WORSHIPLESS WEDNESDAY – Dec. 9

I tapped my foot to an engaging new song while commuting to work.  My mind wandered aimlessly until the words, “Pastor got a look and said, “Ya’ll had better hurry“; Send her off to a little bible college in Missouri”, brought me back to what had so engaged my foot.  The song continued with my full attention as I listened to the song “Getting Ready to Get Down” by John Ritter.

Objection after objection formed in my mind to nearly every stanza of this song.  I turned the radio off with a mixture of anger and sadness.   I was once again confronted with the familiar lie buried into the artistic fabric of our society.

I know this lie all too well.  I believed these lies for long enough to know the truth of their destructive nature.  The Story of JD chronicles my swallowing of the same old lie packaged anew in this John Ritter song.  Consider the gospel that Ritter is proclaiming:

• There are no consequences to giving your love to whomever you please;
• There is more to this world than the promises in the Bible;
• Don’t let anyone, even God, tell you who you should be;
• The God of the Bible is dry, but the world is exciting;
• You don’t need to worry about your morality and saving yourself for marriage.
• It is good to pursue the forbidden sweets of the world.
• You know what you need more than God.
• You shouldn’t let God keep you from getting what you need.

That was the message that I absent-mindedly followed with the tap of my foot; A message based on a lie.

I am tired of the same scheming falsehood.
I am tired of the same sneaky deceit.
I am tired of the same hidden distortion.
I am tired of the same crafty fabrication.
I am tired of the same lie of this world.

I want to shout, “You don’t know my God.” 

• My God is infinitely more valuable than a one night stand;
• My God’s promises surpass anything the world can offer;
• My God will make me into the most complete me possible;
• My God is the most incredible and interesting entity in the universe;
• My God has given me everything and I give it all back because I love Him;
• My God created all the sweetness of this world & I’ll follow his tasting instructions;
• My God gives me all that I need, exactly when I need it;
• My God knows what I need better than I do.

This world has nothing for me!

If you don’t feel strong desires for the manifestation of the glory of God, it is not because you have drunk deeply and are satisfied. It is because you have nibbled so long at the table of the world. Your soul is stuffed with small things, and there is no room for the great.
~ John Piper

We are all enticed to nibble at the table of the world.  A smorgasbord of the same lie confronts us in a myriad of ways from the moment we awake to the moment we go to bed:

Songs harmonizing a lie.
Movies glamorizing a lie.
Academics retorting a lie.
Politicians legislating a lie.

It is a sad reality that many who profess Christ will go to bed tonight stuffed with small morsels cut from the same lie.  We must fight this reality.  We must not mindlessly tap our foot to the latest musical rendition of the same lie.  We must not be shaken from the Truth that God is better than anything this world can offer and the source of our everlasting joy.

That is the wonderful Truth for our minds to be set upon.

 Christ did not die to forgive sinners who go on treasuring anything above seeing and savoring God. And people who would be happy in heaven if Christ were not there, will not be there. The gospel is not a way to get people to heaven; it is a way to get people to God. It’s a way of overcoming every obstacle to everlasting joy in God. If we don’t want God above all things, we have not been converted by the gospel.
~ John Piper

MALADY OF THE EXPERT – May 16

“Jesus answered, “I do not have a demon, but I honor my Father, and you dishonor me.” John 8:49

We live in a land of experts.

If we have a disease, we go to the hospital’s experts.
If we want knowledge, we go to the University’s experts.
If our car maintenance light glows, we go to the car dealership’s experts.

Tax issues – specialist in accounting.
Court issues – specialist in law.
Building issues – specialist in engineering.

We expect our specialists to have answers. We pay them for answers. Often, specialists are cast aside until we find the one who agrees with what we want to do. Even if we can get the answer we want, a bad response is often better than the uncertainty of  “I don’t know.”

We want to know.

This expectation of answers has probably always been at the bedrock of religion. We want answers for our questions of the physical world and we want answers to our questions of the spiritual world.  I recognize the expert’s attitude exerted against Jesus by the Pharisees in chapters 7 and 8 of the Gospel of John. That similar attitude seems to echo through the theological debates of our time. They provided reason and rationale as to why Jesus was not the Christ.

The crowd answered, “You have a demon! Who is seeking to kill you?” (John 7:20)

But we know where this man comes from, and when the Christ appears, no one will know where he comes from. (John 7: 27)

…But some said, “Is the Christ to come from Galilee? Has not the Scripture said that the Christ comes from the offspring of David, and comes from Bethlehem, the village where David was?” (John 7:41)

They replied, “Are you from Galilee too? Search and see that no prophet arises from Galilee.” (John 7:52)

So the Pharisees said to him, “You are bearing witness about yourself; your testimony is not true.” (John 8:13)

The Jews answered him, “Are we not right in saying that you are a Samaritan and have a demon?” (John 8:48)

The Jews said to him, “Now we know that you have a demon! Abraham died, as did the prophets, yet you say, ‘If anyone keeps my word, he will never taste death.’ Are you greater than our father Abraham, who died? And the prophets died! Who do you make yourself out to be? (John 8:52-53)

Yet, these proclamations of experts proved to be false and misguided. Their expertise in the Law failed them because it was not based on complete understanding. They were applying flawed, sinful understanding to a manifestation that was without precedent. They rejected the Christ because He did not fit the model in which they were so convinced He would appear. Jesus did not come as they expected, therefore, he could not have been the Christ. Their expertise did not adequately provide the understanding to inform them of the events that were transpiring around them.

Why do you not understand what I say? It is because you cannot bear to hear my word. (John 8:43)

I read the Pharisees’ objections to Christ and can uncomfortably relate to their self-assured theological knowledge. They were the experts of theology for their day and based on their knowledge they had answers. It just happened to be horribly wrong answers based on a lack of understanding.

Calvinism vs. Arminianism
Infant Baptism vs. Adult Baptism
Charismatic Gifting vs Cessationism
Sunday Worship vs. Saturday Worship
King James Only vs. ESV Only vs. NASB Only
Traditional Service vs. Contemporary Service vs. SOMA Service
Premillennialism vs Postmillennialism vs Amillennialism

How much of the rhetoric from these debates is honoring to our Father?

I have studied these issues and I have my opinions. However, I also know that those who do not share my opinions can advocate their position from scripture. I don’t know of a better illustration of this fact than the debate moderated by John Piper between Jim Hamilton, Doug Wilson, and Sam Storms. (An Evening of Eschatology – Piper, Hamilton, Wilson, Storms)

Three capable theologians, who love and follow Jesus, came to three different conclusions based on their understanding of scripture. The fact is that two or maybe all three are wrong. Someone has made a wrong decision based on flawed understanding. Yet, churches have split over these issues in ways that I view as dishonoring our Father. It is the malady of the experts.

Since we are all subjected to the same malady, the only cure is grace.

Christ was perfectly clear in His teaching to the Pharisees about who He is.

Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you before Abraham was, “I am”. (John 8:58)

The further away we get from that central teaching – Jesus Christ and him crucified – the more grace we need to show our fellow brothers and sisters in Christ. As we mature in our faith, we should delve into the “secret and hidden wisdom of God, which God decreed before the ages for our glory.” (1 Cor. 2:6) However, we must resist the arrogance of the experts.

We must show grace in our theological assertions for our more immature brothers and sisters so that their faith “might not rest in the wisdom of men but in the power of God.” (1 Cor. 2:5)

We must show humility in our debates, understanding our inherently flawed understanding of the mysteries of God.

Imagine how glorifying God’s church would be, if our debates were dominated by experts of humble grace rather than experts of flawed understanding.

PRAYER: Father, you know that I am inclined toward the attitude of the expert.  Forgive me for caring more about winning a theological argument than showing grace to a fellow heir in Christ.  Forgive me of the dishonor that has been wrought when love was not my foremost objective.  Lord, make me into an expert of humble grace.  Give me wisdom in delving into your wonderful mysteries.  Remind me of my continuing lack of understanding to keep me humble.  I pray this in the precious name of your Son, Jesus Christ. Amen

A man should never be ashamed to admit he has been in the wrong, which is but saying, in other words, that he is wiser today than he was yesterday.
~ Alexander Pope

RACE MODE – April 25

“You were running well.  Who hindered you from obeying the truth?”  Galatians 5:7

I have six weeks to go until the Ironman Boise 70.3. Time has slipped past quicker on the calendar than the asphalt has passed beneath me since my decision to enter (The Agnostic will never be an Ironman). My training has been very consistent yet my time-on-legs has not accumulated as rapidly as I would have liked.

Two rules of thumbs have come to press me into an uncomfortable dilemma. I need to add running miles slowly to avoid injury. Yet, I need to begin tapering from my longest run, three weeks before race day so I will be fresh when it really matters. I have been adding one mile per week. If I get in a 10 mile run this weekend, then I can get to 13 miles over the next three weeks, just in time before I need to start backing off.

It will all work out as long as I stay on schedule.

However, the weather has not been cooperating with my schedule. This last week has been full of rain and wind that has completely kept me off the bike and has forced me to limit my runs. I look to the forecast of the weekend without much hope of a break in the weather.  I need to get in a long run, but that will probably mean a miserable run in a cold, driving, rain.

My race day looms through the gloom of storms. The storm front will not push my race day back.  I will either have to endure through uncomfortable training conditions or face the disappointment of not being ready on race day.

If a race did not occupy a spot on my calendar, I would not train in inclement weather. I would not go out in miserable conditions when they could be avoided by delay. I would not strive to improve at the expense of unnecessary discomfort.  There is no need to endure the uncomfortable when there is plenty of time to train or there is no race on the horizon.

We train differently when we are in race mode. We have to demonstrate more self-control in our training when we are striving to do well in a race. Therefore, I will be going for a run this weekend. I hope it does not rain but I am resolved not to let the weather detour me from my goal.

The same is true of our spiritual training. We live differently when we are in race mode.

Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one receives the prize? So run that you may obtain it. Every athlete exercises self-control in all things. They do it to receive a perishable wreath, but we an imperishable. So I do not run aimlessly; I do not box as one beating the air. But I discipline my body and keep it under control, lest after preaching to others I myself should be disqualified. (1 Corinthians 9:24-27)

We all have a day coming when we cross the finish line of life. Will we finish well? Are we striving to obtain the prize? The storm clouds of life will not push back our final day. That glorious day should loom through all the momentary gloom of daily cares.

Yet, I do not see a lot of folks living in race mode. The self-control of spiritual disciplines is quickly discarded at the hint of inclement conditions.

Evening prayers are shortened to accommodate late-night TV.
Comfort is sought in ice cream rather than our Savior.
Praise of men governs a prideful tongue.
Charity is withheld in lieu of vacation.
Ministry is replaced by a nap.
Envy flourishes in the discontentment of loss.
Worship of flesh replaces praise of the Almighty.
Harsh words are not withheld due to unrestrained anxiety.
Morning bible reading is discarded for minutes of additional sleep.

It is easy for the cares of this world to throw us off our game. Self-control is difficult when the pressure and discomfort of a sinful will wars against our redeemed soul. It is easy to surrender to our sinful passions when we are living as if there is no finish line and cease to strive for the prize.

We do not live aimlessly. Our self-control is not in vain. We are following Christ in order to obtain the prize of eternal life. We are striving in our spiritual training to glorify the God we love and to enjoy Him daily. We say  “no” to our flesh because we are in a race for the glory of God and we only have so many days to the finish line.

Let’s not waste a day of training.  May we continue to follow Christ even when the world around us is miserable and we just want to stay in bed.  The finish line is coming and none of us knows the day.  What is hindering you from running well?

I think this video by John Piper, Make War, is excellent at describing the attitude we Christians should live in.

PRAYER: Father, keep me in race mode. Lord, help me to make war on my sinful flesh.  Don’t let me be live like there will always be another day to glorify you.  Help me to number my days.  Give me the strength to follow you in the foulest of circumstances.  Give me the perseverance to always strive forward in obedience regardless of what my flesh wants to do.   I pray this in the precious name of your Son, Jesus Christ. Amen

“A HEADWIND OF MY OWN MAKING” – May 27

“Let us walk properly as in the daytime, not in orgies and drunkenness, not in sexual immorality and sensuality, not in quarreling and jealously.  But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to gratify its desires.”  Romans 13:13-14

I have a century (100 miles) bicycle ride coming up way too fast and I am not ready.  I have not had the time to ride any distance greater than 34 miles.  So, I was determined to solve that problem yesterday.  I went for an early morning ride on a route that would garner me 60 miles.  I left my driveway with the sun still coming into its full light.  There were dark clouds in three directions but I figured that I would risk it.

It was a beautiful ride.  There were no cars on the road at that time of morning.  I had the countryside to myself.  The cool morning kept the sweat from my eyes as giant clouds paced me through the undulating hillsides.  It was so quiet that the songs of the birds created a melody with the rhythm of my breathing and the turning of my bike chain.  The words of Matt Chandler and then John Piper were preached from my ipod straight into my mind.  The Word they expounded was confirmed in my soul as I beheld the glory of God in the delicate wild flowers along the fence lines and the power in the gathering storm clouds.

My ride was going so well.  I passed through the town that marked my halfway point and began pedaling the return leg of my long loop.  I felt good.  I was still attacking the climbs and powering through the flats.  I was maintaining a respectable 18.5 mph/ average.  I had not had to stop.  My confidence in being able to do a century ride was rising with each pedal stroke.

I held my crouch with my forearms firmly on my aero-bars as I pushed to better my average speed.  I passed over pavement that had recently been wetted by a light shower.  I craned my neck to see what clouds lay ahead of me.  It did not look very promising.  However, I did not have many choices at that point.  My route was set.  I had decided to head out this morning with threatening clouds so this was not much of a surprise.  Home and rest lay ahead.  So, I had to just keep pedaling.  I was feeling good and my average speed was still 18.4 mph.  I rode through the last town of my route.  I had about 7 miles to go.  No problem.

English: Corn blowing in the wind (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

It hit me just as I passed beyond the city limits and into the open farmland.  A brutal headwind that stretched flags and bent trees had taken possession of the land that a mere 3 hours earlier had been so pleasant and tranquil.  I geared down and hunched over to try offering the wind the least amount of opposing surface area as it flowed into my face.  My neck began to ache.  My thighs began to cramp.  My eyes dried out.  My heart was evaporating as quickly as my speed.  I struggled to keep a 13 mph pace.  I mourned the loss of my 18 mph average.  I just wanted this once enjoyable ride to be over.  I thought about calling my wife to come pick me up.  I could not do that – I was just 5 miles out.  I could make it but it was no longer fun.  I no longer felt good.  I no longer felt strong.  I was being spent at an alarming rate as I pushed through this wind.

Dave Zabriskie attacking the final 3 kilometers of the USA Cycling Pro Individual Time Trial Championship in Greenville, SC. Zabriskie won the US title when defending champion Chris Baldwin fell on the course’s last corner. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

I finally made it back to my driveway.  I did not feel very good.  I felt a little sick.  However, I was very thankful that I had spent the time that morning to clamp my aero-bars back onto my bike.  My aero-bars had helped me get home by giving that wind the least provision of holding me back.  It would have be so much worse if I had been forced to ride upright.  I was disappointed because the wind had affected me, slowed my average to 17.8 mph and stole the joy of my ride.

That wind makes me think of my flesh.  My sinful desires so often feel like a brutal headwind.  I will be feeling confident in my spiritual walk.  I will be feeling so good and strong.  My joy will be overflowing and no distance will seem insurmountable.

I will turn into the headwind of my own flesh and my pace and optimism will be spent in a matter of moments.

The truly frustrating part is that this headwind is usually of my own making.  I know where the dark clouds of my life are.  I know where the storms reside.  I know where I am particularly weak and susceptible.  I am well aware of where I have stumbled in the past.  I know the routes that hold the headwind of my own sinful desires.

I usually end up bucking a spiritual headwind because I have turned into it.  God has promised us a route around every temptation.  We are not required to ride through our own sin.  There is a route that God has paved that will protect us from the headwind of our flesh.  Every provision for sin that I allow in my life is a road sign directing me to a lie.  It is a lie that I sometimes believe.  It is a route that has always led to difficulty and pain.  It is a route that has ground me to a near halt.  It has stolen my joy and expended my strength.

English: Blowing in the wind Lonely daffodils on the River Trent embankment. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

The good news is that I have never been abandoned because of poor routes that I have taken along the way.  We can still ride through the headwind of our failings.  God will still give us strength to overcome the powerful resistance of our sinful desires.  He will guide us back to the safe route and into the light.  When we find ourselves confronted with the headwind of our flesh, then we need to hunker down to give it the least area for it to cling to us.  We do that by going to our knees in repentance, preaching the gospel to ourselves, believing the promises of our Redeemer.  We cut off the powerful headwind of our flesh by eliminating all the provisions for it in our lives.  We are told to not give any provision for the flesh in our lives.  Every area of our lives that we expose to the gratification of our sinful desires is an area for sin to cling to and hold us back in our sanctification. God has paved a way for us that is easy, with a burden that is light.  May we not believe the lies of our flesh.  There is no lasting pleasure in the gratification of our flesh.  We have been given a narrow road to glory that already has many challenges.  Let’s not add a headwind of our making to the challenge of our daily walk.

PRAYER: Lord, thank you for never abandoning me.  I know that I allow too many provisions for sin in my life.  Show them to me.  Teach me to kill the sin that resides in me.  Thank you for always providing me with an escape from my sinful desires.  Thank you for always providing me a route home to You when I have taken the wrong route.  Father, complete the work that You have started in me.  I pray this in the precious name of your Son, Jesus Christ.   Amen.

“HELLO, MY NAME IS JD AND I’M AN INTROVERT” – May 15

“Sing to him, sing praises to him; tell of all his wondrous works!  Glory in his holy; let the hearts of those who seek the Lord rejoice!”  Psalm 105:2-3

If you had a choice between attending a social function by yourself or going to the dentist, which would you choose?

That is an easy question for me.  I will pick the dentist every time…as long as it is only for a teeth cleaning.  I cringe at the thought of attending a gathering of unfamiliar people.  These meetings are inevitably filled with awkwardness and shallow conversations.  I begin to develop excuses at the mere suggestion of attending a “meet and greet”, a social mingling, a networking party and any other activities with the intent on “getting to know ya’ll”.  I have nothing against having friends or meeting new people.  I just do not really care for the process of meeting new people.

I am an introvert. 

I have been an introvert for as long as I can remember and I have always disliked this part of my personality.  I watch people who are at ease in a crowd and want to be like them.  I have a friend who loves to go to events where he can meet new people.  He looks at it as an adventure.  I find that mindset difficult to comprehend.  All he has to smell is a hint of an invitation and he is through the door, while all I am looking for is a pretext to go home.  I have been criticized for not being as hospitable as a Christian “on mission” should be.  I have mustered my courage and endured many a social function hoping that it would get easier with practice.  It has not.

I have prayed many times for God to change me.  I have repented of the fact that I don’t get really excited about hanging out with people.  I have wondered if I am obedient to all the scriptures that call us to love our brothers and sisters.  I have been convinced that if God would just make me more extroverted I would then be of better use.  I have mulled on the darker nights whether the failure of the Church plant that I pastored was not in part due to me and my introverted personality.  The comparison of myself to those who shepherd well has never left me encouraged; maybe that was why it did not work out.

I recently read this article of an interview with John Piper, How Introverted Pastors Love.  I was reminded that when God made me, He did not make a mistake.  It is rather limited thinking to infer that God cannot use a shy person or that the best way to practice our faith is hanging out in a coffee shop for hours on end.  All things are possible through God – the use of an introvert in His greater plan is a very small thing.  God can use anyone who is walking in His Spirit.  Church history is full of introverted persons of faith.  God did not need to change these people into extroverts for them to be of use in His kingdom.

We need to remember that to really love others as Christ is an intentional action of faith.  Therefore, the prayer of the introvert is the same as the prayer of the extrovert –

Lord, please make this disposition to be with people that you have given me be a blessing to others.

We have a tendency to believe that a person is love when they are in the presence of other Christians.  There is no guarantee that a person placed in a group gathering of extroverts will feel loved.  The extroverts at that gathering have to be intentional in their own purpose for people to truly feel loved.  They have to have the right focus in mind for being at the gathering in order for their personal disposition to be of best use.

In a similar manner, the introvert has to be intentional in his purpose of loving his brothers and sisters in Christ using his disposition to its greatest manifestation.  It will be different than the extrovert.  An introvert can love others in ways that may be difficult for an extrovert.  We need to be thankful for God giving us the skills that we have and not focusing on the skills that we don’t have.  He did not make a mistake.

We all have a small niche for which God has called us to in the completion of His wonderful story.  Tim Challies wrote a short biography on Charlotte Elliott, the writer of the hymn, Just as I Am.  It is a great reminder that God uses all of his children whether they are introverts, extroverts, or invalids.  May we, as introverts, extroverts and everything in between, be less concerned about form and more concerned about living our faith in the power of Christ to His great glory.  May we glory in His holy name with the voice and personality that He has purposefully given us.

Take what you see (in the scriptures), and then if you’re a writer, you write it.  If you’re a preacher, you preach it.  If you’re a hanger-outer, tell the hanger-outers; what you saw this morning.  John Piper

PRAYER: Lord, thank you for making me just as I am.  Forgive me for thinking that I could bring you more glory and praise if only I were different.  Thank you for using me as I am.  Thank you for giving me a unique voice to sing of your praises and to tell of your wonderous works.  May the practice of the precious gift of my faith be pleasing to you.  I praise  you O’ Lord and pray this in the precious name of your Son, Jesus Christ.   Amen.