My younger brother and I are out of our minds. Let me paint the scenario. It was Thanksgiving night, 2007 at 10pm. We were searching online for the “Black Friday” ads that had the best deals on GPS’s, IPODS, Flat Screens, Jewelry, Power Wheel 4-wheelers, and of course, WEBKINZ! We collapsed after hours of clicking and woke to the surreal shrill of the alarm at 4:30 am. There is very little I will wake up at 4:30 am to do, and shopping is far from my top 100!
We ventured out into the dreary morning (which is so early it is still considered night) and arrived early to Wal-mart, only to see sheer pandemonium, which we should have predicted! We were both so sleep-deprived and Starbucks-malnourished that we forgot the sales ad at the door and were navigating aimlessly through the cart-saturated store.
The great deals that last night were worth losing a night of sleep for were now being fought over and instantaneously lost their appeal. An elderly woman was running with her ad in hand towards the electronics department. Two moms nearly cornered me with their overstocked buggy and almost committed a hit-and-run, but luckily I ducked into the empty office supply aisle and avoided injury. Within ten minutes, my brother and I were both discouraged and disillusioned.
I think about what Christmas truly is about, and I realize in some small way that my brother and I were both right and wrong to ‘waste’ our morning over gifts.
We were wrong by placing so much importance on cheaply-priced material goods that try to express our love for our family and friends. Maybe spending more time the night before with company instead of wide-eyed in front of the computer would have been a better expression of our love.
But in another sense, we were also right. You see, it was worth it to us to lose sleep, to sacrifice a good breakfast, to put even our life in danger(!) to find the right gift. That is ultimately what Christmas is all about. 2000 years ago, God gave a gift that cost Him more than sleep, comfort, or a bonus paycheck. He gave His very Son. Jesus is so much more than a cool toy or nifty electronic device. Yet where are the lines of people waiting to receive this FREE gift?
Christmas is a time to thank God for the gift of Jesus, for it was also a Black Friday, 33 years after that night in the manger, when the sun stopped shining, and darkness came over the land. The Lamb of God was taking away the sin of the world, and receiving the punishment that you and I deserved.
Don’t forget this holiday season, when you are exchanging socks, blouses, wallets, and DVDs (though I do LOVE getting new socks!) with family and friends, to also make it a time where the true Gift is received and appreciated.
God gave His Son, and in comparison, is there any other gift more important this time of year?
Wednesday, November 28, 2007
Thursday, October 25, 2007
Who Is Building A Church?
I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it.
Matthew 16:18
Here we go! It is so exciting to be a part of a church that is growing and taking steps of faith and obedience towards a greater vision to reach the lost. Over the past five years I have seen God’s faithfulness and blessing in innumerable ways but only really recently do I see how He is preparing us for a great move of His Spirit. He is calling you and I to join Him on the wall and be a part of the great work of the Kingdom.
Jesus reminds us in Matthew 16 that it is HIS church, and that HE will build it. Lest we think that by our own ingenuity, skill, might, or even money that WE will build His church, the Bible affirms His headship over the body of Christ.
Ephesians 1:22-23 says, “God … appointed him to be head over everything for the church, 23 which is his body…”
Jesus is the head of our church. It isn’t the pastoral leadership, the elder board, the paid staff, or any of the ministry leaders. Thankfully there are no power- or ego-driven leaders among us, but those who have followed Jesus’s example of servant-leadership. God has placed Jesus as head of His church and in this local expression of the body of Christ, Jesus is LORD!
With this new building project, we aren’t subcontractors hired to build a dream home while the ‘General Contractor’ Christ sits back in the office. We aren’t employed to work for a work-today, get-paid-today company where we have little vested interest in the final outcome of the project, just out to do quick work and get quick money. Nor are we to ignore the work and call in sick and cut corners and expect God to do it all Himself, while we sit on the wayside and complain, “those aren’t MY boxes!” Jesus will build His church, which is you and I, yet to accomplish this task He uses you and I!
Psalms 127:1 says, “Unless the LORD builds the house, its builders labor in vain. Unless the LORD watches over the city, the watchmen stand guard in vain.” We desire to build up the house of God, the people of God, and we acknowledge that this is by the hand of God. If we wanted to promote our own name, our own philosophies or knowledge, or build a church in our flesh for our own selfish desires, then we would be laboring in vain. If we wanted to reach the city of Sarasota for our popularity, and not the gospel, those who pray as watchman over the lost in this area will be doing so in vain. Is your heart to reach the lost, to save the city? Have you been an active part in being a watchman, or in being a part of the work in God’s kingdom? Will you take your place on the wall?
Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, 21 to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen. (Ephesians 3:20-21)
Matthew 16:18
Here we go! It is so exciting to be a part of a church that is growing and taking steps of faith and obedience towards a greater vision to reach the lost. Over the past five years I have seen God’s faithfulness and blessing in innumerable ways but only really recently do I see how He is preparing us for a great move of His Spirit. He is calling you and I to join Him on the wall and be a part of the great work of the Kingdom.
Jesus reminds us in Matthew 16 that it is HIS church, and that HE will build it. Lest we think that by our own ingenuity, skill, might, or even money that WE will build His church, the Bible affirms His headship over the body of Christ.
Ephesians 1:22-23 says, “God … appointed him to be head over everything for the church, 23 which is his body…”
Jesus is the head of our church. It isn’t the pastoral leadership, the elder board, the paid staff, or any of the ministry leaders. Thankfully there are no power- or ego-driven leaders among us, but those who have followed Jesus’s example of servant-leadership. God has placed Jesus as head of His church and in this local expression of the body of Christ, Jesus is LORD!
With this new building project, we aren’t subcontractors hired to build a dream home while the ‘General Contractor’ Christ sits back in the office. We aren’t employed to work for a work-today, get-paid-today company where we have little vested interest in the final outcome of the project, just out to do quick work and get quick money. Nor are we to ignore the work and call in sick and cut corners and expect God to do it all Himself, while we sit on the wayside and complain, “those aren’t MY boxes!” Jesus will build His church, which is you and I, yet to accomplish this task He uses you and I!
Psalms 127:1 says, “Unless the LORD builds the house, its builders labor in vain. Unless the LORD watches over the city, the watchmen stand guard in vain.” We desire to build up the house of God, the people of God, and we acknowledge that this is by the hand of God. If we wanted to promote our own name, our own philosophies or knowledge, or build a church in our flesh for our own selfish desires, then we would be laboring in vain. If we wanted to reach the city of Sarasota for our popularity, and not the gospel, those who pray as watchman over the lost in this area will be doing so in vain. Is your heart to reach the lost, to save the city? Have you been an active part in being a watchman, or in being a part of the work in God’s kingdom? Will you take your place on the wall?
Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, 21 to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen. (Ephesians 3:20-21)
Tuesday, September 25, 2007
Blessing A City
"You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled by men. 14 "You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden. 15 Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. 16 In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven. (Matthew 5:13-16)
Pastor Carl has exhorted us to be a city within the city of Sarasota, and to be a blessing to our community, and not a burden or a thorn in their side. I’ve been thinking about this often lately, and realize how backwards this is from so much that we’ve been brought up as believers to think! How often do we feel that it is “us-them”, that we have the words of eternal life, whereas they are pagans that are in the dark and we need to bust the door open and shine the obnoxious light and expose them in their darkness?
Recently my wife and I were at the dollar movies and the door in the back of the theatre was constantly being opened by some teens that came in and out and every time they opened the door, the light from the foyer would be blinding, annoying, and distracting. Eventually people in the movie were getting upset and certainly didn’t appreciate the light! Often I believe that is how we as believers can come across.
We hear that there is no prayer in school, so we want to sue or demonstrate or fight the city and demand prayer be allowed again. But prayer has never left school! Students are praying all over the world on their campuses and God is answering those prayers. Our desire to come against the city council or the local government to flash our rights won’t bless the community in the end.
Instead of trying to become political, the body of Christ needs to focus on being spiritual! We can fight the government for our rights in marriage politically but if we aren’t keeping our marriages centered under the cross of Christ, what does that communicate about Christian marriage to the world? As we seek to bless our neighborhoods, our businesses, our friends and families and even supposed enemies, God will work on our rights and voice.
We are told to be salt and light by the verses above. Salt preserves, and is an additive to make some food taste better. But too much salt can also cause nausea. We need to be salt and light that attracts the world: not heavy salt that turns people away, or obnoxious lights that cause people to go deeper into the darkness, but salt and light that is attractive to people lost and thirsty for truth. Think and pray about ways you can be a blessing to your neighbors this upcoming holiday season. Put the light on its stand, and let the world see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven.
In love with Sarasota and Bradenton,
Pilgrim
Pastor Carl has exhorted us to be a city within the city of Sarasota, and to be a blessing to our community, and not a burden or a thorn in their side. I’ve been thinking about this often lately, and realize how backwards this is from so much that we’ve been brought up as believers to think! How often do we feel that it is “us-them”, that we have the words of eternal life, whereas they are pagans that are in the dark and we need to bust the door open and shine the obnoxious light and expose them in their darkness?
Recently my wife and I were at the dollar movies and the door in the back of the theatre was constantly being opened by some teens that came in and out and every time they opened the door, the light from the foyer would be blinding, annoying, and distracting. Eventually people in the movie were getting upset and certainly didn’t appreciate the light! Often I believe that is how we as believers can come across.
We hear that there is no prayer in school, so we want to sue or demonstrate or fight the city and demand prayer be allowed again. But prayer has never left school! Students are praying all over the world on their campuses and God is answering those prayers. Our desire to come against the city council or the local government to flash our rights won’t bless the community in the end.
Instead of trying to become political, the body of Christ needs to focus on being spiritual! We can fight the government for our rights in marriage politically but if we aren’t keeping our marriages centered under the cross of Christ, what does that communicate about Christian marriage to the world? As we seek to bless our neighborhoods, our businesses, our friends and families and even supposed enemies, God will work on our rights and voice.
We are told to be salt and light by the verses above. Salt preserves, and is an additive to make some food taste better. But too much salt can also cause nausea. We need to be salt and light that attracts the world: not heavy salt that turns people away, or obnoxious lights that cause people to go deeper into the darkness, but salt and light that is attractive to people lost and thirsty for truth. Think and pray about ways you can be a blessing to your neighbors this upcoming holiday season. Put the light on its stand, and let the world see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven.
In love with Sarasota and Bradenton,
Pilgrim
Friday, August 10, 2007
Denominational Disputes
John 4:19-24 (NIV)
"Sir," the woman said, "I can see that you are a prophet. 20 Our fathers worshiped on this mountain, but you Jews claim that the place where we must worship is in Jerusalem."
Here Jesus is reaching out to the woman at the well, and after speaking into her life, she now brings up a spiritual question: "What is the appropriate WAY to worship?"
This is nothing more than what we would call in our vernacular denominational disputes. She had her own preconceived idea about what was acceptable worship. We all have these same ideas in our minds. Some believe that worship is only hymns and an organ, others say add a guitar and drums and a rock-style song with two verses, a chorus, and a bridge with an intro and ending, and guitar solo. Others say worship should include icons and incense and prayers and scripture or others still emphasize that the gifts of the Spirit must all be manifested or the worship was “dead” today. We all can look at the different flavors of different churches and see what people prefer. But my desire is to get beyond that to the words of Jesus that come next:
21 Jesus declared, "Believe me, woman, a time is coming when you will worship the Father neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem. 22 You Samaritans worship what you do not know; we worship what we do know, for salvation is from the Jews.
Jesus is telling her that this is not important, what is important is what the Father truly desires in a worshiper. And what is that? Jesus explains in verse 23:
23 Yet a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks. 24 God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in spirit and in truth."
Spirit and truth. There is a balance in worship. A balance of the experiential, and the biblical. Let me repeat that: worship should always have a balance of the experiential and the biblical. And the experiential should always be biblical!
If you emphasize the experiential, but leave out the Biblical, you start doing things that are wild and in the flesh, and not of the Spirit of God. They get progressively weirder and weirder, and cause confusion and deception in the end.
Church and worship of God then becomes all experiential, but not Biblical. That is worshiping in Spirit but not in TRUTH.
But on the other side of the pendulum, you have ALL biblical, but no experiential. This is people who worship in TRUTH, but not in Spirit. There are many churches that are completely dead, with lips that move but hearts that are not engaged. Jesus said to the church in Sardis in Revelation 3: I know your deeds; you have a reputation of being alive, but you are dead. 2 Wake up! Strengthen what remains and is about to die, for I have not found your deeds complete in the sight of my God. 3 Remember, therefore, what you have received and heard; obey it, and repent. But if you do not wake up, I will come like a thief, and you will not know at what time I will come to you.
So we need to be balanced, to worship the Father in Spirit AND in Truth. There is nothing wrong with denominations, as such, but when we begin to think we have the edge on worship of God, we may be misled.
The real key is to make sure we are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks: those who have a balance of worshiping Him in Spirit AND in Truth.
"Sir," the woman said, "I can see that you are a prophet. 20 Our fathers worshiped on this mountain, but you Jews claim that the place where we must worship is in Jerusalem."
Here Jesus is reaching out to the woman at the well, and after speaking into her life, she now brings up a spiritual question: "What is the appropriate WAY to worship?"
This is nothing more than what we would call in our vernacular denominational disputes. She had her own preconceived idea about what was acceptable worship. We all have these same ideas in our minds. Some believe that worship is only hymns and an organ, others say add a guitar and drums and a rock-style song with two verses, a chorus, and a bridge with an intro and ending, and guitar solo. Others say worship should include icons and incense and prayers and scripture or others still emphasize that the gifts of the Spirit must all be manifested or the worship was “dead” today. We all can look at the different flavors of different churches and see what people prefer. But my desire is to get beyond that to the words of Jesus that come next:
21 Jesus declared, "Believe me, woman, a time is coming when you will worship the Father neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem. 22 You Samaritans worship what you do not know; we worship what we do know, for salvation is from the Jews.
Jesus is telling her that this is not important, what is important is what the Father truly desires in a worshiper. And what is that? Jesus explains in verse 23:
23 Yet a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks. 24 God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in spirit and in truth."
Spirit and truth. There is a balance in worship. A balance of the experiential, and the biblical. Let me repeat that: worship should always have a balance of the experiential and the biblical. And the experiential should always be biblical!
If you emphasize the experiential, but leave out the Biblical, you start doing things that are wild and in the flesh, and not of the Spirit of God. They get progressively weirder and weirder, and cause confusion and deception in the end.
Church and worship of God then becomes all experiential, but not Biblical. That is worshiping in Spirit but not in TRUTH.
But on the other side of the pendulum, you have ALL biblical, but no experiential. This is people who worship in TRUTH, but not in Spirit. There are many churches that are completely dead, with lips that move but hearts that are not engaged. Jesus said to the church in Sardis in Revelation 3: I know your deeds; you have a reputation of being alive, but you are dead. 2 Wake up! Strengthen what remains and is about to die, for I have not found your deeds complete in the sight of my God. 3 Remember, therefore, what you have received and heard; obey it, and repent. But if you do not wake up, I will come like a thief, and you will not know at what time I will come to you.
So we need to be balanced, to worship the Father in Spirit AND in Truth. There is nothing wrong with denominations, as such, but when we begin to think we have the edge on worship of God, we may be misled.
The real key is to make sure we are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks: those who have a balance of worshiping Him in Spirit AND in Truth.
Tuesday, July 17, 2007
Contentment?
Hebrews 13:5-6 (NIV)
Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have, because God has said, "Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you."
Are you content with what you have? Not exactly the mansion with the white picket fence you always envisioned? Your phone is still a brick? The bank account you thought would be bulging by now is still keeping you only a paycheck away from homelessness? Let me free you up: the grass isn’t always greener! USA Today found that most people consider a person “rich” if they have between $1-5 million in assets. Interestingly, those surveyed who happened to have just that amount of money didn’t consider themselves rich!
I don’t know if I can say with as much confidence as the apostle Paul, that I have “learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want.” Maybe you suffer from the same problem I do, of noticing all too often what you don’t have and wishing, hoping, maybe even praying for more money or more ‘toys’!
The writer of Hebrews instructs us in chapter 13 on how to keep the right perspective. He tells us first to keep our lives free from the love of money. Jesus said in Luke 16 that we cannot serve two masters, both God, and money. That offended the Pharisees, who, as Luke points out, ‘loved money’ and were sneering at Jesus. Jesus went on to say, “What is highly valued among men is detestable in God’s sight”. When we fall in love with money, it not only becomes our master, but it also chokes out the seed of the word of God that wants to produce a crop in our life, and makes us unfruitful. Paul explains further in 1 Timothy 6 that even having the desire to get rich can cause us to fall into a trap and into desires that can plunge us into ruin and destruction.
But we are also told by the writer of Hebrews in this passage to ‘be content with what we have’. Why? He goes on to explain that our biblical basis for contentment is God’s promise to never leave or forsake us. When we find our contentment in the house, the car, the boat, the pool, the condo, the summer home, the business, the investments, the clothes, or the cash, we will one day grow dissatisfied. There is always a bigger home, newer fancier car, better business opportunity! Plus, those things will rust and fade and dent and be spent. But God will never leave us nor forsake us, He’ll never lose value or depreciate.
Keeping our eyes on God can keep us content. In that same passage in 1 Timothy, Paul said that ‘godliness with contentment is great gain’. When we enjoy what we’ve been given, and have godly lives, that is greater gain than winning the jackpot or receiving a huge raise. It is great gain in God’s sight.
Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have, because God has said, "Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you."
Are you content with what you have? Not exactly the mansion with the white picket fence you always envisioned? Your phone is still a brick? The bank account you thought would be bulging by now is still keeping you only a paycheck away from homelessness? Let me free you up: the grass isn’t always greener! USA Today found that most people consider a person “rich” if they have between $1-5 million in assets. Interestingly, those surveyed who happened to have just that amount of money didn’t consider themselves rich!
I don’t know if I can say with as much confidence as the apostle Paul, that I have “learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want.” Maybe you suffer from the same problem I do, of noticing all too often what you don’t have and wishing, hoping, maybe even praying for more money or more ‘toys’!
The writer of Hebrews instructs us in chapter 13 on how to keep the right perspective. He tells us first to keep our lives free from the love of money. Jesus said in Luke 16 that we cannot serve two masters, both God, and money. That offended the Pharisees, who, as Luke points out, ‘loved money’ and were sneering at Jesus. Jesus went on to say, “What is highly valued among men is detestable in God’s sight”. When we fall in love with money, it not only becomes our master, but it also chokes out the seed of the word of God that wants to produce a crop in our life, and makes us unfruitful. Paul explains further in 1 Timothy 6 that even having the desire to get rich can cause us to fall into a trap and into desires that can plunge us into ruin and destruction.
But we are also told by the writer of Hebrews in this passage to ‘be content with what we have’. Why? He goes on to explain that our biblical basis for contentment is God’s promise to never leave or forsake us. When we find our contentment in the house, the car, the boat, the pool, the condo, the summer home, the business, the investments, the clothes, or the cash, we will one day grow dissatisfied. There is always a bigger home, newer fancier car, better business opportunity! Plus, those things will rust and fade and dent and be spent. But God will never leave us nor forsake us, He’ll never lose value or depreciate.
Keeping our eyes on God can keep us content. In that same passage in 1 Timothy, Paul said that ‘godliness with contentment is great gain’. When we enjoy what we’ve been given, and have godly lives, that is greater gain than winning the jackpot or receiving a huge raise. It is great gain in God’s sight.
Friday, May 04, 2007
Is Jesus God? (part 1)
Christianity is held together by a single thing. It is not a belief, a place, a mosque, a temple, a synagogue, a language, a race or culture or political party, or nation. The centerpiece of Christianity is a PERSON, the person of Jesus Christ.
But WHO IS JESUS? If we ask people in today's culture, you would hear a lot of different opinions but you would probably hear something like this:
- Jesus is my Homeboy: He’s a cool pop culture icon that makes a nice accessory to my fashion and hip persona. He’s a punchline.
- Jesus is a Good Teacher: He taught really good principles and was a great Eastern philosopher and moral teacher but that’s about it. He's not God.
But did Jesus leave these as an option? Did He claim to be God? I want to look at a few of these instances that help back up Jesus's claim to divinity.
Mark 10:17-18 (NIV)
As Jesus started on his way, a man ran up to him and fell on his knees before him. "Good teacher," he asked, "what must I do to inherit eternal life?" 18 "Why do you call me good?" Jesus answered. "No one is good--except God alone.
Jesus is saying, “Only God is good, and I am not merely to be called, “good teacher”. Don’t call me good unless you are also going to call me GOD”.
People are all constantly trying to say, “Well, I think Jesus is a good guy, He’s a good man but not the GOD-Man”, and Jesus says that is incompatible with Him. It’s not a valid choice.
Jesus made some extreme claims, and did some incredible things, so is it okay to call Him “good teacher”? No, and I’d like us to see why it is NOT.
Now, there are some that have speculated that Jesus never actually said He was God. But Jesus said and did some things that would dissolve that theory. For example:
- He said He Came Down from Heaven John 6:38-42 (NIV)
For I have come down from heaven not to do my will but to do the will of him who sent me. 41 At this the Jews began to grumble about him because he said, "I am the bread that came down from heaven." 42 They said, "Is this not Jesus, the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know? How can he now say, 'I came down from heaven'?"
The Jews were upset because they said, “Jesus? From heaven? We saw Him grow up! We watched Him on the playground and at school and working with His father in the carpenter’s shop! We know Jesus isn’t from heaven!”
They saw the humanity of Jesus, but not His origin. Jesus said, “I have come down from heaven”.
This is NOT a near-death experience where someone went to heaven for a glimpse. It seems like a lot of people have had near-death experiences and have come back to talk about heaven and the afterlife.
Just recently on the #1 show “Gray’s Anatomy” the main character Gray dies and sees her mom, and doesn’t want to hurt the people in her life and leave them changed forever, so she wants to come back.
Jesus didn't just get a glimpse of heaven, but claimed to have origins IN heaven. That is a lofty claim and in the next blog we'll look at a few more.
Pilgrim
Thursday, May 03, 2007
"We Still Sing Hymns"
"We Still Sing Hymns"
I drove past a church with those exact words on their overly-priced, non-evangelistic sign and almost drove off the road. Do they even know what they are implying?
Could it be that the emphasis this church has is simply on a style of worship, rather than emphasizing Christ? Plenty of churches have found what we could innocently call their 'niche' or more honestly, their 'rut', or as my grandfather would say, "their one-stringed guitar". Whether it is being a "community" church that emphasizes small group fellowships, or a "seeker" church that wants non-Christians to feel comfortable, to the "programmed" church that longs to entertain and dazzle, or the "Bible" church that feels they have the monopoly on doctrine and theology.
Is that what our focus should be on?
It astounds me how subtle this attitude can be. We can see a large ministry and point the judgmental finger thinking "they're big because they aren't really preaching the gospel" or whatever. You and I do the same things with other people we tend to envy. We think we've got the edge over them, and therefore we are better.
How does "We Still Sing Hymns" communicate to the lost? What does that tell the average blue collar family man up early to head to work? Does that touch his life in any way? The style of worship has nothing to do with spiritual truth or the need for you and I to connect with God. It is simply missing the mark, and so often I believe churches are...they're just not advertising so on their billboards!
May you and I not be broadcasting the wrong message to a dying and needy world. May we be beggars telling another beggar where we've found bread, and not why they should appreciate the way we sing a certain song.
Pilgrim
I drove past a church with those exact words on their overly-priced, non-evangelistic sign and almost drove off the road. Do they even know what they are implying?
Could it be that the emphasis this church has is simply on a style of worship, rather than emphasizing Christ? Plenty of churches have found what we could innocently call their 'niche' or more honestly, their 'rut', or as my grandfather would say, "their one-stringed guitar". Whether it is being a "community" church that emphasizes small group fellowships, or a "seeker" church that wants non-Christians to feel comfortable, to the "programmed" church that longs to entertain and dazzle, or the "Bible" church that feels they have the monopoly on doctrine and theology.
Is that what our focus should be on?
It astounds me how subtle this attitude can be. We can see a large ministry and point the judgmental finger thinking "they're big because they aren't really preaching the gospel" or whatever. You and I do the same things with other people we tend to envy. We think we've got the edge over them, and therefore we are better.
How does "We Still Sing Hymns" communicate to the lost? What does that tell the average blue collar family man up early to head to work? Does that touch his life in any way? The style of worship has nothing to do with spiritual truth or the need for you and I to connect with God. It is simply missing the mark, and so often I believe churches are...they're just not advertising so on their billboards!
May you and I not be broadcasting the wrong message to a dying and needy world. May we be beggars telling another beggar where we've found bread, and not why they should appreciate the way we sing a certain song.
Pilgrim
Friday, April 27, 2007
Comfort
2 Corinthians 1:3-5 (NIV)
Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, 4 who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves have received from God.”
Comfort. In our day and age, we are constantly looking for ways to make ourselves more comfortable. We take long ‘comforting’ vacations on cruise ships, pay extra for the more ‘comfortable’ furniture, strive to get the most ‘comfortable’ loan rates, save money each paycheck for a more ‘comfortable’ retirement, and are constantly looking for a company that will help us feel more ‘comfortable’ as an employee.
I remember selling shoes part-time at Bible college, and the best sales technique I learned was to allow the customer to try on the shoes to see how ‘comfortable’ they were. As Americans, we trust our military and law enforcement to keep us ‘comfortable’ and safe from harm. Even in our relationships, we find the need to be ‘comfortable’. We surround ourselves with those who make us ‘feel’ good, and rarely allow anyone close enough to upset our delicate personal lives! We like calm waters, not rough seas!
But God’s comfort transcends the materialistic and physical comforts I’ve just mentioned. God is known in this passage as ‘the God of all comfort’. The word ‘comfort’ means to call to one’s side, and is the same word that Jesus used to describe the Holy Spirit in John 14:16, “And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever”. The Holy Spirit of God is our Comforter, the One who God has sent to come alongside us and help us in our times of pain, suffering, loss, doubting, fear, and anger.
The comfort that God gives isn’t based on circumstances. It’s based on a Person. When King Nebuchadnezzar was about to throw those three young men into the fiery furnace, they looked confidently into his eyes and said, “The God we serve is able to save us from it, and he will rescue us from your hand…But even if He does not, we want you to know, O king, that we will not serve your gods” (Daniel 3:17-18, emphasis mine). And with that incredible faith, they were thrown into the furnace, the fire, the trial, where everyone around would expect them to be burned.
But when the king looked into the furnace, he said, “Weren’t there three men that we threw into the fire? Look! I see four men walking around in the fire, unbound and unharmed, and the fourth looks like the Son of God”(verses 24 and 25). You see, they weren’t delivered FROM their trial, but they were delivered IN their trial. It wasn’t based on the circumstances changing; it was based on a Person being there to comfort them in the midst.
And so you and I will walk into fiery trials that will test our faith. The enemy would want us to be tied up and bound, thinking we were facing certain destruction. Yet in the midst of the fire, though the heat is consuming and the flames are pressing in around us, God’s Spirit is there to bring comfort to us. By trusting in Him, we will be as these three young men were: unbound, unharmed, and in the presence of the Son!
After we have been saved through the fire, we can then go and be a blessing to others. We can comfort others with the same comfort the Holy Spirit gave us. With the fiery furnace, their deliverance so radically affected the king that he began to praise God! When Jesus and His disciples walked near a blind man, the disciples asked, "Who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?" "Neither this man nor his parents sinned," said Jesus, "but this happened so that the work of God might be displayed in his life” (John 9:2-3). Jesus went on to deliver that man from blindness. Perhaps we are facing our trial simply because God wants to display His work in our lives. May our lives be such that when we withstand the fire, others will see God’s work being displayed, and they will give glory and praise to Him.
Pressed but not crushed,
Pilgrim
Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, 4 who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves have received from God.”
Comfort. In our day and age, we are constantly looking for ways to make ourselves more comfortable. We take long ‘comforting’ vacations on cruise ships, pay extra for the more ‘comfortable’ furniture, strive to get the most ‘comfortable’ loan rates, save money each paycheck for a more ‘comfortable’ retirement, and are constantly looking for a company that will help us feel more ‘comfortable’ as an employee.
I remember selling shoes part-time at Bible college, and the best sales technique I learned was to allow the customer to try on the shoes to see how ‘comfortable’ they were. As Americans, we trust our military and law enforcement to keep us ‘comfortable’ and safe from harm. Even in our relationships, we find the need to be ‘comfortable’. We surround ourselves with those who make us ‘feel’ good, and rarely allow anyone close enough to upset our delicate personal lives! We like calm waters, not rough seas!
But God’s comfort transcends the materialistic and physical comforts I’ve just mentioned. God is known in this passage as ‘the God of all comfort’. The word ‘comfort’ means to call to one’s side, and is the same word that Jesus used to describe the Holy Spirit in John 14:16, “And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever”. The Holy Spirit of God is our Comforter, the One who God has sent to come alongside us and help us in our times of pain, suffering, loss, doubting, fear, and anger.
The comfort that God gives isn’t based on circumstances. It’s based on a Person. When King Nebuchadnezzar was about to throw those three young men into the fiery furnace, they looked confidently into his eyes and said, “The God we serve is able to save us from it, and he will rescue us from your hand…But even if He does not, we want you to know, O king, that we will not serve your gods” (Daniel 3:17-18, emphasis mine). And with that incredible faith, they were thrown into the furnace, the fire, the trial, where everyone around would expect them to be burned.
But when the king looked into the furnace, he said, “Weren’t there three men that we threw into the fire? Look! I see four men walking around in the fire, unbound and unharmed, and the fourth looks like the Son of God”(verses 24 and 25). You see, they weren’t delivered FROM their trial, but they were delivered IN their trial. It wasn’t based on the circumstances changing; it was based on a Person being there to comfort them in the midst.
And so you and I will walk into fiery trials that will test our faith. The enemy would want us to be tied up and bound, thinking we were facing certain destruction. Yet in the midst of the fire, though the heat is consuming and the flames are pressing in around us, God’s Spirit is there to bring comfort to us. By trusting in Him, we will be as these three young men were: unbound, unharmed, and in the presence of the Son!
After we have been saved through the fire, we can then go and be a blessing to others. We can comfort others with the same comfort the Holy Spirit gave us. With the fiery furnace, their deliverance so radically affected the king that he began to praise God! When Jesus and His disciples walked near a blind man, the disciples asked, "Who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?" "Neither this man nor his parents sinned," said Jesus, "but this happened so that the work of God might be displayed in his life” (John 9:2-3). Jesus went on to deliver that man from blindness. Perhaps we are facing our trial simply because God wants to display His work in our lives. May our lives be such that when we withstand the fire, others will see God’s work being displayed, and they will give glory and praise to Him.
Pressed but not crushed,
Pilgrim
Wednesday, April 25, 2007
Forgiven
For+ giv+ en
-to be granted relief from payment of a debt
I told her to write down her passwords.
My wife insisted that her online accounts all had the same user id and password so she didn’t need to write them down, but that theory came crashing back to cyberreality one rainy Monday night. She couldn’t login, so she checked her email for the original confirmation message and then to her ehorror, she realized it had been put in her Trash folder and deleted.
In many ways, this is like God’s assessment of our sin. The files have been gathered together, placed in the Recycle Bin, and emptied. We call it forgiveness.
Peter on one occasion asked Jesus how many times he should forgive a friend. It was right after Jesus explained how to deal with someone who sins against us. Peter probably had a friend in mind, perhaps a fellow fisherman who was always laying out the bait and Peter was always the naïve one to bite.
Now he wants payback.
It might have been seven times this man had sinned against Peter, and his magic number seems justifiably high to withhold forgiveness. But Jesus shatters his wishful thinking and declares, “I tell you, not seven times, but seventy times seven” (Matthew 18:22).
This is the heart of God for you and I. He has forgiven us in Christ (Ephesians 4:32) for all of our past sins, and continues to empty the Recycle Bin of sin for our present and future (1 John 1:9). We can’t drudge it back up any more than we can undelete a trashed email.
Allow the forgiveness of God to breathe life into your spiritual walk today, and rest assured your file has been moved to the “Forgiven” account!
-to be granted relief from payment of a debt
I told her to write down her passwords.
My wife insisted that her online accounts all had the same user id and password so she didn’t need to write them down, but that theory came crashing back to cyberreality one rainy Monday night. She couldn’t login, so she checked her email for the original confirmation message and then to her ehorror, she realized it had been put in her Trash folder and deleted.
In many ways, this is like God’s assessment of our sin. The files have been gathered together, placed in the Recycle Bin, and emptied. We call it forgiveness.
Peter on one occasion asked Jesus how many times he should forgive a friend. It was right after Jesus explained how to deal with someone who sins against us. Peter probably had a friend in mind, perhaps a fellow fisherman who was always laying out the bait and Peter was always the naïve one to bite.
Now he wants payback.
It might have been seven times this man had sinned against Peter, and his magic number seems justifiably high to withhold forgiveness. But Jesus shatters his wishful thinking and declares, “I tell you, not seven times, but seventy times seven” (Matthew 18:22).
This is the heart of God for you and I. He has forgiven us in Christ (Ephesians 4:32) for all of our past sins, and continues to empty the Recycle Bin of sin for our present and future (1 John 1:9). We can’t drudge it back up any more than we can undelete a trashed email.
Allow the forgiveness of God to breathe life into your spiritual walk today, and rest assured your file has been moved to the “Forgiven” account!
Tuesday, March 20, 2007
The Flesh
I was sitting at the dinner table last night talking with my three-year old boy as my wife nursed our 3-month old baby girl. Our discussion was superficial and less-than-adolescent, even pre-pubescent, as we talked about garbage trucks, cars, ice cream, and the Wiggles.
I must have said something that set him off because he gave me a strong scowl and said, "No it's not, Daddy!", and preceded to stare me down with the look of unrighteous indignation flaming in his eyes. I held my composure and replied, "Aiden, that's a bad attitude. That's the flesh". He turned his head slightly to one side and said something that almost knocked me out of my chair: "I like the flesh, Daddy".
Isn't that just like you and I? Though we would never go as far or as honest to just come out and say, "I LIKE THE FLESH", we speak loudly through our constant yielding and submitting to our sin. The flesh, or 'sinful nature' was passed onto us like an unwanted hand-me-down piece of furniture from Adam. Romans 5 explains how this horrid armoire ever got into the family, and chapters 6 and 7 talk about the endless struggle to try and sell it away at garage sales and in want ads.
Most of us despise the flesh, the handed-down armoire, but still we leave things tucked away in its' drawers just to pull them out from time to time. Sometimes we actually identify with Aiden, and start to think it matches the other furniture in the house. We fall prey to our own evil hearts, and allow ourselves to become a spiritual cancer in our own lives.
Back in Romans, until we read chapter 8, we are left hopeless and haunted by this despicable heirloom, the flesh, with "it's desires and thoughts". Then we see that if we walk in the Spirit, the flesh is powerless. We must reckon the flesh DEAD and allow God to dismantle the chest piece by piece, nail by nail, board by board.
P.S.--If you DID want to buy it, my armoire is a great sturdy find for only $100. Serious inquiries only!
-Pilgrim
I must have said something that set him off because he gave me a strong scowl and said, "No it's not, Daddy!", and preceded to stare me down with the look of unrighteous indignation flaming in his eyes. I held my composure and replied, "Aiden, that's a bad attitude. That's the flesh". He turned his head slightly to one side and said something that almost knocked me out of my chair: "I like the flesh, Daddy".
Isn't that just like you and I? Though we would never go as far or as honest to just come out and say, "I LIKE THE FLESH", we speak loudly through our constant yielding and submitting to our sin. The flesh, or 'sinful nature' was passed onto us like an unwanted hand-me-down piece of furniture from Adam. Romans 5 explains how this horrid armoire ever got into the family, and chapters 6 and 7 talk about the endless struggle to try and sell it away at garage sales and in want ads.
Most of us despise the flesh, the handed-down armoire, but still we leave things tucked away in its' drawers just to pull them out from time to time. Sometimes we actually identify with Aiden, and start to think it matches the other furniture in the house. We fall prey to our own evil hearts, and allow ourselves to become a spiritual cancer in our own lives.
Back in Romans, until we read chapter 8, we are left hopeless and haunted by this despicable heirloom, the flesh, with "it's desires and thoughts". Then we see that if we walk in the Spirit, the flesh is powerless. We must reckon the flesh DEAD and allow God to dismantle the chest piece by piece, nail by nail, board by board.
P.S.--If you DID want to buy it, my armoire is a great sturdy find for only $100. Serious inquiries only!
-Pilgrim
Friday, February 02, 2007
Without Ceasing
Does it ever seem like you are too busy to pray?
I can relate. Whether it is taking care of the kids, rushing off to make it to work on time, blazing through oblivious drivers in traffic, putting in a good 60 hours, collapsing on the floor in a pool of exhaustion, or trying to find good quality time with everyone who demands it, it just seems like the thing Mary found that was BETTER seems to get pushed to the wayside.
What I love about scripture is its balance. Anytime we treat the Bible like morning breakfast at Burger King, and just "GRAB AND GO" a scripture out of context, we can form strange ideas and deceptive doctrines. It's been said that scripture is its own best commentator, and I would agree.
We don't know why Abel's sacrifice is better than Cain's until we get all the way to Hebrews 11.
We gain a greater understanding of the typology of the children of Israel when we see 1 Corinthians 10.
Our scope of Daniel and Ezekiel explodes when we investigate the book of Revelation.
But alone and singled out, without context and the continuity of the WHOLE SCROLL, we can find ourselves in extreme beliefs. That's why I love the balance of scripture.
Jesus said that WHEN WE PRAY, not IF, and then explained that we should be alone with God in what He referred to as a "prayer closet" and fellowship with the Father. Some have taken this to an extreme and built questionable beliefs and requirements for prayer. They would argue that you must spend at least an hour or more in silent prayer, using acronymic formulas and specific scriptures in order to conjure up God's presence.
But Paul reveals a balance to prayer in his list of bulleted commands in 2 Thessalonians. He says, "Pray without ceasing". This means that instead of merely devoting time solely in one place at one time during the day, prayer can be a perpetual conversation at any and every moment.
Do you pray spontaneously? If someone asks you to pray for them, do you take advantage of the 2 minutes you have with them in person or on the phone and just immediately bring them before the throne of God? If someone says, "Please remember us in prayer", I will either pray with them right at that moment or within the next few minutes quietly petition the Lord for their request.
All of us would admit our schedules are too busy.
But none of us would argue that we are too busy NOT to pray!
-Pilgrim
I can relate. Whether it is taking care of the kids, rushing off to make it to work on time, blazing through oblivious drivers in traffic, putting in a good 60 hours, collapsing on the floor in a pool of exhaustion, or trying to find good quality time with everyone who demands it, it just seems like the thing Mary found that was BETTER seems to get pushed to the wayside.
What I love about scripture is its balance. Anytime we treat the Bible like morning breakfast at Burger King, and just "GRAB AND GO" a scripture out of context, we can form strange ideas and deceptive doctrines. It's been said that scripture is its own best commentator, and I would agree.
We don't know why Abel's sacrifice is better than Cain's until we get all the way to Hebrews 11.
We gain a greater understanding of the typology of the children of Israel when we see 1 Corinthians 10.
Our scope of Daniel and Ezekiel explodes when we investigate the book of Revelation.
But alone and singled out, without context and the continuity of the WHOLE SCROLL, we can find ourselves in extreme beliefs. That's why I love the balance of scripture.
Jesus said that WHEN WE PRAY, not IF, and then explained that we should be alone with God in what He referred to as a "prayer closet" and fellowship with the Father. Some have taken this to an extreme and built questionable beliefs and requirements for prayer. They would argue that you must spend at least an hour or more in silent prayer, using acronymic formulas and specific scriptures in order to conjure up God's presence.
But Paul reveals a balance to prayer in his list of bulleted commands in 2 Thessalonians. He says, "Pray without ceasing". This means that instead of merely devoting time solely in one place at one time during the day, prayer can be a perpetual conversation at any and every moment.
Do you pray spontaneously? If someone asks you to pray for them, do you take advantage of the 2 minutes you have with them in person or on the phone and just immediately bring them before the throne of God? If someone says, "Please remember us in prayer", I will either pray with them right at that moment or within the next few minutes quietly petition the Lord for their request.
All of us would admit our schedules are too busy.
But none of us would argue that we are too busy NOT to pray!
-Pilgrim
Wednesday, January 24, 2007
Serving the Lord with Gladness
Psalms 100:1-2
1 Make a joyful shout to the LORD, all you lands!
2 Serve the LORD with gladness;
Come before His presence with singing.
Recently I found myself exhorted to serve more in the body of Christ with the motive of thanksgiving and gladness, not out of a sense of guilt or pastoral pressure. My mind scanned through old Bible memory verses and I suddenly stumbled upon this verse in Psalms 100, a verse that is the foundation of Pastor Carl’s challenges for we the body to step up and serve with gladness.
I love the idea of serving the Lord not out of compulsion or force. God isn’t the commander that has enforced the draft! He’s not the angry employer that is demanding we do the dirty job that is normally relegated to the new hires. He isn’t giving us a stern command but rather a loving invitation to come and join Him in the work He is doing on the earth in the hearts of men and women.
When we pray, “Your kingdom come” we know we aren’t talking about a kingdom that is contained within political or geographical borders, but the kingdom of God is His rule and reign in the hearts of His people. When we desire to see that kingdom forcefully advance, there must be those who are willing to lay down their lives for the sake of the gospel.
Service is not just a command, it is a joy. It gives us spiritual zeal (Romans 12:11) and is a test of our stewardship (Matthew 25:23). And the psalmist implores you and I to check our motives at the door of the church. Are we serving the Lord with gladness? Are we motivated by guilt, or by competition, or by envy, or by a genuine desire to see His kingdom come?
I remember over 8 years ago, hearing an announcement from the pulpit for a week of prayer for the direction of the youth ministry. I remember coming to pray, and feeling a deep sense of God’s call and an obvious need. I didn’t have training, I certainly wasn’t experienced, and I was pretty intimidated. But as I poured out my life serving the Lord and ministering to HIM, I found a joy and a place in ministering to His young flock.
Has the wind left your sails? Are you like David, discouraged and overwhelmed in the battle? Maybe it’s time to encourage yourself in the Lord, to remind yourself to make a joyful shout the Lord, and to serve Him with gladness. Maybe you aren’t yet finding a place to fit in. Maybe you are that puzzle piece that hasn’t found its place yet. Seek the Lord, find a need, and then serve the Lord with His strength and His resources, giving Him the glory, and amazingly, He’ll reward you for it!
Pilgrim
1 Make a joyful shout to the LORD, all you lands!
2 Serve the LORD with gladness;
Come before His presence with singing.
Recently I found myself exhorted to serve more in the body of Christ with the motive of thanksgiving and gladness, not out of a sense of guilt or pastoral pressure. My mind scanned through old Bible memory verses and I suddenly stumbled upon this verse in Psalms 100, a verse that is the foundation of Pastor Carl’s challenges for we the body to step up and serve with gladness.
I love the idea of serving the Lord not out of compulsion or force. God isn’t the commander that has enforced the draft! He’s not the angry employer that is demanding we do the dirty job that is normally relegated to the new hires. He isn’t giving us a stern command but rather a loving invitation to come and join Him in the work He is doing on the earth in the hearts of men and women.
When we pray, “Your kingdom come” we know we aren’t talking about a kingdom that is contained within political or geographical borders, but the kingdom of God is His rule and reign in the hearts of His people. When we desire to see that kingdom forcefully advance, there must be those who are willing to lay down their lives for the sake of the gospel.
Service is not just a command, it is a joy. It gives us spiritual zeal (Romans 12:11) and is a test of our stewardship (Matthew 25:23). And the psalmist implores you and I to check our motives at the door of the church. Are we serving the Lord with gladness? Are we motivated by guilt, or by competition, or by envy, or by a genuine desire to see His kingdom come?
I remember over 8 years ago, hearing an announcement from the pulpit for a week of prayer for the direction of the youth ministry. I remember coming to pray, and feeling a deep sense of God’s call and an obvious need. I didn’t have training, I certainly wasn’t experienced, and I was pretty intimidated. But as I poured out my life serving the Lord and ministering to HIM, I found a joy and a place in ministering to His young flock.
Has the wind left your sails? Are you like David, discouraged and overwhelmed in the battle? Maybe it’s time to encourage yourself in the Lord, to remind yourself to make a joyful shout the Lord, and to serve Him with gladness. Maybe you aren’t yet finding a place to fit in. Maybe you are that puzzle piece that hasn’t found its place yet. Seek the Lord, find a need, and then serve the Lord with His strength and His resources, giving Him the glory, and amazingly, He’ll reward you for it!
Pilgrim
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