To Hang or to be Carried.

“Trust in the LORD with all your heart, And lean not on your own understanding; In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He shall direct your paths.”

(Proverbs 3:5-6)

     Life is scary. The afterlife can be worse.

     We can't be certain what will happen in the very next moment, let alone in eternity. We humans are small and weak and scared. We know full well that we have no control at all and so we do everything we can to gain and keep control. We are comforted by any semblance of it and we are very uncomfortable when without it. We like control.

     We don't want to rely on others. We don't want to have any part of the plan be dependent on the actions of another and for a very simple reason. We don't trust anyone but ourselves. If we let anything depend on someone else, that person may fail us. That person may choose to not fulfill their responsibilities and we may find ourselves in trouble. For many of us that is simply too great a risk to take.

     How scary it is then that God asks us to trust Him. We are asked to trust Him in something far bigger than our evening plans or even our marital life; we are told to trust Him with our eternity. It can be scary. This is the reason so many people have a hard time understanding grace. Surely there is something we have to do, surely there is something I have to prove, or some ritual I can perform. Surely I can earn my place in Heaven because if I can earn it, if it is mine by right, then I can demand it. If I can demand it then it is due me and if it is due me than it is mine by right, but God's plan is different.

“The LORD is good, A stronghold in the day of trouble; And He knows those who trust in Him.”

(Nahum 1:7)

     He doesn't provide us a ladder that we can climb to Heaven. God doesn't allow us the luxury of merit or even exchange. God requires trust. We must trust Him. The one thing that is required of us is the one thing that so many of us are so terrified to give, trust. We are asked to sit in the palm of His hand and simply accept that we will not fall off. He carries us and He cares for us and He has us firmly and securely in His safe embrace and the best part of it is that He can be trusted.

     Unlike so many others who have come and gone in our lives, He can be trusted. Unlike the parent who wasn't there when you needed them, He can be trusted. Unlike the the wife who left you, He can be trusted. Unlike the friends who abandoned you, or the boyfriend who hurt you, or the boss who mistreats you, or the doctor who failed you, or your own traitor heart, or the cold impersonal world that rejected you, He can be trusted!

“Every word of God is pure; He is a shield to those who put their trust in Him.”

(Proverbs 30:5)

     In His hands you are safe. In His heart you are home. We need not fear betrayal from the one whose very name is love. He who died that we may live is worthy of all of our trust.

Before us lies the choice. Do we tire our arms in the ceaseless need to hang on to the cliff edge, too weak to pull ourselves up and too scared to look down? Or do we listen to Father and let go, trusting that He will catch us? Must we hang on or are we willing to be carried? Our fear of trusting Him keeps us from a simple truth, to trust and to have that trust repaid is a glorious thing. Ask anyone in a faithful committed marriage and they will tell you that having just that one person who is always there changes your whole life.

     Do you think you're strong enough? How badly do you need control? Are you honest enough to admit that you've never really had any? The God of all that is will never betray you, never let you down, never turn out to be less than you had hoped. He is and forever will be everything you've ever wanted, needed, and more.

Will you trust Him?

I know not where the path may lead,

How dark the way that I must tread;

My feet may walk on fragrant mead,

Or midst deep bogs that ’round them spread.

But this I know, whate’er betide,

I need not fear nor walk alone;

I still may have One at my side,

And feel my hand within His own.

I may not have strength of my own,

To do the task before me laid;

Heart shrink to make the fight alone

Against the foe I see arrayed.

But this I know, whate’er the task,

Or foe that seeks my soul’s alarm,

I need not fear; I need but ask

The helpful strength of His strong arm.

I may not know what waits the day,

Nor part the veil that hangs between;

I may not glimpse one golden ray

Upon the further distant scene.

But this I know, if with my best

I played the part I had to play,

’Tis safe to leave to Him the rest,

For His own time, in His own way.

“The Lord is Our Trust”

Words by. Will M. Maupin, 1921

A Proverbial Request

     An honest plea. Truly honest. A request not born of lust or desire, not fed by greed or covetousness; a question that looks inward as well as outward with clarity. Have you ever heard such a request? Have you ever asked such a question?

     We want many things: new cars, new houses, new toys, a better job, a better life! We want and we want and we desperately shove an endless stream of objects and accolades into the gaping hole in our heart in our mad need to fill the void. And yet we are empty still. Even we who should be seeking the face of God find ourselves caught up in the hunt for more.

     But what do we need?

     What is truly best for us in this life? What is a good life? I think the answer is found in the Bible -of course- and in the book of Proverbs specifically.

“Two things have I required of thee; deny me them not before I die: Remove far from me vanity and lies: give me neither poverty nor riches; feed me with food convenient for me: Lest I be full, and deny thee, and say, Who is the LORD? or lest I be poor, and steal, and take the name of my God in vain.”

(Proverbs 30:7-9)

     Here we read the words of a man named Agur the son of Jakeh, who he was and from what tribe he came we do not know but just read those few verses again! Two things and two things only does he ask: to be free from evil and to have what is needed; simple things. He does not ask for fine clothing or a comfortable home. He does not ask for wealth or fame or prominence. This man simply wants to be righteous and to be content.

     How close do we get to evil? The word translated vanity is “shawv” and has a range of meanings from destructive evil to simple uselessness. Agur wants to be far from this, removed entirely and beyond sight. I think we tend to dance close to the line. If we are to be righteous then we must love that which is good and we love love! However we forget that hatred has it's place. If we truly love good we must hate -hate- evil. We, like Agur, shouldn't want it within us, in front of us, in back of us, within a hundred miles of us! Lord remove from us evil and the love of it!

Neither poverty nor riches he asks. He goes on to explain himself saying that to be rich and fat is to forget our need for God and to be poor and starving can lead to sin for the sake of survival which dishonors God as well. May I have enough, he says; enough and no more, enough and no less.

     Are we okay with enough? How much of our endless march up the corporate ladder stems from a true desire to provide for our families and how much of is simple greed and desire? Do you need that promotion, do you need that bonus? Are they worth skipping church, skipping recitals, skipping dinner? Are you trying to do your best or are you simply unwilling to trust in God to provide?

     Do your work, do it as well as you can and if He blesses you with more be grateful. If He does not then be thankful still for you have what you need.

     Lord may I be a righteous man. Lord may I lay my trust on you for myself and for my family. Lord I ask not for riches or for glory, nor for fame or ease, but may my life be one that honors you. May my life be a song of praise and an image of faith in motion.   Amen.

Wake Up, Rise Up, Stand Up

I think it's safe to say that we all love sleep.  Maybe it's the brief escape from reality, maybe it's how it feels just so darn comfy, maybe it's the temporary respite from our troubles and cares, whatever the reason sleep holds a special place in the hearts of most people.

I like it too, although I tend to go to bed late and wake up earlier than necessary.  The problem with sleep though is that we get nothing done and we are apart from reality for a time and anything that ultimately matters.  Sleep is nice but it is not substantive, it is pleasant but not productive.

Why do I bring this up?  Because the world is slipping between the warm cozy blankets of willful ignorance and "tolerance", and it's bringing the church with it.  It's nice to banish the difficult and uncomfortable affairs of life for a few hours each night but disastrous when we refuse to take on the hard challenges during our waking hours.

I'm reminded of a particular scripture passage, Romans 13:11-14, where Paul warns the Roman church that the time for comfortable slumber is past and now is the time to stand and go to war.

"And do this, knowing the time, that now it is high time to awake out of sleep; for now our salvation is nearer than when we first believed. The night is far spent, the day is at hand. Therefore let us cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armor of light. Let us walk properly, as in the day, not in revelry and drunkenness, not in lewdness and lust, not in strife and envy. But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to fulfill its lusts."
(Romans 13:11-14)

Look at the words above!  The day is coming, the night is spent!  Walk now as one who is awake, not letting your mind and your will dissipate like a drunkard or one lost in their lusts!  We must "put on" Jesus Christ and forsake sin not allow for it.  We have to shed our old moldy robes and put on the armor of light.

We've gotten comfortable, with sin, with dissent, with lies, with misinformation.  We've gotten comfy and lazy and, well, cowardly.  The Bible calls us to stand firm.  It calls us to stand against armies, against ideas, against enemies; nowhere does it call us to lounge comfortably.

We are running out of time, there are precious few moments left to sit on the sidelines or worry about hurting someones feelings.  Now this doesn't mean that we don't act in love, it doesn't mean that we don't care for others it just means that their opinions don't really matter, their feelings don't ultimately matter.  What matters is the truth and nothing more.

We see people everywhere who call themselves Christians accepting sin and teaching things that just aren't true.  The Bible is compromised and God's truth is doubted or at worst ignored.  We as a people are more willing to accept sin than we are to stand for God!

There comes a time when understanding has really understand and when love has to be harsh.  There comes a time when to be right means to be decisive and to stand for truth means telling someone else that they are wrong!

So wake up, rise up, stand up and let the truth be your armor, let God be your general and get ready to march.  It's going to be uncomfortable, it will probably hurt, but nothing really ever comes by playing it safe.  Throw off the blankets and get dressed, the world is waiting along with everything that matters.

The Point of Debate

We spend quite a lot of time arguing these days.  We may call it debate but really it's arguing and I'm not even saying that is necessarily a bad thing but if we're going to spend so much time doing something shouldn't we be doing it properly?

The first thing we need to remember is that our primary motivation is not to win the argument, nor is it to be right and recognized as such, nor is it to convince anyone of anything.  The point of every Biblical discussion is to accurately inform others about the Word of God.

When you discuss things with people, do you feel that passion rise?  Do you feel your blood stir as the debate intensifies and do you get real involved in the back and forth?  Now ask yourself, why?  Why in this instance is very important because one is reason can be proof of faith and evidence of a firmly held belief, another reason is just pride.  When you get frustrated with someone who doesn't agree with you (which, honestly, we all do) is it because that poor soul doesn't or can't grasp the truths of scripture or is because you want them to acknowledge that you are right?  That's a terrible reason to argue.

"Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I have become sounding brass or a clanging cymbal. And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, but have not love, it profits me nothing."
(1 Corinthians 13:1-3)

"Behold, I send you out as sheep in the midst of wolves. Therefore be wise as serpents and harmless as doves."
(Matthew 10:16)

We need to remember that in the heat of debate we cannot let go of love.  Again, since our purpose is not to be right nor to convince, we have failed if we argue without love.  If your 'opponent' leaves the debate surly and upset it better be because his supporting arguments were subverted and because he has been forced to rethink his assumptions and not because you cruelly whipped him with the truth.  Let the truth speak for itself and take your ego out of the equation.  Let your care for the other person show through the discussion, often that will have a far greater impact than any well constructed argument.

Another important point is more WHAT we are debating rather than HOW.  As Christians we see the world for what it is, a broken sin-filled place.  As such we see the evils around us, we see how reality and culture contradict the Word and will of God.  Surrounded by this mass of sin we strike out at the things we see: homosexuality and its acceptance by the world, abortion, adultery, immorality, the breakdown of the family, the rejection of God, etc.  I'm not saying that these are not things to stand against but when discussing with someone -one on one- how much good does that do once you've expressed what you believe on that topic?

Hear me out.  Nobody believes anything in a vacuum, every belief that we have is based off of other beliefs.  When you take all the underlying assumptions about reality and collect them together you get what is called a "worldview."  This is important because the worldview is what we need to be discussing, not the particular issues.  People hold their beliefs in the particulars because of their worldview, that is the point of contention.

Let me explain it another way.  Everything that anyone believes about all these particular issues (homosexuality, abortion, etc.) are really conclusions not starting points.  They have come to various conclusions on various topics because what they already believed consciously and subconsciously lead them to that conclusion.  We do the same thing, it's how thought works.  I believe in the Bible, I trust what God has said and understand His description of reality to be correct.  Because of that worldview I come to various conclusions, ie. that homosexuality is wrong, that abortion is murder, that gender and sex are the same thing and assigned to us at birth etc.  Now these conclusions make perfect logical sense to me, of course they do that's why I believe them; but person A doesn't share my worldview!  Person A doesn't hold to a Biblical standard in fact they likely hold to a pseudo-humanist post-modern evolutionary worldview which is going to lead them to wholly different conclusions!

Here is where this gets important.  Because I look at person A's conclusions from my worldview I judge his conclusions to be wrong but he is doing the exact same thing!  We will never agree until the worldviews match!  From their perspective, from their worldview it is me who is in the wrong and plainly so!  Here is where real meaningful debate can take place, when we move past the conclusions and discuss the beliefs that make up our individual worldviews and when we challenge why someone believes something.

We don't have to challenge gay marriage, we don't have to challenge abortion, we don't have to challenge any particular -any conclusion- when we challenge the worldview.  Once the worldview changes the conclusions necessarily change along with it.  It's like men of God have said for years and years now, if we lead men to God and let Him change their hearts than society's ills will mend right along with the souls of the people who make up society.

So think about why you argue, think about how you debate, think about how loving you are when you discuss these important topics.  Don't be distracted by the particulars, you will never convince somebody that your conclusions are correct as long as they are judging them based on their differing worldview.  Love others, show them what God has to say, and let Him change their hearts and minds.

To Be Better.

I want to be better.  A common thought, wouldn't you say?  As a Christian I am acutely aware of my need for improvement and of my current failings.  I look into the box that is me and see a lot of things, most of them old and broken, many of them dirty, some of them dangerous.  Again and again I revisit the old familiar sins and my hands and my mind move to the rhythm of music I wish I didn't know.  Again and again I wake up later with my newly purchased regret and wonder why I didn't just...not.  I want to be better.

Actually...I don't.

I'm tired of trying to be better.  I'm tired of trying to improve, to renovate, to renew.  Worst of all I cannot help but deny the single obvious truth that better isn't good enough.  Better just means I've pumped some air into the same punctured tires, oiled the kinked chain, and tightened the broken pedals as if that will do anything to really improve the machine.  I don't want to be better.

I want to be new.

Better is a fresh coat of paint, new is a whole other house.  Better is a set of replacement tires, new is an entirely different car.  Better is a patch-job, new is new.  When Adam tasted sin and cursed us all we started to break, getting more and more run down, moving farther and farther from what we were; I don't want to be a better broken thing.  I want to be a new creation.  I don't want to be a zombie, an old carcass propped up so it can shamble around, I want to be remade.  And thank God that's exactly what He promises.

I read my Bible and I see that we aren't promised better, we're promised new.  We're promised a new robe that swallows up and absorbs the old tattered clothing and leaves us decked out as kings.

"For we know that if our earthly house, this tent, is destroyed, we have a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens. For in this we groan, earnestly desiring to be clothed with our habitation which is from heaven, if indeed, having been clothed, we shall not be found naked. For we who are in this tent groan, being burdened, not because we want to be unclothed, but further clothed, that mortality may be swallowed up by life. Now He who has prepared us for this very thing is God, who also has given us the Spirit as a guarantee. So we are always confident, knowing that while we are at home in the body we are absent from the Lord. For we walk by faith, not by sight. We are confident, yes, well pleased rather to be absent from the body and to be present with the Lord. Therefore we make it our aim, whether present or absent, to be well pleasing to Him"
(2 Corinthians 5:1-9)

This house we now inhabit -this body- is that run down crack-house at the end of the block, the one with the peeling paint and shutters that hang on by one nail each.  Yes it functions as a house but only just.  One day that house is going to collapse but I don't worry about death so much because I'll just be moving out, moving up (cue The Jefferson's Theme).  God has a whole new house waiting for me, waiting for us, and it's greater than we can imagine.

Even now I know that I don't have to suffer the way I have before, I don't have to live the way I used to.  I may have to live in this old house for a bit longer but I don't have to live like this house.  You see I've got a new landlord.  He bought the property and in exchange for my new lease on life He expects me to mow the lawn and paint the walls and fix the roof, but He also pays for it.

My strength isn't enough to do new, it's not even enough for better.  God saves us yes, but He also empowers us.  We are free, free to follow Him, free to turn our backs on the sin we  always followed, free to face the evil that kept us down, free to grab the whip from the enemies hand and stand in defiance because our Father is standing beside us!  Free, I want free.

"Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new. Now all things are of God, who has reconciled us to Himself through Jesus Christ, and has given us the ministry of reconciliation, that is, that God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not imputing their trespasses to them, and has committed to us the word of reconciliation. Now then, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were pleading through us: we implore you on Christ's behalf, be reconciled to God. For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him."
(2 Corinthians 5:17-21)

So I don't want to be better.  I don't want to settle for better.  I want new.

I have fallen, fallen so many times I sometimes forget what it's like to stand.  Yet I press on.  I have not, am not, will not ever give up!  I will walk this narrow road through the power of God in me because I know what lies in the ditch that runs on either side.  I know the man I am apart from God, and there is no way that man could ever drum up enough better to even be worth the attention it would require for God to damn me.

Forget better.

I'm going to be new.