Gather together

 A friend posed the question: "Why did God put the church out of our buildings this spring?"

God's will is a multifaceted thing and many times a mystery. That said, there is His sovereign will, and then there are things he allows within his sovereign will which do not align with His written will (that being the commands of scripture). In this light, I look at it as more of God allowing human government (principalities, powers, and all that jazz) to force individual church congregations to close the doors of their physical meeting places.

That said, the church in America is fat and lazy (metaphorically speaking), very much like the Church of Laodicea mentioned by the Apostle John in the Revelation of Jesus Christ. We in the west are very attached to "rights" that we claim are given by God, when indeed it is impossible to find most of these rights in the pages of Scripture. We have a command: "forsake not the gathering together of yourselves," and there is nothing in the closing of church buildings (which did not exist as such in the time of the apostles), which should prevent us from gathering together for worship, even if the size of the gathering is small.

What I observe to have been revealed is that those who are true followers of Christ continued to seek Him out and continued to gather together with others of like faith in smaller groups, while many who were not of strong faith have fallen away. And yet many others are crying out about persecution, though the word doesn't really fit in this case. Getting back to perceived "rights," there is only one thing to which humankind has any right and that is death and separation from God because of our sin. 

I can say one thing that it has done for me. It has made me more introspective. It has made me seek out contact with brothers with whom I have not fellowshipped in a long time. It has caused me to seek more time in prayer and meditation. This has foster the nurturing of a closer relationship with God the Father through Jesus Christ by the ministrations of the Holy Spirit. The current situation is not persecution, no; however, a time is coming, as laid out in the pages of scripture, when persecution will come and it will be fierce. if we do not now build our relationship with the Almighty during this calm before the storm, we will fall away into the sea of uncertainty when the persecution does start.

Love God, live through the Spirit, love your neighbor. 

Self-interest or selflessness in dark days.

"But mark this: There will be terrible times in the last days. People will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, without love, unforgiving, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not lovers of the good, treacherous, rash, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God— having a form of godliness but denying its power. Have nothing to do with such people." From Paul's second letter to Timothy as translated in the NIV.

"The darkest hour is just before the dawn" ~ Thomas Fuller

It is a truism that we are drawn as humans to focus on those things that are horrifying. Social media and the news media in general flood us with all the horrific things that are happening in the world and feed fear of "the other." Right now, at this very moment in history, the world is full of horrors. We have news of a disease that may or may not be highly infectious, we have people fearing death at the hands of government officials, we have rioting in the streets due to terrorist groups infiltrating protests causing even more fear of death, and we have hateful and angry speech being hurled back and forth mostly about who is to blame and how awful the "other side" is. That is only what is happening in the United States. In other parts of the world, there are even more horrors to be found, but the issues here in the U.S. are enough for the purposes of this writing. 

Human beings, by the very existence of sin in our hearts, are incapable of making any decisions on our own that are not tainted with self-interest. From the investment banker who thinks, "what if I just take a little bit here or there, no one will notice," to the man or woman who says to himself/herself; "I like what I see, so I'm going to take advantage of this other person and use them for my own physical pleasure," in spite of consent, outside the bond of marriage, or even outside the legal restrictions of age; to even something seemingly as innocuous as the person who says to themselves, "I see something happening over there that doesn't seem right, but I may be hurt in some way if I intervene, so I will not," all are acting in percieved self-interest. 

The believer in Jesus Christ should be different by nature of the "renewal of our minds." (see Romans 12:2) We are changed by the working of the Holy Spirit in our hearts and this, through prayer, Bible study, and meditation on God's Word; subdues the natural human inclination toward self-interest. Our focus must be centered on others rather than how we feel about a situation. It is natural to form opinions, but will the opinions and the sharing of same be beneficial to those who hear? (see Ephesians 4:29). 

Another application is to be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to anger (See James 1:19). Part of wisdom and maturity in Christ is knowing when to listen, especially when to listen to the still small voice of the Holy Spirit. When we, as Christ followers, rush to judgement and speak the first thing that comes to mind, we fall into a dangerous trap. The world is watching. They know what we claim to be, and when they see us act exactly like them (and sometimes worse), we blend with the darkness and they see no difference. 

"Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven." (Matthew 5:16 NASB) A light shines in the darkness, and our light is the light of Christ. We do not have it of our own selves, it comes from God through the Holy Spirit, and when we let that light shine we share the Spirit of God with others. Only the Light of God can overcome the darkness of this world. "The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness can never extinguish it." (John 1:5 NLT)

When we live as light, we show love to our neighbors. We know who our neighbor is, that particular illustration has been reiterated so many times that any American Christian who has not heard of the good Samaritan, has been hiding in a hole somewhere with no human contact. The instruction to love our neighbors is antithetical to self-interest. The Apostle Paul even goes so far as to say we should consider others as better than ourselves. 

Then there is the Apostle James, who tells us that the tongue (a metaphor for our speech, i.e. what we say), is like the rudder of a ship, which can either keep it on course, or scuttle it. 

We all have feelings, and there is a reason the Apostle Paul said, "be angry but do not sin." Our feelings need to be put under the submission of the Holy Spirit. We cannot let them control how we react or interact with others, but rather we should excercise compassion in all our interactions. Compassion, agape love if you will, is more than just a feeling; it is a pattern of behavior. 

So before we speak or post the tweet or facebook comment that will "show the other guy," we need to stop, take a breath, and make sure that it meets the following criteria:

1. Is is true? If yes, go to #2. If no, stop and do not post or say it. If uncertain, stop and do not post or say it. 

2. Is it compassionate or is it loving? If you are certain it is, go to #3. If the answer is no, or you are not sure, go to prayer and seek counsel from scripture or someone wise in the faith.

3. Is it beneficial? If I say what I am thinking, will it lead people closer to Christ or might it push them away? 

I hope this is helpful to those who read it. If you are touched by what God has given me, please share it. Let us encourage each other toward the Light. 

A modern Laodicea

(If the image doesn't display fully, click it to view)

The above meme is circulating about as we are in the midst of yet another election cycle, in the middle of a tulmultuous time in world history. It got me to thinking. 

When we try to tie the Church to any political entity, we must consider that the Church started under Roman rule. Rome was openly hostile to what they viewed as a new sect of Judaism primarily because it rejected the ways of the world around it. The Christians did not worship the Roman gods. The Christians would not fight in the army. The Christians would not indulge in any of the debauchery of the Greco-Roman world. They were different.  

The Apostles taught "Crucifixion of the flesh," but also respect for those in authority. There is no place in the teachings of Christ or the Apostles where we can find that Christians are instructed to take part in the political landscape. The Apostle Paul did use his Roman citizenship as a tool to further the Gospel, but he did not seek power through politics. 

Fast forward 2000 years to modern America, where many Christians hold firmly to a sort of manifest destiny, in which it is difficult to find where their devotion to country ends and their faith in Jesus Christ begins. This is not what was intended. Christians in America fear persecution rather than embracing it. The idea of taking up one's cross is terrifying because it means giving up the comfort that we love so much.

The Apostle John spoke of the Church of Laodicea. “I know your works; you are neither cold nor hot. I wish that you were either cold or hot. So, because you are lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I am about to spit you out of my mouth.”—Revelation 3:15–16 

Modern America is the very embodiment of Laodicae. It was a wealthy city, we are the wealthiest nation on earth. They were comfortable, we are also comfortable. If you wonder why there is no mention of a great western power in the various apocalyptic passages in the scripture, it is easy to infer that like Laodicea, we will be expelled for our lukewarm behavior.

So the challenge is this: Do we continue to live as if we have the power to change the world, putting our faith in elected leaders, or do we place our faith and trust only in God and live and speak the Gospel of Jesus Christ as if our very lives depended upon it? 

If we are in Christ, this is not our home. Certainly, there is nothing to prevent us from voting in an open election. By all means, we should; however, in light of the freedom we have in Christ, we should vote for Biblical principles. If a man or woman does not uphold or exemplify those things which are right and in line with the teachings of scripture, they should not have our vote. In the end, God is sovereign above all, and this allows us to vote our conscience. If we do this, we have no need for shame. 

A plaque hung in my parents' home as long as I can remember. I do not know the author, but I read it so many times it is etched upon my memory: "Only one life, 't will soon be past. Only what's done for Christ will last."

Love God. Love your neighbor. Live Christ. 

Image bearers

"So God created mankind in his own image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them." Genesis 1:27

We are created in the image of God. This doesn't mean that we physically appear like Him, since the scriptures are clear "God is spirit, and those who worship Him worship in spirit and in truth." Indeed, it means that like God, we are spiritual beings and those who follow Jesus Christ are "created in Him to do good works."

Christ followers have used their love of Him to create images of what they believe He would have looked like, not for the sake of worshiping those images, but rather to express their love for Him. There are beautiful depictions of Jesus Christ showing Him in every shade and appearance that the human race has to offer, even though Jesus was Jewish, that show in awesome contrast how He bridges the barriers that humans set up.

In Christ, we know there is no race. In Christ, there is only one family of believers and we can rejoice in our diversity. Just so, as humans we are still bound to our senses when we create things out of adoration of Him and will often create that which is familiar. As an artist, I can completely identify with this; I paint and sculpt what I know.

Currently there is a call to destroy any depiction of Christ that shows him as Eurocentric. This call is coming both from outside the fellowship of believers and from folks who claim to be within it.

On the one hand, the law of Moses forbade the creation of images for worship. As well, we are to worship in Spirit and in truth. That said, most icons are not worshiped, even though there are a few sects that may venerate them (which could be considered a form of worship). On the other hand, the modern iconoclastic calls for "social justice" when it comes to depictions of the Christ come directly from the flesh. They are attempts to sow division rather than celebrate diversity. Among the acts of the flesh mentioned by Paul in Galatians 5 are: "enmities, strife, jealousy, outbursts of anger, disputes, dissensions," which are opposed to the fruit of the spirit. (Love, Joy, Peace, Patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control). If it doesn't fit with those things, it is not of the spirit.

In place of calling for the destruction of images of the Christ, let us instead call for the celebration of their diversity. Let us join with our brothers and sisters, "in which there is no distinction between Greek and Jew, circumcised and uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave and freeman, but Christ is all, and in all..." (Colossians 3:11). We are all the same in Christ, but we are also parts of the body of Christ and different parts of the body serve different purposes and are all play a part.

Live love, pursue peace. Celebrate your brothers and sisters in Christ. Celebrate that Jesus Christ died for all mankind so that all may rejoice in Him.

May you be safe, well, and blessed.

Who is my neighbor, what is my idol

"And just as they did not see fit to acknowledge God any longer, God gave them over to a depraved mind, to do those things which are not proper, being filled with all unrighteousness, wickedness, greed, evil; full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, malice; they are gossips, slanderers, haters of God, insolent, arrogant, boastful, inventors of evil, disobedient to parents, without understanding, untrustworthy, unloving, unmerciful; and although they know the ordinance of God, that those who practice such things are worthy of death, they not only do the same, but also give hearty approval to those who practice them."                                              Romans 1:28-32 (NASB)

I've probably written about this before, but in this broken world we live in, we should come back to this teaching again and again until it sinks in.

The world is on fire, well, parts of it are physically so, but we're speaking in the metaphorical sense. People are angry. People are angry because they are hurting and afraid. The outflow of this is a world in chaos.

When I listen to the people around me, the majority of what I hear or read is anger at what I call "the other." "The other" is anything that is not me that I distrust or (perish the thought), even hate. Fear of "the other" has been around for centuries. Where does this fear of "the other" come from? It comes from worshiping the created rather than the creator. It comes from trusting in our own understanding and not loving our neighbors. All of the things the Apostle Paul lists as the fruits of a "depraved mind" come out because we are selfish.

Another concerning trend (and an old one), is the attachment to people of power and symbols. The first commandment is "you shall have no other gods beside me." The fourth commandment is "make no graven image." Certainly, I understand that these were commands for the people of Israel as they were starting their fledgling nation, and I understand that the Apostle Paul is clear that we are free from the law, but he also said "all things are permissible but not all things are beneficial." When we place so much value on symbols on this earth, we lose sight of the goal. The goal is the kingdom of God. If we are so focused on a statue, or a celebrity, or a political leader, or a flag, that we have lost sight of the pain of our neighbor, to the point of being angry with our neighbor, and worse yet, hurl insults, we have sinned directly toward them and God.

“You have heard that the ancients were told, ‘You shall not commit murder’ and ‘Whoever commits murder shall be [l]liable to the court.’ But I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother shall be guilty before the court; and whoever says to his brother, ‘You good-for-nothing,’ shall be guilty before the supreme court; and whoever says, ‘You fool,’ shall be guilty enough to go into the fiery hell."                       Matthew 5:21-22

We need to get on our knees and pray that we are living the example that Jesus talks about here. It is natural for human beings to attach to that which we can perceive with our senses. For those who follow Jesus Christ, we are no longer simply natural creatures, but also need to be open to the Spirit of God so that we may know and live His perfect will. When we live by the spirit, it transforms us into a likeness of Christ in which we live the fruits of that spirit: Love, Joy, Peace, Patience, Kindess, Goodness, Faithfulness, Gentleness and Self-Control.

And from that same letter to the Galatians by the apostle Paul: "If we live by the Spirit, let us also walk by the Spirit. Let us not become boastful, challenging one another, envying one another."

So many times we are living by the flesh, seeking to fulfill its basest desires, instead of living by the Spirit. My good friend, Rev. Michael Booth, states it well. "Everyone has a different journey." If we are in Christ, we must recognize that my life experience and your life experience is going to be different from the life experience of another. We do not know the hidden pain that another person carries with them. We cannot understand the effect that monuments, or flags, or other earthly symbols may have on the mind and heart of another person. We can empathize. We can love. We can refrain from making selfish and hurtful statements. 

A flag is a piece of cloth, but when it brings pain to someone else, listen to them; hear their voice. Flags are temporary things of this world. Do not cling to this world. 

A statue is a piece of stone, metal, wood, or polymer, but when it brings pain to someone else, listen to them; hear their voice. Statues are temporary things of this world. Do not cling to this world. 

Nations rise and fall. Nations are governed by fallible humans. When the actions of a nation bring pain to someone else, listen to them; hear their voice. We are citizens of the Kingdom of God. Do not cling to this world. 

Do not be conceited. Seek justice. Love mercy. Walk humbly with your God. 

Vendors in the temple

For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but wanting to have their ears tickled, they will accumulate for themselves teachers in accordance to their own desires...

II Timothy 4:3 (NASB)

"Live your best life now!"

"God loves you because you're special!"

"You're worth it!"

Sounds good on the surface doesn't it? This is the theme of so many sermons from so many pulpits and piped over the airwaves...

And it's a lie.

God loves you, oh yes, that is very true. God loved the world so much that he gave his one and only son, so that everyone who believes in Him will not perish, but will inherit everlasting life. Because God did not send His son into the world to judge the world but rather to save it (rough paraphrase of John 3:16, 17). This is not because the world (that's us), has any value, but rather because God loves us despite ourselves. 

Isaiah rightly said: all our good works are like filthy rags. When it comes to approaching God, we have nothing. We bring nothing to Him that is of any value. Our sin is too much and he cannot abide it.

That's why we need Christ. He doesn't need us, but He gave His life for us anyway because He loves us. Our value comes not from within, but from Christ. 

So, God loves you. He wants a personal relationship with you. You don't deserve it, I don't deserve it, and that is why it is so special. The Apostle Paul wrote that "all have sinned and come up short of God's glory." (again, a rough paraphrase from memory). This means that we can't make it on our own. That's why Jesus gave Himself, to be that bridge between God and humankind. 

You cannot make it on your own, neither can I. There is an old hymn that says, "nothing in my hand I bring, only to your cross I cling." Jesus, by His death on the cross makes the way for us.

We are loved by God, not because we deserve it but because of His mercy. All that is needed is to repent of our sins and ask Him to take our lives as His.

Amen.

There are many who want to sell you something else. They want you to think they have some special corner on God and that you can get closer to God if you just believe what they have to say. They might tell you that God wants you to be rich (you won't find that in the Bible), or that he wants you to be happy (Joy, is promised, not happiness, and they are two disparate things), or that if you believe hard enough, God will give you the material possessions that you want. 

Again, it sounds good, but it's a lie. Jesus went into the temple after coming into Jerusalem and He found hawkers and money changers on the temple grounds and he chased them out with a whip. These false teachers of our modern day are just like those sellers of sacrificial animals and money changers. 

Be wise and discerning. If someone tells you something is so, search the scriptures. 

As the scriptures say: "be wise as serpents and harmless as doves."

Transformed worship

Romans 12:1,2 (NASB)

Therefore I urge you, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship. And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect.

We who are disciples of Jesus Christ are different. We are supposed to stand out. We live in a world that hates what we believe and hates Him in whom we trust. We are the counter culture. 

This is not in any way judging the worship styles of others, but rather a subject to ponder and consider, seriously and prayerfully. I will say, quite honestly, I do not know if I have an answer to the quandary, but here it is. The Apostle Paul talks about being living sacrifices and worshiping God with our lives. 

The early church sang "psalms, and hymns, and spiritual songs." Obviously we know what the psalms were, but as to what hymns and spiritual songs would have been sung, what style they followed and so on, we can't really say because this has been lost to us. We can guess that the music focused on the holiness and worthiness of God, but beyond that, we have little to go on.

For centuries, the music of the church was completely different from the secular folk music the people sang in bars and festivals. The music of the Roman Catholic Church in the middle ages was primarily chanting and eventually some chorale music. The separation of sacred music separate from secular music was extremely important.

Luther and some of the other reformers were the first I know of to mesh sacred and secular music, often setting worship songs to the music of bar tunes. Some of the most cherished hymns are set to tunes that would have had bawdy and possibly unwholesome lyrics, but the people knew them. Of course, considering Luther's heart and mindset, it seems unlikely that he wanted to do other than give the common people tunes they could connect with so they could better worship God. The lyrics of his hymn writing are some of the most moving ever penned. 

Worship, in the modern Church, has become something of a spectacle. It feels less about actually connecting with God and more about making a show to entertain. This becomes more evident when we look at modern worship music. The argument that church music needs to compete with secular music so it will hold people's interest prevails. 

I'm not sure that's really so. If we are not supposed to be conformed to the world, shouldn't the music we use to honor God also not conform to the world? Worship is not about us. It is not about entertaining people. Worship is about giving glory to God. 

Are we allowing ourselves to be transformed by God and the Holy Spirit's work in renewing our minds, or are we instead being conformed to the world by copying their music styles so that we'll look cool? Isn't the message of the Gospel enough by itself without gimmicks? Do we really think God isn't able to use His word without our intervention?

Again, I'm not trying to bash Christian musicians in any way. I actually enjoy a lot of what is billed as "praise and worship" music. What I'm trying to do is start a thoughtful conversation on how we can give worship back to God instead of making it about us. 

God is the one who does the work of transformation. He can and will use us despite ourselves, but should we not still endeavor to worship Him just for the sake of worship? Why does it have to be about how many people fill the pews? When did we become so distant from God that we don't just follow His word and let Him do the work? 

God is bigger than us and His will is eternal. If we submit to Him and let Him do the work, His kingdom will benefit far more than when we try to do it our way.