The Real Thing

For those of you are are unfamiliar with this song, its called "The Rain Song."  Believe it or not, its by Led Zeppelin -- yep, as in Stairway to Heaven.  As I think about it, some of you who are familiar with The Rain Song probably didn't recognize my rendition!

You may be wondering why I would post a video of myself playing guitar.  Well, I'm glad you asked.  And let me start by assuring you that my purpose in posting this was not to show off my limited guitar skills. 

If you are unfamiliar with this song and/or are not a musician, it may not have sounded half bad.  In fact, I don't think it sounds half bad.  

On the other hand, if you are a big Led Zeppelin fan or an accomplished guitarist, you probably noticed a number of things that are not quite right about my rendition.  As a few examples, the timing is off, I missed a few notes, I cheated on a few chords that are hard for me to play and there are some fills that it would take far longer to master than the time I am willing to put in.  After all, I play for fun and relaxation.  I don't see myself joining the worship team anytime soon. 

My point is this -- while my rendition of The Rain Song may resemble the real thing in a lot of ways, if you were to really compare my version with the real thing you would see that there are significant differences between the two.  For the untrained ear, I may have played close enough to the original that it would not immediately strike you that there are problems with my version.  But, trust me, they are there.

What does all of this have to do with the Christian faith or the Bible?  I'm glad you asked!

You see, I am concerned that Christians in America today are, on the whole, ill-equipped to tell when there are significant differences between what is being preached on TV, on the radio, on the internet and even sometimes in our local churches and the authentic message of the Bible.  I am concerned that all too often what is being taught has just enough truth and just enough familiarity to be taken on faith, with no real discernment about its accuracy or consistency with the teachings of Christ.

We obviously live in an age of unprecedented access to information.  And, there is a great deal of really good information and resources out there for people with a desire to deepen their understanding of the Bible.  But, there is also, not surprisingly, a wealth of misinformation out there as well.

In preparing to write this blog I looked at a number of studies on Bible literacy.  Some of the statistics I read would have been really funny (simple things like the percentage of people who can name all four Gospels) if the problem were not so pervasive and so serious.

And, even those who do regularly read the Bible apparently do so in only a cursory way.  After a recent study on Biblical literacy, the Barna group had this to say:  

“Bible reading has become the religious equivalent of sound-bite journalism. When people read from the Bible they typically open it, read a brief passage without much regard for the context, and consider the primary thought or feeling that the passage provided. If they are comfortable with it, they accept it; otherwise, they deem it interesting but irrelevant to their life, and move on. There is shockingly little growth evident in people’s understanding of the fundamental themes of the scriptures and amazingly little interest in deepening their knowledge and application of biblical principles."

It is my hope and prayer that you not only take the time to read the Bible, but that you do so regularly and with a seriousness of purpose.  There is so much good that comes out of really studying and meditating on God's Word.  And, at some point I will try to write about that and look at some resources that might help you develop that discipline.   

For the time being though, I just want to emphasize that there is a great danger in not spending time in the Bible.  Jesus warned us that churches would be infiltrated with wolves and false teachers.  He was, not surprisingly, right.

And, I guess my question for you today is this:  Do you know the Bible well enough to tell an imitation from the real thing?

¹⁵ “Watch out for false prophets. They come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ferocious wolves. ¹⁶ By their fruit you will recognize them. Do people pick grapes from thornbushes, or figs from thistles? ¹⁷ Likewise every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. ¹⁸ A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, and a bad tree cannot bear good fruit. ¹⁹ Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. ²⁰ Thus, by their fruit you will recognize them.

Matthew 7:15-20

Purchased

You are not your own; ²⁰ you were bought at a price.


1 Corinthians 6:19-20.




I will be the first to admit that I do not fully comprehend what God wants from us.  Yes, I understand that we are no longer to live for our earthly, sinful desires, but instead are to pursue the will of God.  1 Peter 4:2  And, yes, I understand that we are to stop living for ourselves and instead live for the one who died for us.  2 Corinthians 5:15  I understand these things intellectually.  But, I don't yet understand them practically.  Maybe the reason for this is that I personally don't know many -- maybe any -- Christians who I can point to as the model.


This is not a criticism of my brothers and sisters in Christ, mind you.  I fall very neatly in the middle of the pack myself.


The truth is that I waste a lot of time on pursuits that are really for me and not the Kingdom.  I don't know that they are necessarily sinful things, they are just sort of idle things.  Like tonight, I really didn't want to write this blog.  Really!  I promise you I would have been more than content just to unwind a little -- maybe an hour of playing Hearts on the internet.


Then again, there are other things I do that don't directly further the Kingdom, but are certainly necessary.  For example, I have been trying to go to the gym more often, which I know is increasingly important as I grow older.  I need to take better care of my body, to eat better, to take time to relax, to get enough sleep and so forth.  If I don't, I will soon be of little use to God.


The point is I certainly understand that as humans a relentless pursuit of God and of service with no thought of ourselves can lead to burn out.  We can get so focused on doing for the Kingdom that we risk becoming disillusioned or even feel used.  We can quickly find ourselves at a point where we feel like we have nothing left to give.


At this point, you might think I am talking about balance -- but I am not.  In fact, the goal, at the end of the day, is to be completely out of balance.  The goal is for everything we do to bring glory to God.   That doesn't mean we can't have fun.  It just means that when we have fun it should bring glory to God.  It doesn't mean we can't relax.  It just means that when we relax it should bring glory to God.  It doesn't mean we shouldn't take care of ourselves -- our body is a temple of the Holy Spirit!


My fear, though, is that most of us lean toward the other extreme.  For most of us pursuing God is more of a hobby -- something we do in our spare time.  For many of us, our "idle" time is spent on things that, if we are honest, are the things we really value in life.  In other words, we spend our idle time essentially worshiping idols.


It may be a golf game, a spectator sport, or a fondness for cooking or art.  It might be our careers.  It might be family or other relationships.  It might be a cause -- even a good cause like providing clean water to people, or feeding the homeless, or fundraising to fight cancer or AIDS.  It might even be the church!!  Yep, I think that serving at church can sometimes become our idol.


I am really not trying to give anyone a guilt trip today.  But, I do think that it is important to periodically check our priorities.  I think every now and then we need to ask ourselves whether God is really important in our life.  And, here is where it gets hard.  If our answer is that God is important to us, we need to honestly compare that declaration with how we live our lives.  We need to judge how important God really is to us in light of how we choose to spend our time, in light of our attitudes and in light of our priorities.  


Sometimes, as we examine our priorities I think we just need to meditate on the fact that we were bought at a price.  The word says that as followers of Jesus we are not our own.  But, too often, it just doesn't feel that way.  At least for me, too often it feels like I am just living for myself.  At the end of the day, its a heart thing.


²¹ For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.
Matthew 6:21

Endurance

We have been talking a great deal on Saturday mornings about endurance.  In fact, today we turned to a discussion of enduring through suffering.


We live in a day and age of "easy buttons" and as a consequence we don't much like to talk about suffering for Christ anymore.  We want an easy walk, an easy life and an easy Christianity.  The problem, of course, is that Jesus promised us many things, but "easy" wasn't one of them.


As Saul (later Paul) was headed down the road in his blinded state, the Lord appointed a disciple in Damascus named Ananias to greet Saul when he arrived there.  Ananias had heard about Saul's persecution of the Church, and questioned God's call -- I guess just to double check that God had the right guy!


At that point, the Lord let Ananias in on a little secret.  Part of the secret was that Paul was going to carry the name of Jesus to the Gentiles, to their kings and to the people of Israel.   The other part of the secret was that Paul was going to suffer for the name of Jesus.  

¹³ “Lord,” Ananias answered, “I have heard many reports about this man and all the harm he has done to your saints in Jerusalem. ¹⁴ And he has come here with authority from the chief priests to arrest all who call on your name.”

¹⁵ But the Lord said to Ananias, “Go! This man is my chosen instrument to carry my name before the Gentiles and their kings and before the people of Israel. ¹⁶ I will show him how much he must suffer for my name.”

Acts 9:13-16 (NIV 1984)

We know that Ananias prayed for Paul, and that Paul was in that moment filled with the Holy Spirit.  What we don't know is whether Ananias told Paul about his conversation with the Lord -- particularly the part about the suffering.  I wonder how Paul would have responded to that news?

But, suffer Paul did!  And, Paul tells us of his suffering many times in his epistles.  But, his purpose is not to warn us in the sense of telling us how to avoid pitfalls.  His purpose is to prepare us for the trials and pitfalls that inevitably come.

The truth is that each of us will be tested.  But, God uses testing to our advantage, and more importantly to His advantage.  Testing produces perseverance, character and maturity.

² Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, ³ because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. ⁴ Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.

James 1:2-4.

A life lived for Jesus is not an easy life.  When Jesus warns us to count the cost of following Him (see, Luke 14:25-34) these are not idle words.  And, like it or not, suffering for Christ is part of the journey.

Fortunately, Jesus does not expect us to walk through any hardships alone.  He gives us His Holy Spirit and He gives us each other. 

Obamacare ...

Obamacare BainCapital Republican Democrat Romney Obama 
Capitalism Socialism Elephants Donkeys Truth Lies Campaigns 
Elections Gridlock Taxes Jobs Marriage Abortion America Mormon? Christian? Muslim?

The other day as I was driving in the car I was listening to what promised to be a very interesting sermon on the radio.  The pastor promised in the opening of his message to demonstrate that the Bible is crystal clear that Christians should be involved in the political process.  Unfortunately, I was not able to listen to the whole message.  Even more unfortunately, if he got to the crystal clear part I somehow missed it. 

A couple of days ago I was at breakfast with a couple of friends, and one of them mentioned that the pastor at the church he attends recently brought up Obamacare during his sermon.  The pastor apparently addressed specifically his unhappiness with the abortion funding provisions of the Affordable Healthcare Act.  My friend observed that a number of people were upset by the sermon, and that one couple actually got up and walked out.

If you have been on Facebook lately, you have probably noticed a growing political discourse.  While what I see on Facebook is often tasteful, it is just as often offensive and divisive.  Every once in awhile, some of the offensive and divisive posts come from my Christian friends!

Politics is in the air!

Personally, I am not all that excited about sharing my political convictions with others.  But the reason for this is not, as you might suppose, fear about losing the church's tax exempt status.  The truth is that I would be hesitant to share my political views even if the tax exemption were a non-issue. 

Why?  Its a personal thing, and you are obviously free to disagree with me, but I value unity in the church more than I feel a compelling need to share my personal political views.  But again, that's just me.  However, I will offer a couple of observations from the Bible on this subject.

First, I have seen a number of persuasive and sound arguments for why Christians should be involved in politics; at least to the extent of being informed voters.  And, I agree with this conclusion -- although I seldom agree with the biblical analysis.  Personally, I just can't find a clear mandate in the Bible either compelling or prohibiting political participation.  This is not all that surprising, since meaningful participation in the political process was unknown to Peter, Paul and Mary ... or any of the other saints of the New Testament.

Nevertheless, I think common sense tells us that voting is a valuable right.  We have, at least in a limited sense, the ability to shape America's future through participation at the ballot box, and I think we should exercise that right.  I also think that common sense tells us that in deciding between candidates and issues, we should approach our voting decision with a biblical worldview in mind.  In a sense, when we are voting we should probably ask something like "what would Jesus do?"  At a minimum, I think that our vote should be preceded by prayer and mediation on God's Word. 

Second, it is clear that (possibly within some reasonable bounds) we are to live within the existing political system.  In Matthew 22:15-22 Jesus tells us to pay taxes -- to "give to Caesar what it Caesar's" -- although the text can fairly be said to extend to government regulation beyond taxes.  Indeed, Romans 13 tells us that all government authorities are established by God, and goes on to admonish us to submit to those authorities.  The governmental system, established by God, encourages our participation and our voting.

Having said all this, one place where I depart from many of my Christian friends is that I think political differences should not divide us as brothers and sisters in Christ.  And, while I think that almost all of my Christian friends would agree with this idea in the abstract, they are much less likely to agree with it in practice.  Especially in the impersonal world of social media and cyberspace, people seem to feel the need to express their political views as the world does -- in harsh and judgmental tones.  We have enough things to divide us, and the list seems to be growing as some segments of the church continue to distance themselves from the world while others seem to conform to it.  But God wants unity in the body, and because of that I do too.

The other reason that I have difficulty getting excited about sharing my political views is that, while I do think politics have importance, at the end of the day I do not think any man or woman, or any group of men or women, will ever solve our problems.  The battle is spiritual -- and victory was won at the Cross.  Your vote is important.  But voting for either Obama or Romney will not bring you or anyone else salvation.  Your vote will not change ultimate history -- Jesus will return.   


¹⁵ Then the Pharisees went out and laid plans to trap him in his words. ¹⁶ They sent their disciples to him along with the Herodians. “Teacher,” they said, “we know you are a man of integrity and that you teach the way of God in accordance with the truth. You aren’t swayed by men, because you pay no attention to who they are. ¹⁷ Tell us then, what is your opinion? Is it right to pay taxes^(M) to Caesar or not?”

¹⁸ But Jesus, knowing their evil intent, said, “You hypocrites, why are you trying to trap me? ¹⁹ Show me the coin used for paying the tax.” They brought him a denarius, and he asked them, “Whose portrait is this? And whose inscription?”

²¹ “Caesar’s,” they replied.

Then he said to them, “Give to Caesar what is Caesar’s, and to God what is God’s.”
²² When they heard this, they were amazed. So they left him and went away.

Matthew 22:15-22. 




13 Everyone must submit himself to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established. The authorities that exist have been established by God. ² Consequently, he who rebels against the authority is rebelling against what God has instituted, and those who do so will bring judgment on themselves. ³ For rulers hold no terror for those who do right, but for those who do wrong. Do you want to be free from fear of the one in authority? Then do what is right and he will commend you. ⁴ For he is God’s servant to do you good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for he does not bear the sword for nothing. He is God’s servant, an agent of wrath to bring punishment on the wrongdoer. ⁵ 

Therefore, it is necessary to submit to the authorities, not only because of possible punishment but also because of conscience.

⁶ This is also why you pay taxes, for the authorities are God’s servants, who give their full time to governing. ⁷ Give everyone what you owe him: If you owe taxes, pay taxes; if revenue, then revenue; if respect, then respect; if honor, then honor.

Romans 13:1-6.


  

The Gospel

This past Fathers' Day my wife gave me a book called "The Explicit Gospel." (Actually, she gave it to me a few weeks after Fathers' Day, and despite our agreement that we were living in a "no gift zone" this year!)  This book was written by Matt Chandler, who is a pastor here in Dallas at the Village Church.

I am only about half way through the book, but as I opened the first few pages I was blown away.  I was blown away not because of incredible writing, witty turns of phrase or even the message per se, but because it hit on the head something that was already weighing heavy on my heart -- that churches don't spend enough time teaching the simple message of the Gospel.  The premise of the book is that sermons, messages or talks (the nomenclature seems to keep changing) far too often assume knowledge of the Gospel, but do not directly discuss or teach about it anymore.

I not only agree with this premise, but am deeply concerned about the potential consequences for the church.  For starters, I think repetition of the simple message of the Gospel is critical to assure that new believers understand the essence of their new-found faith, and that "old" believers are reminded of their state of being before conversion, the incredible sacrifice made for them by God (and His corresponding love for us), the nature of grace, the full majesty of God and, ultimately, how small we are in the scheme of God's kingdom.

In fact, this concern has sent me on a bit of a journey.  First, it has caused me to explore, rethink and seek to understand the purpose of the church itself.  And, the one conclusion I can say I have reached so far is that we (or at least I) do not spend enough time reflecting on the purpose of church.

As an example, I think we often come to church with a consumer mentality -- its about what God can do for us.  But, church begins to look a great deal differently when we start with the premise that the primary purpose of the church is to bring glory to God -- not to make us feel better or solve our day-to-day problems.  For now, I will leave it to you to ponder the implications of that statement.

Second, although it is really not a significant part of my role at the church, I am exploring, rethinking and trying to understand the purpose of preaching  -- the reasons for a sermon, message or talk.  There are  lot of opinions out there on this subject; some that make more sense than others.

I don't think, by the way, that these questions are reserved for pastors.  I think all of us should contemplate the purpose of the church, the purpose of the sermon, and the purpose of worship from time to time.  I think pondering these questions can help us focus, and ultimately help us get more out of our church experiences.  Contemplating these questions can teach us, or remind us, that the stories in the Bible are not so much about people, but about the the majesty of God.  It is about His creation, His plan and His glory.

Just some random thoughts.

By the way, below is a link to a talk Pastor Chandler gave on this idea of the explicit Gospel.

Blessings.

The Explicit Gospel

 

Quiet

Hello, my friends.


If you are a regular reader of this blog you may (or may not) have noticed that I didn't write much last month.  I usually try to post something once a week, but I think I only posted twice in June.


I want you to know, though, that I wasn't being lazy or even feeling unmotivated.  It also wasn't for lack of anything to write about.  I have been studying quite a bit lately, probably more than normal.  And, God has been speaking to me through my study of the Word.


But, somehow there has been a check in my spirit about writing too much right now.  In fact, I have also stopped teaching on Wednesday nights for a little while.  There are several people in the class who are more than capable of teaching.  Even better, they all have very different styles and life (and spiritual) experiences to draw on.  I am actually really excited to watch God speak through each of these friends in different ways, and yet each teaching from the same book -- Romans.


I have preached on a couple of Sundays recently, and I have had responsibility for our prayer during service a few times.  But, other than that it just seems like God has put me in a place of quiet and reflection.  And quiet is often a good thing.  In fact, quiet is often essential.


More than anything else, I think God has used this quiet time to remind me of how big He is, and how small I am.  And, what I am finding is that the more I am able to let God do the work the more successful my little part of the ministry seems to be.  Of course, I still need to put in the preparation, show up, and do the best I can, but when I let God take responsibility for the result the result seems to get a whole lot better. 


I really feel privileged that God allows me to serve at Heartland Church, and there is no place I would rather be.  But, when I am able to put things in perspective, I realize that God is only trusting me with a little.


The church the world over is enormous in its scope, in its diversity, in its geography, in its giftings, in its outreaches, in its ministries and on and on.  And both because of that, and in spite of that, we have a tendency to either overestimate our significance to the body or underestimate our value to Christ.  And so, I thank God for using this quiet time to give me perspective -- to help me understand and be content with my part in this enormous body of believers.  





^"12 The body is a unit, though it is made up of many parts; and though all its parts are many, they form one body.  So it is with Christ. ¹³ For we were all baptized by one Spirit into one body—whether Jews or Greeks, slave or free—and we were all given the one Spirit to drink.
¹⁴ Now the body is not made up of one part but of many. ¹⁵ If the foot should say, “Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body,” it would not for that reason cease to be part of the body. ¹⁶ And if the ear should say, “Because I am not an eye, I do not belong to the body,” it would not for that reason cease to be part of the body. ¹⁷ If the whole body were an eye, where would the sense of hearing be? If the whole body were an ear, where would the sense of smell be? ¹⁸ But in fact God has arranged the parts in the body, every one of them, just as he wanted them to be. ¹⁹ If they were all one part, where would the body be? ²⁰ As it is, there are many parts, but one body.


²¹ The eye cannot say to the hand, “I don’t need you!” And the head cannot say to the feet, “I don’t need you!” ²² On the contrary, those parts of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable, ²³ and the parts that we think are less honorable we treat with special honor. And the parts that are unpresentable are treated with special modesty, ²⁴ while our presentable parts need no special treatment. But God has combined the members of the body and has given greater honor to the parts that lacked it, ²⁵ so that there should be no division in the body, but that its parts should have equal concern for each other. ²⁶ If one part suffers, every part suffers with it; if one part is honored, every part rejoices with it."


1 Corinthians 12:12-26