The season’s holy moment

Let us all, wounded and broken, be filled with joyful hope, because Almighty God, our Loving Father, has sent a Child to heal us.

Photo by Jaimie Trueblood / New Line Cinema

The joy of an Irish Christmas

This is destined to be one of my all-time favorite Christmas albums! Click here to download.

Sola fide

We have taught so much that salvation is by grace through faith, not works, people think they can be saved by a faith without works.

That faith you have? The one never expresssed in good works? It won’t save you. It’s dead. Utterly useless.

So you see, faith by itself isn’t enough. Unless it produces good deeds, it is dead and useless. (James 2:17 NLT)

It’s not my disappointment that matters

Why do pastors always seem to sidestep the hard sayings in their sermon texts?

Today I sat in a service where the pastor focused at length on the “talents” passages, one of which is Matthew 25:14-30, the other Luke 19:11-27. His purpose was pointing out that God has given each of us treasures and that he wants us to be good stewards of those treasures. He asked us to list the treasures we have been given and identify which ones we were making good use of. He pointed out that the servants who made good use of the treasures they had been given received their master’s praise. He pointed out that the servant who did not make good use of the treasure lost what he had been given.

All that’s very good.

But the pastor didn’t even mention the other consequence suffered by the servant who didn’t multiply the treasure he had been given. Matthew quotes Jesus as saying the master ordered the “useless servant” to be thrown “into outer darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.”

Not a word from the pulpit about that. No assistance in understanding what it meant to Jesus’ audience. No insight into what application it might have for those of us in the congregation who have our treasures buried in the back yard.

Did Jesus tack on that last part as an afterthought? Did those words just fall meaningless on the ears of those who listened? Does the fact Jesus included those words in his teaching not indicate we ought to include them in ours?

I have been a believer for more than 50 years. I read the Bible for myself and can take you to dozens of passages I have never heard a preacher or teacher so much as mention. It seems more than a coincidence that those passages, almost without exception, speak to the cost of discipleship, the expectations our Master has of his servants — and the consequences of servants not obeying their Lord.

I find it perfectly ironic that Luke’s version mentions that the reason the master went on the long trip was to be crowned king, but those who were to be his subjects “hated him” and sent a delegation after him to tell the emperor, “We do not want him to be our king.” The master/king’s verdict on those who rejected his lordship? Well, you can read it for yourself in verse 27.

Pastors and teachers, Jesus chose his words carefully. His words didn’t just glibly spill from his mouth. If he said it, he said it for a reason, because the people needed to hear it. Your people don’t just need to hear the feel-good parts of the Gospel. They don’t need to hear just the challenging parts. They also need to hear the hard sayings that make us nervous and set us to inquiring of the Lord whether we face the same danger his hearers faced in that day. And they not only need to hear it, you need to say it.

I am always disappointed when a preacher or teacher sidesteps the hard sayings in their text. But, in the end, it’s not my disappointment that matters.

Daddy’s suffering will not be wasted

My wife’s father is struggling with the final stages of dementia, and his suffering is intense. Hallucinations, delusions, and night terrors afflict Daddy’s mind; tremors, rigors, and convulsions wrack his body. His pain must be intense, though he can’t communicate what he is experiencing. Only medication gives him any relief.

As he suffers, those of us who are with him suffer as well — not just because of our empathy, but because we are inseparably connected with him. We are not just separate individuals sharing space; we are family. We are one with each other, and our oneness is intensified by our shared bond in Christ.

The apostle Paul notes that “God has put the body together in such a way that extra honor and care are given to those parts that have less dignity. This makes for harmony among the members, so that all the members care for each other equally. If one part suffers, all the parts suffer with it, and if one part is honored, all the parts are glad.” (1 Corinthians 12:24b-26 NLT)

Nothing is less dignified than late-stage dementia. You have little or no control over your body. Everything you need must be done for you by others. But as stronger believers step up to help the weaker one, everyone is strengthened and the harmony between you is deepened. The weaker one does not suffer alone; those around him share in his suffering. As we share in Daddy’s suffering, we are changed. Our relationships are deepened, and God’s grace works in a profound way to mold us more closely into the image of Christ.

The most intense suffering experience I have had was when I was afflicted with Crohn’s disease. Beginning Thanksgiving Day 1991, I was mortally ill for three years, without insurance. I lost 25% of my body weight in just a few weeks. I didn’t have the strength to push my mower across the yard or put a shovel into a flower bed. Fever, chills, cramping, night sweats — I’ll spare you the details. It was hell — or the closest I’ve been to it. But God used it to do a profound work of grace in my life. He took me through the valley of the shadow of death, to a place more beautiful than I’d ever dreamed possible. I wouldn’t want to walk that valley again, but I wouldn’t trade where it took me for anything in this world.

The Lord deepened my faith and opened my understanding. Like Romans 5 says, the trial was good for me — more than good. I learned to endure, and endurance developed strength of character, which in turn strengthened my confident expectation of salvation. I knew beyond all doubt he would not disappoint me. When I was utterly helpless, Christ died for me. When I was utterly helpless, he came to me, put his arm around my shoulder, and flooded my heart with his love.

I sit next to Daddy as he writhes on his bed. His forehead is deeply furrowed, his back bowed off the bed, his legs rigid. His eyes stare vacantly toward the ceiling, and gnarled fingers reach toward something, or someone, unseen. A groan filters up from deep in his soul, and my spirit weeps in reply. But the Lord’s presence is tangible.

Paul wrote a lot about suffering — born out of painful personal experience — and he said some amazing things. Pressed on every side by troubles, but not crushed or broken, Paul said his body “constantly share[d] in the death of Jesus so the life of Jesus may also be seen” in his body. (2 Corinthians 4:8,10) In suffering, Paul is “completing what remains of Christ’s sufferings for his body, the church.” (Colossians 1:24) The suffering wasn’t Paul’s alone. In some mysterious way, Christ was suffering through him.

Paul suffered because of his witness for Christ, and neither Daddy nor I can say that. But we have suffered. Rather, I have; he is. And as the Lord used my suffering to further his work of grace in my heart, I’ve got to believe he is using Daddy’s suffering to finish the good work he began in him decades ago. (Philippians 1:6)

Through our suffering, we understand a fraction of what Christ endured on our behalf when he made peace with God for us on the cross. As Paul promises, what we suffer now is nothing compared to the glory he will give us later. (Romans 8:18)

My suffering was not wasted 20 years ago, and I promised Daddy today that his suffering will be worth it — when he sees what is waiting for him on the other side.

We have the Lord’s Word on it.

Wade Burleson: Multi-culturalism will lead to the end of America

Oklahoma pastor Wade Burleson has an interesting post about the disastrous end multiculturalism is hurtling America into, with an interesting historical reference to 19th-century US policy toward Native Americans.

While his analysis of the country’s Native American policy is about what one would expect of an Anglo, it is an excellent point of entry into the discussion about multiculturalism and the harm it ultimately will cause America.

A few quotes:

To be anti-multicultural does not necessarily mean you are an intolerant person. It just means that you believe one culture for Americans is better multiple cultures. You believe English is a better language for all Americans and should be learned by all United States citizens. You believe the Judeo-Christian laws of America are superior to Sharia (Muslim) laws and should be adhered to by everyone granted American citizenship. You believe that the principles of justice established by the courts of America, principles based on Judeo-Christian values, are superior to Islamic courts. Our culture in America is based on belief in the Judeo-Christian biblical God (“In God we trust”), individual freedoms (the amendments to the Consitution), and respect for the dignity of every man (“all men are created equal”). Though Americans believe in an equality among persons, there is not an equality among cultures. A culture based on Judeo-Christian principles is superior to one based on Islamic principles.

…

I have little sympathy is for the argument that immigrants to America should be allowed to impose their cultural beliefs and ethics on Americans. Multi-culturalism in America will destroy our country. Our country of America was founded on Judeo-Christian laws and the belief that Western civilization was superior the cultures of Native Americans. It makes no sense to allow immigrant cultures, including Islamic culture based on Sharia law, to be established in America. That kind of thinking might sound extreme, and ironically, political liberals scream at such a notion.

…

… Civilized countries today must insist that Muslims fully adopt the culture of the country in which they live. This would require acknowledging that Shariah law is subordinate to the laws of the land. There can be no demands that extreme Muslim religious practices be accommodated by Americans. Muslims cannot pray in the streets and block traffic. Muslim women cannot wear hijabs (the female headdress) in public to hide their facial identity. Muslims who fund terror groups like Hamas and Hezbollah should be exiled and/or imprisoned. Any Muslim in America who declares jihad against Muslim infidels should be immediately imprisoned. There can be no honor killings, no arranged marriages, no mutilation of female genitalia, no sex nine year old girls, and no gang rapes of white infidel women.

That is to say, radical Muslims must become civilized. Muslims must live according to the standards of Judeo-Christian American civilization or have no part in America. Fethullah Gulen ought to be exiled from the United States immediately. We better wake up, quick. The critical problem we face in our country is not ecomic, but the steady adoption of multi-culturalism from our leaders (like President Obama) that will one day rip apart our country.

Read the full article here

My own take is that multiculturalism is a dead-end philosophy, born in existentialism, that will drive us into anarchy, then tyranny. You can read about that in my little web book, Proof Beyond Reasonable Doubt.

When logic is made lord over Scripture

Be careful that your systematic theology doesn’t become an idol for you. Trying to contain God’s wisdom in a system of thought is like trying to keep the butterfly in its cocoon.

A certain personality type is tempted to substitute theology for knowing the Scriptures and the power of God, and that invariably leads into error (Matthew 22:23-29). When logic is made lord over the whole witness of Scripture, we reason our way into a morass of teachings inconsistent with other clear truths of Scripture. We will, for example, discount grace because we are so focused on faith — or vice versa — when the Bible says “by grace through faith.”

Bill Hendricks used to say that systematic theology is like a cow’s skeleton: You don’t want it where it shows, but you don’t want a cow without one.

don’t miss the opportunity to see this …

… and take someone with you

Grandpa God and Grandma Jesus

Then the angry king sent the man to prison to be tortured until he had paid his entire debt. That’s what my heavenly Father will do to you if you refuse to forgive your brothers and sisters from your heart.(Matthew 18:34-35 NLT)

Most all RCA (Regular Church Attender) Christians know this story: A man owes his king a debt too big to repay, so the king forgives the debt. Then that ungrateful man has a fellow who owes him a small debt thrown in prison because he can’t pay up. The king hears about his hardheartedness and sentences him to being tortured in prison until he repaid the debt — in effect, a life sentence.

The way most preachers or teachers talk about this passage, you would think it is only an encouragement to be forgiving. Forgiveness truly is a serious matter. Jesus said in Mark 11:26 that if we do not forgive others, God will not forgive us. That’s serious enough, but Jesus seems to be saying something even more radical here.

Jesus seems to be saying God will send a disciple to hell for harboring unforgiveness — or even for incompletely forgiving. “If you refuse to genuinely forgive your brothers and sisters, your heavenly Father will send you to prison to be tortured until you have repaid the (unpayable) debt.” How is that not hell? What else would it mean?

Is it hyperbole? Jesus was known to say things for effect that sounded not just outrageous but kind of crazy. “If your eye offends you, gouge it out and throw it away. It is better to enter heaven with one eye, than to be cast into hell with two” (Mt. 18:9). “If you come to me and do not hate your own family and even your own life, you cannot be my disciple” (Luke 14:26). But while the idea God would punish a Christian severely for unforgiveness is hard to accept, it doesn’t sound crazy. It just doesn’t fit our common understanding of God and salvation.

It’s important to notice that Jesus isn’t talking to the Pharisees and Sadducees. He isn’t even talking to the generic crowd. He is talking to his disciples, answering a question Peter had asked. Peter, the bold one, probably thought he was being way generous in suggesting a God-follower forgive an offender seven times. He had to be astonished when Jesus went exponential and multiplied Peter’s estimate by 70.

And the whole group must have gone bug-eyed when Jesus said his heavenly Father would send them off to be tortured forever if they harbored unforgiveness against their brothers.

Or maybe they weren’t surprised. The disciples understood the Old Testament. They knew God’s prophets had said harsh things about the disobedience of God’s people. They knew how God had in times past severely punished his people for disobedience.

Like the Old Testament prophets, Jesus also had some harsh things to say. Some pulpits today don’t preach that Jesus. They don’t teach about a God that sends anyone to hell, much less church members. Like a doting grandparent, their kindly deity loves you and is excited about the prospect of welcoming you into heaven. Not a word about his expectations of you, or the danger of presuming on his good graces.

Many preachers and teachers, of course, do warn about God’s judgment — of people who aren’t Christians. Many tell their congregations the truth that one day they will stand before God’s throne to be judged for their actions. But very few will plainly tell RCA Christians that, for example, if they aren’t personally helping “the least of these” — or, in this case, wholeheartedly forgiving others — they shouldn’t expect to go to heaven.

Much of Western Christianity is shot through with a false teaching about God’s requirement that his people do justice and live righteous (Micah 6:8). Their “Grandpa God” will be very stern with the devil’s children on Judgment Day, but the most he will do to his own disobedient kids is give them less candy than the good kids. They call that “losing some of your reward.”

These churches preach and teach the same Pablum®  about Jesus’ demand for justice and righteousness. Their “Grandma Jesus” is sweet, kind, gentle, wise, and always smiling. She loves all kids so much that she actually died to save them from their sins. And she really wants her kids to tell other kids about what she did.

What you won’t hear from them is:

– Only those who do God’s will enter heaven (Mt. 7:21-23).

– Only those who helped “the least of these” will enter heaven (Mt. 25:31-46).

– The kingdom belongs only to those who produce its fruit (Mt. 21:43).

– Christians who don’t produce kingdom fruit will be cut off and burned (John 15:1-6).

– A servant who lives like an unbeliever will be thrown out of the master’s house (Mt. 24:42-51).

In a way it’s hard to blame pastors and teachers. Few of the commentaries they consult deal with the full point Jesus is making in Matthew 18:21-35 — or in many other “hard” passages like the ones above. They stick close to the commentaries when Jesus seems to be saying something that makes them uncomfortable — or will get them fired for pointing it out.

On the other hand, unless your preacher or teacher can’t read, they know full well that Jesus and other New Testament writers said some things that ought to scare the beejeebers out of even the best Christians. They won’t deal with sharp-edged teachings like this, however, for at least two reasons: Half-Truth Calvinism and the economy.

Half-Truth Calvinism. “Once saved, always saved” churches have no teaching about apostasy, except “It’s impossible” or “That verse is talking about people who were never saved in the first place.” It’s a way of assuring nominal Christians that the beejeebers passages don’t apply to them. Of course, the teaching about “the security of the believer” is rock-solid Bible truth, and we need to contend for that truth. There is another truth, however, for which we also need to contend, and that is the warning that there are serious — even severe — consequences when God’s people are willfully, habitually disobedient. Talking about security in Christ but failing to mention the danger of disobedience is teaching only half the truth.

The economy. Every professional preacher will admit, in a safe setting, he has considered confronting disobedience like unforgiveness among church members. But every pastor also knows someone who got fired for doing it. The fact is, many church membership rolls — and even church boards — are filled with people who live in complete disregard for the standard of justice and righteousness Jesus requires. Preachers know what happened to prophets, like John the Baptizer, who spoke truth to power. They know it’s hard to grow a big church by telling people hard truth. They know how hard it would be to find another job in this economy.

These church leaders deal with hard passages by ignoring them. Either they don’t push all the way through to point out what Jesus was actually saying, or they skip the passage entirely and move on to one of the many others that don’t threaten apathy, complacency, and self-absorption.

They ask themselves, WWGJD? And their congregations continue their happy journey down the broad road to destruction (Mt. 7:13-14).

bye bye firefox … hello safari

I like Firefox better as a browser, but ever since I’ve upgraded to v.4, I continually get a Quicktime message that I need to add a component for “this media” to play.

I’m not trying to play any media. Just browsing, thank you. But wen I click through to the required web page, there isn’t anything relevant there. No reply to Firefox feedback, so I’m tired of messing with it.

If you’ve got any Safari pointers, I’m all ears!