We have a saying in England about waiting for a bus. "You wait for ages then three come at once!" Well it is Sunday!
Another thought on my mind was about the verse in James 1:27, "Pure and undefiled religion in the sight of our God and Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their distress, and to keep oneself unstained by the world."
Here we have it in a nutshell. If the church global has done anything it has confused what we are about. Are we about talking in tongues? Are we about theological argument? What we are about is two things, charity and purity.
Am I more concerned about what I am getting than about those who have nothing getting what they need to live?
Am I more concerned about indulging my flesh than putting off those things that belong to the world?
Please do not here what you would usually hear from a post like this. I am not against tongues or theology. But why does our theology become a weapon, why does tongues become more important than loving our neighbour. Jesus didn't say, "The second commandment is to talk in tongues!" We should not walk into a church and ask is this a Charismatic or evangelical. We should walk in any church and see that the most important things to the believers of that church is purity (Loving God with all) and Charity (loving our neighbour as ourselves.)
If I talk in tongues and watch the latest bond film I have a foot in each camp. I am lukewarm. If I have great theology and can quote 20 verses for any argument, if I tithe to the church and watch a world starve then I am lukewarm. I have a religion that God didn't order. You can be a charismatic and still have purity and charity. You can be an evangelical and still have purity and charity. But if you don't have either one then what is your religion worth?
Here are some other things that aren't in the "Pure and undefiled religion in the sight of God!":
Pastors having to have Rolls Royces
Church Buildings
rock group worship
proper hymns with choirs
bigger buildings
standing up and sitting down in the right places
ceremonies
really big buildings
paid ministers
Falling over in the right places
Mega buildings.
Sunday, 30 March 2008
What you looking at?!
"Two men looked through prison bars,
One saw mud, the other saw stars!"
I have been thinking about this saying lately and this morning a preacher used it.
In essence we are all in prison. We are trapped in bodies that don't run as fast as we'd like, don't draw as well as we'd like, tire quicker than we'd like and don't fly! (Oooh, the number of times I have flown in my mind. I have had dreams of standing on a hillside running and just taking off! I can't wait until God let's us play with gravity!)
We are all trapped with bodies that crave attention from all the wrong things, "gimme chocolate and now!" We are trapped with eyes that lust after what isn't meant for us. We are trapped with feelings that get upset and hurt, (and laugh when we shouldn't and get us into trouble!)
We are trapped with old natures that can't please God no matter what!
But all of that was dealt with at the cross. It wasn't easy but it was done, it was finished. The question that remains is, "are we going to look at the mud or are we going to look at the stars?"
When I rode a motorbike I learnt, almost the hard way, that it is no good looking down at the road right in front of you; especially when you come to a bend. It is no good looking at the bend or that's where you'll end up. You have to look past the bend to where you want to be. If you do that the motorbike will follow!
It is no good looking at where we don't want to be. We need to get focused on where we want to be. When you are going round a bend on a bike, it is very tempting to take a quick peek down to see how close the side of the road you are. However, if you do that the bike will immediately start heading that way! We have to have the determination that no matter what is happening we wont focus on that.
If a person dying of cancer can smile then what excuse have I got? Is my situation any worse? That doesn't mean I smile all the time any more than they do. It just means I smile in between the grimaces! I smile when I get the chance. I smile when I remember to.
It isn't what I haven't got that makes me smile, it's what I have got! Faith, hope and love!
One saw mud, the other saw stars!"
I have been thinking about this saying lately and this morning a preacher used it.
In essence we are all in prison. We are trapped in bodies that don't run as fast as we'd like, don't draw as well as we'd like, tire quicker than we'd like and don't fly! (Oooh, the number of times I have flown in my mind. I have had dreams of standing on a hillside running and just taking off! I can't wait until God let's us play with gravity!)
We are all trapped with bodies that crave attention from all the wrong things, "gimme chocolate and now!" We are trapped with eyes that lust after what isn't meant for us. We are trapped with feelings that get upset and hurt, (and laugh when we shouldn't and get us into trouble!)
We are trapped with old natures that can't please God no matter what!
But all of that was dealt with at the cross. It wasn't easy but it was done, it was finished. The question that remains is, "are we going to look at the mud or are we going to look at the stars?"
When I rode a motorbike I learnt, almost the hard way, that it is no good looking down at the road right in front of you; especially when you come to a bend. It is no good looking at the bend or that's where you'll end up. You have to look past the bend to where you want to be. If you do that the motorbike will follow!
It is no good looking at where we don't want to be. We need to get focused on where we want to be. When you are going round a bend on a bike, it is very tempting to take a quick peek down to see how close the side of the road you are. However, if you do that the bike will immediately start heading that way! We have to have the determination that no matter what is happening we wont focus on that.
If a person dying of cancer can smile then what excuse have I got? Is my situation any worse? That doesn't mean I smile all the time any more than they do. It just means I smile in between the grimaces! I smile when I get the chance. I smile when I remember to.
It isn't what I haven't got that makes me smile, it's what I have got! Faith, hope and love!
Thursday, 27 March 2008
Lazy Poems
Not sure whether this should be here or on the "poems what I wrote" blog. Sometime between sometime yesterday and now, a thought popped into my head, "A sermon is a poem the couldn't be bothered!"
For many years I have had this agonising feeling of a need to express myself. I have rambled on about this before. I can't seem to find one way. That's fine, no one says we should only express ourselves in one way. But I have long neglected poetry, mostly because I can't be bothered! Not only can't I be bothered, but poetry isn't something I tend to read. But then I don't tend to read much at all! There is so much poetry in the world, will one more make a difference. Now I am reminded of the little boy and the starfish*!
It isn't for our pleasure it is for the audience of one. God seems to like poetry, Psalms, Proverbs and Song of Songs are poetry. It is hard sometimes when wrestling with ideas and thoughts to then wrestle with them to give them shape and tempo and possibly rhyme.
I will give it more thought. I have noticed that I tend to say controversial things at times, but then I am thrown by people's reactions. I have noticed that when we say controversial things in amusing and non amusing poetry they seem to be accepted a bit better. Although, even those who write and share their poetry are not without critics! There is no sanctuary other not not bothering at all! And that is no sanctuary at all.
*By the way the story of the boy with the starfish goes like this.
There was a man walking along a beach. The beach was covered in thousands of starfish that had been washed up on the shore. On the beach was a young boy throwing them back into the water one by one. The man said to the boy, "Why are you wasting your time? There are thousands of starfish here, you can't possibly make a difference." The boy bent down and picked up another starfish. He tossed it into the water. "There" he said, "That's made a difference to that one!"
For many years I have had this agonising feeling of a need to express myself. I have rambled on about this before. I can't seem to find one way. That's fine, no one says we should only express ourselves in one way. But I have long neglected poetry, mostly because I can't be bothered! Not only can't I be bothered, but poetry isn't something I tend to read. But then I don't tend to read much at all! There is so much poetry in the world, will one more make a difference. Now I am reminded of the little boy and the starfish*!
It isn't for our pleasure it is for the audience of one. God seems to like poetry, Psalms, Proverbs and Song of Songs are poetry. It is hard sometimes when wrestling with ideas and thoughts to then wrestle with them to give them shape and tempo and possibly rhyme.
I will give it more thought. I have noticed that I tend to say controversial things at times, but then I am thrown by people's reactions. I have noticed that when we say controversial things in amusing and non amusing poetry they seem to be accepted a bit better. Although, even those who write and share their poetry are not without critics! There is no sanctuary other not not bothering at all! And that is no sanctuary at all.
*By the way the story of the boy with the starfish goes like this.
There was a man walking along a beach. The beach was covered in thousands of starfish that had been washed up on the shore. On the beach was a young boy throwing them back into the water one by one. The man said to the boy, "Why are you wasting your time? There are thousands of starfish here, you can't possibly make a difference." The boy bent down and picked up another starfish. He tossed it into the water. "There" he said, "That's made a difference to that one!"
Tuesday, 25 March 2008
1 text, 2 sermons!
Here are two sermon outlines on the same text. I'll put my comments at the end!
The Pool of Bethesda
"1After these things there was a feast of the Jews, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem. 2Now there is in Jerusalem by the sheep gate a pool, which is called in Hebrew Bethesda, having five porticoes. 3In these lay a multitude of those who were sick, blind, lame, and withered, waiting for the moving of the waters; 4for an angel of the Lord went down at certain seasons into the pool and stirred up the water; whoever then first, after the stirring up of the water, stepped in was made well from whatever disease with which he was afflicted. 5A man was there who had been ill for thirty-eight years. 6When Jesus saw him lying there, and knew that he had already been a long time in that condition, He said to him, "Do you wish to get well?" 7The sick man answered Him, "Sir, I have no man to put me into the pool when the water is stirred up, but while I am coming, another steps down before me." 8Jesus said to him, "Get up, pick up your pallet and walk." 9Immediately the man became well, and picked up his pallet and began to walk." John 5:1-9.
Summary of sermon 1
(If only real sermons were this short!)
This man had been ill for 48 years. When Jesus asked whether he wanted to be well, you'd think he'd have just said, "yes!" But no, he uses the chance to have a good whinge about how miserable his life is. No wonder all of his family and friends left him! He came out with all of the excuses as to why he couldn't get healed. You could almost imagine that he had become so comfortable with his position that he wasn't even putting much effort in any more! But Jesus, for whatever reason, showed mercy on him and out of all of the other people there he was the one that Jesus healed.
Summary of sermon 2
Why did Jesus go to this man? Other people who Jesus gave special attention to seemed to have good cause. The woman with the issue had forced her way to him, Zaccheas had climbed the tree, the man with the friends had dug through a roof. Blind Bartimaeus had called out from the road side. But, when Jesus went to this man he didn't even seem to care. This man had choices. He could have stayed at home with his family (if he had any). He certainly could have stayed in the road begging. But this man had decided he wanted God to heal him. He didn't want to be a beggar, a burden and dependant on men. He wanted God's touch. That is the same as all the others. They had all pushed to get to Jesus, and this man had pushed and pushed to get to the water. It was a bit of a lottery but most either were able to get there or had others to get them there. This man had neither. Jesus "noticed that he had already been a long time in that condition." This was not how God's blessing was meant to be distributed, survival of the fittest. This man had always managed to be the slowest. It is quite possible that there is no one left of those who were there when he first came to the pool and those who came after have been healed. The "Take a number" system hadn't been invented then! Jesus was making sure that no one was missed. The others around the pool would get their turn in the water, but this man was likely to never get to the water.
My thoughts
One preacher has a negative view and the other has a positive view. With one the glass is half empty, the other half full. They are both looking at the same man in the same situation, one decides the man is miserable the other sees him as full of faith and determination. All I can say is, "I'd rather be a friend of the second preacher!"
(I've been having real trouble with the text editor!)
The Pool of Bethesda
"1After these things there was a feast of the Jews, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem. 2Now there is in Jerusalem by the sheep gate a pool, which is called in Hebrew Bethesda, having five porticoes. 3In these lay a multitude of those who were sick, blind, lame, and withered, waiting for the moving of the waters; 4for an angel of the Lord went down at certain seasons into the pool and stirred up the water; whoever then first, after the stirring up of the water, stepped in was made well from whatever disease with which he was afflicted. 5A man was there who had been ill for thirty-eight years. 6When Jesus saw him lying there, and knew that he had already been a long time in that condition, He said to him, "Do you wish to get well?" 7The sick man answered Him, "Sir, I have no man to put me into the pool when the water is stirred up, but while I am coming, another steps down before me." 8Jesus said to him, "Get up, pick up your pallet and walk." 9Immediately the man became well, and picked up his pallet and began to walk." John 5:1-9.
Summary of sermon 1
(If only real sermons were this short!)
This man had been ill for 48 years. When Jesus asked whether he wanted to be well, you'd think he'd have just said, "yes!" But no, he uses the chance to have a good whinge about how miserable his life is. No wonder all of his family and friends left him! He came out with all of the excuses as to why he couldn't get healed. You could almost imagine that he had become so comfortable with his position that he wasn't even putting much effort in any more! But Jesus, for whatever reason, showed mercy on him and out of all of the other people there he was the one that Jesus healed.
Summary of sermon 2
Why did Jesus go to this man? Other people who Jesus gave special attention to seemed to have good cause. The woman with the issue had forced her way to him, Zaccheas had climbed the tree, the man with the friends had dug through a roof. Blind Bartimaeus had called out from the road side. But, when Jesus went to this man he didn't even seem to care. This man had choices. He could have stayed at home with his family (if he had any). He certainly could have stayed in the road begging. But this man had decided he wanted God to heal him. He didn't want to be a beggar, a burden and dependant on men. He wanted God's touch. That is the same as all the others. They had all pushed to get to Jesus, and this man had pushed and pushed to get to the water. It was a bit of a lottery but most either were able to get there or had others to get them there. This man had neither. Jesus "noticed that he had already been a long time in that condition." This was not how God's blessing was meant to be distributed, survival of the fittest. This man had always managed to be the slowest. It is quite possible that there is no one left of those who were there when he first came to the pool and those who came after have been healed. The "Take a number" system hadn't been invented then! Jesus was making sure that no one was missed. The others around the pool would get their turn in the water, but this man was likely to never get to the water.
My thoughts
One preacher has a negative view and the other has a positive view. With one the glass is half empty, the other half full. They are both looking at the same man in the same situation, one decides the man is miserable the other sees him as full of faith and determination. All I can say is, "I'd rather be a friend of the second preacher!"
(I've been having real trouble with the text editor!)
Monday, 24 March 2008
Getting loved up!!
Whether you listen to a good Christian teaching or a self help guru they seem to agree that the aim of life is to come to a place of unconditional love. The trouble is getting there is not easy! One of the greatest problems with being a radiator of unconditional love is that you cannot give from an empty cup!
One great picture is to imagine a love tank. This represents the love that we receive (or should receive) from different people at different stages in our lives. Essentially, on the way to adulthood we need to get love (unconditional) from our parents, from the fun we have with family and friends and the identity we receive from our peers. However, all too often we arrive at adulthood with tanks less than full. We then enter a relationship with our love tank empty hoping to get it filled. The chances are they also have less than empty tanks and want you to fill theirs!
The answer is that we can fill our own tanks! I have met some pretty block headed thinking on the idea of loving one's self. Some have the opinion that we do not need to be told to love ourselves because we do that anyway. The problem is, call it loving yourself or despising yourself, it isn't healthy! The way we tend to love ourselves isn't love at all (although some see it as such!) The idea being that if you sit around all day in self pity you are indulging yourself! But that is screwball love! As I have said before, love means wanting the best for the object of that love. If we take an objective view of "best" then we will want for us what God wants for us. We will not want to indulge in self pity, we will want to give ourselves what we need to thrive in Him.
The verse I cling to for this is, "love your neighbour as yourself!" The command requires that we are already loving ourselves in the kind of healthy way that others need to be loved. But we cannot arrive at the second commandment without first going through the first. Part of loving ourselves is to love God with all.
By loving God we receive what He has for us. For example, Should we allow those who do us no good crush our spirits? Jesus said, not to cast our pearls before those who bite us and trample what we value under foot. He gave us the right to self preservation. It is not Christian to allow others to crush us. By loving God enough to trust His word we are given ways to grow in self-respect and self-esteem and self-acceptance.
When we learn to fill our tanks we are not being selfish we are being self-filling! When we learn to fill ourselves, to give ourselves what no one else has given us, we are able to give. We can give out to our partners, our children, our community and eventually reach the place of unconditional love.
Another picture is of a house. Those who live in the basement live in the place of abuse. They say, "That's just the way it is!" They are numb to pain and switched off.
The people on the ground floor see that it is everyone else's fault. "You're the reason I'm like I am!"
The people on the next floor realise that it is up to them. No one is coming in to rescue them. There is no magic wand. It is up to them to change what needs to be changed.
The people on the next floor are realising their life's purpose.
The people in the attic are givers of unconditional love.
As we move through the floors of the house, we grow in our ability to be loved and to love. We do not have to go from the basement to the first floor, we should go straight to the next floor the place of realising it is up to us.
It was clearly against the natural order for Jesus to be crucified. In the garden He prayed three times to not have to go through with it. Jesus suffered not because we are called to be doormats but because it was required to fulfil the law. Those who God calls to suffer He gives the grace to suffer. I also believe that unless there is some kind of persecution that only those who are already strong enough are called to places of such personal sacrifice.
When Jesus was about the be stoned He just walked through the middle of the crowd. When He heard that John the Baptist had been beheaded He went to be alone with His disciples. Jesus frequently spent time alone recharging Himself in God.
When Jesus said that Christians would love others as themselves He was giving the world a warning! If you want to know what you will get look at how they treat themselves! You wont get any better! The person who works themselves into the ground will not love anyone else any better. The one who thinks that laws do not apply to them will not be honest when the crunch comes. If we want to witness God's love to the world, they have to see God's love in us. We should not need to be knocking on doors being told, "No thanks!" at the idea of loving them as we love ourselves! We should have them queuing up to get what we've got!
One great picture is to imagine a love tank. This represents the love that we receive (or should receive) from different people at different stages in our lives. Essentially, on the way to adulthood we need to get love (unconditional) from our parents, from the fun we have with family and friends and the identity we receive from our peers. However, all too often we arrive at adulthood with tanks less than full. We then enter a relationship with our love tank empty hoping to get it filled. The chances are they also have less than empty tanks and want you to fill theirs!
The answer is that we can fill our own tanks! I have met some pretty block headed thinking on the idea of loving one's self. Some have the opinion that we do not need to be told to love ourselves because we do that anyway. The problem is, call it loving yourself or despising yourself, it isn't healthy! The way we tend to love ourselves isn't love at all (although some see it as such!) The idea being that if you sit around all day in self pity you are indulging yourself! But that is screwball love! As I have said before, love means wanting the best for the object of that love. If we take an objective view of "best" then we will want for us what God wants for us. We will not want to indulge in self pity, we will want to give ourselves what we need to thrive in Him.
The verse I cling to for this is, "love your neighbour as yourself!" The command requires that we are already loving ourselves in the kind of healthy way that others need to be loved. But we cannot arrive at the second commandment without first going through the first. Part of loving ourselves is to love God with all.
By loving God we receive what He has for us. For example, Should we allow those who do us no good crush our spirits? Jesus said, not to cast our pearls before those who bite us and trample what we value under foot. He gave us the right to self preservation. It is not Christian to allow others to crush us. By loving God enough to trust His word we are given ways to grow in self-respect and self-esteem and self-acceptance.
When we learn to fill our tanks we are not being selfish we are being self-filling! When we learn to fill ourselves, to give ourselves what no one else has given us, we are able to give. We can give out to our partners, our children, our community and eventually reach the place of unconditional love.
Another picture is of a house. Those who live in the basement live in the place of abuse. They say, "That's just the way it is!" They are numb to pain and switched off.
The people on the ground floor see that it is everyone else's fault. "You're the reason I'm like I am!"
The people on the next floor realise that it is up to them. No one is coming in to rescue them. There is no magic wand. It is up to them to change what needs to be changed.
The people on the next floor are realising their life's purpose.
The people in the attic are givers of unconditional love.
As we move through the floors of the house, we grow in our ability to be loved and to love. We do not have to go from the basement to the first floor, we should go straight to the next floor the place of realising it is up to us.
It was clearly against the natural order for Jesus to be crucified. In the garden He prayed three times to not have to go through with it. Jesus suffered not because we are called to be doormats but because it was required to fulfil the law. Those who God calls to suffer He gives the grace to suffer. I also believe that unless there is some kind of persecution that only those who are already strong enough are called to places of such personal sacrifice.
When Jesus was about the be stoned He just walked through the middle of the crowd. When He heard that John the Baptist had been beheaded He went to be alone with His disciples. Jesus frequently spent time alone recharging Himself in God.
When Jesus said that Christians would love others as themselves He was giving the world a warning! If you want to know what you will get look at how they treat themselves! You wont get any better! The person who works themselves into the ground will not love anyone else any better. The one who thinks that laws do not apply to them will not be honest when the crunch comes. If we want to witness God's love to the world, they have to see God's love in us. We should not need to be knocking on doors being told, "No thanks!" at the idea of loving them as we love ourselves! We should have them queuing up to get what we've got!
OK, let's have a go at grace!
What do we usually mean by grace?
Most preachers I hear back it up with "Unmerited favour". Some have said, "Surely that's pretty close to mercy?" So others have said "Mercy is not getting what you do deserve (punishment) whereas grace is getting what you don't deserve (blessing)" And then there's the old favourite acronym, "God's Riches At Christ's Expense."
So we have unmerited favour (getting the blessing we don't deserve) and God's riches at Christ's expense! Now let's do what I said I don't like doing, let's have lots of verses! I find it laboured, but at least it will allow me to give a statement about where I am and hopefully reveal something that is really good. Not sure if this will be one post or whether it will have to be many. Anyway here goes!
If grace is something we do nothing to get then how come the Bible says that God only gives it to the humble (twice!)?
"6But He gives a greater grace. Therefore it says, "God is opposed to the proud, but gives grace to the humble" James 4:6 (and 1 Peter 5:5)
So we have a definition that uses the word undeserved but immediately it appears the way the Bible writers understood it you had to do something to get it, humble yourself!
If grace means something undeserved then how come the Bible says you can fall from it?
"4You have been severed from Christ, you who are seeking to be justified by law; you have fallen from grace." Galatians 5:4
These are people who once belonged to Christ who have now gone back to trying to justify themselves by the law and have thereby fallen from grace! If you didn't deserve it in the first place how can you do something to not deserve it now? (There is a clue in this verse to what grace is, tease, tease!!)
If grace is unmerited favour, how come Jesus was full of it? How come God's grace was on Him? Are we saying that Jesus had something He didn't deserve? The only thing Jesus didn't deserve was our punishment.
"40The Child continued to grow and become strong, increasing in wisdom; and the grace of God was upon Him." Luke 2:40
"14And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we saw His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth." John 1:14
This also makes a rather funny idea of "God's riches at Christ's expense!" Did Jesus have God's riches at His own expense?
That tells us what Grace isn't. I think the fact we are always asking what grace means; and having to be given these different definitions comes from the thought that there must be more to it. Subconsciously, perhaps, through the Spirit, possibly, we need a better understanding of what Grace is.
We saw in Luke and John that Grace was on Jesus and He was full of it. So, we can see that Grace is a presence. A dwelling presence of God. To cut a long story short, the Galatians verse showed people trying to justify themselves by the law. I think that isn't so much a clue, but once we have reached a conclusion we will see that you are either "put right" by grace or by law. Grace then is a contender for the law.
Let's see that: "for you are not under law but under grace." Romans 6:14. To the Jews the Law was central. It was the place of relationship between God and His people. It was the hinge point of the covenant. If they kept the law they would get blessing if they did not keep the law they would get cursing.
We have an idea in the church that Grace is the great cover up for our sins: "We are not under law, grace is there to cover us." But that isn't grace at all. Under the Old Testament, Jews tried to sanctify themselves by the law. In Romans 6, 7 and 8, Paul is talking about being sanctified (put right, separated, made Christ like) by grace. Grace is a power that is at work in us to make us like Christ. We no longer have to strive with the law, the flesh and sin. We now have grace, the new nature and righteousness. (Probably need another post just on this one day!)
Let's see Grace described as power. To read some of these verses we have to apply the Hebrew poetry idea of two things in a sequence either being a contradiction or a simile.
"33And with great power the apostles were giving testimony to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and abundant grace was upon them all." Acts 4:33
"21And the hand of the Lord was with them, and a large number who believed turned to the Lord. 22The news about them reached the ears of the church at Jerusalem, and they sent Barnabas off to Antioch. 23Then when he arrived and witnessed the grace of God," Acts 11:21-23
Barnabas was sent to see "the hand of the Lord" and saw "the grace of God."
"9And He has said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for power is perfected in weakness." Most gladly, therefore, I will rather boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may dwell in me." 2 Corinthians 12:9
Here Paul is not able to move freely so he prays for release from something. God's reply is that His grace is sufficient, because power is perfected in weakness. Paul was weak, God's grace is added and now we have power in weakness.
So, Grace is a presence and a power. The purpose of it is to transform us to be like Christ and to equip us to do the work of Christ. Is it any wonder that Paul's constant greeting was "Grace!?"
If we in the modern church have a mind set that grace is a cover for our sin then is not our attitude to our faith going to be one of failure and cover? Grace in the Bible shows an attitude of become like Christ and do His work!
Look what Paul says about his ministry,
"10But by the grace of God I am what I am, and His grace toward me did not prove vain; but I labored even more than all of them, yet not I, but the grace of God with me." 1 Corinthians 15:10.
Paul credits who he is and his great efforts to the grace of God working with him. If we look at Paul and think, "Why can't I do what Paul did?" the answer is that we have not been given the same measure of grace as him. Paul says that it was grace that caused him to labour even more than the other apostles.
When we stand up to do for Jesus, we need to be doing it by grace, not by our might. There is something in us that will see something needs doing, feel like doing it and do it and then feel abused. We did it for all the wrong reasons. "We need someone to lead the worship!" actually we don't. I have been in churches with no music and the worship is wonderful. The Holy Spirit leads the worship. We only need someone to lead the worship when we have church full of people who aren't open to the Holy Spirit! (That is unkind, it is really only because we assume we have to have someone up the front.) In this case we make someone do worship who is already too busy so that they grow to resent having to do it. But they can't back down, because there's no one else to do it!
This is just my question, when we look at the nature and work of grace we seem to be reiterating the nature and work of the Holy Spirit. Does this mean that the writers of the New Testament used the idea that the Holy Spirit is given to us as a gift to use the word grace as a synonymous term for the Holy Spirit. There are cross overs.
If I say it is not by our might but by God's grace then in Zechariah 4:6 it says, "6Then he said to me, "This is the word of the LORD to Zerubbabel saying, ‘Not by might nor by power, but by My Spirit,’ says the LORD of hosts."
In Romans 6,7 and 8, Paul starts by talking about Grace and ends by saying those who are lead by the Spirit.
Most preachers I hear back it up with "Unmerited favour". Some have said, "Surely that's pretty close to mercy?" So others have said "Mercy is not getting what you do deserve (punishment) whereas grace is getting what you don't deserve (blessing)" And then there's the old favourite acronym, "God's Riches At Christ's Expense."
So we have unmerited favour (getting the blessing we don't deserve) and God's riches at Christ's expense! Now let's do what I said I don't like doing, let's have lots of verses! I find it laboured, but at least it will allow me to give a statement about where I am and hopefully reveal something that is really good. Not sure if this will be one post or whether it will have to be many. Anyway here goes!
If grace is something we do nothing to get then how come the Bible says that God only gives it to the humble (twice!)?
"6But He gives a greater grace. Therefore it says, "God is opposed to the proud, but gives grace to the humble" James 4:6 (and 1 Peter 5:5)
So we have a definition that uses the word undeserved but immediately it appears the way the Bible writers understood it you had to do something to get it, humble yourself!
If grace means something undeserved then how come the Bible says you can fall from it?
"4You have been severed from Christ, you who are seeking to be justified by law; you have fallen from grace." Galatians 5:4
These are people who once belonged to Christ who have now gone back to trying to justify themselves by the law and have thereby fallen from grace! If you didn't deserve it in the first place how can you do something to not deserve it now? (There is a clue in this verse to what grace is, tease, tease!!)
If grace is unmerited favour, how come Jesus was full of it? How come God's grace was on Him? Are we saying that Jesus had something He didn't deserve? The only thing Jesus didn't deserve was our punishment.
"40The Child continued to grow and become strong, increasing in wisdom; and the grace of God was upon Him." Luke 2:40
"14And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we saw His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth." John 1:14
This also makes a rather funny idea of "God's riches at Christ's expense!" Did Jesus have God's riches at His own expense?
That tells us what Grace isn't. I think the fact we are always asking what grace means; and having to be given these different definitions comes from the thought that there must be more to it. Subconsciously, perhaps, through the Spirit, possibly, we need a better understanding of what Grace is.
We saw in Luke and John that Grace was on Jesus and He was full of it. So, we can see that Grace is a presence. A dwelling presence of God. To cut a long story short, the Galatians verse showed people trying to justify themselves by the law. I think that isn't so much a clue, but once we have reached a conclusion we will see that you are either "put right" by grace or by law. Grace then is a contender for the law.
Let's see that: "for you are not under law but under grace." Romans 6:14. To the Jews the Law was central. It was the place of relationship between God and His people. It was the hinge point of the covenant. If they kept the law they would get blessing if they did not keep the law they would get cursing.
We have an idea in the church that Grace is the great cover up for our sins: "We are not under law, grace is there to cover us." But that isn't grace at all. Under the Old Testament, Jews tried to sanctify themselves by the law. In Romans 6, 7 and 8, Paul is talking about being sanctified (put right, separated, made Christ like) by grace. Grace is a power that is at work in us to make us like Christ. We no longer have to strive with the law, the flesh and sin. We now have grace, the new nature and righteousness. (Probably need another post just on this one day!)
Let's see Grace described as power. To read some of these verses we have to apply the Hebrew poetry idea of two things in a sequence either being a contradiction or a simile.
"33And with great power the apostles were giving testimony to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and abundant grace was upon them all." Acts 4:33
"21And the hand of the Lord was with them, and a large number who believed turned to the Lord. 22The news about them reached the ears of the church at Jerusalem, and they sent Barnabas off to Antioch. 23Then when he arrived and witnessed the grace of God," Acts 11:21-23
Barnabas was sent to see "the hand of the Lord" and saw "the grace of God."
"9And He has said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for power is perfected in weakness." Most gladly, therefore, I will rather boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may dwell in me." 2 Corinthians 12:9
Here Paul is not able to move freely so he prays for release from something. God's reply is that His grace is sufficient, because power is perfected in weakness. Paul was weak, God's grace is added and now we have power in weakness.
So, Grace is a presence and a power. The purpose of it is to transform us to be like Christ and to equip us to do the work of Christ. Is it any wonder that Paul's constant greeting was "Grace!?"
If we in the modern church have a mind set that grace is a cover for our sin then is not our attitude to our faith going to be one of failure and cover? Grace in the Bible shows an attitude of become like Christ and do His work!
Look what Paul says about his ministry,
"10But by the grace of God I am what I am, and His grace toward me did not prove vain; but I labored even more than all of them, yet not I, but the grace of God with me." 1 Corinthians 15:10.
Paul credits who he is and his great efforts to the grace of God working with him. If we look at Paul and think, "Why can't I do what Paul did?" the answer is that we have not been given the same measure of grace as him. Paul says that it was grace that caused him to labour even more than the other apostles.
When we stand up to do for Jesus, we need to be doing it by grace, not by our might. There is something in us that will see something needs doing, feel like doing it and do it and then feel abused. We did it for all the wrong reasons. "We need someone to lead the worship!" actually we don't. I have been in churches with no music and the worship is wonderful. The Holy Spirit leads the worship. We only need someone to lead the worship when we have church full of people who aren't open to the Holy Spirit! (That is unkind, it is really only because we assume we have to have someone up the front.) In this case we make someone do worship who is already too busy so that they grow to resent having to do it. But they can't back down, because there's no one else to do it!
The Holy Spirit
This is just my question, when we look at the nature and work of grace we seem to be reiterating the nature and work of the Holy Spirit. Does this mean that the writers of the New Testament used the idea that the Holy Spirit is given to us as a gift to use the word grace as a synonymous term for the Holy Spirit. There are cross overs.
If I say it is not by our might but by God's grace then in Zechariah 4:6 it says, "6Then he said to me, "This is the word of the LORD to Zerubbabel saying, ‘Not by might nor by power, but by My Spirit,’ says the LORD of hosts."
In Romans 6,7 and 8, Paul starts by talking about Grace and ends by saying those who are lead by the Spirit.
Unconditional love
This is a real need to understand. When we talk about love we tend to talk about ways of showing love. There is a guy who has defined 5 ways of showing love that he calls love languages. He seems to be doing pretty well on it too! These five are:
- Physical affection
- Words of affirmation
- Works of service
- Gifts
- Undivided attention
So when we go into church and talk about the need to be the people who "Love" we tend to see that we need to be doing these things. We often feel deflated because we don't get these from church. (That reminds me of the other post I wanted to write!) However, we can get trapped in this. We get trapped in the idea of "Don't tell me you love me, SHOW ME!" But, these things are external signs of inner feelings. Love is more than just a feeling. Love is about wanting the best for the object of that love. When we love God we want the best for Him. When we love our neighbour we want the best for them.
In the worship leader analogy, we should ask, "has God raised up a worship leader" (Before we pressure someone into it!) If not then maybe God doesn't want us to have one! Just because every other church has managed to pressure someone into it, doesn't mean we have to. If we want the best for everyone then firstly we wont pressure anyone. Secondly, we might conclude that God wants us to learn to worship without a worship leader. Maybe that is the best for us? We walk less when we have a car, perhaps we do something else less when we have a worship leader. The overall effect may seem greater with a worship leader, in the same way that you can do more with a car than you can on two feet. But God designed us to walk! I had an experience recently where we walked into a church on Good Friday Morning and they were singing without music. At first it was a bit awkward, but after a while it was amazing to hear.
Sorry, please take this in context. I am not saying we shouldn't have worship leaders full stop. It is one example of many. I used to belong to a church that I described as a small church with a memory of being a big church. They had fewer people but wanted to do as much as when they had more. They were trapped, they could not stop themselves. There were a lot of tired, busy and unhappy people there. But they still could not stop.
I for one will not do something just because it looks like it needs doing. I will happily take the ball only to drop it! Be warned! Tell me I should do anything other than by God's leading! No one will, yet our churches are full of people who are too good for their own good!
Saturday, 22 March 2008
Comfort class or non-comfort!
This is in reply to a comment on my previous post. Thanks Alice for raising the issue and giving me something else to chew on!
"I'm interested in how you perceive how well you communicate as compared to how your friends perceive it. I don't know, maybe God likes to stretch us - when we're uncomfortable we are stripped of our "awesomeness" and reveal God's mercy all the more. Just a thought.
I don't really know when/how I communicate best. I'd much rather write an email than make a phone call. I like being able to backspace and get all my thoughts in order on paper. Real-time conversation is much more difficult." Alice
Like you I much prefer to write. It gives me time to think about what I express. I might write something and then think of how I would express that better. I was surprised you came out a 6 actually as that is very much a 5 thing. But then I am understanding it being a 5! Maybe it is a 6 thing too!
Also I have noticed that as a 5 I have the annoying habit of not wanting to be me in public speaking. I find that if I am put in front of a mike I immediately start trying to be a caricature of how I would like to be perceived. When I am writing I am happy to be me, warts and all.
I don't know if you read my older pot on personality http://chewtime.blogspot.com/2007/12/personality.html
There I discuss the idea that we are supposed to put off our old "personalities" and put on the new personality of Christ. That doesn't me we stop being the essence of who God made us to be, but there are several driving factors that are definitely not good for us. So, now when I am stuck in front of a mike I try and not be anything other than me. I like it when I see the real person in front rather than a character.
Some people get confused by secular comedians and even soap stars. There are two basic types of stand up, those who are the same on stage as off and those who play a character.
Part of what you ask about how others have responded, is that it is when I have "acted" even more that I get the most positive response. For example, I once had to give the reading of the valley of dry bones. The more I read it at home the more I got the narrative of how the person was telling this story as if they were down the pub talking in a "You'll never guess what happened to me today" type of way! Another time was on Trinity Sunday, I dressed as a clown and performed a clown sketch trying to explain the trinity. From that I got a lot of requests to do the clown for teaching in the children's groups.
You have opened a realm of possibility in me. You see, I would rather be me, perhaps, if according to the feedback I have some kind of gift for acting then that is what God made me to be and what He wants me to do.
I had tried to give a talk every week to see if I could get comfortable with it. But I couldn't. I still felt really awkward giving a talk, very self conscious. However, when I am performing it is like I am driving a car! It is like I am using a skill. The down side is it is a performance. Somewhere buried deep down inside I have realised that I have something against the idea of church being a performance. I don't like it when the worship is performed to the congregation, for example. But, there are clearly performances. I have no problem with watching drama in church. It is a powerful illustration at times.
Coming back to the writing. I used to write all sorts. I wrote for the Parish mag every month. I wrote a few dramas. I even wrote a daily devotional for about 3 years! I don't know whether you have seen the Rambo film. The thin plot in it is based on the idea that he used to be a somebody and now everyone treats him like hes a nobody and this gives him a licence to kill everyone! The fact that I used to do these things is of no consequence to me. I am always looking to see what God has next!
I wrestle as well with writing styles. I loath having to do studies with loads of verses. Again I would rather just write how I feel about a thing. Express an idea rather than try and drill a teaching into someone! I have always found that when I am inspired to write something creative it is much better. I get a far greater sense of fulfilment from it, and people seem to like it too. I think I am a 5 with a 4 wing! I once accidentally sent of my rough notes rather than my finished article and got more positive feedback from that than any other! So I prefer creative writing to formal writing. In the same way that I prefer creative drama to formal address.
I spent two and a half years since all of that in a church that frustrated my writing but gave me ample opportunities to talk as me. I still do not feel comfortable. I think I am jealous of those people who can speak ad lib in public. I'd love to be able to be one of those people who when the preacher hasn't turned up I'd just get up and give a hours talk! Even when I have been thinking about it for a week, if I haven't got notes my mind goes blank! That brought me into the idea of notes. How much notes? Basically, I like a script. I have tried just having pointers, but then I have the trouble of not trusting that I will think of what to say and writing the whole thing out in full! At one time when I was feeling very self conscious about having these notes and one of the first time for using them, someone said, "If you have written it all down you might as well give us the notes!" The problem was that as someone who would prefer to write I would have preferred to give them the notes!
Now, I am in a church that has no magazine and very little going on in the way of drama. Perhaps I need to be bold and ask the pastor for the chance to do a drama in the service. That is how the clowning came about. I would also like to ask if there is a way of writing for the general distribution among the church, maybe getting an extended news letter or mag.
We have only been in this church for a while and haven't become "members" yet! (this being a baptist church!) The pastor has been here less time than us, as he has only just been appointed. However, I noticed that his membership went through very quickly! Favouritism!
All I can say is thank you Alice for giving me something to chew on!
"I'm interested in how you perceive how well you communicate as compared to how your friends perceive it. I don't know, maybe God likes to stretch us - when we're uncomfortable we are stripped of our "awesomeness" and reveal God's mercy all the more. Just a thought.
I don't really know when/how I communicate best. I'd much rather write an email than make a phone call. I like being able to backspace and get all my thoughts in order on paper. Real-time conversation is much more difficult." Alice
Like you I much prefer to write. It gives me time to think about what I express. I might write something and then think of how I would express that better. I was surprised you came out a 6 actually as that is very much a 5 thing. But then I am understanding it being a 5! Maybe it is a 6 thing too!
Also I have noticed that as a 5 I have the annoying habit of not wanting to be me in public speaking. I find that if I am put in front of a mike I immediately start trying to be a caricature of how I would like to be perceived. When I am writing I am happy to be me, warts and all.
I don't know if you read my older pot on personality http://chewtime.blogspot.com/2007/12/personality.html
There I discuss the idea that we are supposed to put off our old "personalities" and put on the new personality of Christ. That doesn't me we stop being the essence of who God made us to be, but there are several driving factors that are definitely not good for us. So, now when I am stuck in front of a mike I try and not be anything other than me. I like it when I see the real person in front rather than a character.
Some people get confused by secular comedians and even soap stars. There are two basic types of stand up, those who are the same on stage as off and those who play a character.
Part of what you ask about how others have responded, is that it is when I have "acted" even more that I get the most positive response. For example, I once had to give the reading of the valley of dry bones. The more I read it at home the more I got the narrative of how the person was telling this story as if they were down the pub talking in a "You'll never guess what happened to me today" type of way! Another time was on Trinity Sunday, I dressed as a clown and performed a clown sketch trying to explain the trinity. From that I got a lot of requests to do the clown for teaching in the children's groups.
You have opened a realm of possibility in me. You see, I would rather be me, perhaps, if according to the feedback I have some kind of gift for acting then that is what God made me to be and what He wants me to do.
I had tried to give a talk every week to see if I could get comfortable with it. But I couldn't. I still felt really awkward giving a talk, very self conscious. However, when I am performing it is like I am driving a car! It is like I am using a skill. The down side is it is a performance. Somewhere buried deep down inside I have realised that I have something against the idea of church being a performance. I don't like it when the worship is performed to the congregation, for example. But, there are clearly performances. I have no problem with watching drama in church. It is a powerful illustration at times.
Coming back to the writing. I used to write all sorts. I wrote for the Parish mag every month. I wrote a few dramas. I even wrote a daily devotional for about 3 years! I don't know whether you have seen the Rambo film. The thin plot in it is based on the idea that he used to be a somebody and now everyone treats him like hes a nobody and this gives him a licence to kill everyone! The fact that I used to do these things is of no consequence to me. I am always looking to see what God has next!
I wrestle as well with writing styles. I loath having to do studies with loads of verses. Again I would rather just write how I feel about a thing. Express an idea rather than try and drill a teaching into someone! I have always found that when I am inspired to write something creative it is much better. I get a far greater sense of fulfilment from it, and people seem to like it too. I think I am a 5 with a 4 wing! I once accidentally sent of my rough notes rather than my finished article and got more positive feedback from that than any other! So I prefer creative writing to formal writing. In the same way that I prefer creative drama to formal address.
I spent two and a half years since all of that in a church that frustrated my writing but gave me ample opportunities to talk as me. I still do not feel comfortable. I think I am jealous of those people who can speak ad lib in public. I'd love to be able to be one of those people who when the preacher hasn't turned up I'd just get up and give a hours talk! Even when I have been thinking about it for a week, if I haven't got notes my mind goes blank! That brought me into the idea of notes. How much notes? Basically, I like a script. I have tried just having pointers, but then I have the trouble of not trusting that I will think of what to say and writing the whole thing out in full! At one time when I was feeling very self conscious about having these notes and one of the first time for using them, someone said, "If you have written it all down you might as well give us the notes!" The problem was that as someone who would prefer to write I would have preferred to give them the notes!
Now, I am in a church that has no magazine and very little going on in the way of drama. Perhaps I need to be bold and ask the pastor for the chance to do a drama in the service. That is how the clowning came about. I would also like to ask if there is a way of writing for the general distribution among the church, maybe getting an extended news letter or mag.
We have only been in this church for a while and haven't become "members" yet! (this being a baptist church!) The pastor has been here less time than us, as he has only just been appointed. However, I noticed that his membership went through very quickly! Favouritism!
All I can say is thank you Alice for giving me something to chew on!
Friday, 21 March 2008
Mercy
I did want this blog to be about my theological thinking as it progresses. I had almost forgotten about the need to develop a communication style, that is not just write theological essays but to actually be human to human. It is too easy to be extreme to extreme.
Anyway, I have talked and written on mercy before, I do want to write on grace one day, but it will take some work! Although I like to hear a well structured study, I really do not like giving them. This is telling me something about my possible style. How do "I" communicate my understanding of grace without simply repeating the well presented study/ studies that I have heard? I have heard so many different delivery styles, I am sure you have heard the emotive shouters, the erudite theologians and so on. Perhaps you have heard the wise owls who tell you a story that has so much meaning. You may have heard the great communicators who have you laughing while they share great depths of understanding. Perhaps you have heard Rob Hartman (if that's his name) he preaches by telling a story and getting the congregation to play parts in the story. It sounds frightening to those who hate public speaking, but he is so good at it, he has the most conservative of people making the funniest of noises!
With all those rich and well trodden paths of communication, I still do not know what mine is. By that I sometimes find myself communicating in ways that aren't me and everyone lets me know it. There are other times when people tell me I communicated well and I didn't think it was me! Surely the essence to it has to be, when I'm comfortable in what I am doing and people are receiving what I am doing then that is the most efficient style. However, As I say, when I am comfortable I tend to make others uncomfortable and when others receive it was usually when I wasn't comfortable! So, maybe there is a flaw in my logic! Or maybe I am just not one of God's great communicators!
Anyway, what has that got to do with mercy? Nothing really, I got lost in some self reflection about how I share! Mercy, basically, mercy is something we need when we have nowhere else to go. The beggar, the condemned man need mercy because they have no other option. We need God's mercy. We as sinners have nothing we can do to save ourselves and are only saved by God's mercy. God then asks us to be merciful. If we need mercy then so does everyone else. Part of Jesus' thrust was on the subject of mercy, the parable of the Pharisee and the tax collector and the parable of the unforgiving servant are both about recognising that others need the same mercy we need.
Today, I was in a supermarket and went to customer services. I had forgotten to take a voucher with me last week and was told that next time I was in, if I took it to costumer services with my receipt it would be OK. So I took my voucher with my receipt to costumer services the next time I was in (a week later). Only it turns out that costumer services aren't as flexible as the checkout lady thought! It turns out that the voucher was now out of date!
I went from happy little shopper to "I want to rip your inhuman head off!" in less time than is measurable!
Here I am a Christian who would like to make mercy part of what I stand for and I can't even deal with the simplest of modern life's little issues! Whether this is an inhuman world or not that costumer services rep deserves to be treated as human. It wasn't her fault that the system she represents is inhuman. She needed mercy as much as I do. In some ways I could think about the chain of events I have set off, there is no doubt that my frustration upset her. I didn't really say anything, I have obviously developed the ability to show my anger without doing or saying anything! Paul does say "be angry" but immediately says "But sin not!" Taking what Jesus said, not showing mercy is a greater sin than not tithing one's mint and cumin!
What frustrates me more, is that yet again I fell. I know I am forgiven. But I have this struggle with how can I be of use if I am not perfect?! But that is where God's mercy comes in. No one is perfect yet He uses people anyway! I have heard many stories about preachers losing their rags.
Going back to style. There are preachers who really know their stuff and are well worth listening to as far as content is concerned and there in lies the trap. They preach in a style that only looks at perfection as if they never fall. There in lies feelings of condemnation! And worse, those who are not self aware condemn others. The puritans went this way. Mercy is essential. Mercy probably needs to have humour attached, we either have the attitude of condemnation or laughing at ourselves!
"Laughter does good like medicine!" (Provs 17,22) To beat myself up for not showing mercy is to commit another sin of unforgiveness to myself. It is pride that says I should be better than that. But I am not better than that. Jesus may have given me a new nature, but my old nature is still alive and kicking! Nowhere in scripture are we told that we will be perfected in this life. So I should stop acting as if I will be. Maybe, just maybe, God wants us to "lighten up a bit!" Joy is part of the fruit of the spirit. In fact I would say it is the first part! The list begins "Love, Joy, Peace." But we know from 1 Corinthians 13 that these "other" fruit are summed up in love. Therefore the first quality of love that the Holy Spirit gives us is joy! Using Paul's language from 1 Cor 13, "If you have not joy, then you have not love!"
There is a wonderful saying, "Do not let the devil steel your joy as the joy of the Lord is our strength!" So, having allowed the devil to steel my joy over a voucher it is foolish to allow it to remain stolen!
James does say, "Be miserable and mourn and weep; let your laughter be turned into mourning and your joy to gloom. " (James 4:9) (Cheerful so and so isn't he!) But in context, Jame's is talking to the kind of people who are laughing at their sinfulness. For example, if I laughed about how I made that poor woman feel then I should turn my laughter to mourning. But having confessed the situation, I take my hands off of my santification and hand it back to God. If I beat myself up I am trying to sanctify myself, But if I receive His joy then I am allowing Him to sanctify me. We are sanctified by His grace! Don't get me started on grace!
Anyway, I have talked and written on mercy before, I do want to write on grace one day, but it will take some work! Although I like to hear a well structured study, I really do not like giving them. This is telling me something about my possible style. How do "I" communicate my understanding of grace without simply repeating the well presented study/ studies that I have heard? I have heard so many different delivery styles, I am sure you have heard the emotive shouters, the erudite theologians and so on. Perhaps you have heard the wise owls who tell you a story that has so much meaning. You may have heard the great communicators who have you laughing while they share great depths of understanding. Perhaps you have heard Rob Hartman (if that's his name) he preaches by telling a story and getting the congregation to play parts in the story. It sounds frightening to those who hate public speaking, but he is so good at it, he has the most conservative of people making the funniest of noises!
With all those rich and well trodden paths of communication, I still do not know what mine is. By that I sometimes find myself communicating in ways that aren't me and everyone lets me know it. There are other times when people tell me I communicated well and I didn't think it was me! Surely the essence to it has to be, when I'm comfortable in what I am doing and people are receiving what I am doing then that is the most efficient style. However, As I say, when I am comfortable I tend to make others uncomfortable and when others receive it was usually when I wasn't comfortable! So, maybe there is a flaw in my logic! Or maybe I am just not one of God's great communicators!
Anyway, what has that got to do with mercy? Nothing really, I got lost in some self reflection about how I share! Mercy, basically, mercy is something we need when we have nowhere else to go. The beggar, the condemned man need mercy because they have no other option. We need God's mercy. We as sinners have nothing we can do to save ourselves and are only saved by God's mercy. God then asks us to be merciful. If we need mercy then so does everyone else. Part of Jesus' thrust was on the subject of mercy, the parable of the Pharisee and the tax collector and the parable of the unforgiving servant are both about recognising that others need the same mercy we need.
Today, I was in a supermarket and went to customer services. I had forgotten to take a voucher with me last week and was told that next time I was in, if I took it to costumer services with my receipt it would be OK. So I took my voucher with my receipt to costumer services the next time I was in (a week later). Only it turns out that costumer services aren't as flexible as the checkout lady thought! It turns out that the voucher was now out of date!
I went from happy little shopper to "I want to rip your inhuman head off!" in less time than is measurable!
Here I am a Christian who would like to make mercy part of what I stand for and I can't even deal with the simplest of modern life's little issues! Whether this is an inhuman world or not that costumer services rep deserves to be treated as human. It wasn't her fault that the system she represents is inhuman. She needed mercy as much as I do. In some ways I could think about the chain of events I have set off, there is no doubt that my frustration upset her. I didn't really say anything, I have obviously developed the ability to show my anger without doing or saying anything! Paul does say "be angry" but immediately says "But sin not!" Taking what Jesus said, not showing mercy is a greater sin than not tithing one's mint and cumin!
What frustrates me more, is that yet again I fell. I know I am forgiven. But I have this struggle with how can I be of use if I am not perfect?! But that is where God's mercy comes in. No one is perfect yet He uses people anyway! I have heard many stories about preachers losing their rags.
Going back to style. There are preachers who really know their stuff and are well worth listening to as far as content is concerned and there in lies the trap. They preach in a style that only looks at perfection as if they never fall. There in lies feelings of condemnation! And worse, those who are not self aware condemn others. The puritans went this way. Mercy is essential. Mercy probably needs to have humour attached, we either have the attitude of condemnation or laughing at ourselves!
"Laughter does good like medicine!" (Provs 17,22) To beat myself up for not showing mercy is to commit another sin of unforgiveness to myself. It is pride that says I should be better than that. But I am not better than that. Jesus may have given me a new nature, but my old nature is still alive and kicking! Nowhere in scripture are we told that we will be perfected in this life. So I should stop acting as if I will be. Maybe, just maybe, God wants us to "lighten up a bit!" Joy is part of the fruit of the spirit. In fact I would say it is the first part! The list begins "Love, Joy, Peace." But we know from 1 Corinthians 13 that these "other" fruit are summed up in love. Therefore the first quality of love that the Holy Spirit gives us is joy! Using Paul's language from 1 Cor 13, "If you have not joy, then you have not love!"
There is a wonderful saying, "Do not let the devil steel your joy as the joy of the Lord is our strength!" So, having allowed the devil to steel my joy over a voucher it is foolish to allow it to remain stolen!
James does say, "Be miserable and mourn and weep; let your laughter be turned into mourning and your joy to gloom. " (James 4:9) (Cheerful so and so isn't he!) But in context, Jame's is talking to the kind of people who are laughing at their sinfulness. For example, if I laughed about how I made that poor woman feel then I should turn my laughter to mourning. But having confessed the situation, I take my hands off of my santification and hand it back to God. If I beat myself up I am trying to sanctify myself, But if I receive His joy then I am allowing Him to sanctify me. We are sanctified by His grace! Don't get me started on grace!
Tuesday, 18 March 2008
The Prodigal Son
This is similar to my last post. On Saturday I heard a talk on The Prodigal Son. I have heard a lot of talks on the Prodigal Son, like you probably have. This time I realised this same issue of time is involved. The original teaching of this was given to Pharisaical Jews. People who were expecting the father to be outraged at the son's attitude.
This has been taught many times, this idea of how the original audience would have reacted. But what made it special on Saturday was that they read from the Old Testament where uncontrollable children could be stoned to death! This audience reation wasn't just a bunch of miseries, it was a croud who thought they were doing God's will.
We live in a culture that is partly developed on the teachings of Jesus. Most parents have an attitude of, "Be there when they fall!" Our attitudes have been shaped by his teachings. So to most of us the prodical son doesn't have the impact it originally had. The important part for me is not how the original audience would have reacted, but how we react. I have been told time and time again how the original audience would have been telling the story in their own minds and when the son comes back they would be imagining ahead of Jesus how the father would react! However, then Jesus gives his ending. Not just the fathers reaction to the younger son but also to the older son. The reaction to both sons is a shocker.
But that is a history lesson. Who cares how they reacted! They have been dead for 2,000 years. If we get stuck on that we will come out of church thinking, "How ignorant were people 2,000 years ago?" But they weren't ignorant, they were taught, they were just taught wrong! Are we any different today? We are not ignorant. We are taught. Are we taught right?
Let's have a political analogy. People want their children to get a good job, so they send them to a good school that achieves high exam results. But the experts in education know this isn't "a good education." This is a political football. People getting exams makes the governement look good. But is it education? A lot of experts say that children are being taught to pass exams but are not actually receiving an education. I have had driving instructors who have said to me, "I can teach you to pass the test or I can teach you to drive." There is a minimal amount of facts needed to pass a test. The more exams there are the less room there is to learn anything other than what you need to pass the exams. Therefore the person with 12 GCSEs has probably learnt less about the subject than what is needed to pass the exam than the person with 8 GCSEs.
In the same way, we know thae story of the Prodigal Son. We have been taught it several times. We know how the early audience reacted. We could pass an exam on it. But God doesn't want us to pass exams, He wants us to "get the point." We are not to judge those who come to God. It doesn't matter how badly or how many times a person falls, God is still waiting with open arms for them to come back. For those of us who are with God, everything He has is ours. Our attitude, not knowledge, needs to be love towards those who fall, ralationship towards our Father and use of the things that God has.
One of the greatest pictures is that the older son complains that the father hasn't done anything for him. But the father replies that everything he has is the oldest son's. Notice, the older son is waiting for the father to do it, but the father is waiting for the son to do it! Are we waiting for God to do it? God is waiting for us to do it!
This has been taught many times, this idea of how the original audience would have reacted. But what made it special on Saturday was that they read from the Old Testament where uncontrollable children could be stoned to death! This audience reation wasn't just a bunch of miseries, it was a croud who thought they were doing God's will.
We live in a culture that is partly developed on the teachings of Jesus. Most parents have an attitude of, "Be there when they fall!" Our attitudes have been shaped by his teachings. So to most of us the prodical son doesn't have the impact it originally had. The important part for me is not how the original audience would have reacted, but how we react. I have been told time and time again how the original audience would have been telling the story in their own minds and when the son comes back they would be imagining ahead of Jesus how the father would react! However, then Jesus gives his ending. Not just the fathers reaction to the younger son but also to the older son. The reaction to both sons is a shocker.
But that is a history lesson. Who cares how they reacted! They have been dead for 2,000 years. If we get stuck on that we will come out of church thinking, "How ignorant were people 2,000 years ago?" But they weren't ignorant, they were taught, they were just taught wrong! Are we any different today? We are not ignorant. We are taught. Are we taught right?
Let's have a political analogy. People want their children to get a good job, so they send them to a good school that achieves high exam results. But the experts in education know this isn't "a good education." This is a political football. People getting exams makes the governement look good. But is it education? A lot of experts say that children are being taught to pass exams but are not actually receiving an education. I have had driving instructors who have said to me, "I can teach you to pass the test or I can teach you to drive." There is a minimal amount of facts needed to pass a test. The more exams there are the less room there is to learn anything other than what you need to pass the exams. Therefore the person with 12 GCSEs has probably learnt less about the subject than what is needed to pass the exam than the person with 8 GCSEs.
In the same way, we know thae story of the Prodigal Son. We have been taught it several times. We know how the early audience reacted. We could pass an exam on it. But God doesn't want us to pass exams, He wants us to "get the point." We are not to judge those who come to God. It doesn't matter how badly or how many times a person falls, God is still waiting with open arms for them to come back. For those of us who are with God, everything He has is ours. Our attitude, not knowledge, needs to be love towards those who fall, ralationship towards our Father and use of the things that God has.
One of the greatest pictures is that the older son complains that the father hasn't done anything for him. But the father replies that everything he has is the oldest son's. Notice, the older son is waiting for the father to do it, but the father is waiting for the son to do it! Are we waiting for God to do it? God is waiting for us to do it!
Monday, 17 March 2008
Matthew 6
Imagine a man standing up in church on an "open mike" spot and giving a testimony that he has given £20,000 to the church. Most people today would think, "big head!" "Show off!" However, at the time Jesus was teaching people would have thought, "What a guy!" "Cool dude!" (in Aramaic of course!)
This difference in attitude is based on the fact that our culture has been shaped by the teaching of Jesus over the past 2,000 years.
The most "boastful" fasters, prayers and givers seem to be preachers. I hear more about how big a fast, how passionately prayed and how sacrificially given from the pulpit rather than the pew. But that is not a problem, Jesus was open about prayer and we all know he fasted for 40 days! Paul likewise talked about praying without ceasing and that he knew how others had given.
The point isn't the secrecy. Jesus was talking to people who in their hearts did things for men to be impressed. We get the point, even the early church got the point.
From the rest of the New Testament it seems that it is perfectly OK to talk about giving, praying and fasting. I think there is a danger in the legalistic nature taking this to equal and opposite extremes. But, it is like a lot of things in life, those who are often "wholly" taken with something need to be "wholly" not taken with it. For example the alcoholic needs to never drink. The thief needs to work with his hands. The rich man needs to give everything. (How many times has that been applied to everyone?!)
In fact the opposite sermon to "secrecy" needs to be and is often preached. When public exhibition was the vogue people gave, prayed and fasted. Now people need to be taught and encouraged to do it. They have few or no public roll models. There are preachers who don't even like to teach on giving. If people are not taught they will not know. We can throw into this mix reading and studying scripture.
We need to create a culture where prayer, fasting, giving and reading of scripture is normal. Not pressured. We can teach about giving once a year as some do, but that doesn't create a culture. Legalism creeps in either way. We either legalistically don't talk about giving or start scrutinising pay slips to make sure people are giving enough! The middle way of Christianity is, "as each decides in his heart!"
In essence what Jesus was teaching was against legalism. We need to do the same, but in the context of where people are today. There are lots of "initiatives" but again these do not become culture. I can remember the "prayer lighthouse initiative." This had people praying for their immediate neighbours. However, are there still prayer lighthouses? Are we still in 24/7 or has something else come along?!
Always new, never growing! A culture of prayer has stability and growth, an initiative has excitement and hype.
And of course we need to teach people to say "lord have mercy" rather than "show off!"
This difference in attitude is based on the fact that our culture has been shaped by the teaching of Jesus over the past 2,000 years.
The most "boastful" fasters, prayers and givers seem to be preachers. I hear more about how big a fast, how passionately prayed and how sacrificially given from the pulpit rather than the pew. But that is not a problem, Jesus was open about prayer and we all know he fasted for 40 days! Paul likewise talked about praying without ceasing and that he knew how others had given.
The point isn't the secrecy. Jesus was talking to people who in their hearts did things for men to be impressed. We get the point, even the early church got the point.
From the rest of the New Testament it seems that it is perfectly OK to talk about giving, praying and fasting. I think there is a danger in the legalistic nature taking this to equal and opposite extremes. But, it is like a lot of things in life, those who are often "wholly" taken with something need to be "wholly" not taken with it. For example the alcoholic needs to never drink. The thief needs to work with his hands. The rich man needs to give everything. (How many times has that been applied to everyone?!)
In fact the opposite sermon to "secrecy" needs to be and is often preached. When public exhibition was the vogue people gave, prayed and fasted. Now people need to be taught and encouraged to do it. They have few or no public roll models. There are preachers who don't even like to teach on giving. If people are not taught they will not know. We can throw into this mix reading and studying scripture.
We need to create a culture where prayer, fasting, giving and reading of scripture is normal. Not pressured. We can teach about giving once a year as some do, but that doesn't create a culture. Legalism creeps in either way. We either legalistically don't talk about giving or start scrutinising pay slips to make sure people are giving enough! The middle way of Christianity is, "as each decides in his heart!"
In essence what Jesus was teaching was against legalism. We need to do the same, but in the context of where people are today. There are lots of "initiatives" but again these do not become culture. I can remember the "prayer lighthouse initiative." This had people praying for their immediate neighbours. However, are there still prayer lighthouses? Are we still in 24/7 or has something else come along?!
Always new, never growing! A culture of prayer has stability and growth, an initiative has excitement and hype.
And of course we need to teach people to say "lord have mercy" rather than "show off!"
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