An oldie from my journal . . .

I wrote the following in my journal on December 20, 2003, but I read it this morning and wanted to share it. Here ya go:

We humans make lots of excuses for our behavior or for our “petty” failures (read—SIN), but deep in our own hearts we all know that only one thing matters. Only one thing is of utmost importance in life. Yes, in our honest moments, in those times when we aren’t looking out for number one or getting the “break” we believe we deserve, in those times of utter clarity and reason, we know. Oh do we know!

Yet we are so fearful of giving voice to it, aren’t we? We are so afraid to admit the one thing that is genuinely important.

What is that thing? It is the smile of acceptance, that is what we all long for in our deepest hearts.

Why do different groups clamor for "rights"? They want acceptance. Deep within the heart of every human being is a groan, an ache, a holy desire for acceptance. Admit it, you just want someone to accept you, warts and all.

Yet in those awful moments of clarity, another truth stands out like a beacon. We are all (in some sense, at least) utterly unacceptable. It is the inheritance from our ancestors Adam and Eve, and it is the result of our own foolish choices. We have blown it, failed, let someone down, sinned, screwed up, been a disappointment, embarrassed the family or the company.

In short, we are sinners. We all know it.

Who has the unmitigated gall to claim complete perfection on his or her own right? No one who is honest. And yet, in spite of these two seemingly opposite desires and truths, we are ashamed (or is it afraid?) to admit it. We know it in our hearts, but we pretend that it isn’t important. Why is that?

Well, I don’t pretend to have all the answers (even in those moments when I think myself perfectly capable of searching out the depths of the universe and explaining them!), but I can say this much--we have this desire and this fear because God put it there. It is in our humanity. It is part of us.

The Psalmist prayed many times, “God let me not be ashamed.” Wasn’t he saying what is particular to all humans? The long version of this statement for most of us may be put this way--“Lord, don’t let me be found out. Don’t let the truth of my sin or failure be made known to others. Let me be accepted.” This attitude is endemic to all humanity, it is part and parcel of the nature of sinful humans.

And God has an answer for it.

When he came searching for Adam and Eve, he said, “Adam, where are you?” He was LOOKING for Adam, the human he loved. It was Adam who hid from God out of shame. It was Adam who claimed to be unacceptable. God never said that. In fact, God judged Adam’s act, but showed mercy to Adam.

Do you see it yet? God accepts you! As Jeremiah says in chapter 17 of his prophecy—“The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked.” Oh, but don’t stop reading, he also says, “I the Lord search the heart and test the mind.” The Lord is greater than my heart (1 John 5). He knows what my heart ought to look like, and if I am his child through Jesus, he has given me a new heart, a good heart, a pure heart, an unashamed heart!

God accepts us. He accepts me. He is not ashamed of me. I do not embarrass him. Do I believe it? In my moments of spiritual clarity I think I do.

Satan wants us to continue on in the false idea that somehow we don’t measure up. Oh, there may be some truth to that, but it is a partial truth. The rest of the good news is that Jesus did for us what Adam could not. Jesus did for us what we cannot do for ourselves. We measure up because Jesus measures up.

Is God ashamed of Jesus? No, a thousand times no! He also cannot turn aside his loving gaze from the fruits of his Son’s sacrifice and ministry.

Yet, we continue to trust in our humanity, our abilities, our own flesh to measure up to God. As Jeremiah says:

Jer 17:7-8
7 " Blessed is the man who trusts in the LORD
And whose trust is the LORD.
8 "For he will be like a tree planted by the water,
That extends its roots by a stream
And will not fear when the heat comes;
But its leaves will be green,
And it will not be anxious in a year of drought
Nor cease to yield fruit.”
NASU

Trusting in flesh will get fleshly results, but trusting in God will yield godly fruit.

Lord, teach us to trust you in all things. Teach us to live out of hearts fully alive to you. Give us authentic experiences with your grace, your love, your acceptance of us. Help us to grow in grace until we literally ooze the very character of Jesus out of every pore of our lives. For the furtherance of your kingdom, teach my heart to live this truth.

Thanks for reading!

The Surprise Topic is--"Circumcision"

Rom 2:28-29
28 For he is not a Jew who is one outwardly, nor is circumcision that which is outward in the flesh. 29 But he is a Jew who is one inwardly; and circumcision is that which is of the heart, by the Spirit, not by the letter; and his praise is not from men, but from God. NASU

Circumcision is not a "painless" endeavor--never has been, never will be. How's that for understatement?

Circumcision involves a painful process that results in the removal of a very sensitive and delicate part of the anatomy. The wound created by circumsion must be cared for so as not to avoid infection. Our topic today is about a more invasive form of circumcision, however. Today I want to consider circumcision as heart surgery.

The passage above refers to a circumcision of the heart. Why is this surgery needed?

The reasons for the inward surgery include purity, obedience, and sanctification. The Spirit of God removes the sensitive areas of our hearts, those areas we do not let others touch indiscriminately--those areas into which we allow few if any of our friends.

The area for removal is secret as well as sensitive. The surgery is hardly pain free. When the Spirit begins to cut off those secret areas of our hearts, he removes and exposes things we would rather leave unknown and secret.

The healing of these wounds can take time too! It is no small thing to have God's surgery of circumcision performed on your heart!

How does this surgery take place? How is it performed by God's Spirit?

Often it is done in the red hot bed of trials or harsh circumstances. Rarely does God perform this kind of surgery without the benefit of hard times--just ask Job, or Moses, or Paul, or even Jesus himself, who "learned obedience through suffering." When God removes what we think is good--job, relationships, security, etc.--sometimes he is doing his best to expose the secret stuff that he really wants to cut away from our hearts.

The good news is that God knows what he is doing, and his scalpel is true. We can trust him to do the surgery well and to complete it. Trust him when times are hard, he will only remove what is necessary to complete your circumcision. Oh, it may feel like his scalpel is going to kill you, but it will not. It is for health that he prunes us and performs heart surgery.

His surgery on our hearts marks us as his people. It is a sign of his acceptance and love for us (remember Hebrews 12?). Without this surgery, without this circumcision, without this change of heart, we are not as easily identifiable as the people of God.

How do we respond to these things?

The only thing a patient can really do is to let the surgeon finish the work. Be still and know that he is God.

He will not remove too much.

He will complete what he starts.

Trust him.

Thanks for reading!

Shut up and listen!

For the most part of the book of Job, Job states his case forcefully and well that he is suffering without cause, that he has done no wrong to deserve his suffering. He even makes the bold statement, “Would that there was a mediator between me and God, then I’d state my case!” When God shows up, however, Job does not present his case. The story of Job tells us that that righteous, perfect man “put his hand on his mouth” after hearing God.

How often do we rush into the Almighty’s presence to “state our case” before him! Like Job, we have a just cause to promote, an injustice to prevent or overcome, or a problem to solve. We rush to God and argue our case, and sometimes in the midst of our arguments we find ourselves screaming so loud that we miss the most important part of the story—God is speaking. And the only proper response to the voice of God is silence. Shut up! Put your hand on your mouth! Listen!

After hearing God’s side, Job states, “I have spoken things too wonderful for me,” and he repented. Notice that Job’s repentance didn’t come after a change in his circumstances. Oh, he was still seated on the ash heap, still scraping his sores, still in physical and emotional misery—-none of that had changed a bit!

What changed? Well, instead of hearing the droning of his own pitiful voice, Job heard God. God spoke! God addressed Job! The God of Creation, who holds the stars in the palm of his hand, spoke openly and directly to Job. Job’s response was to close his mouth. His case, his problems no longer seemed paramount. God is speaking so all activity must cease. “Be still, and know that I am God.”

What did God say? Did he speak nice words of hope and encouragement to Job?

Not really, what he did was to question Job. He cross-examined Job in the greatest court of law.

No wonder Job was smart enough to be quiet! The greatest Lawyer and Law-Giver in the universe was grilling him.

“Job,” God says, “I want you to give me wisdom since you seem to be so smart. Where were you when I created the universe? Where were you when I separated land and sea? When I scattered stars in the sky? When I overthrew Leviathan and Behemoth? You were there, right, you are so wise, so tell me!”

God essentially told Job—“I am God, and you aren’t.” It might seem like a harsh message given Job’s circumstances, but it is true and in some ways it is comforting too. God is in charge, he sees all the angles, not me. God is the Creator, the Sustainer, the Advocate, the Mediator, the Lover, and he wants me to remember even in my darkest hour that he knows what is important and why things are going the way they are.

He may not explain himself to me, but he will come and remind me who is God. He will comfort me with the assuring words that he knows what he is doing. I may want to argue, to tell him how horribly wrong he is, but I know in my heart that the proper response is to be still, to put my hand on my mouth and let God be God. He doesn’t need my advice, my counsel, even though he asks for my cooperation. God is good, and he is God. Be still, and know that today.

Thank you, Father, for the timely reminder. Today, help us to find pools of silence in an otherwise busy day so that we can hear you talking to us.

Thanks for reading!

What is the cost of service?

Will a man serve God for nothing? Will he? Psalm 8 says that God has made us a little lower than the angels, a little lower than God himself. He has given us dominion and authority. Would I so quickly praise his name if he had not?

In the story of Job, Satan asks the infamous question—“Will a person serve God for nothing?” There is the real question of life; this is where the rubber meets the road. Take away all the “success” I may think I see—would I still serve God? Take away the honors, the hours of training, the degrees, the ability to think, the ability to write, the desire to teach, the hope of salvation, take away spouse and children, houses and lands—-would I then say—-“The Lord gives and the Lord takes away, blessed be the name of the Lord?” Would I demand an audience with God? Would I “state my case before the Holy One of Israel?”


Would you?


“Will a man serve God for nothing?” What? Is God asking me to work for no pay? What will I have left then if God takes it all away?

Perhaps a better question is what do you have that God did not give you through the poverty of his Son, Jesus? He became poor so that you might be rich. He became sin so that you might become the righteousness of God. He suffered death so that you might enjoy eternal life. He became the “medicine of immortality” so that these sinful lives could be completely redeemed and restored to their pristine and edenic form.

What privation can you not endure for him who has given all things? Romans 8 says, “He that did not spare his own Son, but delivered him over for us all, how will he not with him also freely give us all things?” The same chapter reminds us that we are “joint-heirs” with Jesus—-heirs of his good things, yes, but also heirs of his suffering.

The whole cosmos waits on tippy-toes to see the final redemption of humanity, and we are so selfish and close-minded as to think that somehow we “deserve” certain things or that we are mistreated when privation and loss come our way. God has freely given us all things with Jesus and through Jesus—that word “all” is mighty big. As Job said, “Shall we not receive evil from the hand of the Lord?” After receiving all these good things from his hand, am I going to dictate to him what I can now receive or not? How audacious! How arrogant!

God, nothing I have today is rightfully mine. I can claim ownership of none of the good gifts you have bestowed on my life. I may want to do so, but in reality I do not deserve them. Forgive each of us, Father, for thinking of our puny individual selves as somehow more important than the rest of your creation, even than the plan you have for us in Christ.

Like Paul, I have not attained that high calling to which God leads me yet, but I pray that he will give me grace and strength to press on today. O God, let me see more of the precious image of God in Christ revealed in my low life today. Teach me to receive the gifts you send my way today. Help me to quiet my mouth and mind so as to hear your voice in my life.

“Will a man serve God for nothing?” By your grace, Lord, I’ll try.

I think, however, that the genuine answer to that question is a resounding “NO!” Why? Because God is a lover, and lovers give gifts.

Humans cannot serve God for nothing because God cannot stop giving us things. Like a good Father, he continues to lavish his attention on us even when we think he has ignored us. He gives us gifts, sometimes in packages we do not appreciate or recognize, but he eternally gives them nonetheless.

I can set my mind to serve God for nothing, but he would still give me oxygen to breath, food to eat, life to live.

Lord, help our motives to be pure, and teach us to walk gratefully in your good gifts today. Thank you, Lord, that you have not stopped giving to us. Today, we will seek to serve you just because of who you are.

Thanks for reading!

What I am listening to today . . .

On the old CD player today is a smorgasbord--

1. Styx--Greatest Hits
2. Boston (yes, Boston!)
3. Derek Webb--Mockingbird (does anyone else find this album slightly depressing?)
4. David Crowder Band--Illuminate
5. Caedmon's Call
6. Bob Dylan--Oh Mercy

Thanks for reading!

What is important?

Recently I have been privy to some debates between Christians on the issue of Calvinism and Arminianism, or the sovereignty of God vs. Free Will. Growing up as a traditional Southern Baptist, I recognize that Baptist history is notoriously schizophrenic on the issue--we are Arminians until you get saved and Calvinists afterward. In all honesty, in all my years as a Christ-follower, I haven't really changed that perspective much. As one of my professors used to say, "Somedays I'm Calvinist, other days I'm an Arminian." I realize that some of you would probably like me to make a choice, so go ahead and try to convince me if you must.

I have come to recognize that Scripture uses language full of tension--there is the language of choice (e.g., "Choose you this day," "Whoever believes" etc.) and there is the language of election (do you really need examples?). That tension has not really proven a difficult thing for me. In fact, more difficult than the tension in the biblical language is the fact that Christians I respect tend to see it as some kind of badge or victory to beat each other up over the issue. I mean, God gives us this perfectly good armor to wear and with which to fight the enemy of our souls, and we spend more time attacking each other with it (or else we spend our time polishing it and commenting on how powerful it looks) rather than getting out there and using it for its proper purpose.

All of this is basic introduction for an epiphany I had this morning. As I was driving to work, I was listening to an old cassette I made (appropriately entitled "Rock Warfare") on which I had recorded songs about music and spiritual warfare from several different Christian bands of the 70s and 80s. One song that caught my attention was from DeGarmo and Key (and, no, it wasn't JUST because these fellow are from Memphis, TN). The song is "Up on a Cross," and I wanted to share the lyrics with you. Think of the music as Rock Ballad and hum along.

"Up on a Cross"
Words and Music by Eddie DeGarmo and Dana Key
on Street Light
Copyright 1986

You say I must not sing or dance
They say the Spirit must come through
You say that I must be immersed
They say a sprinkling will do

(Chorus)
Will you still love me after I choose?
Doesn't the issue stand upon this truth?
Up on a cross he died for sinners
Up on a cross between two thieves
Up on a cross he died for you and me

You say a man has a free will
They say he isn't really free
You pray exactly what you feel
They memorize their liturgy

(Chorus)
Will you still love me after I choose?
Doesn't the issue stand upon this truth?
Up on a cross he died for sinners
Up on a cross between two thieves
Up on a cross he died for you and me

I heard the Devil's voice today

It is that last line that got me.

"I heard the Devil's voice today."

DeGarmo and Key do not define the "devil's voice." I don't think that they meant to implicate either side of the debate above.

I think that the "Devil's Voice" is a reference to our quibbling and fighting.

Ouch!

As a philosopher and a professor of Biblical Studies, that hurts.

I quibble a lot.

I hope in the future that any arguments I may have with my brothers and sisters will be over what is really important and not over doctrinal systems developed a few hundred years ago.

Here are my irreducible minimums--(1) the authority of Scripture and (2) the role of Jesus Christ in bringing humans and God together in salvation.

Let's talk, but remember, no quibbling. (grin)

I don't want to speak with the devil's voice.

Thanks for reading!

Some random quotes . . . .

I didn't have any specific things to say today, so I thought I'd post some random quotes. Enjoy!

John Milton—"For Books are not absolutely dead things, but do contain a potency of life in them to be as active as that soul was whose progeny they are; nay, they do preserve as in a vial the purest efficacy and extraction of that living intellect that bred them." Foreword of A True-born Englishman, M. P. Willcocks (London: George Allen & Unwin Ltd, 1947).

Leigh Hunt (1784-1859)—"Give me a small snug place almost entirely walled with books."

“Never covet another person’s gift, and never despise your own.” William L. Lane

“One way to express this is to say that in order to be a living reminder of the Lord, we must walk in his presence as Abraham did. To walk in the presence of the Lord means to move forward in life in such a way that all our desires, thoughts, and actions are constantly guided by him. When we walk in the Lord’s presence, everything we see, hear, touch, or taste reminds us of him. That is what is meant by a prayerful life. It is not a life in which we say many prayers, but a life in which nothing, absolutely nothing, is done, said, or understood independently of him who is the origin and purpose of our existence.” From The Living Reminder by Henri J. Nouwen.

“As Pascal says, faith is a gift of God. It is different from the proof of it. It is the kind of faith God himself places in the heart, of which the proof is often the instrument. Faith that makes us think of credo (I believe), rather than of scio (I know). He says of it, too, that it is the heart which is aware of God, and not reason. That is what faith is: God perceived intuitively by the heart, not by reason. . . . Faith does indeed tell us what the senses do not tell, but does not contradict their findings. It transcends but does not contradict them. Pascal repeats, ‘Faith is the gift of God.’” Malcolm Muggeridge in The End of Christendom, p. 6

Basil the Great—“Truth is always a quarry hard to hunt, and therefore we must look everywhere for its tracks.” (From On the Spirit 1.1).

St. Francis—“Preach always. If necessary, use words.”

Thanks for reading!

How do these people survive?

Below are some stories that I have been assured are true, but some may well be urban legends. If these are true, please explain to me how the human gene pool continues to prosper. Here they are:

1. Recently, when I went to McDonald's I saw on the menu that you could have an order of 6, 9 or 12 Chicken McNuggets. I asked for a half dozen nuggets. "We don't have half dozen nuggets," said the teenager at the counter. "You don't?" I replied. "We only have six, nine, or twelve," was the reply. "So I can't order a half dozen nuggets, but I can order six?" "That's right." So I shook my head and ordered six McNuggets.

2. I was checking out at the local Wal-Mart with just a few items and the lady behind me put her things on the belt close to mine. I picked up one of those "dividers" that they keep by the cash register and placed it between our things so they wouldn't get mixed. After the girl had scanned all of my items, she picked up the "divider", looking it all over for the bar code so she could scan it. Not finding the bar code she said to me, "Do you know how much this is?" I said to her "I've changed my mind, I don't think I'll buy that today." She said "OK," and I paid her for the things and left. She had no clue to what had just happened.

3. A lady at work was seen putting a credit card into her floppy drive and pulling it out very quickly. When I inquired as to what she was doing, she said she was shopping on the Internet and they kept asking for a credit card number, so she was using the ATM "thingy."

4. My neighbor works in the operations department in the central office of a large bank. Employees in the field call him when they have problems with their computers. One night he got a call from a woman in one of the branch banks who had this question: "I've got smoke coming from the back of my terminal. Do you guys have a fire downtown?"

5. Police in Radnor, Pa., interrogated a suspect by placing a metal colander on his head and connecting it with wires to a photocopy machine. The message "He's lying" was placed in the copier, and police pressed the copy button each time they thought the suspect wasn't telling the truth. Believing the "lie detector" was working, the suspect confessed.

Life is tough. It's tougher if you're not too bright.

I hope you enjoyed the laugh.

Thanks for reading!

It's my birthday, and O'Charley's forgot the appetizer again!

Howdy!

In case you weren't aware, today is my birthday. Yep, I'm a Valentines baby! My mother's Valentine to the world, so to speak.

Anyway, having a birthday on a special holiday has its drawbacks. First, everyone buys you just one gift or card and says "This is for your birthday AND Valentines Day!" Second, try to go out to dinner on your birthday--everybody and their brother is out in the restaurants. Last year Lisa and I went to five different restaurants before we found one that wasn't full!

Speaking of restaurants, my family decided to take me to lunch today for my birthday. We went to O'Charley's (because I like it and the kids eat free!). Since it was a special occasion, I decided to order an appetizer (the Pepper Jack Cheese Wedges with marinara sauce!). Now, you have to understand that the only other appetizer experience I have had at O'Charley's involved the same appetizer. The only problem is that the appetizer never came. The waiter felt bad and gave us a coupon for a free appetizer. We went home happy. When we returned about a week later, however, the coupon wouldn't work. I don't know what happened, but it just didn't work. The poor waiter gave us a free entree for our problems.

Well, to make a long story even longer--today when my family took me to O'Charley's, I decided to tempt the appetizer gods by ordering one again. Guess what?

Yep!

It didn't come!

Lisa and I laughed out loud when our meals showed up and no appetizer was in sight.

Today, however, a manager type person was wandering around the restaurant. He stopped by our table and asked how our lunch tasted. My wife said, "Everything is great except for the appetizer we ordered. It never came!" She laughed, "In fact, this is the second time it has happened."

The much chagrined manager said, "I'm so sorry that this happened. I'll buy you an appetizer."

Within a few moments, there was the appetizer at no charge.

Of course, it was par for the course that on my birthday I'd have these problems.

It beats being stuck in the Charlotte airport. . .

Or getting lost in the mountains. . .

Or breaking down on the highway.

It was actually a good lunch and a good day.

It is my birthday, and I finally got my appetizer.

God is good. Sometimes things work, sometimes they don't.

God is STILL good.

Happy Valentines Day!

Thanks for reading!

C. S. Lewis on Naturalism

Today in philosophy class I lectured a bit on the Naturalists or materialists in the history of philosophy. We got up to the modern naturalists (folks like Carl Sagan who claim that "the universe is all that there is, was, or ever will be"), and I was reminded of Lewis' treatment of this idea that all of reality is summed up in Nature. Simply stated, this view holds that all events, all effects, i.e., "every finite thing or event must be (in principle) explicable in terms of the Total System. . . . For by Naturalism we mean the doctrine that only Nature--the whole interlocked system--exists. . . . [and] every thing and event would, if we knew enough, be explicable without remainder as a necessary product of the system." (Lewis, Miracles, p. 12) That is, nothing can happen that is not contained in the metaphysical box of Naturalism. Lewis continues by saying, "[I]f any one thing makes good a claim to be on its own, to be something more than an expression of the character of Nature as a whole--then we have abandoned Naturalism." (Lewis, Miracles, p. 12) Lewis then argues that the very basis of thought (i.e., logic) is something that is inexplicable by the system of Nature. Here is the relevant material:

All possible knowledge, then, depends on the validity of reasoning. If the feeling of certainty which we express by words like "must be" and "therefore" and "since" is a real perception of how things outside our own minds really "must" be, well and good. But if this certainty is merely a feeling in our own minds and not a genuine insight into realities beyond them--if it merely represents the way our minds happen to work--then we can have no knowledge. Unless human reasoning is valid no science can be true.

It follows that no account of the universe can be true unless that account leaves it possible for our thinking to be real insight. A theory which explained everything else in the whole universe but which made it impossible to believe that our thinking was valid, would be utterly out of court. For that theory would istelf have been reached by thinking, and if thinking is not valid that theory would, of course, be itself demolished. It would have destroyed its own credentials. It would be an argument which proved that no argument was sound--a proof that there are no such things as proofs--which is nonsense.

Thus a strict materialism refutes itself for the reason given by Professor Haldane: "If my mental processes are determined wholly by the motions of atoms in my brain, I have no reason to suppose that my beliefs are true . . . and hence I have no reason for supposing my brain to be composed of atoms." (Possible Worlds, p. 209)

But Naturalism, even if it is not purely materialistic, seems to me to involve the same difficulty, though in a somewhat less obvious form. It discredits our processes of reasoning or at least reduces their credit to such a humble level that it can no longer support Naturalism itself. (Lewis, Miracles, pp. 14-15)

Naturalism falls prey to its own system. For it to be true, then it has to be a product of the system. but if it is a product of its system then its truth claims are determined by the system. The truth claims of Naturalism are not objective but determined. If they are determined, in what way are they true? How can they be found out to be true?

Or, to think of it in another way--how can the Naturalist conceive of truth claims as true? Aren't all truth claims in the system merely determined by the system itself? How can a knower know them to be true or not? They simply are or are not depending on the collision of atoms or on the arrangement of the system. In fact, how can we talk about the "System" as an objective thing if there is no means by which to do so?

Ouch, my brain hurts. The bottom line here is that such a deterministic system as Naturalism ends up without any way to prove itself true. The very idea of Naturalism is simply the natural outcome of the mechanical system itself, but in order to discuss it we must assume a sense of objectivity and independence as thinkers that the System will not allow. See the problem?

Ah well, enough philosophy for today. The rest of the weekend beckons. Have a good one.

Thanks for reading!

A reprint . . .

This morning I was looking at some old posts on this blog, and this one caught my attention. I had originally called it "A frightening and sobering reality" (I think), but the message here resonated with me this morning. So, please pardon this reprint from May 2005.

This morning I was thinking about the “absence” of God. Some of the things I read gave me pause as I thought about the concept of God’s omnipresence. Those of us who claim to be Christians (or even Jews and Muslims, for that matter) typically claim that God is everywhere always. That is, he is right with us even when we don’t think he is, and worse, when we hope that he is not. He is there. I think Francis Schaeffer wrote a book entitled The God who is There. At any rate, I was thinking about all the times in my life when God was present (like he always is), but I tended to overlook that reality.

When I notice God there on the fringe of my experience (kind of hanging around like a brother who wants to be involved in everything you do), sometimes I respond with a sense of comfort (Oh good, he is there!). Other times I respond with fear (Oh no, did he see that!). Other times I am complacent (Oh, it’s just you, huh?). Still some times I am overwhelmed (Thank God you’re here!). I think of the Jews wandering in the wilderness and camped at Mt. Sinai. God showed up on the mountain, and they begged Moses to make it stop! “Don’t let God speak directly to us again, we can’t take it!” The acknowledgement of God’s presence frightened them, maybe it made them a bit uncomfortable. Maybe we respond to God in the same way. Annie Dillard addresses this problem when she says:

“It is difficult to undo our own damage, and to recall to our presence that which we have asked to leave. It is hard to desecrate a grove and change your mind. The very holy mountains are keeping mum. We doused the burning bush and cannot rekindle it; we are lighting matches in vain under every green tree.

“What have we been doing all these centuries but trying to call God back to the mountain, or, failing that, raise a peep out of anything that isn’t us? What is the difference between a cathedral and a physics lab? Are they not both saying: ‘Hello?’ We spy on whales and on interstellar radio objects; we starve ourselves and pray till we’re blue.” From Teaching a Stone to Talk by Annie Dillard

Our fear of God’s omnipresence causes us to turn off a switch in our minds and souls that helps us to ignore this fascinating (and sometimes frightening) reality. We pretend he isn’t there. We even ignore his obvious appearances. We ignore the God of all, then we say that we didn’t know he was there. As A. W. Tozer notes:

“. . . If God is present at every point in space, if we cannot go where he is not, cannot even conceive of a place where he is not, why then has not that Presence become the one universally celebrated fact of the world? The patriarch Jacob, ‘in waste howling wilderness,’ gave the answer to that question. He saw a vision of God and cried out in wonder. ‘Surely the Lord is in this place; and I knew it not.’ Jacob had never been for one small division of a moment outside of the circle of that all-pervading Presence. But he knew it not. That was his trouble, and it is ours. People do not know if God is here. What a difference it would make if they knew.” From The Pursuit of God by A. W. Tozer

We “know it not” because we don’t like the reality that God’s omnipresence makes us face. That reality is this—when we fail and sin, he is there. When we succeed, he is there. When we need him, he is there. When we think we don’t need him, he is there. Even when we don’t want him to be, he is there.

One of my pet peeves is to hear a preacher talking about Jesus’ cry (“My God, my God, why have you forsaken me”) from the cross and say something like, “At that point, God turned his back on Jesus because he became sin for us.” Think of the ramifications of that idea—God, the omnipresence One, turning his back on his only unique Son. God, the merciful, overlooking the sacrifice his own Son Jesus is offering. Can you imagine it? God, forsaking his Son! It sounds ridiculous because it is. God did not “turn his back on Jesus” (look in the text of the Gospels, it does not say any such thing). No, God was watching the brutal fact of it all with tears in his eyes. He did not forsake Jesus, and he does not forsake humanity. He endures when we pretend he is absent, but he is there. He loves Jesus, even when Jesus became sin for us, God lovingly watched his Son. God lovingly watches you as well. Scary, ain’t it?

Thanks for reading!

Seminary obsolete? I may soon be out of a job . . .

The following article by Michael Duduit is quoted from Preaching Now, volume 5, number 6. It has made me fearful for my job. After all, if they can sum up 3 years of seminary in one 700 page book, why do they need longwinded and boring professors like me? Read it and weep:

Who knew I was wasting three years?

All those years in seminary earning a Master of Divinity (not to mention the additional years on that silly Ph.D.) when now I learn that I could have bought one book and avoided all those term papers and exams.

I just read about a forthcoming book called The Portable Seminary, described as "A Master's Level Overview in One Volume." Even at 704 pages, it's going to have to be an overview from a pretty lofty elevation, given that I had single seminary classes with that much reading.

The publisher reports that this book is "Designed for anyone who wants an introduction to a seminary education but cannot afford the time or money to attend seminary, who lives where formal training is unavailable, or whose previous education is primarily secular." The publisher's catalog also says that it is "A user-friendly theological education without the time and expense of seminary."

Wow, who would have ever guessed you could skip through the hard work of preparation for ministry by reading one book? Personally, I am eagerly awaiting additional volumes such as The Portable Medical School and The Portable Law School, given that I don't have time or money to go to such places but am anxious to dabble in those noble professions. Maybe after that I'll pick up a copy of The Portable Engineering School and get a job designing airplanes and such.

Just so long as they're "user-friendly," of course. Who needs all that hard work, anyway?

Michael Duduit, Editor
michael@preaching.com
www.michaelduduit.com

This is an actual book that is actually being published. Bethany House Publishers has it listed with a July 2006 publicationn date. You can see more information about it on Amazon.com if interested.

All I can say is that I've missed my calling. I should write a book entitled Seminary for Dummies (Wayne, are you reading?) and cash in.

What's next? The Portable Brain Surgeon or the Portable Heart Surgeon?

Reading about this book made me think of Jethro Bodine off of the old "Beverly Hillbillies" TV show--"I don't know what I want to be Uncle Jed, but I'm either gonna be a fry cook or a brain surgeon."

I think that the publisher needs to add the following:

DISCLAIMER--Reading The Portable Seminary will NOT give you the equivalent of a Master of Divinity.

I'm at a loss for words! Someone write that down.

Thanks for reading!

One of my heroes--Sgt Alvin York

Some of you may not remember Sgt. York of the First World War, but being a good Tennessean, I learned to idolize this sharpshooting man from the mountains from an early age. What you may not know is that this man was not just a man of duty who served his country, he was also a man of faith who served God. Let me relate a story about this man to you (with thanks to the magazine America's First Freedom, February 2006 edition, from which I paraphrase this material).

Alvin York made a commitment to Jesus Christ on Jan. 1, 1915 and joined the Church of Christ in Christian Union (a fundamentalist group that had spun off from the Methodists during the Civil War). The church was not officialy pacifist, but they had broken with the Methodists over support for the War between the States. In June 1917, York received his draft notice. He had read the command "Thou shalt not kill" and had interpreted that to mean that war was wrong. He originally put in for a conscientious objector status but was denied because his church had no "official" position on the matter. So, Alvin York went to basic training.

In the spring of 1918, York reiterated his objection to killing in the war to an officer of the army. Major George Edward Buxton got word of York's objections and had York come to his office for a discussion of the Bible. Buxton pointed out some places in Scripture that seem to indicate the necessity of war. York left this discussion unsure of his next move. Buxton gave him a 10 day pass to go home and mull things over with the promise that if York returned and still believed that he shouldn't kill, then Buxton would assign him to a non-combat position.

York returned home and was urged by his church to remain a conscientious objector. York decided, however, to go into the mountains and spend some time alone with God to pray for guidance. After two days and one night alone, York came down from the mountain and told his church, "If some fellow was to come along and bust into your home and mistreat your wife and murder your children, would you just stand for that? You wouldn't fight?"

York returned to his unit and took a combat position with the 82nd Infantry. The rest is history. York almost singlehandedly brought in 128 German enlisted men and four officers. He killed 25 German soldiers in combat and knocked 35 machine gun nests out of commission. York believed that God had supernaturally enabled him to do this amazing feat. He believed that God had protected him in the fight and given him victory. Later, General Julian Lindsey asked York, "How did you accomplish this feat?"

York replied, "Sir it is not by man power. A higher power than man power guided and watched over me and told me what to do." The general put his hand on York's shoulder and said, "Son, you are right."

Here's another York quote--"Liberty and freedom and democracy are so very precious that you do not fight to win them once and then stop. . . . Liberty and freedom are prizes that are awarded only to those people who fight to win them and then keep on fighting eternally to hold them."

York's devotion to God led him to defend his country and others in a time of war. I wonder if my devotion to Christ would cause me to fight with equal zeal to see people released from the bondage of sin?

I sure hope so!

May God raise up more Alvin Yorks!

Thanks for reading!

Unexpected Grief

Recently I got word that a good friend of mine had passed away in Waco, Tx. He was 44.

Tony was such a dear friend that my kids called him "Uncle Tony." He had a contagious smile and a great laugh.

He loved God, life, and people.

We don't know why he died.

They found his body on Dec. 28, and he had apparently been dead for several days. No signs of forced entry or criminal activity. Tony was simply dead. As of today they don't even know how he died.

The shock of hearing about a friend's untimely death (is death ever timely?) is bad enough, but this sudden bit of bad news has hit me harder than I would have imagined.

You see, grief came knocking on my door, and he was not expected.

I wasn't prepared, I didn't know how to act or what to say.

When my father died, I had seen his slow deterioration and was not surprised.

Tony is my age (or close enough). He was relatively healthy and happy.

Grief often shows up at the most inopportune time. He is seldom a welcome guest and even more rarely an invited one. He walks in unannounced and tries to take over the household.

Grief immobilizes you. It makes you stop and hurt.

I guess grief is useful, but when you are experiencing it you just want it to stop. You want the uninvited pest to go away.

I am grieving for the loss of my friend. Although, to be honest, I am probably grieving more for my own sake than his. I will miss Tony. A part of my life has been taken away without my permission. I have been reminded that I am mortal and temporal.

I am not infinite.

To borrow from Robert Browning Hamilton:

I walked a mile with Pleasure, She chattered all the way; But left me none the wiser, For all she had to say. I walked a mile with Sorrow And ne'er a word said she; But, oh, the things I learned from her When Sorrow walked with me!

I must admit that Sorrow has often enriched me in ways that Pleasure never did, but in all honesty I enjoy Pleasure's company more. It is true with most of us humans.

Of course, I guess we don't appreciate Pleasure as much as when we have walked with Sorrow.

Grief has come to me, he came uninvited.
We will walk a while, probably in silence.
At the end, I will still miss my friend, but I will cherish life more.
I hope.
Grief is not my friend, but he helps in some ways, I guess.
Grief came knocking on my door, and I didn't check to see who it was before I answered.
Now Grief is a guest in my home.
How long he'll stay is anybody's guess.
He'll leave quietly one day and the only evidence that he was there will be the memory of our missing friend and a few tear-filled tissues.

Grief will go, but hopefully he will leave me wiser and more grateful.

I miss Tony.

This topic is heavy, I think I want to put it down now. Sorry for being a bummer!

Thanks for reading!

Failure vs. Competency

Romans 9:6—“But it is not as though the word of God has failed.”

1 Corinthians 14:12—“So with yourselves; since you are eager for manifestations of the Spirit, strive to excel in building up the church.”

2 Corinthians 3:4-6—“Such is the confidence that we have through Christ toward God. Not that we are competent of ourselves to claim anything as coming from us; our competence is from God; who has made us competent to be ministers of a new covenant, not of the letter but of the Spirit; for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life.”

“Failure!” How I hate that word. I guess deep in my own heart and mind I fear it more than anything else. I don’t want to fail; I don’t want to be a failure.

The word itself is threatening. It is harsh. “He is a failure” we say about someone who has not lived up to the potential that we saw in them. He failed—at business, at love, at sport, at play. None of these things are considered praiseworthy.

No one wants to be a failure.

God doesn’t fail. His word succeeds; it does what he sent it to do. The word of God has not failed.

It doesn’t matter what the world may look like, it doesn’t matter even the circumstances around us. God’s Word has not failed. Things will work out just as God predicted. He is not unaware.

He has made us competent.

Not failures, but competent.

Because his promise is true and will succeed at what it is sent to do, we can be confident in this thing—God has not called us to fail as his ministers, as his servants, as his children. We are competent to the task he has called us, not by virtue of our own abilities, but by virtue of the Spirit of God which he has given to us in a lavish manner.

Nothing comes from us. We cannot claim that anything we have or even own came from us. Everything comes from the hand of God, the same hand that makes us competent in his service and by his grace.

Competent! I am not a failure in God’s sight. I am competent by Christ. Competent by the Spirit of God. I can do what he asked me to do. I am competent as a minister of the new covenant.

Sometimes it is difficult to see the competency that God s working in us. Sometimes we only see failure and disrepute. But God is faithful; he will do what he said he would do. Paul reminds us in 2 Corinthians 3 that God is able to make us competent to perform the tasks to which he called us.

Competent! Capable! Able!

In Christ, I am competent.

It is a good thing to know. It feels good to hear it. By God’s grace we are competent to fulfill the tasks to which he called us.

We can go and teach. We can win souls, we can baptize, and we can do whatever we are asked to do. We are competent.

Thanks be to God for his inexpressible gift!

Thanks for reading!

File it under "Dumb Criminals"

Hey y'all:

I wanted to share a story that happened right here in central Virginia. You can find the whole news item in the News and Advance online here:

More Charges in Christmas Barrage

.

The story is that a certain fellow who lives near Liberty University received a birthday gift of "homemade liquor and 5,000 rounds of ammunition" for Christmas. After drinking a few rounds of his homemade brew, he decided it would be fun to shoot up the neighborhood ("Drinking and Shooting don't mix" and "Don't Shoot Drunk." Ads for Moms against Drunk Shooting--MADS). At any rate, his neighborhood included the above mentioned school and the River Ridge Mall.

Neighbors called the police who tried to contact the fellow by phone. He wouldn't answer the phone. In fact, he came out of his mobile home onto his porch and fired his gun into the air as the officers watched!

Unfortunately for him, his homemade liquor dulled his senses.

Evidently when he came out onto the porch to shoot his gun into the air, he inadvertently locked himself out of the house!

Can you say "Nowhere to hide?"

Needless to say, the police took the drunk shootist into custody and charged him with several felonies.

I guess the reason he locked himself out of the house was because he left his keys with his designated driver. Who knows?

I tell this story as evidence of how dumb humans (all of us!) can be.

Most of us reading this story chuckled at the man's ineptitude, but we aren't much different.

We persist in our own sins and selfishness, brandishing our self made guns at our Creator while drunk on the homemade liquor of our own arrogance.

We think we can outwit God just by avoiding answering the phone when he calls.

We think we can be "responsible" with our sin, that is, do it only so much so that "it doesn't really hurt anybody."

In reality, our selfishness has made us drunk. Our sin has made us stupid!

We can't see the damage we do when we choose to go our own way, drink our own brew, shoot our own guns without any thought of others around us.

Professing ourselves to be wise, we become fools.

Jesus reminds us that if we really want to have an impact on the world (besides being drunk with our own sin and shooting everyone in sight with our own self-righteousness, that is) then we really should learn to serve others. That's right, we should seek to make the least among us (the least glamorous, the least successful, etc.) the most important. We should take the servant's towel and wrap it around our waists, we should wash the stinky, dirty feet of the person we would normally not even notice. We should serve others instead of drinking ourselves into oblivion on our own importance.

We need to be like Jesus--willing to die for those who really don't deserve it.

I don't want to be drunk on my own selfish ideas.

I want to sober up with service. I want to learn to love my neighbor properly.

Thanks for reading!

"Indian Summer" or thoughts for a warm January day. . .

Today is one of those days that (if it occurred in November or December) my parents would call an "Indian Summer." The temperature here in Lynchburg is around 65 degrees, the sun is out, and a slight breeze is blowing. It puts me in mind of those days just before summer when you could finally put the top down (if you had a convertible) or just roll down your windows and cruise. It is perfect for a country drive with some '70s rock and roll (I'm thinking Lynyrd Skynyrd, but right now I'm rocking to DeGarmo and Key--a Southern rock Christian band from the late '70s and early '80s).

At any rate, the weather puts me in a spring like attitude. I don't want to argue theology or talk shop at the seminary, I want to bask in the wonder of this creation God has graciously given us. I want to sit in the sun, have a fond memory, listen to oldies . . . I just want to drink in life and all the full malt goodness it offers today.

Yeah, I'm kinda goofy. I know. But I love these days. I think about the first time I'd go barefoot in Millington, Tennessee after winter had finally relinquished its cold grip to spring. The grass would be moist, there would still be little bite in the air, but the breeze is warm enough to be in shirt sleeves. Think drinking a nice cold soda after a long hot day of baseball. There ya go! Let your mind wander!

Okay, that's far enough.

You can come back now.

Isn't it amazing how weather can affect our thoughts and emotions?

This complex ecosystem into which God has placed us really is in many ways an ideal location. I am grateful to God for his grace in creation.

Well, I gotta go back outside.

Thanks for reading!

The mystery of Christmas

A little over 2000 years ago, a tiny child was born in the bleakest of conditions. Oh, he wasn’t the only one born in a bad state. In fact, in some ways, he was one of the lucky ones. He and his mother actually survived childbirth and thrived. Still, this story is unique and amazing on several levels.

First, this child would literally change the way time is reckoned in the world. His life and abilities would so impress generations of others that a brand new movement would be created, one that would radically change the very face of the earth (sometimes for good, sometimes for bad). His name would become recognized among the names of the greatest of humans, yet he never forgot his humble beginnings or lost a sense of who he was.

The second thing about this child is tied to the first in that this baby, this helpless lad full of spittle and mush, was born as the very Son of God. When Mary held his little head to her breast, he drank human milk. Yet, he was (and is) the God of the universe. Can you picture this simply ridiculous, yet somehow poetic scene? God, who calls the stars by name, pressed to the human breast for sustenance. Humble, yet almighty, is how most folks would no doubt recall this child.

A little over 2000 years ago, God proposed that the only remedy for the human condition of sin would be if he humbled himself, stepped out of eternity and into human flesh, and suckled at Mary’s breast in preparation for the greatest, most impressive conversion of all. God, in Mary’s arms, toddling around Joseph’s shop, learning to talk, learning to walk, tasting and touching things with human hands. As the Psalmist says in Psalm 139, “such knowledge is too wonderful for us, we cannot contain it.”

God knew that the only way to redeem us was if he did it himself. Haven’t you ever had that thought? You know, the one where you say, “If I want something done right, I’ll just have to do it myself?” Imagine God having that thought about bringing us back to proper relationship with him. Imagine again that the only way he knew he could do that is if he came to earth as a baby. Think of it—how vulnerable the almighty God was at that moment, how paradoxical that the God of all creation had to learn to walk! And why did he put himself in this situation? Out of his inexpressible love for each of us he acted in this manner.

He became insane that we may be sane. He became flesh so that we might walk in the Spirit. He became sin that we might be righteous. He became poor so that we might be rich. He became a toddling, dribbling, helpless babe so that we could become mature humans in the image of almighty God. What wondrous love! What humility and service! How then can anything he asks of us be too difficult?

Lord, in this Christmas season, remind me of your sacrifice and love so that I might be a light shining in darkness to others. May the grace of God and the peace of Christ rule in my family and my life.

Thanks for reading!

Some random quotes

Here's an observation from a friend about Christmas--"Isn't it funny that we honor the God who left it all to become poor for our sakes by giving each other motorized tie racks?"

I'll go one better--Isn't it ironic that Jesus left it all to become sin for us so that we can buy each other expensive gifts and ignore the hungry and poor in our midst? Sorry, I couldn't resist.

Here are your random quotes:

St. Francis of Assisi—“The safest remedy against the thousand snares and wiles of the enemy is spiritual joy.”

Mr. Holy-Man in John Bunyan’s Pilgrim’s Progress—“There are two things that they have need to possess who go on pilgrimage—courage and an unspotted life. If they have not courage, they can never hold on their way; and if their lives be loose, they will make the very name of the pilgrim stink.”

“If you say that man is too little for God to speak to him, you must be very big to be able to judge.” Blaise Pascal

“All great change in America begins at the dinner table.” Ronald Reagan, 1989

John Wayne, as Davey Crockett in the movie, The Alamo—“There's right and there's wrong. You gotta do one or the other. You do the one and you're living. You do the other and you may be walking around but you’re dead as a beaver hat.”

Thanks for reading!

What's playing in my office . . .

Currently on the old CD player are the following:

1. Sixpence None The Richer--"Collage: A Portrait of their Best"
2. David Crowder Band--"Can you hear us?"
3. Silers Bald--"Real Life"

Alternative music rocks!

Thanks for reading!