take to exercise the spiritual discipline of humility. The first posture is sitting. The story in Mark 10:35-45, where James and John ask God for the primo seats next to his throne, we learn that as Christians, we need to sit on promoting ourselves. Swindoll writes, "Trust God to promote you when He determines that the time is appropriate. When He calls you, then rely on His calling and obey His Word." The second posture is standing. In Philippians 2:3-11, Paul describes Jesus' example to tell Christians that we need to stand up for others. I'll return to this one in a second. The final posture is bowing. 1 Peter 5:5-7 is an exhortation for Christians to bow low before our God. Swindoll writes, "here Peter addresses the core issue, the foundational problem to lack of humility, the source of self-interst: anxiety, the worry that if we don't watch out for ourselves, nobody will." Humility is thus an act of faith, trusting God that He has all things in order and knows His plan for our purpose.
And this is exactly where I fail. I get anxious over the capablity of myself and others to lead, and I get discouraged about the changes I expect to come about. I become cynical in my doubts about God's plan. And that's exactly what it comes down to: doubt. I have failed to put my faith in God's plans and allowed my concerns to become worries that hinder my relationship with Him.
In the case of my friend, I failed to put that second posture into practice. Swindoll's study on the Philippians passage was particularly convicting, and it's worth quoting at length:
Sure enough, my friend popped right into my head when I read that this morning. In fact, I could think of two people from that passage who stumbled -- my friend and myself. I had "made a royal mess" of my own life by failing to be humble, by failing to express the freedom to extend love and compassion that comes with surrendering to God's plan.We can encourage others to be humble by being sensitive to them in their needs. Look for opportunities to meet the needs of others, especially those whom many would consider the least deserving. (You know the one. He or she quite possibly popped into your mind as you read the last sentence.) Think of the least liked or most obnoxious person, or that person who has made a royal mess of life. Stand up for him or her. How can you become a servant to that person? Think of something simple that you can do soon. Don't put it off -- do it. Then keep doing it.
And I guess this is where the Oasis song comes into this blog. Sure, the lyrics are somewhat juvenile. Liam Gallagher, the singer, wrote this one, and he's no Dylan, not by a long shot. But the chorus is still particularly poignant for me:
I did stand behind my emotion when a friend struggled, and I let my lack of humility get the better of my actions. My challenge over the next week is to realize that God has a plan that I may never understand but in which I am fortunate to play a part. What part I play, though, depends on my commitment to spiritual discipline. Paul wrote, "I discipline my body and make it my slave, so that, after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified" (1 Cor. 9:27). I do not want to be disqualified from my lack of humility, from my failure to have faith, or because of the anxiety that comes with my doubt. God has a plan, and all I can do is sit, stand, and bow as He commands.If I'm to fall
Would you be there to applaud
Or would you hide behind them all
'Cause if I have to go
In my heart you'll grow
And that's where you belong
What are passions? How do we get them? Are they developed from exogenous forces that come from our environments, from places and things and situations we cannot change? Are they inspired by God? Or are they something we consciously form, something we create in ourselves?
I have struggled with this question in the wake of significant changes in a ministry I am affected by and in which I have a vested interest and commitment. A “season of change” -- to use a frustrating, but apt cliché -- has entered into the leadership, and people I feel closely connected to have left, citing an erosion of passion as the primary reason for their departure. With tears in their eyes and pain in their hearts, they spoke up in a meeting and let others know their justifiable frustrations, concerns, hopes, and ultimately, the decision to step down. As I left the meeting, I could not help but dwell on the concept of passion -- what it means, how it develops, where it comes from, how it grows, how and if it dies.
There are many angles from which we can consider the passions we have as individuals. They can come directly from God. They can come from our environment, out of our control. They can be something we create. Or, more likely, they can be a mixture of all three. If they come directly from God, there are questions to be asked. How large is our involvement in fostering those passions? Do some passions come for a season? If so, when do we know that the season is over?
I don't particularly like the environment argument, so I'll dismiss it outright. Situations are complex for all of us, but what we are passionate about is something that comes from God but is pursued by us. God uses our environment, our relationships, our struggles, our skills -- all of it -- to create an excitement about an area of ministry, work, school, or something else where we feel we can have an impact and allow God to work through us. But that word -- excitement -- seems misleading. Too often, I feel we attach passions to our feelings. We look at our situations and consider how we can use these passions to create solutions, foster growth, and lead. But nowhere in Jesus' example does His passion rest on solely excitement, on intense feelings of well-being, on happiness. Jesus sweat blood. He struggled with His purpose, His passion. At times it was not easy. It was not a smooth transition to sacrifice.
Admittedly, it is easy for me to sit and type these words, not having gone through the intense struggles and deep pains that the people who have left the ministry have experienced in the past few months. But regardless of this fact, I relate to their fears, their successes, their failures, and their pains through their passion. We worked in the same ministry. We reached the same people. We worshiped together. Why am I so fortunate to retain the great feelings of my passion for this ministry? Why, as they said, has God brought about a period where their passion has “died?”
On the other end of the spectrum are those who did not initially have a passion for our ministry. On the face of it, this seems unacceptable to many, particularly those under the passionless. But time seems to have “flipped” the scenario. Today, the passionless have been humbled, broken, and seem to have developed what they did not have earlier. How did this happen? How did passion develop where it did not exist before?
I believe that passion is something God inspires in all of us in different areas. But to deepen this idea, I also believe that it is something God inspires through the relationships we make with one another as believers and outwardly toward unbelievers. We watched a video at Amplify on Tuesday night about a ministry that provides food for homeless people -- lovingly referred to as “FHBs,” or “Fellow Human Beings.” The ministry gives a great example of how relationships can change passions by altering perceptions. The speaker in the video put it plainly (and I paraphrase, here). “It's easy to drive by someone and give them money. It's harder to come down and invest time into their lives.” I can't recall how often I've reached into my pocket and pulled out some loose change to give to a homeless person. At best, it cost me a soda that day. But when I speak to my parents about their mission trips to orphanages in Mexico, they can both recall in vivid detail -- and nearly twenty years later, in some cases -- the faces, the lives, and the places they impacted. My parents have had a passion for giving, but it only became real when they went down and made a relationship, invested time in someone's life, and spoke love into their lives. Passion is God inspired, but it is also something we have to work at on a daily basis. Relationships take careful consideration of feelings, but they also rely on the “tough love” challenges of close friends. They rely on open ears and open hearts and open eyes to deepen the calling that God has placed.
So if passions can develop by us being open to his calling, how then do they die? I still do not understand this. In truth, I may never know. But I do know that when we are most broken, when we are angered and hurting, there is a love that can cover all wounds, that can heal all relationships, that can change lives. There is a peace that passes all of our understanding, all of the inferior machinations of our futile attempts to comprehend His purpose for us. For those who stayed for the meeting, there was no shaking the feeling that love did not govern over all that was said. We left and went our separate ways, and I'm sure we all found different ways to look fondly at what God has done and optimistically at what He will do next in the ministry. But we left without loving. We left without compassion. We left without a basic passion for each other, not as “leaders,” not as “ministers.” As friends. As Christians. As Fellow Human Beings. We all -- and I mean all -- left without a passion for love. Godly, forgiving, perfect love. I am saddened, deeply hurt, and struggling to understand how I stood by and did nothing to say what God had put on my heart.
In the days ahead, there will be many challenges for the ministry, including those who stay and those who leave, whoever they might be. But the great challenge is not to find replacements. It is not to find candidates. The challenge is to find a way back to the passion that united us all together as Christians. The challenge is, for those who leave and for those who stay and for those who come, to arrive at a place where what we do is founded on love. It is to reach a level of spiritual maturity where we can comprehend the struggles, downturns, and problems with communication that come from the relationships that evangelism requires.
These words come from someone who grapples with these issues on a daily basis. My personal life is fraught with errors in judgment, lack of communication, and a deficiency of outward manifestations of His love and forgiveness. But that is no excuse for silence. That is no excuse for a greater sin of omission. I apologize to all who attended for not taking the initiative on my part to express how I felt last night. I pray for everyone who attended and pray for guidance for the great decisions they now face. I pray that where there are Christian souls, there are open hearts and open ears, attentive to the direction God is leading them to, careful to take every step toward their passions with love. That love for one another, that heart of our faith is, in the end, the greatest passion of all, the one we share regardless of where we find ourselves today and expect to be tomorrow.
If you do nothing else after reading this post, look up 1 Corinthians 3. Read it slowly. Think it through. And pray about your passions.
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