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July 21, 2011

Learning to Listen to the Voice of God: Part 2

Posted by JeremyJK under Christianity, Church, Culture, Jesus, Kingdom of God, Spiritual Formation, Teachings of Jesus
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We live in a culture of busy-ness.  Anyone who has spent more than two seconds in this country will come to understand that.  In Richard Foster’s book Celebration of Discipline: The Path to Spiritual Growth, he says, “our Adversary majors in three things: noise, hurry,and crowds.”   We are often caught up in this whirlwind of doing that we neglect the state of just being.  When we allow ourselves and our time to be filled up with stuffwe leave very little room if any for listening for the voice of God.  This is an issue I have addressed before in another post called  “Listening For Silence In A Blaring World: For God and Self.” 

I bring this point up again because I believe this is one of the main challenges of why most Christians are not being led by the voice of God and lack a deep, meaningful relationship with him…because they are frankly, just too BUSY.  And when they do get a moment to hear from God, they fall asleep because they are worn out from always being in a HURRY to get things done.  But in the words of Carl Jung, “Hurry is not of the Devil; it is the Devil.”  Why?  Because all of this HURRY and BUSY-NESS keeps us away from God.  It blurs our understanding of God.  It blocks our ability to hear and listen for God. 

I call this the “Martha Syndrome.”  In Luke 10:38-42 I see Martha as the American in this narrative. 

38 Now as they went on their way, he entered a certain village, where a woman named Martha welcomed him into her home. 39She had a sister named Mary, who sat at the Lord’s feet and listened to what he was saying.40But Martha was distracted by her many tasks; so she came to him and asked, ‘Lord, do you not care that my sister has left me to do all the work by myself? Tell her then to help me.’ 41But the Lord answered her, ‘Martha, Martha, you are worried and distracted by many things; 42there is need of only one thing. Mary has chosen the better part, which will not be taken away from her (NRSV; italics is mine for emphasis).’

I want to point out a few things from this passage.  1) Martha “welcomed” Jesus into her home.  The world is filled with Christians who have welcomed Jesus into their home.  They invite him into their hearts and then go around telling everyone they “know Christ as their Savior.”  But then like many Christians do today, Martha got BUSY “work[ing]“  or for Jesus.  Slaving in the kitchen, keeping the grounds, being part of Church committees, pastoring, and all sorts of other ministries should never replace the time needed to spend listening for God. 

So we come to my second point.  2) Mary “sat at the Lord’s feet and listened to his teaching.”  Mary wanted to HEAR from Jesus.  She wanted to KNOW him and his teaching.  She took the time to FIRST listen to Jesus before she began DOING.  What was she doing?  She was putting KNOWING God above DOING for God.  Why?  Because only when we KNOW God will we ever be able to effectively and powerfully DO for God. 

You see, the passage says that Martha was “distracted.”  She was BUSY DOING.  Jesus even tells her that she was “anxious and troubled about many things.”  I believe that this is where most Christians in our culture are at.  Their anxiety to keep up with the Joneses causes them to be troubled with trying to obtain the American dream.  They feel that they have to be busy little bees because that is what everyone else does and a good work ethic means you never stop.  Arthur G. Gish says, “We buy things we don’t want to impress people we don’t like.”  Does that make any sense to anyone?

We have been sucked into our culture but not the kingdom of God.  In the kingdom of God, relationship is everything.   We need to be Mary-like Christians intent on LISTENING to Jesus and less Martha-like Christians being distracted by DOING.  DOING most certainly has a place, but it is never to replace LISTENING and KNOWING Jesus.  Christians that mainly DO but LISTEN little are shallow.  Yet Christians that LISTEN to and KNOW God and THEN DO are deep, fruitful, and effective.  

Which brings me to my final point.  We need to ALWAYS be in the state of LISTENING for God.  Even in the midst of the DOING, we need to be able to silence ourselves, to stop and LISTEN throughout the day to what the Lord is speaking to us.  If you are at school, block out the noise as you walk down the hallway and LISTEN.  As you are driving to and from work, turn off the radio and LISTEN.  If you are laying in bed early in the morning, instead of plotting out the day, LISTEN. 

I know many people who always do all the talking and hardly ever listen.  If I begin to interject a thought, they quickly interrupt and continue talking.  I can even tell by their body language and facial expressions if they are listening or not.  I have a feeling that those who have trouble listening to their brothers and sisters, probably are not listening to God either.  There are many people who are more impressed with the words that come out of their mouths than the words that come from the mouth of God.  Jesus said that humans live by “every word that comes out of the mouth of God.”  Notice that he does not say, “humans live by doing all of the talking.” 

Therefore in the words of James 1:19: “Be slow to speak and quick to listen.”

 

July 15, 2011

The Master Who Keeps On Serving: Thoughts on Luke 12:37

Posted by JeremyJK under Christianity, Jesus, Kingdom of God, Scripture, Spiritual Formation, Teachings of Jesus
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I work for a company that seems to specialize in manager/team leader meetings.  All of us department heads gather together in a conference  room, eat lunch, and then try to fight the afternoon urge to dose off in the middle of the store manager’s long winded speech about bottom-lines, whirlwinds, and company goals.  We all arrive at the meetings looking like King Arthur’s Knights of the Round Table going to a Bingo night.  We leave like Grumpy, Dopey and Let’s Get the Heck Out of Here dwarves. 

But I recall at one meeting in particular, we were introduced to our new assistant store manager.  That’s right, second in command.  Like Robin, Darth Vader, Joe Biden, Dick Cheney, Dan Quale (oh man remember that guy?) or Scottie Pippen.  In the past our assistants have been nice but not really nice.  

Anyhow, we were all introduced and the meeting continued as we ate our lunch.  Suddenly, as we all took turns taking our last bite and wiping those stranded crumbs from our mouths, this new assistant get’s up and begins clearing our plates.  Wha-wha, what? Some began to scratch their heads, others shook theirs in amazement, and those who had not yet finished eating stopped chewing as their jaws dropped and food and drool escaped ever so slightly from their mouths. 

Now I know what you’re thinking.  “Well he’s just the new guy trying to score some points.”  This, I have to admit, was many of our original thoughts too.  However, he would prove these premature thoughts wrong.  He became known as the manager who serves and is not afraid to chip in and get his hands dirty.  He rolls up his sleeves and instead of working against us, works for us and with us.  If you want to be a successful leader…follow this man’s example and I promise you success. 

I say all of that to highlight a detail I came across in my devotional reading today.  In Luke 12:35-40 we find it said:

35 ‘Be dressed for action and have your lamps lit; 36be like those who are waiting for their master to return from the wedding banquet, so that they may open the door for him as soon as he comes and knocks. 37Blessed are those slaves whom the master finds alert when he comes; truly I tell you, he will fasten his belt and have them sit down to eat, and he will come and serve them. 38If he comes during the middle of the night, or near dawn, and finds them so, blessed are those slaves.

39 ‘But know this: if the owner of the house had known at what hour the thief was coming, he* would not have let his house be broken into. 40You also must be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an unexpected hour.’

This passage of scripture is about being ready when the Son of Man (who is Christ) returns.  Now there are varying thoughts on what being ready means, but I do not want to get caught up in those details.  What I want to briefly highlight is verse 37.  What is revealed here is that when Jesus returns, he is going to SERVE and wait on those who were ready at his coming.  Wha-wha, what?  Let me get this straight.  According to Philippians 2, Jesus sets aside his glory in heaven to become a nobody.  He willingly takes on humble circumstances and is a servant to all.  He even said, “I came not to be served but to serve.”  But because of his willingness to be lowered, he is exalted to the right hand of the Father.  But then he returns only to serve again???  WOW!!!

Even though Jesus was exalted as King of kings, given a name above all names, and is the second person of the trinity; he will still serve those who are faithful and ready at his coming.  Absolutely amazing!  I am so humbled by that truth.  No one, in the kingdom of God is above the role of a servant to all, not even our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.  If Christ can wait tables at the great feast, even after his death, resurrection, ascension, and exaltation then…I think you can fill in the blanks.  We serve a mysterious and awesome God!!!

 

 

July 7, 2011

Walnuts and Gifts? Recognizing the Value of Each Others Gifts in the Church

Posted by JeremyJK under Apostle Paul, Bible, Christianity, Church, Corinthians, Holy Spirit, Scripture, Spiritual Formation
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So I have this tree.  This tree is a black walnut tree.  It doesn’t bloom and get leaves until June and begins losing it’s leaves in August.  At some point in July it grows black walnuts.  Sounds cool huh?  Walnuts in your own backyard.  Well it’s not so cool.  Because as soon as these walnuts come on the tree they begin falling off the tree all over the yard.  Needless to say, this tree makes a mess of my yard and the leaves and walnuts begin killing the grass.  Last year I got so frustrated with the mess I told my wife I wanted to cut it down this year.  So at one of our picnics I told my father-in-law that I wanted to end this tree’s life. 

My father-in-law knows a guy who would do it for us and would take the wood too.  It would be a quick easy clean up.  I had my mind made up…this tree was going to get whacked!  But then my father-in-law said, “Yeah  we can cut it down, no problem.  You’re gonna lose some shade though.  It’s a really good shade tree for your backyard.”  Why did he have to say that?  I had my mind made up and everything.  I looked around the yard to see how much shade it really offered throughout the day and sure enough it covers almost half the yard.  But it makes such a mess.  “Nope we’re cutting it down.” I thought. 

Then my niece overheard that I wanted to take this tree out.  “Oh my gosh, you can’t do that!” she said.  “I love that tree!”  And in fact I did recall that every time she comes over my house one of the first things she does is run to that tree with a book, climbs it, sits on one of its branches (it looks like it was made for sitting) and reads.  Her younger brother went into the same type of panic mode as well.  He’s a young boy and loves to climb it too.  But dog-gone-it I hate the mess it makes.  But it does provide some nice privacy as well from neighbors. 

Then I realized, I was so obsessed and focused on the negative characteristics of this tree that I failed to see and appreciate  gifts.  In fact, I underestimated this tree and took it for granted.  Maybe this tree isn’t so bad.  So what if I have to clean up a mess now and then.  I think I want that shade and I really do enjoy seeing the kids run to that tree as soon as they get to the house. 

But isn’t this how we are with people?  At times we get so caught up in what we don’t like about them that we fail to see and appreciate the gifts God has given them.  Instead of encouraging them in their gifts we often become jealous, envious, and at times even covet their gifts.  One of my gifts is a gift of learning and teaching scripture.  I can’t count how many times a week I am told by some Christian that “you can have all the knowledge in the world but it doesn’t really matter to God.”  I am constantly reminded that one doesn’t need to go to seminary to be used of God, as though I was not aware of that.  I have even mentioned to my wife countless times that being a seminary student is one of the most thankless things I have ever done because of the passive aggressive attitudes I get about it, FROM CHRISTIANS.  Yet I believe it has mainly been my wife and father and a few other family members and friends who have strongly encouraged me in this calling.  Usually from others though it is a smug dismissal.

But it has caused me to reflect on 1 Corinthians 12-14 where Paul addresses the fact that we have all been given various gifts from the Holy Spirit.  Those gifts come to us only by the grace of God.  Paul often uses anatomy metaphor to illustrate this sundry gifting.  The hand for instance has its own gifts which are far different from the eyes’ or ears’ giftings.  But do we ever get mad or jealous of the eyes because they have the gift of vision or the feet for walking.  No way!  Why?  Because we clearly understand that we NEED them and if they all work together the harmony creates a glorious and productive outcome. 

Am I ever jealous of another’s gifts?  I would be a liar if I said, “No.”  But I have tried to transform that reaction from jealousy to genuine excitement for that individual.  How can I be mad at or jealous of them because of what God has chosen to give them by his grace?  I can’t.   I think the remedy therefore is to be thankful to God and appreciate the fact that he has given the body of Christ an individual with such wonderful blessings as to edify the Church and its mission to the world.

Just like that tree, I have had to change what it is I am focusing on.  Am I distracted by the seeming weaknesses and being blinded to the precious gifts?  I think so.  But now I can’t imagine a backyard without that shade, privacy and special children playing on it.  So I will keep the tree and my cherished brothers and sisters I have in the body of Christ.  “Thank you Lord for the gifts you have given to us all in your wisdom and grace.”

Amen.

 

June 28, 2011

Hooking Souls

Posted by JeremyJK under Christianity, Church, Spiritual Formation, Teachings of Jesus
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When it comes to premarital relationships, men will often pursue their female like a hawk or a lion hunting their prey.  They become hungry for her endless attention and obsessed with her affections.  Finally, her father entrusts her hand to him in marriage that special wedding day before all to see.  As they both exchange their “I do’s” the ring is slipped onto her finger.  It is at that moment that the predator of love knows his prey has finally been safely snatched.  The ring becomes the fishing hook that has landed his catch.  The man is exhilarated. 

The first several months and perhaps into the next year the new husband still shows his bride sole affection and attention.  Yet as is often the case, his feelings change, the excitement wanes, and his appetite for his prey of love fades.  He has captured his prey, the fight is over at last and he moves on to fresh and new pursuits.  His lover, though not forgotten, has surely been placed on the back burner and often times seems more of an annoyance than that object of pursuit that she once was.  In time this young bride catches on to what is really going on and finds another lover.  And so the epidemic continues.

This is not a romance novel I am writing my dear friends.  This is what I see as a parallel of contemporary evangelism in the Church today.  The Church is in hot pursuit to make unbelievers become Christians.  The hook we have made bigger than it needs to be is “the sinner’s prayer.”  Like the groom winning his bride, the Church today wins souls and slowly loses their affection for them.  The excitement of pursuing these individuals diminishes once they are “saved.”  Once we get them saved and convince them that they are on their way to heaven we begin to neglect them.  We fill their “new lives in Christ Jesus” with bulletins, services, songs, pie sales, cake bakes, offerings, and empty spiritual clichés. 

What we are not often times doing effectively is what Jesus commanded us to do…”make disciples.”  What ever happened to discipling?  What ever happened to mentoring?  What ever happened to making a lifetime committment to a couple of people with the determination to see them grow to full maturity in Christ?

What’s that Germy?  Oh I see, it’s the pastor’s job? Your right Germy.  But guess what?  It’s not his “job” it’s his/her calling.  It’s all of our callings as Christians, to make disciples of all humans.  We ALL have a part to play in this crusade of love.  And perhaps that pastor isn’t doing it as effectively because he/she is burned out from babysitting Christians that should be matured by now and should be contributing instead of just feeding off of the table of service the Church offers. 

My plea today is this: Don’t treat souls like fish.  We have twisted that imagery Jesus used as “fishers of men” and taken the analogy way to far.  We are not to get our hooks in their mouths and once we pull them out of the stormy waters to throw them either back into the water or toss them to the back of the boat like pieces of meat.  The pursuit is never to end.  We are to be as excited and thrilled with discipling them to full maturity in Christ as we are in getting them “saved.” 

WARNING!!!! This is going to take a lot of time, energy, and effort.  Discipling is a process filled with gradual changes and transformations. Making a disciple takes a lifetime.  We are all being transformed into the image of Christ…this is what true discipling is.  Heed the call of the Lord, but realize it is not a cat and mouse game that ends with the cat catching the mouse.  It is a courtship, filled with loving and wooing, that never ends but continues into marriage, with a lifetime of intimacy and unity. 

May the LORD help us all to make disciples of all humans.

Blessings!

 

May 18, 2011

Stupid Bumper Stickers and Bad Attitudes: Caring for the Needy in 21st Century Capitalistic Evangelical America

Posted by JeremyJK under Bible, Christianity, Church, Culture, Jesus, Kingdom of God, Money, Needy, Politics, Scripture, sin, Spiritual Formation, Teachings of Jesus
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Not too long ago I was driving home from work and all of a sudden my car was swallowed up by the shadow of a mammoth SUV/pick-up truck.  This thing was a gas guzzlin’ monster-beast of a truck.  We came to a red light where the beast-truck was in the right lane and I in the left.  As we sat at the light and I was diagonally behind him, I could hear him revin his engine…VROOM…VROOM!!! Then my eye caught a white bumper sticker on his truck that read in red and blue patriotic letters…”I can drive this truck because we can’t all be on welfare!!!” 

Suddenly the light turned green and rubber tires pealed-out leaving smoke everywhere.  As I coughed on this manly man’s dust I couldn’t help but think about Deuteronomy 15:7-11 and feel the heart of God aching.

 

7 If there is among you anyone in need, a member of your community in any of your towns within the land that the Lord your God is giving you, do not be hard-hearted or tight-fisted towards your needy neighbour. 8You should rather open your hand, willingly lending enough to meet the need, whatever it may be. 9Be careful that you do not entertain a mean thought, thinking, ‘The seventh year, the year of remission, is near’, and therefore view your needy neighbour with hostility and give nothing; your neighbour might cry to the Lord against you, and you would incur guilt. 10Give liberally and be ungrudging when you do so, for on this account the Lord your God will bless you in all your work and in all that you undertake. 11Since there will never cease to be some in need on the earth, I therefore command you, ‘Open your hand to the poor and needy neighbour in your land.’

With this passage in mind I don’t understand the attitudes and prejudices that people who can obviously drive gas guzzlin’ trucks have.  Now one might say, “Well, you don’t know if he was a Christian or not so how can you hold him to that standard?”

Well first…I don’t know if he was a Christian but I have met MANY Christians with that same exact disgust for those in need or on welfare. These are Christians who have gotten caught up in the American dream and love affair with capitalism more than the economy of God and the ethics of the kingdom. 

Secondly, God does hold the unbeliever to ethical standards.  Unbelievers are not given a get out of jail free card and dismissed from a standard because they don’t believe in it.  There are several places in the Bible where unbelievers are held accountable to ethical standards of God.

But for the sake of this post, let’s explore our own feelings about those in our society who are in need.  How about the elderly, the orphan, the widow, the immigrant, the family stuck in the ghetto, the disabled, etc the list is unending?  It is so sad the bitter and horrible things I hear said about these people…from CHRISTIANS!!!  We can tolerate the widow and orphan as long as the orphan grows up and “get’s a damn job.”  We have little use for immigrants, especially “illegals” (as we title them) regardless of the circumstances they may be trying to escape. If they are “legal” we say “they can stay as long as they learn to speak our own damn language!”  And “there are NO families STUCK in the ghetto, this is capitalism they need to go to college and go out and get a job!”

WHAT CARELESS IGNORANCE!!!

I have heard all of these things, even from elderly church-going grandmas.  HOLY COW!!! What terrific attitudes we have toward the needy.  The Old Testament get’s a bad rap on a lot of things, but especially on this issue…it does not have the often affluent evangelical capitalistic American attitude toward these people.  On the contrary, the Old Testament goes to GREAT lengths to help and provide for these folks. 

Now do I think there are some people leaching off the system and taking advantage of it?  Absolutely.  But we are not called to be their judge of intentions on those issues.  We will be held accountable for what we do when we are met with those needs.  They will be accountable for their own intentions…but even God allows the rain to fall on the just and the unjust.  He provides for all…and a so are we called to do so. 

We all have certain types of people in our hearts that we have been conditioned to despise.  Who are they in your heart?  Are they black?  Are they white or asian?  Are they Muslim?  Are they drunk, poor, homeless, elderly, ghetto, white-trash, rich, catholic etc?  When those feelings and thoughts arise we need to repent of them and reject them.  We need to love those people and “Open your hand to the poor and needy neighbor in your land.”  God loves them and so should we.  We are called to love our neighbor…they are our neighbor!

We are not to be “hard-hearted or tight-fisted.”  We are not to “entertain a mean thought” against them.  But we are to “give liberally and be ungrudging.”  We are not supposed to drive around with stupid bumper stickers on our vehicles and join the culture in abhorring these people and treating them as lazy, invisible, and pests to society. 

I pray for you and for me that we can overcome this bitterness we have for different groups of individuals and see them not as  the world sees them but as Christ sees them in Matthew 25.  Jesus identified with the needy and said when we minister to them…we minister to him.  When we feed the hungry, we feed him.  When we clothe the naked, we clothe him.  When we allow the customer to shop freely without spying on their every  move because they might be stealing, we allow Christ to shop freely.  You get the point. 

May we see every human being as created in the image of God.  May we see them as Christ sees them.  May we see them as Christ.

 

May 11, 2011

Listening For Silence In A Blaring World: For God and Self

Posted by JeremyJK under Bible, Christianity, Church, Culture, Faith, Jesus, Just Life, Meditations, Scripture, Spiritual Formation, Teachings of Jesus
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So I have a rather abstract thought for you today but it’s one that really got me thinking.  I’ve been reading a book called Monk Habits for Everyday People: Benedictine Spirituality for Protestants, by Dennis Okholm.  Don’t ask why I’m reading it, I just read everything that crosses my path.:) That is not always a good habit but it get’s me to look in books I probably would usually shrug my shoulders at. 

There is a chapter about “listening” in the book.  You know that action that most Americans are really poor at…especially in the Church.  Everyone wants to talk but few want to listen even though the proverb says, “Be slow to speak and quick to listen.”  Anyhow, in this chapter Okholm brings up the point that most of us listen to the external but not the internal.  That is to say, we fill our ears with music, conversation, TV shows, News, the sound of cars, jack-hammers, emergency sirens, constant chatter etc. 

We hear what we are trained to listen to.  To further this point Okholm gives an example of a naturalist walking down a city street at night with a friend who lives in the city.  As they are walking, the naturalist turns to his friend and says, “I’m surprised at all the crickets in the city.” 

The friend responds, “What crickets?  What are you talking about?”

“Can’t you hear them?” the naturalist asks.

“I don’t hear anything.”

As they continue walking down the busy city street the naturalist grabs his friend’s arm and they come to a stop in the middle of the sidewalk.  The naturalist drops a handfull of coins on the sidewalk and suddenly a whole group of people on cell phones, iPods, reading newspapers and magazines in the remaining sunlight, and talking to people next to them, come to a sudden halt to bend down and pick up the change and pocket it.

We have been trained to listen to the things that our culture has informed us is important.  But are we trained to hear the voice of our Lord?  Do we hear the voice within us?  Do we hear what is really going on inside of us?  Is there anything going on inside of us?  Is there anything there?

Okholm mentions Anthony Bloom, an Orthodox metropolitan, asking if we were alone as a Christian in prison, stranded on an island, or out in an national park for a couple weeks alone on a sabbatical, with nothing but our thoughts–would we get bored?  Would you (and I ask myself as well) get bored with yourself?  Or is there enough in you to be busy and deep in thought, reflection, and conversation with yourself and God?  Or does God bore you? 

I wonder if I have enough scripture in me to remember and recite in my thoughts to keep me busy pondering and meditating for weeks without a Bible in my hands.  Do you know any verses?  What about a chapter?  A book of the Bible?  I know of people who have actually committed the entire book of Ephesians to memory.  Those people would not be bored but would be delighted by the opportunity.

What about a work of literature?  A poem?  Is there anything inside of you that you could bring up?

And have you been trained to hear the voice of Jesus?  Scripture says, “My sheep know my voice.”  Ever wonder how that works?  Probably because the sheep are in the presence of the shepherd everyday, all day.  Do you listen for the voice of the shepherd?  Would you recognize it if you heard it? 

I for one am going to commit myself to putting more in me, so that I have something to withdrawal on a regular basis.  I think it would be a great exercise to go for a walk in a quiet park with NOTHING but myself and practice listening to what is inside and see if I get bored or not. 

Let’s train ourselves to listen to what is inside and not just what is external filling our ears constantly.  Let’s train ourselves to hear the voice of the Lord.  Let’s devote ourselves to times of quiet instead of turning on the TV or radio in the car.  We turn on the radio in the car like a crackhead grabs for his baggy.  We do it out of habit…we do it without thinking…we are at times wondering how that stupid thing got turned on.  Imagine a world without all that noise.  Let’s be blessed by the sound of silence…and listen for that still small voice.

 

 

May 10, 2011

Christopher Hitchens Defeated by William Lane Craig!

Posted by JeremyJK under Christianity, Faith, New Atheism, Reason, Science
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As some of my blog followers know I have written a bit on one of the most intrigiuging atheists whose ever lived named Christopher Hitchens.  He is both brilliant and witty and because of these traits he is quite entertaining to watch and read.  I have viewed many of his debates against religious minds across the board and have concieted as a Christian devotee that he has won each debate hands down.  Until recently I had given up hope and couldn’t quite understand how the Christians couldn’t offer this man a better debate.  Getting my BA in Religion and Philosophy I know of timely arguments that have worked against atheists and in favor of the theist’s worldview and couldn’t quite understand why no one was pulling these out of the arsenal.

One of my heros, Alister McGrath came the closest but allowed Hitchen’s to bring the debate into the arena of emotions and ethical accusations where Hitchens does best and likes to stay focused there.  However, the true debate is not about if many people do evil things in the name of religion.  No one is arguing that.  But that reality does not prove that God does not exist.  What it proves is that people do things that don’t line up with God’s purpose and nature but there own.  There is no other religion that proves this than Christianity.

I have been calling and hoping for a Christian to step up who is at the caliber of G.K. Chesterton in my posts : http://jeremiahstrumpet.com/2011/04/18/christopher-hitchens-vs-the-christian-church/

http://jeremiahstrumpet.com/2011/04/19/the-power-of-testimony-what-the-critics-and-atheists-cant-take-away/

Finally, such a Christian stepped forward and I came across the debate on youtube. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4KBx4vvlbZ8&feature=related.  A Christian philosopher named William Lane Craig from Biola University debated Hitchens and debated him well.  I am not sure a Chesterton will ever rise again but Craig is close.  He is brilliant, witty, and bold and one may observed this made Hitchens quite uncomfortable.  All of Hitchens rhetorical parlor tricks did not prevail as Craig cleverly fended them off. 

Of course Hitchens’ devotees will defend him to the death and will NEVER concede a defeat, unlike me and other Christians who have honestly admitted such on our end.  Apparently for them Hitchens is inerrant and infallible.  Yet I think those who are truly honest will see that Craig resurrected several of the timeless theistic truths that have prevailed for centuries and finally won the day!!!  (Sorry no pictures…I fired this post off quickly since I should be working on my final paper for my seminary course instead :)

 

May 4, 2011

God Hiding, So We’ll Seek

Posted by JeremyJK under Christianity, Faith, Psalms, Revelation, Scripture, Spiritual Formation, Teachings of Jesus
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There are times in our lives when God can seem quiet and far off.  These periods of time are desparate and lonely.  We may pray and feel like we are not getting any answers.  Then we grow discouraged and often drift further away from God.    We may find ourselves getting angry with him and frustrated.  We may blame him for our feelings, emotions and struggles.  We may even call out, “GOD WHERE ARE YOU?”  We have all been there even though there are some around us who may put-on as though they haven’t.  You know those Christians who act as though they always have it right and are perfectly in-tune with God.  But I think the truth of the matter is life is filled with different experiences that cause us to interact and experience God in different ways. 

The Psalmist offers some perfect examples of these moments of dispair and wondering where God is.  Psalms has several psalms that Walter Brueggemann has labeled “psalms of disorientation.”  These are psalms where the psalmist feels…well, disoriented.  He feels lost, dispair, and even confusion.  One person once told me, in an attempt to shine a positive light on these psalms, that they always end with the psalmist correcting himself or repenting of his doubts and complaints.  Though this is true sometimes, it is not even usually the case.  A prime example is Psalm 88.

1 O Lord, God of my salvation,
   when, at night, I cry out in your presence,
2 let my prayer come before you;
   incline your ear to my cry.

3 For my soul is full of troubles,
   and my life draws near to Sheol.
4 I am counted among those who go down to the Pit;
   I am like those who have no help,
5 like those forsaken among the dead,
   like the slain that lie in the grave,
like those whom you remember no more,
   for they are cut off from your hand.
6 You have put me in the depths of the Pit,
   in the regions dark and deep.
7 Your wrath lies heavy upon me,
   and you overwhelm me with all your waves.
          Selah

8 You have caused my companions to shun me;
   you have made me a thing of horror to them.
I am shut in so that I cannot escape;
9   my eye grows dim through sorrow.
Every day I call on you, O Lord;
   I spread out my hands to you.
10 Do you work wonders for the dead?
   Do the shades rise up to praise you?
          Selah
11 Is your steadfast love declared in the grave,
   or your faithfulness in Abaddon?
12 Are your wonders known in the darkness,
   or your saving help in the land of forgetfulness?

13 But I, O Lord, cry out to you;
   in the morning my prayer comes before you.
14 O Lord, why do you cast me off?
   Why do you hide your face from me?
15 Wretched and close to death from my youth up,
   I suffer your terrors; I am desperate.*
16 Your wrath has swept over me;
   your dread assaults destroy me.
17 They surround me like a flood all day long;
   from all sides they close in on me.
18 You have caused friend and neighbour to shun me;
   my companions are in darkness (NRSV).”

As you can see, this psalmist has no closure and the reader is left wondering what is the outcome of this distraught person.  This person is obviously angry at God and even blames Him for his sufferings.  Our theology and experience of God could indeed end at this point and we would be left with a God who always ignores us and seems to enjoys our suffering.  Such a theology reminds me of being a young boy.  My confession goes like this: I used to be the “ant bully.”  That’s right.  I used to drown them with frigid cold water, or boiling hot water.  I used to crush them with large stones and do aerial assaults on their villages.  Kind of like the U.S. bombing the snot out of impoverished nations then puffing out our chest as though we abtained some daring feat of heroism. 

Is God like this?  Does he enjoy and get entertainment out of our suffering?  Is he the equivalent of an “ant bully?”  I don’t think so.  Yet often times, we interpret our negative experiences as being God.  Now let me qualify my thoughts.  I do believe in judgment.  I do believe we live in a world where bad things happen to good people as well.  I believe that God can take those situations we are experiencing, rather good or bad, and use them for our benefit.  However, I do not believe everything that happens to us is God trying to test us or teach us lessons.   But I do believe that in all things, at all times we need to draw closer to God.

But why does God seem quiet at times?  Why does he seem far off?  Well, there are many answers.  It could be sin.  It coud be our experiences.  It could be bad theology.  It could be us not paying any attention to him except when we need something.  But I think it could also be God trying to get us to come find him. 

 Is this possible?  What is this some type of game? 

I have two beautiful children and they love to play hide and seek.  However, they don’t usually play the traditional way.  It often begins with my daughter saying, “Daddy, we’ll hide and you count and come find us.” 

So I begin to count and my daughter says, “Ok I’m gonna go hide in my room Daddy and you come find us.” 

They run off to her room and I finish counting.  I make my way to her room, pretending I don’t know where she is.  So I peak in the other rooms and I will hear a little voice say, “No Daddy I am in MY ROOM!” 

So I get to her room and she will either say, ”Daddy I am in the closet.”  Or she will come running out yelling, “Here I am!!!”

I wonder if this is how God is.  He may be quiet sometimes to get our attention.  We may find ourselves saying, “Where’s God?”  Hopefully, we begin looking for him in those moments. 

I am reminded of Deuteronomy 4:29 “From there you will seek the Lord your God, and you will find him if you search after him with all your heart and soul.” 

And Acts 17:26-28

From one ancestor* he made all nations to inhabit the whole earth, and he allotted the times of their existence and the boundaries of the places where they would live, 27so that they would search for God* and perhaps grope for him and find him—though indeed he is not far from each one of us. 28For “In him we live and move and have our being”;

This idea of searching and groping is much like hide and seek.  Why doesn’t God just jump out and show himself.  He is more like my daughter in that little voice calling out, “I am over here.”  “This is where I am, come find me.”  We are encouraged by the words of Jesus to “seek and you will find.” 

Although God may seem hidden, he is calling us to seek, search, grope after him.  As we do we are told that we WILL find him.  I am learning in this life that there are many people who are not finding God because they are not even looking for him.  God has initiated relationship by grace but we are called to react and respond to the grace by seeking after him.  It is not a game.  It is not a game that God plays to torture us while all along not planning to reveal himself.  He does want to reveal himself, and he will even more as we look for him.

It can even be said another way according to Matthew 5.  “Those who hunger and thirst after righteousness will be filled.”  Hungry and thirsty people go looking for food and drink.  We are all aware of the fact that if we don’t go into the kitchen and LOOK for something to eat it isn’t just going to come to us.  If we do, we are going to die of starvation and dehydration which many people are doing spiritually.  Nor can we wait for someone else to do the looking for us.  I know that my wife will often fix meals for the family so that we all don’t have to go fend for ourselves.  If I just sat in the living room, watching TV and waiting to be served–I would go to bed very hungry many nights. 

The Lord may seem hidden but he is always present but waiting often time for us to find him.  After all, the Psalmist says elsewhere that there is nowhere he can go to escape the presence of the Lord.

 Where can I go from your spirit?
   Or where can I flee from your presence?
8 If I ascend to heaven, you are there;
   if I make my bed in Sheol, you are there.
9 If I take the wings of the morning
   and settle at the farthest limits of the sea,
10 even there your hand shall lead me,
   and your right hand shall hold me fast.
11 If I say, ‘Surely the darkness shall cover me,
   and the light around me become night’,
12 even the darkness is not dark to you;
   the night is as bright as the day,
   for darkness is as light to you (Psalm 139:7-12).

Therefore I suggest, if you find yourselves wondering where God is or even questioning if he exists…start looking for him and I promise…you WILL find Him. He will jump out like my daughter saying., “HERE I AM!”

 

May 2, 2011

How Should Christians Feel About Bin Laden’s Death?

Posted by JeremyJK under Announcements, Christianity, Culture, Current Events, Politics
[2] Comments 

The head lines read “Bin Laden is Dead!”  One in particular said, “Rot In Hell!”  Obviously this news brings up many emotions for people all around the world.  But how should the Christian respond and feel.  As we reflect, what are your thoughts about the quote below.

“Osama bin Laden, as we all know, bore the most serious responsibility for spreading divisions and hatred among populations, causing the deaths of innumerable people, and manipulating religions to this end. In the face of a man’s death, a Christian never rejoices, but reflects on the serious responsibilities of each person before God and before men, and hopes and works so that every event may be the occasion for the further growth of peace and not of hatred.” - Jesuit Father Federico Lombardi, Vatican spokesman, on the death of Osama bin Laden.
(Catholic News Service)

 

April 27, 2011

Is Rob Bell Going to Hell?

Posted by JeremyJK under Christianity, Church, Culture, Hell, Judgment, Salvation, Scripture, sin
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Rob Bell, a 41 year old senior pastor at Mars Hill Bible Church in Grandville, Michigan is all over the media now…more so than he has been in the past.  Have you seen or heard him?  My experience with Rob Bell actually began some years ago in an adult Bible study class one Sunday afternoon.  Bell does a series of short films, theologically related, called Nooma videos.  These videos are usually quite charismatic, theatrical, dramatic, high-tech, and either moving or informative.  That Sunday during class we watched one of those films.  I can’t say I remember the topic but I remember the images.  To be honest–I liked it and it did have an effect on me at that moment. 

Then some years later, a friend I work with gave me a video of him preaching.  I can’t say that I loved it, but I remember thinking, “Boy this guy is going to reach a  lot of young people.”  I have seen his face and sermons pop up around the web here and there, but I never payed too much attention.  Yet I have to say, I think the name of his church is cool…but I am not sure the world get’s it’s meaning.  He does have a 7,000 member church however, so he has gotten someone’s attention.

Recently, it seems, that the attention he is getting has picked up a lot of steam.  A couple of days ago my sister asked me if I heard of Rob Bell.  She said that she heard that he is preaching that there is NO hell.  The name sounded familiar but I was more focused on what she said he was preaching.  I wasn’t surprised, it is not the first time I have heard such teaching.  An ex-charismatic preacher/singer named Carlton Pearson broke off some years ago and started preaching the same theology…NO HELL! 

Then my curiosity really peaked on Monday when I was walking down the magazine aisle at a local grocery store and saw TIME magazine with an image of hell that looked like a sketch done in the form of Albrecht Durer one of my favorite artists.  The title on the front said, “Rob Bell: Does Hell Really Exist?”  I picked it up, read the article, and could empathize with the points the journalist was trying to make for Bell.  Even though I didn’t agree with many points, I know it has been an issue for millenia in the Church.  I was also able to connect all of the dots going back almost a decade of who Rob Bell is and the church he pastors.

When I got home I went on the web and did some more research.  What I found was mostly very harsh reactions from the Church.  People were criticizing Bell saying things like, “He’s going to hell!” to “That’s what a theology degree from Fuller will get you.”  Then I came across some interviews he did.  One interview in particular stood out to me and that was Martin Bashir interviewing Bell.  It was obvious that Bashir was pretty heated over the topic.  Apparently, Bell just released his newest book, “Love Wins: A Book About Heaven, Hell, and the Fate of Every Person Who Ever Lived.”  Bashir gave Bell his perspective of the book and it was not pretty.  In fact, Bell barely got a word in to talk about his book. 

Then I went to my seminary class and it actually came up in conversation before class with the professor.  He said a student from one of his undergrad classes let him borrow it.  The professor did not seem pleased with the book and basically thought Bell is a heretic and perhaps even a pagan.  Apparently, the conversation arose agian during our break in the lounge.  I was downstairs however and missed it.  But one of the students in my class came down and told me that it had come up and she was arguiing with the professor about the book.  She said to me, “I could have really used you up there Jeremy to help me out.”  “Are you sure?”  I thought to myself.  “I believe in judgment, hell, and eternal punishment.  But I also believe in God’s unconditonal love, and I do think it will win in the end.  But what does that mean?”  I thought further.

Bell claims that the reason he wrote the book, the motivation behind it was, that someone basically told him that Ghandhi was in hell.  This claim sent Bell on a contemplative roller coaster trying to determine if God really would send someone like Ghandhi to hell.  What about the woman who was abused sexually, physically, and verbally by her evangelist father?  What kind of emotional damage would something like that do to cause a wall between her and Jesus? 

I asked my fellow seminarian if she actually read Bell’s book and she said she had.  She said that he actually states he believes in hell and that people will go there.  She added that Bell is just unsure if live is our last chance to decide our eternal destiny.  He wonders if God’s love will give people another chance to decide when they die and experience him.  He raises questions that the Church has pondered for years but has remedied with speculative answers that do not necessarily have answers in scripture.  Now this was a different perspective that was not coming out in what I had researched or watched on interviews.  Most interviews didn’t even give Bell a chance to make his case, they just labeled him a heretic.

So this is what I have concluded.  1. I prejudged the book and Bell before I actually read it and gave him a chance to speak for himself.  So before I say anything else I am going to read it and I will blog my thoughts; 2. I wonder how many of his accusers have actually read his book.  Did Bashir read it or did he have some of his assistants read it and then fill him in? 3. Why is the Church always on a heretic hunt looking for witches to burn at the stake?  4. One thing is for sure, Bell has gotten a lot of people to have this discussion again and revisited our views and believes…and there is never anything wrong with that.  In fact, when you think you have it all figured out, and your theology is in perfect order…you are in a bad spot!

 

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