7/18/09

Evil Redeemed?

My friend Wes' Facebook status this morning ...

"Love is conflict. The conflict is that no matter who or what you claim to love, you are always loving yourself more. To the degree we can be satisfied in Christ's work and NOT ours is essentially the degree to which we can be honest about our utter failing to love. God uses people who KNOW they themselves suck, people who believe Jesus died for the rotten... Cuz He slowly changes and uses the rotten in universe..."

John Piper from Spectacular Sins ...

"Evil is anything and everything opposed to the fullest display of the glory of Christ. That's the meaning of evil. In the death of Christ, the powers of darkness did their best to destroy the glory of the Son of God. This is the apex of evil. But instead they found themselves quoting the script of ancient prophecy and acting the part assigned by God. Precisely in putting Christ to death, they put his glory on display - the very glory that they aimed to destroy. The apex of evil achieved is the apex of the glory of Christ. The glory of grace."

7/17/09

Christian Gospel Temple Exposed

An official settlement was reached in one of the sexual abuse lawsuits filed against Christian Gospel Temple. Three of the lawsuits were dismissed because of technicalities involving the statute of limitations. Sadly, it seems many of the laws protect abusers rather than victims. One of the cases was within the statute of limitations and a settlement was agreed upon.

A deposition was released this week involving the current pastor of Christian Gospel Temple. I read it yesterday. There is a new website called Truth About Christian Gospel Temple. It includes the deposition as well as other articles and news about the cult.

As I read the deposition, my mind went to my friends and family still involved with CGT. The deposition is full of lies and cover-ups. Self-preservation reigns. The odd thing about self-preservation is it destroys us. Reading the deposition is like watching a child pull a single string of yarn from a blanket. You watch it unravel and see the woven blanket reduced to random pieces of string.

I cannot help myself from wondering what the current members are feeling. My mind goes to testimonies (what the group calls getting up and talking in the church service) about the atrocities of network television and professional sports. I remember one man (whom I dearly love and miss terribly) rising to tell the church that if his grandchildren were exposed to The Simpsons while at anyone in the groups house, he would make sure they never returned to that house. I remember countless testimonies and confessions of God convicting people to stop wearing short sleeves or shorts. I remember youth gathering after youth gathering that turned into confessions of women wearing pants instead of dresses. These were the convictions.

Now there is a public document showing the lack of integrity flowing from the leadership of the group. I wonder if there will be as much outrage aimed at the lying leader as was aimed at a fictional cartoon character. I wonder if there will be meetings of conviction about allowing such a man to remain in leadership as there was about a trip to the grocery store in a pair of khakis.

I hope so. I honestly don't understand why or how people can stay. I hear things (and I really don't have close enough sources to know if this is completely accurate) about the group changing their rules. I've heard the current pastor has decided to refrain from telling people what they can or can't wear. I wonder if they admit that what they define as "the religious world" has already had a similar policy. I wonder if they credit "the religious world" for leading them toward getting rid of the false righteousness of white shirts and jean skirts.

I hear they have even changed some doctrine. When I was there I was taught only those who achieved moral perfection would be saved for eternity. Those who didn't reach perfection would die, but be raised to life at the end of the millennium in order to have another shot at reaching perfection. I've heard perfection is no longer the standard measurement. I've heard that now they are teaching you just have to try your best and God will see that. Everyone's best is different. There is a best that I can attain and there is a best you can attain. The standard seems to be sliding. (Again, I've heard this description from a few people still connected to the group. I may have it wrong. They may still believe you have to be morally perfect. Maybe they still believe that if every law in the Bible is not obeyed with a perfectly motivated heart a person's best hope is to come back for another shot in a few thousand years. If this is the case, I wonder how they feel about their pastor's salvation. A simple skimming of the Sermon on the Mount and the command to let your yes be yes and your no be no should terrify anyone who loves him. It is my prayer that the scars of the schoolmaster of the law will lead him into the godly sorrow needed for salvation.) If they've slidden the scale and now believe that God just requires us all to do our best, I wonder how they define God's holiness. I wonder how they define his justice. A sliding scale certainly isn't just. It certainly isn't holy. How can be holy and require anything less than perfection? They were actually closer to biblical theology when they said people have to be perfect. The difference between Christianity and every other religion is the God of the Bible freely gives what he requires. He requires perfect obedience to his holy law, but in his unfathomable grace, he freely gave the gift of perfect righteousness to all whose faith is in Christ.

Like the pastor of CGT, I lie. Like the members of CGT, I find it easier to turn my head when I see injustice. The Sermon on the Mount tells me I'm a murderer, liar, adulterer, and have no hope to ever reach the righteousness required to spend eternity with the Holy and Righteous God. There is only one whose righteousness has outshown the righteousness of the Pharisees. There is only one who has perfectly loved his enemies. Members of Christian Gospel Temple. Leaders of Christian Gospel Temple. Run to him and rest in him. Admit your performance, even if it's your best, is nothing compared to his goodness. Come to the wedding banquet, but don't come in your best. Come in the white robe Jesus wants to give you. Overcome by the blood of the Lamb and by trusting in his finished work. Charles Spurgeon said God won't clothe a man until his strips him first. Admit your nakedness. Admit your hiding. Take off the fig leaves that can never cover you and put on the righteousness of Christ. Blessed is the man whose sin is covered. Blessed is the man whose transgressions are forgiven. Let Jesus take the random strings of your brokenness and weave them with his redemptive power.

7/16/09

Come and Welcome by Thomas Hawles

Come and Welcome

From the cross uplifted high
Where the Savior deigns to die
What melodious sounds I hear
Bursting on my ravished ear
Love¹s redeeming work is done
Come and welcome, sinner, come.

Sprinkled now with blood the throne
Why beneath thy burdens groan
On my pierced body laid
Justice owns the ransom paid
Bow the knee and kiss the Son
Come and welcome, sinner, come.

Spread for thee the festal board
See with richest dainties stored
To thy Father¹s bosom pressed
Yet again a child confessed
Never from His house to roam
Come and welcome, sinner, come.

Soon the days of life shall end
Lo, I come, your Savior, Friend
Safe your spirit to convey
To the realms of endless day
Up to my eternal home.
Come and welcome, sinner, come.
Come and welcome, sinner, come.

7/14/09

What'er My God Ordains Is Right by Samuel Rodigast

Whate'er My God Ordains Is Right

Whate’er my God ordains is right,
Holy His will abideth.
I will be still whate’er He does,
And follow where He guideth.
He is my God,
Though dark my road.
He holds me that I shall not fall
Wherefore to Him I leave it all

Whate’er my God ordains is right,
He never will deceive me
He leads me by the proper path,
I know He will not leave me
I take, content,
What He hath sent
His hand can turn my griefs away
And patiently I wait His day

Whate’er my God ordains is right,
Though now this cup in drinking
May bitter seem to my faint heart,
I take it all unshrinking
My God is true,
Each morn anew
Sweet comfort yet shall fill my heart
And pain and sorrow shall depart

Whate’er my God ordains is right,
Here shall my stand be taken
Though sorrow, need, or death be mine,
Yet I am not forsaken
My Father’s care
Is round me there
He holds me that I shall not fall
And so to Him I leave it all

7/10/09

Worshiping People

The more I hear about the lives of famous people, the more compassion I have for them. I'm still pretty young, but from what I've seen and experienced so far, success is tougher to handle than failure. Failing leaves us pretty aware of our desperation and need. Success fills us with delusions of grandeur and generally sets us up for a fall.

Steve McNair was a farm kid from Mount Olive, Mississippi who seemed like a pretty nice guy. The man who grew up in a town which boasted a population of 893 in the 2000 Census, grew up to be worshiped because he could perform on the football field. There were more people in the Southern end zone at Adelphia than in his hometown. We wore his jerseys and as a society turned our heads when he drove drunk. We cheered what he loved and ignored what we didn't.

I met him once at a Nashville Kats game. He was polite and friendly. But as with all famous people, he was a character. Not in the way he acted, but in the way people acted when they met him. The smiles. The compliments. The nervousness. People approached him with the realization they were speaking to somebody special. Even my invitation to the box where he was sitting exemplified how elevated he was in the public. The announcement that he was in a box and some of us would get to meet him made the ten to twenty people surrounding me smile and pay attention. Many of them probably hadn't even noticed I was there until they heard I was about to meet someone famous. That kind of attention and praise is deadly.

We weren't made to be worshiped. We were made to worship. We have been created and given this amazing gift of life to bear the image of the Triune God. Before this world was even formed God existed in an eternal relationship within himself. The Father, Son, and Spirit experienced perfect peace within their relationship. God is love because he has always been loving. Creation is an overflow of that love. Because he is perfectly good, he shared his love and community with creation. Humans were given the prized gift of bearing God's image. All of creation shouts his glory. We were specifically chosen to carry his image.

We've never basked in that freedom. Instead, we try to find ways to elevate ourselves to his throne and seek the glory that belongs to him alone. It kills us. Thankfully, most of us never reach that level of being worshiped. The more attention and praise lavished on us, the more unaware of reality we become.

Pride doesn't go before the fall because God is waiting for us to become proud so he can knock us down. It leads to our falls because it goes against the created order of God's world. When we are puffed up, we are ungrateful and unable to worship. A good friend of mine told me this week that the gospel frees us to be the paintbrush instead of the painter. God is the creator and sustainer of this beautiful world. He has given us the wonderful calling of carrying his image and showing his glory. There is a completely unique freedom in deflecting the praise and worship of men and boasting only in his goodness.

7/8/09

Love Enough by Andrew Peterson

Yesterday's hymn reminded me of this song. God's grace is not going to run out. He loves us today. He loves us tomorrow. He's already there and his promises are true. The grace is free ... drink!

He said, "I have wandered far to yonder ocean
I have drunk from every fountain in this world
I have turned each mossy stone
And have found myself alone
But I believe there is love enough for the taking"

Well, he sat down in the sand and he took his shoes off
And he rambled on beneath the misty moon
He said, "I've spent more than I've saved
And I've kept more than I gave
But I believe there is love enough for the taking"

"Well, it covers us like rain
It washes and it stains
Poured out from heaven's cup
For you and me to drink it up
And in stubborn spite of my stubborn spite
I am loved nonetheless
I am loved all the more
And I believe there is love enough for the taking"

I watched him empty out his pockets and take his shirt off
And he smiled awhile at something in his mind
He said, "The secret of this life is found in blood and sacrifice
And so you see
There is love enough for the taking"

"Well, it covers us like rain
It washes and it stains
Poured out from heaven's cup
For you and me to drink it up
And in stubborn spite of my stubborn spite
I am loved nonetheless
I am loved all the more
And I believe there is love enough for the taking"

He said it would not be long 'til he was leaving
Then I saw this boat appear before my eyes
Then the man began to run, crying out,
"My time has come
Hallelujah
There is love enough for the taking"

Well, it covers us like rain
It washes and it stains
Poured out from heaven's cup
For you and me to drink it up
And in stubborn spite of my stubborn spite
I am loved nonetheless
I am loved all the more
And I believe there is love enough for the taking
There is love enough for the taking

7/7/09

Something in the Air

It seems like everyone I talk to is struggling. Whether it's the economy or just the everyday grind of life, lots of people are down. Yesterday I heard someone say it just seems like there's something in the air. Last week a friend sent me this hymn by Annie Flint.

He giveth more grace as our burdens grow greater,
He sendeth more strength as our labors increase;
To added afflictions He addeth His mercy,
To multiplied trials he multiplies peace.

When we have exhausted our store of endurance,
When our strength has failed ere the day is half done,
When we reach the end of our hoarded resources
Our Father’s full giving is only begun.

His love has no limits, His grace has no measure,
His power no boundary known unto men;
For out of His infinite riches in Jesus
He giveth, and giveth, and giveth again.

Annie J. Flint