Categories
Christian Living

Recommended Reading Lists

Today I’ll let you in on a little secret – I’m weird.
You’re probably thinking – “but that isn’t a secret at all.”
Point taken.

Today’s topic of discussion on my weirdness is my “Reading List.”photo of my library bookshelf to show some of the books I am reading

What I post about often comes from what I have been reading. So how do I choose what to read? Many people choose their “next book” on what is the latest bestseller. My list doesn’t come from the hottest books out there today, but rather from respected sources who share with me the best stuff they have read — People (and authors) I trust who share with me the books that have influenced them most.

I don’t necessarily want to know what is the newest book on a subject, but what is the best book on the subject… especially one that has lasted the test of time. Some of my favorite authors have warned their readers to avoid “Chronological Snobbery” — something I definitely had when I was younger. Back then, I believed that “new” meant best, while “old” was dated and less important. But what I have learned is that there are books that have stood the test of time as being extremely important for Christian growth. And with the limited amount of time that I have to read, I want to choose not just “good” books, but those that have been deemed the best.

Two lists that have helped me select books are both from Christianity Today:
(you can click on the links if you are interested in knowing their choices)

The Top 50 Books that Have Shaped Evangelicals

The Top 100 Books of the 20th Century

Though I’m sure there could be some disagreement about the lists, the books they suggest are certainly a good place to start. They aren’t the newest books on the shelves. And some of the choices may seem a bit weird to you.

Over the next few days, I’ll share with you some of what I have been reading and give you some of my own recommendations. But until then, what are your suggestions? What would be on your list as your very favorite Christian books… the ones that have been instrumental in shaping your Christian development that you recommend everyone should read?

I’d love to know, as I might want to add one of your recommendations to my weird reading list!

Categories
Christian Living

What Business Do You Have With Me?

In the strange exorcism I mentioned in my last post, we find that Jesus’ great compassion shows how He places much greater value on people than on property. But the men who owned the pigs in the encounter were furious that they lost their property, even though two men were radically healed. In fact the men of the town then came out and asked Jesus to leave their town.

The problem is that the men “preferred their property to the Savior.”

“It is no uncommon thing for men to love the world so much; to love property so much as to see no beauty in religion, and no excellence in the Savior; and, rather than part with their material belongings, to ask Jesus to withdraw from them” (Albert Barnes).

They wanted to have no business with Jesus.

Interestingly enough, at the beginning of this encounter, the demon “spokesman” asks – “What business do you have with me, Jesus?”
question mark die But isn’t this really the question everyone should be asking? In the demonic encounter we find that…
The business Jesus had with the demons was to get them out of the two men.
The business He had with the owners of the pigs was to give them spiritual healing, but they were not willing due to their focus on self.
The business He had with one of the healed men was to send him as a witness to others who lived nearby.

What a great question for us to ask as well – Jesus, What business do you have with me today?

What do you think He would answer and say?
And after you heard His answer, would you be ready to obey?

The gap between peoples’ beliefs & actions seems to be growing wider every day.
We know what to do and yet we don’t do it.
Others have decided to sit and not grow – they still “need milk” and are not yet ready for the “meat” of truths in God’s Word.

If we have committed to making Jesus the Master of our lives, then we will be in the process of asking Him what is the next step He wants us to take and we will be obedient to actually take it.

Too many people are not serving nor are planning to serve in their church; they are not living in joy; not serving God with their marriage; not making disciples of their children; not growing spiritually; they are choosing immorality over purity & obedience.

Maybe today we need to ask – What business do you have with me, Jesus?
And then listen… and obey.

Categories
Relationships

Valuing Property Over People

One of the strangest miracles we see in the Bible is the exorcism of demons which causes a herd of pigs to rush into the sea and drown. Other than the cursing of the fruitless fig tree, this is the only miracle of Jesus’ where we see property destroyed (even though it was the demons who actually caused the destruction).

Jesus’ miracles were almost all done in a way that directly benefited people. Even in this case, we find that it was the healing of two people that led to the destruction of the property. The miracles Jesus performed were done to show that He was God. Jesus said on a number of occasions something along the lines of: “If you don’t believe that I am God for any other reason, then believe in Me because of the signs & miracles I do.” Of course, Jesus could’ve shown His divine power and nature through miracles such as making water run uphill or by constantly levitating as he travelled or by causing the sun to rise in the west and set in the east. But instead, Jesus chose to show His divinity by blessing people – because of His great compassion.

To this “testimony of His compassion,” someone might argue – “But these pig farmers lost their property!” True, but what we learn from this loss is that God puts a very small value on temporary earthly property compared to the value of people.

house on water The problem is that the men in that city did not have the mind of Christ. They could not see that the healing of these two men was more important than the money their pigs would bring them. “The cure of two men… was of far more consequence than the amount of property destroyed. To restore a deranged man… would be an act for which property could not compensate and which could not be measured in value by earthly means.” We might not can relate to a herd of 2000 pigs, but what about a house? That’s property. Is the value of your house greater than the value of the spiritual health of another person?

Too often I find that I am like the men who lost their property – caring more for stuff than for people.
friends

What if you had lost that property?
Could you have celebrated that two of your neighbors were made well?
Do you love your neighbor as yourself?
Or would you have been angry at Jesus?

It is so easy for us to value property over people.
To value our stuff over their needs.

I’m so glad Jesus doesn’t.
Aren’t you?

Quote from Albert Barnes’ Notes on the New Testament

Categories
Relationships

Hypocrisy

One of my favorite quotes that I memorized as a teen was from a DC Talk album:
“The greatest single cause of atheism in the world today is Christians… who acknowledge Jesus with their lips… and walk out the door and deny Him by their lifestyle. That is what an unbelieving world simply finds unbelievable.” –Brennan Manning

Even if an unbelieving world doesn’t believe in God, they know that the God we claim to follow tells us to consistently live out His teachings. And part of living out those teachings is loving others.

Instead of loving people and speaking the truth in love to them in hopes of them changing toward more God-honoring behaviors, many Christians instead choose to judgmentally condemn others. We are told that we can view peoples’ behaviors in order to judge how to win them to the Lord in love. But we are not told to be harshly condemning of people, pointing our fingers at them as if to say “shame, shame, shame.”
Pointing finger
Passages such as “Do not judge so that you will not be judged” aren’t about us accepting peoples’ ungodliness as OK, but rather they are about the issue that God’s problem with our judging is that we not only judge right from wrong, we then stand in judgmental condemnation.

Too often we condemn while we hold onto our own similarly ungodly behaviors. This is called hypocrisy.
Some examples:
We condemn murder, while we hold onto hate;
We condemn those who won’t forgive us, while we are still angry with others;
We condemn adultery, while we are filled with lustful thoughts;
We condemn liars, while we hold back the truth to benefit us;
We condemn greed, while we are not generous;
We condemn criminals, while we find little ways to break the law (such as speeding);
We condemn those who gossip, while we talk about them behind their backs.

We condemn ungodly behaviors, while refusing to see how ungodly we are in the same areas.

What we are doing is standing in judgmental condemnation of others, rather than trying to win people for Jesus through an attitude of loving reconciliation.

We are all sinners. We cannot stand before God on our merits. Therefore we are not to condemn others for being in the same boat as us. Instead we are to use our wisdom and compassion to judge only with an eye toward loving reconciliation… to help others get on track (or back on track) with God.

God says that He does not take pleasure in the death of an evil person, but that every person who is doing evil should turn toward Him and find life. Do we have the same attitude of compassion as God?

There will be a day of judgment. And God will be the One to preside. My hope is that I will have fulfilled my role of pointing more people to life in Him through loving reconciliation on that day.

Categories
Christian Living

Broken Things

Brokenness.
Have you ever felt broken? a broken, shattered lightbulb
Most of us have at some point in life.
The pain seems so strong at that point. All joy seems gone. We are broken-hearted and feel as if we will never be able to smile again.

Peter had promised his friend Jesus that he would stand by His side no matter what. Then Peter denied Christ three times. The rooster crowed. Peter looked over at Jesus. Jesus’ eyes caught Peter’s. Peter remembered what Jesus had said. Peter had failed. He ran out of the courtyard weeping in his brokenness.

You’ve likely been in a similar place.
In pain.
Weeping.
Broken.

But there is good news about finding ourselves in a state of brokenness…

“God uses broken things.
It takes broken soil to produce a crop,
broken clouds to produce rain,
broken grain to give bread, and
broken bread to give strength.
It is the broken Peter, weeping bitterly, who returns to greater power than ever.
God can often use our brokenness to reveal His power to us and show us our dependence on Him.”

Paul tells us:
“…to keep me from exalting myself, there was given me a thorn in the flesh…. I implored the Lord three times that it might leave me. And 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. Therefore I am well content with weaknesses, with insults , with distresses, with persecutions, with difficulties, for Christ’s sake; for when I am weak, then I am strong.”

For when I am weak and broken… I find I can rely on God’s strength and become strong.

When we are dealing with “brokenness,” whether physically, emotionally, or spiritually, we are often more open to receive healing from God. This is due to the fact that at this point in life we become more ready to cry out to God in the midst of the brokenness. God often uses the brokenness of our spirit to bring us to a spiritual healing like he did in both Peter’s & Paul’s cases.