One of the aspects of Christianity that consistently amazes me is the tension that exists in everyday life. As Christians, we live between two worlds. We have been welcomed into God's Kingdom, but we will not experience the fullness of the Kingdom until we are with him for eternity.
The tensions are many.
We feed the hungry, not to eliminate hunger, but to point to the coming kingdom where there will be no hunger. We strive to make people well by prayer and medicine, not to eliminate illness, but to point to the coming kingdom where there will be no sickness. We aim to stop sinning, not because we think we’ll ever completely be sinless on this earth, but to point to the coming kingdom where there will be no sin (this is certainly not the only reason not to disobey God).
We know that there is a day coming where everything broken will be made right. Having this confidence and hope gives us the power to work for Christ's glory.
Living in the tension is not easy. As humans we crave ease and simplicity. We want our instructions clear and simple. God doesn't always work that way. He lets us wrestle and grapple with issues and questions. God is a person. He is not a machine. We must learn to love him and know him as we would any person in any relationship.
If I try to reduce my wife to a formula our marriage will be awful. There have been times I have wanted Rebecca to rush through her instructions for me because I was more concerned with just getting something done than I was with actually knowing why she wanted something done a certain way. That behavior is rooted in running away from intimacy into a selfish form of false sacrifice. We can actually avoid relationship by giving the other person everything they want in a detached way.
Like the older brother from The Prodigal Son parable, we 'slave' for God hoping he might just leave us alone. We basically say, "Hey, I did what you wanted. Let me be."
This song by Derek Webb sums up our condition. We want a new law. We want God to tell us the bare minimum for satisfying him. Two lines from the song jump out at me. The first is "What's the use in trading a law you can never keep/ for one you can that will not get you anything. The second is "do not be afraid."
Living a truly spiritual life, where we learn to really lean on and trust the Holy Spirit to guide us will not be easy. There will be countless hours of struggle as we try to get to know him and do his will. But it will be worth it. Like any good relationship, the struggle produces intimacy. The intimacy pours out into joy, trust, and love.
4/26/07
Wrestling with the Tension and Song of the Day - A New Law by Derek Webb
4/9/07
Our Heavenly Father
I don't know who said this originally, but I heard it in a message by Sinclair Ferguson. I thought I would share it.
"A father should have the firmness to make it advisable to obey, the wisdom to make it natural to obey, and the love to make it a pleasure to obey."
I fall terribly short in those areas (as a teacher and a dad), but I am thankful to serve a merciful Heavenly Father who encompasses those characteristics perfectly.
"A father should have the firmness to make it advisable to obey, the wisdom to make it natural to obey, and the love to make it a pleasure to obey."
I fall terribly short in those areas (as a teacher and a dad), but I am thankful to serve a merciful Heavenly Father who encompasses those characteristics perfectly.
4/4/07
Faith - Admitting We Can't Beat God
Numbers 22:1-3
Then the Israelites traveled to the plains of Moab and camped along the Jordan across from Jericho. Now Balak son of Zippor saw all that Israel had done to the Amorites, and Moab was terrified because there were so many people. Indeed, Moab was filled with dread because of the Israelites.
Joshua 2:8-13
Before the spies lay down for the night, she went up on the roof and said to them, "I know that the LORD has given this land to you and that a great fear of you has fallen on us, so that all who live in this country are melting in fear because of you. We have heard how the LORD dried up the water of the Red Sea for you when you came out of Egypt, and what you did to Sihon and Og, the two kings of the Amorites east of the Jordan, whom you completely destroyed. When we heard of it, our hearts melted and everyone's courage failed because of you, for the LORD your God is God in heaven above and on the earth below. Now then, please swear to me by the LORD that you will show kindness to my family, because I have shown kindness to you. Give me a sure sign that you will spare the lives of my father and mother, my brothers and sisters, and all who belong to them, and that you will save us from death."
I am currently teaching the story of the children of Israel entering Canaan to my elementary school students. The story is full of kings and nations who were afraid of Israel because of their powerful God. The stories of Egypt's demise and Israel's miraculous desert journey had circulated throughout Canaan. The citizens of Canaan were terrified. They believed the God of Israel was powerful and had to be dealt with. What they chose to do with that information was another story.
King Balak realized he couldn't defeat Israel's armies, so he asked Balaam to curse Israel. The king of Jericho tried to have the Israelite spies captured. These men chose to wage war against God's sovereign plan.
Rahab took the information she had been given and realized her only choice was to submit to the will of God. She understood that fighting wasn't an option in this battle. Her cry for mercy saved her and her family.
The difference between Rahab and Balak was not adherence to facts about God. Both trembled. Both feared. The difference between the two was Rahab's willingness to abandon her own agenda and submit to the will of God.
Our faith in Christ is more than agreeing to a few facts. There are many who believe facts about Jesus' crucifixion, resurrection, and second coming who have not abandoned their fight against the will of God. There is a day coming when all of God's enemies will be put under his feet. There is a day coming when the only agenda will be God's agenda. All other plans will be defeated at that time. We can either scheme and plot to find some way to replace God's plan for our own, or we can admit the futility of our own plans and submit to the King of Kings.
Rahab and her family were saved by faith. They heard the news about God's power and his plan for his people and refused to fight against it. Faith is admitting we can't beat God. Faith is admitting we are poor in spirit and are helpless without his grace. God has revealed his will through the gospel.
Hebrews 1:1-3
In the past God spoke to our forefathers through the prophets at many times and in various ways, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, and through whom he made the universe. The Son is the radiance of God's glory and the exact representation of his being, sustaining all things by his powerful word. After he had provided purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty in heaven.
John 1:10-14
Matthew 16:24-27
24Then Jesus said to his disciples, "If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. 25For whoever wants to save his life[h] will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will find it. 26What good will it be for a man if he gains the whole world, yet forfeits his soul? Or what can a man give in exchange for his soul? 27For the Son of Man is going to come in his Father's glory with his angels, and then he will reward each person according to what he has done.
All efforts to save our lives (like Balak and the king of Jericho) will end in disaster. The only hope for salvation is to submit to God's sovereign will and follow humbly. May God give us the grace and the faith to do so.
Then the Israelites traveled to the plains of Moab and camped along the Jordan across from Jericho. Now Balak son of Zippor saw all that Israel had done to the Amorites, and Moab was terrified because there were so many people. Indeed, Moab was filled with dread because of the Israelites.
Joshua 2:8-13
Before the spies lay down for the night, she went up on the roof and said to them, "I know that the LORD has given this land to you and that a great fear of you has fallen on us, so that all who live in this country are melting in fear because of you. We have heard how the LORD dried up the water of the Red Sea for you when you came out of Egypt, and what you did to Sihon and Og, the two kings of the Amorites east of the Jordan, whom you completely destroyed. When we heard of it, our hearts melted and everyone's courage failed because of you, for the LORD your God is God in heaven above and on the earth below. Now then, please swear to me by the LORD that you will show kindness to my family, because I have shown kindness to you. Give me a sure sign that you will spare the lives of my father and mother, my brothers and sisters, and all who belong to them, and that you will save us from death."
I am currently teaching the story of the children of Israel entering Canaan to my elementary school students. The story is full of kings and nations who were afraid of Israel because of their powerful God. The stories of Egypt's demise and Israel's miraculous desert journey had circulated throughout Canaan. The citizens of Canaan were terrified. They believed the God of Israel was powerful and had to be dealt with. What they chose to do with that information was another story.
King Balak realized he couldn't defeat Israel's armies, so he asked Balaam to curse Israel. The king of Jericho tried to have the Israelite spies captured. These men chose to wage war against God's sovereign plan.
Rahab took the information she had been given and realized her only choice was to submit to the will of God. She understood that fighting wasn't an option in this battle. Her cry for mercy saved her and her family.
The difference between Rahab and Balak was not adherence to facts about God. Both trembled. Both feared. The difference between the two was Rahab's willingness to abandon her own agenda and submit to the will of God.
Our faith in Christ is more than agreeing to a few facts. There are many who believe facts about Jesus' crucifixion, resurrection, and second coming who have not abandoned their fight against the will of God. There is a day coming when all of God's enemies will be put under his feet. There is a day coming when the only agenda will be God's agenda. All other plans will be defeated at that time. We can either scheme and plot to find some way to replace God's plan for our own, or we can admit the futility of our own plans and submit to the King of Kings.
Rahab and her family were saved by faith. They heard the news about God's power and his plan for his people and refused to fight against it. Faith is admitting we can't beat God. Faith is admitting we are poor in spirit and are helpless without his grace. God has revealed his will through the gospel.
Hebrews 1:1-3
In the past God spoke to our forefathers through the prophets at many times and in various ways, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, and through whom he made the universe. The Son is the radiance of God's glory and the exact representation of his being, sustaining all things by his powerful word. After he had provided purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty in heaven.
John 1:10-14
He was in the world, and though the world was made through him, the world did not recognize him. He came to that which was his own, but his own did not receive him. Yet to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband's will, but born of God. The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only,who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.
Submitting to the Father's will begins with accepting the Son. The number one agenda we must abandon is our claim of any rights before the throne of God. We must repent for our badness and our goodness. We must admit we have done nothing to merit any right standing before God's holy judgment. All of our actions, good or bad, fall infinitely short of God's holiness. We must admit our total and utter dependence on him for our salvation. We can do nothing to save ourselves. All of those who admit this and accept the Son will be given the right to be a son or daughter of God.
Matthew 16:24-27
24Then Jesus said to his disciples, "If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. 25For whoever wants to save his life[h] will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will find it. 26What good will it be for a man if he gains the whole world, yet forfeits his soul? Or what can a man give in exchange for his soul? 27For the Son of Man is going to come in his Father's glory with his angels, and then he will reward each person according to what he has done.
All efforts to save our lives (like Balak and the king of Jericho) will end in disaster. The only hope for salvation is to submit to God's sovereign will and follow humbly. May God give us the grace and the faith to do so.
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