What would you die for?

By “give my life for,” I mean two things. First, I give my life “for” them by giving my life to them. The life that I now have the privilege of living, I endeavor to invest in these things. That investment amounts to a slow dying for. Second, I pray the Lord would strengthen me in any moment where I might be called upon to give my life “for” these things by dying more quickly, perhaps violently for them. In those two senses of the phrase, here are eight things I would give my life for:

God: The revelation of God as the only God, eternally Triune in nature and yet one, deserving all glory, honor, praise, and submission from His creation (Ex. 15:11; John 10:30; Acts 5:3-4).
Scripture: The Bible as the inerrant, infallible, inspired, authoritative, sufficient, nourishing, life-giving word of God (Rev. 1:9).
Jesus (okay I admit, this is a little redundant) : Jesus Christ, the only begotten Son of God, fully God and fully man, in whom dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily, the exact representation of God’s being and the radiance of His glory, apart from whom there is no salvation (Col. 2:9; Heb. 1:3; John 3:16).
The Gospel: The good news that sinful man is saved from the justly deserved, holy, eternal wrath of God by God’s grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone, who in His perfect life and His substitutionary, penal atonement provides both our righteousness before God and satisfaction to God’s wrath, and to whom we are forever united by faith unto eternal life (Rom. 3:21-26).
Missions: The call and work of going to all the world to make disciples of all nations and to teach them to observe everything Jesus commanded so that the glory, honor, praise, and worship of God through Christ would fill the earth and so that the joy, comfort, salvation, and hope of all peoples would overflow in Christ (Matt. 28:18-20; 2 Cor. 11:23-29).
Discipleship (which includes Evangelism): My own personal profession of faith in and loyalty to Jesus Christ, the Son of God, God the Son, my Lord and Master, to whom I owe everything, for and in whom I live, breathe and have my being, and Who lives in me, completing the work He began until the day of His return, who will be perfectly and now is imperfectly my greatest and highest Delight and Satisfaction (Luke 9:23-26; Gal. 2:20; Acts 17:28; Phil. 1:6; Ps. 17:15).
My Family (surprised they aren’t higher?): The good thing and obtained favor of the Lord, my wife, who satisfies me with her love and comforts me with her presence, who is constant encouragement and whose virtue has made me known among the elders at the city gate, with whom I am an heir to life and a partner in the gospel of our Lord, and the arrows in our quiver, entrusted to us to raise as a godly offspring to the Lord, not to provoke but to bring up in the fear and admonition of the Lord, through whom we have no greater joy than to see them walking in the truth, who we pray represent one in what will be generations of godly Nelsons living for the Lord (Prov. 18:22; 5:18-19; Prov. 31; Ps. 128; Mal. 2:15; 2 John 4; 2 Tim. 1:5).
The Church: Those bought by the blood of Christ, granted eternal life and the gift of the Holy Spirit, adopted into the family of God, joined together by covenant love, journeying as pilgrims to the Heavenly City, entrusted by God’s grace into mutual care and leadership to deliver as a chaste bride awaiting her groom (John 10:10-15;Col. 1:28-29; Rev. 21).

These are just the 8 I came up with off of the cuff while borrowing so language that is much better than mine. Do you think that I missed any? Let me know below in the comments.

A dead spot in the room

As a pastor I find my self drawn to sit towards the front of every church service I’m in. In fact, this past Sunday I noticed something rather curious. Usually, I sit on the 3rd or 4th row with my wife. I love being able to worship with her and I find that it’s is a valuable part of our relationship together. The weeks that I preach I am left to attend a service (usually the 2nd) by myself, so I end up on the front row. These are [supposedly] the best seats in the house, right?

You would think so, but it turns out that the way the speakers are positioned off of the ceiling, the sound waves shoot right past those of us on the front row. This creates an annoying dead spot making certain parts of the mix (especially the lyrics) almost inaudible until about the fourth row back my normal seats. Funny huh? The people who are closest to the action have the hardest time hearing the lyrics.

Those of us who are on the front row of what God is doing (Pastors, Deacons, volunteers, etc) are in the greatest danger of having the sound waves shoot right over our heads. That is we are so close to the action that we lose a sense of wonder and gratitude. We see God do remarkable things day in and day out and we no longer hear the rumble and feel the vibrations of the workings of the Spirit. Church leaders can often find ourselves with the best seats in the house, straining to hear the lyrics, in the dead spot on the front row. Honestly, I find myself in this position more that I care to admit, straining to hear the Father while sitting closest to the action. I don’t know the solution but I know that the first step is identifying the problem so I would love your thoughts.

Black Church: Rhythm

It is Black History Month, and every year I try to celebrate by writing a series of articles that particularly pertain with my culture and her expression through Christ. I must admit this relationship has not always been the most healthy for me, but over the years I have come to the conclusion of loving the heritage and culture I have been given. Additionally, I wanted to start off by talking about some things I love about this culture. Notice I am saying culture, this is not a racial thing because there are only two races: those who are saved and those who are not. I just want to clarify this as I will intersperse those words throughout my writing moving forward.

RHYTHM

The poet Leopold Sedar Senghor, first president of the republic of Senegal, stated that rhythm is the “organizing force” that makes the black style. Both Africans and African Americans use rhythm (not exclusively but uniquely) to articulate their moral, theological, and philosophical beliefs. Rhythm, the essential and central element in black music, philosophically communicates “religious” experience in African and African-American culture and helps its ritual participants reach “communitas.”

Rhythm is particularly significant for rap because it gives rap its unique movement and momentum. Tricia Rose sucessfully demonstrated through her research that the lowest or fattest beats in a rap song are likely the ones that the most philosophically significant or emotionally charged. Whereas Western music finds its uniqueness in melodic and harmonic structures, African American music finds its uniqueness in rhythmic and percussive structure.

I love the sounds inspired by the black community, whether those sounds come from gospel choirs, blues, Jazz, R & B, Soul, Neo-Soul, rap, or hip-hop. Allow me to list three ways in which I am grateful.

Gospel choirs: I grew up in a church that did them well. The emotion, swaying, passion, heart are all things I sometimes miss on a Sunday morning. Additionally, the spirituals, these are something that as I have grown older have grown closer to my soul. The pure angst behind every word is still very evident to this day.
Christian rap/Hip hop: One of the most creative and faithful forms of worship to have arisen in recent years is Christian rap, with rappers like Shai Linne, Trip Lee, and Lecrae unleashing some of the most powerful and profound lyrics available in contemporary Christian Music today. I have to be honest this music saved me as I first became a Christian because most of CCM is acoustic guitar driven “soft rock” or ballets and I could not stand it. May their tribe increase (I wish I were part of the tribe but it is not my calling).
Mainstream Rap/Hip-hop: While there is so much with which I disagree in mainstream rap and hip hop, those art forms within themselves have served as powerful venues to entire communities to express their beliefs, feelings, and values (both social and political. Rap itself is an acronym for Rhythm and Poetry and gains its roots in pre-slavery African and serves a basis for most forms of “American”music that we know today. Even when these artists’ music are consciously and profoundly non-Christian, the Christian community is well served to pay attention to these art forms as a way of loving and understanding a community that is usually so misunderstood yet rich with insight.

God’s not done with you!

I am not sure who I am writing this to but I feel led to let someone know GOD’S NOT THROUGH WITH YOU!

It has been weeks, (maybe) months, maybe even years you have bought into the lie that “it’s over” when it comes to you doing something great for God. After all, you committed __________________ and because of that there is no way He could ever use you, or at least that’s what you’ve been led to believe.

Let me both encourage you, be very clear and to the point: If God were done with you then He would have killed you. The very fact that you have air in your lungs right now means that HE IS NOT THROUGH WITH YOU!

You messed up? Of course you did, you’ve heard me say it multiple times.

“All of God’s children have problems! If you go somewhere where they claim (or act like) they don’t, RUN!”

This being true still is NOT an excuse to go out and continue a downhill slide, but rather a reminder that in the Bible the ONLY people God used were people who had messed up (like you) and were broken.

David committed adultery and murder (Think about it, David would not have been allowed to serve in or attend a lot of churches!). He also repented of his sin (see Psalm 51) and today we know him as “a man after God’s own heart!”
Moses killed a man and God used him to lead the nation of Israel out of Egypt to the border of the Promised Land.
Paul was a murderer and God used him to write most of the New Testament.
Peter denied Christ, chose to walk away from Him and God used him to preach on the Day of Pentecost where 3,000 people accepted Christ in one day!

I could go on and on, but [hopefully] you get the point, your past does not disqualify you from an amazing future if you are in Christ. Yes, there are consequences for our actions but we act as if God is surprised of our shortcomings. Trust me He is not.

God’s not through with you and if you don’t let your past die then it will not let you live . The consequences of not letting it die is allowing the enemy to talk you out of the amazing things God has planned for you.

When we repent of sin (which is the most powerful thing we can do in our walk with Christ) we become unstoppable. If you have fallen, sinned, and/or screwed up but have repented of sin, then please (for the love of God almighty) STOP believing the lie that there is no way God could use you! Please look at I Corinthians 6:9-11 now.

God’s not through with you! Get up, Get on your feet and do what He has called you to do.

Let our words be few (my thoughts on the Newtown, CT tragedy)

Names and ages of the victims of the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting in Newtown, CT, published on the front page of the New York Times.

Friday morning I found myself in a similar place to many people, speechless. “an Unspeakable horror” is the phrase that best captured the events at Sandy Hook Elementary School last Friday. We all know the facts 27 people killed, 20 of who were only 6 or 7 years old, 6 school teachers/ administrators and a [forgotten] mother murdered at her own son’s hands.

There are no words to say.

It seems as if Christians both liberal and conservative do not understand this, there are no words to say. My Liberal friends yelling about gun control, and my Conservative friend’s outcry over God not being in public schools is equally as loud. Though I think both side of this discussion must be heard, and I agree with both to some extent, I’m just not sure that this is the time for it.

The problem lies in everyone’s opinion being propagated on Facebook and other social media streams as if this kind of sin and horrible loss is not absent in the pages of Scripture. Therefore my “Christian” friends that choose to spout there opinions instead of reflecting on what God has said and acting on it is troubling to say the least. It reflects how much we actually hold on to this world instead of living as citizens of God’s Kingdom.

In the book of Job, Job’s family was murdered by the devil, and Job responded with a heart of faith: “The Lord gives, and the Lord takes away. Blessed be the name of the Lord.” Next his three friends arrive after Job suffers his “Unspeakable horror”. The Bible says that his friends “began to weep aloud…Then they sat on the ground with him for seven days and seven nights. No one said a word to him, because they saw how great his suffering was” (Job 2:12-13).

Additionally, Job asked “why?” as we are prone to do in this time. God never answered Job’s why question, nor did he permit Job to question His wisdom. Instead, God simply pointed Job back to His own glorious character, sovereignty and wisdom. Job found a place of respite when he rested there. I think we want answers, but God does not give us answers. Instead, he reveals his character and glory, and that is faith—leaning on the sovereign hand of God, not knowing why, but knowing who to lean on through the loss. God does not answer our questions; He IS our answer.

Finally, this sickening situation should open our eyes to the opportunity that this is. National crisis like this provide Christians an opportunity to do what we are called to do, to bear witness to the truth. Not in a glib way, not in a dispassionate way that is unaffected by grief, and certainly not in a self-righteous way. As we grieve with the victims, as we mourn the loss of life, we don’t do so without hope. There is an answer to evil and it is the cross of Christ, Christ who came to put away evil and to set all things right.

In suffering, the purpose of God is to lead us to Himself and His sufficiency in Christ. God pointed Job to His revealed glory in creation, yet we have so much more. Job did not know about the cross where God would reveal His glory, grace, and character as He had not done previously. He crushed his Son for [us] sinners. He demonstrated His love in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. The life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ is the ultimate revelation of the character of God. Death is not the end of the story for those who turn to Christ, but eternal life in the Son is. So in this we pray for the victims, their families, the shooter’s family, and all those affected. We grieve with them.

God invites us to be silent before this massacre, acknowledging the severe limits of our understanding.

Our God is good. He is alive on the earth hidden amid all of history’s “Unspeakable horror”.

Let’s remember the three friends who got themselves in big trouble once they started talking, poorly applying Scriptural truth in an attempt to “help” Job and “defend the integrity of God.”

Let us lament and [please] let us be silent.

God needed another angel in heaven?

** This is the final part of my series on Christian cliches. I really hope that you’ve enjoyed the series and if you missed any part of it click here to view all 7 post. I may revisit this concept again in the future but for now I will leave this series here.**

This is an example of another well-meaning but insensitive Christian Cliche that I have heard [primarily] in funerals is “God [just] needed another angel [in heaven]”. Honestly I have heard the argument as an explanation for why people die. I initially did not question this thinking as a child, seeing adults as wise authority figures and religious statements as beyond question. As I grew and became an atheist this sentiment began to deeply disturb me and since I received Christ that sentiment has yet to leave me.

These words are meant to soothe and heal, but they often fall shallow and empty on hurting hearts. Why? Not simply because they are tidy explanations for the confusing mess of tragedy, explanations that don’t ever feel very satisfying in the midst of great grief; but also because these words are resisting or attempting to eliminate the deep pain of sorrow. In our grief, we often don’t need encouragement, or simple answers, and we don’t need to feel “happy” right away; what we need is the open-hearted presence of another and the unspoken assurance that the pain we feel and the confusion we experience have room to find expression. In grief, we need to know that our pain and confusion do not make us unacceptable or unworthy of love. The greatest gift in grief is the permission, the space, and the support to feel what we are really feeling; and to say it honestly in the company of others.

The problem is we as people who care for those who grieve, we have a hard time being with people in their pain; we have a hard time letting them weep, or letting them complain; the wreckage of bitter words unsettles us; so we search for words that will help them figure it all out in their head or that will alleviate their terrible suffering. With our words we stop paying attention to the grief of another and speak out of our own insecurity or discomfort. The path of silent listening and compassionate presence before the pain of another; the path of letting the one who grieves scream, shout, and seek out God on their own; and the revelation that such bitterness and lament is not what we should avoid; but rather, that it may be the very birthplace of hope.

Job did not feel God’s presence. But God had not abandoned Job. God was there as Job screamed and complained. And unlike Job’s friends, God let Job’s words land with all their force.

God makes room for our lament, because God knows when we form words, however bitter, angry, sad or confused; we give birth to hope, if only just a little.

« Previous Page
1
…
4
5
6
7
8
…
22
Next Page »