03-May-2010
Posted by : David
When I was called to full-time vocational ministry I took it as a guarantee of success.
Now it is truth that whatever God calls us in there will be confirmations along the way, but not always success. Calling is a beginning, an orientation to how God wants to you use your life. But it is not a warranty protecting us from failure.
This certainly is born out in the biblical record. Abraham, Moses, David all failed in one way or another. We see that their calling didn’t protect them from their shortcomings, whether personal or professional.
But what we see from these men of God is the ability to learn from their mistakes. Abraham was able to lead Isaac to sacrifice although years earlier he “helped” God by trying to have an heir through Hagar. Moses continued to lead the people up until his death although he struck the rock twice. David obeyed God even when he was being pursued by Absalom.
And ultimately Jesus was considered a failed Messiah. To hang on a cross was the end of his movement. But it was his calling that brought him to that moment where it looked like everything had gone wrong.
But we know that what looks like failure to us is something God uses for His greater success. The cross made possible the resurrection. And our failure, even in the midst of our calling, paves the way for our future success, service, and wisdom.
So let us never doubt our calling even when we trip up and fail, because we are in the company of saints.
30-Apr-2010
Posted by : David
…covetousness is idolatry (Colossians 3:5).
To crave what someone else has is the ultimate form of idolatry. Because you are bowing down to yourself. Your wants become the ultimate thing in the universe and everything must come into orbit around you.
And that is the surprise — we can really know when we want to be god. All we have do is look at how badly we want what other people have. That’s it.
And that brings me to Twitter. When you constantly hear what “other people are doing” how can your idolatry not flare up? That doesn’t mean Twitter is bad. It means it calls for discernment. Do you find yourself being agitated after a session of reading status updates? Do you feel sorry for yourself? Are you condescending and critical about other’s posts?
Twitter is not just a social networking tool, its a thermometer of the soul. Our consumption of tweets and how we react to them will say something about who we worship. And that is why if you let it, other people’s posts can literally take our energy away. Not because there is something wrong with their posts, but because there is something wrong with us. We are self-worshippers.
So let me end this in 140 characters or less: u want 2 b God & ur self-salvation is reflected back 2 u by craving what others have.But Jesus can b greater 4 u by joining “what He is doing”
26-Apr-2010
Posted by : David
When pastors and church leaders read Acts 2:42-46 they get nostaligic for something they never had. Who can read these words and not wish that their church looked like this?
42 And they devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers. 43 And awe came upon every soul, and many wonders and signs were being done through the apostles. 44 And all who believed were together and had all things in common. 45 And they were selling their possessions and belongings and distributing the proceeds to all, as any had need. 46 And day by day, attending the temple together and breaking bread in their homes, they received their food with glad and generous hearts, 47 praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to their number day by day those who were being saved.
But the question that we get wrong is why these early Christians had this quality of church. We see this as something to be imitated, and miss the roots of their devotion. The first church is seen as prescriptive instead of descriptive of something deeper.
The mistake we make is thinking we can recreate this quality of church by pursuing the things they are doing. The thought is: “If we just give ourselves to the apostle’s teaching, if we ate together, if we sold our possessions and shared, then the kingdom would break in again to our churches.”
But this is moralistic at best. We forget the real power behind this quality of church was the awareness that they killed Jesus only a few months before. They realized that they crucified the Son of God and were granted mercy. Their love and devotion flowed from the stark denial of Jesus and his subsequent forgiveness of them.
Listen to 2 Peter 1:9, “if any man lacks these qualities, he is so nearsighted that he is blind, having forgotten that he was cleansed from past sins.” We lack qualities of love and learning because we first forget that we are sinners for whom Christ died. But when we remember and live off of our justification we will find ourselves learning from the apostles, fellowshiping with believers, and even being generous with our possessions.
21-Apr-2010
Posted by : David
Walk in to any church and you will eventually bump into someone who loves Jesus, but is almost impossible to be around because they are so condescending. This is always a puzzle.
Their condescension does not usually flow from ignorance of the doctrines of Christianity. Condescension will usually use truth as its weapon of choice. If it’s not ignorance what is it? And how do we keep from falling into the same trap?
The reality is that these people are so condescending because of why they love Jesus. They love Jesus because He always wins his arguments and confounds the people who are trying to make him look stupid. When Jesus shuts the mouth of the Pharisees or Scribes the heart of these disciples swell. They fantasize about beating people in debates and being so sharp with their answers that people cannot help but be in awe.
They imagine themselves as Jesus, righteously defending truth against its enemies. But they don’t love Jesus, they love winning arguments. They love making people look stupid. And Jesus fits their mold perfectly.
They miss the fact that they were never to first identify with Jesus in his interactions with his opponents. They are to identify with Jesus’ opponents. They are the ones that have opposed Jesus. Instead of seeing the subject of Jesus’ confrontations as instructive, they see them as a principle to get better at debate.
Ironically, they have become the Scribes and Pharisees that Jesus so deftly refutes. And we are all capable of this same blindness when we love winning arguments more than listening to Jesus. Someday when we stand before Jesus my hope is that we would love Him for saving us from our self-rightousness, instead of self-righteously thinking we are just like Him.
20-Apr-2010
Posted by : David
Category : bible
Tags: bible, suffering
When people saw Paul they cringed, almost as if God was out to get him.
Where do I get this? From this phrase in Romans 8:36:
“For your sake we are being killed all the day long;
we are regarded as sheep to be slaughtered.”
How do you regard sheep to be slaughtered?
If you were ever to go to a meat processing plant, you would see live animals being led to the slaughter house and you couldn’t help but cringe. And that is how Paul says he is regarded by others.
People saw his tribulations and they thought, “Surely this man must be stricken by God. Nobody would suffer like that if God really loved them.”
But that is Paul’s argument; although great tribulation has befallen him and his companions, it is not proof that they are separated from the love of God. On the contrary, their suffering serves them in their endeavor to spread the gospel. Their suffering is how God positions them to do the work that God called them to do.
And Paul is in good company. How did people regard Jesus? They cringed. “Surely he must be cursed by God.” “Nobody is highly regarded by God if he is hanged on a tree (cross).” But unlike Paul, Jesus really was stricken by God. The love of God really did abandon him on the cross.
But Jesus’ suffering positioned him to pour the love of God out on undeserving sinners. He lost the love of God so that we could gain it.
So if you ever think that people look at your life lived for Jesus and cringe, then you are in very good company.
08-Apr-2010
Posted by : David
Judgment. We have all felt belittled by its power. We have used it to belittle. Its one of the most potent relational forces on the planet. Thats why we use it.
When Jesus talks about judgment in Matthew 7 he says something peculiar. He says that when we judge we actually are blind to our brother (because we have a plank in our eye).
The description of judgment couldn’t be better. Because in judgment we don’t see our brother; we don’t even see their actions. We “see” the character of the person who committed those actions.
Lets say I forget to do the dishes when it is my turn. This makes my wife angry. But instead of her reminding me to do the dishes, which would be appropriate, she comes to me and calls me lazy. I am no longer a person who hasn’t done the dishes, I am lazy. She can no longer see me anymore, because what she “sees” is a lazy person. (This example is completely hypothetical, in the sense that my wife judges me, but not about the dishes).
But that is the power of judgment. You have good evidence for your character assassination. You feel so righteous because your brother has clearly done wrong. But you are the party in more danger, because you think you know the reasons why the person does what they do. You have used truth and righteousness to dismiss someone instead of loving them.
And its no wonder we don’t like being around people who judge. And, just as Jesus points out, with the measure of judgment used, the same measure of judgment is used against them. And judgers always hate being judged because they know its so wrong.
02-Apr-2010
Posted by : David
17b Joseph, who was sold as a slave.
18 His feet were hurt with fetters;
his neck was put in a collar of iron;
19 until what he had said came to pass,
the word of the Lord tested him. (Psalm 105:17-19)
This to me is one of the most encouraging verses in the Bible. Sometimes it is not the hardship that is the problem, it is the word of God that has not come to pass. It sits in our hearts like a fire.
Imagine what is must have been like for Joseph. God had given him a clear vision that he was going to rule. And how was that coming to pass? He was sold as a slave, lied about, and was thrown in a dungeon to rot.
But it was the “word of the Lord” that tested him. Nothing about his circumstances were substantiating the word that came to Joseph as a younger man. But the test: would he be faithful? Even though God’s promise to him seemed a million miles away, and the promise ate at him, was he going to short-circuit the promise by doing something rash, or would he press ahead in faith even in his dire circumstances and self-doubt?
Last night, the church commemorated the night of holy week where another man was tested with the word of the Lord. In the garden of Gethsemane Jesus prayed for the cup of suffering to pass from him. It was not the physical suffering that he asked his Father to take away, but the very anger of God to be poured out on Jesus as a substitute for our sin. The horror that awaited Jesus, the wrath of God toward sin, tested him to the point where he sweat drops of blood.
Yet, Jesus and Joseph stayed faithful, and after their suffering God exalted them to the highest place. And the word of God to you will be no different, even when it is not the hardship, but God’s unfulfilled promise that tests you to believe.
