This past week was the normal kind of insanity around our household (thus, the lack of blogging). I really do think my wife and I need to keep better story logs. There might be a "no way could this happen to one family" book in them.
Tuesday night, I watered the dog as usual. Moving the bowl from the sink to the tray outside is all of about 25 feet and somewhere along the way I spilled about an ounce. On the tile. In the middle of the walkway...or in our house, the runway.
You know where this is going, right?
Peanut runs. Peanut slips. Peanut falls. Peanut cries.
After several minutes of crying and a pretty significant goose egg, Peanut asks the Queen, "What day is today?"
Huh?
And it got worse from there. I had promised her a dollar because she had helped me clean up something. She didn't remember it.
"What did you have for dinner?" "Uhm...was it breakfast for dinner?" (no, sloppy joes)
"How did you get home today?" "Uhm...riding my scooter?" (no, mom picked you up)
Hello E.R. visit. Hello doctor bills. Hello concussion.
We kept cheering for her to remember. She didn't. Her memory did return about an hour or so later. But we were E.R.-bound long before then. Scary stuff.
She was concentrating, but she couldn't call things to mind.
One of the most potent condemnations of God's people in the Old Testament was that they didn't remember. They didn't remember what God had done at the Red Sea. They didn't remember the manna from heaven. They didn't remember the laws on the tablets. They didn't remember His promises to them about a land. And on and on I could go.
Before I go casting stones (or before you grab yours), let's *ahem* remember that we are good forgetters too. Forgetting that it wasn't the blood of bulls and rams that saved us, but treating it lightly by loving sin so easily. Forgetting that His mercy is a daily renewable quantity but our ingratitude even toward something simple like air is our living testimony that we don't believe in mercy. And I could go on and on.
Maybe take a second. Maybe see if His goodness and faithfulness and mercy toward you haven't been present.
Maybe see His love. I think that's one of the reasons the cross is so graphic. If I forget His love, all I have to do is look at that horror captured in a historic moment.
Maybe I can remember better. Maybe you can too. Maybe that will prompt us both to meaningful praise.
But that's just me thinking thoughts...
Showing posts with label Worship. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Worship. Show all posts
Monday, June 2, 2014
Tuesday, May 13, 2014
Anesthesia for your Soul
Do you have THAT thing?
You know what I'm talking about. THAT thing that will make you happy, or so you think. THAT thing that, if you had it, would ensure your significance and value. THAT thing that, if yours, would make sure you felt secure and safe.
In preaching through Galatians, it seems like THAT thing for the Galatian churches was their religion. It's a good salve, really. You feel like you're handling the holy while staying in control. It's the best of both worlds: something beyond myself that is still about myself.
Some people don't do religion. It's pleasure. It's money. It's power. In days gone by, it was statues or mountains or the ocean.
Here's the rub. We take on the characteristics of whatever we worship. And make no mistake, whatever the identity of THAT thing is, that's your object of worship. If it's not Christ, it's idolatry. But even worse, we become as empty as the idols we give our allegiance and affections to. What we behold is what we become.
Why do we pursue it? Because it provides anesthesia for our soul. We feel the ache. So we drink. We have the emptiness haunting us. So we try a lover. We feel the pain of our finite lives. So we earn and earn and earn.
Maybe those aren't your vices. Maybe you, like me, can't stand rejection and addict yourself to the approval of others, or at the very least their lack of disapproval.
The list could go on.
The lack of pain is no substitute for genuine healing. It can numb us, true. But we need more the next time around. And if we don't get healed up in the right way, the wounds fester and get misshapen and cause problems elsewhere in the system of our soul.
The only thing can heal your soul and mine is Jesus. It's by His stripes we are healed.
But that's just me thinking thoughts...
You know what I'm talking about. THAT thing that will make you happy, or so you think. THAT thing that, if you had it, would ensure your significance and value. THAT thing that, if yours, would make sure you felt secure and safe.
In preaching through Galatians, it seems like THAT thing for the Galatian churches was their religion. It's a good salve, really. You feel like you're handling the holy while staying in control. It's the best of both worlds: something beyond myself that is still about myself.
Some people don't do religion. It's pleasure. It's money. It's power. In days gone by, it was statues or mountains or the ocean.
Here's the rub. We take on the characteristics of whatever we worship. And make no mistake, whatever the identity of THAT thing is, that's your object of worship. If it's not Christ, it's idolatry. But even worse, we become as empty as the idols we give our allegiance and affections to. What we behold is what we become.
Why do we pursue it? Because it provides anesthesia for our soul. We feel the ache. So we drink. We have the emptiness haunting us. So we try a lover. We feel the pain of our finite lives. So we earn and earn and earn.
Maybe those aren't your vices. Maybe you, like me, can't stand rejection and addict yourself to the approval of others, or at the very least their lack of disapproval.
The list could go on.
The lack of pain is no substitute for genuine healing. It can numb us, true. But we need more the next time around. And if we don't get healed up in the right way, the wounds fester and get misshapen and cause problems elsewhere in the system of our soul.
The only thing can heal your soul and mine is Jesus. It's by His stripes we are healed.
But that's just me thinking thoughts...
Monday, May 12, 2014
How Jack Bauer helps me prepare for worship
No.
I'm not kidding.
The whole deal is this: expectancy. I have been waiting on the 24: Live Another Day premiere last week and can't wait for tonight's episode. I know it's weird, but I'm serious.
I love the whole idea of the show. I love the supporting cast. And I love Jack Bauer. How great a character is he? Has there ever been a character so conflicted and yet so confident on television or the movies? Ever?
And tonight, don't call my house while it's on. I won't answer. I'll call you back. But don't call. Seriously. I.Won't.Answer.
Is it pathetic? Maybe. Is it addictive? Certainly.
But it points me to worship on Sundays. No, I don't equate Jack Bauer and Jesus. Jesus never talked about how He was running out of time. Or shot someone in the knee to get information. Or stuff like that.
The expectancy that's in my heart for 24 when it comes on is a challenge to match for Sunday when it comes. Does my pulse rate go up? Do I think about Sunday more than once? Do you?
Can I, as a pastor, offer a couple of quick application thoughts to help you be expectant for Sunday?
First, get some sleep. Try to go to bed at a decent hour. However many hours you need for a normal workday, do the same for Sunday.
Second, get up 15 minutes earlier. It'll save you the stress of not finding the other sandal in time.
Third, start singing before the worship service. You will be surprised what a song in the shower or in the car on the way or other places shapes your thoughts and readies your heart.
Fourth, read a psalm. Any of them. But 1-27 or 145-150 are terrific for revealing God and readying your heart.
Last, forgive someone. That argument with your spouse. That sassy remark from your kid. That coworker issue. Forgive them. See their sin against you nailed to the cross. And then see your sin right next to it. And the fires of worship will start to smolder. And a little wind from the Spirit will fan them into flame.
Sundays matter. Be ready for them.
But that's just me thinking thoughts...
I'm not kidding.
The whole deal is this: expectancy. I have been waiting on the 24: Live Another Day premiere last week and can't wait for tonight's episode. I know it's weird, but I'm serious.
I love the whole idea of the show. I love the supporting cast. And I love Jack Bauer. How great a character is he? Has there ever been a character so conflicted and yet so confident on television or the movies? Ever?
And tonight, don't call my house while it's on. I won't answer. I'll call you back. But don't call. Seriously. I.Won't.Answer.
Is it pathetic? Maybe. Is it addictive? Certainly.
But it points me to worship on Sundays. No, I don't equate Jack Bauer and Jesus. Jesus never talked about how He was running out of time. Or shot someone in the knee to get information. Or stuff like that.
The expectancy that's in my heart for 24 when it comes on is a challenge to match for Sunday when it comes. Does my pulse rate go up? Do I think about Sunday more than once? Do you?
Can I, as a pastor, offer a couple of quick application thoughts to help you be expectant for Sunday?
First, get some sleep. Try to go to bed at a decent hour. However many hours you need for a normal workday, do the same for Sunday.
Second, get up 15 minutes earlier. It'll save you the stress of not finding the other sandal in time.
Third, start singing before the worship service. You will be surprised what a song in the shower or in the car on the way or other places shapes your thoughts and readies your heart.
Fourth, read a psalm. Any of them. But 1-27 or 145-150 are terrific for revealing God and readying your heart.
Last, forgive someone. That argument with your spouse. That sassy remark from your kid. That coworker issue. Forgive them. See their sin against you nailed to the cross. And then see your sin right next to it. And the fires of worship will start to smolder. And a little wind from the Spirit will fan them into flame.
Sundays matter. Be ready for them.
But that's just me thinking thoughts...
Tuesday, April 15, 2014
Thursday, November 7, 2013
The Wrath of God was satisfied
The Ninja, the 8-year old, said this morning as we're listening to music and eating breakfast, "Dad, I like that line of the song. It's my favorite part."
If you're not familiar with the song, it's In Christ Alone by the Getty's, who have come upon the Christian music scene as the modern day hymn writers.
The full line...
'Til on that cross where Jesus died
The Wrath of God was satisfied
The Presbyterian Church USA created a small kerfuffle when they decided they didn't like the wrath of God being satisfied and instead wanted "The Love of God" to be "magnified." But the Getty's didn't let them change the lyric because they wanted to hold forth the traditional Christian doctrine that on the cross a payment happened for sin, satisfying God's wrath and providing His righteousness.
And I'm reading, in conjunction for my next doctoral class, sermons by Jonathan Edwards, he of Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God fame.
So all of that combined makes my response to the Ninja genuine: "Yep, Ninja, I like that one too."
Because the more I'm in touch with my depravity, selfishness, idolatry, unruliness, and disordered soul, the more I'm grateful that the wrath of God that was once against me was satisfied by One who could bear it redemptively on my behalf.
But that's just me thinking thoughts...
If you're not familiar with the song, it's In Christ Alone by the Getty's, who have come upon the Christian music scene as the modern day hymn writers.
The full line...
'Til on that cross where Jesus died
The Wrath of God was satisfied
The Presbyterian Church USA created a small kerfuffle when they decided they didn't like the wrath of God being satisfied and instead wanted "The Love of God" to be "magnified." But the Getty's didn't let them change the lyric because they wanted to hold forth the traditional Christian doctrine that on the cross a payment happened for sin, satisfying God's wrath and providing His righteousness.
And I'm reading, in conjunction for my next doctoral class, sermons by Jonathan Edwards, he of Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God fame.
So all of that combined makes my response to the Ninja genuine: "Yep, Ninja, I like that one too."
Because the more I'm in touch with my depravity, selfishness, idolatry, unruliness, and disordered soul, the more I'm grateful that the wrath of God that was once against me was satisfied by One who could bear it redemptively on my behalf.
But that's just me thinking thoughts...
Wednesday, June 26, 2013
If a Pastor could speak to Christian songwriters...
If I could speak to Christian songwriters, and particularly those who are worship song composers, this is what I would say. If you are one of those, you get what you pay for with this advice, etc., etc. etc. Take it for what it's worth, but take it from a man who is for you, your craft, and the content as it's used in the church today.
I offer three humble comments.
First, please write songs that are singable. Not just in lyric (because supralapsarianism doesn't really have a catchy rhyme), but mostly I'm thinking about in music. One of the struggles that I think most congregants struggle with is singing along to some of the more difficult melody lines. That includes those that I call "octave songs," those that start low and then hit the octave above it. Need an example? The current song-of-the-moment example is One Thing Remains (which I like and worship to personally). Those kinds of more difficult melodies work in younger settings but are hard to grasp in the larger church and often when they're tried they struggle to connect. So write songs that are singable.
Second, write just as many "We Songs" as "I Songs." I'm for "I Songs." I like confessing things to God where I lose focus on those around me and do business with Him. But I also know that the Gospel of Jesus didn't just create a new person but a new people. Therefore "We Songs" are crucial to the expressions of the church and reinforcing to the theology of the New Testament.
Lastly, the more closely you tie your lyrics to the text of the Bible, the more you help in the disciple-making process of the church. I don't think you need to quote Scripture in the lyrics (although that's awesome if you can). But tying lyrics to the text puts them in the memory of those who sing them. So when you write about liberation from the body of death because of no condemnation, you're writing about the last part of Romans 7 and first part of Romans 8. And when a congregant picks up the Bible and reads that part of the Bible, they think about your lyric. And the next time they sing that song, they think about Romans 7-8. See how that's wonderfully cyclical and reinforcing of the disciple-making process? A close tie between text and lyric takes work, for sure. It also comes from a heart that doesn't want to be a worship leader but a worship pastor, a person who pastors the church through the worship and music ministry. That's a mindset shift for a lot of people but one that is so healthy for churches.
But that's just me thinking thoughts...
I offer three humble comments.
First, please write songs that are singable. Not just in lyric (because supralapsarianism doesn't really have a catchy rhyme), but mostly I'm thinking about in music. One of the struggles that I think most congregants struggle with is singing along to some of the more difficult melody lines. That includes those that I call "octave songs," those that start low and then hit the octave above it. Need an example? The current song-of-the-moment example is One Thing Remains (which I like and worship to personally). Those kinds of more difficult melodies work in younger settings but are hard to grasp in the larger church and often when they're tried they struggle to connect. So write songs that are singable.
Second, write just as many "We Songs" as "I Songs." I'm for "I Songs." I like confessing things to God where I lose focus on those around me and do business with Him. But I also know that the Gospel of Jesus didn't just create a new person but a new people. Therefore "We Songs" are crucial to the expressions of the church and reinforcing to the theology of the New Testament.
Lastly, the more closely you tie your lyrics to the text of the Bible, the more you help in the disciple-making process of the church. I don't think you need to quote Scripture in the lyrics (although that's awesome if you can). But tying lyrics to the text puts them in the memory of those who sing them. So when you write about liberation from the body of death because of no condemnation, you're writing about the last part of Romans 7 and first part of Romans 8. And when a congregant picks up the Bible and reads that part of the Bible, they think about your lyric. And the next time they sing that song, they think about Romans 7-8. See how that's wonderfully cyclical and reinforcing of the disciple-making process? A close tie between text and lyric takes work, for sure. It also comes from a heart that doesn't want to be a worship leader but a worship pastor, a person who pastors the church through the worship and music ministry. That's a mindset shift for a lot of people but one that is so healthy for churches.
But that's just me thinking thoughts...
Monday, April 22, 2013
Wow. What a Sunday.
Yesterday was incredible. The kinds of Sundays that pastors long for and remember.
First, it was a great day with the gathered church. Singing. Praying. Honesty. Gratitude. Repentance. Celebration. All of that's awesome. The Word was strong and the worship was focused on Jesus. So so so good.
Second, and more special to me personally, I got to baptize the Ninja yesterday. His little life has the markings of Jesus all over it. When I asked him last week as to why he wanted to be baptized, he stated, "Daddy, I just want to tell all those people that I'm a follower of Jesus now." I couldn't have scripted it any better. So so so good.
What a sweet, amazing, powerful time. My heart is full as I type this.
And that leads me to the question to ponder today: what if most Sundays were like that? What if the church gathered in anticipation, with a sense of expectancy hanging around like when you know someone's been smoking but quit before you walked in the room? It's instinctive and attention-getting. What if your spiritual senses were acutely aware that God was lingering in the room?
Because it's not as if He doesn't want to meet with His people next week. And the week after that. And the week after that. It's not His passion that waxes and wanes from week to week.
But that's just me thinking thoughts...
First, it was a great day with the gathered church. Singing. Praying. Honesty. Gratitude. Repentance. Celebration. All of that's awesome. The Word was strong and the worship was focused on Jesus. So so so good.
Second, and more special to me personally, I got to baptize the Ninja yesterday. His little life has the markings of Jesus all over it. When I asked him last week as to why he wanted to be baptized, he stated, "Daddy, I just want to tell all those people that I'm a follower of Jesus now." I couldn't have scripted it any better. So so so good.
What a sweet, amazing, powerful time. My heart is full as I type this.
And that leads me to the question to ponder today: what if most Sundays were like that? What if the church gathered in anticipation, with a sense of expectancy hanging around like when you know someone's been smoking but quit before you walked in the room? It's instinctive and attention-getting. What if your spiritual senses were acutely aware that God was lingering in the room?
Because it's not as if He doesn't want to meet with His people next week. And the week after that. And the week after that. It's not His passion that waxes and wanes from week to week.
But that's just me thinking thoughts...
Thursday, November 1, 2012
In honor of All Saints Day: Trueman on Luther
Carl Trueman has posted a powerful piece playing on Martin Luther's 95 Theses that set off the Reformation, shaking and shaping the world. Trueman writes of 9.5 Theses for the modern church that Luther would probably post. Worth thinking about...
1. Luther saw leadership as primarily marked by servanthood - "The minister, like his Saviour, was to serve the poor and despised and the things that are not."
2. Luther understood worship as rooted in repentance - "[Luther] did not consider that the primary problem of sinners was that they were hurting...[but] that they were in deliberate rebellion against God and actually enjoying it." Ouch.
3. Luther did not care for they myth of cultural influence nor for the prerequisite cultural swagger necessary to catch the attention of the great and good - "He knew that the world really cares nothing for nuance nor for the friendship of the church and attempts by the church to befriend the world are always disastrous to the former."
4. Luther saw suffering as a mark of the church - "Suffering and being regarded as scum by the world were to go with the territory."
5. Luther was pastorally sensitive to the cherished practices of older Christians - "The contemporary cult of youth and innovation would have struck him as utterly wrong-headed and insensitive, a capitulation to the tastes and demands of the very category of people least likely to have anything useful or wise to contribute to how the church should go about her business."
6. Luther did not agree to disagree on matters of importance and thus to make them into practical trivia - "Luther did not allow the tastes of his own day nor the urgent need of a broad confederation to lead him to set aside what he was convinced was the teaching of Scripture."
7. Luther saw the existence of the ordained ministry as a mark of the church - "Luther quickly came to see that ordained ministers, those chosen by the church as exhibiting the moral and pedagogical abilities described by Paul, were the ones to whom the church was entrusted. There is a lesson here for a world like ours, where the Beautiful Young Things with computer savvy can aspire to set the churches' agenda by sheer strength of technological ability."
8. Luther saw the problem of leadership accountable only to itself - "The problem of unaccountable and influential leadership in evangelicalism is alive and well."
9. Luther thought very little of his own literary contribution to Christianity - "If here were alive today, it is very doubtful that he would be running a website devoted primarily to promoting his own books and pamphlets."
Read the whole thing here. It's worth your time.
1. Luther saw leadership as primarily marked by servanthood - "The minister, like his Saviour, was to serve the poor and despised and the things that are not."
2. Luther understood worship as rooted in repentance - "[Luther] did not consider that the primary problem of sinners was that they were hurting...[but] that they were in deliberate rebellion against God and actually enjoying it." Ouch.
3. Luther did not care for they myth of cultural influence nor for the prerequisite cultural swagger necessary to catch the attention of the great and good - "He knew that the world really cares nothing for nuance nor for the friendship of the church and attempts by the church to befriend the world are always disastrous to the former."
4. Luther saw suffering as a mark of the church - "Suffering and being regarded as scum by the world were to go with the territory."
5. Luther was pastorally sensitive to the cherished practices of older Christians - "The contemporary cult of youth and innovation would have struck him as utterly wrong-headed and insensitive, a capitulation to the tastes and demands of the very category of people least likely to have anything useful or wise to contribute to how the church should go about her business."
6. Luther did not agree to disagree on matters of importance and thus to make them into practical trivia - "Luther did not allow the tastes of his own day nor the urgent need of a broad confederation to lead him to set aside what he was convinced was the teaching of Scripture."
7. Luther saw the existence of the ordained ministry as a mark of the church - "Luther quickly came to see that ordained ministers, those chosen by the church as exhibiting the moral and pedagogical abilities described by Paul, were the ones to whom the church was entrusted. There is a lesson here for a world like ours, where the Beautiful Young Things with computer savvy can aspire to set the churches' agenda by sheer strength of technological ability."
8. Luther saw the problem of leadership accountable only to itself - "The problem of unaccountable and influential leadership in evangelicalism is alive and well."
9. Luther thought very little of his own literary contribution to Christianity - "If here were alive today, it is very doubtful that he would be running a website devoted primarily to promoting his own books and pamphlets."
Read the whole thing here. It's worth your time.
Tuesday, October 2, 2012
It's like...
The kids, especially the boys, have imaginations. Think about your favorite sci-fi show running into your favorite crime drama set in the context of Indiana Jones with a sprinkle of Disney's Austin and Ally on top. Those kinds of imaginations.
And when they get started, they say, "It's like..." And then the hilarity begins. For me, the stories aren't all that funny. But the kids laughing at themselves, even to the point of not being able to say what they want to say, is what is funny.
And for some reason the Holy Spirit prodded me last time I was thinking about that. There are some things I don't believe (a la the smoke machine malfunctioning and causing the cave to catch fire where the horses were eating their cupcakes) that I need to believe. And He whispered a few...
It's like a quenching, drenching, and powerful waterfall of love, poured out on you (Rom. 5.5).
It's like a well that's inside of you that not only gives you life but those around you too (John 7.39).
It's like fishing, casting a broad net, seeing what gets caught up in something larger than itself - except for men (Matt. 4.19).
It's like when I take a step, He takes a step and we get closer, though somehow He's already closer than I could imagine (James 4.8).
Yep.
It's like that.
But that's just me thinking thoughts...
And when they get started, they say, "It's like..." And then the hilarity begins. For me, the stories aren't all that funny. But the kids laughing at themselves, even to the point of not being able to say what they want to say, is what is funny.
And for some reason the Holy Spirit prodded me last time I was thinking about that. There are some things I don't believe (a la the smoke machine malfunctioning and causing the cave to catch fire where the horses were eating their cupcakes) that I need to believe. And He whispered a few...
It's like a quenching, drenching, and powerful waterfall of love, poured out on you (Rom. 5.5).
It's like a well that's inside of you that not only gives you life but those around you too (John 7.39).
It's like fishing, casting a broad net, seeing what gets caught up in something larger than itself - except for men (Matt. 4.19).
It's like when I take a step, He takes a step and we get closer, though somehow He's already closer than I could imagine (James 4.8).
Yep.
It's like that.
But that's just me thinking thoughts...
Monday, October 1, 2012
A singing salvation
I waited patiently for the LORD; He inclined to me and heard my cry. He drew me up from the pit of destruction, out of the miry bog, and set my feet upon a rock, making my steps secure. He put a new song in my mouth, a song of praise to our God. Many will see and fear, and put their trust in the LORD. (Psalm 40.1-3)
I spoke about this yesterday, but I'd like to reiterate it here. For those in whom salvation has taken root, who have experienced the pit-defying rescue and the solidity of the Rock underfoot, singing is a natural result.
It's not the only result. It, like other fruit from the True Vine, can be fabricated, faked, feigned. But those who have been delivered do have a song in their mouth, a song of praise to their rescuing, delivering, security-ensuring God.
So how about you. What song are you singing?
But that's just me thinking thoughts...
Wednesday, September 19, 2012
Can you sing this?
A little friend here is battling Rhabdomyosarcoma. They are from our former church in Waco. Having spent some time at MD Anderson, I got to pray with them on an occasion or two. And then this past Sunday...
A 7-year old hero singing about God's goodness. If that's not spiritual warfare, I don't know what is.
But that's just me thinking thoughts...
Thursday, July 19, 2012
Brag on God
I'm not sure what you think of when you read the title to the post. It's a short one today but I hope you take it seriously and think about it. Of course, I hope you apply it too.
We brag on kids, work, turnout at events, experiences we had, accomplishments we made, help we received or gave, and any number of other things (living vicariously through our kids included).
But when was the last time you bragged on God?
It requires you (a) having something to say and (b) saying it. So which is harder for you - (a) or (b)? My guess is whichever one is your answer, it's not because God hasn't been trying to give you some opportunities.
But that's just me thinking thoughts...
We brag on kids, work, turnout at events, experiences we had, accomplishments we made, help we received or gave, and any number of other things (living vicariously through our kids included).
But when was the last time you bragged on God?
It requires you (a) having something to say and (b) saying it. So which is harder for you - (a) or (b)? My guess is whichever one is your answer, it's not because God hasn't been trying to give you some opportunities.
But that's just me thinking thoughts...
Thursday, July 5, 2012
Friend of Sinners
For some reason this just snagged me today. I love the line...
A plank-eyed saint with dirty hands and a heart divided
And what would my life, church, neighborhood, and family look like if I took this more to heart than just posting it on a blog?
But that's just me thinking thoughts...
Monday, July 2, 2012
We are Saved
We did this song at camp this past week. It's yet another good, cross-centered song from Paul Baloche. Enjoy!
Wednesday, June 27, 2012
Wednesday, May 16, 2012
Dead Men Speak
I love reading stuff by people who are long gone. My reason is simple: if they're dead and it's still being published, it's probably really really good.
So, today, I give you a prayer of a Puritan...
So, today, I give you a prayer of a Puritan...
Thou canst not make me happy with ThyselfI'm hanging onto that one.
till Thou hast made me holy like Thyself.
Wednesday, May 2, 2012
Tree of Life Day 87: Revelation 4-5
You just can't capture it better than this in my opinion...
(props to Jennie Riddle, the songwriter, and Kari Jobe, the singer)
(props to Jennie Riddle, the songwriter, and Kari Jobe, the singer)
Monday, October 10, 2011
Idolatry of Religion (pt 1)
There are two ways to be a religious idolater. Many voices throughout the history of the church have pointed this out. In our day, no one has been more analytical, adept, or accurate as Tim Keller at Redeemer Presbyterian in Manhattan. You should check him out and get your soul fed.
The first way to be an idolater is to be a religious rule keeper. Having just preached on Philippians 3.1-11, Paul certainly falls into this category before he came to know Christ. He said of himself that he was a Pharisee, a persecutor of the church, and found faultless before the righteousness of the law.
In short: he kept all the rules.
And what did it produce in him? Humility? Godly character? A desire for God and the things of God? No. But instead pride. Instead, sin upon sin. Instead, a desire for self-exaltation.
And that's what this kind of religion produces in us. Pride and self-reliance drive us to perform more and more and more. The only relationship with God we have is the one that is mediated by the actions we take, the mistakes we make, and our promises to do more and do better next time.
Strange, isn't it? We pride ourselves on doing good and doing right. We go to God with those things, standing before Him like a peacock strutting his stuff. But deep down, the question lingers as to whether or not we've done enough or done the right kind of enough that would make God happy (at best) or keep Him off our back for another week (at worst).
Pride. Fear. Symptoms of religious idolatry in the human heart. And bad news when those symptoms arise.
Because the truth is that you and I could never do enough or the right kind of enough to merit God's favor.
Earning our way into His presence and pleasure doesn't come by way of our "enough." It comes by way of Christ's declaration: "It is finished."
We don't live in relationship with God on the basis of our sacrifice. We live with Him on the basis of Christ's sacrifice.
Recognizing and reveling in this means pride goes away because we didn't do it. And fear goes away because it wasn't on the basis of our "enough" that we got in anyway. Lay down pride. Lay down fear. Embrace Christ. Enjoy God.
But that's just me thinking thoughts...
The first way to be an idolater is to be a religious rule keeper. Having just preached on Philippians 3.1-11, Paul certainly falls into this category before he came to know Christ. He said of himself that he was a Pharisee, a persecutor of the church, and found faultless before the righteousness of the law.
In short: he kept all the rules.
And what did it produce in him? Humility? Godly character? A desire for God and the things of God? No. But instead pride. Instead, sin upon sin. Instead, a desire for self-exaltation.
And that's what this kind of religion produces in us. Pride and self-reliance drive us to perform more and more and more. The only relationship with God we have is the one that is mediated by the actions we take, the mistakes we make, and our promises to do more and do better next time.
Strange, isn't it? We pride ourselves on doing good and doing right. We go to God with those things, standing before Him like a peacock strutting his stuff. But deep down, the question lingers as to whether or not we've done enough or done the right kind of enough that would make God happy (at best) or keep Him off our back for another week (at worst).
Pride. Fear. Symptoms of religious idolatry in the human heart. And bad news when those symptoms arise.
Because the truth is that you and I could never do enough or the right kind of enough to merit God's favor.
Earning our way into His presence and pleasure doesn't come by way of our "enough." It comes by way of Christ's declaration: "It is finished."
We don't live in relationship with God on the basis of our sacrifice. We live with Him on the basis of Christ's sacrifice.
Recognizing and reveling in this means pride goes away because we didn't do it. And fear goes away because it wasn't on the basis of our "enough" that we got in anyway. Lay down pride. Lay down fear. Embrace Christ. Enjoy God.
But that's just me thinking thoughts...
Wednesday, August 17, 2011
There's Something about the Quiet
I love the quiet of the early morning.
I remember multiple times going fishing with my brothers and/or dad on this little lake that you had to walk a mile to from your car and just listening. Birds. Crickets. Wind in the tall pines. Squirrels scurrying. Even the uh-oh-what-was-that-in-the-pine-needles?
I wonder if God looks down on our busy lives, packed full of media and music and meetings, and gets sad. I wonder if He gets sad because in our race to entertain and amuse ourselves (what we call giving ourselves and our kids multiple opportunities) we miss the symphony of sound coming from the orchestra of things like an early morning in the woods going fishing. Even at my house right now where I'm writing it's quiet. A ticking clock, the low whoosh of the fan on my MacBook Pro, and the birds I can hear through the window.
There's something settling about silence when you get past the part that unnerves you. For me, I remember that I have a soul and that the meeting later might not be as important as I think it is and that visiting the baby just born in the hospital is a wonderful opportunity for ministry (two things on my plate today).
A couple of deep breaths. Prayers. Fuel from Psalm 2 this morning - "He who sits in the heavens laughs [at those who think they will have their way against God]." Enjoying a few more moments of quiet. Then to the rest of the day. Try it. You just might like it!
But that's just me thinking thoughts...
I remember multiple times going fishing with my brothers and/or dad on this little lake that you had to walk a mile to from your car and just listening. Birds. Crickets. Wind in the tall pines. Squirrels scurrying. Even the uh-oh-what-was-that-in-the-pine-needles?
I wonder if God looks down on our busy lives, packed full of media and music and meetings, and gets sad. I wonder if He gets sad because in our race to entertain and amuse ourselves (what we call giving ourselves and our kids multiple opportunities) we miss the symphony of sound coming from the orchestra of things like an early morning in the woods going fishing. Even at my house right now where I'm writing it's quiet. A ticking clock, the low whoosh of the fan on my MacBook Pro, and the birds I can hear through the window.
There's something settling about silence when you get past the part that unnerves you. For me, I remember that I have a soul and that the meeting later might not be as important as I think it is and that visiting the baby just born in the hospital is a wonderful opportunity for ministry (two things on my plate today).
A couple of deep breaths. Prayers. Fuel from Psalm 2 this morning - "He who sits in the heavens laughs [at those who think they will have their way against God]." Enjoying a few more moments of quiet. Then to the rest of the day. Try it. You just might like it!
But that's just me thinking thoughts...
Monday, August 1, 2011
The Greatest Need of the Church in 2011
The greatest need of the church in 2011 might have been addressed in the 1950's...
Where are the guys who write like that today? Father, raise up some prophets!
In my opinion, the great single need of the moment is that light-hearted superficial religionists be struck down with a vision of God high and lifted up, with His train filling the temple. The holy art of worship seems to have passed away like the Shekinah glory from the tabernacle. As a result, we are left to our own devices and forced to make up the lack of spontaneous worship by bringing in countless cheap and tawdry activities to hold the attention of the church people. (A.W. Tozer, Keys to the Deeper Life)
Where are the guys who write like that today? Father, raise up some prophets!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)