Category: Christian Living

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Christian Living

The Problem of Sophistication

When we read the Bible, we are reading the accounts of people some 2000 years ago that God decided were important life accounts for us to know of and learn from. So if my life account was written down to be looked at years from now, what would it look like?

I imagine it would read similar to the way an author described his life:
“…my early story would have to be recorded along these lines: ‘He did everything exactly as God commanded him half the time, every now and then, whenever it suited him, or sometimes when it was easy.'”

Too often I find that I am living to please myself rather than the One who I’ve called upon as Lord & Master. I need more obedience. I need more sanctification in my life and less sophistication…

“Sanctification is the process by which a man becomes normal in the context of the kingdom of God. The more sanctified you are, the more the fruit of the Spirit will grow freely, and the more normal you will seem to other Christians.”

“Sophistication, on the other hand, is the process by which a man becomes normal in the context of the world. The more sophisticated you are, the more normal you’ll look to [those without Christ]. You’ll fit right into their world. The fruits of sophistication include lust, faithlessness, selfishness, self-absorption, and the love of money.”

“The fruit of sophistication rots the fruit of the Spirit.”

And yet what I often find within myself is a desire to look more normal to the world. If the fruit of sophistication rots the fruit of the Spirit, then what do I need to do to build up more fruit of the Spirit and become more normal in relation to God’s kingdom?

“All of God’s revealed truths are sealed until they are opened to us through obedience. You will never open them through philosophy or thinking. But once you obey, a flash of light comes immediately. If you obey God in the first thing He shows you, then He instantly opens up the next truth to you.”

I think that is it – I just need to obey today.

I need to make a choice to listen to His will for my life today and take that first step of obedience. Then He will show me the next step to take. I don’t have to worry about how I will get my entire sinful life under control all at once. Instead, I need to just ask God what He would have me do first. What to do right now. Do it. And then repeat the process.

(quotes from ‘Every Man’s Challenge’ by Arterburn & Stoeker)

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Christian Living

Love in the Face of Treason

Treason…
A distasteful word.
One we’d never want used about our behavior or actions.

When we think of our own lives, we think of ourselves as pretty good citizens… even patriots for our nation. But what if you have dual citizenship – what if you are not only a citizen of an earthly nation, but also of God’s Kingdom? Are you a good citizen in the eyes of the Sovereign King of that realm? How obedient are you to His commands?

We like to think that we are “pretty good” people, but the problem is disobedience to the King… which we term “sin.” And sin is a big deal. Here’s why: “Sin is not small, because it is not against a small Sovereign. The seriousness of an insult rises with the dignity of the one insulted. The Creator of the universe is infinitely worthy of respect and admiration and loyalty. Therefore, failure to love him is not trivial — it is treason.”

So because of our unwillingness to bring our lives under full control of the Sovereign King, we are people with treasonous actions and attitudes. Shouldn’t His amazing love for us be enough to drive out our sin? Shouldn’t His love compel us to love Him in return and keep us from being disobedient? Perhaps the problem is that we haven’t thought of our disobedience as being serious.

“We will never stand in awe of being loved by God until we reckon with the seriousness of our sin and the justice of his wrath against us.”

Until we can see our disobedience to both the “Thou Shalt Not” Commands AND the “Thou Shalt” Commands as serious acts of rebellion, we will never sense the full weight of His love in the face of our treason. He tells us not to do some things, but He also tells us plenty that we must do – specifically loving our neighbors as ourselves. Our failure to share His story with them and let them know how God wants to intersect and interrupt their lives with His love… that failure is treason against the King.

And yet He loves us still.

He loves us in the face of our treason.

“Today the word sin way too often misses this aspect of God’s heart regarding the Law. When His Word says, ‘Avoid all sin,’ we miss the ‘I love you, my child’ that lies behind it.”

Let us look at ourselves through the eyes of the King and see how far we miss the mark. When we do so and then realize that He loves us in spite of our own terrible thoughts, actions, and attitudes, we will start to see how deep His love goes… and then that love will begin to drive us into deeper obedience prompted by a desire to serve the One who loves us so well.

(quotes from ‘For Your Joy’ by John Piper; and ‘Every Man’s Challenge’ by Arterburn & Stoeker)

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Christian Living

The Death of Temptation

If there is one thing I’d like to see the grim reaper take – it’d have to be my temptation.

Ugh… But I still find that temptation is very much alive in my life.
As I have grown more spiritually mature, I do find that I am quicker to recognize the temptation and flee from it early, but I still have the desire within me to flirt with temptation for too long, allowing it to lead me to sin.

My attitudes, my thought processes, my grumbling and complaining, my desire to please me.
It doesn’t take much, and that temptation grabs hold, and I enjoy the feeling for just a bit too long, and then… blammo… sin. and guilt. and shame.

But could it possibly be different?

I recently read that through the power of God in transforming us, we can actually experience the death of temptation. That the power of temptation should be fading in our lives. I have been learning that this is true in my own life. It is not that temptation has disappeared, but as I stand strong against temptation in an area of my life today, it becomes easier to stand strong again tomorrow. And after I do it two days in a row, the third day is even easier. And so on and so on.

“True salvation should always…encourage a conscious rejection of ungodliness and lead to holier living. A profession of Christ must be accompanied by a choice of godly living.”

That is the normal pattern of the Christian life. Are you normal?

“God doesn’t measure normal in relation to the world…. When God speaks of normal, He speaks along these lines: Jesus is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. He is the most normal person ever to walk on planet Earth. You are a Christian, my child. Are you walking normally like My Son, Jesus?

“…Too often we call God’s ways confining and much too hard and tight. Why not just call them what they really are — normal? We must be fervent and anxious to become normal — as defined by Jesus, not by us.”

“Wherever the Spirit points, choose change. And above all, intercede for yourself.”

Great point. Jesus, in His moments of greatest temptation in the garden, also prayed for Himself. We should pray for God to make us more normal!

And what should we be praying for ourselves?
“Do you know what my deepest cry to God has become, the cry that burns, the one that draws sobs from my heart and tears from my eyes every time? Oh God, please don’t leave me like this. I want more of You. Please don’t leave me like this.”

(quotes from Arterburn, Stoeker, and Yorkey in Every Man’s Challenge)

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Christian Living

Good Things vs. God Things

How do you tell the difference between something good and something of God?
Are they always one and the same?

I get involved in plenty of good stuff. In fact, a lot of the things I do could be considered good things. You too.
But if they aren’t the things that God wants me to do, is it the right use of my time?

I remember a discussion in seminary class about whether we should pray about every single thing. Some students argued that we should pray about every single decision. Others said not every decision is one that God cares about. The example given was in regard to the purchase of a vehicle and that God probably doesn’t care whether you purchase the yellow or the blue car. That God allows us to make some decisions on our own and doesn’t really care one way or another about some of the small things.

Maybe.

But I sure like this explanation on how to determine the difference between good things and God things:

“One of the ways I can tell if something is a good thing or a God thing is very simple. Did I pray about it? Did I even take the time to reflect on this purchase or that conversation, accepting this job, or deciding to watch that movie? If I haven’t prayed, then I may not have brought God into the decision-making process at all. No, the possession or activity may not be evil, wrong, or destructive, but if I’m not even aware of how I can use it to honor God, I’ll probably miss the opportunity.

“In the church today, many of us are preoccupied with “good things.” We want God to make us feel good, and we want to be entertained by the services. If one church doesn’t make us feel just right, we go somewhere else. God wants us to grow beyond the infant stage of thinking that all of life is about us. As we mature, we learn that God has a purpose for us that is far bigger, far grander, far more meaningful than anything we can imagine.

…“Many of us need to stop doing some of the good things we’re doing right now so we can focus more of our time, energy, and passion on Christ. I know men who have chosen to go fishing less often, women who resign from a club or organization that was absorbing their time, and students who dropped out of cheerleading or a sport because they realized these activities stole their hearts away from Jesus” (Thomas Young – “Do You Want to Go to the Mountain?”).

Are you possibly involved in some good things that aren’t God things?
It sure is easy to do.

How do you determine the difference between a good thing and a God thing?

…a true Christian must be willing to sacrifice everything in this life for the sake of the next. – Bruce Shelley, Church History in Plain Language

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Christian Living

Astonished

What astonishes you?

For example –
Paige is astonished by how quickly I can fall asleep (and begin snoring)!
My dogs seem to be astonished that they are going to be fed again today, even though we feed them every day.
My church is astonished at how quickly I can put my foot in my mouth from the pulpit.

And me – One of the things that astonishes me is that Jesus could be astonished.

The idea that the Creator has made us in such a way that He can still be astonished by us is a remarkable thing.

In two instances Jesus is said to be astonished about faith (or the lack thereof).

When Jesus encounters a man who easily believes that Jesus can heal by just the power of His spoken word, Jesus is astonished at the faith of the man. I don’t know that I have that type of faith. I want to! But if my child were sick, I would want to make sure that Jesus came to the house. In fact, I would be dragging Him by the hand, and then bring Him to my child’s bed and have Him heal my child by laying His hands on Him. That way, if it didn’t work (see, I’m already doubting), Jesus could do it again. This guy was willing to tell Jesus – “You don’t need to bother with coming all the way to my house. Just say the word and I know that my child will be healed because of Your great power.” Wow.

But when Jesus went to His own hometown, even though they had certainly heard the reports of Him healing people in other areas, they just couldn’t believe in Him or His abilities. And it says that Jesus was astonished by their lack of faith & their unbelief.

That’s more like me. Maybe you too? We find it so easy to slip into worry and doubt. When life throws us a curveball, when difficult circumstances appear on the horizon, we lack the faith to trust God during the storm.

What would Jesus say about my faith? Or about yours?

Is your trust in Him so complete that you never worry nor are anxious due to your complete surrender to His authority & plan for your life? When we make it to that place of faith, then even when the security & peace we desire are shattered, we are OK and keep trusting without worry, because we know that God will walk with us through whatever we are facing.

Do you cause Him to marvel because you trust Him completely?
Or instead, does He marvel at your lack of faith in His plans and ability?

We need to be like the child on the edge of the swimming pool that fully believes Dad when he says “Jump to me! I’ll catch you!”

How do you keep a childlike faith and trust in God?